Attacked by a French Privateer — Defence — Letter to the Duke of Ormond — Ammunition furnished by government — Build a small fort — Visit Dublin — London — Obtain a pension — Copy of warrant — Return home Early in the morning of the first day of June 1704, a French privateer hove in sight, she floated gently towards the house in a perfect calm, she had on board four of my Irish neighbours to act as guides, in addition to eighty men of her own. She mounted ten guns. I watched her progress, and thought the intention was to bring her to the south of my house, so that her guns would bear directly upon the front and have full scope at…

Attacked by a second Privateer — Outhouses fired — Breach in the wall — Wounded — Surrender — Carried away as a prisoner — Expostulate with captain — Ransomed — Peter left as a hostage — His deportment With a constant apprehension of attack before us we lived on the “qui vive,” from the 1st. June 1704 until the 8th. October 1708, when with all our precautions we were actually taken by surprise. A French Privateer entered the harbour during the night and anchored off Bear Haven, about five miles from our house, and entirely out of sight. At that time a company of soldiers was quartered among the Irish in the Half Barony, and the Captain who commanded them lodged and boarded at my…

Affidavit before Magistrates — Retaliation on French prisoners — Removal to Dublin — Hire a haunted house — Claim compensation from the county of Cork — Disturbance in haunted house — School — Education of children — Peter goes to College — John obtains a commission in the army — Moses and Francis enter college — Moses studies law — Emigration to America — Marriage of children — My wife’s death — Failure of health — Conclusion. Leaving Peter on his cruise, I will return to myself. As soon as I was well enough to get on horseback, I rode over to Kinsale with my son James, and two of the servants, and waited upon the chief magistrate to make an affidavit before him, to…