A PRIVATE LETTER, From an Eminent CAVALIER, To his highly honoured friend in London; Freely relating the present state of His Majesty's Forces.  
LONDON, Printed, Sept. 10. 1642.   

A Private Letter from an Eminent Cavalier, to His highly honoured friend in London, freely relating the present state of His Majesty's Forces.  
SIR,  
I Am much beholding to you for such occurrences as I have received from you, and I can do no less than take this opportunity to gratify you by way of relation: We are both for the King, and therefore I need not straiten myself, but speak liberally my thoughts concerning his Majesty's affairs.  
We laid for ourselves a very reasonable foundation, for when we could not make Yorkshire so much ours, as we desired, nor possess ourselves of Hull, by reason of Hotham, (being too much injured and weakened by the loss of the Navy) we thought it safest to be assured of Newcastle, and so to be secured, as to the Scots (for we know they are too apt to think that England is a better soil than theirs) as also to place a General (my Lord Cumberland) with a considerable strength of Horse in Yorkshire, and a more considerable power, the commission of Eyre and Terminer, to secure us from any Insurrection in Yorkshire, and those multitude of Roundheads in the West-riding, and so to preserve the peace of that County, that so, if they do us not that good we expected yet they may not annoy us, and lay obstructions in our way. To the same purpose his Majesty did prudently take pro concesso, in all his Speeches, that that County was his (though we knew to the contrary) and that neither He nor His Posterity should forget their loyalty, (which let me tell you is not worth the remembering.)  
Well we leave them (who deserve not our owning) and having issued out Commissions for Horse, and a full Infantry, at least 16000, we were content, it should be given out, we would draw towards the West, but we resolved upon the South, & to make Nottingham our Rendezvous, Leicestersh. Northamptonshire and Warwicksh. the Seat of our War; Nottingham being a place every way well fortified, (fit to secure His Majesty's Person, our Magazine, and to make our retreat to, if need were, and the other County (chief Leicestersh,) being abundantly provisioned for Horse and man (which would recompense our want of moneys when our stock is spent) and replenished with store of Roundheads, a good prey and encouragement for our Soldiers: In those said Counties we designed to strengthen ourselves, with the possession of Warwick, and the Castle, Coventry and Northampton; only there was an unhappy mistake, for at that time when we went for Warwick, we should have gone to Northampton; The cast of a die did it such avidents the greatest and best designs are subject to.  
Thus I give you the reason of that foundation we thought best to lay, and upon which we had as good reason to conclude, that we might have built upon it (which we desired) a monument of Honour to His Majesty, some share of that to ourselves, and plenty of fortune: For let me tell you, if we had once been thus well provided for, set down in the foresaid Counties, and secured to ourselves those Towns (where would have been a pretty beginning of encouragement to our Soldiers; We would in a short time by the help of the Commission of Array (and that of Eyre and Terminer too, if need had been) have made better provision for ourselves at London, for we have a just sense of all their practices against us, and where the foundation of our mischief was laid.  
Now I must tell you in your ear, It is our unhappiness, our Plot is much weakened, for Petoes holding out Warwick Castle beyond all expectation till succours came near him, and Coventry following Hotham and his steps, and our enemies force coming upon us before we were ware, or indeed prepared for them, and they understanding our design (and all openings are weakenings) and present condition by some that are about us, but not of us, hath done us so much mischief, that I can by no means like of His Majesty's present condition: Our retreat at Southampton was an ill omen and though we lost not many men, for our Commanders were prudent, and marched away orderly, yet we strengthened our adversaries hands and weakened our own. But besides, the Gentry of these Counties do not draw after them such numbers of commons as His Majesty presumed upon, and we are not assured of the Trained bands any where.  
In Leicestershiere upon frequent summons, they came in thinly, and on Tuesday last at Leicester, they were so bold as openly to say they were for the King and Parliament, we know that language well enough. In Nottingam-shiere we cannot secure ourselves in any, but Captain Digbies band, and hence our Maxim is not to trust the trained band, but we will make the best use of them we can, and that is of their arms, which I may tell you we have need enough of, for besides that we have but an indifferent number, we cannot come at them: Some say that Yorkshiere will not supply the King, with carriages to bring them, the Officers may be bribed, something is in the wind, and when they come, we shall be defective as to that part.  
Our Infantarie cannot encourage a temperate man, for we have not above 1200. Their poverty I pass over, for we may make them richer in time, but many are too young, raw, and most very uncapable of discipline. We have pretty store of Horse, some say there are 5000 or more, I cannot say (for I must speak the truth) more than 2000, if so many. Here we make good use of the Catholics, but your Citizen's Horse, sure are fed like Aldermen to these, they look very poorly, and surely the Captain upon advance money deceived too purpose, for many horses are not worth 5 Marks, & many a troop hath but 40 horse, this the Captains put up as their own. But the King's guard troop, the Prince, Prince Rob. the Lord Willoughby and S. William Penniman, are very well set off, only one thing because I am a Protestant, I must not like nor own that many of the King's guard troop are Papists, and there are some Popish Commanders, how this come about I know not, specially seeing it is a principle with the wisest, that no Papists should have command, for fear of the ill report it would make among the King's Liege people, another thing I dislike, that the Irish Commanders are paid & not the English, which in time will discontent them, and disservice the King: Our Commanders are good for the generality, but we cannot say much for our Artillery, some 7 field pieces we have, which we planted in Leicester lately, but because we had a suspicion of our enemies, whom we heard they were inclining toward a march, we called a Council of War about 10 of the clock on Wednesday night & never left till we had resolved to withdraw our Artillery from Leicester, and our arms and ammunition there, which was the best part of our store, and might have been as well theirs as ours (had they been wise enough) to a safer place, and so they are gone toward Nottingham; We expect some 10 pieces from York; I forgot to tell you the good plot we have to hold them in hand about a treaty, to which purpose we sent them propositions by my L. Dorset, and prudent Southampton, we made account this fair hair would have taken with them and put them upon delays, wherein would have consisted our reparation and good, their evil and ruin, so in the interim of Treaty we could have drawn up our force, & provided a considerable Infantry, & supplied those defects we are yet under: the Round heads are grown arrant Politicians & we suspect Say & Seal weakened this Plot: when we become our selus, we shall repay all with usury, however this advantage results out of that design, that his Majesties loving Subjects will believe he is a peaceable Prince; you hear how we served that old Puritan Porphyry, we owed him a good turn, so Coventry had been our boo●y and resigned to us, had not he interposed, we rid him of all his arms, till he can use them better, and burned a part of his house, disabled his tenants and now he must live a while upon the public faith brave P. Rupert was our chief, we had I confess too many troops there for such a service, & our Commanders were too resolute, it cost Colon. Steward and Lieutenant Colo. Richardson their lives, also we lost 2 common men, we must commend one Abbot, who did like a Soldier, however we obtained our end. This instant we have an express come to Court, that tells us our friends grow less & less, for the L. Westmoreland cries peccavi, the L. Mountagu like a good old blade stood it out as long as he was able, but is now prisoner, the L. of Newport also is willingly a prisoner at Northampton, I fear all will forsake us. I could give you many particular relations, but I am in too much haste, I will take another time. Silence my name, you know my hand, and that I am.  
Yours.   
FINIS.