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only retaliated the cruelty practised by Bingham on his taking the castle from its original owner, Maguire. O'Donnell knew how to take advantage of his victory; and, with his wonted rapidity, followed up his blow. He pierced into Connaught, harassed the quarters of the enemy, besieged the fort of Belleek, cut off a detachment sent to its relief, and gave English measure to the garrison. To complete his triumph, O'Donnell established one of the De Burgos, his associate, chieftain of his district, under the name of Mac-William, while Bingham, the queen's president of Connaught, was obliged to shrink from the conflict.

The queen and her ministry were justly alarmed at the intelligence of such a succession of defeats, received from enemies they were accustomed to undervalue, and saw the necessity of greater efforts in warring against the northern Irish. Their first endeavour was, to tamper with O'Donnell, in order to detach him from Tyrone, considered as the most powerful of the Irish chieftains; one without whose secret approbation the spirited opposition of O'Donnell, Maguire, &c. to the forementioned outrages, practised on them and their people, would scarcely have taken place. Not caring to rely too much on the success of their intrigues with O'Donnell and other chieftains, an army of veterans, distinguished by their service in Britanny, with a new levy raised in England, were dispatched under the command of Sir John Norris, a general of reputation. Tyrone justly dreaded, that these great prepara

tions were directed against himself in particular. He saw that the plan of Elizabeth's council was, to insulate the north from the rest of the kingdom, by a chain of forts connecting the great lakes, which were to be defended by garrisons, and ships of war stationed on the lakes. That thus circumvented by sea and land, by the forces of England, the tribes would be gradually awed, or bribed into submission. Seeing that without striking some prompt and decisive blow, before the English reinforcements arrived, the defection of his tributaries and allies was too likely, in which case he could neither make war effectually, nor expect by submission, safety or honorable terms, he besieged the fort of Blackwater, whose garrison, like the rest, were injurious neighbours. Still wishing to avert the calamities of war, provided any endureable terms could be obtained, he wrote to the deputy, imputing his rising to necessity and self-defence. He in particular requested the lord general to entertain a favourable opinion of him, and not force him to war against his interest and inclination. But his implacable enemy, Bagnal, by intercepting his letters, and destroying his messengers, deprived him of his hopes from a pacific correspondence, and forced him to continue hostilities.

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The castle of Monaghan was besieged, and the attempt of Norris to relieve it produced a skirmish, in which the danger and address of Tyrone were remarkable. One Sedgrave, an English officer, observing where he had taken his station, and was issuing his orders, assaulted

and unhorsed him. The carl, in falling, contrived to seize bis antagonist, and dragged him to the ground. The Englishman, who still had the advantage, prepared to dispatch him; but O'Neil, encumbered as he was, contrived to prevent the blow, by plunging a dagger deeply into the body of Sedgrave.

These petty hostilities were soon suspended by the weak and temporizing policy of the queen, impatient to disengage herself, by any means, from the disorders of Ireland. A commission arrived, whereby Wallop, the treasurer at war, and Gardiner, the chief justice, were empowered to treat with Tyrone and his associates, to hear their complaints, and to receive their overtures, in order to an effectual accommodation. The northern Irish obeyed the invitation, but peremptorily refused to meet the commissioners at Dundalk. The conference was held in open field, not as a submission of rebellious subjects, but a parley between contending leaders. Tyrone first explained his grievances; complained of the injustice of Bagnal, in usurping a jurisdiction in Ulster inconsistent with his just rights; of his unreasonable and implacable resentment in attempting to separate him from his wife, and with-holding her portion; of his perfidy in secreting his letters to the state, and by a series of injuries forcing him to take arms, and to apply to the queen's enemies for protection. He required a full pardon for himself and followers; that they should be allowed the full and free exercise of their religion; that Bagnal should be com

pelled to pay his sister's portion, who had now sunk under the affliction occasioned by his cruelty; that his country should be freed from English garrisons and sheriffs; that his troop of horse should be restored to him; and that all those who had ravaged his territory should be obliged to due restitution. O'Donnell next proceeded to expatiate on the treachery of Sir John Perrot, and the injuries he had received in a cruel and unmerited captivity. The severities of Fitz-William to O'Toole, Mac-Mahon, and O'Dogherty, were not forgotten. Every inferior chieftain had his grievances to urge; and all concurred in the same general demands of a free exercise of religion, and an exemption from garrisons and sheriffs. They were heard with temper: some of their allegations were confessed to be just; and some indulgence acknowledged to be reasonable. In the essential articles, they were informed, that no decision could be made, until the royal pleasure should first be signified. In the mean time some points were propounded on the queen's part, tending to suspend their hostilities, till an equitable accommodation should be finished. It was demanded, that the insurgents should lay down their arms, admit sheriffs into their country, repair the forts they had demolished, leave the English garrisons unmolested, restore what they had unjustly seized, discover upon oath their transactions with foreign princes, and, begging pardon for their present rebellion, solemnly promise for the future to enter into no engagements against their sovereign.

But these haughty lords, who in the condescensions of government discerned its fears and weakness, rejected such overtures with disdain; and broke up the congress, consenting only to a truce of a few days.""

This account is pretty near the truth, saving that an English bias in the writer is prevalent. This war is called petty, because every thing Irish must be either petty, barbarous, or even savage. The negotiation with the northerns was, the effect of a weak temporizing policy, for the same reason; because the impertinent fellows ought to be crushed at once: and because a learned book-bred gentleman, two centuries after the scene, claims deference to his own superior judgment, in censuring the policy of Elizabeth and her counsellors, such statesmen as Bacon, Cecil and Walsingham. They did not consider the war petty, but very serious and formidable, as it really proved in the result. Elizabeth was mortified at the disgrace and expence that accompanied her arms in Ireland, while she reaped glory and emolument from her wars in France and the Netherlands. The offer of peace only proves the wisdom of the English cabinet, and the temporary superiority of the northern Irish in arms. Their demands, and the influence of their example on the rest of Ireland, concur with the pacific offers to prove their success, though we have no exact detail of the military operations of the campaign of 1595. A cessation of arms

Leland, Vol. II. Book IV. c. iv. p. 334.

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