Stuart dynasty

450 THE STUABT DYNASTY.
APPENDIX III.
The Casket Letters.
The casket is said to have contained eight letters and certain
French sonnets. The principal evidence against Mary Stuart
is, however, contained in the second letter, a communication of
great length addressed, as is alleged, to Bothwell at Glasgow.
There was originally great difficulty in reconciling the Queen's
admittedly short sojourn in that city with the production of
such an extended document, and even now the dates render it
very questionable whether it could have been indited in the time.
The Privy Seal Register contains two deeds signed by Mary
at Edinburgh on the 22nd and 24th of January, while, according
to the same Eegister, the Queen was at Linlithgow on her
return from Glasgow.
However, it has been thought possible that Letter II. was
written from Glasgow, partly on account of a belief in the old
adage, " love will find out the way ; " while the diaries of two
Edinburgh citizens, one named Birrell, and another the author of
the ' Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrences,' seem to confirm the
dates which render the epistolary performance in question
possible, giving the 20th as the day Mary Stuart left Edinburgh.
But when this Letter II. comes to be critically examined, a very
great difficulty assails any believer in the integrity of Murray,
Morton, and their coadjutors, who vouched for the verity of
these writings.
Part of the letter purports to describe to Bothwell a conversa-
tion between Mary Stuart (the alleged writer) and Darnley
when they met at Glasgow.
The husband is represented as pleading for a re-establishment
in his wife's good graces by reason of a resolution to improve
his conduct, and claiming an opportunity of amending on
account of his youth.
Now it happened that one Crawford, a relation and retainer
of the Lennox family, was sent to Glasgow by the Earl to