In this epistle Elizabeth, as we see, once more held out hopes of clemency to her cousin, but it seems probable that Mary paid little heed to promises which she had so often found to be delusive. Bourgoing makes no allusion to this letter, but he says that his mistress, seeing the determination of the Commissioners to proceed in any case, "remained all the night in perplexity." On one side she dreaded being obliged to appear "in a public place against her duty, her state, and her quality," while on the other she foresaw that should she persist in her refusal to answer their interrogations, the Commissioners would assert her silence to be proof of her guilt, and would pronounce sentence against her, and declare "as an assured fact that in her conscience she knew herself to be guilty." Towards morning the Queen determined to send word to the lords that she desired to say a few words to them before they assembled. On the morning of the 14th, accordingly, the Commissioners delegated some of their number to wait upon the Queen. Among these was Walsingham, whom Mary now saw for the first time. We subjoin the dignified address made by the Queen on this occasion. It seems evident that Bourgoing wrote down this speech either from Mary's dictation, or from notes supplied by herself, as, unlike the other speeches recorded by him, it is given throughout in the first person:-- "When I remember that I am a queen by birth," said Mary, "a stranger and a near relation of the Queen, my good sister, I cannot but be offended at the manner in which I have been treated, and could do nothing other than refuse to attend your assembly and object to your mode of procedure. I am not subject either to your laws or your Queen, and to them I cannot answer without prejudice to myself and other kings and princes of the same quality. Now, as always heretofore, I will not spare my life in defence of my honour; and rather than do injury to other princes and my son, I am prepared to die, should the Queen, my good sister, have such an evil opinion of me as to believe that I have attempted aught against her person. In order to prove my goodwill towards her, and to show that I do not refuse to answer to the charges of which I am accused, I am prepared to answer to that accusation only, which touches on the life of Queen Elizabeth, of which I swear and protest that I am innocent. I say nothing upon any other matter whatsoever as to any friendship or treaty with any other foreign princes. And making this protestation, I demand an act in writing."[29] [Footnote 29: Chantelauze, p. 512.]