At Rochester, where Sir Thomas Wyatt, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, Sir Hubert Blair, encamped in the ruins of the old castle, and held the bridge with cannon and well-armed Kentish men, there was a great scene. The Duke of Norfolk, with a detachment of Guards from London, was to have forced the bridge, but a certain Captain Brett, who was deputed by him to lead five hundred men against it, turning, addressed his followers thus-- 'Masters, we are about to fight against our native countrymen of England and our friends, in a quarrel unrightful and wicked; for they, considering the great miseries that are like to fall upon us if we shall be under the rule of the proud Spaniards, or strangers, are here assembled to make resistance to their coming, for the avoiding of the great mischiefs likely to alight not only upon themselves, but upon every one of us and the whole realm, wherefore I think no English heart ought to say against them. I and others will spend our blood in their quarrel.' When they heard this, his men shouted, 'A Wyatt! A Wyatt!' and, instead of turning their guns against the bridge, turned them against their own Duke of Norfolk's forces. The duke and his officers fled, and Brett and his men, crossing the bridge, joined Wyatt's soldiers, followed by three-fourths of the queen's troops and more. Meantime, the Duke of Norfolk and his officers galloped to London, which by their news was thrown into a state of alarm and consternation. There were meetings of the city and military authorities, and Queen Mary, sceptre in hand, addressed them with great spirit, promising that if her contemplated marriage with Philip of Spain did not meet with the approval of Parliament she would give it up. She also offered a reward of lands, with £100 a year, to any one who would take or kill Sir Thomas Wyatt. For some reason--could it be that Sir Hubert Blair was persuading him not to go on?--the latter did not push forward with that speed which characterized the commencement of his enterprise. His forces had increased to 15,000 men, but he did not reach London until the words of the queen and the news of the dispersion of the two other bands of rebels, under the Duke of Suffolk and Sir Peter Carew, had restored the courage of the citizens. Sir Thomas Wyatt entered Southwark, and proceeded to the end of London Bridge, where he found the drawbridge raised, the gates closed, and a strong armed force ready to resist his entrance. This was a painful surprise for him, as he had been led to believe that the Londoners were on his side; and he must have hoped that they would still come over to him, for he waited two days without beginning the attack. On the third day, however, the garrison of the Tower began to cannonade him, which resulted in such mischief being done to the houses in the vicinity that the people implored Sir Thomas to go away with his troops.