Skip to main content

‹‹‹ prev (10)

(12) next ›››

(11)
THE GUNPOWDER PLOT.
THE GUNPOWDER PLOT. 1]
irhey then heard mass, and received1 the Sacra¬
ment from Father Gerard, a Jesuit mission-
.ry, in confirmation of their vow. Thomas
Winter and Fawkes both state the secret was
;iot communicated to Gerard. Percy took the
:iiext step. He was a gentleman pensioner,
md, upon pretence that it would be convenient
0 him when in attendance in that capacity, he
mrchased of one Ferris the remainder of a
hort term which he had in the lease of a house
[ djoining the Parliament House. It was,
ccordingly, taken in Percy’s name, under a
i ,'rittcn agreement with Ferris, the original of
vhich, dated May 24, 1604, may be seen at
1 he State-Paper Office. From the cellar of
ibis house a mine was to be made through the
wall of the Parliament House, and a quantity
If gunpowder and combustibles to be deposit-
d immediately under the House of Lords.
Fawkes, who was unknown in London, and
uad assumed the name of Johnson, acted as
jrercy’s servant, and took possession of the
house. Parliament was soon afterwards ad-
lourned till the 7th February; and the con¬
spirators, having first hired a house in Lam-
ifieth for the preparation of timber for the
nine, and a place of deposit for combustibles,
greed to meet in London about the begin-
ing of November. The custody of the house
Lambeth was committed to Robert Keyes,
he son of a Protestant clergyman in Derby-
hire, but himself a Catholic: the oath of se-
trecy was administered to him also.
The proceedings of the Star-Chamber, during
he interval of their meetings, so exasperated
he conspirators, that they became more eager
han ever about the plot. Catesby and his con-

Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence