HENRY VII. AND KILDARE.
[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sin.,—In your article on Ireland of March 2nd a witty remark of Henry VII. is wrongly attributed to his son, Henry VIII. It was after Kildare had been appointed Deputy of Ireland in 1496 by the English monarch that he was summoned to the English Court, to answer for some skirmishes which had arisen in connexion with the Bishop of Meath. The Irishman was somewhat uncouth and ribald in his speech, compared with the English courtiers, who remarked on his behaviour to Henry VII., as that of a man whom all Ireland could not rule. The sage monarch answered that surely •such a man were fit to rule all Ireland. The docu- ment is given by Professor Pollard ,in Vol. III. of his documents, illustrating the reign of Henry VII. The brilliancy of his son often, alas, overshadows the merit of this worthy Sovereign