his very acts of seeming good faith were necessary to support his professions. However his deception may be excused, he was a deceiver. But O'Donell, who had, from the beginning, taken the most decided course, now conceived that the time for disguise was over. The native Irish had gained discipline and confidence; they were beginning to be united into the sense of a common cause by the efforts of the foreign ecclesiastics who were sent amongst them from Italy and Spain. From the latter country, they received the fullest assurances of liberal aid in men, money, and military supplies. The hopes of the insurgent party were high, and not without strong grounds, both in their own strength and in the weakness of the English, for whom no efficient protection was yielded at any time. Under these circumstances, the temporising policy of the earl rendered him an object of suspicion to the Irish as well as to the English; and O'Donell now at once snapped asunder the cobweb tissue of his transparent deceptions, by a menace that if he did not declare himself openly he would at once treat him as an enemy. In this there can be, however, little doubt, that, considered with respect to policy, the step was premature. It was the more cautious design of Tyrone to avoid awakening the government into any decided course, until the aid so liberally promised by Spain should enable them to support their pretensions. The spirit and energy of O'Donell, with all their efficacy in stirring up the spirit of the land, were by no means as available in the combination of difficulties which were now soon to arise, as the circumspect and cautious character of Tyrone. The true state of Irish affairs began to be understood in the English council; and it was resolved to take more effectual means to put down the rising troubles which had for some time worn a menacing aspect. A fresh supply of veteran troops was ordered for Ireland, and it was resolved to suppress and overawe the malcontents of Ulster, by encompassing them on every side. It was also directed that the lord-deputy should endeavour to detach O'Donell, of whose real spirit they were ignorant, from Tyrone: it was considered that O'Donell had received severe and gratuitous ill treatment, which demanded some offer of redress, and partly justified his proceedings. The lord-deputy wrote over to request that, with the troops, an experienced commander might be sent; from whose judgment he might receive warrant and confirmation in the conduct of his military operations. In answer to this request, the queen sent Sir John Norris, who had very much distinguished himself as a general in the low countries. When Tyrone was apprized of the contemplated reinforcement, he became very much alarmed for the consequences, and justly fearing the design which was rumoured about, he resolved to prevent it by the seizure of the English fort which had been built, according to his former agreement, on the Blackwater; and which was the main check which the queen's government possessed over his own movements. Pretending some frivolous quarrel with its garrison, he attacked and took this fort, and burnt down the bridge to the water. It was the passage into his country, and had he been previously engaged in a course of open hostilities, he could not have taken a better step. Having thus plunged into rebellion, he wrote letters to the earl of Kildare, to persuade him to follow the same mad course, and sent off emissaries to Spain to apply for aid and money. His next step was to invest Monaghan, the castle of which was garrisoned by the English. On the news of this, general Bagnal marched to the relief of the besieged town on the 24th May, with fifteen hundred foot and two hundred and fifty horse. Late in the evening, the army reached a place called Eight-mile-church, and took its quarters for the night. While this was doing, Tyrone with a large body of horse came within sight, within about half a mile, but presently retired without any further demonstration. Next morning the English marched on until they reached a pass, when they were attacked; but succeeded in forcing their way, and proceeded on their march till they reached the town. The siege was raised on their approach; nothing material occurred during the remainder of that day, but the English leaders soon perceived that their position was not the most advantageous. Within a mile of where they lay, on a hill by the abbey of Monaghan, they were enabled distinctly to perceive the junction of the armies of M'Guire, and MacMahon, with the formidable host of Tyrone, forming a body of eight thousand foot, and one thousand horse, as well armed and scarcely less disciplined than themselves. The English, little more than the ninth part of that army in number, were besides but ill provided for an emergency, which nothing had led them to expect, and it was quite obvious that their best success would be to make a successful retreat. On the next morning the enemy's camp was in motion at an early hour, and strong parties were seen to march out in different directions with silent celerity, but not so secretly as to escape the observation of the veteran who commanded the English party. The rebel leaders conceiving that the English were in their power, and only to be secured, had prudently enough resolved to seize on every pass, and cut off their retreat. Bagnal was not prevented by the visible danger from taking such precautions as he thought necessary, for the relief of Monaghan, into which he sent men and victuals, and then ordered a retreat. operation was, however, become in a high degree difficult; the rebel leaders, from their knowledge of the country, were enabled to throw themselves into a hollow through which the English must presently pass. When the English reached this place they were encountered by a severe fire, which, from the multitude of the assailants and their advantage of position, would quickly have anihilated them had it lasted; but by great good fortune the rebels were not provided with ammunition sufficient to keep up their fire which after some fierce discharges became slack. On this the English, knowing that the danger was over, prepared to encamp for the night: they had lost twenty men and had ninety wounded; of the rebels between three and four hundred had fallen. All night the English lay in the very midst of the Irish army, which occupied all the heights and posts of advantage round them. They lay in their arms and were fully prepared for any sudden irruption which might reasonably be anticipated from the known customs of the enemy with which they had to deal. This consequence was perhaps arrested by a much more prudent conduct on the part of Tyrone and This his friends. Thinking to make the matter sure they sent to Dungannon for a supply of ammunition, but providentially obtained none; on the next morning, therefore, the English were allowed to pursue their way unmolested to Newry. This bold step was followed soon by a proclamation, declaring Tyrone, O'Donell, M'Guire, and others, traitors. In the mean time, Sir John Norris had arrived with 8000 men, of which 2000 were veteran soldiers; and on the 18th of June, they marched towards Dundalk. On the 23d, O'Donell, Tyrone, and other chiefs who were of their party, were proclaimed traitors, "both in English and Irish."* On this the insurgent chiefs, either took alarm; or else, as is not unlikely under the circumstances in which they supposed themselves to stand, they thought it would be advisable to gain time, and by any means, avoid a premature trial of strength: and adopted the course of a pretended submission. Such expedients were indeed convenient, and easy in the highest degree, at a time when the most solemn engagements and binding pledges were entered into, and broken with a facility unintelligible in any modern state of things. The Irish chiefs, were under an illusory expectation of foreign aid, and had not been enabled by any experience to calculate on the real force which England could throw into the struggle if once fairly committed to it. They were imposed on by the desultory nature of the contest, in which they played unconsciously with the arms of the sleeping giant that had, when fairly roused, been ever found an overmatch for any nation on wave or plain. Yet making all allowances for the errors of the time, it is difficult for those who look through the medium of modern conventions, to comprehend satisfactorily the entire conduct of the rebel earl: or to reconcile even to any well devised system of deception, his frequent and anxious petitions for pardons which were spurned as soon as obtained: or his specious excuses and professions, with his bold and furious outbreaks-such as the demolition of the fort of Blackwater, his attack on Monaghan, and his treasonable correspondence with the earl of Kildare, in which he proposed to that nobleman, to join in rebellion. Still more strange indeed, was the course which Camden attributes to the earl. While yet engaged in the preparations for an extensive combination against the English government,† he addressed letters to the earl of Ormonde, and to Sir Henry Wallop, to implore for their intercession in his behalf. He also wrote to the general-in-chief Sir J. Norris, to the same purpose, immediately after his recent defeat. Whatever may have been the character of Tyrone's applications, their purpose was partially frustrated by a manœuvre as dishonest, and a thousand times more base. The deceit of Tyrone, was sanctioned by usage; it was a trick nearly conventional in the shuffling game of Irish politics: but the interception and suppression of his letters by marshal Bagnal, was the mean and dishonourable expedient of personal * Cox. Something in this statement is to be allowed for the exaggerations of party. All the Irish historians of Camden's age, like those of our own, were, without exception, party writers. malice—the base resource of a base passion. The letter to Norris, falling thus into the hands of Tyrone's deadliest enemy, was carefully held back until the proclamation had gone forth. But in addition to his other crimes, it was discovered that Tyrone had written to the king of Spain, to offer him the kingdom of Ireland for a supply of 3000 men and some money." * The queen was irritated by outbreaks so repeated as to remove all confidence in professions or pledges, and declared her resolution never to pardon the earl again-a resolution which, says Cox, she kept to her dying day. Many strong considerations, however, weighed on the other side: the strength of the English was far inferior to the exigency of circumstances; and that of the rebels was fast augmenting in numbers, combination, discipline, and the munitions of war. The Irish force in Ulster alone was rated at 7,280. The incessant efforts of Tyrone and O'Donell had brought them into a state of training scarcely inferior to that of the English, of whom the greater part were but raw recruits. Sir John Perrot had been betrayed into an expedient, which had much tended to this result: in his desire to increase his force with less cost, by fighting the Irish against each other, he had employed and trained to arms large bodies of men, who now swelled the ranks of the insurgent chiefs. very These considerations, with the strong urgency of those English lords, who were the personal friends of Tyrone, weighed with the English government. The treachery of Bagnal had also its weight in favour of Tyrone, and the queen gave her consent that a treaty should be entered on with himself and the chiefs of his party. A truce was therefore made on the 27th October, 1595, till the first of January following, for the purpose of hearing the complaints, and receiving the submissions of the chiefs, and coming to some distinct terms for their future government. For this, Sir Henry Wallop, and chief-justice Gardiner, were appointed commissioners, and a meeting took place about the middle of January. The particulars of the conference are given at large, both by Moryson, and by the MS. historian of O'Donell. The representations of the chiefs were specious, and their complaints for the most part just; but this constitutes the vast difficulty of the Irish history of this entire period, that nothing on either side (especially on that of the Irish chiefs,) was precisely according to the ostensible pretence of the parties. The speeches were fair, and the demands not unreasonable: but nothing was meant by the leading chiefs but to trifle; and those amongst their number who were in good earnest, were perverted by the representations of O'Donell, who addressed them apart, and set before them, his view of their true prospects in the growing strength of their arms, and the promises of the king of Spain, who, he said, "should not be deceived, as he was incapable of deceiving them." Such is the true representation of one who could not have mistaken what passed before him, and is the best commentary on the statement of Moryson, which otherwise leaves the conduct of the Irish chiefs inexplicable. We extract it entire, as the most complete. * Cox. "Tyrone in this conference complained of the marshall for his usurped jurisdiction in Ulster, for depriving him of the queen's favours by slanders; for intercepting his late letters to the lord deputie, and lord generall, protesting that he never negotiated with forraine prince, till he was proclaimed traytor. His humble petitions were, that hee and his might be pardoned, and have free exercise of religion granted, (which notwithstanding had never before either been punished or inquired after.) That the marshall should pay him one thousand pounds for his dead sisters, his wives portion; that no garrisons nor sheriffes should be in his country; that his troope of fiftie horse in the queenes pay might be restored to him; and that such as had preyed his country, might make restitution. "O'Donell, magnifying his fathers' and progenitors' services to the crowne, complained that captaine Boyne, sent by Sir John Perrot with his company into his countrey, under pretence to reduce the people to civilitie, and being well entertained by his father, had besides many other injuries raised a bastard to be O'Donell, and that Sir John Perrot, by a ship sent thither, had taken himselfe by force, and long imprisoned him at Dublin; and that Sir William Fitz-William had wrongfully kept Owen O'Toole, above mentioned, seven yeeres in prison. His petitions were for pardon to him and his, and for freedome of religion; that no garrisons or sheriffs might bee placed in his countrey, and that certain castles and lands in the county of Sligo might bee restored to him. "Shane MacBrian, MacPhelime O'Neale, complained of an iland taken from him by the earle of Essex, and that he had been imprisoned till he surrendered to the marshall a barony, his ancient inheritance. Hugh M'Guire complained of insolencies done by garrison souldiers, and by a sheriffe, who besides killed one of his nearest kinsmen, Brian MacHugh Oge, and MacHowne, (so the Irish called the chiefe of that name surviving,) and Ever MacCooly, of the same family of MacHownes, complained of the above-mentioned unjust execution of Hugh Roe MacHowne, in the governement of Sir William Fitz-Williams." 99* The commissioners admitted the fairness of many of these complaints, and frankly promised redress; but thought it necessary on the part of the queen to make such conditions as were absolutely necessary to secure the peace of the country in the interim. It was stipulated that they should lay down their arms, repair the forts they had razed, admit sheriffs into their territories and counties, restore property they had obtained by recent violence, abstain from their attacks on the garrisoned forts; that they should reveal their secret communications with the foreign enemies of the queen, ask pardon for their rebellion, and solemnly swear allegiance, and to avoid all future rebellion. As there was nothing in these demands inconsistent with the repeated promises and pretences of those who were now present, it would not be easy to assign any specious ground for a refusal; yet such was the result. The conference was held in the open fields, and in sight of the armed guards which either party thought necessary for their pro * Moryson. |