cy and fidelity by a solemn oath, which, a few days af- terwards, in a lonely house beyond St. Clement's Inn, they took on their knees in the following words : "You swear by the blessed Trinity, and by the sacrament you now propose to receive, never to disclose, directly or indirectly, b}' word or circumstance, the matter that shall be proposed to j'ou to keep secret, nor desist from the execution thereof until the rest shall give vou leave." They then went into an adjoining room "and received the holy sacrament from father Gerard, a Jes- uit priest, who was, it is said, ignorant of their horrid project. The particulars of the plot were then commu- nicated to Fawkes and Percy, and in furtherance of the plan then agreed on, Percy, whose position as a gentle- man pensioner would prevent an^- suspicion arising therefrom, rented of a Mr. Ferris, on Mav 24, 1604, a house adjoining the Parliament buildings, the keys of which were given to Fawkes, who Avas unknown in London, and who assumed the name of John Johnson, and the position of servant to Percy. Thej- took a sec- ond oath of secrecy and fidelity to each other on taking possession of the house, but before their preparations were completed for beginning the work of mining through to the Parliament building, the meeting of Parliament was prorogued to Feb. 7, 1605. They sep- arated to meet again in November, and, in the mean while, another house was hired on the Lambeth side of the river, in which wood, gunpowder, and other com- bustibles were placed, to be removed in small quanti- ties to the house hired of Fcris. This Lambeth house was put in charge of Robert Kay, or Keyes, an indigent Catholic gentleman, who took the oath and became a member of the band. On a night in December, 1604, the conspirators, having provided themselves with tools and other necessaries, went zealously to work on the mine, Fawkes acting as sentinel. Ihe wall separat- ing them from the Parliament House was found to be very thick, and more help was needed ; so Christopher Wright, a younger brother of John Wright, was taken in on oath, and Kay brought over from Lambeth. The work was carried on zealouslj', the conspirators beguil- ing the labor with discussions of future plans. 1 hey agreed in the policj^ of proclaiming one of the royal famih' in the place of James, and as thej^ supposed his eldest son, prince Henry, would lie present and perish with his father in the Parliament House, Percj' under- took to seize and carrj^ off prince Charles as soon as the mine was exploded ; and, in default of Perc3''s suc- cess, arrangements were made to carrj' off the princess Elizabeth, then near Coventrj' under the care of lord Harrington. "Horses and armor were to be collected in Warwickshire." They failed, however, in devising any safe plan for saving the lives of Roman Catholic members of Parliament. AVhile the matter was thus jirogressing, Fawkes reported the prorogation of Par- liament to Oct. 3, and they separated until after the Christmas holidtfys. In January, 1605, John Grant, a Warwickshire gentleman, and Robert Winter, eldest brother of Thomas Winter, were admitted to the con- spiracy, and shortly after them Thomas Hates, a ser- vant of Catesby, and the only participant in the plot not of the rank of a gentleman. AVhile going on with the work in Feb., 1505, they w'ere alarmed bv some noises, and Fawkes, who went out to ascertain the cause, reported that they were caused liy the removal of a stock of coal from a cellar under the Parliament House, w ith the gratifying additional intelligence that the cellar was to be let. Percy straightwaj' hired it, the work on the mine was abandoned, and the gunpow- der (36 bills.) was conveyed from its place of conceal- ment at Laml)eth into this cellar, and covered up with stones, bits of iron, and fagots of wood. All was ready in IMav, and the conspirators separated to await the meeting of Parliament. Fawkes went to the Neth- erlands on a mission connected with the plot, but re- turned without much success in August. In Septem- ber, Sir Edward Baynham, "a gentleman of an ancient
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GUNPOWDER PLOT