"God of His grace called me to this dignity," replied Mary; "I have been anointed and consecrated such. From Him alone I hold this rank, and to Him alone I shall return it, with my soul. I do not recognise your Queen as my superior, nor her heretical council and assembly as my judges, and I shall die a queen in spite of them. They have no more power over me than robbers at the corner of a wood might have over the most just prince or judge in the world; but I hope that God will manifest His justice in this kingdom after my death. The kings of this country have often been murdered, and it will not seem strange to me to be among them and those of their blood. It was in this way that King Richard was treated to dispossess him of his rights."[54] [Footnote 54: See Labanoff, vi. 466. "When the So. Q.'s cloth of Estate was plucked down by Sir A. Paulet and Sir D. Drury, after signification given unto her to prepare herself to die by the L. Buckhurst and R.B., she mentioned the murder of K. Richard II., but Sir Drue answered that she needed not to fear it, for that she was in the charge of a Christian gentleman."--Note by Beale, Yelverton MSS., p. 529.] At these words Paulet ordered the Queen's attendants to remove the dais, but they utterly refused to have any hand in the outrage offered to their mistress, calling aloud for vengeance on him and Drury. Paulet was obliged therefore to send for his soldiers, and caused the dais to be thrown on the floor. He now sat down in the Queen's presence with his head covered, and ordered the billiard-table to be removed, saying to the Queen, "This is no time for you to indulge in exercise or amusement."[55] [Footnote 55: A sad office was reserved for the cover of this table; it was afterwards used to enshroud the body of the Queen after her execution, as we may see by the following passage from Brantôme: "Immediately after the execution, when the headsman had despoiled Mary's corpse, it was carried into a room adjoining that in which her maids of honour were confined; and they, looking through a crevice, saw the body of their mistress half covered by a piece of rough woollen stuff, which had been hastily taken from the billiard-table."] "Thanks be to God, I have never made use of it since it was put up," replied Mary, "for you have kept me sufficiently employed in other ways."