What was the Gunpowder Plot? Part 12

Important information upon the same point is furnished by Cecil in another letter, written in the following January.[267] He undertakes to explain to his correspondent how it came to pa.s.s that a circ.u.mstance of supreme importance, of which the government were fully cognizant,[268]

was not mentioned in the official account. This he does as follows: "And although in his Majesty's book there is not any mention made of them [the Jesuits], and of many things else which came to the knowledge of the State, yet is it but a frivolous inference that thereby [they] seek to serve their turn, considering the purpose of his Majesty was not to deliver unto the world all that was confessed concerning this action, _but so much only of the manner and form of it, and the means of the discovery_, as might make it apparent, both how wickedly it was conceived by those devilish instruments, and _how graciously it pleased G.o.d to deal with us in such an extraordinary discovery thereof_."

Turning to the details of the story which survive the struggle for existence in the conflict of testimony, if any can be said to do so, there is abundant matter deserving attention, albeit we may at once dismiss the time-honoured legend concerning the sagacity of the British Solomon, and his marvellous interpretation of the riddling phrases which baffled the perspicacity of all besides himself.[269]

More important is Cecil's admission that the presence of the powder under the Parliament House was at least suspected for several days before anything was done to interfere with the proceedings of those who had put it there. The reasons alleged for so extraordinary a course are manifestly absurd. It was resolved, he told the amba.s.sadors, "that, till the night before, nothing should be done to interrupt any purpose of theirs that had any such devilish practice, but rather to suffer them to go on to the end of their day." In like manner he informed the Privy Council[270] that it was determined to make no earlier search, that "such as had such practice in hand might not be scared before they had let the matter run on to a full ripeness for discovery." It certainly appears that, at least, it would have been well before the eleventh hour to inst.i.tute observations as to who might be coming and going about the cellar. On the other hand, can it be imagined that any minister in his right senses would have allowed the existence of a danger so appalling to continue so long, and have suffered a desperado like Faukes to have gone on knocking about with his flint and steel and lantern in a powder magazine beneath the House of Parliament? Accidents are proverbially always possible, and in the circ.u.mstances described to us there would have been much more than a mere possibility, for the action said to have been taken by the authorities, in sending the chamberlain to "peruse"

the vault, seems to have been expressly intended to give the alarm; and had the conspirators been scared it would evidently have been their safest plan to have precipitated the catastrophe, that in the confusion it would cause they might escape. How terrible such a catastrophe would have been is indicated by Father Greenway:[271] "Over and above the grievous loss involved in the destruction of these ancient and n.o.ble buildings, of the archives and national records, the king himself might have been in peril, and other royal edifices, though situate at a distance, and undoubtedly many would have perished who had come up to attend the Parliament." Moreover, the loss of life in so thickly populated a spot must have been frightful, and especially amongst the official cla.s.ses.

Father Greenway expresses his utter disbelief in the incident of the chamberlain's visit:[272] "To speak my own mind," he writes, "I do not see in this portion of the story any sort of probability." He adds another remark of great importance. If the Lord Chamberlain,--and, we may add, Sir T. Knyvet,--could get into the cellar without the a.s.sistance of Faukes, to say nothing of the "other door" which makes its appearance in Cecil's first version, there is an end of the secret and hidden nature of the place, and some one else must have had a key. How, then, about the months during which the powder had been lying in it; during much of which time it had been, apparently, left to take care of itself? Did no man ever enter and inspect it before?

But questions far more fundamental inevitably suggest themselves. If, during ten, or even during five days, a minister so astute and vigilant was willing to risk the danger of an explosion, it certainly does not appear that he was much afraid of the powder, or thought there was any harm in it. We have already remarked on the strangeness of the circ.u.mstance that the plotters were able so easily to procure it. It may be observed that they appear themselves to have been disappointed with its quality, for we are told[273] that late in the summer they added to their store "as suspecting the former to be dank." Still more remarkable, however, was the conduct of the government. Immediately upon the "discovery" they inst.i.tuted the most minute and searching inquiries as to every other particular connected with the conspirators. We find copious evidence taken about their haunts, their lodgings, and their a.s.sociates: of the boatmen who conveyed them hither and thither, the porters who carried billets, and the carpenters who worked for them: inquiries were diligently inst.i.tuted as to where were purchased the iron bars laid on top of the barrels, which appear to have been considered especially dangerous; we hear of sword-hilts engraved for some of the company, of three beaver hats bought by another, and of the sixpence given to the boy who brought them home. But concerning the gunpowder no question appears ever to have been asked, whence it came, or who furnished it. Yet this would appear to be a point at least as important as the rest, and if it was left in absolute obscurity, the inference is undoubtedly suggested that it was not wished to have questions raised.

It may be added that no mention is discoverable of the augmentation of the royal stores by so notable a contribution as this would have furnished.

Neither can it escape observation that whereas the powder was discovered only on the morning[274] of November 5th, the peers met as usual in their chamber that very day.[275] It cannot be supposed either that four tons of powder could have been so soon removed, or that the most valuable persons in the State would have been suffered to expose themselves to the risk of a.s.sembling in so perilous a situation.[276]

However this may be, from the moment of the "discovery" the discovered gunpowder disappears from history.[277]

[Ill.u.s.tration: DISCOVERY OF GUNPOWDER PLOT, AND COINS OF JAMES I.

_Coins_ in King James I. Reign; _with the Discovery of the_ Gun Powder Plot.]

There is another point which must be noticed. It might naturally be supposed that after so narrow an escape, and in accordance with their loud protestations of alarm at the proximity of a shocking calamity from which they had been so providentially delivered, the official authorities would have carefully guarded against the possibility of the like happening again. Their acts, however, were quite inconsistent with their words, for they did nothing of the kind. For more than seventy years afterwards the famous "cellar" continued to be leased in the same easy-going fas.h.i.+on to any who chose to hire it, and continued to be the receptacle of all manner of rubbish and lumber, eminently suited to mask another battery. Not till the days of the mendacious t.i.tus Oates, and under the influence of the panic he had engendered, did the Peers bethink themselves that a project such as that of Guy Faukes might really be a danger, and command that the "cellar" should be searched.[278] This was done, in November, 1678, by no less personages than Sir Christopher Wren and Sir Jonas Moore, who reported that the vaults and cellars under and near the House of Lords were in such a condition that there could be no a.s.surance of safety. It was accordingly ordered that they should be cleared of all timber, firewood, coals, and other materials, and that pa.s.sages should be made through them all, to the end that they might easily be examined. At this time, and not before, was inst.i.tuted the traditional searching of the cellars on the eve of Parliament.[279]

What then, it will be asked, really did occur? What was done by the conspirators? and what by those who discovered them?

Truth to tell, it is difficult, or rather impossible, to answer such questions. That there was a plot of some kind cannot, of course, be doubted; that it was of such a nature as we have been accustomed to believe, can be affirmed only if we are willing to ignore difficulties which are by no means slight. There is, doubtless, a ma.s.s of evidence in support of the traditional story upon these points, but while its value has yet to be discussed, there are other considerations, hitherto overlooked, which are in conflict with it.

Something has been said of the amazing contradictions which a very slight examination of the official story reveals at every turn, and much more might be added under the same head.[280]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "GUY FAUKES' LANTERN."]

On the other hand it is clear that even as to the material facts there was not at the time that unanimity which might have been expected. We have seen how anxious was the Secretary of State that the French court should at once be rightly informed as to all particulars. We learn, however, from Mr. Dudley Carleton, then attached to the emba.s.sy at Paris,[281] that in spite of Cecil's prompt.i.tude he was antic.i.p.ated by a version of the affair sent over from the French emba.s.sy in London, giving an utterly different complexion to it. According to this, the design had been, "That the council being set, and some lords besides in the chamber, a barrel of gunpowder should be fired underneath them, and the greater part, if not all, blown up." According to this informant, therefore, it was not the Parliament House but the Council Chamber which was to have been a.s.sailed, there is no mention of the king, and we have one barrel of powder instead of thirty-six. It is not easy to understand how in such a matter a mistake like this could have been made, for it is the inevitable tendency of men to begin by exaggerating, and not by minimizing, a sudden and startling peril.[282]

Moreover, even this modest version of the affair was not suffered to pa.s.s unchallenged. Three days later Carleton again wrote:[283] "The fire which was said to have burnt our king and council, and hath been so hot these two days past in every man's mouth, proves but _ignis fatuus_, or a flash of some foolish fellow's brain to abuse the world; for it is now as confidently reported there was no such matter, nor anything near it more than a barrel of powder found near the court."

It must here be observed that the scepticism thus early manifested appears never to have been exorcised from the minds of French writers, many of whom, of all shades of thought, continue, down to our day, to a.s.sume that the real plotters were the king's government.[284]

Neither can we overlook sundry difficulties, again suggested by the facts of the case, which make it hard to understand how the plans of the plotters can in reality have been as they are represented.

We have already observed on the nature of the house occupied in Percy's name. If this were, as Speed tells us, and as there is no reason to doubt, at the service of the Peers during a session, for a withdrawing-room, and if the session was to begin on November 5th, how could Faukes hope not only to remain in possession, but to carry on his strange proceedings un.o.bserved, amid the crowd of lacqueys and officials with whom the opening of Parliament by the Sovereign must needs have flooded the premises? How was he, un.o.bserved, to get into the fatal "cellar"?

This difficulty is emphasized by another. We learn, on the unimpeachable testimony of Mrs. Whynniard, the landlady, that Faukes not only paid the last instalment of rent on Sunday, November 3rd, but on the following day, the day immediately preceding the intended explosion, had carpenters and other workfolk in the house "for mending and repairing thereof."[285] To say nothing of the wonderful honesty of paying rent under the circ.u.mstances, what was the sense of putting a house in repair upon Monday, which on Tuesday was to be blown to atoms? And how could the practised eyes of such workmen fail to detect some trace of the extraordinary and unskilled operations of which the house is said to have been the theatre? If, indeed, the truth is that on the Tuesday the premises were to be handed over for official use, it is easy to understand why it was thought necessary to set them in order, but on no other supposition does this appear comprehensible.

Problems, not easy to solve, connect themselves, likewise, with the actual execution of the conspirators' plan. If it would have been hard for Guy Faukes to get into the "cellar," how was he ever to get out of it again? We are so accustomed to the idea of darkness and obscurity in connection with him and his business, as perhaps to forget that his project was to have been executed in the very middle of the day, about noon or shortly afterwards. The king was to come in state with retinue and guards, and attended by a large concourse of spectators, who, as is usual on such occasions, would throng every nook and corner whence could be obtained a glimpse of the building in which the royal speech was being delivered.[286] It cannot be doubted, in particular, that the open s.p.a.ces adjacent to the House itself would be strictly guarded, and the populace not suffered to approach too near the sacred precincts, more especially when, as we have seen, so many suspicions were abroad of danger to his sacred Majesty, and to the Parliament.

On a sudden a door immediately beneath the spot where the flower of the nation were a.s.sembled, would be unlocked and opened, and there would issue there-from a man, "looking like a very tall and desperate fellow,"

booted and spurred and equipped for travel. He was to have but a quarter of an hour to save himself from the ruin he had prepared.[287] What possible chance was there that he would have been allowed to pa.s.s?

As to his further plans, we have the most extravagant and contradictory accounts, some obviously fabulous.[288] According to the least incredible, a vessel was lying below London Bridge ready at once to proceed to sea and carry him to Flanders; while a boat, awaiting him at the Parliament stairs, was to convey him to the s.h.i.+p.[289] If this were so, it is not clear why he equipped himself with his spurs, which, however, are authenticated by as good evidence as any other feature of the story. It would also appear that, here again, the plan proposed was altogether impracticable, for at the time of his projected flight the tide would have been flowing,[290] and it is well known that to attempt to pa.s.s Old London Bridge against it would have been like trying to row up a waterfall. Neither does it seem probable that the vessel would have been able to get out of the Thames for several hours, before which time all egress would doubtless have been stopped.

Such considerations must at least avail to make us pause before we can unhesitatingly accept the traditional history, even in those broad outlines which appear to be best established. The main point is, however, independent of their truth. Though all be as has been affirmed concerning the "cellar" and its contents, and the plan of operations agreed upon by the traitors, the question remains as to the real nature of the "discovery." We have seen, on the one hand, that the official narrative bristles with contradictions, and, whatever be the truth, with falsehoods. On the other hand, the said narrative was avowedly prepared with the object of obtaining credence for the picturesque but unveracious a.s.sertion that the plotters' design was detected "very miraculously, even some twelve hours before the matter should have been put in execution." On the Earl of Salisbury's own admission, it had been divined almost as many days previously, and it was laid open at the last moment only because he deliberately chose to wait till the last moment before doing anything. No doubt a dramatic feature was thus added to the business, and one eminently calculated to impress the public mind: but they who insist so loudly on the miraculousness of an event which they alone have invested with the character of a miracle, must be content to have it believed that they knew still more than in an unguarded moment they acknowledged, and arranged other things concerning the Plot than its ultimate disclosure.[291]

FOOTNOTES:

[241] Copies were sent by Cecil to Cornwallis at Madrid, Parry at Paris, Edmondes at Brussels, and Chichester at Dublin. Also by Chamberlain to Dudley Carleton.

[242] "Lastly, and this you must not omit, you must deliver, in commendation of my Lord Mounteagle, words to show how sincerely he dealt, and how fortunately it proved that he was the instrument of so great a blessing, ... because it is so lewdly given out that he was once of this plot of powder, and afterwards betrayed it all to me."--Cecil to c.o.ke. (Draft in the R.O., printed by Jardine, _Criminal Trials_, ii.

120.)

[243] 500 as an annuity for life, and 200 per annum to him and his heirs for ever in fee farm rents.

[244] See Thorold Rogers, _Agriculture and Prices_, v. 631, and Jessopp, _One Generation of a Norfolk House_, p. 285.

[245] R.O. _Dom. James I._ xx. 56.

[246] _Criminal Trials_, ii. 65.

[247] _Ibid._ 68.

[248] Note on Fuller's _Church History_, x. -- 39, and _on The Student's Hume_.

[249] _History_, i. 251.

[250] _Criminal Trials_, ii. 69.

[251] On March 13th, 1600-1, Monteagle wrote to Cecil from the Tower, "My conscience tells me that I am no way gilty of these Imputations, and that mearely the blindness of Ignorance lead me into these infamous errors." (Brit. Mus. MSS. Add. 6177).

[252] The letter is printed in _Archaeologia_, xxviii. 422, by Mr. Bruce, who argues from it Monteagle's complicity with the Plot. Mr. Jardine's reply is found _ibid._ xxix. 80.

[253] According to T. Winter's famous declaration, Monteagle, within ten days before the meeting of Parliament, told Catesby and the others that the Prince of Wales was not going to attend the opening ceremony, wherefore they resolved to "leave the Duke alone," and make arrangements to secure the elder brother.

The original of Winter's declaration, dated November 25th, which is at Hatfield, contains these and other particulars, which are altogether omitted in a "copy" of the same in the Record Office, dated, remarkably enough, on November the 23rd. It is from the latter that the version in the "King's Book" was printed.

[254] De Beaumont to Villeroy, September 17th, 1605.

[255] Mr. Gardiner alludes to it, _History_, i. 254 (note), but apparently attaches no importance to it.

[256] Brit. Museum, Add. MSS. 19402 fol. 143. See the letter in full, Appendix H.

[257] _Discourse of the Manner of the Discovery_ (the "King's Book").

[258] Winwood, _Memorials_, ii. 170, etc. (November 9th). In the entry book of the Earl of Salisbury's letters (Phillipps' MSS. 6297, f. 39) this is described as "being the same that was sent to all his Majestie's Emba.s.sadors and Ministers abroade." To Parry, however, quite a different account was furnished.

[259] Cecil to Sir T. Parry, P.R.O. _France_, bundle 132 (November 6th).

[260] Gerard, _Narrative_, p. 101.

[261] Vol. ii. 15. The partisans of the government at the time appear to have solved the difficulty by invoking the direct guidance of Heaven: