Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/586

 566 REIGN OF ELIZABEl^lI. [011.46 tain and morass. The Irish, who had been faithful to England, were again in safe possession of their lands and homes. The weakest, maddest, and wildest Celts were made aware that when the English were once roused to effort, they could crush them as the lion crushes the jackal. Meantime Lord Ormond had carried his complaints to London, and the letter which Sidney found waiting his return was not what a successful commander might have expected from his sovereign. Before he started he had repeated his refusal to determine a cause which he did not understand without the help of lawyers. There was no one in Ireland of whom he thought more highly than of Lord Ormond ; there was none that he would more gladly help ; but disputed and complicated titles to estates were questions which he was unable to enter into. He could do nothing till the cause had been properly heard; and in the existing humour of the country it would have been mere madness to have led Desmond to doubt the equity of the English Govern- ment. But Sidney 's modest and firm defence found no favour with Elizabeth. While he was absent in the North, she wrote to Sir Edward Horsey desiring him to tell the Deputy that she was ill satisfied with his proceedings ; he had allowed himself to be guided by Irish advisers ; he had been partial to Desmond ; ' he that had least deserved favour had been most borne -withal/ While, in fact, he had done more for Ireland in the eight months of his government than any Eng- lish ruler since Sir Edward Bellingham, the Queen in- sisted that he had attended to none of her wishes and