History of the life and death of John, Earl of Gowrie

334 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF
next, the Earl himself, were overpowered by the
King's attendants. Their trial afterwards might
have taken place, and it would have been more
honourable for the King to have tried them during
their lives, than after their death. But, in this
case, they might have proved their innocency, and
then the Earl's estates would not have been for-
feited, and divided among the active instruments
in the King's service.
6. The procurement of the false depositions of
Andrew Henderson, shewed what was the prede-
termined purpose of the King, and of his reputed
friends. Instead of serving the cause of the King,
it brought an indelible stain upon his character, in
the. opinion of the most intelligent persons among
his subjects.
7. It is not impossible, and perhaps highly pro-
bable, that the Earl of Gowrie, after his return to
Scotland, continued to correspond with Queen Eli-
zabeth, on such matters as he thought were con-
sistent with his own honour and the good of his
country. This appears to me to be the most pro-
bable ground on which the Jacobite writers in the
last century, such as Lord Cromarty and George
Crawfurd, could have founded their charge of