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<DIV><FONT color=#000030 size=4 face="Times New Roman"><FONT color=#000000
size=3>Happy Guy Fawkes Day!<BR><BR>Remember, remember the fifth of November,
<BR>Gunpowder treason and plot. <BR>We see no reason <BR>Why gunpowder treason
<BR>Should ever be forgot! <BR><BR>Guy Fawkes, guy, t'was his intent <BR>To blow
up king and parliament. <BR>Three score barrels were laid below <BR>To prove old
England's overthrow. <BR><BR>By God's mercy he was catch'd <BR>With a darkened
lantern and burning match. <BR>So, holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring.
<BR>Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King.<BR><BR><BR>In 1605, thirteen
young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy
Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor. <BR><BR>After Queen Elizabeth I died
in 1603, English Catholics who had been persecuted under her rule had hoped that
her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their religion. James I had,
after all, had a Catholic mother. Unfortunately, James did not turn out to be
more tolerant than Elizabeth and a number of young men, 13 to be exact, decided
that violent action was the answer. <BR><BR>A small group took shape, under
the leadership of Robert Catesby. Catesby felt that violent action was
warranted. Indeed, the thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In
doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the
Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics. Today
these conspirators would be known as extremists, or
terrorists. <BR> <BR>To carry out their plan, the
conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder - and stored them in a cellar,
just under the House of Lords. <BR><BR>But as the group worked on the plot,
it became clear that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack,
including some people who even fought for more rights for Catholics. Some of the
plotters started having second thoughts. One of the group members even sent an
anonymous letter warning his friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the
Parliament on November 5th. The warning letter reached the King, and the
King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators. <BR><BR>Guy Fawkes, who
was in the cellar of the parliament with the 36 barrels of gunpowder when the
authorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5th, was caught, tortured
and executed. <BR><BR>It's unclear if the conspirators would ever have been
able to pull off their plan to blow up the Parliament even if they had not been
betrayed. Some have suggested that the gunpowder itself was so old as to be
useless. Since Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators got caught before trying to
ignite the powder, we'll never know for certain. <BR><BR>Even for the
period, which was notoriously unstable, the Gunpowder Plot struck a very
profound chord for the people of England. In fact, even today, the reigning
monarch only enters the Parliament once a year, on what is called "the State
Opening of Parliament". Prior to the Opening, and according to custom, the
Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster. Nowadays,
the Queen and Parliament still observe this tradition.<BR><BR>On the very night
that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set
alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has
become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with
fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire. Some of the
English have been known to wonder, in a tongue in cheek kind of way, whether
they are celebrating Fawkes' execution or honoring his attempt to do away with
the government.</FONT><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000030 size=4 face="Times New Roman">Cheers,</DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT color=#000030 size=4 face="Times New Roman">Caitlin, Carolyn, Lyn,
Mom, Grandma<BR>So much to do; so little attention
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