you may truly say is such as if the consequence of her offence reached no farther than to ourselves as a private person. We protest before God we could have been very well contented to have freely remitted and pardoned the same, if we might hereafter have lived sufficiently cautioned and assured against the like, a thing so much the more hopeless however she might hereafter reform herself. The taking of our life and subversion thereby of the present state of religion and commonwealth is amongst her factors and instruments abroad and at home now held and approved in their bloody divinity, as work meritorious and lawful before God and man. And whereas in the opening of these particulars she may happen, as in the late meeting of our commissioners with her, to fall into some justification of her former offers and demeanour towards us, removing the cause of all these mischiefs from herself and imputing the same to the hard treatment she may pretend to have received at our hands. We have thought meet, in case she shall fall into any such argument, that you remind her how much she is to blame to wrong us in honour with her unjust and untrue assertions, considering how much more graciously we have dealt with her than she could with any judgment or reason expect, if we had proportioned our favour with her own demerits. You may take occasion to point out to her those our deserts and benefits with her many ingratitudes in recompense for them, which is conform to a special note from our secretary which shall be delivered to you. Lastly, in case you shall find her desirous to communicate with either of you apart under a pretence of revealing any matter or secret of weight to be delivered to us concerning either ourselves or our service, we think it not amiss that you conform yourselves to her desire, and thereby, if you find cause, to advise us before your return, which we leave to your discretion. “ELIZABETH R.” This is probably the most startling official paper to be found during the period covered by our narrative. It is pure fiction and was written a month after Queen Mary's trial. The first question that arises is this: Was Elizabeth connected directly or indirectly with the interpolations on these letters, and if so, to what extent? She was much too clever a woman to commit anything to writing that would incriminate herself. We have evidence that Walsingham, her secretary, was the writer of them, and that he paid Phillips to open the letters surreptitiously, copy them, and on the copies introduce the interpolations. The originals were evidently destroyed, for they were never seen again.[11]