A Prognosticall PREDICTION OF Admirable EVENTS that are like to Happen within his Majesties Dominions( Especially in ENGLAND) within less than a yeares compass; and amongst others, that in all probability his majesty( for all this) shall lay down his Sword, and take up his sceptre  
 depiction of King Charles I of England, grasping the royal scepter in his right hand while releasing his grip on the sword in his left hand  
AND That such as are truly false to him, his Friendly Enemies, shall by their own policies and powers break their own necks, and so at once recover both the freedom and love of their country.  
Besides such as have any skill in Physiognomy, may by beholding certain Pictures here, discover the malicious minds, and prevent the pernicious practices of many that have as base Hearts though not so brave habits.  
Printed at London according to Order for G. Bishop, July 13. 1644.   

A Prognosticall Prediction, OF Admirable Events, That are like to happen within His Majesties Dominions.  
I Am not here to meddle with any part of the Prophesies of Merlin, or Mother Shipton, or to speak of the affections and dispositions of the stars, and Planets, and yet I must tell ye of something that some of these have had somewhat to do withall. The Sun, Moon and stars are the visible majesty of the Heavens, when they appear in their splendour, and no doubt do enlighten or eclipse the majesty of Earthly Princes with their good or bad Influences; he therefore that will undertake to tell stories of States, had need to be well acquainted with the stars; I know but little( though more then I mean to publish) and yet( I doubt) I shall tell ye more then you'l be willing to believe; but give your mindes to't a little; part with as much faith as ye can spare, the truth will be discovered in less then a twelvemonth; and for my part, if I fail in my first work, I'll never make almanac more.  
To tell you what his majesty hath done, I shall not need, 'tis known too well already: to tell you what he should do, I will not undertake, that has been done beforehand, and well done( by many, to little purpose) but to tell ye what he will do( the hardest matter of all, and such a thing as I fear will be thought unfit for a wise man to meddle with) that shall be my business.  
I shall( no question) run cross to other Prognostications, yet you shall meet with as much truth here as may be promised from the Pla I trade with; It is conceived by many, that would be thought wise men, that his majesty will run on in the course he hath began, and never give over till he hath overrun his kingdom, or be given over of his people, which conjecture, I confess, is very probable: but it ought to be understood, that Kings are extraordinary creatures, and that the stars have a stranger working in their works then every one's ware of; an ordinary man is subject to shane and reproach, a small slip wrinches his leg, if he steal a horse, break a house, or pick a pocket, he's laid hold on without fear, and punished without favour; good men must suffer, bad Princes must be praised;( Reason keep off, thou hast nothing to do with this Angument) if there be any struggling i'th State, or combustion in the Common-wealth, there may bee ill members, there may bee bad Counsellors, mischief cannot bee contrived, nor murder done, but there must bee Plotters and Actors, mere men, inferior creatures, people subject to infirmities, and sufferings, such as may offend laws, and be punished by 'em; but Kings can do no wrong; to be a King, is more then to be a man; what are injuries in others, are favours in Princes; whether the very attribute alters the Act or no, ther's the question. But by this wee may convey our apprehensions further, and find( no doubt) at much pre-eminence ithe will, as there is ithe power.  
'Tis granted, that the State appears now to be in a sad condition, and his majesty in the way to cut off his Parliament, confounded his laws, destroy his kingdoms, and bring himself and his Posterity to ruin, being( as 'tis generally apprehended) the first mover in this orb of distraction, in which all is whirled about with such violence, that he that sees & suffers, cannot choose but think upon the story of Phaeton; But to say that Kings cannot as easily turn, and have good affections, as they can persist in favouring bad actions, were to lay an aspersion upon higher Powers then their own, and to make them inferior( in their capacities) to their meanest Subiects. That God that hath endued a King with the soul, shape and substance of a man, the countenance, gesture, language, ioy, grief, anger, hope, fear, love, and all other properties and Passions outward and inward, features, and faculties, with transcendent Power and majesty to boot, can when he pleases add Grace to greatness, Reason to Royalty, and make of an absolute man, an absolute Monarch, for a Prince that will rule as he ought, may rule as he list. Let us therefore consider what may be; And that Must is for the King: His majesty must go no further then the King of Kings will permit him: when his heart is once touched with the sense of his own cross Condition, and his peoples miseries( as that must be) the sudden turn will be such, that all will appear new in an instant, the State will be clad in a new habit, the Lords will have new hearts, the Commons new affections, the city will alter her posture, and the country her humour, mourning will( every where) be turned into mirth, rage into reason, fear into ioy, and the greatest enmity that ever was set a foot by infernal malice, into the greatest amity that ever was wrought by Divine Providence. All the past passages that have so terrified other Nations with noise, and our own with sufferings; will seem to have been mistakes; and 'twill be as great a wonder to perceive them so soon forgot, as 'tis to see 'em so furiously followed. His majesty will return with such ioy, comply with such zeal, and sign to all good laws with such willingness, that 'twill be generally thought, his holding off so long was onely to try what mettall his Parliament was made of, whether England would stand out manfully to preserve her own laws and privileges, and to make his people more wary and watchful upon all occasions hereafter to keep off tyranny and Oppression;( and this they seem to be forwarder in then( yet) he desires. His Ig-noble Lords at Court, that have done their best to undo him with their b●se Councells, will soon lay by their rotten honours, of the last Edition, and either endeavour to get better purchase by better practise, or else leave the Court, and county honour enough to be honest.  
His Cavaliers that have so long, so vil●nously robbed him both of his wealth and honour, will be sorry they have spilled so much blood about so base a business, and( seeing his majesty a friend to himself) become for his sake friends to his kingdom.  
The Papists that have plotted all this mischief, and writ the Story of their obedience to their King, with the blood of their countrymen, will( no doubt) be good to his majesty, when they shall know him a Protestant, that hath been so good to them all this while, us to be( for their sakes) willing to be accounted a Papist, and suffer the Protestants to be slain.  
The Malignants( if there be any left) will be either sorrowfully penitent, or dangerously desperate, such as shall not then be fit for the Covenant, will hardly be fit for any thing but the gallows.  
But the old Cloak of dissimulation will be grown so thin and threadbare, that it will no longer be able to hid the knavery of his Majesties greatest friends, that are now so forward to cry, God save the King, whilst he pleases them with promise of Promotion, for their good service, and they him with the care and pains they take to make it impossible for him to keep his promise; these will be always so watchful over his steps, and so fearful of his recovery, that when they shall see him in the right way their malice will grow venomous, 'twill be dangerous trusting them any more about his person. But when( in spite of their spleen) he shall become free from apparent danger abroad, and apply himself to his faithful council at home,( if there do not some fatal Comet appear in the West presently, and mar all i'th making, the malignity of the other stars will be so wasted, that there will be great hopes of a constant recovery. But in the mean time, as long as Saturne, Mars and Mercury are predominant, look for as much mischief as malice can produce; the Serpent has got a blow, and now he feel's it smart, he rages, strives and struggles, for though his strength be abated, his furi's augmented, he was hurt against his will, and will not be killed willingly; there will yet be somewhat to do before he give up the Ghost. The devil is a bad enemy, though he be a worse friend; 'tis not ithe power of man to overcome him, unless it be with kindness, and that's that he looks for: The Roaring Royalists have got the length of his foot, they know how to humour him, but( hang 'em) they know they shall lose nothing by ' e, they may tru●t him, he is no Roundhead, but a constant friend( where he takes) to the la●t minute: now if the devil be so great with 'em, and so strong of himself( as they say he is) of what strength is his army wherein are many thousands little inferior to himself, that have been bread up in his own School, and are able to deal with him at his own weapon? Here we have somewhat to dishearten us, but we have somewhat again to encourage us; wee can hardly kill them if we would, because they are so strong, but we may lawfully kill them if we can because they are so bad. A good cause speak; him a villain that opposes it, and a bad one, him that maintains it.  
Let us but make use of the small strength God hath given us, and let them alone with the rest; they that have honesty enough, and grace enough to plot the ruin of their own Nation, cannot choose but have resolution enough, and malice enough to work their own destruction. But it seems they have been somewhat doubtful of their own abilities, and have therefore wisely got to their assistance all the Papists in England, and all the Rebells( that can be spared) out of Ireland to help be a dead lift, that they might not perish alone, but that their poor country might( now at length) be altogether freed from fear of future Rebellion by the utter extirpation of that monstrous crew. No doubt they will recover much love, and many good words for performing their last Act so bravely which otherwise would be hated of all good men if they should live till doomsday; the onely way to make themselves happy, is to leave the world that they have made so unhappy. What the Statros threaten, I know not, but he that rules the stars, hath promised to see this effected; tha●'s a Commission out already under the Broad seal of Heaven, wherein there is no command to kill Innocents, or murder Protestants; but all that have had a hand in these damnable plots and Conspiracios, these inhuman murders and massacres, are by virtue thereof without sudden and sound repentance, to suffer here and hereafter. Now what these are in general, is known to all bu● themselves, tha● know nothing, but that the mindes of m●n of less note( b●● of equal malice) may be understood, you shall heers see the Pictu●es of some great ones, whose malignant humours so altered their complexions, before they were drawn, that no honest man but will take 'em to be Turks; when( alas) they were bread and born in Eng●and, and past for Christians a long time.  
The Du●e of Buckingham was a brave man, and had the love of two Kings; but rumour ran about the country, and  told strange tales of him: he was thought to be guilty of taking away his last breath, that gave him his first honour; but being above the reach of a Parliament, heaven that was above his reach, paid him for that and all other his villainies, and murders at once: England has been slow in executing Justice, and England smarts for't. Our King( that hath now given over his government, and sights for a new one) cul'd the kingdom then, but the Duke ruled him, the jesuits ruled the Duke, the Pope the jesuits, and who( d'ye think) ruled the Pope?—  
Canterbury crept up by degrees, that he might not be counted an upstart, the Duke at first made room for him at Court, and he made as much hast as he could to make the Court sit for Rome; he wheeled about from one bishopric to another, till he came to be metropolitan, and then( by the Popes leave) he took upon him the government of Church and Common-wealth: He hath done so much good for his Country, that the Chronicle of his life is prepared before his death, to put him in mind of his merit, sure the Parliament found him to be but gross mettall at first, they have tried him so often, but they have done the best they can to refine him here, that he might pass through the other Purgatory with more case, and less trouble.  
Strafford was honest as long as he was free from Court-coniurations, but as soon as the Duke and the Bishop had shew'd him the devil ( Ambition) in a circled, he forsook his faith, changed his opinion, renounced his integrity, and turned Courtier; His majesty, that loved music so well, was now furnished with admirable Instruments, the Bishop was his great Organ-pipe, the Duke his Base-Violl, Strafford his Irish-Harpe, and Cottington, Finch and Windebanke, were the means, to make up a cursed Consort; but these fiddlers have forsook him, all but ●rafty Cot●ington, who still plays the Mercury at Court, and with the mellody of his Spanish pipe, keeps the eyes of Argus sealed up with fatal slumber.  
Digby is another of his majesties Spanish Protestants, the close lanthorn-bearer o'the Court, that persuaded the King to betake stimself to some strong hold, that his fellow Traytors might be protected, whilst he and German either went with the queen into Holland, or met with her there, where( according to his promise in an intercepted letter of his) no doubt but he did good service; store of arms were procured, and brought over by him, toward settling of Peace in the Kingdom; I have not heard that his Lordship used to be drunk, yet they say he came over disguised, but this w●s he that endeavoured to raise forces at Kingston and thereabouts( a Prologue for the ensuing Tragedy) which when he could not effect there, he and the rest of his faction, easily persuaded his majesty to go as far as York, to do 't; a good subject.  
Newcastle, the man that hath robbed us of Newcastle the town, and forced us in winter to get ourselves a heat with railing upon him, was not made an Earl for nothing, some black dead must be done to deserve that honour, so that his Lordship took upon him the shape of a Collier, that the devil and he might be more familiar; his majesty, though he loved the cause well( it seems) liked not this colour, but washed off the soil of the royal, with the title of marquis, the addition of this one degree of honor, took away two of honesty; he was bad enough before, but now he is engaged to live and die a villain.  
Next this Arch-Rebell, comes another Arch( York has been upheld by Arches in times past, but now 'tis pulled down by them) Arch-bishop Williams, our countryman of Whales, the last Archbishop that shall ever sail in that Sea; this proud prelate hath lived a delicate life, and purchased a great Estate ithe kingdom, and now he fears he shall fall, he strives to see all down before him, for to that purpose he long since provided arms to be employed against the Parliament; but the Parliament( in requital of his love) provided a Lodging for him, and other of his fellowes in the Tower, though upon seeming submission, they soon got their liberties, and as soon forgot their promises. They say, the brave Bishop hath since turned Tragedian, and Acts the part of tamburlaine on horse-back, alas poor Prelates, ye were wont to preach( a little) for great livings, now ye are fain to fight hard for poor ones.  
The earl of derby is a King and no King, in Man, but not of Man, a Strange name he has, and is of a strange condition, 'tis a hard matter indeed for a stranger to say what he is, when he knows not himself what he would be; he would fain be a soldier, but there's danger in sighting, and he must be no other, lest he be counted a coward, thus he dares not but do what he dares not do, it has been his fortune still to meddle with men that had no mind to be slaves, and so he has mist of his conquest: his good old Father, understanding his sons bad resolution, died with sorrow, but left him the means and title of an Earl, that he might purchase an infamy equal to his greatness, and he hath ventered as far, as he durst for his life, to forfeit his Estate and Honor.  
Goring, a colonel, son to the old Courtier, that had once so much wit, as to fool himself into a Lord, and afterward so little, as to fool his Lordship out of the kingdom, could not be content with a pardon for purposing one mischief, but he must practise another unpardonable, if he had been hanged for the first fault, he would never have been hurt for the next; he gave the Parliament so good content by speaking what he meant not, that they bestowed the place of honour upon him that he deserved not, being made governor of one of the chiefest Ports of the kingdom, he betrayed his trust, and broke his faith, which is like to be a means to break his neck, if the sword or the bullet prevent not the halter.  
Lansford, the ringleader of the Roisters, must not be forgot, he's a man of as good parts as the worst of them, he hath as stern a countenance, and swears with as good a grace as most of your true-bred Courtiers; he was the first that drew his blade in Westminster-hall, and laid about him for the preservation of Popery; since when he hath been as forward to fight in a bad cause, as any thief in his Majesties Army.  
Who hath not heard of Hastings, the Rob-carrier, and capel the Cow-stealer, that are become so famous for their fooleries? What a brave exchange of life have they made, that were wont to relieve the poor, for which they were praised, and prayed for, and now prey upon the poor, for which they are railed upon, and cursed; but they can excuse themselves well enough to the world, they do as they are commanded, they must obey their Prince, they have forgot God and his Commandements, and have been so long in a dreeme, that the Laws of England are quiter out of their mindes.  
leg hath bestirred himself stoutly; when he and the rest of the rabble perceived themselves smoked in their dainty design of bringing up the army, and pillaging the City, he made one amongst his betters( and yet they were pares cum paribus) in venturing into Hull, to suprise it; New-castle was disguised, that has now disguised Newcastle; and Hull, if shee had changed but one letter of her name, might have made her self fit for his entertainment, that had altogether changed his name, to fit himself for hers; But this Leg carried his masters body the wrong way in this and other things, for which he was laid by the heels; but( being stark nought) he wanted not friends, as good as himself, who quickly used means to get their Leg out of stocks again.  
When you have vew'd these faces well, that have appeared so amiable in his Majesties eye, cast your consideration upon vulgar villainies, and you shall find that thousands of inferior place and spirit are furnished with as much malice, and want nothing but might to do as much mischief. He that speaks against the State must needs be an enemy, and he that speaks not for it, can be no friend: Of these there are more than a good many, I pray God sand 'em better mindes to do good, or less means to do harm;  Serpents are not to be trusted with their own Stings.  
FINIS.