FAWKES, OUT. 



FAWKES, GUY. 



th**e and other rigorous statutes were not at all times enforced ; bat 

 they pUced the whole body of the Roman Catholic* at the mercy of 

 the ProtMtant government ; for them therefore there wu no liberty, 

 personal or religious, but such ai the privy council thought proper to 

 allow ; and with reference to their religion, the law gave them qo 

 right*, and afforded them DO protection. 



The fact* that James L, although himself a Protestant, was born of 

 Koman Catholic parent*, had been baptised by a Roman Catholic 

 archbishop, and approTed of several of the ordinance* of the Roman 

 Church, care to the Roman Catholic* at his accession hope* of a 

 reriTal of thc-ir liberties. At first, indeed, it appeared that their 

 wishes would be realised, and the severity used towards them relaxed ; 

 for the floe* paid by the recusants, which in the last year of Elizabeth 

 had amounted to 10,3331., in the first year of James's reign scarcely 

 exceeded SCO/., aud in the second they were little more than 20W. 

 Jama* however was no sooner firmly seated upon the throne, than he 

 overthrew all their expectations. In February 1604 he assured his 

 council that " he had never any intention of granting toleration to the 

 Catholics," that he would fortify the laws against them, and cause 

 them to be put into execution to the utmost. This occasioned among 

 the Roman Catholic party much discontent with the government, the 

 king, and the Protestants in general. The design of blowing up the 

 House of Lords with gunpowder at the opening of parliament, and 

 thus destroying at a single blow the King, tho Lords, and the Com- 

 mons, was formed about the summer of 1604. The conceiver of this 

 desperate and bloody vengeance was Robert Catesby, a Roman Catho- 

 lic, the ton of Sir William Catesby, who had been several times 

 imprisoned for recusancy. Cateaby disclosed hia scheme to John Wright 

 and Thomas Winter, the former descended from a respectable family 

 in Yorkshire the Wright* of Plowland in Holdernes* ; the latter from 

 the Winters of Huddington in Worcestershire, wh'ere they had been in 

 noss fusion of estate* since the time of Henry VL At a conversation 

 Mid between these conspirators it was agreed that Winter should go 

 over to the Netherlands to meet Velasco, constable of Castile, who 

 bad arrived at Flanders on Lis way to England to conclude a peace 

 between James and the king of Spain, and request him to solicit his 

 majesty to recal the penal laws against the Roman Catholics, and to 

 admit them into the rank of his other subjects. Winter received no 

 encouragement from Velasco that he would stipulate in the treaty of 

 peace for the liberties of the Englixh Roman Catholics, and so returned 

 to England, having in company Quido Fuwkes, who, it was thought, 

 would be of assistance in the business. Fawkrs was a gentleman of 

 good parentage and respectable family in Yorkshire ; his father, 

 Edward Fawkes, was a notary at York, and held the office of registrar 

 and advocate of the Consistory Court of the Cathedral. Of his educa- 

 tion and early history nothing is known ; but having spent the little 

 property that he derived from his father, he enlisted in the Spanish 

 army in Flanders, and was present at the taking of Calais by the Arch- 

 duke Albert in 1593. Soon after Winter's return to London, Thomas 

 Percy, the relation anrl confidential steward of tho Earl of Northum- 

 berland, joined the four conspirators already mentioned, and the 

 following oath of secrecy was administered to each, kneeling, with his 

 hands placed upon the Primer : " You swear by the blessed Trinity, 

 and by the sacrament you now propose to receive, never to disclose, 

 directly or indirectly, by word or circumstance, the matter that shall 

 be proposed to you to keep secret, nor desist from the execution 

 thereof until tho rest shall give you leave." They then heard m:\ss. 

 and received the sacrament from Father Gerard in confirmation of 

 their vow. Percy took the next step. He was a gentleman-pensioner, 

 and upon pretence that it would be convenient to him when in attend- 

 ance in that capacity, he purchased of one Ferris the remainder of a 

 short term which ho had in the leace of a house adjoining the parlia- 

 ment-house. Fawkes, who was unknown in London, and bad assumed 

 the name of Johmon, acted as Percy's servant, and took possession ol 

 the bouse. Patliament wu soon afterwards adjourned till the 7th of 

 February, and the conspirators having first hired a house in Lambeth 

 for the preparation of timber for the mine and a place of deposit for 

 combustibles, agreed to meet in Ixmdon about the beginning of 

 Novtnlr. The custody of the house in Lambeth wa committed to 

 Robert Keycn, the son of a Protestant clergyman in Derbyshire, but 

 binwelf a Roman Catholic ; the oath of secrecy was administered to 

 him also. The proceedings of the star-chamber during the interval of 

 their meetings so exasperated the conspirator* that they became more 

 eager than ever about the plot Catesby and his confederates, accord 

 ing to a previous agreement, assembled in the house about the llth of 

 December, and a mine wu immediately commenced. The stone wal 

 however which separated them from the parliament-house being fount! 

 three yards in thickness, Keyes and the younger brother of John 

 Wright (who was enlisted a tho others had been) weie called in t. 

 ssii, and the seven men were thus occupied until Christmas-Eve 

 without their ever appearing in the upper p*rt of the house. During 

 their laborious employment they had much consultation resi -cti^ 

 the scheme to be adopted. It wu supposed that Prince Henry woulc 

 accompany the king to the pariiaiuent-hou, and perish there with 

 hi* father. The Duke of York (afterwards Chnrlc* I.) would then be 

 the next hir, and Percy undertook to secure hia person, and carry 

 him off in safety as soon u the fatal blow wu struck. If this scheme 

 should fail, the Princes* Klirabstb wu to be surprised and secured by 



a party provided iu the country. It wu the intention to proclaim one 

 of the royal family u kin);. It wu also arranged that Warwickshire 

 should be the general rendezvous, and that supplies of horses and 

 armour should be sent to the houses of several of the conspirator* in 

 that county, to be used as occasion might require. 



In the midst of these deliberations Fawkes brought intelligence 

 hat the p.irli uncut had again been prorogued from the 7th of February 

 to the 3rd of October following. The conspirators therefore separated 

 for a time ; and in the meanwhile John Grant of Norbrook, iu War- 

 wickshire, and Robert Winter of Huddington, were sworn in among 

 their number. In February (1604-5) their labours were resumed, 

 and the stone wall nearly half broken through. Ono morning while 

 working upon the wall, they suddenly heard a rushing noise in a 

 cellar nearly above their head*. At first they feared they had been 

 discovered ; but Fawkes being despatched to reconnoitre, found that 

 one Bright, to whom the cellar belonged, was selling off his coals in 

 order to remove. Fawkes carefully surveyed this large vault situated 

 immediately below the House of Lords, aud perceived iU fitness for 

 their purpose. The difficulties connected with breaking through the 

 wall, its thickness, the damp of the situation, for water was continually 

 oozing through tho stone-work, and the danger of discovery from 

 noise, disposed the confederates to abandon their operations, and to 

 possess themselves of the cellar of Bright. The vault was imme- 

 diately hired, and about twenty barrels of powder were carried by night 

 from Lambeth : iron bars and other tools that had been used iu mining 

 were also thrown among the powder, that the breach might be tho 

 greater, and the whole was covered over witU faggots. Lumber of 

 various kinds was placed in the cellar to prevent any suspicion of the 

 curious or the watchful In May 1605 the preparations were complete : 

 the conspirators having marked the door, iu order that it might be 

 seen if any one entered the vault, consented to separate ; before their 

 separation however it was proposed that nn attempt should be made 

 to obtain foreign co-operation by informing Sir William Stanley and 

 Owen of the project. This was agreed to on condition of their being 

 sworn to secrecy, and Fawkes was despatched to Flanders for the 

 purpose of conferring with them. Sir Edmund Bayuham wu also sent 

 on a mission to the pope, that when the news of the explosion 

 arrived at Rome ho might be prepared to negotiate on behalf of tho 

 conspirators, and to explain that the design of the plot was the 

 re-establishment of Roman Catholicism. Soon after Fawkes's return 

 from Flanders the parliament was further prorogued from October to 

 the 5th of November. These repeated prorogation* alarmed the 

 conspirators, and led them to fear that their project was suspected. 

 Their alarms however having been discovered to be groundless, 

 Catesby purchased horses, arms, aud powder, aud under the pretence 

 of making levies for the Archduke of Flanders, assembled friends who 

 might be armed in the country when the first blow was struck. As 

 considerable sums of money were necessary for these purposes, it was 

 proposed to admit into the confederacy three wetltuy men, Sir 

 Evcrard Digby [DlGBTJ, Ambrose Rookwood of Coldhain Hall, iu 

 Suffolk, and Francis Tresham, the son of Sir Thomas Treshom of 

 Rushtou, in Northamptonshire. These gentlemen wore afterwards 

 sworn in. 



As the day of meeting of parliament approached, it wu finally 

 determined that Fawkes should fire the mine, with a slow mutch, 

 which would allow him a quarter of an hour to esc.ipe. Sir Kverard 

 Digby was to assemble a number of Itouiau Catholic gentlemen iu 

 Warwickshire on the 5th of November under pretence of a. hunting 

 party, and Percy was to seize the Prince of Wales, or tho Duke of 

 York if the prince should go to the parliament-house with the king. 

 One subject of discussion only arose, whether aud bow the lioman 

 Catholic peers should be warned of their danger. Each conspirator 

 had friends, if not relations among them ; but the danger of commu- 

 nicating the project to so large a number of persons was considered 

 so imminent that they despaired of raving all of them, and it was 

 concluded that no express notice should bo given them, but only such 

 persuasion, upon general grounds, us might deter them from attending. 

 Many of the conspirators were averse to this advice aud angry at its 

 adoption; aud Tresham in particular, for his sisters had married 

 Lords Stourtou aud Mount eagle. Indeed Tresham so passionately 

 required that Lord Mountoaglo should have warning of his danger, 

 that very high words ensued ; and when ho was thwarted 

 wishes, be hinted that the money he had promised would not bo forth- 

 coming ; and from this time he ceased to attend their councils. 



( In Saturday the 26th of October, ten days before tho meeting of 

 parliament, Lord Mouuteagla unexpectedly gave a supper in u house 

 ulii'-li he had not lately occupied. Circumstances have given rUo to 

 a belief that ho was privy to the plot at the time, that he invite I l<i< 

 friends, and that the supper was only given ns a convenient < 

 tunity of discovering the conspiracy to them, lie this m it may, 

 whilst he wu at table a letter was brought to him by one of his pages, 

 who stated that he had received it in the street from a stranger, v. i,o 

 pressed its instant delivery into hi< master's Imuds. The letter ran 

 thus: " My lord out of the love i bvnru to some of y.mer Trend* have 

 a oner of youcr preservacion therefor i would udvyse yowe as yowe 

 tender youcr lyf to dcvyse some cxscuso to shift of youer attend nice 

 at this parleaincnt for God nnd man Imthe concurred to pum he. the, 

 wickedues of this time, and thiuke not slightlye of this advertisement 



