OBSERVATIONS UPON, AND IN Answer to his Excellencies late LETTER To The Honourable city of LONDON, For raising assessments, and Free-Quarter, ( alias) Plunder.  
WITH The dreadful Events of rustic domineering SOULDIERS.  
BEING A Caveat for all Cities, and Subjects in the World, how they take up arms against their Native KING.  look on Psal. 55. from verse 12. to the latter end of the 16. 
London, Printed for John Love-Joye, 1647.   

Observations upon, and in Answer to His Excellencies late Letter, &c.  
SIR,  
THIS city which of late, foreigners courted for the fairest of ten thousand, now seems to prostrate her self as a defaced and deflowered Strumpet, whom foreign parts reported the sure Magazine even to a mirror, now cannot parallel the security of a private Cash-box, wherefore she may hang up her Harps on the willows and whine out a ditty for her devout Champious: because the abject of her highest hopes becomes the subject of greatest Demands, the front of her felicity is penuriously placed in the arear, so that his Majesties Prerogative cannot head the Van; but alas poor particular city when her general speaks universal souldiers sovereign.  
And his Excellency is pleased in the beginning of his late Letter to mention what tenderness hath had been exercised by himself and this Army towards the city to preserve it from the least damage; it is true the city was long with child of a Charter, and the Man-midwife very gingerly brought her to bed no, danger redounded thereby but by making the Market place a through fare for Mar●, and so frighting the poor Hi●ders of the custom Hor●● as far as Amsterdam, in homage to the Army of Saints; the Tower Bulloin was taken out, and if the Town B●l had been put in the city had been preserved stem damage Notwithstanding great provocations, the greatest provocation that ever durst show itself on this side hel claims acquaintance with the Army, who provoked the King from Holdenby we may take His Majesties opinion declares in( the narrative) a company of proper Gentlemen of His Excellencies, or Master Ioyces A●my, who provoked the Commissioners of the Parliament; of England and Scotland, who provoked the very nature and body of our Parliament to be purged, which is against their nature being in themselves the Representative health of the Kingdom, and against the natural discipline of war; For the establishment of which( His Ezcellency doth mention much activity in the former Letter, dated Putuey 1647. in these words, J thought fit to let you know, that by the advice of the general council of the Army J have appointed a Rendezvous speedily, and they have very unanimously offered to repair to their several Charges, and improve to their utmost endeavours with the several Regiments for the quieting of them, and the recovering the ancient discipline of the Army to render it more serviceable to the Parliament and kingdom; and to the end your expectations and desires of all good men may be answered by a good issue in this work of so much concernment to the Kingdom. From whence the result doth properly arise, that it was your Army which had lost their ancient discipline, cousequently been less serviceable or less then serviceable to the Parliament and kingdom, and the desires of good men have not been answered, but themselves in both city and kingdom provoked by being disappointed in the bad issue of this work, with what patience wee have waited for the raising of those Arrears, which have been long since done, questionless Sir for your particular person in patience you may possess your soul, but the Army is very impatient to have a shire in all possessions: Community is very impatient of propriety. Have but a little patience, did not your Excellency before the King came to Holdenbie humbly present on the knees of Loya●tie a solemn Protestation, not only of preserving His Majesties person, but speedy promoting of it to His Throne, maugre all sinister designs; but since have not those Agitating Agents, had patience enough to stay the turning of their passion into an action( at Hampton) against His Majesty, and whilst those sons of Committy men were trayterising an Inditemen● they would put in practise an Execution, but in reference( to the waiting of Arrears) which is nothing else but that the Armies patience or waiting hath been to raise or augment Arrears, which is verified in the 100000, per mensem from 60000. The subsequent words express the Armies lying so long about the city, and that they cannot continue much longer without intolerable opqression) for which kind of oppression ther● is a palpable toleration in liberty of conscience; for example, my conscience and another mans take free leave one of another, in point of opinion do censure by way of contraries, so what in his is indeed intolerable oppression, in mine is in zeal, or a meek imposition; therfore it must have an Independent, past yet the Army cannot lie any longer, then would suddenly some Miracles were wrought amongst them, that they would willingly take up their lousy, beds and walk, give sire to their Ammunitions, and be gone, accept of their bare Arrears which is sufficient to cloath you, and their ruly begotten posterity of England, and be disbanded; for it is sufficient for them to be Priests and Prophets and not Kings— and yet after so long and obstinate with-holding, what hath been their due in affront to the Parliament, and in the face of an Army how can they be obstinate, whose soft hearts at first even melted, their silver Charges, basins, Boles, Poringers, spoons, Rings, and whistels into a streem of rebellious blood, in which this Army hath swum to this present high tide of uncharitable Impeachment and how can the city probably act any thing in affront to that power, whose defensative Frontiers they ever were: But alas poor Metropolitan thy case is pitifully bewrayed for thou art now taxed for doing in the face of an Army, but by consequence they resolve to do in thine; so it is a pure prophesy that the Armies blind cheeks must serve the Citizens for Spectacles: Because they must have no other Prospects then their black-parts: the ensuing discourse, doth show the reasons of not withdrawing the Army from the City: because after the much warning given, if they should only pay them Arrears it would be an ill example: If it be an ill evample to pay all that is due, then surely it is one good example to pay none at all: via contrariarum, by way of coutraryes; as for an instance, pay but the devil his due of Arrears, in riches, to wit extortion, in the day; and he will impose a disquiet reposal in the night, still he puts a penalty to distress, adds punishment to payment, and why, because the devil is int, which leads to the grand purgatory of persecution specified in these words: For the speedy levying both of Arrears and penalties; qui ante non caveat post dolebit, touch but the Cats tail and you hazard a scratch the arrear faces about the penalty: if it had been levy Arrears, under penalty of being pulled by the ears; wee should have heard the sound of mercy: or if levy arrears under penalty of our high displeasure: a proportion of justice had stepped in: but levy arrears and penalty, is such a compound of taxations, that it will make but simplo ingredients of all our Citizens: O monstrous horror, indeed sure this is no simptome of an Army of Saints, for persecution by St● should worse then be the persecution of Saints. Me thinks I see the subtle ghosts of deceased Monopolizers offer incense to this penalty posture, as transcendent; having gained a perpetual patent of standing to their arms, God a mercy black Tom, the ship money strikes sail to this Man of War; the Pole money for Pauls Church repairation, whispered but a summons in the ears of the devout vulgar; having reasons of some tune, to second their good design, as to reform Organs, until they spoken nothing but latin, and as men led Bares by the noses to the Bare-garden, so they would lug men by the ears to Paradise, or at least tickle them till they think so,( but this) thunder bolts the Joliheads of our Jerusalem by way of levying or leveling, that their horns should not be exalted above their brethren, but be themselves reduced to the old obedience of subsidy subjects for the trainins up of Saints, to the fulfilling of their prophesy, of reigning a thousand yeeres on the earth; the subsequent matter bespeaks the necessity of it to satisfy; being formerly imposed by the advice of the counsel of War: Here is just the devil and his Dam, needs must whom the devil drives, there is no Law for it, for there it must bee done of necessity, because necessity hath no law. And whose wilfulness( if not malignity or design) have necessitated this, will hear the blame of all ill consequences that may ensue. That is as much as to say, if the Citizens do not leave all and follow him, they shall have nothing at al●o live upon, now towards Christide the truth is accomplished, many false Christs are sprung up, and the devil a bit of Christianity is in them yet the City Charter shall be turned into Charity. because Common-Prayers are for community, and to keep money is Malignancy: It is a design not to answer the demand of a Commander. And those that will not willingly be of the Tribe of Many-asses, and bear all taxations will bear the blame of necessity of all the righteous blood that hath been spilled since the King catching, and King-killing stratagems, henceforth and for ever.  
The remainder serves for a marshal manner of levying, but it exposing the swords point in case of opposition I will absent myself aside for my own security. Humbly desiring your Excellency because you stand at the helm to steer steedy, or the winds and the seas will not obey you, unless you obey the supreme Providence, in establishing the Throne of its vicegerent King Charles; settling the fundamental laws instead of Necessities, and Penalties. and reducing Parliament and Kingdom to its former perfection, and then, but not before shall we have a great calm,  
FJNIS.