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Both parties being summoned to the royal presence, Fitzgerald maintained the same bold language, accusing the justiciary of corruption, and saying that, while the nobility were excluded from his presence, Irish cow could at all times have access to him. But," continued Of faly, "so much as our mutual complaints stand upon, the one his yea, and the other his nay, and that you would be taken for a champion, and I am known to be no coward, let us, in God's name, leave lieing for varlets, bearding for ruffians, facing for crakers, chatting for twattlers, scolding for callets, booking for scriveners, pleading for lawyers; and let us try, with the dint of swords, as becomes martial men to do, our mutual quarrels. Therefore, to justify that I am a true subject, and that thou, Vesci, art an arch traitor to God and to my king, here, in the presence of his highness, and in the hearing of this honourable assembly, I challenge the combat."

De Vesci accepted the challenge, amidst the applauses of the assembly; but either he doubted the goodness of his cause, or feared to contend with so formidable an adversary. Before the appointed day he fled to France, whereupon the king declared Offaly innocent; adding, "albeit De Vesci conveyed his person into France, yet he left his lands behind him in Ireland;" and he granted them to the Baron of Offaly, who subsequently, in many a hard-fought day, showed himself no less true than valiant. For his good services the English monarch (EDWARD II.) created him EARL OF KILDARE, and assigned to him the town and castle of that name.

Again we pass over many illustrious chiefs of this house, to come to GERALD, the eighth Earl of Kildare; and here we cannot help remarking on a singular fact. While in the royal succession of England we never find a continuity of three distinguished monarchs-not often two-there does not appear to have been an Earl of Kildare who did not fully maintain the name and honour of his race. Not one of them but stands out prominently as an honourable landmark in the Irish annals.

Gerald, eighth Earl of Kildare, called by the Irish, "Geroit More," or the Great, both in his character

and the events of his life, presents us with all the brilliant colours of romance. He was constituted lord deputy; but his feuds with the Butlers and the enmity of the Bishop of Meath were the cause of the king's revoking the appointment, and sending over Lord Grey, of Codnor, to supersede him. To this mandate, sealed with the king's private seal, the undaunted Gerald paid no attention, but set the new deputy at defiance. The consequence was, that the king summoned both parties to appear before him, when the earl managed matters so adroitly, that he was re-appointed to the office of deputy to Richard Duke of Gloucester-a conclusive proof that he was no less politic than valiant. Confirmed Yorkist as the earl was, still the accession of the Lancastrian prince, Henry VII., did not prevent his continuance in office; till after a time, the king, suspecting he was engaged in a plot against him, commanded his attendance in England. This order Gerald dexterously evaded. He summoned a Parliament, and induced the lords to send letters to the king, representing that, in the affairs about to be discussed, the lord deputy's presence was absolutely indispensable. But the king's suspicions were justified by the event. The earl joined in acknowledging Lambert Simnel as the veritable Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of George Duke of Clarence, who, in that character, pretending to have escaped from the tower, set up a claim to the English throne in opposition to the king de facto. The example of Kildare, in countenancing the impostor, was followed by nearly all the lords of the pale. Simnel was crowned, with much solemnity, in the cathedral of Christ Church, Dublin-a crown being placed upon his head that had been borrowed from a statue of the Blessed Virgin in St. Mary's Church, near Dame-gate. But Simnel, returning to England to try his fortunes, was met at Stoke, and utterly defeated; and the Earl of Kildare, like his companions, was fain to implore the king's pardon. This was at once granted by Henry, who limited the expression of his anger to a taunt upon their gullibility with reference to Simnel, observing, that "they would at last crown apes, should he be long absent." At the same time, well knowing the earl's influence with

the lords of the pale, he sought yet further to confirm him in his allegiance, by continuing him in his office of chief governor of Ireland.

It would be a long and not very profitable task to follow the earl through his various feuds upon his return to his own country. In 1491 "a great war broke out between Con O'Neill and Hugh Roe O'Donnell; and they went to the lord justice, the Earl of Kildare, but they returned without peace." The origin of this feud has outlived the details of the feud itself, and is sufficiently characteristic to be recorded. "Send me tribute, or else," was the brief but threatening message of O'Neill. "I owe you no tribute; and if was the equally laconic reply of O'Donnell.

A new claimant to Henry's crown arising in the person of Perkin Warbeck, the earl again became an object of suspicion with the English monarch, who, in consequence, removed him from the office of lord deputy. He had also contrived about this time to quarrel with the Bishop of Meath, against whom he was so bitterly exasperated, that he one day followed him into a church whither he had fled for sanctuary. The earl bade him come out, and, upon his refusal, entering, sword in hand, the chancel, where the prelate was kneeling, swore, "by St. Bride," (his usual oath,) "were it not that I know my prince would be offended with me, I could find it in my heart to lay my sword upon thy shaven crown.' But, though he spared the bishop's life, he kept him prisoner until the lord deputy demanded his release.

Receiving the promise of a pardon for these and other offences of the same kind, the earl ventured, in all good faith, to Dublin. The lord deputy, however, had him arrested in the evening; but, as timid as he was false, did not choose to pronounce judgment upon his prisoner, and sent him over to England in a barque which had been kept in readiness for that purpose. There he was detained for two years a prisoner in the Tower of London, when he was at last brought before the council. The outrage on the bishop stood foremost on the list of his offences, whereupon he said"he was not sufficiently learned to make answer to such weighty matters.

VOL. LI.-NO. CCCI,

The bishop was a learned man, and so was not he, and therefore might easily outdo him in argument." The king then said, "he might choose a counsellor.' The earl replied, "I doubt I shall not have that good fellow that I would choose." The king assured him he should, and added, that "it concerned to get counsell that was very good, as he doubted his cause was very bad." The earl replied: "I will choose the best in England." "And who is that?" asked the king. "Marry, the king himself," quoth the earl, "and, by St. Bride, I will choose no other." At this the king laughed, and turning to the council said, "a wiser man might have chosen worse.' The earl was then accused of having burnt the cathedral of Cashel, in consequence of a feud with the archbishop, and many witnesses were present to prove the fact; but, contrary to their expectation, he not only confessed it, but exclaimed, "By my troth I would never have done it, but I thought the bishop was in it." The archbishop being present, and one of the busiest of the accusers, the king laughed heartily, and was so favourably impressed by the bluntness and frankness of the earl, that on the Bishop of Meath exclaiming, "all Ireland cannot rule this man," he at once replied, "then he shall rule all Ireland.' And accordingly Kildare was restored to his forfeited estates and honours, and again appointed lord deputy, though, at the same time, the monarch retained his eldest son Gerald, as a hostage. And well, both by his fidelity and his talents as a statesman and a soldier, did the great earl repay the king's confidence. Perkin Warbeck, on his landing at Cork in 1497, was successfully opposed by the Earls of Kildare and Desmond, and narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. this good service, King Henry conferred on Kildare several manors in the counties of Warwick and Gloucester. With a strong hand, too, the Earl controlled the unruly native chieftains, and, if he could not entirely extinguish the spirit of revolt, yet he so well managed his affairs, that rebellion never dared to show its head, but it was instantly put down, and forced to save itself by submission. So pleasing were his efforts to Henry, that he was re

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ceived by him with the highest favour upon his again visiting England to give an account of his government, and returned magno cum honore et novis instructionibus, taking with him his son Gerald, who, shortly afterwards, was made high treasurer of Ireland.

That unquiet spirit, to which we have just alluded, again broke out and showed itself in a formidable array against the king's authority, amongst many of the most powerful native chiefs under the Lord of Clanricarde, who had married Kildare's daughter, but had so neglected her as to excite much ill blood between the lady's husband and her father. Never had Gerald's pre-eminent skill and courage been more severely tasked. When he came in sight of the rebels they were drawn up in full force upon Knock Tuagh, or the hill of axes, now called Knockdoe, about seven miles from Galway. Many of the lords of the pale began to be alarmed for the result, on seeing the overwhelming strength of the enemy, who had collected the largest army ever seen in the country since the invasion of 1169. They would have persuaded the earl to offer terms of peace, but the stout old soldier refused to listen for a moment to such timid counsels. Having drawn up his men in battle array, he bluntly told them that their own safety, as well as the king's honour, rested on their unflinching valour in that day's service.

The onset was made by the rebels, and in a gallant style, but they were received with such a volley of arrows from the Leinster men that they fell back in confusion. The earl then commanded his vanguard to advance, when his son Gerald, in the impatience of youthful courage, charged without orders at the head of his men in such a brave and resolute manner as no one could do better. "Far away from the troops," says the Irish chronicler, "were heard the violent onset of the martial chiefs, the vehement efforts of the champions, the charge of the royal heroes, the noise of the swords, the clamour of the troops when endangered, the shouts and exultations of the youths, the sound made by the falling of brave men, and the triumph of nobles over plebeians."

It was a fierce battle, such as had

not been known in latter times. Of Clanrickarde's nine divisions which were in solid array, there survived only one broken battalion. The rebels were completely routed, their slain being computed at nearly nine thousand men, and, though this may be exaggeration, there can be no doubt that the battle of Knock Tuagh broke the strength of the western and southern septs. For this good service Kildare was created by Henry, a Knight of the Garter.

The days of this great man were now drawing fast to a conclusion. In 1513, he marched against Lemyvannon, or O'Carroll's Castle, now called "Leap Castle," in the King's County; but as he was watering his horse in the river Greese, at Kilkeen, he was shot by one of the O'Mores, of Leix, and after lingering for a few days, he died of his wound, and was buried in his own chapel, at Christ Church, before the high altar. Holinshed describes him as a mightie man of stature, full of honoure and courage, who had bin lord deputie and lord justice of Ireland three and thirtie yeares. Kildare was in government_milde, to his enemies sterne. He was open and playne, hardly able to rule himself when he was moved; in anger not so sharp as short, being easily displeased and sooner appeased."

GEROIT Oge, i.e. GERALD, the younger, the NINTH EARL OF KIL DARE, entered upon his office of lord deputy under less favourable auspices than his predecessor had done, for Henry VIII., if not more suspicious than his father, was much inferior to him in his knowledge of men, and in the way of ruling them by the show of a magnanimous confidence. Still, it must be allowed, that Gerald, as governor of Ireland, seemed to consider himself as representing the king's interests only in the pale, which, at that time, included the counties of Dublin, Louth, Meath, and Kildare; ruling the rest of his possessions as independently as any native chief, and these were tolerably extensive, for he and his kinsmen occupied the counties of Kildare and Carlow as far as the bridge of Leighlin, exacting coin and livery within those bounds. In fact, while he was English to the Irish, he was, to a certain degree, Irish to the English

who were placed in this unfortunate dilemma; they must of necessity support the lord deputy from his influence over the pale, which was their instrument for curbing the rest of Ireland, then divided amongst about thirty great Anglo-Irish lords, and sixty Irish chieftains. On the other hand there was always a danger of the lord deputy's growing over-powerful, and turning round upon his masters. The only thing, as it seems, that prevented such a casualty, was the rooted hatred borne by the Irish chieftains towards the pale, which they justly considered as the great obstacle to their regaining that absolute independence which was the constant object of all their struggles when not engaged in feud amongst themselves.

Thus it happened to Gerald Oge, as it had happened to his predecessors, to more than once incur the jealousy of the English government, and to be deprived of his office of lord deputy. What was yet worse, he unluckily drew down upon himself the hatred of the stern and lynx-eyed Wolsey, and nearly lost his head in consequence. The story is worth extracting, as it serves to show how the cardinal dared at times to act in independence of his master, who yet was sufficiently jealous of his royal power, and did not lightly endure any encroachments upon it. Kildare having been accused of treason by the Earl of Ossory, was ordered to England to answer for his conduct; upon his arrival he was immediately committed to the tower, and soon afterwards appeared before the council, where, according to Holinshed, the cardinal made a furious attack upon him, and, among other things, charged him with having taken no steps to arrest the Earl of Desmond, who had fallen under the displeasure of the English government-"Yet had you,' ," continued the haughty favourite, "lost a cow or a horse of your owne, two hundred of your retayners would have come at your whistle to rescue the prey from the uttermost edge of Ulster. The Earl! nay, the King of Kildare; for when you are disposed, you reigne more like than rule the land."-While the cardinal was speaking, the earl showed signs of impatience, and at last interrupted him thus-"My lord chancellor, I beseech you pardon me, I

am short-witted, and you, I believe, intend a long tale. If you proceed in this order, halfe of my purgation will be lost for lacke of carriage. I have no schoole trickes, nor art of memory except you heare me, while I remember your words; your second process will hammer out the former." The lords of the council, deeming this request reasonable, besought the cardinal to allow the earl to proceed after his own fashion. He acceded, and Kildare entered on his de fence: so graphic, so characteristic is the speech as reported by that trustworthy old chronicler, Holinshed, that we cannot forbear to give it :—

"It is good reason," urged the earl, this boarde. But, my lord, those mouths "that your grace beare the mouth of that put these things in your mouth, are very wyde mouths, such indeed as have gaped long for my wrack, and now, at length, for want of better stuffe, are fain to fill their mouths with smoke. What my cousin, my cousin, Desmond, hath compassed, as I know not, so I beshrew his naked heart for holding out so long. If hee can wait for him, then have my adversaryes be taken by my agents, that presently betrayed their malice, and this heape of haynous words shall resemble a scarecrow or a man of strawe, that seemeth at a blush to carry some proportion, but when it is felt and poysed, discovereth a vanity, serving onely to fear crowes; and I verily trust your honours will see the proofe by the thing itselfe within these few bee hadde, what is Kildare to blame for dayes. But to go too, suppose hee never it, more than my good brother of Ossorie; notwithstanding his high promises, having also the King his power, is yet content to bring him in at leysure. Cannot the Earl of Desmond sheft, but I must be of counsell? Cannot hee bee hyden, except I winke? If hee bee close, am I his mate? If hee bee friended, am of accusation which they urge agaynst I a traytour? This is a doughty kind me. When was the earle within my viewe, and who stoode by when I let him slip? But I sent him worde to beware of me. Who was the messenger? where are the letters? Of my cousin Desmond they may lie, since no man more can well contrarie them. Touching myselfe, I never acted in theym eyther so much wit or so fast fayth that I would have gaged hounde, much lesse mine own. upon their silence the life of a goode It I take to be wise and sharpe, should be grieveth me that your good grace, whom so farre gone in creditting these corrupt informers. Little know you, my lord, how necessarie it is, not onely for the

governour, but also for every nobleman in Irelande, to hamper his uncivil neighbours at discretion, wherein if they waited for processe of lawe, and had not those lyves and landes within their reach, they might happe to lose their owne lives and landes without lawe. Touching my kingdome, I know not what your lordship should meane thereby. If your grace imagin that a kingdom consisteth in serving God, in obeying the prince, in governing with love the common wealth, in shouldering subjects, in suppressing rebelles, in executing justice, in brideling blind affections, I would be willing to be invested with so vertuous and royall a name. But if, therefore, you terme me a king, in that you are persuaded that I repine at the government of my soveraigne, or winke at malefactors, or oppress civil livers, I utterly disclayme in that odious tearme, marveyling greatly that one of your Grace his profound wisdome should seeme to appropriate so sacred a name to so wicked a thing. But, however it be, my lorde, I woulde you and I had changed kingdoms but for one monthe, I woulde trust to gather up more crummes in that space than twice the revenues of my poore earledom. But you are well and warme, and so holde you and upbrayde not me with such an odious terme. I slumber in a hard cabyn, when you sleepe in a soft bed of downe. I serve under the king his cope of heaven, when you are served under a canapie. I drinke water out of my skull, when you drinke wine out of golden cuppes. My courser is trayned to the field, when your genet is taught to amble. When you are begraced and beloved, and crouched and kneeled unto, then find I small grace with our Irish borderers, except I cut them off by the

knees."

Hollinshed continues

"The cardinal perceiving that Kildare was no babe, rose in a fume from the counsayle-table, and commytted the earle, and deferred the matter till more direct probations came out of Irelande. There he was heartily beloved of the lieutenant, pittied in all the court; and standing in so harde a case, altered little his accustomed hue, comforted other noblemen, prisoners with him, disembling his owne sorrow. One night, when the lieutenant and he, for their disport, were playing at slide-grote or shuffle-boorde, sodainely commeth from the cardinall a mandatum to execute Kyl dare on the morrow. The earle, marking the lieutenant's deep sigh, 'By St. Bride, lieutenant,' quoth he, there is some madde game in that scrole; but, fall how it will, this throw is for a hud

dle.' When the worst was tolde him, Nowe, I pray thee,' quoth he, 'doe no more, but learne assuredly from the King his owne mouth, whether his highness be witting thereto or not.' Sore doubted the lieutenant to displease the cardinall, yet of verrie pure love to his friend, he posteth to the king at midnight, and delivered his errand (for att all houres of the night the lieutenant hath access to the prince upon occasions). The king, controlling the sauciness of the priest (for those were his termes), delivered to the lieutenant his signet in token of countermande; which, when the cardinall had seen, he beganne to brake into unseasoned language, which the lieutenant was loath to hear. Thus broke up the storm for that time."

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Thus did the stout earl weather the storm which had so well-nigh foundered him, and even again attained to his former dignity; but it was only to relapse into suspicion and disgrace. He was once more called over to England and recommitted to the tower. "He was, says the old chronicler, 'a wise and prudent man, valiant without rashness, and politic without treachery; such an oppressor of rebels that they dared not beare armour to the annoyance of any subject; whereby he heaped no small revenues to the crowne; guarded of his house, and purchased envy to his in safety the pale; continued the honour person. His great hospitalitie is to this day rather of each man commended than of any followed. He was so religious addicted to the service of God as what tymes soever he traveyled to any part of the countrey, such as wear of his chapell should be seur to accompanie him.”

Before his departure from Ireland, he constituted his son Thomas, Lord Offaly, vice-deputy; and strictly enjoined him to be "wise and prudent," and to submit in all things to "the sounde and sage advice of the council." Nevertheless, "the hot and active temper" of the young lord could not be restrained. The murder of Archbishop Alen, perpetrated by his followers, led to the severe sentence of excommunication pronounced against him; which being shown to the old Earl in the Tower, had such an effect on him, that he died, shortly after, of a broken heart. His remains received sepulture within the Tower walls, in St Peter's Church,- -a sorry recompense for all his services.

The excess of jealous suspicion which made the English government