A Great fight between the Forces belonging to Lieutenant Generall Crumwell, and the Scots forces under the Command of Duke Hamleton. Right honorable,

MAjor Generall Lambert having received ſome freſh ſupplies, and joyned his Army with the additionall forces ſent from Lieutenant Generall Cromwell, a motion was made to diſpute a peice of ground with the Scots, which was aſſented to, and about 20 Troops of the Lieut. Gen. horſe charged the Scots, both parties bodied, and ſome action happened, but the Scots being to rumerous, the Liuet. Gen. horſe were forced to retreat; the Scots purſued, proteſting not to leave a man of them alive; whereupon the Engliſh rallyed, charged Duke Hambletons own Regiment of horſe, and ſome others that purſued them, and after a great conflict worſted them, put them to a retreat and followed the purſute within one mile of the main body, and made good their paſſage with the loſſe of 15 killed, and ſome few wounded. The Scots loſſe is far more, their number killed, wounded and taken priſoners amounting to 85. ſome of them being men of quality, as the Dukes, Lieut. Col. a Major, our head-quarters 10. miles on this ſide Barnard Caſtle, the Scots advancing up with ſmall parties, but the Body moves ſlowly. We hear that the Waſps of Pomfret have ſtung ſome of L.G. Cromwells horſe, and took their Riders, ſallying upon them as they were on their march to the Maj. Gen. A ſmall defeat: the gaining of which, coſt them dear, they loſt in the diſpute near upon 20. Officers and Souldiers, the Governour himſelf being dangerouſly wounded.

York Auguſt 1648.

To the Kings moſt Excellent Majeſty. M • ſt gracious Soveraign,

IT is the ſaying of Solomon (the pen-man of the Holy Ghoſt, and the wiſeſt King that ever was) Prov. 21.1. The Kings heart is in the hand of the Lord as the Rivers of water; he turneth it whitherſoever he pleaſeth: I, a poor deſpicable man, (deſpicable becauſe poor) do preſume, out of my ſincere loyall affection, and duty to your Maj. and my earneſt deſire for the re-uniting of You with your Parl. & Subjects of this Kingdom, to offer, or rather to ſacrifice, my weak Conceptions to Your gracious Acceptance or Refuſal. Sir, We are all in an Egyptian darkneſs, be you but pleaſed to cauſe the Sun-ſhi • e of your Mercy and Goodneſs to break out upon Your poor Subjects of this Kingdom; and there is great hope we may ſoon be delivered from this fearfull Confuſion whereinto we are faln. For my own part, I believe, Your Maj. not being conſcious of the miſery Your poor Subjects are in (in regard of the unkingly reſtraint You are for the preſent unhappily under) is the cauſe You cannot be ſo zealous, as otherwiſe you would, to redreſs it; & that your want of knowledge of the preſent conjuncture of Affairs is that which renders your people ſo infinitely miſerable, that they are ready every minute to precipitate themſelves into the Gulf of Deſpair. It is ſaid of Almighty God, There is mercy with him that he may be feared, and his mercy is over (or above all works: And I believe (without leaſt flattery I ſpeak it that there is abundance of Mercy and Bowel • of Compaſſion with You, towards Your poor Subjects, that You may be both loved and feared; and that Your mercy will ſhower it ſelf down to the amazement and reproach of thoſe that ſeeme not to believe it: Did I ſay, Your Mercy, yea and Your Juſtice alſo, even againſt Your ſelf, in the voluntary clouding of Your own Princely Royalty; and that Prince, who ſhadows his own Glory (meerly for the good of his Subjects) is a rare Pattern: And the firſt giver of ſo great an (unexampled) Example, muſt needs render himſelf glorious to all Poſteritie. Sir, in the firſt place, I preſume (with boldneſſe enough I confeſs, yet will I not fl • tter you ſo much as to ſay, I beg your Maj. pardon for it) to remember you, that Self-Deniall is the only way to happineſs, Temporall (here, Eternall hereafter:) and had it been but a little practiſed on all hands (by the 3. Eſtates of Parl.) at the begining or budding forth of theſe unhappy differences, (although Malice it ſelf cannot but ſay, that Your Maj. acted Your part, and the very Lepers of Samaria ſhall one day riſe up in Judgment againſt ſome, & ſay that that was a day of good tydings, and they ungratefully held their Peace, In your aboliſhing of Monopolies, putting down the Star-Chamber, diſannulling the High Commiſſion Court, outing of Biſhops from the Houſe of Pears, Regulating the Councel Table, granting of Triennial Parliaments, and continuing of This, not to be diſſolved without the conſent of both Houſes;) Your Maj. and Your People had not felt Gods heavy hand, as You and they have done for theſe ſeven years paſt, and yet do: but for me to preſume to tell your Majeſty what Self-Denial is, were a moſt unpardonable offence.

And yet, for your Majeſty to beleive that this Peace offering, which you ſacrifice to the good and happyneſſe of your people) in the ſad condition your Majeſty is in, and the moſt miſerable one they are plunged into) can be happyly begun without ſelf deniall (one your part firſt, and then all the peoples part alſo) is (ſo far as I can apprehend in Reaſon and Religion) altogether unpoſſible: and by the ſequel of my diſcourſe I doubt not but to make good the truth of it at the full.

Sir, look into your own heart, and ſee whether in former times you were not more your own (or others who abuſed you then your ſubjects univerſally: The word proprium is of a neere relation, and I doubt whether it ſits not as cloſe the hearts of Kings as of ſubjects, which your Majeſty well knows is not compatible with ſelf-deniall. Sir, you are a great Monarch (true) yet you are but a Steward (nomine & re) a Steward of the great houſe of the Common-wealth; and one day it ſhall be ſaid to you, as to the Steward in the Goſpel, (Redde rationem) Give an account of thy ſtewardſhip; And the accounts of Kings are of a vaſt extent. Sr. you are a Shepheard alſo a Shepherd of a great flock, our Saviour cals himſelf a Shepherd, the great Shepherd of Iſrael, and he tels you, a good Shepheard will dye for his Sheep he did ſo: And S. Paul. Phil. 2, 5 ſpeaking of our Saviour Chriſt, and there deducing him from all eternity to time, hath theſe words; Let this mind be in you, which was alſo in Chriſt Ieſus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equall with God: But made himſelf of no reputation, &c. And ſhall I dovbt your Majeſty will imitate our bl • ſſed Saviour in all you can? I doubt it or: He prayed for this perſecutors, and taught us ſo to doe, he forgave his enemies that crucified him even upon the cr • ſſe [Father forgive them, they know not what they do] nay he dyed for them [who dyed, ſaith the Apoſtle for the ſins of the whole world.] You are not deſired Sr. to dye out of the world, or to part with your ſoul, by a ſequeſtration of it from the body. Let the greateſt curſe that ever fell one the head of any man, fall on that head that hath but ſuch a wiſh or thought in his heart. All you have to do or ſuffer, is but to part with a ſillable or two, from one ſingle word, a few let • ers cut off from that Monſter, as the people call it PREROGATIUE, a little paring off ſome ſuperfluous part of it, will prove Balme from Gilead, to heale this whole Nation of the moſt Epidemical diſeaſe that ever yet ſeized this poor dying Kingdom.

Sir, it was ſaid in the begining of this Parliament, (by Mr. Pym, if I miſtake not that the Parliament would make you a glorious King, and who knows whether your Maeſty, when you were in the head of your Army at Edghil, (or elſe where) had not ſome hopes to make your ſelf a (glorious King? And I have been told, that this Army would have perſwaded you, when time was, that they make you a glorious King.

Sir, you have failed in your hopes, they in their promiſes, and who knows whether, what your Majeſty hoped and they promiſed, and they performed not, may not yet be done another and a better way, if (at leaſt) you will be pleaſed to take him for your guide (who hath hitherto ſo miraculouſly preſerved you, and I hope ever will.) I ſay (Sir) taking God for your guide all may be made good, and and may yet, be brought to paſſe by your ſelfe, not by fighting any more to the hazzard of your Royall perſon, and the perſons of your Princely Iſſue, and of your Nobility, and the deſtruction of your loving ſubjects; but by extending and really performing of thoſe two God like Acts of mercy and juſtice, without partiallity, to all your people. And this is Via Regia indeed, and well becoming the Majeſty of King Charles.

And now Sir, behold how wonderful the ways of God are, contary to the waies of men, paſt finding out till himſelf diſcover them: you have long layen under the croſſe (reſtraint to a King is a great croſſe, were there no more in it,) you are not free, I dare not ſay you are a captive, & yet your perſon, with the power that God hath given you over your ſelf and the Grace he hath indued you with to ſerve him muſt ſuddenly come forth to the redemption of your Subjects out of their captivity,) captives in their native Country under their fellow ſubjects) or they are loſt, loſt for ever. In this Abyſs of Exigency, no expedient can be found to ſave your people but the preſence of your ſacred Perſon, armed with mercy & juſtice, Mercy & juſtice to your people, and juſtice againſt your ſelf, nor could You ſo eaſily do it, as I beleive, had not God thus fitted, prepared, and quallified you by the croſs; whereby You have obtained a fellow feeling of the miſeries of Your ſubjects; Dauid ſaid of himſelf, It was well for mē that I was afflicted. Great Sr. let Your engagements & promiſes to Your people for the time to come, in Your perfecting of this bleſſed peace, be like the lawes of the Medes and Perſians, irrevocable. And ſo God ſhall bleſſe you and Your poſterity for ever: ſo much of good towards his people ſo much honor to himſelf, no King ever had in his power to act, as your Maj. nor hath by the ſaving the effuſion of ſo much innocent blood, & perhaps the Kingdom from utter ruin, which is the prayer of him who is,

Your Maj. moſt humble ſubject and Servrnt R. F.