The loss of the Irish horse had been comparatively small. Charging a
square, in the days when the bayonet was fixed in the muzzle of the gun,
was not the desperate undertaking that it now is, when from the hedge of
steel issues a rolling and continuous fire. The French regiment, once
broken, had been cut down with scarce any resistance, while the mercenary
cavalry had been defeated with the greatest ease. Thus, among the brigade
of the Irish horse there were but few fallen friends to mourn, and
nothing to mar the pride that every man felt, in the behaviour of the
Irish troops against such overwhelming odds. That the king had fled,
everyone knew, but the feeling was one of relief.

"His absence is more than a victory to us," Captain Davenant said, as,
with a group of officers, he sat by a fire, made of a fence hastily
pulled down. "His majesty has his virtues, and, with good counsellors,
would make a worthy monarch; but among his virtues military genius is not
conspicuous. I should be glad, myself, if Lauzun and the French would
also take their departure, and let us have Mountcashel's division back
again from France. If we are left to ourselves, with our own generals,
Sarsfield and Mountcashel, we can tire out this continental riffraff that
William has gathered together. The dissensions caused by French
interference have been our ruin, so far; leave us to ourselves, and we
shall do. The Irish today have proved their fighting qualities; and, if
proper use is made of the resources and difficulties of the country, I
defy them to conquer us. I feel more hopeful now than I have done since
the first day we took the field."

"Do you think we shall fight another battle before Dublin, father?"
Walter asked.