[1]
A few days before this victory, the Scots had passed the Tweed.[a] The
notion that they were engaged in a holy crusade for the reformation of
religion made them despise every difficulty; and, though the weather was
tempestuous, though the snow lay deep on the ground, their enthusiasm
carried them forward in a mass which the royalists dared not oppose. Their
leader sought to surprise Newcastle; he was disappointed by the promptitude
of the marquess of Newcastle, who, on the preceding day,[b] had thrown
himself into the town; and famine compelled the enemy, after a siege of
three weeks, to abandon the attempt.[c] Marching up the left bank of the
Tyne,[d] they crossed the river at Bywell,[e] and hastening by Ebchester
to Sunderland, took possession of that port to open a communication by sea
with their own country. The marquess, having assembled his army, offered
them battle, and, when they refused to fight, confined them for five weeks
within their own quarters. In proportion as their advance into England
had elevated the hopes of their friends in the capital, their subsequent
inactivity provoked surprise and complaints. But Lord Fairfax, having been
joined by his victorious son from Cheshire, dispersed the royalists at
Leeds,[f] under Colonel Bellasis, the son of Lord Falconberg; and the
danger of being enclosed between two armies induced the marquess of
Newcastle to retire[g] from Durham
[Footnote 1: Rush.
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