Chastieton House and Gunpowder Plot. By Mary Whitmore Jones. (Thomas
Burleigh. 2s. 6d.)—Chastleton came by mar- riage into the possession of the Catesby family in the fifteenth century,—one of them was the " Cat " who was associated with the "Rat" and " Lovel the Dog" in the famous couplet. The family temper seems to have been somewhat turbulent This quality culminated in Robert Catesby, who sold the estate to provide money for his schemes. The property was purchased by Maker Jones, a rich burgess of Witney, in the days when blankets were really " Witney." The author of this little volume is, we understand, a descendant, and she finds it naturally a congenial task to describe the place and its associations. The book, therefore, consists of two parts : the story of Gunpowder• Plot, and the history of Chastleton. The first she tells without any of the refinements which latter-day historians have intro- duced. That a number of enthusiastic supporters of the Roman Catholic faith conspired to sweep away the Government of England is really beyond all question. That they were con- vinced of the righteousness of their plan need not be denied. The more firmly the fact of their integrity and hon esty is established, 'the worse it is for the system which made such things possible.
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