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BRitaines awake from your six yeares dreame,
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And listen to this deare-bought theame;
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Which shewes how you fast a sleep were lullde,
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And by what Magicks spells so gullde.
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Then give attentive eare,
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To what I make appeare,
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In that which I shall here for your sakes relate
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For now you have in print
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(And you may believe me in't)
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The Historie of your present State.
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When Charles first call'd this Parliament,
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He did it with a full intent,
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Our grievances for to remove,
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And to settle us in Peace, and Love:
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What e're we did desire,
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Or justly could require,
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He granted: t' was but Aske and Have:
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And yet (woe, and alas)
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It's now so brought to passe,
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That the free-borne is become a Slave.
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For of late the treacherous Scots, and Wee,
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On a Nationall Covenant did agree,
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And bound ourselves by solemne Oath,
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Ne're after to keepe faith, and troath,
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And well may we sweare,
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They're our Brethren deare,
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For th'have cost us many a thousand pound:
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And for all that we have got,
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But this advantage from the Scot,
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We are turn'd Rebellious, and Round.
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All Players, and Play-houses are o'rethrowne,
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That now the Two Houses may Act alone,
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Of which each Member with so much art,
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Playes the King, the Lord, Knave, or Fooles part,
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The Pope, or Parafite,
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The Turke, or Jesuite,
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That could one but get in by Stealth,
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There he might plotted see,
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And act the Tragdie,
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Of this poore Church and Common-wealth.
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In all the Ecclesiastique Storie,
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Who e're sawe such a Directorie,
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As ours? which leaves us wholly in the lurch,
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Whilst they seeme to constitute a Church,
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The Lords Prayer, and the Creed,
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And (that which all should read)
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The ten Commandements are out quite:
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It seeme our Synod would,
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Not that our people should,
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Pray, practise, or believe aright.
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Religion once so purely taught,
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And Protestant, now's set at naught,
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Most of our old Clergy Martyrs be,
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For loving God and their Loyaltie:
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And new in-lighted Sects,
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Have now found out such Texts,
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As none of the Fathers e're could cleare,
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Yet these the Brethren round,
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By the Spirit so expound,
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That it would doe ones heart good to heare.
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Those that were once Birds of the night,
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Now in the Sun-shine take their flight,
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And such as scarce durst shew their face,
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Are now the onely Babes of Grace:
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Lay-levites are allow'd,
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To vent in every crow'd,
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Such stuffe as the pure Assembly mold,
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And so it be but new,
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Yet the Round-head cryes 'tis true,
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Because it contradicts the old.
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Gods due, the Churches rights, and lands,
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Are ingross'd by sacrilegious hands,
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The City-Atheist will never rest,
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Till th'alter-coale have fir'd their Nest:
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They will have store of gold,
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Though for it must be sold,
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Their God, their King, their Church, & Nation,
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All these they never prise,
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Because they count them lyes,
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As they do their Saviour and Saluation.
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The once renowed Common-Law,
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Is made by Votes not worth a straw,
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And Ordinances in its roome,
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Give Loyall hearts their deadly doome:
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A sad thing for to thinke,
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We're at destructions brincke,
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Because rul'd by Legislative power,
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And therefore now, if ever,
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This Kingdome may assever,
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That this of darkenesse is the hower.
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Our Liberty which cost so deare,
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In lesse then yet full seven yeare,
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Is lost, for which such Worthies died,
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And Tyrants now, at will, us ride,
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Our persons, and our purse,
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Are now under such a curse,
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As never yet this Land befell:
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Of which I am afraid,
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E're long it will be said,
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That it cannot be much worse in Hell.
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The second part, To the same Tune.
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THe propertie of our Estates,
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Is spoyl'd by arbitrarie rates,
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And no man holds life, goods, or lands,
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Free from the lust of their commands:
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The State (if't stand in need)
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Will force us for to bleed,
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So long as anyone drope is left,
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All must goe for the Caus[e],
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Though quite against the lawes
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Of God, and Man, we are bereft.
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Then what have you gain'd by all these warres,
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But shame, and beggerie, and scarres?
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In all your Zeale (O peevish Elves)
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Whom have you conquer'd but yourselves?
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You itch against the King,
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The Bishop, and the Ring,
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(For which now stands so ingag'd the Nation)
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Hath brought you to this passe,
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That you are ridden like an Asse,
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Behold your blessed Reformation!
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They've taken away th' Ecclesiastique Courts,
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And given th' Apprentices dayes for sports,
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Some of which that adventured out for the cause,
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They make freemen, & their Masters Jack-dawes,
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Whom they vote as the train[']d Band,
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Everyday by them to stand,
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That the Houses may securely sit,
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Whilst that they do reward,
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The Wittalls that them guard,
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With the blessing of Issachar, to teach them wit.
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Thus while you thought all to ingrosse,
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You must sit downe by weeping crosse,
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For your Lawes, Religion, Libertie,
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Reputation, Peace, and Propertie:
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Which you might still have had,
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But that you fell starke mad,
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And the father now to his sonne may tell,
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How th' Parliament, and the Scot,
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Shar'd beteweene them all wee'd got,
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And so the glory did depart from our Isarel.
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What Christian heart next doth not ake,
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To see the poore Irish laid at th' Stake?
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For their lives and lands, the Ordinance saith
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May be bought for summs on the publick faith.
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And some men are so wise,
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To thinke them lawfull prise,
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Because they're voted Rebells by our State,
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But were it not a sinne?
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Yet they divide the skinne,
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Of the Beare, among them e're they have't.
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Our People (who were once so mad,
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To be all of the Tribe of Gad,
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Whose idolatry nothing could content,
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But this everlasting Parliament;
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And a posture of warre,)
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Shall find they're gon so farre,
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That now they cannot well come off,
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And when they have wasted all,
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On the Crowne, and Churches fall,
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They'l be rewarded with a Scoffe.
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How many Feares, and Jealousies,
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And Plots (abhominable lies)
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Have fill'd our Pulpits, and our Braines,
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Onely to cheate us into Chaines?
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Which never will be broke,
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But onely by a stroke,
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Given to th' Ring-leaders of the faction,
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Without it we may straine
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Our wits yet all vaine,
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For nought can doe us good but Action.
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Committes sit, in most great Townes,
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To awe both the Gentry, and the Clownes,
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They keepe the peace in every Sheire,
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By ferretting the Cavalier:
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Yea these men are so just,
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In discharging of their trust,
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Impos'd upon them by the State:
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That none shall dare to quatch,
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Though for lying at the catch,
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They deserve both of God and Men the hate.
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He whom the warres leaves worth a grote,
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Shall be Delinquent made by Vote,
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Are we not like to be bravely reform'd,
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Who are sure to be so throughly worm'd
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Quarterings, Excize, and Taxe,
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Expect, untill the Axe,
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And Halter claime by Law their due:
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Till then 'tis hard to show,
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The ready way to know
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A Rebell, from a Subject true.
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The Army which was once so fear'd,
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Most gallant men have now appear'd,
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By standing for Law, and Libertie,
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And continuance of the Monarchie:
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And as they fought to bring,
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To th' Parliament the King,
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For settling of an happy Peace:
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So still (though some men kick)
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To their principles they stick,
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To purchase his, their owne, and our release,
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The third part, of the Previlidges of the
two Houses of Parliament.
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TO hate all good, and hugge all evill,
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In an Angels shape to out-act the Devill,
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With all kinds of basenesse to comply,
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And make the whole Realme a Monopoly:
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To laugh at conscience,
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And be quite void of sence,
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Now Church and State they've in peices rent,
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To breake all kind of trust,
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And to do nothing that is just,
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Are some priviledges of this Parliament.
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And to abuse the King by Protestation,
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Remonstrances, and Declarations.
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To leavy armes against him, and pull downe,
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All the fairest Flowers of his Crowne,
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To seize on his Ships, and Ports,
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His Revenue, and his Forts,
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And to revile his Queene, and Progenie:
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To counterfeict his Seale,
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And his Letters to reveall,
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And to keepe him Prisoner at Holdenby.
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And to continance tumults, publish fictions,
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Vote, and Order contradictions,
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To set up an Idoll, nam'd the Cause,
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And make all bowe to't in spight of th' Lawes:
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The conscience to inforce,
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And go on without remorse,
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And (that which yet is worse) to apostatize
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From God, and all that's good,
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And to shed innocent blood,
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And to stope their eares against our cryes.
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And (as the Members decay) to pack new electi-ons,
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And to give to whom they list Protections,
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To roote out Episopacy, and to ordaine
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A Fast, to palliate the same:
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And an Humil[i]ation,
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To busie the Nation,
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Whilst they the Bishops-Lands do sell;
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Which so men will but buy,
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They'l give security,
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Unto them that there is no Hell.
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And the Learned Clergy to disgrace,
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The conscientious to displace,
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And in their roomes for to advance,
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Schisme, Sedition, and Ignorance,
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Informers to reward,
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Without any regard,
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To th' persons whom they falsely peach,
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And to promise them good pay,
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So that enough they'l say,
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To bring th' ill-affected within their reach.
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And to question the Persons in the Trinitie,
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And to make the sence of the House, Divinitie,
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To roote our Reverence, and declare,
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That Barnes as good as Churches are:
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The truth to persecute,
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And to make good Ministers mute,
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And to keep halfe our Churches without preach-ing,
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And (to a voide controules,
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Though it starves the peoples Soules)
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To suffer none but Round-head Teaching.
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And the two Universities to infect,
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And Sacramentalls to neglect,
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All workes of Piety to pull downe,
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With the Monuments of great renowne:
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And Hospitalls to rob,
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And makes us all sigh and sob,
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And worse, if worse they could invent:
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And to vote all sence, and reason,
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That's against them to be Treason,
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Are Priviledges of this Parliament.
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And so are------ but I conclude my Song,
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For Truth (though short) e're seemes too long,
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If now you would know what remedie,
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There may for all these mischiefes be?
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Then must King Charles alone,
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Be set upon his Throne,
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For which let's joyne in one, with might, and maine,
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For the times will never mend,
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Till the Parliament do end,
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And the King injoyes his right againe.
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