Ormond the fate of Ormond had evidently accelerated the disasters of 1648. his royal master, by having so long deprived him of the assistance of his catholic subjects in Ireland. But accelerated never till the last week of his master's life had he Charles. the honesty to do them justice, by noticing in a letter to the Prince of Wales, "the very eminent "loyalty of the assembly, which was not shaken by "the success which God had permitted to the mon"strous rebellion in England, nor by the mischievous "practices of the no less malicious rebels† in Ireland." loyalty of catholics to It is no small unequivocal mark of the eminent Unshaken loyalty and fidelity of the Irish catholics, that at the Irish Charles's execution, they formed the only compact Charles national body throughout the extent of the British Empire, who had preserved untainted and unshaken their faith and attachment to the royal cause, although they had been throughout his reign more oppressed, persecuted, and aggrieved by their sovereign, than any other description of his subjects whatsoever. No sooner were the melancholy tidings of the death of Charles conveyed to Ormond, who was then at Youghall, than he instantly proclaimed the Prince of Wales King, by the style of Charles the Second. * 2 Orm. 2 vol. P. 52. + Yet to these Ormond surrendered his sword for 15,000l.!!! 1649 Effects of King CHAPTER VII. The Interregnum. THE melancholy event of King Charles's execution was an open demonstration of the loyalty of the confeCharles's derates, who still openly persevered in their exertions execution. for the royal cause. Even Ormond was now compelled to treat his armed protestant friends as rebels and regicides. With a reluctant confidence he placed himself at the head of the confederated catholics, and soon reduced most of the strong holds of the northern parts of the kingdom, except Dublin and Londonderry. His pride stimulated him to regain possession of Dublin, which he had basely sold to the parliamentarian rebels. But that infamy was aggravated by his disgraceful defeat at Rathmines, * by a very inferior force under Michael Jones, the parliamentarian governor of Dublin. That shameful disaster, coupled with the ready submission of Inchi *Rathmines is about three miles from Dublin: Carte says, that 1500 soldiers and 300 officers in this battle were taken prisoners, and about 600 slain, and above half of them within the walls of Dublin after quarter had been proclaimed. Most of Inchiquin's men enlisted under Jones, 2 C. Orm. 81. According to Borlase, Ormond, after this shameful defeat, wrote to Jones for a list of prisoners, who answered, "My lord, since I routed your army, I cannot have the happiness to know where you are, that I may wait upon you." quin's men, who instantly enlisted into Jones's army, and several other circumstances indicative of Ormond's partiality to whatsoever force opposed the confederates, renewed in the Irish their former suspicions, that he had still some secret understanding with the English rebels: and these suspicions were strengthened by the unaccountable failure of all his subsequent undertakings against them. 1649 approves then takes the cove nant. The new king wrote from the Hague, that he was Charles II. extremely satisfied with the articles of peace with of the peace, the confederates, and would wholly confirm them*. Notwithstanding, after he had been proclaimed in Scotland, he was advised by Ormond to accept of the commissioners' invitation to seat himself on that throne, though he well knew that the covenant was to be the previous condition of his admission. Charles arrived in Scotland on the 23d of June, 1650, where he signed both the national and solemn covenant t. Within two months, he published a declaration, "that he would have no enemies but the enemies of the covenant: that he did detest and abhor popery, "superstition, and idolatry, together with prelacy: resolving not to tolerate, much less to allow, those in any part of his dominions, and to endeavour the extirpation thereof to the utmost of his power." He * Cart. Orig. Let. 2 vol. p. 363 and 367. It is fairly remarked by Leland, 3 vol. 352, that "Charles chose rather to attempt the recovery of his dominions by hypocrisy and perfidy in Scotland, than by any gallant enterprize in Ireland." 1650. pronounced the peace lately made with the Irish, and confirmed by himself, to be null and void: adding, "that he was convinced in his conscience of the sinfulness and unlawfulness of it, and of his allowing them (the confederates) the liberty of the popish religion; for which he did from his heart desire to be deeply humbled before the Lord and for having sought unto such unlawful help for the restoring of him to his throne." Ormond* foretold, that this declaration would withdraw the Irish from their allegiance, by convincing them, that by his Majesty's having taken the covenant, they were deprived of the benefit of the peace, and left to that extirpation, which the covenant proclaimed both of their religion and persons t. Vid. his Letter to Secretary Long, of 2d September 1650. C. Orig. Pap. 453, + In the course of what is called the grand rebellion in Ireland, the only party, which could with any propriety be termed rebels, were the adherents of Phelim O'Nial, who headed most of the native Irish catholics in the North. He, together with the adherents of the Pope's nuncio, was denounced as a traitor against the royal authority, for resisting the peace of 1648, by the supreme council of Kilkenny. Phelim O'Nial was charged with having forged a commission from the king to levy war against the parliamentarians, or English protestant army in Ireland; for in the beginning of the decline of the power of Charles I, the English party affected to use these terms synonimously. In the year 1652, a high court of justice, afterwards called Cromwell's slaughterhouse, from the numbers of bloody sentences pronounced in it, was instituted for trying rebels and malignants, which, in the revolutionary language of that day, meant loyalists and royalists ; and also for the trial of all massacres and murders, committed since No historical incident, ancient or modern, more 1650. strongly indicates the violence of religious prejudice Hatred to over the conduct of statesmen and governments, than popery su persedes the excesses to which a real or affected abhorrence of duty and loyalty. popery misled the King and most of his servants, with reference to catholic Ireland. Throughout the British dominions the confederates were the only body of any consideration then under arms in the royal cause. Charles II. (he was a Stuart) having taken the covenant, and published that declaration under the advice of Ormond, set an example of infidelity and ingrati. tude, which has furnished a deceptive vizor to the bigotted intolerance of much later days. Ormond, at the head of an army, which he boasted he could persuade to starve outright for his Majesty, had not only received the before-mentioned price for surrendering Dublin and the sword of state to the rebels, but continued to receive 3000l. per annum from Cromwell, as a provision for his lady during the whole time of his own proscription*. He never once ven the 1st of October, 1641. The regicides brought Phelim O'Nial to trial in this court, hoping, as it appeared from their efforts, to fix the late king with the stigma of exciting the rebellion: and after his condemnation, they offered him pardon and restitution of his estates, if he would acknowledge the genuineness of his commission. Phelim disdained to save his life by a lie, that would have been injurious to that unfortunate prince. He replied aloud, that in order to draw the people, who would not otherwise follow him, he took an old seal from a deed, and put it to a forged commission, to persuade them, that he acted by royal authority. The bishop of Kilmore assured Mr. Carte, that he was present at the execution, and heard this from the mouth of O'Nial. * Answer to Walsh. |