By C. Penruddocke. 3 
Rect? of Woodborough in the presence of John Good and John Ellis that Mary 
the wife of Edw: Nicholas Esq of Manningford Bruce was buryed in woollen * 
only.” 
I am indebted to Mr. Richmond Nicholas for the loan of the 
pedigree of his ancient family, together with some valuable family 
papers. From the latter I glean that Mary Nicholas, the sister of 
Jane Lane, bore a conspicuous part in the preservation of King 
Charles II., and that she is the person from whom Sir Walter Scott 
took the character of ‘‘ Alice Lee” in his novel of Woodstock. Old 
Sir Henry Lee is made to say she should entitle herself to have it 
written upon her tomb :— 
“ Here lies she, who saved a King.” 
But Mistress! Jane Lane, her elder sister, had, undoubtedly, the 
greater share in the transaction, and I will try in a picturesque 
manner to sketch the episode in this lady’s history, which has made 
her name so famous. 
After the fatal battle of Worcester, on the issue of which ean 
staked his chance of kingly power, and lost it, the Cavalier army. 
was quite demoralized, and everyone had to shift for himself, Never 
did Cromwell and the well-disciplined army of officers and men 
under him show themselves more cool and determined than on the: 
“Cromwelliana,? occasion of this Worcester fight. The General, 
p. 118. in writing from Worcester to Lenthal, the 
Speaker of the House of Parliament, at 10 o’clock at night on 
‘September 3rd, 1651, says:—“‘ We beat the enemy from hedge to 
hedge till we beat them into Worcester. The enemy then drew all 
his forces on the other side of the town, all but what he lost, and 
made a very considerable fight with us for three hours space, but in 
the end we beat them totally, and pursued him to his Royal Fort, 
_ which we took, and indeed have beaten his whole army. When we 
_* By an Act of Parliament, Anno xxxii., Car. IT., 1680, entitled ‘‘ an additional Act for burying in 
woollen,” the affidavits, which were made of any persons being interred in woollen, were permitted 
to be taken before the parson, vicar, or curate of the parish, 
1Tt was the invariable practice to give the title of “ Mrs.” to all unmarried 
 ladies—the term “ Miss” being at that time applied to notoriously frail members 
of the sex. 
B 2 
