MAjor Generall Lambert having received some fresh supplies, and joyned his Army with the additionall forces sent from Lieu­tenant Generall Cromwell, a motion was made to dispute a peice of ground with the Scots, which was assented to, and about 20 Troops of the Lieut. Gen. horse charged the Scots, both parties bo­died, and some action happened, but the Scots being to rumerous, the Liuet. Gen. horse were forced to retreat; the Scots pursued, protesting not to leave a man of them alive; whereupon the English rallyed, charged Duke Ham­bletons own Regiment of horse, and some others that pur­sued them, and after a great conflict worsted them, put them to a retreat and followed the pursute within one mile of the main body, and made good their passage with the losse of 15 killed, and some few wounded. The Scots losse is far more, their number killed, wounded and taken prisoners amounting to 85. some of them being men of [Page 2]quality, as the Dukes, Lieut. Col. a Major, our head-quar­ters 10. miles on this side Barnard Castle, the Scots advan­cing up with small parties, but the Body moves slowly. We hear that the Wasps of Pomfret have stung some of L.G. Cromwells horse, and took their Riders, sallying upon them as they were on their march to the Maj. Gen. A small defeat: the gaining of which, cost them dear, they lost in the dispute near upon 20. Officers and Souldiers, the Governour himself being dangerously wounded.

York August 1648.

IT is the saying of Solomon (the pen-man of the Holy Ghost, and the wisest King that ever was) Prov. 21.1. The Kings heart is in the hand of the Lord as the Rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he pleaseth: I, a poor despi­cable man, (despicable because poor) do presume, out of my sincere loyall affection, and duty to your Maj. and my earnest desire for the re-uniting of You with your Parl. & Subjects of this Kingdom, to offer, or rather to sacrifice, my weak Conceptions to Your gracious Acceptance or Refusal. Sir, We are all in an Egyptian darkness, be you but pleased to cause the Sun-shi [...]e of your Mercy and Goodness to break out upon Your poor Subjects of this Kingdom; and there is great hope we may soon be deli­vered from this fearfull Confusion whereinto we are faln. For my own part, I believe, Your Maj. not being consci­ous of the misery Your poor Subjects are in (in regard of the unkingly restraint You are for the present unhappily under) is the cause You cannot be so zealous, as other­wise you would, to redress it; & that your want of know­ledge of the present conjuncture of Affairs is that which renders your people so infinitely miserable, that they are [Page 3]ready every minute to precipitate themselves into the Gulf of Despair. It is said of Almighty God, There is mer­cy with him that he may be feared, and his mercy is over (or a­bove all works: And I believe (without least flattery I speak it that there is abundance of Mercy and Bowel [...] of Com­passion with You, towards Your poor Subjects, that You may be both loved and feared; and that Your mercy will shower it self down to the amazement and reproach of those that seeme not to believe it: Did I say, Your Mercy, yea and Your Justice also, even against Your self, in the voluntary clouding of Your own Princely Royalty; and that Prince, who shadows his own Glory (meerly for the good of his Subjects) is a rare Pattern: And the first giver of so great an (unexampled) Example, must needs render himself glorious to all Posteritie. Sir, in the first place, I presume (with boldnesse enough I confess, yet will I not fl [...]tter you so much as to say, I beg your Maj. pardon for it) to remember you, that Self-Deniall is the only way to happiness, Temporall (here, Eternall hereafter:) and had it been but a little practised on all hands (by the 3. Estates of Parl.) at the begining or budding forth of these unhap­py differences, (although Malice it self cannot but say, that Your Maj. acted Your part, and the very Lepers of Samaria shall one day rise up in Judgment against some, & say that that was a day of good tydings, and they ungrate­fully held their Peace, In your abolishing of Monopolies, putting down the Star-Chamber, disannulling the High Commission Court, outing of Bishops from the House of Pears, Regulating the Councel Table, granting of Triennial Par­liaments, and continuing of This, not to be dissolved without the consent of both Houses;) Your Maj. and Your People had not felt Gods heavy hand, as You and they have done for these seven years past, and yet do: but for me to presume to tell your Majesty what Self-Denial is, were a most unpardonable offence.

[Page 4] And yet, for your Majesty to beleive that this Peace off­ering, which you sacrifice to the good and happynesse of your people) in the sad condition your Majesty is in, and the most miserable one they are plunged into) can be hap­pyly begun without self deniall (one your part first, and then all the peoples part also) is (so far as I can apprehend in Reason and Religion) altogether unpossible: and by the sequel of my discourse I doubt not but to make good the truth of it at the full.

Sir, look into your own heart, and see whether in for­mer times you were not more your own (or others who a­bused you then your subjects universally: The word pro­prium is of a neere relation, and I doubt whether it sits not as close the hearts of Kings as of subjects, which your Majesty well knows is not compatible with self-deniall. Sir, you are a great Monarch (true) yet you are but a Stew­ard (nomine & re) a Steward of the great house of the Common-wealth; and one day it shall be said to you, as to the Steward in the Gospel, (Redde rationem) Give an account of thy stewardship; And the accounts of Kings are of a vast extent. Sr. you are a Shepheard also a Shepherd of a great flock, our Saviour cals himself a Shepherd, the great Shepherd of Israel, and he tels you, a good Shepheard will dye for his Sheep he did so: And S. Paul. Phil. 2, 5 spea­king of our Saviour Christ, and there deducing him from all eternity to time, hath these words; Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Iesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equall with God: But made himself of no reputation, &c. And shall I dovbt your Ma­jesty will imitate our bl [...]ssed Saviour in all you can? I doubt it or: He prayed for this persecutors, and taught us so to doe, he forgave his enemies that crucified him e­ven [Page 5]upon the cr [...]sse [Father forgive them, they know not what they do] nay he dyed for them [ who dyed, saith the Apostle for the sins of the whole world.] You are not desi­red Sr. to dye out of the world, or to part with your soul, by a sequestration of it from the body. Let the greatest curse that ever fell one the head of any man, fall on that head that hath but such a wish or thought in his heart. All you have to do or suffer, is but to part with a sillable or two, from one single word, a few let [...]ers cut off from that Monster, as the people call it PREROGATIUE, a little paring off some superfluous part of it, will prove Balme from Gilead, to heale this whole Nation of the most Epi­demical disease that ever yet seized this poor dying King­dom.

Sir, it was said in the begining of this Parliament, (by Mr. Pym, if I mistake not that the Parliament would make you a glorious King, and who knows whether your Ma­esty, when you were in the head of your Army at Edghil, (or else where) had not some hopes to make your self a (glorious King? And I have been told, that this Army would have perswaded you, when time was, that they make you a glorious King.

Sir, you have failed in your hopes, they in their promi­ses, and who knows whether, what your Majesty hoped and they promised, and they performed not, may not yet be done another and a better way, if (at least) you will be pleased to take him for your guide (who hath hitherto so miraculously preserved you, and I hope ever will.) I say (Sir) taking God for your guide all may be made good, and and may yet, be brought to passe by your selfe, not by fighting any more to the hazzard of your Royall person, and the persons of your Princely Issue, and of your [Page]Nobility, and the destruction of your loving subjects; but by extending and really performing of those two God like Acts of mercy and justice, without partiallity, to all your people. And this is Via Regia indeed, and well becoming the Majesty of King Charles.

And now Sir, behold how wonderful the ways of God are, contary to the waies of men, past finding out till him­self discover them: you have long layen under the crosse (restraint to a King is a great crosse, were there no more in it,) you are not free, I dare not say you are a captive, & yet your person, with the power that God hath given you over your self and the Grace he hath indued you with to serve him must suddenly come forth to the redemption of your Subjects out of their captivity,) captives in their native Country under their fellow subjects) or they are lost, lost for ever. In this Abyss of Exigency, no expedi­ent can be found to save your people but the presence of your sacred Person, armed with mercy & justice, Mercy & justice to your people, and justice against your self, nor could You so easily do it, as I beleive, had not God thus fitted, prepared, and quallified you by the cross; whereby You have obtained a fellow feeling of the miseries of Your subjects; Dauid said of himself, It was well for mē that I was afflicted. Great Sr. let Your engagements & promi­ses to Your people for the time to come, in Your perfect­ing of this blessed peace, be like the lawes of the Medes and Persians, irrevocable. And so God shall blesse you and Your posterity for ever: so much of good towards his people so much honor to himself, no King ever had in his power to act, as your Maj. nor hath by the saving the effu­sion of so much innocent blood, & perhaps the Kingdom from utter ruin, which is the prayer of him who is,