Page:A history of the gunpowder plot-The conspiracy and its agents (1904).djvu/110

90 London down to Ashby St. Legers. This letter was accompanied by several depositions taken down from the lips of certain persons in the neighbourhood, who had witnessed the movements of Catesby and Percy on their arrival at Dunchurch. Again, in this despatch, as in the royal proclamation, we cannot but remain astonished at the rapidity with which the news of Faukes's attempt to blow up the Parliament House had travelled; for here we have two country gentlemen, writing from Daventry (seventy miles from London), on the third day only after the 5th, talking plainly of the plot to destroy the Parliament.

I append a verbatim copy of this letter, transcribed by me from the original at the Record Office:— '

'We having bine informed of a great concourse of horsemen on Tuesday the fifthe of November at Ledgers Ashby in the County of Northampton, betweene foure and tenne of the clocke in the afternoone, and likewise of the intended treason about the Parliament house, as also of five gentlemen, who came posting doune from London very suspiciously into our Countrie, and as farre as we can gather by Examinations wente presently to the saide Ledgers Ashby but there did not stay: Whereupon we having taken divers Examinations, we thought it our duty to sende the accompt thereof