The Monmouth inquirer., 1898-03-17

dition Of doing battle for their rights
when they were assailed, an event Of
frequent occurrence in Ireland in the
fourteenth century.
O'Hanlon had succeeded his father in
the lands of the monks, and being
brought up in the neighborhood of the
priory the fathers had impaired to him
such an education as comported with
the lay condition to know. He was con-
sequently superior to his fellow chief
] tains in many respects and possessed
4 chivalrous spirit known to few of the
Irish at that early period.
1t happened that O'Hanlon had been
one evening fishing in the bay some
months before the night on which our
story opens, when his companions de-
scried party, among which were wo-
men, leaving De Bourgeois castle and
straying along the beach. The careless
group had no sooner been discovered by
the Irish than it was resolved to inter-
cept them should they allow the twi-
! light to set in during their walk. With
this intention they lay upon their oars
and watched their intended victims
leave gradually behind them the pro-
tecting presence Of the strong castle of
I DE Bourgho.
( The English unconscious of their
! danger, continued their walk until the
growing darkness warned them that
they should return to the castle. They
retraced their steps for some distance
accordingly and had almost half way
returned when low whistle was given
upon the beach, and they found them
selves surrounded with armed men. The
fishing party had cautiously approached
4 the shore and succeeded in their design
of intercepting them. When they first
made their appearance to the affrighted
group, three of De Bourgho's soldiers,
who had accompanied his lady and her
attendants, attempted to give battle,
but the number of their opponents was
too great and after short struggle the
whole party We're made prisoners.
Nothing could exceed the joy of the
Irish at the success of their design, and
many projects for the conveyance of the
prisoners in their limited number of
boats were mooted by different members
of their rude council. Each, however,
was liable to some fatal objection, until
at length one of the savage kerns sug-
gested murder OHanlon held short
paddle in his hand, which he had been
recently using in the boat, and a stroke
from that weapon which felled him to
the earth was the only reply that greet
ed the author of the proposal.
The three soldiers were left bound
hand and foot ON the beach, and the
females embarked III the curraghs.
iO'Hanlon assisted in rowing the one
which contained the countess and had
given instructions to his companion in
an undertone at the moment of their
leaving the shore The effect of these
instructions was soon visible, for as the
night advanced and the darkness grew
more intense the distance betwixt the
curragh Of O'Hanlon and those of his
fellows became wider and wider, until
at length by some secret and preconcert-
ed signal both rowers at once lay upon
their oars, and the strong breeze drifted
them swiftly up the bay.
They We're soon in the still water, be-
meath the castle of De Bourgho, and
pulling lightly and silently to the shore,
and the moment the boat touched the
sand O'Hanlon told its fair occupants
that they were at liberty and assisted
them to the land. He then pushed off
without staying for speech and made
way quickly along the beach, till run
ming at length upon the shore he struck
his sword through the wickerwork and
hide of which the curragh was compos-
ed The water gurgled up through the
breach, and she quickly filled and sank.
The two Irish were now without the
means of taking again to the bay and
stood deliberating with each other how
to proceed De Bourgho's followers,
they knew, must ere now have marked
the delay of the countess party and
were no doubt, securing the country III
all directions in pursuit. Their chief
care, then, was to keep clear of any of
these searching parties, and with this
purpose they determined to take the
most unfrequented paths through the
woods. They had scarcely started, how
ever, through the forest with this de-
teflnlndtlOu WHeu lIle AOOu, WHICH hdu
been for some hours struggling with a
heavy atmosphere, burst brightly
through and revealed the face of the
bay, the dark pine covered mountains
and the castle of Carrickfergus in the
distance. And it revealed more than
these. A party of the followers of De
Bourgho had marked the approach of
the curragh to the beach, and the mo-
ment they could recognize i'll the noon
Ma 81