the report of muskets,
the imprecations of soldiers, the groans of wounded men, and the shrieks
of women. The streets ran red with blood. At such a sight his heart sank
within him, but, manning himself for fresh efforts, he called his troops
together and sought to incite them with courage to make a final charge.
"I would rather," he cried out, "you would shoot me than keep me alive
to see the sad consequences of this fatal day." Those who heard him were
disheartened: it was too late to retrieve their heavy losses: most of
them refused to heed him; many sought safety in flight. Then the young
king's friends, gathering round, besought him to make good his escape;
and accordingly, with a sad heart, he rode out of St. Martin's Gate
humbled and defeated. In order to cover his retreat from the enemy now
advancing, my Lord Cleveland, Sir James Hamilton, Colonel Careless, and
some other worthy gentlemen defended Sudbury Gate, towards which the
main body of the Republicans approached. They held this position a
sufficient time to gain the end for which it was undertaken. But at
length the Republicans, forcing open the gate, marched upon the fort,
defended by fifteen hundred soldiers under Colonel Drummond. This loyal
man refusing to surrender, the fort was speedily stormed; and he and
those of his men who survived the attack were mercilessly put to the
sword.

Dr. George Bate gives a quaint and striking picture of what followed.
"Deplorable and sad was the countenance of the town after that," writes
he; "the victorious soldiers on the one hand killing, breaking into
houses, plundering, sacking, roaring, and threatening; on the other
hand, the subdued flying, turning their backs to be cut and slashed, and
with outstretched hands begging quarter; some, in vain resisting, sold
their lives as dear as they could, whilst the citizens to no purpose
prayed, lamented, and bewailed. All the streets are strewed with dead
and mangled bodies. Here were to be seen some that begged relief, and
then again others weltering in their own gore, who desired that at once
an end might be put to their lives and miseries. The dead bodies lay
unburied for the space of three days or more, which was a loathsome
spectacle that increased the horror of the action."

Concerning his subsequent dangers and narrow escapes, the king, in his
days of peace and prosperity, was wont to discourse at length, for they
had left impressions on his mind which lasted through