had not been apprehended this
last night, he had blown up the Upper House when the King, Lords,
Bishops, and others had been there, and saith that he spake for [and
provided][6] those bars and crows of iron, some in one place, some in
another, in London, lest it should be suspected, and saith that he had
some of them in or about Gracious Street."[7] Fawkes here clearly takes
the whole terrible design, with the exception of the mine, on his own
shoulders.

[6] Inserted in the same hand as that in which the words about the
cellar were written. It will be observed that the insertion cannot
serve anyone's purpose.

[7] Gracechurch Street.

Commissioners were now appointed to conduct the investigation further.
They were: Nottingham, Suffolk, Devonshire, Worcester, Northampton,
Salisbury, Mar, and Popham, with Attorney-General Coke in attendance.
This was hardly a body of men who would knowingly cover an intrigue of
Salisbury's. Worcester is always understood to have been professedly a
Catholic; Northampton was certainly one, though he attended the King's
service, while Suffolk was friendly toward the Catholics; and Nottingham,
if he is no longer to be counted among them,[8] was at least not long
afterward a member of the party which favored an alliance with Spain, and
therefore a policy of toleration toward the Catholics.

[8] On July 20-30, 1605, Father Creswell writes to Paul V that
Nottingham showed him every civility "that could be expected from
one who does not profess our holy religion."

Before five of these commissioners--Nottingham, Suffolk, Devonshire,
Northampton, and Salisbury--Fawkes was examined a second time on the
forenoon of the 6th. In some way the Government had found out that Percy
had had a new door made in the wall leading to the cellar, and they now
drew from Fawkes an untrue statement that it was put in about the middle
of Lent, that is to say, early in March, 1605.[9] They had also
discovered a pair of brewer's slings, by which barrels were usually
carried between two men, and they pressed Fawkes hard to say who was his
partner in removing the barrels of gunpowder. He began by denying that he
had had a partner at all, but finally answered that "he cannot discover
the party, but"--_i.e._, lest--"he shall bring him in question." He also
said that he had forgotten where he slept on Wednesday, Thursday, or
Friday in the week before his arrest.

[9]