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 BUTLER. 279 and resolved to control the exercise of their almost un governable passion for revenge on their persecutors. His humanity prompted him to preserve the protestants, and alleviate their distresses; while he was continually ha rassed by the opposite party to proceed with severity against them. A petition was presented to him by the captain of the Irish town of Kilkenny, and the aldermen, requesting him to punish Philip Purcell, Esq. bis son-in law, for relieving the protestants; and on a subsequent occasion, a petition fron the titular bishop of Cashel, Sir Turlogh O'Neile and others, requesting that the English protestants of Kilkenny should be put to death, was thwarted solely by the persuasions and power of Lord Mountgarret, his son Edmond, and his son-in-law, Pur- cell. His popularity at this time was so great, that within a week from his arrival at Kilkenny, aluost all the towns and forts in the counties of Kilkenny, Waterford, and Tipperary, were in the possession of his friends. He was now chosen general of all the forces of that distriet, with which he marched into Munster, where he besieged and took several castles of great importance: bot the county of Cork insisting upon appointing a general in their own province, he conceived this resolution was aimed princi- pally at himself, and retired with his forces into Leinster; where he met the Earl of Ormonde with a powerful army, and gave him battle at Kilrush, in the county of Kildare, on 10th April, 1642. In this battle he was completely defeated; which compelled him to retire with the remains of his scattered forces to Kilkenny, where he was elected president of the supreme council which was formed there in 1642. In the following year he again took the field, and was present at several sieges; particularly at that of Ballynakill, which surrendered in May 1643, after a siege of nearly eighteeu months. He continued to act throughout the whole of the war, and was particularly dis- tinguished by his gieat moderation and care of the protes- tants, who foupd in him a steady and powerful protector from the misguided zeal of some of bis associates. He