holds and fortresses of the English, defacing and utterly subverting all corporate towns that were not strongly walled. For those he had no means nor engines to overthrow, neither indeed would he stay at all about them, but speedily ran forward, counting his suddenness his most advantage, that he might overtake the English before they could fortify or gather themselves together. So in short space he clean wiped out many great towns, as first Inchiquin, then Killaloe, before called Clariford; also Thurles, Mourne, Buttevant, and many others whose names I cannot remember, and of some of which there is now no memory or sign remaining. Upon report whereof there flocked unto him all the scum of the Irish out of all places, that ere long he had a mighty army, and thence marched forth into Leinster, where he wrought great outrages, wasting all the country where he went; for it was his policy to leave no hold behind him, but to make all plain and waste. In the which he soon after created himself king, and was called king of all Ireland, which before him I do not read that any did so generally, but only Edward le Bruce.

Eudox. What? Was there ever any general king of all Ireland? I never heard it before, but that it was always, whilst it was under the Irish, divided into four, and sometimes into five kingdoms or dominions. But this Edward le Bruce, what was he that could make himself king of all Ireland?

Iren. I would tell you, in case you would not challenge me anon for forgetting the matter which I had in hand; that is, the inconvenience and unfitness which I supposed to be in the laws of the land.

Eudox. No, surely, I have no cause, for neither is this impertinent thereunto; for sithence you did set your course (as I remember in your first part) to treat of the evils which hindered the peace and good-ordering of that land; amongst which, that of the inconvenience in the laws was the first which you had in hand; this discourse of the overrunning and wasting of the

realm is very material thereunto, for that it was the beginning of all the other evils which sithence have afflicted that land, and opened a way unto the Irish to recover their possession and to beat out the English which had formerly won the same. And, besides, it will give a great light both unto the second and third part, which is the redressing of those evils, and planting of some good form or policy therein, by renewing the remembrance of these occasions and accidents by which those ruins happened, and laying before us the ensamples of those times to be compared to ours, and to be warned by those which shall have to do in the like. Therefore, I pray you, tell them unto us; and as for the point where you left, I will not forget afterwards to call you back again thereunto.

Iren. This Edward le Bruce was brother of Robert le Bruce, who was king of Scotland at such time as King Edward the Second reigned here in England, and bare a most malicious and spiteful mind against King Edward, doing him all the scathe that he could, and annoying his territories of England, whilst he was troubled with civil wars of his barons at home. He also, to work him the more mischief, sent over his said brother Edward with a power of Scots and Redshanks into Ireland, where by means of the Lacys, and of the Irish, with whom they combined, they got footing; and gathering unto him all the scatterlings and outlaws out of all the woods and mountains in which they long had lurked, marched forth into the English Pale; which then was chiefly in the north from the Point of Donluce, and beyond unto Dublin, having in the midst of her Knockfergus, Belfast, Armagh, and Carlingford, which are now the most outbounds and abandoned places in the English Pale, and indeed not counted of the English Pale at all; for it stretcheth now no farther than Dundalk towards the north. There the said Edward le Bruce spoiled and burned all the old English Pale inhabitants, and sacked and rased all cities and corporate towns, no less than

against him. But of this we shall have occasion to speak in another place. Now, if you please, let us return again unto our first course.

Eudox. Truly I am very glad to hear your judgment of the government of that honourable man so soundly; for I have heard it oftentimes maligned, and his doings depraved of some, who, I perceive, did rather of malicious mind or private grievance seek to detract from the honour of his deeds and counsels than of any just cause; but he was nevertheless, in the judgments of all good and wise men, defended and maintained. And now that he is dead, his immortal fame surviveth and flourisheth in the mouths of all people, that even those which did backbite him are checked with their own venom and break their galls to hear his so honourable report. But let him rest in peace, and turn we to our more troublesome matters of discourse, of which I am right sorry that you make so short an end, and covet to pass over to your former purposes; for there be many other parts of Ireland which I have heard have been no less vexed with the like storms than these which you have treated of; as the countries of the Byrnes and Tooles near Dublin, with the insolent outrages and spoils of Feagh mac Hugh; the countries of Catherlagh, Wexford, and Waterford, by the Cavenaghs; the countries of Leix, Kilkenny, and Kildare, by the O'Moores; the countries of Ofaly and Longford, by the Connors; the countries of Westmeath, Cavan, and Lowth, by the O'Reillys, the Kellys, and many others. as the discoursing of them, besides the pleasure which would redound out of their history, be also very profitable for matters of policy.

So

Iren. All this which you have named, and many more besides, oftentimes have I right well known, and yet often do kindle great fires of tumultuous broils in the countries bordering upon them. All which to rehearse should rather be to chronicle times than to search into reformation of abuses in that realm; and yet very

needful it will be to consider them, and the evils which they have often stirred up, that some redress thereof, and prevention of the evils to come, may thereby rather be devised. But I suppose we shall have a fitter opportunity for the same when we shall speak of the particular abuses and enormities of the government, which will be next after these general defects and inconveniences which I said were in the laws, customs, and religion.

Eudox. Go to them, a God's name, and follow the course which you have promised to yourself; for it fitteth best, I must confess, with the purpose of our discourse. Declare your opinion, as you began, about the Laws of the Realm, what incommodity you have conceived to be in them, chiefly in the Common Law, which I would have thought most free from all such dislike.

Iren. The Common Law is, as I said before, of itself most rightful and very convenient, I suppose, for the kingdom for which it was first devised. For this, I think, as it seems reasonable, that out of your manners of your people and abuses of your country, for which they were invented, they take their first beginning, or else they should be most unjust; for no laws of man, according to the straight rule of right, are just but as in regard of the evils which they prevent and the safety of the commonweal which they provide for. As, for example, in your true balancing of justice, it is a flat wrong to punish the thought or purpose of any before it be enacted; for true justice punisheth nothing but the evil act or wicked word. That by the laws of all kingdoms it is a capital crime to devise or purpose the death of your king, the reason is, for that when such a purpose is effected it should then be too late to devise thereof, and should turn the commonwealth to more loss by the death of their prince than such punishment of the malefactors. And therefore the law in that case punisheth the thought; for better is a mischief than an inconvenience. So that jus politicum, though it be not of itself just, yet by application, or rather necessity, it is made just, and

recorded, seeing now their lands so dispeopled and weakened, came down into all the plains adjoining, and thence expelling those few English that remained, repossessed them again; since which they have remained in them, and growing greater, have brought under them many of the English which were before their lords. This was one of the occasions by which all those countries which, lying near unto any mountains or Irish deserts, had been planted with English were shortly displanted and lost; as, namely, in Munster, all the lands adjoining unto Slieve Logher, Arlo, and the Bog of Allen; in Connaught, all the countries bordering upon the Connors, MacDiermods, and O'Rourke's country; in Leinster, all the lands bordering unto the mountains of Glenmalure, unto Shillelah, unto the Brackenah, and Polmont; in Ulster, all the countries near unto Tyrconnel, Tyrone, and Fermanagh, and the Scots.

Eudox. Surely this was a great violence; but yet by your speech it seemeth that only the countries and valleys near adjoining unto those mountains and deserts were thus recovered by the Irish. But how comes it now that we see almost all that realm repossessed of them? Were there any more such evil occasions growing by the troubles of England? Or did the Irish, out of those places so by them gotten, break further, and stretch themselves out through the whole land? For now, for aught that I can understand, there is no part but the bare English Pale, in which the Irish have not the greatest footing.

Iren. But out of these small beginnings by them gotten near to the mountains did they spread themselves into the inland, and also, to their further advantage, there did other like unhappy accidents happen out of England, which gave heart and good opportunity to them to regain their old possessions. For in the their meanings added in Latin. The Promptorium has "Whytmete, Lacticinium." Lacticinium is a word used by Apicius for cibus ex lacte, preparation of food in which milk has the chief place. The "meats" is used in "whitmeats" as in " sweetmeats."