The Life of Marie de Medicis Volume III Part 4

On the conclusion of the treaty a meeting was appointed between the King and his mother at the castle of Brissac, whither he repaired to await her arrival; and she was no sooner made acquainted with this arrangement than she hastened to the place of rendezvous, escorted by five hundred hors.e.m.e.n of the royal army. She was met midway by the Marechal de Praslin, and a short time afterwards by the Duc de Luxembourg, at the head of a strong party of n.o.bles, by whom she was warmly welcomed; and finally, when she was within a few hundred yards of the castle, Louis himself appeared, who, as her litter approached, alighted in his turn, an example which she immediately followed, and in the next instant they were clasped in each other's arms.

"I have you now, Madame," exclaimed the King with a somewhat equivocal smile; "and you shall not escape me again."

"Sire," replied the Queen, "you will have little trouble in retaining me, for I meet you with the firm determination never more to leave you, and in perfect confidence that I shall be treated with all the kindness and consideration which I can hope from so good a son."

These hollow compliments exchanged, Louis retired a pace or two in order to enable the Prince de Conde and the Duc de Luynes to pay their respects to the Queen-mother, by whom they were most graciously received; while Richelieu was no less warmly greeted by the young King and his favourite. No one, in fine, who had witnessed the scene, could have imagined that heart-burning and hatred were concealed beneath the smiles and blandishments which were to be encountered on all sides; or that among those who then and there bandied honeyed words and gracious greetings, were to be found individuals who had staked their whole future fortunes upon a perilous venture, and many of whom had lost.

After a few days spent at Brissac the King departed for Poitou, while Marie repaired to Chinon, whence she was to follow him in a few days; and thus terminated the second exile of the widow of Henry the Great, even as the first had done, in mortification and defeat.[57]

As a matter of course, the Ducs de Mayenne and d'Epernon no sooner saw that the cause of the Queen-mother had become hopeless than they hastened to make their submission to the King; although the former, fearing that his known hostility to the favourite might militate against his future interests, first endeavoured to induce M. d'Epernon to join him in forming a new faction for their personal protection; but this attempt met with no encouragement, Epernon declaring that as his royal mistress had seen fit to trust to the clemency of the sovereign, he felt bound to follow her example, and that he advised M. de Mayenne to adopt the same course. Such a reply naturally sufficed to convince his colleague that he had no other alternative; and after the professions usual on such occasions both n.o.bles prepared to lay down their arms.[58]

Louis having learnt at Poitiers that the Queen was on her way to join him, immediately proceeded to Tours to await her arrival, and to conduct her to the former city, whither she accompanied him with all the great ladies of the Court; and four days subsequently Marie de Medicis followed with her slender retinue. She was welcomed by Anne of Austria with haughty courtesy; and during the ensuing week all was revelry and dissipation. The young Queen gave a splendid ball in honour of her august mother-in-law; and on the morrow the Jesuits performed a comedy at which all the Court were present.

It is probable, however, that Marie de Medicis did not enter with much zest into these diversions, as she could not fail to perceive that the courtesy evinced towards her was reluctant and constrained; and when, on the arrival of the Duc de Mayenne, she witnessed the coldness of his reception, her fears for her own future welfare must have been considerably augmented. At his first audience Mayenne threw himself at the feet of the King, protesting his sorrow for the past, and imploring the royal pardon with all the humility of a criminal, but Louis alike feared and hated the veteran leaguer, and he replied harshly: "Enough, M. le Duc; I will forget the past should the future give me cause to do so." And as he ceased speaking he turned away, leaving the mortified n.o.ble to rise at his leisure from the lowly att.i.tude which he had a.s.sumed.[59]

Two days subsequently the King resumed his journey to Guienne, Marie de Medicis proceeded to Fontainebleau, and Anne of Austria returned to Paris. As Louis reached Chize he was met by the Duc d'Epernon, who, in his turn, sued for forgiveness, which was accorded without difficulty; and thus the Queen-mother found herself deprived of her two most efficient protectors,[60] and clung more tenaciously than ever to the support of the treacherous Richelieu.

The next care of Louis was to compel the resumption of the Roman Catholic religion in Bearn; after which he followed the Court to the capital, whither he had already been preceded by the Queen-mother.

FOOTNOTES:

[45] _Mercure Francais_, 1620. _Pieces Curieuses faites durant le Regne du Connetable de Luynes_, pp. 1-3.

[46] Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp. 70-72. _Vie du Duc d'Epernon_, book viii. Sismondi, vol. xxii. p. 458. Fontenay-Mareuil, _Mem_. p. 458. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 183, 184. Richelieu, _Hist. de la Mere et du Fils_, vol. ii. pp. 397, 398.

[47] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 183, 184. Fontenay-Mareuil, _Mem_. pp.

461-467.

[48] Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp. 106-108. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 186, 187.

[49] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 186, 187. Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp.

106-110.

[50] Siri, _Mem. Rec_. 1620, pp. 110-122.

[51] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 206. Pontchartrain, _Mem_. p. 313.

Fontenay-Mareuil, _Mem_. p. 462. Sismondi, vol. xxii. pp. 462, 463.

Matthieu, _Hist, des Derniers Troubles_, book iii. p. 650.

[52] Mezeray, vol. xi. p. 202. _Mercure Francais_, 1620-1621.

[53] Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 206, 207. _Lumieres pour l'Hist. de France_.

Bernard, book iii.

[54] _Mercure Francais_, 1620. Siri, _Mem. Rec_, vol. v. pp. 135-137. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 212, 213.

[55] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 213. Mezeray, vol. xi. p. 210.

[56] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 213, 214. _Mercure Francais_, 1620. Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp. 139, 140. Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 210, 211.

[57] _Mercure Francais_, 1620. Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp. 140, 141.

Brienne, _Mem_. vol. i. pp. 342, 343. Ba.s.sompierre, _Mem_. edit.

Pet.i.tot, vol. ii. pp. 193-199.

[58] _Vie du Duc d'Epernon_, book iii. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 216, 217.

[59] _Mercure Francois_, 1620.

[60] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 217. Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 212, 213.

CHAPTER IV

1621-24

Attempt to secure a cardinal's hat for Richelieu frustrated by De Luynes--Death of Philip III of Spain--De Luynes is created Connetable de France--Discontent of the great n.o.bles--Disgust of the Marechal de Lesdiguieres--The Protestants of Bearn rise against their oppressors--The royal troops march against them--They are worsted, and despoiled of their fortified places--The King becomes jealous of his favourite--_Le Roi Luynes_--Domestic dissensions--The favourite is threatened with disgrace--Cruelty of Louis XIII--Death of De Luynes--Louis determines to exterminate the Protestants--A struggle for power--Prudence of Ba.s.sompierre--Conde encourages the design of the King--The old ministers are recalled--They join with the Queen-mother in her attempt to conclude a peace with the reformed party--Marie de Medicis solicits a share in the government--The King complies, but refuses to sanction the admission of Richelieu to the Council--The d.u.c.h.esse de Luynes and Anne of Austria--Frustrated hopes--Conde aspires to the French throne--Louis XIII leaves the capital by stealth in order to join the army at Nantes--The Queen-mother prepares to follow him, but is overtaken by illness--Ruthless persecution of the Protestants--Siege of La Roch.e.l.le--Venality of the Protestant leaders--Indignation of the Catholic n.o.bles--Resistance of the citizens of Montpellier--Military incapacity of Conde--The Duc de Rohan negotiates a peace, and Conde retires to Rome--Montpellier opens its gates to the King--Bad faith of Louis XIII--Triumphal entry of the King at Lyons--Marriage of the Marquis de la Valette and Mademoiselle de Verneuil--Richelieu is created a cardinal--Exultation of the Queen-mother--Death of the President Jeannin--Prospects of Richelieu--His duplicity--Misplaced confidence of Marie de Medicis--Louis XIII returns to Paris--Change in the Ministry--Anne of Austria and the Prince of Wales--The Queen-mother and her faction endeavour to accomplish the ruin of the Chancellor, and succeed--Richelieu is admitted to the Council---Indignation of Conde--Richelieu becomes all-powerful--His ingrat.i.tude to the Queen-mother--The Queen-mother is anxious to effect a matrimonial alliance with England--Richelieu seconds her views--The King of Spain applies for the hand of the Princesse Henriette for Don Carlos--His demand is negatived by the Cardinal-Minister--La Vieuville is dismissed from the Ministry--Duplicity of Louis XIII--Arrest of La Vieuville--Change of ministers--Petticoat intrigues--The Duc d'Anjou solicits the hand of Mademoiselle de Montpensier--The alliance is opposed by the Guises and forbidden by the King.

During the absence of the King from Paris, the Marechal d'Estrees, who was at that period Amba.s.sador at Rome, was engaged in soliciting two seats in the Conclave, the first for the Archbishop of Toulouse, and the second for the Bishop of Lucon; while Marie de Medicis lost no opportunity of entreating Bentivoglio, the Papal Nuncio, to further the interests of the latter, impressing upon him that no period could be more favourable than the present, when Louis XIII had enforced upon a whole refractory province the performance of the rites which it had so long rejected. To this argument the Cardinal had nothing to object, and he accordingly listened with complacency to her representations; but they were rendered abortive by De Luynes, who privately informed him that neither the sovereign nor himself sincerely desired the promotion of Richelieu, and that their apparent anxiety for his advancement had been merely a.s.sumed to gratify the Queen-mother; while, far from being disposed to consider the dissent of the Pontiff to this application as a slight, his Majesty would be gratified should he reject it, as he had reason to feel dissatisfied with the Bishop of Lucon, whom he was consequently not disposed to support in an ambition which he considered to be at once inordinate and premature. Paul V needed no further hint; he had been unwilling to countenance the elevation of two French prelates, and accordingly he replied to all the urgent solicitations of M. d'Estrees with evasive replies, until at length, wearied by his pertinacity, he laid before him a letter from Louis himself wherein he revoked all his former orders. The indignation of the Amba.s.sador was only exceeded by that of Richelieu when they severally discovered that they had been duped; but the death of the Pope, and the election of Gregory XV, which occurred in the following month (February), once more renewed their hopes.

The demise of Paul V was followed by that of Philip III of Spain, and negotiations were immediately commenced with his successor for the restoration of the Valteline to the Grisons, which were happily concluded for the moment; but, whatever satisfaction this event might have elicited at the Court of France, it was counterbalanced by another, in which the great n.o.bles felt a more personal and intimate interest. On the 2nd of April Charles Albert, Due de Luynes, was invested with the sword of Connetable de France; and thus in the short s.p.a.ce of four years, without having distinguished himself either as a warrior or a statesman, had risen from the obscure position of a Gentleman of the Household, and of a petty provincial n.o.ble, to the highest dignity which could be conferred upon a subject.

The ceremony of his invest.i.ture was conducted with extraordinary pomp; and when he had taken the oath, De Luynes received from the hands of the King a sword richly ornamented with diamonds, which was buckled on by Gaston, Duc d'Anjou.[61] The murmurs elicited by this extraordinary promotion were universal, and the rather as it had long been promised to the Duc de Lesdiguieres, who was compelled to content himself with a brevet of Marshal of France, and the t.i.tle of colonel-general of the royal army, which const.i.tuted the veteran soldier the lieutenant of De Luynes, who had never been upon a field of battle.[62]

The remainder of the year was occupied in a campaign against the Protestants, who, on the departure of the King from Bearn, had rallied in the defence of their religion, and revolted against the outrages to which they had been subjected by a lawless rabble. Their churches had been desecrated and burnt down at Tours, Poitiers, and other cities, themselves publicly insulted, and they began to apprehend that they were about to be despoiled of all the privileges accorded to them by the Edict of Nantes. Under these circ.u.mstances they had convoked a general a.s.sembly at La Roch.e.l.le, in order to decide upon the measures necessary for their preservation; and although warned immediately to dissolve the meeting, they had refused compliance with the royal edict, even while aware that they were not strong enough to contend with any prospect of ultimate success.[63]

The new Connetable eagerly seized this opportunity of exerting his authority, and an army of forty thousand infantry and eight thousand horse was marched towards the Loire, at the head of which were the King himself, De Luynes, and the Marechal de Lesdiguieres; while, as though the projected expedition had been a mere party of pleasure, not only did a crowd of the great n.o.bles volunteer to swell the ranks of the already enormous host, but the two Queens, the d.u.c.h.esse de Luynes, and a numerous suite of ladies also accompanied the troops to share in the campaign. The result of this fearful contest is known. The unhappy Protestants were driven from their strongholds, and with the exception of Montauban, which was so gallantly defended that the King was ultimately compelled to raise the siege, they found themselves utterly despoiled, and exposed to every species of insult.

No event could have been more unfortunate for the ambitious Connetable than the successful defence of Montauban. Louis loved war for its own sake, but he was also jealous of success; and he felt with great bitterness this first mortification. He had, moreover, become conscious that he was a mere puppet in the hands of his ambitious favourite; and he was already becoming weary of a moral va.s.salage of which he had been unable to calculate the extent. As the brilliant Connetable flashed past him, glittering with gold, the plumes of his helmet dancing in the wind, and the housings of his charger sparkling with gems, he looked after him with a contemptuous scowl, and bade the n.o.bles among whom he stood admire the regal bearing of _le Roi Luynes_; nor was he the less bitter because he could not suppress a consciousness of his own disability to dispense with the services of the man whom he thus criticized.

Upon one point Louis XIII greatly resembled his mother; with all his arrogance and love of power, he possessed no innate strength of purpose, and constantly required extraneous support; but it was already easy for those about him to perceive that fear alone continued to link him with the once all-powerful favourite. Rumour said, moreover, that superadded to the jealousy which the King entertained of the daily increasing a.s.sumption of the Connetable there existed another cause of discontent.

The d.u.c.h.esse de Luynes was, as we have said, both beautiful and fascinating, and Louis had not been proof against her attractions, although his ideas of gallantry never overstepped the bounds of the most scrupulous propriety. The lady had on her part welcomed his homage with more warmth than discretion, and the favourite had not failed to reproach her for a levity by which he considered himself dishonoured.

Madame de Luynes had retorted in no measured terms, and the young sovereign, who detested finding himself involved in affairs of this nature, and who had, moreover, reason to believe that he was not the only individual favoured by the smiles of the coquettish beauty, soon evinced an aversion towards both husband and wife, which encouraged the enemies of De Luynes to hint that the reverse which his Majesty had lately suffered at Montauban might be entirely attributed to the incapacity and selfishness of the Connetable. This opinion soothed the wounded vanity of the King, and he talked vehemently of his regret for the brave men who had fallen, among whom was the Duc de Mayenne, and bitterly complained of the dishonour to which he had been subjected; while in order to revenge himself at once upon De Luynes and the d.u.c.h.ess, he condescended to the meanness of informing the former that the Prince de Joinville was enamoured of his wife, and subsequently boasted to Ba.s.sompierre that he had done so. The Marquis listened in astonishment to this extraordinary communication, and in reply ventured to a.s.sure his Majesty that he had committed a serious error in seeking to cause a misunderstanding between a married couple.

"G.o.d will forgive me for it should He see fit to do so," was the sullen retort of Louis. "At all events it gave me great pleasure to be revenged on him, and to cause him this annoyance; and before six months have elapsed I will make him disgorge all his gains." [64]

The rumour of his projected disgrace soon reached the ears of the bewildered favourite, who instantly resolved to redeem himself by some more successful achievement. He accordingly ordered the troops to march upon and besiege Monheur, an insignificant town on the Garonne, which was feebly garrisoned by two hundred and sixty men, and which was in consequence sure to fall into his hands. As he had foreseen, the place soon capitulated, but the late reverse had rendered Louis less accessible than ever to the claims of mercy; and although by the terms of the treaty he found himself compelled to spare the lives of the troops, numbers of the inhabitants were put to death, and the town was sacked and burned.[65] This paltry triumph did not, however, suffice to reinstate the Connetable in the good graces of his royal master, who continued to indulge in the most puerile complaints against his former favourite; and the latter's mortification at so sudden and unexpected a reverse of fortune so seriously affected his health that, while the ruins of the ill-fated town were still smouldering, he expired in an adjacent village of a fever which had already caused considerable ravages in the royal army.

When intelligence of the decease of De Luynes was communicated to the King he did not even affect the slightest regret, and the courtiers at once perceived that the demise of the man upon whom he had lavished so many and such unmerited distinctions was regarded by Louis as a well-timed release. So careless indeed did the resentful monarch show himself of the common observances of decency that he gave no directions for his burial; and, profiting by this omission, the enemies of the unfortunate Connetable pillaged his residence, and carried off every article of value, not leaving him even a sheet to supply his grave-clothes. The Marechal de Chaulnes and the Due de Luxembourg, his brothers, with whom at his first entrance into life he had shared his slender income, and whom in his after days of prosperity he had alike enn.o.bled and enriched, looked on in silence at this desecration of his remains, lest by resenting the outrage they should incur the displeasure of the King; and it is on record that the Abbe Rucella and one of his friends alone had the courage and generosity to furnish the necessary funds for embalming the body and effecting its transport to its last resting-place.[66]

The resolute position still maintained by the Protestants chafed the arrogant temper of Louis XIII, who, although personally incapable of sustaining the royal authority, was yet jealous of its privileges.

Political and civil liberty was in his eyes a heresy to be exterminated at whatever cost; and while he was as infirm in purpose as a child, he grasped at absolute monarchy, and panted to acquire it. This, as he at once felt, could never be achieved while there existed within his kingdom a party which claimed to limit his prerogative, and to maintain the rights which it had acquired under his predecessors, and thus he eagerly resolved to rid himself of so dangerous an enemy; but although his determination was formed, he found himself unequal to the self-imposed task; he had no reliance on his own strength, and until he had selected a new favourite upon whom he could lean for support, he dared not venture upon so serious an undertaking.

There were, however, many candidates for the vacant honour, and De Luynes was scarcely in his grave ere two separate parties began to strive for pre-eminence. That of the ministers was headed by Henri de Gondy, Cardinal de Retz, President of the Council, Schomberg, Grand Master of the Artillery and Superintendent of Finance, and De Vic, Keeper of the Seals, who exerted all their efforts to dissuade the King from again placing himself in the power of a favourite; believing that should he consent to retain the government in his own hands, they need only flatter his foibles to secure to themselves the actual administration of the kingdom; a policy which they commenced by urging him to follow up his intention of pursuing the war against the Protestants.

On the other hand, the courtiers who were anxious for peace, and who desired to see Louis once more quietly established in his capital, were earnest that he should advance Ba.s.sompierre to the coveted dignity; nor were they without sanguine hope of success, as even before the death of De Luynes, the wit, courage, and magnificence of the courtly soldier had captivated the admiration of the King, who had evinced towards him a greater portion of regard than he vouchsafed to any other n.o.ble of his suite; while so conscious were the ministers of this preference, that in order to rid themselves of so dangerous an adversary, and to effect his removal from the Court, they offered to Ba.s.sompierre the lieutenancy of Guienne and the _baton_ of a marshal. These honours were, however, declined--not from ambition, for Ba.s.sompierre, although brave in the field, was an ardent votary of pleasure, and the Court was his world; but he was wise enough to feel that he did not possess the necessary talent for so perilous a post as that which his friends would fain have a.s.signed to him; and he was the first to declare that the intrigues of both parties would fail, since the King must ere long fall, as a natural consequence, under the dominion of his mother, or that of the Prince de Conde.[67]