Selected quad for the lemma: england_n
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A26599
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An Alarm to the officers and souldiers of the armies of England, Scotland, and Ireland
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1660
(1660)
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Wing A835; ESTC R8339
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8,386
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14
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his designs to perfect maturity And that the same was designed in Scotland long since Observe how peaceable they are there and how the Irish Army have proceeded answerable to himself And besides say some of them being Officers of the late Kings Army who had been with him since his coming to London and offered their service to him which they said he accepted and told them he would before it were long be in a capacity to give them imployment much more of that nature which for brevity sake I omit onely this one thing more which very much increases their hopes and that is say they what signifies the peaceable return of the Kings friends from their Exile as Alderman Bonch and many others who had been so long fugitives if the return of the King was not likewise intended And further what doth signifie that proviso in that Act of dissolution concerning the Lords being a part of the Parliament of England if there must be a Commonwealth As for the sober Presbyterians they do of late begin to suspect the said General whom say they gives so much advantage to Charles Stuart and to his old and new rigid Cavaliers who for certain truth are at this juncture of time at work in arming themselves in all parts of the three Nations and will upon a sudden come like a flood upon you and the rest of the engaged party in the Nations and so conquer all by force of Arms and then what must or can be expected to follow but onely absolute ruine for undoubtedly say they Charles Stuart will bring with him Archbishops Bishops and the rest of that Hierarchy and we shall then be accounted no other by them but Sectarians and Phanatiques and be in the same predicament or worse for service than those who are so called and say they must not expect to be better used than they And besides his Mother the Queen will come which infallibly will bring with her Jesuits Priests and Monks of all sorts whereby Popery will cum privilegio be again re-admitted in the Nation so that they consider that if the General and your selves do not speedily prevent the same that the Cause so much contended for together with the interest of good people will sink and be utterly lost and so your Harvest will end in chaffe and you and them be carried back through a red Sea of blood in the land of Bondage and misery there to serve and bear the heavy yoke of one who will not forget that which hath as well been acted against his late Father the King as against himself it being the common talk of the Cavaliers that the Presbyterians brought his Father to the Block and the Independents cut off his Head As to your best friends which have bled with you and prayed for you and who have been constant assertors of the cause and interest of the good people of these Nations against Kingship single persons house of Lords they all of one voyce conclude that under God there is no other Bulwork of defence against the return of Monarchy but the Army which now they see to be absolutely designed for destruction by disbanding and reducing or else what meaneth the new Militia now setled and intrusted in the hands of persons almost all enemies to a Free-state Government several of the secluded Members both in the House and out of the House speaking it openly as likewise several of the Commissioners of City and Country which have been heard in their Cabals affirm that as soon as their Militiaes are setled they will quickly break the Rogues meaning you to whom they can scarce afford so good language and moreover they hope that the Supreme Authority being once devolved in the Councel of State as now it is that the said Councel will by subtil means and practises with the General gain him to condescend to the disbanding most of you to the end that the intended new Parliament may be able with more facility to bring the design now in hand to perfection which in plain English is to bring Charles Stuart to be King And that which your said friends do thereupon apprehend to follow in order to yours and theirs destruction is First if you can be perswaded by your enemies to admit Charles to be King upon any conditions then rest assured that he will not want an Army and specially such an one as brought his Father to the Block and kept him in Exile so many years therefore the first work will be to disband you and so leave you to the mercy and cruelty of those that by force you have subdued who in revenge will without any doubt take opportunity afterwards to hang many of you and banish others as Rebels and Traytors or at least cast you in noysome Dungeon but that onely will not satisfie their cruelty but be sure they will have all your estates and destroy your Wives and Children and persecute you and your friend unto death you may therefore say they with ease discern whether it be your interest or security to bring the Nation back under the old bondage of Kings or else to maintain and defend a Commonwealths Government the difference is plain the one will destroy you and your friends and the other will protect you both and you will be sure under a Commonwealth not to want as long as any of you shall live nor your Wives and Children And you will be sure also not to become your enemies slaves Secondly If you should be so fooled as to be perswaded to admit of the said Charles to return upon any termes then you will be reputed the most perfidious Army that breaths in breaking the engagements promises you have made to the contrary and so render all the blood spilt and treasure exhausted of no effect and thereupon give cause to the children unborn to curse such a generation of men as then you would be reputed But sayes your friends If you do withstand it and leave the success to God then you will have done your parts as English men and Christians and will in after Ages be esteemed faithful Patriots and Assertors of your Countrie Liberties and consequently of yourselves and posterities And say they when the late King had near a hundred thousand men in Field and Garrison you were not afraid and whensoever you encountred with any part thereof God strengthned your hearts and hands and gave you several Victories to the absolute overthrowing of them all in the three Nations therefore they wish you courage and blessing from on High and do heartily pray that God may go along with you in disappointing your enemies who as yet make no use of weapons save of their venemous and lying tongues Thirdly If you should be so deluded as to admit the said Charles Stuart to be King then your friends desire you further to consider that besides the foresaid ruine upon yourselves and them what further ruine will attend the three Nations by such
An Alarum TO THE OFFICERS and SOULDIERS OF THE ARMIES OF England Scotland and Ireland Gentlemen and Fellow-Souldiers IT is an old and true saying That Standers by do often see more than the Gamester And having been out of play for some time I have perhaps discovered more than many of your selves who do not dive in secrets of State but are content onely to take care how you may receive the pay I have been engaged in one and the same Cause and Quarrel with you against the late King and his Sons during which time I observâ—d very many miraculous providences of God in several conflicts and bloody Battels honoured with eminent Victories God owning an Army which consisted of persons of low estate condition knowledge or education either in Politick or Military art when on the other side I saw very numerous and potent Armies of the late King and his Sons who consisted of most of the Noble and Gentry of the three Nations very expert both in knowledge and education of that nature to be by those despicable ones absolutely vanquished and thereupon the late King brought to Justice and hitherto all the endeavours of his Sons blasted and dis-appointed If you please to look back and remember all those signal Victories and deliverances and what thereupon you promised and engaged to do for these poor afflicted Nations which in few words and substance was that before you would suffer your selves to be dis-banded or divided you would see the Government of these Nations established upon the just and secure fundamentals and constitutions of freedome and safety to the people in relation as they were Men and Christians and that in the wayes of a Commonwealth and Free-state Government without a King single person or House of Lords I shall not at this time minde how far you have gone astray from that Engagement seeing that most of you have repented and returned to your duties But I shall onely by sounding this Alarm endeavour to render you sensible of the eminent danger which hangs over your heads and of your best friends of the three Nations And in the first place tell you what the old and new enemies the Cavaliers do now say of your proceeding and late actions Secondly what many honest and sober people of the Presbyterian judgement think Thirdly What danger your best friends scornfully called Commonwealth-men and Fanatiques do fore-see concerning the present transactions in the three Nations And lastly my own observations and seasonable advice First The Cavaliers do confidently affirm that your Generals late actions do sufficiently demonstrate that the bottome of his intention tends only to bring Charles Stuart to be King of these Nations grounding the same upon several reasons As first say they did he not intend the same he would never after so many Declarations and Protestations to be true to the Parliament which in scorn they call the Rump have the 11. of February last sent them such an imposing Letter and thereupon without any order from them marched with their Army to London then esteemed and made by him in destroying their Gates c. their implacable enemies and at night suffered so many bone-fires and ringing of Bels and publickly drinking healths to the King and a free Parliament roâ—â—â—ng and burning of Rumps hearing and seeing his Masters in open street declared Murtherers and Rebels and that in a most vile and dissolute manner and all this in the presence of the Army a thing say they not to be paralleld in any Historie of ages past and besides without Orders of his Masters quartered himself an Army amongst their Enemies till the 21 of the said Month during which time he feasted daily at most of the Kings friends and admitted them to him with great respects and affection without returning to White-hall although several times invited thereunto by his Masters Secondly say they that although by his Letters and verbal promises he had engaged to them that in case they would effect what was contained in the said Letter he would be satisfied and still be their servants notwithstanding which he was so far from performing the same that although they had within the the time by him limited fulfilled in all things what in that Letter was imposed upon them yet not regarding neither the said Letter nor verbal promise and without acquainting in the least any of his Masters who some of them had ventured their all to secure him from being ruined by Lrmberts Army your said General say they further caused his Army upon the 21. of the said Month to march back to Westminster and there admits the secluded Members to sit in the Parliament House most of whom he absolutely knew to be for the restoration of Charles Stuart who they call King and again at night suffer Bone-fires and ringing of Bells and his said Masters and others of their friends to be as much or more abused and vilified than they were upon the 11. at night of the said Month whereupon the Cavaliers do conclude as being thereof assured that your said General in like manner would surprize them and then bring in the King upon a sudden and then give the same reason for his so doing as he did after he had admitted the secluded Members to wit the reason of not discovering the same was because he knew they hated them and would have endeavoured to hinder their admission in the House Thirdly To demonstrate further say they that the said General will bring their King let any rational man consider whether he can have any other design seeing he hath suffered the said secluded Members to release Sir George Booth and his party and to discharge their Sequestrations and to sit and vote with them in Parliament And besides although he knoweth how several of the said secluded Members have daily moved in the House against the Government of a Free-state and for King Lords and Commons and how they have in order thereunto voted the Covenant to be de novo printed read and set up in every Church of the Nation whereby they evidently acknowledge the late Kings Posterity yet he suffered the same as likewise to be maintained in the House that none but Jesuits and Priests are for Free-state Government And to evidence further that the General is resolved upon that point Observe say the Cavalier who he causeth to be imprisoned and released put out and put in the Army to wit Commonwealth men imprisoned and turned out of the Army and Garrisons in the three Nations and Royalists taken in Arms at Worcester fight released and several others of that stamp entrusted with eminent places in Army and Garrisons in the three Nations And lastly His countenancing the raising of the Militia of City and Country entrusting the management thereof to most of the Kings friends the said Militia being raised and formed to no other end than murther to destroy the Army in whom the Cavaliers say the General cannot well confide in as to bring