Then the Lords were called and answered and appeared as followeth:
Then the Earl of Essex desired to know of my Lord Chief Justice, whether he might challenge any of the peers or no, whereunto the Lord Chief Justice answered No: and Mr. Attorney General alleged a case in Henry the Eighth’s time, of my Lord Darcy, whereupon the Earl bade them go on. (When the Lord Gray was called, the Earl of Essex laughed upon the Earl of Southampton, and jogged him upon his sleeve.) Then they were called to hold up their Hands at the Bar, which they did. And then the Clerk of the Crown read the Indictments. That being done, they were bid to hold up their hands again, which they did, and another indictment was read, whereunto the Earl of Essex was attentive. After which the Clerk of the Crown asked them whether they were Guilty or Not Guilty, they pleaded Not Guilty; and for their trials they put themselves upon God and the Peers. They spake this severally. Then my Lord High Steward in a few words gave the peers a charge, requiring them to have due regard for their consciences. 1 May 1999 pkm |