The spoil of the castle was very rich, for it was the best furnished castle in the island. Brereton planted his standard on the turret, and in the afternoon Skeffington entered the walls. It now remained to discharge his obligations to the traitor. Parese, triumphant in success and solicitous to receive his reward, was not slack to present himself before the lord deputy. A few minor matters were first attended to. Two singers came and "prostrated themselves, warbling a sweet sonnet, called dulcis amica;" their harmony won the favour of the chief justice Aylmer, at whose request they were pardoned. The deputy next addressed himself to Parese, and told him, that the service he had done in saving charge and bloodshed to the English was so great, that he thought it should be taken into consideration; and for this purpose, it was desirable first to ascertain what benefits he received in the service of Fitz-Gerald; Parese in his eagerness swallowed the bait; only intent on magnifying his own merits and importance, he detailed the advantages he had reaped from a long course of unremitting generosity, kindness, and affectionate confidence, and unconsciously unmasked the heartless baseness of his conduct and character, to his revolted and loathing hearers; he was lord Thomas' foster brother, he owed his whole importance and all he possessed to his munificence, and was placed by his confiding regard in the first place of trust and honour among his people; "and how Parese," said the deputy, "couldst thou find it in thy heart to betray so kind a lord?” Parese stood confounded-he had forgotten himself too far-he felt the load of contempt that breathed around him, and perhaps, for there is pride without honour, he wished so foul a deed undone. He was not long allowed to ponder on his position. "Go," said the lord deputy to an officer, "see him paid the price of his treachery, and then, without a moment's delay, see his head cut off." Parese had the coolness to say, "Had I known this, your lordship should not have had the castle so easily. "The deputy was silent, but a person who was present exclaimed, "Too late," and this exclamation passed into a popular saying, "Too late, says Boyce."*

Of this latter incident, the official account of the lord deputy and the council take no notice. It is not unlikely that, considering the game of complaint and misrepresentation that seems to have so deeply played on either side, that it was deemed expedient to sink an incident that lowered the honour of a success which was necessary as a set off against the charge of dilatoriness and inefficiency. The description contained in this despatch, may be received as a correct outline of the facts of the siege. The deputy only forgot to mention that the garrison was drunk while he was performing his gallant coup de main. For the same reason he denied himself the honour of his severely equitable dealing with the traitor. But we see no reason to doubt the story of the annalists. The reader is fairly entitled to both. Here is the official account.

* Cox.

"The lord deputy and council of Ireland, to king Henry VIII.

"May it please your moost excellent highness to be advertised, that I, your deputie, with your armye in thes parties, the 14th day of Marche last past, beseaged the castell of Maynuth, which by your traitor and rebell, Thomas Fitz-Geralde, was so stronglie fortified, booth with men and ordenannce, as the liek hath not been seen in Irelonde synes anny your moost nobell progenitors had furst domynion in the lande. Ther was within the same, above 100 habill men, whereof wer 60 gonners. The 16th day of the said monith your ordenannce was bent upon the north-west side of the dungeon of the same castell, which ded baitter the tope therof on that wise, as ther ordenannce within that parte was dampned; which doone, your ordenannce was bent upon the northe side of the base corte of the said castell at the north-east ende wherof ther was new made a very stronge and fast bulwark, well garnisshed with men and ordenannce, which the 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22d dayes, of the said monith, ded beat the same, by night and daye, on that wise, that a great batery and a large enterie was made ther; whereupon the 23d day, being Tewsday next before Eister day,* ther was a Galiarde assaulte gyven betwixt fower and fyve of the clocke in the morning, and the base corte entered. At which entery ther was slayne of the warde of the castell aboute 60, and of your grace's armye no more but John Griffen yemen of your moost honorable gaurde, and six other, which wer killed with ordenannce of the castell at the entree. Howbeit, if it had not pleased God to preserve us, it wer to be mervelled that we had no more slayne. After the base corte was thus wonne, we assaulted the great castell, which within awhile yielded; wherin was the dean of Kildare, Cristofer Parys, capitaine of the garysone, Donough O'Dogan, maister of thordenannce, Sir Symon Walshe, priste and Nicholas Wafer, which tooke tharchbishop of Dublin, with dyvers other gunners and archers to the nomber of 37; which wer all taken prysoners, and ther lifes preserved by appoyntment, untill they shulde be presented to me, your deputie, and then to be orderid, as I and your counsaill thought good. And considering the high enterprise and presumption attempted by them ayenst your grace's crowne and majestie, and also that if by anny meane they shuld escape, the moost of theym beyng gunners, at some other tyme wold semblablie elliswhear, aide your traitors, and be example and meane to others to doo lykewise, we all thought expecient and requisite, that they shulde putto execution, for the dread and example of others. According wherunto, the Thursday following, in the morning, they wer examyned, and ther depositions written; and after none the same day arrayned before the propheest marshall, and capitaines, and ther, upon ther awne confessions, adjudged to die, and ymmediately twenty-five of them heeded, and oon hanged. Dyvers of the heedes of the principalles, incontynentlie wer put upon the turrettes of the castell. We send your highness here inclosed theffect of ther depositions, amonges which there is a priste, which was privay with the traitor, deposeth that the Emperor promised

* In 1535, Easter day fell on the 28th of March, which fixes the date of this despatch.

to send hether, against your grace, 10,000 men, by the first day of Maye. And the kinge of Scottes promised to yeve aide to your rebell lykewise. We doo advertise your highnes therof, in discharge of our duties, to thintent serche may be made of the furder circumstance therof; not doubting but if anny soche thinge be intendid by themperor, or kinge of Scottes, your highnes hath some intelligence therof, and will provide for it accordingly; for onles aide be sent hither from owtward parties, this traitor shalbe pursued to his adnoyannce and destruction, to the best of our powers we trust to your grace's honor. Albeit thenhabitanntes of this lande have an. imagination and doubt, that he shulde hereafter obteyne your grace's pardone, as his antecessors, dyverse tymes, in lyke caases ded, which if, at anny tyme, he shulde, wer ther undoyng, as they say. The same causeth dyverse of theym to adhere to hym, and others not to doo soche service, as they ells wolde."*

The capture of Maynooth decided the fate of lord Thomas. By the aid of his friends in the west, he had collected a force of seven thousand men. Immediately on the report of this important success of the English, this army began to fall away, and he was soon reduced to a few hundreds: a force insufficient for any purpose but pillage. Even with this handful of men, the young Geraldine's spirit of infatuation did not yet desert him; obstinate to the last, he came into the vicinity of Clare. The lord deputy advanced to Naas: there he took one hundred and forty of the Irish. Presently being apprized that the lord Thomas was on his march to meet him, he very cruelly ordered them to be put to death. The rebels soon came in sight, but as a marsh, not to be crossed in the presence of an enemy, lay between, he directed a hot fire of artillery, which soon dispersed the remnant of their force. It was the last the unfortunate lord Thomas could bring together. Still, however, with a pertinacity which strongly shows the rashness and infatuation of his disposition, he persevered in hostilities which could have no object unless the pride of constancy in ill. He exerted himself to collect small parties, and carry on a desultory and marauding hostility. At Rathangan he caused a drove of cattle to be driven near the town to draw out the English: they fell into this trap. Believing the cattle to be a fair booty, numbers of the garrison came out unarmed to drive them in. The Geraldine party awaited their approach, until they came near their place of concealment, when they leaped forth, and few of the English escaped. On another occasion, he sent some of his people, disguised in the dress of English soldiers, to give information that his party were burning a village near Trim. On which the garrison in Trim sallied out, and, falling into an ambush, prepared for them, the greater part were slain.

The unfortunate youth soon retired into Munster; the pale and its vicinity were fast becoming unsafe for him. Lord Grey was sent after him; but no result could be looked for, from the weekly skirmishes in which a few rebels or soldiers were slain. Lord Thomas easily kept himself out of the reach of seizure, but it was become difficult for him

* State Papers, No. 87, page 236.

to live; and the crisis was arrived when he should either yield on terms, or be a hunted robber without means, or the prospect of a termination to his misfortunes. Under such circumstances, a parley was proposed, and lord Thomas surrendered to lord Grey at discretion, but implored his good offices with the king. Lord Grey carried him to Dublin, from whence he was embarked for England. He was confined in the Tower, where, it appears from the following letter that, his sufferings were very severe.

"Lord Thomas Fitz-Gerald to Rothe.

“My trusty servant, I hartely commend me unto you. I pray you that you woll delyver thys othyr letter unto Obryen. I have sent to hym for £20 starling, the which yff he take you (as I trust he woll), than I woll that you com over, and bryng it onto my lord Crumwell, that I may so have ytt. I never had eny mony syns I cam in to pryson, but a nobull, nor I have had nothyr hosyn, dublet, nor shoys, nor shyrt, but on; nor eny othyr garment, but a syngyll fryse gowne, for a velve furryd wythe bowge, and so I have gone wolward, and barefote, and barelegyd, dyverse tymes (whan it hath not ben very warm); and so I shuld have don styll, and now, but that pore prysoners, of ther gentylnes, hathe sumtyme gevyn me old hosyn and shoys, and old shyrtes. This I write onto you, not as complaynyng on my fryndes, but for to show you the trewthe of my grete nede, that you shuld be the more dylygent in going onto Obryen, and in bryngyng me the before said £20, wherby I myght the soner have here mony to by me clothys, and also for to amend my sclender comyns and fare, and for othyr necessaryes. I woll you take owte of that you bryng me for your costes and labur. I pray you to have me commendyd onto all my lovers and frendes, and show them that I am in gude helthe.*

"By me, THOMAS FITZ-GERald. (Superscribed) “ To my trusty and well loved servant, John Rothe.”

66

It appears that lord Thomas confidently anticipated mercy. But this anticipation must seem weak to the reader of the foregoing detail: his rebellion was sadly aggravated by the combination of circumstances. His father's character cast an unlucky reflection on the crimes and follies of a son who had thus impetuously rushed into rebellion. The monarch, who was justly incensed against the conduct of his father in a place of high authority and trust, was not likely to look with much indulgence on the commission of this trust to a rash youth of twenty-one; and from the frantic folly with which this youth flung all consideration of fidelity and duty aside, and rushed from the seat of honour, authority, rule, protection, and justice, to the downright betrayal of his father's honour, and his own trust, he could not be a safe person to represent the most powerful house in Ireland, nor would his pardon be the best example of royal mercy in such a time. Further, whether or not lord Thomas was a consenting party to the foul murder of archbishop Allen, so it was believed, and so ran the sentence of the Roman see, pronouncing him accursed for the crime. There were some high features of gene

State Papers, letter clviii. Vol. ii. p. 302.

rosity and heroism in his character, but he was a traitor in the eyes of justice, which does not, and cannot dive into men's motives, or weigh their secret virtues in the balance against their crimes perpetrated in the eye of day. In those evil times, in which the licence of great chiefs was the chief cause of the sufferings of the pale, it was rather the error of justice to be lenient; and the impunity of outrages like those of this unfortunate young lord, would be a fatal precedent in a country which had still to learn that murder and rebellion were not virtues but crimes. The lord Thomas was arrested, on his way to Windsor, by order of the king; and on the 3d of February, 1537, he was executed at Tyburn, with five of his uncles.

In denying that his suffering has any claim on the historian's compassion, we must add, that the justice of that execrable tyrant by whom he was ordered to his fate, was probably the result of no purer principle than revenge. We cannot demand much of the reader's “valuable indignation" in behalf of good men who were hurried to an ignominious and unworthy end, four hundred years ago; their account has long been balanced, and posterity has troubles of its own. But nothing can throw a clearer light on the furious and bloodthirsty violence of Henry VIII., than the indiscriminate murder of five noble Geraldines, brothers to the ninth earl of Kildare. Of these, two were unquestionably guilty and met a just death, had it not been inflicted by the foulest treachery; but the other three were notoriously innocent, and opposed to the whole proceedings of their nephew. These lords were taken by a detestable artifice, and executed without trial, or even the form of inquiry Lord Grey was commissioned to take them, he invited them to a feast, and from the feast they were transferred to the bloody scaffold. Three of them in the confidence of innocence, and the unconsciousness of a charge; all thinking the blow past, and the tyrant's vengeance appeased. The tyrant may, it is true, be said to have had some forecast in his fury; he asked his council if he might not now seize all the lands of the country into his own hands, and conquer the whole of it for himself. Fortunately, for the descendants of many a noble house, he was better advised. But his rage against the Geraldine branch of Kildare had been long kindling, and was not to be appeased by a sacrifice less than extermination. One only, a youth of twelve years, escaped, and with difficulty was saved from the vengeance of Henry. As this youth lived to act a very distinguished part in his own generation, we shall have to notice him further on.

James, Eleventh Earl of Desmond.

DIED A. D. 1529.

Or this powerful nobleman it will be enough to mention, that he lived in great power and wealth, apart from the politics, and remote from the power of the English government. These circumstances naturally operated on a proud and insubordinate spirit, and he entered into two treaties with the foreign enemies of England, which would have been fatal in their result to any other nobleman of the pale; but