The unnatural alliance between Butlers and Geraldines which made the insurrection formidable was in part at least caused by Sidney's harsh treatment of Sir Edmund Butler. Not only did he use strong language himself, but he allowed Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick to do the like. Sir Edmund withdrew from Dublin vowing vengeance against Fitzpatrick and against Sir Henry Sidney personally; though he was at all times careful to respect him in his official capacity. Sir Edmund was driven to desperation by the success of Sir Peter Carew and by the countenance which he received from the Lord Deputy; for his own castle of Clogrennan and the lands attached formed part of Idrone, and having been originally conquered from the Kavanaghs were included in the decision of the Privy Council, which ousted their title to the whole barony. Seeing that Sir Edmund would rebel, Sidney sent to him Lord Baltinglass and Richard Shee, the latter a devoted adherent of the House of Ormonde, with instructions to talk him over if possible. They went from place to place looking for him while he plundered the country, and when they at last came up with him his conduct was not particularly edifying. He bade them give over their flattery, bragging, and dissimulation, and declared that neither he nor his brethren would come near the Lord Deputy without pardon or protection for all concerned, that the Deputy's object was to chop off their heads, and that all the mischief had been caused by the machinations of Carew and of Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick. The Queen herself, said Sir Edmund, was the only judge by whom he would submit to be tried; to her he was more loyal than they who accused him, and if he were proclaimed rebel he would make the heads of those who caused it fly from their bodies. If he and his men had pardon and protection he would be ready to attend the Lord Deputy in all wars; but if any of the Queen's men helped Sir Barnaby or his other enemies, so her Highness or her Governor were not personally in the field, then he would do them all the mischief he could. Similar offers were made through a private messenger, and Sidney's answer was to send Carew and Humphrey Gilbert, who now makes his first appearance in Irish history, with orders to apprehend Sir Edmund. A country neighbour afterwards tried to bring him into a more prudent frame of mind, but again the answer was, 'I do not make war against the Queen, but against those that banish Ireland, and mean conquest.... If my lord my brother come to apprehend me, I will not in this quarrel be ruled by him nor come in his hands.' If anything would have persuaded him it was Mr. Sweetman's taunt that he was more a Desmond than a Butler; but he was past caring for this, and boasted that if Sidney invaded the South, Tirlogh Luineach would invade the Pale. He was already proclaimed rebel, and as if to prove the justice of that measure he exhibited letters from O'Neill and Fitzmaurice.[165] [Sidenote: The Geraldines are unchecked.]