The PRISONER's Most mournful Cry Against the present Oppression and Tyranny that is exercised upon him. OR, An EPISTLE written by John Lilburn Esq prisoner in Newgate, July 1. 1653. Unto the Right Honourable John Fowke Lord Mayor of London.  
My Lord,  
I Know you are a rational wise man, endowed with a large stock of brains, and understand very well the Fundamental Laws and Liberties of England, for which many years ago you were a sufferer: and, I am confident, you have not the least cause in the world to be personally my enemy, for any unhandsomeness that ever I acted against you in particular in my life; and all this, that afternoon your Marshal brought me before you, you acknowledged and confessed before a great many of my friends; and further did declare, freely and publicly unto all my friends, upon my opening of Empson and Dudley's Case to you, (and the danger that might come unto yourself, in your apprehending me as a Felon, and thereby endeavouring to destroy me, upon an unjust, injurious, and illegal Act of Parliament) that you were forced to do what you did to me, for the saving your own head upon your own shoulders, and, as your seeming-justification, produced me, and suffered me to read the Generals and the gentlemen's sitting at Whitehall (commonly called the Council of State's) Warrant: and yet, notwithstanding all that I said unto you against that unjust Act, you committed me to prison, and sent me so far on the way to my execution at Tyburn, which you know very well I have born with patience and contentedness, without much grumbling against you, or any other that have been administrators in that Injustice, Tyranny, and Oppression that I now suffer, and, through the strength of the Almighty, my neverfailing Rock of salvation, undergo with comfort and rejoicing.  
My Lord, you cannot but know, (because they are so publicly in Print, all up and down the streets) that I have presented (upon the 14, 16, and 20 of June last) from my self, three submissive, fair, sober, modest, and rational Petitions unto those Gentlemen sitting at Whitehal, that have by their wills and pleasures assumed the present governing of the free Nation of England (after they have destroyed and rooted up by the roots, by their swords, wills, & pleasures, all the formal settled legal Power and Government of this ancient free Nation) in which I have offered them so fair, that it is impossible for any just man in the world to offer them fairer: and my friends, and many of the honest private Soldiers, signed an honest and just Petition in my behalf, which also was presented to them, upon the said 20 of June last, & is now published also in Print: But the answers unto all of them being nothing but an absolute Declaration from the greatest amongst them, of their bloodthirsty pursuing my innocent life and blood, and their endeavour with lies and falsehoods, by gilded agents and instruments, to fix the honest, conscientious, just, and compassionate private Soldiers against me, from Troop to Troop, and Company to Company, (as my certain intelligence tells me) that so they whom I never in the least wronged in my life, might become desirous and solicitous to have me cut off, as a man that their great Officers would confidently make believe hath absolutely confederated, combined, and sworn unto the present King Charles (commonly called King of Scots) to come over into England, to be his Agent; to embroil the Nation in Blood and War again, and thereby to destroy not only the General, but all his Officers and Soldiers, and, by consequence, the prosperity and tranquillity, liberty and freedom of the Land of my nativity; although I had rather be boiled alive in hot Lead, then either directly or indirectly to have the least hand or finger in any such most unspeakably-mischievous design, the very thought of which, my soul abhors: and yet their great Officers are not ashamed (as my intelligence tells me) to aver, They have Letters under my own hand, fully to justify all this against me.  
In which regard, I was unavoidably compelled and forced, unless I would by my silence in a great measure be Fel● de se, a betrayer of my own innocence, and an executor and destroyer of my own life, and therefore did pen and cause to be printed An additional Appendix (dated the 23 of June last) to my first Address from Flanders, of the 4 of May last, to the General and his Council of Officers; in which I have, in honesty, truth, and faithfulness, answered particularly all their foresaid murdering calumniations against me.  
And it seems, other people at liberty being very sensible of their Fundamental Liberties, very much encroached upon, in the Tyranny at present exercised upon me, have therefore penned two Books, the one entitled, A Jury-man's judgement upon the Case of Lieutenant-Colonel John Lilburn; and the other entitled, Lieutenant-Colonel. John Lilburn's Plea in Law (dated the 28 of June) against an Act of Parliament of the 30 of January, 1651.  
Of either of which Books, if I should say I am the Author or Penman, of them, or either of them, I should absolutely aver a lie: But yet thus much I must say, and avow it with my life, That having read the books with seriousness, and finding them so much tending to my advantage, good, and preservation, and so neatly compiled, upon the pure and clear Principles of the Fundamental Law of England, and the unspotted and undefiled Law of Nature and Reason; and the publishing of them so useful, profitable, and advantageous to all the honest, and commonly called freeborn people of England, and in no sense hurtful to any, unless it be those that already have, or hereafter intent to assume to themselves an Arbitrary and Tyrannical Power; to give a Law unto, and to rule and govern the people of this ancient (and renowned) free Nation, by their Lusts, Wills, and Pleasures.  
In all which regards and considerations, I have caused to be printed, and paid with my own money for divers thousands of the foresaid books; and to avoid the displeasure of your Marshal, and his envious and mischievous catchpoles, I have given many hundred of the said books, and other papers freely and gratis away, till the charge began to grow too heavy for my poor purse; which hath had nothing in it, for above this six months together (a very few small tokens excepted) but what I have been forced to borrow; and I must avow, that by reason of my present malicious and cruel sufferings, it hath cost me already above forty pounds since I left Calais, which yet was but upon Monday last was fourteen days: in which regards, and my own necessity, I was forced and compelled to set a true friend or two at work (and to enter into an engagement, to bear all the charges of any trouble they should come into) to disperse amongst the people called Hawkers, my foresaid books and papers, that I justly and honestly paid for; and which thereby are become as much my proper goods, as any upon my back; and whosoever by violence, without due process of law, takes them from my said agents, 〈…〉 whom they legally sell them, are in the eye of the 〈◊〉 for any thing I can find in the law, as guilty of Felony, as any person or persons, that robs, and picks my pocket; and having credible information, that, that busy and soft-headed man, Alderman Atkins, with your Marshal, his brother, and other of the Marshal's servants, have by will, pleasure, tyranny, force, and violence, without due process of law, taken away several hundreds of my said books and papers (especially the Plea in law) now my proper goods and propriety, bought with my money, and sold by me to my said agents, for twelve pence a choir, or twelve pence every twenty five sheets, and by them to the Hawkers for fourteen pence a choir, or fourteen pence every twenty five sheets.  
And having at the present no remedy in law left me, but to complain unto your Honour hereof, and to desire you as the Supreme Magistrate of London, forthwith to call the said tyrannical Alderman Atkins before you, with your Marshal, his brother and servants, and cause them to make me restitution of my said proper goods; and also to make me satisfaction for the damage they have done me in spoiling my market and sale thereof; and I entreat you, and beseech you further, that seeing without all shadow of law or justice, I am by Sir Arthur Haselridge rob of all my estate, and like to be murdered without mercy or compassion, by lies, and falsehoods, and the letter of a most unjust and injurious Act of Parliament; and have no legal Magistracy left in England, now to appeal unto for my preservation; in which regard, I humbly beseech you speedily to send unto me your best assurance, freely, to the utmost of your power, to permit me to vend and sell within your jurisdiction, all such moderate, sober, and rational vindications of my own unspotted innocency, as are grounded upon truth, and the fundamental laws of England; in the failor of which, you do unavoidably compel me forthwith, most bitterly to cry out of my sorrows, calamities, and cruel bloody tyranny, that is exercised upon me, by your Lordship, and your under-Officers, with all those above you, that pursue my blood and life without law or reason; and to make the mournfullest cry to the body of the honest, and free people and soldiers of England, that either my pen or brains can invent or devise, for help, relief, compassion, and protection: and in case I be locked up amongst the Felons, as I am informed, hath been endeavoured already by no mean ones, before I can do it, I do hereby beg of some of my friends at liberty to do it for me; which extremity, if it be possible, from my very soul I desire to avoid; and therefore do hereby again (as I have often already to the General) assure you, that yet there is nothing in reason that the General shall desire at my hand, but he shall command; but if nothing will satisfy his indignation, but the last drop of my innocent blood, I do hereby declare before God, Angels, and men, that he doth hereby compel me to endeavour to the utmost of all the power I have in the world, to sell my life to him at as dear a rate as ever Samson sold his to the Philistims. So earnestly entreating, and expecting your Lords speedy answer in writing, I take leave to subscribe myself,  
From my unjust imprisonment, and yet soul-rejoycing, and heart-chearing captivity in Newgate, this 1 July 1653. A true and faithful English man, and your Honour's most humble servant, if you please, John Lilburn.  
FINIS.