whereupon they had builded the golden mountains of their glorious hopes, took their last desperate resolution to flock together in a troop and wander, as they did, for the reasons aforetold. But as, upon the one part, the zealous duty to their God and their sovereign was so deeply imprinted in the hearts of all the meanest and poorest sort of the people (although then knowing of no further mystery than such public misbehaviours, as their own eyes taught them), as, notwithstanding the fair pretences of their Catholic cause, no creature, man or woman, through all the country, would once so much as give them willingly a cup of drink, or any sort of comfort or support, but with execrations detested them; so, on the other part, the sheriffs of the shires, where through they wandered, convening their people with all speed possible, hunted as hotly after them, as the evilness of the way, and the unprovidedness of their people upon a sudden could permit them. And so at last, after Sir Richard Verney, sheriff of Warwickshire, had carefully and straightly been in chase of them to the confines of his county, part of the meaner sort being also apprehended by him; Sir Richard Walsh, sheriff of Worcestershire, did likewise dutifully and hotly pursue them through his shire, and having gotten information of their taking harbour at the house above named, he sent trumpeters and messengers to them, commanding them in the king's name to surrender unto him, his majesty's minister; and, knowing no more at that time of their guilt than was publicly visible, did promise, upon their dutiful and obedient surrendering unto him, to intercede at the king's hands for the sparing of their lives; who received only from them this scornful answer (they being better witnesses to themselves of their inward evil consciences), "That he had need of better assistance than of those few numbers that were with him, before he could be able to command or control them." the house. But here fell the wondrous work of God's The preparajustice, that while this message passed between tion to assault the sheriff and them, the sheriff's and his people's zeal being justly kindled and augmented by their arrogant answer, and so they preparing themselves to give a furious assault, and the other party making themselves ready within the house to perform their promise by a defence as resolute, it pleased God, that, in the mending of the fire in their chamber, one small spark should fly out and light among less than two pound weight of powder, which was drying a little from the chimney; which being thereby blown up, so maimed the faces of some of the principal rebels, and the hands and sides of others of them (blowing up with it also a great bag full of powder, which, notwithstanding, never took fire), as they were not only disabled and discouraged hereby from any further resistance, that Catesby himself, Rookwood, Grant, Catesby, who and divers others of greatest account among ventor of this them, were thereby made unable for defence; treason, in gebut also wonderfully stricken with amazement the manner of in their guilty consciences, calling to memory working the how God had justly punished them with that same by powsame instrument which they should have used himself for the effecting of so great a sin, according to with the blowthe old Latin saying, In quo peccamus, in eodem ing up of powplectimur, as they presently (see the wonderful der, and next power of God's justice upon guilty consciences) both killed with did all fall down upon their knees, praying God one shot proto pardon them for their bloody enterprise; and powder. thereafter giving over any further debate, opened the gate, suffered the sheriff's people to rush in furiously among them, and desperately sought their own present destruction; the three specials of them joining backs together, Catesby, Percy, and Winter, whereof two with one shot, was the first in der, in special, now first maimed he and Percy ceeding from Catesby and Percy, were slain, and the third, Winter, taken and saved alive. And thus those resolute and high aspiring Catholics, who dreamed of no less than the destruction of kings and kingdoms, and promised to themselves no lower estate than the government of great and ancient monarchies, were miserably defeated, and quite overthrown in an instant, falling in the pit which they had prepared for others; and so fulfilling that sentence which his majesty did in a manner prophecy of them, in his oration to the Parliament: some presently slain, others deadly wounded, stripped of their clothes, left lying miserably naked, and so dying rather of cold than of the danger of their wounds; and the rest that either were whole, or but lightly hurt, taken and led prisoners by the sheriff, the ordinary minister of justice, to the gaol, the ordinary place even of the basest malefactors, where they remained till their sending up to London, being met with a huge confluence of people of all sorts, desirous to see them, as the rarest sort of monsters,-fools to laugh at them, women and children to wonder, all the common people to gaze, the wiser sort to satisfy their curiosity, in seeing the outward cases of so unheard of a villany; and generally all sorts of people, to satiate and fill their eyes with the sight of them, whom in their hearts they so far detested: serving so for a fearful and public spectacle of God's fierce wrath and just indigna tion. What hereafter will be done with them, is to be left to the justice of his majesty and the state; which, as no good subject needs to doubt, will be performed in the own due time by a public and exemplary punishment, so have we all that are faithful and humble subjects, great cause to pray earnestly to the Almighty, that it will please him who hath the hearts of all As Sylvius Eneas doth James I. of princes in his hands, to put it in his majesty's heart to make such a conclusion of this tragedy to the traitors, but tragi-comedy to the king and all his true subjects, as thereby the glory of God and his true religion may be advanced, the future security of the king and his estate procured and provided for, all hollow and unhonest hearts discovered and prevented, and this horrible attempt (lacking due epithets) to be so justly avenged, that where they thought by one catholic indeed, and universal blow, to accomplish the wish of that Roman tyrant, who wished notably write all the bodies in Rome to have but one neck, concerning the and so by the violent force of powder to break murder of King up, as with a petard, our tripple-locked peace- Scotland, and ful gates of Janus, which, God be thanked, they punishment of could not compass by any other means; they the traitors, may justly be so recompensed for their truly whereof himself viperous intended parricide, as the shame and ness.-Hist. de infamy that otherwise would light upon this Europa, cap. 46. whole nation, for having unfortunately hatched such cockatrice' eggs, may be repaired by the execution of famous and honourable justice upon the offenders, and so the kingdom, purged of them, may hereafter perpetually flourish in peace and prosterity, by the happy conjunction of the hearts of all honest and true subjects with their just and religious sovereign. And thus, whereas they thought to have effaced our memories, the memory of them shall remain (but to their perpetual infamy), and we, as I said in the beginning, shall, with all thankfulness, eternally preserve the memory of so great a benefit. To which let every good subject say, Amen. the following was an eye-wit The effect of form of the Common Law of England. The Brief of the Matters whereupon ROBERT the indictment THAT whereas our Sovereign Lord the King |