An humble Letter of Loyalty to the Londoners: Admonishing them of their immivent miseries, and advising them to a timely Prevention.  By L. T. a well-willer to the welfare of the KING, Parliament, and Kingdom. 
THE imminent dangers and pressing calamities of this Kingdom are notoriously known to all, and to some by sad and woeful experience, who have already tasted of that bitter cup of misery, of which we must all drink the dregs, except GOD in mercy prevent, and give us hearts to make use of the means which he hath put into our hands: our Religion bleeds, our Laws, Liberties and Privileges are languishing at the last gasp, this all men know, this all men fear, of this every man talks and discourses, and this is all they do to prevent and recover these almost irrecoverable wounds: This general deluge and flood of misery, wherein the particular welfare of every man is like to be drowned, (as every man well knows) is only the subject of our discourse, which should be the only object of our employments to remedy: we see ourselves deeply plunged into a deep ditch of distress, and all that we do is to cry (God help us) hath not GOD in great mercy given us an Army, Men, Ammunition and Money, what is wanting that can be desired, but only active hearts and hands to make use of these blessings, which I pray God to grant unto us, otherwise these which should be the means of our support, will prove the instruments of our greater downfall, and who may we thank but our own dull and drowsy selves? Rouse up yourselves than you noble Citizens of LONDON, you that have been hitherto the chief and great Patriot to the whole Kingdom, who are not to be parallelled in your great and liberal Contributions, and in your forwardness in all actions tending to the support and recovery of this oppressed Nation: my humble advice unto you is, that you persevere in this your good beginning, that you crown the work with your constant and unwearied resolutions, that (now at this time of need) according to your late Protestation, you put in practice all just and honourable ways, for the preservation of your Religion, Laws, Liberties and Privileges, which (together with your lives) are in immergent danger. Lose not the honour you have got by your good beginning: should you now prove faint-hearted or negligent, would not the burden of that speech of our Saviour, Luke 14. 28. fall flat upon your renowned City, to the perpetual disgrace of it? That when a man having begun a work, and through want of advised forecast, or diligent prosecution, is not able to finish the same, he becomes a reproach to all that hear it. The eyes of the whole Kingdom are fixed upon you, such as are in distress, and in the hands of cruel enemies expecting assistance from you, and from whence else should they expect it, but from your Magazine of strength? O let not their just expectations fail them at their need; some are resolved to live and die in your assistance, let not your remissness prove a discouragement to them: and others there are who daily expect and plot your ruin: O let your diligent wisdoms prevent that: Be not so overtaken and puffed with your own private affairs, which can be no way advantageous when the public goes to wrack. Can the City flourish when the Country decays? if the Countries be desolated, how long I pray you will the City subsist? But you may say you have done your parts, you have freely contributed of your estates, you have set forth men horse, arms, all ammunition and provision for the defence and preservation of the Kingdom: this cannot but be confessed and acknowledged to your perpetual honour. 'Tis true, God hath blest you with abilities, and nothing is wanting, neither money, munition, nor men, neither do your men want courage: but why then doth the destroyer thus go on, destroying and making havoc without control? or why do not these means raised by you prove the instruments of defence and preservation to the Kingdom? You complain that you suspect that things are not rightly carried in the managing of these means, you suspect (and that not without grounds) that there are false brethren and treacherous Counselors in the Army, you suppose that many of your Commanders are such as aim at their own particular gains, more than at the public weal, and therefore desire rather to protract and prolong the war, then to dispatch and put a period to it: those things you fear (and certainly not without cause:) but why then do you not by your wisdoms search and sift out the matter, by your humble desires and petitions to the high Court of Parliament, and to his Excellency the Earl of Essex, who are always most ready and willing to hear and redress such things as shall appear to be amiss, especially such matters of great concernment. I do not presume to propose any way for the prosecuting of this particular, but do leave it by you to be considered of, but being a matter of such high concernment, whereon the welfare of the Nation doth depend, let it not be by any means neglected: neglect rather your private occasions for a while, and apply yourselves to the public affairs. What will it avail you to be getting by your trades, when in the mean time through your too much security or negligence you are made mere bondslaves, and the estates you have taken so much pains for shall be spoiled before your faces, and taken away by villains and rascals. Nay what hopes can you have of any thing but losses by your trading, so long as those wicked spoilers and robbers are abroad, robbing and spoiling your Countrey-Chapmen, in whose hands you trust your estates. Me thinks therefore it were better policy rather to secure what you already have, then by a covetous desire of more, to hazard the loss of all. Me thinks it is strange, that a business of such importance (as this must needs be) should be so much feared, so much talked of, and no course taken for prevention; will you give your money to become slaves? will you willingly and wittingly be undone? can you suffer yourselves and your posterity to be thus betrayed? But you will say, there is at this time a Treaty on foot, and you have hopes of peace, which with truth I pray God to grant (our desire is if it were possible to have peace with all men:) But it is feared this Treaty (if there be any) will prove as a small calm or breathing time between two storms, that the latter may be more grievous and vehement than the former. Had we an absolute peace and quietness amongst us; it were good policy to have our Pax armata, our peace in every respect provided for war, much more in these treacherous and dangerous times. Is not the cause just and honourable? what do we stand for, but the glory of God in the purity of Religion? the honour of our King, in rescuing him out of the hands of evil Counselors, desperate Cavaliers and cruel robbers, our own just Liberties and Privileges? the least whereof deserves our utmost endeavours to maintain. Let us then speedily put in execution all possible means to defend it according to its deserts. Remember the resolution of a heathen, Emori per virtutem mihi praestat, quàm per dedecus vivere: it is better to die honourably in defence of an honourable cause, then to live in disgrace. I might multiply motives upon you to this purpose, but will not tyre your patience nor my own with these abrupt lines. Remember the words of wise King Solomon, with which I conclude, Be circumspect and diligent inmannaging of these great affairs, Prov. 5. 9, 10, 11, 12. lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy labours be in the house of a stranger, and thou mourn at last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof?   

Printed in the Year 1643.