"I marvel within myself," continued Mary, "how the Queen of England can consider herself a good mother to my son, having always kept him apart from me, and prevented his having friendship with me. You do wrong in following young Gray's advice, to treat with the son rather than with the mother, to whom the kingdom belongs, and not to him. Far from being King, I protested in Scotland that my resignation was forced from me; I permitted him to take the title of King on the condition that he should consult me on affairs of importance to the kingdom, that he should do nothing without me, otherwise I should not support him in anything. Foreign kings only recognised him on these conditions, which not being observed, I cannot acknowledge him as King, and I doubt me the Queen of England has said by her own mouth to her people, and even to the Ambassadors of France, and to Nau, that she had never acknowledged him as King, nor had yet given him the title." All these matters had already been discussed at the trial. "The Queen," said Bourgoing, "took occasion to say that they repeated these things on purpose to displease her more, and to attempt to extract something from her, as it may be supposed from the fact that Sir Amyas could not bear what Her Majesty had said concerning certain members of the council who were hostile to her, she said, and did all they could against her, and this she would say of some of them she could name till death, whom she would nevertheless pardon with all her heart." "You do ill in this," replied Paulet, "as you should die in charity; there is no one of the council who wishes to do you evil against his conscience. You go against God in retaining such an opinion of them." "I do not feel my conscience charged by this," said Mary, "nor have I offended God, who does not forbid one to die in an opinion of which one is sure, nor to speak in dying of that of which one has a perfect knowledge; although most surely He commands us to forgive, which I do, as I have already said, but I do not at present feel drawn to flatter, and will flatter no one, not striving to escape from their hands by this means. Being resolved to die, and preparing for this, I do not intend to purchase my life, or purchase any grace, by flattery. I do not give any, and I do not ask for any, do with me what you wish. What I ask of the Queen has nothing to do with my deliverance, but only concerns my religion, and for the discharge of my conscience, being on the point of putting my affairs in order touching my will, my servants, and my funeral."[77] [Footnote 77: Chantelauze, pp. 552-556.] On the day following this interview Paulet wrote the following confidential letter to Davison, in which he states very plainly his reasons for delaying to send Mary's letter to Queen Elizabeth:--