relieved from suspense by the apparition of Pym at their bar; where, "in the name of the Commons assembled in Parliament, and of all the Commons of England," he accused "Thomas Earl of Strafford, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, of high treason;" and desired their lordships, in their name, that he might forthwith be committed to prison. The scene which followed will be described in the words, nearly as they stand, of that gossiping annalist of the day, Principal Baillie, whose curiosity and garrulousness, stimulated by Presbyterian spite to the accused nobleman, have left posterity a narrative of it, which, for graphic liveliness, no historian has equalled." As soon as Mr. Pym withdrew, the Lords began to consult on that strange and unexpected motion. The word goes in haste to the lord-lieutenant, where he was with the king. With speed he comes to the house; he calls rudely at the door; James Maxwell, keeper of the black rod, opens. His lordship, with a proud glooming countenance, makes towards his place at the board-head: but at once many bid him quit the house; so he is forced, in confusion, to go to the door till he was called. After consultation, being called in, he stands, but is commanded to kneel; and on his knees to hear the sentence. Being on his knees, he is delivered to the keeper of the black rod, to be prisoner till he was cleared of those crimes the House of Commons had charged him with. He offered to speak, but was commanded to be gone without a word. In the outer room, Maxwell required him, as a prisoner, to deliver his sword. When he had got it, |