shall very soon have occasion to remark. He lived in days of much distress, and his long protracted years brought with them many troubles; but his well-appointed mind afforded the highest test of his religious principles, which established his character as a bright luminary of the Church of England, and made even his enemies ashamed.

SHAFT OF EGGLESCLIFFE CROSS.

CHAPTER IV.

Of the State of Stockton Castle, and its Occupation
during the Civil Wars.

IVIL war, from whatever cause it proceeds" and Cæsar says, (as Whitelocke* told the parliament of this period) that he knew as much of civil war as any man before him, that it cannot be begun without bad designs, sine malis artibus,"-must always be fatal to that country which is so unfortunate as to experience its calamities. A truly deplorable prospect of this nature presents itself before our eyes in the GREAT REBELLION, as it was justly denominated; as in this great convulsion, both church and state were involved in one common destruction. Whatever opinions prevailed, when the contest was over, peace was their dear delight; peace was hailed as an extraordinary blessing; and when the tumultuous ocean became still (though storms still lurked within the waters) its calm surface was the source of most substantial comfort.

The history of this district, as of that of most parts of the kingdom, leads to this conclusion; though the confla

* Whitelocke's Memoirs.

G

gration, which often spread wide and terrible, was here more moderate; but still it was afflicting in its course. The castle of Stockton, in the hands of different parties, was employed as a garrison during the greatest part of this unhappy period. The old residences of the Barons, several of them then existing in venerable grandeur, with a shadow of surviving strength, were again fortified; many of them withstood long and bloody sieges; but which party soever prevailed, the consequences were the same to them; they received the last blow of all their ancient honours in the contest, and, in a few years, like the castle of Stockton, they were remembered only in the page of history.

If we consult the records of that age, and trace upon the green sward of this happy country the rising mound, indicative of some military work; if we see the single buttress the sole representative of some mighty fortress, we may say with the deepest regret, this spot has been moistened with the blood of man.

A few extracts from Rushworth's collections, and other authorities of those times, will shew us the deplorable condition to which this country was reduced, even before the violent contentions which took place between the unfortunate Charles and his misguided parliament. On these subjects, however, I shall not enlarge; but confine my narrative to such events of the civil war, as appear to have a connexion with this parochial history.

A. D. 1640. The Scottish army marched into England in an hostile manner to demand a redress of grievances; and were first opposed by the king's forces in passing the Tyne at Newburne, a village on the Northumberland shore, opposite Ryton, about five miles above

Newcastle. This military array was under the command of Lesley, the Earl of Calender, and others; and to shew their determined principle, and the decided arrangement which they had made, besides many other noblemen, barons, and gentlemen, there marched with them, as a standing committee of the army, six noblemen, six barons, and six burgesses, besides general officers. In this skirmish, which took place August the 28th, the Scots were victorious. The king's army retreated into Yorkshire, and the Scots took possession of Newcastle and Northumberland.†

"On August the 29th [the day after the battle] Dr. Morton, says Rushworth, the bishop of Durham, a learned and moderate bishop, had an account of the defeat at Newburne, and that the king's army were retreating into Yorkshire, whereupon the said bishop went to his castle of Stockton, in the bishoprick of Durham, standing on the edge of Yorkshire, but he quickly removed thence into

*Nalson's Collections.

+ Bishop Burnet's Account of this invasion affords a curious contrast to the narrative in the text." The Scots marched with a very sorry equipage: every soldier carried a week's provision of oatmeal; and they had a drove of cattle with them for their food. They had also an invention of guns of white iron tinned and done about with leather, and chorded so that they could serve for two or three discharges. These were light, and were carried on horses; and when they came to Newburn, the English army that defended the ford was surprized with a discharge of artillery: some thought it magick; and all were put in such disorder that the whole army did run with so great precipitation, that Sir Thomas Fairfax, who had commanded in it, did not stick to own that till he passed the Tees his legs trembled under him."-Summary of Affairs before the Restoration.

Yorkshire."* The bishop did not leave Durham till it was deserted by all the military forces; which was, before five o'clock in the morning of Saturday, the 29th of August. Lord Clarendon calls this an infamous and irreparable rout; which, in truth, it was, as it was the commencement of an unhappy, and ever-to-be-lamented, contest.

This good and inoffensive bishop, laden, at this time, with years, with piety, and with honour, was compelled to leave this, his last place of refuge within his diocese ; and though venerable in person and character, the most amiable qualities were unable to prevent him from being deeply involved in the misfortunes of the age; particularly heavy on all those of the sacerdotal profession.

While in the plenitude of his fortune Bp. Morton's charities and hospitality were abundant; and so freely did the king and his courtiers make use of his liberality in their frequent journeys between London and Scotland, that it became proverbial-Ah! Dunelmia ! nimium vicina Scotiæ ! Might not the proverb acquire a very home appli!t cation, when the complement was returned from a different quarter, when such visitors disturbed the sanctity of his remotest place of retirement, and compelled him to solicit that charity, which he had always been so ready to communicate. He lived till the year preceding the restoration, when he died on the 95th year of his age;as his epitaph expresses it-"bonis exutus omnibus, bonâ præterquam famâ et conscientiâ"-deprived of all goods, except a good conscience and reputation.

* Rushworth's Collections, v. 3, p. 1239.

+ Barwick's Life of Morton,