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Gloucester was the place which stopt the current of the King's successes; Massey was Governor thereof, and had with him two regiments of foot, and an 100 horse, which with some other recruits made up 1500 men, with forty barrels of powder, and a slender artillery; yet they within behaved themselves like men of resolution, and alarmed the besiegers with frequent sallies. The King plants his cannon against the gates, which made above 150 shot, and the granadoes did some execution in the town, yet nothing abated the spirits of the people. Whereupon the King prepares for a general storm, and all was ready, they within being in want and having but three barrels of powder left, when news comes that Essex was on his march with a powerful army to raise the siege; whereupon after consultation had by the King with the general officers, it was resolved the King's army should draw off, which was done, and all their huts were set on fire; and Sept 5, 1643, Essex enters into Gloucester, and having furnished the city plentifully with provisions, went after the King, who at that siege lost that opportunity of marching up to London (the Parliament having then no considerable army in the field) which he could never regain.

The war had hitherto continued in Ireland, and the English army had commonly success against the rebels; but the King now understanding the Parliament's contracting with the Scots for aid, thought fit to strengthen himself by recalling part of his army there, hither; and commissioned the Earl of Ormond, his Lieutenant-General, to agree on a cessation for a year, which was concluded at Singeston, and Sept. 18, 1643, was proclaimed by the Lords Justices and Council at Dublin; and soon after some forces from thence landed in Wales, and took Hawarden Castle, near Chester, for the King.

The Earl of Essex have relieved Gloucester, speeds after the King, and passing by Cirencester left a strong party there, where Prince Maurice was expected that night; but instead of him comes Essex, and being mistaken for the other, enters the town without any oppo sition, seizes 400 men, and thirty cart loads of provision, and then marches to Newbury, where the King was before, and had gotten the advantage of the ground, and planted his ordnance. Early in the morning, Sept. 20, 1643, Essex views the King's army, and in Newbury Common draws up his own, and falls to firing, the King's army doing the like. That part of the army which Prince Rupert charged, being overlayed, were forced to fall off on the right hand, where two great bodies of horse marched down the hill, and fell in furiously upon the Prince; both sides acting with great valour and fury, and coming to handy strokes with their swords.

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The Essexians then wheeling about, charged the Lord Jermin's regiment, whom they forced to make their escape through some bodies of foot; this battel caused great loss and bloodshed on either side, but greater on the King's, whose other bodies of horse, commanded by the Earls of Carnarvan and Northampton, notwithstanding the great cou rage of their commanders, were overpowered, and the Earls of Carnarvan and Sunderland, Viscount Falkland and many other officers and gentlemen slain. The London trained bands and auxiliaries did the Parliament great service in this fight. Night coming on, both armies retired, and next day marched away from each other.

After this several places were garrisoned for the King by Sir William Vavasor, as Tewksbury, Shudley Castle, and other places in Glouces tershire, and soon, after Waller again surpriseth Tewksbury, but is afterward beaten by Prince Maurice. Massey and Waller take Hereford, and Sir William Brereton had the town and castle of Eccleshal delivered upon reasonable quarter. An ordinance is now published by the Parliament to seize upon the King's revenue; and Sir William Waller is made Major General of Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, and marching to Farnham, beat a party of the King's army, and then took Alton and Arundel Castle. Colonel Norton was routed by Hopton; and the Parliament finding the King's power increase, they publish, that whoever shall assist the King with horse, arms, plate or money against them, are traitors to the Parliament, and shall be so proceeded against. The King summons a Parliament at Oxford, Jan. 22, 1643, where in the great hall, at Christ Church, he tells them, that if he had the least thoughts of disagreeing with the happiness of this kingdom, he would not advise with such councillors as they were; and so the upper schools were assigned to the Lords, and the Convocation House to the Commons. In this Parliament, besides the Prince, Duke of York, Lord Keeper Littleton, Treasurer Cottington, Duke of Richmond, and Marquis of Hertford, there were nineteen earls and as many lords, and 117 knights and gentlemen, and afterwards five lords and twenty-three gentlemen more came to them. The first thing they fell upon, was to consider of means for effecting a peace, to which end a letter was written to the Earl of Essex, and subsigned by all their hands, who returned no answer, but sent it to the Parliament at Westminster.

Jan. 16, 1643, the Scots army entered England by the way of Newcastle, being 18,000 foot, and 2000 horse under General Levens, for assisting the Parliament in pursuance of the solemn league and covenant, and declaring the justness of their cause, which they profess to be reformation of religion, honour of the King, and peace of the king

doms; and that the main end of their coming is to rescue the King from his pernicious councillors. The Parliament caress the Scotsarmy, and impower them to assess for themselves the twentieth part of all malignants estates (as they called them) in the north, besides what other counties were assessed for them. But the Earl of Newcastle is marching to give them rougher entertainment, and the Lord Fairfax sent his son Sir Thomas against them.

Sir John Meldrum, with 700 men, besieged Newark, and is blocked up by Prince Rupert, whereupon they parleyed, and upon articles were suffered to march away, leaving their match, bullet, powder, cannon, and all other fire-arms behind them. In the mean time matters are preparing for Scotland by James Marquis of Montrose, who had formerly sided with the covenanters, but now the King understanding he had really forsaken them, gives him a commission to be General Governor of Scotland, and orders him forces to go into the heart of that kingdom, for a diversion to the Scots.

In the year 1644, the twentieth of his Majesty's reign, Sir William Waller defeats the Lord Hopton's forces and takes Winchester, and Oliver Cromwell was made Governor of Ely; Budly is surprised by Colonel Fox for the Parliament, and the garrisons of Selby and Heintough are taken by the Lord Fairfax and his son; Prince Rupert raiseth the siege at Latham House. The King at this time, in the presence of the Peers at Oxford, received the sacrament at Christ Church, at the hands of Bishop Usher, where he used these solcmn protestations:

My Lords, I espy here many resolved Protestants, who may declare to the world the resolution 1 do now make. I have to the utmost of my power prepared my soul to become a worthy receiver, and may I so receive comfort by the blessed sacrament, as I do intend the establishment of the true reformed Protestant religion, as it stood in its beauty in the happy days of Queen Elizabeth, without any connivance at Popery. I bless God that in the midst of these public distractions 1 have still liberty to communicate, and may this sacrament be my damnation if my heart do not join with my lips in this protestation.

The Parliament at Westminster voted it treason for any member, or members of either House to desert them, and to go to the King, and they never to be received again. The King marcheth out of Oxford, and is followed by Essex and Waller; he defeats Waller at Cropedy Bridge, and Essex is blocked up by the King's forces in Cornwall, and July 4th, the King sends several letters to the Parliament about a treaty of peace. Sept. 12, the Parliament at Oxford assemble again,

but falling into factions and divisions, the King in March following dissolves them.

The Earl of Newcastle was besieged in York about two months, to whose relief Prince Rupert advanceth northward with a great power of horse and foot, upon whose approach to the city the besiegers drew off, and those within, sally out upon their rear. The Earl of Newcastle being thus relieved, joins with Prince Rupert, resolving to follow the Parliamentarians and give them battle, which accordingly they did upon a plain called Marston Moor, where about 9000 men were slain, for the royalists having near routed the Parliament's army, pursued the chace so far, that the victory was snatched out of their hands, and the Parliament obtained an intire victory, after three hours fight resolutely maintained on both sides; after which York was delivered up to the Parliament, and they soon became masters of all the north; and Levens the Scotch general, takes Newcastle after this battle which was the greatest both for the fierceness of it, and for the number of soldiers on both sides; Prince Rupert goes into Lancashire, but the Earl of Newcastle, lately made Marquis, with his two sons, and his brother Sir Charles Cavendish, General King, the Lord Falconbridge, the Lord Widdrington, the Earl of Cranworth, the Bishop of Londonderry, Sir Edward Widdrington, Colonel Carnaby, Colonel Basset, Colonel Mouson, Sir William Vavasor, Sir Francis Mackworth, with about eighty other persons, upon some discontent, refused to engage any further in the King's cause, and went over to Hamburgh.

New Levies are now made by the Parliament, and three attempts were made by the parliamentarians upon Dennington Castle, but in vain; the Queen going from Oxford to Exeter was there delivered of a daughter, June 16, 1644, who was called Henrietta Maria, and afterward went from thence to Pendennis Castle in Cornwall, where she embarked for France, and did not return again to England, till his present Majesty's restoration in 1660. Banbury Castle is relieved by Sir William Compton, having been besieged about eleven weeks by the Parliament's forces; Col. Myn is defeated by Massey, near Glocester, and himself slain, and about 170 officers and soldiers taken prisoners; Prince Rupert sending 500 horse and foot to fortify Beachly, in order to his going to Ashferry, they are routed by Massey, who soon after takes Monmouth town.

Newberry seemed to be a place destined for martial exploits, for Oct. 27, another great battle was fought there, between the King's party and the Parliament's, under Essex, Waller, and Manchester, wherein the royalists were worsted, and between 4 and 5000 men slain on both

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sides. Nov. 19, Monmouth is retaken by the King's forces. Dec. 23, Sir Alexander Carew was beheaded for endeavouring to deliver to deliver up the island of Plymouth to the King's forces.

Two principal Irish rebels, the Lords Macguire and Macmahon, had been sent from Ireland, and imprisoned in the Tower, from whence they made their escape; but being retaken, and tried, were found guilty of high treason, and were both drawn, hanged, and quar tered at Tyburn, though Macguire pleaded his privilege to the Lords, as a peer of Ireland.

Archbishop Laud having been accused by the Parliament in 1640, as the framer of the canons in convocation, and other delinquencies, and the Scots joining him, and the Earl of Strafford in their grand accusation, charging him for obtruding the Common Prayer Book, and canons and constitutions ecclesiastical upon their nation, and for advising the King to dissolve the last Parliament, and other such matters, upon which he was first committed to the Black Bod, and ten weeks after voted guilty of high treason, and sent to the Tower, where he continued four years. His charge was, endeavouring the subversion. 1. Of the Laws. 2. Of religion. 3. Of the privileges of Parliament. And after many times attending on the House, Jan. 4, 1644, they passed their ordinance of Parliament, that he should be drawn, hanged, and quartered; but upon his petition, they voted him to be beheaded, which he suffered Jan. 10, after.

Jan. 30, 1644, a treaty was began at Uxbridge between the King and the Parliament. The commissioners for the King were these, the Duke of Richmond and Lenox; the Marquis of Hertford; the Earls of Southampton, Kingston, and Chichester; the Lords Capel, Seymour, Hatton, and Culpepper; Sir Edward Nichols; Sir Edward Hyde; Sir Richard Lane; Sir Thomas Grandure, Sir Orlando Bridgman; Mr. John Ashburnham; Mr. Jeffery Palmer, and Dr. Stewart. Those for the Parliaments of England and Scotland (for now they were joined in all public affairs), were the Earls of Northumberland, Pembroke, Salisbury, and Denbigh; Lord Wainman; Mr. Hollis; Mr. Pierpoint; Sir Henry Vane the younger; Mr. Crew; Mr. Whitlock; Mr. St. Johns; Mr. Prideux; Lord Lowden; Sir Charles Erskin; Mr. Dondas; Mr. Brakely, and Mr. Henderson. The commissioners on both sides being met, the things to be treated of were, 1. Religion.' 2. The Militia. 3. Ireland; but first the King's commissioners gave in this paper concerning religion.

First, That freedom be left to all persons of what opinion soever in matters of ceremony, and that all penalties, or the laws and customs

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