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that county, and a fortunate discovery having inflamed the population there against the royal measures, upwards of a thousand volunteered to block up the passes, in order to prevent Hopton from Hopton's breaking through with his cavalry. The royalist solved. general thus completely shut up, entered into a treaty, which was soon completed, for disbanding his army, and surrendering the horses and arms to the parliament. The discovery alluded to regarded the transactions of the Earl of Glamorgan in Ireland. A vessel from Waterford had arrived at Padstow, as at a friendly port; but it was suddenly boarded, and the men put to the sword, while the letters, which the captain had thrown into the sea, were fortunately rescued from the waves, and developed the schemes in agitation. Fairfax then assembled the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and shewed them the letters, which produced the happy result recorded above*.

ceedings of

himself and

The royal cause had not been more successful The proelsewhere. Having recruited his shattered army, Charles Charles himself left Wales about the end of July, hi and, in the beginning of August, advanced to Litch- army. field, with a view, as was supposed, to raise the siege of Hereford, which was at that time warmly carried on by the Scots. But the Earl of Leven, having sent out a strong party of horse under David Leslie, to watch the royal motions, obliged him to change his route. Upon this, he drew out a considerable reinforcement from Newark, and

Rush. vol. xiv. chap. fii. for an account of the Military Tran- · actions of Fairfax's army. Clar. vol. iv. p. 669-70. 678. 730.

manifested an intention to proceed north, in order to join with Montrose, who was then triumphant in Scotland, and with his usual boasting language, promised to assist his master with 20,000*, though he never could command even a third of that number. Pointz and Rossiter, however, with a large party of horse, intercepted his majesty's passage, and he broke into the eastern association, where he took Huntingdon, and alarmed Cambridge, while he enriched his troops with booty. The Scots now, in discontent at not receiving their pay from the parliament, and bereft of their cavalry, with which Leslie returned to Scotland to punish Montrose, raised the siege of Hereford, and marched north. Charles, therefore, visited Hereford, and expected to relieve Bristol from the siege by Fairfax. But for this his force would have been insufficient, and Rupert, who never could have anticipated the strange countermarch of the Scots, which alone enabled the king to approach that quarter, had already surrendered the town. In the meantime, Pointz had stationed himself between the royal army and Oxford; and Charles, having learnt that Chester, which was well situated for the landing of his expected succours from Ireland, was almost reduced by a party of the parliamentary troops, hastened to its relief with about 5000 horse and foot. But Pointz encountered him on Routen-heath, within two miles of Chester, and defeated him with great loss. At first, success so

* King Charles' Works, p. 154.

inclined to the royal side that the parliamentary troops were routed; but Colonel Jones and Adjutant Lothian having drawn out 500 foot, and 300 horse, from the leaguer before Chester, at this instant charged the king's troops, and thus gave Pointz's men an opportunity to rally. Then commenced a furious assault by Pointz, in front, while Jones assailed the royal forces in rear; and the king's army was utterly discomfited with the loss of five or six hundred slain, amongst whom was the Earl of Litchfield, and of 1000 common prisoners, besides many officers of quality. With difficulty Charles again led his broken force to Wales; where, having refreshed and recruited his little army, he, with about 3000 fighting men came, on the 2d of October, to Litchfield, the next day to Meldrum, and the 4th to Newark, where he continued till the beginning of November, having quartered his horse at Belvoir, Worton, Welbeck, and Sleaford. But Pointz having taken Shelford-manor, the seat of the Earl of Chesterfield, by storm, and put the garrison, consisting of about 200, to the sword; the unhappy monarch apprehending that he might be besieged in Newark, marched away during the night with a party of horse to Daintry, where the Earl of Northampton met him with a larger body, and conducted him by Banbury to Oxford, where he continued during the remainder of the year. The Scots, in the meantime, having been induced by the parliament to alter their resolution to proceed homeward, sat down before Newark, while the parliamentary forces under Colonel

Morgan were attended with great success in Wales *.

During the short period Charles remained at Newark, he dispatched Lord Digby, accompanied by Sir Marmaduke Langdale, with 1200 horse to join Montrose, who complained much of want of cavalry. Three hundred gentlemen joined this detachment, and at first it was attended with success, having at Doncaster defeated a regiment of horse, and taken about 1000 foot prisoners. But their prosperity was short-lived. Colonel Copley came up to them at Sherborn, in Yorkshire, with about 1300 horse, and routed them completely, having not only recovered the prisoners, but taken 800 of Digby's force, with his own coach, where were found several letters and papers of vast consequence in developing the royal designs, and which were therefore published by the parliament for the information of the people. They were to this effect. 1st, Several letters from Goff, an agent in Holland, to Jermyn, now created a Lord, and to Digby himself, regarding a negociation then on foot for a marriage between the Prince of Wales, and the Prince of Orange's daughter, in order to induce the states to espouse the king's interest. 2d. Letters from Jemyn, then at Paris, to Digby, relative to the treaty for bringing over the Duke of Lorrain's army, also concerning expected aid from Denmark, and the Prince of Courland; and about an application by Sir Kenelm Digby, to the pope,

Rush. vol. vi. p. 116, et seq. Clar. vol. iv. p. 677, et seq. 712, et seq. Whitelocke, p. 167, et seq.

.1

for assistance from his holiness. 8d. Regarding a treaty of an Irishman, Colonel Fitzwilliams, with the queen, for sending over ten thousand men from Ireland *.

After their defeat at Sherborn, Digby and Langdale endeavoured to raise a party in Lancashire to join them; but the parliamentary forces obliged them to change their route, while David Leslie interposed between them and Scotland. With difficulty therefore, they reached Carlisle sands, where the governor of the town, Sir John Brown, having encountered them with an inferior force, broke through and routed their little army, when the two commanders, perceiving the impracticability of forming a junction with Montrose, fled to the Isle of Man. Their troops, abandoned by their leaders, dispersed in all directions, and many of them fell into their enemy's hands t

Losses, on the royal side, accumulated. Sir William Vaughan was defeated at Denbigh : Hereford, which had withstood all the Scotch army, was taken by Colonel Morgan, with only about 2000 men: the object having been effected by a stratagem, as creditable to the ability of the commander, as the execution of it was to the bravery of the troops. Bieston-castle was also captured, and Chester, which had been in the possession of

* Rush. vol. vi. p. 128, et seq. Clar. vol. iv. p. 715, et seq. Digby's Cabinet. Sir Kenelm Digby must have been the fittest person to negociate with the Pope, as his father, Sir Everald, was one of the chief conspirators in the gunpowder plot.

Rush. vol. vi. p. 133-4.

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