Between him and the Irish town the Shannon ran fiercely.

The bridge was so narrow that a few resolute men might keep it against an army.

The mills which stood on it were strongly guarded; and it was commanded by the guns of the castle.

That part of the Connaught shore where the river was fordable was defended by works, which the Lord Lieutenant had, in spite of the murmurs of a powerful party, forced Saint Ruth to entrust to the care of Maxwell.

Maxwell had come back from France a more unpopular man than he had been when he went thither.