Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/574

 554 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 46. end, and Sidney undertook, if he was allowed as many men as he thought requisite, and was not interfered with, ' to subdue, kill, or expel Shan, and reduce Ulster to as good order as any part of Ireland.' l At first Elizabeth would not hear of it ; she would not ruin herself for any such harebrained madness. The Deputy must defend the Pale through the summer, and the attack on O'Neil, if attempted at all, should be de- layed till the spring ensuing. But Sir Francis, who was sent to prevent expense, was the foremost to insist on the necessity of it. He explained that in the cold Irish springs the fields were bare, the cattle were lean, and the weather was so uncertain, that neither man nor horse could bear it ; whereas in August food everywhere was abundant, and the soldiers would have time to be- come hardened to their work. They could winter some- where on the Bann, harry Tyrone night and day with- out remission, and so break Shan to the ground and ruin him. Two brigantines would accompany the army with supplies, and control the passage between Antrim and the Western Isles ; and beyond all, Knowles re- echoed what Sidney had said before him on the neces- sity of paying wages to the troops instead of leaving them to pay themselves at the expense of the people. Nothing was really saved, for the debts would have eventually to be paid, and paid with interest while meanwhile the * inhabitants of the Pale were growing hostile to the English rule.' 2 1 Sidney to Cecil, April 17; Irish MSS. Rolls House. 2 Sir F. Knowles to Cecil, May 19: Irish MSS. Soils House.