An Item to His MAJESTY Concerning PRINCE RUPERT And his CAVALIERS.  
OR, A Lookingglass, wherein His Majesty may see his NEPHEW'S Love;  
Who secretly under pretence of Assisting Him, to gain an absolute Prerogative or Arbitrary Power, will disthrone Him to set up himself.  
Written by a Wellwisher to His MAjESTY.  
Feb: 3 PRINTED, In the year of the KING of Kings. 1642.   

An Item to His MAJESTY Concerning Prince RUPERT, and his CAVALIERS.  
Whilst His Majesty is forcing a way through Laws and Parliaments, by seeking to eradicate the one, and overthrow the just privileges of the other, to gain an absolute Prerogative, and establish Arbitrary power, by which he and his posterity is disesteemed, and His loving and loyal Subjects may be enslaved, he plainly runs the hazard of a double destruction, and ruin to Himself and Posterity.  
The one is by endeavouring to abolish the ancient Fundamental Constitutions of this Kingdom, established upon Laws and Parliaments, Himself being the top Bough and highest Branch, which must needs therefore have the greatest fall, if this long flourishing Tree be digged up by the root. And here I pray, His Majesty would deliberately Consider; 1. That the Root and Body may flourish, when as the top Branch being nipped with evil blasts, may be deprived of the sap that may remain in the Root and Body, and so may fall, or if not fall, it may be cut off as being not fit to remain thereon, lest it bring destruction to the rest being so infected with the blasts of evil Counsel. Fare be it from me to desire it, the Lord grant it may be prevented, lest this Breach from the Root and Body be not of worse consequence in a civil respect, than the cutting off of the Jews, by reason of their unbelief in a spiritual; who though they were broken off, yet may at last be grafted in again; and if the Laws and Parliaments be the Root which His Majesty hath confessed in His Coronation Oath, in putting Himself to be guided by them; then let Him consider that He beareth not the Root, but the Root him, and though He be the Head as is confessed, yet if it be separated from the body, it cannot long have life. But  
Secondly, Be pleased to consider, That the Laws and Parliaments are as properly the peoples, if not more, yet of greater concernment than either the Landmarks or Naboths Vineyard, the one of which being removed, the other taken away, did not only bring a heavy curse, but also laid a sad foundation of a ruin both to a King and his Posterity, 1 Kings 21. And truly the King of kings, the God of Justice Will do justly; regarding in this respect the persons not of any, but hath provided Tophet of old, for Kings as well as beggars if they offend him. Therefore, dear Sovereign (for whom my soul bleedeth) be pleased to take the kingly Prophet's advice, Be wise now therefore oh ye Kings, be instructed ye judges of the earth; Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling, Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little, Blessed are all they that trust in him. And remember the Honour of a King consists in a multitude of people; but where will that honour be if the sword continue to devour; but it may be the ground of all this before will not be so easily believed, because His Majesty may persuade Himself, that either by the Transportation of Himself into another soil, or by altering the nature of that soil, upon which and by which He most naturally standeth (that is by changing from Parliamentary, to Arbitrary) may cause Him to grow the better; but not only the Statists doth, but I hope experience may teach both His Majesty and us, That alterations are dangerous, especially Fundamental ones, both to King and people; and if neither may be believed, yet Scripture may, in which Rehobohams' case stands Recorded; not only for this, but also for his harkening to ill Counsel, who may seem to have greater colour for what he did, than those Kings which are only so by compact, and are as really bound to their people, as the people to them, in the fulfilling of those Laws agreed to by both; unless as King james said, They will cease to be Kings and turn Tyrants, which I hope harbours not in your Majesty's breast; and if we should step lower, and look at reason, it assures us that no one man's will, though it were the same that Adam had in innocence, is so safe to govern by, as is the counsel of many, with the consent of all.  
The other danger His Majesty runs, is more close, and less discerned, lying hid under an open show of friendship, and siding with Him against His supposed enemies, by His Nephew Prince Rupert, one of the Blood-royal, and not so far from the Crown, but if once the course of Law and power of Parliaments be extinguished, he may bid as fair for it by the sword, as His Majesty, he having possessed himself of so much power already, under colour of serving the King, and by his German manner of plundering, and his active disposition in Military affairs, having won the hearts of so many thousand Soldiers of fortune and men of prey; he is already their Chieftain and Prince, and if hereafter the power be transferred from civil to Martial, he is like enough to be their King, and if theirs, than the peoples, if once subdued; for the King having lost their hearts, and the Law having lost their force, he that hath the best sword, and is likeliest to do most mischief, will be sure to gain the greatest party, and subdue the most to his subjection. We may remember how it fared with the Romans, so soon as the Legions or Military power was too strong for the Senate, they chose the Emperor: when Law lost his force; the Emperor lost his right; so when Parliaments are over borne with Cavaliers, the King will be subject to every wind of violence, and they that now pretend to set Him above His Parliament, will then set themselves above him, and will retort upon Him the same language He now useth against the Parliament; for when as He shall plead the Law against violence, for His being rightful King, it will be demanded of Him, what Written. Law He can produce to make Him King of England? if He make Answer, that the Fundamental Laws put Him in that Office; it will again be told Him, That His own position is, that those Fundamental Laws must be known Laws, explicit and written, else not to be trusted or urged in Plea; and than if no Law make Him King, Conquest may without wrong to Him, prefer another to the Crown, who is no stranger in blood, and much more deserving by the sword, this whole War being managed by his skill▪ labour and industry; insomuch, as already if the King command one thing and he another, the Prince must be preferred before the King; witness Banbury, which was secured from plundering by the Kings own hand; but that was slighted, and the Town plundered by Prince Rupert, vilifying the King's Authority and Fidelity, making it a fault of His unexpertnesse; Saying, his Uncle knew not what belonged to War. This may be sufficient to demonstrate what he intends, but expressions newly vented may confirm, in which there was little civility, and less Loyalty; but what can be expected from scholars taught by such a Master, they coming to perform a piece of service for their Mr (and no doubt by his commands) that they might give him the earnest to assure him of the full possession of the whole kingdom; set upon Henly; who no sooner was entered within the Town, but they cried out (as thinking it sure) God damn us, the Town is Prince Roberts, but they reckoned without their host, and it would be well for them they could miss of Damnation, which they so often desire, and may justly expect, especially desiring of it so near death, that it may be questioned whether they had time left to repent; as it happened with some of those that fell at that time, and I hope if they mend not their manners, their Master and the rest will be paid home in the same coin; now how unfit both are to be taken to assist a King (in an unjust War against Loyal Subjects) who labour to disthorne them and enslave the other, let the World judge; for he that dare already so far to take upon him, will doubtless when time serves, and then be but one throw for 3 Kingdoms, will put home for all, and so turn Tables with His Majesty, putting Him and His to their Pensions, as himself now is and may be worse, and than it will be too late for the King to think His Parliament and those that adhere to them, His best subjects, when the Sons of Serviah are too hard for Him; neither will Prince Rupert want abettors and sharers in this cursed design; for many of our young deboyced and Low-fortuned Nobility and Gentry suiting therein so naturally with this new Conqueror will make no bones to shoulder out their old King, to set up such an one, as shall make them for making him: As for those of the graver and more sober sort, some of which have been looked at as good Patriots of the Commonwealth, I admire they do not bethink themselves, and get off betimes, and endeavour to help the Lord against the mighty; knowing this, what side soever prevails, they may come sadly home in some case or other, though worse on Prince rupert's part than the Parliament; witness the imprisonment of my Lord Savill and the Sheriff of Yorkshire, who now are imprisoned for this saying (& that upon just ground) The Papists bore the greatest sway in my Lord of Newcastles Army, and none suffered to bear offices but such; that they would not fight against Religion and their own conscience, whatsoever else may be pretended. And such a stratagem may be laid for them, when they may speak less matter according to their conscience and judgement; as for the other which do hope for advancement by their Country's ruin, they may come to fall short, as Esop's dog, who snatching at a shadow lost the substance; and marvel not that I put these amongst those that will raise their Master P. R. for they that are not faithful to their Country, can never be Loyal to their King, but as the wind blows best for them, so they will sail: But for the preventing of this, I beseech the Lord to open the eyes of His Majesty, that he duly and truly considering, what otherwise may come upon Him and His Dominions, may join Himself to His great Council, that so He may flourish, and His Subjects may enjoy Peace and Truth.   
FINIS.