his dragoons to enter the
town and charge the foot, while his horse secured the avenues of the
town.

The dragoons bravely attacked the foot, and Sir Marmaduke falling
in with his horse, the fight was obstinate and very bloody, when the
horse that I had routed came flying into the street of the village,
and my men at their heels. Immediately I left the pursuit, and fell
in with all my force to the assistance of my friends, and, after an
obstinate resistance, we routed the whole party; we killed about
700 men, took 350, 27 officers, 100 arms, all their baggage, and 200
horses, and continued our march to Harborough, where we halted to
refresh ourselves.

Between Harborough and Leicester we met with a party of 800 dragoons
of the Parliament forces. They, found themselves too few to attack
us, and therefore to avoid us they had gotten into a small wood; but
perceiving themselves discovered, they came boldly out, and placed
themselves at the entrance into a lane, lining both sides of the
hedges with their shot. We immediately attacked them, beat them from
their hedges, beat them into the wood, and out of the wood again,
and forced them at last to a downright run away, on foot, among the
enclosures, where we could not follow them, killed about 100 of them,
and took 250 prisoners, with all their horses, and came that night to
Leicester. When we came to Leicester, and had taken up our quarters,
Sir Marmaduke Langdale sent for me to sup with him, and told me
that he had a secret commission in his pocket, which his Majesty had
commanded him not to open till he came to Leicester; that now he had
sent for me to open it together, that we might know what it was we
were to do, and to consider how to do it; so pulling out his sealed
orders, we found we were to get what force we could together, and a
certain number of carriages with ammunition, which the governor of
Leicester was to deliver us, and a certain quantity of provision,
especially corn and salt, and to relieve Newark. This town had been
long besieged. The fortifications of the place, together with its
situation, had rendered it the strongest place in England; and, as it
was the greatest pass in England, so it was of vast consequence to the
king's affairs. There was in it a garrison of brave old rugged boys,
fellows that, like Count Tilly's Germans, had iron faces, and they had
defended themselves with extraordinary bravery a great while, but were
reduced to an exceeding st