cots, with a brigade of horse and 2000 foot, had joined
him; and then 'twas not thought proper to engage them.

I took this opportunity to go to Shrewsbury to visit my father, who
was a prisoner of war there, getting a pass from the enemy's governor.
They allowed him the liberty of the town, and sometimes to go to his
own house upon his parole, so that his confinement was not very much
to his personal injury. But this, together with the charges he had
been at in raising the regiment, and above L20,000 in money and plate,
which at several times he had lent, or given rather to the king, had
reduced our family to very ill circumstances; and now they talked of
cutting down his woods.

I had a great deal of discourse with my father on this affair; and,
finding him extremely concerned, I offered to go to the king and
desire his leave to go to London and treat about his composition, or
to render myself a prisoner in his stead, while he went up himself.
In this difficulty I treated with the governor of the town, who very
civilly offered me his pass to go for London, which I accepted, and,
waiting on Prince Rupert, who was then at Worcester, I acquainted him
with my design. The prince was unwilling I should go to London;
but told me he had some prisoners of the Parliament's friends in
Cumberland, and he would get an exchange for my father. I told him
if he would give me his word for it I knew I might depend upon it,
otherwise there was so many of the king's party in their hands, that
his Majesty was tired with solicitations for exchanges, for we never
had a prisoner but there was ten offers of exchanges for him. The
prince told me I should depend upon him; and he was as good as his
word quickly after.

While the prince lay at Worcester he made an incursion into
Herefordshire, and having made some of the gentlemen prisoners,
brought them to Worcester; and though it was an action which had not
been usual, they being persons not in arms, yet the like being my
father's case, who was really not in commission, nor in any military
service, having resigned his regiment three years before to me, the
prince insisted on exchanging them for such as the Parliament had
in custody in like circumstances. The gentlemen seeing no remedy,
solicited their own case at the Parliament, and got it passed in
their behalf; and by this means my father got his liberty, and by the
assistance of the Earl of Denbigh got leave to come to London to make
a c