illed, and it had been found
on him, it might do his memory a great disservice, as it would
seem that he had been in correspondence with the British. The
letter, which contained an enclosure, was, to his surprise, from
Lord Godolphin. It ran:

Dear Captain Kennedy:

Partly at the request of the Earl of Galway, and still more from
my own remembrance of your conduct, in that affair you know of,
and of the silence that you maintained concerning it, I have
pleasure in sending you a safe conduct to visit Ireland on private
affairs. The earl tells me that you have rendered him the greatest
of services, and this alone should cancel the fact that you have
been serving against us in Flanders and Spain. For this, and your
conduct to myself, I can promise you that should you, at any time
while I am in power, decide to remain in Ireland, I will obtain
for you a full and complete pardon, and a restoration to all your
rights as an Irish subject of the queen. I will also obtain a
reversal of any attainders or acts of confiscation that may have
been passed against your family, on your giving your promise that
you will not take part in any secret plots or conspiracies against
the reigning family, though, in the event of a general rising in
Ireland, with the assistance perhaps of a French army, you would
be at liberty to choose your own course of action, without
incurring more pains and penalties than those which might befall
any native of Ireland waging war against the queen.

As both Godolphin and Marlborough were known to be by no means
unfavourably disposed to the cause of the Stuarts, Desmond was
hardly surprised at the latter part of this intimation. Though he
had but small hopes of being enabled to remain permanently at
home, it was yet very welcome to him. Certainly, if he remained in
Ireland he would consider himself bound to hold himself aloof from
all Jacobite plots, although, if the country rose and a French
army landed, he would, unless he considered the cause a hopeless
one, draw his sword on behalf of him whom he considered as his
lawful sovereign.

"It is not sorry I am, your honour, to be turning my back on this
country," Mike said, as they rode out from the gate. "The wine is
good, which is more than I can say for anything else in it, except
that the people are good Catholics."

"I am starting a longer journey than you think, Mike. I am only
going to the duke, now, to ask for a year's leave; though I do not
thi