The Irish abroad, a record of the achievements of wanderers from Ireland

Preface

In presenting this volume to the public I would draw attention to the fact that it deals with the Irishman out of Ireland in the broadest sense — that is to say, it deals with him in England, Scotland, Wales, France, Spain and the British Colonies, anywhere, indeed, saving in his own country. Also I beg to thank Madame Maud Gonne, Miss M. Barry O'Delany, General Minarelli- Fitzgerald, Le Comte Margerin de Cremont, Count MacGregor de Glenstroe, and the Duke of Tetuan, for the kind assistance they have rendered me. For permission to reproduce certain of the illustrations I am indebted to the extreme courtesy of Mr. Roger Ingpen.

ELLIOT O'DONNELL.

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Contents

CHAP. PAGE

I. HOW THE IRISH CAME TO GO ABROAD. FROM THE DEPARTURE OF THE EARLY MISSION- ARIES TO THE END OF THE THIRD GREAT EMIGRATION ..... 1

II. THE IRISH IN BRISTOL, LIVERPOOL AND

Chapter I

FROM THE DEPARTURE OF THE EARLY MISSIONARIES TO THE END OF THE THIRD GREAT EMIGRATION

Although many Irishmen had left their native shores before the seventeenth century, up to that time there had been no emigration in the usual sense of the word.

When not merely for the sake of travel, it was either for the purpose of acquiring knowledge, of spreading their religion and art, of redressing their own wrongs, or of assisting others to redress theirs, that the Irish had hitherto sought a foreign country, and, in a few cases, though with no idea at first of making it their home, had eventually settled in it.

Of these excursions abroad, one of the earliest on record is that of Naoighiallach, better known as Niall of the Nine Hostages, who led a punitive expedition into Britain. Naoighiallach, or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was the ancestor of the O'Neills (O'Niall converted into O'Naill, and then into O'Neill), O'Donnell's (O'Dohmniall — O'Dohmnaill — O'Donnell) , O* Cornell's (O'Conniall — O'Connaill — O'Connell), and various other clans. He reigned over all Ireland from a.d. 379 to a.d. 405, and was probably the first Irishman of note to visit England.

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Following his example, Irishmen of lesser fame led similar expeditions, but no one of any note appears to have visited England again till about a.d. 520, when Finen, or St. Finnian, a native of Leinster, travelled in Britain, and perceiving the ignorance and heathenism of the Anglo-Saxons, planned their conversion ; afterwards returning to Ireland, and founding at Clonard the renowned School with which his name has ever since been associated. Among his pupils was Columcille, or St. Columba, a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages, and a member of the Cinel-Connail, or Clan Connail — which gave its name to the O'Dohmnaills (O'Donnells) — who, anxious to carry on the work begun by St. Finnian, after having established his head monastery on the Island of Iona, visited the Northern provinces of England to select sites for the founding of branch houses.

Another Irishman we hear of in England was St. Adamnan, Columba's biographer, (also of the Cinel- Connail), a native of Donegal, and sixth Bishop of Iona, who, about a.d. 685, journeyed from Iona to York to intercede with Alfred, King of the Northern Saxons, for the release of a number of Irish prisoners.

Following close upon St. Columba, St. Aidan of Galway, at the invitation of Oswald, King of Northumberland, went over to help in the conversion of his subjects to Christianity, and afterwards founded the monastery of Lindisfarne. He was the first in the line of bishops that take their title from Durham, and greatly to the disgust of his biographer, the Venerable Bede, he sided with the Irish Church in the differences regarding the celebration of Easter. St. Aidan died in a.d. 651 and was succeeded by another Irishman, St. Finan of Tipperary, who, through his untiring efforts to convert the Northumbrians, won the friendship of King Oswiu, and the esteem of Bede. St. Finan spent the greater part of his life in England and died about a.d. 661.

Almost contemporary with St. Finan were two other famous Irish missionaries, St. Fursa, or Fursey, and St. Finnbarr, or Bairre. St. Fursa, the son of Fintan, a Prince of Munster, was born about a.d. 590, near Lough Carrib. After studying to be a priest under St. Meldan at Inchiquin, he erected a monastery at Rathmat, and then crossed over into England and began his work of conversion among the heathen of East Anglia. After six years' toil, during which time he won over many hundreds of the rude and savage Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, he went over to France, where he established a world-wide reputation for his piety and learning. " The reputation of St. Fursey," says a calendar of Scottish Saints, "extends far beyond the limits of the Anglo-Saxon Church." Not only is he the most distinguished of those missionaries who left Erin to spread the Gospel through the heathen, or semi-heathenized races of mediaeval Europe, bridging the gap between the old and new civilizations, but his position in view of dogma is a most important one. He has profoundly affected the eschatology of Christianity.

Though less celebrated than St. Fursa, St. Finbarr of Connaught did much to advance the cause of Christianity in England by materially aiding in the conversion of Mercia, and by improving and developing the Monastery of Glastonbury.

There is little doubt, too, St. Cuthbert was Irish, and, according to Dr. Healy, Coadjutor Bishop of

Clonfert, there is a manuscript in the library of the Dean and Canons of York that substantiates that belief.

St. Gall, the founder of the monastery of Arbon, which eventually became so celebrated that the name of St. Gall was given to the surrounding country — now the province of St. Gall ; St. Albin, made Abbot of the monastery of St. Augustine at Pavia by Charlemagne ; St. Foelan, St. Boniface, St. Killian were also Irishmen ; and at the present day 155 Irish Saints are still venerated in Germany, 46 in France, 32 in Belgium, 13 in Italy, and 8 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It is, of course, impossible to enumerate all the Irish pioneers of civilization and religion, their name is legion — only let it be understood that long, long before the inhabitants of what is now England had ceased to be savages, Ireland had attained a far-famed reputation as a centre of art and learning. One of the oldest transcriptions of Horace in existence, now in the Library of Berne, is written in Celtic characters, with notes and commentaries in the Irish language ; and so proficient did the Irish monks become in their knowledge of Latin and Greek, that they were eagerly sought after as teachers by students of every nationality.

But this was not all. Most of these monks loved Art, and many were great artists. In Denmark, France and Spain, there are yet to be seen evidences of their wonderful skill in architecture and the working of metals. It is only in England — in the country that owes everything to Ireland, her raising from the quagmire of paganism and barbarity, and the very foundations of her civilization— that all traces of her early skill in art have been ignored, and all recognition of her ancient supremacy in learning jealously suppressed.

The era of Irish missionaries over, we next hear of the Irish abroad in the dispatch of a fleet of sixty ships from Dublin to help Edwin and Morcar against the Normans. The fleet sailed up the Bristol Channel and, entering the estuary of the Avon, successfully navigated the narrow, winding gorge, and anchored just outside the city, in what is now known as Cumberland Basin. But the Normans drove them off, and, on their sailing away, the Irish, making one more attempt to land on the banks of the distant Tamar, were again repelled, this time finally.

A long period now ensues, during which many desultory visits were paid to France and other countries on the Continent, but none of much moment till that of the brutal, dissolute Diarmaid (Dermot) Macmurrough, King of Leinster, who, through his unholy love for the beautiful Devorgilla, wife of Tiernan O'Rorke (O'Ruark), brought about the ruin and disintegration of Ireland. As Mr. Justin McCarthy remarks, " Helen was not more fatal to the Greeks and Easterns than Devorgilla, Erin's Helen, proved to the neighbouring islands that lie along the Irish Sea. Through ages of bloodshed and slaughter her country has indeed bled for her shame."

The story of the quarrel between the Macmurroughs and O'Rorke is too well known to be repeated here. The fate of Ireland, had this quarrel never happened, would, doubtless, have been the same in the end. The inroad of the English would have been postponed, perhaps for one, perhaps for two centuries, but one day they would have come over and taken everything, just as they came and took everything in Canada, India, Africa and Australia. Destiny makes empire builders of most nations. It was England's turn then. God knows, but the turn of the Celt may come, too, some day.

Ireland, although no longer a kingdom — for in 1180 Roderick O'Connor, the last King of Ireland, was obliged to visit London, to pay homage to Henry II in order to retain the solitary province of Connaught — still continued to send out small detachments of her native populace.

At the beginning of the thirteenth century, Ireland having ceased to be the chief home of learning, a large number of young Irishmen, no longer conscious of superior advantages at home, went to Oxford to be educated ; whilst others sought instruction from the venerable monks of Hereford, Bath and Bristol.

In 1243 a contingent of Irish soldiers, amongst whom were Felim O'Connor, Chief of Connaught, a descendant of Roderick, and the two Irishized Normans, Maurice Fitzgerald and Richard Mac William Bourke, went from Ireland to aid the English in their war with the Welsh ; and, a little later, the wars with Scotland, the Wars of the Roses, and the Rebellions of Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel, saw the departure of even bigger contingents.

It was not, perhaps, until Henry VII's reign, when Gerald Fitzgerald, " The Great Earl of Kildare," who had been the chief supporter of the Yorkists in Ireland, came to London to answer a long category of complaints brought against him by the Archbishop of Armagh, that any great Irishman again visited England. The decision of the Court was in the Earl's favour and he returned to

Ireland jubilant. Two years later he was recalled to England to answer various charges brought against him by his hereditary enemy Ormonde, and this time he was committed to the Tower. When brought to trial before Henry VII, his native wit and frankness served him. Asked by Henry whether he was provided with a counsel to defend him, he replied, " Yea, the ablest in the realm ; your Highness I take for my counsel against these false knaves." This pleased the King so much that he listened to the accusations brought against Kildare with a distinct leaning in favour of the Earl, and when Kildare, in response to the demand of the Archbishop of Cashel's counsel as to why he had burned down the Archbishop's Cathedral, replied, " Sure, I would not have done it if I had not been told that the Archbishop was inside," the King leaned back in his chair and laughed long and loud. The Court were astonished, not to say dismayed, at this levity, and one of the prosecuting party pleaded with the King. " Your Highness," he said, " is probably not aware that all Ireland cannot keep this Earl of Kildare in order." " Is that so ? " said Henry, still laughing, " then let this Earl keep all Ireland in order. It is my will." And Kildare went back to Ireland in triumph. The next appearance of a Kildare in London was that of Gerald Fitzgerald, son of the great Earl, who was detained at the Court of Henry VII as a hostage for his father's fidelity ; but he appears to have been treated extraordinarily well, and, marrying the young and beautiful Elizabeth Zouche, he was permitted to return to his own country, where many high posts and honours were bestowed upon him by the new king, Henry VIII. On his next visit to London, occasioned through the charges brought against him by Ormonde, he incurred the bitter enmity of Wolsey, and was sent to the Tower, only escaping execution through the friendly intervention of the Constable. Pardoned by the King, he returned to Ireland, but was again summoned to London some years later to answer fresh accusations again brought by Ormonde. This time fate was not so kind to him ; no pardon was forthcoming, and he died of a broken heart in the Tower. Interred in St. Peter's Church in the Tower, he was the first Irishman of distinction to be buried in London.

The next Irishman of note to come to London was also a Fitzgerald, named Thomas, son of Gerald Fitzgerald, and commonly known as " Silken Thomas." He, too, was thrown in the Tower through the machinations of Ormonde, and he had not been there long before his five uncles, Sir Oliver, Sir John, Sir James, Sir Walter and Sir Richard, were treacherously captured and lodged with him. On 3rd February, 1537, after many cruel tortures, all six were executed like common criminals at Tyburn.

Irish traders were now coming in increasing numbers to London, Liverpool, and Bristol, but no one of any particular account landed in England till Con Bacagh O'Neill, inaugurated The O'Neill on the death of his brother, obeying Henry VIII's summons, presented himself at the English Court on the 24th of September, 1542. Being given to understand in that jocular, yet sinisterly significant manner that was so characteristic of Henry VIII, that unless he renounced the name of O'Neill, adopted the English dress and language, was wholly obedient to the King's laws, assisted the Deputy in his hustings and refused to succour any of the enemies of the King and his minister, his stay in London might be exceedingly uncomfortable and protracted, he submitted. What else could he do ? He was sent back to Ireland, under escort, with a few cheap and paltry presents.

With Edward VI on the throne, vigorous religious persecutions at once began within the English pale, and, as a result, many hundreds of Roman Catholics fled from Ireland. The majority of these took refuge in France and Scotland, but a good sprinkling landed in Wales and Cornwall, and not a few found their way to London.

This migration, however, was only temporary, for on Mary's accession the fierce Protestant regime in Dublin ended, and money was generously sent to the refugees to enable them to return.

The Irishman of most note in London during this reign was O'Connor of Offaly, who had been imprisoned on account of his religious views by Edward, but whom Mary released, treated sumptuously, and sent back to Ireland laden with costly gifts.

With Elizabeth's succession to the throne, the real era of gloom and suppression in Ireland began. And yet it was not owing to any racial or religious prejudice on the part of the Queen. Elizabeth, as many authenticated anecdotes prove, had a great admiration for the handsome Irish, and would doubtless have done much for them, had not Cecil persuaded her to send certain ministers as Deputies to Ireland. These men, actuated partly by jealousy and bigotry, and partly by greed, for Ulster offered a remarkably fair field for spoliation, so continually and subtly blackened the Irish in Elizabeth's eyes that they eventually succeeded in entirely poisoning her mind against them, and, instead of continuing their friend, she ultimately became their arch enemy and oppressor.

Before that state of affairs was reached, several of the more eminent of the Irish chieftains visited England. The first to come was the cruel and treacherous Shane O'Neill, who at that time had his kinsman, Calvagh O'Donnell, a prisoner in chains in a dungeon, whilst he was making violent love to his wife, the sister of Mac- Donnell, Earl of Argyle. Shane O'Neill was the terror of Ireland, trusted neither by friend nor foe, and, after the Lord Deputy had made several fruitless attempts to have him put out of the way by secret assassination, Elizabeth expressed a desire to see him. Accordingly, he came to London, and this is Mr. Froude's account of his reception. " The Council, the peers, the foreign ambassadors, bishops, aldermen, dignitaries of all kinds were present in state, as if at the exhibition of some wild animal of the desert. O'Neill stalked in, his saffron mantle sweeping round and round him, his hair curling on his back and clipped short below the eyes, which gleamed from under it with a grey lustre, frowning, fierce and cruel. Behind him followed his gallo-glasses, bare-headed and fair-haired, with shirts of mail which reached beneath their knees, a wolf-skin flung across their shoulders, and short, broad battle-axes in their hands."

O'Neill and his retinue were, in all probability, rather more prepossessing than this picture presents them — Mr. Froude's value as an historian being considerably modified by his manifest partiality — but there is most probably some truth in the description of their dress and of the crude curiosity and ignorance of the crowd assembled to see them.

That O'Neill must have possessed great attractions for the other sex is evinced by the fact — too well authenticated ever to have been questioned — that Elizabeth was so taken with him, that she invited him to Windsor as her guest, flirted openly with him, told him, half in play and half in earnest, that he was never to select a wife without consulting her first, as she knew better than anyone else who would suit him, loaded him with presents, and very reluctantly allowed him to leave her, proclaiming that he was to be treated on his return to Ireland as one of her most loyal and trusted allies and subjects.

The next Irishman of distinction to visit London was the man Shane O'Neill had so cruelly wronged — Calvagh O'Donnell, Lord of Tirconnell. His entry into the Royal presence differed essentially from that of his rival, Shane. He came alone, travel-stained and weary, and, kneeling at the Queen's feet, went into ecstacies over the beauty and symmetry of the white-bejewelled hands that were held out to him to kiss. Elizabeth dealt gently with him ; all the woman within her rose uppermost when she listened to the story of his wrongs, and noted the confirmation of it in his face and eyes. Nor did his appearance — for he was tall and straight, with strong and rather curiously emphasized features, hair slightly tinged with red, and a general expression of great frankness and sincerity of purpose — fail to leave its mark on her impressionable heart. He, too, came as a guest to Windsor, and when he went back to Tirconnell, it was as " her man," and with a Patent Royal1, bearing her signature, creating him Earl of Wexford.

So charmed was Elizabeth at this time with the Irish that, directly after Calvagh's departure, she invited " The O'Rourke." Walker, in his Irish Bards, gives a long account of O'Rourke's visit to London, the substance of which (reproduced from the Editorial Notes to Lady Morgan's O'Donnel) is as follows —

" O'Rourke, the chief of Brefni, a brave and powerful person, was invited by Queen Elizabeth to London, though under the displeasure of the Lord President Bingham. The Queen made him warm professions of honours and service, intending by this invitation to lead him into a kind of exile, in order to secure his obedience. O'Rourke confided and obeyed her summons ; but before his departure he assembled his vassals and friends in the great hall of his castle, and entertained them with all the splendour of the times. (Such was the parting feast which gave rise to the song of the bard in afterdays.) On the arrival of the Irish chief in Whitehall, the Queen was ready to receive him. The elegant symmetry of his person, and his noble aspect, struck Her Majesty and he was soon ranked among her choicest favourites." The authenticity of Walker's sequel has been disputed, but, as the action he attributes to Elizabeth is consistent with her character, one may be pardoned the assumption that there is in it at least an element of truth. He says, " One night a person tapped at O'Rourke's door and was admitted — it was a woman. The visit continued to be repeated, the lady always

1 The original was as recently as 1911 in the hands of a gentleman in Birmingham, who lent it to the Archaeological Society of Belfast.

retiring before daybreak. The Chief's curiosity became urgent ; he pressed the mysterious lady to reveal herself, but she refused ; a straggling moonbeam, however, discovered to him a ring that glittered on her finger ; he examined it unobserved by the wearer. The next day he saw it upon the Queen's finger at Court, and had the impudence to hint his suspicion to Her Majesty. His fatal curiosity (adds the tradition) was punished with secret death — he was assassinated that night."

According to other chroniclers, however, who admit the Queen's fascination for O'Rourke, the Irish Chieftain was accused of having received some shipwrecked Spaniards under his roof — an accusation that was as unfounded as its source was mysterious — and publicly executed. Whether he was poisoned or beheaded, O'Rourke's son, who was in London at the time, determining to avenge his father's death and the spoliation of his own property by the English Lord President, hastened back to Ireland and joined the flag of Red Hugh O'Donnell.

Red Hugh came over to England several times, but his visits were neither so frequent, nor so protracted, as those of his illustrious kinsman, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

The greatest efforts were made to make an Englishman of Hugh O'Neill. When in his teens he was brought to the English Court by Sidney, and introduced to the Queen, who not only gave him a command in her special bodyguard, but granted him a pension and also provided him with a whole bevy of tutors. At length, so English did he become, that, in 1580, he co-operated with Essex in the massacre of his countrymen at Smerwick, and in the partitioning and settling up of Antrim.

The disaffection of O'Neill, and his subsequent union with Red Hugh O'Donnell against the English, led up to the culminating scene in the great war of 1595-1602, when, defeated by Mount joy in the desperately fought battle of Kinsale, the two chieftains rallied their broken forces on the banks of the dark and swollen Bandon and agreed to part — O'Donnell to go to Spain to entreat aid from the King, and O'Neill to remain in Ireland and continue harassing the English. The departure of Red Hugh on the 6th of January, 1602, which gave rise to Moore's famous song of the Union of the Olive and the Shamrock, marked the beginning of a national exodus, w7hich, in a varying degree, has gone on, from that day to this, and has never ceased.

In 1603, the war in Ireland over, Hugh O'Neill, forgetful of his promise to Red Hugh O'Donnell, to go on struggling to the bitter end, made a formal submission on his knees to the Lord Deputy and members of his Council at Mellifort, near Drogheda, was pardoned, and came to London as a guest of the King. His reception, though nothing like so cordial as it had been on former occasions, was too friendly to meet the approval of many of the English. " I have lived," wrote Sir John Harrington, one of the august veterans who had fought for the Deputy in Ireland, " to see that damnable rebel, Tyrone, brought to England, honoured and well liked. O what is there that does not prove the inconstancy of worldly matters ? How I did labour for all that knave's destruction ! I adventured perils by sea and land, was near starving, ate horse flesh in Munster, and all to quell that man, who now smileth in peace at those who did harass their lives to destroy him ; and now doth Tyrone dare us, old Commanders, with his presence and protection."

Beyond the circle of smiling ladies, and a few courtiers broad-minded and chivalrous enough to extend welcome to any knight, so long as he was brave and gallant, O'Neill encountered nothing but sullen scowls ; the black and angry looks of officials and adventurers, who had looked forward to the forfeiture of his lands ; of soldiers longing to avenge old scores ; and of bigoted religionists, hating him on account of his Catholic faith. It was a trying situation, and it required all O'Neill's tact and courage to live through it. His stay in London, however, was not for long. Lawsuits with O'Cahan, the Bishop of Derry, and others of his enemies called him back to Ireland, and his next journey, namely, to Rome, was his last.

In these two migrations — that of Red Hugh O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill — there sailed from Ireland in all about 120 souls, few of whom ever again visited their native land. Their subsequent wanderings and vicissitudes are referred to in the chapters dealing with Spain and Italy.

The next two Irishmen of distinction to visit England after Hugh O'Neill were Rory O'Donnell, Red Hugh's brother, and Sir Niall Garv (Garbh) O'Donnell, grandson of Calvagh O'Donnell, Earl of Wexford, and the ally of the English in the war of 1598-1602. These two came to London as rival claimants of the Earldom of Tirconnell, a title that became vacant on the death of Red Hugh. Charges of treachery to his allies, the English, being brought against Sir Niall Garv, and confirmed, the Earldom was awarded to Rory, who certainly had the better right to it. Both returned to Ireland, but were destined to leave it soon after for good. Tirconnell accompanied Hugh O'Neill to Rome, and Sir Niall Garv O'Donnell, becoming involved in his kinsman, Sir Cahir O'Dogherty's, rebellion, was arrested for high treason, brought in chains to London, and, together with his son, Nachtan, lodged in the Tower. He died, some say by the hand of the assassin, in 1626, and was the first real Celtic-Irishman — the first of the O's and Mac's — of any note to be buried within the precincts of the Tower. Of the fate of Nachtan nothing is known for certain ; some affirm that he escaped, found his way to France in a coasting vessel, joined the army of Louis XIII, and was killed in a duel ; others, that he died in captivity from lack of proper nourishment and fresh air. Sir Niall left two other sons, Manus and Hugh Boy, whose descendants are still living. Of Sir Niall Garv O'Donnell's character many adverse things have been written, but of his skill and courage never has there been any question. The O 'Sullivan Beare, in referring to him, called him " a man of great and daring spirit, endowed with a knowledge of military affairs " — a description that is amply corroborated by many other chroniclers.

The four great Irishmen, Hugh O'Neill, Red Hugh O'Donnell, his brother Rory, and his cousin Sir Niall Garv out of the way, the English, having no one else to fear, at once commenced their work of robbery, expulsion and extermination. Nor can the annals of any country in Europe show a blacker record. There were already a large number of English settlers — chiefly traders — in Munster, Leinster and Connaught ; but few had hitherto crossed into Ulster, and it was Ulster upon which the crafty King of England and his rapacious myrmidons had long had their eye. The reason of this is not far to seek. The larger portion of Ulster, consisting of the Counties of Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, Cavan, Armagh and Fermanagh, belonged to the exiled Earls of Tyrone and Tirconnell, admittedly the richest of the Irish chieftains, and they not only had in their immediate possession — in their castles and abbeys, which Mr. Froude, in his racial antipathy to the Irish, would have one believe were quite humbly poor and bare — gold and silver plate and ornaments, some of home manufacture and some from Spain and Italy ; jewels, mostly from Spain, Italy and the Far East ; pictures, from Italy ; books and parchments of Celtic origin, or from various parts of Europe ; carpets, tapestry, silk and satin goods, from Spain and Portugal and the Far East, whither Irish mariners are known to have wandered and traded at a period when England could only boast of coracles ; and many other treasures — but were the representatives of clans that owned many hundreds of acres of rich pasture land, interspersed with highly prosperous and contented towns and villages. In addition, Ulster possessed the best harbours and the best climate in Ireland, but had it not been only too obvious that without their leaders the Irish of Ulster were paralysed and helpless, the hordes of London and Scottish shopkeepers and usurers, who swarmed across the Channel at the bidding of James, would never have dared to put a foot within the province. The alleged treason of the O'Neill and the O'Donnell was the excuse offered for the now wholesale robbery. A commission of omnivorous Londoners, under the protection of an army of steel-clad soldiers, sat at Limavaddy,

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and with Bible and Prayer-book — the customary and, assuredly, the only trade-mark of their respectability — on the table by their side, drew up a list of all the Ulstermen who owned anything that was worth taking. When this list was complete, the Scottish and English mercenaries were called in, and to the representatives of twelve City of London Companies, in which were included the Drapers, Skinners, Salters, Mercers, Ironmongers and Fishmongers — men who had no sense of art, of poetry, of literature, of pity, of honour, of anything save of making and hoarding up money — were sold great tracts of Derry, the Derry of the O'Neills. In a few cases, the owners of property having influential English friends, it was feared that complications might arise, and a more subtle method was employed. Spies, chiefly London Jews, were set to work, and, for finding out and inventing flaws in the title deeds, they were well remunerated. All property thus denounced was, of course, confiscated and appropriated by King James. But the new-comers — the ancestors of the present generation of Ulster Orangemen— could not enter into their new possessions till the rightful occupants had left, and, as it was deemed likely that many of these occupants would show fight, the ejectors called for the assistance of an armed force. The summoners had not far to go for it. All that was necessary in that way had been provided by the thoughtful King of England and his Parliament.