A grave cause of misleading is inexact translation--whether the fault be in ignorance or intentional additions to or substractions from text referred to. A case in point is afforded by the letter already referred to from Leti’s _La Vie d’Elizabeth_. In the portion quoted Elizabeth mentioned her intention of not marrying: “I have not the slightest intention of being married, and ... if ever I should think of it (_which I do not believe is possible_).” Now in Mr. Mumby’s book the quotation is made from Leti’s _La Vie d’Elizabeth_ which is the translation into French from the original Italian, the passage marked above in italics is simply: “ce que je ne crois pas.” The addition of the words “is possible” gives what is under the circumstances quite a different meaning to the earliest record we have concerning the very point we are investigating. When I began this investigation, I looked on the passage--neither Mumby, remember, nor even Leti, but what professed to be the _ipsissima verba_ of Elizabeth herself--and I was entirely misled until I had made comparison for myself--_Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?_ The addition of the two words, which seems at first glance merely to emphasise an expression of opinion, changes the meaning of the writer to a belief so strong that the recital of it gives it the weight of intention. Under ordinary circumstances this would not matter much; but as we have to consider it in the light of a man defending his head against danger, and in a case where absolute circumspection is a necessary condition of safety so that intention becomes a paramount force, exactness of expression is all-important. The only way to arrive at probability is to begin with fact. Such is a base for even credulity or its opposite, and if it is our wish or intention to be just there need be no straining on either one side or the other. In the case of the Bisley Boy the points to be considered are: 1. The time at which the change was or could be affected. 2. The risk of discovery, (a) at first, (b) afterwards. It will be necessary to consider these separately for manifest reasons. The first belongs to the region of Danger; the second to the region of Difficulty, with the headsman’s axe glittering ominously in the background. F. THE TIME AND THE OPPORTUNITY (_a_) _The time at which the change was or could have been effected._ For several valid reasons I have come to the conclusion that the crucial period by which the Bisley story must be tested is the year ending with July 1544. No other time either earlier or later would, so far as we know, have fulfilled the necessary conditions.