This brigade of foot had fought all the day, and had not been broken at last, if any horse had been at hand to support them.  The field began to be now clear; both armies stood, as it were, gazing at one another, only the king, having rallied his foot, seemed inclined to renew the charge, and began to cannonade them, which they could not return, most of their cannon being nailed while they were in our possession, and all the cannoniers killed or fled; and our gunners did execution upon Sir William Balfour’s troops for a good while.

My father’s regiment being in the right with the prince, I saw little of the fight but the rout of the enemy’s left, and we had as full a victory there as we could desire, but spent too much time in it.  We killed about 2000 men in that part of the action, and having totally dispersed them, and plundered their baggage, began to think of our fellows when ’twas too late to help them.  We returned, however, victorious to the king, just as the battle was over.  The king asked the prince what news?  He told him he could give his Majesty a good account of the enemy’s horse.  “Ay, by G—­d,” says a gentleman that stood by me, “and of their carts too.”  That word was spoken with such a sense of the misfortune, and made such an impression on the whole army, that it occasioned some ill blood afterwards among us; and but that the king took up the business, it had been of ill consequence, for some person who had heard the gentleman speak it, informed the prince who it was, and the prince resenting it, spoke something about it in the hearing of the party when the king was present.  The gentleman, not at all surprised, told his Highness openly he had said the words; and though he owned he had no disrespect for his Highness, yet he could not but say, if it had not been so, the enemy’s army had been better beaten.  The prince replied something very disobliging; upon which the gentleman came up to the king, and kneeling, humbly besought his Majesty to accept of his commission, and to give him leave to tell the prince, that whenever his Highness pleased, he was ready to give him satisfaction.  The prince was exceedingly provoked, and as he was very passionate, began to talk very oddly, and without all government of himself.  The gentleman, as bold as he, but much calmer preserved his temper, but maintained his quarrel; and the king was so concerned, that he was very much out of humour with the prince about it.  However, his Majesty, upon consideration, soon ended the dispute, by laying his commands on them both to speak no more of it for that day; and refusing the commission from the colonel, for he was no less, sent for them both next morning in private, and made them friends again.

But to return to our story.  We came back to the king timely enough to put the Earl of Essex’s men out of all humour of renewing the fight, and as I observed before, both parties stood gazing at one another, and our cannon playing upon them obliged Sir William Balfour’s horse to wheel off in some disorder, but they returned us none again, which, as we afterwards understood, was, as I said before, for want of both powder and gunners, for the cannoniers and firemen were killed, or had quitted their train in the fight, when our horse had possession of their artillery; and as they had spiked up some of the cannon, so they had carried away fifteen carriages of powder.