e he put his forces in motion, made
another offer of accommodation. By the Lords it was received with respect;
the Commons imprisoned the messenger; and Pym, in their name, impeached the
queen of high treason against the parliament and kingdom.[b] The charge
was met by the royalists with sneers of derision. The Lords declined the
ungracious task of sitting in judgment on the wife of their sovereign;
and the Commons themselves, but it was not till after the lapse of
eight months, yielded to their reluctances and silently dropped the
prosecution.[1]

In the lower house no man had more distinguished himself of late, by the
boldness of his language, and his fearless advocacy of peace, than Edmund
Waller, the poet. In conversation with his intimate friends he had
frequently suggested the formation of a third party, of moderate men, who
should "stand in the gap, and unite the king and the parliament." In

[Footnote 1: Journals, 104, 111, 118, 121, 362. Commons' Journals, May 23,
June 21, July 3, 6, 1644, Jan. 10.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1643. May 20]
[Sidenote b: A.D. 1643. May 23]

this work they calculated on the co-operation of all the Lords excepting
three, of a considerable number of the lower house, and of the most able
among the advisers of the king at Oxford; and that they might ascertain the
real opinion of the city, they agreed to portion it into districts, to
make lists of the inhabitants, and to divide them into three classes,--of
moderate men, of royalists, and of parliamentarians. The design had been
communicated to Lord Falkland, the king's secretary; but it remained
in this imperfect state, when it was revealed to Pym by the perfidy or
patriotism of a servant, who had overheard the discourse of his master.[a]
Waller, Tomkins his brother-in-law, and half-a-dozen others, were
immediately secured; and an annunciation was made to the two houses of "the
discovery of a horrid plot to seize the city, force the parliament, and
join with the royal army."[1]

The leaders of the patriots eagerly improved this opportunity to quell that
spirit of pacification which had recently insinuated itself among their
partisans. While the public mind was agitated by rumours respecting the
bloody designs of the conspirators, while every moderate man feared that
the expression of his sentiments might be taken as an evidence of his
participation in the plot, they proposed a new oath and covenant to the
House of Commons.[b] No one dared