A strange and terrible Sight foreseen in this Kingdom and City of London.  
IT were a folly for me (thrice worthy Citizens) to make a long Oration of the misery that both you in the City, and we in the Country have already sipped, and are like to drink deep of ere long, unless some speedy course be taken for our relief; for to tell you the plain truth, it hath been told us so oft already, unless more or rather better means had been used for a redress. Alas! pens are not instruments to offend Warriors, or to suppress their violence; nil prodest ratio ubi vis imperat, reason is of little use where force prevails; in downright terms, our pens have been too busy and our swords too slow; if we had taken every occasion to fight as we did to write, the war (in all probability) had been put to an end long ere this time: I will therefore forbear to tell you what miseries you have suffered, or what means might have been used for your redress, lest you say of me as our Countrymen use to say of our forces, they come too late; or lest you object that against me as was against the Athenian Orator, discoursing at large of Hercules valour; quis ignorat? who knows it not? but I will rather endeavour to stir up your drooping hearts, & shake your drowsy spirits, by showing you the misery which is like in a seven fold manner to seize upon you unless you be active.  
Cipio, though he had nothing but the endowments of nature, could prevail with his Soldiers, who were but in the same sphere, having all of them the mere principle of nature only to incite them: yet he in his extremity, used no other argument but this, estote viri libertas agitur, play now the men, for your liberty lies at stake: and he prevailed; did he prevail? and were his men so stout for corporal liberty? what stoutness there should now be raised in you (most noble Citizens) whose principals are far above the sphere of nature: Alas! 'tis not your corporal liberty alone that lies at stake, but also that which is spiritual; view but the worth of both and view the want, and tell me where's a peasant in the world that would not rather choose to die then lose them.  
Your corporal liberty, is that whereby you freely enjoy all that is yours without control of any; this is it whereby thou injoyest thyself as a freeman; this is it whereby thou injoyest thy goods and whatsoever is thine without control of any, or being engaged to any, and this is liberty: And this same liberty your enemies fight for; but how? 'tis as they do protest, they fight for the Protestant Religion; to destroy it; even so they fight for your freedom; to take it from you and make you slaves; if ever they should prevail, you might say to your riches, and to your pleasures, to your dainty dishes, and to your sumptious building, as a Spaniard with one eye said to his enemy, having put out the other, good night (says he) for I can see no longer; so may you say to your gay , and to your moneys, for if ever they prevail, you are like to see them no more; you must bid your ultimam valo to all your good company, you must take your leave of your soft beds; nay, I fear you must take your last-farewell of your wife, of your pretty children, and of your families. Ah! what sad sights would London see, in seeing them within her walls; you Husbands should see your Wives ravished before your faces; you that can now behold them comely and decent in apparel, should then see them disrobed, their apparel pulled from their backs, and they glad to  themselves in those dunghill-ragges put off from those filthy uncivil wretches, which follow that noisome and that ungodly cursed crew. Ah Wives! would it not be a sad sight for you to see your grave, and honest Husbands insulted over by base unworthy fellows, to see them kick them, and beat them, and drag them up and down the streets; how would you endure it? to see your decent Husbands, and your now well liking Husbands, all tottered in rags, quaking for want of garments and looking pale for want of food and lodging, and your enemies instead of relieving them, scorning at them and despising them: you would think it a very poor case when you must be compelled to live aliena quadra, at another man's finding; but how much more straight and irksome will it be to you, when you shall see others glutting themselves with your provision, which you & your Family are ready to faint for, and your enemies drunk with your drink, and you wanting it, and they sleeping on your beds, and you lying on the floors. Ah Children! what torment will it be to you, to see your loving Parents thus barbarously handled; it wounds my heart to think what will becoma of you: Your homes will be the streets, the bulks your beds, your drink will be mere water, and to be feared your food will be what you can beg of common Soldiers. O heart of flint hath he that cannot weep, to see the pretty children shivering and quaking in the streets, to hear them crying out for want of food and outward comforts: O doleful sight, to see the children knocking at the prison doors enquiring for their Parents, and there to hear what moans they to each other make; the Parents shake their heads and wring their hands, the children likewise cry to them again; they sob, and sigh, and pine away, and none takes pity on them. O let me tell you Parents, Children, Servants, all whatever you be, that bear the name or face of modesty or honesty, your day of comfort's past when they possess your City, your night of misery is come; and you must then shake hands and bid adieu to all your wont liberty and comfort; your feasting times will then be turned into fasting times; your merry jesting times will now be turned into solemn mourning and bewailing times; your drinking wine will then be turned into drinking water; your honey will be turned into gall; and to conclude, your dainty walks will be turned into dungions, and your curious music into gingling cheyns: View but this monster well, and then tell me which of you but ha● rather die valiantly, then live to see and to endure 〈◊〉 horrid misery: Neither is this the worst that I have told you, but which is grievousest to see, and heaviest to be borne; you will assuredly be brought both you and yours into most hellish darkness; I mean into spiritual thraldom. London hath now the beams of heavenly light, shining more clearly and more gloriously in it, than any City in the World; never were there more famous Ministers in it since the World stood then now at this present; never more plenty of Sermons then at this day; never more days of humiliation then now; never were there more Bibles in the City then now; never more liberty for Ministers to preach and people to hear then now; never in a better way for Reformation then now: But should these wicked creatures (as most certainly they will try) enter your City, your glorious light would then be turned into hellish darkness; your Ministers that now (to your comfort) you can see in the Pulpits, you will then (to your sorrow) see in the dungions; instead of praying Ministers, and preaching Ministers, and watchful Ministers; you will have drunken Parsons, and swearing Parsons, and idle Parsons, and popish Parsons, and jeering Parsons against Jesus Christ.  
O what swarms of Euphrates vermin would be scrawling and creeping in your streets; instead of Sermons, you will have railing against Reformation, and against Parliamental proceed and private fast days; you will hear Mass instead of God's Word, and Mass Priests instead of Ministers; instead of singing Psalms, you will have singing of ballads and songs against the Protestants, and poor praying Christians: O the oaths and those horrid blasphemies that will then be belched forth continually: Ah Christians! you must bid farewell Bible when they come into your City, you must never look to see English Bible more, nor to read more of God's Word; you must bid farewell to all your godly company, and all manner of godliness in profession; never look to meet more the Ordinances, or to have your sins reproved but be sure you shall have your prayers jeered, and your fasting jeered, and your zeal scoffed at. O Magistrates! O Ministers! O Ancient! O Grave! O Husbands! O Wives! O Parents! O Children! O Masters! O Servants! O all and every of you that make profession of Jesus Christ, and have entered into Covenant to fight for him, for Christ's sake and his Cause sake, ponder of these things; and if the consideration of these things will not move you to shut up shops, and come forth unto the help of the Lord against the mighty, assure yourselves your posterities will rue it and Mero's curse will assuredly fall upon your head: But many I know will say, all this that is spoken concerning the enemy's cruelty is but imagined, men are apt to speak the worst; sure they will not be so cruel, say some.  
Give me leave to answer; we usually say seeing is believing; but he that writes these lines to you not only saw, but also felt their cruelty.  
〈◊〉 their heavy blows and bloody hands, I now do bear their blood● 〈…〉 their bloody and inhuman dealing, I saw them 〈…〉 mangle others, Gentlemen of worth and quality, and yet they promised both me and them fair quarter.  
I felt their punishment in hunger and cold, I felt their punishment in fetters too, they bond my hands, my neck, and heels together, a punishment seldom heard of for poor prisoners, especially for a Captain; yet this and more than this I underwent; and more, I saw them strip men aged and young, they did the like to women, maids, servants and children.  
I saw the honest people wanting ; the women weeping and making grievous moan to on another for want of bread to feed their children; I saw them fire houses after that they had plundered them; I saw the people go with bleeding bodies, and fainting hearts within them, to see their houses fired to the ground, their goods consumed, and they, their wives, their children and Families having no place to put their head in: O doleful sights to see, and melancholy tunes to hear; I dare presume there is not a man in the City, if he hath but the least spark of good nature in him, if he did but see, the picture drawn of their ill demeanours, but he would rather die then suffer them to enter the City. I have not yet told you the worst; I have not told you of ravishing women, neither did I tell you of kill maids, with that most filthy usage.  
Staffordshire women (can to their sorrow) tell you; thus we see what it is to deal with strangers, we pull thereby strange punishments on our heads: This rod was then north-wards, since it hath been southwards, and lately westwards and whether it will, rove we know not; but should it get within your City, you would (I am confident) be the miserablest people under the Sun; they do profess themselves very merciful in the midst of their cruelty; all the cruelty they show in the Country is but as a spark to the fire, or as a drop of the bucket, in comparison of that rigour that they would show to you: They know that England had not been able to hold up hand against them, had not you put your hand to the work: They know 'twas your money that maintained the war against them; they know that you were the first mover in the work of Reformation; they know that you opposed Bishops and Ceremonies; they know 'twas you that caused that grand Traitor to be beheaded, and therefore you shall be sure to drink deepest in the cup of their fury: I beseech God you never see that day; for 'twill be such a time, as he will think himself most happiest that can escape with his life; is it not time then that you should bestir you? you see how many false friends you have, how many ignoble spirits you have had all this while under the pretence of honest men and friends to the public cause, but now have slipped the collar you see how few cordial friends you have, and how the King's Army or rather the Queen's Army grow more insolent every day, and how they oppress the Country, and will you lie still? Up, up, brave noble spirits, and lie no longer like the Ass under the burden of oppression.  
You hitherto have been active, valiant and courageous men; up therefore like yourselves, take sword in hand most gallantly: Chronicle your names on earth, in Heaven for ever, for fight valiantly for the Lord of hosts against his enemies; aged and young, masters and servants, mistresses and maids, it concerns you all that wish well to the Protestant Religion, your King and Country, one way or other, either by purses or persons, to help in this great work; the virtuous maids and the young Gentlewomen of the City, show their brave spirits in helping forward of this work.  

Whose worthy praise none can express or write,  
Though they should beat their brains both day and night.  
But Tryton broach their names the western ways,  
And Fame divulge thou it, to their high praise.   
What is the matter (noble Citizens) that your hearts are down? do you give the day for lost? do you think England is lost because Bristol is lost.  
Alas, Bristol is not all our strength, nor all our forts, nor all our garrisons; we have the  cause, the greater side, and the honester men; the passage to Heaven is clear for us, so that we can go thither and fetch what we want, but 'tis shut to them. Our Parliament is standing, our Forts are well managed; we have a pound for their shilling, twenty pieces of Ordnance for their one, we have the Seas to ourselves, and all the honest Christians with us; and as for knaves and traitors going from us, let's never be sorry, for much better is their room then their company: Seeing than we have a prize in our hands, let's make the best advantage of it whiles we may, let us strive to act effectually, study the best way, and ask the wisest counsel what to do in so weighty a business.  
Take that course that the Heathens were wont to take▪ when they went about any weighty business, they still inquired at the Oracle; even so do you in this weighty business of Jesus Christ, go first to God in humiliation and prayer; Nineveh when it heard that its destruction was near took this course, and prevailed with God; so do you get as they did a decree out, that all may observe it, petition for a weekly fast; these eaten extraordinary times, the wicked they grow worse and worse, and therefore let us be better and better; begin with God, and then strive to set yourselves in order, for order is the strength of an Army, and of a City, but disorder is the confusion of both; take therefore away the causes of disorder, Malignants are the only cause of disorder in a City or Army; strive therefore to find them out, give them the Covenant, if they refuse to enter into covenant with you, let them not live in the City with you, be they rich, be they poor, secure them, and banish them never dispute this man is poor, and that man hath children, cast them our spare none, unmerciful and bloody is that pity that causeth the downfall of a City.  
Endeavour to remove mutinous spirits, and faint-hearted cowards, from places of trust in the Army, be he Colonel, Major, Captain, or any other Officer, let no such person stay a day by your good will, in or amongst your soldiers. You will not imagine what a great advantage 'tis, to have all encouraging Officers in a Town. I know a little Town in England which lies northward, it was within this six weeks besieged by the Queen's Army, consistin● of 6000. men, there was not above 180. men in the Town that were Musqu●teeres; yet these few fouhht with all that company, from six of the clock in th● morning till six at night, and then they scorned even when their muskets we●● broke, and the enemies entered to parley with them, but fought with them all along the Town, and at last got into the Church and there they parled with the enemy and got quarter; and those poor handful of men being backed on by their Commanders, through God's providence killed four of their Colonels fifteen or sixteen of their Captains, and two Regiments were brought so lo that they could scarce make 60. men apiece; it was verily thought that there were 1500. killed and wounded by those nine score men, whereof myself was one; so that resolute men in the work are very advantageous. But on the contrary, on coward who through the perterbations of his mind, and quames of fear oppressing his heart, making his eyes believe he sees a 1000 when he sees but a 100 making him think every bush is a man, and every bullet that his enemy shoots goes through his heart; this man is enough to put a hundred scruples of fears into stout men's hearts, and so by consequenee to rout an Army or lose a Town, as we have too late experience of it. Remove drunkards, and swearers, and scoffers at Religion, for these men that will not keep touch with with God, be sure they will break covenant with you if occasion be offered, which is not unattempted till now: When you have removed disorder set yourselves in order, get yourselves every one of you into a posture for war, get every Company Captains, let every man list himself and get as good Arms as he can, that so if an onset should be every man may do something, and fight in some order: Look to your works, some say, that they are not of themselves as they should be, get men of judgement to view them, for your Works are the strength of the City, lose them and the City is lost; let all the ditches without be leveled, have an eye to the men you trust in the Forts, see that they be religious and well grounded men; I speak boldly and plainly after our Country manner, because I know upon the safety of this City depends mediately the safety of our laws, our liberties, our lives, our Religion, our Parliament and our Synod: You for (most noble Citizens a● you tender these things, so show it in your zealous contending for these things Wives put on your husbands to love themselves, you and their children, and as they love you and would have you safe, so let them use the means to keep you safe, to rise all in a body and to fight against those cursed men that intent nothing but our destruction; up quickly and be doing for the Cause, and the Lord of Heaven the mover of all hearts stir you up to the work and prosper● you in it, that we may see a happy end of this unhappy war; and this shall not only be the prayer, but as hitherto it hath; so always it shall be the utmost endeavour of your poor Servant,  
J. J.  
FINIS.