matter go forward, the Pope will send me to the galleys, for he will assuredly think I was privy to it.'" [187] His own admission. S.P. Dom. James I., Vol. xx. n. 12. [188] Father Garnet and the G. P., Pollen, pp. 22, 23. [189] _Ib._, 23. Far be it from me to presume to judge Father Garnet harshly; his opportunities may have been much less, his difficulties may have been much greater, than the evidence before us would seem to show; but, as a biographer of Sir Everard Digby, I feel bound to express my regret that it should appear as if Father Garnet might have saved him from the terrible troubles that followed and failed to do so. I began this chapter with a reference to those who plead extenuating circumstances for Catesby. Let me end it by referring to somewhat similar-minded critics, who, while they condemn the Gunpowder Plot as a most dastardly outrage, regard it as the hot-blooded attempt of a small party of Catholics driven to desperation by their sufferings. Of the sufferings of the English Catholics there can be no sort of doubt or question; and none the less certain is it that, as a body, they bore them with patience and without any attempt at rebellion. Was, then, the small party of Catholics that conspired in the Gunpowder Plot composed of men so exceptionally exposed to sufferings for their faith as to be, more than any of their fellow-sufferers, "driven to desperation"? It is well worth while to inquire. We will consult a Catholic contemporary, most unlikely to represent their lot as too easy, namely, the oft-quoted Father Gerard.[190] [190] _Narrative of the Gunpowder Plot._ Let us begin with Catesby, the originator and leader of the enterprise. The losses of his father on account of his religion do not concern the objects of the plot, as they were incurred long before and during a different reign. Catesby himself had certainly lost money, and a great deal of money; but how?[191] "He spent much above his rate [income], and so wasted also good part of his living." He was guilty of "excess of play and apparel." He also had to pay "L3000 before he got out" of prison, where he had been put for joining in the ill-fated rising of Essex. Even after all these losses, he was able to live among men of wealth, if not in his own country-house at Lapworth, in Warwickshire. [191] _Narrative of the Gunpowder Plot_, p. 55.