from their native country, because they would not renounce the religion of their fathers, were embodied in Spain, after the capitulation of Limerick; and these several regiments were called by names dear to the memories of the exiles who filled their ranks. Accordingly, they were the regiments of Irlandá Ultonia, &c., while in France were those of Limerick, Athlone, Clare, &c., which, by their matchless valour, caused George II. to exclaim, at the bloody battle of Fontenoy, 'cursed be the laws that deprived me of such subjects.' It was a subject of remark on the Continent and at home, that the Irish, banished for the cause of their religion,' had cost the English Government one hundred thousand times more than the value of all their forfeited estates!

NOTE 154.-PAGE 338.

In A collection of Poems written on different occasions by the Clare Bards in honour of the MacDonnells of Kilkee and Killone,' it is stated in a note to page 40-" Sorley MacDonnell was the last of James MacDonnell's children. Randall, who lived at Kilbricken, died in 1726. The younger brother, James, who lived at Clouncullin, died 14th June, 1732. His only sister was Mary, who married James Ffoster, of Rathorpe, county Galway." This is a great mistake, as Mary MacDonnell's husband was Captain Francis Forster of Rathorpe, which is clearly proved by numerous family deeds in the archives of the Blake-Forster sept, and from the following extract taken from the Principal Registry of Her Majesty's Court of Prerogative in Ireland :—

"Licentia conceff fuit et est P Rgm prom Michael, &c., nocnon Iñd, &c., P. Solamnizatoe mrony inter Franciscum Forster de Rathorpe infra Parochia de Behagh in Com Galviæ Armigem et Marian MacDonnell Parochia Stt Nicholai infra Muros Dubl Spr in parochia St Nicholai infra muros Dubl," &. It is not necessary to quote further from this document. This lady is remembered in the traditions of the people by an Irish soubriquet, which translated means the handsome Mary, and it would appear from the numerous songs composed in her praise by the bards of Connaught and Munster, that she was a great patron of theirs. She was great-great-granddaughter of the Earl of Antrim, by his wife, the Hon. Ellice O'Neill, sister of Hugh O'Neill, the great Earl of Tyrone, and daughter of Matthew, Baron of Dungannon. Mary MacDonnell, alias Forster, was also great grandniece of Randal, second Earl and first Marquis of Antrim, and was sister of Charles James MacDonnnell, Esq., of Kilkee, county of Clare, of which county he was High Sheriff in 1738. From the time the MacDonnells became connected with the Clooneene family by this marriage, the greatest friendship existed between them. Randal MacDonnell of Kilbricken, county of Clare, who died unmarried in 1726, by his last will, made on the 4th of March in that year, bequeathed to his brother-in-law, Colonel Forster, the sum of £100 for mourning, and left his dear sister, Mary Forster, wife of the said Francis

Forster, a mourning ring of the value of £10 sterling, to be given her by our said brother Charles, or that sume to buy it with all.' There is also a curious inventory attached to his will, which throws some light on the fashions of the period. In it mention is made of his duelling pistols, a screw bullet gun, the long sylver-hilted sword gilt with gold.' The silver-hilted sword alluded to was an heirloom in the MacDonnell family for many generations, and was afterwards bequeathed to Edward Forster of Kilbricken, the noted duellist who on one occasion, accompanied by MacNamara of Moyriesk, who was his cousin, went on a fighting tour to France. Edward Forster was a great favourite with his uncle Lieutenant-Colonel Charles MacDonnell, M. P., High Sheriff for the county of Clare in 1760, son-in-law of Sir Edward O'Brien, Bart., of Dromoland and Lemenagh Castles, great-great-grandfather of the present Lord Inchiquin. Colonel MacDonnell on his death appointed his nephew his executor, left him the sole management of his property during the minority of his children, and entrusted him with all the family deeds belonging to the MacDonnells. He also directed him in his will to complete the family vault in Kilcredane Church, according to a plan which himself had drawn up. In his will he also says "I recommend that one of my daughters may be matched to my nephew, James Forster's eldest son, and if such match shud be agreed upon, and in case I have no issue male, at the time of my decease, I bequeath unto such daughter so matched, provided he takes upon him the name of MacDonnell, and that it be with the consent of the Lord Chancellor for the time being, ye yearly profits of all the pchases I acquired or made in my lifetime, during her life, and in case she shud dye leaving issue male, by my said nephew's eldest son, I bequeath the same unto such eldest issue during their lives, taking upon them the name of MacDonnell, and after their decease I bequeath the same unto my right heirs." This will bears date 12th of October, 1743. The nephew alluded to by Colonel MacDonnell was Francis Blake-Forster of Clooneene, in the county of Galway and Inchoveagh Castle, in the county of Clare, who married, in 1768, Annastatia, only child and heiress of Sir Ulick Blake, Bart., of Menlough Castle, by his wife Mary, only child and sole heiress of Robert Blake, Esq., of Ardfry, in the county of Galway, the lineal descendant of Sir Richard Blake of Ardfry, M. P. for the county of Galway, Speaker of the Confederate Catholic Council of Kilkenny, in 1648. It is worthy of remark that, a week before she married Francis Blake-Forster, Sir Ulick's heiress rejected Sir Lucius O'Brien, the brother of Colonel MacDonnell's wife, who had proposed for her. There is a large painting, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, of this lady at Forster-street House, the residence of her great grandson, Captain Blake-Forster, J. P. It is justly admired, as is also a copy of it, which is in his possession, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, principal painter to the King, and President of the Royal Academy.

NOTE 155.-PAGE 338.

The MacDonnells, Earls of Antrim, were one of the noblest families of Ireland or Scotland, and descended from Colla-Uas, who was Monarch of Ireland in A. D. 327. They afterwards settled in Scotland. Lord John MacDonnell, styled 'John of Islay,' who was living in 1388, and who was then head of his sept, married the Princess Margaret Stuart, daughter of Robert II., King of Scotland, who was grandson of Robert I., The Bruce, by his first wife, Lady Isabella, daughter of Donald Earl of Marr, Regent of the Kingdom of Scotland during the minority of David II. The following genealogical table shows the descent of Captain Blake-Forster from Robert I. through this noble family.

Randal, Earl of Antrim, Viscount Dunluce, Lord Lieutenant of the county of Antrim, died at Dunluce Castle on the 10th of December, 1636. He was seventh in descent from the Princess Margaret, daughter of Robert I. King of Scotland.

Randal, Earl of Antrim, who was created in 1643 Marquis of Antrim. He married, first, Lady Catherine Manners, daughter and heiress of Francis Earl of Rutland, and relict of George Duke of Buckingham; and secondly, Rose, daughter of Sir Henry O'Neill, Knt., of Shane's Castle, county Antrim, and his wife Martha, daughter of Sir Francis Stafford, Governor of Ulster, but having no issue by either, the Marquisate became extinct, but the Earldom devolved on his brother Alexander.

The Hon. Charles MacDonnell of Kilkee,
county Clare, the Earl's third son.

Daniel MacDonnell, Esq., of Kilkee.

Captain James MacDonnell of Kilkee.
See Note 183.

Mary MacDonnell, who married, on the 17th of August, 1700, Captain Francis Forster of Rathorpe, afterwards of Clooneene and Rathorpe. See Note 12. Captain Blake-Forster, J. P., &c., of Forster-street House, Galway, now living, is the fifth in descent from this marriage.

NOTE 156.-PAGE 345.

King James's remains remained unburied in the Church of the Benedictines at Paris, until the year 1824, when they were interred at St. Germains, having escaped the desecration of the sans-culottes of the bloody revolution.

NOTE 157.-PAGE 346.

Gian Francesco Albani was born at Pesaro, in the Duchy of Urbino. Having received holy orders, he was made Secretary of the Briefs by Pope Innocent XI.; Cardinal by Alexander VIII., and, on the death of Innocent XII., he became Pope in November, 1700, as Clement XI., but he, for several days, hesitated before accepting of the Papal dignity. He was one of the most learned men of his time, and had the honour of being one of those men of letters who frequented the society of the accomplished Christina Queen of Sweden during her residence at Rome. He afterwards, to show his respect for her memory, raised to her a monument in St. Peter's. Clement XI. patronised men of letters and science, and was the friend of Guidi, Marsigh, Martelli, Menzini, Sergardi, Zappi, and the learned Bianchini. He always sympathised with James II., and took a lively interest in the unsuccessful expedition of his son, the Chevalier de St. George, whom he recognised as James VIII. of Scotland in 1715. On the failure of General Forster's rebellion, James, being deserted for the present by both France and Spain, went to reside in Urbino, being protected by the Pope, who allowed him a pension, and a few years afterwards negotiated his marriage with the beautiful and wealthy Maria Clementina Sobieski, who was the god-child of his Holiness, and grand-daughter of the great John III., King of Poland, the deliverer of Europe. A full account of how this romantic marriage was accomplished, through the bravery and fidelity of some officers of the Irish Brigade, is given in Chapter LI. of this work. Pope Clement XI. died in March, 1721, in the 72nd year of his age. In his last illness having sent for James III., that exiled Prince repaired to the chamber of the dying Pontiff, who recommended to his Cardinals, that he should be allowed to reside in the palace which he had given him, and that his pension should be continued until his restoration, and that in all things he might be supported against his enemies by the succeeding Popes. Clement XI. greatly beautified Rome during his Pontificate, and established the Calcografia Camerale, which has since given to the world so very many splendid engravings. He also encouraged the art of Mosaic, and introduced at Rome the manufacture of tapestry, on the model of the celebrated Gobelins.

NOTE 158.-PAGE 346.

The title Defender of the Faith was first conferred on the sovereigns of England by Pope Leo X. Prince Henry, afterwards Henry VIII., during the life of his eldest brother, Arthur Prince of Wales, was intended for the priesthood by his politic father Henry VII., and, retaining a taste for theological discussion, he opposed Luther, whose opinions were then causing such commo

tion in Europe, by writing a Latin treatise, in 1521, On the Seven Sacraments,' confuting the newly propounded doctrines of the ex-monk of Wittenberg; in consequence of which Leo X. conferred on him, and his successors, the title of Defender of the Faith, which has been borne ever since by the sovereigns of Britain, even when the dreadful penal code existed in Ireland,-laws which justly called forth the indignation of Edmond Burke, one of the greatest of modern statesmen. It might appear strange to a Protestant that the first-born son of the Reformation should be so well-acquainted with theology, as to be able to write a defence of the Sacraments, but we have the authority of Paolo Sarpi, in his History of the Council of Trent, that Henry Duke of York was from the first destined to fill the Archbishopric of Canterbury. And alluding to this subject, Lord Herbert writes-"That prudent King, his father, choosing this as the most cheap and glorious way of disposing of a younger son." One thing is certain, that though Henry turned out such a tyrant, he received a most liberal education; and the noble author already quoted further states that "besides his being an able Latinist, philosopher, and divine, he was (which one might wonder at in a king) a curious musician, as two entire masses composed by himself, and often sung in his chapel, did abundantly witness."

error.

NOTE 159.-PAGE 350.

In Redgauntlet, a tale of the eighteenth century, by Sir Walter Scott, young Redgauntlet thus speaks of his uncle, who was a staunch and firm Jacobite—“ I observe that, like other Jacobites, in his inveteracy against the memory of King William, he had adopted the party opinion that the Monarch, on the day he had his fatal accident, rode upon a horse once the property of the unfortunate Sir John Friend, executed for high treason in 1696." It is very strange that such a learned Antiquarian as Sir Walter Scott should have fallen into this Sir John Friend was certainly executed this year for his alleged connexion with the Assassination Plot. It has already been shown that Sir John Fenwick was executed about the same time for the same offence; but independently of the traditions of the Blake-Forster, and other families, and contemporary documents preserved in their archives, it is an historical fact that William III. rode the favourite horse which had previously belonged to Sir John Fenwick. Both having been executed for the same offence, having borne the same Christian name, and their surnames commencing with the letter F, probably caused Sir Walter to fall into this mistake with regard to the owner. It would not be necessary to notice this if Sir Walter had given an explanatory note, as was usual with him, whenever he changed history to suit a narrative. After Sir John Fenwick's execution, King William took possession of all his personal effects, among which was a remarkable sorrel pony, on which the King rode when he broke his collar-bone.