behind us and in front a nearly equal enemy planted across our
passage to the West. You may take a map with ruler and pencil and
draw a line through from Winchester to Oxford, where the King kept
his Court. On the base of it, at Winchester, rested General Hopton's
main force. North and east of it, at Alton, my Lord Crawford stood
athwart the road with sufficient cavalry and Colonel Bolle's regiment
of foot; yet farther north, Basing House, with my Lord of
Winchester's garrison, blocked the upper path for us; and yet beyond,
Sir Edward Ford's regiment held the passes of the hills toward
Oxford; so that for the while, and in face of us, messengers, troops,
even artillery, might pass to and fro without challenge. This line
of defence, though it forestalled us on every road, was weak in that
it drew out Hopton's strength and attenuated it at too great
distances. This our general perceived, and nursed himself for a
sudden blow.

Now I must mention that with the entry of December there fell the
beginning of a cruel frost, that lasted six weeks and was enough to
make this winter memorable without help of wars or bloodshed.
At the first we all hailed it, as hardening the roads, which for a
month had been nigh impassable: and either commander took speedy
advantage of it--Hopton to make a swift diversion into Sussex and
capture Arundel Castle (which was but a by-blow, for in a few weeks
he had lost it again), and our own general to post up with his short,
quick legs to London, where in two days he had wrung from Essex good
reinforcements, with promise of pay for the troops and a consignment
of leathern guns--a new invention and extremely portable. By the
evening of December 5th he was back among us and despatching us
north, south, and east to keep the enemy jumping while our supplies
drew in.