without the Pale to be divided into counties, but it was only a nominal division. The black rent continued to be exacted from the inhabitants of the borders of the Pale by the surrounding chiefs, who still considered themselves as independent, and, as such, entered into treaties of peace with the English king, or his lieutenant.

Such was the state of Ireland during the reigns of Henry VIII. Edward VI. Queen Mary, and part of Queen Elizabeth's reign-on one side, continual coercion; on the other, a constant repulsion.

At length religious zeal stepped in to augment national prejudice. The measures pursued in the reign of Edward VI. in order to force the protestant religion upon the Irish, had the natural effect of attaching them more firmly to their own religious system; and a general spirit of hatred to the English government manifested itself at the commencement of Elizabeth's reign.

This disposition was favourable to Philip II. of Spain, for promoting his hostile designs against England; partial invasions of Ireland from Spain had been attempted several years before the sending out of the famous Armada; and Philip said he had two claims upon Ireland, one on account of the catholic religion, the other because the Milesians came originally from Spain !

Spain was then the most powerful, the most ambitious, and the most bigoted nation in Europe; and, by her geographical situation, is well situated for a convenient sea intercourse with Ireland. An army of several thousands of Spaniards were sent to that country, accompanied by a Nuncio from his Holiness the Pope, who took possession of Kinsale. Thus England found herself in danger of being hedged in by the formidable power of Spain, both on the east and the west; on one side by the Netherlands, on the other by Ireland.

These considerations determined the English to make extraordinary efforts to obtain the entire possession of Ireland.

Accordingly a large army was sent under the command of Lord Essex, the Queen's favourite, which, assisted by the advantages already possessed by the English government, by the dissension of the Irish Chiefs, and by the memorable defeat of the invincible Armada, effected a complete reduction of the country after a war that lasted about seven years.*

* The English having at length overcome Ireland, the then condition of that unhappy country is thus described in the following beautifully pathetic effusion of an Irish bard.

"O the miserable condition of my dear countrymen !-How languid their joys, how pressing their sorrows!-The wreck of a ruined nation; the wretched crew of a vessel long tossed about by tempestuous waves, and finally cast away!-We are become the prisoners of the Saxon nation, the captives of a remorseless tyranny!-Our sentence is pronounced, our destruction is inevitable !—O frightful, excruciating thought!-Liberty exchanged for servitude, beauty for deformity, independence for slavery!—A brave people become a desponding race!-How came this vile transformation!We are not the same people!-Need I appeal to your own senses—but what sensations have ye left?-Over our whole island, every kind of illegal and extrajudicial proceeding hath assumed the strong form of law, and our only security depends upon a submission to lawless law!-Mark the change which these bold intruders have wrought on the face of our country-they have hemmed in our green lawns, the former scenes of our virtue and glory-they have disfigured with towers and ramparts, those fair fields which Nature intended for the support of her creatures-that Nature which we see defrauded, and whose laws are so wantonly counteracted, that this lately free Ireland is metamorphosed into another Saxony!-The slaves of Ireland no longer recognise their common mother; she disowns us for her children; we have lost our ancient forms; and we now see only insulting Saxon conquerors, and submissive Irish slaves!-Helpless land!-thou art a shattered bark, over which the tempestuous sea hath burst its way, and we can scarcely perceive a part of the wreck in the rude hands of the plunderer!—Yes, the plunderer hath refitted you for his own uses, and we are new-moulded for his own purposes !—Ye Israelites of Egypt, ye wretched inhabitants of oppressed Erin, is there no relief for you?-Is there no Hector left for the defence, no Hero for the recovery of Troy ?-Send us, O God! a second Moses to redeem thy people from the hands of these cruel Saxons!" (a)

(a) The Irish and Welsh bards called the English, the Saxon nation. Edward I. (he who treacherously murdered Sir William Wallace) to make short work of the business, collected a number of the latter, and then had VOL. I.

B

Queen Elizabeth, however, did not live to see Ireland entirely subjected; for the final treaty with O'Nial of Tyrone, did not take place until some days after her death. James I. is therefore the first English monarch who possessed the entire dominion of Ireland.

The English government being now generally established by force of arms, there seemed a probability that the inhabitants would gradually accommodate themselves to the English laws and customs, and that peace at last would prevail in Ireland. But certain events had lately taken place, that gave rise to animosities and contests, as obstinate, and as bloody, and as disgraceful, as any that had yet happened—we allude to the religious dissensions caused by the forcible introduction of the Reformation amongst the Irish.

The first attempt to introduce the Reformation into Ireland, was in the reign of Edward VI. when orders were sent for using the English liturgy in all the churches, and directions were given for removing, selling, or destroying all the ornaments, &c. of the catholic religion; neither argument, nor reason, nor persuasion, were used, but the harsh commands were executed with severity and strictness by an insolent soldiery!

On Queen Mary's ascending the English throne, all these proceedings were suddenly and violently reversed: The anthem all massacred!-See Gray's beautiful Ode, “Ruin seize thee, ruthless King," &c.

It was long before the Irish bards, or wandering minstrels, were totally extirpated by the English power; Carolan, born in 1670, may be considered as the last of the order. Sometimes yet may be seen a few itinerant harpers both in Wales and Ireland; and scarcely any thing can strike the mind with a more pleasing, soothing melancholy, and so powerfully excite ideas of ancient times, than an old gray-headed man, chanting his legendary tales, accompanied by the sweet and impressive notes of the harp.

Ireland was famous for music and poetry. The Scotch and the Irish, each of them, contend for the honour of Ossian's Poems; probably they were formed from both the nations, as they then had but one common language, and for several centuries, had a common intercourse and connection both in civil and religious affairs.

cient order of things was again established; the Latin litany and catholic ornaments were restored to all the churches; and the fires of Smithfield were kindled by this bigoted and impolitic woman-persecution with all its horrors was renewed in the sacred name of religion !*

At Queen Elizabeth's accession, another reformation took place the catholics were again put down, and protestantism gained great strength during her long and prosperous reign.

King James pursued the business of reformation with eagerness, and his power being much greater, his efforts were attended with greater effect. As a further step towards establishing the protestant religion, he escheated, or forfeited, six of the northern counties, viz. Antrim, Armagh, Down, Derry, Donegal, and Tyrone, settling in them large colonies of people from Scotland, and some from England: hence Derry is called London-Derry, as being, most of it, the property, by royal grants, of the twelve incorporated companies of the city of London.

From this time, the people of Ireland may be viewed in

* There is a great similarity between this Queen Mary and James II. Both of them, by their violent bigotry, ruined the cause which they were anxious to promote. It may be said that the people of England became protestants, not so much from the convictions of reason, as from the fears of popish despotism.

What a horrible picture does history give of the folly and wickedness of men! It is but little known, because the English historians only skim the subject, that the Scotch suffered much persecution in the reign of Charles II. In one respect this was rather unaccountable, as that monarch was a voluptuous, unprincipled libertine; but it was a state business, to make episcopacy the state religion of Scotland. The Bishops of Rome, in the plenitude of their power, beat down every attempt to enlighten and enfranchise the human mind; they persecuted, and, at length, extirpated, the Albigenses, &c. The Spaniards, by that terrible stute engine, the inquisition, persecuted, and banished, and tortured, in the name of the most Holy Trinity, millions of Jews, Moors, and Heretics! The French dragooned the Hugonots. The English persecuted both the Irish catholics and Scotch presbyterians. Calvin and the presbyterians domineered in their turn. And thus the work of persecution went round in enlightened Europe!

three distinct classes, viz. the Irish, among whom were the descendants of the first English settlers, or "the degenerate English," as they were called, all Roman catholics-the Scotch settlers, nearly all presbyterians-and the new settlers, who were all of the episcopal, or established church, and who, though fewest in number, were the greatest in power, as having the government of England to support their proceedings, and for whose benefit, in fact, the whole political system of the country was and is calculated.—And this state of parties is nearly the same at this day.

In order to complete the predominancy of the protestant party, all the former penal statutes were put in force, and new and very oppressive ones were added to them.-By such measures as these, the catholics were completely excluded; and hence arose those formidable party distinctions, of catholics, presbyterians, and protestants, which have ever since divided and distracted Ireland. The religious prejudices of the two first are dexterously played off against each other; whilst the third party, the least in number, contrives to domineer over them both, and turn every circumstance to its own advantage and emolument.

A union was now formed between the ancient Irish, who, after losing their lands and their laws, were to lose their religion, and the old English, whose lords and men of influence were to be deprived of their consequence, whose priests and lawyers were thrown out of employment, and whose numerous people had their churches taken from them by force, and punished for not conforming to the religion of their oppressors! All these united, under the banner of the catholic faith, against the protestants, as against a common enemy.

The English government was so much distracted by the contest between Charles I. and the parliament, that little attention was paid to the affairs of Ireland. Irritated by oppression, and favoured by a combination of events, a general insurrection was planned, and carried into execution by the Irish, In October, 1641; many of the protestants were killed,