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
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
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
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
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
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
with the Title of Regent during his Majesty's absence and two hundred men assign'd him for his Guard Towards the beginning of the year the Troops march'd on the side of Lyons and were follow'd by the Mareschal de la Meilleraye who was to command them and by the Vicount de Turenne who had the quality of Lieutenant General The Duke of Bouillon likewise arrived at Paris on the 22d of January there to receive the command of the Armies in Italy He went afterwards to see the King at St. Germains and the Cardinal at Ruel where he was extremely well received However 't is reported that the Cardinal advis'd him to take care never to engage himself in any design for the future which tended to embroil the Kingdom telling him that a relapse would be mortal The Duke did not much regard this advice as what follows will discover and the Cardinal's prediction was accomplish'd Before the Generals parted from Paris the Cardinal regaled them magnificently at his Palace with Monsieur and several of the Nobility In the same Hall there was a second Table for the Ladies which was serv'd with the same magnificence The Repast was follow'd with a Comedy which was expressly acted for this occasion After Candlemas the King began his Journey accompanied by the Cardinal and both of them flatter'd themselves that they should be able to carry the War into the bowels of Spain and overthrow that Monarchy by causing a general insurrection of its Subjects after the conquest of Rousillon but neither of them knew that Death would soon put an end to all the unjust projects which the Master and his Disciple for what fitter name can we give them had said for so many years the one through weakness the other through ambition The King being at Lyons made a review of his Troops that were quarter'd about that City and amounted to fifteen thousand Foot and four thousand Horse The Spaniards receiving advice of the great preparations made by the King of France his Catholic Majesty issued out * The 4 of January Siri Meâ—c T. 2. l. 1. p. 50. Letters of Pardon to the Catalonians if they would return to their duty promising to give them all manner of satisfaction as to their complaints and to maintain them in all their Rights and Privileges But this remedy which might have been effectual at first did not produce the effect intended because the Catalonians durst not rely upon it * Ib. l. 2. p. 133. The Ministers of Spain were likewise inform'd about the beginning of the Year that there was so great a scarcity of victuals at Perpignan that it would be a difficult matter for them to hold out a few weeks longer So they sent provisions to Collioure which were to be guarded by six thousand men as for as Perpignan The Mareschal de Breze being posted upon a small River called Baranco with seven thousand Foot and eight hundred Horse put himself in a posture to hinder them from entring the Town However the Marquis de Torrecuse who commanded the Spanish Troops found means in the night time to send forty Mules laden with provisions into Perpignan and the French knew nothing of the matter A few days after * Towards the end of January Torrecuse conducted more relief and victuals into the place notwithstanding all the efforts of the Mareschal to prevent it but this was not done without coming to blows The French had almost always the worst in three or four rancounters and the Marquis after he had placed some Regiments in Perpignan carried the rest of his Troops back to Collioure without loss altho the French pursued him From thence leaving the Marquis de Mortare Governor of the place he went to Castile where his conduct was extremely commended In the mean time La Mothe Houdancourt surpriz'd a Quarter of the Spanish Troops commanded by the Marquis d' Inoyosa within a few leagues of Valz and oblig'd him to retire to Tarragone Not long after the Mareschal de Breze made a solemn entry into Barcelona and on * See the Act of it in Siri Merc. T. 2. l. 1. p. 137. the 23d of February swore in his Majesty's name to preserve the Privileges and Franchises of the Catalonians The King parted the same day from Lyons and * Ib. 313. took the way to Narbonne Being at Valence he gave with his own hands a Cardinals Cap to Mazarine who from that time wholly devoted himself to the service of the Crown The King altho he was somewhat indisposed yet he pursued his Journey to Narbonne through all the inconveniences of Frost and Snow and there on the 23d of March created two Mareschals of France the Count de Guebriant and La Mothe Houdancourt Nor did the rigour of the season retard the motion of the Army which on the 17th of March went to besiege Collioure a place of great consequence defended by the Marquis de Mortare with three thousand men in garrison This Port was necessary to the French both to hinder the Spaniards from relieving Rousillon as also to make use of it themselves The Count-Duke knowing the importance of it sent orders to D. Pedro de Arragon Marquis de Povar who commanded the Army in Catalonia to advance with all his Cavalry to Collioure and to hazard all in the relief of the place The Marquis represented to him how difficult it was to march through Catalonia a mountainous uneven Country and full of defiles in spight of la Mothe Houdancourt who guarded all the passes with extraordinary care Besides this it was the highest indiscretion imaginable to hazard the only Horse which Spain had on that side for its defence But the Count who was positive and inflexible and naturally affected to have sentiments particular to himself did not change his opinion but dispatched Orders afresh to the Marquis who now prepar'd to see them executed whatever they cost him After he had made some movements the better to conceal his march from the Enemies he took the road from Ville-Franche to Martorel with three thousand five hundred Horse But on the 26th of March he could not hinder the Mareschal de la Mothe who suspected his design from cutting part of his Rear in pieces at the pass of the River Herbergue Two days after la Mothe gave another attack to the Spaniards at the pass of another River pass'd it after them and oblig'd them to retire into a Wood after he had killed abundance of their men so that D. Pedro d' Arragon resolv'd at last in spite of the reiterated Orders from Madrid to return to Tarragone As he took but small store of Victuals along with him thinking he should be able to cross Catalonia in a few days they now began to fail him and the French on the other side keeping his Army perpetually in breath his Troops were extremly fatigued without being able to perform any thing At last on the 31st of March being surrounded
THE TRUE EFFIGIES of ARMAND JOHN du PLESSIS CARD DUKE of RICHLIEU THE LIFE Of the Famous Cardinal-Duke De RICHLIEU Principal Minister of State TO LEWIS XIII King of France and Navarr VOL. II. LONDON Printed for Matth. Gillyflower Will. Freeman J. Walthoe and R. Parker 1695. THE HISTORY Of the FAMOUS Cardinal de RICHLIEV VOL. II. BOOK IV. Containing the most Remarkable Occurrences of his Life from the flight of the Queen Mother in 1631 to the Year 1634. year 1631 BEFORE the Queen-Mother went out of France as I have already observ'd in the preceding Book the King sent to the Parliament of Paris the same Declaration which he had caus'd to be Confirm'd in that of Dijon wherein he Declar'd all the Adherents of the Duke of Orleans to be guilty of High-Treason But the Parliament of Paris made some difficulty to confirm it without any foregoing Deliberation as the King desir'd them and this they grounded upon the following Reasons First This Declaration against all usual Forms had been laid before another Parliament besides that of Paris which alone is the Court of Peers and the first Parliament of the Kingdom Secondly It by Name declared a President to be guilty who by this means would be condemned by the Court without being heard Thirdly This Declaration might reach even the Person of the Duke of Orleans whose Interest had been always dear to the Parliament They came * The 25 of Ap. Aubery's Life of the Card. Lib. iv c. 17. Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. P. 358. therefore to a Deliberation and the Company divided instead of Voting the Confirmation which the King demanded Our Minister not able to endure that they should show the least consideration for his Enemies perswaded the King to go quickly to †The 12th of May. Paris to have his Declaration Confirmed and to give some Mortification to the Parliament The King being arriv'd at the Louvre sent Orders to the Parliament to come thither in a Body on foot The Parliament obeyed and were conducted to the Gallery which joyns the Tuilleries with the Louvre where they found the King under a Canopy raised up for that purpose The Lord Keeper Spoke first and after the first Ceremonies were over told the Parliament That their Power extended onely to the Affairs of private Men and not to matters of State the cognisance of which belonged to the Supreme Governour That where a Prince or Duke or any Officer of the Crown receives his Trial for any Misdemeanour in the Administration of the Treasury or of State-Affairs his Majesty is obliged either to direct a particular Commission to the Parliament to enable them to Act in such a case or else to be present himself Personally to Authorize these extraordinary Proceedings That it is true indeed that to Judge by a Commission required a previous knowledge of the Cause but that in the case of Ratifying a Declaration which always allows a certain time to those that are Guilty to return to their Duty there was no need of farther Deliberation This was as much as to say That the King was willing to make use of the Parliamentary Authority to destroy with more formality those who favoured his Brother but would not allow the Parliament the Power of Clearing them if they were innocent Chateaunouf's Discourse being ended the King Commanded the Register of the Parliament to be brought to him and the Leafe to be shewed where the Vote of Separation was Written and so tore it himself to pieces to have the Decree of the Council inserted in its place which Prohibited the Court of Parliament to Deliberate any more upon the Declarations concerning State-Affairs upon pain of Interdiction to the Counsellors and of something worse as the King should think fit 'T was likewise Ordered That for a Punishment of the Fault committed by the Parliament the Declaration sent to them should be drawn back and they Prohibited to take any knowledge of the Contents thereof For a Token of his Indignation the King Suspended from their Office and Exiled two Presidents of the Court of Inquest and a Counsellor who were nevertheless immediately after re-established The same day the Council pass'd another Sentence against the Duke of Orleans's Attorney who Presented the before-mentioned Petition and the King upon that issued out * The 26th of May. another Declaration upon the same Subject a few days after These Proceedings against the Duke of Orleans's Petition were the cause that the Queen's Request which was sent to the same Parliament Packed up with some other Papers was not onely broke open but the Pacquet it self was carried to the King So that the Complaints which this Princess and Monsieur made against the Cardinal onely ended in a few Printed Pamphlets which they took care to have thrown about the Streets or under-hand distributed but there was no Tribunal where they might make their Address for as to the King's Council which depended more upon the Minister than himself it was to no purpose to make their Application to it The King himself was beset with People devoted to the Cardinal whose continual business it was to entertain him in an Ill Humour against his nearest Friends and Relations and as he beheld nothing but by the Eyes of other People both his Mother and Brother appeared as Guilty before him as it pleased the Cardinal to represent them Sometime * The 12th of August See Aubery 's Life of the Card. Lib. 4. c. 18. after the withdrawing of the Queen-Mother the King issued out another Declaration in which he Defamed this Princess and the Duke of Orleans and on the contrary bestowed large Commendations on the Cardinal He said amongst other things That the Evil Counsellours of his Brother had moved him contrary to the Duty of his Birth and to that Respect he owed him to Write him Letters full of Calumnies and Seditious Lyes against the Government That against all Truth and Reason he had Accused his most Dear and Well-beloved Cousin the Cardinal of Richlieu of Infidelity and of harbouring Ill Designs against his Sacred Person that of the Queen and his own and against the State That the Queen-Mother had been wrought upon long ago by Ill Counsels and took more part in the Duke of Orleans's Designs than she ought being in all probability induced to it by the Ill Reports which some Persons professing Curious and Evil Sciences had spread abroad to give them some hopes of a sudden Revolution That having desired the Queen-Mother to assist him with her Advice as she had done before she had Answered him She was weary of meddling with Affairs and would have no more to do with them whereby she gave him sufficiently to understand that she was deeply ingag'd in the Duke's Designs That thereupon he had taken a Resolution to Separate himself from her for some time After this manner did the Cardinal speak of the Imprisonment of the Queen-Mother which he called a Separation
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
King's Death which according to the Predictions was to happen very soon To confirm the King in this ill Humour against his Mother an exact Enquiry was made after those Persons whom the Queen had consulted to Calculate his Majesty's Nativity and Senel Physician to the King and Du Val were condemned to the Galleys for having examined it and made sinister Predictions against the Life of his Majesty The Duke of Orleans who had always entertained a great Correspondence with the Duke of Lorrain endeavoured to engage him into his Party and this Prince raised some Troops with an Intention either to take some Advantage of the present Disturbances or to put himself in a Condition of Defence against the Swedes who threatned to invade his Dominions The Cardinal who was no Friend to the House of Lorrain and who feared it would support the Party of Monsieur took this Occasion to cause a Declaration of War to be published against it The King sent the Mareschals La Force and Schomberg into Lorrain with an Army and order'd them to take divers Places depending upon the Bishopricks of Mets Toul and of Verdun which they said had been usurped by the Duke of Lorrain but above all to attack Moyenvic which the Emperour had possessed himself of by the Counsel Advice and Assistance of this Prince Both the King and the Cardinal designed to go personally thither but before they went they resolved to see the Declarations against those that espoused the Party of the Queen-Mother put in Execution The Court feared that if they should remit it to the Parliament this Execution would go but heavily on because the Parliament acted only against their Wills and the usual Formalities ought to be observed Besides the Injustice of proceeding otherwise it was dangerous too violently to countenance the Passions of the Minister against Monsieur who because the King was then without Issue was look'd upon as the next Heir to the Crown So the Cardinal who never loved the ancient Proceedings but when they were favourable to him so managed matters that the King resolved to constitute a Chamber of Justice to proceed with Rigour against those who favoured his Mother and Brother and especially against such as had retired with them out of the Kingdom The Parliament refused to own the Declaration concerning the establishing of this new Chamber unless the Members that should compose it were all taken out of their Body The King sent to them thereupon a special Command to oblige them to let fall this Opposition and the Parliament were contented to ask that the Substitute and the Register of that Chamber should be taken out of their Company But the Minister being not willing that any one should be enabled either to clear or to delay the Condemnation of those whom he had a mind to destroy engaged the King to establish by his Letters Patent this Chamber in the Arsenal * The 23th of September 1631. and to admit none into it that were of the Parliament but only two Counsellors of State six Masters of the Requests and as many Counsellors of the Grand Council The King afterwards established another Chamber of Demesne to follow the Court and to put his Orders in execution In the mean time the Parliament seeing their Authority would fall at last to nothing and that no body's Innocence would be secure from the excessive Power of the Minister if once it was grown a Custom to act by extraordinary Proceedings summon'd an Assembly of all the Chambers †The 28th of Novemb. in which it was concluded that a Remonstrance should be made to the King concerning extraordinary Commissions and in the mean while a Prohibition directed to the Commissioners to act by vertue of these Commissions and an Order should be sent to the Chevalier Du Guet to put the Judgment of the Parliament in execution They assembled themselves again on the 10th and 12th of December and publish'd a Decree pursuant to this Resolution The King being informed of it caused this Decree to be disannull'd by his Council the 16th of December and commanded the Presidents Believre and Seguier who were present at this Deliberation and the Counsellors who signed the Decree and likewise the oldest Presidents of the second third fourth and fifth Chambers of Inquests with the most ancient Counsellors of each of these Chambers to appear a Fortnight after and attend the Court. The King's Army had in the mean while seized all the Places in Lorrain to which he had any Pretensions Moyenvic only excepted which was invested in the name of the Bishop of Mets the King being not willing to declare openly against the Emperour This Place being ill provided surrender'd on the 27th of December and the Duke of Lorrain who was not in a Condition to oppose the Royal Army thought only how to put a stop to its Progress and make the best Bargain he could Therefore he came to Mets where the King and the Cardinal were arrived who received him very kindly in outward Appearance Though the Count of Soissons had reconciled himself to the Cardinal some time before yet this Minister gave him no marks of his Confidence till after the Countess of Soissons had proposed the Marriage †Aubery's Life of the Card. Book 4 Cap. 23. of her Son with Madam de Combalet which gave an Occasion to the Queen-Mother to tell the King that the Cardinal had a Mind to advance this Prince to the Crown The King to shew how little regard he had for the Advice of his Mother and what an entire confidence he reposed in the Cardinal at his going into Lorrain left the Count of Soissons to be in his Absence his Lieutenant General at Paris and in the neighbouring Provinces To return now to the Affairs of Italy upon which the Cardinal had likewise a watchful eye the Duke of Mantua came to an Agreement with the Duke of Guastalla by the Interposition of the Pope's Nuncio Pancirolo and of the Embassadors of the Emperour and of the French King The most difficult Treaty was that of Querasque which was manag'd by Matthias Galas for the Emperour and by the Mareschal de Thoiras and Servien for the King of France The Nuncio interposed as Mediator and the Duke of Savoy was there present in person After a long Negotiation several Things were agreed upon the chief of which I shall only relate The Duke of Mantua * The 6th of April See Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. Pag. 363. and the Hist of the Mareschal de Thoiras Lib. 3. Cap. 2. and seq did agree with the Emperour and the Duke of Savoy upon these Conditions whereby both Spain and Savoy were likewise reconciled to the French I. That the Revenue of ten thousand Crowns which the Duke of Savoy was to have in Montferrat together with the Town of Trin should be reduced to fifteen thousand each Crown to be valued at two and twenty Florins II. That the Duke of
they had hid themselves The Duke of Savoy gave notice to Duke Feria of the Articles he had Agreed upon with the French The Governour of Milan durst not disapprove wholly the Duke of Savoy's Conduct though he thought it would be highly prejudicial to Italy Thus the French appeared to re-enter into the Possession of Pignerol which they had not quitted and they afterwards engag'd the Duke of Savoy to yield it up wholly to them the Spaniards not perceiving at first the Trick which was put upon them As the Spanish Ministers in Italy were blamed for their want of Conduct so it was thought very strange that the Duke of Savoy for some Lands in Montferrat which France caused to be given him by the Treaty of Querasque should voluntarily tie up his own hands by parting with Pignerol The Duke of Mantua was reduc'd by this War to such Extremities that he depended wholly upon France and durst not contradict them in the least So that at the same time that the French were busie to secure Pignerol for themselves he was oblig'd to permit them to send a strong Garrison to the Cittadel of Casal for fear the Spaniards seeing the French in Pignerol should endeavour to make themselves Masters of it This business was likewise carried on with so much secrecy that they knew nothing of it in Italy till after Two French Regiments had got into Casal As soon as the Italian Princes who were jealous of the Power of Spain knew that the French were in Possession of these two Places notwithstanding the Treaty of Querasque they shewed in all parts how well they were pleased with it and especially the Venetians who were not in favour with the House of Austria and feared its Resentments The onely thing which remained for France to do for the perfect security of that Republick on that side was to seize on the Passes of the Valteline and indeed they made it their business to effect it soon after Towards the end of the same year the * The 27th of Novemb. 1631. See Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. P. 438. Duke of Savoy reconciled himself wholly with the Republick of Genoua by Restoring reciprocally what was taken from one side and the other during the Truce Zuccarello which was the occasion or the pretence of the War as I observed in another place remained to the Genouese upon condition that they should give One hundred and threescore Crowns of Gold to the Duke of Savoy who was to renounce all his Pretensions to this Marquisate year 1632 The King being at Metz the Duke of Lorrain came there and after some Negotiations he concluded his Treaty with France * See Aubery's Life of the Card. Lib. ◠Cap. 23. which was Sign'd at Vic on the 6th of January The Duke Promised to disengage himself from any Intelligence League and Association which he had made with any Prince or State whatsoever to the Prejudice of the King his Dominions and Countries under his Obedience or Protection and to the Detriment of the Alliance made by His Majesty with the King of Sweden and the Duke of Bavaria for the Defence of the German-Liberty and of the Catholick-League He oblig'd himself likewise to turn out of his Dominions all the King's Enemies and all his Subjects who had left the Kingdom without his Leave and to deny them for the future any Passage or Retreat A little while after the Deputies of the Parliament of Paris came to Metz where the King was †Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 7. Pag. 359. After they had stay'd there a Fortnight he gave them Audience and told them That for this time he forgave them but they ought to take care least they fell into the same Faults again for a Relapse would prove fatal to them That he loved his People better than they did that he took more care for the Glory and Greatness of the State and would maintain it better than they That he forbad them to busie themselves about any thing else but the Administration of Justice They Answered They had been brought up in a very good School where they had learned Obedience and Fidelity to His Majesty and the King Reply'd They had then soon forgot what they were Taught The Keeper of the Seals made them afterwards a long Remonstrance in which he Reproached them that they design'd to divide the Royal Authority with the King He told them nevertheless that His Majesty sent them back to the Exercise of their Offices except Five who were Suspended from their Places and ordered to follow the Court to serve for an Example Nevertheless as soon as the King was returned to St. Germain they were restor'd to their Employments Monsieur who was then at Nancy was oblig'd to withdraw and to retire to the Low-Countries and the French Army advanc'd to the Frontiers of Germany as if they would have favour'd Gustavus Adolphus though at the bottom France began to grow jealous of his Victories and to fear least the Emperour and the Catholick League should wholly sink under the power of his Arms. * Siri Mem. Rec T. 7. Pag. 475. The King of Sweden desired extreamly to have a Conference with Lewis XIII being used to manage his Negotiations himself and the King of France shew'd on his side a great Inclination to see Gustavus for fear of offending him But this Prince had quite other things in his Thoughts and durst not expose himself to an Interview which had turned wholly to the Honour of the King of Sweden to whom he was not to be compar'd for the Qualities either of Body or Mind So a little time after the King of Sweden was acquainted that the French King being indisposed was not in a condition to come to an Interview therefore it was propos'd to him that he would be pleased to meet Cardinal Richlieu who was more fit to treat with Gustavus than Lewis XIII who referr'd every thing to his Minister Gustavus who was of a hasty Temper answered he would send one of his Servants to confer with the Cardinal that he esteemed himself not inferiour to the French King and did not understand why he should decline to meet him that the Swedish Kings never truckled to those of France and that all Crowns were equal These Expressions of Gustavus besides that he was suspected of aspiring to no less than an Universal Monarchy cooled very much the Design which the French had to assist him and hinder'd the King at that time from declaring openly against the House of Austria Besides the Cardinal had some particular Reasons which kept him back from engaging himself in great Enterprises in which France might perhaps not always get the better The extreme Aversion of the Queen-Mother and of Monsieur towards him the hatred even of almost the whole Kingdom not to mention the Foreign Powers whom he had mightily offended and the little Certainty he had that the King upon whose Affection his Fortune was built would
live long all this made him very often think of his own Security in case any sinister Accident should befall him To shelter himself against all Misfortunes he design'd at this time to marry his Niece Combalet with the Count of Soissons to whom he made very advantageous Offers He pretended to put him in a Condition not only of being able to be a Support to the Relations of his Lady but also almost of giving Laws to the King himself The Count consented to it but was desirous that the King should declare in Writing that he promoted this Marriage as being advantageous both for his Service and the Good of the State and that for this Reason he commanded him to marry the Cardinal's Niece The Minister whom the King humoured in all things thought he might easily obtain this Favour and demanded it though without the return of any positive Answer He continued then to treat of this Business himself and had his Propositions carried to the Count of Soissons by his Creatures but at last he perceived that this Marriage displeased the King because he had very good reason to believe that it would make the Count of Soissons too powerful that the Prince of Conde who was an Enemy to the Count would joyn with the Disaffected and that consequently the King would find himself alone with the Count and draw upon him all the Enemies of the Cardinal This Prelate coming to understand the Sentiments of his Majesty upon this Affair shewed an entire Submission to his Will and gave out that his Niece was going to retire into a Nunnery though nothing was so far from her Thoughts It was secretly whisper'd to the King that this Marriage would render the Count of Soissons too greats and that it would utterly disoblige the Queen-Mother and the Duke of Orleans whom neither in Conscience nor even in good Politicks he could always keep out of the Kingdom In the mean while the Cardinal who was used to Refusals feared lest the King's Affection towards him should change and he was observed to be very sad for some days The Prince of Conde weary of publishing his Praises without any Advantage to himself and angry at the Marriage which was proposed instead of going to assemble the Estates of Burgundy retired to Bruges In order to hinder him from having any Communication with the Governours of Burgundy and Berry it was thought necessary to cause some Forces to advance to the River Loire to guard the Passes But there was no Necessity for this Precaution as a little time made it appear The Duke * Aubery ' s Life of the Card. Lib. 4. Cap. 24. of Lorrain offered his Mediation to reconcile the King with Monsieur and received this Answer that if that Prince would return into France a general Pardon should be granted to all those who had followed his Party and that they should be re-establish'd in their Estates and Dignities except only in the Governments which they possessed before But these who far from being willing to come and surrender themselves to the Cardinal intended not to go home unless they could be considerable Gainers by the Bargain perswaded Monsieur to reject these Offers and the D. of Lorrain who saw very well that their Return upon these Conditions would only encrease the Authority of the Cardinal a professed Enemy to his House was the first who advised Monsieur to recover his Right by force of Arms and begun himself to make new Levies again for fear of being surprised as he was before and soon after Monsieur who was retired to Flanders returned into Lorrain with some Forces which he joyned with those of the Duke Both the King and the Cardinal were gone into Picardy to oppose the Enterprises of the disaffected Persons who kept private Correspondences there The Governour of Calais one of those who declared for Monsieur was reduced to his Duty by the King's Arrival who returned afterwards to Saint Germain The Cardinal in this Journey was seized with a small Fit of an Ague which detained him two days at Corbie though it never hinder'd him from taking care of the Publick Affairs and soon after he follow'd the King As soon as his Majesty received the News of Monsieur's Return into Lorrain he sent the Mareschal d' Effiat thither to Command the Army with Mareschal La Force and gave him Orders to enter again into the Duke of Lorrain's Territories and to oppose the March of Monsieur in case they could not oblige the Duke of Lorrain by way of Negotiation to observe the Treaty of Vic. All the Promises and Threatnings made use of to win that Prince were ineffectual till he saw an Army and the King present in Person They took * In the Month of June Aub. ibid. Cap. 25. immediately Pont a Mousson and entirely defeated a Regiment of Lorrain Horse which they surprised The Duke not being in a condition to make farther Resistance was glad to come to an Accommodation and the Treaty was concluded on the 26th of June by his Deputies and Cardinal Richlieu who was desirous to return into France with all speed to oppose and frustrate Monsieur's Designs The Duke of Lorrain engag'd himself to deliver up the Towns of Stenay Tamets and Clermont to the King and even to sell him the latter to which the Crown of France had some Pretensions While the Cardinal was in Lorrain and in Picardy he took care that an end should be made of the Tryal of the Mareschal de Marillac †A true Relation of the Trial of Mareschal Marillae in the Journal of Richlieu Tom. 2. Pag. 1. and Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. P. 495. and foll who having been arrested in Piedmont as we said before was brought Prisoner to the Castle of Saint Menehoud and from thence to the Cittadel of Verdun as soon as Biscaras had surrender'd it Afterwards according to the Cardinal's custom the King appointed a Chamber of Justice at Verdun to judge of this Affair It was composed of four Masters of Requests of two Presidents and twelve Counsellors of the Parliament of Burgundy and their Commission was dispatch'd on the 13th of May 1631. The Mareschal de Marillac was accused of embezzling the King's Treasury and some Witnesses who were brought against him since his Detension accus'd him of having converted to his own use part of the Moneys which the King had sent him to fortifie Verdun He was examined before the Court and the Witnesses confronted him with several other Proceedings at his Sollicitation and at the Instance of the King's Attorney but at last they agreed in a Decree whereby he was allowed to make his Defence The Cardinal who was in good hopes that the Court would have sentenced him to death caused the Commission to be recalled and the Judges to be discharged The Mareschal was some time after removed from Verdun to the Castle of Pontoise and from thence to the Village of Ruel The King established there a
to have six thousand Men and a Supply of Money from Spain but the Sum which he received from them did not amount to above fifty thousand Crowns and it was late enough before it was remitted to him As for their Succours of Men they came not at all So that when Monsieur entred into Languedoc he was not in a condition to oppose the King's Forces Nevertheless there was a necessity to receive him and he entred into Lunel on the 13th of July after having secured some few Places to himself He had a considerable sum of Money at his Palace in Paris which he expected to receive in a short time but the Court having had notice of his Designs stopped it so that Monsieur 's Party was in a manner destitute of every thing and when the King begun his March to go and joyn Mareschal Schomberg who followed the Duke of Orleans he was not in a condition to make a long resistance if the Royal Armies had been once joyned together Monsieur had then Two thousand Foot and Three thousand Horse with abundance of Voluntiers and Three Pieces of Canon And Mareschal Schomberg had not yet above a Thousand Foot and Twelve hundred Horse without Artillery The Mareschal being advanced near to Castelnaudarry drew up his Troops in Battel on the First of September the Enemy being not far from him Whether the Duke of Montmorency was desirous to open the Campagne with some Action that might give reputation to his Party or whether he judged it expedient to fight the Royal Army while they were inferiour to him in number he took upon himself the Command of the Van of the Army and Monsieur that of the Main Body * Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 7. p. 555. Aubery Lib. 4. c. 31. Pontis Memcirs p. 2. p. 26. Having put himself at the head of the Counts of Moret of Rieux and of Feuillade he resolved to go and support the first Files who were ordered to possess themselves of an Advantageous Post The Count de Moret was the first who fell upon the King's Horse and put them into disorder and Montmorency perceiving it pour'd in full speed with very few Men and forgetting to discharge the part of a General he exposed himself to all the dangers of a Private Souldier and fought with extraordinary bravery Upon this some Foot who were laid in an Ambush in the Ditches suddenly got up and made their Discharge so fortunately that the Counts of Moret of Rieux of Feuillade and several Officers were killed and the Duke of Montmorency wounded in several parts of his Body He might have withdrawn himself if at the same time his Horse being wounded had not dropt down under him so that a little while after he was made Prisoner and carried to Lectoure The rest of Monsieur's Army seeing themselves deprived of a considerable number of the Principal Officers in stead of being animated to a revenge of their death or going to free them from the hands of their Enemies retired without fighting Not long after the Foot were wholly dispersed and Monsieur retired with his Horse to Beziers while some Towns that had declared for him returned to their former Allegiance and Duty The Duke of Orleans now begun to give great marks of Repentance for having engaged himself so far in an affair out of which he could not disengage himself with Honour and Bullion who after some Negotiations to no purpose went to see him from the King obliged him in a few days to Sign an Accommodation against the Mind of the greatest part of his Domesticks The chiefest difficulty which lay in the way was concerning the Duke of Montmorency whom Monsieur would absolutely have restored to the enjoyment of his Liberty Honours and Estate * Seâ— Gaston's Letter to the King dated from Montereau the 13th of Nov. 1632. in the Hist of Lewis XIII by Ch. Bernard Lib. 16. Bullion told this Prince That the best and onely way he had to obtain what he requested was to submit himself wholly to the King's Will that to desire an assurance of it would be a Provocation to him and an offence to that Trust he ought to have in his Clemency That this being a Pardon which was wholly to redound to the King's Glory he wrong'd the Duke of Montmonency in not leaving it at His Majesty's Disposition that the blind obedience he show'd the King upon this occasion ought to put him out of fear and give him hopes as certain as he could desire These Discourses of Bullion perswaded the Duke That he had Orders from the King to speak to him in this manner and hindred Gaston from drawing any positive word for the liberty of the Duke of Montmorency Whether Puilaurens and the rest whose Advice Monsieur required in every thing were not sorry to see the Duke of Montmorency sacrificed or whether they did not perceive the Artifice of Bullion certain it is that they committed in this occasion a prodigious fault which discredited their Party for good and all Thus did it appear evidently by Monsieur's Conduct that those who Govern'd him were not able to deceive any body but himself They could easily bring him to shew his Dissatisfaction against the Court but knew not to re-establish his Affairs upon a solid foundation nor to put themselves into a condition to improve to their advantage that exceeding power they had over his Inclinations The Treaty of Accommodation * Hist of Lewis XIII by Ch. Bernard Lib. 16. was to this effect That Monsieur should acknowledge his Fault in Writing and desire the King to Pardon him That he should give all reasonable and possible assurances not to commit any such transgression for the future That in order to this he should Promise to leave all sorts of Cabals in and out of the Kingdom and under no pretence and in no manner whatsoever to Maintain any Intelligence with the Spaniards Lorrainers or other Princes nor with the Queen-Mother while she continued in her present Circumstances nor with any body in the Kingdom against His Majesty's good pleasure and to remain where His Majesty should be pleased to appoint him and to live there as a true Brother and Subject That he should not concern himself for those who had joyned with him in these occasions to promote their own Affairs at his Cost and the prejudice of the Nation and should not pretend to have occasion of complaint given him if the King at any time should punish them as they deserved out of which number were excepted his Domesticks who were then with him That he should not demand any particular Pardon for those Strangers who Accompanied him but that the King out of his meer bounty and goodness should grant them six days to withdraw into Rousillon That he should fill the vacant Offices of his House and among the rest namely that of Chancellour with Persons nominated by the King and if His Majesty was displeased with any of them he should
remove them immediately of His own accord That the King being not ignorant how those bad Counsels which Monsieur had followed were suggested to him by Puilaurens this latter should sincerely give notice of all secret transactions that might be prejudicial to the State to the King's Interest and of those who had the honour to serve him faithfully and should declare that he would be held as guilty as he was before he received the King's most Gracious Pardon if he acted contrary to his Promise In a particular Article the Duke promised to cherish all those who served His Majesty and particularly Cardinal Richelieu whom he ever had esteemed as was said in this Act for his fidelity to His Person and to the Interest both of King and State The King on his side granted His Pardon to Monsieur and to his Domesticks and moreover to the Duke of Elbeuf whom he restored to his Estate and permitted to reside in one of his Houses that should be appointed by His Majesty Monsieur signed this Agreement at Besiers on the 29th of September and the King ratifi'd it by Letters Patents dated at Montpellier on the first of October After this Monsieur's Troops retir'd into Rousillon and he * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 519. Wrote a Letter to the King and another to the Cardinal full of Complements wherein he disapproved the Declaration publish'd at his coming into the Kingdom against this Prelate as having been publish'd without his knowledge and having never seen it Lastly he desired the Cardinal to forget what was past and promis'd him his Friendship Puilaurens sent also an Act to the King written with his own hand in which he promis'd to perform whatever was desired of him * On the 4th of Octob. After this Monsieur and his Domesticks took their way to Tours where the King thought fit he should retire He wrote another Letter to the King wherein he earnestly desired him to forgive the Duke of Montmorency but to no purpose As soon as he was taken it was debated in a secret Council what to do with him and 't is confidently reported that care was taken already to incense the King against him by telling him That they had found about his Arm a Locket of Gold to which was tied the Picture of a certain Lady in Miniature for whom His Majesty had a great Kindness Pompone de Bilievre Intendant in Mareschal Schomberg's Army took it dexterously from him at his Examination and took the Picture from it but as this was done in presence of several persons notice was given to the Cardinal of it to exasperate the King against him So when the question was put If the King should use the Duke of Montmorency severely or forgive him it was no hard matter to incline him to a rigorous usage Nevertheless the Cardinal being willing to affect an appearance at least of Equity towards a Man to whom he was very much oblig'd he begun to deliver his Opinion * Siri Mem. Ree Tom. 7. p. 561. by saying That His Majesty might be moved for several Reasons to Pardon the Duke of Montmorency That Monsieur had offered to leave off all Correspondences that were displeasing to His Majesty and to return to his Duty upon condition that this Noble Lord should receive his Pardon otherwise the Duke of Orleans could never with Honour renew His Obedience to His Majesty for all his Domesticks advised him to hazard all things to save the Duke of Montmorency That if Monsieur retired into Spain he would induce the Spaniards to be very mischievous to France That if Monsieur was brought into Despair those who serv'd the King would not be in safety because those of the contrary Party would not think themselves safe till they had brought them to ruine That if Monsieur came once to leave off all Cabals and Practises contrary to the good of the State any thing might be afterwards undertaken against the Spaniards whereas while he was discontented they could not make use of any occasion though never so favourable After he had thus produc'd his Reasons in favour of the Duke of Montmorency the Cardinal turned the Tables and said That on the other side if they consider'd that the King was without Children and Monsieur look'd upon as Presumptive Heir to the Crown they would find that if those who followed his Party were not rigorously punish'd the first time the King fell Sick how inconsiderable soever his Sickness should be so many People would declare for the Duke of Orleans that the King would not be able to Master them That on the contrary if the Duke of Montmorency was brought to Deserved Punishment no body would dare to engage in such Attempts any more That not a sew Kings whom he named had maintained themselves in the declension of their Age only by Severity he cited some Examples and continued saying That if the Nobility and Commons should once know that the consideration which the King had for Monsieur was capable to hinder Seditious Persons from being punished with Death there would be still great Numbers of Persons who thinking their Lives in safety would venture their Estates and Fortunes for him in hopes of being gainers at the Expence of the Kingdom That turning Men out of their Offices in such an occasion signified nothing without taking their Lives away because Monsieur being consider'd as next Heir to the Crown those who should lose their Offices for taking up Arms for him would hope to recover them with usury as soon as this Prince ascended the Throne That Montmorency's Crime was not a Simple Rebellion in which Monsieur had engaged him but that he had Incited the Duke of Orleans to enter into France with Arms and raised up the Province by Summoning an Assembly of the States a thing that was never practised before That it would be very difficult and dangerous to keep him in Prison That in stead of extinguishing that Party it would be revived and gather more strength than before That Monsieur submitted himself to the King out of Necessity and not out of Inclination That the Spaniards would prove always the same and the Queen-Mother would still persist in her Anger That Puilaurens would have no less credit with Monsieur than before and that his Ambition and Intreaguing with the Lorrainers would always continue So that the danger being over the Duke of Orleans would hearken to bad Counsels again That if they thought fit to forsake the Hollanders and the Swedes the Rage of the Spaniards might perhaps cease and if they would Sacrifice to the Queen-Mother all those whom she hated and put the King in a total Dependance upon her her Animosity might likewise be at an end but if none of these things cou'd be done as really the King could do neither of them without undoing himself 't was certain that the more Monsieur 's Party subsisted in the Heads of it the greater the danger wou'd be by reason of their
he gave his Consent that all the Court should follow the Cardinal Some People were of opinion that this Prelate since he could not prevail with his Majesty to go along with him was resolved so to manage Affairs that no body should talk with him in his Absence the Queen herself not excepted Thus this Princess was forced upon this Journey contrary to her Inclinations as all the World imagined because she had no reason to be a Friend of the Cardinal who not long before had proposed to the King to repudiate her for being barren besides that she was too much concerned for the House of Austria not to hate the Man that was a professed Enemy to it For this reason she was sad and melancholy all this Journey notwithstanding the great Honour and Respect which the Cardinal caus'd to be paid her wherever she went She had a mind to * Life of the D. of Espernon go and see the House of the Duke of Espernon at Cadillac in order to which she must pass the Garonne The Duke got his Coaches ready to receive her as she came out of the Boat and gave Orders for one to stay behind to take up the Cardinal if he happened to come after her As soon as her Majesty arrived the Duke received her and waited on her to her Apartment thinking there was a Coach left for the Cardinal but it seems his Orders were ill executed and indeed there were but Coaches just enough for the Queen's Retinue In the mean time the Cardinal passed the River and finding ne'er a Coach there to receive him walk'd a foot towards the Duke's House and was got half the way thither when the Duke after he paid his first Devoirs to the Queen at his own House ran to meet him He made him a thousand Excuses assuring him he had given Orders for a Coach to be left for him at the River-side but that his Commands had not been observed The Cardinal pretended to be well satisfied with this Excuse but 't is certain he was inwardly displeased with the Duke since he refused to go into a Coach that was offer'd him and walked the rest of the way on foot although it incommoded him The Queen after she had stayed two days at Cadillac returned to Bourdeaux and the Cardinal came thither likewise Here he fell sick of a Stoppage of Urine which put him in danger of his Life 'T was generally believed he would never recover and all People were glad at the News hoping now shortly to see Peace in the Royal Family Justice administred according to the Laws and the King's Favours distributed with more equality to those that deserved them †Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 7. Pag. 594. While his Sickness continued there were several Balls at Bourdeaux and other Rejoycings which sufficiently discovered the Peoples Hâ—tred of this Minister who favour'd none but such as were wâ—lling to live and die his Slaves Chateauneuf who otherwise seemed to be very submissive to him danced in one of these Balls at a time when the Cardinal pretended all the World should be at their Prayers for his Recovery and this in the opinion of some Persons did not a little contribute to his Ruine The Queen not thinking her self obliged to make a longer stay at Bourdeaux although the Cardinal was in a desperate Condition took the Road to Rochel with a design to return from thence to Paris †Life of the D. of Espernon p. 478. All the while her Majesty continued at Bourdeaux the Duke of Espernon ordered his Guards whom he kept in Quality of Governour of the Province to leave off their Liveries and Musquets and laid aside all the Functions and Marks of his Office but as soon as the Queen was gone he thought there lay no Obligation upon him to shew the Cardinal that respect which was only due to a Soveraign Thus going to make this Minister a Visit who was now on the mending hand he came accompanied as far as the Gate of his Lodgings by his Guards with their Coats and Musquets The Cardinal's People who were used to make others tremble run to their Arms while the Duke enter'd and without taking the least notice of the Disorder he saw was got to his Anti-Chamber where he enquired after his Health The Cardinal sent him Word that he was still so indisposed that he begg'd his Excuse if he could not see him After this the Duke still observed this Custom and when the Cardinal parted for Brouage he went to accompany him to his Boat attended by his Guards and several of the Nobility of that Province as it were to shew him the greater Honour However the Cardinal was afterwards made to believe that the Duke had some Design upon his Person and 't is credibly reported that ever since that time this Minister was not thought to be safe enough at Bourdeaux But if the Duke had design'd any thing of that nature he might easily have accomplish'd it being much stronger and infinitely better beloved at Bourdeaux than the Cardinal was and besides the Cardinal de la Valette who was the Duke's Son never quitted this Minister during the whole time of his Illness While the Cardinal was in the height of his Distemper he ordered the Commandeur de la Porte his Unkle and the Marquiss de la Meilleraye his Cousin to accompany the Queen who gave her a Magnificent Entertainment at the Castle of Richlieu in Poictou which the Cardinal had lately built and had made a very pleasant place He was not fully recovered when he caused himself to be carried to Blaye and from thence to Brouage where he was intirely restored to his health After this he returned without farther delay to Paris and the King went as far as Rochefort to meet him which stands within Ten Leagues of that City While the Court was in Languedoc * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 175. Ten Men were apprehended at Paris who were accused to have come thither by the Queen-Mother's Order to steal away Madam de Combalet who stay'd all the time at Paris and to carry her into Flanders One of these Ten Men was a Nephew of Father Chanteloube a Favourite of the Queen and one of her Valets de Chambre It was discours'd that this Princess was desirous to get the Cardinal's Niece into her hands either to facilitate her own Return into France or else to hinder this Lady from Marrying the Count de Soissons or Monsieur as the Report ran The King being informed that they were in Prison sent Orders to have them immediately Tryed and Writ a very obliging Letter to Madam de Combalet wherein he told her That he cou'd never have believed that since he had given Peace to His Kingdom by the Force of his Arms and brought the Rebels to due Punishment there had been any so bold and adventurous as to attempt such an Enterprize But that since some disaffected Persons still sought new
made him about Marrying his Neice was sincere For this end he show'd extraordinary Civilities to Chamvallon who had appear'd very zealous to have the Match concluded that so he might engage him to reassume this Negotiation As the Prince of Lorrain when he threw up his Cardinal's-Cap wou'd be likewise oblig'd to resign all the Ecclesiastical Benefices he possess'd so it was convenient on the other side that he should have an Estate sufficient to support his Dignity The Cardinal-Duke promis'd to give his Neice a vast Portion and to make her his Heir of the greatest part of his Wealth and therefore he expected that the Duke of Lorrain shou'd settle upon his Brother Land to the value of a Hundred thousand Crowns a year that so he might be enabled to bear the Title of Duke which together with the above-mention'd Revenue shou'd descend to the Issue of the Cardinal of Lorrain even though the Duke shou'd happen to have Children If the Duke wou'd consent to this the Cardinal of Richlieu oblig'd himself to employ all his Interest with the King to get the Dutchy of Bar surrendred to him for which he shou'd do homage not in the Name of his Wife as it had been pretended but as Rightful Heir however with this proviso that he shou'd immediately after surrender up this Dutchy to his Brother that he shou'd assign him the Hundred thousand Crowns upon its Dependancies and that in case it was not enough to make up that Sum he shou'd annex some Neighbouring-Lands as on the other hand if it was more than enough the over-plus shou'd belong to him The Cardinal wou'd not speak to the King about this Affair himself but he got it to be proposed by the other Ministers of State and its probable it had succeeded if the Duke of Lorrain cou'd have been prevail'd upon to cut off so considerable a part of his Dominions as that was which they demanded of him But so soon as the King had made himself Master of Nancy and re-taken the way to Paris this Negotiation was interrupted It seems that ever since the Spring * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 679 c. the Cardinal had some thoughts of sending the Queen-Mother into Italy and that the Duke of Florence had exprest himself that he was ready to invite her to come and live with him if the King thought it convenient But the Cardinal observing that the War was begun afresh in the Low-Countries with as much fury as ever changed his Mind because from that moment he ceased to fear the Spaniards and believ'd that this Princess wou'd onely perplex their Affairs by tarrying in their Country She continued Indisposed all the Summer and the King sent frequently to visit her as well to discover their designs as to pay that respect to her in appearance which he cou'd not in honour omit This gave occasion to the Queen-Mother to Write to the King and speak of a Reconciliation but as she was so far from adjusting matters with the Cardinal that she hardly ever mention'd him without Injurious Language there were small hopes that she should see her Son again Puilaurens also made some Proposals of an Accommodation to obtain the Return of Monsieur He procured the Abbot of Elbene to demand †Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 633 of the Cardinal the meanest of his Relations and promised to do all that lay in his Power to engage Monsieur to return to his Duty But the Marriage of this Prince with the Princess Margaret put a stop to these Negotiations and the King solemnly declared this Alliance to be null as having been contracted without his consent The King at his return from Lorrain made some * In the Mâ—nth of October stay at Metz and during this time the new Parliament of that City condemned one Alfeston to be broke on the Wheel alive He had confess'd it seems that he had a Design to kill Cardinal Richlieu if he passed through such a place It was not long since he came from Brussels with two more in his Company who had belonged to the Queen-Mother's Guards nay the Horse he rode upon came out of her Stables 'T is said That as he was going to the place of Punishment he accused Father Chanteloube and the Parliament summon'd him with some more At the same time under pretence of Respect to the Queen-Mother but in effect to defame her they sent her the Horse back again and desired her in His Majesties Name not to suffer any such wicked designs to be laid in her House for the future because that besides the Person of the Cardinal was insinitely dear to him such profligate wretches as this was were capable of making several attempts of the like nature This was an effectual course to improve that Animosity which was already too great because Father Chanteloube was the Principal Confident of the Queen-Mother However to secure the Cardinal's * Aubery 's Life of the Cardinal lib. 4. c. 47. Life from any such Attempts the King gave him besides the Guards he had already assign'd him a Company of an Hundred Musqueteers whom he chose out of a great number of Persons that came to offer him their Service It was belâ—ev'd that the Cardinal did not in the least desire the Queen-Mother's return to Court since after what had pass'd between them he cou'd not expect to sâ—and over-secure if that Princess came there again On the other hand Father Chanteloube who had a mind to make his advantage of that Favour she showed him advised her to stay in Flanders or at least somewhere out of France till they offer'd her honourable conditions such as they had done some years before by the Treaty of Angouleme It was no difficult matter for him to perswade the Queen who passionately desir'd it that the King wou'd at last be constrain'd to come to her Terms The Cardinal on the contrary who was inform'd of every thing that pass'd counsell'd the King to stick inflexibly to his Resolutions since His own Authority was so nearly concern'd which wou'd sensibly diminish if he once permitted the Queen His Mother to Capitulate with Him or gave her leave to return on any other conditions than as she entirely rely'd upon his Generosity But as it was Scandalous to keep this Princess so long out of the Kingdom and the King sometimes selt a Remorse upon that score the Cardinal told him That he ought not onely to remember that he was a Son but also that he was a King and that he lay under greater obligations to procure the repose and tranquility of his Kingdom than to satisfie the Passions of the Queen His Mother By this Maxim which took it for granted that the Wellfare of the State was incompatible with satisfying the demands of Maria de Medicis he hindred the King from suffering himself to be touched by those Sentiments which Nature implants in all Children towards their Parents Father †Siri
Ibid. p. 698. Joseph discoursing one day with Gondi told him much about this time That if the Queen-Mother wou'd return the must give Security to the King before-hand that she wou'd not attempt any thing in the Kingdom against His Majesty's Service which necessarily demanded that the Cardinal shou'd continue in the Ministry When once this Security was given Father Joseph did not question but the King wou'd pay her all manner of Respect and that he wou'd show her the same Acknowledgments as he had ever done when he was most in her favour Father Joseph made this security to consist in the Queen 's wholly abandoning her Servants but especially Father Chanteloube to the King's Justice after which she was to leave her self to his discretion He fansied that His Majesty so soon as he saw her discard those People who had all along suggested ill Counsel to her wou'd treat her with all the Kindness that she cou'd desire from a Respectful Son Now it was so Infamous for a Princess as the Queen-Mother was to Sacrifice her most Ancient Servants after this blind manner to the Cardinal's Revenge and of so dangerous an example to all those that might hereafter attempt to serve her that 't was believ'd she wou'd never be induc'd to consent to it and that they propos'd it to her with no other prospect but to make her despair of a Reconciliation Towards the beginning of * The 3 Siri Ibid. p. 699. November she sent Villiers S. Genet to the King in appearance to Congratulate him upon His happy return from Lorrain but in effect to see if there was any way left to induce His Majesty to consent to Her return upon tolerable conditions because she was weary of that disrespectful Treatment which she received from Monsieur and Puilaurens The Gentleman whom she sent upon this Message had Audience of the King †The 6th of Novemb. immediately and told him He was ordered by the Queen to complain to His Majesty of Monsieur 's disrespectful behaviour to Her since he daily put some affront or other upon Her That she was certainly perswaded that he did not do this of his own proper Inclination but onely by the Advice of Puilaurens That she beseeched the King to take care of His health not onely for the Love of the Queen but likewise for the Love of Her since she wou'd rather choose to die than fall under the Tyranny of Puilaurens That she desired His Majesty to believe that she had no share in the Enterprizes of Monsieur and that his last Expedition into Languedoc was without Her knowledge The King Answer'd That he was extreamly sorry at the Ill Treatment the Queen His Mother received from the Duke of Orleans but that she had never fallen into these Inconveniences if she had followed his good Advice and that of her most faithful Servants That he formerly believed that she had a Kindness for him but that since she had discover'd so much Ill-will towards him he cou'd hardly perswade himself that she had really that Affection for him as she pretended That he knew well enough how far she was concern'd in the Affair of Languedoc since she had Pawn'd her Jewels to furnish the Rebels with Arms That it afflicted him to see there was no Security for Him in France if his Mother returned thither since those disaffected Persons that were about her began to Cabal more than ever At last he enquired of Villiers If he had any Orders to see the Cardinal Villiers answer'd No but said That if he met him he wou'd not fail to pay his Respects to him although the Queen was still incens'd against him The King reply'd That if it was true that this Princess loved her Eldest Son as she said she did she wou'd likewise love the Cardinal for the signal Services he had done the Crown since the Reduction of Rochelle but that so long as she kept such People as Chanteloube and Madam du Fargis about her it was to no purpose to expect any Reconciliation Upon this Villiers said That the Queen knew du Targis for what she was valuable and the King answer'd That she was one of those Vipers of Lyons who together with the Duke of Bellegarde Marillac the Keeper of the Seals and such like blessed Instruments had seduced the Queen-Mother into all these Inconveniences It was discover'd by Villiers's Discourse that the Q. Mother was really provok'd against Puilaurens from which 't was thought this advantage might be drawn as to oblige him to return to his duty and to make more modest demands for his Master and at the same time it was no less plain that she was enraged against the Cardinal * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 699. However she sent to acquaint the King in Answer to some Proposals she had receiv'd from France That to let him see how well she loved him and to facilitate an access for those persons whom she wou'd send to him she was willing to forget all the ill Offices the Cardinal had done her nay even to have an Affection for him in consideration of His Majesty That nevertheless she wou'd not be forced to part with the meanest Servant she had and much less with Father Chanteloube who had faithfully served her in things of the greatest Importance but that he wou'd quit her Service of his own accord as soon as ever the King commanded him to do so That if she might be so happy as to procure an Accommodation she wou'd manage it by her self without appearing in the Affairs of Monsieur and that Puilaurens had told her That she might do so if she pleas'd The King before he dismiss'd Villiers told him That he was heartily sorry at the Vexations which the Queen his Mother had met in Flanders but that if she impartially examin'd her self she wou'd soon find that she alone was the occasion of them That if she wou'd deliver her Evil Counsellors up to him in order to their Punishment as they deserv'd and love the true Servants of the Crown as she was in duty oblig'd then there wou'd be no room to suspect that she continued longer in the evil disposition that possessed her when she left France That Chanteloube had Written That she wou'd never be reconcil'd and in one of his Letters which had been sent to the King had made Merry with the Visit which he meaning Villiers had made him and that while the Queen encourag'd such a notorious Hypocrite as he was it cou'd not be imagin'd that her intentions were sincere All the King's Discourses as also those of the Cardinal's Creatures tended to the same purpose which was That the Queen-Mother shou'd abandon all her Domesticks to the Indignation of the Minister and receive others of his Nomination before any thing was concluded But they did not believe that this Princess who was full as haughty and obstinate as the Cardinal wou'd ever make such low condescensions If the King
the Party of the Princess Margaret whom they received as the Wife of the Duke of Orleans and for whom they had been at a great expence as well as for him But the Infanta happening to die at this * Tâ—e 1st of â—â—cem time obliged them to think of other things However it was perceived plainly enough that Monsieur was weary of Flanders and the Queen-Mother and Madam were afraid that this inconstant Prince wou'd abandon them at the first opportunity The Cardinal who was fully inform'd of all †Siri Mem. 〈◊〉 T. 7. 〈◊〉 7â—0 〈◊〉 1â—th of Dâ—câ—m Summon'd a Council before the King to Advise what Measures were to be taken in this conjuncture and whether the King ought to be reconcil'd to the Queen his Mother or to the Duke of Orleans This Minister according to his custom made a long Harangue to perswade His Majesty That it was his Interest to grant no satisfaction either to one or the other He told him That the Queen-Mother had appeared long ago ill-affected to the State That before she left France the King had offer'd her very reasonable Terms of Reconciliation as Places Governments and so forth by which she might easily perceive that he had no intention to use her with any Rigour That nevertheless she had fled to the declared Enemies of the Crown which she had never done but out of a Principle of Revenge and because she never design'd to come to any sort of Accommodation That she cou'd not be ignorant that her joyning with the Duke of Orleans wou'd displease the King and that all good Frenchmen must blame her for having recourse to the Spaniards That since she had broke through all these considerations it was a sure Indication that she had an implacable hatred to France That her Actions notoriously contradicted her words in which she protested that she had no design against the State but that she was full of Dissimulation as visibly appear'd in the whole Conduct of her Life That it wou'd be no advantage to the King to be Reconciled with her and call her home but that on the contrary several great Inconveniences might happen upon it because it wou'd be then a harder matter to perswade Monsieur to return That her falling out with him and his Domesticks was the most forcible Reason that induced Puilaurens to advise his Master to avoid those places where he might find the ill effects of the Mortal hatred of that Princess and therefore if she came into France Puilaurens wou'd have the less inclination to carry the Duke of Orleans thither That supposing Monsieur wou'd not upon this be unwilling to return yet they were likely to gain nothing by his coming home since it might easily so happen that the Queen and he wou'd joyn afresh together for the better execution of their wicked designs That the King wou'd find it a harder matter to Marry Monsieur again to whom he pleas'd and principally to the Princess Mary of Conzaga for whom the Queen-Mother had an invincible aversion That the Tranquillity of the Kingdom wou'd be more endanger'd since those that had harbour'd any ill designs wou'd certainly go and communicate them to the Queen-Mother whom they knew to be of a resolute and revengeful temper whereas they durst not repose any confidence in the Duke of Orleans who was known to be inconstant That the King wou'd not have the same Peace of Mind nor be in the same security as to his Person That he wou'd not be obey'd so punctually since the ill-affected wou'd hope to be supported by the Queen-Mother That the Lives of His Majesty's Servants wou'd be in greater danger because it wou'd be an easier matter to destroy them near at hand than afar off That though the Queen-Mother and Monsieur were both of them to morrow in France perfectly satisfy'd by the King as to both their particulars and a Misunderstanding still continu'd between them it was certain that in three Months time they would be discontented and wou'd as certainly reunite in their discontents whereas if Monsieur was in the Kingdom and the Queen out of it it wou'd be difficult for them to maintain any great correspondence together In this Advice we find the Cardinal's Interest confounded with that of the King and Kingdom but we must do him the Justice to allow his Reasonings to be solid enough if we set down the word Cardinal all â—long where he makes mention of France or of the King The design of it manifestly tended to keep the Queen-Mother at least out of the Kingdom but as it wou'd have been too odious to publish to all the World that her Son wou'd never be reconciled to her The Council in appearance concluded the contrary but at the bottom 't was the same thing because they knew well enough that this Princess wou'd not stoop so low as to do what they resolved to demand of her It was therefore pretended That if the Queen-Mother wou'd convince all People that she had no hand in the Assassinates which some of her Servants had projected by delivering the Authors of these Pernicious Counsels to Justice the King wou'd give her leave to return into France put her in full possession of her Jointure and permit her to live in any of her Houses that were at a distance from the Court. As for what related to Monsieur the Cardinal observ'd That this Prince's Absence was at present Advantageous to His Majesty but that the longer he tarried among the Spaniards with whom he daily contracted a greater Friendship the more it was to be feared that he wou'd one day destroy in a moment what had been doing for several years with no little difficulty for the welfare of the State That however these ills were at a distance whereas the Mischief which he might occasion if he lived in France and was ill-affected to it as he certainly was wou'd be felt presently That if Monsieur came back into France upon those Conditions the King had offer'd him which as they were honourable to himself so they were not prejudicial to France his return wou'd be advantageous to the Kingdom but that there was a great deal to fear and but little to hope if he came back upon those Terms which Puilaurens had insisted upon the last Summer viz. the Government of Auvergne and Macon to be the Residence of Monsieur and his Houshold because that then this Prince wou'd be in a condition to give the Spaniards an entrance at any time into the Kingdom who wou'd be glad of such an opportunity That if matters were so they must lay aside all thoughts of attacking any of their Neighbours either to enlarge the Kingdom or to assist the Confederates of the Crown because it was always to be fear'd that the Spaniards wou'd make some Irruption on that side and that though they did not break in upon them yet they wou'd cause so many alarms there that their hands wou'd be effectually
tied up without having any just pretence to complain of them That the disaffected wou'd take fresh courage and fall upon new designs In fine the Cardinal concluded that it wou'd be better to leave Monsieur where he was than to receive him upon those conditions which he demanded However he at last proposed Whether one might not in Justice and Equity nay with honour and advantage to the State Promise Puilaurens that Monsieur and he should reside at Macon in order to draw him into France and afterwards send this latter to Prison in stead of keeping their word with him As for the equity of the thing the Cardinal was of opinion it cou'd never be question'd since Puilaurens had been engag'd in such Mischievous Designs against the State but then he said His Majesty's Honour wou'd receive an irreparable loss if he broke his Word upon this occasion He added That such a procedure wou'd be so far from doing them any service or helping to counter-balance the detriment which the King's Reputation must necessarily suffer by breaking his Word that it wou'd draw after it several fatal consequences since if Puilaurens was Imprison'd they wou'd be oblig'd to apprehend Monsieur which was not practicable That if this Prince came to leave the Kingdom afresh he wou'd never return whatever Promises were made him after he had been once deceiv'd That then he wou'd reunite himself more firmly than ever with the Queen-Mother from whom Puilaurens kept him at as great a distance as he cou'd and that by her Inducements and Perswasions he wou'd become of an Irreconcileable temper That if it was alledg'd That upon the Imprisonment of Puilaurens Monsieur must be desired to keep within a certain place which shou'd be Assign'd him and from which they should take care that it wou'd not be possible for him to stir besides that this was infinitely easier to be said than done they wou'd gain no advantage by it for the present but run the risque of losing all for the future That at present the King desir'd Monsieur to break off his Marriage with the Princess Margaret of Lorrain and Marry the Princess of Mantua yet if this Prince were apprehended neither one nor the other cou'd be done since the World wou'd say with reason That he was not free That thus his Marriage with the former wou'd be confirmed by it in stead of being dissolved That for the future those that served His Majesty cou'd never hope to reconcile themselves to Monsieur from which no manner of good cou'd arrive to the Kingdom That His Majesty to the great Misfortune of France having been Married Eighteen years without any Children those Persons that believed he would never have any Issue would publickly exclaim That the King's Servants had a mind to destroy the Presumptive Heir of the Crown which might occasion several vexatious accidents The Cardinal concluded to leave the Duke of Orleans where he was if he would not return upon the Conditions the King had lately offered him which were to give him a considerable sum of Money to pay his Debts to re-establish him in all his Appanages and Good to give great Gratifications to Puilaurens and bestow the Government of Auvergne upon him with permission to reside there with his Guards If Monsieur refused to come back upon these Conditions the Cardinal thought it would be the best way to let him tarry in Flanders since any other means of bringing him home were neither honourable nor advantageous These Conditions having been proposed to the Queen-Mother and to Monsieur they equally rejected them The Queen-Mother could never consent to see her servants treated after a worse manner than those of her Son and the Duke of Orleans imagined that they would grant him more if he refused these first offers But the event shewed that both of them were mistaken and that they had better have adjusted matters in time than stand out against a Party which was infinitely stronger than their own And the Cardinal by this means arrived to the design he proposed to himself which was to keep the Queen-Mother and Monsieur but especially the former out of France as long as he was able year 1634 The space of three Months was now expired since the Treaty of Charmes and yet the Duke of Lorrain had not delivered the Princess Margaret his Sister to the King So that now the Court of France talked of nothing but of having the Marriage of Monsieur declared void by the Parliament of Paris and they founded it upon this reason that the Princes of Lorrain had stole the Duke of Orleans Thus they resolved to cite the Duke of Lorrain to appear before the Parliament of Paris to produce his Reasons for this pretended Rape His Brother the Cardinal endeavour'd to excuse him by saying He had done all that lay in his Power to get the Princess Margaret out of the hands of the Duke of Orleans but that this Prince would not part with her He desired the Cardinal-Duke to Intercede for him with the King that his Citation might be Suspended and declared That if they proceeded farther his Brother would not make his Appearance as being prejudicial to the Rights of a Soveraign Prince Richlieu maintained That as he was a Vassal of the Crown of France for the Dukedom of Bar he was obliged to come in Person thither which if he neglected to doe or was declared to be an Accomplice in the Rape they should be forced to proceed against him by the ways of Fact At the same time Orders were sent to the Parliament of Metz to Prohibit the Inhabitants of those Places that had been lately taken from the Duke of Lorrain as Dependencies upon the Bishopricks of Metz Thoul and Verdun to own the Duke for their Lord but onely the Bishops of these Cities and the King to be as it were their Protector They treated him after this manner to constrain him to be sincerely devoted to the Interests of France and to come himself to Paris to adjust these Differencies or to reduce him to such a condition that he could do them no Injury Thus they Mortified the Duke of Lorrain and now began to give New Vexations to the Queen-Mother by stopping and narrowly examining upon the Frontiers all the Carriages that came to her from France for her own use and that of her Servants though a Passport was allowed her This Princess sent Complaints of this Usage to the King and represented to him That it was to no purpose that the Cardinal employed these Rigours to bring her to his own Terms and that she would never humble her self before him Not long after the Attorney-General following the Instructions of the Court presented a Request to the Parliament to declare That the Duke of Orleans had been Stollen out of France by the Princes of Lorrain and consequently that his Marriage was null and void The Parliament demanded time to inform and deliberate upon an Affair of so great a Consequence
power to follow his Brother's Steps or not but that if he desired to live in peace he must take different measures He was demanded to explain himself upon this Head and that he would discover by his manner of acting what were his true Sentiments But above all it was desired of him that he wou'd disapprove the Marriage of his Sister and deliver the Original Papers of the Contract and the Dispensation for the Banns They gave Contrisson in Writing all that they required of his Master and told him that they expected an Answer to each Article in Writing also As the King neither liked nor disliked the Duke of Lorrain's Surrendry of his Dominions to his Brother the latter took upon him the Title of Duke and put himself in possession of the State belonging to his Family with the usual Solemnities that so he might convince the World there was no Collusion in this Matter between his Brother and him He had not as yet resign'd his Cardinal's Cap and therefore stiled himself the Cardinal-Duke of Lorrain Soon after he sent back Contrisson to the Court of France with an Answer to every Article in particular as also to demand Saverne which the Mareschal de la Force without alledging any Reason for so doing had taken from the Duke his Brother when there was no War between his Majesty and him and to complain that the King's Officers who commanded in those Places which his Majesty held in Trust hinder'd the Duke's Commissaries from levying upon the Inhabitants of those Cities the ordinary Taxes and to demand farther time in regard of the Homage he was to do for the Dutchy of Bar. Contrisson being arrived †The 14th of February at Paris acquitted himself the next Day of his Orders and went to carry his Letters of Credence to the Cardinal When he saw in the Subscription of the Letter Cardinal-Duke of Lorrain he said that this was a pleasant sort of a Quality by way of Contempt as if the Title of Cardinal-Duke had only belonged to Armand John du Plessis exclusively of all others After this he fell into an extraordinary Passion against the House of Lorrain and spoke of it in very despicable Terms as he was used to speak of all those that used the same Artifices against him which he employ'd against others Contrisson was so daunted that he scarce knew what to answer but at last he told him that after they had examined the Houses of all the Notaries of Nancy as the Count de Brassac Governour in that City for the King knew they could not find any Minutes of the Contract of Monsieur's Marriage and that in all probability there never were any having perhaps been written by the hand of the Duke of Orleans himself neither could they find the Dispensation for the Banns but that the Cardinal Duke of Lorrain offer'd to sign one in the same manner as the other had been That they cou'd not tell the Names of the Witnesses to the Marriage and that the Monk who had perform'd the Ceremony of the Espousals had left Lorrain To this the Cardinal of Richlieu replied in a great passion That now it plainly appeared that the Cardinal of Lorrain for he never vouchsafed to call him Duke would follow the Footsteps of his Brother That these Answers full of Dissimulation and very different from what he had promis'd by word of mouth did sufficiently discover his Design as they formerly found by what Spirit he acted when after he had denyed that he knew any thing of his Sister's Marriage it was now discovered that he had granted a Dispensation for the Banns That till then they had believed the Cardinal of Lorrain was a Prince of Honour and Sincerity whereas they found him at present to be the quite contrary That if he refused to send the Contract it was a Matter of no great Importance since they cou'd easily discover after what manner it was done That if they stisled the Original Papers it would be so much the easier to get the Marriage annull'd That they very well knew who were the Witnesses and that as for them and the Monk who had disappeared the King would let them see to their Cost that he had long Hands At last he concluded That whereas he had been formerly a Friend to the Cardinal of Lorrain he wou'd be his greatest Enemy if he continued to follow the Maxims of his Brother As for what concerned the Taking of Saverne the King according to the Cardinal was not obliged to make any Excuses for what had been done upon very just Grounds And he added That if the Cardinal of Lorrain had defended it they wou'd have taken it away from him by force That they wou'd consider what was to be done to the Governours of those Places which his Majesty held in trust who had hinder'd the Duke of Lorrain from raising his Duties That instead of allowing farther time for him to do Homage for the Dutchy of Bar he must expect every moment to see it declared lapsed to the King by the Duke's Felony and incorporated to the Crown and that the Principal might well follow the Accessary His meaning was that they might justly enough seize upon all Lorrain by vertue of a Decree of Parliament which wou'd be inflicted upon the Duke by way of Punishment for his stealing away Monsieur and for the Charges of War After this manner it was that the Cardinal-Duke pretended to oblige those that were weaker than himself to submit to his imperious Will under a Pretence of doing Justice to the King's Reputation All his Ministry was supported by the same Arrogance because he had to do with Persons of very ordinary Discretion and having full Power to oppose them with the Forces of the Kingdom and all the King's Authority he crushed and overwhelm'd them before they were in a condition to ward his Blows While the Discourse at Paris ran upon the Duke of Lorrain and every one imagined that he wou'd at last marry Madam de Combalet to appease her Unkle he * At Luneville the 16th of Fâ—b Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 750. married Claude de Lorrain his Cousin and Sister to his Brother's Wife in the Presence of the Dutchess some Ladies and a Gentleman The Reason why he took this Resolution and put it so speedily in Execution was because he feared that the Mareschal de la Force who was at the Head of the King's Army not far from thence came with a Design to take these two Princesses and to send them into France which might furnish that Court with a plausible Occasion to justifie the Rights which they pretended to have upon Lorrain to the prejudice of the Princes of that House In Effect the Mareschal de la Force having received Advice of this Marriage caused Luneville to be * Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 7. p. 740. invested and conducted the new-married Couple with the Dutchess of Lorrain and the Princess of Phaltsburg
wou'd see the Effects of the sincere Inclinations of one of her Creatures who in this Juncture cou'd not dissent from the King's Intentions without offending him sensibly Before de Laleu return'd to Brussels he received fresh Letters for the King and Cardinal in which the Queen-Mother confirm'd the same things in terms still more humble and condescending particularly in regard to the Cardinal She likewise demanded a Passport for Father Suffren her Confessor whom she desired to send to Court But Answer was made that they wou'd hearken to no one unless he brought them word from the Queen that she was ready to deliver into his Majesty's hands the three Persons he demanded of her De Laleu return'd to the Low-Countries with this sad Message which made the Queen lose all hopes of ever seeing the King her Son again While these Negotiations were managed by the Queen-Mother Monsieur consulted the University of Louvain about his Marriage which they judged to be valid and he got it to be solemnly confirmed by the Archbishop of Malines in the presence of seven Witnesses The Queen-Mother was desired to be present at this Ceremony but refused it whether she had resolved to concern her self no more with the Affairs of Monsieur as she had told him or was not willing to disoblige the King at a time when she endeavour'd to appease him However when she received the abovementioned News she was so far from complying with those dishonourable Submissions they expected from her that she bestowed upon the Abbot of St. Germain the Place of her chief Almoner which happen'd then to be vacant At the same time the Court employ'd the Mareschal de Crequi at Rome to engage the Pope to declare the Marriage of Monsieur null by representing to him all the Reasons they could think of But as these Reasons only served to cover their Desire to hinder Monsieur from Marrying the Pope who was not prejudiced that way formed great Difficulties upon all the Proposals they made him The surest Expedient was to get the Duke of Orleans into France because there they cou'd make him do whatever they had a mind to for which reason they laboured in private to effect it although this Prince pretended to be as far from entring into any Reconciliation as ever he had been At this time * See Aubety's Life of the Card. Lib. 4. Cap. 49. Puilaurens was extreamly out with the Duke of Elbeuf and the latter complained of him because in the Treaty which was secretly making with the Cardinal he had demanded nothing in favour of him save only that he should not be excluded out of the Amnesty While these Quarrels were on foot †The 3d of May Aub. Ibid. Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 8. p. 73. it happen'd that some unknown Bravo's attempted to murder Puilaurens and discharged a Carabine loaden with several Bullets at him as he was going up the Stairs at the Palace of Brussels He was only wounded slightly in the Cheek and the Assassines made their Escape so speedily that no News cou'd be heard of them whatever search was made Monsieur made a mighty Noise about this barbarous Attempt and laid it to the charge of the Duke of Elbeuf or some of the Queen-Mother's Servants which served to compleat the Breach between them and afterwards occasion'd several Differences the Particulars of which 't is needless to relate here Whoever it was that design'd to kill him 't is certain it did a great Injury to the Queen-Mother who was now suspected of designing to assassinate the Favourites of her two Sons that so she might manage them as she saw convenient However others were of opinion that the Spaniards being informed that Puilaurens was negotiating the Return of Monsieur were resolved to break off this Negotiation by causing him that was the chief Promoter of it to be taken off But as this Blow happened to miscarry it only retarded Monsieur's Return for a short time and made Puilaurens desire it more than ever who did not think himself any longer safe at Brussels But as it was highly necessary to conceal this Design from the Spaniards for fear they might stop Monsieur and his Servants besides that the Treaty with the Cardinal was not yet concluded this Prince enter'd into a new Treaty with the Spaniards * The 12th of May Aub. Mem. T. 1. p. 425. a few days after the Assassination that so they might not suspect he designed to accommodate himself with the King his Brother The principal Articles of this Treaty are as follow by which it will appear that Gaston who signed them did not trouble himself much to keep his Word That he engaged himself to enter into no sort of Agreement with the King his Brother whatever Advantages were offer'd him and whatever Alterations might happen in France upon the Cardinal's ruine for the space of two years and a half without the Consent of his Catholick Majesty That nevertheless if he came to treat before that time was expired tho' it were by the Consent of his Catholick Majesty he should be obliged to break it when it pleased his Catholick Majesty That in case any Rupture happen'd between the two Crowns his Highness promis'd to take the part of the House of Austria and to support its Interests till a General Peace was concluded That if the Arms of the Duke happen'd to make any progress in France by the Taking of any Places his Highness shou'd deliver up some of them to his Catholick Majesty partly to re-imburse him for the great Expences he had already been at and partly for an Assurance that he would be grateful to them one day if his Highness came to the Crown in which case his Highness engaged fully to recompense them for all their Charges That upon this Supposition his Catholick Majesty wou'd furnish his Highness with 12000 Foot and 3000 Horse one half of which were to be French and the other Spaniards That these Troops shou'd be ready to act towards the End of next September and that then his Catholick Majesty if the state of his Affairs wou'd permit him shou'd draw his Troops towards the Frontiers of France to alarm the King's Forces on that side while his Highness enter'd the Kingdom at another That his Catholick Majesty wou'd give 70000 Crowns towards the raising of the French Troops and 45000 each Month for their Subsistence which however was to lessen according as the Army advanced so that when they were once in France his Catholick Majesty should not be obliged to be at any Charge for their Maintenance since they might live upon Contributions from the Country as 't is the way in Germany That his Catholick Majesty shou'd allow 15000 Crowns a Month for the Support of his Highness and Madam as soon as Monsieur shou'd leave Brussels to march towards France but that when he was arrived there he and his Army were to live at the Expence of the Country where he resided This Treaty
had very considerable Gratifications from the King so that besides his Quality of Duke and Peer in which he was received in the Parliament on the 16th of December he had an Estate of above six hundred thousand Crowns a year After having thus related the Disorders of the Royal Family and of Monsieur's Reconciliation in which the Cardinal had no less a share than the King 't will be now necessary to pass to Foreign Affairs which took up this Minister at the same time The Dutchess of * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 87. Lorrain Wife to Duke Charles who had resided at Nancy came by Order of the Court to Paris where she arrived the last day of April and was received with great Respect and conducted to the Palace of Lorrain From thence she went afterwards to Fontainbleau where the King entertained her very courteously However as she apprehended that when she was at Paris they wou'd engage her in some Treaty which might be contrary to the real Interests of her House she had made a Declaration before she left Nancy in the presence of a Notary wherein she signified that being obliged by the King's Command to go to Paris she there protested That whatever she might do prejudicial to the House of Lorrain was to be reckon'd null as being extorted by force There was no longer any Discourse now in France to make use of this Princess's Name to keep Lorrain nor of the Guardianship of the Places deliver'd up by Prince Charles The King's Commissioners govern'd that Dutchy as if it had been a Conquer'd Province and gathered the Revenues of it without any Disturbance from the Duke's Officers They augmented the Imposts and Taxes which exceedingly oppressed the poor People who still continued well affected to their ancient Princes About this time an Edict of the Duke of Lorrain was stuck up in several places wherein he prohibited his Subjects to obey the French whom he called Usurpers and Tyrants This Edict gave such Offence at Court because they imagined the Lorrainers knew the Contents of it to be true that they immediately order'd the Parliament to re-assume the Process which had for some time been discontinued against the Duke as a Vassal of the Crown as well for the pretended Rape of Monsieur as for several other notorious Misdemeanours For this end the Parliament sent to Duke Charles to make his personal Appearance on a day appointed at the Palace of Lorrain without having any regard to the Dutchess that lived there and complain'd of it to the Cardinal to no purpose While the Dutchess was at Paris the Mareschal de la Force took the Castle of Biche and afterwards La Mothe which surrender'd by Composition on the 28th of July after which there remained no other places in Lorrain that durst hold out for the ancient Lords of this Country * Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 8. p. 108. So the Parliament having confiscated the Dutchy of Bar the Cardinal caused the Decree to be executed with all imaginable Vigour He erected a Court of Justice at Nancy which adjudged to the King abundance of Places in Lorrain as having been alienated from the three Bishopricks of Metz Thoul and Verdun He likewise got the Remainder of Lorrain to be solemnly seized upon towards the Expences of the War and obliged the Clergy the Nobility and the People to take an Oath of Fidelity to the King This Country was now look'd upon to be part of the Kingdom which had formerly been taken from it by Usurpation and Violence so that now they said it was but just to re-unite it to the Crown and to hinder the Lorrainers from making any Insurrections for the future they caused several places to be dismantled where they might have lodged themselves unless the King would have kept Garrisons there which wou'd have required a prodigious Expence The Cardinal had all along kept a mighty correspondence with the Swedes till such time as he thought he might be able to effect by Wallestein's means a great part of what he did by the help of the Swedish Army This man had got it into his Head to make himself be crown'd King of Bohemia and to employ the Emperours Army against himself He maintain'd a private Commerce with the Marquiss de Feuquieres the King's Ambassador in Germany and the King promis'd to assist him As Wallestein passed for one of the chief Captains of his time and was extreamly beloved by the Soldiery it was probable that he wou'd at least give the Emperour a great deal of Trouble It appears that upon this Expectation the Cardinal did not manage the Swedish Generals and Chancellour Oxenstern with that Address as he had formerly done * Siri Mem. Rec. T. â— P. 32. There was likewise a sort of a Difference between them because they had refused to surrender Philipsburg to the King of which place they had made themselves Masters by composition The King already was in possession of several Towns in Alsatia the Bishoprick of Triers and in the Neighbourhood but Philipsburg was necessary to him to secure and cover part of them While this Coldness between the Cardinal and the Swedes lasted the Emperour having discover'd part of Wallestein's Designs †The 15th of February Sui Hâ—d p 53. caused him to be killed at Egra a City of Silesia to which place he had retired and so those Projects which the Cardinal had formed in hopes that Wallestein wou'd in a short time begin to act in concert with France vanished in smoak This News arriving to the King's Ears he publickly said That all those that betrayed their Prince deserved the same fate As for the Cardinal he was so concern'd at his Death that he cou'd not forbear saying That the King might very well have spared to explain his Sentiments in publick From this time it was necessary to shew a greater Regard to the Swedes who did not so much propose to themselves to free Germany from the Yoke of the House of Austria as to gain some Advantage by the War Upon the Occasion of Wallestein's Death the King considering the great Danger the Cardinal was in by reason of the frequent Attempts that had been made upon his Life thought it convenient to augment the Number of his Guards Besides those he had before he gave him 300 Musqueteers on Horseback so that the Cardinal had now a compleat Sett of Guards while the Queen-Mother was obliged to dismiss those of her Domesticks that were not of absolute necessity to her because she had not wherewith to maintain them The French accused Chancellour * Sui Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 6â—7 Oxenstern of Designing to possess himself of the Electorate of Mentz and 't is reported that Cardinal Richlieu had the like Ambition to make himself Elector of Triers Sim Mem. T. â— p. 113 To compass his Ends he obtained of the Elector by a good round Sum of Money the Coadjutorship of the Bishoprick of
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
declared he might marry again in Conscience he wou'd do whatever the King desired of him probably because he knew the Court of Rome wou'd never consent to it He only expressed himself in this manner when he was at Court for when he was at home he did not speak a word not daring to open his mind to any of those that were about him whom he knew to be the Cardinal's Creatures He often appeared extreamly thoughtful and melancholy so that nothing cou'd divert him People remark'd another thing at Court which was That the Cardinal had so ordered Affairs that the Privy-Council met at his Palace at Ruel whither the King himself was used to come from S. Germain or Versailles It is true indeed he excused it upon the score of his Illness but as his Indisposition was not so great but he cou'd walk out in his Garden several persons were of opinion that he was afraid of being in a place where he was not the strongest If he went at any time to S. Germain it was at such times as no body cou'd tell whether he wou'd go thither or no as if he did it purposely to break any measures that might be taken against him But after all if the King was resolved to destroy him all these precautions were useless for he had found in a moment all the Court and Kingdom upon his hands The Princes of the Blood whom he treated so disrespectfully and the People whom he daily oppressed with new Imposts and Taxes equally hated him and nothing was capable to save him Thus this mighty Authority founded wholly upon the King's Weakness and a perpertual series of Acts of Violence was attended with no little Inquietude In the mean time the Cardinal being resolved to preserve his post by the same ways as he had hitherto used continued to act with the same heat against the Queen-Mother As soon as he knew that Abbot Fabbroni was at Rome in Quality of Resident from the Queen-Mother he complain'd of it to the Pope by the Count de Noailles who told him That the Queen-Mother not being a Soveraign but a Subject of the King had no right to keep a Resident at Rome and that she ought to have recourse to the Ambassadour of France The Pope answered that simple Bishops had their Agents there and that there were several Examples of the like nature But whether he sent to inform Fabbroni of it or whether the latter was afraid of having some Affront put upon him he retired immediately to Florence and thus eas'd the Cardinal of the trouble to get him removed from that place The Queen-Mother provoked to the highest degree to find her Design of keeping a Resident at Rome thus opposed writ a long * Dated Dec. 7. See Aubery l. 4. c. 54. Letter to the Pope wherein she described the Cardinal's Conduct in very severe terms She told him that this Minister who set the Ambassadour upon such an impertinent Harangue very foolishly urged that she was to make use of the King's Ambassadour a thing against common sense it being certain that these Ambassadours wou'd concern themselves in nothing she desired them to do without an express Order from the King That it was impossible for her to get any thing deliver'd to His Majesty since Cardinal Richlieu had deprived her of all means of acquainting him with her Circumstances by Letters or otherwise That the Ambassadours who absolutely depended upon the good Will of the Cardinal were obliged to act according to the Passions of this Minister to avoid the loss of their Lives their Estates and Honours That thus they treated with no other Dâ—â—â—gn but to foment the Divisions that were between the Christian Princes to carry Subjects to Rebellion against their Soveraigns and to set all Christendom in a Flame That they continually talked of a Peace without ever designing to effect it That they made no Scruple to overturn all Laws both Divine and Humane to fly directly in the face of the Apostolick Authority and to violate the Sacraments of the Church by their endeavouring to break off the Marriage of the Duke of Orleans That she desir'd the Pope to allow her the Favour to keep a Resident to give him an Account of all that she knew which might facilitate a General Peace That the Cardinal abundantly discovered his Hatred and Malice against her by seeking to rob her of an Honour which belonged to her That the King had no hand in these Violences and that he durst not open his mind to those that were about him who were all gained over to the Cardinal by Bribes or else aw'd out of their Duty by the fear of punishment That he attempted by his Threats to gain an Absolute power over his Holiness but that she cou'd assure the Pope that although the Cardinal was capable of all sorts of Wickedness yet he was of so fearful a Temper that he durst never undertake so horrible and so impious an Attempt as that was with which he had threaten'd him She means his design perhaps to make himself Patriarch of France That the Emperour and Catholick King had not condemn'd the Affection she express'd towards France nor disapproved of her Desires of a Peace but on the contrary had esteem'd her the more for it That the Cardinal wou'd rather consent to have all France embroil'd than suffer her to concern her self about a Peace In the whole course of this Letter she represents the King as more depending upon his Minister than the Minister upon him although she seems desirous to excuse the King all along However this Letter produced no effect since as it has been already said Fabbroni was forced to withdraw to Florence and the Efforts the Queen-Mother used to incline France to a Peace had no better Success This same Year the Cardinal gave several Mortifications to the Count de Soissons †Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 207. who having occasion to complain of the Marquiss de Seneterre was obliged to dissemble his Resentments in consideration of the Minister who gave the Countess of Soissons his Mother to understand that he had taken Seneterre into his protection The Count afterwards made the Cardinal a Visit which was a thing he had never done before because he cou'd not suffer this Prelate to take the Right-hand of him at his House according to the custom of Rome In the midst of these Disorders and Quarrels in the Royal Family which I have related together that I might not interrupt the series of Foreign Affairs the Cardinal employ'd his Majesty's Forces against the House of Austria with that unwearied Application and Vigour as if nothing else had taken up his Thoughts After several Proposals to no purpose concerning the means of accommodating the Differences of the Crowns by the way of Negotiation they began on both sides to make preparations for an open War * The 24th of January About the beginning of this Year Philipsburg was
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
Side to oppose the Spaniards And thus the States-General not being assisted by France as they ought to have been the Cardinal Infanta was not apprehensive of any great harm they could do him and therefore directed his Thoughts to retaliate to France what France had done to him the Year before Besides seeing the principal Forces of France taken up in Italy and in Burgundy he thought it sufficient to send the Count de Feria against the Prince of Orange with a small Army He designed to make himself Master of the * Aubety 's Life of the Card. Lib. 5. Cap. 35. City of Liege which had stood neuter ever since the Declaration of the War and Jean de Werth went to besiege it but the Inhabitants having made their peace with a Summ of Money the Cardinal Infanta order'd that General to joyn Prince Thomas and Piccolomini †Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 436. and make a descent upon ‡ Picardy together The first place they besieged was Cappille which only held out * It surrendered on the 10th of July seven Days and then the Baron du Bec surrendered it by Capitulation After they had taken some other small Places they went to attack Catelet which St. Leger who was the Governour of it surrendered likewise without staying till they had made a Breach All People were surprized at the small resistance which the Governours of these Places made and the Cardinal fell into an excessive rage against them although it was purely his Fault for the Frontiers of Picardy even after the Declaration of the War were left naked and unprovided as if it had been in the midst of a Peace To turn the Eyes of the World from himself he composed a Council of the Officers of the Crown that were at Paris and of some Councellors of State which condemned the Governors of the Places surrender'd to be quartered like Traytors Nay * See the Life of the Duke of Espernon p. 548. he fell foul upon the Duke de la Valette because he wou'd not give his Vote to have the Baron du Bec condemned to die as the Interests of the Minister demanded All they cou'd do at that juncture was to oppose the Progress of the Spaniards by a small Body of Men commanded by the Count de Soissons and composed of the Troops of the Mareschal de Brezé which he had brought out of Holland and of those of the Mareschal de Chaunes who had acted the Summer before upon the Frontiers of Artois But this Army being in no respect capable to make head against the Spaniards and being also lessen'd by the Detachments that were made out of it to defend those Places which were in danger to be attack'd they contented themselves to dispute the Passage of the River Somme with them and to incommode their March On the first of August the Spanish Army appeared upon the Banks of that River and pretending to pass over at a certain place by the favour of twelve Pieces of Cannon placed in Battery upon the Banks of the Somme they passed it at another place where the French did not expect them The Count was resolved to attack their Infantry who had with great haste cover'd themselves with Gabions but he sustained so great a Loss without being able to dislodge them that he was obliged to yield the field to the Spaniards and to retire to Compeigne This alarmed the whole Country which was surprized to see that the Count shou'd fly before 8 or 10000 Horse which Piccolomini and Jean de Werth commanded Thus Roye the next day open'd their Gates to the Spanish Army and the French Troops every where began to be possess'd with a great Consternation It was feared that as they fled towards Paris the Spanish Army wou'd pursue them whereas had they taken any Post that lay nearer to the Frontiers the Enemies durst not have advanced too far into the Kingdom Within a few days after Corbie which pass'd for a strong place was taken after a Siege of 8 days although there were 1800 Men in Garrison there Soyccourt Lieutenant-General of the Province surrendred it without staying till it was assaulted or fearing the Punishment to which the other Governours were condemned At this time the Parisians were in an extraordinary fear notwithstanding the King's presence among them and the perpetual Arrival of new Troops which daily encreased the Army Cardinal Richlieu was cursed in all places who had engaged the Kingdom in this War before he had provided for the Security of the Frontiers and especially those of Picardy which are at so small a distance from Paris As he was beloved by none but his own Creatures they now took occasion to say all the Ill of him they knew * Aubery 's Life of the Card. Lib. 5. Cap. 38. It was not only said that War was not his Profession but they added that he had a Design to deliver up Paris to the Spaniards and that for that reason he had caused the Walls of the Fauxbourg of St. Honore to be broken down under a Pretence to enlarge the City on that side However †Aubery Ibid. c. 40. Siri Ibid. p. 438. notwithstanding all these Murmurs against him the Cardinal being come to Paris went into the City without his ordinary Guards as it were to hearten the People and to let them see how secure he thought himself upon the score of his Innocence All the Companies of Paris went to offer their Service to the King upon this occasion and they assessed themselves to raise new Levies with all Expedition All the young Fellows about the City that were capable of bearing Arms were sent for Those that had several Lackeys were obliged to send one as well as the Tradesmen that had Apprentices to spare and several Buildings at Paris were laid aside for the present to list the Carpenters and Masons The King likewise put out an Order that all those that had above one pair of Coach-Horses should give one to serve for the Artillery or Troopers and that all Gentlemen and all those that were exempt from Taxes and all the Officers of his Houshold should repair in their Arms to St. Denys within six days In the mean time the Siege of Dole was raised as has been already observed and the King on the first of September found himself at the Head of forty thousand Foot and twelve thousand Horse and with a Train of forty Pieces of Cannon The Army being met together His Majesty came thither accompanied by Monsieur the Cardinal-Duke the Duke of Angoulême and the Mareschals de la Force and Chatillon besides abundance of other Officers Monsieur was declared Generalissimo of that Army and the Count de Soissons Lieutenant-General which was rather done for fear of discontenting those Princes than obliging them The Cardinal desired to be Generalissimo and that the Count de Soissons might Command under him but the Count-refused it and so he was
came to the City and the Council being over the King retired according to his Custom One of the Four Conspirators coming up to the Duke and the Count as if he had something to say to them asked in their Ear Whether they still continued in this Resolution They answer'd Yes So this Man made a Sign for the others to approach at the time when the two Princes were discoursing with the Cardinal at the bottom of the Stair-case of the Council-Chamber Nothing now remained for the Duke to doe but onely to give these Fellows the Signal and then the Cardinal had been certainly kill'd without any possibility of escaping But at this moment the Duke leaving the Cardinal with the Count began to go up the Stairs towards the Hall in a great confusion One of the Conspirators immediately followed him and would have pulled him back but the Duke never stopt till he was got up to the top It was to no purpose for this Man to represent to him That he had lost the fairest opportunity in the World and that nothing had been so easie as to accomplish it The Duke was so strangely disorder'd that he could make him no positive Answer but expressed himself in confused and doubtful Terms The Count still entertained the Cardinal in Conversation one of the Conspirators being behind him and the other two at a little distance off but Monsieur not returning the Cardinal began to fear there was some design against his Person and taking his leave of the Count got into his Coach and went home He did not know till some time after the circumstances of the danger he had been in but from that moment he would never trust himself more in the hands of his Enemies These Princes afterwards pretended That when they were upon the point of having him Assassinated they were hinder'd from doing it by considering that the Cardinal was a Priest a weak Reason to put by the Execution of a Lawful Design if this was one and which did not render the Crime much more heinous if they looked upon this action to be a crime as really it was Besides it was not at that very Moment when they design'd to kill the Cardinal that they first learnt he was a Priest no they knew that long before and if that reason was good it ought to have disswaded them at the beginning from falling upon such a Design But those people that had engaged these Princes in this Affair attributed this sudden change to the natural weakness of Monsieur which rendred him equally uncapable of good and bad actions when they required any force of Mind or Resolution Having failed of this blow the Duke and the Count took the other way which had been proposed to ruin the Cardinal in the King 's good opinion of him To effect this more easily they endeavour'd to engage the Dukes of Espernon la Valette Bouillon and Rets in their Design and they sent Messengers to them for that purpose but they onely discover'd their thoughts by this means without strengthening their party The Cardinal who was inform'd of it judged that the best way to support himself against them and to be revenged of 'em was to remove them from the Court by making false Advice be given them That the King design'd to Apprehend them Thus being gone to Paris by the King's Order on the 18th of November while the Cardinal was still in Picardy he Alarm'd them so dexterously with this false news that on the 20th or 21st of November at Night both of them made their Escapes Monsieur retired to Blois without seeing the King and the Count de Soissons to Sedan without taking his leave of him As soon as they had left the Court it was no difficult matter for the Cardinal to perswade the King what he pleased but when His Majesty came to be informed that these Princes gave it out publickly That the reason of their going away was because there was a design to apprehend them he was extreamly offended at it and in reality he had never thought of any such thing Monsieur sent a very submissive * See T. 11 of Aubery 's Mem. p. 13 c. Letter next day to the King which His Majesty was pleased to Answer in very obliging Terms The Cardinal Writ to him likewise and made him great offers of his Services but at the same time blamed him for his over-great credulity in believing good and false News alike As for the Count de Soissons who was of a more haughty spirit he sent the King a Letter full of Reproaches wherein he complained That in stead of a Reward for the services he had done him he found himself constrain'd to fly for Sanctuary to one of his Friends to avoid Imprisonment However the King was not much offended at his complaints and sent him word That he had not the least intentions to have him apprehended and that if he had left the Kingdom merely out of fear he would consent that he should tarry where he was and that he should enjoy all his Revenues and Pensions provided he would behave himself like an obedient Subject The Duke of Orleans seemed to be well enough satisfied with their usage of the Count for whom he pretended to have a particular concern and the great kindness they expressed towards himself had in appearance stifled all his Resentments At last after they had sent several persons to him to know what occasions he had to complain and to see what might be done in his behalf to cure him of all his jealousies †Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. P. 451. †Chavigny obtain'd a promise of him That he would suffer himself no more to be influenced by the Counsels of the Count de Soissons and a * Dated the 11th of December 1636. Writing sign'd by his own hand wherein he desired the King to favour him so far as to put an end to every thing that might give him any subject of suspicion or distrust This might easily be done if the King would consent to his Marriage or if he made him the Judge of it himself If the King agreed to the latter he demanded a place of security where he might declare himself without running any danger The Duke added That he hoped they would treat the Count de Soissons with the same lenity and indulgence Chavigny returned to Court and was †The 16th of December soon after sent back to Blois with a Writing from the King wherein he approved the Marriage of Monsieur if he absolutely desired it upon condition that he would not at the same time espouse the Interests of the Duke of Lorrain or entertain any Correspondences that might be prejudicial to the welfare of the Kingdom The King desired that Monsieur would oblige himself to the performance of this by signing a Promise that was drawn up and sent to him As for what concerned the Count de Soissons Chavigny inform'd him what Message His
Majesty had sent to him The Duke of Orleans appear'd to be well enough pleas'd and told him He was ready to sign the Promise that was proposed to him but he would not wholly conclude it till he had Written to the Count de Soissons if it were onely for form sake He likewise desired that Du Fargis Coudrai-Montpensier and the Abbot of la Riviere who had lately been sent to Prison should be set at liberty This though it was not wholly refused yet they intimated to him that it would be much more proper to ask these Favours of the King after he had entirely adjusted all differences with him The Abbot of la Riviere indeed was soon after released from his Confinement because he promised to joyn with Goulas the Duke's Secretary who was of the Cardinal's Party to perswade Monsieur to doe what the Minister desired of him As for a place of Security they thought it by no means fitting to grant him one and unless they granted that the Duke was afraid they would not keep their words with him Some of his Domesticks put that into his head as also to stick firm to the Count de Soissons from whose Interests the Court endeavoured to disengage him As he was naturally inconstant and irresolute he sometimes seemed inclin'd to make his own Agreement by himself yet Writ at the same time to the Count who had invited him to Sedan that he design'd to come and joyn him But at last the Offers of the Court and the Advice of those about him that favour'd it determined him for some time to make his Reconciliation without the Count and to feign himself sick of the Gout that he might not go to Sedan In the mean time several of those persons who had been in the party of Puilaurens came to Blois and Monsieur's Court increased every day The Dukes of Vendome and Beaufort came thither in private to offer their Services to him and the D. of Beaufort engaged to conduct him securely where-ever he would be pleased to go The Cardinal fearing lest this Prince might be prevailed upon to alter his Mind by the suggestions of those that were about him advised His Majesty to dispatch Orders to all the Governours of the Provinces and Towns about Blois to have an eye upon all the Passes and stop him in case he attempted to go farther till they had fresh Instructions Troops were posted in several places for the same reason and people were set at Blois to look after all Monsieur 's Motions and send advice of all that happen'd year 1637 Ever since the beginning of this year the Court was informed by Chavigny and the Count de Guiche who were sent expresly to Blois that the Duke of Orleans continued to demand a place of Security such as Blaye Blavet or Nantes The Count de Soissons demanded the same for himself before he would return to Court and named Verdun or Stenay The Duke supported this demand of the Count whom he seem'd willing enough to abandon before and sent Chaudebonne to Paris to demand farther for himself and enlargement of all his Domesticks that after a General Peace they should pay all his Debts that for the present they should pay him down all those Sums they had promised him and allow him a Hundred thousand Crowns towards some Buildings he was then about that they should not question any of his servants or of the Count de Soissons that he might reside where he pleased and that they would assign him out of the Treasury a Pension for the Maintenance of Madam so soon as she should come into France The King and Cardinal looked upon these Pretensions of Monsieur to be extravagant especially what related to the Places of Security which they thought these Princes demanded for no other reason but to be in a condition upon the first occasion of Discontent they pretended to receive to introduce the Enemies of the Crown into the Bowels of France So they were rejected and the King enlarged the Chevalier de Grignan out of the Bastile who had a great Ascendant over Monsieur hoping that when he was near his Person he might counter-balance the Credit of those who perswaded him to demand a place of security They were perswaded at Court that Monsieur was so effectually led by the instigation of others that they did not question but that if those that were about him would advise him to put himself into the King's hands without making any Stipulations he would immediately come and do it About the middle of January they sent him word That His Majesty would grant him all the Securities he could desire but that he was willing to see an end of this Affair Upon this Monsieur dispatched F. Gondran his Confessor to Court with demands like those he had made before They discover'd plainly by this that he onely endeavour'd to gain time to make his escape to Sedan to which place the Count de Soissons sought all manner of ways to draw him and that perhaps they waited till the Spaniards and Imperialists were in a condition to act in their favour So the Cardinal advised the King to go to Orleans in Person with His Guards to put an end to this business but he thought in the best way to send before-hand to Sedan to the Count de Soissons a * See it in Aubery ' s Mem. Tom. 2. p. 17. Writing to Sign by which he should declare That if His Majesty gave him leave to reside at Monzon a small Town in Champagne he would live there like a dutiful Subject and that if the Duke of Orleans endeavoured to debauch him from the Obedience he owed the King he would not assist him in any manner The Count answered That he would leave that matter to the Duke of Orleans to act in it as he pleased but refused to sign the Writing by which he should engage himself to live in one of the worst Towns in the Kingdom 'T is probable the Cardinal made him the offer of that City purposely to make him refuse it that so he might not make his peace with the King so soon for he hated him as much as he despised the Duke of Orleans when he had no body to advise him The Minister who put the same Sentiments into the King's Head about both the Princes perswaded him upon the receipt of this Answer to employ his Authority to make an end speedily with Monsieur and to leave the Count for some time out of the Kingdom So the King's departure for Orleans was fixed on the 25th of January and he was to carry along with him the French and Swiss Regiments of Guards with Twelve hundred Horse After some Negotiations Monsieur obtain'd a promise of the King that he wou'd not pass beyond Orleans but upon the Cardinal's * The 31st of January Arrival thither the Duke was so terribly affrighted that all that he insisted upon amounted only to this that they wou'd not
that therefore she ought to hinder the French from making themselves Masters of the Strong Places that she might not bring these inconveniences upon her Self and that he was ready to come there where his Presence would be necessary to hinder the French from possessing themselves of all That the more she was interessed in the Preservation of the Princes her Children so much the greater hast she should make to take the necessary measures for such a Design and so much the rather because it was visible that this War was not carried on for the Grandeur of the King her Brother nor of his Kingdom but to preserve the Cardinal in his present Dignity Towards the end of this year the Cardinal perceiving that the King was extreamly Melancholy did all that he could to penetrate into the reason of it As the King was able to conceal nothing from him and all those that approached His Majesty were his own Creatures except the Confessor he came to know that he was troubled with remorse of Conscience for suffering the Queen his Mother to be out of the Kingdom so long after all the Submissions she had made him This Prince who had neither good nor bad inclinations of himself but as they were put into him by others was not capable of receiving such a Scruple as that all on the sudden and the Cardinal soon discover'd that the Confessor had possessed him with it * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 573. This Jesuit had the vanity to imagine that he should make himself sole Master and be able to destroy the Minister in a short time against whom he had spoken several things as it were en passant This was a dangerous enterprise as well in respect of the implacable humour of the Cardinal if he did not succeed as of the King's weakness who told him again of every thing he heard However Father Caussin who had long deliberated upon the matter and waited a favourable opportunity to open himself frankly to the King against the Conduct of his Minister thought he had now found it and began to represent to him all his Miscarriages in the most violent Expressions he could think of He concluded that His Majesty ought to Discard him for Four principal Reasons The first was the Banishment of the Queen-Mother who was left in so great an Indigence that she wanted even the Necessaries of Life and this Reason seemed to make some impression upon the King The second was that the Cardinal usurped all the Royal Authority so that nothing remain'd to His Majesty but the bare Name of King and that the whole Nation had recourse to him as the supreme Disposer of all Favours The third was the Oppression of the People who were reduced to the last misery by the exorbitant Taxes The fourth was the Interest of Religion which the Cardinal-Duke designed to annihilate by supporting the Swedes and the Protestants of Germany who through his means were become more formidable than ever As soon as Father Caussin had done talking the King seemed to be moved by his Discourse which in reality contain'd nothing but notorious Truths and such as every one in the Kingdom to their cost were convinced of but only himself He appeared to be somewhat inclined to remove the Cardinal from the Ministry if his Confessor cou'd have named any one to him that was capable of succeeding him but that was a point he never thought of so unfit he was to manage an Affair of this consequence The King afterwards asked him whether he wou'd justifie before the Cardinal's face what he had then advanced against him This Question put the Jesuit to a stand however he recover'd himself and told him he wou'd make the Cardinal subscribe to the truth of it since he had said nothing but what all the World knew to be so The King replied that he shou'd see him then and appointed a day which was the 8th of December Father Caussin waited for this critical day but found himself under strange Anxieties especially when he reflected that there was no Dependance upon the King's Resolution and that he must expect terrible Things from the Minister's Indignation After he had considered with himself a long while what he was to do in this juncture he resolved to communicate the whole Affair to the Duke of Angoulême and to propose to him to fill the place of first Minister The Duke going to visit him at the House of St. Lewis he made this Proposal to him which made him more astonished at the Boldness of Father Caussin than desirous to accept the Station he offer'd him However pretending to be overcome by his Reasons he filled him with mighty hopes and promis'd to support him as far as he was able The Jesuit was now impatient till the day appointed came that he might in the Cardinal's presence make good the Accusations he had laid against him He expected to see the Cardinal fall into an outrageous Passion but was resolved to push the Business home whatever it cost him But scarce had the Duke of Angoulême parted from him but chusing the surest way he posted directly to Ruel to acquaint the Cardinal with what he had so lately learn'd Most People condemn'd this Fearfulness in him but the Duke excused himself upon this that not being able to repose any assurance upon the King's Constancy and seeing that this Affair cou'd not possibly succeed if the Cardinal came to have the least knowledge of it by any other way he wou'd never forgive him for that Confidence which Father Caussin had lodged in him The Cardinal thanked him for his Information and assured him he wou'd always remember this Kindness after which he went to St. Germains to discourse the King There he recounted to him all that had passed and proved the four Heads of the Accusation to be false by such sort of Reasonings as used to impose upon His Majesty's Understanding He remonstrated to him how dangerous it was to lend an Ear to such turbulent Spirits and concluded that the Father Confessor ought to be discarded As for himself he protested that he passionately desired to go to some place of Retirement and that he wou'd do it if it wou'd not be disadvantageous to His Majesty's Affairs The Confessor repaired to St. Germains on the day appointed and came into the Anti-Chamber as his usual custom was where he was inform'd that the King had shut himself up in his Closet with the Cardinal The Conference being very long was but a bad Omen for Father Caussin and when it was over De Noyers told him from the King that as for that day his Majesty wou'd not perform his Devotions and so he might return to Paris By this he understood that he was undone and the very same Evening an Exempt of the Guards seized his Papers and Person He was afterwards carried to Quimpercorentin in Britany where he lived in Confinement till the King's Death year 1638 Although the
Cardinal-Duke gave out that he hoped a General Peace wou'd be soon concluded yet in order to it there was no prospect of a Treaty set a-foot and the Court of Rome whose Proceedings are always very slow did not leave its usual pace to perswade the Crowns to a Peace The Fancy which had possessed the Cardinal-Duke not to acknowledge Ferdinand III. for Emperour hinder'd them from entring into any Negotiation Therefore among several Orders that were sent to the Mareschal d' Estrees The 1st of Jâ—nuâ—ry Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 8. p. 542. relating to the manner he was to treat of a Peace or a Cessation of Arms at Rome he was ordered to find out a way to acquaint the Emperour's Ambassadour without letting him know that this Advice came from him that if a Negotiation was begun the Crown of France wou'd own Ferdinand III. Above all the Ambassadour was so to manage Matters that the Ministers of the House of Austria shou'd by no means perceive that the King had the least desire either for a Peace or a Truce lest any Advantage shou'd be made of such a Confession They seem'd to be mightily displeased with Count Ludovico Ambassadour of Savoy at Rome for that having proposed a Cessation of Arms in Italy he shou'd affirm that he knew it from very good hands that France wou'd not oppose it The Dutchess of Savoy * Aubery's Life of the Card. Lib. 6. Cap. 17. Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 8. p. 574. had one Father Monod a Jesuit for her Confessor who had a great Ascendant over the Mind of that Princess He seem'd to be mighty zealous for the House of Savoy and had been so far considered by Victor Amadeo that he concerned himself as much in Affairs of State as he did in those that regarded the Conscience It came into this Man's Head whether of his own proper Motion or by the Orders of Madam of Savoy to procure the Queen-Mother's Return into France For this end he took a Journey to Paris where he contracted an Acquaintance with Father Claussin the Jesuit and as he was a Man of extraordinary Address he engaged him easily in this Design They looked upon the Queen-Mother's Return to be as good as impossible so long as the Cardinal-Duke continued in favour and therefore they concerted Matters together to ruin his Reputation with the King To effect this Father Caussin as has been already observed began to insinuate into his Majesty that he cou'd not with a good Conscience suffer his Mother to be any longer out of the Kingdom The Cardinal coming to know that it was by Father Monod's Instigation that Father Caussin had embarked in this Affair after he had caused the former to be turned away endeavoured to remove Father Monod from the Dutchess of Savoy under a pretence that he secretly favoured the Spaniards The Cardinal caused d' Emery the Ambassadour to tell Madam of Savoy as from his Majesty that having several just Occasions to suspect Father Monod he desired her to dismiss him from Court The Dutchess having no reason to part with her Confessor whatever Stories were told against him wou'd by no means give her Consent to it and endeavour'd to disabuse the Cardinal But the latter who never hated any man by halves press'd her to turn him away with more Obstinacy than ever as if it had been impossible for the King to live peaceably with his Sister and to protect her so long as she kept this Jesuit about her Person He was so incens'd against him that he cou'd not forbear talking of him to the Ambassadour of Savoy though this Subject had no relation to the Discourse then in hand †Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 575. * As the latter was one day telling the Minister how zealous Madam of Savoy was for the Interests of the Crown and what care she took that the Spaniards might not be able to attempt any considerable Enterprize which carried the least probability of Success he afterwards added that if any thing had happen'd disadvantageous to the Crown as for instance the Taking of Ponzone it was through the fault of his Majesty's Ministers in Italy The Cardinal answer'd That the Negligence of the Mareschal de Crequi and d' Emery was not to be excused but that as long as the Dutchess kept Father Monod near her they must expect the like Disorders since the King distrusted him and consequently his Ministers cou'd speak of nothing to Her Royal Highness with any Confidence The Ambassadour replied That Father Monod's living at Turin had not hinder'd the King's Ministers from executing his Orders The Cardinal persisted That he told him nothing but the truth and that his Majesty cou'd communicate none of his Designs to Madam of Savoy for fear lest she should tell him of them again At last under a pretence that Father Monod favour'd Cardinal Maurice and Prince Thomas although the Dutchess had evident proofs of the contrary she was forc'd to give her consent to have him †About the End of the Year apprehended The Jesuit being inform'd of it endeavour'd to prevent this blow but was taken upon the Frontiers and put in Prison at Montmelian In the mean time the Spaniards and the Princes of Savoy sent word to the Dutchess that if she observed the Neutrality they wou'd not make the least Attempt upon Piedmont On the other hand France sollicited her to renew the Treaty of a League offensive and defensive made with Victor Amadco in 1635 and which was to expire in the Month of July 1638. Most People were of opinion that this Treaty was actually broke by the Death of the Duke who concluded it as well as that of the Duke of Mantua and by the Agreement which the Duke of Parma had lately made with Spain The Dutchess was willing enough to make a defensive League as the Treaty of Pignerol had been by which France was obliged to defend Piedmont in case it was invaded by the Spaniards Upon this several tedious Contests happen'd and all that the Dutchess said she cou'd consent to concerning the War they wou'd have her continue against the Spaniards came to this That she wou'd attack the Places that had been taken in Montferrat As for the rest the Council of Savoy was clearly of opinion that she ought to keep the Neutrality to preserve her own Country without disengaging her self however from France or making any new Treaty with other Princes But it was insisted upon in France that she should renew the Treaty of Rivoli without having any regard to the Welfare of her State or the Power of a Regent which does not go so far as to declare a War unless there be urgent necessity for it Although she represented all this by her Ambassadour yet it signified nothing and they daily talked of sending a considerable Army into Piedmont to attack the Milaneze and to defend Piedmont against the Designs of the Cardinal of Savoy and Prince Thomas It
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
into some composition and seem'd to repent that he had provok'd so many people to despair who were really in a better case to make themselves be fear'd than he at first imagin'd Thus when the Ambassador of the States General spoke to the Cardinal of the Mediation of his Masters to accommodate this affair by reason of the interest which the Prince of Orange had in the Duke of Bouillon's preservation he was at first listned to by the Minister with great attention Another thing happen'd at this time which gave him a great deal of disturbance He learnt of the King that Bullion the Superintendant of the Finances had told him that all the Money for the Marine and the Artillery was spent The Cardinal was Intendant of the Marine and his Cousin the Mareschal de la Meilleraye Grand Master of the Artillery That the Cardinal was the Author of this War and only kept it up for his private ends That he knew not where to find any more Money to support it but that if he would be pleased to grant a few years Peace to his Kingdom he would take care to lay up such considerable summs that they should be sufficient to carry on any design whatever in which his Majesty had a mind to engage himself At last Bullion begg'd of his Majesty not to speak a syllable of this to his Eminence because if he came to know of it he would never suffer him to dye in his Bed The King gave him his promise and believing what he told him was true kept his word with him and said nothing of it to the Cardinal till the Superintendant was dead The haughty Minister answer'd the King That he was sorry his Majesty cited a dead Witness and the King replyed That he had forborn to speak of it while Bullion was alive because the latter told him that if the Cardinal knew of it he should certainly be destroy'd The Negotiation of the Ambassador of the States came to nothing not from the Cardinal 's being inflexible but because the Duke of Bouillon rejected the propositions which the Ambassador made Whether he was of opinion that it was to no purpose to reconcile himself to a man whose hatred was never extinguish'd but only in appearance or whether his vanity kept him from making any submissions to his Enemy as it was proposed to him he resolved to see whether he might not gain some advantage by force of arms before he made an Accommodation * See an Abridgm of the Gampagne of 1641. in Aubery's Mem. T 2. p. 135. The Mareschal de Chatillon went to put himself at the head of the Army of Champagne in May and the King advanced as far as Abbeville to be nearer Artois where he design'd to besiege Aire as we have already taken notice Here the King published a Declaration bearing date on the 8th of June * See it in the Mem. of Montresor p. 365. wherein after he had observ'd that the Princes who were at Sedan had committed several hostilities and joyned themselves to Spain he order'd all his Subjects to take them for declared Enemies if they did not within a month acknowledge their fault and submit themselves to his Majesty's Clemency In answer to this Declaration the Princes made a long Manifesto dated the 2d of July but it did not appear in public till after the Battel of Sedan which put an end to this Affair However as it was purposely contriv'd to serve as a Foundation for a longer War I will give the Reader an Abridgment of it before I proceed to the relation of that Battel It was entituled * Ib. 373. a Manifesto for the satisfaction of the Princes of the Peace tho the Count of Soissons only speaks After he had said that his Conscience obliged him to publish the ill designs of the Cardinal which he had so long forborn to do that his Majesty might have the entire Glory of chastising this imperious Minister who had assumed upon him the Royal authority he continues That it was four years since he had been obliged to retire to Sedan to live there in security and that he had refused to go any where else that he might not give the Cardinal an opportunity to accuse him of being an Enemy to France That nevertheless the Cardinal had sought all imaginable means to destroy him and to make himself master of Sedan altho the D. of Bouillon had not done any thing which ought to deprive him of his Majesty's protection That no ways had been left unattempted to acquaint the King with the ill conduct of his Minister but that this had produced no other effect but the imprisonment and ruin of those persons who had done it That consequently there was a necessity to employ the noise of arms that equity and reason might be heard That after several deliberations in concert with the Dukes of Guise and of Bouillon and several other Princes and Officers of the Crown he declared the Cardinal to be the greatest and most dangerous Enemy of the King and State That he had made himself master of the strongest places of the Kingdom and seized the Mouths of the principal Rivers Ports and Islands in the Ocean and in general all the securities of France That to maintain himself in this Usurpation he ruin'd the rest of the Kingdom by War to put the people out of a condition to recover what he had usurped That he designed to deliver the King into the hands of those to whom he was allied he means the Duke of Enguien who had lately married one of his Nieces and that he endeavour'd to approach the Crown altho it was the interest of France to keep him at a distance from it That if he could not accomplish this design he was in a condition to give his Relations the Keys of the Realm to open and shut the gates of Traffick and starve the great Cities when they pleased That the King and Monsieur perceived it well enough but durst not speak of it and that the Count of Soissons affirmed it in the name of the whole Royal Family That this design of his evidently appear'd in that he had made the best years of the Duke and Dutchess of Orleans barren That there was reason to fear that he design'd to secure himself from the power of his Majesty's Justice that so he might not give an account of his unjust misapplication of the Finances and the suppression of so many innocent people That he had rashly engaged the reputation of the King dissipated his Treasures prodigally thrown away the Blood of the Nobility and Souldiers and reduced the people to the last misery to satisfy his passions and carry on his own particular quarrels That the only reason why he had declar'd the War was to support his own authority which he thought he should never be able to preserve but in times of trouble That he had rendred all those whom he design'd to destroy
suspected of High Treason in order to turn them out of their places which he either took into his own hands or conferr'd upon those that promised to maintain him in his Tyranny That he had ruin'd the best Families in the Kingdom to raise his own and had reduced several good Houses to misery to inrich persons of no merit birth and fortune That he drained France of its Money to send it in specie to foreign Countries and fill'd the Kingdom with Money of a base allay That he had bought at too excessive rates both of the Swedes and others places which he was not able to keep as Philipsburg or must when a Peace comes surrender without reimbursement as Brisac and others That he had indiscreetly squander'd away the Finances in Italy to acquire himself friends whom he afterwards ruin'd and thus render'd the protection which his Majesty had given to the Dukes of Mantua Parma and Savoy contemptible and of no effect That he had made some attempts in Spain which only tended to the dishonour of France and gain'd some Conquests in the Low Countries which were a charge to the State and only proper to render the War everlasting That he had burthen'd the Kingdom with an infinite number of Officers and dryed up the ordinary sources of the Finances by selling or engaging the Demeans and Aids to so high a price that a man could not make up his Money again without committing a great deal of injustice That he had forced several Orders to elect him for their General as the Cistercians the Clarevallenses and the Praemonstratenses by imprisoning abundance of the Religious who would not give him their Votes That as for the other Orders he had engag'd them by a thousand artifices to elect Vicar Generals in France that they might have no more communication with Rome and that he might make himself Head of the Gallican Church for Spirituals as well as Temporals That the King had no Allies that could assist him as being all a charge to his Majesty and only able to make feeble diversions at the expence of France That those whom the Cardinal thought capable to oppose his arbritary proceeding had been delivered into the hands of the Executioner after they had been condemned by wicked corrupt Commissioners of his own nomination or rotted in Prison or were banish'd the Court That he with inhuman ingratitude had turn'd out the Queen Mother and treated all the Princes and Noblemen of the Kingdom in a most arrogant manner That he had violated or annihilated all the Laws and all the Ordinances of the Kingdom under the specious pretence of the absolute will and authority of the King That he had robbed the Provinces and communities of their ancient Franchises and vacated the contracts they had made with former Kings That he had grosly abused the Princes Dukes Peers Mareschals of France and other Officers of the Crown That he had caused several innocent Noblemen to be Condemned by Commissioners dependant upon himself and imprison'd them without any form of process That some Bishops had been judg'd contrary to the known Laws of the Land other Ecclesiasties depriv'd of their Benefices and all of them obliged besides the ordinary tenths to pay prodigious sums and more than one third of their revenue to maintain a company of Pyrates at Sea that were commanded by an Archbishop and by Land an Army of sacrilegious Ruffians that pillag'd Churches and were set on by a Cardinal That he had treated in a most extreme ill manner the two Archbishops Presidents of the last Assembly of the Clergy for representing to him the miserable condition of the Ecclesiastics of France who had given five millions and a half above the ordinary Tenths That several Noblemen had been severely fined forced to the Arriere-ban and deprived of their employments meerly because they were not of his Faction That the Presidents and Counsellors of the Soveraign Courts had been suspended turn'd out and imprison'd when they spoke for the real advantage of the King and People or opposed his innovations which tended to the disgrace and ruin of the Kingdom That several Officers of Justice and the Finances had been undone by researches and new regulations That the City of Paris after all the extraordinary Aids they had given his Majesty had been severely taxed like other Towns and that its Burghers had been taxed at discretion under the pretty name of Benevolences That all the rest that had been exempt from such burthens were to pay so long as Cardinal Richlieu continued in the Ministry That great imposts were laid upon merchandise and that they levied the twentieth penny upon the most necessary things belonging to humane life That the Country was desolated by Soldiers and the keepers of Salt which reduced the poor Peasants to the â—â—od and hard lâ—dgings of Bâ—asts or forced them to dye of Famine or to take Arms or to â—â—g that agriculture was stopt which infinitely incommoded in Ecclesiastics the Nobility and the Burghers These were the complaints brought against Cardinal Richlieu the greatest part of which were without question very wâ—ll grounded The mischief was that the world believâ—d that if thâ—se who â—â—â—surâ—d his conduct with so much reâ—son had been to take his place they would have 〈◊〉 the same violâ—â—ces and yet had 〈…〉 capable to carry it oft with a quarter of that â—â—od management which the â—â—â—dinal discoverâ—d Lest these discountâ—â—â—d Princes and Loâ—ds should be branded for being 〈◊〉 to thâ—e 〈◊〉 they said that they had 〈…〉 that the Emperour and King of Spain should lay down their Arms along with them so soon as they could coâ—oâ—ntly obâ—â—ing sure and honour 〈…〉 they believed 〈…〉 had power to break it as he had 〈…〉 of Ratisbone and 〈…〉 every one 〈…〉 joy what of right 〈…〉 to him 〈…〉 up Arms with no other 〈…〉 peace which the Cardinal 〈…〉 to deâ—iâ—e but did not so in 〈…〉 natural they should defend themselves 〈…〉 as they were able against the violent and 〈…〉 proceedings of the Minisâ—â—â— In 〈…〉 the three Eâ—tates of the Kingdom to 〈…〉 satisfaction for 〈…〉 had done them 〈…〉 such as 〈…〉 The Paâ—◠〈…〉 the Mareschal de Chatillon enter'd into the Principality of Sedan before the Enemies were in a condition to take the Field without doing any thing remarkable there But Lamboi having joyn'd these Princes at the beginning of July they marched together on the 5th of that month with eight thousand Foot and two thousand Horse to fight the Mareschal who had a thousand Horse and a thousand Foot more than they had * Siri Mer. T. 1. l. 2. p. 418. The Relation of the Battel of Sedan in the Mem. of Montresor p. 398. The Mareschal had positive Orders not to hazard a Battel and he only propos'd to himself to hinder them from passing the Meuse and entering the Kingdom according to the instructions he had received But the Enemies having passed the River within a quarter of a
that were in Yvrce to march that way but afterwards Prince Thomas would not let them come in again The Cardinal of Savoy likewise turn'd Tuttavilla who commanded the Spanish Troops out of Nice making him embark by himself without suffering him to speak to any one in a Brigandine under pretence that they had received advice that he design'd to surprize the Castle of Villa Franca After this it was no difficult matter to turn out the Troops that were destitute of their Leader so that the Cardinal found himself in a condition to conclude with France and his Sister-in-Law without running any hazard He afterwards married his own Neice daughter to the Dutchess of Savoy altho there was a great disparity between their ages The Duke of Longueville was ordered to command the Army in Italy and Prince Thomas concerted measures with him to regain the places which the Spaniards still held in Piedmont and to attack the Milanese This they began to perform with great success while Italy was embroil'd in the War of the Barberines against the Duke of Parma as I shall hereafter observe The States General of the * Ib. 310. Vnited Provinces having resolved to act only upon the defensive this year the Spaniards had no occasion to oppose them with a considerable Body of men So they turned the whole forces of the Low Countries against France and attackt Lens on the 17th of April with an Army of twenty five thousand men commanded by D. Francisco de Mello Governor of the Low Countries D' Anisy who was Governor of the place acquitted himself so ill in his duty that the Enemy took part of the Out-works without any resistance and enter'd into it by composition on the 19th The Count d' Harcourt who commanded ten thousand men in Picardy being inform'd of his Cowardice condemn'd him by a Council of War to have his Head struck off if he could be taken or to be executed in Essigies in the Market-place at Peronne in case they could not apprehend him Upon the news of Lens being besieg'd * Antoine de Grammont who was made Mareschal of France the 22 of Sep. 1641. the Mareschal de Guiche with a small Army which he had to cover Champagne marcht to the relief of the place but when he heard it was surrender'd he went to Peronne which was the rendezvous of the Count d' Harcourt's Army whom he was to joyn A few days after the taking of Lens D. Francisco de Mello went to lay Siege to Bassee a small place well fortified by the French since it was in their hands The Spanish General needed not many Pioneers to work on the Circumvallation because it was cover'd by the River Lis and several Canals into which the Country is cut except on one side for the compass of a league where he made his Retrenchments so strong that it was impossible to force them The French sent fifteen thousand men to observe them but durst not attack them and altho the Siege went on slowly by reason of the brave resistance of the Garrison nevertheless the Spaniards carried the Outworks by little and little so that Bourdonne Governor of the place having no hopes to be relieved surrendred it on the 13th of May upon very honourable conditions The Garrison which had been at the beginning three thousand strong had not then above two thousand four hundred several of which were sick or wounded The Spanish Army stay'd within their Lines till the 24th of May after which they separated in two bodies to oblige the French who were weaker than they to do the same The Count d' Harcourt went to encamp near Hedin at the Abbey of Cercamp and the Mareschal de Guiche near Catelet at that of Honnecourt The latter had intrench'd himself slightly enough near a Wood which he thought to be impenetrable by an Army and therefore had not made any Retrenchments on that side Whether D. Francisco de Mello was inform'd of it or no he march'd directly to him with the greatest part of his Forces * The 26 of May. While they attackt the Retrenchments on one side on the other they entred the Wood by dislodging some of the French that were there and put themselves in Battel between the Wood and the Camp Altho the French fought with a great deal of Bravery and return'd several times to the Charge yet being much inferiour in number they were at last obliged to give way and fly They lost fifteen hundred men and left above two thousand Prisoners in the hands of the Spaniards who likewise gain'd the greatest part of the Colours and an hundred thousand Crowns in Money which was design'd for the payment of the Army They on their side lost but very few men and might almost have taken the whole French Army Prisoners if they had pursued them with more vigour The Mareschal grown desperate to see himself defeated stay'd a long time in the Abbey on purpose to be made a Prisoner and it was not without a great deal of difficulty that he was perswaded to leave it After the loss of this Battel Picardy which was destitute of forces sufficient to defend it expected to be pillaged in a few days because the King was then in Rousillon as I shall observe anon and could not put things in order there But the Spanish General instead of making the best advantage of his Victory stay'd a long time to deliberate whether he should march into Germany to fall upon the * The King made him Mareschal a Naibon as well as la Mo he Hauâ—ancourt Mareschal de Guebriant or else enter France to oblige the Armies which attackt Rousillon and Catalonia to come and defend their own Kingdom It was believed that D. Francisco de Mello would not fail to do the latter at least after he had reposed himself a few days but he did not resolve what measures to take pretending that he had receiv'd Orders from Madrid not to engage the Army in any considerable enterprize because cause the Court of Spain had thoughts to employ them upon another occasion which I shall mention anon but was already past and the Governor of the Low Countries knew nothing of it The Cardinal was at Frontignan when he receiv'd the news of the Mareschal's defeat who had married one of his Relations and how much he took it to heart So he writ him this Letter which I thought it not amiss to set down Men may do all that prudence and the present occasions suggest to them but the event is in the hand of God The best Captain in the world may lose a Battel and when such a misfortune befalls him he ought to comfort himself if he did all that he could and ought to do Take heart therefore my poor Count and omit nothing that lies in your power to hinder this accident which has happen'd to you from being attended with any ill consequences If I had a strong Arm I would offer
should be sent by Land to Rousillon through Catalonia while the Marquis de Leganez and de Tavara amused the French and Catalonians About the beginning of July an engagement happen'd on the Coasts of Catalonia between the Fleets of France and Spain which lasted two days without any great loss on either side however it proved extremely prejudicial to the Spaniards who could never hope to save Rousillon without beating the French Fleet. The latter retir'd to Barcelona and the other to Majorca The fight had scarce begun when a man pretending himself to be sent by the Duke de Cindad-Real Admiral of the Spanish Fleet took post to carry the news to the King that the Duke had gain'd an entire Victory and taken from the French sixty Ships and ten Gallies In his way thither he happen'd to communicate his design to one Perazza a Captain in the Regiment of Mortare This last to get the Royal Present which the carrier of so good news would undoubtedly receive from the King cunningly got there before him and filled the Court with joy before the other arrived Soon after he arrived and past for a new Courrier who confirm'd what the former had said The King and the Favourite transported with joy without condescending to examine the bearers of this news dispatch'd Dominic d' Herrera to the Queen to give her advice of this Victory and she presented him with three hundred Crowns and a Golden Chain At the same time orders were sent to the Marquis de Torrecuse who was upon his march to stay where he was till he receiv'd fresh orders because the Victory which the Fleet had gain'd open'd a passage by Sea to the Spanish forces and thus they made him lose the opportunity of relieving Perpignan Not long after a Bark arrived at Veneros which brought a true relation of the engagement and they no sooner heard the news at Court but they were in a strange confusion for having so slightly believ'd a thing of that importance and dispersing wrong informations all over the Kingdom From extremity of joy the King past to extremity of sorrow and sent a second order to the Marquis de Torrecuse wherein he expressly forbid him to hazard a Battel upon any terms till he had received a fresh reinforcement He afterwards joyn'd the Marquis de Mortare who â—â—me from Saragossa and they marched together to â—â—rragone to the number of four thousand Horse â—â—â—d twelve thousand Foot The King still tarried â—â—me time at Molina and afterwards went to Saraâ—â—ssa where he stay'd till September and as nothing 〈◊〉 as resolv'd upon in relation to the War the Army 〈◊〉 Rousillon continued undisturb'd in their posts about â—â—erpignan tiâ—l such time as the place surrendred It may with reason enough be affirm'd that part â—f the losses which the Crown of Spain sustain'd and â—â—e greatest part of the advantages which France â—â—ain'd over her were the effects of the prudence and â—ast abilities of the Cardinal-Duke However he narrowly escap'd being assassinated or at least to survive his Prince's favour in the midst of so many events that were so extremely advantageous to the Crown The Master of the Horse being as we have already said become an Enemy to the Cardinal thought of nothing else but how to destroy him To compass this design he believed there was a necessity of having the assistance of Monsieur who as he never had any real kindness for this Minister still hated him notwithstanding all the seeming reconciliations that had been made between them It was no difficult matter for Cinq-Mars to gain him * Seâ— Siri Mer. T 2. l. 2. p. 571. by representing to him that the Cardinal finding the King was indisposed endeavour'd to get himself nominated Regent of the Kingdom in his Will exclusively of all others that might better pretend to it The Duke who desired nothing so earnestly as he did this and knew the great ambition of the Minister was easily induced to believe it and had several secret conferences with the Master of the Horse to contrive means to ruine him But as the Duke of Orleans was none of the fittest men at finding out expedients the Master of the Horse thought it would be his wisest course to get the Duke of Bouillon who was engaged in the same affair to come and meet him at Paris He sent a Messenger to desire him to come thither at the same time that the Cardinal dispatched a Couâ—rier to him to oblige him to come before the King's departure on purpose to receive his Orders to go and command the Army of Italy Accordingly he came and saw the Master of the Horse at Paris and St. Germains * Seâ— the Râ—â—aâ—â—on of 〈◊〉 â—â—aâ—◠〈◊〉 in the â—â—â—oâ—r's of â—â—onâ—â—eâ—or where they concluded that it was absolutely necessary to treat with Spain that they might have an Army sufficient to cover Sedan and to give battle as the year before without which it was impossible to defend Sedan against the Armies of France that were in Champagne in Picardy and Artois It was also agreed between them that they should treat with the King of Spain in the name of Monsieur who gave Letters and necessary instructions to Fontrailles to address himself in his name to the Count-Duke This Messenger arrived safely at Madrid and * Signed hâ—◠〈◊〉 of Ma◠〈◊〉 See 〈◊〉 â—â—id p. 572. concluded a Treaty with the Count-Duke whereby the King of Spain promis'd to give Monsieur twelve thousand Foot and five thousand Horse of old Troops besides four hundred thousand Crowns in ready Money to raise more Monsieur promised to be ready at a place of security which was Sedan to put himself at the head of this Army and enter France with a design to oblige the Cardinal to consent to a Peace between the two Crown which was pretended to be the end of this Treaty But at the bottom 't was only to turn out the Cardinal by raising a Civil War in France the Duke of Orleans no more troubling himself about the welfare of the people than the Minister of the King his Brother The Cardinal easily perceived that the Master of the Horse was contriving some mischief against him but he knew none of the particulars of his designs A report was spread about that the affection which the King had for his Minister was sensibly diminished and that Cinq-Mars had much the greater share of his Majesty's favour The Cardinal fearing lest this report which his enemies industriously spread about in all places might become true if it was not so already resolved not to lose the King out of his sight in his Journey to Rousillon They lodged all the way in the same places altho they were very much straitned for want of room and that heretofore they were always accustomed to lodge in different places Besides this the Cardinal never fail'd to see the King every morning and evening to dissipate by his presence all the contrivances
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
fly to the end of the world than be brought to so scandalous a pass that contrary to all equity and justice his bare testimony was to go for valid without any personal appearance provided he would answer to the interrogatories of the Chancellor in the presence of seven Commissioners In the mean time Cinq-Mars having declared he would confess all if they would promise him his life the Cardinal sent Laubardemont the Register of this Tryal to him who promised it him upon condition he would speak the truth against De Thou who had as he pretended deposed against him He fell into this Snare and being interrogated on the 12th of September by the Chancellor and the other Commissioners he confessed all and as for what related to De Thou deposed that the Treaty with Spain had been communicated to him by Fontrailles at Carcassonne but that he protested against this design and heartily-condemn'd it Nay that he had said more than once that if he were not afraid of the great credit of the Criminals he would go to discover all to the King and that he had endeavour'd to disswade the Duke of Bouillon from this attempt which he thought would miscarry for several reasons Not long after De Thou was brought to his examination who at first denied all but being confronted by Cinq-Mars confessed all only he added that he had done all that lay in his power to make the Master of the Horse quit this enterprize that he had frequently quarrelled with him for coming to these extremities without considering what might be the consequence of them and lastly that being but very imperfectly instructed in this affair and having no proofs of it in his hands to convince the Criminals before the King he therefore did not look upon himself obliged to reveal all he knew of the matter especially since the Conspirators were not in a condition to make it succeed De Thou thought it the best way to confess all without suffering himself to be farther prest for fear of being put to the Rack which he extremely dreaded but could have avoided it by no means if he had continued to deny the fact The Kings Attorney General was of opinion that both of them ought to suffer for their crime All the Judges agreed that the Master of the Horse ought to dye for making a Treaty with the Enemies of the Crown De Thou was likewise found guilty of High Treason because he did not discover this Treaty as soon as he was made acquainted with it and for some violent presumptions that he had made it his business to engage the Conspirators in this union against the welfare of the State There were only two of the Judges that voted against their being put to death but Laubardemont urged an Edict of Lewis XI upon this occasion by which those that knew of any design levell'd against the Government and don 't reveal it are declared to be guilty of High Treason Thus they were condemned to have their Heads struck off in the Market place at Terreaux and the * See their Trial in the 2d Tome of the Merc. of Siri l. 3. and an Account of their Death same day Sentence was executed lest the King who had a great kindness for the Master of the Horse and might be induced to have some compassion for De Thou who was no farther a Criminal than as he had declined to accuse his Friend should pardon them The Cardinal still kept to his beloved Maxim never to destroy and one by halves and therefore prevented the Clemency of Lewis XIII by a speedy execution After all there is no question to be made but that the Accused were really guilty of designing to get the management of affairs into their own hands without the Kings consent and if they had accomplished their intentions the people had not been happier than they were under the Cardinal and in all probability the Enemies of France had only become more formidable by it Neither the King nor they according to the common opinion were in a condition to sustain the weight of affairs with such a resolution and conduct as the Cardinal had all along shown They were influenced by a principle of ambition and envy and did not act for the real good of the people and it was better for France that an Ambition supported by so little Conduct should prove fatal to the accused than to behold the greatest Minister she ever had perish by their intrigues and the King made a Slave to some persons who were more unfit to govern than himself However if the King had had the Courage to have pardon'd De Thou who was the least guilty among them he had won the applauses of the whole Kingdom and had not in the least sinned against the rules of good policy Chavignac a Hugonot Gentleman who had served under the Duke of Rohan and whom the Master of the Horse had got to be recalled to the Court to employ him in his designs was freed and acquitted because he refused to be concerned in this matter altho he openly profest himself to be an humble servant of Cinq-Mars 'T is certain his innocence appeared very clear since he so fortunately escap'd those Judges who as the world reported of them were ready to find all people guilty that the Cardinal had a mind to destroy The Duke of Beaufort was accused for having receiv'd a visit from De Thou who would have fain perswaded him to embark in this affair and the Cardinal who desired to discover all the Accomplices sent for him to Court and got the King to write to him upon that score The Duke made answer that he knew nothing of the matter but altho his Majesty writ to him thrice to come to him he judg'd it more advisable to pretend an indisposition and at last withdrew into England As for what concerned the Duke of Bouillon the King pardon'd him upon condition he would deliver up the City and Castle of Sedan to be annexed to the Crown without insisting on any other terms but his Life and Liberty and that he should intirely trust the Kings generosity as for what he might be pleased to give him by way of exchange * Siri Mer. T. 2. l. 3. c Aubery Mem. T. 2. p. 766 c. He obtain'd Letters of abolition dated the 15th of September at the end of which month Cardinal Mazarine went to take possession of Sedan with eleven Companies of the Guards As soon as he was set at liberty he took post to Montargis where the Cardinal then was to whom he made a visit after which without seeing the King he retir'd into Champagne to the Count de Roussi his Brother-in-law where the Dutchess of Bouillon was and from thence to a Castle which he had in Perigord This Prince was generally condoled for the loss he sustained but every body was surpriz'd that he should so easily be drawn into this design immediately after he had fortunately
resolution of the Confederate Princes ceased to threaten as at first they had done those that opposed their designs and pretended that they were desirous to end this affair by the way of negotiation France employ'd it self to pacify these commotions at least in appâ—arance but the Duke of Parma perceiving that the Barberines only endeavour'd to gain time took the Field on the 10th of September with about four thousand Horse which the Mareschal d Estrees commanded under him in quality of Lieutenant General His design was to go and attack the Pope's Army commanded by Don Tadeo Barberini and in case he defeated him to march strait to the walls of Rome but if he was repulsed to retire into his own Territories covered by the forces of Modâ—na and the Troops of the Confederate Princes That if it so happen'd that the Army of the Barberines kept within their Camp it would be easy for him to go up to Rome without any opposition because being inferiour to him in Horse it would not be possible for them to follow him The Pope's General being acquainted with the Duke's design ordered the greatest part of his Troops to encamp near the Castle of St. John to be in a condition to oppose the Enemy's maâ—ch However neither he nor those that commanâ—ed under him could imagine that the Duke of Parâ—a durst strike so hardy a blow as to enter the Territory of Bologne by leaving Fort Vrban behind him and venturing himself between that City and the Popeâ—s Army Being thus lull'd asleep they were extremely surpriz'd at the Duke's boldness when they were not in a condition to oppose him Their Troops were seized â—â—â—h terror and as soon as those of Parma appeared they fled on all sides Thus this Army which had given the Alarm to all Italy was in a short time made unable to oppose a small body of Horse without Artillery and supported by no Foot On the other hand the Duke of Parma's Army advanced as far as Castiglione del Lago in Romagnia and struck a terror into Rome At this time the * Ib. T. 2. l. 3. Negotiations were set on foot afresh the Duke offering to withdraw provided that Castro was put into the hands of the Confederates with a promise to deliver it up to him in a short time The Barberines being in a great fright had recourse to the Ministers of France and desired them to interpose the authority of the King to bring this affair to some accommodation Altho they were not sorry in France to see these disorders and broils in Italy yet they were afraid lest the Confederate Princes seeing the happy success of the Duke of Parma's enterprize might form some designs disadvantageous to the rest of Italy For this reason they were glad of any opportunity to stop the progress of the League and they did it effectually by beginning to negotiate afresh The Ministers of several Princes and those of the Pope met at Castel Georgio for this purpose but after abundance of proposals on both sides nothing was concluded upon and yet the Duke of Parma withdrew his Troops out of the Ecclesiastic State This was the only thing which the Barberines desired and perhaps the other Powers helped them to deceive the Confederate Princes However 't is certain that during these divisions Prince Thomas of Savoy General of the French Troops in Italy took Nice de la Paille from the King of Spain by composition dated the 3d of September On the 20th of the following month the Marquis de Pianezza re-took Verrue the taking of which places was of consequence for the time to come and Prince Thomas made himself master of the City of Tortone at the beginning of October and of the Castle on the 25th of November The King to recompence the services or this Prince made him a present of this Town and the Territory belonging to it and after this manner the Campaign ended The Spaniards had in vain attempted to relieve it but could not hinder the taking of it 〈◊〉 and the succours which they threw into the Castâ—e did not defend it with more success Thus the projects of France were almost every where fortunate under the Conduct of the Cardinal-Duke while the Count-Duke saw the King of Spain come by the worst in all places through his want of dexterity Another misfortune happen'd to him about the end of the year as he endeavour'd to make some attempt before he return'd to Castile The Catholic King sent some Troops to reduce the City of Monzon which the French possessed upon the frontiers of Arragon and from whence they made frequent excursions into the most fertile part of that Kingdom but a furious tempest happenâ—d which broke down the Bridge of Fragues over which they must pass and entirely dissipated that small remainder of men which the Spaniards had And soon after the King who was provoked to see that nothing but ill success attended all his undertakings disgraced the Count-Duke after he had been fully convinced that this Favourite was in no respect to be compared with the Chief Minister of Lewis XIII To return now to the Cardinal and represent the last Scene of so busie a life altho he had taken all imaginable care to recover his health yet he continued in a languishing condition ever since his return from Rousillon The King being at Fontainâ—blâ—au * The 17. Siri Mere. T. 2. l. 3. in October the Minister went to visit him there altho he had still a pain in his Arm and felt some approaches of an Ague From thence he went to Pariâ— where having summon'd the Privy Councellors to wait upon him at his house he fell upon several projects for the ensuing Campaign Some were of advice to make a vigorous irruption into the Kingdom of Arragon which might easily be effected since the dissipation of the Army commanded by the Marquis de Leganez But to this others objected that it was to no purpose to advance so far because the first Treaty of Peace would oblige them to surrender up all that they had conquer'd on that side and besides that this Country being at too great a distance from the heart of France and the presence of the King which is so necessary to animate and give lifâ— to all great undertakings it would be impossible to perâ—orm any considerable action there Others gave their opinion to make the chief effort on the side of the Low Countries but then it was objected that there were too many strong places on that quarter and that experience had made them see that they must spend a whole Campaign to take one Town so that the advantage they got by any Conquest did by no means ballance the expence they were at to obtain it Some proposed Italy but before it would be safe for them to advance thither they must destroy the League and principally disengage the Venetians from it who seem'd to be the most zealous for the repose of their
their pensions should be paid them where-ever they thought fit to retire He sent a Gentleman to Travelle to assure him that the King loved him as well as ever and that his favour should never diminish by his absence The Court being thus purged from the rest of the Factious as the Cardinals Creatures express'd themselves his authority appear'd in its full extent But at the same time not only the King's health who was extremely alter'd ever since the death of Cinq-Mars but also that of the Cardinal began to lessen sensibly and towards the end of November he found himself seized with an exceeding pain in his side which was accompanied with a Feaver He had been troubled for several years with the Hemorrhoids and that distemper had frequently made him suffer a great deal of pain till a Physician stopt them But ever since that time as if this too acid blood had thrown it self upon the upper parts he had a defluxion upon his arm to cure which he was forced to employ Causties However he past the year 1641 without any considerable inconvenience but the year following having stopped the Ulcer in his Arm in seems the humour which had an Issue there made two imposthumes above his Lungs which shortned his days 'T is commonly the fate of great persons to be the worse served as for what relates to the cure of their Distempers than ordinary men for as none but Courtiers can have access to them who understand no profession but that of Flattery 't is almost impossible for them to have good Physicians As it usually happens in such distempers as the Cardinal was troubled with that the Patients are sometimes better and sometimes worse the hopes of the Relations and Creatures of this Minister increased and diminish'd by turns and sometimes joy and sometimes sadness was to be read in their countenances 'T is credibly reported that the King 's rough manner of receiving his last pretensions altho at last he complied with them did discompose him as if the King had been obliged wholly to submit himself to his desires However 't is certain that on the 29th of November the pain in his side increased extremely so that he was blooded twice It was likewise ordered that the Holy Sacrament should be * The 30 which fell on a Sunday exposed in all the Churches of Paris to endeavour to obtain his health of God but these Prayers and Ceremonies were no more efficacious than the interessed vows of his Relations The following day he seem'd to be better and those who desired his preservation began to say that God himself had appeared for it but towards the end of the same day they were forced to alter their tone for the pain in his side still encreased as well as his Feaver which was accompanied with great difficulty of breathing which made his Relations leave him neither by day nor by night On the 2d of December a consult of Physicians was held the result of which was that the Cardinal had but a short time to live The King being inform'd of the extremity he was in made him a visit and spoke to him with a great deal of tenderness and concern The Cardinal told him among other thing That he took his leave of his Majesty knowing that he was condemned to pay in a short time the common Tribute which all men owe to Nature That he said this last adien to his Majesty with the entire satisfaction he felt that he had never done any thing in his whole life contrary to his service That he left France in the highest reputation it ever had injoy'd in the world and her Enemies on the other hand humbled that he asked no other recompence of his Majesty for all his toils and labours than the continuance of his Royal protection to his Relations to whom he would not give his Benediction but upon the condition they would always preserve an inviolable fidelity to the King that lastly he requested his Majesty not to change the Ministry since those that were then concerned in the administration of publick affairs were extremely fit and capable to serve the Crown To these he added some important instructions conducing to the Grandeur of the Kingdom which were never published but 't is said they have been since followed The King by his answers testified how much he was concern'd at the Cardinals condition and promised him to protect his Relations with whom as he said he had other reasons to be well satisfied Afterwards two yolks of Eggs being brought to him the King took them and gave them to him with his own hand After this he confest himself to M. de Lescot Bishop of Chartres elect from whom he received absolution At last he asked the Physicians how long they thought he might live who told him that since they saw him so unconcern'd to dye they would not dissemble with him that they did not believe his distemper as yet was desperate and that he must wait till the seventh day However finding himself much worse towards the evening he demanded the Viaticum and the Curate of S. Enstachias brought it to him As he entred he cry'd out Behold my Judge who will soon pronounce my Sentence I desire him with all my heart to condemn me if in my Ministry I have proposed any other end to my self than the good of Religion and of the State Next morning * The 3 of Decem. at break of day he would receive the Extreme Unction and the Curate having told him that it was not necessary for a person of his rank to pass through all the ordinary forms which others are oblig'd to do he would not suffer himself to be treated otherwise than as a common man Thus after he had recited to him the principal Articles of Belief he said That he embraced them with a perfect Faith and that he desired to have a thousand lives to sacrifice them all for the Faith and for the Church As he demanded of him whether he forgave his enemies he answer'd That he did it with all his heart and after the same manner as he besought the divine justice to use him And being asked that in case God would be pleas'd to grant him a longer life whether he would employ it better in his sevice than the time past he reply'd May God rather send me a thousand Deaths if he foresees that I shall consent to one mortal sin He likewise recommended himself to the Prayers of the standers by in a manner that sensibly affected them and a man that had lived all along conformable to the precepts of the Gospel could not have testified a greater confidence in God Altho he was given over by his Physicians and there was no likelihood for him to recover an Emperic of Troyes named le Fevre being presented to him and having boasted extraordinary matters of I don't know what sort of a Water and Pills he had the Cardinal was willing to try the
to surrender it a. 340. Goes to Grenoble to Lyons and into Savoy ib. 341 c. Makes a Treaty with Gustavus Adolphus a. 344. Cabals against him during the King's sickness at Lyons a. 355. Measures taken to save him a. 356. The Queen-Mother breaks off with him a-fresh a. 358. Is protected by the King a. 359 c. Is reconciled in outward appearance with his Befactress a. 363. His Opinion concerning the design to apprehend the Queen-Mother a. 367 371 c. Plessis Armand John of Cardinal of Richlieu made a Duke and Peer b. 5 6. Governour of Bretany ibid. His Discourse about the Queen-Mother b. 9.56 Goes into Lorrain b. 24. Tries in vain to marry his Niece to the Count de Soissons b. 26. Gives his Opinion against the Duke of Montmorency b. 39. His Conduct in this occasion b. 42 43 c. Falls sick in Guienne b. 48. Quarrels with the Duke of Espernon b. 48 49. His Sentiments upon the Affairs of Germany after the death of Gustavus ib. 53 c. He would send the Queen-Mother to Florence b. 57 c. 75. Received Knight of the Holy Ghost b. 61. His opinion concerning a War with Spain in 1633. ib. 62. Goes into Lorrain and treats with the Cardinal of Lorrain b. 67. His Sentiments about Lorrain b. 69 70. Assassines sent to kill him b. 76. His opinion about a Reconciliation between this King his Mother and his Brother b. 84 85 87. His Speech in Parliament 1634 b. 90. Complains of the Cardinal of Lorrain b. 92. Cruel to the Queen-Mother 100. His advice to prevent the evil Designs of Monsieur ib. 106. He complains of the Q. Mother's Domesticks ib. 110. Augments the number of his Guards ib. 117. Obtains the Coadjutorship of Spiers ib. 117. They refuse to grant it him at Rome b. 117. His Sentiments about the Affairs of Germany after the Battel of Norlingue b. 118. Makes the Privy-Council meet at his House a. 130. The great Inquietudes that attended his Grandeur b. 130. The Q. Mother complains of him to the Pope b. 131. He gives ill Orders to resist the Imperialists b. 137. Consternation of the Cardinal ib. 138. Judges it would be better to declare War against Spain than barely to cross its Designs b. 145. The Court of Rome refuses him the Bulls to be General of the Cistercians and Premonstratenses b. 159. Fears lest he should set up for a Patriarch b. 159. The People angry with him at Paris b. 171. His Courage upon that occasion ib. 171. The Fear he then expressed b. 172. What sort of Danger he ran at Amiens b. 174 175. His Advice to the Dutchess of Savoy b. 195 200 205.206 227 229 233 263 264 268. Accused by the King's Confessor b. 196 c. Occasions the Queen to be ill used b. 215 c. 250. His Discourse with Count Philip d' Aglié b. 234. His fallings out with the Court of Rome b. 236. The Complaints he makes at the Court of Rome b. 238. His Advice to the new King of Portugal b. 262. His designs concerning the Hugonots b. 275. Concerning the erection of a Patriarchship b. 276. Aspires to be Regent of the Kingdom b. 276. His Quarrels with the Count de Soissons and the Duke of Bouillon b. 308 c. With the Archbishop of Rheims afterwards Duke of Guise b. 309. A Conspiracy against him b. 311. He repents of having provok'd the Count de Soissons b. 315. The Sentiments of Bullion about the War caused by the Cardinal b. 315. Complaints of his Administration b. 317 c. Perswades the King to an Attempt upon Roussillon b. 329. His Advice to carry Monsieur and the Queen thither b. 331. Departs for Languedoc b. 332 333. Falls sick at Narbonne b. 342. Does not think himself in a place of security b. 343. Discovers the Conspiracy of Cinq-Mars b. 344. His interest with the King of Tarascon b. 347. His Voyage to Paris b. 349. Holds a Council about the Designs of the ensuing Campagne b. 365. A mysterious Comedy which he causes to be acted b. 366. Some insolent Proposals which he made to the King to see him b. 367. Turns several Captains out of their Places ib. Would have his own Guards mingle with those of the King b. 368. Pretends to quit the Ministry ib. His last Sickness b. 3. c. His last Words b. 3. c. His Death b. 3. His Will b. 3. The Disposition of his Brain b. 3. His Funeral b. 3 Plessis Armand John of Cardinal The Portraicture of his Person b. 3. His general Maxims and Projects b. 3. His ambitious Humour a. 17 18. Changes his Conduct and lays the Fault on the other Ministers a. 349. Abandons his principal Designs to lay hold of any favourable incident a. 342. draws the Hatred of all People upon himself a. 195. Believes Visions b. 209. What use he made of the King's Favourites 279. His Maxim never to pardon Crimes of State a. 207. b. 351. His Maxims to engage the King to use all those that were most nearly related to him ill a. 193. His cunning to set the King and Queen-Mother at variance a. 357. b. 10. And to continue him in an ill Humour against her ib. 77. Concerning those whom he took into his Service a. 253. His dexterity to make People be suspected a. 179 180. His Sentiments about the Discourse of Ministers of State a. 3 Pont du Cé A Victory obtained by the King over the Queen-Mother near this City a. 42. Taken by the Royalists a. 43 Pont-Courlay Marquis of beats the Spaniards b. 215 Porte Agent of the Cardinal Infanta at Paris b. 216 Portugueses rebell b. 261 Portugueses throw off the Spanish Yoak in all places 354 Pozzevera The Courage of the Inhabitants of that City a. 124 Prâlain Mareschal of when elevated to that Dignity a. 24 Privas besieged and taken by the Royal Army a. 313 Puilaurens Favourite of Monsieur the Presents and Promises made him to gain him over a. 264 Puilaurens 'T is endeavour'd in vain to remove him from Monsieur b. 83. He treats with the Cardinal ib. 98.110 They try to assassinate him b. 103. What great Offers the Cardinal makes him b. 111. Marries a Relation of the Cardinal ib. 114. Buys the Dutchy of Eguillon b. ib Draws the Minister's Anger upon himself b. 121 122 Sent to Bois de Vincennes b. 125. where he dies 126 Puisieux Peter Bralard Marquis of has the Survivorship of the Secretary of State 's Place a. 14. Disgraced ib. 24 c. Q. Querasque a Treaty concluded in that City b. 13 Quiers taken by the Count d'Harcourt b. 235 R. Ratisbonne a Treaty concluded in that City a. 349 Rhée an Island attack'd by the English whether it was to be reliev'd a. 216. Relieved a. 218 Renty taken by the French b. 209 Retz Duke of blamed for Cowardize a. 43 The Revenues Royal under Henry IV. a. 204 205 Rheims the Archbishop of that City his Quarrel with the
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