hour, to induce Tresham to join the plot for the sake of his wealth, his father having died some two months before the eventful 'fifth.' Tresham was born in 1568, educated at Gloucester Hall, Oxford, and was involved in the Essex rebellion; for which outbreak he, or rather his father, was very heavily fined, and he narrowly escaped execu tion. He had also been a party to Father Garnet's schemes for obtaining aid from Spain. How this miserable Tresham was the traitor who was mainly instrumental in betraying his fellowplotters, I shall show later.

Finally, it will be seen from a perusal of the above memoirs of the different conspirators that Robert Catesby, unscrupulous and cunning as he was, selected each one to join the plot on account of his possession of some special quality that would particularly forward the interests of the great design. Thus, Thomas Winter was chosen on account of his skill in languages and his soldierly reputation; Ambrose Rookewood on account of his wealth and his horses; the dishonest Percy on account of his position at Court and in Lord Northumberland's household; Sir Everard Digby on account of his social position, his friendship with influential Roman Catholics, and his wealth; Grant on account of his fortified house; Robert Winter on account of his wealth and his relationship to the Talbots, and other great Roman Catholic families; Faukes on account of his military qualities, and his face being

unknown to the government spies; the turbulent Keyes, and the Wrights on account of their being stout-hearted and handy men; the humble Bates on account of his being a useful and trustworthy messenger; and Francis Tresham for the sake of his cash.

Drawn by

Caper, July, 1190

Interior of the Crypt called the POWDER PLOT CELLAR beneath the old Palace of Westminste

looking towards Charing Crots — Taken down

WILKINSON'S LONDINA ILLUSTRATA.

in

June

#9.33.

CHAPTER VII

T

PROGRESS OF THE PLOT

HE vague idea of blowing up the Parliament House seems first to have occurred

to Robert Catesby about Lent,' 1604. Roughly speaking, we may date the genesis of the actual conspiracy from about April in that year. The first formal meeting of the first three plotters (Catesby, Thomas Winter, and John Wright) was held at a house in Lambeth, probably at the end of March, 1604. Later on, after the admission of Percy into the conspiracy, an empty house, with a small garden, adjoining the Palace of Westminster, was hired.' This house rented in Thomas Percy's name, was leased by one Ferris as tenant to Mr. Whyneard, keeper of the King's wardrobe. From a cellar in this house the conspirators began digging a mine through the wall into the contiguous vault beneath the Parliament House; but the work proved much harder than anticipated, as the wall was

2

1 The decision to hire this abode was taken at a meeting of five of the conspirators held in a lonely house near Clement's Inn.

2 Thomas Percy hired a house at Westminster' (Confession of Guy Faukes).