ranged up under its walls, were unbounded. Provisions were speedily
conveyed on shore, and abundance took the place of famine.

Five days later, General Rosen raised the siege and marched away with his
army, which had, in the various operations of the siege, and from the
effect of disease, lost upwards of three thousand men.

"This has been a bad beginning, Walter," Captain Davenant said, as they
rode away from the grounds on which they had been so long encamped. "If
the whole force of Ireland does not suffice to take a single town, the
prospect of our waging war successfully against England is not hopeful."

"It seems to me that it would have been much better to have left Derry
alone, father," Walter said.

"It would have been better, as it has turned out, Walter; but had the
king taken the place, as he expected, without difficulty, he would have
crossed with a portion of the army to Scotland, where a considerable part
of the population would at once have joined him. The defence of Derry has
entirely thwarted that plan, and I fear now that it will never be carried
out.

"However, it has had the advantage of making soldiers out of an army of
peasants. When we came here, officers and men were alike ignorant of
everything relating to war. Now we have, at any rate, learned a certain
amount of drill and discipline, and I think we shall give a much better
account of ourselves, in the open field, than we have done in front of a
strong town which we had no means whatever of storming. Still, it has
been a frightful waste of life on both sides, and with no result, beyond
horribly embittering the feeling of hatred, which unfortunately prevailed
before, between the Catholic and Protestant populations."

The mortification and disgust, caused by the failure of Londonderry, was
increased by a severe defeat of a force under General Justin McCarthy,
Lord Mountcashel, at Newtown Butler, on the very day that Derry was
relieved. General McCarthy had been detached, with a corps of six
thousand men, against the Enniskilleners. He came up with them near
Newtown Butler. Although but two thousand strong, the Enniskilleners, who
were commanded by Colonel Wolseley, an English officer, at once attacked
the Irish, only a portion of whom had come upon the ground.

McCarthy, who was a brave and experienced officer, sent orders to the
cavalry to face to the right, and march to the support of the wing that
was attacked. The officer gave the ord