When the viceroy realized that his policy, while outwardly prosperous, was never likely to develop into a permanent success, he prayed the queen to permit him to retire. She was averse to this, but every person of influence about the throne was approached by him until the queen relented, and in 1588 the viceroy joyfully prepared to depart from the country which he hated worse than the {75} pestilence. The court of England was then in an idealized state, mainly as a result of the rise of the great English school of dramatists and poets, and at such a time Ireland must have seemed more than ever a place of exile. Perrott, however, openly prided himself upon his success, and when he appeared in Dublin in order to hand over the sword of state to his successor, he made a fulsome speech in his own praise, declaring that he left the country in peace and quietness, and hinting that if Sir William Fitzwilliam, the incoming viceroy, informed Queen Elizabeth of the fact, he would be very grateful. Sir William, as a gentleman, had to acknowledge Perrott's eulogies, and then the ex-viceroy left the country, feeling like a freed man. His last act was to present the corporation of Dublin with a silver-gilt bowl bearing his arms and crest, together with the motto 'Relinquo in pace.' The common people had a certain rough affection for Perrott. He had not robbed them--perhaps because they had nothing to lose--but at any rate they gave him a great ovation, shedding tears of gratitude for the man whose code of morals happily included a partiality for paying just debts. Sir William Fitzwilliam had already experienced the advantages and disadvantages of the viceregal position in Ireland. He married a sister of Sir Henry Sidney, a woman with a strength of character that absorbed her husband's. Every act during Fitzwilliam's tenure of office was said to have originated from the fertile brain of Lady Fitzwilliam, and she was openly hailed as the real {76} ruler of Ireland. But even Lady Fitzwilliam could not govern without money, and in 1594 she retired with her husband. Fitzwilliam is best known as the Governor of Fotheringay Castle at the time of the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Sir William Russell, his successor, was the youngest son of the Earl of Bedford, but his two years of office brought him nothing but censure from the queen. Russell's principal fault was that he kept his word of honour to the rebel Earl of Tyrone. The latter came in person to Dublin Castle at the invitation of the viceroy, and made submission. Contented with this, the Lord-Lieutenant permitted him to depart, but Elizabeth wished for the imprisonment of the rebel, and, consequently, Russell retired to make way for Lord Gainsborough. In 1603 he was created a peer by James I. A year sufficed for Gainsborough, who died at his post. Sir Thomas Norris, Lord Justice, acted until superseded by Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin, Sir Robert Gardiner, and the Earl of Ormonde.