Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/277

 1570.] STATE OF IRELAND. 2^7 sent Captain Himgerford and the residue of the com- panies. On the 22nd of this month, being Thursday, they inarched all night, and lay still most part of the day. On Friday, at night, they marched again; and on Saturday morning they were at the Glenne mouth, where the spy offered, if they would stay, to warrant them to have five hundred kine, or else to enter to have some killing, which Captain Hungerford and Lieutenant Parker rather chose. At the break of day they entered in and had the killing of diverse : what they were I know not. They brought away five swords with six Galloglasse axes. They slew many churls, women, and children. One of the soldiers was shot through the thigh, who with much ado was brought away. They brought with them thirty kine, sheep, and other pillage, and left while they were killing five hundred kine which they saw/ Such, and so related, was a week's service of a detachment of English police. Agard was casually alluded to afterwards by the Deputy as an able and zealous officer, and this was all the notice which was taken of his performances. The inference is but too natural, that work of the kind was the road to prefer- ment, and that this or something like it was the ordin- ary employment of the ( Saxon ' garrisons of Ireland. Sidney indeed, notwithstanding his approval of such measures, had never liked his office, and found it at last intolerable. He never wrote to England without imploring to be revoked from such an accursed country. He could not tell whether the Queen ' allowed his pro VOL. X. 17