Hungary with Sir Thomas Seymour when the Turks were at Pesth. He had been on a diplomatic mission at Brussels. He was in Wallop's army at Landrecy, and afterwards with the Earl of Surrey at Boulogne. His most distinguished achievement hitherto had been when, as Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, he repulsed the attacks of the French in 1545.
When he arrived at Dublin the English Pale was fringed with a line of fire. The Irish harbours swarmed with pirates. Catholic refugees, disfrocked monks, thieves, outlaws, vagabonds, had poured across the Channel, and, under the decent cloak of sufferers for religion, were dispersed among the castles of the Irish. French and Scottish agents had followed, with plans for a French invasion, for the restoration of Gerald Fitzgerald, for the fortification of the Skerries, and the maintenance there in permanence of a French fleet.[1]
- ↑ Irish MSS. Edward VI. vols. i. and ii. State Paper Office. Among other French emissaries came John de Monluc, Bishop of Valence, accompanied by young James Melville, then a boy of fourteen. The editor of Melville's manuscript misprinted the date of the visit, representing it as having taken place in 1545; the real date is 1547–8. Melville represents Edward as being on the English throne, and the Bishop's arrival is spoken of in the State Correspondence. In spite of scandal, I must borrow a page from the story.'John de Monluc, Bishop of Orleans, was sent ambassador from France to the queen-mother of Scotland, sister of the Duke of Guise; and when the said ambassador was to return to France, it pleased the queen-mother to send me with him. But the said Bishop went first to Ireland, commanded thereto by the King his master's letter, to know more particularly the motion and likelihood of the offer made by O'Neil, O'Donnell, O'Dochart, and O'Carroll, willing to shake off the yoke of England, and become subject to the King of France. We shipped for Ireland in the month of January. We were storm sted by the way at
