[1] This victory placed the Lowlands at the mercy of the
conqueror. Glasgow and the neighbouring shires solicited his clemency; the
citizens of Edinburgh sent to him the prisoners who had been condemned for
their adherence to the royal cause; and many of the nobility, hastening
to his standard, accepted commissions to raise forces in the name of the
sovereign. At this news the[c] Scottish cavalry, which, in accordance with
the treaty of "brotherly assistance," had already advanced to Nottingham,
marched back to the Tweed to protect their own country; and the king on the
third day left Oxford with five thousand men, to drive the infantry
[Footnote 1: It was probably on account of the heat of the season
that Montrose ordered his men to throw aside their plaids--vestes
molestiores--and fight in their shirts; an order which has given occasion
to several fanciful conjectures and exaggerations;--See Carte, iv. 538.]
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1645. July 2.]
[Sidenote b: A.D. 1645. August 15.]
[Sidenote c: A.D. 1645. August 26.]
from the siege of Hereford. They did not wait his arrival, and he entered
the city amidst the joyful acclamations of the inhabitants.[1]
But Charles was not long suffered to enjoy his[a] triumph. Full of
confidence, he had marched from Hereford to the relief of Bristol; but at
Ragland Castle learned that it was already in possession of the enemy.
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