the country on every side was exhausted, and no longer afforded food for
man or horse. The country people had fled, from the cruelty and
spoliation of Ginckle's foreign soldiery, carrying with them all their
effects; and the Irish light troops and armed peasantry hovered round the
camp, laid the country waste, and intercepted their supplies and
communications with Dublin.

Ginckle held a council of war, to consider what was to be done. It was
admitted that they must force the passage of the river without loss of
time, or submit to the alternative of retreat, and the utter failure of
the campaign. It was finally resolved to attempt the passage of the
bridge by throwing a wooden gallery over the broken arch, and forcing
their way across, at all cost. Additional batteries were now raised on
the bank of the river, and a heavy fire was poured, without intermission,
upon the Irish on their side of the broken arch.

Both parties had erected a breastwork on the bridge, at their respective
sides of the breach, and from behind this, day and night, a continued
musketry fire was kept up, the grenadiers of the English army throwing
grenades into the enemy's works. After some days, the breastwork on the
Irish side was set on fire by the continued assault of shot and grenades.
The wattles of which it was composed, dried by the hot weather, were soon
in a blaze, and, under cover of the flames and smoke, the English ran
forward the great beams they had prepared in readiness, and threw them
across the gap in the bridge.

The fire from all the batteries on the English side was directed against
the burning breastwork, while the grenadiers hastened to lay planks
across the beams to complete the bridge. The work was well-nigh done when
an Irish sergeant and ten men, all clad in armour, leaped through the