Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 3.djvu/207

1648] only came to demand justice from the king against the men who were the pest of both nations. The next day the Scots attempted to ford the river, but were driven back by a charge of six troops of horse; these horse were, however, in their turn repulsed by the discharge of artillery, and a second attempt of the Scots succeeded.



In this success a troop of twenty-six horse from Leslie's body-guard, all Scotch lawyers, greatly distinguished themselves; the English distinguished themselves very little, except their officers, commissary Wilmot, the son of lord Wilmot, Sir John Digby, a catholic recusant, and captain O'Neale, an Irish catholic, who, with their men, drove the Scots opposed to Lunsford into the river, but being deserted by the rest, were surrounded and taken. They were, however, most honourably received by Leslie, and allowed to return to the king's army. "As for Conway," says Clarendon, "he soon afterwards turned his face towards the army, nor did anything like a commander, though his troops were quickly brought together again, without the loss of a dozen men (the real loss was about sixty), and were so ashamed of their flight, that they were very willing, as well as able, to have taken what revenge they could upon the enemy."

This was not true, for though "our whole army made the most shameful and confounding flight that was ever heard of," they had no chance of taking revenge with such a commander, being only about four thousand five hundred, altogether, horse and foot, whilst the Scots were twenty-six thousand men; the English unpractised, and having no heart for the work, the Scotch resolute as one man, and commanded by officers grown grey in the service of the victorious Swede. When the English army reached Newcastle, they did not feel themselves able to defend it against such an army, the place being ill-fortified, and they fled on to Durham. The Scotch could scarcely believe their eyes when they found Newcastle evacuated. They advanced with caution to the gates, where Douglas, sheriff of Teviotdale, with a small party of horse, demanding a parley, to their surprise, found the gates thrown open to them. Leslie pitched his camp at Gateshead, on the other side of the Tyne, commanding from his lofty position the town, and was thence plentifully supplied with provisions for his troops, for which he paid promptly. The next day being Sunday, Douglas and fifteen Scottish lords dined with Sir Peter Riddle, the mayor, and heard three sermons.

The retreating English army, under the panic-stricken Conway, meantime dared not even stop at Durham, but