and so desired her to go to Moulins which she refused to do and that she onely offered to go to Nevers while Monsieur was at Orleans to be nearer to his Person but had refused to do it when she heard that he was gone from thence That after her departure from Compeigne she had sent a Request to the Parliament of Paris full of false and injurious Invectives against Cardinal Richlieu and Written a Letter to His Majesty containing several Studied Pretences to Colour her withdrawing and many Complaints against the Cardinal which had no other foundation but those Calumnies and Falshoods which were suggested by the Ill-Counsellours of Monsieur That both the one and the other aimed by the same means to endeavour the Subversion of the Royal Authority and of the Kingdom That not being yet satisfied with the first Calumnies she had Written to His Majesty she was * See these Letters in the Collection of Aubery's Memoirs T. 1. P. 374. besides wrought upon to Write to the Parliament and to the Provost of the Merchants of Paris to perswade them to Revolt and to give an Ill Example to others That as he Confirmed all the preceding Declarations so he declared all those to be guilty of High-Treason and Disturbers of the Publick Peace who should be found to have any share in such Pernicious and Damnable Designs as to withdraw the Queen-Mother and the Duke of Orleans from their Allegiance and to induce them to go out of the Kingdom and likewise all those who had followed them and were with them That his Royal Pleasure and Will was that they should be proceeded against and that he strictly prohibited all Persons to keep any Correspondence either with the Queen-Mother or the Duke upon any pretence whatsoever and if any of their Letters should fall into the hands of his Subjects they should send them immediately to the Royal Judges of the Provinces or to the Keeper of the Seals That all the Mannors which they held of the Crown should be seized upon and re-united to the King 's Demesne themselves deprived of their Dignities and Offices and all their Estates forfeited to the King This last Article involved the Queen-Mother and Monsieur as well as those that followed them the Queen's Dowry and all the Revenues of the Duke being stopt and seized While the King dishonoured both his Mother and Brother with so rigorous a procedure and took from them all manner of Subsistance because they had been so daring as to desire that the Cardinal of Richlieu might be turned out he heaped new Honours and Favours upon this happy Minister His †By Letters given at Monceaux in the Month of August Land of Richlieu was erected into a Dukedom and Peerdom and there was afterwards a Contention amongst the Courts of Parliament which of them should receive this Prelate in the Quality of a Duke and Peer But at last it was agreed That the Great Chamber that of the Edict and that of the Tournelle being Assembled together should receive him †The 4th of September and he went to take the usual Oath and to sit in the Parliament attended by the Prince of Conde by the Dukes of Montmorency of Chevreuse of Montbazon of Rets of Ventadour and of Crequi by the Mareschals Vitry Etrees and Effiat and by many other Persons of Quality From that time he was call'd The Cardinal-Duke as Olivarez Chief Minister to the King of Spain was stiled the Count-Duke The King gave him besides the Government of Britany lately vacant by the death of the Mareschal de Themines This Government could not fall to any one more advantageously than to the Cardinal who being Superintendant both of Navigation and Trade could scarce exercise his Office without being Master of the Ports of Britany This was at the same time an assured Refuge in case the King should ever change his Affection towards him Thus what was a Capital Crime in the Huguenots who made a considerable part of the State and what would have driven out of the Kingdom the most considerable Persons next to the King unless they had chosen rather to be confined to a Prison was esteemed a just recompence for the great Services of Cardinal Richlieu The Prince of Conde who was sent from one Province to another to pacifie the Spirits of those who might be surprised at the excessive greatness of a Minister who caused him formerly to be put in Prison went basely publishing his Praises all over the Kingdom and yet was not able to get into the Favour of this Man who could bear with nothing that gave him any Jealousie * See Aubery Lib. 11. Cap. 17. He had made already in the Year 1628 a Panegyrick upon this Minister before the States of Languedoc with Expressions onely fit to come from a wretch that wanted Bread and had no other ways to subsist but this was nothing in comparison of what he said in the Assembly of the States of Britany I shall relate his very words that thereby the Reader may judge both of the mean Condescensions of the Prince or of the Minister's great Authority †See Aubery Ibid. Lib. ◠Cap. 19. Amongst those infinite Obligations you have to the King saith he either for having preserved your Privileges or for the great Advantages favourably granted to your Province of Britany even almost to an impossibility in regard of the other Provinces of his Realm you have contracted a new one which is the greatest of all for His Majesty has given to you Monsieur the Cardinal of Richlieu for your Governour whose Learning and Piety preferr'd him in his younger years to a Bishoprick his Deserts to a Cardinal's Cap his Services and Capacity to the Ministry of State Affairs his Valour to the Generalship of several Armies his Fidelity and Love for the King's Person to the Cordial Affection of His Majesty and as a Token thereof and of his Trust to the High Places and Governments which he possesseth and holds from him All which things though very considerable and great yet we may say nevertheless of them that they onely make up the least part of those recompences which he justly deserves for having in his first Dignity confounded Heresie in the second maintained the Church in his Employments strengthened the State by his Counsels by his Valour pull'd down and defeated Rebellion and extended the Limits of France into Italy Lorraine and Germany and by his Fidelity with a continual care watched for the King's Preservation under whose Command he hath always acted as a second Cause in those great Affairs which His Majesty had and hath yet to restore the Kingdom to its first Splendour The Prince had better have said As a first cause since the King did nothing else but blindly follow the Motions of his Minister and then he had said at least one true thing in his Speech which was worthy of none but some Poor Hungry Priest and not of
Pomerania after the Death of Duke Bogislaus the XIV since he was not in a condition to molest the Imperialists The second Prince that died this year was Charles Gonzaga Duke of Mantua While he lived in France as a †The 25th of September Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 478. Subject he had a great Reputation and passed for a Prince of equal bravery and prudence After he became a Soveraign he seemed to bend under the weight of Affairs and could not find any expedient to hinder the desolation of his Countrey either by the way of Arms or that of Negotiation He left his Dominions to Charles his Grandson born of the Duke of Rethel and Mary of Mantua who was his Guardian She was the Daughter of Vincent Duke of Mantua and Margaret of Savoy Daughter to Charles Emanuel The Third was Butos-Amadeo Duke of Savoy who died the 7th of October He was as much esteem'd as any Prince of his time for his Conduct both in Peace and War The onely thing he is blamed for was his weakness in suffering Mazarine to perswade him to deliver up Pignerol to France by which Surrendry he left his Territories on the other side the Mountains to their discretion and Mercy 'T is true he deceived Spain in doing so but at the same time he deceived himself infinitely more and onely kept the bare Title of a Soveraign Prince unless he had a mind to show the marks of his Soveraignty by causing his Country to be ruined by the French whose will he was otherwise obliged to follow Francis Hyacinth his Son succeeded him who dying soon after Charles Emanuel took his place an Infant Four years old The Duke his Father left Christina of France his Guardian and Regent who was owned in this quality by the Senates of Turin and Chambery and by all the Orders of Piedmont and Savoy The Death of this * Siri Ibid. p. 481. Prince was fatal to his Estates because he was engaged in an open War with Spain who now had a fair opportunity to invade them and would so much the sooner embrace it because the Regent being Sister to the King of France she would in all probability depend wholly upon him On the other side Maurice Cardinal of Savoy and Prince Thomas favoured Spain openly who might have a plausible pretence to come into Piedmont to put them in possession of the Guardianship and Regency to which they might pretend whenever they thought fit These considerations inclined Madam of Savoy and her Council to endeavour to make a Peace with Spain as soon as might be to hinder the ruine of her Country Besides she discover'd soon after the Death of the Duke her Husband how little she was to rely upon the Ministers of the King her Brother L'Emery Ambassador of France at Turin design'd with the assistance of the French Troops that were quarter'd about Verceil where the Duke died to seize upon the Person of the Dutchess and of the Princes her Sons under a pretence to prevent the designs of the Spaniards who would endeavour to engage this Princess in their Party or at least to observe a Neutrality The Ambassador proposed this enterprize to the Mareschal de Crequi but the Mareschal would not consent to be the Instrument of a violence of this nature against a Daughter of France and against Princes that were under the King's Protection However the Ambassador who was perfectly well acquainted with the Cardinal-Duke's Temper and knew that in matters of State abundance of things are approved of when done which would not be allowed to be done if leave was asked before-hand did not for all this desist from his Design But the Dutchess happening to be informed of it order'd the Marquiss de Ville with the Troops of Piedmont to enter into Verceil by night and caused the Gates to be shut to several French Officers that came thither under a pretence of Buying Victuals for their Souldiers By this means she frustrated this Design and the Troops of France had Orders to remove from Verceil The Marquiss de S. Maurice Ambassador of Savoy in France having received the News of the Death of the Duke his Master went to carry it to the King and Cardinal who promised to protect the young Duke and the Durchess with all the Forces of the Kingdom The Cardinal gave the Ambassador to understand who complain'd of Emery's design that the King had no hand in it and that he would go to assist his Sister in Person if it were necessary At the same time he advised the Dutchess to two things one of them was to put such Subjects of the Duke as she was well assured of into all the Strong Places of Piedmont and Savoy the other was To treat her Brother-in-Law with all the Civility imaginable but not to suffer them to come into the Dominions of the Duke her Son Upon this the Ambassador told him That the best way the Dutchess could take to live at peace with all the World would be to clap up a Peace with Spain To which the Cardinal answer'd That she might expect from the King her Brother every thing that was for the advantage of the House of Savoy even though it should be against the Interest of the Crown but that he did not see any security in a particular Peace The Cardinal afterwards made a Solemn Visit to the Ambassador where after the first Compliments were over he told him That he was surprized that Madam of Savoy had any suspicion of the French Troops since the Mareschal de Crequi had immediately drawn them off from about Verceil and conducted them to Casal that he had discover'd upon this occasion the inclination of some of her Counsellors that had advised her to send with all expedition into Spain which apparently tended to disengage her from France that he hoped a General Peace would be soon concluded but that if the Dutchess and her Council were too impatient the King would not hinder her from making a particular accommodation by her self but that his honour would not permit him to abandon his other Allies The Cardinal of * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. P. 485. Savoy was desirous at the same time to come into Piedmont to offer his Services to the young Duke and the Regent by word of Mouth but she desired him to let it alone for fear of giving any suspicion to France with whom he very well knew she was obliged to manage her self cautiously since neither her Brother nor her Husband could have drawn the Indignation of that Court down upon them without being considerable losers by the bargain She likewise received Compliments from Prince Thomas by the Marquiss Palavicini This Prince represented to her That the French under a show of protecting her might take the opportunity to seize upon Piedmont and Savoy and that if Spain was induced to bring the War thither for that reason the States of the House of Savoy would be inevitably ruin'd
purpose for him directly to oppose the Kings pleasure did not show the least resentment at that time and so held a Council but took care that nothing of importance should be there proposed But the day following he represented to the King the ill effects such an innovation as this might produce and the great injury he did his own reputation as well as that of the Council if it should be said that nothing of any consequence could be debated there unless such a young man as the Master of the Horse was one of the number This remonstrance of the Cardinal made so deep an impression upon the King that he did not permit Cinq-Mars to come into the Council Chamber any more From that time the secret hatred which the Master of the Horse bore the Cardinal broke out in public and those occasions of discontent which this Minister lately gave him wrought a greater force upon the mind of an ambitious young man than all the services he had formerly done him However the King labour'd to reconcile them and outwardly they seem'd to be as hearty friends as ever But soon after they fell out and the occasion arose from the Favourite's desiring the King to make him a Duke and a Peer that he might marry the Princess Mary of Mantua who would not accept of him but upon that condition Having open'd this affair to the Cardinal who he foolishly imagin'd would comply with his desires this Minister tax'd him with imprudence and presumption setting before his eyes what he had done to raise his Father and himself from the simple rank of Gentlemen to the present degree of honour they enjoy'd Cinq-Mars who was of no less haughty a Spirit than the Cardinal could not hear him talk thus but with the greatest indignation and began to cabal with all his power to ruine his Patron and Benefactor He engag'd in his Interests Francis de Thou Son to the famous James Augustin de Thou * Siri Mer T. 2. p. 567. He was a most accomplish'd man in respect of all those qualities that are requir'd in a Gentleman of the Long Robe and being either a relation or a friend to several of those that resented the effects of the Cardinals hatred besides that this Minister had hinder'd him from being made one of the Councellors of State after he had for some time consider'd of the matter at last espoused the party of the Master of the Horse and engaged the Dukes of Orleans and Bouillon to countenance his designs There was the greater probability of succeeding because rhe King had expressed himself to be particularly desirous of a Peace to put an end to all those calamities and disorders which the private interests of his Minister had stirr'd up in the Kingdom The King had likewise frown'd upon several of the Cardinals creatures whom he did indeed esteem and fear but did not really love at the bottom As for Cinq-Mars he was now perfectly in the Kings favour and this brought abundance of persons over to his party In the mean time the Cardinal strengthen'd himseif by an alliance with the House of Conde by marrying Claire-Clemence de Maille Breze daughter to the Mareschal de Breze to the Duke of Enguien 'T is reported that the Prince of Conde who had at first rejected this match when it came to be propos'd to him suffered himself to be gain'd partly by the great fortune which the Cardinal bestow'd upon his Niece and partly out of fear lest the Cardinal should ruine him if he persisted any longer to despise an alliance with him * Siri Mer. T. 1. lib. 2. p. 231. The Marriage was celebrated on the 7th of February and a magnificent Ball was kept upon this occasion at the Cardinals Palace This Ballet represented the prosperity of the Arms of France and the Decorations of the Halls were changed five times as well as the habits of the Actors The first represented the Earth embellished with Forrests and Harmony supported upon a Cloud with abundance of Birds singing The second discover'd the Alps cloathed with Snow with Italy upon a Mountain and at a great distance Arras and Casal The third shew'd the Sea environed with Rocks and cover'd with Ships and Gallies with three Sirens The fourth an open Sky from whence the Nine Muses descended and the fifth the Earth adorn'd with Flowers with Concord upon a gilded Chariot The Theatre being changed into a magnificent Hall the Queen attended by all the Court went to place herself at the upper end of it and the Duke of Enguien taking her out to dance the Ball began and ended with a stately Collation of Sweet-meats The Nuptials were afterwards celebrated on the 11th of the same month with that magnificence which the Cardinal affected to show upon such occasions During the divertisements of this * Ibid. p. 232. Marriage the Minister contriv'd to mortifie the Parliament of Paris which had presumed more than once to make some opposition to his demands Some weeks after the King assembled all the several Chambers and came thither accompanied by the Princes of the Blood several Dukes and Peers and many eminent Lords of the Court He there caused a Declaration to be read which prohibited the Parliament to concern themselves with any affairs of State and commanded them to receive his Edicts not to disapprove but confirm them The King farther declared that he intended to take the absolute power into his hands of disposing of all the Offices of Parliament and to reward with them such as pleased him and at the same time deposed the President Barillon and the Councellors Scarron Salo and some others that had been banisht before He likewise ordained that the Parliament every three months should give the Chancellor an account of what they did and every year take out a permission from his Majesty to continue in their respective functions By this the King absolutely destroyed the authority of the Parliament of Paris as if they had abused their power by opposing the arbitrary proceedings of the Cardinal This Prince it seems imagined that only himself and his Minister were interested in the preservation of the Kingdom and thought nothing was just but what this imperious Prelate pretended to be so Those that had the Courage to defend the Rights of Parliament urged in vain that the persons that composed it had never pretended to be their Kings Tutors nor to arrogate a power superior or equal to theirs nor to set up for Tribunes of the People as their enemies injuriously accused them They own'd themselves to be the Kings Subjects and to derive their power from his Authority but then they said that a Secret of Policy lay concealed in the exercise of their Offices which the Flatterers at Court were not acquainted with That the ancient Kings of France being sensible that a pure Monarchy where all the Laws depend upon the Will of one single person were but of a short continuance had wisely
got out of another Thus the Cardinal defeated this Conspiracy with great glory to himself and very advantageously for the Interest of France Altho those that envied his authority were not properly speaking enemies of the State yet as they could not destroy this Minister but by embroiling the Kingdom by the help of its real enemies they furnished the other party with a plausible pretence to accuse them with designing to betray their King and Country The Cardinal receiving the news of the death of Cinq-Mars and De Thou almost at the same time that advice was sent him of the reduction of Perpignan writ a Letter to the King which began after this manner Sir your arms are in Perpignan and your Enemies are dead In the compass of one month France got possession of two Places that were of the last importance to her particularly so long as she was engaged in a War with Spain Perpignan secured Rousillon and put her in a condition to preserve Catalonia in case she persisted in that resolution and Sedan hindred the Spaniards from entring France on that side whereas before if they gain'd the Duke of Bouillon over to their party which was no difficult matter they might easily enter it when ever they pleased On the other hand the affairs of Spain went every day worse and worse John IV. having been proclaimed King of Portugal not only resolved to preserve the Crown which was so lately put upon his head but likewise to regain all that it formerly possest in Afric America and the Indies The Government of the Castilians was become so odious every where where the Portugueses had formerly been that this design succeeded no less happily at a great distance from Spain that it had about the Tagus The Portugueses received with extraordinary Joy the News of the re-establishment of the Flouse of Braganze to which they generally submitted in spight of the Spaniards In the mean time the new King finding that the Castilians were unable to preserve their usurpations not only beat them out of the ancient bounds of Portugal but likewise enter'd into the dominions of the Catholick King and advanced as far as Salamanca He besieged several Towns in Gallicia Estramadura and Andalusia nay he had certainly made these Provinces the Theatre of the War by causing his Army to subsist there if there had been any strong places or such as were in a condition to be fortified to retire into in case of necessity Thus Spain was reduced to an extreme weakness thro the great indiscretion of the Count-Duke and the discontents of some Princes and several great Lords The Kingdoms of Valentia and Arragon that possest great privileges could not without a sensible regret see them daily infringed Catalonia which had so lately call'd in the French for that very reason furnished them with a very bad example and might perhaps influence them to do something of the like nature if things were not regulated in good time The Intrigues of the Duke de Medina Sidonia and of the Marquis d' Alamont put Andalusia into a tottering condition which Province was besides incensed at the change which had lately been made in the Money which after it had been made to go at an excessive high rate was at last cried down Those of Biscay had assassinated a Farmer who had been sent thither to introduce marked Paper against the Franchises of that Country and were exceedingly concern'd at the punishment of the principal Male-contents who had been wheedled to Madrid by the Count-Duke under a promise of being pardoned there and altho this had happen'd many years before yet they still deeply resented that perfidious usage In short the excessive poverty of Gallicia which besides was inviron'd almost on all sides by Portugal made it incapable to contribute much to the expence of the War Add to this that the Catholick King had sustain'd great losses in Catalonia without making any advances there thro the ill conduct of his Generals and that his America Fleet was destroyed so that he was forced to borrow Silver Plate of private persons to Coin it into Money The greatest Governments and Offices had for a long while beeâ— only bestow'd upon the Creatures of the Favorite without any regard to their capacity and merits and those that were best able to serve the State were turned out of Court because they could not submit to his imperious haughty temper In the mean time he caused forces to march from all parts at an incredible expence to endeavour the relief of Perpignan and 't is very observable that in six months time after he had used his greatest efforts he could bring no more than thirty thousand men into the field To compleat his misfortunes they arrived too late for the place which had long suffer'd the utmost extremities of Famine and which no one took any care to relieve was obliged to surrender on the 7th of September Don Flores d' Avela delivered it up to the Mareschal de la Meilleraye wholly destitute of Victuals but extremely well stored with Ammunition It had an Arsenal sufficient to arm twenty thousand Foot and Horse sixscore pieces of Cannon and three thousand pounds of Powder with all other things necessary for its defence The Mareschal gave the government of it to Varennes Mareschal de Camp till such time as the King should provide otherwise for the place This Conquest gave no little joy to the Court of France by reason of the mighty importance of the place which covered their Frontiers on that side and made them Masters of Rousillon On the contrary the King of Spain was exceedingly concern'd at it and could not dissemble his resentments while the Count-Duke affected a certain Gayety which surprized all the World He imagined by so doing to keep the King in heart who seemed to be strangely dejected and to put courage into the Army and People who were alarm'd at the progress of the Enemy He used all diligence to get together as great an Army as he could and the Grandees of Spain strove who should contribute the most towards the raising and maintenance of it in these urgent he cessiâ—ies of the State But instead of placing a General at the head of them who was able to raise the hopes of Spain he caused the Marquis de Leganez to be nominated to command them against the general expectation because this Marquis had not been able to obtain leave to come to Court but was as it were banished into Valentia by reason of the great complaints of the Allies and the Subjects of Spain against him but althâ— he was thus ill used in outward appearance the Count-Duke had given him private hopes that he should be suddenly advanced While he was putting himself in a posture to march Don Benito Henriquiz de Quirega surrendred Salse the Mareschals de Schamberg and Meilleraye on the 30th of September for want of provisions Part of the French Army which had been employ'd in the
the Company were wanting but only Puilaurens who made the rest wait above half an hour after the time appointed which made the King and the Cardinal suspect that he was informed of the Design against him At last he came and after he had discoursed some time with the King the Duke of Orleans the Cardinal and other Noblemen of the Court that were present the King took Monsieur by the hand and led him to his Closet This was the Signal they agreed upon with the Marquiss de Gordes and the Count de Charot Captains of the Life-Guards when they were to arrest Puilaurens and du Fargis They immediately executed the King's Orders and these two Domesticks of the Monsieur were taken up without any noise The King as soon as he had received notice of it told this Prince what he had done and at the same time embraced him and assured him that he was perfectly well satisfied with him He added that Puilaurens was an ungrateful Wretch and that Monsieur couâ—d never expect to be well serv'd by him after his horrid Ingratitude to the Crown which had been so kind to him The Duke seem'd to be somewhat concerned at it but fearing to be served after the same manner himself he said he would abandon Puilaurens for ever if he had made any unhandsome Returns to His Majesty's Favours The Cardinal came afterwards into the King's Closet whose Presence hearten'd Monsieur a little for he concluded that if there had been any Design to apprehend him the Cardinal durst not appear in that place This Minister complimented him afresh and assured him it was his Majesty's Pleasure that for the future he shou'd assist at the Council Monsieur asked him whether the King gave him leave to stir out of the Louvre and go the Palace of Guise where he lodged The Cardinal told him he might go when he pleased so this Prince after he had waited upon the Queen at her Apartment where the King then was retired Nevertheless he returned to the Louvre towards the Evening although several of his Domesticks had been seized Puilaurens and du Fargis lay at the Louvre and were conducted the next day to the Castle of Vincennes but Coudrai Montpensier was carried to the Bastile Upon this the King publish'd a circular Letter which was sent to the Parliaments and to the Governours of Provinces to acquaint them that he had been obliged for several weighty Reasons to apprehend some of Monsieur 's Domesticks It was penn'd in an obscure style because the Prisoners were not as yet convicted of any crime but most People concluded that the chief Minister had caused Puilaurens to be confin'd because he cou'd not trust him any longer and that he wou'd perhaps carry his Revenge farther Richlieu sent the Cardinal de la Valette and Bouthillier to Monsieur to give him fresh Assurances that he was wholly at his Service and to tell him he was heartily sorry that Puilaurens had forced the King by committing fresh crimes to take so rigorous a course with him It was observed that the Cardinal did not go himself to the Palace of Guise fearing perhaps least a fancy should take the Duke of Orleans to revenge this ill Usage This Prince told them that he had promis'd to be a faithful Servant to the King and a Friend of the Cardinal and that he wou'd keep his Word That if he found Puilaurens was really guilty let his fault be what it wou'd he wou'd be so far from making any Intercession for him that he wou'd be the first man that shou'd demand Justice upon him That he did not believe he had committed any new crimes and That if he kept any commerce with Vieux-Pont it was about some matters of Gallantry in Flauders and not Affairs of State That if they thought it proceeded from the Advice of Puilaurens that he stuck to his Marriage they were mightily deceived and That neither Puilaurens nor any other man in the World shou'd make him give his consent to a Thing which he believ'd to be against his conscience This unalterable Resolution of Gaston strangely perplex'd the Cardinal who cou'd not endure to see him married to a Princess whose family he had so lately ruin'd It was likewise no small Mortification to the Minister that People laugh'd at the Arrest which he had sent to the Parliament by which they were to declare that Monsieur cou'd not contract a Marriage in Lorrain After this the Duke of Orleans return'd to Blou from which place merely for his Diversion he took a Journey as far as Nantes which made the Court believe that he went thither to ship himself for England but his Return dissipated the Fears they began to entertain that he wou'd go out of the Kingdom again In the mean time Puilaurens died at Vincennes * The first of July after a few days sickness which his Vexation as well as his close Imprisonment threw him into The Duke of Orleans was extreamly concern'd at the News and this was the second of his Favourites whom the Cardinal had caus'd to die in Prison without convicting them of any other crime than that unpardonable one of not being overdevoted to his Pleasure Few people regretted the death of Puilaurens whose Pride and Arrogance had render'd him insupportable to all Mankind Ever since his Confinement the Court had given Monsieur a Council composed of such persons as had an entire Dependence upon the Cardinal Bouthillier was the chief of it with the Title of Chancellour and the others were the Abbot of Elbene Goulas his Secretary and the Abbot of La Riviere his Chaplain Not long after the Cardinal summon'd the Clergy of France to meet at Paris and the King sent to the Assembly to know of them what were their Sentiments concerning the Marriages of the Princes of the Blood who might pretend to the Succession of the Crown and particularly of those that stood nearest to it when they were made not only without his Majesty's consent but even against his express Prohibition Upon this the Assembly deputed certain Bishops to consult about this Affair with several Divines both Regulars and Seculars These Bishops having * The 6th of July made their Report to the Assembly they return'd their Answer the next day just as the Cardinal desired That Marriages might be render'd null by ancient Customs granted upon Reason and authorized by the Church That the Custom of France did not allow the Princes of the Blood but especially the Presumptive Heirs of the Crown to marry without the King's Consent and much less against his positive Commands That Marriages of this nature were illegitimate and void for want of an essential Condition without which Princes cou'd not marry lawfully That this Custom of France was reasonable ancient established by a legal Prescription and authorized by the Church The Queen-Mother having received Advice of this Declaration writ to Rome to desire his Holiness to forbid the Clergy of France to
interpose in this Affair because it was notorious to all the World that this Convocation was almost wholly composed of Court-Bishops who to advance their own Fortunes were ready to say every thing the King and his Minister wou'd have them and that if it was the King's Pleasure nay if one of his Ministers was of a different Opinion they wou'd find no Difficulty to frame another Declaration directly opposite to the former Lest the Spaniards might obtain of the Pope a Declaration contrary to that of the Clergy of France or lest his Holiness might express his Dislike of it †The 12th of October the King sent the Bishop of Montpelier to Rome to instruct him for what Reasons they had declared the Marriage of his Brother to be null But he was expresly ordered not to let fall the least Word by which it might be gather'd that the King had sent him thither as having any occasion for the Papal Authority to support his Right or as if the Nullity of Monsieur's Marriage was doubtful He was only commanded to inform the Pope what dangerous consequences an Alliance with the House of Lorrain might derive upon the Crown and to represent to him the several just Reasons his Majesty had to complain of the Princes of that Family The Queen-Mother had sent the Viscount Fabbroni * In May. Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 272. some months before to Rome to be her Resident at that Court and endeavour to perswade the Pope to employ his Interest to reconcile her to the King since she cou'd not prevail upon the Cardinal who was resolved to let her die out of the Kingdom †The 25th of May. Siri ibid. At the same time she writ to the Pope to prevent the two Crowns from coming to an open Rupture and to procure a general Peace to Europe In another Letter which almost contains the same Things †The 1st of June Aubery's Life of the Card. Lib. 4. Cap. 53. she nominated for her Resident not the Viscount but the Abbot Fabbroni her Almoner The Queen-Mother owns in this Letter that she had dispatched a Gentleman to the Emperour to incline him to a Peace perhaps out of this consideration That when it came to be concluded she might be comprehended in it and so might once more see France in spight of the Cardinal She had likewise sent to the King of Spain for the same Reason as it appear'd by another of her Letters to * See it in Aubery's Life of the Cardinal lib. 4. ◠5 Mazarine Nuncio extraordinary in France As the Cardinal was the chief man that had voted for declaring a War against Spain to render himself more necessary to the King than he wou'd have been in time of Peace she thought it wou'd be no small Mortification to him to see her take the contrary Party which besides was more suitable for her self who was Mother to the King of France and to the Queen of Spain than that which this Minister had perswaded the King to take Some time after she writ a long †Dated the Last of Aug. Aubery ibid. Letter to the King which she address'd to Mazarine as not knowing how to have it brought any other way to his Majesty But she was mightily mistaken in her man for Mazarine was entirely devoted to the Minister without troubling himself whether this was conformable to his Character of Nuncio Thus he deliver'd it into the Cardinal's hands †Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. P. 33◠who cou'd have been content to suppress it but durst not do it because he understood that the Queen had sent other Copies of the Letter to be carried to the King The Expedient he made use of to hinder this Letter from producing any effect was to accuse the Queen-Mother for having endeavour'd to corrupt the Duke of Rohan in favour of the Spaniards by the means of one Clausel who was hanged for that reason The Contents of this Letter principally related to the War from which the Queen endeavour'd to disswade her Son by all manner of Arguments She told him among other Things That War is never just but when it is necessary and that the Justice and Necessity of it are only founded upon Preservation and Defence which are not lawful but when all other means are insufficient that War is an Evil which is not tolerated but to avoid a greater And what Evil continued she are you constrain'd to avoid and what Advantage can you expect equal to the Loss you expose your self to Hitherto you have been the Arbitrator of Peace and War but so soon as you quit the Quality of a Judge for that of a Party neither of the two will any longer depend upon you The Forces the Conduct and the Interests of your Enemies will be balanced with yours The disproportion between them not being extraordinary consequently the Success cannot be infallible and if they are uncertain how can you be assured that the ill which must of necessity happen to one of the two Parties will not fall upon yours She afterwards represented to him the Mischiefs which France might suffer by this War and told him that his Father had always recommended to her to keep the Kingdom in Peace with her Neighbours and that if ever she saw the King her Son ready to declare War against them She was to conjure him by his ashes and by his memory not to come to those Extremities or if he happen'd to be engaged in them she shou'd perswade him to bring a speedy remedy to them and listen to a Peace as being the properest means to preserve what he had left him having purchased it with his own blood and by the perils and fatigues of twenty years Mazarine to acquit himself outwardly of his Duty as Nuncio Extraordinary who was sent on purpose for the Peace desired the King to answer this Letter but the King refus'd to do it He alledg'd for the reason of his silence that if he answer'd a Letter so seditious so much inclining to the Spanish Interest and so full of pretended Affection while the Queen-Mother endeavour'd to corrupt the Duke of Rohan he shou'd be forced to lay before him the great Injury she did to France That she made a great Bustle about the Advice of the late King to maintain a Peace with Spain but that the design of it was to decry the present Government to render the Cardinal odious and to cause an Insurrection of the People That when the Queen-Mother wou'd carry her self truly like a Mother he wou'd honour her as such and that it was purely out of respect to her that he wou'd not answer her Letter but that the Nuncio might return her such an Answer as he shou'd think convenient All this while * Siri Ibid. p. 360. Monsieur continued firm in his Resolution not to agree to have his Marriage declared null All that they cou'd draw from him was That if the Pope
Fatigues of a War when they repassed that River The Army of the Duke of Weimar was not in much better circumstances so that it was not safe to rely either upon one or the other In the mean time the Cardinal thought fit to draw off some of the German Regiments to join them with the Army of Champagne which was to act in Flanders and on the side of Cermany he resolved to be upon the Defensive only to hinder the Imperialists from entring Lorrain Orders were sent to Feuquieres to raise 12000 Germans to reinforce the Army of the Duke of Weimar and to command them under him This Army resolved to stay upon the Rhine while the Mareschal de la Force commanded a Body of 15000 men upon the Frontiers of Lorrain It was hoped that the Swedes and the Confederate Princes of the Houses of Lunenburg and Hesse wou'd employ one part of the Imperial Forces on the other side the Rhine and that by this means the Duke of Weimar and the Mareschal de la Force would be able to oppose the rest Oxenstiern the * Siri Ibid. p. 235. Chancellour of Sweden came to Paris in April to renew the former Treaties and see how they must act in Germany against the common Enemy Bouthillier and he sign'd a new Treaty on the 28th of October by which the former were confirmed and the two Crowns obliged themselves reciprocally to assist their Allies and not to enter into a Peace or Truce one without another He was received with uncommon honours at Paris for they not only Treated him as they do Ambassadours of Crown'd Heads but bore all his Expence Nay the Cardinal made him some Visits an Honour which he vouchsafed to very few persons but he wou'd not give him the Right-hand at his Palace nor feign himself sick as he sometimes did in favour of the Ambassadours of England who wou'd by no means allow the Prerogatives that those of the Purple assume Oxenstiern did not regard these Formalities in consideration as he said of the extraordinary Merits of the Minister with whom he had to do He parted from Paris on the 3d of May for Holland from whence he was to go into the Lower Saxony to oblige the House of Lunenburg to joyn their Troops with those of the Landgrave of Hesse and Banier to beat Galas out of the Country of Wirtemburg and oblige Piccolomini to retire from the Main The Swedes * Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 8. p. 330. not being able to prevail with the Princes their Allies to joyn with them in this Design Galas pass'd the Rhine took Wormes and having joyn'd Mansfeld they made together an Army of 12000 Horse and 15000 Foot The Duke of Lorrain and Jean de Werth approached likewise on the same side so that now it was to be feared that they wou'd enter into France with an Army of 25000 Horse and as many Foot since there were not Forces sufficient to oppose their March The Armies of Germany were not in a condition to make Head against them and the rest were employ'd either in the Low-Countries or in Italy The Levies that had been rais'd to enlarge and compleat the Troops commanded by the Mareschal de la Force and Feuquieres were in a manner come to nothing partly by Desertions and partly by the Treachery of the Colonels and Captains who received Pay for compleat Companies although they had not half the effective Soldiers they were obliged to have Those that knew the present state of Affairs were surprized to behold a flourishing Kingdom full of Men and Money which paid above a hundred and fifty thousand Men out of a Design to humble the House of Austria shou'd have no more than six thousand Horse and twenty thousand Foot to oppose an Army of fifty thousand Men so that it might justly fear to see the Imperial Colours in a short time all about Paris This sufficiently discovered how slightly the Cardinal had engag'd himself in a War which was not to be managed like a Court-Intrigue by Tricks and putting Chimera's into the King's Head But the Imperialists instead of speedily executing the Design which had been proposed to enter into Lorrain and from thence into Champagne lost a great deal of time unprofitably Galas retired to Sarbruck till the rest came up to him where he in a manner block'd up Mentz Creutsnack and other Places belonging to the Swedes but this was nothing in comparison of what the Imperial Army might have done if they had gone immediately into Champagne In the mean time the Duke of Weimar marched to cover Lorrain and hinder'd Galas from making any Attempts on that side nay he offer'd to force this General to re-pass the Rhine if they would speedily send him 3000 Horse and 15000 Foot The Cardinal who was afraid that the Imperialists wou'd take those Advantages which their Numbers as well as the Opportunity it self had put into their hands told his trusty Confident Father Joseph That he saw the Kingdom was in a very dangerous condition and that he knew not what Remedies to apply to it that the Levies that had been raised dwindled to nothing in a short time and that there was no Fidelity or Truth in the Officers That there were not Forces enough to oppose the Imperial Armies if they joyn'd to make their way into France and that the 12000 Switzers and the same number of French which he gave Orders to be raised could not be got ready before the Month of September That if the Duke of Weimar had not stop'd the Progress of Galas Lorrain had been already lost with the three Bishopricks of Metz Thoul and Verdun This Capuchin whom a little matter could not astonish told the Cardinal that he must take Courage and particularly apply himself to beat Galas back That he must place another General over the Army in Germany re-inforce it as well as he cou'd and hinder the Cheats of the Officers That lastly he must keep up and cultivate the Alliance with the Switzers that so he might be furnished with Men from thence and that this wou'd be so much the easier done because their Pensions were not paid them by the Spaniards In pursuance of this Advice the Cardinal * The 26th of July paid Poniea the Duke of Weimar's Agent at Paris three hundred thousand Livres for the payment of his Army and sixty five thousand for himself the better to encourage him to fight Galas however he wou'd not make any Treaty for the future The Mareschal de la Force and the Duke of Angoulême had Orders to have an eye upon the Frontiers of Lorrain and upon Duke Charles to hinder him from invading it as 't was believed he had a Design Orders were likewise dispatched to the Cardinal de la Valette who desired to command an Army and whose Inclinations were by no means suitable to his Dignity to go and place himself at the Head of a small Body of Men whom he was to
Fontarabia and disobey'd his General this Action was of such mighty prejudice to the State that he was satisfied the Attorney-General's Sentence was just The King throwing his Hat upon the Table began to tell them that having not been bred up in the Parliament he cou'd not deliver his Opinion so well as they cou'd That however to express himself after his own manner the Debate was not here of the Cowardice or Ill-sufficiency of the Duke de la Valette since he was satisfied he wanted neither Bravery nor Courage but that he had purposely and designedly lost Fontarabia After he had added a few Words of his ill Designs which he had discover'd upon other Occasions as well as this he concluded after the same rate as the Attorney-General had done At last the Court broke up without any other Formality and the Duke de la Valette was condemn'd by the whole Assembly except Belliévre †The Duke de la Valette was re-established in his Estate and Henour by the Parliament of Paris after the Death of the Cardinal-Duke The Council of State pronounced the Arrest which declared the Duke to be found guilty of High Treason for having basely and perfidiously abandon'd the King's Service at the Siege of Fontarabia and of Felony for departing out of the Kingdom contrary to his Majesty's Orders and for this condemn'd to have his Head struck off at the Greve if he were taken or in Effigie if they cou'd not Apprehend him to lose all his Offices and to have his Goods confiscated This was a thing without president till now that a King of France should as a Judge Condemn a Gentleman sitting at the upper end of a Table about which the Judges were placed What does still deserve to be remarked is that in the Choice of these Judges no new Commission was dispatched that some of them were justly to be excepted against that most of them had never served as Judges before that they observed no Formalities that they violated the Privileges of Dukes and Peers that an Arrest was issued out by the Counsel of State who had no Cognisance of the matter of Fact and who don 't use to concern themselves in such Affairs Thus the King who never did a good thing but with the greatest difficulty imaginable nay who often suffer'd the Cardinal to undoe it when he had passed his Promise to reward any one suffer'd himself without the least reluctance to doe a Crying Illegal Unpresidented Piece of Injustice to destroy a poor Nobleman who had behaved himself extreamly well upon several occasions and whose Father had served the Crown above 60 years The Cardinal de la Valette like a true trusty Slave as he was to the Cardinal-Duke Writ a Letter to him in the very Interval when he was employing all his Power to ruine his Brother wherein he assured him * See a Letter of the Cardinal de la Valette dated the 17th of January in the Coâ—â—ction which â—s at the end of the Miâ—â—se of the Cardâ—â—â— That since Monsieur de la Valette continued to live after such a manner as could by no means be agreeable to him he was obliged to tell him that for his failure in his Duty he the Cardinal de la Valette would be the first against him For 't is certain adds he that I should be the most ungrateful Man in the Would if I should not prefer your service not onely to his Interests but even to my own These mighty Obligations were that he had not ruin'd him as well as his Brother and that he had given him a Command in the Army tho' he was as unfit to make a General as he was to Govern his Bishoprick in good order In the mean time the D. of Espernon had Orders to retire to his House at Prassac and was deprived of his Government and all his Pensions This good old Man had yet another Misfortune which befel him at the beginning of this year and that was the death of the D. of Candalle his eldest Son who died at Casal The Cardinal-Duke had sustain'd a very considerable Loss some time before in the death of Father * See a Letter of Condoleance from the Cardinal de la Valette dated the 11th of January Joseph du Tremblay his Confident who died at the beginning of this Year This Capuchin whose Character I have drawn in another place was a mighty Assistant to the Cardinal whose Designs and Maxims he so perfectly well understood that he acted upon them without Order as if he had been the Minister himself For this reason he discharg'd the greatest part of the Foreign Affairs upon his Shoulders Father Monod having ever since the beginning of the Year been sent to Montmelian as I have already observed the Dutchess of Savoy in Answer to some Advice which the Cardinal had given her a few Weeks before writ a †Dated the 4th of January in the Collection added to the Ministry of the Card â— 7. Letter to him wherein she tells him that she had never been in so profound a Lethargy as not to know what she owed to his Merits and to the great desire she had of finding any occasion to oblige him She there speaks of the Marks she had always given of her unwearied Zeal for the Service of the King her Brother and adds how severe a Mortification it was to her that the bare Consideration of Father Monod shou'd hinder the good Correspondence which she promis'd her self to find from his Majesty In the Close she demands timely Assistance that so she might be in a posture to defend her self against her Enemies the next Campaign promising her Friendship to the Cardinal-Duke and desiring his for her self The Cardinal of Savoy and Prince Thomas who was arrived out of Flanders in Italy prepared to enâ—er Piedmont with a powerful Army with all imaginable speed and the Piedmontois expected them with great impatience the People much rather loving to be Commanded by those that were related to their own Princes than by Foreigners Nevertheless they endeavour'd at first to enter into some Accommodation with their Sister-in-Law and to obtain of her that they might come in safety to Piedmont but as she had all the reason in the World on her side to suspect that their design of coming to Turin was in order to make themselves Masters of the Place she would never consent to it and importun'd the Cardinal by frequent Letters to send her a timely and powerful relief She Writ likewise to the King but apply'd her self to the Minister in such a strain that it plainly appear'd she reposed little confidence in the languishing Friendship of her Brother if the * See the abovemention'd Collection p. 31 c. Cardinal did not recommend her condition to him with all his address She presses him all along after such a manner as supposes he had a greater hand in disposing the Forces of the Kingdom than the King
it to you but in whatever condition I am be assured that I am entirely yours The 6th of June 1642. The irresolute proceedings of D. Francisco de Mello deliver'd the Mareschal out of his apprehensions and this blow which rightly manag'd might have destroy'd the Cardinal himself did not shake his authority in the least At last the designs of the * Siri Mer. T. 2. l. 2. p. 880. Master of the Horse of which I shall speak immediately being discover'd and the Duke of Bouillon apprehended the Spaniards imagin'd that if they advanced towards Sedan the Dutchesses of Bouillon Mother and Wife to the Duke who was now a Prisoner would to revenge his quarrel open the Gates of this important place to them or at least grant them a free passage into Champagne But the Dutchesses considering that the Dukes life depended upon their good conduct absolutely refus'd it so that he retir'd to Mons where General Bec lay In the mean * In the month of August time D. Andre Cantelmo made an irruption with six thousand Foot and twelve hundred Horse into the Bolonnois where he seiz'd upon several Forts and important Posts between the Cities of Graveline Calais and Ardres But the Count d' Harcourt having immediately sent the Marquis de Seneterre with two thousand Foot and six hundred Horse he follow'd soon after himself and so they presently put a stop to the progress of Cantelmo The Count regain'd in the space of four and twenty hours and that with the greatest ease imaginable all that Cantelmo had been gaining with difficulty in six days The Country suffer'd exceedingly by this invasion of the Spamards however they did not divert the forces that were employ'd against them in Rousillon and Catalonia and attempted nothing more considerable in the Low Countries for the rest of the year Thus the ill conduct of the Count-Duke and of the other Ministers of Spain made that Crown lose the best opportunity they could have desired to humble France by carrying the War into the heart of the Kingdom as the French endeavour'd to do in relation to Spain One may remark upon this occasion as upon several more that the great incapacity of the Count-Duke made the conduct of the Cardinal-Duke to be so much admired which had frequently appear'd but very indifferent had he been to deal with people that had been Masters but of common prudence and discretion To come now to the affairs of Rousillon and Catalonia ever since the beginning of this year it had been resolved to undertake the Conquest of Rousillon which was absolutely necessary either to cover the Frontiers of France on that side or to support the Rebellion of the Catalonians to whom it would be a difficult matter to send relief if they were not in possession of Rousillon Besides France pretended to have a right to that Country which is the reason why she has not surrendred it since Over and above * Siri Mer. T. 2. l. 2. p. 566. these reasons of State the Cardinal who perceiv'd that the King was grown somewhat cold towards him was willing to engage him in some considerable enterprize which as long as it lay upon his hands he should not be in a condition to part with him This Prince who had began to fall into a languishing distemper of which he died some * The 14 of May 1643. months after the Cardinal was unwilling at first to make this Voyage as contrary to his health The Chief Physician was of the same opinion and the Master of the Horse seconded him in private before the King But the Cardinal so order'd matters that the Chief Physician soon after chang'd his discourse and his Majesty resolv'd to go thither It seems the Cardinal only design'd that the King should go to Languedoc * See the Kings Letter to the Chancellor in Aubery's Mem. T. 2. p. 842. without coming in person to the Siege of Perpignan at least he testified as much afterwards This resolution being taken the King order'd twenty two thousand effective men of the best Troops in the Kingdom to march on the side of Narbonne and these were to be joyn'd by the other forces that were already in Languedoc and Dauphine besides abundance of Volunteers In the mean time the Mareschal de Breze Vice-roy of Catalonia and La Mothe Houdancourt had orders to observe the Spaniards upon the Frontiers of Arragon to hinder them from sending any relief into Rousillon through Catalonia Before the King parted for Languedoc all possible care was taken for the security of the other Frontiers of the Kingdom during his Majesty's absence Orders were given to the Count de Guebriant who still commanded the remainder of the Duke of Weymar's Army not to stir from the Rhine near which he was posted in the Electorate of Colen lest the Armies of the House of Austria should attempt any thing against France on that side The P. of Orange sent him one party of his Horse at the earnest instances of the Cardinal who threaten'd the States to take away the Regiments from them which the King entertain'd in their Army if they would not assist the Count in this occasion where the Spaniards had sent fourscore Troops of Horse to act upon the Rhine Care was also taken to send three thousand men to Count d' Erlach in Alsatia for the defence of those places which he there held for France Du Hallier commanded in Lorrain and the Count de Grancey in Burgundy The Duke of Bouillon was to go and joyn the Army in Italy to command it with the Duke of Longueville and provision was made for Picardy Artois and Champagne as I have already observ'd All things being disposed after this manner the Cardinal advised the King to carry the Queen and Duke of Orleans along with him lest there should be any caballing against his Ministry in his absence He was of opinion too that the Children of France should be left at Bois de Vincennes under a good Guard where they could run no manner of danger These strange counsels which suppos'd that the State was in danger unless the persons that were most concern'd in its preservation were under the eyes or guard of the Minister gave his enemies an occasion to say that he endeavour'd to destroy the King and make himself Regent of the Kingdom Perhaps he had no such design in his head but his austere and haughty way of treating the most eminent persons at Court did every day increase the number of his Enemies and made them say some things which otherwise they had never spoken The Queen broke this design which the King had form'd to carry her with him by telling him all in tears that she could never endure to be separated from her Children and as it was not thought advisable to expose them to so tedious a Journey the King gave her leave to stay with him at St. Germains The Prince of Conde was left at Paris
on all sides by the French and the Catalonians without any possibility of making his escape D. Pedro d' Arragon surrendred himself prisoner of War to la Mothe Houdancourt with about two thousand Horse Thus the principal Troops which Spain had for its own preservation were destroyed by the ill advice of the Count-Duke who engaged them in an enterprize which any one else would have found extremely difficult but was absolutely impossible for the Marquis de Povar to effect The French Generals immediately set the Portugueses at liberty because they were in war with Spain and all the rest were sent to Languedoc and Provence The Marquis de Leganez was accused to have advis'd the Count-Duke to send D. Pedro d' Arragon into Rousillon and perhaps he did it with a design to let the Spaniards see that he was not the only bad General that commanded their Armies and how difficult a matter it was to surprize the French In the mean time the Mareschal de la Meilleraye had made himself Master of the Town of Collioure and nothing now remain'd but the Castle situated upon a Rock which they despair'd to reduce by force But a Mine from which they expected scarce any effect because the Rock hindred them from carrying it far enough as it play'd fill'd up the pits of the Castle which was supplied with no other Water and obliged the Garrison to surrender when they the least thought of any such thing It capitulated on the 10th of April and the Castle of St. Elme which stands upon an inaccessible Rock above the Port was likewise comprehended in the capitulation altho it might have held out several days longer At last the Army march'd to Perpignan and his Majesty having receiv'd information that the place was but slenderly stored with provisions designed to reduce it by Famine rather than by Force Besides the scarcity of provisions which was confirm'd by all the Prisoners that were taken there was a powerful Garrison within and the Cittadel especially was so strong by its natural situation and by art that it was not possible to take it by force without losing a world of men D. Flores d' Avila was Governor of it and had for his Lieutenant D. Diego Cavalliero and they seem'd inclin'd to defend it to the last extremity However the King came thither in person and ordered the Lines of Circumvallation and Countervallation to be made which he marked out himself At this conjuncture Spain found it self in a great perplexity without Money the Sinews of War without a disciplin'd Army and without Generals to command it while on one side the Portugueses withdrew themselves from its Obedience and kept all the neighbourhood in perpetual alarms and on the other side France made continual inroads into Rousillon and Catalonia The Ministers of the Catholic King met every day but were not able to come to any conclusion some of them were of opinion that the King should go in person to the Kingdoms of Arragon and Valentia to assemble the States there that so he might at a nearer distance provide for the pressing neâ—essities of Catalonia The Count-Duke opposed this motion under-hand lest the King who saw nothing but by his Eyes should now of himself perceive what little care his Favorite had taken in all places to remedy the present disorders The Nobility and People did every where loudly complain that the Count-Duke made the King fruitlessly lose time in deliberations at the best season of the year altho the King of France had open'd the Campaign in person before the Winter was over The Count-Duke was by no means qualified to take any vigorous resolutions and much less to put them in execution with that speed which the present face of affairs required and thus the King began to be sensible somewhat of the latest for the Interest of Spain At last he resolved to go into Arragon notwithstanding all the artifices of his Favourite but he ought to have made this Journey the last year before so great a number of French Troops came into Catalonia and Rousillon The Mareschal de la Mothe having at the same time received a new reinforcement of men thought to prevent the King of Spain and with that design enter'd the Kingdom of Valentia But after he had besieg'd Tortose for several days and lost a great many of his Souldiers before the place he was constrain'd to raise the siege Soon after he took Tamarith and having broke into the Kingdom of Valentia he besieged Monzon and * The 5 of June Siri Mer. T. 2. l. 2. p. 683. forced the place to surrender by Capitulation In the mean time their provisions daily diminish'd at Perpignan and each Souldier receiv'd only a few ounces of Bread every day with a small quantity of Horse-flesh The Spanish Nation which is naturally sober and patient bore this way of living quietly enough and the Mareschal de la Meilleraye who was of advice that force should be employ'd against the besieged began to grow impatient and weary of this long blockade He maintain'd that by attacking the place the Governour would be oblig'd to distribute the victuals more liberally among the Souldiers to give them strength and courage But the King still continued in his first sentiments to spare the blood of his Subjects The Spaniards had got together the greatest body of men they were able and had already near Tarragone ten thousand men under the Marquis de Leganez and six thousand Foot and two thousand Horse under the Marquis de Torrecuse The last of these was to come by Sea to Roses and relieve Perpignan and the other was to fight the Mareschal de la Mothe The French being inform'd of these projects took all imaginable care to fortifie and guard all the posts by which Rousillon might be enter'd either by Sea or by Land and the Mareschal de la Mothe after he had put eight hundred men into Monzon that so he might always have an open passage to the Kingdom of Arragon return'd to Lerida to observe the Spaniards in Catalonia and to oppose their designs At last the Catholic King parted on the 24 of April with a very small train of Coaches and without any Troops The Count-Duke who ought to have taken care that some of the most experiencâ—d Officers in the Army should have attended on his Majesty and entertain'd him about the affairs of the Campaign provided him with a Company of Players in order to retard his Journey as much as was possible and in effect he spent the months of May and June to reach so far as the Frontiers of Valentia altho the Marquis de Leganez pressed him to draw near because his Army was unprovided of every thing and the people of this Kingdom would not contribute to the maintenance of it At last he advanced to Molina upon the Frontiers of Arragon Several Councils of War were held there and it was concluded that the Marquis de Torrecuse
had been now too long together to think of parting which he desired all the world should know This Billet was sufficient to remove all his suspicions but the indiscreet conduct of the Master of the Horse who neither knew how to conceal his design nor to preserve himself in the Kings favour gave him a greater security Thus while Monsieur and the Master of the Horse were deliberating upon what they had to do without coming to any resolution the Cardinal receiv'd a Pacquet wherein he found a Copy of the Treaty of Madrid Some people say it was the Nuncio in Spain that sent it to him Others name other persons If the Spaniards were so unwise as to let a Copy be taken of it they committed an unpardonable Solecism and if this Copy came from the Conspirators the fault was still the greater However it came about the Cardinal no sooner procured it but he sent Chavigny to the King to show it him and to desire him to cause Cinq-Mars to be apprehended Chavigny had all the trouble in the world to make his Majesty resolve to deliver this Criminal into the hands of Justice He fell down upon his knees and pray'd to God to inspire him with the best resolution and sent for F. Sirmond a Jesuite and his Confessor to ask his advice The Father Confessor was not backward to tell him that after so enormous a crime as this was the King need not scruple to order his Favourite to be apprehended According to the custom of Lewis XIII to apprehend any one for a crime against the State and to put him to death was in a manner the same thing as if it had been unlawful once in his life to have shown mercy to some of the Cardinals Enemies As it was a nice and difficult matter to apprehend the Master of the Horse in the Army where he was extremely beloved the King was resolved to go to Narbonne under a pretence that he had an Ague altho he could never be perswaded to go to that City while the Cardinal was there At that time he desired to confer with him about the affairs of Picardy which seem'd to be in danger after the defeat of the Mareschal de Guiche Being therefore arrived at Narbonne while the Cardinal was at Tarascon the Master of the Horse whose place would not give him leave to be from the King follow'd him thither altho he was before-hand inform'd that his designs were discovered Thus he was apprehended on the 14th of June altho he hid himself and the houses were once search'd to no purpose the King having given orders before that the City gates should be shut De Thou was likewise apprehended the night before with one Chavignac a Hugonot and some of their Servants These two last were afterwards carried under a strong Guard to Tarascon and the other to the Cittadel of Montpellier In the mean time Ossonville Lieutenant of the Guards to the Duke of Bouillon who sent him to attend upon the Master of the Horse being inform'd that he was apprehended took post to carry this news to the Duke that so he might take his measures accordingly He past through Monfrin a Town of Languedoc over against Tarascon on the other side of the Rhine where the Vicount de Turenne was to whom he thought he was oblig'd to tell this news The Vicount who knew nothing of the whole intrigue and who thought the Cardinal knew no more of it than himself believ'd he would take it kindly to be inform'd of it so he sent to acquaint him at the same time that he receiv'd this news from Ossonville who was going into Italy The Cardinal no sooner understood it but he immediately dispatch'd a man with necessary orders to stop Ossonville whom he apprehended at Valence and there imprison'd him * Dated from the Camp before Perpignan the 12 of June Aub. Mem. T. 2. p. 759. Orders had been sent before to Aigucbonne Du Plessis Pralain and Castelan Mareschals de Camp of the Armies in Italy to apprehend the Duke of Bouillon * Tve 23 of June This order was executed at Casal altho the Duke upon the first notice conceal'd himself at the time when Conoonges Governour of the place was gone to fetch the Kings order to shew it him Thus the Duke and the Master of the Horse were taken without any prospect of escaping partly through their own imprudence and partly through that peculiar good fortune of the Minister from whom very few of his Enemies escaped while he luckily withdrew himself from the most eminent dangers The Duke was for some time kept under a Guard in the Cittadel of Casal but was removed in August to Lyons and lodged in the Prison of Pierre-Ancise The Duke of Orleans receiving advice that the Master of the Horse was apprehended instead of finding out means to save and retrieve his friends relapsed into his usual weakness and thinking himself discover'd sent the Abbot of la Riviere from Moulins where he then was to the King to confess his fault and beg his pardon He writ at the same time Letters * See them in the Mem. of Montr. p. 162. dated the 25th of June to the King to the Cardinals of Richlieu and Mazarine and to De Noyers and Chavigny Secretaries of Estate full of mean submissions and lyes either to beg mercy or to desire Cardinal Mazarine and the two Secretaries to assist him to obtain it However the Duke burnt the Original of the Treaty which Fontrailles had brought him from Spain and only kept one Copy of it which he might likewise have burnt had he so pleased so that if he had been master of any resolution it had been impossible to have convicted him of any thing The King pardoned him after this indiscreet discovery upon condition that he would go to Nisy in Savoy a House of the Duke of Nemours where he was to reside with a pension of 200000 Livres the rest of his Revenues being stopt to satisfie his Creditors Monsieur desir'd to see the King before he went thither but the King refused him that favour and the Marquis de Villeroy had orders to accompany him * Ib. 171 175 195. At first they had some designs to send him to Venice as it appears by several Letters but at last they changed their resolution Neither did he go to Nisy so that 't is probable the true reason why they pretended to make him leave the Kingdom was only to oblige him to discover all he knew In the mean time the Secretaries of State were not wanting to incense his Majesty against the Prisoners and the Abbots d' Effiat and de Thou expressing a design to intercede for their Brothers he sent them word that he would not see them The King still continuing to be indispos'd and being now resolved to return to Paris the Cardinal prevail'd with him to order himself to be carried to Monfrin within a league of Tarascon that he might there
himself In the mean time Don Martin of Arragon parted from Alexandria with Seven or Eight thousand Men and went to Attack the Fort of Cengio where there was a French Garrison which defended it self bravely The Spanish General being killed before the place Don Antonio Sotello succeeded him and after he had repulsed the Succours which the Marquiss de Ville wou'd have thrown into it obliged it to surrender On the other side Prince Thomas marched in the * The 26th of March. Siri Mem. Pâ—â— T. 8. P. 697. Night to Chivas a place Situate upon the Po between Turin and Crescentin and took it which gave a Terrible alarm to the Dutchess and to the French who were not as yet strong enough to take the Field Quiers Montcalier and Jore declared at the same time for Prince Thomas After this he marched to * The 9th of April Verrue where the Governour did not acquit himself of his Duty and the Castle being unprovided of several Necessaries surrendred to the Prince as well as the Town Crescentin submitted soon after and thus the Spaniards hinder'd the French from being able to send any Relief to Casal by the Po. Cardinal de la Valette not being in a condition to oppose the progress of the Enemy contented himself with preserving of Turin hoping it wou'd be no difficult matter for them to regain the rest provided they cou'd but keep that City in their possession Thus either the Cardinal or the Dutchess of Savoy to destroy or preserve Father Monod put the young Duke of Savoy in danger of being stript of his Territories At the bottom the true motive which engag'd Victor Amadeus and his Widow in this War against the Spaniard was only to give their forces some diversion in Italy for fear they shou'd grow too strong in the Low Countries and it must be acknowledg'd that the Cardinal assisted them after a feeble manner But in all probability he was not much concernâ—d to see the Daughters of Mary de Medicis out of a condition to make themselves be feared He affected to mortify them upon every occasion and had order'd d Emery to reside as Ambassador at Turin altho he was extremely disagreeable to the Dutchess whom he sometimes treated with a great deal of pride and arrogance The Dutchess fearing to be besieged in Turin thought of sending the Duke her Son and her Daughters to some place of security tho the Cardinal made some proposals to her to send them into France But as she already depended but too much upon him she concluded it would be her best way to send them to Montmelian under the guard of Don Felix of Savoy who was Governor of that place Now to engage the Dutchess in some Treaty Prince Thomas and the Marquis de Leganez * The 18. of April advanced within sight of Turin and made themselves Masters of the Bourg du Pau which thâ—se within were not able to maintain The people of Piedmont generally speaâ—ing were so little affected to the Dutchess that theâ—e had been a just occasion to be apprehensive for her if the French Garrison had not been stronger than the Burghers of Turin There were quartered in that City five thousand Foot and two thousand â—orse by whose means the Cardinal de la Valette so bridled them that they were not able to attempt any thing and at the same time kept the Dutchess who was affrighted to see her Enemies so near her from making any Treaty contrary to the interests of France And thus after some few propositions the design of which was to â—â—sâ—ngage this Princess from assisting the French Pâ—â—nâ—â— Thomas and Leganez retired The Prince took Villâ—nâ—â—ve d Aâ—ti and Leganez Monicalvo and after waâ—â—â— Pontâ—slure which occasion'd a suspicion that the Spâ—niards â—ad a design upon Casal but the Cardinal de la Valette recruited it in good time with all manner of necessary provisions In the mean time the King resolv'd to send Chaâ—igny into Piedmont in quality of Ambassador extraordinary to assure the Dutchâ—ss of her Brother's assistâ—nce and withal to prevail with her to oppose the dâ—â—â—gâ— oâ— tâ—e Princes of Savoy D' Emery was but lately 〈◊〉 tâ— Fâ—ance and 't was designâ—d to send him 〈◊〉 Pâ—â—dmont as indeed they did but as the Duâ—â—â—â—s â—ad â—â—â—en an incurable dislike to his person it was â—â—aâ—d thaâ— all his endeavours wou'd fall to the gâ—â—â—â—d Chaviâ—â—y had * Sâ—e Hiâ— Instructiâ—â— in the Mâ—m o◠〈…〉 〈◊〉 p. 272. orders dexterously to insiâ—â—â—â—e to the Princess that there was only one way left to save herself and that in the Cardinal's opinion was 〈…〉 her Children into France and to securâ— herself so effectually of all the principal places of her Country that she might lye under no farther apprehensions of â—osing them Now to secure these places for herself she needed only to put Frenchmen into them which she might do both with honour and safety because the Spaniards had made a powerful Invaâ—â—â—n in Piedmont and the King promis'd to restore theâ—e places to her whenever she pleased Chavigny had instructions to support this advice with several other reasons and to tell the Dutchess that if she follow'd it the King her Brother would redouble his efforts to deliver her out of her present difficulties but if she neglected it his Majesty discharged himself before God and Man of the protection he otherwise design'd to give her since it would be unserviceable The places which the King demanded to have in Piedmont were the Castles that secure the entrance or the Vallies as Caâ—ours Revel Coni and some others like them D' Emery was likewise order'd to return from Lyons to Piedmont to fortifie Pignerol and make the same propositions to the Dutchess Besides this in case the Dutchess made a Treaty of Neutrality or a Cessation of Arms with the Spaniard he was commanded to confer with the Cardinal de la Valette to see how one might seize those places which lay upon the road from Pignerol to Casal and to effect this design in case it were feasible The Cardinal in the mean time in all his Letters to the Dutchess and to the Cardinal de la Valette gave them to understand that this Princess cou'd never truly reckon herself mistress of any place where she had Piedmontese Governours even tho the Garrison was French because those Governors wou'd make the people rise up against the Garrisons In this conjuncture the Dutchess sent to acquaint Prince Thomas that if he did not surrender the places he had taken she was resolved to throw up all which she had into the hands of the French who already possessed Carmagnole and Querasque and who wou'd soon be masters of Turin if they had once the Cittadel Soon after she began a Treaty with her Brothers-in-law by which she agreed to divide the Guardianship with them and to receive them into Turin which had it gone on would have infallibly subjected her to their power