Despite its commands he was, however, carried to the king by the
gallant Marquis of Hereford. That same year the boy witnessed
the refusal of Sir John Hotham, Governor of Hull, to admit his
majesty within the gates; and James was subsequently present at
the siege of Bristol, and the famous battle of Edgehill, when his
life at one period of the engagement was in imminent peril.

Until 1646 he continued under the guardianship of his father,
when, on the entrance of Fairfax into Oxford, the young duke was
found among the prisoners, and by Cromwell's orders committed to
the charge of Sir George Ratcliffe. A few months later he was
removed to St. James's Palace, when in company with his brother,
the Duke of Gloucester, and his sister, the Princess Elizabeth,
he was placed under the care of Lord Northumberland, who had
joined the Republican cause.

Though by no means treated with unkindness, the young duke,
unhappy at the surveillance placed upon his actions and fearful
of the troubles quickly gathering over the kingdom, twice sought
escape. This was a serious offence in the eyes of Cromwell's
Parliament; a committee was accordingly sent to examine him, and
he was threatened with imprisonment in the Tower. Though only in
his fourteenth year he already possessed both determination and
courage, by reason of which he resolved to risk all danger, and
make a third effort for freedom. Accordingly he laid his plans
with much ingenuity, selecting two men from those around him to
aid his undertaking. These were George Howard and Colonel
Bamfield. The latter had once served in the king's army, but
when the fortunes of war had gone against his royal master, had
professed himself friendly to the Republicans. No doubt the