A COPY OF A LETTER WRITTEN to colonel Henry Marten, a Member of the House of Commons, by Lieutenant colonel Lilburne. July 20. 1647.  
SIR:  
YOUR Delitory and unjust delaying to make my Report to your House according to your duty, hath so hastened forward the ruin and destruction of me, my wife and tender infants, and riveted the House of Lords fast in their tyrannical domination, That I cannot now style you either a friend to me, the Commonwealth, or to justice, truth, or honesty, and of all men in the world I should least have dreamed to have found such unworthy and unjust dealing from you; But yet notwithstanding by reason of a Paper come from the Army, a copy of which I have even now seen, (which desires of the House of Commons that I, &c. may immediately, and legally be tried, or if the great affairs of the Kingdom will not suffer them to debate my business at present, that then I may be bailed,) I therefore desire you to acquaint the House, that the Law of the Land is clear & plain, that the Lords in the case in controversy betwixt us, have no jurisdiction at all over me, or any Commoner of England whatsoever, and I have justly protested against them, and legally appealed 
* Which Appeal, you may read in the freeman's freedom vindicated pag. 9, 10, 11. ▪ above a year ago to your House for justice against their insufferable usurpations & incrochments; (the enjoyments of which is principally hindered by yourself) and therefore I require according to Law, justice, equity, conscience & reason; either to be justified or condemned by your House.  
And as for bail I will by the goodness of God be cut in 1000 pieces, before I will in this case stoop the breadth of one heir, or do any act that in my own understanding shall declare my owning of their jurisdiction in the least over me▪ with my giving bail or so much as my roll, would do, within my apprehension would be a granting that their most divilsh tyrannical illegal sentensing of me, to pay 4000 l. and to be seven years in Prison; and forever to be disfranchised of the Liberties of an English man, were just and legal, and therefore if you will discharge your duty after above a years unjust delay in making my Report to your house I shall yet thank you, but if you will not, the blood, & ruin of me & mine▪ be upon the head of you and your posterity, and the righteous and just God of heaven and earth, either incline your heart to make my Report for me now at last, (let the issue be what will I care not, as I fully told you in my last large Epistle to you of the 31. of May 1647 now in print pag. 4, 5, 6.) or else speedily avenge my cruill sufferings▪ by your means) with out mercy or compassion upon you and yours. Sir in shor● if your house will as they ought give me my Liberty, without entanglements, I will take it if not I am resolved to stick so close to my just cause, till I be forced to eat my own flesh for want of bread, which in the eye of human reason can not be long, before I be forced to do it; but assure yourself that if the putting forth all the resolution in a man that for this ten years, neaver feared death, tortures, nor torments; (no, nor yet knew what belonged to a base fear,) will save me or do me good, I will by the strength of God leave no means whatsoever unattempted or unassaid though it lose me all the earthly props & relations, I have in the world, & I advise you as a friend to look well to yourself and do not continue such insupportable burdens upon me by your delay of justice, as after suffering shipwreck of my estate and fortunes, by the grand tyrannical Tyrants of England, for above ten years together, as I am not able longer to bear without evident destruction to me and mine, and so at present I rest, and wish I could subscribe myself.  
Your Servant John LILBURNE. From my causeless, and most unjust Captivity in the Tower of London, the place of my fixed and resolved resolution, to spend the last drop of my heart blood against the house of Lords usurpations, over the Legal Rights, & freedoms of all the Commons of England, this 20. of July. 1647▪