[226] There is preserved at Hamilton Palace, a small silver box, said to be the very casket which once contained the Letters. Laing, who appears to believe in the genuineness of this relic somewhat too hastily, mentions, that "the casket was purchased from a Papist by the Marchioness of Douglas (a daughter of the Huntly family) about the period of the Restoration. After her death, her plate was sold to a goldsmith, from whom her daughter-in-law Anne, heiress and Dutchess of Hamilton, repurchased the casket." "For the following accurate and satisfactory account of the casket," adds Mr Laing, "I am indebted to Mr Alexander Young, W. S., to whom I transmitted the description of it given 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. 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 silver-smiths' marks; but, on closer inspection, I found they consisted each of a royal crown above a _fleur de lis_, surmounting the Italic letter _F_.'"--Laing, vol. ii. p. 235. Upon this description of the box, it may be remarked, that it does _not_ exactly agree with the account given of it by Buchanan; for it would appear, that in the casket preserved at Hamilton, there are only two Italic _F's_; while Buchanan describes it as "a small gilt coffer, not fully a foot long, being _garnished in sundry places_ with the Roman letter F, under a king's crown," an expression he would not have used, had there been only two of these letters. Besides, there seems to have been a king's crown above each; but on the coffer at Hamilton, there is only one crown on the top of the lock, and not above the letter F. Antiquarians, however, have investigated subjects of less curiosity, and have been willing to believe upon far more slender data. [227] Goodall, vol. ii. p. 87. [228] Goodall, vol. ii. p. 140. [229] Goodall, vol. ii. p. 235; and p. 257. [230] The authentic "Warrant" and "Consent," has been already described, _supra_, vol. ii. p. 95, and may be seen at length in Anderson, vol. i. p. 87. [231] Laing, Appendix, vol. ii. p. 356.