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A PRINCESS OF 
 INTRIGUE . . 
 
 VOL. I 
 
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A PRINCESS OF 
 INTRIGUE 
 
 Anne CeneVieVe de Bourbon, Duchesse de 
 LongneVille, and her Times 
 
 By 
 
 H. NOEL WILLIAMS 
 
 Author of " Five Fair Sisters," " Madame R^camier and her Friends," 
 " Madame de Pompadour," " Queen Margot," etc. 
 
 " En France nous avons tcoLi tfmmes qui seroient capables de gouvemer 
 ou de bouleverser tiois grands royaumes : la Duchesse de I^ongueville, la 
 Frincesse Palatine, et la Duchesse de Chevreuse." — Mazaion. 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO. 
 
 1908 
 
11 
 
 (^7 
 
 -.kj^lJ 
 
TO 
 
 MY WIFE 
 
PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 THE principal sources, both contemporary and 
 modern, which I have consulted in the prepara- 
 tion of these volumes are mentioned either in the text 
 or the foot-notes. I desire, however, to acknowledge my 
 obligations to the following works by modern writers : 
 Due d'Aumale, Histoire des Princes de Condi \ M. Jean 
 Bourdeau, La Rochefoucauld ; A. Chdruel, Histoire de 
 France -pendant la minorite de Louis XIV. ; Mrs. Alfred 
 Cock, Madame de Longueville ; Victor Cousin, la 
 Jeunesse de Madame de Longueville, Correspondance de 
 Madame de Longueville avec la Princesse Palatine, etc. 
 {Journal des Savants, 1852 and 1853), Madame de 
 Longueville pendant la Fronde, la Societe fran^aise au 
 XVIP siecle, and Madame de Sable (edit. 1854); 
 M. Victor du Bled, la Societe fran^aise du XVF silcle 
 au XX' siecle ; Alphonse Feillet, la Misere du temps 
 de la Fronde ; Pierre Floquet, Histoire du Parlement de 
 Normandie ; M. J. Henrard, Henri IV. et la Princesse 
 de Conde ; MM. Homberg and Jousselin, la Femme 
 du Grand Conde ; Mr. J. B. Perkins, France under 
 
vlii Prefatory Note 
 
 Mazarin ; M. Jules Roy, Turenne ; C. A. Sainte-Beuve, 
 
 Portraits de Femmes and Port-Royal ; Mrs. Romanes, 
 Port-Royal ; and Earl Stanhope, Life of Louis, Prince 
 of Condi, surnamed the Great. 
 
 H. NOEL WILLIAMS. 
 
 London, November, 1907. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 CHAPTER n 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I 
 
 47 
 
 8i 
 
 III 
 
 13+ 
 154 
 
 241 
 272 
 298 
 
 317 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
xii List of Illustrations 
 
 tacinq page 
 The Placb-Royale in the Seventeenth Centurv . . . 182 
 From an engraving by Peretti. 
 
 FRAN501S VI., Dnc DE LA Rochefoucauld .... 228 
 
 From an engraving by Choffard after the enamel by Petitot. 
 
 Mathieu Mol^, First President of the Parlembnt of Paris . 252 
 From an engraving published by Daret. 
 
 Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz . . . 290 
 
 From an engraving by Nanteuil. 
 
 Eleonore Catherine F^bronie de Bergh, Duchesse de 
 
 Bouillon 322 
 
 From a contemporary print. 
 
A PRINCESS OF INTRIGUE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Henri IV. and Charlotte de Montmorency — The King, enamoured of 
 Mile, de Montmorency, marries her to his cousin, the Prince de 
 Conde — Infatuation of Henri for the young princess — Conde 
 declines to play the complacent husband, and, after twice removing 
 his wife from Court, flies with her to Flanders — Fury of his 
 Majesty, who sends troops in pursuit of the fugitives — The 
 prince and princess at Brussels — Ineffectual attempts at a recon- 
 ciliation — Conde appeals for protection to Philip III. of Spain — 
 Attempted abduction of the young lady by the Marquis de Coeuvres 
 — Conde leaves Brussels for Milan — The King of France and his 
 Ministers threaten the Archdukes with war, if the princess is not 
 given up — Despatches of the Spanish Ambassador in Paris to his 
 Court — True significance of Henri IV.'s warlike preparations — 
 Conde at Milan — Assassination of Henri IV. — The prince returns 
 to Brussels and makes his peace with the new Government in 
 France — He declines to see his wife — ^His return to Paris — Formal 
 reconciliation between him and the princess — His turbulent 
 conduct during the Regency — He is arrested at the Louvre 
 (September i, 1616), and subsequently imprisoned in the Bastille — 
 His wife permitted to share his captivity — The prince and princess 
 are removed to Vincennes — Birth of Anne Genevieve de Bourbon, 
 the future Duchesse de Longueville — Release of the Condes. 
 
 ONE day, about the middle of January, 1609, 
 Henri IV. was passing through the great 
 gallery of the Louvre, when he came upon a bevy 
 of young ladies of the Court practising for a ballet, 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
2 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 nymphs of Diana armed for the chase.^ The Due 
 de Bellegarde, his Grand Equerry, who was with him, 
 drew the King's attention to a girl of fifteen, as being 
 particularly worthy of admiration, at the same time 
 informing him that her name was Charlotte Marguerite 
 de Montmorency, daughter of the Conn^table Henri 
 de Montmorency.^ Suddenly, at a given signal, the 
 damsels forming this captivating squadron raised the 
 javelins they held in their hands and made as though 
 to cast them. His Majesty found himself directly 
 opposite Mile, de Montmorency at the moment 
 when she pretended to launch her dart — a movement 
 which she executed with such bewildering grace, that 
 Henri subsequently confessed that he felt wounded to 
 the heart and on the point of fainting. 
 
 "Mile, de Montmorency," writes TaUemant des 
 R6aux, "was only four years old when it was clearly 
 seen that she would be an extraordinary beauty." 
 This early promise had been amply fulfilled, and there 
 was no more lovely girl at the Court of France than 
 the daughter of the Constable. Cardinal Bentivoglio, 
 who saw her at Brussels towards the close of 
 the same year, has left us the following description 
 of her : 
 
 ' This ballet had given rise to considerable friction between the 
 King and Queen, Henri insisting that his mistress, Jacqueline de 
 Beuil, Comtesse de Moret, should take part in it, while Marie de' 
 Medici was equally determined not to allow her to appear. Obliged 
 to yield, the Queen showed her displeasure by shutting herself up 
 in her apartments and refusing to attend the rehearsals. 
 
 * By his second wife, Louise de Budos, a woman of middling birth, 
 but of such wondrous beauty that some persons attributed it to 
 supernatural agency. 
 
A Princess of Intfig:ue 3 
 
 " She was then sixteen years old, and her loveliness 
 was adjudged by all men to accord with the fame 
 thereof. She was very fair ; her eyes and all her 
 features full of charm ; an ingenuous grace in all 
 her gestures and in her manner of speaking. Her 
 beauty owed its power to itself alone, since she did 
 not bring to its aid any of the artifices of which 
 women are wont to make use." ^ 
 
 Shortly after the encounter we have just related, 
 the King was laid up by an attack of gout. Several of 
 the ladies of the Court came to visit him, and among 
 those who were most assiduous in their attentions 
 was the Duchesse d'Angouleme,^ who was invariably 
 accompanied by Mile, de Montmorency, her niece. 
 
 ' And, according to Madame de Motteville, she remained one of 
 the most beautiful women of the Court to the day of her death. 
 "The Court," she writes, "was at this time [about 1643] full of 
 beautiful women. Among the princesses, she who was the first in 
 rank was also the first in beauty [Charlotte de Montmorency, Princesse 
 de Condg]. Although no longer young, she excited the admiration 
 of all who beheld her. . I desire only to bear witness that her beauty 
 was still great when, in my childhood, I lived at Court, and that it 
 endured to the end of her life. We praised it during the Regency 
 of the Queen [Anne of Austria], when she was over fifty, and praised 
 it without flattery. She was fair and white, her eyes blue and of 
 a perfect beauty. Her bearing was dignified and full of majesty, 
 and her whole person, since her manners were agreeable, invariably 
 pleased, save when she prevented it herself by a rude pride full of 
 bitterness towards those who displeased her." Then she changed 
 altogether, and became the aversion of those to whom she showed it. 
 
 ' Diane de France, legitimated daughter of Henri II. and Filippa 
 Due, a Piedmontese lady, and not of Diane de Poitiers, as several 
 historians have wrongly stated. She married, first, the Duke of Castro 
 Orazio Farnese, and, en secondes noces, Fraufois de Montmorency, 
 elder brother of the Constable, 
 
4 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 " The punishment of those who have loved women 
 too well, is to love them always."^ This was the 
 punishment of Henri IV. His Majesty was fifty-five, 
 and his hair and beard, whitened by a life of peril 
 and hardship, made him appear considerably older. 
 But his heart was still young, and he was as amorous 
 as he had been at twenty. From the first, he took 
 the keenest pleasure in Mile, de Montmorency's 
 society ; soon he was hopelessly in love, although, 
 for some time, he appears to have deluded himself 
 into the belief that his interest in the damsel was of 
 a paternal nature only. 
 
 The fair Charlotte was already betrothed, with the 
 King's approval, to Francois de Bassompierre, a 
 handsome young noble of Lorraine, high in favour 
 with his Majesty, and one of the most redoubtable 
 lady-killers of the Court ; ^ indeed, the marriage would 
 have taken place some weeks before, had not the 
 illness of the Constable caused it to be postponed. 
 Henri, however, having himself become a candidate 
 for the lady's affections, had no mind to endure a 
 
 • Joubert. 
 
 ^ Among his numerous conquests, were Charlotte Marie d'Entragues, 
 sister of Henri IV.'s mistress, Henriette d'Entragues, by whom he had 
 a son, Louis de Bassompierre, afterwards Bishop of Saintes ; and 
 Louise de Lorraine, Princesse de Conti, daughter of Henri L, Due de 
 Guise, with whom he eventually contracted a secret marriage. When, 
 in February, 1631, her husband, having had the misfortune to incur the 
 enmity of Richeheu, was sent to the Bastille, where he remained 
 twelve years, the princess died of grief. Shortly before his arrest, 
 Bassompierre, aware of the danger which threatened him, burned the 
 whole of his correspondence, which is said to have included no less 
 than six thousand love-letters ! 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 5 
 
 rival so formidable as the fascinating Bassompierre, 
 and, accordingly, determined that the projected marriage 
 must be broken off. 
 
 One night, when Bassompierre was on duty in the 
 King's chamber, endeavouring to soothe his master's 
 pain by reading to him M. d'Urfe's sentimental 
 romance, VAstree, then at the height of its vogue, 
 Henri informed him, after some preamble, that he 
 intended to marry him to Mile. d'Aumale and to 
 revive the duchy of that name in his favour. " You 
 wish then, Sire, to give me two wives ! " exclaimed 
 the astonished courtier. " Baron," rejoined the King, 
 " I wish to speak to you as a friend. I am not only 
 in love, but distracted about Mile, de Montmorency. 
 If you marry her and she loves you, I shall hate you. 
 If she loves me, you will hate me. It were better 
 that the marriage were broken off, lest it should mar 
 the good understanding between us, and destroy the 
 affection I entertain for you. I have decided to marry 
 her to my nephew the Prince de Qondh^ and to keep 
 her near the person of my wife. She will be the 
 solace and support of the old age on which I am about 
 to enter. I shall give her to my nephew, who is only 
 twenty, and prefers Jhunting a thousand times to ladies' 
 society, and I desire no other favour from her than 
 her affection, without pretending to anything further." 
 
 Bassompierre, who was before all things a courtier, 
 
 ' Although Henri IV. spoke of Cond6 as his nephew, he was only 
 a nephew a la mode de Bretagne, that is to say, a first cousin once 
 removed. 
 
6 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 seeing that the King was determined, and that, unless 
 he submitted with a good grace, he would lose 
 both his bride and the royal favour, protested his 
 willingness to obey, adding the hope that " this new 
 affection would bring his Majesty as much joy as it 
 would occasion himself pain, but for his consideration 
 for his Majesty." His chagrin was, nevertheless, 
 intense, and when next morning the lady, having 
 been acquainted with the change that had been 
 made in the disposition of her hand, greeted her 
 too facile lover with an expressive shrug of her 
 pretty shoulders and a glance of the most withering 
 disdain, his grief and mortification were such that he 
 fled precipitately to his lodging, where, he assures 
 us, he spent three days without food or sleep." ^ 
 
 Henri II. de Bourbon, Prince de Conde, to whom 
 the King had resolved to marry his latest inamorata, 
 was the son of Henri I., the second holder of that 
 title, who had died suddenly in March, 1588, 
 " poisoned, according to common report, by his wife, 
 the Demoiselle Charlotte de la Tremouille, who was 
 soon after his death made prisoner." ^ Six months 
 later (September i, 1588) the captive princess gave 
 birth to a son, in the prison of Saint-Jean-d'Angely, 
 where she remained for six years, without any proof 
 of her guilt being forthcoming, but without being able 
 to establish her innocence.^ At length, in 1595, 
 
 • Memoires de Bassompierre. 
 ' L'Estoile. 
 
 ' On the death of the second Prince de Cond6, see the Due d'Aumale's 
 Histoire des Princes de Conde, vol. ii. The illustrious author is of 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 7 
 
 largely through the efforts of President de Thou, she 
 was acquitted of the terrible charge under which she 
 had so long lain and was set at liberty ; while the 
 little prince, the legitimacy of whose birth had been 
 freely questioned, was declared heir-presumptive to 
 the throne. As son of the principal chief of the 
 Huguenots after the King of Navarre, the boy was 
 of course a Protestant, but, in accordance with a 
 promise made to the Pope, he was brought up in the 
 Catholic faith, under the care of Nicholas Lefebvre. 
 He was a young man rather below the middle height, 
 with a slight but well-knit figure, and " the strongly 
 marked features which generally distinguish the 
 Bourbons." ^ His education had been a sound one. 
 He was a tolerable Latin scholar, spoke Italian fluently, 
 understood Spanish, and had some knowledge of 
 theology and mathematics. But he was shy and 
 awkward, especially in the presence of ladies, and 
 after the birth of sons to Henri IV. had deprived him 
 of all hope of the throne, he seems to have occupied 
 a very inconspicuous position at Court. His revenues 
 were altogether inadequate to maintain his position 
 as first Prince of the Blood, and when the King, of 
 whom he stood in considerable awe, announced his 
 intention of bestowing upon him the hand of one of 
 the richest heiresses in France, he accepted the offer 
 with becoming gratitude. 
 
 opinion that the prince died from natural causes, since, though his 
 death was very sudden and attended by suspicious circumstances, he 
 had been in ill health for some time. 
 1 Cardinal Bentivoglio, Relazioni. 
 
8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 The betrothal took place on March 2, 1609, in the 
 great gallery of the Louvre. The Constable gave his 
 son-in-law 100,000 ecus ; while the King granted his 
 " nephew " an increase of his pension and a present 
 of 150,000 livres. The bride received 18,000 livres 
 from his Majesty, for the purchase of jewellery, as 
 well as a magnificent trousseau. Owing to the 
 necessity of obtaining the Papal dispensation for the 
 union of cousins,^ the marriage ceremony was post- 
 poned until May 16, when it was celebrated at Chantilly, 
 " very inexpensively and very gaily." 
 
 This gaiety was not of long duration. Scarcely 
 had the young couple rejoined the Court, which 
 was then at Fontainebleau, than his Majesty began to 
 lay the closest siege to the princess's heart and strove 
 by every means in his power to gain her affections. 
 The girl, flattered by the homage of her sovereign, 
 of which she perhaps did not divine the end, was 
 far from discouraging his attentions, and, if we are 
 to believe Tallemant des Reaux, appeared one evening 
 on the balcony of her apartments in a peignoir, with 
 her hair falling over her shoulders, in order to please 
 the King, who was transported with admiration. 
 " T>ieu ! " cried she, " how foolish he is ! " And she 
 laughed heartily. 
 
 Her husband, however, did not laugh. The affair 
 had become a public scandal. Even in the streets, 
 people laughed and jested about the infatuation of 
 
 '■ The Dowager Princesse de Cond6 was, through her mother, Jeanne 
 de Montmorency, a niece of the Constable. 
 
From an enffraving- by Barbant. 
 CHARLOTTE MARGUERITE DE MONTMORENCY, PRINCESSE DE CONDE. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 9 
 
 the King, and " talked with the utmost freedom of 
 his Majesty and of the corruption and debaucheries 
 of his Court." ^ If the Prince de Conde had little love 
 for his wife, he was exceedingly jealous of his honour, 
 and, to Henri's intense chagrin, absolutely declined 
 to accept the odious role he had intended for him, and 
 began, in his Majesty's phrase, " to play the devil." ^ 
 
 In vain the King endeavoured to reassure him as 
 to the innocence of his intentions ; in vain the Con- 
 stable, at his Majesty's request, made the strongest 
 representations to his son-in-law. Cond6 was deaf to 
 all appeals, and towards the middle of June carried off 
 his wife to the Chateau of Valery, near Sens, which 
 formed part of her dowry, in the hope that during his 
 absence the King's passion might cool or be diverted 
 to some fresh object. 
 
 Henri IV. was in despair. In obedience to his orders, 
 
 the poet Malherbe consented " to degrade his muse 
 
 to the office of pander," ^ and composed stanzas wherein 
 
 the King, under the name of Alcandre, cries : 
 
 II faut que je cesse de vivre 
 Si je veux cesser de souffrir. 
 
 And the princess, under the name of Orante, replies : 
 
 La ccEur outr6e du meme ennui, 
 Jurait que s'il mourait pour elle, 
 EUe mourait aussi pour lui.^ 
 
 ' L'Estoile. 
 
 2 " Men ami — M. le Prince [Conde] est icy qui faict le diable ; 
 vous seriez en colore et auriez lionte des choses qu'il dit de moi ; 
 enfin, la patience m'echappera et je me resous de bien parler a lui " 
 (Henri IV. to Sully, June 9, 1609). 
 
 ' Andr6 Chenier, les Poesies de Malherbe. 
 
 ^ Cited by Henrard, Henri IV. et la Princesse de Conde. 
 
lo A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 The Condes remained at Valery until the first week 
 in July, when they were compelled to return to Court, 
 in order to attend the marriage of Cesar de Vendome, 
 Henri IV.'s eldest son by Gabrielle d'Estrees, and 
 Mile, de Mercoeur. The King's passion became more 
 violent than ever, and his conduct would have been 
 ludicrous to the last degree, had it been less culpable. 
 Not only did he continue to commission Malherbe 
 to bombard the princess with elegies and sonnets, 
 but " one saw him alter in less than no time his dress, 
 his beard, and his countenance." He, who had hither- 
 to been distinguished from the nobles of his Court 
 by the simplicity and even negligence of his attire, 
 might now be seen dressing and adorning himself with 
 as much care as the youngest and most dandified of 
 his courtiers, and, on one occasion, he appeared at a 
 tilting-match wearing " a scented ruff^ a doublet with 
 sleeves of Chinese satin, and the colours of the Princesse 
 de Conde, who called him ' her knight.' " ■^ " The King 
 is well and grows younger every day," wrote Malherbe 
 to his friend Peiresc. 
 
 The unfortunate husband began " to play the devil " 
 again, and, though Henri, in the hope of bending 
 him to his will, had the meanness to give orders that 
 the quarter of his pension due at Midsummer should 
 not be paid him, and to threaten him with even 
 more severe measures unless he mended his ways, 
 his complaints grew louder than ever. Violent scenes 
 took place between him and the King, in one of 
 ' Tallemant des R6aux, Historiettes. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue n 
 
 which Conde allowed the word " tyranny " to escape 
 him, and his Majesty, losing all control of himself, 
 replied that the only occasion on which he had merited 
 such a reproach was when he had recognised the 
 prince for what he was not — that is to say, a legitimate 
 son. 
 
 Finally, Conde took his wife back to Valery, and 
 though Henri used every means in his power to induce 
 him to return, it was to no purpose. " Beaumont," 
 writes the King to the Constable, on September 23, 
 " returned yesterday and says that he found our friend 
 more unmanageable than ever. He leaves Valery this 
 morning for Muret." ^ 
 
 Muret was a chateau belonging to Conde in Picardy, 
 not far from the Flemish frontier, and the prince's 
 pretext for removing thither was the excellent hunting 
 which the neighbourhood afforded. Early in Novem- 
 ber, he and his wife went to join a hunting party at 
 the Abbey of Verteuil, and, while they were there, 
 M. de Traigny, Governor of Amiens, invited the 
 Princesse de Conde and the princess-dowager, who 
 was with her, to dine at his country-house, which 
 was situated some three leagues from the abbey. 
 We will allow Lenet, the faithful servant of the 
 Cond6s, who had the story from the princess's own 
 lips, to relate what followed : 
 
 "It would seem very much as though this party 
 had been concerted with the King, but he was at 
 any rate informed of it by the Sieur de Traigny, 
 1 Cited by the Due d'Aumale, Histoire des Princes de Conde. 
 
12 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 who always abetted him in his pleasures, so that the 
 princesses, while on their way thither, saw a carriage 
 pass with the King's liveries and a great number of 
 hounds. The princess-mother, who was passionately 
 attached to her son, and watched the actions of the 
 young princess very narrowly, feared that, under the 
 pretext of some hunting excursion, the King had 
 prepared for them a rendezvous. She summoned 
 the huntsmen, whom she saw at a distance ; but one 
 of them, advancing before the others, came to the 
 door of the coach to answer the princess's questions, 
 and disarmed her fears, by telling her that a captain 
 of the hunt, who was in the neighbourhood to cele- 
 brate the feast of St. Hubert, had placed the relays 
 where she saw them, because he was hunting a stag 
 with some of his friends. Whilst the princess-dowager 
 was speaking to the huntsman, the young princess, 
 who was at the coach-door, glanced at the others, 
 who stood some little distance off, and perceived that 
 one of them was the King, who, the better to disguise 
 himself under the livery he wore, had put a large 
 black patch over his left eye and held two greyhounds 
 in a leash. The princess told us that she had never 
 been more astonished in her life, and that she did not 
 dare to mention what she had seen to her mother-in- 
 law, for fear that she should inform her husband. 
 At the same time, she confessed to us that this 
 gallantry had not displeased her, and, continuing her 
 story, she told us that, having arrived at Traigny and 
 entered the salon, she remarked upon the extreme 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 13 
 
 beauty of the view, whereupon Madame de Traigny 
 said to her that, if she cared to put her head out of 
 a window which she would show her, she would see 
 one still more agreeable. Advancing to it, she per- 
 ceived that the King was placed at the window of 
 a pavilion opposite, he having preceded her after 
 having had the pleasure of seeing her on the road, 
 and that he held all the time one hand to his lips, 
 as though to send her a kiss, and the other to his heart, 
 to show her that he had been wounded. 
 
 " The surprise of this rencontre did not allow the 
 princess time to reflect what she should do, and she 
 retired abruptly from the window, exclaiming, ' del ! 
 what is this ? Madame, the King is here ! ' On 
 which the princess-dowager, greatly incensed, divided 
 her words between giving directions for the horses to 
 be immediately harnessed to her coach and loading 
 Traigny and his wife with reproaches. Even the 
 King, who hastened to the spot on hearing the com- 
 motion, did not escape her anger. The enamoured 
 prince employed all the entreaties which his passion 
 could dictate and all the promises possible to induce 
 her to remain, but to no purpose ; for the princesses 
 re-entered their coach and returned forthwith to 
 Verteuil, where that same night the princess-mother 
 broke the promise which the King had extracted from 
 her, and related the whole story to her son." ^ 
 
 A few days later, Cond^ received a letter from the 
 King, written in a strain half-coaxing and half- 
 ' Memoires de Lenet. 
 
14 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 menacing, summoning him to Court, to be present at 
 the approaching accouchement of the Queen. Etiquette 
 required that the first Prince of the Blood should 
 be in attendance on these auspicious occasions, and it 
 was impossible for him to refuse. But he came alone. 
 Henri was furious, and his anger rendered him so 
 insupportable to all about him, that Marie de' Medici 
 herself begged Cond6 to send for his wife, promising 
 to keep the strictest watch over her. Such was the 
 King's wrath that he apparently could not trust himself 
 to interview his cousin personally, but sent for the 
 prince's secretary, Virey, and bade him tell his master 
 that, if he decUned to yield to his will or attempted 
 the slightest violence against the princess, he would 
 give him cause to rue it. He added that, had he 
 been still only King of Navarre, he would at once 
 have challenged the prince to a duel. 
 
 After receiving the King's message, Cond6 decided 
 to feign submission, and accordingly begged his 
 Majesty's leave to return to Muret to fetch his wife. 
 His request, as we may suppose, was readily granted, 
 and on November 25 — the day on which the ill-fated 
 Henrietta Maria was born — he set out for Picardy. 
 
 On the evening of the 29th, while Henri was at 
 
 the card-table, word was brought him that a messenger 
 
 had arrived from Picardy, with intelligence that Monsieur 
 
 le Prince ^ had early that morning left Muret, in a coach 
 
 1 At the French Court, the first Prince of the Blood was always 
 called Monsieur le Prince, his wife, Madame la Princesse, and their 
 eldest son, Monsieur le Due; the King's eldest brother, Monsieur, his 
 wife, Madame, and their eldest daughter, Mademoiselle. Of the King's 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 15 
 
 with his wife, accompanied by his chamberlain, the 
 Baron de Rochefort, Virey, and two of the princess's 
 ladies. Cond6 had given out that they were bound on 
 a hunting expedition ; but the messenger — an archer 
 of the Guard named Laperrifere — had learned from his 
 father, who was in the prince's service, that the party 
 had taken the road to Flanders. 
 
 The consternation of the King knew no bounds. He 
 at once summoned his most trusted counsellors, and as 
 each arrived, hurried up to him, to inform him of what 
 had occurred, and to ask for his advice. Sully advised 
 his master to let the matter rest, pointing out that, in 
 that case, the prince, being unable to draw his pension, 
 would soon be reduced to sue for terms, whereas, if 
 Henri showed anxiety to get him back, the enemies of 
 France would be only too ready to assist him, in order 
 to spite the King. 
 
 The infatuated monarch, however, was in no mood 
 to follow such counsel, and forthwith wrote to the 
 Governors of Marie and Guise, directing them to send 
 the whole strength of their garrisons to capture Cond6, 
 "wherever he might be," and despatched La Chauss6e, 
 an officer of his Guards, with orders to pursue the 
 prince, even over the frontier. La Chauss^e came up 
 with the fugitives at Landrecies, the first Spanish fortress 
 in Flanders, which they had reached in the early morn- 
 ing of the 30th. Since leaving Muret, they had only 
 
 daughters, the eldest was known as Madame Royale ; the others were 
 referred to by their Christian names prefixed by "Madame" — Madame 
 Elisabeth, Madame Marguerite, and so forth. 
 
1 6 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 rested for a few minutes at a village inn ; the almost 
 impassable state of the roads had compelled them to 
 abandon their coach before crossing the Somme, and 
 the unfortunate princess had passed fifteen hours on 
 the crupper of Rochefort's saddle, under a continuous 
 downpour of rain. 
 
 La Chauss6e produced the royal warrant for the 
 arrest of Cond6, but the authorities of Landrecies 
 refused to allow it to be executed until they had 
 referred the matter to the Archdukes.^ Rochefort, at 
 the prince's request, was permitted to proceed to 
 Brussels, to beg the Archdukes to grant his master a 
 safe-conduct through their dominions, in order that he 
 might visit his sister, the Princess of Orange,^ at 
 Breda. An envoy from Henri IV. arrived almost 
 simultaneously, to denounce the prince as a traitor and 
 an enemy to the public peace, and to request their 
 Highnesses to permit his arrest or at least not to grant 
 him an asylum in Flanders. 
 
 The Archdukes found themselves in a very em- 
 barrassing position, and took refuge in a compromise. 
 They declined to allow the rights of nations to be 
 violated by the arrest of Cond6, and granted his wife 
 
 1 In May, 1 598, Philip II. had ceded the Netherlands, Franche-Comf6, 
 and the Charolais to his daughter Isabella. The Archduke Albert, 
 brother of the Emperor Rudolph, at that time Governor of the 
 Netherlands, renounced Holy Orders in order to marry the princess ; 
 and the pair had since exercised a sort of vice-regal authority, with 
 very extensive powers. Their contemporaries always called them 
 " The Archdukes." 
 
 ^ fileonore de Bourbon, born April 30, 1587; manied to Philip 
 William of Nassau, eldest son of William the Silent, Prince of 
 Orange. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 17 
 
 permission to continue her journey, but ordered the 
 prince to quit the Netherlands within three days. 
 
 Cond6 at once set out for Cologne, leaving the 
 princess to proceed to Brussels, in charge of the faithful 
 Virey. She took up her quarters at the Hotel de 
 Nassau, the residence of the Princess of Orange, who, 
 warned by a letter from her brother, had hastened from 
 Breda to receive her. 
 
 Towards the end of December, the Archdukes, at 
 Henri IV.'s request, summoned Cond6 to Brussels and 
 used every endeavour to persuade him to return to 
 France. This the prince expressed himself willing to 
 do, if guaranteed a place of surety in his government 
 of Guienne. The King, however, refused even to con- 
 sider such a proposal, and insisted on his immediate and 
 unconditional return, promising him only a free pardon. 
 At the instance of Spinola,^ who had gained consider- 
 able ascendency over him, and perceived that he might 
 be utilized as a very valuable instrument against 
 France, Cond6 thereupon decided to appeal to the 
 King of Spain for protection. The Council of State at 
 Madrid was unanimously of opinion that his request 
 should be acceded to, and Philip III., accordingly, 
 charged his Ambassador at the French Court, Don 
 Inigo de Cardenas, to inform Henri IV. that he had 
 taken the Prince de Cond6 under his protection, " with 
 the object of acting as a mediator in the matter, and 
 
 • Spinola, who had come to the Netherlands, in 1602, at the head of 
 a force maintained, like the old condottieri, at his own expense, had, 
 after his reduction of Ostend, been given the command of all the Spanish 
 and Italian troops in Flanders. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 
 
1 8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 contributing everything in his power towards the repose 
 and happiness of the Most Christian King." The 
 remainder of the despatch, however, leaves no doubt 
 that his Catholic IVIajesty was animated by very different 
 sentiments towards Henri IV. from those which Don 
 Inigo was instructed to express.^ At the same time, 
 Philip wrote to Conde to assure him of his sympathy, 
 and despatched one of his Council, the Count de 
 Anovar, to Brussels, with instructions to watch over the 
 interests of the prince, who, on his side, engaged to 
 make no terms with Henri IV. without the consent of 
 Spain. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the old Conn6table de Mont- 
 morency, either because he really believed the reports 
 which were being industriously circulated by the 
 French agents in Brussels that Conde was ill-treating 
 his wife, or, more probably, out of dishonourable 
 servility to the King, had intervened in the affair, and 
 despatched to Flanders one of his relatives, Louis de 
 Montmorency-Boutteville, father of the unfortunate 
 gentleman whose execution for duelling caused such a 
 sensation seventeen years later. Boutteville was the 
 bearer of a letter to the Archdukes, in which the 
 Constable complained bitterly of the alleged sufferings 
 of his daughter, and besought their Highnesses to 
 restore his beloved child to him. His request was 
 refused, and the reports as to Condi's ill-treatment of 
 his wife would appear to have been altogether devoid 
 
 • Papiers de Simancas, cited by the Due d'Aumale, Histoire des 
 Princes de Conde. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 19 
 
 of foundation. Nevertheless, the young princess, who 
 had little love for her husband and naturally resented 
 the strict surveillance to which she was subjected, was 
 becoming more and more dissatisfied with her life at 
 Brussels, Moreover, intrigues of all kinds were at 
 work to further Henri's odious designs. The wife of 
 the French Ambassador at Brussels, Brulart de Berny, 
 visited Madame la Princesse constantly and enlarged on 
 the glories of which she was deprived by her husband's 
 jealousy ; two of her waiting-women had been bribed, 
 and added their persuasion to those of the Ambassa- 
 dress ; while Girard, a secretary of the Constable, 
 was continually travelling to and fro between Paris, 
 Chantilly, and Brussels, bearing letters and instructions. 
 Towards the end of January, 16 10, Henri IV. 
 despatched an envoy extraordinary to Brussels in the 
 person of Annibal d'Estrees, Marquis de Cceuvres, 
 brother of the beautiful and ill-fated Gabrielle. 
 Coeuvres very speedily perceived that there was small 
 likelihood of being able to persuade the Archdukes to 
 surrender the princess to her relatives, or rather to the 
 King, and, on February 9, wrote to his Majesty to 
 obtain his consent to a plan which he had formed for 
 the abduction of the young lady. Henri immediately 
 sent the required authorization, but, unfortunately for 
 the success of the enterprise, the near prospect of once 
 more beholding the object of his passion transported 
 him to such a degree, that he was quite unable to 
 conceal his joyous anticipations, either from his en- 
 tourage or even from his long-suffering consort. The 
 
20 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 jealous Queen took advantage of this indiscretion to 
 acquaint the Nuncio Ubaldini, a devoted friend of 
 the Medici family, with what was in the wind ; the 
 Nuncio, in his turn, communicated the news to the 
 Spanish Ambassador, who lost no time in sending off 
 a courier to Brussels to put Spinola on his guard. 
 
 Spinola, fearing lest Cond6, if informed of the 
 proposed abduction of his wife, might create a scan- 
 dal, contented himself with arousing his suspicions 
 sufficiently to induce him to beg the Archdukes to 
 receive the princess into their own palace. To this 
 their Highnesses readily consented, and February 14 
 was fixed for the departure of Madame la Princesse 
 and her attendants from the Hotel de Nassau. 
 
 Cceuvres was naturally much disconcerted on learn- 
 ing of this change of residence, and recognising that, 
 were the lady once within the walls of the archducal 
 palace, any such measures as he was contemplating 
 would be foredoomed to failure, determined to make 
 his attempt on the night of the 13th. His plan was 
 a bold one. The Princesse de Condi's apartments 
 abutted on the garden of the Hotel de Nassau, which 
 was separated from the ramparts only by a narrow 
 street. Under cover of the confusion and bustle 
 which the preparations for her removal on the morrow 
 would be sure to entail, she was to descend, or be 
 carried, into the garden, pass through it, and gain the 
 street. A breach sufficient to admit of her egress was 
 to be made in the ramparts, and on the far side of 
 the moat, which was empty at this time, a body of 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 21 
 
 horse, under the command of Longueval de Manicamp, 
 Governor of La F^re, would be waiting to escort her 
 to the frontier, while another troop would cover their 
 flight. Some difference of opinion seems to exist as 
 to whether the lady herself was privy to this scheme ; 
 but the fact that one of her waiting-women had carried 
 that afternoon to the French Embassy a quantity of 
 her mistress's clothes would certainly seem to point 
 to her complicity. 
 
 It was only a few hours before the moment fixed for 
 the execution of Coeuvres's design that Spinola learned 
 of his intentions, through the treachery of a French 
 adventurer in the marquis's pay. This time he felt 
 obliged to inform Conde, who hastened to the Arch- 
 dukes to demand a guard, after which, beside himself 
 with anger and excitement, he hurried hither and 
 thither, calling upon every one he met to assist him 
 to protect his wife. Soon the Hotel de Nassau was 
 surrounded by soldiers, reinforced by five hundred 
 armed citizens, whom the Prince of Orange had pro- 
 cured from the Burgomaster, while cavalry, preceded 
 by torch-bearers, patrolled the neighbouring streets. 
 These warlike preparations brought almost the whole 
 city to the spot, and " bred one of the greatest tumults 
 ever known in Brussels ; and it was commonly re- 
 ported and believed that the King of France was 
 himself in person at the gates to carry away the 
 princess by force." ^ 
 
 That same day, about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
 > Cardinal Bentivoglio, Relazioni. 
 
21 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Henri IV. had left Paris "very jovial and much 
 bedecked, contrary to his usual custom," accompanied 
 by four coaches, " to go to meet his nymph," ^ and 
 proceeded to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. But the nymph 
 did not arrive, and, in her stead, came a mud-bespattered 
 courier with the news of the failure of the attempt. 
 The discomfited monarch returned to Paris, in a very 
 ill humour, and wrote a most unkind letter to Coeuvres, 
 whom he stigmatized as " a blockhead and a fool." 
 
 That enterprising nobleman had, it would appear, 
 very narrowly escaped capture, having actually entered 
 the Hotel de Nassau before he learned that he had 
 been betrayed. However, being possessed of a large 
 fund of assurance, he determined to brave the matter 
 out, and early the following morning presented himself 
 at the palace of the Archdukes, to complain of the 
 insult put upon the King his master by the precautionary 
 measures adopted the previous evening, and of the 
 calumnious reports that were being circulated concerning 
 himself The Archduke Albert replied that he 
 himself had given no credit to these reports, but that, 
 as the Prince de Conde had insisted on the necessity 
 for a guard, he had felt obliged to accede to his 
 request. 
 
 On leaving the palace, CcEuvres, accompanied by 
 the French Ambassador, the Sieur de Preaulx, 
 counsellor to the Parlement of Paris, and Manicamp, 
 
 ' Letter of Jehan Simon, secretary to the Flemish Ambassador 
 in Paris, to Pretorius, Secretary of State at Brussels, February 20, 1610, 
 published by Henrard, Henri IV. et la Princesse de Conde. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 23 
 
 Governor of La F^re, proceeded to the Hotel de 
 Nassau, where, with much solemnity, he presented to 
 Conde a formal indictment, declaring him guilty of 
 high treason, unless he forthwith made his submission 
 to the King. To this indictment the prince im- 
 mediately drew up a reply, wherein he affirmed that 
 " he had left France to save his life and his honour ; 
 that he was prepared to return, if any oiFer should 
 be made him which would enable him to reside there 
 in security ; that he would live and die faithful to the 
 King ; but that, when the King should stray from 
 the ways of justice and should proceed against him 
 by the ways of violence, he held all such acts as 
 should be done against him null and invalid." This 
 document he sent to Coeuvres, who, however, refused 
 to receive it.^ 
 
 After this, Conde, fearing or feigning to fear, that it 
 was now no longer safe for him to remain in the 
 Netherlands, determined, on the advice of Spinola 
 and the Spanish Ambassador at Brussels, to seek an 
 asylum at Milan. Accordingly, having exacted a 
 solemn promise from the Archdukes that his wife 
 should not quit their palace without his consent, on 
 February 21 he left Brussels secretly, in disguise, 
 accompanied by Rochefort, Virey, and one of Spinola's 
 officers named Fritima, who was to act as guide and 
 interpreter. The season was an unusually severe 
 one, and the travellers suffered many hardships, but 
 
 ' Due d'Aumale, Histoire des Princes de Condi. Cardinal Benti- 
 voglio, Relazioni, 
 
24 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 on the last day of March they reached Milan in 
 safety. 
 
 The Spaniards attached great importance to the 
 possession of Condi's person, for, as first Prince of 
 the Blood and next in succession to the King's children, 
 he might prove of the highest value to them in 
 exciting troubles in France, should Henri IV. persist in 
 his hostile projects against Spain, while, in the event 
 of negotiations, his extradition might be dearly sold. 
 In accordance with instructions from Madrid, the 
 prince was received by the Spanish Governor, Fuentes, 
 with every possible honour, lodged in the ducal 
 palace, and a numerous household appointed to wait 
 upon him. 
 
 Henri IV. and his Ministers, finding persuasion of 
 no avail with the Archdukes, had recourse to threats, 
 and represented to them that, unless the fair Charlotte 
 were surrendered, war would follow. " The repose of 
 Europe rests in your masters' hands," said the President 
 Jeannin to Pecquius, the Ambassador of the Arch- 
 dukes In Paris ; " peace and war depend on whether 
 the princess is or is not given up." And the King 
 himself reminded him that Troy fell because Priam 
 would not surrender Helen. 
 
 The gravity of these speeches was enhanced by the 
 warlike preparations which were going on all over France 
 for the execution of the "Great Enterprise:" the 
 scheme of liberating Europe from the domination of 
 the House of Austria, and giving France her rightful 
 place in the world, which Henri IV. had cherished 
 
A Princess Of Intrigue 25 
 
 ever since his accession to the throne. It was, however, 
 believed by many that these formidable preparations 
 had no other object than the forcible recovery of the 
 Princesse de Cond^, and Malherbe wrote : 
 
 Deux beaux yeux sont I'empire 
 Pour qui je soupire. 
 
 Such, undoubtedly, was the opinion of the Spanish 
 Ambassador. " The King is so blinded and infatuated 
 by his passion," he writes to Philip III., " that I 
 know not what to say to your Majesty concerning it, 
 and, if I find many rpasons for holding peace to be 
 secure, in regarding affairs from a political standpoint, 
 I find many more for holding war to be certain on the 
 ground of love." He goes on to say that he is 
 informed that the King's infatuation has reached such 
 a point that he is ready to sacrifice everything to it. 
 His health is much affected by it ; he has lost his 
 sleep, and some persons believe that he is losing his 
 reason. And he adds that he is in daily expectation 
 of seeing Henri IV. marching on Brussels at the head 
 of a large force of cavalry.^ 
 
 A fortnight later, the Ambassador writes again : 
 " Within the last three days, the King has en- 
 deavoured to persuade the Queen to request her 
 Highness the Infanta to send the princess for her 
 coronation. The Queen, through the King's confessor 
 (Pere Cotton), has begged to be excused, observing 
 that it did not seem to her to be becoming to appear 
 
 '. Despatch of March 14, l6lo, published by the Due d'Aumale. 
 
26 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 as a third party and risk the indignity of a refusal 
 from the Infanta. The King fell into a violent rage, 
 and declared that the Queen should not be crowned, 
 and that he would have nothing done to displease 
 him. The Queen wept and was much distressed, both 
 at this and at the ardour with which the King is 
 pursuing one of her ladies." ^ 
 
 Henri himself pretended to be entirely engrossed 
 by his passion. " I am so worn out by these pangs," 
 he wrote to Preaulx, " that I am nothing but skin 
 and bone. Everything disgusts me. I avoid company, 
 and if, to observe the usages of society, I allow myself 
 to be drawn into some assemblies, my wretchedness 
 is completed." 
 
 Fortunately for the fame of Henri IV., greatly 
 as his mind was disturbed and his judgment distracted 
 by this miserable infatuation, it is now generally ad- 
 mitted that the affair had little influence on the course 
 of events. The war upon which he was about to 
 enter was the outcome of twelve long years of per- 
 severing negotiations and carefully prepared alliances, 
 and if he had never set eyes upon the Princesse de 
 Condd, the final result would have been the same. 
 " The King and his Ministers," remarks Henri's latest 
 English biographer, Mr. P. F. Willert, " used the 
 large forces assembled for quite a different purpose 
 as a bugbear to frighten the Archdukes. But, when 
 they refused to purchase security by a compliance 
 inconsistent with their honour, it was not on Brussels 
 ' Despatch of March 27, 1610, published by the Due d'Aumale. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 27 
 
 that the French armies prepared to march. On the 
 contrary, four days before his death (May 10, 1610) 
 the King in the most friendly terms asked the Arch- 
 duke Albert's permission to lead his army across his 
 territory to the assistance of his German allies ; a 
 permission granted by the Archduke, notwithstanding 
 the opposition of Spinola and of the Spanish party 
 in his Council." ^ 
 
 Nevertheless, almost up to the very last, there were 
 many who still believed that, if the Princesse de Conde 
 were given up, war might be averted. Among these 
 were Henri IV.'s Jesuit confessor, Pere Cotton, who, 
 in an interview with Pecquius, informed him that at 
 the previous Easter " the King was so sincerely desirous 
 of securing his salvation, that he had readily forgotten 
 his affection for the princess ; but that all his passion 
 had been rekindled by the perusal of the letters which 
 she addressed to him." ^ 
 
 Although she was treated with extreme kindness 
 by the Infanta, the young princess had grown heartily 
 weary of the duU little Court of Brussels, and not 
 only stimulated the passion of her royal adorer by 
 the tenderness of her replies to his letters, but com- 
 
 1 " Henri of Navarre and the Huguenots in France.'' 
 * Pecquius to the Archduke Albert, April 28, 16 10. It appears to 
 have been on this occasion that Pere Cotton begged the Flemish 
 Ambassador to intimate to the Archdukes that, though the solemn 
 promise which they had given Cond6 might prevent them from surrender- 
 ing his wife, they might, without any undue strain to their consciences, 
 connive at her escape, since it was undoubtedly their duty to do 
 everything in their power to avert so terrible a calamity as war. But 
 this insidious suggestion their Highnesses very honourably declined 
 to entertain. 
 
28 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 plained bitterly of the restraints to which she was 
 subjected, and which, she declared, would have a most 
 serious effect upon her health, unless his Majesty 
 procured her speedy liberation. 
 
 Meanwhile, Conde, at Milan, was becoming as bored 
 with the imperturbable gravity and solemn pomp 
 which surrounded him as was his young wife at 
 Brussels, and, in order to find some distraction from 
 the monotony of his existence, had been driven to 
 the study of the antiquities of the neighbourhood 
 and to beginning a translation of Tacitus, under the 
 guidance of his learned secretary, Virey. Fearing 
 that the prince might be led to cast in his lot de- 
 finitely with the Spaniards, the French Government 
 despatched, first, a surgeon named Foucquet, who 
 had formerly been attached to Conde's household, and, 
 afterwards, a certain Abbe Nozet, to represent to him 
 that it would be more consonant with his dignity as 
 a Prince of the Blood were he to remove to Rome, 
 and place himself under the protection of the common 
 father of the faithful, rather than remain under that 
 of the common enemy of his race and country. Conde 
 seemed disposed to adopt this suggestion, but the 
 arguments of Fuentes and the news of the expected 
 invasion of Lombardy by the Duke of Savoy and 
 Lesdigui^res caused him to abandon all idea of leaving 
 Milan, and to place himself entirely under the guidance 
 of Spain. 
 
 Had Henri IV. lived, two things are tolerably 
 certain to have happened : the first, that the Arch- 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 29 
 
 dukes would sooner or later have been compelled to 
 surrender the princess ; the second, that Conde would 
 have been found in arms against his country. But 
 on May 14, 16 10, the knife of Ravaillac settled the 
 questions both of love and war, and Henri de 
 Bourbon, with all his greatness and his littleness, his 
 grand schemes and his shameful passions, was but 
 lifeless clay. 
 
 A letter from the Governor of Alessandria informed 
 Conde of the tragedy. He received the news with 
 somewhat mixed feelings, in which, however, to his 
 honour be it said, regret seems to have predominated. 
 His position was an embarrassing one, as it was difficult 
 for him to cast off the ties which bound him to Spain. 
 Virey, in the account in Latin verse which he wrote 
 of his master's adventures, part of which he subse- 
 quently translated into French, under the title of 
 r Enlevement innocent, ou la retraite clandestine de 
 Monseigneur le Prince [de Condf\ avec Madame la 
 Princesse, affirms that Fuentes came to the prince, 
 accompanied by his officers, to congratulate him as 
 the " legal heir " of the murdered monarch, and there 
 can be no doubt that the Ministers of Phihp III. 
 approached the Pope with the view of ascertaining 
 whether he would be prepared to annul the marriage 
 of Henri IV. and Marie de' Medici, in which case it 
 was their intention to put Cond6 forward as a candi- 
 date for the throne. As they received no encourage- 
 ment from Paul V., they were forced to abandon this 
 idea, but they still cherished the hope that the prince 
 
30 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 would, on his return to France, dispute the Queen- 
 Mother's title to the Regency, and, consequently, no 
 objection was raised to his departure from Milan. 
 
 Cond6 left Milan on June 9, and, deeming it unsafe 
 to cross France in the then unsettled state of the 
 kingdom, and while still under the ban of high treason, 
 set out for Brussels, where he arrived nine days later. 
 In spite of the remonstrances of the Spanish members 
 of the Archdukes' Council, he lost no time in despatch- 
 ing the faithful Virey to Paris, with letters for Louis 
 XIII. and the Queen-Mother, wherein he protested 
 his loyalty and devotion to the new King. His over- 
 tures were very graciously received, and Virey returned 
 to Brussels with an assurance that a cordial welcome 
 awaited his master. The secretary brought also a 
 letter from the Dowager Princesse de Cond6, in which 
 she endeavoured to incite her son against his wife, 
 informing him that up to the last moment she had 
 continued to encourage the late King's passion, and 
 begging him to refuse to see her and to leave her 
 with the Archdukes. Conde did not see his way to 
 comply with the latter injunction, and accordingly 
 consented to the Constable " sending for his daughter," 
 but he firmly refused to meet her. " Monsieur le Prince 
 has been some days in Brussels," writes Malherbe to 
 his friend Peiresc, under date June 24, 1610. "The 
 Infant [the Archduke Albert] told him that he had a 
 request to make to him. The latter, who did not 
 doubt that it was that he should consent to see his 
 wife, replied that he besought him very humbly not 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 31 
 
 to lay any command upon him in which he should 
 be reduced to the extremity of disobeying him. Thus 
 matters remain in this affair. It is believed that he 
 will take her back, but that he wishes to be requested 
 to do so by the Constable and her relatives. All 
 the letters which the King had exhibited, in which 
 he was addressed [by the princess] as ' mon tout,' and 
 ' mon chevalier,^ are disavowed." 
 
 On July 8, Conde set out for France. At Bourget, 
 he was met by the Grand Equerry (the Due de 
 Bellegarde), the Dues d'Epernon and de Sully, and 
 a number of the nobility, who had orders from their 
 Majesties to escort him to Paris. He entered the 
 city by the Porte Saint-Martin, at four o'clock in 
 the afternoon of July 16, dressed in deep mourning 
 and mounted on a magnificent piebald horse, a parting 
 gift from the Archduke Albert. As he rode through 
 the streets to the Louvre, he was obviously preoccupied 
 and ill at ease, " now playing with the collar of his 
 shirt, now biting his gloves, anon fingering his beard 
 and chin ; and one saw clearly that he heard little 
 of what was said to him and that his thoughts were 
 elsewhere." ^ 
 
 The cordiality of his reception by the young King 
 and the Regent somewhat reassured him, and it was 
 with a more confident air that he left the palace and 
 rode to the Hotel de Lyon, near the Porte de Bussy, 
 where he was visited by the Comte de Soissons and 
 other nobles. At nine o'clock that evening, he returned 
 
 ' L'Estoile. 
 
32 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 to the Louvre, and assisted at the coucher of the King, 
 "lequel il desguilleta, tira ses chausses, et ne -partit 
 quil ne^ Veut mis au lit" thus demonstrating publicly that 
 he repudiated the ambitious views which some attributed 
 to him and had no other desire than to be the first 
 of his Majesty's subjects. 
 
 For some little time, Cond6 persisted in his refusal 
 to be reconciled to his wife. He was much incensed, 
 not only against the lady herself, but also against her 
 father, on account of the request he had addressed to 
 the Archdukes and the accusation of cruelty to the 
 princess which he had not hesitated to bring against 
 his son-in-law, though Montmorency pleaded, in ex- 
 tenuation of his conduct, that he had acted under 
 constraint, and that his letters to the Archdukes had 
 been drafted by the President Jeannin, by order of the 
 King. Urged on by the princess-dowager and his sister, 
 the Princess of Orange, Cond6 appears to have actually 
 contemplated taking steps towards getting his marriage 
 annulled, in the hope that, if this could be effected, 
 the Regent might offer him one of her daughters, in 
 order to attach him more surely to her party or, failing 
 a royal princess, he might espouse the wealthy widow 
 of the Due de Montpensier. Finally, however, recog- 
 nizing the difficulties of such an undertaking and the 
 danger of incurring the enmity of so numerous and 
 powerful a family as the Montmorencies, he yielded to 
 the solicitations of the Constable and the Duchesse 
 d'AngouIeme, and at the beginning of August he and 
 his wife were formally reconciled at Chantilly. 
 
A Princess pf Intrigue 33 
 
 The Regency in France belonged in theory to the 
 first Prince of the Blood. As, however, Catherine de' 
 Medici had created a precedent in the Queen-Mother's 
 favour, and as Henri IV. had as good as named her 
 Regent, Marie de' Medici had seized the office im- 
 mediately on the late King's death. But for the 
 circumstance that Cond6 was in exile at the time, it 
 is open to question whether she would have been 
 permitted to do this, and, even as matters stood, the 
 prince was a factor in the situation which could not 
 be overlooked. If he were prepared to acquiesce 
 quietly in her assumption of power, all might be well. 
 If, on the contrary, he should decide to oppose the 
 Government and, for this purpose, place himself at 
 the head of the Huguenots, to whom the name he 
 bore could not fail to endear him, or become the 
 leader of the feudal party, which, now that the strong 
 hand of Henri IV. was removed, was certain to cause 
 trouble, serious difficulties must arise. 
 
 Great, therefore, was the Regent's relief when she 
 beheld Conde apparently well disposed towards the 
 new Government, and she endeavoured to confirm 
 him in his pacific intentions by every means in her 
 power. She purchased, for 400,000 ecus, the Hotel 
 de Gondi, in the Faubourg Saint-Germain, the finest 
 residence in Paris after the Louvre, and presented it 
 to him ; she confirmed him in all his offices and 
 appointments, increased his pension to 200,000 6cus, 
 and gave him a large sum to pay his debts. But 
 Cond6 was ambitious and meddlesome ; he could not 
 
 VOL. I. 3 
 
34 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 forget that he had once been heir to the throne, and 
 he considered that ill-fortune alone had deprived him 
 of the Regency. Scarcely had he returned when he 
 entered into a conspiracy with the Guises, the Due 
 de Bouillon, and the Comte de Soissons, with the 
 avowed object of transmitting the conduct of affairs 
 to the States-General, but with the real design of 
 diminishing the Queen-Mother's authority to the 
 advantage of the great nobles of the realm : a kind 
 of burlesque parody of the " League of the Public 
 Good," which had been the last success of feudalism 
 against the royal power. 
 
 For a time, however, the cabal effected little, and 
 Conde's protest against the betrothal of the young 
 King to Anne of Austria passed unheeded. In 
 March, 1612, he quitted the Court with Soissons, but, 
 through the mediation of Concini, was induced to 
 return and to signify his approval of the Spanish 
 marriage. He and his friends now joined with the 
 Italian adventurer in a struggle against the old Ministers 
 of Henri IV., Sillery, Villeroy, and Jeannin ; but the 
 Queen supported her advisers, and in the following 
 January Cond6 once more quitted the Court, though 
 in two months' time he was back again, intriguing 
 as busily as ever. In November, Marie de' Medici 
 succeeded in detaching Concini from the coalition, by 
 creating him a Marechal de France, under the title of 
 Mardchal d'Ancre, and Conde and the princes at once 
 rose in revolt. In January, 16 14, Cond6 shook the 
 dust of Paris off his feet for the third time, and was 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 35 
 
 followed by the Dues de Bouillon, de Longueville, 
 de Mayenne, and de Nevers. He seized upon Mezieres, 
 whence he despatched to the Queen-Mother a lengthy 
 memorial, setting forth the so-called grievances of 
 himself and his party, protesting against the Spanish 
 marriage, and demanding the convocation of the States- 
 General. The Regent, instead of crushing the insurrec- 
 tion, which she could have effected very easily by the 
 display of a little resolution and energy, preferred to 
 treat ; and the result of the ensuing negotiations was 
 the peace of Sainte-Menehould, which stipulated that 
 the States-General should be convoked, and gave 
 Amboise to Cond6, as a place of surety, together with 
 a large sum of money. 
 
 Scarcely was the ink dry upon the parchment of 
 the treaty, than Monsieur le Prince, encouraged by the 
 concessions he had extorted from the weakness of the 
 Court, took up arms again and ravaged the environs 
 of Poitiers, after making an abortive attempt to capture 
 the town. The Regent now had recourse to force, 
 and she and the young King, with a considerable army, 
 marched to the Loire, took Amboise, and compelled 
 Cond6 to retire into Berry. In the autumn, the prince 
 made his submission and assisted at the deUberations 
 of the States-General, which, in accordance with the 
 recent treaty, was convened at the end of October, 
 but he took no prominent part in its proceedings. 
 For some months he appeared to be reconciled to 
 the Court, but, in point of fact, remained the head 
 of the malcontents, and, at the beginning of the 
 
36 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 following year, a trifling incident drove him into 
 active opposition once more. 
 
 A gentleman named Marsillac quitted the Prince's 
 service to enter that of the Queen. Cond6, highly- 
 incensed at this defection, ordered his chamberlain, 
 Rochefort, to take some of his lackeys, lie in wait for 
 the deserter and give him a sound thrashing, which 
 order was executed with such good will that the 
 hapless Marsillac nearly died under his chastisement. 
 Marie de' Medici took the outrage upon her servant 
 as an insult to her own dignity, vowed that Rochefort 
 should pay for it with his head, and ordered the 
 frocureur-gineral to institute proceedings against him. 
 Cond6, on hearing of this, hastened to the Louvre 
 to remonstrate with the Queen, and a violent scene 
 took place between them, in the presence of the young 
 King, who vainly endeavoured to calm his infuriated 
 relatives. 
 
 For some weeks, the prince contented himself with 
 secretly fomenting opposition to the Court ; but at the 
 end of March he left Paris once more and issued a mani- 
 festo, protesting against the Ultramontane tendencies 
 of the Government and the Spanish marriage. On 
 this occasion, Marie de' Medici acted with energy and 
 decision, and having caused Cond6 and his adherents 
 to be declared guilty of lese-majesti, marched with the 
 King boldly to Bordeaux, where the marriage of 
 Louis XIII. and Anne of Austria was celebrated on 
 November 25. 
 
 The marriage once an accomplished fact, the mal- 
 
From an engraving published by Mathonier. 
 
 HENRI II. DE BOURBON, 
 
 PRINCE DE CONDE. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 37 
 
 contents found themselves deprived of their principal 
 excuse for rebellion, and, in the following March, 
 Conde signed the Treaty of Loudon. By this treaty, 
 he exchanged his government of Guienne for that of 
 Berry, and was accorded five places of surety, including 
 Bourges and Chinon, 1,500,000 livres, and the right of 
 signing the decrees of the Council. 
 
 The management of affairs now fell almost entirely 
 into Condi's hands, and his hotel was besieged at all 
 hours by petitioners and sycophants. Naturally 
 arrogant, he carried matters with a high hand and 
 refused to listen to the advice of Richelieu, who 
 counselled him " to use moderation with the Queen." 
 Feeling Concini to be a stumbling-block in the path 
 of his ambition, he and his principal adherents, the 
 Dues de Bouillon, de Longueville, de Mayenne, and 
 de Vendome, determined on his removal, by violent 
 means, if others failed ; and on August 15, 161 6, the 
 Italian favourite, in great alarm, fled from Paris. A 
 rumour now began to spread that the princes were 
 about to make an attempt to place Conde on the 
 throne, and, on the advice of Richelieu and Sully, 
 Marie de' Medici determined to arrest him and his 
 friends. Fearing that the King's Guards might refuse 
 to lay hands on the first Prince of the Blood, she judged 
 it wisest to dispense with their services, and entrusted 
 the task to the Marquis de Themines, a Gascon soldier 
 who had served with credit in the Wars of Religion, 
 assisted by one d'Elbene, a captain of chevau-legers. 
 
 At noon on Thursday, September i, 1616 — which. 
 
38 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 by a singular coincidence, happened to be his birthday 
 — Conde presented himself at the Louvre to attend a 
 meeting of the Council, and made his way to the 
 Queen-Mother's cabinet. On entering, he found the 
 King, who inquired if he intended to hunt with him 
 that day. Conde excused himself, upon which his 
 Majesty, observing that his mother would shortly join 
 him, retired by one door, while Thymines and his 
 men entered by the other. " Monseigneur," said 
 Themines, stepping up to the astonished prince, " the 
 King having been informed that you are giving ear to 
 sundry counsels contrary to his service, and that people 
 intend to make you engage in designs ruinous to the 
 State, has charged me to secure your person, to prevent 
 you from falling into these misfortunes." " What ! " 
 cried Cond^, " do you intend to arrest me ? Are you, 
 then. Captain of the Guards ? " And he laid his hand 
 on his sword. "No," rejoined Themines, seizing his 
 arm, " but I am a gentleman and obliged to obey the 
 commands of the King, your master and mine." 
 
 His followers immediately surrounded the prince 
 and led him into an adjoining room, where he found 
 d'Elbfene and another party of soldiers, each of whom 
 held a pistol in his hand. Never remarkable for 
 personal courage, although, when a lad, he had once 
 been provoked into challenging the Due de Nevers to 
 a duel, Condd believed that his last hour had come. 
 " Alas ! " cried he, " I am a dead man ! Send for a 
 priest. Give me at least time to think of my con- 
 science." His captors assured him that his life was 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 39 
 
 in no danger, and conducted him to an upper apart- 
 ment of the palace. He seemed quite overwhelmed 
 by his misfortune, and they had great difficulty in 
 persuading him to take a little food, since for some 
 time he obstinately refused to touch " the King's 
 victuals." 
 
 The moment the arrest of Conde had been effected, 
 detachments of the King's Guards were despatched to 
 apprehend Bouillon, Mayenne, and Vendome ; but all 
 three had prudently taken to flight. Much to the 
 relief of the Regent, the bulk of the populace remained 
 almost unmoved, though the Dowager Princesse de 
 Conde drove about the city, crying : " To arms, good 
 people 1 The Marechal d'Ancre has assassinated 
 Monsieur le Prince ! " She succeeded in raising a 
 small mob, which, probably in the hope of plunder 
 rather than with the idea of revenge, sacked Concini's 
 house in the Faubourg Saint-Germain, but by the 
 morrow order had been restored. 
 
 Cond6 remained a close prisoner in the Louvre. 
 None of his Household were permitted to have 
 access to him, with the exception of his apothecary, 
 " whose attentions were necessary after two months 
 of a somewhat dissolute life." In the night of 
 September 24-25, he was awakened by the tramp 
 of horses and the clash of arms in the courtyard of 
 the palace, and an officer entered his room and re- 
 quested him to dress and accompany him. He obeyed 
 and descended to the courtyard, where he found 
 Bassompierre and a troop of cavalry awaiting him. 
 
4° A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 An hour later, the gates of the Bastille had closed 
 upon the first Prince of the Blood. 
 
 Ever since their formal reconciliation six years before, 
 the relations between Conde and his wife had been 
 very cool ; indeed it would appear that the tie which 
 bound them had become merely a nominal one. Never- 
 theless, on learning of the arrest of her husband, 
 the princess, who was at Valery, showed real mag- 
 nanimity. Without a moment's delay, she set out for 
 Paris, sent the prince messages assuring him of her 
 sympathy and devotion, and begged the Regent to 
 allow her to share his captivity. Her request, how- 
 ever, was refused, and she received orders to leave 
 Paris at once and return to Valery. As for Condd, 
 he was treated as a State criminal, and, though his 
 personal attendants were at first restored to him, this 
 favour was subsequently withdrawn, and he was sub- 
 jected to a most rigorous confinement in a gloomy 
 chamber, the windows of which were so closely grated 
 that scarcely a ray of light was permitted to enter. 
 
 After the assassination of Concini and the departure 
 of the Queen-Mother for Blois, the princes who had 
 taken up arms against the marshal returned to Court 
 and were restored to favour ; but Cond6 remained 
 in the Bastille. However, Louis XIII. 's new favourite, 
 the Due de Luynes, sent his uncle, the Comte de 
 Modene,^ to visit the prince and report upon his 
 
 ' Raimond de Mormoiran. He was the father of Esprit de 
 Mormoiran, Comte de Modfene, who accompanied the Due de Guise 
 on his expedition to Naples, of which he became the historian. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 41 
 
 state of health. Conde begged him to convey to the 
 King his hope that, if reasons of State required that 
 he should remain a prisoner, his Majesty would at 
 least consent to ameliorate his captivity and particularly 
 to permit his wife to join him. Madame la Princesse, it 
 should be mentioned, had recently obtained permission 
 to leave Valery and had taken up her residence at 
 Saint-Maur. 
 
 The immediate result of this interview was to procure 
 the captive a little more air and light ; but the un- 
 fortunate man's health had been so much affected by 
 the rigour of his confinement that, when the windows of 
 his room were opened, he fainted away. Some days 
 later, the favour which he had so earnestly solicited 
 was also granted. We read in a journal of the time : 
 
 " 26 May, 1617. — The Princesse de Conde went 
 to salute the King and to entreat him to permit her 
 to share her husband's captivity. The King accorded 
 her permission and to take with her one demoiselle. 
 Upon which, her little dwarf, having begged him 
 to consent to his not abandoning his mistress, his 
 Majesty permitted him also to accompany her. The 
 same afternoon, Madame la Princesse entered the 
 Bastille, where she was received by Monsieur le Prince 
 with every demonstration of affection, nor did he leave 
 her in repose until she had said that she forgave him." ^ 
 
 > Journal historigue et anecdote de la Cour et de Paris, Manuscripts 
 of Conrart, cited by Victor Cousin, la Jeunesse de Madame de 
 Longueville. The chronicler speaks frequently of the Prince's ill- 
 treatment of his wife, for which he appears to think there was no 
 justification. 
 
42 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 The prince and princess remained in the Bastille 
 until September 15, when they were transferred to 
 the Chateau of Vincennes. The reason for this step 
 seems to have been the discovery of a plot for Conde's 
 liberation, and a movement of the Due de Bouillon 
 in his favour, which still further increased the appre- 
 hensions of the Government. As the months went by, 
 Conde began to fear that his captivity was likely 
 to be prolonged indefinitely, and, in his despair, is 
 said to have consented to a proposal made to him 
 by Luynes, to the effect that he should purchase his 
 liberation by bestowing the hand of his sister, the 
 widowed Princess of Orange, on the favourite's brother 
 Cadenet (afterwards Due and Marechal de Chaulnes), 
 the Commandant of Vincennes. But, however that 
 may be, the death of the Princess of Orange, which 
 occurred on January 20, 16 19, put an end to the 
 scheme. 
 
 Cond6 was allowed a good deal more liberty 
 at Vincennes than had been permitted him in the 
 Bastille, and took exercise daily " on the top of 
 a thick wall, which was in the form of a gallery." 
 In the last days of December, Madame la P rimes se 
 gave birth to a still-born son, " and was more than 
 forty-eight hours without movement or feeling. 
 Never was a person in greater extremity without 
 dying. The prince desired that the child should 
 receive ecclesiastical burial ; but the Archbishop of 
 Paris assembled the theologians, who decided that, 
 since it had not received baptism, it had not entered 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 43 
 
 the Church, and that no funeral ceremony was 
 permissible." ^ 
 
 111 fortune seemed to pursue both husband and 
 wife. On September 5, 16 18, the princess gave birth 
 to twin sons, neither of whom survived, and in the 
 following March Conde fell dangerously ill, and for 
 some days his life was despaired of. The physicians 
 who attended him attributed his illness to the state 
 of profound melancholy into which his prolonged 
 captivity and the death of his children had thrown 
 him, and when this was known, the prince became 
 the object of universal sympathy, and Louis XIII. 
 was strongly urged to consent to his release. His 
 Majesty promised to give the matter his most earnest 
 consideration, and, in the meanwhile, permitted the 
 Dowager Princesse de Conde and other relatives to 
 visit the prisoner, and returned him his sword, ac- 
 companied by a letter, in which he expressed his regret 
 at his illness and promised to set him at liberty 
 " so soon as he had placed his (Conde's) affairs in 
 order." 
 
 These affairs must have been of a somewhat com- 
 plicated nature, for several months passed and Cond^ 
 stiU remained at Vincennes, though granted every 
 indulgence consistent with a due regard to his security. 
 However, at the end of August, another domestic 
 event, which happily had a different termination from 
 the others, came to relieve the monotony of his captivity. 
 We read in the Journal already cited : 
 
 ' Journal historique et anecdote de la Cour et de Paris. 
 
44 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 "August 28, 1619. — Between midnight and one 
 o'clock, Madame la Princesse gave birth to a daughter 
 in the Bois de Vincennes." ^ 
 
 This little girl was Anne Genevieve de Bourbon, 
 the future Duchesse de Longueville. 
 
 The birth of Anne Genevieve was the turning-point 
 of her parents' fortunes. On October 1 7, a meeting 
 of the Council was held at the Louvre, at which it 
 was decided to set Conde at liberty forthwith, and the 
 same day, the Sieur de Brantes, one of Luynes's 
 brothers, was despatched to Vincennes to bear 
 the welcome news to the captive. On the 20th, 
 the favourite himself, who had paid a visit 
 of congratulation to Cond6 the previous day, 
 arrived, accompanied by the Comte de Modfene 
 and a brilliant suite, and handed to the prince an 
 autograph letter from Louis XIIL, inviting his cousin 
 and his wife to join him that afternoon at Chantilly, 
 which had been placed at his disposal by the 
 Montmorencies.^ 
 
 After returning thanks to God for their liberation, 
 in the beautiful church which may still be seen at 
 
 ' The Chateau de Vincennes is frequently spoken of by contemporary 
 writers as the Bois de Vincennes. 
 
 2 The Chateau of Chantilly, though many years were yet to pass 
 before it reached the height of its fame, was already one of the finest 
 country residences in France, the magnificent gardens being particularly 
 admired. Louis XIIL, like his father, an enthusiastic sportsman, 
 attracted by the splendid hunting which the neighbouring forest afforded, 
 had conceived a great affection for the chateau and frequently visited 
 it ; indeed, since the death of the old Constable, in 1614, Chantilly 
 seemed to belong to the Crown rather than to the Montmorencies. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 45 
 
 Vincennes,^ the prince and princess entered Luynes's 
 coach and set out for Chantilly, which was reached at 
 three o'clock in the afternoon. They were received 
 by the Grand Chamberlain, the Due de Mayenne, who 
 ushered them into the presence of his Majesty, where 
 Conde " is said to have fallen on his knees, and made 
 the most lively protestations of fidelity and gratitude 
 for the obligation under which he had placed him." ^ 
 
 From Chantilly, Conde and his wife followed the 
 Court to Compifegne to be presented to Anne of Aus- 
 tria. Then, after making a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame 
 de Liesse, they returned to Paris, where, on November 
 26, the Parliament solemnly registered the " declara- 
 tion of innocence of Monsieur le Prince" who was 
 restored to all his honours and offices. In the preamble 
 of this document, Louis XIII. strove to throw the 
 responsibility for his cousin's long detention upon 
 Marie de' Medici and her adherents, although the real 
 cause seems to have been the fears of Luynes lest 
 Cond6 should attempt to dispute his ascendency over 
 the feeble King. " Being informed," said his Majesty, 
 " of the reason by which his detention has been excused, 
 I have found that there was no cause, save the machina- 
 
 ' " In this moment of exultation," observes the Due d'Aumale, 
 "little did Cond6 imagine that one day the last of his descendants 
 would ask in vain to kneel before this very altar, to offer to God his 
 final prayer, and that from the room in which the officers of the 
 Regiment de Normandie, gathered around a sumptuous banquet, were 
 enthusiastically drinking the health of the King, one could see the 
 corner of the ditch where the Due d'Enghien would be shot ! "—Histoire 
 des Princes de Conde. 
 
 » Journal historique et anecdote de la Cour et de Paris. 
 
46 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 tions and evil designs of his enemies, who desired to 
 join the ruin of my State to that of my cousin." 
 
 His three years' captivity, which cannot be said to 
 have been altogether undeserved, had worked a great 
 change in the character of Cond6. Like so many 
 others, he had learned wisdom from adversity. Until 
 then he had struggled against the royal authority with 
 almost as much zeal as his father and grandfather, 
 though, since the death of Henri IV., without their 
 justification. But the lesson he had received had been 
 a severe one, and henceforth the King had no more 
 loyal servant, his Ministers no stauncher supporter, than 
 the first Prince of the Blood. On the death of Richelieu 
 and of Louis XIII., he became chief of the Council, 
 supported the Regency of Anne of Austria, and co- 
 operated with Gaston d'Orl6ans, Lieutenant-General 
 of the Kingdom, in saving France from the first perils 
 of the long minority of Louis XIV. His enemies have 
 accused him, and with only too much reason, of servility 
 towards those in power and of an excessive regard for 
 his own interests, particularly where money was con- 
 cerned ; but, on the whole, the line of conduct he 
 pursued seems to have been patriotic as well as prudent. 
 
 Two years after the prince's release from Vincennes, 
 on September 2, 162 1, his wife bore him a son, 
 Louis, Due d'Enghien, who was to confer so much lustre 
 on the name of Conde ; and in 1629 a second son was 
 born to them, Armand, Prince de Conti. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Education of the Due d'Enghien — Education of Mile, de Bourbon — i 
 Religious revival in France in the early part of the seventeenth 
 century — ^The Carmelite nuns — Their convent of the Rue Saint- 
 Jacques in Paris — Its prioresses — Visits of the Princesse de Cond6 
 and her daughter to the convent — Early religious impressions of 
 Mile, de Bourbon— Her gift to the Carmelites — She resolves to 
 take the veil — Rebellion and execution of her uncle, the Due de 
 Montmorency — Disposal of his estates — The Prince and Princesse 
 de Cond6 refuse to grant their daughter's wish, and compel her 
 to go more frequently into society — Mile, de Bourbon persists in 
 her resolution — She is forced to attend a State ball at the Louvre 
 — Sensation aroused by her beauty — Her success on this occasion 
 causes her to alter her views of life, and to abandon her intention 
 of entering the Carmelites. 
 
 VOLTAIRE has observed that the sole claim of 
 the third Prince de Conde to remembrance, is 
 that he begat one of France's most famous generals. 
 To be just, he should have added that the claim is a 
 twofold one, inasmuch as not only was he the father 
 of the Great Cond6, but gave him one of the most 
 thorough military educations that prince ever; received, 
 and but for which, though his fiery valour would 
 doubtless have gained him some distinction in the 
 field, it is scarcely probable that he would ever have 
 earned the title of " le Grand." 
 
 As a child, the future hero of Rocroi and Nord- 
 lingen was fragile and sicidy, which furnished Monsieur 
 
 47 
 
48 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 le Prince with an excellent excuse for removing him 
 from Paris and his mother's influence to the Chateau 
 of Montrond, near the town of Saint-Amand, in his 
 government of Berry, where he placed him under the 
 care of some intelHgent women of the middle class, 
 who could be trusted to carry out his instructions 
 with unquestioning obedience. 
 
 In the pure country air the boy's health steadily 
 improved, while his intelligence was quickly perceived 
 to be far in advance of his years. No sooner did he 
 begin to speak than he displayed a remarkable strength 
 of will, and his nurses found it no easy task to persuade 
 him to rise, go to bed, or take his meals at the hours 
 which they considered best for him. 
 
 On May 2, 1626, the little prince, who assumed 
 from that day the title of Due d'Enghien,-' was taken 
 to Bourges to be baptized ; but, save on this occasion, 
 he was never permitted to leave Montrond, where 
 he led a healthy outdoor life, the lessons he received 
 being frequently imparted under the guise of games, 
 so as to tax his mind as little as possible, while leaving 
 the most pleasant impression. He made astonishing 
 progress, particularly in Latin, and quickly began to 
 evince the keenest interest in military matters, the 
 result of conversations with a distinguished engineer 
 named Sarrasin, who was then engaged in repairing 
 the defences of Montrond, and who superintended the 
 boy's amusements. " When, towards the end of the 
 
 ' Enghien is the modern spelling ; in the seventeenth century it was 
 written Anguien. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 49 
 
 year 1629," says the Due d'Aumale, "the Prince de 
 Conde, returning from Languedoc, stopped at his 
 Berry fortress, his suite beheld with some surprise a 
 young captain of seven, who ranged in order of battle, 
 in the trenches of the chateau, the children of the 
 neighbouring town of Saint-Amand, evoked the heroes 
 of ancient Rome and harangued them in Latin." ^ 
 
 At the close of the following year, Conde removed 
 his son from Montrond to Bourges, to continue his 
 studies at the Jesuit College of Sainte-Marie, one of 
 the most celebrated of the schools which the Fathers 
 had established in France. The college, situated in 
 what is now the Rue Mirabeau, near the Church of 
 Notre-Dame-de-la-Comtat, had been founded, in 1504, 
 by the pious and unfortunate Jeanne de France, 
 Duchesse de Berry, the divorced wife of Louis XII., 
 but since 1572 had been occupied by the Jesuits. 
 The young prince lived in a neighbouring street, in 
 an old hotel erected by Jacques Cceur, the celebrated 
 financier of the times of Charles VII., on the ruins of 
 a Roman villa. This house, a magnificent relic of 
 feudal architecture, remains to this day. On a stone 
 balustrade, carved in open work, may still be read 
 the motto of Cceur, in large letters : 
 
 " A CCEUR VAILLANT RIEN IMPOSSIBLE." 
 
 " It is pleasing to think," observes one of the prince's 
 biographers, " how often the eyes of the young hero 
 
 ' Histoire des Princes de Conde. 
 VOL. I. 4 
 
5° A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 must have rested upon those words, which only a 
 few years later he confirmed by his actions." ^ 
 
 Wishing to avoid the complications which might 
 arise from" the presence near his son of a man of 
 quality, Conde selected as his gouvemeur a simple 
 gentleman of Dauphine, La BufFetiere by name, " a 
 good man, faithful and well-intentioned, who knew 
 how to follow to the letter Monsieur le Princess instruc- 
 tions for the conduct of his son." ^ Associated with 
 him, as tutor to the young prince, was a learned Jesuit, 
 Pfere Pelletier, who fulfilled his important duties in 
 a manner deserving of the highest praise, though, 
 whether out of jealousy of La BuiFetiere or considera- 
 tion for his pupil, he seems to have been continually 
 protesting against the gouvemeur' s severity. However, 
 Conde, when appealed to, invariably upheld the 
 authority of La BufFetifere, who died, in 1639, without 
 having quitted the Due d'Enghien's service. A doctor 
 named Montreuil, who also remained for many years 
 with the duke and followed him in his campaigns, 
 watched over his health, which was still such as to 
 occasion his father some anxiety. 
 
 For six years, with the exception of Sundays and 
 Saints' Days and the annual vacation, the Due 
 d'Enghien went every day to the Jesuit College in 
 the Rue Sainte-Marie. The only distinction which 
 was made between him and the other pupils was a 
 little gilded balustrade which encircled his chair, and, 
 
 ' Earl Stanhope, " Life of Louis, Prince of Conde, surnamed the 
 Great." * Lenet, Memoir es. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 51 
 
 by Monsieur le 'Prince's orders, his schoolfellows were 
 strictly forbidden to give way to him either in class 
 or at play. Conde himself, who, as Governor of Berry, 
 resided part of each year at Bourges, watched over and 
 directed the education of his son, examined his com- 
 positions and the notes which he took at lectiires, 
 and made him dance and play tennis before him. 
 When absent at the Court or with the army, he corre- 
 sponded regularly with the boy, and, the better to 
 judge of his progress, he directed him, after he was 
 eight years old, always to write to him in Latin. 
 Gouverneur, tutor, and doctor were kept busy replying 
 to the letters full of questions, instructions, and recom- 
 mendations with which the anxious father bombarded 
 them ; while the rector of the Jesuit college was 
 perpetually being enjoined " to pay attention to the 
 studies and conduct of my son." 
 
 The instructions which the prince sent show 
 him to have been particularly jealous of any inter- 
 ference on the part of Madame la Princesse. " If 
 my wife comes to Bourges," he writes on one 
 occasion, "she must be informed of the hours that 
 I have appointed for his studies ; her visits must 
 be paid at other times." ^ 
 
 The progress made by the Due d'Enghien delighted 
 his instructors, and must have satisfied even Monsieur 
 le Prince. At twelve years of age, when he finished 
 his course of rhetoric, such was his proficiency in Latin 
 that he wrote and spoke it, we are told, as though it were 
 
 ' Letter of August 5, 1631, cited by the Due d'Aumale. 
 
52 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 his mother tongue. The next two years were devoted 
 to the study of philosophy and the sciences, which 
 latter term included logic, ethics, metaphysics, mathe- 
 matics, and physics ; and at the end of each course 
 the young duke sustained publicly some disputations, 
 which his proud father subsequently caused to be printed 
 and distributed among the Ministers, the principal 
 magistrates in Paris and in the provinces, and even at 
 Rome. Like a good courtier, he made his son dedicate 
 his first thesis to Richelieu and his second to the King. 
 Among his various studies, the one which seems to 
 have particularly interested the young duke was that 
 of history. " We are making progress in history, 
 which is a very important affair and in which he takes 
 pleasure," writes Pfere Pelletier to Cond6. " It is a 
 fine school, in which men are made." At the end of 
 each lesson, it was the Jesuit's custom to encourage his 
 pupil to discuss and criticize the action of the generals 
 or statesmen about whom he had just been reading. 
 " It is extraordinary," he writes, " how judicious his 
 opinions are." ^ 
 
 Although the boy had already received an education 
 far in advance of that which was then considered 
 sufficient for the son of a grand seigneur, the Prince de 
 Cond6 was not yet content, and accordingly arranged 
 that he should go through a course of law under the 
 direction of Merille, Professor of Jurisprudence in the 
 University of Bourges. 
 
 ' Letters of December 9, 1635, and January 7, 1636, published by 
 P^re Cherot, S.J., Trots £,ducations princieres au XVII' siecle. 
 

 From an engraving published by Moncornet. 
 
 LOUIS DE BOURBON, DUC d'eNGHIEN (AFTERWARDS 
 PRINCE DE CONDE). 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 53 
 
 The vacations were passed at Montrond, to which the 
 young prince was permitted to invite some of his school- 
 fellows. But his tutor and certain masters came also, 
 and his studies were by no means suspended, though 
 physical training — lessons in dancing, fencing, and 
 riding — received the larger share of attention. When 
 proficient in the last-named exercise, he was allowed 
 to hunt, a sport which he followed with so much 
 enthusiasm as to cause serious dissension among his 
 instructors. La BufFetifere desired that he should 
 moderate his ardour, keep a smaller pack of hounds, 
 and hunt less frequendy ; while Pere Pelletier took 
 the part of his pupil, and was supported by the 
 prince's doctor, Montreuil, and the law professor, 
 Merille. " M. de Montreuil and M. Merille," 
 writes the Jesuit to Cond^, " are also indignant at 
 the severity of M. de la BufFetiere towards this little 
 prince, so obedient and so diligent. This gentleman 
 has gone so far as to tell M. le Due that, if he 
 remained with him, it was in order to expiate his 
 sins." Cond6, as usual, upheld the gouverneur's 
 authority, and the young duke, making a virtue of 
 necessity, wrote to his father, of whom he always 
 stood in considerable awe : " I have kept, it is true, 
 more hounds than my hunting necessitated ; you will 
 pardon this fault, out of consideration for my first 
 ardour for this amusement. But, so soon as I received 
 your letter, I got rid of all my hounds, with the 
 exception of the nine you gave me permission to keep. 
 Thus everything which you dislike becomes odious to 
 
54 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 me, and nothing is so near my heart as to obey your 
 wishes." ^ 
 
 At the end of the year 1635, Conde judged that the 
 time had come for his son to lay aside the scholar's 
 gown, and accordingly the Due d'Enghien bade fare- 
 well to the Jesuits of Bourges and set out for Paris, 
 where, in January, 1636, he made his first bow to 
 Louis XIII. Immediately after his presentation to the 
 King the young duke proceeded to Saint-Maur, to 
 visit his mother, whom he had seen but seldom since he 
 was a child. In the middle of February, he set out 
 for Dijon to join his father, who had lately added the 
 government of Burgundy to that of Berry, and remained 
 there until the beginning of the following year. He 
 then returned to Paris and entered the famous 
 " Academic royale pour la jeune noblesse," established 
 some years previously by a retired officer of the army 
 named Benjamin, and recently transformed into a kind 
 of military school under the protection of Louis XIII. 
 and Richelieu. Here he was taught everything which 
 concerned the profession of arms : geography, mathe- 
 matics, fortification, drawing, fencing, horsemanship 
 and other military exercises, being treated, by his 
 father's wishes, in every respect as the other young 
 noblemen, several of whom became his close friends, 
 and in after years shared his labours and his fame. 
 
 After twelve months of earnest work, varied by 
 short visits to Saint-Maur and a few appearances at the 
 
 ' The Due d'Aumale, Histoire des Princes de Conde. PSre Cherot, 
 S.J., Trois J^ducations princieres. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 55 
 
 Court and in society, the duke quitted Benjamin's 
 academy, and in the spring of 1638, the Prince de 
 Cond6, having been called to the command of the 
 army in Guienne, Louis XIII. entrusted him with 
 the government of Burgundy during his father's 
 absence. 
 
 It was a very striking-looking, as well as a very 
 learned, young man who, one fine April morning, took 
 his seat in the Parlement of Dijon, " with every honour 
 and testimony of affection possible. ' " His eyes," 
 writes a contemporary, "were blue and full of vivacity, 
 his nose was aquiline, his mouth very disagreeable from 
 being very large, and his teeth too prominent. But 
 in his countenance generally there was something great 
 and haughty, somewhat resembling an eagle. He was 
 not very tall, but his figure was admirably well 
 proportioned. He danced well, had a pleasant 
 expression, a noble air, and a very fine head." ^ 
 
 Unhappily for the Due d'Enghien and for France, 
 his father and his teachers, while sparing no pains to 
 develop his talents and to strengthen his body, had not 
 succeeded in correcting certain grave defects of character, 
 which, as he grew older, were to become more pronounced 
 and to end by tarnishing his fame. The lad was fear- 
 lessly brave, open-handed, quick-witted, and full of 
 energy and determination. But he was haughty and 
 over-bearing, thoroughly selfish, and supremely in- 
 different to the sufferings or susceptibilities of others, 
 when he had ends of his own to serve. 
 
 ' Madame de Motteville, Memoir es. 
 
56 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Such was the education of the brother. That of the 
 sister was, of course, conducted on very different lines. 
 Of the purely intellectual part of it we, unfortunately, 
 know little or nothing. Her eulogistic eighteenth- 
 century biographer, Bourgoing de Villefore, assures us 
 that it was " entrusted to very capable persons, who 
 recognized from her earliest infancy that there was 
 litde for them to do, since they confined themselves to 
 directing the dispositions of Nature, which had spared 
 them much trouble with their pupil." ^ 
 
 It would perhaps have been as well had these 
 capable persons been a trifle less complacent, for 
 though iVIIle. de Bourbon had certainly gifts of a very 
 high order, and early imbibed literary tastes, which, 
 combined with her beauty and the charm of her con- 
 versation, were to give her so enviable a position in the 
 intellectual society of her time, to judge by her letters, 
 the groundwork of her education must have been very 
 superficial. Not only is her orthography rather 
 curious — a fault, however, which she shares with nearly 
 all the great ladies of her age, and even with some of 
 the lesser lights of contemporary literature — but her 
 grammar is often incorrect, and her style diffuse. 
 
 On the other hand, her moral training seems to have 
 been as thorough as the most ardent of devots could 
 have desired. Nor is there anything very singular in 
 this, since the first half of the seventeenth century was 
 a period of remarkable religious activity, when the 
 
 • Lm. Veritable Vie d' Anne-Genevieve de Bourbon, Duchesse de 
 Longueville (Amsterdam, 1738). 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 57 
 
 most extravagant devotion might be seen existing side 
 by side with an extreme laxity of morals. " It was 
 the time," observes Victor Cousin, " when the religious 
 spirit, after having overflowed in the civil wars and 
 given birth to the great crimes and great virtues of the 
 League, purified, but not enfeebled, by the Edict 
 of Nantes and the policy of Henri IV., derived from 
 peace new strength. It was covering France no longer 
 with parties armed against each other, but with pious 
 institutions, to which weary souls hastened, to seek 
 an asylum. On all sides the old Orders were rejuve- 
 nated and new ones founded. Richelieu had courage- 
 ously undertaken the reform of the clergy, and had 
 created seminaries, and over them, as their model 
 and their tribunal, had raised the Sorbonne. B6rulle 
 instituted the Oratory ; Cesar de Bus the Christian 
 Doctrine. The Jesuits, founded in the middle of the 
 sixteenth century, and who had so quickly spread over 
 France, for a moment discredited and even banished 
 for their participation in culpable excesses, were 
 gradually restored to favour, under the protection 
 of the immense services which their skill and heroism 
 rendered every day, beyond the ocean, to Christianity 
 and civilisation. The Order of St. Benedict was tem- 
 pered by a salutary reform, and the Benedictines of 
 Saint-Maur commenced their gigantic labours." ^ 
 
 But nowhere was this activity more marked than in 
 the institutions destined for the reception of devout 
 women, which the religious fervour of the time 
 
 ' La Jeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 
58 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 caused to spring up throughout the length and breadth 
 of France. Apart from Port-Royal, the two most 
 celebrated are the Soeurs de la Charit6, founded about 
 1640, and the Reformed Carmelites, who were intro- 
 duced into France in the early years of the seventeenth 
 century. As Mile, de Bourbon was so intimately 
 connected with the latter Order, both in her girlhood 
 and in her later years, some account of the Carmelite 
 nuns, and particularly of their principal convent in Paris, 
 will not be without interest. 
 
 The institution of the Carmelite nuns is due to 
 Jean Soreth, who was named General of the Carmelites 
 in 145 1, and, in the following year, founded a house 
 at Vannes for the nuns of his Order. He obtained 
 from Pope Nicholas V. the privileges enjoyed by the 
 Augustines, Dominicans and Franciscans, and the 
 Carmelite convents multiplied very rapidly, though 
 they appear to have been conducted in anything but 
 a satisfactory manner. St. Teresa, who had retired 
 into one of these houses, did not hesitate to condemn 
 them in the most unsparing terms. " If," said she, 
 " parents are willing to be guided by my counsel, I 
 should tell them to keep their daughters at home, and 
 to marry them less advantageously than they desire 
 rather than to place them in monasteries, where they run 
 greater risk of being ruined than in the world." Struck 
 by the abuses she saw around her, St. Teresa con- 
 ceived the project of founding a monastery, where the 
 primitive rules of the Order of Mount Carmel should 
 be observed in all their rigour, and, after several attempts. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 59 
 
 succeeded, in 1562, in establishing one at Avila, of which 
 she subsequently obtained permission to undertake the 
 direction. At her death, in 1582, she left sixteen other 
 convents conducted according to her ideas of reform, 
 which had been approved by the Holy See in 1565. 
 These ideas, as may be presumed from the austere 
 character of the saint, were extremely rigorous : com- 
 plete abstinence from meat, except when on a journey 
 or in case of illness, prolonged fasts, frequent flagella- 
 tions, and the very simplest attire. 
 
 In October, 1604, six of these Reformed Carmelites 
 were brought from Spain to Paris, and installed in a 
 convent in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques, near the Val- 
 de-Grace, which had been constructed for their Order 
 by Catherine d'Orleans, daughter of L6onor d'Orldans, 
 Due de Longueville. This princess had obtained for 
 the new foundation letters-patent from Henri IV. and 
 a Bull from the Pope, who, by a second Bull, sub- 
 sequently freed the nuns from the spiritual and 
 temporal jurisdiction of the bishop and placed them 
 under the immediate protection of the Holy See. 
 Some years later, however, he subjected the convent of 
 the Carmelites of Paris and all others constructed or to 
 be constructed to " the care, visitation, correction, and 
 superiority " of Pere de BeruUe, afterwards cardinal, 
 the founder of the Oratorians and the protector of 
 Descartes. B6rulle had been largely responsible for the 
 introduction of the Reformed Carmelites into France, 
 and had laboured with unremitting zeal to develop 
 their institution. But the Carmelite monks, taking 
 
6o A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 offence at a nomination which excluded them from the 
 direction of the nuns bearing their name, maintained 
 that even the Pope himself had not the power to confer 
 the government of nuns on any save the monks of the 
 same Order, attacked the orthodoxy and even the 
 moral character of BeruUe, and for thirteen years 
 "pursued him with calumnies and injurious and 
 defamatory libels, industriously propagated even so 
 far as foreign countries." ^ 
 
 The growth of the Carmelites in France was very 
 rapid. By the end of the year 1617, their convents 
 numbered nearly a score, including a second house 
 in Paris, in the Rue Chapon, and from that time up to 
 1636 scarcely a year passed without the establishment 
 of one or more new communities. Henceforth their 
 progress was much less rapid, though in 1664 a third 
 community was founded in the Rue de Bouloy, trans- 
 ferred in 1682 to the Rue Crenelle Saint-Germain. 
 
 The first great prioress ^ of the Carmelites of the 
 Rue Saint-Jacques was Mile, de Fontaines, in religion 
 Mhre Madeleine de Saint-Joseph. She came of an 
 old Touraine family. Her father had been French 
 Ambassador at Brussels, while her mother was a sister of 
 the Chancellor, Brulart de Sillery. She entered the 
 community at the instance of Cardinal de BeruUe, 
 though she experienced such grief at parting from her 
 relatives, to whom she was tenderly attached, that she 
 
 1 CEuvres de BeruUe. 
 
 ' The prioress and sub-prioress held their offices for three years 
 and might be re-elected. The nun who became prioress was called 
 " Mother," and retained this title after her term of office expired. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 6i 
 
 subsequently declared that the coach which carried her 
 to the Carmelites seemed to her like the cart which 
 conveys criminals to execution. Marie Madeleine 
 was only thirty when she became prioress, and she 
 held office for six years. She was a very saintly 
 woman, and possessed of rare sympathy and tact, and 
 her successor in the office declared that under her 
 rule " the monastery resembled a paradise." " This 
 servant of God," she continues, "lived among us a 
 torch which might light us, as a fire which might 
 warm us, and as a living precept from whose example 
 we might learn how to become saints." 
 
 The writer was herself a woman of good birth and 
 position, being the daughter of Nicolas de Harlay, 
 Sieur de Sancy, who was Surintendant des Finances and 
 Colonel of the Swiss, under Henri IV., besides ful- 
 filling several diplomatic missions. She married the 
 Marquis de Breaute and was left a widow at the age 
 of twenty-one. Beautiful and accomplished, she was 
 one of the ornaments of the Court, and nothing was 
 further from her thoughts than the cloister. A terrible 
 tragedy changed the whole course of her life. One 
 evening, while dancing at a ball at Spa, the festivities 
 were interrupted by a violent thunderstorm. Terri- 
 fied, she wished to quit the ball-room, but her partner, 
 laughing at her fears, persuaded her to remain. An 
 instant later, there came a blinding flash of lightning, 
 and the unhappy man fell dead at her feet. This 
 catastrophe, aided by a study of the writings of St. 
 Teresa, so affected her that she resolved to quit the 
 
62 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 world and enter the Carmelites, where she made her 
 profession, under the name of Soeur Marie de J6sus, 
 in 1605, the same year as Mile, de Fontaines. She 
 was elected prioress in 16 15, and held that office for 
 nine years. Mere Marie de Jesus preserved in the 
 cloister the sweetness of disposition which, combined 
 with her beauty, had enabled her, while In the world, 
 to subjugate all hearts, and was as much beloved 
 by her colleagues as she had been at the Court. Anne 
 of Austria held her in the highest esteem, and came 
 frequently to visit her, accompanied by Louis XIV. and 
 his younger brother. 
 
 Another interesting figure among the early prioresses 
 of the convent in the Rue Saint-Jacques was Mile. 
 Lancri de Bains, who made profession in 1620, under 
 the name of Marie Madeleine de Jesus. A member 
 of an old but impoverished Picard family, she had 
 been educated at one of the Ursuline convents, but, 
 when only thirteen, was withdrawn and sent to Court 
 by her parents, " who hoped that her beauty and 
 modesty would procure her an establishment, without 
 reflecting on the perils to which they exposed her 
 in abandoning her to herself in a place so full of 
 perils." ^ Her unusual loveliness and the sweetness 
 of her character attracted the attention of Marie de' 
 Medici, who appointed her one of her maids-of-honour, 
 and great noblemen such as the Due de Bellegarde 
 and the Mar6chal de Saint-Luc contended for her 
 hand. But " it seemed that the Creator had taken 
 
 1 Manuscript history of the Carmelites, cited by Victor Cousin. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 63 
 
 pleasure in preparing in this masterpiece of Nature 
 the triumph of grace ; " ^ the seed sown by the 
 Ursulines bore fruit, and, in spite of the entreaties 
 of her mother and the expostulations of her friends 
 and admirers, she entered the Carmelites. Madame 
 de Bains pursued her daughter to the convent, and, 
 bathed in tears, threw herself at her feet to implore 
 her to return. But, though deeply touched by her 
 mother's grief, the girl's decision was irrevocable, and 
 she insisted on taking the veil. During her probation, 
 the convent was besieged by nobles and gentlemen of 
 the Court, who came to offer their hands to the 
 beautiful novice. The latter would fain have refused 
 to see them ; but the prioress, in order to put her 
 religious fervour to the test, compelled her to receive 
 each suitor as he presented himself. ^ 
 
 ' Manuscript history of the Carmelites, cited by Victor Cousin. 
 
 ' Her beauty, to judge by an anecdote related by the historian of the 
 Carmelites whom Victor Cousin cites, must have been of a quite 
 extraordinary character. In her desire to be forgotten and to remove 
 from the eyes of her friends everything that might recall her to their 
 minds, her first care, after making her profession, was to recover, 
 under various pretexts, her portraits from their hands, in order to 
 burn them. One of these portraits having been sent to the Prioress 
 of the Carmelites, the latter showed it to the assembled nuns, without 
 telling them the name of the original. "On beholding it, all the 
 nuns, who did not at first recognise it, felt themselves moved and 
 demanded of God not to permit this masterpiece of Nature to remain 
 in the world, but to bestow it upon Carmel. One of their number, 
 Soeur Marie de Sainte-Th6rdse, daughter of Madame Acarie, offered 
 herself to God to suffer all that might please Him, in return for this 
 favour. Then M6re Madeleine de Saint-Joseph, smiling and tapping 
 her on the shoulder, told her that the goodness of God had anticipated 
 her wishes, that the person for whose safety she trembled was already 
 in the Order, and that it was only necessary to pray for her 
 perseverance." 
 
64 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Soeur Marie Madeleine, by which name she was 
 henceforth known, was elected prioress in 1635, 
 and several times re-elected. During the wars of 
 the Fronde, she found herself in a very difficult 
 position, since the two chief protectresses of the 
 Carmelites, Anne of Austria and the Princesse de 
 Conde, were on opposite sides. Moreover, the 
 exposed position of the convent necessitated her 
 quitting it for some time, and sending part of the 
 community to Pontoise, and the rest to the con- 
 vent in the Rue Chapon. To preserve discipline 
 amongst her flock in the midst of these troublous 
 times must have been no easy task ; but, though 
 a woman of singularly sweet disposition, she was a 
 firm ruler, and so great was her influence over 
 her " daughters " that one of them wrote that, if 
 she had endeavoured to persuade them that black 
 was white and day night, she would have suc- 
 ceeded. Between her hands many women of high 
 rank, whose penitent or wounded hearts had driven 
 them to the Carmelites, made their profession, among 
 whom may be mentioned Mile, du Vigean, "whom 
 God alone was able to console for not being able to 
 marry the Great Cond^," and of whom we shall have 
 something to say hereafter ; Mile. d'Epernon,'^ who, 
 having lost her lover, the Chevalier de Fiesque, 
 killed at the siege of Mardyck, preferred the crown 
 
 ' Anne Christine de Foix de la Valette d'^pernon, daughter of 
 Bernard, Due de la Valette d'^pernon and Gabrielle de Bourbon, 
 one of Henri IV.'s legitimated children by Henriette d'Entragues. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 6^ 
 
 of thorns to that of Poland ; ^ and Louise de la 
 Vallifere, the penitent mistress of Louis XIV.^ 
 
 Marie Madeleine, who died in 1679 — the same year 
 as her firm friend Madame de Longueville — at the 
 age of eighty-one, received invaluable assistance in 
 her government of the convent from another devotee 
 of good family, Judith de Bellefonds, daughter of the 
 governor of Caen and aunt of the Marechal de Belle- 
 fonds. A pretty and vivacious girl, Mile, de Bellefonds 
 had been a general favourite at Court, and a special 
 protegk of Marie de' Medici, whom she frequently 
 accompanied on her visits to the Carmelites. Here 
 she met and formed a close friendship with Madame 
 de Breaut6, who persuaded her to follow her example 
 and abandon the world. She entered the convent, 
 at the early age of seventeen, on the Eve of St. Agnes, 
 and took the name of Agnfes de Jesus-Maria. She 
 was elected sub-prioress in 1645, and prioress in 1649, 
 and for thirty-two years held one or other of these 
 offices. " Prudence was her companion, and wisdom 
 her sister," wrote Bossuet, who held her in great 
 veneration, shortly after her death. " Her decision 
 was always just, and her judgments always sound. 
 One could not go astray in following her counsels." 
 Henrietta Maria, the widowed Queen of England, 
 came often to her for consolation in her troubles ; 
 Chancellor Le Tellier consulted her ; and Madame de 
 
 ' John Casimir, afterwards King of Poland, had proposed for 
 her hand. 
 
 ' M. Victor du Bled, la SocieU franfaise du XVI' au XX' siecle, 
 4* Serie : Couvents des Femmes avant 1789. 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
66 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 S^vigne was delighted with "her intelligence, her 
 vivacity, and the charm of her conversation." Her 
 charity was such that, after her death, the prioress who 
 succeeded her, having been blamed for carrying her 
 almsgiving a little too far, replied : 
 
 " It is very fortunate for you that Mfere Agnfes 
 is no more ; on an occasion like the present, she 
 would not have left a chalice or a silver vessel in 
 our church." 
 
 The four ladies whose careers we have briefly 
 sketched were the most eminent of the prioresses of 
 the " Grandes Carmelites " during the first century of 
 the convent's existence. 
 
 Mile, de Bourbon's mother, the Princesse de Cond6, 
 was one of the chief benefactresses of the convent in 
 the Rue Saint-Jacques. The character of Madame la 
 Princesse abounded in contrasts ; it was a strange 
 compound of worldliness and piety, pride and affability, 
 coquetry and prudishness. She had never loved her 
 husband, and yet for his sake had voluntarily hidden 
 her youth and loveliness for more than two years 
 behind the walls of the Bastille and Vincennes. She 
 was exceedingly vain of her great beauty and delighted 
 in making conquests, but conducted her flirtations with 
 such discretion that her fair fame was never seriously 
 assailed.^ Her haughtiness, if she suspected any one 
 
 ' " The Princesse de Cond6 was always much concerned about the 
 love-affairs of herself and others. I heard her remark one day, when 
 she was jesting with the Queen (Anne of Austria) about her past 
 adventures, speaking of Cardinal Pamphili, who had just been made 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 67 
 
 of failing in respect towards her, knew no bounds ; 
 but to those who were willing to accord her the 
 deference she considered to be her due no one could 
 be more amiable and charming. Her piety, when 
 the devotional side of her character was uppermost, 
 was profound. She had, like Anne of Austria, 
 an apartment at the Carmelites, to which she 
 frequently came to make long retreats. This apart- 
 ment was as bare and cheerless as those of the nuns 
 themselves ; in fact, Madame de Condd prided herself 
 on observing the rules of the convent in all their 
 severity. " This great princess, whom a natural pride 
 rendered sometimes so formidable, became here the 
 friend, the companion, the mother of whoever ad- 
 dressed herself to her. Never did one feel her 
 authority there, except by her benefactions. The will 
 of the Mother-Prioress was her law ; she called her 
 ' our mother,' rose when she perceived her, sub- 
 mitted to her orders with a charming docility, and 
 one saw her at matins, at every office, in the refectory, 
 practise the usual mortifications, and abase her natural 
 grandeur at the feet of the spouse of Jesus Christ, 
 
 Pope, that she wished her old friend Cardinal Bentivoglio had been 
 elected instead, so that she might be able to boast of lovers of all 
 conditions : popes, kings, cardinals, princes, dukes, marshals of France, 
 and even simple gentlemen."— Madame de Motteville, Memoires. 
 
 Historians with a weakness for the picturesque have taken the 
 chronicler's words to imply that Madame la Princesse had been 
 exceedingly gallant, an interpretation which will certainly not bear 
 inspection. By lovers, Madame de Motteville means merely admirers, 
 or " mourants^'' as they were called in those days, though Henri IV. 
 and doubtless others of the lady's conquests had ulterior designs. 
 
68 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 with a humility which rendered her still more 
 estimable." 
 
 In these retreats Madame de Cond6 was invari- 
 ably accompanied by her daughter, for, although the 
 princess cherished very ambitious views for Anne, she 
 knew, from her own experience, the perils to which 
 unusual beauty exposed its possessor, and 'desired to 
 arm the young girl against them by giving her every 
 opportunity of benefiting by the example and edifying 
 conversation of the nuns. Her frequent sojourns 
 among the Carmelites soon began to have a very 
 marked effect upon Mile, de Bourbon's impression- 
 able mind, and she exhibited a piety which exceeded 
 her mother's fondest anticipations. Desiring, like 
 Madame la Princesse, to become, in her turn, one 
 of the benefactresses of the convent, she obtained from 
 the Pope "relics of seven virgin martyrs, with a brief 
 from his Holiness attesting their authenticity," and 
 presented them to the nuns. Touched by this pious 
 act, Anne of Austria added to the relics those of St. 
 Paula, the friend of St. Jerome, while the Marquis 
 d'Alincourt offered the body of St. Rosalia, which 
 had recently been discovered at Palermo. All these 
 relics were placed by Mile, de Bourbon in a silver 
 shrine in the form of a dome, around which were 
 stationed four figures representing the Evangelists.'' 
 
 Mile, de Bourbon's piety increased daily, and at 
 length her admiration for the ascetic beauty of the 
 lives of her friends in the Rue Saint-Jacques became 
 
 ' Manuscript history of the Carmelites, cited by Victor Cousin. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 69 
 
 so strong that she began to contemplate very 
 seriously becoming a Carmelite herself. M. Jules 
 Lair, in his interesting work on Louise de la Valli^re/ 
 has described in some detail the daily life of the 
 " Grand Convent" and the following passage will 
 give the reader an excellent idea of the kind of 
 career upon which this youthful devote proposed to 
 embark : 
 
 " All the cells are alike. Those of the convent of 
 the Rue d'Enfer had been constructed in accordance 
 with the plans sent from Spain. Four walls quite 
 bare, a door, a window. For furniture, a wooden box 
 shaped like a coffin, containing a straw mattress, hard 
 and prickly ; serge sheets. By its side, a straw- 
 bottomed chair. For ornament, a crucifix, one or two 
 images. The regulations forbade private property. 
 In the refectory, the same simplicity— a wooden spoon, 
 an earthenware porringer, a little Delft cup. Fare in 
 proportion, always meagre : milk, cheese, vegetables ; 
 on special occasions, fish. They rose early, at five 
 o'clock in the morning ; they retired to rest late, at 
 eleven o'clock ; and, throughout this long day, 
 prioress, nuns, 'novices, and probationers, all worked. 
 These last, spared but little, are soon in a position to 
 know if the life suits them. It only remains for them 
 to make acquaintance with the dress : serge chemise, 
 thick cloth stockings, alpurgates — a kind of heelless 
 shoe made of cord — serge gown. For coiffure, a 
 head-band and a veil." 
 
 ■ Louise de la Valliere et lajeunesse de Louis XIV. 
 
yo A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Mile, de Bourbon, however, was still too young 
 to fully appreciate the measure of self-abnegation which 
 a life such as this demanded ; and a tragic event, 
 which occurred when she was thirteen years of age, 
 and plunged her mother and all the Montmorencies 
 into the deepest grief, made a most profound im- 
 pression upon her mind, and confirmed her in her 
 desire to fly from a world which she as yet scarcely 
 knew. 
 
 The old Conndtable de Montmorency, on his death 
 in 1 6 14, had been succeeded in his dukedom and his 
 immense estates by his only son, Henri II. de Mont- 
 morency, then a youth of nineteen, who had married, 
 in 161 2, Maria Felicia Orsini, daughter of Virginio 
 Orsini, Duke of Bracciano, and Fulvia Peretti, great 
 niece of Pope Sixtus V. The new duke is described 
 by his contemporaries as " the noblest, wealthiest, 
 handsomest, and most pious gentleman of the king- 
 dom ; " and he and his amiable and virtuous wife, whose 
 praises the poets of the time seemed never tired of 
 chanting, were universally esteemed and beloved. 
 During the religious wars of 1 62 1 and the following 
 years, Montmorency commanded the Royalist forces in 
 the South against Rohan, took the islands of R6 and 
 016ron from the defenders of La Rochelle, and 
 penetrated into Piedmont. But, in 1630, offended 
 by the growing power of Richelieu, he quitted the 
 Court and retired to his government of Languedoc. 
 When, two years later, the turbulent and treacherous 
 Gaston d' Orleans took up arms against the Govern- 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 71 
 
 ment, the Duchesse de Montmorency exerted all her 
 influence to prevent her husband throwing in his lot 
 with the King's brother, but, unhappily, her efforts 
 were fruitless. 
 
 In Languedoc, where his family had long exercised 
 an almost sovereign authority, Montmorency enjoyed 
 immense popularity, and the States, who had grievances 
 of their own against Richelieu, met and decided to 
 support him. Their assistance, however, availed him 
 little. Schomberg, with a small force, was ordered to 
 take the field against the insurgents, and on Sep- 
 tember I, 1632, liie two armies met at Castelnaudary. 
 Montmorency, charging rashly upon the royal troops 
 at the head of a small body of cavalry, was unhorsed 
 and taken prisoner, upon which his followers, believing 
 him to have been slain, lost heart and retreated in 
 confusion. 
 
 Notwithstanding that the insurgents had issued 
 various manifestoes, declaring that they were making 
 war not upon the King, but upon the tyrant who had 
 usurped the royal authority, there could be no doubt 
 that Montmorency was guilty of high treason, and that 
 his offence was punishable by death. But, though 
 Richelieu had not spared those of high degree who 
 thwarted his plans, it was the general belief that he 
 would not venture to inflict the extreme penalty upon 
 so great a personage, the premier baron of France, a 
 duke, a marshal, the governor of one of the most 
 important provinces, and the head of a family which had 
 been illustrious for centuries and was connected by 
 
72 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 marriage with royalty itself. When it was known tiiat 
 the Cardinal had persuaded Louis XIII. to have the 
 duke brought to trial, the consternation was unbounded. 
 Charles I. of England, the Pope, the Venetian Republic, 
 and the Duke of Savoy entreated the King to spare 
 so noble a life ; services were held in the churches 
 to beseech the Almighty to come to Montmorency's 
 relief; processions of religious penitents paraded the 
 country praying for his safety, and the crowds in the 
 streets cried out for pardon. But Richelieu was 
 determined to read the turbulent nobility a salutary 
 lesson, and to show them that neither past services, nor 
 high rank, nor great possessions, should save those 
 who took up arms from the executioner's axe. In 
 vain the Duchesse de Montmorency and the Princesse 
 de Conde begged to be admitted to an audience of 
 his Majesty, in order to throw themselves at his feet. 
 The King, on the advice of his Minister, refused to 
 receive them or even to reply to their letters, and the 
 law was allowed to take its course. 
 
 Montmorency was brought to trial before the 
 Parlement of Toulouse on October 29, 1632. So 
 far from making the least attempt to justify his conduct, 
 he sought only to exculpate his followers, declaring 
 that he alone ought to bear all responsibility. Next 
 morning the judges pronounced sentence of death, and 
 the execution was fixed for four o'clock that afternoon 
 in the prison, it having been decided to spare the 
 condemned man the ignominy of a public execution. 
 
 The duke met his doom with calm resignation and 
 
HEKFLY DVC DE MONTMORENgy ET DANP 
 
 VILLE PAIR.,ET MARESCHALDE FRANCE. 
 £C Lieutenanr ^al .pour le ROY en JLanjui'Joc.^ ^; 
 
 From an engraving by Lasne. 
 
 HENRI 11., DUG DE MONTMORENCY. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 73 
 
 Christian fortitude. After hearing his sentence, he 
 begged that the time of his execution might be hastened 
 by two hours, in order that he might die at the same 
 hour as his Saviour, and he then wrote a touching letter 
 of farewell to his wife : 
 
 " I bid you the last adieu, dear heart, with an affec- 
 tion equal to that which has always existed between 
 us. I beseech you by the repose of my soul, which, 
 I hope, will soon be in heaven, to moderate your grief 
 and to receive this affliction from the hand of our 
 sweet Saviour. I receive so many favours from His 
 bounty that you ought to have every reason for con- 
 solation. Adieu, once more, dear heart." 
 
 As a proof that he died with no feeling of resent- 
 ment against Richelieu, Montmorency bequeathed to 
 the Cardinal a picture of the Martyrdom of St. 
 Sebastian. 
 
 The widowed duchess was inconsolable at the loss 
 of her husband and "fell into an abyss of grief" 
 Unjustly accused of having encouraged the duke in 
 his rebellion, she was thrown into prison, where, under 
 the pressure of her misfortunes, her health gave way. 
 However, after a detention of two years, she was 
 released, and took advantage of her liberty to retire 
 to the Couvent de la Visitation, at Moulins, whither 
 she caused the remains "of Montmorency to be brought 
 and interred in a mausoleum, which may still be seen 
 in the convent chapel. After leading the austere life 
 of a nun for thirty-four years, she died, and was buried 
 by the side of the husband she had loved so devotedly. 
 
74 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 By a will made shordy before his death, the Due de 
 Montmorency, who left no children, had designated as 
 heir to the greater part of his immense estates the little 
 Franfois de Montmorency-Boutteville, afterwards the 
 celebrated Marechal de Luxembourg, the posthumous 
 son of the Comte de Boutteville, executed for duelling 
 in 1627. But the duke's condemnation rendered this 
 document of no effect, and the whole of his property 
 reverted to the Crown. Louis XIIL, however, con- 
 tented himself with retaining possession of Chantilly 
 and Dammartin, for the sake of the hunting, with- 
 out, however, uniting them to his demesne,"^ and 
 caused the rest of the property to be divided between 
 the Princesse de Cond6 and her two elder sisters,^ 
 Richelieu, we may presume, not being minded to set 
 up another great feudal noble in the place of the 
 deceased duke. 
 
 To Madame la Princesse fell by far the largest 
 share of the landed property, including the estates 
 of Montrond, Ecouen, Mello, Chateauroux, and 
 M6ru ; while, some time afterwards, Chantilly and 
 Dammartin were also bestowed upon her, though she 
 appears to have been granted merely the enjoyment of 
 them during her lifetime, and it was not until the 
 
 ' " Some traces of Louis XIII.'s ownership of Chantilly still exist in 
 the ' Cabotiere,' a little house where his Majesty's basset-hounds were 
 kept, and in the royal arms and the L over the door ; while tradition 
 asserts that the wall which supports the terrace on the North was built 
 by the King's orders." — Comtesse de Clinchamp, Chantilly et les 
 Conde. 
 
 * Charlotte, married to Charles de Valois, Due d'AngoulSme, and 
 Marguerite, the wife of Anne de Levis, Due de Ventadour. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 75 
 
 autumn of 1643 that they became the absolute property 
 of the Cond6s, in recognition of the military services 
 of the Due d'Enghien. 
 
 The Carmelites, as we may suppose, did not fail to 
 take advantage of the effect produced on Mile, de 
 Bourbon's mind by the terrible fate of her much-loved 
 uncle, and used every endeavour to strengthen her in a 
 resolution which they naturally regarded as a signal 
 example of the grace of God ; their efforts in this direc- 
 tion being ably seconded by the young princess's con- 
 fessor, Pfere Le Jeune, a Jesuit, " of an eminent piety and 
 of an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls." ^ But it 
 was in vain that Anne addressed the most earnest en- 
 treaties to her father to permit her to dedicate herself 
 to Heaven. Monsieur le Prince, who had very different 
 views for his only daughter, was highly ihdignant and 
 complained to his wife, who was equally shocked. To 
 visit the good sisters of the Rue Saint- Jacques, and to 
 endeavour to profit by their noble example and godly 
 conversation, was one thing ; to desire to become a 
 member of their community was quite another. It was 
 fitting enough that weary or penitent souls, who had 
 tasted all that the world had to offer, should seek the 
 repose and peace denied them elsewhere within the 
 walls of a convent, or that plain-featured or portionless 
 young women of noble families should discover a 
 vocation for the religious life. It was even as well 
 that society should occasionally be edified by such a 
 
 1 Bourgoing de Villefore, la Veritable Vie d'Anne-Genevieve de 
 Bourbon, Dttchesse de Longueville. 
 
76 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 sacrifice as that of Mile. Lancri de Bains. But the 
 only daughter of the first Prince of the Blood, a young 
 girl on the very threshold of life, endowed with every 
 advantage which Nature and Fortune had to bestow ! 
 The idea was preposterous and was not to be enter- 
 tained for a moment ! 
 
 Nevertheless, the princess and her husband were 
 fully alive to the necessity of breaking the charm which 
 attached Anne to the Carmelites, and, with this object, 
 they resolved to compel her to go more frequently 
 into society. The girl obeyed ; but in spirit she 
 was ever with her pious friends of the " Grand Cou- 
 vent" and she appeared so sad and listless that the 
 impression she created was not nearly so favourable 
 as her mother had hoped, and Madame de Cond6 felt 
 obliged to reprimand her sharply for the little trouble 
 she took to make herself agreeable. To which 
 the girl replied : " You possess, Madame, charms so 
 irresistible that, as I go nowhere except with you, 
 and only appear after you, people cannot see any 
 m me. 
 
 This diplomatic answer disarmed for the moment 
 the wrath of Madame la Princesse, who liked nothing 
 better than to be reminded that the charms which 
 had turned the head of the " Vert-Galant " a quarter 
 of a century earlier, were still potent ; but, since, as 
 time went on, her daughter's vocation seemed to grow 
 stronger rather than weaker, and she began to evince 
 
 ' Bourgoing de Villefore, la Veritable Vie d' Anne- Genevieve de 
 Bourbon, Duchesse de Longueville. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 77 
 
 a marked distaste for society, she finally determined 
 to have recourse to more stringent measures. 
 
 Hitherto Anne's acquaintance with the gay world 
 had been confined to occasionally accompanying her 
 mother to the houses of her friends or assisting her 
 do the honours of the Hotel de Conde, and she had 
 never assisted at any Court function. But, one fine 
 morning, when she was in her sixteenth year, Madame 
 la Trincesse sent for her, and bade her prepare to attend 
 a State ball at the Louvre, which Louis XIIL was 
 giving three days later. 
 
 The maternal command threw our young ascetic 
 into the most profound consternation. " Her first 
 movement," says Villefore, " was to go and tell the news 
 to her good friends, the Carmelites, who were very 
 much afflicted thereby and greatly embarrassed, for 
 she asked their advice as to her conduct in so difficult 
 a conjuncture. A council was held in due form, over 
 which presided, in the garb of nuns, two excellent 
 virtues, Penitence and Prudence, and it was resolved 
 that Mile, de Bourbon, before going to the assault, 
 should arm herself under her clothing with a little 
 cuirass, vulgarly called a hair-shirt, and that she should 
 then lend herself, in good faith, to all the finery that 
 was designed for her. So soon as her consent had 
 been obtained, everything was resorted to that could 
 most enliven her natural charms, and nothing was 
 forgotten to adorn a beauty more brilliant by force of 
 its own loveliness than by all the jewels with which it was 
 loaded. The Carmelites had recommended her to be 
 
78 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 on her guard, but her self-confidence misled her. 
 The moment she entered the ball-room,^ and so long 
 as she remained there, the company had no eyes save 
 for her. Admirers flocked around her, and vied with 
 one another in lavishing upon her those subtle com- 
 pliments which make so ready an appeal to a self-love 
 newly kindled and suspicious of nothing. After the 
 jargon of flattery had overleapt the barriers opposed 
 to it, it had soon poisoned that still ingenuous mind, 
 in which it made strange ravages ; and the young 
 princess, on leaving the ball, felt her heart agitated 
 by new emotions, which at first alarmed her, but with 
 which she gradually became only too familiar." 
 
 A modern copy of a painting by Ducayer, of the 
 year 1 634, which is preserved at Versailles, representing 
 Mile, de Bourbon standing between her father and 
 mother, will help us to understand something of the 
 enthusiasm which this young debutante must have 
 aroused.^ In the opinion of Victor Cousin, however, 
 it is very much inferior to the original portrait, which 
 
 ' Villefore does not give us any particulars about this ball ; but 
 Victor Cousin is of opinion that it was one which took place on February 
 18, 1635, since this is the first occasion on which the Gazette de France, 
 which gives lengthy and glowing descriptions of all the more important 
 Court functions, mentions Mile, de Bourbon's name. Dancing con- 
 tinued until three o'clock in the morning, and the beauty of the ladies 
 who took part in le grand Ballet de la Heine, amongst whom was 
 Mile, de Bourbon, was such that "every one bore away from this 
 place full of marvels the same idea as that of Jacob, who, having 
 seen nothing all night except angels, believed that it was the place 
 where Heaven joined the earth." 
 
 2 It was probably about this time that Madame de Motteville wrote : 
 " Mile, de Bourbon began, although very young, to exhibit the first 
 charms of that angelic face which has since had such renown." 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 79 
 
 is in the possession of the Montmorency family, and 
 of which he writes : " She is here seen in all the 
 freshness of her maiden beauty, but already in Court 
 attire, and as if going to that ball which she so much 
 dreaded, and which changed her soul and her life. It 
 is impossible to imagine a more charming creature. 
 The eyes, full of innocence, have already a tender 
 animation, which will soon become dangerous. The 
 nose is, in particular, adorably moulded. All the signs 
 of her great beauty are already visible ; certain at- 
 tractions are still wanting, but the strength which 
 promises and assures them is stamped upon every 
 part." 1 
 
 From the night of the ball, Anne de Bourbon was 
 an altered being. She had tasted worldly success and 
 found it passing sweet, and, though she still preserved 
 her piety, she was henceforth as eager to play a leading 
 part on the stage which she felt herself so eminently fitted 
 to adorn as her parents could possibly have desired. 
 Her visits to the Carmelites continued, but they were 
 now prompted more by courtesy and by a natural 
 reluctance to break too abruptly with early associations 
 than by inclination ; she was frequently embarrassed 
 and ill at ease when the good sisters attempted to 
 turn the conversation to subjects in which she had 
 formerly taken so keen a pleasure, and they saw with 
 sorrow and mortification that their influence over 
 her was steadily waning. Nevertheless, the combat 
 between her religious and her worldly instincts was 
 '■ La Jeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 
8o A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 a long and severe one, and the triumph of the latter 
 more apparent than real. Even at moments when 
 she seemed most to have abandoned herself to the 
 allurements of passion and ambition, she still fre- 
 quently addressed to the Carmelites letters couched 
 in a tone of the most fervent piety. Nor, as Victor 
 Cousin justly observes, is there any reason to doubt 
 that she was on these occasions expressing sentiments 
 that were really in her heart, although she lacked the 
 strength to follow them. The deep religious impres- 
 sions of her early days, the instincts of self-sacrifice 
 and idealism which lay at the root of her character, 
 though often quenched, were never wholly extinguished. 
 Twenty years hence they were to revive and to burn 
 with undiminished vigour to the end of her days. 
 But alas ! not before she had succeeded in working 
 an amount of mischief which is, happily, within the 
 power of few of her sex. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Madame de Rambouillet and her salon — The " genre precieux" — The 
 society of the H5tel de Rambouillet — Corneille — Voiture — The 
 Hotel de Cond6 — Beauty of Mile, de Bourbon — Testimony of 
 her contemporaries — Her portraits — Her intellectual gifts — Her 
 friends — Madame de Sable — The Scuderys — She becomes the 
 arbitrix of taste and "the tutelary divinity of the Muses" — Her 
 admiration for Voiture — His verses in praise of her beauty — 
 The quarrel of the " Uranistes '' and the " Jobistes " — Mile, de 
 Bourbon successfully champions the cause of [/rame—HeT 
 patronage of Chapelain — She anticipates the verdict of the critics 
 on his Pucelle — Other literary friends of Mile, de Bourbon. 
 
 FROM the cloister to the world the transition 
 was great, though not nearly so great as would 
 have been the case had Mile, de Bourbon been born 
 a quarter of a century earlier. Since the accession of 
 Louis Xllt. a notable and very welcome change had 
 come over society. To the barbarism of the civil 
 wars, and the extreme license of morals which had 
 disgraced the Court of Henri IV., had succeeded a 
 marked taste for intellectual pursuits and refined 
 pleasures. This revolution was largely inspired by 
 Richelieu, who, though his genius was essentially 
 political, was eager for distinction in almost every 
 sphere ; to have his pre-eminence acknowledged as 
 readily in society and in the rendezvous of men of 
 letters as in the council-chamber ; to be, in short, the 
 arbiter of his country's taste as well as of its destinies. 
 VOL. I. ^' 6 
 
82 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Under his protection, the "things of the mind" 
 began to assume an importance which had never before 
 been known ; birth and position were still as highly 
 esteemed as ever, but they no longer constituted the 
 sole passports to aristocratic society, and at the houses 
 of several great ladies it gradually became the custom 
 for men of wit, culture, and refinement, without regard 
 to their social status, to meet together to pass an 
 hour or two in agreeable conversation with amiable 
 women of similar tastes, who naturally gave the tone 
 to these gatherings. 
 
 The most celebrated of these resorts, of which Mile, 
 de Bourbon soon became a constant habituie, was the 
 Hotel de Rambouillet^ — which may be regarded as 
 the prototype of that most distinctively French institu- 
 tion, the Salon — wherein the art of polite conversation 
 was so carefully cultivated, and which exercised so 
 great an influence upon literature and manners from 
 the early part of the seventeenth down to the middle 
 of the nineteenth century. The presiding genius, 
 Catherine de Vivonne, Marquise de Rambouillet, was 
 a very remarkable woman. The only daughter of Jean 
 de Vivonne, Marquis de Pisani, French Ambassador 
 at Madrid and at Rome, and at one time gouverneur 
 to Henri II. de Bourbon, Prince de Cond6, and of Julie 
 Savelli, a Roman lady of high rank, widow of Lorenzo 
 Orsini, she had married, in 1600, before she was in 
 
 ' In the Rue Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre, next to the H6tel de 
 Chevreuse, which, after being known as the Hotel d'fipernon, became, 
 in 1663, the Hotel de Longueville. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 83 
 
 her teens, Charles d'Angennes, Marquis de Rambouillet, 
 Seigneur de Talmont and d'Arquenay, a nobleman 
 of considerable wealth and respectable abilities, who 
 was successively Master of the Wardrobe and Chevalier 
 des Ordres to Henri IV., and Ambassador to the Courts 
 of Savoy stnd Spain, All contemporary writers, not 
 omitting even Tallemant des R6aux, the most spiteful 
 of all seventeenth-century chroniclers, vie with one 
 another in extolling the merits of Madame de Ram- 
 bouillet : her beauty enhanced by an irreproachable 
 virtue, her exquisite taste, the soundness of her literary 
 judgment, her devotion to things intellectual, her 
 wonderful tact, which placed every one who came in 
 contact with her immediately at their ease, her kindness 
 of heart, and her ready but perfectly harmless wit. 
 
 The troubled and corrupt Court, with its sordid 
 intrigues and vulgar gallantry, was but little to the 
 taste of a woman like Madame de Rambouillet, and 
 this, joined to her delicate health, caused her, while 
 still very young, to withdraw from it altogether, and 
 to receive her friends in her own house. But the 
 spirit of conversation, as Arvede Barine remarks, is 
 too frail a plant to flourish among haphazard conditions, 
 and to bring talkers together, it is essential to have 
 a place in which they can talk ; ^ and, since the 
 interior arrangement of the Hotel de Rambouillet was 
 but ill adapted for social gatherings, the marchioness 
 had the whole house pulled down and a new one 
 built, according to plans which she herself drew up. 
 
 ' Lajeunesse de la Grande Mademoiselle. 
 
8 4 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 In this beautiful house — the first, in all probability, 
 ever constructed with a like purpose — the staircases 
 were placed in the wings, which permitted a number 
 of rooms to be contrived in such a way that one led 
 out of another, an arrangement eminently suitable 
 for large assemblies.^ The principal reception-room 
 was the celebrated " Chamhre bleue" the decoration 
 of which was in itself an innovation. Hitherto almost 
 the only colour employed in the decoration of the 
 houses of the wealthy had been red or a dark orange ; 
 but Madame de Rambouillet caused the walls of her 
 salon to be covered with blue velvet, with a border 
 of gold embroidery. The room was lighted by long 
 windows, extending from floor to ceiling, which looked 
 out upon a large and very beautiful expanse of garden. 
 
 Every evening, for more than thirty years, the 
 Hotel de Rambouillet opened its doors to the most 
 refined and intellectual persons of both Court and 
 town : nobles, clergy, magistrates, and men of letters, 
 together with some of the most charming and cultured 
 women in France. All met here on a footing of 
 perfect equality ; every subject of conversation which 
 could possibly give offence was strictly interdicted, 
 and the voice of scandal was never heard. No greater 
 difi^erence than that between the assemblies of the 
 Louvre and the gatherings which thronged the 
 " Chambre bleue " can well be imagined. " Society 
 and the Court," remarks Roederer, " were two different 
 
 ' Madame de Rambouillet was not long in finding imitators, notably 
 in the construction of the Luxembourg by Marie de' Medici. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 85 
 
 worlds, where even the same persons could no longer 
 be recognized so soon as they passed from one to the 
 other. The cloister and the world were not more dis- 
 tinct. On entering the Hotel de Rambouillet, politics 
 and intrigues were left at the door ; there reigned there 
 only that noble and gracious gallantry, which, without 
 any cost to virtue, constituted the charm and sweetness 
 of human life. Court was paid to the ladies, but it was 
 a court playful and respectful. The greater the dis- 
 order and corruption of the Louvre, the greater the 
 popularity and success of the Hotel de Rambouillet." ^ 
 The salon of Madame de Rambouillet was the strong- 
 hold of that remarkable and much-misunderstood char- 
 acteristic of the intellectual life of the first half of the 
 seventeenth century, the '■^ genre precieux ;" but it is 
 an error to imagine that it originated there. As M. du 
 Bled has pointed out, " Preciosite " had existed long 
 before the Hotel de Rambouillet brought it into 
 fashion. It had found devotees in the preceding 
 century, in Maurice Sceve, Ronsard, the poets of the 
 P16iade ; the dissertations of Amadis and V Astree furnish 
 numerous examples of its influence ; the cult was even 
 not unknown in Greece and in Rome. " One forgets," 
 he continues, " that languages begin with simplicity, 
 and, by a natural evolution, through the need of ex- 
 pressing new sentiments, arrive at the cultured style, 
 which glides so easily into affectation." * 
 
 1 Histoire de SocUte polie. 
 
 2 La Sodete frangaise du XVI' Steele au XX' Steele, V Serie : 
 I' HStel de Rambouillet et la Preeiosite. 
 
86 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 There was, however, little afFectation about Madame 
 de Rambouillet ; her "preciosite" was oi a very- 
 modest kind, consisting merely of an excessive delicacy 
 in her conversation,^ and the services rendered by her 
 salon to the national taste during thirty years are in- 
 contestable. But by the beginning of the Fronde the 
 good which it was able to do had been accomplished. 
 The inferior gatherings which had been formed in 
 Paris and in the provinces, at first useful, since they 
 diffused the taste for culture, had ended by becoming 
 dangerous ; the noble ideas and sentiments which 
 Madame de Rambouillet and her friends had so care- 
 fully fostered, degenerated into a fictitious grandeur ; 
 afFectation took the place of simplicity.^ And, alas ! so 
 often does the master suffer for the extravagance of 
 his self-styled disciples, that many still confound the 
 brilliant and charming women who foregathered in the 
 " Chambre bleue,^' with their crude imitators, whom 
 Molifere so mercilessly castigated in the Precieuses 
 ridicules. 
 
 But, in 1635, when Mile, de Bourbon first made its 
 acquaintance, the Hotel de Rambouillet was at the 
 height of its fame, the magnet which attracted all that 
 was best in the intellectual life of the capital, the centre 
 from which radiated in all directions those ideas of 
 culture and refinement, which purified and enriched 
 the language, elevated the tone of conversation, and 
 
 ^ Tallemant des R6aux declares that it was impossible to pronounce 
 in Madame de Rambouillet's presence certain words of which MoliSre 
 made free use in his plays. " That is going too far," adds he. 
 
 " Victor Cousin, lajeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 87 
 
 produced those polished manners, that exquisite taste, 
 which was to make France the envy and admiration of 
 the whole civilized world. Here might be found the 
 Prince and Princesse de Cond6, with their two elder 
 children, Mile, de Bourbon and the Due d'Enghien, 
 ignoring the fact that strict etiquette forbade the Princes 
 and Princesses of the Blood to visit a lady below 
 the rank of duchess ; the great Cardinal himself and 
 his favourite niece, the Duchesse d'Aiguillon ; another 
 Prince of the Church, the Cardinal de la Valette ; the 
 austere Marquis, afterwards the Due, de Montausier, 
 the future husband of Madame de Rambouillet's eldest 
 daughter, Julie d'Angennes ; the celebrated Marquise de 
 Sabl6, " the type of the true precieuse,^' of whom more 
 anon ; Mile, du Vigean, beloved of the Great Cond6 ; the 
 Comte de Guiche, afterwards the Marechal de Gramont ; 
 Mile, de Scudery, the authoress of that interminable 
 romance, le Grand Cyrus, now almost unread, but, which, 
 thanks to Victor Cousin's discovery of a key to its char- 
 acters, is a work of the greatest interest and value for 
 the student of seventeenth-century society ; her brother, 
 Georges de Scudery, the author of Alaric, and his wife, 
 whose correspondence with Bussy-Rabutin has given 
 her a place among the most accomplished letter-writers 
 of her time ; Arnauld de Corberville, one of the best 
 lieutenants of the Great Conde, and an amateur poet of 
 some talent, whom Madame de Rambouillet usually 
 employed to respond to the epistles in verse which 
 were addressed to her from all sides ; Mile. Paulet, 
 whose Venetian-blond hair had earned her the sobriquet 
 
88 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 of " la lionne" celebrated for her beautiful voice, her 
 graceful dancing, and her wit, even more than for her 
 charms, which had inspired a brief, though very 
 ardent, passion in Henri IV. — a passion, however, which 
 the lady had the good sense not to encourage ; ^ and the 
 two daughters of the hostess who had preferred the 
 world to the cloister : ^ Julie, who was to become 
 Duchesse de Montausier, immortalized by that famous 
 Guirlande de Julie, a collection of poems on different 
 flowers, to which nearly all the leading poets of 
 the day contributed, presented to her by her future 
 husband ; and Angelique, first wife of the Comte de 
 Grignan, who, on her death, married Madame de 
 Sevigne's idolized daughter. The former was a brilli- 
 antly clever and very handsome girl, with a superb figure 
 and charming manners, who ably seconded her mother 
 in doing the honours of the house ; the latter, also 
 
 1 " As the virtue of this person was very well known to the Queen 
 [Marie de' Medici], the King's love did not cause her to be on bad 
 terms with her. On the contrary, when this prince happened to be 
 in a depressed condition of mind, the Queen sought for some occasion 
 to bring Elise [Mile. Paulet] to see him. If he were ill, she begged 
 her to sing to him to charm away his melancholy, and did not bestow 
 upon her fewer marks of esteem than the King gave her of love." — 
 Mile, de Scud6ry, le Grand Cyrus. 
 
 ' Madame de Rambouillet had seven children : two sons and five 
 daughters. One of her sons died when he was seven years old ; the 
 other, the Marquis de Pisani, surnamed the " baggage-camel " of the 
 Due d'Enghien, because he was humpbacked, was killed at the Battle 
 of Nordlingen, in 1645. Three of her five daughters entered religion 
 and became abbesses. One of these, the Abbess of YSres, a young 
 lady of anything but a devotional turn of mind, was a constant source 
 of vexation to her mother, and conducted her abbey in a manner 
 which occasioned grave scandal. Finally) the Parlement of Paris 
 interfered, removed her from her post, and caused her to be shut up 
 in a convent in the Rue §aint-Antoine, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 89 
 
 pretty and accomplished, but possessed of a decidedly 
 mordant wit, and priding herself on a fastidiousness 
 which she carried to such lengths, that Mile, de 
 Scuddry declares that " it was impossible for her to 
 be altogether happy even for a single day in the year." 
 The two sisters represented the pedantic side of their 
 mother's salon, and it was through them that 
 '' Preciosiie" made its entry into the Hotel de 
 Rambouillet. 
 
 And then the elite of the " Republic of Letters " : 
 Conrart, who may be regarded as the father of the 
 Academie Fran^aise,^ racked with gout, but always 
 amiable and witty ; his cousin, the little Abbe Godeau, 
 afterwards Bishop of Grasse and Vence, but at this 
 time with no thought of the episcopate, and quite 
 content to be known as "Julie's dwarf" — a very gallant 
 dwarf indeed — " with Dulcineas all over the country 
 awaiting his good pleasure ; " Chapelain, the author 
 of that hapless epic la Pucelle ; Menage, to whose 
 tuition both Madame de S6vign6 and Madame de la 
 Fayette owed so much ; Gombaud and Patru ; Racan 
 and Sarrasin ; Corneille and Voiture.^ 
 
 The two last are by far the most celebrated names 
 among the group of men of letters which frequented 
 the Hotel de Rambouillet. To the judgment of its 
 
 ' It was at Conrart's house that the little company of men of letters, 
 which, in 1634, became, under Richelieu's auspices, the nucleus of 
 the Acad6mie Franfaise, used to hold its meetings. 
 
 * Victor Cousin and most writers mention Balzac as among the 
 habitu6s of the Hotel de Rambouillet, but, according to|ArvSde Barine 
 {la Jeunesse de la Grande Mademoiselle), Balzac only knew the " divine 
 Arth^nice" by letter, 
 
90 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 habitues, Corneille submitted several of his plays 
 before sending them to the Hotel de Bourgogne ; and 
 the company upheld the Cid loyally against Richelieu, 
 though, on the other hand, it fell into a grievous error 
 in condemning Polyeucte. Voiture, who was deputed 
 to convey to Corneille the opinion of the Hotel de Ram- 
 bouillet, told him that " its Christianity had especially 
 given great offence ; " and Corneille, alarmed by the 
 disapproval of so high a tribunal, resolved to withdraw 
 his play, and only consented to its representation at the 
 urgent entreaty of Hauteroche, one of the actors of the 
 Hotel de Bourgogne, " who," says Fontenelle, " did 
 not play in it, because he was so bad a performer." ^ 
 
 The romantically inclined ladies who visited the 
 Hotel de Rambouillet must have experienced some- 
 thing like a shock when Corneille first appeared among 
 them. They had doubtless pictured to themselves a 
 poet a la Scudery, a handsome cavalier of courtly 
 manners and agreeable conversation, whereas the famous 
 dramatist's general appearance and manners were far 
 from calculated to please. Though possessed of a 
 fine intellectual countenance, he was below the middle 
 height, shy and reserved, awkward in demeanour, un- 
 couth in speech, negligent in his dress, and of a some- 
 what morose temper. Corneille himself confesses that : 
 
 En matidre d'amour, je suis fort inegal; 
 J'en ecris assez bien, et je fais assez mal ; 
 J'ai la plume feconde et la bouche st&ile, 
 Bon galant au theatre et fort mauvais en ville, 
 Et Ton peut rarement m'6couter sans ennui, 
 Que quand je me produis par la bouche d'autrui. 
 
 ' Vie de Corneille. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 91 
 
 Nevertheless, he was at small pains to correct his faults, 
 and when some friend more candid than the rest ven- 
 tured to hint at them, would reply : " Je nen suis pas 
 mains pour cela, Pierre Corneiile." Moreover, though 
 he admits that his defective utterance, when he recited 
 himself, quite spoiled the effect of his finest passages, this 
 did not prevent him from inflicting whole acts from any 
 play which he happened to have in preparation upon the 
 company. " Cadedis ! " exclaimed Bois-Robert, when 
 reproached by Corneiile for an adverse criticism of one of 
 his earlier pieces at the Hotel de Bourgogne. " Did not 
 I applaud it when you blurted it out in my presence ? " ^ 
 Voiture was a very different kind of person. Of 
 diminutive stature — he was commonly spoken of as 
 " le petit Voiture " — though well made and always 
 dressed in the best taste, with an exhaustible fund of 
 gaiety and wit, he was the life and soul of these 
 gatherings. Few poets have equalled him in the com- 
 position of those vers de societe, for which the French 
 language is so well adapted, and which, if they serve 
 no higher purpose, seldom fail, when well written, to 
 afford amusement and pleasure ; none, probably, in the 
 amazing facility with which he dashed off his sonnets 
 and madrigals.^ It was his office to be the cavalier, the 
 
 1 Hawkins, " Annals of the French Stage." La Bruydre tells us that, 
 besides not being able to recite, Corneiile could not read his own writing. 
 
 ' His talent for improvisation was remarkable. One day, Anne of 
 Austria, coming upon him in a somewhat contemplative mood, in the 
 gardens of Rueil, inquired of what he was thinking ; and Voiture replied 
 in some charming and audacious verses, in which the name of 
 Buckingham occurred. 
 
92 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 lover, or, as they then said, the mourant, of all the 
 beauties of his time, and he described their charms in 
 language which called forth protests even from the 
 objects of his adulation. " M. de Voiture," observed 
 one of them, " ought to be preserved in sugar." 
 
 Voiture was the licensed jester of the H6tel de 
 Rambouillet, from which practical jokes of a mild 
 kind were by no means excluded. In 1632, during 
 the Thirty Years' War, Julie d'Angennes's passionate 
 admiration for Gustavus Adolphus was a standing 
 jest with the habitues of her mother's salon. One day, 
 Voiture dressed five or six lackeys in Swedish costume 
 and sent them to the lady, to present her with a 
 portrait of her hero, accompanied by a most gracious 
 letter purporting to be in his Majesty's own hand. 
 The fair Julie, to the intense amusement of all who 
 were in the secret, received the supposed royal gift 
 with every manifestation of delight, and great was 
 her mortification on learning how neatly she had been 
 tricked. 
 
 The poet, however, was not always so happily in- 
 spired. Meeting one morning a man with a troupe of 
 performing bears, he persuaded him to introduce them 
 into Madame de Rambouillet's cabinet, and frightened 
 the poor lady nearly out of her senses. She forgave 
 him, but, as Voiture never published anything, be- 
 thought herself of a neat little retaliation, and 
 accordingly caused one of his sonnets to be included 
 in a collection of verses which was being printed for 
 her. On the next occasion on which Voiture was 
 
From an engraving by Desrochers. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 93 
 
 asked to recite some of his verses, he happened to 
 declaim this very poem, upon which the book was 
 handed to him, with a gentle hint that he had appro- 
 priated the work of another ; and for some time he 
 believed that he had confounded his invention with 
 his memory.^ 
 
 Although circumstance was Voiture's favourite muse, 
 and most of his work, improvised or very hurriedly 
 composed, was necessarily somewhat frivolous, he was 
 capable of more serious effort, and his elegies were 
 warmly commended by so fastidious a critic as Boileau. 
 He was also a most accomplished letter-writer, and 
 his letter describing the recapture of Corbie from the 
 Spaniards was considered a masterpiece by his con- 
 temporaries. His success in society secured him 
 lucrative posts and handsome pensions, and the sound 
 good sense he displayed in important matters caused 
 him to be entrusted with more than one diplomatic 
 mission. His bonnes fortunes were numerous and he 
 was terribly addicted to play, but, en revanche, he was 
 seldom known to touch wine.^ He died on May 26, 
 1648, at the age of fifty, at the beginning of the 
 Fronde, which killed the society to which he was 
 accustomed. Some months before his death, he con- 
 ceived a ridiculous passion for Ang61ique d'Angennes, 
 over whom he fought a midnight duel, in the garden 
 of the Hotel de Rambouillet, with Chevaroche, the 
 
 " M. Victor du Bled, la Societe frangaise du XVI" au XX' Steele, 
 I" Serie : I' Hotel de Rambouillet et la Preciosity. 
 
 2 Which was the more singular, since his father was a wine- 
 merchant. 
 
94 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 intendant of the house, and received a wound in the 
 thigh. 
 
 Voiture is the first example of a man of letters living 
 in constant intercourse with the higher nobility who 
 preserved his independence. " His independence," 
 remarks M. Georges Lecocq, " was absolute ; he never 
 belonged to any one. While Sarrasin was the hench- 
 man of the Prince de Conti, La Mesnardiere of Madame 
 de Sable, Bois-Robert of the Cardinal, Vaugelas of 
 Madame de Carignan, Voiture always remained his own 
 master, living on terms of equality with every one, 
 and observing, on all delicate occasions, a perfect tact 
 and a profound reserve." ^ 
 
 Such was the society into which Mile, de Bourbon 
 was introduced soon after the eventful ball at the 
 Louvre which had worked so great a change in her 
 views of life. She was far from entering it unprepared. 
 The Princesse de Cond6, herself a woman of cultured 
 and refined tastes, loved to gather about her both in 
 Paris and at her country residences, particularly at 
 Chantilly, poets, wits, artists, and philosophers ; and 
 the imposing Hotel de Conde, which occupied the 
 site of what is to-day the Theatre de I'Odeon, was the 
 rendezvous of a society scarcely less brilliant than 
 that which frequented the Hotel de Rambouillet. 
 Through its vast salons, where every evening thou- 
 sands of candles shed their light upon murvels of 
 painting, statuary, and tapestry, the priceless heritage 
 of the Montmorencies, moved not only representatives 
 ' M. Georges Lecocq, Voiture ei PHStel de Rambouillet. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 95 
 
 of the most illustrious families in France, but nearly 
 all the talented men who shed so much lustre upon 
 this remarkable epoch ; while among Madame la 
 Princesses more intimate circle were to be found 
 many great ladies distinguished alike for their intelli- 
 gence, their charm of manner, and their irreproachable 
 lives. " Marguerite de Montmorency," says Lenet, 
 " who possessed the beauty, grace, and majesty of 
 her age, had always around her a circle of the most 
 agreeable and charming ladies of the Court. Near 
 her were found all that was most gallant, most honour- 
 able, and most elevated both by birth and merit. The 
 young prince [d'Enghien] became pleased with this 
 society ; he frequented it as regularly as possible, 
 and derived from it the first tincture of that noble 
 and gallant courtesy which he always possessed, and 
 which he still preserves towards ladies." And the 
 chronicler adds : " Mile, de Bourbon possessed great 
 intelligence and extraordinary beauty." 
 
 Extraordinary beauty ! As to that, contemporary 
 opinion is for once absolutely unanimous. " This 
 princess," writes her lover. La Rochefoucauld, " pos- 
 sessed all the advantages of merit and of beauty to 
 such a degree, that it seemed that Nature had taken 
 pleasure in forming a masterpiece." 
 
 Cardinal de Retz, who would have been very pleased 
 to have changed places with the author of the Maximes, 
 is scarcely less emphatic : " As regards Madame de 
 Longueville, the small-pox had deprived her of the 
 first freshness of her beauty, but had left to her 
 
96 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 almost all its splendour ; ^ and this splendour, joined 
 to her rank, her intelligence, and her langour, rendered 
 her one of the most amiable persons in France. And 
 elsewhere he writes : "She had a langour in her manner 
 which appealed to one more than the vivacity even of 
 those who were more beautiful." ^ 
 
 And Georges de Scudery, in the dedication of his 
 sister's ponderous romance, le Grand Cyrus, thus 
 addresses her : " The beauty that is yours in a 
 sovereign degree is not the most marvellous of your 
 gifts, although it be the object of the whole world's 
 admiration. One sees, without doubt, in your Highness, 
 the most perfect conception possible to behold, whether 
 it be of form, of which yours is so beautiful and so 
 noble, or of majestic bearing, or as regards the beauty 
 of your looks, which effaces the rays of the star with 
 which I compare you, or for the splendour and 
 fascination of your eyes, for the purity and vivacity 
 of your complexion, for the just proportion of all your 
 features, and for that air at once modest and gallant, 
 which is the soul of beauty." 
 
 Moreover — mirahile dictu — her charms seemed to have 
 appealed no less strongly to her own than to the 
 opposite sex. In the book itself. Mile, de Scudery 
 gives us another and more detailed description of 
 Madame de Longueville, under the name of Mandane, 
 which is, if it be possible, more enthusiastic than that 
 
 ' Mile, de Bourbon was attacked by small-pox shortly after her 
 marriage ; it left, however, scarcely any trace. 
 ^ Memoires. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 97 
 
 of her brother : " The veil of silver gauze which the 
 Princesse Mandane wore did not prevent one perceiving 
 a thousand golden ringlets, in which her beautiful hair, 
 which was of a most lovely blond, was arranged. . . . 
 Her shape was very noble and very elegant, and she 
 walked with so unconscious a majesty, that she drew 
 after her the hearts of all who beheld her. Her bosom 
 was white, full, and well formed. She had blue eyes, 
 but so sweet, so briUiant, and so full of modesty and 
 charm, that it was impossible to behold her without 
 respect and admiration. She had a mouth so red, 
 teeth so white, so well shaped, and so even, a com- 
 plexion so dazzling, so lustrous, so harmonious, and 
 so delicately tinted, that the freshness and beauty of 
 the rarest spring flowers could convey but an imperfect 
 idea of that which met my gaze and that which this 
 princess possessed. She had the most beautiful hands 
 and the most beautiful arms possible to behold. . . . 
 From all these charms, there resulted a harmony in 
 all her actions so marvellous, that, whether she walked 
 or whether she stood, whether she spoke or was silent, 
 whether she was smiling or pensive, she was always 
 fascinating and always worthy of admiration." 
 
 Madame de Motteville, whose pen-portraits of her 
 contemporaries are, as a rule, admirably drawn, echoes 
 the enthusiasm of le Grand Cyrus. " Though IVIadame 
 de Longueville," she says, " ruled all souls by these 
 means [her intelligence and her rank], that of her beauty 
 was not less potent ; for, although she had had the 
 small-pox since the Regency began and had slightly 
 
 VOL. I. 7 
 
9 8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 lost the purity of her complexion, the glow of her 
 charms always attracted the inclination of those who 
 saw her. Above all, she possessed in a sovereign 
 degree that which the Spanish language expresses by 
 the words, donayre^ brio, y hyzarria. Her shape 
 was admirable ; and the very air of her person possessed 
 a charm the spell of which extended even over her own 
 sex. It was impossible to behold her without liking her 
 and desiring to please her. Her beauty, nevertheless, 
 consisted more in the colouring of her face than in 
 the perfection of its features. Her eyes were not 
 large, but beautiful, soft, and brilliant ; and the blue 
 was wonderful ; it resembled that of the turquoise. 
 The poets could only compare to lilies and roses the 
 red and white of her complexion ; and the silver-blond 
 hair which accompanied so many marvels made her 
 resemble an angel, such as the weakness of our nature 
 makes us imagine, rather than a woman." 
 
 Finally, la Grande Mademoiselle^ who certainly cannot 
 be accused of an excess of benevolence when writing of 
 the ladies of her time, and Madame de Maintenon, 
 who did not see Anne de Bourbon until the latter had 
 reached middle life, unite in describing her as "beautiful 
 as an angel." 
 
 The portrait of Mile, de Bourbon was painted by 
 several of the best masters of her time, but more than 
 one of these works would appear to have been destroyed. 
 Thus nothing is known of a portrait by Rubens's pupil. 
 Juste d'Egmont, which we learn, from a letter of the 
 ' Anne Marie Louise d'Orl^ans, eldest daughter of Gaston d'Orl^ans. 
 
Jnnbgene,\ _-,. ^ 
 
 x BON Duc^^ dc Ihn^e^ ^ 
 
 etatand TflaiStre de Fra,ficz,Du. 
 ■J i60.% OG^y d:Orte.iMui -^cUl. ' 
 
 From an engraving; by Frosne 
 
 ANNE GENEVIEVE DE BOURBON, 
 
 . -X nB BOP R Z 
 ^c^u.«A« et dojlaultudlt Brin --> 
 Let^^alUnauAa zn Suljoe Sec- 
 
 Ae Cipouua Ic of JiuAv 
 
 }nam^ JDuk. t/d JcmaiLCuUl^ Prince 
 '/?m.a.n2t^ duqu.el tnat~i(iqc •jon.t^u^ 
 
 DUCHESSE DE LONGUEVILLE. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 99 
 
 Comtesse de Maure, dated September 9, 1652, Madame 
 dc Longueville had commissioned this painter to 
 execute,^ nor of another "twenty-two inches by eighteen 
 inches," which Vatout, in his Catalogue historique et 
 descriptive des tableaux appar tenant a S.A.R. monseigneur 
 le due d'Orleans, mentions as being among the collec- 
 tion of la Grande Mademoiselle at the Chateau d'Eu. 
 Fortunately, however, enough portraits, either painted 
 or engraved, have been preserved to enable us to form 
 an excellent idea of what this charming woman must 
 have been like during the first thirty years of her life, 
 though none apparently belong to a later date. 
 
 During the Congress of Miinster, in 1646 and 1647, 
 Madame de Longueville was painted by the Dutch 
 artist, Anselm van Hull. This portrait, which is a 
 half-length, is generally considered, however, to do 
 her scarcely justice, partly, no doubt, because she was 
 not in good health at the time ; but it proves none the 
 less that the promise of her youth has been amply 
 fulfilled. There are engravings of it by Filleul and 
 Pontius (Du Pont). 
 
 Besides the family portrait by Du Cayer, there is 
 another painting of Anne de Bourbon at Versailles, 
 commonly attributed to Mignard. This is not only 
 infinitely pleasing, but, according to Victor Cousin, 
 " the worthy image of Madame de Longueville." 
 She is apparently about twenty-five, but still retains 
 all the freshness of her first youth," with a sweet and 
 angelic countenance, where coquetry begins to appear 
 ' Victor Cousin, Madame de Sable. 
 
loo A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 through a ndiveti almost virginal, "a complexion of 
 lilies and rose, soft blue eyes, silky golden curls 
 floating on shapely shoulders, an exquisitely propor- 
 tioned, if rather full, figure, and beautiful arms and 
 hands. She wears that air of good-humoured languor 
 of which her contemporaries speak, and is seated, 
 dressed in a rich Court costume and holding in her 
 hands a bouquet of flowers. This portrait has been 
 several times engraved ; the most successful attempt is 
 probably that by Waltener, the least that of Gavard. 
 
 In the Cabinet des M6dailles there is a very beautiful 
 silver medallion, representing Madame de Longueville 
 at about the same age as the painting attributed to 
 Mignard, which is believed to be by either Du Pr6 
 or Varins, while amongt he enamels of Petitot in the 
 Louvre, is one of the princess. This is, however, a 
 very mediocre example of the artist's work, if it be his 
 at all, on which point some doubt seems to exist. 
 
 The Cabinet des Estampes possesses a charming 
 drawing by De Monstier, or Du Montier, as he is 
 sometimes called, made. Cousin supposes, about 1646. 
 " When one has seen this drawing and the Versailles 
 portrait," he writes, "one has seen Madame de 
 Longueville, and one understands all that her con- 
 temporaries say of her." 
 
 Of the engravings, apart from those after the 
 paintings we have mentioned, the best is undoubtedly 
 that by Regnesson, executed in 1649, after a drawing 
 by Chauveau. It was used by the Scud^rys as a 
 frontispiece to the first volume of le Grand Cyrus, and 
 
A Princess of Intrigue loi 
 
 certainly goes far to justify both the rhapsodies of 
 the brother's dedication and of the sister's description 
 of the Princess Mandane. 
 
 But, remarkable as was Anne de Bourbon's beauty, 
 this alone would not have sufficed to ensure her the 
 cordial welcome which she received at the H6tel de 
 Rambouillet, had she not possessed graces of mind 
 as well as of person. Although her education, 
 whether from the complacency of her teachers or from 
 her own indolence, had been, as we have already 
 said, very superficial, the natural brilliance of her 
 mind and constant intercourse with the most refined 
 and intellectual society of her time atoned for this 
 disadvantage, and in her the leaders of the famous 
 salon speedily recognised a pupil of most unusual 
 promise. 
 
 We have seen that Lenet and La Rochefoucauld 
 praise her intelligence as well as her beauty, and, 
 indeed, there would appear to be as much unanimity 
 of opinion concerning her mental gifts as in regard to 
 her charms. " The ■ mind of Mile, de Bourbon," 
 writes Voiture to one of his friends, "is alone able 
 to make one doubt whether her beauty is the most 
 perfect thing in the world." " Madame de Longueville," 
 says Retz, " has naturally a great fund of intelligence, 
 but she has still more finesse and tact. Her capacity, 
 which has not been aided by her indolence, has not 
 been exercised upon business affairs." And, speaking 
 of the " languor " of her manner, he writes : " She 
 had even a languor of the mind, which was not without 
 
I02 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 its charm, because it had, if we may say it, luminous 
 and startling awakenings." 
 
 The women are once more in accord with the men. 
 Madame de Maintenon declares that she was " the 
 most intelligent woman of her time ;" while Madame de 
 Motteville, though she deplores her indolence, admits 
 that " her ideas, her intellect, and the opinion formed 
 of her discernment made her the admired of all men." 
 
 It was at the Hotel de Rambouillet that Mile, 
 de Bourbon made the acquaintance of the celebrated 
 Marquise de Sable/ beloved of the ill-fated Due de 
 Montmorency, and formed with her a friendship 
 which death alone was to terminate. Madame de 
 Sabl6 was a passionate admirer of the Spanish romantic 
 school and had, Madame de Motteville tells us, " formed 
 a lofty idea of the gallantry which the Spaniards had 
 learned from the Moors." " She was persuaded," the 
 chronicler continues, " that men could, without evil, 
 entertain tender feelings towards women, that the 
 desire to please the latter moved them to great and 
 noble deeds, gave them understanding, and inspired 
 them with generosity and all kinds of virtues ; but 
 that, on the other hand, women, who were the 
 ornament of the world, and made to be served and 
 adored, ought not to permit anything save their 
 
 ' Madeleine de Souvrg, daughter of Gilles de Souvr6, Marquis de 
 Courtenvaux, gouverneur to Louis XIII. aud afterwards marechal de 
 France. Born in 1599 ; married, in 16 14, Philippe Emmanuel de Sabl6. 
 Seigneur de Bois-Dauphin, Marquis de Sabl6 ; died at Port-Royal, 
 1678. Victor Cousin has devoted to her one of his most charming 
 studies of the celebrated women of the seventeenth century. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 103 
 
 respectful homage." The young beauty was fortunate 
 in finding such a friend to guide her first steps amid 
 the quicksands of the fashionable world, while it is 
 probable that Madame de Sabld had no inconsiderable 
 share in forming that sound judgment and really 
 exquisite taste in all things intellectual and literary 
 for which Mile, de Bourbon was ere long to become 
 hardly less celebrated than for her loveliness. 
 
 It was also at the Hotel de Rambouillet that Mile, 
 de Bourbon became on terms of friendly intimacy 
 with the Scuderys. The authoress of le Grand Cyrus 
 was an excellent and warm-hearted woman, esteemed 
 and beloved by all who knew her, so much so that 
 Boileau, having written a satire, in which he had 
 held her works up to ridicule, could not bring himself 
 to publish it. She had a romance of her own with 
 Pellisson. Some of her letters to him have been 
 published, and to those acquainted with the stilted 
 phraseology of Cyrus and Clelie, it is an agreeable 
 surprise to find them naturally and pleasantly expressed. 
 " It shows the power of affection," remarks Mr. 
 Perkins, " that, when Mile, de Scudery wrote love- 
 letters, she forgot to be prolix and ceased to be 
 wearisome." ^ Her brother Georges, in spite of his 
 conceit and the bombastic style of his works, was 
 a well-meaning and honourable man and a staunch 
 friend. Both he and his sister conceived the warmest 
 regard for the young princess, and remained faithful 
 to her through good and evil report. This fidelity 
 
 ' "France under Mazarin," 
 
I04 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 on the part of Georges de Scudery was the more 
 to be admired, since he was a protege of Mazarin, 
 and the loss of the Cardinal's favour would have been 
 a serious matter for him. 
 
 From a brilliant pupil, Anne de Bourbon soon 
 became one of the chief ornaments of the Hotel de 
 Rambouillet, and eventually the arbitrix of taste and of 
 supreme elegance. Madame de Motteville declares that 
 " men were convinced that her esteem alone was enough 
 to give them reputation ;" and, in 1645, Le Clerc, 
 afterwards a member of the Academie Frangaise, in 
 placing under her protection his tragedy of Virginie, 
 thus addresses her : " To be acknowledged by you 
 is to be so by all the world ; you are to-day the 
 tutelary divinity of the Muses." 
 
 Like her brother, the Due d'Enghien, who could 
 not restrain his tears at the first representation of 
 Cinna, she admired Corneille ; but her favourite 
 among the men of letters whom she met at the 
 Hotel de Rambouillet was not the great dramatist, 
 but Voiture, the delicacy and pathos of whose more 
 serious efforts seemed to have pleased her even more 
 than the brilliant flashes of wit which distinguished 
 his impromptu verses. For Voiture, indeed, she had 
 the most sincere admiration ; an admiration which 
 the poet fully reciprocated, celebrating her charms 
 both of mind and person on every possible opportunity : 
 
 De perles, d'astres et de fleurs, 
 Bourbon le ciel fit tes couleurs, 
 Et mit dedans tout ce melange 
 L'esprit d'un ange ! 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 105 
 
 And again 
 
 L'on jugeroit par la blancheur 
 De Bourbon et par sa fraicheur, 
 Qu'elle a pris naissance des lis, etc. 
 
 Even in his letters, as we have seen, he cannot refrain 
 from extolling her intelligence and beauty. 
 
 About a year after Voiture's death, arose the famous 
 quarrels of the " Uranistes " and the "Joblstes," the 
 respective champions of two sonnets, Uranie and Job, 
 the former, " the last sigh of Voiture's muse," which 
 had just been published by his friends ; the latter, the 
 work of Benserade. 
 
 Benserade was a prolific writer of ballets and masques, 
 and like Voiture, whose chief rival he was — though a 
 much younger man — not infrequently showed that a 
 true poet lay beneath the fantastic disguises it pleased 
 him to assume.^ He was, at this period, the darling 
 of the Precieuses, and is commonly believed to have 
 served La Bruyfere for his portrait of Thdobalde, 
 the idol of the Philamintes and the Bdlises, who, when- 
 ever he opens his lips, exclaim : " Cela est delicieux ; 
 qu'a-t-il dit ?" ^ His bans mots and epigrams were in 
 everyone's mouth, and were passed about as things 
 over which only the dullest comprehension could refuse 
 to rhapsodise. 
 
 His sonnet, which appeared almost at the same time 
 as Uranie, sent his numerous devotees into ecstasies of 
 
 ' Mr. Saintsbury, "History of French Literature.'' 
 ' De la Societe et de la Conversation. 
 
io6 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 delight. All the languishing gallants, all the mourants 
 of the day, declared with one voice that, in depicting 
 the sufFerings of Job, never had poet so exquisitely 
 expressed their own torments. Uranie was received 
 by the admirers of Voiture with scarcely less enthusiasm 
 than Benserade's poem had aroused, and the Court, 
 the town, the Academy, and the salons were forthwith 
 divided into two hostile camps, which vied with one 
 another in proclaiming the superiority of their respec- 
 tive idols. Here are the two sonnets, after perusing 
 which the reader will probably be of opinion that, though 
 both have their undoubted merits, it is somewhat 
 difficult to understand why they should have had the 
 honour of dividing the beaux esprit s of one of the most 
 literary epochs in French history : 
 
 SONNET D'URANIE 
 
 II faut finir mes jours en I'amour d'Uratiie, 
 L'absence ni le temps ne m'en sauraient gufirir, 
 Et je ne vois plus rien qui me put secourir, 
 Ni qui sut rappeler ma liberty bannie. 
 
 D6s longtemps je connais sa rigueur infinie ; 
 Mais pensant aux beautes pour qui je dois p6rir, 
 Je bfenis mon martyre, et content de mourir, 
 Je n'ose murmurer centre sa tyrannie. 
 
 Quelquefois ma raison, par de faibles discours, 
 
 M'invite k la revoke et me promet secours ; 
 
 Mais lorsqu'i mon besoin je me veux servir d'elle, 
 
 Apr6s beaucoup de peine et d'efForts impuissants, 
 Elle dit qu' Uranie est seule aimable et belle, 
 Et m'y rengage plus que ne font tous mes sens. 
 
 Voiture. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 107 
 
 SUR JOB 
 
 Job, Vie mille tourments atteint, 
 Vous rendra sa douleur connue ; 
 Et raisonnablement il craint 
 Que vous n'en soyez point emue. 
 
 Vous verrez sa misdre nue"; 
 
 II s'est lui-meme ici d^peint ; 
 
 Accoutumez-vous k la vue 
 
 D'un homme qui souffre et se plaint. 
 
 Bien qu'il eut d'extremes souffrances, 
 On voit aller des patiences 
 Plus loin que la sienne n'alla. 
 
 II souffrit des maux incroyables, 
 II s'en plaignit, il en parla ; 
 J'en connais de plus mis6rables. 
 
 Benserade. 
 
 However that may be, the controversy raged 
 fiercely ; and the pamphlets and brochures, in prose 
 and verse, to which it gave rise would form, we are 
 assured, several bulky volumes. Balzac, in his retreat 
 on the banks of the Charente, composed an essay in 
 thirteen chapters on the two poems, wherein he analyzed 
 them word by word and verse by verse, rendering to 
 each its due meed of praise ; and Corneille himself 
 entered the lists and took the side of yol> against Uranie^ 
 in a sonnet of his own, in which he declared that, though 
 Voiture's was undoubtedly the better inspired and 
 the more finished poem, he should prefer to have been 
 the author of the other/ 
 
 ' M. Octave Uzanne, Introduction to les Poesies de Benserade 
 Paris, 1878). 
 
io8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 The great majority of the Court and of the Hotel de 
 Rambouillet were of Corneille's opinion ; but Mile, 
 de Bourbon — or rather Madame de Longueville, as 
 she had then become — stoutly maintained the superiority 
 of her dead friend against all opposition, and Mile, de 
 Scud6ry wrote : 
 
 A vous dire la verity, 
 
 Le destin de Job est strange, 
 
 D'etre toujours pers6cut6, 
 
 Tantot par un d6mon at tantot par un ange. 
 
 So strenuously did the young princess advocate the 
 claims of Uranie, and so great was the reputation 
 which she then enjoyed, that eventually most of the 
 critics revised their opinion and pronounced Voiture's 
 sonnet to be the finer work ; a verdict which has 
 been confirmed by posterity. 
 
 Another of Mile, de Bourbon's literary proteges was 
 Chapelain, the most remarkable figure of a school of 
 ponderous epic writers, the extinction of which is, in 
 Mr. Saintsbury's judgment, the best claim of Boileau 
 to the gratitude of posterity.^ Chapelain was really a 
 very erudite person indeed, who might have attained 
 a quite respectable position as an author, had he only 
 been content to write in prose. Unfortunately, his 
 ambition lay in the direction of verse, and he spent 
 twenty years of his life in the composition of la Pucelle, 
 a gigantic epic in twenty cantos, which he fondly 
 anticipated would become the " IHad " of France. The 
 
 ' " History of French Literature.'' 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 109 
 
 first part appeared in 1656, only to be hopelessly 
 damned. 
 
 Nous attendions de Chapelain 
 
 Une pucelle, 
 
 Jeune et belle ; 
 Vingt ans k forger, il perdit son latin, 
 
 Et de sa main 
 
 II sort enfin 
 
 Une vieille sempiternelle, 
 
 ran one of the epigrams directed against it. 
 
 So well had Chapelain understood how to excite the 
 curiosity of the public during the twenty years of his 
 poetical enfantement^ and so skilfully had he succeeded 
 in arousing enthusiasm by the reading of isolated passages, 
 that in eighteen months six editions of the first twelve 
 cantos were published. But, in the meanwhile, the 
 epigrams of Montdon and Furetifere and the slashing 
 satire of Boileau had reduced the hapless author to such 
 a pitch of despair, that nothing could induce him to 
 allow the remainder of his immortal work to see the 
 light, and those who would peruse the last twelve cantos 
 of la Pucelle must seek them among the manuscripts 
 of the Biblioth^que Nationale. 
 
 Notwithstanding the esteem in which Madame de 
 Longueville held Chapelain, and the fact that she had 
 persuaded her husband to grant him a substantial 
 pension, in order that he might devote all his energies 
 to the composition of his epic, she was one of the first 
 to recognise his defects as a poet. One day, when 
 Chapelain had been reading a portion of his forthcoming 
 work at the Hotel de Rambouillet, and the company. 
 
no A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 who appear to have taken him very much at his own 
 valuation, were loud in praise of its supposed beauties, 
 she remarked, on being appealed to for her opinion : 
 " Yes ; that is very fine, but very wearisome." ^ 
 
 Chapelain, who was the kindest and least vindictive 
 of men, bore not the slightest malice for the ridicule 
 which was poured upon him, and when, in 1662, he 
 was commissioned by Colbert to draw up an account 
 of contemporary men of letters destined to guide the 
 King in his distribution of pensions, the royal attention 
 was directed alike to his friends and his most pitiless 
 critics. 
 
 The princess was also on very friendly terms with 
 the little Abbe Godeau, the future bishop, with whom 
 she maintained a correspondence for some years, and 
 with the eccentric Jacques Esprit, of the Acad^mie 
 Fran9aise, who began life as a man of letters and clerk 
 to Chancellor Seguier ; then took to devotion and was 
 ordained a priest of the Oratory, and, finally, returned 
 to the world, married and became the father of a 
 numerous family. 
 
 ' Bourgoing de Villefore, la Veritable Vie d' Anne- Genevieve de 
 Bourbon, Duchesse de Longueville. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Occupations of Mile, de Bourbon during the summer — Rueil — Chantilly 
 — The Court of Madame la Princesse — Letters in verse — The 
 Great CondS's epigrams — Lenet's description of life at Chantilly — 
 The Due d'Enghien and his future brothers-in-arms — Mile, de 
 Bourbon and her girl friends — Mile, de Brienne — The Bouttevilles 
 — Julie d'Angennes — The Du Vigeans — Tender attachment of the 
 Due d'Enghien and Marthe du Vigean — The Prince de Conde 
 insists on betrothing his son to a niece of Richelieu — First 
 campaign of the young prince — Marriage-contract of the Due 
 d'Enghien and Mile, de Maill6-Br6z6 — A ludicrous incident — 
 Marriage of the Due d'Enghien — He falls seriously ill — Tyranny 
 exercised over him by Richelieu — Projects of marriage in regard 
 to Mile, de Bourbon — The Prince de Joinville — Armand de Maill^ — 
 Mile, de Bourbon rejects the suit of the Due de Beaufort — Her 
 parents resolve to bestow her hand upon the Due de Longueville — 
 His character — A weighty question — Marriage of Mile, de Bourbon 
 and the Due de Longueville. 
 
 MLLE. DE BOURBON passed every winter in 
 Paris, at the Hotel de Cond6, frequenting almost 
 daily the gatherings at the H6tel de Rambouillet, and 
 attending the Court functions at the Louvre, and the 
 scarcely less splendid receptions given by Richelieu 
 at the Palais-Cardinal. The summers she spent with 
 her mother in the country, following the Court to 
 Fontainebleau, visiting her great friends the Du 
 Vigeans^ at La Barre, the beautiful and pious Jeanne 
 
 1 The Du Vigeans were an old Poitevin family. Fran9ois Poussant 
 de Fors, Baron, afterwards Marquis, du Vigean, was a Protestant ; his 
 wife, Anne de Neufbourg, a Catholic. They had four children, two 
 
112 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 de Schomberg, Duchesse de Liancourt, at Liancourt, 
 
 or the Cardinal and his niece, the Duchesse d'Aiguillon, 
 
 at Rueil, their beautiful chateau on the banks of the 
 
 Seine between Saint-Germain and Paris. 
 
 Although Madame la Princesse hated Richelieu, 
 
 being unable to pardon him the death of her brother, 
 
 Henri de Montmorency, whom all her prayers and tears 
 
 had not availed to save, in deference to the wishes of 
 
 her husband, who never allowed sentiment to interfere 
 
 with his interests, she was always very careful to 
 
 disguise her feelings, and, with her children, was a 
 
 frequent guest at Rueil. Here the Cardinal combined 
 
 business and pleasure, working in the morning with 
 
 his secretaries or whatever Ministers happened to be 
 
 in attendance, and in the latter part of the day 
 
 delighting his guests by splendid ballets and the most 
 
 sumptuous fetes. At Rueil, as at the Palais-Cardinal, 
 
 he had a theatre constructed, equipped with all the 
 
 most modern improvements, where plays composed by 
 
 the five poets whom he had retained to work for it — 
 
 Bois-Robert, CoUetet, Corneille, L'Etoile, and Rotrou — 
 
 were performed. Another poet whose pen Richelieu 
 
 employed was Desmarets, who would appear to have 
 
 been not infrequently charged to celebrate the charms 
 
 of his patron's fair visitors. In a collection of verses 
 
 sons and two daughters, the former being brought up in the religion 
 of their father, the latter in that of their mother. Of the sons, the 
 elder, the Marquis de Fors, was killed before Arras in his twenty-fifth 
 year. Although so young, he had already greatly distinguished himself. 
 His brother, who also served with distinction, was assassinated, under 
 mysterious circumstances, in 1663. Concerning the daughters, and 
 particularly the younger, we shall have something to say presently. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 113 
 
 composed by hitn for the ballets at Rueil, and published 
 in 1 641, are several little pieces in praise of the 
 Princesse de Conde and Mile, de Bourbon, in one 
 of which the three Graces, addressing themselves to 
 the latter, exclaim : 
 
 Merveilleuse beauts, race de tant de rois, 
 Princesse, dont I'Sclat fait honte aux immortelles, 
 
 Nous ne pensions etre que trois, 
 Et nous trouvons en vous mille graces nouvelles.' 
 
 Occasional visits were also paid to Madame la Princesse s 
 seats at Mello, La Versine, and M6ru ; but the greater 
 part of the summer was spent at Chantilly, whither 
 she came with a little Court composed of the most 
 intimate friends of her children and a sprinkling of 
 wits and men of letters, of whom the most regular 
 guests were Voiture and Sarrasin. Monsieur le Prince, 
 who did not care for country pleasures, usually remained 
 in Paris, and, in his absence, etiquette was laid aside, 
 and the guests permitted to amuse themselves as they 
 pleased. The days were passed in delightful excursions, 
 gallantry, though of an innocent and very ceremonious 
 kind, music, the reading aloud of romances and plays, 
 and the composition of rhyming letters to absent friends. 
 To write letters in verse was a favourite amusement 
 of Mile, de Bourbon and her young friends. Victor 
 Cousin, in his Jeunesse de Madame de Longueville, cites 
 a lengthy epistle, the joint work of Anne de Bourbon, 
 Julie d'Angennes, Isabelle de Boutteville (the 
 future Duchesse de Chatillon) and Mile, de Brienne, 
 
 ^ Published by Victor Cousin, la Jeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 VOL. I. 8 
 
114 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 addressed to the Miles, du Vigean, and a shorter one 
 composed by them in honour of the Princesse de Conde. 
 He appears to consider them very creditable productions 
 for youthful amateurs ; but, to our mind, neither is 
 anything like so amusing as the delightful nonsense 
 which the little Marianne Mancini (afterwards 
 Duchesse de Bouillon) used to send to Mazarin, and 
 which her uncle could find time to read and laugh 
 over, even when tortured by gout and overwhelmed 
 by the pressure of public business.^ 
 
 The mania for rhyming seized the Great Conde him- 
 self, who not seldom broke out into verse, generally of a 
 very sprightly kind. One All Saints' Day, at Liancourt, 
 impatient to see his sister and her friends, who were in 
 church, he composed this epigram : 
 
 Donnez-en k garder k d'autres, 
 Dites cent fois vos patenotres, 
 Et mamiottez-en ce saint jour. 
 Nous vous estimons trop habiles ; 
 Pour ouir des propos d'amour 
 Vous quitteriez bientot vigiles. 
 
 Perhaps the best known of his poetical efforts is that 
 at the expense of the Comte d'Harcourt, who, in 1650, 
 was charged to escort Cond6, Conti, and Longueville 
 from Marcoussis to Havre : 
 
 Cet homme gros et court, 
 
 Si fameux dans I'histoire ; 
 
 Ce grand comte d'Harcourt, 
 
 Tout rayonnant de gloire. 
 Qui secourut Cazal et qui reprit Turin, 
 Est devenu recors de Jules Mazarin. 
 
 ' See the author's " Five Fair Sisters " (London : Hutchinson ; New 
 York : Putnam s ; 1906). 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 115 
 
 Sometimes, even when addressing his friends, he 
 permitted his muse a freedom which could scarcely have 
 added to his popularity. One day, at table, drinking 
 to the health of the Comte de Marsin, one of his most 
 trusted lieutenants, upon whom, though he held him in 
 high esteem, he could not forbear occasionally exercising 
 his wit, he sang the following verses to the refrain of a 
 song then very popular : 
 
 Je bois k toi, mon cher Marsin. 
 Je crois que Mars est ton cousin, 
 
 Et Bellone est ta mSre. 
 
 Je ne dis rien du p6re, 
 
 Car 11 est incertain. 
 Tin, tin, trelin, tin, tin, tin. 
 
 Lenet, in his Mimoires, has left us an interesting 
 account of how the company at Chantilly passed their 
 time : 
 
 " The excursions were the most agreeable possible to 
 imagine. The evenings were not less amusing. After 
 the usual prayers had been read in the chapel, which 
 were attended by every one, all the ladies retired to the 
 apartments of the princess, where they played at various 
 games and sang. There were often fine voices and 
 very agreeable conversations, stories of Court intrigues 
 and gallantry, which made life pass as pleasantly as 
 possible. It was a great pleasure to sec all the young 
 ladies who composed the Court melancholy or gay, 
 according to the frequency or rarity of the visits which 
 were paid them and the nature of the letters which they 
 received. We used to see constantly messengers 
 or visitors arriving, which aroused great jealousy 
 
ii6 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 among those who received none ; and all this drew 
 forth verses, sonnets, and elegies, which amused the 
 indifferent no less than those personally interested. 
 Rhymes and riddles were composed, which occupied 
 the time in spare hours. Some were to be seen 
 walking on the edge of the ponds, and some in the 
 alleys of the park or gardens, on the terrace or on 
 the lawn, alone or in parties, according to the state 
 of mind in which they were, while others sang airs 
 or recited verses, or read romances on a balcony, 
 or as they walked or reposed on the grass. Never was 
 there seen so beautiful a place in such a beautiful 
 season." 
 
 Lenet wrote of the spring of 1650, when the princes 
 (Conde, Conti, and Longueville) were in prison, and 
 Madame de Longueville an exile, and when, as he 
 admits, the amusements of the young people were 
 often disturbed by bad news. But before the Fronde, 
 which divided all French society, Chantilly was an 
 even more delightful resort. The Due d'Enghien 
 came there, bringing with him many of the young 
 nobles who had been his friends at Benjamin's Academy, 
 and who were to fight by his side on many a fiercely 
 contested field : the two sons of the Marechal Due 
 de Chatillon : Maurice, Comte de Coligny, who was 
 mortally wounded, in 1643, in the famous duel with 
 the Due de Guise, of which we shall speak hereafter, 
 and Gaspard, Marquis d'Andelot, who succeeded to 
 his father's title, and, after covering himself with 
 glory on the memorable day of Lens, was killed in a 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 117 
 
 skirmish at Charenton in the first War of the Fronde ; 
 Guy de Laval, son of the Marquise de Sabl6, their 
 rival in courage and their superior in intelligence, 
 whose career, full of promise, was cut short at the 
 siege of Dunkerque ; Leon d'Angennes, Marquis de 
 Pisani, who, like Guy de Laval, was the son of a 
 celebrated mother (Madame de Rambouillet) and, 
 like him, died sword in hand ; ^ two young men who 
 successively bore the title of Due de Nemours, Louis 
 and Charles Amedee de Savoie, both distinguished 
 for their good looks and their courage, and both 
 destined to an early death ; ^ La Moussaye,^ one of 
 the heroes of the Battle of la Marfee, the Great 
 Conde's most intimate friend and confidant, to whom 
 we owe the best accounts of the campaigns of Rocroi 
 and Freiburg ; the two Du Vigeans, Nangis, Tavannes 
 and others, amongst whom grew up the little Francois 
 de Montmorency-BouttevIUe, afterwards the celebrated 
 Mar6chal de Luxembourg. 
 
 And among these budding warriors, and the wits 
 and men of letters whom the Princesse de Conde 
 delighted to gather round her, moved a band of 
 
 • He was killed at Nordlingen, in 1645. 
 
 ' Louis died of fever, in 1641, during the siege of Aire; Charles 
 Amedee was killed in a miserable duel with his brother-in-law, the 
 Due de Beaufort, in 1643. Their younger brother, Henri de Savoie, 
 who succeeded to the dukedom, subsequently married Mile, de 
 Longueville, daughter of Anne de Bourbon's husband by his first 
 wife. The three brothers were descended from Philibert de Savoie, 
 created Due de Nemours by Franfois I. 
 
 3 Franfois de Goyon-Matignon, Baron de Nogent, commonly called 
 Nogent La Moussaye, and sometimes confounded with his brother, 
 the Marquis de la Moussaye. He died at Stenai, in 1650. 
 
ii8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 young beauties, the chosen companions of her daughter, 
 several of whom have left their mark upon the history 
 of their time : light-hearted, laughter-loving damsels, 
 bandying jests with the wits, rallying the more 
 serious, and exercising, under the indulgent eyes of 
 Madame la Princesse, their precocious coquetry upon 
 the Due d'Enghien and his comrades. 
 
 Here is Marie Antoinette de Brienne, daughter of 
 the Minister of Louis XIII. and of the Regent, a 
 sweet, modest girl, and like her mother, who was 
 one of Anne of Austria's closest friends and the 
 recipient of that interesting confidence regarding her 
 Majesty's feelings for Mazarin which her husband 
 relates in his Memoires, exceedingly devout. She 
 married, in 1642, the Marquis de Gamaches, and died, 
 in 1704, at the age of eighty. The least beautiful 
 of the youthful companions of Anne de Bourbon, 
 Marie Antoinette de Brienne was certainly the most 
 happy. 
 
 Near her, the two Bouttevilles, sisters of the future 
 Marechal de Luxembourg : Marie Louise, afterwards 
 Marquise de Valen^ay, and Isabelle, celebrated, under 
 the name of the Duchesse de Chatillon, as the most 
 finished coquette of her time. Insatiable for ad- 
 miration, she disdains no conquest, encouraging and 
 rebuffing by turns the troop of youthful adorers 
 who gather about her, and rehearsing thus early with 
 the Due d'Enghien and the younger of the two 
 boys who are to bear in succession the title of Due 
 de Nemours, the part she will one day play with 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 119 
 
 them on another stage. None of the nymphs of 
 Chantilly, with the single exception of Mile, de 
 Bourbon, inspire the poets of Madame la Princesse 
 to celebrate their charms and deplore their coldness 
 more often than she. Among a multitude of verses, 
 of more or less merit, composed in her honour may 
 be mentioned those of the poet Charpy, wherein he 
 draws an ingenious comparison between the destruction 
 wrought by the sword of her father, the notorious 
 duellist, and the havoc created by the beaux yeux of 
 Isabelle : 
 
 Quand je vols de rapport de votre p6re a vous, 
 
 Divinite mortelle, adorable Sylvie! 
 II tenait dans ses mains et la mort et la vie : 
 Vos yeux se sent acquis les memes sur nous. ' 
 
 Then there is the celebrated Julie d'Angennes, of 
 whom we have already had occasion to speak in our 
 account of the Hotel de Rambouillet, who married, 
 in 1645, the austere Montausier, and subsequently 
 became gouvernante to the Dauphin and dame 
 d'honneur to Louis XIV.'s long-suffering Queen. A 
 great reputation for virtue has the " incomparable 
 Julie," as her admirers call her, but this will not 
 prevent her playing a very equivocal role in the 
 early days of le Grand Monarque's passion for Madame 
 de Montespan, and thereby gaining a dukedom and 
 other honours for her husband. 
 
 Finally, there are the two Du Vigeans, whose 
 charms, with those of their mother, Voiture has 
 
 ' Marquis de Segur, lajeunesse du Marechal de Luxembourg. 
 
I20 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 celebrated in a review of the beauties of the Court 
 of Chantilly addressed to the Princesse de Conde : 
 
 Baronne, pleine de douceur, 
 fites-vous mSre, etes-vous sceur 
 De ces deux belles si gentilles 
 Qu'on dit vos fiUes? 
 
 Sur son visage [of the elder sister] et sur ses pas 
 Naissent des fleurs et des appas 
 Qu'ailleurs on ne voit point gclore, etc. 
 
 Vigean [the younger] est un soleil naissant, 
 Un bouton s'epanouissant, etc. 
 
 Sans savoir ce que c'est qu'amour 
 Ses beaux yeux le mettent au jour, 
 Et partout elle le fait naltre 
 Sans le connoxtre. 
 
 A very shrewd as well as a very attractive young 
 lady is Louise, the elder sister. She married, in 1 644, 
 the Marquis de Pons, only to find herself a widow 
 four years later. Then she insinuated herself into the 
 good graces of the Duchesse d'Aiguillon, with a view 
 to the subjugation of her nephew, the young Due 
 de Richelieu, the Cardinal's heir ; and to such good 
 purpose did she utihze the opportunities which her 
 intimacy with the unsuspecting duchess gave her, that 
 soon the youth was at her feet. Great was the wrath 
 and bitter the opposition of Madame d'Aiguillon and 
 all her relatives ; but the astute widow bore away the 
 prize none the less.^ 
 
 The younger sister had little in common with the 
 elder, save comeliness, in which respect, however, she 
 
 ■ See p. 381. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 121 
 
 was commonly accounted greatly her superior. Un- 
 fortunately, no portrait of Marthe du Vigean, either 
 painted or engraved, has been preserved, nor have 
 we any detailed description of her among the writings 
 of her contemporaries which can supply its place. 
 But her beauty would appear to have been of a 
 peculiarly appealing type, the reflection of a character 
 gentle, pure, and unselfish. 
 
 In love, it is said, persons are most frequently 
 attracted by those who least resemble them. However 
 that may be, the haughty, vain, egotistical young 
 Due d'Enghien, for a moment subjugated by the 
 more dazzling charms of Isabelle de Boutteville, to 
 whose yoke he will return in years to come, speedily 
 transferred his affections to this gentle, retiring maiden, 
 for whom he conceived the one great and pure passion 
 of his stormy life. The girl reciprocated his affection, 
 and loved him with an intensity of devotion which 
 never wavered for a moment till her life's end. To 
 her, this young prince, with his eagle glance and 
 his fiery courage, was a veritable hero of romance ; 
 a seventeenth-century Bayard, " sans peur ei sans 
 reproche." 
 
 It was a tradition among the princes of the House 
 of Bourbon to seek their wives very often among the 
 daughters of noble and wealthy French families, and, 
 as Mile, du Vigean was a considerable heiress, and her 
 family high in favour at Court, the Due d'Enghien, 
 under ordinary circumstances, might not have de- 
 spaired of obtaining his father's and the King's — 
 
122 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 that is to say, Richelieu's — consent, to the match. 
 Unhappily for the lovers, Monsieur le Prince had 
 other views for his son, and had already selected a 
 wife for him. 
 
 Among the courtiers who so eagerly sought the 
 favour of Richelieu no one was more obsequious than 
 the Prince de Conde, who had not only willingly 
 consented to the suggestion that the Princes of the 
 Blood should yield precedence to cardinals, but had 
 even, it is said, carried his servility to such a point 
 as to hold open doors for the all-powerful Minister 
 to pass through. Omnipotent though Richelieu was, 
 he could hardly have flattered himself with the hope 
 of an alliance with royalty itself; and it must, therefore, 
 have been with feelings of astonishment and contempt 
 minghng with gratification that " he beheld M. de 
 Conde ask of him, almost on his knees, the hand 
 of his niece, and plead for this object as eagerly as 
 though he had in view for his son the sovereignty of 
 the world." ^ 
 
 The niece in question was Claire-Clemence de 
 Maille-Breze, a child of twelve, daughter of the 
 Marechal Due de Breze, who had married Richelieu's 
 pretty but eccentric sister, Nicole du Plessis. The 
 family of MaiJle, although one of the most ancient 
 in Anjou, which had contributed to the Crusades one 
 of its bravest champions, was still scarcely a suitable 
 connection for the Royal Family of France, nor had 
 the marshal any fortune wherewith to endow his 
 ■ Mile, del Montpensier Memoires, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 123 
 
 daughter. The match, indeed, was a kind of specula- 
 tion on the part of Monsieur le Prince, based on the 
 probable duration of the favour and life of a Minister 
 often menaced and already very ill. He anticipated, 
 however, that both would last long enough to enable 
 him to secure the offices and emoluments he coveted 
 for himself, and the military posts he desired for 
 his son.^ 
 
 The Due d'Enghien protested strongly against the 
 sacrifice that was demanded of him, and entreated his 
 father to allow him to marry the lady of his heart. 
 But the Prince de Conde, always terribly in earnest 
 when it was a question of pleasing those in power, ' 
 was inexorable ; and eventually the duke gave a 
 reluctant consent, somewhat consoled by the reflection 
 that, as the Cardinal's nephew by marriage, advance- 
 ment in his profession must be both sure and speedy. 
 
 In April, 1640, the young prince, who was then at 
 Dijon, was summoned to Paris and there formally 
 betrothed to Mile, de Maille-Brdze, whose extreme 
 youthfulness had decided her uncle to postpone the 
 marriage until the following year. Immediately after- 
 wards, Enghien set out for Picardy, where he was 
 to join the army operating against the Spaniards on 
 the North-Eastern frontier. He was gready disap- 
 pointed that he was not to receive his baptism of fire 
 under the eyes of his father, who commanded the 
 French forces in Roussillon. But Richelieu had 
 chosen the army of Picardy, since its commander, the 
 ' Due d'Aumale, Histoire des Princes de Conde. 
 
124 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Marechal de la Mellleraie, was the sworn enemy of 
 Monsieur le Prince, and might consequently be trusted 
 neither to allow the young soldier to shirk his duties 
 nor to exaggerate his services.^ 
 
 In the campaign which followed and which termi- 
 nated in August of that year with the capture of Arras, 
 Enghien earned golden opinions from all his superiors 
 by the promptitude and intelligence with which he 
 carried out everything entrusted to him, and gave 
 ample proofs of the courage for which he was soon 
 to become so famous in a cavalry skirmish before the 
 beleaguered town. The campaign over, the duke, by 
 his father's instructions, returned to Dijon without 
 passing through Paris, to the intense chagrin of Mile, 
 de Bourbon and her friends, who were naturally 
 anxious to celebrate his exploits. But Monsieur le 
 Prince, like a prudent father, had decided that, until 
 his son was safely married, it would be as well for him 
 to shun the society of those dangerously fascinating 
 damsels, and of one of them in particular. 
 
 Early in the following year, he returned to the 
 capital, where, on February 7, the marriage-contract 
 was signed in the King's cabinet, as was the custom 
 when Princes of the Blood were wed. The Prince 
 and Princesse de Conde promised to the young couple 
 settlements to the value of 80,000 livres a year and 
 an annual pension of 40,000 livres. His Eminence 
 gave his niece a dowry of 600,000 livres, but under 
 the express condition that she should renounce all 
 ' MM. Homberg and Jousselin, la Femme du Grand Conde. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 125 
 
 claims to his property in the event of his death. 
 This stipulation greatly disgusted Monsieur le Prince, 
 as greedy as he was ambitious, who, though he did 
 not venture to contest the matter with Richelieu, made, 
 together with his son, a formal protest in the presence of 
 a notary against the renunciation exacted by the Cardinal. 
 
 After the signing of the contract, Richelieu gave 
 a magnificent ballet at the Palais-Cardinal, entitled 
 la Prosperite des armes de France, which, we are told, 
 delighted every one save the moody King, who 
 appeared intensely bored. A trifling but ludicrous 
 incident somewhat marred the harmony of the pro- 
 ceedings. Mile, de Maill^-Br6z6 had come to the 
 fete furnished with a pair of enormously high-heeled 
 shoes, which she had been made to don in order to 
 increase her stature, which was very short, even for 
 her years. It was only with the greatest difficulty 
 that she was able to preserve her equilibrium when 
 walking, and the moment she attempted to dance, 
 she tripped and fell sprawling on the floor. No 
 consideration of respect could hinder the company 
 from giving vent to their merriment, to the profound 
 mortification of the Due d'Enghien, who appeared to 
 feel that his bride-elect had disgraced both herself 
 and him,^ 
 
 On February 11, the marriage was celebrated in 
 
 the chapel of the Palais-Cardinal by the Archbishop 
 
 of Paris. After the ceremony, the bridal pair and 
 
 their relatives were entertained to a sumptuous banquet 
 
 ' Mile, de Montpensier, Memoires. 
 
126 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 by Bouthillier, the Comptroller-General, and in the 
 evening a play followed by a supper was given by 
 Richelieu at the Palais-Cardinal. "Never had his 
 Eminence been seen in a better temper," writes a 
 witness of the marriage fetes, on which the Cardinal 
 is said to have expended upwards of a million livres.'' 
 Supper over, the company adjourned to the Hotel 
 de Cond6j to put the young couple to bed, according 
 to custom. 
 
 A few days after these events, the Due d'Enghien 
 fell dangerously ill, a circumstance which was charit- 
 ably ascribed by the Court to the grief which his 
 marriage has occasioned him. At one time, the 
 doctors had almost abandoned hope, but their appre- 
 hensions were unfounded, and in six weeks he had 
 recovered. He celebrated his return to health by 
 giving a grand fete at Charonne to his sister and her 
 friends, including, it is needless to mention, Mile, du 
 Vigean. In the eyes of Richelieu, no society was 
 more calculated to wean the young duke from the 
 domestic hearth than that of these charming young 
 ladies, and the coldness with which Enghien had from 
 the first treated his child-wife, in spite of the affection 
 which she lavished upon him, had greatly irritated the 
 Cardinal. His resentment had been increased by the 
 fate which had befallen one Maigrin, a creature of 
 his own, whom the Prince de Conde, at his suggestion, 
 
 ' Letter of Henri Arnauld to the President Barillon, Bibliothdque 
 Nationale MSS., cited by MM. Romberg and Jousselin, la Femme 
 du Grand Conde. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 127 
 
 had appointed comptroller of his son's household. 
 Incensed by the surveillance which he suspected 
 Malgrin of exercising over his actions, the young duke 
 had inveighed against him in such forcible terms before 
 some of his confidential servants, that, on Easter 
 Sunday, two of them had waylaid the unfortunate 
 comptroller, and wounded him so severely, that he died 
 the same night. 
 
 The Cardinal now wrote a very angry letter to 
 the Prince de Conde, complaining bitterly of " the 
 disorders and the want of dignity in M. d'Enghien's 
 Household " and demanding that " his conduct should 
 be aided and guided by a single mind." The 
 obsequious prince hastened to reply : " He is your 
 nephew, your creature ; do with him what you will." 
 And the luckless Enghien found that he had escaped 
 from the parental control only to fall under the 
 tyranny of Richelieu, who reorganised his Household, 
 which he filled with persons devoted to his own 
 interests, fixed the number of days which he was to 
 spend in any one place, and regulated everything 
 which concerned him down to the smallest details. 
 No wonder that the young duke was glad when the 
 time arrived for him to rejoin the army of La 
 Meilleraie, with which he took part in the sieges of 
 Aire, La Bass6e, and Bapaume ! 
 
 Sixteen months after the marriage of the Due 
 d'Enghien, there was another marriage in the Conde 
 family : that of his sister. Mile, de Bourbon. 
 
128 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 The question of their only daughter's establishment 
 in life had exercised the minds of the Prince and 
 Princesse de Cond6 since her earliest infancy. When 
 she was only six months old (February 25, 1620), she 
 had been formally betrothed to the Prince de Joinville, 
 a boy of eight, eldest son of Charles de Lorraine, 
 Due de Guise. Such an alliance would have been an 
 eminently desirable one from Monsieur le Prince's 
 point of view, since it would have united the three 
 powerful families of Guise, Montmorency and Cond6 ; 
 though whether Richelieu would have regarded it with 
 similar feelings is open to question. However that 
 may be, the project was fated never to be realised. 
 In 1 63 1, the Due de Guise, who had remained 
 faithful to Marie de' Medici in her disgrace, was 
 compelled to share her lot and take refuge in Italy. 
 Thither his son followed him, and died, at Florence, 
 in 1639. 
 
 After the death of the young Prince de Joinville, 
 rumour seems to have been busy with the names of 
 several young nobles as possible husbands for Mile, 
 de Bourbon. Among them, was Armand de Maille, 
 Marquis, and later Due, de Breze, the brother of the 
 young lady whom the Due d'Enghien had so un- 
 willingly espoused. Armand de Maille, some years 
 later, greatly distinguished himself at sea, and had 
 already inflicted two crushing reverses upon the 
 Spanish fleet, when, in 1646, he was killed by a 
 cannon-shot at the siege of Orbitello. If we are to 
 believe Bourgoing de Villefore, Monsieur le Prince, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 129 
 
 in his anxiety to identify still more closely the interests 
 of his family with those of Richelieu, actually proposed 
 this match to the Cardinal. But the Minister replied 
 that he had been sufficiently honoured by a Prince 
 of the Blood demanding the hand of his niece, and 
 would not presume so far as to expect a Princess ot 
 the Blood to marry a simple gentleman. It is probable, 
 as Victor Cousin observes, that this apparent modesty on 
 the part of one of the haughtiest of men was dictated 
 by some political reason, which he did not care to 
 explain. 
 
 The Due de Beaufort, the famous " Roi des Halles," 
 younger son of the Due de Venddme, was an aspirant 
 not only to the hand, but to the heart of Anne de 
 Bourbon ; but the Condes did not love the Vendomes, 
 who were, besides, at this time in very bad odour at 
 Court ; while the young lady herself, upon whom 
 M. de Beaufort's brusque manners had made a far 
 from favourable impression, gave him not the smallest 
 encouragement to prosecute his suit. Finally, towards 
 the end of 1641, the Prince and Princesse de Cond, 
 having failed to find a suitable match for their daughter 
 among the younger nobles of the kingdom, cast 
 their eyes upon the greatest personage in France, next 
 to the Princes of the Blood : Henri II., Due de 
 Longueville, a widower of forty-seven, with a daughter 
 already of marriageable age. 
 
 The family of Longueville was a branch of the 
 Royal House of France, descended from the celebrated 
 Comte de Dunois — the " Bastard of Orleans " — natural 
 
 VOL. I. 9 
 
130 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 son of Louis I., Due d'Orleans. His nephew, Charles 
 VII., gave him, in 1463, the county of Longueville, 
 in the district of Caux, which had been ceded to Charles 
 VI. by Bertrand du Guesclin half a century earlier. 
 Dunois's grandson Francois was created a duke in 
 1505, and, in 1 571, his successor Leonor received 
 from Charles IX., for himself and his descendants, the 
 title of Princes of the Blood. 
 
 Henri II., Due de Longueville, was the son 
 of Henri d'Orl6ans, first of the name, Prince de 
 Neufchatel and Vallengin, Chevalier des Ordres to 
 Henri IV. and Governor of Picardy, and later of 
 Normandy, who built the magnificent chateau of 
 Coulommiers, and inflicted a crushing defeat upon 
 the Leaguers at Senlis. His mother was Catherine 
 de Gonzague, sister of the Due de Nevers, father 
 of Marie de Gonzague, Queen of Poland, and 
 Anne, the celebrated Princess Palatine. Born in 
 1595, the future husband of Anne de Bourbon had 
 been previously married to Louise de Bourbon sister 
 of the last Comte de Soissons. This lady had 
 died in 1637, leaving a daughter, Marie d'Orleans, 
 Mile, de Longueville, now in her eighteenth year, 
 who subsequently married Henri de Savoie, Due de 
 Nemours, the younger brother of the two young 
 men already mentioned. 
 
 The Due de Longueville was an excellent example 
 of the best type of grand seigneur of the period, 
 generous, brave, and chivalrous. He was wanting, 
 howev'er, in strength of character, and could easily 
 
From an engravii g: by Naiiteuil after the pa ntmg by Phil ppe de Champagne 
 
 HENRI II. D'OELEANS, DUG DE LONGUEVILLE. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 131 
 
 be persuaded to embark in any enterprise, however 
 rash, which at first sight appeared to promise a success- 
 ful issue, though he had sufficient good sense to en- 
 deavour to repair his error, so soon as his eyes were 
 opened to the true nature of the undertaking. Thus, 
 during the Regency of JMarie de' Medici, he had 
 been continually opposing and making his peace with 
 the Government ; he had taken part in the conspiracy 
 of 1626 against Richelieu, only to make a speedy 
 submission to the Cardinal's authority ; and we shall 
 presently see him thoughtlessly engaging in the Fronde 
 and sharing the captivity of his brothers-in-law, Cond6 
 and Conti, which ended, he will hasten to be re- 
 conciled to the Court. Yet he was far from being 
 without ability, and rendered his country some service 
 both in war and diplomacy. The misfortune of 
 his life, as Victor Cousin remarks, was to be dragged, 
 by his own fault and those of others, into adventures 
 for which he was quite unfitted, and where in con- 
 sequence his qualities were less apparent than his 
 failings. 
 
 In appearance, Longueville, to judge by his portraits, 
 was a distinguished-looking rather than a handsome 
 man, with strongly marked features, a high-bridged 
 nose, and a good-humoured expression. Without 
 being in any way a libertine, his morals were decidedly 
 easy. He had had, when a young man, by Jacquehne 
 d'lUiers, afterwards Abbess of Saint-Avil, near 
 Chateaudun, a natural daughter, Catherine Ang^lique 
 d'Orl6ans, who, like her mother, took the veil, and 
 
132 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 died, in 1664, Abbess of Maubuisson ; and he was 
 at this time the lover — or rather one of the lovers — of 
 the notorious Duchesse de Montbazon. 
 
 Mile, de Bourbon could hardly be expected to wel- 
 come with any enthusiasm the prospect of uniting her 
 life to that of a man more than twice her age, and 
 appears, indeed, to have viewed it with considerable 
 repugnance. But her parents, having once decided 
 on the suitability of the match, were not likely 
 to allow themselves to be influenced by any con- 
 sideration for their daughter's feelings ; and her 
 protests fell on deaf ears. If, however, they attached 
 little importance to her sentiments in regard to the 
 husband they had chosen for her, they devoted 
 the most careful attention to the weighty question 
 whether the marriage would or would not entail 
 any derogation of her privileges as a Princess of the 
 Blood. Notwithstanding the decree of 1571, which 
 had conferred upon the then Due de Longueville 
 and his descendants the title of Princes of the 
 Blood, the illegitimacy of the founder of their House 
 left this claim always subject to dispute ; and accord- 
 ingly the Prince and Princesse de Conde obtained 
 a special brevet from the King, which permitted their 
 daughter to retain all the prerogatives of her birth. 
 The doubt as to the Due de Longueville's claim was 
 finally set at rest in 1653, when Louis XIV. confirmed 
 the decree of Charles IX. 
 
 The marriage took place on June 2, 1642. The 
 young princess had never looked more beautiful and 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 133 
 
 appeared so gay and animated during the magnificent 
 fetes which the Due de Longueville gave to celebrate 
 the event, that it was difficult for those about her 
 to realise that her marriage had not been one of 
 inclination. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Madame de Longueville attacked by small-pox — Death of Richelieu 
 — Lawsuit between the Condes and the Cardinal's heirs — Madame 
 de Longueville's success as a hostess — Question of her relations 
 with Maurice de Coligny considered — Critical situation of France 
 after the death of Louis XIII. — The Due d'Enghien's victory at 
 Rocroi — Enthusiasm in Paris — The " Importants" — Beaufort — 
 Guise — Mesdames de Chevreuse and de Hautefort — Insecurity of 
 Mazarin's position — He determines to gain the affection of Anne 
 of Austria, in order to maintain himself in power. 
 
 SCARCELY were the marriage-fetes terminated 
 than the bride was attacked by small-pox, then 
 so terrible a scourge. There was much excitement in 
 society as to whether she would be marked or not, 
 but, fortunately, as we have mentioned elsewhere, the 
 disease left scarcely any trace. She was nursed in her 
 illness by her friend Julie d'Angennes, who showed 
 on this occasion great courage and devotion. 
 
 The great event of that winter was, of course, the 
 death of Richelieu, who, on December 4, 164a, suc- 
 cumbed to the one enemy whom he was unable to 
 subjugate, in full possession of all the power and 
 splendour for which he had laboured so unceasingly. 
 Save to his family and his immediate followers, his 
 death brought little regret, for all classes had felt his 
 iron hand, and even the King seems to have experienced 
 a sense of relief at the thought that the short span 
 
 134 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 135 
 
 of life that remained to him would be free from that 
 overshadowing presence. 
 
 When the will which the Cardinal had executed at 
 Narbonne some months before was opened, it was 
 found that his duchies of Fronsac and Caumont, 
 together with other estates and fifty thousand livres, 
 had been bequeathed to Armand de Maille, but that 
 the expectations of his sister, the Duchesse d'Enghien 
 — or rather of her father and the Condes — were 
 extinguished by the following clause : 
 
 " I make no mention in this will of my niece, the 
 Duchesse d'Enghien, inasmuch as by her marriage 
 contract she has renounced her claim to my property, 
 in consideration of the dowry I have bestowed upon 
 her, and with which I desire her to be content." 
 
 Great was the chagrin and indignation of the haughty 
 and greedy family into which poor little Claire- 
 C16mence had entered on discovering that the Cardinal 
 had strictly adhered to the conditions which he had 
 imposed at the time of her marriage. The Due de 
 Maille-Breze was equally enraged at the disinheriting 
 of his daughter, and declared that the Duchesse 
 d'Aiguillon, in whose presence the will had been drawn 
 up and who had benefited largely under it,' while her 
 nephew, Armand de Vignerot, was the principal legatee,^ 
 had falsified the document. Was she not the grand- 
 daughter of a notary .'' he asked. 
 
 ' Richelieu had bequeathed his much-loved niece large estates and 
 60,000 livres a year. The duchy of Richelieu and many other 
 possessions were left to his grand-nephew, Armand de Vignerot, on 
 condition that he should bear only the name of Du Plessis-Richelieu. 
 
136 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 These complaints were only the prelude to an 
 acrimonious lawsuit brought by the Prince de Cond6 
 against the Duchesse d'Aiguillon and her nephew. 
 With the parties exasperated to the last degree against 
 one another, and in an age remarkable for its forensic 
 licence, the trial, as may be presumed, proved a great 
 attraction ; nor was the public disappointed in its 
 expectations, as counsel on either side fairly surpassed 
 themselves in the violence of their harangues, and the 
 most scandalous charges were bandied about. Monsieur 
 le Prince s advocate, one M° Gaultier, did not hesitate to 
 traduce the memory of the Cardinal and the reputation 
 of Madame d'Aiguillon, and pretended that the will 
 had been dictated by the duchess and executed by her 
 uncle under the influence of an incestuous passion, and 
 that it ought, therefore, to be declared void. " Monsieur 
 le Cardinal," said he, " might be compared to Samson 
 who, although the strongest man in the world, lost 
 his strength in the arms of a woman." These edifying 
 remarks were made in the presence of the Duchesse 
 d'Enghien and Monsieur le Prince^ who sat upon the 
 benches reserved for the parties to the suit. 
 
 Then M° Hilaire, who represented the Duchesse 
 d'Aiguillon, in his turn, took the offensive, and delivered 
 a slashing attack on the Prince de Cond6, who, he 
 affirmed, " had gone down on his knees before the 
 Cardinal de Richelieu to ask for the hand of Mile, de 
 Maille-Breze." Stung to the quick. Monsieur le Prince 
 rose, and, amid the unrestrained merriment of the 
 court, hurriedly quitted the too conspicuous position he 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 137 
 
 occupied, and took refuge in an obscure seat in the 
 gallery ; while his advocate rejoined by stigmatizing 
 Madame d'Aiguillon as " a strumpet and a painted 
 monster." ^ 
 
 Opinion was favourable to the claims of the Prince 
 de Conde, and a first decision of the Court condemned 
 the Duchesse d'Aiguillon to restore 400,000 livres. 
 But there were so many points to be debated, and 
 the gentlemen of the long robe found the business 
 so exceedingly profitable, that it was not until the 
 case had dragged its weary length along for more 
 than thirty years, that the rival parties, wearied of the 
 interminable litigation, arrived at a settlement. By 
 this transaction, the Due d'Enghien — or rather the 
 Prince de Cond^, as he then was, for Henri de Bourbon 
 had been more than a quarter of a century in his 
 grave — agreed to recognise the Due de Richelieu's 
 right to aU the estates bequeathed to him, in return 
 for the cession of the marquisates of Graville and 
 Traives ; while he and his wife were to receive, after 
 the decease of the Duchesse d'Aiguillon, her h6tel 
 in Paris, the Petit-Luxembourg, in consideration of 
 the payment of 100,000 livres to the Due de Richelieu. 
 
 Notwithstanding the death of the Cardinal and the 
 fact that Louis XIII. was himself slowly dying, the 
 winter of 1642-43 was a very gay one in Paris. 
 " Never," says Mile, de Montpensier, " had there 
 been so many balls." Madame de Longueville's life 
 
 1 Olivier d'Ormesson, Journal. MM. Homberg et Jousselin, la 
 Femme du Grand Conde. 
 
138 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 continued on much the same pleasant lines as before 
 her marriage ; she spent a good deal of her time at 
 the Louvre, the Hotel de Conde, and the H6tel de 
 Rambouillet, while her own salon, although it never 
 aspired to rival either her mother's or that of the 
 " divine Arthenice," soon became one of the most 
 delightful resorts in Paris. ^ With such examples before 
 her eyes as the two above-mentioned ladies, the young 
 duchess seems to have made an ideal hostess, full of 
 kindliness and tact ; and her conversational powers 
 soon became as celebrated as the exquisite taste and 
 sound literary judgment she always displayed. Many 
 years later, the famous Jansenist publicist, Nicole, did 
 not hesitate to compare her to the Comte de Treville, 
 one of the most brilliant conversationalists of his time. 
 " The manner in which Madame de Longueville 
 conversed," says he, " was a thing to observe. She 
 spoke so well all that she had to say, that it would 
 be difficult to talk better, however much study one 
 
 1 " The Hotel de Longueville of this period must not be confused 
 with the house in the Rue Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre which Anne de 
 Bourbon, after her husband's death, purchased from the Due d'fipernon, 
 and which bore her name from 1664 to the end of the century. The 
 Hotel de Longueville of 1642 was the old Hotel d'Alenpon, situated 
 in the Rue des Poulies. It was a very ancient and a very imposing 
 building, with immense gardens, which extended as far as the Louvre. 
 On its left-hand side, as one looked towards the Seine, was the Hotel, 
 or Palais, du Petit-Bourbon, in those days a kind of annex of the Louvre, 
 where the young King, Louis XIV., gave on several occasions splendid 
 balls, and whose theatre was lent to Moli^re on his return with his 
 troupe to Paris in 1658. When, in 1663, Louis XIV. decided to extend 
 the eastern portion of the Louvre, the Petit-Bourbon and the Hotel de 
 Longueville were demolished together with several other hotels in 
 the same street." — Victor Cousin, la Jeunesse de Madame de 
 Longueville. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 139 
 
 brought to it. M, de Tr6ville's conversation was 
 the more vivacious and original, but there was more 
 delicacy, and more intelligence and good sense in the 
 manner in which Madame de Longueville expressed 
 herself." Moreover, hke Madame R6camier, a century 
 and a half later, she possessed the happy gift of 
 directing a general conversation and, like her, was also 
 an admirable listener. It is probable that it was to this 
 last qualification that she was indebted for not a 
 little of the immense popularity which she enjoyed, 
 particularly among her literary acquaintances. 
 
 Madame de Longueville did not love her husband, 
 and her pride was naturally wounded by his preference 
 for Madame de Montbazon, his connection with whom 
 continued, in spite of the remonstrances of Madame 
 la Princesse. However, the duke was a good-natured, 
 easy-going man, who, if she could not love, she could 
 at least tolerate, and her sweetness of disposition saved 
 the situation from anything like unpleasantness. But, 
 in return for her complacency, she felt free to allow 
 herself to be adored with an easy conscience, and 
 whenever she appeared in public, she was immediately 
 surrounded by a crowd of worshippers, whose attentions 
 she showed no desire to discourage. 
 
 We may here observe that, although Madame de 
 Longueville had that natural desire to please common 
 to all amiable women, which is so frequently mistaken 
 for coquetry, her love of admiration was of a very 
 innocent kind, and her attitude towards the opposite 
 sex seems to have been guided by the precepts of 
 
14° A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Madame de Sabl6 and the " precieuses " of the H6tel 
 de Rambouillet, who did not forbid men to serve and 
 adore them, so long as they treated them with the most 
 profound respect. 
 
 The object of universal homage, none of her in- 
 numerable admirers had yet succeeded in touching her 
 heart. Nevertheless, she was not altogether insensible 
 to the devotion she aroused, and had shown a decided 
 preference for Maurice de Coligny, the elder of the 
 two sons of the Marechal de Chatillon, who had sighed 
 for her before her marriage. 
 
 " I know not," writes Lenet, " whether Coligny 
 was attracted by Madame de Bourbon on account of 
 her beauty, her intelligence, or the respect which he 
 owed her, but I am well aware that, although he only 
 saw her in the midst of company and in the presence 
 of the Princesse de Cond6 and the Due d'Enghien, 
 it was said in the end that he entertained sentiments 
 of love for her." The author of an anonymous 
 manuscript preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale, 
 whom Victor Cousin cites, is less reticent. Accord- 
 ing to him, the Due d'Enghien, an intimate 
 friend of Coligny, was the sympathetic confidant of 
 the young man's devotion to his sister. One day, 
 Enghien showed Coligny a tender and passionate letter 
 in Gomberville's Polexandre, a romance which had at 
 that time a great vogue ; and this letter seemed to 
 express so perfectly the sentiments which the latter 
 cherished for Madame de Longueville, that he copied 
 it and begged the duke to find an opportunity of 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 141 
 
 slipping it into the pocket of his sister's dress at a 
 ball which she was to attend that evening. Enghien 
 consented, and " it would appear that the letter was 
 read and that the duchess was not displeased." 
 
 Retz, not however at all a trustworthy witness in 
 regard to matters in which he was not personally 
 concerned, declares Coligny's passion was returned 
 and that his informant was none other than the 
 Due d'Enghien. But against this we have the evidence 
 of a man who was not only one of Coligny's most 
 intimate friends, but, in later years, the acknowledged 
 lover of the lady herself, La Rochefoucauld to wit, 
 who asserts that until the time when his liaison with 
 Madame de Longueville began, all those who had 
 attempted to please her had striven in vain. Lest 
 it should be supposed that such an assertion was 
 prompted by vanity rather than by a regard 
 for the truth, we may mention that at the time 
 La Rochefoucauld wrote, his relations with the 
 princess were decidedly strained, and that far from 
 endeavouring to conceal her failings, he does not 
 hesitate to magnify them. Furthermore, there is a 
 well-informed and impartial witness to the innocence 
 of Madame de Longueville' s relations with Coligny 
 in the person of Madame de Motteville, who tells 
 us that in 1 643 the former " still bore a great 
 reputation for virtue and prudence," and that her 
 only fault was that she " did not dislike admiration 
 and praise." And, finally, we have the testimony 
 of one who was certainly very far from prejudiced 
 
1 42 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 In the lady's favour. In 1644, Mazarin traced in 
 his Carnets a very severe portrait of Madame de 
 Longueville, in which the following sentence occurs : 
 " She is generally very cold to every one, and, if she 
 is fond of gallantry, it is not in the least because 
 she has any evil intention, but in order that she may 
 win followers and friends for her brother (Enghien)." ^ 
 Nevertheless, however innocent the connection of 
 these two young people may have been — and that 
 it was innocent, in view of the evidence that we 
 have just cited, there is no reason to doubt — it was 
 to be attended, as we shall presently see, by the 
 most tragic consequences, and to be to Madame de 
 Longueville a source of lifelong regret. 
 
 Less than six months after the death of his 
 great Minister, Louis XIII. followed him to the 
 grave, leaving a King of four years old, the regency 
 In the hands of a Spanish princess assisted by a 
 badly constituted and divided Council, the Northern 
 frontier of France threatened by the Spaniards, and 
 all the elements of disaffection which Richelieu had 
 so sternly repressed ready to burst Into activity once 
 more. 
 
 Well Indeed was it for France that at so critical a 
 moment In her history she should have possessed two 
 such men as Mazarin and the young Due d'Enghlen, 
 the one as capable of dealing with faction at home as 
 was the other with the enemy in the field ! Enghien, 
 ' See pp. 191, 192, infra. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 143 
 
 who ha^ just received the command of the army in 
 Flanders, which had been promised him by Richelieu, 
 in recognition of his fidelity to the Cardinal during 
 the conspiracy of Cinq-Mars and of the submission to 
 which ambition had lately prompted him, was informed 
 of the King's death by a special courier, who had 
 travelled with all possible speed from Paris to bring 
 him the news. The Spaniards were laying siege to 
 Rocroi, a town at the head of the Forest of Ardennes, 
 poorly fortified and garrisoned, and of considerable 
 strategic importance, since its fall would leave France 
 open to invasion. Contrary to the advice of the 
 Marechal dc I'Hopital, who had been sent to restrain 
 the fiery ardour of the youthful commander, and 
 counselled him to be content with throwing reinforce- 
 ments into the beleaguered town, he determined to 
 give them battle without delay. There can be no 
 doubt that his decision was a wise one. The moral 
 eiFect of a victory at such a moment would be even 
 greater than its military effect, and would earn for 
 the new regime a consideration both at home and 
 abroad that would go far to counterbalance the evil 
 results of divided counsels ; while, even if he failed, 
 he could at least count upon inflicting such severe 
 losses upon the enemy as would obviate all danger 
 of an invasion for that year at least. 
 
 The armies met in the plain before Rocroi in the 
 early morning of May 1 9, the same day and at almost 
 the same hour that Louis XIII. was laid to rest at 
 Saint-Denis. The Spaniards, who were commanded 
 
144 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 by Don Francisco de Mello, had a slight preponderance 
 over the French in cavalry and a considerable one 
 in infantry ; but the French cavalry was much superior 
 to that of the enemy. The result was for some time 
 in doubt. Enghien, who commanded on the right 
 wing, broke the forces opposed to him ; but, on the 
 left. La Ferte-Senneterre and L'Hopital were driven 
 back in confusion and their artillery captured. The 
 Baron de Sirot, however, who commanded the reserve, 
 rallied the fugitives of the shattered left wing and 
 checked the advance of the victorious Spaniards ; 
 and a masterly movement on the part of Enghien 
 decided the day. Avoiding the Spanish reserve under 
 the Comte de Fontaine,^ which had not yet come into 
 action, he made a sudden and furious charge at the 
 head of his cavalry upon the rear of the enemy's 
 right wing, already fully occupied with Sirot's corps. 
 Taken thus between two fires, the Spaniards broke 
 and fled, and, though their reserve, which comprised 
 some of the best infantry in Europe, maintained an 
 obstinate resistance and repulsed three cavalry charges 
 led by Enghien in person, assailed as it was on all 
 sides by horse, foot, and artillery, it was eventually 
 compelled to sue for quarter.^ The loss of the 
 Spaniards was very heavy ; French authorities place the 
 number of killed at as high a figure as 7,000, and the 
 prisoners at 6,000, though these numbers are probably 
 
 ' He was a Burgundian nobleman in the Spanish service. 
 ^ Victor Cousin states the Spanish reserve was almost entirely 
 destroyed, but this is incorrect. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 145 
 
 exaggerated, while the whole of their baggage and 
 artillery fell into the hands of the victors. The French 
 lost about 2,000. 
 
 It IS easy to imagine the joy of Madame de 
 Longueville and the whole Cond6 family when Nogent 
 la Moussaye, who had served as the Due d'Enghien's 
 prmcipal aide-de-camp on that eventful day, arrived 
 in Paris with the news of the victory. All the poets 
 of Madame la Princesse, from Voiture downwards, vied 
 with one another in celebrating the exploits of the 
 young commander, whom they compared, somewhat 
 prematurely, to Caesar, Alexander, and other heroes 
 of antiquity. The flags and standards, over 250 in 
 number, which had been taken from the Spaniards 
 and which, pierced by balls and torn by sabres, bore 
 eloquent testimony to the fury of the conflict, were 
 exhibited for several days in the vast salons of the 
 H6tel de Conde, whither immense crowds flocked to 
 view them, before being removed to Notre-Dame to 
 add brilliancy to the Te Deum sung to celebrate the 
 victory. On all sides nothing was heard but praises of 
 the Due d'Enghien ; of his bravery, his military genius, 
 his piety in causing the whole army to give thanks 
 upon the field of battle for the victory which God had 
 vouchsafed to them, his humanity towards the wounded, 
 both victors and vanquished, and his magnanimity in 
 demanding for his lieutenants all the rewards of victory, 
 since he himself desired nothing but the gJory. The 
 enthusiasm abated only to burst forth again three 
 months later, when intelligence arrived that Thionville, 
 VOL. I. 10 
 
146 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 the reduction of which had been unsuccessfully 
 attempted in 1639, had surrendered to the young 
 general, and that the entrance to Germany, by way of 
 the Moselle, lay open to the French. 
 
 The task of Mazarin was far harder than that of 
 Enghien. The soldier could count upon the enthusi- 
 astic devotion of every man under his command ; the 
 Minister, in the first weeks at least of his rule, upon 
 the co-operation of those only who were bound to him 
 by the ties of self-interest. On the death of Richelieu, 
 those whom the imperious Minister had exiled or 
 imprisoned had returned to Court, determined, now 
 that their redoutable enemy was no more, to possess 
 themselves of the spoils for which they had so long 
 hungered. They thought to find in Anne of Austria 
 another Marie de' Medici, who would reverse the policy 
 of her husband, abandon his Ministers, and hasten to 
 give her confidence to some favourite of her own, or 
 rather of their, choosing. Their hopes were natural. 
 The Regent, a sister of the King of Spain, must surely, 
 it was believed, desire to come to terms with her 
 brother and put an end to the sanguinary struggle 
 between the country of her birth and that of her 
 adoption. And what in the eyes of a woman could 
 more nobly inaugurate her government than the giving 
 of peace to an exhausted nation ? With the reversal of 
 the late King's policy, would come the fall of the 
 Ministers to whom its continuance had been entrusted, 
 all the more certainly, since the Queen could not but 
 regard them as the creatures of Richelieu, who had per- 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 147 
 
 secuted her and exiled her friends. As for the little 
 Italian diplomat whom Louis XIII. had left at the head 
 of the Government, they despised even more than they 
 hated him. Out of deference to the wishes of her late 
 husband, the Queen-Mother, they supposed, would 
 doubtless desire his continuance in office for a few 
 weeks, until the Due de Beaufort, or the Bishop of 
 Beauvais, or some other of her particular friends had 
 acquired sufficient experience of affairs to supersede 
 him. Then he would disappear, as Sully had dis- 
 appeared, and the council-chamber would know him no 
 more. 
 
 Thus argued the " Importants," as the aristocrats 
 who aspired to control the Government were called, 
 from the importance they ascribed to themselves and 
 the high pretensions which they were at no pains to 
 conceal. They were a formidable party and exercised 
 a considerable influence at the Court, in the salons, in 
 the Parlement, and in the provinces. At their head were 
 the two great turbulent Houses of Vend6me and Guise. 
 The Due de Beaufort, the second son of C6sar de 
 Vendome, has already been mentioned as an unsuccessful 
 suitor for the hand of Anne de Bourbon. He was a 
 handsome young man of seven-and-twenty, with long 
 golden curls, which were greatly admired by the 
 ladies. Already the idol of the Parisian populace, he 
 seemed not unlikely to become the idol of the Queen 
 as well. On the day of the late King's death, it was 
 to Beaufort that she had turned for protection against 
 the crowd of courtiers who pursued and almost mobbed 
 
148 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 her, a preference which had led to a violent quarrel 
 between the duke and the Prince de Cond6 ; and, 
 during the first weeks of the Regency, she appeared to 
 lean much upon him. Beaufort, however, was arrogant, 
 hot-headed, and quite incapable of giving Anne the 
 political assistance she required. Moreover, to govern 
 the Queen, who was very coquettish in a strictly 
 decorous kind of way, and attached great importance 
 to high-flown compliments, languishing looks, and 
 dehcate little attentions, it was necessary to begin by 
 flattering her ; and the young duke had far too good an 
 opinion of his own fascinations to play " mourant" even 
 to a queen. 
 
 Allied with Beaufort, was Henri de Lorraine, the 
 head of the House of Guise, celebrated by his 
 amours, his reckless courage, and his follies. Born 
 in 1 6 14, he had been intended for the Church, and at 
 fifteen found himself Archbishop of Rheims, a post 
 which had become almost hereditary in his family. 
 Never was there a person more unfitted for an 
 archiepiscopal career ; his life would have been an 
 occasion for scandal even in the Italy of the Borgias. 
 Not content with lay mistresses, he availed himself of 
 the facilities which his office afforded him to make love 
 to the brides of the Church, and the discipline of 
 at least one convent in his diocese was completely 
 subverted by the interest which his Grace affected in 
 the welfare of its inmates. Finally, he fell in love 
 with the beautiful Anne de Gonzague, the future 
 Princess Palatine, one of the three daughters of the 
 
From an engraving by Pinssio after the painting by Jean Nocret. 
 
 FRAN9OIS DE VENDOME, DUG DE BEAUFORT. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 149 
 
 Due de Nevers, with whom he contracted a secret 
 marriage in 1638. On the news of the death of his 
 elder brother, the Prince de Joinville, and of his father, 
 Charles de Lorraine, in 1639 and 1640, he left his 
 archbishopric, took the title of Due de Guise, and, 
 irritated by the action of Richelieu, who had sought 
 to deprive him of his benefices, threw himself into 
 the revolt of Soissons and Bouillon. After the sup- 
 pression of the rebellion, he fled to Brussels, whither 
 his wife followed him, only to find that he had 
 repudiated their marriage and contracted another 
 alliance with Honorine de Grimberg, the beautiful and 
 " richly-left " widow of the Comte de Bossu. 
 
 Two years passed, and then the mitred duke, who 
 was the most inconstant, as well as the most susceptible, 
 of men, having wearied of the charms of his new wife 
 and squandered her fortune, repudiated her also, 
 returned to Paris, where, now that Richeheu and 
 Louis XIII. were dead, he had no longer anything 
 to fear, and joined the party of the " Importants, " of 
 whom his vanity and incapacity marked him out as a 
 fitting leader. 
 
 A personage who had more to hope from the 
 Queen's favour than the Due de Guise was the Bishop 
 of Beauvais, who had long been her Majesty's Grand 
 Almoner and was devoted to her interests. He had 
 already been made a Minister and recommended for 
 a cardinal's hat, and confidently anticipated that 
 he would be elevated to the head of the Cabinet when 
 the time for getting rid of Mazarin had arrived. The 
 
150 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 bishop was a worthy and pious man, but utterly 
 incapable. " Of all the idiots I have known," writes 
 Retz, " he was the most idiotic." 
 
 The feminine element counted for much in the 
 counsels of the " Importants," as it did in every intrigue 
 of the time. Its most prominent representatives were 
 two ladies who had been among the Queen's most 
 intimate friends in former days : the celebrated Anne 
 de Rohan, Duchesse de Chevreuse, an indefatigable 
 intriguer both in love and politics, and Marie de 
 Hautefort, afterwards the Marechale Duchesse de 
 Schomberg, whose chaste amours with Louis XIII. are 
 among the few diverting incidents in the life of that 
 most melancholy of monarchs. Both had incurred the 
 enmity of Richelieu and had been banished from 
 Court ; but, now that Anne was free to do as she 
 willed, she hastened to recall them. Very different in 
 character, they were at one in their hatred of Mazarin, 
 whom they regarded as the creature of their arch- 
 enemy Richelieu, and as the inheritor of his personal 
 prejudices as well as his policy ; and were ready to 
 move Heaven and earth to procure his dismissal. 
 Other prominent members of the faction were Beaufort's 
 father, the Due de Vendome, the unworthy son of 
 Henri IV. and the gentle Gabrielle d'Estrees ; the 
 Marquis de Chateauneuf, stigmatized by Richelieu as 
 " la cahale incarnee" who had recently been released 
 from Vincennes, where he had atoned for his devotion 
 to Madame de Chevreuse by a captivity of ten years, 
 and who looked forward to recovering his former 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 151 
 
 office of Keeper of the Seals and to becoming the 
 most influential member of the Ministry; and the 
 Duchesse de Montbazon, who counted several of 
 the leaders of the party among her past or present 
 lovers. 
 
 Mazarin, as his Carnets abundantly prove, was fully 
 aware of the intrigues of his enemies and under no 
 illusion as to the insecurity of his position : " The 
 Prince de Cond6 believes that Madame de Chevreuse, 
 when she arrives here, wiU effect a special treaty between 
 France and Spain, to the exclusion of all others." . . . 
 " Beauvais works constantly to acquire friends and take 
 away mine. He works against me at every turn. He 
 receives Chateauneuf and throws himself into the arms 
 of Beaufort and Madame de Montbazon." ... " The 
 ' Importants ' have told Monsieur [Gaston d'Orldans] 
 that her Majesty is the most dissembling person in 
 the world. Although apparently she makes much of 
 me, she really dissembles, from the necessity of her 
 affairs, and has her confidence in them." ..." The 
 enemies combine to do me harm ; Madame de Chevreuse 
 inspires them all. It is certain that they continue 
 to meet in the garden of the Tuileries ; " and so 
 forth.i 
 
 To the powerful faction arrayed against him, 
 Mazarin could, of course, oppose the old partisans of 
 Richelieu, particularly the Cond6s and the families 
 connected with them by marriage or friendship. But 
 his Carnets show how little reliance was to be placed 
 • Cited by Mr. J. B. Perkins, " France under Mazarin." 
 
152 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 on the support of Jilonsieur le Trince^ whose defection 
 would leave him with only such allies as had everything 
 to lose and nothing to gain by a change of Ministers. 
 There was but one road to safety : to secure the un- 
 equivocal favour of the Queen ; not only her confidence, 
 for that would avail him little, if his enemy Beaufort 
 possessed her affection, but her heart as well (" When 
 one has the heart, one has everything," he wrote, many 
 years later) ; and to this end all his energies were 
 henceforth directed. 
 
 He succeeded, as we know, and succeeded beyond 
 his most sanguine expectations ; but his task was one 
 of extraordinary difficulty, surrounded as Anne was 
 by favourites of both sexes, eager to avail themselves 
 of any and every means to prejudice her mind against 
 the Minister ; and for many weeks his fate trembled in 
 the balance, and his Garnets during this time are full of 
 complaints of the Queen's dissimulation and of her 
 refusal to accord him her entire confidence : " I could 
 believe I had gained her heart," he writes, "but 
 her Majesty talks with me only on affairs of State." 
 And again : " If her Majesty wishes to retain me, 
 so that I can be of service, let her throw aside her 
 mask." 
 
 That the battle was not a much longer and more 
 difficult one was due to a social complication, in itself 
 
 • " Beaufort and Beauvais are in league against me. I endure 
 trouble to preserve myself, because I am constantly pursued, being able 
 to say, without vanity, tliat Conde first, and then many others, think 
 they could have better terms from her Majesty, if she were not coun- 
 selled by a person disinterested and firm as I am." 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 153 
 
 of no importance, which precipitated the downfall of 
 his enemies, and left him free to continue his wooing, 
 untroubled by the machinations of the Vend6mes and 
 the Chevreuses and the virtuous remonstrances of 
 Mile, de Hautefort. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Madame de Montbazon — Her personal appearance and character — 
 Her hatred of Madame de Longueville — Two unsigned love- 
 letters found at her house attributed by her to the princess — 
 Innocence of the latter established — Indignation of the Princesse 
 de Cond6^Madame de Montbazon compelled to make public 
 reparation to the injured lady— She offends the Queen and is 
 banished from Court — Beaufort's conspiracy against the life of 
 Mazarin — Disgrace of the " Importants " and triumph of the 
 Cardinal — Birth of a son to the Due d'Enghien — The duke's 
 attempt to procure the dissolution of his marriage frustrated by 
 Monsieur le Prince — Maurice de Coligny, to avenge the honour 
 of Madame de Longueville, " calls out '' the Due de Guise — 
 Question of the lady's responsibility for this step considered — 
 History of duelling in France — Duel betvireen Coligny and Guise 
 in the Place-Royale — Death of Coligny — Histoire d'Agesilan et 
 d'Ismenie. 
 
 IN siding with Mazarin, the House of Conde had 
 drawn upon itself the hatred of the " Importants." 
 This enmity, however, scarcely extended to Madame 
 de Longueville, who, up to the period of the Fronde, 
 took, but little interest in politics, and whose beauty 
 and amiability placed her outside the realm of party 
 strife. Unfortunately, however, with the feminine 
 element in the cabal, political considerations were not 
 the only ones which had weight, and in the Duchesse 
 de Montbazon the young princess had a bitter and 
 formidable enemy. 
 
 Marie de Bretagne, Duchesse de Montbazon, was, 
 
 154 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 155 
 
 after Madame de Longueville, the most beautiful 
 woman of the Court ; she was also the most un- 
 principled.^ Married, at the age of sixteen, to Hercule 
 de Rohan, Due de Montbazon, the father by his first 
 marriage of Madame de Chevreuse, she soon showed 
 that her nuptial vows sat very lightly upon her. 
 Vain and shallow and quite destitute of those qualities 
 which made such women as Madame de Longueville 
 and Madame de Sable the delight of the society which 
 they frequented, she was exceedingly shrewd where her 
 own interests were concerned, and absolutely without 
 scruple as to the means she employed to attain her 
 ends. Retx draws of her an unpleasing picture : 
 " Madame de Montbazon was a very great beauty. 
 Modesty was wanting in her manner. Her jargon, in 
 a dull time, might have supplied the defects of her 
 mind. In gallantry, she seldom kept faith, in affairs, 
 never. She loved nothing but her own pleasure, and 
 above her pleasure her interest. I have never seen a 
 person who in vice preserved so little respect for 
 
 virtue. 
 
 In appearance, Madame de Montbazon was tall and 
 majestic — " a Colossus," says Tallemant des Reaux, 
 whose weakness for exaggeration, and worse, is, how- 
 ever, well known. Her shape was admirable, though 
 with a tendency to embonpoint. The fire of her 
 
 • She was the daughter of the Comte de Vertus, a descendant of a 
 bastard brother of Queen Anne of Brittany, and Mademoiselle de la 
 Varenne Fouquet, a lady celebrated for her beauty and her gallantry, 
 both of which she bequeathed to her child. 
 
 2 Retz, Memoires. 
 
156 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 splendid eyes " penetrated even the most insensible 
 hearts," and her jet-black hair afforded a piquant 
 contrast to the ivory whiteness of her skin. Her 
 principal defects seem to have been a rather large nose 
 and thin lips, which gave to her countenance an air of 
 severity, which she certainly did not possess ; in short, 
 she was an excellent representative of a certain type of 
 beauty which never lacks its devotees, though her 
 opulent charms compared unfavourably with the more 
 refined attractiveness of Madame de Longueville, as 
 did the freedom of her speech and the boldness of her 
 manner with the exquisite courtesy and modesty which 
 distinguished the young princess. 
 
 Madame de Montbazon " claimed universal admira- 
 tion," but, though she was intensely vain, she was even 
 more ambitious and mercenary, and if her beauty were 
 her idol, it was also her capital, by means of which 
 she sought to secure for herself fortune and influence. 
 She accordingly took an infinitude of pains to 
 heighten and preserve it, and it would appear with 
 far greater success than commonly rewards such in- 
 dustry. At a ball given by Mazarin, at the Carnival 
 of 1647, she came "decked with pearls and with 
 cherry-coloured feathers on her head, and, though she 
 was then more than forty years of age, she was still 
 dazzlingly lovely, showing thereby that a fine autumn 
 is always beautiful." ^ And down to the time of her 
 
 ' Madame de Motteville, Memoires. Madame de Motteville is in 
 error in regard to the lady's age. In 1647, Madame de Montbazon was 
 only thirty-five, having been born in 16 1 2. 
 
MylRJE DE F)RETH^IG.NE Dl^ 
 
 C H E 5 S^ E DE A /O A^B ^1 S O N 
 
 From a contemporary print. 
 
 MARIE DE BRETAGNE, DUCHESSE DE MONTBAZON. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 157 
 
 death, ten years later, her beauty seems to have 
 sufFered but little alteration. 
 
 Madame de Montbazon hated Madame de Longue- 
 ville with all the rancour of her sordid and vindictive 
 nature. Her vanity was mortally wounded at the 
 sight of this young woman, with her great name, 
 her wonderful beauty, her hardly less remarkable 
 intelligence, and her charming manners, captivating 
 all hearts and threatening to depose her from the 
 throne which she had so long occupied. But she 
 had a more substantial grievance against her. Pre- 
 vious to his marriage with Mile, de Bourbon, the 
 Due de Longueville had been her amant en titre, 
 and the connection was one from which the lady 
 had reaped very considerable advantages. Madame 
 de Montbazon had even cherished the hope that when 
 her consort, who was well advanced in years, should 
 be gathered to his fathers, the connection might be 
 regularized, and her mortification at the destruction 
 of her plans in this direction was very keen. Nor 
 was it lessened by the fact that, not content with 
 depriving her of a possible husband, Madame la 
 Princesse was seeking to deprive her of a lover as 
 well, and was using every persuasion to induce her 
 son-in-law to break off all intercourse with this 
 dangerous siren. In this, she had not yet succeeded ; 
 but M. de Longueville, who valued his domestic 
 peace and was besides by no means insensible to 
 the charms of his beautiful young wife, was neither 
 so devoted nor so generous an adorer as he had once 
 
158 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 been ; and Madame de Montbazon had every reason to 
 fear that ere long both his visits and his presents 
 might cease altogether. 
 
 The duchess was a dangerous enemy. Her lovers, 
 past and present, were many and influential, her 
 admirers numberless. She had tender relations v?ith 
 both Guise and Beaufort — the latter of whom had a 
 grudge of his own against Madame de Longueville, 
 for the marked coldness with which she had formerly 
 received his advances — and, through them, could 
 command the support of the Houses of Vend6me and 
 Lorraine. Untroubled by scruple, she was prepared 
 to make use of any weapon that lay ready to her hand 
 to injure the woman whom she so bitterly hated. Nor 
 was it long before she found one. 
 
 One evening at the beginning of August, 1643, 
 Madame de Montbazon was entertaining a number 
 of her friends in her hotel in the Rue de Bethisy, 
 when two letters, evidently dropped by one of the 
 company, were picked up. The letters, which were 
 unsigned, were in a woman's hand and addressed to 
 one of the opposite sex, for whom it was obvious that 
 the writer entertained a very tender regard. The 
 company forthwith began to speculate as to the identity 
 of the parties concerned ; and Madame de Montbazon, 
 thinking the opportunity too good a one to be lost, 
 declared her conviction that the letters were in the 
 handwriting of Madame de Longueville, and that they 
 had fallen from the pocket of her admirer, ^aurice de 
 Coligny, who had just left the house. Here are the 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 159 
 
 two epistles, which la Grande Mademoiselle has preserved 
 for us. 
 
 I. 
 
 " I should much regret the change in your conduct, 
 did I deem myself less worthy of a continuation of 
 your affection. I confess to you that, so long as I 
 believed it to be true and warm, mine gave you all 
 the advantages that you could desire. Now, hope 
 nothing more from me than the esteem which I owe 
 to your discretion. I have too much pride to share 
 the passion which you have so often sworn to me, 
 and I do not desire to punish your negligence in 
 visiting me in any other way than that of depriving 
 you entirely of my society. I beg you to visit me 
 no more, since I have no more the power of command- 
 ing your presence." 
 
 II. 
 
 " At what conclusion have you arrived after so long 
 a silence .'' Do you not know that the same pride 
 which rendered me sensible to your past affection 
 forbids me to endure the false appearance of its 
 continuation } You say that my suspicions and my 
 caprices render you the most unhappy person possible 
 to conceive. I assure you that I believe no such thing, 
 although I cannot deny that you have perfectly loved 
 me, as you must confess that my esteem has worthily 
 recompensed you. In that respect we have done each 
 other justice, and I do not desire to have in the end 
 
i6o A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 less goodness, if your conduct responds to my inten- 
 tions. You would find them less unreasonable if you 
 had more passion, and the difficulties of seeing me 
 would only augment instead of diminishing it. I 
 suffer for loving too much, and you for not loving 
 enough. If I must beUeve you, let us exchange 
 temperaments. I shall find repose in doing my duty, 
 and you must fail in yours, in order to obtain your 
 liberty. I do not perceive that I forget the manner 
 in which I passed the winter with you, and I speak 
 to you as freely as I have done heretofore. I 
 trust that you will make a good use of it, and that 
 I shall have no cause to regret having been overcome 
 in the resolution I had made to return to it no more. 
 I shall remain in my lodging three of four days in 
 succession, and shall be seen only in the evening. 
 You know the reason for that." 
 
 So piquant an incident was soon the talk of the 
 whole Court. These letters were not forged, as 
 several chroniclers have stated, but had been written 
 by Madame de Fouquerolles to the handsome Marquis 
 de Maulevrier, who had had the carelessness to drop 
 them, and dared not publicly acknowledge his loss, 
 for fear of exposing the lady. He went, however, to 
 the Prince de Marsillac, afterwards Due de la Roche- 
 foucauld, who was a common friend of both Madame 
 de Montbazon and himself, told him his secret, and 
 begged him to employ his good offices to hush up 
 the affair. This Marsillac readily promised to do. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue i6i 
 
 and, having represented to Madame de Montbazon 
 that it was to her interest to act generously and avert 
 a scandal, in which she herself would probably be the 
 chief sufferer, persuaded her to surrender the letters 
 to him. He then showed them to the Prince and 
 Princesse de Conde, Madame de Sable, and Madame 
 de Rambouillet, who all declared that the handwriting 
 bore not the slightest resemblance to that of Madame 
 de Longueville ; and, that lady's innocence having been 
 thus fuUy established, they were burned in the presence 
 of the Queen.^ 
 
 It would have been well if the matter had been 
 allowed to rest there, and such was the advice of the 
 Due de Longueville, whose position, as the husband 
 of the injured lady and the lover of her calumniator, 
 was, as may be imagined, no enviable one. Nor was 
 Madame de Longueville, who was now enceinte, and 
 had gone to stay with the Du Vigeans at La Barre, 
 to escape the annoyance of this affair, any more 
 anxious to make a stir than was the duke. Nothing, 
 indeed, was more alien to her sweet and amiable 
 character than vindictiveness, and though deeply in- 
 censed by the aspersions of Madame de Montbazon 
 and her friends, she was well aware that they had from 
 the first obtained but scant credence outside the party 
 of the " Importants," and she had therefore decided, 
 both for her own and her husband's sake, to overlook 
 the outrage. 
 
 Madame la Princesse, unfortunately, was not of the 
 
 ' La Rochefoucauld, Memoires. 
 VOL. I. II 
 
1 62 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 same mind. That lady, who detested Madame de 
 Montbazon and whose natural arrogance had not been 
 diminished by the victories of the Due d'Enghien, 
 and the glory which, in consequence, enveloped the 
 House of Cond^, was beside herself with indignation 
 at the affront put upon her daughter by that " cook's 
 grand-daughter," as she styled the guilty duchess.^ 
 Nothing would satisfy her, she declared, but a public 
 reparation, and she even went so far as to threaten 
 that, if the Queen and the Government declined to 
 protect the honour of her family, she and all her 
 relatives would withdraw from Court. The matter 
 now became an affuir of State. Beaufort, Guise, and 
 the " Importants " used every endeavour to prevail 
 upon the Queen to refuse to the outraged mother 
 the satisfaction which she demanded. But Mazarin, 
 whose favour with his royal mistress was every day 
 increasing, while Beaufort and his adherents were as 
 steadily losing ground, threw his influence into the 
 opposite scale. The astute Italian was not slow to 
 perceive how this little disturbance might be used 
 to further his designs. By supporting Madame la 
 "Princesses demand, he would earn the gratitude of 
 the Conde family, the continuance of whose support 
 was so necessary to him at this juncture ; while 
 Anne's decision in favour of a public apology would 
 
 ^ In reference to her father, the Marquis de la Varenne Fouquet, 
 who had been equerry of the kitchen to Henri IV., and of whom the 
 Duchesse de Barre remarked: '^ II a plus gaigne a porter les poulets 
 [love-letters] du rot mon frere gu'a larder ceux de sa cmsine." 
 — Tailemant des R6aux. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 163 
 
 discredit not only Madame de Montbazon herself, 
 but all the " Importants " who had identified themselves 
 with her cause, prove to those who still hesitated upon 
 which side to declare themselves how little influence 
 the cabal really possessed over the Queen's mind, and 
 possibly drive the hot-headed Beaufort to commit 
 some act of folly which would bring about the ruin of 
 the whole party. He accordingly pointed out to her 
 Majesty — who was on very friendly terms with the 
 Princesse de Cond^ and her daughter, while, on the 
 other hand, the notorious gallantries of Madame de 
 Montbazon had strongly prejudiced her against that 
 lady — that, having regard to the provocation given, the 
 exalted position ,of the injured party, and the great 
 services of the Due d'Enghien, J^adame la Princesse s 
 demand was not an unreasonable one, and that, in 
 any case, it was of the utmost importance to con- 
 ciliate so powerful a family as the Condes, lest the 
 peace of the Regency should be troubled. 
 
 Mazarin's representations carried the day, and the 
 Queen set out for La Barre, where the Princesse de 
 Conde had just joined her daughter, to promise them 
 her protection. "After the usual salutations," says 
 Madame de Motteville, " the Princesse de Conde 
 conducted the Queen into an inner room, where 
 mother and daughter threw themselves at her feet and 
 demanded justice for the outrage which Madame de 
 Montbazon had inflicted on them. This they did 
 with so much feeling and so many tears, that the 
 Queen, having done me the honour to tell me these 
 
164 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 particulars on her return from La Barre, said to me 
 that the princesses had made her pity them, and she 
 had promised that they should be entirely justified, 
 which was done with all requisite ceremonial." 
 
 Madame de Montbazon received orders from the 
 Queen to repair to the H6tel de Conde, and there to 
 make a public apology to Madame la Princesse for 
 what had been said at her house. The speech she 
 was to make was drafted by Mazarin, who was 
 apparently working to settle the quarrel to the satis- 
 faction of both parties. " I was present," continues 
 Madame de Motteville, " on the evening that all these 
 important trifles were discussed. I remember that 
 I wondered in my mind at the follies and the silly pre- 
 occupations of that society. The Queen was in her 
 grand cabinet, and Madame la Princesse excited and 
 terrible with her, making a crime of Use-majeste out 
 of this affair. Madame de Chevreuse, involved for 
 a thousand reasons in the quarrel of her step-mother, 
 was with the Cardinal, composing the speech which 
 Madame de Montbazon was to make. Over every 
 word there was a parley of an hour. The Cardinal, 
 playing the go-between, went from one side to the 
 other to accommodate their differences, as if this peace 
 were necessary to the welfare of France, and his own 
 in particular. I never saw, I think, such complete 
 mummery." ^ 
 
 On the appointed day, the criminal duchess duly 
 proceeded to the H6tel de Conde, where she found 
 
 ' Memoires. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 165 
 
 Madame la Princesse awaiting her, surrounded by a 
 great crowd of relatives and friends, whom she had 
 invited to witness the humiliation of her enemy. 
 Among those present, were Gaston d'Orleans and 
 la Grande Mademoiselle, the latter of whom is 
 careful to inform us that she had little regard for 
 the Princesse de Conde, or indeed for any of her 
 family, but that she could not in courtesy refuse 
 to be present on an occasion of so much import- 
 ance. Madame de Montbazon entered the room in 
 full Court toilette and with an air of the utmost 
 disdain, and, approaching Madame la Princesse, pro- 
 ceeded to read from a paper tied to her fan the 
 apology which had been agreed upon, and which was 
 as follows : 
 
 " Madame, I come here to assure you that I am 
 entirely innocent of the wickedness of which I am 
 accused : no person of honourable feeling would give 
 utterance to such a calumny. Had I committed such 
 a fault, willingly would I endure every punishment 
 which the Queen might impose. I would never more 
 show myself in the world, and would humbly entreat 
 your pardon. I beg you to believe that I can never 
 fail in the respect which I owe you, or in the opinion 
 which I hold of the virtue and merit of Madame 
 de Longueville." 
 
 The reply of the Princesse de Conde was in these 
 words : 
 
 " Madame, I willingly believe the assurance that 
 you give me that you took no part in the calumny 
 
1 66 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 which has been published. I owe this deference to 
 the commands of the Queen." 
 
 " When such ceremonies as these have to be per- 
 formed," writes Mademoiselle, " it is neither usual 
 nor easy to perform them with a good grace ; and 
 the manner of the self-accused plainly indicated that 
 the heart in no way repented of the fault which 
 she had committed.^ Neither was the speech she 
 made any better received by Madame la Princesse, 
 who returned even a shorter answer, with a spirit 
 little appeased, and without relinquishing that 
 haughtiness of demeanour which accompanied her 
 every action. It was only the semblance of a 
 reconciliation." ^ 
 
 The storm indeed was by no means allayed. Far 
 from satisfied with having publicly humiliated her 
 daughter's calumniator, the Princesse de Conde begged 
 the Queen to excuse her from attending any function 
 at which Madame de Montbazon was to be present ; 
 and her Majesty, thinking the matter of no great 
 consequence, consented, little foreseeing the embarrass- 
 ment which this would entail. It happened, some days 
 later, that Madame de Chevreuse gave a " collation " 
 
 ' Mile, de Montpensier, Memoires. 
 
 ' Another witness of this little comedy, Madame de Motteville, 
 tells us that the duchess read her apology "in the haughtiest and 
 proudest manner possible ; making a grimace which seemed to say : 
 ' I scoff at all I say.' " 
 
 ' Mile, de Montpensier, Memoires. According to Olivier d'Ormesson, 
 the Duchesse de Montbazon began her speech without saying 
 " Madame!' The Princesse de Conde complained, and the duchess 
 had to recommence with this respectful addition. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 167 
 
 to the Regent in Renard's garden,^ and Anne invited 
 Madame la Princesse to accompany her, assuring her 
 that she need have no fear of encountering Madame 
 de Montbazon, since she had been informed that the 
 duchess was slightly indisposed and confined to her 
 house. On hearing this, the princess wiUingly joined 
 the Queen's party, but, on entering the garden, the 
 Regent was told that Madame de Montbazon was 
 already there, and was, moreover, assisting her step- 
 daughter to receive her guests. Anne was greatly 
 annoyed at this mishap, and her embarrassment was 
 increased when the Princesse de Conde announced 
 her intention of retiring, in order not to disturb the 
 harmony of the fete. This, however, the Queen 
 would not permit, remarking that she herself must 
 remedy the matter, inasmuch as it was on the faith 
 of her assurance that the princess had come. She 
 accordingly sent one of her ladies to Madame de 
 Montbazon, to explain the difficulty which had arisen 
 and to beg her to feign illness and withdraw, in order 
 to spare her Majesty further embarrassment. But the 
 haughty duchess declined to fly before her enemy and 
 imprudently ignored the royal command, whereupon 
 
 ' Renard's garden was situated a little beyond the Tuileries, at 
 the left-hand corner of what is now the Place de la Concorde. 
 There were two long terraces, which commanded a fine view of 
 the Cours-la-Reine, the fashionable drive along the banks of 
 the Seine laid out by Marie de' Medici, in i6i5, and the open 
 country beyond it. Renard was the most celebrated caterer of his 
 time, and in summer his grounds were a favourite rendezvous of the 
 fashionable world, which met there to gossip, partake of refreshments, 
 and listen to the music vs^hich he provided. 
 
1 68 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 the Queen, greatly offended at such want of respect, 
 immediately quitted the garden and returned to the 
 Louvre, accompanied by the Princesse de Conde. 
 
 Mazarin was, of course, informed of what had 
 occurred, and did not fail to fan the flame of her 
 Majesty's resentment ; and, though Monsieur^ " who, 
 having loved Madame de Montbazon in former days, 
 had not forgotten the fact," ^ interceded in the lady's 
 favour, his intervention was of no avail, and a day 
 or two later one of the King's gentlemen-in-ordinary 
 waited upon the delinquent with the following letter : 
 
 " My Cousin, — The discontent which the Queen 
 my mother has experienced, at the want of respect 
 which you have shown her during the last few days, 
 in regard to the wishes which she expressed to you, 
 obliges me to send to you, wherever you may be, 
 the Sieur de Neuilly, one of my gentlemen-in-ordinary, 
 with this letter, which I am writing to tell you that you 
 are to return to your house at Rochefort and there 
 remain until you receive a further order from me. 
 Promising myself your obedience, I shall not give 
 you a more express command, and meanwhile I pray 
 God that He will have you, my cousin, in His holy 
 keeping. Written from Paris, 22 August, 1643. 
 
 " (Signed) Louis. 
 "(Undersigned) Guenegaud." ^ 
 
 ■ Madame de Motteville, Memoires. 
 
 ^ Archives des Affaires etrangeres, published by Victor Cousin, la 
 Jeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 169 
 
 The disgrace of Madame de Montbazon, as Mazarin 
 had doubtless foreseen, exasperated the " Tmportants " 
 to the last degree. Beaufort had been bitterly in- 
 censed against the Cardinal, by the skilful manner 
 in which the latter had foiled his impudent attempt 
 to persuade the Queen to take away the Admiralty 
 from the young Due de Breze and bestow it upon 
 himself, and the exile of his mistress put the finishing 
 touch to his resentment. Wearying of intrigue, in 
 which he felt himself to be no match for the in- 
 sinuating Italian, he had already determined to have 
 recourse to force and dispose of Mazarin as Luynes 
 had disposed of Concini, instigated thereto by 
 Mesdames de Montbazon and de Chevreuse, who were 
 even less scrupulous than the male members of the 
 cabal as to the means they employed to attain their 
 ends. Twice arrangements were made to assassinate 
 the Cardinal as he was riding in his coach through 
 the streets. But, on one occasion, Mazarin happened 
 to be accompanied by 
 
 Cet homme gros et court, 
 Ce grand comte d'Harcourt, ' 
 
 the hero of the brilliant Italian campaign of 1639, 
 
 and, on the other, by Gaston d'Orleans ; and the 
 
 conspirators, fearing that in the struggle one of these 
 
 distinguished persons might be killed, and the ignominy 
 
 of a double murder rest on them, dared not make 
 
 the attempt. However, they were far from abandoning 
 
 their design, and resolved to lie in wait for the 
 
 ' See p. 1 14, supra. 
 
17° A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Cardinal, as he went each evening from his hotel in 
 the Rue de I'Oratoire^ to the Louvre. 
 
 The night of August 31 was fixed for the 
 attempt ; but Mazarin, excellently well served by his 
 spies, as Richelieu had been, had received warning 
 and did not leave his house until the following day. 
 He then repaired to the Louvre, where rumours of 
 an attempt on his life were already being circulated, 
 laid the information he had received before the Queen, 
 and quietly but firmly called upon her to choose 
 between his enemies and himself. Anne, over whose 
 mind and heart the Minister was now beginning to 
 establish his ascendency, and who was naturally 
 indignant at the atrocious designs of the persons 
 whom she had honoured with her friendship, did not 
 hesitate, and the ruin of the " Importants " was decided 
 upon. On September 2, Beaufort was arrested at 
 the Louvre and conveyed to Vincennes, where he 
 remained for five years ; his father, the Due de 
 Vendome, and his elder brother, the Due de Mercoeur, 
 were banished to Anet ; the Bishop of Beauvais re- 
 ceived orders to retire to his diocese, where, we are 
 told, he served a Heavenly King with much more 
 wisdom than he had served an earthly one ; Madame 
 de Chevreuse was exiled to Dampierre and afterwards 
 to Anjou ; while Chateauneuf was sent to his govern- 
 ment of Touraine, The pious Mile, de Hautefort, 
 
 1 The Hotel de CIdves. It had been built for Catherine de Cleves, 
 widow of Henri I., Due de Guise, assassinated at Blois in 1588. It 
 remained standing until 1758. The Rue de I'Oratoire was also called 
 the Rue du Louvre. 
 
A Princess; of Intrigue 171 
 
 who had of course taken no part in the plot against 
 Mazarin's life, was allowed to remain at Court for 
 some months longer ; but her influence over the Queen 
 was gone, and, early in 1644, Anne, tired of her 
 continual remonstrances against the growing intimacy 
 between herself and the Cardinal, sent her to join 
 her exiled friends. From the day of Beaufort's 
 arrest, the triumph of Mazarin was assured, and a 
 few days later he was able to write in his Garnets : 
 " I should no longer doubt, since the Queen, in an 
 excess of goodness, has assured me that nothing can 
 take from me the part which she has graciously 
 given me." 
 
 About the middle of November, 1643, the Due 
 d'Enghien returned to Paris, to receive the felicitations 
 of his family and friends and to resume his " chaste 
 amours " with Mile, du Vigean, who, now that she 
 was beyond his reach, at least in a matrimonial sense, 
 possessed all the added attractiveness of forbidden 
 fruit. During his absence, his neglected little wife 
 had borne him a son (July 30), and Monsieur le Trince 
 had at once sent oiF a messenger to announce the 
 glad tidings to the duke, who was with the army 
 before Thionville. But Enghien showed little eager- 
 ness to express his paternal joy, for he kept the 
 messenger with him to assist at the reduction of the 
 town, nor was it until Thionville had capitulated 
 some days later, that he condescended to write a 
 few lines to the young mother. 
 
172 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 An eulogistic biographer declares that, on arriving 
 at the Hotel de Conde and perceiving his son, " his 
 tender and magnanimous soul enjoyed a pleasure more 
 dear and more pure than that of victory " ; while the 
 Gazette asserts that " to express the pleasure which 
 his (Enghien's) presence had occasioned the Prince 
 de Conde and all his family, would be as difficult as 
 to represent the joy which the duke experienced at 
 sight of the son born to him in the midst of so many 
 laurels and popular acclamations." The family corre- 
 spondence, on the other hand, proves that, at this 
 time, Enghien certainly gave no indication of the 
 intense affection which he was to bestow upon his 
 son in later years, and he took advantage of the 
 fact that the Court was still in mourning for the late 
 King to have him baptized without the customary 
 rejoicings. The child, to whom Mazarin and 
 Madame la Princesse stood sponsors, received the 
 name of Henri Jules, and took the title of Due 
 d'Albret. 
 
 If the poor Duchesse d'Enghien had anticipated 
 that the birth of a son would prove a link between 
 her husband and herself, she was doomed to dis- 
 appointment, for she found herself more neglected 
 than ever. Soon after her confinement, she had fallen 
 so seriously ill, that the duke had been able for a 
 moment to count upon regaining his freedom ; and 
 it is to be feared that he received the news of her 
 convalescence with very mixed feelings. Disappointed 
 in the hope of any assistance from Nature, he now 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 173 
 
 appealed to his mother to use her influence with the 
 Regent to obtain the dissolution of his marriage ; 
 and Madame la Princesse — who, since the death of 
 Richelieu, seems to have transferred to her innocent 
 daughter-in-law the hatred which she had vowed 
 against the Cardinal at the time of the execution of 
 her brother, Henri de Montmorency, and had sought 
 to atone for the hypocritical attitude she had been 
 forced to assume during the Minister's lifetime 
 by treating her with the coldest disdain — readily 
 promised him her aid. 
 
 On the other hand, Madame de Longueville, 
 although she had hitherto been the sympathetic 
 confidante of her brother and Mile, du Vigean, and 
 had, moreover, possibly in deference to the wishes 
 of Madame la Princesse, ignored as much as possible 
 the existence of her sister-in-law — a point upon which, 
 we observe, her " posthumous lover," Victor Cousin, 
 is discreetly silent — declined to be a party to so 
 discreditable an intrigue. Nor did she content herself 
 with an attitude of neutrality, but decided to reveal 
 to the Prince de Conde the projects which were 
 being discussed in his family. 
 
 To his honour, be it said. Monsieur le Prince had 
 never wavered in his loyalty to the compact which 
 he had made with Richelieu over the Cardinal's 
 niece. If it were not in his nature to show the girl 
 much affection, he understood at least how to con- 
 stitute himself her protector, and did not cease to 
 employ every means to bring back his son to a wife 
 
174 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 who was so worthy of his afFection. Without his 
 loyal support, it is quite probable that the young 
 duchess would have been repudiated by her un- 
 scrupulous husband, for the prestige of Enghien was 
 now so great that it was difficult for the Regent and 
 Mazarin to refuse him anything, though the latter 
 would certainly have endeavoured to protect the niece 
 of his benefactor, and Anne, when approached by 
 Madame la Princes se on the subject, had expressed 
 her disapproval in unmistakable terms. But the Prince 
 de Cond6, when acquainted by Madame de Longueville 
 with what was going forward, showed the utmost 
 indignation, sent for his son and Mile, du Vigean, 
 and " said a thousand cruel things to both lover and 
 mistress," after which he advised the duke to return 
 to his military duties as speedily as possible. The 
 latter obeyed, and shortly afterwards bade a touching 
 farewell to Mile, du Vigean and set out for the 
 army.^ 
 
 With the disgrace of Madame de Montbazon, the 
 last had not been heard of the calumny which she 
 had started ; and its demument was a tragic one. 
 
 The Due d'Enghien had returned to Paris burning 
 to avenge the insult offered to his sister, to whom he 
 was devotedly attached. The proper person to be 
 called to account was of course the malicious duchess's 
 
 ' MM. Homberg and Jousselin, la Femme du Grand Condi. Due 
 d'Aumale, Histoire des Princes de Conde. 
 
From an engraving by Ganifere. 
 
 HENRI II. DE LORRAINE, DUG DE GUISE. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 175 
 
 chief admirer, Beaufort, who would appear to have 
 been very industrious in spreading the story of the 
 dropped letters. But that nobleman, being in prison, 
 was beyond his reach, and his righteous indignation 
 was therefore directed against the lady's other gallant, 
 the Due de Guise. Thanks to his connection with 
 Monsieur, who had married, en secondes noces, Marguerite 
 of Lorraine, sister of the eccentric Charles IV., and 
 to the fact that he had declined to be a party to 
 the criminal designs of Beaufort, Guise had escaped 
 the disgrace which had overtaken the other leaders 
 of the " Importants " and was still at Court. As, 
 however, the duke, though his family ranked with 
 the Montmorencies above all the rest of the French 
 nobility, was not of royal blood, etiquette forbade 
 Enghien to " call him out ; " and he therefore 
 delegated that duty to the man who had perhaps 
 even a better claim than himself to take up the 
 quarrel. 
 
 This was of course Maurice de Coligny, who had 
 hitherto remained in the background, at first, from 
 fear of compromising Madame de Longueville, and, 
 later, because he had been seriously ill and therefore 
 unable to call upon her calumniators to maintain 
 their accusations sword in hand. Now, however, 
 he reappeared upon the scene, and announced his 
 intention of challenging the Due de Guise to mortal 
 combat. 
 
 Several writers, Madame de Motteville among the 
 number, have assured us that Madame de Longueville 
 
176 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 had urged Coligny to this step ; ^ but this seems very 
 improbable, since the most reliable evidence goes to 
 prove that the princess, in marked contrast to her 
 mother, behaved throughout the Montbazon affair 
 with great moderation, and, far from seeking to em- 
 bitter the quarrel, had endeavoured to ignore it. It 
 is true that, in the end, she had been persuaded by 
 Madame la Princesse to join her in demanding re- 
 paration of the Queen. But, now that her honour 
 had been publicly vindicated, she had nothing what- 
 ever to gain by reopening so unpleasant a matter. 
 Her haughty and impetuous brother no doubt thought 
 otherwise, and warmly approved of Coligny's action, 
 even if he did not suggest it. It is unlikely, however, 
 that Coligny needed any persuasion to induce him to 
 demand satisfaction for an outrage which concerned 
 him so nearly ; indeed, he would, in all probability, 
 have sought it at a much earlier date, but for the 
 reason we have mentioned.^ The descendant of the 
 heroic Admiral did not want for courage and was 
 
 ' Madame de Motteville, as Victor Cousin points out, herself refutes 
 the rumour to which she gives currency in another passage in her 
 Memoires, where she says : " The jealousy which she (Madame de 
 Longueville) felt for Madame de Montbazon, being proportioned to 
 the love she had for her husband, did not carry her so far but that she 
 thought it best to overlook the outrage, since it was of such a nature 
 that she desired to hush it up rather than make it the occasion of a 
 solemn vengeance." 
 
 ^ On August 6, 1643, that is to say, at the very beginning of the 
 affair, Madame la Princesse wrote to Enghien, bidding him impose 
 silence on Coligny : " Teinoignes d Coligny qu'il vous ofenserat s'il 
 temoignet se vouloir interesser dans cete afaire, car il ne fault pas. 
 Brules cete leitre." — Archives de Conde, published by the Due 
 d'Aumale. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 177 
 
 passionately attached to Madame de Longueville, while 
 the name which his adversary bore was an additional 
 incentive ; for the lapse of years had not yet ex- 
 tinguished the fierce hatred which had once existed 
 between the Houses of Chatillon and Guise. 
 
 The duels of Old France were, it is hardly necessary 
 to observe, very different affairs from the ceremonious 
 and often farcical encounters dignified by that name 
 in our own day, in which, after a series of thrusts and 
 parries, before an admiring throng of spectators, the 
 exasperated senator gently pricks the too-outspoken 
 journalist in the forearm or shoulder, and honour is 
 declared satisfied. The duellists of Madame de 
 Longueville's time did not go forth to the " field of 
 honour " accompanied by friends to admire their skill, 
 umpires to see they did not infringe an elaborate code 
 of rules, and surgeons to bind up their wounds. But 
 they fought to kill or be killed, their seconds fought 
 as well as they, and nothing but death or total dis- 
 ablement put an end to the combat. 
 
 When, however, the duel first began to take the 
 place of the old Ordeal by Combat of the Middle Ages, 
 a good deal of ceremony was observed, though the 
 encounters were not less sanguinary. Thus the cele- 
 brated duel between La Ch^teigneraie and Guy de 
 Chabot, Sire de Jarnac, in 1547, in which the latter 
 disabled his antagonist by a blow at the knee-joint — 
 famous long afterwards as the " coup de Jarnac " — took 
 place in the presence of Francois I. and his whole 
 Court, and aroused immense interest throughout 
 
 VOL. I. 12 
 
17^ A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 France. But, as on that occasion, the King had 
 the privilege of putting an end to the combat whenever 
 he saw fit, it would perhaps be more correct to regard 
 it as a survival from mediaeval customs than as an 
 example of the modern duel. 
 
 Early in the latter half of the sixteenth century, 
 there was an important and very regrettable develop- 
 ment in the French duel. It ceased to be a meeting 
 where two persons only risked their lives, and the 
 custom arose of the parties taking the field accom- 
 panied by one or more friends, who fought with the 
 same ferocity as their principals, though frequently 
 they had not so much as set eyes upon their opponents 
 before. This sanguinary practice, which continued 
 for more than a century, is strongly condemned by 
 Montaigne. " There is a kind of cowardice," says he, 
 " which has introduced into our single combats the 
 custom of our being accompanied by seconds, thirds, 
 and fourths. What in former times were duels, are 
 now engagements and battles. Apart from the in- 
 justice of such a proceeding, and the iniquity of 
 engaging in the protection of your honour any other 
 valour and strength than your own, I perceive the 
 disadvantage of a man mingling his fortune with that 
 of a second. Each runs enough risk on his own 
 account without incurring it again on behalf of 
 another." 
 
 The most notorious combat of this kind was the 
 famous " duel of the Migjtons" which, according to 
 L'Estoile, " had arisen from a very trivial incident." 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 179 
 
 It took place on April 27, 1578, between Henri III.'s 
 three favourites, Qu^lus, Maugiron, and Livarot, on 
 the one side, and Antraguet, R^benac, and Schomberg, 
 on the other. From this murderous encounter, 
 Antraguet alone emerged unscathed; Maugiron and 
 Schomberg being left dead on the field, Rdbenac suc- 
 cumbing to his wounds the following day, and Qu61us 
 a month later ; while Livarot was confined to his bed 
 for six weeks. 
 
 Frequent as duelling had been under the Valois, it 
 developed into a veritable epidemic when the cessation 
 of the civil wars deprived the gentry of the opportunity 
 of proving their valour and indulging their taste for 
 violence in legitimate warfare ; and during the reign of 
 Henri IV. no less than 8,000 persons were said to 
 have lost their lives in " affairs of honour." In 1 602, a 
 royal edict threatened both principals and seconds with 
 death ; but its very severity rendered it a dead letter. 
 It was felt to be impossible to inflict such a punishment 
 upon those who engaged in a practice which was not 
 only countenanced by public opinion, but secretly 
 favoured by the King himself. 
 
 There was little, if any, improvement during the 
 early years of the succeeding reign. A difference of 
 opinion over the merits of a horse or a hound, a careless 
 word, a contemptuous gesture, were sufficient to pro- 
 voke an affray in which sometimes as many as a dozen 
 gentlemen took part. Such was the eagerness to engage 
 in these affairs, that a person having a duel in prospect 
 was besieged by friends and acquaintances soliciting the 
 
i8o A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 honour of being his second. One gentleman, whose 
 services had been declined by the Comte de Boutteville, 
 declared that he regarded such a refusal as an insult, 
 and that, if Boutteville survived the combat he had 
 then on his hands, he must fight him also. The Sieur 
 de Pontis relates that a lad who had just joined the 
 service as a cadet overhearing a young officer making 
 arrangements for a duel, insisted on being one of his 
 seconds, vowing that, if his request were refused, he 
 would immediately inform their superiors of the matter. 
 Six young men, including Pontis himself, took part in 
 this contest, of whom two were killed outright, and 
 three more or less severely wounded. 
 
 It is scarcely a matter for surprise that this deplora- 
 ble custom remained so long in vogue, since a successful 
 duellist seems to have been regarded by society, and 
 particularly by the feminine portion of it, with as much 
 favour as a victorous general. Lord Herbert of Cherbury 
 tells us of a redoubtable bretteur named Balagny, who, 
 though " at most but ordinary handsome," was the idol 
 of all the fine ladies in Paris. " When he came in," he 
 writes, " I remember there was a sudden whisper among 
 the ladies, ' Cest Monsieur Balagny,' or ' It is Monsieur 
 Balagny,' whereupon also I saw the ladies and gentle- 
 women, one after another, inviting him to sit near them ; 
 and, what is more, when one had had his company 
 awhile, another would say, 'You have enjoyed him 
 enough ; I must have him now ; ' at which bold civility 
 of theirs, though I was astonished, yet it added unto 
 my wonder that this person could not be thought at 
 
A Princess of Intrigue]' i8i 
 
 most ordinary handsome ; his hair, which was cut very 
 short, half grey, his doublet but of sackcloth cut to his 
 shirt, and his breeches only of plain grey cloth. In- 
 forming myself by some standers-by who he was, I was 
 told that he was one of the gallantest men in the world, 
 as having killed eight or nine men in single fight, and 
 that, for this reason, the ladies made so much of him ; 
 it being the manner of all Frenchwomen to cherish gallant 
 men, as thinking they could not make so much of any 
 else with the safety of their honour. This cavalier, 
 though his hair was half grey, had not yet attained the 
 age of thirty." ^ 
 
 The first really serious attempt to check the ^scourge 
 of duelling was made by Richelieu, who, in March, 
 1626, not only issued a new and severe edict against 
 the practice, which was to be punished by confiscation of 
 property, by exile, and, in aggravated cases, by death, 
 but caused it to be enforced on several occasions. 
 The most celebrated victim of the Cardinal's severity 
 was Francois de Montmorency, Comte de Boutteville, 
 the father of Isabelle de Boutteville, Duchesse de 
 Chatillon, and of the Mar^chal de Luxembourg, who, 
 exiled for repeated infractions of the edict, boasted 
 that he would fight his next duel in the middle of 
 the Place-Royale. This bravado he duly accomplished 
 on May 12, 1627, having for his second the Comte des 
 Chapelles and, for his adversary, the Comte de Beuvron, 
 who was supported by a gentleman named Bussy. 
 In the result, the last-named was killed, and Boutteville 
 
 > "The Life of Lord Herbert of Cherbury," written by himself. 
 
1 82 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 and Des Chapelles, in attempting to escape across 
 the Lorraine frontier, were arrested, brought to trial, 
 and condemned to death. What was more, the sentence 
 was duly carried out, and, in spite of the prayers and 
 remonstrances of the greatest nobles in France, they 
 were beheaded in the Place de Greve, on June 22, 
 1627. 
 
 This much-needed example had, for a time, a very 
 salutary effect, since, however reckless men might be 
 of their lives, few cared to face the executioner's axe. 
 But after Richelieu's death, the practice was again 
 unrestrained, and, though it never attained to anything 
 like the proportions it had reached in the early years 
 of the century, duels were still both numerous and 
 sanguinary, as will be gathered from the fact that 
 during the eight years of Anne of Austria's regency, 
 nearly a thousand gentlemen are known to have fallen 
 in them. 
 
 At three o'clock in the afternoon of December 12, 
 1643, Coligny and Guise met to decide their quarrel 
 in the Place-Royale, which, with its environs, was at 
 that time the most fashionable quarter of Paris. At 
 the right-hand corner, as one entered it by the Rue 
 Royale, from the direction of the Rue Saint-Antoine, 
 was the Hotel de Rohan, occupied by the widow of 
 the celebrated general and military writer. At the 
 left-hand corner, stood the Hotel de Chaulnes, celebrated 
 for its magnificent reception-rooms. The imposing 
 H6tel de Saint-Geran occupied the North-Eastern 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 183 
 
 angle of the square ; while at the North- Western 
 corner stood the h6tel inhabited by the young Due 
 de Richelieu, grand-nephew of the Cardinal, with its 
 far-famed picture gallery. Among other distinguished 
 persons who resided at this period in the Place-Royale, 
 were the Marechal de Lavardin, the Due de Villequier, 
 Madame de Sable, and the Comtesse de Maure. The 
 middle of the square was occupied by a large expanse 
 of turf, divided into six trimly-kept lawns, in the 
 centre of which stood the equestrian statue of Louis 
 XIII., the work of Biard and Daniel de Volterre, 
 which had been erected by Richelieu, in 1639, "as a 
 lasting token of his zeal, his fidelity, and his gratitude." 
 " What public and domestic events," observes Victor 
 Cousin, " did not this spot witness throughout the 
 whole of the seventeenth century ! What noble 
 tournaments, what fierce duels, what lovers' meetings ! 
 What conversations did it not hear, worthy of those 
 of the Decameron ! What gracious creatures inhabited 
 those pavilions, what sumptuous furniture, what treasures 
 of luxury and elegance were not assembled there ! 
 What illustrious personages of every kind have not 
 mounted those beautiful staircases ! Richelieu and 
 Conde, Corneille and Moliere passed through it a 
 hundred times ! It is here, walking under this gallery, 
 that Descartes, talking with Pascal, suggested to him 
 the idea of his splendid experiments on the weight 
 of air. It is here also that, one evening, on leaving 
 the hotel of Madame de Guymenee, the melancholy 
 de Thou received from Cinq-Mars the involuntary 
 
184 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 confidence concerning the conspiracy which was to 
 bring them both to the scaffold. Finally, it is here 
 that Madame de S6vign6 was born, and it is close at 
 hand that she lived." ^ 
 
 In accordance with the then almost invariable custom, 
 Coligny and Guise were each accompanied by a friend, 
 who came to measure swords, as well as their principals. 
 Coligny's second was the Comte d'Estrades, a Gascon 
 gentleman of some experience in this metier^ while 
 Guise was supported by his equerry, the Marquis de 
 Bridieu, a young noble from the Limousin. Both 
 subsequently distinguished themselves in a worthier 
 kind of warfare, and d'Estrades eventually earned a 
 marshal's baton. News of the intended duel had got 
 abroad, and the windows and balconies of the surround- 
 ing houses were crowded with excited spectators.^ 
 
 La Rochefoucauld relates that, as he placed himself 
 on guard, Guise remarked to Coligny : " We are 
 about to decide the old quarrel of our two Houses, 
 and it will be seen what a difference there is between 
 the blood of Guise and that of Coligny." It was soon 
 apparent that Coligny, still weak from his recent illness 
 and at his best but an indifferent swordsman, was 
 no match for his antagonist, who, like his celebrated 
 grandfather, was an adept at all manly exercises. After 
 a few passes, he made a furious lunge, over-reached 
 
 ' La Jeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 
 " According to one account, the parties drove to the Place-Royale 
 in coaches, the drivers of which started a quarrel and began belabour- 
 ing each other with whips, to give the appearance to the combat of 
 an accidental brawl, such as were still very frequent in Paris. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 185 
 
 himself, and fell on his knee. By the laws of the 
 duel, which made no allowance for accidents of this 
 kind, the duke might have run Coligny through and 
 finished the business at once. But he contented 
 himself by putting his foot on the other's sword and 
 remarking : " I do not intend to kill you, but to 
 treat you as you deserve, for having addressed yourself 
 to a prince of my birth, without your having received 
 provocation." After which, to show his contempt for 
 his discomfited antagonist, he struck him lightly with 
 the flat of his blade. 
 
 Burning with rage and shame, Coligny rose, picked 
 up his sword, and resumed the fight. In this second 
 stage of the combat both were wounded, Guise 
 slightly in the shoulder and Coligny in the hand. 
 But the end soon came, and victory, as in greater 
 contests, declared for the House of Guise. The duke 
 contrived to get within his opponent's guard, seized 
 Coligny's sword in his left hand — an action quite 
 permissible at this period, though forbidden in the 
 duels of the following century — and passed his own 
 through his adversary's sword-arm, placing him entirely 
 hors de combat. Then he went to separate d'Estrades 
 and Bridieu, who, though both severely wounded, were 
 still fighting with undiminished fury. 
 
 This duel — the last important one fought in the 
 Place-Royale — created an immense sensation. Public 
 opinion was almost unanimously in favour of Guise, 
 who, it would appear, had done everything possible 
 to avoid an encounter with a man not only greatly 
 
1 86 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 inferior to him in swordsmanship, but weakened by 
 illness, and, according to Madame de Motteville, had 
 even gone so far as to offer to withdraw the imputations 
 upon Madame de Longueville's honour attributed to 
 him. The Queen was much incensed at so flagrant 
 a violation of the edict of 1626 ; Monsieur y urged 
 on by his wife, was loud in his complaints of the 
 quarrel which had been forced upon her kinsman, 
 and the Prince and Princesse de Conde were highly 
 indignant at the undesirable publicity into which the 
 affair had brought their daughter. It was commonly 
 reported that Madame de Longueville had herself 
 witnessed the encounter of which she was the cause, 
 " concealed at a window in the hotel of the old 
 Duchesse de Rohan ;"^ and this story, coupled with 
 a rumour that Coligny had begged Guise who, after 
 disabling, might have killed him, according to the 
 barbarous duelling code of that time, to spare his life, 
 inspired the following chanson^ which not only went 
 the round of the salons, but was sung in the streets : 
 
 Essuyez vos beaux yeux, 
 Madame de Longueville; 
 Essuyez vos beaux yeux, 
 Coligny se porte mieux. 
 S'il a demands la vie, 
 Ne Ten blSmez nuUement ; 
 Car c'est pour etre votre amant 
 Qu'il veut vivre eternellement. ' 
 
 Altogethei", poor Coligny received but small con- 
 solation for his defeat, and in all probability would have 
 
 ' Madame de Motteville, Memoires. 
 
 ^ Bibliothdque Nationale MSS., Collection Manre;pas. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 187 
 
 been arrested and incarcerated in the Bastille, but for 
 the protection of the Due d'Enghien, who, in spite of 
 the remonstrances of Monsieur le Prince^ received his 
 wounded friend into the house where he was then 
 residing — the Hotel Saint-Denis — and subsequently- 
 had him conveyed to Saint- Maur. Both the principals 
 were summoned to appear before the Parlement ; but 
 proceedings were stayed by the news that Coligny's 
 life was despaired of. The unfortunate young man's 
 wounds, not in themselves very serious, had been 
 aggravated by his state of health and his mortification 
 at having so signally failed to uphold the cause of his 
 family and that of the woman he loved ; and, after 
 lingering for some months, he died at the end of 
 May, 1 644. 
 
 A romance of the time, entitled, Histoire d" Agesilan et 
 d'hrnenie, which, under fictitious names, purports to relate 
 the story of the love of Coligny and Madame de Longue- 
 viUe and its tragic termination, depicts the lady at the 
 death-bed of her admirer, a prey to the last extremity of 
 remorse and grief. After a touching farewell, in which 
 he declares that, since losing her (by her marriage with 
 the Due de Longueville), he had desired nothing so 
 much as to die in her service, Ag^silan expires, where- 
 upon Ismenie flings herself upon his body, embraces it, 
 and, seizing his hands in hers, " bathes them with her 
 tears." " ' Must I survive the most faithful and sincere 
 lover who has ever lived .? ' she cries. ' Is this then 
 the recompense that thou oughtest to expect from the 
 ungrateful Ismenie ? Thou hast loved her alone, and, 
 
1 88 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 at the same time as she left thee, thy despair has 
 caused thee to seek death on the battle-field, where thy 
 splendid valour, thy reputation, and thy great deeds 
 have been immortal. And, after that, thou hast just 
 expired before my eyes, and tellest me that thou hast 
 had no happiness since thou hast lost me, and that thou 
 diest content, since thou canst not possess me. . . . 
 Accept, dear and faithful friend, these tears and the 
 eternal regret for thy loss, which will pierce my heart a 
 thousand times a day. Accept this atonement, which 
 I make thee for all my coldness and for all the grief 
 that I have occasioned thee. Ah ! unhappy woman 
 that I am ! What will become of me .-' Whither shall 
 I go .'' No ; I must die of regret and love. I will 
 leave thee no more ; I intend to remain with thee.' " 
 " And, embracing him, she kissed his eyes and his 
 countenance with transports of affection, calculated to 
 rend every heart." 
 
 This pathetic scene seems to have had no existence, 
 save in the imagination of the writer, but the circulation 
 of the book must have been no less galling for Madame 
 de Longueville and her relatives. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Madame de Longueville uses her charms to push the fortunes of 
 her brother, Enghien — Severe portrait of the princess traced by 
 Mazarin in his Cameis— Madame de Longueville gives birth 
 to a daughter, who, however, dies a year later — The Congress 
 of WestphaUa — Quarrels between the French plenipotentiaries, 
 d'Avaux and Servien, determine Mazarin to send the Due de 
 Longueville to Miinster— Reluctance of Madame de Longueville 
 to leave Paris — Departure of her husband for Germany — 
 Acrimonious dispute over precedence which his arrival at Miinster 
 occasions — A question of etiquette — Battles of Freiburg and 
 Nordlingen — The Due d'Enghien breaks off his tender relations 
 with Mile, du Vigean — Despair of the latter, who, in spite of 
 the opposition of her family, enters the Carmelites — Birth of the 
 Comte de Dunois — Madame de Longueville's journey to Munster — 
 Her triumphal entry — Life at Munster — Madame de Longueville's 
 tour in Holland — Correspondence between d'Avaux and Voiture — 
 Dunkerque taken by Enghien — Letter of d'Avaux to the Princesse 
 de CondS — Death of Monsieur le Pi-ince — His character — 
 Disposition of his property. 
 
 MADAME DE LONGUEVILLE was now in her 
 twenty-fifth year, in the full flower of her beauty, 
 and at the height of her reputation as a bel esprit. No 
 Court function, no social gathering, seemed complete, 
 unless graced by her presence ; no new poet or wit 
 could feel sure of recognition, in the salons at least, 
 until he had been so fortunate as to win her approval. 
 Gradually, but none the less surely, the universal 
 homage of which she was the object began to have its 
 effect, and to awaken an element in her character which, 
 
 189 
 
19° A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 when further developed, was to be followed by deplor- 
 able results. She became ambitious, not for herself, 
 but for her House, and, in particular, for her brother, 
 Enghien, and eager to exercise the influence which she 
 saw that she possessed to push his fortunes. Her 
 beauty and charm of manner, which attracted to her 
 every day new admirers, were used unsparingly to 
 convert these susceptible gentlemen into devoted 
 friends and partisans of the young duke, and with 
 such success that Mazarin, who already viewed the 
 pretensions of the House of Cond^ with considerable 
 uneasiness, soon perceived that a new factor in the 
 political situation had arisen, with which he might one 
 day be called upon to reckon very seriously. It is 
 not unlikely that Madame de Longueville, who, in 
 common with the great majority of the French aristo- 
 cracy, had little love for the Cardinal, and whose youth 
 and independence of character occasionally tempted her 
 into indiscretions, had let fall some not very respectful 
 observations concerning his Eminence, and that these 
 had duly reached the latter 's ears. However that 
 may be, in his Carpets at this period, he describes the 
 young princess in very hostile terms, laying stress upon 
 her faults, while wholly ignoring her many admirable 
 qualities. Nevertheless, though the portrait is a severe 
 one, it is interesting, if only as an example of that 
 extraordinary foresight which enabled Mazarin to 
 detect possibly dangerous enemies in those who as 
 yet were barely conscious of any hostile intentions : 
 " The said lady is all-powerful with her brother 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 191 
 
 Enghien. She prides herself on looking down on the 
 Court, detesting favour, and despising all those whom 
 she does not see at her feet. She desires to see her 
 brother controlling everything and disposing of all 
 favours. She well understands how to dissimulate ; 
 she receives every act of homage and every favour 
 as though it were her due. She is generally very cold 
 to every one, and, if she loves gallantry, it is not 
 in the least because she has any evil intention, but 
 in order that she may win followers and friends for her 
 brother. She suggests to him ambitious thoughts, 
 to which he is already sufficiently inclined. She does 
 not take much account of her mother, because she 
 believes her to be attached to the Court. Like her 
 brother, she regards every favour as a debt paid to 
 herself, her relations, and her friends. She believes 
 that they would gladly be refused them, but that one 
 dares not do so, for fear of displeasing them. She is 
 on very intimate terms with the Marquise de Sabl6 and 
 the Duchesse de Lesdiguiferes. At Madame de Sable's 
 house, the Princesse de Gu6m6n^e, Enghien, his sister, 
 Nemours, and many others meet constantly, and they 
 speak with great freedom about every one. Some one 
 ought to be found to give information of what happens 
 there." 
 
 In February, 1644, Madame de Longueville gave 
 birth to a daughter, baptized by the name of Charlotte 
 Louise, who, however, died in the spring of the 
 following year. The body was embalmed and placed 
 in a leaden coffin, after which it was conveyed, with 
 
192 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 much ceremony, to the Carmelite convent in the Rue 
 Saint-Jacques, and there interred in the cloisters, near 
 the grave of Marie Madeleine de Saint-Joseph. The 
 death of her firstborn was a great sorrow for the 
 princess, but, happily, she soon received consolation, 
 as on January 12, 1646, she bore a son, Jean Louis 
 Charles d'Orldans, Comte de Dunois, who was destined 
 to succeed to his father's titles and offices. 
 
 Since 1636, tentative attempts had been made to 
 put an end to the sanguinary struggle which had 
 already been devastating Europe for nearly two decades. 
 In that year. Urban VIII. had endeavoured to act as 
 mediator between the Catholic Powers, and, after much 
 discussion, it had been decided that a congress should 
 meet at Cologne. Thither Cardinal Ginetti had repaired 
 as Legate of the Pope, and Spain and the Empire had 
 despatched Ambassadors. France, however, declined 
 to undertake any negotiations for peace, unless 
 accompanied by her allies, and neither Holland nor 
 Sweden were disposed to accept the Papal mediation, 
 even if it had been offered them. After three years 
 had been wasted in the discussion of the preliminaries, 
 France nominated her plenipotentiaries, and houses were 
 rented for them at Cologne ; but questions of religion 
 and etiquette caused a further postponement, and it 
 was not until the end of the year 1641 that, through 
 the intervention of Christian of Denmark, a preliminary 
 treaty was signed at Hamburg, whereby it was agreed 
 that two congresses should meet, the one at Miinster, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 193 
 
 the other at Osnabriick ; the Catholic Powers carrying 
 on their negotiations at the former place, while the 
 Protestant States conferred at the latter. As these 
 two Westphalian cities were but thirty miles apart, 
 the congresses, though in form separated, would in 
 reality constitute a single body, and the prospective 
 treaties were to be regarded as forming but one. The 
 refusal of the Emperor to ratify the treaty signed 
 by his representative at Hamburg, the death of 
 Louis XIII., and the necessity of France and Holland 
 coming to a definite understanding to act in concert, 
 occasioned further delay, and the meeting of the 
 Congress of Westphalia, originally fixed for March, 
 1642, was postponed till May, 1643, then to the 
 following July, and, finally, to March, 1644, when it 
 was formally opened. 
 
 When, in 1639, France had consented to nominate 
 plenipotentiaries for the proposed congress, Richelieu's 
 choice had fallen upon Mazarin and the Comte d'Avaux, 
 a member of the powerful parliamentary family of 
 de Mesmes and a skilful diplomatist, who, five years 
 later, was successfully employed in negotiating peace 
 between Sweden and Denmark. As, however, Mazarin's 
 elevation rendered it impossible for him to leave 
 France, he now withdrew in favour of Abel Servien, 
 Comte de la Roche, who, like himself, had been trained 
 in the school of Richelieu, and who possessed, together 
 with considerable abilities, the Cardinal's entire con- 
 fidence. 
 
 But d'Avaux and his colleague did not agree. The 
 VOL. I. 13 
 
194 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 former was a very fervent Catholic, whose religious 
 zeal not infrequently outran his discretion, and led him 
 to prefer the advantages of his Church to those of 
 his Government. On their way to MUnster, he and 
 Servien had spent some months in Holland, with the 
 object of obtaining from the States-General a renewal 
 of the treaty of 1635, and a guarantee to conclude 
 no separate peace with Spain without the consent of 
 their ally ; and d'Avaux had greatly incensed the 
 States by an imprudent speech, " more worthy of a 
 Minister of the Holy See than a Minister of France," 
 In which he had counselled them to remove some of 
 the disabilities to which the Dutch Catholics were 
 subjected. Mazarin had sharply reprimanded both 
 Ambassadors for this indiscretion, to the great 
 mortification of Servien, who wrote to the Minister 
 expressly dissociating himself from his colleague's 
 action. 
 
 Such an episode naturally did not tend to promote 
 a good understanding between the two diplomatists, 
 already not a little jealous of one another ; and the 
 tension was increased by the obstinacy with which 
 Servien was accustomed to pursue any line of action 
 upon which he had once decided. Their perpetual 
 bickerings, which were soon an open secret at MUnster, 
 prevented the efficient discharge of their duties, and 
 caused Mazarin so much uneasiness, that in May he 
 determined to despatch a third plenipotentiary to the 
 congress, in the person of the Due de Longueville, 
 to reconcile d'Avaux and Servien and to assume, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 195 
 
 nominally at least, control of the negotiations on behalf 
 of France. 
 
 Pfere Bougeant, in his history of the Congress of 
 Westphalia/ supposes that the Cardinal's choice was 
 influenced by a desire " to remove from the Court 
 a prince capable of exciting troubles." But Longue- 
 ville, at this time, adhered to the policy of^ Monsieur 
 le Trince, that is to say, he gave the Government a 
 consistent, though somewhat patronising, support, and 
 it was at his father-in-law's suggestion that the post 
 was offered him. Mazarin was always anxious to 
 gratify the pride of the Condes when he could do so 
 without prejudice to the interests of the State, and 
 the duke, though he had little diplomatic experience, 
 was, as we have said elsewhere, not destitute of capacity. 
 Moreover, his high rank and great wealth would add 
 lustre to the French embassy and prevent the jealousy 
 which the nomination of a person of their own condi- 
 tion would be certain to arouse in both d'Avaux and 
 Servien. 
 
 But, if Mazarin had no cause to fear the influence 
 of the Due de Longueville at Court, the same cannot 
 be said for that of his wife ; and the readiness with 
 which he appears to have accepted Monsieur le Prince's 
 suggestion was undoubtedly due to the fact that it 
 was proposed that Madame de Longueville should 
 accompany her husband. The Cardinal felt that it 
 was infinitely preferable that the lady in question should 
 
 1 Histoire des Guerres et Negociations qui precederent h Traite de 
 Westphalie. 
 
196 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 exercise for a season the power of her charms upon 
 pompous diplomatists at Miinster, instead of upon 
 discontented politicians in Paris. 
 
 The young princess was not of his opinion, and 
 regarded her prospective sojourn in Westphalia with 
 unconcealed dismay ; for the dignity of the position 
 which she was to hold seemed in her eyes but very 
 slight compensation for a lengthy separation from her 
 friends, and the loss of all those pleasures which 
 she had come to look upon as necessities of existence. 
 For her, Paris, the Court, the Hotel de Conde, the 
 Hotel de Rambouillet, Chantilly, Fontainebleau, Lian- 
 court. La Barre, constituted the world ; the rest of 
 France and of Europe was nothing but an aching void. 
 Would the society of elderly ambassadors and their 
 wives, who spoke in Latin, German, or, at best, in 
 bad French, console her for that of the wits, gallants, 
 poets, and ^^ precieuses,^' among whom her life had been 
 passed, or dull diplomatic receptions in hired houses 
 or draughty public buildings for balls at the Louvre 
 or ballets at the Palais-Cardinal? The disposal of 
 an important Court office was to her of infinitely more 
 importance than that of Alsace, and to unravel the 
 designs of Austria or of Spain a far less interesting task 
 than to penetrate the nature of the relations between 
 the Queen and the Cardinal. 
 
 But if not an affectionate, she was a dutiful, wife, 
 and, as her husband had expressed a strong desire 
 that she could accompany him, she consented. Never- 
 theless, she determined to postpone the evil day as 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 197 
 
 long as possible, and Mazarin complains in his Camets 
 that " Longueville is very reluctant to start without 
 his wife, and the latter is unwilling to leave Paris." 
 Finally, the duke yielded to her entreaties that she 
 should remain in France until after the birth of her 
 child, and at the beginning of June, 1645, set out for 
 Westphalia. 
 
 " His arrival," says Pere Bougeant, " was the 
 occasion of troublesome differences over the question 
 of ceremonial. When he reached Valbek, a league 
 and a half from Mtlnster, accompanied by the Comtes 
 d'Avaux and de Servien, who had come to meet him 
 as far as Wesel, a very acrimonious dispute arose 
 between the Venetian Ambassador (Lorenzo Contarini) 
 and those of the Electors, as to the place which their 
 coaches ought to occupy on the duke's entry.^ The 
 Nuncio (Cardinal Chigi) proposed various expedients, 
 which were rejected by both parties ; and Contarini 
 threatened to take his departure and to abandon his 
 mediation.^ The result of the quarrel was that the 
 
 1 This was not the first squabble Contarini had been engaged in on 
 a point of etiquette. He had, some time before, taken strong exception 
 to the conduct of d'Avaux, who, when the Venetian visited him, had 
 declined to accompany him further than the foot of the staircase, 
 whereas Contarini claimed that the dignity of his Republic demanded 
 that he should be escorted to his carriage. The matter was referred 
 to the French Court, where Mazarin, wisely concluding that the 
 friendship of Venice was too important to be endangered for a question 
 of steps, instructed d'Avaux to accord Contarini full diplomatic 
 honours.— Mr. J. B. Perkins, "France under Mazarin." 
 
 2 Chigi and Contarini acted as mediators to the Congress of West- 
 phalia. Neither of them was exactly an impartial umpire, for, whereas 
 the cardinal strongly favoured the House of Austria, the Venetian's 
 sympathies seemed to have been with France. 
 
198 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Nuncio besought the Comte d'Avaux to persuade the 
 Due de Longueville not to make a formal entry, and 
 what was done on this occasion became in the end a 
 rule, in order to avert similar quarrels. Accordingly, 
 on June 30, the Due de Longueville entered Miinster 
 with his Household only, the French plenipotentiaries, 
 and some of the representatives of the princes allied 
 to France. But if his entry were less ceremonious, so 
 far as regards the number of ambassadors' coaches, it did 
 not fail to efface all the others by the magnificence 
 of the suite and the equipages which accompanied this 
 prince." 
 
 The diplomatists gathered at Miinster appeared to 
 have attached as much importance to questions of 
 etiquette as to those of politics. A few days after the 
 Due de Longueville's arrival, the Count de Pegnaranda 
 came from Madrid, as first plenipotentiary of Spain.^ 
 His appearance on the scene was the signal for fresh 
 dissensions. The ambassadors of the Emperor, who 
 had not yet paid their formal visit to Longueville, 
 immediately called upon the Spaniard, conduct which 
 was resented by the French as a gross breach of 
 diplomatic etiquette. In response to the demand for 
 an explanation which Longueville addressed to them, 
 
 ' The count had recently espoused " a demoiselle of high rank and 
 perfect beauty," and it appears to have been to the desire of the young 
 lady and her numerous admirers to get rid of him for a time that he 
 owed his proud position. "At any rate," writes Bougeant, "it is 
 certain that he was for a long time refused the permission he demanded 
 to return to his wife, although he pointed out that he was being 
 deprived of all hope of having children, since he was already almost a 
 sexagenarian. " 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 199 
 
 through the mediators, the ImperiaUsts defended their 
 action, on the ground that, since both their master and 
 that of Pegnaranda were members of the House of 
 Austria, their visit ought to be regarded as in the 
 nature of a friendly interview between the represent- 
 atives of the same family rather than a formal call, and 
 as such should not have caused offence. At the same 
 time, they intimated that in visiting Longueville neither 
 they nor the Spanish plenipotentiaries would feel them- 
 selves justified in giving him the title oi Alt esse (High- 
 ness), which he bore in France as Sovereign Prince of 
 Neufchatel, until they had ascertained the views of their 
 respective governments on so weighty a matter. The 
 representatives of most of the other States followed 
 their example, and even the mediators excused them- 
 selves from addressing the duke by the title he claimed, 
 on the ground that they could not conform to any 
 ceremonial not unanimously accepted by all the parties. 
 This refusal, we are told, aroused the most intense 
 indignation in the French embassy ; but the Due de 
 Longueville, " generously sacrificed the interests of his 
 dignity to the public good, and informed the mediators 
 that he was ready to receive the visits of all the Minis- 
 ters, except the Imperialists — who had aflFronted him by 
 visiting Pegnaranda first — without exacting the title."'^ 
 Two months after the departure of the Due de 
 tongueville, Enghien, who, in the summer of the 
 previous year, had added to the laurels won at Rocroi 
 
 ' PSre Bougeant, Histoire des Guerres et Negociations qui precederent 
 le TraiU de Westphalie. 
 
200 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 in three days' sanguinary fighting before Freiburg,^ 
 gained the Battle of NOrdlingen. It was a dearly bought 
 victory, and when its official celebration was ordered, 
 the Parisians bitterly remarked that a De Profundis 
 over the dead would be far more appropriate than a 
 7*1? Deum for the living. 
 
 The young commander, who had performed prodigies 
 of reckless valour and "had had two horses killed under 
 him, was himself wounded, and a severe attack of fever, 
 which supervened, nearly cost him his life. In the 
 autumn, he returned to Paris, in a very weak state of 
 health, when, as a general rule, man is particularly 
 susceptible to feminine blandishments. The astonish- 
 ment of his friends and the despair of poor Mile, du 
 Vigean may, therefore, be imagined when it was 
 perceived that he seemed to regard the girl whom 
 he had once loved so passionately with as much 
 indiiFerence " as if he had never heard her voice." ' 
 
 Enghien's ingenuous historian Desormeaux attributes 
 this singular change to the fact that " his love had 
 vanished with the prodigious quantity of blood that 
 had been taken from him," while others ascribe it to 
 the effect of the paternal remonstrances. But the most 
 
 ' The Battle of Freiburg itself could hardly be described as a 
 victory, though a Te Deum was sung for it at Notre-Dame, as the 
 French losses were even heavier than those of the enemy, and the 
 Imperialists under Mercy succeeded in effecting their retreat in good 
 order. But the results of the combat were of the greatest importance 
 and justified the sacrifice of his men, for which Enghien was so much 
 condemned, since Mercy's army was too crippled to make further 
 opposition, and left the French free to reduce Philippsburg and several 
 other towns, and obtain the command of the Rhine from Switzerland to 
 Mainz. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 201 
 
 probable reason^ is that, with increasing years and 
 experience of life, common-sense had at last asserted 
 itself, and that, in despair of either obtaining the dis- 
 solution of his marriage or of overcoming the virtuous 
 scruples of his inamorata, he had decided to abandon 
 himself no longer to a passion which could have no other 
 result than that of troubling his peace of mind. 
 
 It is possible, however, that he may have been 
 prompted by a more worthy motive. Finding that 
 his equivocal attentions had somewhat compromised 
 the lady, while, on the other hand, her devotion to 
 himself had caused her to reject the honourable advances 
 of more than one highly eligible suitor, he may have 
 at length awakened to a sense of the selfishness of his 
 conduct, and had determined to yield his place to some 
 one with a better right. 
 
 If such were the reason of his withdrawal, his sacrifice 
 was a vain one. Marthe du Vigean, though she uttered 
 no complaint, remained inconsolable. She turned a 
 deaf ear to the suitors who crowded round her the 
 moment the brusque retirement of Enghien was known, 
 the most ardent of whom was the Marquis de Saint- 
 Mesgrin, brother of the fair lady of that name beloved 
 by Gaston d' Orleans, and resolved to become the bride 
 of the Church. Lest, however, the resolution which she 
 meditated should be deemed by the world the " out- 
 come of grief or of mortification," she did not take any 
 immediate steps to carry it out, and for some time 
 continued to receive the visits of her friends, even of 
 those who had been the witnesses of her passion. But 
 
202 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 the strength which usually enabled her to oppose an 
 air of indifference to the curious or sympathetic glances 
 she encountered sometimes failed her, and from the 
 young Due de Rohan-Chabot, one of her former lover's 
 most intimate friends, who visited her about a year 
 after the rupture, she made no attempt to conceal her 
 grief or her intentions. 
 
 " I went yesterday to see her and to bid her adieu," 
 writes Rohan to Enghien, " and my visit did not pass 
 without a passage of arms between us, nor without her 
 shedding tears. She talked with me for three hours 
 about things past and her resolutions for the future, 
 which tend towards a retreat into a convent. ... I 
 asserted that she would do nothing of the kind, and I 
 do not believe that she will. She related to me how, 
 on her return from hearing a sermon of Pfere Desmare, 
 she burned all your letters and even your portrait. I 
 experienced much pleasure in her conversation ; she is 
 marvellously intelligent, but, without doing her an 
 injustice, her beauty is strangely on the wane." ^ 
 
 The Due de Rohan was wrong in refusing to take 
 seriously Mile, du Vigean's resolutions. A year later, 
 ignoring the counsels and entreaties of her relatives, 
 the latter quitted her father's house and took refuge 
 with the Carmelites of the Rue Saint-Jacques, whither, 
 in past days, the poor little Duchesse d'Enghien had 
 sometimes repaired, on account of her, to appease her 
 jealousy and find resignation. Anne du Vigean, the 
 
 ' Letter of July 27, 1646, published by the Due d'Aumale, Histoire 
 des Princes de Conde. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 203 
 
 future Duchesse de Richelieu, in a letter to her brother, 
 the Marquis de Fors, gives a lively picture of their 
 sister's last days in the world. 
 
 Anne du Vigean to the Marquis de Fors. 
 
 "... We went to Rueil, where we spoke every day 
 of this affair (Marthe du Vigean's resolution to become 
 a nun), and where many tears were shed ; and the con- 
 clusion arrived at was that, at any rate, nothing should 
 be done for six months, my mother hoping, in asking 
 this delay of her, that she might be able to induce her 
 to alter her mind. Finally, we returned here, because I 
 was very ill ; I had fever so badly that I did not move 
 from my bed. One fine day, she said to me : ' Sister, 
 I shall not give them all the time I promised, for I 
 shall go before another week has passed ! ' I begged 
 her to give me time to write to my mother, in order 
 that she might come and speak to her, since I was not 
 strong enough to retain or to counsel her. I wrote, 
 accordingly, ill though I was. In the meanwhile, I had 
 sent to the H6tel de Longueville to learn your news 
 [the news from the army], because I had been told 
 that a courier had arrived, and Madame de Longueville 
 wrote me to send for it ; and at the end of her 
 letter she asked my sister to go and see her. She 
 went out, therefore, to go thither, and when she had 
 gone half the distance, told her people that she must 
 turn aside to the " Grandes Carmelites" but that she had 
 only a word to say to them. She made them turn 
 her carriage and went thither, where she is still and 
 
204 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 does not intend to come out. My mother arrived an 
 hour later. ... My father wished to kill every one, 
 all the Missionaries and Carmelites in the world, but 
 he is beginning to be somewhat appeased. I go to 
 see her every day ; she is merry and resolute, and 
 watches me weeping without shedding a tear." ^ 
 
 Marthe du Vigean seems to have been very happy 
 in her new life, and declared that " she would not 
 change her condition to be empress of the whole 
 world." ^ She made profession in 1649, and took 
 the name of Soeur Marthe de Jesus. She held the 
 office of sub-prioress from 1659 to 1662, and died 
 three years later, at the age of forty-four. Until the 
 end of her life, she remained on very affectionate 
 terms with Madame de Longueville, who visited her 
 frequently and corresponded with her when absent 
 from Paris. The man whom she had loved with so 
 much devotion did not seek to see her again, but 
 always preserved for her " a recollection full of respect." ^ 
 
 Madame de Longueville's child — a daughter — was 
 born on January 12, 1646 ; but such was the lady's 
 reluctance to set out for Germany, that it was not 
 until five months later that she pronounced herself suffi- 
 ciently recovered to endure the fatigues of the journey. 
 At length, on June 20, she left Paris, accompanied by 
 
 ' Published by MM. Homberg and Jousselin, la Femme du Grand 
 Condi. 
 
 "^ Letter of MSre AgnSs de J6sus to Mile, d'fipernon, June, 1647, 
 cited by Victor Cousin, lajeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 
 ^ Lenet, Memoires. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 205 
 
 her step-daughter, Mile, de Longueville, who was then 
 in her twenty-first year, and a numerous escort, under 
 the command of Montigny, captain of the duke's 
 guards. In order not to be wholly deprived of in- 
 tellectual society during what she regarded as little 
 better than exile, she took with her several wits and 
 men of letters, amongst whom were Claude Joly, one 
 of the canons of Notre-Dame, uncle of Guy Joly, the 
 author of the Jdemoires, who has left us an interesting 
 account of the journey ; ^ Courtin, then counsellor to 
 the Parlement of Normandy, and afterwards French 
 Minister in Sweden, and the Academician, Jacques 
 Esprit, already mentioned,^ who, having recently in- 
 curred the wrath of his patron Chancellor Seguier, for 
 conniving at the marriage of the iatter's daughter, 
 the Marquise de Coislin, with Madame de Sable's son, 
 the Marquis de Laval, had decided that a change of 
 climate might not be without benefit to his health. 
 
 The journey resembled a royal progress. Flemings, 
 Dutch, Spaniards, and Germans vied with one another 
 in the honours they paid to the princess. Governors 
 came forth to receive her at the head of their garrisons. 
 Burgomasters offered her the keys of towns. Some- 
 times she was escorted by troops of cavalry, furnished 
 by the commandants of the various places through 
 which she passed ; at others by bands of farmers and 
 peasants, for the most part armed to the teeth, since 
 
 ' Voyage fait d Miinster en Westphalie et autres lieux voisins en 
 1646 et 1647 (Paris, 1670). 
 ^ See p. no, supra. 
 
2o6 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 those were troublous times, and cattle-raids by the 
 light cavalry of the contending armies were unpleasantly 
 frequent. At Li^ge, the banks of the Meuse to the 
 distance of a quarter of a league from the town, and 
 the streets' leading to the archbishop's palace, where the 
 two princesses lodged, were lined with burghers under 
 arms, who beat drums and discharged their muskets 
 incessantly ; while on the river itself was a flotilla of 
 boats filled with men in various disguises, which 
 engaged in a mimic naval battle. On the evening of 
 their arrival, the authorities entertained their distin- 
 guished guests to a sumptuous banquet, " in the 
 fashion of the country," which, according to Joly, 
 meant that the viands were so highly seasoned that it 
 was impossible for any one with a delicate palate to 
 partake of them. 
 
 On reaching the banks of the Rhine opposite Wesel, 
 they came upon the army of Turenne, which was pre- 
 paring to cross the river, to join the Swedes under 
 Wrangel and carry fire and sword to the very gates 
 of Munich. Turenne reviewed and manoeuvred his 
 veterans for the princesses' amusement, and it was on 
 this occasion that the celebrated captain, always very 
 susceptible to feminine charms, seems to have conceived 
 that profound admiration for Madame de Longueville, 
 which was subsequently to develop into a much warmer 
 feeUng. On July 19, the party crossed the river, by a 
 bridge of boats, which had just been constructed by 
 Turenne for the passage of his troops, and were met by 
 the Due de Longueville, who had come to escort his 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 207 
 
 wife and daughter the remainder of the way.^ After 
 waiting a day at Wesel, to witness the arrival of the 
 French army, which passed the Rhine the following 
 morning, and to bid adieu to Turenne, they continued 
 their journey, and a week later arrived at Miinster, 
 where Madame dc Longueville's entry was that of a 
 queen. 
 
 " On July 26, between five and six o'clock," writes a 
 correspondent of the Gazette, " this princess, richly 
 dressed, made her entry into the town of Miinster, in 
 the following fashion : The Comte de Servien's trum- 
 peter and that of the Comte d'Avaux marched at the 
 head of the pages, gentlemen, and equerries of their 
 Households, followed by twenty-four pages of the 
 chamber and stable of the Due de Longueville, all covered 
 with trimmings of silver lace ; and the latter in front of 
 their equerries, and forty gentlemen, all superbly habited, 
 led by the Sieur D^sarsaux. Behind them sixteen 
 Swiss, bearing halberds and wearing velvet caps adorned 
 with beautiful plumes, and likewise habited in rich 
 liveries, escorting a litter covered with crimson velvet, 
 embroidered with a great quantity of gold and silver lace. 
 Four other trumpeters richly habited followed, preced- 
 ing the coach in which rode the Due and Duchesse de 
 Longueville, with thirty footmen in the richest liveries 
 walking beside the door. Then came the Sieur de 
 Montigny, at the head of the company of very stalwart 
 guards. Six coaches in single file and eight others 
 belonging to the Comtes d'Avaux and de Servien (who 
 ' Claude Joly, Voyage fait d Miinster. 
 
2o8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 rode in the first coach with the Due and Duchesse de 
 Longueville), each drawn by six horses, brought up the 
 rear of this cortege, which passed between the soldiers 
 of the garrison and the burghers under arms as far 
 as the Grande Place, where six companies of infantry 
 fired several volleys, in the presence of the foreign 
 plenipotentiaries and other noblemen and ladies of 
 high rank, who admired the beauty of this superb 
 procession. 
 
 " During the three succeeding days, this princess was 
 visited by the Dutch and Hessian Ambassadors ; then 
 by the Nuncio of his Holiness, the Count of Nassau, 
 one of the plenipotentiaries of the Emperor, the Bishop 
 of Osnabriick, Ambassador in Poland, and the Portu- 
 guese and Venetian Ambassadors ; each one among this 
 abridgment of the Ministers of Europe manifesting as 
 great an admiration for the graces which shine in this 
 princess and which accompany her every action, as had 
 been shown throughout the whole of her journey ; so 
 much so that the enemies have already ascribed to the 
 inclination that the Liegeois had conceived for her dur- 
 ing her passage through their State, the proofs which 
 they have recently given of their affection for France. 
 And there is no one who does not predict that the 
 gentleness of her manners, incompatible with the cruel- 
 ties of war, will be of much service in confirming 
 her beloved husband more and more in the strong 
 resolutions that he has formed in favour of peace, 
 conformable to the pious actions and precise orders 
 of their Majesties." 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 209 
 
 Life at Miinster was extremely dull. Formal visits 
 were occasionally exchanged between the representatives 
 of the various States ; but otherwise there was little 
 social intercourse, for no ball or reception could be held 
 without the harmony of the proceedings being disturbed 
 by some acrimonious squabble over precedence, and 
 such functions were in consequence of very rare occur- 
 rence. If dull, however, it was extremely ceremonious. 
 The Spanish and Imperialist plenipotentiaries never 
 appeared in the streets unless with three carriages, each 
 drawn by six horses, and preceded by an immense 
 number of footmen ; indeed, so anxious were they to 
 eclipse the splendour of the representatives of other 
 Powers, that they even dressed up their scullions in their 
 liveries and compelled them to swell their retinues. 
 The Due de Longueville and the French Ambassadors 
 contented themselves with a pair of horses when they 
 drove out, deeming six " a useless and superfluous 
 luxury," and, after a time, the Spanish and Imperialists 
 followed their example in this respect. All three 
 French nobles lived in a very magnificent style. When 
 d'Avaux and Servien dined or supped, " ten or twelve 
 covers were invariably laid for any worthy persons 
 who might come to visit them." But this liberality 
 was a mere trifle compared with the princely pro- 
 fusion which characterized the menage of the Due de 
 Longueville. " For, since there was no one in the 
 whole Congress of Miinster who bore the quality of 
 prince as he did, so there was no one whose House- 
 hold approached the magnificence of his, where there 
 VOL. I. 14 
 
2IO A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 were guards and Swiss and five or six separate tables, 
 to wit, that at which he himself ate, that of his gentle- 
 men, where all the Frenchmen of condition, of whom 
 there were a good number at Miinster, had their or- 
 dinary, whenever they wished, that of the council, that 
 of the maitre d' hotel, and others." ^ 
 
 Madame deLongueville remained a month at Miinster, 
 when her husband, taking compassion upon the ennui 
 which she vainly endeavoured to conceal, suggested 
 that she should employ the rest of the warm 
 weather in making a little tour through Holland. She 
 readily agreed, and, on August 20, left Miinster, 
 accompanied by her step-daughter and a numerous 
 entourage, which included the learned Joly, to whom 
 we are indebted for many interesting details of the 
 journey. Traveling by way of Steinfort, Devinter, 
 Amersfoort, and Naarden, the party reached Amsterdam 
 on August 26, where they made a stay of some days. 
 Amsterdam was at this period not only one of the 
 most prosperous, but perhaps the best-ordered city in 
 Europe, and the French visitors were greatly impressed 
 by the contrast in this respect which it afforded to 
 Paris. Whereas Paris was an ill-lighted, evil-smelling 
 town, infested with beggars, and so unsafe after dark, 
 that few dared to venture forth unless armed, and the 
 citizens were in apprehension even in their houses, 
 keeping watch and ward as if in a hostile country, 
 the streets of the Dutch town were well lit and com- 
 paratively clean ; mendicancy, as everywhere in Holland, 
 ' Claude Joly, Voyage fait a Miinster. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 2 1 1 
 
 was rigorously suppressed, and robbery almost un- 
 known ; while the city was remarkable for the number 
 and excellence of its hospitals and almshouses. 
 Madame de Longueville visited several of the public 
 buildings, among them the Bourse, " where every day, 
 at eleven o'clock in the morning, the merchants 
 assembled," and the India House, in the long 
 galleries of which the merchandise of the Dutch East 
 Indies was displayed. The princess and her step- 
 daughter also paid a visit to the Jewish Synagogue — 
 by a singular anomaly, while the Jews were allowed 
 complete freedom of worship in Amsterdam, the public 
 exercise of the Catholic religion was strictly prohibited 
 — " where all the assembled Jews chanted, in Hebrew, 
 benedictions on their Highnesses." 
 
 The leader of the Jewish community in Amsterdam ^ 
 was the celebrated Rabbi, Manasseh Ben-Israel, who, 
 in 1655, visited England, to endeavour to induce 
 Cromwell to remove the proscription upon his co- 
 religionists. Upon him Joly called, and the two 
 indulged in a long and learned theological disputation, 
 the particulars of which are set forth at great length 
 by the worthy canon in the work already referred to. 
 The arguments of neither divine, however, would 
 appear to have had much effect upon the other. 
 
 From Amsterdam the travellers proceeded to Haarlem, 
 
 1 The persecution of the Jews in various parts of Europe had, from 
 the end of the fourteenth century, driven numbers of them to seek 
 refuge at Amsterdam, where complete religious toleration was accorded 
 them. Indeed, at this period, Amsterdam seems to have been regarded 
 by them almost as a second Jerusalem. 
 
212 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 and thence to Leyden, at which latter town they visited 
 the splendid Botanical Gardens, which had been laid 
 out in 1588, the printing-house of the Elzevirs, 
 and the School of Anatomy, " in which, among other 
 curiosities, they saw a mummy, that is to say, the 
 embalmed body of a king of Egypt, swaddled in a 
 very fine stuff, which is wound round it like the 
 swaddling clothes of a child, and on which there was 
 some hieroglyphical writing, which was reported to be 
 more than two thousand years old." 
 
 The Hague was reached on September 2, and the 
 following morning the party made an excursion to 
 the now fashionable coast resort of Scheveningen, 
 where Madame de Longueville had her first glimpse 
 of the sea. On her return, she and her step-daughter 
 had an interview with Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, 
 sister of Charles I., with whom were two of her sons, 
 Maurice and Edward, the latter of whom had recently 
 married Anne de Gonzague, the repudiated wife of 
 the Due de Guise. 
 
 On arriving at Utrecht, the princess expressed a 
 great desire to make the acquaintance of the celebrated 
 Maria Anna van Schurman, who, although at this time 
 only thirty-five, was already one of the most learned 
 women in Europe, having mastered, not only Latin 
 and Greek and all the principal European languages, 
 but Hebrew and several other Oriental tongues ; and 
 after some hesitation — for this prodigy of knowledge 
 was of an extremely modest and retiring nature — the 
 latter consented to receive her. Mile, van Schurman, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 213 
 
 besides being an extraordinarily learned, was also a 
 very accomplished, lady. She was a sculptor and 
 painter of considerable talent, while she also drew 
 exquisite little portraits on glass with the point of a 
 diamond, several of which she showed to her visitors, 
 who appear to have been greatly interested by all 
 they saw at her house. 
 
 At the little town of Rhenen, which was their next 
 halt, a somewhat disagreeable episode occurred. The 
 morrow of their arrival was a festival — that of the 
 Nativity of the Virgin — and Madame de Longueville 
 desired to have Mass celebrated in her lodging. 
 Hitherto there had been no difficulty about this, as, 
 though the public exercise of the Catholic religion 
 was prohibited in nearly all the Dutch towns, it was 
 permitted in private. But the inhabitants of Rhenen 
 were fanatical Protestants, who refused even this con- 
 cession to the proscribed religion, and the princess 
 was informed that under no circumstances could such 
 " idolatry " be sanctioned. Madame de Longueville, 
 however, was equal to the occasion. She immediately 
 quitted the town with all her suite, and, having reached 
 the open country, caused a table to be laid out, on 
 which was placed a consecrated stone presented by 
 Joly to her almoner ; and on this improvised altar Mass 
 was duly celebrated. 
 
 Three days later, the travellers arrived at MUnster. 
 Their little tour had proved both instructive and 
 pleasant, the only drawback, according to the worthy 
 Joly, being that Dutch etiquette had not infrequently 
 
214 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 required them to imbibe a great deal more liquid 
 refreshment than was good for them. "Beer or wine," 
 says he, " the Dutch must drink, and you must drink 
 with them ; otherwise they become suspicious of a 
 person, and you will lose their friendship." This 
 custom on certain occasions must have been distinctly 
 embarrassing. At Steinfort, where Joly and Madame 
 de Longueville's almoner had accepted the hospitality 
 of the Protestant minister of the town, their host, 
 " who was of a very jovial humour," after making 
 his guests drink copious draughts of exceedingly strong 
 beer, to his own health, produced several bottles of 
 wine, which he insisted on their emptying, to the 
 health of the princess. It was perhaps as well for 
 the French divines' reputation for sobriety that this 
 incident occurred just before retiring to rest, and that 
 they were thus enabled to sleep off the effects of their 
 involuntary debauch.^ 
 
 During the whole of that autumn and the following 
 winter, Madame de Longueville was the queen of the 
 Congress of MUnster. Her remarkable intelligence 
 appealed to the assembled diplomatists no less than 
 her beauty and grace, and, though often fiercely at 
 variance with one another, they were unanimous in 
 chanting her praises. " You will place me under an 
 obligation," writes d'Avaux to Voiture, with whom 
 he was on very intimate terms, " by advising Mile, 
 de Rambouillet and Madame de Sabl6, in confidence, 
 to despatch a courier to Holland to hasten a little 
 
 ■ Claude Joly, Voyage fait a Miinster. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 215 
 
 Madame de Longueville's return here ; otherwise I 
 swear to you that the Congress will be in consternation. 
 It is the one point on which we are in agreement at 
 Miinster. Without exaggeration, it is a fine achieve- 
 ment to have compelled all the nations, so many hostile 
 peoples, and so many different religions to confess the 
 same thing. I would that I could describe to you 
 the Spaniards and Portuguese when they came to the 
 ball and met this princess." 
 
 To this letter, Voiture replied, exalting the charms 
 and accomplishments of Madame de Longueville — 
 the inimitable flatterer was well aware that his epistle 
 would be sure to find its way Into the lady's hands — 
 and playfully warning his correspondent to be on his 
 guard. " What you say of this princess," he writes, 
 " is, in its way, as beautiful as herself, and I am 
 keeping it to show her some day. Tell the truth, 
 Monseigneur ; do you believe that one could find, 
 I do not say in a single person, but in all that it 
 is beautiful and amiable spread over the world — do 
 you believe that one could find so much intelligence, 
 so many graces and charms, as are to be found in 
 this princess .''... Be on your guard. She writes 
 here wonderful things about you and the friendship 
 which exists between you. Intercourse with her is 
 dangerous. 
 
 Incedis per ignes 
 Suppositos cineri doloso. 
 
 For the rest, I assure you that she is as good 
 as she is beautiful, and that there is no mind in 
 
2i6 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 the world more elevated or better formed than 
 hers." 1 
 
 D'Avaux rejoins, protesting that his friend's fears 
 are groundless : " "Why are you at such pains to 
 warn me to be on my guard ? Is it because of some 
 words of respect and esteem that I wrote you on the 
 subject of our princess ? You say that intercourse 
 with a person so well-formed is dangerous, as though 
 the great disproportion and the vast distances that 
 exist between these persons and us good people did 
 not place me in safety. You know that Balzac's 
 eloquence makes no impression on the mind of a 
 peasant. No, no ; I have no fear. It would be strange 
 if in a peace congress 1 had not sufficient of the public 
 faith for my preservation, and if, notwithstanding that 
 I am provided with the passports of the Emperor and 
 the King of Spain, Miinster were not a place of safety 
 for me." 
 
 In the same letter, the diplomatist draws a pathetic 
 picture of poor Madame de Longueville, " who had 
 quitted the Court for Westphalia and come two 
 hundred leagues to join an old husband," bored to 
 extinction by her surroundings, but never for a 
 moment losing that charming amiability which en- 
 deared her to all with whom she came in contact ; 
 pretending to be " ravished " by a Latin comedy 
 which she witnessed at the Jesuit College ; making 
 heroic efforts to carry on a conversation with two 
 German envoys, who were presumably as ignorant 
 ' CEuvres de Voiture. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 217 
 
 of her language as she was of theirs ; enduring the 
 interminable visits of " a fat Dutchman, who kissed 
 her hand regularly twice an hour," and thanking 
 with her gracious smile another ambassador for his 
 brilliant suggestion that she should take lessons in 
 German, " in order to amuse herself." 
 
 At the beginning of November of that year, Madame 
 de Longueville received a letter from her mother, 
 informing her that Dunkerque had capitulated to the 
 victorious Enghien, after a siege of barely three 
 weeks (October 11, 1646). This was a truly brilliant 
 achievement. The position of the city, surrounded 
 as it was by vast plains of sand frequently swept by 
 the ocean, rendered its reduction, even under the 
 most favourable circumstances, one of extraordinary 
 difficulty ; while the weather throughout the opera- 
 tions had been terrible ; and nothing but the fiery 
 zeal of their leader could have kept the drenched 
 and famished soldiers to their herculean task. The 
 pirates who had found refuge in the harbour of 
 Dunkerque had long been a scourge to the Northern 
 coast of France, and the fall of their stronghold was 
 hailed with the utmost enthusiasm.-' 
 
 On receiving the news, Madame de Longueville 
 hastened to inform the French plenipotentiaries of 
 her brother's fresh triumph, and d'Avaux did not fail 
 to write a congratulatory letter to Madame la Princesse, 
 felicitating her on being the mother of a son who 
 
 ' The ravages of the pirates of Dunkerque are said to have cost 
 France several million livres a year. 
 
21 8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 carried all before him in the field, and of a daughter 
 whom no heart could resist. 
 
 D'AvAux TO Madame la Princesse. 
 
 " Madame, — It Is from Madame your daughter 
 that I have learned of the taking of Dunkerque. We 
 were in the cabinet of Monsieur her husband, in 
 conference with the Ambassadors of Holland, when 
 she brought us the welcome news. It was fitting 
 that so splendid a victory should be announced by 
 her mouth. In proportion as we have been rejoiced 
 and delighted, the Spaniards and their allies have 
 been overwhelmed with grief and consternation. In 
 truth, it is a thunderbolt which has hurled them to 
 the ground, without hope of recovering from such 
 a fall. How glorious it is to possess a son, who, 
 by his conduct, has at length avenged us for the 
 imprisonment of Francois I., and all his ill fortune ! 
 They must renounce the sovereignty of that beautiful 
 province of which Monseigneur le Due d'Enghien 
 now assures us the conquest, by the capture of that 
 famous place. Enjoy, Madame, the praises due to 
 so great a captain, since France owes them to you. 
 But, among the triumphs of the brother, permit me 
 to inform your Highness that he has an incomparable 
 sister, who is esteemed and venerated by the whole 
 Congress here — friends, enemies, and mediators ; and 
 it is the one point in regard to which we are in 
 accord at Miinster, that Madame la Princesse is 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 219 
 
 the happiest and the proudest mother in the 
 world." ' 
 
 In the first days of the New Year, Madame de 
 Longueville received melancholy tidings from Paris. 
 For some time past, Monsieur le Prince had been in 
 failing health, and, for the last eighteen months, had 
 been partially paralysed, though his mind remained 
 as clear and as active as ever. At the beginning of 
 December, 1646, he took to his bed, and never left 
 it again, dying at midnight on December 26, in his 
 fifty-seventh year. He made, we are told, a peaceful 
 and Christian end, in the presence of his wife and his 
 two sons, and " parted from Madame la Princes se as 
 though he had loved her all his life." ^ In his will, he 
 left large sums to the poor, " deeming it incumbent 
 upon him to restore the profits of the benefices that 
 he had wrongly enjoyed," and even the humblest 
 of his servants was not forgotten. His body was 
 interred in the parish church of Valery, near those 
 of his father and grandfather ; his heart he bequeathed 
 to the Jesuits of the Rue Saint-Antoine, an example 
 which was followed by his descendants. 
 
 Morose and bigoted, self-seeking and avaricious, 
 the third Prince de Conde is far from an attractive 
 personality. Nevertheless, his death was a sensible 
 loss both to his family and to France. Selfish and 
 turbulent though his conduct had been during the 
 
 ' Letter of November, 1646, Papiers de Conrart, published by Victor 
 Cousin. '' Motteville. 
 
220 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 regency of Marie de' Medici, when once he had decided 
 that his own interests would be better served by loyalty 
 than by opposition to the Crown, he certainly spared 
 no effort to deserve the important offices and immense 
 pensions which were the reward of his fidelity ; and 
 the steady support he gave to Anne of Austria and 
 Mazarin since the beginning of the new reign had 
 been of the highest value to the Government. " As 
 sparing of the King's money as of his own," says the 
 Due d'Aumale, " his ideas on financial matters were 
 sound ; he desired that the public debts should be 
 regularly discharged, and opposed extravagance and 
 the constant augmentation of expenses as well as in- 
 creased taxation. He inspired confidence in serious 
 men of affairs, who never wished to conclude a treaty 
 when he did not assist at the Council. The quack 
 financiers, the d'Emeris and the rest, feared him and 
 rejoiced at his death. They played a fine game after 
 he was gone." ^ 
 
 His authority over his family was absolute. His 
 children, if they did not love him, both feared and 
 respected him, and to the last Enghien, so impatient 
 of all other control, showed towards his father the 
 greatest deference. Had Henri de Bourbon lived a 
 few years longer, his sound common-sense would 
 certainly have saved them from the disasters they 
 brought upon themselves and France ; and the Fronde 
 might have been after all merely " a blaze of straw." 
 
 Charlotte de Montmorency had the enjoyment for 
 ' Histoire des Princes de Conde. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 221 
 
 her life of the whole of her deceased husband's property, 
 subject only to an annual charge of 80,000 livres in 
 favour of her eldest son, and 10,000 in favour of the 
 younger. This arrangement was no doubt a just one, 
 seeing that the large fortune which his wife brought 
 him had been the basis of Henri de Bourbon's great 
 wealth. But it, nevertheless, weighed very hardly on 
 his successor, who had received comparatively little 
 with Mile, de Maille, and, being as liberal as his father 
 was the reverse, soon found himself seriously embar- 
 rassed to maintain his position as first Prince of 
 the Blood, notwithstanding the revenues he derived 
 from his -offices and governments. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Return of Madame de Longueville to France — Armand de Bourbon, 
 Prince de Conti — His devotion to his sister — Special representation 
 of the opera of Orphee given by Mazarin in honour of the princess — 
 Dazzling position of Madame de Longueville — La Rochefoucauld 
 — His early career — His hopes of favour under the Regency dis- 
 appointed — He resolves to gain the affections of Madame de 
 Longueville, in order to further his own interests — His cynical 
 account of the beginning of their liaison — He acquires complete 
 ascendency over the princess and " inspires her vsrith his own 
 ambitions " — Close of the Thirty Years' War — Conde's victory at 
 Lens^Treaty of Westphalia. 
 
 AT the close of that winter, Madame de Longueville 
 was again enceinte. Her mother wrote, begging 
 her to return to France, and, her husband having given 
 his consent, she left Miinster in the last week in 
 March, greatly rejoiced that her exile was at an end. 
 She crossed the Rhine in a yacht which had been 
 placed at her disposal by the Prince of Orange, under 
 the command of a certain Comte de Saint-Ibal, a 
 French gentleman, who, having been compromised in 
 Beaufort's conspiracy, had sought an asylum in Holland, 
 whence he had continued his intrigues against the 
 Cardinal. In 1650, when Madame de Longueville 
 went to Normandy, to endeavour to raise that province 
 against the Government, we shall find this Saint-Ibal 
 again by her side. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 223 
 
 At Noyon, the princess was met by her younger 
 brother, Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, who 
 was now in his eighteenth year. In person, he was 
 short and slightly deformed, but these defects were 
 atoned for by a strikingly handsome face and charming 
 manners. Since his infancy, he had been intended 
 for the Church ; rich abbeys had been conferred upon 
 him while he was still in his cradle (a custom common 
 enough at this period, in spite of frequent protests 
 from the Vatican), and he had been very carefully 
 educated by the Jesuits at their college of Clermont, 
 where he had MoHere, who subsequently owed not 
 a little to his protection, for a fellow-pupil. Like his 
 sister and elder brother, his abilities were considerable, 
 and he appears to have greatly distinguished himself 
 in his studies, even allowing for the exaggerated terms 
 in which professors in those days were accustomed to 
 speak of the progress of their royal pupils.^ The 
 late Prince de Conde had, shortly before his death, 
 
 ' " The 3 August, the Prince de Conti received the degree of Master 
 of Arts, in the hall of this archbishopric, in the presence of the Prince 
 de Cond6 and the coadjutor of our archbishop (Retz). The proceed- 
 ings began by a fine discourse which the prince made, wherein he 
 expressed the esteem in which he held this university, and his desire 
 to protect it, after the example of the Cardinals de Bourbon. Then 
 the Chancellor delivered a speech, in which he spoke of the happiness 
 conferred upon the Church and the said university by the studies of 
 this prince ; who, having been questioned by the Chancellor and the 
 examiners of the four nations on the most important questions of 
 philosophy, answered so correctly that all present were delighted. 
 In such wise, that after the Chancellor had ascertained the opinions of 
 the examiners and had expressed the satisfaction that their answers 
 afforded him, the prince received the apostohc benediction and the 
 bonnet!' — Gazette de France, 1644. 
 
224 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 demanded for his son a cardinal's hat ; but, while await- 
 ing admission to the Sacred College, Conti had been 
 given his elder brother's governments of Champagne 
 and Brie, which had been resigned by the new Prince 
 de Conde on succeeding his father in those of Bourgogne, 
 Bresse, and Berry. He was as yet, however, considered 
 too young to undertake the duties of these important 
 offices, and continued to reside in Paris, where he 
 led a life which was by turns that of an ecclesiastic 
 and a man of pleasure. 
 
 The young prince, who had hitherto seen but little 
 of his celebrated sister, dazzled by her beauty and 
 charm, appears from that moment to have conceived 
 for her a passionate devotion — " plutot en qualite 
 d^honnete homme que comme frere" according to 
 the delicate euphemism of Madame de Motteville — 
 which led him to follow her blindly into all her 
 adventures, and for several years she exercised over 
 him the most absolute empire. Then they quarrelled, 
 but her influence reasserted itself in later years — this 
 time, fortunately, for good — and continued unabated 
 until Conti's death, in 1666. 
 
 Madame de Longueville did not proceed at once to 
 Paris, but stopped for several days at Chantilly, with 
 her mother and the young Princesse de Conde, to 
 recover from the fatigues of her journey. Then the 
 three ladies set out for the capital, where Mazarin 
 gave in Madame de Longueville's honour, at the 
 Palais-Royal, a special representation of an opera 
 called Orfhee, by an Italian troupe of singers, which 
 
A PHncess of Intrigue 225 
 
 he had imported at great expense from Italy. This 
 piece, the production of which is said to have cost 
 no less than 400,000 livres, contained six acts and 
 thirty-one scenes, and lasted six hours. The opera 
 was accompanied by decorations and changes in the 
 scenery such as had never been seen before in France, 
 and both the singing and dancing were excellent ; but, 
 owing to its great length, and the fact that few of 
 the courtiers understood Italian, it seems to have been 
 considered a somewhat wearisome form of entertain- 
 ment. Nevertheless, it was played three times a week 
 for two months ; and so anxious was Anne of Austria 
 to please Mazarin, who had now completely won her 
 heart, and to show an interest in the amusements he 
 devised, that she did not miss a single representation.^ 
 Madame de Longueville returned to find Paris 
 steeped in gaieties. Mazarin gave the most magni- 
 ficent entertainments, and, spurred to emulation by the 
 Cardinal's profusion, the great nobles had begun to 
 entertain on a scale hitherto unknown, and elegance 
 and luxury reigned everywhere. After nine months 
 spent among the dull and pompous diplomatists of 
 Mtlnster, it is easy to imagihe the delight which the 
 princess experienced on finding herself once more in 
 her beloved Paris, and she plunged into the whirl of 
 pleasure with all the zest begotten of her long absence. 
 The prestige of the House of Cond6, so enormously 
 increased by the brilliant victories of its new head, and 
 
 ' Olivier d'Ormesson, Journal. Bourgoing de Villefore, la Veritable 
 Vie ct Anne- Genevieve de Bourbon, Duchesse de Longueville. 
 
 VOL. I. 15 
 
226 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 the deep affection which was known to exist between 
 Monsieur le Prince and his beautiful sister, caused 
 her advent to be hailed on all sides as a public event. 
 Her friends and admirers crowded round her, vying 
 with one another in their expressions of devotion and 
 their efforts to please her ; never had her popularity and 
 her influence been greater. "This princess," writes 
 Madame de Motteville, " who, even when absent, 
 reigned over her family, and whose approval was desired 
 by every one as a sovereign blessing, could not fail on 
 her return to Paris, to appear there with even greater 
 eclat than before her departure. The affection which 
 Monsieur le Prince, her brother, entertained for her 
 authorised her actions and her ways ; and the greatness 
 of her beauty enhanced the influence of her family 
 to such an extent, that she had not been long at Court, 
 before she occupied its almost undivided attention. 
 She became the object of universal desire ; her ruelle, 
 the centre of every intrigue, and those upon whom 
 she bestowed her affection became immediately the 
 favourites of Fortune. Her intelligence, her wit, and 
 the opinion that was entertained of her discernment, 
 made her the admired of all men of culture, who 
 were persuaded that her esteem alone sufficed to 
 ensure their reputation. ... In fact, it may be said 
 that at this time all greatness, glory and gallantry 
 were centred in that family of Bourbon, of which 
 Monsieur le Prince was the head, and that happiness 
 was no longer esteemed a blessing, unless it came from 
 their hands." 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 227 
 
 It was a dazzling position for a young woman to 
 occupy ; but it was also one full of peril. Hitherto, 
 Madame de Longueville had been content with that 
 " noble and gracious gallantry " which was in vogue 
 at the H6tel de Rambouillet, and celebrated by Corneille 
 in his plays and by Voiture in his vers de societe, and 
 had permitted herself to be adored, without giving 
 in return anything but her friendship. But the incense 
 which was so profusely burned at her shrine was 
 beginning to intoxicate her ; her devoted friend, 
 Marthe du Vigean, was no longer by her side to sustain 
 her in her virtuous resolutions ; her brother, Cond6, 
 had long since abandoned platonic liaisons for con- 
 nections of a much less desirable kind ; ^ her father, 
 of whom, like the rest of the family, she had stood 
 in considerable awe, was dead ; her mother's influence 
 over her had of late years greatly diminished ; her 
 husband was far away. Finally, the time had come for 
 her, as it must come for every woman, when she felt the 
 necessity of loving as well as of being loved, of the 
 need of some object upon which to lavish that wealth 
 of affection which she knew that it was in her nature 
 to bestow. 
 
 It was now that there entered into Anne de Bourbon's 
 
 ■ Since his rupture with Mile, du Vigean, the young prince had been 
 leading so dissipated a life, that his father wrote to him, a few months 
 before his death, as follows : " My son, God bless you. Cure yourself, 
 or it is better for you to poniard yourself than lead the life that you 
 are doing : I pray God to console me. I write to you in despair, 
 and am, Monsieur, your good father and friend. . . . " — Letter of 
 August 18, 1646, Archives de Conde, cited by MM. Homberg and 
 Jousselin, la Femfne du Grand Conde. 
 
22 8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 life the man who was to captivate her heart and mind 
 so completely, that, from the moment she surrendered 
 herself to his influence, she ceased to have any interest 
 or any ambition that was not his, and who was to 
 become her evil genius. 
 
 Francois de la Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marsillac, 
 better known by his later title of Due de la Rochefoucauld 
 — by which it will perhaps be more convenient to speak 
 of him throughout these pages — :is not only one of the 
 most celebrated among French moralists, but one of the 
 most characteristic figures of the old aristocracy, at a 
 decisive moment in its history. Born in Paris, in the 
 Rue des Petits-Champs, on September 15, 161 3, he 
 was at this time about thirty-four years of age.^ His 
 family was one of the most ancient and the, most noble 
 in France, counting twenty-one descents in the direct 
 male line from Foucauld, Seigneur de la Roche, in 
 Angoumois, who flourished early in the eleventh 
 century ; and possessed immense estates in the above- 
 mentioned province and Poitou. Its military annals 
 were glorious, and it ranked with the Guises and the 
 Montmorencies immediately after the Princes of the 
 Blood. " I am able to prove," wrote La Rochefoucauld 
 
 ' M. Bourdeau, La Rochefoucauld's latest biographer, and several 
 other writers, are of opinion that the liaison with Madame de 
 Longueville began previous to the lady's departure for the Congress of 
 Westphalia, and that to this circumstance may be, in great part, 
 ascribed her reluctance to leave Paris and her anxiety to return to 
 France. But Madame de Motteville places it at the close of the year 
 1647, and there is no reason to question her accuracy, though no doubt 
 La Rochefoucauld had paid the lady considerable attention earlier 
 than this. 
 
From an engraving by Choffard after the enamel by Petitot. 
 
 FRANCOIS VI., DUG DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 229 
 
 to Mazarin, in 1648, "that for three hundred years 
 kings have not disdained to treat us as relatives." 
 
 His education was the superficial one of a young 
 nobleman intended for a military career, and at the 
 age of sixteen he entered the army. In the previous 
 year, he had espoused Andr6e de Vivonne, daughter 
 of the Grand Falconer of France, and a considerable 
 heiress. Little is known of this lady, who seems to 
 have been of a very modest and retiring disposition, 
 the exact antithesis in fact of the haughty Amazons 
 aad the beautiful '■'■ precieuses,'' who played so great 
 and important a part in the life of her lord and 
 master. She, however, presented him with eight 
 children ; large families seem to have been the rule 
 with the La Rochefoucaulds — her husband himself was 
 the eldest of fourteen. 
 
 As a soldier, La Rochefoucauld displayed the utmost 
 bravery, though he was never credited with much 
 military skill. At Court, however, he early became a 
 conspicuous figure. "Animated by infinite pride of 
 race," says M. Bourdeau, "La Rochefoucauld had 
 ambitions without any precise object. To a keen and 
 observant intellect, under an air of diffidence which 
 never left him, he united a romantic imagination and 
 an irresistible taste for feminine society." ^ 
 
 One of the ladies with whom he was most intimate was 
 
 Mile, de Hautefort, the platonic mistress of Louis XIII., 
 
 and through her, he was admitted to the confidence 
 
 of Anne of Austria. La Rochefoucauld's father, who 
 
 1 La Rochefoucauld (Paris, 1895). 
 
230 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 owed his dukedom to the favour of Marie de' Medici, 
 and had remained faithful to her after her breach with 
 Richelieu, had ranged himself among the enemies of the 
 Cardinal and encouraged his son to follow his example ; 
 and the romantic youth thought he could not do better 
 than become the cavalier of an unhappy Queen, per- 
 secuted and suspected of the most treasonable designs. 
 " The least reasons," he writes, " would have sufficed to 
 beguile a young man who had scarcely seen anything 
 of the world, and to draw him into a path so contrary 
 to his fortune. This conduct speedily brought upon 
 me the aversion of the King and the Cardinal, and 
 inaugurated the long series of disgraces which have 
 troubled my life." ^ 
 
 As a matter, of fact, on his return to Paris, after the 
 campaign of 1635, on the pretext that he had expressed 
 himself with too much freedom concerning the conduct 
 of his superior officers, he received orders to retire 
 to his father's estates, and did not return to Court for 
 two years. 
 
 This exile was the cause of his more or less intimate 
 connection with the Duchesse de Chevreuse, the first of 
 the three celebrated women who influenced his life. The 
 duchess had been exiled by Richelieu to Touraine, and 
 it was here that La Rochefoucauld met her ; to his 
 misfortune, it is needless to say, for the lady was as 
 dangerous to her lovers as to her enemies. Hamelot 
 de la Houssaye compares her to Sejanus's horse, all of 
 whose masters came to a bad end.^ This indefatigable 
 ' Memoires, ' M, Bourdeau, La Rochefoucauld, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 231 
 
 intriguer was then conducting a secret correspondence 
 between Anne of Austria, Charles IV. of Lorraine, the 
 Queen of England, and the King of Spain ; and her new 
 admirer found himself entrusted with the expediting 
 of several of these highly compromising epistles. 
 Richelieu's spies, however, ever on the alert, were not 
 long in acquainting the Cardinal with what was going 
 on ; and Anne accused of communicating with the 
 enemies of France, treated as a criminal of State, and 
 believing herself on the eve of being both repudiated 
 and imprisoned, proposed to La Rochefoucauld to carry 
 off both herself and Mile, de Hautefort and to conduct 
 them to Brussels. " I was young," he writes, " and 
 at an age when one loves to do extraordinary and 
 brilliant things, and I could not conceive anything 
 more so than at the same time to carry off the Queen 
 from the King, her husband, and from the Cardinal de 
 Richelieu, who was jealous of her, and to take away 
 MUe. de Hautefort from the King, who was in love 
 with her." ^ 
 
 Nothing came of this romantic scheme, which is so 
 strange that one finds some difficulty in crediting it, 
 even on the word of La Rochefoucauld ; and the Queen 
 duly made submission to her husband and Richelieu. 
 But the young man did not fail to get himself speedily 
 into fresh trouble, through assisting in the escape 
 of Madame de Chevreuse, who, learning that she was 
 on the point of being arrested, disguised herself as a 
 man and fled to Spain. Her admirer was sent to the 
 ' La Rochefoucauld, Memoires, 
 
232 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Bastille, where he found himself in most distinguished 
 company ; but, thanks to the intercession of his father, 
 who, tired of being in disgrace, had lately made his 
 peace with the Cardinal and obtained the government 
 of Poitou, he found himself at liberty after a week's 
 detention. He was, however, again exiled to the 
 family estates ; nor did he return to Court until 
 after the death of Richelieu. 
 
 In 1639, he obtained permission to rejoin the French 
 army in the Netherlands, and showed such brilliant 
 courage at Saint-Venant, where he and a handful of 
 gentlemen volunteers, posted on a dyke, repulsed an 
 overwhelming number of the enemy, that he was 
 offered the rank of marechal de camp, as an earnest, 
 it was hinted, of much more important posts. At 
 the request of the Queen, who was unwilling for her 
 champion to accept any favour from Richelieu, he 
 declined the honour, and at the conclusion of the 
 campaign he returned to Poitou. Here he received 
 proposals from Cinq-Mars to join him in that 
 abortive conspiracy which was to cost that " amiable 
 criminal," as Madame de Motteville calls him, his 
 head ; but, fortunately for himself, he had the good 
 sense to refuse. 
 
 In 1642, Richelieu died, and, a few months later, 
 Louis XIII. followed him to the grave ; and with their 
 lives the chivalrous youth of La Rochefoucauld termin- 
 ated also. Of the disinterested, romantic, imprudent 
 young man, who had braved the wrath of the terrible 
 Cardinal and despised his favours, we henceforth catch 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 233 
 
 but an occasional glimpse. He has become transformed 
 into the greedy, scheming intriguer, ever seeking to 
 further his own petty ambitions with a cynical dis- 
 regard for the interests of others. 
 
 With Anne of Austria Regent, those who had re- 
 mained loyal to her in adversity naturally looked forward 
 to receive the reward of their devotion, and none more 
 confidently than La Rochefoucauld, " whom for ten years 
 the Queen had looked upon as her special servant, and 
 who for six or seven had been publicly spoken of as 
 her martyr." ^ 
 
 He was woefully disillusioned. Anne was pro- 
 digal of promises, assuring him there was nothing in 
 the realm great enough to recompense him for the 
 sacrifices he had made for her sake ; but there her 
 gratitude ended. For this, however. La Rochefoucauld 
 was himself in great part to blame. He began by 
 inducing the Queen to recall Madame de Chevreuse, 
 whom Louis XIIL, on his death-bed, had condemned to 
 a perpetual exile, believing that her influence, joined to 
 his own claims upon Anne, would be sufficient to pro- 
 cure any favour he might care to demand. But 
 Madame de Chevreuse was not nearly so necessary a 
 friend to the Regent as she had been to the persecuted 
 Queen, nor did her Majesty by any means share her 
 sentiments towards Mazarin. The duchess demanded 
 that the government of Havre, then held by Madame 
 d'Aiguillon in trust for her nephew, the young Due de 
 Richelieu, should be bestowed upon La Rochefoucauld ; 
 1 La Rochefoucauld, Memoires. 
 
234 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 but Mazarin, always firm in his defence of the family of 
 his benefactor, protested against such an act of spolia- 
 tion, which, he pointed out to the Queen, was certain 
 to be resented by the Condes, allied by marriage with 
 the family of the late Cardinal ; and the request 
 was refused. A similar disappointment awaited La 
 Rochefoucauld in regard to mqre than one important 
 office which he coveted ; but still the Regent gave him 
 fair words, and his expectation of one day receiving 
 some great favour at her hands kept him faithful to her 
 person, if hostile to her Government, though the sup- 
 port he gave to the " Importants " was of too lukewarm 
 a character to involve him in their disgrace. He passed 
 thus two years " dans un etat bien ennuyeux, " and then, 
 wearying of the Court, demanded the command of the 
 light cavalry rendered vacant by the death of Mar^chal 
 de Gassion. But this, too, was refused him — very 
 properly, it must be admitted, since, as we have already 
 said, though brave enough, he had very little military 
 capacity — and, realising that all his hopes were vain, he 
 passed into active opposition to the Court, and de- 
 termined to obtain through intimidation what his 
 fidelity had not been able to secure. 
 
 He was in this condition of mind when Madame de 
 Longueville returned to Paris, to become, thanks to 
 the victories of her brother, an even greater object of 
 adoration than she had been before her departure for 
 Westphalia. La Rochefoucauld was quick to foresee 
 how greatly his designs might be facilitated could he 
 but win the affection of the princess, and, through 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 235 
 
 her, the support of Conde ; and, undeterred by 
 the ill-success which had attended all previous aspirants 
 to the lady's favour, he addressed himself to the task 
 of overcoming her resistance with an adroitness and de- 
 termination worthy of a better cause. Nothing in the 
 writings of the great satirist is more cynical than his 
 account of the beginning of this intrigue. 
 
 " So much that was useless and so many disappoint- 
 ments," he writes, " inspired me at length with other 
 thoughts, and induced me to seek perilous ways to 
 show my resentment towards the Queen and the Cardinal 
 Mazarin. The beauty of Madame de Longueville, her 
 intelligence, and all the charms of her person, attached to 
 her all those who could entertain any hope of her tolera- 
 tion. Many men and women of quality endeavoured to 
 please her ; and, apart from the attractions of this kind 
 of court, Madame de Longueville was at that time so 
 perfectly in accord with all her House and so tenderly 
 beloved by her brother, the Due d'Enghien, that he who 
 was approved by his sister could reckon on the esteem 
 and friendship of that prince. Many persons vainly at- 
 tempted this road to success, and mingled with it other 
 sentiments than those of ambition. Miossens, who 
 has since become marechal de France^ persisted the 
 longest, and met with a Hke success. I was one of his 
 particular friends, and he kept me informed of his 
 designs. They speedily destroyed themselves. This 
 he realised, and told me he was resolved to renounce 
 them. But vanity, which was his strongest passion, 
 
 1 Under the title of Marechal d'Albret. 
 
236 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 often prevented him telling me the truth, and he feigned 
 hopes which he did not cherish, and which I knew that 
 he could not have. In this manner some time passed, 
 and at length I had reason to believe that I might make 
 a better use than Miossens of the friendship and 
 confidence of Madame de Longueville. I made him 
 acknowledge this himself. He was aware how I was 
 situated at Court. I explained my views to him, but 
 added that consideration for him would always restrain 
 me, and that I would never attempt to establish intimate 
 relations with Madame de Longueville, unless he left 
 me at liberty to do so. I confess that I purposely 
 embittered him against her, in order to secure her for 
 myself, without however telling him anything that was 
 untrue. He surrendered her to me entirely, but he re- 
 pented of having given her up when he witnessed the 
 result of this liaison. He attempted to thwart it soon 
 afterwards, by making a great disturbance and scandal, 
 which did not have the least effect upon my inten- 
 tions." 
 
 La Rochefoucauld possessed many qualities well 
 calculated to please such a woman as Madame de 
 Longueville. He was handsome, witty and accom- 
 plished ; his manners were perfect, and his loyalty 
 towards the Queen had invested him with a halo of 
 chivalry, which could not but appeal to one reared in 
 the atmosphere of the Hotel de Rambouillet. He 
 was, moreover, a past-master in the art of love-making, 
 and it would have needed one far more experienced 
 in the ways of gallantry than this romantically inclined 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 237 
 
 young woman to have realised how little sincerity 
 there was in those eloquent professions of devotion, 
 and how completely the lover was subordinated to the 
 intriguer in the man who knelt at her feet. 
 
 La Rochefoucauld gained her heart, and with her 
 heart her mind, which he proceeded to mould ac- 
 cording to the fashion best calculated to serve his own 
 ends. With infinite art, he set himself to develop 
 that latent energy of character which only love was 
 capable of calling forth. " Little by little he displayed 
 before her eyes a new object, which she had not 
 yet perceived — an important part upon the stage 
 of events which were preparing. He diverted her 
 instincts of pride and independence into different 
 channels ; he transformed her natural coquetry into 
 political ambition, or rather, he inspired her with his 
 own ambition." ^ 
 
 And Madame de Longueville, having once given 
 her heart to this man, gave herself entirely ; sacrificing 
 to him, without thought of the consequence, not only 
 her own reputation, hitherto so dear to her, but all 
 her private interests, the interests of her House, and 
 what until now had been the strongest sentiment of 
 her life : her tender affection for her brother Cond6. 
 " In all she has done since," writes Madame de Motte- 
 ville, " one could plainly see that it was not ambition 
 alone that filled her soul, but that the interests of the 
 Prince de Marsillac occupied there a great place. For 
 him, she became ambitious ; for him, she ceased to love 
 ' Victor Cousin, lajeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 
238 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 repose, and, absorbed by her affection, she forgot her 
 good name." ^ 
 
 In the meanwhile, the end of the long negotiations 
 in Westphalia was approaching, aided materially by 
 the success of the French and their allies in the field. 
 The early part of the year 1648 was by no means 
 favourable to the French. Holland, which had for 
 some months past been practically neutral, concluded 
 a separate peace with Spain, and this diplomatic victory 
 seemed to endow the Spaniards with fresh energy. They 
 captured Courtrai, repulsed an expedition sent against 
 Ostend, and contemplated an invasion of Picardy. 
 
 But soon the tide turned. Turenne and the 
 Swedish general, Wrangel, carried fire and sword into 
 Bavaria, and forced the treacherous old duke to fly 
 from Munich. A Swedish army under KOnigsmark 
 invaded Bohemia, captured and sacked Little Prague, 
 and laid siege to the old town. And finally, on 
 August 20, Cond6, whose triumphant career had suffered 
 a somewhat severe check the previous year before the 
 walls of Lerida, gained a complete victory over the 
 Spaniards at Lens. 
 
 Of all Conde's victories, that of Lens is perhaps the 
 most brilliant, gained as it was, with a comparative 
 trifling loss, over an enemy much superior in numbers, 
 whom, by a feigned retreat, he had succeeded in drawing 
 from an almost unassailable position into a battle on 
 
 ' Memoires. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 239 
 
 level ground. Its results were of the highest importance. 
 At home, it strengthened the hands of the Govern- 
 ment and encouraged the Regent and Mazarin to adopt 
 a more vigorous policy in their struggle with the 
 Parlement, of which we shall presently speak. Abroad, 
 it convinced the Emperor and Maximilian of Bavaria 
 that, even without the assistance of Holland, France 
 was more than a match for Spain, and hastened the 
 conclusion of the Treaty of Westphalia, which, on 
 October 24, 1 648, terminated thirty years of war and 
 twelve of negotiations. France received Alsace, both 
 upper and lower, thus extending her frontier to the 
 coveted line of the Rhine, together with Brissac and 
 Landau, and the right of garrisoning the fortress of 
 Philippsburg. Her full and complete sovereignty over 
 the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun, which 
 for nearly a century had been hers by right of 
 conquest, was formally recognised, and she also ob- 
 tained Pignerol, " the gate of Italy." 
 
 Left, by the conclusion of peace with the Emperor, 
 with Spain alone to face, Mazarin had every reason to 
 hope that a great future awaited France, and that, as 
 the result of two or three successful campaigns, he 
 would be able to secure for her the same advantages 
 in the North-East and South- West as he had already 
 secured in the East. That his hopes were only very 
 partially realised, and that not until after more than 
 ten years of further warfare, was due to that miserable 
 internecine strife which, under the name of the Fronde, 
 checked the victorious career of Conde at the age of 
 
240 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 twenty-seven, plunged France into a welter of anarchy, 
 and sapped the very vitals of the nation. 
 
 For this disaster, the House of Cond6, thanks to 
 the pernicious influence exercised by La Rochefoucauld 
 over Madame de Longueville, was in a large measure 
 responsible. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 Critical condition of affairs in France — The Parlement of Paris — Its 
 political activity strictly circumscribed by Henri IV. and Richelieu 
 — The paulette — Indignation aroused by d'Emeri's revival of the 
 toise — Remonstrances of the magistrates — Arrest of the President 
 Barillon — Bed of Justice of September 7, 1647 — Edit du Tarif 
 — Riots in the streets — Debates in the Parlement — Indignation 
 of the judiciary at the terms on which the paulette is renewed — 
 The sovereign companies resolve on a union — Revocation of the 
 paulette and arrest of several judges — The Regent sanctions 
 the assembling of the companies in the Chambre de Saint-Louis 
 — Failure of Mazarin to appreciate the importance of the parlia- 
 mentary opposition — Intrigues of Madame de Longueville against 
 the Court — Grievances of Cond6 against Mazarin — Importance 
 to Madame de Longueville and La Rochefoucauld of winning over 
 Cond6 — He declines to join the malcontent nobles — Proposals of 
 the Chambre de Saint-Louis — Conference at the Luxembourg 
 — Dismissal of d'Emeri- — The Government forced to concede 
 the demands of the companies — Indignation of Anne of Austria 
 and alarm of Mazarin — The continuance of the sessions in the 
 Chambre de Saint-Louis is forbidden. 
 
 "TT is a miracle that affairs can proceed with the 
 obstacles we make ourselves. Credit is gone, 
 our resources destroyed, the public purse closed. 
 You must see the necessity we have for peace at 
 once, and, if the things that are important and essential 
 are established, we must not in future be so particular. 
 It is not the enemy that occasions my apprehensions, 
 but the French themselves. . . . The exterior seems 
 fair, but the interior is corrupted, and we shall do 
 
 VOL. I. 241 16 
 
242 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 ourselves the harm that the enemy has not ac- 
 complished." ^ 
 
 Thus wrote Mazarin to Servian in the summer of 
 1647, and he did not in the least exaggerate the 
 critical condition of affairs. The enormous expenses 
 of the long war had reduced the Government to the 
 most desperate straits ; the whole of the revenues of 
 1648 and 1649 and part of those of 1650 had been 
 anticipated, and the Comptroller-General, d'Emeri, 
 was even endeavouring to alienate those of the two 
 following years; all kinds of expedients had been 
 resorted to for raising money, the irritation aroused 
 by which had been out of all proportion to the 
 benefits accruing to the Treasury ; and the Parlement 
 of Paris, backed by popular feeling and secretly 
 encouraged by the Cardinal's enemies at Court, was 
 preparing for an open struggle with the Government. 
 
 The Parlement of Paris, it is scarcely necessary 
 to explain, was the Supreme Court of Justice and 
 in no sense a legislative body ; but it possessed the 
 privilege of remonstrating against the royal edicts which 
 it was called upon to register, and at various stages 
 in its history it strove to extend this right of re- 
 monstrance into one of veto. During the century 
 preceding the accession of Louis XIV., its Importance 
 as a political factor had varied according to the 
 strength or weakness of the Government. Thus, 
 during the turbulent reign of the last Valois and 
 the early years of that of Henri IV., it had played a 
 
 ' Published by Mr. J. B. Perkins, " France under Mazarin." 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 243 
 
 very prominent part, and the support it had accorded 
 the Guises had been one of the chief causes of the 
 strength of the League In Paris and the prolongation 
 of the civil wars. After the pacification of the realm, 
 Henri IV. applied himself to confining the Parlement 
 as closely as possible to its judicial functions, its 
 true sphere of usefulness, and, though the magistrates 
 protested in the strongest terms against the Edict of 
 Nantes in 1598, and again against the edict recalling 
 the Jesuits five years later, they were compelled to 
 give way. " I will be obeyed," said the King, on 
 the first occasion. " It is true that the judges are 
 my right arm ; but, if the right arm is gangrened 
 and corrupt, the left must hew it off." 
 
 The political influence of the Parlement, which 
 had sunk to a very low ebb under Henri IV., re- 
 vived during the troubles and civil wars which marked 
 the regency of Marie de' Medici. But, when a little 
 later Richelieu resumed the work of Henri, " its 
 nails were cut close." The Cardinal was resolved 
 to render the magistracy as submissive to his 
 will as were all other departments of the State. Not 
 content with ignoring its remonstrances and bringing 
 down the King to the Palais de Justice to compel 
 the registration of his edicts, he frequently caused 
 its decrees to be quashed by the Council, imprisoned 
 and exiled those of its members who were most 
 prominent in opposing him, abolished their offices 
 and created new ones, and appointed special and 
 irregular courts for the trial of importanj: cases. 
 
244 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Finally, in 1641, the judges were compelled, in a 
 Bed of Justice, to register letters-patent of the King, 
 which strictly forbade them to interfere in matters 
 of State, which his Majesty reserved for his own 
 direction, limited their remonstrances to fiscal edicts, 
 and directed them to confine their energies to the 
 administration of justice. 
 
 These drastic measures, which answered their purpose 
 well enough so long as Richelieu remained at the 
 head of affairs, embittered the Parlement against the 
 Crown, and sowed the seeds of much future trouble, 
 which was certain to arise whenever the reins of 
 Government passed into less capable hands. The 
 moment arrived with the death of Louis XIII. The 
 prospect of a long minority, and a regency administered 
 by a woman and controlled by a foreigner, emboldened 
 the Parlement to put forth strenuous efforts to extend 
 its authority. Although it represented no one but 
 its own order, it was the only institution which 
 Richelieu had left between the Crown and the people, 
 and, being near enough to the latter to be accessible 
 to their complaints, possessed their respect and con- 
 fidence. Its hope, therefore, that it might eventually 
 take the place of the abandoned States-General was 
 not so unreasonable as might at first sight appear. 
 
 The Parlement of Paris was composed at this time 
 of about two hundred members, and was divided into 
 several branches : the Grande Chambre, in which, on 
 special occasions, the peers sat with the magistrates, 
 and which decided the most important questions ; the 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 245 
 
 Cour des Enquetes, the Cour des Requetes, and the 
 Tournelle, chiefly a court of criminal jurisdiction. 
 There were also three other courts — the Cour des 
 Comptes, the Cour des Aides, and the Grand Conseil- — 
 chiefly occupied with questions of finance and adminis- 
 tration. These were separate from the Parlement ; but, 
 inasmuch as their members belonged to the same social 
 class as the latter, and were connected with it by ties of 
 blood and marriage, their interests were to all intents 
 and purposes identical. 
 
 Judicial offices in France were not, as in England 
 and other countries, in the gift of the Crown. They 
 were the property of their holders, and could be sold 
 or bequeathed as they thought fit. Up to 1604, the 
 ofiice of a member of the Parlement could not be 
 alienated or bequeathed without the permission of the 
 King ; but in that year Henri IV., being in need of 
 money, one of his secretaries, Paulet by name, 
 counselled him to raise the necessary funds, by exacting 
 from each of the magistrates who wished to enjoy 
 the right of devising his office an annual duty 
 amounting to one-sixtieth of the estimated value of 
 his charge. The effect of this tax- — -called, from the 
 name of its inventor, the pauktte — was to make of 
 the magistracy an hereditary caste, and to enormously 
 increase its dignity and importance.^ 
 
 The financial straits of the Government immensely 
 strengthened the hands of the magistracy. At his 
 
 1 The pauktte had been abolished in 1615, but restored in 1620, 
 It was renewable every nine years. 
 
246 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 wits' end for money to carry on the war, Mazarin 
 had been driven to expedients which had aroused a 
 storm of popular indignation. In 1 644, the ingenious 
 d'Emeri exhumed an old and forgotten edict of 
 Henri II., called the toise, which imposed a tax 
 on all houses built within a certain distance of the 
 walls of Paris, and announced that it would be hence- 
 forth rigidly enforced. The inhabitants of the 
 faubourgs appealed to the Parlement for protection, 
 and that body remonstrated so strongly against the 
 edict, that ultimately the Government consented to 
 accept one million livres in commutation of the duty, 
 which it had been computed would have brought at 
 least eight million to the Treasury. Even in this 
 modified form, the collection of the tax provoked com- 
 motion among the people, and the women of the poorer 
 classes flocked to the Palais de Justice demanding 
 justice. A deputation from the Cour des Enquetes 
 waited on the Regent on their behalf, but met with a 
 very discourteous reception, and, shortly afterwards, 
 three members of the Parlement were exiled, and a 
 fourth, the President Barillon, prominent in Richelieu's 
 time as a champion of the judiciary, was arrested and 
 confined at Pignerol, where he died in the following 
 year. 
 
 At the beginning of the autumn, the Government, 
 whose necessities were becoming every day more urgent, 
 determined to have recourse to the extreme measure 
 of a Bed of Justice. Two and a half years had passed 
 since the last one had been held, when the Parlement 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 247 
 
 had been called upon to annul the late King's will, and 
 make Anne of Austria " Regent without conditions." 
 Mazarin had on that occasion warned the Queen against 
 granting an authority to the Parlement which would 
 certainly be used against her, and the sequel fully 
 justified his apprehensions. 
 
 On September 7, the seven-year-old King visited the 
 Palais de Justice, and no less than nineteen edicts 
 providing for the raising of money in different ways 
 were presented for its acceptance. These were duly 
 registered, but not before the First President, Mathieu 
 M0I6, the I'Hopital of the seventeenth century, in the 
 name of the assembly, had expressed his profound regret 
 that the power of the sovereign should be used in this 
 manner to diminish the authority of justice. But the 
 execution of the more unpopular edicts provoked wide- 
 spread discontent, and the influence of Mold with 
 difficulty prevented the Parlement from demanding 
 their revocation. 
 
 The struggle, however, was soon renewed. In 
 October, 1646, the Council issued a decree imposing a 
 tariff on all articles of consumption entering Paris. 
 This decree was not submitted for ratification to the 
 Parlement, but to the Cour des Aides — a body which 
 exercised control over certain aids and octroi duties, 
 though it had no jurisdiction over the general imposts 
 of the kingdom, and was far more amenable to 
 pressure from the Government than was the Parle- 
 ment. "Whether or not the Cour des Aides possessed 
 the right to ratify the kdU du Tarif is a nice 
 
248 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 question ; but the magistrates declared that in so 
 doing it had usurped their functions, and all through 
 the year 1647 continued to demand that the tax 
 should be submitted to them, a course of action 
 which greatly increased their popularity with the 
 citizens and enabled them to pose as the " fathers 
 of the people." 
 
 The year 1648 opened in stormy fashion. The 
 Government proposed to levy a tax on certain lands 
 hitherto subject to an annual duty, which was bitterly 
 resented by those upon whom it fell. For three days 
 there were riots in the streets, and soldiers had to be 
 stationed in the Rue Saint-Denis to preserve order. 
 There could be no doubt that the insurrectionary 
 movements in Portugal and Naples and the triumph of 
 the parliamentary party in England, were having their 
 effect on the imagination of the people, and that the 
 situation was becoming critical. But still the Govern- 
 ment, spurred on by its necessities, persisted in its 
 dangerous course. On January 15, another Bed of 
 Justice was held, and further edicts oppressive to the 
 people and damaging to the privileges of the magistrates 
 were presented for registration, and persisted in, not- 
 withstanding an exceedingly outspoken speech by the 
 Advocate-General, Omer Talon, "which caused the 
 Cardinal to grow pale and the Queen to blush with 
 shame." The magistrates ratified the edicts, but they 
 continued to protest against them, though no such 
 privilege has hitherto been recognised ; and the 
 Chancellor Seguier expressed his astonishment at their 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 249 
 
 " pretending to touch that which the presence of 
 the King had consecrated." 
 
 In the meanwhile, the term for which the pauktte 
 had been continued had expired, nor had its renewal 
 yet been announced ; and the Parlement was becoming 
 suspicious that the right of its members to choose their 
 successors was to be abrogated and the magistracy to 
 cease to be an hereditary caste. Considerable as this 
 tax was, amounting, as we have mentioned, to one 
 sixtieth of the value of a judicial office, it was regarded 
 by the judges as the very corner-stone of their order, 
 and cheerfully paid. At length, on April 30, the 
 intentions of the Government were made known. The 
 Comptroller-General declared, with some appearance 
 of reason, that, inasmuch as the emoluments of the 
 judiciary had sensibly increased since the beginning 
 of the century, it was only equitable that he should 
 take into account the present value of each office in 
 fixing the amount of the pauktte. He was willing, 
 however, to retain the old assessment of the tax, on 
 condition that the holders should forfeit four years' 
 wages. In order to ensure the acceptance of his 
 edict, he exempted the members of the Parlement 
 from their duty, which was only to apply to the 
 members of the Grand Conseil, the Chambre des 
 Comptes, and the Cour des Aides. 
 
 Only a foreigner profoundly ignorant of French life 
 as was d'Emeri, and a man who judged others by his 
 own low standard of honour, could have made so 
 grievous a mistake. He believed that the members 
 
25° A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 of the Parlement were so entirely guided by their own 
 interests, that they would offer no resistance to a tax 
 from which they themselves were exempted. But he 
 failed to realise the fact that the Parlement and the 
 other Courts were, as we have said, recruited from the 
 same social class, and that their interests were identical. 
 He was, in fact, endeavouring, to bribe part of a pro- 
 fession to consent to additional taxation being imposed 
 on the remainder ; and common decency kept the 
 Parlement from deserting the cause of the other com- 
 panies. The Cour des Aides and the Chambre des 
 Comptes agreed to unite " for the reform of the State ; " 
 they were joined by the Grand Conseil ; and the Parle- 
 ment, when appealed to for support, did not hesitate 
 to associate itself with them. On May 13, a resolution 
 was almost unanimously passed for a union of the 
 representatives of all four companies in the Chambre 
 de Saint-Louis, to deliberate on their own grievances 
 and on State abuses. 
 
 The reply of the Government was to abolish the 
 paulette, thus depriving the magistracy of its chief 
 security. But this step only further increased the 
 irritation of the judges, and the Decree of Union 
 remained unrepealed, though its pretext had been 
 removed. The angry Regent summoned the repre- 
 sentatives of the Parlement and of the other companies 
 to the Palais-Royal, upbraided them with their conduct, 
 formally prohibited their assembling in the Chambre 
 de Saint-Louis, and caused several members of the 
 Grand Conseil and Cour des Aides to be arrested. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 251 
 
 These extreme measures excited the utmost indignation, 
 both in the courts and in the city, and the judges, 
 encouraged by their increasing popularity, grew more 
 resolute than ever. 
 
 On June 10, the Council of State issued an audience 
 annulling the Decree of Union,^ to which the magis- 
 trates, five days later, responded by voting the 
 assembling of the four Courts without further delay. 
 Again the members of the Parlement were summoned 
 to the Palais-Royal, whither they repaired in procession 
 through streets thronged with excited spectators, who 
 exhorted them to resist to the utmost and make the 
 cause of the oppressed people their own. On their 
 arrival at the palace, the resolution of the Council 
 was read to them by the Chancellor, after which the 
 Queen repeated her prohibition, accompanying it by 
 threats of exemplary punishment. 
 
 But prohibitions and threats were alike useless ; the 
 Government dared not at that moment risk an open 
 conflict with the magistracy, backed as the latter was 
 by the sympathies of the populace. Courtrai had 
 been retaken by the Spaniards, and they were again 
 threatening to invade Picardy ; the provinces, excited 
 by the disturbances in Paris, were seething with dis- 
 content, and it was only with greatest difficulty that 
 taxes could be collected ; and Beaufort had just 
 succeeded in effecting his escape from Vincennes, and, 
 
 ' This was an undoubted encroachment upon the privileges of 
 the Parlement, whose right to deliberate with other judicial bodies 
 upon matters of importance to all had never before been questioned. 
 
252 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 it was feared, might put himself at the head of the 
 mob, whose idol he was. 
 
 And so to reprimands and menaces succeeded bland 
 speeches and conciliatory offers. But they came too 
 late ; the judges refused the Government's offer to 
 renew the paulette without any new conditions, and 
 persisted in their resolve to reform the abuses of the 
 administration. Finally, on June 29, the Regent 
 yielded, and authorised the sovereign companies to 
 execute the Decree of Union, begging them only to 
 conclude their session within a week, and to remember 
 that the army of his Majesty was face to face with 
 the enemy, and that military operations could not be 
 carried on without money. 
 
 The judges lost not a moment in availing themselves 
 of the Regent's concession. On the following morning, 
 delegates from the four companies, to the number of 
 thirty-two, met in the Chambre de Saint-Louis : 
 fourteen from the Parlement and six representatives of 
 each of the other Courts. 
 
 Their session may be regarded as the beginning 
 of the Fronde. 
 
 As Victor Cousin and Cheruel both point out, there 
 can be no question that Mazarin, in 1648, greatly 
 underrated the gravity of the parliamentary opposition. 
 Equal, if not superior, to Richelieu as a diplomatist, 
 he had not in the smallest degree the genius of his 
 master for internal administration. Wholly occupied 
 with his great military and diplomatic schemes, he 
 
MATHIEU MOLE, FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE 
 
 PARLEMENT OF PARIS. 
 
 From an engraving published by Daret. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 253 
 
 attended to little else, and suffered abuses and disorder 
 to creep in everywhere. To him, the enmity between 
 the magistracy and the Government was important, 
 chiefly because it prejudiced his plans for extending 
 the frontier of France. " The Parlement will succeed 
 in ruining credit and making it impossible to supply 
 the army. Without striking a blow, the enemy will 
 regain what so many victorious years have gained for 
 us." ^ He did not as yet realise that this movement— - 
 which, in all probability, a vigorous policy of repression 
 might have smothered at its inception — gathering 
 strength from the half-hearted efforts that were made 
 to stem it, was developing into one which threatened 
 not only the glory of France abroad, but the authority 
 of the Crown at home. He did not perceive that 
 behind the magistrates were his eternal enemies the 
 " Importants," whom he had checkmated, but not de- 
 stroyed in 1643, and who only waited a favourable 
 occasion to renew their intrigues for his overthrow 
 and their own aggrandisement, at the expense of the 
 tranquillity and honour of their country. 
 
 If the Regent and Mazarin, in the face of the 
 hostility of the Parlement and the populace, could 
 have depended on the support of the princes and the 
 nobility, the position of affairs, though embarrassing 
 enough, would have been far less critical. But the 
 Court itself was divided ; the " Importants " of 1 643 were 
 about to reappear as the Frondeurs of 1648, "ready 
 to assume all disguises, to speak all languages, to rely, 
 
 ' Carnet IX. 
 
254 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 in turn, upon the Parlement and upon the populace, 
 and to invoke, if necessity arose, the gold and the 
 sword of the foreigner." ^ 
 
 As soon as La Rochefoucauld had gained the heart 
 of Madame de Longueville, he dominated her entirely. 
 All those charms of mind and person which had hither- 
 to been employed in acquiring friends and partisans 
 for her brother Cond6, were now placed at the disposal 
 of her lover. " Careless of her interests and turning 
 her back upon the fortune of her House, she attacked 
 openly or undermined by stratagem that royalty which 
 her family had supported, and which had been still 
 more the support of her family. Forgetful of her 
 most just resentment, even of her honour, she entered 
 the ranks of those who, in 1643, had endeavoured to 
 blast in the bud her fresh and unsullied reputation. 
 The daughter of the Condds went over to the 
 Venddmes and the Lorraines, made common cause 
 with Beaufort and with Madame de Chevreuse, and 
 exposed herself to the risk of encountering in this new 
 circle her old and implacable enemy, Madame de 
 Montbazon. If Guise had not been at Naples, she 
 would doubtless have testified how completely she 
 had changed by clasping the hand that had slain 
 Coligny." 2 
 
 La Rochefoucauld's reason for so ardently desiring 
 the conquest of Madame de Longueville had been, as 
 we have shown, his hope of reaching the brother 
 
 ' Victor Cousin, lajeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 ' Ibid. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 255 
 
 through the sister, and drawing into the ranks of the 
 opposition the House of Cond6, which had hitherto 
 been the chief rampart of the Government ; and he 
 did not fail to impress upon his mistress the importance 
 of leaving no means untried to secure for him the 
 adhesion of her family. 
 
 With her mother, she failed. Charlotte de 
 Montmorency, if she had no liking for Mazarin, was 
 a personal friend of the Queen, and, moreover, detested 
 the Vend6mes and all the " Importants " far too heartily 
 to have any intimate relations with them. But the 
 political influence of Madame la Princesse was very 
 slight, and the failure to gain her support troubled La 
 Rochefoucauld but little. 
 
 On the other hand, Madame de Longueville ex- 
 perienced no difl!iculty in winning over the Prince 
 de Conti, who was as completely under her influence 
 as she herself was under that of La Rochefoucauld, 
 and who listened readily enough to the hopes which 
 she held out to him that, while waiting for his 
 cardinal's hat, he might acquire in the political arena 
 an importance which would compare not altogether 
 unfavourably with that which his elder brother had 
 gained in the command of armies. 
 
 Nor was a great amount of persuasion required to 
 secure the support of her husband, who had, or fancied 
 that he had, cause for complaint against the Govern- 
 ment. At Miinster, the Due de Longueville had 
 made a highly ornamental Ambassador, but in other 
 respects he had not been altogether a success, and was 
 
256 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 certainly no match for the uxorious Spanish plenipoten- 
 tiary Pegnaranda, " a crafty and malignant spirit, who 
 covered with apparent sincerity continual dissimulation 
 and trickery." ' Mazarin, early apprised of this, had 
 thought it prudent to confine the duke as closely as 
 possible to a nominal r61e ; and the latter, taking 
 umbrage, had demanded his recall, which he had no 
 difficulty in obtaining. In August, 1648, he returned 
 to France, very much irritated against Mazarin, and 
 hardly concealing his beUef that the Cardinal did not 
 desire that peace should be made. 
 
 Mazarin endeavoured to soothe his wounded 
 feelings, by persuading the Regent to give him a seat 
 in the Council, an honour which had never yet been 
 accorded to any, save Ministers of State or Princes of 
 the Blood. This distinction, however, was far from 
 contenting Longueville, who desired to be declared a 
 Prince of the Blood, in order to efface the illegitimacy 
 which, according to him, dishonoured the descendants 
 of Dunois. " M. de Longueville," writes Mazarin, 
 " perpetually anxious and disquieted about the Princi- 
 pality of the Blood, has set Tracy to discover if he 
 may hope to enter the Queen's coach and occupy a 
 seat therein, like the Princes of the Blood, so soon as 
 we shall chant the Te Beum for the capture of Tortosa. 
 He has been told that he ought not to expect this, and 
 that the Queen could not accord him any favour of 
 that kind without deciding to do as much for the 
 other princes. It is a strange thing that the said 
 ' Servien to Mazarin, August 21, 1648. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 257 
 
 duke, who, if he appreciated the possessions and the 
 position that he has, the confidence and the favours 
 that he receives from the Queen, and all that results 
 from this, would have reason to be the happiest and 
 most contented man in the world, and an object of 
 envy to every one ; nevertheless, for the caprice of 
 becoming a Prince of the Blood, which it is not in the 
 power of the King to accord him, and to which are 
 opposed his inferiors, his equals, and the Princes of the 
 Blood, also, although they are his brothers-in-law, 
 becomes restless and wretched and finds pleasure in 
 nothing." ^ 
 
 To these aspirations, Longueville joined a more 
 practical one. He had set his heart upon obtaining 
 the government of Havre, which was held by Madame 
 d'Aiguillon for her nephew, the young Due de 
 Richelieu. But in this he fared no better than had La 
 Rochefoucauld, who, it will be remembered, had vainly 
 endeavoured to secure the same post some years be- 
 fore ; for Mazarin, always true to- the memory of the 
 great Cardinal, told the duke that he did him great 
 wrong in believing him to be so base as to despoil 
 the nephew and heir of his benefactor. This rebuff, 
 added to the other causes of complaint which he be- 
 lieved that he had against the Government, already 
 inclined him to a policy of opposition ; and the 
 arguments of his wife speedily dissipated any lingering 
 scruples which he might have entertained. 
 
 But, gratifying as such accessions to his party were, 
 ' Camet IX. 
 
 VOL. I. ^ 17 
 
258 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 they were of small importance in comparison with the 
 great object of La Rochefoucauld's intrigues : that of 
 securing the adhesion of Monsieur le Prince himself. 
 If this could once be achieved, a staggering blow 
 would undoubtedly be dealt to the Government, and 
 the success of himself and his friends assured. For 
 how could the Regent and Mazarin hope to resist a 
 combination of the princes, the Parlement, and the 
 populace, with the hero of Rocroi at their head ? In 
 a few weeks at the most, the humiliated Regent would 
 be forced to sue for terms ; Mazarin would retire into 
 the obscurity from which he had sprung, and high 
 offices and immense pensions would compensate La 
 Rochefoucauld and the " Importants " for the cruel 
 disappointments and mortifications they had endured. 
 
 The project was a tempting one, nor was its 
 realisation, though difficult, at all improbable, since 
 not only did Madame de Longueville possess great 
 influence over her brother ; but it was an open secret 
 that Monsieur le Prince cherished more than one 
 grievance against Mazarin and the Court. 
 
 In June, 1646, Condd's brother-in-law, Armand de 
 Maille, Due de Breze, Admiral of France, had been 
 killed by a cannon-ball at the siege of Orbitello. Breze 
 was unmarried, and his nephew, the infant Due 
 d'Albret, son of the Due d'Enghien, as Conde then 
 was, was his nearest male relative. The Cond^s 
 considered that he ought to succeed his uncle in the 
 Admiralty and his other offices ; and no sooner did 
 Enghien, who was then besieging Courtrai, learn the 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 259 
 
 news, than he wrote to Mazarin : " M. de Br6z6 is 
 dead. . . . My son is his sole heir. ... I am assured 
 that you will have the goodness to demand for him 
 the charges and governments of my brother-in-law." ^ 
 
 The old Prince de Cond6 had already, it appeared, 
 presented the same demands in terms less dignified, 
 but much more pressing. 
 
 Now, there had been of late years a great deal 
 of unpleasantness over the Admiralty. Richelieu had 
 profited by the conspiracy of Chalais to take the 
 office away from the Vendomes, in whose hands it 
 had assumed an importance which Coligny, its most 
 illustrious occupant, had never dreamed of claiming 
 for it, and had bestowed it upon his nephew Br^z6. 
 In 1643, however, it will be remembered, Vendome's 
 son, the Due de Beaufort, had endeavoured to induce 
 Anne of Austria to oust Br6z6, in his turn, and restore 
 the office to his family ; and the frustration of his hopes, 
 through Mazarin's intervention, had been one of the 
 chief causes of his conspiracy against the Cardinal's 
 life. It was, indeed, an open question as to who 
 ought now to succeed. The little Due d'Albret was 
 undoubtedly his uncle's heir, but the Vendomes might 
 fairly urge that they had by this time expiated the 
 fault which had caused the loss of the office, and that 
 to deprive them permanently of it, in favour of a 
 family already loaded with favours, would be an act 
 of injustice. To escape from the difficulty in which 
 
 1 Letter of June 28, 1646, Archives «/« Cw(/«', published by the Due 
 d'Aumale, Histpire des Princes de Conde. 
 
26o A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 she found herself, the Regent, on Mazarin's advice, 
 therefore decided to keep the office, together with 
 the governments of La Rochelle and Brouage, which 
 went with it, in her own hands ; and, though the 
 Condes protested in the strongest terms, the Cardinal 
 regretted that he was " unable to press the Queen in 
 regard to a charge which she had taken for herself." ^ 
 This affair had greatly irritated Conde against Mazarin, 
 and he was still further incensed by the result of his 
 Spanish campaign of 1647, for which, he considered, 
 the Cardinal was indirectly responsible. 
 
 Mazarin had several times suggested sending the 
 young general to Catalonia, which had of late years 
 earned an unenviable notoriety as the grave of French 
 military reputations ; but the latter's father had always 
 strongly opposed it, and all his friends sought to dissuade 
 him from accepting this command. In the spring of 
 1647, however, Conde consented to go as Viceroy to 
 Catalonia, and endeavour to retrieve the reverses sus- 
 tained by French arms in that province during the 
 past three years. He determined to lay siege to 
 Lerida, a city which had been lost by La Mothe 
 Houdancourt in 1644, and whose recovery had been 
 fruitlessly attempted by that excellent general, Har- 
 court, in 1646 ; and, on May 18, the trenches were 
 opened gaily to the sound of violins. But Lerida was 
 not an easy place to reduce, and it was most resolutely 
 defended by its governor, Don Gregorio Brito, and 
 a garrison of 4,000 veteran soldiers. Fever broke 
 
 ' Mazarin to Enghien, August 12, 1648. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 261 
 
 out among the French troops ; the supplies and siege- 
 artillery promised him by Mazarin did not arrive, 
 and the soldiers, unpaid and half-famished, deserted 
 by hundreds ; while a powerful Spanish force gathered 
 at Fraga and threatened his communications. At 
 length, Conde, perceiving the hopelessness of pro- 
 longing the siege, decided to raise it, and effected a 
 masterly retreat, preferring the safety of his army to 
 his own reputation. 
 
 His conduct, in the opinion of nearly all mihtary 
 •writers, did him honour, and proved that he knew how 
 to employ in turn boldness and caution, according to 
 circumstances. But it was his first reverse, and, though 
 he was aware that he had done everything possible to 
 ensure success, his mortification was none the less keen. 
 In November, he returned to France, complaining 
 bitterly of what he called the disloyalty of the Cardinal.^ 
 Nor was his anger lessened by the satires and derisive 
 doggerel with which the fickle Parisians, who judged 
 only by results, greeted the leader who had hitherto 
 been deemed invincible. These critics of the salons 
 and the taverns made no allowance for the difficulties 
 with which he had had to contend. They cared nothing 
 for what he had accomplished in Catalonia, where he 
 had replaced anarchy by order among the population, 
 
 • " The distress of the army in Catalonia,'' remarks Earl Stanhope, 
 " is attributed by some writers to Mazarin's jealousy of Conde. It 
 appears, however, more just to remember, on this occasion, the 
 difficulties of transport and the extreme poverty of the country. 
 According to a saying of Henri IV. : ' Spain is a country which it is 
 impossible to conquer ; a little army is beaten there, and a large one 
 starved.' " — " Life of Louis, Prince of Cond6." 
 
262 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 mutiny by strict discipline among the troops, strength- 
 ened the fortifications of the places in French hands, 
 reorganised the army of occupation, and compelled that 
 of the Spaniards to fall back beyond the Ebro. They 
 only knew that he had failed in his principal undertak- 
 ing : that he had laid siege to Lerida and had been 
 compelled to raise it ; and they abused and derided 
 him as loudly as they had once chanted his praises. 
 One evening, when he was attending the theatre, there 
 was a disturbance, and the guards on duty to preserve 
 order endeavoured to arrest the offender. " You 
 cannot capture me," he exclaimed, as he made his 
 escape ; " I am Lerida." ' 
 
 In order to give Conde an opportunity of effacing 
 the memory of Lerida, Mazarin, in the following 
 spring, offered him the command of whichever army he 
 preferred. He chose that of Flanders, with which he 
 captured Ypres (May 29) ; but once more the Minister 
 failed to redeem his promises ; neither the soldiers' pay 
 nor supplies were forthcoming, though it is only fair to 
 Mazarin to observe that internal dissensions had so 
 paralysed the collection of taxes, that the Treasury was 
 almost empty. Cond6 was bitterly mortified at seeing 
 his army gradually melting away, beneath the stress of 
 
 ' The first impression was not effaced. Saint-Simon tells us that 
 when, in 1710, news reached France that the Due d'0rl6ans had taken 
 Lerida by assault, " the mortification of the Cond6s was great, and the 
 King cried : ' It is a great achievement for my nephew to have captured 
 a place which was a stumbling-stone to the Comte d'Harcourt, and 
 where that hero, Monsieur le Prince, failed.' " " Even to-day," lemarks 
 the Due d'Aumale, " the name of Lerida is as closely connected with 
 the name of Cond6 as that of Rocroi." 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 263 
 
 hunger, sickness, and desertion. In answer to an 
 intimation from the Court that the Queen wished 
 him to avoid a general engagement, he replied 
 bitterly that her Majesty might be well assured on 
 that score, since, far from seeking a battle, it was 
 only with the greatest difficulty that he was able to 
 keep his troops together. There was, he declared, 
 no bread for the soldiers and no fodder for the 
 horses. " If the delays of the contractors continued, 
 he should have no alternative but to disband the whole 
 army. '■ 
 
 Nevertheless, on August 20, he gained the Battle of 
 Lens, perhaps his most brilliant victory, though his 
 army by this time had been reduced to less than half 
 its original strength. But even this triumph did not 
 cause him to forget the ceaseless anxiety and bitter 
 mortifications which he had been compelled to endure 
 for so many weeks, through the failure of the Govern- 
 ment to support him ; and he was inclined to lend an 
 only too-willing ear to those who insinuated that the 
 difficulties under which he had had to contend had 
 
 ' Conde to Le Tellier, July i6, 1648. On the same day, we find 
 Cond6 writing to Mazarin : " I omitted to tell you that I sent yesterday 
 five hundred pistols of my own money to M. de Paluau, to enable him 
 to continue the work of fortifying Qugnoque [Cnocke, a fortress 
 situated at the confluence of the Yperl6e and the Yser, fifteen kilometres 
 to the North-East of Yprfes], and that I have also advanced a similar sum 
 of my own to your regiment of dragoons, the officers and troopers of 
 which were in so pitiable a condition, that without it they would have 
 died of hunger. I would that I were a sufficiently great nobleman to 
 do the same for the whole army. Although I am well aware of the 
 difficulties that you experience in finding money, I cannot prevent 
 myself from telling you the army can no longer do without it." 
 
264 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 been in some degree due to the jealousy with which 
 Mazarin regarded him. 
 
 Before Cond6 quitted Paris for the campaign of 
 Lens, Madame de Longueville had made more than 
 one attempt to gain him over to the party with which 
 she had now so closely identified herself ; but, greatly 
 to her chagrin, her efforts met with no success. Cond6 
 was, above all things, a soldier ; he was ambitious, like 
 his father, but, unlike him, his ambitions lay in the 
 direction of conquests in the field, not in the sordid 
 arena of party politics ; and at this moment his mind 
 was fully occupied with his plans for the campaign 
 which was about to open, and which he was determined 
 should more than atone for the " failure of Lerida." 
 Moreover, though he disliked and despised Mazarin, 
 he had the good sense to perceive that, for the present 
 at least, the Cardinal's services could not be dispensed 
 with without serious injury to the country's interests ; 
 and he felt nothing but contempt for men who did not 
 hesitate to use the embarrassments of the Crown as a 
 means of furthering their own selfish ends. And what 
 had he to gain by all the intrigues in which they wished 
 to engage him ? Was he not by birth as high as he 
 could become, unless he acted the madman or the 
 traitor ? He therefore lent but a careless ear to his 
 sister's overtures, and the latter was compelled to con- 
 sole herself with the reflection that she had sown seed 
 which might, in different circumstances, bear fruit. 
 
 The delegates from the four sovereign companies, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 265 
 
 who, as we have mentioned, assembled in the Chambre 
 de Saint-Louis on the day following the authorisation 
 of the Decree of Union by the Regent, did not leave 
 the Government long in doubt as to their intentions. 
 They formed themselves into a veritable commission 
 of inquiry, charged with the duty of investigating 
 abuses in every department of the administration, and 
 of reporting upon the best methods for their removal ; 
 and submitted their proposals to the Parlement as a 
 body, which was to examine and, if it approved, to 
 sanction them. They began by proposing to revoke 
 the intendancies which Richelieu had established on a 
 permanent basis in the provinces, and in general to 
 suppress all the other extraordinary commissions which 
 had not been ratified by the sovereign courts. They 
 next demanded the remission of one-quarter of the 
 taille^ and that all arrears of that tax previous to 1647 
 should be cancelled ; that a tribunal should be ap- 
 pointed to investigate and punish the frauds and 
 exactions of the farmers of the revenues ; the cancella- 
 tion of the assignments to them of the proceeds of the 
 taxes, upon the faith of which they had been induced 
 to supply the needs of the Government ; the revocation 
 of all taxes that had not been duly registered ; that 
 none in future should be imposed unless previously 
 
 ' The taille was the chief item in the French budget. It was a 
 direct tax imposed upon property, and, in theory, proportioned to the 
 amount which persons possessed ; but it was levied in a very arbitrary 
 manner. The nobles, the clergy, almost all officials, and many of the 
 cities, were exempt, and its weight fell upon the wretched peasantry, 
 whom in many parts of France it had reduced to beggary. 
 
266 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 ratified by the sovereign courts ; the abolition of all 
 monopolies and exclusive privileges ; and, finally, that 
 no person, of whatever condition, should be kept in 
 prison for more than twenty-four hours without being 
 brought before his natural judges. 
 
 Several of these proposals were excellent, particularly 
 that dealing with arbitrary imprisonment, which an- 
 ticipated by more than thirty years our own Habeas 
 Corpus Act ; but the same cannot be said for the 
 abolition of the intendancies, which had immensely 
 simplified the collection and transmission of taxes. 
 The demand for their revocation was, indeed, merely 
 the outcome of the magistrates' hostility to the 
 centralizing policy of Richelieu, and their jealousy of 
 any encroachment upon what they conceived to be 
 their own privileges, no matter how well justified it 
 might be. 
 
 The propositions of the united courts met, as may 
 be anticipated, with a very favourable reception in the 
 Parlement, which, on July 4, passed decrees praying 
 the Queen to abolish the intendancies and re-establish 
 the local treasurers and tax-receivers in the exercise of 
 the duties formerly entrusted to them, and also to 
 revoke all extraordinary commissions, since the ad- 
 ministration of justice ought to be confined exclusively 
 to the Parlements. 
 
 " These decrees of the Parlement," observes Chdruel, 
 " tended to nothing less than to modify profoundly 
 the ancient constitution of France. In fact, it was 
 admitted as an essential principle of monarchical power, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 267 
 
 as it was then understood, that the legislative authority 
 belonged to the King alone. The States-General 
 themselves were confined to presenting their grievances, 
 upon which the King determined. How could a 
 judicial company, instituted by the royal power, 
 imagine itself invested with an authority which the 
 assemblies in which sat the representatives of the three 
 orders, elected by their fellow-citizens, did not possess ? 
 Such a pretension was inadmissible. Although the 
 Parlement had inserted in its decrees that ' the 
 Queen was entreated to take these measures,' it 
 was impossible to misunderstand that, in reality, it 
 intended to impose its will and was resolved to refuse 
 subsidies, if the Court did not grant the reforms 
 demanded." ^ 
 
 The Queen, greatly exasperated by such a usurpa- 
 tion of the royal power, vowed that she would maintain 
 intact the authority of her son at any cost. But 
 Mazarin, more prudent than Anne of Austria, pointed 
 out that the time when the Court could safely venture 
 on an open struggle with the magistracy had not yet 
 arrived, and that, in the meanwhile, it was necessary to 
 act with great caution. It was therefore decided that 
 the Due d'Orleans should go to the Palais de Justice, 
 and that, in order at any rate to save appearances, he 
 should request the Parlement to confer with him. 
 This, it was hoped, would foster a belief that the 
 propositions of the Chambre de Saint-Louis had 
 emanated from the Court. Mole and the most 
 
 ' Ch6ruel, Histoire de France pendant la minorite de Louis XIV. 
 
268 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 moderate members of the Parlement readily lent them- 
 selves to this course ; and, on July 7, a conference, 
 presided over by Orleans, was held at the Luxembourg, 
 which was attended, not only by delegates from the 
 Parlement, but by Mazarin and the Chancellor. " It 
 was," says Olivier d'Ormesson, " a means to an 
 accommodation." 
 
 In order to further conciliate public opinion, Mazarin 
 now resolved to sacrifice the Comptroller-General, 
 d'Emeri, who was odious to the people as the deviser of 
 iniquitous taxes and as the patron of the farmers of 
 the revenues, whose luxury and ostentation had roused 
 universal hatred. The Cardinal felt that a man who 
 rendered the Government so unpopular, and had 
 apparently exhausted all expedients for raising money, 
 was no longer of any service ; and, on July 9, d'Emeri 
 was dismissed from office and ordered to retire from 
 Court. Mazarin announced this event in a letter to 
 the Due de Longueville, who was then in Normandy, 
 and appeared to anticipate great results therefrom. 
 " The Queen," he writes, " having resolved to remove 
 M. d'Emeri from the management of affairs, for 
 reasons which I postpone acquainting you with more 
 particularly until your arrival here, her Majesty has de- 
 clared the Mardchal de la Meilleraie Surintendant. . . . 
 Our differences with the Parlement are in a fair way to 
 be accommodated. We are now engaged in a conference, 
 which is being held at the Luxembourg, from which 
 there is reason to hope much, and perhaps that it will 
 be possible to conduct matters in such a way that from 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 269 
 
 a serious malady we shall derive sound and robust 
 health." 1 
 
 Mazarin's expectations were not realised. The new 
 Comptroller-General, the Marechal de Meilleraie, father 
 of that eccentric personage, who, thirteen years later, 
 married the Cardinal's favourite niece, the beautiful 
 Hortense Mancini, and inherited the bulk of her uncle's 
 vast fortune, was a brave and capable soldier and an 
 honest man, but he had no aptitude whatever for the 
 management of affairs. His probity and his imperious 
 manners alienated the farmers of the revenues, who, 
 under d'Emeri, had made immense advances to the 
 State ; money began to fail even for the most urgent 
 necessities ; the Queen was forced to pledge her own 
 jewels and those of the Crown ; her guards were unpaid ; 
 and even the royal kitchens were but ill supplied. 
 
 On the other hand, the opposition of the Parlement 
 was very far from being disarmed by the disgrace of 
 d'Emeri. It insisted on the abolition of the intend- 
 ancies demanded by the Chambre de Saint-Louis, 
 and, though the Queen resisted at first, Mazarin advised 
 her to yield, and the intendancies were abolished, 
 except in the three frontier provinces of the Lyonnais, 
 Champagne, and Picardy, where the needs of the army 
 required them. It also secured the cancellation of the 
 assignments of the revenues to the financiers who had 
 supplied the needs of the Treasury — an act of bank- 
 ruptcy which, though it brought some temporary relief 
 to the Government, had a most disastrous effect upon 
 ' Letter of July 9, 1648, published by Ch^ruel. 
 
270 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 credit — a reduction of one-eighth of the taille ; the 
 appointment of a Chamber of Justice to investigate the 
 misdeeds of the revenue-farmers ; and letters-patent 
 declaring that in future no tax whatever should be 
 imposed, unless by edicts which had been duly ratified. 
 
 But, as appetite grows by what it feeds upon, so did 
 these concessions serve only to stimulate the reforming 
 zeal of the magistracy. They urged that the taille 
 should be still further reduced ; claimed the right of 
 nominating the persons from whom the King should 
 select the new Chamber of Justice ; sought to question 
 the legality of numerous taxes which had at various times 
 been imposed without the ratification of the Parlement ; 
 and demanded the suppression of all the intendancies. 
 The Queen was furious at what she deemed the un- 
 paralleled presumption of the judges. " I am weary," 
 exclaimed she, " of saying every day : ' We shall see 
 what they will do to-morrow.' M. le Cardinal is a 
 great deal too good ; he will spoil everything by always 
 wishing to spare his enemies." Mazarin, ever cautious, 
 answered her : " You are brave, like a recruit who does 
 not understand the danger." ^ 
 
 Nevertheless, the Minister was becoming seriously 
 alarmed at the situation of affairs ; the agitation in 
 Paris was rapidly spreading to the provinces, where 
 it excited among the ignorant peasants hopes of release 
 from all taxation ; people were beginning to compare 
 the condition of France with that of England ; and 
 the more unruly members of the Parlement were 
 ' Madame de Motteville, Memoires. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 271 
 
 indulging in the most threatening language, and assert- 
 ing that, if the Crown continued to dispense with 
 the forms of justice, its subjects would be justified in 
 dispensing with the forms of obedience.^ His own 
 position, too, was becoming every day more pre- 
 carious. The people were weary of war and taxation ; 
 the courtiers were bitterly jealous of his influence ; 
 the Queen was his sole support. It was imperative 
 that steps should be taken, and without delay, to put 
 an end to the deliberations of the Chambre de Saint- 
 Louis. Accordingly, on the last day of July, the King 
 attended the Palais de Justice, and a new edict was 
 read, which granted the reforms demanded, with certain 
 reservations ; but, at the same time, " for various con- 
 siderations of importance to his subjects," prohibited 
 the continuance of the sessions and directed the 
 Parlement to resume its judicial duties. The magistrates, 
 after a protest from the Advocate-General, duly gave 
 their votes in its favour, as was the invariable custom 
 when the King held a Bed of Justice. But, the very 
 next day, in spite of the efforts of Mole, they resolved 
 to remonstrate against various articles in the edict ; 
 and the early part of August was occupied with more 
 or less heated discussions between them and the 
 Government. Such was the position of affairs when, 
 at midnight on August 22, news arrived that, in the 
 plain of Lens, Conde had added another to his list of 
 victories. 
 
 ' Mr. J. B. Perkins, "France under Mazarin." 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 The Regent, encouraged by Condg's victory at Lens, resolves to be 
 avenged on the Parlement — ^Arrest of Broussel and Blancmesnil — 
 Tumult in the streets — Paul de Gondi, afterwards Cardinal de 
 Retz — His early career and character — He incites the population 
 to insurrection — " Day of the Barricades '' — Release of Broussel — 
 Mazarin and Condfi — Monsieur le Prince recalled from Flanders — 
 The Parlement continues its agitation — Departure of the Court 
 for Rueil — ^Interview between Conde and Retz — Arrest of Chavigny 
 and exile of Chateauneuf — Outspoken language of Monsieur le 
 Prince to the magistrates — Stormy interview between Madame 
 de Longueville and Cond6 — The latter refuses to join the opposi- 
 tion, and reproaches his sister with her connection with La 
 Rochefoucauld — The Court, on Cond6's advice, resolves on a 
 conciliatory policy — Conference at Saint-Germain — Declaration of 
 October 22, i648^Duplicity of Anne of Austria and Mazarin. 
 
 THE announcement of the brilliant victory of Lens 
 was received in Paris with mixed feelings. The 
 Queen and Mazarin were transported with joy ; 
 Mademoiselle^ who regarded Condd with dislike and 
 jealousy, wept tears of rage ; the prince's numerous 
 enemies at Court, if they contrived to disguise their 
 feelings, were not less mortified ; while the Parlement 
 feared that the Queen might use the victory to be 
 revenged upon it. 
 
 The apprehensions of the gentlemen of the long 
 robe were but too well founded. Anne of Austria, 
 believing that she could safely venture upon almost 
 anything under cover of the laurels which Cond6 
 
 272 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 273 
 
 had gathered, was determined to deal boldly with 
 these insolent judges, who had for months defied her 
 authority and inflicted upon her so many humiliations. 
 Mazarin, as usual, advised caution ; but the Queen 
 was so insistent that he eventually yielded, perhaps 
 not altogether reluctant that the leaders of the mal- 
 contents should find the Government could not be 
 braved with impunity. ^ 
 
 On August 26, a solemn Te Deum in honour of 
 the victory was sung at Notre-Dame. The members 
 of the Parlement attended in force, fearing lest other- 
 wise it should be believed that the triumph of their 
 country's arms was not agreeable to them. Imme- 
 diately after the ceremony, Comminges, captain of 
 the Queen's guards, proceeded to arrest a counsellor 
 named Broussel, and Blancmesnil, a president of the 
 Enquetes, both of whom had been particularly pro- 
 minent in opposition to the Court. The arrest 
 of a second member of the Enquetes had also been 
 ordered ; but he was given the alarm and contrived 
 to escape, and lettres de cachet were served on three 
 other members of the Parlement, banishing them 
 from Paris.^ 
 
 Blancmesnil was conveyed to Vincennes and Broussel 
 to Saint-Germain. The latter was an old man of 
 seventy-three, of slender abilities, obstinate and self- 
 opinionated, but of a most irreproachable life, equally 
 
 ' " The Queen," Madame deMotteville tells us, "asked the blessing 
 of the Almighty on her act, as one essential for the public repose, 
 and, as she left the cathedral, whispered to Comminges, ' Go, and God 
 be with you.' " 
 
 VOL. I. 18 
 
274 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 esteemed by his colleagues for his ability and by the 
 populace for his benevolence. The news of his arrest 
 quickly spread and created the most profound in- 
 dignation. The streets were filled with excited crowds, 
 clamouring for " their father Broussel " to be restored 
 to them. Every hour the tumult increased ; Paris 
 seemed on the verge of insurrection. 
 
 M0I6, speedily informed of what had taken place, 
 lost no time in proceeding to the Palais-Royal, where 
 he sought an audience of the Queen, informed her 
 of the threatening aspect of affairs, and advised her 
 to immediately release the prisoners. Anne of Austria, 
 however, though somewhat disquieted at the conse- 
 quences of her little coup d'etat, was determined to 
 show a bold front, and coldly replied, that, if the 
 Parlement came in a body and made a formal request 
 for the release of their arrested members, she would 
 give them an answer, but that Mol^ alone had no 
 right to question her actions. 
 
 Scarcely had the grave president departed than 
 another and a very different personage appeared upon 
 the scene, one destined to take an even more prominent 
 part in these troubles than the worthy old leader of the 
 magistracy. Arrayed in rochette and camail, pushing 
 his way with a good-humoured laugh through the 
 shouting crowds, who made room for him to pass, 
 as even the most disorderly mobs will always do for 
 any one who has earned their respect and affection, 
 came the coadjutor of the aged Archbishop of Paris, 
 to offer the Regent his counsel and assistance. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 275 
 
 " A Shakespearean figure of Bohemian and grand 
 seigneur^ of TartufFe and Don Juan, of captain and 
 prince of the Church ; " ^ learned, eloquent and witty ; 
 ambitious, turbulent, crafty, and unscrupulous ; brave, 
 dissolute, and lavishly generous. Such was Paul de 
 Gondi, afterwards the Cardinal de Retz, the evil 
 genius of the Fronde. Born in 161 3, a member of 
 an old and distinguished family of Italian origin, 
 Retz, to give him at once the title by which he 
 is known to fame, had been compelled by his father 
 to embark upon an ecclesiastical career, although, as 
 he candidly admits, his mind was perhaps the least 
 ecclesiastical in the universe. But the fact that the 
 boy's uncle was Archbishop of Paris, and that 
 preferment would therefore be both sure and speedy, 
 was quite sufficient to outweigh any such trifling 
 objection with the elder Gondi ; and so Paul duly 
 became canon and abb6. He was of course not yet 
 in Holy Orders, and availed himself to the full of 
 the privilege which these half-fledged ecclesiastics 
 possessed of fighting duels and otherwise misconduct- 
 ing themselves. In appearance, he was short and ill- 
 favoured, but his winning manners and the charm 
 of his conversation caused these disadvantages to be 
 overlooked, and his bonnes fortunes were numerous, 
 although they would appear to have been dictated 
 more by vanity than by passion. His love of pleasure, 
 however, did not cause him to neglect more serious 
 occupations ; he studied with some degree of diligence, 
 ' M. Bourdeau, La Rochefoucauld. 
 
276 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 " did the devotee a little," ^ preached such eloquent 
 controversial discourses, that he is said to have converted 
 Protestants from the errors of their ways ; and developed 
 a marked taste for political intrigue, which earned 
 him the hostility of Richelieu. On the death of 
 Louis XIII., he was made coadjutor to his uncle, the 
 Archbishop of Paris ; an appointment which secured 
 to him the archbishopric when that prelate, who was 
 already well-stricken in years, should die. Meanwhile, 
 most of the duties of the see devolved upon Retz, 
 and he rapidly became a power in the capital. In- 
 tensely ambitious, he early foresaw the important 
 part which the coming troubles might enable him 
 to play, and neglected no opportunity of extending 
 his already considerable influence ; earning the esteem 
 of his clergy by the regularity with which he dis- 
 charged the outward duties of his office, and the 
 courage and energy wherewith he invariably defended 
 their privileges ; gaining the affection of the people 
 by the affability of his manner and that abundant 
 charity which was to cost him in his old age years 
 of rigid economy ; and the good-will of ladies of high 
 rank — the most valuable of all political agents in those 
 days — by his devotion. 
 
 Retz found the Court inclined, in appearance at least, 
 to underrate the danger. To his offer of mediation, 
 the Regent replied that " the authority of the King 
 would restore good order," and when he suggested 
 that the release of Broussel might be an easier way 
 
 ' Retz, Memoires, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 277 
 
 of quelling the tumult, Anne quite lost her temper, 
 and declared that she would rather strangle that 
 popular hero with her own royal hands. After a few 
 whispered words from Mazarin, she grew calmer ; and, 
 as the result of a long consultation between her, the 
 Minister, and several of her most favoured courtiers, 
 the coadjutor was told that he might promise the 
 people the liberty of the prisoners. " Every one," 
 says Retz, " was playing a part. Mazarin pretended 
 to be perfectly tranquil, but was not ; the Queen 
 at times affected mildness, and never was more fierce ; 
 Longueville had an air of sadness, but was really 
 overjoyed, as he always was at the beginning of any 
 movement. The Due d'Orldans talked eagerly to 
 the Queen, but in private whistled with more than 
 his usual indifference ; while his favourite. La Riviere, 
 the most notorious poltroon of his age, affected to 
 regard the whole matter as a tale full of sound and 
 fury, signifying nothing." 
 
 The coadjutor left the Palais-Royal and passed 
 through the streets, telling the people that he had 
 the Queen's word that the prisoners should be set 
 at liberty, and advising them to disperse and await 
 quietly the execution of her Majesty's promise. His 
 task was rendered the easier by the fact that it was 
 growing late, and that most of the demonstrators were 
 both tired and hungry. Soon the crowds dispersed, 
 and the city had resumed its usual appearance. Retz 
 then returned to the Palais-Royal, to inform the Regent 
 of the result of his efforts, but, to his astonishment, 
 
278 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 met with a very cool reception from her Majesty ; and 
 was informed by a friend that the whole Court was 
 making merry over this " children's game " and his self- 
 imposed duty of putting a stop to it, and that, so far 
 from intending to release the prisoners, the Queen was 
 talking of exiling the whole Parlement to Montargis. 
 Burning with indignation at the treatment he had 
 received, the mortified prelate, above all things desirous 
 of playing a part, hurried back to the city, to inform 
 his flock that they had been tricked, and to devote 
 himself to the congenial task of exciting a revolt. 
 His immense popularity and the inflamed state of 
 popular feeling rendered the accomplishment of this 
 but too easy. 
 
 The night passed apparently without disturbance ; 
 nevertheless, before dawn everything was in readiness 
 for a general and well-regulated insurrection. The 
 Chancellor Seguier, proceeding in state to the Palais 
 de Justice, to present to the Parlement a decree of 
 the Council annulling all their acts since the Bed 
 of Justice held on July 31, found chains stretched 
 across the streets, and the citizens gathered in a 
 threatening attitude behind them. His followers 
 endeavoured to force a passage, but were driven back 
 by volleys of stones. Seguier fled and took refuge 
 in the H6tel de Luynes, on the Quai des Augustins, 
 which was quickly surrounded by a raging mob, 
 who forced their way in and sacked the house ; but 
 fortunately failed to discover their quarry, who had 
 concealed himself in a cupboard. Eventually, the 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 279 
 
 Mardchal de la Meilleraie arrived, at the head of a 
 company of guards, and rescued the Chancellor from 
 his perilous situation.^ 
 
 In the meanwhile, the whole city was in an uproar ; 
 barricades sprang up everywhere ; ^ paving-stones were 
 torn up to strengthen the fortifications or to hurl 
 from the windows upon the King's troops, if they 
 dared to advance. Half the population seemed to 
 be in arms ; the other half to be encouraging them. 
 Tradesmen, clerks of the courts, apprentices, artisans 
 ■ — ^all had managed to furnish themselves with some 
 implement which might do duty as a weapon. Pikes, 
 arquebuses, and flags appeared which had not seen 
 the light since the troubles of the League. " I saw," 
 says Retz, "a lance dragged rather than carried by 
 a boy of eight years old, which must assuredly have 
 been used in the wars against the English." And he 
 adds that even children of five or six were running 
 about with poniards in their hands. 
 
 At seven o'clock, the Parlement met, and resolved 
 to proceed in a body to the Palais-Royal and demand 
 of the Queen the release of the prisoners. To the 
 number of a hundred and sixty, all clad in their 
 judicial robes, they assembled under the clock of the 
 Palais de Justice ; and, walking two and two with the 
 First President at their head, they crossed the Pont- 
 Neuf and proceeded along the Rue Saint-Honor6, all 
 the barricades opening to let them pass. Everywhere 
 
 ^ Mole, Memoires. 
 
 ' M0I6 tells us that there was a barricade at every hundred paces. 
 
28o A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 they were greeted with deafening cries of " Vive le 
 Rot ! Five le Parlement ! Five Broussel ! " 
 
 On their arrival at the palace, they found the Queen 
 in her grand cabinet. With her were the young King, 
 Mazarin, Orleans, Conti, Longueville, the Secretaries 
 of State, and all the chief officers of the Crown. M0I6 
 addressed her Majesty boldly, pointing out that the 
 city was in insurrection and that the release of Broussel 
 alone would quiet the tumult. He met with a very 
 rough reception. Anne accused the Parlement of 
 deliberately inciting sedition, and bade them quell 
 the disturbance themselves. If any harm came of it, 
 she declared, they should answer for it with their heads 
 and with those of their wives and children. After 
 which, she hurried into her private cabinet, slamming 
 the door violently after her. 
 
 The judges quitted the palace, but presently re- 
 turned, and informed the Queen that the whole city 
 was in arms, and that it was utterly beyond their 
 power to check the insurrection. Her Majesty, after 
 consulting with Mazarin and other advisers, answered 
 that she would release Broussel, if they, on their side, 
 would discontinue the meetings in the Chambre de 
 Saint-Louis and confine themselves to their judicial 
 duties. This, however, they would not promise, and 
 again set out for the Palais de Justice, but had not 
 proceeded far when they found themselves beset by 
 an infuriated mob, which heaped execrations upon 
 them and accused them of betraying the people's 
 interests. Mole, whose well-known moderation made 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 281 
 
 him an object of suspicion to the more fanatical 
 insurgents, had to bear the brunt of the rabble's 
 indignation. One ruffian seized the unfortunate 
 president by the beard, bidding him return, and vowing 
 that, if he failed to bring back Broussel, he and all 
 his colleagues should be killed. 
 
 In obedience to the popular clamour, the magistrates 
 once more retraced their steps — though not a few of 
 them, terrified by the threats of the crowd, had fled 
 to their homes — and informed the Regent that they 
 were prepared to postpone the discussion of all public 
 measures until after the autumn vacation,^ in return 
 for the liberation of Broussel. Anne, more alarmed 
 than she cared to show, deemed it prudent to accept 
 this modified submission ; and the announcement of her 
 decision had the effect of quieting the disorder, though 
 the populace, mindful of the non-fulfilment of her 
 promise to Retz, refused to lay down their arms until 
 Broussel was actually restored to them. Their doubts 
 were set at rest the following morning, when Broussel 
 arrived from Saint-Germain in one of the royal coaches. 
 Amid frantic demonstrations of joy, the aged coun- 
 sellor proceeded to Notre-Dame, to return thanks 
 for his deliverance, after which he was escorted by 
 a body of armed citizens to the Palais de Justice. 
 Two hours later, the barricades had disappeared, the 
 rusty weapons of the League had been stored away, 
 the shops had reopened, and " Paris," says Retz, 
 
 • The autumn vacation began in the first week of September, and 
 lasted two months. 
 
2 82 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 " appeared more tranquil than I have ever seen it 
 on a Good Friday." 
 
 Such was the "Day of the Barricades," the first 
 act in the tragi-comedy of the Fronde.^ No great 
 harm had perhaps been done ; but the sudden appari- 
 tion of this people in arms, occupying all the streets, 
 terrorizing the magistrates, repulsing the troops sent 
 to disperse them, blockading the Palais-Royal itself, 
 astonished and alarmed many minds, and recalled to 
 old men the tales which they had heard from their 
 fathers of the tyranny of the Sixteen and of the League. 
 A " k Balafre " only was wanting. What if he were to 
 arrive from Flanders } ^ 
 
 This was the question ever present in Mazarin's 
 mind. The prestige of the Government, already 
 seriously diminished by the vacillating policy it had 
 pursued towards the Parlement, had received a 
 
 ' Retz gives the following explanation of the name Fronde [sling] 
 " Bachaumont once said that the Parlement behaved like the schoolboys 
 in the Paris ditches, who fling stones and run away when they see 
 the constable, but meet again so soon as his back is turned. This 
 was thought a very pretty comparison. It came to be a subject of 
 ballads, and, upon the peace between the King and the Parlement 
 [the Peace of Rueil, March, 1649], ^t was revived and applied to those 
 who held out against the Court ; and we studied to give it all possible 
 currency, since we observed that it excited the wrath of the people. 
 We therefore resolved that night to wear hat-bands made in the 
 form of a sling, and caused a great number of them to be made ready 
 and distributed among a band of rough fellows. We ourselves wore 
 them last of all, since it would have been considered too much 
 affectation, and have spoiled everything, had we been the first in the 
 mode. It is difficult to express the influence which these trifles 
 had upon the people ; their bread, hats, gloves, handkerchieves, and 
 ornaments were all d la mode de la Fronde, and we ourselves were 
 more in the fashion through this trifle than in reality." 
 
 ' Due d'Aumale, Histoire des Princes de Condi. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 283 
 
 staggering blow on the " Day of the Barricades." 
 It was impossible that a Ministry which arbitrarily 
 imprisoned persons one day and released them the 
 next, at the bidding of a disorderly mob, could inspire 
 anything but contempt in those who were supposed 
 to render it obedience ; and, unless the Court were 
 prepared to go even further than it had already gone 
 in concessions to the magistracy, the recrudescence 
 of the late disturbances was by no means improbable. 
 Conde was the one man who could, if he willed, 
 overawe both Parlement and people, and restore to 
 the Crown its lost authority. 
 
 On the other hand, Mazarin was extremely jealous 
 of the influence of Monsieur le Prince, and was well 
 aware that the latter regarded him with no friendly 
 feelings. The affection which existed between Madame 
 de Longueville and her brother was, of course, common 
 knowledge ; and the Cardinal knew, or at least suspected, 
 that the princess was now completely in the hands of 
 his enemies, and prepared to exert all her influence 
 over Cond6 to draw him into the ranks of the opposi- 
 tion. Were she to succeed, his own political career 
 must come to a speedy termination ; while, even if 
 Conde declined to turn against the Court, it was 
 quite conceivable that he might demand, as the price 
 of his loyalty, the dismissal of the hated Minister. 
 
 These considerations explain the reluctance of 
 Mazarin to recall the victor of Lens, so long as the 
 smallest hope remained that his services might be 
 dispensed with. On August 29, he writes to Conde, 
 
284 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 informing him that Paris was now as tranquil as 
 though nothing had happened ; and on September 12 
 instructs him to remain with the army and continue 
 the campaign. But three days later the situation of 
 affairs had again become threatening, and Anne of 
 Austria, on the Minister's advice, wrote to Conde, 
 bidding him return as speedily as possible. 
 
 The restoration of order in Paris had not ended 
 the struggle between the Government and the 
 magistracy ; and it was soon apparent that the latter 
 were bent on extorting further concessions from the 
 Regent. Ignoring the promise which had been the 
 condition of Broussel's release, the Parlement continued 
 its deliberations ; and on September 7, instead of 
 adjourning for the usual autumn recess, which would 
 have secured the harassed Government a respite of two 
 months, decided that the public interests demanded 
 that it should forgo its vacation, and requested per- 
 mission to extend the session. 
 
 The Queen was furious, but Mazarin counselled her 
 to consent, pointing out that, until the Government 
 were prepared to resort to force, they had no alternative 
 but to pursue a conciliatory policy. In the meanwhile, 
 he advised her to remove the young King and the 
 Court to Rueil — Richelieu's beautiful country-seat, now 
 the property of the Duchesse d'Aiguillon — and there 
 await the arrival of Cond6. When he returned, they 
 would be able to adopt vigorous measures, and, with 
 the aid of the troops now in Flanders, quickly bring 
 the Parlement and their supporters to reason. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 285 
 
 Accordingly, in the early morning of September 13, 
 Louis XIV., accompanied by the Cardinal, his gouver- 
 neur, the Marechal de Villeroi, and an escort of guards, 
 left the city for Rueil. To avoid any appearance of 
 flight, the Regent and the Court did not follow until 
 some hours later, Anne having first informed the 
 Provost of the Merchants that their Majesties' de- 
 parture was due solely to a desire to escape for a few 
 days from the intense heat then prevailing in Paris, 
 and that they would not be absent more than a week. 
 Notwithstanding this assurance, the removal of the 
 Court excited the greatest suspicion amongst the 
 citizens ; and it was freely asserted that the step was 
 but a preliminary to a blockade of the city, for which 
 purpose troops had already been recalled from Flanders. 
 
 In the meantime, Conde, who was suffering from 
 the effects of a wound received at the siege of Furnes, 
 was returning by easy stages to Paris. He came, it 
 would appear, not without many misgivings, feeling 
 that there was little glory to be gained, and much 
 odium to be incurred, in the role which, in all pro- 
 bability, he would be called upon to play. Bussy- 
 Rabutin tells us that, on his entering the prince's room 
 at Calais, the latter began to sing merrily : 
 
 Oh la foUe entreprise, 
 Du Prince de Cond6' 
 
 — an old song about his father.^ In the light of sub- 
 sequent events, this incident seems almost prophetic. 
 
 ' Bussy-Rabutin, Memoires. 
 
286 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 The prince reached Rueil on September 20, where 
 he found Retz, who, under the mask of pastoral duty, 
 had come to try and discover how the land lay. With 
 him he made an appointment for the following morning, 
 in the garden of the Archbishop of Paris, with the 
 object of discussing measures for preserving peace. 
 At this conference it was agreed that Cond6 should 
 endeavour to appease the wrath of the Queen ; and 
 that, on the other hand, that same night, the coadjutor 
 should conduct the prince, incognito, to Broussel and 
 Longueil, another parliamentary firebrand, to exhort 
 them to moderate their zeal ; in which case, he would 
 promise to stand by them. Whether Retz, in proposing 
 this conference between Cond6 and the counsellors, was 
 really sincere in his desire for an accommodation, as 
 he declares in his Mdmoires, is difficult to say. But, 
 however that may be, the impetuous conduct of the 
 prince next day, at Rueil, deprived the interview of 
 any importance it might otherwise have had. 
 
 This war of arrests and declarations was little to the 
 taste of Monsieur le Prince. Theories of government 
 had no interest for him ; to the complaints of the 
 magistrates he was very indifferent. But he was un- 
 pleasantly impressed by the spirit of revolt which 
 seemed to be everywhere. On his way . to Paris, his 
 coach had been stopped by bands of peasants, who 
 desired him to listen to their grievances, and in the 
 capital it was of course much more marked. Even 
 in the King's household, among the officers of the 
 Crown, orders which should have been promptly and 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 287 
 
 cheerfully executed, were obeyed with reluctance, and 
 sometimes disregarded altogether. Before all things, 
 he felt that order must be re-established, and the royal 
 authority upheld. 
 
 On the 22nd, Cond^ again visited Rueil, where he 
 found a deputation from the Parlement, which had 
 come to demand the liberation of Chavigny, who, five 
 days after the departure of the Court from Paris, 
 had been arrested and thrown into close confinement 
 at Vincennes, of which chateau he was governor ; 
 while, at the same time, another unquiet spirit, in the 
 person of Chateauneuf, the former Keeper of the Seals, 
 had been exiled to Berry. Chavigny had been one 
 of Richelieu's protigis, and Mazarin appears to have 
 been considerably indebted to him at the beginning 
 of his political career, a fact of which he was never 
 tired of reminding the Cardinal. Mazarin, however, 
 regarded him as a dangerous rival ; and when, on be- 
 coming Regent, Anne, who detested Chavigny, had 
 expressed a wish to get rid of him, the Cardinal had 
 made but a half-hearted effort on his behalf ; and 
 Chavigny was, accordingly, deprived of his post as 
 Secretary of State. Some months later, when Mazarin 
 considered that he had been sufficiently chastened, he 
 recalled him to the Council. Both Chateauneuf and 
 Chavigny had considerable influence in the Parlement, 
 which they had certainly not used in favour of the 
 Court. But the real motive of the latter's arrest 
 was Mazarin's suspicion that he was engaged, if not 
 in a conspiracy, at least in secret intrigues with the 
 
288 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 House of Cond6 ; and his hotel had been ransacked 
 from cellar to attic, without, however, any compromising 
 documents being forthcoming. 
 
 The deputation from the Parlement having pre- 
 sented their petition, which seems to have been 
 couched in somewhat forcible language, and the Regent 
 having haughtily replied that she was accountable 
 only to God and the King, her son, for what she had 
 done, the magistrates invited Conde to take his place 
 in the Grande Chambre and assist them with his advice. 
 But the prince, taken unawares, excused himself, 
 observing that he should take the Queen's orders 
 upon that subject and should act according to them ; 
 exhorted the "gentlemen of the Parlement" to 
 submit themselves entirely to the royal will ; and 
 ended by declaring that he was ready to spill the 
 last drop of his blood on behalf of the Crown. The 
 Regent could not conceal her delight. " Cest mon 
 troisieme fils I " she cried ; while the little King em- 
 braced his celebrated cousin, and Mazarin beamed with 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Conde' s outspoken language seriously disquieted 
 the magistrates ; and the news that a force of four 
 thousand Germans in the French service, under the 
 command of d'Erlach, had crossed the Somme and 
 was marching on Paris, increased their alarm. The 
 Provost of the Merchants was summoned to the 
 Palais de Justice and directed to take all necessary 
 precautions for the security of Paris. Business was 
 at a standstill ; many persons left the city, and the 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 289 
 
 streets were crowded with waggons and carts removing 
 valuables and household property. In a word, every 
 one believed that they were on the eve of the civil 
 war which broke out some months later ; when all 
 of a sudden the Court again assumed a conciliatory 
 attitude, and invited deputies from the Parlement 
 to a conference at Saint-Germain, whither it was on 
 the point of removing. 
 
 Meanwhile, a stormy interview had taken place 
 between 3\donsieur le Prince and his sister, who 
 had remained in Paris, although her husband, after 
 some hesitation, had followed the Court to Rueil. 
 Madame de Longueville did everything in her power 
 to induce her brother to throw in his lot with 
 the malcontent nobles and the Parlement. She 
 appealed to the intense affection which had always 
 existed between them ; she reminded him of his 
 grievances against Mazarin ; she enlarged upon the 
 " ingratitude " which the Queen had displayed in 
 refusing to confer the Admiralty upon his son ; and, 
 in short, neglected nothing which she thought might 
 influence that proud and fickle heart. But all her 
 arguments, all her entreaties, were in vain. Conde 
 replied that his place was near the throne, to protect 
 it with his sword against its enemies, whoever they 
 might be, whether at home or abroad, and that no 
 consideration could induce him to desert it in its hour 
 of need. 
 
 Some writers affirm that the prince had been greatly 
 irritated against Madame de Longueville, owing to 
 
 VOL. I. 19 
 
290 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 the interference of the latter three years before with 
 his project of obtaining the dissolution of his marriage 
 with Mademoiselle de Breze ; and that, since that 
 time, her influence over him had greatly diminished. 
 This, however, does not appear to have been the case ; 
 but, on the other hand, it is certain that he had 
 from the first strongly disapproved of her intimacy 
 with La Rochefoucauld, and that, previous to his de- 
 parture for the campaign of Lens, he had endeavoured, 
 though without success, to wean her from this fatal 
 infatuation. On his return to Paris, he had the 
 mortification to find that the connection had be- 
 come common knowledge ; and he now reproached 
 his sister bitterly with her conduct, and said many 
 hard things both of her and her lover. The result 
 was a violent quarrel and an open separation ; 
 Madame de Longueville plunged more deeply into 
 the intrigues of the Fronde, and Cond6 became only 
 the more determined to uphold the authority of the 
 Crown against the factions which were seeking to 
 undermine it. 
 
 Notwithstanding the uncompromising attitude which 
 the prince had assumed towards the parliamentary 
 deputation at Rueil, and the resolute tone he had 
 taken with Madame de Longueville, he was still opposed 
 to extreme measures, so long as any hope of a 
 peaceful settlement remained ; since, although he 
 strongly disapproved of the insubordinate proceedings 
 of the magistrates, and of the intrigues of his sister's 
 friends, who were inciting them to resistance, he 
 
From an engraving by Nanteuil 
 
 JEAN FRANCOIS PAUL DE GONDI, CARDINAL DE RETZ. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 291 
 
 recognised that to crush the Parlement altogether 
 would probably result in the undisputed ascendency 
 of Mazarin, which was the very last thing he desired. 
 In a second conference of three hours which he had 
 with the coadjutor, he complained, according to Retz, 
 of both the Parlement and Mazarin : " The Mazarin," 
 said he, " is not aware of what he is doing ; he would 
 ruin the State, if one did not take care. . . . The 
 Parlement goes too fast ; it is rushing into danger, 
 and, were I to rush with it, I should perhaps be a 
 greater gainer than it would be. But my name is 
 Louis de Bourbon, and I will not shake the Crown. 
 Those devils of square-caps — are they mad that they 
 would compel me either to make a civil war, or 
 strangle them, and place over their heads, as well 
 as over mine, a rascally Sicilian, who will ruin us 
 all in the end ? " ^ 
 
 Retz declares that it was he who suggested to 
 Conde the idea of a conference between deputies 
 from the Parlement and the representatives of the 
 Court ; and that the prince at once proceeded to 
 Saint-Germain and strongly advised the Queen to 
 adopt this course. Anne's mortification was great, 
 for, after the bold language used by {Monsieur le Prince, 
 at Rueil, on the 22 nd, she had confidently anticipated 
 that she would have no difficulty in persuading him 
 to lend himself to a policy of repression, and take 
 command of the forces with which she intended to 
 overcome the resistance of the Parlement and its 
 ' Retz, Memoires. 
 
292 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 allies'. But Mazarin, though his disappointment at 
 Condi's change of front was not less keen, represented 
 to her that, without the prince's assistance, it would 
 be madness to venture upon a civil war ; and 
 that, as he himself advised an accommodation, she 
 had no alternative but to do as he wished, and 
 postpone a resort to arms until a more favourable 
 opportunity. 
 
 Bazin, in his excellent history of the administration 
 of Mazarin,' rejects this narrative of Retz, and attributes 
 to the Cardinal himself the sudden change in the 
 disposition of the Court ; but Retz's account is accepted 
 by Cheruel and the Due d'Aumale. The former 
 points out that Mazarin's Garnets certainly do not 
 confirm Bazin's view of the matter ; but, on the 
 contrary, prove that the Cardinal was indignant at 
 seeing the Regent reduced to negotiating with the 
 Parlement, and complained bitterly of the weakness 
 of the princes, whom he accused of not sustaining the 
 royal power. " It is a strange thing," he writes, 
 " that the King is insensibly reduced to negotiating- 
 a settlement with the Parlement on equal terms, 
 and without the Queen being able to prevent it, 
 since the most influential persons about her assist 
 the latter by not declaring openly, as has so many 
 times been resolved, that the Parlement ought in 
 no way to hope for it." Mazarin adds that he 
 has vainly pressed the Prince de Cond6 to adopt 
 a firm tone towards the Parlement, for the good 
 ■ Histoire de France sous le minister e de Mazarin. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 293 
 
 of the State and the maintenance of the royal 
 authority.^ 
 
 The conference at Saint-Germain opened on 
 September 25. The Court was represented by the Due 
 d'Orldans, the Princes de Cond6 and de Conti, the 
 Due de Longueville — the two latter of whom had 
 received instructions from Madame de Longueville to 
 counteract so far as they could the influence of her 
 elder brother — the Chancellor Siguier, and the Mar^chal 
 de la Meilleraie, the Comptroller-General ; the Parle- 
 ment, by its First President M0I6 the Presidents de 
 Mesmes, de Novion, de Maisons, and several counsellors. 
 Mazarin took no direct part in the discussions, the 
 Parlement having exhumed the decree of 161 7 
 against the Marechal d'Ancre/ and refused to treat 
 with a Minister who was a foreigner ; but his 
 Garnets show that he followed them with the most 
 vigilant attention. 
 
 After long and somewhat acrimonious deliberations, 
 in which Conde's fiery temper and his love of raillery 
 not infrequendy got the better of his pacific intentions 
 and deeply offended the magistrates, the Court yielded, 
 in substance, all that the sovereign companies de- 
 manded in the matter of taxation, finance, and the 
 registration of edicts. The taille and other taxes were 
 reduced; the payment of the salaries of the judicial 
 officers and the rentes was provided for ; provision 
 
 ' Camet X. Cheruel, Histoire de la France pendant la minorite de 
 Louis XIV. 
 
 » This decree interdicted, under pain of death, any foreigner from 
 taking part in the Ministry. 
 
294 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 made for farming the revenues to the best advantage ; 
 the secret funds {Ordonnance de Comptani) were reduced 
 to three million livres a year ; the annulling of the 
 decrees of the Parlement by the Council was to be 
 no longer permitted ; all monopolies were declared 
 illegal ; new offices were not to be created, except by 
 edicts duly ratified ; and, to foster the industries of the 
 kingdom, the importation of foreign cloths and laces 
 was forbidden. 
 
 The Regent, for some time, refused to give way 
 on the question of arbitrary imprisonment and the 
 abolition of lettres de cachet^ protesting that, were she 
 to do so, " her son would be no better than a king 
 of cards." At length, it was agreed that no member 
 of the Parlement or of the other judicial companies 
 should be arrested without being brought before his 
 judges within twenty-four hours. Other persons, if 
 imprisoned by order of the King, must be brought 
 to trial within six months ; but Anne insisted that this 
 concession should rest upon the royal word and faith, 
 and should not be embodied in a formal edict. 
 
 This charter was carried by Orleans and Conde to 
 the Queen, who, on October 22, with many tears, 
 affixed her signature to it. On the 24th, the same 
 day on which the treaty of Westphalia was concluded, 
 it was ratified by the Parlement, and hailed as " a 
 work of God for the preservation of France, and not 
 the work of men." ^ 
 
 ' Andr6 d'Ormesson, Memoires inedits, cited by A. Feillet, la Misire 
 du Temps de la Fronde. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 295 
 
 If, in signing this decree, Anne of Austria had been 
 acting in good faith, it would undoubtedly have 
 been of the highest importance, and have constituted a 
 permanent advance towards a better system of govern- 
 ment. But neither the Queen nor Mazarin had the 
 smallest intention of observing its provisions for a 
 moment longer than necessity compelled them; and 
 the former had only been brought to resign herself 
 to a concession which signified to her the humiliation 
 of the Crown and the defeat of her Government, by 
 the Cardinal's assurance that she would be justified 
 in violating it, so soon as she found herself in a position 
 to impose her will on the Parlement and its supporters. 
 We learn, from the Garnets, that the Cardinal advised 
 the Queen to inform Orleans and Conde that, " since 
 their advice was to surrender to the necessity of the 
 occasion, on account of the great injury which would 
 result to the State, if a rupture with the Parlement, 
 which had the people on its side, were to occur at the 
 same time as they had a great war with the Spaniards 
 on their hands, which, provided that peace were 
 re-established in the realm, they were on the eve of 
 concluding, she yielded to these reasons. But, since 
 what was being conceded to the Parlement was 
 altogether extraordinary, and impossible for her to 
 observe without destroying the better part of royalty, 
 her Majesty did not intend to execute it (that is to 
 say, intended to break it) when the time should be 
 propitious for making such an announcement, and to 
 declare that she had acted under constraint and to give 
 
2g6 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 peace to the realm, because it was necessary that 
 Monsieur le Prince should be in accord with her."^ 
 
 Anne of Austria, imbued with the ideas which she 
 had brought from Spain, refused to admit that any 
 limit ought to be placed to the authority of the King ; 
 and deemed it to be her duty to remit to her son 
 the royal power as intact as she had found it. If, for 
 the moment, it was inexpedient to resort to force in 
 order to preserve the sacred trust reposed in her, then 
 dissimulation and trickery must be employed ; and 
 she had listened to the Cardinal's insidious suggestion 
 without the smallest compunction. As for Mazarin, 
 laws did not exist for him, or existed only so far as 
 they might serve his own purposes. "When they were 
 at variance with these, he ignored them and regarded 
 the violent denunciations of which he had lately 
 been the object with the most supreme indifference. 
 Even while he was advising the Queen to yield to 
 the demands of the magistrates, Mazarin was busily 
 engaged in concerting measures for a decisive struggle 
 with the Fronde. His plan was to wait until the 
 rival armies on the Flemish frontier had gone into 
 winter quarters ; then, to recall all the troops which 
 could be spared ; concentrate them around Paris, re- 
 move the Court again from the capital, and, by a 
 rigorous blockade, cut off supplies, and reduce the 
 citizens to submission by famine. 
 
 But, to ensure the success of this scheme, it was 
 
 ' Carnet X. Ch6ruel, Histoire de France pendant la minorite de 
 Louis XIV. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 297 
 
 imperative that Conde should be persuaded to take 
 command of the royal army, and lend to the Govern- 
 ment his unequalled military skill and the prestige of 
 his name ; and, to obtain his consent, all Mazarin's 
 cunning was now devoted. Madame de Motteville 
 tells us that at this time the Queen frequently com- 
 plained of her Minister. " She attacked even the 
 Cardinal ; she spoke to him before others with strange 
 brusqueness, and blamed him for his moderation." 
 The Garnets, however, which often reveal the secret 
 motives of events which the memoirs of the time 
 recount without penetrating their true causes, prove 
 that the Queen's dissatisfaction was merely a skilful 
 ruse, adopted on the advice of Mazarin himself, to 
 disarm Conde's hostility towards the Minister and to 
 secure the aid of his sword. She must, he tells her, 
 flatter Cond6, appeal to his sense of generosity, his 
 chivalry, and not spare the Cardinal himself, whose 
 weakness she was to blame severely. She must declare 
 her belief that Mazarin was one of those "who 
 thought more about offending the Parlement than the 
 King." Finally, she was to hint that it might be 
 necessary to replace him by a more energetic Minister, 
 presumably Chdteauneuf, a deadly enemy of the 
 House of Condd. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 Return of the Court to Paris — Madame de Longueville persuades Conti 
 to demand the nomination for a cardinal's hat promised the Abb6 
 de la Riviere — Mortification of the abbe, and anger of his patron, 
 the Due d'Orl6ans, who is with difBculty conciliated — Renewed 
 hostility of the Parlement to the Court — Violent scene at the 
 Palais de Justice between Cond6 and the President Viole — 
 Mazarin the object of general hatred — Alliance between Retz 
 and Madame de Longueville — Treaty of Noisy — Grievances of La 
 Rochefoucauld against Mazarin— Intrigues of the coadjutor — The 
 Government resolved on repressive measures — Condi's plan of 
 campaign rejected — Flight of the Court to Saint-Germain on the 
 night of January 5-6, 1649 — Madame de Longueville excuses 
 herself from accompanying the Court, and remains in Paris — La 
 Rochefoucauld goes to Saint-Germain to persuade Conti and 
 Longueville to return to the capital — Irresolution of the latter 
 — Escape of the princes from Saint-Germain. 
 
 AFTER the ratification of the Declaration of 
 October 22, the Provost of the Merchants and 
 the sheriffs of Paris visited Saint-Germain and entreated 
 Anne of Austria to bring the King back to the capital. 
 She hesitated, but Mazarin counselled her to yield to 
 the wish of the inhabitants, and the beginning of 
 November found their Majesties re-established at the 
 Palais-Royal. 
 
 Scarcely had the Court returned when trouble began 
 again, this time between the princes. Although Madame 
 de Longueville had temporarily lost her influence over 
 her elder brother, she governed the younger entirely; 
 
 298 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 299 
 
 his life, all his actions, were regulated by her ; he 
 
 seemed only to see with her eyes. Conti had for some 
 
 months past shown himself very undecided with regard 
 
 to the career for which he had been intended since his 
 
 childhood, being divided between a strong aversion for 
 
 the ecclesiastical state and an ambition which could 
 
 find no other cloak than the Roman purple. Now, 
 
 the worthless Abbe de la Riviere, who controlled 
 
 Gaston d'Orleans's vacillating mind, also aspired to a 
 
 cardinal's hat ; and, as the support of his patron was 
 
 very necessary to Mazarin, the Minister, seeing Conti 
 
 so undecided, had believed he might safely promise 
 
 the abbe that he should be the next French cardinal. 
 
 Accordingly, during the previous summer. La 
 
 Riviere's name had been formally presented for that 
 
 honour by the French Ambassador at Rome, and 
 
 Mazarin had written to Donna Olympia Maldalchini, 
 
 Innocent X.'s sister-in-law, asking her to grant the 
 
 promotion.^ But suddenly, at the end of October, 
 
 the Dowager Princesse de Conde informed the Queen 
 
 that her son had definitely made up his mind " to 
 
 consent to become a Cardinal," and begged her 
 
 Majesty to assist him at the Court of Rome. 
 
 This decision, it appears, had been arrived at by the 
 young prince on the advice of his sister ; and there can 
 
 ' This lady accumulated a colossal fortune out of the bribes of those 
 who sought ecclesiastical preferment, and of foreign governments 
 anxious to secure her good offices. Mazarin is said to have promised 
 her 100,000 scudi to obtain a cardinal's hat for his unworthy brother, 
 Michele Mazarini. She established a regular tariff for ecclesiastical 
 offices, and was always careful to exact payment in advance. 
 
300 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 be little doubt that her object was to embroil Orleans 
 with Mazarin, and also with Cond6, of whose influence 
 he was already very jealous, and draw him into the 
 ranks of the opposition. In this she was very nearly 
 successful. The pretensions of Conti, of course, 
 ruined the hopes of the Abbe de la Rivifere, as it was 
 useless for him to contend with the advantages the 
 prince derived from his superior rank. Orleans keenly 
 resented the blow to his favourite's ambitions, which 
 he seemed to regard as a personal injury ; and, spurred 
 on by the mortified abbe, and by the enemies of the 
 Court, who hastened to avail themselves of so excellent 
 an opportunity of exciting discord, assumed a most 
 threatening attitude. " The Luxembourg," writes 
 Lionne to Servien, " is continually full of firebrands. 
 The conduct of the Abbe de la Rivifere is very bad and 
 very imprudent. He has made his Royal Highness 
 undertake to support the pretensions of all those who 
 have come to offer him their services;" -^ 
 
 The quarrel divided the Court, and became every 
 day more serious ; one might have imagined that the 
 " Fronde of the Princes " was about to begin ; but 
 the hour was not yet come. Mazarin's tact saved 
 the situation. The Mardchaux d'Estr^es and La 
 Fert6-Senneterre were appointed to arbitrate upon the 
 matter ; and, as the result of their deliberations, La 
 Riviere accepted, as compensation for his disappoint- 
 ment, which, he was assured, should be only a tempor- 
 ary one, the title of Minister of State, and the entry to 
 ' Letter of November 6, 1648, published by Ch^ruel. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 301 
 
 the King's Council. Thus, the wrath of Gaston was 
 appeased, and his promise obtained to support the 
 Court against the attacks of the Parlement. 
 
 This little intrigue was not the only one in which 
 Madame de Longueville indulged during the autumn 
 of 1648. Mazarin's Garnets and the despatches of 
 his confidant Lionne to Servien, prove that, although 
 deprived of the support of Conde, the lady was 
 occasioning the Cardinal serious embarrassment. 
 " Madame de Longueville and her husband," writes 
 Mazarin, " are at present very much together. She 
 governs the Prince de Conti, and the three are very 
 ill satisfied with Monsieur le Prince. Longueville 
 places his hopes in my changing, and is in accord 
 with his wife." The hopes to which the Cardinal 
 refers were the much-coveted government of Havre, 
 and also that of the Pont-de-l'Arche, in Normandy. 
 To have entrusted these places to a man who was 
 already governor of the province, would have been 
 to set up a species of independent sovereign. More- 
 over, as we have seen, Mazarin had already twice 
 declined to deprive the young Due de Richelieu 
 of Havre, and he was resolute in refusing the duke's 
 demands. Probably Madame de Longueville never 
 imagined that they would be accorded, and her only 
 reason for encouraging her husband's ambition was 
 to widen the breach between him and the Cardinal. 
 
 On St. Martin's Day (November 1 1 ), the courts 
 reassembled, and in a temper very hostile to the 
 Government. Complaints were made that the De- 
 
302 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 claration of October 22 was not being observed ; 
 and, although Orleans and Cond6 came down to 
 the Palais de Justice and endeavoured to reassure 
 the judges, their intervention only added fuel to the 
 flame. Several magistrates, prominent among whom 
 were Broussel and Viole, one of the presidents of 
 the Cour des Enquetes, continued their attacks on the 
 Government ; and the latter, declaring that " the 
 axe must be laid to the root of the tree," began a 
 most violent harangue against "the Mazarin." Orleans 
 interrupted him, and was supported by Conde, who, 
 it was alleged, indulged in a threatening gesture 
 towards Viole. The prince often afterwards declared 
 that he had had no intention of threatening the 
 president ; but his action, whether involuntary or 
 not, greatly exasperated the assembly, and he was 
 obliged to resume his seat, amid angry cries. The 
 following day, there was another passage of arms 
 between Monsieur le Prince and a counsellor named 
 Br6vannes-Aubrey, who had compared the Declaration 
 of October to " an excellent picture painted by the 
 most skilful hand, and which a worthless workman 
 (i.e. Mazarin) had ruined by meddling with it." 
 Cond6 sprang up and angrily stopped the speaker, 
 who replied that the First President alone had the 
 right to interrupt there ; and Mathieu Mol^ had no 
 choice but to uphold the counsellor. 
 
 These incidents naturally did not tend to diminish 
 the dislike and contempt which the haughty soldier 
 had always entertained for the gentlemen of the 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 303 
 
 long robe ; and his hostility was skilfully fomented 
 by the well-timed advances of Anne of Austria and 
 the pretended submission of the Cardinal. To attach 
 Cond6 more firmly to her cause, the Queen, in 
 December, issued letters-patent conferring upon him 
 and his successors the seigneuries of Stenai, in 
 Champagne, Dun-le-Roi and Varennes, in Berry, 
 Jametz, in the Barrois, and Clermont-en-Argonne, 
 with the most extensive privileges. 
 
 Matters rapidly grew worse. Paris was in a state 
 of agitation. The hatred of " the Mazarin," more 
 ardent than ever, revealed itself in a score of different 
 ways ; in violent speeches in the Palais de Justice ; 
 in biting epigrams in the salons of Madame de 
 Longueville and her friends ; in ribald songs in the 
 streets ; in the taverns, where thieves and lacqueys 
 drank to his confusion ; on the Pont-Neuf, where 
 urchins hawked abusive pamphlets and shouted : 
 " Point de Mazarin." The Cardinal was accused 
 of wishing to elude the engagements of Saint- 
 Germain ; he was attacked because he had failed to make 
 peace with Spain ; he was denounced as the protector 
 of the detested farmers of the revenues ; in short, 
 he was the common enemy and oppressor of all. 
 
 Retz had a finger in every intrigue. So soon as 
 he recognised the hopelessness of inducing Cond6 to 
 accept the leadership of the Frondeurs, his thoughts 
 had turned towards Monsieur le Prince's brother. "J 
 went by chance," he says, " to see Madame de 
 Longueville, whom I saw very seldom, because I was 
 
304 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 a great friend of her husband, who was not the person 
 in all the Court the most in favour with her, I 
 found her alone : she fell into conversation upon 
 public affairs, which were then the fashion ; she ap- 
 peared to me to be very angry with the Court. . . . 
 I was quite aware that Monsieur le Prince de Conti 
 was entirely in her hands. I well knew the weakness 
 of the Prince de Conti ; he was almost a child, but 
 that child was a Prince of the Blood. I only wanted 
 a name to animate what without one would be a 
 mere phantom. . . . All these ideas struck my imagi- 
 nation at once. So soon as I had opened to Madame 
 de Longueville the smallest glimmering of the part 
 she might play in the state to which affairs were 
 then tending, she entered into it with more ecstasy 
 of joy than I can express to you." ^ 
 
 The coadjutor soon succeeded in establishing very 
 confidential relations with Madame de Longueville, 
 whom, by the way, he complacently informs us " he 
 could have placed in his heart between Mesdames 
 de Gu6m^n6e and de Pommereux, had the benefice 
 not been already filled." And the two, together with 
 the Due de Longueville and the Prince de Conti, 
 had a conference at Noisy with Broussel, Longueil, 
 and other firebrands of the Parlement, at which, says 
 La Rochefoucauld, " the whole plan of the civil war 
 was resolved upon." That nobleman was at this time 
 in his father's government of Poitou, the population 
 of which province had lately been exhibiting an 
 ' Retz, Mimoires. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 305 
 
 inclination to recover by forcible means the taxes which 
 had been extorted from it, and had stormed and 
 sacked the offices of several receivers of the revenues. 
 He had gone thither, if we are to believe his own 
 account of the matter, on the distinct understanding 
 that his services in repressing the disorders were to 
 be rewarded by ducal privileges {Jettres de due) for 
 himself and a tabouret for his wife.^ When his task 
 had been accomplished, he discovered, to his disgust, 
 that Mazarin and the Queen had found it inconvenient 
 to remember their part of the bargain ; and that, though 
 ducal privileges had lately been bestowed upon no 
 less than six persons, he himself was not among them. 
 On learning from Madame de Longueville of what 
 had taken place at Noisy, " he experienced great 
 pleasure at seeing that, in spite of the state to which 
 the harshness of the Queen and the hatred of the 
 Cardinal had reduced him, there still remained to him 
 means to be avenged upon them." On his return to 
 Paris, he entered into active co-operation with Retz 
 and " applied himself to surmounting the fears and 
 irresolutions of the Prince de Conti and the Due de 
 Longueville, who were intended to give the branle 
 to this great enterprise." 
 
 The coadjutor, on his side, was no less active against 
 
 ' The tabouret was a stool, on which Princes and Princesses of 
 the Blood, foreign princes and princesses, cardinals, and dukes and 
 duchesses — in fact all persons whom it was customary for their 
 Majesties to address as " Cousin," had the privilege of seating them- 
 selves in the presence of the King and Queen. Occasionally, as 
 a special favour, it was accorded to other persons. 
 
 VOL. I. 20 
 
3o6 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 the Court. He had recently been disappointed in 
 the hope of becoming Governor of Paris, and this 
 had stimulated him to fresh mischief. Having secured 
 the right of sitting in the Parlement, in place of the 
 archbishop, his uncle, he encouraged the magistrates 
 in their onslaughts upon the Cardinal ; while, at the 
 same time, he used his pastoral office to incite his 
 flock, to resistance. An edict authorising the payment 
 of ten per cent, on loans to the Government was 
 eagerly seized upon by him to excite the passions 
 of the populace. Having sought the opinion of the 
 doctors of the Sorbonne, who answered that to loan 
 money at ten per cent, was usury and a mortal sin, 
 he called his cur6s and canons together, and instructed 
 them to denounce from their pulpits an edict which 
 sought openly to authorise what was condemned by 
 the law of God. " Although," he writes, " I had 
 not so much as mentioned the Cardinal's name in the 
 conference, in a week's time I made him pass for one 
 of the most obstinate Jews in Europe." 
 
 The offending edict was withdrawn ; but Anne of 
 Austria and her Minister, feeling that their position 
 had become intolerable, resolved to have recourse 
 without further delay to the measures they had for 
 weeks been contemplating to coerce the Parlement 
 and people into obedience. At a meeting of the 
 Council, to which only those upon whose support 
 Mazarin could rely were summoned, the Cardinal 
 announced the intentions of the Regent. " Her 
 Majesty," he said, " was resolved to put an end to 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 307 
 
 the progress of disorder, and to crush the resistance 
 of the Parlement and the municipality, who were 
 making common cause. The King and the Queen- 
 Mother would quit the capital with their Households ; 
 Paris would be blockaded and reduced by famine." 
 
 Cond6 strongly dissented from this scheme. In 
 his opinion, the King ought on no account to leave 
 Paris. In the inflamed state of people's minds, his 
 doing so would undoubtedly be the signal for a revolt. 
 The blockade, he declared, would probably last a long 
 while and effect but little ; while, in the meanwhile, 
 the frontiers would be denuded of troops and exposed 
 to the attacks of the Spaniards, and the country 
 around Paris ruined by the necessity of providing 
 for the sustenance of the royal army. He proposed 
 a much bolder plan, A rumour was to be circulated 
 that the Spaniards were on the frontier and were 
 preparing to march on Paris, which would serve as 
 a pretext to concentrate troops in and around the 
 capital. Leaving the Palais-Royal, with the ostensible 
 object of hunting at Vincennes, the King was to 
 establish himself at the Arsenal, the residence of the 
 Grand Master of the Artillery, where his Household 
 troops would immediately join him, and occupy the 
 fortress and its dependencies, the Bastille, and the 
 neighbouring convents. The rest of the royal troops 
 would be quartered at Vincennes, whence reinforce- 
 ments could be rapidly brought up as occasion required. 
 A battery of cannon placed on the lie Louvier would 
 command the course of the Seine ; a bridge of boats 
 
3o8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 would unite the two rivers. The position would be 
 unassailable — at once strategic and politic ; and the 
 King's authority would, in all probability, be re- 
 established without the necessity of striking a blow. 
 If, however, by any chance, the citizens had the 
 temerity to rise in arms, the repression would be 
 prompt and eifectual, for organised resistance would 
 obviously be impossible. Advancing by the Rue 
 Saint-Antoine and the Quai de Saint-Paul, while the 
 artillery of the Bastille and the He Louvier shivered 
 the barricades to fragments and sent the terrified 
 citizens lying to the shelter of their houses, the royal 
 troops would seize the Palais de Justice and the H6tel 
 de Ville, the two centres of disaffection, and in a 
 couple of hours all resistance vs^ould be at an end. 
 He admitted that his scheme might, in the worst 
 circumstances, entail some loss of life, but that was 
 surely better than the widespread misery, disorder, 
 and devastation which a blockade of Paris must 
 occasion.^ 
 
 Condi's proposal was warmly supported by the 
 Mardchal de, la Meilleraie, who, next to Monsieur le 
 Prince, was by far the most capable soldier present.^ 
 But it was not adopted. Mazarin maintained that a 
 retreat to the Bastille and the Arsenal could not be 
 made without difficulty, and would bring neither the 
 magistrates nor the Parisians to reason. If, overawed 
 
 • yioni^dA, Memoires. 'D\icA'Pi.'am3.\e,2Jistoiredes Princes de Condi. 
 
 ^ La Meilleraie suggested that the tie Notre-Dame (now the lie Saint- 
 Louis) should be seized, to make a place d'armes, and fortified with 
 cannon, to hold in check the Palais and surrounding districts. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 309 
 
 by the sight of the troops and batteries raised against 
 them, they submitted for a while, what, he asiced, was 
 to prevent a recurrence of the present troubles at some 
 future time, when Monsieur le Prince was absent on a 
 campaign, no troops within call, and the Government 
 powerless to deal effectually with the malcontents ? 
 A severe lesson was required ; but, as the Regent was 
 strongly opposed to bloodshed, there was no alternative 
 but famine. If the bread from the bakeries of Gonesse 
 were but cut off for a fortnight, Parlement and town 
 would be at the King's feet. Besides, it was above 
 all things essential to place the person of the King 
 in safety by removing him from the capital. Orleans 
 and Le Tellier sided with the Cardinal, and Cond6 
 reluctantly yielded.^ 
 
 The preparations for leaving Paris were made with 
 great secrecy. The time chosen for the enterprise 
 was the early morning of January 6, the Feast of the 
 Epiphany. During the previous evening, Anne of 
 Austria, ever an adept at dissimulation, appeared in 
 excellent spirits, cut the "gateau des rois" jested with 
 her ladies, watched the King playing cards, and 
 announced her intention of spending the following 
 day in devotions at the Val-de-Grace. About midnight 
 she retired to rest, but rose again immediately and made 
 her preparations for flight. At three o'clock, with the 
 King and his younger brother, the little Due d'Anjou, 
 and a few of their most trusted attendants, she 
 descended by the back staircase into the garden, where 
 ' Due d'Aumale, Histoire des Princes de Conde. 
 
3IO A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 coaches were waiting to convey the party to the Cours- 
 ia-Reine, the rendezvous decided upon. Here they 
 were joined by Mazarin, Cond6, Orleans, Mademoiselle, 
 the two Princesses de Conde, the little Due d'Enghien, 
 the Prince de Conti, and a few courtiers to whom the 
 secret had been entrusted. Conti, Retz tells us, had 
 been surprised in bed by his imperious brother, who, 
 distrustful of his loyalty, had compelled him to dress 
 and accompany him. 
 
 ,' Through the frosty night, the fugitives drove to 
 Saint-Germain. The necessity of maintaining secrecy 
 as to their plans had precluded any preparations 
 for their reception ; and, as it was then the custom 
 to dismantle the summer residences of the Court 
 in winter, even to the glass in the windows, they found 
 themselves in a most uncomfortable situation. There 
 were no beds, no furniture, no linen, and no servants. 
 " The Queen slept in a little bed, which the Cardinal 
 had sent out from Paris for the purpose, a few days 
 earlier. He had provided another for the King ; and 
 there were, besides, two other little camp-beds, one 
 of which served for Monsieur, and the other for 
 himself. The Duchesse d'Orl6ans slept on straw, 
 as did Mademoiselle. All others who followed the 
 Queen had the same fate, and in a few hours straw 
 became so scarce at Saint-Germain, that none could be 
 obtained for money." ^ 
 
 Madame de Longueville was not among those 
 who accompanied their Majesties in this picturesque 
 ' Madame de Motteville, Memoires. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 3^^ 
 
 exodus. The Queen had the previous evening sent a 
 note to the Dowager Princesse de Cond6, inviting her 
 to follow her to Saint-Germain, and to bring her 
 daughter also. Madame la Princesse immediately 
 went to the duchess, who was spending the night at 
 the H(5tel de Conde, on account of the Epiphany, and 
 informed her of her Majesty's wishes. But the lady, 
 who was again enceinte and approaching her confine- 
 ment, excused herself, on the ground of her delicate state 
 of health ; and moreover declared that she dared not 
 leave the city without the permission of her husband, 
 who was then at his chateau of Coulommiers. The 
 Princesse de Condd, who was not without her suspicions 
 that her daughter's disinclination to accompany the 
 Royal Family was prompted by some stronger reason, 
 pressed her to reconsider the matter, pointing out the 
 danger of her remaining in a city which would soon 
 be in a state of siege and given over to all kinds 
 of disorder. But Madame de Longueville, repressing 
 a smile, hastened to assure her mother that she might 
 leave her without anxiety, " since she knew very well 
 that the Parisians would do her no harm ; " and the 
 princess, finding her inexorable, was compelled to set 
 out alone. The Queen, when informed of Madame de 
 Longueville's absence, was not a little astonished ; but, 
 having no conception of what was to happen later, 
 accepted the excuses offered by the Princesse de Cond6 
 on her daughter's behalf. 
 
 Great was the consternation in Paris when 
 it became known that their Majesties and the chief 
 
312 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 officers of the State had fled from the capital. For 
 some time the concentration of troops around the 
 city had excited indignation and alarm, and there could 
 be no longer any doubt as to the purpose for which 
 they were to be employed. Most of the nobility 
 hastened to leave the town, and either went to Saint- 
 Germain, or made their way to their country-houses. 
 Among those who proceeded to Saint-Germain, was La 
 Rochefoucauld, who set out with the intention of 
 persuading Conti and Longueville to return to Paris 
 and declare openly for the Fronde. The latter had 
 received an imperative message from Cond6, bidding 
 him join the Court, which he had not the hardihood to 
 disobey ; and, aware of his irresolute character, La 
 Rochefoucauld and Madame de Longueville were 
 fearful that he might after all desert them. 
 
 Now that the die was actually cast, the Parlement 
 seemed decidedly alarmed at the consequences of its 
 audacity ; and, on the motion of the President de 
 Mesmes, declared that any measures which it might 
 find necessary to adopt for the safety of the city were 
 directed against the Minister (Mazarin), and not 
 against the King. The H6tel de Ville was not less 
 embarrassed, and despatched a deputation to Saint- 
 Germain, which protested its loyalty and entreated 
 their Majesties to return to their bereaved capital, 
 in terms so touching, that every one, we are assured, 
 even the young King, was melted to tears. The Queen 
 and Monsieur le Prince, however, remained implacable ; 
 and the former sent a message to the Parlement com- 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 313 
 
 manding it to retire to Montargis ; while the municipal 
 authorities were informed that so soon as the judges 
 departed by one gate, their Majesties would return 
 by the other. In the meantime, those members of 
 the Parlement who refused obedience were declared 
 guilty of high treason, and a decree of the King's 
 Council forbade the country people to sell their cattle 
 to the Paris butchers. 
 
 On arriving at Saint-Germain, La Rochefoucauld 
 experienced little difficulty in persuading the Prince de 
 Conti to agree to make his escape and return to his 
 beloved sister ; but it was otherwise with the Due de 
 Longueville. That vacillating nobleman, it appeared, 
 had no sooner rejoined the Court, than he had hastened 
 to assure their Majesties of his own loyalty and that of 
 his government of Normandy, and found himself in 
 consequence in an exceedingly embarrassing position. 
 He raised all manner of objections to the proposed 
 escape, declaring that he bitterly resented having 
 pledged himself to the Frondeurs ; and La Roche- 
 foucauld was in constant dread lest he should reveal 
 everything to Conde, in which case both Conti 
 and himself would be promptly placed under arrest. 
 Moreover, it was of great importance that Longueville 
 should be induced to come out boldly on the side of 
 the Fronde, as, not only would the prestige of his rank 
 strengthen their cause in Paris, but the influence he 
 possessed in Normandy would probably suffice to raise 
 that province, already seething with discontent, against 
 the Government. 
 
314 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 La Rochefoucauld sent his secretary, Gourville,' 
 to Paris to consult with Madame de Longueville, 
 the coadjutor, and the leaders of the belligerent section 
 of the Parlement, as to the best course to adopt ; and, 
 at length, under the pressure of reproaches, and of 
 threats that if he abandoned his allies, they would 
 publish to the world the whole story of his part in the 
 " Treaty of Noisy " and other compromising incidents, 
 the duke yielded to their persuasions. 
 
 It was arranged that at one o'clock in the morning 
 of January 10, Longueville and Conti should meet 
 La Rochefoucauld in the Cour des Cuisines of the 
 chateau, where the last-named would have horses 
 in readiness to enable them to escape • to Paris. 
 La Rochefoucauld was at the rendezvous punctually 
 at the time appointed ; but, though he waited till day- 
 light, neither of the princes appeared. He began to 
 fear that they had been arrested, and that he himself 
 would probably share their fate ; and was already 
 speculating on the very unpleasant consequences which 
 would ensue, when a friend arrived with the news that, 
 finding a favourable opportunity for effecting their 
 escape the previous evening, they had availed them- 
 selves of it and set off for Paris. Greatly relieved, 
 La Rochefoucauld immediately mounted his horse, and, 
 accompanied by the Marquis de Noirmoutier, tool?: the 
 road to the capital.^ 
 
 Although the irresolute Longueville had been 
 
 ' Jean H6rault de Gourville (1625-1703), the author of the 
 Memoires. ' La Rochefoucauld, Memoires. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 315 
 
 persuaded to leave Saint-Germain, Conti experienced no 
 small difficulty in getting him safely to Paris. Before 
 they had gone very far, he began bemoaning his sad fate, 
 expatiating on the dangers of the enterprise to which 
 they had so rashly committed themselves, and finally 
 suggested that they should turn back. " Monsieur," 
 said he, " let us return to the King, and not set fire to 
 all four corners of France, which would undoubtedly 
 happen through this separation." The young prince, 
 however, more amenable to the influence of his sister 
 than was the husband to that of his wife, insisted on 
 their continuing their journey, and bitterly reproached 
 his brother-in-law with his timidity ; and, stung|by his 
 contempt, the duke reluctantly yielded. 
 
 On reaching the Porte Saint-Honor6, they were 
 refused admission by the citizens who guarded the gate ; 
 and it was not until the coadjutor and Broussel arrived 
 on the scene and gave assurances of their fidelity to the 
 popular cause, that they were permitted to enter, and 
 were conducted through the streets to the Hotel de 
 Longueville, amid the acclamations of the people. 
 
 Saint-Germain was in a state of consternation when it 
 became known that the princes had fled, and that La 
 Rochefoucauld had also disappeared. The Dowager 
 Princesse de Conde, who was one of the first to learn 
 what had occurred, was in despair, believing that the 
 Queen might suspect that she had been a party to her 
 son's treason. Without a moment's delay, she hastened 
 to her Majesty's bed-chamber, crying : " Madame, I 
 entreat your pardon ! Place me under arrest ! Throw 
 
3^6 A Princess of Intdgue 
 
 me into prison \ " The Queen, greatly astonished, 
 rose and begged for an explanation, upon which the 
 distracted princess, falling on her knees, exclaimed : 
 " Madame, I am the most unhappy person in the 
 world ; my son, the Prince de Conti, and M. de 
 Longueville have thrown themselves into Paris ! " 
 
 The Queen readily exonerated Madame la Princesse 
 from all blame ; but both she and the Cardinal were 
 greatly alarmed, for, the previous afternoon, Conde 
 himself had left Saint-Germain, saying that he was 
 going to reconnoitre the surrounding country ; and they 
 feared that the flight of the princes was but the first 
 act in a plot of which he was the soul. When the 
 young general reappeared that evening, their relief was 
 great ; and his denunciations of his relatives' treachery, 
 too violent to be counterfeited, removed their last 
 doubts. The Court endeavoured to minimize the 
 importance of this incident ; but the presence of the 
 princes in the ranks of the Frondeurs remained a grave 
 fact. Fortunately, neither of the deserters had left 
 exactly a blank in the royal army. From a military 
 point of view, Conde probably felt that they could 
 well be spared. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 Beginning of the civil war — Decree of the Parlement for the raising 
 of troops for the defence of the city — Conti elected generalissimo 
 of the Frondeurs — Elbeuf, Beaufort, Bouillon, and La Mothe- 
 Houdancourt made generals — Motives of the princes and nobles 
 for joining the movement wholly selfish — Suspicions of the 
 Parisians — Mesdames de Longueville and de Bouillon and their 
 children go to reside at the H6tel de Ville, as hostages for the 
 loyalty of the " generals " to the popular cause — Singular scene 
 related by Retz — Birth of Madame de Longueville's youngest son, 
 Charles Paris d'0rl6ans — The Due de Longueville in Normandy 
 — Hostilities around Paris — Sortie of January 23 — "The First of 
 Corinthians " — Affair of Charenton and death of the Due de 
 Chatillon— La Rochefoucauld wounded- — War of pamphlets and 
 caricatures — Intrigues between the " generals " and Spain— Visit 
 of an envoy from the Archduke Leopold — The Parlement send a 
 deputation to Saint-Germain — Treason of Turenne — Treaty of 
 March 12 — Riot at the Palais de Justice — Preposterous demands 
 of the " generals " — Ratification of the Treaty of Rueil by the 
 Parlement, April i, 1649 — Interview between Madame de 
 Longueville and Anne of Austria at Saint-Germain. 
 
 JN the meanwhile, civil war had begun. The 
 Parlement had answered the royal proclamation 
 banishing it to Montargis by a decree declaring 
 Mazarin " a disturber of the public peace and an 
 enemy of the King and the state," and enjoining him 
 to leave the Court within twenty-four hours, and the 
 kingdom within a week ; and, at the same time, voting 
 that troops should be raised in sufficient numbers to 
 provide for the sustenance and safety of Paris. To 
 
 317 
 
3i8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 defray the necessary expenses, the Parlement levied 
 a tax of 150 livres upon every house a parte 
 cochere, and of thirty livres upon every shop ; and 
 set the first example of self-denial by taxing its own 
 members to the extent of a million livres. An army 
 of some 12,000 men was organised, which included 
 a regiment of horse, furnished by Retz at his own 
 expense, and named after his titular archbishopric of 
 Corinth the " Regiment of Corinthians." In the first 
 encounter with the royal troops, the coadjutor's men 
 sustained an ignominious defeat, upon which the wags 
 of Paris promptly dubbed the combat " the First of 
 Corinthians." 
 
 The next business was the selection of officers. 
 The citizen militia elected Le F6ron, Provost of the 
 Merchants, for their temporary chief, and some of the 
 most prominent members of the Parlement as their 
 colonels ; but when the malcontent nobles crowded 
 into the city, demanding to join in the movement, it 
 was felt that their zeal in the popular cause ought to 
 be rewarded with the principal commands. The Due 
 d'Elbeuf, a needy and ambitious member of the 
 House of Lorraine, went to the Hotel de Ville and 
 made a speech to the municipal authorities which so 
 impressed the city fathers,' that they straightway 
 elected him commander-in-chief, and persuaded the 
 Parlement to ratify their choice. But this exalted 
 
 ^ According to Olivier d'Ormesson, he expressed his regret that he 
 had not more blood in his body, that he might shed the last drop in 
 defence of the liberties of the people. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 319 
 
 position he only held for some forty-eight hours, as, 
 on Conti's arrival, he was compelled, to his intense 
 mortification, to retire in favour of the youthful prince. 
 Conti accordingly became " Generalissimo of the 
 armies of the King under the orders of the Parle- 
 ment ; " Beaufort, who had been acquitted by the 
 Parlement of the charges that had so long hung over 
 him, and who rode through the streets accompanied 
 by the coadjutor chanting his praises, and followed 
 by crowds of admiring women ; Turenne's elder 
 brother, the Due de Bouillon ; the disappointed Elbeuf 
 and the Marechal de la Mothe-Houdancourt were 
 generals under him ; while La Rochefoucauld, the 
 Due de Luynes, and the Marquis de Noirmoutier 
 were appointed lieutenant-generals. All took an oath 
 of loyalty to the Parlement, and banners were dis- 
 tributed to them bearing the device : " Regem nostrum 
 quarimus " (We seek, our King). 
 
 It was a singular group of men to whom the 
 Parisians had chosen to confide their destinies : the 
 Due d'Elbeuf, " a ruined and rapacious Lorrainer, who 
 for ten years," remarks Henri Martin, " had studied 
 the art of war under the banners of the enemies of 
 France ; " the feeble, hunchbacked Conti, whom Retz, 
 in his malicious language, describes as a " a zero, who 
 only multiplied because he was a Prince of the Blood ; " 
 the brave, foolish, hot-headed Beaufort, whose proudest 
 boast was that he had formerly presided over the 
 conferences of a few conspirators as incapable as 
 himself; the Due de Longueville, that unworthy 
 
320 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 descendant of the famous Dunois, who hoped to 
 become by decree of the Parlement a " demi-legitime,'' 
 and who had already taken part in four or five civil 
 wars, without becoming less timorous or less irresolute ; 
 La Rochefoucauld, whom some historians have credited 
 with making war " to merit the heart and please the 
 beaux yeux of Madame de Longueville," but who, as 
 we have seen, was actuated by even less worthy 
 motives ; the Marechal de la Mothe-Houdancourt, 
 eager to avenge the four years' imprisonment which 
 had been the punishment of the incapacity he had 
 displayed in Catalonia ; and, finally, the Due de 
 Bouillon, the true type of the feudal noble, whose 
 idea of patriotism was the aggrandizement of his 
 house, and who, in return for the restoration of his 
 principality of Sedan, torn from him by Richelieu, 
 would have cheerfully delivered the whole of France 
 to Spain. 
 
 With the possible exception of Bouillon, who had 
 inherited some of the ability of the La Tours, there 
 was not one man among them who possessed any 
 real capacity, either in politics or war ; not one who 
 had joined the movement from any disinterested motive, 
 or would have entertained the smallest compunction 
 about deserting his allies, if it were made worth his 
 while. 
 
 The appointments bestowed upon these high-born 
 rebels, however, scarcely harmonized with the demo- 
 cratic spirit which had originated the Fronde ; and 
 a considerable section of the populace saw with 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 3^1 
 
 suspicion all the forces of Paris under the control 
 of the brother of the man who commanded the 
 besiegers. Believing very little, and with good reason, 
 in the patriotism of these princes and nobles, they 
 demanded some guarantee from the men who, they 
 feared, might at any time betray them and make 
 their peace with the Court. It was now that Retz 
 conceived a brilliant idea, in order to appease the 
 people, without whose confidence and support nothing 
 could be effected. Hastening to Madame de Longue- 
 ville, he suggested that she should remove to the 
 Hotel de Ville, and place herself and her children 
 in the hands of the citizens, as hostages for the 
 fidelity of her husband and brother, and persuade 
 the Duchesse de Bouillon to do likewise. The 
 princess, who, if the intoxication of love and ambition 
 had caused her to forget her true duties, still retained 
 all the energy and courage of her race, notwithstanding 
 the delicate condition in which she then was, readily 
 promised to do as he advised ; and, having obtained 
 the permission of their respective husbands, she 
 and the Duchesse de Bouillon drove with their 
 children that same day to the Hotel de Ville, amid 
 transports of enthusiasm. " Only conceive," writes 
 Retz, "these two ladies upon the steps of the 
 Hotel de Ville, all the more beautiful, because they 
 appeared carelessly dressed, though they were not. 
 Each held in her arms one of her children ; and 
 each child was no less beautiful than its mother. 
 The Greve was full, even to the roofs. All the men 
 VOL. I. ^^ 
 
3^2 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 were shouting with joy ; while the women shed tears 
 of emotion." ^ 
 
 The presence among them of Madame de Longue- 
 ville reassured the Parisians ; and sealed, so to speak, 
 the union of the noblesse and the Fronde. All the 
 leaders of the insurrection — nobles, magistrates, and 
 citizens — came to the Hotel de Ville to pay theit* 
 court to her ; she took part in all their deliberations, 
 and nothing of importance was decided upon without 
 her knowledge and approval. The fair supporters of 
 the Fronde made it their rendezvous as well ; and the 
 sight of mail-clad warriors mingling with fashionably- 
 dressed ladies deprived the revolt of all seriousness, 
 and gave to it an air that savoured strongly of the 
 burlesque. Retz relates how, on one occasion, he found 
 in Madame de Longueville' s apartment, the Marquis 
 de Noirmoutier and three other officers in armour, 
 who had just returned in safety frojn a skirmish with 
 the royal troops — or the " Mazarins," as the Fronde 
 preferred to call them — receiving the felicitations of 
 a crowd of admiring ladies. " The mixture of blue 
 scarfs, ladies, cuirasses, fiddlers in the hall, the roll 
 of the drums and the sound of the trumpets in the 
 place outside, presented a spectacle which is seldom 
 met with except in romances. Noirmoutier, who was 
 a great admirer of r As trie, said to me : ' I can only 
 imagine that we are besieged in Marselli.' ' Well, 
 you may,' I replied ; ' Madame de Longueville is as 
 beautiful as Galathee, but Marsillac (La Rochefoucauld) 
 
 ' Memoires. 
 
Eleonor£ Catmerinf. Febronie- de Bep-Gh, 
 
 From a contemporary print. 
 j^LioNORE CATHERINE FEHKONIE DE BERGIT, DUCHESSE DE BOQILLON. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 323 
 
 is not so worthy a man as Lindamor.' I fancy I 
 must have been overheard by some one in a neigh- 
 bouring window, who might have told M. de la 
 Rochefoucauld, for I have never been able to divine 
 any other primary cause for the hatred which he 
 subsequently bore me." ^ 
 
 To complete the picture, on the night of January 
 28, 1649, Madame de Longueville gave birth to 
 her fourth and last child — a son — whom the evil- 
 minded declared, and with too much reason, to be 
 of uncertain paternity. The following morning, the 
 princess sent for the Provost of the Merchants, and 
 begged him to act as godfather to the boy ; while the 
 Duchesse de Bouillon undertook the office of god- 
 mother. The worthy magistrate wished the event to 
 be celebrated with as much solemnity as possible ; and 
 accordingly a procession was formed, composed of 
 the sheriffs, the counsellors, and other civic officials, 
 all arrayed in their robes of office, in which, to the 
 sound of drums and trumpets, the child was carried 
 to the Church of Saint-Jean, where Retz and the cure 
 of the parish were waiting to perform the ceremony. 
 The boy was baptized Charles Paris, " on account of 
 the place in which he was born, in conformity with 
 the custom observed from all time in bestowing on 
 children names suitable to the circumstances and to 
 the accidents of their birth, in order to preserve the 
 
 1 The primary cause of La Rochefoucauld's antipathy to Retz seems 
 to have been the latter's endeavours to supplant the author of the 
 Maximes in the affections of Madame de Longueville. 
 
324 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 memory of them to posterity." ^ The ceremony 
 concluded, the Comte de Saint-Paul, as he was hence- 
 forth styled, was taken by the Marquis de Noirmoutier 
 back to his mother, who sent him in charge of his 
 nurses to the Hotel de Conde, to the great dis- 
 appointment of the city fathers, " who testified their 
 regret at not having been allowed time to invest this 
 event with all the magnificence which was its due." 
 This child of the Fronde, who inherited both the 
 good qualities and the defects of the Condes, was 
 destined to prove a source of pride and mortification 
 to his mother, and to be the cause of her greatest 
 grief, when, in 1672, he fell at the Passage of the 
 Rhine, fighting by the side of his famous uncle, on 
 the very eve of being oflFered the crown of Poland. 
 The Due de Longueville learned of the birth of his 
 son in Normandy, whither he had set out some days 
 previously, with the object of inciting that great 
 province to insurrection. His departure had been 
 preceded by a letter to the Parlement of Rouen, in 
 which he sought to justify his conduct, on the ground 
 that he had found that there was no place for men of 
 moderate views in the King's Council, and that only 
 those who advocated extreme measures were listened to ; 
 for which reason, he felt it incumbent upon him to 
 support the Parlement of Paris, " in order to seek the 
 most suitable means of re-establishing public tran- 
 quillity." He assured them that it was his intention 
 
 ' Bourgoing de Villefore, la Veritable Vie d' Anne-GeneruUve de 
 Bourbon, Duchess e de Longueville. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 325 
 
 " to render to the King and Queen all honour, respect, 
 and fidelity, and to employ, for the preservation of the 
 royal authority and of the State, all his care, and his 
 labour, and, if need be, his blood and his life ; " and he 
 concluded by urging them to follow the example of the 
 capital, and " enjoy the happiness of exalting and 
 strengthening the authority of their young King, and 
 restoring peace and tranquillity to the realm." 
 
 The Parlement of Rouen responded to this in- 
 genious appeal by resolving upon union with the 
 Fronde of Paris. The city shut its gates against the 
 Comte d'Harcourt, who had been sent by the Court 
 to replace the rebellious Longueville as Governor of 
 Normandy ; and the greater part of the province was 
 soon in revolt. The example of Normandy was 
 followed by several other provinces, and the insurrection 
 began to assume formidable dimensions. 
 
 Active hostilities, however, were confined to the 
 neighbourhood of Paris, and even there were carried 
 on in a somewhat desultory manner. Disappointed in 
 their hopes of terrifying the citizens into submission, 
 the Government proceeded to carry out their plan of 
 cutting off supplies ; but the forces at their disposal 
 were insufficient to completely invest the place, and, 
 though some roads were effectually closed, others 
 remained open. Occasional skirmishes took place, but 
 they were for the most part of little importance. On 
 January 23, the " generals " of the Parlement, yielding 
 to the murmurs of the mob, ordered a sortie, and 
 ^ considerable fprce left the city, and tooji; the road 
 
326 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 to Fontainebleau. The royal troops advanced to meet 
 them, and, by a skilful manoeuvre, nearly succeeded in 
 getting between them and Paris ; whereupon, terrified 
 lest their retreat should be cut off, the Frondeurs, after 
 firing a few shots, fell back towards Vitry, where they 
 were disbanded. " We saw the citizens who had 
 marched out the previous evening, to the number of 
 six thousand, return in little troops. They found the 
 roads in a horrible condition, and most of them were 
 worn out. At Juvisy they found no bread, but wine, 
 on which several hundreds got drunk, fell asleep in the 
 ditches, and lost their weapons." ^ 
 
 A week later, there was another sortie, with the 
 object of capturing a position held by the Royalists at 
 Bourg-la-Reine, and opening the road from Orleans 
 to a large convoy which was coming from Beauce. 
 Condd, however, had foreseen this movement, and 
 drove the assailants back in confusion. This was 
 the day of "the First of Corinthians," when the 
 gallant cavaliers enrolled under the banner of the 
 Archbishop of Corinth fled vente-a-terre, without 
 striking a blow. 
 
 A more serious affair took place, on February 8, at 
 Charenton, the only place of importance in the out- 
 skirts of Paris occupied by the troops of the Parlement. 
 It was held by a force mainly composed of soldiers 
 who had deserted from the regular army, under the 
 command of Bertrand de Clanlau, a brave and able 
 officer, who had seen considerable service and attained 
 ' Dubuisson, journal, cited by the Due d'Aumale. 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 327 
 
 the rank of lieutenant-general, but who had been 
 disgraced for some act of misconduct in Flanders. 
 Twenty thousand men were reviewed in the Place- 
 Royale by the " generals " of Paris, and marched forth, 
 with drums beating and colours flying, to the succour 
 of Charenton. But no sooner did these valiant warriors 
 perceive the royal troops preparing to dispute their 
 advance, and learn that Monsieur le Prince himself 
 commanded them, than they beat a precipitate retreat, 
 leaving the defence of the place to Clanlau and his 
 band of deserters. After an obstinate conflict, the en- 
 trenchments were carried, and the defenders, who had 
 refused either to give or receive quarter, slaughtered 
 almost to a man. They sold their lives dearly, how- 
 ever ; and the ill-fated Maurice de Coligny's younger 
 brother, the Due de Chatillon,^ to whom the attack 
 had been entrusted, fell mortally wounded, and expired 
 the following day at Vincennes, whither he had been 
 carried. 
 
 Chatillon was the most experienced of the young 
 lieutenants of Conde, and was on the point of receiving 
 a marshal's baton. The prince was sincerely attached 
 to him, and, though ordinarily but little moved by 
 such fatalities, shed on this occasion tears of genuine 
 emotion. The widowed duchess, the beautiful Isabelle 
 de JMontmorency-Boutteville, received the news with 
 comparative indifi^erence, but, according to Madame de 
 Motteville, " counterfeited grief, after the manner of 
 ladies who love themselves too well to care for any one 
 ' See p. 117, supra. 
 
32 8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 else." She had not, indeed, waited for the death of 
 her husband to establish tender relations with the 
 fascinating Due de Nemours, and was already aspiring 
 to resume over the heart of Cond6 the empire which 
 she had for a brief while exercised in former years. 
 It must be acknowledged, however, that the lady had 
 some excuse for her conduct, as the deceased duke 
 had been far from a faithful husband, and had gone 
 into his last fight with a garter of his lady-love, 
 Mile, de Guerchy, bound round his arm.^ With 
 his death, the male line of the illustrious Admiral 
 became extinct. 
 
 The fall of Charenton created considerable conster- 
 nation in Paris, as that village had been one of the few 
 remaining places of supply. The citizens accused the 
 " generals " of treachery — they had certainly displayed 
 the grossest incapacity — the price of bread, which had 
 hitherto been comparatively low, rose, and a famine 
 was feared. However, the Royalists were not in 
 sufficient force to retain what they had captured, and 
 convoys continued to reach the city in safety. On one 
 occasion, a convoy which was being escorted by a troop 
 of cavalry under the command of Beaufort was attacked, 
 while passing through the village of Vitry, by the 
 Royalists, who, however, were beaten off, and their 
 leader killed. This affair was hailed by the Parisians 
 as "a signal victory, which ought to be ascribed 
 entirely to the valour of the duke ; " and, when that 
 theatrical personage returned to the city, he was escorted 
 ' Mile, de Montpensier, Mimoires, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 329 
 
 in triumph to the Hotel de Ville, amid the acclamations 
 of an immense concourse of people.^ 
 
 La Rochefoucauld was less fortunate than Beaufort. 
 In a skirmish on February 19, his horse was killed 
 under him, and he himself received a somewhat severe 
 wound, which prevented him from taking any further 
 part in the war. No doubt, however, the attentions 
 of Madame de Longueville went far towards consoling 
 him for his enforced inaction. 
 
 If the war was carried on in half-hearted fashion 
 with sword and musket, it was waged with extra- 
 ordinary activity with pen and pencil. A constant 
 stream of pamphlets and brochures, in both prose and 
 verse, called Mazarinades, poured from the printing- 
 presses of the capital, holding up the detested 
 Cardinal to ridicule and odium ; while satirical prints 
 and caricatures abounded. One engraving, entitled 
 " Le salut dans les armes de Paris" represented a ship, 
 covered yixthfleurs-de-lys, sailing on the open sea. On 
 board were the principal chiefs of the Fronde. In the 
 sea, on one side of the vessel, were Mazarin and the 
 farmers of the taxes, endeavouring to overturn it by 
 contrary winds. On the other, was the Mardchal 
 d'Ancre, recognisable by the uplifted anchor with 
 which he was about to harpoon the ship. 
 
 The Court replied with caricatures representing 
 
 "Captain Picard composing a company by himself" — 
 
 evidently intended as a satire on the fraudulent officers 
 
 who reported and drew pay for fifty men when they 
 
 ' La Rochefoucauld, M^moir^s, 
 
33° A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 had not over a dozen under their command — Beaufort, 
 covered with a cock's feathers ; and the bourgeois 
 Monsieur On, with immense ears, posing at his counter 
 as a statesman. In one pasquinade, a colonel of the 
 Paris militia, who had taken for his motto the device of 
 the League : " One God, one faith, one king, one 
 law," is made to exclaim : " We have given orders to 
 our soldiers to wear boot-tops, lest the blood of those 
 whom we shall slay (which will flow in rivulets) should 
 get into their shoes." ^ 
 
 Notwithstanding that supplies continued to reach the 
 city, and that, on the whole, good order was main- 
 tained, the strain of war was beginning to be felt. To 
 supply the needs of the troops, the Parlement was 
 compelled to impose fresh taxes, a step which was 
 strongly resented by the citizens. Many refused to 
 pay them ; and, for fear of the disturbances which might 
 follow, the authorities did not dare to have recourse to 
 forcible methods of obtaining payment, and preferred 
 to supply the deficiency by ordering the confiscation 
 of the property of Mazarin and his partisans. The 
 Cardinal's furniture was accordingly seized and sold, 
 and an inventory made of the contents of his great 
 library, though, for the present, it was spared. 
 
 On the other hand, Mazarin and the Queen were 
 now compelled to recognise that their coup d'etai had 
 failed, and that the task of reducing a great city to 
 submission by starvation bade fair to prove an ex- 
 
 ' A. Feillet, la Misere du Temps de la Fronde. Mr. J. B. Perkins, 
 '' France under Mazarin, " 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 331 
 
 tremely difficult, if not an impossible, one. Moreover, 
 the spirit of revolt in Normandy and several of the 
 Southern provinces was increasing ; and two events 
 which now followed closely upon one another con- 
 vinced them that this " war of chamber-pots and 
 cabbages," as Monsieur le Prince contemptuously 
 styled it, might, ere long, develop into a very serious 
 business indeed. 
 
 On February 19, the Prince de Conti informed the 
 Parlement that an envoy from the Archduke Leopold, 
 the Governor of the Netherlands, requested an 
 audience. Negotiations with the Archduke had been 
 opened by Elbeuf and the coadjutor, with the warm 
 approval of Madame de Longueville, who had 
 experienced little difficulty in persuading Conti to 
 associate himself with them. The Spaniards were, of 
 course, only too ready to assist in fomenting troubles 
 which promised to save them from the necessity of an 
 inglorious peace, and offered the Frondeurs both 
 men and money. The " generals," however, felt that 
 to enter into a treaty with the open enemies of France 
 would be too perilous a step, unless the Parlement 
 would consent to make itself a party to it ; and before, 
 therefore, accepting the offers of the Archduke, de- 
 termined to secure the approval of the magistrates. 
 Retz, it appears, had already sounded some of the 
 judges on the subject of a Spanish alliance, and with 
 unfavourable results ; but it required much to dis- 
 courage that indefatigable intriguer, and he determined 
 to carry the matter through. 
 
332 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 The judges, who, only a few days before, had refused 
 to receive the herald of the King, on the ground that 
 heralds could only pass between equals and enemies, 
 and that the sending of the official in question was 
 a cunning device of Mazarin to lead the Parlement to 
 acknowledge itself the enemy of its sovereign, were much 
 alarmed by Conti's announcement ; and the President 
 de Mesmes inquired if it were possible that a Prince 
 of the Blood could ask a reception upon the fleurs-de- 
 lys for the representative of the most cruel enemy of 
 the fleurs-de-lys. After a somewhat stormy debate, 
 however, a resolution was carried for the reception of 
 the envoy, who was accordingly ushered into the 
 chamber. He was dressed in the uniform of an officer, 
 and announced as Don Jos6 de lUescas, but was, as 
 a matter of fact, " a Bernardine monk disguised as 
 a gentleman." Nor was he a regularly accredited 
 envoy, as he claimed to be, but carried only blank 
 papers bearing his master's signature, which Retz and 
 Bouillon had undertaken to fill up. The proposals 
 made by the envoy were, briefly : that the Parle- 
 ment should interpose for the conclusion of a general 
 peace on reasonable terms, that is to say, on terms 
 far more favourable than Spain could otherwise have 
 dared to hope for ; and that, in the meantime, the 
 Archduke should place at its disposal an army of 
 18,000 men. 
 
 Much to the chagrin of the noble Frondeurs, these 
 offers were listened to with unconcealed apprehension 
 by the more moderate members of the Parlement, 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 333 
 
 many of whom held that they had already gone too 
 far in opposition to the royal authority, and were 
 anxious for a reconciliation with the Court, if such 
 could be secured without prejudice to their interests. 
 Even the younger and more impetuous magistrates, 
 upon whose support Retz could usually count, were 
 disinclined to embark upon so dangerous a course of 
 action, except as a last resource ; and it was finally 
 resolved that the proposals of the Archduke should 
 be reported to Saint-Germain for the Regent's con- 
 sideration, and that, until her pleasure was known, no 
 answer should be returned. To a deputation, at the 
 head of which were M0I6 and de Mesmes, was en- 
 trusted the duty of bearing the decree of the Parlement 
 to the Queen. 
 
 The consternation at Saint-Germain at the news of 
 the visit of the Spanish envoy was profound. " Things 
 have reached such a pass," writes Cond6 to Girard, 
 " that my brother has sent Brequlgny to Brussels to 
 negotiate with the Archduke." " And as if, foreseeing 
 the future," remarks the Due d'Aumale, "he wishes 
 to pronounce his own condemnation, he adds : ' This 
 event has touched me extraordinarily, by the greatness 
 of the evil of having dared to treat with the enemies 
 of Spain at a time of open war.' " ^ 
 
 Hard upon this intelligence, came another incident, 
 of a still more alarming nature for the Court. 
 Turenne, who had made for himself a military re- 
 
 • Letter of March 12, 1649, published by the Due d'Aumale, Histoire 
 des Princes de Conde, 
 
334 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 putation second only to Conde himself, and commanded 
 the French army of Germany, the veterans of almost 
 a dozen years of warfare, formally declared himself for 
 the Fronde and announced his intention of leading 
 his troops to Paris. Turenne had been overwhelmed 
 with favours by the Regent and Mazarin, and his 
 defection has never been satisfactorily explained, for, 
 when questioned upon the matter in later years, he 
 invariably returned evasive answers. Perhaps, he was 
 actuated by sympathy for his brother, the Due de 
 Bouillon, and by the family ambition for the recovery 
 of Sedan. Perhaps, as the Due d'Aumalc suggests, 
 he was instigated by Madame de Longueville, who 
 had cast her spell over him during their meeting on 
 the Rhine in 1646, and had taken care that it should 
 not be broken. Whatever the cause may have been, 
 his intention of marching on Paris, if carried out, must 
 have involved the immediate raising of the blockade. 
 
 The Council issued a decree declaring Turenne 
 guilty of high treason, which was promptly annulled 
 by the Parlement ; but Mazarin and Cond6 took more 
 effectual measures to meet the impending blow. 
 Turenne's army was chiefly composed of German 
 mercenaries, the descendants of the dreaded reiters, 
 who had ravaged France during the Wars of Religion. 
 They were devoted to their leader, but kept a very 
 keen eye on the financial side of their profession. 
 Their pay, as usual, was greatly in arrears, for the 
 Treasury was empty ; and they looked to the Parlement 
 to reward their efforts on its behalf, Turenne made 
 
A Pdncess of Intrigue 335 
 
 them magnificent offers in the name of that body ; 
 while the Cardinal and Cond6 wrote to the officers, 
 imploring them to remain faithful to the cause which 
 they had so long served. The latter intimated that 
 they might be disposed to do so, were it made worth 
 their while. Hervart, a banker of Strasburg, offered 
 to find the money required, if security were forth- 
 coming ; but the Government had none to offer. It 
 was then that Cond6 made a patriotic sacrifice, of which 
 little mention has been made by history. He sent 
 the greater part of his jewels to Strasburg, and 
 immediately the situation of affairs underwent a 
 startling change. The officers were bribed ; the 
 soldiers' arrears were paid ; and the greater part of the 
 army promptly deserted their leader, who, finding him- 
 self abandoned by his troops, retired, with a handful 
 of his followers, to Heilbronn and thence to Holland. 
 
 On March 4, negotiations between the Parlement 
 and the Court had been opened at Rueil. The 
 deputies of the Parlement had refused to confer 
 with Mazarin, as a man condemned to exile ; and 
 the Cardinal once more consented to remain behind 
 the scenes, though of course he treated with his 
 enemies just as effectually as if he had been seated 
 at the same table. The terms proposed by the 
 opposite parties differed so widely that at first little 
 progress was made ; for the Court was anxious to 
 prevent the Parlement from deliberating in future on 
 political questions, and that the insurgents should 
 formally demand pardon of the King; while the 
 
33^ A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Parlement desired a complete indemnity for all and the 
 exclusion of Mazarin from the Ministry. 
 
 While these negotiations were proceeding, the 
 " generals " were deliberating, in the apartment of 
 Madame de Longueville, as to the course to be 
 pursued in regard to Spain. Recognising the hope- 
 lessness of inducing the Parlement to commit itself 
 to their policy, they decided to act independently ; and 
 despatched the Marquis de Noirmoutier, as their 
 agent, to the Netherlands, where he signed a treaty 
 with the Archduke, who immediately prepared to 
 invade Champagne. 
 
 This intelligence, which reached Rueil on March lo, 
 made both parties anxious to come to terms. If we 
 are to believe Retz, Mazarin and the President de 
 Mesmes had a secret conference that same night, 
 when the latter magnanimously oftered at any' cost 
 " to sign a peace to save the State." Anyway, 
 next morning a peace was signed, which left matters 
 very much as they had been before hostilities began. 
 A general amnesty was granted ; the decrees of both 
 Council and Parlement since the beginning of the 
 insurrection were alike annulled ; confiscated property 
 was restored, and prisoners set at liberty ; the Spanish 
 envoy expelled ; while the King confirmed the Declara- 
 tion of October, but, on the other hand, interdicted any 
 general assembly of the chambers during that year, 
 save for the discussion of matters affecting their own 
 procedure and internal regulations. The Treaty said 
 nothing in regard to the malcontent nobles, " for 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 337 
 
 the very simple reason that there was among them no 
 general cause to be satisfied, and that private interests 
 alone demanded attention." ^ 
 
 This treaty, signed on March 12, was not ratified 
 by the Parlement until a month later, and after several 
 alterations had been made in its original terms. In 
 the interval, the Palais de Justice was the theatre 
 of stormy debates and wild disorder. On the 13th, 
 the deputies returned to Paris and presented the 
 Treaty to the Parlement. The " generals," fiarious 
 that no provision had been made for their interests, 
 resolved to use every endeavour to prevent the 
 Parlement from accepting the articles of peace, and 
 now put up Conti to complain that the conditions 
 had been framed without their being consulted. M0I6 
 replied by reproaching the prince with treating with 
 the enemies of France, and plotting " to give the 
 kingdom a prey to foreign Powers." Conti rejoined 
 that he had not taken this step without the consent 
 of some members of the Parlement. " Name them ! " 
 cried the old president ; " name them, and we will 
 proceed against them as criminals guilty of treason ! " 
 And the applause which greeted these words showed 
 how little justification there was for Conti's assertion. 
 
 Meanwhile, an infuriated mob, incited by the 
 " generals," had surrounded the palace and filled the 
 great hall, shouting : " No peace ! No Mazarin ! " and 
 demanding that " la grande barbe" as they designated 
 M0I6, should be given up to them. So threatening 
 1 Victor Cousin, lajeunesse de Madame de Longueville. 
 
 VOL. I. 22 
 
3J8 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 was the attitude of the populace, that, when the 
 assembly adjourned, the First President was advised 
 to go out through the Record Office, by which he could 
 gain his house without being seen. But M0I6, "who 
 had displayed the most extraordinary intrepidity,"^ 
 declined to avail himself of this means of escape. 
 " This Court never hides itself," said he ; " they 
 would seek me at home, if they thought I feared them ' 
 here." And, escorted by Retz and Beaufort, whom 
 the old man's courage had shamed into according 
 him their protection, he went out by the grand stair- 
 case, and passed unmolested through the crowd. 
 
 Deliberations on the Treaty were renewed on the 
 15th ; the article which forbade the sessions of the 
 Parlement being attacked by Broussel ; while Retz 
 complained that the Treaty had failed to deliver the 
 public from the man who had been declared the 
 enemy of the State ; and the " generals " desired that 
 their interests should be safeguarded. After a lengthy 
 discussion, it was decided that the deputies should 
 return to Saint-Germain, in order to obtain the 
 revocation of the articles objected to, and to treat 
 of the interests of the "generals." But the latter 
 failed in their efforts to induce the Parlement to make 
 their claims an essential condition of peace.^ 
 
 ' Retz. 
 
 * The Parlement, and the majority of respectable citizens, had now 
 become extremely suspicious, not only of the motives, but even of 
 the honesty of the "generals." Gui Patin, in a letter of March 15, 
 1649, accuses them of having pocketed a considerable portion of the 
 money raised for the payment of the troops under their command, 
 with which they had " paid their debts and purchased silver plate." 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 339 
 
 In accordance with this resolution, the deputies, 
 on March 16, returned to Rueil, and, on the 17th, 
 proceeded to Saint-Germain. The " generals " had 
 each submitted separate statements of their demands ; 
 and several of them, apprehensive of the goodwill 
 of the deputies, conducted private negotiations on 
 their own behalf. To their intense mortification, 
 Mold maliciously caused these demands to be made 
 public, and the true character of the men whose 
 profession of disinterestedness had so long deluded 
 them was thus revealed to the citizens. 
 
 No more striking example, indeed, of the selfish- 
 ness and rapacity of the old French nobility can be 
 found in history than the list of honours and emolu- 
 ments demanded by these high-born insurgents in 
 return for consenting to lay down their arms. Even 
 those of inferior rank appeared to imagine themselves 
 entitled to rewards which would have been large if 
 demanded by a Prince of the Blood. Conti asked for 
 a seat in the Council, although he was still a mere boy, 
 and the command of a fortress in his government of 
 Champagne, with the idea of converting that province 
 into a sort of independent principality. He also, 
 at Madame de Longueville's instigation, warmly sup- 
 ported the demands of La Rochefoucauld, which 
 included the reversion of his father's government 
 of Poitou, the command of the Fusiliers, with a salary 
 of 18,000 livres, and a tabouret for his wife ; and 
 desired that the Marquis de Noirmoutier, who was at 
 that moment actually with the Spanish army, should be 
 
34° A Princess of Intrigue? 
 
 recompensed for his treason by being created a duke ! 
 Longueville wanted the government of the Pont-de- 
 I'Arche, with reversion to his children. The Due 
 de la Tr6mouille, in return for having incited three 
 provinces to revolt, asked for the rank of prince, two 
 counties, a barony, and a seigneurie. Bouillon wanted 
 9,000,000 livres, as compensation for the loss of Sedan, 
 and the re-establishment of his brother Turenne in all 
 his offices and dignities, plus the governments of 
 Alsace and Philippsburg ; the Comte de Maure, the 
 victim of countless epigrams, the cordon bleu, the 
 lieutenancy of the King in The Three Bishop- 
 rics, and the annulling of the sentence in virtue 
 of which his uncle, the Marechal de Maurillac, had 
 been executed for peculation, in 1632 ;^ Elbeuf, the 
 payment of large sums which he asserted were due to 
 himself and his wife ; Beaufort, the Admiralty and the 
 government of Brittany ; and so forth. 
 
 In order to preserve their dignity in some degree, 
 the " generals " announced that, if the Queen would 
 consent to the dismissal of Mazarin, who was the 
 source of all the evils which afflicted the realm, they, on 
 their side, would be prepared to abandon their claims. 
 But this offer, as they had of course foreseen, was 
 rejected with indignation. The demand of the Parle- 
 ment for the modification gf the Treaty, coupled with 
 
 ' " Peculation ! " exclaimed the marechal, when his sentence 
 was communicated to him; "a man of my quality condemned to 
 death for peculation ! I have been tried for hay and straw. There 
 was not enough to flog a lackey ! " 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 341 
 
 the claims of the "generals," prolonged the negotia- 
 tions for nearly a fortnight. But the situation was 
 critical. The Archduke had already entered France 
 and advanced as far as Pontavert on the Aisne, which 
 had surrendered to him ; and it was imperative to 
 terminate the civil war as speedily as possible, in order 
 to oppose the invader whom Retz and his friends had 
 called to their aid. On March 30, the Government 
 yielded on the question of the assembling of the 
 Chambers for the discussion of political questions 
 during the remainder of that year, and on some minor 
 points ; and the deputies, satisfied with these concessions, 
 returned to Paris, and on the following day presented 
 the treaty to the Parlement for ratification. The 
 " generals," who had received an abundance of fair 
 words, but little else, endeavoured to intimidate the 
 judges by stirring up the mob, and the streets were filled 
 with men crying : " No peace ! No Mazarin ! " Mole, 
 however, took energetic measures to guard against any 
 recurrence of the tumult of March 13, and, as early 
 as four o'clock in the morning, the court of the 
 Palais de Justice was occupied by several companies 
 of the citizen militia. Under their protection, the 
 Parlement sat undisturbed, and, in spite of the pro- 
 tests of the "generals," the articles of peace were 
 duly registered, and the first act of the Fronde was 
 at end. 
 
 The Prince de Conti was the first of the rebel 
 leaders who went to Saint-Germain to salute the 
 
342 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 Queen. He was presented by Cond6, who made him 
 embrace Mazarin, after which the late generalissimo 
 of the Fronde presented the Due de Bouillon, La Roche- 
 foucauld, and several others. A few days later, the 
 Due de Longueville arrived from Normandy, with a 
 numerous suite. Every one gathered round the Queen 
 to hear what he would say ; but the duke was so 
 much embarrassed, that the gift of speech seemed 
 entirely to have deserted him. He kissed her Majesty's 
 hand, turned very pale, then very red, and finally 
 bowed himself away, without uttering a syllable. 
 
 After her husband's visit to Saint-Germain, Madame 
 de Longueville felt that she could no longer delay 
 making her own submission. But she did it in the 
 haughtiest manner possible, appointing her own time, 
 as if she had been a foreign sovereign, and even 
 having the presumption to keep the Queen waiting ; 
 all of which did not fail to strengthen the aversion 
 which Anne of Austria had now conceived for her. 
 We will allow Madame de Motteville, who was 
 present at the interview, to relate the scene in her 
 own words : 
 
 " Madame de Longueville and her step-daughter, 
 Mile, de Longueville, also appeared at Court. The 
 latter had been, like the rest, a great Frondeuse, but 
 she was virtuous and very intelligent, and was pardoned 
 for having embraced her father's sentiments. When 
 these princesses arrived, the Queen was in bed, resting 
 after her fatigues. I had the honour of being alone 
 with her, and at the moment she was speaking to me 
 
A Princess of Intrigue 343 
 
 of the embarrassment which the Due de Longueville 
 had shown in saluting her. Learning that Madame 
 de Longueville was about to enter, I rose — for I was 
 on my knees by the bed — and placed myself beside the 
 Queen, resolved not to leave, but to ascertain whether 
 the princess, always so witty, would be more eloquent 
 than the prince, her husband. As she was naturally 
 timid, with a tendency to blush, all her skill could 
 not save her from embarrassment when she approached 
 the Queen. I was sufficiently near these two illustrious 
 persons to hear what they said ; but I heard nothing 
 except ' Madame,' and a few words uttered in so 
 low a tone that the Queen, who was listening at- 
 tentively, could not comprehend them. Mile, de 
 Longueville, after her step-mother had made her 
 obeisance, contented herself with kissing the Queen's 
 sheet, without opening her lips. They then seated 
 themselves on the chairs which were brought to them, 
 and seemed very glad when I began the conversation, 
 by inquiring of Madame de Longueville at what hour 
 she had left Paris — since it was not then two o'clock 
 in the afternoon — and, to relieve their evident em- 
 barrassment, I enlarged upon this rapid journey. This 
 conversation, in which matters of no importance alone 
 were mentioned, and the fact that the whole visit 
 was marked by extreme formality, ' served but to 
 increase the Queen's resentment against the princess, 
 who, inasmuch as she made no effort to please her, 
 only displeased her. It, moreover, confirmed Madame 
 de Longueville in the evil intentions she cherished 
 
344 A Princess of Intrigue 
 
 in her heart against the Queen. Because, where ill- 
 will exists, and those who dislike each other fail to 
 come to an understanding on the matters they have 
 mutually to complain of, silence increases enmity and 
 prevents it ever coming to an end." 
 
 END OF VOLUME I 
 
 Printed by Haaell, Watson &■ Viney, Ld., London and AyUsbwy, England.