THE KIDNAPPING OF RED HUGH she ic.ame calmly to Dublin with O'!Donnell to pay what must have been a somewhat equiv-0cal farewell to Perrot. As she was on the Government's black-list this wias a singularly audacious act. The circumstances :were such that it w.as probably the only occasfon in her life when it was reaspnably safe to Tisk an appearance in Dublin, and doubtlessly she seized the opportunity beeause it made possible a visit to her Benjamin. NOT DECEIVED O'Donnell rwas not deceived and '',returned home greatly disconrtented." L:n the meantime lneendubh was thundering in the background, stormily .asserting that she would maintain the Spanish refugees "and as many as she cam get to sitir up wair.s except she can get her son that is in rt;he Castle 1at the return of O'Donnell, her husband." Ait the beginning of 1589 the Earl once more ·applied to Walsingham and this proving fruitless, he made a last attempt at the end of the yeiar to win the DepUJty over by open means. Fitzwilliams rwaivered. Though he was an avaricious old man he' seems to have disliked ithe business of incarcerating youths .and children. 1In a letter to Burghley he added .a po.stcript advocating that, provided he accepted certain condiUons, Red Hugh should be set free. "I think his liberty would do better service to her Majesty than his imprisonment," he wrote, adding naively, "And upon my woorcl,, no re- . ward maketh me write thus much." O'Donnell offered Fitzwilliams through intermediaries £1:000 for the release of his son and to his intimates £300 "to labour it." Reporting these overtures to Walsingham, the Deputy refe1rred to Red Hugh 1as O'Donnell's "hairbrained and ungr:ado.us imp of son," and warned him against the danger of letting him loose to combine with his mother "a native Scot, enviious to this naUon." In the light of these. comments it seems probable that the hairbra~ned and ungracious imp was the originator of the prison 1rags mentioned by PhiU.p O'Sullivan. Certainly, Red Hugh's apparent refusal to dissemble his contempt and hostility was a contributory, if n'Ot the principal factor,, in his continued imprisonment. In September O'Donnell came to Dublin <to ilntercede in person for his son's liberation, bringing with him thirty iwretched Armada castaways with which he hoped to bargain for Red Hugh's freedom. The Council \vere p1aced in an embarrassing dilemma. As they did not wish to .alienate the old man altogether they concocted an elaborate letter for his benefit, duly signed, which grmited him his request. This letter they secretly followed up wirth another to the Privy Council, directing them t,o pay no attention to the first letter and to resist all representaticc1s from O'Donnell to release his son. "The young man." they w:rote, "is of so proud and stirring a disposition, as we.iuld no doubt be easily led to enterprise any disloyal intention." But the Privy Council remained adamant. Of Red Hugh's treatmen;t in prison, a vivid account is ·given by Captain Thomas Lee. Though Lee does not montion any names it is obvious-, f.rom his dose association with the Earl-who was in his mind when he wro.te: 1Where there has been a stratagem . used for the taking into your Majesty's hands ·3. young youth, hei1r of a great country, ihis manner and usage were most dishonour.able and disco.mmendable, and neither allowable before God nor man. My reasons are these: he being young, and being taken by this strata.gem, having never offended, was imprisoned with great severity, many i1rons laid upon him as if he had been a il1otable traitor and malefactor, and kept still amongst those who 1were ever nortori-O•us .traitors against your Majesty; having no other counsel or ad4f>9.
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