Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/602

582 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 62. Irish imagination saw in their coming the fulfilment of Sanders's promise. They would have been in Ireland long before, except for the fleet. But Admiral Winter finding himself short of provisions, with the autumn weather coming on, his ships' bottoms foul with weed, 1 unable to go from such as might be an overmatch for him, nor to overtake any that he should chase/ and further believing that the insurrection in Munster was crushed, had returned home without waiting for orders. 1 Notice of his intention must have been sent to Corufia before he left, for the two fleets met upon the seas and crossed each other unseen or unrecognized. Thus the peninsula of Dingle was again the focus of Irish interest. The new-comers entrenched themselves in their predecessors' fort at Smerwick without noticing its defects. They landed four thousand stand of arms, which they had brought for the Irish, in addition to six months' provisions, and three hundred of them at once went inland to look for Desmond. How many had ar- rived, or how many more might be coming, the council at Dublin were for several days unable to learn. The roads were beset, and messengers detected carrying news to the English were cut to pieces. On the Irish the effect appeared at first most serious. The young Clanrickards seized Loughrea Castle, raised King's County, and threatened Malby in Athlone. Baltinglass and the rebels in Wicklow came down into the Pale, and swept the country to Dublin, and as if the elements Explanation of Sir Win. Winter, September 23 : MSS. Ireland,