present Obstacles and to regain an absolute and independent Authority nevertheless he fomented not his Discontents either in private or publick as if he had a mind to let his Resentment sleep awhile that it might afterwards break out with the greater Violence On the contrary upon his return from Burgundy to paris before he had seen the Court he powerfully sollicited his Friends to receive the King with the Cardinal and testified the same earnestness as if it had been for his own Interests it may be because he took a pride to perfect so glorious a Work as that of re-establishing him or because he vainly flatter'd himself that so great a Service would be always present to the Eyes of the Queen He staid till the Court returned to Compeigne where he receiv'd more Demonstrations of Friendship than when he went from thence either to make him remit something of his averseness to the Marriage which was the fatal cause of their division or rather that he might act with his wonted vehemency at the Kings return to Paris which was look'd upon by all the Provinces as the Seat of the Empire When the King made his Entry with the Queen and all the Royal Family in the same Coach the Cardinal was in one of the Boots with Monsieur le Prince who by his Presence encouraged him against those Fears which he might justly apprehend when he saw himself in the midst of an incredible Croud of People who had so much horror for his Person but only the joy of seeing the King again possessed every mans mind whence they banished all thoughts of the late Troubles and Enmities When their Majesties were come to the Palais Royal they accepted the Submissions of the Duke de Beaufort and the Coadjutor and Monsieur le Prince concluded so fair a Journey with telling the Queen That he thought himself happy since he had now fulfill'd his promise which he made to bring the Cardinal back to Paris Her Majesty answer'd Sir This Service that you have done the State is so great that the King and my Self would be ungrateful if we should ever happen to forget it A Servant of Monsieur le Prince's who heard this Discourse said That he trembled to think of the Greatness of this Service and feared that this Complement would one day be look'd upon as a Reproach Monsieur le Prince answer'd I don't doubt it but I have done what I promis'd The Retreat of the Duke de Longueville to his Government of Normandy during the War of Paris 1649. AS the Duke de Longueville was going into the Old Palais he met with Monsieur de St. Luc who was sent to St. Germains to the Marquess d'Hectot to endeavor to bring him over again to the Court Interest He told him with a Countenance full of Joy St. Luc It is not long since I hated you mortally and I Sir answered St. Luc hate you no less at present than you then hated me If I had not been deceived You would not have been here and if you had not been deceived first I should not have been suffer'd there This short Discourse being ended Monsieur de Longueville design'd to go to the Parliament which was met to consult whether they should receive him or no. Some of his Friends were against his going alledging That he both expos'd himself and the Party some were sent up to the top of a high Tower to observe how the People stood affected and when it was told him that they heard shouts of Joy on every side he immediatly went out accompanied with those that attended him and presented himself at the Palais After having received a thousand Acclamations all the way as he pass'd he surprised the Gentlemen of the Parliament who never thought of so unexpected an Adventure and after having taken his Place spake after this manner Having always very much honored and loved you I am come with all the Danger that a Man of my Quality can expose himself to to offer you my Estate and my Life for your preservation I know that the greatest part of Governors do not use to do so but when they have reaped all the Benefits of your Services that they could get from you in a time of Peace they abandon you as soon as they see you in Danger As for me who have a thousand Obligations to you I pretend here to acknowledge them both as a Governor and as a Person sensibly obliged I come to do you all the Service I am capable of in a Conjuncture so dangerous The Primier President making no answer to this Speech and shewing by the trouble in his looks how much the Presence of the Duke afflicted him all the Gentlemen gave him Testimonies of their Joy who were animated by the mouth of a Counsellor of the Great Chamber called Monsieur who made him this fine Speech The same difference which was betwixt the Wolf and the Shepherd Most Courteous Prince is observable betwixt the Count d'Harcourt and your Highness on such occasions as these the Count d'Harcourt came either like a Wolf or like a Lion but always like a ravenous Beast to devour us we would not open the Doors to him for fear of receiving an enemy into our Bowels we in favor let him take a turn about our Walls which he did casting on us Eyes all sparkling with anger tanquam Leo rugiens For you Great Prince you are come like a true Shepherd to shelter all your Flock Bonus pastor ponit animam pro ovibus suis It is too true that you do so atqueideo Mon Seigneur we commit to you the keeping of this City and the safety of all the Province it is your part to be careful of our Preservation and ours to help your Cares with all the assistance that is in our power The Speech being ended Monsieur de Longueville rose up and after he had saluted every one in particular with his ordinary Affableness went out of the Palais accompanied by his Friends and followed by the People who conducted him with new Acclamations The Gentlemen of the Parliament reflecting upon the Joy which the Burgesses expressd to see their Governor began to fear an absolute Slavery and to hinder this Calamity designed to make their terms with him but whether Monsieur de Longueville perceived their Intention or because he would bring them into an intire confidence in him he was willing to prevent and to assure them That they should always have the disposal of every thing He told them That the Affairs he was about were properly the Parliaments and not his own that he desired nor nor ought to have any other Imployment then to lead an Army for the good of the State and their particular Services that all the Taxes should be made by their Orders that they themselves should establish Commissioners of their Company for the Receipt and Distribution of the Publick Treasure and in fine as they had the principal Concern in the success
would bring about his ill grounded pretensions to be a Prince of the Blood The Court seeing that the Designs of their Enemies prevailed to that Height as openly to demand the Cardinals ruin put all their hope in the Duke of Orleans and Monsieur le Prince and thought that their Union with their Majesties would reduce them into Order Now because the mischief had taken such deep root that there was required a great deal of force to pluck it up they judg'd that the temperate Nature of the Duke of Orleans was not so proper as that of Monsieur le Prince which was incapable of all Moderation Add to this that his Reputation in the Wars the Splendor of his Victories the Forces of his Troops would strike terrour into peoples minds so that they applyed themselves particularly to gain him to espouse a cause so just The Queen to this end made use of very pressing perswasions to Wit Tears and most affectionate words telling him that she look'd upon him as her Third Son The Cardinal promised him that he would all his life depend upon his Will The King himself embracing him told him that he recommended to him the saftey of his State and Person So that the Court consider'd him as the Principal Defender of its Fortune but those who determin'd him were Marshal Gramont and le Tellier by these or the like Arguments they represented to him that by little and little the Parliament would Usurp the whole Authority That instead of bounding their Ambition within the Declaration of the 28 October they would not only be judges of the Affairs of War but also took upon themselves a power to turn out the Minister that at the same time they might set up a new one of their own chusing and further that frequent Mutations are Pernicious to Kingdoms nay that it is sometimes better to suffer an ill one than to change him that it is ten thousand to one but if an usurpation the like whereof was never heard of till now be tolerated they will assault priviledg'd persons and nothing be sacred enough to secure it from Violation by this licentiousness that the Counsellors would be in a fine Condition if they should impose Laws upon Kings and the Princes of the Blood miserable if they received them That this new practice shock'd the Monarchy which is absolute and independant and contrary to the Constitutions of France and even to the Institutions of the Parliament that if there be abuses in the Kingdom they ought to be reformed by the Assemblies of the General States and not by the Decrees of a Company whose suffrages are rather counted than weighed That when ever the Parliament went beyond their Duty they were severely corrected sometimes by the late King sometimes by Henry the Fourth and Charles the Ninth and other Kings their Predecessors upon occasions less dangerous than this That Great Kingdoms cannot be supported by remiss Councils but must give a proof of their Courage and strength and that the justice of Kings consists in their Power That He the Prince was interested in the person of the Cardinal to oppose an enterprise which tends to the Destruction of the Royal Family and that if the Duke of Orleans and his Highness would not stand in the Gap the Queen would be forc'd to go with her Children to Implore the Help of the Princes that were Allies to the Crown Besides that Monsieur le Prince must think that the Innovations made by the Parliament since the Declaration wounded the Establishment of the Peace These Discourses which represented the thing very lively made such an Impression on his Spirit that he would not hear of a neutrality without ever so much as thinking that he might lose the peoples Affection It is certain that Great Minds like this of Monsieur le Prince produce great Vertues but are eminent also for great Defects By an Invincible Excess of Passion he ruin'd all the Advantages Fortune had even to Envy added to his person which were such that the would have surpassed the glory of the greatest men in former Ages if Piety Justice and Solidity had been answerable to that Excessive Valour that incredible Constancy in Adversities and that sparkling Wit which were remarkable in him Monsieur le Prince might have rendred himself ador'd by all the World if he could have manag'd himself with a design to have treated his Affairs with calmness but instead of this he was forc'd by his rash conduct to have recourse to means which brought him to strange Extremities He went with the Duke of Orleans to the Parliament and push'd on by his ill Fate as soon as Viole had invoked the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Princes in their Consideration of the Cardinals Conduct Monsieur le Prince rose up and bid him hold his tongue this inconsiderately raised a murmuring amongst the Young Counsellors with which he was fir'd into a passion and threatned them with his hands and words At this time he lost the Affection of the Company and when this Action was spread abroad the esteem his Victories gain'd him was chang'd into Fear and the love of his Person into Hatred not to say Exceration from which he recovered not but by particular good Fortune And now being interested in a quarrel of his own as well as of the Courts he hearkned to all propositions that were made him for reducing the Parliament They tell him that the speediest and surest way was to besiege Paris that by stoping all the Avenues the people would be starv'd in three Market days and so rise against the Parliament and accuse them of being the Authors of all their miseries In fine that the Parisians were without any to head them without Soldiers and accustomed to soft ease he relish'd these Reasons which seemed strong to him because animated by his Fury to which nothing was impossible so that he made himself the Head of the enterprise to besiege Paris under the command of the Duke of Orleans who at first opposed this design but the sollicitations of the Queen the perswasions of the Abbot de la Riviere and the willful Resolution of Monsieur le Prince overr-ulled his own Opinion and the contrary advice of the Dutchesse of Orleans This being resolved on Monsieur le Prince and the Marshal de la Meilleraye proposed that they might gain their end more speedily to seise upon the Isle of St. Louis the Port St. Antonie the Arsenal and the Bastile and also to put their Majesties in the Bastile but either because this proposition was not well enough grounded or because they were afraid of exposing the Kings person they rather chose to quit Paris than to besiege it After his Majesty had solemnized the Festival of the Epiphany at the Marshal Gramont's House the King retired to the Cardinal's Palace from whence he departed the next day at three a Clock in the Morning with the Queen Cardinal Mazarin and all the Court except
he resolved to see the Cardinal once more and after having represented to him the same things that he had told him at Bourg and the danger he was ready to incur by the Declaration of Monsieur d'Orleans the Parliament and the Frondeurs and by being almost generally abandoned by his Creatures he declared to him that things were come to that pass that if he did not that very day expresly give him his word for the liberty of the Princes he could not Treat with him any more nor help concluding with the Frondeurs who began to be alarm'd at his delay to sign the Treaty and who would not finish it without him The Cardinal saw very much probability in what he said nevertheless the Duke de la Rochefoucault spoke to him only in general of the several Cabals which were formed against him without enumerating any in particular and this he did because he would not betray a Secret with which he was Intrusted nor say any thing that might prejudice that Party which he was going to make for the Princes Liberty if the Cardinal refused it so that the Cardinal seeing nothing particularized thought that the Duke de la Rochefoucault had made the danger greater than it was only to make him conclude and believed because he named not to him so much as any of his Enemies that he had told him nothing that was certain In the mean while all sides were mightily exasperated Monsieur declared openly that he would have the Princes set at Liberty for their part they desired that the Treaty might be concluded with the Frondeurs and obliged the Duke de la Rochefoucault to reconcile himself to and joyn with them Monsieur 's Declaration for the Liberty of the Princes made the Parliament and the People of Paris come over to his side The Burgesses took up Arms set a Guard at all the Gates and would not give the King and Queen liberty to go out of Paris they were no longer contented to demand the Princes Liberty they would also have the Cardinals Life Monsieur de Château-neuf Keeper of the Great Seal espoused the Interests of the Princes and hoped that their Liberty and the removal of the Cardinal would render him chief in the management of Affairs Marshal de Villeroy and almost all the Kings Family supported him part of the Ministers and many of the Cardinals most particular Friends did the same thing and the Dutchess de Chevreuse contributed all her Power whereof she had a great deal in all the Cabals Monsieur de Château-neuf was always engaged to her Interests since and before his Imprisonment and it was with each others Advice that they took all their Measures sometimes with the Cardinal and sometimes with his enemies She had a great influence upon the Coadjutor but the Beauty of Madamoiselle de Chevereuse had yet a much greater power over him Madamoiselle and the Coadjutor assisted by Madam de Chevereuse and Monsieur de Château-neuf had got the Ascendant over the mind of Monsieur d'Orleans besides they had powerful Cabals amongst the People and the Parliament whom they actuated as they had need The Dutchess de Chevreuse and Monsieur de Chateau-neuf were not yet suspected of the Cardinal he knew nothing of the Marriage that was proposed betwixt the Dutchesses daughter and the Prince de Conty he remembred that she contributed more than any body to the Imprisonment of the Princes by disposing Monsieur to consent to it and obliging him not to tell it to the Abbot de la Riviere and afterwards to cashire him So that the Dutchess de Chevrease who wish'd nothing so much as the Marriage of her daughter with the Prince de Conty and the establishment of the Keeper of the Seals thinking she might compass both her desires by removing the Cardinal managed her self so well in this Affair that she really was the greatest cause of the Resolution he took to withdraw His retreat did not at all calm the minds of the Parisians or of the Parliament they feared he was gone to Havre to take the Princes thence by force and that the Queen at the same time design'd to carry the King away from Paris insomuch that not only the Guards of the Gates and the Streets near the Palais Royal were doubled but also there were all the Night some of the Cavalry about in the City to hinder the King and Queen from going out The Parliament on the other hand made every day new Petitions for the Princes Liberty and the Answers of the Court being ambiguous did but enrage instead of appeasing them They thought to blind the World by sending Marshal de Gramont to the Princes and he himself made great preparations for the Journy but because it was not to produce any thing for their Liberty they quickly saw that it was only to gain time In fine the Queen seeing the mischief increase on every side and not certainly knowing whether the Cardinal would deliver the Princes or take them away with him and besides fearing lest their minds already exasperated with so many delays should be at last run to strange Extremities she resolved to promise the Parliament to set the Princes at Liberty without any further delay and sent away the Duke de la Rochefoucault the Sieure de Vrilliere Secretary of State and Cominges Captain of her Guards with an express Order to de Bar to set the Princes at Liberty assoon as he received it The Cardinal had notice of it from the Queen when he was near to Havre and though it was in his power to permit this Order to be executed or to take the Duke de la Rochefoucault and those who accompanied him Prisoners yet he rather chose to go to the Princes himself in which Interview the Cardinal immediately began to justifie his conduct and carriage towards them declaring the reasons he had to Arrest them afterwards he desired their Friendship yet told them with a mind something haughty that they were at liberty to grant or refuse it him and whatsoever they did as to that they might leave Havre and go whither they pleased they seemingly promised him what he desired He dined with them and immediately after the Princes and Marshal de Gramont left Havre and went three Leagues off to lye at a House called Grosmenil in the way from Havre to Roüen where the Duke de la Rochefoucault la Vrilliere Cominges and the President Viole arrived presently after with the Orders of the Court which I before mentioned What passed after the Imprisonment of the Princes till the War de Guyenne THe Imprisonment of Monsieur le Prince added new Lustre to his Glory so that he came to Paris with all the Splendor that a Liberty so advantageously obtain'd could give him The Duke d'Orleans and the Parliament had forced him out of the Queens hands Cardinal Mazarin had hardly escaped the People's and left the Kingdom loaded with publick contempt and hatred In fine the
particular Friends with this confidence he alter'd not his Conduct in any thing save that he resolv'd not to go any more to the Louvre but this precaution could not secure him from putting himself into the Kings power by an Imprudence which can't be blam'd enough for he went to the Cours de la Reine in his Coach at the same time that the King pass'd that way in his return from Hunting followed by his Guards and his Light Horse This Rencounter which might have destroy'd Monsieur le Prince at that time produc'd no such effect The King went on his way and Monsieur le Prince went out of the Cours that he might not give him any time to lay a Design against him We may believe that they were equally surprised with such an extraordinary adventure and that they were quickly after sensible that both of them had made a considerable fault the King in not taking a resolution immediately to Arrest him and Monsieur le Prince in exposing himself to such a danger without perceiving it till it was out of his power to avoid it The Queen and the Frondeurs comforted themselves for the loss of so fair an occasion with the hopes of seeing their project soon take effect In the mean time the continual advice which Monsieur le Prince had given him on all hands began to perswade him that they really intended to secure his Person and therefore he reconciled himself to Madam de Longueville and to the Duke de la Rochefoucault nevertheless it was some time for all that they could do to make him resolve ere he would take warning to look to himself At last his Fate would have it that after he had obstinately resisted so many apparent Conjectures and certain Intelligences he was alarm'd without reason and by a new fault did what he had refused to do at the advice of his Friends for one time when he was laid in bed talking with Vineuil he received a Note from a Gentleman called Bouchè who sent to Advertise him That two Companies of the Guards were in Arms and going to march towards the Fauxboug St. Germain This News made him believe that they were to beset the Hotel de Condè so that without ever considering that they often imployed these Companies to guard the Gates and to exact the payment of Entries as indeed they were then commanded only for that purpose he thought they were intended against his Person upon this he got on Horse-back with all the haste imaginable and being only attended by six or seven went out by the Fauxbourg St. Michel and for sometime staid in the High Road to hear news of the Prince of Conty to whom he had sent notice of his departure But a second Alarm yet more ridiculous then the first obliged him to quit his Post He heard a great many Horse trotting towards him so that thinking it was a Squadron sent out to seek for him he retreated to Fleury near Meudon but these Troops which made him quit the Field proved to be nothing but Higlers that marched all the Night for Paris As soon as the Prince de Conty knew that Monsieur le Prince was gone he sent word to the Duke de la Rochefoucault who went to him but Monsieur le Prince obliged him immediatly to return to Paris to give the Duke d'Orleans an account of the reason of his Departure and retreat to St. Maur. This action of Monsieur le Princes produced amongst People what great news is wont to do every one made different Conjectures and laid different Designs the appearance of a Change gave Joy to the People and Fear to all those that were establish'd in Places The Coadjutor Madam de Chevreuse and the Frondeurs believed That the Retreat of Monsieur le Prince would unite them to the Court and increase their Esteem by the need they would have of them The Queen doubtless foresaw the mischiefs which threatned the State but she could not be afflicted with a Civil War that advanced the Cardinals return Monsieur le Prince feared the Consequences of so great an Affair and could not resolve with himself to embrace so vast a design He distrusted the unconstancy of them who push'd him on to a War and judged well that they would not long help him to sustain the weight of it The Duke de Bouillon silently broke off from his Interests and Marshal Turenne had already declared that for the future he would have no concern in them The Duke de Longueville had a mind to be at quiet besides he was too ill satisfied with the Lady his Wife to contribute to a War which he thought her the principal cause of Marshal de la Motthe shifted off from his word that he once gave to take up Arms. In fine so many Reasons and so many Examples would doubtless have inclined Monsieur le Prince to reconcile himself to the Court if he could have confided in the Queens or the Cardinals words But the horror of his Imprisonment was yet too fresh in his mind to expose himself upon such pledges the value whereof his own Experience had so often given him cause to know Besides Madam de Longueville who was again pressed by her Husband to come into Normandy could not avoid the Journy if the Treaty of Monsieur le Prince was once concluded Amidst so many contrary thoughts the Duke de la Rochefoucault would needs undertake to secure Madam de Longueville from the persecution of her Husband and perswade Monsieur le Prince to Treat with the Court within a few days after Monsieur le Prince arrived at St. Maur. Marshal Grammont with whom he refused to Treat in particular came to him from the King to demand the reason of his Retreat and to invite him to return to Paris with a promise that he should be in safety there Monsieur le Prince answered him before a great many people that tho Cardinal Mazarin was retreated from the Court and Servien le Tellier and Lionne were ordered by the Queen to withdraw yet the Spirit and Maxims of the Cardinal ruled there and that having suffered so hard and so unjust an Imprisonment he had found by experience that his Innocence could not establish his Safety which he hoped to find in a retreat wherein he would preserve the same Thoughts which he had so often given evidence of to the World for the good of the State and the glory of the King Marshal Grammont was surprised and vex'd with the Discourse he thought to have enter'd upon the matter in hand with Monsieur le Prince and begun some Negotiation betwixt the Court and him But he had no reason to complain if Monsieur le Prince refused to give credit to the promises he made him for his safety since Lionne had made choice of him to intrust with the Resolution they had taken at the Count de Montresors to Arrest him a second time Monsieur le Prince de Conty and Madam
make for Peace was too generally desir'd at Paris for any one to live there securely who design'd to oppose it The Duke d'Orleans for his part who had always desir'd the Peace and who still apprehended the mischief that Monsieur le Prince's presence might draw upon him contributed the more willingly to remove him in that he knew he should then have a greater liberty to make his particular Treaty Though all things were thus in confusion they did not interrupt the ordinary course of the Negotiations for at the time that Cardinal Mazarine left France in hopes to root out all pretences of a Civil War or to shew that Monsieur le Prince pursued other aimes than his removal he sent Anglade Secretary to the Duke de Bouillon to the Duke de la Rochefoucault and whether it was that he had really a design to treat in hopes to make his return more easie or that he design'd to draw some advantage by shewing the World that he desir'd a Peace at length Anglade brought much more ample conditions than any before and almost the same that Monsieur le Prince had demanded but they were also refus'd and his destiny which drew him into Flanders never let him see the Precipice till it was no longer in his power to retire at length he departed with the Duke de Lorrain after having in vain contrived with the Duke d'Orleans to oppose the Queens being received into Paris but his reputation was not then in a condition to lye in ballance with the Court he received orders to leave Paris the day that the King was to make his entry into it which he instantly obeyed that he might not be a witness of his enemies triumphs and of the publick joy Cardinal Mazarin's Letter to Monsieur de Brienne SIR THE Queen as far as I understand believes that you should have only sent me a Letter from the King as it is usually done to all National Cardinals when news is brought from Rome that the Pope is in danger and that I had a particular Priviledge granted me since besides the first from the King and the Duplicate I have received another and three from you all conceived in terms so pressing to make me without any delay depart from Rome that I confess I was surprized to the last degree being not able to imagine wherein I have been so deficient in my Duty to their Majesties that they should press me to take a Journey with so much Ignominy and Danger and without any means of subsisting To think that a Letter of Recommendation to the Pope would satisfie all as if they knew the World so little at Rome that they could not infer what sort of Protection I was to expect there since I was abandoned to the Persecution of my Enemies in France where the King is Master Nevertheless if I had had the honor to receive a word from the Queen to signifie that it was the Kings and her pleasure that I should go thither as she had the goodness to let me know it when she was pleased that I should go out of the Kingdom and remove as far as the Rhine I do assure you that after having put my Nieces into a Monastery and turn'd off my Family I would have gone thither with two Servants only to confirm their Majesties upon all occasions that my obedience is blind and my Fidelity of Proof I am really ready to do without any reply whatever the Queen shall command me though I cannot receive a greater mortification than to take this Journy in the condition I am in which besides cannot but be prejudicial to the Kings honour Nay which is another unhappiness in this affair they have had the Address to make it pass with the Queen for an act of Grace which was done me that I might yet feel some effect of the publick joy for the Kings Majority All this hath loaded me with sorrow when I see to what height my friends have prevailed by my disgrace and with what success they have employed their Arts to make me receive such rude usage at a time when I might justly hope that they would give some comfort to the Persecutions which I have suffered for eight Months together with so much Violence and with so notorious an Affront to the Royal Dignity But all this is not comparable to the excess of sorrow which I groaned under after having seen in all the Letters from a great many of my Friends both at Paris and elsewhere the great pleasure they take at the Contents of the Kings Declaration which was Registred in Parliament and cry'd about the City All of them without having consulted together agreeing that since the Monarchy there was never so bloudy a thing contriv'd against any body what Crime soever he had committed No body durst send it me and I may swear to you that I never saw it But to know that the King hath declared that I hinder'd the Peace and was the cause of all the Injuries done to the Allies of France is enough to perswade me that my Master would have me look'd upon as the most infamous and villanous Man that ever was and as the scourge of Christianity and after this they send me to the place of my Nativity to make a parade amongst my Kindred and Friends of the fine Titles which I have brought back with me as a Reward for the 23 years as faithful and advantagious Service as ever was done by the most zealous and disinteressed Minister that ever was All my Enemies have for these six Months laboured with an Industry visible to every body sending Commissaries all over applying themselves to all imaginable contrivances and some of them raising false Witnesses to see if they could blacken me with some Crimes who justifying to the people the oppression they laid upon me did more and more establish their hatred against me though all this produced nothing but very advantageous effects to undeceive them and let them see my Innocence and the Injustice wherewith it was attacked At this time my aforesaid Enemies despairing to do any thing by other ways found the means to perswade their Majesties to declare me without being heard in a most authentick and publick form a Rogue and to impute the hindrance of the Peace to me alone After this methinks they should rather counsel me to hide my self from the sight of Men and bury my self for ever than to go to Rome since I have reason not only to apprehend the people of France but all those who suffer by the continuation of the War have reason to stone him that is the cause thereof I am confident that their Majesties could not have a particular knowledge of every thing that was contained in the Kings Declaration they are too just to be thought by any means that they would consent to declare me the most wicked and abominable of Men and a Traitor And it is a great misfortune to the Kings service that there
the continual Correspondence which they kept with him when he was from the Court and Ministry of Affairs III. They promise not to lay down Arms till such time as they have obtain'd the effect of the aforementioned Article and not to give ear directly or indirectly to any Agreement but on that Condition and with an unanimous consent IV. That they will maintain and increase the Forces which they have raised as long as possibly they can and that they shall be employ'd either jointly or separately as they shall judge most fit promising moreover to take all care for their subsistance with the least grievance that may be to the People V. They promise willingly to accept all reasonable Expedients which shall be proposed to appease the troubles of the Kingdom still provided Cardinal Mazarin be removed as is specified in the second Article and to endeavor continually to establish a general Peace which is one of the chief ends of this Treaty which can find no obstacle when he is gone who has endevoured to prolong the War and that the Breaches in the Royal Family which he has been the cause of shall be made up again VI. His Royal Highness and Monsieur le Prince promise to maintain the Parliaments and all supream Societies of the King the chief Officers of State the Nobility and Gentry in all their Rights and Priviledges and to do them Justice in all their lawful pretentions and not to make any Treaty without them till such time that all the damages and losses they have sustained in maintaining this Treaty be repaired and particularly to take care that it may not prejudice the observing of the Declaration published the 22 of October 1648. and for this reason they are invited to enter into this present Union and to do their utmost endeavour to accomplish the intent thereof VII Cardinal Mazarine who still governed in effect though banished in appearance having hinder'd the general Assembly of the States which the King had promised to convoke the 8th of September last and having obliged the Deputies who met at Tours upon the day appointed to retire with shame and confusion and besides all this his Royal Highness and Monsieur le Prince knowing that he would still continue the same condition he then held and that he would endeavor to hinder by all means whatever could be expected from their meeting or that if he could be possibly brought to consent to their assembling it should be only to get them into some place whereof he is Master therefore his Royal Highness and Monsieur le Prince to remove these two inconveniences promise and engage themselves to spare no pains to obtain that they may assemble at Paris as the nearest and most convenient Town where they may act in full liberty upon which condition they declare they will submit with all their hearts their whole Interests which they protest to be no other than the Interests of King and Country to their decision whereof there shall be made a perpetual and irrevocable Edict which shall be confirmed in the Parliament of Paris and by all those that enter into this present Union VIII His Royal Highness and Monsieur le Prince neither holding for lawful nor acknowledging the Councel chosen by Cardinal Mazarine one whereof having bought his place with a vast Sum of Money which he gave to the aforesaid Cardinal they being obliged by the degree of Blood whereby they have the honor to come so near his Majesty to take care of his Affairs and to proceed in such a manner as that they may be well governed promise not to listen to any accommodation till such time as the Creatures and publick Adherents to Cardinal Mazarine be excluded the Council of State and upon condition that it shall not hereafter consist but only of such of the said Council and others as cannot in any manner be suspected to incline to him IX And because the Enemies of Monsieur le Prince are base enough to endeavour to decry his Actions by publishing that he is in League with Foreign Nations his Royal Highness and the said Monsieur le Prince declare that they will never have any Commerce or Correspondence whatever with them but only as far as what concerns the general Peace and that they will not negotiate with any Stranger Princes before it be judged beneficial for the Kings Interest and the good of the Kingdom both by the Parliament and the chief Persons that shall enter into this present Union X. And in fine that the ill intentioned and the persons most zealous for Cardinal Mazarine may not have reason to doubt of his Royal Highness and Monsieur le Prince's good intentions they have thought fit to declare expresly by this Article that they have no other design than the security of their own Persons and whether it be that the unhappy Commotions of the State will oblige them to employ their Arms for the expulsion of the said Cardinal Mazarine or that things may be accommodated by his exclusion in the manner as has been above demonstrated they will not pretend to any new model of Government but put their whole satisfaction in that which France must needs rejoice to see an end of their troubles and the publick quiet assured XI His Royal Highness and Monsieur le Prince notwithstanding judge it fit for many weighty considerations to agree together to contribute as much as lies in their power towards an Agreement for the just and reasonable satisfaction of all those who are now engaged in the common cause or who hereafter shall joyn themselves to them that they may receive effective marks of their protection This present Treaty was double signed by his Royal Highness and by the Counts de Fiesque and de Gaucourt for and in the name of Monsieur le Prince Monsieur le Prince de Conty and the Duchess of Longueville by virtue of the power that Monsieur le Prince gave them which was presently delivered into the hands of his Royal Highness by the said Count de Fiesque the two Counts were engaged and obliged themselves to procure to his said Royal Highness the Ratifications of those for whom they had engaged within a month at farthest Concluded at Paris the 24th day of January in the Year of our Lord 1652. signed Gaston Charles Leon de Fiesque Joseph de Gaucourt AN APOLOGY OR THE DEFENCE OF THE DUKE de BEAVFORT Against the Court the Nobility and the People Gentlemen WERE I as Eloquent as those who have written either for the Court or the Princes you should then have a fine Apology in favour of the Duke de Beaufort but having spent the most part of my time in Hunting or Playing at Tenis with him be pleas'd to pardon me the labor of Eloquence and allow me to go on without Interterruption in the broad common Road. To come quickly to the purpose there appear three points in my Discourse as also there were in his advice
time I devoted my services wholly to her which I assur'd her of by Madamoiselle de St. Louis now Madam de Flavacourt and also by Monsieur de Brienne The kind answer she return'd engag'd me yet more so that from that time I resolv'd to quit all thoughts of advancement in the Court till such time as she should be in a condition to confer it upon me or that I believ'd I might be more serviceable to her in some other employment than Master of the Wardrobe to the King which I then had I liv'd in this resolution till the Cardinal's Death after which the Queens Enemies beginning to make their court to her it was not strange that I who had before devoted my self entirely to her carefully sought all opportunities to testifie my zeal to serve her and in a very little time I found one which I carefully embraced and proposed to her Majesty by Monsieur de Brienne and having afterwards spoken to her my self concerning it she judg'd that it would be advantagious for her service and thank'd me in such terms as both doubled my desire to serve her and encreas'd my hopes What I propos'd was the buying the Office of Colonel of the Swisse in which I neither regarded the great summ of Money that I imploy'd in it nor many other considerations that the sight of a Wife and three Children might produce who were inevitably ruin'd if by my death my place should be lost to them without recompence I then sacrificed to the Queen all my Family without regret and whether it was that my free manner of proceeding pleas'd her or that she believ'd I might be capable to serve her from that time I daily receiv'd more of her favours than I had done before she spoke of me to some of her greatest confidents as of a man who had entirely devoted himself to her and whom she esteem'd for his fidelity ordering the Bishop of Beauvais in whom she then most confided to communicate freely to me all things that might be for her service this was about the same time that the Duke de Beaufort return'd from England for as soon as Cardinal Richelieu was dead the Bishop of Lifieux by the Queen's order writ to him to return and he without any other precaution immediately left England and as soon as he was landed in France writ to me by a Gentleman nam'd Drouilly wherein he declared that he reposed much confidence in me and also desir'd me to serve him in what I could with the King and added That Monsieur de Montresor who he knew not only to be my Cousin Germain but also my most intimate Friend and who likewise was very particularly his had assur'd him that I would be glad to serve him The answer that I thought the fittest to make Drouilly was That Monsieur de Beaufort did me too great an honour in confiding in me and that I beseeched him to tell me in what I might be serviceable to him protesting to execute whatsoever he should require of me with little success perhaps but with much zeal and fidelity Whereupon he told me That Monsieur de Beaufort desir'd that with some other of his Friends I would take upon me to declare directly to the King his return into France but at the same time he told me That having delivered a Letter to Monsieur de Brienne wherein the Duke de Beaufort had desir'd the same thing of him that he had of me the good man a better Courtier than I perchance might have been had told him that the way to ruine his interest was to execute what he propos'd for he himself who knew better how the World then stood than he who was so newly come from beyond Scas was of opinion that it should be first told to the chief Ministers and that he would go that minute to find them out The affair being thus I told him it was now past consulting and that since the chief Ministers knew of the Duke de Beaufort's return it was fit to expect what they would do and not to undertake any negotiation with the King without them which would but provoke them and make them his Enemies for my own part I was just returning from Paris to St. Germains where the King was with design that if I saw a favourable moment to serve him I would not to let it slip as soon as I came to St. Germains thinking to tell the Queen this news I found that she was already well instructed of it I since heard it was by the Bishop of Lifieux Some time afterwards Messieurs de Sully de Rets de Fiesque de Chabot and I went to Anet to visit the newly arriv'd Duke 't was in this Journey that I enter'd into a more strict bond of friendship with him for before I was not much acquainted with him and also in some occasions was engag'd in interests contrary to his as in my opinion the greatest mark of esteem and love is trust 't was by that I was engag'd by him he express'd himself to be extreamly oblig'd to me for my frank answer to Drouilly he discours'd with me without the least reserve of all his concerns and at length upon the present state of the Court not in very polite terms he not being naturally eloquent but yet by words which plainly manifested the most beautiful and noble thoughts that could be wished and wherein I observed that he was much fortify'd in England having both carefully studied and well retain'd the maxims of some men of honour and integrity whom he had there frequented but what bound me yet more to him was two things one whereof was the straight union I knew he had with Monsieur de Montresor whose interests was always mine and the other was the extraordinary zeal that appear'd in him for the Queens service which was the party to which I absolutely adher'd this last consideration it was that weigh'd down the ballance and 't was the same that united me ever since to him but because it will appear more plain in the following discourse I am oblig'd to return nigher its beginning to deliver it more exactly After the Cardinals death all France was fill'd with an imagination of an entire change in the management of affairs all people knew that he maintain'd his power with the King only by the awe he had over him therefore it was believ'd that the cause dying with him the Kings hatred would fall upon all the remains of his family and party but these hopes which only served to flatter so many were soon ended for in a few days after they saw with wonder his house confirm'd in its ancient dignity his last Will entirely observ'd save only in one point which was the change of the Offices of Sur-intendant of the Admiralty and the General of the Galleys the first whereof were given to the Duke de Brezé and the last to the Petit pont de Courlay Duke de Richelieu although his
gain'd him the Hatred of the whole House of Vendosme which Disagreement divided the whole Court the Dukes d' Anguien de Longueville de Lesdiguieres de Schomberg and de la Roche Faucault and some others took part with the Great Master and almost all the rest declared themselves for the House of Vendosme The Prince de Marcillac being oblig'd by Monsieur le Prince and seeing his Father of his Party was just going to enter into it also but speaking to the Queen about it she commanded him to offer himself to the Duke de Beaufort speaking of him as a Man for whom she had as much Esteem and Affection as for any Man in the World That Order which he received became known to almost all who were then at St. Germains and my self hapned to have Discourse with her Majesty about two things which being only of my own Concerns were never publick but only talk'd on amongst my particular Friends The first was concerning the Duke de Beaufort and expressing much love for him I told her That the chief Reason that bound me to his Friendship was the extraordinary Zeal that I found in him for the Interest of her Majesty that Point pleas'd her and she dilated upon the Subject that I had begun in so kind Expressions as left me no more Reason to doubt her Confidence in that poor Prince and how much those pleas'd her who took his part The other Discourse was a little longer but the Subject was That at the same time that I enter'd into the Office of Colonel-General of the Suisses Monsieur de Noyers put in L'isle de Sourdiere his Creature to be Commissary-General of that Nation Tho this was very prejudicial to me I had no reason to complain because it was resolv'd on before I thought of buying that Place 'T was nevertheless a very great Inconvenience to me for Monsieur de Noyers who seiz'd upon every thing that came within his Grasp gave to his Dependent a very great Authority which prov'd very prejudicial to mine He was no sooner retir'd but the most part of the Court who were ignorant of my Concerns press'd me to think of suppressing that New Officers For my part tho I had no Engagement with Monsieur de Noyers to oblige me from making use of the Occasion his Disgrace gave me knowing the Queen thought him her Servant and was not satisfied with the others of whom I was to seek a Support the first thing I did I resolv'd to know her Opinion and and going to her told her That this little Change had offer'd me an Opportunity to procure my self an Advantage which would increase my Authority and make me in a better capacity to serve her in my Office but endeavouring to dispossess one who was a Creature of Monsieur de Noyers who had appear'd most zealous for her Service and it also being necessary for me to apply my self to those who had so demean'd themselves to her that I had reason to believe her dissatisfied with them I would not undertake any thing till I came to know what her Majesty would command me in it That being absolutely devoted to her I would accept no Advantage nor Favour but what came by her and that I should have waited without the least impatience till her Majesty was in a condition to have done something for me without ever troubling her with my own Interest had I not believ'd I ought to have rendred her an Account of this to know of her if by my increase of Power she would judge me in a better condition to obey her Commands After much Kindness and assurance that she would never forget the Zeal that I had always express'd for her Service she answer'd That I might make use of that Occasion and serve my self in what I could and that she should be very glad of it because the more Authority I had I should be the more useful to her That Monsieur de Noyers had made too much haste and had ruin'd himself for his Fancy And after some little Discourse concerning him she ended without speaking a word of the other two Ministers and promis'd me as she left me that if I could not obtain it before she came into Authority she her self would grant me that Favour with a great deal of joy After this Conference I desir'd the Commander de Souvray to speak to the Cardinal and Monsieur de Liancour to Monsieur de Chavigny to be kind to me upon this Occasion The Answer they both return'd was That they would most willingly use all their Interest in it but that they must defer it some days because it would be the ready way to ruine themselves to speak to the King so soon against a Man with whom they had no difference and who entred into the Management of Affairs the same way that themselves did It is certain that they were not then too well assured of the King and from the next day after Monsieur Noyers Disgrace he never spoke to the Cardinal about Business but in Monsieur de Chavigny's absence as also upon a Proposition that the Cardinal made to him he answer'd sharply That it was Italian-like To return to my Discourse I had not time to see the Effects of their Promises for eight days after the King finding himself extremely weak declared his Will about the Regency speaking openly of that Declaration whereof I have already made mention I believe the two Chief Ministers did not prejudice the Queen in it but as I have already said 't is certain that in some Points of it they seem'd exactly to guess at the King's Thoughts who judg'd the Queen incapable of Business and most passionate for her own Country and believed nothing so pernicious to the State as the Authority of Monsieur de Chasteauneuf amongst other things believing him inseparable from Madam de Cheureux whom he suspected and had endeavour'd to find an Expedient to Banish for ever out of France Neither was his Inclination more kind for Monsieur his Brother and I know that he often said to the Queen in his Sickness That their Children had reason chiefly to fear him So that whatsoever related to his Royal Highness undoubtedly proceeded from his own natural Inclination In short whether this came from the King himself or was the advice of his Ministers the Queen grew extreamly inveterate against them saying to those who had free access to Her That it ought never to be pardon'd and had the Cardinal Her declared Enemy still liv'd he could not have done worse to her The publick Marks of her Anger and open Hatred she shew'd them was the cause that all those who particularly adher'd to her absolutely forbore all Correspondence with them and from the day that the King had the Declaration read before him and made the Queen and Monsieur take an Oath to observe it obliging Monsieur the next day to carry it to the Parliament the D ukes de Vendosme Mets and