LAST YEARS OF SIDNEY'S ADMINISTRATION, 1577 and 1578.
[Sidenote: Lord Chancellor Gerard on the Pale.]
The letters of Lord Chancellor Gerard give a vivid picture of the state
of the Pale during the controversy about cess. He divides the inhabitants
into three classes--gentlemen, idlemen, and churls. Every gentleman kept
a number of idle hangers-on, who sponged upon the poor cultivators, and
robbed openly when refused free quarters. Their nominal master gave them
neither food nor clothes but merely countenance, in return for which they
were always ready to avenge his real or fancied injuries. These locusts
ate up all the scanty surplus which was left to the poor cultivator.
Remonstrance was vain, and perhaps the landowners had really not much
choice. 'I will not put away my thieves,' a gentleman would argue, 'for
then such a one's thieves would rob me; let him put away his, and I will
put away mine.' The vicious circle was hard to break, for the Government
was not strong or steady enough to repress all impartially. The judges
went circuit with little effect, for the juries 'more regard whether any
of the parties are of kin or allied to the justice or of the sept of the
justice, or counsellor, than to the matter, and that way commonly passeth
the verdict.' Nor was there much outward magnificence to hide the
inherent defects in such a judicial system. At Trim the Court of Assize
was like an English cattle-pen; there was no crier, no trumpeters or
javelin-men to hedge the sheriff's dignity, and no competent officer to
see that indictments were properly drawn or prisoners duly arraigned.
That a desire for justice existed was shown by the conduct of a Meath
grand jury, whose members were of very humble position, but who took
heart at the Chancellor's visit, and, believing that right would at last
be done, found bills against above 100 of the local oppressors for
retaining idle followers.
[Sidenote: Gerard's scheme for governing Ireland.]
Important causes, in Gerard's opinion, were better removed into the
Chancery or Star Chamber, but the thieves might be dealt with by the
hangman provided the assizes were a little better conducted. English
judges were much wanted to secure something like impartiality. Gerard had
sixteen years' Welsh experience, and he saw no reason why the policy
which had succeeded there should not succeed in Ireland. The Lord Deputy
should endeavour to keep the Irish from actual rebellion, and to persuade
them to make some contribution to the revenue. Afterwards, on the borders
of each county, English judges might 'deliver justice with such severity
as the poor fleas may have yearly comfort to be delivered from the webs
and oppression of the great spiders, ... and so by little and little to
stretch the Pale further, thereby to hit the mark long shot at, and
hitherto missed, which is to save the revenue of England and bring
somewhat from hence.'
[Sidenote: The Irish to be civilised or extirpated.]
Hitherto the prevailing policy had been to keep English and Irish from
hurting each other, and the more successful it had been the more harm it
had done. The peasants of the Pale were all Irish. They propagated their
species with perfect recklessness, and it was therefore useless to expect
any increased civilisation. Even in Dublin people of English race
delighted in talking Irish, and habits and feelings always followed the
language. It might be possible to civilise some of the Irish: the rest
should be extirpated, and English farmers with good leases and moderate
rents substituted for them. From this nucleus the Celtic wilderness might
be gradually reclaimed. In the meantime, the prisons were few and
insecure. There were no pounds. The mountains everywhere harboured
thieves, and they came within four miles of Dublin. Cattle were not safe
in the fields, even at the very gates. But it had once been no better in
Montgomery and Radnor, in Brecknock and Monmouth. There also it had been
necessary to fold the flocks securely at night until the twenty-sixth
year of Henry VIII., when Wales was fully reduced to shire ground and
the Presidency Court made a reality by hanging the mountain thieves
instead of allowing the Lord Marchers to traffic in pardons. Dublin
county might be made as quiet as Monmouthshire if compositions for crimes
were sternly abolished and if successive Lord Deputies would 'work
hanging instead of agreeing to recompense felonious offences.'[342]
[Sidenote: Drury's opinions.]
White, the Master of the Rolls, who hated Sidney and did not like English
officials generally, and who ostentatiously put his trust in Burghley
rather than in Walsingham, reported that Munster was quiet, but that the
Lord President gained little love by burdening the people with cess.
Drury argued that this quiet was owing entirely to the just severity with
which he ruled, having, as he oddly expresses it, executed 'divers
malefactors of good account.' As for the cess, money must be had somehow,
for he had been forced to spend largely on the repair of Limerick Castle.
Cork was without stores, and a foreign invasion might be expected at any
moment; for the intrigues of James Fitzmaurice were no secret. Lord Barry
compounded for an annual payment of 150_l._, and MacCarthy Reagh for
250_l._, but in many cases no agreement could be come to, and the
uncertainty of all titles made financial reform almost desperate. Rents
were as uncertain as titles, and landlords and tenants distrusted each
other profoundly. But firmness had its usual effect, and the stout old
soldier saw signs of increasing conformity among his subjects of all
ranks.[343]
[Sidenote: Desmond offers to submit, 1577.]
Desmond, the common oppressor of all, complained loudly that the soldiers
ill-treated his tenants, and exacted cess, both in money and in kind;
that he and his were much the poorer, and that the Queen was never a
penny the richer. This complaint was made directly to Burghley without
complaining to the Lord President, a breach of decorum for which the
Earl received a rebuke. The English Council with becoming gravity told
Drury to make strict inquiry, but they knew, and every officer in Ireland
knew, that ill-paid soldiers could not be kept in proper order. A loan of
500_l._ for the Munster service was refused by the Queen, and the
President warned her that she would be put to greater expense by her
refusal. He begged for a galley to cruise on the coast, and like the
stout-hearted man he was he went on doing his best with scanty means and
not very much thanks. Sir John of Desmond, being suspected of complicity
with the Connaught rebels, was arrested, whereupon the Earl retired into
Kerry, refused to go to the Deputy or President, ordered his dependents
to pay no taxes, and collected a force which soon swelled to 1,000 men;
professing all the time to consider his own life in danger. Sir James,
with 200 foot and some horse, levied contributions in Duhallow, while
Drury, besides his own servants, had but 100 available troopers. The
summer passed away thus, and the winter was half over before Desmond made
up his mind that he was in no danger. He agreed to disperse all his
forces except twenty horsemen, and to pay something towards the expenses
of the province. Having several times refused to come to the President,
he came to Kilkenny at Sidney's first summons, was reconciled to Drury,
with whom he had not been on speaking terms, and promised to support him
as the Queen's chief officer should be supported. Sidney knew his
mistress, and he advised the acceptance of these terms. Drury was forced
to submit, very much against his own judgment; for Desmond, in his view,
was the one great obstacle to law and order. The habit, he said, of
easily pardoning great offenders, 'which both now and heretofore being
used hath been the common gall to the good government of the province,
and the greatest encouragement that may be to such as transgress, ...
which kind of _precarium imperium_ is in my judgment the unfittest way to
a perfect reformation.'[344]
[Sidenote: Drury's efforts to divide Munster from Connaught.]
That there had been intrigues between the Desmonds and the Connaught
rebels was probably true enough. An alliance was even contemplated
between Lady Mary Burke and Sir John of Desmond. Both were already
married, but matrimonial ties were lightly regarded in the Clanricarde
family, and Sir John was not the man to let principle stand in the way of
interest. By keeping the Government constantly occupied the Western
gentlemen hoped to prevent administrative reform, and there was always
the off chance of a foreign invasion, which might restore their waning
importance. Religion went for something, but probably not yet for much.
In order to cut off communications between Connaught and Munster, Drury
paid particular attention to Thomond, where the Earl, a vain and
vacillating man, who could do little harm and might be of some use, made
loyal professions, and received nearly all the privileges he asked for,
though he afterwards complained that a new tax was nevertheless imposed
on his country. His experience of foreign Courts had not been so pleasant
as to tempt him to fresh adventures. Very different treatment was awarded
to Murrough O'Brien, noted as the best horseman in Ireland, a great
favourite with Desmond and other disorderly persons, and proportionately
feared by the lovers of peace. He had been engaged in Fitzmaurice's old
rebellion, and was suspected of plotting a new one. His outrages were
many, and a verdict was easily obtained at Limerick. '300_l._ was offered
for his life, and more would have been given, but 3,000_l._ should not
have saved him; ... his death was far better than his life, and he
confessed he had deserved death.'[345]
[Sidenote: Maltby punishes the Clanricarde rebels. His opinion.]
[Sidenote: Great severities.]
While Drury was occupied, Maltby, much to Sidney's satisfaction, had
taken up the military command of Connaught. Clanricarde was already a
prisoner; O'Connor Roe yielded at the first summons; and there were only
the Earl's two sons to deal with. They were given eight days to consider
whether they would submit absolutely or no. When that time had elapsed
they asked for further delay, which Maltby granted, partly because his
own preparations were not made. The rebels made loyal professions,
'taking God to witness that they had no intent to do anything more that
should purchase her Majesty's further indignation.' This was done only to
put the Governor off his guard, and a treacherous attack was made on one
of his detachments, in which a few men were killed and two officers
captured. The rest escaped to the castles of some well-affected
gentlemen, and Maltby lost no time in entering the mountains. John
Burke's district was the first attacked. All houses and corn were burned,
and every human being the soldiers met was killed. 'I spared,' says
Maltby, 'neither old nor young.' Ulick's district was then visited, and a
strong castle reduced after two days' sap. 'I put them to the
misericordia of the soldiers, who had lost their lieutenant. They were
all slain to the number of twenty-two, all tall men, who were at the
murder of the horsemen.' Another fruitless attempt was then made at
negotiation, but Maltby saw the object was to gain time, and Ulick's
followers were treated like John's. Everything that would burn was
burned, both in plain and mountain, and every person met with was killed.
Protection for five weeks was afterwards granted that the crops might be
sown; how seed was obtained it is not easy to understand. After this
tremendous lesson Connaught was quiet, and Maltby was free for a time to
practise the Roman theory of government as expounded by Virgil. By
Sidney's order he had a conference with Drury, and they agreed that with
a little trouble the two provinces, 'being ragged countries as we found
them,' might be brought into order. The greatest obstacle was the
uncertainty prevailing as to Clanricarde's fate, and it was evident that
John Burke would break out again whenever he had the power. In the
meantime strict military discipline was maintained, and Maltby found that
his soldiers, who were chiefly Irishmen and but lately open enemies,
became nearly as good as a general could desire. 'Travail, industry, and
plain-dealing,' he said, 'doth prevail over the people.... He that will
not hazard some limbs in these services or that standeth doubtful of
everything shall prevail little in this land.... To do good among this
rude nation they must be applied well, and plausible dealing doth prevail
much in some of them and in others rigour doth no hurt, so as every of
them must be used in their conditions. They be a people that do now seek
much unto the administration of justice, and do greatly seem to covet it,
which God willing they shall not want with the best advice I can give
them. They are grown into a great good liking of the Government, and do
use more familiarity towards us than they were wont to do, for commonly I
do never stay any of them that cometh unto me, be he good or bad, but
such of them as are taken by the officers if they be found faulty to cast
off the same; and few of them do escape my hands. The rest do very well
allow of it.'[346]
[Sidenote: Rory Oge O'More, 1571 to 1578.]
During his last term of office Sidney had much trouble with Rory Oge
O'More, who still claimed the ancient chiefry of Leix. In 1571 and 1572
Rory had been at the head of a band which fluctuated between 80 and 240
swords, and had succeeded in defying all Fitzwilliam's efforts.
Arrangements were made to surround him. Kildare and Ormonde were
commissioned to hunt him with all their forces, and the latter delayed a
journey to England rather than leave the task unfinished. O'More was
brought to make a formal and somewhat humble submission and to give
hostages, of which Feagh MacHugh O'Byrne was one; but Fitzwilliam, who
knew Ireland too well to be sanguine, was of opinion that the hanging of
a pledge or two would not prevent Irishmen from breaking out whenever it
happened to suit them. Rory was spoiling the Pale again within four
months, and in the spring of 1573 the Lord Deputy pronounced him worse
than ever. He submitted again the same year, and a few days afterwards
gave important help to Desmond in his escape from Dublin. When that
turbulent personage found himself safe in Munster, Rory Oge was one of
the outlaws whom he adjured to stand firm. Kildare was also accused of
plotting with him, and this charge was never fully cleared up.[347]
[Sidenote: Rory Oge submits,]
The arrival of Sidney in Ireland was always understood by the Irish as a
sign of what modern politicians call vigour, and Rory Oge, among others,
thought it wise to make his peace. 'He came unto me,' wrote Sidney, 'on
the Earl of Ormonde's word, and in the cathedral of Kilkenny submitted
himself, repenting (as he said) his former faults, and promising
hereafter to live in better sort (for worse than he hath been he cannot
be), for by him and his the greatest spoil and disorders have been
committed upon the Queen's County and the Pale. I accepted him upon
treaty, and trial of amendment till my return.... I have given him
warning, and will keep touch with him if I can.'[348]
[Sidenote: but soon breaks out again, and burns Naas, 1576.]
For a year or more Rory seems to have kept pretty quiet; but the rumour
of a Spanish invasion and the exhortations of John Burke were too much
for his prudence, and the dispute about the cess laid the Pale unusually
open to attack. Allying himself as of old with Connor MacCormac, who
stood in the same relation to the remnant of the O'Connors as he himself
did to the O'Mores, he was soon at the head of 140 men and boys. On the
night of March 3, 1577, Rory and his ally brought their band to Naas, and
entered the town, which they found unprepared. Their men had no muskets,
but were armed with torches stuck upon long poles, with which, 'like hags
and furies of hell,' they rushed through the street, setting fire to the
low thatched houses on either side; and they were gone again within half
an hour. The night was windy, the March weather had dried the thatch, and
the whole place was burned to the ground in a few minutes. 'There were,'
says Sidney, 'about 500 men's bodies in the town, manlike enough in
appearance, but neither manful nor wakeful, for they confess they were
all asleep in their beds after they had filled themselves and surfeited
upon Patron Day, which day is celebrated for the most part of the people
of this country birth with gluttony and idolatry as far as they dare.
They had neither watch nor gate shut; ... the town is open on all sides,
and without soldiers, yet how unwilling to bear any charge for their own
defence.' Rory Oge, says Hooker, 'tarried very little in the town saving
that he sat a little while upon the cross in the market-place,' and
feasted his eyes with the flames. None of the townsmen were killed.[349]
[Sidenote: Rory captures English officers. Escapes capture, 1577 and
1578.]
After this exploit Rory's force increased rapidly, and he attacked
Leighlin Bridge, of which Sir Peter Carew the younger was constable, but
which was actually in charge of his famous brother George, who here
performed his first noteworthy service. Half the town was already burned
when Carew, at the head of only seven horsemen and five musketeers,
boldly sallied out against the enemy, who were between 200 and 300.
Surprised in the darkness, they fled, but soon recovered, and some of
them actually entered the castle. Carew managed to shut the gates, and
his assailants, having suffered considerably, departed without doing any
further harm. The Devonshire captain lost only two soldiers and one
horse, but not a single one of his men escaped unwounded. Soon after this
Captain Harrington and Alexander Cosby, son of the Captain of Leix, were
taken prisoners, treacherously enough, according to the English accounts,
by Rory, and carried about by him in triumph. If Cosby was, as some
accounts say, an actor in the Mullaghmast tragedy, he deserved nothing
better, but in this kind of warfare it is to be feared that breaches of
faith were common enough on both sides. All attempts to catch Rory had
hitherto been vain, and Sidney was forced to temporise for the sake of
the prisoners. Robert Hartpole, who was used to this kind of service, and
who had probably many friends among the country people, brought fifty
soldiers to a cabin at the side of a wood, where he heard that the outlaw
and his prisoners were to sleep. Finding himself in a trap, Rory tried to
kill Harrington by slashing at him with his sword. He fractured his
skull, broke his arm, and cut off one of his fingers; but Harrington
recovered from these and other injuries. Rory had his shirt cut off by a
sword, but managed to creep away between the soldiers' legs, and reached
the covert with a single companion. The cabin was on the very edge of the
bush. The prisoners were rescued, and sixteen people, including all the
men in the house, were killed. Rory's wife was also killed, but one woman
at least, a sister of Feagh MacHugh, was spared. Connor MacCormac was
perhaps not present, for he afterwards made his peace with the Government
and received a pension. Letters implicating John Burke and others were
found in the house.[350]
[Sidenote: Sidney in Kilkenny and Tipperary.]
Harrington's capture gave much encouragement to discontented persons, and
the Lord Deputy determined, as he expressed it, to attempt Rory's
suppression by plaguing his maintainers. He went to Kilkenny on Christmas
Eve, accompanied only by Sir Lucas Dillon, and found, as he expected,
that the rebel had plenty of friends high and low in the town. The time
from Christmas to Twelfth Day was spent in investigating the matter, and
so abundant was the evidence that it would have taken till Easter to hear
it all. Tipperary enjoyed comparative immunity from the operations of
Government, and Rory Oge's children were fostered among Ormonde's
principal tenants and officers. Fulke Grace, the Earl's constable at
Roscrea, had refused to let Drury enter the castle until he had promised
him protection, and he now refused to come to Sidney himself when sent
for. All this and a great deal more was sworn to, but 'such partiality
and affectionate dealing were found in the juries, as were the matter
never so plain, the evidence never so full, if it touched any of their
friends, and namely, the tenants and servants of the Earl of Ormonde, no
indictment would be found--no, though the party made submission and
confessed the fault; if the matter touched any of Ossory, were the
evidence never so weak, the jury would find it.' The jurors were bound to
appear before the Star Chamber, and the Lord Deputy returned to Dublin
without catching Rory Oge.[351]
[Sidenote: Rory is killed by the Fitzpatricks, 1578.]
After his narrow escape, Rory was soon at the head of a band, and burning
villages as busily as ever. He entered Carlow through one of many
breaches in the wall, and fired all the thatched houses, but in retiring
he was attacked by Cosby or Hartpole at a ford, and suffered great loss.
But here again he himself escaped, so that even Sidney thought he bore a
charmed life and talked of 'sorcery or enchantment (if it be lawful so to
deem).' In the end the fatal snare was of his own laying. In order to
entrap the Baron of Upper Ossory he sent a spy to tell him, as if of his
own accord, that Rory had gathered a great spoil of 'pots, pans, pewter,
nappery, linen, and other household stuff and implements'--a strange bait
for King Edward's old playfellow--and that it might all be easily seized.
The emissary was instructed to insist on a small force only being sent: a
larger one would attract attention and defeat the scheme. The Baron
hardly knew what to believe, but decided not to lose the chance. He
brought a strong force to the appointed place, but kept aloof himself
with the main body, and sent about thirty men into the wood. Rory also
kept back the bulk of his followers, but showed himself, under the
impression that the Fitzpatricks would not face so renowned a champion;
'wherein,' says Sidney, 'he found himself very much deceived.' The
Baron's kerne set upon him stoutly, and he fell pierced by many mortal
wounds. His brother-in-law, Feagh MacHugh, swore to avenge him, and kept
his word. Maltby called Rory the Robin Hood of Ireland, and the Queen's
approbation was conveyed to Lord Upper Ossory. Rory's followers carried
off his body, but the head was afterwards sent to Sidney and duly set up
on Dublin Castle--the Lord Deputy afterwards complaining bitterly that
the Queen made light of the service, being persuaded that it was as easy
to kill such a rogue as Rory Oge as to kill 'mad George, the keeper of
the Queen's Court.' The Connaught annalists more correctly record 'that
there was not in Erin a greater destroyer against foreigners than that
man; and he was a very great loss.'[352]
[Sidenote: Government of Drury.]
Drury, being relieved for a moment from danger on the side of Desmond,
was able to turn his attention to the disturbers of Leinster. At Limerick
he hanged Rory Oge's Brehon, who was much esteemed among the people; for
the President it was enough that he practised only such law as was
repugnant to her Majesty. One of Rory's sons, accompanied by his nurse,
was taken in a wood near Roscrea. Drury also found time for a not
inconsiderable number of hangings, and reported with complacency that 400
had been executed by justice and martial law since he took office. At
Clonmel a man was pressed to death. A sharp eye was kept on all arrivals
from abroad, and a friar, fresh from Portugal, was hanged in his cowl at
Limerick. The President was able to say that he had been the first to
appoint English sheriffs in Thomond and Desmond. Justice, in his opinion,
was liked by the people, and her Majesty's revenues were much increased
thereby.[353]
[Sidenote: The Queen finds Sidney too expensive.]
The affairs of the Netherlands had now become pressingly important, and
Queen Elizabeth was forced to provide material help for the patriotic
party. Scarcely had she made up her mind to back their bills to the
extent of 100,000_l._ and to send 6,000 men to the provinces, than the
victory gained at Gemblours by Don John of Austria, or rather by
Alexander Farnese, seemed for a moment to place William of Orange in a
desperate position. The Queen saw that her help would really be wanted,
and war, even clandestine war, required a great deal of money. Sidney was
not a cheap Lord Deputy, and there were plenty of people at Court to tell
the Queen that he had exceeded the 20,000_l._ which had been mentioned as
the annual expense of his government. Ormonde was at Elizabeth's side,
and Ormonde's influence was always directed against Leicester and his
brother-in-law. It was at first proposed to recall the Lord Deputy in a
peremptory manner. But Walsingham and Wilson, and probably Burghley also,
worked in Sidney's interest, and Elizabeth's better nature prevailed over
her love of money and her ill-temper towards a faithful servant who
treated her somewhat too like an equal. It was suggested that Sidney
should be left alone until he himself asked to be relieved, and then for
a time judgment was suspended until Lord Chancellor Gerard should be
heard on the question of cess and on the state of Ireland generally.[354]
[Sidenote: Sir Philip Sidney's advice to his father.]
At last the Queen made up her mind that, whatever might be done by
another Deputy, the present one would never consent to govern as cheaply
as she wished. Walsingham privately informed Sidney that he was to be
recalled, but that to save his credit he would be summoned as if for a
short visit to Court for the purpose of explaining accounts and other
knotty matters. The wily secretary advised his friend to put his affairs
in order as soon as possible, and to be ready for any emergency. At last
the summons was sent. The Queen announced that proposals for a more
economical establishment had been made to her, and that before giving her
decision she wished to see the Deputy, who was to bring with him the
auditor and his books. Five thousand pounds were sent to keep things
going until Midsummer, and out of this Sidney was to pay the soldiers.
This letter, which ordered the Lord Deputy to be at Court by May 10, was
more than a month on the road, and did not reach Dublin till April 23.
Literal compliance was therefore impossible, and the advice which Sidney
received from his son was not to leave Ireland till Michaelmas, so that
his enemies might not have to say that they had driven him away. 'Your
lordship is to write back,' said the young diplomatist, 'not as though
you desired to tarry, but only showing that unwillingly you must employ
some days thereabouts; and if it please you to add that the Chancellor's
presence shall be requisite.... and then the more time passes the better
it will be blown over.'[355]
[Sidenote: Sidney's last days in Ireland.]
Sidney took the advice of his famous son, delaying his return till
September, but sending over Waterhouse at once with such instructions as
were likely to smooth his path. The Queen was reminded that the cess
question was not yet fully settled, that the auditor's books could not be
posted in a minute, that a foreign invasion was at hand, that there were
many unfinished causes scarcely fit to be entrusted to a new hand, and
that her Majesty owed her Deputy 3,000_l._, for which he held the
Treasurer's warrant. If anything could make Elizabeth acquiesce in the
neglect of her orders it was an allusion to the 3,000_l._, and she
allowed Sidney to stay where he was until he had an opportunity of
conferring with Gerard. Sir William Drury was nominated Lord Justice to
take up the government as soon as it should be vacant. Rory Oge was
disposed of soon after this, and a branch of the Scottish MacDonnells,
long settled at Tinnakill, in the Queen's County, received a pension of
300_l._ a year in consideration of giving the Queen constant service as
gallowglass. In the meantime the MacMahons had broken out, and driven off
cattle from the Northern frontier of the Pale. Lord Louth followed with a
few horsemen, and falling into an ambuscade was himself slain, as well as
the eldest son of the loyal Sir Hugh Magennis. The loss of an active and
thoroughly well-affected young lord of twenty-three could not be passed
over, and Sidney invaded Monaghan, destroying everything that he could
lay hands on. MacMahon came to Newry with a withe about his neck and sued
for pardon; but Sidney had by that time left Ireland.[356]
[Sidenote: He leaves Ireland finally.]
Gerard was detained in Wales by illness, and Sidney sent first
Attorney-General Snagg, and afterwards Ludovic Briskett, Clerk of the
Council, to keep his cause alive at Court. Men, money, victuals, and
munition were required, for there was talk of a descent by Stukeley, and
the Lord Deputy wished to hold a Parliament to renew the subsidy of
13_s._ 4_d._ on each ploughland which had expired, and to renew the Act
imposing a duty on wines, which was about to expire. But all eyes and
ears were now turned to the Netherlands, and Waterhouse wrote to warn
Sidney that he would get nothing except perhaps ammunition, and that the
money last sent was regretted. 'Irish alarms,' he said, 'are so far from
waking courtiers out of their sleep that, as I am sure, till they hear
that the enemy is landed, they will never think of aid that may carry
with it extraordinary charge. There is now no speech of the return of the
Earls of Ormonde and Kildare.... The States have made John Norris
general, &c.' Thus matters stood when the Irish Chancellor arrived in
Dublin; and no time was then lost in completing the arrangements about
cess. An assembly of notables was convened from Dublin, Meath, Louth,
Kildare, King's and Queen's Counties, Carlow, Wexford, Kilkenny, and
Tipperary, and the agreement already referred to was thus made. Sidney
at this time took a strong dislike to Gerard, whom he accused of
ambitious dealing and of plotting against him at Court. 'He did not let
to say that he had brought over such warrants for himself and restraint
for me as I could do nothing without him,' and he was accused of boasting
that Ireland should be governed with a white rod when Drury ruled by his
direction.[357]
[Sidenote: His character.]
At eight o'clock on the evening of September 12, exactly three years
after his arrival, Sidney embarked at Wood Quay, and when on board his
vessel surrendered the sword to Gerard, and finally severed his
connection with Ireland. If we except Strafford and Cromwell, he was
perhaps the ablest man who ever reigned in Dublin Castle, and there is a
charm about him which belongs to scarcely any one else even in the
Elizabethan age. Who shall say how much his famous son, and scarcely less
famous daughter, owed to a father whose letters of advice remain as
almost unapproachable models, and whose life showed such a noble example?
The official correspondence of the time is full of allusions to his
powers of work, to the hours which he sat patiently through, and to the
confidence which his decisions commanded. Though suffering from a painful
disease, he shrank from no journey, and the rapidity of his movements was
extraordinary. Fortune, ease, and health were given up to the public
service, and though he complained he never hesitated. 'I had no time,' he
said, 'to apply my mind to take physic in Ireland.' He well knew the
value of exercise and reasonable leisure, but he denied himself both. As
Elizabeth's representative he was accustomed to take a high line, and he
sometimes dared to maintain the dignity of the Crown even against the
great Queen who wore it. Her cousin Ormonde should not be favoured in his
causes except according to law. Mr. Christopher Hatton should not have a
license to export yarn in defiance of an Irish Act of Parliament. If the
Queen let fall hasty words detrimental to the Irish service, her Viceroy
would rebuke her for being 'so great an enemy to her own profit.'[358]
[Sidenote: His relations with the Queen.]
And thus it came to pass that while Elizabeth honoured, and perhaps
loved, the man in whose arms her brother breathed his last, and whose
wife had lost her looks and almost her life in nursing her through the
small-pox, she was not sorry when an opportunity offered of wounding his
masterful spirit. When he seemed to bargain with her for the retention of
the Welsh Presidency as a condition of entering on the hated Irish
service, she rebuked him for daring to limit her prerogative, and when he
made a gay figure at Court she said it was no wonder, for that he held
two of her best offices. But she took care to leave him both places, and
sometimes called him Harry. She grumbled at the expense of his
government, but in the end seldom refused to give him nearly as much
money as he asked for. He tells us that he lost 9,000_l._ by his Irish
service, which was an enormous sum in those days, but Elizabeth, though
she might never replace money so spent, at least did not neglect his
children.
[Sidenote: His personal qualities.]
Sidney was a ready speaker and a vigorous writer. Campion professes to
give one of his speeches, but about such reports there must always be
some doubts. The letters, however, are there, and if Sidney spoke nearly
as well as he wrote, we can well believe that a great effect was
sometimes produced. His written style is full and vigorous, and gives a
much better idea of Elizabethan English than that of many professed
authors whose affectation of elegance only tended to obscurity. Sidney
was very fond of heraldry, and not a little proud of his right to display
the bear and ragged staff. Indeed, he particularly impressed upon his
sons the necessity of living up to the standard of their mother's
family--a family, as modern students cannot help observing, which
produced Edmund Dudley, Northumberland, and Leicester. This was an
amiable weakness; a certain irascibility was a worse defect in a
statesman, but his anger was soon appeased, and there can be no doubt
that he was personally very popular. Among many virtues this defect was
noted, that he was too fond of the pleasures of the table, and among
Irish-speaking people the nickname of 'big Henry of the beer' was
sometimes given to him. He was once accused of flirting with a married
woman, but this may have been only gossip, and affection for her husband
breathes in every line of Lady Mary Sidney's letters.[359]
[Sidenote: His reception at Court.]
On his arrival at Court the late Lord Deputy was received coolly, chiefly
perhaps because foreign affairs engrossed all attention. The lodgings
assigned to him at Hampton Court were insufficient. He was ill, and his
wife was ill, and yet no separate sitting-room could be found for the man
who had spent his health and fortune in the thankless Irish service. Lord
Chamberlain Sussex knew but too well what that service was, but he was
not likely to exert himself much for Leicester's brother-in-law. The
latter, indeed, was particularly weak at this time, for Simier had
spitefully told the Queen of his marriage with Lady Essex. With a not
uncommon inconsistency Elizabeth, though she had decided not to marry her
favourite, could not bear to resign him to another, and talked about the
Tower; but Sussex dissuaded her, saying that no man was to be troubled
for a lawful marriage. In this the Lord Chamberlain showed singular
generosity, but Sidney could not expect much favour from him. 'When the
worst is known,' said Lady Mary, 'old Lord Harry and his old Moll will do
as well as they can in parting like good friends the small portion
allotted our long service in Court, which as little as it is seems
something too much; ... in this case I am in it is not possible to be in
my chamber till after sunset, when the dear good lord shall be, as best
becomes him, lord of his own.'
FOOTNOTES:
[342] Gerard to Walsingham, Oct. 19, 1576; to Burghley, Nov. 15; to the
Privy Council, Feb. 8, 1577; to Walsingham, same date; see in _Carew_, ad
ann. 1576, p. 476; Gerard to the Queen, Note of Observations, March 29,
1578.
[343] White to Burghley, Feb. 10, 1577; Drury to Walsingham, Feb. 24; to
the Queen, March 20; to Walsingham, April 14.
[344] Desmond to Burghley, March 20; Privy Council to Desmond, May 13;
Drury to Walsingham, Jan. 27, 1578; to the Privy Council, Jan. 15 and
April 24; Sidney to the Privy Council, Feb. 20.
[345] Council of Ireland to the Queen, Sept. 12, 1577; Petition of the
Earl of Thomond, July 6, and the answer in October; Drury to Leicester,
July 8, 1577, in _Carew_. The _Four Masters_ call Murrough O'Brien 'the
most renowned of the heirs of Carrigogunnel and Aherlow.'
[346] Sidney to the Privy Council, Jan. 27, 1577; Maltby to Walsingham,
March 17, Aug. 30, Sept. 18, and Nov. 10; to Burghley, Nov. 12; Snagg to
Walsingham, Nov. 5.
[347] Fitzwilliam to the Privy Council, April 12, 1571, May 6, 1572, and
Nov. 5, 1573; to the Queen, Jan. 4, June 27, and Dec. 7, 1572; to
Burghley, July 20, August 5 and 26, 1572, and May 20, 1573; Justice
Nicholas Walshe to Fitzwilliam, Nov. 24, 1573; to Burghley, Nov. 30; Sir
P. Carew to Tremayne, Feb. 6, 1574; Declaration by John Alen, Feb. 1575,
and by Richard Garret, March 12, 1575.
[348] Sidney to the Privy Council, Dec. 15, 1575, in the _Sidney Papers_.
[349] Sidney to the Privy Council, March 17, 1576, and Hooker in
_Holinshed_. The two accounts seem drawn from a common source.
[350] Sidney's Relation, 1583, in _Carew_. Sidney to the Privy Council,
Nov. 26, 1577; Hooker's _Annals of Lough_ Cé, 1577.
[351] Sidney to the Privy Council, Feb. 20. 1578, in the _Sidney Papers_.
[352] Sidney to the Privy Council, July 1, 1578, with whom Hooker closely
agrees; Fitton to Burghley, July 1; Maltby to same, July 26; Lord Upper
Ossory to same, Feb. 24, 1579; Council in Ireland to the Queen, Sept. 12,
1578; _Annals of Lough Cé_, 1578. The _Four Masters_, writing in the next
reign, are much more guarded. In the curious poem by John Derrick, called
the 'Image of Ireland,' which is in the _Somers Tracts_, and has been
lately reprinted, there is a good deal about Rory Oge. The work is
strictly contemporary; but it does not add much to our knowledge. The
following stanzas are about the most interesting. Rory Oge _loquitur_:--
Much like a champion addicted to war,
Time serving fitly to anger my foes,
I summoned a number of neighbours from far,
Twice eighty persons, the best I could choose
For manhood and sleights, in whom to repose
I might in safety my life and my land:
No dastards nor shrinklings, but those that would stand.
With these I marched from place unto place,
With these I troubled both village and town,
With these in one night I fired the Naas,
With these my resisters I spoiled of renown,
With these I made many a castle come down,
With these I yielded, augmenting my fame,
The people to sword and houses to flame.
[353] Drury to the Privy Council, March 24, 1578.
[354] Waterhouse to Sidney, Aug. 21, Sept. 5, 15, 16 and 30, 1577;
Walsingham to Sidney, Sept. 15, 1577, Jan. 20, 1578, all in the _Sidney
Papers_.
[355] Walsingham to Sidney, Jan. 20, in the _Sidney Papers_. Queen to
Sidney, March 22; Sir Philip Sidney to his father, April 25, in the
_Sidney Papers_.
[356] Sidney to the Queen, April 30, 1578. Instructions for Waterhouse in
the _Sidney Papers_. The Queen to Sidney, May 29, in _Carew_. Maltby to
Walsingham, May 3; Sidney's Summary Relation, 1583, in _Carew_; _Four
Masters_; Lodge's _Peerage_. Instructions for Snagg, A. G., June 11.
[357] Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy Council, Aug. 1; Waterhouse to
Sidney, July 4, in the _Sidney Papers_, where also are the Instructions
for Snagg and Briskett; Sidney's Summary Relation, 1583.
[358] Letter of advice to Lord Grey, Sept. 17, 1580, in the _Sidney
Papers_. Sidney to the Queen, Sept. 15, 1577, in same; to the Queen
(after reaching England), Sept. 18, 1578.
[359] Lady Mary Sidney to Edward Molineux, Oct. 11, 1578, and a second
letter (undated) soon after, in the _Sidney Papers_. It is the _Book of
Howth_ which accuses Sidney of being a 'lusty feeder and surfeiter.' The
Irish nickname might very well come from some dispute with a contractor,
and not from Sidney's fondness for malt liquor. Sidney died in 1586,
prematurely old, at fifty-seven years of age. In the British Museum a
black letter pamphlet contains a funeral sermon by Thomas White, D.D.,
the founder of Sion College. The whole is interesting, more especially
the following passage: 'He consumed himself in yielding light to other
men; besides his special gift of affability to poor and simple men, the
very grace of all his greatness. It is no hard matter for a man to be
humble in low estate, but to be lowly in greatness is not a common gift;
and if pride herself be often forced to dissemble humility, because
lowliness maketh a simple man to be highly commended, how much more doth
it excel, when it shall indeed appear in persons of value and renown!
Wherefore if any man will build his house high, let him lay his
foundations very low, for envy shoots at high marks, and pride goes
before a fall.' Herein lay the secret of Sidney's immense popularity. His
haughtiness was reserved for the great and powerful.