hom, with the
council, he related all that he had seen, mentioning also the suspicion
of Lord Monteagle respecting Percy. He expressed his surprise that so
large a quantity of fuel should be deposited in the cellar, when it was
well known, that the house was seldom occupied by Percy. It appears,
too, that he did not consider that the appearance of Fawkes was much
like that of a servant.

The king still insisted, that it was necessary to make a rigid search,
and that the wood and coals must be removed. It occurred to him, that
they were placed there to conceal the gunpowder, for it was his
majesty's firm conviction, that some such attempt was alluded to by the
writer of the letter. The members of the council who were then present,
concurred also in the same opinion. Still, they were in doubt as to the
mode in which the search should be conducted. They were, on the one
hand, anxious for the safety of the king's person, and on the other,
fearful lest, if nothing of the kind should be discovered, they might be
exposed to ridicule for entertaining groundless fears, unbecoming in
statesmen and the ministers of the crown. It was suggested, also, that
if the search proved fruitless, the earl of Northumberland might feel
himself aggrieved, in consequence of his relationship to Percy, the
owner of the house. All the members of the council agreed in the
necessity of instituting a search: but their opinions respecting the
manner in which it should be effected, widely differed. James insisted,
that they must necessarily adopt one of two courses; either search the
cellar narrowly, or leave the matter altogether, and go to the House the
next day, just as if no suspicion had ever existed.

It was therefore determined at length, that a search should be made; but
to prevent any sinister report, supposing nothing was discovered, it was
ordered that Whinyard, the keeper of the wardrobe, should search the
cellar, under the pretence of having lost some of the hangings, which
had been placed in his custody. The king also suggested that the search
should be conducted under the direction of a magistrate. Accordingly,
Sir Thomas Knivett, a magistrate for Westminster, proceeded with a small
and chosen band, to the parliament house, at midnight; while the king
and his councillors remained at Whitehall. At the entrance to the
cellar, they discovered Fawkes standing with his cloak and boots on, as
if about to take a journey. He had just made all hi