You are the more welcome that you have, as I hear, brought two hundred horsemen with you, a number larger than any which has yet joined me.

These," he said, pointing to two young noblemen near him, "are my nephews, Rupert and Maurice, who have come to join me." Upon making inquiries, Sir Henry found that the prospects of the king were far from bright.

So far, the Royalists had been sadly behindhand with their preparations.

The king had arrived with scarce four hundred men.

He had left his artillery behind at York for want of carriage, and his need in arms was even greater than in men, as the arsenals of the kingdom had all been seized by the Parliament.