Mary's hearers eagerly seized the opportunity afforded them, and suggested that she should see the judges and lawyers then present at Fotheringay, who would explain the matter to her. At first the Queen seemed as if she were inclined to favour this proposal. "Her Majesty, very well pleased, at first agreed, till she perceived by some words of the Treasurer (Burleigh) that by this suggestion they had no intention but to make her aware by them (the judges) that her cause was bad, that she was subject to the laws of England, and that there was a just case against her, so that consequently she might in the end be judged by them. So Her Majesty, perceiving that she could not communicate with the judges about her business without humbling herself, refused to hear them."[26] [Footnote 26: Chantelauze, pp. 505-508.] The envoys now proposed to the Queen to hear the new Commission. After listening to it attentively, Mary observed that she saw it referred to laws which she must refuse to recognise, as she suspected that they had been framed expressly for her ruin by those persons who were her enemies, and who aimed at dispossessing her of her right to the kingdom. Elizabeth's emissaries replied that even though the laws were new, they were as just and equitable as those of other countries. Her Majesty, they added, knew well that it was necessary on occasion to abrogate certain laws and frame new ones. "These new laws," returned Mary, "cannot be used to my prejudice. I am a stranger, and consequently not subject to them, and the more especially as I belong to a different religion. I confess to being a Catholic, and for this religion I would wish to die, and shed my blood to the last drop. In this matter do not spare me; I am ready and willing, and shall esteem myself very happy if God grants me the grace to die in this quarrel." The Queen's hearers, amazed at her courage, refrained from pressing her further, and reserved--as Bourgoing tells us--their reply for a future occasion.