Most of James’s friends, the Roman Catholics, were in Ireland, and Louis lent him an army with which to go thither and try to win his crown back.  He got on pretty well in the South, but in the North—­ where Oliver Cromwell had given lands to many of his old soldiers—­ he met with much more resistance.  At Londonderry, the apprentice boys shut the gates of the town and barred them against him.  A clergyman named George Walker took the command of the city, and held it out for a hundred and five days against him, till everyone was nearly starved to death—­and at last help came from England.  William himself came to Ireland, and the father and son-in-law met in battle on the banks of the Boyne, on the 1st of July, 1690.  James was routed; and large numbers of the Irish Protestants have ever since kept the 1st of July as a great holiday—­commemorating the victory by wearing orange lilies and orange-colored scarfs.

James was soon obliged to leave Ireland, and his friends there were severely punished.  In the meantime, William was fighting the French in Holland—­as he had done nearly all his life—­while Mary governed the kingdom at home.  She was a handsome, stately lady, and was much respected; and there was great grief when she died of the small-pox, never having had any children.  It was settled upon this that William should go on reigning as long as he lived, and then that Princess Anne should be queen; and if she left no children, that the next after her should be the youngest daughter of Elizabeth, daughter of James I. Her name was Sophia, and she was married to Ernest of Brunswick, Elector of Hanover.  It was also settled that no Roman Catholic, nor even anyone who married a Roman Catholic, could ever be on the English throne.

Most of the Tories disliked this Act of Settlement; and nobody had much love for King William, who was a thin, spare man, with a large, hooked nose, and very rough, sharp manners—­perhaps the more sharp because he was never in good health, and suffered terribly from the asthma.  However, he managed to keep all the countries under him in good order, and he was very active, and always at war with the French.  Towards the end of his reign a fresh quarrel began, in which all Europe took part.  The King of Spain died without children, and the question was who should reign after him.  The King of France had married one sister of this king, and the Emperor of Germany was the son of her aunt.  One wanted to make his grandson king of Spain, the other his son, and so there was a great war.  William III. took part against the French—­as he had always been their enemy; but just as the war was going to begin, as he was riding near his palace of Hampton Court, his horse trod into a mole-hill, and he fell, breaking his collar bone; and this hurt his weak chest so much that he died in a few days, in the year 1702.  The Jacobites were very glad to be rid of him, and used to drink the health of the “little gentleman in a black velvet coat,” meaning the mole which had caused his death.