to have six thousand Men and a Supply of Money from Spain but the Sum which he received from them did not amount to above fifty thousand Crowns and it was late enough before it was remitted to him As for their Succours of Men they came not at all So that when Monsieur entred into Languedoc he was not in a condition to oppose the King's Forces Nevertheless there was a necessity to receive him and he entred into Lunel on the 13th of July after having secured some few Places to himself He had a considerable sum of Money at his Palace in Paris which he expected to receive in a short time but the Court having had notice of his Designs stopped it so that Monsieur 's Party was in a manner destitute of every thing and when the King begun his March to go and joyn Mareschal Schomberg who followed the Duke of Orleans he was not in a condition to make a long resistance if the Royal Armies had been once joyned together Monsieur had then Two thousand Foot and Three thousand Horse with abundance of Voluntiers and Three Pieces of Canon And Mareschal Schomberg had not yet above a Thousand Foot and Twelve hundred Horse without Artillery The Mareschal being advanced near to Castelnaudarry drew up his Troops in Battel on the First of September the Enemy being not far from him Whether the Duke of Montmorency was desirous to open the Campagne with some Action that might give reputation to his Party or whether he judged it expedient to fight the Royal Army while they were inferiour to him in number he took upon himself the Command of the Van of the Army and Monsieur that of the Main Body * Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 7. p. 555. Aubery Lib. 4. c. 31. Pontis Memcirs p. 2. p. 26. Having put himself at the head of the Counts of Moret of Rieux and of Feuillade he resolved to go and support the first Files who were ordered to possess themselves of an Advantageous Post The Count de Moret was the first who fell upon the King's Horse and put them into disorder and Montmorency perceiving it pour'd in full speed with very few Men and forgetting to discharge the part of a General he exposed himself to all the dangers of a Private Souldier and fought with extraordinary bravery Upon this some Foot who were laid in an Ambush in the Ditches suddenly got up and made their Discharge so fortunately that the Counts of Moret of Rieux of Feuillade and several Officers were killed and the Duke of Montmorency wounded in several parts of his Body He might have withdrawn himself if at the same time his Horse being wounded had not dropt down under him so that a little while after he was made Prisoner and carried to Lectoure The rest of Monsieur's Army seeing themselves deprived of a considerable number of the Principal Officers in stead of being animated to a revenge of their death or going to free them from the hands of their Enemies retired without fighting Not long after the Foot were wholly dispersed and Monsieur retired with his Horse to Beziers while some Towns that had declared for him returned to their former Allegiance and Duty The Duke of Orleans now begun to give great marks of Repentance for having engaged himself so far in an affair out of which he could not disengage himself with Honour and Bullion who after some Negotiations to no purpose went to see him from the King obliged him in a few days to Sign an Accommodation against the Mind of the greatest part of his Domesticks The chiefest difficulty which lay in the way was concerning the Duke of Montmorency whom Monsieur would absolutely have restored to the enjoyment of his Liberty Honours and Estate * Seâ— Gaston's Letter to the King dated from Montereau the 13th of Nov. 1632. in the Hist of Lewis XIII by Ch. Bernard Lib. 16. Bullion told this Prince That the best and onely way he had to obtain what he requested was to submit himself wholly to the King's Will that to desire an assurance of it would be a Provocation to him and an offence to that Trust he ought to have in his Clemency That this being a Pardon which was wholly to redound to the King's Glory he wrong'd the Duke of Montmonency in not leaving it at His Majesty's Disposition that the blind obedience he show'd the King upon this occasion ought to put him out of fear and give him hopes as certain as he could desire These Discourses of Bullion perswaded the Duke That he had Orders from the King to speak to him in this manner and hindred Gaston from drawing any positive word for the liberty of the Duke of Montmorency Whether Puilaurens and the rest whose Advice Monsieur required in every thing were not sorry to see the Duke of Montmorency sacrificed or whether they did not perceive the Artifice of Bullion certain it is that they committed in this occasion a prodigious fault which discredited their Party for good and all Thus did it appear evidently by Monsieur's Conduct that those who Govern'd him were not able to deceive any body but himself They could easily bring him to shew his Dissatisfaction against the Court but knew not to re-establish his Affairs upon a solid foundation nor to put themselves into a condition to improve to their advantage that exceeding power they had over his Inclinations The Treaty of Accommodation * Hist of Lewis XIII by Ch. Bernard Lib. 16. was to this effect That Monsieur should acknowledge his Fault in Writing and desire the King to Pardon him That he should give all reasonable and possible assurances not to commit any such transgression for the future That in order to this he should Promise to leave all sorts of Cabals in and out of the Kingdom and under no pretence and in no manner whatsoever to Maintain any Intelligence with the Spaniards Lorrainers or other Princes nor with the Queen-Mother while she continued in her present Circumstances nor with any body in the Kingdom against His Majesty's good pleasure and to remain where His Majesty should be pleased to appoint him and to live there as a true Brother and Subject That he should not concern himself for those who had joyned with him in these occasions to promote their own Affairs at his Cost and the prejudice of the Nation and should not pretend to have occasion of complaint given him if the King at any time should punish them as they deserved out of which number were excepted his Domesticks who were then with him That he should not demand any particular Pardon for those Strangers who Accompanied him but that the King out of his meer bounty and goodness should grant them six days to withdraw into Rousillon That he should fill the vacant Offices of his House and among the rest namely that of Chancellour with Persons nominated by the King and if His Majesty was displeased with any of them he should
remove them immediately of His own accord That the King being not ignorant how those bad Counsels which Monsieur had followed were suggested to him by Puilaurens this latter should sincerely give notice of all secret transactions that might be prejudicial to the State to the King's Interest and of those who had the honour to serve him faithfully and should declare that he would be held as guilty as he was before he received the King's most Gracious Pardon if he acted contrary to his Promise In a particular Article the Duke promised to cherish all those who served His Majesty and particularly Cardinal Richelieu whom he ever had esteemed as was said in this Act for his fidelity to His Person and to the Interest both of King and State The King on his side granted His Pardon to Monsieur and to his Domesticks and moreover to the Duke of Elbeuf whom he restored to his Estate and permitted to reside in one of his Houses that should be appointed by His Majesty Monsieur signed this Agreement at Besiers on the 29th of September and the King ratifi'd it by Letters Patents dated at Montpellier on the first of October After this Monsieur's Troops retir'd into Rousillon and he * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 519. Wrote a Letter to the King and another to the Cardinal full of Complements wherein he disapproved the Declaration publish'd at his coming into the Kingdom against this Prelate as having been publish'd without his knowledge and having never seen it Lastly he desired the Cardinal to forget what was past and promis'd him his Friendship Puilaurens sent also an Act to the King written with his own hand in which he promis'd to perform whatever was desired of him * On the 4th of Octob. After this Monsieur and his Domesticks took their way to Tours where the King thought fit he should retire He wrote another Letter to the King wherein he earnestly desired him to forgive the Duke of Montmorency but to no purpose As soon as he was taken it was debated in a secret Council what to do with him and 't is confidently reported that care was taken already to incense the King against him by telling him That they had found about his Arm a Locket of Gold to which was tied the Picture of a certain Lady in Miniature for whom His Majesty had a great Kindness Pompone de Bilievre Intendant in Mareschal Schomberg's Army took it dexterously from him at his Examination and took the Picture from it but as this was done in presence of several persons notice was given to the Cardinal of it to exasperate the King against him So when the question was put If the King should use the Duke of Montmorency severely or forgive him it was no hard matter to incline him to a rigorous usage Nevertheless the Cardinal being willing to affect an appearance at least of Equity towards a Man to whom he was very much oblig'd he begun to deliver his Opinion * Siri Mem. Ree Tom. 7. p. 561. by saying That His Majesty might be moved for several Reasons to Pardon the Duke of Montmorency That Monsieur had offered to leave off all Correspondences that were displeasing to His Majesty and to return to his Duty upon condition that this Noble Lord should receive his Pardon otherwise the Duke of Orleans could never with Honour renew His Obedience to His Majesty for all his Domesticks advised him to hazard all things to save the Duke of Montmorency That if Monsieur retired into Spain he would induce the Spaniards to be very mischievous to France That if Monsieur was brought into Despair those who serv'd the King would not be in safety because those of the contrary Party would not think themselves safe till they had brought them to ruine That if Monsieur came once to leave off all Cabals and Practises contrary to the good of the State any thing might be afterwards undertaken against the Spaniards whereas while he was discontented they could not make use of any occasion though never so favourable After he had thus produc'd his Reasons in favour of the Duke of Montmorency the Cardinal turned the Tables and said That on the other side if they consider'd that the King was without Children and Monsieur look'd upon as Presumptive Heir to the Crown they would find that if those who followed his Party were not rigorously punish'd the first time the King fell Sick how inconsiderable soever his Sickness should be so many People would declare for the Duke of Orleans that the King would not be able to Master them That on the contrary if the Duke of Montmorency was brought to Deserved Punishment no body would dare to engage in such Attempts any more That not a sew Kings whom he named had maintained themselves in the declension of their Age only by Severity he cited some Examples and continued saying That if the Nobility and Commons should once know that the consideration which the King had for Monsieur was capable to hinder Seditious Persons from being punished with Death there would be still great Numbers of Persons who thinking their Lives in safety would venture their Estates and Fortunes for him in hopes of being gainers at the Expence of the Kingdom That turning Men out of their Offices in such an occasion signified nothing without taking their Lives away because Monsieur being consider'd as next Heir to the Crown those who should lose their Offices for taking up Arms for him would hope to recover them with usury as soon as this Prince ascended the Throne That Montmorency's Crime was not a Simple Rebellion in which Monsieur had engaged him but that he had Incited the Duke of Orleans to enter into France with Arms and raised up the Province by Summoning an Assembly of the States a thing that was never practised before That it would be very difficult and dangerous to keep him in Prison That in stead of extinguishing that Party it would be revived and gather more strength than before That Monsieur submitted himself to the King out of Necessity and not out of Inclination That the Spaniards would prove always the same and the Queen-Mother would still persist in her Anger That Puilaurens would have no less credit with Monsieur than before and that his Ambition and Intreaguing with the Lorrainers would always continue So that the danger being over the Duke of Orleans would hearken to bad Counsels again That if they thought fit to forsake the Hollanders and the Swedes the Rage of the Spaniards might perhaps cease and if they would Sacrifice to the Queen-Mother all those whom she hated and put the King in a total Dependance upon her her Animosity might likewise be at an end but if none of these things cou'd be done as really the King could do neither of them without undoing himself 't was certain that the more Monsieur 's Party subsisted in the Heads of it the greater the danger wou'd be by reason of their
the other That the Duke of Montmorency's youth ought to be no less an excuse to him than their honest Intentions had been to them That his Person being in the hands of His Majesty he was not able to do him the least Injury but his Conservation wou'd be an eternal Monument to His Glory He desired the King to consider that in this young Duke's Person alone remained the Great and Illustrious Name of Montmorency That the high Merits of his Ancestours whose long Scries spread as far as the beginning of the French Monarchy did call more loudly for His Grace than his rashness did for the Severity of the King's Justice That if he was so happy as to obtain a Second Life for his Friend he would be his Security that it should be wholly employed in the Service of His Majesty and that his blood should onely serve to blot out both the Blackness and the Memory of his Crime The King heard the Duke of Espernon without interrupting him and having cast his looks towards the ground from the very beginning of his Speech he continued in the same posture and answered him not one word The Duke perceived very well by this obstistate Silence that the Cardinal had so deeply perswaded the King that Montmorency ought to die that it was impossible to save him However he reassumed his Speech again and told the King That since there was no Pardon to hope for the Duke he desired him to give him leave to retire The King answered He might do it and that himself would not make a long stay at Toulouse The Duke of Montmorency was so universally beloved by every body and the Cardinal so universally hated that a General appearance of Sorrow * Pontis Mem. T. 2. P. 37. was to be seen at Court and in the Faces of the People One day the People of Toulouse fell a Crying about the House where the King â—odged and once when he was in the Hall in Company of many Persons Cried aloud Mercy Mercy Pardon Pardon The King asked what it was and they told him That if His Majesty would look out of the Window he would pity that poor People but the King answered fiercely That if he followed the Inclinations of the People he should not act as a King As soon as his Sentence was Read to him the King sent to him to deliver back the Order of the Holy Ghost and his Mareschal's Staff which the Duke sent him back by De Launai * Puisegur Mem. P. 105. Lieutenant of the Life-Guards who guarded him He charged him to assure the King That he Repented extreamly for having offended him and that he would die His very humble Subject and Servant Launai found the King in His Closet Playing at Chess with Liancourt and after he had deliver'd the Duke's Compliment to the King he fell at His feet all in Tears and begged His Royal Pardon All those who were in the Closet did the same and the King had the displeasure to see every body weep about Him no body but the Cardinal and his Creatures being able to digest the inflexibility he shewed upon this occasion He answered That there was no Pardon and that he must die that no body ought to be sorry to see a Man put to death who had so much deserved it and that he onely ought to be lamented for falling into so great a misfortune The onely Favour which the King granted him was That the Hangman should not Tie him that his Estate should not be Confiscated and that he should be Executed in the Court of the Town-Hall His Head was Cut off the same day that his Sentence was pronounced to him after which the King prepared to take his Journey to Paris 'T was wondred at that this Prince who always yielded to the first Accusation which the Cardinal made against any whom he desired to ruine had they done never so great Services to the State should remain inflexible to all the Sollicitations of the whole Court and of all France in an occasion when by saving the last off-spring of the most Illustrious Race of His Kingdom this single act of Clemency would have infinitely more turned to His Honour than Severity But besides that the Cardinal had put it into His Head that Monsieur and his Followers had no other design but to Invade the Throne though they feigned onely to be offended at the Minister the fatal Miniature that was found about the Duke of Montmorency did Incense the King so much against him that nothing was able to save him While the King was at Toulouse they begun to proceed likewise against the Bishops of Alby of Vzes of Nismes of Lodeve of S. Pons and Alers all of them Favourers of Montmorency The Pope nominated some Prelates that were upon the place to manage the Trial against them The Bishops of Alby and Nismes were deprived of the Temporalities not onely of their Bishopricks but their other Benefices and the Bishop of Vzes had suffered the same Punishment if he had not died before his Trial. As for the rest they were sent back to their respective Diocesses Those of the Nobility who had declared for Monsieur had their Houses and Woods beaten down and thus the whole Province was intirely restored to its former Tranquility The Mareschal d' Effiat Superintendant of the Finances dying soon after in Germany Bullion succeeded him in that place and the Marquiss de Breze Brother-in-Law to the Cardinal was made a Mareschal of France after the Battel of Castelnaudarry The Mareschal de Schomberg was rewarded with the Government of Languedot which the Duke of Montmorency had before him but he enjoy'd it not long dying soon after The Cardinal proposed to the Duke of Espernon at Toulouse that if he would in Complaisance to him lay down the Government of Metz the Survivership of which Place belonged to his Son and resign it up to him he wou'd obtain of His Majesty the Survivership of that of Guienne But the Duke of Espernon who had no kindness for the Cardinal and besides was not a Man to be manag'd after such a rate refused the Motion 'T was believed that this Prelate had a design to possess himself of the Bishoprick of Metz and of some rich Abbeys in that City and to set off this with the Title of the Governour of the City and Country about Metz as well as the Cities and Citadels of Thoul and Verdun in order to secure himself of a secure retreat on that side in case of necessity After the Death of the Duke of Montmorency the King returned to Paris and came to his Castle of Versails in a few days Siri Mem. Rec. T. 7. Pag. 570. The Cardinal was desirous to carry him with the whole Court to his Government of Brouage and to Rochel designing to bring him back to Paris by the way of Richlieu where he intended to regale him but though the King would not go thither himself yet
any Confession and he had put himself in a posture to receive the Stroke they cryed out A Pardon As he was ready to come down one of the Judges perswaded him Since he had now tryed the King's Clemency to discover the Intrigues of Chateauneuf but he courageously answer'd That he very well saw that some People were willing to take hold of his present circumstances to make him say something disadvantageous to his Friend but that he ought to know That since the terrible Image of Death had not made him speak nothing was capable to extort from him the Secrets of his Friends or any thing that might do them the least Injury He was almost the onely Person of all those whom the Cardinal brought to the Scaffold that showed Resolution and Courage the greatest part of the rest making him as it were an Honourable amends before they were Executed under a pretence of dying like Christians Christianity indeed obliged them to forgive him but by no means to approve of his Arbitrary and Unjust Conduct which was full as contrary to the Gospel as a Spirit of Vengeance which they were afraid to betray But the truth is that after they had vainly endeavour'd to live like Freemen they lost their Sentiments with their Liberty and rather died like vile Slaves than good Christians When Chateauneuf was sent to Prison the Mareschal d' Estrees who was one of his best Friends having received the news of it at Treves where he Commanded the King's Army it so strangely astrighâ—ed him that he * The 15th of March Siri Mâ—m Râ—â— T. 7. p. â—95 quitted the Army without saying a word and retired to Vaudervange The example of the Mareschal de Marillac came into his Mind when he heard of the Disgrace of his Friend and saw a Courier bring Letters to the other Officers and never a one to himself He imagin'd that Saludie and Busse-Lamet to whom the Pacquet was directed had Orders to Apprehend him But discovering at last that his fear had been in vain he sent a Gentleman four days after to the King and Cardinal to beg their Pardon for going away so abruptly and ingenuously to confess how he had been imposed upon by his Fear This set the whole Court a Laughing and he received Orders to return to Treves At the same time the Dutchess of Chevreuse left the Court by the King's Order which made the World believe that the Cardinal's Jealousie was in great measure the cause of the disgrace of Chateauneuf The King came to Paris on the 11th of April and went next morning to the Parliament to suppress the Office of President which Coigneux had and that of Counsellour enjoy'd by Payen Chief Secretary to the Queen-Mother whom he afterwards restor'd in Compliment to the Two Masters of Accounts whom the Cardinal favour'd exceedingly Nevertheless the Law concerning Five years which are allowed to those that were Condemned for Contumacy was suffer'd to stay in full force in respect of others because it wou'd have given them too much trouble to make any Alterations in it The King Censur'd the Company very severely for presuming to send their Deputies a few days before to S. Germans to desire him to re-call the President de Memes whom the Cardinal had Banished The King told them That he wou'd take care to Chastise those that refused to obey him and that if the Parliament wou'd not suffer the Magistrates that were subordinate to it to be remiss in the execution of its Orders it was not just that a Soveraign should bear the disobedience of His Subjects He added That he wou'd be obey'd that very instant and that for the future when he came to the Parliament he expected the Four Presidents should come and receive him upon their knees without the door of the Chamber as the Custom had been formerly As for the President de Memes instead of being set at liberty and called home he was Imprison'd in the Cittadel of Anger 's Thus the King hindred them from making any Remonstrances to him upon any occasion whatever and striving to Reign more Absolutely than any of His Pedecessors he resigned himself entirely to all the Passions of his Minister though they were never so unjust so that it was not possible to open his eyes and undeceive him Soon after the King * The 14th of May Aubery 's Life of the Card. Lib. 4.0.36 held a General Chapter of the Knights of the Holy Ghost and gave the Ribbon to the Cardinals of Richlieu and La Valette They received the Blew Ribbon standing whereas the other Commandeurs even Bishops used to receive it kneeling The King â—id the Cardinal a particular Favour and asked him Whether he desired to be Promoted before or after Vespers and the next day when His Majesty made the New Knights he sent him two or three Dishes from his own Table at every Service and towards the end a Rock of Sweet-meats out of which sprung an Artificial Fountain of Water While these things happened within the Kingdom the Cardinal used his endeavours to keep the House of Austria so well employ'd without that it cou'd make no advantage of the Broils of the Queen-Mother and Monsieur The Marquiss de Feuquiers renew'd with Chancellour †By a Treaty sign'd the 9th of April Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 7. p. 67. Oxenstiern at Hailbron the League which the Crown of France had made with the King of Sweden and promis'd that his Daughter Christina should receive the yearly sum of a Million of Livres to continue the War in Germany The two Crowns oblig'd themselves to make no Treaty but with Common Consent and to support all their Allies I shall not stop at the particulars of this League nor at the other Negotiations which the Ministers of France managed in Germany to Embarass the Emperour and at the same time to lay hold of any fair opportunity to extend the Frontiers of France on that side At the same time the Cardinal set his Engines at work to break off the * Siri Ibid. p. 655. Negotiation that was on foot at the Hague between the States-General of the Vnited-Provinces and the Envoys of the Spanish-Netherlands concerning a second Truce between the King of Spain and the States-General As there were abundance of great difficulties in the thing it self it seem'd an easie matter so to order Affairs that the War might continue Besides this some of the Nobility of the Spanish Low-Countries who were discontented at the Government offer'd to deliver up to the King Bouchain Quesnoi Avenes and Landreci places of great importance upon the Frontiers of Artois and to make a general Insurrection in the Country The Malecontents represented to the King that if he lost so fair an opportunity he might perhaps be never able to recover it and that those persons that were now disposed to throw themselves under his Protection cou'd not be supposed to be able to live in a perpetual inquietuâ—e
had very considerable Gratifications from the King so that besides his Quality of Duke and Peer in which he was received in the Parliament on the 16th of December he had an Estate of above six hundred thousand Crowns a year After having thus related the Disorders of the Royal Family and of Monsieur's Reconciliation in which the Cardinal had no less a share than the King 't will be now necessary to pass to Foreign Affairs which took up this Minister at the same time The Dutchess of * Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 87. Lorrain Wife to Duke Charles who had resided at Nancy came by Order of the Court to Paris where she arrived the last day of April and was received with great Respect and conducted to the Palace of Lorrain From thence she went afterwards to Fontainbleau where the King entertained her very courteously However as she apprehended that when she was at Paris they wou'd engage her in some Treaty which might be contrary to the real Interests of her House she had made a Declaration before she left Nancy in the presence of a Notary wherein she signified that being obliged by the King's Command to go to Paris she there protested That whatever she might do prejudicial to the House of Lorrain was to be reckon'd null as being extorted by force There was no longer any Discourse now in France to make use of this Princess's Name to keep Lorrain nor of the Guardianship of the Places deliver'd up by Prince Charles The King's Commissioners govern'd that Dutchy as if it had been a Conquer'd Province and gathered the Revenues of it without any Disturbance from the Duke's Officers They augmented the Imposts and Taxes which exceedingly oppressed the poor People who still continued well affected to their ancient Princes About this time an Edict of the Duke of Lorrain was stuck up in several places wherein he prohibited his Subjects to obey the French whom he called Usurpers and Tyrants This Edict gave such Offence at Court because they imagined the Lorrainers knew the Contents of it to be true that they immediately order'd the Parliament to re-assume the Process which had for some time been discontinued against the Duke as a Vassal of the Crown as well for the pretended Rape of Monsieur as for several other notorious Misdemeanours For this end the Parliament sent to Duke Charles to make his personal Appearance on a day appointed at the Palace of Lorrain without having any regard to the Dutchess that lived there and complain'd of it to the Cardinal to no purpose While the Dutchess was at Paris the Mareschal de la Force took the Castle of Biche and afterwards La Mothe which surrender'd by Composition on the 28th of July after which there remained no other places in Lorrain that durst hold out for the ancient Lords of this Country * Siri Mem. Rec. Tom. 8. p. 108. So the Parliament having confiscated the Dutchy of Bar the Cardinal caused the Decree to be executed with all imaginable Vigour He erected a Court of Justice at Nancy which adjudged to the King abundance of Places in Lorrain as having been alienated from the three Bishopricks of Metz Thoul and Verdun He likewise got the Remainder of Lorrain to be solemnly seized upon towards the Expences of the War and obliged the Clergy the Nobility and the People to take an Oath of Fidelity to the King This Country was now look'd upon to be part of the Kingdom which had formerly been taken from it by Usurpation and Violence so that now they said it was but just to re-unite it to the Crown and to hinder the Lorrainers from making any Insurrections for the future they caused several places to be dismantled where they might have lodged themselves unless the King would have kept Garrisons there which wou'd have required a prodigious Expence The Cardinal had all along kept a mighty correspondence with the Swedes till such time as he thought he might be able to effect by Wallestein's means a great part of what he did by the help of the Swedish Army This man had got it into his Head to make himself be crown'd King of Bohemia and to employ the Emperours Army against himself He maintain'd a private Commerce with the Marquiss de Feuquieres the King's Ambassador in Germany and the King promis'd to assist him As Wallestein passed for one of the chief Captains of his time and was extreamly beloved by the Soldiery it was probable that he wou'd at least give the Emperour a great deal of Trouble It appears that upon this Expectation the Cardinal did not manage the Swedish Generals and Chancellour Oxenstern with that Address as he had formerly done * Siri Mem. Rec. T. â— P. 32. There was likewise a sort of a Difference between them because they had refused to surrender Philipsburg to the King of which place they had made themselves Masters by composition The King already was in possession of several Towns in Alsatia the Bishoprick of Triers and in the Neighbourhood but Philipsburg was necessary to him to secure and cover part of them While this Coldness between the Cardinal and the Swedes lasted the Emperour having discover'd part of Wallestein's Designs †The 15th of February Sui Hâ—d p 53. caused him to be killed at Egra a City of Silesia to which place he had retired and so those Projects which the Cardinal had formed in hopes that Wallestein wou'd in a short time begin to act in concert with France vanished in smoak This News arriving to the King's Ears he publickly said That all those that betrayed their Prince deserved the same fate As for the Cardinal he was so concern'd at his Death that he cou'd not forbear saying That the King might very well have spared to explain his Sentiments in publick From this time it was necessary to shew a greater Regard to the Swedes who did not so much propose to themselves to free Germany from the Yoke of the House of Austria as to gain some Advantage by the War Upon the Occasion of Wallestein's Death the King considering the great Danger the Cardinal was in by reason of the frequent Attempts that had been made upon his Life thought it convenient to augment the Number of his Guards Besides those he had before he gave him 300 Musqueteers on Horseback so that the Cardinal had now a compleat Sett of Guards while the Queen-Mother was obliged to dismiss those of her Domesticks that were not of absolute necessity to her because she had not wherewith to maintain them The French accused Chancellour * Sui Mem. Rec. T. 7. p. 6â—7 Oxenstern of Designing to possess himself of the Electorate of Mentz and 't is reported that Cardinal Richlieu had the like Ambition to make himself Elector of Triers Sim Mem. T. â— p. 113 To compass his Ends he obtained of the Elector by a good round Sum of Money the Coadjutorship of the Bishoprick of
* Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. p. 497. no care was taken to pay their Troops as they were promised At this time indeed it was impossible to do it by reason of the vast Expences in other Places some of which were as good as thrown away as particularly the great Charges they were at for equipping the Fleet in the Year 1636 occasion'd by the differences between the Officers and the Mareschal de Vitry Thus they were indebted upwards of a Million to the Troops of the Grisons who saw there was no probability of their being satisfied which disposed them to hearken to the Sollicitations of the House of Austria It unhappily fell out too that the Duke of Rohan who had a great Authority among them fell dangerously ill During his indisposition the Grisons resolved to break with France and they obliged one another by an Oath to take up Arms to beat the French out of their Territories The Three Leagues made a Treaty at Inspruck with the Marquiss de Leganez and the Arch-Duke Leopold for the execution of this Design On the day appointed for it the Grisons abandon'd the Posts which the Duke of Rohan had given them to keep One part of them entred into Coire to secure that City against the French and the rest positively refused to obey any other Officers but those that were nominated by the Leagues The Duke of Rohan finding himself somewhat better went to all places to appease them and by his repeated instances at last obtain'd of them to stay two Months to give the King time to satisfie them In the mean time the Spaniards put themselves in a posture to assist the Grisons if they shou'd have occasion for them and these two Months passed and two Months more and yet through the Cardinal's Negligence no Money came from France though the Duke of Rohan represented to him the great Danger he was in if some course was not taken to pay the Grisons what was due to them It seems the Cardinal had a Design to ruine the Duke of Rohan by suffering him to lose the Valteline and to throw the fault at last wholly upon him in case he did not perish there At last all the Country took up Arms on the 18th of March and some of them run to the place where the Duke was to apprehend him but he immediately retir'd to the Fort du Rhine not that it was in a Condition to defend it self but to avoid the fury of the People who were provoked to the highest Degree to see themselves paid with nothing but fair Words Nay though the Fort had been in a case of Defence yet the Duke of Rohan was not able to do any thing because it was kept by the Switzers who were fully resolved to deliver him up The Grisons insisted That the Duke should immediately give Orders for the French Troops to goe out of their Country but as he had no Commission from the Court to doe it he was afraid lest he should ruine himself if he consented to it However he was obliged speedily to come to some resolution or else to see the French that were dispersed in several places up and down the Country Murthered In this extremity he bethought himself of an Expedient which at the same time saved his own honour and the lives of his Souldiers And that was to promise That within Twenty days reckoning from that on which the Treaty was Signed he would Command them to quit the Valteline But the Grisons not being content with that proposal he offer'd to goe to Coire and there to stay as an Hostage till the entire accomplishmment of the Treaty By hazarding his Person thus the Duke saved his Army and gave the King time to send another General to the Valteline through the States of Venice if he thought it convenient or if the Court was minded to abandon this Country they might do it then with more honour than if the Duke had given Orders for his Troops to remove when the Grisons would have had him doe it In this conjuncture the Spaniards endeavour'd to perswade the Grisons to deliver up the Duke to them for fear he should make his escape but the Grisons would by no means consent to that but rather chose to keep him as a Prisoner of War but would not give him leave to converse with any body The term of Twenty days was expired and yet no Order came from Court the Cardinal being resolved to take no notice of the matter However the French Troops * The 5th of May. departed the Forts were consigned to the Grisons and the Duke set at liberty The principal Persons of the Country accompanied him as far as the Frontiers as it were to excuse themselves for the Violence that had been used towards him After he had crossed Switzerland and carried his Troops to the Province of Gex he left them in the hands of the Count de Guebriant Mareschal de Camp and retired to Geneva there to expect His Majesty's farther Orders This Conduct of the Duke of Rohan was extreamly censured at Court as if he had not been sensible that the Country would be infallibly lost if they did not speedily supply him with Money and as if he had not acquainted them with all that happen'd The Cardinal caused Two hundred thousand Livres to be sent to the Count de Guebriant with Orders not to obey the Duke but endeavour to re-enter into the Country out of which he came with his Troops in case the Venetians were willing to assist him But now it was too late and the Passes were two well Guarded so that these Troops consisting in all of about Six thousand Foot and Seven hundred Horse were ordered part to go into Italy and the rest for Burgundy to joyn the Duke of Longueville there From that time the War which France made in Italy was onely a slight diversion for the Forces of the House of Austria and it appeared by what followed that the Cardinal had no other design than that This year Three Princes of Europe died whose death it was to be feared would occasion great Disorders The first was the Emperour Ferdinand the II who died on the 14th of February His Son Ferdinand the III who had been already Elected King of the Romans succeeded him The Cardinal for what reason I don't know would not suffer France to own him either for the King of the Romans or for Emperour although every thing had been done in the accustomed forms and all the Catholick Princes and the greatest part of the Protestants had own'd him without any difficulty And therefore France which otherwise would have disobliged the Electors extreamly and several other Princes without any Necessity or the least prospect of an Advantage to be made by it soon after acknowledged Ferdinand the III as every one had done before them The Affairs of the Swedes went ill enough this year in Germany and Banier was content to put himself in possession of
to fall into the Cardinal's Hands in case this young Prince should die This obliged her to unite her Self more closely to France than ever and in spight of her own Inclinations to resign her Self wholly to the Cardinal's Advices without whose good Affections it was of no Service to her that she was the Daughter of Henry the Fourth and Mary de Medicis as well as Sister of Lewis the XIII The Cardinal of Savoy parting secretly from Rome came incognito to Tortone where he made some attempts upon Turin and Carmagnole but miscarried in them several Persons that had a Hand in this Affair were sent to Prison and the Cardinal interceeded for them in a * The 10th of December See it in T. 2. of Aubery 's Mem. p. 230. Letter which he writ to the Regent wherein he tells her that no Authority could hinder him from coming to his Father's House In the mean time he narrowly escaped being taken which had he not done they had certainly sent him into France In this Conjuncture the Cardinal Duke writ frequently into Piedmont to the Dutchess or to the Ministers of France to assist her with their Counsels He represented to her in a long Letter That at last she ought to awake her out of that Lethargy which had so long possessed her since if she did not do it suddenly The 10th of November Siri Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 613. her Condition wou'd be helpless His meaning was that she must turn Father Monod away otherwise the King wou'd support her no longer That perhaps God Almighty had permitted by an extraordinary Providence that her Enemies shou'd force her to do what her natural inclination to Peace wou'd have disswaded her from to sign the offensive League and to put French Troops into her Garrisons against which Reason and her Interests seemed to advise her that God wou'd not always work such Miracles as he had done upon this occasion to preserve her That in humane Affairs he wou'd have every one make the best use of that understanding he had given them and that her Highness for that reason ought to examine her Mind and see what it advised her to That Nature invited her to it since otherwise she was unable to preserve her Son as well as secure her own Preservation and Honour That he wou'd not conceal from her that the Calumnies of her Enemies from which she might easily defend herself as long as she lived would pass for so many Truths when she came to die That to be plain with her her Subjects did not love her as they were obliged to do whether because the Government of Women is never so well liked as that of Men or for some other particular malignity that her Highness very well knew what it was to pretend to a Sovereignty in Italy and that the weakness of the Cardinal of Savoy might be perswaded to Evil as well as to good That in suffering Father Monod to continue in his present Post and Passer that savoured the Cardinal of Savoy to be let out of Prison she kept the worst Councellors that she cou'd have against her That since 't was to no purpose to represent to her the Evil that press'd her without giving her the due Remedy he assured her she might soon put her self in a condition to despise all the World if she wou'd follow his Majesty's advice which wou'd never be different from what Nature and Reason inspired That she ought therefore without any farther difficulty to secure her self of Father Monod's Person and severely to chastise all such as had conspired in favour of Prince Maurice That such Governours ought to be put into places as depended absolutely upon her That her Army was to be reinforced with Troops that she cou'd rely upon and that for the guard of her Person and that of her Son she should choose none but her own Creatures and endeavour to encrease the number of them by her Kindnesses That if she took this Conduct he durst with the assistance of Heaven be answerable to her for the happy success of it towards which he would freely contribute his own Life but that if on the other Hand her easiness and indulgence led her the contrary way she would fall into inevitable Calamities That he beseech'd her to dispense with him from concerning himself any longer with her Affairs because if any misfortunes happen'd to her they might not be laid to his Door by his seeming to Countenance her Irresolutions The plain English of all these Lessons was to make her turn away Father Monod and to become the Oracle of the Dutchess of Savoy himself as he was of her Brother Thus he seemed to be born to be the Pedagogue or the scourge of the whole Family of Henry IV. To come now to the most remarkable Occurrences in other places the Cardinal ordered the Duke of Rohan who was at Geneva to retire to Venice least out of revenge for his base usage he might carry on some Designs against him But the Duke pretending it was impossible for him to go to Venice the ways being all stopp'd he went to confer with the Duke of Weimar in Switzerland and afterwards came to him at his Army They had frequent Conferences together which made the Cardinal very uneasie and it was reported that the Duke of Weimar was to marry the Daughter of the Duke of Rohan The former after he had taken some few places went to besiege Rhinfeld the Capital of the four Forrest Cities Jean de Werth Duke of Savelli and the other Generals of the Emperour marched to the relief of it with Ten Thousand Men. The Duke of Weimar being informed of their March went to meet them by the Duke of Rohan's Advice and the latter who refused to have any share in the command of the Army putting himself at the head of the Left Wing * The 28th of Febr. was one of the first that began the onset and fought like a common Soldier The Imperialists were beaten after the dispute had lasted a long while but the Duke of Rohan was wounded by two Musquet-shots of which he died on the 23d of April although the King sent him an obliging Letter to thank him for the great Services he had done the Crown yet he was not sorry for his Death for his great qualities and the past Wars had long drawn upon him the displeasure of the Court which was never heartily reconciled to him but only in outward Appearance The Cardinal who by his good Will employ'd none in his Majesty's Service but such as were ready to do every thing he commanded them and who had used him ill more than once looked upon himself to be now delivered from a dangerous Enemy Rhinfeld afterwards fell * The 23d of March into the hands of the Duke of Weimar after which Friburg and the Country of Brisgow submitted to him as well as several Towns of Swabia His design was to block up Brisac
the Capitulation as far as Doway but not being able to compass it in one day they pass'd the night at Ecluse and pursued their way the next morning It was thought sufficient to give them a Trumpet to accompany them but happening to meet with St. Preuil the Governor of Arras altho the Trumpet acquainted him with the matter * Pontis relates this matter otherwise in his Mem. s 2. p. 190 c. he fell upon them kill'd part of their men and pillag'd the whole Baggage The King being inform'd of this action lest the world should impute it to the perfidiousness of the Generals ordered him to be apprehended in consequence of which having been accused of several other things he was beheaded at Amiens In the mean time the Cardinal Infanta falling sick in the Campt at Aire caused himself to be carried to Brussels to recover his health there but his Indisposition increasing he died there on the 9th of November It was believ'd in France that his death would cause the Siege of Aire to be rais'd but D. Francisco de Melo who had the management of it continued it with great resolution so that at last after they had consumed all their Provisions and eaten every thing from whence they could draw the least nourishment the place surrendred on the 7th of December Thus the Campaign concluded in the Low Countries in which the Spaniards lost three places to regain one at an extraordinary expence However the French Generals were blamed for taking so little care to preserve this Conquest which had cost them so much blood and which they saw retaken before their eyes without finding a way to hinder it The Spaniards did not * Siri Mer. T. 1. l. 1. p. 11. Mem. Rec. T. 8. p. 825. maintain the War with the same vigor in Catalonia altho they could have done it with much more ease provided they had given as good orders in that Principality as in the Low Countries Instead of offering an Act of Oblivion to the Catalonians immediately after the retreat of the French that so a despair to obtain a pardon for their insurrection might not carry them to make a more obstinate defence the Marquis de los Velez mark'd the Men and Women with a hot Iron and this Cruelty engaged the people to support their Rebellion with all their force Those of Barcelona worked night and day upon their Fortifications to put that place in a condition of defending it self and no persons were exempted from so necessary a duty In the mean time Serignan Mareschal de Camp who had tarried in Rousillon with his Regiment of Infantry and three Companies of Horse enter'd Catalonia with these Forces and did not a little contribute to repress the first heat of the Spanish Army and to teach the Catalonians who were unexperienced in War after what manner they might defend themselves Serignan enter'd into Barcelona and conducted some of the Catalonian Troops thither altho he was pursued by the Spanish Cavalry The Marquis de loz Velez being within a few leagues of this City dispatched a Trumpeter to them with Letters to the Deputation of Catalonia The Viceroy promis'd to employ all his interest with the King to procure them a full Indemnity for their Insurrection upon condition they would disengage themselves from France and on the other hand he threatned them with very rigorous punishments if they persisted longer in their obstinacy The Catalonians after they had amus'd the Trumpet as long as they could in order to gain the more time made answer that the Privileges of the Cataloniaus did not permit them to treat with any one whoever he was that came in arms into their Country On the 26th of January the Spanish Army advanced to attack Montjui which is within half a league of Barcelona but the French and Catalonian Cavalry to the number of five hundred marched out of the City to observe the Countenance of the Enemy The Spaniards perceiving it privately retired into a Wood of Olive Trees to cut off these Horse and at the same time attack'd them in the Front to amuse them Bezancon and Serignan easily sustain'd the shock of the latter but soon after the Duke de St. George at the head of the others came out from behind the Wood and marched towards them Altho the Cannon of the City began to incommode them yet they still advanced forward even within Musquet shot and bravely attack'd the French Cavalry with Swords in their hands but the Duke being mortally wounded and several Officers of Note killed those that followed him were obliged to retreat leaving a hundred and fifty dead upon the spot and a great number of wounded The French and Catalonians lost in this encounter about a hundred men Montjui stands upon a Hill on the top of which is a small Plain where there was a Light-house but Bezancon at the desire of the Inhabitants of Barcelona had built a small Fort there encompassed with a Wall of dry Stones where he lodged sixty French Musqueteers This Hill being accessible on every side except by the Sea the Spanish Army began soon after to mount it and the Forlorn Hope easily gain'd the advance Posts which the Catalonians were ordered to keep who fled almost assoon as the Enemy appear'd But being now come to the top where they imagin'd to find no resistance they were surprized to see themselves assail'd by a discharge of Musquet shot and a shower of Stones which obliged them to descend to cover themselves from this storm till the body of the Army came up In the mean time five hunered Musqueteers came from Barcelona by Sea and the Catlaonians who had saved themselves behind the Fort imagin'd that the Spaniards run away from these succors and three thousand Musqueteers whom Bezancon and Serignan conducted by Land so that taking courage they went to charge the Forlorn Hope and beat them back upon their first line which they puc into disorder Upon this Bezancon falling in with a thousand Musqueeters broke it and altho the second line supported them yet they could not recover themselves And now the rest of his men arriving from Barcelona and being followed by abundance 〈◊〉 people who had beheld this happy beginning fear possessed the Spaniards and they retir'd without noise asson as night came towards Martorel The Catalonians gave no quarter to the wounded that could not follow the precipitate march of their Army and with those that were kill'd in the Skirmish there were two thousand dead in the Field of Batted About this time D. John King of Portugal acquainted the Catalonians with his Elevation to the Throne by the Bishop of Lamego who was going to Rome which news mightily animated them The next day after the Fight all the Courts being assembled the Catalonians resolv'd to submit themselves to the King of France provided he would pâ—eserve their Rights and Privileges This they passed into an Act which Bezancon dispatched to
league of his Camp before the Mareschal's Guards perceiv'd it as he marched the next day towards the River expecting the Enemy might attempt to pass it he found to his surpize that their Army marched towards him near the Wood of Marfee He immediately put himself in Battel array in very good order while the Enemy did the same in a place too narrow and much less advantageous so that in all probability they would be beaten The Mareschal's Right Wing began the Battel with some advantage but the Cavalry of the Left Wing possest by I know not what sort of a pannic fear turn'd back upon their own Foot whom they put into disorder so that the Royal Infantry being attackt by the Princes was broken after some resistance and fled with the Horse which it was impossible to perswade to rally again This movement carried away the Right Wing and the Mareschal was oblig'd to retreat as the rest had done Whilst the other part of the Army fled in this manner the Regiment of Rousillon and two Companies of Horse of the Queen Mother with that of Monsieur who were in a manner the only Troops that did any service pierced to the very place where the Count de Soissons was This Prince seeing his men give way marched directly to the Enemy to sustain the shock and as he expos'd himself like a common Souldier he was wounded with a Pistol-shot in his Face which penetrated his Head so he fell down dead at his Horse's feet Some say it was a Souldier belonging to the Company of Monsieur who shot him without knowing him others that it was one of the Count 's own Guards However it was these three Companies of Horse that had the bravery to combat a victorious Enemy were intirely cut in pieces The Royal Army lost five hundred men the rest escaping with that haste into the neighbouring Woods that the Enemy could not follow them Nevertheless there were two thousand taken Prisoners and among them several Officers of note The Malecontents did also gain the Cannon all the Baggage and lost but very few men But the death of the Count de Soissons which dispirited the whole party was infinitely more fatal to them than the victory was advantageous The Mareschal de Chatillon retir'd to Rethel where he stayed to pick up the remainder of his Army and the Mareschal de Breze to whom he was by no means well affected was * The 15 of July sent to command with him in order to mortify him because he had transgressed his Orders In the mean time Lamboi took Dunchery which made a gallant resistance but being not fortified was obliged to surrender The Royal Army being reinforced by several Bodies was on the march when the King arrived thither to retake this place which he * The 31 of July reduced in two days Lamboi not daring to oppose him At last as they put all things in readiness to go and attack Sedan unless the Duke made an accommodation suddenly he thought it not convenient to wait the consequences of a Siege The King granted to the Duke and to all those of his party * See it in the Mem. of Aubery T. 2. l. â—36 and the â—â—ticle◠〈…〉 Saâ— Mâ—â— I. 2. l. 1. p. 15. Letters of Pardon and a neutrality to the principality of Sedan that it might not be exposed to the excursions of the Spaniards However Lamboi went to joyn the Imperial Army near Aire as I have already observed The Duke came in person to Dunchery to make his Obeisance to his Majesty there and 't is reported that the Cardinal so highly esteem'd his conduct in this whole affair that he said That if it had not been a Rebellion he would have preferr'd it to all the undertakings of the famous Spinola Thus our fortunate Minister faw a terrible storm which threatned his head and which broke out at first in a signal victory to scatter of it self by the death of one of his greatest Enemies But notwithstanding this the Duke of Bouillon did not become his friend as we shall see in the history of the following year year 1642 The Bishop of Nice * Sir Mer. T. 2. l. 1. p. 362. and the other Agents of the Cardinal of Savoy and Prince Thomas his Brother obtained after a long negotiation at Madrid that better care should be taken to assist these Princes than had been done the last Campaign They granted to the Cardinal provisions of all sorts as much as should last a year for the County of Nice together with the pensions they had promis'd him and his Brother Particular Orders were dispatched to the Count de Sirvela Governour of Milan to furnish these Princes exactly with what they had promis'd them But as Prince Thomas was to be General in Chief of the Spanish Army and to share authority with Sirvela the latter who envied the great advantages of this Prince forgot nothing which might render him suspected to the Court of Madrid not remembring the Interests of the Crown which required that this Prince should be well used who was able to do a great deal of mischief to France and was the only person capable to command the Spanish Army in Italy The Governor of Milan sent his accounts to Madrid by which it appeared that the Princes of Savoy were much in debt to the Treasury of Milan so far was he from putting the Court in mind of the arrears of their pensions Altho Count Masserati Agent to Prince Thomas very plainly discover'd the gross falsity of these accounts yet the Count-Duke prepossest in Sirvela's behalf would not listen to him The Princes of Savoy having received this news from Madrid thought now of accommodating themselves in good earnest with France and to do it the more handsomely they sent to acquaint the Count de Sirvela that the King of France was ready to surrender all the places he held in Piedmont to the Duke of Savoy provided the Spaniards would do the same on their side The Count made answer that he had no power to treat about an affair of that consequence which gave the Princes a plausible occasion to renew all the complaints they had made against the Ministers of Spain and to say particularly that the Spaniards had a design to strip the House of Savoy and not to assist it against France as they had pretended Several Negotiations passed upon this and some other difficulties between the Princes of Savoy and the Count but at last the Spaniards not giving them that satisfaction they demanded they made their accommodation with France and with the Dutchess of Savoy which was concluded at Turin * Ib. 615. on the 14th of June To effect it with more security they caus'd a report to be spread before hand that the French went to besiege Trino in Montferrat and pray'd Sirvela to send some men thither with all possible speed The Count suffering himself to be intrapt drew out the Spaniards
fly to the end of the world than be brought to so scandalous a pass that contrary to all equity and justice his bare testimony was to go for valid without any personal appearance provided he would answer to the interrogatories of the Chancellor in the presence of seven Commissioners In the mean time Cinq-Mars having declared he would confess all if they would promise him his life the Cardinal sent Laubardemont the Register of this Tryal to him who promised it him upon condition he would speak the truth against De Thou who had as he pretended deposed against him He fell into this Snare and being interrogated on the 12th of September by the Chancellor and the other Commissioners he confessed all and as for what related to De Thou deposed that the Treaty with Spain had been communicated to him by Fontrailles at Carcassonne but that he protested against this design and heartily-condemn'd it Nay that he had said more than once that if he were not afraid of the great credit of the Criminals he would go to discover all to the King and that he had endeavour'd to disswade the Duke of Bouillon from this attempt which he thought would miscarry for several reasons Not long after De Thou was brought to his examination who at first denied all but being confronted by Cinq-Mars confessed all only he added that he had done all that lay in his power to make the Master of the Horse quit this enterprize that he had frequently quarrelled with him for coming to these extremities without considering what might be the consequence of them and lastly that being but very imperfectly instructed in this affair and having no proofs of it in his hands to convince the Criminals before the King he therefore did not look upon himself obliged to reveal all he knew of the matter especially since the Conspirators were not in a condition to make it succeed De Thou thought it the best way to confess all without suffering himself to be farther prest for fear of being put to the Rack which he extremely dreaded but could have avoided it by no means if he had continued to deny the fact The Kings Attorney General was of opinion that both of them ought to suffer for their crime All the Judges agreed that the Master of the Horse ought to dye for making a Treaty with the Enemies of the Crown De Thou was likewise found guilty of High Treason because he did not discover this Treaty as soon as he was made acquainted with it and for some violent presumptions that he had made it his business to engage the Conspirators in this union against the welfare of the State There were only two of the Judges that voted against their being put to death but Laubardemont urged an Edict of Lewis XI upon this occasion by which those that knew of any design levell'd against the Government and don 't reveal it are declared to be guilty of High Treason Thus they were condemned to have their Heads struck off in the Market place at Terreaux and the * See their Trial in the 2d Tome of the Merc. of Siri l. 3. and an Account of their Death same day Sentence was executed lest the King who had a great kindness for the Master of the Horse and might be induced to have some compassion for De Thou who was no farther a Criminal than as he had declined to accuse his Friend should pardon them The Cardinal still kept to his beloved Maxim never to destroy and one by halves and therefore prevented the Clemency of Lewis XIII by a speedy execution After all there is no question to be made but that the Accused were really guilty of designing to get the management of affairs into their own hands without the Kings consent and if they had accomplished their intentions the people had not been happier than they were under the Cardinal and in all probability the Enemies of France had only become more formidable by it Neither the King nor they according to the common opinion were in a condition to sustain the weight of affairs with such a resolution and conduct as the Cardinal had all along shown They were influenced by a principle of ambition and envy and did not act for the real good of the people and it was better for France that an Ambition supported by so little Conduct should prove fatal to the accused than to behold the greatest Minister she ever had perish by their intrigues and the King made a Slave to some persons who were more unfit to govern than himself However if the King had had the Courage to have pardon'd De Thou who was the least guilty among them he had won the applauses of the whole Kingdom and had not in the least sinned against the rules of good policy Chavignac a Hugonot Gentleman who had served under the Duke of Rohan and whom the Master of the Horse had got to be recalled to the Court to employ him in his designs was freed and acquitted because he refused to be concerned in this matter altho he openly profest himself to be an humble servant of Cinq-Mars 'T is certain his innocence appeared very clear since he so fortunately escap'd those Judges who as the world reported of them were ready to find all people guilty that the Cardinal had a mind to destroy The Duke of Beaufort was accused for having receiv'd a visit from De Thou who would have fain perswaded him to embark in this affair and the Cardinal who desired to discover all the Accomplices sent for him to Court and got the King to write to him upon that score The Duke made answer that he knew nothing of the matter but altho his Majesty writ to him thrice to come to him he judg'd it more advisable to pretend an indisposition and at last withdrew into England As for what concerned the Duke of Bouillon the King pardon'd him upon condition he would deliver up the City and Castle of Sedan to be annexed to the Crown without insisting on any other terms but his Life and Liberty and that he should intirely trust the Kings generosity as for what he might be pleased to give him by way of exchange * Siri Mer. T. 2. l. 3. c Aubery Mem. T. 2. p. 766 c. He obtain'd Letters of abolition dated the 15th of September at the end of which month Cardinal Mazarine went to take possession of Sedan with eleven Companies of the Guards As soon as he was set at liberty he took post to Montargis where the Cardinal then was to whom he made a visit after which without seeing the King he retir'd into Champagne to the Count de Roussi his Brother-in-law where the Dutchess of Bouillon was and from thence to a Castle which he had in Perigord This Prince was generally condoled for the loss he sustained but every body was surpriz'd that he should so easily be drawn into this design immediately after he had fortunately
their pensions should be paid them where-ever they thought fit to retire He sent a Gentleman to Travelle to assure him that the King loved him as well as ever and that his favour should never diminish by his absence The Court being thus purged from the rest of the Factious as the Cardinals Creatures express'd themselves his authority appear'd in its full extent But at the same time not only the King's health who was extremely alter'd ever since the death of Cinq-Mars but also that of the Cardinal began to lessen sensibly and towards the end of November he found himself seized with an exceeding pain in his side which was accompanied with a Feaver He had been troubled for several years with the Hemorrhoids and that distemper had frequently made him suffer a great deal of pain till a Physician stopt them But ever since that time as if this too acid blood had thrown it self upon the upper parts he had a defluxion upon his arm to cure which he was forced to employ Causties However he past the year 1641 without any considerable inconvenience but the year following having stopped the Ulcer in his Arm in seems the humour which had an Issue there made two imposthumes above his Lungs which shortned his days 'T is commonly the fate of great persons to be the worse served as for what relates to the cure of their Distempers than ordinary men for as none but Courtiers can have access to them who understand no profession but that of Flattery 't is almost impossible for them to have good Physicians As it usually happens in such distempers as the Cardinal was troubled with that the Patients are sometimes better and sometimes worse the hopes of the Relations and Creatures of this Minister increased and diminish'd by turns and sometimes joy and sometimes sadness was to be read in their countenances 'T is credibly reported that the King 's rough manner of receiving his last pretensions altho at last he complied with them did discompose him as if the King had been obliged wholly to submit himself to his desires However 't is certain that on the 29th of November the pain in his side increased extremely so that he was blooded twice It was likewise ordered that the Holy Sacrament should be * The 30 which fell on a Sunday exposed in all the Churches of Paris to endeavour to obtain his health of God but these Prayers and Ceremonies were no more efficacious than the interessed vows of his Relations The following day he seem'd to be better and those who desired his preservation began to say that God himself had appeared for it but towards the end of the same day they were forced to alter their tone for the pain in his side still encreased as well as his Feaver which was accompanied with great difficulty of breathing which made his Relations leave him neither by day nor by night On the 2d of December a consult of Physicians was held the result of which was that the Cardinal had but a short time to live The King being inform'd of the extremity he was in made him a visit and spoke to him with a great deal of tenderness and concern The Cardinal told him among other thing That he took his leave of his Majesty knowing that he was condemned to pay in a short time the common Tribute which all men owe to Nature That he said this last adien to his Majesty with the entire satisfaction he felt that he had never done any thing in his whole life contrary to his service That he left France in the highest reputation it ever had injoy'd in the world and her Enemies on the other hand humbled that he asked no other recompence of his Majesty for all his toils and labours than the continuance of his Royal protection to his Relations to whom he would not give his Benediction but upon the condition they would always preserve an inviolable fidelity to the King that lastly he requested his Majesty not to change the Ministry since those that were then concerned in the administration of publick affairs were extremely fit and capable to serve the Crown To these he added some important instructions conducing to the Grandeur of the Kingdom which were never published but 't is said they have been since followed The King by his answers testified how much he was concern'd at the Cardinals condition and promised him to protect his Relations with whom as he said he had other reasons to be well satisfied Afterwards two yolks of Eggs being brought to him the King took them and gave them to him with his own hand After this he confest himself to M. de Lescot Bishop of Chartres elect from whom he received absolution At last he asked the Physicians how long they thought he might live who told him that since they saw him so unconcern'd to dye they would not dissemble with him that they did not believe his distemper as yet was desperate and that he must wait till the seventh day However finding himself much worse towards the evening he demanded the Viaticum and the Curate of S. Enstachias brought it to him As he entred he cry'd out Behold my Judge who will soon pronounce my Sentence I desire him with all my heart to condemn me if in my Ministry I have proposed any other end to my self than the good of Religion and of the State Next morning * The 3 of Decem. at break of day he would receive the Extreme Unction and the Curate having told him that it was not necessary for a person of his rank to pass through all the ordinary forms which others are oblig'd to do he would not suffer himself to be treated otherwise than as a common man Thus after he had recited to him the principal Articles of Belief he said That he embraced them with a perfect Faith and that he desired to have a thousand lives to sacrifice them all for the Faith and for the Church As he demanded of him whether he forgave his enemies he answer'd That he did it with all his heart and after the same manner as he besought the divine justice to use him And being asked that in case God would be pleas'd to grant him a longer life whether he would employ it better in his sevice than the time past he reply'd May God rather send me a thousand Deaths if he foresees that I shall consent to one mortal sin He likewise recommended himself to the Prayers of the standers by in a manner that sensibly affected them and a man that had lived all along conformable to the precepts of the Gospel could not have testified a greater confidence in God Altho he was given over by his Physicians and there was no likelihood for him to recover an Emperic of Troyes named le Fevre being presented to him and having boasted extraordinary matters of I don't know what sort of a Water and Pills he had the Cardinal was willing to try the