1631
Richelieu interdicts all correspondence between Anne of Austria and the
King of Spain--The Queen asks permission to retire to the Val de
Grâce--Her persecution by the Cardinal--Marie de Medicis protects her
interests--Monsieur pledges himself to support her cause--Gaston defies
the minister--Alarm of Richelieu--He resolves to effect the exile of the
Queen-mother--Monsieur quits the capital--Superstition of Marie de
Medicis--An unequal struggle--Father Joseph and his patron--The
Queen-mother resolves to accompany her son to Italy--Richelieu assures
the King that Marie and Gaston have organized a conspiracy against his
life--The Court proceed to Compiègne--The Queen-mother refuses to retain
her seat in the Council--Richelieu regains all his influence over the
King--Revenge of the Cardinal upon his enemies--Desperate position of
Marie de Medicis--Her arrest is determined upon by the Council--Louis
leaves her a prisoner at Compiègne--Parting interview of the
two Queens--Indignity offered to Anne of Austria--Death of the
Princesse de Conti--Indignation of the royal prisoner--A diplomatic
correspondence--Two noble gaolers--The royal troops pursue Monsieur--The
adherents of Gaston are declared guilty of _lèse-majesté_--Gaston
addresses a declaration to the Parliament--The Queen-mother forwards a
similar protest, and then appeals to the people--A paper war--The
garrison is withdrawn from Compiègne--Marie resolves to effect her
escape to the Low Countries--She is assured of the protection of Spain
and Germany--The Queen-mother secretly leaves the fortress--She is
betrayed by the Marquis de Vardes, and proceeds with all speed to
Hainault, pursued by the royal troops--She is received at Mons by the
Archduchess Isabella--Whence she addresses a letter to the King to
explain the motives of her flight--Reply of Louis XIII--Sympathy of
Isabella--The two Princesses proceed to Brussels--Triumphal entry of
Marie de Medicis into the capital of Flanders--Renewed hopes of the
exiled Queen--The Belgian Ambassador at the French Court--Vindictive
counsels of the Cardinal--The property of the Queen-mother and Monsieur
is confiscated--They are abandoned by many of their adherents--Richelieu
is created a duke--A King and his minister--Marie consents to the
marriage of Monsieur with Marguerite de Lorraine--The followers of the
Queen-mother and the Duc d'Orléans are tried and condemned--Louis XIII
proceeds to Lorraine to prevent the projected alliance of his
brother--Intrigues of Gaston--Philip of Spain refuses to adopt the cause
of Marie de Medicis--Marriage of Monsieur and the Princesse de
Lorraine--The Queen-mother endeavours to negotiate her return to
France--Richelieu determines the King not to consent--Charles de
Lorraine makes his submission to the French monarch--And signs a
compulsory treaty.
In order, as he asserted, to protect the interests of France, Richelieu
had strictly forbidden all further correspondence between Anne of
Austria and her royal brother Philip of Spain; and had further informed
her that she would no longer be permitted to receive the Marquis de
Mirabel, the Spanish Ambassador, who had hitherto been her constant
visitor and the medium of her intercourse with her family. Indignant at
such an interference with her most private feelings, Anne revolted
against a tyranny which aroused her southern pride; and complaining that
the close confinement to which she was subjected at the Louvre had
affected her health, she demanded permission to retire to the Val de
Grâce; a proposal which was eminently grateful to the Cardinal, who
desired above all things to separate her from the Queen-mother. She had,
however, no sooner left the palace than she caused M. de Mirabel to be
apprised of the place of her retreat; at the same time informing him
that she should continue to expect his visits, although he must
thenceforward make them as privately as possible. In compliance with
these instructions, the Ambassador alighted from his carriage at some
distance from the Val de Grâce, and proceeded on foot to the convent
generally towards the dusk of the evening, believing that by these
precautions he should be enabled to baffle the vigilance of the watchful
minister. He was, however, soon destined to be undeceived, as Richelieu,
having ascertained the fact, openly denounced these meetings in the
Council, expatiating upon the fatal effects of which they might be
productive to France; while Marie de Medicis boldly supported her
daughter-in-law, declaring that any minister who presumed to give laws
to the wife of his sovereign exceeded his privilege, and must be
prepared to encounter her legitimate and authorized opposition.
In this assertion she was, moreover, supported by the Duc d'Orléans, who
considered himself aggrieved by the non-performance of the promises made
by Richelieu to his favourites. He had, it is true, in his turn pledged
himself to the King that he would no longer oppose the measures of the
minister; but the pledges of Monsieur were known to be as unstable as
water; and his chivalrous spirit was, moreover, aroused by the harsh
treatment of his young and beautiful sister-in-law, with whom he passed
a great portion of his time. More than once he had surprised her bathed
in tears, had listened to the detail of her wrongs, and soothed her
sorrows; and, finally, he had vowed to revenge them.
It would appear that on this occasion at least he was in earnest, as on
the 1st of January 1631, when the intense cold rendered the outward air
almost unendurable, and the Cardinal had remained throughout the whole
morning in his easy chair, rolled up in furs, beside a blazing fire,
Monsieur was suddenly announced, and immediately entered the apartment,
followed by a numerous train of nobles. Richelieu rose in alarm to
receive him, for he remembered a previous visit of Monsieur which was as
unexpected as the present one, and probably not more threatening.
"To what, Sir," he asked with a slight tremor in his voice, as he
advanced towards the Prince with a profound bow, "am I to attribute the
honour of this unexpected favour?"
"To my anxiety to apprise you," said Gaston without returning his
salutation, "that it was contrary to my own inclination that I lately
promised you my friendship. I recall that promise, for I cannot keep it
to a man of your description, who, moreover, insults my mother."
As the Prince ceased speaking the nobles by whom he was accompanied laid
their hands upon their swords, and the petrified Cardinal stood
speechless and motionless before them, unable to articulate a syllable.
"As for myself," pursued Gaston, "I have too long submitted to your
insolence, and you deserve that I should chastise you as I would a
lackey. Your priestly robe alone protects you from my vengeance; but
beware! You are now warned; and henceforward nothing shall form your
security against the chastisement reserved for those who outrage persons
of my quality. For the present I shall retire to Orleans, but you will
soon hear of me again at the head of an armed force; and then, Monsieur
le Cardinal, we will decide who shall hold precedence in France, a
Prince of the Blood Royal, or a nameless adventurer."
With this threat, Monsieur turned and left the room, closely followed by
the Cardinal, whom he overwhelmed with insult until he had descended the
stairs; and even while the pale and agitated minister obsequiously held
the stirrup to assist him to mount, he continued his vituperations;
then, snatching at the bridle, he dashed through the gates, and
disappeared at full speed with his retinue.[144]
Alarmed at the menacing attitude assumed by the Duc d'Orléans, Richelieu
renewed his attempts to conciliate the Queen-mother, not only
personally, but also through the medium of those about her. All these
efforts, however, proved abortive; and although the King himself deeply
and openly resented her resolute estrangement from the Cardinal, by whom
he was at this period entirely governed, nothing could induce her to
listen to such a proposal; and she was further strengthened in her
resolve by the representations of her partisans, who constantly assured
her of her popularity with the people, and asserted that they were loud
in their denunciations of the weakness of the sovereign, and the tyranny
of his minister; while they anticipated from their experience of the
past that she would, by maintaining her own dignity, place some curb
upon the encroaching ambition of a man who was rapidly undermining the
monarchy, and sapping the foundations of the throne.
Having failed in this endeavour, Richelieu resolved no longer to delay
his cherished project of effecting the exile of his former benefactress;
and as a preliminary measure, he no sooner ascertained that the Duc
d'Orléans had indeed retired to his government than he insinuated to
Louis that Monsieur had been instigated to this overt act of opposition
by the counsels of Marie de Medicis. When reproached with this new
offence, the Queen-mother denied that she had encouraged the Prince to
leave the capital; bitterly remarking that she was not so rich in
friends as to desire the absence of any who still remembered that she
was the mother and mother-in-law of the two greatest monarchs in Europe;
that she had given one Queen to England, another to Spain, and a female
sovereign to Savoy; and that she was moreover the widow of Henry
the Great.
Little credence was, however, vouchsafed to these disclaimers; the
Cardinal coldly remarking that Gaston never acted save in conformity
with her will; and Louis loudly declaring that his brother had been
urged to his disobedience entirely by herself, in order to gratify her
hatred of his minister.[145]
The struggle continued. Encouraged by her adherents, and calculating on
the feeble health of the King, who had never rallied from the severe
attack by which he had been prostrated at Lyons, Marie de Medicis still
flattered herself that she should ultimately triumph; an opinion in
which she was confirmed by the astrologers, in whom, as we have already
shown, she placed the most unbounded faith. One of these charlatans had
assured her that at the close of the year 1631 she would be more
powerful and fortunate than she had ever before been; and she had such
perfect confidence in the prophecy that when it was uttered, although at
that period surrounded by difficulty and danger, she had replied with a
calm and satisfied smile: "That is sufficient. I have therefore now only
to be careful of my health."
The retirement of Monsieur to Orleans tended to strengthen these idle
and baseless hopes; and the flatterers of the Queen-mother consequently
found little difficulty in persuading her that ere long half the nation
would rise to avenge her wrongs; that all the great nobles would rally
round the Duc d'Orléans; and that the principal cities, weary of the
despotism of Richelieu, would declare in favour of the heir-presumptive,
in the event of the King still seeking to support his obnoxious
minister.
Misled by these assurances, and consulting only her own passions, Marie
de Medicis no longer hesitated. She refused to acknowledge the authority
of the Cardinal, not only as regarded her own personal affairs, but also
in matters of state; and absented herself from the Council, loudly
declaring that her only aim in life hereafter would be to accomplish his
ruin. The infatuated Princess had ceased to remember that she was
braving no common adversary, and that she was heaping up coals of fire
which could not fail one day to fall back upon her own head; for
resolute, fearless, and vehement as she was, she had to contend against
the first diplomatist of the age, whose whole career had already
sufficiently demonstrated that he was utterly uninfluenced by those
finer feelings which have so frequently prevented a good man from
becoming great. What were to Richelieu the memories of the past? Mere
incentives to the ambition of the future. Concini had been his first
friend, and he had abandoned him to the steel of the assassin so soon as
his patronage had become oppressive. Marie herself had overwhelmed him
with benefits, but she had now lost her power, and he, who had won, was
resolved to keep it. He had dared to talk of passion to the wife of his
sovereign, by whom he had been repulsed, and fearfully had he resented
the affront. Such a man was no meet antagonist for the impulsive and
imprudent Princess who had now entered the lists against him; and the
issue of the conflict was certain.
Richelieu meekly bent his head before the storm of words by which he was
assailed, but he did not remain inactive. Having resolved to terminate a
rivalry for power which disorganized all his measures and fettered all
his movements; and, moreover, to retain the influence which he had
acquired over the mind of the weak and indolent monarch; he held long
and frequent conferences with the Capuchin Father Joseph, in which it
was finally decided that the Cardinal should induce his royal master to
exile his mother to Moulins or some other fortified city at a distance
from the capital, under a strong guard; and afterwards to surprise
Monsieur and take him prisoner, before he should have time to fortify
himself in Orleans, or to establish his residence in a frontier province
where he could be assisted by the Emperor of Germany or the King of
Spain; both of whom were at that moment earnestly endeavouring to foment
discord in the French Court, and would not fail to embrace so favourable
an opportunity, should time be allowed for the Prince to solicit
their aid.
Had Marie de Medicis possessed more caution, Richelieu might well have
doubted his power to induce her to leave the capital, where her
popularity would have ensured her safety; but he had not forgotten that
when he sought to dissuade her from following her son in his Italian
campaign, she had resolutely replied: "I will accompany the King
wherever he may see fit to go; and I will never cease to demand justice
upon the author of the dissensions which now embitter the existence of
the royal family."
Convinced that she would keep her word, and anxious to see her safely
beyond the walls of Paris, the Cardinal accordingly began to impress
more urgently than ever upon Louis his conviction that a conspiracy had
been formed against his authority, if not against his life; and that not
only were the Queen-mother and Monsieur involved in this nefarious plot,
but also some of the greatest nobles and ladies of the Court. As he had
anticipated, the King at once took alarm, and entreated him to devise
some method by which he might evade so great a danger.
"Your Majesty may rest assured that I have not neglected so imperative a
duty," replied Richelieu with a calm smile which at once tended to
reassure his royal dupe. "If the peril be great, the means of escape are
easy. You have only, Sire, to leave Paris, and organize a hunt at
Compiègne. The Queen-mother will no doubt follow you thither; in which
case we will profit by the opportunity to make her such advantageous
offers as may induce her to accede to your wishes, and to separate
herself from the cabal; and even in the event of her declining the
journey, and remaining in Paris during your absence, we may equally
succeed in removing from about her person the individuals who are now
labouring to excite her discontent; and this object once attained, there
can be little doubt that she will become more yielding and submissive.
Monsieur is, as I am informed, about to levy troops in the different
provinces, and to provoke a civil war; but he will, as a natural
consequence, abandon this project when deprived of the support of the
Queen, and will be ready to make his submission when he is no longer in
correspondence with her Majesty."
Louis eagerly acceded to the suggestion of the crafty Cardinal, and
desired that preparations might be made for his departure in the course
of the ensuing month; expressing at the same time his sense of the
service rendered to him by the minister.[146] Richelieu felt the whole
extent of his triumph. Once beyond the walls of Paris, Marie de Medicis
was in the toils, and her overthrow was assured; while, as he had
anticipated, on being informed of the projected journey, she at once
declared her determination to accompany the King, and resolutely refused
to listen to the exhortations of her friends, by whom she was earnestly
dissuaded from leaving the capital.
"You argue in vain," she said firmly. "If I had only followed the King
to Versailles, the Cardinal would now be out of France, or in a prison.
May it please God that I never again commit the same error!" In
accordance with this decision the Queen-mother accordingly made the
necessary preparations; and on the 17th of February the Court set forth
for Compiègne, to the great satisfaction of the minister; who, well
aware of the impossibility of accomplishing any reconciliation with his
indignant mistress, lost no time in entreating Louis to endeavour once
more to effect this object. Richelieu desired to appear in the _rôle_ of
a victim, while he was in fact the tyrant of this great domestic drama;
but the weak sovereign was incompetent to unravel the tangled mesh of
his wily policy; and it was therefore with eagerness that he lent
himself to this new subterfuge.
Vautier was, as we have stated, not only the physician but also the
confidential friend of Marie de Medicis; and the King consequently
resolved to avail himself of his influence. He was accordingly summoned
to the royal presence, and there Louis expressed to him his earnest
desire that the past should be forgotten, and that henceforward his
mother and himself might live in peace and amity; to which end he
declared it to be absolutely essential that the Queen should forego her
animosity to the Cardinal.
"I have faith in your fidelity, Sir," he said graciously, "and I request
of you to urge this upon her Majesty, for I am weary of these perpetual
broils. Assure her in my name that if she will consent to my wishes in
this respect, and assist as she formerly did at the Council, she will
secure alike my affection and my respect. She must, moreover, give a
written pledge not to compromise the safety of the state by any
political intrigue, and to abandon to my just resentment all such
persons as may hereafter incur my displeasure, with the exception only
of the members of her immediate household. On these conditions I am
ready to forgive and to forget the events of the last few months."
To this proposition Marie de Medicis replied that her most anxious
desire was to live in good understanding with her son and sovereign, but
that she could not consent to occupy a seat in the Council with
Richelieu, nor to give in writing a pledge for which her royal word
should be a sufficient guarantee, as she considered that both the one
concession and the other would be unworthy of her dignity as a Queen,
and her self-respect as a woman.
Such was precisely the result which had been anticipated by the astute
Cardinal, who, as he cast himself at the feet of the King, bitterly
inveighed against the inflexibility of Marie, and renewed his entreaties
that he might be permitted to resign office, and to withdraw for ever
from a Court where he had been so unhappy as to cause dissension between
the two persons whom he most loved and honoured upon earth. This was the
favourite expedient of Richelieu, who always saw the pale cheek of Louis
become yet paler under the threat; and on the present occasion it was
even more successful than usual. Ever ready to credit the most
extravagant reports when they involved his personal safety, the King
looked upon the Cardinal as the only barrier between himself and
assassination; and impressed with this conviction, he raised him up,
embraced him fervently, and assured him that no consideration should
ever induce him to dispense with his services; that the enemies of
Richelieu were his enemies; the friends of Richelieu his friends; and
that he held himself indebted to his devotion not only for his throne,
but for his life. The minister received his acknowledgments with
well-acted humility; and encouraged by the success of his first attempt,
resolved to profit by the opportunity thus afforded him for completing
the work of vengeance which he had so skilfully commenced. He
consequently declared that it was with reluctance he was compelled to
admit that although by the gracious consent of his Majesty to adopt the
measures which he had formerly proposed, the peril at which he had
hinted had been greatly lessened, it was nevertheless essential to
prevent the reorganization of so dangerous a cabal; and that in order to
do this effectually it became imperative upon the King to arrest, and
even to exile, certain individuals who had been involved in
the intrigue.
At that moment Louis, who considered that he had been delivered from
almost certain destruction through the perspicacity and zeal of his
minister, felt no disposition to dissent from any of his views, and he
unhesitatingly expressed his readiness to sanction whatever measures he
might deem necessary; upon which Richelieu, without further preamble,
laid before him the list of his intended victims. At the head of these
figured Bassompierre, whose recent abandonment the vindictive Cardinal
had not forgotten, and the two Marillacs. The Abbé de Foix and the
physician Vautier, both of whom were in the confidence of the
Queen-mother, were also destined to expiate their fidelity to her cause
in the Bastille; while the Princesse de Conti and the Duchesses
d'Elboeuf, d'Ornano, de Lesdiguières, and de Roannois, all of whom were
her fast friends, were sentenced to banishment; and it was further
decided that, on his departure from Compiègne, the King should leave his
mother in that city under the guard of the Maréchal d'Estrées, at the
head of nearly a thousand men, exclusive of fifty gendarmes and as many
light-horse; and that he should be accompanied to the capital by Anne of
Austria, in order to separate her from the Queen-mother.[147]
The situation of Marie de Medicis was desperate. Day after day she
solicited a private interview with the monarch, and on every occasion of
their meeting she found Richelieu in the royal closet, invulnerable
alike to her disdain and to her sarcasm. One word from the King would of
course have compelled him to withdraw, but that word was never uttered;
for with the timidity inherent to a weak mind, Louis dreaded to be left
alone with his destined victim. Bigoted and superstitious, he had his
moments of remorse, in which his conscience reproached him for the
crime of which he was about to render himself guilty towards the author
of his existence; but these qualms assailed him only during the absence
of his minister, and thus he overcame them by the constant companionship
of the stronger spirit by whom he was ruled. Unable to act of himself,
the purple robes of the Cardinal were his safeguard and his refuge; nor
was Richelieu unwilling to accept the responsibility thus thrust upon
him. His Eminence had no scruples, no weaknesses, no misgivings; he knew
his power, and he exercised it without shrinking. Had the unhappy Queen
been permitted only a few hours of undisturbed communion with her son,
it is probable that she might have awakened even in his selfish bosom
other and better feelings; she might have taught him to listen to the
voice of nature and of conscience; the mother's heart might have
triumphed over the statesman's head; but no such opportunity was
afforded to her; and while she was still making fruitless efforts to
attain her object, the King, at the instigation of the Cardinal,
summoned a privy council, at which Châteauneuf, the new Keeper of the
Seals and the tool of Richelieu, openly accused her not only of
ingratitude to the monarch, but also of conducting a secret
correspondence with the Spanish Cabinet, and of having induced Monsieur
to leave the country; and concluded by declaring that stringent measures
should be adopted against her.
When desired to declare his opinion on this difficult question,
Richelieu at first affected great unwillingness to interfere, alleging
that he was personally interested in the result; but the King having
commanded him to speak, he threw off all restraint, and represented the
Queen-mother as the focus of all the intrigues both foreign and domestic
by which the nation was convulsed; together with the utter impossibility
of ensuring the safety of the King so long as she remained at liberty to
pursue the policy which she had seen fit to adopt, alike against the
sovereign and the state. In conclusion, he emphatically reminded his
hearers that weak remedies only tended to aggravate great evils, which
latter on the contrary were overcome by those proportioned to their
magnitude; and that consequently, at such a crisis as that under
consideration, there was but one alternative: either to effect a peace
with foreign powers on sure and honourable terms, or to conciliate the
Queen-mother and the Duc d'Orléans; either to dismiss himself from
office, or to remove from about the person of the Queen the individuals
by whom she was instigated to opposition against the will of the King
and the welfare of the state; and to beg of her to absent herself for
some time from the Court, lest, without desiring to do so, she should by
her presence induce a continuance of the disorder which it was the
object of all loyal subjects to suppress. He then craftily insisted upon
the peculiar character of Marie herself, whom he painted in the most
odious colours. He declared her to be false and revengeful; qualities
which he attributed to her Italian origin, and to her descent from the
Medici, who never forgave an injury; and, finally, he stated that all
which they had to decide was whether it would be most advantageous for
the King to dismiss from office a minister who had unfortunately become
obnoxious to the whole of the royal family, in order to secure peace in
his domestic circle, or to exile the Queen-mother and those who
encouraged her in her animosity against him. As regarded himself, he
said proudly, that could his absence from the Court tend to heal the
existing dissensions, he was ready to depart upon the instant, and
should do so without hesitation or remonstrance; but that it remained to
be seen if his retirement would suffice to satisfy the malcontents; or
whether they would not, by involving others in his overthrow, endeavour
to possess themselves of the supreme authority.
This insinuation, insolent as it was (for it intimated no less than the
utter incapacity of Louis to uphold his own prerogative, and the
probability that Richelieu once removed, Marie de Medicis would resume
all her former power), produced a visible effect upon the King.
"My conviction is therefore," concluded the Cardinal, "that his Majesty
should annihilate the faction sanctioned by the Queen-mother, by
requesting her to retire to a distance from the capital, and by removing
from about her person the evil counsellors who have instigated her to
rebellion; but that this should be done with great consideration, and
with all possible respect. And as by these means the cabal would be
dispersed, and my colleagues in the ministry be thus enabled once more
to serve the sovereign and the state in perfect security, I humbly
solicit of his Majesty the royal permission to tender my resignation."
This climax, as usual, instantly decided Louis XIII, although as a
necessary form he demanded the collective opinion of the Council; who,
one and all, represented the retirement of the Cardinal from office as
an expedient at once dangerous and impracticable. The die was cast; and
after a few vague and puerile expressions of regret at the necessity
thus forced upon him of once more separating himself from his mother,
Louis pronounced the banishment of Marie de Medicis from the Court, and
then retired from the hall leaning upon the arm of Richelieu, who found
little difficulty in convincing him of the expediency of taking his
departure before his intention became known to the ill-fated Queen.[148]
This advice was peculiarly welcome to the cowardly King, who dreaded
above all things the reproaches and tears of his widowed and outraged
mother; and accordingly, on the 23rd of February, he was on foot at
three in the morning; and had no sooner completed his toilet than he
sent to desire the presence of the Jesuit Suffren, his confessor.
"When the Queen my mother shall have awoke," he said hurriedly, "do not
fail to inform her that I regret to take my departure without seeing
her; and that in a few days I will acquaint her with my wishes."
Such was his last greeting to the unhappy Princess, who had gone to rest
without one suspicion that on the morrow she should find herself a
prisoner, abandoned by her son, and bereft of her dearest friends; and
meanwhile another scene was taking place in a distant wing of the
palace, which has been so graphically described by Madame de Motteville
that we shall transcribe it in her own words:
"At daybreak some one knocked loudly at the door of the Queen's chamber.
On hearing this noise, Anne of Austria, whom it had awakened, called her
women, and inquired whether it was the King who demanded admittance, as
he was the only individual who was entitled to take so great a liberty.
While giving this order she drew back the curtain of her bed, and
perceiving with alarm that it was scarcely light, a vague sentiment of
terror took possession of her mind. As she was always doubtful, and with
great reason, of the King's feeling towards her, she persuaded herself
that she was about to receive some fatal intelligence, and felt assured
that the least evil which she had to apprehend was her exile from
France. Regarding this moment, therefore, as one which must decide the
whole of her future destiny, she endeavoured to recall her
self-possession in order to meet the blow with becoming courage ... and
when the first shock of her terror had passed by, she determined to
receive submissively whatever trial Heaven might see fit to inflict upon
her. She consequently commanded that the door of her apartment should be
opened; and as her first _femme de chambre_ announced that the person
who demanded admittance was the Keeper of the Seals, who had been
entrusted with a message to her Majesty from the King, she became
convinced that her fears had not deceived her. This apprehension was,
however, dispelled by the address of the envoy, who merely informed the
Queen that her royal consort desired to make known to her that, for
certain reasons of state, he found himself compelled to leave his mother
at Compiègne under the guard of the Maréchal d'Estrées; that he begged
her instantly to rise; to abstain from again seeing the ex-Regent; and
to join him without loss of time at the Capuchin Convent, whither he had
already proceeded, and where he should await her coming.
"Anne of Austria, although alike distressed and amazed by this
intelligence, made no comment upon so extraordinary a communication; but
after having briefly expressed her readiness to obey the command of the
King, she left her bed; and while doing so, despatched the Marquise de
Seneçay, her lady of honour, to tell the unfortunate Marie de Medicis
that she was anxious to see her, as she had an affair of importance to
reveal; while for certain reasons she could not venture to her apartment
until she had herself sent to request her to do so. The Queen-mother,
who knew nothing of the resolution which had been taken, but who was in
hourly apprehension of a renewal of her former sufferings, did not lose
a moment in profiting by the suggestion; and Anne of Austria had no
sooner received the expected summons than she threw on a dressing-gown
and hurried to the chamber of her royal relative, whom she found seated
in her bed, and clasping her knees with her hands in a state of
bewildered agitation. On the entrance of her daughter-in-law, the
unhappy Princess exclaimed in a tone of anguish:
"Ah! my daughter, I am then to die or be made a prisoner. Is the King
about to leave me here? What does he intend to do with me?'
"Anne of Austria, bathed in tears, could only reply by throwing herself
into the arms of the helpless victim; and for a while they wept together
in silence.
"The wife of Louis had, however, little time to spend in speechless
sympathy, and ere long she communicated to Marie de Medicis the cruel
resolution of the King, and conjured her to bear her banishment with
patience until they should be revenged upon their common enemy, the
Cardinal. They then parted with mutual expressions of sympathy and
affection; and, as it ultimately proved, they never met again." [149]
During the course of this brief and melancholy interview, the young
Queen, with the assistance of her royal mother-in-law, completed her
toilet; and then after their hurried leavetaking hastened to rejoin the
King, who had already evinced great impatience at her delay. But however
consoled she might have been by her own escape on this occasion, Anne of
Austria was nevertheless condemned to suffer her share of humiliation,
for she had no sooner reached the Convent than Louis formally presented
to her Madame de la Flotte as her First Lady of Honour, and her
grand-daughter Mademoiselle de Hautefort as her next attendant; while
upon her expressing her astonishment at such an arrangement, she was
informed that the Comtesse du Fargis, who was replaced by Madame de la
Flotte, had been banished from the Court, and that other great ladies
had shared the same fate.[150]
The will of Richelieu had indeed proved omnipotent. Not one of those
whom he had doomed to disgrace was suffered to escape without submitting
to humiliations degrading to their rank. The unfortunate Princesse de
Conti, the sister of the Duc de Guise, whose only crime was her
attachment to her royal mistress, and her love for Bassompierre, was
exiled to Eu; where her separation from the Queen, and the imprisonment
of the Maréchal, so preyed upon her mind that she died within two months
of a broken heart; while all was alarm and consternation in the capital,
where the greatest and the proudest in the land trembled alike for their
lives and for their liberties.
Of all the victims of the Cardinal the Queen-mother was, however, the
most wretched and the most hopeless. So soon as Anne of Austria had
quitted her apartment, feeling herself overcome by the suddenness of the
shock to which she had been subjected, she caused her physician M.
Vautier to be summoned, and was abruptly informed that he had been
arrested, and conveyed a prisoner to Senlis.
"Another!" she murmured piteously. "Another in whom I might have found
help and comfort. But all who love me are condemned; and Richelieu
triumphs! My history is written in tears and blood. Heaven grant me
patience, for I am indeed an uncrowned Queen, and a childless mother."
Her lamentations were interrupted by the announcement of the Maréchal
d'Estrées, who having been admitted, communicated to her the will of the
King that she should await his further orders at Compiègne.
"Say rather, M. le Maréchal," she exclaimed with a burst of her habitual
impetuosity, "that I am henceforth a prisoner, and that you have been
promoted to the proud office of a woman's gaoler. What are the next
commands which I am to be called on to obey? What is to be my ultimate
fate? Speak boldly. There is some new misfortune in reserve, but I shall
not shrink. 'While others suffer for me, I shall find courage to suffer
for myself." "His Majesty, Madame, will doubtless inform you--"
commenced the mortified noble.
"So be it then, M. le Maréchal," said Marie haughtily, as she motioned
him to retire; "I will await the orders of the King."
Those orders were not long delayed, for on the ensuing morning the Comte
de Brienne presented to the imprisoned Princess an autograph letter from
Louis XIII, of which the following were the contents:
* * * * *
"I left Compiègne, Madame, without taking leave of you in order to avoid
the annoyance of making a personal request which might have caused you
some displeasure. I desired to entreat you to retire for a time to the
fortress of Moulins, which you had yourself selected as your residence
after the death of the late King. Conformably to your marriage contract,
you would there, Madame and mother, be at perfect liberty; both yourself
and your household. Your absence causes me sincere regret, but the
welfare of my kingdom compels me to separate myself from you.
"LOUIS." [151]
* * * * *
As M. de Brienne had received orders to hold no intercourse with the
royal captive save in the presence of the Maréchal d'Estrées, it was to
the latter noble that Marie de Medicis addressed herself when she had
read the cold and heartless letter of her son.
"So, Sir," she exclaimed vehemently, "the King commands me to remove to
Moulins! How have I been so unfortunate as to incur his displeasure
without having done anything to excite it? Why am I deprived of my
physician and the gentlemen of my household? If the King desires to
shorten my days he has only to keep me in captivity. It is strange that
being the mother of the sovereign I am subjected to the will of his
servants; but God will grant me justice. These are not the wishes of my
son, but I am the victim of the hatred and persecution of the Cardinal.
I know," she pursued, weeping bitterly, "why I am sent to Moulins; it is
because it would be easy from that city to compel my departure for
Italy; but rest assured, Maréchal d'Estrées, that _I will sooner be
dragged naked from my bed_ than give my consent to such a measure."
"Madame," interposed the Comte de Brienne, "had there been any intention
to treat you with disrespect, it could have been done with as much
facility at Compiègne as at Moulins. I entreat of your Majesty to
reflect before you give us your final answer."
Marie profited by this advice; and the result of her deliberations was a
determination to make a final effort towards a reconciliation with the
King. In the letter which she addressed to him she declared that it was
her most anxious desire to merit his favour, and to conform to his
wishes. She besought him to remember that she was his mother; to recall
all the exertions which she had made for the welfare and preservation of
his kingdom; and finally she urged him to disregard the counsels of the
Cardinal-Minister in so far as they affected herself, since she knew,
from personal experience, that where he once hated he never forgave, and
that his ambition and his ingratitude were alike boundless.[152]
The only effect produced by this appeal was an offer to change her place
of exile to Angers, should she prefer a residence in that city to
Moulins; and in either case to confer upon her the government of
whichever of those two provinces she might select. The proposal was
indignantly rejected. It was evident that the sole aim of Richelieu was
to remove her to a distance from the capital which might impede her
communication with the few friends who remained faithful to her; and the
anxiety of the Cardinal to effect his object only rendered the
Queen-mother the more resolute not to yield.[153]
Meanwhile the position of the Maréchal d'Estrées and M. de Brienne was
onerous in the extreme. They had received stringent commands to treat
their royal captive with every demonstration of respect and deference,
while at the same time they were instructed to prevent her
correspondence with the Duc d'Orléans, who had already reached Besançon
in Franche-Comté on his way to the duchy of Lorraine, pursued by the
royal troops, but nevertheless persisting in his purpose. They were,
moreover, to use every argument to induce her consent to leave Compiègne
for Moulins; a proposition that never failed to excite her anger, which
it was frequently difficult to appease; and the unfortunate Maréchal
soon became so weary of the perpetual mortifications to which he was
subjected, that he daily wrote to the Cardinal representing the utter
impossibility of success. Richelieu, however, would not be discouraged;
and he merely replied by the assurance: "I know her well; continue to
exert yourself, persist without cessation, and you will at last effect
your object." [154]
Meanwhile the King, by the advice of his minister, declared all the
nobles by whom Monsieur was accompanied guilty of _lèse-majesté_; a
sentence which was considered so extreme by the Parliament that when
called upon to register it on their minutes they ventured to
remonstrate. This act of justice, however, so exasperated the Cardinal
that he forthwith induced Louis to proceed to the capital, and to summon
the members to his presence, with an express order that they should
approach the Louvre _on foot_. This offensive command was no sooner
obeyed than the Keeper of the Seals severely reprimanded them for their
disloyalty and disobedience; and before time was afforded for a reply,
the King demanded that the official register should be delivered up to
him, which was no sooner done than he passionately tore out the leaf
upon which the decree had been inscribed, and substituted that of his
own Council, by which the Court of Parliament was forbidden all
deliberation on declarations of state, at the risk of the suspension of
its Councillors, and even of greater penalties, should such be deemed
advisable.[155]
This proceeding so much incensed the Duc d'Orléans that he in his turn
forwarded a declaration to the Parliament, in which he affirmed that he
had quitted the kingdom in consequence of the persecution of the
Cardinal de Richelieu, whom he accused of an attempt upon his own life,
and upon that of the Queen-mother; which was, as he affirmed, to have
been succeeded by a third against the sovereign, in order that the
minister might ultimately make himself master of the state; and Monsieur
had scarcely taken this step when Marie de Medicis adopted the same
policy. The Parliament had in past times warmly seconded her interests;
and she still hoped that it would afford her its protection. In the
appeal which she made, she dilated in the first place upon her own
wrongs; and complained that, without having in anywise intrigued against
either the sovereign or the nation, she was kept a close prisoner at
Compiègne; while she, moreover, followed up this representation by
accusing Richelieu of all the anarchy which existed in the kingdom, and
by demanding to be permitted to appear publicly as his accuser.
The appeal was, however, vain. The Parliament, indignant at the insult
which had been offered to them, and alarmed at the violence exhibited by
Louis in the affair of Monsieur, would not even consent to open her
despatch, but sent it with the seal still unbroken to the King;[156]
and thus the unfortunate Princess found herself compelled to abandon a
hope by which she had hitherto been sustained. She then sought to
interest the people in her favour; and for this purpose she did not
scruple to exaggerate the sufferings to which she was subjected by a
captivity which she represented as infinitely more rigorous than it
was in fact.
Her example was imitated alike by the Duc d'Orléans and the
Cardinal-Minister; and ere long the whole nation was deluged with
pamphlets, in which each accused the other without measure or decency.
Richelieu was, throughout his whole career, partial to this species of
warfare, and had able writers constantly in his employ for the express
purpose of writing down his enemies when he could not compass their ruin
by more speedy means; but on this occasion the violence of Monsieur was
so great that the Cardinal began to apprehend the issue of the struggle,
and deemed it expedient to terminate all further open aggression against
Marie de Medicis. In consequence of this conviction, therefore, he
forwarded an order to the Maréchal d'Estrées to withdraw from Compiègne
with the troops under his command, and to leave the Queen-mother at
perfect liberty, provided she were willing to pledge herself to remain
in that town until she should receive the royal permission to select
another residence. It is probable that when the minister exacted this
promise he was as little prepared for its observance as was Marie when
she conceded it; for she had no sooner become convinced that her star
had waned before that of Richelieu, than she determined to effect her
escape so soon as she should have secured a place of refuge, whence she
could, should she see fit to do so, retire to the Spanish Low Countries,
and throw herself upon the protection of the Archduchess Isabella.
Having once arrived at this decision, the Queen-mother resolved, if
possible, to seek an asylum at La Capelle, which, being a frontier town,
offered all the necessary facilities for her project; and for this
purpose she despatched a trusty messenger to Madame de Vardes, whose
husband was governor of the place during the temporary absence of his
father, and who was herself a former mistress of Henri IV, and the
mother of the Comte de Moret. Flattered by the confidence reposed in
her, Madame de Vardes lost no time in exerting her influence over the
ambitious spirit of her husband, whom the Duc d'Orléans promised to
recompense by the rank of Gentleman of Honour to the Princess to whom he
was about to be united; and ere long M. de Vardes, who saw before him a
career of greatness and favour should the faction of Monsieur finally
triumph, suffered himself to be seduced from his duty to the King, and
consented to deliver up the town which had been confided to his keeping
to the Queen-mother and her adherents. This important object achieved,
Marie, who was aware that should the royal troops march upon La Capelle
it would be impossible to withstand their attack, hastened to entreat
the help of the Archduchess in case of need, and also her permission to
retire to the Low Countries should the persecution of the Cardinal
ultimately compel her to fly from France.
The rapid successes of the King of Sweden in Germany, and the
extraordinary strength of the States-General in the United Provinces,
had greatly alarmed both the Emperor and the King of Spain; who were
consequently well pleased to encourage any internal agitation which
might so fully tend to occupy the attention of Louis as to prevent him
from rendering effective aid either to Gustavus, the United Provinces,
or the Protestant Princes of Germany, nearly the whole of whom were in
arms against the Emperor; and thus the request of Marie was eagerly
welcomed alike by Ferdinand, Philip, and Isabella, who pledged
themselves to assist her to the full extent of their power. The Court of
Brussels especially made her the most unqualified promises; and the
Archduchess, while assuring her that on her arrival she should be
received with all the honour due to her distinguished rank, was profuse
in her expressions of sympathy.
Thus, as we have shown, when Richelieu demanded and received the promise
of Marie de Medicis that she would not seek to leave Compiègne, she was
only awaiting a favourable opportunity to effect her escape, and this
was afforded by the evacuation of the garrison. Fearful, however, that
this new order might only be a snare laid for her by the Cardinal, and
aware that although the troops had left the town they were still
quartered in the environs, she affected to discredit the assurance of
the Maréchal that thenceforth he exercised no control over her
movements.
"I am not to be thus duped, Monsieur," was her cold reply. "Your men are
not far off; and I believe myself to be so thoroughly a prisoner that
henceforward I shall never leave the castle; even my walks shall be
restricted to the terrace."
When this determination on the part of his mother was communicated to
the King, he hastened to inform her that the troops should be withdrawn
to a distance from Compiègne; and to entreat that, in consideration for
her health, she would occasionally take the exercise by which alone it
could be preserved.
To this request she replied that she should obey his pleasure in all
things; and having thus, as she believed, removed all suspicion of her
purpose, she only awaited the conclusion of the necessary preparations
to carry it into execution.
On the 18th of July, at ten o'clock at night, the widow of Henri IV,
attended only by Madame du Fargis, who had secretly reached Compiègne in
order to bear her company during her flight, and by M. de la Mazure the
lieutenant of her guard, stepped into a carriage which had been prepared
for her, rapidly crossed the ferry, and took the road to La Capelle; but
before she could reach her destined haven, she was met by M. de Vardes,
who, with every demonstration of regret, informed her that her design
having by some extraordinary chance been suspected by Richelieu, the
Marquis his father, who was devoted to the minister, had been hurriedly
ordered to return to La Capelle, where he had arrived on the previous
evening; had shown himself to the garrison and magistrates; and had
commanded his son to leave the town upon the instant.
Agitated as she was, the Queen-mother did not fail even at that moment,
and, as some historians state, most justly, to suspect that she had been
betrayed either by the fears or the venality of the very individual
before her; but hastily offering her acknowledgments for his timely
warning, she repressed her resentment, and gave instant directions to
her attendants to proceed with all speed to Avesnes in Hainault. So well
was she obeyed that on the first day of her journey she travelled a
distance of twenty leagues, disregarding the entreaties of Madame du
Fargis, who represented to her the necessity of some temporary repose;
and persisting in her purpose so resolutely that on the 20th of July she
reached her destination, and placed herself beyond the reach of her
pursuers, who had, however, so languidly performed their duty that it
was openly declared that they had rather been despatched by Richelieu to
drive her from the kingdom than to compel her to remain within it.
On her arrival at Avesnes the royal fugitive was received with all
imaginable honour by the Marquis de Crèvecoeur, the Governor of the
fortress; the troops were under arms; and she was escorted by the
dignitaries of the city to the Hôtel-de-Ville, where she took up her
temporary residence. The Baron de Guépé was instantly despatched to
Brussels to announce her arrival to the Archduchess; and the Prince
d'Epinoy, the Governor of the county, waited upon her Majesty, to
entreat that she would remove to Mons, where Isabella was preparing to
welcome her. During her sojourn at Avesnes, Marie despatched three
letters to Paris, in which she respectively informed the King, the
Parliament, and the municipality of her reasons for leaving the country.
"Perceiving," she wrote in that which she addressed to her son, "that my
health was failing from day to day, and that it was the Cardinal's
intention to cause me to die between four walls, I considered that in
order to save my life and my reputation, I ought to accept the offer
which was made to me by the Marquis de Vardes, to receive me in La
Capelle, a town of which he is the Governor, and where you possess
absolute power. I therefore determined to go there. When I was within
three leagues of La Capelle the Marquis de Vardes informed me that I
could not enter that place, because he had given it into the hands of
his father. I leave you to imagine what was my affliction when I saw
myself so deceived, and pursued by a body of cavalry in order to hasten
me more speedily out of your kingdom. God has granted that the artifices
of the Cardinal should be discovered. The very individuals who
negotiated the affair have confessed that it was a plot of the
Cardinal's, in order to compel me to leave the country; an extreme
measure which I dreaded above all things, and which he passionately
desired." [157]
In reply to this letter Louis XIII wrote thus: "You will allow me, if
you please, Madame, to say that the act which you have just committed,
together with what has occurred for some time past, clearly discovers to
me the nature of your intentions, and that which I may in future expect
from them. The respect which I bear towards you prevents me from being
more explicit." [158]
The other letters of the Queen-mother, although calculated to excite
upon their publication a general hatred of the Cardinal, availed her
personal cause as little as that which she had addressed to the monarch.
Her flight was blamed by all classes throughout the country; and not the
slightest movement was made in her favour either by the Parliament or
the people. Richelieu was triumphant. He had at length succeeded in
throwing suspicion upon her movements, and in compelling her to share
the odium which he had hitherto borne alone; and although she saw
herself the honoured guest of the Princes with whom she had taken
refuge, the unfortunate Marie de Medicis soon became bitterly conscious
that she had lost her former hold on the affections of that France over
which she had once so proudly ruled. It is true that with the populace
the ill-fated Princess yet retained her popularity, but she owed a great
portion of this still-lingering affection to the general aversion of the
masses towards the Cardinal; and while they mourned and even wept over
her wrongs, they made no effort to enforce her justification.
On the invitation of the Prince d'Epinoy, Marie de Medicis, after a
short sojourn at Avesnes, proceeded to Mons, where she was welcomed with
salvos of artillery, and found all the citizens under arms in honour of
her arrival; and it was in the midst of the rejoicing consequent upon
her entry into that city, that she received the cold and stern reply of
Louis, of which we have quoted a portion above, and to which she
hastened to respond by a second letter, wherein she bitterly complained
of the harshness with which she had been treated; and refused to return
to France until the Cardinal should have been put upon his trial for
"his crimes and projects against the state." The letter thus concludes:
"I am your subject and your mother; do me justice as a King, love me as
a son. I entreat this of you with clasped hands."
The reception of the self-exiled Queen by the Archduchess Isabella,
whose noble and generous qualities have been extolled by all the
contemporary historians, was as warm and as sincere as though she had
welcomed a sister. The two Princesses wept together over the trials and
sufferings of the ill-fated Marie; nor was the sympathy of the
Archduchess confined to mere words. Every attention which the most
fastidious delicacy could suggest was paid to the wants and wishes of
the royal fugitive; and after a few days spent in the most perfect
harmony in the capital of Hainault, the Court removed to the summer
palace of Marimont, whence they ultimately proceeded to Brussels, where
the French Queen made her entry with great pomp, and was
enthusiastically received by all classes of the population.
From Brussels the illustrious ladies visited Antwerp, on the occasion of
the annual _kermesse_, or fair, where the inhabitants vied with each
other in doing honour to their distinguished guests. Six thousand
citizens, magnificently apparelled, were under arms during their stay;
and from the galleries of the quaint and picturesque old houses hung
draperies of damask, tapestry, and velvet, which blended their rich
tints with those of the banners that waved above the summits of the
public buildings, and from the masts of the shipping in the harbour.
Little could the unfortunate Marie de Medicis anticipate, when she thus
saw herself surrounded by the most unequivocal exhibition of respect and
deference ever displayed towards greatness in misfortune, that she
should but a few short years subsequently enter the city in which she
was now feasted and flattered, a penniless wanderer, only to be driven
out in terror and sickness, to seek a new shelter, and to die in
abject despair!
Ever sanguine, the Queen-mother even yet hoped for a propitious change
of fortune. She would not believe that Richelieu could ultimately
triumph over the natural affection of a son, evil as her experience had
hitherto proved; and when Isabella, in order to comply with the
necessary observances of courtesy, wrote to assure Louis XIII that so
far from intending any disrespect towards him by the reception which she
had given to his mother, she begged him rather to regard it as a
demonstration of her deference for himself; and at the same time offered
to assist by every means in her power in effecting a reconciliation
between them, Marie de Medicis deceived herself into the belief that
such a proposition coming from such a source would never be rejected;
while it is probable that had Louis been left to follow the promptings
of his own nature, which was rather weak than wicked, her anticipations
might at this period have been realized; but the inevitable Richelieu
was constantly beside him, to insinuate the foulest suspicions, and to
keep alive his easily-excited distrust of the motives of the
Queen-mother.
The despatches of Isabella were, moreover, entrusted to the Abbé
Carondelet, Deacon of the Cathedral of Cambrai, who, as the Cardinal was
well aware, considered himself aggrieved by the refusal to which he had
been subjected on his application for the bishopric of Namur; and who
would in consequence, as he did not fail to infer, be readily prevailed
upon to abandon the interests of the fugitive Queen. The event proved
the justice of his previsions. Carondelet was not proof against the
extraordinary honours which he received at the French Court, nor the
splendid presents of the King and his minister; and the man to whose
zeal and eloquence Isabella had confidently entrusted the cause of her
royal guest was, after the lapse of a few short days, heart and soul the
creature of Richelieu.[159]
The Cardinal found little difficulty in persuading the monarch that
Marie de Medicis must have had a full and perfect understanding with the
Spanish Cabinet before she would have ventured to seek an asylum within
their territories; an assertion which was so faintly combated by the
treacherous envoy of the Archduchess, that thenceforward the
protestations of the Queen-mother were totally disregarded, and the
triumph of Richelieu was complete. In consequence of this conviction,
Louis XIII published, in the month of August, a declaration which was
most injurious alike towards Marie de Medicis and Gaston d'Orléans.
Among other accusations, it asserted that "the evil counsellors of his
brother had driven him, contrary to the duty imposed by his birth, and
the respect which he owed to the person of his sovereign, to address to
him letters full of calumnies and impostures against the Government;
that he had accused, against all truth and reason, his very dear and
well-beloved cousin the Cardinal de Richelieu of infidelity and
enterprise against the person of his Majesty, that of the Queen-mother,
and his own; that for some time past the Queen-mother had also suffered
herself to be guided by bad advice; and that on his having entreated of
her to assist him by her counsels as she had formerly done, she had
replied that she was weary of public business; by which he had
discovered that she was resolved to second the designs of the Duc
d'Orléans, and had consequently determined to separate from her, and to
request her to remove to Moulins, to which request she had refused to
accede; that having subsequently left Compiègne, she had taken refuge
with the Spaniards, and was unceasingly disseminating documents tending
to the subversion of the royal authority and of the kingdom itself; that
for all these reasons, confirming his previous declarations, he declared
guilty of _lèse-majesté_ and disturbers of the public peace all those
who should be proved to have aided the Queen-mother and the Duc
d'Orléans in resisting his authority, and of having induced them to
leave the kingdom, as well as those who had followed and still remained
with them; and that it was his will that proceedings should be taken
against them by the seizure of their property, and the abolition of all
their public offices, appointments, and revenues."
By this arbitrary act not only were the adherents of Marie de Medicis
and Gaston d'Orléans deprived of their property, but their own revenues
were confiscated to the Crown, and they at once found themselves without
pecuniary resources.[160] The calculations of Richelieu had been able,
for the faction of the fugitives was instantly weakened by so
unexpected an act of severity. Crippled in means, they could no longer
recompense the devotion of those individuals who had followed their
fortunes, many of whom had done so from a hope of future aggrandizement,
and who immediately retired without even an attempt at apology, in order
to secure themselves from ruin. When the unfortunate Queen would have
sacrificed her jewels to liquidate the claims which pressed the most
heavily upon her, she found the measure impossible, lest the King should
redemand them as the property of the Crown; and she consequently soon
saw herself reduced to the undignified expedient of subsisting upon the
generosity of the powers from whom she had sought protection.
While Louis was, to use the words of Mézeray, thus "dishonouring his
mother and his brother," and depriving them of the very means of
subsistence, he was overwhelming the Cardinal de Richelieu alike with
honours and with riches. The estate whence he derived his name was
erected into a duchy-peerage, and he was thenceforward distinguished by
the title of the Cardinal-Duke; while the government of Brittany having
become vacant by the death of the Maréchal de Thémines, it was also
conferred upon the omnipotent minister.[161]
At this period, indeed, it appeared as if Richelieu had overcome all
obstacles to his personal greatness; and although the crown of France
was worn by the son of Henri IV, the foot of the Cardinal was on the
neck of the nation. That he was envied and hated is most true, but he
was still more feared than either. No one could dispute his genius;
while all alike uttered "curses not loud but deep" upon his tyranny
and ambition.
The King had long become a mere puppet in his hands, leaving all state
affairs to his guidance, while he himself passed his time in hunting,
polishing muskets, writing military memoirs, or wandering from one
palace to another in search of amusement. Perpetually surrounded by
favourites, he valued them only as they contributed to his selfish
gratification, and abandoned them without a murmur so soon as they
incurred the displeasure of the Cardinal, to whom in his turn he clung
from a sense of helplessness rather than from any real feeling
of regard.
Bitterly, indeed, had Marie de Medicis deluded herself when she imagined
that anything was to be hoped from the affection of Louis XIII, who was
utterly incapable of such a sentiment; but who, in all the relations of
life, whether as son, as husband, as friend, or as sovereign, was ever
the slave of his own self-love.
On her arrival at Brussels, the Queen-mother had despatched M. de la
Mazure to inform the Duc d'Orléans of her flight from France, and of the
gracious reception which she had met from the Archduchess Isabella;
assuring him at the same time that having been apprised of his
intention to espouse the Princesse Marguerite, she not only gave her
free consent to the alliance, but was of opinion that it should be
completed without delay.
The Oratorian Chanteloupe[162], in whom she reposed the most unlimited
confidence, had followed Monsieur to Lorraine, and was empowered to
declare in her name to the Duke Charles that the contemplated marriage
met with her entire approval, upon certain conditions which were
immediately accepted, although it was considered expedient to defer
their execution until Gaston should, with the aid of his ally, have
placed himself at the head of a powerful army, which was to march upon
the French frontier in order to compel the King to withdraw his
opposition.
The marriage portion of the Princess had been fixed at a hundred
thousand pistoles, the greater portion of which sum was expended in
levying troops for the proposed campaign; and in less than six weeks an
army of ten or twelve thousand foot-soldiers and five thousand horse was
raised; while Gaston, full of the most extravagant hopes, prepared to
commence his expedition.
Meanwhile commissaries had been appointed by Richelieu to proceed with
the trial of the adherents of the Queen-mother and the Duc d'Orléans,
and the first victims of his virulence were two physicians and
astrologers accused of having, at the request of the royal exiles, drawn
the horoscope of the King, and predicted the period of his death. These
unfortunate men were condemned to the galleys for life. The Duc de
Roannois, the Marquis de la Vieuville, and the Comtesse du Fargis were
executed in effigy; while the property of the Comte de Moret, the
Comtesse his mother, the Ducs de Roannois, d'Elboeuf, and de Bellegarde,
the Marquises de Boissy, de la Vieuville, and de Sourdeac, and the
President Le Coigneux, was confiscated to the Crown.
The government of Picardy was transferred from the Duc d'Elboeuf to the
Duc de Chevreuse, and that of Burgundy from the Duc de Bellegarde to the
Prince de Condé; and thus the faction of the mal contents found itself
crippled alike in pecuniary resources and in moral power.
Towards the close of the year, intelligence of the designs of the Duc
d'Orléans having reached Paris, the King proceeded to Lorraine, in order
to arrest his movements; and despatched a messenger to Charles,
demanding to be informed of his motive for raising so strong an army;
and also if it were true that Monsieur contemplated a marriage with the
Princesse Marguerite, as he had been informed. In reply, the Lorraine
Prince assured the royal envoy that the troops had been levied with a
view to assist the Emperor against the King of Sweden; and that the
rumour which had spread in the French capital of an intended alliance
between his august guest and the Princess his sister was altogether
erroneous. No credence was, however, vouchsafed to this explanation, the
Cardinal already possessing sufficient evidence to the contrary; and
being, moreover, quite as anxious to deprive the Emperor of all
extraneous help as he was to circumvent the projects of Monsieur. A
second express was consequently forwarded a few days subsequently,
summoning Charles de Lorraine immediately to march his army beyond the
Rhine; and threatening in the event of his disobedience that the King
would forthwith attend the nuptials of his brother at the head of the
best troops in his kingdom.
This intimation sufficed to convince the Lorraine Prince that his only
safety was to be found in compliance, all the hopes which Gaston had
indulged of succour from France having failed him; and it was
accordingly resolved that the little army should proceed at once to
Germany under the command of Charles himself. Montsigot, the private
secretary of Monsieur, was at that period at Brussels, whither he had
been sent to inform the Queen-mother and the Archduchess Isabella of the
progress of affairs in Lorraine, and to solicit assistance in the
projected irruption into France which had been concerted with the
Spanish Cabinet. His application proved successful, and on different
occasions the Prince received from the sovereigns of the Low Countries
upwards of five hundred thousand florins. The threat of the King,
however, rendered a change of measures imperative; Puylaurens,[163] one
of the favourites of the Prince, was despatched in all haste to acquaint
the Court of Brussels with the failure of the contemplated campaign, and
to concert measures for a similar attempt during the ensuing year with
the ministers of Philip and Isabella; as well as to secure a retreat
for Monsieur in Flanders, should he find himself compelled to quit the
duchy of Lorraine.[164]
At the same time Marie de Medicis despatched the Chevalier de Valençay
to Madrid, with orders to explain to Philip of Spain the precise nature
of her position, and to solicit his interference in her behalf; but
after long deliberation the Spanish ministers induced his Majesty not to
compromise himself with France by affording any direct assistance to the
Queen-mother, and to excuse himself upon the plea of the numerous wars
in which he was engaged, especially that against the Dutch which had
been fomented by the French Cabinet, and which had for some time cruelly
harassed his kingdom. He, however, assured the royal exile of his deep
sympathy, and of his intention to urge upon the Infanta Isabella the
expediency of alleviating to the utmost extent of her power the
sufferings of her august guest.
Philip and his Cabinet could afford to be lavish of their words, but
they did not dare to brave the French cannon on the Pyrenees.[165] At
the close of the year Charles de Lorraine led back his decimated army
from Germany; and the marriage of Gaston with the Princesse Marguerite
shortly afterwards took place. There was, however, nothing regal in the
ceremony, the presence of Louis XIII at Metz rendering the contracting
parties apprehensive that should their intention transpire, they would
be troubled by a host of unwelcome guests. Thus the Cardinal de
Lorraine, Bishop of Toul, and brother to the reigning Duke, dispensed
with the publication of the banns, and permitted the ceremony to take
place in one of the convents of Nancy, where a monk of Cîteaux performed
the service at seven o'clock in the evening; the only witnesses being
the Duc de Vaudemont, the father of the bride, the Abbesse de Remiremont
by whom she had been brought up, Madame de la Neuvillette her governess,
and the Comte de Moret.[166]
It is asserted that the old Duc de Vaudemont was so apprehensive of the
unhappy results of a marriage contracted under such circumstances, that
on receiving the congratulations of those around him, he replied calmly:
"Should my daughter not be one day eligible to become Queen of France,
she will at least make a fitting Abbess of Remiremont." [167]
While Gaston d'Orléans was engrossed by his personal affairs, his
unhappy mother was engaged in making a fresh appeal to the justice and
affection of the King. Powerless and penniless in a foreign land, she
pined for a reconciliation with her son, and a return to her adopted
country. But the hatred and jealousy of Richelieu were still unappeased.
He had already robbed her of her revenues, caused an inventory of her
furniture, pictures, and equipages to be made, as though she were
already dead; imprisoned or banished the members of her household; and
had bribed the pens of a number of miserable hirelings to deluge France
with libellous pamphlets to her dishonour. There was no indignity to
which she had not been subjected through his influence; and on this last
occasion she was fated to discover that even the poor gratification of
justifying herself to her son and sovereign was to be henceforth denied
to her; as at the instigation of the Cardinal, instead of vouchsafing
any reply to the long and affecting letter which she had addressed to
him, Louis coldly informed the bearer of the despatch that should the
Queen again permit herself to write disparagingly of his prime minister,
he would arrest and imprison her messenger.
A short time subsequently, having learnt that the King had once more
offended the Parliament, Marie de Medicis. who had received information
that Richelieu was desirous of declaring war against Spain, and who was
naturally anxious to prevent hostilities between her son and the husband
of her daughter, resolved once more to forward a letter to the
Parliament, and to entreat of them to remonstrate with the King against
so lamentable a design. Yielding to a natural impulse she bitterly
inveighed in her despatch against the Cardinal-Duke, who, in order to
further his own aggrandizement, was about, should he succeed, to plunge
the nation into bloodshed, and to sever the dearest ties of kindred.
This letter was communicated to Richelieu, whose exasperation exceeded
all bounds; and it is consequently almost needless to add that it only
served to embitter the position of the persecuted exile.
On the 26th of December Charles de Lorraine, anxious to appease the
anger of the French King, proceeded to Metz, where he was well received
by Richelieu, who trusted, through his influence, to secure the
neutrality of the Duke of Bavaria. He, however, warned the Prince that
Louis would never consent to the marriage of Monsieur with the Princesse
Marguerite, nor permit him to make his duchy a place of refuge for the
French malcontents; and, finally, despite the banquets and festivals
which were celebrated in his honour, Charles became convinced that
unless he complied with the conditions of a treaty which was proposed to
him, he would not be allowed to return to his own territories.
Under this well-grounded impression the unfortunate young Prince had no
other alternative than to submit to the humiliation inflicted on him,
and on the 31st of December he signed a document by which he abjured for
the future every alliance save that with France; accorded a free passage
to the French armies through his duchy at all times; and pledged himself
not to harbour any individuals hostile to Louis, particularly the
Queen-mother or Monsieur; and, as a pledge of his promised obedience, he
delivered up his fortress of Marsal. Such was the result of his trust in
the clemency of the French King and his minister; but, far from having
been gained over to their cause, the Duc de Lorraine returned to Nancy
with a deep and abiding wrath at the indignity which had been forced
upon him; and an equally firm resolve to break through the compulsory
treaty on the first favourable opportunity.[168]
FOOTNOTES:
[144] Capefigue, vol. v. pp. 23-25. Sismondi, vol. xxiii. pp. 159, 160.
Bassompierre, _Mém_. vol. iii. p. 281. Brienne, _Mém_. vol. ii. pp.
23, 24.
[145] Capefigue, vol. v. pp. 31, 32. Bassompierre, _Mém_. vol. iii. p.
282.
[146] Le Vassor, vol. vi. pp. 628-632. Brienne, _Mém_. vol. ii. p. 24.
Mézeray, vol. xi. p. 384.
[147] Capefigue, vol. v. pp. 34, 35.
[148] Mézeray, vol. xi. pp. 384-388. Capefigue, vol. v. pp. 32-34.
[149] Motteville, _Mém_. vol. i. pp. 375-377.
[150] Capefigue, vol. v. pp. 35-37. Brienne, _Mém_. vol. ii. pp. 25, 26.
[151] Capefigue, vol. v. pp. 37, 38.
[152] Mézeray, vol. xi. pp. 388, 389.
[153] Brienne, _Mém_. vol. ii. pp. 26-28
[154] Capefigue, vol. v. p. 40
[155] Decrees of the Parliament.
[156] Jean Le Clerc, _Vie du Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu_, Cologne, 1695,
vol ii. pp. 7, 8.
[157] Le Vassor, vol. vi. pp. 735-741. _Mercure Français_, 1631. Siri,
_Mém. Rec. vol_. vii. pp. 332-336. Mézeray, vol. xi. p. 392. Sismondi,
vol. xxv. pp. 165, 166.
[158] Le Vassor, vol. vi. pp. 735, 736.
[159] Le Vassor, vol. vi. pp. 759-764.
[160] Le Clerc, vol. ii. p. 11.
[161] Mézeray, vol. xi. pp. 392-395. Le Clerc, vol. ii. pp. 9-12
[162] Chanteloupe was the confessor, adviser, and secret agent of Marie
de Medicis.
[163] Antoine de l'Âge, Seigneur de Puylaurens, had possessed himself of
the entire confidence of Gaston d'Orléans, who, like his royal mother
and brother, was always the tool of his favourites; and his influence
over the weak and vacillating Prince at length became all-powerful,
although it was exercised more than once to the prejudice of his
confiding master. Puylaurens was elevated to the peerage after having in
some degree sold his patron to Richelieu, who in 1634 bestowed upon him,
from policy, the hand of his cousin Mademoiselle de Pont-Château; but by
whom he was immediately imprisoned, the Cardinal having long indulged a
hatred toward his person which he had determined to gratify. Puylaurens
died in captivity in the following year.
[164] Le Vassor, vol. vii. pp. 17-22.
[165] Capefigue, vol. v. pp. 121-129.
[166] Gaston d'Orléans, _Mém_. p. 123.
[167] Le Vassor, vol. vii. p. 25.
[168] Siri, _Mém. Rec_. vol. vii. p. 447. Sismondi, vol. xxiii. pp. 182,
183.