76 HISTORY OF HARTING. 



in the Towne, shooting into all houses, and at all 

 persons, and barbarously using such of the King's men 

 as their valour enabled to make any opposition. 



" In this hurly-burly word was given to the sixe 

 Officers in the Knight's house how the Towne and 

 their souldiers were surprized by the Rebells. These 

 six men with one boy presently tooke horse, rushing 

 out by a back lane upon the 400 Rebels (for so have 

 some of their owne company since protested to have 

 been their number) and crying out, ' Follow, Follow, 

 Follow " (as if they had already chased them), charged 

 in upon them with so much fury and undaunted 

 courage, that they routed them and presently drove 

 them (killing and wounding them) quite through the 

 towne, forcing them over hedge and ditch, killing as 

 many as the Rebells had done of theirs (that is, some 

 half-a-dozen), taking two Prisoners (one of which being 

 the Trumpeter), wounding very many ; having but five 

 or six of theirs and but one of these much wounded (the 

 Earle of Craford's own Cornet), but not dangerously, 

 and brought off all their own Armes and divers of the 

 Rebells' Horse, with all Captaine Betsworth's* sute of 

 Armes, &c." 



"The Rebells having since been faithfully acquainted 

 with the truth of their beating, and how that their 400 

 Horse and Dragooners were so lamentably beaten and 

 chased away by only 6 men and a boy (but when they 

 were in their chase and flight here and there 2 or 3 

 soldiers stept out of their places where they lay hid 

 and lent some blows to their fellows), one of the 

 Rebells swore solemnely in these true and remarkable 

 words " By heaven, we deserve all to be chronicled 

 for the veryest cowards that ever lived ! " 



The parish of Harting at that time might rival 

 Basing, of whom its stout old defender, the Marquis 

 of Winchester, said when it was taken, that " Basing 

 House was called Loyalty." Harting then contained 

 five squires, a parson and yeomen, who were united in 

 Probably Bettsworth of Milland. 



