Page:A history of the gunpowder plot-The conspiracy and its agents (1904).djvu/92

74 be taxed, later on, by Catesby or Winter with being concerned in its delivery.

After consulting with Mounteagle, the latter probably went to Lord Salisbury, and all arrangements were made accordingly. It may be argued that if Salisbury knew of the existence of the plot, why should he have exacted the performance of such a farce as the production of this letter? But all the evidence tends to show that the letter was designed for Mounteagle's own protection, and that he could see no other way of clearing himself from being considered a traitor to his friends than by obtaining an anonymous warning of the kind actually received. Whoever drew up the letter, or was responsible for its contents, did his work with consummate skill. It was quite a model of what such a letter should have been. It mentioned, no names, no dates, no facts. Whether Lord Salisbury knew that Warde was to be made a party to knowing its contents is doubtful; and if Mounteagle wished to save his friends, as he probably did, without Salisbury's knowledge, his object was only defeated by the insane folly of the chief conspirators.

It is quite possible that some third person, whose name has never been revealed, was accessory to its construction. This third party may have been a priest. Rigid Roman Catholic