SCHOMBERG'S CAMPAIGN CONTINUED—THE ARRIVAL OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE.

The winter, and the advantages it offered to the Irish army, passed away, and the Duke of Schomberg, who, for several months, could have offered but an ineffectual opposition, was, through the vacillating policy of the king, and the factious opposition of the Lords, spiritual and temporal, in his Parliament, allowed to take the initiative in the renewal of hostilities. While he pressed the siege of Charlemont with renewed vigor, he dispatched 3,300 English and Enniskilleners, under the command of Brigadier Wolseley, to seize on Belturbet and Cavan, which were occupied through the winter by a small force under General Wauchop, and to the relief of these positions, which were considered of much importance, the Duke of Berwick was ordered with a force of 1,500 foot and 200 horse. Belturbet had been the scene of many bitter conflicts since the commencement of the rebellion, and had been taken and retaken by the troops of each army in turn, as the tide of war fluctuated. Situated in the midst of a fertile district, it was of much advantage in the way of supply. By its possession, through the previous year, the Irish had been enabled to hold the Enniskilleners in check even after the disaster of Newtownbutler; and it was still hoped that, by holding it, they could confine them to the more northern counties, and prevent their concentration round the Duke of Schomberg, or divert his attention from the capital.

Berwick, on receipt of the order, proceeded by rapid marches, and arrived at Cavan, which is about five miles from Belturbet, late in the evening, whence he sent orders to General Wauchop to throw out pickets in the direction of the enemy, and notify him of their earliest appearance. Owing to the heavy rains that had fallen through the night, this order was either totally neglected, or but carelessly observed; and early in the morning, while Berwick took up his march from Cavan, Wolseley approached as rapidly from the direction of Monaghan; each with the intention of occupying a mud fort which commanded the town. Both forces, each unapprised of the design of the other, met in the intrenchments, and a fierce conflict followed. Wolseley was driven from the fort and through the adjoining coppice in great confusion, but Colonel MacGeoghaghen being killed, and General Nugent and several officers wounded, their troops became panic-stricken, "and, in a moment," says Berwick, "from being conquerors, we became conquered." Wolseley lost 300 men, and Berwick 500; the fort was evacuated as a consequence; the Irish fell back to Cavan, which they shortly after abandoned; and Schomberg, being relieved of further apprehension from that direction, and being strengthened by his native auxiliaries, turned his undivided attention to the siege of Charlemont.

Believing that the fall of Belturbet, and the isolation of his position, must have dampened the ardor of Colonel O'Regan, the commandant of the Castle of Charlemont, Schomberg offered him honorable conditions in case he agreed to surrender the fort, but he found the spirit of this indomitable old chieftain as hopeful and defiant as ever. Since the arrival of Schomberg, he had succeeded in baffling all efforts to reduce the place; and, though now surrounded, and cut off on all sides from hope of succor, he thanked the duke for his offer, but replied that he would never surrender "his castle," and was determined to hold it for his king, or die in its ruins. He was, however, placed in a very embarrassing situation. Within the last few days a body of five hundred soldiers, bearing a scanty supply of ammunition and provisions, had forced their way into the garrison, and, having thus partially relieved it, were ordered unceremoniously to fight their way out again, but, in making the attempt, were driven back under the guns of the fort. The governor refused them admittance. He said that he was ordered to defend the place, and would do it, and looked on them as much his enemies as the troops of Schomberg. They were, therefore, placed on the counterscarp of the fort, where they were exposed to the fire of the enemy, and many of them were actually killed during the bombardment that followed. But, though in appearance, and in many of his characteristics, he affected the ogre, his heart relented; and, while he could bear to see them shot from the walls, he could not see them die of starvation, and so doled out his scanty provisions until they were consumed, and the garrison was reduced to all the horrors of a famine-siege. Every means of supporting life was now resorted to, and every effort for the reduction of the fort was in vain, until on the 14th of May, when, literally starved out, after a siege of nine, months from the landing of Schomberg, he capitulated, and marched out with what remained of his famished garrison. The terms granted him by Schomberg, who was impatient of delay, were highly honorable: the garrison was allowed to retire with arms and baggage, and the king, who neglected to succor him during this protracted siege, raised him to the order of knighthood, and he was henceforth known as Sir Teague O'Regan, and intrusted with the defence of Sligo, which he held until the last tocsin summoned him to Limerick.

This was the only event worthy of the military fame of Schomberg since his arrival in the kingdom. From the first to the last, the Castle of Charlemont and its commandant were as thorns in the side of this unfortunate soldier of fortune. It would seem as if the old chief had him under a spell; for once he set eyes on him and his stronghold, they were in his thoughts day and night, and he would not depart until the place was rendered to his arms. Yet, 'tis said that he had an immense liking for that quaint old soldier, and was even sorry when he saw him depart from his seemingly enchanted castle. A soldier himself, and an accomplished one, he could appreciate soldierly qualities even in an enemy; and O'Regan, notwithstanding his grotesque appearance and eccentric habits, was a rare military genius. Of this siege it may be said, that, unless in so far as that of Derry affected the final issue of the war, it loses in comparison with that of Charlemont, both in the duration of the contest, and in the spirit, hardihood, and valor of the besieged. Its fall may be said to have put an end to the Jacobite power in Ulster, and also to the military career of Schomberg. He frittered away his time in its reduction, when it might have been safely left in his rear; and the stubborn old chief that commanded it, after having diverted his purpose so long from the real object of his campaign, offered him his grateful acknowledgments, and laughed at his folly when departing. The delay occasioned by this event was a matter of vital importance to the Jacobite cause; for it had enabled King James to make more ample preparations for the opening campaign, and saved Dublin, which, up to that time, could have made but slight resistance, if any, to the veteran army of Schomberg.

Knowing, through his English agents, that the earliest possible attention of the Prince of Orange would be directed to his affairs in Ireland, King James was now making active preparations. While the levies lately made were undergoing that hasty discipline which the duty of the hour made obligatory, he sent Tyrconnell to the French court to solicit the assistance so long promised, and so unaccountably delayed. Men there were at his call for any purpose, and to any amount, but he lacked money, small-arms, artillery—in short, every thing that could render their service available. Through the exertions of Tyrconnell, a French contingent was immediately put in readiness, and, towards the end of April, a force of six thousand men, with a park of artillery, consisting of ten pieces, under the command of the Duc de Lausun, arrived in Ireland. But this was the extent of the French king's bounty, for the money, clothing, provisions and arms, on which James had calculated so long, and which alone could enable him to put the requisite number of troops into the field, were still withheld. Had the troops now sent been of the regular French army, and given in good faith, they would have been a great acquisition to King James. But the French king did not allow his generosity to outrun his discretion. He was then engaged in a war with the allies, which severely taxed the population of his own kingdom, and so the troops sent to Ireland were a heterogeneous body consisting of French Huguenots, Germans, and even English Protestants, taken prisoners on the Continent, and offered pardon on condition that they would serve under the standard of King James. It is said that at least one-third of de Lausun's force was so constituted, and of this, the number of desertions that took place while they remained in Ireland, and the unwilling service performed by the rest, would afford ample corroboration. Nor were the discordant elements of which this force was composed, nor its want of devotion to the Irish cause, nor the eccentricities of its general, the only drawbacks consequent on this accession. Ireland had been represented, as indeed it would seem to be, inexhaustible in men who wanted but arms and discipline to become excellent soldiers. Louis wanted men at the time, and, taking advantage of this information, stipulated for an equivalent to the force which he sent over with de Lausun. On the other hand, King James thought that he would engage the French king and nation more earnestly in his cause, by the introduction of French troops into Ireland, and, as a matter of course, the terms were accepted. All things considered, it did not seem an unwise act, and might even be an advantage to his cause, had he not been as poor a diplomatist as he had lately proved himself a statesman. Any number of armed men would have been better than the same number without arms; and 'tis said that it was optional with him to send his equivalent either in disciplined soldiers or in raw recruits. But his pride prevailed over his judgment; and, perhaps ashamed to make a poor display in the eyes of the French king and people, he resolved to send over Lord Mountcashel and his command in exchange. This general, who had escaped from Enniskillen in December, wa............