At the time when Waller was marching out of London, the Marquess of Hertford, with Prince Maurice, effected a junction, on the borders of Devonshire and Somersetshire, with the Cornish men, victorious from the fight at Stratton, in their own county, who had advanced to meet them, under the command of the brave and virtuous Hopton. The king's army, hearing that Waller was already at Bath, marched through Wells to give them battle. Waller drew out his forces on Lansdown Hill; from whence, on the approach of the enemy, he dispatched Haslerigg, with his famous regiment of cuirassiers, to charge their horse. At first, the cavaliers, who, till now, had charged the cavalry of the parliament with contempt, gave ground, in some dismay, before this novel armament; but, on being brought a second time to the charge, they completely routed, and chased them to the foot of the hill. The summit of Lansdown Hill was crested with breastworks, which were mounted with cannon, and flanked on each side by a wood lined with musketeers; the reserves of the parliament's horse and foot being drawn up behind. Unappalled by this disadvantage, the valiant Cornish men modestly asked permission "to fetch off those cannon." The ascent in that spot was deemed inaccessible; but order to attempt it being, after some hesitation, given, Sir Bevil Grenvil charged fiercely up with his dauntless Britons; drove the whole body from the ground; and the king's troops took quiet possession of it. The two shattered armies now faced each other on level ground, neither showing any disposition to renew the fight; "so that exchanging only some shot from their ordnance, they looked upon one another till the night interposed." About midnight Waller silently withdrew into Bath; and when day appeared, the royalists found themselves in possession of the field, some arms and ammunition, and the dead. Those who fell, on the royalist side, were chiefly officers and gentlemen; among them, Sir Bevil Grenvil, "whose loss," observes Clarendon, "would have clouded any victory. He was indeed," the historian continues, "an excellent person; whose activity and reputation were the foundation of what had been done in Cornwall; and his temper and affections so public, that no accident which happened could make any impressions in him," unfavourable to the royal cause. "In a word, a brighter courage, and a gentler disposition, were never married together, to make the most cheerful and innocent conversation." The Lord Arundel of Wardour was carried off the field severely wounded, and died soon afterwards at Oxford; having just survived long enough to be made acquainted with the surrender of his beautiful fortress to the forces of the parliament, after a short but spirited resistance by his heroic lady.

Waller's army was rather dispersed than materially weakened. Collecting, therefore, his scattered squadrons, and being reinforced from Bristol and the adjoining counties, he pursued the royalists, who had marched towards Devizes, engaging their rear-guard in skirmishes, till they entered the town. The same night, the Prince and the Marquess marched out with the horse to Oxford, leaving Hopton shut up in Devizes with the infantry; where it was hoped they might be able to defend themselves, for a few days, till relief should be brought. The next morning Waller assaulted the town with horse, foot, and cannon; but was repulsed. Having intercepted a party marching in with powder and shot, of which he knew the besieged were in extreme need, he thought it a fair

opportunity to propose high terms of surrender. Hopton consented to a cessation of a few hours; when, his soldiers having obtained a little rest, and found means to supply their immediate want of ammunition, both sides again fell to their arms. Waller had resolved on a general assault; he had even written to the parliament that "their work was done, and by the next post he would send the number and rank of his prisoners ;" when the startling news was brought, that Lord Wilmot had been sent from Oxford with a large body of horse to raise the siege, and was already within a few miles of the town. Instantly, the parliamentarian general drew off "without drum or trumpet," to Roundway Down, an open space, two miles towards Oxford, over which the king's forces must pass; where he ranged his columns very advantageously, in order of battle; the besieged wondering what the sudden silence around them imported, for they could not believe that, in two days, relief could be at hand.

Waller, seeing the royalists less numerous than he expected, from pure contempt threw away the advantage of his position; and, putting Haslerigg and his cuirassiers in front, advanced with his cavalry alone to the attack. So well was the onset of that hitherto invincible regiment met, on the other side, by Sir John Byron, that they were forced back in full career upon the main body of the parliament's horse. There, for a moment, they rallied; when Wilmot made such an effectual charge upon the whole body, defeating it, division after division, that it was entirely routed and dispersed, and not a trooper remained in sight upon the Down. Still the foot stood firm; but, by this time, the Cornish regiments making their appearance from the town, and Wilmot, who had got possession of their ordnance, turning it upon themselves, they also broke their ranks, and fled in every direction. All the cannon, arms, and ammunition, colours, and baggage of Waller, with 900 prisoners, fell into the victors' hands. On the side of the parliament, the slain amounted to 600: the king's army lost few common men, and only one soldier of rank. Sir William Waller, Sir Arthur Haslerigg (who had received several wounds), Colonels Strode and Popham, and other commanders, took refuge in Bristol, whither their arrival brought the first news of that disastrous fight. This was a terrible blow for the garrison of that city, a great part of whose strength had been lost in the defeat; but worse apprehensions assailed them, when, ten days later, on the 22d of July, two hosts sat down before their walls-Prince Rupert, with his Oxford forces, on the Gloucestershire side; the Marquess of Hertford and Prince Maurice, with the victorious Cornish army, on the side of Somersetshire.

The first step taken by the royalists was to seize on the ships in the harbour; in which were many persons of consideration, who had prepared to avoid the horrors of the siege, by escaping, with their families and treasure, to London. The next was to determine on the method of attack. Rupert's opinion, according with his hot and impatient temper, that it should be by storm, ultimately prevailed. The garrison of Bristol consisted of about 2,500 infantry and a regiment of dragoons. The town had a line of fortifications drawn entirely round it. At daybreak on the 24th day of July, the besieged beheld from their walls, on either side of the town, at the same moment, their enemies advancing to the assault, in three separate divisions. Each division was crowded