At the suggestion of the nuncio, the decision was
postponed to the month of May; but Glamorgan did not forget the necessities
of his sovereign; he obtained an immediate aid of six thousand men, and the
promise of a considerable reinforcement, and proceeded to Waterford for the
purpose of attempting to raise the siege of Chester. There, while he waited
the arrival of transports, he received the news of the public disavowal
of his authority by the king. But this gave him little uneasiness; he
attributed it to the real cause, the danger with which Charles was
threatened; and he had been already instructed "to make no other account of
such declarations, than to put himself in a condition to help his master
and set him free."[1] In a short time the more distressing intelligence
arrived that Chester had surrendered: the fall of Chester was followed by
the dissolution of the royal army in Cornwall, under the command of Lord
Hopton; and the prince of Wales, unable to remain there with safety, fled
first to Scilly and thence to Jersey. There remained not a spot on the
English coast where the Irish auxiliaries could be landed with any prospect
of success. Glamorgan dispersed his army. Three hundred men accompanied
the Lord Digby to form a guard for the prince; a more considerable body
proceeded to Scotland in aid of Montrose; and the remainder returned to
their former quarters.
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