Note 5 — Chapter XIII

Evidence of the wonders accomplished by the king in the short space of time allowed him is afforded by the very curious Diary of Judge Lechmere, some portions of which have been given by Mr. Richard Woof, F.S.A., in his "Personal Expenses of Charles II. in the City of Worcester in 1651." Thus writes Judge Lechmere (the personage whom we have introduced in a previous chapter) a few days before the Battle: "The Scots king having sodainly possessed himself of the city of Worcester, in a few daies fortified it beyond imagination." From his position in Worcester, and from his antiquarian researches, no one is, perhaps, so intimately acquainted with the history of the faithful city at the period of this Tale as Mr. Woof, and the author seizes this opportunity of acknowledging the obligations he is under to him for much valuable information.