Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/609

 1580.] THE DESMOND REBELLION. 589 Don Bastian de San Josepho, then came in person, and consented to surrender in the morning if he could be allowed one night's respite. To this Lord Grey agreed on condition of his sending in hostages, and at daybreak the following day the gates were opened. Don Bastian with the officers came out with ensigns trailing, and gave themselves up as prisoners. The men piled their arms outside the walls, and waited defenceless to learn the pleasure of their conquerors. They were strangers and by this time alone. Sanders, Desmond, Baltinglass, had taken themselves off when they heard that Grey was coming down. The officers were reserved for their ransom. Common prisoners were inconvenient and expensive, and it was thought desirable to read a severe lesson to Catholic sympa- thizers in Ireland. ' The Lord of Hosts/ wrote Grey, ' had delivered the enemy to us, not one of ours being hurt, Mr Cheke only excepted. Then put I in certain bands who fell straight to execution/ 1 A certain number of the original party had fallen sick, and had been sent back to Spain. With the excep- tion of these and of the officers the entire party was slaughtered. A few women, some of them pregnant, were hanged. A servant of Sanders's, an Irish gentle- man, and a priest were hanged also. The bodies, six hundred in all, were stripped and laid out upon the 1 Captain Bingham, writing from the spot two days after, said that the execution had not been intended, but was the work of certain mariners who had gone in to plunder. Grey equally close upon the event took the responsibility on himself, evi- dently supposing that he had done nothing which required explanation or apology.