ruel wrongs hast borne;
Foully foes thy corpse insulted,
O'er thy head and limbs exulted
From thy mangled body torn.
Once of wrongs the great redresser
Be thou now our intercessor,
Pray for us with God on high."

"Pray for us, blessed Simon, that we may be made worthy to obtain the
promises of Christ."

CHAPTER VIII

CAVALIERS AND ROUNDHEADS

"_Who was he that went out from the command at Gloucester in such a
blaze, to adde glory unto conquest, and crown hit actions with a
never-dying honour, when he took the strong garrisoned Evesham in a
storme of fire and leaden haile; the loss whereof did make a king shed
tears? Was it not Massey_?"

--CONTEMPORARY PAMPHLET.

Once more the peaceful vale was destined to become a field of battle.
At an early stage in the conflict between King and people Evesham was
fortified and garrisoned by the Royal party, and Samuel Sandys was
appointed military governor. The exact nature of the fortifications we
cannot exactly know, but it is certain they were complete, and
sufficient to withstand a siege if properly manned. A ditch, and
rampart of earth surmounted by timber palisades was the probable form
of defence, but no signs of such earthworks now remain, and the
position of them is unknown.

King Charles paid his first visit early in July, 1644, and he is said
to have stayed in what was at that time a large house, probably
gabled, with projecting bay windows, on the north side of Bridge
Street. This mansion, for it was no less though now divided into
shops, was the town house of the Langstones, an influential family in
the neighbourhood. Here the King remained two nights, and from "our
Court at Evesham" he despatched a conciliatory message "To the Lords
and Commons of Parliament assembled at Westminster."

Sir William Waller, the Parliamentary general, was hanging in the rear
of the royal army, and so without more delay the King moved towards
Worcester, taking with him the garrison, guns, and ammunition. Before
leaving, the army partly destroyed the outworks and rendered the
bridge over the river impassable. The townspeople were evidently more
in sympathy with the Roundheads than the Cavaliers, for on the
departure of the royal forces they immediately repaired the bridge,
and Waller entered and remained some days before following the chase.

A week later the King returned, on his way back to the loyal city of
Oxford, much to