the time; yet, as the night waned, he sent out Sir John Lanier, with five hundred horse, to meet the convoy, and ordered the fords of the river to be well guarded to intercept the Irish troops on their return. The delay of O'Brien was providential. Lanier had got within a short distance of the place when he heard the explosion, and pressed on with the hope of intercepting the enemy, but only reached the ground as Sarsfield retired. Warned by the appearance of Lanier that it would be dangerous to return as he had come, he changed his course, passed to the east of the Keeper mountains, and holding his way through Upper and Lower Ormond, he, on the following evening, reached the town of Banagher,[44] a distance of more than forty miles, where he halted to recruit his men, and returned through Galway and Clare without the loss of a man.[45] This event roused the spirits of the besieged army, and mainly contributed to its final success. It also raised the fame of Sarsfield among the officers of rank, and left him without a rival in the affection of the soldiers. Known before only as a dashing leader of dragoons, he was from that day forward the idol of the populace, and through every change, or good or ill, his name has been a household word with his countrymen in every clime. Nor were the fame of this exploit and the successful defence of Athlone long in reaching King James; they were the first good tidings he had received since his departure, and they gave him assurance to press his suit at the French court. In due time Sarsfield was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and eventually created Earl of Lucan, Viscount of Tully, and Baron of Rosberry. By this feat, which happened towards the morning of the 13th, William's operations were greatly impeded; but ever provident, he was still the master, and, not like his rival, the slave of circumstances. At the end of another week, the loss was supplied by a train still more formidable than that destroyed, nor did their loss cause the cessation of hostilities for a single day.