The trial of Strafford, with the intrigues and discussions leading to it, belongs to the general history of these islands. The impressive scene in Westminster Hall has been dwelt on by historians, and is indeed of surpassing interest. The King and Queen were present throughout, and the concourse was such as England had never seen till then. Even hostile witnesses have testified to the inimitable life and grace with which the prisoner under every disadvantage maintained his cause against the accusing Commons, and before judges who had little sympathy with him. Lord Cork, though only a peer of Ireland, had been called up by writ, and Baillie noticed that he sat covered daily, his black cloak being conspicuous among the coloured robes. As the trial proceeded Strafford's courage and eloquence gained him many supporters; the ladies were all on his side, and the Queen had ample opportunities of admiring his beautiful white hands. His object was to show, and it is generally thought he succeeded in showing, that no single count of the impeachment amounted to treason, and that he was entitled to an acquittal even if every charge was proved. In Fuller's homely phrase, no number of frogs will make a toad. The Commons, on the contrary, maintained that he had persistently striven to upset the fundamental laws, that there was a cumulative force in repeated offences, and that he ought to die the death of a traitor.[264] [Sidenote: The articles of impeachment.] [Sidenote: Strafford's line of defence.]