Sir Thomas Urquhart, and, apparently, more than one of his brothers,
were among the prisoners, but appeared to have fared better than many of
their companions in arms. The greatest of the misfortunes that fell upon
him was, in his estimation, the sad fate that overtook his precious
manuscripts. The whole story, related in his own inimitable style, may
be read in Chapter VI. It is enough to say here that a party of
marauders broke into his quarters in search of valuables, that they
forced open the "portmantles" and turned their contents out upon the
floor, and afterwards carried off the papers to use them for wrapping up
articles of plunder, and for lighting their pipes. Fortunately some
bundles of these papers were afterwards picked up in the streets and
brought back to him, and in due time found their way to the printer's.
After the battle of Worcester, Sir Thomas Urquhart and some of the other
Scottish gentlemen who had been taken prisoners there were confined in
the Tower of London. He seems to have speedily gained the favour of his
captors, and to have been treated with remarkable leniency. Indeed, he
speaks in terms of affectionate respect of various officers of the
Parliamentary army from whom he had received kindness, and acknowledges
courtesies extended towards him by the Lord General himself. Thus he
places on record his indebtedness to a "most generous gentleman, Captain
Gladmon," for speaking in his favour to the Protector. And of another,
whom he calls the Marshal-General, in whose charge he had been placed,
he has set down the praise in the following elaborate sentence:--"The
kindly usage of the Marshal-General, Captain Alsop, whilst I was in his
custody, I am bound in duty so to acknowledge, that I may without
dissimulation avouch, for courtesies conferred on such as were within
the verge of his authority, and fidelity to those by whom he was
intrusted with their tuition [oversight of them] in that restraint, that
never any could by his faithfulness to the one and loving carriage to
the other bespeak himself more a gentleman, nor in the discharge of that
military place acquit himself with a more universally-deserved applause
and commendation."[116]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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