He had won a bad name for himself among his
friends. Nobody praised him. The Taunton people, who had given
him such a splendid welcome ten days before, now cursed him for
having failed; they knew too well what sort of punishment was
sure to fall upon them, directly the fighting came to an end.
Somehow all their despairing talk failed to frighten me. I was
not scared by all the signs of panic in the streets. I was too
young to understand fully; but besides that I was buoyed up by
the belief that I had done a fine thing in escaping from prison
in order to serve the cause dear to my heart. My heart told me
that I was going to a glorious victory in the right cause. I
cannot explain it. I felt my father in my heart urging me to go
forward. I would not have drawn back for all the King's captains
in a company riding out against me together. I felt that these
people were behaving absurdly; they should keep a brave patient
face against their troubles. Tomorrow or the next day would see
us in triumph, beating our enemies back to London, to the
usurper's den in Whitehall.
It drew towards sunset before I had found a means to get to
Bridgewater. The innkeepers who in times of peace sent daily
carriers thither, with whom a man could travel in comfort for a
few pence, had now either lost their horses, or feared to risk
them. No carriers had gone either to Bridgewater or to Bristol
since the Duke marched in on the fourth day of his journey; nor
had the carriers come in as usual from those places; the business
of the town was at a standstill.
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