nhabitants.[c] The besiegers burnt their huts and
retired;[d] and Essex, having spent a few days to recruit his men and
provision the place, resumed his march in the direction of London.[e] On
his approach to Newbury,

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1643. August 10.]
[Sidenote b: A.D. 1643. August 26.]
[Sidenote c: A.D. 1643. Sept. 5.]
[Sidenote d: A.D. 1643. Sept. 6.]
[Sidenote e: A.D. 1643. Sept. 19.]

he found the royal army in possession of the road before him. I shall not
attempt to describe a conflict which has been rendered unintelligible by
the confused and discordant narratives of different writers. The king's
cavalry appears to have been more than a match for that of the enemy;
but it could make no impression on the forest of pikes presented by the
infantry, the greater part of which consisted of the trained bands from the
capital. The battle raged till late in the evening, and both armies passed
the night in the field, but in the morning the king allowed Essex to march
through Newbury; and having ordered Prince Rupert to annoy the rear,
retired with his infantry to Oxford. The parliamentarians claimed, and
seem to have been justified in claiming, the victory; but their commander,
having made his triumphal entry into the capital, solicited permission to
resign his command and travel on the continent. To those who sought to
dissuade him, he objected the distrust with which he had been treated, and
the insult which had been offered to him by the authority intrusted to
Waller. Several expedients were suggested; but the lord general was aware
of his advantage; his jealousy could not be removed by adulation or
submission; and Waller, after a long struggle, was compelled to resign the
command of the army intrusted with the defence of the capital.[1][a]

As soon as the parliament had recovered from the alarm occasioned by the
loss of Bristol, it had found leisure to devote a part of its attention to
the civil government of the kingdom. I. Serious inconveniences

[Footnote 1: Rushworth, v. 286, 290, 293. May, 220-228. Clarendon, iii,
347. Journals, Sept. 26, 28; Oct. 7, 9. Lords', vi. 218, 242, 246, 247,
347, 356.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1643. Oct. 9.]

had been experienced from the absence of the great seal, the application
of which was held by the lawyers necessary to give validity to several
descriptions of writs. Of this benefit the two houses and their adherents
were deprived, while the king on his part was able to issue p