The Life of Marie de Medicis Volume III Part 6

FOOTNOTES:

[61] _Mercure Francais_, 1621. Bernard, book v.

[62] Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 221, 222.

[63] Richelieu, _Mem_. book xii. pp. 118-128. Rohan, _Mem_. book ii. pp.

183-185. Bazin, vol. iii. pp. 132-138.

[64] Ba.s.sompierre, _Mem_. vol. ii. pp. 493, 494.

[65] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 421. Sismondi, vol. xxii. pp. 492, 493.

Ba.s.sompierre, _Mem_. vol. ii. p. 358.

[66] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 421. _Mercure Francais_, 1621.

[67] Sismondi, vol. xxii. pp. 497, 498.

[68] Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 230-232.

[69] Marguerite de Souvre, Marquise de Sable, was the wife of Philippe Emmanuel de Laval-Montmorency. She died in 1678, in her seventy-sixth year.

[70] Motteville, _Mem_. vol. i. pp. 340-342.

[71] Ba.s.sompierre, _Mem_. vol. ii. p. 376. Sismondi, vol. xxii. pp. 499, 500.

[72] Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 232, 233. Sismondi, _Hist. des Francais_, vol. xxii. p. 501.

[73] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 457.

[74] Ba.s.sompierre, _Mem_. vol. ii. p. 389.

[75] Sismondi, vol. xxii. pp. 504-506.

[76] Sismondi, vol. xxii. pp. 510-512. Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 238-240.

[77] Ba.s.sompierre, _Mem_. vol. ii. p. 492. Brienne, _Mem_. vol. i. p.

371. Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 242, 243.

[78] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 525.

[79] Louis Le Febvre, Marquis de Caumartin, President of the Privy Council, and Keeper of the Seals in 1622, died in the following year at the age of seventy-two. He was a man of great talent, and an able politician.

[80] Charles de la Vieuville, subsequently created duke.

[81] Etienne d'Aligre was a native of Chartres, and owed his advancement in life solely to his great talents. He became successively steward of the household to the Cardinal Charles de Bourbon, Councillor of State, Keeper of the Seals, and subsequently, on the death of M. de Sillery, Chancellor of France. Two years afterwards, having resigned the seals, he retired to one of his estates, where he died on the 11th of December 1635, at the age of seventy-five years.

[82] Brienne, _Mem_. vol. i. pp. 373, 374. Ba.s.sompierre, _Mem_. vol.

iii. p. 6. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 546, 547.

[83] Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 260-263. Sismondi, vol. xxii. p. 534.

[84] Richelieu, _Mem_. book xv. pp. 284-286.

[85] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 615. Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp. 595, 596.

[86] Richelieu, _Mem_. book xv. p. 296.

[87] Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 267-269. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 621.

[88] Michel de Marillac was born in 1563. He was successively Councillor in the Parliament of Paris, Master of the Court of Requests, Councillor of State, Superintendent of Finance, and Keeper of the Seals (1626).

Four years subsequently he was involved in the disgrace of his brother the Marechal de Marillac, and was compelled to resign the seals (1630).

He was then conveyed to the fortress of Caen, whence he was finally removed to that of Chateaudun, where he died of grief on the 7th of August 1632. He was the author of the _Code Michau_, a translation of the Psalms into French verse, and several other works.

[89] Le Va.s.sor, edit. 1717, vol. v. pp. 110-112. Ba.s.sompierre, vol. iii.

pp. 13-15. Sismondi, vol. xxiii. p. 12. Fontenay-Mareuil, vol. ii. p. 4.

CHAPTER V

1625-28

Death of James I.--The Princesse Henriette is married by proxy to Charles I.--The Duke of Buckingham arrives in France to conduct his young sovereign to her new country--An arrogant suitor--Departure of the English Queen--Indisposition of Marie de Medicis--Arrival of Henriette in London--Growing power of Richelieu--Suspicions of the Queen-mother--Influence of the Jesuit Berulle over Marie de Medicis--Richelieu urges Monsieur to conclude his marriage with Mademoiselle de Montpensier--Character of Gaston--He refuses to accept the hand of the lady--Arrest of M.

d'Ornano--Vengeance of Richelieu--Indignation of Monsieur--Alarm of the Queen-mother--Pusillanimity of Gaston--Arrest of the Vendome Princes--Edicts issued against the great n.o.bles--Sumptuary laws--Execution of the Comte de Bouteville--The reign of Richelieu--Policy of Marie and her minister--Distrust of the King--Conspiracy against the Cardinal--Richelieu threatens to retire from office--A diplomatic drama--Triumph of the Cardinal--Execution of Chalais--Heartlessness of Gaston--Monsieur consents to an alliance with Mademoiselle de Montpensier--A royal marriage--The victims of Richelieu--Marie de Medicis and the Cardinal endeavour to increase the dissension between Louis XIII and his Queen--Exile of the d.u.c.h.esse de Joyeuse--Accusation against Anne of Austria--She becomes a state prisoner--Subtlety of Richelieu--Antic.i.p.ated rupture with England--Emba.s.sy of Ba.s.sompierre--Death of the Duc de Lesdiguieres--Favour of Saint-Simon--Pregnancy of the d.u.c.h.esse d'Orleans--Dissolute conduct of Monsieur--Birth of Mademoiselle--Death of Madame--Marie de Medicis seeks to effect a marriage between Monsieur and a Florentine Princess--Buckingham lands in France, but is repulsed--Illness of Louis XIII--Disgust of the Duc d'Orleans--Louis wearies of the camp--He is incensed against the Cardinal--The King returns to Paris--Monsieur affects a pa.s.sion for the Princesse Marie de Gonzaga, which alarms the sovereign--His distrust of the Queen-mother--Marie de Medicis withdraws her confidence from the Cardinal--Mother and son--Louis returns to La Roch.e.l.le--The city capitulates--Triumphal entry of Louis XIII into Paris--Exhortation of the Papal Nuncio.

The death of James I. and the succession of Charles, Prince of Wales, to the English throne, at the commencement of the year 1625, excited the greatest uneasiness at the Court of France, where all parties were alike anxious for the arrival of the Papal dispensation. Nor was the new monarch himself less desirous of completing the contemplated alliance, as only three days were suffered to elapse after the demise of his royal father ere he hastened to ratify the treaty, and to make preparations for its immediate fulfilment.[90]

On the arrival of the long-expected courier from Rome the dispensation was delivered into the hands of Marie de Medicis by Spada, the Papal Nuncio; and on the 8th of May the Duc de Chevreuse, whom Charles had appointed as his proxy, signed the contract of marriage, conjointly with the Earl of Carlisle and Lord Holland, who officiated as Amba.s.sadors Extraordinary from the Court of St. James's. At the ceremonial of the marriage, which took place on the 11th of May, the difference of religion between the English monarch and the French Princess compelled the observance of certain conventional details which were all scrupulously fulfilled. The Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld, Grand Almoner of France, p.r.o.nounced the nuptial benediction on a platform erected before the portal of Notre-Dame, after which the Duc de Chevreuse and the English Amba.s.sadors conducted the young Queen to the entrance of the choir, and retired until the conclusion of the ma.s.s, when they rejoined Louis XIII and their new sovereign at the same spot, and accompanied them to the great hall of the archiepiscopal palace, where a sumptuous banquet had been prepared.[91]

Some days subsequently, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, arrived unexpectedly in Paris, to urge the immediate departure of the Princess for her new kingdom, and to express the impatience of the King his master to welcome her to his dominions. The extraordinary magnificence displayed by Buckingham on this occasion was the comment of the whole Court, while the remarkable beauty of his person excited no less admiration than the splendour of his apparel; nor was it long ere the scandal-mongers of the royal circle whispered that it had not failed in its effect upon the fancy, if not upon the heart, of Anne of Austria, who received his homage with an evident delight which flattered the vanity of the brilliant visitor. High in favour with his sovereign, and anxious to profit by so favourable an opportunity of enhancing his own personal attractions, Buckingham appeared at the Court festivals attired in the Crown jewels, and indulged in a reckless profusion which enriched all with whom he came into contact, and soon rendered him a general favourite. Aware of the impression that he had produced, the English Duke, whose ambition was as great as his gallantry, soon suffered himself to be betrayed into an undisguised admiration of the French Queen, which led him to commit a thousand unbecoming follies; while Anne was on her side so imprudent that her most partial biographer deemed it necessary to advance an apology for her levity by declaring that "it should excite no astonishment if he had the happiness to make this beautiful Queen acknowledge that if a virtuous woman had been able to love another better than her husband, he would have been the only person who could have pleased her." [92]

Fortunately, alike for the thoughtless Anne and the audacious favourite, this dangerous intercourse was abruptly terminated by the departure of Madame Henrietta, who left the capital in great pomp, accompanied by the King her brother (who was to proceed only as far as Compiegne), and by the two Queens, from whom she was not to separate until the moment of her embarkation at Boulogne, where the vessels of Charles awaited her arrival. On reaching Amiens, however, Marie de Medicis was attacked by sudden indisposition; and as, after a delay of several days, it was found impossible that she should continue her journey, the English Queen was compelled to take leave of her august mother and sister-in-law in that city, and to proceed to the coast under the escort of Monsieur, who was attended by the Ducs de Luxembourg and de Bellegarde, the Marechal de Ba.s.sompierre, the Marquis d'Alencourt, and the Vicomte de Brigueil.

On the 22nd of June the royal fleet set sail, and in twenty-four hours Queen Henrietta reached Dover; where she was met by her impatient consort, who, on the following day, conducted her to Canterbury; and in the course of July she made her entry into London, whence, however, she was immediately removed to Hampton Court, the prevalence of the plague in the capital rendering her sojourn there unsafe.

Having witnessed the departure of the royal bride for her new kingdom, Monsieur and his brilliant train returned to Amiens; and on the recovery of the Queen-mother the whole of the august party retraced their steps to Paris, whence they shortly afterwards proceeded to Fontainebleau.[93]

At this period Richelieu had become all-powerful He possessed the entire confidence alike of the King and of the Queen-mother. He had been appointed chief of the Council, and possessed such unlimited authority that he opened the despatches, and issued orders without even asking the sanction of Marie de Medicis, whose influence was rapidly becoming merely nominal; and whose favour he treated so lightly that he never appeared at Court during the absence of the King lest the jealousy of Louis should be aroused, and he should be induced to believe that the wily minister still acknowledged the supremacy of his ancient benefactress;[94] while he flattered the ambition of the war-loving monarch by attributing to him personally all the success which attended his own measures alike in the foreign and civil contests which were at that period writing the history of the French nation in characters of blood.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CARDINAL DE RICHELIEU.]

Marie de Medicis was, however, slow to discover the falling-off of her long-cherished favourite. She still dwelt upon the years in which he had, as she fondly believed, devoted himself to her interests, when others in whom she had equally trusted had shrunk from all partic.i.p.ation in her altered fortunes; and she was, moreover, conscious that to his counsels she was indebted for much of the prudence and ability which she had displayed on occasions of difficulty. It was, consequently, painful and almost impossible to suspect that now, when she was once more restored to the confidence of her son, and had resumed that position in the government which she had so long coveted in vain, he could sacrifice her to his own ambition. But Marie de Medicis, subtle politician as she esteemed herself, was utterly incapable of appreciating the character of Richelieu. She had now reached her fifty-third year; she was no longer necessary to the fortunes of the man whose greatness had been her own work, and she had ceased to interest him either as a woman or as a Queen. She had, moreover, become devout; and her increasing attachment for the Jesuit Berulle (for whom she subsequently obtained a seat in the Conclave) rendered her less observant of the neglect to which she was subjected by the minister; while her superst.i.tion, together with the prejudices and jealousies in which she indulged, occupied her mind, and blinded her to the efforts which the Cardinal was hourly making to reduce her to absolute insignificance.

Perhaps no greater proof of the unbounded influence which Richelieu had obtained over the mind of the King at this period can be adduced than is afforded by the fact that although, as we have shown, Louis had stringently forbidden all further mention of his brother's marriage with Mademoiselle de Montpensier, and Gaston had at length consented to relinquish his claim to her hand, the Cardinal found little difficulty in inducing the sovereign to rescind this order, and to instruct M.

d'Ornano to determine the weak and timid Prince to renew his addresses to the heiress, and to hasten the completion of the marriage ceremonies.