almaist slane me with his braith; it is war not your unclis, and zeit I cum na neirar bot sat in ane cheir at the bed-fute, and he beand at the uther end thairof."

Item. Thairefter, "Ye gar me dissemble sa far, that I haif horring thairat, and ze caus me almaist do the office of an trahatores. Remember yow, yf it wer not to obey yow, I had raither be deid or I did it, my heart blidis at it. Summa, He will not cum with me, except upoun conditioun that I shall be at bed and bourd with hym as of befoir, and that I sall leif him na efter."

Item. Schortlie thairefter: " Summa, he will gae upoun my word to all places. Alace, I never dissavit any bodie, bot I remit me altogidder to your will. Send me advertisment quhat I sall do, and, quhatsumever sall cum thairof, I sall obey you; advys to with yourself, yf ye can fynd out any mair secreit inventioun be medecein and the baith in Craigmillar."

Item. "Thairefter, 1 sall draw out all thingis out of hym, gif ye will that I advow all thingis unto hym; bot I wil never rejois to dissave any bodie that trustis in me; zet notwithstanding ye may command me in all thingis. Haif no evill opinioun of me for that cause, be reason ye ar the occasioun of it your self, because for my awn particular revenge I wold not do it to hym."

Item. After, "For certaintie he suspectis that thing ye know, and of his lyif; bot as to the last, how sone I speak twae or thrie guid wordis unto hym, he rejois and is out of doubt."

Item. Schortlie thairefter, "All the Hamiltounis are heir with me, and accompanies me very honorably." Item. Thairefter, " Be not offendit, for I gif not our mekill credyt now, sence, to obey you, my deir luife, I

spare nouther honor, conscience, nor gretnes quhatsumever, I pray you tak it in guid part, and not after the interpretation of your fals guid-brother, to quhom, I pray you, gif nai credyns agains the maist faythfull luifer that ever ye had, or ever sall haif. Sie not hir quhais fenzeit tearis suld not be sa mekill praysit, nor estemyt, as the trew and faythfull travaillis, quhilk I sustene to merit hir place, for obteyning of quhilk, aganis my naturall, I betray thame that may impesche me. God forgive me, and God gif yow, my onlie luif, the hape and prosperitie that your humble and faythfull luif desyris unto yow, quha hoipis schortlie to be ane uther thing unto yow."

Item. In the credit gifin to the berar, quhome we understand was Paries, "Remember yow of the purpoise of the ladie Reires of the ludgene in Edinburt."

Item. In ane uther lettre sent be Betoun: “As to me, howbeit I heir noe farther newes from yow, according to my commission, I bring the man with me to Craigmillar upon Munday, quhair he will be all Wednisday. And I will gang to Edinburt to draw bluid of me, gif in the mene tyme I get no newes in the contraire from yow."

Item. Verrah schortlie after: "Summa, ye will say he makis the court to me, of the quhilk I tak so gret pleseur, that I enter never quhair he is, bot incontinent I tak the seiknes of my syde, I ame soe faschit with it: yf Paries bring me that quhilk I send hym for, I treast it sall amend me. I pray yow adverteis me of your newes at length, and quhat I sall doe in cais ye be not returnit quhen I cum thair, for, in cais ye work not wyselie, I sie that the haill burthin of this will fall upon my schulderis. Provyde for all thingis, and discourse upon it first your self."

Item. In ane uther lettre: "I pray yow, according to your promeis, to discharge your hart to me, utherway is I will think that my malheure, and the guid composing of thame, that he hes not the third part of the faythfull and willing obedience unto yow that I beyre, has wyne, aganis my will, that advantage over me quhilk the secund luif of Jason wan: not that I wolde compair yow to ane sa unhappie as he was, nor yit myselfe to ane soe unpetifull a woman as sche; how beit ye cause ma be sumquhat lyck unto hir in ony thing that twichis yow, or that may preserve and keip yow to hir, to quhome ye onlie appertein, yf it may be suer (swa) that I may approprial that quhilk is wonne throuche faythfull, yea only luiffing yow, quhilk I do and sall do all the dayis of my lyif, for pane and evil that can cum thereof. In recompense of the quhilk, and of all the evill quhilks ye haif bien cause of to me, remember yow upon the place heir besyd, &c."

Account of the Casket.

For the following accurate, and satisfactory Account of the Casket, I am indebted to Mr Alexander Young, W. S. to whom I transmitted the description given of it in Morton's receipt, and in the memorandum prefixed to the letters in Buchanan's Detection.

"The silver box is carefully preserved in the Charter room at Hamilton Palace, and answers exactly the description you have given of it, both in size and general appearance. There is enclosed in it, an account of the way and manner in which it came into the hands

of the family of Hamilton; written on a slip of parchment, which I have ordered to be transcribed.

"I examined the outside very minutely. On the first glance I was led to state that it had none of those ornaments to which you allude, and in particular that it wanted the crowns with the Italic letter F. Instead of these I found, on one of the sides, the arms of the House of Hamilton, which seemed to have been engraved on a compartment which had previously contained some other ornament. On the top of the lock, which is of curious workmanship, there is a large embossed crown with Fleurs de lis, but without any letters. Upon the bottom however of the casket, there are two other small ornaments, one near each end, which, at first sight, I thought resembled our silversmith's marks; but on closer inspection, I found they consisted each of a Royal crown above a Fleur de lis, surmounting the Italic letter F."

NARRATIVE contained in the Box, of the Way and Manner in which it came into the Hamilton Family:

"This Silver Box guilded and carved with the arms of "her grace Anne Dutches of Hamilton on it, was "the Box that carry'd letters, and tokens, by "Messengers to and againe between Queen Marij "of Scotland, and the Earl of Bothwell, which 66 my Lady Marquis of Douglas, mother to Wil"liam Duke of Hamilton, bought from a papisst, "having then the Queens arms upon it, and putt "her own arms thereon, and afterwards having left "all her Exe re to her son Lord James, Her "plate was all sold to a goldsmith, and the dut

"chess of Hamilton being told by my Lady Mar

66

quis That the said Box did once belong to the 66 Queen Her Grace bought the same from the "( goldsmith, and att the Dukes desire putt out my Lady Marquis arms, and put her gr. own 66 arms on the Same.

66

"This box had two keys whereof the Queen "kept one and the E: of Bothwell the "other But her grace only received one "of them and believes my Lady Marquis "had never the other."

The Lady Marquis of Douglas mentioned in this account of the box, was Lady Mary Gordon, daughter of George Marquis of Huntly, and second wife of William, first Marquis of Douglas, who died in the beginning of the year 1660. Her eldest son, William Earl of Selkirk, married Anne Dutchess of Hamilton, and was created Duke of Hamilton, in October 1660. The casket would appear to have been purchased by the Marchioness of Douglas, some time after her husband's death, as it was included with the rest of her plate in the executory bequeathed to her third son, Lord James Douglas. The notandum concerning the two keys, and the box being employed, like a modern black box, in conveying letters more securely between the Queen and Bothwell, is apparently the traditionary account which the Marchioness received from the papist, along with the casket. The key seems to have been left with the box in Bothwell's green velvet desk, to which Sir James Balfour had access. Robertson's Hist. II. 506, evidently in Edinburgh castle; and it would enable Sir James, to give intimation of the contents to the confederate Lords.