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Parliament party send a detachment across the Heath from 
Lincoln, under Major Drake, who is forced to retire, and 
is imprisoned on his return on account of his failure ; but 
a second attack, under Lord Grey, is successful, and Gran- 
tham changes masters for a time. Then the war takes 
another turn, and Colonel Cavendish (March 23rd, 1643) 
again captures Grantham, thus enabling the Judges to 
follow, who hold an assize there for the trial of offenders, 
and especially of those who had taken a part in the plunder- 
ing before alluded to. And now Sleaford comes on the tapis, 
for thence a Parliamentary force of 800 horse under the Earl 
of Lincoln, Lord Willoughby of Parham, and 200 dragoons 
under Hotham attempt to take Grantham ; but their inten- 
tion is known, Cavendish is on the alert, he has laid an 
ambush in Belton-lane, and there his foes begin to drop 
by scores, so that they fly — first to Ancaster — fighting as 
they fly, and thence disperse themselves wildly over the 
Heath ; but a third of the force is captured, and amongst 
these are the two Members for Boston, Sir Anthony Irby 
and William Ellis. But once more the fortune of war 
changes. A regiment has been raised in Huntingdonshire, 
and its captain now advances into Lincolnshire, takes Croy- 
land, that had been previously long held by Captain Welby, 
and fights the Royalist troops on the same ground in Belton 
as before, but now with most complete success, so that he 
is able to send the following letter to the Metropolis, directed 
to William Lenthall, the then Speaker of the House of 
Commons — " Sir : God hath this evening given us a glorious 
victory over our enemies ; they were, as was informed unto 
me, 21 colours of horse troops, and three or four of dragoons. 
It was late in the evening when we drew out our forces, 
consisting of about twelve troops, whereof some of them 
so poor and broken that you shall seldom see worse. With 
this handful it pleased God to cast the scale of victory on 
our side. For often we had stood a little above musket 
