The Faithfull Souldier. OR, THE SPEECH OF A COMMON SOULDIER CONCERNING His ARREARES, AND Putting the KING to death.

Printed in the Yeare, 1649.

THE FAITHFVL SOVLDIER. OR, The Speech of a Common Souldier concerning his Arrears, &c.

Fellow Souldiers,

HEare me a word or two, I have somewhat to say which concernes every man of us. We heare they intend to put the KING to death; they know (Fellow-Souldiers) it is in our power to save His life, for if we think fit to have Him live, neither Councell nor Commissioners will dare to touch Him. And as our case yet stands, I think we are stark mad if we suffer Him to die; for as yet they have not paid us our Arrears, and perhaps never will when the KING is once dead; they promised to pay us this day and that day, but now they confesse, that indeed they dare not give us our Arrears, for they say, If we Souldiers once had all our money, we would soon disband and goe home to our friends. Is this faire dealing? by this Rule we must never have it, for they can alwayes say they dare not trust us; this makes them give us now and then a pittance, which scarce keeps life and soule tegether; but for our Arreares (which are as truly ours as the cloathes upon our backs) we may wait long enough. For if the KING be put to death, there will be such weeping, such cursing, and raging, all England will cry out, and say, [Page 2] O ye bloudy Souldiers, have ye murthered our KING? Ye took Oathes and Covenants to defend His Person, and now have ye cut His Throat? Truly (Fellow-soul­diers) we are arrant fooles to make the world hate us for killing the KING, and yet we not be one penny the better for it. If we see cause, we can any time hereafter take away his life, when we have our Arrears, and things are better setled; but if now we shed his bloud, we can never make him alive againe: Therefore, before we doe that which can never be undone, let us Souldiers make our best use of it; let us declare, that untill they pay us all our Arrears they shall not put the KING to death; let us doe this, (and on my life, it will bring in every penny of our money; you shall see they will strive who shall first pay us; those that are so hot to have the KING'S bloud, will pay us rather than let Him live; and those who are His friends will give us any thing rather than let Him die: my Landlord told me, that if we Souldiers would save the KING'S life (which we can easily doe) the KING'S Friends would pay us all our Arreares, and give us two hundred thousand pounds as a gratuity besides; He bid us name our Summe and it should be paid us downe upon the nayle. And why (fellow Soul­diers) should we refuse this? now is the time, for when the KING, is dead they will not give us two pence; we know the Scots would not part with the KING untill they had their two hundred thousand pounds, and are not our Ar­reares as due as theirs? nay, when the Parliament got the KING they would have kept Him, had not we resolutely fetcht Him from Holdenby; yet while they had Him, they grew so high, that they offer'd to Disband us without paying all Arreares. Then we got the KING, and while we used Him civilly, all England was for us, who then but the Army, the KING and the Army were in every mans [Page 3]mouth; but as soone as we clapt Him in Carisbrooke-Castle, and suffer'd none to make Addresses to Him, then all the Kingdome cried out upon the Army, each County be­gan to rise upon us, you know what worke we had in Wales, Kent, Essex, twenty thousand Scots powring in upon us, who if they had but the twentieth part of our English cour­rage, we had found a hard taske of it. So ye see the KING still is all in all; who ever got the KING had the hearts of the People; in all our Quarters and where­ever we March'd ye heard the People still calling for their KING; if they hate us and fought with us for keeping Him in Prison, how will they rage when they see us cut His throat? thinke ye that then they will pay us our Arreares? I say (fellow Souldiers) we are all starke mad if we let the KING die till we have our money.

But, perhaps some will say, that the Councell of Warre doth not hinder our Arreares, that they are Officers, and would be as glad of their money as we would: I confesse indeed some Officers would, for some are in the same case with us us; but the Chief Commanders, the Grandees are of another mind, they have all at command, Sequestrations, Offices, Parliament and all; Lieutenant Generall Crom­well hath many thousand pounds a yeare of the Earle of Worcester's Estate: They can pay themselves, but when will they pay us? They make the Parliament Vote what they please; nay (fellow Souldiers) when we tooke the money from Weavers-hall, the Councell of Warre refused to let Us have it, but Voted (forsooth) to send it to the Navie, (he that Writes the OCCURRENCES saies so in print. And the other day, They and the House Voted two hundred thousand pounds more for the Navie; they know the Sea-men can pay themselves, they have Ships in their power as we now have the KING in our power; and should [Page 4]we serve them as the Sea-men serv'd them, perhaps then we might have our Arreares: But if at any time we aske for money, Master Poters is hired to stop our mouthes; that Fellow hath cosen'd us I know not how often, and by my con­sent when next he comes, let us clap him neck and heeles; he said, they would pay us as soone as we came to Lon­don, but here we have waited two months longer, yet no Arreares: then they told us, that the Parliament was full of Rotten Members, and the House must be purg'd e're we could be paid; I thinke we gave it a sufficient Purge, we Imprison'd and drove away so many Members that we have not left above fifty or threescore, not a Member sits now but such as our Councell of Warre approv'd of, and both They and our Councell have sate seven Weeks, yet no Arreares. Alas! (fellow Souldiers) these are all tricks, meere Tricks, they can never want such excuses as these; and if now we let them take the KING and put him to death, we may go whistle for our Arreares.

But suppose now we had our Arreares, (which we are not like if we lose this opportunity,) are we the better for this Kings death? When He is gone, either we must have ano­ther King, or a new kinde of Government; and this new Government will be either a Parliament, or a Committee, or many Kings at once: For Parliaments and Cōmittees we know how they have used us, they Voted and gather'd up wealth for themselves, but let us bleed and storve, sink or swim, all was one to them. And for many Kings at once, they say that heretofore England had six or seaven Kings at a time, but these petty Kings were little better then one of our Colonels, and they never left cutting one anothers throats till all again came under one King. If then we must have but one King still, why should we kill this King? Ye know when He dies, His sonne, the Prince of WALES is [Page 5]King; what, must we cut his throat also? we cannot if we would, and this Kings Bloud will stick so upon as and make us so abominable to all the people, we shall have small heart to kill any more Kings. But were it in our power to destroy this King, and all His Posterity, and all the Kings in Christendome (which are his Allies;) who then shall be our King? The Councell saies in our Remonstrance we must have an Elective King; but whom shall we Elect? If we choose our Generall, alas, he will be seduced by wicked Councell; we know he is a gallant man in the Field, but at Councels of Warre he does little, and speakes lesse; he is fitter to be our Generall then our King. Or shall Leiute­nant Generall Cromwell be the man? The truth is, they talk most of him, and I believe he lookes to be KING, and therefore I hold him unfittest of all; six yeares since he was but Captaine Cromwell, and if now he be such a great man, it is our Swords have made him so; should any man have said to us six yeares agoe, Ye Souldiers shall fight, and never leave fighting till ye have cut King CHARLES his throat, and made Captaine CROMWELT. King of England, I think we all should have thought that man mad. And yet (Fellow-souldiers) this is our cafe; have not we spun a fine thred? Let who will be King, we shall be but Common Souldiers still. I remember the tale of a Knight and a Carrier, the Knight comming from London met the Carrier, and told him newes, how King Edward was murthered, and Crook-back'd Richard was Crown'd King of England; Alas Sir (said the Carrier) what is that to me? I shall be but a Carrier still; So whether it be King CHARLES or King Cromwell, we shall be but Common Souldiers still; what are Crownes and Scepters to us? When the King was at Carisbrook and at Hampton Court, he offerd to Pay us all our Arreares, and to [Page 6]grant us the MILITIA as long as he liv'd; Could any King say more? For my part I like Him as well as Lieut. Generall Cromwell: King CHARLES is as Libe­rall as Lieut. Generall Cromwell; King CHARLES is as Chast as Lieut. Generall Cromwell; King CHARLES is as Mercifull as Lieutenant Generall Cromwell; King CHARLES is as Wise as Lieut. Generall Cromwell; King CHARLES is as Temperate as Lieutenant Gene­rall Cromwell; King CHARLES is as Patient as Lieutenant Generall Cromwell; King CHARLES is as handsome a Man as Lieutenant Generall Cromwell; King CHARLES hath as sweet Children as Lieut. Generall Cromwell; and King CHARLES is as well Descended as Lieutenant Generall Cromwell. Remember when first we refused to Disband, it was for our Arrears, and In­demnity confirmed by the Royal Assent; we had an Ordi­nance of both Houses, but we wanted His Majesties Royal Assent; what, can we have His Assent after we have cut His throat? sure we are all mad. Alas (Fellow-souldiers) what good will the Kings bloud doe us? We now can save His life with a wet finger, let us doe it, we shall get all our Arreares, Indempnity, and every thing; all the Kingdome, City, and Country, will love us, and pray for us: Now or never (Fellow-Souldiers) let us save our Credit, save our Arrears, save our KING'S Life, One and All, Gods Blessing goe along with us.

FINIS.

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