and gentlemen, were killed, the only great nobles on his side who
escaped being the Earls of Somerset and Oxford; many were also killed
on Edward's side, and the slaughter among the ordinary fighting
men was greater than usual.

Hitherto in the battles that had been fought during the civil war;
while the leaders taken on the field were frequently executed, the
common soldiers were permitted to return to their homes, as they
had only been acting under the orders of their feudal superiors,
and were not considered responsible for their acts. At Barnet,
however, Edward, smarting from the humiliation he had suffered
by his enforced flight from England, owing to the whole country
declaring for his rival, gave orders that no quarter was to be
granted. It was an anxious day at St. Albans, where many ladies
whose husbands were with Warwick's army had, like Dame Tresham,
taken up their quarters. It was but a few miles from the field
of battle. In the event of victory they could at once join their
husbands, while in case of defeat they could take refuge in the
sanctuary of the abbey. Messengers the night before had brought
the news that the battle would begin at the dawn of day, and with
intense anxiety they waited for the news.

Dame Tresham and her son attended early mass at the abbey, and had
returned to their lodgings, when Sir Thomas rode up at full speed.
His armour was dinted and his plume shorn away from his helmet. As
he entered the house he was met by his wife, who had run downstairs
as she heard his horse stop at the door. A glance at his face was
sufficient to tell the news.

"We have lost the day," he said. "Warwick and Montague are both