"
"Do you think, father, he will at once order that his friends shall
receive the land again which was taken from them by Cromwell's soldiers?"
"I hope not, my boy. It is his interest and not our own we must think of
now; and if Ireland is to resist, successfully, the English and
continental troops of Dutch William, we must be united--we must be
Irishmen first, Catholics and Protestants afterwards. I trust that he
will issue such proclamations as will allay the alarm of the Protestants,
and bind us all together.
"King James is not like his father. In no single case, since he came to
the throne, has he broken his royal word once given; therefore, all may
feel confidence in any promises he may make. I have, of course, no hope
that anything he can say will influence the fanatics of Derry and
Enniskillen, but we can afford to disregard them. They are entailing
misery and suffering upon themselves, without the slightest benefit to
the cause they advocate. If we beat the English, of course those places
must finally surrender. If the English beat us, they will get their Dutch
William as king, without any effort on their part. I think, myself, that
it will be very unwise to attempt anything against those two places.
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