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<DATE>2009-06-17</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Lauren Proux</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Checklist:
x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate
x Add DIV TYPEs, validate
x Review structure, use BODY or rarely GROUP
X Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N=""
x Proof title page(s)
x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE
x Check ^, oe, abq, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c.
x Check &num; # @ -- UNCLEAR LB FIGURE
x Check q; startq endq Q
x Correct illegibles from proofsheet
x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs
Final validate

Corrected [  ] illegible groups out of [  ].
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DONE</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A85094">
<STC T="W">F36</STC>
<STC T="T">E993_13</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99862483</BIBNO>
<VID>168663</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A Friendly LETTER OF ADVICE TO THE SOULDIERS, FROM A QUONDAM MEMBER OF THE ARMY.</P>
<P>Printed in the Year, 1659.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Fellow Souldiers!</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>WHen I con&s;ider with my &s;elf upon what grounds I with|drew from your &s;ociety, I cannot but ble&s;s Almighty God, for that his temporal Redemption; and pity that &s;ad and lamentable Condition whereinto you have been &s;o &s;ubtilly In|ticed, and held on for &s;o many years with a &s;trange Stupefa|ction. I confe&s;s, the Banner, under which we fir&s;t fought, was mo&s;t gloriously Gilt with the fair and &s;pecious pretences of Re|ligion, the pre&s;ervation of the Laws, the liberty of the Subject, the priviledge of Parliament, and the &s;afety of the KING: And indeed, who would not willingly offer him&s;elf a &s;acrifice for &s;o good a Cau&s;e? But alas! how &s;oon was this mask of Hy|pocri&s;ie laid a&s;ide? how &s;oon was the beauty of this <HI>Good old Cau&s;e</HI> made odious by a rebellious Lepro&s;ie? was there any one Motive, by which we were induced to fight made good? was Religion any real cau&s;e of our Divi&s;ions? No; there was little appearance of the Truth thereof to any &s;ober di&s;creet per&s;on, when, the Cannons of the Church (under the colour of zeal and &s;anctity) were aboli&s;ht, the Lyturgie abrogated, the material Fabrick (con&s;ecrated to the u&s;e and &s;ervice of God) in &s;ome places demoli&s;hed; in others mi&s;erably profaned by the introduction of <HI>bruit beasis,</HI> and the prodigious impiety of their <HI>Riders;</HI> the Metropolitan of the Church mo&s;t barba|rou&s;ly Beheaded, the &s;acred Order of Epi&s;copacy extirpated, and their Revenues together with that of Deans and Prebends &s;old; and the re&s;t of the Clergy tyrannically &s;tript of their livelyhood, contrary to Law; this was not enough they mu&s;t be &s;ilenced too; and the Exerci&s;e and Admini&s;tration of the Go|&s;pel committed unto &s;uch per&s;ons as either were not qualified for that holy Calling with Learning and holy Orders, or el&s;e had profaned their Function by Perjury; or, Defaced their Natural parts by a <HI>&s;nivling po&s;ture and non&s;en&s;ical doctrine.</HI> This was (I &s;ay) vi&s;ible to all wi&s;e men at fir&s;t; and (that men of the meane&s;t capacity might not plead ignorance either for not repenting for their &s;ins pa&s;t, or per&s;evering in them,) Be|hold, <HI>Liberty of con&s;cience</HI> was publiquely declared by our
<PB N="4" REF="3"><HI>grand Ma&s;ters</HI> to be no ground of the War; Did not this make you &s;tartle? were you no way &s;en&s;ible of the Cheat was put upon you? did you perceive no reluctancy for tho&s;e Murders, tho&s;e grand impieties into which you were inveigled? I mu&s;t confe&s;s I did; and could not but &s;o much the more dete&s;t and abominate the Mountebanks, by how much the more they had deluded both my Rea&s;on and Con&s;cience: Was it the pre&s;er|vation of the Laws they endeavoured to maintain? Nothing le&s;s; what one Action of theirs is con&s;i&s;tant with the Laws of the Land? As for the Law of God, it appears there is nothing le&s;s in their hearts; &s;ince, they have ab&s;olutely &s;uppre&s;t the true Religion, and made a fair and &s;pacious Avenue, for Turks, Jews, Hereticks, and Schi&s;maticks: Was it the liberty of the Subject they in&s;i&s;ted on? ask the City, ask the Country, make enquiry into the Univer&s;ities then tell me, whether any one per&s;on will affirm him&s;elf to have that liberty, as, to di&s;po&s;e of or keep his E&s;tate according to his own plea&s;ure? Alas! how can it be when they have not their liberty to choo&s;e their Mem|bers? nay, they &s;hall have no members at all to repre&s;ent their per&s;ons and promote their grievances: But, 'tis no wonder they should thus <HI>fool</HI> the naked multitude, when they have ca&s;t the whole Army into a Lethargy, and deve&s;ted the &s;upreme Officers and General him&s;elf of their priviledges, the di&s;po&s;iti|on of Offices and places in the Army: Was it the priviledge of Parliament they &s;o much contended for? Yes; and for the ju|stification and improvement of this, they entrenched upon the KING'S prerogative, and the priviledge of the Hou&s;e of LORDS, by the violation of all the Laws in the Realm; they u&s;urpt the Legi&s;lative power, and have exerci&s;ed it to the de&s;truction of the three States of this Nation grounded upon Law, and of every particular member thereof. Is this the Pri|viledge of Parliament? Was it the &s;afety of the KING they &s;o fiercely contended for? Truly, had they kil'd him in fight, the uncertain events of War might have rendred the fate acci|dental, as to a vulgar capacity; but for a company of Sub|jects to rai&s;e an Army again&s;t their <HI>Prince,</HI> under pretence of reprieving him from <HI>his evil and wicked Council,</HI> and having forced him into their own power to <HI>Arraign him at the Bar,</HI>
<PB N="5" REF="3">under the colour of ju&s;tice, to pa&s;s Sentence upon him, and ac|cordingly to Execute him, &s;o maliciou&s;ly, &s;o &s;candalou&s;ly, at <HI>His own Gates,</HI> at Noon day, before the Eye of Heaven, and the Face of the whole world; This (I &s;ay) was a thing without <HI>Pre|&s;ident,</HI> an Act &s;o manife&s;tly odious and Mon&s;trous, that our Na|tion is dete&s;table to all our Neighbours; nay, 'tis a thing &s;o horrid and prodigious, that the poi&s;on is extended both to Turks and Infidels, in &s;o di&s;mal and black a Character, that we are impri&s;oned in this I&s;le, we have bani&s;hed our &s;elves into our Country, as having no liberty and &s;afety abroad: But, had they been &s;uch friends to them&s;elves, as to &s;pare his life, and make the ignorant part of men believe, their onely re&s;olution was, to call Him home from his wicked Council; it mu&s;t be conceived their merit mu&s;t have challenged the honour to be his Council, what Church? what Government? what Laws might we have expected? or rather what impiety? what tyranny mu&s;t we have not expected then, when the KING &s;hould have been made the &s;talking Hor&s;e to bear the invi&s;ible In&s;tru|ment of the peoples de&s;truction, when they dare Act &s;uch things now upon their own account, their own intere&s;t? a poor handful of men, who&s;e Fortunes were &s;ometimes as de&s;picable as their actions are dete&s;table: When they dare Act, who dare re|&s;i&s;t their Votes, when they have &s;o many, &s;uch active, &s;uch &s;tout Souldiers to back them? Tis you then, 'tis you (Fellow Soul|diers) are guilty of all the&s;e Crimes, by complying with, and a&s;&s;erting their de&s;ignes; 'Tis you have de&s;troyed the Laws, Murdered the KING, and by heavy Impo&s;itions eaten the Bread out of your Countreymens mouths; and to what purpo&s;e? to &s;atiate (if it were po&s;&s;ible) the lu&s;t, ambition and avarice, of a few incon&s;iderable per&s;ons: They, have &s;omething to &s;ay for their per&s;everance; they have got Wealth, and &s;ome thing like Honour; but what benefit accrews to you? you are Night by Night upon the Guard; you are Night and Day con&s;trained (like &s;o many Ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">chpoles) &s;ilently to &s;teal through the &s;treets, whereby to &s;urpri&s;e an innocent per&s;on, and bring him to De|&s;truction; and all this while you are poor and <HI>Beggarly</HI> with|out pay, you labour for nought; and if you had your wages, 'twere no more then would keep you from &s;tarving; yet this
<PB N="6" REF="4">&s;mall pittance cannot be obtained; for want whereof, you run upon the &s;core to &s;uch per&s;ons, who are not able to for|bear; Hence it is, you are generally De&s;pi&s;ed, Contemned, cur&s;ed by poor Widows, Orphans, and all hone&s;t people, for abetting the Commands of a <HI>Juncto</HI> of <HI>Tyrants;</HI> who&s;e De&s;ign is nought el&s;e, but to enrich them&s;elves by the publique ruine; a Company of impudent per&s;ons, who a&s;&s;ume the name of a Parliament, contrary to all Law and Equity: 'Tis true; they were con&s;tituted by you: Can you call a Parliament? you may enable them to Sit; but you cannot make their Conven|tion lawful, nor ju&s;tifie their Actions: well then; they Sit, and Act not by Law, but by your power: truly, you exerci&s;e your power very di&s;creetly; you take the pains, and they reap the Profit; and it were well twould re&s;t there too: are you &s;o blind, &s;o &s;tupid, &s;o be&s;otted, you can di&s;cern nothing? has your Commanders no providence, no fore&s;ight at all? can they not judge of what is Acted? are they not &s;en&s;ible of what they &s;uffer? By &s;etting up the&s;e Impo&s;tors, you have Beheaded (as it were) the Army, and inve&s;ted them with the power of a General; not an Officer to be imployed without their appoint|ment; A glorious Army indeed without a Head! But you are where you were; let you have your pay, you are well enough; alas for you; do you &s;ee nothing? Is there not a Militia &s;etling, what is that for? doth the ROYALISTS appear too For|midable for you? you &s;ee there is not a man &s;tirs; they rai&s;e jealou&s;ies and fears in you, without any real cau&s;e; they in|vent Plots to cover their own de&s;ignes; and make you the in|&s;truments of your own de&s;truction: It is apparent enough, you are the onely per&s;ons they fear: You pull'd them down, and &s;et up a Protector: you Degraded the Protector, and Erected them; and they are con&s;cious of &s;o much guilt, as to fear you may depo&s;e them again: From hence proceeds that in&s;ufferable burden laid upon the Nation to rai&s;e Men and Arms; which once being perfected, you mu&s;t expect that power to be im|ployed again&s;t you; &amp; then a &s;hameful disbanding will be your undoubted pay, &amp; reward; How contemptibly will you then ap|pear; every injured per&s;on will then be ready to &s;pit upon you. No (Fellow Souldiers) a&s;&s;ume the hearts of Men; and as you
<PB N="7" REF="4">are known to have Courage, and Stoutne&s;s, &s;o let your under|&s;tanding be menife&s;t al&s;o. 'Tis in your power to make your &s;elves Famous, and the whole Nation Happy: Con&s;ider with your &s;elves, how many changes and alterations of Government this poor Kingdom hath groaned under; con&s;ider the publick pre&s;&s;ures, the impoveri&s;hment of the Commonwealth, the bar|barous bani&s;hment of particular per&s;ons; con&s;ider the &s;ad and lamentable effu&s;ion of bloud, which hath been, and mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity fall upon us, without a timely reconciliation: La&s;tly con&s;ider, and lay to heart our brethrens deviation from the Word of God; and deliberate with your &s;elves how many Sects and Here&s;ies they are run into and take notice, that this preten|ded Parliament was the onely Contrivers of all the&s;e mi&s;chiefs and Misfortunes; and will be your De&s;truction al&s;o, unle&s;&s;e timely prevented. Now, there is no other way left to prevent your own, and the Nations ruine, but to Di&s;mantle the Gar|ri&s;on at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter;</HI> Di&s;arm them of their U&s;urped power, and Di&s;per&s;e their per&s;ons: This done, 'tis requi&s;ite to confi|der (being this Nation cannot con&s;i&s;t without a Supreme Ma|gi&s;trate) of &s;ome &s;ingle Per&s;on, to &s;way the SCEPTER; &s;ince Monarchy (after all the&s;e things) is Experimentally found mo&s;t congruous and &s;utable to the Genius of this People This being granted nece&s;&s;ary; God, and Nature hath prepa|red a Per&s;on &s;o agreeable to this high Tru&s;t, that the whole World cannot parrallel him, <HI>CHARLES STEWART,</HI> KING of <HI>Scotland;</HI> and (by Law and Right) KING of <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Ireland;</HI> a Per&s;on &s;o Innocent, that the very malice of tho&s;e U&s;urpers dur&s;t never fix the lea&s;t &s;candal upon him. In a word, He is a <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> for meekne&s;s; and therefore, you cannot di&s;tru&s;t his mercy: He is a <HI>Solomon</HI> for wifedom; and therefore, cannot be &s;u&s;pected to de&s;troy his own Inheritance; (it being his Intere&s;t to pre&s;erve his People, to enrich his Do|minions;) and (by Acts of Grace and Mercy) to Court the Love and Affection of his Subjects: <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> was not a grea|ter Example of piety, then this young PRINCE; who, being forced, in his tender years, to make trial of the Charity of other Princes, could not but expect the frequent a&s;&s;aults of Learning and Policy, to &s;hake the Foundation of his Religion;
<PB N="8" REF="5">yet &s;uch was the &s;trength of his Judgement, &s;uch his invincible Courage, in point of Faith; that no pretended Rea&s;ons, no &s;pecious Promi&s;es, no hopes of a temporal Setlement, (though never &s;o fair) was of any validity to &s;tagger his &s;piritual Re|&s;olutions.</P>
<P>Lay your Heads (therefore) together, con&s;ult with your &s;elves; and tell me whether you can Fancy to your &s;elves a Per&s;on who&s;e parts are any thing near &s;o adequate to the Royal Tru&s;t, or your own de&s;ires &amp; Intere&s;t? This is the Per&s;on God hath appointed; His per&s;on, his Parts, his Birth, do Challenge your Fidelity, your Loyalty; and will you &s;till kick again&s;t Heaven? and wound your Con&s;ciences, by oppo&s;ing his timely Admittance, into his own Inheritance? will you De&s;troy three Nations, to gratifie the Covetou&s;ne&s;s, pride, and ambition, of a few incon&s;iderable per&s;ons? will you draw down the Cur&s;e of &s;o many Families without any Advantage, Emolument or Profit? Look upon the affairs beyond Sea; you will find the Hands of all Chri&s;tendom (united by God's providence for the &s;ettlement of the KING) extended again&s;t you; &s;hould they poure in their Forces upon us, and you per&s;i&s;t in your Rebel|lion, what a mi&s;erale Seat of War would you make this poor Nation? the Children unborn, as well as the pre&s;ent Inhabi|tants, would have rea&s;on (from the bitterne&s;s of their afflicted &s;ouls) to cur&s;e your memory, and poi&s;onous of-&s;pring; but if God will give you the grace, unfeignedly to repent for what is pa&s;t; and expre&s;s the reality of your hearts, (by &s;uppre&s;&s;ing tho&s;e Schi&s;maticks at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and &s;etling his Maje&s;ty, with the peace and quietne&s;s of the Nations; you would by this Act, Secure your own Per&s;ons and Families, e&s;tabli&s;h your E&s;tates, and render the three Kingdoms Fortunate; all Cur&s;es then would be turned into Prayers; and your name (which now &s;tinks in the no&s;trils of all &s;ober and unbya&s;&s;ed Men,) would then prove Glorious and Famous throughout the World: Which that it may come to pa&s;s, You may as well a&s;&s;ure your &s;elf of the dayly prayers; as the pre&s;ent advice, and reque&s;t of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your pa&s;&s;ionately affected Friend and Countreyman,
<HI>J. F.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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