5J2 REIGN OF ELIZABETH [en. 46. <of the Church or any benefice of any man ; ' 1 and so modest a wish might have been granted with no great difficulty, considering that half the preferments in Eng- land were held by men who scarcely affected to conceal that they were still Catholics. Either Creagh however was less simple than he pretended, or Cecil had reason to believe that his presence in Ireland would lead to mischief; he was kept fast in his cage, and would have remained there till he died, had he not contrived one night to glide over the walls upon the Thames. ' His imprisonment was perhaps intended as a gratifi- cation to Shan O'Neil. ]S"o sooner had he escaped than Elizabeth considered that of the two Catholic Arch- bishops Terence Daniel might be the least dangerous, and that to set Shan against the Pope might be worth a sacrifice of dignity. It was intimated that if Shan would be a good subject he should have his own Primate, and Adam Loftus should be removed to Dublin. 2 Shan on his part gave the Queen to understand that when Terence was installed at Armagh, and he himself was created Earl of Tyrone, she should have no more trouble ; and the events of the spring of 1565 made the English Government more than ever anxious to come to terms with a chieftain whom they were powerless to crush. Since the defeat of the Earl of Sussex, Shan's in- fluence and strength had been steadily growing. His return unscathed from London, and the fierce attitude 1 Questions for Creagh, with Creagh's answers, February 22, 1565 ; Further answers of Creagh, March 1 7 : Irish 3ISS. Rolls House. 2 Private instructions to Sir Henry Sidney. Cecil's hand, 1565 MS. Ibid.
