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10 death. Father Greenway, who knew all the conspirators intimately, describes him as ‘a man of great piety, of exemplary temperance, of mild and cheerful demeanour, an enemy of broils and disputes, a faithful friend, and remarkable for his punctual attendance upon religious observances.’ His society is stated, by the same authority, to have been ‘sought by all the most distinguished in the Archduke’s camp for nobility and virtue.’ If this account of his character be correct, we are to look upon this man, not, according to the popular notion, as a mercenary ruffian ready for hire to perform the chief part in any tragedy of blood, but as an enthusiast whose understanding had been distorted by superstition, and in whom fanaticism had conquered the better feelings of nature. His conduct, after the discovery of the plot, is quite consistent with the character of a fanatic. Soon after Winter’s return to London, Thomas Percy, the relation and confidential steward of the Earl of Northumberland, joined the four conspirators already mentioned. They met by appointment at a house in the fields beyond St Clement’s Inn, and Catesby, Percy, Thomas Winter, John Wright, and Fawkes, then severally took an oath in the following form:— ‘You swear by the blessed Trinity, and by the Sacrament you now propose to receive, never to. disclose, directly or indirectly, by word or circumstance, the matter that shall be proposed to you to keep secret, nor desist from the execution thereof until the rest shall give you leave.’ This oath was given by them to each other in the most solemn manner, ‘kneeling down upon their knees, with their hands laid on a primer.’