He was successful in winning the fight, and
returned to Honiton to recruit. He then attacked the rebels on Clyst
Heath and defeated them, but it was a hard-fought fight, and "such was
the valour of these men that the Lord Grey reported himself that he
never, in all the wars he had been in, did know the like." The rebels
were mercilessly butchered and the ringleaders executed--the Vicar of
St. Thomas' by Exeter, a village we passed through the following
morning, who was with the rebels, being taken to his church and hanged
from the tower, where his body was left to dangle for four years.
We had been walking in the dark for some hours, but the road was
straight, and as we had practically had a non-stop walk from Honiton we
were ready on our arrival at Exeter for a good supper and bed at one of
the old inns on the Icknield Way, which, with several churches, almost
surrounded the Cathedral.
(_Distance walked thirty-eight miles_.)
_Saturday, November 11th._
Exeter, formerly known as the "City of the West" and afterwards as the
"Ever-Faithful City," was one of the most interesting places we had
visited. It had occupied a strong strategical position in days gone by,
for it was only ten miles from the open sea, sufficient for it to be
protected from sudden attacks, yet the river Exe, on which it is
situated, was navigable for the largest ships afloat up to about the
time of the Spanish Armada.
Pages:
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991