THE SCOTS MIST, Yet gathering To wet English-men to the skin; OR The people and Souldiers observations on the Scots Declaration to the parliament of England. Jul● 1648. Compared with Their former observations on the Scots Message November 1647. And both of them, w●th The Scotts present invasion of England, by a great Army of old Souldiers and Irish Rebells, for all our goods, to be forcibly maintained on the spoil and ruins of the people: For establishing 

1. Themselves, their Wives, children and servants in all places of England, where they can be able to subdue and keep.  
2. The King( or Duke Hamleton) on his royal Thron●.  
3. Their cruel and severe( but not true nor sincere) Religion, with a Priest in every Parish, if not the late 26 bloody Bishops( which were degraded) for all.    
IT seemeth( dear brethren) that either ye have not du●y consid●●ed, or very suddenly forgotten, those observations( containing many just admonitions and needful reprehensions) which we the people and Souldiers of England,( different from you in judgement and practise) divulged in print, to show your great inconstancy, ingratitude, injustice, double dealing and self-seeking( in divers respects) by that your M●ssage to the Parliament of England, Nov. 5. 1647.( also in print) concerning a personal Treaty with the King, and to bring him with honour and safety to one of his houses in or near London, that he may be restored to the dignity of his predecessors.  
Wherein your manifold gross corruptions, misapprehensions, dissimulations, unreasonable demands, and unwise resolutions, were truly and clearly( though briefly) discovered, which if ye had well, duly and timely pondered, and laid to heart, ye would have found far more urgent cause to have been truly sorrowful for, and to have quiter desisted from such ungodly, corrupt, inconstant and foolish courses, then thus to have insisted both in more bitter expressions, and more violent actions, as well by a new declaration, according to the scope of that corrupt Message, and by entering England( in a coloured way of invasion) with a new Army( composed of the most popish bloody crew, and profane abjects of your deluded and enslaved Nation) for all our guds; even to force out of us by violence, what ye cannot procure by other indirect means; which ye say is for establishing your Presbyterian Religion in England, and your gracious King on his royal throne, according to your national Covenant. Well, seing he who was the wisest of mankind, doth not forbid to answer those who are naturally foolish,( which otherwise we call simplo or Idiots) according to their foolishness or simplicity, lest we should be like them, neither biddeth us answer such uncapable men, lest they should be wise in their own conceits, but he instructeth only how to deal with those whom God had indeed with sufficient abilities, and yet do use all to sinister and contrary ends: so that his words do imply as much as if he should say, whatsoever is spoken( or otherwise expressed) more out of self-love, flattery or corruption, then out of prudence, sincerity and discretion, deserveth rather silence then any answer, otherwise then by way of reproof, lest the answerers should be as self-seeking, dissembled and corrupt as the speakers.  
But his words immediately following these, do also imply that these or such purposes being boldly insisted on by such parties, some kind of punctual, brief and sharp answer is to be proportioned to them, according to the sense and scope of their words, lest they should be puffed up in their own fond conceits, and imagine their own councils to be like Achitophels O●acles, and so unanswerable, that they will be( as ready as he was) to build castles in the air, So upon the same ground we thus deal justly& plainly with you: for what greater folly or foolishness, yea or madness can be in the world, then that ye who not only know and profess, but in some measure practise many parts of truth, justice and freedom, though after a corrupt and confused manner, and have not only tasted, but like your forefathers abundantly drunk both in soul and body, that bitter cup of tyranny& oppression even to the very dregs.  
And now although( through Gods undeserved mercy) ye b● left free in things spiritual, and made free in things temporal, yet ye are so brutish and Sottish( yea and in this respect we may now say Scottish) that ye are so far from standing fast in those liberties, as not only content to be entangled yourselves& your posterities again, with the yokes both of Antichristian and monarchical bondage, but most maliciously both fight to be slaves yourselves, and force all with your sharp swords, whom you cannot delude with your smooth words, as well of this Nation as of your own,& as well to fight as contribute to be such miserable slaves, beggars, spectacles of shane,& objects of pitty with you, that neither ye nor any whom ye so overcome, shall dare to say or do any thing, but what may agree with the inconstant humours of your wicked Governours, and time serving teachers, yea not so much as to affirm and maintain, that either your souls, bodies, lives, wives, children, families, estates, trades or livelihoods, are your own; but are all your most Excellent, good and gracious sovereigns, whom now again( though most bloody and wicked) ye so Idolize and adore, that it s too apparent, ye love fear and respect more then God.  
ye,( at least the honest party amongst you) ran well a while, but who did let you that ye would not proceed and obey the truth, but are weary of well-doing, and not finish your work; ye seemed at first to be a pattern to us and other Nations, as indeed we followed many of your actions, until we saw your manifold dissimulations; that all your most glorious beginning in the spirit, endeth most ignominiously in the flesh.  
Its certain, the whole frame of your building standeth on three pillars, which howsoever they may seem strong in themselves, yet seing the strongest of them( as pretending to support the other two) namely your national Covenant, hath but a sandy foundation(& not the firm rock Christ) the other two, namely presbyterial and monarchial Government, have but a rotten foundation; therefore it willbe but the just fruits of your own labours, if the whole fabric of your glorious Reformation fall only about your own cares, and not smother others: for from that great and unparalleled text, your national Covenant, your Clergy by their words, and ye by your deeds, yea& all your confederates here amongst us also by your example, have in all the troubles of these distressed and enslaved Nations, raised all your high and mystical Doctrines for King and Parliament, and made all your profitable useful and notable applycations for men, menyes, plunder and taxes: Oh hypocrites, that tithe the Mint and the Annis and the Cumin, and yet leave the greater matters of the law( even justice and judgement) undone; But God knoweth how to catch you in your moneths, even when ye are heavy in your iniquities, and ready for the sharp sickle of his judgments, though he now permit you to run on in your crooked ways,& do what seemeth good in your own eyes!  
Ye say in your Declaration[ july 1648. pag. 25. line 10) that the principal cause of your engagement( in assisting our Nation against the King and his forces) was the establishing of your Religion, ye know there is a Proverb, Mal●m esse probus, quam haberi, Its better to be good, then est●emed go●d; surely if you were either as good or god●y( as appears by your practise) ye desire to be esteemed, ye would rather put your religion to trial, as the Apostle Paul himself did his doctrine to the Be●●ans judgement, then either engage, desire of urge any religion or worship to be established, but w●a● is both fined& refined like Gideons Army, purged and repurged like pure gold, as both the whole ●●b●ick of the Temple, was built according to the direction of Gods word, and the Tabern●cle according to the pattern showed in the Mount.  
Ye cannot deny, but your religion( whereof you so much boast and make such a do) is only a human statu●e religion, sm●lling far more of mans human devic●s ●hen of Gods divine laws; for tis said in your Confession of Fa●●h( as either ●gnorantly o● unjustly ye are pleased to inti●●e●:) w●ich was printed at you● firs● opposing of the Service-book, and renewing your forc●d Covenant, which is( there at first inserted) that in the 69. Act or Statute of the 6 Parliament of King james the sixth, there is no other Religion, nor face of a Kirk,( meaning in the world, but yours in Scotland) and therefore it is always styled Gods true Religion, Christs true Religion, the true and Christian Religion, and a perfect Religion: and upon that most absurd principle, and corrupt foundation of a King and Parliaments Votes, laws, acts or sttatuts, thus to praise a religion either of your own or other mans framing) all of whatsoever estate or degree, are commanded under all highest temporal penalties as well as Church censures, that either satan or man can device( as is there particularly expressed) to submit unto that ●our so much boasted off Religion; as the Angel of the Church of La●●icea( who was neither could nor hot) boasted of his riches, and needed no thing, and yet knew not that he was wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked; so it appeareth( by the greatness of the penalties inflicted upon the despisers of that wicked decree) that in divers( respects) it is no less dangerous to refuse submission to your cruel Scots Religion, then it was to refuse kneeling and falling down before Nebuchadnezars g●lden Image.  
Touching your monarchical G●vernment, namely, To re-establish your gr●cious King on his royal Throne, and to rest●re his most excel●●●t Majesty to his former greatness; and for these ends, that His highnes sacred person, may be brought w●th honour and safety to one of his houses in or near London, whom ye pray, may no on●y have a long and prosper●us reign, but that he want not one of his seed to sit upon his ●hrone wh lst the Sun and moon endureth, as may be gathered in divers places of your Declaration according to that corrupt, base, hypocri●icall, flattering and time-serving form of prayer, used by the false, rotten, episcopal and popish Clergy in theit usual p●ayers after Sermons, as they daily both flattered him and info●med God of his high and lof●y titles& royal prerogatives over all persons, ca●●es, and the like words before sermons; he scope o● these words is so p●●in, that there needeth no explica●ion, further ●en ●his observation.  
It evidently appeareth by these& the like, your and your confeder●●● h●p●c●●itcall and dec●itf●ll p●act●ces, ●●at ye intend to trample under too●e, and( as it were) cast into the g●ea● Ocean, all the inv●●●●ble b●●ud which hath been spilled, and Oce●●s both of treasures and estates which have been spent in these 〈◇〉 wars,& never to call the chief author thereof, and grand en●my of our peace nor any others of his cursed crew, how bloody, c●u●●l, tyrannicall and wicked soever he and they have been to any account, but to spare both him and them all, as Saul spared Agag King of Amalck with the fat beasts, and as Ahab spared Benhadad King of Assyria, which cost them both their lives& estates, al matters are so wheeled about, if God by a powerful hand and out-stretched arm, as he did proud Senacribs host humble not your pride, and lay both your flattering of tyrants, and railing on peaceable Christians in the dust, who have thus taken up arms again, and confederated both to spare him, though ye smart even by himself for so doing, and with English and irish Rebels, either to destroy or enslave us, and all who will not both submit to you, and partake with you, now after it hath pleased God to go forth so often with our Armies, and not only to make him our prisoner, but to grant us so many victories over him and all your brethren in evil, the popish Cavaliers, our most open, bloody, cruel& professed enemies.  
And as touching your other three desires, reasons and grounds of your undertakings expressed at the end of your Declaration, concerning the Parliament of Englands freedom, and with your consent, to conclude by a personal Treaty with his Majesty. Next concerning the pressing forward the City of Londons propositions, which were presented to the King at Oxford, and thirdly, concerning the disbanding the Army of Sectaries, under the Command of Thomas Lord Fairfax, we intend not here to insist, neither to follow you in any of your wavering relations, nor wandering repetitions of any matters or occurrences, throughout the corrupt body or confused mass of your Declaration, to no good, true nor solid purpose, but for your own sinister ends, and to beat the air with abundance of empty and flattering words, to deceive the simplo, as your deceitful Clergy have cheated and abused you, though many of them now who seem to be somewhat, do dissent; which is far more for their own ends then the public good, they considering that if any Army came into England, it wolud be a special means with the like English party, to bring home the King, who doubtless will set up Bishop● over them again, and so put them all out of their benefice, even from teaching ancient people the Bible, to teach young Schollers the horn-book.  
Only one word concerning the Army of Sectaries; in one of K. James his large& eloquent speeches at his coming into England as they stand upon record, he calleth those who held the like true principles then, by the title Puritans, and a sect not fit to live in a Common-wealth, as he used sometimes upon other occasions to curse, when he should have blessed, yea and to absolve the wicked, and condemn the just: and the chief cause that moved him so to express his unjust judgement, was because some Puritan ministers in Scotland, had lately before his departure thence, reproved him of divers bloody cruelties and oppressions; and therefore he so soon as he was come into England,( instead of all the long expected, and so much petitioned Reformation) he both contiuned Bishops in England, and set them up in Scotland; The profane Courtiers also before these troubles, changed the title Puritans into Roundheads; and ye( as ye do now) at your first Armies coming into England, called them Sectaries, as your Black-coats taught you when ye said, that Papists, Separatists nor Sectaries should be no more mentioned, at the conclusion of that Paper, which ye entitled, Your lawfulness in coming into England.  
Now for the word, Sectary, and sometimes schismatic, which ye are pleased to attribute in your Declaration, not only to those of our people whom ye intend to destroy, as wicked Cain did good Abell, not for any evil, that ever they did to you or others, but that they excel both your Clergy& you in the best things; but likewise, to that most victorious, and renowned Army itself, who have both formerly and now( by divine providence) trod under foot many thousands of your roaring, swearing and domineering brethren( in evil,) the Popish Cavaliers. With whom though ye have confederated for that purpose, by your Clergies direction, because they well know, that none knows their falsehood and deceit so well, as those whom they will have the people( by their ex●mple) to call Sectaries& schismatics: So that by their means, ye have like Saul gone to the Witch at Endor,& raised those damning& devouring Devills whom ye will hardly ever lay again, without better help then yourselves, till your heads be laid low in the dust.  
Although we cannot justly call you the greatest Sectaries or schismatics your selvs, because ye had never that grace( or true honour) to be Members of any true visible Church of Christ, and so could never Schism or rent from it, yet we may esteem you the greatest hypocrites& dissemblers in the world, because ye not only thus pretend to be Members of such a Church, that there is none so good in the world, but to reform both your self& all others, as well in this nation as your own, and yet, so far as can be seen or judged by your words or deeds, do intend to deform both yourselves& all others, whom ye can either persuade by your subtle words or compel by your bloody swords, never remembering that that great& chief ordinance of love, alloweth the same measure to be given to all, as it wisheth and expecteth to be received from all.  
If these just admonitions& reprehensions be not sufficient, to reclaim you from your evil ways, but that you will proceed from evil to worse, and still make up the measure of you iniquities,& neither remember that grievous pestilence, which swept away so many thousands,& ten thousands of you the last year from the face of the earth, nor Montross his devouring sword, nor other of his& your confederates, which  shed so much blood amongst you, nor any other of Gods fearful judgments, which he threateneth upon these sinful nations, especially fami●e& desolation, doubtless it may please the same God so to decide between you& these whom ye call sectaries, and are so eager( according to your f●rced Covenant) ●o destroy, though they never gave you any just cause, that he will make either them or some othe●s his instruments, in causing you to drink that full cup of indignation, to the very dregs yourselves, which ye thus so unjustly prepare for others.  
And in the mean time( u●t●ll that time come) what think ye of that small third part of the Army of sectary( ●ince the half was disbanded by your& your confedera●s means) who welcomed your Army now into England, are they not pretty men, have they not a just cause, and is now Haman who would so fain destroy Mordecai, now begun to fall before him? Have ye not broken your own solemn Covenant with our Nation, by bringi●g man army to invade us& or Parliament, by authority of your Parliament? ●s this a brotherly or neighbourly affecti●n any wise answerable to our great love and ●esp ct towards you, manif●sted in the great 〈◇〉 of moneys& kind entertainment many ways ye hav● all these t●oublesom● times received of us. Can ye, or dare ye with a good conscience deny, but ye pass the bounds of civility as well as Christianity, in these& many other your practices, whatsoever ye pretend by your words; and therefore is it no● just with God, that ye who would devour so many ●h●usands of those who never so much as wished you harm,( but did you all the good they could, both at your first incoming, and long before) should destroy thousands of you now in their own defence?  
If ye had as many thousand prisoners of the sectaries, as they have of you, would ye not indeed cut them off,( according to your tith-mongers instruction) rather then take any o●her lawful or human course to save their lives. And do ye not both see& se●le the imm●diate hand of God against you in this their and all their friends miraculous deliverances from your& your confederates bloody cruelties, even by many victories over you& them, though for a while ye seemed as ye undertook to be for us For as he is the Lord ●f hosts& God of battles, so he usually goeth forth with all who fight in a good cause, yea& getteth the greatest glory to himself, when he hath f●w●st to take his part, as appeared in Gidions 300 against the great host of the Midinites. Thus the premises being considered, instead of any further mentioning of your rotten popish, flattering, base& slavish Declaration not worthy of any kind of answering, were it not for a little abating of your insolency& haughtimes, and that ye should not be still wise in your own conceits, ne●●her always subdue& smother the good motions& honest endeavours of the dissenti●g party amongst you, by your corrupt means, we refert both you& all of our ●ation& else where who have most need, to take into serious consideration, n●t only these observations, but likewise our former observations on your corrupt Message to the Parliament of England Nov. 1647, as tending both to one& the same end; which therefore( in regard of the occurreneces since, as the matter seems now to be more reasonable, so the time also is more seasonable then formerly) do follow here in order.〈…〉