d the king, that in three weeks he hoped to be
master of Taunton, after which he would join his majesty with all the
forces in the west; and entreated him, in the mean while to avoid coming
to any general action. This letter, which, had it been safely delivered,
had probably prevented the battle of Naseby, served now to direct the
operations of Fairfax.[*] After leaving a body of three thousand men
to Pointz and Rossiter, with orders to attend the king's motions, he
marched immediately to the west, with a view of saving Taunton, and
suppressing the only considerable force which now remained to the
royalists.

In the beginning of the campaign, Charles, apprehensive of the event,
had sent the prince of Wales, then fifteen years of age, to the west,
with the title of General, and had given orders, if he were pressed by
the enemy, that he should make his escape into a foreign country, and
save one part of the royal family from the violence of the parliament.
Prince Rupert had thrown himself into Bristol, with an intention of
defending that important city. Goring commanded the army before Taunton.

On Fairfax's approach, the siege of Taunton was raised; and the
royalists retired to Lamport, an open town in the county of Somerset.
Fairfax attacked them in that post, beat them from it, killed about
three hundred men, and took one thousand four hundred prisoners.[**]
After this advantage, he sat down before Bridgewater, a town esteemed
strong, and of great consequence in that country. When he had entered
the outer town by storm, Windham, the Governor, who had retired into the
inner, immediately capitulated, and delivered up the place to Fairfax.
The garrison, to the number of two thousand six hundred men, were made
prisoners of war.

Fairfax, having next taken Bath and Sherborne, resolved to lay siege to
Bristol, and made great preparations for an enterprise which, from
the strength of the garrison, and the reputation of Prince Rupert, the
governor, was deemed of the last importance. But, so precarious in most
men is this quality of military courage, a poorer defence was not made
by any town during the whole war; and the general expectations were here
extremely disappointed. No sooner had the parliamentary forces entered
the lines by storm, than the prince capitulated, and surrendered the
city to Fairfax.[***] A few days before, he had written a letter to the
king, in which he undertook to defend the place for four months, if