Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester, should have {85} succeeded Strafford, but he lingered in England, conscious that his own country would be the centre of great events. He asked his son, Lord Lisle, to take his place, but that young man had no taste for the rigours of Ireland. His prognostications were justified, and with the outbreak of the Civil War Lord Leicester abandoned all intention of taking up the office of viceroy. Charles wanted every available soldier, and Ireland was left to look after itself. There was a nominal Government in Dublin, and the Earl of Ormonde, at the beginning of his splendid career, was Commander-in-Chief. Ormonde was a devoted royalist, and in the king's hour of need sent him 5,000 soldiers from Ireland, paying their expenses himself. In the midst of his worries Charles found time to show his gratitude by making Ormonde a marquis, and appointing him Viceroy of Ireland. This was in 1644, but strong man as he was, Ormonde's tenure of office was shorn of all its glory and strength. He was destined later to play a leading--the leading--part in Irish affairs; but during the Civil War there was no effective government in Ireland, and the country went back to its ruling chiefs, and Dublin and a few provincial towns sheltered the remnants of the party that looked to England for protection and guidance. Lord Ormonde's determination was to hold Ireland for the king, and with this object he strengthened the garrison towns. The massacres of the settlers in the North he had punished, but until the settlement of the conflict in England he was in a dangerous and anomalous position. {86} CHAPTER VI James Butler, first Duke of Ormonde, was born at Clerkenwell on October 19, 1610. For political reasons he was brought up in London under the immediate influence of the court. The boy, who was known as Viscount Thurles, was as popular as he was handsome, and in his early manhood he was one of the most famous 'bucks' about town. The story of his marriage is a romantic one, and much has been written about it. The facts are that the young Lord Thurles saw Elizabeth Preston, only daughter and heiress of the Earl of Desmond, in church. She was very beautiful and wealthy, and Thurles resolved to wed her. Whether it was a case of love at first sight or not depends upon the sentiment of the reader. We know that the lady's fortune did much towards restoring that of the house of Ormonde. [Illustration: James Butler, first Duke of Ormonde] [Sidenote: Lord Ormonde's marriage]