, .p.w» n i i w m m 
 
 
 TtgamingmnM iiui wii . ii in ii 
 
 
'ism h- 
 
 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028186421 
 
Cornell University Library 
 DC 130.R44A2 1896 
 
 Memoirs of the Cardinal de Retz 
 
 3 1924 028 186 421 
 
Uniform with the present volume : 
 
 " Historical and Secret Memoirs of the 
 Empress Josephine." 2 vols. 
 
 " Memoirs of Marmontel." 2 vols. 
 
 " Memoirs of C. M. Talleyrand de Perigord." 
 2 vols. 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 a — 2 
 
Edition strictly limited to 500 copies. 
 
 Five extra copies have been printed on Japanese vellum, hit 
 are not offered for sale. 
 
l'AII'<'Ii)!IRA!l, 11^ IK 11-^ 'I''."!'/ 
 
 !•' J RNKlNf. HF.LinO. PAHir. 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OI' THE 
 
 CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 CONTAINING ALL THE GREAT EVENTS DURING 
 
 THE MINORITY OF 
 
 LOUIS XIV. 
 
 AND ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 CARDINAL MAZARIN 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH 
 
 • • • 
 
 « • • 
 
 • < • 
 
 • « « * , 
 
 • • • * 
 
 • • • • 
 
 LONDON 
 H. S. NICHOLS 
 
 3 SOHO SQUARE a.nu 62A PICCADILLY VV. 
 
 MDCCCXCVI 
 
Printed and Published by 
 
 H. b. NICHOLS, 
 AT 3 bOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W, 
 
PUBLISHER'S NOTE 
 
 This issue of the Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz 
 is the fourth in the " Historic Memoir Series." 
 Cardinal de Retz's Memoirs have been accorded 
 unstinted praise by men of all shades of opinion, 
 Voltaire and S. Beuve writing favourably of them. 
 It would be difficult to imagine a man possessed of 
 a more restless nature than the subject of these 
 Memoirs, though, at the same time, he was ever 
 found ready for whatever should befall him. It is 
 interesting to the student of history to compare the 
 state of France during the years covered by these 
 Memoirs, with the comparative calm which settled 
 upon the kingdom after Louis XIV. took the reins 
 of power in his own hands. Cardinal Mazarin is 
 one of the principal characters introduced into these 
 Memoirs, and of course is not spared. This issue 
 is reprinted from a translation dated 1723. The 
 Memoirs of Madame du Barri, in 4 vols., will be 
 the next issue of this Series. 
 
 London, January, i8g6. 
 
ORIGINAL PREFACE 
 
 Our Author, John Francis Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de 
 Retz, Sovereign of Commercy, Prince of Euville, second 
 Archbishop of Paris, Abbot of St. Denis in France, was 
 born at Montmirail, in Brie, in October, 1614. 
 
 His father was Philip Emanuel de Gondi, Count de 
 Joigni, General of the Galleys of France and Knight 
 of the King's Orders ; and his mother was Frances 
 Margaret, daughter of the Count of Rochepot, Knight 
 of the King's Orders, and of Mary de Lannoy, Sovereign 
 of Commercy and Euville. 
 
 Peter de Gondi, Duke of Retz, was his brother, 
 whose daughter was the Duchess de Lesdiguieres. 
 
 His grandfather was Albert de Gondi, Duke of Retz, 
 Marquis of Belle Isle, a Peer of France, Marshal and 
 General of the Galleys, Colonel of the French Horse, 
 First Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and Great Cham- 
 berlain to the Kings Charles IX. and Henry III. 
 
 This history was first printed in Paris in 1705, at 
 the expense of the Duchess de Lesdiguieres, the last of 
 this noble family, whose estate fell after her decease to 
 that of Villeroy. 
 
X ORIGINAL PREFACE 
 
 His preceptor was the famous Vincent de Paul, 
 Almoner to Queen Anne of Austria. 
 
 In 1627 he was made a Canon of the Cathedral of 
 Paris by his uncle John Francis de Gondi, first Arch- 
 bishop of that city, and was not long after created a 
 Doctor of the Sorbonne. 
 
 In 1643 he was appointed Coadjutor of the Arch- 
 bishopric of Paris, with the title of Archbishop of Corinth, 
 during which, such was his pastoral vigilance, that the 
 most important affairs of the Church were committed 
 to his care. 
 
 As to his general character, if we take it from his 
 own Memoirs, he had such a presence of mind, and so 
 dexterously improved all opportunities which fortune pre- 
 sented to him, that it seemed as if he had foreseen or 
 desired them. He knew how to put a good gloss upon 
 his failings, and oftentimes verily believed he was really 
 the man which he affected to be only in appearance. 
 He was a man of bright parts, but no conduct, being 
 violent and inconstant in his intrigues of love as well 
 as those of politics, and so indiscreet as to boast of 
 his successful amours with certain ladies whom he ought 
 not to have named. He affected pomp and splendour, 
 though his profession demanded simplicity and humility. 
 He was continually shifting parties, being a loyal subject 
 one day and the next a rebel, one time a sworn enemy 
 to the Prime Minister, and by-and-by his zealous friend ; 
 always aiming to make himself formidable or necessary. 
 As a pastor he had engrossed the love and confidence 
 of the people, and as a statesman he artfully played 
 them off" against their Sovereign. He studied characters 
 
ORIGINAL PREFACE XI 
 
 thoroughly, and no man painted them in truer colours 
 more to his own purpose. Sometimes he confesses his 
 weaknesses, and at other times betrays his self-flattery. 
 
 It being his fate to be imprisoned by Mazarin, first 
 at Vincennes and then at Nantes, he made his escape 
 to Rome, and in 1656 retired to Franche Comte, where 
 Cardinal Mazarin gave orders for his being arrested ; 
 upon which he posted to Switzerland, and from thence 
 to Constance, Strasburg, Ulm, Augsburg, Frankfort and 
 Cologne, to which latter place Mazarin sent men to take 
 him dead or alive ; whereupon he retired to Holland, 
 and made a trip from one town to another till 1661, 
 when, Cardinal Mazarin dying, our Cardinal went as far 
 as Valenciennes on his way to Paris, but was not suf- 
 fered to come further ; for the King and Queen - Mother 
 would not be be satisfied without his resignation of the 
 Archbishopric of Paris, to which he at last submitted 
 upon advantageous terms for himself and an amnesty 
 for all his adherents. But still the Court carried it so 
 severely to the Cardinal that they would not let him 
 go and pay his last devoirs to his father when on his 
 dying bed. At length, however, after abundance of 
 solicitation, he had leave to go and wait upon the King 
 and Queen, who, on the death of Pope Alexander VII., 
 sent him to Rome to assist at the election of his 
 successor. 
 
 No wonder that our King Charles II. promised to 
 intercede for the Cardinal's re-establishment ; for when 
 the Royal Family was starving, as it were, in their exile 
 at Paris, De Retz did more for them than all the French 
 Court put together ; and, upon the King's promise to 
 
Xll ORIGINAL PREFACE 
 
 take the Roman Catholics of England under his pro- 
 tection after his restoration, he sent an abbot to Rome 
 to solicit the Pope to lend him money, and to dispose 
 the English Catholics in his favour. 
 
 He would fain have returned his hat to the new- 
 Pope, but His Holiness, at the solicitation of Louis XIV., 
 ordered him to keep it. After this he chose a total 
 retirement, lived with exemplary piety, considerably re- 
 trenched his expenses, and hardly allowed himself com- 
 mon necessaries in order to save money to pay off a 
 debt of three millions, which he had the happiness to 
 discharge, and to balance all accounts with the world 
 before his death, which happened at Paris on the 24th 
 of August, 1679, in the 65th year of his age. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Author's impartiality in writing these Memoirs — Cardinal de 
 Retz descended of an Italian family, and his birth ushered into 
 the world by a pretended prodigy— Character of his own father i 
 
 His intrigues with Mademoiselle de Retz — Cardinal de Richelieu's 
 
 intrigues c 
 
 De Retz's method of study, and his disputing in the Sorbonne S 
 
 Out of favour with Richelieu — His behaviour in Rome — His in- 
 trigues with Madame de Guimenee— A design to massacre 
 Richelieu ii 
 
 The Cardinal made popular by distributing money amongst the 
 
 poor ... 27 
 
 Count de Soissons killed — De Retz prosecutes his studies — His 
 
 dispute with M. de Mestrezat, d, Protestant minister 30 
 
 A night apparition described, and M. de Turenne's behaviour . 35 
 
 De Retz hated by Richelieu — His intrigues with a pinmaker's 
 
 daughter — He aims at the Coadjutorship of Paris 37 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 His resolutions to go on in wicked courses — Duke de Beaufort 
 arrested — Two vast designs formed by Richelieu — Mazarin's 
 affected humility . 44 
 
 De Retz visits the nunneries — His designed reformation of the 
 clergy — Cardinal Mazarin's ignorance — De Retz beloved by 
 the Parisians, and therefore hated by Mazarin 51 
 
 Mazarin ignorant of the affairs of France — France formerly a free 
 
 nation — Tyranny introduced, and when 61 
 
 Richelieu's character, and that of Mazarin — The Queen forms a 
 
 design of arresting the Parliament — Paris in an uproar 67 
 
 Broussel, the people's favourite, set at liberty, and Cardinal de 
 Retz opposes the insurrection, and yet accused as if he had 
 raised it . 82 
 
 He concerts measures against the Court — Paris again in arms for 
 Broussel's imprisonment — A faction without a head sometimes 
 dangerous 87 
 
XIV CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The King carried out of Paris — A decree forbidding foreigners to 
 meddle with the Government — De Retz treats with the 
 Spaniards . 94 
 
 Mazarin outwitted by the Prince de Conde — De Retz refused a 
 present from the Queen and the Government of Paris, and 
 why — Prince de Conde disgusted at the inconstancy of the 
 ^ Parliament 99 
 
 A remarkable speech of De Retz . . 103 
 
 The imperfections of the Prince de Conde — He engages the Parlia- 
 ment in a civil war — Duke d'Elbeuf defeated in his designs 
 by De Retz 108 
 
 Characters of the heads of the faction — Duke de Beaufort makes 
 
 his escape out of prison, and is useful to De Retz . . 123 
 
 The Queen of England reduced to low circumstances, and relieved 
 
 by Cardinal de Retz . 132 
 
 The troops of De Retz's faction march out of Paris — Treaty of 
 
 peace . . -153 
 
 Duke de Bouillon would call in the Spaniards — M. de Turenne 
 
 declares against the Court — Treaty signed with the Spaniards 157 
 
 A decree issued by the Court against M. de Turenne, and annulled 
 by the Parliament — Duke de Longueville comes to the assist- 
 ance of the Parisians with 10,000 men— The peace signed — 
 The general protest against the peace r68 
 
 M. de Turenne abandons the party — De Retz's speech at the 
 Peace of Ruel — The Parliament move by their deputies for the 
 expulsion of Mazarin, which the Court refuses — Amnesty 
 granted — Paris once more in an uproar . . , .176 
 
 The term "Fronde" explained — The protection of the King of 
 
 Spain rejected by De Retz 185 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 Ballads against Mazarin, and De Retz refuses to visit him though 
 desired by the Queen — The Court returns to Paris, and the 
 faction continues — Prince de Conde disgusted at Mazarin's 
 insolence — An instance of the force of jealousy 1S8 
 
 The Prince de Conde is reconciled to Mazarin — Duke de Beaufort a 
 platonic lover — The Frondeurs accused of a design of massacring 
 the Prince de Conde — The cures of Paris very serviceable 
 to De Retz . . 193 
 
 Members of Parliament ready to massacre one another — -De Retz 
 has a private conference with the Queen, who offers him 
 the Cardinal dignity 200 
 
CONTENTS XV 
 
 PACE 
 
 Prince de Conde confined — The war breaks out in Guienne . 204 
 
 King Charles, after the battle of Worcester, arrives at Paris, and 
 Vere from Cromwell at the same time — Mazarin insolent after 
 the Peace of Guienne — De Retz acknowledges the greatest 
 indiscretion that he had ever been guilty of in all his life 215 
 
 M. d'Aumale designed to murder Cardinal de Retz — 2,000 Spaniards 
 killed, and 4,000 prisoners^The Court petitioned that the 
 Prince might be set at liberty — Mazarin compares Duke de 
 Beaufort and Cardinal de Retz to Cromwell and Fairfax 224 
 
 Duke d' Orleans will never come to the Royal Palace while Mazarin 
 is there — Mazarin compares the Parliament of Paris to the 
 Rump in England — Mazarin escapes out of Paris in disguise 232 
 
 The Princes set at liberty — Broussel for excluding all Cardinals 
 out of the Ministry — Cardinal de Retz retires to a cloister — 
 Mazarin recommends Cardinal de Retz to the Queen 240 
 
 The Queen could not prevail with Cardinal de Retz to be recon- 
 ciled with Mazarin — The Prince de Conde, for affronting 
 Madame de Chevreuse, is obliged to make reparation . 245 
 
 The Queen resolved to massacre the Prince de Conde — Cardinal 
 
 de Retz's contest with the Prince de Conde in the Parliament 254 
 
 Cardinal de Retz in danger of being strangled in the Parliament 
 House by M. de la Rochefoucault — The Queen's imperfec- 
 tions — Cromwell was wont to say that none despised him but 
 Cardinal de Retz 257 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 Mazarin's return to France — A price to be set on Mazarin 's head 
 
 — De Retz made Cardinal, 1652 266 
 
 An argument of Cardinal de Retz's modesty — The Parliament 
 removed — Fontenay's speech— De Retz goes to Court, and 
 receives the Cardinal's Cap from the King's hand — His speech 
 to the Duke d'Orleans . . . . 272 
 
 The Court offers the Cardinal terms of reconciliation — De Retz 
 
 arrested . . 28S 
 
 Cardinal Mazarin's splendid return to Paris — Bellievre's speech to 
 
 Cardinal de Retz — Cardinal de Retz makes his escape 293 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 ' Cardinal de Retz arrives at Rome — Cardinal Chigi's speech to 
 
 De Retz 300 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OV THE 
 
 CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 Madam, — Though I have a natural aversion to gi\e 
 you the history of my own hfe, which has been chequered 
 with such a variety of different ad^-entures, yet I had 
 rather sacrifice my reputation to the commands of a 
 lady for whom 1 have so peculiar a regard than not 
 disclose the most secret springs of my actions and the 
 inmost recesses of my soul. 
 
 By the caprice of fortune many mistakes of mine have 
 turned to my credit, and I very much doubt whether it 
 would be prudent in me to remove the veil wdth which 
 some of them are covered. But as I am resolved to give 
 you a naked, impartial account of even the most minute 
 passages of my life ever since I have been capable of 
 rejection, so I most humbly beg you not to be surprised 
 at the little art, or, rather, great disorder, with which I 
 write my narrati\e, but to consider that though the di\'er- 
 sity of incidents may sometimes break the thread of the 
 history, yet I will tell you nothing but with all that sin- 
 cerity which the regard I have for you demands. And to 
 convince you further that I will neither add to nor diminish 
 
 I 
 
2 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 from the plain truth, I shall set my name in the front of 
 the work. 
 
 False glory and false modesty are the two rocks on 
 which men who have written their own lives have generally 
 split, but which Thuanus among the moderns and Cs'sar 
 among the ancients happily escaped. I doubt not you 
 will do me the justice to believe that I do not pretend to 
 compare myself with those great writers in any respect 
 but sincerity — a \irtue in which we are not only per- 
 mitted, but commanded, to rival the greatest heroes. 
 
 I am descended from a family illustrious in France 
 and ancient in Italy, and born upon a day remarkable 
 for the taking of a monstrous sturgeon in a small river 
 that runs through the country of Montmirail, in Brie, the 
 place of my nativity. 
 
 I am not so vain as to be proud of having it thought 
 that I was ushered into the world with a prodigy or a 
 miracle, and I should never have mentioned this trifling 
 circumstance had it not been for some libels since pub- 
 lished by my enemies, wherein they affect to make the 
 said sturgeon a presage of the future commotions in this 
 kingdom, and me the chief author of them. 
 
 I beg leave to make a short reflection on the nature of 
 the mind of man. I believe there never was a more honest 
 soul in the world than my father's ; I might say his temper 
 was the very essence of virtue. For though he saw I was 
 too much inclined to duels and gallantry ever to make a 
 figure as an ecclesiastic, yet his great love for his eldest 
 son^ — not the view of the Archbishopric of Paris, which 
 was then in his family — made him resolve to devote me 
 to the service of the Church. For he was so conscious 
 of his reasons, that I could even swear he would have 
 protested from the very bottom of his heart that he had 
 no other motive than the apprehension of the dangers to 
 Avhich a contrary profession might expose my soul. So 
 
CARDINAL DE RET2 3 
 
 true it is that nothing is so subject to delusion as piety : 
 all sorts of errors creep in and hide themselves under 
 that veil ; it gives a sanction to all the turns of imagi- 
 nation, and the honesty of the intention is not sufficient 
 to guard against it. In a word, after all I have told you, 
 I turned priest, though it would have been long enough 
 hrst had it not been for the following accident. 
 
 The Duke de Retz, head of our family, broke at that 
 time, by the King's order, the marriage treaty concluded 
 some years before between the Duke de Mercttur ^ and 
 his daughter, and next day came to my father and 
 agreeably surprised hini by telling him he was resolved 
 to give her to his cousin to reunite the faniily. 
 
 As I knew she had a sister worth above 80,000 livres 
 a year, I, that very instant, thought of a double match. 
 I had no hopes they would think of me, knowing how 
 things stood, so I Avas resolved to provide for myself. 
 
 Having got a hint that my father did not intend to 
 carry me to the wedding, as, foreseeing, it may be, what 
 happened, I pretended to be better pleased with my pro- 
 fession, to be touched by what my father had so olten 
 laid before me on that subject, and I acted my part so 
 well that they believed I was quite another man. 
 
 ^ly father resolved to carry me into Brittany, for the 
 reason that I had shown no inclination that way. We 
 found Mademoiselle de Retz at Beaupreau, in Anjou. I 
 looked on the eldest only as my sister, but immediately 
 considered Mademoiselle de Scepaux (so the youngest 
 was called) as my mistress. 
 
 I thought her very handsome, her complexion the 
 most charming in the world, lilies and roses in abund- 
 ance, admirable eyes, a very pretty mouth, and what 
 
 I Louis, Duke de jMercccur, since Cardinal de Vend(jme, father 
 of the Duke de Vendume, and Grand Prior, died 1669. 
 
 I — 2 
 
4 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 she wanted in stature was abundantly made up by the 
 prospect of 80,000 livres a year and of the Duchy of 
 Beaupreau, and by a thousand chimeras which I formed 
 on these real foundations. 
 
 I played my game nicely from the beginning, and 
 acted the ecclesiastic and the devotee both in the journey 
 and during my stay there ; nevertheless, I paid my sighs 
 to the fair one — she perceived it. I spoke at last, and 
 she heard me, but not with that complacency which I 
 could have wished. 
 
 But observing she had a great kindness for an old 
 chambermaid, sister to one of my monks of Buzai, I did 
 all I could to gain her, and by the means of a hundred 
 pistoles down, and vast promises, I succeeded. She made 
 her mistress believe that she was designed for a nunnery, 
 and I, for my part, told her that I was doomed to no- 
 thing less than a monastery. She could not endure her 
 sister because she was her father's darling, and I was 
 not over fond of my brother^ for the same reason. This 
 resemblance in our fortunes contributed much to the 
 uniting of our affections, which I persuaded myself were 
 reciprocal, and I resolved to carry her to Holland. 
 
 Indeed, there was nothing more easy, for Machecoul, 
 whither we were come from Beaupreau, was no more than 
 half a league from the sea. But money was the only thing 
 wanting, for my treasury was so drained by the gift of the 
 hundred pistoles above-mentioned that I had not a sou 
 left. But I found a supply by teUing my father that, as 
 the farming of my abbeys was taxed with the utmost 
 rigour of the law, so I thought myself obliged in con- 
 science to take the administration of them into my own 
 hands. This proposal, though not pleasing, could not be 
 rejected, both because it was regular and because it made 
 
 I Peter de Gondi, Duke de Retz, who died in 1C7G. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 him in some measure believe that I would not fail to keep 
 my benefices, since I was willing to take care of them. 
 I went the next day to let Buzai,^ which is but five leai,mes 
 from xMachecoul. I treated with a Nantes merchant, whose 
 name was Jucatieres, who took advantage of my eagerness, 
 and for 4,000 crowns ready money got a bargain that made 
 his fortune. I thought I had 4,000,000, and was just 
 securing one of the Dutch pinks, which are always in the 
 road of Retz, when the following accident happened, Avhich 
 broke all my measures. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Retz (for she had taken that name 
 after her sister's marriage) had the finest eyes in the vrorld, 
 and they never were so beautiful as when she was lan- 
 guishing in lov^e, the charms of which I never yet saw 
 equalled. We happened to dine at a lady's house, a league 
 from Machecoul, where ^lademoiselle de Retz, looking in 
 the glass at an assembly of ladies, displayed all those 
 tender, lively, moving airs which the Italians call jiiov- 
 bidcrjz'a, or the lover's languish. But unfortunately she 
 was not aware that Palluau,"-^ since Marshal de Cleram- 
 baut, was behind her, who observed her airs, and being 
 very much attached to Madame de Retz, with whom he 
 had in her tender years been very familiar, told her faith- 
 fully what he had observed. 
 
 Madame de Retz, who mortally hated her sister, dis- 
 closed it that very night to her father, who did not fail 
 to impart it to mine. The next morning, at the arri\al 
 of the post from Paris, all was in a hurry, my father pre- 
 tending to have received very pressing news ; and, after 
 our taking a slight though public leave of the ladies, my 
 father carried me to sleep that night at Nantes. I w^as, as 
 
 1 One of his abbeys. 
 
 2 Philip de Clerambaut, Count de Palluau, died the 24th of Jul>', 
 16G5, aged 59 years. 
 
6 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 you may imagine, under very great surprise and concern ; 
 for I could not guess the cause of this sudden de- 
 parture. I had nothing to reproach myself with upon the 
 score of my conduct ; neither had I the least suspicion 
 that Palluau had seen anything more than ordinary till 
 I arrived at Orleans, where the matter was cleared up, 
 for my brother, to prevent my escape, which I vainly 
 attempted several times on my journey, seized my strong 
 box, in which was my money, and then I understood that 
 I was betrayed — in what grief, then, I arrived at Paris I 
 leave you to imagine. 
 
 I found there Equilli, Vasse's uncle, and my first cousin, 
 who, I daresay, was one of the most honest men of his 
 time, and loved me from his very soul. I apprised him of 
 my design to run away with Mademoiselle de Retz. He 
 heartily approved of my project, not only because it would 
 be a very advantageous match for me, but because he 
 Avas persuaded that a double alliance w^as necessary to 
 secure the establishment of the family. 
 
 The Cardinal de Richelieu'- (then Prime Minister) mor- 
 tally hated the Princess de Guimenee, because he was 
 persuaded she had crossed his amours with the Oueen,'^ 
 and had a hand in the trick played him by Madame du 
 Fargis, one of the Queen's dressing-women, who showed 
 Her Majesty (Mary de Medicis) a love-letter written by 
 His Eminence to the Queen, her daughter-in-law. The 
 Cardinal pushed his resentment so far that he attempted 
 to force the Marshal de Breze, his brother-in-law, and 
 captain of the King's Life-guards, to expose Madame de 
 Guimenee's letters, which were found in M. de Montmo- 
 
 1 Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal de Richelieu, was born in 
 1585, and died in 1G42. 
 
 2 Anne of Austria, eldest daughter of Philip III., King of Spain, 
 and wife of Louis XIII., died iGGG. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 7 
 
 rency's^ coffer when he was arrested at Chateau Naudari. 
 But the Marshal de Breze had so much honour and 
 •generosity as to return them to Madame de Guimenee. 
 He was nevertheless a very extravagant gentleman ; but 
 the Cardinal de Richelieu, perceiving he had been formerly 
 honoured by some kind of relation to him, and dreading 
 his angry excursions and preachments before the King, 
 who had some consideration for his person, bore with 
 him very patiently for the sake of settling peace in his 
 own family, which he passionately longed to unite and 
 establish, but which was the only thing out of his power, 
 who could do whatever else he pleased in France. For 
 the Marshal de Breze had conceived so strong an aversion 
 to M. de la Meilleraye,'-^ who was then Grand Master 
 of the Artillery, and afterwards Marshal de la T\Ieilleraye, 
 that he could not endure him. He did not imagine that 
 the Cardinal would ever look upon a man who, though 
 his first cousin, was of a mean extraction, had a most 
 contemptible aspect, and, if fame says true, not one ex- 
 traordinary good quality. 
 
 The Cardinal was of another mind, and had a great 
 opinion — indeed, with abundance of reason^of M. de la 
 Meilleraye's courage ; but he esteemed his military capacity 
 infinitely too much, though in truth it was not con- 
 temptible. In a word, he designed him for that post 
 which we have since seen so gloriously filled by M. 
 de Turenne. 
 
 You may, by what has been said, judge of the divisions 
 that were in Cardinal de Richelieu's family, and how much 
 he was concerned to appease them. He laboured at them 
 with great application, and for this end thought he could 
 
 1 Henry de Montmorency was apprehended on the ist of Sep- 
 tember, 1632, and beheaded in Toulouse in November of the same year 
 
 2 Charles de la Porte, Marshal de la Meilleraye, died 1664. 
 
8 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 not do better than to unite these two heads of the faction 
 in a close confidence with himself, exclusive of all others. 
 To this end he used them jointly and in common as the 
 confidants of his amours, which certainly were neither suit- 
 able to the lustre of his actions nor the grandeur of his 
 life ; for IMarion de Lorme, one of his mistresses, was little 
 better than a common prostitute. Another of his con- 
 cubines was Madame de Fruges, that old gentlewoman 
 who was so often seen sauntering in the enclosure. The 
 first used to come to his apartment in the daytime, and 
 he went by night to visit the other, who was but the 
 pitiful cast-off of Buckingham and Epienne. The two 
 confidants introduced him there in coloured clothes ; for 
 they had made up a hasty peace, to which Madame de 
 Guimenee nearly fell a sacrifice. 
 
 M. de la Meilleraye, whom they called the Grand Master, 
 was in love with Madame de Guimenee, but she could not 
 love him ; and he being, both in his own nature and by 
 reason of his great favour with the Cardinal, the most 
 imperious man living, took it very ill that he was not 
 beloved. He complained, but the lady was insensible ; 
 he huffed and bounced, but was laughed to scorn. He 
 thought he had her in his power because the Cardinal, to 
 whom he had declared his rage against her, had given 
 him her letters, as above mentioned, which were written 
 to M. de Montmorency, and, therefore, in his menaces he 
 let fall some hints with relation to those letters to the 
 disadvantage of Madame de Guimenee. She thereupon 
 ridiculed him no longer, but went almost raving mad, and 
 fell into such an inconceivable melancholy that you would 
 not have known her, and retired to Couperai, where she 
 would let nobody see her. 
 
 As soon as I applied my mind to study I resolved at 
 the same time to take the Cardinal de Richelieu for my 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 9 
 
 pattern, though my friends opposed it as too pedantic ; 
 but 1 followed my first designs, and began my course 
 with good success. I was afterwards followed by all 
 persons of quality of the same profession ; but, as I was 
 the first, the Cardinal was pleased with my fancy, which, 
 together with the good offices done me by the Grand 
 Master with the Cardinal, made him speak well of me on 
 several occasions, wonder that I had never made my court 
 to him, and at the same time he ordered M. de Lingendes, 
 since Bishop of Ma(;on, to bring me to his house. 
 
 This was the source of my first disgrace, for, instead 
 of complying with these offers of the Cardinal and 
 with the entreaties of the Grand 3*Iaster, urging me to 
 go and make my court to him, I returned the most 
 trifling excuses and apologies — one time I pretended to 
 be sick and went into the country. In short, I did enough 
 to let them see that I did not care to be a dependent on the 
 Cardinal de Richelieu, who was certainly a very great 
 man, but had this particular trait in his genius — to 
 take notice of trifles. Of this he gave me the following 
 instance : The history of the conspiracy of John Louis de 
 Fiesque,^ which I had written at eighteen years of age, 
 being conveyed by Boisrobert into the Cardinal's hands, 
 he was heard to say, in the presence of Marshal d'Estrees 
 and M. de Senneterre, " This is a dangerous genius.'' This 
 was told my father that very night by M. de Senneterre, 
 and I took it as spoken to myself. 
 
 The success that I had in the acts of the Sorbonne 
 made me fond of that sort of reputation, which I had a 
 mind to push further, and thought I might succeed in 
 sermons. Instead of preaching first, as I was advised, 
 in the little convents, I preached on Ascension, Corpus 
 
 I Author of " The Conspiracy of Genoa.'' He was drowned on the 
 ist of January, 1557 
 
lO MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Christi Day, &c., before the Queen and the whole Court, 
 which assurance gained me a good character from the 
 Cardinal, for, when he was told how well I had per- 
 formed, he said, "There is no judging of things by the 
 event ; the man is a coxcomb," Thus you see I had 
 enough to do for one of two-and-twenty years of age. 
 
 M. le Comte,^ who had a tender love for me, and to 
 whose service and person I was entirely devoted, left 
 Paris in the night, in order to get into Sedan, for fear 
 of an arrest ; and, in the meantime, entrusted me with 
 the care of Vanbrock, the greatest confidant he had in 
 the world. I took care, as I was ordered, that he should 
 never stir out but at night, for in the daytime I con- 
 cealed him in a private place, between the ceiling and 
 the penthouse, where I thought it impossible for anything 
 but a cat or the devil to iind him. But he was not 
 careful enough of himself, for one morning my door was 
 burst open, and armed men rushed into my chamber, 
 with the provost at their head, who cried, with a great 
 oath, "Where is Vanbrock? " I replied, "At Sedan, sir, 
 I believe." He swore again most confoundedly, and 
 searched the mattresses of all the beds in the house, 
 threatening to put my domestics to the rack if they did 
 not make a disclosure, but there was only one that knew 
 anything of the matter, and so they went away in a 
 rage. You may easily imagine that when this was re- 
 ported the Court would highly resent it. And so it 
 happened, for the license of the Sorbonne being expired, 
 and the competitors striving for the best places, I had 
 the ambition to put in for the first place, and did not 
 
 I Louis de Bourbon, Count of Soissons, killed in the battle of 
 Marfee, near Sedan, in 1641. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ II 
 
 think myself obliged to yield to the Abbe de la Mothe- 
 Houdancourt, now Archbishop of Auch, o\'er whom I 
 had certainly some advantage in the disputations. I 
 carried myself in this affair more wisely than might have 
 been expected from my youth ; for as soon as I heard that 
 my rival was supported by the Cardinal, who did him the 
 honour to own him for his kinsman, I sent the Cardinal 
 word, by M. de Raconis, Bishop of Lavaur, that I desisted 
 from my pretension, out of the respect I owed His 
 Eminence, as soon as I heard that he concerned himself 
 in the affair. The Bishop of Lavaur told me the Car- 
 dinal pretended that the Abbe de la Mothe would not be 
 obliged for the first place to my cession, but to his own 
 merit. This answer exasperated me. I gave a smile and 
 a low bow, pursued my point, and gained the first place 
 by eighty-four voices. The Cardinal, who was for domi- 
 neering in all places and in all ahairs, fell into a passion 
 much below his character, either as a minister or a man, 
 threatened the deputies of the Sorbonne to raze the new 
 buildings he had begun there, and assailed my character 
 again with incredible bitterness. 
 
 All my friends were alarmed at this, and were for 
 sending me in all haste to Italy. Accordingly, I went to 
 Venice, stayed there till the middle of August, and was 
 very near being assassinated ; for I amused myself by 
 making an intrigue with Signora Vendranina, a noble 
 Venetian lady, and one of the most handsome I ever 
 saw. M. de Maille, the King's ambassador, aware of 
 the dangerous consequences of such adventures in this 
 country, ordered me to depart from Venice ; upon which 
 I went through Lombardy, and towards the end of Sep- 
 tember arrived at Rome, where the Marshal d'Estrees, 
 who resided there as ambassador, gave me such instruc- 
 tions for my behaviour as I followed to a tittle. Though 
 I had no design to be an ecclesiastic, yet since I wore 
 
12 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 cassock I was resolved to acquire some reputation at the 
 Pope's Court. I compassed my design very happily, 
 avoiding any appearance of gallantry and lewdness, and 
 my dress being grave to the last degree ; but for all 
 this I was at a vast expense, having line liveries, a 
 very splendid equipage, and a train of seven or eight 
 gentlemen, whereof four were Knights of Malta. I dis- 
 puted in the Colleges of Sapicurja (not to be compared 
 for learning with those of the Sorbonne), and fortune 
 continued still to raise me. For the Prince de Schom- 
 berg, the Emperor's ambassador, sent me word one 
 day, while I was playing at halon at the baths of 
 Antoninus, to leave the place clear for him. I answered 
 that I could have refused his Excellency nothing asked 
 in a civil manner, but since it was commanded, I would 
 have him to know that I would obey the orders of no 
 ambassador whatever, but that of the King my master. 
 Being urged a second time by one of his attendants to 
 leave the place, I stood upon my own defence, and the 
 Germans, more, in my opinion, out of contempt of the 
 few people I had with me than out of any other con- 
 sideration, let the affair drop. This bold carriage of so 
 modest an abbe to an ambassador who never went 
 abroad without one hundred musketeers on horseback 
 to attend him, made a great noise in Rome, and was 
 much taken notice of by Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 The Cardinal de Richelieu's health declining, the 
 Archbishopric of Paris was now almost within my ken, 
 wliich, together with other prospects of good benefices, 
 made me resolve not to fling off the cassock but upon 
 honourable terms and valuable considerations; but having 
 nothing yet within my view that I could be sure of, I 
 resolved to distinguish myself in my own profession by 
 all the methods I could. I retired from the world, 
 studied very hard, saw but very few men, and had no 
 
CARDINAL DE REiZ I3 
 
 more correspondence with any of the female sex, except 
 Madame de Guimenee.^ 
 
 The devil had appeared to the Princess de Guimenee 
 just a fortnight before this adventure happened, and was 
 often raised by the conjurations of M. d'Andiliy,- to 
 frighten his votary, I beheve, into piety, for he Avas 
 even more in love with her person than I myself; but 
 he loved her in the Lord, purely and spiritually. I 
 raised, in my turn, a demon that appeared to her in 
 a more kind and agreeable form. In six weeks I got 
 her away from Port -Royal ; I was very diligent in 
 paying her my respects, and the satisfaction I had in 
 her company, with some other agreeable diversions, 
 qualified in a great measure the chagrin which attended 
 my profession, to which I was not yet heartily reconciled. 
 This enchantment had like to have raised such a storm 
 as would have gi\-en a new face to the affairs of Europe 
 if fortune had been ever so little on my side. 
 
 M. the Cardinal de Richelieu loved rallying other 
 people, but could not bear a jest himself, and all men 
 of this humour are always very crabbed and churlish ; 
 of which the Cardinal ga\^e an instance, in a public 
 assembly of ladies, to Madame de Guimenee, when he 
 threw out a severe jest, which everybody observed was 
 pointed at me. She was sensibly afironted, but I was 
 enraged. For at last there was a sort of an under- 
 standing between us, which was often ill-managed, yet 
 our interests were inseparable. At this time Madame 
 de la Meilleraye,'' with wdiom, though she was silly, I had 
 
 r Princess de Guimence was Anne of Rohan, daughter of Peter de 
 Knhan, Prince of Guimtnee, and of Magdalen de Rieux of Chateauneuf 
 
 2 Robert Arnold, Lord of Andilly, born 1589, famous for his 
 writings and for his retreat to the Abbey of Port-I\oyal des Champs, 
 he died 1674. 
 
 3 She was Mary de Cossc, daughter of Francis de Cosse, Duke de 
 Prissac. 
 
14 RILMOIRS OF THE 
 
 fallen in love, pleased the Cardinal to that degree that the 
 Alarshal perceived it before he set out for the army, and 
 rallied his wife in such a manner that she immediately 
 found he was even more jealous than ambitious. She was 
 terribly afraid of him, and did not love the Cardinal, who, 
 by marrying her to his cousin, had lessened his own family, 
 of which he was extremely fond. Besides, the Cardinal's 
 infirmities made him look a great deal older than he 
 was. And though all his other actions had no tincture of 
 pedantry, yet in his amorous intrigues he had the most 
 of it in the world. I had a detail of all the steps he had 
 made therein, which were extremely ridiculous. But con- 
 tinuing his solicitation, and carrying her to his country 
 seat at Ruel,^ where he kept her a considerable time, I 
 guessed that the lady had not brains enough to resist 
 the splendour of Court favour, and that her husband's 
 jealousy would soon give way to his interest, but, above 
 all, to his blind side, which was an attachment to the 
 Court not to be equalled. When I was in the hottest 
 pursuit of this passion I proposed to myself the most 
 exfjuisite pleasures in triumphing over the Cardinal de 
 Richelieu in this fair field of battle ; but on a sudden I had 
 the mortification to hear the whole family was changed. 
 The husband allowed his wife to go to Ruel as often as 
 she pleased, and her behaviour towards me I suspected 
 to be false and treacherous. In short, Madame de 
 Guimenee's anger, for a reason I hinted before, my 
 jealousy of Madame de la Meilleraye, and an aversion to 
 my own profession, all joined together in a fatal moment 
 and was near producing one of the greatest and most 
 famous events of our age. 
 
 La Rochepot," my first cousin and dear friend, was a 
 
 I The Cardinal de Richelieu's seat, three leagues from Paris. 
 z Son of Anthony de Sill}', Count de Rochepot. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 5 
 
 domestic of the late Duke d'Orleans/ and his great con- 
 fidant. He mortally hated the Cardinal de Richelieu, who 
 had persecuted his mother, and had her hung up m effigy, 
 and kept his father still a prisoner in the Bastille, and now 
 refused the son a regiment, though Marshal de la ^^leilleraye, 
 who very highly esteemed him for his courage, interceded 
 for the favour. You may imagine that when we came 
 together wc did not forget the Cardinak 
 
 1 being crossed in my designs, as I told you, and as 
 full of resentment as La Rochepot was for the affronts put 
 upon his person and family, we chimed in our thoughts and 
 resolutions, which were, dexterously to manage the weakness 
 of the Duke d'Orleans and to put that in execution which 
 the boldness of his domestics had almost effected at Corbie. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans was appointed General, and the 
 Count de Soissons Lieutenant-General of the King's Forces 
 in Picardy, but neither of them stood well with the 
 Cardinal, who only gave them those posts because the 
 then situation of affairs was such that he could not help it. 
 
 L'Epinai, Montresor and La Rochepot made use of all 
 the arguments they could think of to raise jealousies and 
 fears in the Duke d'Orleans, and to inspire him with 
 resolution and courage to rid himself of the Cardinak 
 Others laboured to persuade the Count de Soissons to 
 relish the same proposal, but though resolved upon, was 
 never put into execution. For they had the Cardinal in 
 their power at Amiens, but did him no harm. For this 
 everyone blamed the Count's companion, but I could 
 never yet learn the true cause, only this is certain, that 
 they were no sooner come to Paris than they were all 
 seized with a panic, and retired, some one way, some 
 another. 
 
 I Ciaston John Baptiste of France, born 160S, and died at Bios, 
 1660. 
 
l6 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 The Count de Guiche,^ since Marshal de Grammont, 
 and M. de Chavigni," Secretary of State and the Car- 
 dinal's most intimate favourite, were sent by the King to 
 Blois. Here they frightened the Duke d'Orleans, and 
 made him return to Paris, where he was more afraid 
 than ever ; for such of his domestics as were not gained 
 by the Court made use of his pusillanimous temper, and 
 represented to him the necessity he was under to pro- 
 vide for his own, or rather their, security. La Rochepot 
 and myself endeavoured to heighten his fears as much as 
 possible, in order to precipitate him into our measures. The 
 term sounds odd, but it is the most expressive I could 
 find of a character like the Duke's. He weighed every- 
 thing, but fixed on nothing ; and if by chance he was 
 inchned to do one thing more than another, he would 
 never execute it without being pushed or forced into it. 
 
 La Rochepot did all he could to fix him, but finding 
 that the Duke was always for delays, and for perplex- 
 ing all expedients with groundless fears of invincible 
 difficulties, he fell upon an expedient very dangerous 
 to all appearance, but, as it usually happens in extra- 
 ordinary cases, much less so than at first view. 
 
 Cardinal de Richelieu having to stand godfather at the 
 baptism of Mademoiselle,'- La Rochepot's proposal was to 
 continue to show the Duke the necessity he lay under 
 still to get rid of the Cardinal without saying much of 
 the particulars for fear of hazarding the secret, but only 
 to entertain him with the general proposal of that affair, 
 
 1 Anthony de Grammont, the third of that name, born 1604, died 
 1G78. 
 
 2 Leon Bouthiher, the son of Claude Bouthiliev and Mar^- de 
 Bragelonne, died i'j52, as well as his father. 
 
 3 Anne Mary Louise d'Orleans, daughter of Gaston John Baptiste 
 of France and of Mary of Bourbon, Duchess de Montpensier, born 
 1627, and died 1693. 
 
CARDINAL DE RET/ IJ 
 
 thereby to make him the better in love with the measures 
 when proposed ; and that they might, at a proper time 
 and place, tell him they had concealed the detail of the 
 execution from His Highness upon no other account 
 but that they had experienced on several occasions that 
 there was no other way of serving His Highness, as 
 he himself had told La Rochepot several times ; that 
 nothing, therefore, remained but to get some brave 
 fellows fit for such a resolute enterprise, and to hold post- 
 horses ready upon the road to Sedan under some other 
 pretext, and to so execute the design in the presence 
 and in the name of His Royal Highness upon the day 
 of the intended solemnity, that His Highness should 
 cheerfully own it when it was done, and that then we 
 would carry him off by those horses to Sedan. Meanwhile 
 the distraction of the inferior ministers and the joy of 
 the King to see himself delivered from a tyrant would 
 dispose the Court rather to invite than to pursue him. 
 This was La Rochepot's scheme, and it seemed exceed- 
 ingly plausible. 
 
 La Rochepot and 1 had, it may be, blamed the inac- 
 tivity of the Duke d'Orleans and of the Count de Soissons 
 in the affair of Amiens a hundred times ; yet, no sooner 
 was the scheme sufliciently matured for execution, the 
 idea of which I had raised in the memory of La Rochepot, 
 than my mind was seized with I know not what fear ; 
 I took it then for a scruple of conscience — I cannot 
 tell whether it was in truth so or not, but, in short, the 
 thought of killing a priest and a cardinal deeply affected 
 my mind. La Rochepot laughed at my scruples, and 
 bantered me thus: "When you are in the held of battle 
 I warrant you will not beat up the enemy's quarters for 
 fear of assassinating men in their sleep." 1 was ashamed 
 of my scruples, and again hugged the crime, which 1 
 looked upon as sanctified by the examples of great men, 
 
 2 
 
l8 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 and justified and honoured by the mighty danger that 
 attended its execution. We renewed our consultations, 
 engaged some accomphces, took all the necessary precau- 
 tions, and resolved upon the execution. The danger 
 was indeed very great, but we might reasonably hope to 
 come off well enough ; for the Duke's guard, which was 
 within, would not have failed to come to our assistance 
 against that of the Cardinal's, which was without. But 
 his fortune, and not his guards, delivered him from the 
 snare ; for either Mademoiselle or himself, I forget which, 
 fell suddenly ill, and the ceremony was put off to another 
 time, so that we lost our opportunity. The Duke returned 
 to Blois, and the Marquis de Boissi protested he would 
 never betray us, but that he would be no longer con- 
 cerned, because he had just received some favour or other 
 from the Cardinal's own hands. 
 
 I confess that this enterprise, which, had it succeeded, 
 would have crowned us with glory, never fully pleased 
 me. I was not so scrupulous in the committing of two 
 other transgressions against the rules of morality, as you 
 may have before observed ; but I wish, with all my heart, 
 I had never been concerned in this. Ancient Rome, 
 indeed, would have counted it honourable ; but it is 
 not in this respect that I honour the memory of old 
 Rome. 
 
 There is commonly a great deal of folly in conspiracies ; 
 but afterwards there is nothing tends so much to make 
 men wise, at least for some time. For, as the danger in 
 things of this nature continues even after the opportunities 
 for doing them are over, men are from that instant more 
 prudent and circumspect. 
 
 Having thus missed our blow, the Count de la Roche- 
 pot and the rest of them retired to their several seats in 
 the country; but my engagements detained me at Paris, 
 where I was so retired that I spent all my time in my 
 
CARDIXAL DE RETZ IQ 
 
 Study ; and if ever I was seen abroad it was witii all the 
 reserve of a pious ecclesiastic. We were all so true 
 to one another in keeping this adventure secret, that it 
 never got the least wind while the Cardinal lived, who 
 was a minister that had the best intelligence in the world ; 
 but after his death it was discovered by the imprudence 
 of Tret and Etourville. I call it miprudence, for what 
 greater weakness can men be guilty of than to declare 
 themselves to have been capable of what is dangerous in 
 the first instance. 
 
 To return to the history of the Count de Soissons, I 
 observed before that he had retired to Sedan for safety, 
 which he could not expect at Court. He wrote to the 
 King, assuring His Majesty of his fidelity, and that while 
 he stayed in that place he would undertake nothing 
 prejudicial to his service. He was most mindful of his 
 promise ; was not to be biassed by all the offers of Spain 
 or the Empire, but rejected with indignation the overtures 
 of Saint- Ibal and of Bardouville, who would have per- 
 suaded him to take up arms. Campion, one of his domes- 
 tics, whom he had left at Paris to mind his affairs at Court, 
 told me these particulars by the Count's express orders, 
 and I still remember this passage in one of his letters 
 to Campion: "The men you know are very urgent with 
 me to treat with the enemy, and accuse me of weakness 
 because I fear the examples of Charles de Bourbon and 
 Robert d'Artois." He was ordered to show me this letter 
 and desire my opinion thereupon. I took my pen, and at 
 a little distance from the answer he had already begun, I 
 wrote these words : " And I do accuse them of folly." The 
 reasons upon which my opinion was grounded were these : 
 The Count was courageous in the highest degree of what 
 is commonly called valour, and had a more than ordinary 
 share in that boldness of mind which we call resolution. 
 The first is common and to be frequently met with among 
 
 2 — 2 
 
20 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the vulgar, but the second is rarer than can be imagined, 
 and yet abundantly more necessary for great enterprises ; 
 and is there a greater in the world than heading a party ? 
 The command of an army is without comparison of less 
 intricacy, for there are wheels within wheels necessary for 
 governing the State, but then they are not near so brittle 
 and delicate. In a word, I am of opinion there are greater 
 qualities necessary to make a good head of a party than 
 to make an emperor who is to govern the whole world, 
 and that resolution ought to run parallel with judgment — 
 I say, with heroic judgment, which is able to discern the 
 extraordinary from what we call the impossible. 
 
 The Count had not one grain of this discerning faculty, 
 which is but seldom to be met with in the sublimest 
 genius. His character was mean to a degree, and con- 
 sequently susceptible of unreasonable jealousies and dis- 
 trusts, which of all characters is the most opposite to that 
 of a good partisan, who is indispensably obliged in many 
 cases to suppress, and in all to conceal, the best-grounded 
 suspicions. 
 
 This was the reason I could not be of the opinion of 
 those who were for engaging the Count in a civil war, 
 and Varicarville, who was the man of the best sense and 
 temper of all the persons of quality he had about him, 
 told me since, that when he saw what I wrote in Cam- 
 pion's letter the day I set out for Italy, he very well knew 
 by what motives I was, against my inclination, persuaded 
 into this opinion. 
 
 The Count held out all this year and the next against 
 every solicitation of the Spaniards and the importunities 
 of his own friends, much more by the wise counsels of 
 Varicarville than by the force of his own resolution ; but 
 nothing could secure him from the teasings of the Cardinal 
 de Richelieu, who poured into his ears every day in the 
 King's name his many dismal discoveries and prognosti- 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 21 
 
 cations. For fear of being tedious 1 shall only tell you in 
 one word that the Cardinal, contrary to his own interest, 
 hurried the Count into a civil war, by such arts of 
 chicanery as those who are fortune's favourites never fail 
 to play upon the unfortunate. 
 
 The minds of people began now to be more embittered 
 than ever. I was sent for by the Count to Sedan to tell 
 him the state of Paris. The account I ga\e him could not 
 but be very agreeable ; for I told him the very truth, that 
 he was universally beloved, honoured and adored in that 
 city, and his enemy dreaded and abhorred. The Duke de 
 Bouillon, who was urgent for war, be the consequence what 
 it would, improved upon these advantages, and made them 
 look more plausible, l)ut Varicarville strongly opposed him. 
 
 I thought myself too young to declare my opinion ; 
 but, being pressed to do so by His Highness, I took the 
 liberty to tell him that .a Prince of the Blood ought to 
 engage himself in a civil war rather than suffer any 
 diminution of his reputation or dignity, yet that nothing 
 but these two cases could justly oblige him to it, because 
 he hazards both by a commotion whenever the one or the 
 other consideration does not make it necessary ; that 1 
 thought His Highness far from being under any such 
 necessity ; that his retreat to Sedan secured him from the 
 indignity he must have submitted to, among others, of 
 takmg the left-hand, even in the Cardinal's own house ; 
 that, in the meantime, the popular hatred of the Cardinal 
 gained His Highness the greater share of the public 
 favour, which is always much better secured by inaction 
 than action, because the glory of action depends upon 
 success, for which no one can answer ; whereas inaction 
 is sure to be commended as being founded upon the 
 hatred which the public will always bear to the minister. 
 That, therefore, I should think it would be more glorious 
 for His Highness, in the A'iew of the world, to support 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 himself by his own weight, viz., by the merit of his virtue, 
 against the artifices of so powerful a minister as the Car- 
 dinal de Richelieu — I say, more glorious to support himself 
 by a wise and regular conduct than to kindle the fire of 
 war, the flagrant consequences whereof no man is able 
 to foresee. That it was true that the minister was uni- 
 versally cursed, but that I could not yet see that the 
 people's minds were exasperated enough for any consider- 
 able revolution ; that the Cardinal was in a declining state 
 of health, and if he should not die this time, His Highness 
 would have the opportunity of showing the King and the 
 public that though, by his own personal authority and 
 his important post at Sedan, he was in a capacity to do 
 himself justice, he sacrificed his own resentments to the 
 welfare and quiet of the State ; and that if the Cardinal 
 should recover his health, he would not fail, by additional 
 acts of tyranny and oppression, to draw upon himself the 
 redoubled execrations of the people, which would ripen their 
 murmurings and discontents into a universal revolution. 
 
 This is the substance of what I said to the Count, 
 and he seemed to be somewhat affected by it. But the 
 Duke de Bouillon was enraged, and told me, by way of 
 banter, " Your blood is very cold for a gentleman of 
 your age."' To which I replied in these very words : 
 "All the Count's servants are so much obliged to you, 
 sir, that they ought to bear everything from you ; but 
 were it not for this consideration alone, I should think 
 that your bastions would not be always strong enough 
 to protect you." The Duke soon came to himself, and 
 treated me with all the civilities imaginable, such as laid 
 a foundation for our future friendship. I stayed two days 
 longer at Sedan, during which the Count changed his 
 mind five different times, as I was told by M. Saint - 
 Ibal, who said little was to be expected from a man of 
 his humour. At last, however, the Duke de Bouillon 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 23 
 
 won him over. I was charged to do all I could to con- 
 vince the people of Paris, had an order to take up money 
 and to lay it out for this purpose, and I returned from 
 Sedan with letters more than enough to have hanged 
 two hundred men. 
 
 As I had faithfully set the Count's true interest before 
 him, and dissuaded him from undertaking an affair of 
 which he was by no means capable, I thought it high 
 time to think of my own affairs. I hated my profession 
 now more than ever ; I was at first hurried into it by 
 the infatuation of my kindred. My destiny had bound 
 me down to it by the chains both of duty and pleasure, 
 so that I could see no possibility to set myself free. I 
 was upwards of twenty-five years of age, and I saw it 
 was now too late to begin to carry a musket ; but that 
 which tortured me most of all was this fatal reflection, 
 viz., that I had spent so much of my time in too eager 
 a pursuit of pleasure, and thereby riveted my own chains ; 
 so that it looked as if fate was resolved to fasten me to 
 the Church, whether I would or no. You may imagine 
 with what satisfaction such thoughts as these were accom- 
 panied, for this confusion of affairs gave me hopes of 
 getting loose from my profession with uncommon honour 
 and reputation. I thought of ways to distinguish myself, 
 pursued them very diligently, and you will allow that 
 nothing but destiny broke my measures. 
 
 The Marshals de Vitri^ and Bassompierre,^ the Count 
 de Cremail, M. du Fargis and M. du Coudrai Montpensier 
 were then prisoners in the Bastille upon different counts- 
 But, as length of time makes confinement less irksome, 
 they were treated very civilly, and indulged with a great 
 
 1 Nicholas de I'Hopital, Duke de Vitri, died the 28th of Septem- 
 ber, 1644. 
 
 2 Francis de Bassompierre, born 1579, died 1646. 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 share of freedom. Their friends came to see them, and 
 sometimes dined with them. By means of M. du Fargis, 
 who had married my aunt, I got acquainted with the rest, 
 and by conversing with them discovered very remarkable 
 emotions in some of them, upon which I could not help 
 reflecting. The Marshal de Vitri was a gentleman of 
 mean parts, but bold, even to rashness, and his having 
 been formerly employed to kill the Marshal d'Ancre had 
 given him in the common vogue, though I think unjustly, 
 the air of a man of business and expedition. He appeared 
 to me enraged against the Cardinal, and I concluded he 
 might do service in the present juncture, but did not 
 .address myself directly to him, and thought it the wisest 
 way first to sift the Count de Cremail, who was a man of 
 -sound sense, and could influence the Marshal de Vitri as 
 he pleased. He apprehended me at half a word, and 
 immediately asked me if I had n:iade myself known to 
 any of the prisoners. I answered readily, "No, sir; and 
 I will tell you my reasons in a very few words. Bassom- 
 pierre is a tattler ; I expect to do nothing with the Marshal 
 de Vitri but by your means. I suspect the honesty of 
 Du Coudrai, and as for my uncle, Du Fargis, he is a 
 gallant man, but has no headpiece." " Who, then, do 
 you confide in at Paris ? " said the Count de Cremail. 
 ■" I dare trust no man living," said I, "but yourself." "It 
 is very well," said he, briskly ; " you are the man for me. 
 I am above eighty years old, and you but twenty-live; 
 I will qualify your heat, and you my chilliness." We went 
 upon business, drew up our plan, and at parting he said 
 these very words : " Let me alone one week, and after 
 that I will tell you more of my mind, for I hope to 
 convince the Cardinal that I am good for something 
 more than writing the ' Jeu de ITnconnu.' " You must 
 know that the "Jeu de I'lnconnu" was a book, indeed, 
 very ill written, which the Count de Cremail had formerly 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ J5 
 
 published, and which the Cardinal had grossly ridiculed. 
 You will be surprised, wdthout doubt, that I should think 
 of prisoners for an affair of this importance, but the nature 
 of it was such that it could not be put into better hands, 
 as you will see by-and-by. 
 
 A week after, going to visit the prisoners, and Cre- 
 mail and myself being accidentally left alone, we took a 
 walk upon the terrace, where, after a thousand thanks 
 for the confidence I had put in him, and as many pro- 
 testations of his readiness to serve the Count de Soissons, 
 he spoke thus: "There is nothing but the thrust of a 
 sword or the city of Paris that can rid us of the 
 Cardinal. Had I been at the enterprise of Amiens, 1 
 think I should not have missed my blow, as those gentle- 
 men did. I am for that of Paris ; it cannot miscarry ; 
 I have considered it well. See here what additions 1 
 have made to our plan." And thereupon he put into 
 my hand a paper, in substance as follows : — That he 
 had conferred with the Alarshal de Vitri, who was as 
 well disposed as anybody in the w^orld to serve the 
 Count ; that they would both answer for the Bastille, 
 where all the garrison was in their interest ; that they 
 were likewise sure of the arsenal ; and that they would 
 also declare themselves as soon as the Count had gained 
 a battle, on condition that I made it appear beforehand, 
 as I had told him (the Count de Cremail) that they 
 should be supported by a considerable number of officers, 
 colonels of Paris, &c. For the rest, this paper contained 
 many particular observations on the conduct of the under- 
 taking, and many cautions relating to the behaviour to 
 be observed by the Count. That which surprised me 
 most of all was to see how fully persuaded these gentle- 
 men were of carrying their point with ease. 
 
 Though it came into my head to propose this project 
 to the persons in the Bastille, yet nothing but the per- 
 
26 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 feet knowledge I had of their disposition and incHna- 
 tion could have persuaded me that it was practicable. 
 And I confess, upon perusal of the plan prepared by M. 
 de Cremail, a man of great experience and excellent 
 sense, I was astonished to find a few prisoners disposing 
 of the Bastille with the same freedom as the Governor, 
 the greatest authority in the place. 
 
 As all extraordinary circumstances are of wonderful 
 weight in popular revolutions, I considered that this 
 project, which was even ripe for execution, would have 
 an admirable effect in the city. And as nothing animates 
 and supports commotions more than the ridiculing of 
 those against whom they are raised, I knew it would be 
 very easy for us to expose the conduct of a minister 
 who had tamely suffered prisoners to hamper him, as 
 one may say, with their chains. I lost no time ; after- 
 wards I opened myself to M. d'Estampes, President of 
 the Great Council, and to M. I'Ecuyer, President of 
 the Chamber of Accounts, both colonels, and in great 
 repute among the citizens, and I found them every way 
 answering the character I had of them from the Count ; 
 that is, very zealous for his interest, and fully persuaded 
 that the insurrection was not only practicable but very 
 easy. Pray observe that these two gentlemen, who 
 made no great figure, even in their own profession, were, 
 perhaps, two of the most peaceable persons in the king- 
 dom. But there are some fires which burn all before 
 them. The main thing is to know and seize the critical 
 moment. 
 
 The Count had charged me to disclose myself to 
 none in Paris besides these two, but I ventured to add 
 two more, viz., Parmentier, substitute to the Attorney- 
 General ; and his brother-in-law, Epinai, auditor of the 
 Chamber of Accounts, who was the man of the greatest 
 credit though but a lieutenant, and the other a captain. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 27 
 
 Parmentier, who, both by his wit and courao'e, was as 
 capable of a great action as any man I ever knew, promised 
 me that he would answer for Brigalier, councillor in the 
 Court of Aids, captain in his quarter and very powerful 
 among the people, but told me at the same time that he 
 must not know a word of the matter, because he was a 
 mere rattle, not to be trusted with a secret. 
 
 The Count made me a remittance of 12,000 crowns, 
 which I carried to my aunt De Maignelai,^ telling her that 
 it was a restitution made by one of my dying friends, who 
 made me trustee of it upon condition that I should dis- 
 tribute it among decayed families who were ashamed to 
 make their necessities known, and that I had taken an oath 
 to distribute it myself, pursuant to the desire of the tes- 
 tator, but that I was at a loss to fmd out fit objects for my 
 charity ; and therefore I desired her to take the care of it 
 upon her. The good woman was perfectly transported, 
 and said she would do it with all her heart ; but because 
 I had sworn to make the distribution myself she insisted 
 upon it that I niust be present, not only for the sake of 
 my promise, but to accustom myself to do acts of charity. 
 This was the \ery thing I aimed at, viz., an opportunity of 
 knowing all the poor of Paris. Therefore I suffered myself 
 to be carried every day by my aunt into the outskirts to 
 visit the poor in their garrets, and I met very often in her 
 house people who were very w^ell clad, and many whom I 
 once knew% that came for private charity. Aly good aunt 
 charged them always to pray to God for her nephew, who 
 was the hand that God had been pleased to make use of for 
 this good work. Judge you of the influence this gave me 
 over the populace, who are without comparison the most 
 considerable in all public disturbances. For the rich never 
 
 I Margaret Claude de Gondi, wife of Florimond d'Halluin, Marquis 
 de Maignelai, died 1650 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 come into such measures unless they are forced, and beggars 
 do more harm than good, because it is known that they 
 aim at plunder ; those, therefore, who are capable of doing- 
 most service are such as are not reduced to common 
 beggary, yet so straitened in their circumstances as to wish 
 for nothing more than a general change of affairs in order 
 to repair their broken fortunes. I made myself acquainted 
 with people of this rank for the course of four months with 
 uncommon application, so that there was hardly a child 
 in the chimney corner but I gratified with some small 
 token. I called them by their familiar names. My aunt, 
 who always made it her business to go from house to 
 house to relieve the poor, was a cloak for all. I also 
 played the hypocrite, and frequented the conferences of 
 St. Lazarus. 
 
 Varicarville and Beauregarde, my correspondents at 
 Sedan, assured me that the Count de Soissons w^as as 
 well inclined as one could wish, and that he had not 
 wa\'ered since he had formed his last resolution. Vari- 
 carville said that we had formerly done him horrible 
 injustice, and that they were now even obliged to restrain 
 him, because he seemed to be too fond of the counsels 
 of Spain and the Empire. Please to observe that these 
 two Courts, which had made incredible solicitations to him 
 while he wavered, began, as soon as his purpose was fixed, 
 to draw back, a fatality due to the phlegmatic temper of 
 the Spaniard, dignified by the name of prudence, joined to 
 the astute politics of the House of Austria. You may 
 observe at the same time that the Count who had continued 
 firm and unshaken three months together, changed his mind 
 as soon as his enemies had granted what he asked ; which 
 exactly comes up to the character of an irresolute man, who 
 is always most unsteady the nearer the work comes to its 
 conclusion. I heard of this convulsion, as one may call it, 
 by an express from Varicarville, and took post the same 
 
CARDINAL Di: RETZ 29 
 
 night for Sedan, arrivin<:( there an hour after Areton\'ille, 
 an agent despatched from the Count's brother-in-law, M, de 
 Longueville.^ He came with some plausible but deceitful 
 terms of accommodation which we all agreed to oppose. 
 Those who had been always with the Count, pressed hnn 
 strongly with the remembrance of what he himself thought 
 or said was necessary to be done ever since the war had 
 been resolved on. Saint-Ibal wdio had been negotiating for 
 him at Brussels, pressed him with his engagements, advances 
 and solicitations, insisted on the steps I had, by his order, 
 already taken in Paris, on the promises made to De Vitri 
 and Crcmail and on the secret committed to two persons 
 by his own command, and to four others for his service and 
 with his consent. Our arguments, considering his engage- 
 ments, were very just and clear. We carried our point 
 with much ado after a conlhct of four days. Aretonxille 
 was sent back with a very smart answer. M. de Guise, 
 who had joined the Count, and was a well-wisher to a 
 rupture, went to Liege to order the levies; Varicarville and 
 I returned to Paris, but I did not care to tell my fellow 
 conspirators of the irresolution of our principal. Some 
 symptoms of it appeared afterwards, but they very soon 
 vanished. 
 
 Being assured that the Spaniards had everything in 
 readiness, I went for the last time to Sedan to take my 
 final instructions. • There I found Meternic, colonel of one 
 of the oldest regiments of the Empire, despatched by 
 General Lamboy, who had advanced with a gallant army 
 under his command, composed for the most part of 
 veteran troops. The Colonel assured the Count that he 
 was ordered to obey his commands in everything, and to 
 give battle to the Marshal de Chatillon,- who commanded 
 
 r Henry of Orleans, the second of that name, d;ed 16G3. 
 
 2 Caspar de Coligni. the third of that nanne, born 15S-1, died 1640. 
 
30 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the army of France upon the Meuse. As the undertaking 
 at Paris depended entirely on the success of such a 
 battle, the Count thought it fitting that I should go along 
 with Meternic to Givet, where I found the army in a very 
 good condition. Then I returned to Paris, and gave an 
 account of every particular to the Marshal de Vitri, who 
 drew up the order for the enterprise. The whole city of 
 Paris seemed so disposed for an insurrection that we 
 thought ourselves sure of success. The secret was kept 
 even to a miracle. The Count gave the enemy battle and 
 won it. You now believe, without doubt, the day was our 
 own. Far from it, for the Count was killed in the very 
 crisis of the victory, and in the midst of his own men ; but 
 how and by whom no soul could ever tell. 
 
 You may guess what a condition I was in when I heard 
 this news ; M. de Cremail, the wisest of us all, thought 
 of nothing else now but how to conceal the secret, which, 
 though known to only six in all Paris, was known to too 
 great a number ; but the greatest danger of discovery 
 was from the people of Sedan, who, being out of the 
 kingdom, were not afraid of punishment. Nevertheless, 
 everybody privy to it religiously kept it secret, and stood 
 their ground, which, with another accident I shall mention 
 hereafter, has made me often think, and say too, that 
 secrecy is not so rare a thing as we imagine with men 
 versed in matters of State. 
 
 The Count's death settled me in my profession, for I 
 saw no great things to be done, and I found myself too old 
 to leave it for anything trifling. Besides, Cardinal de 
 Richelieu's health was declining, and I already began to 
 think myself Archbishop of Paris. I resolved that for the 
 future I would devote myself to my profession. Madame 
 de Guimenee had retired to Port-Royal, her country seat. 
 M. d'Andilly had got her from me. She neither powdered 
 nor curled her hair any longer, and had dismissed me 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 3 1 
 
 solemnly with all the formalities required from a sincere 
 penitent. I discovered, by means of a valet dc cliainhve, 
 
 that , captain of the Marshal's Guards, had as free 
 
 access to Meilleraye's lady as myself. See what it is to 
 be a saint ! The truth is I JC^rew much more regular — - 
 at least affected to be thought so— led a retired life, stuck 
 to my profession, studied hard, and got acquainted with 
 all who were famous either for learning or piety. I 
 converted my house almost into an academy, but took 
 care not to erect the academy into a rigid tribunal. I 
 began to be pretty free with the canons and curates, 
 whom I found of course at my uncle's house. I did not 
 act the devotee, because I could not be sure how long 
 I should be able to play the counterfeit, but I had a 
 high esteem for devout people, which with such is the 
 main article of religion. I suited my pleasures to my 
 practice, and, finding I could not live w^ithout some 
 amorous intrigue, I managed an amour with Madame 
 de Pommereux, a young coquette, who had so many 
 sparks, not only in her house but at her devotions, that 
 the apparent business of others was a cover for mine, 
 which was, at least, some tmie afterw^ards, more to the 
 purpose. When I had succeeded, I became a man in such 
 request among those of my profession that the devotees 
 themselves used to say of me with M. Vincent, "Though 
 I had not piety enough, yet I was not far from the kingdom 
 of heaven." 
 
 Fortune favoured me more than usual at this time. 
 I was at the house of Madame de Rambure, a notable 
 and learned Huguenot, where I met with ]\Iestrezat, the 
 famous minister of Charenton. To satisfy her curiosity 
 she engaged us in a dispute ; we had nine different 
 disputations. The Marshal de la Foree and M. de 
 Turenne ' were present at some of them, and a gentleman 
 
 I Henry de la Tour d'Auvergne, born 161 1 and killed 1675. 
 
32 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 of Poitou, who was at all of them, became my proselyte. 
 As I was then but twenty-six years of age, this made a 
 great deal of noise, and among other effects, was pro- 
 ductive of one that had not the least connection with its 
 cause, which I shall mention after I have done justice to 
 a civility I received from my antagonist in one of the 
 conferences. I had the advantage of him in the fifth 
 meeting, relating to the spiritual vocation ; but in the 
 sixth, treating of the Pope's authority, I was confounded, 
 because, to avoid embroiling myself with the Court of 
 Rome, I answered him on principles which are not 
 so easy to be maintained as those of the Sorbonne. 
 My opponent perceived the concern I was under, and 
 generously forebore to urge such passages as would have 
 obliged me to explain myself in a manner disagreeable to 
 the Pope's Nuncio. I thought it extremely obliging, and 
 as we were going out thanked him in the presence of 
 M. de Turenne, to which he answered very civilly that it 
 ivould have hem a piece of injustice to hinda' the Abbe dc Rciz 
 from being made a cardinal. This was such complaisance as 
 you are not to expect from every Geneva pedant. I told 
 you before that this conference produced one effect very 
 different from its cause, and it is this : Madame de Ven- 
 dome,^ of whom you have heard, without doubt, took such 
 a fancy to me ever after that a mother could not have been 
 more tender. She had been at the conference too, though 
 I am very well assured she understood nothing of the 
 matter ; but the favourable opinion she had of me was 
 owing to the Bishop of Lisieux, her spiritual director, who, 
 finding I was disposed to follow my profession, which out 
 of his great love to me he most passionately desired, made 
 it his business to magnify the few good qualities I was 
 
 I Frances de Lorraine, daughter of Philip Emanuel de Lorraine, 
 Duke de Mercceur, and of Mary de Luxemburg, died 16G9. 
 
CARDINAL DE RET2 33 
 
 master of ; and 1 am thoroughly persuaded that what 
 applause I had then in the world was chiefly owing to his 
 encouragement, for there w^as not a man in France whose 
 approbation could give so much honour. His sermons had 
 adxanced him from a very mean and foreign extraction 
 (which was Flemish) to the episcopal dignity, which he 
 adorned with solid and unaffected piety. His disinterested- 
 ness was far beyond that of the hermits or anchorites. He 
 had the courage of St. Ambrose, and at Court and in the 
 presence of the King he so maintained his usual freedom 
 that the Cardinal de Richelieu, who had been his scholar 
 in divinity, both reverenced and feared him. This good 
 man had that abundant kindness for me that he read me 
 lectures thrice a week upon St. Paul's Epistles, and he 
 designed also the con\ersion of M. de Turenne and to 
 give me the honour of it. 
 
 M. de Turenne had a great respect for him, whereof 
 he gave him very distinguishing marks. The Count de 
 Lirion,^ whom, I belie\'e, you may remember under the 
 title of Duke d'Amville was deeply in love with Made- 
 moiselle de Vendome, since Madame de Nemours ; and, 
 besides, he was a great favourite of M. de Turenne, who, 
 to do him a pleasure and to give him the more oppor- 
 tunities to see ?^Iademoiselle de Vendome, affected to be 
 a great admirer of the Bishop of Lisieux and to hear his 
 exhortations with a world of attention. The Count de 
 Brion, who had twice been a Capuchin, and whose life was 
 a continual medley of sin and devotion, pretended like- 
 wise to be much interested in M. de Turenne's conversion, 
 and was present at all the conferences held at Made- 
 moiselle de Vendome's apartment. De Brion had very 
 little wit, but was a clever talker, and had a great deal of 
 assurance, which not very seldom supplies the room of 
 
 I Francis Christophe Lc\'i de Ventadour, died 1G61. 
 
 3 
 
34 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 good sense. This and the behaviour of M. de Turenne, 
 together with the indolence of Mademoiselle de Vendome, 
 made me think all was fair, so that I never suspected 
 an amour at the bottom. The Bishop of Lisieux 
 being a great admirer of Corneille's writings, and 
 making no scruple to see a good comedy, provided it was 
 in the country among a few friends, the late Madame de 
 Choisy proposed to entertain him with one at St. Cloud. 
 Accordingly IMadame took Avith her Madame and Ma- 
 demoiselle de Vendome, M, de Turenne, M. de Brion, 
 Voiture, and myself. De Brion took care of the comedy 
 and violins, and I looked after a good collation. We 
 went to the Archbishop's house at St. Cloud, where the 
 comedians did not arrive till very late at night. M. de 
 Lisieux admired the violins, and Madame de Vendome 
 was hugely diverted to see her daughter dance alone. In 
 short, we did not set out till peep of day (it being summer 
 time, and the days at the longest), and were got no further 
 than the bottom of the Descent of Bonshommes, when 
 all on a sudden the coach stopped. I, being next the 
 door opposite to Mademoiselle de Vendome, bade the 
 coachman drive on. He answered, as plain as he could 
 speak for his fright, " What ! would you have me drive 
 over all these devils here?" I put my head out of the 
 coach, but, being short-sighted from my youth, saw nothing 
 at all. Madame de Choisy, who was at the other door with 
 M. de Turenne, was the first in the coach who found out 
 the cause of the coachman's fright. I say in the coach, for 
 five or six lackeys behind it were already crying " Jesu 
 Maria " and quaking with fear. Madame de Choisy cried 
 out, upon which M. de Turenne threw himself out of the 
 coach, and I, thinking we were beset by highwaymen, 
 leaped out on the other side, took one of the footmen's 
 hangers, drew it, and went to the other side to join M. 
 de Turenne, whom I found with his eyes fixed on some- 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 35 
 
 thing, but what I could not see. I asked him what it was, 
 upon which he pulled me by the sleeve, and said, with a 
 low voice, " I will tell you, but w^e must not frighten 
 the ladies," who by this time screamed most fearfully. 
 Voiture began his Ovcnius, and prayed heartily. You, I 
 suppose, knew Madame de Choisy's shrill tone ; ^lade- 
 moiselle de Vendome was counting her beads ; jMadame 
 de Vendome would fain have confessed her sins to the 
 Bishop of Lisieux, who said to her, " Daughter, be of 
 good cheer ; you are in the hands of God." At the same 
 instant, the Count de iJrion and all the lackeys were upon 
 their knees very devoutly singing the Litan}^ of the Virgin 
 Mary. M. de Turenne drew his sword, and said to me, 
 with the calm and undisturbed air he commonly puts on 
 when he calls for his dinner, or gives battle, " Come, let us 
 go and see who they are." " Who should we see ? " said 
 I, for I believed we had all lost our senses. He answered, 
 " I verily think they are devils." When we had advanced 
 five or six steps I began to see something which 1 
 thought looked like a long procession of black phantoms. 
 1 was frightened at first, because of the sudden reflection 
 that I had often wished to see a spirit, and that now, 
 perhaps, I should pay for my incredulity, or rather curi- 
 osity. M. de Turenne was all the while calm and resolute. 
 I made two or three leaps towards the procession, upon 
 wdiich, the company in the coach thinking we were fighting 
 with all the devils, cried out most terribly ; yet it is a 
 question whether our company was in a greater fright than 
 the imaginary devils that put us into it, who, it seems, 
 were a parcel of bare-footed reformed Augustine friars, 
 otherwise called the Black Capuchins, who, seeing two men 
 advancing towards them with drawn swords, one of them, 
 detached from the fraternity, cried out, " Gentlemen, we 
 are poor harmless friars, only come to bathe in this ri\'er 
 for our healths." IM. de Turenne and I went back to 
 
 y 
 
36 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the coach ready to die with laughing at this adventure. 
 Upon the whole we could not help making this reflection, 
 that what we read in the lives of most people is false. 
 We were both grossly mistaken, I, for supposing him 
 to be frightened ; he, for thinking me calm and undis- 
 turbed. Who therefore can write truth better than the 
 man that has experienced it? The President de Thou is 
 very just in his remark when he says that "There is no 
 true history extant, nor can be ever expected unless written 
 by honest men who are not afraid or ashamed to tell the 
 truth of themselves." I do not pretend to make any merit 
 of my sincerity in this case, for I feel so great a satis- 
 faction in unfolding my very heart and soul to you, 
 that the pleasure is even more prevalent than reason with 
 me in the religious regard I have to the exactness of 
 my history. Mademoiselle de Vendome had ever after 
 an inconceivable contempt for the poor Count de Brion, 
 who in this ridiculous adventure had disclosed a weak- 
 ness never before imagined, and as soon as we were got 
 into the coach she bantered him, and said, particularly 
 to me, ''I fancy I must be Henry IV. 's grand-daughter 
 by the esteem I have for valour. There's nothing can 
 frighten you, since you were so undaunted on this extra- 
 ordinary occasion." I told her I was afraid, but being 
 not so devout as M. de Brion, my fears did not turn to 
 litanies. "You feared not," said she, "and I fancy you 
 do not believe there are devils, for M. de Turenne, who 
 is very brave, was much surprised and did not march 
 on so briskly as you." I confess the distinction pleased 
 me mightily and made me think of venturing some com- 
 pliments. I then said to her, "One may believe there 
 is a devil and yet not fear him ; there are things in 
 the world more terrible." "And what are they?" said she. 
 "They are so strong," said I, "that one dare not so 
 much as name them." She interpreted my meaning 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 37 
 
 rightly, as she told me since, though she seemed at that 
 time not to understand me. 
 
 Mademoiselle was not what they call a great beauty, 
 yet she was very handsome, and I was complimented for 
 saying of her and of [Mademoiselle de Guise that they 
 were beauties of quality who convinced the beholders at 
 first sight they that were born Princesses. ^Mademoiselle 
 de Vendome had no great share of wit, but her folly lay 
 as yet concealed ; her air was grave, tinctured Avith state- 
 liness, not the effect of good sense, but the consequence 
 of a languid constitution, which sort of gravity often 
 covers a multitude of defects. In the main, take her 
 altogether, she was really amiable. 
 
 Let me beseech you, madam, with all submission, 
 to call now to mind the commands you were pleased 
 to honour me with a little before your departure from 
 Paris, that I should give you a precise account of every 
 circumstance and accident of my life, and conceal nothing. 
 You see, by what I have already related, that my 
 ecclesiastical occupations were diversified and relieved, 
 though not disfigured, by other employments of a more 
 diverting nature. I observed a decorum in all my actions, 
 and where I happened to make a false step some good 
 fortune or other always retrieved it. All the ecclesiastics 
 of the diocese wished to see me succeed my uncle in 
 the y\rchbishopric of Paris, but Cardinal de Richelieu 
 was of another mind ; he hated my family, and most 
 of all my person, for the reasons already mentioned, and 
 was still more exasperated for these two which follow. 
 
 I once told the late President de Mesmes what seems 
 now to me very probable, though it is the reverse of 
 what I told you some time ago — viz., that I knew a 
 person who had few or no failings but what were either 
 the effect or cause of some good qualities. I then said, 
 on the contrary, to M. de Mesmes that Cardinal de 
 
38 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Richelieu had not one great quahty but what was the 
 effect or cause of some greater imperfection. This, 
 which was only inter nos, was carried to the Cardinal, 
 I do not know by whom, under my name. You may 
 judge of the consequences. Another thing that angered 
 him was because I visited the President Barillon,^ then 
 prisoner at Amboise, concerning remonstrances made 
 to the Parliament, and that I should do it at a 
 juncture which made my journey the more noticeable. 
 Two miserable hermits and false coiners, who had 
 some secret correspondence with M. de Vendome,^ did, 
 upon some discontent or other, accuse him very falsely 
 of having proposed to them to assassinate the Cardinal, 
 and to give the more weight to their depositions they 
 named all those they thought notorious in that country ; 
 Montresor and M. Barillon were of the number. Early 
 notice of this being given me, the great love I had for 
 the President Barillon made me take post that night to 
 acquaint him with his danger and get him away from 
 Amboise, which was very feasible ; but he, insisting 
 upon his innocence, rejected my proposals, defied both 
 the accusers and their accusations, and was resolved to 
 continue in prison. This journey of mine gave a handle 
 to the Cardinal to tell the Bishop of Lisieux that I was 
 a cordial friend to all his enemies. "True enough," said 
 the Bishop; "nevertheless you ought to esteem him; 
 you have no reason to complain of him, because those 
 men whom you mean were all his true friends before 
 they became your enemies." "If it be so," replied the 
 Cardinal, "then I am very much misinformed." The 
 
 1 John James Barillon, President of the Inquests, died a prisoner at 
 Amboise. 
 
 2 Cesar de Vendume, son of Henry IV. and of Gabrielle d'Estrees, 
 died 1OG7. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 39 
 
 Bishop at this juncture did me all the kind offices 
 imaginable, and if the Cardinal had lived he would 
 undoubtedly have restored me to his favour ; for His 
 h2minence was very well disposed, especially when the 
 Bishop assured him that, though I knew myself ruined 
 at Court to all intents and purposes, yet I would never 
 come into the measures of M. le Grand. ^ I was indeed 
 importuned by my friend M. de Thou to join in that 
 enterprise, but I saw the weakness of their foundation, 
 as the event has shown, and therefore rejected their 
 proposals. 
 
 The Cardinal de Richelieu died in 1042, before the 
 good Bishop had made my peace w4th him, and so I 
 remained among those who had rendered themselves 
 obnoxious to the Ministry. yVt first this character was 
 very prejudicial to my interest. Although the King was 
 overjoyed at his death, yet he carefully observed all the 
 appearances of respect for his deceased minister, con- 
 firmed all his legacies, cared for his family, kept all his 
 creatures in the Ministry, and affected to irown upon all 
 who had not stood well with the Cardinal ; but I was 
 the only exception to this general rule. When the 
 Archbishop of Paris '■" presented me to the Iving, I was 
 treated with such distinguishing marks of Royal favour 
 as surprised all the Court. His Majesty talked of my 
 studies and sermons, rallied me with an obliging freedom, 
 and bade me come to Court once every week. The reasons 
 of these extraordinary civilities were utterly unknown to 
 us till the night before his death, when he told them to 
 the Queen. I passed them by in silence before as having 
 no bearing on my history, but I am obliged to insert 
 
 1 M. de Cinq-Mars, Henry Coeffier, otherwise called Ruze d'Effial, 
 JNIaster of the Horse of France ; he was beheaded September 12th, 1642 
 
 2 John Francis de Gondi, died 1G54. 
 
40 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 them here because they have been, in their consequences, 
 more fortunate than I seemed to have any just claim to 
 expect. 
 
 A short time after I left the college my governor's 
 valet de chamhre found, at a poor pinmaker's house, a 
 niece of hers but fourteen years old, who was sur- 
 prisingly beautiful. After I had seen her he bought her 
 for me for 150 pistoles, hired a little house for her, and 
 placed her sister with her ; when I went to see her I 
 found her in great heaviness of mind, which I attributed 
 to her modesty. I next day found what was yet more 
 surprising and extraordinary than her beauty ; she talked 
 wisely and religiously to me, and yet without passion. 
 She cried only when she could not help it. She 
 feared her aunt to a degree that made me pity her. 
 I admired her wit first, and then her virtue, for trial of 
 which I pressed her as far as was necessary, until I was 
 even ashamed of myself. I waited till night to get her 
 into my coach, and then carried her to my aunt De 
 Maignelai, who put her into a convent, where she died 
 eight or ten years after, in great reputation for piety. 
 My aunt, to whom this young creature confessed that 
 the menaces of the pinmaker had terrified her so much 
 that she would have done whatsoever I wished, was so 
 affected with my behaviour that she went to tell it to 
 the Bishop of Lisieux, who told it to the King. 
 
 This second adventure was not of the same nature, 
 but it made as great an impression on the King's mind. 
 It was a duel I had with Coutenau, captain of a company 
 of the King's Light -horse, brave, but wild, who, riding 
 post from Paris as I was going there, made the ostler 
 take off my saddle and put on his. Upon my telling him 
 I had hired the horse, he gave me a swinging box on 
 the ear, which fetched blood. I instantly drew my sword, 
 and so did he. While making our first thrusts his foot 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 4I 
 
 slipped, and his sword dropped out of his hand as he fell 
 to the ground. I retired a little and bade him pick it up, 
 which he did, but it was by the point, for he presented 
 me the handle and begged a thousand pardons. He told 
 this little story afterwards to the King, with whom he 
 had great freedom. His Majesty was pleased with it, 
 and remembered both time and place, as you will see 
 hereafter. 
 
 The good reception I found at Court gave my rela- 
 tives some grounds to hope that I might have the 
 Coadjutorship of Paris. At first they found a great deal 
 of difficulty in my uncle's narrowness of spirit, which is 
 always attended with fears and jealousies ; but at length 
 they prevailed upon him, and would have then carried 
 our point, if my friends had not given it out, much against 
 my judgment, that it was done by the consent of the 
 Archbishop of Paris, and if they had not suffered the 
 Sorbonne, the cures and chapter to return him their 
 thanks. This affair made too much noise in the world 
 for my interest. For Cardinal Mazarin, De Noyers and 
 Chavigni thwarted me, and told His INIajesty that the 
 chapter should not be entrusted with the power of no- 
 minating their own archbishop. And the King was heard 
 to say that I was yet too young. 
 
 But we met with a worse obstacle than all from 
 M. de Noyers, Secretary of State, one of the three 
 favourite ministers, who passed for a religious man, and 
 was suspected by some to be a Jesuit in disguise. He 
 had a secret longing for the Archbishopric of Paris, which 
 would shortly be vacant, and therefore thought it expedient 
 to remove me from that city, where he saw I was extremely 
 beloved, and provide me with some post suitable to my 
 years. Pie proposed to the Iving by his confessor to 
 nominate me Bishop of i\gde. The King readily granted 
 the request, which confounded me beyond all expression. 
 
42 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 I had no mind to go to Languedoc, and yet so great are the 
 inconveniences of a refusal that not a man had courage to 
 advise me to it. I became, therefore, my own counsellor, 
 and having resolved with myself what course to take, I 
 waited upon His Majest}^, and thanked him for his gracious 
 offer, but said I dreaded the weight of so remote a see, 
 and that my years wanted advice, which it is difficult 
 to obtain in provinces so distant. I added to this other 
 arguments, which you may guess at. I was in this adven- 
 ture also more happy than wise. The King continued to 
 treat me very kindly. This circumstance, and the retreat 
 of M. de Noyers, who fell into the snare that Chavigni 
 had laid for him, renewed my hopes of the Coadjutorship 
 of Paris. The King died about this time, in 1643. M. 
 de Beaufort,^ w^ho had been always devoted to the Queen's 
 interest, and even passed for her gallant, pretended now 
 to govern the kingdom, of which he was not so capable 
 as his valet de chamhvc. The Bishop of Beauvais," the 
 greatest idiot you ever knew, took upon himself the 
 character of Prime Minister, and on the first day of his 
 administration required the Dutch to embrace the Roman 
 Catholic religion if they desired to continue in alliance 
 with France. The Oueen was ashamed of this ridiculous 
 minister, and sent for me to offer my father''" the place 
 of Prime Minister ; but he refusing peremptorily to leave 
 his cell and the Fathers of the Oratory, the place was 
 conferred upon Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 You may now imagine that it was no great task for 
 me to obtain what I desired at a time that nothing was 
 
 1 Francis, son of Cesar de Vendome ; he was killed in Candia, 
 i66g. 
 
 2 Austin Potier, uncle to Rene Potier, St. de Blancmenil, President 
 of the Parlianient. 
 
 3 Philip Emanuel de Gondi, Count de Joigni ; he retired to the 
 Fathers of the Oratory, and became priest ; died 1662, aged 81. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 43 
 
 refused, which made Feuillade say that the only words 
 in the French tongue were " La Reine est si bonne/' 
 
 Madame de Magnelai and the Bisliop of Lisieux 
 desired the Queen to grant me the Coadjutorship of 
 Paris, but they were repulsed, the Queen assuring them 
 that none should have it but my father, who kept from 
 Court, and would never be seen at the Louvre, except 
 once, when the Queen told him publicly that the King, 
 the very night before he died, had ordered her expressly 
 to have it solicited for me, and that he said in the 
 presence of the Bishop of Lisieux that he had me always 
 in his thoughts since the adventures of the pinmaker and 
 Captain Coutenau. What relation had these trifling stories 
 to the Archbishopric of Paris? Thus we see that affairs 
 of the greatest moment often owe their rise and success 
 to insignificant trifles and accidents. All the companies 
 went to thank the Queen, I sent 16,000 crowns to Rome 
 for my bull, with orders not to desire any favour, lest it 
 should delay the despatch and give the ministers time to 
 oppose it. I received my bull accordingly ; and now you 
 will see me ascending the theatre of action, where you 
 will find scenes not indeed worthy of yourself, but not 
 altogether unworthy of your attention. 
 
44 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 AIadam, — I lay it down as a maxim, that men who 
 enter the service of the State should make it their chief 
 study to set out in the world with some notable act which 
 may strike the imagination of the people, and cause them- 
 selves to be discussed. Thus I preached first upon All 
 Saints' Day, before an audience which could not but be 
 numerous in a populous city, where it is a wonder to see 
 the Archbishop in the pulpit. I began now to think 
 seriously upon my future conduct. I found the arch- 
 bishopric sunk both in its temporals and spirituals by 
 the sordidness, negligence and incapacity of my uncle. 
 I foresaw infinite obstacles to its re-establishment, but 
 perceived that the greatest and most insuperable diffi- 
 culty lay in myself. I considered that the strictest morals 
 are necessarily required in a bishop. I felt myself the more 
 obliged to be strictly circumspect as my uncle fiad been 
 very disorderly and scandalous. I knew likewise that 
 my own corrupt inclinations would bear down all before 
 them, and that all the considerations drawn from honour 
 and conscience would prove very weak defences. At last 
 I came to a resolution to go on in my sins, and that de- 
 signedly, which without doubt is the more sinful in the 
 eyes of God, but with regard to the world is certainly 
 the best policy, because he that acts thus always takes 
 care beforehand to cover part of his failings, and thereby 
 to avoid the jumbling together of sin and devotion, than 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 45 
 
 which nothing can be more dangerous and ridiculous in 
 a clergyman. This was my disposition, which was nut 
 the most pious in the world nor yet the wickedest, for 
 I was fully determined to discharge all the duties of my 
 profession faithfully, and exert my utmost to save other 
 souls, though I took no care of my own. The Arch- 
 bishop, who was the weakest of mortals, was, neverthe- 
 less, by a common fatality attending such men, the 
 most vainglorious ; he yielded precedence to every petty 
 officer of the Crown, and yet in his own house would 
 not give the right-hand to any person of quahty that 
 came to him about business. My behaviour was the 
 reverse of his in almost everything ; I gave the right- 
 hand to all strangers in my own house, and attended 
 them even to their coach, for which I was commended 
 by some for my civility and by others for my humihty. 
 1 avoided appearing in public assemblies among people 
 of quality till I had established a reputation. AVhen I 
 thought I had done so, I took the opportunity of the 
 sealing of a marriage contract to dispute my rank with 
 M. de Guise. I had carefully studied the laws of my 
 diocese and got others to do it for me, and my right 
 was indisputable in my own province. The precedence 
 was adjudged in my favour by a decree of the Council, 
 and I found, by the great number of gentlemen who 
 then appeared for me, that to condescend to men of loii> de- 
 gree is the suirst Kuiy to equal those of the highest. I dined 
 almost every day with Cardinal Mazarin, who liked me 
 the better because I refused to engage myself in the 
 cabal called " The Importants," though many of the 
 members were my dearest friends. IM. de Beaufort, a 
 man of very mean parts, was so much out of temper 
 because the Queen had put her confidence in Cardinal 
 Mazarin, that, though Her Majesty offered him favours 
 with profusion, he would accept none, and affected to 
 
46 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 give himself the airs of an angry lover. He held aloof 
 from the Duke d'Orleans, insulted the late Prince/ and, 
 in order to support himself against the Queen-Regent, 
 the chief minister and all the Princes of the Blood, 
 formed a cabal of men who all died mad, and whom I 
 never took for conjurers from the first time I knew them. 
 Such were Beaupre, Fontrailles, Fiesque,^ Montresor, 
 who had the austerity of Cato, but not his sagacity, and 
 ]\I. de Bethune, who obliged M. de Beaufort to make 
 me great overtures, which I received very respectfully, 
 but entered into none. I told Montresor that I was 
 indebted to the Queen for the Coadjutorship of Paris, 
 and that that was enough to keep me from entering 
 into any engagement that might be disagreeable to Her 
 ?\Iajesty. Montresor said I was not obliged for it to 
 the Queen, it having been ordered before by the late 
 King, and given me at a crisis when she was not in a 
 condition to refuse it. I replied, " Permit me, sir, to 
 forget everything that may diminish my gratitude, and 
 to remember that only which may increase it." These 
 words were afterwards repeated to Cardinal Mazarin, 
 who was so pleased with me that he repeated them to 
 the Queen. 
 
 The families of Orleans and Conde, being united by 
 interest, made a jest of that surly look from which 
 Beaufort's cabal were termed " The Importants," and at 
 the same time artfully made use of the grand appear- 
 ance which Beaufort (like those who carry more sail 
 than ballast) never failed to assume upon the most 
 trifling occasions. His counsels were unseasonable, his 
 meetings to no purpose, and even his hunting matches 
 
 1 Henry de Bourbon, the second of that name, died 1646, during 
 the Regency. 
 
 2 Charles Leon, Count de Fiesque. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 47 
 
 became mysterious. In short, Beaufort was arrested at 
 the Louvre by a captain of the Queen's Guards, and 
 carried on the 2nd of September, 1643, to Vmcennes. 
 The cabal of "The Importants " was put to flight and 
 dispersed, and it was reported over all the kingdom 
 that they had made an attempt against the Cardinal's 
 life, which I do not believe, because I never saw any- 
 thing in confirmation of it, though many of the domes- 
 tics of the family of Vendume were a long time in prison 
 upon this account. 
 
 The Marquis de Nangis, who was enraged both 
 against the Queen and Cardinal, for reasons which I 
 shall tell you afterwards, was strongly tempted to come 
 into this cabal a few days before Beaufort was arrested, 
 but I dissuaded him by *telling him that fashion is 
 powerful in all the affairs of life, but more remarkably 
 so as to a man's being in fa\'our or disgrace at Court. 
 There are certain junctures when disgrace, like fire, puri- 
 fies all the bad qualities, and sets a lustre on all the 
 good ones, and also there are times when it does not 
 become an honest man to be out of favour at Court. 
 I applied this to the gentlemen of the aforesaid cabal. 
 
 I must confess, to the praise of Cardinal de Riche- 
 lieu, that he had formed two vast designs worthy of a 
 Caesar or an Alexander : that of suppressing the Pro- 
 testants had been projected before by Cardinal de Retz,^ 
 my uncle ; but that of attacking the formidable House 
 of Austria was never thought of by any before the Car- 
 dinal. He completed the first design, and had made 
 great progress in the latter. 
 
 That the King's death made no alteration in affairs 
 was owing to the bravery of the Prince de Conde and 
 the famous battle of Rocroi,.in 1643, which contributed 
 
 I Henry de Gondi, deceased iG: 
 
48 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 both to the peace and glory of the kingdom, and 
 covered the cradle of the present King with laurels. 
 Louis XIII. 's father, who neither loved nor esteemed his 
 Queen, provided him a Council, upon his death-bed, for 
 limiting the authority of the Regency, and named the 
 Cardinal Mazarin, M. Seguier,^ M. Bouthillier,'-" and 
 M. de Chavigni ; but being all Richelieu's creatures, 
 they were so hated by the public that when the King 
 was dead they were hissed at by all the footmen 
 at St. Germain, and if De Beaufort had had a grain of 
 sense, or if De Beauvais had not been a disgraceful bishop, 
 or if my father had but entered into the administration, 
 these collateral Regents would have been undoubtedly 
 expelled with ignominy, and the memory of Cardinal de 
 Richelieu been branded by the Parliament with shouts of 
 joy. 
 
 The Queen was adored much more for her troubles 
 than for her merit. Her admirers had never seen her but 
 under persecution ; and in persons of her rank suffering 
 is one of the greatest virtues. People were apt to fancy 
 that she was patient to a degree of indolence. In a word, 
 they expected wonders from her ; and Bautru used to say 
 she had already worked a miracle because the most devout 
 had forgotten her coquetry. The Duke d'Orleans, who 
 made a show as if he would have disputed the Regency 
 with the Queen, was contented to be Lieutenant-General 
 of the Kingdom. The Prince de Conde was declared 
 President of the Council, and the Parliament confirmed 
 the Regency to the Queen without limitation. The exiles 
 were called home, prisoners set at liberty, and criminals 
 pardoned. They who had been turned out were replaced 
 in their respective employments, and nothing that was 
 
 1 Peter Seguier, died 1672. 
 
 2 William de Bautru, Count de Serrant 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 49 
 
 asked was refused. The happiness of private famihes 
 seemed to be fully secured in the prosperity of the State. 
 The perfect union of the Royal Family settled the peace 
 within doors ; and the battle of Kocroi w'as such a blow 
 to the Spanish infantry that they could not recover in an 
 a,£(e. They saw at the foot of the throne, where the lierce 
 and terrible Richelieu used to thunder rather than govern, 
 a mild and gentle successor,^ who was perfectly complacent 
 and extremely troubled that his dignity of Cardinal did 
 not permit him to be as humble to all men as he desired; 
 and who, when he went abroad, had no other attendants 
 than two footmen behind his coach. Had not I, then, 
 reason for saying that it did not become an honest man 
 to be on bad terms with the Court at that time of day ? 
 You will wonder, no doubt, that nobody was then aware 
 of the consequence of imprisoning M. de Beaufort, when 
 the prison doors were set open to all others. This bold 
 stroke — at a time when the Government was so mild 
 that its authority was hardly felt — had a very great effect. 
 Though nothing was more easy, as you ha\'e seen, yet it 
 looked grand ; and all acts of this nature arc very success- 
 ful because they are attended with dignity without any 
 odium. That which generally draws an unaccountable 
 odium upon even the most necessary actions of statesmen, 
 is that, in order to compass them, they are commonly 
 obliged to struggle with very great difficulties, which, 
 when they are surmounted, are certain to render them 
 objects both of en\'y and hatred. When a considerable 
 occasion offers, where there is no \-ictory to be gained 
 because there is no difficulty to encounter, which is very 
 rare, it gives a lustre to the authority of ministers which 
 is pure, innocent and without a shadow, and not only 
 
 I Cardinal Julius Afazarin, Minister of State, who died at Vin 
 Cannes in iGoi. 
 
 4 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 establishes it, but casts upon their administration the 
 merit of actions which they have no hand in, as well 
 as of those in which they have. When the world saw 
 that the Cardinal had apprehended the man who had 
 lately brought the King back to Paris with incon- 
 ceivable pride, men's imaginations were seized with an 
 astonishing veneration. People thought themselves much 
 obliged to the minister that some were not sent to the 
 Bastille every week ; and the sweetness of his temper 
 was sure to be commended whenever he had not an 
 opportunity of doing them harm. It must be owned 
 that he had the art of improving his good luck to the 
 best advantage. He made use of all the outward 
 appearances necessary to create a belief that he had 
 been forced to take violent measures, and that the 
 counsels of the Duke d'Orleans and the Prince de Conde 
 had determined the Queen to reject his advice ; the day 
 following he seemed to be more moderate, civil and 
 frank than before ; he gave free access to all ; audiences 
 were easily had, it was no more to dine with him than 
 with a private gentleman. He had none of that grand 
 air so common to the meaner cardinals. In short, 
 though he was at the head of everybody, yet he managed 
 as if he was only their companion. That which 
 astonishes me most is that the Princes and grandees of 
 the kingdom, who, one might expect, would be more 
 quick-sighted than the common people, were the most 
 blinded. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans and the Prince de Conde — the 
 latter attached to the Court by his covetous temper — 
 thought themselves above being rivalled; the Duke^ was 
 old enough to take his repose under the shadow of his 
 
 I Henry de Bourbon, Duke d'Anguien, born 1646, died 16S6. We 
 shall often speak of him in this History. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 5I 
 
 laurels; M. de Nemours^ was but a child; M. de Guise, 
 lately returned from Brussels, was governed by Madame 
 de Pons," and thought to govern the whole Court; AI. 
 de Schomberg complied all his life long with the humour 
 of those who were at the helm ; M. de Grammont" was 
 a slave to them. The Parliament being delivered from 
 the tyranny of Richelieu imagined the golden age was 
 returning, being daily assured by the Prime Minister 
 that the Queen would not take one step without them. 
 The clergy, who are always great examples of sla\'ish 
 servitude themselves, preached it to others under the 
 plausible title of passive obedience. Thus both clergy 
 and laity were, in an instant, become the devotees of 
 Mazarin. 
 
 Being ordered by my Lord Archbishop of Paris to 
 take care of his diocese in his absence, m}' first lousiness 
 was, by the Queen's express command, to visit the Nuns 
 of the Conception, where, knowing that there were above 
 fourscore virgins, many of whom were very pretty and 
 some coquettes, I was very loth to go for fear of ex- 
 posing my virtue to temptation ; but I could not be 
 excused, so I went, and preserved my virtue to my 
 neighbour's edification, because for six weeks together 
 I did not see the face of any one of the nuns, nor talked 
 to any of them but when their veils were down, which 
 gave me a vast reputation for chastity. I continued to 
 perform all the necessary functions in the diocese as far 
 as the jealousy of my uncle would give me leave, and, 
 
 I Charles Amadeus of Sa\o3', killed in a duel by j\I. de Beaufort, 
 1O50. 
 
 -> Anne Poussart du Fort du Vigean, a younger sister to the 
 beautiful Vigean, widow to Francis Alexander d'Albret, Lord of Pons. 
 She married, in 1649, Armand John de Wignerod, Duke de Richelieu. 
 
 3 Antony de Grammont, the third of that name, created Marshal 
 of France on the 22nd of September, 1641, died 1678. 
 
 4—2 
 
52 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 forasmuch as he was generally so peevish that it was a 
 very hard matter to please him, I at length chose to sit 
 still and do nothing. Thus I made the best use imagin- 
 able of my uncle's ill-nature, being sure to convince 
 him of my honest intentions upon all occasions ; whereas 
 had I been my own master the rules of good conduct 
 would have obliged me to confine myself to things in 
 their own nature practicable. 
 
 The Cardinal Mazarin confessed to me, many years 
 afterwards, that this conduct of mine in managing the 
 affairs of the diocese, though it did him no injury, was 
 the first thing that made him jealous of my growing 
 greatness in Paris. Another thing alarmed him with as 
 little reason, and that was my undertaking to examine 
 the capacity of all the priests of my diocese, a thing 
 of inconceivable use and importance. For this end I 
 erected three tribunals, composed of canons, curates and 
 men of religious orders, who were to reduce all the 
 priests under three different classes, whereof the first 
 was to consist of men well qualified, who were therefore 
 to be left in the exercise of their functions ; the second 
 was to comprehend those who were not at present, but 
 might in time prove able men ; and the third of such 
 men as were neither now nor ever likel}'' to become so. 
 The two last classes being separated from the first, were 
 not to exercise their functions, but were lodged in 
 separate houses ; those of the second class were in- 
 structed in the doctrine, but the third only in the 
 practice of piety. As this could not but be very ex- 
 pensive, the good people opened their purses and con- 
 tributed liberally. The Cardinal was so disturbed when 
 he heard of it that he got the Queen to send for my 
 uncle upon a frivolous occasion, who, for reasons as 
 frivolous, ordered me to desist. Though I was very well 
 informed, by my good friend the Almoner, that the blow 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 53 
 
 came from Court, I bore it with a great deal more 
 patience than was consistent with a man of my spirit, 
 for I did not seem to take the least notice of it, but 
 was as gracious to the Cardinal as ever. But I was 
 not so wary in another case which happened some time 
 after, for honest Morangis telling me I was too extra- 
 vagant, which was but too true, I answered him rashly, 
 " I have made a calculation that Ciesar, when at my age, 
 owed six times as much." This remark was carried, un- 
 luckily, by a doctor then present to M. Servien,i who told 
 it maliciously to the Cardinal, who made a jest of it, as 
 he had reason to do, but he took notice of it, for which 
 I cannot blame him. 
 
 In 1645 I was invited, as a diocesan, to the assembly 
 of the clergy, which, I may truly say, was the rock- 
 whereon the little share of favour I had at Court was 
 cast away. Cardinal de Richelieu had given a cruel 
 blow to the dignity and liberty of the clergy in the 
 assembly of Mantes, and, with very barbarous circum- 
 stances, had banished six of his most considerable 
 prelates. It was resolved in this assembly of 1645 to 
 make them some amends for their firmness on that 
 occasion by inviting them to come and take their places 
 - — though they were not deputed — among their brethren. 
 When this was first proposed in the assembly nobody 
 dreamt that the Court would take offence at it, and it 
 falling to my turn to speak first, I proposed the said 
 resolution, as it had been concerted betwixt us before in 
 private conversation, and it was unanimously approved 
 of by the assembly. At my return home the Queen's 
 purse-bearer came to me with an order to attend 
 Her Majesty forthwith, which I accordingly obe3^ed. 
 When I came into her presence she said she could not 
 
 I Abel Servien, Marquis de Sable, died 1G59. 
 
54 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 have belie^'ed I would ever have been wanting in my 
 duty to that degree as to wound the memory of the 
 late King, her lord. I had such reasons to offer, as she 
 could not herself confute, and therefore referred me to 
 the Cardinal, but I found he understood those things 
 no better than Her Majesty. He spoke to me with the 
 haughtiest air in the world, refused to hear my justifi- 
 cation, and commanded me in the King's name to re- 
 tract publicly the next day in full assembly. You may 
 imagine how difficult it was for me to resolve what to 
 do. However, I did not break out beyond the bounds 
 of modest respect, and, finding that my submission made 
 no impression upon the Cardinal, I got the Bishop of 
 Aries, a wise and moderate gentlemen, to go to him along 
 with me, and to join with me in offering our reasons. 
 But we found His Eminence a very ignoramus in eccle- 
 siastical polity. I only mention this to let you see that 
 in my first misunderstanding with the Court I was not 
 to blame, and that my respect for the Cardinal upon the 
 Queen's account was carried to an excess of patience. 
 
 Some months after, his profound ignorance and en- 
 venomed malice furnished me with a fresh occasion to 
 exercise patience. The Bishop of Warmia, one of the 
 ambassadors that came to fetch the Queen of Poland, 
 was very desirous to celebrate the marriage in the Church 
 of Notre Dame. Though the Archbishops of Paris never 
 suffered solemnities of this kind to be celebrated in their 
 churches by any but cardinals of the Royal Family, and 
 though my uncle had been highly blamed by all his 
 clergy for permitting the Cardinal de Rochefoucault to 
 marry the Queen of England,^ nevertheless I was ordered 
 by a Icttrc dc cachet to prepare the said Church of Notre 
 Dame for the Bishop of Warmia, which order ran in the 
 
 I Henrietta Maria of France, daughter of Henry IV., died 1669. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 55 
 
 same style as that given to the prevot dcs mavchands when 
 he is to prepare the Hotel de Ville for a public ball. I 
 showed the letter to the deans and canons, and said I 
 did not doubt but it was a stratagem of one or other of 
 the Secretary of State's clerks to get a gift of money. I 
 thereupon went to the Cardinal, pressed him with both 
 reasons and precedents, and said that as I was his 
 particular humble servant I hoped he would be pleased 
 to lay them before Her Majesty, making use of all other 
 persuasion which I thought would dispose him to a 
 compliance. It was then that I learned that he only 
 wanted an opportunity to embroil me w^ith the Queen, 
 for though I saw plainly that he was sorry he had given 
 such orders before he knew their consequence, yet, after 
 some pause, he reassumed his former obstinacy to the 
 very last degree ; and, because I spoke in the name of 
 the Archbishop and of the whole Church of Paris, he 
 stormed as much as if a private person upon his own 
 authority had presumed to make a speech to him at the 
 head of fifty malcontents. I endeavoured with all respect 
 to show him that our case was quite different ; but he 
 was so ignorant of our manners and customs that he took 
 everything by the wrong handle. He ended the conver- 
 sation very abruptly and rudely, and referred me to the 
 Queen. I found Her Majesty in a fretful mood, and all 
 I could get out of her was a promise to hear the chapter 
 upon this affair, without whose consent I had declared I 
 could not conclude anything. 
 
 I sent for them accordingly, and having introduced 
 them to the Queen, they spoke very discreetly and to the 
 purpose. The Queen sent us back to the Cardinal, who 
 entertained us only with impertinences, and as he had 
 but a superficial knowledge of the French language, he 
 concluded by telling me that I had talked very insolently to 
 him the night before. You may imagine that that word 
 
56 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 was enough to acx me, but having resolved beforehand 
 to keep my temper, I smiled, and said to the deputies, 
 "Gentlemen, this is fine language." He was nettled at 
 my smile, and said to me in a loud tone, " Do you know 
 whom you talk to ? I will teach you how to behave." 
 Now, I confess my blood began to boil. I told him that 
 the Coadjutor of Paris was talking to Cardinal Mazarin, 
 but that perhaps he thought himself the Cardinal de 
 Lorraine^ and me the Bishop of Metz, his suffragan. 
 
 Then we went away and met the Marshal d'Estrees- 
 coming up to us, who came to advise me not to break 
 with the Court, and to tell me that things might be 
 arranged ; and when he found I was of another opinion, 
 he told me in plain terms that he had orders from the 
 Queen to oblige me to come to her. I went without 
 more ado, accompanied by the deputies, and found her 
 more gracious and better humoured than I am able to 
 express. She told me that she had a mind to see me, 
 not so much in relation to our affair, which might be 
 easily accommodated, as to reprimand me for using such 
 language to the poor Cardinal, who was as meek as a 
 lamb, and loved me as his own son. She added all the 
 kind things possible, and ordered the dean and deputies 
 to go along with me to the Cardinal's house, that we 
 might consult together what course to take. This was 
 so much against my inclination that I gave the Queen to 
 understand that no person in the world but Her Majesty 
 could have persuaded me to it. We found the minister 
 even milder than his mistress. He made a world of 
 excuses for the word " insolent," by which he said, and 
 perhaps it may be true, that he meant no more than 
 
 I Charles de Lorraine, born 1525, died 1574. 
 
 z Francis Annibal d'Estrees, who died in 1070, aged 98. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 57 
 
 insoUlo, a word signifying " somewhat uncommon." He 
 showed me all the civility imaginable, but, instead of 
 coming to any determination, put us off to another oppor- 
 tunity. A few days after a letter was brought me at 
 midnight from the vVrchbishop, commanding me to let the 
 Bishop of Warmia perform the marriage without any more 
 opposition. Had I been wise I should have stopped there, 
 because a man ought in prudence to make his peace with 
 the Court upon any terms consistent with honour. J5ut 
 I was young, and the more provoked because I perceived 
 that all the fair words gi\'en me at Fontainebleau were 
 but a feint to gain time to write about the affair to my 
 uncle, then at Angers. However, I said nothing to the 
 messenger, more than that I w^as glad my uncle had so 
 well brought me off. The chapter being likewise ser\-ed 
 with the same order, we sent the Court this answer : 
 That the Archbishop might do what he listed in the nave 
 of the church, l)ut that the choir belonged to the chapter, 
 and they would yield it to no man but himself or his 
 coadjutor. The Cardinal knew the meaning of this, and 
 thereupon resolved to have the marriage solemnised in 
 the Chapel Royal, whereof he said the Great Almoner was 
 bishop. But this being a yet more important question 
 than the other, I laid the inconveniences of it before him 
 in a letter. This nettled him, and he made a mere jest 
 of my letter. I gave the Queen of Poland to understand 
 that if she was married in that manner I should be 
 forced, even against my will, to declare the marriage 
 void; but that there remained one expedient which would 
 effectually remove all difficulties, viz., that the marriage 
 might be performed in the King's Chapel, and should 
 stand good provided that the Bishop of Warmia came 
 to me for a license. 
 
 The (Hieen, resolving to lose no more time by awaiting 
 new orders from Angers, and fearing the least iiaw in her 
 
5^ MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 marriage, the Court was obliged to comply with my pro- 
 posal, and the ceremony was performed accordingly. 
 
 Not long after this marriage I was unhappily embroiled 
 with the Duke d'Orleans, upon an occasion of no greater 
 importance than my footcloth in the Church of Notre Dame, 
 which was by mistake removed to his seat. I complained 
 of it to him, and he ordered it to be restored. Nevertheless 
 the Abbe de la Riviere made him believe I had put an 
 affront upon him that was too public to be pardoned. The 
 Duke was so simple as to believe it, and, while the courtiers 
 turned all into banter, he swore he would receive incense 
 before me at the said church for the future. In the mean- 
 time the Oueen sent for me, and told me that the Duke was 
 in a terrible passion, for which she was very sorry, but that 
 nevertheless she could not help being of his opinion, and 
 therefore insisted upon it that I ought to give him satisfac- 
 tion in the Church of Notre Dame the Sunday following. 
 Upon the whole she referred me to Cardinal Mazarin, who 
 declared to me at first that he was very sorry to see me in 
 so much trouble, blamed the Abbe for having incensed the 
 Duke to such a degree, and used all the arguments he could 
 to wheedle me to give my consent to being degraded. And 
 when he saw I was not to be led he endeavoured to drive 
 me into the snare. He stormed with an air of authority, 
 and would fain have bullied me into compliance, telling me 
 that hitherto he had spoken as a friend, but that I had 
 forced him henceforth to speak as a Minister. He also 
 began to threaten, and the conversation growing warm he 
 sought to pick a quarrel by insinuating that if I w^ould do 
 as St. Ambrose did, I ought to lead a life like him. As 
 he spoke this loud enough to be heard by some bishops at 
 the other end of the room, I likewise raised my voice, and 
 told him I would endeavour to make the best use of his 
 advice, but he might assure himself I was fully resolved so 
 to imitate St. Ambrose in this affair that I might, through 
 
CARDINAL DE KETZ 59 
 
 bis means, obtain ^^race to be able to imitate him in all 
 others. I had not l^een long gone home when the ?\Iar- 
 shal d'Estrees and M. Senneterre came, furnished with all 
 the flowers of rhetoric, to persuade me that degradation 
 was honourable, and finding me immovable, they insinuated 
 that my obstinacy might oblige His Highness to use force, 
 and order his guards to carry me, in spite of myself, to 
 Xotre Dame, and place me there on a scat below his. I 
 thought this suggestion too ridiculous to mind it at hrst, 
 but being forewarned of it that very evening by the Duke's 
 Chancellor, I put myself upon the defensi\e, which I think 
 is the most ridiculous piece of folly I was ever guilty of, 
 considering it was against a son of France, and when there 
 was a profound trantiuillity in the State, without the least 
 appearance of any commotion. The Duke, to whom I had 
 the honour of being related, was pleased with my boldness. 
 He remembered the Abbe de la Riviere for his insolence 
 in complaining that the Prince de Conti^ was marked 
 down for a cardinal before him ; besides, the Duke knew 
 1 was in the right, ha\'ing' made it \ery evident in a 
 statement I had published upon this head. He ac- 
 (juainted the Cardinal with it, said he would not sutler 
 the least violence to be offered to me ; that I was both 
 his kinsman and devoted servant, and that he would not 
 set out for the army till he saw the affair at an end. 
 All the Court was in consternation for fear of a rup- 
 ture, especially w^hen the Prince de Condc had been in- 
 formed by the Queen of what his son had said ; and when 
 he came to my house and found there sixty or eighty 
 gentlemen, this made him belie\'e that a league was already 
 made with the Duke, but there was nothing in it. He 
 swore, he threatened, he begged, he flattered, and in hib 
 transports he let fall some expressions which showed that 
 
 I Armand de Bourbon, died lOGo. 
 
6o 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the Duke was much more concerned for my interest than 
 he ever yet owned to me. I submitted that very instant, 
 and told the Prince that I would do anything rather than 
 the Royal Family should be divided on my account. The 
 Prince, who hitherto found me immovable, was so touched 
 at my sudden surrender in complaisance to his son, at 
 the very time, too, when he himself had just assured me I 
 was to expect a powerful protection from him, that he 
 suddenly changed his temper, so that instead of thinking as 
 he did at first that there was no satisfaction great enough 
 for the Duke d'Orleans, he now determined plainly in 
 favour of the expedient I had so often proposed — viz., that 
 I should go and declare to him, in the presence of the 
 whole Court, that I never designed to be wanting in the 
 respect I owed him, and that the orders of the Church had 
 obliged me to act as I did at Notre Dame. The Cardinal 
 and the Abbe de la Riviere were enraged to the last de- 
 gree, but the Prince put them into such fear of the Duke 
 that they were fain to submit. The Prince took me to 
 the Duke d'Orleans' house, where I gave them satisfaction 
 before the whole Court, precisely in the words above 
 mentioned. His Highness was quite satisfied with my 
 reasons, carried me to see his medals, and thus ended the 
 controversy. 
 
 As this affair and the marriage of the Queen of Poland 
 had embroiled me with the Court, you may easily conceive 
 what turn the courtiers gave to it. But here I found by 
 experience tliat all fJic powers upon earth cannot hurt the rcpn- 
 tatioji of a man who preserves it established and unspotted in- the 
 society whereof he is a nicmher. All the learned clergy took 
 my part, and I soon perceived that many of those who had 
 before blamed my conduct now retracted. I made this 
 observation upon a thousand other occasions. 1 even 
 obliged the Court some time after to commend my pro- 
 ceedings, and took an opportunity to convince the Queen 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 6l 
 
 that it was my dignity and not any want of respect and 
 gratitude that made me resist the Court in the two former 
 cases. The Cardinal was very well pleased with me, and 
 said in public that he found me as much concerned for 
 the King's service as I was before for the honour of mv 
 character. 
 
 It falling to my turn to make the speech at the breaking 
 
 up of the assembly of the clergy at Paris, I had the good 
 
 luck to please both the clergy and the Court. Cardinal 
 
 Mazarin took me to supper with him alone, seemed to bu 
 
 clear of all prejudices against me, and I verily beheve was 
 
 fully persuaded that he had been imposed upon. But I 
 
 was too much beloved in Paris to continue long in favour 
 
 at Court. This was a crime that rendered me disagreeable 
 
 in the eyes of a refined Italian statesman, and which was 
 
 the more dangerous from the fact that I lost no opportunity 
 
 of aggrax'ating it by a natural and unaffected expense, to 
 
 which my air of negligence gave a lustre, and by my great 
 
 alms and bounty, which, though \ery often secret, had the 
 
 louder echo ; whereas, in truth, I had acted thus at first 
 
 only in compliance with inclination and out of a sense of 
 
 duty. r3ut the necessity I w^as under of supporting myself 
 
 against the Court obliged me to be }L't more liberal. I 
 
 do but just mention it here to show you that the Court 
 
 was jealous of me, when I never thought myself capable of 
 
 gix'ing them the least occasion, which made me reflect that 
 
 a man is oftener deceived by distrusting than by being 
 
 over-credulous. 
 
 Cardinal Mazarin, who was born and lircd in the Pope's 
 dominions, where papal authority has no limits, took 
 the impetus given to the regal power by his tutor, the 
 Cardinal de Richelieu, to be natural to the body politic, 
 which mistake of his occasioned the civil war, though we 
 must look much higher for its prime cause. 
 
 It is abo\'e 1,200 years since France has been go\'erned 
 
62 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 by Kings, but they were not as absolute as they are now. 
 Indeed, their authority was never hmited by written laws 
 as the Kings of England and Castile, but only moderated 
 by received customs, deposited, as I may say, at first in 
 the hands of the"^ states of the kingdom, and afterwards in 
 those of the Parliament. The registering of treaties with 
 other Crowns and the ratifications of edicts for raising 
 money are almost obliterated images of that wise medium 
 between the exorbitant power of the Kings and the licen- 
 tiousness of the people instituted by our ancestors. Wise 
 and good Princes found that this medium was such a 
 seasoning to their power as made it delightful to their 
 people. On the other hand, weak and vicious Kings always 
 hated it as an obstacle to all their extravagances. The 
 history of the Sire de Joinville makes it evident that St. 
 Louis was an admirer of this scheme of government, and 
 the writings of Oresme, Bishop of Lisieux, and of the 
 famous Juvenal des Ursins, convince us that Charles V,, 
 who merited the surname of Wise, never thought his 
 power to be superior to the laws and to his duty. Louis 
 XL, more cunning than truly wise, broke his faith upon 
 this head as well as all others. Louis XIL would have 
 restored this balance of power to its ancient lustre if the 
 ambition of Cardinal Amboise,^ who governed him abso- 
 lutely, had not opposed it. 
 
 The insatiable avarice of Constable Montmorency ^ 
 tended rather to enlarge than restrain the authority of 
 Francis L The extended views and vast designs of M. 
 de Guise would not permit them to think of placing bounds 
 to the prerogative under Francis IL In the reigns of 
 Charles IX. and Henry III. the Court was so fatigued 
 
 1 George d'Amboise, the first of the name, in 1498 Minister to Louis 
 XII., deceased 1510. 
 
 2 Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France in 153S, died 1567. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 63 
 
 with civil broils that they took everything for rebelhon 
 which was not submission. Henry IV., who was not 
 afraid of the laws, because he trusted in himself, showed 
 he had a high esteem for them. The Duke de Rohan 
 used to say that Louis XIII. was jealous of his own 
 authority because he was ignorant of its full extent, for 
 the Marshal d'Ancre^ and M. de Luynes'-' were mere dunces, 
 incapable of informing him. Cardinal Richelieu, who suc- 
 ceeded them, collected all the wicked designs and blunders 
 of the two last centuries to serve his grand purpose. He 
 laid them down as proper maxims for establishing the 
 King's authority, and, fortune seconding his designs by 
 the disarming of the Protestants in France, by the victories 
 of the Swedes, by the weakness of the Empire and of 
 Spain, he established the most scandalous and dangerous 
 tyranny that perhaps ever enslaved a State in the best 
 constituted monarchy under the sun. Custom, which has 
 in some countries inured men even to broil as it were in 
 the heat of the sun, has made things familiar to us which 
 our forefathers dreaded more than fire itself. We no longer 
 feel the slavery which they abhorred more for the interest 
 of their King than for their own. Cardinal de Richelieu 
 counted those things crimes which before him were looked 
 upon as virtues. The Mirons, Harlays, Marillacs, Pibracs 
 and the Fayes, those martyrs of the State who dispelled 
 more factions by their wholesome maxims than were raised 
 in France by Spanish or British gold, were defenders of 
 the doctrine for which the Cardinal de Richelieu conlined 
 President Barillon in the prison of Amboise. And the 
 Cardinal began to punish magistrates for advancing those 
 truths which they were obliged by their oaths to defend 
 at the hazard of their lives. 
 
 1 Concino Concini, assassinated in the Louvre, 161 7. 
 
 2 Charles d'Albert, Duke de Luynes, Constable of France, died 
 1G21. 
 
64 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Our wise Kings, who understood their true interest, 
 made the ParUament the depositary of their ordinances, to 
 the end that they might exempt themselves from part of 
 the odium that sometimes attends the execution of the 
 most just and necessary decrees. They thought it no 
 disparagement to their royalty to be bound by them — like 
 unto God, who Himself obeys the laws He has pre- 
 ordained. Ministers of State, who are generally so blinded 
 by the splendour of their fortune as never to be contented 
 with what the laws allow, make it their business to over- 
 turn them; and Cardinal de Richelieu laboured at it more 
 constantly than any other, and with equal application and 
 imprudence. 
 
 God only is self-existent and independent ; the most 
 rightful monarchs and established monarchies in the world 
 cannot possibly be supported but by the conjunction of 
 arms and laws — a union so necessary that the one cannot 
 subsist without the other. Laws without the protection 
 of arms sink into contempt, and arms which are not tem- 
 pered by laws quickly turn a State into anarchy. The 
 Roman commonwealth being set aside by Julius Cajsar, 
 the supreme power which was devolved upon his successors 
 by force of arms subsisted no longer than they were able 
 to maintain the authority of the laws ; for as soon as the 
 laws lost their force the power of the Roman Emperors 
 vanished, and the very men that were their favourites, 
 having got possession of their seals and their arms, con- 
 verted their masters' substance into their own, and, as it 
 were, sucked them dry under the shelter of those repealed 
 laws. The Roman Empire, formerly sold by auction to 
 the highest bidder, and the Turkish Emperors, whose 
 necks are exposed every day to the bowstring, show us 
 in very bloody characters the blindness of those men that 
 make authority to consist only in force. 
 
 But why need we go abroad for examples when we have 
 
CAKUINVL DE RETZ 65 
 
 SO many at home ? Pepin, in dethroning the Mero\ingian 
 family, and Capet, in dispossessing the Carlovingians, 
 made use of nothing else but the same power which the 
 ministers, their predecessors, had acquired under the au- 
 thority of their masters ; and it is observable that the 
 Mayors of the Palace and the Counts of Paris placed them- 
 selves on the thrones of Kings exactly by the same methods 
 that gained them their master's favours — viz., Ity weaken- 
 ing and changing the laws of the land, which at lirst 
 always pleases weak Princes, who fancy it aggrandises 
 their power, but in its consequence gi\es a power to the 
 great men and motives to the connnon people to rebel 
 against their authority. Cardinal de Richelieu was 
 cunning enough to ha\e all these views, but he sacriJiced 
 e\'erything to his interest. He W(3uld govern according to 
 his own fancy, which scorned to be tied to rules, even in 
 cases where it w^ould ha\-e C(Dst him nothnig to obserxc 
 them. And he acted his part so well that if his successor 
 had been a man of his al)ilities I doubt not that the 
 title of Prime Minister, which he was the lirst to assume, 
 would ha\'e been as odious in France in a little tune as 
 were those of the Maire du Palais and the Count de Paris. 
 Put by the providence of God Cardinal JMazarin, who 
 succeeded him, was not capable of gi^ng the State any 
 jealousy of his usurpation. As these two ministers con- 
 tributed chielly, though in a different way, to the ci\il war, 
 I judge it highly necessary to give you the particular 
 character of each, and to draw a parallel between both. 
 
 Cardinal de Richelieu was well descended ; his merit 
 sparkled even in his youth. He was taken notice of at 
 the Sorbonne, and it was \'ery soon observed that he had 
 a strong genius and a li\ely fancy. He was commonly 
 happy in the choice of his parties. He was a man of his 
 \\ord, unless great interests swayed him to the contrary, 
 and in such a case he was \erv artful to preserx-e all the 
 
 5 
 
66 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 appearances of probity. He Avas not liberal, yet he gave 
 more than he promised, and knew admirably well how to 
 season all his favours. He was more ambitious than was 
 consistent with the rules of morality, although it must be 
 owned that whenever he dispensed with them in favour of 
 his extravagant ambition his great merit made it almost 
 excusable. He neither feared dangers nor yet despised 
 them, and prevented more by his sagacity than he sur- 
 mounted by his resolution. He was a hearty friend, and 
 even wished to be beloved by the people ; but though he 
 had civility, a good aspect, and all the other qualifications 
 to gain that love, yet he still wanted something — I know 
 not w^hat to call it — which is absolutely necessary in this 
 case. By his power and Royal state he debased and 
 swallowed up the personal majesty of the King. He dis- 
 tinguished more judiciously than any man in the world 
 between bad and worse, good and better, which is a great 
 qualification in a minister. He was too apt to be im- 
 patient at mere trifles when they had relation to things 
 of moment ; but those blemishes, owing to his lofty spirit, 
 were always accompanied with the necessary talent of 
 knowledge to make amends for those imperfections. He 
 had religion enough for this world. His own good sense, 
 or else his inclination, always led him to the practice of 
 virtue if his self-interest did not bias him to evil, which, 
 whenever he committed it he did so knowingly. He 
 extended his concern for the State no further than his own 
 life, though no minister ever did more than he to make the 
 world believe he had the same regard for the future. In a 
 word, all his vices were of that kind that they received a 
 lustre from his great fortune, because they were such as 
 could have no other instruments to work with but great 
 virtues. You will easily conceive that a man who 
 possessed such excellent qualities, and appeared to have 
 as many more — which he had not — found it no hard task 
 
CARDINAL DL: RETZ 67 
 
 to preserve that respect among mankind which freed him 
 from contempt, though not from hatred. 
 
 Cardinal Mazarin's character was the reverse of the 
 former ; his birth was mean and his youth scandalous. 
 He was thrashed by one Aloretto, a goldsniith of Rome, as 
 he was going out of the amphitheatre, for ha\ing played 
 the sharper. He was a captain in a foot regiment, and 
 Bagni, his general, told me that while he was under 
 his command, which was but three months, he was only 
 looked upon as a cheat. By the interest of Cardinal 
 Antonio Barberini he was sent as Nuncio Extraordinary 
 to I'Vance, whicli office was not obtained in those days 
 by fair means. He so tickled Chavigni by his loose 
 Italian stories that he was shortly after introduced to 
 Cardinal de Ivichelieu, who made him Cardinal with the 
 same view which, it is thought, determined the Kmperor 
 Augustus ro lea\'e the succession of the Empire to 
 Tiberius. He was still Richelieu's obseiiuious, humble 
 servant, notwithstanding the purple. The Queen making 
 choice of him, for want of another, his pedigree 
 was immediately derived from a princely family. The 
 rays of fortune having dazzled him and everyljody about 
 him, he rose, and they glorified him for a second 
 Richelieu, whom he had the impudence to ape, though 
 he had nothing of him ; for what his predecessor counted 
 honourable he esteemed scandalous. He made a mere 
 jest of religion. Ele promised everything without scruple; 
 at the same time he intended to perform nothing. He 
 was neither good-natured nor cruel, for he never remem- 
 bered either good offices or bad ones. Ele loved himself 
 too well, which is natural to a sordid soul; and feared 
 himself too little, the true characteristic of those that 
 have no regard for their reputation. He foresaw an evil 
 well enough, because he was usuall}' timid, but never 
 applied a suitable remedy, because he had more fear 
 
 5—2 
 
68 MEMOIRS OF T?IE 
 
 than wisdom. He had wit, indeed, together with a most 
 insinuating address and a gay, courtly behaviour ; but a 
 villainous heart appeared constantly through all, to such 
 a degree as betrayed him to be a fool in adversity and 
 a knave in prosperity. In short, he was the first 
 minister that could be called a complete trickster, for 
 which reason his administration, though successful and 
 absolute, never sat well upon him, for contempt — the 
 most dangerous disease of any State — crept insensibly into 
 the Ministry and easily diffused its poison from the head 
 to the members. You will not wonder, therefore, that 
 there were so many unlucky cross rubs in an adminis- 
 tration which so soon followed that of Cardinal de 
 Richelieu and was so different from it. It is certain 
 that the imprisonment of M. de Beaufort impressed the 
 people with a respect for Mazarin Avhich the lustre of 
 his purple would never have procured from private men. 
 Ondedei (since Bishop of P'rejus) told me that the 
 Cardinal jested with him upon the levity of the French 
 nation on this point, and that at the end of four months 
 the Cardinal had set himself up in his own opinion for 
 a Richelieu, and even thought he had greater abilities. 
 It would take up volumes to record all his faults, the 
 least of which were very important in one respect which 
 deserves a particular remark. As he trod in the steps 
 of Cardinal de Richelieu, who had completely abolished 
 all the ancient maxims of government, he went in a path 
 surrounded with precipices, which Richelieu was aware of 
 and took care to avoid. But Cardinal Mazarin made no 
 use of those props by which Richelieu kept his footing. 
 For instance, though Cardinal de Richelieu aifected to 
 humble whole bodies and societies, yet he studied to oblige 
 individuals, which is sufficient to give you an idea of all 
 the rest. He had indeed some unaccountable illusions, 
 which he pushed to the utmost extremity. The most 
 dangerous kind of illusion in State affairs is a sort of 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ <mj 
 
 ]eih3.Y^^y that never happens without showin,;:;" pronounced 
 symptoms. The aboHshing of ancient laws, the destruction 
 of that golden mediuin which was established between the 
 Prince and the people, and the setting up a power purely 
 and absolutely despotic, were the original causes of those 
 political con\-uIsions which shook France in the days of 
 our forefathers. 
 
 Cardinal de Richelieu managed the kingdom as rnounte- 
 l)anks do their patients, with violent remedies which put 
 strength into it, but it was only a con\'ulsive strength 
 which exhausted its \dtal organs. Cardinal Mazarm, like 
 a very unskilful physician, did not observe that the vital 
 organs were decayed, nor had he the skill to support them 
 by the chemical preparations of his predecessor ; his only 
 remedy was to let blood, which he drew so plentifully that 
 the patient fell into a lethargy, and our medicaster was 
 yet so stupid as to mistake this lethargy for a real state of 
 health. The provinces, abandoned to the rapine of the 
 superintendents, were stifled, as it were, under the pressure 
 of their heavy misfortunes, and the efforts they made to 
 shake them off in the time of Richelieu added only to their 
 weight and bitterness. The Parliaments, wdiich had so 
 lately groaned under tyranny, were in a manner insensible 
 to present miseries by a too fresh and lively remembrance 
 of their past troubles. The grandees, who had for the 
 most part been banished from the kingdom, were glad to 
 have returned, and therefore took their till of ease and 
 pleasure. If our quack had but humoured this universal 
 indolence with soporiiics, the general drowsiness mi,i;ht 
 have continued much longer, but thinking it to be nothing 
 but natural sleep he applied no remedy at all. The disease 
 gained strength, grew worse and worse, the patient 
 awakened, Paris became sensible of her condition, she 
 groaned, but nobody minded it, so that she fell into a 
 frenzy, whereupon the patient became raving mad. 
 
 But now to come to particulars. Emeri, Superin- 
 
70 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 tendent of the Finances, and in my opinion the most 
 corrupt man of the age, multiphed edicts as fast as he 
 could find names to call them by. I cannot give you a 
 better idea of the man than by repeating what I heard 
 him say in full Council, viz., that faith was for tradesmen 
 only, and that the Masters of Requests who urged faith to 
 be observed in the King's affairs deserved to be punished. 
 This man, who had in his youth been condemned to be 
 hanged at Lyons, absolutely governed Mazarin in all the 
 domestic affairs of the kingdom. I mention this, among 
 many other instances which I could produce of the same 
 nature, to let you see that a nation does not feel the ex- 
 tremity of misery till its governors have lost all shame, 
 because that is the instant when the subjects throw off all 
 respect and awake convulsively out of their lethargy. 
 
 The Swiss seemed as it were crushed under the weight 
 of their chains, when three of their powerful cantons re- 
 volted and formed themselves into a league. The Dutch 
 thought of nothing but an entire subjection to the tyrant 
 Duke of Alva, when the Prince of Orange, by the peculiar 
 destiny of great geniuses, who see further into the future 
 than all the world besides, conceived a plan and restored 
 their liberty. The reason of all this is plain : that which 
 causes a supineness in suffering States is the duration of 
 the evil, which inclines the sufferers to believe it will never 
 have an end ; as soon as they have hopes of getting out of 
 it, which never fails when the evil has arrived at a certain 
 pitch, they are so surprised, so glad, and so transported, 
 that they run all of a sudden into the other extreme, and 
 are so far from thinking revolutions impossible that they 
 suppose them easy, and such a disposition alone is some- 
 times able to bring them about ; witness the late revolu- 
 tion in France. Who could have imagined three months 
 before the critical period of our disorders that such a 
 revolution could have happened in a kingdom where all 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 7 1 
 
 the branches of the Royal Family were strictly united, 
 where the Court was a slave to the Prime ^Minister, where 
 the capital city and all the provinces were in subjection to 
 him, where the armies were \'ictorious, and where the cor- 
 porations and societies seemed to have no power ? — who- 
 ex'er, I say, had said this would ha\e been thought a 
 madman, not only in the judgment of the vulgar, but in 
 the opinion of a D'Estrees or a Senneterre. 
 
 In August, 1647, there was a mighty clamour against 
 the tariff edict, imposing a general tax upon all provisions 
 that came into Paris, which the people were resolved to 
 bear no longer. But the gentlemen of the Council being 
 determined to support it, the Queen consulted the members 
 deputed from Parliament, when Cardinal ]\Iazarin, a mere 
 ignoramus in these affairs, said he \vondered that so con- 
 siderable a body as they were should mind such trifles — an 
 expression truly worthy of Alazarm. However, the Council 
 at length imagining the Parliament would do it, thought fit 
 to suppress the tariff themselves by a declaration, in order 
 to save the King's credit. Nevertheless, a few days after 
 they presented live edicts even more oppressive than the 
 tariff, not \vith any hopes of having them them received, 
 but to force the Parliament to restore the tarifl. Rather 
 than admit the new ones, the Parliament consented to re- 
 store the old one, but with so many (jualihcations that the 
 Court, despairing to find their account in it, published a 
 decree of the Supreme Council annulling that of the Par- 
 liament Avith all its modifications. Put the Chamber of 
 X'acations answered it by another, enjoining the decree of 
 Parliament to be put in execution. The Council, seeing 
 they could get no money by this method, acquainted the 
 Parliament that since they would receive no new edicts, 
 they could do no less than encourage the execution of such 
 edicts as they had formerly ratified ; and thereupon they 
 trumped up a declaration which had been registered two 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 years before for the establishment of the Chamber of 
 Domain, which was a terrible charge upon the people, had 
 very pernicious consequences, and which the Parliament 
 had passed, either through a surprise or want of better 
 judgment. The people mutinied, went in crowds to the 
 Palace, and used very abusive language to the President 
 de Thore, Emeri's son. The Parliament was obliged to 
 pass a decree against the mutineers. The Court, over- 
 joyed to see the Parliament and the people together by 
 the ears, supported the decree by a regiment of French and 
 Swiss Guards. The Parisians w^ere alarmed, and got into 
 the belfries of three churches in the street of St. Denis, 
 where the guards w^ere posted. The Provost ran to 
 acquaint the Court that the city was just taking arms. 
 Upon which they ordered the troops to retire, and pre- 
 tended they were posted there for no other end than to 
 attend the King as he went to the Church of Notre Dame ; 
 and the better to cover their design the King went next 
 day in great pomp to the said church, and the day after 
 he went to Parliament, without giving notice of his 
 coming till very late the night before, and carried with 
 him five or six edicts more destructive than the former. 
 The First President spoke very boldly against bringing the 
 King into the House after this manner, to surprise the 
 members and infringe upon their liberty of voting. Next 
 day the Masters of Requests, to whom one of these edicts, 
 confirmed in the King's presence, had added twelve col- 
 leagues, met and took a firm resolution not to admit of 
 this new creation. The Queen sent for them, told them 
 they were very pretty gentlemen to oppose the King's will, 
 and forbade them to come to Council. Instead of being 
 frightened they w^ere the more provoked, and, going into 
 the Great Hall, demanded that they might have leave to 
 enter their protest against the edict for creating new^ 
 members, which Avas granted. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 73 
 
 The Chambers being assembled the same day to 
 examine the edicts which the King had caused to be 
 ratified in his presence, the C_)ueen commanded them to 
 attend her by their deputies in the Palais Royal, and 
 told them she was surprised that they pretended to 
 meddle wnth what had been consecrated by the presence 
 of the King. These were the very words of the Chancellor. 
 The First President answered that it w^as the custom of 
 Parliament, and showed the necessity of it for preser^•ing 
 the liberty of voting. The Queen seemed to be satislied; 
 but, finding some days after that the Parliament was con- 
 sulting as to qualifying those edicts, and so render them of 
 little or no use, she ordered the King's Council to forbid 
 the Parliament meddling with the King's edicts till they 
 had declared formally whether they intended to limit the 
 King's authority. Those members that w^ere in the Court 
 interest artfully took advantage of the dilemma the 
 Parliament was in to answer the question, and in order 
 to mollify them, tacked a clause to the decrees which 
 specified the restrictions, viz., that all should be executed 
 according to the good pleasure of the King. This clause 
 pleased the Queen for awhile, but when she perceived 
 that it did not prevent the rejecting of almost any other 
 edict by the common suffrage of the Parliament, she flew 
 into a passion, and told them plainly that she would have 
 all the edicts, wdthout exception, fully executed, without 
 any modifications wdiatsoever. 
 
 Not long after this the Court of Aids, the Chamber of 
 Accounts, the Grand Council, and the Parliament formed 
 a union which w^as pretended to be for the reformation of 
 the State, but was more probably calculated for the pri\ate 
 interest of the officers, whose salaries were lessened by one 
 of the said edicts. And the Court being alarmed and 
 utterly perplexed by the decree for the said union, en- 
 deavoured, as much as in them lay, to give it this turn. 
 
74 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 to make the people have a mean opinion of it. The 
 (,)ueen acquainted the ParHament by some of the King's 
 Council that seeing this union was entered into for the 
 particular interest of the companies and not for the 
 reformation of the State, as they endeavoured to persuade 
 her, she had nothing to say to it, as everybody is at liberty 
 to represent his case to the King, but never to intermeddle 
 with the government of the State. The Parliament did 
 not relish this ensnaring discourse, and because they were 
 exasperated by the Court's apprehending some of the 
 members of the Grand Council, they thought of nothing 
 but justifying and supporting their decree of union by 
 finding out precedents, which they accordingly met with 
 in the registers, and were going to consider how to put 
 it in execution when one of the Secretaries of State came 
 to the bar of the House, and put into the hands of the 
 King's Council a decree of the Supreme Council which, 
 in very truculent terms, annulled that of the union. 
 Upon this the Parliament desired a meeting with the 
 deputies of the other three bodies, at which the Court 
 was enraged, and had recourse to the mean expedient 
 of getting the very original decree of union out of the 
 hands of the chief registrar ; for that end they sent 
 the Secretary of State and a lieutenant of the Guards, 
 who put him into a coach to drive him to the office, 
 but the people perceiving it, were up in arms imme- 
 diately, and both the secretary and lieutenant were glad 
 to get off. 
 
 After this there was a great division in the Council, 
 and some said the Queen was disposed to arrest the Par- 
 liament ; but none but herself was of that opinion, which, 
 indeed, was not likely to be acted upon, considering 
 how the people then stood affected. Therefore a more 
 moderate course was taken. The Chancellor reprimanded 
 the Parliament in the presence of the King and Court, 
 
CARDINAL DE KETZ 73 
 
 and ordered a second decree of Council to be read and 
 registered instead of the union decree, forbidding them 
 to assemble under pain of being treated as rebels. They 
 met, nevertheless, in defiance of the said decree, and had 
 several days' consultation, upon ^^d1ich the Duke d'Orleans, 
 who was very sensible they w^ould never coniply, proposed 
 an accommodation. Accordingly Cardinal iMazarin and 
 the Chancellor made some proposals, wdiich were rejected 
 with indignation. The Parliament affected to be altogether 
 concerned for the good of the public, and issued a decree 
 obliging themseh'es to continue their session and to make 
 humble remonstrances to the King for annulling the de- 
 crees of the Council. 
 
 The King's Council having obtained audience of the 
 Oueen for the Parliament, the First President strenuously 
 urged the great necessity of in\iolably preferring that 
 golden mean between the King and the subject ; proxed 
 that the b'arliamcnt had been for many ages in possession 
 of full authority to unite and assemble ; complained against 
 the annulling of their decree of union, and C(jncluded 
 with a very earnest motion for suppressing decrees of the 
 Supreme Council made in opposition to theirs. The Court, 
 l)eing moved mure by the disposition of the people than 
 by the remonstrances of the Parliament, complied imme- 
 diately, and ordered the King's Council to acquaint the 
 Parliament that the King would permit the act of uniun 
 to be executed, and that they might assemble and act in 
 concert with the other bodies for the good of the State. 
 
 You may judge how the Cabinet was mortified, but 
 the vulgar were much mistaken in thinking that the 
 weakness of Alazarin upon this occasion gave the least 
 blow to the Royal authority. In that conjuncture it was 
 impossible for him to act otherwise, for if he had con- 
 tinued intlexible on this occasion he would certcunly ha\e 
 been reckoned a madman and surrounded with barricades. 
 
yb MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 He only yielded to the torrent, and yet most people 
 accused him of weakness. It is certain this affair brought 
 him into great contempt, and though he endeavoured to 
 appease the people by the banishment of Emeri, yet 
 the Parliament, perceiving what ascendency they had 
 over the Court, left no stone unturned to demolish the 
 power of this overgrown favourite. 
 
 The Cardinal, made desperate by the failure of his 
 stratagems to create jealousy among the four bodies, 
 and alarmed at a proposition which they were going 
 to make for canceUing all the loans made to the King 
 upon excessive interest — the Cardinal, I say, being quite 
 mad with rage and grief at these disappointments, and 
 set on by courtiers who had most of their stocks in 
 these loans, made the King go on horseback to the 
 Parliament House in great pomp, and carry a wheedling 
 declaration with him, which contained some articles very 
 advantageous to the public, and a great many others 
 very ambiguous. But the people were so jealous of 
 the Court that he went without the usual acclamations. 
 The declaration was soon after censured by the 
 Parliament and the other bodies, though the Duke 
 d'Orleans exhorted and prayed that they would not 
 meddle with it, and threatened them if they did. 
 
 The Parliament also passed a decree declaring that 
 no money should be raised without verified declarations, 
 which so provoked the Court that they resolved to 
 proceed to extremities, and to make use of the signal 
 victory which was obtained at Lens on the 24th of 
 August, 1648, to dazzle the eyes of the people and 
 gain their consent to oppressing the Parliament, 
 
 All the humours of the State were so disturbed by 
 the great troubles at Paris, the fountain-head, that I 
 foresaw a fever would be the certain consequence, be- 
 cause the physician had not the skill to prevent it. As 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 77 
 
 I owed the coadjutorship of the archbishopric to the 
 Queen, I thought it my duty in every circumstance to 
 sacrifice my resentment, and even the probabihty of 
 j^dory, to gratitude ; and notwithstanding all the solicita- 
 tions of Montresor and Laigues, I made a firni resolution 
 to stick close to my own business and not to engage 
 in anything that w^as either said or done against the 
 Court at that time. Montresor had been l)rought up 
 from his youth in the faction of the Duke d' Orleans, 
 and having more wit than courage, was so much the 
 more dangerous an adviser in great affairs : men of this 
 cast only suggest measures and leave them to be executed 
 by others; Laigues, on the other hand, who was en- 
 tirely governed by Montresor, had not much l)rains, 
 but was all bravery and feared nothing : men of this 
 character dare do anything the)- are set upon by those 
 who confide in them. 
 
 blinding that my innocence and integrity gained me 
 no friends at Court, and that I had nothing to expect 
 from the minister, who mortally hated me, 1 resolved 
 to be upon my guard, by acting in respect to the Court 
 with as much freedom as zeal and sincerity ; and in 
 respect to the city, by carefully preserving my friends, 
 and doing e\erything necessary to get, or, rather, to 
 keep, the lo\'e of the people. To maintain my interest 
 in the city, 1 laid out 36,000 crowns in alms and other 
 bounties, from the joth of March to the 23th of August, 
 1648; and to please the Court 1 told the (Jueen and 
 Cardinal how the I^arisians then stood aftected, wdiich 
 they never knew before, through tiattery and prejudice. 
 I also complained to the (,}ueen of the Cardinal's cun- 
 ning and dissimulation, and made use of the saiiie inti- 
 mations wdiich I had gi\en to the Court to show the 
 Parliament that I had done all in my power to clearly 
 inform the Ministry of e\erything and to disperse the 
 
78 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 clouds always cast over their understandings by the 
 interest of inferior officers and the flattery of courtiers. 
 This made the Cardinal break with me and thwart me 
 openly at every opportunity, insomuch that when I was 
 telling the Queen in his presence that the people in 
 general were so soured that nothing but lenitives could 
 abate their rancour, he answered me with the Italian 
 fable of the wolf who swore to a flock of sheep that 
 he would protect them against all his comrades provided 
 one of them would come every morning and lick a 
 wound he had received from a dog. He entertained me 
 with the like witticisms three or four months together, 
 of which this was one of the most favourable, where- 
 upon I made these reflections : that it ivas move uiibe- 
 coiuiug a Alinistcv of State to say silly things than to do 
 thc'iii, and that any advice given hiui was criminal. 
 
 The Cardinal pretended that the success of the King's 
 arms at Lens had so mortified the Court that the Par- 
 liament and the other bodies, who expected they would 
 take a sharp revenge on them for their late conduct, 
 would have the great satisfaction of being disappointed. 
 I own I w'as fool enough to believe him, and was per- 
 fectly transported at the thought ; but with what sincerity 
 the Cardinal spoke will appear by-and-by. 
 
 On the 26th of August, 1648, the worthy Broussel, 
 councillor of the Grand Chamber, and Rene Potier, 
 Sieur de Blancmenil, President of the Inquests, were 
 both arrested by the Queen's officers. It is impossible 
 to express the sudden consternation of all men, women 
 and children in Paris at this proceeding. The people 
 stared at one another for awhile without saying a word. 
 But this profound silence was suddenly attended with a 
 confused noise of running, crying and shutting up of 
 shops, upon which I thought it my duty to go and wait 
 upon the Queen, though I was sorely vexed to see how 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 79 
 
 my credulity had been abused but the ni,L;ht before at 
 Court, when I was desired to tell all iny friends in 
 Parliament that the victory of Lens had only disposed 
 the Court more and more to leniency and moderation. 
 When I came to the New Market, on my way to Court, 
 I was surrounded with swarms of people making- a fri'^htful 
 outcry, and had great difficulty in .c^'etting throu,<;h the 
 crowd till I had told them the Queen would certainly 
 do them justice. The very boys hissed the soldiers of 
 the Guard and pelted them with stones. Their com- 
 mander, the JNIarshal de la ]\leillerayc, percei\'in,L,^ the clouds 
 be.'i^an to thicken on all sides, was overjoyed to see me, 
 and would go with me to Court and tell the whole truth 
 of the matter to the (}ueen. The people followed us in 
 vast numbers, calling out " Broussel, Broussel!" 
 
 The Queen, whom we found in her Cabinet Council 
 with Mazarin and others, received me neither \\'ell nor 
 ill, was too proud and too much out of temper to 
 confess any shame for what she had told me the night 
 before, and the Cardinal had not modesty enough to 
 blush. Nevertheless he seemed very much confused, 
 and gave some obscure hints by which I could perceive 
 he would have me to l)elieve that there were \'ery sudden 
 and extraordinary reasons which had obliged the Queen 
 to take such measures. I simulated approwal of what 
 he said, but all the answer I returned was that I had 
 come thither, as in duty bound, to receive the ()ueen's 
 orders and to contribute all in my power to restore the 
 public peace and tranquillity. The Queen gave a gracious 
 nod, but I understood afterwards that she put a sinister 
 interpretation upon my last speech, which was nevertheless 
 very inoffensive and perfectly consonant to my character 
 as Coadjutor of Paris; but it is a true saying that in the 
 Courts of Princes a capacity of doing good is as dangerous 
 and almost as criminal as a will to do mischief. The 
 
8o MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Marshal de la Meilleraye, finding that the Abbe de la 
 Riviere and others made mere jest and banter of the in- 
 surrection, fell into a great passion, spoke very sharply, 
 and appealed to me. I freely gave my testimony, con- 
 firmed his account of the insurrection, and seconded him 
 in his reflections upon the future consequences. We had 
 no other return from the Cardinal than a malicious sneer, 
 bat the Queen lifted up her shrill voice to the highest 
 note of indignation, and expressed herself to this effect : 
 " It is a sign of disaffection to imagine that the people 
 are capable of revolting. These are ridiculous stories that 
 come from persons who talk as they would have it ; the 
 King's authority will set matters right." The Cardinal, 
 perceiving that I was a little nettled, endeavoured to 
 soothe me by this address to the Queen: "Would to God, 
 madam, that all men did but talk with the same sincerity 
 as the Coadjutor of Paris. He is greatly concerned for his 
 flock, for the city and for Your Majesty's authority, and 
 though I am persuaded that the danger is not so great 
 as he imagines, yet his scruples in this case are to be 
 commended in him as laudable and religious." The 
 Queen understood the meaning of this cant, recovered 
 herself all of a sudden, and spoke to me very civilly; to 
 which I answered, with profound respect and so innocent 
 a countenance that La Riviere said, whispering to 
 Beautru, " See what it is not to be always at Court ! 
 The Coadjutor knows the world and is a man of sense, 
 yet takes all the Queen has said to be in earnest." 
 
 The truth is, the Cabinet seemed to consist of persons 
 acting the several parts of a comedy. I played the inno- 
 cent, but was not so, at least in that affair. The Cardinal 
 acted the part of one who thought himself secure, but 
 was much less so than he appeared. The Queen aflected 
 to be good-humoured, and yet was never more ill-tempered. 
 M. de Longueville put on the marks of sorrow and sad- 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ Nr 
 
 ness while his heart leaped for joy, for no man li\in.c;- 
 took a ^^reature pleasure than he to promote all broils. 
 The Duke d'Orleans personated hurry and passion in 
 speakin,£( to the CA^^^^^> Y^^ would whistle half an hour 
 together with the utmost indolence. The Marshal de 
 Villeroy put on gaiety, the better to make his court to 
 the Prime IMinister, though he privately owned to me, 
 with tears in his eyes, that he saw the State was upon 
 the brink of ruin. Leautru and Nogent acted the part 
 of buffoons, and to please the (jueen personated uld 
 Uroussel's nurse (for he was eighty years of age), stirring 
 up the people to sedition, though both of them knew well 
 enough that their larce might perhaps suon end in a real 
 tragedy. 
 
 The Abbe de la Riviere w^as the only man who pre- 
 tended to be fully persuaded that the insurrection of the 
 people was but vapour, and he maintained it to the 
 Oueen, w^ho was willing to beliexe him, though she had 
 l)een satisiied to the contrary ; and the conduct oi the 
 Oueen, who had the ctjurage ol a heroine, and the temper 
 of La Riviere, who was the most notorious poltroon o( 
 his time, furnished me with this remark : Tlidt a blind 
 rashness and an- cxiravai^aul 1ca. jrodncc iJw same cfjcits u'lnle 
 iJic danf^L'v is unknohni. 
 
 The Marshal deJa Meilleraye assumed the style and 
 bravado of a captain when a lieutenant-colonel of the 
 Guards suddenly came to tell the (Jueen that the 
 citizens threatened to force the Guards, and, being 
 naturally hasty and choleric, was transported even with 
 fury and madness. He cried out that he would perish 
 rather than suffer such insolence, and asked leave to 
 take the Guards, the officers of the Household, and 
 even all the courtiers he could hnd in the ante-chambers, 
 with wdiom he would engage to rout the whole mub. 
 The Oueen was greath' m fa\'Our of it, but nobody else, 
 
 6 
 
82 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 and events proved that it was well they did not come 
 into it. At the same time entered the Chancellor, a man 
 who had never spoken a word of truth in his whole life, 
 but now, his complaisance yielding to his fear, he spoke 
 directly according to what he had seen in the streets. 
 I observed that the Cardinal was startled at the boldness 
 of a man in whom he had never seen anything like it 
 before. But Senneterre, coming in just after him, removed 
 all their apprehensions in a trice by assuring them that 
 the fury of the people began to cool, that they did not 
 take arms, and that with a little patience all would be 
 well again. 
 
 There is nothing so dangerous as flattery at a juncture 
 where he that is flattered is in fear, because the desire he 
 has not to be terrified inclines him to believe anything 
 that hinders him from applying any remedy to what he 
 is afraid of. The news that was brought every moment 
 made them trifle away that time which should have been 
 employed for the preservation of the State. Old Guitaut, 
 a man of no great sense but heartily well affected, was 
 more impatient than all the rest, and said that he did 
 not conceive how it was possible for people to be asleep 
 in the present state of affairs ; he muttered something 
 more which I could not w^ell hear, but it seemed to bear 
 very hard upon the Cardinal, who owed him no goodwill. 
 The Cardinal answered, "Well, AI. Guitaut, what would 
 you have us do ? " Guitaut said very bluntly, " Let 
 the old rogue Broussel be restored to the people, either 
 dead or alive." I said that to restore him dead was 
 inconsistent with the Queen's piety and prudence, but to 
 restore him alive would probably put a stop to the tumult. 
 At these words the Oueen reddened, and cried aloud, " I 
 understand you, M. le Coadjutor. You would have me 
 set Broussel at liberty; but I will strangle him sooner with 
 these hands " — throwing her head as it were into my face 
 
CARDINAL DK RKTZ S^ 
 
 at the last word — " and those who " The Cardinal, 
 
 l)elievin<:( that she was going- to say all to me that rage 
 roukl inspire, ad\'anced and whispered in her ear, upon 
 which she 1)ecame composed to such a degree that had 
 1 not known her too well I should ha\'e tliought her at 
 her ease. The lieutenant dc police came that instant into 
 the Cabinet with a deadly pale aspect, J never saw fear 
 so well and ridiculously represented in any Italian comedy 
 as the fright which he appeared in before the Oueen. 
 How admirable is the sympathy of fearful souls ! Neither 
 the Cardinal nor the C)ueen were much mo\'ed at ^vhat 
 M. de la Meilleraye had strongly urged on them, but the 
 fears of the lieutenant seized them like an infection, so 
 that they were all on a sudden metamorphosed. ^J'hey 
 ridiculed me no longer, and suffered it to be debated 
 whether or no it was expedient to restore Broussel to 
 the people before they took arms, as they had threatened 
 to do. Here I rejected that it is more natural to the 
 passion of fear to consult than to determine. The Cardinal 
 proposed that I, as the httest person, should go and assure 
 the people that the C)ueen would consent to the restoration 
 of Broussel provided they would disperse. I saw the 
 snare, luit could not get away from it, the rather be- 
 cause ?\I(jilleraye dragged me, as it were, to go along 
 with him ; telling Her ^Majesty that he would dare to 
 appear in the streets in my company, and that he did 
 not question but we should do wonders. I said that I 
 did not doubt it either, provided the (>ueen would order 
 a promise to be drawn in due form for restoring the 
 prisoners, because I had not credit enough with the 
 people to be believed upon my bare word. They praised 
 my modesty, Meilleraye was assured of success, and they 
 said the (Hieen's word was better than all writings what- 
 soever. In a word, I was made the catspaw, and found 
 myself under the necessity of acting the most ridiculous 
 
 6—2 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 part that perhaps ever fell to any man's share. I en- 
 deavoured to reply ; but the Duke d'Orleans pushed me 
 out gently with both hands, saying, " Go and restore 
 peace to the State"; and the Marshal hurried me away, 
 the Life-guards carrying me along in their arms, and 
 telling me that none but myself could remedy this evil. 
 I went out in my rochet and camail, dealing out bene- 
 dictions to the people on my right and left, preaching 
 obedience, exerting all my endeavours to appease the 
 tumult, and telhng them the Queen had assured me 
 that, provided they would disperse, she would restore 
 Broussel. 
 
 The violence of the Marshal hardly gave me time 
 to express myself, for he instantly put himself at the 
 head of the Horse-guards, and, advancing sword in hand, 
 cried aloud, " God bless the King, and liberty to 
 Broussel ! " but being seen more than he was heard, his 
 drawn sword did more harm than his proclaiming liberty 
 to Broussel did good. The people took to their arms 
 and had an encounter with the Marshal, upon which I 
 threw myself into the crowd, and expecting that both 
 sides would have some regard to my robes and dignity, 
 the Marshal ordered the Light-horse to fire no more, and 
 the citizens with whom he was engaged held their hands; 
 but others of them continued firing and throwing stones, 
 by one of which I was knocked down, and had no sooner 
 got up than a citizen w^as going to knock me down with 
 a musket. Though I did not know his name, yet I 
 had the presence of mind to cry out, " Forbear, wretch ; 
 if thy father did but see thee " He thereupon con- 
 cluded I knew his father very well, though I had never 
 seen him ; and I believe that made him the more curious 
 to survey me, when, taking particular notice of my robes, 
 he asked me if I was the Coadjutor, Upon which I was 
 presently made known to the whole body, followed by 
 
C\RDIXAL DE RETZ S5 
 
 tlic multitude whicli way soe\er I went, and met with a 
 body of ruffians all in arms, whom, with abundance of 
 flattery, caressses, entreaties and menaces, I prewailed on 
 to lay down their weapons ; and it was this which sa\-ed 
 the city, for had they continued in arms till ni-ht the 
 ciiy had certainly been plundered. 
 
 I went accompanied by 30,000 or 40,000 n^ien without 
 arms, and met the ]\Iarshal de la Meilleraye, who I thou,i;'ht 
 would liave stifled me with embraces, and who said these 
 very words: "I am foolhardy and brutal; I had liked to 
 have ruined the State, and you ha\e sa\'ed it ; come, let 
 us go to the Queen and talk to her like true, honest 
 hVenchmen ; and let us set down the day of the monlli, 
 that when the Kin.c;" comes of a,c;e our testimony may be 
 the means of han,i;-in,L;' up those pests of the Slate, those 
 infamous llatterers, who pretended to the (Hieen tliat tliis 
 allair was but a triHe." To the Oueen he presently 
 hurried me, and said to her, " Here is the man that has 
 not only saved my life, but your Guards and the whole 
 Court." The Queen ^^^.ve an odd smile which I did not 
 very well like, but I would not seem to take any notice 
 of it, and to stop IMeilleraye in his encomium upon me 
 I assumed the discourse myself, and said, " Madam, we 
 are not come upon my account, but to tell you tliat the 
 city of Paris, disarmed and submissive, throws herself 
 at Your ^Majesty's feet." " Not so submissive as .i;"uilty," 
 replied the (}ueen with a face lull of hre; "if the people 
 were so ra£;'in,i;' as I was made to believe, how came they 
 to be so soon subdued?" The [Marshal fell into a 
 passion, and said with an oath, " Madam, an honest man 
 cannot flatter you when thin.^s are come to such an ex- 
 tremity. If you do not set Broussel at liberty this very 
 day there will not be left one stone upon another in 
 Paris by to-morrow morning." I was going to support 
 what the i\Larshal had said, but the Queen stopped my 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 mouth by telling me, with an air of banter, " Go to 
 rest, sir ; you have done a mighty piece of work." 
 
 When I returned home I found an incredible number 
 of people expecting me, who forced me to get upon the 
 top of my coach to give them an account of what 
 success I had had at Court. I told them that the Queen 
 had declared her satisfaction in their submission, and 
 that she told me it was the only method they could have 
 taken for the deliverance of the prisoners. I added other 
 persuasives to pacify the commonalty, and they dispersed 
 the sooner because it was supper-time, for you must know 
 that the people of Paris, even those that are the busiest 
 in all such commotions, do not care to lose their meals. 
 
 I began to perceive that I had engaged my reputa- 
 tion too far in giving the people any grounds to hope 
 for the liberation of Broussel, though I had particularly 
 avoided giving them my word of honour, and I appre- 
 hended that the Court would lay hold of this occasion 
 to destroy me effectually in the opinion of the people 
 by making them believe that I acted in concert with 
 the Court only to amuse and deceive them. 
 
 While I was making these and the like reflections, 
 Montresor came and told me that I was quite mistaken 
 if I thought to be a great gainer by the late expedition, 
 that the Queen was not pleased with my proceedings, 
 and that the Court w^as persuaded that I did what lay 
 in my power to promote the insurrection. I confess I 
 gave no credit to what Montresor said, for though I 
 saw they made a jest of me in the Queen's Cabinet, 
 I hoped however that their malice did not go so far as 
 to diminish the merit of the service I had rendered, 
 and never imagined that they could be capable of turning 
 it into a crime. Laigues, too, came from Court and told 
 me that I was publicly laughed at, and charged with 
 having fomented the insurrection instead of appeasing it ; 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ Sj 
 
 that I had been ridiculed two whole hours and exposed 
 to the smart raillery of Beautru, to the buftboner)- of 
 Kogent, to the pleasantries of La Ri\-iere, to the false 
 compassion of the Cardinal and to the loud laughter of 
 the Queen. 
 
 You may guess that I was not a little mo\-ed at this, 
 but I rather felt a slight annoyance than any transport 
 of passion. All sorts of notions came into my mind, 
 and all as suddenly passed away. I sacrificed with 
 little or no scruple all the sweetest and l)rightest images 
 which the memory of past conspiracies presented in crowds 
 to my mind as soon as the ill-treatment I now publicly met 
 with ga\e me reason to think that I might ^\•ith honour 
 engage myself in new ones. The obligations I had to Her 
 Majesty made me reject all these thoughts, though I must 
 confess I was brought up in them from my infancy, and 
 Laigues and Montresor could ha\e ne\er shaken my resolu- 
 tion either by insinuating motixes or making reproaches, if 
 Argenteuil, a gentleman hrmly attached to my interest, had 
 not come into my room that moment w^th a frightened 
 countenance and said, " You are undone ; the jMarshal 
 de la Meilleraye has charged me to tell you that he \-erily 
 thinks the devil is in the courtiers, who has put it into their 
 heads that you ha\e done all m your power to stir up the 
 sedition. The Marshal de la Meilleraye has laboured 
 earnestly to inform the Queen and Cardinal of the truth 
 of the whole matter, but both ha\'e ridiculed him for his 
 attempt. The Marshal said he could not excuse the injury 
 they did you, but could not sufficiently admire the con- 
 tempt they always had for the tumult, of which the)- 
 foretold the consequence as if they had the gift of 
 prophecy, always alhrming that it would wanish in a night, 
 as it really has, for he hardly met a soul in the streets." 
 He added " that lires so quickly extinguished as this were 
 not likely to break out again ; that he conjured me to 
 
88 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 provide for my own safety ; that the King's authority 
 would shine out the next day with all the lustre imagin- 
 able ; that the Court seemed resolved not to let slip this 
 fatal conjuncture, and that I was to be made the first 
 public example." Argenteuil added, " Villeroy did not tell 
 me so much because he durst not ; but he so squeezed my 
 hand en passant that I am apt to think he knows a great 
 deal more, and I must tell you that they have very good 
 reason for their apprehensions, because there is not a soul 
 to be seen in the streets, and to-morrow they may take up 
 whom they list." Montresor, who would be thought to 
 know all things beforehand, said that he was assured it 
 would be so and that he had foretold it. Laigues bewailed 
 my conduct, which he said had raised the compassion of 
 all my friends, although it had been their ruin. Upon this 
 I desired to be left about a quarter of an hour to myself, 
 during which, reflecting how I had been provoked and the 
 public threatened, my scruples vanished ; I gave rein to 
 all my thoughts, recollected that all the glorious ideas 
 which have ever entered my imagination were most con- 
 cerned with vast designs, and suffered my mind to be 
 regaled with the pleasing hopes of being the head of a 
 party, a position which I had always admired in Plutarch's 
 " Lives." The inconsistency of my scheme with my 
 character made me tremble. A world of incidents may 
 happen when the virtues in the leader of a party may be 
 vices in an archbishop. I had this view a thousand times, 
 and it always gave place to the duty I thought I owed to 
 Her Majesty, but the remembrance of what had passed at 
 the Oueen's table, and the resolution there taken to ruin me 
 with the public, having banished all scruples, I joyfully 
 determined to abandon my destiny to all the impulses of 
 glory. I said to my friends that the whole Court was 
 witness of the harsh treatment I had met with for above 
 a year in the King's palace, and I added, '' The public is 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ Sg 
 
 enga;;^^ed to defend my honour, but the pubhc beinc^ now 
 about to be sacrificed I am obhged to defend it a':;'ainst 
 oppression. Our circumstances are not so bad as you 
 imaf^dne, f,^entlemen, and before twelve o'clock to-morrow 
 I shall be master of Paris." 
 
 My two friends thou.c^ht I was mad, and began to 
 counsel moderation, whereas before they always incited 
 me to action; but I did not give them hearing. I imme- 
 diately sent for Miron, Accountant-General, one of the 
 city colonels, a man of probity and courage, and having 
 great interest with the people. I consulted with him, 
 and he executed his commission with so much discretion 
 and bravery that above four hundred considerable citizens 
 were posted up and down in platoons with no more noise 
 and stir than if so many Carthusian novices had been 
 assembled for contemplation. After ha\dng given orders 
 for securing certain gates and bars of the city, I went to 
 sleep, and was told next morning that no soldiers had 
 appeared all night, except a few troopers, who just took 
 a view of the platoons of the citizens and then galloped 
 off. Hence it was inferred that our precautions had 
 prevented the execution of the design formed against 
 particular persons, but it was belie\'ed tliere was some 
 mischief hatching at the Chancellors against the public, 
 because sergeants were running backwards and forwards, 
 and Ondedei went thither four times in two hours. Being 
 mformed soon after that the Chancellor was going to the 
 Palace with all the pomp of magistracy, and that two 
 companies of Swiss Guards approached the suburbs, I 
 gave my orders in two words, which were executed in 
 two minutes. Miron ordered the citizens to take arms, 
 and Argenteuil, disguised as a mason, with a rule in his 
 hand, charged the Swiss in flank, killed twenty or thirty, 
 dispersed the rest, and took one of their colours. The 
 Chancellor, hemmed in on every side, narrowly escaped 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 with his life to the Hotel d'O, which the people broke 
 open, rushed in with fury, and as God would have it, fell 
 immediately to plundering, so that they forgot to force 
 open a little chamber where both the Chancellor and his 
 brother, the Bishop of Meaux, to whom he was confessing, 
 lay concealed. The news of this occurrence ran like wild- 
 fire through the whole city. Men and women were imme- 
 diately up in arms, and mothers even put daggers into 
 the hands of their children. In less than two hours 
 there were erected above two hundred barricades, adorned 
 with all the standards and colours that the League had 
 left entire. All the cry was, "God bless the King!" 
 sometimes, "God bless the Coadjutor!" and the echo 
 w^as, " No Mazarin ! " 
 
 The Queen sent her commands to me to use my 
 interest to appease the tumult. I answered the mes- 
 senger very coolly that I had forfeited my credit with the 
 people on account of yesterday's transactions, and that 
 I did not dare to go abroad. The messenger had heard 
 the cry of "God bless the Coadjutor!" and would fain 
 have persuaded me that I was the favourite of the people, 
 but I strove as much to convince him of the contrary. 
 
 The Court minions of the two last centuries knew 
 not what they did when they reduced that effectual regard 
 which Kings ought to have for their subjects into mere 
 style and form ; for there are, as you see, certain con- 
 junctures in which, by a necessary consequence, subjects 
 make a mere form also of the real obedience which they 
 owe to their Sovereigns. 
 
 The Parliament hearing the cries of the people for 
 Broussel, he, after having ordered a decree against 
 Cominges, lieutenant of the Queen's Guards, who had 
 arrested him, made it death for all who took the like 
 commissions for the future, and decreed that an informa- 
 tion should be drawn up against those who had given 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 9 1 
 
 that advice as disturbers of the pubHc peace. Tiien the 
 Parhament went in a body, in their robes, to the Oucen, 
 with the P'irst President at their head, and amid the 
 acclamations of the people, who opened all their barri- 
 cades to let them pass. The First President represented 
 to the Queen, with becoming freedom, that the Ro3'al 
 word had been prostituted a thousand times over by 
 scandalous and even childish evasions, defeating resolu- 
 tions most useful and necessary for the State. He 
 strongly exaggerated the mighty danger of the State 
 from the city being all in arms ; but the (Jueen, Avho 
 feared nothing because she knew little, flew into a pas- 
 sion and ra\'ed like a fury, saying, " 1 know too well 
 that there is an uproar in the cit)', but you I'arlia- 
 mentarians, together with your wi\es and children, shall 
 be answerable for it all"; and with that she retired into 
 another chamber and shut the door alter her with 
 violence. The members, who numbered about one 
 hundred and sixty, were going downstairs; but the First 
 President persuaded them to go up and try the (Hieen 
 once more, and meeting with the Duke d'Orleans, he, 
 with a great deal of persuasion, introduced tAventy ol 
 them into the presence-chamber, ^vhere the First Presi- 
 dent made another effort with the Queen, by setting 
 forth the terrors of the enraged metropolis up in arms, 
 but she would hear nothing, and went into the little 
 gallery. 
 
 Upon this the Cardinal advanced and proposed to 
 surrender the prisoner provided the Parliament would 
 promise to hold no more assemblies. They were going 
 to consider this proposal upon the spot, but, thinking 
 that the people would be inclined to belie\e that the 
 Parliament had been forced if they gave their \'otes at 
 the Palais Royal, they resohed to adjourn to their own 
 House. 
 
92 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 The Parliament returning and saying nothing about the 
 Hberation of Broussel, were received by the people with 
 angry murmurs instead of with loud acclamations. They 
 appeased those at the first two barricades by telling them 
 that the Queen had promised them satisfaction ; but those 
 at the third barricade would not be paid in that coin, 
 for a journeyman cook, advancing with two hundred 
 men, pressed his halberd against the First President, 
 saying, " Go back, traitor, and if thou hast a mind to 
 save thy life, bring us Broussel, or else Mazarin and 
 the Chancellor as hostages." Upon this five presidents 
 an niovticv and about twenty councillors fell back into 
 the crowd to make their escape; the First President only, 
 the most undaunted man of the age, continued firm and 
 intrepid. He rallied the members as well as he could, 
 maintaining still the authority of a magistrate, both in his 
 words and behaviour, and went leisurely back to the 
 King's palace, through volleys of abuse, menaces, curses 
 and blasphemies. He had a kind of eloquence peculiar 
 to himself, knew nothing of interjections, was not very 
 exact in his speech, but the force of it made amends 
 for that ; and being naturally bold, never spoke so well 
 as when he w^as in danger, insomuch that when he re- 
 turned to the Palace he even outdid himself, for it is 
 certain that he moved the hearts of all present except 
 the Queen, who continued infiexible. The Duke d'Orleans 
 was going to throw himself at her feet, which four or 
 five Princesses, trembling with fear, actually did. The 
 Cardinal, whom a young councillor jestingly advised to go 
 out into the streets and see how the people stood affected, 
 did at last join with the bulk of the Court, and with much 
 ado the Queen condescended to bid the members q;o and 
 consult what was fitting to be done, agreed to set the 
 prisoners at liberty, restored Broussel to the people, who 
 carried him upon their heads with loud acclamations, broke 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 93 
 
 down their barricades, opened their shops, and in two 
 hours I'aris was more quiet than ever I saw it upon 
 a Good Friday. 
 
 As to the pn'uniiii luohilc of this revolution, it \vas owin;,; 
 to no other cause than a deviation from the laws, which 
 so alters the opinions of the people that many tinifs a 
 faction is formed liefore the change is so much as per- 
 cei\'ed. 
 
 This little reflection, wdth what has been said, may 
 serxe to confute those who pretend that a faction without 
 a head is never to be feared. It grows up sometimes in a 
 night. The conuuotion I ha\'e been speaking of, which 
 was so x'iolent and lasting, did not appear to ha^•e any 
 leader for a whole year ; but at last there rose up in 
 one moment a much greater number than was necessary 
 for the party. 
 
 The morning after the barricades were remo\ed the 
 Queen sent for lue, treated me with all the marks of 
 kindness and conhdence, said that if she had hearkened to 
 me she would not have experienced the late disquietness ; 
 that the Cardinal was not to blame for it, but that Cha\ igni 
 had been the sole cause of her misfortunes, to whose 
 pernicious counsels she had paid more deference than to 
 the Cardinal. " Init, guntl God ! " she suddenly exclaimed, 
 " will you not get that rogue Beautru soundly thrashed, 
 who has paid so little respect to your character ? The poor 
 Cardinal was \'ery near ha\'ing it done the other night." 
 I recei\-ed all this with more respect than credulity. She 
 commanded me to go to the poor Cardinal, to comfort 
 him, and to advise him as to the best means of quieting 
 the populace. 
 
 I went without any scruple. Me embraced me with 
 a tenderness I am not able to express, said there wa^ 
 not an honest man in b\'ance but mysell, and that all 
 the rest were infamous ilatterers, who liad miskJ the 
 
94 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Queen in spite of all his and my good counsels. He pro- 
 tested that he would do nothing for the future without my 
 advice, showed me the foreign despatches, and, in short, 
 was so affable that honest Broussel, who was likewise 
 present upon his invitation, for all his harmless simplicity, 
 laughed heartily as we were going out, and said that it was 
 all mere buffoonery. 
 
 There being a report that the King was to be removed 
 by the Court from Paris, the Queen assured the pvcvot des 
 niarchands that it was false, and yet the very next day 
 carried him to Ruel. From hence I doubted not that 
 she designed to surprise the city, which seemed really 
 astonished at the King's departure, and I found the hottest 
 members of the Parliament in great consternation, and 
 the more so because news arrived at the same time that 
 General Erlac^ had passed the Somme with 4,000 Germans. 
 Now as in general disturbances one piece of bad news 
 seldom comes singly, five or six stories of this kind were 
 published at the same time, which made me think I should 
 find it as difficult a task to raise the spirits of the people as 
 I had before to restrain them. I was never so nonplussed 
 in all my life. I saw the full extent of the danger, and 
 everything looked terrible. Yet the greatest perils have their 
 charms if never so little glory is discovered in the prospect 
 of ill-success, while the least dangers have nothing but 
 horror when defeat is attended with loss of reputation. 
 
 I used all the arguments I could to dissuade the Parlia- 
 ment from making the Court desperate, at least till they 
 had thought of some expedients to defend themselves from 
 its insults, to which they would inevitably have been ex- 
 posed if the Court had taken time by the forelock, in which, 
 perhaps, they were prevented by the unexpected return of 
 
 I He was Governor of Brisac, and commanded the forces of the 
 Duke de Weimar after the Duke's death. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ cj5 
 
 the Prince de Conti. I hereupon formed a resolution which 
 ,t^ave me a great deal of uneasiness, but which was firm, 
 because it was the only resolution I had to take. Extre- 
 mities are always disagreeable, but are the wisest means 
 when absolutely necessary; the best of it is that they admit 
 of no middle course, and if peradventure they are good, they 
 are always decisive. Fortune favoured my design. The 
 Queen ordered Chavigni to be sent prisoner to Havre-de- 
 Grace. I embraced this opportunity to stir up the natural 
 fears of his dear friend Viole, by telling him that he was a 
 ruined man for doing what he had done at the instigation of 
 Chavigni; that it was plain the King left Paris with a view 
 to attack it, and that he saw as well as I how much the 
 people were dejected; that if their spirits should be quite 
 sunk they could never be raised ; that they must be sup- 
 ported ; that I would influence the people ; and that he 
 should do what he could with the Parliament, who, in my 
 opinion, ought not to be supine, but to be awakened at a 
 juncture when the King's departure had perfectly drowned 
 their senses, adding that a word in season would infallibly 
 produce this good effect. Accordingly \'iole struck one of 
 the boldest strokes that has perhaps been heard of. He 
 told the Parliament that it w^as reported Paris was to be 
 besieged ; that troops were marching for that end, and the 
 most faithful servants of his late ^lajesty, who, it was sus- 
 pected, would oppose designs so pernicious, would be put in 
 chains; that it was necessary for them to address the 
 Queen to bring the King back to Paris ; and forasmuch as 
 the author of all these mischiefs was well known, he moved 
 further that the Duke d'Orleans and the officers of the 
 Crown should be desired to come to Parliament to deli- 
 berate upon the decree issued in 1617, on account of 
 Alarshal d'Ancre, forbidding foreigners to intermeddle in 
 the Government. We thought ourselves that we had 
 touched too high a key, but a lower note would not have 
 
96 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 awakened or kept awake men whom fear had perfectly 
 stupefied. I have observed that this passion of fear has 
 seldom that influence upon individuals that it generally 
 has upon the mass. 
 
 Viole's proposition at first startled, then rejoiced, and 
 afterwards animated those that heard it. Blancmenil, who 
 before seemed to have no life left in him, had now the 
 courage to point at the Cardinal by name, who hitherto had 
 been described only by the designation of Minister ; and 
 the Parliament cheerfully agreed to remonstrate with the 
 Queen, according to Viole's proposition, not forgetting to 
 pray Her Majesty to remove the troops further from Paris, 
 and not to send for the magistrates to take orders for the 
 security of the city. 
 
 The President Coigneux whispered to me, saying, " I 
 have no hopes but in you ; we shall be undone if you do 
 not work underground." I sat up accordingly all night to 
 prepare instructions for Saint-Ibal to treat with the Count 
 de Fuensaldagne, and oblige him to march with the 
 Spanish army, in case of need, to our assistance, and was 
 just going to send him away to Brussels when M. de 
 Chatillon, my friend and kinsman, who mortally hated 
 the Cardinal, came to tell me that the Prince de Conde 
 would be the next day at Ruel ; that the Prince was 
 enraged against the Cardinal, and was sure he would ruin 
 the State if he was let alone, and that the Cardinal held 
 a correspondence in cipher with a fellow in the Prince's 
 army vv^hom he had corrupted, to be informed of every- 
 thing done there to his prejudice. By all this I learnt 
 that the Prince had no great understanding with the Court, 
 and upon his arrival at Ruel I ventured to go thither. 
 
 Both the Queen and the Cardinal were extremely civil, 
 and the latter took particular notice of the Prince's be- 
 haviour to me, who embraced me en passant in the garden, 
 and spoke very low to me, saying that he would be at 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 97 
 
 my house next day. He kept his word, and desired rne to 
 f(i\'e hirn an account of the state ot aflairs, and when I 
 had done so we agreed that I should continue to push the 
 Cardinal by means of the Parliament ; that I should take 
 His Highness by night incognito to Longueil and BrousL-^el, 
 to assure them they should not want assistance ; that the 
 Prince de Conde should give the Oueen all the marks of 
 his respect for and attachment to her, and make all possible 
 reparation for the dissatisfaction he had shown with regard 
 to the Cardinal, that he might therel>y insinuate himself 
 into the Queen's favour, and gradually dispose her to 
 receive and follow his counsels and liear truths against 
 which she had always stopped her ears, and that by thus 
 letting the Cardinal drop insensibly, rather than tall sud- 
 denly, the Prince would hnd himself master of the Cabinet 
 with the Queen's approbation, and, with the assistance of 
 liis humble serwants in Council, arbiter of the national 
 welfare. 
 
 The Queen, whu went a\vay from l*aris to gi\e her 
 troops an opportunity to star\e and attack the city, told 
 the deputies sent by Parliament to entreat her to re- 
 store the King to Paris that she was extremely surprised 
 and astonished ; that the Kmg used e\ery year at that 
 season to take the air, and that his health was much more 
 to be regarded tlian the imaginary fears ot the people. 
 The Prince de Conde, coming in at this juncture, told 
 the President and councillors who inxited him to take his 
 seat in Parliament that he would not come, but obe)' the 
 Oueen though it should pro\-e his ruin. The Duke 
 d'Orleans said that he would not be there either, l)ecause 
 the Parliament had made such proposals as were too bt)ld 
 to be endured, and the Prince de Conti spoke after the 
 same manner. 
 
 The next da)' the Kmg's Council carried an order ot 
 Council to P'ariiament to put a stop to their debates 
 
 7 
 
98 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 against foreigners being in the ]Ministry. This so excited 
 the Parhament that they made a remonstrance in writing, 
 instructed the prcvot dcs marcliands to provide for the 
 safety of the city, ordered all other governors to keep 
 the passages free, and resolved next day to continue the 
 debate against foreign ministers. I laboured all night to 
 ward off the fatal blow, which I was afraid would hurry 
 the Prince, against his will, into the arms of the Court. 
 But when next day came the members inflamed one 
 another before they sat, through the cursed spirit of for- 
 mality, and the very men who two days ago were all fear 
 and trembling w^ere suddenly transported, they knew not 
 why, from a well-grounded fear to a blind rage, so that 
 without reflecting that the General had arrived whose 
 very name made them tremble, because they suspected 
 him to be in the interest of the Court, they issued the 
 said decree, which oblig^ed the Oue-en to send the Duke 
 d'Anjou,^ but just recovered from the small-pox, and the 
 Duchess d'Orleans, much indisposed, out of town. This 
 w^ould have begun a civil war next day had not the Prince 
 de Conde taken the w^isest measures imaginable, though 
 he had a very bad opinion of the Cardinal, both upon the 
 public account and his own, and was as little pleased 
 with the conduct of the Parliament, Avith whom there 
 was no dealing, either as a body or as private persons. 
 The Prince kept an even pace between the Court and 
 country factions, and he said these words to me, which I 
 can never forget : " Mazarin does not know what he is 
 doing, and will ruin the State if care be not taken ; the 
 Parliament really goes on too fast, as you said they 
 would ; if they did but manage according to our scheme, 
 we should be able to settle our own business and that of 
 
 I Philip of France, only brother to King Louis XIV., afterwards 
 Duke d'Orleans, died sudden!}' at St. Cloud, in 1701. 
 
C\RDIXAL DL RET/ 
 
 ^f) 
 
 the public too; they act with precipitation, and were 1 
 to do so, it is proljable I should gain more l>y it than 
 they. J lilt I am Louis de Bourl)on, and will not endanger 
 the State. Are those de\-ils in square caps mad to 
 force me either to begin a ci\il war to-niorrow or to ruin 
 e\'ery man of theni, and set fj\'er (jur heads a Sicilian 
 A'agabond who will destroy us all at last ? " In line, ihc 
 I'rince proposed to set out inuiiediately for Ivuel to 
 divert the Court from their project of attacking I'aris, 
 and to propose to the Oaeen that the Duke d'Ork-ans 
 and himself should write to the Parliament to send 
 deputies to confer al)out means to reliexe the necessities 
 of the State. The Prince saw that I was so o\ercome 
 at this proposal that he said to me with tenderness, 
 " How dirierent you are from the man \'ou are represented 
 to be at Court ! Would to Cod that all those rogues in 
 the iMinistry were l)ut as well inclined as you ! " 
 
 I told the Prince that, considering how the minds of 
 the Parliament were embittered, I d«julited whether they 
 would care to confer \\ith the Cardinal; that llis High- 
 ness would gain a considerable point if he could pre\'ail 
 with the Court not to insist upon the necessity of the 
 Cardinal's presence, because then all the honour of the 
 arrangement, in which the Duke d'( )rleans, as irsual, 
 would only be as a cipher, would redound to him, and 
 that such exclusion of the Cardinal would disgrace his 
 Ministry to the last degree, and l)e a \-ery proper preface 
 to the blow which the Prince designed to give him in 
 the Cabinet. 
 
 The Prince profited by the hint, so that the Parliament 
 returned answer that they would send deputies to confer 
 with the Princes onl)-, which last words the Prince 
 artfully laid hold of and advised ^NLazarin n>jt to expose 
 himself by coming to the conference against the Par- 
 liament's consent, but rather, like a wise man, to make 
 
 / 
 
lOO MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 a virtue of the present necessity. This was a cruel blow 
 to the Cardinal, w^ho ever since the decease of the late 
 King had been recognised as Prime Minister of France ; 
 and the consequences were equally disastrous. 
 
 The deputies being accordingly admitted to a conference 
 with the Duke d'Orleans, the Princes of Conde and Conti 
 and M, de Longueville, the First President, Viole, who had 
 moved in Parliament that the decree might be renewed 
 for excluding foreigners from the Ministry, inveighed 
 against the imprisonment of M. de Chavigni, who was no 
 member, 3^et the President insisted upon his being set at 
 liberty, because, according to the laws of the realm, no 
 person ought to be detained in custody above twenty-four 
 hours without examination. This occasioned a consider- 
 able debate, and the Duke d'Orleans, provoked at this 
 expression, said that the President's aim was to cramp the 
 Royal authority. Nevertheless the latter vigorously main- 
 tained his argument, and was unanimously seconded by all 
 the deputies, for which they were next day applauded in 
 Parliament. In short, the thing was pushed so far that 
 the Oueen was obliged to consent to a declaration that for 
 the future no man whatever should be detained in prison 
 above three days without being examined. By this means 
 Chavigni was set at liberty. Several other conferences 
 were held, in which the Chancellor treated the First Presi- 
 dent of the Parliament with a sort of contempt that was 
 almost brutal. Nevertheless the Parliament carried all 
 l^efore them. 
 
 In October, 1648, the Parliament adjourned, and the 
 Queen soon after returned to Paris with the King. 
 
 The Cardinal, who aimed at nothing more than to ruin 
 my credit with the people, sent me 4,000 crowns as a 
 present irom the Queen, for the services which she said 
 I intended her on the day of the barricade; and who, think 
 you, should be the messenger to bring it but my friend the 
 
CAKDIXAL DK KLT/ lOI 
 
 ]\Iarsha] de la ?\leilleraye, the man who l>efore warned mc 
 of the sinister intentions of the Court, and who ni >\v was so 
 credulous as to be]ie\"e that I was their favourite, l)ccausc 
 the Cardinal was pleased to say how much he was con- 
 cerned for the injustice he had done me, which I onlv 
 mention to remark that those people over whom the Court 
 has once ,L;ot an ascendency cannot help l)elieMm;- whatexer 
 they would ha\e them believe, and the ministers only are 
 to blame if they do not decei\'e them. But I would not be 
 persuaded by the Marshal as he had been by the Cardinal, 
 and therefore I refused the said sum very ci\illy, and, I am 
 sure, with as much sincerity as the Court offered it. 
 
 But the Cardinal laid another trap for me that I was 
 not aware of, \'iz., by temptin.i,^ me with the proffer of the 
 Government of Paris ; and when I had shown a willingness 
 to accept it he found means to break off the treaty I was 
 making for that purpose with the b'rince de Guimenee, who 
 had the re\'ersi(jn of it, and then represented me to the 
 people as one who only sought my own interest. Instead 
 of profiting by this blunder, which I might have done to 
 my own advantage, I added another to it, and said all that 
 rage could prompt me against the Cardinal to one who told 
 it to him again. 
 
 To return now to public affairs. About the feast of 
 St. ]\Lartin the people were so excited that they seemed 
 as if they liad been all intoxicated with gathering in the 
 vintage ; and you are now going to lie entertained with 
 scenes in comparison to which the past are but triiies. 
 
 There is no affair but has its critical minute, which 
 a bold statesmanship knows how to lay hold of, and 
 which, if missed, especially in the revolution of kingdoms, 
 you run the great risk of losing altogether. 
 
 E\-eryone now found their advantage in the declaration 
 — that is, if they understood their own interest. The 
 Parliament had the honour of re-establishing public order. 
 
I02 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 The Princes, too, had their share in this honour, and the 
 iirst-fruits of it, which were respect and security. The 
 people had a considerable comfort in it, by being eased of 
 a load of above sixty millions, and if the Cardinal had had 
 but the sense to make a virtue of necessity, which is 
 one of the most necessary qualifications of a Minister 
 of State, he might, by an advantage always inseparable 
 from favourites, have appropriated to himself the greatest 
 part of the merit, even of those things he had most 
 opposed. 
 
 But these advantages were all lost through the most 
 trivial considerations. The people upon the discontinua- 
 tion of the Parliamentary assemblies resumed their savage 
 temper, and were scared by the approach of a few 
 troops at which it was ridiculous to take the least 
 umbrage. The Parliament was too apt to give ear to 
 every groundless tale of the non-execution of their 
 declarations. The Duke d'Orleans saw all the good he 
 was capable of doing and part of the evil he had power 
 to prevent, but neither was strong enough to influence 
 his fearful temper ; he was unconscious of the coming 
 and fatal blow. The Prince de Conde, w^ho saw the 
 evil to its full extent, was too courageous by nature 
 to fear the consequences ; he was inclined to do good, 
 but would do it only in his own w^ay. His age, his 
 humour and his victories hindered him from associating 
 patience with activity, nor was he acquainted, unfor- 
 tunately, with this maxim so necessary for Princes, viz., 
 "Always to sacrifice the little affairs to the greater"; 
 and the Cardinal, being ignorant of our ways, daily con- 
 founded the most weighty with the most trifiing. 
 
 The Parliament, who met on the 2nd of January, 
 1649, resol\-ed to enforce the execution of the declaration, 
 which, they pretended, had been infringed in all its 
 articles ; and the Queen was resolved to retire from 
 
CARDINAL DE RLTZ I03 
 
 Paris with the King and the whole Cuurt. The Queen 
 was guided by the Cardinal, and the Duke d'(Jrleans 
 hy La Ivi\'iere, the most sordid and seU'-intere.^ted man 
 of the age in which he lived. As for the Prince de 
 Conde, he began to be disgusted with the unseasonable 
 j:)roceedings of the Parliament almost as soon as he 
 had concerted measures with Broussel and Longueil, 
 which distaste, joined to the kindly attentions of the 
 Oueen, the apparent sul)mission of the Cardinal, and an 
 hereditary inclination recei\'ed from his parents to keep 
 well witii the Court, cramped the resolutions of his 
 great soul. I bewailed tins change in his behaviour 
 both f(jr my own and the public account, but much 
 more for his sake. I lox'ed him as much as I honoured 
 him, and clearly saw the precipice. 
 
 I had di\'ers conferences with Ihm, in which I found 
 that his disgust was turned into wrath and indignatiun. 
 He swore there was no bearin.^ with the insolence and 
 nnpertinence of those citizens whu struck at the Royal 
 authority ; that as long as he thou.'^ht they aimed only 
 at Mazarm he was on their side ; that I myself had 
 often confessed that no certain measures could be con- 
 certed with men who changed their opinions every 
 (juarter of an hour ; that he cuuld ne\'er condescend to 
 be General of an army of fools, with whom no wise man 
 would entrust himself; besides that, In was a Prince of 
 the Plood, and would not be instrumental in gixing a 
 shock to the Throne ; and that the Parliament might 
 thank themselves if they were ruined through not observ- 
 ing the measures agreed on. 
 
 This was the substance of m)' answer : " No men 
 are more bound by interest than the I'arliament to main- 
 tain the Royal authority, so that they cannot be thought 
 to have a design to ruin the State, though their pro- 
 ceedings may ha\'e a tendency that way. It must be 
 
I04 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 owned, therefore, that if the sovereign people do evil 
 it is only when they are not able to act as well as they 
 would. A skilful minister, who knows how to manage 
 large bodies of men as well as individuals, keeps up such 
 a due balance between the Prince's authority and the 
 people's obedience as to make all things succeed and 
 prosper. But the present Prime ^Minister has neither 
 judgment nor strength to adjust the pendulum of this 
 State clock, the springs of which are out of order. His 
 business is to make it go slower, which, I own, he 
 attempts to do, but very awkwardly, because he has not 
 the brains for it. In this lies the fault of our machine. 
 Your Highness is in the right to set about the mending 
 of it, because nobody else is capable of doing it ; but 
 in order to do this must you join with those that 
 would knock it in pieces ? You are convinced of the 
 Cardinabs extra\agances, and that his only view is to 
 establish in France a form of government known 
 nowhere but in Italy. If he should succeed, will the 
 State be a gainer by it according to its only true 
 maxims ? Would it be an advantage to the Princes of 
 the Blood in any sense ? But, besides, has he any like- 
 lihood of succeeding? Is he not loaded with the odium 
 and contempt of the public ? and is not the Parliament 
 the idol they revere ? I know you despise them because 
 the Court is so well armed, but let me tell you that 
 they are so confident of their power that they feel their 
 importance. They are come to that pass that they do 
 not value your forces, and though the evil is that at 
 present their strength consists only in their imagination, 
 yet a time may come when they may be able to do 
 whatever they now think it in their power to do. Your 
 Highness lately told me that this disposition of the 
 people was only smoke; but be assured that smoke so 
 dark and thick proceeds from a brisk fire, w^hich the 
 
CARDINAL ],>E Hhl'Z lo^ 
 
 Parliament l)lows, and, though they mean well, nia\- 
 blaze np into such .i flame as may consume themsel\e> 
 and a<;jain hazard the destruction of the State, which 
 has been the case more than once. IJodies of men, 
 when once exasperated by a Ministry, always ag'gravate 
 their failures, and scarcely ever show them any favour, 
 which, in some cases, is enou.^h to ruin a kin.i;dom, 
 
 " If, when the pmprisition was formerl)- made to the 
 Parliament by the Cardinal to declare whether they 
 intended to set bounds to the Royal authority — if, I sa}', 
 they had not wisely eluded the ridiculinis and danc(erous 
 question, France would ha\e run a threat risk, in mv 
 opinion, of l)ein,L( entirely ruined ; for had they answered 
 in the affirmative, as they were on the point of doin,;;, 
 they would have rent the \eil that co\ers the mysteries 
 of State. Every monarchy has its peculiar \'eil ; that of 
 France consists in a bind of reli,L;ious and sacred silence, 
 which, by the subjects generally pa}ing' a blind obedience 
 to their Kings, muffles up that right which they think- 
 they have to dispense with their obedience in cases 
 where a complaisance to their Kings would be a pre- 
 judice to themselves. It is a wonder that the Parliament 
 did not strip off this \'eil l)y a formal decree. This has 
 had much wT)rse consequences since the people ha\e 
 taken the liberty to look through it. Your Highness 
 cannot by the force of ru'ms prevent these dangerous 
 consequences, which, perhaps, are already too near at 
 hand. You see that e\'en the Parliament can hardly 
 restrain the people w'hom they have roused ; that the 
 contagion is spread into the provinces, and you know 
 that Guienne and Provence are entirely governed l)y the 
 example of Paris. E\'erything shakes and totters, and it 
 is Your Highness only that can set us right because ot 
 the splendour of your birth and reputation, and the 
 generally received opinion that none but you can do it. 
 
lOf) MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 " The Queen shares with the Cardinal in the common 
 hatred, and the Duke d'Orleans with La Riviere in the 
 universal contempt of the people. If, out of mere com- 
 plaisance, you abet their measures you will share in the 
 hatred of the public. It is true that you are above their 
 contempt ; but then their dread of you will be so great 
 that it will grievously embitter the hatred they will then 
 bear to you, and the contempt they have already for the 
 others, so that what is at present only a serious wound in 
 the State will perhaps become incurable and mortal. I am 
 sensible you have grounds to be diffident of the behaviour 
 of a body consisting of above two hundred persons, who 
 aire neither capable of governing nor being governed. I 
 own the thought is perplexing ; but such favourable 
 circumstances seem to offer themselves at this juncture 
 that matters are much simplified. Supposing that mani- 
 festoes were published, and Your Highness declared 
 General of the Parliamentary Army, would you, sir, meet 
 with greater difficulties than your grandfather and great- 
 grandfather did, in accommodating themselves to the 
 caprice of the ministers of Rochelle and the mayors of 
 Nimes and IMontauban ? And would Your Highness find 
 it a greater task to manage the Parliament of Paris 
 than M. de Mayenne did in the time of the League, 
 when there was a factious opposition made to all the 
 measures of the then Parliament ? Your birth and merit 
 raise you as far above M. de M.ayenne as the cause in 
 hand is above that of the League; and the circumstances 
 of both are no less different. The head of the League 
 declared war by an open and public alliance with Spain 
 against the Crown, and against one of the best and 
 bravest Kings that France ever had. And this head of 
 the League, though desceiided from a foreign and sus- 
 pected family, kept, notwithstanding, that same Parlia- 
 ment in his interest for a considerable time. 
 
CARDINAL Dl, J^LTZ IQ 
 
 " ^ Oil ha\'c consulted liut two members of the whole 
 rarliament, and them onl)' upon their promise to dis- 
 close your intentions to no man li\-ing. How then can 
 \'our Hi;^'hness think it possible that your sentiments, 
 linked up S'j closely in the breasts of two members, can 
 have any inlluence upon the whole body of the Parliament' 
 I dare answer fur it, sir, that if } ou will but declare yijur- 
 self openly the protector of the public and of the Sovereign 
 companies, you might govern them — at least, ior a con- 
 siderable time — with an absolute and almost So\ereign 
 authority. But this, it seems, is not \vhat ) ou have in 
 view ; you are not willing to embroil yourself with the 
 Court. You had rather l)e of the Cabinet than of a part}-. 
 I.)o not take it ill then that men who only consider you 
 in this light do not conduct themselves as y<:»u would 
 like. You ought to conform your measures to theirs, l>e- 
 cause theirs are moderate ; and vou may Scdely do it, for 
 the Cardinal can hardly stand under the hea\'y weight of 
 the pul)lic hatred, cand is toij ^veak to ol)lige }'0u against 
 your will to any sudden and precipitate rupture. La 
 Ki\'iere, ^vho gox'erns the Duke d'Orleans, is a most 
 dangerous man. Continue then to introduce moderate 
 measures, and let them take their course according V > 
 your hrst plan. Is a little more or less heat in Parlia- 
 mentary proceedings suflicient reason to make you alter 
 it ? For whatever be the consequence, the worst that 
 can happen is that the Oueen may believe you not zeal- 
 ous enough for her interest ; but are there not remedies 
 enough for that ? Are there not excuses and appearances 
 ready at hand, antl such as cannot tail .•' 
 
 " And now, sir, I pray Your Highness to gi\e me lea\e 
 to add that there ne\'er was so excellent, so inneicent, so 
 sacred and so necessary a project as this formed by Your 
 Highness, and, in my humble opinion, there ne^■er were 
 such weak reasons as those A'Ou ha\"e now urged to hinder 
 
Io8 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 its execution ; for I take this to be the weakest of all, 
 which, perhaps, you think a very strong one, viz. : That 
 if l\'Iazarin miscarries in his designs you may be ruined 
 along with him ; and if he does succeed he will destroy 
 you by the very means which you took to raise him." 
 
 It had not the intended effect on the Prince, who 
 was already prepossessed, and who only answered me in 
 general terms. But heroes have their faults as well as 
 other men, and so had His Highness, who had one ot 
 the finest geniuses in the world, but little or no fore- 
 thought. He did not seek to aggravate matters in order 
 to render himself necessary at Court, or with a view to 
 do what he afterwards did for the Cardinal, nor was he 
 biassed by the mean interests of pension, government 
 and establishment. He had most certainly great hopes 
 of being arbiter of the Cabinet. The glory of being re- 
 storer of the public peace was his first end in view, and 
 being the conservator of the Royal authority the second. 
 Those who labour under such an imperfection, though 
 they see clearly the advantages and disadvantages of 
 both parties, know not which to choose because they do 
 not weigh them in the same balance, so that the same 
 thing appears lightest to-day which they think heaviest 
 to-morrow. This was the case of the Prince, who, it 
 must be owned, if he had carried on his good design 
 with prudence, certainly would have re-established the 
 government upon a lasting foundation. 
 
 He told me more than once, in an angry mood, that 
 if the Parliament went on at the old rate he would teach 
 them that it would be no great task to reduce them 
 to reason. I perceived by his talk that the Court had 
 resumed the design of besieging Paris ; and to be tlie 
 more satisfied of it I told him that the Cardinal might 
 easily be disappointed in his measures, and that lie 
 would find Paris to be a very tough morsel. " It shall 
 
LAKDIXAL DL RETZ ['.><', 
 
 not he l<i.ken," he said, " like Dunkirk, l)^• mines and 
 storn"iin,L( ; l)ut suppose its bread from Gonesse should l>e 
 cut off for ev^ht days only?" I took this statement thun 
 for ,L,aanted, and replied that the stopping of that passage 
 would be attended with difficulties. ' What difficul- 
 ties?" asked the Prince, \-ery briskly. "The citizfusl 
 Will they come out to give l)attle ' " "If it were only 
 citizens, sir," I said, " the Ixattle Avould not be \'er)' sharp." 
 " Who will be with them ?" " he replied : " will you be there 
 yourself?" "That would be a \ery l)ad omen," I said; 
 " it would look too much like the proceedings of the 
 League." y\fter a little pause, he said, "But now, to be 
 serious, would you be so luoli>.h as to embark \vith theise 
 men ? " " You know, sir," I said, " that I am engaged 
 already ; and that, moreover, as Coadjutor of I'aris, I 
 am concerned l>oth b\' honour and interest in ils presL-r- 
 x'ation. I shall be Your Highness's humble ser\'ant as 
 long as 1 li\'e, except in this one point." I saw he ^\■as 
 touched to the (}uick", l)ut ht: kept his temper, and said 
 these \'ery words: "When you engage in a bad cause 1 
 will pity you, but shall have no reason to complain ol 'S'eJU. 
 Xor do you complain of me ; but do me that justice you 
 owe me, name!)', to own that all I promised to Longueil 
 and Ihoussel is since annulled Iiy the conduct of the 
 b'arliament." lie atterwards sho\\ ed me man)' persMual 
 kn'ours, and offered to make rny peace with the Couit. 
 I assured him of my ol>edience and zeal for his serxice 
 in e\er)'thing that did not interfere with the engagements 
 I had entered into, with which, as he himself owned, 1 
 could not possibly dispense. 
 
 After we parted I paid a \-isit to ?\Ladame tie Longue- 
 \'ille, who seemed enraged both against the' Court and 
 the Prince de Conde. I was pleased to think, moreo\er, 
 that she could do what she \vould with the Prince de 
 Conti, who was little better than a child; but then 1 
 
no MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 considered that this child was a Prince of the Blood, and 
 it was only a name we wanted to give life to that which 
 without one was a mere embryo. I could answer for M. 
 de Longueville, who loved to be the first man in any 
 public revolution, and I was as well assured of Marshal 
 de la T^.Iothe,^ who was madly opposed to the Court, and 
 had been inviolably attached to M. de Longueville for 
 twenty years together. I saw that the Duke de Bouillon, 
 through the injustice done him by the Court and the 
 unfortunate state of his domestic affairs, was very much 
 annoyed and almost desperate. I had an eye upon all 
 these gentlemen at a distance, but thought neither of them 
 fit to open the drama. I\I. de Longueville was only iit 
 for the second act, the IMarshal de la Mothe was a good 
 soldier, but had no headpiece, and was therefore not 
 qualified for the iirst act. j\L de Bouillon was my man 
 had not his honesty been more problematic than his 
 talents. You will not wonder that I was so wavering in 
 my choice, and that I fixed at last upon the Prince de 
 Conti, of the blood of P'rance. 
 
 As soon as I gave Madame de Longueville a hint of 
 what part she was to act in the intended revolution she was 
 perfectly transported, and I took care to make ^I. dc 
 Longueville as great a malcontent as herself. She had 
 wit and beauty, though small-pox had taken away the 
 bloom of her pretty face, m which there sat charms so 
 powerful that they rendered her one of the most amiable 
 persons in France. I could have placed her in my heart 
 between ]\Iesdames de Guimenee and Pomereux, and it was 
 not the despair of succeeding that palled my passion, but 
 the consideration that the benefice was not yet vacant, 
 though not well served — M. de la Rochefoucault was in 
 possession, yet absent in Poitou. I sent her three or four 
 
 I I'hilip de la rNlulhe-Ilnuclancourt, deceased 1657, 
 
CAKblXAL DE RETZ III 
 
 hillcis-doux every day, and received as many. I went \ery 
 often to her levee to he more at liberty to talk of affairs, 
 j^ot extraordinary adxantages by it, and I knew that it was 
 the only way to be sure of the Prince de Conti. 
 
 I laving settled a regular correspondence with [Madame 
 de Lon-'ue\ille, she made me l)etter ac(]uaintcd with M. 
 de la Kochefoucault, who made the Prince de Conti believe 
 that he spoke a good word for him to the lady, his sister, 
 with whom he was in love. And the tw(j so blinded 
 the Prince that he did not suspect anything till four 
 years after. 
 
 When I saw that the Court would act upon their own 
 initiative I resoh-ed tu declare war against them and attack 
 Alazarin in person, l)ecause otherwise we could not escape 
 being fu'st attaeked l>y him. 
 
 It is certain that he ,L;a\e his enemies such an advantage 
 o\er him as no other Prime Minister ex'er did. Power com- 
 mnnly keeps al)0\'e ridicule, l)ut e\'er}'body laughed at the 
 Cardinal because of his sill\' sa)inL;s and doings, which 
 those in his position are seldom guilty of. It was said 
 that he had lately asked Pougewal, deputy of the Cjrancl 
 Council, whether he did not think himself obliged to ha\'e 
 no l)uttons ti; the ccillar of his {loul)let, ii the King should 
 command it-- a gra\'e argument to comince the deputies 
 ol .m important conipany of the oliedience due to Kings, 
 fur which he \\'as severely lampooned both in prose and 
 N'erse. 
 
 The Court hax'ing attempted to legalise excessive 
 usury — I mean with respect to the a I lair of loans — my 
 dignity would not permit me to tolerate so public and 
 scandalous an e\'il. Therefore I held an asseml)ly of the 
 clergy, where, vvithout so much as mentioning the Cardi- 
 nal's name in the conferences, in which I rather ahected 
 to spare him, yet in a vveek's time I made him pass for <)ne 
 of the most ol^stinate Jews in l^^urope. 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 At this very time I was sent for, by a civil letter under 
 the Queen's own hand, to repair to St. Germain, the 
 messenger telhng me the King was just gone thither and 
 that the army was commanded to advance. I made him 
 beheve I would obey the summons, but I did not intend 
 to do so. 
 
 I was pestered for five hours with a parcel of idle 
 rumours of ruin and destruction, which rather diverted 
 than alarmed me, for though the Prince de Conde, dis- 
 trusting his brother the Prince de Conti, had surprised 
 him in bed and carried him off with him to St. Germain, 
 yet I did not question but that, as long as Madame de 
 Longueville stayed in Paris, we should see him again, 
 the rather because his brother neither feared nor valued 
 him sufficiently to put him under arrest, and I was assured 
 that M. de Lonj:(ueville would be in Paris that evening by 
 ha\-ing received a letter from himself. 
 
 The King was no sooner gone than the Parliament met, 
 frightened out of their senses, and I know not what they 
 could have done if we had not found a way to change 
 their fears into a resolution to make a bold stand. I have 
 observed a thousand times that there are some kinds of 
 fear only to be removed by higher degrees of terror. I 
 caused it to be signified to the Parliament that there was 
 in the Hotel de Ville a letter from His Majesty to the 
 magistrates, containing the reasons that had obliged him 
 to leave his good city of Paris, which were in effect that 
 some of the oflicers of the House held a correspondence 
 with the enemies of the Government, and had conspired 
 to seize his person. 
 
 The Parliament, considering this letter and that the 
 President le Feron, pvcvot dcs marcJiands, was a creature of 
 the Court, ordered the citizens to arms, the gates to be 
 secured, and the prcvot dcs marcliands and the licuicnani 
 de police to keep open the necessary passages for provisions. 
 
CARDINAL DL KLTZ II3 
 
 Hnving- thought it good policy that the first pubhc step 
 of resi:Dtance should bt; taken by the Parliament to jusLily 
 the disobedience of private persons, I then invented tiii.-> 
 stratagem to render me the more excusable to the QucfU 
 for not going to St. Germain. Having taken leave of all 
 friends and rejected all their entreaties for my stay in 
 Paris, I took coach as if I was driving to Court, but, by 
 good luck, met with an eminent timber-merchant, a \'cr3' 
 good friend of mine, at the end of Xotre Dame Street, who 
 was \ery much out of humour, set upon my postilion, and 
 threatened my coachman. The people came and o\er- 
 turned my coach, and the women, shrieking, carried me 
 back to my own house. I wrote to the Chieen and Prince, 
 signifying how sorry I was that I had met with such a 
 stoppage ; but the Queen treated the messenger with sc(jrn 
 and contempt. The Prince, at the same time that he 
 pitied me, could not help showing his anger. La Riviere 
 attacked me with railleries and in\ectives, and the mes- 
 senger thought they were sure of putting the rope aliout 
 all our necks on the morrow. I wa^ n(jt su much alarmed 
 at their menaces as at the news I heard the same day that 
 iM. de Longueville, returning h'om Kuuen, had turned ofl to 
 Sl Germain. APirshal de la Mothe told me twenty times 
 tliat he would do everything to tlie letter that AL de 
 Longueville would have him do for or against the Court. 
 M. de Bouillon (}uarrelled with me lor cunhding in men 
 who acted so contrary to the repeated assurances I had 
 gi\'en him of their gO(jd l)eha\'iuur. And Ijcsides all this, 
 Madame de Longueville protested to me that she had 
 recei\'ed no news from 3.1. de la Rochefoucault, who weni 
 soon after the King, with a design to fortiiy the Prince 
 de Conti in his resolution and to bring him back to b'aris. 
 Ppon this I sent the ?\Iar(}uis de Xoirmoutier to St. ( j'T- 
 main to learn what Nve had to trust to. 
 
 On the 7th e»f January, i>^[,), an order was sent from 
 
114 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the King to the Parliament to remove to Montargis, to the 
 Chamber of Accounts to adjourn to Orleans, and to the 
 Grand Council to retire to Mantes. A packet was also 
 sent to the Parliament, which they would not open because 
 they guessed at the contents and were resolved beforehand 
 not to obey. Therefore they returned it sealed up as it 
 came, and agreed to send assurances of their obedience to 
 the Queen, and to beg she would give them leave to clear 
 themselves from the aspersion thrown upon them in the 
 letter above mentioned sent to the chief magistrate of the 
 city. And to support the dignity of Parliament it w^as 
 further resolved that Her Majesty should be petitioned 
 in a most humble manner to name the calumniators, that 
 they might be proceeded against according to law. At the 
 same time Broussel, Viole, Amelot and seven others moved 
 that it might be demanded in form that Cardinal Mazarin 
 should be removed ; but they were not supported by 
 anybody else, so that they were treated as enthusiasts. 
 Although this was a juncture in which it was more 
 necessary than ever to act with vigour, yet I do not 
 remember the time when I have beheld so much faint- 
 heartedness. 
 
 The Chamber of Accounts immediately set about 
 making remonstrances ; but the Grand Council would 
 have obeyed the King's orders, only the city refused 
 them passports. I think this was one of the most 
 gloomy days I had as yet seen. I found the Parlia- 
 ment had almost lost all their spirit, and that I should 
 be obliged to bow my neck under the most shameful and 
 dangerous yoke of slavery, or be reduced to the dire 
 necessity of setting up for tribune of the people, which 
 is the most uncertain and meanest of all posts when it 
 is not vested with sufficient power. 
 
 The weakness of the Prince de Conti, who was led 
 like a child by his brother, the cowardice of M. de 
 
r \kiiiNAL DE ki:t/ 1 I 
 
 Lon,c;iiC'\'ille, wlio had been to offer his ser\'ice to the 
 (hi'en, and tlie declaration of MM. de iJonillon and de 
 la Mothe liad miL^hlily disfigured my tnbuneship. laU 
 thf folly of ^vFazarin raised its reputation, for he made tlir 
 (Uieen refuse audience to the Kin^' s Council, who rcturneil 
 that nii^ht to Paris, fully conx'inced that the Court was 
 resnh'ed to push thin.L;s to extremit}'. 
 
 I was inlonned fr(jm St. (jenuain tliat the Print e had 
 assured the C^'-i'^^'U he W(juld take Paris in a forlnii;lit, 
 and they hoped that the discontinuance of two markets 
 only would star\'e the city into a surrender. I carried 
 this ne^vs to my frientis, who be.i^^an to see that there was 
 no possibility of acconunodation. 
 
 The Parliament was no sooner actpiainted that the 
 Kin/^^'s Council had been denied audience than with one 
 \()ice — JSernai exce[)ted, who was fitter tor a cook than 
 a councillor — they passed that famous decree of January Nth, 
 1O40, whereby Cardinal iMazarin was declared an enemy to 
 the KiuL^ and ( 'iO\ernment, a disturber ot the public peace, 
 and all the ]\in.i;''s sul)jects were enjoined to attack liim 
 without inerc)'. 
 
 In the alternoon there was a general council ol the 
 ileputies of Parliament, of the Chaniber of Accounts, ol 
 the Court of Aids, the chief magistrates of Paris, and 
 the six trading companies, wherein it A\"as resoheil that 
 the magistrates should issue out conunissions lor raismg 
 4,000 horse and 10,000 foot. The same day the Chandier 
 of Accounts, the Court of Aids, and the city sent their 
 deputies to the (}ueen, to beseech Her Majesty to bring 
 the King back to Paris, but the Court was obdurate. 
 The Prince de Conde llcw out against the Parliament 
 in the (}ueen"s presence ; and bier ]\bijesty told them all 
 that neither the King' nor herself would ever come again 
 within the walls of the city till the Parliament was gone 
 out of it. 
 
Il6 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 The next day the city recei\'ed a letter from the King 
 commanding them to obhge the Parliament to remove to 
 Montargis. The governor, one of the sheriffs, and four 
 councillors of the city carried the letter to Parliament, 
 protesting at the same time that they would obey no other 
 orders than those of the Parliament, who that very morn- 
 ing settled the necessary funds for raising troops. In 
 the afternoon there was a general council, wherein all 
 the corporations of the city and all the colonels and cap- 
 tains of the several quarters entered into an association, 
 confirmed by an oath, for their mutual defence. In the 
 meantime I was informed by the Marquis de Noirmoutier 
 that the Prince de Conti and M. de Longueville were 
 very well disposed, and that they stayed at Court the 
 longer to have a safer opportunity of coming away. ^I. 
 de la Rochefoucault wrote to the same purpose to Madame 
 de Longue\'ille. 
 
 The same day I had a visit from the Duke d'Elbeuf,^ 
 who, as they said, having missed a dinner at Court, 
 came to Paris for a supper. He addressed me with all 
 the cajoling flattery of the House of Guise, and had 
 three children with him, who were not so eloquent, but 
 seemed to be quite as cunning as himself. He told me 
 that he was going to offer his service to the Hotel de Ville ; 
 but I ad\'ised him to wait upon the Parliament. He 
 was fixed in his first resolution, yet he came to assure 
 me he would follow my advice in e\'erything. I was 
 afraid that the Parisians, to whom the very name of a 
 Prince of Lorraine is dear, would have given him the 
 command of the troops. Therefore I ordered the clergy 
 o\'er whom I had influence to insinuate to the people 
 that he was too influential with the Abbe de la Riviere, 
 and I sliOAved the Parliament what respect he had for 
 
 I Charles of Lorraine, the second of that name, who died 1G57 
 
C\Rr'lN.\L DE RETZ II7 
 
 thcin l:)y addressinc;- himself to the lintel de \'ille in the 
 hrst place, and tliat he had not h(MTour enoii,!;'h to be 
 trusted. I was shown a letter which he ^\■rotc to his 
 friend as lie came into town, in vchich ^vere these words: 
 " I must -■() and do homa.c^e to the Coadjutor nuAv, but 
 in tliree days' time he shall return it to mc." And I 
 h-ncw from other instances that his affection fcir me was 
 of the feeblest. 
 
 While I was reflecting- what to do, news was brou.ght 
 to me before da}light that the IVince de Conli and M. de 
 Lon-ue\ille were at the .gate of St. Ilonore and denied 
 entiance by the people, who feared they came to betray 
 the city. I immediately fetched honest Ih-oiissel, and 
 talxin,'^- some torches to Hg'ht us, we posted to the said 
 (^iilr ihrou-h a prodi.'^ious crowd of people; it was broad 
 dayh.i;ht liefore we could persuade the pc'ple that they 
 nn'i^ht safely let them in. 
 
 The ,^'reat dilhculty now was how to mana,c,'c so as to 
 remo\e the ,L;eneral distrust of the Prince de Conti that 
 existed among' tlie people. That which was practicable 
 the niglU bef(.)re was rendered impossible and e\-en ruinous 
 the next day, and this same Duke d'Elbeuf, whom I the)ught 
 to liaxc drix'en out of Paris on the oth, was in a fair wa\' tc 
 ha\e comjK'Ut^d me to lea\"e on the lotli if he had played 
 his game \\v\\, so suspected was tlie name of Conde by the 
 peojile. As there wanteil a little time to reconcile them, 
 1 thcHight it was our only way to keep lair with ?\I. d"l'dl)euf 
 and to con\ince him that it would be to his interest lo join 
 with the Prince de Conti and !\I. de Longue\'ille. I accord- 
 ingly sent to ac(|uaint him that 1 intended him .1 \iMt, Init 
 when I arri\'ed he was g^one to the Parliament, Avhere 
 the I'^irst President, who was against remo\ing (.;' ?\lont,u"gis 
 and at the same time \ery a\erse to a ci\il war, embraced 
 him, and without gi\'ing the members time ti") consider 
 what was urged by Proussel, X'iole and "[hers to the 
 
Il8 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 contrary, caused him to be declared General, with a design 
 merely to divide and weaken the party. 
 
 Upon this I made haste to the Palace of Longueville 
 to persuade the Prince de Conti and M. de Longueville to 
 go that very instant to the Parliament House. The latter 
 was never in haste, and the Prince having gone tired to 
 bed, it was with much ado I prevailed on him to rise. In 
 short, he w^as so long in setting out that the Parliament 
 was up and M. d'Elbeuf was marching to the Hotel de Ville 
 to be sworn and to take care of the commissions that 
 were to be issued. I thereupon persuaded the Prince 
 de Conti to go to the Parliament in the afternoon and 
 to ofler them his service, while I stayed without in the 
 hall to observe the disposition of the people. 
 
 He went thither accordingly in my coach and with my 
 grand livery, by which he made it appear that he reposed his 
 confidence entirely in the people, whom there is a necessity 
 of managing with a world of precaution because of their 
 natural diffidence and instability. When we came to the 
 House we were saluted upon the stairs with " God bless 
 the Coadjutor ! " but, except those posted there on purpose, 
 not a soul cried, "God bless the Prince de Conti!" from 
 whence I concluded that the bulk of the people were not 
 yet cured of their diffidence, and therefore I was very glad 
 when I had got the Prince into the Grand Chamber. The 
 moment after M. d'Elbeuf came in with the city guards, 
 who attended him as General, and with all the people crying 
 out, "God bless his Highness M. d'Elbeuf!" but as they 
 cried at the same time "God save the Coadjutor!" I 
 addressed myself to him with a smile and said, " This is 
 an echo, sir, which does me a great deal of honour." 
 " It is very kind of you," said he, and, turning to the 
 guards, bade them stay at the door of the Grand Chamber. 
 I took the order as given to myself, and stayed there 
 likewise with a great number of my friends. As soon as 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ Ilg 
 
 the House was formed, the Prince de Conti stood up and 
 said that, having been made acquainted at St. Germain 
 with the pernicious counsels given to the Queen, he thought 
 himself obliged, as Prince of the Blood, to oppose them. 
 M. d'Elbeuf, who was proud and insolent, like all weak 
 men, because he thought he had the strongest party, said 
 he knew the respect due to the Prince de Conti, but that 
 he could not forbear telling them that it was himself ^\ hu 
 first broke the ice and offered his service to the Parliament, 
 who, having conferred the General's baton upon him, lie 
 would ne\'er part with it but with his life. 
 
 The generality of the mtmbers, who w^ere as dis- 
 trustful of the Prince de Conti as the people, applauded 
 this declaration, and the Parliament passed a decree 
 forbidding the troops on pain of high treason to advance 
 within twenty miles of Paris. I saw that all I could do 
 that day was to reconduct the 1^'ince de Conti in safety to 
 the Palace of Longueville, for the crowd was so great that 
 I was fain to carry him as it were in my arms out of the 
 Grand Chamber. 
 
 J\L d'Elbeuf, who thought the day was all his own, 
 hearing my name joined with his in the huzzas of the 
 people, said to me by way of reprisal, " This, sir, is an 
 echo which does me a great deal of honour," to which I 
 replied, as he did to me before, " Sir, it is \'ery kind of 
 you." Meantime he was not wise enough to improve the 
 opportunity, and I foresaw that things would soon take 
 another turn, for reputation of long standing among the 
 people never fails to blast the tender blossoms of public 
 goodwill which are forced out of due season. 
 
 I had news sent to me irom ^Madame de Lesdiguitres 
 at St. Germain, that AI. d'Elbeuf an hour after he heard of 
 the arri\'al of the Prince de Conti and iM. de Longueville 
 at Paris, wrote a letter to the Abbti de la Ri\iL-re, with 
 these words : " Tell the Oueen and the Duke d'Orleans 
 
I20 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 that this diabohcal Coadjutor is the ruin of everything here, 
 and that in two days I shall have no power at all, but that 
 if they will be kind to me I will make them sensible. I 
 am not come hither with so bad a design as they imagine." 
 I made a very good use of this advice, and, knowing that 
 the people are generally fond of everything that seems 
 mysterious, I imparted the secret to four or five hundred 
 persons. I had the pleasure to hear that the conlidence 
 which the Prince had reposed in the people by going about 
 all alone in my coach, without any attendance, had won 
 their hearts. 
 
 At midnight M. de Longueville, Marshal de la Mothe 
 and myself w^ent to I\I. de Bouillon, whom we found as 
 wavering as the then state of affairs, but when we showed 
 him our plan, and how easily it might be executed, he 
 joined us immediately. We concerted measures, and I 
 gave out orders to all the colonels and captains of my 
 acquaintance. 
 
 The most dangerous blow that I gave to M. d'Elbeuf 
 was by making the people believe that he held corre- 
 spondence with the King's troops, who on the gth, at night, 
 surprised Charenton. I met him on the first report of it, 
 when he said, " Would you think there are people so 
 wicked as to say that I had a hand in the capture of 
 Charenton ? " I said in answer, " Would you think there 
 are people vile enough to report that the Prince de Conti is 
 come hither by concert with the Prince de Conde ? " 
 
 When I saw the people pretty well cured of their 
 diffidence, and not so zealous as they were for M. d'Elbeuf, 
 I was for mincing the matter no longer, and thought that 
 ostentation would be as proper to-day as reserve was 
 yesterday. The Prince de Conti took M. de Longueville 
 to the Parliament Plouse, where he offered them his 
 services, together with all Normandy, and desired they 
 would accept of his wife, son and daughter, and keep them 
 
CARDINAL DE KETZ I2l 
 
 in the Hotel de X'ille as pled.^^cs of his sincerity. He was 
 seconded l)y M. de Bouillon, ^\■ho said he v.as exceedin'^ly 
 glad to ser\-e the Parliament under the command of so 
 great a Prince as the Prince de Conti. r\I. d'Ellieuf was 
 nettled at this expression, and repeated what he had said 
 Ijefore, that he would not part with the General's staff, and 
 he showed more warmth than judgment in the whole 
 debate. He spoke nothing to the purpose. It was too 
 late to dispute, and he was obliged to yield, but I ha\-e 
 observed that fools only yield when they cannot help 
 it. We tried his patience a third lime l)_y the appearance 
 of iMarshal de la Mothe, w^ho passed tlie same compliment 
 upon the company as De Puuillon had dune. A\'e liad 
 concerted beforehand that these persunages should make 
 their appearance upon the theatre one alter the other, 
 for we had remarked that nothing so much aftects the 
 people, and even the Parliament, among whom the people 
 are a majority, as a variety of scenes. 
 
 I took ]\Ladame de Longue\-ille and iMadame de 
 Pouillon in a coach by way of triumph to tlie Hotel de 
 Ville. They were both of rare l>eauty, and appeared the 
 more charming because of a careless air, the more becoming 
 to both because it was unrdllcted. Iiach held one of her 
 children, beautiful as the mother, in her arms. The place 
 was so full of people that the \'ery tops of the houses were 
 crowded ; all the men shouted and the women wept for joy 
 and affection. I threw fi\"e hundred pistoles out of the 
 window of the Plotel de \'ille, and went again to the Parlia- 
 ment House, accompanied by a \'ast number of people, 
 some with arms and others without. AI. d'Elbeuf's cap- 
 tain of the guards told his master that he was ruined to all 
 intents and purposes if he did not accomniodate himself to 
 the present position of affairs, which was the reason that I 
 found him much perplexed and dejected, especially when 
 ^[. de Pellie\Te, W'ho had amused him hitherto designedly, 
 
122 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 came in and asked what meant the beating of the drums. 
 I answered that he would hear_j[nore very soon, and that all 
 honest men were quite out of patience with those that sowed 
 divisions among the people. I saw then that wisdom in affairs 
 of moment is nothing without courage. M. d'Elbeuf had 
 little courage at this juncture, made a ridiculous explanation 
 of w^hat he had said before, and granted more than he was 
 desired to do, and it was owing to the civility and good 
 sense of M. de Bouillon that he retained the title of General 
 and the precedence of M. de Bouillon and M. de la INIothe, 
 w^ho were equally Generals with himself under the Prince 
 de Conti, who was from that instant declared Generalissimo 
 of the King's Forces under the direction of the Parliament. 
 There happened at this time a comical scene in the 
 Hotel de Ville, which I mention more particularly because 
 of its consequence. De Noirmoutier, who the night before 
 was made Lieutenant-General, returning by the Hotel de 
 Ville from a sally w^hich he had made into the suburbs 
 to drive away Mazarin's skirmishers, as they were called, 
 entered with three officers in armour into the chamber of 
 Madame de Longueville, which was full of ladies — the 
 mixture of blue scarfs, ladies, cuirassiers, fiddlers and 
 trumpeters in and about the hall was such a sight as is 
 seldom met with but in romances. De Noirmoutier, who 
 was a great admirer of Astrea, said, he imagined that 
 we were besieged in Marcilli. "Well you may," said I; 
 " Madame de Longueville is as fair as Galatea, but Mar- 
 sillac (son of M. de la Rochefoucault) is not a man of so 
 much honour as Lindamore." I fancy I was overheard 
 by one in a neighbouring window, who might have told 
 M. de la Rochefoucault, for otherwise I cannot guess at 
 the first cause of the hatred which he afterwards bore 
 me. 
 
 Before I proceed to give you the detail of the civil 
 war, suffer me to lead you into the gallery where you, who 
 
CARDiXAi. i>E ret;: 123 
 
 are an admirer of fine painting, will be entertained with the 
 figures of the chief actors, drawn all at length in their 
 proper colours, and you will be able to judge by tlie 
 history whether they are painted to the life. Let us 
 begin, as it is but just, with Her ^lajesty. 
 
 CJiavactcy of the Oiiccn. 
 
 The Queen excelled in that kind of wit which was 
 becoming her circle, to the end that she might not appear 
 silly before strangers; she was more ill-natured than proud, 
 had more pride than real grandeur, and more show than 
 substance; she loved money too well to l)e liberal and her 
 own interest too well to be impartial ; she was more con- 
 stant than passionate as a lox'er, more implacable than 
 cruel, and more mindful of injuries than of good ofliees. 
 She had more of the pious intention than of real piety, more 
 obstinacy than well-grounded resolution, and a greater 
 measure of incapacity than of all the rest. 
 
 CJiaracicv of iJw Dnkc d'Orluiiis. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans possessed all the good qualities 
 requisite for a man of honour except courage, but ha\-ing 
 not one quality eminent enough to make him notable, he 
 had nothing in him to supply or support the weakness 
 which was so predominant in his heart through fear, and in 
 his mind through irresolution, that it tarnished the whole 
 course of his life, kle engaged in all affairs, because he 
 had not power to resist the importunities of those who 
 drew him in lor their own adx'antage, and came off always 
 with shame for want of courage to go on. His suspicious 
 temper, even from his childhood, deadened those li\"el}', gay 
 colours which would ha\"e shone out naturally with the ad- 
 \antages of a fine, bright genius, an amiable gracefulness, a 
 yei'Y honest disposition, a perfect disinterestedness, and an 
 incredible easiness of beha\iour. 
 
124 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 C liar act cv of the Prince dc Condc. 
 
 The Prince de Conde was born a general, an honour 
 none could ever boast of before but Caesar and Spinola ; he 
 was equal to the first, but superior to the second. In- 
 trepidity was one of the least parts of his character. 
 Nature gave him a genius as great as his heart. It was 
 his fortune to be born in an age of war, which gave him 
 an opportunity to display his courage to its full extent ; but 
 his birth, or rather education, in a family submissively 
 attached to the Cabinet, restrained his noble genius within 
 too narrow bounds. There was no care taken betimes to 
 inspire him with those great and general maxims which 
 form and improve a man of parts. He had not time to 
 acquire them by his own application, because he was pre- 
 vented from his youth by the unexpected revolution, and 
 by a constant series of successes. This one imperfection, 
 though he had as pure a soul as any in the w^orld, was the 
 reason that he did things which were not to be justified, 
 that though he had the heart of Alexander so he had his 
 infirmities, that he was guilty of unaccountable follies, that 
 having all the talents of Francis de Guise, he did not serve 
 the State upon some occasions as well as he ought, and that 
 having the parts of Henry de Conde, his namesake, he did 
 not push the faction as far as he might have done, nor did 
 he discharge all the duties his extraordinary merit de- 
 manded from him. 
 
 Character of the Duke de Longuevillc. 
 
 M. de Longueville, though he had the ^'rand name of 
 Orleans, together with vivacity, an agreeable appearance, 
 generosity, liberality, justice, valour and grandeur, yet never 
 made any extraordinary figure in life, because his ideas were 
 infinitely above his capacity. If a man has abilities and 
 great designs, he is sure to be looked upon as a man of 
 
,L'i:."M. I'E RLT/ 
 
 i:^S 
 
 some iii'iportance ; but if he docs not carry thern out he 
 is not nuich esteemed, wlu'cii \. as the case with Lou'^ue; ill-. 
 
 C/liU'diti!' '■/ !'u IJuJw dc lJc\Juf( li. 
 
 jM. de Beaufort ]-;ue\v liLtle of affairs of moment but 
 by hearsay and l_)y \\hat lie had learned in the cabal ot 
 "The Importants," d whu-^' jar.n'on he had retained some 
 sniatterinL,^, wluch, to-^.ther willi some expressions he had 
 perfectly acquired fruin ^ladame de Wndonie, iurmed a 
 lanf^uai^^e that would ha\e puzzled a Cato. His speech 
 was short and stupidly dvdl, and the more so because he 
 obscured it by affectatirjn. He th(ju,i;ht himsell xerysulfi- 
 cient, and pretended to a -reat deal more wit than came 
 to his share. He ^^"as braxe eni)ue,'h in his person, and 
 outdid the connnon Hectors by bein;^ so upon all occasions, 
 but ne\-er more ;;/(// // /''/''■ than in -allantry. And he 
 talked and thought just as the people did whose idul he 
 was for some time. 
 
 Cluii'iichr of ii'i 1 Ut];c iVPJiniif. 
 
 M. d'Elbeuf could not lail <il courage, as he A\as a 
 Prince of the House of Lorraine. lie had all the wit 
 that a man of abundanth' more eunning and good sense 
 could pretend to. He was a medley ot incoherent 
 flourishes. He was the fn'st Prince debiised by pm-erty ; 
 and, perhaps, ne\er man WdS more at a loss than he to 
 raise the pity of the people in misery. A cnndortable 
 subsistence did not raise his spirits ; and if he had been 
 master of riches he would ha\e been en\ied as a leader ol 
 a party. Po\"erty so x\cll became him that it seemed as 
 if he had f^een cut uut b r a beggar. 
 
 CJiavadc: of /A iJuko dc Jjohi/Io;:. 
 The Puke de L'ouillun \\as a man ol experienced \aIoLU- 
 
125 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 and profound sense. I am fully persuaded, by what I have 
 seen of his conduct, that those who cry it down wrong his 
 character ; and it may be that others had too favourable 
 notions of his merit, who thought him capable of all the 
 great things which he never did. 
 
 Character of M . dc Turciiiic. 
 
 M. de Turenne had all the good qualities in his very 
 nature, and acquired all the great ones very early, those 
 only excepted that he never thought of. Though almost 
 all the virtues were in a manner natural to him, yet he 
 shone out in none. He was looked upon as more proper 
 to be at the head of an army than of a faction, for he was 
 not naturally enterprising. He had in all his conduct, as 
 well as in his way of talking, certain obscurities which he 
 never explained but on particular occasions, and then only 
 for his own honour. 
 
 Character of Marshal dc la I\Iothc. 
 
 The JNIarshal de la Mothe was a captain of the second 
 rank, full of mettle, but not a man of much sense. He was 
 affable and courteous in ci\'il life, and a very useful man 
 in a faction because of his wonderful complacency. 
 
 Character of the Prince de Coiiti. 
 
 The Prince de Conti was a second Zeno as much as he 
 was a Prince of the Blood. That is his character with 
 regard to the public ; and as to his private capacity, 
 wickedness had the same effect on him as weakness had 
 on M. d'Elbeuf, and drowned his other qualities, which 
 were all mean and tinctured with folly. 
 
 Character of M. de la Rochcfoucault. 
 M. de la Rochcfoucault had something so odd in all 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 12/ 
 
 his conduct that I know not what name to gix'e it. Me 
 ]o\ed to 1)6 enga,i,^ed in intrigues from a child. He was 
 ne\'er capable of conducting any alfair, for what reasons I 
 could not conceix'e ; for hu had endowments which, in 
 another, would ha\e made amends for imperfections 
 
 . lie had not a long \ iew of what was 
 
 l)eyond his reach, nur a quick apprehension of what was 
 within it ; but his sound sense, \ery good in specula- 
 tion, his good-nature, his engaging and wonderfully easy 
 l)eha\'iour, were enough to ha\'e made amends more than 
 they did for his \\'ant of penetration. He was constantly 
 wa\'ering in his resolution, Itut what to attribute it to 1 
 know not, for it could not come fnun his fertile imagina- 
 tion, wdiich was li\"ely. Xor can I sa}' it came lrt)m his 
 barrenness of thought, for thou-h he did not excel as 
 a m.an of affairs, yet he had a good lund of sense. 
 The edect of this irrese)lution is \"ery \isil»le, ihuugh we 
 do nr>t know its cause. He ne\er was a warrior, though 
 a true soldier. He ne\er was a courtier, though he had 
 always a good mind to be one. He ne\'er ^\•as a guod 
 party man, though his whole life was engaged in parti- 
 sanship. He was \ery timorous and bashful in con\er- 
 sation, and thougiit he always stood in need of apologies, 
 which, considering that his " ^laxims " showed no great 
 regard for virtue, and that his practice w^as always to 
 get out of alfairs with the same hurry as he got into 
 them, makes me conclude that he would ha\e done 
 much better if he had contented himself to ha\e passed, 
 as he might ha\'e done, for the politest courtier and the 
 most cultivated gentleman of his age. 
 
 Cluii'diiti' of Madame Jc Lont^ncvillc. 
 
 Madame de Longuexille had naturally a great fund 
 of wit and was, moreover, a wuman of parts ; but 
 
128 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 her indolent temper kept her from making any use of 
 her talents, either in gallantries or in her hatred against 
 the Prince de Conde. Her languishing air had more 
 charms in it than the most exquisite beauty. She had 
 few or no faults besides what she contracted in her 
 gallantry. As her passion of lo\'e influenced her conduct 
 more than politics, she who was the Amazon of a great 
 party degenerated into the character of a fortune-hunter. 
 But the grace of God brought her back to her former 
 self, which all the world was not able to do. 
 
 Charactcv of Madame dc Clicvvcusc. 
 
 Madame de Chevreuse^ had not so much as the 
 remains of beauty when I knew her ; she was the only 
 person I ever saw whose vivacity supplied the want of 
 judgment ; her wit was so brilliant and so full of wisdom 
 that the greatest men of the age would not have been 
 ashamed of it, while, in truth, it was owing to some 
 lucky opportunity. If she had been born in time of peace 
 she would never have imagined there could have been 
 such a thing as war. If the Prior of the Carthusians 
 had but pleased her, she would have been a nun all 
 her lifetime. M. de Lorraine'- was the first that en- 
 gaged her in State affairs. The Duke of Buckingham^ 
 and the Earl of Holland (an English Lord, of the family 
 of Rich, and younger son of the Earl of Warwick, then 
 ambassador in France) kept her to themselves ; M. de 
 
 1 Mary de Rohan, daughter of Hercules de Rohan, Duke de 
 Montbazon, and of Magdalen de Lenoncourt, born 1600, married in 
 1617 to Charles d'Albert, Duke de Luynes, and in 1G21 to Claudius 
 de Lorraine, Duke de Chevreuse, died in August, 1679. 
 
 2 Charles IV., Duke de Lorraine, died 1G75. 
 
 3 George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, assassinated when pre- 
 paring to succour Rochelle. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 129 
 
 Chateauneuf continued the amusement, till at last she 
 abandoned herself to the pleasing of a person whom she 
 loved, without any choice, but purely because it was 
 impossible for her to live without being in love with 
 somebody. It was no hard task to give her one to 
 serve the turn of the faction, but as soon as she accepted 
 him she loved him with all her heart and soul, and she 
 confessed that by the caprice of fortune she never loved 
 best where she esteemed most, except in the case of 
 the poor Duke of Buckingham. Notwithstanding her 
 attachment in love, which we may properly call her 
 everlasting passion, notwithstanding the frequent change of 
 objects, she was peevish and touchy almost to distraction, 
 but when herself again, her transports w^ere very agreeable ; 
 never was anybody less fearful of real danger, and never 
 had woman more contempt for scruples and ceremonies. 
 
 Charadcv of MadcmoiseUc dc Clievvcuse. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Chevreuse was more beautiful in her 
 person than charming in her carriage, and by nature ex- 
 tremely silly ; her amorous passion made her seem witty, 
 serious and agreeable only to him whom she was in 
 love with, but she soon treated him as she did her petti- 
 coat, which to-day she took into her bed, and to-morrow 
 cast into the fire out of pure aversion. 
 
 Cliaractcr of the Princess Palatine. 
 
 The Princess Palatine ^ had just as much gallantry as 
 gravity. I believe she had as great a talent for State 
 affairs as Elizabeth, Oueen of England. I have seen her 
 
 I Anne de Gonzague Cleves, married in 1G45 to Edward of Bavaria, 
 Prince Palatine of the Rhine. She was daughter of Charles, Duke of 
 Mantua-Nevers 
 
I^O MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 in the faction, I have seen her in the Cabinet, and found 
 her everywhere equally sincere. 
 
 Character of Madame de Monthazon. 
 
 Madame de Montbazon was a very great beauty, only 
 modesty was visibly wanting in her air ; her grand air 
 and her way of talking sometimes supplied her want of 
 sense. She loved nothing more than her pleasures, unless 
 it was her private interest, and I never knew a vicious 
 person that had so little respect for virtue. 
 
 Character of the First President. 
 
 If it were not a sort of blasphemy to say that any 
 mortal of our times had more courage than the great 
 Gustavus Adolphus and the Prince de Conde, I would 
 venture to affirm it of M. Mole, the First President, but 
 his wit was far inferior to his courage. It is true that 
 his enunciation was not agreeable, but his eloquence 
 was such that though it shocked the ear it seized the 
 imagination. He sought the interest of the public pre- 
 ferably to all things, not excepting the interest of his 
 own family, which yet he loved too much for a magis- 
 trate. Pie had not a genius to see at times the good 
 he was capable of doing, presumed too much upon his 
 authority, and imagined that he could moderate both the 
 Court and Parliament ; but he failed in both, made him- 
 self suspected by both, and thus with a design to do good 
 he did evil. Prejudices contributed not a little to this, 
 for I observed he was prejudiced to such a degree that 
 he always judged of actions by men, and scarcely ever of 
 men by their actions. 
 
 To return to our history. All the companies having 
 united and settled the necessary funds, a complete army 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 131 
 
 was raised in Paris in a week's time. The Bastille sur- 
 rendered after live or six cannon shots, and it was a 
 pretty sight to see the women carry their chairs into 
 the garden where the guns were stationed for the sake 
 of seeing the siege, just as if about to hear a sermon. 
 
 M. de Beaufort, having escaped from his confinement, 
 arrived this very day in l^aris. I found that his im- 
 prisonment had not made him one jot the wiser. Indeed, 
 it had got him a reputation, because he bore it with con- 
 stancy and made his escape with courage. It was also 
 his merit not to have abandoned the banks of the Loire 
 at a time when it absolutely required abundance of skill 
 and courage to stay there. It is an easy matter for those 
 who are disgraced at Court to make the best of their own 
 merit in the beginning of a civil war. He had a mind 
 to form an alliance with me, and knowing how to employ 
 him advantageously, I prepossessed the people in his favour, 
 and exaggerated the conspiracy which the Cardinal had 
 formed against him by means of Du Hamel. 
 
 As my friendship was necessary to him so his was neces- 
 sary to me ; for my profession on many occasions being 
 a restraint upon me I wanted a man sometimes to stand 
 before me. M. de la Mothe was so dependent on M. de 
 Longueville that I could not rely on him ; and Isl. de 
 Bouillon was not a man to be governed. 
 
 We went together to wait on the Prince de Conti ; 
 we stopped the coach in the streets, where I proclaimed 
 the name of M. de Beaufort, praised him and showed him 
 to the people ; upon which the people were suddenly 
 lired with enthusiasm, the women kissed him, and the 
 crowd was so great that we had much ado to get to 
 the Plotel de Ville. The next day he offered a petition 
 to the Parliament desiring he might have leave to justify 
 himself against the accusation of his having formed a 
 design against the life of the Cardinal, which was 
 
132 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 granted ; and he was accordingly cleared next day, and 
 the Parliament issued that famous decree for seizing 
 all the cash of the Crown in all the public and private 
 receipt offices of the kingdom and employing it in the 
 common defence. 
 
 The Prince de Conde was enraged at the declaration 
 published by the Prince de Conti and M. de Longueville, 
 which cast the Court, then at St. Germain, into such a 
 despair that the Cardinal was upon the point of retiring. 
 I was abused there without mercy, as appeared by a 
 letter sent to Madame de Longueville from the Princess 
 her mother, in which I read this sentence: "They rail 
 here plentifully against the Coadjutor, whom yet I cannot 
 forbear thanking for what he has done for the poor Queen 
 of England." This circumstance is very curious. [ You 
 must know that a few days before the King left Paris I 
 visited the Queen of England, whom I found in the 
 apartment of her daughter, since Madame d'Orleans. 
 " You see, sir," said the Queen, " I come here to keep 
 Henrietta company ; the poor child has lain in bed all 
 day for want of a fire." The truth is, the Cardinal 
 having stopped the Queen's pension six months, trades- 
 men were unwilling to give her credit and there was not 
 a chip of wood in the house. You may be sure I took 
 care that a Princess of Great Britain should not be con- 
 fined to her bed next day for want of a faggot ; and a 
 few days after I exaggerated the scandal of this desertion, 
 and the Parliament sent the Queen a present of 40,000 
 livres. Posterity will hardly believe that the Queen of 
 England, grand-daughter of Henry the Great, wanted a 
 faggot to light a fire in the month of January, in the 
 Louvre, and at the Court of France. There are many 
 passages in history less monstrous than this which make 
 us shudder, and this mean action of the Court made so 
 Httle impression upon the minds of the generality of the 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 33 
 
 people at that time that I have reflected a thousand 
 times since that we are far more moved at the hearing 
 of old stories than of those of the present time ; we 
 are not shocked at what we see with our own eyes, and 
 I question whether our surprise would be as jj^reat as we 
 imagine at the story of Cahgula's promoting his horse to 
 the dignity of a consul were he and his horse now living. 
 
 To return to the w^ar. A cornet of my regiment being 
 taken prisoner and carried to St. Germain, the Queen 
 immediately ordered his head to be cut off, but I sent a 
 trumpeter to acquaint the Court that I would make 
 reprisals upon my prisoners, so that my cornet was 
 exchanged and a cartel settled. 
 
 As soon as Paris declared itself, all the kingdom was in 
 a (]uandary, for the Parliament of Paris sent circular 
 letters to all the Parliaments and cities in the kingdom 
 exhorting them to join against the common enemy ; upon 
 which the Parliaments of Aix and Rouen joined with that of 
 Paris. The Prince d'Harcourt, now Duke d'Elbeuf, and 
 the cities of Rheims, Tours and Poitiers took up arms in 
 its favour. The Duke de la Tremouille raised men for 
 them pubHcly. The Duke de Retz offered his service to 
 the Parliament, together with Belle Isle. Le Mans expelled 
 its bishop and all the Lavardin family, who were in the 
 interest of the Court. 
 
 On the 1 8th of January, 1649, I was admitted to a 
 seat and vote in Parliament, and signed an alliance with 
 the chief leaders of the party, viz.: JNIAI. de Beaufort, 
 de Bouillon, de la IMothe, de Noirmoutier, de Vitri, de 
 Brissac, de Maure, de Matha, de Cugnac,^ de Barnire, 
 de Sillery, de la Rochefoucault, de Laigues, de Sevigny, 
 de Bethune, de Luynes, de Chaumont, de St. Germain, 
 d'Action and de Fiesque. 
 
 I Antony de Cugnac, Marquis de Dampiere 
 
134 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 On the 9th of February the Prince de Conde attacked 
 and took Charenton. All this time the country people were 
 flocking to Paris with provisions, not only because there 
 was plenty of money, but to enable the citizens to hold out 
 against the siege, which was begun on the gth of January. 
 
 On the 1 2th of February a herald came with two 
 trumpeters from the Court to one of the city gates bringing 
 three packets of letters, one for the Parliament, one for the 
 Prince de Conti and the third for the Hotel de Ville. It 
 was but the night before that a person was caught in the 
 halls dropping libels against the Parliament and me; upon 
 which the Parliament, Princes and city supposed that this 
 State visit was nothing but an amusement of Cardinal 
 Mazarin to cover a worse design, and therefore resolved 
 not to receive the message nor give the herald audience, 
 but to send the King's Council to the Queen to represent 
 to her that their refusal was out of pure obedience and 
 respect, because heralds are never sent but to Sovereign 
 Princes or public enemies, and that the Parliament, the 
 Prince de Conti and the city were neither the one nor the 
 other. At the^ same time the Chevalier de Lavalette, who 
 distributed the libels, had formed a design to kill me and 
 M. de Beaufort upon the Parliament stairs in the great 
 crowd which they expected would attend the appearance of 
 the herald. The Court, indeed, always denied his having 
 any other commission than to drop the libels, but I am 
 certain that the Bishop of DcMe told the Bishop of Aire but 
 a night or two before, that Beaufort and I should not be 
 among the living three days hence. 
 
 The King's councillors returned with a report how 
 kindly they had been received at St. Germain. The}^ said 
 the Queen highly approved of the reasons offered by the 
 Parliament for refusing entrance to the herald, and that she 
 had assured them that though she could not side with the 
 Parliament in the present state of affairs, yet she received 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I33 
 
 with joy the assurances they had given her of their respect 
 and submission, and that she would distinguish them in 
 general and in particular by special marks of her goodwill. 
 Talon, Attorney-General, who always spoke with dignity 
 and force, embellished this answer of the Queen with all the 
 ornaments he could give it, assuring the Parliament in very 
 pathetic terms that if they should be pleased to send a 
 deputation to St. Germain it would be very kindly recei\ed, 
 and might, perhaps, be a great step towards a peace. 
 
 When I saw that we were besieged, that the Cardinal 
 had sent a person into Flanders to treat with the Spaniards, 
 and that our party was now so well formed that there was 
 no danger that I alone should be charged with courting 
 the alliance of the enemies of the State, I hesitated no 
 longer, but judged that as affairs stood I might with 
 honour hear what proposals the Spaniards would make to 
 me for the relief of Paris ; but I took care not to have my 
 name mentioned, and that the first oA'ertures should be 
 made to M. d'Elbeuf, who was the fittest person, because 
 during the ministry of Cardinal de Richelieu he was twelve 
 or fifteen years in Flanders a pensioner of Spain. Accord- 
 ingly Arnolfi, a Bernardin friar, was sent from the Arch- 
 duke Leopold, Govt;rnor of the Spanish Netherlands for the 
 King of Spain, to the Duke d'Elbeuf, who upon sight of his 
 credentials thought himself the most considerable rnan of 
 the party, in\^ited most of us to dinner, and told us he had 
 a very important matter to lay before us, but that such was 
 his tenderness for the French name that he could not open 
 so much as a small letter from a suspected quarter, which, 
 after some scrupulous and mysterious circumlocutions, 
 he ventured to name, and we agreed one and all not to 
 refuse the succours from Spain, but the great difficulty was, 
 which way to get them. Fuensaldagne, the general, was 
 inclined to join us if he could have been sure that Vv^e would 
 engage with him ; but as there was no possibility of the 
 
136 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Parliaments treating with him, nor any dependence to be 
 placed upon the Generals, some of whom were wavering 
 and whimsical, Madame de Bouillon pressed me not to 
 hesitate any longer, but to join with her husband, adding 
 that if he and I united we should so far overmatch the 
 others that it would not be in their power to injure us. 
 
 M, de Bouillon and I agreed to use our interest to oblige 
 the Parliament to hear what the envoy had to say. I pro- 
 posed it to the Parliament, but the first motion of it was 
 hissed, in a manner, by all the company as much as if it had 
 been heretical. The old President Le Coigneux, a man of 
 quick apprehension, observing that I sometimes mentioned 
 a letter from the Archduke of which there had been no 
 talk, declared himself suddenly to be of my opinion. He 
 had a secret persuasion that I had seen some writings which 
 they knew nothing of, and therefore, while both sides were 
 in the heat of debate, he said to me, " Why do you not 
 disclose yourself to your friends ? they would come into your 
 measures. I see very well you know more of the matter 
 than the person who thinks himself your informant." I 
 vow I was terribly ashamed of my indiscretion. I squeezed 
 him by the hand and winked at MM. de Beaufort and de la 
 Mothe. At length two other Presidents came over to my 
 opinion, being thoroughly convinced that succours from 
 Spain at this time were a remedy absolutely necessary 
 to our disease, but a dangerous and empirical medicine, 
 and infallibly mortal to particular persons if it did not 
 pass first through the Parliament's alembic. 
 
 The Bernardin, being tutored by us beforehand what 
 to say when he came before the Parliament, behaved 
 like a man of good sense. 
 
 When he desired audience, or rather when the Prince 
 de Conti desired it for him, the President de Mesmes, a 
 man of great capacity, but by fear and ambition most 
 slavishly attached to the Court, made an eloquent and 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 37 
 
 pathetic harangue, preferable to anything I ever met 
 with of the kind in all the monuments of antiquity, and, 
 turning about to the Prince de Conti, " Is it possible, 
 Monsieur," said he, "that a Prince of the Blood of 
 France should propose to let a person deputed from the 
 most bitter enemy of the flcuvs-dc-Us ha\'e a seat upon 
 those flowers?" Then turning to me, he said, "What, 
 sir, will you refuse entrance to your Sovereign's herald 
 
 upon the most trifling pretexts ?" I knew what was 
 
 coming, and therefore I endeavoured to stop his mouth 
 by this answer: "Sir, you will excuse me from calling 
 those reasons frivolous which have had the sanction of a 
 decree." The bulk of the Parliament wms provoked at the 
 President's unguarded expression, baited him very fiercely, 
 and then I made some pretence to go out, leaving (.)uatre- 
 sous, a young man of the warmest temper, in the House to 
 skirmish with him in my stead, as having experienced more 
 than once that the only way to get anything of moment 
 passed in Parliamentary or other assemblies is to exasperate 
 the young men agamst the old ones. 
 
 In short, after many debates, it Avas carried that the 
 envoy should be admitted to audience. I^eing accordingly 
 admitted, and bidden to be co\'ered and sit down, he pre- 
 sented the Archduke's credentials, and then made a speech, 
 which was in substance that his master had ordered liim 
 to acquaint the company with a proposal made him by 
 Cardinal iMazarin since the blockade of Paris, which his 
 Catholic IMajesty did not think consistent with his safetv 
 or honour to accept, wdien he saw^ that, on the one hand, 
 it was made with a view^ to oppress the Parliament, whicli 
 was held in veneration by all the kingdoms in the world, 
 and, on the other, that all treaties made with a condemned 
 minister would be null and void, forasnuich as they were 
 made without the concurrence of the Parliament, to whom 
 only it belonged to register and \'erify treaties of peace in 
 
138 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 order to make them authoritative ; that the CathoHc King, 
 who proposed to take no advantage from the present state 
 of affairs, had ordered the Archduke to assure the Par- 
 Hament, whom he knew to be in the true interest of the 
 most Christian King, that he heartily acknowledged them 
 to be the arbiters of peace, that he submitted to their 
 judgment, and that if they thought proper to be judges, 
 he left it to their choice to send a deputation out of 
 their own body to what place they pleased, Paris itself 
 not excepted, and that his Catholic Majesty would also, 
 without delay, send his deputies thither to meet and 
 treat with them ; that, meanwhile, he had ordered 
 18,000 men to march towards their frontiers to relieve 
 them in case of need, with orders nevertheless to commit 
 no hostilities upon the towns, &c., of the most Christian 
 King, though they were for the most part abandoned ; 
 and it being his resolution at this juncture to show his 
 sincere inclination for peace, he gave them his word of 
 honour that his armies should not stir during the treaty; 
 but that in case his troops might be serviceable to the 
 Parliament they were at their disposal, to be commanded 
 by French officers ; and that to obviate all the reasonable 
 jealousies generally attending the conduct of foreigners, 
 they were at liberty to take all other precautions they 
 should think proper. 
 
 Before his admission the President de Mesmes had 
 loaded me with invectives, for secretly corresponding 
 with the enemies of the State, for favouring his admis- 
 sion, and for opposing that of my Sovereign's herald. 
 
 I had observed that when the objections against a 
 man are capable of making greater impression than his 
 answers, it is his best course to say but little, and that 
 he may talk as much as he pleases when he thinks his 
 answers of greater force than the objections. I kept 
 strictly to this rule, for though the said President art- 
 
CARDINAL DE K1:TZ 1 ^C) 
 
 fully pointed his satire at me, I sat unconcerned till I 
 found the Parliament was charmed with what the en\oy 
 had said, and then, in my turn, I was e\en with the 
 President by telling him in short that my respect for 
 the Parliament had obliged me to put up ^vith his 
 sarcasms, which I had hitherto endured ; that I did not 
 suppose he meant that his sentiments shuuld alwa3-s be 
 a law to the Parliament ; that nobody there had a 
 greater esteem for him, with which I hoped that the 
 innocent freedom I had taken to speak my mind was not 
 inconsistent ; that as to the non-admission of the herald, 
 had it not been for the motion made by M. Proussel, 
 I should ha\-e fallen into the snare through o\-er-crcdulity, 
 and ha\-e gi\en my \'ote for that whicli might perhaps 
 ha^'e ended in the destruction ol the citN, :ind imohed 
 myself in what has since fully prox'ed to be a crime by 
 the (Jueen's late solenm approbation of the contrary 
 conduct ; and that, as to the envoy, I was silent till I 
 saw most of them were lor gi\ing him audience, when 
 I thought it better to \'ote the same way than vainly to 
 contest it. 
 
 This modest and submissi\"e answer of mine tc.) all 
 the scurrilities heaped upon me for a fortnight together 
 by the First President and the President de Mesnies had 
 an excellent effect upon the members, and obliterated for 
 a long time the suspicion that I aimed to go\'ern them by 
 my cabals. The President de iNIesmes would ha\'e replied, 
 but his words were drowned in the general clamour. I'he 
 clock struck li\'e, none had dined, and many had not 
 broken their fast, which the Presidents had, and there- 
 fore had the ad\antage in disputation. 
 
 The decree ordering the admission of the Spanisli 
 envoy to audience directed that a copy of what he said 
 in Parliament, signed with his own hand, should be de- 
 manded of him, to the end that it might be registered, 
 
140 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 and that, by a solemn deputation, it should be sent to 
 the Queen, with an assurance of the fidelity of the Par- 
 liament, beseeching her at the same time to withdraw her 
 troops from the neighbourhood of Paris and restore peace 
 to her people. It being now very late, and the members 
 very hungry — circumstances that have greater influence 
 then can be imagined in debates — they were upon the point 
 of letting this clause pass for want of due attention. The 
 President Le Coigneux was the first that discovered the 
 grand mistake, and, addressing himself to a great many 
 councillors, who were rising up, said, " Gentlemen, pray 
 take your places again, for I have something to offer to the 
 House which is of the highest importance to all Europe." 
 When they had taken their places he spoke as follows : 
 
 " The King of Spain takes us for arbiters of the general 
 peace ; it may be he is not in earnest, but yet it is a com- 
 pliment to tell us so. He offers us troops to march to our 
 relief, and it is certain he does not deceive us in this 
 respect, but highly obliges us. We have heard his envoy, 
 and considering the circumstances we are in, we think it 
 right so to do. W^e have resolved to give an account of 
 this matter to the King, which is but reasonable ; some 
 imagine that we propose to send the original decree, but 
 here lies the snake in the grass. I protest, sir," added he, 
 turning to the First President, "that the members did not 
 understand it so, but that the copy only should be carried 
 to Court, and the original be kept in the register. I could 
 wish there had been no occasion for explanation, because 
 there are some occasions when it is not prudent to speak all 
 that one thinks, but since I am forced to it, I must say it 
 without further hesitation, that in case we deliver up the 
 original the Spaniards will conclude that we expose their 
 proposals for a general peace and our own safety to the 
 caprice of Cardinal Mazarin ; whereas, by delivering only 
 a copy, accompanied with humble entreaties for a general 
 
CARDINAL DE RHTZ I41 
 
 peace, as the Parliament has wisely ordered, all Europe 
 will see that we maintain ourselves in a condition capable 
 of doing real service both to our King and country, if the 
 Cardinal is so blind as not to take a right advantage of 
 this opportunity." 
 
 This discourse was received with the approbation of all 
 the members, who cried out from all corners of the House 
 that this was the meaning of the House. The gentlemtn of 
 the Court of Inquests did not spare the l*residents. ^Sl. 
 Martineau said publicly that the tenour of this decree 
 was that the envoy of Spain should l)e made much of till 
 they received an answer from St. Germain, which would 
 pro\'e to be another taunt of the Cardinal's. Pontcarrc 
 said he was not so much afraid of a Spaniard as of a l\Iaza- 
 rin. In short, the Generals had the satisfaction to see that 
 the Parliament would not be sorry fur an)' adxances thtn' 
 should make towards an alliance with Spain. 
 
 \Ye sent a courier to Brussels, wh(j was guarded ten 
 leagues out of Paris by 500 horse, with an account of 
 e\'erything done in Parliament, of the conditions which 
 the Prince de Conti and the other generals desired for 
 entering into a treaty with Spain, and of what engage- 
 ment I could make in m}^ own pri\'ate capacity. 
 
 After he had gone I had a conference with AI. de 
 iJouillon and his lad)' about the present state of aliairs, 
 which I observed was very ticklish, that if we were 
 favoured by the general inclination of the people we 
 should carry all before us, but that the Parliament, 
 which was our chief strength in one sense, was in 
 other respects our main weakness ; that they were 
 ^■ery apt to go backward, that in the \'ery last del)ate 
 they were on the point of twisting a rope for their own 
 necks, and that the First President would show Alazarin 
 his true interests, and be glad to amuse us by stipulating 
 with the Court for our security without putting us in 
 
142 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 possession of it, and by ending the civil war in the con- 
 firmation of our slavery. " The Parliament," I said, 
 "inclines to an insecure and scandalous peace. We can 
 make the people rise to-morrow if we please; but ought 
 we to attempt it ? And if we divest the Parliament of its 
 authority, into what an abyss of disorders shall we not 
 precipitate Paris ? But, on the other hand, if we do not 
 raise the people, will the Parliament ever believe we can ? 
 Will they be hindered from taking any further step in 
 favour of the Court, destructive indeed to their own 
 interest, but infallibly ruinous to us first ? " 
 
 M. de Bouillon, who did not believe our affairs to be in 
 so critical a situation, was, together with his lady, in a 
 state of surprise. The mild and honourable answer which 
 the Oueen returned to the Kincj's councillors in relation 
 to the herald, her protestations that she sincerely forgave 
 all the world, and the brilliant gloss of Talon upon her 
 said answer, in an instant overturned the former reso- 
 lutions of the Parliament ; and if they regained sometimes 
 their wonted vigour, either by some intervening accidents 
 or by the skilful management of those who took care to 
 bring them back to the right wa}^, they had still an incli- 
 nation to recede. M. de Bouillon being the wisest man 
 of the party, I told him what I thought, and with him I 
 concerted proper measures. To the rest, I put on a cheer- 
 ful air, and magnified every little circumstance of affairs 
 to our own advantage. 
 
 M. de Bouillon proposed that we should let the Parlia- 
 ment and the Hotel de Ville go on in their own way, and 
 endeavour all we could clandestinely to make them odious 
 to the people, and that we should take the first oppor- 
 tunity to secure, by banishment or imprisonment, such 
 persons as we could not depend upon. He added that 
 Longueville, too, was of opinion that there was no remedy 
 left but to purge the Houses. This was exactly like him, 
 
CARDINAL DE RllTZ I43 
 
 for never was there a man so positive and violent in his 
 opinion, and yet no man hving could palliate it with 
 smoother lang-uage. Thou;:,^h I thought of this expedient 
 before 'M. de Bouillon, and perhaps could have said more 
 for it, because I saw the possibility of it much clearer than 
 he, yet I would not g'i\'e him to understand that I had 
 thought of it, because I knew he had the \-anity to love 
 to be esteemed the first author of things, which was the 
 only weakness 1 ol)ser\'ed in his managing State affairs. 
 I left him an answer in writing, in substance as follows ; 
 
 " I confess the scheme is very feasible, but attended 
 with pernicious consequences both to the pul:)lic and to 
 private persons, for the same people whom you employ 
 to humble the magistracy will refuse you obedience when 
 you demand from them the same hrimage they paid to the 
 magistrates. This people adored the F\arliament till the 
 beginning of the war ; they are still for continuing the war, 
 and )et abate their friendship for the Parliament. The 
 Parliament imagines that this applies only to some parti- 
 cular members who are IMazarined, l)ut they are deceived, 
 for their prejudice extends to the whole company, and 
 their hatred towards Mazarin's party supports and screens 
 their indifference towards all the rest. We cheer up their 
 spirits by pas(]uinades and ballads and the martial sound 
 of trumpets and kettle-drums, but, after all, do they pay 
 their taxes as punctually as they did the first few weeks ? 
 Are there many tliat have done as you and I, sir, who 
 sent our plate to the nunt. Do you not observe that they 
 who would lie thought zealous for the common cause plead 
 in fa\'our of some acts committed by those men whe are, 
 in short, its enemies? If the people are so tired already, 
 v\iTat will they be long before they come to their journey's 
 end ? 
 
 "After we ha\-e established our own authority upon 
 the ruin of the Parliament's, we shall certainly fall into 
 
144 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the same inconveniences and be obliged to act just as they 
 do now. We shall impose taxes, raise moneys, and differ 
 from the Parliament only in this, that the hatred and envy 
 they have contracted by various ways from one-third part 
 of the people — I mean the wealthy citizens — in the space 
 of six weeks will devolve upon us, with that of the other 
 two-thirds of the inhabitants, and will complete our ruin 
 in one week. May not the Court to-morrow put an end to 
 the civil war by the expulsion of Mazarin and by raising 
 the siege of Paris ? The provinces are not yet sufficiently 
 inflamed, and therefore we must double our application to 
 make the most of Paris. Besides the necessity of treating 
 wdth Spain and managing the people, there is another 
 expedient come into my head capable of rendering us as 
 considerable in Parliament as our affairs require. We 
 have an army in Paris which will be looked upon as the 
 people so long" as it continues within its walls. Every 
 councillor of inquest is inclined to believe his authority 
 among the soldiers to be equal to that of the Generals. 
 But the leaders of the people are not believed to be very 
 powerful until they make their power known by its execu- 
 tion. Pray do but consider the conduct of the Court upon 
 this occasion. Was there any minister or courtier but 
 ridiculed all that could be said of the disposition of the 
 people in favour of the Parliament even to the day of 
 the barricades? And yet it is as true that every man 
 at Court saw infallible marks of the revolution before- 
 hand. One would have thought that the barricades should 
 have convinced them ; but have they been convinced ? 
 Have they been hindered from besieging Paris on the 
 slight supposition that, though the caprice of the people 
 might run them into a mutiny, yet it would not break 
 out into a civil war ? What we are now doing might 
 undeceive them effectually ; but are they yet cured of 
 their infatuation ? Is not the Queen told every day that 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 43 
 
 none are for the Parliament but hired mobs, and that all 
 the wealthy burghers are in Her Majesty's interests. 
 
 " The Parliament is now as much infatuated as the 
 Court was then. This present disturbance among the 
 people carries in it all the marks of power which, in a 
 little time, they will feel the effects of, and which, as 
 they cannot but foresee, they ought to prevent in time, 
 because of the murmurs of the people against them and 
 their redoubled affection for I\I. de Pjeaufort and me. Put 
 far from it, the Parliament will never open its eyes until 
 all its autliority is quashed by a sudden l)low. If they 
 see we have a design against them they will, perhaps, ha\e 
 so inconsiderable an opinion of it that they will take 
 courage, and if we should but flinch they will liear harder 
 still upon us, till we shall be forced to crush them ; but this 
 would not turn to our account ; on the contrary, it is our 
 true interest to do them all the good we can lest we divide 
 our own party, and to beha\e in such a manner as ma\ 
 convince them that our interest and theirs are inseparaiile. 
 And the best way is to draw our army out of Paris, and to 
 post it so as it niay be ready to secure our convoys and be 
 safe from the insults of the enemy ; and I am for having 
 this done at the request of the Parliament, to prevent their 
 taking umbrage, till such time at least as we may find our 
 account in it. Such precautions will insensibly, as it were, 
 necessitate the Parliament to act in concert with us, and 
 our favour among the people, which is the only thing that 
 can fix us in that situation, wdl appear to them no longer 
 contemptible when they see it backed by an army which is 
 no longer at their discretion." 
 
 M. de iJouillon told me that M. de Turenne was upon 
 the point of declarmg for us, and that there were but two 
 colonels in all his army who gave him any uneasiness, but 
 that in a week's time he would find some way or other U) 
 manage them, and that then he would march directly to our 
 
 10 
 
146 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 assistance. '* What do j'-ou think of that ? " said the Duke. 
 "Are we not now masters both of the Court and Parha- 
 ment ? " 
 
 I told the Duke that I had just seen a letter written by 
 Hoquincourt^ to Madame de Montbazon, wherein were 
 only these words : " O fairest of all beauties, Peronne is in 
 your power." I added that I had received another letter 
 that morning which assured me of Mazieres. Madame 
 de Bouillon threw herself on my neck ; we were sure the day 
 was our own, and in a quarter of an hour agreed upon all 
 the preliminary precautions. 
 
 M. de Bouillon perceiving that I was so overjoyed at 
 this news that I, as well as his lady, gave little attention to 
 the methods he was proposing for drawing the army out of 
 Paris without alarming the Parliament, turned to me and 
 spoke thus very hastily: " I pardon my wife, but I cannot 
 forgive you this inadvertence. The old Prince of Orange 
 used to say that the moment one received good news should 
 be employed in providing against bad." 
 
 The 24th of February, 1649, the Parliament's deputies 
 waited on the Queen with an account of the audience 
 granted to the envoy of the Archduke. The Queen told 
 them that they should not have given audience to the 
 envoy, but that, seeing they had done it, it was absolutely 
 necessary to think of a good peace ; that she was entirely 
 well disposed, and the Duke d'Orleans and the Prince de 
 Conde promised the deputies to throw open all the passages 
 as soon as the Parliament should name commissioners for 
 the treaty. 
 
 Flamarin being sent at the same time into the city from 
 the Duke d'Orleans to condole with the Queen of England 
 on the death of her husband (King Charles I.), went, at 
 
 I Charles de Monchi, Marquis de Hoquincourt, Governor of Peronne 
 and Marshal of France in 165 1, killed before Dunkirk in 1658. 
 
(JARDIXAL DE KETZ I47 
 
 La Ki\-i(jre's solicitation, to 'SI. de la Rochefoucault, wIidih 
 he found in his l:)ed on account of his wounds and quite 
 wearied with the civil war, and persuaded him to come 
 ox'er to the Court interest. Me told Flamarin that he hatl 
 been drawm into this war much a,L(ainst his inclination, and 
 that, had he returned from i'uitou two months befnre 
 the sie,'j;e rjf Priris, he would ha\'e pre\'ented Madame de 
 Lon.L,^ue\'ille engaging in so vile a cause, but that I had 
 taken the opportunity of his absoK^e ti > engage both lier 
 and the Prince de Conti, that he found the engagements 
 too far adxanccd to be possildy dissolved, that the diabolical 
 Coadjutor would not hear C)f any terms of peace, and also 
 stopped the ears of the Prince de Conti and ?\Iadame de 
 Longuex'ilie, and that he himself could not act as he would 
 liecause of his bad state of health. I was inf<jrmed of 
 Idamarin's negotiations for the Court interest, and, as the 
 term of his passport liad expired, ordered the pvcvot da- 
 niai'chauih to command him to depart from the cit}'. 
 
 On the 27th the Fu'st President reported to the ]'ar- 
 liament what had occurred at St. (^jermain. SI. de Peau- 
 fort and I had to hinder the people from entering the 
 Great Chamber, for they threatened to throw the deputies 
 into the ri\-er, and said they had betrayed them and had 
 held conferences with ]\Iazarin. ft was as much as we 
 could do to allay the fury of the people, though at the 
 same time the P\irliament beliexed the tumult was oi 
 our own rrusing. Tliis slu'i.'s one iiiioiiviuicucc of f-opiiliiriiv, 
 naniclv, tluU n'liat is couiiiiitfcd hy I he luihli/c, in spiic of nil v<'iti' 
 ciidcivvours io tJic contrary, hdll s/i/l be- laid to ymir chari^c. 
 
 ^leanwhile we met at the Duke de Bouillon's to consider 
 what was best to he done at this critical juncture between 
 a people mad for war, a Parliament for peace, and the 
 Spaniards either for peace or war at our expense and tor 
 their own advantage. The Prince de Conti, instructed 
 beforehand by ^L de la Rocliefoucault, spoke for carrying 
 
 10 — 2 
 
14'"^ MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 T 
 
 on the war, but acted as if he was for peace, and upon 
 the whole I did not doubt but that he waited for some 
 answer from St. Germain. M. d'Elbeuf made a silly pro- 
 posal to send the Parliament in a body to the Bastille. M. 
 de Beaufort, whom we could not entrust with any important 
 secret because of Madame de Montbazon, who was \'ery 
 false, wondered that his and my credit with the people was 
 not made use of on this occasion. It bein;^' ver}' e\ident 
 that the Parliament would greedily catch at the treaty 
 of peace proposed by the Court, it was in a manner im- 
 possible to answer those who urged that the only way 
 to prevent it was to hinder their debates by raising 
 tumults among the people. M. de Beaufort held up 
 both his hands for it. M. d'Elbeuf, who had lately re- 
 ceived a letter from La Riviere full of contempt, talked 
 like an officer of the army. When I considered the great 
 risk I ran if I did not prevent a tumult, which would cer- 
 tainly be laid at my door, and that, on the other hand, I 
 did not dare to say all I could to stop such commotion, I 
 was at a loss what to do. But considering the temper of 
 the populace, who might have been up in arms with a word 
 from a person of any credit among us, I declared publicly 
 that I was not for altering our measures till we knew what 
 we were to expect from the Spaniards. 
 
 I experienced on this occasion that civil i^'ars arc attended 
 7('ith this great inconvenience, that there is more need of caution in 
 ivJiat u>c say to our friends than in what kt do against our enemies. 
 I did not fail to bring the company to my mind, especially 
 when supported by I\I. de Bouillon, who was convinced 
 that the confusion which would happen in such a juncture 
 would turn with vengeance upon the authors. But when 
 the company was gone he told me he was resolved to free 
 himself from the tyranny, or, rather, pedantry of the Par- 
 liament as soon as the treaty with Spain was concluded, 
 and jM. de Turenne had declared himself publicly, and as 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 149 
 
 soon as our army was without the walls of Paris. I 
 answered that upon M. de Turenne's declaration I would 
 promise him my concurrence, but that till then I could not 
 separate from the Parliament, much less oppose them, 
 without the danger of being banished to Brussels. That 
 as for his own part, he might come oft^ better because of 
 his knowledge of military affairs, and of the assurances 
 which Spain was able to give him, but, nevertheless, I 
 desired him to remember j\I. d'Aumale, who fell into the 
 depth of poverty as soon as he had lost all protection but 
 that of Spain, and, consequently, that it was his interest as 
 well as mine to side with the Parliament till we ourselves 
 had secured some position in the kingdom ; till the Spanish 
 army was actually on the march and our troops were 
 encamped without the city ; and till the declaration of 
 'M. de Turenne was carried out, which would be the de- 
 cisive blow, because it would strengthen our party with a 
 body of troops altogether independent of strangers, or rather 
 it would form a party perfectly French, capable by its own 
 strength to carry on our cause. 
 
 This last consideration overjoyed Madame de Bouillon, 
 who, however, when she found that the company was gone 
 without resolving to make themselves masters of the Parlia- 
 ment, became very angry, and said to the Duke, " I told you 
 beforehand that you would be swayed by the Coadjutor." 
 The Duke replied, " What ! madam, would you have the 
 Coadjutor, for our sakes only, run the risk of being no more 
 than chaplain to Fuensaldagne ? Is it possible that you 
 cannot comprehend what he has been preaching to you for 
 these last three days ? " I replied to her with a great 
 deal of temper, and said, " Don't you think that we shall 
 act more securely when our troops are out of Paris, when 
 we receive the Archduke's answer, and when Turenne has 
 made a public declaration ? " " Yes, I do," she said, " but 
 the Parliament will take one step to-morrow which will 
 
150 • MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 render all your preliminaries of no use." " Never fear, 
 madam," said I, " I will undertake that, if our measures 
 succeed, we shall be in a condition to despise all that the 
 Parliament can do." "Will you promise it ? " she asked. 
 "Yes," said I, "and, more than that, I am ready to seal 
 it with my blood." She took me at my word, and though 
 the Duke used all the arguments with her which he could 
 think of, she bound my thumb with silk, and with' a needle 
 drew blood, with which she obliged me to sign a promissory 
 note as follows: " I promise to Madame the Duchess de 
 Bouillon to continue united with the Duke her husband 
 against the Parliament in case M. de Turenne approaches 
 with the army under his command within twenty leagues 
 of Paris and declare for the city." M. de Bouillon threw 
 it into the lire, and endeavoured to convince the Duchess 
 of what I had said, that if our preliminaries should succeed 
 we should still stand upon our own bottom, notwithstanding 
 all that the Parliament could do, and that if they did mis- 
 carry we should still have the satisfaction of not being the 
 authors of a confusion which would infallibly cover me 
 with shame and ruin, and be an uncertain advantage to 
 the family of De Bouillon. 
 
 During this discussion a captain in M. d'Elbeufs regi- 
 ment of Guards was seen to throw money to the crowd 
 to encourage them to go to the Parliament House and cry 
 out, " No peace ! " upon which M. de Bouillon and I agreed 
 to send the Duke these words upon the back of a card : 
 "It will be dangerous for you to be at the Parliament 
 House to-morrow." M. d'Elbeuf came in all haste to 
 the Palace of Bouillon to know the meaning of this short 
 caution. M. de Bouillon told him he had heard that the 
 people had got a notion that both the Duke and himself 
 lield a correspondence with Mazarin, and that therefore 
 it was their best way not to go to the House for fear 
 of the mob, which might be expected there next day. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I5I 
 
 M. d'EIbeuf, knowing that the people did not care 
 for him, and that he was no safer in his own house than 
 elsewhere, said that he feared his absence on such an 
 occasion might be interpreted to his disadvantage. M. 
 de Bouillon, having no other design but to alarm hini 
 with imaginary fears of a public disturbance, at once 
 made himself sure of him another way, by telling him 
 it was most advisable for him to be at the Parliament, 
 l)ut that he need not expose himself, and therefore had 
 best go along with me. 
 
 I went with him accordingly, and found a multitude 
 of people in the Great Hall, crying, "God bless the 
 Coadjutor! no peace! no Mazarin!" and M, de Beaufort 
 entering another way at the same time, the echoes of 
 (jur names spread everywhere, so that the people mistook 
 it for a concerted design to disturb the proceedings of 
 Parliament, and as in a commotion everything that con- 
 lirms us in the belief of it augments likewise the number 
 uf mutineers, we were very near bringing about in one 
 moment what we had been a whole week labouring to 
 prevent. 
 
 The First President and President de Mesmes having, 
 in concert with the other deputies, suppressed the answer 
 the Queen made them in writing, lest some harsh ex- 
 pressions contained therein should give offence, put the 
 best colour they could upon the obliging terms in 
 which the Queen had spoken to them ; and then the 
 House appointed commissioners for the treaty, leaving 
 it to the Queen to name the place, and agreed to send 
 the King's Council next day to demand the opening oi 
 the passages, in pursuance of the Queen's promise. The 
 President de Mesmes, surprised to meet with no opposi- 
 tion, neither from the Generals nor myself, said to the 
 First President, " Here is a wonderful harmony ! but I 
 fear the consequences of this dissembled moderation." I 
 
152 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 believe he was much more surprised when the sergeants 
 came to acquaint the House that the mob threatened to 
 murder all that were for the conference before Mazarin 
 was sent out of the kingdom. But M. de Beaufort and 
 I went out and soon dispersed them, so that the members 
 retired without the least danger, which inspired the Par- 
 liament with such a degree of boldness afterwards that it 
 nearly proved their ruin. 
 
 On the 2nd of March, 1649, letters were brought to 
 the Parliament from the Duke d'Orleans and the Prince 
 de Conde, expressing a great deal of joy at what the 
 Parliament had done, but denying that the Queen had 
 promised to throw open the passages, upon which the Par- 
 liament fell into such a rage as I cannot describe to you. 
 They sent orders to the King's Council, who were gone 
 that morning to St. Germain to fetch the passports for 
 the deputies, to declare that the Parliament was resolved 
 to hold no conference with the Court till the Oueen had 
 performed her promise made to the First President. I 
 thought it a very proper time to let the Court see that 
 the Parliament had not lost all its vigour, and made a 
 motion, by Broussel, that, considering the insincerity of 
 the Court, the levies might be continued and new com- 
 missions given out. The proposition was received with 
 applause, and the Prince de Conti was desired to issue 
 commissions accordingly, 
 
 M. de Beaufort, in concert with M. de Bouillon, M. de 
 la Mothe and myself, exclaimed against this contravention, 
 and offered, in the name of his colleagues and his own, 
 to open all the passages themselves if the Parliament 
 would but take a firm resolution and be no more be- 
 guiled by deceitful proposals, which had only served to 
 keep the whole nation in suspense, who would other- 
 wise have declared by this time in favour of its capital. 
 It is inconceivable what influence these few words had 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 53 
 
 Upon the audience — everybody concluded that the treaty 
 was already broken off; but a moment after they thought 
 the contrary, for the King's Council returned with the 
 passports for the deputies, and, instead of an order for 
 opening the passages, a grant — such a one as it was — 
 of 500 quarters of corn per diem was made for the sub- 
 sistence of the city. However, the Parliament took all 
 in good part ; all that had been said and done a quarter 
 of an hour before was buried in oblivion, and they made 
 preparations to go next day to Ruel, the place named 
 by the Queen for the conference. 
 
 The Prince de Conti, M. de Beaufort, ]\I. d'Elbeuf, 
 Marshal de la Mothe, M. de Brissac, President Bellievre, 
 and myself met that night at M. de Bouillon's house, 
 where a motion was made for the Generals of the army 
 to send a deputation likewise to the place of conference ; 
 but it was quashed, and indeed nothing would have been 
 more absurd than such a proceeding when we were upon 
 the point of concluding a treaty with Spain ; and, con- 
 sidering that we told the envoy that we should never 
 have consented to hold any conference with the Court 
 were we not assured that it was in our power to break 
 it off at pleasure by means of the people. 
 
 The Parliament having lately reproached both the 
 Generals and troops with being afraid to venture with- 
 out the gates, ]\I. de Bouillon, seeing the danger was over, 
 proposed at this meeting, for the satisfaction of the citizens, 
 to carry them to a camp betwixt the Marne and the Seine, 
 where they might be as safe as at Paris. The motion was 
 agreed to without consulting the Parliament, and, accord- 
 ingly, on the 4th of March, the troops marched out and 
 the deputies of Parliament went to Ruel. 
 
 The Court party flattered themselves that upon the 
 marching of the militia out of Paris the citizens, being left 
 to themselves, would become more tractable, and the Presi- 
 
154 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 dent de Mesmes made his boast of what he said to the 
 Generals, to persuade them to encamp their army. But 
 Senneterre, one of the ablest men at Court, soon pene- 
 trated our designs and undeceived the Court. He told 
 the First President and De Mesmes that they were be- 
 guiled, and that they would see it in a little time. The 
 First President, who could never see two different things 
 at one view, was so overjoyed when he heard the forces 
 had gone out of Paris that he cried out, " Now the 
 Coadjutor will have no more mercenary brawlers at the 
 Parliament House." " Nor," said the President de 
 Mesmes, " so many cut-throats." Senneterre, like a wise 
 man, said to them both, "It is not the Coadjutor's 
 interest to murder you, but to bring you under. The 
 people would serve his turn for the first if he aimed 
 at it, and the army is admirably well encamped for 
 the latter. If he is not a more honest man than he 
 is looked upon to be here, we are likely to have a 
 tedious civil war." The Cardinal confessed that Senne- 
 terre was in the right, for, on the one hand, the Prince de 
 Conde perceived that our army, being so advantageously 
 posted as not to be attacked, would be capable of giving 
 him more trouble than if they were still within the walls 
 of the city, and, on the other hand, we began to talk 
 with more courage in Parliament than usual. 
 
 The afternoon of the 4th of March gave us a just 
 occasion to show it. The deputies arriving at Ruel 
 understood that Cardinal Mazarin was one of the com- 
 missioners named by the Queen to assist at the 
 conference. The Parliamentary deputies pretended that 
 they could not confer with a person actually condemned 
 by Parliament. M. de Tellier told them in the name 
 of the Duke d'Orleans that the Queen thought it strange 
 that they were not contented to treat upon an equality 
 with their Sovereign, but that they should presume to 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 55 
 
 limit his authority by excluding his deputies. The First 
 President and the Court seeming to be immovable, we 
 sent orders to our deputies not to comply, and to 
 communicate, as a great secret, to President de JMesmes 
 and M. ^Icnardeau, both creatures of the Court, the 
 following postscript of a letter I wrote to Longueville : 
 
 " P.S. — We have concerted our measures, and are 
 now capable to speak more to the purpose than we 
 have been hitherto, and since I linished this letter 1 
 ha\'e received a piece of news which obliges me to tell 
 you that if the Parliament do not behave very prudently 
 they will certainly be ruined." 
 
 Upon this the deputies were resolved to insist upon 
 excluding the Cardinal from the conference, a determina- 
 tion which was so odious to the people that, had we 
 permitted it, we should certainly have lost all our credit 
 with them, and been obliged to shut the gates against 
 our deputies upon their return. 
 
 When the Court saw^ that the deputies desired a 
 convoy to conduct them home, they found out an 
 expedient, which w^as received with great joy — viz., to 
 appoint two deputies on the part of the I-'arliament, and 
 two on the part of the King, to confer at the house of 
 the Duke d'Orleans, exclusive of the Cardinal, who was 
 thereupon obliged to return to St. Germain with morti- 
 hcation. 
 
 On the 5th of March, Don Francisco Pisarro, a second 
 envoy from the Archduke, arrived in Paris, with his and 
 Count Fuensaldagne's answer to our former despatches by 
 Don Joseph d'lllescas, and full powers for a treaty; instruc- 
 tions for M. de Bouillon, an obliging letter from the Arch- 
 duke to the Prince de Conti, and another to myself, 
 from Count Fuensaldagne, importing that the King 
 his master w^ould not take my word, but would depend 
 upon whatever I promised Madame de Bouillon. 
 
156 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 The Prince de Conti and INIadame de Longueville, 
 prompted by M. de la Rochefoucault, were for an alliance 
 with Spain, in a manner without restriction. M. d'Elbeuf 
 aimed at nothing but getting money. M. de Beaufort, 
 at the persuasion of Madame de Montbazon, who was 
 resolved to sell him dear to the Spaniards, was very 
 scrupulous to enter into a treaty with the enemies of 
 the State ; Marshal de la iNIothe declared he could not 
 come to any resolution till he saw M. de Longueville, 
 and Madame de Longueville questioned whether her hus- 
 band would come into it ; and yet these very persons 
 but a fortnight before unanimously wrote to the Arch- 
 duke for full powers to treat with him. 
 
 M. de Bouillon told them that he thought they were 
 absolutely obliged to treat with Spain, considering the 
 advances they had already made to the Archduke to 
 that end, and desired them to recollect how they had told 
 his envoy that they waited only for these full powers and 
 instructions to treat with him ; that the Archduke had now 
 sent his full powers in the most obliging manner; and that, 
 moreover, he had already gone out of Brussels, to lead his 
 army himself to their assistance, without staying for their 
 engagement. He begged them to consider that if they took 
 the least step backwards, after such advances, it might 
 provoke Spain to take such measures as would be both 
 contrary to our security and to our honour; that the ill- 
 concerted proceedings of the Parliament gave us just 
 grounds to fear being left to shift for ourselves; that indeed 
 our army was now more useful than it had been before, but 
 yet not strong enough to give us relief in proportion to our 
 necessities, especially if it was not, at least in the beginning, 
 supported by a powerful force; and that, consequently, a 
 treaty was necessary to be entered into and concluded with 
 the Archduke, but not upon any mean conditions; that his 
 envoys had brought carte hlanclic, but that we ought to 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I57 
 
 consider how to fill it up; that he promised us everything, 
 but though in treaties the strongest may safely promise to 
 the weaker what he thinks fit, it is certain he cannot per- 
 form everything, and therefore the weakest should be very 
 wary. 
 
 The Duke added that the Spaniards, of all people, 
 expected honourable usage at the beginning of treaties, 
 and he conjured them to leave the management of the 
 Spanish envoys to himself and the Coadjutor, " who," said 
 he, "has declared all along that he expects no advantage 
 either from the present troubles or from any arrangement, 
 and is therefore altogether to be depended upon." 
 
 This discourse was relished by all the company, who 
 accordingly engaged us to compare notes with the envoys 
 of Spain, and make our report to the Prince de Conti and 
 the other Generals. 
 
 JM. de Bouillon assured me that the Spaniards would 
 not enter upon French ground till we engaged ourselves 
 not to lay down our arms except in conjunction with them, 
 viz., in a treaty for a general peace; but our difficulty was 
 how to enter into an engagement of that nature at a time 
 when we could not be sure but that the Parliament might 
 conclude a particular peace the next moment. In the 
 meantime a courier came in from M. de Turenne, crying, 
 " Good news!" as he entered into the court. He brought 
 letters for Madame and ^Mademoiselle de Bouillon and 
 myself, by which we were assured that TvT. de Turenne 
 and his army, which was without dispute the finest at that 
 time in all Europe, had declared for us; that Erlach, 
 Go\'ernor of Brisac, had with him i,ooo or 1,200 men, 
 who were all he had been able to seduce; that my dear 
 friend and kinsman, the Viscount de Lamet, was marching 
 directly to our assistance with 2,000 horse; and that M. de 
 Turenne was to follow on such a day with the larger part 
 of the army. You will be surprised, without doubt, to hear 
 
158 MEMOIRS OF Tin: 
 
 that M. de Turenne, General of the King's troops, one who 
 was never a party man, and would never hear talk of party 
 intrigues, should now declare against the Court and perform 
 an action which, I am sure, Le Balafre^ and Admiral 
 Coligny would not have undertaken without hesitation. 
 Your wonder w^ill increase yet more when I tell you that 
 the motive of this surprising conduct of his is a secret to this 
 day. His behaviour also during his declaration, which he 
 supported but iive days, is equally surprising and mys- 
 terious. This shows that it is possible for some extra- 
 ordinary characters to be raised above the malice and envy 
 of vulgar souls, for the merit of any person inferior to the 
 INIarshal must haA^e been totally eclipsed by such an un- 
 accountable event. 
 
 Upon the arrival of this express froni Turenne I told ^I. 
 de Bouillon it was my opinion that if the Spaniards would 
 engage to advance as far as Pont-a-Verre and act on this 
 side of it in concert only with us, we should make no 
 scruple of pledging ourselves not to lay down our arms till 
 the conclusion of a general peace, provided they kept their 
 promise given to the Parliament of referring themselves 
 to its arbitration. " The true interest of the public," said 
 I, "is a general peace, that of the Parliament and other 
 bodies is the re-estabhshment of good order, and that of 
 your Grace and others, with myself, is to contribute to the 
 before-mentioned blessings in such manner that we may be 
 esteemed the authors of them ; all other advantages are 
 necessarily attached to this, and the only way to acquire 
 them is to show that we do not \"alue them. You know that 
 I have frequently vowed I had no private interest to serve 
 
 I Henry de Lorraine, first of that name, Duke de Guise, surnamed 
 Le Balafre, because of a wound he received in the left cheek at the 
 battle of Dormans, the scar of which he carried to his grave. He 
 formed the League, and was stabbed at an assembly of the States of 
 JBlois in 15SS. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 59 
 
 in this affair, and I will keep my vow to the end. Y(3ur 
 circumstances are different from mine ; you aim at Sedan, 
 and you are in the right. I\'I. de P3eaufort wants to be 
 Admiral, and I cannot blame him. M. de Longueville has 
 other demands — with all my heart. The Prince de Conti 
 and Madame de Longueville would be, for the future, inde- 
 pendent of the Prince de Conde ; that independence they 
 shall have. Now, in order to attain to these ends the only 
 means is to look another way, to turn all our thoughts to 
 bring about a general peace, and to sign to-morrow the 
 most solemn and positive engagement with the enemy, and, 
 the better to please the public, to insert in the articles 
 the expulsion of Cardinal Mazarin as their mortal enemy, 
 to cause the Spanish forces to come up immediately to 
 Pont-a-Verre, and those of AI. de Turenne to advance mto 
 Champagne, and to go without any loss of time to propose 
 to the Parliament what Don Joseph d'lllescas has offered 
 them already in relation to a general peace, to dispose them 
 to vote as we would have them, which they will not fail to 
 do considering the circumstances we are now in, and to 
 send orders to our deputies at Ruel either to get the Oueen 
 to nominate a place to confer about a general peace or to 
 return the next day to their seats in Parliament. I am 
 willing to think that the Court, seeing to what an extremity 
 they are reduced, will comply, than which w^hat can be 
 more for our honour ? 
 
 " And if the Court should refuse this proposition at pre- 
 sent, will they not be of another mind before tw^o months 
 are at an end ? Will not the provinces, which are already 
 hesitating, then declare in our favour ? And is the army of 
 the Prince de Conde in a condition to engage that of Spam 
 and ours in conjunction with that of M. de Turenne ? These 
 two last, when joined, will put us abo\'e all the appre- 
 hensions from foreign forces which have hitherto made 
 us uneasy ; they will depend much more on us than we on 
 
l6o MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 them ; we shall continue masters of Paris by our own 
 strength, and the more securely because the intervening 
 authority of Parliament will the more firmly unite us to 
 the people. The declaration of M. de Turenne is the only 
 means to unite Spain with the Parliament for our defence, 
 which we could not have as much as hoped for otherwise ; 
 it gives us an opportunity to engage with Parliament, in 
 concert with whom we cannot act amiss, and this is the 
 only moment when such an engagement is both possible 
 and profitable. The First President and De Mesmes are 
 now out of the WTiy, and it will be much easier for us to 
 obtain what we want in Parliament than if they were 
 present, and if what is commanded in the Parliamentary 
 decree is faithfully executed, we shall gain our point, 
 and unite the Chambers for that great work of a general 
 peace. If the Court still rejects our proposals, and those 
 of the deputies who are for the Court refuse to follow 
 our motion or to share in our fortune, we shall gain as 
 much in another respect ; we shall keep ourselves still 
 attached to the body of the Parliament, from which they 
 will be deemed deserters, and we shall have much greater 
 weight in the House than now. 
 
 " This is my opinion, which I am willing to sign and to 
 ofter to the Parliament if you seize this, the only oppor- 
 tunity. For if M. de Turenne should alter his mind before 
 it be done, I should then oppose this scheme with as much 
 warmth as I now recommend it." 
 
 The Duke said in answer: "Nothing can have a more 
 promising aspect than what you have now proposed ; it is 
 very practicable, but equally pernicious for all private 
 persons. Spain will promise all, but perform nothing 
 after we have once promised to enter into no treaty with 
 the Court but for a general peace. This being the only 
 thing the Spaniards have in view, they will abandon us as 
 soon as they can obtain it, and if we urge on this great 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ l6r 
 
 scheme at once, as you would have us, they would un- 
 doubtedly obtain it in a fortnight's time, for France would 
 certainly make it with precipitation, and I know the 
 Spaniards would be glad to purchase it on any terms. 
 This being the case, in what a condition shall we be the 
 next day after we have made and procured this general 
 peace ? We should indeed have the honour of it, but 
 would this honour screen us against the hatred and 
 curses of the Court ? Would the House of Austria take 
 up arms again to rescue you and me from a prison ? You 
 will say, perhaps, we may stipulate some conditions with 
 Spain which may secure us from all insults of this kind : 
 ])ut I think I shall have answered this objection when 1 
 assure you that Spain is so pressed with home troubles 
 that she would not hesitate, for the sake of peace, to break 
 the most solemn promises made to us ; and this is an 
 inconvenience for which I see no remedy. If Spain 
 should be worse than her word with respect to the 
 expulsion of Mazarin, what will become of us? And 
 will the honour of our contributing to the general peace 
 atone for the preservation of a minister to get rid of 
 whom they took up arms ? You know how they abhor 
 the Cardinal ; and, suppose the Cardinal be excluded 
 from the Ministry, according to promise, shall we not 
 still be exposed to the hatred of the Queen, to the 
 resentment of the Prince de Conde, and to all the evil 
 consequences that may be expected from an enraged 
 Court for such an action ? There is no true glory but 
 what is durable ; transitory honour is mere smoke. Of 
 this sort is that which we shall acquire by this peace, 
 if we do not support it by such alliances as will 
 gain us the reputation of wisdom as well as of honesty. 
 I admire your disinterestedness above all, and esteem it, 
 l)ut I am very well assured that if mine went the length 
 of yours you would not approve of it. Your family is 
 
 II 
 
1 62 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 settled ; consider mine, and cast your eyes on the con- 
 dition of this lady and on that of both the father and 
 children." 
 
 I answered, " The Spaniards must needs have great 
 regard for us, seeing us absolute masters of Paris, with 
 eight thousand foot and three thousand horse at its 
 gates, and the best disciplined troops in the world 
 marching to our assistance." I did all I could to bring 
 him over to my opinion, and he strove as much to per- 
 suade me to enter into his measures — viz., to pretend 
 to the envoys that we were absolutely resolved to act in 
 concert with them for a general peace, but to tell them 
 at the same time that we thought it more proper 
 that the Parliament should likewise be consulted ; and, 
 as that would require some time, we might in the mean- 
 while occupy the envoys by signing a treaty with 
 them, previous to coming to terms with the Par- 
 liament, which by its tenour would not tie us up to 
 conclude anything positively in relation to the general 
 peace ; " yet this," said he, " would be a sufhcient 
 motive to cause them to advance with their army, and 
 that of my brother will come up at the same time, 
 which will astonish the Court and incline them to an 
 arrangement. And forasmuch as in our treaty with 
 Spain we leave a back door open by the clause which 
 relates to the Parliament, we shall be sure to make good 
 use of it for the advantage of the public and of ourselves 
 in case of the Court's non-compliance." 
 
 These considerations, though profoundly wise, did not 
 convince me, because I thought his inference was not 
 well-grounded. I saw he might well enough engage the 
 attention of the envoys, but I could not imagine how 
 he could beguile the Parliament, who were actually 
 treating with the Court by their deputies sent to Ruel, 
 and who would certainly run madly into a peace, not- 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ Jh^ 
 
 withstanding all their late performances. I foresaw that 
 without a public declaration to restrain the Parliament 
 from going their own lengths we should fall again, if 
 one of our strings chanced to break, into the neces- 
 sity of courting the assistance of the people, which I 
 looked upon as the most dangerous proceeding of all. 
 
 ^I. de Bouillon asked me what I meant by sayin.i;", 
 " if one of our strings chanced to break." I replied, 
 " For example, if M. de Turenne should be dead at this 
 juncture, or if his army has revolted, as it was likely 
 to have done by means of M. d'Erlach, pray what 
 would become of us if we should not engage the Parlia- 
 ment ? We should be tribunes of the people one day, 
 and the next vahts dc chamhrc to Count Fuensaldagne. 
 Everything with the Parliament and nothing without 
 them is the burden of my song." 
 
 After several hours' dispute neither of us was con- 
 vinced, and I went away very much perplexed, the rather 
 because M. de Bouillon, being the great confidant of the 
 Spaniards, I doubted not but he could make their envoys 
 believe what he pleased. 
 
 I was still more puzzled when I came home and found 
 a letter from Madame de Lesdiguieres, offering me extra- 
 ordinary advantages in the Queen's name — viz., the pay- 
 ment of my debts, the grant of certain abbeys, and a 
 nomination to the dignity of cardinal. Another note J 
 found with these words: "The declaration of the army of 
 Germany has put us all into consternation." I concluded 
 they would not fail to try experiments with others as well 
 as myself, and since M. de Bouillon began to think of a 
 back door when all things smiled upon us, I guessed the 
 rest of our party would not neglect to enter the great door 
 now flung open to receive them by the declaration of M. 
 de Turenne. That which afflicted me most of all was to 
 see that M. de Bouillon was not a man of that judgment 
 
 II — 2 
 
164 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 and penetration I took him for in this critical and decisive 
 juncture, when the question was the engaging or not 
 engaging the Parhament. He had urged me more than 
 twenty times to do what I now offered, and the reason why 
 I now urged what I before rejected was the declaration of 
 M. de Turenne, his own brother, which should have made 
 him bolder than I ; but, instead of this, it slackened his 
 courage, and he flattered himself that Cardinal Mazarin 
 w^ould let him have Sedan. This was the centre of all his 
 views, and he preferred these petty advantages to what he 
 might have gained by procuring peace to Europe. This 
 false step made me pass this judgment upon the Duke : 
 that though he was a person of very great parts, yet I 
 questioned his capacity for the mighty things which he 
 has not done, and of which some men thought him very 
 capable. It is the greatest remissness on the part of a 
 great man to neglect the moment that is to make his 
 reputation, and this negligence indeed scarcely ever hap- 
 pens but when a man expects another moment as favour- 
 able to make his fortune ; and so people are commonly 
 deceived both ways. The Duke was more nice than wise 
 at this juncture, which is very often the case. I found 
 afterwards that the Prince de Conti was of his opinion, 
 and I guessed, by some circumstances, that he was 
 engaged in some private negotiation. M. d'Elbeuf was 
 as meek as a lamb, and seemed, as far as he dared, to 
 improve what had been advanced already by M. de 
 Bouillon. A servant of his told me also that he believed 
 his master had made his peace with the Court. M. de 
 Beaufort showed by his behaviour that Madame de Mont- 
 bazon had done what she could to cool his courage, but 
 his irresolution did not embarrass me very much, because 
 I knew I had her in my power, and his vote, added to 
 that of MM. de Brissac, de la Mothe, de Noirmoutier 
 and de Bellievre, who all fell in with my sentiments, would 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ lh=^ 
 
 have turned the balance on my side if the regard for 
 M. de Turenne, who was now the hfe and soul of the 
 party, and the Spaniards' confidence in M. de Bouillon, 
 had not obliged me to make a virtue of necessity. I found 
 both the Archduke's envoys quite of another mind — 
 indeed, they were still desirous of an agreement for a 
 general peace, but they would have it after the manner 
 of M. de Bouillon, viz., at two separate times, which 
 he had made them believe would be more for their advan- 
 tage, because thereby we should bring the Parliament 
 into it. I saw who was at the bottom of it, and, con- 
 sidering the orders they had to follow his advice in every- 
 thing, all I could allege to the contrary would be of no 
 use. I laid the state of affairs before the President de 
 Bellievre, who was of my opinion, and considered that a 
 contrary course would infallibly prove our ruin, thinking, 
 nevertheless, that compliance would be highly convenient 
 at this time, because we depended absolutely on the 
 Spaniards and on M. de Turenne, who had hitherto made 
 no proposals but such as were dictated by ]\I. de Bouillon. 
 When I found that all M. de Bellievre and I said 
 could not persuade M. de Bouillon, I feigned to come 
 round to his opinion, and to submit to the authority of 
 the Prince de Conti, our Generalissimo. We agreed 
 to treat with the Archduke upon the plan of M. de 
 Bouillon, i.e., that he should advance his army as far as 
 Pont-a-Verre, and further, if the Generals desired it ; who, 
 on their part, would omit nothing to oblige the Parlia- 
 ment to enter into this treaty, or rather, to make a new 
 one for a general peace, that is to say, to oblige the 
 King to treat upon reasonable conditions, the particulars 
 whereof His Catholic Majesty would refer to the arbitra- 
 tion of the Parliament. M. de Bouillon engaged to 
 have this treaty in totidcm verbis signed by the Spanish 
 ministers, and did not so much as ask me whether I 
 
l66 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 would sign it or no. All the company rejoiced at 
 having the Spaniards' assistance upon such easy terms, 
 and at being at full liberty to receive the propositions 
 of the Court, which now, upon the declaration of M. 
 de Turenne, could not fail to be very advantageous. 
 
 The treaty was accordingly signed in the Prince de 
 Conti's room at the Hotel de Ville, but I forbore to set 
 my hand to it, though solicited by M. de Bouillon, unless 
 they would come to some final resolution ; yet I gave 
 them my word that, if the Parliament would be con- 
 tented, I had such expedients in my power as w^ould 
 give them all the time necessary to withdraw their 
 troops. I had two reasons for what I said : first, I knew 
 Fuensaldagne to be a wise man, that he would be of a 
 different opinion from his envoys, and that he would 
 never venture his army into the heart of the kingdom 
 with so little assurance from the Generals and none at 
 all from me; secondly, because I was willing to show 
 to our Generals that I would not, as far as it lay in 
 my power, suffer the Spaniards to be treacherously sur- 
 prised or insulted in case of an arrangement between the 
 Court and the Parliament ; though I had protested 
 twenty times in the same conference that I would not 
 separate myself from the Parliament. 
 
 M. d'Elbeuf said, " You cannot find the expedients 
 you talk of but in having recourse to the people." " M. 
 de Bouillon will answer for me," said I, " that it is not 
 there that I am to find my expedients.'' M. de Bouillon 
 being desirous that I should sign, said, '' I know that it 
 is not your intent, but I am fully persuaded that you 
 mean well, that you do not act as you would propose, 
 and that we retain more respect for the Parliament by 
 signing than you do by refusing to sign; for," speaking- 
 very low, that he might not be heard by the Spanish 
 ministers, "we keep a back door open to get off hand- 
 
CARDINAL DK RETZ 167 
 
 somely with the Parliament." "They will open that 
 door," said I, "when you could wish it shut, as is but 
 too apparent already, and you will be glad to shut it 
 wlien you cannot ; the Parliament is not a body to 
 be jested with." After the signing of the treaty, I was 
 told that the envoys had given 2,000 pistoles to Madame 
 de Montbazon and as much to M. d'Elbeuf. 
 
 De Bellievre, who waited for me at home, whither I 
 returned full of vexation, used an expression which has 
 l)een since verified by the event : " We failed this day," 
 said he, "to induce the Parliament, which if we had done 
 all had been safe and right. Pray God that everything 
 goes well, for if but one of our strings fails us we are 
 undone." 
 
 As for the conferences for a peace with the Court at 
 Kuel, it was proposed on the Queen's part that the Par- 
 liament should adjourn their session to St. Germain, just 
 to ratify the articles of the peace, and not to meet after- 
 wards for two or three years ; but the deputies of Parliament 
 insisted that it was their privilege to assemble when and 
 where they pleased. When these and the like stories 
 came to the ears of the Parisians they were so incensed 
 that the only talk of the Great Chamber was to recall the 
 deputies, and the Generals seeing themselves now respected 
 by the Court, who had little regard for them before the 
 declaration of M. de Turenne, thought that the more the 
 Court was embarrassed the better, and therefore incited 
 the Parliament and people to clamour, that the Cardinal 
 might see that things did not altogether depend upon 
 the conference at Ruel. I likewise contributed what lay 
 in my power to moderate the precipitation of the First 
 l-'resident and President de Mesmes towards anything 
 that looked like an agreement. 
 
 On the 8th of March the Prince de Conti told the 
 Parliament that M. de Turenne offered them his services 
 
l68 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 and person against Cardinal Mazarin, the enemy of the 
 State. I said that I was informed a declaration had 
 been issued the night before at St. Germain against M. de 
 Turenne, as guilty of high treason. The Parliament 
 unanimously passed a decree to annul it, to authorise his 
 taking arms, to enjoin all the King's subjects to give him 
 free passage and support, and to raise the necessary funds 
 for the payment of his troops, lest the 800,000 livres sent 
 from Court to General Erlach should corrupt the officers 
 and soldiers. A severe edict was issued against Courcelles, 
 Lavardin and Amilly, who had levied troops for the King 
 in the province of Maine, and the commonalty were per- 
 mitted to meet at the sound of the alarm-bell and to fall 
 foul of all those who had held assemblies without order 
 of Parliament. 
 
 On the 9th a decree was passed to suspend the confer- 
 ence till all the promises made by the Court to allow 
 the entry of provisions were punctually executed. 
 
 The Prince de Conti informed the House the same 
 day that he was desired by M. de Longueville to assure 
 them that he would set out from Rouen on the 15th with 
 7,000 foot and 3,000 horse and march directly to St. 
 Germain ; the Parliament was incredibly overjoyed, and 
 desired the Prince de Conti to press him to hasten his 
 march as much as possible. 
 
 On the loth the member for Normandy told the House 
 that the Parliament of Rennes only stayed for the Duke 
 de la Tremouille to join against the common enemy. 
 
 On the nth an envoy from M. de la Tremouille offered 
 the Parliament, in his master's name, 8,000 foot and 2,000 
 horse, who were in a condition to march in two days, 
 provided the House would permit his master to seize 
 on all the public money at Poitiers, Niort, and other 
 places whereof he was already master. The Parliament 
 thanked him, passed a decree with full powers accord- 
 
CARDINAL DE KLTZ 1 69 
 
 ingly, and desired him to hasten his levies with all 
 expedition. 
 
 Posterity will hardly believe that, notwithstanding all 
 this heat in the party, which one would have thought 
 could not have immediately evaporated, a peace was 
 made and signed the same day ; but of this more by- 
 and-by. 
 
 While the Court, as has been before hinted, was 
 tampering with the Generals, Madame de IMontbazon 
 promised M. de Beaufort's support to the Queen, but 
 Her Majesty understood that it was not to be done if 
 I were not at the market to approve of the sale. La 
 Riviere despised M. d'Elbeuf no longer. M. de Bouillon, 
 since his brother's declaration, seemed more inclined than 
 before to come to an arrangement with the Court, but 
 his pretensions ran very high, and both the brothers 
 were in such a situation that a little assistance w'ould not 
 suffice, and as to the offers made to myself by Madame 
 de Lesdiguieres, I returned such an answer as convinced 
 the Court that I was not so easily to be moved. 
 
 In short. Cardinal Mazarin found all the avenues to 
 a negotiation either shut or impassable. This despair 
 of success in the Court was eventually more to the 
 advantage of the Court than the most refined politics, 
 for it did not hinder them from negotiating, the Car- 
 dinal's natural temper not permitting him to do other- 
 wise ; but, however, he could not trust to the carrying 
 out of negotiations, and therefore beguiled our Generals 
 with fair promises, while he remitted 800,000 livres to buy 
 off the army of M. de Turenne, and obliged the deputies 
 at Ruel to sign a peace against the orders of the Parlia- 
 ment that sent them. The President de Mesmes assured 
 me several times since that this peace was purely the 
 result of a conversation he had with the Cardinal on the 
 8th of March at night, when His Eminence told him he 
 
lyo MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 saw plainly that M. de Bouillon would not treat till he 
 had the Spaniards and M. de Turenne at the gates of 
 Paris; that is, till he saw himself in the position to seize 
 one half of the kingdom. The President made him this 
 answer: "There is no hope of any security but in making 
 the Coadjutor a cardinal." To which Mazarin answered: 
 " He is worse than the other, who at least seemed once 
 inclined to treat, but he is still for a general peace, or 
 for none at all." President de Mesmes replied, " If 
 things are come to this pass we must be the victims to 
 save the State from perishing — we must sign the peace. 
 For after what the Parliament has done to-day there is 
 no remedy, and perhaps to-morrow we shall be recalled; 
 if we are disowned in what we do we are ruined, the 
 gates of Paris will be shut against us, and we shall be 
 prosecuted and treated as prevaricators and traitors. It 
 is our business and concern to procure such conditions 
 as will give us good ground to justify our proceedings, 
 and if the terms are but reasonable we know how to im- 
 prove them against the factions ; but make them as you 
 please yourself, I will sign them all, and will go this 
 moment to acquaint the First President that this is the 
 only expedient to save the State. If it takes effect we 
 have peace, if we are disowned by the Parliament we 
 still weaken the faction, and the danger will fall upon 
 none but ourselves." He added that with much diffi- 
 culty he had persuaded the First President. 
 
 The peace was signed by Cardinal Mazarin, as well as 
 by the other deputies, on the part of the King. The sub- 
 stance of the articles was that Parliament should just 
 go to St. Germain to proclaim the peace, and then return 
 to Paris, but hold no assembly that year ; that all their 
 public decrees since the 6th of January should be made 
 void, as likewise all ordinances of Council, declarations and 
 Icitvcs dc cachet ; that as soon as the King had withdrawal his 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 171 
 
 troops from Paris, all the forces raised for the defence of 
 the city should be disbanded, and the inhabitants lay down 
 their arms and not take them up again without the King's 
 order; that the Archduke's deputy should be dismissed 
 without an answer, that there should be a general amnesty, 
 and that the King should also give a general discharge for 
 all the public money made use of, as also for the movables 
 sold and for all the arms and ammunition taken out of the 
 arsenal and elsewhere. 
 
 M. and Madame de Bouillon were extremely surprised 
 when they heard that the peace was signed. I did not 
 expect the Parliament would make it so soon, but I said 
 frequently that it would be a very shameful one if we 
 should let them alone to make it. M. de Bouillon owned 
 that I had foretold it often enough. " I confess," said he, 
 " that we are entirely to blame," which expression made 
 me respect him more than ever, for / ihiiik it a greater 
 virtue for a man to confess a fault tlian not to coiiunit one. The 
 Prince de Conti, MM. d'Elbeuf, de Beaufort and de la 
 Mothe were very much surprised, too, at the signing of the 
 peace, especially because their agent at St. Germain had 
 assured them that the Court was fully persuaded that the 
 Parliament was but a cipher, and that the Generals were 
 the men with whom they must negotiate. I confess that 
 Cardinal Mazarin acted a \^ery wily part in this juncture, 
 and he is the more to be commended because he was 
 obliged to defend himself, not only against the monstrous 
 impertinences of La Ki\'iere, but against the violent pas- 
 sion of the Prince de Conde. 
 
 We held a council at the Duke de Bouillon's, where I 
 persuaded them that as our deputies were recalled by an 
 order despatched from Parliament before the treaty was 
 signed, it was therefore void, and that we ought to take no 
 notice of it, the rather because it had not been communi- 
 cated to Parliament in form ; and, finally, that the deputies 
 
172 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 should be charged to insist on a general treaty of peace and 
 on the expulsion of Mazarin ; and, if they did not succeed, 
 to return forthwith to their seats in Parliament. But I 
 added that if the deputies should have time to return and 
 make their report, we should be under the necessity of pro- 
 testing, which would so incense the people against them 
 that we should not be able to keep them from butchering 
 the First President and the President de Mesmes, so that 
 we should be reputed the authors of the tragedy, and, 
 though formidable one day, should be every whit as odious 
 the next. I concluded with offering to sacrifice my Coadju- 
 torship of Paris to the anger of the Queen and the hatred 
 of the Cardinal, and that very cheerfully, if they would but 
 come into my measures. 
 
 M. de Bouillon, after having opposed my reasons, con- 
 cluded thus: "I know that my brother's declaration and 
 my urging the necessity of his advancing with the army 
 before we come to a positive resolution may give ground to 
 a belief that I have great views for our family. I do not 
 deny but that I hope for some advantages, and am per- 
 suaded it is lawful for me to do so, but I will be content 
 to forfeit my reputation if I ever agree with the Court till 
 you all say you are satisfied ; and if I do not keep my word 
 I desire the Coadjutor to disgrace me." 
 
 After all I thought it best to submit to the Prince de 
 Conti and the voice of the majority, who resolved very 
 wisely not to explain themselves in detail next morning in 
 Parliament, but that the Prince de Conti should only say, 
 in general, that it being the common report that the peace 
 was signed at Ruel, he was resolved to send deputies thither 
 to take care of his and the other Generals' interests. 
 
 The Prince agreed at once with our decision. Mean- 
 time the people rose at the report I had spread concerning 
 Mazarin's signing the treaty, which, though we all con- 
 sidered it a necessary stratagem, I now repented of. This 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 73 
 
 shows that a civil luav is one of those complicated diseases zuhercin 
 the remedy you pvcscvihe for obviating one dangerous symptom some- 
 times inflames three or four others. 
 
 On the 13th the deputies of Ruel entering the Parlia- 
 ment House, which was in great tumult, "M. d'Elbeuf, con- 
 trary to the resolution taken at M. de Bouillon's, asked the 
 deputies whether they had taken care of the interest of 
 the Generals in the treaty. The First President was going 
 to make his report, but was almost stunned with the 
 clamour of the whole company crying, " There is no 
 peace! there is no peace!" that the deputies had scan- 
 dalously deserted the Generals and all others whom the 
 Parliament had joined by the decree of union, and, be- 
 sides, that they had concluded a peace after the revocation 
 of the powers given them to treat. The Prince de Conti 
 said very calmly that he wondered they had concluded a 
 treaty without the Generals; to which the First President 
 answered that the Generals had always protested that they 
 had no separate interests from those of the Parliament, and 
 it was their own fault that they had not sent their deputies. 
 M. de Bouillon said that since Cardinal Mazarin was to 
 continue Prime Minister, he desired that Parliament should 
 obtain a passport for him to retire out of the kingdom. 
 The First President replied that his interest had been taken 
 care of, and that he would have satisfaction for Sedan. But 
 ]\I. de Bouillon told him that he might as well have said 
 nothing, and that he would never separate from the other 
 Generals. The clamour redoubled with such fury that 
 President de Mesmes trembled like an aspen leaf. M. de 
 Beaufort, laying his hand upon his sword, said, "Gentle- 
 men, this shall never be drawn for Mazarin." 
 
 The Presidents de Coigneux and de Bellievre proposed 
 that the deputies might be sent back to treat about the 
 interests of the Generals and to reform the articles which 
 the Parliament did not like; but they were soon silenced 
 
174 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 by a sudden noise in the Great Hall, and the usher 
 came in trembling and said that the people called for 
 M. de Beaufort. He went out immediately, and quieted 
 them for the time, but no sooner had he got inside 
 the House than the disturbance began afresh, and an 
 infinite number of people, armed with daggers, called 
 out for the original treaty, that they might have Mazarin's 
 sign-manual burnt by the hangman, adding that if the 
 deputies had signed the peace of their own accord they 
 ought to be hanged, and if against their will they ought 
 to be disowned. They were told that the sign-manual 
 of the Cardinal could not be burnt without burning at 
 the same time that of the Duke d'Orleans, but that the 
 deputies were to be sent back again to get the articles 
 amended. The people still cried out, " No peace ! no 
 Mazarin ! You must go ! we will have our good King 
 fetched from St. Germain, and all Mazarins thrown into 
 the river ! " 
 
 The people were ready to break open the great door of 
 the House, yet the First President was so far from being 
 terrified that, when he was advised to pass through the 
 registry into his own house that he might not be seen, he 
 replied, " If I was sure to perish I would never be guilty 
 of such cowardice, which would only serve to make the 
 mob more insolent, who would be ready to come to my 
 house if they thought I Vv^as afraid of them here." And 
 when I begged him not to expose himself till I had pacified 
 the people he passed it off with a joke, by which I found 
 he took me for the author of the disturbance, though very 
 unjustly. However, I did not resent it, but went into the 
 Great Hall, and mounting the solicitors' bench, waved my 
 hands to the people, who thereupon cried, "Silence!" I 
 said all I could think of to make them easy. They asked 
 if I would promise that the Peace of Ruel should not be 
 kept. I answered, "Yes, provided the people will be quiet, 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I75 
 
 for otherwise their best friends will be obliged to take 
 other methods to prevent such disturbances." I acted in 
 a quarter of an hour above thirty different parts. I 
 threatened, I commanded, I entreated them ; and, finding 
 I was sure of a calm, at least for a moment, I returned to 
 the House, and, embracing the First President, placed him 
 before me; M. de Beaufort did the same with President de 
 Mesmes, and thus w^e went out with the Parliament, all in 
 a body, the officers of the House marching in front. The 
 people made a great noise, and we heard some crying, 
 " A republic ! '' but no injury was offered to us, only 
 M. de Bouillon received a blow in his face from a 
 ragamuffin, who took him for Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 On the 1 6th the deputies were sent again to Ruel by 
 the Parliament to amend some of the articles, particularly 
 those for adjourning the Parliament to St. Germain and 
 prohibiting their future assemblies; with an order to take 
 care of the interest of the Generals and of the companies, 
 joined together by the decree of union. 
 
 The late disturbances obliged the Parliament to post 
 the city trained-bands at their gates, who were even more 
 enraged against the " Mazarin peace," as they called it, 
 than the mob, and who were far less dreaded, because they 
 consisted of citizens who were not for plunder ; yet this 
 select militia was ten times on the point of insulting the 
 Parliament, and did actually insult the members of the 
 Council and Presidents, threatening to throw the President 
 de Thore into the river ; and when the First President 
 and his friends saw that they were afraid of putting their 
 threats into execution, they took an advantage of us, and 
 had the boldness even to reproach the Generals, as if the 
 troops had not done their duty; though if the Generals 
 had but spoken loud enough to be heard by the people 
 they would not have been able to hinder them from 
 tearing the members to pieces. 
 
176 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 The Duke de Bouillon came to the Hotel de Ville and 
 made a speech there to the Prince de Conti and the other 
 Generals, in substance as follows : 
 
 " I could never have believed what I now see of this 
 Parliament. On the 13th they would not hear the Peace of 
 Ruel mentioned, but on the 15th they approved of it, some 
 few articles excepted; on the i6th they despatched the 
 same deputies who had concluded a peace against their 
 orders with full and unlimited powers, and, not content 
 with all this, they load us with reproaches because we 
 complain that they have treated for a peace without us, 
 and have abandoned M, de Longueville and M. de 
 Turenne ; and yet it is owing only to us that the 
 people do not massacre them. We must save their lives 
 at the hazard of our own, and I own that it is wisdom 
 so to do ; but we shall all of us certainly perish with 
 the Parliament if we let them go on at this rate." Then, 
 addressing himself to the Prince de Conti, he said, " I 
 am for closing with the Coadjutor's late advice at my 
 house, and if your Highness does not put it into exe- 
 cution before two days are at an end, we shall have a 
 peace less secure and more scandalous than the former." 
 
 The company became unanimously of his opinion, and 
 resolved to meet next day at M. de Bouillon's to con- 
 sider how to bring the affair into Parliament. In the 
 meantime Don Gabriel de Toledo arrived W'ith the Arch- 
 duke's ratification of the treaty signed by the Generals, 
 and with a present from his master of 10,000 pistoles ; 
 but I was resolved to let the Spaniards see that I had 
 not the intention of taking their money, though at his 
 request Madame de Bouillon did all she could to per- 
 suade me. Accordingly I dechned it with all possible 
 respect ; nevertheless, this denial cost me dear after- 
 wards, because I contracted a habit of refusing presents at 
 other times when it would have been good policy to have 
 
CARDINAL DE RET2 1 77 
 
 accepted them, even if I had thrown them into the river. 
 It is sometimes very dangerous to refuse presents from one's 
 superiors. 
 
 While we were in conference at M. de Bouillons 
 the sad news was brought to us that M. de Turennes 
 forces, all except two or three regiments, had been bribed 
 with money from Court to abandon him, and, finding 
 himself likely to be arrested, he had retired to the house 
 of his friend and kinswoman, the Landgravine of Hesse. ^ 
 M. de Bouillon was, as it were, thunderstruck; his lady 
 burst out into tears, saying, " We are all undone," and I 
 was almost as much cast down as they were, because it 
 overturned our last scheme. 
 
 M. de Bouillon was now for pushing matters to 
 extremes, but I convinced him that there was nothing 
 more dangerous. 
 
 Don Gabriel de Toledo, who was ordered to be \ery 
 frank with me, was very reserved when he saw how 
 1 was mortified about the news of J\I. de Turenne, and 
 caballed with the Generals in such a manner as made 
 me very uneasy. Upon this sudden turn of affairs I 
 made these remarks : Tliat every company has so much in it of 
 the unstable temper of the vulgar that all depends upon joining 
 issue with opportunity ; and that the best proposals prove often 
 fading flowers^ wliicli are fragrant to-day and offensive to-morrow. 
 
 I could not sleep that night for thinking about our 
 circumstances. I saw that the Parliament was less 
 inclined than ever to engage in a war, by reason of the 
 desertion of the army of M. de Turenne; I saw the 
 deputies at Ruel emboldened by the success of their 
 
 I Amelia Elizabeth, lady of William, Landgrave of Hesse- 
 Cassel. She was first cousin to M. de Turenne, being grand-daughter 
 of Charlotte de Bourbon, wife of William, first Prince of Orange, 
 grandmother of M de Turenne 
 
 12 
 
178 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 prevarication ; I saw the people of Paris as ready to 
 admit the Archduke as ever they could be to receive 
 the Duke d'Orleans ; I saw that in a week's time this 
 Prince, with beads in his hand, and Fuensaldagne with 
 his money, would have greater power than ourselves ; that 
 M. de Bouillon was relapsing into his former proposal of 
 using extremities, and that the other Generals would be pre- 
 cipitated into the same violent measures by the scornful 
 behaviour of the Court, who now despised all because they 
 were sure of the Parhament. I saw that all these circum- 
 stances paved the way for a popular sedition to massacre 
 the Parliament and put the Spaniards in possession of 
 the Louvre, which might overturn the State. 
 
 These gloomy thoughts I resolved to communicate to 
 my father, who had for the last twenty years retired to 
 the Oratory, and who would never hear of my State in- 
 trigues. My father told me of some advantageous offers 
 made to me indirectly by the Court, but advised me not to 
 trust to them. 
 
 Next day M. de Bouillon was for shutting the gates 
 against the deputies of Ruel, for expelling the Parliament, 
 for making ourselves masters of the Hotel de Ville, and for 
 bringing the Spanish army without delay into our suburbs. 
 As for M. de Beaufort, Don Gabriel de Toledo told me that 
 he offered Madame de Montbazon 20,000 crowns down and 
 6,000 crowns a year if she could persuade him into the 
 Archduke's measures. He did not forget the other Generals. 
 M. d'Elbeuf was gained at an easy rate, and Marshal de la 
 Mothe was buoyed up with the hopes of being accommo- 
 dated with the Duchy of Cardonne. I soon saw the Catho- 
 licon of Spain (Spanish gold) was the chief ingredient. 
 Everybody saw that our only remedy was to make our- 
 selves masters of the Hotel de Ville by means of the people, 
 but I opposed it with arguments too tedious to mention. 
 M. de Bouillon was for engaging entirely with Spain, but 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I 79 
 
 I convinced Marshal de la Mothe and 'M. de Beaufort 
 that such measures would in a fortnight reduce them to 
 a precarious dependence on the counsels of Spain. 
 
 Being pressed to give my opinion in brief, I delivered it 
 thus: "We cannot hinder the peace without ruining the 
 Parliament by the help of the people, and we cannot main- 
 tain the war by the means of the same people without a 
 dependence upon Spain. We cannot have any peace with 
 St. Germain but by consenting to continue Mazarin in the 
 Ministry." M. de Bouillon, with the head of an ox, and 
 the penetration of an eagle, interrupted me thus: " I take 
 it, sir," said he, "you are for suffering the peace to come to 
 a conclusion, but not for appearing in it." I replied that I 
 w^as willing to oppose it, but that it should be only with my 
 own voice and the voices of those who were ready to run the 
 same hazard with me. " I understand you again," replied 
 J\I, de Bouillon ; " a very fine thought indeed, suitable to 
 yourself and to M. de Beaufort, but to nobody else." '• If 
 it suited us only," said I, "before I would propose it I 
 would cut out my tongue. The part we act would suit 
 3'ou as well as either of us, because you may accommodate 
 matters when you think it for your interest. For my part, 
 I am fully persuaded that they who insist upon the exclu- 
 sion of Mazarin as a condition of the intended arrangement 
 wall continue masters of the affections of the people long 
 enough to take their advantage of an opportunity which 
 fortune never fails to furnish in cloudy and unsettled times. 
 Pray, sir, considering your reputation and capacity, who 
 can pretend to act this part with more dignity than your- 
 self ? M. de Beaufort and I are already the favourites of 
 the people, and if you declare for the exclusion of the 
 Cardinal, you will be to-morrow as popular as either 
 of us, and we shall be looked upon as the only centre 
 of their hopes. All the blunders of the ministers will 
 turn to our advantage, the Spaniards will caress us, 
 
 J 2 2 
 
I So MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 and the Cardinal, considering how fond he is of a treaty, 
 will be under the necessity to court us. I own this 
 scheme may be attended with inconveniences, but, on 
 the other side of the question, we are sure of certain 
 ruin if we have a peace and an enraged minister at the 
 helm, wdio cannot hope for re-establishment but upon 
 our destruction. Therefore I cannot but think the expe- 
 dient is as proper for you to engage in as for me, but 
 if, for argument's sake, it were not, I am sure it is for 
 your interest that I should embrace it, for you will by 
 that means have more time to make your own terms 
 with the Court before the peace is concluded, and after 
 the peace Mazarin will in such case be obliged to have 
 more regard for all those gentlemen whose reunion with 
 me it will be to his interest to prevent." 
 
 M. de Bouillon was so convinced of the justice of my 
 reasoning that he told me, when we w^ere by ourselves, 
 that he had, as well as myself, thought of my expedient 
 as soon as he received the news of the army desert- 
 ing M. de Turenne, that he could still improve it, as 
 the Spaniards would not fail to relish it, and that he 
 had been on the point several times one day to confer 
 about it with me ; but that his wife had conjured him 
 with prayers and tears to speak no more of the matter, 
 l)ut to come to terms with the Court, or else to engage 
 himself with the Spaniards. " I know," said he, " you 
 are not for the second arrangement ; pray lend me your 
 good offices to compass the first." I assured him that 
 all my best offices and interests were entirely at his 
 service to facilitate his agreement with the Court, and 
 that he might freely make use of my name and reputation 
 for that purpose. 
 
 In fine, we agreed on every point. M. de pjouillon 
 undertook to make the proposition palatable to the 
 Spaniards, provided we would promise never to let them 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ iSl 
 
 know that it was concerted among ourselves beforehand, 
 and we never questioned but that we could persuade M. 
 de Longueville to accept of it, for men of irrcsoliitiou arc apt 
 to catch at all ovcvtnvcs which lead them two ways^ and conse- 
 quently press them to no choice. 
 
 I had almost forgotten to tell you w^hat M. de Bouillon 
 said to me in private as we were going from the conference. 
 " I am sure," said he, '* that you will not blame me for 
 not exposing a wife whom 1 dearly love and eight children 
 whom she loves more than herself to the hazards which you 
 run, and which I could run with you were I a single man." 
 
 I was very much affected by the tender sentiments 
 of I\I. de Bouillon and the confidence he placed in me, 
 and assured him I w^as so far from blaming him that I 
 esteemed him the more, and that his tenderness for his 
 lady, which he was pleased to call his weakness, w\as 
 indeed what politics condenined but ethics highly justihed, 
 because it betokened an honest heart, which is much 
 superior both to interest and politics. M. de Bouillon 
 communicated the proposal both to the Spanish envoys 
 and to the Generals, who were easily persuaded to relish it. 
 
 Thus he made, as it ^vere, a golden bridge for the 
 Spaniards to withdraw their troops with decency. I told 
 him as soon as they were gone that he was an excellent 
 man to persuade people that a " quartan ague was good for 
 them." 
 
 The Parliamentary deputies, repairing to St. Germain 
 on the 17th of March, 1649, first took care to settle the 
 interests of the Generals, upon which every officer of the 
 army thought he had a right to exhibit his pretensions. 
 M. de Vendome sent his son a formal curse if he did not 
 procure for him at least the post of Superintendent of the 
 Seas, which was created first in favour of Cardinal dc 
 Richelieu in place of that of High Admiral, but Louis XI \'. 
 abolished it, and restored that of High Admiral. 
 
l82 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Upon this we held a conference, the result of which was 
 that on the 20th the Prince de Conti told the Parliament 
 that himself and the other Generals entered their claims 
 solely for the purpose of providing for their safety in case 
 Mazarin should continue in the Ministry, and that he 
 protested, both for himself and for all the gentlemen 
 engaged in the same party, that they would immediately 
 renounce all pretensions whatsoever upon the exclusion 
 of Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 We also prevailed on the Prince de Conti, though 
 almost against his will, to move the Parliament to direct 
 their deputies to join with the Count de Maure for the 
 expulsion of Cardinal Mazarin. I had almost lost all my 
 credit with the people because I hindered them on the 13th 
 of March from massacring the Parliament, and because on 
 the 23rd and 24th I opposed the public sale of the Cardinal's 
 library. But I re-established my reputation in the Great 
 Hall among the crowd, in the opinion of the firebrands of 
 Parliament, by haranguing against the Count de Grancei, 
 who had the insolence to pillage the house of M. Coulon ; 
 by insisting on the 24th that the Prince d'Harcourt should 
 be allowed to seize all the public money in the province of 
 Picardy; by insisting on the 25th against a truce which it 
 would have been ridiculous to refuse during a conference ; 
 and by opposing on the 30th what was transacted there, 
 though at the same time I knew that peace was made. 
 
 I now return to the conference at St. Germain. 
 
 The Court declared they would never consent to the 
 removal of the Cardinal; and that as to the pretensions of 
 the Generals, which were either to justice or favour, those of 
 justice should be confirmed, and those of favour left to I-fis 
 Majesty's disposal to reward merit. They declared their 
 willingness to accept of the Archduke's proposal for a 
 general peace. 
 
 An amnesty was granted in the most ample manner, 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1S3 
 
 comprehending expressly the Prince de Conti, MM. de 
 Longueville, de Beaufort, d'Harcourt, de Rieux, de Lille- 
 bonne, de Bouillon, de Turenne, de Brissac, de Duras, de 
 Matignon, de Beuron, de Noirmoutier, de Sevigny, de 
 Tremouille, de la Rochefoucault, de Retz, d'Estissac, 
 de Montresor, de Matta, de St. Germain, d'Apchon, de 
 Sauvebeuf, de Saint-Ibal, de Lauretat, de Laigues, 
 de Chavagnac, de Chaumont, de Caumesnil, de Cugnac, 
 de Creci, d'AUici and de Barritre ; but I was left out, 
 which contributed to preserve my reputation with the 
 public more than you would expect from such a trifle. 
 
 On the 31st the deputies being returned made their 
 report to the Parliament, who on the ist of April verified 
 the declaration of peace. 
 
 As I went to the House I found the streets crowded 
 with people crying " No peace ! no Mazarin ! " but I dis- 
 persed them by saying that it was one of Mazarin's 
 stratagems to separate the people from the Parliament, 
 who without doubt had reasons for what they had done ; 
 that they should be cautious of falling into the snare ; that 
 they had no cause to fear Mazarin ; and that they might 
 depend on it that I would never agree with him. When 
 I reached the House I found the guards as excited as 
 the people, and bent on murdering everyone they kne\v^ 
 to be of Mazarin's party ; but I pacified them as I had 
 done the others. The First President, seeing me coming 
 in, said that " I had been consecrating oil mixed, un- 
 doubtedly, with saltpetre." I heard the words, but made 
 as if I did not, for had I taken them up, and had the 
 people known it in the Great Hall, it would not have 
 been in my power to have saved the life of one single 
 member. 
 
 Soon after the peace the Prince de Conti, Madame de 
 Longueville and M. de Bouillon went to St. Germain to 
 the Court, which had by some means or other gained M. 
 
184 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 d'Elbeuf. But MM. de Brissac, de Retz, de Vitri, de 
 Fiesque, de Fontrailles, de Montresor, de Noirmoutier, 
 de Matta, de la Boulaie, de Caumesnil, de Moreul, de 
 Laigues and d'Annery remained in a body with us, which 
 was not contemptible considering the people were on our 
 side ; but the Cardinal despised us to that degree that 
 when MM. de Beaufort, de Brissac, de la Mothe and my- 
 self desired one of our friends to assure the Queen of our 
 most humble obedience, she answered that she should not 
 regard our assurances till we had paid our devoirs to the 
 Cardinal. 
 
 Madame de Chevreuse having come from Brussels 
 without the Queen's leave, Her Majesty sent her orders 
 to quit Paris in twenty-four hours ; upon which I went to 
 her house and found the lovely creature at her toilet bathed 
 in tears. My heart yearned towards her, but I bid her 
 not obey till I had the honour of seeing her again. I con- 
 sulted with M. de Beaufort to get the order revoked, 
 upon which he said, " I see you are against her going ; 
 she shall stay. She has very fine eyes ! " 
 
 I returned to the Palace de Chevreuse, where I was 
 made very welcome, and found the lovely Mademoiselle 
 de Chevreuse. I got a very intimate acquaintance with 
 Madame de Rhodes, natural daughter of Cardinal de Guise, 
 who was her great confidant. I entirely demolished the good 
 opinion she had of the Duke of Brunswick-Zell, with whom 
 she had almost struck a bargain. De Laigues hindered 
 me at first, but the forwardness of the daughter and the 
 good-nature of the mother soon removed all obstacles. 1 
 saw her every day at her own house and very often at 
 Madame de Rhodes', who allowed us all the liberty we 
 could wish for, and we did not fail to make good use of 
 our time. I did love her, or rather I thought I loved her, 
 for I still had to do with Madame de Pomereux. 
 
 Fronde, i.e. slinging, bemg the name given to the faction, 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I f>5 
 
 I will give you the etymology of it, which I omitted in the 
 first book. 
 
 When Parhament met upon State affairs, the Duke 
 d'Orleans and the Prince de Conde came very frequently, 
 and tempered the heat of the contending parties ; but the 
 coolness was not lasting, for every other day their fury 
 returned upon them. 
 
 Bachoumont once said, in jest, that the Parliament 
 acted like the schoolboys in the Paris ditches, who i^ing 
 stones, and run away when they see the constable, but 
 meet again as soon as he turns his back. This was thought 
 a very pretty comparison. It came to be a subject for 
 ballads, and, upon the peace between the King and Par- 
 liament, it was revived and appHed to those who were 
 not agreed with the Court; and we studied to give it all 
 possible currency, because we observed that it excited 
 the wrath of the people. We therefore resolved that 
 night to wear hatbands made in the form of a sling, and 
 had a great number of them made ready to be distributed 
 among a parcel of rough fellows, and we wore them our- 
 selves last of all, for it would have looked much like 
 affectation and have spoilt all had we been the first in 
 the mode. It is inexpressible what influence this trifle 
 had upon the people; their bread, hats, gloves, handker- 
 chiefs, fans, ornaments were all a la mode dc la Fnvtde, and 
 we ourselves were more in the fashion by this trifle than 
 in reality. And the truth is w^e had need of all our shifts 
 to support us against the whole Royal Family. For 
 although I had spoken to the Prince de Conde at Madame 
 de Longueville's, I could not suppose myself thoroughly 
 reconciled. He treated me indeed civilly, but with an air 
 of coldness, and I know that he was fully persuaded that 
 I had complained of his breach of a promise which he 
 made by me to some members of Parliament ; but, as I 
 had complained to nobody upon this head, I began to 
 
1 86 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 suspect that some persons studied to set us at variance. 
 I imagined it came from the Prince de Conti, who was 
 naturally very malicious, and hated me, he knew not why. 
 I\Iadame de Longueville loved me no better. I always 
 suspected Madame de Montbazon, who had not nearly 
 so much influence over M. de Beaufort as I had, yet 
 was very artful in robbing him of all his secrets. She did 
 not love me either, because I deprived her of what might 
 have made her a most considerable person at Court. 
 
 Count Fuensaldagne was not obliged to help me if he 
 could. He was not pleased with the conduct of M. de 
 Bouillon, who, in truth, had neglected the decisive point 
 for a general peace, and he was much less satisfied with 
 his own ministers, whom he used to call his blind moles ; 
 but he was pleased with me for insisting always on the 
 peace between the two Crowns, without any view to a 
 separate one. He therefore sent me Don Antonio Pimentel, 
 to offer me anything that was in the power of the King 
 his master, and to tell me that as I could not but want 
 assistance, considering how I stood with the Ministry, 
 100,000 crowns was at my service, which was accordingly 
 brought me in bills of exchange. He added that he did 
 not desire any engagement from me for it, nor did the 
 King his master propose any other advantage than the 
 pleasure of protecting me. But I thought fit to refuse 
 the money for the present, telling Don Antonio that I 
 should think myself unworthy of the protection of His 
 Catholic Majesty if I took any gratuity while I was in no 
 capacity of serving him ; that I was born a Frenchman, 
 and, by virtue of my post, more particularly attached than 
 another to the metropolis of the kingdom ; that it was my 
 misfortune to be embroiled with the Prime Minister of my 
 King, but that my resentment should never carry me to 
 solicit assistance among his enemies till I was forced to do 
 so for self-preservation ; that Divine Providence had cast 
 
2-, 
 
 CARDINAL Di: RETZ lb_ 
 
 my lot in Paris, where God, who knew the purity of my 
 intentions, would enable me in all probability to maintain 
 myself by my own interest. But in case I wanted pro- 
 tection I was fully persuaded I could nowhere find any so 
 powerful and glorious as that of His Catholic Majesty, to 
 whom I would always think it an honour to have recourse. 
 I'^uensaldagne was satisfied with my answer, and sent back 
 Don Antonio Pimentel with a letter from the Archduke, 
 assuring me that upon a line from my hand he would 
 march with all the forces of the King his master to my 
 assistance. 
 
J 88 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 ]\Iadam, — Cardina) Mazarin thought of nothing else 
 now but how to rid himself of the obhgations he lay 
 under to the Prince de Conde, who had actually saved 
 him from the gallows. And his principal view was an 
 alliance with the House of Vendome, who had on some 
 occasions opposed the interest of the family of Conde. 
 
 In Paris the people libelled not only the Cardinal but 
 the Oueen. Indeed it was not our interest to discourage 
 libels and ballads against the Cardinal, but it concerned 
 us to suppress such as were levelled against the Queen 
 and Government. It is not to be imagined what uneasi- 
 ness the wrath of the people gave us upon that head. 
 Two criminals, one of whom was a printer, being con- 
 demned to be hanged for pubhshing some things fit to 
 be burnt and for libelling the Queen, cried out, when 
 they were upon the scaffold, that they were to be put to 
 death for publishing verses against Mazarin, upon which 
 the people rescued them from justice. 
 
 On the other hand, some gay young gentlemen of the 
 Court, who were in Mazarin's interest, had a mind to 
 make his name familiar to the Parisians, and for that 
 end made a famous display in the public walks of the 
 Tuileries, where they had grand suppers, with music, and 
 drank the Cardinal's health publicly. We took little notice 
 of this, till they boasted at St. Germain that the Frondeurs 
 were glad to give them the wall. And then we thought 
 it high time to correct them, lest the common people 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 1 8g 
 
 should think they did it by authority. For this end 
 M. de Beaufort and a hundred other gentlemen went 
 one night to the house where they supped, overturned 
 the table, and broke the musicians' violins over their 
 heads. 
 
 Being informed that the Prince de Conde intended to 
 oblige the King to return to Paris, I was resolved to have 
 all the merit of an action which would be so acceptable 
 to the citizens. I therefore resolved to go to the Court 
 at Compiegne, which my friends very much opposed, for 
 fear of the danger to which I might be exposed, but I told 
 them that wJiat is absolutely necessary is not dangerous. 
 
 I went accordingly, and as I was going upstairs to the 
 (Jueen's apartments, a man, whom I never saw before or 
 since, put a note into my hand with these words, "If 
 you enter the King's domicile you are a dead man." But 
 I was in already, and it was too late to go back. Being 
 past the guard-chamber, I thought myself secure. I told 
 the Queen that I was come to assure Pier Majesty of 
 my most humble obedience, and of the disposition of the 
 Church of Paris to perform all the services it owed to 
 their Majesties. The Queen seemed highly pleased, and 
 was very kind to me ; but when we mentioned the 
 Cardinal, though she urged me to it, I excused myself 
 from going to see him, assuring Her Majesty that such 
 a visit would put it out of my power to do her service. 
 It was impossible for her to contain herself any longer ; 
 she blushed, and it was with much restraint that she 
 forbore using harsh language, as she herself confessed 
 afterwards. 
 
 Servien said one day that there was a design to assas- 
 sinate me at his table by the Abbe Fouquet ; and M. 
 de Vendome, who had just come from his table, pressed 
 me to be gone, saying that there were wicked designs 
 hatching against me. 
 
igo ^rEMOIRS of thi: 
 
 I returned to Paris, having accomplished everything I 
 wanted, for I had removed the suspicion of the Court 
 that the Frondeurs were against the King's return. I 
 threw upon the Cardinal all the odium attending His 
 ^Majesty's delay. I braved INIazarin, as it were, upon 
 his throne, and secured to myself the chief honour of the 
 King's return. 
 
 The Court was received at Paris as Kings always were 
 and ever will be, namely, with acclamations, which only 
 please such as love to be flattered. A group of old 
 women were posted at the entrance of the suburbs to 
 cry out, " God save His Eminence ! " who sat in the 
 King's coach and thought himself Lord of Paris ; but at 
 the end of three or four days he found himself much 
 mistaken. Ballads and libels still flew about. The 
 Frondeurs appeared bolder than ever. M. de Beaufort 
 and I rode sometimes alone, with one lackey only behind 
 our coach, and at other times we went with a retinue of 
 fifty men in livery and a hundred gentlemen. We diver- 
 sified the scene as we thought it would be most acceptable 
 to the spectators. The Court party, who blamed us from 
 morning to night, nevertheless imitated us in their way. 
 Everybody took an advantage of the Ministry from our 
 continual pelting of His Eminence. The Prince, who 
 always made too much or too little of the Cardinal, con- 
 tinued to treat him with contempt ; and, being disgusted 
 at being refused the post of Superintendent of the Seas, 
 the Cardinal endeavoured to soothe him with the vain 
 hopes of other advantages. 
 
 The Prince being one day at Court, and seeing the 
 Cardinal give himself extraordinary airs, said, as he was 
 going out of the Queen's cabinet, "x\dieu, Mars." This was 
 told all over the city in a quarter of an hour. I and Noir- 
 moutier went by appointment to his house at four o'clock 
 in the morning, when he seemed to be greatly troubled. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 19I 
 
 He said that he could not determine to begin a civil war, 
 which, though the only means to separate the Queen from 
 the Cardinal, to whom she was so strongly attached, yet 
 it was both against his conscience and honour. He added 
 that he should never forget his obligations to us, and that if 
 he should come to any terms with the Court, he would, if 
 we thought proper, settle our affairs also, and that if we 
 had not a mind to be reconciled to the Court, he would, in 
 case it did attack us, publicly undertake our protection. 
 We answered that we had no other design in our proposals 
 than the honour of being his humble servants, and that we 
 should be very sorry if he had retarded his reconciliation 
 with the Queen upon our account, praying that we might 
 be permitted to continue in the same disposition towards 
 the Cardinal as we were then, which we declared should 
 not hinder us from paying all the respect and duty which 
 we professed for His Highness. 
 
 I must not forget to acquaint 3^ou that Madame de 
 Guimenee, who ran away from Paris in a fright the moment 
 it was besieged, no sooner heard that I had paid a visit to 
 Mademoiselle de Chevreuse than she returned to town in a 
 rage. I was in such a passion with her for having cowardly 
 deserted me that I took her by the throat, and she was so 
 enraged at my familiarity with Mademoiselle de Chevreuse 
 that she threw a candlestick at my head, but in a quarter 
 of an hour we were very good friends. 
 
 The Prince de Conde was no sooner reconciled with 
 the Court than he was publicly reproached in the city for 
 breaking his word with the Frondeurs, but I convinced him 
 that he could not think such treatment strange in a city so 
 justly exasperated against Mazarin, and that, nevertheless, 
 he might depend on my best services, for which he assured 
 me of his constant friendship. 
 
 Moissans, now Marshal d'Albret, who was at the head 
 of the King's gendarmes, accustomed himself and others to 
 
192 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 threaten the chief minister, who augmented the pubUc 
 odium against himself by re-establishing Emeri, a man 
 detested by all the kingdom. We were not a little alarmed 
 at his re-establishment, because this man, who knew Paris 
 better than the Cardinal,/_di_stributed money among the 
 people to a very good purpose. This is a singular science^ 
 which is either very beneficial or hurtful in its^oiisequcnccs, 
 according to the wisdom or jolly of the distrihnior^^^_j 
 
 These donations, laid out with discretion and secrecy, 
 obliged us to yield ourselves more and more unto the 
 bulk of the people, and, finding a lit opportunity for this 
 performance, we took care not to let it slip, which, if they 
 had been ruled by me, we should not have done so 
 soon, for we were not yet forced to make use of such 
 expedients. It is not safe in a faction where you are only 
 upon the defensive to do ivhat you are not pressed to do, but 
 the uneasiness of the subalterns on. such- occasions is trouble- 
 some, because they believe that as soon as you seem to be in- 
 active all is lost. I preached every day that the way 
 was yet rough, and therefore must be made plain, and 
 that patience in the present case was productive of 
 greateiT effects than activity ; but nobody comprehended 
 the truth of what I said. 
 
 An unlucky expression, dropped on this occasion by 
 the Princess de Guimenee, had an incredible influence 
 upon the people. She called to mind a ballad formerly 
 made upon the regiment of Brulon, which was said to 
 consist of only two dragoons and four drummers, and, 
 inasmuch as she hated the Fronde, she told me very 
 pleasantly that our party being reduced to fourteen might 
 be justly compared to that regiment of Brulon. Noir- 
 moutier and Laigues were offended at this expression to 
 that degree that they continually murmured because I 
 neither settled affairs nor pushed them to the last ex- 
 tremity. Upon which I observed that heads of factions 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 193 
 
 are no longer theiv masters when they are tumble either to prevent 
 or allay the marmurs of the people. 
 
 The revenues of the Hotel de Ville, which are, 
 as it were, the patrimony of the bourgeois, and which, 
 if v/ell managed, might be of special service to the 
 King in securing to his interest an infinite number 
 of those people who are always the most formidable in 
 revolutions — this sacred fund, I say, suffered mach by 
 the licentiousness of the times, the ignorance of Mazarin 
 and the prevarication of the officers of the Hotel de Ville, 
 who were his dependents, so that the poor annuitants 
 met in great numbers at the Hotel de Ville ; but as 
 such assemblies without the Prince's authority are 
 reckoned illegal, the Parliament passed a decree to 
 suppress them. They were privately countenanced by 
 M. de Beaufort and me, to whom they sent a solemn 
 deputation, and they made choice of twelve syndics to 
 be a check upon the pr'cvot dcs viavcliands. 
 
 On the nth of December a pistol, as had been 
 concerted beforehand, was fired into the coach of Joly, 
 one of the syndics, which President Charton, another 
 of the syndics, thinking was aimed at himself, the 
 Marquis de la Boulaie ran as if possessed with a devil, 
 while the Parhament was sitting, into the middle of the 
 Great Plall, with fifteen or twenty worthless fellows, 
 crying out "To arms!" He did the like in the streets, 
 but in vain; and came to Broussel and me ; but the former 
 reprimanded him after his way, and I threatened to throw 
 him oat at the window, for I had reason to believe that 
 he acted in concert with the Cardinal, though he pre- 
 tended to be a Frondeur. 
 
 This artifice of Servien united the Prince to the 
 Cardinal, because he found himself obliged to defend him- 
 self against the Frondeurs, who, as he believed, sought 
 to assassinate him. All those that were his own creatures 
 
 13 
 
194 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 thought they were not zealous enough for his service if 
 they did not exaggerate the imminent danger he had 
 escaped, and the Court parasites confounded the morning 
 adventure with that at night ; and upon this coarse 
 canvas they daubed all that the basest flattery, blackest 
 imposture and the most ridiculous credulity was capable 
 of imagining ; and we were informed the next morning 
 that it was the common rumour over all the city that 
 we had formed a design of seizing the King's person and 
 carrying him to the Hotel de Ville, and to assassinate 
 the Prince. 
 
 M. de Beaufort and I agreed to go out and show 
 ourselves to the people, whom we found in such a con- 
 sternation that I believe the Court might then have 
 attacked us with success. Madame de Montbazon ad- 
 vised us to take post-horses and ride off, saying that 
 there was nothing more easy than to destroy us, because 
 we had put ourselves into the hands of our sworn 
 enemies. I said that we had better hazard our lives 
 than our honour. To which she replied, "It is not that, 
 but your nymphs, I believe, which keep you here '' 
 (meaning Mesdames de Chevreuse and Guimenee). " I 
 expect," she said, "to be befriended for my own sake, 
 and don't I deserve it ? I cannot conceive how you 
 can be amused by a wicked old hag and a girl, if 
 possible, still more foolish. We are continually disputing 
 about that silly wretch" (pointing to M. de Beaufort, 
 who was playing chess), "let us take him with us and 
 go to Peronne." 
 
 You are not to wonder that she talked thus con- 
 temptibly of M. de Beaufort, whom she always taxed with 
 impotency, for it is certain that his love was purely 
 Platonic as he never asked any favour of her, and seemed 
 very uneasy with her for eating flesh on Fridays. She 
 was so sweet upon me, and withal such a charming 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I95 
 
 beauty, that being naturally indisposed to let such oppor- 
 tunities slip, I was melted into tenderness for her, not- 
 withstanding my suspicions of her, considering the then 
 situation of affairs, and would have had her gone with 
 me into the cabinet, but she was determined first to 
 go to Peronne, which put an end to our amours. 
 
 M. de Beaufort waited on the Prince and was well 
 received, but I could not gain admittance. 
 
 On the 14th the Prince de Conde went to Parliament 
 and demanded that a committee might be appointed to 
 enquire into the attempt made on his life. 
 
 The Frondeurs were not asleep in the meantime, yet 
 most of our friends were dispirited, and all very weak. 
 
 The cures of Paris were my most hearty friends ; 
 they laboured with incredible zeal among the people. 
 And the cure of St. Gervais sent me this message: "Do 
 but rally again and get off the assassination, and in a 
 week you will be stronger than your enemies." 
 
 I was informed that the Queen had written to my 
 uncle, the Archbishop of Paris, to be sure to go to the 
 Parliament on the 23rd, the day that Beaufort, Broussel 
 and I were to be impeached, because I had no right 
 to sit in the House if he was present. I begged of him 
 not to go, but my uncle being a man of little sense, 
 and that much out of order, and being, moreover, fearful 
 and ridiculously jealous of me, had promised the Queen 
 to go ; and all that we could get out of him was that 
 he would defend me in Parliament better than I could 
 defend myself. It is to be observed that though he 
 chattered to us like a magpie in private, yet in public 
 he was as mute as a fish. A surgeon who was in the 
 Archbishop's service, going to visit him, commended him 
 for his courage in resisting the importunities of his 
 nephew, who, said he, had a mind to bury him alive, 
 and encouraged him to rise with all haste and go to 
 
196 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the Parliament House ; but he was no sooner out of his 
 bed than the surgeon asked him in a fright how he felt. 
 "Very well," said my Lord. "But that is impossible," 
 said the surgeon; "you look like death," and, feeling 
 his pulse, he told him he was in a high fever ; upon 
 which my Lord Archbishop went to bed again, and all 
 the Kings and Queens in Christendom could not get him 
 out for a fortnight. 
 
 We w^ent to the Parliament, and found there the 
 Princes with nearly a thousand gentlemen and, I may 
 say, the whole Court. I had few salutes in the Hall, 
 because it was generally thought I was an undone man. 
 When I had entered the Great Chamber I heard a hum 
 like that at the end of a pleasing period in a sermon. 
 When I had taken my place I said that, hearing w^e 
 were taxed with a seditious conspiracy, we were come 
 to offer our heads to the Parliament if guilty, and, if 
 innocent, to demand justice upon our accusers; and 
 that though I knew not what right the court had to 
 call me to account, yet I would renounce all privileges 
 to make my innocence apparent to a body for whom 1 
 always had the greatest attachment and veneration. 
 
 Then the informations were read against what they 
 called "the public conspiracy from which it had pleased 
 Almighty God to deliver the State and the Royal Family," 
 after which I made a speech, in substance as follows : 
 
 " I do not believe, gentlemen, that in any of the past 
 ages persons of our quality had ever received any personal 
 summons grounded merely upon hearsay. Neither can 
 I think that posterity will ever believe that this hearsay 
 e\'idence was admitted from the mouths of the most in- 
 famous miscreants that ever got out of a gaol. Canto was 
 condemned to the gallows at Pau, Pichon to the wheel 
 at Mans, Sociande is a rogue upon record. Pray, gen- 
 tlemen, judge of their evidence by their character and 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I97 
 
 profession. But this is not all. They have the dis- 
 tinguishing character of being informers by authority. 
 I am sorely grieved that the defence of our honour, 
 which is enjoined us by the laws of God and man, 
 should oblige me to expose to light, under the most 
 innocent of Kings, such abominations as were detested 
 in the most corrupt ages of antiquity and under the 
 worst of tyrants. But I must tell you, sirs, that Canto, 
 Sociande and Gorgibus are authorised to inform against 
 us by a commission signed by that august name which 
 should never be employed but for the preservation of 
 the most sacred laws, and which Cardinal Mazarin, who 
 knows no law but that of revenge, which he meditates 
 against the defenders of the public liberty, has forced 
 M. Tellier, Secretary of State, to countersign. 
 
 " We demand justice, gentlemen, but we do not de- 
 mand it of you till we have first most humbly implored 
 this House to execute the strictest justice that the laws 
 have provided against rebels if it appears that we have 
 been concerned directly or indirectly in raising this last 
 disturbance. Is it possible, gentlemen, that a grandchild 
 of Henry the Great, that a senator of M. Broussel's 
 age and probity, and that the Coadjutor of Paris should 
 be so much as suspected of being concerned in a sedition 
 raised by a hot-brained fool, at the head of fifteen of 
 the vilest of the mob ? I am fully persuaded it would 
 be scandalous for me to insist longer on this subject. 
 This is all I know, gentlemen, of the modern conspiracy." 
 
 The applause that came from the Court of Enquiry 
 was deafening; many voices were heard exclaiming against 
 spies and informers. Honest Doujat, who was one of the 
 persons appointed by the Attorney-General Talon, his 
 kinsman, to make the report, and who had acquainted 
 me with the facts, acknowledged it publicly by pretending 
 to make the thing appear less odious. He got up, there- 
 
igS MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 fore, as if he were in a passion, and spoke very artfully to 
 this purpose: " These witnesses, sir, are not to accuse you, 
 as you are pleased to say, but only to discover what passed 
 in the meeting of the annuitants at the Hotel de Ville. If 
 the King did not promise impunity to such as will give him 
 information necessary for his service, and which sometimes 
 cannot be come at without involving evidence in a crime, 
 how should the King be informed at all ? There is a great 
 deal of difference between patents of this nature and com- 
 missions granted on purpose to accuse you." 
 
 You might have seen fire in the face of every member. 
 The First President called out " Order ! " and said, " MM. 
 de Beaufort, le Coadjuteur and Broussel, you are accused, 
 and you must withdraw." As Beaufort and I were leaving 
 our seats, Broussel stopped us, saying, " Neither you, 
 gentlemen, nor I are bound to depart till we are ordered 
 to do so by the court. The First President, who all 
 the world knows to be our adversary, should go out if we 
 must." I added, " And M. le Prince," who thereupon said, 
 with a scornful air, "What I? Must I retire?" "Yes, 
 yes, sir," said I, "justice is no respecter of persons." The 
 President de Mesmes said, " No, Monsieur, you must not 
 go out unless the court orders you. If the Coadjutor 
 insists that Your Highness retire, he nmst demand it by a 
 petition. As for himself, he is accused, and therefore must 
 go out ; but, seeing he raises difficulties and objections to 
 „,the contrary, we must put it to the vote." And it was 
 f passed that we should withdraw. Meanwhile most of the 
 members passed encomiums upon us, satires upon the 
 Ministry, and anathemas upon the witnesses for the Crown. 
 Nor were the cures and the parishioners wanting in their 
 duty on this occasion. The people came in shoals from all 
 parts of Paris to the Parliament Flouse. Nevertheless, no 
 disrespect was shown either to the King's brother or to 
 M. le Prince ; only some in their presence cried out, 
 "God bless M. de Beaufort! God bless the Coadjutor!" 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ I99 
 
 M. de Beaufort told the First President next day that, 
 the State and Royal Family being in danger, every moment 
 was precious, and that the offenders ought to receive con- 
 dign punishment, and that therefore the Chambers ought 
 to be assembled without loss of time. Broussel attacked 
 the First President with a great deal of warmth. Eight or 
 ten councillors entered immediately into the Great Chamber 
 to testify their astonishment at the indolence and indif- 
 ference of the House after such a furious conspiracy, and 
 that so little zeal was shown to prosecute the criminals, 
 MM. de Bignon and Talon, counsel for the Crown, alarmed 
 the people by declaring that as for themselves they had no 
 hand in the conclusions, which were ridiculous. The First 
 President returned very calm answers, knowing well that 
 we should have been glad to have put him into a passion in 
 order to catch at some expression that might bear an ex- 
 ception in law. 
 
 On Christmas Day I preached such a sermon on 
 Christian charity, without mentioning the present affairs, 
 that the women even wept for the unjust persecution of 
 an Archbishop who had so great a tenderness for his very 
 enemies. 
 
 On the 2gth M. de Beaufort and I went to the Parlia- 
 ment House, accompanied by a body of three hundred 
 gentlemen, to make it appear that we were more than 
 tribunes of the people, and to screen ourselves from the 
 insults of the Court party. We posted ourselves in the 
 Fourth Chamber of the Inquests among the courtiers, with 
 whom we conversed very frankly, yet upon the least noise, 
 when the debates ran high in the Great Chamber, we were 
 ready to cut one another's throats eight or ten times every 
 morning. We were all distrustful of one another, and I 
 may venture to say there were not twenty persons in the 
 House but were armed with daggers. As for myself, I had 
 resolved" to take none of those weapons inconsistent with 
 
200 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 my character, till one day, when it was expected the House 
 would be more excited than usual, and then M. de Beau- 
 fort, seeing one end of the weapon peeping out of my 
 pocket, exposed it to M. le Prince's captain of the guards 
 and others, saying, "See, gentlemen, the Coadjutor's 
 prayer-book." I understood the jest, but really I could 
 not well digest it. 
 
 We petitioned the Parhament that the First President, 
 ^ being our sworn enemy, might be expelled the House, but 
 jfit was put to the vote and carried by a majority of thirty- 
 ' six that he should retain his station of judge. 
 
 Paris narrowly escaped a commotion at the time of 
 the imprisonment of Belot, one of the syndics of the 
 Hotel de Ville annuitants, who being arrested without 
 a decree, President de la Grange made it appear that 
 there was nothing more contrary to the declaration for 
 which they had formerly so exerted themselves. The First 
 President maintaining the legality of his imprisonment, 
 Daurat, a councillor of the Third Chamber, told him that 
 he was amazed that a gentleman who w^as so lately near 
 being expelled could be so resolute in violating the laws 
 so flagrantly. Whereupon the First President rose in a 
 passion, saying that there was neither order nor discipline 
 in the House, and that he would resign his place to another 
 for whom they had more respect. This motion put the 
 Great Chamber all in a ferment, which was felt in the 
 Fourth, where the gentlemen of both parties hastened to 
 support their respective sides, and if the most insignificant 
 lackey had then but drawn a sword Paris would have been 
 all in an uproar. 
 
 We solicited very earnestly for our trial, which they 
 delayed as much as it was in their power, because they 
 could not choose but acquit us and condemn the Crown 
 witnesses. Various were the pretences for putting it off, 
 and though the informations were not of sufficient weight 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 20I 
 
 to hang a dog, yet they were read over and over at every 
 turn to prolong the time. 
 
 The public began to be persuaded of our innocence, 
 as also the Prince de Conde, and M. de Bouillon told me 
 that he very much suspected it to be a trick of the 
 Cardinal's. 
 
 On the ist of January, 1650, Madame de Chevreuse, 
 having a mind to visit the Queen, with whom she had 
 carried on in all her disgrace an unaccountable correspond- 
 ence, went to the King's Palace. The Cardinal, taking 
 her aside in the Queen's little cabinet, said to her, "You 
 love the Queen. Is it not possible for you to make your 
 friends love her ? " " How can that be ? " said she ; " the 
 Queen is no more a Queen, but a humble servant to M. 
 le Prince." " Good God ! " replied the Cardinal ; " we might 
 do great things if we could get some men into our interest. 
 But M. de Beaufort is at the service of Madame de Mont- 
 bazon, and she is devoted to Vigneul and the Coadjutor 
 
 ," at the mention of which he smiled. " I take you, 
 
 sir," said Madame de Chevreuse ; "I will answer for him 
 and for her." Thus the conversation began, and the Car- 
 dinal making a sign to the Queen, Madame de Chevreuse 
 had a long conference that night with Her Majesty, who 
 gave her this billet for me, written and signed with her 
 own hand : 
 
 "Notwithstanding what has passed and what is now 
 doing, I cannot but persuade myself that M. le Coadjuteur 
 is in my interest. I desire to see him, and that nobody 
 may know it but Madame and Mademoiselle de Chev- 
 reuse. This name shall be your security. — Anne." 
 
 Being convinced that the Queen was downright angry 
 with the Prince de Conde on account of a rumour 
 spread abroad that he had some intriguing gallantries 
 with Her Majesty, I weighed all circumstances and re- 
 turned this answer to the Queen : 
 
202 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 " Never was there one moment of my life wherein I 
 was not devoted to Your Majesty. I am so far from 
 consuhing my own safety that I would gladly die for 
 
 your service I will go to any place Your 
 
 Majesty shall order me." 
 
 My answer, with the Queen's letter enclosed, was 
 carried back by Madame de Chevreuse and well received. 
 I went immediately to Court, and was taken up the 
 back staircase by the Queen's train-bearer to the petit 
 oratoire, where Her Majesty was shut up all alone. She 
 showed me as much kindness as she could, considering 
 her hatred against M. le Prince and her friendship for 
 the Cardinal, though the latter seemed the more to 
 prevail, because in speaking of the civil wars and of 
 the Cardinal's friendship for me she called him "the 
 poor Cardinal" twenty times over. Half an hour after 
 the Cardinal came in, who begged the Queen to dispense 
 with the respect he owed Her Majesty while he em- 
 braced me in her presence. He was pleased to say he 
 was very sorry that he could not give me that very 
 moment his own cardinal's cap. He talked so much 
 of favours, gratifications and rewards that I was obliged 
 to explain myself, knowing that nothing is more destructive 
 of nciu ■reconciliations than a seeming nnwillingness to he obliged 
 to those to tvhoni you are reconciled. I answered that the 
 greatest recompense I could expect, though I had saved 
 the Crown, was to have the honour of serving Her 
 Majesty, and I humbly prayed the Queen to give me no 
 other recompense, that at least I might have the satis- 
 faction to make Her Majesty sensible that this ivas tlie 
 only reward I valued. 
 
 The Cardinal desired the Queen to command me to 
 accept of the nomination to the Cardinalate, " which," 
 said he, " La Riviere has snatched with insolence and 
 acknowledged with treachery." I excused myself by 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 203 
 
 saying that I had taken a resolution never to accept of 
 the Cardinalship by any means which seemed to have 
 relation to the civil wars, to the end that I might con- 
 vince the Queen that it was the most rigid necessity 
 which had separated me from her service. I rejected 
 upon the same account all the other advantageous pro- 
 positions he made me, and, he still insisting that the 
 Queen could do no less than confer upon me something 
 that was very considerable for the signal service I was 
 likely to do Her Majesty, I answered, " There is one 
 point wherein the Queen can do me more good than 
 if she gave me a triple crown. Her iMajesty told me 
 just now that she will cause M. le Prince to be appre- 
 hended. A person of his high rank and merit neither can 
 nor ought to be always shut up in a prison, for when 
 he comes abroad he will be full of resentment against 
 me, though I hope my dignity will be my protection. 
 There are a great many gentlemen engaged with me who, 
 in such a juncture, would be ready to ser\'e the Queen. 
 And if it seemed good to Your Majesty to entrust one of 
 them with some important employment, I should be more 
 pleased than with ten cardinals' hats." 
 
 The Cardinal told the Queen that nothing was more just, 
 and the affair should be considered between him and me. 
 
 We had several conferences, at which we agreed on 
 gratifications for some of our friends and to arrest the 
 Prince de Conde, the Prince de Conti and the Duke 
 de Longueville. 
 
 The Cardinal took occasion to speak of the treachery 
 of La Riviere. " This man," said he, " takes me to be the 
 most stupid creature living, and thinks he shall be to-morrow 
 a cardinal. I diverted myself to-day with letting him try 
 on some scarlet cloth I lately received from Italy, and I put 
 it near his face to know whether a scarlet colour or car- 
 nation became him best." 
 
204 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 I heard from Rome that His Eminence was not behind- 
 hand with La Riviere upon the score of treachery. For on 
 the very day that he got him nominated by the King he 
 wrote a letter to Cardinal Sachelli more lit to recommend 
 him to a yellow cap than to a red one. This letter, 
 nevertheless, was full of tenderness for La Riviere, which 
 Mazarin knew was the only way to ruin him with Pope 
 Innocent, who hated Mazarin and all his adherents. 
 
 Madame de Chevreuse undertook to see how the Duke 
 d'Orleans would relish the design of imprisoning the Princes. 
 She told him that though the Queen was not satisfied with 
 M. le Prince, yet she could not form a resolution of appre- 
 hending him without the concurrence of His Royal High- 
 ness. She magnified the advantages of bringing over to 
 the King's service the powerful faction of the Fronde, and 
 the daily dangers Paris was exposed to, both by fire and 
 sword. This last reason touched him as much or more 
 than all, for he trembled every time he came to the Par- 
 liament ; M. le Prince very often could not prevail upon 
 him to go at all, and a fit of colic was generally assigned as 
 the reason of his absence. At length he consented, and 
 on the 1 8th of January the three Princes were put under 
 arrest by three officers of the Queen's Guards. 
 
 The people having a notion that M. de Beaufort was 
 apprehended, ran to their arms, which I caused to be laid 
 down immediately, by marching through the streets with 
 iiambeaux before me. M. de Beaufort did the like, and the 
 night concluded with bonfires. 
 
 The Oueen sent a letter from the Kincr to the Parlia- 
 ment with the reasons, which were neither strong nor 
 well set out, why the Prince de Conde was confined. 
 However, we obtained a decree for our absolution. 
 
 The Princesses were ordered to retire to Chantilly. 
 Madame de Longueville went towards Normandy, but found 
 no sanctuary there, for the Parliament of Rouen sent her 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 205 
 
 a message to desire her to depart from the city. The Duke 
 de Richeheu would not receive her into Havre, and from 
 thence she retired to Dieppe. 
 
 M. de Bouillon, who after the peace was strongly- 
 attached to the Prince de Conde, went in great haste to 
 Turenne ; 1\'I. de Turenne got into Stenai ; M. de la Roche- 
 foucault, then Prince de Marsillac, returned home to 
 Poitou ; and Marshal de Breze, father-in-law to the Prince 
 de Conde, went to Saumur. 
 
 There was a declaration published and registered in 
 Parliament against them, whereby they were ordered to 
 wait on the King Avithin fifteen days, upon pain of being 
 proceeded against as disturbers of the public peace and 
 guilty of high treason. 
 
 The Court carried all before them. Madame de Lon- 
 gueville, upon the King going into Normandy, escaped 
 by sea into Holland, whence she went afterwards to Arras, 
 to try La Tour, one of her husband's pensioners, who 
 offered her his person, but refused her the place. She 
 repaired at last to Stenai, whither M. de Turenne went 
 to meet her, with all the friends and servants of the con- 
 fined Princes that he could muster. The King went from 
 Normandy to Burgundy, and returned to Paris crowned 
 with laurels of victory. 
 
 The Princess-Dowager, who had been ordered to retire 
 to Bourges, came with a petition to Parliament, praying 
 for their protection to stay in Paris, and that she might 
 have justice done her for the illegal confinement of the 
 Princes her children. She fell at the feet of the Duke 
 d'Orleans, begged the protection of the Duke de Beaufort, 
 and said to me that she had the honour to be my kins- 
 woman. ]\I. de Beaufort was very much perplexed what 
 to do, and I was nearly ready to die for shame; but we 
 could do nothing for her, and she was obliged to go to 
 Valery. 
 
20b MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Several private annuitants, who had made a noise in 
 the assemblies at the Hotel de Ville, were afraid of being 
 called to account, and therefore after M. le Prince was 
 arrested they desired me to procure a general amnesty. 
 I spoke about it to the Cardinal, who seemed very pliable, 
 and, showing me his hatband, which was d la mode de la 
 Fronde, said he hoped himself to be comprised in that 
 amnesty, but he shuffled it off so long that it was not 
 published and registered in Parliament till the 12th of 
 Ma}^ and it would not have been obtained then had not 
 I threatened vigorously to prosecute the Crown witnesses, 
 of which they were mightily apprehensive, being so con- 
 scious of the heinousness of their crime that two of them 
 had already made their escape. 
 
 The present calm hardly deserved that name, for the 
 storm of war began to rise again in several places at 
 once. 
 
 Madame de Longueville and M. de Turenne made a 
 treaty with the Spaniards, and the latter joined their 
 army, which entered Picardy and besieged Guise, after 
 having taken Catelet ; but for want of provisions the 
 Archduke was obliged to raise the siege. M. de Turenne 
 levied troops with Spanish money, and was joined by the 
 greater part of the officers commanding the soldiers that 
 went under the name of the Prince's troops. 
 
 The wretched conduct of M. d'Espernon had so con- 
 founded the affairs of Guienne that nothing but his 
 removal could retrieve them. 
 
 One of the greatest mischiefs which the despotic 
 authority of ministers has occasioned in the world in 
 these later times is a practice, occasioned by their own 
 private mistaken interests, of always supporting superiors 
 against their inferiors. It is a maxim borrowed from 
 Machiavelli, whom few understand, and whom too many 
 cry up for an able man because he was always wicked. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 207 
 
 He was very far from being a complete statesman, and 
 was frequently out in his politics, but I think never 
 more grossly mistaken than in this maxim, which I ob- 
 served as a great weakness in INIazarin, who was there- 
 fore the less qualified to settle the affairs of Guienne, 
 which were in so much confusion that I believe if the 
 good sense of Jeannin and Villeroi had been infused into 
 the brains of Cardinal de Richelieu, it would not have 
 been sufficient to set them right. 
 
 Senneterre, perceiving that Cardinal Mazarin and I 
 were not cordial friends, undertook to reconcile us, and 
 for that end took me to the Cardinal, who embraced me 
 very tenderly, said he laid his heart upon the table — 
 that was one of his usual phrases — and protested he 
 would talk as freely to me as if I was his own son. 
 I did not believe a word of what he said, but I assured 
 His Eminence that I would speak to him as if he was 
 my father, and I was as good as my word. I told him 
 I had no personal interest in view but to disengage 
 myself from the public disturbances without any private 
 advantage, and that for the same reason I thought my- 
 self obliged to come off with reputation and honour. I 
 desired him to consider that my age and want of skill 
 in public affairs could not give him any jealousy that I 
 aimed to be the First Minister. I conjured him to con- 
 sider also that the influence I had over the people of 
 Paris, supported by mere necessit}^, did rather reflect 
 disgrace than honour upon my dignity, and that he 
 ought to believe that this one reason was enough to 
 make me impatient to be rid of all these public broils, 
 besides a thousand other inconveniences arising every 
 moment, which disgusted me with faction. And as for 
 the dignity of cardinal, which might peradventure give 
 him some umbrage, I could tell him very sincerely what 
 had been and what was still my notion of this dignity, 
 
2o8 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 which I once foolishly imagined would be more honour- 
 able for me to despise than to enjoy. I mentioned this 
 circumstance to let him see that in my tender years I 
 was no admirer of the purple, and not very fond of it 
 now, because I was persuaded that an Archbishop of 
 Paris could hardly miss obtaining that dignity some time 
 or other, according to form, by actions purely ecclesias- 
 tical; and that he should be loth to use any other 
 means to procure it. I said that I should be extremely 
 sorry if my purple were stained with the least drop of 
 blood spilt in the civil wars ; that I was resolved to 
 clear my hands of everything that favoured of intrigue 
 before I would make or suffer any step which had any 
 tendency that way ; that he knew that for the same 
 reason I would neither accept money nor abbeys, and 
 that, consequently, I was engaged by the public declara- 
 tions I had made upon all those heads to serve the 
 Queen without any interest ; that the only end I had in 
 view, and in which I never wavered, was to come off 
 with honour, so that I might resume the spiritual func- 
 tions belonging to my profession with safety ; that I 
 desired nothing from him but the accomplishment of an 
 affair, which would be more for the King's service than 
 for my particular interest ; that he knew that the day 
 after the arrest of the Prince he sent me with his pro- 
 mise to the annuitants of the Hotel de Ville, and that for 
 want of performance those men were persuaded that 
 I was in concert with the Court to deceive them. 
 Lastly, I told him that the access I had to the Duke 
 d'Orleans might perhaps give him umbrage, but I de- 
 sired him to consider that I never sought that honour, 
 and that I was very sensible of the inconveniences at- 
 tending it. I enlarged upon this head, which is the most 
 difficult point to be understood by Prime Ministers, who 
 are so fond of being freely admitted into a Prince's presence 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 2O9 
 
 that, notwithstanding all the experience in the world, they 
 cannot help thinking that therein consists the essence of 
 happiness. 
 
 When truth has come to a certain point, it darts such 
 powerful rays of light as are irresistible, but I never knew 
 a man who had so little regard for truth as Mazarin, He 
 seemed, however, more regardful of it than usual, and I 
 laid hold of the occasion to tell him of the dangerous con- 
 sequences of the disturbances of Guienne, and that if he 
 continued to support M. d'Espernon, the Prince's faction 
 would not let this opportunity slip ; that if the Parliament 
 of Bordeaux should engage in their party, it would not be 
 long before that of Paris would do the same ; that after the 
 late conflagration in this metropolis, he could not suppose 
 but that there was still some fire hidden under the ashes ; 
 and that the factious party had reason to fear the heavy 
 punishment to which the whole body of them was liable, 
 as we ourselves were two or three months ago. The 
 Cardinal began to yield, especially when he was told that 
 M. de Bouillon began to make a disturbance in the 
 Limousin, where M. de la Rochefoucault had joined him 
 with some troops. 
 
 To confirm our reconciliation a marriage was proposed 
 between my niece and his nephew, to which he gave his 
 consent ; but I was much averse to it, being not yet re- 
 solved to bury my family in that of Mazarin, nor did I set 
 so great a value on grandeur as to purchase it with the 
 public odium. However, it produced no animosity on 
 either side, and his friends knew that I should be very 
 glad to be employed in making a general peace ; they acted 
 their parts so well that the Cardinal, whose love-fit for me 
 lasted about a fortnight, promised me, as it were of his 
 own accord, that I should be gratified. 
 
 News came about this time from Guienne that the 
 Dukes de Bouillon and de la Rochefoucault had taken 
 
 14 
 
210 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Madame la Princesse into Bordeaux, together with M. le 
 Due, her son. The Parhament was not displeased with the 
 people for receiving into their city M. le Due, yet they 
 observed more decorum than could be expected from the 
 inhabitants of Gascogne, so irritated as they were against 
 M. d'Espernon. They ordered that Madame la Princesse, 
 M. le Due, MM. de Bouillon and de la Rochefoucault 
 should have liberty to stay in Bordeaux, provided they 
 would promise to undertake nothing against the King's 
 service, and that the petition of Madame la Princesse 
 should be sent to the King with a most humble remon- 
 strance from the Parliament against the confinement of the 
 Princes. At the same time one of the Presidents sent 
 word to Senneterre that the Parliament was not so far 
 enraged but that they would still remember their loyalty to 
 the King, provided he did but remove M. d'Espernon. 
 But in case of any further delay he would not answer for 
 the Parliament, and much less for the people, who, being 
 now managed and supported by the Prince's party, would 
 in a little time make themselves masters of the Parliament. 
 Senneterre did what he could to induce the Cardinal to 
 make good use of this advice, and M. de Chateauneuf, who 
 was now Chancellor, talked wonderfully well upon the 
 point, but seeing the Cardinal gave no return to his reasons 
 but by exclaiming against the Parliament of Bordeaux for 
 sheltering men condemned by the King's declaration, he 
 said to him very plainly, " Set out to-morrow, sir, if you 
 do not arrange matters to-day ; you should have been 
 by this time upon the Garonne." The event proved that 
 Chateauneuf was in the right, for though the Parliament 
 was very excited, they stood out a long time against the 
 madness of the people, spurred on by M. de Bouillon, and 
 issued a decree ordering an envoy of Spain, who was 
 sent thither to commence a treaty with the Duke de 
 Bouillon, to depart the city, and forbade any of their body 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 211 
 
 to visit such as had correspondence with Spain, tlie 
 Princess herself not excepted. Moreover, the mob having 
 undertaken to force the Parliament to unite with the 
 Princes, the Parliament armed the magistracy, who fired 
 upon the people and made them retire. 
 
 A little time before the King departed for Guienne, 
 which was in the beginning of July, word came that the 
 Parliament of Bordeaux had consented to a union with the 
 Princes, and had sent a deputy to the Parliament of 
 Paris, who had orders to see neither the King nor the 
 ministers, and that the whole province was disposed for a 
 revolt. The Cardinal w\as in extreme consternation, and 
 commended himself to the favour of the meanest man of 
 the Fronde with the greatest suppleness imaginable. 
 
 As soon as the King came to the neighbourhood of 
 Bordeaux the deputies of Parliament, who went to meet 
 the Court at Lebourne, were peremptorily commanded to 
 open the gates of the city to the King and to all his troops. 
 They answered that one of their privileges was to guard 
 the King themselves wdiile he was in any of their towns. 
 Upon this ^larshal de la ]\Ieilleraye seized the castle of 
 Vaire, in the command of Pichon, whom the Cardinal 
 ordered to be hanged ; and M. de Bouillon hanged an 
 oflicer in ^leilleraye's army by way of reprisal. 
 
 After that the Marshal besieged the city in form, 
 which, despairing of succour from Spain, was forced to 
 capitulate upon the following terms : 
 
 That a general pardon should be granted to all who 
 had taken up arms and treated with Spain, that all the 
 soldiers should be disbanded except those whom the King 
 had a mind to keep in his pay, that Madame la Princesse 
 and the Duke should be at liberty to reside either in Anjou 
 or at Mouzon with no more than two hundred foot and 
 sixty horse, and that M. d'Espernon should be recalled 
 from the government of Guienne. 
 
 14—2 
 
212 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 The Princess had an interview with both the King and 
 Queen, at which there were great conferences between the 
 Cardinal and the Dukes de Bouillon and de la Rochefou- 
 cault. 
 
 The deputy from Bordeaux, arriving at Paris soon 
 after the King's departure, went immediately to Parlia- 
 ment, and, after an eloquent harangue, presented a letter 
 from the Parliament of Bordeaux, together with their 
 decrees, and demanded a union between the two Par- 
 liaments. After some debates it was resolved that the 
 deputy should deliver his credentials in writing, which 
 should be presented to His Majesty by the deputies of the 
 Parliament of Paris, who would, at the same time, most 
 humbly beseech the Queen to restore peace to Guienne. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans was against debating about the 
 petition to the Queen for the liberation of the Princes 
 and the banishment of Cardinal Mazarin ; nevertheless, 
 many of the members voted for it, upon a motion made 
 by the President Viole, who was a warm partisan of the 
 Prince de Conde, not because he had hopes of carrying it, 
 but on purpose to embarrass M. de Beaufort and myself 
 upon a subject of which we did not care to speak, and yet 
 did not dare to be altogether silent about, without passing 
 in some measure for Mazarinists. President Viole did 
 the Prince a great deal of service on this occasion, for 
 Bourdet — a brave soldier, who had been captain of the 
 Guards and was attached to the interest of the Prince — 
 performed an action which emboldened the party very 
 much, though it had no success. He dressed himself 
 and fourscore other officers of his troops in masons' 
 clothes, and having assembled many of the dregs of the 
 people, to whom he had distributed money, came directly 
 to the Duke d'Orleans as he was going out, and cried, 
 " No Mazarin ! God bless the Princes ! " His Royal 
 Highness, at this apparition and the firing of a brace of 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 213 
 
 pistols at the same time by Bourdet, ran to the Great 
 Chamber; but M. de Beaufort stood his ground so well 
 with the Duke's guards and our men, that Bourdet was 
 repulsed and thrown down the ParHament stairs. 
 
 But the confusion in the Great Chamber was still worse. 
 There were daily assemblies, wherein the Cardinal was 
 severely attacked, and the Prince's party had the pleasure 
 of exposing us as his accomplices. What is very strange 
 is that at the same time the Cardinal and his friends 
 accused us of corresponding with the Parliament of Bor- 
 deaux, because we maintained, in case the Court did not 
 adjust affairs there, we would infallibly bring the Parlia- 
 ment of Paris into the interest of the Prince. If I was 
 at the point of death I should have no need to be con- 
 fessed on account of my behaviour on this occasion. I 
 acted with as much sincerity in this juncture as if I had 
 been the Cardinal's nephew, though really it was not out 
 of any love to him, but because I thought myself obliged 
 in prudence to oppose the progress of the Prince's faction, 
 owing to the foolish conduct of his enemies ; and to this 
 end I was obliged to oppose the flattery of the Cardinal's 
 tools as much as the efforts made by those who were in 
 the service of the Prince. 
 
 On the 3rd of September President Bailleul returned 
 with the other deputies, and made a report in Parliament 
 of his journey to Court ; it was, in brief, that the Queen 
 thanked the Parliament for their good intentions, and had 
 commanded them to assure the Parliament in her name 
 that she was ready to restore peace to Guienne, and that 
 it would have been done before now had not M, de 
 Bouillon, who had treated with the Spaniards, made him- 
 self master of Bordeaux, and thereby cut off the effects 
 of His Majesty's goodness. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans informed the Blouse that he had 
 received a letter from the Archduke, signifying that the 
 
214 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 King of Spain having sent him full powers to treat for a 
 general peace, he desired earnestly to negotiate it with 
 him. But His Royal Highness added that he did not 
 think it proper to return him any answ^er till he had the 
 opinion of the Parliament. The trumpeter who brought 
 the letter gathered a party at Tiroir cross, and spoke very 
 seditious words to the people. The next day they found 
 libels posted up and down the city in the name of M. de 
 Turenne, setting forth that the Archduke was coming 
 with no other disposition than to make peace, and in one 
 of them were these w^ords : "It is your business, Parisians, 
 to solicit your false tribunes, who have turned at last 
 pensioners and protectors of Mazarin, who have for so 
 long a time sported with your fortunes and repose, and 
 spurred you on, kept you back, and made you hot or 
 cold, according to the caprices and different progress of 
 their ambition." 
 
 You see the state and condition the Frondeurs were 
 in at this juncture, when they could not move one step 
 but to their own disadvantage. The Duke d'Orleans 
 spoke to me that night with a great deal of bitterness 
 against the Cardinal, which he had never done before, 
 and said he had been tricked by him twice, and that he 
 was ruining himself, the State, and all of us, and would 
 by so doing place the Prince de Conde upon the throne. 
 In short. Monsieur owned that it was not yet time to 
 humble the Cardinal. "Therefore," said M. Bellievre, 
 "let us be upon our guard; this man can give us the 
 slip any moment." 
 
 Next day a letter was sent from the Prince de Conde, 
 by the Baron de Verderonne, to the Archduke, desiring 
 him to name the time, place and persons for a treaty. 
 The Baron returned with a letter from the Archduke to 
 His Royal Highness, desiring that the conferences might 
 be held between Rheims and Rhetel, and that they might 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 215 
 
 meet there personally, with such others as they should 
 think fit to bring with them. The Court was surprised, 
 but, however, did not think fit to delay sending full powers 
 to His Royal Highness to treat for peace on such terms 
 as he thought reasonable and advantageous for the King's 
 service ; and there were joined with him, though in sub- 
 ordination, MM. Mole, the First President, d'Avaux and 
 myself, v/ith the title of Ambassadors Extraordinary and 
 Plenipotentiaries. M. d'Avaux obliged me to assure Don 
 Gabriel de Toledo, in private, that if the Spaniards would 
 but come to reasonable terms, we would conclude a peace 
 with them in two days' time. And Plis Royal Highness 
 said that Don Gabriel being a lover of money, I should 
 promise him for his part 100,000 crowns if the conference 
 that was proposed ended in a peace, and bid him tell the 
 Archduke that if the Spaniards proposed reasonable terms 
 he would sign and have them registered in Parliament 
 before Mazarin should know anything of the matter. 
 
 Don Gabriel received the overture with joy ; he had 
 some particular fancies, but Fuensaldagne, who had a 
 particular kindness for him, said that he was the wisest 
 fool he ever saw in his life. I have remarked more than 
 once that t/tis sort of man cannot persuade, but can insinuate 
 perfectly ■well, and tliat the talent of insinuation is of more ser- 
 vice than that of persuasion, because one may insinuate to a hundred 
 where one can hardly persuade Jive. 
 
 The Kinq; of Ensfland, after havincf lost the battle of 
 Worcester, arrived in Paris the day that Don Gabriel set 
 out, viz., on the 13th of September, 1651. My Lord 
 Taff" was his great chamberlain, valet dc chambre, clerk of 
 the kitchen, cup-bearer and all — an equipage answerable 
 to his Court, for His Majesty had not changed his shirt 
 all the way from England. Upon his arrival at Paris, 
 indeed, he had one lent him by my Lord Jermyn ; but 
 the Queen his mother had not money to buy him another 
 
2l6 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 for the next day. The Duke d'Orleans went to compHment 
 His Majesty upon his arrival, but it was not in my power 
 to persuade His Royal Highness to give his nephew one 
 penny, because, said he, a little would not be worth his 
 acceptance, and a great deal would engage me to do as 
 much hereafter. This leads me to make the following 
 digression, thai thevc is nothing so wretched as to he a minister 
 to a Prince, and, at the same time, not his favourite; for it is 
 his favour only that gives one a power over the more minute 
 concerns of the family, for which the public does, nevertheless, 
 think a minister accountable when they see he has poivev over 
 affairs of far greater consequence. 
 
 Therefore I was not in a condition to oblige His Royal 
 Highness by assisting the King of England with a thousand 
 pistoles, for v/hich I was horridly ashamed, both upon his 
 account and my own ; but I borrowed fifteen hundred 
 for him from M. Morangis, and carried them to my Lord 
 Taff.^ It is remarkable that the same night, as I was 
 going home, I met one Tilney, an Englishman whom I 
 had formerly known at Rome, who told me that Vere, a 
 great Parliamentarian and a favourite of Cromwell, had 
 arrived in Paris and had orders to see me. I was a little 
 puzzled ; however, I judged it would be improper to refuse 
 him an interview. Vere gave me a brief letter from 
 Cromwell in the nature of credentials, importing that the 
 sentiments I had enunciated in the " Defence of Public 
 Liberty " added to my reputation, and had induced 
 Cromwell to desire to enter with me into the strictest 
 friendship. The letter was in the main wonderfully civil 
 and complaisant. I answered it with a great deal of 
 respect, but in such a manner as became a true Catholic 
 
 I My Lord Clarendon extols the civilities of Cardinal de Retz to 
 King Charles II., and has reported a curious conversation which the 
 Cardinal had vt'ith that Prince. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 217 
 
 and an honest Frenchman. Vere appeared to be a man 
 of surprising abilities. 
 
 I now return to our own affairs. I was told as a 
 mighty secret that Tellier had orders from the Cardinal 
 to remove the Princes from the Bois de Vincennes if the 
 enemy were likely to come near the place, and that he 
 should endeavour by all means to procure the consent of 
 the Duke d'Orleans for that end ; but that, in case of 
 refusal, these orders should be executed notwithstanding, 
 and that he should endeavour to gain me to these measures 
 by the means of Madame de Chevreuse. When Tellier 
 came to me I assured him that it was all one, both to me 
 and the Duke d'Orleans, whether the Princes w^ere remo^'ed 
 or not, but since my opinion was desired, I must declare 
 that I think nothing can be more contrary to the true 
 interest of the King, " for," said I, " the Spaniards must 
 gain a battle before they can come to Vincennes, and 
 when there they must have a flying camp to invest the 
 place before they can deliver the Princes from confinement, 
 and therefore I am convinced that there is no necessity for 
 their removal, and I do affirm that all unnecessary changes in 
 niattcvs li'hich arc in themselves disagrecahlc are pernicious^ because 
 odious. I will maintain further, that there is less reason to 
 fear the Duke d'Orleans and the Frondeurs than to dread 
 the Spaniards. Suppose that His Royal Highness is 
 more disaffected towards the Court than anybody; suppose 
 further that M. de Beaufort and I have a mind to relieve 
 the Princes, which way could we do it ? Is not the whole 
 garrison in that castle in the King's service ? Has His 
 Royal Highness any regular troops to besiege Vincennes ? 
 And, granting the Frondeurs to be the greatest fools 
 imaginable, will they expose the people of Paris at a 
 siege which two thousand of the King's troops might 
 raise in a quarter of an hour though it consist of a 
 hundred thousand citizens ? I therefore conclude that 
 
2lS MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the removal would be altogether impolitic. Does it not 
 look rather as if the Cardinal feigns apprehension of the 
 Spaniards only as a pretence to make himself master of 
 the Princes, and to dispose of their persons at pleasure ? 
 The generality of the people being Frondeurs will con- 
 clude you take the Prince de Conde out of their hands 
 — whom they look upon to be safe while they see him 
 walking upon the battlements of his prison — and that 
 you will give him his liberty when you please, and thus 
 enable him to besiege Paris a second time. On the other 
 hand, the Prince's party will improve this removal very 
 much to their own advantage by the compassion such 
 a spectacle will raise in the people when they see three 
 Princes dragged in chains from one prison to another. I 
 was really mistaken just now when I said the case was all 
 one to me, for I see that I am nearly concerned, because 
 the people — in which word I include the Parliament — will 
 cry out against it ; I must be then obliged, for my own 
 safety, to say I did not approve of the resolution. Then 
 the Court will be informed that I find fault with it, and not 
 only that, but that I do it in order to raise the mob and 
 discredit the Cardinal, which, though ever so false, yet in 
 consequence the people will firmly believe it, and thus I 
 shall meet with the same treatment I met with in the 
 beginning of the late troubles, and what I even now 
 experience in relation to the affairs of Guienne. I am said 
 to be the cause of these troubles because I foretold them, 
 and I was said to encourage the revolt at Bordeaux because 
 I was against the conduct that occasioned it." 
 
 Tellier, in the Queen's name, thanked me for my un- 
 resisting disposition, and made the same proposal to His 
 Royal Highness ; upon which I spoke, not to second 
 Tellier, who pleaded for the necessity of the removal to 
 which I could by no means be reconciled, but to make it 
 evident to His Royal Plighness that he was not in any way 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 219 
 
 concerned in it in his own pri^'ate capacity, and that, in case 
 the Queen did command it positively, it was his duty to 
 obey. M. de Beaufort opposed it so furiously as to offer 
 the Duke d' Orleans to attack the guards which were to 
 remove him. I had solid reasons to dissuade him from it, 
 to the last of which he submitted, it being an argument 
 which I had from the Queen's own mouth when she set out 
 for Guienne, that Bar offered to assassinate the Princes if 
 it should happen that he was not in a condition to hinder 
 their escape. I was astonished when Her Majesty trusted 
 me with this secret, and imagined that the Cardinal had 
 possessed her with a fear that the Frondeurs had a design 
 to seize the person of the Prince de Conde. For my part, I 
 never dreamed of such a thing in my life. The Dukes 
 d'Orleans and de Beaufort were both shocked at the 
 thought of it, and, in short, it was agreed that His Royal 
 Plighness should give his consent for the removal, and that 
 M. de Beaufort and myself should not give it out among 
 the people that we approved of it. 
 
 The day that the Princes were removed to Marcoussi 
 President Bellievre told the Keeper of the Seals in plain 
 terms that if he continued to treat me as he had done 
 hitherto he should be obliged in honour to give his testi- 
 mony to the truth. To which the Keeper of the Seals 
 returned this blunt answer: " The Princes are no longtr in 
 sight of Paris ; the Coadjutor must not therefore talk so 
 loud." 
 
 I return now to the Parliament, which was so moderate j 
 at this time that the Cardinal was hardly mentioned, and i 
 they agreed ncuiinc contvadiccutc that the Parliament should , 
 send deputies to Bordeaux to know once for all if that \ 
 Parliament was for peace or not. 
 
 Soon after this the Parliament of Toulouse wrote to that 
 of Paris concerning the disturbances in Guienne, part whereof 
 belonged to their jurisdiction, and expressly demanded a 
 
220 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 decree of union. But the Duke d'Orleans warded off the 
 blow very dexterously, which was of great consequence, 
 and, more by his address than by his authority, brought 
 the Parliament to dismiss the deputies with civil answers 
 and insignificant expressions, upon which President Bel- 
 lie vre said to me, " What pleasure should we not take in 
 acting as we do if it were for persons that had but the 
 sense to appreciate it ! " 
 
 The Parliament did not continue long in that calm. 
 They passed a decree to interrogate the State prisoners in 
 the Bastille, broke out sometimes like a whirlwind, with 
 thunder and lightning, against Cardinal Mazarin ; at other 
 times they complained of the misapplication of the public 
 funds. We had much ado to ward off the blows, and 
 should not have been able to hold out long against the 
 fury of the waves but for the news of the Peace of 
 Bordeaux, which was registered there on October the 
 ist, 1650, and put the Prince de Conde's party into 
 consternation. 
 
 One mean artifice of Cardinal Mazarin's polity was 
 always to entertain some men of our own party, with 
 whom, half reconciled, he played fast and loose before 
 our eyes, and was eternally negotiating with them, deceiv- 
 ing and being deceived in his turn. The consequence of 
 all this was a great, thick cloud, wherein the Frondeurs 
 themselves were at last involved ; but which they burst 
 with a thunderclap. 
 
 The Cardinal being puffed up with his success in settling 
 the troubles of Guienne, thought of nothing else than 
 crowning his triumph by chastising the Frondeurs, who, 
 he said, had made use of the King's absence to alienate 
 the Duke d'Orleans from his service, to encourage the 
 revolt at Bordeaux, and to make themselves masters of the 
 persons of the Princes. At the same time, he told the 
 Princess Palatine that he detested the cruel hatred I bore 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 221 
 
 to the Prince de Conde, and that the propositions I made 
 daily to him on that score were altogether unworthy 
 of a Christian. Yet he suggested to the Duke d'Orleans 
 that I made great overtures to him to be reconciled to the 
 Court, but that he could not trust me, because I was from 
 niorning to night negotiating with the friends of the Prince 
 de Conde. Thus the Cardinal rewarded me for what I did 
 with incredible application and, I must say, uncommon 
 sincerity for the Queen's service during the Court's ab- 
 sence. I do not mention the dangers I was in twice or 
 thrice a day, surpassing even those of soldiers in battles. 
 For imagine, I beseech you, what pain and anguish I must 
 have been in at hearing myself called a Mazarinist, and at 
 having to bear all the odium annexed to that hateful appella- 
 tion in a city where he made it his business to destroy me 
 in the opinion of a Prince whose nature it was to be always 
 in fear and to trust none but such as hoped to rise by my fall. 
 
 The Cardinal gave himself such airs after the peace at 
 Bordeaux that some said my best way would be to retire 
 before the King's return. 
 
 Cardinal Mazarin had been formerly secretary to Pan- 
 cirole, the Pope's nuncio for the peace of Italy, whom he 
 betrayed, and it was proved that he had a secret corre- 
 spondence with the Governor of Milan. Pancirole being 
 created Cardinal and Secretary of State to the Church, did 
 not forget the perfidiousness of his secretary, now created 
 Cardinal by Pope Urban, at the request of Cardinal de 
 Richelieu, and did not at all endeavour to qualify the anger 
 which Pope Innocent had conceived against Mazarin after 
 the assassination of one of his nephews, in conjunction with 
 Cardinal Anthony.^ Pancirole, who thought he could not 
 
 I Anthon\- Barberini, nephew to Urban VIII. , created Cardinal 
 162S, made Protector of the Crown of France 1633, and Great Almoner 
 of the Kingdom 1653. He was afterwards Bishop of Poitiers, and, 
 lastl)'. Archbishop of Rheims in 1G57. Died 167 1. 
 
22 2 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 affront Mazarin more than by contributing to make me 
 Cardinal, did me all the kind offices with Pope Innocent, 
 who gave him leave to treat with me in that affair, 
 
 Madame de Chevreuse told the Oueen all that she had 
 observed in my conduct in the King's absence, and what 
 she had seen was certainly one continued series of con- 
 siderable services done to the Oueen. She recounted at 
 last all the injustice done me, the contempt put upon me, 
 and the just grounds of my diffidence, which, she said, of 
 necessity ought to be removed, and that the only means of 
 removing it was the hat. The Queen was in a passion at 
 this. The Cardinal defended himself, not by an open denial, 
 for he had offered it me several times, but by recom- 
 mending patience, intimating that a great monarch should 
 be forced to nothing. Monsieur, seconding Madame de 
 Chevreuse in her attack, assailed the Cardinal, who, at 
 least in appearance, gave way, out of respect for His 
 Royal Highness. Madame de Chevreuse, having brought 
 them to parley, did not doubt that she should also bring 
 them to capitulate, especially when she saw the Queen was 
 appeased, and had told His Royal Highness that she was 
 infinitely obliged to him, and would do what her Council 
 judged most proper and reasonable. This Council, which 
 was only a specious name, consisted only of the Cardinal, 
 the Keeper of the Seals, Tellier, and Servien. 
 
 The matter was proposed to the Council by the Cardinal 
 with much importunity, concluding with a most submissive 
 petition to the Queen to condescend to the demand of the 
 Duke d'Orleans, and to what the services and merits of the 
 Coadjutor demanded. The proposition was rejected with 
 such resolution and contempt as is very unusual in Council 
 in opposition to a Prime Minister. Tellier and Servien 
 thought it sufficient not to applaud him ; but the Keeper of 
 the Seals quite forgot his respect for the Cardinal, accused 
 him of prevarication and weakness, and threw himself at 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 2 2^ 
 
 Her Majesty's feet, conjuring her, in the name of the King 
 her son, not to authorise, by an example which he called 
 fatal, the insolence of a subject who was for wresting 
 favours from his Sovereign sword in hand. The Queen 
 was moved at this, and the poor Cardinal owned he had 
 been too easy and pliant. 
 
 I had myself gi\en a very natural handle to my adver- 
 saries to expose me so egregiously. I ha\'e been guilty of 
 many blunders, but I think this is the grossest that I e\'er 
 was guilty of in all my life. I have frequently made this 
 observation, Ilmt uJicn men have, iJiyoit<^]t fear of iiiiscarncii^c, 
 hesitated a long time about any undertaking of eonscqiienee, the 
 ycntaining impressions of tJteir fear eommonly push them- after- 
 ixiards h'itli too much preeipitanev upon the execution of their 
 design. And this was my case. It was with the greatest 
 reluctance that I determined to accept of the dignity of 
 a cardinal, because I thought it too mean to form a pre- 
 tention to it without certainty of success, and no sooner 
 was I engaged in the pursuit of it but the impression of 
 the former fearful ideas hurried me on, as it were, to the 
 end that I might get as soon as possible out of the dis- 
 agreeable state of uncertainty. 
 
 The Cardinal would have paid my debts, given me the 
 place of Grand Almoner, cNL'C. ; but if he had added twehe 
 cardinals' hats into the bargain, I should have begged his 
 excuse. I was now engaged with Monsieur, who had, 
 meanwhile, resolved upon the release of the Princes from 
 their confinement. 
 
 Cardinal Mazarin, after his return to Paris, made it his 
 chief study to divide the Fronde. He thought to materially 
 weaken my interest with Monsieur by detaching from me 
 jMadame de Chevreuse, for whom he had a natural tender- 
 ness, and to give me a mortal blow by embroiling me with 
 ^Mademoiselle her daughter. To do this effectually he 
 found a rival, who, he hoped, would please her better. 
 
224 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 viz., M. d'Aumale, handsome as Apollo, and one who was 
 very likely to suit the temper of Mademoiselle de Chevreuse. 
 He had entirely devoted himself to the Cardinal's interest, 
 looked upon himself as very much honoured by this com- 
 mission, and haunted the Palace of Chevreuse so diligently 
 that I did not doubt but that he was sent thither to act the 
 second part of the comedy which had miscarried so shame- 
 fully in the hands of M. de Candale. I watched all his 
 movements, and complained to Mademoiselle de Chevreuse, 
 but she gave me indirect answers. I began to be out of 
 humour, and was soon appeased. I grew peevish again ; 
 and Mademoiselle de Chevreuse saying in his presence, to 
 please me and to sting him, that she could not imagine 
 how it was possible to bear a silly fellow, " Pardon me, 
 Mademoiselle," replied I, "we suffer fops sometimes very 
 patiently for the sake of their extravagances." This man 
 was notoriously foppish and extravagant. My answer 
 pleased, and we soon got rid of him at the Palace of 
 Chevreuse. But he thought to have despatched me, for 
 he hired one Grandmaison, a ruffian, to assassinate me, 
 who apprised me of his design. The first time I met M. 
 d'Aumale, which was at the Duke d'Orleans' house, I did 
 not fail to let him know it ; but I told it him in a whisper, 
 saying that I had too much respect for the House of Savoy 
 to publish it to the world. He denied the fact, but in such 
 a manner as to make it more evident, because he conjured 
 me to keep it secret. I gave him my word, and I kept it. 
 
 Madame de Guimenee, with whom I had several 
 quarrels, proposed to the Queen likewise to despatch me, 
 by shutting me up in a green-house in her garden, which 
 slie might easily have -done, because I often went to her 
 alone by night ; but the Cardinal, fearing that the people 
 would have suspected him as the author of my sudden 
 disappearance, would not enter into the project, so it was 
 dropped. 
 
CAKDIXAL DE RET2 223 
 
 To return to our negotiations for the freedom of the 
 Princes. The Duke d'Orleans was with much difficulty 
 induced to sign the treaty by which a marriage was stipu- 
 lated between Mademoiselle de Chevreuse and the Prince 
 de Conti, and to promise not to oppose my promotion to 
 the dignity of a cardinal. The Princes were as active in 
 the whole course of these negotiations as if they had been at 
 liberty. We wrote to them, and they to us, and a regular 
 correspondence between J-'aris and Lyons was never better 
 established than ours. Par,^ their warder, was a \ery 
 sliallow fellow ; besides, men of sense are sometimes out- 
 witted. 
 
 Cardinal Mazarin, upon his return with the King from 
 Guienne, was greatly pleased with the acclamations of the 
 mob, but he soon grew weary of them, for the Frondfurs 
 still kept the wall. 
 
 The Cardinal beinj^ continually provoked at Paris b)- 
 the Abbe Fouquet, who sought to make himself necessar}-, 
 and being so \'am as to think himseli qualified to conunand 
 an army, marched abruptly out of Paris for Champagne, 
 with a design to retake Rhetel and Chateau-Portien, oi 
 \\'hich the enemy were possessed, and where M. de Turenne 
 proposed to winter. 
 
 On the feast of St. Martin the First President and the 
 Attorney-General Talon exhorted the Parliament to btr 
 peaceable, that the enemies of the State might ha\'e nu 
 adxantage. A petition was read from Madame the Princess, 
 desiring that the Princes should be brought to the Lou\Te 
 and remain in the custod\' of one of the King's officers, and 
 that the Solicitor-General be sent for to say what he had to 
 
 I Bar was, accordin;^^ In M Jol}-, an unsociable man, whi > \\a-. for 
 raising his fortune b)- usin.i; the Princes badly, and who, on thi-. 
 account, was often the dupe nl Montreuil, secretary to the f'rince de 
 Conti.— See Joly's " Memoir-..' sol. i., p. SS 
 
 ^5 
 
226 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 allege against their innocence, and that in case he should 
 have nothing solid to offer they be set at liberty. 
 
 The Chambers being assembled on the 7th of December, 
 to take the affair into consideration, Talon, the Attorney- 
 General, informed the House that the Queen had sent 
 for the King's Council, and ordered them to let the 
 Parliament know that it was her pleasure that the House 
 should not take any cognisance of the Princess's petition, 
 because everything that had relation to the confinement of 
 the Princes belonged to the Royal authority. Talon made 
 a motion that the Parliament should depute some members 
 to carry the petition to the Queen, and to beseech Her 
 Majesty to take it into her consideration. At the same 
 time another petition was presented from Mademoiselle de 
 Longueville, for the liberty of the Duke her father, and 
 that she might have leave to stay in Paris to solicit it. 
 
 No sooner was this petition read than a letter from the 
 three Princes was presented and read, praying that they 
 might be brought to trial or set at liberty. 
 
 On the 9th day of the month an order was brought to 
 the Parliament from the King, commanding the House to 
 suspend all deliberations on this subject till they had first 
 sent their deputies to Court to know His Majesty's pleasure. 
 
 Deputies were sent immediately, to whom, accordingly, 
 the Queen gave audience in bed, telling them that she 
 was very much indisposed. The Keeper of the Seals added 
 that it was the King's pleasure that the Parliament should 
 not meet at all until such time as the Queen his mother 
 had recovered her health. 
 
 On the loth the House resolved to adjourn only to the 
 14th, and on that day a general procession was proposed 
 to the Archbishop by the Dean of Parliament, to beg that 
 God would inspire them with such counsels only as might 
 be for the good of the public. 
 
 On the 14th they received the King's letter, forbidding 
 
CARDINAL DE RET2 227 
 
 their debates, and informincr them that the Oueen would 
 satisfy them very speedily about the affair of the Princes ; 
 but this letter was disregarded. They sent a deputation 
 to invite the Duke d'Orleans to come to the House, but, 
 after consulting with the Queen, he told the deputies that 
 he did not care to go, that the Assembly was too noisy, 
 that he could not divine what they would be at, that the 
 affairs in debate were never known to fall under their 
 cognisance, and that they had nothing else to do but to 
 refer the said petitions to the Hueen. 
 
 On the 1 8th news came that ?ilarshal du Plessis had 
 gained a signal \'Jctory over ^l. de Turenne, who was 
 coming to succour Rhetel, but found it already surren- 
 dered to Marshal du h^lessis ; and the Spanish garrison, 
 endeavouring to retreat, was forced to an engagement on 
 the plains of Saumepuis ; that about 2,000 men were 
 killed upon the spot, among the rest a brother of the 
 l^lector b'alatine and six colonels, and that there were 
 nearly 4,000 prisoners, the most considerable of whom 
 were several persons of note, and all the colonels, besides 
 twenty colours and eighty-four standards. You may easily 
 guess at the consternation of the Princes' party; my house 
 was all night filled with the lamentations of despairing 
 mourners, and I found the Duke d'Orleans, as it wtre, 
 struck dumb. 
 
 On the icjth, as I went to the Parliament House, the 
 people looked mekmcholy, dejected and frightened out of 
 their wits. The members were afraid to open their 
 mouths, and nobody would mention the name of ^Mazarin 
 except iMcnardeau Champre, who spoke of him with 
 encomiums, by gi\ing him the honour of the victory of 
 Rhetel, and then he mo\'ed the House to entreat the 
 Oueen to put the Princes into the hands of that good 
 and wise minister, who would be as careful of them as 
 he had been hitherto of the State. I wondered most 
 
 15—- 
 
2 28 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 of all that this man was not hissed in the House, and 
 especially as he passed through the Great Hall. This 
 circumstance, together with what I saw that afternoon 
 in every street, convinced me how much our friends were 
 dispirited, and I therefore resolved next day to raise their 
 courage. I knew the First President to be purblind, 
 and such men greedily swallow every new fact which 
 conhrms them in their lirst impression. I knew likewise 
 the Cardinal to be a man that supposed everybody had 
 a back door. The only way of dealing with men of that 
 stamp is to make them believe that you design to deceive 
 those whom you earnestly endeavour to serve. For this 
 reason, on the 20th, I declaimed against the disorders of 
 the State, and showed that it having pleased Almighty 
 God to bless His Majesty's arms and to remove the 
 public enemy from our frontiers by the victory gained 
 over them by Marshal du Plessis, we ought now to apply 
 ourselves seriously to the healing of internal wounds of 
 the State, which are the more dangerous because they 
 are less obvious. To this I thought fit to add that I 
 was obliged to mention the general oppression of the 
 subjects at a time when we had nothing more to fear from 
 the lately routed Spaniards ; that, as one of the props of 
 the public safety was the preservation of the Royal 
 Family, I could not without the utmost concern see the 
 Princes breathe the unwholesome air of Havre-de-Grace, 
 and that I was of opinion that the House should humbly 
 entreat the King to remove them, at least to some place 
 more healthy. At this speech everybody regained their 
 courage and concluded that all was not yet lost. It was 
 observed that the people's countenances were altered. 
 Those in the Great Hall resumed their former zeal, 
 made the usual acclamations as w^e went out, and I had 
 that day three hundred carriages of visitors. 
 
 On the 22nd the debate was continued, and it was 
 
CARDIXAL Di: RETZ 2 2<) 
 
 more and more obser\-ed that the ParHament did not 
 follow the triumphant chariot of Cardinal ?\Iazarin, whose 
 imprudence in hazarding the fate of the whole kini^dom 
 in the last Ijattle was set off with all the disadvantac^es 
 that could be mxented to tarnish the \ictory. 
 
 The 30th crowned the work, and produced a decret- 
 for makin.i; most humble remonstrances to the Queen for 
 the liberty of the I^rinces and for ^lademoiselle de 
 Lon;:,^ueville staying in Paris. 
 
 It was further resoh'ed to send a deputation to the 
 Duke d'Orleans to desire His Royal Highness to use 
 his interest on this occasion in fax'our of the said Prince^. 
 The King's Council having waited on Pier Majesty 
 with the remonstrances aforesaid, she pretended to l")e 
 under medical treatment, and put off the niatter a week 
 longer. The P)uke d'Orleans also gave an ambiguous 
 answer. The (Jueen's course of treatment continued eight 
 or ten days longer than she imagined, or, rather, than 
 she said, and consequently the remonstrances of the I'^ar- 
 liament were not made till the ^oth of January, if 151. 
 
 On the 28th the First President made his report, and 
 said the (}ueen had promised to return an answer in d 
 few days. 
 
 It happened \'ery luckily for us at this time that the 
 imprudence of the Cardinal was greater than the incon- 
 stancy of the Duke d'Orleans, for a little before the 
 Oueen returned an answer to the remonstrances, he talked 
 very roughly to the Duke in the (Queen's presence, charg- 
 ing him with putting too much confidence in me. Tlie 
 very day that the Queen made the aforesaid answer he 
 spoke yet more arrogantly to the Duke in Her ^Majesty's 
 apartment, comparing M. de Beaufort and myself to Crojvi- 
 well and Fairfax in the House of Commons in England, 
 and exclaimed furiously in the King's presence, so that 
 he frightened the Duke, who was glad he got out of the 
 
230 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 King's Palace with a whole skin, and who said that he 
 would never put himself again in the power of that 
 furious w^oman, meaninc: the Queen, because she had 
 improved on what the Cardinal had said to the King. I 
 resolved to strike the iron while it was hot, and joined 
 with M. de Beaufort to persuade His Royal Highness to 
 declare himself the next day in Parliament. We showed 
 him that after what had lately passed there was no safety 
 for his person, and if the King should go out of Paris, 
 as the Cardinal designed, we should be engaged in a 
 civil war, whereof he alone, with the city of Paris, must 
 bear the heavy load; that it would be equally scandalous 
 and dangerous for His Royal Highness either to leave 
 the Princes in chains, after having treated with them, 
 or, by his dilatory proceedings, suffer Mazarin to have 
 all the honour of setting them at liberty, and that he 
 ought by all means to go to the Parliament House. 
 
 The Duchess, too, seconded us, and upon His Highness 
 saying that if he went to the House to declare against 
 the Court the Cardinal would be sure to take His Majesty 
 out of Paris, the Duchess replied, " What, sir, are you not 
 Lieutenant-General of France ? Do not you command 
 the army ? Are you not master of the people ? I my- 
 self will undertake that the King shall not go out of Paris." 
 The Duke nevertheless remained inflexible, and all we 
 could get out of him was that he would consent to my 
 telling the Parliament, in his name, what we desired he 
 should say himself. In a word, he would have me 
 make the experiment, the success of which he looked 
 upon to be very uncertain, because he thought the Par- 
 liament would have nothing to say against the Queen's 
 answer, and that if I succeeded he should reap the honour 
 of the proposition. I readily accepted the commission, 
 because all was at stake, and if I had not executed it 
 the next morning I am sure the Cardinal would have eluded 
 
C.VKDIXAL DE RET/ 23 1 
 
 setting the Princes at liberty a great while longer, and 
 the affair have ended in a negotiation with them against 
 the Duke. The Duchess, who saw that I exposed myself 
 tor the public good, pitied me very much. She did all 
 slie could to persuade the Duke to command me to men- 
 lion to the Parliament what the Cardinal had told the 
 King with relation to Cromwell, Fairfax and the English 
 Parliament, which, if declared in the Duke's name, she 
 thought would excite the Plouse the more against Ma- 
 xarin ; and she was certainly in the right. Put he forbade 
 me expressly. 
 
 I ran about all night to incite the members at their 
 (irst meeting to murmur at the Queen's answer, which in 
 the main was very plausible, importing that though this 
 affair did not fall within the cognisance of Parliament, 
 the Queen would, however, out of her abundant goodness, 
 hn.ve regard to their supplications and restore the Princes 
 to liberty. Pesides, it promised a general amnesty to all 
 who had borne arms in their favour, on condition only that 
 M. de Turenne should lay down his arms, that Madame de 
 Longueville should renounce her treaty with Spain, and 
 that Stenai and iMurzon should be c\acuated. 
 
 At first the Parliament seemed to be dazzled with 
 it, but next day, the ist of February, the whole House 
 was undeceived, and Avondered how it had been so deluded. 
 The Court of Inquests began to murmur ; Viole stood up 
 and said that the Queen's answer was but a snare laid 
 for the Parliament to beguile them ; that the 12th of 
 March, the time fixed for the Kings coronation, was just 
 at hand; and that as soon as the Court was out of Paris 
 they would laugh at the Parliament. iVt this discourse 
 the old and new Fronde stood up, and when I saw they 
 were greatly excited I waved my cap and said that the 
 Duke had commanded me to inform the Plouse that the 
 regard he had for their sentiments havint,^ confirmed him 
 
232 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 m those he always naturally entertained of his cousins, 
 he was resolved to concur with them for procuring their 
 liberty, and to contribute everything in his power to 
 effect it ; and it is incredible what influence these few 
 words had upon the whole assembly. 1 was astonished at 
 it myself. The wisest senators seemed as mad as the 
 common people, and the people madder than ever. Their 
 acclamations exceeded anything you can imagine, and, 
 indeed, nothing less was sufficient to give heart to the 
 Duke, who had all night been bringing forth new pro- 
 jects with more sorrowful pangs and throes (as the Duchess 
 expressed it) than ever she had felt when in labour with 
 all her children. 
 
 When he was fully informed of the good success of 
 his declaration, he embraced me several times before all 
 the company, and M. Tellier going to wait upon him 
 from the Queen, to know if he acknowledged what I had 
 said in his name in the House, " Yes," replied he, " I 
 own, and always will own, all that he shall say or act in 
 my name." We thought that after a solemn declaration 
 of this nature the Duke would not scruple to take all the 
 necessary precautions to prevent the Cardinal carrying 
 away the King, and to that end the Duchess did propose 
 to have all the gates of the city well guarded, under 
 pretence of some popular tumults. But he was deaf to 
 all she said, pretending that he was loth to make liis 
 King a prisoner. 
 
 On the 2nd of February, 165 1, the Duke, urged very 
 importunately by the Princes' party informing him that 
 their liberty depended on it, told them that he was 
 going to perform an action which would remove all their 
 diffidence. He sent immediately for the Keeper of the 
 Seals, Marshal Villeroi and Tellier, and bade them tell 
 the Queen that he would never come to the Palais Royal 
 as long as Mazarin was there, and that he could no 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 233 
 
 longer treat with a man that ruined the State. And, then, 
 turnin,c( towards ^Marshal Villeroi, " I charge 3'ou," said 
 he, " with the King's person ; you shall be answerable 
 for him to me." I was sadly afraid this would be a means 
 to hasten the King's departure, which was what we 
 dreaded most of all, and I wondered that the Cardinal 
 did not remove after such a declaration. I thought his 
 head was turned, and indeed I was told that he was 
 beside himself for a fortnight together. 
 
 The Duke having openly declared against Mazarin, 
 and being resolved to attack and dri\e him out of the 
 kingdom, bade me inform the House next day, in his 
 name, how the Cardinal had compared their body to the 
 Rump Parliament in England, and some of their mem- 
 bers to Cromwell and Fairfax. I impro\'ed upon this as 
 much as possible, and I daresay that so much heat and 
 ferment was never seen in any society before. Some 
 were for sending the Cardinal a personal summons to 
 appear on the spot, to give an account of his adminis- 
 tration ; but the most moderate were for making most 
 humble remonstrances to the Oueen for his removal. 
 You may easily guess what a thunderclap this must ha^'e 
 been to the Court. The Oueen asked the Duke whether 
 she might bring the Cardinal to Jlis Royal Highness. 
 His answer was that he did not think it good for the 
 safety of his own person. She offered to come alone to 
 confer with His Highness at the Palais d'Orleans, but 
 he excused himself with a great deal of respect. 
 
 He sent orders an hour after to the ^larshals of 
 France to obey him only as Lieutenant-General of the 
 State, and likewise to the pre vols dcs luan-liands not to 
 take up arms except by his authority. You will wonder, 
 without doubt, that after all this noise no care was taken 
 of the gates of Paris to prevent the King's departure. 
 The Duchess, who trembled at the thoughts of it, daily 
 
234 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 redoubled her endeavours to induce the Duke to secure 
 the gates of the city, but all to no purpose ; for 
 weak minds are generally deficient in some respect or 
 other. 
 
 On the 4th the Duke came to the ParHament and 
 assured the assembly of his concurrence in everything 
 to reform the State and to procure the liberty of the 
 Princes and the Cardinal's removal. As soon as His 
 Royal Highness had done speaking the Master of the 
 Ceremonies was admitted with a letter from the King, 
 which was read, and which required the House to 
 separate, and to send as many deputies as they could to 
 the Palais Royal to hear the King's will and pleasure. 
 Deputies were accordingly sent immediately, for whose 
 return the bulk of the members stayed in the Great 
 Chamber. I was informed that this was one trick among 
 others concerted to ruin me, and, telling the Duke 
 d'Orleans of it, he said that if the old buffoon, the 
 Keeper of the Seals, was concerned in such a complica- 
 tion of folly and knavery he deserved to be hanged by 
 the side of Mazarin. But the sequel showed that I was 
 not out in my information. 
 
 As soon as the deputies were come to the Palais 
 Royal the First President told the Queen that the Par- 
 liament was extremely concerned that the Princes were 
 still confined, notwithstanding her Royal promise for 
 setting them at liberty. The Queen replied that Marshal 
 de Grammont was sent to release them and to see to 
 their necessary security for the public tranquillity, but 
 that she had sent for them in relation to another affair, 
 which the Keeper of the Seals would explain to them, 
 and which he couched in a sanguinary manifesto, in sub- 
 stance as follows : 
 
 "All the reports made by the Coadjutor in Parlia- 
 ment are false, and invented by him. He lies ! " (this 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 2^j 
 
 is the only word the Queen added to what was aheady 
 written). "He is a very wicked, dangerous man, and 
 ,'-;ives the Duke very pernicious advice ; he wants to ruin 
 the State because we ha\"e refused to make him Car- 
 dinal, and has publicly boasted that he will set lire to 
 the four corners of the kingdom, and that he will have 
 100,000 men in readiness to dash out the brains of those 
 tliat shall attempt to put it out." These expressions 
 were very harsh, and I am sure that I never said any- 
 thing like that; but it was of no use at this time to 
 make the cloud which was gathering o\'er the head of 
 Mazarin fall in a storm upon mine. The Court saw that 
 Parliament was assembled to pass a decree for setting 
 the Princes at liberty, and that the Duke in person was 
 declaring against Mazarin in the Grand Chamber, and 
 therefore they believed that a di\'ersion would be as prac- 
 tical)le as it was necessar}-, namely, to bring me upon ni)' 
 trial in such a manner that the Parliament could not 
 refuse nor secure me from the railleries of the must in- 
 considerable member. Everything that tended to render 
 the attack plausible was made use of, as well as e\'ery- 
 thing that might weaken my defence. The writing was 
 signed by the four Secretaries of State, and, the better 
 to defeat all that I could say in my justihcation, the 
 (^ount de Brienne was sent at the heels of the deputies 
 with an order to desire the Duke d'Orleans to c(,)me to 
 a conference with the Queen in relation to sume few 
 difficulties that remained concerning the liberty of the 
 Princes. 
 
 When the deputies had returned to Parliament the 
 Mrst President began with reading the paper which had 
 been delivered to him against me, upon which you might 
 have read astonishment in e\"ery face. Menardeau, who 
 was to open the trenches against me, was afraid of a 
 salvo from the Great Hall, where he found such a crowd 
 
236 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 of people, and heard so many acclamations to the Fronde, 
 and so many imprecations against Mazarin, that he durst 
 not open his mouth against me, but contented himself 
 with a pathetic lamentation of the division that was in 
 the State, and especially in the Royal Family. The 
 councillors were so divided that some of them were for 
 appointing public prayers for two days ; others proposed 
 to desire His Royal Highness to take care of the public 
 safety. I resolved to treat the writing drawn up against 
 me by the Cardinal as a satire and a libel, and, by 
 some ingenious, short passage, to arouse the minds of 
 my hearers. As my memory did not furnish me with 
 anything in ancient authors that had any relation to my 
 subject, I made a small discourse in the best Latin I 
 was capable of, and then spoke thus : 
 
 " Were it not for the profound respect I bear to the 
 persons who have spoken before me, I could not forbear 
 complaining of their not crying out against such a scur- 
 rilous, satirical paper which was just now read contrary 
 to all forms of proceeding, and WTitten in the same style 
 as lately profaned the sacred name of the King, to 
 encourage false witnesses by letters patent. I believe 
 that those persons thought this paper, which is but a 
 sally of the furious Mazarin, to be much beneath them- 
 selves and me. And that I may conform my opinion to 
 theirs, I will answer only by repeating a passage from 
 an ancient author : ' In the w^orst of times I did not 
 forsake the city, in the most prosperous I had no par- 
 ticular views, and in the most desperate times of all I 
 feared nothing.' I desire to be excused for running into 
 this digression. I move that you would make humble 
 remonstrances to the King, to desire him to despatch an 
 order immediately for setting the Princes at liberty, to 
 make a declaration in their favour, and to remove Cardinal 
 Mazarin from his person and Councils." 
 
CARDINAL DE RILTZ 237 
 
 My opinion was applauded both by the Frondeurs and 
 the Princes' party, and carried almost ncuiinc coritvcdiccntc. 
 
 Talon, the Attorney- Cieneral, did wonders. I never 
 heard or read anything more eloquent or nervous. He 
 in\'oked the manes of Henry the Great, and upon his 
 knees recommended the kini^dom of France in general 
 t(.; the protection of St. Louis. 
 
 lirienne, who had been sent by the ( )ueL'n to desire 
 an interview with the Duke d'Orleans, was dismissed 
 with no other answer than that the Duke would come 
 to pay his humble duty to the Queen as soon as the 
 i'rinces were at libert}', and Cardinal IMazarin rfmo\"ed 
 Irom the King's person and Councils. 
 
 On the 5th of February tliere was an assembly of the 
 nobility at Nemours for reco\"ering their pri\ileges. I 
 opposed it to the utmost of my power, for 1 had ex- 
 perienced more than once that nothing can be more 
 pernicious to a party than to engage without any neces- 
 sity in such afiairs as have the bare appearance of faction, 
 but I was obliged to comply. This assembly, ho\ve\-er, 
 was so terrifying to the Court that six companies of the 
 Ciuards were ordered to mount, with whicli the Duke 
 (bOrleans was so offended that he sent word to the 
 oflicers, in his capacity of Lieutenant-General of the 
 State, to recei\e no orders but from himself. They 
 answered ^'ery respectfully, but as men de\oted to 
 the (Jueen's interest. 
 
 On the 6th, the Duke ha\"ing taken his place in the 
 I'arliament, the King's Council acquainted the House 
 that, having been sent to wait on Fler Majesty with the 
 remonstrances, Her Majesty's answer was that no person 
 living wished more for the liberty of the Princes than 
 herself, but that it was reasonable at the same time to 
 consult the safety of the State ; that, as for Cardinal 
 !\Tazarin, she was resoh'ed to retain him in her Council 
 
238 MEiNIOIRS OF THE 
 
 as long as she found his assistance necessary for the King s 
 service ; and that it did not belong to the Parliament to 
 concern themselves with any of her ministers. 
 
 The First President was shrewdly attacked in the 
 House for not being more resolute in speaking to the 
 Queen. Some were for sending him back to demand 
 another audience in the afternoon ; and the Duke 
 d'Orleans having said that the Marshals of France 
 were dependent on Mazarin, it w^as resolved immediately 
 that they should obey none but His Royal Highness. 
 
 I was informed that very evening that the Cardinal 
 had made his escape out of Paris in disguise, and that 
 the Court was in a very great consternation. 
 
 The Cardinal's escape was the common topic of con- 
 versation, and different reasons were assigned to it, 
 according to the various interests of different parties. As 
 for my part, I am very well persuaded that fear was the 
 only reason of his flight, and that nothing else hindered 
 him from taking the King and the Queen along with him. 
 You will see in the sequel of this history that he endea- 
 voured to get Their Majesties out of Paris soon after he had 
 made his escape, and that it was concerted in all proba- 
 bility before he left the Court ; but I could never under- 
 stand why he did not put it into execution at a time when 
 he had no reason to fear the least opposition. 
 
 On the 17th the Parliament ordered the thanks of the 
 House to be returned to the Queen for removing the 
 Cardinal, and that she should be humbly asked to issue an 
 order for setting the Princes at liberty and a declaration for 
 excluding all foreigners for ever from the King's Council. 
 The First President being deputed with the message, the 
 Queen told him that she could return him no answer till 
 she had conferred with the Duke d'Orleans, to w^hom she 
 immediately deputed the Keeper of the Seals, Marshal 
 ViJleroi and Tellier ; but he told them that he could not 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 239 
 
 go to the Palais Royal till the Princes were set at libert}^ 
 and the Cardinal removed further from the Court. For he 
 observed to the House that the Cardinal was no further off 
 than at St. Germain, where he governed all the kingdom 
 as before, that his nephew and his nieces were yet at Court, 
 and the Duke proposed that the Parliament should humbly 
 beseech the Queen to explain whether the Cardinal's re- 
 moval was for good and all. If I had not seen it I could 
 not have imagined what a heat the House was in that day. 
 Some were for an order that there should be no favourites 
 in France for the future. They became at length of the 
 opinion of His Royal Highness, viz., to address the Queen 
 to ask her to explain herself with relation to the removal of 
 Cardinal Mazarin and to solicit orders for the liberty of the 
 Princes. 
 
 On the same day the Queen sent again to desire the 
 Duke d'Orleans to come and take his place in the Council, 
 and to tell him that, in case he did not think it convenient, 
 she would send the Keeper of the Seals to concert neces- 
 sary measures with him for setting the Princes at liberty. 
 His Royal Highness accepted the second but rejected the 
 hrst proposal, and treated M. d'Elbeuf roughly, because he 
 was very pressing with Flis Royal Highness to go to the 
 King's Palace. The messengers likewise acquainted the 
 Duke that they were ordered to assure him that the re- 
 moval of the Cardinal was for ever. You will see presently 
 that, in all probability, had His Royal Highness gone that 
 day to Court, the Queen would have left Paris and carried 
 the Duke along with her. 
 
 On the 19th the Parliament decreed that, in pursuance 
 of the Queen's declaration, the Cardinal should, within the 
 space of fifteen days, depart from His Majesty's dominions, 
 with all his relations and foreign servants; otherwise, they 
 should be proceeded against as outlaws, and it should be 
 lawful for anybody to despatch them out of the way. 
 
240 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 I suspected that the King would leave Paris that very- 
 day, and I was almost asleep when I was sent for to go 
 to the Duke d'Orleans, whom Mademoiselle de Chevreuse 
 went to awaken in the meantime ; and, while I was dress- 
 ing, one of her pages brought me a note from her, con- 
 taining only these few words : " Make haste to Luxembourg, 
 and be upon your guard on the way." I found Made- 
 moiselle de Chevreuse in his chamber, who acquainted me 
 that the King was out of bed, and had his boots on ready 
 for a journey from Paris. 
 
 I waited on the Duke, and said, " There is but one 
 remedy, which is, to secure the gates of Paris." Yet 
 all that we could obtain of him was to send the captain 
 of the Swiss Guards to wait on the Queen and desire 
 Her Majesty to weigh the consequences of an action of 
 that nature. His Duchess, perceiving that this expedient 
 if not supported effectually would ruin all, and that His 
 Iv03^al Highness was still as irresolute as ever, called 
 for pen and ink that lay upon the table in her cabinet, 
 and wrote these words on a large sheet of paper : 
 
 " M. le Coadjuteur is ordered to take arms to hinder 
 the adherents of Cardinal Mazarin, condemned by the 
 Parliament, from carrying the King out of Paris. 
 
 " Margaret de Lorraine." 
 
 Des Touches, who found the Queen bathed in tears, 
 was charged by Her Majesty to assure the Duke d'Orleans 
 that she never thought of carrying away the King, and 
 til at it was one of my tricks. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans saying at the House next day 
 that orders for the Princes' liberty would be despatched 
 in two hours' time, the First President said, with a deep 
 sigh, " The Prince de Conde is at liberty, but our King, 
 our Sovereign Lord and King, is a prisoner." The Duke 
 d'Orleans, being now not near so timorous as before, 
 
CARDINAL DL RET Z 24I 
 
 because he had received more acclamations in the streets 
 than ever, repUed, " Truly the King has been Mazann's 
 prisoner, but, God be praised, he is now in better hands." 
 
 The Cardinal, who hovered about Paris till he heard 
 the city had taken up arms, posted to Havre-de-Grace, 
 where he fawned upon the Prince de Conde with a mean- 
 ness of spirit that is hardly to be imagined ; for he wept, 
 and even fell down on his knees to the Prince, who treated 
 him with the utmost contempt, giving him no thanks for 
 his release. 
 
 On the 16th of P^ebruary the Princes, being set at 
 liberty, arrived in Pans, and, after w^aiting on the Queen, 
 supped with M. de Beaufort and myself at the Duke 
 d'Orleans' house, where we drank the King's health and 
 " No Mazarin ! " 
 
 Gn the 17th His Royal Highness carried them to the 
 Parliament Plouse, and it is remarkable that the same 
 people who but thirteen months before made bonhres 
 lor their conhnement did the same now for their release. 
 
 On the 20th the declaration demanded of the King 
 against the Cardinal, being brought to be registered in 
 Parliament, was sent back with indignation because the 
 reason of his removal was coloured over with so many 
 encomiums that it was a perfect panegyric. Honest 
 P>roussel, who always went greater lengths than anybody, 
 was for excluding all cardinals from the Ministry, as well 
 as foreigners in general, l)ecause they swear allegiance 
 to the Pope. The L^irst President, thinking to moitily 
 me, lauded Proussel for a man of admirable good sen^e, 
 and espoused his opinion ; and the I'rince de Conde, too, 
 seemed to be overjoyed, saying, " It is a charming 
 echo." Indeed, I might well be troubled to think that 
 the very day after a treaty wherein the Duke d'Orleans 
 declared that he was resolved to make me a Cardinal, 
 the Prince should second a prop^tsition so derogatory to 
 
 Ih 
 
242 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 that dignity. But the truth is the Prince had no hand 
 in it, for it came naturally, and was supported for no other 
 reason hut because nothing that was brought as an argu- 
 ment against Mazarin could then fail of being approved at 
 the same time. I had some reason to think that the 
 motion was concerted beforehand by my enemies, to keep 
 me out of the Ministry. Nevertheless, I was not offended 
 with the Parliament, the bulk of whom I knew to be my 
 friends, whose sole aim was to effectually demolish Mazarin, 
 and I acquiesced in the solid satisfaction which I had in 
 being considered in the world as the expeller of Mazarin, 
 whom everybody hated, and the deliverer of the Princes, 
 who were as much their darlings. 
 
 The continual chicanery of the Court provoked the 
 Parliament of Paris to write to all the Parliaments of 
 France to issue decrees against Cardinal Mazarin, which 
 they did accordingly. The Parliament obliged the Court 
 to issue a declaration setting forth the innocence of the 
 Princes, and another for the exclusion of cardinals — 
 h^rench as well as foreigners — from the King's Council, and 
 the Parliament had no rest till the Cardinal retired from 
 vSedan to Breule, a house belonging to the Elector of 
 Cologne. 
 
 I had advice sent me from the Duchess d'Orleans 
 to be upon my guard, and that she was on the point of 
 dying with fear lest the Duke should be forced by the 
 daily menaces of the Court to abandon me. I thereupon 
 waited on the Duke, and told him that, having had the 
 honour and satisfaction of serving His Royal Highness in 
 the two affairs which he had most at heart — viz., the 
 expelling of Mazarin and the releasing of the Princes 
 his cousins — I found myself now obliged to reassume the 
 functions of my profession ; that the present opportunity 
 seemed both to favour and invite my retreat, and if I 
 neglected it I should be the most imprudent man living, 
 
CARL>I\"AL DL RETZ 243 
 
 because my presence for the future would not only be 
 useless but even prejudicial to His Royal Hi.ij;hness, whom 
 I knew to l)e daily importuned and irritated by the Court 
 party merely upon my account; and therefore I conjured 
 him to make himself easy, and ,L,dve me leave to retire to 
 my cloister. The Duke spared no kind words to retain me 
 in his ser\'ice, promised ne\'er to torsake me, confessed that 
 he had been urged to it by the ()ueen, and that though his 
 reunion with Her Majesty and the Princes ol)liged him to 
 put on the mask of friendship, yet he could ne\er forget the 
 great aftronts and injuries which he had received from the 
 Court. Dut all this could not dissuade me, and the Duke 
 at last ga\'e his approbation, with repeated assurances to 
 allow n^e a place next his heart and to correspond with 
 me in secret. 
 
 Having taken my lea\'e of the Princes, I retired accord- 
 ingly to my cloister of Notre Dame, ^vhere I did not trust 
 Providence so far as to omit the use of human means for 
 defending myself against the insults of my enemies. 
 
 Except the visits which I paid in the niglit-time to the 
 Hotel de (^hevreuse, I con\'ersed with none but canons and 
 cures. I was the object of raillery l)oth at Court and at 
 the Palace of Conde ; and because I had set up a bird- 
 cage at a window, it became a common ]est that " the 
 Coadjutor whistled to the linnets." The disposition ol 
 Paris, however, made amends for the raillerv <>f the Court. 
 I found myself \'ery secure, while other people were very 
 uneasy. The cures, parish priests, and even the mendi- 
 cants, informed themselves with diligence of the negotia- 
 tions of the Prince de Conde. I gave 'Si. ck- Beaufort a 
 thrust now and then, which he knew not how to parry with 
 all his cunning, and the Duke d'Orleans, who in his heart 
 was enraged against the Court, continued liis correspon- 
 dence with me very faithfully. 
 
 Soon after the Marshal du Plessis came to me at mid- 
 16— j 
 
^44 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 night and embraced me, saying, " I greet you as our 
 Prime Minister." When he saw that I smiled, he added, 
 " I do not jest; you may be so if you please. The Queen 
 has ordered me to tell you that she puts the King and 
 Crown into your hands." He showed me a letter written 
 ill the Cardinal's own hand to the Queen, w^hich con- 
 cluded thus : 
 
 " You know, madam, that the greatest enemy I have 
 in the world is the Coadjutor. Make use of him rather 
 than treat with the Prince upon those conditions he de- 
 mands. Make him a Cardinal, give him my place, and 
 lodge him in my apartments. Perhaps he will be still 
 more attached to the Duke d'Orleans than to Your 
 T^lajesty; but the Duke is not for the ruin of the State. 
 His intentions in the main are not bad. In a word, 
 madam, do anything rather than grant the Prince his 
 demand to have the go\'ernment of Provence added to 
 that of Guienne." 
 
 I told the IMarshal that I could not but be highly 
 obliged to His Eminence, and that I was under infinite 
 obligations to the Queen ; and to show my gratitude I 
 humbly begged Pier Majesty to permit me to serve her 
 without any private interest of my own ; said that I was 
 \ery incapable for the place of Prime Minister upon many 
 accounts, and that it was not consistent with Her Majesty's 
 dignity to raise a man to that high post who was still 
 reeking, as it were, with the fumes of faction. 
 
 "But," said the Marshal, "the place must be filled 
 by somebody, and as long as it is vacant the Prince will 
 be always urging that Cardinal Mazarin is to have it 
 again." "You have," said I, "persons much fitter for it 
 than I." Then he showed me a letter signed by the 
 (jueen, promising me all manner of security if I would 
 come to Court. I went thither at midnight, according to 
 agreement, and tlie Marshal, who introduced mc to the 
 
CARDINAL ID]-: RETZ 243 
 
 r)ueen by the back stairs, having withdrawn, Her ^lajcsty 
 used all the arr;unients she could to persuade me to accept 
 the place of l-'rune Minister, which I was determined to 
 refuse, because I found that she had the (Cardinal at heart 
 more than ever; for, as soon as she saw I would not 
 accept the post of Prime ^linister, she offered me the 
 Cardinal's hat, but with this proviso, that I would use 
 rny utmost endeavours towards the restoration of Cardinal 
 Mazarin. Then I jud.L;'ed it h\'j^h time for me to speak 
 my mind, which I did as follows : 
 
 "It is a great affliction to me, madam, that public 
 afiairs are reduced to such a pass as not only warrants, 
 l)ut even commands a subject to speak to his Soverei-n 
 in the style in which I am now about to address "^'our 
 Majesty. It is well known to yi')u that one of niy worst 
 crimes in the Cardinaks opinion is that I foretold all these 
 things, and that I have passed for the author of what 1 
 was only the prophet. Your I\Iajesty would fain extricate 
 yourself with honour, and you are in the right; but permit 
 me to tell you, as my opinion, that it can never be 
 effected so long as Your ?\Iajesty entertains any thoughts 
 of re-establishuig Mazarin. I should fail in the respect 
 I owe to Your ^Majesty if I pretended to thwart "^'our 
 Majesty s opinion with regard to the Cardinal any other 
 way than with my most humble remonstrances ; but 1 
 humbly conceive I do but discharge my bounden dut} 
 while I respectfull}' represent to Your Majesty wherein I 
 may be serviceable or useless to you at this critical 
 juncture. Your IMajesty has the Prince to cope with, 
 who, indeed, is for the restoration of the Cardinal, but 
 upon condition that you give him such powers before- 
 hand as will enable him to ruin him at pleasure. To 
 resist the Prince you want the Duke d'Orleans, who is 
 absolutely against the Cardinal's re-establishment, and 
 who, provided he be excluded, will do what Your ^la- 
 
246 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 jesty pleases to command him. You will neither satisfy 
 the Prince nor the Duke. I am extremely desirous to 
 serve Your Majesty against the one and with the other, 
 but I can do neither the one nor the other without 
 making use of proper means for obtaining those two 
 difterent ends." 
 
 " Come over to me," said she, " and I shall not care 
 a straw for all the Duke can do," 
 
 I answered, " Should I do so, and should it appear 
 never so little that I was on terms of reconciliation with 
 the Cardinal, I could neither serve Your Majesty with 
 the Duke nor the people, for both would hate me mortally, 
 and I should be as useless to Your Majesty as the Bishop 
 of Dole." 
 
 At this the Queen was xery angry, and said, "Heaven 
 bless my son the King, for he is deserted by all the world ! 
 I do all I can for you, I offer you a place in my Council, 
 I offer you the Cardinalship, pray what will you do for 
 me ? " 
 
 I said that I did not come to receive favours, but to try 
 to merit them. 
 
 At this the Queen's countenance began to brighten, and 
 she said very softly, " What is it, then, that you will do ? " 
 
 " Madam," said I, *' I will oblige the Prince, before a 
 week is at an end, to leave Paris ; and I will detach the 
 Duke from his interest to-morrow." 
 
 The Queen, overjoyed, held out her hand and said, 
 " Give me yours, and I promise you that you shall be 
 Cardinal the next day, and the second man in my friend- 
 ship." She desired also that Mazarin and I might be good 
 friends ; but I answered that the least touch upon that 
 string would put me out of tune and render me incapable 
 of doing her any service; therefore I conjured her to let me 
 still enjoy the character of being his enemy. 
 
 " Was anything," said the Queen, "ever so strange and 
 
CARDINAL Di: KETZ 247 
 
 unaccountable ? Can you not possibly serve me without 
 beinj:!^ the enemy of him in whom I most confide ? " 
 
 I told her it must needs be so. " Madam," I said, " 1 
 humbly beseech Your ?\Iajesty to let me tell you that as 
 l()nf( as the place of Prune Alinister is not filled up, the 
 Prince will increase m power on pretence that it is kepi 
 \'acant to receive the Cardinal by a speedy restoration." 
 
 " You see," said Her Majesty, " how the Prince treats 
 me; he has insulted me e\'er since I disowned my two 
 traitors, viz., Servien and Lionne." 1 took the opportunity 
 while she was Hushed with an.i^er to make my court to hei 
 by saying that before two days were at an end the Prince 
 should affront her no longer. lUit the tenderness she had 
 for her beloved Cardinal made her unwilling to consent 
 that I should continue to exclaim against His l'2minence 
 in Parliament, where one was obliged to handle him very 
 roughly almost every quarter of an hour. She bade me 
 remember that it was the Cardinal who had solicited my 
 nomination. 1 answered that 1 was highly obliged to 
 His Emmence upon that score, and that I was ready to 
 give him proofs of my acknowdedgment in anything wherein 
 my honour was not concerned, but that I should be a 
 double-dealer if I promised to contribute to his re- 
 establish ment. Then she said, " Go ! you are a very 
 de\il. See Madame Palatine, and let me hear from you 
 tlie night before you go to the Parliament.' 
 
 I do not think I w'as m the wrong Uj reluse her ollei. 
 II V jiiio./ jU'vcv jest with pvoffcved service: jov if it he real, h>e 
 can never em brace it too jiiitc/i : but if Ja/se, 2ve can never keep 
 at too i^reat a distance. I lamented to the public the satl 
 condition of our affairs, which had obliged me to lea\e 
 my dear retirement, where, after so much disturbance and 
 confusion, I hoped to enjoy comfortable rest ; that we 
 were falling into a worse condition than we were in before, 
 because the State suffered more by the daily negotiations 
 
24S MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 carried on with Mazarin than it had done by his admin- 
 istration ; and that the Queen was still buoyed up with 
 hopes of his re-establishment. 
 
 The Prince de Conde having inflamed the Parliament, 
 to make himself more formidable to the Queen and Court, 
 some new scenes were opened every day. At one time 
 they sent to the provinces to inform against the Cardinal ; 
 at another time they made search after his effects at Paris. 
 
 I went one day with four hundred men in my company 
 to the Parliament House, where the Prince de Conde 
 inveighed against the exportation of money out of the 
 kingdom by the Cardinal's banker. But afterwards 1 
 absented myself for awhile from Parliament, which made 
 me suspected of being less an enemy to the Cardinal, and 
 I was pelted with a dozen or fifteen libels in the space of 
 a fortnight, by a fellow whose nose had been slit for 
 writing a lampoon against a lady of quality. I composed 
 a short but general answer to all, entitled, " An Apology 
 for the Ancient and True Fronde." There was a strong 
 paper war between the old and new Fronde for three or 
 four months, but afterwards they united in the attack 
 on IVIazarin. There were above si>?ly volumes of tracts 
 written during the civil war, but I am sure that there 
 are not a hundred sheets worth reading. 
 
 I was sent for again to another private conference 
 with the Queen, who, dreading an arrangement with the 
 Prince de Conde, was for his being arrested, and advised 
 me to consider how it might be done. It seems that J\I. 
 Hoquincourt had offered to kill him in the street, as the 
 shortest way to be rid of him, for she desired me to confer 
 about it with Hoquincourt, "who will," said she, " show 
 you a much surer way." The Queen, nevertheless, would 
 not own she had ever such a thought, though she was 
 heard to say, " The Coadjutor is not a man of so mucli 
 courage as I took him for." 
 
CARDINAL DI-: RETZ 24c; 
 
 The next day I was informed that the Queen could 
 endure the Prince no lonj^er, and that she had advices that 
 he had formed a design to seize the Kinq- ; that he had 
 despatched orders to FKanders to treat with the Spaniards, 
 and that either he or she must be ruined ; that she was 
 not for shedding blood, and that what Iloquincourt pro- 
 posed was far from it, because he promised to secure the 
 Prince without striking a blow if I would answer for 
 the people. 
 
 The Parliament continued to prosecute ?ilazarin, who 
 was convicted of embezzling some nine millions of the 
 public money. The Prince assembled the Chambers, and 
 persuaded them to issue a new decree against all those 
 of the Court party who held correspondence with the 
 said Cardinal. 
 
 The Prince de Conde, being uneasy at seeing j\Pizarin"s 
 creatures still at Court, retired to St. l\Iaur on the 0th of 
 July, 1O51. On the 7th the Prince de Conti acquainted 
 the Parliament with the reasons for his departure, and 
 talked in general of the warnings he had received from 
 different hands of a design the Court had formed agamst 
 his life, adding that his brother could not be safe at Court 
 as long'' as Tellier, Servien and Lionne were not removed. 
 There was a very hot debate in the ensuing session between 
 the Prince de Conti and the First President. The latter 
 talked very warmly against his retreat to St. Maur, and 
 called it a melancholy prelude to a civil war. He hinted 
 also that the said Prince was the author of the late disturl)- 
 ances, upon which the Prince de Conti threatened that had 
 he been in any other place he would have taught him to 
 observe the respect due to Princes of the Blood. The First 
 President said that he did not fear his threats, and that he 
 had reason to complain of His Royal Highness for pre- 
 suming to interrupt him in a place where he represented 
 the King's person. Both parties were now in hot blood, 
 
230 MEMOIRS OF THIC 
 
 and the Duke, who was very glad to see it, did not inter- 
 pose till he could not avoid it, and then he told them 
 both that they should endeavour to keep their temper. 
 
 On the 14th of July a decree was passed, upon a motion 
 made by the Duke d'Orleans, that the thanks of the Parlia- 
 ment should be presented to Her Majesty for her gracious 
 promise that the Cardinal should never return ; that she 
 should be most humbly entreated to send a declaration to 
 Parliament, and likewise to give the Prince de Conde all the 
 necessary securities for his return ; and that those persons 
 who kept up correspondence with Mazarin should be im- 
 mediately prosecuted. 
 
 On the 1 8th the First President carried the remon- 
 strances of the Parliament to the Queen, and though he 
 took care to keep within the terms of the decree by not 
 naming the under ministers, yet he pointed them out in 
 such a manner that the Queen complained bitterly, saying 
 that the First President was " an unaccountable man and 
 more vexatious than any of the malcontents." 
 
 When I took the liberty to show her that the repre- 
 sentative of an assembly could not, without prevarica- 
 tion, but deliver the thoughts of the whole body, though 
 they might be different from his own, she replied, very 
 angrily, " These are mere republican maxims." 
 
 I will give you an account of the success of the remon- 
 strances after I have related an adventure to you which 
 happened at the Parliament Flouse during these debates. 
 
 The importance of the subject drew thither a large 
 number of ladies who were curious to hear what passed. 
 Madame and Mademoiselle de Chevreuse, with many other 
 ladies, were there the evening before the decree was passed ; 
 but they were singled out from the rest by one Maillard, a 
 brawling fellow, hired by the Prince's party. As ladies are 
 commonly afraid of a crowd, they stayed till the Duke 
 d'Orleans and the rest were gone out, but when they came 
 
CARDIKAI. DE RET2 25 1 
 
 into the hall they were hooted by twenty or thirty raga- 
 muffins of the same quahty as their leader, who was a 
 cobbler. I knew nothing of it till I came to the Palace 
 of Chevreuse, where I found jXIadame de Chevreusu in a 
 rage and her daughter in tears. I endeavoured to comfort 
 them I'jy the assurance that I would take care to get the 
 scoundrels punished in an exemplary manner that \'ery day. 
 liut these were too inconsiderable victims to atone for such 
 an affront, and were therefore rejected with indignation. 
 The blood of Bourbon only could make amends for the 
 injury done to that of Lorraine. These were the very words 
 of Madame de Chevreuse. They resolved at last up()n this 
 expedition — \iz., to go again next morning to the House, l>ut 
 so well accompanied as to be in a condition ol makmg 
 themselves respected, and of giving the Prince de Conti to 
 understand that it was to his interest to keep his party f'r 
 the future from committing the like insolence, ^lontrcsur, 
 who happened to l)e with us, did all he could to con- 
 vince the ladies how dangerous it was to make a prixate 
 (juarrel of a public one, especially at a time when a 
 Prince of the Blood might possibly lose his life in the 
 fray. When he found that he could not pre\'ail upon 
 them, he used all means to persuade me to put oil my 
 resentment, for which end he drew me aside to tell me 
 what joy and triumph it would be to my enemies to 
 suffer myself to be capti\'ated or led a\vay by the vio- 
 lence of the ladies' passion. I made him the fcjllowing 
 answer: "I am certcunly to blame, buth with regard to 
 my profession and on account of my having my hands 
 full, to be so far engaged with jMademoiselle de Chevreuse ; 
 but, considering the obligation I am under to her, and 
 that it is too late to recede from it, I am in the- right 
 in demanding satisfaction in this present juncture. I 
 will not by any means assassinate the Prince de Conti ; 
 but she may command me to do anything except poison- 
 
253 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 ing or assassinating, and therefore speak no more to me 
 on this head. 
 
 The ladies went again, therefore, next day, being accom- 
 panied by four hundred gentlemen and above four thou- 
 sand of the most substantial burghers. The rabble that 
 was hired to make a clamour in the Great Hall sneaked 
 out of sight, and the Prince de Conti, who had not been 
 apprised of this assembly, which was formed with great 
 secrecy, was fain to pass by ]\ladame and Mademoiselle 
 de Chevreuse with demonstrations of the profoundest re- 
 spect, and to suffer Maillard, who was caught on the 
 stairs of the chapel, to be soundly cudgelled. 
 
 I return to the issue of the remonstrances. The Queen 
 told the deputies that she would next morning send to 
 the House a declaration against Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 On the 2ist the Prince de Conde came to Parliament 
 accompanied by M. de la Rochefoucault and fifty or sixty 
 gentlemen, and congratulated them upon the removal of 
 the ministers, but said that it could not be effectual with- 
 out inserting an article in the declaration which the 
 Queen had promised to send to the Parliament. The 
 First President said that it would be both unjust and 
 inconsistent with the respect due to the Queen to demand 
 new conditions of her every day ; that Her Majest^'^'s 
 promise, of which she had made the Parliament a deposi- 
 tary, was a sufficient security ; that it was to be wished 
 that the Prince had shown a due confidence therein by 
 repairing to the Palais Royal rather than to a court of 
 justice ; and that the post he was in obliged him to 
 express his surprise at such conduct. The Prince replied 
 that the First President had no reason to wonder at his 
 great precautions, since he (the Prince) knew by recent 
 woeful experience what it was to live in a prison ; and 
 that it was notorious that the Cardinal ruled now in the 
 Cabinet more absolutely than ever he did before. 
 
CARDINAL Dl. Kl.TZ 2^^ 
 
 1 he iJuke d'Orleans, who was i^ouc to Lirnours on 
 pretence of taking" the air, though on purpose to be absent 
 from I'arliament, being informed that the \-ery women 
 cried at the King's coach " Xo Mazarin!" and that the 
 lYince de Conde, as well attended as His }vlaiest\, 
 had met the King in the park, was so frightened that he 
 returned to Paris, and on the 2nd of August went tu 
 Parliament, where I appeared with all my friends and 
 a great number of wealthy citizens. The hirst President 
 njightily extolled the Oueen's goodness in making the 
 Parliament the depositary of her promise fur the security 
 of the Prince, who, being there present, was asked by 
 the First President if he had waited on the King? The 
 Prince said he had not, because he knew there would be 
 danger in it, having l)een well informetl that secret con- 
 lerences had been held tu arrest him, and that in a propc-i 
 time and place he would name the authors. The Prince 
 added that messengers were continually going and coming; 
 betwixt the Court and INPizarin at ]>reule,and that Marshal 
 dWumont had orders tu cut to pieces the re;^iments of 
 Conde, Conti and Enghien, wdiich was the only reason 
 that had hindered them from joining the King's army. 
 
 The P^irst I^resident told him that he was sorry to see 
 him there before he had waited on the King, and that it 
 seemed as if he was for setting up altar against altar. This 
 nettled the Prince to that degree that he said that those 
 who talked against him had only self-interests in view. The 
 First President denied that he had any such aim, and said 
 that he was accountable to the King only lor his actions. 
 Then he exaggerated the danger of the State from the 
 unhappy division of the Royal P\amily. 
 
 P""inally, it was resolved, luiuiiic contvadiciuic, that the 
 Solicitor-Cjeneral should be connnissioned to prosecute 
 those who had adxised the arrest of the Prince de Conde ; 
 that the (}ueen's promise for the safety of the Prince 
 
254 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 should be registered ; that His Royal Highness should be 
 desired by the whole assembly to go and wait on the 
 King ; and that the decrees passed against the servitors 
 of Mazarin should be put into execution. The Prince, 
 who seemed very well satisfied, said that nothing less than 
 this could assure him of his safety. The Duke d'Orleans 
 carried him to the Kins^ and the Queen, from whom he 
 met with but a cold reception. 
 
 At the close of this session the declaration against the 
 Cardinal was read and sent back to the Chancellor, because 
 it was not inserted that the Cardinal had hindered the 
 Peace of Munster, and advised the King to undertake the 
 journey and siege of Bordeaux, contrary to the opinion 
 of the Duke d'Orleans. 
 
 The Queen, provoked by the conduct of the Prince de 
 Conde, who rode through the streets of Paris better attended 
 than the King, and also by that of the Duke, whom she found 
 continually given to change, resolved, in a fit of despair, 
 to hazard all at once. M, de Chateauneuf i^attered her 
 inclination on that point, and she was confirmed in it by 
 a fiery despatch from Mazarin at Breule. She told the 
 Duke d'Orleans plainly that she could no longer continue 
 in her present condition, demanded his express declaration 
 for or against her, and charged me, in his presence, to 
 keep the promise I had made her, to declare openly 
 against the Prince if he continued to go on as he had 
 begun. 
 
 Her Majesty was convinced that I acted sincerely for 
 her service, and that I made no scruple to keep my 
 promise ; and she condescended to make apologies for 
 the distrust she had entertained of my conduct, and for 
 the injustice she owned she had done me. 
 
 On the 19th the Prince de Conde having taxed me 
 with being the author of a paper against him, which was 
 read that day in the House, said he had a paper, signed 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 2=,^ 
 
 by the Duke d'Orleans, which contained his justification, 
 and that he should be much obliged to the Parliament 
 if they would l)e pleased to desire Her jMajesty to name 
 his accusers, a<:(ainst whom he demanded justice. As to 
 the paper of which he charged me with being the author, 
 he said it was a composition worthy of a man who had 
 advised the arming of the Parisians and the wresting ol 
 the seals from him with whom the (3ueen had entrusted 
 them. 
 
 The Prince de Conti was obserx'ed to press his brother 
 to resent what I said in my defence, but he kept his 
 temper ; for though I was very well accompanied, yet he- 
 was considerably superior to me m numbers, so that if the 
 sword had been drawn he must have had the advantage. 
 But 1 resolved to appear there the next day with a greater 
 retinue. The (Hieen was transported with joy to hear that 
 there were men who had the resolution to dispute the wall 
 with the Prince.^ She ordered thirty gendarmes and as 
 many Light-horse to be posted where I pleased ; I had 
 forty men sent me, picked out of the sergeants and bra\-est 
 soldiers of one of the regiments of Guards, and some of 
 the officers of the city companies, and assembled a great 
 number of substantial burghers, all of whom had pistols 
 and daggers under their cloaks. I also sent many of my 
 men to the eating-houses thereabouts, so that the Great Hall 
 was, as it were, invested on every side with my friends. 
 I posted thirty gentlemen as a reserve in a con\-enient 
 chamber, Avho, in case of an attack, were to assault the 
 party of the Prince in flank and rear. 1 had also laid up 
 a store of grenades. In a Avord, my measures were so 
 
 I "The Queen," sa) s M de la Rochefoucault in his AFcmoirs, 
 " was overjo3'ed to see two men at variance whom in her heart she 
 hated almost equally Ne\'ertheless, she seemed to protect the 
 
 Coadjutor," c\:c. 
 
256 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 nicely concerted, both within and without the ParHament 
 House, that Pont Notre Dame and Pont St. Michel, who 
 were passionately in my interest, only waited for the 
 signal ; so that in all likelihood I could not fail of being 
 conqueror. 
 
 On the morning of the 21st all the Prince de Conde's 
 humble servants repaired to his house, and my friends did 
 the like to mine, particularly the Marquises of Rouillac 
 and Camillac, famous both for their courage and extrava- 
 gances. As soon as the latter saw Rouillac, he made me 
 a low bow in a withdrawing posture, saying, " Sir, I came 
 to offer you my service, but it is not reasonable that the 
 two greatest fools in the kingdom should be of the same 
 side." The Prince came to the House with a numerous 
 attendance, and though I believe he had not so many as I, 
 he had more persons of quality, for I had only the Fronde 
 nobility on my side, except three or four who, though in 
 the Queen's interest, were nevertheless my particular 
 friends; this disadvantage, however, was abundantly made 
 up by the great interest I had among the people and the 
 advantageous posts I was possessed of. After the Prince 
 had taken his place, he said that he was surprised to see 
 the Parliament House look more like a camp than a temple 
 of justice ; that there were posts taken, and men under 
 command ; and that he hoped there were not men in the 
 kingdom so insolent as to dispute the precedence with him. 
 Whereupon I humbly begged his pardon, and told him 
 that I believed there was not a man in France so insolent 
 as to do it ; but that there were some who could not, nor 
 indeed ought not, on account of their dignity, yield the 
 precedence to any man but the King. The Prince replied 
 that he would make me yield it to him. I told him he 
 would find it no easy matter. Upon this there w^as a great 
 outcry, and the young councillors of both parties interested 
 themselves in the contest, which, you see, began pretty 
 
CARDIXXJ. D], klCT/: 237 
 
 \\armly. The Presidents interposed between us, conjuring 
 him to have some regard to the temple of justice and the 
 safety of the city, and desiring that all the nobility and 
 others in the hall that were armed might be turned out. 
 Me approved of it, and bade M. de la Rochetoucault go and 
 tell his friends so from him. b'pon which I said, " I will order 
 my friends to withdravv also." Young D'A\-au.\, now Presi- 
 dent de Alesmes, then m the I'rince's interest, said, " What '. 
 sir, arc you armed ? ' •' Without doul)t, 1 said ; though 
 1 had better have held my tongue, because an inferior ought 
 to be respectful in words tu his superior, though he ma)' 
 e<|ual him in actions. Neither is it allowablr in a Church- 
 man when armed to cojifess it. There are some thing:- 
 wherein men are willing to be decei\"ed. Actions \-er\ 
 often \indicate men's reputations in what they do a.i;ainst 
 the dignity of their profession, but nothing can justif\' 
 words that are inconsistent with their character. 
 
 As I had desired my friends to withdraw, and was 
 entering into the Court oi judicature, 1 heard an uproar in 
 the hall of people crying out ■• To arms I "" 1 had a mind to 
 go back to see what was the matter ; but 1 had not time to 
 do it, for I found myself caught by the neck betw^een the 
 folding doors, which ^L de la Kochefoucault had shut on me, 
 crying out to M^I. Coligny and Ricousse to kill nie.^ The 
 iirst thought he was not in earnest, and the other told him 
 lie had no such ordt-r Irom tht Prince. AI. Chaniplatreux, 
 running into the hall and seeing me in that condition, 
 \ igorously pushed back M. de la Kochefoucault, telhng him 
 that a murder of that naturt- was horrible and scandalous, 
 lie opened the door and let me in. Put this was not the 
 greatest danger 1 was in, as yi.^u will see alter I ha\'e told 
 )0u the beginning and end ol it. 
 
 I This action is \-er_v much disj. uisecl and softened in the Mem<.nr-> 
 (■I Kochefoucault. M. Jol\-, in his INIemoirs, \ol. i., p 155, tells it 
 almost in the same manner as the Cardinal de Ketz 
 
 17 
 
258 .MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Two or three of the Prince de Conde's mob cried out 
 as soon as they saw me, " A Mazarin ! " Two of the 
 Prince's soldiers drew their swords, those next to them 
 cried out, " To your arms! " and in a trice all were in a 
 fighting posture. My friends drew their swords, daggers 
 and pistols, and yet, as it were by a miracle, they stopped 
 their hands on a sudden from action ; for in that very 
 instant of time, Crenan, one of my old friends, who com- 
 manded a company of the Prince de Conti's gendarmes, said 
 to Laigues, " What are we doing ? Must we let the Prince 
 de Conde and the Coadjutor be murdered ? Whoever does 
 not put up his sword is a rascal ! " This expression coming 
 from a man of great courage and reputation, everyone did 
 as he bade them. Nor is Argenteuil's courage and presence 
 of mind to be less admired. He being near me when I 
 was caught by the neck between the folding doors, and 
 observing one Peche,^ a brawling fellow of the Prince's 
 party, looking for me with a dagger in his hand, screened 
 me with his cloak, and thereby saved my life, which was in 
 the more danger because my friends, who supposed I was 
 gone into the Great Chamber, stayed behind to engage with 
 the Prince de Conde's party. The Prince told me since 
 that it was well I kept on the defensive, and that had 
 the noise in the hall continued but a minute longer, he 
 would himself have taken me by the throat and made 
 me pay for all ; but I am fully persuaded that the con- 
 sequences would have been fatal to both parties, and that 
 he himself had had a narrow escape. 
 
 As soon as I re-entered the Great Chamber I told the 
 First President that I owed my life to his son, who on 
 that occasion did the most generous action that a man 
 of honour was capable of, because he was passionately 
 
 I Joly calls him " The -reat clamourer of the Prince." See his 
 Memoirs, p. 157. 
 
i;\kDIX.\I. DE l:hr/ 2SQ 
 
 attached to the Prince de Condc, and was prrsuadtd, 
 thou.q'h without a cause, that I was concerned in abo^e 
 twenty seditions a.L^ainst his father durin;:;' the :-ie'_;e <:)f 
 Paris. There are few actions more heroic than this, 
 the memory of which I shall carry to my .L;ra\ e. 1 also 
 added that AP de la Kochefoucault had done all he c^uld to 
 murder me.' He answered me these very words : " Thou 
 traitor, I don't care what l)ecomes of thee." I replied, 
 "Very well, Friend F'ranchise " (we g'ave him thai 
 nickname in our party); "you are a coward" (I told a 
 lie, for he was certainly a brave man), " and I am a 
 priest; but duelling'- is not allowed us." M. de Prissac 
 threatened to cud.t^el him, and he to kick Prissac. Tlie 
 President, fearing' these words would end in lilows, c^oi 
 between us. The F'irst President conjured the 1 'rince 
 pathetically, by the blood of St. Louis, not to delile 
 \vith l)lood that temple which he had given for the pre- 
 servation of peace and the protection of justice ; and 
 exhorted nic, liy my sacred character, not to contribute 
 to the massacre ot the people whom God had com- 
 mitted to my charge. Poth the Prince and I sent out 
 two gentlemen to order our friends and servants to 
 retire by different ways. The clock struck ten, the 
 House rose, and thus ended that morning's work, which 
 was likely to have ruined Paris. 
 
 Vou may easily guess what a commotion Paris was 
 in all that morning. Tradesmen worked in their sh(.)ps 
 with their muskets liy them, and the women were at 
 prayers in the churches. Sadness sat on the brows ol 
 all who were not actually engaged in either party. The 
 Prince, if we may beliex'e the Count de Fiesque, told 
 
 I The Duke answered, as he says himself in his Memoirs, that 
 fear had disturl^ed his jud;s'ment, c'vc. See in the Memoirs of Koche- 
 foucault, the relation of what passed since the confinement of the 
 Princes. 
 
 17—2 
 
26o M]:;moirs of the 
 
 him that Paris narrowly escaped being burnt that day. 
 " \\ hat a fine bonfire this would have been for the Car- 
 dinal," said he ; " especially to see it lighted by the 
 two greatest enemies he had ! " The Duke d'Orleans, 
 quite tired out with the cries of the people, who ran 
 affrighted to his palace, and fearing that the commotion 
 would not stop at the Parliament House, made the 
 Prince promise that he would not go next day to the 
 Parliament with above five in company, provided I 
 would engage to carry no more. I begged His Royal 
 Highness to excuse me if I did not comply, because I 
 should be wanting in my respect to the Prince, with 
 whom I ought not to make any comparison, and because 
 I should be still exposed to a pack of seditious brawlers, 
 who cried out against me, having no laws nor owning 
 any chief. I added that it was only against this sort of 
 people that I armed ; that there was so little comparison 
 between a private gentleman and His Highness that five 
 hundred men were less to the Prince than a single lackey 
 to me. The Duke, who owned I was in the right, went 
 to the Queen to represent to her the evil consequences 
 that would inevitably attend such measures. 
 
 The Queen, who neither feared nor foresaw dangers, 
 made no account of his remonstrances, for she was glad in 
 the main of the dangers which seemed to be so near at 
 hand. When Bertet and Brachet, who crept up to the 
 garrets of the Palais Royal for fear of having their throats 
 cut in the general commotion, had made her sensible that 
 if the Prince and myself should perish in such a juncture 
 it would occasion such a confusion that the very name of 
 IMazarin nught become fatal to the Royal Family, she 
 yielded rather to her fears than to her convictions, and 
 consented to send an order in the King's name to forbid 
 both the Prince and me to go to the House. The First 
 President, who was well assured that the Prince would not 
 
C\RDi:\.\L Di: RLTZ 2<'l 
 
 |'l>ey ;in order ui that nature, which cijulJ not be forced 
 upon him witli justice, l)ecause his presence ^vas necessai'}' 
 in the Parliament, went to the Queen and made her sensildt- 
 that it would lie a;_^ainst all justice and equitN' to forbid thr 
 iVince to Ite present in an asseml)ly where he went only tn 
 clear himself from a crime laid to his charge. lie sliowed 
 her the difference lietween the first l*rince of the IMoixl, 
 whose presence would be necessary in that conjuncture, 
 and a Coadjutor of Paris, who ni-xer had a seat in the 
 Parliament but by courtesy. 
 
 The <Jueen yielded at last to these reasons and to the 
 entreaties of all the Court ladies, who dreaded the nuise 
 and confusion which was likely to occur next day in the 
 Parliament Plouse. 
 
 The Parliament met next day, and resohed that all the 
 papers, both of the Oueen, the THike d'Orleans, and tlie 
 Prince de Conde should be carried to the ]\ing and < Hieen, 
 that Her T^Iajesty should be humbly entreated to terminate 
 the affair, and that the Duke d'Orleans should be desired t(.) 
 make overtures towards a reconciliation. 
 
 As the Prince was coming out of the Parliament House, 
 attended by a multitude of his friends, I met him in his 
 coach as I was at the head of a procession of thirty or 
 fort}' cures of Paris, followed by a great number of people. 
 Upon my approach, three or four of the mol) following the 
 Prince cried out, "A Afazarin! " but the b^rince alighted and 
 silenced them.^ Pie then fell on his knees to receixe my 
 blessing, which 1 gave him with my hat on, and then 
 pulled it off in obeisance. 
 
 The Queen was so well pleased with my prudent con- 
 
 I M. de la Rochefoucault, in his ^Memoirs, says that the people 
 abused the Coadjutor with scurrilous langua^je, and would have torn 
 him in pieces if the Prince had not ordered his men to appease the 
 tumult. 
 
262 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 duct that I can truly say I was a favourite for some days. 
 Madame de Carignan was telling her one day that I was 
 very homely, to which the Queen replied, " He has a very 
 hne set of teeth, and a man cannot be called homely who 
 has this ornament." Madame de Chevreuse remembered 
 that she had often heard the Queen say that the beauty of 
 a man consisted chiefly in his teeth, because it was the only 
 beauty which was of any use. Therefore she advised me to 
 act my part well, and she should not despair of success. 
 " When you are with the Queen," said she, " be serious ; 
 look continually on her hands, storm against the Cardinal, 
 and I will take care of the rest." I asked two or three 
 audiences of the Queen upon very trifling occasions, fol- 
 lowed Madame de Chevreuse's plan very closely, and 
 carried my resentment and passion against the Cardinal 
 even to extravagance. The Queen, who was naturally a 
 coquette, understood those airs, and acquainted Madame 
 de Chevreuse therewith, who pretended to be surprised, 
 saying, " Indeed, I have heard the Coadjutor talk of Your 
 Majesty whole days with delight ; but if the conversation 
 happened to touch upon the Cardinal he was no longer 
 the same man, and even raved against Your Majesty, but 
 immediately relented towards you, though never towards 
 the Cardinal." 
 
 Madame de Chevreuse, who was the Queen's confidante 
 in her youth, gave me such a history of her early days as I 
 cannot omit giving you, though I should have done it 
 sooner. She told me that the Queen was neither in body 
 nor mind truly Spanish ; that she neither had the tem- 
 perament nor the vivacity of her nation, but only the 
 coquetry of it, which she retained in perfection ; that 
 M. Bellegarde, a gallant old gentleman, after the fashion 
 of the Court of Henry HI., pleased her till he was going 
 to the army, when he begged for one favour before his 
 departure, which was only to put her hand to the hilt of 
 
CARDINAL DE RKTZ 2^3 
 
 his sword — a compliment so insipid that Her Majesty was 
 out of conceit with him ever after. She appro\'ed the 
 ,i(allant manner of 'SI. de iMontmorency much more than 
 she lo\'ed his person. The aversion she had to the pe- 
 dantic beha\iour of Cardinal de RicheUeu, who in his 
 amours was as ridiculous as he was in other thin,<;'s excel- 
 lent, made her irreconcilable to his addresses. She had 
 observed from the be.i,dnning of the Regency a £;reat in- 
 clination in the ( )ueen for Mazarin, but that she had not 
 l)een able to discover how far that inclination went, l)ecause 
 she (Madame de Che\'reuse) liad been banished from the 
 Court very soon after ; and that upon her return to 
 France, after the siege of I'aris, the Oueen was so re- 
 served at first with her that it was impossible for her to 
 dive into her secrets. That since she regained Her 
 Majesty's favour she had sometimes observed the same 
 airs in her with regard to Cardinal Mazarin as she used to 
 display formerly in fa\'our of the Duke of Uuckingham ; 
 but at other times she thought that there was no more 
 between them than a league of friendship. The chief 
 ground for her conjecture was the impolite and almost 
 rude way in which the Cardinal conversed with Her 
 Majesty. " fjut, howexer,' said Madame de Chevreuse, 
 "when I reflect on the Queen's humour, all this may 
 admit of another interpretation. Buckmgham used to tell 
 me that he had been in lo\e with three Queens, and was 
 obliged to curl) rdl the three ; therefore I cannot tell a\ hat 
 to think of the matter." 
 
 To resume the history of more public affairs. I did not 
 so far please myself with the ligure I made against the 
 Prince (though I thought it \-ery much for my honour), 
 but I saw clearly that I stood on a dangerous precipice. 
 "Whither are we going?" I said to M. l-3ellie\'re, who 
 seemed to be overjoyed that the Prince had not been 
 able to devour me; "for whom do we labour? I kno\v 
 
264 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 that we are obliged to act as we do ; I know, too, that we 
 cannot do better ; but should we rejoice at the fatal neces- 
 sity which pushes us on to exert an action comparatively 
 .^--ood and which will unavoidably end in a superlative evil?" 
 " I understand you," said the President, "■ and will interrupt 
 you for one moment to tell you what I learned of Crom- 
 well " (whom he had known in England). " He told me one 
 day that it is then we are mounting highest when we 
 ourselves do not know whither we are going." "You 
 know, sir," said I to Bellievre, "that I abhor Cromwell; 
 and whatever is commonly reported of his great parts, if he 
 is of this opinion I must pronounce him a fool." I men- 
 tioned this dialogue for no other purpose than to observe 
 how dangerous it is to talk disrespectfully of men in high 
 positions ; for it was carried to Cromwell, who remembered 
 it with a great deal of resentment on an occasion which I 
 shall mention hereafter, and said to M. de Bourdeaux, 
 Ambassador of France, then in England, " I know but one 
 man in the world who despises me, and that is Cardinal de 
 Retz." This opinion of him was likely to have cost me 
 very dear. I return from this digression. 
 
 On the 31st, Melayer, vnlet dc chanibre to the Cardinal, 
 arrived with a despatch to the Queen, in which were these 
 words: "Give the Prince de Conde all the declarations of 
 his innocence that he can desire, provided you can but 
 amuse him and hinder him from giving you the slip." 
 
 On the 4th the Prince de Conde insisted in Parliament 
 on a formal decree for declaring his innocence, which w^as 
 granted, but deferred to be published till the 7th of Sep- 
 tember (the day that the King came of age), on pretence 
 of rendering it more authentic and solemn by the King's 
 presence, but really to gain time, and see what influence 
 the splendour of Royalty, which was to be clothed that 
 day with all the advantages of pomp, would have upon 
 the minds of the people. 
 
CARDINAL I'l, KLTZ J'lj 
 
 But the Prince de Condt, who had reason to distrust 
 both the Fronde and the Court, did not appear at the cert- - 
 inony, and sent the Prince de Conti to the King to desire 
 to be excused, because the calumnies and treacheries of his 
 enemies would not suffer him to come to the Palace; adding 
 that he k'ept away out of pure respect to His Majesty. 
 This last expression, which seemed to intimate that other- 
 wise he might have gone thither without danger, pro\'oked 
 the Queen to that degree that she said, " The Prince or I 
 must perish." 
 
 The Prince de Conde retired to Bourges — further from 
 Court, lie was naturally averse to a ci\'il war, nor w^ould 
 his adherents have been more forward than himself if 
 they had found their interests in his reconciliation to the 
 Court ; but this seemed impracticable, and therefore they 
 agreed upon a ci\'il war because none of them believed 
 themselves powerful enough to conclude a peace. They 
 know nothing of the nature of faction who imagine the 
 head of a party to be their master. His true interest is 
 most commonly thwarted by the imaginary interests e\en 
 of his subalterns, and the w^jrst of it is that his own honour 
 sometimes, and generally prudence, joins with them against 
 himself. The passions and discontent which reigned then 
 among the friends of the Prince de Conde ran so high 
 that they were obliged to abandon him and form a third 
 party, under the authority of the Prmce de Conti, in case 
 the Prince accomplished his reconciliation to the Court, 
 according to a proposition then made to him in the name 
 of the Duke d'Orleans. The subdivision of parties is 
 generally the ruin of all, especially when it is introduced by 
 cunning views, directly contrary to prudence ; and this is 
 what the Italians call, in comedy, a "plot within a plot," or 
 .1 " wheel within a wheel." 
 
:^6 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 In December, 1651, the Parliament agreed to the 
 following resolution, viz. : To send a deputation to the 
 King to inform him of the rumours of Mazarin's return, 
 and to beseech him to conhrm the Royal promise which 
 he had made to his people upon that head ; to forbid all 
 governors to give the Cardinal passage ; to desire the 
 King to acquaint the Pope and other Princes with the 
 reasons that had obliged him to remove the Cardinal ; 
 and to send to all the Parliaments of the kingdom to 
 make the like decree. 
 
 Somebody making a motion that a price might be set 
 upon the Cardinal's head, I and the rest of the spiritual 
 councillors retired, because clergymen are forbidden by 
 the canon law to give their vote in cases of life and 
 death. 
 
 They agreed also to send deputies to the King to 
 entreat him to write to the Elector of Cologne to send 
 the Cardinal out of his country, and to forbid the magis- 
 trates of all cities to entertain any troops sent to favour 
 his return or any of his kindred or domestics. A certain 
 councillor who said, very judiciously, that the soldiers 
 assembling for Mazarin upon the frontiers would laugh 
 at all the decrees of Parliament unless they were pro- 
 claimed to them by good musketeers and pikemen, was 
 run down as if he had talked nonsense, and all the 
 clamour was that it belonged only to the King to disband 
 soldiers. 
 
C\l'DIN"\r, T'l. KI.TZ 267 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans acquainted tht House, on thr 
 29th, that Cardinal Mazarin had arrived at Sedan ; thai 
 Marshals de tloquincourt and de la Fertc were ,i;one to 
 join hirn with their army to brin,L( him to Court ; and that 
 it was higdi time to oppose his designs. Upon this il 
 was immediately resohed that deputies should l~>e des- 
 patched forthwith to the Kin,L( ; that the Cardmal and all 
 his adherents should be declared guilty of high treason ; 
 that the common people should be commanded to treat 
 them as such wherexcr they met them ; that his lil»rary 
 and all his household goods should be sold, and that 
 150,000 li\res premium should be gix'en to any man who 
 should deliver up the said Cardinal, either dead or ali\'e. 
 Upon this expression all the ecclesiastics retired, for the 
 reason abo\'e mentioned, 
 
 A new decree was passed on the 2nd of January, 1652, 
 wherein it was decided that all the Parliaments of France 
 should be invited to issue their decrees against I\bizarin, 
 conformable to the last ; that two more councillors should 
 be added to the four sent to guard the ri\'ers and to arm 
 the common people ; and that the troops of the Duke 
 d'Orleans should oppose the march of IVIazarin. 
 
 On the 24th the deputies who had been to Poitiers 
 to remonstrate with the King against the return of the 
 Cardinal, made their report in I^arliament, to the effect 
 that His Majesty, after having consulted with the Queen 
 and her Council, returned for answer, that, without doul)t, 
 when the Parliament issued their late decrees, they did 
 not know that Cardinal Mazarin had made no le\y of 
 soldiers but by His Ahijesty s express orders ; that it was 
 he who commanded him to enter France with his troops, 
 and that therefore the King did not resent what the com- 
 pany had done ; but that, on the other hand, he did not 
 doubt that when they had heard the circumstances he had 
 just mentioned and knew, moreo\ er, that Cardinal Mazarin 
 
268 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 only desired an opportunity to justify himself, they would 
 not fail to give all his subjects an exemplary proof of the 
 obedience they owed to him. The Parliament was highly 
 provoked, and next day resolved to admit no more dukes, 
 peers, nor marshals of France till the Cardinal had left the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Mazarin arriving at Court again, persuaded the King 
 to go to Saumur, though others advised him to march to 
 Guienne against the Prince de Conde, with whom the Duke 
 d'Orleans was now resolved to join forces. The King went 
 trom Saumur to Tours, where the Archbishop of Rouen 
 carried complaints to the King, in the name of the bishops 
 there, against the decrees of Parliament relating to the 
 Cardinal. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans complained in Parliament against 
 the inconsistency of their proceedings, and said the King- 
 had sent him carte blanche in order to oblige him to consent 
 to the restoration of the Cardinal, but that nothing would 
 ever cause him to do it, nor to act apart from the 
 Parliament. Yet their unaccountable proceedings per- 
 plexed him beyond expression, so that he commanded, or 
 rather permitted, M. de Beaufort to put his troops in 
 action. And because I told him that, considering the 
 declarations he had so often repeated against Mazarin, I 
 thought his conduct in setting his troops in motion against 
 him did not add so much to the measure of the disgust 
 he had already given to the Court that he need to appre- 
 hend much from it, he gave me for answer these memorable 
 words which I have reflected upon a thousand times : "If 
 you," said he, " had been born a Son of France, an Infante 
 of Spain, a King of Hungary, or a Prince of Wales, you 
 would not talk as you do. You must know that, with us 
 Princes, words go for nothing, but that we never forget 
 actions. By to-morrow noon the Queen would not re- 
 member my declarations against the Cardinal if I would 
 
CARDINAL E'l, Rl. I / 2'iQ 
 
 admit hini to-morrow mornin,:;' ; but if my tr(.>op- were to 
 fire a musket she would not for,L;'i\"e me though we wcrt 
 to live two thousand years hence."" 
 
 In r^el^ruar)", ih^z, I was made a Cardinal, and was 
 to recei\'e the hat, as all P'rench Cardinals do, from the 
 King. My enemies, who thought t(j ruin m\ credit with 
 the Duke d'Orleans, ga\c out that 1 had been obliged t(j 
 the Court for my dignit}'. attacked me in form as a secret 
 fa\'ourer of Alazarin, and, while their emissaries gained 
 over such of the dregs of the people as the) could < orrupt 
 by mone)', the\' were supported l)y all the intrigues of the 
 CaJiinet. iJut the Duke, who knew better, only laughed at 
 them ; so that they confirmed me in his good opinion, 
 instead ol supplanting me, because in cases of slander exerN' 
 reflection that does not hurt the person attacked does him 
 serxice. I said to the Duke that I wondered he was not 
 wearied out with the silly stories that were told him e\'er\ 
 day against me, smce they all harped upon one string ; but 
 he said, "Do }'ou take no account of the pleasure one 
 takes e\'ery morning in hearing how wicked men are under 
 the cloiifk of religious zeal, and every night how silly the\ 
 are under the mask of politicians ? "' The ser\ants ol 
 the b'rince de C^onde gave out such stories against me 
 among the populace as were likely to have ilone me much 
 more mischief. bhey had a pack of brawling fellows in 
 their pa}' who were more troublesome to me now than 
 lormerly, when they did not dare to appear belore the 
 numerous retinue of gentlemen and li\erymeu that accom- 
 panied me, for as I had not yet had the hat, I was obliged. 
 where\'er I went, to go iua\i;uito, according to the rules of 
 the ceremonial. Those fellows said that I had betra)ed the 
 L)uke d'Orleans, and that they would l)e the death of me. 
 I told the Duke, who was afraid they would murder me, 
 that he should soon see how little those hired mobs ought 
 to be regarded. He offered me his guards, but though 
 
270 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Marshal d'Estampes fell on his knees m my way to stop 
 me, I went downstairs with only two persons in company, 
 and made directly towards the ruffians, demanding who 
 was their leader. Upon which a beggarly fellow, with 
 an old yellow feather in his hat, answered me, insolently, 
 " I am." Then I called out to the guards at the gate, 
 saying, " Let me have this rascal hanged up at these 
 grates." Thereupon he made me a very low bow, and said 
 that he did not mean to affront me ; that he only came 
 with his comrades to tell me of the report that I designed 
 to carry the Duke d'Orleans to Court, and reconcile him 
 with ?ilazarin ; that they did not believe it ; that they were 
 at my service, and ready to venture their lives for me, pro- 
 vided I would but promise them to be always an honest 
 Frondeur. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans took such delight in conversing 
 with me that on De Goulas, one of his secretaries, telling 
 him that all the foreign officers took mighty umbrage at it, 
 he pulled him up very sharply, and said, " Go to the devil, 
 you and your foreign officers. If they were as good Fron- 
 deurs as Cardinal de Retz they would be at theif posts, 
 and not tippling in the taverns of Paris." There was such 
 a strong faction in the city of Orleans for the Court that 
 his presence there was very necessary ; but as it w^as much 
 more so at Paris, the Duke was prevailed upon by his 
 Duchess to let her go thither. M. Patru was pleased to say 
 that as the gates of Jericho fell at the sound of trumpets, 
 those of Orleans would open at the sound of fiddles, of 
 which M. de Rohan was a very great admirer. But, in 
 fact, though the King was just at hand with the troops, and 
 though M. Mole, Keeper of the Seals, was at the gate 
 demanding entrance for the King, the Duchess crossed the 
 river in a barge, made the watermen break down a little 
 postern, which had been walled up for a long time, and 
 marched, with the acclamations of multitudes of the people, 
 
CARDINAL DL RI:T/ 2~ I 
 
 <lirect]y to the Hotel de Ville, where the magistrates were 
 assembled to consider if they should admit the Keeper (jt 
 the Seals. By this means she turned the scale, and 
 MM. de Ueaufort and de Nemours immediately joined 
 her. 
 
 The I'rince de Conde arri\'ing at Paris from Guienne 
 on the iith of April, the magistrates had a meeting in 
 the Hotel de \'ille, in which they rcsoh'ed that the 
 Governor should wait on his Royal Highness, and tell 
 him that the company thought it contrary to order to 
 recei\'e him into the city before he had cleared himself 
 from the King's declaration, which had been \erihed in 
 Parliament against him. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans, who was overjoyed at this speech, 
 said that the Prince had only come to discourse with 
 him about private affairs, and that he would stay but 
 twenty-four hours at Paris. M. de Cha\'igni informed the 
 Duke that the Prince was al)le to stand his ground as 
 long as he pleased, without being obliged to anybody ; 
 antl he gathered together a mob of scoundrels upon the 
 Pont-Neuf, whose fingers itched to be plundering the 
 house of M. du Plessis Guenegaut, and by whom the 
 Duke was frightened to a great degree. 
 
 The reflections I had leisure to make upon my new 
 dignity obliged me to take great care of my hat, whose 
 dazzling ilame of colour turns the heads of many that 
 are honoured with it. The most palpable of those delu- 
 sions is the claiming precedence of Princes of the Blood, 
 who may become our masters the next moment, and who 
 at the same time are generally the masters of all our 
 kindred. I have a veneration for the cardinals of my 
 family, who made me suck in humility after their example 
 with my mother's milk, and I found a very happy oppor- 
 tunity to practise it on the \ery day that I received the 
 news of my promotion. Chateaubriant said to me, before 
 
^T-^ 
 
 72 MEMOIRS Ol' THE 
 
 a \ast number of people at my levee, " Now we will pay 
 our respects no more to the best of them," which he 
 said because, though I was upon ill terms with the 
 Prince de Conde, and though I always went well at- 
 tended, I yet saluted him wherever I met him with 
 all the respect due to him on the score of so many 
 titles. I said to him, " Pray pardon me, sir, we shall 
 pay our respects to the great men with greater com- 
 plaisance than ever. God forbid that the red hat should 
 turn my head to that degree as to make me dispute 
 precedence with the Princes of the Blood. It is honour 
 enough for a gentleman to walk side by side with them." 
 This expression, I verily believe, afterwards secured the 
 rank of precedence to the hat in the kingdom of France, 
 by the courtesy of the Prince de Conde and his friend- 
 ship for me. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Chevreuse, the most fantastical lady 
 upon earth, suspecting that I held a secret correspondence 
 with the Queen, could not forbear murmuring and threat- 
 ening what she would do. She said I had declared to 
 her a thousand times that I could not imagine how it 
 was possible for anybody to be in love with that Siciss 
 woman. In short, she said this so often that the Oueen 
 had a notion from somebody or other that I had called 
 her by that name. She never forgave me for it, as you 
 will perceive in the sequel. You may easily conceive 
 that this circumstance, which gave me no encourage- 
 ment to hope for a very gracious reception at Court for 
 the time to come, did not weaken those resolutions which 
 I had already taken to retire from public business. The 
 place of my retreat was agreeable enough : the shadow 
 of the towers of Notre Dame was a refreshment to it ; 
 and, moreover, the Cardinal's hat sheltered it from bad 
 weather. I had fine ideas of the sweetness of such a 
 retirement, and I would gladly have laid hold of it, 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 273 
 
 but my stars would not have it so. I return to my 
 narrative. 
 
 On the 1 2th of April the Duke d'Orleans took the 
 Prince de Conde with him to the Parliament, assuring 
 them that he had not, nor ever would have, any other 
 intention than to serve his King and country ; that he 
 would always follow the sentiments of the Parliament ; 
 and that he was willing to lay down his arms as soon 
 as the decrees against Cardinal Mazarin were put into 
 execution. 
 
 The President Bailleul said that the members always 
 thought it an honour to sec the Prince de Conde in his 
 place, l)ut that they could not dissemble their real concern 
 to see his hands stained with the blood of the King's 
 soldiers who were killed at Pleneau. Upon this a storm 
 arose from the benches, which fell with such fury upon 
 the poor President that he had scarcely room to put in 
 a word for himself, for fifty or sixty voices disowned 
 him at one \'olley. 
 
 On the 13th the Parliament agreed that the declaration 
 made by the Duke d'Orleans and the Prince should be 
 carried to the King ; that the remonstrances they had 
 sent to the King should likewise be sent to all the Sove- 
 reign companies of Paris, and to all the Parliaments of 
 the kingdom, to invite them also to send a deputation on 
 their own behalf ; and that a general assen:ibly should be 
 immediately held at the Hotel de Mile, to which the Duke 
 d'Orleans and the b'rince should be invited to make the 
 same declarations as they made to the Parliament ; and 
 that, in the meantime, the Kmg's declaration agamst 
 Cardinal INIazarin, and all the decrees passed against 
 him, should be put into execution. 
 
 On the 13th of May a councillor of Parliament and 
 captain of his ward, ha\'ing brought his company to the 
 Palace to act as ordinary guard, was abandoned by all 
 
274 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 the burghers that composed it, who said they were not 
 created to guard Mazarins. 
 
 The mob, who at the same time appeared ready 
 enough to murder some of the magistrates in the 
 streets, had nothing in their mouths but the names and 
 services of the Princes, who next day disowned their 
 humble servants in the assemblies of the several courts. 
 Though this conduct gave occasion to severe decrees, 
 which the Parliament issued at every turn against the 
 seditious, it did not hinder the same Parliament from 
 believing that those who disowned the sedition were the 
 authors of it, and consequently did not lessen the hatred 
 which many private men conceived against them. Such 
 were the various and complicated views everyone had 
 concerning the then position of affairs that I wrapped 
 myself up, as one may say, in my great dignities, to 
 which I abandoned the hopes of my fortune ; and I 
 remember one day the President Bellievre telling me 
 that I ought not to be so indolent, I answered him, 
 " We are in a great storm, where, methinks, we all row 
 against the wind. I have two good oars in my hand, 
 one of which is the Cardinal's dignity, and the other the 
 Archiepiscopal. I am not willing to break them, and all 
 I have to do now is to support myself." 
 
 At the same time I had other disquietings of a more 
 private nature. Mademoiselle de Chevreuse fell in love 
 with my rival, the Abbe Fouquet. Little De Roye, who 
 was a very pretty German lass at her house, informed 
 me of it, and made me amends for the infidelity of the 
 mistress, whose choice, to tell you the truth, did not 
 mortify me much, because she had nothing but beauty, 
 which cloys when it comes alone. She cared for nobody 
 besides him she loved ; but as she was never long in love, 
 so neither was it long that she was in good temper. She 
 used her cast-off lovers as she did her old clothes, which 
 
CARDINAL DE RET2 275 
 
 Other women lay aside, but she burnt, so that her daughters 
 had much ado to save a petticoat, head-dress, gloves or 
 Venice point. And I verily belie\-e that if she could have 
 committed her lovers to the flames when she left tliem off, 
 she would ha\'e done it with all her heart. ]\Iadame her 
 mother, who endeavoured to set her at variance with me 
 when she was resolved to unite herself entirely with the 
 Court, could not succeed, though she went so far that 
 Madame de Guimtmcc caused a letter to be read to her 
 in my handwriting, whereby I devoted myself body and 
 soul to her, as witches gi\'e themselves tij the dc\il. 
 
 It was at that time that Madame de Chcvruusc, seeing 
 herself neglected at Paris, resolved to retire to Dampierre, 
 where, depending upon what had been told her lVoni Court, 
 she hoped to be well received. I gave vent to my passion, 
 which, in truth, was not \ery great, to Mademoiselle de 
 ('he\Teuse, and I took care to ha\'e both the motlier and 
 daughter accompanied out of Paris, quite to I^ampierre, 
 by all the noliility and gentlemen I had with me. 
 
 I cannot linisli this slight sketch of the condition I 
 was in at Paris without acknowledging the debt I owe 
 to the generosity of the I'rince de Conde, who, hnding 
 that a person was come from the Prince de Conti, at 
 Pordeaux, with a design to attack me, told him that he 
 would ha\e liim hanged if he did not go back to his 
 master in two hours' time. 
 
 Marigny told me, almost at the sanie time, that, ob- 
 ser\-ing the Prince de C(.)nde to be very intent upon reading 
 a book, he took the liberty to tell him that it must needs 
 be a very choice one because he took such delight in it ; 
 and that the Prmce answered him, " It is true I am \'ery 
 fond of it, for it shows me my faults, which nobody has 
 the courage to tell me. ' This l)Ook was entitled " The 
 Right and False Steps of the Prince de Condc and of 
 the Cardinal de Retz." 
 
 iS— 2 
 
276 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 There were divers negotiations between the parties, 
 during which Mazarin gave himself the pleasure of letting 
 the pubHc see MM. de Rohan, de Chavigni and de Goulas 
 conferring with him, both before the King as well as 
 in private, at that very instant when the Duke d' Orleans 
 and the Prince de Conde said publicly, in the assembly 
 of the Chambers, that it ought to be the preliminary of 
 all treaties to have nothing to do with Mazarin. He 
 acted a perfect comedy in their presence, pretending to 
 be forcibly detained by the King, whom he begged with 
 folded hands to let him return to Italy. 
 
 On the 30th of April there was so great a murmuring 
 in Parliament that the Duke d'Orleans said they should 
 never see him there again until the Cardinal was gone. 
 
 On the 6th of May the remonstrances of the Parliament 
 and the Chamber of Accounts were carried to the King 
 by a large deputation, as were, on the 7th, those of the 
 Court of Aids and the city. The King's answer to both 
 was that he would cause his troops to retire when those 
 of the Princes were gone. 
 
 On the loth it was resolved that the King's Council 
 should be sent to St. Germain for a further answer 
 touching the removal of Cardinal Mazarin from the Court 
 and kingdom, and the armies from the neighbourhood of 
 Paris. 
 
 On the 14th there was a great uproar again in the 
 Parliament, where there was a confused clamour for 
 taking into consideration the best means for hindering 
 the riots and disorders daily committed in the city and 
 in the hall of the Palace ; upon which the Duke d'Orleans 
 who was afraid that under this pretence the Mazarinists 
 should make the House take some steps contrary to their 
 interests, came to the Palace on a sudden, and proposed 
 that they should grant him full power. 
 
 The 29th being the da}^ that the deputies of the Court 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 277 
 
 of Enquiry desired the Parliament to consider the ways 
 and means for raising the 150,000 livres promised to him 
 who should bring Cardinal Mazarin to justice, and the 
 Archbishop's Grand \'icar coming up at that moment to 
 the bar of the King's Council to confer about the de- 
 scent of the shrine of St. Gt:ne\'ieve, a member said 
 very pleasantly, " We are this day engaged in devotion 
 for a double festival : we are appointing processions, and 
 contriving how to murder a Cardinal." 
 
 On the 20th of June the King's answer to the Parlia- 
 ment's remonstrances was reported in substance as follows : 
 That though His Majesty was sensible that the demand 
 for the removal of Cardinal iNIazarin was but a pretence, 
 yet he was willing to grant it after justice was done to the 
 Cardinal's honour by such reparations as were due to his 
 innocence, provided the Princes would give him go<Dd 
 security for the performance of their proposals upon the 
 removal of the said Cardinal. That therefore His Majesty 
 desired to know — i. Whether, in this case, they will 
 renounce all leagues and associations with foreign princes ? 
 2. \\'hether they will not form new pretensions ? 3. 
 Whether they w^ill come to Court ? 4. Whether they 
 will dismiss all the foreigners that are in the kingdom ? 
 5. Whether they will disband their forces? 6. Whether 
 l^ordeaux will return to its duty, as well as the Prince de 
 Conti and IMadame de Longueville ? 7. Whether the 
 places which the b'rince de Conde has fortified shall be 
 put into the condition they were in before the broach ? 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans, pro\-oked at these propositions, 
 said that a Son of France and a Prince of the Blood were 
 never known to have been treated like common criminals, 
 and that the declaration which both had made was more 
 than sufficient to satisfy the Court. 
 
 On the 2ist it was moved in Parliament that an 
 inventory should be taken of what remained of jMazarin's 
 
278 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 furniture. There having been in the morning a great 
 commotion at the Palace, when the President and some 
 others had run a risk of being killed by the mob, M. de 
 Beaufort invited his friends to meet him in the afternoon 
 in the Palais Royal, and having got together four or five 
 thousand beggars, he harangued them as to the obedience 
 which they owed to the Parliament. But two or three 
 days after this fine sermon of his the sedition was more 
 violent than ever. 
 
 On the 25th the Princes declared in Parliament that 
 as soon as the Cardinal had departed the kingdom they 
 would faithfully execute all the articles contained in the 
 King's answer, and immediately send deputies to complete 
 the rest. 
 
 On the 4th of July a mob assembled, who forced all 
 that went by to put a handful of straw in their hats, upon 
 which the Duke d'Orleans and the Prince de Conde went 
 to the Hotel de Ville and convinced the assembly of 
 the necessity they Avere under of defending themselves 
 against IMazarin. Upon a trumpeter arriving from His 
 Majesty with orders to adjourn the assembly for a week, 
 the people were much incensed, and called out to the 
 citizens to unite strictly with the Princes. They fell upon 
 the first thing they met in their way, threw stones into 
 the windows of the Hotel de Ville, set fire to its gates, 
 and, entering with drawn swords, murdered M. Le Gras, 
 the Master of Requests, and the Master of Accounts, and 
 twenty or thirty citizens perished in the tumult. There 
 was a general consternation all over the city ; all the 
 shops were shut in an instant, and in some parts they 
 set up barricades to stop the rioters, who had almost over- 
 run the whole town. It was observed that the appearance 
 of the Duchess de Beaufort prevailed more with the mob 
 in causing them to disperse than the exposing of the Host 
 by the cure of St. John's. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 279 
 
 The late riot had such an effect on the ParUament 
 that the President Mortier and many of the councillors 
 kept away from the public assemblies for fear, notwith- 
 standing they were enjoined, by a special decree, to come 
 and take their places. The magistrates, for the same 
 reason, did not go to the Hotel de Ville. 
 
 On the iSth the deputies of Parliament being ordered 
 to follow the King to Pontoise, the House passed a decree 
 for their immediate return to Parliament, and the Prince 
 de Conde and the Duke de Beaufort brought them intc 
 town with twelve hundred horse. 
 
 The Court in the meantime passed decrees of Council, 
 annulling those of the Parliament and the transactions oJ 
 the assembly at the Hotel de Ville. 
 
 On the 20th the Parliament declared by a decree thai 
 the King being prisoner to Cardinal Mazarin, the Duke 
 d'Orleans should be desired to take upon him the office 
 of Lieutenant-General of His Majesty, and the Prince tc 
 take upon him the command of the army as long as 
 Mazarin should continue in the kingdom, and that a cop) 
 of the said decree should be sent to all the Parliaments 
 of the kingdom, who should be desired to publish the 
 like; but not one complied, except that of Bordeaux. Noi 
 was the Duke better obeyed by the several governors o: 
 the provinces, for but one vouchsafed him an answei 
 when he acquainted them with his new dignity, the Cour: 
 having put them in mind of their duty by an order o 
 Council, published to annul that of the Parliament foi 
 establishing the said lieutenancy ; and in Paris itself the 
 Duke's authority was despised, for two wretches havini 
 been condemned for setting fire to the Hotel de Ville, the 
 citizens who were ordered to take charge of the executior 
 refused to obey. 
 
 On the 24th it was ordered that a general assembl) 
 should be held at the Hotel de Ville, to consider th( 
 
28o MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 ways and means to raise money for supporting the troops, 
 and that the statues at Mazarin's palace should be sold 
 to make up the sum set upon the Cardinal's head. 
 
 On the 29th it was resolved in the Hotel de Ville to 
 raise 800,000 livres for augmenting His Royal Highness's 
 troops, and to exhort all the great towns of the kingdom 
 to unite with the metropolis. 
 
 On the 6th of August the King sent a declaration 
 signifying the removal of the Parliament to Pontoise. 
 There was a great commotion in the House, who agreed 
 not to register it till the Cardinal had left the kingdom. 
 As for the Parliament of Pontoise, which consisted of but 
 fourteen officers, with three Presidents at their head, who 
 had a little before retired in disguise from Paris, they 
 made remonstrances likewise to the King for removing 
 Cardinal Mazarin. The King granted what was desired 
 of him, and that upon the solicitations of that honest, dis- 
 interested minister, who withdrew from Court to Bouillon. 
 This comedy, so unworthy the dignity of a King, was 
 accompanied with circumstances that rendered it still 
 more ridiculous. The two Parliaments fulminated severe 
 decrees against one another, and that of Paris made an 
 order that whosoever sat in the assembly at Pontoise 
 should be struck off the register. 
 
 At the same time that of Pontoise registered the King's 
 declaration, which contained an injunction to the Parlia- 
 ment of Paris, the Chamber of Accounts and the Court 
 of Aids, that, since Cardinal Mazarin was removed, they 
 should now lay down their arms on condition that His Ma- 
 jesty would grant an amnesty, remove his troops from about 
 Paris, withdraw those that were in Guienne, allow a free 
 and safe passage to the Spanish troops, and give the 
 Princes permission to send to His Majesty persons to 
 confer with his ministers concerning what remained to be 
 adjusted. This same Parliament resolved to return their 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 2yi 
 
 thanks to His Majesty for removing Cardinal Mazarin, 
 and most humbly to entreat the King to return to his 
 good city of Paris. 
 
 On the 26th they also registered the King's amnesty, 
 or Royal pardon, granted to all that had taken up arms 
 against him, but with such restrictions that very few 
 could think themselves safe by it. 
 
 The King acquainted the Duke d'Orleans that he 
 wondered that, since Mazarin was removed, he should 
 delay, according to his own declaration and promise, to 
 lay down his arms, to renounce all associations and trea- 
 ties, and to cause the foreign troops to withdraw ; and 
 that when this was done those deputies that should come 
 to His Majesty from him should be very welcome. 
 
 On the 3rd of September the Parliament resolved 
 that their deputies should wait upon the King with their 
 thanks for removing Cardinal Mazarin, and to beseech 
 His Majesty to return to Paris ; that the Duke d'Orleans 
 and the Prince de Conde should be desired to write to 
 the King and assure him they would lay down their 
 arms as soon as His Majesty would be pleased to send 
 the passports for the safe retreat of the foreigners, 
 together with an amnesty in due form, registered in all 
 the Parliaments of the kingdom ; and that His Majesty 
 should be petitioned to receive the deputies of the 
 Princes. 
 
 Pray indulge me with a short pause here to consider 
 the scandalous arts which ministers palliate with the 
 name and sacred word of a great King, and with which 
 the most august Parliament of the kingdom — -viz., the 
 Court of Peers — expose themselves to ridicule by such 
 manifest inconsistencies as are more becoming the levity 
 of a college than the majesty of a senate. In short, 
 persons are not sensible of what they do in these State 
 paroxysms, which savour somewhat of frenzy. I knew 
 
282 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 in those days some very honest men who were so fully 
 satisfied of the justice of the cause of the Princes that, 
 upon occasion, they would have laid down their lives for it ; 
 and I also knew some eminently virtuous and disinterested 
 men who would as gladly have been martyrs for the 
 Court. The ambition of great men manages such dis- 
 positions just as it suits their own interests ; they help 
 to blind the rest of mankind, and they even become blinder 
 themselves than other people. 
 
 Honest M. de Fontenay, who had been twice am- 
 bassador at Rome, a man of great experience and good 
 sense and a hearty well-wisher to his country, daily con- 
 doled with me on the lethargy into which the intestine 
 divisions had lulled the best citizens and patriots. We saw 
 the Spanish colours and standards displayed upon the Pont- 
 Neuf ; the yellow sashes of Lorraine appeared at Paris with 
 the same liberty as the Isabelles and blue ones. People 
 were so accustomed to these spectacles and to the news 
 of provinces, towns and battles lost, that they were become 
 indolent and stupid. Several of my friends blamed my 
 inactivity, and desired me to bestir myself. They bid me 
 save the kingdom, save, the city, or else I should fall from the 
 greatest love to the greatest hatred of the people. The 
 Frondeurs suspected me of favouring Mazarin's party, and 
 the Mazarins thought I was too partial to the Frondeurs. 
 
 I was touched to the quick with a pathetic speech made 
 to me by M. de Fontenay. "You see," said he, "that 
 Mazarin, like a Jack-in-the-box, plays at Bo-peep ; but you 
 see that whether he appears or disappears the wire by which 
 the puppet is drawn on or off the stage is the Royal 
 authority, which is not likely to be broken by the measures 
 now on foot. Abundance of those that appear to be his 
 greatest opponents would be very sorry to see him crushed ; 
 many others would be very glad to see him get off; not one 
 endeavours to ruin him entirely. You may get clear of the 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 28 
 
 difficulty that embarrasses you by a door which opens int< 
 a field of honour and liberty. Paris, whose archbishop yoi 
 are, groans under a heavy load. The Parliament there i 
 but a mere phantom, and the Hotel de Ville a desert. Th 
 Duke d'Orleans and the Prince have no more authority tha: 
 what the rascally mob is pleased to allow them. Th 
 Spaniards, Germans and Lorrainers are in the suburb 
 laying waste the very gardens. You that have rescue^ 
 them more than once, and are their pastor, have been forcei 
 to keep guards in your own house for three weeks. An< 
 you know that at this day your friends are under grea 
 apprehension if they see you in the streets without arms 
 Do you count it a slight thing to put an end to all thes 
 miseries ? And will you neglect the only opportunity Pre 
 vidence puts into your hands to obtain the honour of it 
 Take your clergy with you to Compiegne, thank the Kin: 
 for removing IMazarin, and beg His Majesty to return t 
 Paris. Keep up a good correspondence with those bodie 
 who have no other design but the common good, who ar 
 already almost all your particular friends, and who loo! 
 upon you as their head by reason of your dignity. And i 
 the King actually returns to the city, the people of Paris wi' 
 be obliged to you for it ; if you meet with a refusal, you wl 
 have still their acknowledgments for your good intention 
 If you can get the Duke d'Orleans to join with you, you wii 
 save the realm ; for 1 am persuaded that if he knew how t 
 act his part in this juncture it would be in his power t 
 bring the King back to Paris and to prevent IMazarin eve 
 returning again. You are a Cardinal ; you are Archbisho] 
 of Paris ; 3^ou have the goodwill of the public, and are bu 
 thirty-seven years old : Save tlic city, save tlic hingdoui.'' 
 
 In short, the Duke d'Orleans approved of my scheme 
 and ordered me to convene a general assembly of thi 
 ecclesiastical communities, and to get deputies chosen ou 
 of them all, and go with them to Court, there to present th( 
 
284 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 deputation, which should request the King to give peace to 
 his people and return to his good city of Paris. I was also to 
 endeavour by the aid of my friends to induce the other cor- 
 porate bodies of the city to do likewise. I was to tell the 
 Oueen that she could not but be sensible that the Duke was 
 in good earnest for peace, which the public engagements he 
 was under to oppose Mazarin had not suffered him to con- 
 clude, or even to propose, while the Cardinal continued 
 at Court ; that he renounced all private views and interests 
 with relation to himself or friends ; that he desired nothing 
 but the security of the public ; and that after he had had 
 the satisfaction of seeing the King at the Louvre he would 
 then with joy retire to Blois, fully resolved to live in peace 
 and prepare for eternity. 
 
 I set out immediately with the deputies of all the eccle- 
 siastical bodies of Paris, nearly two hundred gentlemen, 
 accompanied by fifty men of the Duke's Guards. The 
 number of my attendants gave such umbrage at Court, 
 where it was ridiculously exaggerated, that the Queen sent 
 me word I should only have accommodation for eighty 
 horses, whereas I had no less than one hundred and twelve 
 for the coaches alone. If I had known as much when I 
 went as I heard after I returned I should have hesitated 
 about goinp^, for I was told that some moved for arresting 
 me and others for killing me. However, the Queen 
 received me very well ; the King gave me the Cardinal's 
 hat and a public audience. 
 
 I told the Queen, in a private audience, that I was not 
 come only as a deputy from the Church of Paris, but that 
 I had another commission which I valued much more, 
 because I took it to be more for her service than the other 
 —that of an envoy from the Duke d' Orleans, who had 
 charged me to assure Her Majesty that he was resolved to 
 serve her effectually and without delay, as he had promised 
 by a note under his own hand, which 1 then pulled out of 
 
CARDINAL DE RET2 28^ 
 
 my pocket. The Queen expressed a great deal of joy, an( 
 said, " I knew very well, M. le Cardinal, that you would a 
 last give some particular marks of your affection for me." 
 
 The Queen told me that she thanked the Duke, and wa: 
 very much obliged to him ; that she hoped and desired h< 
 would contribute towards making the necessary disposi 
 tions for the King's return to Paris, and that she would no 
 take one step but in concert with him. At the same tim* 
 I heard that the Queen spoke disdainfully of me, whon 
 she dreaded, to my enemies at Court ; pretended that I ha( 
 owned Mazarin was an honest man, and ridiculed me for thi 
 expense I had put myself to on the journey, which, indeed 
 was immense for so short a time, because I kept sevei 
 open tables, and spent 800 crowms a day. 
 
 When I returned to Paris I was received with in 
 credible applause. The King also came thither on the 21s 
 of October, and was welcomed by the acclamations of thi 
 people. The Queen received me with wonderful respect 
 and bade the King embrace me, as one to whom he chief!; 
 owed his return to Paris ; but orders were sent to the Duk 
 d'Orleans to retire next morning to Limours. 
 
 When I went to see him he was panic-struck, an( 
 imagined it was only a feint to try his temper. Pie wa 
 in an inconceivable agony, and fancied that every muske 
 which was let off by way of rejoicing for His Majesty' 
 return was fired by the soldiers coming to invest his palace 
 Every messenger that he sent out brought him word tha 
 all was quiet, but he would believe nobody, and looke 
 continually out of the window to hear if the drums wer 
 beating the march. At last he took courage to ask me if 
 was firm to him, and after I had assured him of my fidelit 
 he desired that, as a proof of my attachment and affectio 
 for him, I would be reconciled to M. de Beaufort. " Wit 
 all my heart,'' said I. Whereupon he embraced me, the 
 opened the gallery door by his bedchamber, and out cam 
 
286 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 M. de Beaufort, who threw himself about my neck, and 
 said, " Pray ask His Royal Highness what I have been 
 saying to him concerning you. I know who are honest 
 men. Come on, sir, let us drive all the Mazarins away 
 for good and all." He endeavoured to show both the 
 necessity and the possibility of it, and advised the raising 
 of barricades next morning, by break of day, in the 
 market-places. 
 
 The Duke d'Orleans turned to me and said, as they 
 do in Parliament, " Your opinion, Mr. Dean." I replied, 
 *' If I must give it as Dean, there never was more occasion 
 for the fort}^ hours' prayers than now. I myself stand 
 in need of them more than anybody, because I can give 
 no advice but what must appear very cruel and be attended 
 with horrid inconveniences. If I should advise you to 
 put up with the injurious treatment you undergo, will 
 not the public, who always make the worst of every- 
 thing, have a handle to say I betray your interest, and 
 that my advice was but a necessary consequence of all 
 those obstacles I threw in the Princes' way ? And if I 
 give it as my opinion that your Royal Highness should 
 follow the measures which M. de Beaufort proposes, shall 
 I not be accounted one who blows hot and cold in a 
 breath ? — who is for peace when he thinks to gain his 
 advantages by the treaty, but for war when he is not 
 permitted to negotiate ? — one who is for destroying Paris 
 with fire and sword, and for carrying the flames to the 
 gates of the Louvre by attacking the very person of the 
 King? If you obey, you will be responsible to the public 
 for all it may suffer afterwards. I am no competent 
 judge of what it may suffer in particular ; for who can 
 foresee events depending on the caprices of a Cardinal, 
 on the stormings of Ondedei, the impertinence of the 
 Abbe Fouquet and the violence of Servien ? But you 
 will have to answer for all, because the public will be 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 28 
 
 persuaded that you might have prevented it. If you di 
 not obey, you may go near to overturn the reahii." Her 
 the Duke interrupted me eagerly, and said, " This is no 
 to the purpose ; the question is whether I am in a con 
 dition, that is, if it is in my power, to disobey ? " " 
 beHeve so," I said ; " for I do not see how the Cour 
 can oblige you to obey, unless the King himself shouli 
 march to Luxembourg, which would be a matter of grea 
 importance." " Nay," said M. de Beaufort, " it woul( 
 be impossible." I then perceived that the Duke began t^ 
 think so too, for it fitted his humour, as he could not en 
 dure taking any pains, and, upon this supposition, resolve( 
 to stay at home with his arms folded. I said, " Yoi 
 are able to do anything to-night and to-morrow morning 
 but I cannot answer how it may be in the evening. 
 M. de Beaufort, who thought that I was going to argu 
 for the offensive, fell in roundly with me to second me 
 but I stopped him short by telling him he mistook ni; 
 meaning. " I shall never presume," said I, " to giv 
 advice in the condition things are now in. The Duk 
 himself must decide, and even propose, too, and it i 
 our business to perform his commands." Then he said 
 " If I should resolve to brave it out, will you declare fo 
 me?" "Yes," I said, "it is what I ought in duty t 
 do. I am attached to your service, in which I shal 
 certainly not be wanting, and you need only to com 
 mand me. But I am very much grieved that, consider 
 ing the present state of affairs, an honest man canno 
 act the honest part, do what he may." The Duke, wh( 
 was by nature good, but not very tender, could no 
 help being moved at what I said ; the tears came int' 
 his eyes, he embraced me, and asked me if I though 
 he could secure the King's person. I told him that nothin; 
 was more impossible. I found at length that he was in 
 chned to obey, but he bade us keep our friends together i 
 
288 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 readiness, and to be with him at break of day. However, 
 he set out for Limours an hour sooner than he had 
 told us, and left word that he had his reasons for so 
 doing, which we should know another day, advising us, 
 if possible, to make our peace with the Court. 
 
 On the 22nd the King held his Bed of Justice at the 
 Louvre, where he published the amnesty, as also an 
 order for re-establishing the Parliament at Paris, in which 
 there was a clause forbidding them to meddle with State 
 affairs. At the same time he caused a declaration to 
 be published ordering MM. de Beaufort, Rohan, Viole, 
 de Thou, Broussel, Portail, Bitaud, Croissi, Machaut, 
 Fleury, Martineau, and Perraut to depart the city. 
 
 The Court now began to offer me terms of reconcilia- 
 tion. I was desirous that as many of my friends as 
 possible should be included ; but Caumartin, who was in 
 the secret of affairs, told me there were no hopes of pro- 
 curing any advantages for particular persons ; that all that 
 could be done was to save the ship for another voyage, and 
 that this ship, which was myself, could be saved no other 
 way, in the condition into which our affairs were fallen by 
 the Duke d' Orleans' want of resolution, but by launching 
 out into the main, and steering towards Rome. " You 
 stand," said he, " as it were, on the point of a needle, and 
 if the Court knew their strength they would rout you as 
 they do the rest ; your courage gives you an air that both 
 deceives and disquiets them. Make use of the present 
 opportunity for obtaining what may be serviceable to you 
 in your employ at Rome, for the Court will deny you 
 nothing," 
 
 Montresor hearing of it, said to me afterwards, with an 
 oath, " He is a villain who says your Eminence can make 
 your peace honourably without making terms for your 
 friends ; he who affirms the contrary does it for his own 
 private ends." Therefore I refused the offers made me 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 28 
 
 by Servien, which were that the King would resign hi 
 affairs in Italy to my care, and allow nie a pension c 
 50,000 crowns; that I should have 100,000 crowns toward 
 paying off my debts, and 50,000 in hand towards furniture 
 that I should continue three years at Rome, and the 
 return to resume my functions at Paris. 
 
 The Princess Palatine told me I ought either to accep 
 or else treat with the Cardinal, since all the subalterns wer 
 against me. Madame de Lesdiguieres advised me to pr^ 
 ser\'e my equanimity and keep within doors, adding that th 
 Cardinal, who was impatient to return to Paris, but dur« 
 not as long as I stayed, would make me a bridge of gold t 
 go out and agree to whatever I demanded. Accordingly, 
 sent my proposals to the Cardinal, who was then lurkin 
 in Turenne's army upon the frontiers, and desired sue 
 and such posts for my friends. Meantime Servien and th 
 Abbe Fouquet endeavoured to exasperate the Queen b 
 telling her that I was continually caballing with the annu 
 tants and officers of the militia ; and l>ecause I refused t 
 go to Parliament, in obedience to the King's order: 
 when he held his Court of Justice there to register th 
 declaration of high treason against the Prince de Condi 
 the Queen was made to believe that I was intriguin 
 for the Prince, and therefore resolved to ruin me, coi 
 what it would. One ofiicer posted men in a house ner 
 Madame de Pomereux's, to attack me ; another was en 
 ployed to get intelligence at what time of night I was in th 
 habit of visiting her ; a third had an order, signed by th 
 King, to attack me in the street and bring me off dead c 
 alive. An unknown person advised me not to go that day t 
 Rambouillet ; but I went with two hundred gentlemen, an 
 found a great many officers of the Guards, who, whateve 
 were their orders, were in no condition to attack me, an 
 received me with reverence ; but I blamed myself for 
 afterwards, because it only tended to incense the Court th 
 more against me. 
 
 19 
 
290 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Upon All Saints' Day I preached at St. Germain, which 
 is the King's parish, where Their Majesties did me the 
 honour to be present, for which I went next day to return 
 them thanks ; but finding that the cautions sent me from 
 all quarters multiplied very fast, I did not go to the Louvre 
 till the igth of December, when I was arrested in the 
 Queen's ante-cbamber by the captain of the Guards then 
 in waiting, who carried me into an apartment where the 
 officers of the kitchen brought me dinner, of which I ate 
 heartily, to the mortification of the base courtiers, though I 
 did not take it kindly to see my pockets turned inside out 
 as if I had been a cutpurse. This ceremony, which is not 
 common, was performed by the captain ; but he found 
 nothing except a letter from the King of England, desiring 
 me to try if the Court of Rome would assist him with 
 money. When this letter came to be talked of, it was 
 maliciously reported that it came from the Protector. I 
 was carried in one of the King's coaches, under guard, to 
 Vincennes. As we passed we found at several of the gates 
 a battalion of Swiss with their pikes presented towards 
 the city, where everybody was quiet, though their sorrow 
 and consternation were visible enough. I was afterwards 
 informed, however, that all the butchers in the veal 
 market were going to take up arms, and that they might 
 have made barricades there with all the ease in the world, 
 only they were restrained for fear that I should have paid 
 for their tumult with the loss of my life ; so that the women 
 remained in tears, and the men stood stock-still in a fright. 
 I was confined at Vincennes for a fortnight together, in a 
 room as big as a church, without any firing. My guards 
 pilfered my linen, apparel, shoes, &c., so that sometimes I 
 was forced to lie in bed for a week or ten days together for 
 want of clothes to dress myself. I could not but think that 
 such treatment had been ordered by the higher powers on 
 purpose to break my heart ; but I resolved not to die that 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 29: 
 
 way, and though my guard said all he could to vex me, '. 
 affected to take no notice. 
 
 The influence of the clergy of Paris obliged the Cour 
 to explain itself concerning the causes of my imprisonmen 
 by the mouth of the Chancellor, who, in the presence of th( 
 King and Queen, acquainted them that His Majesty hac 
 caused me to be arrested for my own good, and to preven 
 me from putting something that I designed into execution 
 The chapter of Notre Dame had an anthem sung ever^ 
 day for my deliverance. The Sorbonne and many of th( 
 religious orders distinguished themselves by declaring fo 
 me. This general stir obliged the Court to treat me some 
 what better than at first. They let me have a limitec 
 numlter of books, but no ink and paper, and they allowec 
 me a vald dc cliaiiibir and a physician. 
 
 During my confinement at Vincennes, which laste( 
 fifteen months, I studied both day and night, especially th( 
 I^atin tongue, on which I perceive one cannot bestow toi 
 much pains, since it takes in all other studies. I dived int( 
 the Greek also, and read again the ninth decade o 
 Livy, which I had formerly delighted in, and found a 
 pleasant as ever. I composed, in imitation of Boetius, ; 
 treatise, which I entitled, " Consolation de la Theologie,' 
 in which I proved that every prisoner ought to endeavou 
 to be viuctns in Cliristo (in the bonds of Christ), mentione( 
 by St. Paul. I also compiled " Partus Vincennarum,' 
 which was a collection of the Acts of the Church o 
 Milan for the use of the Church of Paris. 
 
 My guard omitted nothing he could invent to mak( 
 my life uneasy and disturb my studies. One day h( 
 came and told me that he had received orders from th( 
 King to give me an airing on the top of the donjon 
 and when he perceived that I took a pleasure in walk 
 ing there he informed me, with joy in his looks, tha 
 he had orders to the contrary. I told him that the^ 
 
 19 — 2 
 
292 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 were come in good time, for the air which was too sharp 
 there had made my head ache. Afterwards he offered 
 to take me down into the tennis-court to see my guards 
 at play. I desired him to excuse me, because I thought 
 the air would be too piercing for me ; but he made 
 me go, telling me that the King, who took more care 
 of my health than I fancied, had ordered that he should 
 give me some exercise. Soon after he desired me to ex- 
 cuse him for not bringing me down again, "for reasons," 
 said he, "which I must not tell." The truth was, I was 
 so much above these chicaneries that I despised them ; 
 but I must own that I used to think within myself that, 
 in the main, to be a prisoner of State was of all others the 
 most afflicting. All the relaxation I had from my studies 
 was to divert myself with some rabbits on the top of 
 the donjon and some pigeons in the turrets, for which 
 I was indebted to the continual solicitations of the Church 
 of Paris. I had not been a prisoner above nine days 
 when one of my guards, while his comrade who watched 
 me was asleep, came and slipped a note into my hand 
 from Madame de Pomereux, in which were only these 
 words: "Let me have your answer; you may safely 
 trust the bearer.'' The bearer gave me a pencil and a piece 
 of paper, on which I wrote that I had received her letter. 
 
 Notwithstanding that three sergeants and twenty-four 
 Life-guards relieved one another every day, our corre- 
 spondence was not interrupted. Madame de Pomereux, 
 M. de Caumartin and M. de Haqueville wrote me letters 
 twice a week constantly about the means to effect my 
 escape, which I attempted twice, but in vain. 
 
 The Abbe Charier, who set out for Rome the day 
 after I was arrested, found Pope Innocent incensed to 
 the highest degree, and ready to throw his thunder upon 
 the heads of the authors of it. He spoke of it to the 
 P'^rench Ambassador with great resentment, and sent 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 2C 
 
 the Archbishop of Avignon, with the title of Nunci 
 Extraordinary, on purpose to soHcit my release. Th 
 King was in a fury, and forbade the Nuncio to pas 
 Lyons. The Pope told the Abbe Charier that he w£ 
 afraid to expose his and the Church's authority to th 
 fury of a madman, and said, " Give me but an arm'' 
 and I will furnish you with a legate." It was a diff 
 cult matter indeed to get him that army, but not impo: 
 sible, if those that should have stood my friends ha 
 not left me in the lurch. 
 
 In the meantime Noirmoutier and Bussi Lamet wrot 
 a letter to Mazarin, declaring they could not help pre 
 ceeding to extremities if I was detained any longer i 
 prison. The Prince de Conde declared he would d 
 anything, without exception, which my friends desirec 
 for my liberty, and offered to march all the Spanish force 
 to their assistance ; but the misfortune was that there wa 
 nobody to form the proper schemes ; and Noirmoutier, wh 
 was the most enterprising man of them all, was hindere 
 from action by Madame de Chevreuse and De Laigues, whc 
 the Cardinal said, would be accountable for the actions c 
 their friends, and that if they hred one pistol shot the 
 must expect what would follow. Therefore Noirmoutie 
 was glad to elude all the propositions of the Prince d 
 Conde, and to be content with only writing and speakin 
 in my favour, and firing the cannon at the drinking of m 
 health. 
 
 M. de Pradello, who commanded the French ani 
 Swiss Guards in the castle, came one day to tell m 
 of the happy return of Cardinal Mazarin to Paris, and c 
 his magnificent reception at the Hotel de Ville ; and h 
 informed me that the Cardinal had sent him to assur 
 me of his most humble services, and to beg of me to b 
 persuaded that he would forget nothing that might be fo 
 my service. 1 made as if I did not heed the compliment 
 
294 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 and was for talking of something else ; but as he pressed 
 me for a direct answer, I told him that I should have been 
 ready at the first word to show him my acknowledgments 
 were I not persuaded that the duty of a prisoner to the 
 King did not permit him to explain himself in anything 
 relating to his release, till His Majesty had been graciously 
 pleased to grant it him. He understood my meaning, and 
 endea\'Oured to persuade me to return a more civil answer 
 to the Cardinal, which I declined to do. 
 
 The Cardinal was so pestered with complaints from 
 Rome, and so disturbed with the discontent which pre- 
 vailed in Poitou and Paris, on account of my imprison- 
 ment, that he sent me an offer of my liberty and great 
 advantages, on condition that I would resign the Coadjutor- 
 ship of Paris. 
 
 The solicitations of the chapter of Notre Dame pre- 
 vailed on the Court to consent that one of their body might 
 be always with me, who, though he came gladly for my 
 sake, fell into a deep melancholy. He could not, how^- 
 ever, be prevailed upon to go out ; and being soon after 
 seized with a fever, cut his own throat. My uncle dying 
 soon after, possession was taken of the archbishopric in 
 my name by my proxy, and Tellier, who was sent to Notre 
 Dame Church to oppose it on the part of the King, was 
 mortified with the thunder of my bulls from Rome. The 
 people were surprised to see all the formalities observed 
 to a nicety, at a juncture when they thought there was no 
 possibility of observing one. The cures waxed warmer 
 than ever, and my friends fanned the flame. The Nuncio, 
 thinking himself slighted by the Court, spoke in dignified 
 terms, and threatened his censures. A little book w^as 
 published, showing the necessity of shutting up the 
 churches, which aroused the Cardinal's apprehensions, 
 and his apprehensions naturally led him into negotiation. 
 He amused me with hundreds of fine prospects of church 
 livings, governments, &c., and of being restored to the good 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 29 
 
 graces of the King and to the strictest friendship with hi 
 Prime Minister. 
 
 I had more hberty than before. They always carrie 
 me up to the top of the donjon whenever it was fair over 
 head ; but my friends, who did not doubt that all the Coui 
 wanted was to get some expression from me of my incline 
 tion to resign, in order to discredit me with the public 
 charged me to guard warily my words, which advic 
 I followed ; so that when a captain of the Guards cam 
 from the King to discourse with me upon this head, whc 
 by Mazarin's direction, talked to me more like a captain c 
 the Janissaries than like an officer of the Most Christia 
 King, I desired leave to give him my answer in writing 
 expressing my contempt for all threats and promises, an 
 an in\iolable resolution not to give up the Archbishopri 
 of Paris. 
 
 Next day President Bellievre came to me on the part c 
 the King, with an offer of seven abbeys, provided I woul 
 quit my archbishopric ; but he opened his mind to me wit 
 entire freedom, and said he could not but think what a foe 
 the Sicilian was to send him on such an errand. " Most c 
 your friends," said Bellievre, "think that you need only t 
 stand out resolutely, and that the Court will be glad to si 
 you at liberty and send you to Rome ; but it is a horri 
 mistake, for the Court will be satisfied with nothing but yoL 
 resignation. When 1 say the Court, I mean Mazarin ; fc 
 the Queen will not bear the thought of giving you yoi 
 liberty. The chief thing that determines Mazarin to thin 
 of your liberty is his fear of the Nuncio, the chapter, th 
 cures and the people. But I dare affirm that the Nunci 
 will threaten mightily, but do nothing ; the chapter ma 
 perhaps make remonstrances, but to no purpose ; th 
 cures will preach, and that is all; the people will clamou: 
 but take up no arms. The consequence will be your re 
 moval to Brest or Havre-de-Grace, and leaving you in th 
 hands of your enemies, who will use you as they please. 
 
296 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 know that Mazarin is not bloodthirsty, but I tremble to 
 think of what Noailles has told you, that they are resolved 
 to make haste and take such methods as other States have 
 furnished examples of. You may, perhaps, infer from my 
 remarks that I would have you resign. By no means. I 
 have come to tell you that if you resign you will do a dis- 
 honourable thing, and that it behoves you on this occasion 
 to answer the great expectation the world is now in on your 
 account, even to the hazarding of your life, and of your 
 liberty, which I am persuaded you value more than life 
 itself. Now is the time for you to put forward more than 
 ever those maxims for which we have so much combated 
 you, viz., 'I dread no poison nor sword! Nothing can 
 hurt me but what is within me ! It matters not where one 
 dies ! ' Thus you ought to answer those who speak to you 
 about your resignation." 
 
 I was carried from Vincennes, under guard, to Nantes, 
 where I had numerous visits and diversions, and was enter- 
 tained with a comedy almost every night, and the company 
 of the ladies, particularly the charming Mademoiselle de la 
 Vergne, who in good truth did not approve of me, either 
 because she had no inclination for me, or else because her 
 friends had set her against me by telling her of my incon- 
 stancy and different amours. I endured her cruelty with 
 my natural indifference, and the full liberty Marshal de la 
 Meilleraye allowed me with the city ladies gave me abund- 
 ance of comfort ; nevertheless I was kept under a very 
 strict guard. As I had stipulated with Mazarin that I 
 should have my liberty on condition that I would resign 
 my archbishopric at Vincennes, which I knew would not 
 be valid, I was surprised to hear that the Pope refused to 
 ratify it ; because, though it would not have made my 
 resignation a jot more binding, yet it would have procured 
 my liberty. I proposed expedients to the Holy See by 
 which the Court might do it with honour, but the Pope 
 was inflexible. He thought it would damage his reputation 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 29 
 
 to consent to a violence so injurious to the whole Churcb 
 and said to my friends, who begged his consent with tear 
 in their eyes, that he could never consent to a resignatio 
 extorted from a prisoner by force. 
 
 After several consultations with my friends how to mak 
 my escape, I effected it on August the 8th, at five o'clock i 
 the evening. I let myself down to the bottom of the bastior 
 which was forty feet high, with a rope, while my vald c 
 chamhrc treated the guards with as much liquor as they coul 
 drink. Their attention was, moreover, taken up with lookin 
 at a Jacobin friar who happened to be drowned as he wa 
 bathing. A sentinel, seeing me, was taking up his muske 
 to fire, but dropped it upon my threatening to have hir 
 hanged; and he said, upon examination, that he believe 
 Marshal de la Meilleraye was in concert with me. Tw 
 pages who were washing themselves saw me also, an 
 called out, but were not heard. My four gentlemen waite 
 for me at the bottom of the ravelin, on pretence of waterin 
 their horses, so that I was on horseback before the lea* 
 notice was taken ; and, having forty fresh horses planted o 
 the road, I might have reached Paris very soon if my hors 
 had not fallen and caused me to break my shoulder-bom 
 the pain of which was so extreme that I nearly fainte 
 several times. Not being able to continue my journe] 
 I was lodged, with only one of my gentlemen, in a grej 
 haystack, while MM. de Brissac and Joly went straigf 
 to Beaupreau, to assemble the nobility there, in order t 
 rescue me. I lay hid there for over seven hours in ir 
 expressible misery, for the pain from my injury threw m 
 into a fever, during which my thirst was much augmente 
 by the smell of the new hay ; but, though we were by 
 riverside, we durst not venture out for water because thei 
 was nobody to put the stack in order again, which woul 
 very probably have occasioned suspicion and a search i 
 consequence. We heard nothing but horsemen riding b] 
 who, we were afterwards informed, were Marshal de 1 
 
298 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 Meilleraye's scouts. About two o'clock in the morning I 
 was fetched out of the stack by a Parisian of quahty sent 
 by my friend De Brissac, and carried on a hand-barrow to a 
 barn, where I was again buried ahve, as it were, in hay for 
 seven or eight hours, when M. de Brissac and his lady came, 
 with fifteen or twenty horse, and carried me to Beaupreau. 
 From thence we proceeded, almost in sight of Nantes, to 
 Machecoul, in the country of Retz, after having had an 
 encounter with some of Marshal de la Meilleraye's guards, 
 when we repulsed them to the very barrier. 
 
 Marshal de la Meilleraye was so amazed at my 
 escape that he threatened to destroy the whole country 
 with lire and sword, for which reason I was an unwelcome 
 guest to Madame de Retz and her father, who rallied me 
 very uncharitably on my disobedience to the Iving. We 
 therefore thought lit to leave the country, and went aboard 
 a ship for Belle Isle, from whence, after a very short stay 
 there, we escaped to San Sebastian. 
 
 Upon my arrival there I sent a letter to the King of 
 Spain requesting leave to pass through his dominions to 
 Rome. The messenger was received at Court with civili- 
 ties beyond expression, and sent back next day with the 
 present of a gold chain worth 800 crowns. I had also one 
 of the King's litters sent me, and an invitation to go to 
 Madrid, but I desired to be excused ; and though I also 
 refused immense offers if I would but go to Flanders 
 and treat with the Prince de Conde, &c., for the 
 service of Spain, yet I had a velvet coffer sent me 
 with 40,000 crowns in it, which I likewise thought fit to 
 refuse. As I had neither linen nor apparel, either for 
 myself or servants, and as the 400 crowns which we got 
 by the sale of pilchards on board the barque in which 
 we came from Belle Isle were almost all spent, I bor- 
 rowed 400 crowns of the Baron de Vateville, who com- 
 manded for the King of Spain in Guipuzcoa, and faithfully 
 repaid him. 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 299 
 
 From San Sebastian I travelled incognito to Tudela, 
 where I was met by the King's mule drivers and waited 
 on by the alcade, who left his wand at my chamber 
 door and at his entrance knelt and kissed the hem of 
 my garment. From thence I was conducted to Cortes 
 by fifty musketeers riding upon asses, w^ho were sent 
 me by the Governor of Navarre. At Saragossa I was 
 taken for the King of England, and a large number of 
 ladies, in over two hundred carriages, came to pay 
 me their respects. From thence I proceeded to Vivaros, 
 where I had rich presents from the Governor of Valencia. 
 And from thence I sailed to Majorca, whose Governor 
 met me with above one hundred coaches of the Spanish 
 nobility, and carried me to mass at the Cathedral, where 
 I saw thirty or forty ladies of quality of more than com- 
 mon charms; and, to speak the truth, the women there 
 in general are of rare beauty, having a graceful tincture 
 both of the lily and the rose, and wear a head-dress 
 which is exceedingly pretty. The Governor, after having 
 treated me with a magnificent dinner under a tent of gold 
 brocade near the seaside, carried me to a concert of 
 music in a convent, where I found the nuns not inferior 
 in beauty to the ladies of the town. The Governor carried 
 me to see his lady, who was as ugly as a witch, and 
 was seated under a great canopy sparkling with precious 
 stones, which gave a wonderful lustre to about sixty 
 ladies with her, who were the handsomest in the whole 
 town. I was reconducted on board my galley with 
 music and a discharge of the artillery, and sailed to Port 
 Mahon, and from thence through the Gulf of Lyons to 
 the canal between Corsica and Sardinia, where our ship 
 was very nearly cast away upon a sandbank, but with 
 great difficulty we got her off and reached Porto Lon- 
 gone. There we quitted the galley, and went by land 
 to Piombino. 
 
J 
 
 OO MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 I TRAVELLED from Piombino to Florence, where I had 
 great honours and vast offers from the Grand Duke, though 
 Mazarin had threatened him, in the King's name, with a 
 rupture if he granted me passage through his dominions ; 
 but the Grand Duke sent to desire the Cardinal to let 
 him know whether there was any possibility of refusing 
 it without disobliging the Pope and the Sacred College. 
 As I was travelling through the Duke's country, my 
 mules, being frightened by a clap of thunder, ran with 
 my litter into a brook, where I narrowly escaped being 
 drowned. 
 
 As soon as I arrived at Rome the Pope sent me 4,000 
 crowns in gold. I was immediately informed that a 
 strong faction was formed there against me by the Court 
 of France ; that the Cardinal d'Est, representative of that 
 nation, had terrible orders from the King ; and that they 
 were resolved to send me packing from Rome, cost what 
 it would. I had my old scruples upon me, and said I 
 would die a thousand deaths rather than make resistance ; 
 but I thought it would be too disrespectful in a Cardinal to 
 come so near the Pope and to go away without kissing his 
 feet, and I resolved to leave the rest to the Providence of 
 God. 
 
 The Pope having ordered his guards to be ready, in 
 case the French faction should offer to rise, the Cardinal 
 d'Est was so good as to let me alone. His Holiness gave 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 3OI 
 
 me an audience of four hours, condescended to beg my 
 forgiveness for not having acted with more vigour for my 
 Hberty ; and said, with tears in his eyes, "God forgive 
 those who delayed to give me timely notice of your im- 
 prisonment, and who made us believe that you had been 
 guilty of an attempt upon the King's person. The Sacred 
 College took fire at the news ; but the French Ambassador 
 being at liberty to give out what he chose, because nobody 
 appeared here on your part to contradict him, Mazarin 
 extinguished it, and half the Sacred College thought you 
 were abandoned by the whole kingdom." In short, the 
 Pope was so well disposed to me that he thought oJ 
 adopting me as his nephew, but he sickened soon after 
 and died. 
 
 The conclave chose Cardinal Chigi (who was called 
 Alexander VII.) for his successor, in whose election I had 
 such a share that when it came to my turn, at the adoration 
 of the Cardinals, to kiss his feet, he embraced me, sayin.tj 
 " Signor Cardinal de Retz, Eccc opus niaiiuiuu tuaniiii'' {i.c 
 Behold the work of your own hands). I went home accom- 
 panied with one hundred and twenty coaches of gentlemen, 
 who did not doubt that I should govern the Pontificate. 
 
 My friends in France, who commonly judge of othei 
 nations by their own, imagined that a persecuted Cardinal 
 might, nay, ought to live like a private man even at Rome, 
 and advised me not to spend much money, because ni}' 
 revenues in France were all seized, and said that sucb 
 exemplary modesty would have an admirable effect upon 
 the clergy of Paris. But Cardinal Chigi talked after 
 another manner : " When you are re-established in your 
 see you may live as you please, because you will be in a 
 country where everybody will know what you are or are 
 not able to do. You are now at Rome, where your 
 enemies say every day that you have lost your credit in 
 France, and you are under a necessity to make it appear 
 
302 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 that what they say is false. You are not a hermit, but 
 a Cardinal, and a Cardinal, too, of the better rank. At 
 Rome there are many people who love to tread upon men 
 when they are down. Dear sir, take care you do not fall, 
 and do but consider what a figure you will make in the 
 streets with six vergers attending you ; otherwise every 
 pitiful citizen of Paris that meets you will be apt to jostle 
 you, in order to make his court to the Cardinal d'Est. 
 You ought not to have come to Rome if you had not had 
 resolution and the means to support your dignity. I pre- 
 sume you do not make it a point of Christian humility 
 to debase yourself. And let me tell you that I, the poor 
 Cardinal Chigi, who have but 5,000 crowns revenue, and 
 am one of the poorest in the College, and though I am 
 sure to meet nobody in the streets who will be wanting 
 in the respect due to the purple, yet I cannot go to my 
 functions without four coaches in livery to attend me." 
 
 Therefore I hired a palace, kept a great table, and 
 entertained fourscore persons in liveries. The Cardinal 
 d'Est, the very day after the creation of the new Pope, 
 forbade all Frenchmen to give me the way in the streets, 
 and charged the superiors of the French churches not to 
 admit me. M. de Lionne, who resided here as a sort of 
 private secretary to Mazarin, was so nettled because the 
 new Pope had granted me the pallium for my arch- 
 bishopric that he told him the King would never own 
 me, insinuated that there would be a schism among the 
 clergy of France, and that the Pope must expect to be 
 excluded from the congress for a general peace. This so 
 frightened His Holiness that he made a million of mean 
 excuses, and said, with tears in his eyes, that I had 
 imposed upon him, and that he would take the lirst 
 opportunity to do the King justice. Upon this M. de 
 Lionne sent word to the Cardinal that he hoped very 
 shortly to acquaint him of my being a prisoner in the Castle 
 
CARDINAL DE RETZ 303 
 
 of St. Angelo, and that the Cardinal would be no better off 
 for His Majesty's amnesty, because the Pope said none 
 but he could absolve or condemn cardinals. Meantime 
 all my domestics who were subjects of the King of France 
 were ordered to quit my service, on pain of being treated as 
 rebels and traitors. I could have little hope of protection 
 from the Pope, for he was become quite another man, 
 never spoke one word of truth, and continually amused 
 himself with mere trifles, insomuch that one day he 
 proposed a reward for whoever found out a Latin word 
 for " calash," and spent seven or eight days in examining 
 whether " mosco " came from " musca," or " musca " 
 from " mosco." All his piety consisted in assuming a 
 serious air at church, in Avhich, nevertheless, there was a 
 great mixture of pride, for he was vain to the last degree, 
 and envious of everybody. The work entitled " Sindicato 
 di Alexandre VII." gives an account of his luxury and of 
 several pasquinades against the said Pope, particularly 
 that one day Marforio asking Pasquin what he said to the 
 Cardinals upon his deathbed, Pasquin answered, " Maxima 
 dc scipso, pluvinia dc pavcntibns, pavva de priiicipibus, tiirpia dc 
 Carditialibus, pauca dc Ecclcsia, dc Deo niJiil," i.e., " He said 
 fine things of himself, a great many things of his kindred, 
 some things of Princes, could not give the Cardinals a good 
 word, said but little of the Church, and nothing at all of 
 God." Plis Ploliness, in a consistory, laid claim to the 
 merit of the conversion of Christina, Queen of Sweden, 
 though everybody knew to the contrary, and that she had 
 abjured heresy a year and a half before she came to Rome. 
 Having heard that Bussiere, "who is Chamberlain to the 
 Ambassadors at Rome, had declared I should not have a 
 place in St. Louis' church on the festival of that saint, 
 I was not discouraged from going thither. At my entrance 
 he snatched the holy water stick from the cure just as 
 he was going to sprinkle me ; nevertheless I took my place. 
 
304 MEMOIRS OF THE CARDINAL DE RETZ 
 
 and was resolved to keep up the status and dignity of a 
 French Cardinal. 
 
 This was my condition at Rome, where it was my fate 
 to be a refugee, persecuted by my King and abused by the 
 Pope. All my revenues were seized, and the French 
 bankers forbidden to serve me ; nay, those who had an 
 inclination to assist me were forced to promise they would 
 not. Two of the Abbe Fouquet's bastards were publicly 
 maintained out of my revenues, and no means were left 
 untried to hinder the farmers from relieving me, or my 
 creditors from harassing me with vexatious and expensive 
 lawsuits. 
 
 THE END 
 
 H. S. NICHOLS, PRINTER, 3 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W