I Know unto whom I speake, and therefore the addresse of my Speech shall rather bee a commendation, than an admonition to your Honour, in matters of Knowledge and Valour; your noble Spirit being the Magazine and Armory of knowing magnanimity, whi [...]h together with other vertues inherent in your soule, ren­der you the most Illustrious example of true Nobility. I need not commemorate here the noble actions of your worthy father, whom the Commons doe still remem­ber with a reverend adoration, thinking all the prayses and prayers that they can accumulate on the name of [Page 2] Essex, to be poore sacrifices of their unfeigned love and affection, which being derived from your noble father, is now with the same fervour and heat of applause, by the generall vote of the people, cast upon your Ho­nourable Excellence. But because it is but the part of a Schoole Orator, to endevour with the Stars of Rheto­ricall figures to illustrate the brightnesse of the Sunne, to prayse the beauty of the Spring, rich in the dowry of na­ture, or generally to shadow out the exact portracture of any thing that carryes in it selfe a compleat perfection: it would now appear an extravagant affectation of words to amplifie your Lordships troops of Militant vertues, shining in you as in the thrice Honourable Son of Essex valour, your breast being pregnant and swelling with all the naturall gifts of a compleat and Heroick Generall.

It will become me therefore to leave the discourse of your generally acknowledged prayse, since the hearts and hands, and tongues of the Commons united together, doe with the utmost strength of good will crye Vives le Roy & Essex, God save the King and Essex, that goes for the safety of the King, and the generall good of the Kingdome.

This Warre my Lord hath a various object; the occa­sion hath beene formerly manifested; the malignant par­ty, and instigators thereof are well knowne, and distin­guished into kinds, as Papists and their adherents, to­gether with evill Counsellors; but we hope and doe be­leeve with a faithfull truely grounded confidence, that the event shall with severe Iustice teach those revolting fire-brands of dissention, that malum Consilium Consulto­ri pessimum, Their evill Counsell shall be revenged on them that were the evill Counsellours.

[Page 3]If your Honour look into the materiall part of this intended warre, your Lordship may d [...]scerne there a Parliament oppos'd and oppressed in right and privi­ledge: nay, this Parliament, which must under God be the preserver of three Kingdomes: This Parliament, which is the last hope of the long oppressed Protestant Religion: This Parliament, which doth preserve the Rights and Liberties of the Subject, and doth endevour to correct all injustice and oppression, by which also publike dangers and feares are prevented: Lastly, this Parliament which is the only means to continue us to be anation of free men and not slaves, and to be owners of any thing that we may call our own, in a word this Par­liament which hath so couragiously endeavoured to pre­vent an inundation of all misery & confusion, and indeed the very desolation and raine of this Kingdome.

This Parliament my Lord, through an inveterate ma­lice thay desire to destroy, but I hope it will destroy the destroyers, and be a wall of fire to consume them, as it is a wall of brasse to us, to defend King and Kingdome, us and all we can call ours.

The clouds that are like to make this foule day of war did first gather very fast together at Yorke, there keeping the beames of his Majesties favour from shining upon his Parliament and people, and now they threaten a sud­daine bloody storme, but as clouds full gorged with [...]a­pours do commonly weepe out themselves in showres of raine, and having emptied their own substance, vanish, so it is to be hoped that the great and pious preparations of the Parliament will either dissipate these appearing clouds of civill war, or else force them to quench this fire of dis­sention [Page 4] by them raised, even with a showre of their owne bloud. But what are strength or forces but motions and dumb showes of war, unlesse they receive a quickning vertue from their magnanimous Commanders? from your Excellence (my Lord, the souldiers receive animatioon, courage, life, flame, & valiant hearts, nil desperandum est auspice Christo, & Duce comite Essexiae, they are con­fident of victory through God and your Excellencies magnanimity, they looke on you as the Coriphaeus and sum of valour, and the matchlesse Phoenix of a noble fa­ther, some sacred charm dwels in the name of Essex that with so sweet a violence attracts the iron-hearted souldi­er to follow your Excellence as their honourable and be­loved adamant, or rather your constant faithfull heart to King and Country, hath given you a fixed seate in popu­lar affection. Thus the souldiers do by a loving Sympa­thy with your honour, and your Honours Ancestors, de­rive from you the influence of their courage and forward resolution to attend your Honour, while you fetch your Promethean fire from heaven, advancing forward with a strong army and with noble intents, the safety of the K. the preservation of the Protestant Religion, the subduing all malignants, the free priviledge of the Subject, and the good of the Kingdome and Common-wealth being the only end of this great expedition under you their honou­rable Excellence.

There is no greater joy nor happinesse in a Common­wealth in times of apparent danger, than to have some heroike Atlas, in whose supporting fidelity they may confide, and that through the assistance of Almighty God will like another [...]oshua undertake to fight their battels. [Page 5] There was ever in other Common-wealths an Alcibiad [...]s a Themistocles and some valiant Captains or other that in the pressures and grievances of the state of their Coun­try took courage to defend it from a civill war, and now in these times of distractions, when the sword threatens to impose a tyranny on the Subject, the divine power hath encited and encouraged the Earle of Essex his Excellence with a free and noble resolution to undertake either a desired pacification between the King and his Parliament if it may be obtayned, or else a vindication and revenge a­gainst those Cavalliers and malignants that do either se­duce the King or oppose the Parliament. And as his no­ble valiant father was so deare unto the people that his name is never mention'd but with much expressions of love and affection, as if they would never forget his ser­vice in many noble designes, so that he may shew that for­tes creantur fortibus, valour is derived from the Ancestory to the Posterity, hath now by the votes of the Parliament, and the desire of the Commons, buckled on his armout, intending to carry a defensive army into the oppressed parts of this Kingdome, now pillaged by the outrages of hostility, and though he goes forth strongly accommo­dated with all warlike ammunition, and with many troops of Souldiers drawn out of the City and Countrey, who with cheerfull willingnesse will declare their courage in this expedition, yet his strongest confidence and reso­lution cousists in the goodnesse and justnesse of his cause:

It is not to adde more illustrious titles to his name, for he hath honour enough derived unto him from his father and also inherent in him by his living vertues, but he de­sires to do service for the King in beating off those flyes and parasites that have whispered so much evil counsel in­to [Page 6] the Kings eare, thereby to alienate his affection from his loyall Parliament and people, for it is better in all po­liticall justice, that some ill-affected members should be cut off, rather than the whole body of the Common­wealth should perish, and besides, the liberty of the Sub­ject is precious and ought to be maintained, that we may know our own, possesse our own, & keep our own, & that the Kingdom may not be converted into a countrey of Pesants or slaves as France is, where the King at his free will and pleasure exercising an arbitrary power & tyran­nical government, doth upon any accasion squeez his sub­jects like so many orange; & if they suffer not themseves to be thus pillaged, their goods upon the least resistance are confiscated, but if this be not worth defending, yet who would not adventure life for that which is the life of his soule, the Protestant Religion, which is in danger now to be changed againe into Popery, should the ma­lignants and papists get the victory. On these grounds and reasons the Earle of Essex his Excellence hath under­took the common cause being full of Iustice, piety, and Religion, is now gone forth under the propitious favour of God with a numerous and innumerable army collected out of the City and Countrey, well appointed and provi­ded with all sorts of ammunition, & consisting of 40000 brave and resolute souldiers, who advance forward under the command of the said Earle of Essex his Excellence, to settle an established peace, or confound the malice of these Machavilian counsellors and mischievous bloody Cavalliers, who are enemies to the King and Kingdome, God blesse and prosper his noble purpose and resolution, to the good of the King, Kingdome, and Commons of England.