To add to the hopelessness of their position the Earl of Gloucester, with his army, was now joining Prince Edward by the upper Worcester road.

De Montfort knew that against such odds the fight would be a hopeless one, and urged his supporters to flee while there was yet time, and not to lose their lives in an unavailing struggle; but none would desert their leader in the hour of peril.

"Then," exclaimed the Earl, "may the Lord have mercy on our souls for our bodies are in the power of our enemies." * * * * * It is recorded that on this fatal Tuesday all the elements seemed to unite in adding horror to the scene of carnage.

Shortly before this a great comet had made men fear and wonder; and now, on this morning the sky was overcast with such dense clouds that the land was in darkness; so black were the heavens that nothing like it had been known within the memory of man.

A violent tempest, with a deluge of rain and terrific thunder and lightning, swept over the country.