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 other great extraordinaries," in money alone J 1,198, 71 8, an enormous sum for those days. On the 20th March the Lord Deputy wrote to the Secretary of State : " Believe me, that I have omitted nothing, both by power and policy, to mine him, and utterly to cut him off, and if by either I may procure his head, before I have engaged her royall word for his safety, I doe protest I will doe it, and much more be ready to possess myself of his person, if by only promise of life, or by any other means, whereby I shal not directly scandal the maiesty of publike faith." On 30th March 1603 Hugh O'Neill met the Lord- Deputy and members of his CouncU at MelUfont, near Drogheda, and made sub- mission upon his knees — craving pardon for past offences, renouncing and abjuring all foreign powers, especially the King of Spain, resigning his lands and seigniorial rights, and promising to use his best en- deavours for " the abolishing of all bar- barous customes," and "the cleering of difficult passages and places, which are the nurseries of rebellion." He must have been still a formidable adversary ; for im- mediately following this submission, he was confirmed in his earldom and all his former rights and territories (except small grants to the Queen's allies, Henry Oge O'Neill and Turlough MacHenry, 300 acres for the erection of Charlemont Fort, and 300 for Mount] oy Fort). For some days before this submission the Deputy was aware of Elizabeth's death ; when the news was communicated to O'Neill he burst into tears, rightly judging that he might have made even better terms had he known of it before his submission. Hugh O'Neill was received at court in London. " I have lived," wrote Sir John Harrington, an old soldier, " to see that damnable rebel, Tyrone, brought to England, honoured and well liked. O what is there that does not prove the inconstancy of worldly mat- ters? How I did labour for all that knave's destruction ! I adventured perils by sea and land, was near starving, eat horse flesh in Munster, and all to quell that man, who now smileth in peace at those who did harass their lives to destroy him ; and now doth Tyrone dare us, old commanders, with his presence and protec- tion." The officials and adventurers who had looked forward to the forfeiture of his lands were also disgusted at being baulked of their expected prey. The soldiers of the garrisons in his territories longed to avenge old scores. James was determiued to enforce uniformity of re- ligion. "Tyrone," says Mr. Richey, " during all bis career, attempted nothing

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so difficult as to live a loyal subject of the English king. It would be tedious to re- late in detail the complications and annoy- ances in which Tyrone was involved — his lawsuits with O'Cahanand with the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe ; the interference in religious matters of the Archbishop of Armagh ; the expressions publicly used towards him by the Deputy ; the conduct of the English garrisons and sheriffs. Day by day he must have learned, by a con- tinuous coui-se of litigation and insult, that he was a marked man ; that every Eng- lishman in Ireland regarded him as an enemy ; that at any moment he might find himself involved in a charge of treason, supported by interested or bigoted wit- nesses, and that his life and fortune were hourly in peril." On iSth of May 1607 an anonymous document (now known to have been written by Lord Howth) was found at the door of the Council Chamber at Dublin Castle. "Without naming indi- viduals, it disclosed a "Popish plot" — plans for the assassination of the Lord- Deputy, and a general insurrection, assisted from abroad. Nothing is more improbable than that there was any truth in the statements contained in the document. But the Government was seriously alarmed. Cuconnaught Maguire was then in the Netherlands. The Archduke Albert re- ceived private information of the finding of the letter, and the intention of the Govern- ment to seize O'Neill and the northern lords. This was communicated by the Archduke to Florence Conroy, and by him to Maguire, who sent a messenger to O'NeiU and his friends to put them on their guard, while he set about providing means for their escape. "With 7,000 crowns contributed by the Archduke, he purchased at Rouen a vessel of eighty tons, mounting sixteen guns, manned her with marines in disguise, freighted her with a cargo of salt, and sailed for Ireland. On his ar- rival off the coast of Ulster, Maguire managed to communicate with the Earls of Tyrone and Tirconnell ; and in Lough S willy on 14th September 1607, he em- barked them and their families. On board the little vessel were altogether ninety-nine persons, "having little sea-store, and being otherwise miserably accommodated." They set sail at midnight, and after a tempestoua passage of twenty days, entered the Seine on 4th October. We are told how on the passage " two poor merlins, with wearied pinions, sought refuge in the rigging of our vessel, and were captured for the noble ladies, who nursed them with tenderest affection." In France they were warmly received by Henry IV., but, upon the re-

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