will be at Bradford and Halifax shortly; he added no more, but immediately set off towards Bradford, the place from whence he came, on purpose to alarm the country.

Imagine, dear reader, for my pen (See Note (1) at the end of this Paper) is not able to describe the confusion and disorder of the whole congregation; some ran out in the greatest consternation, others began to talk with their friends, the women in general wrung their hands and wept, the children screamed aloud and clung to their parents, horror and amazement sat upon every countenance, insomuch that the minister was prevented going on in his work for some time, till by soft persuasions, and exhorting them to a steady trust and confidence in the Lord, at length they became a little composed, and he went on peaceably to the end of the service. At the conclusion thereof, I immediately set home to Bradford, with great anxiety of mind. my coming thither, I found the inhabitants gathered together in parties, advising and consulting together what method to pursue (for they had heard the rebels had got to Halifax) in this their deplorable state and situation. At length it was determined to send a party of horsemen to Halifax, to enquire further into the truth of the matter, who, at their coming there, found it all an untruth, for the supposed rebels were only a few poor Protestants who had ffed out of Ireland, to prevent their falling a prey to the rage and malice of the unmerciful Papists, who were still pursuing the lives of those who had hitherto escaped their bloody purpose.

At

This news, at the messengers' return, caused a general joy and gladness in every breast, for before all was confusion and despair, each one forming to himself how to preserve his own and the lives of those for whom he was concerned (for the preservation of life swallows up almost every idea whatsoever); their countenances now spoke the inward sensations of their minds, their spirits resumed their wonted vigour and alacrity, and trade and occupation begun a little again to revive.

But ah! how short and fleeting are all

Papists had massacred 100,000 Protestants, men, women and children, in one night, and had also threatened that when they had despatched the handful that was left there, they would come and do the same with the Parliament and Protestants here.

terrestrial enjoyments; how are they subject to vicissitudes and changes! for in a very short time after this, a body of horse and foot, of the King's troops, were sent and quartered in the town, who threatened the inhabitants what they would do, only waiting for orders to execute and satiate their bloody designs upon us, by destroying all with fire and sword.

Here, gentle reader, pause a little, and reflect what a deplorable state and condition the inhabitants of Bradford must now be in; none durst scarce appear in public nor go about their lawful concerns; horror and despair clouded every countenance, and distressed the mind of every individual; before it was only report, but now it was a matter of fact; till now danger was at a considerable distance, but now it was a reality, and at our very doors; desolation and destruction appear with the most formidable and frightful aspect ! Oh! may our rising generations never feel the calamities of a civil war.

After some time it pleased God in his providence to favour us with a little respite, for these troops were recalled, and we again left at leisure to act in such a manner as best suited our present circumstances.

We now began to think of putting ourselves in some posture of defence, supposing it might not be long before another visit would be paid us, accordingly we called to our assistance the neighbouring villages, who willingly came and seconded our resolutions; we therefore set about fortifying ourselves with the greatest alacrity, resolution, and assiduity, in order, if possible, to frustrate every attempt that might be made upon us to deprive us of our liberties and properties from every invader whatsoever, for we had not the least reason to hope for any mercy from their hands, but everything to the contrary.

We blocked up every avenue leading into the town, sent out spies, and watched every move of the enemy, a party of which lay at Leeds; ere long news was brought they were breaking up their quarters, and making every preparation in order to attack us; accordingly every man that was able to make any defence, provided himself with such weapons as they could best procure, and every thing requisite for their defence; accordingly the enemy came forward, and pitched their tents on that part of the common called Hundercliff, in three separate bodies, where they entrenched themselves and lay there

for that day, which was about a mile distant from the town; the next morning they struck their tents and advanced towards us, and came to the brow of the hill, where they exhibited to our view their ensigns of war, which were truly very awful and tremendous to behold; here they halted, and made every preparation necessary to attack us; they were about seven or eight hundred men, we were about three hundred; they had several pieces of cannon, we had none; they began to play their ordnance upon us with great fury; we drew up close to the town, in order to receive them; they had the advantage of the ground, which exposed us more to their cannon, from which we sustained some loss; but our men defended the passes so well, by which they were to descend, that they got no ground of us; moreover, whilst each party were exerting themselves to the utmost of their power, Providence in a most miraculous and surprising manner interfered in our favour, by sending the heaviest shower of snow, attended with a mighty, strong and blustering wind, which beat directly in their faces with such impetuosity that they were not able to withstand or support it; besides, at the same time, one of their great guns burst asunder, which so intimidated and struck them with amazement that they, with the greatest precipitation and confusion fled towards Leeds, whilst we, not thinking it prudent to pursue them, by reason of the hurricane and other inconveniences, returned into the town.

Thus it pleased the Almighty to deliver us out of the jaws of death, and afford us a scecond opportunity of providing against another attack, which we might reasonably expect would be much more formidable than the last, that they might revenge themselves upon us for their shameful and unexpected defeat; for they had determined upon our ruin and final destruction, and promised themselves nothing short of success.

We again called in fresh succours to our assistance from Halifax, Bingley, and their adjacent villages, and they came willingly and speedily to assist us; we also got a Captain from Halifax, a man of military skill, who instructed us in the best manner possible how to guard and fortify ourselves, which we set about with the greatest diligence imaginable, understanding that the Earl of Newcastle, who commanded the King's forces, had got a very strong reinforcement, and had plundered Leeds already, and intended to pay us another unwelcome visit, that they might satiate their revenge upon us with the

greatest avidity; we therefore resolved to conquer or die, there was no alternative: our Captain mustered all his men, which were about eighty that had muskets or long guns; the greatest part of these he placed in the church and upon the steeple; the rest were armed with clubs, scythes, spits, flails, halberts, sickles laid in long poles, and such like rustic weapons; these he placed in such a manner, and in such order, as best to prevent the enemy from entering the town, or taking possession of the church, which we very well understood would be their first and chief attempt to do; we accordingly bent our thoughts for the safety of that place, which was sacred to God and man, how to secure it, if possible, from their wicked and profane purposes; we therefore hung large sheets of wool upon that side of the steeple facing the road by which they were to approach us, so close to each other, and so nigh the roof of the church, that it would be with difficulty for a ball to penetrate the steeple.

Having thus taken every method requisite for its security and our own, we remained quiet for some days, our spies being out, with positive orders, upon the first moving of the enemy towards us, to repair hither with the greatest speed imaginable, and to alarm the country as they passed along.

Accordingly, on the 18th of December, being the Sabbath-day, the Earl of Newcastle sent the van of his army again from Leeds, consisting of five troops of horse, six troops of dragoons, and two hundred foot, commanded by Colonel Goring, Colonel Evans, Sir William Savile, and Sir John Gotheric, intending with these troops to surprise the town while the inhabitants were engaged in divine service; but our scouts returned and alarm the town and country of their approach; and now what hurry and confusion immediately ensue; the whole congregation betake themselves to flight, and seek for refuge where they think most safe; every man is now ordered to his post, armed with such weapons as he was beforehand provided withall; the church and steeple secured in the best manner we possibly could, being determined (relying upon Divine assistance) to defend it to the last extremity.

Again they approach us with the sound of warlike music and their streamers flying in the air. Tremendous sight! enough to make the stoutest heart tremble, to shake the nerves and loose the joints of every beholder. Amazing, to see the different effects it had upon others, who were fired with rage even

to madness, and filled with revenge even to enthusiasm!

They then advanced nearer, and set down in Barker End, not above three hundred paces above the church, where they raised a battery against it, but chiefly against the steeple, intending, if possible, to erase it to the ground; perhaps because they feared to suffer the greatest harm by those who were placed therein; ten or twelve of the best marksmen being in that part of the steeple judged most proper to annoy the enemy; others were in and about the church, and every pass leading thereto, and those into the town were guarded in the best manner our little army of men would admit of, which were very small in comparison to the number of our enemies, which we thought upward of two thousand, with a train of artillery suitable thereto,

Each party being in this position, the enemy began to fire with the greatest fury upon us, and especially against the steeple, and in a small space of time discharged their great guns seventeen times; at length one of our men with a fowling-piece, from off the steeple, killed one of their cannoneers, and instantly we all, with the greatest courage, resolution and intrepidity, issued out of the town upon the enemy, who expected rather a speedy surrender than resistance; this so much daunted and surprised them, that they were at a loss what course to take; but, perceiving how advantageous the steeple was to our men, and how they were incommoded by the fire from thence, they presently possessed themselves of some houses and a barn nearer the church, very convenient for the shelter of their men, and brought their cannon also nearer the church; from hence they sent out Sir John Gotheric's troop of horse, who encompassed the town and some little villages on the side of it; they robbed a woman most basely, and cowardly slew two naked (or unarmed) men as they passed by; and so coming within sight of the town's sentinel at the west end, the sentinel fired upon them, and wounded two or three of their horses, one of which, being but slightly hurt, was brought into the town; and in a little time, partly by the shot from the town, and partly by the approach of some club men from Bingley, they were forced to return to their party.

In the mean time, their cannon was removed to such a place as they could conveniently play upon the town, and especially upon that part called Kirkgate, by which the townsmen must of necessity march in order

to relieve their party, and best resist the enemy; those upon the steeple made great havoc and confusion upon the enemy, for when any bluff or scarlet coat appeared within their reach, they had two or three guns pointed in one hole, and discharged at once upon them, and generally with success, which thereby greatly deterred the rest from relieving their men which were in the houses and thus they continued till high noon; about which time there came to our assistance some firemen and clubmen from Halifax, who immediately were put to service, some in the church, others in the lanes near the houses where the enemy lodged; those in the church and lanes kept the houses in play, and those on the steeple hindered the enemy from relieving those in the houses; but seeing this was not the way to repel the enemy, for the largeness of the church windows, and the smallness of their houses, made their assault more secure and our defence more dangerous; which the townsmen perceiving, and, that this way did but waste themselves and their ammunition, they therefore resolved to win or lose all at once by a general assault; therefore, watching an opportunity betwixt the discharge and charging again of the canr.on of the enemy, our men sallied out of church, and being seconded by those in the lanes, rushed up to the houses, burst open the doors, slew them that resisted, and took those that yielded, the rest fled into the field adjoining, where some of the townsmen followed (the greatest part of them being employed in conveying the men and ammunition which the enemy had left behind them) and in the field the skirmish grew hotter than ever; the townsmen were too eager to keep rank and file, tho' they before had been taught so to do; but this disorder proved very advantageous to our men, for mixing themselves with the enemy, they thereby fought securely even in the mouth of the enemy's cannon, and in the eye of one body of their forces, both placed in the field above them, they not daring to discharge their cannon upon us, lest in so doing they should destroy their own men together with us; otherwise they had ten firemen for one, and might have cut us all off in an instart; nor could our men use their muskets but as clubs. To speak ingenuously, their commanders being exasperated at the cowardice of their common soldiers, manifested greater courage themselves; but they were well paid for it, for our scythes and clubs now and then reached them sorely, and few else did the townsmen

aim at; one among the rest in a scarlet coat (said to be Colonel Goring himself) our clubmen had got hold of, and were spoiling of him, but a party of their horse fearing the loss of such a man, became more courageous than they intended, so leaping over a hedge, came full gallop upon our men, forcing them to give a little ground, but they quickly recovered themselves, tho' they lost their man, and, redoubling their courage, would neither give nor take quarter (not through cruelty but ignorance, as the enemy themselves afterwards confessed) and in the end forced both man and horse out of the field: Yet ours could not keep it, for now being separated from the enemy, their musketeers were at liberty to play upon our men; and now, indeed, they rained such a shower of lead among them, as forced them to retreat to the next hedge for shelter, and so hindered them from pursuing their men.

Their ordnance also all this time playing upon the town and steeple; nevertheless, that which was planted against the steeple did it no harm; that intended to scour Kirkgate, tho' planted in the most advantageous place, tho' the streets were continually crowded with people, and, tho' the bullets did hit some of the houses, and some few whistled thro' the streets, yet was not any man hurt therewith; which was nothing short of the wonderful goodness of the Almighty in protecting the lives of the inhabitants in such a surprising and miraculous manner.

One circumstance somewhat remarkable cannot be omitted; during the heat of this action, a stout young officer (said to be the Earl of Newport's son) heading a company of foot, came down the field on the left side of the high road, under cover of a thick hedge, intending to force a passage through a house, and so surprise the church. He (the officer) being too sanguine, pushing on a little too fast before his men, fell into an ambuscade; being cut off from his men, and seeing no way to escape, begged for quarter, but was answered by one Ralph Atkinson, saying, He would give him Bradford Quarter, and immediately slew him. His men understanding what had happened, and struck with astonishment at the loss of their leader, fled with the greatest precipitation, and were pursued by a party of our men, who slew some of them; then the whole body of the enemy begun to retreat; for they had sent off their baggage before; and thus the terror of the Lord, and our men falling upon them, away they went (using their feet better than their hands) and about fifty of our musketeers and clubmen after them, HOLROYD'S COLLECTANEA, No. 4.

which courage of ours did most of all astonish the enemy, who said afterwards, no fifty men in the world, except they were mad or drunk, would have pursued one thousand. Our men, indeed, shot and fought as if they had been mad, and the enemy truly fell as if they had been drunk; some discharged ten, some twelve times in the pursuit, and having the whole body of the enemy for their butt, it may easily be imagined what good execution was done in a mile and a half pursuit, for they followed them up to the moor; but fearing to be environed by the horse they retreated, so weary after eight hours fight (for so long it lasted) they could scarce return to the town

One thing I cannot omit; a hearty Roundhead (for so the enemy called us) left by his comrades, and surrounded by three of the enemy's horse, discharged his musket upon them, struck down another's horse with the butt-end of it, broke a third's sword, beating it back to his throat, and put them all to flight, which relation (tho' strange as the rest) yet is most certainly true.

There was slain in this notable and remarkable skirmish, Sir John Harp, the Earl of Newport's son (by Atkinson, who took great store of gold out of his pockets, a gold ring, &c, but it is said upon a serious reflection, he greatly lamented so rash an action) and Capt. Binns whom the enemy carried away to Leeds, who died of his wounds three days after. Their wounded was Sir John Gotheric (whose horse was killed with a scythe), Colonel Goring, General of the horse, and about one hundred common soldiers Of ours not above three at the most fell by the enemy, and about twelve wounded, all curable except two: There were also taken prisoners of the enemy, sergeantmajor Crewe, twenty-six common soldiers, about ten horses, 180 lb. weight of powder, and about forty muskets. Thus our wants were supplied out of our enemy's store, leaving us in a much better stock of arms and ammunition than we had at their first coming.

The next day the enemy sent a trumpeter to demand the body of the Earl's son, which was given them. Thus the hand of the Lord again appeared in the most conspieuous and astonishing manner in our deliverance, who, by a handful of unskilful men, triumphed over and put to rout an army of 1000 men well armed and disciplined for war: With truth may it be said, The battle is not to the strongest, nor the race to the swiftest.

Our enemy now returned to Leeds, to the

other part of their army lying there, and we again were left at leisure to reflect upon our wonderful and surprising deliverance.

Now we began to hope the worst was past, that the enemy would perhaps leave this part of the country, and we left at liberty to follow our respective callings; but presently after this my Lord Fairfax, and Sir Ihomas his son, arrived at Bradford, with a body of forces, and collected what assistance they could possibly here, and marched towards Wakefield, in order to give the Earl of Newcastle battle. They met at Adwalton, and immediately engaged each other, where my Lord was routed, and his army dispersed. My Lord took the road to Bradford, with part of his scattered army; Sir Thomas took towards Halifax, with the other part, but the next day arrived at Bradford, and joined my Lord, as my Lord has related in his Memoirs; and now our troubles begin again; fresh storms arise, and clouds of sorrow gather blackness over our heads, threatening us with greater distresses, if possible, than heretofore; for the Earl of Newcastle, flushed with the victory he had now gained over my Lord Fairfax, and fired with rage against us for the repulse we had lately given him, immediately marched a most formidable army towards us, where he sets down at a place called Bowling-Hall, and presently comes forward to a place convenient for his purpose, where he directly points his cannon upon the town, but more especially against the church and steeple, as if he was determined to revenge himself of that place from whence he had of late met with such severe treatment.

We therefore took every precaution to prevent his mischievous purpose, and again hung sheets of wool on that side facing their battery, and put ourselves in the best posture of defence possible, in hopes of repulsing them once more. They presently began to play their cannon upon us with the greatest fury and indignation possible, so that their shot cut the cords whereon the sheets of wool hung, and down they fell, which the enemy immediately perceiving, loudly huzza'd at their fall! but night approaching, the firing of their cannon in some measure ceased, and we in some sort repaired our breaches,

The next day, being the Sabbath, a drum was beat for a parley, which was agreed to on both sides, and continued the most part of that day: In the meantime the enemy took the opportunity to remove their cannon, brought them nearer the town, and fixed them in a certain place called Goodman'sEnd, directly against the heart of the town, and surrounding us on every side with horse

and foot, so that it was almost impossible for a single person to escape; nor could the troops within the town act upon the defensive for want of ammunition, which they had lost in their last defeat at Adwalton, nor had they a single match but such as were made of twisted cords dipped in oil.

Towards night the parley broke up, but nothing offered advantageous to the troops in general, or to the town in particular, so that they immediately opened this new battery upon us, and made a most furious fire therewith; three men sitting together on a bench at the lower part of Goodman'sEnd, two of them were cut off, and swept out of Time in a moment.

Oh! that dreadful and never-to-be-forgotten night, which was mostly spent in firing those deadly engines upon us! so that the blaze issuing therefrom, appeared like lightening from heaven, the elements being as it were on fire, and the loud roaring of the cannon resembling the mighty thunders of the sky! At the dead of the night Sir Thomas Fairfax called a council of war, and seeing there was not the least possibility of defending the town or themselves, as they were but a handful of men in comparison of the enemy; it was therefore unanimously resolved upon, that, at break of day the next morning, every man should endeavour to force his way through the enemy, sword in hand, or die in the desperate attempt; there was no alternative, every other method was impracticable, and this had small appearance of success; for the enemy had blocked up every avenue leading to, and from, the town, with strong parties of horse and foot; but Sir Thomas for his own part, and his officers likewise, were determined not to give up themselves prisoners to the mercy of the Earl: Accordingly in the morning the desperate resolve was put into execution, and carried on with the greatest resolution and bravery for notwithstanding the enemy defended their passes with the greatest courage imaginable, yet they made their way through them with the loss of very few men; the greatest part of them took the road to Hull.

Now, reader, here stop; stop for a moment; pause; and suppose thyself to be in the like dilemma! Words connot express, thoughts cannot imagine, nay, art itself is not able to paint out the calamities and woeful distresses we are now overwhelmed withal! Every countenanee overspread with sorrow; every house overwhelmed with grief; husbands lamenting over their families; women wringing their hands in despair; children shrieking, crying, and clinging to