What encouragement they had or thought they had from such men one does not know; but they had fixed Thursday, April 9, the very day of the appointment of the great Committee of Ninety-nine to deal with Cromwell about the Kingship, for an experimental rendezvous and standard-raising on Mile-End-Green.

This being known to Thurloe, a horse-troop or two finished the affair by the capture of about twenty of them at Shoreditch, ready to ride to Mile-End-Green, and also by the capture at Mile-End-Green itself of their intended standard, some arms, and a quantity of Fifth-Monarchy books and manifestos.

Five or six of the captured, among whom was Thomas Venner, a wine-cooper, the real soul of the conspiracy, were imprisoned in the Tower, and the rest elsewhere; but, in accordance with Cromwell's lenient custom in such cases, there was no trial, or other public notice of the affair, beyond a report about it by Thurloe to the House (April 11).
Harrison, however, was again arrested, with Rich, Lawson, and Major Danvers; and amongst those taken was a Mr.Arthur Squib, who had been in the Barebones Parliament, and one of Harrison's chief followers there.

Squib's connexion with Venner in the present wretched conspiracy seems to have been much closer than Harrison's.[1] [Footnote 1: Godwin, IV.

372-375; Carlyle, III.