Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	henry_n	sir_n	thomas_n	14,508	5	9.0896	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43552	A short view of the life and reign of King Charles (the second monarch of Great Britain) from his birth to his burial.	Heylyn, Peter, 1600-1662.	1658 (1658)	Wing H1735B; ESTC R213444	52,561	166

being broke open before the Common Council of Athens one of which was subscribed to the Queen Olympias was returned untoucht the whole Senate thinking it a shamefull and dishonest act to discover and betray the Conjugall secrets betwixt man and wife A modesty in which those of Athens stand as much commended by Helladius Bisantinus an ancient Writer as the chief leading men of the Houses of Parliament are like to stand condemned for the want of it in succeeding Histories But we return unto the King who having saved himself by flight gathered together some part of his scattered Forces but never was able to make head against the conquerors losing one place after another till his whole strength was almost reduced to Oxford and some few Garrisons adjoyning I shall take notice onely of some of the principal viz. Chester Conway Hereford Bristol and Exeter on which so great a part of his affairs did most especially depend Chester first comes within the danger a City of great importance in those parts of the Kingdom To the relief of this place then besieged by Sir William Brereton Collonel Jones and others of that party and at that time brought to some distresse he made all the convenient speed he could but was pursued upon the way and charged in front by the besiegers betwixt whom this small Army was routed at a place called Bauton-Heath and the Lord Bernard Stuart newly created Earl of Lichfield killed upon the place the last of three brethren that had lost their lives in their Princes quarrell On this discomfiture the King draws towards the North-East and commands the Lord Digby with the Remainder of his Horse to march for Scotland and there to joyn with the Marquesse of Montrosse who with small strengths had acted Miracles in that Kingdome But at a Village in Yorkshire called Sherbourn a fatall name but pointing to another place where he surprized 700 of the Parliaments Foot he he was set upon by Collonel Cotly his Forces made drunk with the good fortune of the day very easily mastered and he himself compelled to fly into Ireland never returning since that time to his Native Country But notwithstanding the Kings misfortune before mentioned which happened on the twenty ninth of September the Lord Byron who had the command of the Garrison in Chester held it out gallantly till the first of February and then perceiving that there was no hopes of any Succour came to an honourable composition and gave up the Town the greatest part of the Countrey falling into the same condition with their mother City Before we leave the North-west parts we must look upon the fortune of the Town and Castle of Conway a place of principall Command on that narrow Channell which runneth between the County of Carnarvon and the Isle of Anglesey Before this Town being then besieged by Collonel Mitton came Doctor John Williams formerly Lord Keeper of the great Seal of England and at that time Arch-bishop of York Who to ingratiate himself with the Houses of Parliament and to save the charges of compounding for Delinquency came with some forces to the aid of the Besiegers some say in Armour and encamped there till the place was taken to the Amazement of the world and the eternall infamy and Reproch of his Person Bristol comes next a place conveniently seated for the Trade of Spain the River capable of great Ships and the port well guarded At the taking of this City by the Kings Forces to such strengths as before it had there was added a Fort Royall as they called it then conceived impregnable into this City Prince Rupert who had spent there too much of the year before had put himself at the present and was besieged not long after by Sir Thomas Fairfax who came before it on the twenty fourth of August and had it surrendred to him without any memorable resistance together with the old Castle and Royall Fort on the thirteenth of September The quick surrendry of which place being so well fortified and furnisht with victuall Arms and Ammunition and the weak defences which were made to preserve the same created some suspicion of disloyalty in Prince Rupert towards the King his Uncle There had before passed some Letters betwixt the King and him touching the Kings coming to a speedy agreement with his Houses of Parliament in which the King was prest so far that he seemed to be displeased at it And now this news coming on the neck of those Letters startled him into such a distrust of his Nephews Loyalty that he dispatcht a messenger with all speed to the Lords at Oxford to displace Collonell William Legg one of the Confidents of Prince Rupert who had succeeded Sir Henry Gage in the Government of that City and to put into his place Sir Thomas Glenham a Gentleman of known extraction and more known fidelity Nor were the Lords of the Council lesse amazed at the news then his Majesty was who thereupon when Prince Rupert and his Brother Maurice returned to Oxford commanded them to be disarmed and would not suffer them to walk the streets with their Swords by their sides as they had done formerly though afterwards by the Kings great goodnesse they were restored to all apparences of favour though not to any speciall places of Command or Trust Hereford followes the same fortune which having in vain been besieged by the Scots from the 13 of July to the first of September was suddenly surprized by Collonel Birch and Collonel Morgan this last then Governour of Glocster on the eighteenth of December Exceter holds out longest and was last attempted such blocks as lay in the way between Fairfax his Army and that City being first in the course of war to be removed Which took up so much time that it was the twenty fifth day of January before Fairefax could come neer enough to give it a Summons and being summon'd it held out till the thirteenth of April and then was yielded upon as honourable Conditions as any other whatsoever all other Garrisons in the West being first surrendred the Princes forces worsted at Torrington not long after disbanded upon Composition and he himself retired into France for his personall safety All these mischances thus hapning on the neck of one another all the Kings hopes and expectation rested upon the coming of Sir Jacob Astley created Lord Astley of Reading two years since Who having kept together some Remainders of the Kings Forces since the Fight neer Chester and increasing them with the Accession of some fresh supplies marched towards the King and was to have been met upon the way by Sir John Campsfield with the Oxford Horse But either through the want of intelligence or the necessity of fate or some occasionall delayes it was so long before Campsfield was upon his march that the newes came of the Lord Astleys being vanquish'd at a place called Donnington neer Stow on the Wold on the 21 of March In which fight

the mystery of iniquity appeared in its proper colours For whereas it was formerly given out by the Houses of Parliament that they had undertaken the war for no other reason but to remove the King from his evill Counsellours those evil Counsellours were left at Oxford unmolested and the Kings Person onely hunted But the King understanding of this division thought himself able enough to deal with Waller and giving him the go by returned towards Oxford drew thence the remainder of his Army and gave him a sharp meeting at a place called Cropredy bridge where he obtained a signal victory on the twenty eighth of June and entred triumphantly into Oxford This done he marched after the Earl of Essex who had made himself master of some places in the West of good importance During this march it happened that one of the Carriages brake in a long narrow lane which they were to passe and gave His Majesty a stop at a time of an intollerable shower of rain which fell upon him Some of his Courtiers and others which were neere about him offered to hew him out a way through the hedges with their swords that he might get shelter in some of the Villages adjoyning but he resolved not to forsake his Canon upon any occasion At which when some about him seemed to admire and marvelled at the patience which he shewed in that extremity His Majesty lifting up his Hat made answer That as God had given him Afflictions to exercise his patience so he had given him patience to bear his Afflictions A speech so heavenly and Divine that it is hardly to be paralell'd by any of the men of God in all the Scripture The carriage being mended he went forward again and trode so close upon the heels of the Earl of Essex that at last he drave him into Cornwell and there reduced him to that point that he put himself into a Cock-boat with Sir Philip Stapleton and some others and left his whole army to his Majesties mercy His Horse taking the advantage of a dark night made a shift to escape but the Commanders of the Foot came to this capitulation with his Majesty that they should depart without their Arms which with their Canon Baggage and Ammunition being of very great consideration were left wholly to his disposing Immediately after this successe his Majesty dispatch'd a message from Tavestock to the two houses of Parliament in which he laid before them the miserable condition of the Kingdome remembring them of those many messages which he had formerly sent unto them for an accommondation of the present Differences and now desiring them to be think themselves of some expedient by which this issue of blood might be dried up the distraction of the Kingdom setled and the whole Nation put into an hope of Peace and Happinesse To which Message as to many others before they either gave no answer or such an one as rather served to widen than close the breach falsely conceiving that all his Majesties Offers of Grace and Favour proceeded either from an inability to hold out the War or from the weaknesse and irresolution of his Counsels So that the Trage-Comedy of the two Harlots in the first of Kings may seem to have been acted over again on the Stage of England The King like the true Mother compassionately desired that the life of the poor infant might be preserved the Houses like the false Mother considering that they could not have the whole voted that it should be neither mine nor thine but divided betwixt them But if instead of this Message from Tavestock his Majesty had gone on his own errand and marched with his Army towards London it was conceived that in all probability he might have made an end of the War the Army of Essex being thus broken and that of Manchester not returned from the Northern service But sitting down before Plimouth and staying there to perfect an Association of the Western Counties he spent so much time that Essex was again in the head of his Army and being seconded by the Earl of Manchester and Sir William VValler made a stand at Newbery where after a very hot fight with variable success on both sides each party drew off by degrees so that neither of them could find cause to boast of the victory Winter comes on which though it be not ordinarily a time of Action will notwithstanding afford us some variety which will not be unworthy of our observation And first a Garrison is formed at Abington a Town within five miles of Oxford by order from the two Houses of Parliament under the command of Colonell Brown the King and Councill looking on and suffering the Intrenchments to be made the Works to be raised and the Ordnance to be planted on the same It cannot be denyed but that Sir Henry G●ge Governour at that time of Oxford and many of the chief Commanders which were then in and about that City offered their service to the King and earnestly desired leave to prevent that mischief which by the Intrenchments of this Town must needs fall upon them But the Lord George Digby not long before made principall Secretary of Estate had perswaded the King unto the contrary upon assurance that he held intelligence with Brown and that as soon as the Town was fortified and furnished with Victuall Arms and Ammunition at the charges of the Houses of Parliament it would immediately be delivered into His Majesties hand In which design he was out-witted and consequently exposed unto some losse of reputation with all sorts of People For Brown having brought his project to the highest round of the ladder as himself expressed it thought it high time to turn it off and to declare himself for the two Houses against the King printing not long after all the Letters which passed between him and the Lord Digby upon this ocasion After this followed the taking of Shrewsbury a place of very great importance to the King as the Gate which opened into Wales situate on a rising ground and almost encompassed round about by the river Severn that part which is not invironed by water being wholly taken up and made good by a very strong Castle By the loss of which Town the Kings former entercourse with His loyall Subjects of North-Wales was not onely hindred but a present stop was given to an Association which was then upon the point of concluding between the Counties of Salop Flint Chester Worcester c. to the great prejudice of the Kings Affairs in those Parts of the Kingdome Then comes the lamentable death of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury kept for four years a prisoner in the Tower of London as before was said but reserved onely as a bait to bring in the Scots whensoever the Houses should have occasion for their second coming as formerly on the like temptation they had drawn them in with reference to the Earl of Strafford The Scots being come and doing good service in