CHAP. VIII.

The marquis of Ormond goes to Kilkenny, but returns suddenly to Dublin.

THE marquis of Ormond, having had notice of these practices of the Nuncio and clergy at Waterford, went to Kilkenny, "being invited thither, and informed, that his presence would soon remove the causes or suppress the effect of the clergy's discontent." His lordship confesses, "that he was received there with many expressions of joy in the people, and with the respect due to his majesty's lieutenant;" but adds, " that upon his further march into the country, being refused admittance into Clonmell, and besides, informed that general O'Nial, leading an army of Ulstermen, was invited and drawn towards Kilkenny, to hinder his retreat, and cut off the guards he had brought with him, he hastily returned to Dublin, full of indignation and resentment at this instance of treason, perfidy and in gratitude."

Such was the marquis of Ormond's declared sense of this matter, which has been generally adopted by all our historians. I shall, however, take the libery to examine, whether the information his excellency speaks of was grounded on fact; or whether it was not rather contrived, or at least, countenanced by himself, in order to justify a design, which he then entertained of renewing his treaty with the Scots in Ulster; and with their now only acknowledged masters, the rebels in the English parliament.

Whatever faults general O'Nial might have had, ingratitude

But it appears by the clergy's declaration to the supreme council, that it first came to their knowledge by his majesty's letters taken at Naseby, that Ormond had power" to repeal the penal laws, and suspend Poining's act, and they proposed (on 15th of August, 1646) that these letters, together with Glamorgan's concessions, should be made public.” Enquiry, &c. p. 222-3.—The supreme council in their answer to this declaration, say," that the repeal of the penal laws was purposely omitted in the peace (with Ormond) as being less than Glamorgan's concessions, and therefore might derogate from them; but that they would print and publish Glamorgan's articles, and insist upon their being obligatory on the king."-Id. ib. p. 227. From the Nuncio's Mem,

and perfidy were not, certainly of the number.* Mr. Carte himself, one of the accusers on this occasion, informs us, in relation to a transaction subsequent to this, "that the marquis of Ormond had a very advantageous opinion, as well of his honor, constancy and good sense, as of his military skill; from which, he proposed as much advantage to the king's affairs, as he did from the force of his troops; and that he always used great frankness in his treaties with them."

His excellency knew that O'Nial had publicly rejected the peace, and was still in hostility against him; so that, supposing the information true, and that he really designed to cut off his retreat to Dublin, such a design could not be properly deemed perfidious; or, indeed, so dishonorable, in any respect, as those frequent acts of rapine and cruelty, committed on the confe derate party by forces under his lordship's obedience, during the cessation;t which acts instead of being punished or restrained, were constantly connived at, if not encouraged, by his lordship and the council: a proceeding very different from that of the general assembly of the confederate catholics, with regard to O'Nial; whom, on account of his opposition to the peace while it was in agitation, they neglected in their appointment of generals after its conclusion. And resentment of that

3 Ib.

"O'Nial (ays one of his most inveterate enemies) was a man of an haughty and positive humor; and rather hard to be inclined to reasonable conditions, than easy to decline them, or break his word, when he had consented."-Borl. Hist. of the Irish Rebel. fol. 232.

"Owen O'Nial (says Mr. Carte) observed the cessation so religionsly, that when some of the garrison of Enniskillen made him an offer of betraying the place, he would not embrace it, although great preys had been taken from the Irish in the excursions made by that garrison.”— Orm. vol. i.

†The English officers in the North, in a declaration published by them in the year 1645, confessed; "that though they were not under the command of the Scots, yet they had joined with them in all their expeditions (against the Irish), and had made a stricter association with them, since the cessation, to carry on the war, upon condition the covenant should not be pressed upon them: (my author, however, adds) that the committee from the parliament still continued to press the government, resolving, upon their refusal, to strip them of their respective commands and einployments."-Cart Orm. vol. i. fol. 589.

neglect was thought to have been the chief cause of his hostile and too successful endeavors, to frustrate all their subsequent undertakings for the settlement of the kingdom.

Under color of just indignation at O'Nial's supposed design, the marquis of Ormond, in concert with the council, (soon after his return* to Dublin from Kilkenny,) addressed the British parliament, and renewed his treaty with the Scots in Ulster, with compliments to these latter, which, whether sincere, or not, reflected no small dishonor on his excellency.* There now goes," says he, in a letter to sir James' Montgomery, September the 18th, "from me and the council, a dispatch to the old and new Scots, and British officers (in Ulster), acquainting them, that for the preservation of the kingdom to the crown of England, we have made an address to the parliament, and desiring in the mean time, there might be betwixt us here, such a correspondence as befits men that are certainly of one mind, however through the distemper of the times we may have differed in our ways."

CHAP. IX.

The marquis of Ormond pursues his treaty with the covenanters

in Ulster.

IN vain did his excellency's noble friends, the lords Clanrickard and Digby, assure him, on this occasion," that they still found the generality of the Irish nobility and gentry, and

4 Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 566.

1 Id. ib. vol. iii. fol. 498, 507.

* He arrived in Dublin from Kilkenny, on the 13th of September. Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 566.

What the marquis of Ormond's thoughts were of this parliament two years before, when it was not altogether so rebellious and lost to all hopes of reconciliation with the king, appears from his answer to this same sip James Montgomery's private invitation to him, to enter into a treaty with it. On that occasion he told him, "that he could not observe any advantage that might arise to persons loyally affected from holding a a treaty with the remaining part of the parliament at Westminster. Nor yet, that it was safe for such to entertain a treaty with them. For certainly (adds he) they will part with nothing but upon such conditions as cannot consist with duty and loyalty to perform with them."-Cart. Orm, vol. i.fol. 491,

others of inferior rank, very well disposed to peace; that general Preston, and his officers, were still well inclined; that Preston's compliance with the Nuncio was only to preserve himself, and to get such a body together as might make him as considerable as O'Nial; that this body, consisting of all those forces which the marquis had most reason to hope well of, if he might have but private satisfaction for the security of religion, so far as he did understand it to be secured by the articles of the peace, but found it indeed not to be, he would join heartily with his exceliency." These remonstrances, I say, made no change in the marquis and council's settled purpose to prose cute their treaty of alliance with his majesty's declared enemies in both king. doms.*

As the bishops and clergy assembled at Waterford, found themselves suspected of having put O'Nial on the supposed design of cutting off his excellency's retreat to Dublin, one of their body thought it incumbent upon him to wipe away that aspersion," by protesting solemnly before God and his angels, that they were utter strangers to any such design; and that they neither knew nor expected that his excellency would have so 2 Unkind Deserter, &c.

Lord Digby in his letter to Ormond on this occasion, adds, "I mest humbly but most earnestly conjure you, by all the good that you can hope for, by any thing we have designed, not to suffer yourself to be engaged by the importunity of others, to that which must make you wholly depend upon those you detest (the English parliament.) Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 507.-Yet Ormond in a letter of the following day, Oct. 12th, 1646, tells Digby," that from the parliament commissioners he had a letter to all parliament ships to furnish him with powder." Id. ib. fol. 505.—Lord Digby zo Ormond, October 13th, 1646, "Preston will not join O'Nial, but hath sent me word, that if he may but have any reasonable assurance of what was offered concerning the security of religion, he will obey the marquis of Ormond entirely, and join all his forces against O'Nial's: besides the hatred of the generals, their men have a greater animosity, one against ano ther, than those of Dublin have against either." Id. ib.—In answer to this, Ormond tells Digby," that till the success of his address to the parliament was known, it would be neither wise nor honorable to begin a treaty with Preston, unless he were advised thereto by the council." Id. ib. fol. 506.--In another letter Ormond tells Digby on this occasion, "you know I cannot close with the Irish, or any party of them, till there be an end of the treaty with the parliament, though to keep off the present danger, I may discourse with them." Id. ib. fol. 513.-The Nuncio's party were then going to besiege Dublin,

suddenly returned to Dublin." And general Preston assured the earl of Clanrickard,3« that instead of the Nuncio and cler gy's having given encouragement to O'Nial's advance, he himself had been the bearer of two different orders from them, upon notice of his advancing with his army, to oblige him to retire. But that O'Nial's answer was, "that the Nuncio was but a young soldier, and that he must and would go, where his army might be kept together and provided for."

General Preston himself, was not altogether unsuspected by the marquis, of having conspired with the Nuncio and clergy, in the design of intercepting him. His excellency, however, even in his hasty retreat to Dublin, met with sufficient reason to acquit him of any such design ;+ " for having dispatched majorgeneral sir Francis Willoughby, with a considerable party, to prepare the way, the major-general understood, when he came to Leighlin-bridge, that colonel Bagnal, under general Preston's command, was posted in the fort there with an hundred men ; and as he was to pass by that fort, he sent two officers to BagLal to know whether he might expect him as a friend or an ene my. Colonel Bagnal returned a very civil answer, that the passage over the bridge should be open, and that he might command any accommodation the castle could afford. The majorgeneral found it so at his coming, and marching over the bridge rendezvoused his men in the plain field, where he rested till lieutenant-colonel Flower joined him in the evening with the lord lieutenant's own regiment."

CHAP. X,

A new general assembly and council.

IN the mean time the Nuncio's party increased daily, and his opposition to the peace in proportion; insomuch, that, after hav ing formed a new general assembly of such persons, ecclesiastics and others, as he knew to be most attached to him, he caused several eminent members of the former assembly, who had been active in concluding the peace, to be imprisoned in the castle + Id. vol. ii.

3 Carte's Ocm, vol. iii. fol. 497.