18'2 the Trent, were all the forces Mr. Hastings could bring out, from his owne garrison and Belvoir and Wiverton, to force the bridges . All the cavalier forces, that were about the towne, were about three thousand. When Sr. Charles Lucas had written his letter, he could find none that ,would undertake to carrie it to the castle, whereupon they tooke the mai01·'s wife, and, with threats, compell'd her to undertake it; but iust as she went out of the house from them, she heard an outcrie, that " the roundheads were sallying forth," whereupon she flung downe their le tter and ran away; and they ran as fast, from foure hundred souldiers, who came furiously upon them out of the castle, and surpriz'd them, while they were secure the castle would not have made so bold an attempt. But the governor's men chased them from streete to streete, till they had clear'd the towne of them, who runne away confusedly: the first that went out shott their pistolls into the thatcht houses to have fired them, but hy the mercy of God neither that, nor other endeavours they shew'd to have fired the towne, as they were commanded, tooke effect. Betweene thirty and forty of them were kill'd in the streetes, fourscore were taken prisoners, and abundance of armes were gather'd up, which the men flung away in hast, as they run; but they put some fire into a hay barne and hay mowes, and all other combustible things they could discerne in their hast, but by God's mercy the towne notwithstanding was preserv'd from burning. Their horse fac'd the towne in a vally where their reserve stood, while their foote marcht away, till towards evening, and then they all drew of. ·Many of them died in their returne, and were found dead in the woods and in the townes they past through. Many of them, discourag'd with this service, ran away, and many of their horses were quite spoyl'd: for two miles they left n greate track of blood, whi.ch froze as it fell upon the snow, for it was such bitter weather that the foote had waded allmost to the middle in snow as they came, and were so numbed with cold when they came into the towne, that
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