ys, the gain was not a
substantial one. We had, of course, killed some of the Vaudois,
but our loss had been much heavier than theirs, for, active as our
men were, they were no match in speed for these mountaineers, who
were as nimble as their own goats, knew everything of the country,
and could appear or disappear, as it seemed to us, almost by
magic. It was a wretched business, and once or twice, when our
parties were caught in the narrow ravines, they were overwhelmed
by rocks thrown down from above; so that, on the whole, we lost
almost as many men as we should have done in a pitched battle,
gaining no credit, nor having the satisfaction that we were doing
good service to France.

"I hope I may never be employed in a business like that again. It
was not only the Vaudois that we had to fight, for, seeing that at
first we were pushing forward steadily, the Duke of Savoy, under
whose protection they lived, sent six hundred regular troops to
assist them, and these, who were well commanded, adopted the same
tactics as the peasants, avoiding all our attempts to bring on an
engagement, and never fighting except when they had us to great
advantage.

"As a rule, our men were always dissatisfied when they received
orders to fall back, but I think that there was not a man among us
but was heartily glad, when we were recalled to rejoin Catinat at
Pignerolle."

The expedition, however, although altogether unsuccessful in
rooting out the Vaudois, created such terrible devastation in the
mountains and valleys that the Irish name and nation will long
remain odious to the Vaudois. Six generations have since passed
away, but neither time nor subsequent calamities have obliterated
the impression made by the waste and desolation of this military
incursion.

"You were at Blenheim, were you not, Captain O'Donovan?"

"Yes. A tough fight it was, and a mismanaged one. I was in the
Earl of Clare's regiment, which, with Lee and Dorrington's
battalions, was stationed with the force in Oberglau in the centre
of our position. It seemed to us, and to our generals, that our
position was almost impregnable. It lay along a ridge, at the foot
of which was a rivulet and deep swampy ground. On the right of the
position was the village of Blenheim, held by twenty-seven
battalions of good French infantry, twelve squadrons, and
twenty-four pieces of cannon. Strong entrenchments had been thrown
up round our position, but these were not altogether