PREFACE

One of the great mysteries of English history is the anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle, warning him not to attend the opening of Parliament, appointed for the Fifth of November, 1605, which is popularly supposed to have led to the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. The writer's identity was carefully concealed by the Government at the time; the intention being, as explained by Lord Salisbury, "to leave the further judgment indefinite" regarding it. The official statements are, therefore, as unsatisfactory as might be expected in a matter that, for State reasons, has not been straightforwardly related. The letter, however, remaining and in fair preservation, there was always the possibility of the handwriting being identified; and this, after the lapse of over three hundred years, is now accomplished.

[CONTENTS]

		page
	Preface	[v]
section
I.	Historical Analysis	[1]
II.	The Official Story of the Letter	[5]
III.	Identification of the Handwriting	[9]
IV.	The Attorney-General's Opinion of Vavasour's Guilt	[19]
V.	Francis Tresham's Confidence when in the Tower	[24]
VI.	The Vavasours as Dependants of the Tresham Family	[25]