most vigour. He ordered the whole army to assemble at
Loughbrickland. He found them to consist of sixty-two squadrons of
cavalry and fifty-two battalions of infantry--in all, thirty-six
thousand English, Dutch, French, Danes, and Germans, well appointed in
every respect. Lieutenant-General Douglas commanded the
advance-guard--to which Rapin belonged--and William III., Schomberg,
and St. Gravenmore commanded the main body.

William III. had no hesitation in entering at once on the campaign. He
had been kept too long in London by parliamentary turmoil, by
intrigues between Whigs and Tories, and sometimes by treachery on both
sides. But now that he was in the field his spirits returned, and he
determined to lose not a day in measuring swords with his enemy. He
had very little time to spare. He must lose or win his crown; though
his determination was to win. Accordingly he marched southward without
delay.

William had been in Ireland six days before James knew of his arrival.
The passes between Newry and Dundalk had been left unguarded--passes
where a small body of well-disciplined troops might easily have
checked the advance of William's army. Dundalk was abandoned. Ardee
was abandoned. The Irish army were drawn up in a strong position on
the south of the Boyne to arrest the progress of the invading army.
James had all the advantages that nature could give him. He had a deep
river in front, a morass on his left, and the narrow bridge of Slane
on his right. Behind was a rising ground stretching along the whole of
the field. In the rear lay the church and village of Donore, and the
Pass of Duleek. Drogheda lay towards the mouth of the river, where the
green and white flags of Ireland and France were flying, emblazoned
with the harp and the lilies.

William never halted until he reached the summit of a rising ground
overlooking the beautiful valley of the Boyne. It is about the most
fertile ground in Ireland. As he looked from east to west, William
said to one of his staff, "Behold a land worth fighting for!" Rapin
was there, and has told the story of the crossing of the Boyne. He
says that the forces of King James, lying on the other side of the
river, amounted to about the same number as those under King William.
They included more than seven thousand veteran French soldiers. There
was a splendid body of Irish horse, and about twenty thousand Irish
foot.

James's officers were opposed to a battle; they wished to wait f