Flight of the Eagle Author:Standish O'Grady Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE VICEROY AND THE DARK-DAUGHTER Ik the spring of 1587 Perrott was exceedingly ictive and anxious. The noise of the making of the Armada was e... more »ver in his ears. He feared lest Ireland should be its destination. The Catholic party in England was strong; but Ireland was all Catholic—there was hardly a Protestant in the whole island. Moreover, a rhymed couplet was much in vogue at this time, the burden of which was not reassuring to an Irish viceroy— " He who would England win Must with Ireland begin." Ireland was, indeed, loyal to the Queen, and animated with a passionate feeling of strong personal regard for Sir John Perrott. But Perrott had no army. In any emergency he could only rely upon the feudal levy, that is to say, upon the chieftainry themselves, and the forces which by law they were bound to bring to his aid. The fidelity of the chieftains was to him, therefore, a vital necessity of the situation. All were, indeed, obedient to the Queen and friendly to himself, but he could not count on the continuance of those feelinga should a powerful Spanish army land in the island. Accordingly, he determined to make assurance doublysure, and bind the chieftains to the State by all means in his power. Upon doubtful men within his reach he laid sudden hands, and confined them in the Castle. All the rest he bade send in hostages for their fidelity during the Spanish crisis. All, or almost all, obeyed, and the sons and foster-brothers of the chieftains wended towards Dublin, or other strong places within the realm. Perrott's call for hostages was felt to be reasonable, and was promptly responded to. One powerful family disobeyed, from whose disobedience sprang the tragical and romantic tale with which we —- have now to deal. Sir Hugh O'Donnell, who ruled over the ...« less