“His absence is more than a victory to us,” Captain Davenant said, as, with a group of officers, he sat by a fire, made of a fence hastily pulled down.  “His majesty has his virtues, and, with good counsellors, would make a worthy monarch; but among his virtues military genius is not conspicuous.  I should be glad, myself, if Lauzun and the French would also take their departure, and let us have Mountcashel’s division back again from France.  If we are left to ourselves, with our own generals, Sarsfield and Mountcashel, we can tire out this continental riffraff that William has gathered together.  The dissensions caused by French interference have been our ruin, so far; leave us to ourselves, and we shall do.  The Irish today have proved their fighting qualities; and, if proper use is made of the resources and difficulties of the country, I defy them to conquer us.  I feel more hopeful now than I have done since the first day we took the field.”

“Do you think we shall fight another battle before Dublin, father?” Walter asked.

“I have no idea what the generals will decide, Walter, but I should imagine that we shall march to the west.  We had a strong position today, but in the open field, at present, we could not hope to cope with William’s superior numbers and great artillery train.  His guns were little use to him yesterday; but on level ground they would tear our ranks to pieces, without our being able to make any return.  Among the rivers and bogs and mountains of the west, we should find scores of places which we could hold against them.  Besides, in my opinion we should not fight pitched battles, but should harass them with continuous marches and attacks, leaving them masters only of the ground they stand on, until, at last, we completely wear them out and exhaust them.”

“Then you think we shall abandon Dublin altogether?”

“I think so, Walter.”

“But will they not persecute the Catholics, when they have them in their power?”

“There may be some disturbance in the city, Walter, before the English troops march in; but William will, no doubt, put an end to this as soon as he arrives.  He cannot wish to drive the Catholics of Ireland to desperation.  At any rate, I do not think we need feel at all uneasy about those at home.  Lying on the coast to the east of the town of Dublin, and altogether out of the track of the movements of troops, there is little fear of trouble there.  In our district there is little preponderance, in numbers, of one religion over the other; and unless the presence of troops, or worse, of those savages from Enniskillen or Derry, excite them, there is little fear of the Protestants of that neighbourhood interfering with our people, especially as they have no grounds for complaint in the past.  No, I do not think that you need disquiet yourself, in the slightest, about those at home.”