o more work to do in the north, were, at the Parliament's
desire, advanced southward, and then ordered away towards South Wales,
and were set down to the siege of Hereford. Here this famous Scotch
army spent several months in a fruitless siege, ill provided of
ammunition, and worse with money; and having sat near three months
before the town, and done little but eaten up the country round them,
upon the repeated accounts of the progress of the Marquis of Montrose
in that kingdom, and pressing instances of their countrymen, they
resolved to raise their siege, and go home to relieve their friends.

The king, who was willing to be rid of the Scots, upon good terms, and
therefore to hasten them, and lest they should pretend to push on the
siege to take the town first, gives it out, that he was resolved with
all his forces to go into Scotland, and join Montrose; and so having
secured Scotland, to renew the war from thence.

And accordingly his Majesty marches northwards, with a body of 4000
horse; and, had the king really done this, and with that body of horse
marched away (for he had the start of all his enemies, by above a
fortnight's march), he had then had the fairest opportunity for a
general turn of all his affairs, that he ever had in all the latter
part of this war. For Montrose, a gallant daring soldier, who from
the least shadow of force in the farthest corner of this country, had,
rolling like a snowball, spread all over Scotland, was come into
the south parts, and had summoned Edinburgh, frighted away their
statesmen, beaten their soldiers at Dundee and other places; and
letters and messengers in the heels of one another, repeated their
cries to their brethren in England, to lay before them the sad
condition of the country, and to hasten the army to their relief. The
Scots lords of the enemy's party fled to Berwick, and the chancellor
of Scotland goes himself to General Leslie, to press him for help.

In this extremity of affairs Scotland lay when we marched out of
Wales. The Scots, at the siege of Hereford, hearing the king was gone
northward with his horse, conclude he was gone directly for Scotland,
and immediately send Leslie with 4000 horse and foot to follow, but
did not yet raise the siege. But the king, still irresolute, turns
away to the eastward, and comes to Lichfield, where he showed his
resentments at Colonel Hastings for his easy surrender of Leicester.

In this march the enemy took heart. We had