ns which lay in that town.[****]
Without delay he proceeded towards London; but when he reached Newbury,
he was surprised to find that the king, by hasty marches, had arrived
before him, and was already possessed of the place.

* Rush, vol. vi. p. 292.

** Rush, vol. vi. p. 292.

*** Clarendon, vol. iii. p. 344.

**** Rush, vol. vi. p 292.

An action was now unavoidable; and Essex prepared for it with presence
of mind, and not without military conduct. On both sides the battle was
fought with desperate valor and a steady bravery. Essex's horse
were several times broken by the king's, but his infantry maintained
themselves in firm array; and, besides giving a continued fire, they
presented an invincible rampart of pikes against the furious shock of
Prince Rupert, and those gallant troops of gentry of which the royal
cavalry was chiefly composed. The militia of London especially, though
utterly unacquainted with action, though drawn hut a few days before
from their ordinary occupations, yet having learned all military
exercises, and being animated with unconquerable zeal for the cause
in which they were engaged, equalled on this occasion what could be
expected from the most veteran forces. While the armies were engaged
with the utmost ardor, night put an end to the action and left the
victory undecided. Next morning, Essex proceeded on his march; and
though his rear was once put in some disorder by an incursion of the
king's horse, he reached London in safety, and received applause for his
conduct and success in the whole enterprise. The king followed him on
his march; and having taken possession of Reading after the earl left
it, he there established a garrison, and straitened by that means London
and the quarters of the enemy.[*]

* Rush, vol. vi. p. 293. Clarendon, vol. iii. p. 347.

In the battle of Newbury, on the part of the king, besides the earls
of Sunderland and Carnarvon, two noblemen of promising hopes, was
unfortunately slain, to the regret of every lover of ingenuity and
virtue throughout the kingdom, Lucius Gary, Viscount Falkland, secretary
of state. Before assembling the present parliament, this man, devoted
to the pursuits of learning and to the society of all the polite and
elegant, had enjoyed himself in every pleasure which a fine genius, a
generous disposition, and an opulent fortune could afford. Called into
public life, he stood foremost in all attacks on the high p