Page:A Compendium of Irish Biography.djvu/287

 JAM

fight he made a fatal mistake in not securing the bridge of Slane, a few miles up the river, and it was crossed early on the morning of the ist by 10,000 of William's troops, under General Douglas. To keep them in check, and to prevent his flank from being turned, James was obliged to weaken his centre by the detachment of a large body of his best troops. About ten o'clock, under cover of a heavy fire from his batteries, the main body of William's army commenced the passage of the river. They met with a stout resistance from the Irish, who fought well. The contest continued all day with varying fortune, and it was not until night began to fall that James's troops gave way, and poured through the Pass of Duleek in broken masses, the re- treat being effectually covered by some reserve regiments of cavalry. The Irish loss at the battle of the Boyne is generally set down at 1,500, including Lord Dungan, Lord Carlingford, and Sir Neal O'Neill ; William's at 500, including Duke Schom- berg, who was the first that fell as the army crossed the ford. [For further par- ticulars of the battle, see William III.] James was almost the first to convey the news of his own defeat to Dublin. Lady Tirconnell met him on the Castle steps. " Madame," he is reported to have said, "your countrymen can run well." "If so," replied the lady, " I see your Majesty has won the race." At six o'clock next morning, 2nd July, James summoned the Lord Mayor and some of the principal inhabitants to the Castle, advised them to submit to William's army, and not to let the French troops injure the city, and made the remark, so imgracious to the represen- tatives of a people who had staked life and property in his cause, " I never more deter- mine to head an Irish army, and do now resolve to shift for myself, and so, gentle- men, must you." He then took his de- parture with a small retinue, and according to one account, rode through the County of Wicklow, never drawing rein until he reached the Castle of the Deeps on the Slaney, where he spent the night at the house of a Quaker. He pressed on next day (the 3rd) to Duncannon Fort, near Wa- terford, where he went on board a French vessel Lauzun had in waiting for him. It is said to have sailed without even waiting to weigh anchor. [A latrge anchor, sup- posed to have been that cut away on this occasion, was dredged up in 1 866, and pre- sented to the Marquis of Abercorn, a de- scendant of one of James's adherents who fled with him.] According to other accounts James rode through from Dublin to Dun-

JAM

cannon with but two hours' rest at the house of a Mr. Hacket, near Arklow. In either case, from Duncannon he sailed to Kjnsale, where was a small fleet of store ships and transports, in one of which he reached Brest on the 20th July. The war in Ire- land was continued another year by Sars- field and the French general St. Euth. When, after the surrender of Limerick next year, nearly 30,000 Irish troops passed over to France, James reviewed them as they arrived at Vannes, and elsewhere in Brittany, thanking them for their zeal and suflFeriugs in his service. Although they formed part of the French army and were in French pay, the greater portion of the Irish Brigade continued nominally in James's service, and the ofl&cers held com- missions directly from him. He spent the remainder of his life at St. Germain's, a pensioner of Louis XIV., and died i6th September 1701, aged 67. ^4 170 .70. 175 '86

197 197. 201. 20lt 223 318

Jameson, Anna, an authoress, was bom in Dublin in 1797. Her father, Mr. Mvu'phy, a miniature painter of repute, gave her an excellent education, and im- bued her with an intelligent love of art. In 1824 she married Mr. E. S. Jameson, a barrister. He was subsequently appointed Vice-Chancellor of Canada ; and they went to reside there. This union proved un- happy, a virtual though not legal separa- tion took place, and Mrs. Jameson return- ed to Europe to a life of literary effort. Her works enjoyed an extensive popularity, and we are told that " few writers of the age have done so much to refine the public taste, and diffuse a knowledge of the great masters of art." Her chief works were: Diary of an Ennuyee (1826), Loves of the Poets (1829), Characteristics 0/ Women (1832), Beauties of the Court of Charles II. (1833), Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad (1834), Memoirs of Early Italian Painters (1845), Memoirs and Essays on Art, Literature, and Social Morals (1846), Legends of the Monastic Orders as represettted in the Fine Arts(i 850). Eev. W. E. Chan- ning wrote of her: "I do not know a writer whose works breathe more of the spontaneous, the free. Beauty and truth seem to come to her unsought." Christopher North calls her " one of the most eloquent of our female writers; full of feeling and fancy; a true enthusiast with a glow- ing soul." During the latter part of her life she was untiring in her efforts to improve the position of women, and to this cause on several occasions devoted her pen. For some years before her death she was in receipt of a Civil List pension. She died 17th March i860, aged about 63. 263