600 The Battle of Boundway Doivn. 



to pass quietly away and without molestation to the succour of 

 their infantry, which lay at the Devizes in miserable plight^. 

 Secondly, Waller's "own presumption upon his own streni^th and. 

 former successes " was a contributory cause. " So sure was I of 

 victory that I wrote to Parliament to bid them be at rest, for 

 that I could shortly send them an account of the numbers taken 

 and the numbers slaine. But it pleased the Lord to turn my 

 victory into mourning and my glory into shame." ^ No doubt when 

 he so wrote to Parliament he did not anticipate the hunger and 

 weariness which would be actually experienced by himself and 

 his men when the crisis came.^ This weariness was probably the 

 third reason, for it made him delay to strike the crushing blow, 

 when not an hour was to be lost, and also it had something to do 

 with his allowing Hopton's cavalry to escape to Oxford and obtain 

 the rescue. 



Of the battle itself I have given the only incidents I have found 

 preserved. Two of the siege are related by Waller himself,* and 

 are interesting also both topographically and as showing the close 

 quarters at which the siege was conducted and the absence of lines 

 of demarcation owing to Devizes being an " open " town. 



"The second night after I satt down before itt, having l)een out 

 to visit the gardes, and returning to a farmhouse at tlie foot of 

 Eoundway Down where I had given order to my cooke that my 

 supper should be ready against I came in, and finding my meat 

 but newly laid to the fire ; in a suddain impatience I resolved 

 not to supp at all and so tooke horse againe and rode uppe to the 

 topp (the Wadham College MS. here adds "of the Dow^n") where 

 the body of my horse lay,^ I was not gone above a musket shott, 

 but some of the ennemy (knowing the passages [Wadham MS,, 

 "advenues"] thereabout which I did not; and ratioiially supposing 



' Ih. p. 131. 2 J5^ p_ 123. 



^ See K. W. Z., Mercury^ and Waller and Haselrigg's letter. 



^ Recollections of Sir Williain Waller, 'puh. in the Poetry of Anne Matilda^ 

 1788, (also Wadham College MSS.), pp. 110, 233, 131, etc. 



^ This was for the night. In the daytime it seems they were withdrawn 

 into the valley. 



