urn to the king: his Majesty, as I observed, was at
Maidenhead addressed by the Parliament for peace, and Windsor
being appointed for the place of treaty, the van of his army lay at
Colebrook. In the meantime, whether it were true or only a pretence,
but it was reported the Parliament general had sent a body of his
troops, with a train of artillery, to Hammersmith, in order to fall
upon some part of our army, or to take some advanced post, which was
to the prejudice of our men; whereupon the king ordered the army to
march, and, by the favour of a thick mist, came within half a mile of
Brentford before he was discovered. There were two regiments of foot,
and about 600 horse into the town, of the enemy's best troops; these
taking the alarm, posted themselves on the bridge at the west end of
the town. The king attacked them with a select detachment of his best
infantry, and they defended themselves with incredible obstinacy. I
must own I never saw raw men, for they could not have been in arms
above four months, act like them in my life. In short, there was no
forcing these men, for, though two whole brigades of our foot, backed
by our horse, made five several attacks upon them they could not break
them, and we lost a great many brave men in that action. At last,
seeing the obstinacy of these men, a party of horse was ordered to go
round from Osterley; and, entering the town on the north side, where,
though the horse made some resistance, it was not considerable, the
town was presently taken. I led my regiment through an enclosure, and
came into the town nearer to the bridge than the rest, by which means
I got first into the town; but I had this loss by my expedition, that
the foot charged me before the body was come up, and poured in their
shot very furiously. My men were but in an ill case, and would not
have stood much longer, if the rest of the horse coming up the lane
had not found them other employment. When the horse were thus entered,
they immediately dispersed the enemy's horse, who fled away towards
London, and falling in sword in hand upon the rear of the foot, who
were engaged at the bridge, they were all cut in pieces, except about
200, who, scorning to ask quarter, desperately threw themselves into
the river of Thames, where they were most of them drowned.

The Parliament and their party made a great outcry at this
attempt--that it was base and treacherous while in a treaty of peace;
and that the king, having