Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/326

 306 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 59. fit of a soldier's arm and some Irish, experience. And with servants and soldiers, Essex had under his com- mand the strongest English force ever yet collected at any one spot in Ireland. Antonio de Guaras had pre- pared the way by sending word to, the chiefs, that an English Lord was bringing over an army to cut all their throats. Rowland Turner, an English priest, added in a postscript, that if they allowed themselves to be robbed of their country, ' they would be base, godless, cowardly slaves.' 1 Neither a Spaniard nor an Englishman was required to teach the Irish resistance when their land was threatened. The Scots had made an alliance with the O'Neils and Sir Brian MacPhelim, and while Essex was still upon the seas, Down, Newry, and Knockfergus itself, all but the castle, were in flames, lest they should form a shelter for the invading force. The expedition began with misfortune. A storm dispersed the fleet; some of the vessels were driven down channel, some to the Isle of Man. Essex himself landed at the end of August, at Carrickfergus ; and by degrees, but not before precious days of fine weather had been wasted, the whole force was assembled. At first, as usual, not an enemy appeared, nor any signs of an enemy ; the country was beautiful in the dry days of early autumn ; there was grass for the horses and meat for the men, and the Earl could scarcely believe that the smiling fields and the smooth-spoken people were the Ireland and the Irish race of whom he had 1 Antonio de Guaras to the Irish chiefs, June, 1573 : MSS. Ireland.