The Life Of A Conspirator Part 17

Sir Everard says, in a letter from the Tower,[347] that, at one of his examinations, "they did in a Fas.h.i.+on offer me the torture, which I wil rather indure then hurt any body"; but it was only a threat; for, although torture was used to priests and Jesuits in connection with the Gunpowder Plot, it does not[348] appear to have been brought to bear upon any of the actual conspirators except Guy Fawkes. Lord Dunfermline, however, strongly urged Salisbury to expose them to it.[349] "Recommends that the prisoners be confined apart, in darkness, and examined by torch-light, and that the tortures be slow and at intervals, as being the most effectual." On the other hand, a tract, printed in 1606,[350]

says of the conspirators, that "in the time of their imprisonment, they rather feasted with their sins, than fasted with sorrow for them; were richly apparelled, fared deliciously, and took tobacco out of measure, with a seeming carelessness of their crime."

[347] _Letters of Sir E. D._, Paper 7.

[348] A modern Jesuit thinks otherwise (see _The Month_, No. 367, p.

8), quoting Cecil's letter to Favat (Brit. Museum MSS. Add. 6178.

fol. 625). "Most of the prisoners have wilfully forsworn that the priests knew anything in particular, and obstinately refuse to be accusers of them, _yea, what torture soever they be put to_." Cecil may have referred to Fawkes only when he mentioned torture; but the Jesuit Father may be right, and he gives other evidence in support of his theory.

[349] Cal. Sta. Pa. Dom., 1603-10, p. 258.

[350] _Somer's Tracts_, Vol. ii. p. 113.

Sir Everard had not been many days in the Tower before the Government had a search made at Harrowden, the house of his young friend, Lord Vaux, whose mother was suspected of having been privy to the plot. Great hopes were entertained of finding here Digby's great friend, Father Gerard, who also lay under suspicion of having been concerned in it.[351] "The house was beset with at least 300 men, and those well appointed." "They searched for two or three days continually, and searched with candles in cellars and several dark corners. They searched every cabinet and box in her [Mrs Vaux's] own closet, for letters, &c."

A letter to Salisbury stated[352] that Mrs Vaux "gave up all her keys; all the rooms, especially his closet, narrowly searched, but no papers found. She and the young Lord strongly deny all knowledge of the treason; the house still guarded." Brother Foley says[353] "that house was strictly searched and watched for nine days, with the especial hope of seizing Father Gerard. Though he escaped, the pious lady of the house was herself carried off to London." She was severely examined before the Privy Council; and Sir Everard Digby was pressed to say whether he had not been very lately in her company--indeed, it was on this point that "they did in a Fas.h.i.+on offer" him "the torture"--but, although she admitted, in her examination,[354] that Sir Everard Digby, Robert Catesby, and "Greene and Darcy, priests," had been visitors at her house, and, when she refused to say where Father Gerard was, she was told she must die,[355] nothing could be proved against her and she was liberated.

[351] _Narrative of the G. P._, Gerard, p. 139.

[352] Cal. Sta. Pa. Dom., 1603-10, p. 256.

[353] _Records, S. J._, Series I. p. 527.

[354] Cal. Sta. Pa. Dom., 1603-10, p. 259.

[355] _Records, S. J._, Vol. iv. p. 9.

It must have been a great comfort to Lady Digby to receive the sc.r.a.ps of paper inscribed with lemon juice from her husband. It is easy to imagine the eagerness and care with which she would hold them before the fire in order to develope their writing, with anxiety to make every letter legible and fear lest the paper should become scorched. Sir Everard calls her his "Dearest"; but, in letters which might possibly fall into hands for which they were not intended, it would have been out of place to make much display of affection, and the only exhibition of that kind is to be found in a poem which will be quoted later.

In her straits for money, she applied, and not altogether without success, to Salisbury; for we find her writing to him thus:--[356]

"RIGHT HO{able}--Your comfortable favours towards me proseding from your n.o.blle disposition in ordering a means for my relefe (being plunged in distresse) by aucthoritie of yours and the rest of the Lords letters to the Sherife of Buck. incyt.i.th me to yeld and duly too acknowleg by thes my most humble thankes; for w{ch} favor I shall ever ho{r} your Lo{p} and praye to the ---- allmighti for your greatest hapines and with all humbllenes remayne to

"Your ho{r} devoted "MARY DIGBY."

As usual, in a lady's letter, the pith is in the postscript.

"_Pos._ Being most fearfull to ofend you ho{r} yet enforced out of the dutifull love towards my wofull husband, I humbly beg pardon to desier your Lo{ps} consent and furtharance for such an unspeakable hapines as that out of your worthy and n.o.blle disposition you would purchase merci for my husband's life, for w{ch} you should tie us our posteritie to you and your howse for ever and I hope his ofence agaynst his Ma{tie} is not so haynous in that excrable plot, as is sayd to be contrived by som others, which in my hart I cannot conceve his natuer to give consente for such an ackt to be committed."

[Endorsed] "To the Right Hono{ble}. the Earlle of Salsbery, Princ.i.p.all Secretary to the King's most excelent Ma{tie}."

[356] S. P. Dom. James I., 1606, Vol. 18, n. 36.

Lady Digby did not find Lord Salisbury's orders for her relief so availing in practice as in theory; for, a little later, she wrote to him again. I will not weary my readers by giving her exact spelling--such words as "pertickellers," for particulars, "shreife," for sheriff, "reseved," for received, and "howsold" for household, soon become troublesome and vexatious--but I will endeavour to transcribe her letter according to modern orthography and punctuation.

[357] "MARY DIGBY TO LORD SALISBURY.

"Right Honourable Lord.--My poor and perplexed estate enforceth me to be an humble pet.i.tioner to your good Lords.h.i.+p. I was most fearful and loth to trouble your honour so long as I had any hopes of redress without it; but finding none elsewhere, makes me presume to present these unto your honour. I confidently believe your lords.h.i.+p doth think that, upon yours with others of the Lords of his majesty ---- council, your letters to the Sheriff of Buckinghams.h.i.+re in my behalf (for which I humbly give thanks), hath given ease and relief unto my present wants; but truly my lord it is nothing so, for all which he hath done, since he received that letter, is but that he hath returned, near from whence he had taken, part of the household stuff which he had carried away and there keepeth it; but will not let anything be delivered to my use; notwithstanding I procured the Lord Treasurer's warrant to him, for the delivery of divers things most needful for my present use; for which I was to put in sureties for their return, when they should be justly demanded, which was by bond and drawn according to the Lord Treasurer his own direction, which was, as the sheriff said, too favourable for me, and therefore did refuse it; such strange and hard proceedings doth he still continue against me (the particulars thereof were too tedious to relate unto your lords.h.i.+p) that, without your honour's good a.s.sistance, I shall receive no part of such good favours as your lords.h.i.+p meant unto me. Never, since my grievous calamities, I have received no one penny, but am forced to borrow, both for my own present spending, and to furnish Mr Digby with those things he wants, and as hath been called to me for by the lieutenant of the Tower, which borrowed money I must forthwith repay; and the cause why I can receive none, according to the allowance which was granted for me, is because this sheriff will not pay the money into the exchequer which he hath received for such goods which he sold of Mr Digby's, which is between 200 and 300 pounds, and hath said he would keep it in his hands till he were allowed for the charge he was at, for the carrying the goods"

[some words here are mutilated] "and bringing of them back again.

My hope in your Lords.h.i.+p's pity to my distress promiseth me to find relief for these my complaints, for which I will ever remain your honour's most thankful--

"MARY DIGBY.

"_Postscript._--Right honourable,--Though it be no part of my letter, yet is it a very far greater part of my humble desire to your Lords.h.i.+p whereby, I cannot but beg your pitiful commiseration to incline and further his majesty's mercy for my woeful husband, which if your Lords.h.i.+p extend such a charitable act, we and all what is ours will ever be your honour's."

[357] S. P. Dom. James I., Vol. xviii. n. 37.

The "goods which he sold of Mr Digby's," mentioned in the letter may be a.s.sumed to have been the contents of the trunk, carried by his "trunk-horse," and inventoried in a letter[358] written from the Tower.

[358] _Letters of Sir E. D._, paper 22.

It is probable that Lady Digby wrote to her husband, expressing herself powerless to "conceive his nature to give consent for such an act" as the Gunpowder Plot; for he wrote to her from the Tower excusing himself.[359]

[359] _Letters of Sir E. D._ (p. 169) No. 1.

"Let me tell you, that if I had thought there had been the least sin in the Plot, I would not have been of it for all the world: and no other cause drew me to hazard my Fortune and Life, but zeal to G.o.d's Religion.

For my keeping it secret, it was caused by certain belief, that those which were best able to judge of the lawfulness of it,"--by these he evidently means the Jesuit Fathers--"had been acquainted with it, and given way to it. More reasons I had to persuade me to this belief than I dare utter, which I will never, to the suspicion of any, though I should go to the Rack for it, and as I did not know it directly that it was approved by such so did I hold it in my Conscience the best not to know any more if I might." He seems to have intended to convey that he had been practically certain that the Jesuit Fathers had given their approval but was anxious to be able to say that he did not actually know this.

In another letter,[360] he says "My dearest, the ---- I take at the uncharitable taking of these matters, will make me say more than I ever thought to have done. For if this design had taken place, there could have been no doubt of other Success: for that night, before any other could have brought the news, we should have known it by Mr Catesby, who should have proclaimed the Heir-Apparent at Charing-Cross, as he came out of Town; to which purpose there was a Proclamation Drawn," etc. The absurdity of attaching any value to a proclamation by such a comparatively insignificant individual as Catesby does not appear to have occurred to him!

[360] (P. 177), No. 9.

After describing the plans laid for securing the young Duke and the Princess Elizabeth, he goes on to say "there were also courses taken for the satisfying of the people if the first had taken effect, as the speedy notice of Liberty and Freedom from all manner of Slavery, as the ceasing of Wards.h.i.+ps and all Monopolies, which with change would have been more plausible to the people, if the first had been, than is now.

There was also a course taken to have given present notice to all Princes, and to _a.s.sociate_ them with an Oath answerable to the League in France." Whether "all Princes" would have felt inclined "to a.s.sociate" themselves "with an Oath" at the request of a band of a.s.sa.s.sins may be questioned.

Sir Everard, as well as Lady Digby, wrote to Salisbury; but his letters asked for fewer favours.

"If your Lords.h.i.+p," he wrote,[361] "and the State think it fit to deal severely with the Catholics, within brief there will be ma.s.sacres, rebellions, and desperate attempts against the King and State. For it is a general received reason among Catholics, that there is not that expecting and suffering course now to be run that was in the Queen's time, who was the last of her line, and last in expectance to run violent courses against Catholics; for then it was hoped that the King that now is, would have been at least free from persecuting, as his promise was before coming into this realm, and as divers his promises have been since his coming. All these promises every man sees broken."

At the same time, he said that he[362] "will undertake to secure the Pope's promise not to excommunicate the King, if he will deal mildly with Catholics." As to plots against the king and the government, something of the kind, he declares, would have been contrived sooner, if the priests had not hindered it.

[361] I use Jardine's modern rendering of this particular letter, in _Criminal Trials_, Vol. ii. p. 24. But the actual letter may be found among the S. P. Dom. James I., Vol. xvii., n. 9.

[362] Cal. Sta. Pa. Dom., 1603-10, p. 266.

An earlier letter written by him from the Tower,[363] is thus summarized:--"Sir Everard Digby to Salisbury. Is willing to tell all he knows, but can remember nothing more than he has already confessed, except that Catesby intended to send the Earls of Westmoreland and Derby to raise forces in the North, and would send information to France, Spain, Italy, etc., of their success. Begs that the King will have compa.s.sion on his family."

[363] Cal. Sta. Pa. Dom., 1603-10, p. 261.

Meanwhile examinations were constantly going on, not only of the prisoners in the Tower, but also of other persons, with regard to the Gunpowder Plot, and the correspondence on the subject was very large.

Lord Salisbury wrote to the Lord Chancellor of Scotland,[364] a.s.suring him that he "would rather die than be slack in searching the dregs of"

the plot "to the bottom." Lady Markham wrote to Salisbury, that[365] the "Plot hath taken deep and dangerous root"; that many will not believe "that holy and good man," Father Gerard, had anything to do with it; and that Sir Everard Digby is the man from whom he must endeavour to obtain particulars about Walley--_i.e._, Father Garnet. Mrs Vaux was examined on the eighteenth of November, and she made no secret of Sir Everard having been a visitor at her house. Lady Lovel admitted knowing both Sir Everard and Catesby, though slightly. To have been a friend of Digby's was now very dangerous. Servants and retainers of the conspirators were arrested in Worcesters.h.i.+re and Warwicks.h.i.+re, and there examined.

[364] Cal. Sta. Pa. Dom., 1603-10, p. 265.

[365] _Ib._, p. 259.

Sir Everard must have envied Tresham his fate, when he heard that he had died in the Tower, especially as he was allowed to have his wife to attend him in his illness; although his death was caused by a painful disease.[366] Sir William Waad, the Lieutenant of the Tower, had a consultation of three doctors--not from motives of mercy, but in order that, "by great care and good providence," he might "die of that kind of death he most" deserved, and, in spite of his disappointment, Waad seems to have felt a grain of satisfaction, when writing to Salisbury to announce his death,[367] in stating that he died "with very great pain."

His death took place only four days before that appointed for the trial, and, whatever may have been his sufferings, who can doubt that Sir Everard would gladly have changed places with him.

[366] Jardine's _Gunpowder Plot_, p. 124. _N.B._--By many people, Tresham's death was attributed to poison.--See _The Month_, No. 366, p. 493. Jardine's _G. P._, p. 127, and Goodman's Court of King James, p. 107.