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Stahremberg and Daun, consisted of 2000 men; its cavalry, composed of the young Prince's own regiment, with those of Darmstadt and Deidrichstein, made 3000 men; and both consequently 5000 men. The united forces of Eugene and Vaudemont, (according to the foregoing particulars, deduced from German, as well as French, sources of information,) would form from 9800 to 10,100 men; or more than sufficient, within Cremona, to overpower a surprised garrison of only about 4000 men-if there was not even reason to believe, that garrison would be much diminished by the absence of a considerable detachment, designed for service elsewhere.*

Eugene commenced his march January 31st, at an hour before midnight, from Ostiano. Having to travel about 6 leagues, or 18 miles, over roads in bad order from heavy rains, and being accompanied by a number of carpenters, masons, smiths, &c., with everything necessary for passing over ditches, breaking through walls, and opening gates, he could not collect all his troops before Cremona, till it was nearer morning than he wished. The Germans, however, worked, and the French slept, so well, that not only the gate of All Saints, nearest to Father Cozzoli's wine-cellar and to the passage into it from the sewer, was surprised, but the gate of St. Margaret, which had been walled up, was reopened in good time. The one served for the entrance of the Imperial foot, the other for that of the horse; and the Prince himself was by day-light in the town, with from 3,000 to 3,600 grenadiers, and 3 divisions of heavy cavalry, or 1016 cuirassiers; leaving about the gate of St. Margaret, and to patrol the roads by which aid might come to, or fugitives escape from, the place, a reserve of 379 of Dupré's cuirassiers, and 105 of Diak's hussars.† Before any alarm of consequence occurred, the Germans, besides the 2 gates of All Saints and St. Margaret, and the Priest's house and Church of Santa Maria Nueva, were masters of the leading squares, and the adjacent streets, the great street which separated half the garrison of the town from the other half, the Podesta, or Hotel de Ville, the Cathedral, the Round Chapel, and, in short, the principal portion of Cremona ! Eugene established himself, with the Prince de Commercy and General Stahremberg, at the Podesta, or Hotel de Ville; many officers were captured in their lodgings, pointed out to the Germans by a native of Cremona who had come from Ostiano, and by Father Cozzoli; and, as the consternation spread, several of the garrison whose quarters were so situated towards the gates, or ramparts, that an escape seemed possible by getting out of the town, attempted to do so; but there, too, they were intercepted by Dupré's cuirassiers and Diak's hussars. In the words of my Italian historian-"Confusion, terror, violence, rage, flight and slaughter were everywhere! Dreadful for all was the awakening! Still more dreadful what they saw when awake! The citizens believed, that their last hour was come! The French, between fury and surprise, arming themselves hastily and irregularly, seized their muskets, sabres, and bayonets, and sallied out from their

It had been intended, that 800 foot and 500 horse should be detached from the garrison of Cremona; an intention fortunately not acted on; yet attended with preparations, of which the Austrian partizans and spies did not fail to take note there, and transmit information to the Prince.

These and the previous calculations of Eugene's and Vaudemont's forces are given, as the closest estimates I could form, from a minute comparison and analysis of the various statements on the subject, in the writings on both sides.

lodgings or posts, naked and bare-footed, or covered only with a shirt, ignorant of where they were rushing, what enemy they were going to engage, or what had reduced ill-fated Cremona to such extremities, during that horrible night. The Austrians believed," adds the historian, "that victory was already within their grasp!" Like the Greeks of old, under similar circumstances,

"To sev'ral posts, their parties they divide;

Some block the narrow streets, some scour the wide;

The bold they kill, th' unwary they surprise;

Who fights finds death, and death finds him who flies!"
DRYDEN'S Virgil, Æneis ii., 447-450.

Meantime, the Marshal de Villeroy, whose quarters lay in that part of the city towards the gate of St. Margaret, was aroused. As watchful, as others were careless, he had inquired several times, during the night, "Was there any news from the enemy?" and was always answered, "None!"* It was about 7 o'clock when he was awoken by 3 or 4 musket-shots to the left of his residence, followed by his valet's running into his chamber, crying-"The Germans are in the town!" The Marshal hurried out of bed, had his horse saddled and bridled, dressed himself as rapidly as possible, and, from the continuing increase and approach of the musketry no longer doubting that he was betrayed, and would soon be visited by the enemy, he directed his papers and cypher of correspondence to be burned, flung on his military cloak, mounted, and galloped off alone for the principal square, in order to head some troops there, and first endeavour, with them, to set matters to rights. His situation on this occasion, at Cremona, reminds us of that of Æneas at Troy, as also betrayed and surprised.

"Now peals of shouts came thund'ring from afar,

Cries, threats, and loud laments, and mingled war!
The noise approaches!

Louder, and yet more loud, I hear th' alarms

Of human cries distinct, and clashing arms!

Fear broke my slumbers; I no longer stay

*

New clamours, and new clangors, now arise,

The sound of trumpets, mix'd with fighting cries!
With frenzy seiz'd, I run to meet th' alarms,
Resolv'd on death, resolv'd to die in arms;
But first to gather friends, with them t' oppose,
(If Fortune favour'd) and repel the foes."

DRYDEN'S Virgil, Æneis ii., 397-426.

When about 300 paces from his house, the Marshal was fired at by a hostile detachment, but escaped uninjured, took a round to avoid being intercepted, reached the square, and was doing all he could to encourage his men assailed there by the Germans, when more of their horse and foot, rushing from 2 neighbouring streets, surrounded all attempting to resist. In the mêlée, 12 grenadiers fell upon the Marshal, seized the bridle of his horse, pulled himself to the ground, wounded him (though but slightly) in the side and hand, were dragging hat, peruke, cloak, coat,

Eugene's surprise of Cremona would have been rendered impossible, had but 1 order of the Marshal been executed-that 50 horse of the garrison should patrol all that night, and until the evening of the following day, on the road to Ostiano, in quest of intelligence respecting the enemy. What a heavy penalty was the result of this neglect!

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cravat, &c., from him, and would probably have killed him, when, fortunately, an Imperial officer, in a red uniform, and armed with a halbert, hastened up to rescue him, and did so, though not without much difficulty. This officer, an Irishman, Francis Mac Donnell, belonged to a name, of which he was not the last who attained distinction in the service of Austria.* He appears to have been of the old galloglass, or heavyinfantry, sept of the Clan Donnells, subsequently Mac Donnells, of Mayo; whom the English Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sydney, in 1576, refers to as so powerful, in mentioning the reduction of the great Mayo Chief, Sir Richard Fitz-David Bourke, or the Mac William Eighter. "Out of the Countye of Maio," writes Sir Henry, "came to me to Galway, first 7 principall men of the Clandonells, for everye of theire 7 linagies 1 of that surname, and enhabiting that Countye, all, by profession, mercenarie soldiers, by the name of Galloglas; they are verie stronge, and moche of the wealth of the countrie is under theim," &c. Then Sir Henry adds of Mac William Eighter,-"I wan his chiefe force from hym, in getting theise Clandonells." Francis Mac Donnell himself was connected with the best of the old native races of Connaught-with the O'Rourkes, whose heads were Princes or Chiefs of Brefuy-O'Rourke, or Leitrim, from the 10th to the 17th century, some of them anciently Kings of Connaught, several of them distinguished officers in various Continental services, their name being represented, to our days, among the nobility of the ranks of Prince and of Count in Russia-with the O'Conors, so long Kings of Connaught, in some instances, Monarchs of Ireland, in modern times, among the leading gentry of their province, and still more respectable for theirs ervices to the literature of their country. His uncle, Captain Tiernan O'Rourke, who had accompanied the Irish army from Limerick in 1691, and had signalized himself upon various occasions, was then in the French service. His first-cousin, the Captain's son, Doctor O'Rourke, had been Chaplain and Domestic Secretary to Prince Eugene, till invited by his countrymen to become Bishop of Killala, and thereby doomed to a miserable end, in those intolerant days. His second-cousin was the venerable Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, the eminent antiquarian and patriot. Mac Donnell, who had long been in the Imperial service, was then a Captain in the infantry Regiment of Bagni, and had an important part assigned him in effecting the passage into the town. Without knowing the rank of his captive, the Marshal, he conveyed him

James Mac Donnell, of the Mayo race, died in the Austrian service, October 4th, 1766, a Count, a General, Imperial Chamberlain, and Inspector-General of the Guard in Camp; and was succeeded, from Ireland, in his Countship, by his nephew, Francis MacDonnell. This Count James was very generous to his relatives in Ireland, during his life; and their descendants derived pecuniary advantages from Vienna, under his will, as late as 1841-2.

+ Cox, in noticing this submission, introduces a circumstance, indicative of the education of an Irish Chief, or gentleman, of those times. "To Galway came 7 of the family of the Clandonells, and, after them came Mac William Eighter, who could speak Latin, though he could not speak English. He submitted, by oath and indenture, and agreed to pay 250 marks per annum for his country, besides contribution of men, on risings out, and consented the Clandonells should hold their lands of the Queen," &c. Sir William Betham, too, observes-"The Irish Chiefs, not understanding the English language, their correspondence with the English was carried on in Latin." During the great civil war under Charles I., we find the stout Catholic Bishop of Clogher, Heber Mac Mahon, in the General Assembly of the Confederates at Kilkenny, while he "addressed them in Latin," admitting his equal "ignorance of the French and Sassenagh languages.'

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