Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/270

 250 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 59. they must remain in Dublin till the Queen's pleasure could be ascertained ; as they appeared contumacious, he declined to hear them further, and made Ormond responsible for their detention ; a few hours later one of them escaped; the other, notwithstanding the safe- conduct, was arrested and thrown into the castle. Amidst the conflicting evidence it is impossible to measure accurately the extent of their real offence. The intention to confiscate three-fourths of Minister and divide it among a number of gentlemen, of whom Carew was the leader, is proved by the English State Papers ; and, if Sir Edward Butler murdered Carew's intruding colonists, he could at least plead provocation. Sir Henry Sidney was a high-natured, noble kind of man, fierce and overbearing, yet incapable of deliberate unfairness. A correspondent of Cecil's, who was pre- sent when the Butlers appeared before him, remarked ' the singular gravity, the stoutness and wisdom, with which he spoke.' On the other hand, Ormond main- tained that Sidney ' sought the overthrow of his family,"' that he was himself endangered as well as his brother ; and, ' that their cause could have no fair hearing, for that the Lord Deputy himself was their accuser.' 1 Mr George Wise, the correspondent alluded to, was doubtless right in concluding that e the real cause of the mischief was the Devil, who would not have Ireland reformed.' 2 But the land question, and Sidney's known views upon it, with the vindictive and ferocious attitude 1 Ormond to Cecil, October 27 : j 2 George Wise to Cecil, October Ireland. 29 : MSS. Ireland.