tempt the fortune of the seas, and towards the end of
October his fleet, under the Adelantado of Castille,
appeared off the Scilly Islands, with a view to secure
the Isle of Wight, or some other station, from which to
operate an invasion the ensuing spring. Extraordinary
means were taken for defence; the English troops in France
were recalled, new levies raised, and the Queen's favourite,
the young Earl of Essex, appointed to command the fleet,
with Raleigh and Lord Thomas Howard as Vice-Admirals.
But the elements again fought for the northern island;
a storm, which swept the channel for weeks, drove the
English ships into their ports, but scattered those of
Spain over the Bay of Biscay. In this second expedition
sailed Florence Conroy, and other Irish exiles, who had
maintained for years a close correspondence with the
Catholic leaders. Their presence in the fleet, the
existence of the correspondence, and the progress of the
revolt itself, will sufficiently account for the apparent
vacillations of English policy in Ulster in the last
months of 1597. Shortly before Christmas, Ormond, now
Lord Lieutenant, accompanied by the Earl of Thomond,
attended only by their personal followers, visited
Dungannon, and remained three days in conference with
O'Neil and O'Donnell. The Irish chiefs reiterated their
old demands: freedom of worship, and the retention of
the substantial power attached to their ancient rank.
They would admit Sheriffs, if they were chosen from among
natives of their counties, but they declined to give
hostages out of their own families. These terms were
referred to the Queen's consideration, who, after much