THE soldiers' Alarum Bell, To awaken all such Who are lulled asleep in the supposed security of a Parliamentary Conventicle unlawfully sitting at Westminster.  
By B.C.  
Printed in the Year 1659.   

Dear Friends and fellow-soldiers,  
We did believe and were fully persuaded that at our general meeting in Shoe-lane, the first of July instant, you had clearly perceived and understood by our Timely Advice directed formerly to you, the sole intent and way laid out therein by our present Pseudo-Masters, wholly to destroy us from being what we are, and have deserved, by our former gallantry and stoutness upon all designs under the Conduct of a most Illustrious undaunted prosperous general, whom the great God of all victories owned, with our service, in every design; we mean Oliver late Protector, who freed not only this very nation of England from a long endured slavery, and yoke of tyrannical bondage: But also Ireland and Scotland, & of whom the worst of Sycophants cannot in truth speak evil.  
Now the scope of this our second writing is as well to rouse you up, and invest yourselves with your former undauntedness of spirit and resolution, that our intended work may take effect: As also to show the truth unto you which is much endeavoured to be obscured from your and our knowledge; (but we have a faithful Agitator) as namely and formerly held forth unto you, the timely preventing of our own ruin, by our new usurped Masters, the present Pseudo-Parliament, who have no power but what they borrow from us, and have not we an equal birthright in all? especially by the many hazards of our dearest lives and fortunes: then let none of us all be faint-hearted, let us knit ourselves together, and labour for our own preservations, while we have advantage, and the cause good let us strike; lest the world should have just Cause to say, we have sold our former magnanimous spirits, and undaunted resolutions for a dish of broth and a halfpenny loaf; though many raw soldiers who are lately crept into Regiments, never suffered the miseries or underwent the many dangers we have done in the first and latter war, may peradventure serve without pay for bread and cheese.  
And doth not the intentions of this Parliamentary-Conventicle now appear, when their present resolves are first, to have us give them three months of our pay, not regarding the many necessities we, our wives and children have been put unto, barely to live, and many of us much indebted to Sutlers and Landlords, who (if we should so childishly give away, what we have earned, with much penury, our pay) would quickly bring the lash of a Sergeant, and stink of a prison upon us, to the absolute ruin, and destruction of most of us, our wives and children; After which done according to their present resolves, to send some of us to Jamaica, others into remote countries at their pleasures, and disband the rest upon settling the Militia; thus clandestinely under the notion of sugared dissembling promises, and smooth words from oiled tongues, we shall suddenly be betrayed and destroyed.  
Is it not also manifest unto you, what small provision they make for us, now they have gotten the staff into their own hands, endeavouring to make us despicable creatures, by bringing beggary upon us, the absolute scorn of a stout and valiant Soldier; is not also the matter of that pretended Good Old Cause, now turned into a new cheat? then as the case stands upon our present decaying Interest, is it not high time to relieve and restore ourselves to what of right we should be? Soldiers not fearing the face of man, and in whom the power of this Common wealth, and change of Government shall rest, and if we truly love God and our country, let us not suffer our own subversions, nor any thing that may tend to destruction of us, or our gained and dearly bought liberties.  
Was not Oliver late Protector, that ever undaunted Spirit of Magnanimity, That absolute Honour of Mars, That burning fiery flame to the great Turk, the great terror of all Princes and countries, a second Solomon for wisdom, while our general, after all his hazards, expenses, charges of a long, dangerous and doubtful war, most passionately grieved, and troubled that this then sitting pseudo Parliament, who still strove (as now) to perpetuate themselves, would never labour the settlement of our long contended for liberties; till by providence, our consents, and the advice of all the Judges of these Nations, the Government was settled in a single person, as most agreeable to the laws and nature of Englishmen, and owned in him, sitting too few years at the stern with hand continually upon the helm, for the good government of these Nations, according to law and Justice: And where he found a good and just rule, he altered not, where he found none, or a broken, weak defective one, he was ever most strong and earnest for reformation thereof. Was not many abuses in the laws by him regulated for the ease and relief of the people, was not many poor, despicable, starving creatures by him constantly relieved; did not very many in these three Nations who had long suffered, under wrong, injustice and oppression, by him obtain relief; did he not spend what he had in relieving the needy and oppressed? did he not spend himself, his whole strength of nature in studying and endeavouring the preservation of these Nations in peace; did he not always take some reasonable care and time for paying us, did he not own us, and succour us. And can either you or we, any way discover the like care to be amongst the present pseudo governors, doth not then those many undue Reflections, Calumnies, and unchristian scoffs, cast upon the said late Protector, rather argue the ventosity of men's brains, the baseness and vanity of their minds, with their dunghill spirits then either the solidity of their Jugements or the gravity of their conditions and behaviour being well known by all knowing rational men in the world, not any can justly Calumniate him.  
Doth not also those Counties, Cities, Towns corporate, magistrates, ministers, the council, the whole Army of the three nations, the Judges of the land who made their respective Addresses, & owned Richard the Protector as lawful Successor to his late Father in the office of Protector according to an authentic Act of Parliament, desiring him to protect those that are good, to punish those that are bad, to maintain the just rights and privileges of the people of God, and the whole nation, engaging to assist him with their lives and fortunes, and also imploring the assistance and blessing of God upon his endeavours herein, sufficiently declare him to be supreme governor of these nations? And he who took such special care with the late Parliament for paying us off, would also have been, and we are assured will still be as careful of us, and our preservations, so soon as we shall have reestablshed him Protector, without whom we are absolutely ruined & our posterities, being well assured, that this present Parliamentary Conventicle, who aim at nothing more than their own perpetuity, will be our destruction, nor indeed and in truth were it not a great unworthiness in us who ought to have the greatest share of worthiness, to own Richard Protector, as well for his owning our fellow-soldiers at Dunkirk and Mardike in procuring there full pay to be paid unto them, a perfect example of his future care over us and ours, having been so careful for them, he can nor will be less mindful of us; who hath also been at that great charge in his own expenses to give redcoats to us all, a pattern beyond example, and which our present usurped Masters will never do, but rather work our destruction for their own advantage and pepetuity.  
Now understand, that as it hath been always resolved, by the Judges and laws of this Nation, that the deposition, or death of a King, doth actually dissolve a Parliament, nor can the succeeding King, or successor whatsoever hold or continue the said Parliament, or prorogue it; so by the same law was this pseudo Parliament dissolved, and made no Parliament, by the late King's death, and not by us, or any part of the Army though falsely by many so asserted.  
Also, that this present Pseudo-Parliament was summoned particularly by the late King CHARLES in his natural, as well as politic capacity, but not for him, his heirs or successors; for he ceased to be both Charles and a King of this Realm by his death, and the council by whose advice it was first summoned was his own, not his heirs and Successors, besides it was summoned by the King himself, to treat, consult, and give their advice with him personally which by his death was impossible, and so determined, expired, and dissolved; even as a natural ceases to be a living man, when the head is cut off; or, as if a man should by his will or deed authorise any three persons, jointly to sell lands, give livery and seisin, and one of them die, the other two jointly or severally can do nothing, because their trust and authority was joint, not several; and so jointly not separately to be executed; therefore no lawful call for this Parliamentary Conventicle to sit, nor as they are not a house under the number of forty, so they can make no lawful Act under the number of one hundred and fifty.  
Thus as it is evident that the present convened Parliamentary Conventicle at Westminster is no Parliament, by all the laws of this Nation, as in part before mentioned; nor ought of right to sit, being the only men contriving our destruction, let us not boggle, or carry the hearts of women to dissolve and turn them out of doors, with greater scorn, infamy and derision, than they endeavour to bring us into: let you and us go on together, in this work courageously without fear or dispondency; let us not own them, nor their encroached Parliamentary power, acts, or impositions, lest through our unworthy cowardice and negligence in this kind, we suddenly become a prey, to these self ended perpetuating Princes, nothing at all caring for us or the public good, but likely to transform the City and country into a place of scorn and beggary.  
And though the Lord Henry Cromwell hath very suddenly made his appearance at Westminster contrary to expectation; yet let that be no cause for you to prevaricate or turn back from the work intended, for the old soldiers of the Army in Ireland, have assured us that he left them without consent, and they desire us to hold our resolutions and they will own and stand with us; as also the City of London have many thousands well prepared to join with us, than what cause of fear, or whose commands shall we break in performing the work of dissolving them, are not they under our power?  
Thus have we again discovered unto you our fellow Soldiers, as to ourselves, what of necessity requires a remedy with all speed: Before a disease hath brought the body low, it will endure heats and colds and many distempers, and alter little or nothing visibly, but the dregs remain and bring the disease by degrees to a height, and then every slight offence is taken, and strong distempers appear to danger and ruin; And it may be rationally judged our Pseudo-Governors labour under a critical sign, the disease is grown so strong, it hath such a height, that we must all unanimously intervene for our own preservations, else danger is at hand; And this thing now presented to you, is an evident symptom, what will speedily be done against us, by those who have no power to Sit, but from us, and may we not then call home that which we have lent?  
The sole way of all our preservations being in reestablshing Richard Protector; For it is most necessary, one absolute head in any Government must be; and who more right to it then Richard Protector? both for his great care over us, for the preservation of all us, and ours, and his endeavours to have the laws and our Liberties performed and kept; Therefore, we think most fit, and least without suspicion, that upon Tuesday the_____ instant, when you are all met for the Church at Westminster, that you faithfully resolve like men to prepare yourselves with us to dissolve and turn them out of doors, when, undoubtedly expect us, fully to complete these our resolutions, which by Law, Reason and Equity, must speedily be acted, to make ourselves safe under the Protector, which nowhere else is to be had.  

His highness' Regiment.  
Lieuten, Gen. Fleetwood's Regiment.  
Col. Goff's Regiment.  
Col. Hewsons' Regiment.  
Col. Barkstead's Regiment.  
Col. Mills Regiment.  
Col. Prides Regiment.  
All and All, &c.   
FINIS.