d drive them under the walls
of Londonderry, where they should be suffered to perish by famine. The
bishop of Meath being informed of this design, complained to king James
of the barbarous intention, entreating his majesty to prevent its being
put in execution. That prince assured him that he had already ordered
Rosene to desist from such proceeding: nevertheless, the Frenchman
executed his threats with the utmost rigour. Parties of dragoons
were detached on this cruel service: after having stripped all the
protestants for thirty miles round, they drove these unhappy people
before them like cattle, without even sparing the enfeebled old men,
nurses with infants at their breasts, tender children, women just
delivered, and some even in the pangs of labour. Above four thousand of
these miserable objects were driven under the walls of Londonderry. This
expedient, far from answering the purpose of Rosene, produced quite
a contrary effect. The besieged were so exasperated at this act of
inhumanity, that they resolved to perish rather than submit to such
a barbarian. They erected a gibbet in sight of the enemy, and sent a
message to the French general, importing that they would hang all the
prisoners they had taken during the siege, unless the protestants whom
they had driven under the walls should be immediately dismissed. This
threat produced a negotiation, in consequence of which the protestants
were released after they had been detained three days without tasting
food. Some hundreds died of famine or fatigue; and those who lived to
return to their own habitations, found them plundered and sacked by the
papists, so that the greater number perished for want, or were murdered
by the straggling parties of the enemy; yet these very people had for
the most part obtained protections from king James, to which no respect
was paid by his general.

THE PLACE IS RELIEVED BY KIRKE

The garrison of Londonderry was now reduced from seven to five thousand
seven hundred men, and these were driven to such extremity of distress,
that they began to talk of killing the popish inhabitants and feeding on
their bodies. In this emergency Kirke, who had hitherto lain inactive,
ordered two ships laden with provisions to sail up the river under
convoy of the Dartmouth frigate. One of them, called the Mountjoy, broke
the enemy's boom; and all the three, after having sustained a very hot
fire from both sides of the river, arrived in safety at th