CONDÉ'S ALLIANCE WITH SPAIN
Condé's alliance with Spain against Mazarin was the immediate cause of
another civil war in France. The Prince left his wife and son in
Bordeaux, where, as we have said, they had already acquired much
personal popularity. The history of this town and of its Parlement is of
considerable interest. In 1653 the people of Bordeaux sent envoys to
England to inquire into the details of the Revolution under Cromwell;
whereby we may note what strong Liberal tendencies had already
manifested themselves in this place, even at the beginning of the reign
of Louis XIII. More than once the townspeople had shown a spirit of
rebellion against the Government, and they had espoused, as we have
seen, the cause of the Princes against Mazarin during the second Fronde.
When the Princesse de Condé returned thither with her husband, she
found, to her surprise, that a Republican spirit had developed amongst
her former friends, and that they wished to see in Condé an ally rather
than a chief. Nor did Condé, although a Prince of the Blood, and well
known for his pride of birth, object to signing a Declaration before the
Parlement of Bordeaux, whereby he promised not to lay down his arms
until he had obtained for his country the following concession, namely:
"That the supreme authority should in future be given to a
representative of the people, chosen by free men, who were of age and
entitled to the vote."
Mazarin, at the head of a small army, had joined the King at Poitiers,
whilst the city of Paris, left under the command of Gaston d'Orléans and
the Paris Parlement, declared Condé guilty of high treason. On hearing
this the Prince made a desperate effort to reach Paris, and with the
help of the Grande Mademoiselle (Gaston's notorious daughter), who
boldly opened the gates to him, he entered the town with his troops at
the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, making himself for a moment master of the
situation. Unfortunately, however, the bloodshed which took place on
this occasion rendered his cause most unpopular, and, finding himself
abandoned by the populace, he was soon obliged to retreat before
Turenne. Whereupon the young King, accompanied by Mazarin, re-entered
the capital and succeeded in controlling it.
Bordeaux meanwhile continued to assert itself as a Republic. There were
two parties fighting against one another--the rich _bourgeoisie_
struggling against the lower classes. Claire-Clemence, who was still
resident amongst them, strove to make peace between these two parties,
but in the middle of it all her health broke down and she was obliged to
retire, leaving to Condé's brother Conti and to his sister, Madame de
Longueville, the task of managing public affairs. On hearing, however,
that the _Chapeau-Rouge_ party,--that is to say, the rich
_bourgeoisie_,--had actually opened fire upon their rivals, she again
made her appearance, accompanied by Lenet and Ormée, the head of the
popular party and succeeded in bringing about a peaceful settlement.
Shortly after this, on September 20, 1652, the Princesse de Condé gave
birth to another son, to whom was given the name of Louis Bordeaux. The
whole city was decorated to celebrate this auspicious event; and there
still exists in the archives at Chantilly a letter of Condé's, wherein
he writes as follows: "_J'ai une extrême joie de l'accouchement de ma
femme; elle serait parfaite si elle se portait bien, et si j'étais
assuré son enfant dût vivre_."
Unfortunately, however, Claire-Clemence found herself unable to recover
her former strength, and it was terrible news for her that her husband,
alone and bereft of his adherents, had left Paris and had even accepted
the post of General-in-Chief in the Spanish army. She had stood beside
him in his fight against Mazarin and a treacherous and faithless Court;
but Richelieu's niece could not get over the fact that the "Hero of
Rocroy" had actually gone over to the enemy. To fill her cup of
tribulation Condé found himself in terrible financial difficulties since
he had to feed his own troops whilst receiving insufficient support from
his allies, the Spaniards, who were themselves unable to offer him
material aid. In despair he wrote to Lenet: "Have my silver and plate
melted down, and tell my wife to pawn her jewellery. She will, I am
sure, not object, nor will my sister refuse to do the same. Borrow
wherever you can, and do not hesitate to pay high interest. I am so much
in want of money that I do not know what to do.... Sell everything, even
to my landed property."
This was certainly bitter news for the wife of the Grand Condé, and, at
the same time, she endured the heavy sorrow of losing her infant son,
Louis Bordeaux. In order to provide her husband with necessary material
help she ordered her own mode of living with strictest economy and
reduced her household. But Madame de Longueville and Conti, realising
that their brother was engaged in a hopeless cause, presently left
Bordeaux; and the latter, becoming reconciled with Mazarin, not long
after married one of his nieces.
[Illustration: PLATE XIV.
ANTOINE DE BOURGOGNE, CALLED _LE GRAND BÂTARD_.
_Photo. Braun & Co._
_Musée Condé._
Memling.]
A general amnesty was now offered to the people of Bordeaux if they
would surrender to the King. To this they agreed; and a passport was
granted to enable the Princesse de Condé to retire with her son wherever
she might choose. Claire-Clemence, for a moment, was undecided whether
to join her husband or to go to Flanders. She chose the latter course.
She had to part, however, with her elder--now her only--son, the Duc
d'Enghien, whose education was committed into the hands of the Jesuits
at Antwerp. Broken in health and spirits, she left for Valenciennes,
accompanied only by her secretary, the faithful Lenet, and a small
suite. Nor was the news which she received from her husband of a nature
to restore her health. The success which had hitherto always accompanied
him when fighting for his country seemed to have entirely abandoned him
since he raised his sword against France. Accused of high treason,
abandoned with insufficient resources to meet his liabilities, and
frequently prone upon a bed of sickness, we cannot but admire the man
who succeeded in facing such terrible trials. More than once he had to
rectify grave errors committed by the Spanish generals, even by Don Juan
of Austria himself, who was regarded in Spain as a conquering hero.
Mazarin, having succeeded in putting down the civil war, could now turn
his attention to the struggle with Spain; and at length the two armies
faced one another on the Dunes, near Dunkirk. The Spaniards were led by
Condé, the French by Turenne. The hero of Rocroy, so famous for his own
strategic powers, as he surveyed the two armies, was struck by the
excellent dispositions of Turenne. Addressing himself to a young
Englishman who was in his camp, he said, "Have you ever seen how a
battle is lost?" "No," answered the youth. "Well, in less than half an
hour you will see such an event," was Condé's grave response. His
prediction was verified; and Dunkirk was captured by the French,
although Condé, with great skill, succeeded in limiting the extent of
his rival's victory.
The result of this battle was the famous "Peace of the Pyrenees,"
signed at Münster on November 7, 1659 by Mazarin and Louis de Haros,
minister of Philip IV. Amongst the more particular clauses of this Peace
was a marriage contract, arranged between Louis XIV and the Infanta
Maria Theresa, which had far-reaching consequences. Another stipulation
made by Spain was that Condé should be allowed to return to France, and
be reinstated in all his rights as a Prince of the Blood. His implacable
enemy Mazarin opposed this at first, but through the prayers of his wife
and his sister Geneviève de Bourbon the Grand Condé was finally allowed
to return home. After having exercised so pernicious an influence over
her brother during the second Fronde, and after having brought upon him
so many disasters, Geneviève, on the death of her husband, the Duc de
Longueville, turned her attention to religion, and retired to the
convent at Moulins, where the widowed Marie Felice, last Duchesse de
Montmorency, still mourned her dead spouse.
Condé's letters, whereby he promised fidelity to the King and engaged to
live on good terms with the Cardinal, preceded him. Madame de
Longueville had, moreover, made great preparations for her brother's
return to Court; whilst Conti, who, as already mentioned, had meantime
married one of Mazarin's nieces, arranged the first meeting between the
Prince and the powerful Minister. He was welcomed by the Queen, and
presented his respects to the King; and on the following day the
_Gazette de France_ announced that he had dined with His Eminence
Cardinal Mazarin.
That Condé was truly sorry for having raised his sword against his own
country, is proved by the following remark: "When Mazarin had me
imprisoned, I was innocent; but I came out of prison the most culpable
of men."
From Paris the Prince went straight to his residence at Saint-Maur to
meet Turenne, who appeared at first embarrassed on seeing him. Condé,
however, at once addressed his rival in a most friendly manner, and
asked his advice regarding the repatriation of his soldiers, many of
whom were Swiss and Germans who declined to enter the French army.
When presently Louis XIV made his entry into Paris the Prince de Condé
and the Duc d'Enghien appeared amongst the Royal retinue, whilst the
Princesse de Condé sat in the State coach with the Queen.
Yet, although established once more as a Prince of the Blood, with all
the prerogatives and appurtenances of his rank--even his Government of
Burgundy--many years had still to pass before Condé could regain the
entire confidence of the King. Nor did Mazarin ever cease to distrust
him. And when, before his death, the Minister presented him with a
valuable diamond ring, assuring him of his sincere friendship, it was
merely a proof of his own power of dissimulation; for, with his last
breath, he warned the King to protect his crown from the insatiable
ambition of the Grand Condé.
If Condé had hoped to play a prominent part in the public affairs of
France after the death of Mazarin, he was mistaken; for the young King,
himself full of ambition, announced at the outset that he meant
henceforth to rule alone. In accordance with his famous saying "_L'Etat
c'est moi_" Louis now began to reign himself.
For Condé retirement from public life had come too early. His sword
which had rendered such great services to France was no longer needed;
and he therefore retired to his Château at Chantilly. Here he almost
immediately began to make extensive restorations, the completion of
which occupied over twenty years, and greatly changed the aspect of the
old place, so long abandoned and unoccupied. The financial difficulties
in which he found himself on his return were happily overcome by
Gourville, who acted energetically as his agent. The celebrated Le Nôtre
was called in to lay out the gardens; the vast grounds were converted
into parks, interspersed by the charming pieces of water which still
exist. With great ingenuity a channel was dug to receive the waters of
the streamlet Nonette, an affluent of the Oise, and a hydraulic machine
invented by Condé himself--who was as skilled an engineer as he was a
soldier--was constructed by Le Manse, under whom all these wonderful
waterworks were kept in order. The courtyard which forms the present
entrance to the Château dates from that time.
Letters have come down to us in which Condé expresses to Le Nôtre the
highest satisfaction with his work. The latter was quite overcome by the
Prince's appreciation, and replied to him: "_Jamais l'Honneur que je
receu d'embraser nostre Saint Pere, le pape, et de baiser sa mule ne m'a
fait tant de bien ny donne tant de joie que celle que je ressenty par la
bonté que vous avez eu de me donner le benefice que votre Altesse a
refusé a tant de testes couronnees.... Je continueray a eslever mes
pensées pour l'embellissement de vos parterres, fontaines, cascades de
vostre grand jardin de Chantilly._"
In 1684 Mansart was entrusted with the entire transformation of the
interior of the Petit Château; the first floor being arranged for the
use of the Grand Condé, whilst the ground floor was reserved for his
son, the Duc d'Enghien. The exterior of this exquisite building was
fortunately left intact, and has remained unchanged since the time of
Anne de Montmorency. Nor has the interior changed since Mansart's
alterations. When the visitor passes through these apartments to-day, he
can feel that they are in the same state as when the Grand Condé dwelt
there. The Grand Cabinet with its exquisite Beauvais tapestry, its
Boulle table, and its Louis XVI consoles and lustres, and the Petit
Cabinet where the victor of Rocroy came to rest from his labours, still
exist, to recall their former owner. In an adjacent apartment we may
admire a fine piece of furniture, companion to the famous Louis XV
bureau in the Louvre, upon which is placed the Grand Condé's own
despatch-box. Then there is the Long Gallery, where the painter Sauveur
Lecomte has illustrated, under the hero's own directions, all his
victories from the battles of Rocroy, Nördlingen, and Fribourg to the
conquest of the Franche Comté, and the campaign and passage of the
Rhine.
Mansart, once installed at Chantilly, did not leave it for many years.
He unfortunately attempted to tamper with the old feudal castle of the
Orgemonts and the mediæval architecture which combined so well with
Montmorency's Petit Château, creating an inordinately lofty building,
with a straight line of innumerable windows and attics all precisely
similar in form. It was this structure which was razed to the ground at
the time of the Revolution, and which was reconstructed in a far more
suitable style by the late Duc d'Aumale.