The true report of the prosperous success which God gave unto our English Soldiers against the foreign bands of our Roman enemies, lately arrived, (but soon enough to their cost) in Ireland, in the year, 1580. Gathered out of the Letters of most credit and circumstance, that have been sent over, and more at large set forth then in the former printed Copy. For a singular comfort to all godly Christians, & true hearted subjects, and an exceeding encouragement to them to persist valiantly in their true Religion and faith towards God, their due obedience and love to their Prince, and to repose their whole assured confidence in the strength of the Almighty, as most safe under the Shield of his protection. Seen and allowed. Imprinted at London for Edward White, dwelling at the little North door of Paul's Church, at the sign of the Gun. WHo weigheth well each point of this discourse, How crooked hap encounters cankered mind: How rightful cause subdueth wrongful force, How he is caught that lays the snare: shall find, nought boots it then to trust to any odds, Who Giantlike do fight against the Gods. To rob all Princes of their rule and right, God of the glory due to him alone: Man of his soul, and Satan of his might, To bolster Rebels, 'gainst their Prince's throne: To seek God's truth and Gospel to suppress. Let all men judge if this be holiness. O Room, the room, where all outrage is wrought, The Sea of sin, the beast with sevenfold head: The Shop wherein all shame is sold and bought, The Cup whence poison through the world is spread. Well mayst thou draw the simple with a Dream, And ween to win, yet strive against the stream. Who favours; fears, or follows with desire, Thy state, thy strength, thy vain and wicked reed: Deserves, dislikes, and justly doth acquire, The sword, thy sway, destruction for his meed. Let Pope, let Turk, let Satan rage's their fill: God keepeth us, if we do keep his will. Esto Honour & gloria Domini. To the Reader. BEcause there go many and divers reports of the late conflict in Ireland, proceeding of sundry Letters sent over, which, although they agree in effect and substance of the matter, yet have not every one the same, nor any one the whole circumstance of the manner thereof: And having considered how that it is not only usual among the people, to be desirous to know news, but also necessary that this happy news should be known unto all (aswell to the true religious and obedient subject, for his comfort, as to the superstitious disloyal recusant, for his utter dismaying and confusion): I have thought it not amiss to bestow some light pains of my little leisure, in gathering one sound discourse out of those sundry fragments which have come to my hands, some presented unto me in writing out of Ireland, and some imparted unto me (by the advertisements of men of good credit) out of those letters which were sent unto her Majesty, the true collection whereof I present unto the well affected Reader, in such order as the time would serve me to dispose them. News out of Ireland. THe enemies lying (as it seemed) very surely entrenched in the Fort which they had made, which they called, Il castle del Oro, and sufficiently manned with Soldiers, to withstand a far greater force than our English men were, they being in number six hundredth within the Fort, and our men but eight hundredth abroad: which is a very unequal match (as they know well, which are skilful, and have been exercised in those affairs) considering the odds of place, the one being under covert, well fortified, and having their Ordinance, placed at all advantage, the other naked, utterly without Munition, or opportunity of placing any Ordinance, whereby to avoid their enemies, being themselves continually subject to their annoyance. The Lord deputy, being (in so great disadvantage) almost in despair of doing any good, was soon recomforted with the happy arrival of the queens Ships, The Swift sure, one of the queens majesty's ships, arrived at Smitherick xvii. days before the rest of her fellows in which time, the enemy shot 30. shot a day, and neither could hit Ship nor man. which it is to be thought that the very great and wonderful providence of God (quite beside their expectation) sent thither so luckily for their succour. They being arrived, there were certain great Pieces brought out of the Ships, and a Trench made, & that great Ordinance planted about four hundredth paces from the enemies Fort, to batter it: which Ordinance was so well plied all that day (being the ninth of November) that they galled the enemy grievously, and beat them away from plying their Ordinance. On the tenth day in the morning, they cast an other Trench for small shot, within an hundredth, and three score paces of the Fort, and began a fresh battery, and espying certain Pieces within the Fort, that were like to annoy the Camp, planted their Ordinance against them, and dismounting two of their Demicanons, brake and defeated the rest, to the number of fourteen or fifteen great Pieces. And the same night made a third Trench for small shot; within a hundredth and twenty foot of the Fort. Afterward perceiving that the Spanish Musket shot was the hottest, and espying a house of ●oordes, where they were bestowed: they beat that down with the Ordinance, and scattered the Muskets. Which done, the enemies finding themselves thus dismembered, and utterly despoiled of their chief force, whereto they trusted: began to change their countenance, and hung out their banners of Truce, quietly calling for Parle. Then issued out a brave Italian, who being demanded by my Lord Deputy, who sent him thither? answered. The holy Father? Will you (said my Lord) adventure in the service of a shaveling, an Antichrist, a murderer both of soul & body, against such a Prince as my Mistress is? You shall have the just reward of your service. And requiring him to bring forth the chief of the Spaniards, he asked the said spaniard, who sent him thither? He said he could not tell. Whether the King of Spain? He said no: Whether with the kings knowledge? He answered no: But (said he) at Porto in Portugal, the Governor there commanded me, to go to such a place, where I should receive my charged, which I did, but whether I should go, or against whom I knew not, and so brought to this place as blindfold, and (as I see now) utterly betrayed. Then (quoth my Lord) if you be not sent by the King, you come as a runagate, and must receive the like higher. They desiring to departed with the honour of Soldiers, it was denied them. Then resolved they to surrender up the Fort, to yield their money and jewels, and other things of price, into the Lord Deputies hands, and themselves to his mercy: Whereof he accepting, received three of them pledges until the next morning, when according to that conclusion, they returned, and the chief of them (whom it is needless to name, they only remaining a live) to the number of twenty were saved. The rest to the number of five hundredth and six were slain, and seventeen hanged. The poor English Soldiers that lacked hose & shoes, and were barely clothed, by means of this medley, found to apparel them, All modo Italiano. Wine and Biscuit they met with good store, and other victuals for a good space: four thousand Armours, with many good Pieces, and (as they say) some reasonable share of Ecclesiastical Italian Master john Cheek my Lady Cheeks son. money. In all this conflict there were only two hurt of our men, whereof the one was Master john Cheek, who is thought unlikely to recover. Thus may we see how God fighteth for us, and subdueth our enemies, who by all man's reason and likelihood were not to be overthrown by ten times the number that our men were, in that unreasonable inequality of defence and Furniture. For our men were in that opinion, that if they had been within the Fort so well appointed of great and small shot as the enemies were, it would have cost 10000, lives before it would have been won. But by the good providence and assistance of God (notwithstanding their great advantage) the Lord Deputy with his worthy endeavour by land, and our ships (through their fortunate arrival) by water did so coop them up on every side, that they could no way escape. They said that if our Ships had stayed but two days longer, out of that harborough, they would have been gone. For at their first arrival, there came two sail of them, being of men in number about 800. who so soon as they beheld the barrenness of the Country, and the brutishness of the people, two of the greatest Ships departed home again, with about 300. men in them, and left the rest to taste of the good entertainment that they looked for there: which (thanks be to God) they found not so satisfiable to their wicked expectation, as agreeable to their just deserts, which would be incited by a blasphemous Antichristian Prelate, against a true zealous Christian Prince, wrongfully to invade her rightful inheritance and possessions, and to assist her disobedient and rebellious Subjects, against their most gracious renowned Sovereign. Wherein, although the Pope's holiness forsooth followed the footsteps and example of his Predecessors, which have been ever sowers of sedition, raisers of Rebellion, maineteyners of disobedience, Authors of infinite bloodshedding, which is even grown to be the Badge of their Catholic (or rather catholic) profession, and the true Cognisance of their holiness: yet these Gallants should have had more wit, to have looked or they had leapt, and sounded the depth, ere they had entered the shore of a foreign Prince's dominion. But as their gréedynes of gain, or superstitious devotion towards an infamous Idol, hath brought them to the Shipwreck of their lives (at the least) so hath their unadvised rashness utterly sunk, all excuse of their guiltiness, and pity of their miscarrying. They confessed unto my Lord Deputy, that the Pope their paymaster, whose Ensigns they spread on their Fort, with his Crowns, Mitres, Croskeyes, and other like trumpery, promised to send them a greater power, for which cause they brought much Treasure with them, being appointed to stay for that supply, for which our Englishmen were not greatly sorry. It is reported that either they or other, were already coming at that time: for the fowretéenth of November, there was escried a Pinnace, towards the coast of Ireland: but I take it to be rather an opinion or imagination of some coming, conceived through that former report: then any true appearance of the very persons approaching. Howsoever it be, it is no great matter, for our Soldiers stay there, and certain of our Ships this winter, to welcome them. The Earl of Desmond, and his brother john, were coming towards the rescue of the Spaniards & Italians: but hearing how the Fort was taken, and what was become of their assistants, they thought it wisdom to beware by their example and to keep themselves out of such sharp claws, and so retired them back, & are fled into the Mountains. Our good countryman of the Devils own dubbing, Doctor Saunders (an Apostata towards his Saviour, an Archtraytor to his Sovereign) is there in the country, but where, it is unknown. One of his men was taken in the Fort, & a Priest of that order, who were hanged & quartered in the Fort. Thus much hath been certified out of Ireland, of what was done there before the fifteen day of November last passed. For which joyful and happy news, let us render hearty thanks unto our almighty protector, attributing the whole praise thereof unto his omnipotency, beseeching him to preserve our most gracious Princes, under whose prosperous government we have received both this & other infinite blessings at his hands: to strengthen our good Captains and Soldiers, with force and power to overcome our bodily foes, and us all with his grace, to withstand the assaults of the Devil, and the tyranny of Antichrist his darling (our spiritual enemy) & to serve our Redeemer in true fear and holiness, and his true Ministers with due love and reverence, to be faithful unto him, loyal to her Majesty, like minded and charitable one to an other, to the glory of his name: unto whom all glory, power, and dominion belongeth. FINIS.