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Stories and sketches relating to Yorkshire
Stories and sketches relating to Yorkshire Author:John Tomlinson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: COLONEL RAINSBOROUGH'S FATAL SURPRISE AT DONCASTER. The written history of Yorkshire can, I think, fur nish nothing more startling and brave than certain adve... more »ntures connected with the sieges of Pontefract Castle during the last civil war—nothing more startling and brave. This grim old fortress of Poutefract gave the parliamentary General more trouble than anything besides. True, after a second protracted siege, the garrison was starved into a surrender ; but the Castle was afterwards recovered by the Royalists, while the mode of its recovery reads more like a page of romance than, as it really is, a credible piece of history. It may not be uninteresting to refresh our minds with the particulars. Many loyal gentlemen of Yorkshire had formed part of the besieged garrison, while many more had furnished pecuniary aid and troops for the King. These men, now mulcted in heavy fines, retired to their country residences, but were everywhere suspected and annoyed by the conqxier- ing Roundheads. The consequence was, they waited only for opportunity to avenge both their private wrongs and the public cause. One man there was named Morricc, who, as a youth, was page at Wentworth Woodhouse, to the Earl of Stratford, but afterwards he entered the army. On some account (perhaps from personal pique) ho toot his skill and valour where there appeared more chance of promotion, and soon was made Colonel in tho parliamentary forces. Colonel Morrice was a man of raro talents, successful in almost every engagement, for his superior abilities were backed by the most indomitable courage. But he was a Libertine, active in sensual indulgence as in military duties—a true type of the roystering cavalier. Now Cromwell and Fairfax and tho great body of parliamentary leaders tolerated not this sort of men;...« less