proceeded further in their revenge, than became the duty and allegiance of subjects. ་ It is, therefore, a great misfortune to England, and almost a certain calamity, when the distempers of government have been let grow so long, as that, for their cure, they must need a long parliament: For there are no ways, how just, how moderate soever, they be, which that great council can take, if they go far enough, to make the cure, but will provoke, either by the means, or the length of them, the prince's impatience, or the people's inconstancy. For the first, the delinquents must needs be many and great, and those employed, and perchance highly favoured by him; besides, the reflexion which is made upon his judgment, by their sufferings; and that will be one reason of his impatience. Another is, that many prerogatives which were not indeed inherent in the crown, but so thought by the prince, and by him, and his bad counsel, long abused, to the prejudice of the people, with some seeming advantage to him, though, well weighed, they brought none, are then, after a long sufferance, called in question. For the people are used to intrust kind princes with many of their own rights and privileges, and never call for them again, till they have been extremely abused. But, at such a time to make all clear, after so long a reckoning (and those long reckonings of state being commonly fatal; for parliaments have seldom been discontinued, but by such princes whose governments, in the interim, have been very illegal) they usually question so much, as that the prince thinks himself hardly dealt withal; such a prince, as we spoke of, who not bad in himself, but long misled by wicked counsel, was not enough sensible of the injuries he had done. This The second obstacle, that such parliaments may find, is the people's inconstancy; and what age is not full of such examples, which before we name, let us consider whether there be any reason for it? perchance may be one, that the people naturally are lovers of novelty, affecting, with greediness, every change; and again loathing it, when it ceases to be a novelty. Long discontinued and reforming parliaments seem to carry the face of a change of government; and those things may then happen, which do in the shift of princes, that some people, may, for a while, flatter themselves with new and strange hopes, that prove frustrate; or else with quicker redresses of inconvenience, than the great concurrence of so many weighty businesses can possibly admit, how industrious soever that great council be, distracted with so great a variety; and the people, after some time spent, grow weary again of what before they so long had wished to see. Besides, the people are more and more poisoned daily by the discourses of the friends, kindred, and retainers to so many great delinquents, as must needs be at such a parliament: who, though they be no considerable party, in respect of the whole commonwealth, yet ply their particular interests with more eagerness, than most do the publick. They subtly persuade the people, that whatsoever the parliament does against those great delinquents is aimed against the King's honour, and that he is wounded through their sides. And this opinion is somewhat furthered, when the people see how many prerogatives of the prince, as we said before, are after long enjoying called in question. So that, by this means, their inconstancy seems to be grounded upon loyalty to the King, and they, perchance, with honest, but deceived hearts, grow weary of the great council of the land. Another reason may be, that the prince himself averse from such a parliament, for the reasons aforesaid, can find power enough to retard their proceedings, and keep off the cure of state so long, till the people, tired with expectation of it, have by degrees forgot the sharpness of those diseases, which before required it. By this means at last, accidentally a miracle hath been wrought after a long parliament, which is, that the people have taken part with the great delinquents against the parliament, for no other reason, than because those delinquents had done them more wrong, than the parliament could suddenly redress. And so the multitude of those great delinquents crimes hath turned to their own advantage. But in such reforming parliaments, upon whom so much business lies, not only the inconstancy of the people hath been seen in history, but the unstedfastness of the representative body itself, and the distractions of that assembly, whilst they forsake each other under so great a burthen, have let that burthen fall dishonourably to the ground. The most unhappy instance, in this case, was that parliament of Richard the Second begun at Westminster, and adjourned to Shrewsbury, in the nineteenth year of his reign; a parliament that discharged their trust, the worst of any that I read of, where there was as much need of constancy and magnanimity, as ever was, to redress those great distempers, which were then grown upon the state; and as much mischief ensued by their default, both upon prince which people, and might have been well prevented, and his happiness wrought together with their own (in the judgment of best writers) if they had timely and constantly joined together, in maintaining the true rights of parliament, and resisting the illegal desires of their seduced King. But, being fatally distracted, the major part of lords and bishops wrought upon by the King, and the house of commons too far prevailed with, by Bushy the speaker, and his instruments, they utterly deserted the commonwealth, and, looking only upon the King's present desire, assented to such things, as made the prerogative a thing boundless; that he himself, as the story reports, was heard glorying to say, that there was no free and absolute Monarch in Europe, but himself. Upon which, the same bad counsel, which had before brought him out of love with parliaments, brought him to as great an abuse of that power, which he had now gotten over a parliament. And then followed the blank charters, and other horrid extortions, besides the suffering of some lords, whom the people most loved; and shortly. after, by a sad consequence, his own ruin. Nor do we read, that any of those lords, who under colour of loyalty and love (as they called it) to his person, had trodden down the power and privilege of a parliament, under his feet, had afterwards so much loyalty to him, as to defend his crown and person, against the force of an usurper, who, without any resistance or contradiction, unjustly ascended the royal throne; the sad occasion of that miserable and cruel civil war, which, VOL. V. in the following ages, so long afflicted the kingdom of England. This was the worst example of any parliament; but in other times, though bad too, they have proved better physick than any other earthly ways or means could be; yet their greatest vertue and excellency is seen, when they have been used as a diet, by honourable and just princes, such as this nation hath been often blessed with; and such who have thought it no more disparagement or depression of their dignity, to be ruled by the sway of that great council, than a wise guider of a ship would think it, to follow his compass; or any mathematician to be directed by his necessary rules and instruments. CERTAIN ORDERS MEET TO BE OBSERVED UPON ANY FOREIGN INVASION, WITH A DIRECTION TO THE JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. London, printed by R. C. for Michael Sparke, senior, and are to be sold at the Sign of the Blue Bible, in Green-Arbour, 1642. Quarto, containing fourteen pages. TH HAT in every shire be appointed one nobleman to take the chief charge for the ordering and governing of the same, and he to ap point a leader of the horsemen, and another of the footmen, and, under them, captains and officers of all sorts; which captains may be of the better sort inhabiting the country, if their courage and skill be answerable for it. The chief leaders, both of horsemen and footmen, must be men of that experience, discretion, temperance, and judgment, as well in ordering and disposing of great numbers, as also in taking advantages of grounds, times, occasions, and matters offered. And it were to be wished they were such in all points, as the whole realm might be able to furnish every front shire but with two of that conduct and valour; that there might be also a meeting and drawing together of some convenient numbers, both of horsemen and footmen, to be trained and exer cised into all manner of sorts and forms, as well frivolous as necessary, to the intent to make them the more perfect how to give and receive a charge. For I think, if you shall ask the opinion but of three captains, How horsemen ought to charge, and how they should receive a charge? And so likewise of footmen and their retreats, your three captains will be of two opinions at least; and yet the first thing, we offer unto the enemy, is rashly to join battle, without any foresight of the inconvenience thereof: A thing so generally received of all our nation, for the best way, as who should seem to impugn the same is in danger to be made ridiculous, and his reasons to be holden for heresy, and not fit to be heard or read; and yet, how rude, ignorant, and untowardly we should and would present ourselves thereunto, make but some models of convenient numbers assembled, and you shall see the same. In private quarrels for trifling causes, every man desireth to be exercised and skilful in that weapon, wherewith he would encounter his enemy; but, in this general conflict, wherein we fight for the safety of our country, religion, goods, wives, and children, we should hazard all in that order and form, wherein we are altogether ignorant and unexperimented. But, because I have found it, by experience and reason, a very desperate and dangerous kind of trial, I would not wish any prince to venture his kingdom that way, unless he be weary of the same, it being the only thing for an invader to seek, and a defender to shun; for the one doth hazard but his people, and hath a lot to win a kingdom; the other, in losing of the battle, hath lost his crown. A battle is the last refuge, and not to be yielded unto by the defendant, until such time as he and his people are made desperate. In which kind of trial, seldom or never shall you see the invader to quail; no, though his numbers have been much less than the other. There is a kind of heat and fury in the encounter and joining of battles; the which whose side can longest retain, on that part goeth victory; contrariwise, which side conceiveth the first fear, whether it be upon just cause, or not, that side goeth to wreck; yea, and oftentimes it falleth so out, before the pikes be touched. Thus much to the uncertainty of battle; wherein albeit I would wish our nation to be well exercised and trained, it being a thing of great moment, yet to be used in our own country, as the sheet-anchor and last refuge of all. A Caveat for the avoiding of that dangerous course in running down to the Sea-side, at the firing of the Beacons. THAT there be in every shire places appointed, whereunto the country may resort upon the firing of the beacons; which places of assembly should not be less distant, than five or six miles from the seaside at the least, for the footmen to gather themselves together, to the intent you may the better sort your men, put them in some order, and consult what is meetest to be done; which you shall hardly be able to do, if your place of assembly be within the view, or near unto the ene→ my, who will by all means seek to attempt you in your disorderly assemblies. Moreover, if fear once take your men, or they be amazed, if you had as skilful leaders as the earth doth bear, they would not be able to dispose or reduce them into such order and form as they would; nei ther will the enemy give you time to deliberate what is best to be done, but you must either disorderly fight, or more disorderly run away. And, above all things, I especially advise to shun that old and barbarous custom of running confusedly to the sea-side, thinking thereby to prevent the landing of the enemy, or at least to annoy them greatly; which you shall never do; for, be it upon any invasion, you may be sure, that there is no prince will undertake so great an enterprise, but he will be sure to have such a number of boats, gallies, and other small vessels of draught, as he will be able to land at one time two or three thousand men; which boats shall be so well appointed with bases and other shot, as that they will be sure to make way for their quiet landing. And, for my own part, I much doubt, whether you shall have in two or three days, after the firing of the beacons, such a sufficient number as, with wisdom and discretion, were fit to deal or venture a battle with so many men as they will land in an hour, for any thing that ever I could yet see in the country's readiness at the firing of the beacons. If the enemy doth intend but to land, and burn some houses or villages near to the sea-coast, for the prevention thereof, as much as may be, it were good to appoint only those, that dwell within two or three miles of the sea-side, to repair thither to make resistance; and, for their succour, you may appoint the horsemen to draw down to the plains next adjoining to the same, who may also keep them at a bay from straggling far into the country. But, if the attempt be made by a prince purposed and appointed to invade, if you give them battle at the first landing, you offer them even the thing they most desire; and it is a thousand to one a conquest the first day. My reasons are these: First, You give battle, but, I pray, with what people? even with countrymen altogether unexperimented in martial actions, whose leaders are like to themselves; and another thing, as dangerous as all this, You fight at home, where your people know the next way to save themselves by flight, in recovering of towns, woods, and by-ways. Contrariwise, with whom do you encounter but with a company of picked and trained soldiers, whose leaders and captains are, no doubt, men both politick and valiant, who are made so much the more desperate and bold, by not leaving to themselves any other hope to save their lives, but by marching over your bellies. And besides, it is to be imagined, that, having spread some faction before, amongst yourselves, as there is no country free from seditious and treacherous malecontents, they are animated to pursue the victory more sharply. Again, if you once receive an overthrow, what fear and terror you have brought yourselves into, how hardly you shall bring a second battle, and how dangerous to fight with men dismayed, those that are of experience can judge. Likewise what pride and jollity you have put your enemies in, to march forward, having no forts, nor fenced towns, to give them any stop in this fear, or for your own people to take breath, and make head again; but that your enemies and factious companies of your own nation may join together, and be furnished with victuals, horse, and carriage at their will and pleasure, without which no prince can prevail in |