A DIALOGUE BETWEEN HAMPTON-COURT, AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT: UXBRIDGE being Moderator.  
Impartially discoursing of the effects and defects of the TREATY.  
And the likelihoods and unlikelihoods we have of the composure of a well grounded and lasting Peace.  
With the preparations and treachery of the Army for preventing the same.  
By Tom Tell troth, Clerk for his Majesty, in the TREATY.  
Printed in the Year of expectation, of the peace or ruin of the Nation, 1648.   

A Dialogue; etc.  Isle Wight. 
COme, come, Mrs. Hampton though you are a great Courtier in the eye, and I but a small spot in the face of the Sea, yet I am verily persuaded that I am thought worthy before yourself to teem and bring forth the sweet and long expected Babe of Peace; 'tis not the stateliness of a Court, or the greatness of a City that the Author and finisher of Peace looks upon, the meaner place is more acceptable; Bethlem (where the King of peace himself was born) was thought worthier then Jerusalem that City, to bring forth him that (by his sufferings) made peace for the whole world, and why not the Isle of Wight before thee, or Mrs. Uxbridge either; yea or London the Parliaments Midwife.  
I have in my Cabinet an ancient Prophecy no less than 500 years old, which I believe will now be fulfilled, to the joy of all true English hearts, that love Peace, truth, unity, and concord, the Father and Mother of all other blessings whatsoever; and this Prophecy runs thus: 
The time shall come, a King clothed all in white  
Shall Crown England with Peace from the Isle of Wight.   Hampton. 
O Mrs. Wight be not too confident, this child may yet prove abortive: Alas, I fear thou must suffer many bitter pangs before thou art yet delivered of Peace; I know my Royal Master has suffered many base affronts, bitter griefs, and dire laments in thee; was he not betrayed and decoyd into thee, when he took his flight from me, by that Apostate Cromwell? was he not in thee kept close Prisoner, debarred of the society of all his friends and servants, taunted, and uncivilly used by wicked Hamond his cursed Jailor? and he according to his bounden duty warranted by the Law of God, the Law of nature, and the Law of the Land, namely noble Burley making but sign of resistance to rescue His Majesty from all his misery, was suddenly by these wild Cannibals devoured, hanged, drawn, and quartered for his Allegiance to his King? did not Rolfe (think you) that waited 4 long hours with a Pistol to take away his life, deserve a small gratuity of 200. l. for his so doing? did not Dowcet and Osburne deserve to be imprisoned for revealing the same, and the other revarded for acting the same? O Hammon remember Mordecai, fear and tremble, for the like preferment will one day fall to thee as it did to thy Namesake, when it shall be read in the Chronicles of the Kings of England, that thou setst on that villain Rolfe to murder his Master, and didst solicit thy Masters so often for him to be so well rewarded for so foul and wicked an intention; and that wicked villain Sergeant Wild, that condemned and murdered Noble Burley (for doing his duty according to Law) must release Rolfe for doing so abhorred an act against law, religion reason or conscience; Mrs. Wight you know all this to be true, do you not?  Wight. 
I but Mrs. Hampton, truth is not to be spoke at all times; these are bugs words against the Parliament; have a care they stop not your mouth with a little Independent mercy, for that will spoil your blabbing for ever after; you know how they use to deal with Malignants, and being an old Courtier, and of so ancient a house as you are, you must needs be voted a Malignant and so an enemy to the Kingdom and Parliament, and then, etc.  Hamp. 
Were the Parliament as mad as the swine possessed with the Devil, that they were running headlong to their own confusion; might not a man adventure to stop them, or persuade them (though to no purpose?) plain Troth fears no colours, had they as many and as changeable at the Rainbow, and their garments were died with scarlet gore of innocents' till they had made this Island a general Sepulchre; it should not fright me, I'd tell them on't, and that home too; I say they are Tyrants, and inhuman Rebels, that have wronged the most virtuous King that ever Reigned in Christendom, have divided him from his own Wife, driven him from his Princely Children, imprisoned, defamed, reproached, scandalised, renounced, writ and spoke all manner of evil against him, murdered his Nobility, killed his Gentry, rob the Commonalty, and enriched themselves by the ruins of other men, that now they are fatted in mischief; and tumble and lie blowing and gloaring in the wealth of the Kingdom; whilst Trading is decayed, the People are impoverished, beggary increased, many a Member of Christ stawed, others lie groaning, some in goals others in Hospitals, some Parents amidst their families keeping time in weeping with their children who want one morsel of bread to sustain their lives; the Mother sitting to suckle her tender Infant with an empty breast, and a more sorrowful heart listening for the dying groans of her starved child, and yet this will not move these Miscreants to the the least pity or compassion.  Wight. 
Indeed Mrs. Hampton I believe most of your sad story to be true; but if the King and Parliament agree, there will no doubt be a way thought on to increase Trade, that the poor may be set on work and all things may be well.  Hampton. 
Alas Mrs. Wight, you are deceived; for admit that the King and Parliament should agree, what will the Army do?  Wight. 
Agree to, or be hanged; were they agreed, we should do with the Army well enough.  Hampton. 
But in the mean time they will deal with him, and us to; to what end think you took they his Majesty away from Holdenby, without the authority of Parliament? was it to bring him to his Parliament, or send him to them to be murdered by Rolfe? to what end did they make so many professions and engagements for his Majesty's just Rights in general, both at Newmarket, and Sr. Albans, as may appear by their voted and revoted Proposals; was it for his good? Yes, because the Parliament had protested to make him great and glorious; therefore they would send him to heaven quickly to be great and glorious there; for I am persuaded, and so are more beside I, that they would never have sent him to thee Mrs. Wight, but to have him murdered; what think you means the 4000 horse that are now upon their march under Ingolsby to thee, Mrs. Wight, is it to bring him to his Parliament? yes I warrant you, the clean contrary way; what meant the Independents Petition, but to be seconded by the Army? What means their placing Committees of Independents in all Counties, Castles, and places of strength, but to subdue all to themselves? To tell you true Mrs. Wight, they mean to govern by the power of the sword, and care not a pin for King or Parliament either; alas they are against both, and will fight against both before this Treaty go forward, or any peace should be concluded: Do you think that they mean to give over their trade, viz. cutting of throats, and murdering their brethren? No, no, blood is the sweetest liquor they can taste, and stole goods that are plundered and rob from their fellow Subjects, is the only staff of their life; if they disband they lose all: Fairfax and Cromwell intent to share the Kingdom between them; if not both the Kingdoms; Tom must be King of England, and Noll King of Scotland; think you we shall not be well governed then? They will be merciful King; Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lifle felt their mercy, and so I fear shall we ere long; for the seven deadly sins are now the Armies best companions, lust, luxury, and excess, vanity, pride, and prodigality; envy, contention, unnatural divisions, oppression, fraud, and violence, are to be of their privy counsel; oaths, blasphemies, and profanations, must be their Chaplains; envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness shall be their counsellors of estate; English blood shall be their wine, the cask your bodies, which they will pierce with their swords, your goods shall be their prey, your wives shall be their lawndresses, and cooks, chambermates, and the like, your sons and daughters their slaves, your cattle at their command; besides you shall pay for rods by subsidies to whip and afflict yourselves; and in this manner shall you labour and work for them so long as you live; is not here a thorough Reformation indeed? Is not here a Kingdom well governed, when you must be slaves to the veriest slaves in a Kingdom? Then when it is too late, and the rod is upon you, you will cry cut with anguish of heart; O that we had known the day of our visitation, but now 'tis hid from our eyes; O that we had but known obedience to so good a King as King Charles, we had not now been slaves to these Rogues, and scums of mankind? O that we had been wise in time, but now tyranny, wrath, anguish, and destruction hath seized upon us; we murmured at shipmoney before, but now we are ship wracked of all we have; we thought our happiness misery then; but now our misery is our happiness indeed, and who may we thank, but our own obstinancy and disobedience? for which sin we are now forced to obey those that sometime were our inferiors: What a case are we now in, when our lives, liberties, and estates lie all under the command of the sword of a treacherous and revolting Army?  Wight. 
Mrs. Hampton, I believe thou speakest all out of envy, because my Governor is an Independent, and I myself am commanded by the Army; I profess I think the Army means well to the King, for all this and will for their advantage close again with him, and ruin the Parliament.  Hampton. 
No, no, never think that; they will have no King but Christ forsooth, and he must reign in their rotten consciences, and their rotten consciences must reign over you; for the Parliament they intent to break up that, and choose Representatives by their own power, without the King's Writ, that shall be all Independent, which shall be the upholders, preservers, maintainers, setlers, and establishers of the Kingdom; they mean to have a Parliament that that they can rule, this is too unruly for them; then for the liberty of the Subject, when Sir Thomas and his copartner Crumwell shall be the Kingdom's Stewards, and dispose of all as they shall think fit, the honour and privilege of Parliament must needs be well backed and maintained then; when they shall act or do nothing but by the order of the Army.  
Uxbridge. But stay a while Mrs. Hampton, what will you say, if London and the whole Kingdom rise in arms to quell this tyrannical Army, what will you say then?  Hampton. 
Then they will prevent all this; but they are so besotted and bewitched to their own ruin, that they had rather live slaves, then resist the Army, there is danger in that, and danger they love not, and Religion and they are upon shaking hands and parting.  
Uxbridge. But if the King signs to what he swore to maintain at his Coronation, how doth he preserve his honour, or a good Conscience; or what will he be the better?  Hamp. 
If he breaks his Oath in signing to the Presbyterian Religion; farewell Conscience; for the Militia 'tis in the hands of the Army, and they will scourge him with his own Rod; but if he looseth his Honour and a good Conscience (as God forbidden) and granteth all things they ask, which to prevent more effusion of innocent blood he will do, he must remain but the outside, the picture and sign of a King, to the Parliament themselves, and sign or sign not be ruined by the Army too: Had ever King two such Masters, if he pleaseth the Parliament than he disp●easeth the Army, and if he sides with the Army than he displeaseth the Parliament; and between two Thiefs he is crucified, either of them traetyrously enforcing, or craftily persuading His Majesty; for avoiding the devouring Gulf Charybdis, to dash himself against the sharp Rock of death-threatning Seylla, according to that old verse, never more truly verified then now. 
— Incidit in Seyllam, cupiens vitare Charibdim.  
he's dashed against Scylla's Rock, and quite destroyed,  
Hoping Charibdis' Whirlpool to avoid.   

Postscript.  
AND certainly this is too evident when we consider the sad condition of His Majesty since he hath been in their hands; being tossed and tumbled up and down by these most traitorous and rebellious Sectaries and Schismatics, to keep him in the griping paws and captivity of Cromwell, and his Confederate Hammond, Rolfe, and others to make up their own mouths and work out their own weal, though with the inevitable Ruin and destruction of so gracious and good a King, and the utter confusion of a poor, tottering, torn and miserable distracted Church and State; But if London still wants eyes to see the misery that is coming upon her, I would she might be blind for ever; the wealth is most in her, and where the Carcase is Eagles will gather thither: Me thinks I hear her last dying knell sound in mine ears, and her very heartstrings crack, an alarm is given to her already.  
And if hereafter she will not be shent, let policy teach her to prevent her certain ruin, that comes posting on with her inevitable destruction.   
Tho. Tell treath.  
FINIS.