When Axtell left Ireland after his suspension by Ireton, he was captured by a rover at sea and carried to Scilly, then full of Irish soldiers who wished to kill him, the cause of his voyage having been made known by an intercepted letter from Weaver. Grenville or those about him knew that the islands could not be much longer in Royalist hands, and they feared retaliation. Axtell was therefore spared, and was back in Ireland and governor of Kilkenny soon after Ireton's death. Blake occupied the little archipelago not many weeks later, Bishop Henry Leslie being among those whom he found there. 'By the articles,' the Bishop wrote, 'I am to have my pass to go unto the North of Ireland, that is to say out of the frying pan into the fire; for there I shall be in more danger of the Scots than of the Parliament soldiers.' In either company he was sure that his soul would be more vexed than Lot's was in Sodom. As to the Irish soldiers, it was agreed that they should be sent to Ireland, recruited up to 2000, and disposed of as the King wished. Blake offered to take them all into Dunkirk and keep them there till Grenville could arrange for France or Spain, he giving his word of honour never to employ them against the Parliament. This was refused, and Grenville remained in England, most of the Irish soldiers probably finding their way abroad.[223]
[Sidenote: Meeting of officers at Kilkenny, Dec. 1651.]
During the winter of 1651 and 1652 there was thought to be some danger that the Dutch would retaliate for the Navigation Act by landing foreign troops in Ireland, facilitating instead of opposing the embarkation of the Duke of Lorraine, who was still expected long after he had abandoned his scheme. A general meeting of officers was held at Kilkenny just before Christmas, Coote having already been authorised to give the same terms to Galway as had already been offered to Limerick, provided they were accepted by January 9. It was now evident that all the strong places must soon be taken, and the deliberations at Kilkenny were chiefly directed against the guerrilla warfare, which was still formidable. The nature of the problem is set forth with great clearness in a report by Ludlow and his three colleagues in the Government to the Council of State. The great bogs were the chief difficulty. There are in these wastes many dry islands which were then generally wooded, and between them causeways along which horses could only go in single file. From such places the rebels could sally out at any time to harry the protected districts, thus depriving the army of its resources, while it was easy for them to secure their plunder. They were used to living in cabins and wading among swamps, where the English soldiers were a prey to dysentery from wet and cold. Ireton had successfully used rice to combat this disease, and large quantities were provided later by the London Government.