Then many of his comrades jumped from the windows, and, as they reported
the number of the assailants was not large, an attack was made upon the
house. After considerable loss, an entrance was effected, and they were
gradually overcoming the defenders, when they were attacked in the rear
by a fresh body of the enemy, and only a few of them managed to make
their escape.
"The appearance of the house fully corroborated his story. The inside was
piled with dead, who were found scattered all over the house. Among them
were a few men in the uniform of one of the Irish cavalry regiments. This
was some alleviation to my terrible anxiety. Had the assailants been a
body of peasants, I should have feared that they had wreaked on you and
Claire the hatred which they feel, I own not unjustly, towards the king's
foreign troops. As they were regular soldiers, I had hopes that they had
only carried you off as hostages.
"One of the female servants was found below, killed. No pursuit was
possible, as we could find no one of whom to inquire by which way the
enemy retreated; but, in the morning, we found that the horses of the
Hessians had been ridden to a spot some miles up the river, where they
had swam or forded the stream.
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