ision was made. The reply was addressed to
William's secretary, Sir Robert Roultwell, as Boileau could not
acknowledge the prince as king, and was too polite to hurt his feelings
by a denial of the royal title. He expressed great surprise at the
summons he had received, and said that he hoped to merit the good opinion
of the Prince of Orange better by a vigorous defence, than by a shameful
surrender, of the fortress which had been committed to his charge by his
master King James the Second.

The king's camp was now formed in regular order; he himself taking his
place on its right, having near him the Horse Guards, and the Blue Dutch
Guards, who were always his main reliance. To the left of these were the
English and Dutch regiments, further on the French and Danes, while the
Brandenburghers and other German regiments formed the extreme left of the
line. To their great satisfaction, the post assigned to the Danes was one
of the rude circular redoubts called, in Ireland, Danish forts, and
probably constructed by their own far-off ancestors.

Chapter 9: Pleasant Quarters.

After the termination of the short siege of Athlone, the troop of Captain
Davenant were despatched to join the army near Limerick, and, on their
arrival there, were ordered to take up their quarters at the house of a
Protestant gentleman named Conyers, four miles from the town on the
Limerick side of the river.

It was a mansion of considerable size, standing in large grounds, for its
proprietor was one of the largest landowners in the county of Limerick,
his grandfather having been a colonel in one of Cromwell's regiments. Mr.
Conyers himself had gone to Dublin, upon the passing of the act
sequestrating the property of all the Protestants by James's parliament,
to endeavour to obtain a remission of the decree, so far as it concerned
his house and adjoining grounds. As he had influential friends there, he
had remained, urging his petition, until the battle of the Boyne and the
entry of King William into Dublin entirely changed the position. But he
then, owing to the disturbance of the country, and the fact that the
Irish army had retired to Limerick, found it impossible to return home.
He had, however, travelled with William's army, to which he was able to
give much useful information regarding the defences, and details of the
country round the town.

As Captain Davenant's troop rode up to the house, a lady, with a girl of
some sixteen years o