THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE WRITER OF THE ANONYMOUS LETTER TO LORD MONTEAGLE IN 1605
"A strange letter, from a strange hand,by a strange messenger; without date toit, name at it, and (I had almost said)sense in it. A letter which, even when itwas opened, was still sealed, such theaffected obscurity therein."
Fuller's Church History, x. 32.
LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL,
HAMILTON, KENT & CO., LTD.
1916
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FACSIMILE No. 1.
The anonymous letter as delivered to Lord Monteagle, October 26, 1605, warning him not to attendthe opening of Parliament appointed for the Fifth of November. (From the original letter in theMuseum of the Public Record Office.)
PREFACE
One of the great mysteries of English history is the anonymousletter to Lord Monteagle, warning him not to attend the openingof Parliament, appointed for the Fifth of November, 1605, whichis popularly supposed to have led to the discovery of the GunpowderPlot. The writer's identity was carefully concealed bythe Government at the time; the intention being, as explainedby Lord Salisbury, "to leave the further judgment indefinite"regarding it. The official statements are, therefore, as unsatisfactoryas 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 possibilityof the handwriting being identified; and this, after thelapse of over three hundred years, is now accomplished.