I Have had many a Caude heart of my awne, it is sea lang since I had onny wit of thy being weele, I was sare flade thou wert gane from the canny City of London to leuke abrade for better warke, whilke I crow will be far warse than to stay at hame: I have been too too jolly since my entertainment under the guide Lourd Fairfaxe, whea loves God, Religion, the King, and his Countries [Page 4] guid in his saule, and has nea ends of his awne, God knawes, my Lourd is about to send a fallow of purpose to the Parliament, of hate warke we have had lately in the taking of Wakefield, which I desire to unfauld to thee, and tell my Neeme Wully of it. On Sa­turday last, being twea dayes since, my Lourd Generall gave Command that ane thousand of us of the foute, and eight or neene Troopes of horse, with twea or three companies of Dragoones should march about Saturday last tea a place called Howley, the Lord Savils house, where we all met about ane of the clocke at night, and it was varry mirke, and the Ginny Howlets cryed sare, and we had nea orders whirke way to march, at last Sir Thomas Fairfaxe, wheas Command we were to gange by, asked us if wee wauld follow him, we all cryed ane and all, we would live and dee with him, sea we marched on twea miles, and stumbled on the quarters of our deedly enemies, and gard them run fro us, and we tooke neither mare nor lesse then ane and twenty prisoners, and laid foure asleep for evermare: by that time the Larke began to sing, we were within a mile of Wakefield, and about foure a Clocke there appeired a body of Horse advancing with speed towards us, which scard us mickle, for we hoped weele to take them napping, but Sir Thomas Fairfaxe put life into the Horse, & tauld them they should faire nea warse then he did, and our daughty Serjeant Ma­jor said as mickle to the Foute, and thereupon our horse charged sea hame, that they enforced the enemy to flee back into the Town: Then I was my sell with those under my Command to beate them out of the hedges in ane of the Closes on the right hand, where after six times charging we gat the hedges there, as o­thers of our foute did in other places, and we gard them all to their outworkes and trenches in the Towne, but we followed them sea clase, and plaid sea thick upon them (though they shot bullets out of their great guns as thick as hops against us) that wee made them run out of their warks, and we lowped up upon them, and turned ane of their greatest brasse gunnes upon them, which made them cry, Walloway all was tint and gane: Then Sir Thomas Fairefaxe at the tea end of the Towne scaured the streets, and Leiutenant Allured with his awne hands, tooke [Page 5] the Generall of the Queens Horse prisoner, they call him Colonell Gooring, the Lasses in the Towne did greete sare to see him ledd a­way, it seemes he is mickle beloved of ordinary weemen, as weele as by the great anes: but whea trow you did I let drive at the entrance of the Towne, ene Sir William Carnaby our awne Countreyman, or Mr. Francis Car [...]aby; be messe, I is suer it was tane or beath of them, and I hit him hame, but alas, when all was mast done, whea did oppose us but a guide freind of ours, Sir Wil­liam Lambton with his Regiment, I was wea at harte for him for his pratty Barnes, for he answered our Trumpeter he scorned Quat­ter, but in discharge of the imployment I undertooke. on my saule I knaw it is mare for the guide of my dread Soveraigne, then the Queene and all her Papists in her Army doe for him, I let drive at him, and whewed him soundly, and we gard him flee also, and tooke a number of his Regiment prisoners; when this was done, the Towne was our awne, and my sell among others fell a plunde­ring, but we had like to have been whupt for our paines, for our Commander in Chiefe would not let us doe wrang to the Inhabi­tants, nor strip the common Souldiers, but anely search their pou­ches for gaude or silver; Sir William Fowles who Commanded another squadron of horse, came in at the other end of the Town, and stopt the flight of the enemy, if he had come titter, our part had been better; sea wee tooke noe mare but fourteen hundred seaventy twea prisoners, besides the twenty and one in our march, and ilk one of us brought to Leeds a prisoner, being between four­teen and fifteen hundred, whereof the Commanders and Officers here inclyned (which I had from my Colonells awne hands) are a parte, wee brought away with us twenty six or tweney seven En­signes Colors, I wat not weele which, and 3. or 4. Cornets Colours, one of them was [...]ane from Sir Marmaduke Wivells sonne, wee brought also away with us foure brasse greate Gunnes with all their baggage Armes, & ammunition they left in the Towne, with divers horse also, and returned (but glory bee to our guid God and not to man for it) with the same to Leeds, and lost not in the feight Neene men, about sixtie wounded, and not aboue fifty of the enemies were slayne, for they durst not bide to feight: Sir [Page 4] William Carnaby and Sergeant Major Hotlby and Lieutenant Co­lonell Saier are said to be the anely men of no [...]e slaine of the Ene­mies side; my sell and twenty mare got into the Kirke garth and wee paid them hame with muskett shott from the new [...]e of the Kirke and walls about it: The reason why Sir Thomas Fairefaxe would not leave a Garrison in the Towne, was, least the Enemy should get head, and fall upon Leeds or Bradford, and my Lourds forces are not enough to keepe Garrisons in Wakefeild, Leedes, Bradford, Hallifaxe, and Howley, and to keepe the Countrey open to bring in provision for supply of our Army; we marvell mickle the Parliament will send us nother mony, nor Armes, nor Horse, which we want mast, if they did we would (with Gods helpe I say still) be other master of the Feild or streiten their Quarters, and open the passage to Hull, which would bring in Trade againe to these Clathing Townes, and monny guide things besides; I tell you what you may doe weele to doe, to put into the head of some Parliament man, by way of diversion, I speake as a young Soul­dier, to send some Forces by Sea to take Newcastle, where there was not on Tuesday last aboune 300. Souldiers heire, and at Tin­mouth, and thou knawest weele their Commander Sir T.R. will lop away at first shot. If Newcastle were tane you shall have bonny fires awe Winter lang, and the Cavaleers that have interest in the Colliers, and Salt-pans, and Customes, will quickly raise 60000. pound to defray the charges in taking the Towne; by that little Judgment I have of London, I am of opinion there is nothing in the world like the taking in of Newcastle for them: you have but twea wayes to doe it; by your owne sels In the South; or by our bretheren beyond Tweed, if it bee attempted by either, it will enforce all our country men, Northumberland, and Bishoppricke men to desert the Queene to defend their owne Country, and then I am sure the Riddells, the Grayes, the Lambtons, the Widdring­tons and all the Keele-men will leave the Queene, and then three parts of fower of her Army is gane, and shee will bee then in a Germaine condition: what course soever you take, doe not take Armes against the Parliament, for though wavering at first, I see God is on their side, and doth mare then man.

Sall I tell you the Story of an awde wife in Wakef [...]eld as she was sitting on the midding wringing her hands and greeting after the feight was done, that she had lived sea lang, and she had heard of the Pindar of Wakefield, Geordy Greene, and Little John, but never thought sike doings had beene in the world, and never since shee was borne did she, and she thinks nene else in the Towne observe the Song of Geordy Greene before now, And not shift themselves till Munday, and repeated these aude Verses following;

She swore that aude Mother Shipdon was a Witch, for she prophe­sied of these times: the rest of the Letter is matter of privacie, and harder English to understand.

Leeds this Witsun-Munday, May 22.