Ambrose Rokeby was[192] "a gentleman of good worth in the county of Suffolk, and of a very ancient family, and himself the heir of the eldest house." At the time of the plot he had a great many horses, and was evidently a rich man. John Grant was[193] "a man of sufficient estate." Francis Tresham was[194] "a gentleman of Northamptonshire of great estate, esteemed then worth L3000 a year," a sum, of course, equivalent to a very large income in these days. Robert Winter was[195] "a gentleman of good estate in Worcestershire." Thomas Percy,[196] although not a rich landowner, held the lucrative post of agent and administrator to his cousin, the Earl of Northumberland. The "means were not great" of Robert Keyes, John and Christopher Wright, and Thomas Winter; but most of them seem to have been able to live in good society, and their want of money was for the most part owing to their being younger sons, being "very wild,"[197] or living "in good sort and of the best,"[198] when their circumstances did not justify their doing so. As for Sir Everard Digby, it is scarcely necessary to repeat that he had been a rich man to begin with, and had increased his wealth by marrying an heiress. These, then, are the men who, we are told, were driven to desperation by their sufferings, and conspired together to commit a most horrible and murderous crime, while thousands of Catholics who were literally ruined, by fines for their religion which they were unable to pay, bore their troubles in silence, and with Christian fortitude and resignation. [192] _Ib._, p. 85. [193] _Ib._, p. 86. [194] _Ib._, p. 90. [195] _Ib._, p. 58. [196] _Ib._, p. 57. [197] _Narrative of the Gunpowder Plot_, p. 59. [198] _Ib._, p. 58. In connection with this matter, there is one more point to be considered. The sudden and unpremeditated assault of a man in despair is sometimes to be excused, and often to be regarded with comparative lenience. What looks like murder at first sight, at second may prove to be only man-slaughter, under such circumstances. Does any such excuse exist for the Gunpowder Plot? Was it a violent attempt made on the spur of the moment, or was it the result of lengthy, deliberate, and anxious forethought? Was it the work of an hour, a day, a week, or even a month. On the contrary, so far as can be ascertained, at least a year and a quarter, and more probably a year and a half, of careful scheming and calculation were devoted to it.[199] [199] See Jardine's _G. P._, p. 27; also _Father Garnet and the G. P._, p. 4.