a touching account of their departure, and
exclaim: "Woe to the heart that meditated, woe to the mind that
conceived, woe to the council that decided on the project of their
setting out on the voyage!" The exiles left Rathmullen on the 14th of
September, 1607. O'Neill had been with the Lord Deputy shortly before;
and one cannot but suppose that he had then obtained some surmise of
premeditated treachery, for he arranged his flight secretly and swiftly,
pretending that he was about to visit London. O'Neill was accompanied by
his Countess, his three sons, O'Donnell, and other relatives. They first
sailed to Normandy, where an attempt was made by the English Government
to arrest them, but Henry IV. would not give them up. In Rome they were
received as confessors exiled for the faith, and were liberally
supported by the Pope and the King of Spain. They all died in a few
years after their arrival, and their ashes rest in the Franciscan Church
of St. Peter-in-Montorio. Rome was indeed dear to them, but Ireland was
still dearer; and the exiled Celt, whether expatriated through force or
stern necessity, lives only to long for the old home, or dies weeping
for it.

The Red Hand of the O'Neills had hitherto been a powerful protection to
Ulster. The attempts "to plant" there had turned out failures; but now
that the chiefs were removed, the people became an easy prey.
O'Dogherty, Chief of Innishowen, was insulted by Sir George Paulett, in
a manner which no gentleman could be expected to bear without calling
his insulter to account; and the young chieftain took fearful vengeance
for the rude blow which he had received from the English sheriff. He got
into Culmore Fort at night by stratagem, and then marched to Derry,
killed Paulett, massacred the garrison, and burned the town. Some other
chieftains joined him, and kept up the war until July; when O'Dogherty
was killed, and his companions-in-arms imprisoned. Sir Arthur Chichester
received his property in return for his suggestions for the plantation
of Ulster, of which we must now make brief mention.

There can be little doubt, from Sir Henry Docwra's own account, that
O'Dogherty was purposely insulted, and goaded into rebellion. He was the
last obstacle to the grand scheme, and he was disposed of. Ulster was
now at the mercy of those who chose to accept grants of land; and the
grants were made to the highest bidders, or to those who had paid for
the favour by previous services. Si