e,
for the Cavaliers were constantly in search of John Hutchinson.

After fleeing from place to place he arrived at Nottingham, soon after
the battle of Edgehill. The Cavaliers were on their way to take
possession of Nottingham, and John Hutchinson and others urged the
citizens to defend the town. The militia was organised, and John
Hutchinson was appointed a lieutenant-colonel.

Lucy Hutchinson was at this time living at their home at Owthorpe, but
her husband, thinking that she would be safer in Nottingham than alone
in a neighbourhood which abounded with Royalists, sent a troop of horse
to remove her by night. It was an adventurous journey, but was
accomplished safely. Finding that the citizens of Nottingham were
prepared to offer a determined resistance, the Cavaliers did not attack
the town, but passed on with the intention of returning later to
capture it.

The citizens of Nottingham, pleased with the energy shown by Colonel
Hutchinson, elected him Governor of Nottingham Castle. It was a high
post for a man only twenty-seven years of age, but Colonel Hutchinson
soon proved that he was well fitted for it The castle, although
standing in an excellent position, was in a dilapidated condition and
required much strengthening before it could be considered strong enough
to withstand a determined attack. The required alterations were
carried out under Colonel Hutchinson's supervision, and at length all
that was needed to withstand a siege was a stock of provisions and a
larger garrison. These, however, the governor could not obtain.

A period of waiting followed. Again and again the rumour spread that
the Cavaliers were approaching to capture the castle, but they did not
attack it. Their guns were heard in the distance, but for some reason
known only to themselves they did not deliver the long-expected
assault. Lucy Hutchinson had an unenviable time. Loving a peaceful,
domestic life, she was compelled to live in the midst of turmoil. She
saw to the feeding of the soldiers, a trying task considering that so
far the Parliamentary party had allowed her husband nothing whatever
towards defraying the cost of maintaining the garrison, and that the
stock of provisions was running low. Moreover she was often troubled
concerning the safety of her relatives. Her eldest brother, Sir Allen
Apsley, of whom she was exceedingly fond, was fighting gallantly for
the king, and believing that the Parliamentarians would tr