An exact and true RELATION IN Relieving the reſolute garriſon of LIME in Dorcetſhire.

I Have written one Letter to you ſince I came in­to this Bay. Yeſterday I received yours of the 24 of May, rejoycing much in that health which God pleaſeth yet to continue to you and my familie at home. I thank God I am well, onely much ſad­neſſe of ſpirit is contracted from the ſad ſpectacle that beſieged Lime doth continually offer to ou•view; a Towne that deſerves abundance of pittie and love, they being ſtill under the violence of a cruell Enemie. Captaine Pine, of whoſe wounding I writ to you in my laſt, is ſince dead: God brought my Lord hither to a ſingular purpoſe, it tending to ſave that diſtreſſed Towne hitherto, having not in it at his Lordſhips comming, above two dayes bread, and a ſmall quantitie of Ammunition. There are in the Towne 4000 ſoules, whereof 1000 in G•rriſon; who though they want Shooes, Stockings, Clothes? and pay, and have not departed from Lime ſince the beginning of the ſiedge; yet are all of them reſolved2 to ſtand out to the laſt man: and when they can doe no more, to breake through the Enemie with their ſwords.

At my Lords firſt comming, he ſent on ſhoare neere 40 barrells of Powder and ſome Match, which came along with his Lordſhip purpoſely for their reliefe. The Ships under his Lordſhips commands did before his comming, ſpare what Proviſions they could, none comming to them from other parts, and the paſſages by Sea being neer blockt up, his Lord­ſhip contracted, for 350 pounds worth of Come and other Proviſions, being then bound for Plymouth to be ſold there, and tooke order to ſend it into the Towne, himſelfe undertaking the price.

The condition and courage of the beſieged did ſo prevaile with our Sea-men, that on Saturday laſt, out of their poore overplus, they ſent them above 30 paire of Boots, 100 paire of Shooes, 160 pure of Stockings, ſome Linnen and old clothes, and ſome quantitie of Fiſh and Bread, that they had formerly, ſaved out of their Sea allowance. They did alſo una­nimouſly give one fourth part of their bread for the next foure moneths, amounting to 9000 weight, which their hard labour and conſtant cutie might ad­viſe them to have reſerv'd rather for their own bellies. On Monday laſts my Lord and the Ships with him, determin'd to ſpare them 2000 weight of bread more, and ſome quantities of Beefe, Porke, Shot, Fiſh, and other neceſſaries. That day ſome of our Sea-men were deſired by the Towne to looke to the Lyme, while 600 of the Garriſon ſallyed on the Ene­mie, and 300 men were reſolved to be ſent; but the3 ſame day the Towne received a terrible for me from the Enemie, yet with little advantage to the beſiegers, they 100 ſing about 60. and the Town but eight, one­ly ſome of their Comanders were then hurt, viz. Colonell Ware was ſhot in the bellie, but not dange­rouſly, and Lieutenant Colonell Blake was ſlightly hurt in the foot. The Towneſmen of the three Cap­taines that led up the forlorne hope, killed one Cap­tain Southern, who had on the Lord Paulets own Ar­mour, and tooke priſoner another, viz. Captaine Aſton, who was the next day brought aboard our Ship. This Captaine Aſton is brother to a ſervant of Maſter Ketchmar in Fiſh ſtreet: the Enemie refuſed to take off their dead, reſolving to burie them, and to take the Towne altogether. But God afterwards corrected their daring & preſumptuous Cruckie. The Garriſon being in couraged by this ſucceſſe, reſolved to proſecute their former purpoſe of ſallying, and in purſuance thereof, on Tueſday night laſt, the 300 men were ſent ſafely on ſhoare, though to make good their landing 3 or 4 of the Townſmen were ſhin, On the ſame Tueſday, his Lordſhip determin'd to ſend two of his Sips, & all the ſhip-boats futed with men towards Char•outh,•ir•port, & other places about ſix miles frō Line, that the Enemies opinion of our land­ing men in thoſe parts, might draw off the horſe, where­by the ſallie would be more ſecure and advantagious. And on Wedneſday laſt the ſhips and boats were ac­cordingly ſent out, at a time ſignified from the towne by ſhooting off a Gun from Daves fort and giving an alarme on the Eaſt ſhoare, obtained what was in de­ſigne. For all the day long, foure or five troopes of4 horſe, and ſome hundreds of foot, attended the mo­ving of the ſhips and boats, from whence diverſe great ſhot and ſmall ſhot played into lands, which forced the enemie to caſt up a breſt-work by the ſea ſide for their owne defence. The enemie miſtooke the inten­tion, ſuppoſing that theſe boats had in the night taken men out of the Towne, with purpoſe to ſet them on ſhore, for getting of proviſions into the Towne, or to fall on the reare; and thereby thinking the Towne to be weakned, they did on the ſame Wedneſday neere the time appointed for ſallying, aſſault the Towne with great ſurie: from about ſixe at night to about eight at night, there was ſuch a continuall peale of ſmall ſhot and great ſhot, that the Towne ſeemed to be all on a flame; twice the enemie made an orderly retreat, appearing each time in a body of about a thouſand men. The third aſſault was moſt violent, the enemie advancing with brave reſolution, and be­ing as gallantly received by the Towneſmen. A little after eight of the clock there was a remitting of the former furie; and about nine, an almoſt generall ſilence. There was ſlaine of the enemie in this aſſault, as ſome of the Towne this day aboord computed, foure hundred; and of the garriſon, but ſix or ſeven kild and wounded, whereof Major Townsend was one, who was ſhot in the head, but is ſtill alive. Amongſt the ſtaine, there was found one Gentlemen that came that morning from Exeter with Letters for Oxford, whither he would faine have carryed the newes of the taking of Lyme, but God prevented him, and the Let­ters found in his pocket are ſent to London; the prin­cipall thing imparted by them being, that they heard5 the wayes to Oxford began to be obſtructed; that the Queene was better then formerly, and much com­forted in Doctor Mirons comming on Sabbath day laſt.

On Thurſday laſt there was a parley in the Towne, the enemie deſiring to burie their dead, which before they ſcorn'd.

Yeſterday ſome reliefe came for the Towne by Sea, and in the afternoone part of the Towne was fired, yet but three houſes burnt. This day another part of the Towne was fired, and at this inſtant the fire en­creaſeth, and twentie new houſes are burnt.

You may now judge the ſtate of poore Lyme, but if you ſaw it as it is continually before us, your eyes would much affect your baſte, conſidering that ſuch gallant ſpirits, worth a Nation indeed, ſhould be the ſubjects on which the rage and madneſſe of a baſe and cruell enemie is from day to day exerciſed and im­printed.

If London knew their merit and condition, I am confident they would not only compaſſionate them, but relieve them: what is wanting in men, will bee made up I hope by the power and providence of hea­ven, whoſe ſalvation hath him hither to appointed by God, for their wals, and bulwarkes ſomethings I may not omit, that at the late ſtorming, one woman ſhot off 16 Muſquets upon the enemy, and the wo­men of the Town generally did fill the Souldiers Bandileres while they ſought: the continuance of their dangers having much blunted the ſence of their dangers, retaining in their ſpirits a conſtant cheere­fulneſſe, as knowing they ſhall have deliverance,6 ther from the affliction, or by it: and to all let mee adde, that this mercy to them was the reſult. I doubt not of the prayers put up at the inſtant on their be­halfe, from aboard as well as in other parts of the Kingdome.

We have taken upon the ſeas ſince our ſetting from the Downs, 2 prizes, one a Dartmouth veſſell, laden with oyle and ſalt for Holland, and the other was brought into us on Saturday laſt which was a Dutch Galliot laden with commodities for the enemie at Aptham, and Exceter, to the value of 8000 li. and the Maſter of the Galliot him ſelfe confeſſed, that they had for her more ſafe convoy of the company of two States men of War, who had aboard their ſhips 5 barrels of money amounting to 1000 Dollars, confined to ſome malignants in Exceter: the factor under whoſe charge the money went committed, being aboard the men of war, was loath to be diſcovered, but at length being apprehended, and brought before his Loadſhip was for ſome peremptory ſpeeches to my Lord put in ſafe cuſtody the goods will prove undeniable prize.

Erom aboard his Majeſties ſhip the James, at an­•her before Lime,the firſt of June.

This is Licenſed according to Order.