John Hampden's regiment of Greencoats, which two days ago marched forth from Aylesbury bound for the rendezvous of Parliament's armies at Northampton, has carried out its first action in defense of the liberties of England: the arrest of a local noble who was preparing to raise men for the armies of Charles Stuart.

Acting on information received from one well-disposed to the cause of Parliament, Col. Hampden, with a troop of horse and a file of musketeers, arrested the Earl of Berkshire and several other malignant spirits at Ascott, the Earl’s estate near Chalgrove in Oxfordshire.

Colonel Hampden entered Ascott “without ceremony,” said an observer.

The Earl protested he had done nothing wrong. “Then you may look for me for protection,” Colonel Hampden replied.

The Earl said he and those with him were but justices of the peace, gathered to settle the shire’s business.

“In a way injurious to the rights of Englishmen,” Colonel Hampden said, who then invited the Earl and his guests to the carriage outside waiting, which then conveyed them to London.