24 



both of which are reprinted in the Bibliotheca Gloucestrensis 

 at pages 29 and 195. The latter is printed in the Journals 

 both of the House of Lords and House of Commons, as well 

 as in the tract from which the Bibliotheca Gloucestrensis has 

 reprinted it. It is a singular circumstance that neither of these 

 records speaks of any serious loss of Hfe on the occasion, though 

 there is abundant evidence from other sources that there was 

 a loss variously stated at from 300 to 600 men. Neither is any 

 loss of Hfe mentioned in the account of these transactions given 

 in the historical introduction to the BibHotheca Gloucestrensis 

 on page 36. This, however, seems to have been in great 

 measure compiled from Coebett's narrative, and therefore would 

 contain no facts that were not recited by Coebett himself. 

 CoKBETT does not say that a single man was killed in the two 

 days fighting, and, speaking of Sir William Waller's attack, 

 he says that " after his approach not a man of the enemy was 

 slain or hurt." Sir William Waller himself says in his 

 ofiicial report, " in a short time without the losse of above 

 two, they rendered up the place upon " quarter." It is difl&cult 

 to reconcile this statement with the abundant evidence which 

 may be adduced of a very heavy loss, but as one of the most 

 detailed accounts which will be presently quoted, attributes the 

 slaughter to an act of treachery on the part of Sir William 

 Waller ; an allegation constantly repeated and nowhere refuted 

 at the time, it is probable that Corbett was discreetly and 

 charitably silent on the subject. He was Massey's chaplain, 

 and Massey was a conspicuous actor in the scene. 



In the Biographical and Historical Memoir of Corbett 

 pubHshed in the Bibliotheca Gloucestrensis, the following passage 

 occurs. " Hence it will be found that, whilst the main facts of 

 Corbett's military relation are incontrovertible, his statement, 

 if not generally corroborated by the testimony of contemporary 

 writers, is at least not invalidated by any Historian of those 

 perilous days." Some inaccuracies in Corbett's statements 

 must clearly therefore have been within the knowledge of the 

 writer of this memoir. 



