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468 CHICHESTER. Lord Montgomery, at Lisburne, and soon after he was appointed, in commission with Sir Arthur Tyringham, the chief command of the county of Antrim. He imme- diately endeavoured to put the towns in a state of defence, and to take the best methods in his power for the suppres- sion of the rebellion, in which he was farther assisted by a commission from the king, and a grant for the fortiica- tions of Belfast. But when, by the defection of the army in the north, he could no longer maintain his com- mand, he retired to Dublin, where he was sworn a member of the privy council, and, in January 1645, entered into a resolution, with the rest of the officers of the Marquis of Ormond's regiment, not to take the covenant imposed upon them by the English parliament, but to preserve their allegiance to bis majesty, and obey the orders of the lord-lieutenant. His fidelity to his prince, affection to his country, and activity against the rebels, were indeed so conspicuous, that the lord-lieutenant, in a letter to the king, dated 19th January, 1645, writes thus:- " You have been graciously pleased of late to reward some, that have either served your majesty actually, or suffered for you eminently in their persons or fortunes, with new creations, or with additions of honour in tbis kingdom. That Colonel Arthur Chichester hath missed a mark of your majesty's favour, I conceive to have been through his own modesty, and my not representing uch his personal merit. If he outlives his father, he will be in among the foremost of the viscounts of this kingdom in place, and (I am sure) beyond them all, except one, in fortune, though he be for the present deprived of the latter for his faithfulness to your majesty's crown, the same means whereby his uncle got both it and his honour. He hath served your majesty against the Irish rebellion since the beginning of it; and when, through an almost general defection of the northern army, he was no longer able to serve your piajesty there, he came with much hazard to take his share in the sufferings of your servants here, and with them to attend for that, happy time, that