A CAVEAT FOR KNAVES.  

You peerless Peers, that sit in Parliament,  
as many of you as have Traitors been,  
Beware lest that too late you do repent  
your unjust deal with your sovereign King.  
Let all of you upon your knees fall down,  
and reinthrone him with his Princely Crown;  
So may you gain free pardon for your lives,  
and live in peace, whence plenty will arise.   
Printed in the Year, 1648.   

A CAVEAT FOR KNAVES:  
THere hath been an old saying of a great while since, that the World runs upon wheels, which were it true, than every spoke (as we call it) would have his part, and bear his part; but I believe that it rather runs like a Crab, all upon one side, as it hath done the time of an Apprenticeship with the Parliament; and now Sir is not the Parliament the world, or is the Independent Army, that hath of a long time overawed and tutored the Parliament, the world; or is Mrs. London that hath by her stretched out Purse to maintain them both, the world; as for my part, if you will have my opinion, they are all as one, they are joint partners in the world, and cannot be severed, but as one body they carry on this wicked world at their pleasure, and not one body alone, but three bodies, and as they are three bodies, yet there is but one head, that is, the Head Parliament, why yes there is the head Army too, I and the head London purse too, and what can either of them do one without the other? for whatsoever the head Purse doth, or what the head Army, although a holy sanctified saintly one, doth do, or pretend to have done, will come to nothing without the head Parliament concur, and by her Vote or Ordinance make good: and so I conclude that the Parliament is the head, purse London the bit or snaffle in the mouth of the same head, and the Army the raines to govern that head, and so there is no other now visible head to govern this wicked Kingdom, but these three in one head. And I truly for my part must confess that this wicked Kingdom hath been too long, and too much governed by this triple headed Hidron or in plainer terms, this three headed monster, for in my small judgement, there are none but monsters that will run on headlong in wickedness, and never look beck unto the great God who should be all our heads, nor unto their King, who immediately under God should be our chief head, or unto their old head the true long professed Protestant Religion, which so long time hath flourished in England: But now alas this head Parliament is broken, their wicked ulcers of Rebellion and extortion, stink in the nostrils of men and there is no balm in Gilead to be administered unto them, nor no plaster, but his Majesty's royal Pardon to cure this broken head; then unto him that we have so rebelled against, and have most offended, and most injuriously wronged, let us now fly for succour, and instead of ropes about our necks, present repentent sorrow in our hearts, crave pardon for our lives, and hazard the loss of our estates, (which if we do) it will be greater mercy and favour than ever we deserved, having not shown neither to him nor his the like favour, but he is merciful, his mercy will exceed our inhuman cruelty: But stay, let us first see how far our power will stretch, and our purse and persuasions of our party will serve to pleasure us, and to continue war a little longer, and maintain our Kingly places, let us continue, blinding the kingdom as long as we are able, with dallience and delays, sue for Petitioners in private, and then answer them and all other at our own pleasure, put them off with the accustomed phrase of rendering them thanks for their continual respect towards the houses, and tell them we are using all ways and means we can for the settling of a safe, and wel-grounded Peace; or satisfy them as we did the Commanders of the rained-bands of London, that we will hear what the Common-council sayeth in their behalf, and whether they are of the same mind; and than if they be, we will speedily give you an Answer at our own leisure: but first let us see how we shall be secured by them, to sit safe in our Kingly places, and also under pretence of caring for the King, let us require from them the safety of his Majesty's person in London, and that there may be a visible way prescribed for it, and then we will consider of a way to send for him: and in the mean space we shall see what our juggling Mephostapholisses will do for us, our flying spirits that we have employed both a broad and at home, how they will prevail in their persuasions, and what forces may be raised for our safety, and descending of our evil cause, we are sure that the Independent party will rise for us both abroad and at home, for they are as deeply concerned in the danger as ourselves, and if Purse London will be brought to continue our friend st●●, we may chance to continue our Kingly power; we have to this purpose made an Ordinance already, giving powes u●●o Major General Skipton, to use what means he may to raise what forces he can in and about London, to subdue the Royal party hereabouts, or as many of them as he can c●tch, 〈…〉 to kill, hang, or murder them at his pleasure not ask the Lord leave, nor use any mercy at all: and indeed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no great marvel that you should now continue merciless 〈…〉 practised nothing but cruelty so long a time; but 〈…〉 the word of God, do as th●u wilt be do●e unto and it 〈…〉 then remember the old Proverb, harm watch, ha●● 〈…〉 look what you have done, will be done to you 〈…〉 though you be three heads yet (●and great 〈…〉ber whose heads you are, and unto whom 〈…〉 heads, and must give an account, and if you be not 〈…〉 then see your own errors, see with a judicious eye, the woeful miseries that you have brought this poor Kingdom unto already, and the miserable conditions that this poor distressed Kingdom is like to fall into, by your overswaying, unlimited powers, nay if you will ever take warning, and look about you, now is the time, take heed, beware of a relapse, for if you persist, you are gone, therefore dally no longer, send for His Majesty without delay, provide for him with honour, freedom and safety, grant him his desires, let him have his own guard, and his own attendants, freely without compulsion, let him treat with you face to face, or with as many of you as dare to look him in the face: do you not see the eminent danger that you are in? do you not see destruction before your face? your own houses divided, nay some of your households divided one against another, the Kingdom in general risen up against you, all Christian Princes deriding you, the Seamen scorning to do you any more service, Purse London shaking you off by degrees, refusing to disgorge any more bags to support you any longer, London Trained-bands ready to forsake you, your dear brethren the Scots ready to devour you, for falsifying your Oath to your King, your Covenant with them and the two Kingdoms, and the severe judgement of God, threatening ruin and destruction for your damnable devilish deal, upon this most miserable kingdom; and if none of these will prevail, then look unto the handiwork of the Lord, in raising such sudden and unexpected Armies in his Majesty's behalf, the unthought of store of Arms and Ammunition, the multitude of Garrisons taken and rendered up for the King's Royal Majesty's use, the multitude of Shipping, the fortunate successes that his Majesty's small forces have continunally had, if truth might be believed, and right take place, which will be hard for to make the world to believe, they have been so long blinded with lies, however it is now visible to us here, by the multitude of your maimed Soldiers that are brought into the Hospitals in London, that there hath been many of your Saints cut off, your invincible Army is much weakened, your Saints are amazed, your wounded men curse ye, and vow that were they as well as ever they were they would never serve you, your sound men wish that they had but half their Arrears, they would curse you to your face, and tell you that you are but blind guides, and have been the ruinning of many a soul; and if your friends reward you thus, what shall you expect from those that you call your enemies? and at the latter days what may you expect from the just severe God? But you are Saints, whether God will or not, and you will make the world believe that God gives you a daily blessing, or else your intelligence lieth, with great Victories, Langdale he is totally routed, and the party that was in Lincolnshire for the King clean dispersed, not two to be seen together, ask Walkers imperfect Occurrence else, and he shall make all the world to believe it, the Scots too they are so far together by the ears themselves, that they cannot come in against us, have not we Letters daily to that effect? Yes I must needs confess that you have Letters as from thence, although made in the Inner-Temple; for I will justify that one Gentleman there made three Letters himself in one day, and they must come from Scotland: and are not all these routing Letters of the same stamp? how can there be 4000 Soldiers spared out of Lancashire to recruite Lambert? when it is not able to withstand the Lord of Darbies' forces that is now there: and what County is there in England now, that you may spare any out, or that is able to defend themselves? and for believing experience look here at home into every county about you, and you shall plainly see the good affection of them unto their King, and so by these you may plainly discern the rest; they are not mean men that are the Leaders of them neither, as yours are, Brewers, Shoemakers, Tailors, Weavers, Tinkers, Cobblers, but they are Dukes, Earls, Lords, Knights, Gentlemen, and Commanders most of them, and as soon as ever th●t the Prince is once seen to set foot in England, how many thousands more in England will there then appear and rise against you? o ye of little faith, it is not the Independent Army, nor the so many thousand hands that you have presented unto you to have no King, nor no Personal Treaty, that can defend you, nor all the Devils in hell to boot to help you, if the Lord but once lift up his hand against you, as you may now apparently see he gins to do, by stirring up the hearts of all the Country against, and for every thousand of Independents that stick unto you, you will have five thousand of good Christians against you, and therefore repent and amend, lest it be too late, and the Devil tear you in pieces.   
FINIS.