the Catholics, and she would do much to appease the troubles into which they were in danger of falling. Burghley said that no Catholic had been punished for his religion, to which Her Majesty replied that in all places and every day they were banished and exiled, fugitive and wandering here and there to hide themselves, and the prisons of England were full of them; in short, they were made guilty of treason. Some did not wish to serve or do the behests of the Queen, being contrary and repugnant to their religion; others of them would not recognise the Queen as head of the Church. They had been treated so cruelly that they died, and she could see they wished her also to die by accusing her of things of which she was entirely innocent in order to make out what they had resolved. It was no use troubling her further with these letters and papers, as she would not answer them and they were only wasting their time. It was not for her to render an account of her affairs and the correspondence she had had with Christian princes. She was allied to them and had been under their protection. Burghley said that if it pleased her she could now retire, and they would remain to finish the commission. She replied that she declared herself a faithful and humble servant of Almighty God, ready and willing to obey his commands and those of his Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church. It did not belong to them to resist or blame what she did, as she was guided by the Holy Spirit as God had promised to her; that as she was given the title of Queen they must not accuse her for that, since it was not she who took it, but the Catholic Church and the Christian princes who esteemed her legitimate. They knew well that this was her right, although they hid it, making special statutes and laws to meet her case, showing that they thought she could aspire to it, and that their object was to dispossess her as a Catholic princess. They must cease this procedure, for she had made it sufficiently clear that she cared not for it herself, but she would not allow it to be lost for those who came after her. The troubles in Ireland showed it was not for this that they revolted. They knew well they were subject to her. That country never had been peaceable, inasmuch as they wished her for their Queen. A certain book had been published in Ireland by Catholics desiring that the right to the crown should be changed to some other than her because they had little hope that she would get out of prison. She was growing old, sickly, and not likely to live long. As to her son, he belonged to her and the Queen of England, and she could do what seemed best to her; she was sorry they had taken so much care to make a league with him, separating the son from the mother and assisting him against her, and keeping him under the government of young people like Gray, who had been a traitor, and others who knew nothing about the government of a kingdom, furnishing him with money and making him