io The Life of William, Duke of Newcastle 



Not long after, my Lord obtained the freedom from his 

 Majesty to retire again to his country life, which he did with 

 much alacrity. He had not remained many months there, 

 but his Majesty was forced, by the fury of the said Parliament, 

 to repair in person to York, and to send the Queen beyond 

 the seas for her safety. 



No sooner was his Majesty arrived at York but he sent his 

 commands to my Lord to come thither to him ; which, accord- 

 ing to his wonted custom and loyalty, he readily obeyed, and 

 after a few days spent there in consultation, his Majesty was 

 pleased to command him to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to take 

 upon him the government of that town, and the four counties 

 next adjoining 1 ; that is to say, Northumberland, Cumber- 

 land, Westmoreland, and the Bishopric of Durham. Which 

 my Lord did accordingly, although he wanted men, money, 

 and ammunition, for the performance of that design ; for 

 when he came thither he neither found any military provision 

 considerable for the undertaking that work, nor generally any 

 great encouragement from the people in those parts, more 

 than what his own interest created in them. Nevertheless, 

 he thought it his duty rather to hazard all, than to neglect 

 the commands of his Sovereign ; and resolved to show his 

 fidelity, by nobly setting all at stake, as he did, though he 

 well knew how to have secured himself, as too many others 

 did, either by neutralit}^ or adhering to the rebellious party ; 

 but his honour and loyalty was too great to be stained with 

 such foul adherences. 



As soon as my Lord came to Newcastle, in the first place 

 he sent for all his tenants and friends in those parts, and pre- 

 sently raised a troop of horse consisting of 1 20, and a regiment 



the Earl departed, Mr. Hotham was freely received into the town, with three companies 

 of Trained Bands, and the keys of the ports, and the magazine, were surrendered into 

 his hands ' (Rushworth). This took place before the end of January. The Earl did 

 not appear in the House of Lords till after the 9th February, and was finally, on the 

 14th February, after delivering up his commission, granted leave to go into the country 

 for his health's sake. (Lords' Journals, February 14, 1642.) See also Sanford, Studies 

 and Illustrations of the Great Rebellion, p. 474 ; and Buff, Die Politik Karls des Ersten 

 in den ersten Wochen nach seiner Flucht von London, pp. 5-18. 



l The King's commission to the Earl is dated June 20, 1642 (Collins, Historical Col- 

 lections, p. 30). Brand, referring to Rymer's Fcedera, torn, xx, p. 531, says June 29. 

 The earlier date is most probable, for the Commons' Journals (June 30) mention the 

 Earl having sent out his warrants from Newcastle into the county of Durham com- 

 manding 600 foot and 100 horse of the trained band of Durham to come into Newcastle. 

 An abstract of some letters from Newcastle, dated 22 and 23 June, is printed in the 

 Lords' Journals, v, 170. Moreover, a news letter in the Record Office, dated June 17, 

 says that the Earl left York for Newcastle on the preceding Wednesday, i.e. June 15. 



