good intentions of his Sister but desired her not to interpose in this Affair that he intended on his Side to give his Mother all reasonable Satisfaction but that she had ingag'd her Self in so many Cabals against him that he cou'd come to no other Resolution about her till a Peace was concluded that as for the Maintenance they demanded for her he was afraid she was abused by her own Evil Councellors as if there was no Medium between granting her all and refusing his Mother a Dowry which lawfully belonged to her and yet Lewis the Just refus'd it her Thus my Lord Jermyn's Negotiation came to nothing and though he offer'd in the Name of the King and Queen of England to ingage for the good Conduct of the Queen-Mother and promised every thing which cou'd in reason be expected yet they would talk of nothing less than sending this unfortunate Princess to Florence where they promised to settle an Appointment upon her which perhaps they wou'd have stopt afterwards No one durst speak a word to the King upon this occasion and the good Prince could not bethink himself of any middle Expedient between treating his Mother with this excessive Rigour only to please the Cardinal and restoring her to her first Authority He cou'd without jealousie behold his chief Minister assume a Power infinitely greater than the Queen-Mother had ever pretended to and abuse it in a more notorious manner and yet it never disturbed him but the Cardinal had gain'd that absolute Ascendant over him and had so far possessed him that without him both he and his Kingdom wou'd be intirely ruin'd and that none but he had honest intentions towards him that he perceived nothing of the Cardinal's Designs However to secure himself in some measure from the Inhumanity which the World wou'd be apt to charge him with in refusing to let the Queen-Mother return since she desir'd it with so much Submission he wou'd not declare his own Opinion in the Council upon this Affair But he ingag'd the other Ministers to give their Sentiments in Writing which he drew up for them himself and they afterwards sign'd They are still to be seen in the Memoirs of * Page 340. Montresor and they take two things for granted first that it was impossible for the Queen-Mother to come back without embroiling the Kingdom and that there was no other way to preserve it in Tranquility but by suffering her to want even Necessaries out of France unless she wou'd go to Tuscany Secondly that as Princes are design'd more for their State than for themselves so they are also more nearly related to that than to their Father or Mother and are not obliged to show them any marks of the respect they owe them but as far as they agree with a more publick and noble Duty According to these Slaves of the Cardinal France wou'd be undone if the King made any Provision for his Mother and this Action of the King resembled the Separation of Jesus Christ from the Virgin-Mary They gave this Advice to his Majesty in the Month of March and their Names that sign'd are as follow Leguier Bullion Bouthillier Chavigny and Sablet At the same time the Cardinal-Duke order'd a Process against the Duke de la Valette who had been received very honourably in England * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 781. According to the usual Forms it belonged to the Parliament of Paris to judge of it but according to a custom establish'd by this Minister the King nominated some Commissioners of Parliament and of the Privy-Council although the Parliament had remonstrated to him that it was an Infraction of their Privileges and that these Causes belonged to them The Duke de la Valette was accused of Cowardice and Treason besides that he had left France without Permission which he cou'd not do as being Colonel-General of the French Infantry Governour of Guienne and Duke and Peer of France The King order'd the Judges to come before him at St. Germains and commanding them to give their Opinions the chief President humbly begg'd of his Majesty to dispense with him from giving his Opinion in that place being obliged to give it in Parliament if the King wou'd be pleased to send back the Cause to be there tried conformable to the Laws as he was going to prove But the King took him up short and told him That the Councellors of Parliament started difficulties of their own making and had a mind to keep him in Tutelage but he wou'd have them know that he was their Master He addâ—d That it was a great mistake to say that he cou'd not order a process against a Peer of France after what Manner he saw most convenient and forbad them to speak of it The * So they call those Judges in France that make a Report of the Case to the Parliament Rapporteurs de la Posterie and Machaut concluded after a long reasoning that his Body was to be apprehended and then the King spoke to the rest to give their Opinion Pinon began his Harangue with observing that in all the Fifty Years he had been a Councellour of Parliament he never remembred a thing of so vast an importance to have come before them that he consider'd the Duke de la Valette as a Person that had the Honour to be married to the King 's Natural Sister and as a Duke and a Peer and that therefore his Judgment was That this Cause ought to be brought before the Parliament The King told him that this was not giving his Opinion and that he did not take it as such But Pinon answer'd That in the Order of Justice a Reference was a lawful Vote The King reply'd in great Anger That he wou'd have them give their opinion of the Merits of the Cause and Pinon made answer That since his Majesty commanded him he was of the same Opinion with the former The Presidents Nesmond and Leguier said the same thing seeing the King positively bent to have it so The President de Bailleal who had heard at his coming into the Hall that the Cardinal shou'd say That the King wou'd make the Duke de la Valette taste of his Mercy once more said that he approved of the Overture which the Cardinal had made but the latter reply'd That he needed only to cover himself with his Robe to give his Opinion so he was constrain'd by the King's Command to do as those before him had done The President de Meme thought of his Bonnet without saying a Word The President de Novion after a long Discourse wherein he remark'd that no mention was made neither of the Name nor Age of the Witnesses that swore against the Duke and that the process was against the usual Forms as the King himself confess'd declar'd that he thought the Duke ought personally to appear and besides that he cou'd not in Conscience give his Opinion in the place where he was He added that if
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
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
Treaty Signed the 5th of May 1632. To return to the Duke of Orleans * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. Pag. 551. Ambery Lib. 4. cap. 27. who was the most dangerous Enemy the Cardinal had as soon as it was known that he intended to enter into France with some Troops that he had gathered frâ—â— several parts the Cardinal signifi'd to the Spaniards That if they gave Assistance to Monsieur in any thing it would be taken for an Infraction of the Peace of Vervins Nevertheless least they should take this business in hand not caring to break openly the Cardinal Promised to the States-General of the Vnited-Provinces what they Ask'd of him upon condition that they should make neither Peace nor Truce with Spain to keep them employ'd on that side Monsieur †The 8th of June Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 7. p. 551 Aubery Lib. 4. cap. 27. entred into France by the way of Bassigny with two Thousand or Fifteen hundred Horse and fell upon Burgundy He Published at the same time a Declaration wherein he call'd the Cardinal a Tyrant an Usurper an Enemy to the King and to the Royal Family saying He had taken up Arms for no other intent but to open the eyes of His Majesty and to shew him plainly how his Minister deceiv'd him Monsieur took upon himself the Title of Lieutenant-General for the King to Redress the Abuses and to Repress the Violences of the Cardinal He pass'd with his Troops hard by Dijon which Place having refused to Furnish his Army with Provisions saw for this Reason one of their Suburbs reduc'd into Ashes From thence he pass'd to Auvergne where he Raised Three thousand Foot not making there any Devastation because Noailles Lieutenant for the King in that Province was there in Person In the mean while the King thought it convenient to go to Paris in order to be Present at the Parliament and make them Confirm his Declaration against the Male-contents * The 11th of August He went thither with the Cardinal and the Keeper of the Seals made an Apology for this Minister which he concluded with saying That Seditious Men never ceased to Discredit those Persons that were concerned in the Government Afterwards a Declaration †See it in Aubery Vbi supra of the King was Registred wherein His Majesty gave a Compendious Account of what the Duke of Orleans had done tending to the Destruction of the State Although by his Libel of the 13th of June as 't was said in the Declaration he Declares That what he did was for the safety and wellfare of France which he represented in a Deplorable Condition in Terms extreamly prejudicial to the honour of his Majesty laying the fault of all upon the Cardinal Richlicu though it might be justly said that the Kingdom was never so powerful nor in so great reputation before and that the Cardinal's Fidelity and Zeal and the Merits of his Services were so well known to all the World that none but those who were envious both of the Glory of his Majesty and of his Prosperity would offer to say any thing to the contrary Lastly the King declared afresh those who should joyn with Monsieur or abert him in any manner whatsoever Rebels and guilty of High Treason and commanded they should be proceeded against with all the Severity of the Laws As for the Duke of Orleans himself he gave him six Weeks time to return to his Allegiance In the mean while an Army was sent against Monsieur in two Bodies one of which was commanded by the Mareschal de la Force and the other by Mareschal Schomberg They advanced two different ways to endeavour to get between them the Troops of Monsieur who were not in a condition to make any great resistance * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. Pag. 553. Though they had obeyed the King yet it was with very much reluctance that they accepted the Command upon this Occasion and especially the Mareschal de la Force did what lay in his power to be excused It seemed to him that it was too great a Boldness in a Subject to go and attack the King 's only Brother and presumptive Heir to the Crown his Majesty being not present It might happen that in the heat of Battel the Duke of Orleans might be kill'd and the Fault then would be laid on the Mareschal which would be enough to ruin him under another Administration And therefore that he might act with greater Safety he desired that the King would give him precise Orders what he was to do and the King declared that as to his Brother's Person he would not have him come by any harm and that they ought to treat him with respect Upon this the Mareschal observed that in a Fight it would not be possible perhaps to distinguish him and since this Inconvenience could not well be avoided and would cause the Armies to act but weakly against Monsieur in the King's Absence his Majesty resolved at last to go personally with them Monsieur found none of the Provinces in his March disposed to declare for him because the Governour who knew his Temper knew likewise that he had neither Conduct nor Experience nor Constancy enough to protect those that should declare for him Only the Duke of Montmorency promised to favour him to revenge the Wrong which he thought the Cardinal had done him He had formerly surrender'd his Office of Admiral at his Sollicitation who instead of suppressing it as he had pretended before appropriated it to himself under another Title 'T was said that he gave the Duke of Montmorency great hope of having the Office of High Constable which was more considerable and had been possessed by his Father and Grandfather but he caused both the Title and the Donations of that great Post to be abolish'd so that the Duke having ask'd for the Office of Mareschal General of the King's Armies which was the same Thing under another Name he met with an absolute Denial Yet notwithstanding these and other Occasions of Dissatisfaction he still remained in the Interests of the Cardinal till the time of the King's Sickness at Lions But whether he grew weary to live under the Authority of a Minister who would not have Friends but Slaves or that Marie Felice des Vrsins his Lady who was related to the Queen-Mother had drawn him to the Party of this Princess he engaged his Word to Monsieur since this Prince's Departure from Court Ar first he looked for some Pretence or other to make Levies without giving suspicion to the Court but at last having * Pontis Mem. T. 2. P. 34. declared himself he brought things to that pass that the States of Languedoc by their Deliberation on the 22d of July called in the Duke of Orleans to protect them promising him Money for his Troops and protesting they would stand by him with their Lives and Fortunes †Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. P. 552. The Duke of Montmorency was
continual Cabals and because the danger when it was once over was reckon'd for nothing That the Duke of Montmorency being Punished his Party would fall in Languedoc and that of Monsieur all over France whereas if he was kept a Prisoner though never so many besides were Executed he would have always secret Friends and so much the more true to him that they should have no other hopes but in his re-stablishment which consequently they would endeavour to procure by all ways whatsoever Afterwards the Cardinal begun to Confute the Reasons he had at first proposed to favour the Pardon which Mensieur demanded for the Duke of Montmorency He said That the Promises which Monsieur made to obtain what he desired wou'd be indeed considerable had he not broken his word three times though he had been very kindly used by the King and seen all his Houshold rewarded with extraordinary Favours but after this it would be imprudently done to trust him That if Monsieur could not save the Duke of Montmorency's Life he would find fewer People ready to serve him than if he saved him and that this Reason alone was sufficient for to have him Punished That Monsieur being not able to procure his Pardon would not ruine himself because of his Death and that the necessity of leaving him to the Severity of his Sentence wou'd secure his Reputation since it is better at last to have an Arm cut off than to lose ones Life That suppose Monsieur should pass into Spain uppon the Duke of Montmorency's being Punished yet his Power would be so much Clipp'd that he would never be able to set up another Party That indeed the Ministers who declar'd for Severity in this occasion expos'd themselves very much but when the Service of King and State were called in question they ought not to have any regard to their particular Interest Lastly The Cardinal concluded That to grant the Duke of Montmorency's Life to Monsieur's Request would strengthen his Party and weaken that of the King nevertheless the King might Grant it out of His meer Bounty and not being oblig'd to it by a Treaty but there was more danger in the doing than in not doing of it The whole Council yielded to the Cardinal's Advice which no body ever contradicted Unpunished in Affairs of any moment The King who naturally was inclined to Severity and to whom Generosity was almost an unknown Vertue embraced in this occasion as in all others the most Rigorous Party †Aubery 's Life of Cardinal Rich. Lib. 4. Cap. 34. After this Council the King presided Personally at the States of Languedoc whom he Assembled at Besiers and the Cardinal was there present It was onely done with a design to lay a Censure upon the States for suffering themselves to be seduced by the Duke of Montmorency and to give order for the punishing of some Bishops and Gentlemen who had declared for him From thence the Court repaired to Toulouse where the Parliament took in hand the Trial of the Duke of Montmorency though it belonged by Right to that of Paris The Cardinal who did not love delays especially when the Ruine of his Enemies was to be effected moved the King to nominate this Parliament to be the Judges in this Cause Chateauneuf formerly Page to Constable Montmorency Father to the Prisoner and Six Masters of the Requests came thither to Preside at this Judgment and forasmuch as the Duke of Montmorency was taken in Arms against His Majesty and declared Guilty of High-Treason after Examination and a free Confession on his part he was Condemned to * The 30th of Octob. Death During these Proceedings and even after Sentence given all the Duke's Friends who were very numerous Interceeded for him in vain †Pontis Mem. T. 2. P. 36. Francis of Tussac Lord of Saint Breuil Captain of the Guards who took him Prisoner went to Beg his Life of the King in presence of the Cardinal which was thought very absurd there being so many other Persons of greater Quality that could have interceeded for him without his Interposing therefore the King Laughed at him for it and the Cardinal Reprimanded him after his manner Saint Breuil if the King would do you Justice he would put your head where your feet are As if it had been a Crime for such a Man as he was to Intercede for a Criminal of State * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 565. Nevertheless the Cardinal would sometimes feign himself Afflicted in Publick and wou'd desire several Persons of the First Rank to apply themselves to the King for Mercy He sent Biche the Nuncio and Cardinal de la Valette upon this Message but the King was too much prepossessed to hearken to them S. Simon a Relation of the Duke's endeavouring to move the King to Mercy the Cardinal made as if he took part in his Affliction and in appearance joyned with him to incline the King to Compassion by excusing the Criminal But at the same time he own'd that His Majesty after he had overcome the Huguenots and extinguish'd a Dangerous Faction in His Dominions found himself oblig'd to make an Example of the Duke of Montmorency to keep the Grandees in their Duty and Allegiance The Princess of Conde Sister to this Lord went and cast her self all in Tears at the Cardinal's feet Conjuring him to Intercede for her Brother but the Artificious Prelate in stead of lifting her up fell himself upon his knees before her and begun to Act the Afflicted Man for not being able to Appease the King The Duke of Espernon Governour of Guienna †Hist of the Duke of Espernon in the year 1632. p. 473. who had been suspected of favouring Monsieur's Party but had always kept firm to his Duty though he was a particular Friend to the Duke of Montmorency went immediately to Toulouse and took upon himself to go and speak to the King in the Name of all the Relations and Friends of the Duke of Montmorency He kneeled down before him and the King having bid him rise up the Duke of Espernon after having Acknowledg'd the Criminal's Fault told him amongst other things That he was so much the more embolden'd to beg His Majesty's most Gracious Pardon that himself having received the like Favour from his Bounty in an occasion almost like this he esteemed himself very happy that he had given no occasion to His Majesty to Repent of it That he was not the onely Man amongst His Subjects that lay under the same obligations That Cardinal Richlieu had as great a share in it as himself that both of them had sided with the Queen-Mother at a time when the King's Name was contrary to them though they had no other intention than to serve him and that if he had then abandoned them to the severity of the Laws and of Justice he would have deprived himself both of the most profitable Services of the one and of the grateful Acknowledgments of
reported of going into Italy and when Gondi had assured him That he never heard the least word that the Queen had any inclinations to quit the Low-Countries the Cardinal continuing the Discourse told him That the Imprudence and fury of Father Chanteloube having oblig'd the King to demand him of the Infanta this Man was in so great a Consternation that he had perswaded the Queen to leave the Low-Countries where he did not think himself safe enough that upon this suggestion the Queen-Mother had sent to the King of England to know if he wou'd be pleased to receive her but that he had refused to do it at the instance of the King her Son that afterwards she had desired the above-mention'd King that he wou'd give her leave to come to Plimouth and lend her some Ships to Transport her to Spain That this Prince who believed that if ever she set foot in England she wou'd never be brought to leave it had made Answer That he wou'd willingly provide her with Ships if he was assured of her Reception in Spain and that France wou'd not take it ill That Spain had declar'd she was ready to receive her but that the King cou'd not tell what to resolve upon by reason of the great compassion he had for her and that England wou'd not receive her but upon condition that she wou'd not make any long stay there That this poor Woman for so the Cardinal thought fit to call her had drawn these Misfortunes upon her self by following the Ill Advice of other People and by her own obstinacy which was so incurable that she still protested That she did not now and never wou'd repent of what she had done At last after he had pretended to have a mighty Commiseration for her he added That England perhaps might be induced to furnish her with Ships in case she wou'd retire to some place where His Majesties Clemency and Filial Amity might grant her some acts of Favour without prejudicing the welfare of the State and where the Cardinal might be able to procure them for her as he passionately desired That he cou'd scarce believe she design'd to tarry in Spain and since she was deny'd Admission into England he cou'd not tell but that she might have some thoughts to pass into Florence in case the Grand-Duke wou'd give her a Kind Reception Upon this he Asked Gondi Whether he cou'd give him any Light as to this Affair And the Resident Answer'd That he was wholly ignorant what the Queen's Intentions were but that he durst venture to Assure him that the Grand-Duke was wholly unacquainted with them and that as there was not the least reason to doubt but that the King Lov'd His Mother no body had any occasion to be in any pain about her The Cardinal Reply'd That if the Queen was minded to return to her Native Country for a short time till she had fully reconcil'd her Self to the King it wou'd not be taken amiss of the Grand-Duke to receive her and that the Queen's Conduct wou'd not be disapproved since she wou'd be in a place where she then cou'd not abuse the kindnesses His Majesty show'd Her The Cardinal added That nevertheless if the Queen once set foot in England she wou'd not easily leave it He wou'd not explain himself any farther thinking it sufficient that he had made an Overture which the Grand-Duke might make the best use of in time of necessity He was resolved to come to no manner of Accommodation with her till he had effectually humbled her and constrain'd her to do what he pleas'd At present the onely trial of Skill was to oblige her to depart out of the Dominions of Spain and to endeavour to make her go to Florence that so she might not prove an obstacle to any Treaty that they might make with Spain according as an occasion should present it self While she and Monsieur were in their Territories it wou'd be impossible to make a Treaty without comprehending them in it and the Cardinal pretended that they should leave all to His Majesty's good pleasure and give their consent for him to Punish those that had followed them Thus all endeavours were used to make them quit the Spanish Territories In the mean time the Prince of Conde was come back from Bruges and the King sent him into Burgundy to oblige the Parliament of Dijon to hasten the Trials of the Duke of Elbeuf Puilaurens Coudray Montpensier and the other Domesticks of the Duke They were Condemned to Die as Rebels they were Executed in Effigie and their Goods were Confiscated Not long after †The 25th of Febr. Siri Mâ—m Rec. T. 7. p. 594. the King being at St. Germans took away the Seals from Chateauneuf who nevertheless had been a faithful drudge to the Cardinal and had exercised several Arbitrary Acts of Violence to please him As the causes of his Disgrace were not positively known people fell upon several things which might contribute to ruine him Some said That he was in Love with the Dutchess of Chevreuse and that he was Loved by her that this made the Cardinal jealous who was exceedingly offended at Chateauneuf when he saw some Letters of his to that Dutchess wherein * Lâ— Mordevano says Siri di cuto fraâ—ido à causa delle sue malattie hemorrhoidale he Ridicul'd the Cardinal in very outrageous terms They add farther That the Cardinal came to know that he had Danced in a Ball at Bourdeaux when he lay so dangerously ill there 'T is also pretended that this Prelate being told That he flatter'd himself with the hopes of arriving to be Chief Minister in a short time and that he had formed certain Cabals for that end he wou'd never pardon him this Ambition †Aubery's Life of the Cardinal lib. 4. c. 36. However it was the Seals were given to Peter Seguier President of the Parliament with a certain Promise to be made Chancellour so soon as d' Aligre was dead Chateauneuf was sent to the Castle of Angouleme being accused of a Design to raise Disorders at Court At the same * Siri Ibid. p. 595. time they sent some of his Friends to the Bastile and among others the Chevalier du Jars who as it was alledged against him perswaded Monsieur and the Queen-Mother to retire into England As they had no Proof of it the Cardinal bethought himself of an extraordinary stratagem to discover whether he was concern'd in this Affair or no. He not onely caused him to be put into Prison but he engaged the Judges to manage his Trial and Sentence him to have his head cut off by giving them his word that this Sentence shou'd not be put in Execution but that the King shou'd Pardon him in case there were no Positive Proofs brought against him at his Trial. In pursuance of this he was Condemned his Sentence was Read to him and being upon the Scaffold after he had said his Prayers without making
any Confession and he had put himself in a posture to receive the Stroke they cryed out A Pardon As he was ready to come down one of the Judges perswaded him Since he had now tryed the King's Clemency to discover the Intrigues of Chateauneuf but he courageously answer'd That he very well saw that some People were willing to take hold of his present circumstances to make him say something disadvantageous to his Friend but that he ought to know That since the terrible Image of Death had not made him speak nothing was capable to extort from him the Secrets of his Friends or any thing that might do them the least Injury He was almost the onely Person of all those whom the Cardinal brought to the Scaffold that showed Resolution and Courage the greatest part of the rest making him as it were an Honourable amends before they were Executed under a pretence of dying like Christians Christianity indeed obliged them to forgive him but by no means to approve of his Arbitrary and Unjust Conduct which was full as contrary to the Gospel as a Spirit of Vengeance which they were afraid to betray But the truth is that after they had vainly endeavour'd to live like Freemen they lost their Sentiments with their Liberty and rather died like vile Slaves than good Christians When Chateauneuf was sent to Prison the Mareschal d' Estrees who was one of his best Friends having received the news of it at Treves where he Commanded the King's Army it so strangely astrighâ—ed him that he * The 15th of March Siri Mâ—m Râ—â— T. 7. p. â—95 quitted the Army without saying a word and retired to Vaudervange The example of the Mareschal de Marillac came into his Mind when he heard of the Disgrace of his Friend and saw a Courier bring Letters to the other Officers and never a one to himself He imagin'd that Saludie and Busse-Lamet to whom the Pacquet was directed had Orders to Apprehend him But discovering at last that his fear had been in vain he sent a Gentleman four days after to the King and Cardinal to beg their Pardon for going away so abruptly and ingenuously to confess how he had been imposed upon by his Fear This set the whole Court a Laughing and he received Orders to return to Treves At the same time the Dutchess of Chevreuse left the Court by the King's Order which made the World believe that the Cardinal's Jealousie was in great measure the cause of the disgrace of Chateauneuf The King came to Paris on the 11th of April and went next morning to the Parliament to suppress the Office of President which Coigneux had and that of Counsellour enjoy'd by Payen Chief Secretary to the Queen-Mother whom he afterwards restor'd in Compliment to the Two Masters of Accounts whom the Cardinal favour'd exceedingly Nevertheless the Law concerning Five years which are allowed to those that were Condemned for Contumacy was suffer'd to stay in full force in respect of others because it wou'd have given them too much trouble to make any Alterations in it The King Censur'd the Company very severely for presuming to send their Deputies a few days before to S. Germans to desire him to re-call the President de Memes whom the Cardinal had Banished The King told them That he wou'd take care to Chastise those that refused to obey him and that if the Parliament wou'd not suffer the Magistrates that were subordinate to it to be remiss in the execution of its Orders it was not just that a Soveraign should bear the disobedience of His Subjects He added That he wou'd be obey'd that very instant and that for the future when he came to the Parliament he expected the Four Presidents should come and receive him upon their knees without the door of the Chamber as the Custom had been formerly As for the President de Memes instead of being set at liberty and called home he was Imprison'd in the Cittadel of Anger 's Thus the King hindred them from making any Remonstrances to him upon any occasion whatever and striving to Reign more Absolutely than any of His Pedecessors he resigned himself entirely to all the Passions of his Minister though they were never so unjust so that it was not possible to open his eyes and undeceive him Soon after the King * The 14th of May Aubery 's Life of the Card. Lib. 4.0.36 held a General Chapter of the Knights of the Holy Ghost and gave the Ribbon to the Cardinals of Richlieu and La Valette They received the Blew Ribbon standing whereas the other Commandeurs even Bishops used to receive it kneeling The King â—id the Cardinal a particular Favour and asked him Whether he desired to be Promoted before or after Vespers and the next day when His Majesty made the New Knights he sent him two or three Dishes from his own Table at every Service and towards the end a Rock of Sweet-meats out of which sprung an Artificial Fountain of Water While these things happened within the Kingdom the Cardinal used his endeavours to keep the House of Austria so well employ'd without that it cou'd make no advantage of the Broils of the Queen-Mother and Monsieur The Marquiss de Feuquiers renew'd with Chancellour †By a Treaty sign'd the 9th of April Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 7. p. 67. Oxenstiern at Hailbron the League which the Crown of France had made with the King of Sweden and promis'd that his Daughter Christina should receive the yearly sum of a Million of Livres to continue the War in Germany The two Crowns oblig'd themselves to make no Treaty but with Common Consent and to support all their Allies I shall not stop at the particulars of this League nor at the other Negotiations which the Ministers of France managed in Germany to Embarass the Emperour and at the same time to lay hold of any fair opportunity to extend the Frontiers of France on that side At the same time the Cardinal set his Engines at work to break off the * Siri Ibid. p. 655. Negotiation that was on foot at the Hague between the States-General of the Vnited-Provinces and the Envoys of the Spanish-Netherlands concerning a second Truce between the King of Spain and the States-General As there were abundance of great difficulties in the thing it self it seem'd an easie matter so to order Affairs that the War might continue Besides this some of the Nobility of the Spanish Low-Countries who were discontented at the Government offer'd to deliver up to the King Bouchain Quesnoi Avenes and Landreci places of great importance upon the Frontiers of Artois and to make a general Insurrection in the Country The Malecontents represented to the King that if he lost so fair an opportunity he might perhaps be never able to recover it and that those persons that were now disposed to throw themselves under his Protection cou'd not be supposed to be able to live in a perpetual inquietuâ—e
both for the Catholick Religion as for several other Reasons that they shou'd be in the hands of France That the Elector had implored his Protection when he saw his States upon the point of being lost and the House of Austria cou'd not hinder it That the King was very much grieved to see Germany in the condition it was in at present but that it was the consequence of the Invasion which the Spaniards design'd to make in Italy and that nevertheless the King had interposed as a Mediator between the Swedes and the House of Austria if he had seen that House in a disposition to have kept the Peace elsewhere and not to make any Attempts against France These were the Reasons which the Ministers of France made use of to justifie the King's Conduct in this conjuncture and in the mean time they forgot nothing which might irritate the Enemies of the House of Austria against her They promised the States-General of the Vnited-Provinces to carry on the War and they sent Money to the Duke of Rohan to distribute among the Grisons who complained they were not paid and to make new I evies in order to secure the Passes They complain'd in France that the Duke of Lorrain made every day new Infractions of the Treaty of Liverdun It was said That he raised Troops and then disbanded them upon the Frontiers that so they might pass into the Imperial or Spanish service nay that he gave them leave to make Levies in his Dominions He had surprized Molseim and ravag'd the Territory about Strasburg Deuxponts and Sarbruck He had obtained Saverne and Dachstein for Payment as 't was pretended of an old Debt of Two hundred thousand Crowns but what offended the Cardinal the most was that it came to be known that ever since the preceding year Monsieur had consummated his Marriage with the Princess Margaret second Sister to the Duke which had been manag'd so secretly that not so much as his Domesticks knew any thing of the matter * The 10th of June The Count de Vaudemont and the Princess of Phaltsburg had made up this Match and it was a long while before it came to be discover'd Although the Duke of Lorrain had wholly left all Correspondences that displeased the King and especially that which he had formerly kept with the D. of Orleans yet he had all along maintain'd it in private and the Cardinal who was resolv'd to bring Monsieur to such a pass that he must intirely depend upon him and who looked upon him as the principal support of the Queen-Mother cou'd not pardon those that assisted him in any manner whatsoever Things were in this condition when the King sent †Aubery 's Life of the Card Lib. 4. Cap. 37. Guron to the Duke of Lorrain to reproach him with his Violations of the Treaty of Liverdun and to demand Satisfaction of him for it The Duke being inform'd of his coming conceal'd himself so well in Nancy where he made his Residence that no body cou'd tell Guron where he was So that this Envoy was obliged to return to Metz without delivering his Message But soon after repenting of this unpolitick Trick he sent Guron word That he might find him such a day at Luxeville however when the Envoy of France came thither he cou'd not bring him to any reasonable Terms This made the King resolve to Treat him like a Rebellious Vassal and to Confiscate his Dutchy of Bar because he had not done Homage to the Crown for it The Attorney-General after he had Assign'd this matter to the Parliament of Paris pursu'd this Confiscation which he obtain'd by a Decree on the 30th of July At this time the Neighbourhood of the Swedes furnished the Duke with a pretence to give out Commissions to raise Eight thousand Foot and Fifteen hundred Horse hoping to be powerfully assisted by an Army of the Duke of Feria who crossing the Country of Luxemburg had now joyn'd the Imperial Troops in Alsatia Soon after the Swedes intirely defeated the Lorrain Troops near d'Haguenau and the Duke affrighted at this Accident and the King's preparations who Marched towards Lorrain at the Head of His Army sent the Cardinal his Brother to meet His Majesty on the way and appease Him This Prince went as far as * The 19th of August Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 66◠Chateau-Thierry where on the very Night of his arrival he waited upon the King and Queen Next day the Cardinal-Duke made him a Visit and gave him abundance of civil words but very small hopes as to the Affairs of the Duke his Brother It was to no purpose that the Cardinal of Lorrain represented to him That this Prince had an intention to keep the Treaty of Liverdun and as little did it signifie to excuse the Infractions they reproached him with The Minister of Lewis the XIII answer'd That they were heartily sorry to find that the Effects did not agree with his Promises and that the King being now upon a Journey was not in a condition to hear any Talk of Business That in a few days His Majesty wou'd arrive at Bar and that the Duke of Lorrain might inform him nearer at hand which of the two ways either that of Gentleness or that of Force he wou'd have employ'd against him that they might be secure of him for the future The Cardinal of Lorrain protested that the Duke was ready to surrender all the Places he held in Alsatia to the King but this was not sufficient and to satisfie them that he wou'd break his Word no more with them it was propos'd That a French Garrison shou'd be left in Nancy the most considerable Place in all his Dominions Nay the Cardinal his Brother offer'd to consent to the dissolution of the Marriage between his Sister and the Duke of Orleans and begg'd pardon for it But the Cardinal-Duke told him That this Reparation did not equal the Injury that had been done to the King and that His Majesty found himself oblig'd to put the Duke of Lorrain out of a condition of being worse than his Word for the future that for this end it was necessary the King shou'd have Nancy by way of Caution which the Duke should forfeit for ever that very moment he attempted any thing against France The Cardinal of Lorrain reply'd That this was all one as to propose to his Brother to lose the remainder of his Dominions because such sort of Pawns are very rarely Deliver'd That it wou'd be too mean-spirited a condescension in a Prince to stoop so low as voluntarily to strip himself of his Territories in the way of Negotiation that it was too severe a Mortification to lose ones Honour and ones Country at the same time and that let the War succeed never so ill it was impossible for him to be a greater Sufferer That Lorrain was the Half-way-House between France and the States of the House of Austria and that the Dukes of Lorrain were
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
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
but a very short space was allowed them and the King came thither in Person on the 18th of January with the Cardinal to get a Declaration confirmed by which he restored the Duke of Orleans to his Estate and Honour provided that in Three Months he acknowledged his Fault and came to Reside in France He extended the same Favours to all his Domesticks except Coigneux Monsigot Vieville and some others The King also declar'd that he could not approve of the Marriage of Mensieur for the Reasons specified in His Declaration and ordered the Parliament to Judge of the Informations which had been taken against the Duke of Lorrain to Justifie that he had caused Monsiuer to be stollen and consequently to show that his Marriage was null The Cardinal likewise made a long Harangue in the Parliament full of Rhetorical strains which was afterwards * In the Jourral of Richlieu Part II. p. 148. Printed In it he praised the King and exaggerated the Victories which he had obtained in his Ministry rather in the Style of a Declaimer than that of a Minister of State He described in a very Hyperbolical manner His Majesty's kindness to the Queen-Mother and to Monsieur and particularly the Favours he designed to show that Prince He promised great ease to the People if these Perplexities which they gave the King were once over and added that for the present besides a Reduction of the Duties and a Revocation of a Hundred thousand Officers of new Creation the exemption of whom was a Vexation to those that bore the Burden of the Taxes he Remitted one Fourth of the Impost †Siri Mem. 〈◊〉 T. 7. P. â—â—0 But this Fourth was of New Imposition and it had been Raised for the Enterprize of Lorrain besides Nine Millions of Livres extraordinary The People did not rejoyce much at this small Satisfaction because they expected the quite contrary The Parliament was not a little perplexed about Monsieur's Marriage by reason of the ill Consequences which the Judgment they gave might draw after it since it concern'd the Heirs of a Prince who might one day sit upon the Throne The Duke of Lorrain was generally blamed for giving his Consent to this Match which as it displeased the Court so it had plunged him in very mortifying Circumstances Otherwise this Marriage was neither too unequal nor was it disadvantageous to the State and indeed nothing could be found fault in it but that it was done without the King's Approbation who might at last approve of it after he had testified his Dislike of it as in the Upshot he was obliged to do To revenge himself for this Affront he demanded Zore of the Duke of Lorrain which is a Place between Metz and Thionville to Fortifie it The Duke immediately granted it because he durst not do otherwise However the King promised to surrender it to him not by Letters Patent but by a private Letter of the Privy Seal to denote the King's Superiority He likewise demanded of the Duke the original Contract of the Marriage of the Duke of Orleans and all the Papers he had in his hands relating to that Affair He desired to know who were the Witnesses that had assisted at the Ceremony of the Espousals and to have the Priest who had officiated deliver'd up to him On the other hand to make the Duke sensible that in case he would submit himself he might expect a gentler Treatment Orders were sent to the Parliament of Metz to deferr the Prohibition which they had been commanded to issue out to the Inhabitants of the Lands depending upon the Bishopricks of Metz Thoul and Verdun not to own the Duke of Lorrain any longer for their Prince and they suffer'd him to gather his Revenues in the Dukedom of Bar without pressing him to come and do Homage for it * Siri Ibid. p. 742. Altho' this Prince was in a manner divested of his Territories yet he was so deeply provoked against France which had opprest him that he searched all Opportunities to retaliate the Injuries he received And therefore that he might be able to declare openly against her without Danger of being deprived of the Remainder of his Dominions he made on the 19th of January a Donation of his Seats to his Brother Nicholas Francis Cardinal of Lorrain under a pretence that the Person of this latter was more agreeable to the King than his own However the World was sensible that this Donation was only a Pretence because he performed several Acts of a Sovereign Prince after he had made it When this was over he retired with eight hundred Horse and two thousand Foot and joyn'd the Imperial Army The new Duke dispatched Contrisson immediately to the Court of France to acquaint the King and Cardinal with what had passed between his Brother and him and to promise that he wou'd observe the Treaty of Charmes As for his Brother he assur'd them that he did not know whither he was gone but this did not hinder the Parliament from carrying on the Process they had begun against him The Cardinal of Richlieu told Contrisson when he shew'd him the Surrendry which the Duke had made in favour of him That they had just Occasion to complain of the Duke for two Reasons the first was his Violation of the three several Treaties which he himself had concluded with the Duke and the other was the Rape of the Duke of Orleans whom he had forced to marry his Sister For the first the Duke's Dominions in the Opinion of this Minister were engaged to France and could not be restored to the Cardinal of Lorrain but upon the same Conditions by which his Brother held them And as for the second the Duke was not excused from the Guilt of it by absenting himself Besides this the Cardinal of Lorrain was his Accomplice in the Matter for he as Bishop of Thoul had granted a Dispensation not publishing the Banns as otherwise they ought to have done for the Marriage of Monsieur and the Princess Margaret and had authorized a Monk to say Mass upon this Occasion to the prejudice of the Curate that this Affair might be kept the more secret The Cardinal Duke reproached him of Lorrain with having abused the King's Passport to further his Sister's Escape out of Nancy and to send her to Brussels Thus the Princes of Lorrain found themselves engaged in very great Perplexities and were at a Loss how to appease France or how to defend themselves against her Nothing in all appearance but the Match proposed to the Cardinal's Neice could accommodate these Differences but several great Difficulties arose in that Affair as I have already observed On the other hand it was to be feared that if the Cardinal-Duke suspected that they had asked his Neice in Marriage only to amuse him he would revenge the Affront in a cruel manner Contrisson was sent back to the Cardinal of Lorrain with Orders to tell him that it was in his
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
Armes and another of Light Horse consisting of a hundred Men each for six Months and afterwards of fifty till such time as Monsieur returned to Court The King granted these Articles only upon Condition that Monsieur accepted them in fifteen days and perform'd them by coming back to France within three Weeks reckoning from the day of the Date which was the first of October Puilaurens for his part had the * Government of Bourbonnois and the Dutchy of Eguillon †Siri Me◠Rec. T. 8. P. 102. with a Promise to marry one of the Cardinal's Relations eight days after his Arrival into France This Marriage and the great Favour he was in with Monsieur made him imagine that the Cardinal wou'd share his Authority with him and take him for his Partner in the Management of Affairs But the Event made it sufficiently appear that he was as little acquainted with the Cardinal as he was incapable to serve his Master faithfully In the mean time Monsieur and He full of Joy and Satisfaction for having obtained these Advantages of the Court were contriving how to make their Escape with all speed for fear least the Spaniards shou'd detain them if they came to suspect their Design They took their Opportunity when the Marquiss d' Aytone was gone to confer with the Duke of Newburg and parted out of * On a Sunday the 8th of October Brussels under a pretence of going to Hunt with the Duke of Fargis and six more and some led Horses Instead of looking after Foxes as they pretended when they went out they rode strait to Capelle which is about twenty five Leagues from Brussels and is the first Town belonging to France on that side Monsieur took his Leave of no body nay not of Madam her self whom he afterwards recommended by a Letter to the Queen-Mother From thence he marched directly to S. Germain where the King was * The 21st of October Siri ibid. p. 103. to whom he made abundance of Complements to beg his Pardon and promis'd to be more obedient for the time to come Those that were with him did the same and the King received them all into Favour The Cardinal came thither from Ruel to visit the Duke in his Majesty's Presence He assured him that he had been extreamly concerned that his Absence did not permit him to do him those Services which otherwise he had been ready to have done and expressed a great deal of Joy that he was now able to serve him after his Return which had been so long desired The Duke told him that he was heartily sorry that he had not been undeceived sooner and that for the time to come he wou'd follow his Advice and then embraced him The next day the Duke went to Ruel to repay the Cardinal the Visit he had made him and entertain'd him in private where 't is supposed he told him all that he knew The Cardinal afterwards treated him very splendidly and with extraordinary Honour After this Monsieur went to his Estare at Limours within five Leagues of Paris The first Complements being now over they began to discourse of Affairs and laboured to perswade Monsieur to give his Consent that his Marriage shou'd be declared void The Duke rejected this Proposal as he had reason good and alledged that his Conscience wou'd not permit him to disannul a Marriage which after all cou'd not be justly condemned although the King had not consented to it Upon this the Cardinal sent several Divines to him to cure him of these troublesome Scruples for he was seldom unprovided of dexterous Casuists that knew how to accommodate his Passions to Religion At first Puilaurens joyn'd with them but because Monsieur cou'd not be brought to relish the Cardinal's Gospel it was supposed that this Favourite did not cordially represent the Matter to the Prince although he told them that for his part he was very well satisfied with their Reasons but since they had not wrought any Conviction upon Monsieur he would not pretend to force him However the Cardinal still kept to his Resolution to bestow his Cousin Mademoiselle de Pont Chateau upon him although he was not willing that the Marriage should be yet consummated which made some People suspect that Puilaurens was not so much in the Cardinal's Favour as he believed The King after he had paid to Monsieur the money which he had promis'd him and expedited the Patents for Puilaurens sent F. Joseph and Bouthillier to the Duke of Orleans to tell him from him that he wou'd never approve of his Marriage though at the same time he wou'd never force him to marry again Some more Divines were afterwards sent to him upon the same Errand three of which were Jesuits three Secular Priests besides the General of the Fathers of the Oratory but in spite of all their Reasons deduced from Politicks which were founded upon the Jealousie of the King and of his Minister Gaston contrary to his custom still maintain'd that his Marriage was valid He told them that since the Parliament were able to find out no other Reason for the Nullity of this Marriage but the pretended Constraint of the Princes of Lorrain it was unquestionably lawful since of his own proper motion he had demanded their Sister of them and that they durst not refuse him That as for himself he cou'd be content to live separated from his Wife to shew his Obedience to the King but that he wou'd never consent to marry another Thus these seven Divines after they had harangued him three full Hours to perswade him to write to the King that he was convinced of the Nullity of his Marriage by their Reasons returned without doing any thing Puilaurens began to be somewhat distrustful that the Cardinal intended to deceive him when this Minister sent the Abbot of Elbene to Monsieur who was then at Blois to tell him that the King was not displeas'd with his Conduct and that the Cardinal desired Puilaurens to come to Paris to marry the youngest Daughter of the Baron de Pont-Chateau This News was exceeding welcome to Puilaurens who before had some Thoughts of retiring into England Upon this they return'd to Court and the Duke of Orleans was again * The 19th of Novemb. Regaled by the Cardinal at Ruel and from thence went to S. Germain Afterwards the King put out a Declaration by which he restor'd Monsieur to his former Possessions pardoned him for all that was past and order'd it to be †The 27th of November registred in the Parliament of Paris At the same time the Duke de la Valette married the eldest Daughter of the Baron de Pont-Chateau and Puilaurens the youngest The Count de Guicke also married a Relation of the Cardinal of the House of Plessis Chivrai and their Marriages were kept the same day at the Arsenal with an extraordinary Magnificence Puilaurens bought the Dutchy of Eguillon of the Princess Mary for six hundred thousand Livres and
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
eight Divines of the Sorbone upon his Majesty's Scruples four of them made Answer that in the present conjuncture of Affairs his Majesty was obliged to continue to act upon the same foot to preserve Tranquillity in his Kingdom and that this sufficiently justified his Conduct Soon after the King began a-fresh to visit the Cardinal and did him the honour to come to the Castle of Chilly where this Minister then was to consult with him as formerly about the most important Affairs of the Crown The End of the Fourth Book THE HISTORY Of the FAMOUS Cardinal de RICHLIEV VOL. II. BOOK V. Containing the most material Passages of his Life from the Year 1635 to the Year 1638. year 1635 THE Duke of Orleans being now taken into Favour and Puilaurens his Consident seeing himself a Duke and Peer of France they imagined that they had nothing more to fear and that they might manage the Cardinal as they had formerly done * Siri Meâ—â— Rec. T. 8. P. 107. So this Minister having sent word to Puilaurens that if he cou'd perswade Monsieur to consent to have his Marriage annull'd they wou'd reward him with the Command of an Army and make him a Mareschal of France Puilaurens laughed at this proposal and thought he might railly the Cardinal safely enough Coudrai Montpensier who had the greatest credit with the Duke of Orleans next to Puilaurens was of the same humour and had as little Inclination to comply with the Minister's pleasure as the other The Cardinal fansied he was the Man that possessed Philaurens with these ambitious Thoughts so that he resolved to remove him Upon this he tells Puilaurens that since he had contracted so near an Alliance with him he was desirous to be united still more closely to him but that he cou'd not do it so long as he kept Company with Coudrai Montpensier and reckoned him one of his best Friends Whether Philaurens distrusted that the Cardinal had some Design upon him or else was resolved to pay no farther regard to this Minister instead of discarding him as he was desired he gave him the next Apartment to his own which procedure began to incense the Cardinal whom all the other Ministers obeyed at the first word and who cou'd not digest this Opposition from the Favourite of the Duke of Orleans whom he had so far honour'd as to give him one of his Relations in Marriage Monsieur generally resided at Blois and * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. P. 199 c. it happen'd while he was there that several Spaniards of Quality who travell'd from Flanders to Spain by Land came to Blois to pay their Respects to him who received them very courteously He frequently mention'd the Gentlemen of that Country with great esteem as if he intended to shew his Gratitude for the kind Reception he found among them and engage them to use Madam well who still continued in their Territories This made Don Cristoval Benavides the Spanish Ambassadour say That although Monsieur left the Low-Countries without taking his leave yet if he went thither a hundred times and came back as often after the same manner he should still find a hearty Welcome there This Conduct of Monsieur and the Discourses of the Spaniards gave the Ministers occasion to suspect that he still kept some private Intelligence with them or at least preserv'd an Affection to that Nation which might be prejudicial to France in the present posture of Affairs On the other hand the Duke of Orleans continually protested that if the King cou'd find any way to dissolve his Marriage legally he wou'd not oppose it but that he wou'd never go to tell the Parliament a Sham-story that he was forced to this Match by the Princes of Lorrain since he cou'd neither do it in Conscience nor in Honour He praised the Princess Margaret exceedingly and preferr'd her infinitely for her good Qualities to his first Wife He frequently writ to her and sent her Money Cloaths Liveries for her Servants two Coaches and five thousand Crowns a Month towards her Expence The Cardinal was of opinion that this inflexible steadiness of Monsieur cou'd only proceed from the Advice of Puilaurens nay he pretended that this shew'd him to be ill affected to the King's Person and that he desired to behold the Duke of Orleans upon the Throne that he might become chief Minister of State as if the Marriage of Monsieur had any relation to the King's Death Puilaurens was accused of being familiarly acquainted with one Vieux-Pont a Domestick of Monsieur who had spoken scandalously of His Majesty He was likewise charged with keeping a correspondence with the House of Lorrian and that the reason why he approved this Marriage was that this House might support the Prince in case the King happen'd to die Thus it was interpreted a Crime in the Duke of Orleans because he wou'd not depend upon the Discretion of the Minister for his Succession to the Crown and yet this Minister must be allow'd to take what Securities he pleas'd against the whole Royal Family and all the Princes of the Blood The Cardinal who had always taken great care to keep up that Jealousie which the King ever since his Infancy had entertain'd against his Brother easily perswaded him that all these Practices of Monsieur only tended to dethrone him and that there was no other way to prevent the Designs of his Domesticks but to destroy them So the King was resolved to apprehend Puilaurens and that he might exâ—â—ute it with more facility they were contâ—iving of means to draw him from Blois to Paris To effect this a Ball was proposed at the Carnaval where Monsieur and Puilaurens were invited to dance as well as the King They came to Paris upon this Occasion and Monsieur was mightily caress'd on all hands though they cou'd not prevail with him to make the least step towards the Dissolution of his Marriage The 14th of February was the Day agreed upon to apprehend Puilaurens and the Guards at the Louvre were order'd to be doubled This had like to have discovered their Plot for a Footman belonging to the Duke of Orleans having observed it went to his Master to bid him have a care of himself because the Court had some extraordinary Design on foot This Prince came to the Louvre about Two a clock in the Afternoon to practise the Ball before-hand when he received this Advice but as foresight was none of his Talents he neglected it and went to the King's Chamber where he stayed till the Cardinal came there They had sent to find him out at the Keeper of the Seals where he dined and carried the Marquiss Du Fargis and Coudrai Montpensier with him When he went away he took du Fargis to the Louvre along with him and gave Orders for the other to be apprehended when he offer'd to be gone which was accordingly executed Every thing was ready at the Louvre to begin the Ball and none 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
promised him when he gave him the Seals His Letters were presented to the Parliament on the 10th of January and registred The famous Antoine le Maitre employed his Rhetorick upon this occasion and made a Panegyric upon the Chancellor and his Ancestors who had been Members of the Parliament of Paris as he was before his Majesty made him Keeper of the Seals He was received with great Applause but soon after he served to mortifie that very Body to which he so lately belonged * See Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 433. The Life of the Duke of Espernon p. 536. To support the expences of the War the King was obliged to create abundance of new Officers and every Parliament according to the extent of its jurisdiction was constrained to receive a certain number of Presidents and Counsellors who bought these places of the King Upon this the Parliament of Paris had a meeting and resolved to make a Remonstrance to His Majesty upon this augmentation but instead of hearkening to them the King banished some of the Councellors to Anger 's and Ambois for talking too boldly The New Chancellor fell into a great Rage at the Parliament telling them That it did not belong to them to censure the King's Conduct and that their Authority reach'd no higher than to see the Laws duly observed and to administer justice to the People The King likewise sent La Ville aux-Clercs to forbid the Chambers to assemble and to tell them that no Notice wou'd be taken of their Remonstrances till they had received the new Counsellors They accordingly obey'd and on the 17th of March they obtain'd the return of those that had been banished upon this Condition that they would behave themselves more dutiful for the future At the same time the King shut up his Treasury as to all sorts of expences but those for carrying on the War so that the Governors of Provinces and the Officers of the Crown had been obliged to throw up their Places and Pensions if there had not been a way found out to get them paid by the Kingdom which for that reason they burthen'd with new Impositions Some of them rather chose to remit them than to ruine the poor People but the greatest part of them made use of this Expedient to satisfie themselves for what was owing to them which excited great Clamours and Discontents The Minister did not much trouble himself what the World thought of these exactions so long as they brought in Money He was infinitely more concerned to hear that the Pope had a design to call Mazarine home whom he had sent in quality of Nuncio extraordinary to procure a general Peace and particularly to obtain the re-establishment of the House of Lorrain Mazarine instead of acquitting himself faithfully of this Commission thought of nothing else but how to gain the good Graces of the Cardinal Duke and ever since the Affair of Cazal he had all along appeared so partial for France that the Spaniards cou'd not endure him So by Virtue of their constant importunities * At the beginning of the Year 1636. Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 375. the Pope was prevail'd upon to recall him from the Court of France and order'd him to discharge the Office of his Vice-Legate at Avignon The Cardinal did all that lay in his Power to obtain of his Holiness that Mazarine might still continue in France or in case he wou'd not suffer him to stay longer there to send him into Spain to incline that Crown to a Peace as he pretended but as the Spaniards believ'd to serve as his Spy or Agent in that Court The King too freely gave his consent that the Pope shou'd nominate him as Collegue to Cardinal Ginetti whom they discoursed of sending to Colen to treat of a Peace * Id. Ibid. p. 386. But the Pope wou'd not listen to any of these Proposals and so Mazarine prepared himself to go to Avignon where he designed to make as short a stay as he cou'd The Court of Rome gave another Mortification to the Cardinal this Year for the Cistercian Monks and the Premonstratenses having elected him to be their Abbot General the Pope refused to grant him the Bulls He was already Abbot of Cluny who is chief of the Order and consequently Abbot General of the Benedictines so that if he had procur'd this he had been the Head of the three richest Orders of the Kingdom It was alledged in his Favour that these Orders standing in need of a Reformation for this end they ought to have a person of great Authority set over them as the Cardinal was But they were well satisfied at Rome that it was his desire to Rule and not to Reform that induced him to demand this Benefice Had he succeeded in this affair besides a vast Revenue he had found a great Number of Monks depending wholly upon him ready to concur with him in all his inclinations either to obtain Benefices which are in the Collation of the General of these Orders or to testifie their acknowledgments to him after they had once obtained them It was likewise feared that he wou'd endeavour to get himself declared Patriarch in France or at least Legate à Latere for all his Life after the example of Cardinal d' Amboise and that having this Prospect he wou'd use his Interest to exempt the Monks and Secular Priests from any farther dependance upon the Court by the means of his Benefices which the King always disposed of upon his Recommendation If the Court of Rome did not show him that Complaisance which he desired it was not to be imagined that he wou'd give them any Satisfaction as to what they demanded of him Ever since the last year it had been resolved upon to send the Mareschal d' Estrées Ambassadour Extraordinary to Rome although the Pope shew'd a mighty unwillingness to receive him and had testified so much to the Court of France Notwithstanding this opposition the Mareschal parted towards the * The 24th of January beginning of this Year to perswade the Pope to treat the Duke of Parm◠with more Moderation and Gentleness He had written two Briefs to this Prince by which he disapproved his uniting with France to attack the Milaneze because by that Conduct he exposed a Fief of the Church to the Resentments of the Spaniards He had likewise given that Duke to understand that if the Holy See was obliged to arm for the Defence of his Dominions he expected to be satisfied for the Charges of the War This was the principal reason of the Mareschal d' Estree's Embassy with whom the Pope refused a long while to treat because he seem'd to have despised his Authority when he seized upon the Valteline as has been observed elsewhere It was likewise pretended that by his rough Behaviour he had been the death of Paul V. However the Cardinal who was not used to start back from what he had once engaged in did
the King constrain'd him he wou'd be of the most favourable Side because he wou'd not load his Conscience The President de Belliévre rising up said That in his Judgment this cause ought to be sent back to the Parliament but as the King obliged him to pass his Judgment upon the equity of the matter he made a short but handsom Discourse the substance of which was That he thought it was extremely strange that his Majesty shou'd interpose in the Trial of one of his Subjects that his Ancestors were accustomed to reserve their Graces to themselves and to remit Condemnations to the Tribunals of Justice that he did not believe that his Majesty had rigour enough in him to see a Man upon a Sledge to be dragg'd the next Hour after to a Gibbet that the sight of a King carried Acts of Clemency along with it that it took off Ecclesiastical Interdicts and that no one ought to depart from his Presence dissatisfied He afterwards took notice how inconvenient it was for them to deliver their Opinions before the King since they were not at liberty to speak their Thoughts freely The King after he had heard him with a great deal of Patience commanded him to speak positively to the matter in Hand Belliévre made answer That these were his Sentiments but the Chancellour still pressing him to give his Opinion he said That it was time lost to speak if he must say nothing but what the Chancellor approv'd of and so stuck still to his first Judgment The Premier President continued to insist upon a Reference but at last gave his Opinion that the Duke's Body was to be seized After the Presidents had done the Councellors declared their Sentiments and it was remarkable enough that le Bret alledged the Custom of the Persians and Turks and Leon Bralart the most violent Proceedings of Germany to serve as a Rule upon this Occasion After this the Dukes and Peers spoke and were follow'd by the Chancellour by the Cardinal and by the King At last the Court rose and the King calling the Presidents to him told them in a great Passion that they always made it their Business to disobey his Orders that he was extreamly ill satisfied with their Conduct and that he hated all those that were against his Trying a Duke and Peer out of Parliament that they were sorry ignorant Wretches unworthy of Places and that for all he knew he might put others in their room that he was resolv'd to be obey'd and that he wou'd make them see that all their Privileges were only founded upon an illegal Usage and lastly that he wou'd hear them argue no more about the Matter Thus the blindest of all Kings with whom the Arbitrary Courses of his Minister pass'd for Law and Policy violated all the Ordinances as if there had been no such thing as Justice in France before the Cardinal-Duke sate at the Helm and that all the ancient Customs ow'd their Original to Madmen and Fools It was too dangerous a point to endeavour to make him sensible of his Error not only by reason of the vast Authority of the Minister but his own natural Opiniatrete which was as great as his Knowledge and Insight into Things was small Thus he cou'd never have been brought to comprehend what might have been said to him concerning the beginning of Laws and the great Advantage which Princes as well as their Subjects find in seeing them carefully observ'd In consequence of the Result of this Assembly the Duke de la Valette was condemn'd by an Arrest of the * 〈◊〉 4th of 〈◊〉 â—â—â—uary Council of State to be sent to the Bastile to answer the Crimes he was accused of or to be adjourned to appear at Sound of Trumpet at a certain time and his Goods in the interim to be sequestred Afterwards they examined the Testimony of fifty as well Officers as Soldiers whom they thought most proper to make him seem guilty Their Depositions were read in full Council and the †â—â—â—e 24th â—â—â—ay Attorney-General concluded that the Duke de la Valette was condemn'd to have his Head cut off and his Goods confiscated for the Crimes of Cowardice and Treason The Presidents who saw it was to no purpose to make any Opposition approved of all these Conclusions except Belliévre who said it was a hundred Years ago since Francis I. had made an Order by which he ordain'd that in Civil Matters the Plaintiff shou'd not come to a conclusion under a pretence of Contumacy unless he cou'd justifie his Demand and that it was much more just to follow this method in Criminal Matters where the Honour and Life of the King's Subjects lay at stake That those that were attainted of Contumacy were not always guilty at bottom That the Duke de la Valette was accused of Treason and Disobedience to his General That in relation to the Treason it was hard to imagine that a French Gentleman and one that had so many Obligations to the King cou'd be guilty of so base a Thought That he had remark'd no proof of it in the Process and that the Attorney-General seem'd to be of the same Opinion since he had not pronounced the usual Sentence of Traitors which was to demolish their Houses to cut down their Woods and to declare their Posterity degraded from their Nobility That if the Duke de la Valette had en ertain'd any private Intelligences with the Enemy he wou'd never have discover'd it to a parcel of Scoundrâ—ls since this was the most effectual way to ruin his Designs That none of these Witnesses had deposed that he sent any Letters to the Enemy or received any from them or kept any Correspondence with them or their Adherents That consequently he judged him innocent in respect of this Allegation That as for his Disobedience to his General this was a point purely military the Cognizance whereof belonged to Gentlemen of that Profession and that if the Duke were present he might perhaps demonstrate the contrary That as to this Article the Witnesses deposed no more than that the Breach was reasonable and that if an Assault had been made immediately in all appearance the Place had been taken That it was a Matter of dangerous consequence to submit the Honour and Life of a General to the Judgment of thirty Soldiers That nevertheless tho' there was not any direct proof of these two Capital Points of which the Duke de la Valette was accused to condemn him to die yet he thought him to be so great a Criminal for leaving the Kingdom and not appearing to justifie himself even though he were in person that he was of opinion that he deserved to be banished for nine Years to be turn'd out of his Places and to pay a Fine of a hundred thousand Crowns Upon this the Chancellour replied That from whatever Principle it was that the Duke de la Valette had made the King lose the Opportunity of Taking
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
temper'd the form of Government by mixing some appearance of an Aristocracy with it and by establishing Laws which they themselves were not allowed to violate that so the People might with greater chearfulness submit to their soveraign authority That for this end they had voluntarily submitted their own Edicts to the examination of the Parliament that so they might fully be inform'd whether they contain'd any thing contrary to the known Laws and Rules of Equity That their Conscience and true Interest engaged them to observe these Laws impartially and not to violate Justice That nevertheless in case they were of opinion that the Parliaments did not give them good counsel they were still at liberty to have recourse to their absolute power as it appeared by these terms in their Edicts For such is our good pleasure That Declarations are not addressed to the Parliaments out of pure formality which was wholly unnecessary but that the people might afterwards obey them without any repugnance That it had been the antient policy of the Kings of France to make all sorts of Graces depend upon themselves but to see Justice administred in the Soveraign Courts That this discharged the Kings from the Odium that might ensue upon the exercise of any severe act of Justice and besides disengaged them from the importunity of their Courtiers who without this might lead them to commit several injust things highly prejudicial to the Welfare of their States To return now to foreign affairs ever since the beginning of the foregoing year the Duke of Lorrain had demanded a Passport of the King to come to Court out of hopes he might obtain the possession of his Dominions by giving some satisfaction to his Majesty and it was at last * The 24 of Jan. 1639. Mem. of Aub. T. 2 p. 947. granted him in very advantageous terms Another was dispatched to him some * The 24 of August months after and yet he did not come to Court as was expected * Siri Mer. T. 1. lib. 2. p. 289. The Cardinal who by his natural inclination to invade the Rights of others without considering the ill consequences that might follow had seized upon the Dukedom of Lorrain some years before found by experience that this conduct had extremely sunk his Reputation but especially in Italy where there was not a Prince who did not with great Jealousy and Concern look upon this aggrandizing of France as fearing to be treated after the same manner as the Duke of Lorrain had been Upon this consideration he judged that after he sufficiently humbled him it would be the best way to re-establish him since he was not now in a condition to give any umbrage to France and that this would gain him the esteem of several Princes who might very eminently contribute in their respective stations towards the depressing of the House of Austria About this time the Duke of Lorrain falling passionately in Love with the Countess of Cantecroix had a mind to be divorced from his Dutchess Nicole but this is a point upon which we need enlarge no more 'T is sufficient to observe that the * Siri Ib. p. 291. Countess was very serviceable to the Cardinal to incline the Duke to make fresh Sollicitations for the favour of France which promised to procure a Divorce for him from Rome The ill condition of his own affairs did likewise oblige him to it since having no money to pay off the small Army he kept on foot he was constrain'd to allow the Soldiers to do what they pleased which set him in ill circumstances with the House of Austria upon whose Lands they had been quarter'd for a long time At last being entred into France he saw the Cardinal and arrived on the 10th of March at St. Germain where he was received with all imaginable respect Assoon as he appear'd before the King he immediately set one Knee upon the ground and told him that he came to humble himself before him and submit his fortune to his Majesty's Clemency The King offer'd thrice to raise him up but he protested that he would not quit that posture till his Majesty had forgiven him for all his past faults The King was then pleased to assure him that he had not the least remembrance of what was past and that he would assist him for the future The Duke got up and covered himself after which he went to see the Queen and the Duke of Orleans The Duke of Lorrain undertook this voyage to endeavour to regain at least one part of his Country to procure some money for the subsistence of his Troops and to engage the King to act at Rome in the favour of his Marriage with the Countess of Cantecroix If he obtain'd the two first Articles he would be able to make better conditions of agreement with the House of Austria in case he designed to embrace their party afresh or if he found it advantageous to him he might still continue linked to the Interests of France But what he most earnestly desired was the Confirmation of his Marriage and he had brought the Countess along with him into France if the King had not sent him word to leave her at Espinal The Cardinal had given his word to the Nuncio that he would in no manner support the Duke as to his Divorce from his Dutchess Nicole and that the Duke of Lorrain might not speak to him about him he spread a report abroad that the King was resolv'd to employ all his power with the Duke to prevail with him to be reconciled to his Wife When the Duke first heard of this pretended design of the King he was extremely mortified for he could not endure to hear the least mention of this Accommodation so that any one might perceive he took it for a great favour not to talk to him about it much less to pretend that they would lend him their assistance to break off his Marriage Thus he contented himself to talk with the Nuncio concerning it and since he found the King did not countenance his design he did not importune the Cardinal to favour him in a pretension so unjust as this really was Not to descend into the consequences of this private affair 't will be sufficient to observe that the King concluded the Treaty concerning the restitution of Lorrain on the 29th of May and swore to the observation of it the same day as well as the Duke in the Chappel of St. Germain * See the whole Treaty in Siri Mere. T. 1. lib. 2. p. 296. The King restored Lorrain to him and the Dutchy of Bar upon condition that he would do homage for the latter and that Clermont Stenay Jamets and Dun with all their dependencies should continue re-united to the Crown Nancy likewise was to continue as a pledge in the Kings hands till the end of the War Besides this the Duke was obliged to renounce all manner of correspondence with the House of Austria and
Book of Pufendorf Hist Rer. Suec Leonard Torstenson General of the Swedes defeated them twice in the course of this Campaign In Silesia he cut to pieces the Emperors Army commanded by Francis Albert Duke of Saxe-Lawenburg and took him Prisoner and he defeated the Arch-Duke Leopold near Leipsic He took several considerable places and got several other advantages â—ver the Imperialists The Count de Guebriant with some French Troops and the remainder of the Duke of Weymar's Army which he commanded ever since the departure of the Duke of Longueville contributed mightily to these Victories altho he was at a great distance from the Swedes because he obliged a considerable Body of the Imperial Troops to be upon the Rhine Towards the beginning of the year he * Siri Mer. T. 2. l. 1. p. 4 c. entered into the Archbishoprick of Colen with seven thousand Men and five pieces of Cannon The Count de Herbestein joyn'd him with four thousand men of the Troops of the Landgrave of Hesse and nine Field pieces They besieged Ordinguen together and took it by Capitulation altho Lamboi was within three Leagues of the Place with twelve thousand men But whether he believed the Town would hold out longer or that he was minded to stay till General Hazfeldt joyned him he made no movement The Count de Guebriant receiving advice that these two Generals designed to joyn one another resolved to attack Lamboi altho he was entrenched in a very advantageous place and was full as strong as himself that he might not have them both upon his hands at a time He divided his Arm into three Bodies one of which was composed of French commanded by himself the other of Hessians commanded by their own General and the third of the Troops of the Duke of Weymar under General Tubadel In this order he attacked the intrenchments of the Imperialists and after a long resistance beat them on three sides and put Lamboi to the rout notwithstanding all the efforts he made to rally his men This General grown desperate at the defeat of his Army return'd to the Charge with a small reserve and after he had given great proofs of his bravery was oblig'd to surrender himself Prisoner He lost three thousand men upon the spot besides fourteen hundred Prisoners among whom were the principal Officers as well as the Gâ—neral After this the Count de Gâ—â—briant * The 26 of January took the Town of Nuys and several other small places in the Electorate of Colen where he committed great ravages There was a hot discourse this year of a place of Congress to treat of a general Peace and Passports for the Ambassadors that were to meet there The * Siri Mâ—â— T. 2. l. 2. p. 1064. Spaniards for their particular desired to conclude a Truce for two years with France hoping in that time to make new preparations for carrying on the War but France was in too formidable a posture to consent to it and the Cardinal declared he would listen to nothing but a Peace by which he pretended to keep some places to make a descent upon Germany or Flanders whenever the King pleased The unnatural disorders in England still continued and the King being necessitated to declare War against his two Houses of Parliament engaged himself in those unfortunate Broils which he was never able to master and in the end proved fatal to him He was suspected in France to be inclined to Spain and in England to have a leaning towards France The Ambassador of this last Crown having addressed himself to the Parliament after the King had broke with them this Prince was extremely offended at it and sent great complaints of this procedure to the Court of France Lewis XIII answered that it was without his orders and to convince the English Envoy that it was so he promised to call this Ambassador home which was accordingly performed soon after However several persons were of opinion that he durst never have appeared in a matter of this consequence at least without an order from the Chief Minister who for his part was not sorry to have these disturbances last longer it being to be feared that England jealous of the Grandeur of France would declare for Spain as soon as their troubles were over The French Ambassador nevertheless protested to the King of England that he had done nothing but with a design to induce the Parliament to a Peace and it was said in France that it was not the Interest of that Crown to suffer the authority of the Parliament to encrease too much because that Calvinism would be then more strongly estabâ—ished in England and that this Religion might be of ill example to the Calvinists of France But after all nothing was done in favour of the King to support him against the Parliament and in the sequel France openly declared for Oliver Cromwel Protector of England for fear lest he should joyn with the Spaniards Italy which perhaps would have concerned it self one way or t'other and declared for the weakest side was still strangely disordered Notwithstanding the * Ib. l. 1. p. 178. intervention of most of the powers of Italy to accommodate the Duke of Parma with the Barberines the latter not only pretended to keep whâ—â— they had gotten into their hands but that the Duke should go to beg pardon of the Pope They caused him to be cited at Rome to make his appearance there at a certain time under pain of excommunication and as the Duke was better advised than to venture himself there the Pope brandished the Ecclesiastical Thunder against him on the 13th of January Nay they talked of putting his dominions under an Interdict but as they were sensible that all the Powers which had interceeded for that Prince would declare for him if things were carried to those extremities they laid aside that design In the mean time the Duke took all possible measures to secure himself of the fidelity of his Subjects as well of the Laity as the Church-men and continued to make preparations of War necessary for his defence The Pope did the same on his side and it was feared that he would soon swallow up the rest of the Duke of Parma's dominions At last * Ib. l. 2. 3. after several negotiations to no purpose the Republic of Venice the great Duke of Florence and the Duke of Modena made a defensive League with the Duke of Parma to oppose the progress of the Pope's Army in case he attempted any new conquests and to oblige him to surrender Castro to the Duke of Parma The Troops of Venice and Florence were ordered to advance towards the Dutchy of Parma the Modenois to move as the Popes Army should do and the Duke of Parma was ready to make an irruption into the Ecclesiastical State This was the face of affairs in Italy at the beginning of the Campaign in the year 1642. The Barberines being informed of the
La Mothe Houdancourt goes to command in Catalonia b. 300. What Progress he makes there b. 301. Blocks up Tarragon ib. c. Beats the Spaniards 302. Relieves Almenas b. 305. Is made a Mareschal of France b. 333. Beats D. Pedro d' Arragon and takes him Prisoner b. 334. Besieges Tortose in vain b. 336. And takes Monzon ib. Gives Battel to Leganez b. 357 c. Moyenvic taken from the Duke of Lorrain b. 12 N. Nancy surrendred to the King b. 74 Nari Bernardon sent by Urban VIII into France a. 102. His Negotiation about the Valteline ibid. Negropelisse put to the Sword a. 68 Nobility ruin'd under Lewis XIII a. 202 208 Norlingue a Battel lost near this City by the Swedes b. 118 Notables An Assembly of Notables at Fountainbleau a. 153. Another at Paris ib. 201 Novi taken by the Genoueses a. 114 O. Oleggio taken by the Mareschal de Crequi b. 162 Olivarez Count-Duke his ill Conduct 354 355. Disgraced 365 Orleans Duke of See Gaston Ornano Colonel Governour of Monsieur a. 89. Imprisoned and set at Liberty ib. 90. Made a Mareschal of France ib. 179. The cause of his disgrace ib. Imprisoned a. 181. His death at Bois de Vincennes ib. 193 Orval Count of defends Montauban a 59 Ossonville an over-sight of this Man b. 345 Ottagio The Spaniards and Genoueses defeated near that place a. 117 Oxenstiern Chancellour of Sweden comes to Paris b. 136 P. Papenheim beats the French in the Valteline a. 157 Parliament of Paris how far it concerned it self in the Government under the Regence of Mary de Medicis a. 8. Advises the King to make up matters with his Mother ib. 36. Is forced to enroll several Edicts ib. 64 Parliament of Paris refuses to enter a Declaration against Monsieur b. 1 2. Censur'd by the King ib. Refuses to confirm a Declaration for the setting up a Chamber of Justice b. 11. Mortified by the King b. 11 24 60 157 282 c. A Defence of the Rights of Parliament b. 283 284 Parma Edward Duke of enters into a League with France b. 152. Goes to Paris b. 160. Punished by the Spaniards for making a League against them ib. 161 164. Is reconciled to the Spaniards b. 184. Plundered of Castro by the Barbarians b. 306. Excommunicated b. 362. A League to defend him b. 363. Makes an Irruption into the Ecclesiastick State ibid. Passage taken by the French b. 210 Perez Michael defends Fontarabia b. 211. Perpignan besieged and taken by the French b. 335. Factions in the French Camp b. 342 Phaltsburg Princess of cunningly retires from Nancy b. 97 Philip IV. departs for Arragon b. 336. Deceived by false News b. 338 Philipsburg surprized by the Imperialists b. 133 Picardy over-run by the Spaniards b. 169 170 c. Piccolomini defeats Feuquieres b. 240. Attacks Monzon in vain ib. 241 Pignerol attacked and taken by the Cardinal a. 337 338 Pignerol the vast importance of this place in the Hands of France b. 16. A Stratagem to keep it by pretending to surrender it b. 18. Given up by agreement to the King of France b. 22 23 Du Plessis Besançon negotiates with the Catalonians b. 259. Beats the Spaniards near Barcelona b. 298 299 c. Du Plessis-Prâlain Governour of Turin b. 274 Plessis Alphonsus of Brother of the Cardinal is made Bishop of Luçon a. 2. Quits it to turn Carthusian ibid. 3. Archbishop of Lyons and Cardinal a. 330 Plessis Francis of Father to the Cardinal a. 2. His Children ibid. Plessis Armand John of his Birth and Education a. 2 3. Goes into Orders and is nominated to the Bishoprick of Luçon ibid. Sollicites his own Bulls himself and obtains them ib. 4. Betakes himself to preaching ib. And to the Mareschal d'Ancre ib. and 11. His Harangue before the States ib. 7. Is made Grand Almoner to the Queen ib. 11. Privy-Counsellor ib. Advises the Imprisonment of the Prince of Conde ib. 12. Made Secretary of State ib. 14. Obtains the Precedence before the other Secretaries ib. Disgraced after the death of the Marquiss d'Ancre ib. 16. Goes to Blois ib. 17. is ordered to retire into Anjou from whence he writes to the King ib. Banished to Avignon ib. 18. Writes Religious Treatises there ib. Is recalled ib. 22. His Conduct towards Marie de Medicis ib. 22 c. 29. The ill Counsel he gives that Princess ib. 41. Ruines her and yet by her means gets the King to demand a Cardinal's Cap for him ib. 44. The Enemies he had at Court ib. 47. Who secretly oppose his Promotion ib. 48. At last 't is asked heartily and then he obtains it 62 63 Plessis Armand John of Cardinal of Richlieu declared Privy-Counsellor a. 78. Receives the Ambassadours of England in his Bed a. 79. His opinion about the Marriage of Henrietta Maria ib. 83. The Discourses he had with Spada the Nuncio about it a. 84. And about the Valteline 95 102 103 134 136 140 148 150. With the Legate ib. 134 c. 149. His Discourse in the Assembly of Notables at Fontainbleau ib. 155 156. Thinks of making War against Spain a. 100. His Conversation with the Marquis de Mirabel ib. 100. Designs to destroy the Hugonots a. 167. Falsely accused to favour them ib. 171. Pretends to quit the Ministry a. 177. Endeavours to ruin the Mareschal d'Ornano ib. 179 c. Called The King of the King ib. 182. Feigns an inclination to retire a. 184. A Conspiracy against him ib. 185. Tricks the Messieurs de Vendôme a. 187. Obtains Guards for his security 195. Is made Admiral under another Name a. 209. His Government of Oleron and Broüage a. 213. Cheats the Hollanders and Spaniards a. 217. Sticks fast to the Blockade of Rochelle a. 219 221. Has the Title of Lieutenant-General ib. 220. What Orders he makes in the Army a. 239. Treats with the Rochellers ib. 241. Grants them such Capitulation as he pleases a. 248. Enters that City ib. 250 c. Plessis Armand John of superstitiously fond of Judicial Astrology a. 292. Advises the King to assist the Duke of Mantua and brings him over to it a. 302. Goes to Grenoble and from thence to Susa a. 307. Negotiates with the Prince of Piedmont ib. 308 310. Comes back into France and ruins the Hugonots to whom he gives a Peace at last a. 313 c. Reduces Montauban a. 316. Refuses to have any share in the Benefices of the Grand Prior a. 319. Will no longer depend upon the Queen-Mother a. 320. Ill received by that Princess a. 322. A Rupture between them a. 323 c. Declared Principal Minister of State a. 325. Lieutenant-General of the Army of Piedmont ib. 330. Departs for Dauphiné ib. Refuses to go to Pont de Beauvoisin to treat with the Prince of Piedmont a. 331. Treats with him near Susa a. 334. The Habits the Cardinal wore in Piedmont a. 336. His march to go to Rivoli ib. Goes to attack Pignerol and takes it a. 337 c. They try in vain to engage him
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
the Duke of Savoy in the Body of the Battel and the Duke of Parma in the Rear The Enemy had taken no care to entrench themselves thinking that the French durst not stir out of their Lines to meet an Army stronger than their own and they began already to retire when they were attacked Crequi had the Right and the Duke of Savoy commanded on the Left The Attack began on the Duke's side with a great deal of Vigour although they had not sent to observe the ground where the Enemy lay They were beaten back into the Vineyards where their Infantry was posted and they disputed the ground very weakly when Crequi upon a false Information sent word to the Duke of Savoy that the Spaniards were entrenched on the other side and superiour to them in number upon which he did not think it safe to push it on any farther This occasioned Victor-Amadeo who had already dislodged the Spanish Infantry out of the Vineyards to sound a Retreat and lose a fair opportunity of beating the Enemy It is reported that Crequi suspected that the Duke of Savoy only designed to engage him to suffer him afterwards to be cut in pieces and that for this reason he did not attack them He retired likewise at the same time and the Spaniards who looked upon themselves as good as beaten were surprized to see the Enemy abandon of their own accord an Enterprize which had begun so well This News they learn'd of the Prisoners but then it was too late for after this the Spaniards entrenched themselves and were always upon their Guard Nor was this all for they threw fresh Succours into the City through a place where the Lines of Circumvallation were not compleated and where the Savoyards did not make any manner of resistance Another Supply enter'd the Town by the Po after which the Rains that usually fall in the Autumn incommoded the Besiegers The Army which was otherwise exceedingly weakned by Weaknesses and Desertions and the mutual jealousies between the Duke of Savoy and the Mareschal de Crequi still increasing they began to talk of raising the Siege as they did the next day leaving their Canon and part of their Baggage behind them The Generals drew off complaining one of another and that the Milaneze which they had wisely shared between themselves before-hand still continued in the Hands of the Spaniards The Cardinal who had believed the Conquest of it to be a matter of small Difficulty was exceedingly concerned at the ill success of this enterprize and the reciprocal Accusations of the Duke and the Mareschal which afterwards came to him gave him but little Consolation Crequi accused the Duke with holding private Intelligence with the Spaniards and the Duke made it appear that the Mareschal had undertaken this Siege with too small an Army and show'd no Conduct in the whole Affair whatever Bravery he might otherwise have He that was the most in Danger was the Duke of Parma whose Territories lay exposed to the revenge of the Spaniards He complain'd that he was the only Person that had observed the Treaty both in regard to the number of his Troops the time appointed and to his Zeal in executing with Vigour the projects that had been concerted in the Council of War To prevent the ruine of the Duke of Parma and frustrate the other designs of the Spaniards the Troops of France took their Winter Quarters in Italy and were distributed into several Garrisons Thus the Cardinal 's great Expectations of conquering the Dutchy of Milan vanish'd on the sudden although 't is certain that he cou'd not have chosen a fitter time for this enterprize if it had been well executed for the King had made himself Master of the Passes of the Valteline beforchand to hinder any Troops from coming to the assistance of the Spaniards out of Germany * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 216. The Duke of Rohan who was in Alsatia had Orders in the Spring to go into Switzerland there to take Six Thousand Men and four Troops of Horse and conduct them into the Valteline in order to possess himself of that Country and to defend it with the Forces which were there already Being ready to march cross the Country of the Protestant Cantons he writ to Du Landé who commanded three Regiments of French there and as many of the Grisons to make himself Master of all the Passes of the Valteline which he very happily executed on the 13th of April so that neither the Spaniards nor the little Cantons cou'd possibly hinder it Soon after the Duke of Rohan arrived there and began to work upon the Fortifications of those Posts which they had seized The King of Spain being informed of this Invasion sent to demand assistance of the Emperour who dispatched Orders to Galas to send a Detachment of his Army into Tirol and from thence into the Valteline to joyn the Troops of Spain that were to force their Way there on the side of the Milaneze Galas detach'd Eight Thousand Men under the Baron de Fernamond Serjeant de Bataille who being arrived in Tirol attack'd the Pass of the Valteline on that Side in the Month of November The Duke of Rohan received him with Four Thousand Men and the French Infantry charged the German Horse with that Fury that they routed them and put the Army to Flight Fernamond lost Two Thousand Men upon the Spot besides Prisoners and retired towards Tirol Soon after he received a Reinforcement of Three Thousand Men and Serbellon entred the Valteline on the side of Milan and advanced towards Sondrio The Duke of Rohan thought it adviseable to march against the latter before the Recruits of Fernamond were in a Condition to Act. To this end he marched all Night from the 13th to the 14th of November and having met Serbellon at Morbegno where he had intrench'd himself he attack'd him kill'd him Fifteen Hundred Men and took all his Baggage The next Day he returned to Bormio lest Fernamond shou'd take any advantage of his Absence By this Action he hindered a considerable Relief from entring into the Milaneze and falling upon the Allies of France This was the only advantage that turned to any account with France obtain'd against Spain this first Year of the War While France was thus employed by Land in Italy in Germany and the Low-Countries the Spaniards had a design to attack her by Sea and to make a descent upon Provence But their Fleet being severely shattered by Tempests they only seized upon the Isles of St. Margaret and St. Honorat where they left a Garrison and some Men to build two Forts This Acquisition might serve to incommode the Trade of Provence and to facilitate a descent upon the Continent but it was a difficult matter to keep these Islands so that the Spaniards were no great gainers by this Exploit year 1636 Chancellor d' Aligre being Dead the King conferr'd this Dignity upon Pierce Leguier as he had formerly