[Sidenote: This sir Richard Cornewall was brother to the erle of Cornewall.] [Sidenote: _Abington._] [Sidenote: _Caxton._] The rumor of the mariners attempt being bruted through the armie, the king passing forward towards the towne, got ouer a ditch, which the Scots had cast to impeach his passage, and so comming to the towne, wan it not losing any man of renowme, sauing sir Richard Cornewall, the which was slaine by a quarell which a Flemming shot out of a crossebowe, being in the red hall, which the merchants of Flanders held in that towne, and had fortified it in manner of a tower: but when they would not yéeld, and could not easilie otherwise be woone, the house towards euening was set on fire, and so they being thirtie in number were burned to death within it. Vpon the same night, the king lodged in the castell, which was yéelded vnto him by them that kept it, their liues and limmes saued, and receiuing an oth, that they should not from thencefoorth beare armour against the king of England, they were permitted to depart whither they thought good, their capteine sir William Dowglas excepted, whom the king still kept with him, till the end of the warres. Some write that there should be slaine of Scotishmen at this winning of Berwike, aboue the number of twentie thousand men, Abington saith 8000, but Richard Southwell saith 15000 at the least one with an other, with small losse of Englishmen, not past eight and twentie of all sorts. Yée may read more hereof in the Scotish historie. [Sidenote: _Abraham Fleming._] [Sidenote: _R. Grafton_, pag. 176.] [Sidenote: _G. Buchanan rer. Scotic. lib. 8. pag. 243, prope finem._] ¶ But before I passe ouer this slaughter, so lamentable and woonderfull, I haue bethought my selfe of a promised apologie for and in the behalfe of Richard Grafton, mentioned before in the reigne of Henrie the second, page 194 where I shewed how vnaduisedlie and with vnséemelie modestie for a man of learning, George Buchanan the Scot dooth shoot his bolts at the said Grafton, as now by occasion of the matter conuenientlie occurrent shall be shewed. The said Grafton in his large volume of English chronicles, falling vpon the affaires betwéene king Edward the first, and Iohn Balioll king of Scotland, among other things there remembred, maketh report that in the said battell of Berwike, the slaughter was so great, that a mill might well haue béene driuen by the space of two daies, with the streames of bloud which at that time ouerranne the ground. At which words George Buchanan giueth a snatch, emboldened so to doo, bicause the said Grafton referreth this record to Hector Boetius in his fourtéenth booke and second chapter.