such a hot piece of service as storming the Port || serve in his army, or wherever he pleasedo Graft. Pray let him know I saw him, and have command me. a very good account of his behaviour."

Sir John returned with this account to me, and pressed me to pay my duty to his majesty the next morning; and accordingly, though I had but an ill night with the pain of my wound, I was with him at the levee in the castle.

I cannot but give some short account of the glory of that morning. The castle had been cleared of the dead bodies of the enemy; and what was not pillaged by the soldiers, was placed under a guard. There was first, a magazine of very good arms for about eighteen or twenty thousand foot and four thousand horse; a very good train of artillery of eighteen pieces of battery, thirty-two brass field-pieces, and four mor

tars.

The bishop's treasure, and other public moneys not plundered by the soldiers, which belonged to the officers, amounted to four hundred thousand florins in money; and the burghers of the town, in solemn procession, bareheaded, brought the king three tons of gold as a composition to exempt the city from plunder.

Here was also a stable of gallant horses, which the king had the curiosity to go and see.

When the ceremony of the burghers was over, the king came down into the castle-court, walked on the parade (where the great train of artillery was placed on their carriages) and found the walls, and gave orders for repairing the bastion that was stormed by the Scots; and as at the entrance of the parade Sir John Hepburn and I made our reverence to the king, "Ho! Cavalier," said the king to me, "I am glad to see you," and so passed forward. I made my bow very low; but his majesty said no more at that time.

When the view was over, the king went up into the lodgings, and Sir John and I walked in the chamber for about a quarter of an hour, when one of the gentlemen of the bedchamber came out to Sir John, and told him the king asked for him. He staid but a little with the king, and came out to me, and said the king had ordered him to bring me to him.

His majesty, with a countenance full of honour and goodness, interrupted my compliment, and asked me how I did; at which, answering only with a bow, said the king, "I am sorry to see you are hurt; I would have laid my commands on you not to have shown yourself in so sharp a picce of service, if I had known you had been in the camp."

"Your majesty does me too much honour," said 1, "in your care of a life that has yet done nothing to deserve your favour."

"Serve me !" says the king, "why so you do ; but I must not have you be a musqueteer; a poor soldier at a dollar a week will do that; pray, Sir John," says he king, "give him what commission he desires."

"No commission, sir," says I, "would please me better than leave to fight near your majesty's person, and to serve you at my own charge, till I am qualified by more experience to receive your commands."

Why, then, it shall be so, said the king; "and I charge you, Hepburn. when anything offers that is either fit for him, or he desires, you will tell me of it," and giving me his hand again to kiss, I withdrew.

I was followed, before I had passed the castlecourt, by one of the king's pages, who brought me a warrant directed to Sir John Hepburn, to go to the master of the horse for an immediate delivery of things ordered by the king himself for my account, where being come, the equerry produced me a very good coach, with four horses, harness, and equipage, and two very fine saddle horses out of the bishop's stable; with these there was a list for thoee servants, and a warrant to the steward of the king's baggage to defray me, my horses, and servants, at the king's charge, till further orders. I was very much at a loss how to manage myself in this strange freedom of so great a prince and consulting with Sir John Hepburn, I was proposing to him whether it was not proper to go immediately back to pay my duty to his majesty, and acknowledge his bounty in the best terms I could; but while we were resolving to do so, the guards stood to their arms, and we saw the king go out at the gate in his coach to pass into the city, so we were diverted from it for that time. I acknowledge the bounty of the king was very surprising; but I must say it was not so very strange to me when I afterwards saw the course of his manage ment-bounty in him was a natural talent; but he never distributed his favours only where he thought himself both beloved and faithfully served, and when he was so, even the single actions of his private soldiers he would take particular notice of, and publicly own, acknowledge, and reward, of which I am obliged to give some in

stances,

A private musketeer, at the storming of the castle of Wurtburg, when all the detachment was beaten off, stood in the face of the enemy, fired his piece, and though he had a thousand shot made at him, stood unconcerned, and chargHis majesty was pleased to say something very ed his piece again, and let fly at the enemy, conkind to me relating to my behaviour in the battle tinuing to do so thrice, at the same time beckonof Leipsic, which I have not vanity enough to ing with his hand to his fellows to come on again write; at the conclusion whereof, when I replied-which they did, animated by his example, and very humbly I was not sensible any service I had carried the place for the king. done, or could do, could possibly merit so much goodness, he told me he had ordered me a small testimony of his esteem, and withal gave me his I was now conquered, and with a sort of surprise told his Majesty, I found myself so much engaged by his goodness, as well as my own inclination, that if his Majesty would please to accept of my devoir, I was resolved to

hand to kiss.

When the town was taken, the king ordered the regiment to be drawn out, and calling for that soldier, thanked him before them all for taking the town for him, gave him a thousand dollars. and a commission with his own hand for a foot company, or leave to go home, which he chose.

The soldier took the commission on his knees, kissed it, and put it into his bosom, and told the

wronged," says he," when you commanded my men over my head, but for my life I knew not which way to be angry."

I executed my commission so punctually, that

This bounty of the king's, timed and suited by his judgment, was the reason that he was very well served, universally beloved, and most punc-by break of day I was set down within muskettually obeyed by his soldiers, who were sure to be cherished and encouraged if they did well, having the king generally an eye-witness of their behaviour.

My indiscretion, rather than valour, had engaged me so far at the battle of Leipsic, that, being in the van of Sir John Hepburn's brigade, almost three whole companies of us were separated from our line, and surrounded by the cnemy's pikes: I cannot but say also, that we were disengaged rather by a desperate charge Sir John made with the whole regiment to fetch us off, than by our own valour, though we were not wanting to ourselves neither; but this part of the action being talked of very much to the advantage of the young English volunteer, and possibly more than I deserved, was the occasion of all the distinction the king used me with.

I had by this time letters from my father, in which, though with some reluctance, he left me at liberty to enter into arms if I thought fit, always obliging me to be directed, and, as he said, commanded, by Sir John Hepburn; at the same time he wrote to Sir John, commending his son's fortunes, as he called it, to his care: which letters Sir John showed the king unknown to me. I took care always to acquaint my father of every circumstance, and forgot not to mention his majesty's extraordinary favour, which so affected my father, that he obtained a very honourable mention of it in a letter from King Charles to the King of Sweden, written by his own hand.

I had waited on his majesty with Sir John Hepburn to give him thanks for his magnificent present, and was received with his usual goodness; and after that I was every day among the gentlemen of his ordinary attendance; and if his majesty went out on a party, as he would often do, or to view the country, I always attended him among the volunteers, of whom a great many always followed him, and he would often call me out, talk with me, send me on messages to towns, to princes, free cities, and the like upon extraordinary occasions.

The first piece of service he put me on had like to have embroiled me with one of his favourite colonels. The king was marching through the Bergstraet, a low country on the edge of the Rhine, and, as all men thought, was going to besiege Heidelburg; but on a sudden orders a party of his guards, with five companies of Scots, to be drawn out. While they were drawing out this detachment, the king called me to him. Ho! cavalier," says he, that was his usual word, "you shall command this party;" and thereupon gives me orders to march back all night, and in the morning, by break of day, to take post under the walls of the fort of Oppenheim, and immediately to entrench myself as well as I could. Grave Neels, the colonel of his guards, thought himself injured by this command; but the king took the matter upon himself, and Neels told me very familiarly afterwards, "We have such a master," says he, "that no man can be affronted by: I thought myself

shot of the fort, under covert of a little mount, on which stood a windmill, and had indifferently fortified myself, and at the same time had posted some of my men on two other passes, but at farther distance from the fort, so that it was effectually blocked up on the land side. In the afternoon the enemy sallied on my first entrenchment; but being covered from their cannon, and defended by a ditch which I had drawn across the road, they were so well received by my mus. keteers, that they retired with the loss of six or seven men. (Note 5.)

The next day Sir John Hepburn was sent with two brigades of foot to carry on the work, and so my commission ended. The king expressed himself very well pleased with what I had done, and, when he was so, was never sparing in telling it: for he used to say that public commendations were great encouragements to valour.

While Sir John Hepburn lay before the fort, and was preparing to storm it, the king's design was to get over the Rhine; but the Spaniards. who were in Oppenheim, had sunk all the boats they could find: at last the king, being informed where some lay that were sunk, caused them to be weighed with all expedition possible, and in the night of the 27th of December, in three boats, passed over his regiment of guards about three miles above the town, and, as the king thought, secure from danger; but they were no sooner landed, and not drawn into order, but they were charged by a body of Spanish horse, and had not the darkness given them opportunity to draw up in the enclosures in several little parties, they had been in great danger of being disordered; but by this means they lined the edges and lanes so with musketeers, that the remainder had time to draw up in battalia, and saluted the horse in such a manner that they drew further off.

The king was very impatient, hearing his men engaged, having no boats nor possible means to get over to help them; at last, about eleven o'clock at night, the boats came back, and the king thrust another regiment into them, and, though his officers dissuaded him, would go over himself with them on foot, and did so. This was three months that very day since the battle of Leipsic was fought, and winter-time too, that the progress of his arms had spread from the Elbe, where it parts Saxony and Brandenburg, to the Lower Palatinate and the Rhine.

I went over in the boat with the king, and never saw him in so much concern in my life, for he was in pain for his men; but before we got on shore the Spaniards retired; however, the king landed, ordered his men, and prepared to entrench; but he had not time, for by this the boats were put off again, the Spaniards not knowing more troops were landed, and being reinforced from Oppeinheim, came on again, and charged with great fury; but all things were now in order, and they were readily received and beaten back again. They came on again a third time, and with repeated charges attacked us; but at last,

It was our turn to fall on next: our Scotch officers, not being used to be beaten, advanced "If his majesty gives you the word, they shall immediately, and Lord Craven, with his volun-receive his commands in the Maese, the king teers, pierced in with us, fighting gallantly in the having promised me to give them arms, and breach with a pike in his hand; and to give him transport them for that service into Holland, the honour due to his bravery, he was with the and hope they may do his majesty such service first on the top of the rampart, and gave his hand as may be for your honour and the advantage of to my comrade and lifted him up after him: we his majesty's interest and glory. helped one another up, till at last almost all the volunteers had gained the height of the ravelin, and maintained it with a great deal of resolution, expecting, when the commanded men had gained the height, to advance upon the enemy, when one of the enemy's captains called to Lord Craven, and said, if they might have honourable terms they would capitulate, which my lord telling him he would engage for, the garrison fired no more, and the captain leaping down from the next rampart, came with Lord Craven into the camp, where the conditions were agreed on, and the castle surrendered.

resolution did he use in his first attacks, that he carried the town without putting himself to the trouble of formal approaches. It was generally his way when he came before any town, with a design to besiege it, not to encamp at a distance, and begin his trenches a great way

regiment, and made him quarter-master. I sent blank commissions for the officers, signed by the King of Sweden, to be filled up as my father should think fit; and when I had the king's order for the commissions, the secretary told me I must go back to the king with them. Accordingly I went back to the king, who, open-off, but bring his men immediately within half ing the packet, laid all the commissions but one upon a table before him, and bade me take them, and keeping the one still in his hand, "Now," says he, "you are one of my soldiers," and therewith gave me a commission as colonel of horse in present pay.

I took the commission, kneeling, and humbly thanked his majesty: "But," says the king, "there is one article of war I expect of you more than of others."

"Your majesty can expect nothing of me which I shall not willingly comply with," said I, "as soon as I have the honour to understand what it is."

'Why, it is," says the king, "that you shall never fight but when you have orders; for I shall not be willing to lose my colonel before I have the regiment."

"I shall be ready at all times," returned I, "to obey your majesty's commands."

I sent my man express with the king's answer, and the commission to my father, who had the regiment completed in less than two months; and six of the officers, with a list of the rest, came away to me, whom I presented to his majesty. when he lay before Nuremburg, where they kissed his hand.

One of the captains offered to bring the whole regiment travelling as private men to the arm y in six weeks' time, and either to transport their equipage or buy it in Germany; but it was thought impracticable: however, I had so many came in that manner, that I had a complete troop always about me, and obtained the king's order to muster them as a troop.

musket-shot of the place; there, getting under the best cover he could, he would immediately begin his batteries and trenches before their faces, and, if there was any place possible to be attacked, he would fall to storming immediately. By this resolute way of coming on, he carried many a town in the first heat of his men, which would have held out many days against a more regular siege.

This march of the king broke all Tilly's measures; for now he was obliged to face about, and, leaving the Upper Palatinate, to come to the assistance of the Duke of Bavaria; for the king being twenty thousand strong, besides ten thousand foot and four thousand horse and dragoons which joined him from the Duringer Wald, was resolved to ruin the duke, who now lay open to him, and was the most powerful and inveterate enemy of the protestants in the empire.

Tilly was now joined with the Duke of Bavaria, and might together make about twentytwo thousand men, and, in order to keep the Swedes out of the country of Bavaria, had planted themselves along the banks of the river Lech, which runs on the edge of the duke's territories; and having fortified the other side of the river, and planted his cannon for several miles at all the convenient places on the river resolved to dispute the king's passage.

I shall be the longer in relating this account of the Lech, being esteemed in those days as great an action as any batte or siege of that age, and particularly famous for the disaster of the gallant old General Tilly; and for that I can be more particular in it than other accounts, having been an eye-witness to every part of it.

On the 8th of March the king decamped, and, marching up the river Maine, bent his course directly for Bavaria, taking several small places The king, being truly informed of the dispoby the way, and expecting to engage with Tilly, sition of the Bavarian army, was once of the who he thought would dispute his entrance into mind to have left the banks of the Lech, have Bavaria, kept his army together; but Tilly find-repassed the Danube, and so setting down before ing himself too weak to encounter him, turned away, and leaving Bavaria open to the king, marched into the Upper Palatinate. The king, finding the country clear of the Imperialists. comes to Nuremberg, made his entrance into that city the 21st March, and being nobly treated by the citizens, he continued his march into Bavaria, and on the 26th sat down before Donawert: the town was taken next day by storm, so swift were the conquests of this invincible captain. Sir John Hepburn, at the head of the English and Scotch volunteers, entered the town first, and cut all the garrison to pieces, except such as escaped over the bridge.

I had no share in the business of Donawert, being now among the horse, but I was posted on the roads with five troops of horse, where we picked up a great many stragglers of the garrison, whom we made prisoners of war. It is observable, that this town of Donawert was a very strong place and well fortified, and yet such expedition did the king make, and such

Ingolstadt, the duke's capital city, by the taking that strong town, to have made his entrance into Bavaria, and the conquest of such a fortress, one entire action; but the strength of the place, and the difficulty of maintaining his leaguer in an enemy's country, while Tilly was so strong in the field, diverted him from that design: he therefore concluded that Tilly was first to be beaten out of the country, and then the siege of Ingolstadt would be easier.

We

Whereupon the king resolved to go and view the situation of the enemy. His majesty went out the 2nd of April with a strong party of horse I which I had the honour to command. marched as near as we could to the banks of the river, not to be too much exposed to the enemy's cannon, and having gained a little height, where the whole course of the river might be seen, the king halted and commanded to draw up. The king alighted, and, calling me to him, examined every reach and turning of the river by his glass, but finding it run a long and almost a straight