Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/599

 1567-] DEATH OF a NEIL. 579 which could see far beyond the limits of his own island, and a tongue which could touch the most passionate chords of the Irish heart ; the like of him has been seen many times in that island, and the like of him may be seen many times again, ' till the Ethiopian has changed his skin and the leopard his spots.' Many of his letters remain, to the Queen, to Sussex, to Sidney, to Cecil, and to foreign princes ; far-reaching, full of pleasant flattery and promises which cost him nothing; but showing true ability and insight. Sinner though he was, he too in his turn was sinned against ; in the stained page of Irish misrule there is no second instance in which an English ruler stooped to treachery or to the infamy of attempted assassination ; and it is L not to be forgotten that Lord Sussex, who has left under his own hand the evidence of his own baseness, con- tinued a trusted and favoured councillor of Eliza- beth, while Sidney, who fought Shan and conquered him in the open field, found only suspicion and hard words. How just Sidney's calculations had been, how ably r " v his plans were conceived, how bravely they were carried out, was proved by their entire success, notwithstanding the unforeseen and unlikely calamity at Londonderry. In one season Ireland was reduced for the first time to < universal peace and submission. While the world was full of Sidney's praises Elizabeth persevered in writing letters to him which Cecil in his own name and the name of the council was obliged to disclaim. But