cked and spoiled, all the records in it,
an irreparable loss, being destroyed. The city was captured soon after
Marston Moor, and the defenders obtained very good terms, marching out
with all the honours of war. The citizens also were well treated. They
were to enjoy all their old privileges and were to be preserved from
plundering. All churches and public buildings were to be treated with
respect. A Presbyterian service was at once held in the minster by the
conquerors. The Corporation presented to Fairfax a butt of sack and a
tun of French wine in gratitude for the good offices he had rendered
them. There can be little doubt that the great amount of stained glass
still remaining in the minster is owing to the control he exercised over
the Parliamentarians. On October the 24th of the same year the
Corporation ordered that the Solemn League and Covenant should be
tendered to the aldermen and citizens. Then all the Royalist members of
the Corporation were removed, and both the bishop, Williams, and the
dean, Scott, were deprived of their offices. They left the country, and
the dean died in a debtor's prison in 1646. Fairfax, however, who
remained as governor of the city, maintained the minster in scrupulous
repair, and paid all the salaries of the necessary officials. A short
time before the Restoration a large sum of money was spent on the bells.
It has been said, indeed, that the Puritans wished to pull down the
chapter-house, but there is no authority for the statement. But the
control of the minster was taken out of the hands of the chapter and
given to the Corporation, and this transference was only effected by the
interference of the troops. The organ given by Charles was also taken
down, and silver candlesticks and other ornaments, including the brass
about the shrine, perhaps, of St. William, and also the lectern in the
choir, were sold for the repair of the fabric and bells. In 1646 the
organ loft, the canopies over the altar in the side choir, and the font
were removed. In 1647 a cushion was made of the dossal. The library was
left untouched and thrown open to the public, and the keys of the
minster placed in charge of the Mayor and Corporation. In place of the
dean and chapter, the precentor, and chancellor--all removed--four city
preachers were chosen by the Assembly of Divines, and paid out of the
revenues of the minster. Meanwhile the churches in the city suffered far
more than the minster itself. In 1646 all