whom she could rely upon. But no sooner were the men instructed in
their duties than the rebels demanded that the four small guns which
were mounted on the wall should be given up.

Lady Bankes refused to surrender them, and some days later forty seamen
came and demanded them. Now at that hour Lady Bankes had only five men
in the castle, but pretending that she had a large garrison, she
refused the seamen's demand, and caused one of the guns to be fired
over their heads. The report of this gun, which only carried a
three-pound ball, so alarmed the seamen that they fled in dismay. They
must have been very different from the men who sailed under Blake, and
made the Commonwealth's navy world-famed.

No sooner had the timorous seamen fled than Lady Bankes summoned to the
castle all her tenants and friendly neighbours, to assist her to hold
the place until her husband should return. They came in quickly, many
bringing arms, and vowed to fight for her and King Charles; but the
Roundheads, discovering who had entered the castle, went to the homes
of these men, and told their wives that unless their husbands returned
home their houses would be burned to the ground. The frightened wives
thereupon made their way to the castle and implored their husbands to
return. Some of the men did as their wives desired, but others would
not break the promise they had made to the mistress of Corfe Castle.

The enemy now decided to starve out Lady Bankes, and threatened to kill
anyone caught conveying food to the castle. This measure was
effective, for Lady Bankes, being without sufficient food and
ammunition to withstand a siege, agreed to deliver up the guns, on the
condition that she should remain in possession of the castle unmolested.

Lady Bankes had, however, little confidence in the honour of the
attacking party, and felt assured that they would before long, in spite
of their promise, endeavour to take possession of the castle. This was
made evident by the behaviour of the soldiers, who, although they did
not enter the castle, did not hesitate to boast that it belonged to
them, and that they would take possession of it whenever it was
required. But Lady Bankes was determined that it should not, if she
could possibly prevent it, fall into the hands of the enemy. Therefore
she gave instructions that the men appointed to watch the castle should
be supplied liberally with food and drink, with the result that they
neglected to