SIR, to requite your newes out of England with some of ours out of the Palatinate, which is as much I know desired by you there, as yours is heere; and now es­pecially since the King of Bobemiaes arriuall amongst vs: since when, this Countrey, which before was but the field of warre, is now the slaughter-house of men: wherein what acts of hostilitie, and what chances of warre haue fallen out, and how the braue and neuer e­nough commended Count Mansfeild hath de­feated Tilly, and that misfortune on our side of that good Prince the Marquis of Baden, I leaue to you to reade in my former letters written to my other friends, a sight of which you can at any time command; and therefore omitting them, please you to heare the latter occurrences.

The Archduke Leopoldus who is Landtgraue of Alsatia & Bishop of Strasburgh, being a man engaged in the quarrel, as being the Emperours [Page 2] brother, one that is no raw souldier, for hee hath done much seruice in the Grisons country, about that passage of the Valtoline (of which I suppose you haue often heard) and therefore fit to be a Generall, & especially for that his coun­try lies so cōmoditously to do vs a mischiefe, for he borders vpon the Bishop of Spires, through whose land, and ouer the Rhine he may in few dayes march, leade an army into the Palatinate, which is next to Spires: this Leopoldus, I say, part­ly as it were to reuenge the disgrace receiued by Count Mansfield, who this last Winter haras­sed his country, euen to the taking composi­tion of his chiefe citie Elsas Saueren or Zabern, and partly animated by the defeat of the Mar­quis of Baden; and for that the King of Bohe­mia and Count Mansfield were busied in taking in of townes, and of Laudenberg in particular, which stands vpon the Neckar which runnes by Heidelberg, by which meanes Tillies passage ouer the Neckaris cut off: so that he perceiuing that by this diuerting of the Palatinate armies, he was not like to bee way-laid or intercepted in his march to Hagenaw, which was not far from him, being onely from his owne Alsatia into the Bishop of Spires country, and short of the Palatinate. The reason of his purpose to be­siege [Page 3] Hagenaw being in his friends countrey, was sure for that Count Mansfeild this last Winter when he ouer-ran both Alsatia and Spi­ers, had taken in this Hagenaw & put a garison into it, & had left besides some things of good importance in it: and againe, it seemes that Leo­poldus seeing the Bishop of Spiers not able to re­couer the town, he thought it of very great im­portance to the aduancement of the businesse in generall, which made him resolue vpon a iourney in person thither: which if he could haue won, then the two Archdukes had easily ioyned their forces together, whom this towne only kept asunder. Vpon these grounds & for these reasons, he with a faire army of 7 or 8000 foot and 2000 horse, and drawing after him 6 or 7 peeces, marches vp the country, & fairly sets him downe before this Hagenaw there, after vsuall summons to yeeld, vpon the garisons re­fusing to parley, he fals to his battery, which he plied very hotly, doing all he could to get into it, before it could be releeued by our party. There were in the towne some 4000 foot and 500 horse, which the prouident Count Mans­feild had left there, and these made shift to hold the town til they could aduertise their General of the danger of his garison; who vpon the first notice, being then about Themersheim in the [Page 4] Palatinate, came downe with the King of Bohe­mia, and the best part of 20000 men, to remoue the siege; which was so timely done, that (the enemy hauing gottē some of the town ditches and of their quarter) it was thought the towne could not haue held out aboue 2 dayes longer. Now Leopoldus hauing intercepted the letter of comfort which Count Mansfeild sent to the towne, promising to come to releeue it by such a day & houre; and hauing by his skouts lear­ned that Mansfeild with his army followed his messenger, perceiuing that he could not so sud­denly cary the towne, and fearing a surprise, or to be hemd in with the Rhine, the towne gari­son & the Kings army, sent some 9 or 10 hun­dred horse & some few foot cōpanies to make some resistance in the way about Wisenberg, so to stay Mansfeild a little, and with the losse of these forlorne men to saue the rest of his maine army; with which he rose hastily & so tumul­tuously, that the town garison taking notice & aduantage of his sudden rising and disorderly tetrait, sallied forth; and what in the trenches (where commonly some sick or hurt men that cannot follow, or others that tend vpon the baggage are left behinde,) and what in the Rereward which they fell vpon, they had the killing of 500 or 600 of the enemy.

And by this time Count Mansfeild with the King of Bohemia, had dispatcht those poore Cōpanies aforesaid (which lay in their way,) and were at their heeles too: So that the Arch-Duke Leopoldus being so hotly pursued by a greater Armie, and by the Count Mans­feild, who hath still had the master fortune of him, was forced to take the Rhine; ouer which, with some of those which were nee­rest to him, he wasted himselfe; and it is said he escaped so narrowly, that Count Mansfeild was within halfe an houre of taking his Person. One part of his Armie which thought to haue passed the Rhine at Dru­senheim, about the eighth or ninth of May, were cut off, and about 2000 Boats, Punts, and Rhine ships were taken; in which the Mansfeildians themselues passed, and on the other side, got great booty, which euery man had, that got. Leopold thought to rallee together his Armie which passed the Rhine, and to seeke to ioyne with Tillye and goe in­to the Mark graue of Badens Country, or to Fryburgh to seeke the enemie: But the Mansfeildians pursuing them ouer the Rhine [Page 6] too, he with all speed retired into his owne Alsatia, & Brisgoia, as some of his companies that escaped with the first, did into Zabern, Dachstein, Moltzheim, and other walled Towns thereabouts: some sixe Cornets of horse got into a Wood, neither did Colonell Obertraut thinke it safe to set vpon them there, but he went into Strasburgh there by, and only kept the Countrie about it, and waited for their comming forth. And there for three daies they kept themselues safe e­nough, which they could not haue done in a plain & opē field: For the defendants haue this aduantage of the Assaylants in a Wood, That they neede not feare either ambush or surprise; but the Assaylant is rather wa­rie to enter those thickets for feare of falling himselfe into an Ambuscado. Then again, against an Armie in a Wood, the enemy can haue small vse of his horse; and the trees and bushes make his Pikes mostly vn­seruiceable too. As for shot, they may goe a birding if they please, for any great good they can doe, for they shall be sure to hit more trees then men: whereas the defen­dants [Page 7] may better vse their Armes; for their body of Pikes may be orderly rang'd, and may make a firme stand, and are not cum­bred with carrying and entangling them a­mong the trees, but neede no more but charge them vpon the Assaylants; and eue­ry tree againe, is as good as a towre for a Musquetier, from behind which he may at pleasure and in safetie almost discharge; and the tree serues him for a Rest too: so that an Armie there, feares nothing but firing the Coppis about their eares, or to be famisht if they be so round beset, that their horse can­not get out on the backe side to fetch in re­leefe; and this want of victuals was the ad­uantage which Count Mansfeild had of them: For when the souldiers had eate vp their vi­ctuals which they brought with them in their knapsacks, and drunke out all their water out of their bottels, or (those that had it) their wine out of their Borachoes; there was no stay for them in a desart succourlesse Forrest; so that hunger which breakes through stone wals, and feares no worse enemie then it selfe, made some of them [Page 8] rather out of stomacke then courage, to ad­uenture forth; and sending a Trumpet to Strasburgh to offer their seruice to that State, came with their troupes within a Musquet shot of the Towne, and there quietly expected their answer: The Bur­ghers, though they had no neede of horse­men, yet curteously sent them out bread and wine for themselues, and oats for their hor­ses: with which, while they made merry, a younger Prince of the house of Saxony (a man though not in any entertainment, yet friend to the Emperour) being then in Stras­burgh, went out to them, perswading with Colonel Moüder their chiefe Commander, to returne to Leopoldus seruice; which the braue Colonell Obertraut hearing of, sent out of Strasburgh & tooke the Prince prisoner, & sent him to Hagenaw, whence we heare, he is to be sent to vs to Manhem: Hereupon the whole sixe Cornets yeelded to Obertraut, and tooke the oath to serue the King of Bo­hemia, and rent Leopoldus Ensignes, and re­ceiued the Kings Colours. They gaue no­tice also of sixe Cornets of horse more, and [Page 9] one Company of foote which would doe likewise: of which wee haue not yet heard.

While these things went thus with them, another part of Leopoldus Armie had got into Lichtenaw, and fortifide it; these were some few Companies of foote, with fiue peeces of Ordnance, which they brought from Hagenaw; but by letters from some of themselues the 12 of this May, it appeares they were so weake, that they feare the Marquesse of Badens comming vp­on them, who (though he hath receiued an ouerthrow & lost his baggage and Canon, which he hath not yet recouered) hath now made ouer his Countrie to his Sonne, and hath rallyed the scatterd Regiments of his Armie together, and hath againe taken on those Companies which he cast before, and sworne them in the name of the King of Bohemia, so that he is sixe or 7000 foote, and 1500 or 2000 horse in the field againe, and resolues once more to try his fortune.

And thus you heare what is become of the Arch-Dukes men. One thing I had for­got, [Page 10] which was this, That when he rose from Hagenaw, he for haste left behind him one Morter, and two Wagons laden with Granades 250 Centeryes (hundred weights) of powder, 150 of match, and some other munition, which he put into a little village hard by, with a guard of 80 Musquetiers, who quickly yeelded what they were not able to keepe. It seemes the Arch-Duke wanted horse to draw away his Canon, and was faine to take those out of his Wagons, which should haue carryed away his Am­munition, which he had rather leaue behind him then the other: for he thought it would haue bene a great dishonour to him, to haue lost his Canon; and the King of Bohemia was as well content with the match, pow­der, and shot, which he left; for he had more neede of that, then of peeces.

And thus, Sir, haue I related the siege of Hagenaw, with what followed after the rai­sing of it: one part of Leopoldus Armie be­ing slaine in the way by the Mansfeildians, comming to releeue the Towne; others in their Trenches, by the towne Garrison sally­ing [Page 11] out; others drowned and slaine in pas­sing the Rhine; a second part got home with their Generall; a third part is entertai­ned by vs; and a fourth part in a weake Towne in feare of the Marckgraue of Ba­den; The Arch-Duke himselfe hardly esca­ping: his whole Armie thus vtterly defea­ted, he hath no power of a while to make head againe.

What the King of Bohemia will next doe, was not resolued vpon the tenth of this mo­neth; only, that he obserues which way Tillye and the Spaniards will stirre, that he may (if it please God to strengthen him) be with his other enemies, as he hath beene with the Leopoldians. What next happens, you shall euery weeke (if conueniencie of Mes­sengers serue) be faithfully certified of God grant you heare no worse newes.

About the same time, newes was brought vs out of the Bishop of Cullens Countrie, of the braue exploits of young Brunswicke, whom the Germanes for his courage, vi­gour, and spirit, call the Dul Hertzog Van [Page 12] Brunswick, that is, the Mad Duke of Bruns­wick. This young Imp of Mars, being trai­ned vp vnder the discipline of that famous old Souldier, the Prince of Orange his kins­man, as you cannot but haue heard, and be­ing brother to the present Duke of Bruns­wicke, who hauing no hope of Issue, this is held to bee his heyre apparent and suc­cessour, who though he were like to be a Prince of the Empire, could not yet be discouraged from this enterprise, with that vulgar feare, That if he declared himselfe so farre against the Emperour, that he would giue away his Dukedome, but hath vowed for his Cozens sake the Queene of Bohemia, to spend the last drop of his bloud. And how the Emperor is like to deale with him, you may perceiue by this passage: In that the young Duke, being Bishop of Halberstadt (a Common thing in Germany for Princes second brothers or sonnes, to get those grea­ter Bishoprickes) the Emperour sent some Commissioners to gather vp his reuenues; Which the King of Denmarke (as tis said) hearing of, sent to them, telling them, that [Page 13] his Cozen before he had engaged himselfe in that action, had made ouer the profits of his Bishopricke to him, and if they did not leaue them to his ordinary Officers to receiue, he himselfe would come and fetch them. But this Duke, notwithstanding these feares both in the present and future, hath kept foule quar­ter this spring in the Prince Archbishop Elect­or of Cullens Countrie, which both lay in his way, betweene the Low-Countries whence he came, and the Palatinate, whither he purposed to march; & also, this Bishop is brother to the Duke of Bauaria, to whom the King of Bohe­mia is next heyre: for tis generally held, that the Bauarian is like to leaue no issue, and therefore is his brother of Cullen, though a Bishop, yet kept by dispensation frō Rome, out of Orders, that he may marry if neede be, and so to keepe the Palatinate of Bauaria from falling to the Palatinate of the Rhine, which will (and espe­cially in these times) make the Palsgraue too great a Prince for the Empire to endure. And these are apparent reasons of the spoyling of the Country, which hath beene much forra­ged and harassed by the Duke of Brunswick, who hath enforced the Bishop to forsake his [Page 14] Countrie, and to make the very towne of Cul­len it selfe to giue him Contribution to pay his Souldiers.

But to come to what is newly and lastly done; tis said that vpon this Assembly of Am­bassadors at Bruxels, who consult for a peace in the Empire, and treat about a Rendition of euery Countrie to its owne Prince; that this young Spirit was sent vnto by some, to lay down his Armes while they treated of a peace: his answer was said to be to this effect; That his Armes were in his hand, and if they would haue him lay them downe, let them come and take them out of his hands: Which it seemes Count Henry Vandenberg was sent to do; whom Spinola sent out with about 17. troupe of horse after him: who following him with long marches, and the Duke going further vp the Countrie, to finde a commodious place to encampe in, that he might not seeme to flee, sent word as tis said to Vandenberg, that he did not flee, but would abide him battell and fight with him: But tis generally held by good Captains, that he had beene then in great dan­ger, as hauing the Baron of Anhault, who is the Arch-bishops Generall on one side, and [Page 15] Vandenberg with his olde troupes on the other side: But that fierie stratagem (of which I am sure you cannot but heare better then we) of the Prince Henry of Nassaw, in burning the Countrie about Brussels, euen in the sight of the Arch-Duchesse and Spinola himselfe, hath deliuered him. For Spinola perceiuing this to be done by horse-men, whom he could not oppose or keepe from such another exploit, but by a power of horse, was enforced to send for his horse backe to looke to all at home.

Brunswick being thus beyond expectation freed of Vandenberg, with his whole forces sets vpon his other enemy the Baron of Anhalt, whom though he had sometime before de­feated, yet he hoping well to enclose him be­twixt himselfe and Vandenberg, was bold to make head and appeare in the field againe; but to his losse againe: for the Duke ioyning bat­tell with him, ouerthrew him, and made him­selfe so much master of the field, that he had leisure both to fortifie three of the best townes thereabouts which he had taken in, and to gar­rison and victuall them; and also cleered his passage towards the Palatinate, to ioyne with his Couzen the King of Bohemia, and Count [Page 16] Mansfeild; I suppose the people of Cullen were not altogether sorry for Anhalts ouerthrow; for though to the disaduantage of the cause in ge­nerall Brunswick had made his way by the sword throgh their Countrie; yet for their par­ticular they could not but be glad when they heard he was passed the Rhine; for by this meanes they were freed of a powerfull and chargeable enemie; for tis reported, that he is come out of their Countrie with thirty Tunne of Dollars: him we expect daily a­mongst vs; and whether the King and Count Mansfeild will hold it fit to keepe him with them, they thinking they haue enough forces together already, to regaine the Palatinate; or whether they will direct him some other course to fall vpon some other Countrie, which hath aided the Spaniards, and Baua­ria in this warre; which being most likely, you may guesse as we doe. What is done I purpose to certifie you from time to time: For this Summer though it should proue as cold as the last, is likely to be heat with fire, not from the Sunne, but the Canon: and the Earth (tis feared) is like to be wet with as many showers of bloud, as it was the last [Page 17] yeare with raine. God grant (if he hath ap­pointed it so) that the right veine may be ope­ned: although euen all good Protestants, I hope, could desire God rather to giue vs peace then victorie.

Now Sir, to acquaint you briefly with the estate of e­uery particular Army about the Palatinate; The Kings Army is much encouraged by his owne personall and braue resolutiō, being one still himselfe in all aduentures; so that now those Libellers, who after the defeat at Prague, sent out a Picture of a Postillian or a Post ryding vp and downe, enquiring for the forlorne (that is, the lost) Palatine, may now finde him in the head of his Troopes; and might of late haue seene him pursuing his Enemies: so that now the lost Palatine is found, hauing beene thus long, not so much fled, as giuen way rather to the necessity of the times, and not hidden at the Hagh thus long; but all the while trained vp vnder that famous, great, old, & experienced Soldier, his Vnckle the Prince of Orange, from whom he is now come to a braue Army of Twenty Thousand foot, and Fiue Thousand Horse well appointed, well payd, flesht in the blood of their E­nemies, Masters of the field: and which is worth halfe an Army, led by that Generous and Victorious Count Mansfield; A man whom all the world hath giuen for lost, whom onely his owne vertue, worth and spirit haue raysed to this Command and same. So that wee all here conceiue, that God hath reserued him, and lifted him out of the dust, meerely or mostly to shew himselfe [Page 18] to be the Lord of Hosts, and that it is only in his power to deliuer by the vnlikeliest meanes; so that wee hope, that he, who could doe thus much out of nothing, will out of thus much, doe any thing: And he is now gone out of the Palatinate, into Dermstadt, an enemies Coun­trey betweene this and Franckford; where the Duke of Brunswicke is the 26. of this month of May, to meet with him. What martiall exploits shall next be atcheiued, the next packet shall tell you. The Marquesse of Baden is to follow the King of Bohemia with his Army within two dayes.

As for our English Companies, they are thus diuided: Noble Captaine Borroughes who so brauely defended Franckendale against the Spanyards, is for his good seruice gouernor of the Towne, where he now is with my Lord of Essex, and Captaine Ralph Vanes Companies. Sir Gar­ret Herbert, and our famous Enginer captaine Dexter, are in Heidelbergh. My Lord Generall Vere himselfe, with his owne, and sixe Companies more, are in this strong Towne of Manhem, which is situated vpon these two great Riuers the Rhine, and the Neckar, which there meet as if to make the Towne inuincible. Colonell Grayes regiment is with Count Mansfield. Now for our enemies, they are at this point: Gonsales Cordoua the Spanish Ge­nerall, like an old Foxe, keepes close in Oppenheim, which he fortifies, as if he meant rather to lurke there, then ap­peare in the field, as tis verily beleeued he purposes not to doe; His Garrison at Vdenheim hath lately surprised two weake Townes, Brussell, and Rottenbergh, through the negligence of the Gouernors, but they are of no im­portance.

As for Tilly, hee keepes the field aboue Heidelbergh, neere vpon the Neckar, at Winxfen, where the vnfortunate battell was fought with Baden: and there hee fortifies himselfe expecting succors: hee is not made so much ac­count of, for one of the old Souldiers Spaniards, Italians, and Wallons in Cordovaes Regiment, are held worth two of his Bavarians, and for all him, Count Mansfield is gone into Dermstadt. And this is the estate of our Enemies. From other parts wee heare that Bethlem Gabor is almost in a readines, and altogether in a resolution to march hitherward, with the Marquesse of Iegerensdorff, and the Count de Tourne, so that here wee hope shortly to haue better conditions offred vs.

And thus Sir, I end a long letter, wherin I haue dilated the discourse, by attempting to giue the reasons of each motion, and to describe the persons and places, to giue light to the storie, which you shall doe well to keepe by you, for it will make you the better to vnderstand whatsoeuer shall be writ­ten of these Wars.