Treason > Guy Fawkes, or The history of the gunpowder plot

10
GUY FAWKES, OR
death. Father Greenway, who knew all the
conspirators intimately, describes him as ‘ a
man of great piety, of exemplary temperance,
of mild and cheerful demeanour, an enemy of
broils and disputes, a faithful friend, and re¬
markable for his punctual attendance upon re¬
ligious observances.’ His society is stated, by
the same authority, to have been ‘ sought by all
the most distinguished in the Archduke’s camp
for nobility and virtue.’ If this account of his
character be correct, we are to look upon this
man, not, according to the popular notion, as a
mercenary ruffian ready for hire to perform
the chief part in any tragedy of blood, but as
an enthusiast whose understanding had been
distorted by superstition, and in whom fana¬
ticism had conquered the better feelings of
nature. His conduct, after the discovery of the
plot, is quite consistent with the character of
a fanatic.
Soon after Winter’s return to London, Tho¬
mas Percy,the relation and confidential steward
of the Earl of Northumberland, joined the four
conspirators already mentioned. They met by
appointment at a house in the fields beyond St
Clement’s Inn, and Catesby, Percy, Thomas
Winter, John Wright, and Fawkes, then seve¬
rally took an oath in the following form :—
‘ 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 exe¬
cution thereof until the rest shall giveyou leave.’
This oath was given by them to each other in
the most solemn manner, ‘ kneeling down upon
their knees, with their hands laid on a primer.’