BEcause the scandalous reports of certaine factious hot-brained Persons in the Citty of Exeter, have imputed Gods visitation of our sinnes upon the Ar­my late at Stratton, to treachery of mine: I shall beg so much of your patience, as to enforme your selves from this Paper, the true state of that affaire. 'Twas not without excessive continued paines, that I had put that Tumultuous body into a serviceable posture in the field, and I ap­peale to any man of so much honesty and honour, as dares speake truth in the behalfe of a dejected Prisoner, whether I was not al­wayes busied in the heat of the Skirmish where ever it hapned to be, from the very beginning till I was totally forsaken, both by the Officers and Souldiers, except those that dyed by me, and the Bat­tell lost some testimony, wherein was my Cane broken in my hand by a shot, my Horse shot under me, and at last a hurt in my head, whereby I lost some blood. Thus (miserable in all appearance) being absolutely destitute of any thing, but the protection of my God which never yet failed me, I charged single through a divi­sion of Musketiers, till I came up close to the Officer that led them, who I took for Sir Bevill Grenvile, for his back parts were very like him, and instead of using my Armes to take his life, which was then very much in my power, (though not without a certaine losse of mine owne, for all the Souldiers presently upon the stop enclosed [Page 2] me round,) I yeelded my selfe into his hands, and I found him a most gallant Gentleman, for when I had delivered my Sword, he received many blowes to beare them off from me, and suppressed the rage of the Souldiers towards me, with the hazard of his owne life, his name is Lewis Tremaine, Ensigne to Sir Bevill Grenvile, to whom, being close at hand with a stand of Pikes, he led me, and I shall ever acknowledge as long as I breath in spite of the Malig­nity of these factious Spirits in Exeter, or such as they have cor­rupted by their Hypocrisie in other parts of this County, that I received so much humanity and noble favour from Sir Bevill Gren­vile, and the rest of the Commanders of the Cornish Army, as made that a greater griefe to me to have been an Enemy to so much gal­lantry and vertue, then that now I was a Prisoner; neverthelesse the sad estate which I conceived my Countrymen to be in, from whom it had pleased God, for reasons above my reach, thus to with­draw his favour, wounded yet deeper my bleeding heart, & so much the more, because I resented heavily the Justice of the Cause, which we had laboured to Support, being as I conceived, the Iust Rights of our gratious King and his Subjects, limited by the Lawes and the Purity of the true Protestant Religion, which the high Court of Parliament had instructed us, these Gentlemen whose hands I was thus fallen into, had endeavoured to corrupt, and I was suffi­ciently sensible, that those morall vertues which I saw they were endowed with, in so eminent a degree, might be companions for ought I knew (though hardly credible) of deceitfull hearts; and that the Iustee of the Quarrell on either side is not alwayes demon­strated by the chance of Warre, thus releeving my perplexity with sadnesse, and resolving to spend my dayes in griefe, till it should please God to put an end to the miserable Distractions of this wret­ched Kingdome, I was visited by some of the most eminent Com­manders of the Army, with whom I fell into discourse of these very points; wherein all of us agreed upon the necessity of preser­vation of the Law in the priviledge that it gives this Nation in Par­liament, as well as in the Iust Prerogative which it allowes His Royall Majesty, without which this Kingdom is necessarily subject to Arbitrary Government, & the Rights both of the King & People are vanisht into an Aerie title. But 'twas not long till we came to this conclusion, That as evill Counsells had heretofore been pre­valent [Page 3] to the prejudice of the Common-wealth, so the satisfaction given by His Majesty was exceeding great and beyond the expe­ctation of all moderate men; That the objections against His Maje­sties Counsell of continuall endeavours at present to force the Par­liament by Armes, are cleerly answered by His Majesties many Protestations, and for the fulfilling of those Protestations to accom­modate the differences of the Kingdom, His Majesty will not stick to give any assurance that shall be thought reasonable; and likewise all the Commanders of this Army are content to put it under their hands, and to take a solemne oath as punctuall and as strong as can be invented, that when soever His Majesty shall be drawne by any Counsell or meanes whatsoever, to neglect those Protestations, that then they will totally desert the Service they are engaged in, and for the present they will be content to use the whole power, which His Majesty hath invested them with, to give a free pardon to all such in these Westerne Counties as will lay downe Armes, and be content to be governed by the knowne Lawes setled by Act of Parliament; & what assurance soever shall be demanded on His Majesties behalfe for the setling of a Religious, Honourable, and a firme Peace they are ready to give. Now whether this Incli­nation towards the Peace and Justice of this Kingdome hath possest these Gentlemen from the beginning of the Warre, or whether by the continued dispute of the difference by which the Kingdome is divided, the matter is now so anotomised? as that the quintessence of truth extract from partiality to either side, is eminently perspi­cuous, or else whether the blood shed betwixt these two Counties by misunderstandings one of another, which cannot but move all Christian hearts to a Compassionate beseeching of the Almighty God to sheath his sword, hath had stronger operation upon the hearts and Consciences of these noble Gentlemen, then the facti­ons of Exeter are likely to admit of on their part, is not in my opi­nion materiall to stand in debate of, only I conceive my selfe bound in Conscience for truths sake, to assure all honest well meaning Chri­stians upon the hopes that I have of salvation, and upon the faith and honour of a Gentleman and a Souldier, that I never saw an Ar­my freer from vice, nor more religiously inclined, then I perceive the whole Genious of this Army to be, nor did I ever see more heartily cleere and earnest expressions of affection to a religious and a [Page 4] just Peace then the Commanders of this Army are full off: more then which, (with so ingenious offers of the meanes to conclude that) cannot possibly be expected from humane flesh, and though it hath been accounted Treason in the opinion of the factious Tu­mult of the Citty of Exeter, whose interest hath ever shewed it selfe against any Peace but an absolute Conquest, and an utter extir­pation of those that unconvict, they doe but once thinke ungodly, that I should represent my knowledge of the state of this matter to those Deputy-Lievtenants that I conceived in all respects fittest to judge of that, and to recommend it to the whole County, yet my duty to God and to my Country, will not give me leave to obscure so faire a meanes of the happinesse of this Kingdom for any scandall whatsoever, or to prove my selfe in the face of Heaven so coward­ly a Christian, as to comply with damnable hypocrisie against so cleer a truth: who knowes not that nothing will be so certaine and necessary a destruction to the Country as to continue it the seate of Warre, and what moderate man is there, that cannot see that no­thing in the World could have extorted from this Army in the glo­rious Condition, that it now is, such a gallant offer of a Religious, honourable, and a firme Peace, but their owne Noblenesse and sin­cerity of heart towards truth, and the reall welfare of the Com­mon-wealth. Let us not involve our selves with the obstinacy of a few opinionated men, whiles 'tis apparenr as the case stands, how that their Cause is accompanied with nothing of Religion, but it's abused name, what Religion is there now in Cornwall but the same that we professe, or what bondage is there to those that doe not wilfully thrust themselves into it? Let us but deferre the cutting of one anothers throats, till novelties in Law and in Religion begin to shew themselves. We are then as capable to dye for the defence of truth, as now for the suspition, the power of the sword being still entrusted in our hands. Many a well meaning Christian takes a by path to Heaven, and knowes not that he wanders, but, Oh, the ir­recoverable unhappines of those that refuse to be led into the way, I know it concernes the interest of those that have set themselves against Peace, with such as they are pleas'd to call the wicked, how undeservedly soever, to raise scandalls upon me, and I am well informed that the report of my betraying the Army at Stratton, was invented after the view of my Letters to my Father, with Sir [Page 5] Iohn Bamfield, and Sir Nicholas Martin to accommodate the diffe­rences of these Counties, for which the Cittizens of Exeter have beyond all example Committed the Herauld that was employed, upon the false pretence of eating Scroales of paper, and have cast a jealousy upon some of those Gentlemen that hitherto have been thought by all the World farre more worthy then such Creatures as themselves are, to steere the affaires of the Commonwealth in these parts, but as I never avoyded danger to serve my Countrey when I lead them in the field, so I will now presse through all difficulties in spite of opposition to mediate, and by all honest means to prose­cute its Peace, and such as shall appeare to unite in my opinion, I am ready to lead or to follow, or to Comrade with, to reduce this obstinate handfull in the Citty of Exeter, that are the only means to deny their Country its Capacity of so great a blessing; and herein I am resolved to boast the loyalty which I owe His Majesty as well as my dear affection to you that have thus farre intrusted me with your lives, and for my behaviour at Stratton I refuse no mans testi­mony, of those that durst put themselves so farre into danger as to be eye witnesses, but for my Lord of Stamford, and such others as ranne away, whose Treason really it was, I know that concerns their interest to second this accusation upon mee, having no other way to extenuate their intolerable Cowardice, but because they are People that I am never likely to meet with in the field, I leave them to the Scourge of their own Conscience, and to passe the time in making Aldermen, and women believe them valiant, whiles all the world besides knows the contrary. And now I challenge Malice it selfe to accuse me in all this, of the least Circumstance of untruth or fallacy, so I beseech God to dispose you to accept of such a Peace, as for ought I know will shortly be denied you upon your knees, And that the groanes of this bleeding Country may not rise up in judgement against the Barbarisme of those, that by imprisoning the messenger of Peace, have endeavoured to destroy the Balsome that should cure the wounds, which for ought I see themselves have made.