The Children of Westminster Abbey: Studies in English HistoryKingsley, Rose Georgina
History
The Children of Westminster Abbey: Studies in English History
Kingsley, Rose Georgina
Children -- England -- London; Westminster Abbey -- Biography
A great deal, we answer. For these bonfires all over England on the
Fifth of November, commemorate an event in James the First's reign which
had a great effect on our young hero's mind.
Certain persons in England, who hated King James for his hard treatment
of the Roman Catholic party, resolved to take the law into their own
hands. They thought that if the king, Prince Henry, and the Parliament
could be destroyed at one blow, they might take possession of Prince
Charles and Princess Elizabeth, bring about a revolution and put the
government into the hands of the Roman Catholics who would be helped by
Spain. Robert Catesby was the chief of the conspirators; and for
eighteen months he and a small band of desperate men worked in the
utmost secrecy at their hideous scheme. The day chosen for its
accomplishment was the fifth of November, 1605, the day on which
Parliament met at Westminster. Everything was in readiness. Thirty-six
barrels of gunpowder (not fifty-two as the Hampshire rhyme has it) were
stored beneath the Parliament House. And Guido Fawkes, a daring
adventurer, was in waiting in the cellar to set a light to them, and
blow up King, Prince, and Parliament. But at the last moment, in spite
of all their well-laid plans, in spite of all their wonderful secrecy,
the plot leaked out. Lord Monteagle, a Roman Catholic Peer, received a
mysterious warning from Tresham, one of the conspirators, whose courage
failed him. Monteagle instantly told the Earl of Salisbury and the king.
At midnight on the eve of the fifth, the cellars under the Parliament
House were searched. There was Guido Fawkes, with touchwood and matches
upon him, only waiting for the signal which was to be given him in a few
hours. He was seized, dragged before the king and consigned to the
Tower. The great heap of wood and coals in the cellar was torn down, and
the barrels of gunpowder found beneath it. The conspirators fled. All
Protestant England was roused to a frenzy of horror and dread at the
discovery of such a fearful crime. The guilty men were chased from
county to county, till at last all of them were either killed fighting,
or captured and brought next year to the block. And thus ended the
Gunpowder Plot. But its memory is still kept alive in England by the
yearly bonfires and fireworks and Guy Fawkes processions of the Fifth of
November.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account