The Queen reminded Burleigh that she was a queen, and not a subject, and could not be treated as one. He retorted that Queen Elizabeth recognised no other queen but herself in her kingdom. He and his colleagues, he said, had no wish to treat Mary as a subject; they were well aware of her rank, and were prepared to treat her accordingly; but they were bound to fulfil the line of duty laid down for them by the Commission, and to ascertain whether she was subject to the laws of England. He ended by declaring that she was assuredly subject to the civil and canon law as it was observed abroad. The Queen remaining unconvinced by these arguments, the Commissioners were forced to retire for a time. Before leaving her Burleigh made a curious speech, bidding Mary recall to her memory the benefits which had been heaped upon her by her cousin! insisting in especial upon some remarkable instances of her clemency. "The Queen, my mistress," said he, "has punished those who contested your pretensions to the English crown. In her goodness she saved you from being judged guilty of high treason at the time of your projected marriage with the Duke of Norfolk, and she has protected you from the fury of your own subjects." Mary replied to this extraordinary speech with a sad smile. As soon as she had dined, the Queen, who, as Bourgoing tells us, had not been able to write for a long time, owing to rheumatic pains in her arm, set to work to make notes, to assist her when the Commissioners should return; fearing, as she said, that her memory might fail her. As was usual with her, however, the very danger of her position inspired her with fresh vigour and courage, and when the moment came she defended herself as "valiantly as she was rudely assailed, importuned, and pursued by the Commissioners; and she ended by saying far more than she had prepared in writing."