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diff --git a/old/50717-0.txt b/old/50717-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f556553..0000000 --- a/old/50717-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14186 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of La Grande Mademoiselle, by Arvede Barine - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: La Grande Mademoiselle - 1627 - 1652 - -Author: Arvede Barine - -Translator: Helen Meyer - -Release Date: December 19, 2015 [EBook #50717] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LA GRANDE MADEMOISELLE *** - - - - -Produced by Jane Robins and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: LA GRANDE MADEMOISELLE - -FROM A STEEL ENGRAVING] - - - - - LA GRANDE - MADEMOISELLE - - 1627-1652 - - BY - - ARVÈDE BARINE - - AUTHORISED ENGLISH VERSION BY - - HELEN E. MEYER - - [Illustration] - - G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS - NEW YORK AND LONDON - The Knickerbocker Press - 1902 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1902 - BY - G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS - - Published, November, 1902 - - The Knickerbocker Press, New York - - - - -PREFACE - - -La Grande Mademoiselle was one of the most original persons of her -epoch, though it cannot be said that she was ever of the first order. -Hers was but a small genius; there was nothing extraordinary in her -character; and she had too little influence over events to have made -it worth while to devote a whole volume to her history--much less to -prepare for her a second chronicle--had she not been an adventurous and -picturesque princess, a proud, erect figure standing in the front rank -of the important personages whom Emerson called "representative." - -Mademoiselle's agitated existence was a marvellous commentary on the -profound transformation accomplished in the mind of France toward the -close of the seventeenth century,--a transformation whose natural -reaction changed the being of France. - -I have tried to depict this change, whose traces are often hidden -by the rapid progress of historical events, because it was neither -the most salient feature of the closing century nor the result of a -revolution. - -Essential, of the spirit, it passed in the depths of the eager souls of -the people of those tormented days. Such changes are analogous to the -changes in the light of the earthly seasons. From day to day, marking -dates which vary with the advancing years, the intense light of summer -gives place to the wan light of autumn. So the landscape is perpetually -renewed by the recurring influences of natural revolution; in like -manner, the moral atmosphere of France was changed and recharged with -the principles of life in the new birth; and when the long civil labour -of the Fronde was ended, the nation's mind had received a new and -opposite impulsion, the casual daily event wore a new aspect, the sons -viewed things in a light unknown to their fathers, and even to the -fathers the appearance of things had changed. Their thoughts, their -feelings, their whole moral being had changed. - -It is the gradual progress of this transformation that I have attempted -to show the reader. I know that my enterprise is ambitious; it would -have been beyond my strength had I had nothing to refer to but the -Archives and the various collections of personal memoirs. But two -great poets have been my guides, Corneille and Racine, both faithful -interpreters of the thoughts and the feelings of their contemporaries; -and they have made clear the contrast between the two distinct social -epochs--between the old and the new bodies, so different, yet so -closely connected. - -When the Christian pessimism of Racine had--in the words of Jules -Lemaître--succeeded the stoical optimism of Corneille, all the -conditions evolving their diverse lines of thought had changed. - -The nature of La Grande Mademoiselle was exemplified in the moral -revolution which gave us _Phédre_ thirty-four years (the space of a -generation) after the apparition of _Pauline_. - -In the first part of her life,--the part depicted in this -volume,--Mademoiselle was as true a type of the heroines of Corneille -as any of her contemporaries. Not one of the great ladies of her world -had a more ungovernable thirst for grandeur; not one of them cherished -more superb scorn for the baser passions, among which Mademoiselle -classed the tender sentiment of love. But, like all the others, she was -forced to renounce her ideals; and not in her callow youth, when such -a thing would have been natural, but when she was growing old, was she -carried away by the torrent of the new thought, whose echoes we have -caught through Racine. - -The limited but intimately detailed and somewhat sentimental history -of Mademoiselle is the history of France when Louis XIII. was old, and -when young Louis--Louis XIV.--was a minor, living the happiest years of -all his life. - -If I seem presumptuous, let my intention be my excuse for so long -soliciting the attention of my reader in favour of La Grande -Mademoiselle. - - - - -ERRATA. - - - Page 83, ninth line from top, _read_ de Lormes _for_ de Lorme. - - Page 272, fifth line from bottom, _dele_ hypnotic. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I - - PAGE - - I. Gaston d'Orléans--His Marriage--His Character--II. Birth - of Mademoiselle--III. The Tuileries in 1627--The Retinue - of a Princess--IV. Contemporary Opinions of Education--The - Education of Boys--V. The Education of Girls--VI. Mademoiselle's - Childhood--Divisions of the Royal Family 1-80 - - - CHAPTER II - - I. Anne of Austria and Richelieu--Birth of Louis XIV.--II. - _L'Astrée_ and its Influence--III. Transformation of the Public - Manners--The Creation of the Salon--The Hôtel de Rambouillet and - Men of Letters 81-153 - - - CHAPTER III - - I. The Earliest Influences of the Theatre--II. Mademoiselle and - the School of Corneille--III. Marriage Projects--IV. The Cinq-Mars - Affair--Close of the Reign 154-236 - - - CHAPTER IV - - I. The Regency--The Romance of Anne of Austria and - Mazarin--Gaston's Second Wife--II. Mademoiselle's New Marriage - Projects--III. Mademoiselle Would Be a Carmelite Nun--The Catholic - Renaissance under Louis XIII. and the Regency--IV. Women Enter - Politics--The Rivalry of the Two Junior Branches of the House of - France--Continuation of the Royal Romance 237-327 - - - CHAPTER V - - I. The Beginning of Trouble--Paris and the Parisians in - 1648--II. The Parliamentary Fronde--Mademoiselle Would Be Queen - of France--III. The Fronde of the Princes and the Union of the - Frondes--Projects for an Alliance with Condé--IV. La Grande - Mademoiselle's Heroic Period--The Capture of Orleans--The Combat in - the Faubourg Saint Antoine--The End of the Fronde--Exile 328-436 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PAGE - - LA GRANDE MADEMOISELLE _Frontispiece_ - From a steel engraving. - - MARIE DE MÉDICIS 6 - From a steel engraving. - - THE CHÂTEAU OF VERSAILLES FROM THE TERRACE 8 - After the painting by J. Rigaud. - - THE TUILERIES FROM THE SEINE IN THE 16TH CENTURY 22 - From a contemporary print. - - MADAME DE SÉVIGNÉ 54 - From an engraving of the painting by Muntz. - - CARDINAL RICHELIEU 84 - - THE ABBEY OF ST. GERMAIN DES-PRES IN THE 16TH CENTURY 110 - From an old print. - - LOUIS XIII., KING OF FRANCE AND OF NAVARRE 152 - From an old print. - - CORNEILLE 168 - From an engraving of the painting by Lebrun. - - RACINE 182 - From a steel engraving. - - THE HÔTEL DE RICHELIEU IN THE 17TH CENTURY 204 - From a contemporary print. - - A GAME OF CHANCE IN THE 17TH CENTURY 210 - From an engraving by Sébastien Leclerc. - - MARQUIS DE CINQ-MARS 212 - - ANNE OF AUSTRIA 242 - - VIEW OF THE LOUVRE FROM THE SEINE IN THE 17TH CENTURY 254 - From an old print. - - HENRIETTE, DUCHESSE D'ORLÉANS 258 - From a steel engraving. - - ST. VINCENT DE PAUL 292 - From a steel engraving. - - DUCHESSE DE CHEVREUSE 300 - - CARDINAL MAZARIN 320 - - MADEMOISELLE DE MONTPENSIER 324 - From a steel engraving. - - THE TOWER OF NESLE 342 - From a contemporary print. - - CARDINAL DE RETZ 344 - - MADAME DE LA VALLIÈRE 366 - From a steel engraving. - - VICOMTE DE TURENNE 398 - - VIEW OF THE LUXEMBOURG (LATER CALLED THE PALAIS D'ORLÉANS) - IN THE 17TH CENTURY 410 - From an old print. - - LA ROCHEFOUCAULD 416 - From a steel engraving. - - PRINCE DE CONDÉ 420 - - DUC D'ORLÉANS 422 - - - - -LA GRANDE MADEMOISELLE - - - - -THE YOUTH OF LA GRANDE MADEMOISELLE - - - - -CHAPTER I - - I. Gaston d'Orléans--His Marriage--His Character--II. Birth - of Mademoiselle--III. The Tuileries in 1627--The Retinue - of a Princess--IV. Contemporary Opinions of Education--The - Education of Boys--V. The Education of Girls--VI. Mademoiselle's - Childhood--Divisions of the Royal Family. - - -In the Château of Versailles there is a full-length portrait of La -Grande Mademoiselle,--so called because of her tall stature,--daughter -of Gaston d'Orléans, and niece of Louis XIII. When the portrait was -painted, the Princess's hair was turning grey. She was forty-five years -old. Her imperious attitude and warlike mien befit the manners of the -time of her youth, as they befit her Amazonian exploits in the days of -the Fronde. - -Her lofty bearing well accords with the adventures of the illustrious -girl whom the customs and the life of her day, the plays of Corneille, -and the novels of La Calprenède and of Scudéry imbued with sentiments -much too pompous. The painter of the portrait had seen Mademoiselle -as we have seen her in her own memoirs and in the memoirs of her -companions. - -Nature had fitted her to play the part of the goddess in exile; and it -had been her good fortune to find suitable employment for faculties -which would have been obstacles in an ordinary life. To become the -Minerva of Versailles, Mademoiselle had to do nothing but yield to -circumstances and to float onward, borne by the current of events. - -In the portrait, under the tinselled trappings the deep eyes look -out gravely, earnestly; the thoughtful face is naively proud of its -borrowed divinity; and just as she was pictured--serious, exalted in -her assured dignity, convinced of her own high calling--she lived her -life to its end, too proud to know that hers was the fashion of a -bygone age, too sure of her own position to note the smiles provoked -by her appearance. She ignored the fact that she had denied her -pretensions by her own act (her romance with Lauzun,--an episode by far -too bourgeois for the character of an Olympian goddess). She had given -the lie to her assumption of divinity, but throughout the period of -her romance she bore aloft her standard, and when it was all over she -came forth unchanged, still vested with her classic dignity. The old -Princess, who excited the ridicule of the younger generation, was, to -the few surviving companions of her early years, the living evocation -of the past. To them she bore the ineffaceable impression of the -thought, the feeling, the inspiration, the soul of France, as they had -known it under Richelieu and Mazarin. - -The influences that made the tall daughter of Gaston d'Orléans a -romantic sentimentalist long before sentimental romanticism held any -place in France, ruled the destinies of French society at large; and -because of this fact, because the same influences that directed the -illustrious daughter of France shaped the course of the whole French -nation, the solitary figure--though it was never of a high moral -order--is worthy of attention. La Grande Mademoiselle is the radiant -point whose light illumines the shadows of the past in which she lived. - - -I - -Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, was the daughter -of Gaston of France, younger brother of King Louis XIII., and of a -distant cousin of the royal family, Marie of Bourbon, Duchess of -Montpensier. It would be impossible for a child to be less like her -parents than was La Grande Mademoiselle. Her mother was a beautiful -blond personage with the mild face of a sheep, and with a character -well fitted to her face. She was very sweet and very tractable. -Mademoiselle's father resembled the decadents of our own day. He was a -man of sickly nerves, vacillating, weak of purpose, with a will like -wax, who formed day-dreams in which he figured as a gallant and warlike -knight, always on the alert, always the omnipotent hero of singularly -heroic exploits. He deluded himself with the idea that he was a real -prince, a typical Crusader of the ancient days. In his chaotic fancy he -raised altar against altar, burning incense before his purely personal -and peculiar gods, taking principalities by assault, bringing the kings -and all the powers of the earth into subjection, bearing down upon them -with his might, and shifting them like the puppets of a chess-board. -His efforts to attain the heights pictured by his imagination resulted -in awkward gambols through which he lost his balance and fell, crushed -by the weight of his own folly. Thus his life was a series of ludicrous -but tragic burlesques. - -In the seventeenth century, in flesh and blood, he was the Prince -whom modern writers set in prominent places in romance, and whom they -introduce to the public, deluded by the thought that he is the creature -of their invention. Louis XIII. was a living and pitiable anachronism. -He had inherited all the traditions of his rude ancestors. Yet, to meet -the requirements of his situation, nature had accoutred him for active -service with nothing but an enervated and unbalanced character. One -of his most odious infamies--his first--served as a prologue to the -birth of "Tall Mademoiselle." In 1626, as Louis XIII. had no child, -his brother Gaston was heir-presumptive to the throne, and he was a -bachelor. They who had some interest in the question were pushing him -from all sides, urging him not to fetter himself by the inferior -marriage of a younger son. They implored him to have patience; to "wait -a while"; to see if there would not be some unlooked-for opening for -him in the near future. His own apparent future was promising; there -was much encouragement in the fact that the King was sickly. What might -not a day bring forth?--"under such conditions great changes were -possible!" - -Monsieur's mind laid a tenacious grasp on the idea that he must either -marry a royal princess, or none at all; and he was so imbued with the -thought that he must remain free to attain supreme heights that when -Marie de Médicis proposed to him a marriage with the richest heiress -of France, Mlle. de Montpensier, he tried to evade her offer. He -encouraged Chalais's conspiracy, which was to be the means of helping -him to effect his flight from Court; he permitted his friends to -compromise themselves, then without a shadow of hesitation he sold them -all. When the plot had been exposed, he hastily withdrew his irons from -the fire by reporting everything to Richelieu and the Queen-mother. -His friends tried to excuse him by saying that he had lost his head; -but it was not true. His avowals as informer are on record in the -archives of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and they prove that he -was a man who knew very well what he was doing and why he was doing -it, who worked intelligently and systematically, planning his course -with matter-of-fact self-possession, selling his treason at the highest -market-price of such commodities. - -The 12th July, 1626, Monsieur denounced thirty of his friends, or -servitors, whose only fault had lain in their devotion to his interests. - -Once when Marie de Médicis reproached him for having failed to keep a -certain written promise "never to think of anything tending to separate -him from the King," Monsieur replied calmly that he had _signed that -paper_ but that he never had _said_ that he would not do it,--that he -"never had given a verbal promise." They then reminded him that he -had "solemnly sworn several times." The young Prince replied with the -same serenity, that whenever he took an oath, he did it "with a mental -reservation." - -The 18th, Monsieur, being in a good humour, made some strong -protestations to his mother, who was in her bed. He again took up the -thread of his denunciations to Richelieu without waiting to be invited -to give his information. The 23d, he went to the Cardinal and told him -to say that he, Monsieur, was ready to marry whenever they pleased, "if -they would give him his appanage at the time of the marriage,"--after -which announcement he remarked that _the late M. d'Alençon had had -three appanages_. Monsieur sounded his seas, and spied out his -land in all directions, carefully gathering data and making very -minute investigations as to the King's intentions. He intimated his -requirements to the Cardinal, who "sent the President, Le Coigneux, to -talk over his marriage and his appanage." - -[Illustration: MARIE DE MEDICIS - -FROM A STEEL ENGRAVING] - -His haggling and his denunciations alternated until August 2d. Finally -he obtained the duchies of Montpensier and of Chartres, the county of -Blois, and pecuniary advantages which raised his income to the sum of a -million livres. His vanity was allowed free play on the occasion of the -signing of the contract, but this was forgiven him because he was only -eighteen years old. - - Monsieur had eighty French guards, all wearing casques, and - bandoleers of the fine velvet of his livery. Their helmets were - loaded, in front and behind, with Monsieur's initials enriched with - gold. He had, also, twenty-four Swiss guards, who marched before - him on Sundays and other fête days, with drums beating, though - the King was still in Paris. He was fond of pomp. The lives of - his friends did not weigh a feather in the balance against a few - provinces and a rolling drum. - -His guardian, Marshal d'Ornano, was a prisoner in Versailles, where -the Court was at that time. Investigations against him were in rapid -progress; but the face of the young bridegroom was wreathed with smiles -when he led his bride to the altar, 5th August, 1626. As soon as he had -given his consent they had hastened the marriage. The ceremony took -place as best it could. It was marriage by the lightning process. There -was no music, the bridegroom's habit was not new. While the cortège -was on its way, two of the resplendent duchesses quarrelled over some -question of precedence. To quote the _Chronicles_: "From words they -came to blows and from blows to scratches of their skins." - -This event scandalised the public, but the splendour of the fêtes -effaced the memory of the regrettable incidents preceding them. -While the fêtes were in progress, Monsieur exhibited a gayety which -astonished the people; they were not accustomed to the open display -of such indelicacy. It was known why young Chalais had been condemned -to death; it was known that Monsieur had vainly demanded that he -be shown some mercy. When the 19th--the day of execution--came, -Monsieur saw fit to be absent. The youthful Chalais was beheaded by a -second-rate executioner, who hacked at his neck with a dull sword and -with an equally dull tool used by coopers. When the twentieth blow was -struck, Chalais was still moaning. The people assembled to witness the -execution cried out against it. - -Fifteen days later Marshal d'Ornano gave proof of his accommodating -amiability by dying in his prison. Others who had vital interests at -stake either fled or were exiled. - -Judging from appearances, Monsieur had had nothing to do with the -condemned or the suspected. His callous levity was noted and judged -according to its quality. Frequently tolerant to an extraordinary -degree, the morality of the times was firm enough where the fidelity -of man to master, or of master to man, was concerned. The common idea -of decency exacted absolute devotion from the soldier to his chief, -from servant to employer, from the gentleman to his seignior. Nor was -the duty of master to man less binding. Though his creatures or -servants were in the wrong, though their failures numbered seventy -times seven, it was the master's part to uphold, to defend, and to give -them courage, to stand or to fall with them, as the leader stands with -his armies. Gaston knew this; he knew that he dishonoured his own name -in the eyes of France when he delivered to justice the men who had -worn his colours. But he mocked at the idea of honour, shaming it, as -those among our own sons--if they are unfortunate enough to resemble -him--mock at the higher and broader idea of home and country,--the -idea which, in our day, takes the place of all other ideas exacting an -effort or a sacrifice. - -[Illustration: THE CHATEAU OF VERSAILLES FROM THE TERRACE - -AFTER THE PAINTING BY J. RIGAUD] - -It must not be supposed that Monsieur was an ordinary poltroon, -bowed down by the weight of his shame, desperately feeble, a mawkish -and shambling type of the effeminate adolescent; though a coward in -shirking consequences he was a typical "prince": very spirited, very -gay, and very brilliant; conscious of the meaning of all his actions; -contented in his position,--such as he made it,--and resigned to act -the part of a coward before the world. - -His vivacity was extraordinary. The people marvelled at his unfailing -lack of tact. Though very young, he was well grown. He was no longer -a child whose nurse caught him with one hand, forcibly buttoning his -apron as he struggled to run away; yet he skipped and gambolled, -spinning incessantly on his high heels, his hand thrust into his -pocket, his cap over his ear. In one way or in another he incessantly -proclaimed his presence. His sarcastic lips were always curved over his -white teeth; he was always whistling. - -"One can see well that he is high-born," wrote the indulgent Madame -de Motteville. "His restlessness and his grimaces show it." But -Madame de Motteville was not his only chronicler. Others relished his -manners less. A gentleman who had lived in his (Monsieur's) house when -Monsieur was very young, saw him again under Mazarin, and finding that -despite his age and size he was the same peculiar being that he had -been in infancy, the old gentleman turned and ran away. "Well, upon my -word," he cried, "if he is not the same deuced scamp as in the days of -Richelieu! I shall not salute him." - -Monsieur's portraits are not calculated to contradict the impression -given by his contemporaries. He is a handsome boy. The long oval face -is delicately fine. The eyes are spiritual; and despite its look of -self-sufficiency the whole face is infinitely charming. One of the -portraits shows a certain shade of sly keenness, but as a whole the -face is always indescribably attractive,--and yet as we gaze upon it -we are seized by an impulse to follow the example of the old marquis, -and run away without saluting. In the portrait the base soul looks -out of the handsome face just as it did in life, manifesting its -deplorable reality through its mask of natural beauty and intelligence. -No one could say that Monsieur was a fool. Retz declared: "M. le -Duc d'Orléans had a fine and enlightened mind." It was the general -impression that his conversation was admirable; judged by his talk -he was a being of a superior order. His manners and his voice were -engaging. He was an artist, very fond of pictures and rare and handsome -trifles. He was skilful in engraving on metals; he loved literature; -he loved to read; he was interested in new ideas and in the march of -thought. He knew many curious sciences. He was a cheerful companion, -easy-mannered, sprightly, easy of approach, fond of raillery, and full -of his jests, but his jests were never ill-natured. Even his enemies -were forced to own that he had a good disposition, and that he was -naturally kind; and this was the general opinion of the strange being -who was a Judas to so many of his most devoted friends. - -Had Monsieur possessed but one grain of moral consciousness, and had -he been free from an almost inconceivable degree of weakness and -of cowardice, he would have made a fine Prince Charming. But his -poltroonery and his moral debility stained the whole fabric of his life -and made him a lugubrious example of spiritual infirmity. He engaged in -all sorts of intrigues because he was too weak to say No, and owing to -the same weakness he never honestly fulfilled an engagement. - -At times he started out intending to do his duty, then when midway on -his route he was seized by fear, he took the bit between his teeth, -and ran, and nothing on earth could stop him. He carried out his -cowardice with impudence, and his villainy was artful and adroit. -However base his action, he was never troubled by remorse. He was -insensible to love, and devoid of any sense of honour. Having betrayed -his associates, he abandoned them to their fate, then thrust his hand -into his pocket, pirouetted, cut a caper, whistled a tune, and thought -no more of it. - - -II - -The third week in October the Duchess of Orleans returned to Paris. -The Court was at the Louvre. The young pair, Monsieur and his wife, -had their apartments in the palace, and the courtiers were not slow in -finding their way to them. - -Hardly had she arrived when Madame declared her pregnancy. As there -was no direct heir to the crown, this event was of great importance. -The people precipitated themselves toward the happy Princess who was -about to give birth to a future King of France. Staid and modest though -she was, her own head was turned by her condition. She paraded her -hopes. It seemed to her that even then she held in her arms the son -who was to take the place of a dauphin. Every one offered her prayer -and acclamations; and every one hailed Monsieur as if he had been the -rising sun.[1] - -Monsieur asked nothing better than to play his part; he breathed the -incense offered to his brilliant prospects with felicity. - -Husband and wife enjoyed their importance to the full; they displayed -their triumphant faces in all parts of that palace that had seen so -much bitterness of spirit. - -In itself, politics apart, the Louvre was not a very agreeable -resting-place. On the side toward Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois its aspect -was rough and gloomy. The remains of the old fortress of Philip -Augustus and of Charles V. were still in existence. Opposite the -Tuileries, towards the Quai, the exterior of the palace was elegant and -cheerful. There the Valois and Henry IV. had begun to build the Louvre -as we know it to-day. - -A discordant combination of extreme refinement and of extreme -coarseness made the interior of the palace one of the noisiest and -dirtiest places in the world. The entrance to the palace of the King -of France was like the entrance to a mill; a tumultuous crowd filled -the palace from morning until night; and it was the custom of the day -for individuals to be perfectly at ease in public,--no one stood on -ceremony. The ebbing and flowing tide of courtiers, of business men, of -countrymen, of tradesmen, and all the throngs of valets and underlings -considered the stairways, the balconies, the corridors, and the places -behind the doors, retreats propitious for the relief of nature. - -It was a system, an immemorial servitude, existing in Vincennes and -Fontainebleau as at the Louvre,--a system that was not abolished -without great difficulty. In a document dated posterior to 1670, -mention is made of the thousand masses of all uncleanness, and the -thousand insupportable stenches, "which made the Louvre a hot-bed of -infection, very dangerous in time of epidemic." The great ones of earth -accepted such discrepancies as fatalities; they contented themselves -with ordering a sweep of the broom. - -Neither Gaston nor the Princess, his wife, descended to the level of -their critical surroundings. They were habituated to the peculiar -features of the royal palaces; and certainly that year, in the -intoxication of their prospects, they must have considered the palatial -odours very acceptable. - -It did not agree with their frame of mind to note that the always -gloomy palace was more than usually dismal. Anne of Austria had been -struck to the heart by the pregnancy of her sister-in-law. She had been -married twelve years and she no longer dared to cherish the hope of -an heir. She felt that she was sinking into oblivion. Her enemies had -begun to insinuate that her usefulness was at an end and that she had -no reason for clinging to life. The Queen of France lived so eclipsed -a life that to the world she was nothing but a pretty woman with a -complexion of milk and roses. The people knew that she was unhappy, -and they pitied her. They never learned her true character until she -became Regent. Anne of Austria was not the only one to drain the cup of -bitterness that year. Louis XIII. also was jealous of the maternity of -Madame. It was a part of his nature to cherish evil sentiments, and -his friends found some excuse for his faults in his misfortunes. Since -Richelieu had attained power, Louis had succumbed to the exigencies -of monarchical duty. His whole person betrayed his distress, exhaling -constraint and anxiety. The most mirthful jester quailed at the sight -of the long, livid face, so mournful, so expressive of the mental -torment of the Prince who "knew that he was hated and who had no -fondness for himself." - -Louis was timid and prudish, and, like his brother, he had sick nerves. -Hérouard, who was his doctor when he was a child, exhibits the young -Prince as a somnambulist, who slept with eyes open, and who arose in -his sleep, walking and talking in a loud voice. Louis's doctors put -an end to any strength that he may have had originally. In one year -Bouvard bled him forty-seven times; and during that one twelvemonth the -child was given twelve different kinds of medicines and two hundred -and fifteen enemas. Is it credible that after such an experience -the unhappy King merited the reproach of being "obstreperous in his -intercourse with the medical faculty"? - -He had studied but little; he took no interest in the things that -pleased the mind; his pastimes were purely animal. He liked to hunt, to -work in his garden, to net pouches for fish and game, to make snares -and arquebuses. He liked to make preserves, to lard meat, and to -shave. Like his brother, he had one artistic quality: he loved music -and composed it. "This was the one smile, the only smile of a natural -ingrate." - -Louis XIII. was of a nature dry and hard. He detested his wife; he -loved nothing on earth but his young favourites. He loved them; then, -in an instant, without warning, he ceased to love them; and when he -had ceased to love them he did not care what became of them,--did not -care whether they lived or died. Whenever he could witness the agony of -death he did so, and turned the occasion into a picnic or a pleasure -trip. He enjoyed watching the grimaces of the dying. His religious -devotion was sincere, but it was narrow and sterile. He was jealous -and suspicious, forgetful, frivolous, incapable of applying himself to -anything serious. - -He had but one virtue, but that he carried to such lengths that it -sufficed to embalm his memory. This virtue was the one which raised -the family of Hohenzollern to power and to glory. The sombre soul -of Louis XIII. was imbued with the imperious sentiment of royal -duty,--the professional duty of the man designed and appointed by -Divine Providence to give account to God for millions of the souls of -other men. He never separated either his own advantage or his own glory -from the advantage and the glory of France. He forced his brother to -marry, though he knew that the birth of a nephew would ulcerate his own -flesh. He harboured Richelieu with despairing resolution because he -believed that France could not maintain its existence without the hated -ministry. He had the essential quality, the one quality which supplies -the lack of other qualities, without which all other qualities, great -and noble though they be, are useless before the State. - -Around these chiefs of the Court buzzed a swarm of ambitious rivals -and whispering intriguers all animated by one purpose, to effect the -discomfiture of Richelieu. The King's health was failing. The Cardinal -knew that Louis "had not two days to live"; he was seen daily, steadily -advancing toward the grave. In Michelet's writings there is a striking -page devoted to the "great man of business wasting his time and -strength struggling against I do not know how many insects which have -stung him." Marie de Médicis was the only one who united with the King -in defending Richelieu in the critical winter of 1626. The Cardinal -was the Queen's creature. The pair had many memories in common--and of -more than one kind. Some years previous Richelieu had taken the trouble -to play lover to the portly quadragenarian, and he had brought to bear -upon his effort all the courage requisite for such a suit. The Court of -France had looked on while the Cardinal took lessons in lute playing, -because the Queen-mother, notwithstanding her age and her proportions, -had had a fancy to play the lute as she had done when a little girl. -Marie de Médicis had given proof that she was not insensible to such -delicate attentions, and she had forgotten nothing; but the moment was -approaching when Richelieu would find that it had been to no purpose -that he had shouldered the ridicule of France by sighing out his music -at the feet of the fat Queen. - -That year a stranger would have said that the Court of France had -never been more gay. Fête followed fête. In the winter there were two -grand ballets at the Louvre, danced by the flower of the nobility, the -King at their head. Louis XIII. adored such exhibitions, though they -overthrow all modern ideas of a royal majesty. - -The previous winter he had invited the Bourgeoisie of Paris to the -Hôtel-de-Ville to contemplate their ghastly monarch masked for the -carnival, dancing his _grand pas_. "_It is my wish_," said he, "_to -confer honour upon the city by this action_." The Bourgeoisie had -accepted the invitation; man and wife had flocked to the appointed -place at the appointed hour, and there they had waited from four -o'clock in the afternoon until five o'clock in the morning, before the -royal dancers had made their appearance. The dance had not ended until -noon, when the honoured Bourgeoisie had returned to their homes. - -Monsieur took his full share of all official pleasures, and he had also -some pleasures of his own,--and purely personal they were. Some of -them were infantine; some of them, marked by intelligence, were far in -advance of the ideas of that epoch. Contemporary customs demanded that -people of the world should relegate their serious affairs to the tender -mercies of the professional keen wits, who made it their business to -attend to such questions. Gaston used to convene the chosen of his -lords and gentlemen, to argue subjects of moral and political import. -In discussion Monsieur bore himself very gallantly. The resources of -his wit were inexhaustible, and the justice of his judgment invariably -evoked applause. He was a sleep-walker, because awake or asleep he was -so restless that "he could not stay long in one place."[2] But he was -not always asleep when he was met in the night groping his way through -the noisome alleys. He used to jump from his bed, disguise himself, and -run about in the night, leading a life like that of the wretched Gérard -de Nerval, lounging on foot through the little streets of Paris which -were very dark and suspiciously dirty. It amused him to enter strange -houses and invite himself to balls and other assemblies. His behaviour -in such places is not recorded, but the gentlemen who followed him (to -protect him) let it be understood that there was "nothing good in it." - -Gaston of Orleans had all the traits common to those whom we call -"degenerate." His chief characteristic was an active form of bare and -shameless moral relaxation. He was the mainspring of many and various -movements. - -One day when Richelieu was present, Louis XIII. twitted the Queen with -her fancies. He said that she had "wished to prevent Monsieur from -marrying so that she could marry him herself when she became a widow." - -Anne of Austria cried out: "I should not have gained much by the -change!" - -(Neither would France have "gained much by the change," and it was -fortunate for her that Louis was permitted to retain possession of his -feeble rights.) - -The child so desired by some, so envied and so dreaded by others, -entered the world May 29, 1627. Instead of a dauphin it was a girl--_La -Grande Mademoiselle_. Seven days after the child was born the mother -died. - -Louis XIII. gave orders for the provision of royal obsequies, and -he himself sprinkled the bier with the blessed water, very grateful -because Providence had not endowed him with a nephew. Anne of Austria, -incognito, assisted at the funeral pomps. This act was received with -various interpretations. The simple--the innocent-minded--said that it -was a proof of the compassion inspired by Madame's sudden taking off; -the malicious supposed that it was just as the King had said: "The -Queen loved Monsieur; she rejoiced in his wife's death; she hoped to -marry him when she became a widow." - -The Queen was sincerely afflicted by Madame's death. She cherished an -open preference for her second son, and the thought of his ambitious -flight had agreeably caressed her heart. - -Richelieu pronounced a few suitable words of regret for the Princess -who had never meddled with politics, and Monsieur did just what he -might have been expected to do: he wept boisterously, immediately dried -his tears, and plunged into debauchery. - -The Court executed the regulation manœuvres, and came to the "about -face" demanded by the circumstances. Whatever may have been the -calculations made by individuals relative to the positions to be taken -in order to secure the best personal results, and whatever the secret -opinions may have been (as to the advantages to be drawn from the -catastrophe), it was generally conceded that the little Duchess had -been fortunate in being left sole possessor of the vast fortune of the -late Madame her mother. - -The latter had brought as marriage-portion the dominion of Dombes, -the principality of Roche-sur-Yon, the duchies of Montpensier, -Châtellerault, and Saint-Fargeau, with several other fine tracts of -territory bearing the titles of marquisates, counties, viscounties, and -baronies, with very important incomes from pensions granted by the King -and by several private individuals,--in all amounting to three hundred -thousand livres of income.[3] - -The child succeeding to this immense inheritance was the richest -heiress in Europe. As her mother had been before her, so Mademoiselle -was raised in all the magnificence and luxury befitting her rank and -fortune. - -III - -They had brought her from the Louvre to the Tuileries by the -balustraded terrace along the Seine.[4] - -She was lodged in the _Dôme_--known to the old Parisians as the -_pavillon d'Horloge_--and in the two wings of the adjoining buildings. -At that time the Tuileries had not assumed the aspect of a great -barrack. They wore a look of elegance and fantastic grace before they -were remodelled and aligned by rule. At its four corners the _Dôme_ -bore four pretty little towers; on the side toward the garden was a -projecting portico surmounted by a terrace enclosed by a gallery. On -this terrace, in time, Mademoiselle and her ladies listened to many a -serenade and looked down on many a riot. - -The rest of the façade (as far as the _pavillon de Flore_) formed -a succession of angles, now jutting forward, now receding, in -conformations very pleasing to the eye. The opposite wing and the -_pavillon de Marsan_ had not been built. Close at hand lay an almost -unbroken country. The rear of the palace looked out upon a parterre; -beyond the parterre lay a chaos from which the _Carrousel_ was not -wholly delivered until the Second Empire. There stood the famous Hôtel -de Rambouillet, close to the hotel of Madame de Chevreuse, confidential -friend of Anne of Austria and interested enemy of Richelieu. There were -other hotels, entangled with churches, with a hospital, a "Court of -Miracles," gardens, and wild lands overgrown with weeds and grasses. -There were shops and stables; and away at the far end of the settlement -stood the Louvre, closing the perspective. - -[Illustration: THE TUILERIES FROM THE SEINE IN THE 16TH CENTURY - -FROM A CONTEMPORARY PRINT] - -The Court and the city crowded together around the Bird House and the -Swans' Pond, in the Dedalus and before the Echo, ogling or criticising -one another. At that time the Place de la Concorde was a great, green -field, called the Rabbit Warren. In one part of the field stood the -King's kennels.[5] The city's limits separated the Champs-Élysées from -the wild lands running down to the Seine at the point where the Pont -de la Concorde now stands. This space, enclosed by the boundaries -of the city, assured to the Court a park-like retreat in the green -fields of the open country. The enclosure was entered by the gate -of the Conférence. The celebrated "Garden of Renard" was associated -with Mademoiselle's first memories. It had been taken from that part -of _La Garenne_ which lay between the gate of the Conférence[6] and -the Garden of the Tuileries. Renard had been _valet-de-chambre_ to a -noble house. He was witty, pliable, complaisant to the wishes or the -fancied needs of his employers, amiable, and of "easy, accommodating -manners"[7]; in short, he was a precursor of the Scapins and the -Mascarelles of Molière. Mazarin found pleasure and profit in talking -with him. Renard's garden was a bower of delights. It was the preferred -trysting-place of the lordlings of the Court, and the scene of all -things gallant in that gallant day. - -The fair ladies of the Court frequented the place; so did the crowned -queens; and there many an amorous knot was tied, and many a plot laid -for the fall of many a minister. - -There the men of the day gave dinners, and rolled under the table at -dessert; and in the bosky glades of the garden the ladies offered their -collations. There were balls, comedies, concerts, and serenades in the -groves, and all the gay world met there to hear the news and to discuss -it. Renard was the man of the hour, no one could live without him. - -The Cours la Reine, created by Marie de Médicis, was outside of Paris. -It was a broad path, fifteen hundred and forty common steps long, with -a "round square," or _rond-point_, in its centre. In that sheltered -path, the fine world, good and bad, displayed its toilets and its -equipages. - -Mlle. de Scudéry has given us a description of it at the hour when it -was most frequented. Two of her characters entered Paris by the village -of Chaillot. - - Coming into the city, where Hermogène led Bélésis, one finds beside - the beautiful river four great alleys, so broad, so straight, and - so shaded by the great trees which form them, that one could not - imagine a more agreeable promenade. And this is the place where all - the ladies come in the evening in little open chariots, and where - all the men follow them on horseback; so that having liberty to - approach either one or the other, or all of them, as they go up and - down the paths they all promenade and talk together; and this is - doubtless very diverting. - -Hermogène and Bélésis having penetrated into the Cours, - - they saw the great alleys full of little chariots, all painted and - gilded; sitting in the chariots were the most beautiful ladies - of Suze (Paris), and near the ladies were infinite numbers of - gentlemen of quality, admirably well mounted and magnificently - dressed, going and coming, saluting as they passed. - -In the summer they lingered late in the Cours la Reine, and ended the -evening at Renard's. Marie de Médicis and Anne of Austria were rarely -absent. - -Close by the Champs-Élysées lay a forest, through which the huntsman -passed to hunt the wolf in the dense woods of the Bois de Boulogne. In -the distance could be seen the village of Chaillot, perched on a height -amidst fields and vines. Market gardens covered the quarters of Ville -l'Evêque and the Chaussée d'Antin. - -Mademoiselle was installed with royal magnificence at the Tuileries. In -her own words: "They made my house, and they gave me an equipage much -grander than any daughter of France had ever had." - -Thirty years later she was still happily surrounded by the retinue -provided by her far-seeing guardians. Her servitors were of every -grade, from the lowest, who prepared a pathway for her feet, to the -highest, whose service added dignity to her presence. By investing her -with her nucleus of domestic tributaries, her friends had established -her importance, even in her infancy, by manifestations that could not -be disputed. In that day people were obliged to attach importance to -such details. But a short time had passed since brutal force had been -the only recognised right; and it was the way of the world to judge -the grandeur of a prince by the length and volume of his train. It was -because La Grande Mademoiselle had, from earliest youth, possessed -an army of squires, of courtiers, of valets, and of serving-men and -serving-women--a horde beginning with the fine milord and ending with -the hare-faced scullion, seen now and then in some shadowy retreat of -the palace, low-browed, down-trodden, looking out with dazzled eyes -upon the world of life and luxury,--it was because she had been a -ruler even in her swaddling bands, that she could aspire, naturally -and without overweening arrogance, to the hands of the most powerful -sovereigns. "The sons of France," says a document of 1649, "are -provided with just such officials as surround the King; but they -are less numerous.... The Princes have officers in accordance with -their revenues and in accordance with the rank that they hold in the -kingdom."[8] - -The same document furnishes us with details of the installation of -Anne of Austria. If, when we estimate the equipage of Mademoiselle, -we reduce it by half of the estimate of the Queen's equipage, we fall -short of the reality. Like an army in campaign, a Court ought to be -sufficient unto itself, able to meet all its requirements. The upper -domestic retinue of the Queen comprised more than one hundred persons, -_maîtres-d'hôtel_ or stewards, cup-bearers, carvers, secretaries, -physicians, surgeons, oculists, musicians, squires, almoners, nine -chaplains, "her confessor," a common confessor, and too many other -kinds of employees to be enumerated. Under all these officials, each -one of whom had his own especial underlings, were equal numbers of -valets and of chambermaids who assured the service of the apartments. -The Court cooking kept busy one hundred and fifty-nine drilled -knife-sharpeners, soup-skimmers, roast-hasteners, and water-handers, or -people to hand water as the cooks needed it for their mixtures. There -were other servitors whose business it was to await the beck and call -of their superiors,--call-boys, always waiting for signals. Then came -the busy world of the stables; then fifty merchants or shop-men, and -an indefinite number of artisans of all the orders of all the trades. -In all there were between six and seven hundred souls, not counting -the valets of the valets or the grand "_charges_," the officials close -to the Queen, the Queen's chancellor, the _chevaliers d'honneur_, or -gentlemen-in-waiting, the ladies in-waiting, and maids of honour. - -The great and noble people were often very badly served by their hordes -of servants. Madame de Motteville tells us how the ladies of the Court -of Anne of Austria were nourished in the peaceful year 1644, when the -Court coffers were yet full. - - According to the law of etiquette, the Queen supped in solitary - state. Her supper ended, we ate what was left. We ate without order - or measure, in any way we could. Our only table service was her - wash-cloth and the remnants of her bread. And, though this repast - was very ill-organised, it was not at all disagreeable, because it - had the advantage of what is called "privacy," and because of the - quality and the merit of those who sometimes met there. - -The most modern Courts still retain some vestiges of the Middle Ages. -Louis XIII. had, or had had, four dwarfs, their salary being three -hundred "tournois" or Tours livres. The King paid a man to look after -his dwarfs, keep them in order, and regulate their conduct.[9] - -To the day of her death, despite her exile and her misery, Marie de -Médicis maintained in her service a certain Jean Gassan, who figures in -her will as employed in "keeping the parrot." - -When a child, Louis XIV. had two _baladins_. Mademoiselle had a dwarf -who did not retire from her service until 1645. The registers of the -Parliament (date, 10th May, 1645) contain letters patent and duly -verified, by which the King accorded to "Ursule Matton, the dwarf of -Mademoiselle, sole daughter of the Duke of Orleans, the power and the -right to establish a little market in a court behind the new meat -market of Saint Honoré."[10] - -Marie de Médicis completed the house and establishment of her -granddaughter by giving her, for governess, a person of much virtue, -wit, and merit, Madame de Saint Georges, who knew the Court thoroughly. -Nevertheless Mademoiselle asserted that she had been very badly raised, -thanks to the herd of flattering hirelings who thronged the Tuileries, -and who no sooner surrounded her than they became insupportable. - - It is a common thing [said she] to see children who are objects of - respect, and whose high birth and great possessions are continually - the subject of conversation, acquire sentiments of spurious glory. - I so often had at my ears people who talked to me either about my - riches or about my birth that I had no trouble to persuade myself - that what they said was true, and I lived in a state of vanity - which was very inconvenient. - -While very young she had reached a degree of folly where it displeased -her to have people speak of her maternal grandmother, Madame de Guise. -"I used to say: '_She_ is my _distant_ grandmamma; _she_ is not Queen.'" - -It does not appear that Madame Saint Georges, that person of so much -merit, had done anything to neutralise evil influences. - -Throughout the seventeenth century, opinions on the education of girls -were very vacillating because little importance was attached to them. -In 1687, after all the progress accomplished through the double -influence of Port Royal and Madame de Maintenon, Fénelon wrote: - - Nothing is more neglected than the education of girls. Fashion and - the caprices of the mothers often decide nearly everything. The - education of boys is considered of eminent importance because of - its bearing upon the public welfare; and while as many errors are - committed in the education of boys as in the education of girls, at - least it is an accepted idea that a great deal of enlightenment is - required for the successful education of a boy. - -It was supposed that contact with society would be sufficient to form -the mind and to polish the wit of woman. In this fact lay the cause of -the inequality then noticeable in women of the same class. They were -more or less superior from various points of view, as they had been -more or less advantageously placed to profit by their worldly lessons, -by the spectacle of life, and by the conversation of honest people. - -The privileged ones were women who, like Mademoiselle and her -associates, had been accustomed to the social circles where the history -of their times was made by the daily acts of life. Their best teachers -were the men of their own class, who intrigued, conspired, fought, and -died before their eyes,--often for their pleasure. The agitated and -peril-fraught lives of those men, their chimeras, and their romanticism -put into daily practice, were admirable lessons for the future heroines -of the Fronde. To understand the pupils, we must know something of -their teachers. What was the process of formation of those professors -of energy; in what mould was run that race of venturesome and restless -cavaliers who evoked a whole generation of Amazons made in their own -image? The system of the education of France of that epoch is in -question, and it is worthy of a close and detailed examination. - - -IV - -From their infancy, boys were prepared for the ardent life of their -times. They were raised according to a clearly defined and fixed -idea common to rich and poor, to noble and to plebeian. The object -of a boy's education was to make him a man while he was still very -young. The only difference in the opinions of the gentleman and of the -bourgeois was this: - -The gentleman believed that action was the best stimulant to action. -The bourgeois thought that the finer human sentiments, the so-called -"humanities," were the only sound foundations for a virile and -practical education. But whatever the method used, in that day, a man -entered upon life at the age when our sons are but just beginning -interminable studies preliminary to their "examinations." At the age -of eighteen, sixteen--even fifteen years,--the De Gassions, the La -Rochefoucaulds, the Omer Talons, and the Arnauld d'Andillys had become -officers, lawyers, or men of business, and in their day affairs bore -little resemblance to modern affairs. In our day men do not enter -active life until they have been aged and fatigued by the march of -years. The time of entrance upon the career of life ought not to be -a matter of indifference to a people. At the age of thirty years a -man no longer thinks and feels as he thought and felt at the age of -twenty. His manner of making war is different; and there is even -more difference in his political action. He has different ambitions. -His inclinations lead him into different adventures. The moments of -history, when the agitators of the nation were young men, glow with -the light of no other epoch. There was then an indefinable quality in -life,--an active principle, more ardent and more vital. Under Louis -XIII. there were scholars to make the unhappy students of our own -emasculated times die of envy. Certain examples of our modern school -become bald before they rise from the benches of their college. - -Jean de Gassion, Marshal of France at the age of thirty years, who -"killed men" at the age of thirty-eight years (1647), was the fourth -son, but not the last, of a President of Parliament at Navarre, -who had raised his offspring with great care (having destined him -for the career of "Letters"). The child took such advantage of his -opportunities that before he was sixteen years old he was a consummate -scholar. He knew several of the living languages--German, Flemish, -Italian, and Spanish. Thus prepared for active life, he set out from -Pau astride of his father's old horse. When he had gone four or five -leagues, the old horse gave out. Jean de Gassion continued his journey -on foot. When he reached Savoy, they made war on him. He enlisted as -common soldier, and fought so well that he was promoted cornet. When -peace was declared, he was in France. He determined to go to the King -of Sweden--Gustavus Adolphus,--who was said to be somewhere in Germany. -De Gassion had resolved to offer the King the service of his sword, -and to ask to be allowed to lead the Swedish armies. But as he had no -idea of presenting himself to the King single-handed, he persuaded some -fifteen or twenty cavaliers of his own regiment to go with him, and -embarked with them on the Baltic Sea. And--so runs the story--he just -happened to land where Gustavus Adolphus was walking along the shore. - -(Such coincidences are possible only when youths are in their teens; -after the age of twenty, no man need hope for similar experience.) Jean -saluted the King, and addressed him in excellent Latin. He expressed -his desire to be of service. The King was amused; he received the -strange offer amiably, and consented to put the learned stripling -to the test. And so it was that Gassion was enabled to attain to a -colonelcy when he was but twenty-two years old. His early studies had -stood him in good stead; had he not known his Latin, he would have -missed his career. His Ciceronian harangue, poured out fluently just as -the occasion demanded it, attracted the favour of a King who was, by -his own might, a prince of letters. - -After the King of Sweden died, Gassion returned to France. With Condé -he won the battle of Rocroy, and, during the siege, died of a bullet -in his head, leaving behind him the reputation of a brilliant soldier -and accomplished man of letters, as virtuous as he was brave. He never -wished to marry. When they spoke to him of marriage, he answered that -he did not think enough of his life to offer a share of it to any one. -This was an expression of pessimism far in advance of his epoch. - -La Rochefoucauld, who will never be accused of having been naturally -romantic, offered another example of the miracles performed by youths. -Only once in his life did he play the part of Paladin. He launched -himself in politics before he had a beard. When he was sixteen years -old, he entered upon his grand campaign, bearing the title of "Master -of the Camp." - -The following year he was at Court, elbowing his way among all the -parties, busily engaged in opposition to Richelieu. But his politics -did not add anything to his age; he was still an adolescent, far -removed from the enlightened theorist of the _Maximes_. - -The peculiarly special savour of the springtime of life was -communicated to his soul at the hour appointed by nature. In him it -was impregnated by a faint perfume of heroism and of poetry. He never -forgot the happiness with which for a week or more he played the fool. -He was then twenty-three years old. Queen Anne of Austria was in the -depths of her disgrace, maltreated and persecuted by her husband and by -Richelieu. - - In this extremity [said Rochefoucauld], abandoned by all the world, - devoid of aid, daring to confide in no one but Mademoiselle de - Hautefort--and in me,--she proposed to me to abduct them both and - take them to Brussels. Whatever difficulty I may have seen in such - a project, I can say that it gave me more joy than I had ever had - in my life. I was at an age when a man loves to do extraordinary - things, and I could not think of anything that would give me more - satisfaction than that: to strike the King and the Cardinal with - one blow, to take the Queen from her husband and from the jealous - Richelieu, and to snatch Mademoiselle de Hautefort from the King - who was in love with her! - -In truth the adventure would not have been an ordinary one; La -Rochefoucauld assumed its duties with enthusiasm, renouncing them only -when the Queen changed her mind. - -Like all his fellows, La Rochefoucauld had his outburst of youth; but -he fell short of its folly. Recalling his extravagant project, he said: -"Youth is a continuous intoxication; it is the fever of Reason." - -The memoirs of Arnauld d' Andilly tell us how the sons of the higher -nobility were educated in the year 1600 and thereabout. Arnauld d' -Andilly began to study Greek and Latin at home, under the supervision -of a very learned father. Toward his tenth year his family thought -that the moment had come to introduce into his little head the -meanings and the realities of speculation. The child was destined -for "civil employment." His day was divided into two parts; one half -was devoted to "disinterested study"; the other half to the study of -things practical. So he served his apprenticeship for business by such -a system that his themes and his versions lost none of their rights. -His mornings were consecrated to lessons and tasks. They were long -mornings; the family rose at four o'clock. The little student became a -good Latinist, and even a good Hellenist. He wrote very well in French, -and he was a good reader. - -Ten or twelve volumes which belonged to him are still in existence, and -they attest that he knew a great deal more than the graduates of our -modern colleges,--though he knew nothing of the things they aim at. At -eleven o'clock he closed his lexicons, bade adieu to his preceptor and -to the pedagogy, bestrode his horse, and rode to Paris, to the house -of one of his uncles, who had taken it upon himself to teach the boy -everything that he could not learn from his books. Our forefathers -carefully watched their sons' first contact with reality. They tried -not to leave to chance the duties of so important an initiation; and -as a general thing their supervision left ineffaceable traces. Uncle -Claude de la Mothe-Arnauld, Treasurer-General of France, installed his -nephew in his private cabinet and gave him various bundles of endorsed -papers to decipher. The child was obliged to pick out their meaning -and then render a clear analysis of it in a distinct voice. When he -was fifteen years old another uncle, a Supervisor of the National -Finances, caused the student to "put his fist into the dough" in his -own office. At sixteen years of age, "little Arnauld" was "M. Arnauld -d' Andilly"; vested with office under the State, received at Court, -and permitted to assist behind the chair of the King, at the Councils -of Finance, so that he might hear financial arguments, and learn from -the Nation's statesmen how to decide great questions. His education -was not an exceptional one. The sons of the bourgeoisie were raised in -like manner. Attempts to educate boys were more or less successful, -according to the natural gifts of the postulants. Omer Talon, -Advocate-General of the Parliament of Paris, and one of the great -Parliamentary orators of the century, had pursued extensive classical -studies, and "as he spoke, Latin and Greek rushed to his lips." He -had "vast attainments in law," a science much more complicated in the -sixteenth century than in our day. But, learned though he was, he had -not lingered on the benches of his school. He was admitted to the Bar -when he was eighteen years old, and "immediately began to plead and to -be celebrated." - -Antoine Le Maïtre, the first "Solitaire" of Port Royal, began his -career by appearing in public as the best known and most important and -influential lawyer in Paris when he was twenty-one years old. - -Generally, the nobility sacrificed learning, which it despised, to an -impatient desire to see its sons "in active life." The nobles made -pages of their sons as soon as they were thirteen or fourteen years -old, or else sent them to the "Academy" to learn how to make proper use -of a horse, to fence, to vault, and to dance.[11] - - * * * * * - -In the eyes of people of quality books and writings were the tools of -plebeians; good enough for professional fine wits, or lawyers' clerks, -but not fit for the nobility. - - * * * * * - -In the reign of Louis XIII.,[12] M. d'Avenal wrote thus: "Gentlemen -are perfectly ignorant,--the most illustrious and the most modestly -insignificant alike. In this respect, with few exceptions, there is -absolute equality between them." - -The Constable, De Montmorency, had the reputation of a man of sound -sense, "though he had no book learning, and hardly knew how to write -his own name." Many of the great lords knew no more; and this ignorance -was not shameful; on the contrary it was desired, affected, gloried in, -and eagerly imitated by the lesser nobility. - -"I never sharpen my pen with anything but my sword," proudly declared a -gentleman. - -"Ah?" answered a wit; "then your bad writing does not astonish me!" - -The exceptions to the rule resulted from the caprices of the fathers; -and they were sometimes found where least expected. The famous -Bassompierre, arbiter of fashion and flower of courtiers, who, at one -sitting, burned more than six thousand letters from women, who wore -habits costing fourteen thousand écus, and could describe their details -twenty years after he had worn them, had been very liberally educated, -and according to a method which as may be imagined, was far in advance -of the methods of his day. He had followed the college course until the -sixteenth year of his age, he had laboured at rhetoric, logic, physics, -and law, and dipped deep into Hippocrates and Aristotle. He had also -studied _les cas de Conscience_. Then he had gone to Italy, where he -had attended the best riding schools, the best fencing schools, a -school of fortifications, and several princely Courts. At the age of -nineteen years he was a superb cavalier and a good musician, he knew -the world, and had made a very brilliant first appearance at Court. - -The great Condé, General-in-Chief at the age of twenty-two years, -had followed a college course at the school of Bourges, and had been -"drilled" at the "Academy." He was tried by the fire of many a hard -school. Wherever he went he was preceded by tart letters of instruction -from his father. By his father's orders he was always received and -treated as impartially as any of the lesser aspirants to education; -he was severely "exercised," put on his mettle in various ways, and -compelled to start out from first principles, no matter how well he -knew them. When seven years old he spoke Latin fluently. When he -reached the age of eleven he was well grounded in rhetoric, law, -mathematics, and the Italian language. He could turn a verse very -prettily; and he excelled in everything athletic. - -Louis XIII. applauded this deep and thorough study,--perhaps because he -regretted his lost opportunities. He told people that he should "wish -to have ... Monsieur the Dauphin," educated in like manner.[13] - -In measure as the century advanced it began to be recognised that a -nobleman could "study" without detracting from his noble dignity. -Louis de Pontis, who started out as a D'Artagnan, and ended at Port -Royal,[14] wished that time could be taken to instruct the youth of the -nation. Answering some one who had asked his advice as to the education -of two young lords of the Court, he wrote[15]: - - I will begin by avowing that I do not share the sentiments of those - who wish for their children only so much science as is "needed"--as - they call it--"for a gentleman"; I do not see things in that light. - I should demand more science. - - Since science teaches man how to reason and to speak well in - public, is it not necessary to men, who, by the grandeur of their - birth, their employment, and their duties, may need it at any - moment, and who make use of it in their numerous meetings with - the enlightened of the world? There are several personages who - hold that the society of virtuous and talented women expands and - polishes the mind of a young cavalier more than the conversation of - men of letters; but I am not of their opinion.... - -Notwithstanding this declaration, Pontis desired that great difference -should be established between the treatment of a child training for -the robes and the treatment of one training for military service. "The -first ought never to end his studies; it is sufficient for the second -to study until his fifteenth or sixteenth year; after that time he -ought to be sent to the Academy...." - -In this opinion Pontis echoed the general impression. At the time -when La Grande Mademoiselle was born, the man of quality no longer -had a right to be "brutal,"--in other words, to betray coarseness of -nature. New customs and new manners exacted from the man of noble -birth tact and good breeding, not science. But it was requisite that -the nobleman's mind should be "formed" by the influence and discourse -of a man of letters, so that he might be capable of judging witty and -intellectual works ("works of the mind"). - -Marshal Montmorency,[16] son of the Constable, who "hardly knew how to -write his own name," had always in his employ cultured and intellectual -people, who "made verses" for him on a multitude of such subjects as -it was befitting his high estate that he should know; such subjects -as were calculated to give him an air of intelligence and general -information. His intellectual advisers informed him what to think and -what to say of the current questions of the day.[17] It was good form -for great and noble houses to entertain at least one _autheur_. As -there were no public journals or reviews, the _autheur_ took the place -of literary chronicles and literary criticism. He talked of the last -dramatic sketch, or of the last new novel. - -It was not long before another step in advance was taken, by which -every nobleman was permitted to entertain his own personal _autheur_, -and to compose "works of the mind" for himself. But he who succumbed to -the epidemic (_cacoëthes scribendi_), owed it to his birth and breeding -to hide his malady, or to make excuses for it. - -Mlle. de Scudéry puts in the mouth of _Sapho_ (herself) in _Le Grand -Cyrus_[18]: - - Nothing is more inconvenient than to be intellectual or to be - treated as if one were so, when one has a noble heart and a - certain degree of birth; for I hold that it is an indubitable fact - that from the moment one separates himself from the multitude, - distinguishing one's self by the enlightenment of one's mind; when - one acquires the reputation of having more mind than another, and - of writing well enough--in prose or in verse--to be able to compose - books, then, I say, one loses one half of one's nobility--if - one has any--and one is not one half as important as another of - the same house and of the same blood, who has not meddled with - writings.... - -About the time this opinion saw the light, Tallemant des Réaux wrote to -M. de Montausier, husband of the beautiful Julie d'Angennes, and one of -the satellites of the Hôtel de Rambouillet: "He plys the trade of a man -of mind too well for a man of quality--or at least he plays the part -too seriously ... he has even made translations...." - -This mention is marked by one just feature: the man who wrote, who -could write, or who indulged in writing, was supposed to have judgment -enough to keep him from attaching importance to his works. The fine -world had regained the taste for refinement lost in the fracas of the -civil wars; but in the higher classes of society was still reflected -the horror of the preceding generations for pedants and for pedantry. - -Ignorant or learned, half-grown boys were cast forward by their hasty -education into their various careers when they had barely left the -ranks of infancy. They were reckless, still in the flower of their -giddy youth; but they were enthusiastic and generous. France received -their high spirits very kindly. Deprived of the good humour, and -stripped of the illusions furnished by the young representatives of -their manhood, the times would have been too hard to be endured. The -traditions of the centuries when might was the only right still weighed -upon the soul of the people. One of those traditions exacted that--from -his infancy--a man should be "trained to blood." A case was cited where -a man had his prisoners killed by his own son,--a child ten years old. -One exaction was that a man should never be conscious of the sufferings -of a plebeian. - -France had received a complete inheritance of inhuman ideas, which -protected and maintained the remains of the savagery that ran, like a -stained thread, through the national manners, just falling short of -rendering odious the gallant cavaliers. All that saved them from the -disgust aroused by the brutal exercise of the baser "rights" was the -bright ray of poetry, whose dazzling light gleamed amidst their sombre -faults. - -They were quarrelsome, but brave. Perchance as wild as outlaws, but -devoted, gay, and loving. They were extraordinarily lively, because -they were--or had been but a short time before--extraordinarily young, -with a youth that is not now, nor ever shall be. - -They inspired the women with their boisterous gallantry. In the higher -classes the sexes led nearly the same life. They frequented the same -pleasure resorts and revelled in the same joys. They met in the lanes -and alleys, at the theatre (_Comédie_), at balls, in their walks, on -the hunt, on horseback, and even in the camps. A woman of the higher -classes had constantly recurring opportunities to drink in the spirit -of the times. As a result the ambitious aspired to take part in public -life; and they shaped their course so well, and made so much of their -opportunities, that Richelieu complained of the importance of women in -the State. They were seen entering politics, and conspiring like men; -and they urged on the men to the extremes of folly. - -Some of the noblewomen had wardrobes full of disguises; and they ran -about the streets and the highways dressed as monks or as gentlemen. -Among them were several who wielded the sword in duel and in war, and -who rode fearlessly and well. They were all handsome and courageous, -and even in the abandon of their most reckless gambols they found means -to preserve their delicacy and their grace. Never were women more -womanly. Men adored them, trembling lest something should come about -to alter their perfection. Their fear was the cause of their desperate -and stubborn opposition to the idea of the education of girls, then -beginning to take shape among the elder women. - -I cannot say that the men were not in the wrong; but I do say that I -understand and appreciate their motives. Woman, or goddess, of the -order of the nobles of the time of Louis XIII., was a work of art, rare -and perfect; and to tremble for her safety was but natural! - -It happened that La Grande Mademoiselle came to the age to profit by -instruction just when polite circles were discussing the education -of girls. The governess whose duty it had been to guide her mind was -caught between two opposing forces: the defendants of the ancient -ignorance and the first partisans of the idea of "_enlightenment for -all_." - - -V - -_Les Femmes Savantes_ might have been written under Richelieu. -_Philamente_ had not awaited the advent of Molière to protest against -the ignorance and the prejudice that enslaved her sex. When the piece -appeared, more than half a century had elapsed since people had -quarrelled in the little streets about woman's position,--what she -ought to know, and what she ought not to know. But if the piece had -been written long before its first appearance, the treatment of the -subject could not have been the same. It would have been necessary -to agree as to what woman ought to be in her home and in her social -relations; and at that time they were just beginning to disagree -on that very subject. Nearly all men thought that things ought to -be maintained in the existing conditions. The nobles had exquisite -mistresses and incomparable political allies; the bourgeois had -excellent housekeepers; and to one and all alike, noble and bourgeois, -it seemed that any instruction would be superfluous; that things -were perfect just as they were. The majority of the women shared the -opinions of the men. The minority, looking deeper into the question, -saw that there might be a more serious and more intellectual way of -living to which ignorance would be an obstacle; but at every turn they -were met by men stubbornly determined that women should not be made -to study. Such men would not admit that there could be any difference -between a cultivated woman and "_Savante_,"--the term then used for -"blue-stocking." It must be confessed that there was some justice in -their judgment. For a reason which escapes me, when knowledge attempted -to enter the mind of a woman it had great trouble to make conditions -with nature and simplicity. It was not so easy! Even to-day certain -preparations are necessary,--appointment of commandants, the selection -of countersigns, establishment of a picket-line--not to say a deadline. -We have _précieuses_ in our own day, and their pretensions and their -grimaces have been lions in our path whenever we have attempted the -higher instruction of our daughters; the truly _précieuses_, they who -were instrumental in winning the cause of the higher education of -women--they who, under the impulsion given by the Hôtel de Rambouillet, -worked to purify contemporary language and manners--were not ignorant -of the baleful affectation of their sisters, nor of the extent of its -compromising effect upon their own efforts. Mlle. de Scudéry, who knew -"nearly everything that one could know" (by which was probably meant -"everything fit to be known"), and who piqued herself upon being not -less modest than she was wise, could not be expected to share, or to -take part in, and in the mind of the public be confounded with, the -female _Trissotins_ whose burden of ridicule she felt so keenly. She -would not allow herself to resemble them in any way when she brought -them forth in _Grand Cyrus_, where the questions now called "feminist" -were discussed with great good sense. - -_Damophile_, who affects to imitate _Sapho_, is only her caricature. -_Sapho_ "does not resemble a '_Savante_'"; her conversation is natural, -gallant, and easy (commodious). - -_Damophile_ always had five or six teachers. I believe that the least -learned among them taught her astrology. - -She was always writing to the men who made a profession of science. -She could not make up her mind to have anything to say to people who -did not know anything. Fifteen or twenty books were always to be seen -on her table; and she always held one of them in her hand when any one -entered the room, or when she sat there alone; and I am assured that -it could be said without prevarication that one saw more books in her -cabinet than she had ever read, and that at _Sapho's_ house one saw -fewer books than she had read. - -More than that, _Damophile_ used only great words, which she pronounced -in a grave and imperious voice; though what she said was unimportant; -and _Sapho_, on the contrary, used only short, common words to express -admirable things. Besides that, _Damophile_, believing that knowledge -did not accord with her family affairs, never had anything to do with -domestic cares; but as to _Sapho_, she took pains to inform herself of -everything necessary to know in order to command even the least things -pertaining to the household. - -_Damophile_ not only talked as if she were reading out of a book, but -she was always talking about books; and, in her ordinary conversation, -she spoke as freely of unknown authors as if she were giving public -lessons in some celebrated academy. - - She tries ... with peculiar and strange carefulness, to let it be - known how much she knows, or thinks that she knows. And that, too, - the first time that a stranger sees her. And there are so many - obnoxious, disagreeable, and troublesome things about _Damaphile_, - that one must acknowledge that if there is nothing more amiable nor - more charming than a woman who takes pains to adorn her mind with a - thousand agreeable forms of knowledge,--when she knows how to use - them,--nothing is as ridiculous and as annoying as a woman who is - "stupidly wise." - -Mlle. de Scudéry raged when people, who had no tact, took her for -a _Damophile_, and, meaning to compliment her, consulted her "on -grammar," or "touching one of Hesiod's verses." Then the vials of her -wrath were poured out upon the "_Savantes_" who gave the prejudiced -reason for condemning the education of woman, and who provoked annoying -and ridiculous misconception by their insupportable pedantry; when -there were so many young girls of the best families who did not even -learn their own language, and who could not make themselves understood -when they took their pens in hand. - - "The majority of women," said Nicanor, "seem to try to write so - that people will misunderstand them, so strange is their writing - and so little sequency is there in their words." - - "It is certain," replied Sapho, "that there are women who speak - well who write badly; and that they do write badly is purely their - own fault.... Doubtless it comes from the fact that they do not - like to read, or that they read without paying any attention to - what they are doing, and without reflecting upon what they have - read. So that although they have read the same words they use when - they write, thousands and thousands of times, when they come to - write they write them all wrong. And by putting some letters where - other letters ought to be, they make a confused tangle which no one - can distinguish unless he is well used to it." - - "What you say is so true," answered Erinne, "that I saw it proved - no longer ago than yesterday. I visited one of my friends, who has - returned from the country, and I carried her all the letters she - wrote to me while she was away, so that she might read them to me - and let me know what was in them." - - -Mademoiselle de Scudéry did not exaggerate; our great-grandmothers -did not see the utility of applying a knowledge of spelling to their -letters. In that respect each one extricated herself by the grace of -God. - -The Marchioness of Sablé, who was serious and wise, and, according to -the testimony of _Sapho_, "the type of the perfect _précieuse_" had -peculiar ways of her own in her spelling. She wrote, _J'hasse, notre -broulerie votre houbly_. Another "_précieuse_," Madame de Brégy, whose -prose and verse both appeared in print, wrote to Madame de Sablé, when -they were both in their old age: - - Je vous diré que je vieus d'aprendre que samedi, Monsieur, Madame, - et les poupons reviene a Paris, et que pour aujourd'hui la Rayue - et Madame de Toscane vout a Saint-Clou don la naturelle bauté sera - reausé de tout les musique possible et d'un repas magnifique don je - quiterois tous les gous pour une écuelle non pas de nantille, mes - pour une devostre potage; rien n'étan si délisieus que d'an mauger - en vous écoutan parler. (19th September, 1672.) - -It is but just to add that as far as orthography was concerned many of -the men were women. The following letter of the Duke of Gesvres, "first -gentleman of Louis XIV.," has no reason to envy the letter of the old -Marchioness. - - (Paris, this 20th September, 1677.) Monsieur me trouvant oblige - de randre vuue bonne party de l'argan que mais enfant out pris de - peuis quil sont en campane Monsieur cela m'oblije a vous suplier - très humblement Monsieur de me faire la grasse de Commander - Monsieur quant il vous plaira que l'on me pay le capitenery - de Movsaux monsieur vous asseurant que vous m'oblijeres fort - sansiblement Monsieur, comme ausy de me croire avec toute sorte de - respec Monsieur vastre très humble et très obeissant serviteur. - -Enough is as good as a feast! Though we stand in no superstitious awe -of orthography, we can but laud Mademoiselle de Scudéry for having -crossed lances in its favour. And well might she wish that to the first -elements of an education might be added a certain amount of building -material suitable for a foundation so solid that something more serious -than dancing steps and chiffons might at a later date be introduced -into the brains of young girls. - - Seriously, [she said] is there anything stranger than the way - they act when they prepare to enter upon the ordinary education - of woman? One does not wish women to be coquettish or gallant, - and yet they are permitted to learn carefully everything that - has anything to do with gallantry; though they are not permitted - to know anything that might fortify their virtue or occupy their - minds. All the great scoldings given them in their first youth - because they are not proper[19]--that is to say dressed in good - taste, and because they do not apply themselves to their dancing - lessons and their singing lessons--do they not prove what I say? - And the strangest of all is that this should be so when a woman - cannot, with any propriety, dance more than five or six years - of all the years of her life! And this same person who has been - taught to do nothing but to dance is obliged to give proof of - judgment to the day of her death; and though she is expected to - speak properly, even to her last sigh, nothing is done--of all - that might be done--to make her speak more agreeably, nor to act - with more care for her conduct; and when the manner in which these - ladies pass their lives is considered, it might be said that they - seem to have been forbidden to have reason and good sense, and that - they were put in the world only that they might sleep, be fat, be - handsome, do nothing, and say nothing but silly things.... I know - one who sleeps more than twelve hours every day, who takes three or - four hours to dress herself, or, to speak more to the point: not to - dress herself--for more than half of the time given to dressing is - passed either in doing nothing or in doing over what has been done. - Then she employs fully two or three hours in consuming her divers - repasts; and all the rest of the time is spent receiving people to - whom she does not know what to say, or in paying visits to people - who do not know what to say to her. - -In spite of her strictness, Mlle. de Scudéry was no advocate of the -idea which makes a woman her husband's servant, or installs her as the -slave of the stew-pan. Whenever she was urged to "tell precisely what -a woman ought to know," the problem was so new to her that she did not -know how to answer it. She evaded it, rejecting its generalities. She -had only two fixed ideas: that science was necessary to women; and -that the women who attained it must not let it be known that they had -attained it. She expressed her two opinions clearly: - - It [science] serves to show them the meaning of things; it makes - it possible for them to listen intelligently when their mental - superiors are talking--even to talk to the point and to express - opinions--but they must not talk as books talk; they must try - to speak as if their knowledge had come naturally, as if their - inherent common sense had given them an understanding of the things - in question. - -Mademoiselle had in her mind one woman whom she would have liked to set -up as a pattern for all other women. That one woman knew Latin, and -because of her sense and propriety, was esteemed by Saint Augustine, -and yet no one had ever thought of calling her a "_Savante_." - -Mlle. de Scudéry was very grateful to the charming Mme. de Sévigné, -because she plead the cause of woman's education by so fine an example, -and she depicted her admirable character with visible complaisance, -under the name of Clarinte.[20] - - Her conversation is easy, diverting and natural. She speaks to the - point, and evinces clear judgment; she speaks well; she even has - some spontaneous expressions, so ingenuous and so witty that they - are infinitely pleasing.... Clarinte dearly loves to read; and - what is better, without playing the wit, she is admirably quick to - seize the hidden meaning of fine ideas. She has so much judgment - that, though she is neither severe, nor shy, she has found the - means to preserve the best reputation in the world.... What is most - marvellous in this person is that, young as she is, she cares for - her household as prudently as if she had had all the experience - that time can give to a very enlightened mind; and what I admire - still more, is that whenever it is necessary she can do without - the world, and without the Court; she is as happy in the country, - she can amuse herself as well there, as if she had been born in - the woods.... I had nearly forgotten to tell you that she writes - as she speaks; that is to say, most agreeably and as gallantly as - possible. - -The programme used for the distribution of studies by means of which -the De Sévignés were fabricated is not revealed. Nature herself must -have furnished a portion of the plan. As far as we can judge the part -played by education was restricted to the adoption of some of the -suggestions of very rich moral endowments. - -Mlle. de Chantal had been admirably directed by her uncle, the Abbé -de Coulanges, and, aside from the cares of the profession which -now presides over the education of woman, it is probable that more -efficient means could not be found for the proper formation of the -character of a girl than it was Mademoiselle de Chantal's good fortune -to enjoy. - -Ménage and Chapelain had been her guides in rhetoric. She had read -Tacitus and Virgil in the original all her life. She was familiar with -Italian and with Spanish, and had ancient and modern history at her -tongue's end,--also the moralists and the religious writers. - -These serious and well-grounded foundations, which she continually -strengthened and renewed until death, did not prevent her from -"adoring" poetry, the drama, and the superior novels,--in short, all -things of enlightenment and worth wherever she found them and under -whatever form. She was graceful in the dance; she sang well,--her -contemporaries said that her manner of singing was "impassioned." - -[Illustration: MADAME DE SÉVIGNÉ - -FROM AN ENGRAVING OF THE PAINTING BY MUNTZ] - -The Abbé Coulanges had raised her so carefully that she was orderly; -and, unlike the majority, she liked to pay her debts. She was a perfect -type of woman. She even made a few mistakes in orthography, taking one, -or more, letter, or letters, for another, or for others. In short, she -made just the number of errors sufficient to permit her to be a writer -of genius without detracting from her air of distinguished elegance, or -from the obligations and the quality of her birth. - -There were others at Court and in the city who confirmed their right -to enlightenment, thereby justifying the theses of Mademoiselle de -Scudéry. But a large number of women gave the lie to her theories -by their resemblance to _Damophile_. Of these latter was "the -worthy Gournay," Montaigne's "daughter by alliance," who, from the -exalted heights of her Greek and Latin, and in a loud, insistent -voice, discoursed like a doctor of medicine on the most ticklish of -subjects,--subjects far from pleasing when rolled out of the mouth -of a woman, even when so displaced in the name of antiquity and all -that is venerable! (For in these names "the good Gournay" evoked -them.) There was another pedant, the Viscountess d'Auchy, who had -"founded conferences" in her own house; the people of the fine world -flocked there to smother as they listened while it was proved, for -their edification, that the Holy Trinity had natural reasons for its -existence. On those "foundations" the Innate Idea also was proved by -demonstrative reason by collecting and by analysing the ideas of young -children concerning philosophy and theology. The lady who founded the -conferences had bought some manuscript _Homilies on the Epistles of St. -Paul_, of a doctor of theology. She had had them imprinted and attached -to portraits of herself. Thus accoutred for their mission, they were -circulated with great success, and their proceeds formed the endowment -fund of the _Conférence_ Library. - -"The novelty of seeing a great lady of the Court commenting on the most -obscure of the apostles caused every one to buy the book."[21] It ended -by the Archbishop of Paris intimating to the "Order of the Conferences" -that they "would better leave Theology to the Sorbonne." - -Mlle. Des Jardins declaimed her verses in the salons with great -"contortions" and with eyes rolling as if in death; and she was not at -all pleased when people preferred Corneille's writings to her own. - -Mlle. Diodée frightened her hearers so that they took to their heels -when she began to read her fine thoughts on Zoroaster or on Hermes -Trismegistus. Another learned lady would speak of nothing but solar or -lunar eclipses and of comets. - -The pedantry of this high order of representative woman transported the -"honest man" with horror. The higher the birth of the man the greater -his fear lest by some occult means he might be led to slip his neck -into the noose of a "_Savante_." But there was one counter-irritant -for this virulent form of literary eruption. The young girls of the -highest nobility were all extremely ignorant. Mlle. de Maillé-Brézé, -niece of Cardinal de Richelieu, had not an idea of the most limited -degree of the knowledge of books when she married the great Condé -(1641). She knew nothing whatever. It was considered that ignorance -carried to such length proved that neglect of instruction had gone -too far, and when the great Condé went on his first campaign, friends -seized the opportunity to add a few facets to the uncut jewel. She was -turned and turned about, viewed in different lights, and polished so -that her qualities could be seen to the best advantage. "The year after -her marriage," says Mlle. de Scudéry, "she was sent to the Convent of -the Carmelite Nuns of Saint Denis, to be taught to learn to read and -write, during the absence of Monsieur her husband." - -The _Contes de Perrault_--faithful mirror of the habits of those -days--teaches us what an accomplished princess ought to be like. All -the fairies to be found in the country had acted as godmothers to the -_Belle-au-Bois-dormant_, - - so that each one of them could bring her a gift ... consequently - the princess had acquired every imaginable perfection.... The - youngest fairy gave her the gift of being the most beautiful - woman in the world; the one who came next gave her the spirit - of an angel; the third endowed her with power to be graceful in - everything that she did; the fourth gave her the art of dancing - like a fairy; the fifth the art of singing like a nightingale; - and the sixth endowed her with the power to play all kinds of - instruments to perfection. - -Perrault had traced his portraits over the strongly defined lines of -real life. La Grande Mademoiselle was trained after the manner of the -_Belle-au-Bois-dormant_. Her governess had had too much experience -to burden her with a science that would have made her redoubtable in -the eyes of men; so she had transferred to the fairies the task of -providing her young charge with a suitable investiture. Unhappily -for her eternal fame, when she distributed her powers of attorney -some of the fairies were absent; so Mademoiselle neither sang like a -nightingale, nor displayed classic grace in all her actions. But her -resemblance to Perrault's heroines was striking. The fairies empowered -to invest her with mind and delicacy of feeling had been present at -her baptism, and they had left indisputable proof of the origin of her -ideas. Like their predecessors, the elves of the _Contes_, they had -never planned for anything less than the marriage of their god-daughter -to the King's son. By all that she saw and heard, Mademoiselle knew -that Providence had not closed an eye at the moment of her creation. -She knew that her quality was essential. She knew that it was written -on high that she should marry the son of a great King. - -Her life was a conscientious struggle to "accomplish the oracle"; and -the marriages that she missed form the weft of her history. - - -VI - -The first of the _Mémoires_ show us the Court of Louis XIII. and the -affairs of the day as seen by a little girl. This is an aspect to -which historians have not accustomed us; and as a natural result of -the infantine point of view the horizons are considerably narrowed. -The little Princess did not know that anything important was taking -place in Germany. She could not be ignorant of the fact that Richelieu -was engaged in a struggle with the high powers of France; she read the -general distress in the clouded faces surrounding her. But in her mind -she decided that it was nothing but one of her father's quarrels with -the Cardinal. The judgments she rendered against the high personages -whose houses she frequented were dictated by purely sentimental -considerations. "Some she liked; some she did not like"; consequently -the former gained, and the latter lost. Many contestants were -struggling before her young eyes; Louis XIII. was among the winners. - -He was a good uncle, very affectionate to his niece, and deeply -grateful that she was nothing worse than a girl. He could never rid -himself of the idea that his brother might have endowed him with an -heir. He had Mademoiselle brought to the Louvre by the gallery along -the river, and allowed himself to be cheered by her turbulence and -uncurbed indiscretions. - -Anne of Austria exhibited a deep tenderness for Mademoiselle; but no -one can deceive a child. "I think that all the love she showed me -was nothing but the effect of what she felt for Monsieur," writes -Mademoiselle; and further on she formally declares that the Queen, -believing herself destined to a near widowhood, had formed the "plan" -of marrying Monsieur. Whatever the Queen's plans may have been, it -is certain that she caressed the daughter for love of the father. -Anne of Austria never forgave Mademoiselle for the part that she had -played before her birth, in the winter of 1626-1627, when the Duchess -of Orleans so arrogantly promised to bring forth a Dauphin. Monsieur -had no reason to fear the scrutiny of a child. He was a charming -playfellow; gay, complaisant, fond of his daughter, at least for the -moment,--no one could count upon the future! - -Cardinal de Richelieu could not gain anything by thoughtful criticism. -To the little Princess he was the Croquemitaine of the Court. When we -think of his ogre face--spoil sport that he was! as he appeared to -the millions of French people who were incapable of understanding his -policy--the silhouette traced by the hand of Mademoiselle appears in -a new light, and we are forced to own that its profound and simple -ignorance is instructive. - -Marie de Médicis had managed to disappear from the Luxembourg and from -Paris, after the _Journée des Dupes_ (11 November, 1630), and her -little granddaughter had not noticed her departure. She writes: "I was -still so young that I do not remember that I ever saw her." The case -was not the same after the departure of Monsieur. He had continually -visited the Tuileries, and when he came no more the child knew it well -enough. She understood that her father had been punished, and she -was not permitted to remain ignorant of the identity of the insolent -personage who had placed him on the penitential stool. Mademoiselle, -then less than four years old, was outraged in all her feelings by the -success of Richelieu. She made war upon him in her own way; and, dating -from that day, became dear to the people of Paris, who had always loved -to vex and to humble the Government. She wrote with a certain pride: -"On that occasion my conduct did not at all answer to my years. I did -not want to be amused in any way; and they could not even make me go to -the assemblies at the Louvre." As she had no better scapegoat, her bad -humour was vented on the King. She constantly growled at him, demanding -that he should bring back her "papa." But Mademoiselle was never able -to pout to such purpose that she could stay away from the palace long, -for she was a true courtier, firmly convinced that to be away from -Court was to be in a desert, no matter how many servants and companions -might surround her. She soon mended her broken relations with the -assemblies and the collations of the Louvre, and could not refrain from -"entering into the joy of her heart" when "Their Majesties" sent word -to her guardians to take her to Fontainebleau. But she never laid down -her arms where Richelieu was concerned. She knew all the songs that -were written against him. - -Meanwhile Monsieur had not taken any steps to make himself -interesting. As soon as he had crossed the French frontier he entered -upon a pleasure debauch which rendered him unfit for active service, -for a time at least. He paid for his high flight in Spanish money. In -1632 he further distinguished himself by entering France at the head -of a foreign army. On that occasion he caused the death of the Duke of -Montmorency, who was executed for "rebellion." - -Immediately after the Duke's execution, it was discovered that Monsieur -had secretly married a sister of the Duke of Lorraine. He, Monsieur, -crowned his efforts by signing a treaty with Spain (12 May, 1634), for -which act France paid by yielding up strips of French territory. - -But to his daughter Monsieur was always the victim of an impious -persecution. Speaking of the years gorged with events so closely -concerning her own life, she says: - - Many things passed in those days. I was only a child; I had no part - in anything, and could not notice anything; All that I can remember - is that at Fontainebleau (5 May, 1663) I saw the Ceremony of the - Chevaliers of the Order. During the ceremony they degraded from the - Order Monsieur the Duke d'Elbœuf, and the Marquis de la Vieu Ville. - I saw them tear off and break the arms belonging to their rank,--a - rank equal to all the others; and when I asked the reason they told - me they had insulted them "because they had followed Monsieur." - Then I wept. I was so wounded by this treatment that I would have - retired from Court; and I said that I could not look on this action - with the submission that would become me. - -The day after the ceremony an incident exciting much comment added -to Mademoiselle's grief. Her enemy, the Cardinal, took part in the -promotion of the Cordons Bleus. On this occasion Louis XIII. wished to -exalt his Minister by giving him a distinguishing mark of superiority. -He wished to distinguish him, and him only, by giving him a present. -His choice of a present fell upon an object well fitted to evoke the -admiration of a child. The chevaliers of the _Saint Esprit_ were at -a banquet. At dessert they brought to Richelieu the King's gift, an -immense rock composed of various delicate confitures. From the centre -of the rock jetted a fountain of perfumed water. Given under solemn -circumstances and to a prince of the Church, it was a singular present. -It attracted remark, its familiarity tended to give colour to the -rumours circulating to the effect that an alliance then in process of -incubation would eventually unite the House of France and the family of -a very powerful Minister. The people voiced the current rumour volubly; -they said that "Gaston's marriage with a Lorraine" would never be -recognised, and that the young Prince would buy his pardon by marrying -the niece of the Cardinal. Mademoiselle heard the rumours and her heart -swelled with anguish at the thought of her father's dishonour. - - I was not so busy with my play that I did not listen attentively - when they spoke of the "accommodating ways" of Monsieur! The - Cardinal de Richelieu, who was first minister and master of - affairs, had made up his mind that it should be so,--that he - should marry _that one!_ and he had expressed his wishes with such - shameful suggestions that I could not hear them mentioned without - despair. To make peace with the King, Monsieur must break his - marriage with Princesse Marguerite d'Orléans, and marry Mlle. de - Combalet, niece of the Cardinal, now Madame d'Aguillon! From the - time I first heard of the project I could not keep from weeping - when it was spoken of; and, in my wrath, to avenge myself, I sang - all the songs against the Cardinal and his niece that I knew. - Monsieur did not let himself be "arranged" to suit the Cardinal. - He came back to France without the assistance of the ridiculous - condition. But how it was done I do not know. I cannot say anything - about it, because I had no knowledge of it. - -If it is true that Mademoiselle did not know the details of the -quarrels in which the House of France engaged during her childhood, -she was not inquisitive. Her knowledge in that respect had been at the -mercy of her own inclination. By the thoughtful care of Richelieu, all -the correspondence and all the official reports exposing the Court -miseries were placed where all might read who ran. Richelieu had -divined the power of the press over public opinion, although in that -day there was no press in France. There were no journals to defend -the Government. The _Mercure Française_[22] was not a journal; it -appeared once a year, and contained only a brief narration of "the -most remarkable things that had come to pass" in the "four parts of -the world." Renaudot's _Gazette_[23] was hardly a journal, though -it appeared every eight days, and numbered Louis XIII. among its -contributors. Louis furnished its military news. Richelieu and "Father -Joseph" furnished its politics. Neither Renaudot nor his protectors -had any idea of what we call a "premier Paris" or an "article de -fond"; they had never seen such things and they would not have been -capable of compassing such inventions. The _Gazette_ was not a sheet -of official information; it did not contain matter enough for one page -of the _Journal des Débats_. But the necessity of saying something to -France was a crying one. It had become absolutely necessary to put -modern royalty in communication with the nation, and to explain to the -people at large the real meaning of the policy of the Prime Minister. -The people must be taught why wars, alliances, and scaffolds were -necessary. Something must be done to defend France against the attacks -of Marie de Médicis and the cowardly Gaston. At that time placards -and pamphlets rendered the services now demanded of the journals. By -means of the placards the King could speak directly to the people and -take them to witness that he was in difficulty, and that he was trying -to do his best. In his public letters he confided to them his family -chagrins, and the motives of his conduct toward the foreign powers. His -correspondence with his mother and his brothers was printed as fast -as it was written or received by him. Apologies for his conduct were -supported by a choice of documents. From time to time the pamphlets -were collected and put in volumes--the volumes which were the -ancestors of our "yellow books." - -I have before me one of these volumes, dated 1639, without name of -editor or publisher. It bears the title: _Recueil de divers pièces pour -servir a l'histoire_. Two thirds of its space are consecrated to the -King's quarrels with his family. Mademoiselle must have learned from it -many things which she has not the air of suspecting. Perhaps she found -it convenient or agreeable to be ignorant of them. In the pages of -this instructive volume none of her immediate relations appear to any -advantage. Louis XIII. is invariably dry and bombastic, or constrained -and affected; he shows no trace of emotion when, in his letter of 23 -February, 1631, he informs the people that - - being placed in the extremity of choosing between our mother and - our minister we did not even hesitate, because they have embittered - the Queen our very honoured lady and mother against our very dear - and very beloved cousin, Cardinal de Richelieu; there being no - entreaty, no prayer or supplication, nor any consideration, public - or private, that we have not put forward to soften her spirit; - our said cousin recognising what he owes her, by reason of all - sorts of considerations, having done all that he could do for her - satisfaction; the reverence that he bears her having carried him to - the point of urging us and supplicating us, divers times, to find - it good that he should retire from the management of our affairs; - a request which the utility of his past services and the interests - of our authority have not permitted us to think of granting.... And - recognising the fact that none of the authors of these differences - continue to maintain their disposition to diverge from our royal - justice, we have not found a way to avoid removing certain persons - from our Court, nor even to avoid separating ourselves, though - with unutterable pain, from the Queen, our very honoured lady and - mother, during such time as may be required for the softening of - her heart.... - -Another letter, from the King to his mother, is revolting in its -harshness. After her departure from France, Marie de Médicis addressed -to him some very tart pages in which she accused Richelieu of having -had designs on her life. In the same letter she represented herself as -flying from her son's soldiers: - - I will leave you to imagine my affliction when I saw myself in - flight, pursued by the cavalry with which they had threatened - me! so that I would be frightened and run the faster out of your - kingdom; by that means constraining me to press on thirty leagues - without either eating or drinking, to the end that I might escape - from their hands. (Avesnes, 28 July, 1631.) - -Instead of feeling pity for the plaints of the old woman who realised -that she had been conquered, Louis XIII. replied: - - Madame, I am the more annoyed by your resolution to retire from my - state because I know that you have no real reason for doing so. - The imaginary prison, the supposititious persecutions of which you - complain, and the fears that you profess to have felt at Compiègne - during your life there, were as lacking in foundation as the - pursuit that you pretend my cavalry made when you made your retreat. - -After these words, the King delivered a pompous eulogy on the Cardinal -and ended it thus: - - You will permit me, an it please you, to tell you, Madame, that - the act that you have just committed, and all that has passed - during a period more or less recent, make it impossible for me to - be ignorant of your intentions in the past, and the action that I - have to expect from you in the future. The respect that I owe to - you hinders me from saying any more. - -It is true that Marie de Médicis received nothing that she did not -deserve; but it may be possible that it was not for her son to speak to -her with brutality. - -In their way Gaston's letters are _chefs-d'œuvre_. They do honour -to the psychological sensibility of the intelligent _névrosé_. -Monsieur knew both the strength and the weakness of his brother. He -knew him to be jealous, ulcerated by the consciousness of his own -insignificance--an insignificance brought into full relief by the -importance of the superior Being then hard at work making "of a France -languishing a France triumphant"[24]; and with marvellous art he found -the words best qualified to irritate secret wounds. - -His letters open with insinuations to the effect that Richelieu had a -personal interest in maintaining the enmity between "the King and his -own brother," so that the King, "having no one to defend him," could be -held more closely in his, Richelieu's, grasp. - - I beseech ... your Majesty ... to have the gracious prudence to - reflect upon what has passed, and to examine more seriously the - designs of those who have been the architects of these plans; if - you will graciously examine into this matter you will see that - there are interests at stake which are not yours,--interests of - a nature opposed to your interests, and which aim at something - further, and something far in advance of anything that you have - thought of up to the present time (March 23, 1631). - -In the following letter Monsieur addresses himself directly to Louis -XIII.'s worst sentiments and to his kingly conscience. He feigns to be -deeply grieved by the deplorable condition of his brother, who, as he -says, is reduced, notwithstanding - - "the very great enlightenment of his mind" to the plight of a - puppet ... nothing but the shadow of a king, a being deprived of - his authority, lacking in power as in will, counted as nothing in - his own kingdom, devoid even of the external lustre ordinarily - attached to the rank of a sovereign. - -Monsieur declares that Richelieu has left the King - - "nothing but the name and the figure of a king," _and that for a - time only_; for as soon as he has ridded _himself of you ... and of - me! ... he means to take the helm and steer the Ship of State in - his own name_. - -Monsieur depicted the new "Mayor of the Palace" actually reigning in -overburdened, crushed, and oppressed France, - - whom he has ruined and whose blood he has sucked pitilessly and - without shame. In his own person he has consumed more than two - hundred millions since he took the rule of your affairs ... and - he expends daily, in his own house, ten times more than you do in - yours.... Let me tell you what I have seen! In your kingdom not one - third of your subjects eat bread made of wheat flour; another third - eats bread made of oats; and another third not only is reduced - to beggary, but it is languishing in need so crying that some are - actually starving to death; those who are not dying of hunger are - prolonging their lives with acorns, herbs, and like substances, - like the lower animals. And they who are least to be pitied among - these last are living on bran and on blood which they pick up in - the gutters in front of the butchers' shops. I have seen these - things with my own eyes, and in different parts of the country, - since I left Paris. - -In this Monsieur told the truth. The peasant had come to that point -of physical degradation. But his sufferings could not be diminished -by provoking a civil war, and Richelieu did not fail to make the -fact plain in the polemics of the _Recueil_, written under his -supervision--when it was not written in his own hand. He (Richelieu) -defended his policy tooth and nail, he justified his millions, his -accumulated official honours. - -One of Monsieur's letters bears copious notes made throughout its -length and breadth in the Cardinal's own hand. Without any of the -scruples of false shame, he inspired long factums to the glory of the -Prime Minister of France. - -In the pages inspired by him there are passages of peculiar inhumanity. -In one place, justifying the King for the treatment inflicted upon his -mother, he says that "the pain of the nine months that she carried him -would have been sold by her at too high a price, had the King, because -of it, been forced to let her set fire to his kingdom."[25] - -Other passages are equally heartless: "Do they blame the Prime Minister -for his riches?--and if the King had seen fit to give him more? The -King is free to give or to take away. Can he not act his pleasure; who -has the right to say him nay?" - -The _Recueil_ shows passages teeming with cynical and pampered pride. -In favour of himself Richelieu wrote: - - The production of these great geniuses is not an ordinary - bissextile work. Sometimes the revolution of four of Nature's - centuries are required for the formation of a mind of such - phenomenal proportions, in which are united all the excellencies, - any one of which would be enough to set far above the ordinary - character of man the being endowed with them. I speak not only of - the virtues that are in some sort the essence of the profession - made by their united representative types,--Pity, Wisdom, Prudence, - Moderation, Eloquence, Erudition, and like attributes,--I speak of - other virtues, the characteristic qualities of another and separate - order, like those composing the perfections of a chief of war ... - etc. - -Among the official documents in the volume just quoted are instruments -whose publication would have put any man but Gaston d'Orléans under -ground for the rest of his days, among other things, his treaty of -peace (1632), signed at Béziers (20th September) after the battle -of Castelnaudary, where the Duc de Montmorency had been beaten and -taken before his eyes. In that treaty Monsieur had pledged himself to -abandon his friends,--not to take any interest in those who had been -allied with him "on these occasions," and "not to pretend that he had -any cause for complaint when the King made them submit to what they -deserved." He promised "to love, especially, his cousin Richelieu." In -recompense for this promise and the other articles of the treaty the -King re-established his brother "in all his rights." As we know, the -treaty of Béziers ended nothing. Gaston saw all his partisans beheaded -as he recrossed the frontier. He did not enter France to remain there -until October, 1634. Then he went home "on the faith" _of the King's -declaration_, which closes the volume. By this declaration Monsieur was -again re-established in the enjoyment of all his rights, appanages, -pensions, and appointments. For him this was the important article. As -Richelieu took the trouble to have all his monuments of egotism and -barrenness of heart re-imprinted, it is probable that he did not intend -to let the country forget them. In that case he attained his ends. - -The public had formed its opinion, and in consequence it took no -further interest in the royal family, always excepting Anne of Austria, -who had retired among the shadows. - -Marie de Médicis was now free to cry aloud in her paroxysms of fury. -Gaston could henceforth pose as a martyr, and Louis XIII., withered -by melancholy, dried remnant of his former pompous dignity, might be -blown into a corner or be borne away by the wind like a dead leaf in -autumn, and not a soul in France would hail it by the quiver of an -eyelash. If Richelieu had hoped that profit would accrue to him from -the royal unpopularity he had counted without the great French host. -Despite the fact that his importance and the terror he inspired had -increased tenfold, he also had become tainted by the insignificance of -the royal family. But to all the people he seemed the ogre dreaded by -Mademoiselle in her infancy, though indisputedly an unnatural ogre, -possessing genius far beyond the reach of the normal man. He was -universally looked upon as a leader of priceless value to a country in -its hour of crisis, and as a companion everything but desirable. He -appalled the people. His first interviews with Gaston after the young -Prince's return to France were terrible. Monsieur was defenceless; the -Cardinal was pitiless. - -"Mademoiselle had run ahead to meet her father. In her innocence she -had rejoiced to find him unchanged." Richelieu also believed that -Monsieur had not changed, and he was all the more anxious to get him -out to his (Richelieu's) château at Rueil. He pretended that there was -to be a fête at the château. Monsieur did not leave Rueil until he had -opened his heart to the Cardinal, just as he had done in regard to the -affair Chalais. - -Turned, and re-turned, by his terrible cousin, the unhappy wretch -denounced mother and friends,--absent or present,--those who had -plotted to overthrow the prime ministry and those who had (according to -Gaston's story) tried to assassinate the Cardinal on such a day and -in such a place. "Not," said Richelieu in his _Mémoires_,--"not that -Monsieur recounted these things of his own accord. He did not do that; -but the Cardinal asked him if it was not true that such a person had -said such and such things, and he confessed, very ingenuously, that it -was." - -Truly the fête at Rueil had sinister results for the friends of -Monsieur. - -Monsieur retired to Blois, but he often returned to Paris, and -whenever he returned he fulfilled his fatherly duties in his own -fashion, romping and chattering with Mademoiselle. He amused himself -by listening to her songs against Richelieu, and for her pleasure he -organised a _corps-de-ballet_ of children. All the people of the Court -flocked to the palace to witness the ballet. - -On the occasion of another ballet danced at the Louvre he displayed -himself to Mademoiselle in all his glory (18th February, 1635). The -King, the Queen, and the principal courtiers of their suite were among -the dancers. - -This last solemnity left mingled memories, both good and bad, in -Mademoiselle's mind. One of her father's most faithful companions in -exile was to have danced in the ballet. During a rehearsal, Richelieu -had him arrested and conducted to the Wood of Vincennes, "where he died -very suddenly."[26] The rôle in which he should have acted was danced -by one of the other courtiers, and therefore Gaston did not appear to -be affected. - -The _Gazette_ informed the public that the fête had "succeeded -admirably"; that every one had carried away from the place so teeming -with marvels the same idea that Jacob had entertained when, having -looked upon the angels all the night, he believed that the earth -touched the confines of heaven! But, at least, there was one person for -whom the sudden disappearance of Puylaurens had spoiled everything. -Mademoiselle had "liked him and wished him well." He had won her heart -by giving her bonbons, and she felt that the ugly history reflected -upon her father. "I leave it," she said, "to people better instructed -and more enlightened than I am to speak of what Monsieur did afterward -to Puylaurens' prison." - -The following year she had to swallow an insult on her own account. The -lines which appeared in one of the gazettes of July, 1636, must have -seemed insupportable to a child full of unchecked pride. - -"The 17th, Mademoiselle, aged nine years and three months, was baptised -in the Louvre, in the Queen's chamber, by the Bishop of Auxerre, First -Almoner to the King, having for godmother and godfather the Queen and -the Cardinal Duke (_Richelieu_), and was named Anne Marie." - -Mention of this little event is made in Retz's _Mémoires_. "M. le -Cardinal was to hold at the font Mademoiselle, who, as you may judge, -had been baptised long before; but the ceremonies of the baptism had -been deferred." - -This godfather, who was not a prince, was a humiliation to -Mademoiselle, and to crown her distress he thought that he ought to -make himself agreeable to his god-daughter. - -By his intention to be amiable he "made her beside herself" because he -treated her--at nine years!--as if she had been a little girl. "Every -time that he saw me he told me that that spiritual alliance obliged -him to take care of me, and that he would arrange a marriage for me (a -discourse that he addressed to me, talking just as they do to children -to whom they incessantly repeat the same thing)." - -A journey through France, which she made in 1637, "put balm on the -wounds of her pride." They chanted the _Te Deum_, the Army Corps -saluted her, a city was illuminated, and the nobility offered her -fêtes. She "swam in joy"; for thus she had always thought that the -appearance of a person of her quality should be hailed. She ended her -tour in Blois where Monsieur, the ever good father, desired that he, -in person, should be the one to initiate his child in the morality -of princes, which virtue in those aristocratic times had nothing in -common with the bourgeois's morality. For the moment he was possessed -of an insignificant mistress, a young girl of Tours called "Louison." -Monsieur took his daughter to Tours so that he might present his -mistress to her. Mademoiselle declared herself satisfied with her -father's choice. She thought that Louison had "a very agreeable face, -and a great deal of wit for a girl of that quality who had never been -to Court." But Mme. de Saint Georges saw the new relations with an -anxious eye; she submitted her scruples to Monsieur: - - Madame de Saint Georges ... asked him if the girl was good, - because, otherwise, though she had been honoured by his good - graces, she should be glad if she would not come to my house. - Monsieur gave her every assurance and told her that he would not - have wished for the girl himself without that condition. In those - days I had such a horror of vice that I said to her: "Maman (I - called her thus), if Louison is not virtuous, even though my Papa - loves her I will not see her at all; or if he wishes me to see her - I will not receive her well." She answered that she was really - a very good girl, and I was very glad of it, for she pleased me - much--so I saw her often. - -Mademoiselle did not suspect that there was anything comical in this -passage; had she done so she would not have written it, because she was -not one of those who admit that it is sometimes permissible to smile at -the great. - -On her return from her journey she resumed her ordinary life. - - I passed the winter in Paris as I had passed my other winters. - Twice a week I went to the assemblies given by Mme. the Countess - de Soissons at the Hôtel de Brissac. At these assemblies the usual - diversions were comedies [plays] and dancing. I was very fond of - dancing and, for love of me, they danced there very often.... - -There were also assemblies with comedies at the Queen's, at -Richelieu's, and at a number of personages', and Mademoiselle herself -received at the Tuileries. - - The night of the 23d-24th January (1636) [reports the _Gazette_] - Mademoiselle in her lodgings at the Tuileries, gave a comedy and - a ball to the Queen, where the Good Grace of this princess in the - dawn of her life, gave proof of what her noontide is to be. The - 24th February, Monsieur gave a comedy and a collation to His Royal - Highness of Parma at Mademoiselle his daughter's, in her apartments - at the Tuileries. - -Mademoiselle passed the days and the nights in fêtes. Her studies did -not suffer by it because she never studied and never knew anything of -study outside of reading and writing, making a courtesy, and carefully -observing the rules of a minute etiquette. - -It is probable that she owed the little that she knew to several months -of forced retreat in a convent, when she was nine years old. She made -herself so intolerable to every one,--it is she who tells it,--she was -so vexatious, with her "grimaces" and her "mockeries," that they put -her in a cloister to try to discipline her and to correct her faults; -the plan succeeded: "They saw me return ... wiser, and better than I -had been." Yes, more sober, better behaved, and a little less ignorant, -but not much less. The following letter, bearing the date of her -maturity, shows more clearly than all the descriptions in the world, -the degree of instructions which satisfied the seventeenth century's -ideas of the education of a princess. The letter is addressed to -Colbert ("a Choisy ce 5 Août 1665"): - - Monsieur, le sieur Segrais qui est de la cademy et qui a bocoup - travalie pour la gloire du Roy et pour le public, aiant este oublie - lannee passée dans les gratifications que le Roy a faicts aux baus - essprit ma prie de vous faire souvenir de luy set un aussi homme de - mérite et qui est a moi il ya long tams jespere que cela ne nuira - pas a vous obliger a avoir de la consideration pour luy set se que - je vous demande et de une croire, monsieur Colbert, etc. - -This orthography did not hinder Mademoiselle when, under the name -of "Princess Cassandane" she figured in the _Grand Dictionnaire des -Précieuses_; and according to the distinctions established between the -"true _précieuse_" and the "_Savante_" by Mademoiselle de Scudéry, she -had a right to figure there, as had many of her noble contemporaries, -who would have been the shame of the humblest of the schools. - -The "true _précieuse_," she who left comets and the Greek language -to the "_Savantes_," applied herself to the task of penetrating the -mysteries of the heart. That was her science, and from certain points -of view it was worth as much as any other. - -La Grande Mademoiselle devoted her talents and her life to the -perfection of her particular art. Keeping well within the limits -that she herself had set, she made a special study of the hearts of -princesses and of everything concerning them; and she professed that -she had established, definitely, the only proper methods by which -persons of her quality should, bound in duty to themselves, look upon -love, and upon glory. - -The wells from which she drew her spiritual draughts were not -exclusively her own; she shared their benefits with all honest people, -of either sex, engaged in completing the sentimental education by the -essential principle of life. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 1: _Mémoires de Gaston._] - -[Footnote 2: _Mémoires de Gaston._] - -[Footnote 3: _Mémoires de Gaston._] - -[Footnote 4: _Mémoires de Mademoiselle de Montpensier._] - -[Footnote 5: Sauval (1620-1670), _Histoire et recherches sur les -antiquités de Paris_.] - -[Footnote 6: The gate of the "Conférence" was built at the time the -great improvements were begun, in 1633. It was built after the grand -plans of Cardinal de Richelieu and according to his own instructions -(Gamboust).] - -[Footnote 7: Piganiol de la Force (1673-1753), _Description of the City -of Paris_, etc.] - -[Footnote 8: _Estat de la France_ (Collection Danjou).] - -[Footnote 9: _Extraits des comptes et dépenses du roi pour l'année -1616_ (Collection Danjou).] - -[Footnote 10: _Mémoires de Mathieu Molé._] - -[Footnote 11: Letter written by Pontis.] - -[Footnote 12: _Richelieu et la monarchie absolue._] - -[Footnote 13: _Mémoires_ of Lenet.] - -[Footnote 14: See his _Mémoires_.] - -[Footnote 15: A few years before his death, which occurred in 1670.] - -[Footnote 16: Beheaded in 1632, aged thirty-seven years.] - -[Footnote 17: Tallemant.] - -[Footnote 18: The first volume of _Le Grand Cyrus_ appeared in 1649; -the last in 1653.] - -[Footnote 19: Mademoiselle de Scudéry uses the word _propre_, meaning -"elegant," etc.] - -[Footnote 20: In _Clélie_.] - -[Footnote 21: Tallemant.] - -[Footnote 22: The first number bears date 1605.] - -[Footnote 23: The first number appeared May 1, 1631.] - -[Footnote 24: _Recueil_, etc. _Discours sur plusieurs points importants -de l'état present des affaires de France._] - -[Footnote 25: _Recueil_, etc. _Avertissement aux provinces sur les -nouveaux mouvements du royaume_, by the Sieur de Cléonville (1631).] - -[Footnote 26: _Mémoires_ of Mademoiselle.] - - - - -CHAPTER II - - I. Anne of Austria and Richelieu--Birth of Louis XIV.--II. - _L'Astrée_ and its Influence--III. Transformation of the Public - Manners--The Creation of the Salon--The Hôtel de Rambouillet and - Men of Letters. - - -I - -But little information concerning the affairs of the day previous -to the last months of the reign of Louis XIII. can be gleaned from -the _Mémoires_ of La Grande Mademoiselle. It is hardly credible that -a young girl raised at the Court of France, not at all stupid, and -because of her birth so situated as to see and to hear everything, -could have gone through some of the most thrilling catastrophes of -that tragic time without seeing or hearing anything. At a later day -Mademoiselle was the first to wonder at it; she furnishes an example -surpassing imagination. - -In 1637, before starting on her journey into the province, she went to -bid adieu to "their Majesties," who were at Chantilly. Mademoiselle -fell upon a drama. Richelieu had just disgraced the Queen of France, -who had been declared guilty of abusing her religious retreat at the -Convent of Val-de-Grâce by holding secret correspondence with Spain. -Val-de-Grâce had been ransacked, and one of Anne of Austria's servants -had been arrested. Anne herself had been questioned like a criminal, -and she had had a very bitter _tête-à-tête_ in her chamber with such a -Richelieu as she had never met before. - -It was then ten years since Louis XIII., abruptly entering his wife's -private apartments, had interrupted a declaration of love made by his -Minister. After Marie de Médicis, Anne of Austria! Evidently it was -a system of policy in which pride of personal power played its part. -Possibly the heart also played some small rôle when Anne of Austria -was young and beautiful; but it was the heart of a Richelieu, and -unless we know what such a thing is like it is difficult to explain the -Minister's attitude at Chantilly. Historians have not taken the trouble -to tell us, because there were things more important to them and to -the history of Europe than the exploits of so high-flying a Cardinal. -Nevertheless, even an historian could have made an interesting chapter -out of the sentimental life of Richelieu. It was a violent and cruel -life; as violent and as pitiless as the passions that haunted his -harrowed soul. Michelet compared the Duke's life to "a lodging that had -been ransacked." In him love was a cloak thickly lined with hatred. -Mme. de Motteville, who witnessed Richelieu's courtship of the Queen, -was astonished by his way of making love. "The first marks of his -affection," she writes, "were his persecutions of her. They burst out -before everybody, and we shall see that this new way of loving will -last as long as the Cardinal lives." - -Anne of Austria felt only his persecutions. Richelieu was not pleasing -to women. He was the earthly All-powerful. He possessed riches and -genius, but they knew that he was cruel--even pitiless--in anger; and -he could not persuade them to pretend to love him; all, even Marion -de Lorme, mocked and laughed at him, and Retz gave a reason for their -conduct: - - Not being a pedant in anything else, he was a thorough pedant in - gallantry, and this is the fault that women never pardon. The - Queen detested Richelieu, and she made him feel it; but he took - his revenge at Val-de-Grâce. After the outburst--after the word - _treason_ had been spoken--it rested with him to have mercy, or - to send into shameless banishment the barren Queen. It gave him - pleasure to see her cowering before him, frightened and deprived of - all her pride. He exulted in disdaining her with an exaggerated and - insulting affectation of respect, and fearing lest the scene should - not be known to posterity, he painted it with all the zest of the - reaction of his wounded dignity.[27] He listened complacently while - she drove the nails into her coffin, rendering more proofs of her - docility "than he should have dared to expect"; incriminating - herself, as she explained in her own way, by palpable untruths, - all her treasonable letters to her brothers and to her friends in - Spain. When she had told a great deal more than she knew, Richelieu - put a few sharp questions, and the Queen completely lost her head. - - Then [wrote Richelieu, in his chronicle] she confessed to - the Cardinal everything which is in the paper signed by her - afterwards. She confessed with much displeasure and confusion, - because she had taken oaths contrary to what she was confessing. - While she made the said confession to the Cardinal her shame was - such that she cried out several times, "Oh, how kind you must be, - Monsieur the Cardinal!" protesting that all her life she should - be grateful and recognise the obligation she was under to those - who drew her out of the affair. She had the honour to say to the - Cardinal: "Give me your hand," presenting her own as a mark of - the fidelity with which she should keep all her promises. Through - respect the Cardinal refused to give her his hand. From the same - motive he retired instead of approaching her. - -Officially Louis XIII. pardoned the intrigue of Val-de-Grâce, but the -courtiers were not deceived, and they immediately deserted the Queen's -apartment. When they passed her windows they modestly lowered their -eyes. It was just at that time that Mademoiselle arrived. It was at the -end of August. She read her welcome in every face. Now that she had -come gayety became a duty and amusements an obligation. The feeling of -relief was general. Mademoiselle wrote: - - I put all the Court in good humour. The King was in great grief - because of the suspicions they had awakened against the Queen, and - not long before that they had found the strong box that had made - all the trouble at Val-de-Grâce, about which too much has been said - already. I found the Queen in bed, sick. Any one would be sick - after such an affront as she had received. - -Of all at Court, Anne of Austria was not the least happy to see -Mademoiselle. Now she could pour out her sorrow. Mme. de Saint Georges, -Mademoiselle's governess, was one of her familiar friends. The Queen -told her everything. Mademoiselle was permitted to sit with the two -ladies to avert suspicion. So the child found herself in possession of -secrets whose importance and danger must have been known to her. It may -be that she would have liked nothing better than to recount them in her -memoirs, but she was "forced to admit with sheepish reticence that to -her grief she had never remembered anything of it." - -[Illustration: CARDINAL RICHELIEU] - -Some months later she was entangled in the King's romance with Mlle. de -Hautefort, and "did not notice anything"--and this is to her credit--of -all the struggles made by the Cabals to turn the adventure to their -profit. In spite of her lack of memory she had opened wide both eyes -and ears. The schemes of lovers always interested her, as they interest -all little girls. To this instinct of her sex we owe a very pretty -picture of the transformation of man by love. And the man was no other -than the annoying and annoyed Louis XIII. Mademoiselle gives us the -picture in default of more serious proof of her observation. Hunting -was the King's chief pleasure. - -In 1638, during the luminous springtime, he was seen in the forests -gay, at times actually happy--thanks to two great blue eyes. When he -followed his dogs he took his niece and other young people with him -that he might have an excuse for taking Mlle. de Hautefort. - - We were all dressed in colours [recounts Mademoiselle]. We were - on fine, ambling horses, richly caparisoned, and to guarantee us - against the sun each of us had a hat trimmed with a quantity of - plumes. They always turned the hunt so that it should pass fine - and handsome houses where grand collations could be found, and, - coming home, the King placed himself in my coach, between Mme. de - Hautefort and me. When he was in good humour he conversed very - agreeably to us of everything. At that time he suffered us to speak - freely enough of the Cardinal de Richelieu, and the proof that it - did not displease him was that he spoke thus himself. - - Immediately after the hunting party returned they went to the - Queen. I took pleasure in serving at her supper, and her maids - carried the dishes (viands). There was a regular programme. Three - times a week we had music, they of the King's chamber sang, and the - most of the airs sung by them were composed by the King. He wrote - the words, even; and the subject was never anything but Mme. de - Hautefort. The King was in humour so gallant that at the collations - that he gave us in the country he did not sit at table at all; and - he served us nearly everything himself, though his civility had - only one object. He ate after us, and did not seem to feel more - complaisance for Mme. de Hautefort than for the others, so afraid - was he that some one should perceive his gallantry. - -Despite these precautions, the Court and the city, Paris, and the -province were informed of the least incidents of an affair of such -importance. The only person whom the King's passion left indifferent -was the Queen. Anne of Austria had never been jealous. She did not -consider Louis XIII. worth the pains of jealousy,--and now jealousy -would have been out of place. Anne, after twenty-three years of -marriage, was _enceinte_. The people who had loaded her with outrages -while she was bowed by shame now knelt at her feet, sincere in their -respectful demonstrations of devotion for the wife of the King who -might one day become Queen-mother, or even Regent of France. It was -like one of the fairy plays in a theatre. Nature had waved her wand, -and the disgraced victim of enchantment had arisen "clothed on with -majesty." It was an edifying and delightful transformation. After -all her shame, the novelty of being cared for and treated gently was -so great and so agreeable that when she saw her royal spouse sighing -before the virtuous and malignant de Hautefort--"whose chains" were -said to be heavy and hard to bear--she looked upon it very lightly. -Anne of Austria smiled at the benumbed attitudes of the King, at his -awkward ardour, and equally awkward prudery. The Queen learned with -amusement that when among her companions, the young girls of the Court, -Mlle. de Hautefort mocked the King, and boasted that he "dared not -approach her, though he maintained her," and that she was "bored to -death by his talk of dogs, and birds, and the hunt." Friends repeated -these criticisms. Louis XIII. heard of them and took offence "at the -ingrate," and the Court went into mourning. "If there should be some -serious quarrel between them," wrote Mademoiselle, "all the comedies -and the entertainments will be over. At that time, when the King came -to the Queen's apartments, he did not speak to anybody, and nobody -dared to speak to him. He sat in a corner, and very often he yawned and -went to sleep. It was a species of melancholy which chilled the whole -world, and during this grief he passed the most of the time writing -what he had said to Mme. de Hautefort, and what she had answered. -It is so true that after he died they found great bundles of papers -recounting all his differences with his mistresses--to the praise of -whom it must be said, and to his praise also, that he had never loved -any women who were not very virtuous." - -Mademoiselle never seemed to realise the political importance of the -King's favourites. That subject, like all else serious, escaped her. -She writes: - -"I listened to all that they told me--all that I was old enough to -hear." - -We need not hope to learn from her what Richelieu thought of the -King's chaste affection; why, though he had encouraged it, he was -angered by it; why he looked with disfavour upon Mlle. de Lafayette, -and manipulated her affairs so well that he introduced her into the -cell of a convent, and ordered the King to take medicine whenever he -suspected that Louis aspired to contemplate her through the grating -of her prison; if Mademoiselle had ever known such things "they had -never presented themselves to her memory." Nor will it do us any good -to search her memoirs for reasons making it clear why Louis XIII., -who worked incessantly against Richelieu, and "did not love him," -sacrificed, for the Cardinal's pleasure, all his friends and near -relations. Throughout all the reverses of 1635 and 1636, when France -was trembling under the trampling feet of the invader, when the enemy's -skirmishers lay at the gates of Pontoise, the King was faithful to the -dictator, whose policy had drawn ruin on the nation. Mademoiselle had -never known these things. They had been far below her horizons. The -ungrateful years had buffeted her as they passed. She had been pretty -and sprightly in early childhood. At the age of eleven she was a buxom -girl, with swollen cheeks, thick lips, and a stupid mien,--in a word: -a frankly ill-favoured creature, too absorbed in the preoccupations -of animal life (the need to skip and jump, to be seen and heard) to -listen, to observe, or to reflect. The Queen's condition gave her one -more occasion to manifest the lengths to which she had carried her -innocence, though she had lived in a world where innocence was not -regarded as the most important item in an outfit. She rejoiced that -there was to be a Dauphin. Evidently she did not know that his advent -would strip her father of his rights as heir-presumptive to the throne. -In her own words, she "rejoiced without the least reflection." Anne of -Austria was touched by a simpleness of heart to which her life had not -accustomed her. "You shall be my daughter-in-law!" she cried repeatedly -to her young niece. For she could not bear the thought that the child's -later reflections might awake regret. - -Mademoiselle embraced the idea only too ardently, and to it she owed -one of the bitterest hours of her existence. - -The child who was to be Louis XIV. was born at the Château of Saint -Germain, 5th September, 1638. Mademoiselle made him her toy. She -writes: "The birth of Monsieur the Dauphin gave me a new occupation. -I went to see him every day and I called him _my little husband_. -The King was diverted by this and he thought that I did well." She -had counted without her godfather the Cardinal, who was more of a -Croquemitaine, and more of a spoil-sport than he had ever been. He -considered her childish talk very indecorous. Mademoiselle pursues: - - Cardinal de Richelieu, who does not like me to accustom myself to - being there, nor to have them accustomed to seeing me there, had me - given orders to return to Paris. The Queen and Mme. de Hautefort - did all that was possible to keep me. They could not obtain their - wish,--which I regretted. It was all tears and cries when I left - there. Their Majesties gave many proofs of friendship, especially - the Queen, who made me aware of a particular tenderness on that - occasion. After this displeasure I had still another to endure. - They made me pass through Rueil to see the Cardinal, who usually - lived there when the King was at Saint Germain. He took it so to - heart that I had called the little Dauphin _my little husband_ - that he gave me a great reprimand: he said that I was too large - to use such terms; that I had been ill-behaved to do so. He spoke - so seriously--just as if I had been a person of judgment--that, - without answering him, I began to weep. To pacify me he gave me - collation, but I did not pass it over. I came away from there very - angry at all he had said to me. - -Richelieu meant that his orders should be obeyed. Mademoiselle adds: -"When I was in Paris I only went to Court once in two months; and -when I did go there I only dined with the Queen and then returned to -Paris to sleep." It must be said that if the Cardinal had submitted to -it for a night or two, she might have found it difficult to sleep at -the château. At that time our kings had strange and very inconvenient -arrangements for receiving guests; their household appointments -had brought them to such a pass that they had suppressed their -guest-chamber. When the royal family went to Saint Germain there was a -regular house-moving; they carried all their furniture with them, and -nothing was left in the Louvre,--not even enough for the King to sleep -on when business called him to the capital. Henry IV., a monarch who -did not stand on ceremony, invited himself to the house of some lord or -of some rich bourgeois, where he put himself at his ease, receiving the -Parliament, and also his fair friends, and bidding adieu to his hosts -only when he was ready to go home. He took leave of them in his own -time and at his own hour. - -The timid Louis XIII. had never dared to do such things; he had never -thought of having two beds: one in the city, the other in the country. - -When the Court came back to Paris they brought all their furniture; -not a mattress was left in the palace at Saint Germain. This singular -custom had evolved another, which appears to us to have lacked -hospitality. When the King of France invited distinguished guests, he -never furnished their rooms. He offered them the four walls, and let -them arrange themselves as best they could. From as far back as people -could remember, they had seen the great arrive at the château closely -followed by their beds, their curtains, and even their cooks and their -stew-pans. This was the case with Monsieur and his daughter; and so it -was with Mazarin, in the following reign. Mademoiselle was not ignorant -of the peculiar methods of the royal housekeeping. She knew that the -King's friends could not be made comfortable for the night, on the spur -of the moment, and she rested very well in Versailles, and thought of -nothing but her amusements. - -The people saw a gratuitous malevolence in her exile from Court; but -the Fronde proved the justice of the Cardinal's action. La Grande -Mademoiselle made civil war to constrain Mazarin to marry her to Louis -XIV., who was eleven years her junior. Her godfather had guessed well: -the idea of being Queen had germinated rapidly in the little head in -which the influence of _Astrée_--still active despite its age--was -busily forming romantic visions far in advance of its generation. -D'Urfé died in 1620; to his glory be it said that we are obliged to go -back to him and to his work when we would explain the moral state of -the later days. - - -II - -Few books in any country or in any time have equalled the fortune -of _Astrée_,[28] a pastoral romance in ten volumes, in which the -different effects of honest friendship are deduced from the lives -of shepherds and others, under a long title in the style of the -century. Honoré d'Urfé's work immediately became the "code of polite -society" and of all who aspired to appear polite. Everything was _à -l'Astrée_--fashions, sentiments, language, the games of society, -and the conversation of love. The infatuation extended to classes -of society who read but little. In a comedy familiar to the lesser -bourgeoisie,[29] some one reproached marriageable girls for permitting -themselves to be captured by the insipid flattery of the first coxcomb -who addresses them thus: - - ----Bien poli, bien frisé - Pourvu qu' il sache un mot des livres d'_Astrée_. - -Success had crossed the frontiers of France. People in foreign lands -found material for their instruction in _Astrée_. The work was a novel -with a key; a story with a meaning. "Celadon" was the author; "Astrée" -was his wife (the beautiful Diane de Chateaumorand, with whom he had -not been happy). The Court of _le grand Enric_ was the Court of Henry -IV. "Galatée" was the Queen (Marguerite) and so on. "All the stories -in _Astrée_ were founded on truth," wrote Patru, who had gathered his -information from the lips of d'Urfé. But "the author has romanced -everything--if I dare use the word." The charm found in the scandalous -reality of the scenes and in the truth of the characters crowned -the work's success; the book was translated in most languages, and -devoured with the same avidity by all countries. In Germany there was -an _Académie des Vrais Amants_ copied from the "Academy" of Lignon. In -Poland, in the last half of the century, John Sobieski, who was not by -any means one of the be-musked knights of the carpet, played at Astrée -and Celadon, with Marie d'Arquien. "To grass with the matrimonial love -which turns to friendship at the end of three months! ... Celadon am I, -now as in the past; the ardent lover of those first glad days!"[30] he -wrote after marriage. - -When the people's infatuation had passed, the book still remained the -standard of all delicate minds, and it continued to wield its literary -influence. - - Through two centuries [said Montégut] _Astrée_ lost nothing of - its renown. The most diverse and the most opposite minds alike - loved the book; Pellisson and Huet the Bishop of Avranches were - enthusiastic admirers of its qualities. La Fontaine and Mme. de - Sévigné delighted in it. Racine, in his own silent and discreet - way, read it with fond pleasure and profit, but did not say so. - - Marivaux had read it and drawn even more benefit from it than - Racine.... Last of all, Jean Jacques Rousseau admired it so much - that he avowed that he had re-read it once a year the greater part - of his life. Now as Jean Jacques exerted a dominant influence upon - the destinies of our modern imaginative literature, it follows - that the success of _Astrée_ has been indirectly prolonged even to - our own day. Madame George Sand, for example, derived some little - benefit from d'Urfé, though she was not too well aware of it. - -Montégut had forgotten the Abbé Prévost; but M. Brunetière repairs the -omission, and adds: "One may say that _Astrée's_ success shaped the -channel for the chief current of our modern literature." - -Its social influence was equal to its influence upon literature. And -yet, to-day, not one of all the books that had their time of glory and -of popularity is more neglected. No one reads _Astrée_ now, and no one -can read it; with the best will in the world, the most indulgent must -throw the book down, bored by its dulness. It has become impossible -to endure the five thousand pages of the amorous dissertations of the -shepherds of Lignon. At the best such a debauch of subtlety would be -only tolerable, even had it emanated from a writer of genius. And -d'Urfé had no genius; he had nothing but talent. - -D'Urfé was a little gentleman of Forez, whom his epoch (he was born -in 1568) had permitted to examine the society of the Valois. We know -that no social body was ever more corrupt; nevertheless those who saw -it were dazzled by it; and because they had looked upon it they were -considered--in the time of Louis XIII.--exquisitely elegant and polite; -they were regarded as the survivors of a superior civilisation. - -The ladies of the Court of Anne of Austria were proud of their power -to attract the notice of the elderly noblemen "thanks to whom," in the -words of a contemporary writer, "remnants of the polite manners brought -by Catherine de Médicis from Italy were still seen in France." The -homage of the antique gentlemen was insistent, of a kind which refuses -to be repelled. Even the Queen accepted it. Anne of Austria, whose -habitually correct attitude was notable, felt that she was constrained -to receive the attentions of the old Duc de Bellegarde, though the -Duke's character and customs were notorious. Duc de Bellegarde had been -one of the deplorable favourites of Henri III. - -Anne of Austria was hypercritical in regard to forms of conversation; -her own language was fastidiously delicate; she exacted minute -attention to the superficial details of civility; yet the notorious de -Bellegarde sat at ease before the Court, displaying all the peculiar -gallantry of his epoch, "and," said the Queen's friend, Mme. de -Motteville, "it was the more noticeable and the fame of it was the -more scandalous because the Queen did not hesitate to accept from -him incense whose smoke might well blacken her reputation. The Queen -permitted the Duke to treat her as he had treated the women of his own -day, a day when gallantry and women reigned." - -The civil wars swept away the splendid but rotten world, but the -prestige of the Valois still asserted its power. - -In 1646, a posthumous romantic tale appeared in Paris, entitled -_Orasie_. It was generally attributed to the pen of Mlle. de Senterre, -a maid-of-honour of the Court of Catherine de Médicis. "This book," -said the editorial preface, "is a true history, full of very choice -events; there is nothing fictitious in it but the names given to its -heroes and its heroines. _Orasie_ is a mirror reflecting the most -magnificent and the most pompous of kingly Courts, the Court where -reigned the truest civility and the purest politeness, where false -gallantry, like base action, was unknown." - -The Court thus eulogised had been the centre of delicate mannerism -and the incubating cell of the refinement of vice. Though the civil -wars had annihilated the splendid rottenness of the Court, the memory -of the delicacy of the Valois survived. When peace was declared, when -men had leisure to look about them, they were confronted by the rude -Court of Henry IV. They felt the need of a re-establishment of polite -society, but where could they find the elements of such society? -Foreign influences had enervated the national imagination, Spanish -literature with its romances of cruel chivalry, its pastorals, and its -theatrical dramas had imbued the Romanticism of France with its poison, -and symptoms of moral debility were generally evident. A period of -fermentation and expectancy follows war. When the civil wars were over, -the men of France sat waiting; their need was pressing, but they could -form no idea of its nature. At such a time the eager watchmen on the -towers acclaim the bearer of tidings, be they tidings of good or of -evil. - -Honoré d'Urfé's chief merit lay in the fact that he was the man of the -hour, he came when he was most needed, holding the mirror up to nature, -and clearly reflecting the common feeling. If I may use the term, he -presented his countrymen with an intelligent mirror reflecting their -confused and agitated aspirations. Nature and occasion had fitted him -for his work: he had all the accessories and all the requirements of -his art; best of all, he had the imperious vocation which is the first -and the essential qualification of authorship, without which no man -should have the hardihood to lay hold upon an inkstand. D'Urfé knew -that war demoralises a people; he comprehended the situation of his -country; he had been a member of the League, and one of the last to -surrender. He knew that the spirit of love was hovering over France, -waiting to find a resting-place. François de Sales and d'Urfé were -friends, and in such close communion of thought that, to quote the -words of Montégut, "there was not a simple analogy, there was almost -an identity of inspiration and of talent between _Astrée_ and the -_Introduction à la vie dévote_." - -D'Urfé had only to remember the æstheticism which surrounded his -expanding youth to comprehend the general weariness caused by the lack -of intellectual symmetry and by the rusticity of the manners of the new -reign. He was a serious and thoughtful man; he had devoted long months, -even years, to meditation and to study before he had touched his pen, -and by repeated revisions he had ranged in his book the greater part of -the thoughts and the aspirations of his epoch. In a word, the obscure -provincial writer who had never entered the Louvre had composed a -quasi-universal work resuming all the intellectual and sentimental -life of an epoch. _Astrée_ was a powerful achievement; but one, or at -most but two, such books can be produced in a century.[31] D'Urfé's -laborious efforts attained a double result. While he extricated and -brought into the light the ideal for which he had searched years -together, he excited his contemporaries to strive to be natural and -real, and the first French novel, _Astrée_, was our first romance with -a thesis. The subject is commonplace: lovers whose theme is love, and -a lovers' quarrel; in the last volume of the book, love triumphs, the -quarrel is forgotten, and the lovers marry. - -In the beginning of the work, the shepherdess _Astrée_, beside -herself with causeless jealousy, overwhelms the shepherd Celadon with -reproaches and Celadon, tired of life, throws himself into the Lignon. -Standing upon the bank of the river, he apostrophises a ring and the -riband left in his hand when his shepherdess escaped his grasp: - - "Bear witness, O dear cord! that rather than break one knot of my - affections I will renounce my life, and then, when I am dead, and - my cruel love beholds thee in my hand, thou shalt speak for me, - thou shalt say that no one could be loved as I loved her.... Nor - lover wronged like me!" Then he appeals to the ring. "And thou, - emblem of eternal, faithful love, be glad to be with me in death, - the only token left me of her love!" - -Hardly has he spoken when, turning his face toward _Astrée_, he springs -with folded arms into the water. The nymphs save him, and his romantic -adventures serve as the wire carrying the action of the romance. - -But the system is inadequate to its strain. Dead cars bring about a -constantly recurring block, and more than an hundred personages of more -or less importance stop the way by their gallant intrigues. The romance -mirrors the passing loves and the fevered and passionate life of the -be-ribanded people who hung up their small arms in their panoplies, -twisted their lances into pruning-hooks, and replaced the pitiless -art of war by the political arts of peace. Honoré d'Urfé's heroes -appear to be more jealously careful of their fine sentiments than of -the sword-thrusts lavishly distributed by the lords and gentlemen of -their days. They are much more zealous in their search for elegant -expressions than in bestirring themselves to serious action. The -perfumed students of phraseology have changed since the night of Saint -Bartholomew, when more than one of them fought side by side with Henry -de Guise; but it is not difficult to recognise the precursors of the -Fronde in the druids, shepherds, and chevaliers of _Astrée_, and so -thought d'Urfé's first readers. - -With extreme pleasure they contemplated themselves in the noble puppets -seen in the romance, basking in the sun of peace. Away with care! They -had nothing worse to fight than lovers' casuistries, and they lay in -the shadows of the trees, enjoying the riches of a country redeemed -by their own blood. With them were their ladies; lover and lass were -disguised as shepherd and shepherdess, or as mythological god and -goddess. Idle and elegant as they were, the happy lovers had been -tortured by wounds, racked by pride, stung by the fire of battle; to -sleep for ever had been the vision of many a bivouac, and now war was -over, and to lie in a day-dream fanned by the summer winds and watched -by the eye of woman,--this was the evolution of the hope of death! This -was the restorative desired by the provincial nobles when they stood -firm as rocks in ranks thinned and broken by thirty years of civil and -religious war. Such a rest the jaded knights had hoped for when they -accepted their one alternative, and, by their recognition of Henry IV., -acknowledged submission to a principal superior to private interest and -personal ambition. - -The high nobility had soon tired of order and obedience. Never was it -more turbulent or more undisciplined than under Louis XIII. and in the -minority of Louis XIV., but it must be noted as one of the signs of -the times that it no longer carried its jaunty ease of conscience into -its plots and its mutinies. Curious proofs of this fact are still in -existence; the revolting princes and lords stoutly denied that they -had taken arms against the King. If they had openly made war, and so -palpably that they could not deny it, they invariably asserted with -affirmations that they had done it "to render themselves useful to the -King's service." Gaston d'Orléans gave the same reason for his conduct -when he deserted France for a foreign country. All averred that they -had been impelled to act by a determination to force the King to accept -deliverance from humiliating tyranny, or from pernicious influences. -During the Fronde, when men changed parties as freely as they changed -their gloves, the rebels protested their fidelity to the King, and they -did it because the idea of infidelity was abhorrent to them. - -No one in France would have admitted that it could be possible to hold -personal interests or personal caprice above the interests of the -State, and in the opinion of the French cavalier this would have been -reason enough for any action; but there was a more practical reason; -the descendants of the great barons were beginning to doubt their power -to maintain the assertion of their so-called rights. By suggesting -subjects for the meditations of all the people of France who could read -or write _Astrée_ had contributed a novelty in scruples. In our day -such a book as _Astrée_ would excite no interest; the reiteration of -the "torrents of tenderness" to which it owed its sentimental influence -would make it a doubtful investment for any publisher, and even the -thoughtful reader would find its best pages difficult reading; but when -all is said and done, it remains, and it shall remain, the book which -best divines our perpetually recurring and eternal necessities. - -It treats of but one passion, love, and yet it gives the most subtle -study in existence. In it all the ways of loving are minutely analysed -in interminable conversations. All the reasons why man should love are -given, with all the reasons why he should not love. All the joys found -by the lover in his sufferings are set forth, with all the sufferings -that his joys reserve for him. All the reasons for fidelity and all the -reasons for inconstancy are openly dissected. A complete list is given -of all the intellectual sensations of love (and of some sensations -which are not intellectual). In short, _Astrée_ is a diagnosis of the -spiritual, mental, and moral condition of the love-sick. It contains -all the "cases of conscience" which may or might arise, under the same -or different circumstances, in the lives of people who live to love, -and who, thus loving, see but one reason for existence--people who -severally or individually, each in his own way and according to his -own light, exercise this faculty to love,--still loving and loving even -then, now, and always. - -D'Urfé's conception was of the antique type. He regarded love as a -fatality against which it were vain to struggle. Toward the middle of -the book the sorrowful Celadon, crushed by the wrath of _Astrée_, is -hidden in a cavern where he "sustains life by eating grasses." The -druid Adamas knows that Celadon is perishing by inches, and he essays -to bring the lover to reason. Celadon answers him: - - "If, as you say, God gave me full possession of power over myself, - why does He ask me to give an account of myself?--for just as He - gave me into my own hands and just as He gave me to myself, so have - I given myself to her to whom I am consigned for ever. First of - all! If He would have account of Celadon, let Him apply to her of - whom I am! Enough for me if I offend not her nor violate my sacred - gift to her. God willed my life, for by my destiny I love; and God - knows it, and has always known it, for since I first began to have - a will I gave myself to her, and still am hers. In brief, I should - not have been blest by love as I have been in all these years had - God not willed it.[32] If He has willed it would it be just to - punish me because I still remain as He ordained that I should be? - No! for I have not power to change my fate. So be it, if my parents - and my friends condemn me! They all should be content and glad, - when for my acts, I give my reason; _that I love her_." - - "But," answered Adamas, "do you count on living long in such away?" - - "Election," answered Celadon, "depends not on him who has neither - will nor understanding." - -La Grande Mademoiselle and most of her contemporaries escaped -_Astrée's_ influence in this respect; they did not admit that man has -"neither will nor understanding" where his passions are concerned; or -that his feelings depend on "destiny." Corneille, who had confronted -the question, set forth the principle that the heart should defer to -the will. "The love of an honest man," he wrote in 1634,[33]--"The love -of an honest man should always be voluntary. One ought never to love to -the point where he cannot help loving, and if he carries love so far, -he is the slave of a tyranny whose yoke he should shake off." - -In her youth Mademoiselle de Montpensier was one of the truest of -the Cornéliennes of her generation; she practised what others were -contented to restrict to preaching. Love's tyranny appeared to her -a shameful thing, and she was so convinced that it rested with the -lover whether he should be a slave or free himself "by shaking off -the yoke," that even the most honest attacks of moral faintness were, -in her eyes, occasions for judgment without mercy. One day--she -tells it herself--she turned a young _femme de chambre_ out of her -service simply "because the girl had married for love." The shame -then attendant upon love increased in proportion to the "condition" -of the slaves of the questionable passion. The lower orders were -insignificant, and their loves and their antipathies, like their -sufferings, were beneath the consideration of reason, but when men -were of a certain rank, sentiment was debarred from the conditions of -marriage. Mademoiselle followed all the precepts of high quality, and -throughout the first half of her life her line of action lay parallel -with the noble principles introduced by Corneille. Jansenism, which, -like Corneille, raised the veil of life for many of the humbler human -hearts, made no impression upon "tall Mademoiselle." Lauzun was needed -to break her pride. - -Concerning moral questions, public sentiment was calm; the only -serious difference raised by d'Urfé's work during a period of half -a century was the conflict of opinions[34] on human liberty; on all -other subjects, notably the things of taste, d'Urfé was in harmony -with public feeling; at times _Astrée_ exceeded public feeling, but -it seldom conflicted with it. The sentiments of the book were far in -advance of the epoch. - -But the nature with which d'Urfé communed and which he loved was the -nature viewed by Louis XIII., and fashioned according to the royal -taste, improved, repaired, decorated with artificial ornaments, and -confined within circumscribed landscapes composed of complicated -horticultural figures; a composite nature in which verdure was nothing -but a feature. The fashion of landscape-gardening--an invention of -the Renaissance--had arrived in France from Italy. In the land of its -birth very amusing specimens of the picturesque were maintained by -intelligent property-owners. - - "There are fountains," [said M. Eugene Muntz,][35] "groves, verdant - bowers, trellises, vine-wreathed arbours, flowers cherished - for their beauty, and plants cultivated for their medicinal - properties; and under ground there are caves and grottoes. There - are bird-houses, hydraulic organs, single statues, groups of - statues, obelisks, vases, pavilions, covered walks, and bathhouses; - everything is brought together within a limited space to charm the - eye and to favour the imagination." - -The landscape-gardening of France offered the same spectacle, and the -cultivated parks bore close resemblance to the shops of the venders -of _bric-à-brac_. "In those rare gardens," said an enthusiastic -historian, "he who promenades may pass from one surprise to another, -losing himself at every step in all sorts of labyrinths." ("Dedalus" -was the name in use, for in those days much was borrowed from mythology -and from other ancient sources.) The labyrinths were complicated by -ingenious devices intended to deceive the vision. Æstheticism of style -demanded such delusions. The most renowned landscape-gardens were -the royal parks, on which money had been freely lavished to perfect -and to elaborate nature. Among the "rarities" in the gardens of the -Gondis and at Saint Cloud, were fountains whose waters played invisible -instruments. At the Duke de Bellegarde's (rue de Grenelle Saint Honoré) -the most marvellous thing in the garden was an illuminated grotto of -arcades, ornamented with grotesques and with marine columns, and -covered with a vaulting encrusted with shells and with a quantity -of rock-work; and more than that, so full of water-spouts, canals, -water-jets, and invisible faucets[36] that even the King had no greater -number on his terraces at Saint Germain--nor had Cardinal de Richelieu -a greater number in his gardens at Rueil, though the first artificial -cascades ever seen in France[2] had been built in his garden.[37] At -the Château of Usson, the home of Queen Marguerite, who appears in -_Astrée_ under the name of _Galatée_, the garden was provided with -all the rarities the place would hold. Nothing that artifice could -add to it had been forgotten. The woods were embellished with divers -grottoes so well counterfeiting nature that the eye often deceived the -judgment.[38] The most remarkable grotto was - - the cave of old Mandragora, a place so full of witcheries that - surprise followed surprise, and hour by hour, something continually - occurred to delight the vision. The vaulting of the entrance was - sustained by two sculptured figures very industriously arrayed - with minute stones of divers colours; the hair, the eyebrows, and - the beards of the statues, and the two sculptured horns of the - god Pan were composed of sea shells so neatly and so properly - set in that the cement could not be seen. The outer coping of - the door was formed like a rustic arch, and garlands of shells, - fastened at the four corners, ended close to the heads of the two - statues. The inside of the arch tapered to a rocky point, which, - in several places, seemed to drip saltpetre. The retaining walls - of the arch were set back in niches to form fountains, and all of - the fountains depicted some of the various effects of the power - of love. In the grotto arose a tomb-like monument ornamented with - images representing divers objects, all formed of coloured marble, - and trimmed with pictures; wherever such an effect was possible, - the trees were pruned to take the appearance of some other object - or objects. - -Thus the laborious and unrestrained intervention of man evoked -a factitious type of nature as far from precious as the false -_Précieuses_. By the unreserved admiration of its florid descriptions -_Astrée_ had consecrated the artificial mode. Nature demanded -Lenôtre to strip her gardens of their ridiculous decorations, and -to redeem them by simplicity, but when Lenôtre accomplished the -work of regeneration the public taste was wounded; the people had -become accustomed to the sight of parks decorated like the stage of -the theatre, and the simplicity of nature shocked them. La Grande -Mademoiselle considered Chenonceaux incomplete; she complained that it -"looked unfinished"; her artificially nourished taste missed something, -because the owners of Chenonceaux had respected the work of God, and -left their park just as they had received it from the hand of its -Creator; she wondered why Provence was called beautiful--to her it -seemed "ugly enough." She lived at the gate of the Pyrenees thirty days -and never entered the country, yet she delighted in the pretentious -trinkets with which the landscape-gardeners of the Italian school -decorated French woods and gardens. Honoré d'Urfé was responsible for -her ignorance. Many of d'Urfé's tastes[39] were noble, and _Astrée_ -was a work of excellent purpose--almost a great work; but it lacked the -one thing demanded by true art,--love of nature in its simplicity. - -D'Urfé's artificial taste was more regrettable because his successors, -they who continued his work, accentuated his faults, as, generally -speaking, the disciples of all innovators accentuate the faults of -their masters. Few among the _Précieuses_ knew how to sift the chaff -from the wheat when the time came to take or to leave the varied gifts -of their inheritance. The true _Précieuses_ precipitated the revolution -of which d'Urfé had been the prophet; they alone consummated the moral -transformation which, according to his light, he had prepared. - -During the changing years of half a century the _Précieuses_ "kept the -school" of manners and fine language, laying on the ferule whenever -they found pupils as recalcitrant as the damsel whose story I am -attempting to relate. They did not try--far from it!--to train the -public taste, to correct it, or to guide it aright; they urged France -into the tortuous by-paths of false ethics and superficial art; but, -taken all in all, their influence was good. La Grande Mademoiselle, the -abrupt cavalier-maiden, proved its virtue. To the Hôtel de Rambouillet -she owed it that she did not end as she began--a dragoon in petticoats, -and she recognised the fact, and was grateful for the benefits that she -had received. - -[Illustration: THE ABBEY OF ST. GERMAIN DES-PRES IN THE 16TH CENTURY - -FROM AN OLD PRINT] - -It has been asked: Was the Society of the _Précieuses_ a result of -the influence of _Astrée_? With the exception noted, it is probable -that d'Urfé made no attempt to form new intellectual or sentimental -currents; he confined himself to the observation of the thoughts and -the feelings at work in the depths of human souls within his own view; -he was a close student of character, his book was a study, and his -influence reformed opinions and manners; but as the Society of the -_Précieuses_ was in process of incubation before _Astrée_ appeared, -it must have taken shape had d'Urfé never written his book. The world -of fashion had long deemed it witty to ridicule the _Précieuses_; -from too much handling, jests upon that subject had lost their -effervescence, and in time it was considered more original to find -virtue in the delicate mannerisms of the refined ladies than to adhere -to the old fashion of mocking them. Their exaggerations were numerous -and pronounced, but their civility was in pleasant contrast with the -abrupt indelicacies of the Béarnais; and even now, looking back to them -across the separating centuries, we can find few causes for reproach. -They subjected their literature to the yoke of the Spanish and Italian -schools, but they could hardly have done less at a time when the -Court was Italian, and when Spanish influences were entering by all -the frontiers. Aside from their submission to foreign influences, the -_Précieuses_ were sturdy champions of the right, and unless we are -prepared to falsify more than thirty years of our history of morals, -and of literature, we must admit that they rendered us services which -cannot be forgotten or misunderstood. - -They were women of the world, important after the fashion of their day, -and by the power of their worldly influence they freed literature from -the pedantry with which Ronsard--and Montaigne, also, to a certain -extent--had entangled it. They forced the writers to brush the dust -from their bookshelves; they imposed upon them some of the exigencies -of their own sex, and by the bare fact of their influence literature -which had been almost wholly erudite acquired a quality assimilating it -to the usages of the world, and an air of decency and of civility which -it had always lacked. The _Précieuses_ compelled men to grant them -the respect due to all women under civilisation, and to count them as -members of the body politic; they exacted concessions to their modesty; -they purified language; they obliged "all honest men" to select their -topics of conversation; they habituated people to discern the delicate -shades of thought and to dissect ideas and find the hidden meanings of -words; they made demands for concessions to the rights of precocity, -and, as a result, propriety of verbal expression and closely attentive -analyses entered conversation hand in hand. Many and eminent were the -services rendered unto France by the amiable band of worldly reformers; -theirs was a mighty enterprise; we cannot measure the transformation -wrought by the influence of women in the indecent manners of that -day unless we make a minute examination of the subject. Before the -advent of the _Précieuses_, exterior elegance and a graceful bearing -had been a cloak covering the words and the conduct of barbarians. -Proofs of this fact abound in the records of that day. La Grande -Mademoiselle was of the second generation of the _Précieuses_; her -wit, her love of wit, and her intellect, gave her rank in the _Livré -d'Or_[40]; but the habits of youth are difficult to overcome, and when -she first visited the Hôtel de Rambouillet she used the words and the -gestures of a pandour, her squared shoulders and out-thrust chest bore -evidences of the natural investiture of the Cossack. Speaking of that -epoch, her most impartial critic tells us that she "voiced a thousand -imprecations."[41] In one of her attacks of indignation she threatened -the Maréchal de l'Hôpital: "I will tear your beard out with my own -hands!" she cried fiercely, and the marshal took fright and ran away. -Several ladies of Mademoiselle's society were known to possess brisk -and heavy hands, and feet of the same alert and virile character. Their -people and their lovers knew something of their "manuals and pedals," -and bore visible tokens of the efficacy of those phenomenal members -on their own persons,--and in all the colours of the rainbow. Madame -de Vervins, who assisted with La Grande Mademoiselle at the fêtes -given in honour of Mademoiselle de Hautefort, "basted her lackeys and -other servants at will," and she did it with no slack hand. One of the -subjects on whom she plied her dexterity died under the operation, -and the people of Paris avenged his death by sacking her palace.[42] -Following is the record: - - On brisa vitré, on rompit porte, ... - Bref: si fort s'accrut le tumulte - Que de peur de plus grande insulte, - Cette dame s'enfuit exprès, - Et se sauva par le marais. - -But if the ladies were not lambs, the gentlemen were not sheep. They -were no laggards in war. When they turned the flank of the enemy they -did not mince matters, and upon occasion they drew the first blood. -Once upon a time, at a dance, Comte de Brégis, having received a -slap from his partner, turned upon her and pulled her hair down in -the midst of the banquet. At a supper, in the presence of a great -and joyous company, the Marquis de la Case snatched a leg of mutton -from a trencher and buffeted his neighbour in her face, smearing -her with gravy. As she was a lady of an even temper, she laughed -heartily,[43] and the incident was closed. Malherbe confessed to Madame -de Rambouillet that he had "cuffed the ears of the Viscountess d'Auchy -until she had cried for aid." As he was a jealous man, his action was -not without cause, and in that day to flog a woman was a thing that any -gentleman felt free to do. - -The regenerating _Précieuses_ had not arrived too soon. Ignoble jests -and obscenities too foul to recount were accepted as conversation by -both sexes. The father of the great Condé, who was president of a -"social" club whose rules compelled members to imitate every movement -made by their leader, ate, and forced his fellow members (including the -ladies) to eat--I dare not say what; do not try to guess--you could -never do it! - -The modest and timid Louis XIII. could--when he set about it--give his -Court very unappetising examples. In a book of _Edification_, bearing -date 1658, we read that "the late King, seeing a young woman among the -crowds admitted to his palace so that they might see the King eat, said -nothing, and gave no immediate evidence that he had seen her; but, as -he raised his glass for the last sup, before rising from the table, he -filled his mouth with wine, and having held it thus sanctuaried for an -instant, launched it forth into the uncovered chest of the watchful -lady," who had been too eager to witness the mastications of royalty. - -Aristocratic traditions exacted that the nobles should flog their -inferiors, and the nobles conformed to the traditional exactions -freely. Men and women were flogged for "failures" of the least -importance, and knowing those antique customs as we do, we may be -permitted to wonder that we have so few records of the music of that -eventful day. - -Richelieu "drubbed his people," he drubbed his officers, he drubbed -(so it was said) his ministers. The celebrated Duke d'Épernon, the -last of the great Seigniors after Saint Simon, was "as mild-mannered -a man as ever cut a throat or scuttled a ship"; one day when he was -discussing some official question with his Eminence, the Archbishop of -Bordeaux, he gave the exalted prelate "three clips of his fist full in -the archiepiscopal face and breast, supplementing them by several cuts -of the end of his cane in the pit of the stomach." We are not told how -the priest received his medicine, but history records that "this done, -Monsieur the Duke bore witness to his Lordship (the Archbishop) that -had it not been for the respect due to his character, he (the Duke) -should have tipped him over on the pavement." One day when the feelings -of the Maréchal de Mauny were outraged because a farmer had kept the de -Mauny servitors waiting for their butter and eggs, he (the Maréchal) -rushed from his palace like a madman, fell upon the first peasants -who crossed his path, and with sword-thrusts and with pistol-shots -wounded two of the "aggressors" mortally. This last event occurred in -Burgundy; it was merely an incident. In Anjou, Comte de Montsoreau -maintained a private money-coining establishment in the wood near, or -on, his property, halted the travellers on the highways, obliged them -to pay their ransom, and, at the head of a band of twenty men, all -being brigands of his own species, swept over the country, pillaging -in all directions. The daily occurring duels accustomed men to look -lightly upon death, and contempt for human life prevailed. When the -Chevalier d'Andrieux was thirty years old, he had killed seventy-two -men. In such cases edicts were worthless; the national need demanded a -radical change of morals. Nine years after the death of Louis XIII., -Maréchal de Grammont said in one of his letters: "Since the beginning -of the Regency, according to the estimate made, nine hundred and forty -gentlemen have been killed in duels." That was an official estimate, -and it did not include the deaths which, though they were attributed -to other causes, were the direct and immediate results of honourable -encounters; the dead thus enumerated having been killed on the spot.[44] - -At that time the duel was not attended by ceremonies; it was a -hand-to-hand encounter between barbarians. The contestants fought with -any weapons that came to hand, and in the way most convenient to their -needs. All means were considered proper for the killing of men, though -it was generally conceded that for killing well the different means -were, or might be made, more or less courteous. This being the case, -the duel was in more or less good or bad taste, according to the means -used in its execution, and according to the regularity, or the lack of -regularity, employed in their use. - -In 1612, Balagny and Puymorin alighted from their horses and drew -swords in the rue des Petits Champs. While they were fighting, a valet -took a pitchfork and planted it in Balagny from the back. Balagny died -of the wound inflicted by the valet, and Puymorin also died; he had -been wounded when the valet interfered. Still another lackey killed -Villepreau in the duel between Beaupré and Villepreau. That duel also -was fought in the street (rue Saint Honoré.) When young Louvigny[45] -fought with d'Hocquincourt, he said: "Let us take our swords!" As -the other bent to comply with the suggestion, Louvigny gave a great -sword-thrust, which, running his adversary through and through, put him -to death. Tallemant des Reaux qualified the act as "appalling," but it -bore no consequences for Louvigny. - -Maréchal de Marillac (who was beheaded in 1632) killed his adversary -before the latter had time to draw his sword. We should have called it -an assassination, but our forefathers saw no harm in such duelling. -They reserved their criticisms for the timidly peaceable who objected -to a fight. - -The salon, with its ultra-refinement and its delicacy, followed -close upon the heels of these remnants of barbarity. The salon gave -form to the civility which forbade a man to pierce the fleshy part -of the back of an adversary with a pitchfork. Polite courtesy also -restrained gentlemen from forcing ladies to swallow all uncleanness -under the pretence of indulging in a merry jest. As good manners -make for morality, let us thank the _Précieuses_ for the reform they -accomplished when they moulded men for courteous intercourse with their -fellow-men; and to Madame de Rambouillet, among others, let thanks -be given, for she made the achievement possible by opening the way -and beginning at the beginning. Womanly tact, a decorous keeping of -her house, love of order and of beauty inspired her with the thought -that the arrangements made in the old hotels of Paris for the people -of ancient days were not fitted for the use of the enlightened age of -the _Précieuses_. There were no salons in the old hotels; the salon -was unknown; therefore there was no room in which to frame the society -then in formation. Tallemant tells us that the only houses known at -that time were built with a hall upon one side, a room upon the other -side, and a staircase in the middle. The _salle_ was a parade-room, -a place to pass through, a corridor where no one lingered. People -received visitors in the room in which they happened to be when the -visitors arrived; at different times they happened to be in different -rooms. Very naturally at eating-time they were in rooms where they -could sit at meat. There were no rooms devoted to the daily meals. The -table on which viands were served was placed in any room large enough -to contain the number of persons who were to be entertained. If there -were few guests, the table was placed in a small room; when the guests -were numerous, they were seated in a large room, or the table, ready -served, was carried into any room large enough to hold the company. It -was all a matter of chance. Banquets were given in the corridor, in -the _salle_, in the ante-room, or in the sleeping-room,[46] because -literary intuition was undeveloped. Madame de Rambouillet was the first -to realise that the spirit of conversation is too rare and too delicate -a plant to thrive under unfavourable conditions, and that in order to -establish conversational groups, a place must be provided in which they -who favour conversation may talk at ease. Every one recognises that -fact now, and every one ought to recognise it. No one--man or woman--is -justified in ignoring the influences of the localities that he or -she frequents. It should be generally known that sympathies will not -group, that the current of thought will not flow freely when a table is -unfavourably placed for the seating of society expected to converse. - -Three hundred years ago the creator of the first French salon -discovered this fact, and her discovery marked a date in the history of -our social life. - -Mme. de Rambouillet owned a dilapidated mansion standing between the -Tuileries and the courtyard of the Louvre, near the site of the now -existing Pavillon de Rohan.[47] She had determined to rebuild the -house, and no one could draw a plan suited to her ideas. Her mind was -incessantly busy with her architectural scheme, and one evening when -she had been sitting alone deep in meditation she cried out! "Quick! -A pencil! paper! I have found a way to build my house."[48] She drew -her plan at once, and the arrangement was so superior to all known -architectural designs that houses were built according to "the plans of -Mme. de Rambouillet all over France." Tallemant says: - - They learned from Mme. de Rambouillet how to place stairways at the - sides of houses so that they might form great suites of rooms[49] - and they also learned from her how to raise floors and to make high - and broad windows, placed one opposite another so that the air - might circulate with freedom; this is all so true that when the - Queen-mother ordered the rebuilding of the Luxembourg she sent the - architects to glean ideas from the Hôtel de Rambouillet. - -Until that time the interiors of houses had been painted red or tan -colour. Mme. de Rambouillet was the first to adopt another colour and -her innovation gave the "Blue Room" its name. The famous Blue Room in -which the seventeenth century acquired the even and correct tone of -conversation was disposed with a skilful and scientific tact which has -survived the rack of three hundred years of changes, and to-day it -stands as the perfect type of a temple fully adequate to the exigencies -of intellectual intercourse. - -In it all spaces were measured and the seats were systematically -counted and distributed to the best advantage; there were eighteen -seats; neither more nor less. Screens shut off certain portions of the -room and facilitated the formation of intimately confidential groups; -flowers perfumed the air; objects of art caressed the vision, and, -taken all together, so perceptible a spirit of the sanctuary enshrining -thought was present that the habitués of the Salon de Rambouillet -always spoke of it as "the Temple." Even La Grande Mademoiselle, the -irrepressible, felt the subtle influences of that calm retreat of the -mind, and when she entered the Blue Room she repressed her Cossack -gestures and choked back her imprecations. She knew that she could -not evade the restraining influence of the hushed tranquillity which -pervaded "the Temple," and she drooped her sparkling eyes, and accepted -her discipline with the universally prevalent docility. In her own -words, Mme. de Rambouillet was "adorable." - - I think [wrote Mademoiselle in 1659], that I can see her now in - that shadowy recess,--which the sun never entered, though the place - was never left in darkness,--surrounded by great crystal vases - full of beautiful spring flowers which were made to bloom at all - seasons in the gardens near her temple, so that she might look upon - the things that she loved. Around her were the pictures of her - friends, and the looks that she gave them called down blessings on - the absent. There were many books on the tables in her grotto and, - as one may imagine, they treated of nothing common. Only two, or at - most three persons were permitted to enter that place at the same - time, because confusion displeased her and noise was adverse to the - goddess whose voice was loud only in wrath. Our goddess was never - angry. She was gentleness itself. - -According to the inscription on a stone preserved in the Musée Cluny -the Hôtel de Rambouillet was rebuilt in 1618. The mistress of the house -consumed ten industriously filled years constituting, installing, and -habituating the intellectual groups of her salon; but when she had -perfected her arrangements she maintained them in their splendour until -the Fronde put an end to all intellectual effort. - -When the Hôtel de Rambouillet was in its apogee La Grande Mademoiselle -was in the flush of early youth. She was born in 1627. Mme. de Sévigné -was Mademoiselle's elder by one year. - -When we consider the social and intellectual condition of the times -we must regard many features of the enterprise of "fair Arthénice" as -wonderful, but its most characteristic feature was the opportunity and -the advancement it accorded to men of letters. Whatever "literary" men -were elsewhere, they were received as the equals of the nobility in -the Salon de Rambouillet. Such a sight had never been seen! Superior -minds had always been regarded leniently. They had had their periods -of usefulness, when the quality had been forced to recognise their -existence, but the possessors of those minds had been treated--well, -to speak clearly, they had been treated as they had expected to be -treated; for how could the poor fellows have hoped for anything -better when they knew that they passed two thirds of their time with -spines humbly curved and with palms outstretched soliciting equivocal -complaisancies, or inviting écus, or struggling to secure a seat at the -lower end of dinner tables by means of heartrending dedications? - -Alack! how many Sarrazins and Costars there were to one Balzac, or to -one d'Urfé! how numerous were the natural parasites, piteous leeches! -whose wit went begging for a discarded bone! How many were condemned -by their vocation to die of hunger;--and there was no help for them! -Had their talent been ten times greater than it was it would have been -equally impossible for them to introduce dignity into their existence. -There were no journals, no reviews where an author could present his -stuff or his stories for inspection; no one had ever heard of authors' -rights; and however successful a play, the end of the dramatist was the -same; he was allowed no literary property. How then could he live if -not by crooked ways and doubtful means? If a certain amount of respect, -not to say honour, were due to his profession, by what means could he -acquire his share of it? Any yeoman--the first country squire--could, -when so it pleased him, have a play stricken from the roll; if so it -pleased him could have the rod laid over the author's back, amidst -the plaudits of the contingent which we should call the _claque_. Was -it any wonder that authors were pedants to the marrow of their bones -when pedantry was the only paying thing in their profession? Writers -who chanted their own praises did good unto themselves and enjoyed -the reputation of the erudite. They were regarded as professors of -mentality, they reflected credit upon the men who lodged and nourished -them. For that reason,--and very logically,--when a man knew that -he was being lodged and nourished for the sake of his _bel esprit_ -if there was any manhood in him he entered heart and soul into his -pretensions; and sleeping or waking, night or day, from head to foot, -and without one hour of respite, played the part of "man of letters"; -he mouthed his words, went about with brows knit, talked from his -chest, and, in short, did everything to prove to the world that he was -wise beyond his generation; his every effort was bent to manifest his -ability; and his manners, his costumes, and his looks, all proved him -to be a student of books. And when this was proven his master--the -man who lodged and nourished him--was able to get his full money's -worth and to stand up before the world revealed in the character of -benefactor and protector of Belles Lettres. In our day things wear a -different aspect. The author has reached his pinnacle, and in some -cases it may even be possible that his merits are exaggerated. - -Knowing this, it is difficult for us to appreciate the conditions -existing when the Salon of the Hôtel de Rambouillet was opened. We know -that there is nothing essentially admirable in putting black marks -on white paper, and we know that a good shoemaker is a more useful -citizen than can be made of an inferior writer, and knowing these -facts, and others of the same sort, we can hardly realise that only -three hundred years ago there were honest boys who entered upon the -career of Letters when they might have earned a living selling tallow. - -The Hôtel de Rambouillet regulated the scale of social values and -diminished the distance between the position accorded to science, -intellect, and genius and the position accorded to birth. For the first -time within the memory of Frenchmen Men of Letters tasted the sweets -of consideration; their eloquence was not forced back, nor was it -drawn out by the imperious demands of hunger; authors were placed on a -footing with their fellow-men; they were still expected to discourse, -but as their wit was the result of normal conditions, it acquired the -quality of order and the flavour of nature. In the Blue Room the weary -writers were allowed to rest. They were not called upon to give proofs -of their intellect; they were led gently forward, placed at a distance -that made them appear genial, persuaded to discard their dogmatism, -and by inferences and subtle influences taught to be indulgent and -to distribute their wisdom with the philosophical civility which was -then called "the spirit of the Court,"--and the term was a just one; a -great gulf lay between the incisive rushing expression of the thought -of Condé, the pupil of Mme. de Rambouillet, and the laboured facitiæ -of Voiture and the Academician, Jacques Esprit, although Voiture and -Esprit were far in advance of their predecessors. Under the beneficent -treatment of the Hôtel de Rambouillet the Men of Letters gradually -lost their stilted and pedagogic airs. The fair reformers of "the -circle" found many a barrier in their path; the gratitude of the -pedants was not exhilarating, the leopards' spots long retained their -colour,--Trissotin proved that,--but by force of repeated "dippings" -the dye was eventually compelled to take and the stains that it left -upon the fingers of "fair Arthénice" were not disfiguring. - -A glance at Racine or at Boileau shows us the long road traversed after -the Salon de Rambouillet instituted the recognition of merit regardless -of rank and fortune. Love of intellectual pleasures, courage, and -ambitious determination had ordered a march resumed after forced halts; -and at last, when the ardent innovators reached the port from which -they were to launch their endeavour, recognition of merit had become a -custom, and the first phase of democratic evolution was an accomplished -fact. Our own day shows further progress; the same evolution in its -untrammelled freedom tends to cast suspicion upon personal merit -because it unhinges the idea of equality. - - * * * * * - -"All Paris" of that day filed through the portals of the Hôtel de -Rambouillet and passed in review before the Blue Room. Malherbe was -one of the most faithful attendants of the Salon whose Laureate he -remained until he died (1628). Yet according to Tallemant and to many -others he was boorish and uncivil. He was abrupt in conversation, but -he wrote excellent poetry and never said a word that did not reach -its mark. When he visited the Salon he was very amiable; and his grey -beard made him a creditable dean for the circle of literary companions. -He wrote pretty verses in honour of Arthénice, he was diverting and -instructive--in a word, he made himself necessary to the Salon. But he -was too old to change either his character or his appearance, and his -attempts to conform to the fashions of the hour made him ridiculous. He -was "a toothless gallant, always spitting." - -He had been in the pay of M. de Bellegarde, from whom he had received -a salary of one thousand livres, table and lodging, and board and -lodging for one lackey and one horse. He drew an income from a -pension of five hundred écus granted by Marie de Médicis; he was in -possession of numerous gratuities, perquisites, and "other species of -gifts" which he had secretly begged by the sweat of his brow. Huet, -Archbishop of Avranche, wrote: "Malherbe is trying his best to increase -his fortunes, and his poetry, noble though it be, is not always nobly -employed." M. d'Yveteaux said that Malherbe "demanded alms sonnet in -hand." The greedy poet had one rival at the Hôtel de Rambouillet; a -very brilliant Italian addicted to flattery, whom all the ladies -loved. Women were infatuated by him, as they are always infatuated by -any foreign author--be he good or bad! Marini--in Paris they called -him "Marin"--conversed in long sentences joined by antitheses. In his -hours of relaxation when his thoughts were supposed to be in literary -undress, he called the rose "the eye of the springtide."[50] At the -time of which I now speak he was labouring upon a poem of forty-five -thousand verses, entitled _Adonis_. Every word written or uttered -by him was calculated to produce its effect. "The Circle," to the -disgust of Malherbe, lay at the feet of the Italian pedant, swooning -with ecstasy. "Marin's" influence over the first Salon of France -was deplorable, and a contemporary chronicler recorded his progress -with evident dejection[51]; "In time he relieved the country of his -presence; but he had remained in it long enough to deposit in fruitful -soil the germs of his factitious preciosity." - -Chapelain was of other metal. He began active life as a teacher. M. -de Longueville, who was the first to appreciate his merits, granted -him his first pension (two thousand livres). Chapelain was fond of -his work, a natural writer, industrious, and frugal. He went into -retirement, lived upon his little pension, and brought forth _La -Pucelle_. De Longueville was delighted by the zeal and the talent of -his protégé and he added one thousand livres to his pension. Richelieu -also granted Chapelain a pension (one thousand livres) and when Mazarin -came to power he supplemented the gift of his predecessor by a pension -of five hundred écus. - -It was not a common thing for authors to make favourable arrangements -with a publisher, but Chapelain had made excellent terms for that -epoch. _La Pucelle_ had sold for three thousand livres. He (Chapelain) -was in easy circumstances, but his unique appearance excited unique -criticisms. He was described as "one of the shabbiest, dirtiest, -most shambling, and rumpled of gallows-birds, and one of the most -affectedly literary characters from head to heels who ever set foot -in the Blue Room." It was said he was "a complete caricature of his -idea." Though Mme. de Rambouillet was accustomed to the aspect of Men -of Letters, she was struck dumb when Chapelain first appeared. As his -mind was not visible, she saw nothing but an ugly little man in a -pigeon-breast satin habit of antique date, covered with different kinds -of ill-assorted gimp. His boots were not matched (each being eccentric -in its own peculiar way). On his head was an old wig and over the wig -hovered a faded hat. Mme. de Rambouillet regained her self-command -and decided to close her eyes to his exterior. His conversation -pleased her, and before he had left her presence he had impressed her -favourably. In truth Chapelain merited respect and friendship. He was -full of delicacy of feeling, extremely erudite, and impassioned in his -love for things of the mind. His keen, refined, critical instinct had -made him an authority on all subjects. His correspondence covered -all the literary and learned centres of Europe, and he was consulted -as an oracle by the savants of all countries. He was interested in -everything. His mind was singularly broad, modest, frank, and open to -conviction; and while his nature was essentially French, his mental -curiosity, with its innumerable outstretching and receptive channels, -made him a representative of cosmopolitan enlightenment. - -Chapelain was one of the pillars of the Salon,--or, to speak better, -he was the pendentive of the Salon's literary architecture. After -a time repeated frequentation of the Salon amended his "exterior" -to some extent. He changed his fanciful attire for the plain black -costumes worn by Vadius and by Trissotin, but his transformation was -accomplished invisibly, and during the transition period he did not -cease to be shabby and of a suspiciously neglected aspect, even for -one hour. "I believe," said Tallemant, "that Chapelain has never had -anything absolutely new." - -Ménage, another pillar of the Salon de Rambouillet, was one of the rare -literary exceptions to the rule of the solid provincial bourgeoisie. -He was the _rara avis_ of his country, and not only a pedant but the -pedant _par excellence_, the finished type of the "litterateur" who -"sucks ink and bursts with pride at his achievement." He was always -spreading his feathers and bristling like a turkeycock if he was not -appreciated according to his estimate of himself. From him descended -some of the "literary types" still in existence, who cross-question -a man in regard to what he knows of their literary "work." No matter -what people were talking about, Ménage would interrupt them with his -patronising smile and "Do you remember what I said upon that subject?" -he would ask. Naturally no one remembered anything that he had written, -and when they confessed that they had forgotten he would cry out all -sorts of piquancies and coarseness. Every one knew what he was. Molière -used him as a model for Vadius, and the likeness was striking. He was -dreaded, and people loved literature to madness and accepted all its -excrescences before they consented to endure his presence. "I have -seen him," said Tallemant, "in Mme. de Rambouillet's alcove cleaning -the insides of his teeth with a very dirty handkerchief, and that was -what he was doing during the whole visit." He considered his fine -manners irresistible. He pursued Mme. de Rambouillet, bombarding her -incessantly with declarations. A pernicious vanity was one of his chief -failings. It was his habit to give people to understand that he was on -intimate terms with women like Mme. de Lafayette and Mme. de Sévigné; -but Mme. de Sévigné did not permit him to carry his boasts to Paradise. -One day after she had heard of his reports she invited him to accompany -her alone in her carriage. She told him that she was "not afraid that -any one would gossip over it." Ménage, whose feelings were outraged by -her contempt, burst into a flood of reproaches. "_Get into my carriage -at once!_" she answered. "_If you anger me I will visit you in your own -house!_"[52] - -People tolerated Ménage because he was extraordinarily wise, and -because his sense of justice impelled him to admirably generous deeds. -The Ministers, Mazarin and Colbert, always sent to him for the names -of the people who were worthy of recompence, and Ménage frequently -nominated the men who had most offended him. Justice was his passion. -Under the vulgar motley of the pedant lay many excellent qualities, -among them intense devotion to friends. Throughout his life he rendered -innumerable services and was kind and helpful to many people. Ménage -had a certain amount of money, nevertheless he gave himself into the -hands of Retz, and Retz lodged and nourished him as he lodged and -nourished his own lackey. Ménage lived with Retz, berating him as -he berated every one; and Retz cared for him, endured his fits of -anger, and listened to his scoldings ten years. Ménage "drew handsome -pecuniary benefits from some other source," saved money, set out -for himself, and founded a branch Blue Room in his own house. His -receptions, which were held weekly on Wednesday, were in high esteem. -The people who had free access to good society considered it an honour -to be named as his guests. - -Quite another story was "little Voiture," a delicate pigmy who had -"passed forty years of his life at death's door." He was an invalid -even in early youth. When very young he wrote to Mme. de Rambouillet -from Nancy: - - Since I have not had the honour of seeing you, madame, I have - endured ills which cannot be described. As I traversed Epernay I - visited Marechal Strozzi for your sake, and his tomb appeared so - magnificent, and the place so calculated to give repose, that as I - was in such condition and so fit for burial, I longed to be laid - beside him; but as they found that there was still some warmth in - me, they made difficulties about acceding to my wishes. Then I - resolved to have my body carried as far as Nancy, where, at last, - madame, it has arrived, so meagre and so wasted, that I do assure - you that there will be very little for them to lay in the ground. - -Ten years later he drew the following sketch of himself: - -"My head is handsome enough; I have many grey hairs. My eyes are -soft, but a little distraught.... My expression is stupid, but to -counterbalance this discrepancy, _I am the best boy in the world_."[53] - -Voiture was called "the dwarf king." He was a charming -conversationalist; he was a precursor of the Parisian of the eighteenth -century, of whom his winged wit and foaming gayety made him a fair -antetype; he was "the life and the soul" of the Hôtel de Rambouillet, -and when the ponderous minds had left the Salon, after he had helped -the naturally gay ladies to lift the helmet of Minerva from their -heads--and the weights from their heels--he taught them the light -laughter which sits so well on "airy nothings." But he had his defects, -defects so grave that the critics said: "If Voiture were of our -condition it would be impossible to endure him!" He was a dangerous -little gossip, constantly taking liberties and forcing people to -recall him to his place. Though he was a child in size, he was a man -of mature years, and the parents and guardians of young girls were -forced to watch him, though it is probable that his intentions were -innocent enough. One day, when he was on a visit, he attempted to press -his lips to the arm of one of the daughters of the house. That time -he "caught it on his fingers"; he begged pardon for his sin; but he -did not correct his faults; vanity forbade him to do that, and vanity -made him very jealous and hot tempered. Mlle. de Scudéry (who was -not censorious) called him "untrustworthy." His literature was like -his person and his character. Everything that he wrote was delicate, -coquettish, and very graceful, but often puerile. His literary taste -was not keen; when the Circle sat wrapt in admiration just after -Corneille had read them _Polyeucte_, Voiture hurried to the author's -side and told him that he "would better go home and lock that drama up -in his bureau drawer." - -Toward the end of his life Voiture dyed both hair and beard, and his -manner was just what it had been in his youth; he could not realise -that he was not a boy; it was said that he was "tiresome, because he -did not know how to grow old." - -His irritable disposition made him a trying companion, but to his last -day he was the "spoiled child" of Madame de Rambouillet and all the -society of the Salon; he was gay, simple, boyish, and natural, and the -Circle loved him "because he had none of the affected gravity and the -importance of the other men of letters, and because his manners were -not precise." More than thirty years after his death Mme. de Sévigné -recalled "his free wit and his charming ways" with delight. ("So much -the worse," she said, "for them who do not understand such things!"[54]) - -Voiture might have lived independently and dispensed with the favours -and the benefits which he solicited. His father was a very successful -business man (he dealt in wines), but in those days it was customary -for literary men to depend upon other men, and "little Voiture," -thinking that it was a part of his glory to take his share of the -general cake, profited by his social relations, and stretched his hands -out in all directions, receiving such pensions, benefits, and "offices" -as were bestowed upon all prominent men of letters. His income was -large, and as he was nourished and cared for by Madame de Rambouillet, -he had few expenses. - -Valentin Conrart, the first perpetual Secretary of the _Académie -Française_, was the most useful, if not the most brilliant member of -the Salon; he was the common sense of the Blue Room: the wise and -discreet friend to whom the most delicate secrets were fearlessly -confided, the unfailing referee to whom the members of the Circle -applied for decisions of all kinds, from the question of a debated -signification to the pronunciation of a word; naturally he was somewhat -pedagogical; incessant correction of the works of others had impressed -him with the instincts and the manners of a teacher; to the younger -members of the Circle he was a most awe-inspiring wiseacre. Conrart -bore the mark of a deep-seated consciousness of Protestantism, and -whether he was speaking, walking, or engaged in his active duties -it was evident that he was absorbed in reflections concerning his -religious origin; people who had seen him when he was asleep affirmed -that he wore an alert air of cogitation when wrapt in slumber, and -when he was rhyming his little verses to _Alphise_ or to _Lycoris_ his -aspect was the same. His attitude was logical: he knew that he was a -Protestant; he knew that that fact was a thing that no man could be -expected to forget. In 1647 he wrote to a fellow coreligionist[55]: -"As the world regards it, what a disadvantage it is to be a Huguenot!" -The Académie Française emanated from social meetings held in Conrart's -house and the serious association could not have had a more suitable -cradle. - -It is a pleasure to think of that easy and independent home, where -guests were met with outstretched hands, where wisdom was dispensed -without thought of recompense. Conrart was generous and just, a loyal -and indulgent friend who did good for the love of goodness. The wife of -Conrart was an excellent and worthy creature, who received dukes and -peers and the ladies of the Court as simply as she received the friends -of her youth; she was not a respecter of persons and she saw no reason -for embarrassment when the Marquise de Rambouillet wished to dine with -her. She took pride in "pastelles," cordials, and other household -delicacies, which she made and offered to her husband's friends with -her own hands. - -Vaugelas was timid and innocent; misfortune was his habit; he had -always been unfortunate, and no one expected him to be anything else. -He was very poor; he had been stripped of everything (even to the -pension given him by the King) as punishment for following Gaston -d'Orléans. Everything that he did turned against him. One day when he -was in great need Mme. de Carignan told him that she would hire him as -tutor; she had two sons whom she aspired to educate according to the -methods of the Hôtel de Rambouillet. Naturally the impecunious Vaugelas -thanked God for his rescue. When his pupils were presented to him he -found that one of them was deaf and dumb, the other was a phenomenal -stutterer, barely able to articulate his name. Vaugelas had been so -uniformly unfortunate that his woes had created a nervous tension in -the minds of the Circle, and every new report of his afflictions called -forth an outburst of hysterical laughter from his sympathisers. The -Hôtel de Rambouillet knew his intrinsic value. Fair Arthénice and her -company essayed to bring him forward, and failed; he was bashful, an -inveterate listener, obstinately silent; in the Salon he sat with -head drooping and with lips half open, eagerly listening to catch the -delicately turned phrases of the quality, or to surprise some noble -error; a grammatical _lapsus_ stung his keen perceptions, and he was -frequently seen writhing as if in agony, no one knew why. In a word -he was worthless in a salon,--and the same must be said of Corneille. -Corneille felt that he was not brilliant, and he never attended the -Salon unless he had written something new; he read his plays to "the -Circle" before he offered them to the publishers. Men of genius are -not always creditable adjuncts to a salon; Corneille was known in the -fine world as "that fellow Corneille." As far as his capacity for -furnishing the amount of amusement which all men individually owe it -to their fellows to provide is concerned, it is enough to say that he -was one of the churchwardens in his parochial district; this fact, -like the accident of birth, may pass as a circumstance extenuating his -involuntary evil. Speaking of the Salon la Bruyère wrote: "Corneille, -another one who is seen there, is simple, timid, and--when he talks--a -bore; he mistakes one word for another, and considers his plays good or -bad in proportion to the money he gains by them. He does not know how -to recite poetry, and he cannot read his own writing." - -In a club of pretty women ten Corneilles would not have been worth -one Antoine Godeau. Godeau was as diminutive in his verse as in his -person; but he was a fiery fellow and a dashing gallant, always in -love. When he was studying philosophy the German students in his -boarding-house so attached themselves to his lively ways that they -could not live away from him. The gravest of the bookworms thought that -they could study better in his presence, and his chambers presented -the appearance of a class-room. He sat enthroned at his table, and the -Germans sat cross-legged around him blowing clouds from their china -pipes and roaring with laughter at his sallies. He sang, he rhymed, he -drank; he was always cracking his funny jokes. He was born to love, -and as he was naturally frivolous, his dulcineas were staked out all -over the country awaiting his good pleasure. Presented to the Circle -of the Hôtel de Rambouillet when he was very young, he paled the star -of "little Voiture." When Voiture was at a distance from Paris Mlle. -de Rambouillet wrote to him: "There is a man here now who is a head -shorter than you are, and who is, I swear to you, a thousand times more -gallant!" - -Godeau was a conqueror; he had "entrapped all the successes." Every one -was amazed when it was discovered that he was a bishop, and they had -barely recovered from their amazement when it was learned that he was -not only a bishop but a good bishop. He had other titles to distinction -(of one kind or another), "and withal he still remained" (as Sainte -Beuve said) "the foppish spark of all that world." The only passport -required by the Hôtel de Rambouillet was intellect. The Circle caressed -Sarrazin, despite his baseness, his knavery, his ignoble marriages, -and his ridiculous appearance, because he was capable of a pleasant -repartee when in general conversation. George de Scudéry, a "species -of captain," was protected by the Circle because he was an author. -Scudéry was intolerable! his brain cells were clogged by vanity, he -was humming from morning till night with his head high in the clouds, -beating his ancestors about the ears of any one who would listen to -him, and prating of his "glory," his tragic comedies, and his epic -poem _Alaric_. He was on tiptoe with delight because he had eclipsed -Corneille. The Hôtel de Rambouillet smiled upon Colletet, the clever -drunkard who had taken his three servants to wife, one after the other, -and who had not talent enough to counterbalance his gipsy squalor. -But all passed who could hold a pen. Many a scruple and many a qualm -clamoured in vain for recognition when the fair creator of the Circle -organised the Salon. Nothing can be created--not even a salon--without -some sacrifice, and Mme. de Rambouillet laid a firm hand upon her -predilections and made literary merit the only title to membership in -the Salon. Every one knew the way to the Hôtel de Rambouillet. Every -one but Balzac was seen there. Balzac lived in a distant department (la -Charente), so it is probable that he knew Mme. de Rambouillet only by -letter, though he is named as an attendant of the Salon. Had the Salon -existed in this day it is possible that our moderns, who demand a finer -mortar, would have left the coarser pebbles in the screen, but Mme. -de Rambouillet closed her eyes, put forth her hand, and as blindly as -Justice drew authors out of their obscure corners and placed them on a -footing with the fine flower of the Court and the choice spirits of the -city, with all that was gay or witty, with all who were possessed of -curiosity concerning the things of the mind. She forced the frivolous -to habituate themselves to serious things, she compelled the pedants -to toss their caps to the thistles, to cast aside their pretensions -and their long-drawn-out phrases, and to stand forth as men. No one -carried the accoutrements of his authorship into the Blue Room, no one -was permitted to play the part of "pedant pedantising"; all was light, -rapid, ephemeral; the atmosphere was fine and clear, and to add to the -tranquil aspect of the scene, several very youthful ladies (the young -daughters of Mme. de Rambouillet and "la pucelle Priande" among others) -were permitted to pass like butterflies among the thoughtful groups; -their presence completed the illusion of pastoral festivity. Before -that time young girls had never mingled freely with their elders. - -As mixed as the gatherings were, and as radical as was the social -revolution of the Salon, the presence of innocent youth imposed the -tone of careful propriety. I am not counting "La Belle Paulet" as an -innocent young girl, though she too was of the Salon. Paulet was called -"the lioness" because of the ardent blonde colour of her hair; she was -young enough, and amiable even to excess, but she had had too much -experience. She was "a bit of driftwood," one of several of her kind -whom Mme. de Rambouillet had fished from the vortex, dried, catechised, -absolved, and restored to regular conduct and consideration. Neither -do I class "the worthy Scudéry" among young girls. She could not -have been called "young" at any age. She was (to quote one of her -contemporaries) "a tall, black, meagre person, with a very long face, -prolix in discourse, with a tone of voice like a schoolmaster, which -is not at all agreeable." Although Tallemant drew this picture, its -lines are not exaggerated. It is impossible to regard Mlle. de Scudéry -as a young girl. When I say that there were young girls in the Salon, -I have in mind the daughters of the house, from whom emanated excess -of delicacy, precocity, and decadence, Julie d'Angennes, for whom was -created "the garland of Julie," who became Mme. Montausier, Angélique -de Rambouillet,--the first of de Grignan's three wives,--and Mlle. -de Bourbon, who married de Longueville, and at a later day was known -as the heroine of the Hôtel-de-Ville. We must not imagine that a -reception at the Hôtel de Rambouillet was a convocation like a seance -at the Institute of France. At such an assembly a de Sévigné, a Paulet, -a Lafayette would have been out of place, nor would they have consented -to sit like students in class discussing whether it were better to -say _avoine_ and _sarge_ (the pronunciation given by the Court) or -_aveine_ and _serge_ (the pronunciation used by the grain-handlers in -the hay-market). Neither would it have been worth while to collect such -spirits had the sole object been a discussion of the last new book, or -the last new play; but literary and grammatical questions were rocks in -the seas on which the brilliant explorer of the Blue Room had set sail -and on the rocks she had planted her buoys. She navigated sagaciously, -taking the sun, sounding and shaping her course to avoid danger. -"Assaults of eloquence," however important, were cut short before -they resembled the lessons of the schoolroom. Before the innovation -of the Salon, the critics had dealt out discipline with heavy hands. -We are confounded by the solemnity with which Conrart informed Balzac -of a "tournament" between Voiture and Chapelain on the subject of one -of Ariosto's comedies, when "decisions" were rendered with all the -precision of legal sentences by "the hermit of Angoumois."[56] So -manifest a waste of energy proved that it was time for the world's -people to interfere, to restrain the savants from taking to heart -things which were not worth their pains. - -The authors produced their plays or their poems and carried their -manuscripts to the Hôtel de Rambouillet, where they read them in the -presence of the company, and the Circle listened, approved, criticised, -and exchanged opinions. All of Corneille's masterpieces cleared that -port in disguise; their creator presenting them as the works of a -strange author. When he read _Polyeucte_ the Salon supposed that the -drama was the work of a person unknown to them; all listened intently -and criticised freely. No one suspected the real author, and when -the last word was read, Voiture made haste to warn Corneille that -he "would better lock up the play." When the Circle first heard the -_Cid_ they acclaimed it, and declared that it was the work of genius. -Richelieu objected to it, and the Salon defended it against him. -Books and plays were not the only subjects of discussion; in the Blue -Room letters from the absent were read to the company, verses were -improvised and declaimed, plays were enacted, and delicately refined -expressions were sought with which to clothe the sentiment and the -passion of love. Great progress was made in the exercise of wit, and -at times the Circle, excited by the clash of mind with mind, exhibited -the effervescent joy of children at play when fun runs riot in the -last moment of recess, before the bell rings to recall them to the -schoolroom. At such a time the members of the Circle were marshalled -back to order and set down before the savants to contemplate the -"ologies." Such was the first period of the reign of the _Précieuses_, -a period whose history La Bruyère gathered from the recitals of the old -men of that day. - -Voiture and Sarrazin were born for their century, and they appeared -just at the time when they might have been expected; had they come -forward with less precipitation they would have been too late; it is -probable that had they come in our day they would have been just what -they were at their own epoch. When they came upon the stage the light, -sparkling conversations, the "circles" of meditative and critical -groups convened to argue the literary and æsthetic questions of the -day, had vanished, with the finely marked differences, the spiritual -jests, the coquettish meanings hidden amidst the overshadowing gravity -of serious discussion. - -The Circle no longer formed little parties admitting only the men who -had proved their title to intellect; but the fame of the first Salon de -Rambouillet--or, to speak better, the fame of the ideal Salon of the -world--still clung to its successor. As children listen to tales told -by their grandfathers, the delicate mind of Voiture listened to the -story of those first days; Sarrazin the Gross might scoff, but Voiture -gloried in the thought that it had all been true; the lights, the -music, the merry jests, the spring flowers growing in the autumn, the -flashing lances of the spirit, the gay letters from the absent.... And -well might he glory! there had, in truth, been one supreme moment in -the literary life of France, a moment as rapid, as fleeting as a smile, -lost even as it came, never to appear again until long after the pigmy -body which enshrined the winged soul that loved to dream of it had -turned to dust. - -The memory of that first Salon was still so vivid that Saint Simon -wrote: "The Hôtel de Rambouillet was the trysting-place of all then -existent of knowledge and of wit; it was a redoubtable tribunal, where -the world and the Court were brought to judgment." - - * * * * * - -But the followers of Arthénice did not shrink from mundane pleasures. -In the gracious presence of their hostess the young people danced -from love of action, laughed from love of laughter, and, dressed to -represent the heroes and the heroines of _Astrée_, or to represent -the tradesmen of Paris, went into the country on picnics, and enacted -plays for the amusement of their guests, playing all the pranks of -collegians in vacation. One day when they were all at the Château de -Rambouillet the Comte de Guiche ate a great many mushrooms. In the -night one of the gay party stole into his room and "took in" all the -seams in his garments. In the morning it was impossible for de Guiche -to dress; everything was too narrow to be buttoned; in vain he tugged -at the edges of his garments,--nothing would come together; the Comte -was racked by anxiety. "Can it be," he asked anxiously, "because I -ate too many mushrooms? Can it be possible that I am bloated?" His -friends answered that it might well be possible. "You know," said they, -"that you ate till you were fit to burst." De Guiche hurried to his -mirror, and when he saw his apparently swollen body and the gaps in his -clothing, he trembled, and declared that he was dying; as he was livid -and about to swoon, his friends, thinking that the jest had gone far -enough, undeceived him. Mme. de Rambouillet was very fond of inventing -surprises for her friends, but her jests were of a more gallant -character. One day while they were at the Château de Rambouillet she -proposed to the Bishop de Lisieux, who was one of her guests, to walk -into the fields adjoining the château, where there was, as she said, -a circle of natural rocks set among great trees. The Bishop accepted -her invitation, and history tells us that "when he was so near the -rocks that he could distinguish them through the trees, he perceived -in various places, as if scattered about--[I hardly know how to tell -it]--objects fairly white and glistening! As he advanced it seemed to -him that he could discern figures of women in the guise of nymphs. -The Marquise insisted that she could not see anything but trees and -rocks, but on advancing to the spot they found--Mlle. de Rambouillet -and the other young ladies of the house arrayed, and very effectively, -as nymphs; they were seated upon the rocks, where they made the most -agreeable of pictures." The good fellow was so charmed with the -pleasantry that thereafter he never saw "fair Arthénice" without -speaking of "the Rocks of Rambouillet."[57] The Bishop de Lisieux was -an excellent priest; decorum did not oppose such surprises, even when -the one surprised was a bishop. One day when the ladies were disguised -to represent shepherdesses, de Richelieu's brother, the Archbishop of -Lyons, appeared among them in the dress of a shepherd. - -One of the most agreeable of Voiture's letters (addressed to a -cardinal)[58] contains an account of a trip that he had made into the -country with the Demoiselles de Rambouillet and de Bourbon, chaperoned -by "Madame the Princess," mother of the great Condé; Mlle. Paulet (the -bit of driftwood) and several others were of the party. - - We departed from Paris about six o'clock in the evening, [wrote - Voiture], to go to La Barre,[59] where Mme. de Vigean was to give - collation to Madame the Princess.... We arrived at La Barre and - entered an audience-room in which there was nothing but a carpet - of roses and of orange blossoms for us to walk upon. After having - admired this magnificence, Madame the Princess wished to visit - the promenade halls while we were waiting for supper. The sun was - setting in a cloud of gold and azure, and there was only enough of - it left to give a soft and misty light. The wind had gone down, it - was cool and pleasant, and it seemed to us that earth and heaven - had met to favour Mme. de Vigean's wish to feast the most beautiful - Princess in the world. - - Having passed a large parterre, and great gardens, all full of - orange trees, we arrived at a wood which the sunlight had not - entered in more than an hundred years, until it entered there (in - the person of Madame). At the foot of an avenue so long that we - could not fathom its vista with our eyes until we had reached the - end of it, we found a fountain which threw out more water than was - ever thrown by all the fountains of Tivoli put together. Around the - fountain were ranged twenty-four violinists with their violins, and - their music was hardly able to cover the music of the fountain. - When we drew near them we discovered a niche in the palisado, and - in the niche was a Diana eleven or twelve years old, more beautiful - than any goddess of the forests of Greece or of Thessaly. She - bore her arrows in her eyes, and all the rays of the halo of her - brother surrounded her. In another niche was one of Diana's nymphs, - beautiful and sweet enough to attend Diana. They who doubt fables - said that the two visions were only Mlle. de Bourbon and la Pucelle - Priande; and, to tell the truth, there was some ground for their - belief, for even we who have always put faith in fables, we who - knew that we were looking upon a supernatural vision, recognised - a close resemblance. Every one was standing motionless and - speechless, with admiration for all the objects so astonishing both - to ear and to eye, when suddenly the goddess sprang from her niche - and with grace that cannot be described, began a dance around the - fountain which lasted some time, and in which every one joined. - -(Here Voiture, who was under obligations to his correspondent, Cardinal -de La Valette, represents himself as having wept because the Cardinal -was not there. According to Voiture's account he communicated his grief -to all the company.) - - ... And I should have wept, and, in fact, we all should have - mourned too long, had not the violins quickly played a saraband so - gay that every one sprang up and danced as joyously as if there - had been no mourning; and thus, jumping, dancing, whirling, - pirouetting, and capering, we arrived at the house, where we found - a table dressed as delicately as if the faëries had served it. And - now, Monseigneur, I come to a part of the adventure which cannot be - described! Truly, there are no colours nor any figures of rhetoric - to represent the six kinds of luscious soups, all different, which - were first placed before us before anything else was served. And - among other things were twelve different kinds of meats, under - the most unimaginable disguises, such as no one had ever heard - of, and of which not one of us has learned the name to this day! - As we were leaving the table the music of the violins called us - quickly up the stairs, and when we reached the upper floor we found - an audience-room turned into a ball-room, so well lighted that it - seemed to us that the sun, which had entirely disappeared from - earth, had gone around in some unknown way and climbed up there to - shine upon us and to make it as bright as any daylight ever seen. - There the dance began anew, and even more perfectly than when we - had danced around the fountain; and more magnificent than all else, - Monseigneur, is this, that _I danced there!_ Mlle. de Bourbon said - that, truth to tell, I danced badly, but that doubtless I should - make an excellent swordsman, because, at the end of every cadence, - I straightened as if to fall back on guard. - -The fête ended in a display of fireworks, after which the company -"took the road" for Paris by the light of twenty flambeaux, singing -with all the strength of their lungs. When they reached the village of -La Villette they caught up with the violinists, who had started for -the city as soon as the dance was ended and before the party left the -château. One of the gayest of the company insisted that the violinists -should play, and that they should dance right there in the street of -the village. It was between two and three o'clock in the morning and -Voiture was tired out; he "blessed Heaven" when it was discovered that -the violins had been left at La Barre. - - At last [Voiture wrote to the Cardinal] we reached Paris.... - Impenetrable darkness wrapped the city, silence and solitude lay on - every hand, the streets were deserted, and we saw no people, but - now and then small animals, frightened by the glaring flames of - our torches, fled before us, and we saw them hiding on the shadowy - corners. - -We learn from this letter how the companions of the Hôtel de -Rambouillet passed their evenings. - -In Paris and in the distant provinces there were many imitations of -the Salon; the germs of the enterprise had taken root all over France -with literary results, which became the subject of serious study. -The political consequences of the literary and social innovations -claimed less attention. The domestication of the nobility originated -in the Salon. When delicacy of manner was introduced as obligatory, -the nobleman was in full possession of the rights of power; he could -hunt and torture animals and inferior men, he could make war upon -his neighbours, he could live in egotistical isolation, enjoying the -luxuries bestowed by his seigniory, while the lower orders died of -hunger at his door, because his rank was manifested by his freedom -from rules which bound classes below his quality. The diversions -introduced at the Salon de Rambouillet exacted sacrifice of self to the -convenience of others. In the abstract this was an excellent thing, but -its reaction was felt by the aristocracy; from restraining their -selfishness the gallant courtiers passed on to the self-renunciation -of the ancient Crusaders, and when Louis XIV. saw fit (for his own -reasons) to turn his nobles into peaceful courtiers and grand barons -of the ante-chamber, he found that his work had all been done; it was -not possible to convert his warriors into courtiers, for he had no -warriors; all the warriors had turned to knights of the carpet; their -swords were wreathed with roses, and the ringing notes which had called -men to arms had changed to the sighing murmurs of Durandarte; every -man sat in a perfumed bower busily employed in making "sonnets to his -mistress's eyebrows." Louis XIV. fumed because his Court resembled a -salon; the incomparable Arthénice had given the restless cavaliers a -taste for fine conversation and innocent pleasures, and by doing so she -had minced the King's spoonmeat too fine; the absolute monarch could -only modify a transformation accomplished independent of his will. - -[Illustration: LOUIS XIII., KING OF FRANCE AND OF NAVARRE - -FROM AN OLD PRINT] - -We have now to determine how much of their false exalted sentiment and -their false ambition the princes, the chevaliers of the Fronde, and all -the gallants of the quality owed to the dramatic theatre of their day; -that estimated, we shall have gained a fair idea of the chief elements -of the social body idealised by Corneille,--of all the elements save -one, the element of Religion; that was a thing apart, to be considered -especially and in its own time. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 27: _Relation de ce que c'est passé en l'affaire de la reyne -au mois d'août, 1637, sui le sujet de la Porte et de l'Abbesse du -Val-de-Grâce._ See document in the Bibliothèque National.] - -[Footnote 28: The first part appeared in 1610, or perhaps [says M. -Brunetière], in 1618. The rest followed at long intervals. The four -last volumes bear date 1627 and consequently are posthumous. The part -written by d'Urfé cannot be distinguished from the part written by -Baro, who continued the work begun by d'Urfé.] - -[Footnote 29: _Manuel de l'histoire de la littérature française_, -by M. Ferdinand Brunetière. Cf. _En Bourbonnais et en Forez_, by -Emile Montégut, and _Le roman_ (XVII. Century) by Paul Morillot in -_L'histoire de la langue et de la littérature française_, published -under the direction of M. Petit de Julleville. _Les vendanges de -Suresnes_, by Pierre du Ryer.] - -[Footnote 30: Waliszeffski: _Marysienka_.] - -[Footnote 31: Paul Morillot, _loc. cit._] - -[Footnote 32: In the Dedication of _Place Royale_.] - -[Footnote 33: In the Dedication of _Place Royale_.] - -[Footnote 34: M. Lemaître's address, delivered at Port Royal. (Racine's -Centennial.)] - -[Footnote 35: _Histoire de l'art, pendant la renaissance._] - -[Footnote 36: Sauval, _Les antiquités de Paris_.] - -[Footnote 37: Dulaure, _Environs de Paris_.] - -[Footnote 38: _Astrée._] - -[Footnote 39: Montégut, _loc. cit._] - -[Footnote 40: Somaize's _Dictionnaire des Précieuses_.] - -[Footnote 41: _Mémoires_, Conrart.] - -[Footnote 42: _Gazette de Loret._ (Letter bearing date August 13, -1651.)] - -[Footnote 43: Tallemant.] - -[Footnote 44: _Mémoires_, de Richelieu.] - -[Footnote 45: Young Louvigny was killed in a duel in 1629; he was -entering his twenty-first year.] - -[Footnote 46: Vicomte d'Avenel, _Richelieu et la Monarchie absolue_.] - -[Footnote 47: See Gamboust's map, _Paris en 1652_.] - -[Footnote 48: Tallemant.] - -[Footnote 49: In one of the angles at the end of the courtyard -(Tallemant).] - -[Footnote 50: M. Bourciez _loc. cit._] - -[Footnote 51: _Ibid._] - -[Footnote 52: Bussy-Rabutin, _Histoire amoreuse des Gaules_.] - -[Footnote 53: Oh, no! not such a good boy as all that!--Arvède Barine.] - -[Footnote 54: Mme. de Sévigné.] - -[Footnote 55: _Valentin Conrart_, Réné Kerviler and Ed. de Barthélemy.] - -[Footnote 56: Mme. de Kerviler and Ed. de Barthélemy, _loc. cit._] - -[Footnote 57: Tallemant.] - -[Footnote 58: Cardinal La Valette.] - -[Footnote 59: Near Enghien.] - - - - -CHAPTER III - - I. The Earliest Influences of the Theatre--II. Mademoiselle and - the School of Corneille--III. Marriage Projects--IV. The Cinq-Mars - Affair--Close of the Reign. - - -I - -La Grande Mademoiselle and her companions cherished the still existent -passion for the theatre, which is a characteristic of the French -people. The great received comedians, or actors, in their palaces; -the palace had audience-rooms prepared to permit of the presentation -of theatrical plays; in the summer, when the social world went into -the country, the comedians accompanied or followed them to their -châteaux. Society required the diversion of the play when it journeyed -either for pleasure or for duty, and play-acting, whatever its quality -and whatever the subject of its action, elicited the indulgent -satisfaction and the applause that it elicits to-day, be its subject -and its quality good or bad. At the end of the sixteenth century, -play-actors superseded the magicians who until that time had afforded -public amusement; the people hailed the change with enthusiasm; and -the innovation prevailed. The courtiers loved the spectacle, and -from the beginning of the reign of Louis XIII. the Court and the -comedy were inseparable. Louis XIII. had witnessed the play in early -infancy. In 1614, when the King and the Court went upon a journey they -lingered upon the road between Paris and Nantes six weeks, halting to -witness the plays then being given in the cities along their route, -and receiving their favourite actors in their own lodgings. The King -was less than thirteen years old, yet it is stated in the journal -kept by Hérouard, the King's physician, that the child was regaled -with theatrical plays throughout his journey. At Tours he was taken -to the Abbey of Saint Julian to witness the French comedy given by de -Courtenvaut, who lodged at the abbey. At Paris the little King went -to the palace with the Queen to see a play given by the pupils of the -Jesuit Brothers. At Loudun the King ordered a play, and it was given in -his own house; at La Flèche he attended three theatrical entertainments -in one day. To quote from the doctor's (Hérouard's) journal: - - The King attended mass and from mass he went to the Jesuits' - college, where he saw the collegians play and recite a pastoral. - After dinner he returned to the college of the Jesuits, where - in the great hall, the tragedy of _Godefroy de Bouillon_ was - represented; then in the grand alley of the park, at four o'clock, - the comedy of _Clorínde_ was played before the Queen. - -When Gaston d'Orléans took his young wife to Chantilly immediately -after his marriage, he sent for a troupe of comedians, who went to -the château with their band and with violins,--"thus," reports a -contemporary, "rendering the little journey very diverting." On the -occasion already mentioned, when the same Prince conducted his daughter -to Tours so that he might present Louison Roger to her, he did not -permit the little Princess to languish for the theatre. "Monsieur -sent for the comedians," wrote Mademoiselle, "and we had the comedy -nearly every day."[60] When Monsieur returned to his château in Blois -his troupe followed him. When Mademoiselle returned to the Tuileries -(November, 1637) she found a private theatre in every house to which -she was invited. - -Actors worked without respite; they had no vacations; they played in -the French, in the Spanish, and in the Italian languages; and English -comedy also, played by English actors, was seen in Paris. Richelieu's -theatre in the Hôtel de Richelieu[61] "was provided with two audience -halls,--one large, the other small. Both were luxuriously mounted. The -decorations and the costumes of the actors displayed such magnificence -that the audience murmured with delight." - -The _Gazette de France_, which bestowed nothing but an occasional -casual notice upon the royal theatre of the King's palace, dilated -admiringly upon the Théâtre de Richelieu and the marvels with which the -Cardinal regaled his guests. The _Gazette_ reported the occasion of the -presentation of "the excellent comedy written by Sieur Baro," and the -ballet which followed it. - - The ballet was interlaced by a double collation. One part of the - collation was composed of the rarest and most delicious of fruits; - the other part was composed of confitures in little baskets, - which eighteen dancing pages presented to the guests. The baskets - were all trimmed with English ribands and with golden and silvern - tissue. The pages presented the baskets to the lords and then the - lords distributed them among the ladies. - -Mademoiselle was one of the company, and she received her basket with -profound satisfaction. Three days after the first comedy of Baro was -played the Court again visited the Cardinal's theatre to witness a -second play by the same author. Baro was a well-known literary hack. He -had been d'Urfé's secretary and had continued _Astrée_ when d'Urfé laid -down his pen. The success of the second representation was phenomenal. - - The ornamentation of the theatre [commented the _Gazette_], the - pretty, ingenious tricks invented by the author, the excellences of - the verse ... the ravishing concert of the lutes, the harpsichords, - and the other instruments, the elocution, the gestures, and the - costumes of the actors compromised the honour of all the plays that - have been seen either in past centuries or in our own century. - -We consider Baro's plays insipid, but they were very successful in -their day. - -February 19th was a gala day at the Théâtre de Richelieu. A fête was -given in honour of the Duke of Parma. First of all they gave a very -fine comedy, with complete change of play, with interludes; lutes, -spinnets, viols, and violins were played. - -The _Gazette de France_ tells us that there was a ballet, and then a -supper, at which the guests saw "the fine buffet, all of white silver," -which the Cardinal gave to the King some years later. Though the -theatre was the chief amusement in 1636, the theatrical representations -and ballets, "interlaced by collations" and by interludes, were -considered a good deal of dancing and a good deal of play-acting for a -priest, even when disseminated over a period of three weeks. - -The conclusion of the report in the _Gazette_ proved that Richelieu was -conscious of his acts, and that he did not disdain to justify himself. -"Without flattering his Eminence," said the _Gazette_, "it may be said -that all which takes place by his orders is always in conformity with -reason and with right, and that the duties which he renders to the -State never conflict with those that all Christians owe--and which he, -in particular, owes--to the Church." Mademoiselle attended all the -fêtes, and she was less than ten years old. She, herself, gave a ball -and a comedy in honour of the Queen in the palace of the Tuileries. - -In that day children in their nurses' arms were taken to see the play. -A contemporary engraving depicts the royal family at the theatre in -Richelieu's palace. The "hall" is in the form of an immense salon much -longer than it is broad; at one end is the stage, raised by five -steps; along the walls are two ranks of galleries for the invited -guests. The women sit in the lower gallery, the men sit above them; -seats have been brought into the centre of the hall, and on them sit -Louis XIII. and his family. In the picture Monsieur is sitting on -the King's left hand. On Anne of Austria's right hand, in a little -arm-chair made for a child, sits the Dauphin, who must have been three, -or possibly four, years old at that time. On the right hand of the -Queen, beyond the Dauphin, stands a woman holding a great doll-like -infant, the brother of the Dauphin. - -The playgoing infantine assiduity, the custom of carrying children in -swaddling bands to the theatre to witness comedies of every species, -good or bad, assured the theatre of a position in public education; the -children of the aristocracy drank in the drama with eye and ear--if I -dare express myself thus--and at an age when reason was not present to -correct the effect of impressions. The repertory of the theatre was one -of the most dramatically romantic and sentimental ever known to France -and the one of all others best fitted to turn a generation from sound -reality to false and fantastic visions. - -The general movement of that day may be classed as an aberration due -to the fact that the drama was a new pleasure; the inconveniences -attendant upon its influences had not been recognised, but it is -probable that some of the condemnations uttered by the moralists and -by the preachers of the seventeenth century in the name of religion -and of decency were called forth by the presence of children at the -play; the men who were most bitter in denunciations which amaze us by -the excess of their hostility spoke from experience and had reason for -their bitterness. The Prince de Conti, the brother of the great Condé, -might have furnished unique commentaries on the criticisms of the day, -had he cared to recall a treatise which he wrote (_The Plays of the -Theatre, and Spectacles_) when he was emerging from a youth far from -edifying. - -The treatise was written for the benefit of light-minded people, who -saw no harm in playgoing. In the beginning of his work the Prince -said: "I hope to prove that comedy in its present condition is not the -innocent amusement that it is considered; I hope to prove that a true -Christian must regard it as an evil." As his treatise progressed it -became explicit; his arraignment was animated by _Astrée_; he declared -that a play free from the sentimentality and the passions of love and -from the thoughts and the actions of lovers was not acceptable to the -public. Love forms the foundation of the play, and therefore it must -be discussed freely from its first principles. Now a play, however -fine its dramatic composition may be, can have no other effect than -to disgust refined minds and to ruin the reputations of its actors, -unless the love on which it is based is represented delicately, and -in a tenderly impassioned manner. And as few actors are capable of -producing a perfect representation of the most subtle and many-sided -of passions, the general effect of our comedy is deteriorating. As its -basis and its structure depend upon one single subject, it can have -but one subject of interest. Our comedies are considered commendable -according to their manners of discussing love; the divers beauties of -our dramas consist in their various exposures of the intimate effects -of love. Love is the theme, and the mind must either accept it and -work upon it or rest unemployed; there is no choice; no other theme -is given. When love is not the chief agent, it serves as an irritant -to draw out some other passion and to make sensuous display not only -possible but cogent, if not imperatively necessary; be the play what -it may, love is represented as the "passion ruling the heart." Conti -opposed to the popular "corruption of the drama" the grave lessons -offered by the great tragedies. Segrais treated the subject in the same -way; he said: "During more than forty years nearly all of the subjects -of our plays have been drawn from _Astrée_, and, generally speaking, -the dramatists have been satisfied with their work if they have changed -to verse the phrases which d'Urfé put in the mouths of his characters -in plain prose." - -Segrais exaggerated. _Astrée_ did not furnish "nearly all" of the -subjects of the plays; but the extraordinary importance of stage love -and of stage lovers was drawn from _Astrée_, and, despite the temporary -reaction due to Corneille, _Astrée_ persuaded the great body of French -society that there was nothing pathetic in the world but love, and -neither our dramatists nor our moralists have been able to break away -from an error which singularly circumscribes their art. Love is now the -subject of the romance and of the play, as it was in the early days of -La Grande Mademoiselle. - -Invitations to the Louvre or to the homes of the great were not too -easy to procure, and there were many people who never entered the -private theatres; but there were two "paying theatres," or theatres to -which the public were admitted on paying a fixed price; one of the two -houses was the Hôtel de Bourgogne, which stood in the rue Mauconseil, -between the rue Montmartre and the rue Saint Denis; the other was the -Théâtre du Marais, in the Veille rue du Temple. The Marais was then -an out-of-the-way quarter, very dangerous after nightfall. I have not -spoken of this place until now, because it was almost impossible for -any one in the polite society of which I have written to visit it. No -woman dared to enter the Marais unless she lived there. The woman of -quality could not even think of entering it except on gala days, when -the Court of France went in a body to visit the play-actors in their -own quarter. At ordinary times the Hôtel de Bourgogne "was neither a -good place nor a safe place." In form and arrangement the audience -hall was like the hall of the Théâtre de Richelieu; two galleries, one -above the other, ran the whole length of the walls, and in certain -places the walls were connected with the gallery to form stalls or -boxes. The parterre was a vast space in which people watched the play -standing. In that part of the theatre there were no seats. An hour, -or perhaps two hours, before the play began the great unclean space -was filled with the most boisterous and ungovernable representatives -of the dregs of Paris and with all the active members of the lesser -classes[62]: students, pages, lackeys, artisans, drunkards, the scum -of the canaille, and professional thieves; and there, on the floor of -the parterre, they gambled, lunched, drank, and fought each other with -stones, with swords, or with any weapon which came to hand; and as -they gratified their appetites or abused their neighbours, all strove -in the way best known to them to protect their purses and to keep the -thieves from carrying off their cloaks. The air resounded with shouts, -shrieks, songs, and obscene apostrophes. Contemporary writers regarded -everything as fit for the record, and therefore in all our researches -we come upon heartrending evidences of inenarrable depravity. The -charivari of the assistants of the pit continued throughout the -performance, ending only when the vociferous throngs were turned into -the streets so that the theatre might be locked for the night. At their -quietest the spectators of the parterre were noisy and obstreperous. To -quote one of their chroniclers[63]: - -"In their most perfect repose they continued to talk, to whistle, and -to scream without ceasing; they did not care at all to hear what the -comedians were saying." We differ from the chroniclers as to this last -opinion; it is probable that they cared only too much; it was to please -the rabble that abominably gross farces were played in the paying -theatres. Tragedy was relished only by the higher classes. - -An eye-witness, the Abbé d'Aubignac,[64] wrote: "We see that tragedies -are liked better than comedies at the Court of France; while among the -lesser people comedies, and even farces and unclean buffooneries are -considered more amusing than tragedies." The same d'Aubignac wrote in -or about the year 1666: "Fifty years ago an honest woman dared not go -to the theatre."[65] Between the universally ardent desire to enjoy the -fashionable form of pleasure and the efforts to make the stage less -licentious the purification of the drama was accomplished. - -The increasing delicacy of the public taste demanded a reform, and in -deference to it the moral atmosphere of both of the popular theatres -was renewed at the same time; a new and decent repertory was adopted, -and the foul programme of the past was cast away. Popular feeling -acclaimed the change and hastened the accomplishment of the reformation. - -At the time when the _Cid_[66] was played the lower classes had -ceased to rule the paying theatres; the masses went out of Paris for -their pleasure; to the fairs of Saint Laurent and Saint Germain, and -to the entertainments on the Pont-Neuf or the Place Dauphine; they -crowded around the trestled planks, they hung about the stands of the -charlatans, the buffoons, and the trick players. The paying theatres -were filled by the upper middle classes. Women who had not dared to -go to the play in 1620 attended the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne -as freely as they would have attended or as they did attend the -Luxembourg.[67] The fine world of the quality had found its way to -the theatre of the Marais; the _Cid_ was in course of representation -when the stage of the Marais and the courtiers thronged to the obscure -quarter to witness its marvels. The _Cid_ was played in the private -theatres as well as in the Hôtel de Bourgogne. M. Lanson tells us that -the comedians were summoned to the Louvre three times and twice to the -Hôtel de Richelieu, but the great were too impatient to wait for the -play to come to them, they ran to meet it; every one longed to see it -not at a future time but on the instant, and therefore they flocked to -the Veille rue du Temple. - -In 1637 (18th January) Mondory, the actor, who played the part of -_Rodrigue_, wrote to Balzac: - - Last night they who are usually seen in the Gold Room and on seats - bearing the fleur-de-lys, were visible upon our benches not singly - but in groups. At our doors the crowd was so great, and our place - was so small, that the nooks which ordinarily serve as recesses for - the pages, were reserved for the Knights of the Saint Esprit; and - the whole scene was bedight with Chevaliers of the Order. - -All women could attend the play at will; and they all ardently wished -to attend it, not once but always. They who saw it at Court, or at -the houses of the great, were none the less anxious to frequent the -paying theatres, where, though the scene had been purged of many of its -abuses, the spectacle differed essentially from that presented to the -great. Many distinct peculiarities of the old plays had been retained; -added to that was the novelty of the place, and the lack of courtly -ceremony, and the diversion afforded two different spectacles: the play -and the audience. Like the children of the great, the wives and the -daughters of the inferior classes abused their privilege and visited -the theatre incessantly and the rich and the poor suffered from the -influences of the superficial amusement. The play tended to deceive the -mind, and to give a false impression of the aims and the needs of life. -The majority of women were ignorant; they had never learned anything. -If they could read they read works of fiction, and their literature -was calculated to foster illusions. Exaltedly idealistic as _Astrée_ -had been, the writings of La Calprenède, de Gomberville, and others -of their school were still more sentimentally romantic; compared -with his successors, Honoré d'Urfé was a realist. The influence of -the theatre was shown in the intellectual development of woman, the -imagination of all classes was encouraged, the more useful mental -agents were neglected, and the minds of the people were visibly weak -and ill-balanced; the general impulse was to seek adventures on any -road and at any price. The thirst for unknown sensations was a fully -developed desire in their day, so we cannot with justice class it as a -"curiosity" emanating from the inventive imaginations of the decadents. - -The writer, Pierre Costar, wilfully lingered three weeks in a tertian -fever so that he might enjoy the sickly dreams which accompanied the -recurrent paroxysms of the disease. In our day Pierre Costar would be -an opium-eater, or a morphinomaniac. - - -II - -La Grande Mademoiselle owed much of her turn of mind to the dramatic -plays that she had watched from infancy. I doubt if she was given any -lessons in history, or that she had any lessons of the kind before she -reached her twenty-fifth year, when she acquired a taste for reading. -All that she knew of history had been gleaned by her from the tragedies -that she had seen at the theatre, and as she was refractory to the -sentiment of _Astrée_, it cannot be inferred that she had learned much -from d'Urfé; so it may be said that Corneille was her teacher in all -branches of learning, that no one of that time was in deeper debt to -the influence that he exerted over minds, and that no one so plainly -manifested his influence. From the education afforded by Corneille -came good and evil mingled. As we follow the course of Mademoiselle's -life we are forced to admit that however high and noble were the -ideas sown broadcast by Corneille, they were not always devoid of -inconveniences when they fell among people whose experimental knowledge -and practicality were inferior to their susceptibility to impressions. - -In the years which followed the advent of the _Cid_ Corneille was the -literary head of France; he had discovered the French scene through the -influence of d'Urfé, but his power was his own, and it was an inherent -power; he was the creator of a tendency. - -The unclean farce, which delighted the lockpickers and the gamblers of -the Paris of those days, has no place here, because it has no place in -literature. When "good company" invaded the paying theatres the farce -followed the canaille and took its place upon the trestled stages of -the Pont-Neuf. The farce played a part of its own, in a world unknown -to Mademoiselle; but the pastoral demands our attention, not only -because it was in high favour in Mademoiselle's society, but because -Corneille exerted his influence against it. - -[Illustration: CORNEILLE - -FROM AN ENGRAVING OF THE PAINTING BY LEBRUN] - -In the pastoral, love took possession of the stage, as it had been -announced to do, in the play which opened the way for its successors, -Tasso's _Aminta_.[68] In the prologue the son of Venus appeared -disguised as a shepherd, and declaimed, for the benefit of the other -shepherds, a discourse which, little by little, became the programme of -all imaginative literature: - - To-day these forests shall he heard speaking of love in a new - way.... I will inspire gross hearts with noble sentiments; I will - subdue their language and make soft their voices; for, wherever I - may be, I still am Love; in shepherds as in heroes. I establish, if - so it please me, equality in all conditions, no matter how unequal; - and my supreme glory, and the miracle of all my power, is to change - the rustic musettes into sounding lyres. - -Modern poets and novelists do not insist that all men are equal in -passion as they are equal in suffering and in death; but the people of -the nineteenth century fully believed in such equality. George Sand -expresses her real feelings in _La Petite Fadette_; and Pouvillon meant -all that he said in _Les Antibel_. The contemporaries of Louis XIII. -looked askance upon such theories; in their opinion the love, like the -suffering, of the inferior was below the conception of the quality, a -thing as hard for the noble mind to grasp as the invisible movement of -life in an atom; to be ignorant of the needs, the hopes, the anguish -of inferiors was one of the first proofs of exalted nobility. But the -nobles knew that the shepherds of the dramatic stage were gentlemen -travestied, and, therefore, they bestowed the interest formerly -accorded to the heroes of the heroic drama upon the woes of the mimic -Celadons of the comedy. Love would have become the dramatic pivot had -it not been for Corneille's plays; d'Urfé's characters were "sighing -like a furnace" when Corneille took command and gave the posts of -honour to "the manly passions"; but not even Corneille could reach such -a point at a bound; he attained it by strenuous effort. He began his -literary career by writing comedies in verse. Before he produced the -_Cid_, between the years 1629 and 1636, he wrote six plays; an inferior -serio-comedy, _Clitandre; or, Innocence Delivered_, and a tragedy, -_Médée_. To quote M. Lemaître: - - We now enter a world which is superficial, because its people - have but one object in living: their only occupation, their only - pleasure, their only interest is love; all else, all the interests - of social life are eliminated.... To love.... To be loved, ... - this is the only earthly object, according to the teachings of the - drama, and truly, in the long run it becomes tiresome! Such a world - must be impossible, because it is artificial; in it hearts are - the subjects of all the quarrels; men fight for them, lose them, - find them; they are stolen, they are restored to their owners, - they are tossed like shuttlecocks through five acts of a play. As - they "chassay" to and fro before the reader he loses all sense of - their identity, and takes one for the other; in the end the mind is - wearied. Excessive handling exhausts the vitality of the subject, - and leaves an impression as of something vapid and unsavoury. But - Corneille was Cornélien even when he wrote rhymed comedy--he could - not have been anything else--and he never would have fallen into - rhyme had he not wished to make concessions to the prevailing - fashion.[69] - -Even when engaged in the most absorbing of intrigues his lovers -pretend that they are their own masters, and that they feel only such -sentiments as they have elected to feel. At that early day--when -_Médée_ and _Clitandre_ were written--the culte of the will had -germinated; and time proved that it was predestined to become the chief -director of Corneille's work. In _La Place Royale_ Alidor says of -_Clitandre_[70]: - - Je veux la liberté dans le milieu des fers, - Il ne faut pas servir d'objet, qui nous possède. - Il ne faut point nouirrir d'amour qui ne nous cède, - Je le hais s'il me force, et, quand j'aime, je veux - Que de ma volonté dépendent tous mes voeux, - Que mon feu m'obéisse au lieu de me contraindre, - Que je puisse, à mon gré, l'enflammer ou l'éteindre, - Et toujours en état de disposer de moi, - Donner quand il me plaît et retirer ma foi. - -In Corneille's plays young girls are raised to believe that they -can love, or cease to love, at will; and their pride is interested. -Ambition demands that they remain in command of their affections. When -old Pleirante perceives that his daughter Célidée is fond of Lysandre -he lets her know that he has divined her secret and that he approves of -her choice, but Célidée answers proudly: - - "Monsieur, il est tout, vrai, Son légitime ardor - A tant gagné sur moi que j'en fais de l'estime . . . - J'aime son entretien, je cheris sa présence; - Mais cela n'est enfin qu'un peu de complaisance, - Qu'un mouvement léger qui passe en moins d'un jour, - 'Vos seuls commandements produiront mon amour.'" - - --_Galerie du Palace._ - -Another ingenuous daughter answers, in an offended tone, when her mother -intimates that she seems to be in love with Alcidon, that she - - "_Knows that appearances are against her!_ But," she adds, "my - heart has gone only as far as I willed that it should go. It - is always free; and it holds in reserve a sincere regard for - everything that my mother prescribes for me.... My wish is yours, - do with me what you will."--_La Veuve._ - -The public approved this language. It commended people who married -their daughters without consulting their hearts. And who shall say that -this way was not the one best fitted for their times? Faith added to -necessity engenders miracles, and miracles are what morality demands. - -In the great world, the world of the great and the noble, love was -mentioned only as Corneille regarded it in his plays. Every one was in -love,--or feigned to be in love; on all hands were heard twitterings -as of birds in the springtime; but the pretty music ceased when -marriage was suggested, for no one had thought of founding a domestic -hearth on a sentiment as personal and as ephemeral as love. It was -understood that the collective body came first, that the youth--man -or maid--belonged to the family, not to self. Contrary to our way of -looking at things, it was considered meet and right for the individual -to subject himself to a species of public discipline in everything -relating to the essential actions of private life; the demand for -the public discipline of individuals was based upon the interests -of the community. This law--or social tyranny, if you will--covered -marriage, and upon occasion Parliament did police duty and enforced -it. Parliament forbade the aged Mme. de Pibrac to marry a seventh -time--although her six marriages had all been accomplished under normal -conditions--because it was supposed that a seventh marriage might -entail ridicule. The reason given by Parliament when it forbade Mme. de -Limoges to permit her daughter to marry a very honourable man of whom -she was fond, and who was supposed to be fond of her, was this: that -her guardian and tutor "did not approve of the marriage." The history -of this subject of marriage shows us that our great grandmothers did -not bear malice against destiny; they were truly Cornéliennes in -their conviction that a decorous control of the will constrained the -sentiments of an high-born soul, and they married their daughters -without scruple, and without anxiety, as freely and as carelessly as -they had married themselves. Religion was always close at hand, waiting -to staunch the wounds which social exigencies and family selfishness -made in the hearts of the unfortunate lovers. - -The understanding between Corneille and his readers was perfect; all -that he did pleased the playgoers, and when, as he was searching -for what we should call "the realistic," he came upon the idea that -he might tempt the public taste by presenting a play with a Spanish -setting, his critics were well pleased. He wrote the _Cid_ and it was -an unqualified success; but its exotic sentiments and the generous -breadth of its morals excited vigorous protestations; the piece was met -by resistance like that which greeted the appearance of Ibsen's _Doll's -House_. - - It is known [said Jules Lemaître] that despite the fact that the - popular enthusiasm was prodigious the critics were implacable. - Perhaps the criticisms were not all inspired by base envy of the - author. I believe in the good faith of the Academy, and to my - mind, it seems possible that the criticisms of the Academy were - not considered either partial or unjust by every one in France; it - may be that there were many thinkers who shared the opinions of - Cardinal de Richelieu and the majority of the Academy. - -These lines are truth itself; the _Cid_ was an immoral play because -it was the apotheosis of passionate love, whose rights it proclaimed -at the expense of the most imperious duties. There was enough in the -_Cid_ to shock any social body holding firmly fixed opinions adverse to -the public exhibition of intimate personal feelings; there were such -bodies--the Academy was one of them--they made their own conditions, -and the license of the prevailing morals was insignificant to them. The -national idea of the superior rights of the family was well-grounded, -and when the Academy reproached Chimène because she was "too sensible -of the feelings of the lover--too conscious of her love ... too -unnatural a daughter"--it did no more than echo a large number of -voices. - -Until he wrote the _Cid_ Corneille was more exigeant than the Academy. -The only thing required of lovers by the Academy was that they, the -lovers, should govern their feelings and love, or not love, according -to the commands of their families or their notaries. The Academy asked -nothing of them but to control their actions regardless of their -hearts; surely that was indulgence; beyond that there remained but one -thing more,--to suppress the mind. - - We do not consider it essential [said _Sentiments Sur le Cid_] - to condemn Chimène because she loved her father's murderer; her - engagement to Rodrigue had preceded the murder, and it is not - within the power of a person to cease loving at will. We blame - her because, while she was pursuing Rodrigue, ostensibly to his - disadvantage, she was making vows and besieging Heaven in his - favour; this was a too evident betrayal of her natural obligations - in favour of her passion; it was too openly searching for a cloak - to cover her wishes, and making less of the daughter than of - the daughter's power to love her lover; in other words, it was - cheapening the natural character of the daughter to the advantage - of the lover. - -The example was especially pernicious, because the genius of the -author had rendered it seductive, and because the part which Chimène -played assured her of the sympathy of the audience. Corneille was -very sensitive to the criticisms of the Academy, and after the _Cid_ -appeared something more serious than synthetic form was placed under -the knives of the literary doctors; either because the denunciations -of his friends bore fruit, or because, in the depths of his heart, he -harboured the feelings which the unbridled ardour of the _Cid_ had -aroused in the Academy and in the other honest people "who upbraided -him, he retreated from the field of sentimental romanticism, and turned -his talents in another direction.... Nature's triumph over a social -convention was never given another occasion to display its graces or to -celebrate its truths under his auspices and the love passion was not -heard of again until it came forth in _Horace_ (Camille), to be very -severely dealt with." - -We are led to believe that had Corneille met the subject of the _Cid_ -fifteen years later, he would never have granted Chimène and Rodrigue -a marriage license.[71] Nor is this all. Having reformed, he was as -fanatical as the rest of the reformers; having become Catholic, he was -more Catholic than the Pope. He disclaimed love, and would have none of -it; he affirmed that it was unworthy of a place in tragedy. In his own -words, written some time later: - - The dignity of tragedy demands for its subject some great interest - of the State, ... or some passion more manly than love; as, for - instance, ambition or vengeance. If fear is permitted to enter such - a work it should be a fear less puerile than that inspired by the - loss of a mistress. It is proper to mingle a little love with the - more important elements, because love is always very pleasing, and - it may serve as a foundation for the other interests and passions - that I have named. But if love is permitted to enter tragedy it - must be content to take the second rank in the poem, and to leave - the first places to the capital passions. - -Having chosen his bone in this high-handed fashion, Corneille gnawed -at it continually; he could never get enough of it. Love had triumphed -in the _Cid_, but that day was past; in _Horace_ it struggled for -existence; in _Polyeucte_ it was vanquished, though not before it -had opposed sturdy resistance. It was weak enough in _Cinna_. After -the arrival of _Pompée_ it gave up the struggle, though it was heard -piteously murmuring at intervals. When _Pompée_ appeared the ladies -disappeared from the drama as if by magic; hardly a woman worthy of the -name could be found in literature: a few beings there were draped with -the time-worn title, but they were as virile as wild Indians. - - _A little hardness sets so well upon great souls!_ - -Nothing could be seen but ambition, blood, thirst for power, and Fury, -cup-bearer to the God of Vengeance. There was no more love-passion, -the manly passions ramped upon the stage like lions, and, with few -exceptions, all, male and female, were monsters of the Will. - -Long years passed before anything but the Will was heard of. After a -long reign the "monsters" disappeared. But they have reappeared in the -literature of our century. The worship of the Will, which originated -with Corneille, was recently revived by Nietzsche, whose famous -"Sur-homme" bears a very strong family resemblance to the Cornélien -heroes. "Life," said Nietzsche, "is that which ought always to surpass -and to exceed itself." Corneille's personages kept all the springs of -their will well in hand. They intended to succeed, to surpass, and to -get ahead of themselves if the thing was to be done; and when they were -convinced that to surpass themselves was impossible their future looked -very dark, and they sold their lives at cut prices,--or threw them in -for nothing--letting them go to any one who would carry them away. In -the fifth act of the play Horace became very anxious to die because, as -he expressed it, he feared that, after what he had done, he should be -unable to "surpass himself." - - "Votre Majesté, Sire, à vu mes trois combats; - Il est bien malaisé qu'un pareil les seconde, - Qu'une autre occasion à celle-ci réponde, - Et que tout mon courage, après de si grands coups, - Parvienne à des succès qui n'aillent au dessous; - Si bien que pour laisser une illustre mémoire, - La mort seule aujourd'hui peut conserver ma gloire." - -The analogy between the "Sur-homme" and the Cornélien heroes does not -end here; logic would not permit that; nothing weakens and enslaves the -firm and exalted will as effectually as the sentiment of pity, and both -Corneille and Nietzsche enfranchised their ideal humanity. Corneille -makes some one assure Horace that there is no great merit in exposing -himself to death, but that concession to weakness is of an early -period; the advanced man--the man out of the common order--is easily -recognised by the fact that he does not hesitate to bring the greatest -sufferings upon the beings who are dearest to him. - - Combattre un ennemi pour le salut de tous, - Et contre un inconnu s'exposer seul aux coups, - D'une simple vertu c'est l'effet ordinaire ... - Mais vouloir au public immoler ce qu' on aime, - S'attacher au combat contre un autre soi-même ... - Une telle vertu n'appartenait qu' à nous. - -The lines which follow were written by Nietzsche, and they seem a -paraphrase of the discourse of Horace: - - To know how to suffer is nothing; feeble women, even slaves, may be - past masters in this art. But to stand firm against the assaults - of the pain of doubt, to withstand the weakness of remorse when - we inflict torment,--this is to be a hero; this is the height of - courage; in this lies the first condition of all grandeur. - -Corneille's contempt for pity was shared by his contemporaries, and -so were his views of marriage as expressed in his first comedies. -The seigniors whom he met at the Hôtel de Rambouillet would have -blushed to feel compassion. They left the womanish weakness of pity -to the inferior beings of the lower orders. The great had always been -convinced that elevation in rank raised man above the consciousness -of the sufferings of beings of an inferior order; and in the day of -Corneille they were fully persuaded that noblemen ought to find higher -reasons for justice and for generosity than the involuntary emotions -which we of this later day have learned to recognise as symptoms of -"nervous disturbance." - - I am very little sensible of pity [wrote La Rochefoucauld], and I - would prefer not to feel it at all. Nevertheless there is nothing - that I would not do for the afflicted, and I believe that I ought - to do what I can for them--even to expressing compassion for their - woes, for the wretches are so stupid that it does them the greatest - good in the world to receive sympathy; but I believe that we ought - to confine ourselves to expressing pity; we ought to take great - care not to feel it; pity is a passion which is good for nothing - in a well-made soul; when entertained it weakens the heart, and - therefore we ought to relegate it to beings who need passions to - incite them to do things because they are incapable of acting by - reason. - -The manly characters in Corneille's heroic comedies never lower -themselves to the plane of the common people, nor to a plane where they -can think as the people think. Corneille was "of the Court" by all his -feelings and by all his prejudices, and he shared Mademoiselle's belief -that there is a natural difference between the man of quality and the -man below the quality, because generous virtues are mingled with the -blood which runs in noble veins, while the blood of the man of lower -birth is mingled with lower passions. Being a true courtier, Corneille -believed that above the two varieties of the human kind--the quality -and the lesser people--Providence set the order of Princes who are of -an essence apart, elect, and quasi-divine. - -In _Don Sancho d'Aragon_ Carlos did his best to prove that he was -the son of a fisherman. His natural splendour gave the lie to his -pretence. "Impossible that he could have sprung from blood formed by -Heaven of nothing but clay." - -Don Lope affirms that it cannot be true. - - Non, le fils d'un pêcheur ne parle point ainsi ... - Je le soutien, Carlos, vous n'êtes point son fils, - La justice du ciel ne peut l'avoir permis, - Les tendresses du sang vous font une imposture, - Et je démens pour vous la voix de la nature. - -He discovers that Carlos is the son of a King of Aragon. His -extraordinary merit is explained and consistency is satisfied. On the -whole Corneille did nothing but develop the maxims and idealise the -models offered to his observation on all sides; as much may be said of -the plots of his great plays. His subjects were suggested by the events -of the day. Had there been no Mme. de Chevreuse and no conspiracies -against Richelieu there could have been no _Cinna_. And it is possible -that there might not have been such a work as _Polyeucte_ had there -been no Jansenism.[72] - -Corneille did not understand actuality as we understand it. His tragedy -is never a report of real occurrences, that is evident. But he was -besieged, encompassed, possessed, by the life around him, and it left -impressions in his mind which worked out and mingled with every subject -upon which he entered. He was guided by his impressions,--though he did -not know it,--and by their influence he was enabled to find a powerful -tragedy in a few indifferent lines dropped by a mediocre historian, -or by an inferior narrator of insignificant events. His surroundings -furnished him with precise representations, made real to his mind by -the vague abstractions of history. In the forms and conditions of the -present he saw and felt all the past.[73] - -[Illustration: RACINE - -FROM A STEEL ENGRAVING] - -His constant contact with the world of his times favoured the action -of his mind upon the minds of his auditors. He exhibited to them -their passions, their thoughts, their feelings, their different -ways of looking upon social duty, upon politics, and upon the part -played, or to be played, by the aristocracy in the general movement. -The people of Paris loved the play because it exhibited openly, in -different, but always favourable lights, everything in which they had -any interest. In it they saw their own life, their aims, their needs, -their longing to be great and admirable in all things.[74] They saw -depicted all that they had dreamed of being, all that they had wished -to be; and something more vital than love of literature animated their -transports and lighted the fond glances fixed on the magic mirror -reflecting the ideals they so ardently caressed. The people listened to -Corneille's plays and trembled as they now tremble at the sound of _La -Marseillaise_. It has been said that they did not understand Racine; -if they did not, their lack of comprehension was natural. Racine was -of another generation, and he was not in sympathy with his forerunner. -Mme. de Sévigné was accused of false judgment in her criticism of -_Bejazet_,[75] but she also was of another school. She had little -sympathy for Racine's heroes. She understood Corneille's heroes, and -could not listen to his verses without the tremor of the heart which -we all feel when something recalls the generous fancies of our youth. -The general impression was that Corneille was inspired by the image of -Mlle. de Montpensier when he wrote _Pulcherie_ (1672), an heroic comedy -in which an empress stifles the cries of her heart that she may listen -to the voice of glory. - - _The throne lifts the soul above all tenderness._ - -It is not impossible that Corneille had some such thought in his mind. -Certainly Mademoiselle was a model close at hand. One day when her -bold poltroon of a father told her, in the course of a sharp reproof, -that she was compromising her house for the pleasure of "playing the -heroine," she answered haughtily and truthfully: - - "I do not know what it is to be anything _but_ a heroine! I am of - birth so high that no matter what I might do, I never could be - anything but great and noble. And they may call it what they like, - _I_ call it following my inclination and taking my own road. I was - born to take no other!" - -Given such inclinations, and living in the Louvre, where Corneille's -plays were constantly enacted by Queen Anne's order, Mademoiselle -was accustomed to regard certain actions as the reverse of common and -ignoble, and to consider certain other actions "illustrious." - -The justice of super-exalted sentiments was proclaimed by nobility, -and they who were disposed to closely imitate the examples set by -the literary leader of the day ran the risk of losing all sense of -proportions and of substance. Mademoiselle did lose that sense, nor was -she the only one to do so among all the children of quality who were -permitted to abuse their right to see the play. Through the imprudent -fashion of taking young children to the theatre, the honest Corneille, -who taught the heroism of duty, the poetry of sacrifice, the value of -strong will and self-control, was not absolutely innocent of the errors -in judgment and in moral sense by which the wars of the Fronde were -made possible. When he attempted to lift the soul of France above its -being, he vitiated a principle in the unformed national brain. - - -III - -Mademoiselle had grown tall. She had lost her awkward ways; she was -considered pretty--although the Bourbon type might, at any moment, -become too pronounced. She had remained simple and insignificantly -innocent and childish, in a world where even the children discussed -politics and expressed opinions on the latest uprising. Side by side -with all her infantine pleasures were two serious cares which had -accompanied her from her cradle, one: her marriage; the other, the -honour of her house. The two cares were one, as the two objects were -one, because in that day a princess knew her exalted duty and accepted -her different forms of servitude without a frown, and certainly the -most painful of all those forms was the marriage in which the wife was -less than nothing; a being helpless in her inferiority, so situated -that she was unable to claim any share of the general domestic -happiness. The noble princesses had consented to drink their cup to the -dregs because it was part of their caste to do so, and many were they -who went to the altar as Racine's "Iphigénie" went to the sacrifice. -The idea that woman is a creature possessing a claim upon herself, with -the right to love, to be happy, and to seat herself upon the steps of -the throne, or even upon the throne, is a purely modern conception. The -day when that mediocre thought first germinated in the brain of the -noblewoman marked a date in the history of royalty, and it may be that -no surer sign was given to warn the nations of contemporary Europe of -the decay of the monarchical idea. - -La Grande Mademoiselle had faith in the old traditions. She had always -been used to the idea that life would be full enough when she had -accomplished her high destiny and perpetuated the noble name borne -by her ancestors and she was fully satisfied with the idea that her -husband should see in her nothing but the "granddaughter of France," -and accept her and her princely estates as he would accept any of -the other gifts directly bestowed on noblemen by Divine Providence. -Her husband had been ordained her husband from all time; and she was -prepared to yield her all to him without a murmur. What though he -should be ugly, gouty, doddering--or a babe in arms, "brutal," or -an "honest man"? Such details were for the lower orders, they were -puerile; unworthy of the attention of a great Princess. He would be the -_husband of Mlle. de Montpensier, niece of Louis XIII._, and that would -be enough. But in spite of herself she felt a lurking curiosity as to -who he should be. What was to be his name.... His Majesty, was he to be -a king, "_His Highness_," or simply "_Monseigneur_?" there lay the root -of the whole matter. - -Of what rank were the wives whose right it was to remain seated in the -King's presence, ... and on what did they sit, arm-chairs or armless -seats? - -_That was the question_, the only consideration of any importance. - -We should prefer to think that Mademoiselle mourned because she was -reduced by her condition to forget that however princely a marriage -may be it must entail a husband, but we are the slaves of truth, we -must take our history as we find it, and be the fact pleasing or -painful,--here it is: Mademoiselle knew that she should marry the first -princely aspirant to her hand, and she was well content to let it be -so. - -The first to arouse her imagination was one of her mother's ancient -lovers, Comte de Soissons, a brilliant soldier, but a man of very -ordinary intellect. "M. le Comte" had not only aspired to the favour -of Anne-Marie's mother, but he had also addressed her cousin Marie, -Duchesse de Montpensier, and so lively had been the wooing that there -had been some talk of an abduction. Then Gaston had entered the field -and carried off the Duchess, and, gnawed by spite and jealous fury, -Soissons had quarrelled with him. - -Less than a year later the unexpected death of Madame brought about a -reconciliation between the rivals. Monsieur, wifeless, charged with -an infant daughter, who was the sole heiress to almost incalculable -wealth, clasped hands with Soissons, under circumstances favourable -to the brightest dreams. Madame's timely death had restored intact a -flattering prospect. M. le Comte again and for the third time announced -pretensions to the hand of a Montpensier, and Gaston smiled approval. -He considered it all very natural; given a like occasion, he would have -followed a like course. - -So, as far back as her youthful memory could travel, Mlle. -Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orléans found along her route traces of the -assiduous attentions of the even-then ripe cousin, who had regaled her -with sugared almonds through the medium of a gentleman named Campion, -accredited and charged with the mission of rendering his master -pleasing to Mademoiselle, the infant Princess of the Tuileries. M. -le Comte sent Campion to Court with sugared almonds, because he, the -Comte de Soissons, rarely set foot in Paris at any time, and at the -time which we are now considering a private matter of business (an -assassination which he and Gaston had planned together), had definitely -retired him from Court. - -All this happened about the year 1636. Gaston was living in an obscure -way, not to say in hiding; for it would have been difficult to hide so -notable a personage,--nor would there have been any logic in hiding -him, after all that had passed,--but he was living a sheltered, and, so -to speak, a harmless life. He was supposed to be in Blois, but he was -constantly seen gliding about the Louvre, tolerated by the King, who -practised his dancing steps with him, and treated by Richelieu with all -the contempt due to his character. The Cardinal made free with Gaston's -rights; he changed and dismissed his servants without consulting their -master; and more than one of the fine friends of Monsieur learned the -way to the Bastille. - -At times Richelieu gave Gaston presents, hoping to tempt the -light-minded Prince to reflect upon the advantages attending friendly -relations with the Court. Richelieu had tried in vain to force Gaston -to consent to the dissolution of his marriage with Marguerite de -Lorraine. He had never permitted Gaston to present his wife at Court, -but Gaston had always hoped to obtain the permission and the anxious -lady had remained just outside of France awaiting the signal to enter. -She was generally supposed to be within call of her husband. - -The time has come when justice of a new kind must be done to Monsieur, -and probably it is the only time when a creditable fact will be -recorded in his history. He stood firm in his determination to maintain -his marriage. Try as the Cardinal might, and by all the means familiar -to him from habitual use, he could not force Monsieur to relax his -fidelity to his consort. D'Orléans was virtuous on this one point, but -his manner of virtue was the manner of Gaston; there are different -ways of sustaining the marriage vows, and Monsieur's way was not -praiseworthy. His experience had passed as a veil blown away by the -wind. His passion for intrigue still held sway, he always had at least -one plot in process of infusion, and his results were fatal to his -assistants. In the heat of his desire to rid himself of the Cardinal, -he simulated change of heart so well that the Cardinal was deceived. -Suspicious at first of the sincerity of Gaston's professions, after -long and close observation he became convinced that the Prince was, -in truth, repentant. It was at that epoch, when free exercise of an -undisciplined will was made possible by Richelieu's conviction of his -own security, that Monsieur laid his plan of assassination with de -Soissons; at that time there was but opinion in France--de Richelieu -was a tyrant, there could be no hope of pleasure while he lived. Let -him die, let France hear that he was dead, and all the world could be -happy and free to act, not according to the dogmas of an egotist by -the grace of God, but by the rule of the greatest good to the greatest -number. - -The conspirators had found a time and a place favourable to their -enterprise. It was during the siege of Corbie. The King was there -attended by his Minister. Monsieur and the Count were there; so were -the men whom they had engaged to kill the Cardinal. Culpable as the two -scoundrels had always been, when the whole country was in arms it was -impossible to find a reasonable excuse for refusing them commands, so -they were at the front with all the representative men of the country, -and they had good reason for supposing that one murder--a movement -calculated to relieve the nation--might pass unnoticed in the general -noise and motion of the siege. The time was ripe; Monsieur and Soissons -had put their heads together and decided that the moment had come to -strike the blow and rid the country of the Cardinal. - -Their plans were well laid. A council of war had been called. De -Richelieu was to pass a certain staircase on his way to it; de Soissons -was to accompany Richelieu and distract his attention; Gaston was -to be waiting at the foot of the stairs to give the signal to the -assassins. But Monsieur had not changed since the days of Chalais, and -he could not control his nerves. He was a slave to ungovernable panics. -According to his plans the part which he had to play was easy. He had -nothing to do but to give the signal; all the accomplices were ready; -the assassins were awaiting the word; he himself was at his post; -but when the Cardinal passed, haughty and calm, to take his place in -his carriage, terror seized Monsieur and he turned and sprang up the -stairway. As he fled one of his accomplices, thinking to hold him back, -seized him by his cloak, and Gaston, rushing forward, dragged him after -him. - -The affrighted Prince and his astonished follower reached the first -landing with the speed of lightning; and then, carried away by emotion, -Monsieur, still dragging his companion, fled into an inner room, where -he stopped, dazed; he did not know where he was, nor what he was doing, -and when he tried to speak he babbled incoherent words which died in -his throat. De Soissons was waiting in the courtyard; he had spoken -so calmly that Richelieu had passed on unconscious of the unusual -excitement among the courtiers. - -Though the plot had failed, there had been no exposure; but the fact -that the accomplices held the secret and that they had much to gain -from the Cardinal by a denunciation of their principals made it -unsafe for the conspirators to remain in Paris; before the Cardinal's -policemen were warned they fled, Monsieur to Blois and de Soissons -to Sedan. Not long after their flight the story was in the mouths of -the gossips, and Mademoiselle knew that she could not hope for the -Cardinal's assistance in the accomplishment of her marriage; so the -child of the Tuileries advanced to maidenhood while her ambitious -cousin (Soissons) turned grey at Sedan. When Anne-Marie-Louise reached -her fourteenth year the Comte thought that the time had come to bring -matters to a crisis. He was not a coward, and as there was no reason -for hypocrisy or secrecy, he boldly joined the enemies of his country -and invaded France with the armies of de Bouillon and de Guise. Arrived -in France, he charged one of his former mistresses, Mme. de Montbazon, -to finish the work begun by Campion. Mme. de Montbazon lent her best -energies to the work, and right heartily. - - I took great interest in M. le Comte de Soissons, [wrote - Mademoiselle]; his health was failing. The King went to Champagne - to make war upon him; and while he was on the journey, Mme. de - Montbazon--who loved the Count dearly and who was dearly loved by - him--used to come to see me every day, and she spoke of him with - much affection; she told me that she should feel extreme joy if - I would marry him, that they would never be lonely or bored at - the Hôtel de Soissons were I there; that they would not think of - anything but to amuse me, that they would give balls in my honour, - that we should take fine walks, and that the Count would have - unparalleled tenderness and respect for me. She told me everything - that would be done to render my condition happy, and of all that - could be done to make things pleasant for a personage of my age. I - listened to her with pleasure and I felt no aversion for the person - of M. le Comte.... Aside from the difference between my age and - his my marriage with him would have been feasible. He was a very - honest man, endowed with grand qualities; and although he was the - youngest of his house he had been accorded[76] with the Queen of - England. - -Having been unable to acquire the mother, de Soissons turned his -attention to the daughter. Mademoiselle recorded: - - M. le Comte sent M. le Comte de Fiesque to Monsieur to remind him - of the promise that he had made concerning me, and to remind him - that affairs were then in such a condition that they might be - terminated. M. le Comte de Fiesque very humbly begged Monsieur to - find it good that de Soissons should abduct me, because in that way - only could the marriage be accomplished. Monsieur would not consent - to that expedient at all, and so the answer that M. le Comte de - Fiesque carried back touched M. le Comte very deeply. - -Not long after this episode the Comte de Soissons was killed at Marfée -(6th July, 1641), and Mademoiselle's eyes were opened to the fact that -she and M. le Comte "had not been created for each other." She wrote of -his death as follows: - -"I could not keep from weeping when he died, and when I went to see -Madame his mother at Bagnolet, M. and Mlle. de Longueville and the -whole household did nothing but manifest their grief by their continual -cries." - -Mademoiselle had desired with earnest sincerity to become the Comtesse -de Soissons; it is difficult to imagine why,--unless, perhaps, because -at her age girls build air-castles with all sorts of materials. - -M. le Comte had been wept over and buried and sentiment had nothing -more to do with Mademoiselle's dreams of establishment. Her fancy -hovered over Europe and swooped down upon the princes who were -bachelors or widowers, and upon the married nobles who were in a fair -way to become widowers; more than once she was seen closely following -the current reports when some princess was taken by sickness; and -she abandoned or developed her projects, according to the turn taken -by the diseases of the unfortunate ladies. The greater number of the -hypothetical postulants upon whom she successively fixed her mind were -strangers whom she had never seen, and among them were several who -had never thought of her, and who never did think of her at any time; -but she pursued her way with unflagging zeal, permitting indiscreet -advances when she did not encourage them; she considered herself more -or less the Queen or the Empress of France, of Spain, or of Hungary, -as the prospect of the speedy bereavement of the incumbents of the -different thrones brightened. La Grande Mademoiselle had not entered -the world as the daughter of a degenerate with impunity; there were -subjects upon which she was incapable of reasoning; in the ardour of -her faith in the mystical virtues of the Blood she surpassed Corneille. -She believed that the designs of princes ranked with the designs -of God, and that they should be regarded as the devout regard the -mysteries of religion. To quote her own words: "The intuitions of the -great are like the mysteries of the Faith; it is not for men to fathom -them! they ought to revere them; they ought to know that the thoughts -of the great are given to their possessors for the well-being and for -the salvation of the country." - -Mademoiselle surpassed the Corneille of Tragedy in her disdainful -rejection of love; Corneille was content to station love in the -rear rank, and he placed it far below the manly passions in his -classification of "the humanities." It will be remembered that by his -listings the "manly passions" were Ambition, Vengeance, Pride of Blood, -and "Glory." Mademoiselle believed that love could not exist between -married people of rank; she considered it one of the passions of the -inferior classes. - - Le trône met une âme au dessus des tendresses. - - _Pulcherie._ - -When we examine the subject we see that it was not remarkable that -Mademoiselle recognised illegitimate love, although her own virtue was -unquestionable. She liked lovers, and accepted the idea of love in -the abstract; she repudiated the idea of love legalised because she -was logical; she thought that married love proclaimed false ideas and -gave a bad example. If married people loved each other and were happy -together because of their common love, young noble girls would long -to marry for love and to be happy in marriage because of love, and -the time would come when there would be no true quality, because the -nobles would have followed their desires or their weaker sentiments and -formed haphazard unions brought about by natural selection. Man or maid -would "silence the voice of glory in order to listen to the voice of -love," should the dignity of hierarchical customs be brought down to -the level of the lower passions. So Mademoiselle reasoned, and from her -mental point of view her reasoning was sound. She was strong-minded; -she realised the danger of permitting the heart to interfere in the -marriage of the Elect. - -The year 1641 was not ended when Mademoiselle appeared in spiritual -mourning for a suitor who seems to us to have been nothing but a -vision, the first vision of a series. Anne of Austria had never -forgotten the Cardinal's cruel rebuke when he found Mademoiselle -playing at man and wife with a child in long clothes. She had tried to -console the little girl, and her manner had always been motherly and -gentle. "It is true," she had said, "the Cardinal told the truth; my -son is too small; you shall marry my brother!" When she had spoken thus -she had referred to the Cardinal Infant,[77] who was in Flanders acting -as Captain-General of the country and commanding the armies of the King -of Spain. - -The Prince was Archbishop of Toledo. He had not received Holy -Orders. In that day it was not considered necessary to take orders -before entering the Episcopate. "They taxed revenues, they delegated -vicars-general for judicial action, and when the power of the Church -was needed they delegated bishops. There were many prelates who were -not priests." Henri de Lorraine II., Duc de Guise (born in 1614), was -only fifteen years old when he received the Archbishopric of Rheims; he -never received Holy Orders. In priestly vestments he presented every -appearance of the most pronounced type of the ecclesiastical hybrid; he -was an excellent Catholic, and a gallant and dashing pontiff-cavalier. -His life as layman was far from religious. When he was twenty-seven -years old he met a handsome widow, Mme. de Bossut. He married her on -the spot without drum or cannon; and then, because some formality -had been omitted, the marriage was confirmed by the Archbishop of -Malines. The Church saw no obstacle to the marriage. Nicolas-François -de Lorraine, Bishop of Toul, and Cardinal, was another example; -"without being engaged in orders" he became "Duc de Lorraine" (1634) -by the abdication of his brother Charles. He had political reasons for -marrying his cousin "Claude" without delay, but he was stopped by an -obstacle which did not emanate from his bishopric. Claude was his own -cousin, and the prohibitions of the Church made it necessary for him to -get a dispensation from Rome. - -François visited his cousin and made his proposals. As a layman he -needed a publication of his bans, and as a Catholic, in order to -marry his cousin, he needed a dispensation from the Pope. Therefore -he re-assumed the character of Bishop and issued a dispensation -eliminating his bans, then, in the name of the Pope, he issued a -dispensation making it spiritually lawful for him to marry his cousin -to himself; that accomplished, he cast off the character of Bishop -and was married by a regularly ordained priest like an ordinary -mortal. In those days there was no abyss between the Church and the -world. At most there was only a narrow ditch which the great lords -crossed and recrossed at will, as caprice or interest moved them. In -their portraits this species of oscillation, which was one of their -distinguishing movements, is distinctly recorded and made evident even -to the people of this century. - -In the gallery of the Louvre we see a picture due to the brush of the -Le Nain brothers, entitled, _Procession in a Church_. That part of the -procession which is directly in front of the spectator is composed -of members of the clergy, vested with all their churchly ornaments. -The superb costumes are superbly worn by men of proud and knightly -bearing. The portraits betray the true characters of their originals. -These men are courtiers, utterly devoid of the collected and meditative -tranquillity found in the legions of the Church. In the Le Nain -brothers' picture the most notable figures are two warlike priests, who -stand, like Norse kings, at the head of the procession, transfixing -us with their look of bold assurance. No priests in ordinary, these, -but natural soldiers, ready to die for a word or an idea! Their curled -moustachios are light as foam; their beards are trimmed to a point, -and under the embroidered dalmatica the gallant mien of the worldling -frets as visibly as a lion in its cage. It is impossible to doubt it: -these are soldiers; cavaliers who have but assumed the habit; who will -take back the doublet and the sword, and with them the customs and the -thoughts of men of war. Whatever their rank in the Church, hazard and -birth alone have placed them there; and thus are they working out the -sentence imposed by the ambition of their families; giving the lie to a -calling for which they have neither taste nor capacity. The will of a -strong man can defeat even pre-natal influences, and, knowing it, they -make no hypocritical attempt to hide their character. They were not -meant for priests, and every look and every action shows it. - -The Cardinal-Infant, Archbishop of Toledo, was only a deacon, so there -was nothing extraordinary in the thought that he might marry. I cannot -say that he ever thought of marrying Mademoiselle; I have never found -any proof that he entertained such a thought; the only thing absolutely -certain in the whole affair is that Mademoiselle never doubted that he -intended, or had intended, to marry her. Here is her own account of it, -somewhat abridged and notably incoherent: - - The Cardinal-Infant died of a tertian fever (9th November 1641), - which had not hindered his remaining in the army all through - the campaign.... His malady had not appeared very dangerous; - nevertheless he died a few days after he came back from Brussels; - which made them say that the Spaniards had poisoned him because - they were afraid that by forming an alliance with France he would - render himself master of Flanders,[78] and, in fact, that was his - design. The Queen told me that after the King died she found in his - strong-box memoranda showing that my marriage with that Prince had - been decided upon. She told me nothing but that ... when this loss - came upon them the King said to the Queen ... and he said it very - rudely--"Your brother is dead." That news, so coarsely announced, - added to her grief ... and for my own part, when I reflected - upon my interests I was very deeply grieved; because that would - have been the most agreeable establishment in the world for me, - because of the beauty of the country, lying as it does so near this - country, and because of the way in which they live there. As for - the qualities of his person, though I esteemed him much, that was - the least that I thought of. - -The disappearance of the Cardinal-Infant was followed by events so -tragic and so closely connected with Mademoiselle's life that her mind -was distracted from her hunt for a husband. Despite her extreme youth, -the affair Cinq-Mars constrained her to judge her father, and to the -child to whom nothing was as dear as honour the revelation of his -treachery was crushing. - - -IV - -The death of Cinq-Mars was the dénouement of a great and tragic -passion. Henry d'Effiat, Marquis de Cinq-Mars, was described as a -handsome youth with soft, caressing eyes, marvellously graceful in all -his movements.[79] - -His mother was ambitious; she knew that men had risen to power by -the friendship of kings. Richelieu's schemes required a thousand -complicated accessories. So it was decided by the Cardinal and by -Cinq-Mars's mother to present the child to the King and to place him in -the royal presence to minister to the King's pleasure for an hour, as a -beautiful flower is given to be cherished for a time, then cast away. -The King was capricious and childish and, as Richelieu said, "he must -always have his toy"; but elderly children, like very young children, -soon tire of their toys and when they tire of them they destroy them; -Louis XIII. had broken everything that he had played with, and his -admiration inspired terror. Cinq-Mars was determined that he would not -be a victim. Though very young, he knew the ways of the world and he -had formed plans for his future. He was fond of the world and fond of -pleasure. He was a natural lover, always sighing at the feet of women. -He was brave and he had counted upon a military career. The thought of -imprisonment in the Château of Saint Germain with a grumbling invalid -whose ennui no one could vanquish was appalling; but after two years -of resistance he yielded and entered the royal apartment as officer -nearest to the King. It has been said that he lacked energy, but as he -resisted two whole years before he gave up the struggle, and as the -will which he opposed was the will of Richelieu, it is difficult to -believe that he was not energetic. - -History tells us that he was very nervous and that, although his will -was feeble, he was subject to fits of anger. In 1638 he was in the -King's household as Master of the Robes. He was eighteen years old. -It was his business to select and order the King's garments, and the -King was wont to reject whatever the boy selected because it was -"too elegant." When Cinq-Mars was first seen in the King's apartment -he was silent and very sad; the King's displeasure cowed him; the -beautiful and gentle face and the appealing glance of the soft eyes -irritated the sickly fancies of the monarch and he never noticed or -addressed Cinq-Mars when he could avoid it. Cinq-Mars hated Saint -Germain, and, truth to tell, even to an older and graver person, the -lugubrious château would have seemed a prison. Sick at heart, weak -in mind, tortured by fleshly ills, Louis XIII., sinking deeper into -insignificance as the resplendent star of his Prime Minister rose, was -but sorry company for any one. - -Richelieu was the real ruler of France. Ranke, who used his relations -with ambassadors as a means for increasing his store of personal and -political data, said: - - Dating our observations from the year 1629, we see a crowd of - soldiers and other attentive people thronging Richelieu's house and - even standing in the doors of his apartments. When he passes in his - litter he is saluted respectfully; one kneels, another presents - a petition, a third tries to kiss his vestments; all are happy - who succeed in obtaining a glance from him. It is as if all the - business of the country were already in his hands; he has assumed - the highest responsibilities ever borne by a subject.... - -As time went on his success augmented his power. He lived in absolute -seclusion at Rueil. He was difficult of approach, and if an ambassador -succeeded in gaining admission to his presence it was because he had -been able to prove that he had something to communicate to Richelieu -which it was of essential interest to the State, or to the Cardinal -personally, to know. All the national business was in his hands. He was -the centre of all State interests, the King frequently attended his -councils. If Richelieu visited the King he was surrounded by a guard; -he hired his guard himself, selecting his men with great care and -paying them out of his own pocket, so that he might feel that he was -safe from his enemies even in the King's presence. - -The officers of his personal service were numerous, young and very -exalted nobles. His stables were in keeping with his importance; and -his house was more magnificent and his table better served than the -King's. When in Paris he lived in the Palais Cardinal (now the Palais -Royal) surrounded by princely objects, all treasures in themselves; his -train was the train of an emperor. The Louvre, the King's residence, -was a simple palace, but the Cardinal's palace, called in Court -language the "Hôtel de Richelieu," was the symbol of the luxury and -the art of France, toward which the eyes of the people of France and -of all other lands were turned. In the Hôtel de Richelieu there were -cabinets where the high officials sat in secret discussion, boudoirs -for the fair ladies, ball-rooms, treasure galleries where works of -art were lavishly displayed, a chapel, and two theatres. The basis of -the Cardinal's library was the public library of Rochelle, which had -been seized after the siege. The chapel was one of the chief sights of -Paris. Everything used in the ceremonial of worship was of solid gold, -ornamented with great diamonds. Among the precious objects in use were -two church chandeliers,[80] all of massive gold, enamelled and enriched -with two thousand five hundred and sixteen diamonds. The vases used in -the service of the Mass were of fine, richly enamelled gold, and in -them were set two hundred and sixty-two diamonds. The cross, which was -between twenty and twenty-one inches high, bore a figure of Christ of -massive gold and the crown of thorns and the loin-cloth were studded -with diamonds. - -[Illustration: THE HOTEL DE RICHELIEU IN THE 17TH CENTURY - -FROM A CONTEMPORARY PRINT] - -The Book of Prayer used by the Cardinal was bound in fine morocco -leather; each side of the cover was enwreathed with sprigs of gold. On -one side of the cover was a golden medallion, on which the Cardinal was -depicted, like an emperor, holding the globe of the world in his hand; -from the four corners of the cover angels were descending to crown -his head with flowers. Beneath the device ran the Latin inscription, -"_Cadat_." The ceiling of the grand gallery of the palace (destroyed -under Louis XIV.) bore one of Philip de Champagne's masterpieces--a -picture representing the glorious exploits of the Cardinal. One of the -picture galleries called the "Gallery of Illustrious Men" contained -twenty-five full-length portraits of the great men of France, chosen -according to the Cardinal's estimate of greatness. At the foot of -each portrait was a little "key," or historical representation of -the principal acts of the original of the portrait, arranged as Fra -Angelico and Giotto arranged the portraits of Saint Dominick and Saint -François d'Assisi. Richelieu, who was not afflicted with false modesty, -had placed his own portrait among the portraits in his gallery of -the great men of France. Although he had amassed so many monuments -of pride, he had passed a large portion of his life in relative -poverty. He had travelled from the humble Episcopate to the steps of -the throne of France on an income of 25,000 livres. When he died his -income was nearly three millions of livres per annum,--the civil list -of a powerful monarch. He was not an expert hoarder of riches, like -Mazarin; he scattered money with full hands, while his master, the -King, netted game-bags in a corner, cooked, or did other useful work, -or gave himself up to his frugal pleasures. - -According to Mme. de Motteville: - - The King found himself reduced to the most miserable of earthly - lives, without a suite, without a Court, without power, and - consequently without pleasure and without honour. Thus a part of - his life passed at Saint Germain, where he lived like a private - individual; and while his enemies captured cities and won battles, - he amused himself by catching birds. That Prince was unhappy in all - manners, for he had not even the comfort of domestic life; he did - not love the Queen at all.... He was jealous of the grandeur of - his Minister ... whom he began to hate as soon as he perceived the - extreme authority which the Cardinal wielded in the kingdom ... and - as he was no happier without him than he was with him, he could not - be happy at all. - -Cinq-Mars entered the King's service under the auspices of the -Cardinal. When the King saw the new face in his apartment he retired -into his darkest humour. - -Cinq-Mars was very patient; he was attentive and modest, but the sound -of his voice and the sight of his face irritated the sickly monarch. -Days passed before the King addressed his new Master of the Robes. -One day he caught the long appealing look of the gentle eyes; he -answered it with a stare,--frowned, and looked again. That night he -could not sleep; he longed for the morning. When Cinq-Mars entered the -bed-chamber the King drew him to his side "and suddenly he loved him -violently and fatally, as in former times he loved young Baradas." - - * * * * * - -The courtiers were accustomed to the King's fancies, but his passion -for Cinq-Mars astonished them; it surpassed all that had preceded it. - -It was an appalling and jealous love; exacting, suspicious, bitter, -stormy, and fruitful in tears and quarrels. Louis XIII. overwhelmed his -favourite with tokens of his tenderness; had it been possible he would -have chained the boy to his side. When Cinq-Mars was away from him he -was miserable. - -Cinq-Mars was obliged to assist him in his new trade (he was -learning to be a carpenter), to stand at the bench holding tools and -taking measurements; and to listen to long harangues on dogs and on -bird-training. The King and his new favourite were seen together -constantly, driving the foxes to their holes and running in the snowy -fields catching blackbirds in the King's sweep-net; they hunted with a -dozen sportsmen who were said to be "low people and very bad company." - -When they returned to the palace the King supped; when he had -finished his supper he went to bed, and then Cinq-Mars, "fatigued to -exasperation by the puerile duties of the day, cared for nothing but -to escape from his gloomy prison, and to forget the long, yellow face -and the interminable torrent of hunting stories." Stealing from the -château, he mounted his horse and hurried to Paris. He passed the -night as he pleased and returned to the château early in the morning, -worn out, haggard, and with nerves unstrung. Although he left the -château after the King retired to his bed, and returned from Paris -early in the morning, before the King awoke, Louis XIII. knew where he -had been and what he had been doing. Louis employed spies who watched -and listened. He was particularly jealous of Cinq-Mars's young friends; -he "made scenes" and reproached Cinq-Mars and the tormented boy -answered him hotly; then with cries, weeping bitterly, they quarrelled, -and the King went to Richelieu to complain of "M. le Grand." Richelieu -was State Confidant, and to him the King entrusted the reconciliations. -In 1639 (27th November) Louis wrote to the Cardinal: - - You will see by the certificate that I send you, in what condition - is the reconciliation that you effected yesterday. When you put - your hand to an affair it cannot but go well. I give you good-day. - -The certificate read as follows: - - We, the undersigned, certify to all to whom these presents may - come, that we are very glad and well-satisfied with one another, - and that we have never been in such perfect unison as at present. - In faith of which we have signed the present certificate. - - (signed) LOUIS; and by my order: - - (signed) EFFIAT DE CINQ-MARS. - -The laboured reconciliations were not durable; the months which -followed the signing of the certificate were one long tempest. The -objects of the King's bitterest jealousy were young men who formed -a society called _Les messieurs du Marais_ because they met every -evening at Mme. de Rohan's in the Palais Royal (the King then lived at -the Louvre). Louis could not be silent; he exposed his spite on all -occasions. January 5, 1640, he wrote to the Cardinal: - - I am sorry to have to tell you again of the ill-humour of M. le - Grand. On his return from Rueil he gave me the packet which you - sent to me. I opened it and read it. Then I said to him: - - "Monsieur, the Cardinal informs me that you have manifested great - desire to please me in all things; nevertheless you evince no wish - to please me in regard to that which I begged the Cardinal to speak - of: namely, your laziness." He answered that you did speak to him - of it, but that he could not change his character, and that in that - respect he should not do any better than he had been in the habit - of doing. That discourse angered me. I said to him that a man of - his condition ought to take some steps toward rendering himself - worthy to command armies (since he had told me that it was his - intention to lead armies). I told him that laziness was contrary - to military action. He answered me brusquely that he had never had - such an intention and that he had never pretended to have it. I - answered, "_Que si! You have!_" I did not wish to go any deeper - into the discourse (you know well what I mean). I then took up the - discourse on laziness. I told him that vice renders a man incapable - of doing anything good, and that he is good for nothing but the - society of the people of the Marais where he was nourished,--people - who have given themselves up to pleasure! I told him that if he - wishes to continue the life that he is now living among his old - friends, he may return to the place whence he came. He answered - arrogantly that he should be quite ready to do so! - - I answered him: "If I were not wiser than you I know what I should - answer to that!" ... After that I said to him that he ought not - to speak to me in such fashion. He answered after the manner of - his usual discourse that at present his only duty appeared to be - to do good to me and to be agreeable to me and that as to such - business he could get along very well without it! He said that he - would as willingly be Cinq-Mars as to be M. le Grand; and that as - to changing his ways and his manner of life, he could not do it! - ... And so it went! he pecking at me and I pecking at him until we - reached the courtyard; when I said to him that as he was in such - a humour he would do me pleasure if he would refrain from showing - himself before me any more. He bore witness that he would do that - same right willingly! I have not seen him since then. - - Precisely as I have told you all that passed, in the presence of - Gordes. - - LOUIS. - - Post-Scriptum: - - I have shown Gordes this memorandum before sending it, and he has - told me that there is nothing in it but the truth, exactly as he - heard it and saw it pass. - -Cinq-Mars sulked and the King sulked, and as the quarrel promised to -endure indefinitely, Richelieu bestirred himself, left his quiet home -in Rueil and travelled to the house of the King to make peace between -the ill-assorted pair. - -[Illustration: A GAME OF CHANCE IN THE 17TH CENTURY - -FROM AN ENGRAVING BY SÉBASTIEN LECLERC] - -Peace restored, Louis became joyful; he could not refuse his favourite -anything. Cinq-Mars made the most of his opportunity. But he could not -go far; the Cardinal barred his way. Cinq-Mars aspired to the peerage; -he aimed to be a duke, to marry a princess, and to sit among the -King's counsellors. Richelieu checked him, gave him rude orders, -scolded him as he scolded his valet, called him an "insolent little -fellow," and threatened to put him in a place "still lower" than the -place from which he had raised him.[81] One day, when Richelieu was -berating the favourite, he told him that he had appointed him to his -office in the King's house so that he (Richelieu) might have a reliable -spy, and that as he had been appointed for no other purpose, it would -be advisable for him to begin to do the work that he was expected to do. - -The revelation was a cruel blow to the proud and sensitive boy, and in -the first moment of his anguish he conceived a ferocious hatred. It is -probable that the knowledge that the Cardinal had placed him near the -King's person against his will and in spite of his long and determined -resistance solely to the end that he might be degraded to an ignoble -office was the first cause of the Cinq-Mars conspiracy. - -De Richelieu's ministry had never appeared more impregnable than it -appeared at that time. Far and near its policy had been triumphant. -Speaking of the position France had taken in Europe through the -guidance of Richelieu, an impartial foreigner said: - - What a difference between the French Government as it was when - Richelieu received it from the kingdom and the state to which his - efforts raised it! Before his day the Spaniards were in progress - on all the frontiers; no longer advancing by impetuous attacks, - but entering calmly and steadily by systematic invasion. Richelieu - changed all that, and, led by him, France forced the Spaniards - beyond the frontier. - -Until the Cardinal assumed command the united forces of the Empire, the -Catholic League and the Spanish armies, held not only the left bank -of the Rhine but all the land divided by that great central artery of -European life. By Richelieu's wise policy France regained dominion in -Alsace and in the greater part of the Rhenish country, the armies of -France took possession of central Germany, the Italian passes, which -had been closed to the men of France, were opened to them, and large -territories in upper Italy were seized and placed under French control; -and the changes were wrought, not by a temporary invasion, but by -orderly and skilfully planned campaigns. - - * * * * * - -The Cardinal's power had been made manifest everywhere. His rule had -been to the glory of France. Among other important results were the -triumphs of the French navies; the fleets, having proved their strength -in the Ligurian Sea, had menaced the ports of Spain. The Ligurian -Peninsula had been rent asunder by the revolt of two large provinces, -one of which had arisen proclaiming its independent rights as a -kingdom. There was, there had been, no end to Richelieu's diplomatic -improvements; his victories had carried ruin to the enemy; the -skirmishers of France had advanced to a point within two leagues of -Madrid. The Croquemitaine of France, who held in terror both the Court -and the canaille, had assured the Bourbons of an important place among -the empires of the world. The day of Spain was past; the day of France -was come. - -[Illustration: MARQUIS DE CINQ MARS] - -A great fête marked this period of power and glory. - -Richelieu was a man of many ambitions, and he aspired to the admiration -of all of the population; he had extended his protecting arms over -literature and the lettered; he had founded the French Academy; but -he was not content; he was a man of too much independence and of too -enterprising a mind to leave all the literary honours to the doctors of -the law or to his mediums, Corneille and Rotrou, whose lines of work -he fixed to follow a plan outlined to suit his own ideas. Usually, -Richelieu's intellectual ambitions were quiescent, but at times the -pedant, dormant in his hard nature, awoke and impelled him to add -a few personal touches to the work of his agents. When under the -influence of his afflatus he collaborated with Desmarets, the author -of a dramatic poem entitled _Clovis_, and by the united efforts of -the unique literary team the tragedy _Mirame_ was delivered to the -world. Its first appearance was a Parisian event. None of the King's -armies had been mounted with such solicitude and prodigality, The -grand audience-room of the Palais Cardinal was built for _Mirame_; -it was spaced to hold three thousand spectators; the stage material -had been ordered from Italy by "Sieur Mazarini," ex-Papal Nuncio at -Paris. Richelieu himself had chosen the costumes and the decorations; -and he in person directed the rehearsals, and, as he supposed, -superintended the listing of all the invitations. The play was ready -for representation early in the year (1641). - -First of all there was a general rehearsal for the critics, who were -represented by the men of letters and the comedians. The rehearsal took -place before the Court and the social world of all Paris. The invited -guests were seated by the Bishop of Chartres and by a president of the -Parliament of France. Though too new and too fresh in its magnificence, -the Audience Hall pleased the people exceedingly; when the curtain rose -they could hardly repress cries of admiration. The stage was lined on -both sides by splendid palaces and in the open space between the abodes -of luxury were most delicious gardens adorned with grottoes, statues, -fountains, and grand parterres of flowers descending terrace upon -terrace to the sea, which lifted its waves with an agitation as natural -as the movements of the real tide of a real ocean; on the broad waters -passed two great fleets; one of them appeared as if two leagues away. -Both fleets moved calmly on, passing like living things before the -spectators. - -The same decorations and scenery served the five acts of the play; but -the sky was changed in each act, when the light faded, when the sun set -or rose, and when the moon and the stars appeared to mark the flight -of the hours. The play was composed according to the accepted formulas -of the day, and it was neither better nor worse than its fellows. In -its course the actors fought, poisoned each other, died, came to life, -and quarrelled over a handsome princess; and while the scene-shifters -manipulated the somewhat crude inventions of the stage scenery, and -while the actors did their utmost to develop the plot to the best -advantage, the master of the palace acted as chief of the _Claque_ -and tried by every means in his power to arouse the enthusiasm of the -audience. He stood in the front of his box and, leaning forward into -space, manifested his pleasure by his looks; at times he called the -attention of the people and imposed silence so that the finer passages -might be heard.[82] - -At the end of the play a curtain representing clouds fell upon the -scene, and a golden bridge rolled like a tide to the feet of Anne of -Austria. The Queen arose, crossed the bridge, and found herself in a -magnificent ball-room; then, with the Prince and the Princess, she -danced an impetuously ardent and swinging figure, and when that dance -was over, the Bishop of Chartres, in Court dress, and baton in hand, -like a _maître d'hôtel_, led the way to a fine collation. Later in the -year the serviceable Bishop was made Archbishop of Rheims. - -Politics interfered with _Mirame_. The play was assailed by -difficulties similar to those which met Napoleon's _Vie de César_ under -the Second Empire. The Opposition eagerly seized the occasion to annoy -"Croquemitaine"; open protestations were circulated to the effect that -the play was not worth playing. Some, rising above the question of -literary merit, said that the piece was morally objectionable because -it contained allusions to Anne of Austria's episode with Buckingham. -Richelieu became the scapegoat of the hour; even the King had something -to say regarding his Minister's literary venture. Louis was not gifted -with critical discrimination; he knew it, and his timid pride and his -prudence restrained him from launching into observations upon subjects -with which he was not fitted to cope; but guided by the cherub detailed -to protect the mentally incompetent, he struck with instinctive -subtlety at the one vulnerable point in the Cardinal's armour and -declared that he had nothing to say regarding the preciosity of the -play, but that he had been "shocked by the questionable composition -of the audience." It relieved the King's consciousness of his own -inferiority to "pinch the Cardinal." He told Monsieur that he had -been "shocked" when he realised "what species of society" he had been -invited to meet. Monsieur, seizing the occasion to strike his enemy, -answered that, to speak "frankly," he also had "been shocked" when he -perceived "little Saint Amour among the Cardinal's guests." The royal -brothers turned the subject in every light, and the more they studied -it the darker grew its aspect. They agreed in thinking that the King's -delicacy had been grossly outraged; they worked upon the fact until -it assumed the proportions of a personal insult. Richelieu, visited -by the indignant pair, was galvanised by the double current of their -wrath. He knew that Saint Amour had not been in any earthly locality by -his will; tact, if not religious prejudice, would have forbidden the -admission of a personage of the doubtful savour of Saint Amour to the -presence of the King. But Monsieur and the King had seen with their -own eyes, and as no one would have dared to enter the Palais Cardinal -uninvited, it was an undisputable fact that some one had tampered with -the invitations. Richelieu's detectives were put upon the scent and -they discovered that an Abbé who "could not refuse a woman anything" -had been entrusted with the invitations-list. - -Richelieu could not punish the amiable lady who had unconsciously -sealed the Abbé's doom; but justice was wrought, and absolute ignorance -of facts permits us to hope that it fell short of the justice meted -out to Puylaurens. It was said that the Abbé had been sent back to his -village. Wherever he was "sent," Louis XIII. refused to be comforted, -and to the end of his days he told the people who surrounded him that -the Cardinal had invited him to his palace to meet Saint Amour. - -Richelieu's life was embittered by the incident, and to the last he was -tormented by a confused impression of the fête which he had believed -was to be the coming glory of his career. But an isolated detail could -not alter facts, and it was universally known that his importance was -"of all the colours." _Mirame_ had given the people an idea of the -versatility of Richelieu's grandeur and of the composite quality of his -power, and M. le Grand knew what he might expect should he anger the -Cardinal. Cinq-Mars was always at the King's heels, and he knew the -extent of Louis's docility. - -The Cinq-Mars Conspiracy took shape in the months which immediately -followed the presentation of _Mirame_. As the details of the conspiracy -may be found in any history, I shall say only this: When an enterprise -is based upon sentiments like the King's passion for his Grand -Equerry[83] and the general hatred of Richelieu, it is not necessary to -search for reasonable causes. - -When the first steps in the conspiracy were taken Louis XIII., in -his tenderness for Cinq-Mars and his bitter jealousy of Richelieu, -unconsciously played the part of instigator. - -It soothed the wounded pride of the monarch to hear his tyrant -ridiculed, and he incited his "dear friend," the Marquis d'Effiat, -to scoff at the Cardinal. Cinq-Mars and all the others were taken -red-handed; doubt was impossible. In the words of Mme. de Motteville: -"It was one of the most formidable, and at the same time one of the -most extraordinary plots found in history; for the King was, tacitly, -the chief of the conspirators." Monsieur enthusiastically entered into -the plot; he ran to the Queen with the whole story; he told her the -names of the conspirators, and urged her to take part in the movement. - -"It must be innocent," he insisted; "if it were not the King would not -be engaged in it."[84] - -Richelieu's peaceful days were over. He was restless and suspicious. -Suddenly, in June, 1642, when Louis XIII. was sick in Narbonne (and -when Richelieu was sick in Tarascon) M. le Grand was arrested and -delivered to the Cardinal for the crime of high treason. He deserved -his fate. He had led Monsieur to treat with Spain; but the real cause -of his death--if not of his disgrace--lay in the fact that he had lost -his hold upon the King's love. - -"The King had ceased to love him," said a contemporary. The end came -suddenly and without a note of warning. The King, awaking as from a -dream, remembered all the services that Richelieu had rendered unto -France. He was so grateful that he hastened to Tarascon and begged -Richelieu's pardon for having wished "to lose him," in other words, for -having wished to accomplish his fall. The King was ashamed, and despite -his sickness he ordered his bearers to carry him into Richelieu's -bed-chamber where the two gentlemen passed several hours together, -each in his own bed, effecting a reconciliation. - -But their hearts were not in their words; wrongs like those in question -between the Cardinal and the King cannot be forgotten.[85] The King had -abetted a conspiracy against the Cardinal's life, and had the Cardinal -been inclined to forget it, the King's weak self-reproach would have -kept it in the mind of his contemplated victim. Louis could not refrain -from harking back to his sin; he humiliated himself, he begged the -Cardinal to forgive him; he gave up everything, including the amiable -young criminal who, in Scriptural language, had lain in his bosom and -been to him as a daughter. The judgment of the moralist is disarmed by -the fact that Louis was, and always had been, a physical wreck, morally -handicapped by the essence of his being. He had loved Cinq-Mars with -unreasoning passion; he was forced by circumstances to sacrifice him; -but we need not pity him; there was much of the monster in him, and -before the head of Cinq-Mars fell, all the King's love for his victim -had passed away. - -Louis XIII. was of all the sovereigns of France the one most notably -devoted to the public interest; in crises his self-sacrifice resembled -the heroism of the martyr; but the defects of his qualities were of -such a character that he would have been incomprehensible had he not -been sick in body and in mind. - -During the crisis which followed the exposure of Cinq-Mars's conspiracy -Monsieur surpassed himself; he was alternately trembler, liar, -sniveller, and informer; his behaviour was so abject that the echoes -of his shame reverberated throughout France and, penetrating the walls -of the Tuileries, reached the ears of his daughter. Monsieur shocked -Mademoiselle's theological conception of Princes of the Blood; she -could not understand how a creature partaking of the nature of the -Deity could be so essentially contemptible; she was crushed by the -enigma presented by her father. - -The close of the reign resembled the dramatic tragedies in which the -chief characters die in the fifth act; all the principal personages -departed this life within a period of a few months. Marie de Médicis -was the first to go. She died at Cologne 3d July, 1642, not, as was -reported, in a garret, or in a hovel, but in a house in which Rubens -had lived. If we may judge by the names of her legatees, she died -surrounded by at least eighty servants. It is true that she owed debts -to the tradesmen who furnished her household with the necessaries of -life, and it is true that her people had advanced money when their -living expenses required such advances; but the two facts prove no -more than that royal households in which there is no order closely -resemble the disorderly households of the ordinary classes. People of -respectability in our own midst are now living regardless of system, -devoid of economy, and indebted to their tradesmen, as the household -of Marie de Médicis lived in the seventeenth century. To the day of -her death the aged Queen retained possession of silver dishes of all -kinds, and had her situation justified the rumours of extreme poverty -which have been circulated since then she would have pawned them or -sold them. We may be permitted to trust that Marie de Médicis did -not end her days tormented by material necessities. She died just -at the time when she had begun to resort to expedients. The old and -corpulent sovereign had lived an agitated life; her chief foes were -of her own temperament. She was the victim of paroxysmal wrath and -it was generally known that she had made at least one determined -though unfruitful attempt to whip her husband, the heroic Henry IV., -Conqueror of Paris. Her life had not been of a character to inspire -the love of the French people, and when she died no one regretted -her. Had not the Court been forced by the prevailing etiquette to -assume mourning according to the barbarous and complicated rites of -the ancient monarchy, her death would have passed unperceived. The -customs of the old regimen obliged Mademoiselle to remain in a darkened -room, surrounded by such draperies as were considered essential to the -manifestation of royal grief. The world mourned for the handsome boy -who had been forced to enter the King's house, and to act as the King's -favourite against his will, to die upon the scaffold. Monsieur was -despised for his part in Cinq-Mars's death. Mademoiselle was shunned -because she was her father's daughter and her obligatory mourning -was a convenient veil. Her own record of the death of the Queen is a -frankly sorrowful statement of her appreciation of the facts in the -case, and of her knowledge of her father's guilt: - - I observed the retreat which my mourning imposed upon me with all - possible regularity and rigour. If any one had come to see me it - would not have been difficult for me to refuse to receive them; - however, my case was the case of all who are undergoing misfortune; - no one called for me. - -Three months after the conspiracy against de Richelieu was exposed, -Cinq-Mars was beheaded (12th September), and the Lyonnais, who had -assembled in the golden mists of the season of the vintage to see him -die, cried out against his death and said that it was "a sin against -the earth to take the light from his gentle eyes." De Thou, Cinq-Mars's -friend, was beheaded also. The victims faced death like tried soldiers; -their attitude as they halted upon the confines of eternity elicited -the commendation of the people. The fact that the people called their -manner of leaving the world "beautiful and admirable" proves that -simplicity in man's conduct, as in literature and in horticultural -architecture, was out of date. - -When the condemned were passing out of the tribunal they met the judges -who had but just pronounced their sentence. Both Cinq-Mars and de Thou -"embraced the judges and offered them fine compliments." - -The people of Lyons--civilians and soldiers--were massed around the -Court House and in the neighbourhood. Cinq-Mars and de Thou bowed low -to them all, then mounted into the tumbrel, with faces illumined by -spiritual exaltation. In the tumbrel they joyfully embraced and crying -"_Au revoir_," promised to meet in Paradise. They saluted the multitude -like conquerors. De Thou clapped his hands when he saw the scaffold; -Cinq-Mars ascended first; he turned, took one step forward, and stopped -short; his eyes rested fondly upon the people; then with a bright smile -he saluted them; after they covered his head he stood for an instant -poised as if to spring from earth to heaven, one foot advanced, his -hand upon his side. His wide, pathetic glance embraced the multitude, -then calmly and without fear, again firmly pacing the scaffold, he went -forward to the block. - -At the present time it is the fashion to die with less ostentation, -but revolutions in taste ought not to prevent our doing justice to the -victims of the Cinq-Mars Conspiracy. They were heroically brave to the -last, and the people could not forget them. Mademoiselle's grief was -fostered by the general sympathy for the unfortunate boy who had paid -so dearly for his familiarity with the King. As all her feelings were -recorded by her own hand, we are in possession of her opinions on the -subjects which were of interest in her day. Of the matter of Cinq-Mars -and de Thou she said: - - I regretted it deeply, because of my consideration for them, and - because, unfortunately, Monsieur was involved in the affair through - which they perished. He was so involved that it was even believed - that the single deposition made by him was the thing which weighed - most heavily upon them and caused their death. The memory of it - renews my grief so that I cannot say any more. - -Mademoiselle was artless enough to believe that her father would be -sorrowful and embarrassed when he returned. - -She did not know him. - -In the winter after Cinq-Mars died, Gaston returned to the Luxembourg -radiant with roguish smiles; he was delighted to be in Paris. - - He came to my house, [reported Mademoiselle,] he supped at my - house, where there were twenty-four violins. He was as gay as if - Messieurs Cinq-Mars and de Thou had not been left by the roadside. - I avow that I could not see him without thinking of them, and that - through all my joy of seeing him again I felt that his joy gave me - grief. - -Not long after she thus recorded her impressions she found, to her -cost, how little reliance she could place upon her father, and all her -filial illusions vanished. - -Richelieu was the next to disappear from the scene. He had long been -sick; his body was paralysed and putrid with abscesses and with -ulcers. Master and Man, Richelieu and Louis were intently watching to -see which should be the first to die. Each one of them was forming -projects for a time when, freed from the arbitration of the other, he -should be in a position to act his independent will and to turn the -remnant of his fleeting life to pleasurable profit. In that, his final -state, the Cardinal offered the people of France a last and supreme -spectacle, and of all the dramas that he had shown them, it was the -most original and the most impressive. The day after the execution -of Cinq-Mars, Richelieu, who had remained to the last hour in Lyons, -entered his portable room and set out for Paris. His journey covered -a period of six weeks, and the people who ran to the highway from -all directions to see him pass were well regaled. In those last days -when the Cardinal travelled he was carried in procession. First of -all were heavy wains hauling the material of an inclined plane; at a -short distance behind the wains followed a small army corps escorting -the Cardinal's travelling room; the room was always transported by -twenty-four men of the Cardinal's body-guard, who marched through sun -and rain with heads uncovered. In the portable room were three pieces -of furniture, a chair, a table, and a splendid bed--and on the bed lay -a sick man!--better still for the sightseers, a sick Cardinal! The -crowds pressed close to the roadside. They who were masters of the art -of death looked on disease with curiosity; they knew that they could -lop off the heads of the fine lords whose grandeur embittered the lives -of the peasants and the workmen as easily as they could beat down nuts -from trees; yet there lay the real King of France in his doll's house, -and he could neither live nor die,--that was droll! - - * * * * * - -The chair in the little room stood ready for the visitors who paid -their respects to the sick man when the travellers halted. - -The table was carried for the convenience of the secretary, who wrote -upon it, sorted his papers, dusted his ink with scented gold-powder, -and pasted great wafers over the silken floss and the English ribands -which tied his private correspondence. - -Richelieu, as he travelled, dictated army orders and diplomatic -despatches. When the little procession arrived at a halting-place, -everything was ready for its reception; the house in which the Cardinal -was to lodge had been prepared, the entire floor to be occupied by him -had been gutted so that no inner partitions could interfere with his -progress. The wains stopped, the inclined plane was set in position -against the side of the house, and the heavy machine bearing the -sick-room was rolled slowly into the breach and engulfed without a -tremor. - -When it was possible the room was drawn aboard a boat and the Cardinal -was transported by water; in that case when he reached home he was -disembarked opposite his palace near the Port au Foin, and borne -through the crowd of people, who struggled and crushed each other so -that they might know how a Cardinal-Minister looked, lying in his bed -and entering Paris, dying, yet triumphant, after he had vanquished all -his enemies. - -Richelieu saw all that passed; his perceptions were as keen and his -judgment was as just as in the days of his vigorous manhood. Entering -Paris in his bed on his return from Lyons, he saw among the prostrate -courtiers of his own party a man who had been compromised by the -conspiracy, and then and there he summoned him from his knees and -ordered him to present himself at the palace and give an account of -his actions. Richelieu's word was law; no one questioned it. The weeks -which followed the return from Lyons were tedious. After the exposure -of the conspiracy the Cardinal suspected every one, the King included. -His tired eyes searched the corners of the King's bed-chamber for -assassins. He strove to force the King to dismiss some of the officers -of his guard, but at that Louis revolted. - -After violent discussions and long recriminative dialogues the Cardinal -resorted to heroic means. He shut himself up in his palace, refused -to receive the King's ambassadors, and threatened to send in his -resignation. Then the King yielded, and peace was made. - -The two moribunds were together when the precautions for the national -safety were taken against Gaston d'Orléans. In his declaration Louis -told the deputies that he had forgiven his brother five separate and -distinct times, and that he should forgive him once more and once -only. The declaration made it plain that the King was firm in his -determination to protect himself against his brother. Gaston was to be -stripped of all power and to be deprived of the government of Auvergne; -his gendarmerie and his light cavalry were to be suppressed. The King -made the declaration to Mathieu Molé, December 1, 1642. That same day -the Cardinal passed a desperate crisis, and it was known that he must -die. - -He prepared for death with the firmness befitting a man of his calibre. -When his confessor asked him if he had forgiven his enemies, he -answered that he had "no enemies save the enemies of the state."[86] -There was some truth in the answer, and in that truth lay his title -to glory. At home or abroad, in France or in foreign lands, Richelieu -received the first force of every blow aimed at France. He was the -Obstacle, and all hostility used him as a mark. He was the shield -as well as the sword of the State. His policy was governed by two -immutable ideas: 1. His own will by the will of the King; 2. France. -His object was to subject all individual wills to the supreme royal -will, and to develop French influence throughout Europe. We have -seen the position which France had taken under his direction; he -had accomplished work fully as important in the State. "The idea of -monarchical power was akin to a religious dogma," said Ranke, "and he -who rejected the idea expected to be pursued with the same rigour, and -with nearly the same formalities, with which national justice pursued -the heretic. The time for an absolute monarchy was ripe. Louis XIV. -might come; he would find his bed ready. - -Richelieu gave up the ghost December 4, 1642. The news was immediately -carried to the King, who received it with the comment, "A great -politician is dead." - -In France the feeling of relief was general. No one doubted that the -Cardinal's death would change everything. The exiles expected to be -recalled; the prisoners expected to be set free; the Opposition looked -forward to taking the reins of State, and the great, who in spite of -their greatness were probably more or less badly fed, dreamed of an -Abbey of Thélème. The mass of Frenchmen loved change for the sake of -novelty. - -The Parisians had hoped for the spectacle of a fine funeral, and they -were not disappointed. Richelieu's body lay in state in its Cardinal's -robes, and so many people visited him that the procession consumed -one whole day and night passing his bier. The parade lasted nearly a -week. The burial took place the thirteenth day of December. It was a -public triumph. The funeral car, drawn by six horses, was considered -remarkable. But the changes hoped for did not arrive. La Grande -Mademoiselle was the first to recognise the fact that Louis XIII. had -given the kingdom false hopes. It had been supposed that the Cardinal's -demise would give the King power to make the people happy. The Cardinal -was dead, and there had been no change. Despite all that Gaston had -done, Mademoiselle loved him; she could not separate him from her idea -of the glory of her house. She noted in her memoirs the visit made to -the Louvre in his behalf: - - As soon as I knew that Richelieu was dead I went to the King to beg - him to show some kindness to Monsieur. I thought that I had taken - a very favourable occasion for moving him to pity, but he refused - to do what I asked him, and the next day he went to the palace to - register the declaration against Monsieur (as the subject of it is - known I need not mention it or explain it here). When he entered - Parliament I wished to throw myself at his feet; I wished to beg of - him not to go to that extremity against Monsieur; but some one had - warned him of my intention and he sent word to me forbidding me to - appear. Nothing could make him swerve from his injurious designs. - -The 4th December, after Mademoiselle made her unsuccessful visit, Louis -XIII. summoned Mazarin to finish the work that Richelieu had begun. - -The 5th December Louis sent out a circular letter announcing the death -of Richelieu; he cut short the rumours of a political crisis by stating -that he was resolved to maintain all the establishments by him decreed -in Council with the late Prime Minister, and he further stated that to -advance the foreign affairs of France and also to advance the internal -interests of the State,--as he had always advanced them,--he should -maintain the existent national policy. - -The riches amassed by the Cardinal passed into the hands of his heirs, -and the King supplemented the legacies by the distribution of a few -official appointments. Richelieu was gone from earth, but his spirit -still governed France. "All the Cardinal's evils are right here!" cried -Mademoiselle; "when he went, they remained." - -Montglat said that they "found it difficult to announce the Cardinal's -death. No one was willing to take the first step. They spoke in -whispers. It was as if they were afraid that his soul would come back -to punish them for saying that he could die." It was said that "even -the King had so respected the Cardinal when he was alive, that he -feared him when he was dead." - -Under such conditions it was difficult to make a change of any kind; -nevertheless, after weeks had passed--when the King had accustomed -himself to independent action--a few changes came about gradually and -stealthily, one by one. - -The thirteenth day of January, 1643, Monsieur was given permission -to call at Saint Germain and pay his respects to the King. The 19th, -Bassompierre and two other lords emerged from the Bastille. - -In February the Vendômes returned from exile. Old Mme. de Guise also -took the road to Paris, and when she arrived her granddaughter, La -Grande Mademoiselle, received her with open arms, and gave her a ball -and a comedy, and collations composed of confitures, and fruits trimmed -with English ribands; and when the ball was over and the guests were -departing in the grey fog of early morning, old Madame and young -Mademoiselle laid their light heads upon the same pillow and dreamed -that Cardinals were always dying and exiles joyfully returning to their -own. - -As time went on the King's clemency increased and he issued pardons -freely. The reason was too plain to every one; the end was at hand. -Paris had acquired a taste for her kindly sovereign. Louis knew that -he was nearing the tideless sea,--he spoke constantly of his past; he -exhibited his skeleton limbs covered with great white scars to his -family and his familiar friends; he told the story of his wrongs. -He told how he had been brought to the state that he was in by his -"executioners of doctors" and by "the tyranny of the Cardinal." He said -that the Cardinal had never permitted him to do things as he had wished -to do them, and that he had compelled him to do things which had been -repugnant to him, so that at last _even he_ "whom Heaven had endowed -with all the endurances," had succumbed under the load that had been -heaped upon him. His friends listened and were silent. - -To the last Louis XIII. was faithful to the sacraments and to France. -He performed all his secular duties. When he lay upon his death-bed he -summoned his deputies so that they might hear him read the declaration -bestowing the title of Regent upon Anne of Austria and delivering the -actual power of the Crown into the hands of a prospective Council duly -nominated. - -Louis XIII. had put his house in order: he had nothing more to do on -earth. His sickness was long and tedious, and attended by all that -makes death desirable; by cruel pains, by distressful nausea, and by -all the torments of a death by inches. The unhappy man was long in -dying; now rallying, now sinking, with fluctuations which deranged the -intrigues of the Court and agitated Saint Germain. - -The King lay in the new château (the one built by his father); nothing -remains of it but the "Pavillon Henri IV". Anne of Austria lived with -the Court in the old château (the one familiar to all Parisians of the -present day). - -On "good days" the arrangement afforded the sufferer relative repose; -but on "bad days," when he approached a crisis, the etiquette of the -Court was torment. The courtiers hurried over to the new château to -witness the death-agony. They crowded the sick-room and whispered with -the celebrities who travelled daily from Paris to Saint Germain to -visit the dying King. In the courtyard of the château the travellers' -horses neighed and pawed the ground. Confused sounds and tormenting -light entered by the windows; the air of the room was stifling and -Louis begged his guests, in the name of mercy, to withdraw from his bed -and let him breathe. - -The crowds assembled in the courtyard hissed or applauded as the -politicians entered or drove away. On the highway before the château -the idle people stood waiting to receive the last sigh of the King, to -be in at the death, or to make merry at the expense of celebrated men. - -While the masters visited the dying King the coachmen, footmen, -on-hangers, and other tributaries sat upon the carriage boxes, declared -their politics, and issued their manifestos, and their voices rose -above the neighing of the horses and ascended to the sick-room. When -the tantalising periodically recurrent crises which kept the Court and -country on foot were past, the celebrities and men of Parliament, with -many of the courtiers, fled to Paris, where they forgot the sights and -the sounds of the sick-room in the perfumed air of the Parisian salons. - -Mademoiselle wrote of that time: "There never were as many balls as -there were that year; and I went to them all." - -The final crisis came the thirteenth day of May. Immediately after the -King gave up the ghost, the Queen and all the Court retired from the -death-chamber and made ready to depart from Saint Germain early in the -morning. The moving was like breaking camp. At daybreak long files of -baggage wagons laden with furniture and with luggage began to descend -the hill of Saint Germain, and soon afterward crowded chariots, drawn -by six horses, and groups of cavaliers, joined the lumbering wains. The -suppressed droning of many voices accompanied the procession. At eleven -o'clock silence fell upon the long, writhing line, and an army corps -surrounding the royal mourners passed, escorted by the Marshals of -France, dukes and peers, and the gentlemen of the Court,--all mounted. - -The last of the battalions filed by the van of the procession, and the -chariots and the wains moved on, mingling with the servitors and men of -all trades, who in that day followed in the train of all the great. - - * * * * * - -Saint Germain was vacant. The last errand boy vanished, the murmur of -the moving throng died in the distance; the shroud of silence wrapped -the new château, and the curtain fell upon the fifth act of the reign -of Louis XIII. There remained upon the stage only a corpse, light as a -plume, watched by a lieutenant and his guard. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 60: Mademoiselle was ten years old at that time.] - -[Footnote 61: The Palais-Royal of to-day.] - -[Footnote 62: _Alex. Hardy et le théâtre français_, Eugène Rigal.] - -[Footnote 63: Sorel, _La maison des jeux_. The book was published in -1642, but M. E. Rigal supposes that the disorders and the complaints -cited in it date from a previous epoch.] - -[Footnote 64: _La pratique du théâtre._] - -[Footnote 65: Certainly the desire was not lacking.--AUTHOR.] - -[Footnote 66: _Le théâtre au temps du Corneille_, Gustave Reynier. The -first representation of the _Cid_ took place either in December, 1636, -or in January, 1637.] - -[Footnote 67: See dedicatory letter accompanying a comedy played in -1632 and published in 1636. _Galanteries du duc d'Ossonne._ Mairet.] - -[Footnote 68: _Aminta_ was played in 1573, but it was not imprinted -until 1581, when it was first known outside of Italy.] - -[Footnote 69: _Pierre Corneille_, Petit de Julleville.] - -[Footnote 70: _Pierre Corneille_, Petit de Julleville.] - -[Footnote 71: Jules Lemaître.] - -[Footnote 72: _Manual de l'histoire de la littérature française._ F. -Brunetière.] - -[Footnote 73: _Corneille_, Lanson.] - -[Footnote 74: _Cyrano de Bergerac_, E. Rostand.] - -[Footnote 75: "There are agreeable things in _Bejazet_, but there is -nothing perfectly beautiful in it, nothing to carry you away in spite -of yourself, none of the tirades which make you shiver when you read -Corneille. My daughter, take good care not to compare Racine to him. -Distinguish the difference between them" (16th March, 1672).] - -[Footnote 76: Henriette, third daughter of Henry IV., was "accorded -with" or promised in betrothal to Comte de Soissons a few months after -her birth; the Comte was between five and six years old. Marie de -Médicis did not consider the infantile betrothal binding; when she saw -fit to marry her daughter she bestowed her hand upon Charles I., the -King of England (1625).] - -[Footnote 77: Ferdinand, third son of Philip III.] - -[Footnote 78: The Cardinal-Infant had been forced to leave his camp and -go to Brussels to recover his health. He died in Brussels soon after -his arrival, more beloved by the French people--so it was said--than -was becoming to a King of Spain. (See _l'Histoire de la France sous -Louis XIII_. A. Bazin.)] - -[Footnote 79: _Mémoires de Michel de Marolles_ (Abbé de Villeloin); _La -Conspiration Cinq-Mars_ (Mlle. J. P. Basserie).] - -[Footnote 80: Dulaure's _Histoire de Paris_.] - -[Footnote 81: _Mémoires_, Montglat.] - -[Footnote 82: Fontenelle's _Vie de Pierre Corneille_.] - -[Footnote 83: Cinq-Mars had been promoted to the position of Grand -Equerry.] - -[Footnote 84: Motteville.] - -[Footnote 85: Motteville.] - -[Footnote 86: Montglat.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - I. The Regency--The Romance of Anne of Austria and - Mazarin--Gaston's Second Wife.--II. Mademoiselle's New Marriage - Projects.--III. Mademoiselle Would Be a Carmelite Nun--The Catholic - Renaissance under Louis XIII. and the Regency.--IV. Women Enter - Politics. The Rivalry of the Two Junior Branches of the House of - France--Continuation of the Royal Romance. - - -I - -The day after the death of Louis XIII. Paris was in a tumult. The -people were on duty, awaiting their young King, Louis XIV., a boy less -than five years old. - -The country had been notified that the King would enter Paris by the -Chemin du Roule and the Faubourg Saint Honoré. Some of the people had -massed in the streets through which the procession was to pass; the -others were hurrying forward toward the bridge of Neuilly. "Never did -so many coaches and so many people come out of Paris," said Olivier -d'Ormesson, who, with his family, spent the day at a window in the -Faubourg Saint Honoré, watching to see who would follow and who would -not follow in the train of Anne of Austria. - -Ormesson and his friends were close observers, who drew conclusions -from the general behaviour; they believed that they could read the fate -of the country in the faces of the courtiers. France hoped that the -Queen would give the nation the change of government which had been -vainly looked for when Richelieu died. - -Anne of Austria was a determined, self-contained woman, an enigma to -the world. No one could read her thoughts, but the courtiers were sure -of one thing: she would have no prime minister. She had suffered too -deeply from the tyranny of Richelieu. She would keep her hands free! -There was enough in that thought to assure to the Queen the sympathy of -the people, and to arouse all the ambitious hopes of the nobility. - -The Parisian flood met the royal cortège at Nanterre and, turning, -accompanied it and hindered its progress. "From Nanterre to the gates -of the city the country was full of wains and chariots," wrote Mme. de -Motteville, "and nothing was heard but plaudits and benedictions." When -the royal mourners surrounded by the multitude entered the Chemin du -Roule the first official address was delivered by the Provost of the -Merchants. The Regent answered briefly that she should instruct her -son "in the benevolence which he ought to show to his subjects."[87] -The applause was deafening. The cortège advanced so slowly that it was -six o'clock in the evening when Anne of Austria ascended the staircase -of the Louvre, saying that she could endure no more, and that she must -defer the reception of condolences until the following day. - -Saturday, the 16th, was devoted to hearing addresses and to receiving -manifestations of reverence. The following Monday the Queen led her son -to Parliament, where, contrary to the intention expressed in the last -will and testament of Louis XIII., she, Anne of Austria, was declared -Regent "with full, entire, and absolute authority." - -The evening of that memorable day a radiant throng filled the stifling -apartments of the Louvre. The great considered themselves masters of -France. Some of the courtiers were gossiping in a corner; all were -happy. Suddenly a rumour, first whispered, then spoken aloud, ran -through the rooms, _Mazarin had been made Chief of Council! The Queen -had appointed him immediately after she returned to her palace from -Parliament!_ - -The courtiers exchanged significant glances. Some were astounded, -others found it difficult to repress their smiles. The great had -helped Anne of Austria to seize authority because they had supposed -that she would be incapable of using it. Now that it was too late for -them to protect themselves she had come forth with the energy and -the initiative of a strong woman. In reality, though possessed of -reticence, she was a weak woman, acting under a strong influence, but -that fact was not evident. - -The Queen-mother was forty-one years old. Her hair was beautiful; her -eyes were beautiful; she had beautiful hands, a majestic mien, and -natural wit. Her education had been as summary as Mademoiselle's; she -knew how to read and how to write. She had never opened a book; when -she first appeared in Council she was a miracle of ignorance. She had -always been conversant with the politics of France because her natural -love of intrigue had taught her many things concerning many people. She -had learned the lessons of life and the world from the plays presented -at the theatre, and from the witty and erudite frequenters of the -salons. She was enamoured of intellect, she delighted in eloquence, she -was a serious woman and a devoted mother. While Louis XIII. lived she -was considered amiable and indulgent to the failings of "low people," -because her indifference made her appear complaisant. As soon as she -assumed the Regency her manner changed and her real nature came to -the surface. She astonished her deputies by the breathless resistance -which she opposed to any hint of a suggestion adverse to her mandates. -After the royal scream first startled Parliament there was hardly a man -of the French State who did not shrink at sight of the Regent's fair -flushed face and the determined glitter of her eye. Anne of Austria was -acting under guidance; the delicate hand of the woman lay under the -firm hand of a master, and her lover's will, not the judgment of the -deputies, was her law. - -The people had received false impressions of the character of the -Queen; some had judged her too favourably (Mme. de Motteville -considered her beautiful); others--Retz among them--failed to do her -justice. - -Anne of Austria was neither a stupid woman nor a great Queen, although -she was called both "great" and "foolish." She was born a Spaniard, -and in thought and in feeling she was a Spaniard to the end of her -life. Like all her race, she was imaginative; she indulged in dreams -and erected altars to her ideals. Her life had betrayed her illusions, -therefore she longed for vengeance; and as she was romantic, her -vengeance took a sentimental form. A study of her nature, as furnished -by the histories of her early years, makes her after-life and her -administration of the Regency comprehensible. Despite the latitude -of her morals she exhibited piety so detailed and so persistent that -the Parisians were displeased; one of her friends commented upon it -sharply. "She partakes of the communion too often, she reveres the -relics of the saints, she is devoted to the Virgin, and she offers the -presents and the novenas which the devout consider effectual when they -are trying to obtain favours from Heaven." This from a Parisian was -critical judgment. - -As the Queen was born to rule, she could not comprehend any form of -government but absolute monarchy. Her Parliament was shocked when she -interrupted its Councils by shrill screams of "_Taisez-vous!_" But her -behaviour was consistent; she believed that she expressed the authority -of her son's kingship when she raised her high falsetto and shouted to -her deputies to hold their tongues. - -The new Minister, Mazarin, was of Sicilian origin, and forty years -of age. In Paris, where he had officiated two years (1634-1636), as -Papal Nuncio, he was known by his original Italian name, Mazarini. -When he was first seen at Court he entered without ceremony and -installed himself with the natural ease of an habitué returned after -a forced absence. No one knew by what right he made himself at home. -Richelieu profited by his versatility and made use of him in various -ways. Mazarin was gifted with artistic taste, and he wielded a fluent -pen. His appointment as representative of the Holy See had proved -his capacity and blameless character. Paris knew that Richelieu had -written to him from his death-bed: "I give my book into your hands -with the approbation of our good Master, so that you may conduct it to -perfection." - -Almost immediately after de Richelieu breathed his last the King called -Mazarin to the palace, where he remained hard at work as long as the -King lived. He had no special duties, but he lived close to the royal -invalid, did everything that de Richelieu had done, and made himself in -every way indispensable. To the wounds of the tired spirit whose peace -the scorching splendour of the great Cardinal had withered the calm -presence of the lesser Cardinal was balm. Mazarin employed his leisure -as he saw fit; how he employed it the world knew later. He was seldom -seen either in the palace or out of it. When Louis XIII. died and the -people, little and great, thronged the streets and the highways -and flocked to Parliament to witness the establishment of the Regent, -Mazarin was not in evidence. When the Provost's address and the other -addresses were read, and when the people welcomed their young King, -Mazarin was not seen, and as he was not at the funeral of the King, and -as no one had heard from him since the King's death, it was believed -that he had returned to his own country. - -[Illustration: ANNE OF AUSTRIA] - -Prominent Parisians who knew everything and every one had formed no -opinion of Mazarin's character or of his personal appearance. He had -been Nuncio; that was all that they knew of him. Olivier d'Ormesson, -who went everywhere, knew every one of any importance in Paris, yet -when Mazarin had been Prime Minister six months, d'Ormesson spoke of -him as if he had seen him but once. In d'Ormesson's _Journal_ we read: - - Saturday morning, 4 November (1643). M. le Cardinal, Mazarin, came - to the Council to-day. He was late. The Chancellor had been waiting - for him half an hour. Cardinal Mazarin took his place as Chief - of Council and was the first to sign the resolutions; he wrote: - Cardinal _Massarini_. At first, as he knew neither the order of - the Court nor the names of the members, he was somewhat confused. - Judging by appearances he knows nothing of financial affairs. He - is tall, he carries himself well, he is handsome. His eyes are - clear and spiritual, the colour of his hair is chestnut brown; - the expression of his face is very gentle and sweet. Monsieur the - Chancellor instructed him in the Parliamentary procedure and then - every one addressed him directly and before they addressed any one - else.... - -The new Chief of Council was as modest as the unobtrusive Cardinal who -assumed the duties of the great de Richelieu. Mazarin found better -employment for his talents than the exhibition of his pomp. His design -was to render his position impregnable, and we know what means he -selected for its achievement. In his pocket diary (which the National -Library preserves) he employed three languages, French, Spanish, and -Italian. Whenever the Queen is mentioned the language is Spanish. The -ingenuous frankness with which the writer of the strange notes recorded -his intentions enables us to follow him step by step through all the -labyrinths of his relations with royalty. His reflections make it clear -that his aim was the Queen's heart: in the record dated August, 1634, -we read: "If I could believe what they tell me--that her Majesty is -making use of me because she needs my services, and that she has no -inclination for me,--I would not stay here three days." - -Apropos of his enemies he wrote: "Well, they are laying their heads -together and planning a thousand intrigues to lessen my chances with -her Majesty." - -(The Queen's friends had warned her that her Minister would compromise -her.) - -"The Abbess of the Carmelites has been talking to her Majesty. When she -talked the Queen wept. She told the Abbess that in case the subject -should be mentioned again she would not visit the convent." - -Mazarin's diary conveys the impression that the man who edited it so -carefully feared that he might forget something that he wished to say -to the Queen. He made a note of everything that he meant to advise her -to do, and of all the appeals and all the observations that he intended -to make. - -Following is a very simple reminder of words to be used when next he -should see the Queen alone. - - They tell me that her Majesty is forced to make excuses for her - manifestations of regard for me.... This is such a delicate subject - that her Majesty ought to pity me ... ought to take compassion - on me, even if I speak of it often ... I have no right to doubt, - since, in the excess of her kindness, her Majesty has assured me - that nothing can ever lower me from the place in her favour which - she has deigned to give me ... but in spite of everything because - Fear is the inseparable attendant of Love ... etc. - -The "memorandum" which follows this last note gave proof of the -speed of his wooing, and of his progress: "The jaundice caused by an -excessive love...." - -That Mazarin felt that he was strong was shown by the fact that he -made suggestions to the Queen and offered her advice of a peculiarly -intimate character. The note which follows covers the ground of one of -the lines of argument used by him for the subjection of his royal lady -and mistress: - -"Her Majesty ought to apply herself to the winning over of all hearts -to my cause; she should do so by making me the agent from whose hand -they receive all the favours that she grants them." - -After Anne of Austria qualified the Cardinal by the exequatur of her -love, Mazarin dictated the language of the State. In his diary we find, -verbatim, the diplomatic addresses and suggestions which were to be -delivered by the Queen. - -While the Queen's lover was engaged in maintaining his position -against determined efforts to displace him, France enjoyed a few -delightful moments. The long-continued anxiety had passed, the tension -of the nation's nerves had yielded to the beneficent treatment of -the conscientious counsellors, and the peaceful quiet of a temporary -calm gave hope to the light-minded and strength and courage to the -far-sighted, who foresaw the coming storm. To the majority of the -people the resplendent victory of Rocroy (19th May, 1643), which -immediately followed the death of Louis XIII., seemed a proof that God -had laid His protecting hand upon the infant King and upon his mother. - -This belief was daily strengthened. War had been carried to a foreign -country, and the testimony of French supremacy had come back from -many a battle-field. In the eyes of the world we occupied a brilliant -position. Success had followed success in our triumphant march from -Rocroy to the Westphalian treaties. Our diplomacy had equalled our -military strategy and the strength of our arms; and a part of our glory -had been the result of the efforts of the Prime Minister who ruled our -armies and the nation. In the opinion of our foreign enemies Mazarin -had fully justified Richelieu's confidence and the choice of Anne of -Austria. - -His selection of agents had shown that he was in possession of all his -senses; he had divined the value of the Duc d'Enghien and appointed him -General-in-chief, though the boy was but twenty-two years old; he had -sounded the character of Turenne; he had judiciously listed the names -of the men to be appointed for the diplomatic missions, and he had -proved that he knew the strength of France by ordering the ministers -to hold their ground, to "stand firm," and not to concern themselves -either with the objections or the resistance of other nations. The -majority of the French people failed to recognise Cardinal Mazarin's -services until the proper time for their recognition had passed, but -Retz distinctly stated that Mazarin was popular in Paris during the -first months of his ministry: - - France saw a gentle and benignant Being sitting on the steps of - the throne where the harsh and redoubtable Richelieu had blasted, - rather than governed men. The harassed country rejoiced in its new - leader,[88] who had no personal wishes and whose only regret was - that the dignity of his episcopal office forbade him to humiliate - himself before the world as he would have been glad to do. He - passed through the streets with little lackeys perched behind his - carriage; his audiences were unceremonious, access to his presence - was absolutely free, and people dined with him as if he had been a - private person. - -The arrest of the Duc de Beaufort and the dispersion of the Importants -astonished the people, but did not affright them. Hope was the anchor -of the National Soul. They who had formed the party of Marie de Médicis -and the party of Anne of Austria hoped to bring about the success of -their former projects, and to enforce peace everywhere; they hoped -to substitute a Spanish alliance for the Protestant alliance. The -great families hoped to regain their authority at the expense of the -authority of the King. Parliament hoped to play a great political part. -The people hoped for peace; they had been told that the Queen had -taken a Minister solely for the purpose of making peace. The entire -Court from the first Prince of the Blood to the last of the lackeys -lived in hope of some grace or some favour, and as to that they were -rarely disappointed, for the Administration "refused nothing." Honours, -dignities, positions, and money were freely dispensed, not only to -those who needed them, but to those who were already provided with -them. La Feuillade said that there were but four words in the French -language: "_The Queen is good!_" - -So many cases of private and individual happiness gave the impression -of public and general happiness. Paris expressed its satisfaction by -entering heart and soul into its amusements. It played by day and it -played by night, exhibiting the extraordinary appetite for pleasure -which has always distinguished it. - -"All, both the little and the great, are happy," said Saint Evremond; -"the very air they breathe is charged with amusement and with love." -Mademoiselle preserved a grateful memory of that period of joyous -intoxication. "The first months of the Regency," she said in her -memoirs, "were the most beautiful that one could have wished. It was -nothing but perpetual rejoicing everywhere. Hardly a day passed that -there were not serenades at the Tuileries or in the place Royale." - -The mourning for the late King hindered no one, not even the King's -widow, who passed her evenings in Renard's garden,[89] where she -frequently supped with her friends. Though the return of winter drove -the people from the public walks, the universal amusements went on. -"They danced everywhere," said Mademoiselle, "and especially at -my house, although it was not at all according to decorum to hear -violins in a room draped with mourning." We note here that at the time -Mademoiselle wrote thus she was regarded as a victim. It was rumoured -in Paris that her liberty and her pleasures were restricted, and the -indignation of the people seethed at thought of it. Mademoiselle -had lost her indulgent friend and governess, Mme. de Saint Georges. -Her new governess, Mme. de Fiésque, a woman of firm will who looked -with disfavour upon her pupil's untrammelled ways, made attempts to -discipline her. When Mme. de Fiésque exerted her authority the canaille -formed groups and threatened the palace of the Tuileries. Mademoiselle -was sixteen years old and the whole world knew it. The people thought, -as she thought, that she was too old to be imprisoned like a child. She -was quick to avenge her outraged dignity; the governess was headstrong. -Slap answered slap and, after the combat, Mademoiselle was under lock -and key six days. - -But all that was forgotten. - -Mademoiselle had in mind something more important than her childish -punishment. The death of Louis XIII. had enabled Gaston to send for his -wife. The Regency made but one condition,--the married pair were to be -remarried in France. The Princess Gaston was on the way, travelling -openly, entering France with the reputation of a heroine of romance. -Mademoiselle revelled in the thought of a step-mother as young and as -beautiful as an houri. They would dance together; they would run about -like sisters! - -Twelve years previous to the death of Louis XIII., when Marguerite -de Lorraine committed the so-called "crime" which Richelieu's -jurisconsults qualified by a name for which we shall substitute the -less discouraging term "abduction," events separated the wedded pair at -the church door. The sacrament of marriage had just been administered. - -Madame fled before the minions of the law reached Nancy and found -her way cut off by the French army. She donned the wig and garments -of a man, besmirched her face with suet, crossed the French line in -a cardinal's coach, covered twenty leagues on horseback, and joined -Monsieur in Flanders. The world called her courageous, and when she -exercised her impeccancy during a nine years' separation from her -husband, conjugal fidelity rare enough at any time, and especially -rare at that time, definitely ranged her among spectacular examples of -virtue. - -Handsome, brave, free from restraint, and virtuous! Paris was curious -to see her. - -At Meudon (27th May, 1643) the people made haste to reach the spot -before she alighted from her carriage. They were eager to witness her -meeting with the light-minded husband with whom France was at last to -permit her to cast her lot and from whom she had been separated so -long. Mademoiselle wrote: - - I ran on ahead of them all so that I might be at Gonesse when she - arrived. From Gonesse she proceeded to Meudon without passing - through Paris. She did not wish to stop in Paris because she was - not in a condition to salute their Majesties. In fact, she could - not salute them, because she was not dressed in mourning. We - arrived at Meudon late, where Monsieur--having gone there to be - on the spot when she arrived--found her waiting in the courtyard. - Their first meeting took place in the presence of all who had - accompanied them. Every one was astonished to see the coldness with - which they met. It seemed strange! Monsieur had endured so much - persecution from the King, and from Richelieu, solely on account of - his marriage; and all his suffering had only seemed to confirm his - constancy to Madame, therefore coldness seemed unexpected. - -Both Monsieur and Madame were much embarrassed; it was a trying thing -to meet after a separation of nine years. - -Monsieur had not materially changed, although he had acquired a habit -of the gout which hindered him when he attempted to pirouette. Madame -appeared faded and ill-attired, but that was but a natural consequence -of the separation; it was to be expected. - -When their marriage had been duly regulated and recorded in the Parish -Register, the couple established themselves in Gaston's palace, and the -Court found that it had acquired an hypochondriac. The romantic type of -constancy habitually hung upon the gate of Death. Mme. de Motteville -said: - - She rarely left her home; she affirmed that the least excitement - brought on a swoon. Several times I saw Monsieur mock her; he told - the Queen that Madame would receive the sacrament in bed rather - than to go into her chapel, although the chapel was close by,--and - all that "though she had no ailment of any importance." - -When Madame visited the Queen, as she did once in twenty-four months, -she was carried in a sedan chair, as other ladies of her quality were -carried, but her movements were attended by such distress and by so -much bustle that her arrival conveyed the impression of a miracle. -Frequently, when she had started upon a journey, or to pay a visit -to the Queen, before she had gone three yards she declared that she -had been suddenly seized by faintness, or by some other ill; then her -bearers were forced to make haste to return her to the house. She -lived in Gaston's palace in the Luxembourg. Mademoiselle's palace was -in the Tuileries, and the royal family lived either in the palace of -the Louvre, in the Palais Royal, or in the Château of Saint Germain. - -Madame declared that her life had been one continuous agony. She -announced her evils not singly but in clusters, and although none -of them were evident to the disinterested observer, her diagnoses -displayed so thorough a knowledge of their essential character that to -harbour a doubt of their reality would be to confess a consciousness of -uncertainty akin to the skepticism of the ignorant. - -At the advent of Madame the spiritual atmosphere of the Luxembourg -changed. The Princess was a moralist, and either because of her nervous -anxiety for his welfare, or for some other reason, she harangued her -husband day and night. The irresponsible Gaston was a signal example of -marital patience; he carried his burden bravely, listened attentively -to his wife's rebukes, sang and laughed, whistled and cut capers, -pulled his elf-locks in mock despair, and, clumsily whirling upon -his gouty heels, "made faces" behind Madame's drooping shoulders; -but he bore her plaintive polemics without a murmur, and although he -freely ridiculed her, he never left her side. "Madame loved Monsieur -ardently," and Monsieur returned Madame's love in the disorderly manner -in which he did everything. "One may say that he loved her, but that -he did not love her often," wrote Mme. de Motteville. The public soon -lost its interest in the spectacular household; Madame was less heroic -than her reputation. Mademoiselle despaired when Madame urged Monsieur -to be prudent; to her mind her father's prudence had invariably -exceeded the proportions of virtue. Generally speaking, Madame's first -relations with her step-daughter were cordial, but they were limited to -a purely conventional exchange of civilities. Speaking of that epoch, -Mademoiselle said: "I did all that I possibly could to preserve her -good graces, which I should not have lost had she not given me reason -to neglect them." Mademoiselle could not have loved her step-mother, -nor could she have been loved by her; Madame and Mademoiselle were of -different and distinct orders. - - -II - -[Illustration: VIEW OF THE LOUVRE FROM THE SEINE IN THE 17TH CENTURY - -FROM AN OLD PRINT] - -The routine requirements of Mademoiselle's periods of mourning diverted -her mind from her marriage projects, but she soon resumed her efforts. -She had no adviser, and no one cared for her establishment; Gaston was -too well employed in spending her money to concern himself with her -future, and, as the duties of daily life fatigued Madame, Mademoiselle -could not hope for assistance from her step-mother; the Queen was her -only hope, and the Queen's executor was jealously guarding her fine -principalities and keeping close watch over her person. In 1644 the -King of Spain, Philippe IV., the brother of Anne of Austria, became -a widower. He was the enemy of France, and it would have been folly to -give him a right to any portion of French territory; but Mademoiselle -did not consider that fact; her political intuitions were not keen. -All that she could see was that the King had a crown, and that it was -such a crown as would adorn the title of her own nobility. For some -occult reason which, as no one has ever located it, will probably -remain enigmatical, Mademoiselle imagined that Philippe IV. desired -to espouse her; and she passed her time forming plans and waiting for -the Spanish envoy who was to come to France to ask her father for her -hand. As it is difficult to believe that she ever could have dreamed -the story that she tells in her memoirs, we must suppose that there -was some foundation for her hopes. Possibly the expectations upon -which she artlessly dilated sprang from the intriguing designs of her -subalterns.[90] - - The Queen bore witness to me that she passionately wished for the - marriage, and Cardinal Mazarin spoke of it in the same way; more - than that, he told me that he had received news from Spain which - had shown him that the affair was desired in that country. Both the - Queen and the Cardinal spoke of it repeatedly, not only to me but - to Monsieur. By feigned earnestness they impressed us with the idea - that they wished for the marriage. They lured us with that honour, - though they had no intention of obliging us; and our good faith was - such that we did not perceive their lack of sincerity. As we had - full belief in them, it was easy for them to elude the obligations - incurred by them when they aroused our expectations, and, in fact, - that was just what they did; having talked freely of it to us - during a certain period, they suddenly ceased to speak of it, and - everything thereafter was as it would have been had there been no - question of the marriage. - -Mademoiselle's anxieties and hopes were fed alternately. To add to -her distress, a Spaniard was caught on French soil and cast into the -Bastille. Mademoiselle grieved bitterly over his fate; she supposed -that the prisoner had been sent by the Spanish King to negotiate -the marriage; it was her belief that Mazarin's spies had warned him -(Mazarin) of the arrival of the envoy, and that the Cardinal had -ordered the arrest to prevent the envoy from delivering his despatches; -the interpretation was chimerical. Our knowledge is confined to the -fact that nothing more was said of Mademoiselle's marriage, and that -when the King was ready to marry he married an Austrian. - -The troubles of England provided Mademoiselle with a more serious -suitor. Queen Henriette, the daughter of Henry of Navarre, had fled to -France, and France, in the person of the Regent, had installed her in -the Louvre. Before that time Anne of Austria had moved from the Louvre -to the Palais Royal, which was a more commodious residence, well fitted -to the prevailing taste. Queen Henriette was ambitious, and she began -to form projects for an alliance with France before she recovered from -the fatigue of her journey. - -Mademoiselle was a spirited Princess, very handsome, witty, and -an ardent partisan. Such a wife would be a credit to any king, and -the Montpensier estates were needed by the throne of England. Queen -Henriette was sanguine; she ignored the fact that her son's future -was dark and threatening. She made proposals to Mademoiselle and -Mademoiselle received them coldly. Her ideas of propriety were shocked -by the thought of such an alliance. The Queen of England was a refugee, -dependent upon the bounty of France. There could be no honour or profit -in marriage to her son! - -Queen Henriette was the first of a series of exiled monarchs to whom -France gave hospitality, and it must be said that her manner of opening -a series was not a happy one. The sovereigns of former times were not -familiar with revolutions, and their ignorance made them fearless; they -despised precautions; they were improvident, they saved nothing for -a rainy day; they scorned foreign stocks; they avoided business, and -looked with contempt upon foreign bankers. If they lost their thrones -they fled to foreign countries and sought refuge in the kingdoms of -their friends, and there their comfort and their respectability were -matters of chance; their friends might be in easy circumstances, and -they might be on the verge of bankruptcy; a king's crown was not always -accompanied by a full purse. - -When Queen Henriette arrived in Paris she was received with honours and -with promises. The courtiers donned their festive robes "broidered -with gold and with silver,"[91] and went to Montrouge to meet her and -escort her into Paris. Anne of Austria received her affectionately -and seated her at her right hand at banquets. Mazarin announced that -she was to draw a salary of twelve hundred francs per diem; in short, -everything was done to flatter the English guest. The credulous -Henriette accepted the flattery and the promises literally and she was -dazed, when, awaking to the truth, she found that she was a beggar. -Recording the history of that epoch, Mademoiselle said: - - "The Queen of England had appeared everywhere in Paris attended - like a Queen, and with a Queen's equipage. With her we had always - seen her many ladies of quality, chariots, guards, and footmen. - Little by little all that disappeared and the time came when - nothing was more lacking to her dignity than her retinue and all - the pomps to which she had been accustomed." - -Queen Henriette was obliged to sell her jewels and her silver dishes; -debts followed debts, and the penniless sovereign had no way to meet -them. The little court of the Louvre owed the baker and could not -pay its domestic servants. Mme. de Motteville visited the Louvre and -found Queen Henriette practically alone. She was sitting, dejectedly -meditating, in one of the great empty salles; her unpaid servitors had -abandoned her and her suite had gone where they could find nourishment. - - -[Illustration: HENRIETTA, DUCHESSE D'ORLÉANS - -FROM A STEEL ENGRAVING] - -In her account of her visit Mme. de Motteville said: - - She showed us a little golden cup, from which she habitually drank, - and she swore to us that that was all the gold of any kind that had - been left in her possession. She said that, more than that, all her - servants had demanded their wages and said that they would leave - her service if she refused to satisfy their demands; and she said - she had not been able to pay them. - -The spectacle of royal poverty and the tragical turn taken by English -affairs gave Mademoiselle cause for serious thought. She saw that -whatever the Prince might be in the future, he was not a desirable -suitor at the epoch existent; and she spoke freely: - - Were I to marry that boy I should have to sell everything that - I might possess and go to war! I should not be able to help it. - I could not rest until I had staked my all on the chance of - reconquering his kingdom! But as I had always lived in luxury, and - as I had been free from care, the thought of such an uncertain - condition troubled me. - -Had the Prince of Wales been a hero of the type of the _Cid_, -Mademoiselle would have thrown prudence to the winds. Personal -attraction, the magnetism of love, the arguments used by Lauzun would -have called her from her dreams of the pomp becoming her rank, and -she would have confronted poverty gaily; her whole career proved that -she was not of a calculating mind. The Prince of Wales was by three -years her junior; he was awkward and bashful, and so ignorant that -he had no conception of his own affairs. He lounged distractedly -through the vast, empty Louvre, absorbed in purposeless thought, and, -goaded by his mother, he frequented the Tuileries and besieged the -heart of his cousin, whom he amazed by the sluggish obstinacy of his -attentions. He paid his court with the inconsequent air of a trained -parrot; the details of his love-making were ordered by his mother, and -when, tormented by personal anxieties, the Queen of England forgot to -dictate his discourse, he sat before Mademoiselle with lips closed. He -talked so little that it was said he "opened his teeth only to devour -fat meat." At one of the banquets of the Queen of France he refused to -touch the ortolans, and falling upon an enormous piece of beef and upon -a shoulder of mutton he "ate as if there had been nothing else in the -world, and as if he had never eaten before." - -"His taste," mused Mademoiselle, "appeared to me to be somewhat -indelicate; I was ashamed because he was not as good in other respects -as he bore witness that he was in his feeling for me." - -After the banquet at which the Prince refused the ortolans, the cousins -were left alone, and, commenting upon the fact later, Anne-Marie-Louise -said: "It pleases me to believe that on that occasion his silence -resulted from an excess of respect for me rather than from lack of -tenderness; but I will avow the truth; I would have been better pleased -had he shown less stolidity and less deficiency in the transports -of the love-passion." It is but fair to say in behalf of the timid -suitor that, according to his feeble light, he acquitted himself -conscientiously; he gazed steadfastly in his cousin's pretty face, -he held the candle when her hair-dresser coiffed her hair; but as he -was only a great boy, just at the age of dumb stupidity, he had few -thoughts which were not personal, and few words to express even those. -He was neither _Chérubin_, _Fortunio_, nor _Rodrigue_. "He had not an -iota of sweetness," declared Mademoiselle. Worse than that, he had none -of the exalted sentiments by means of which the heroes of Corneille -manifested their identity, and to Mademoiselle that was a serious -matter. As the awkward suitor became more insistent Mademoiselle was -seized by a determination to be rid of him. Her records fix the date of -her adverse inspiration. "In 1647 toward the end of winter[92] a play -followed by a ball was given at the Palais Royal [the trago-comedy, -_Orpheus_, in music and Italian verse]." Anne of Austria, who had no -confidence in her niece's taste, insisted that the young lady should be -coiffed and dressed under her own eye. Mademoiselle said: - - They were engaged three whole days arranging my coiffure; my robe - was all trimmed with diamonds and with white and black carnation - tufts. I had upon me all the stones of the Crown, and all the - jewels owned by the Queen of England [at that time she still - possessed a few]. No one could have been more magnificently bedight - than I was for that occasion, and I did not fail to find many - people to tell me of my splendour and to talk about my pretty - figure, my graceful and agreeable bearing, my whiteness, and the - sheen of my blonde hair, which they said adorned me more than all - the riches which glittered upon my person. - -After the play a ball was given on a great, well-lighted stage. At the -end of the stage was a throne raised three steps high and covered by a -dais; according to Mademoiselle's account: - - Neither the King nor the Prince of Wales would sit upon the throne, - and as I, alone, remained upon it, I saw the two Princes and all - the Princesses of the Court at my feet. I did not feel awkward or - ill at ease, and no one of all those who saw me failed to tell me - that I had never seemed less constrained than then, that I was of a - race to occupy the throne, and that I should occupy my own throne - still more freely and more naturally when the time came for me to - remain upon it. - -Seen from the height of the throne, the Prince of Wales seemed less of -a man than he had ever seemed before, and from that day Mademoiselle -spoke of him as "that poor fellow." She said: "I pitied him. My heart -as well as my eyes looked down upon him, and the thought entered -my mind that I should marry an emperor." The thought of an emperor -entered her mind the previous year when Ferdinand III. became a -widower. Monsieur's favourite, the Abbé Rivière,--with a view to -his own interests, and possibly with some hope of adding to his -income,--announced the welcome tidings of the Empress's death as soon -as he received them; and Mademoiselle said: - -"M. de la Rivière told me that I must marry either the Emperor or his -brother. I told him that I should prefer the Emperor." - -Paris heard of the project that same evening. Mademoiselle did not -receive proposals from the Emperor at that time or at any other time, -but the idea that she was to be an Empress haunted her mind, and as she -was very frank, she told her hopes freely. La Rivière and others like -him, taking advantage of her public position and of her accessibility, -told her flattering tales and suggested alliances; she was informed -that the Court of Vienna, the Court of Germany, and in fact all the -Courts, desired alliance with her, and she believed all that was said. -The evening of the ball, Anne of Austria declared, by Mademoiselle's -own account, that she "wished passionately that the marriage with the -Emperor might be arranged, and that she should do all that lay in her -power to bring it about." Mademoiselle did not believe in the Regent's -promises, but she listened to them and shaped her course by them. -Gaston told her (in one of the rare moments when he remembered that -she was his daughter) that the Emperor was "too old," and that she -would not be happy in his country. Mademoiselle answered that she cared -more for her establishment than for the person of her suitor. Gaston -reflected upon the statement and promised to do everything possible -for the furtherance of her schemes. Mademoiselle recorded his promise -with the comment: "So after that I thought of the marriage continually -and my dream of the Empire so filled my mind that I considered the -Prince of Wales only as an object of pity." This folly, while it gave -free play to other and similar follies, clung to her mind with strange -tenacity, and long after the Emperor married the Austrian Mademoiselle -said archly: "The Empress is _enceinte_; she will die when she is -delivered, and then--." The Empress did die, either at the moment of -her deliverance or at some other moment, and Mademoiselle took the -field, determined to march on to victory. One of her gentlemen (of the -name of Saujon) whom she fancied "because he was half crazy," secretly -placed in her hand a regularly organised correspondence treating of her -marriage. Mademoiselle received all the letters, read them, approved -of them, and appointed Saujon chargé of her affairs. By her order -Saujon travelled to Germany to bring about the marriage. No one had -ever heard of a royal or a quasi-royal alliance negotiated by a private -individual, but Saujon boldly entered upon his mission. Incidentally -he revised Mademoiselle's despatches; adding and eliminating sentences -according to his own idea of the exigencies of the case. One of his -letters was intercepted and he was arrested and cast into prison. It -was rumoured that he had made an attempt to abduct the Princess so that -she might marry the Archduke Leopold. - -At first Mademoiselle laughed at the rumours. She declared that people -knew her too well to think that she could do anything so ridiculous. - -Mazarin cross-questioned Saujon,--and no one knew better than he how to -conduct an inquest,--but turn his victim as he might the Cardinal could -not wring from Saujon anything but the truth. Saujon insisted that -Mademoiselle had not known anything concerning the intercepted letter. - -Anne of Austria, seconded by Monsieur, feigned to take the affair -seriously, and a violent scene ensued. - -One evening (May 6, 1648, according to d'Ormesson) the Abbé de la -Rivière met Mademoiselle in the corridor of the Palais Royal, and -casually informed her that the Queen and Monsieur were angry. Almost at -the same instant Monsieur issued from the room adjoining the corridor -and ordered his daughter to enter the Queen's room. - - Then [said Mademoiselle] I went into the Queen's gallery. Mlle. - de Guise, who was with me, would have followed me, but Monsieur - furiously shut the door in her face. Had not my mind been free from - all remorse I should have been frightened, but I knew that I was - innocent, and I advanced toward the Queen, who greeted me angrily. - She said to the Cardinal: "We must wait until her father comes; he - must hear it!" I went to the window, which was higher than the rest - of the gallery, and I listened with all the pride possible to one - who feels that her cause is just. When Monsieur arrived the Queen - said to me sharply: "Your father and I know all about your dealings - with Saujon. We know all your plans!" I answered that I did not - know to what plans she had reference, and that I was somewhat - curious to know what her Majesty meant. - -Anne of Austria was angry, and her shrill falsetto conveyed an -impression of vulgarity. Mademoiselle, calmly contemptuous, on foot and -very erect, stood in the embrasure of the long window; Monsieur, who -dreaded his daughter's anger, had drawn close to the Queen; directly -behind Monsieur was Mazarin, visibly amused. - -Mademoiselle listened to her accusers, and answered with a sneer that -she had nothing to do with it, that she was not interested in it, that -such a scheme was worthy of low people. - - "This concerns my honour," she said coldly; "it is not a question - of the head of Cinq-Mars, nor of Chalais, whom Monsieur delivered - to death. No; nor is it an affair to be classed with the - examinations to which Richelieu subjected your Majesty!" - - "It is a fine thing," screamed Anne of Austria, "to recompense a - man for his attachment to your service by putting his head upon the - block!" - - "It would not be the first head that had visited the block, but it - would be the first one that I had put there," retorted Mademoiselle. - - "Will you answer what you are asked?" demanded the Queen. I - obeyed [said Mademoiselle]. I told her that as I had never been - questioned, I should be embarrassed to answer. Cardinal Mazarin - listened to all that I said, and he laughed.... The discussion - seemed long to me. Repetitions which are not agreeable always - produce that effect. The conversation had lasted an hour and a - half. It bored me, and as I saw that it would never end if I did - not go away, I said to the Queen: "I believe that your Majesty - has nothing more to say to me." She replied that she had not. I - curtsied and went out from the combat, victorious, but very angry. - As I abandoned the field, the Abbé de la Rivière tried to address - me. I halted, and discharged my anger at him; then I went to my - room, where I was seized by fever. - -Before she "abandoned the field" Mademoiselle rated Monsieur, who had -imprudently attempted to interpose a word in favour of the Queen. -Mme. de Motteville, to whom Anne of Austria told the story, reported -that Mademoiselle reproached her father bitterly because he had not -married her to the Emperor, when he "might easily have done so." She -told him that it was shameful for a man not to defend his daughter -"when her glory appeared to be attacked." The courtiers assembled in -the adjoining room, though unable to distinguish the words of the -discussion, had listened with curiosity. Mme. de Motteville said: - - We could not hear what they were saying, but we heard the noise - of the accusations and we heard Mademoiselle's calm defence. The - Queen's Minister avoided showing that he was interested in it in - any way. Although there were but three voices there was so great - a clamour that we were anxious to know the result and the meaning - of the quarrel. Mademoiselle came out of the gallery looking more - haughty than ashamed, and her eyes shone with anger rather than - with repentance. That evening the Queen did me the honour to tell - me that had she been possessed of a daughter who had treated her as - Mademoiselle had treated Monsieur, she would have banished her and - never permitted her to return,--and that she should have shut her - up in a convent. - -The day after the discussion guards were mounted at the door of -Mademoiselle's apartments. The Abbé de la Rivière visited Mademoiselle -to tell her that her father forbade her to receive any one--_no matter -whom_--until she was ready to confess what she knew of the intercepted -letter. Mademoiselle remained firm in her denial of any knowledge of it. - -Though sick from grief, she held her ground ten days. Murmurs were -heard among the canaille, and little groups approached the palace, -looked threateningly into the courtyard, and gazed at Mademoiselle's -closed windows. It was known that Mademoiselle was in prison and the -people resented it. How long could she hold out? How would it end? "It -was known," wrote Olivier d'Ormesson, "that the Queen had called her -'an insolent girl' in the presence of her own father, and it was known -that she had indignantly repudiated all knowledge of the intercepted -letter; it was known that she had defended herself bravely." As the -hours passed the people's murmurs increased, the aspect of the canaille -became so menacing that the terrified Gaston sought counsel of Mazarin. -Mazarin favoured clemency; he believed that Mademoiselle had been -disciplined enough. By the advice of the angry Queen, Monsieur waited -one day longer; then word was sent to Mademoiselle that she was free -and that she might receive visits, and in an hour all the people of the -under-world of Paris were hurrying to the palace, laughing, shouting, -crying to each other in broken voices. They surged past the sentinel -and entered the courtyard; men wept, women, holding their children -above their heads, pointed to the open window where Mademoiselle, -emaciated by her ten days' trial, but still haughty and determined, -looking down into the upturned faces, smiled a welcome. Public sympathy -and the sympathy of both the Court and the city endorsed Mademoiselle's -conduct and condemned the conduct of Monsieur. According to -contemporary judgment Monsieur had betrayed his own flesh and blood: he -had been given an opportunity to prove himself a man and he had refused -it. Innocent or culpable, the custom of the day commanded the father to -defend his child. - - I said to the Queen [said the worthy Motteville] that Mademoiselle - was justified in refusing to avow it. I said that, whether it were - true or untrue, Monsieur had not the right to forsake her. A girl - is not to blame for thinking of her establishment, but it is not - right to let it be known that she is thinking of it, nor is it - proper to confess that she is working to accomplish it. - -All Monsieur's motives were known and they increased the contempt of -the people. When Mademoiselle attained her majority she expressed a -wish to take possession of her inheritance. She asked her father for -an accounting and her father accused her of indelicacy and undutiful -conduct. He continued to administer her fortune and to give her such -sums as he considered suitable for the maintenance of her home. In -justification of his conduct he alleged that he had no money of his -own, and that it was impossible to turn her property into funds. -"Several times," said Mme. de Motteville, "I have heard him say that -he had not a sou that his daughter did not give him. 'My daughter -possesses great wealth,' he used to ejaculate; 'were it not for that I -should not know where to go for bread.'" People remembered that he had -received a million of revenue when he married[93] and they judged his -conduct severely, but they were not astonished. "No one can hope much -from the conduct of Monsieur," wrote Olivier d'Ormesson. - -After the quarrel the first meeting between father and daughter took -place in the gallery of the Luxembourg. Monsieur hung his head. - - He changed colour [wrote Mademoiselle]; he appeared abashed; he - tried to reprimand me; he began as people begin such things, but he - knew that he ought to apologise to me rather than to blame me; and - in truth that was what he did; he apologised,--though he did not - seem to know that he was doing it. - -As they talked Monsieur's eyes filled with tears and Mademoiselle wept -freely. To all appearances they were on the best of terms when they -parted. - -Having appeased her father, Mademoiselle went to the Palais Royal -hoping to pacify the Queen. Anne of Austria greeted her with icy -reserve and Mademoiselle never could forget it. She had looked upon -Anne of Austria as children look upon an elder sister. Thenceforth, -feeling that she had no hope of support from her own family, she bent -every effort to the difficult task of finding a suitable husband and -of establishing her life on a firm and independent basis. Mazarin's -unswerving determination to prevent Mademoiselle's marriage was classed -among the most important of the causes which contributed to the -Fronde. The dangers attendant upon his conduct were real and serious; -practically he was Mademoiselle's only guardian, and Mademoiselle was -not only the favorite of the people but the Princess of the reigning -house. As the director of a powerful nation Mazarin had duties which no -State's minister is justified in ignoring. There were times when many -of his other errors were so represented as to appear pardonable, but -there never was a time when he was not blamed for the humiliation of -the haughty Princess who, by no fault of her own, had been left upon -the shores of life, isolated, hopeless of establishment, an object of -ridicule to the unobservant who failed to see the pathetic loneliness -of her position. The Parisians, high and low, thought that the Queen's -Minister had done Mademoiselle an irreparable wrong, and it was thought -that she knew that he had done her a wrong. It was believed that she -would be a dangerous adversary in the day when the French people called -him to account. - -Mademoiselle knew her power and talked openly of what she could do. "I -am," she said, "a very bad enemy; hot-tempered, strong in anger; and -that, added to my birth, may well make my enemies tremble." She could -say it without boasting: she was a Free Lance and the great French -People was her clan. - - -III - -Two years[94] previous to the serio-comic scene in the Palais Royal, -Emperor Ferdinand III. had barely escaped causing a catastrophe. Had -the catastrophe been effected the victim would have been the Princess -of a reigning house. This is a very roundabout way of saying that -Mademoiselle's anxiety to marry the Emperor led her to prepare for the -alliance by practising religion; and that once engaged in the practice, -she was seized by the desire to become a nun. - -The turbulent Princess who so ardently aspired to the throne of -Ferdinand III. was as free in spirit as she was independent in action, -and being hampered by no religion but the religion of culture, she -followed her fancies and adopted a line of conduct in singular -opposition to her natural behaviour and inclinations. Lured by -ambitious policy to affect the attitude of religious devotion, she -fell into her own net and was so deceived by her feelings that she -supposed that she wished to take the veil. The fact that at heart her -wishes tended in a diametrically opposite direction furnished the most -striking proof of the power of hypnotic auto-suggestion. I am speaking -now of a time previous to Saujon's mission to Germany. In her own -words: - - The desire to be an empress followed me wherever I journeyed, and - the effects of my wishes seemed to be so close at hand that I was - led to believe that it would be well for me to form habits best - suited to the habits and to the humour of the Emperor. I had heard - it said that he was very devout, and by following his example I - became so worshipful that after I had feigned the appearance of - devotion a while I longed to be a nun. I never breathed a word of - it to any one; but during the whole of eight days I was inspired by - a desire to become a Carmelite. I was so engrossed by this feeling - that I could neither eat nor sleep. And I was so beset by that - anxiety added to my natural anxiety, that they feared lest I should - fall ill. Every time that the Queen went into the convents--which - happened often--I remained in the church alone; and thinking of - all the persons who loved me and who would regret my retreat from - the world, I wept. So that which appeared to be a struggle with my - religious desire to break away from my worldly self was in reality - a struggle progressing in my heart between my wish to enter the - convent and my horror of leaving all whom I loved, and breaking - away from all my tenderness for them. I can say only this: during - these eight days the Empire was nothing to me. But I must avow that - I felt a certain amount of vanity because I was to leave the world - under such important circumstances. - -Mademoiselle had hung out the sign-board of religion--if I may use such -a term--and she multiplied all the symptoms of religious conversion. To -quote her own words: - - I did not appear at Court. I did not wear my patches, I did not - powder my hair,--in fact, I neglected my hair until it was so long - and so dusty that it completely disguised me. I used to wear three - kerchiefs around my neck,--one over the other,--and they muffled - me so that in warm weather I nearly smothered. As I wished to look - like a woman forty years old, I never wore any coloured riband. - As for pleasure, I took pleasure in nothing but in reading and - re-reading the life of Saint Theresa. - -No one was astonished by religious demonstrations of that kind. Custom -did not oppose the admission of the public to the spectacle of intimate -mental or spiritual crises which it is now considered proper to -conceal. The only thing astonishing was that Mademoiselle had harboured -the idea of forsaking the world. Her friends ridiculed her, and, stung -by their raillery, she recanted. Speaking of it later, she said: "I -wondered at my ideas; I scoffed at my infatuation. I made excuses -because I had ever dreamed of such a project." - -Monsieur was more surprised than his neighbours, and his surprise -assumed a more virulent form; when his daughter begged to be permitted -to enter a convent, when she declared that she would "better love to -serve God than to wear the royal crowns of all the world," he gave -way to a violent outburst of fury. Mademoiselle did not repeat her -petition; she begged him to let the subject drop; and thus ended the -comedy. - -In any other quarter curiosity regarding details would have been -the only sentiment aroused by such a project. The daughters of many -noble families and the daughters of families beyond the pale of the -nobility entered convents. In the spiritual slough in which France -floundered toward the close of the sixteenth and the beginning of the -seventeenth century, the nun's veil and the monk's habit were the -only suitable coverings for mental distress, and in many cases the -convent and the monastery were the sole places of refuge in a world so -lamentable that Bérulle[95] and Vincent de Paul contemplated it with -anguish. The convent was the only safe shelter for souls in which the -germs of religious life had resisted the inroads of spiritual disease. -In certain parts of the country, the annihilation of the Christian -principle had resulted in the degradation of the Sacred Office and in -the increase of the number of skeptics in the higher classes. - -Saving a few exceptions, who were types of the Temple of the Holy -Ghost, the Church set the example of every form and every degree of -contempt for its corporate body, for its individual members, and for -its consecrated accessories. I have already spoken of the elegant -cavaliers, who, in their leisure moments, played the part of priests. -In their eyes a bishopric was a sinecure like another sinecure. -The office of the priesthood entailed no special conduct, nor any -special duty. In general, priests were shepherds who passed their -lives at a distance from their flocks, revelling in luxury and in -pleasure. "Turning abruptly," said an ecclesiastical writer, "from -the pleasures of the Court to the austere duties of the priesthood, -without any preparation save the royal ordinance,--an ordinance, -peradventure, due to secret and unavowable solicitations,--men assumed -the office and became bishops before they had received Holy Orders. -Naturally, such haphazard bishops brought to the Episcopate minds -far from ecclesiastical." In that day cardinals and bishops were -seen distributing the benefits of their dioceses among their lower -domestic tributaries. Thus valets, cooks, barbers, and lackeys were -covered with the sacred vestments, and called to serve the altar.[96] -Being abandoned to their own devices, the lesser clergy--heirs to -all the failings and all the weaknesses of the lower classes of the -people--grovelled in ignorance and in disorder. The continually -augmenting evil was aggravated by the way in which the Church recruited -the rank and file of her legions. As a rule, the cure, or living of -the curé, was in the gift of the abbot. No one but the abbot had a -right to appoint a curé. The abbot's power descended to his successor. -That would have been well enough, had the abbot's virtues and good -judgment--if such there had been--descended to the man immediately -following him in office, but the abbot thus empowered to appoint the -curé was seldom capable of making a good choice or even a decent choice. - -The Court bestowed the abbeys on infants in the cradle, and the -titulars were generally the illegitimate children of the princes, -younger sons of great seigniors, notably gallant soldiers, and -notoriously "gallant" women. The abbots were laical protégés of every -origin, of every profession, and of every character. Henry IV. -bestowed abbeys indiscriminately. Among other notables who received the -office of abbot at his hands were a certain number of Protestants and -an equally certain number of women. Sully possessed four abbeys: "the -fair Corisande" possessed an abbey (the Abbey of Chatillon-sur-Seine, -where Saint Bernard had been raised). The fantastic abbots did not -exert themselves to find suitable curés, and even had they been -disposed to do so, where could they have gone to look for them? There -were no clerical nursery-gardens in which to sow choice seed and to -root cuttings for the parterres of the Church, and this was the chief -cause of the prevailing evil. As there were no seminaries, and as the -presbyterial schools were in decay, there were no places where men -could make serious preparation for the Episcopate. As soon as the -youth destined for Orders had learned so much Latin that he could -explain the gospels used in the service of the Mass, and translate -his breviary well enough to say his Office, he was considered fit for -the priesthood. It is not difficult to imagine what became of the -sacraments of the Church when they fell into such hands. There were -priests who eliminated all pretence of unction from Baptism. Others, -though they had received no sacerdotal authority, joined men and -women in marriage, and sent them away rejoicing at their escape from -a more binding formality. Some of the priests were ignorant of the -formula of Absolution, and in their ignorance they changed, abridged, -and transposed to suit their own taste the august words of the most -redoubtable of mysteries. Dumb as cattle, the ignoble priests deserted -the pulpit, so there were no more sermons; there was no catechism, and -the people, deprived of all instruction, were more benighted than their -pastors. In some parishes there were men and women who were ignorant of -the existence of God.[97] - -The people had no teachers, and their manners were as neglected as -their spiritual education. With rare exceptions, the provincial priest -went to the wine-shops with his parishioners; if he saw fit, he went -without taking off his surplice,--nor was that the worst; in every -respect, and everywhere, and always, he set lamentable examples for his -people. "One may say with truth and with horror," cried the austere -Bourdoise, the friend of Père Bérulle, "that of all the evil done in -the world, the part done by the ecclesiastics is the worst." Père -Amelotte expressed his opinion with still more energy: "The name of -priest," he cried, "has become the synonym of ignorance and debauchery!" - -After the religious wars there were neither churches nor presbyteries, -and therefore there were thousands of villages where there were no -priests, but it is to be doubted whether such villages were more -pitiable than those in which by their daily conduct the priests -constantly provoked the people to despise the earthly representative -of God. The abandoned villages were not plunged in thicker moral and -religious darkness, or in grosser or more abominable superstition, than -that into which the ignoble pastors led their flocks. In one half of -the total number of the provinces of France, the work that the first -missionaries to the Gauls had accomplished had all to be begun again. - -In the world of the aristocracy the condition of Catholicism was little -better. When Vincent de Paul--by a mischance which was not to be the -only one in his career--was appointed Almoner to Queen Marguerite, -first wife of Henry IV., he was overwhelmed by what he saw and heard. -The Court was two thirds pagan.[98] A loose and reckless line of -thought, a moral libertinage, was considered a mark of elegance, and -that opinion obtained until the seventeenth century. The _jeunesse -dorée_, the "gilded youths" of the day, imitated the atheists and -gloried in manifesting their contempt for the "superstitions of -religion." They repeated after Vanini that "man ought to obey the -natural law," that "vice and virtue should be classed as products of -climate, of temperament, and of alimentation," that "children born with -feeble intellects are best fitted to develop into good Christians." -Among the higher classes, piety was not entirely extinct; that was -proven in the days of the triumphant Renaissance, when the Catholicism -of Bossuet and of Bourdaloue flamed with all the strength of a newly -kindled fire from the dying embers of the old religion. But the belief -in God and in the things of God was not to be avowed among people of -intellect. In a certain elegant, frivolous, and corrupt world, impiety -and wit marched hand in hand. A man was not absolutely perfect in -tone and manners unless he seasoned his conversation with a grain -of atheism.[99] Under Louis XIII. in the immediate neighbourhood of -royalty the tone changed, because the King's bigotry kept close watch -over the appearance of religion. Men knew that they could not air their -smart affectation of skepticism with impunity when their chief not -only openly professed and practised religion, but frowned upon those -who did not. All felt that the only way to be popular at Court was to -follow the example of the King, and all slipped their atheism up their -sleeves and bowed the knee with grace and dexterity, pulling on long -faces and praying as visibly as Louis himself. But many years passed -before the practice of religion expressed the feelings of the heart. -Richelieu[100] had several intimate friends who were openly confessed -infidels, and proud of their infidelity. While they were intellectual -and witty and devoted to the Cardinal's interests, they were permitted -to think as they pleased. - -Long after the day of Richelieu,--in the reign of Louis XIV.,--the -great Condé and Princess Anne de Gonzague made vows to the "marvellous -victories of grace,"[101] but while they were "waiting for the -miracle," the more miscreant of the Court amused themselves by throwing -a piece of the wood of the true cross into the fire "to see whether it -would burn." - -The current of moral libertinage, though it appeared sluggish after -the Fronde, had not run dry, and it was seen in the last third of the -seventeenth century and in the following century shallow, but flowing -freely.[102] - -Whatever the general condition, the city was always better fortified -against spiritual libertinage than the Court, because it contained -stronger elements, and because it lacked the frivolity of the social -bodies devoted to pleasure. In the city mingled with the higher -bourgeoisie and the middle bourgeoisie were nobles of excellent stock -who did not visit the Louvre or the Palais Royal because, as they had -no title or position at Court, they could not claim the rank to which -their quality gave them right; to cite an instance: Mme. de Sévigné was -not of the Court; she was always of the city. - -Taken altogether, the Parliamentary world, which had one foot at Court -and the other foot in the city, had preserved a great deal of religion -and morality. Olivier d'Ormesson's journal shows us the homes of the -serious and intellectual people of the great metropolitan centres to -whom piety and gravity had descended from their fathers. - -The Parliamentary world of the provinces was notable for its moral -attitude and for its love of religion. Taken all in all the French -bourgeoisie had not felt the inroads of free thought, although there -had been a few cases of visible infiltration. In the country districts -the people practised religion more or less fervently. - -Despite the few exceptions serving as luminous points in the universal -darkness, in the reign of Louis XIII. the situation was well fitted to -inspire creatures of ardent faith and exalted mysticism with horror. -There were many such people in Paris then, as there have been always. -Discouraged, hopeless of finding anything better in a world abandoned -to blasphemy and vice, the naturally pious fled to the cloisters -and too often they found within the walls of their refuges the same -scandals that had driven them from their homes. The larger number of -the monasteries were given over to depravity[103] and the monks were -like the people of the world. As we have seen, a few prelates of rare -faith and devotion furnished the exceptions to the rule, but set, as -they were, wide distances apart in the swarming mass of vociferous -immorality, they excited a pity which swallowed up all appreciation of -their importance. - -Divers questions which were not connected either with belief as a -whole or with the principle of belief combined to make the Protestant -minority by far more moral than the Catholic majority. Perhaps the -social disadvantage attached to Protestantism was the strongest -reason for its superiority. When a practically powerless minority is -surrounded and kept under surveillance by a powerful majority, unless -pride and vanity have blinded its prudence the minority keeps careful -watch of its actions. By a natural process minorities of agitators -cast cowardly and selfish members out of their ranks; in other words, -they weed out the useless, the feeble, the derogatory elements, and -the elements which, being dependent upon the favour of the public, or -susceptible to public criticism, flinch if subjected to unfavourable -judgment. The Protestant minority eliminated all who, fearing the -ridicule or the animosity of the Court, shrank from standing shoulder -to shoulder with the men in the fighting ranks of Protestantism. -Impelled by personal interest, the converts to the reform movement went -back to the Catholic majority. There were so many advantages attendant -upon the profession of Catholicism that with few exceptions the great -lords declared their faith in the religion powerful to endow them with -military commands and with governmental and other lucrative positions. -The Protestant ranks were thinned, but the few who stood their ground -were the picked men of the reform movement. The ranks of the Catholics -were swelled by the hypocrites and the turncoats who had deserted -from the army of the Protestants. The Protestants gained morally by -the defection of their converts, and the Catholics lost; the few who -sustained Protestantism were sincere; the fact of their profession -proved it. - -The Protestant pastor had no selfish reason for his profession; he -had nothing to hope for; he was lured by no promise of an abbey, -nor could he expect to be rewarded for his open revolt against the -King's church. Looking at it in its most illusive light, his was a -bad business; there was nothing in it to tempt the favourites of the -great; not even a lackey could find advantage in appointment to the -Protestant ministry, and no man entered upon the painful life of the -Protestant pastor unless forced by an all-mastering vocation. The -cause of the Reformation was safe because it was in the hands of men -who boasted of "a judge that no king could corrupt," and who believed -that they had armed themselves with "the panoply of God." The pastors -laboured with unfailing zeal, first to kindle the spark of a faith -separated from all earthly interests; next to nourish sincere belief -in God as the vital principle of religious life. Under their influence -the Protestants of the upper middle classes and the Protestants of -the lower classes--there were still fewer of the latter than of the -former--not only practised, but lived their religion, giving an example -of good conduct and of intelligent appreciation of the name and the -meaning of their profession. Their adversaries were forced to render -them the homage due to their efforts and their sincerity. They, the -Protestants, were charitable in the true sense of the term; they loved -the brethren; they cared for the bodies as well as for the souls of the -poor; they proved their love for their fellows by guarding the public -welfare; they kept the laws and, whenever it was possible, enforced -them. The pastors knew that they must practise what they preached, and, -profiting by the examples of the ignoble priests, they set a guard upon -their words and movements, lest their disciples should question their -sincerity. They were austere, energetic, and devoted to their people -and to their cause. They were convinced that they were warders of the -inheritance of the saints, and they patrolled their circuit, and went -about in the name of Christ proclaiming the mercy of God and warning -men of Eternity and of The Judgment. - -Let us be loyal to our convictions and give to those early pastors the -credit due to their candour and to their efforts; they surpassed us -in many ways. They were learned; they were versed in science, kind to -strangers, strict in morality, brotherly to the poor. - -François de Sales said of them: "The Protestants were Christians; -Catholicism was not Christian."[104] - -So matters stood--the churches ruined and abandoned, Religion mocked -and the priests despised[105]--when a little phalanx of devoted men -arose to rescue the wrecked body of the French Clergy. They organised -systematically, but their plan of action was independent. François de -Sales was among the first who broke ground for the difficult work. He -was a calm, cool man, indifferent to abuse, firm in the conviction -that his power was from God. There were many representatives of the -Church, but few like him. One of his chroniclers dwelt upon his -"exalted indifference to insult" another, speaking of his "supernatural -patience," said: - -"A Du Perron could not have stopped short in an argument with a -heretic, but, on the other hand, a Du Perron would not have converted -the heretic by the ardour of his forbearing kindness." Strowski said -of de Sales that he "saw as the wise see, and lived among men not as -a nominal Christian but as a man of God, gifted with omniscience." By -living in the world de Sales had learned that a germ of religion was -still alive in many of the abandoned souls; he knew that there were a -few who were truly Catholic; he knew that those few were cherishing -their faith, but he saw that they lived isolated lives, away from -the world, and he believed that the limitations of their spiritual -hermitage hindered their usefulness. De Sales believed in a community -of religion and Christian love. The few who cherished their religion -were a class by themselves. They knew and respected each other, they -theorised abstractly upon the prevailing evils, but they had no thought -of bettering man's condition. Their sorrows had turned their thoughts -to woeful contemplation of their helplessness, and all their hopes -were straining forward toward the peaceful cloister and the silent -intimacy of monachism. For them the uses of life were as a tale that -is told. They had no thought of public service, they were timid, they -abhorred sin and shrank from sinners, their isolation had developed -their tendency to mysticism, and the best efforts of their minds were -concentrated upon hypotheses. - -Père François believed that they and all who loved God could do good -work in the world. He did not believe in controversy, he did not -believe in silencing skeptics with overwhelming arguments. He used -his own means in his own way; but his task was hard and his progress -slow, and months passed before he was able to form a working plan. His -idea was to revive religious feeling and spiritual zeal, to increase -the piety of life in community, to exemplify the love which teaches -man to live at peace with his brother, to fulfil his mission as the -son of man made in the likeness of God, and to act his part as an -intelligent member of an orderly solidarity. De Sales's first work was -difficult, but not long after his mission-house was established he saw -that his success was sure, and he then appointed deputies and began -his individual labour for the revival of religious thought. He knew -that the people loved to reason, and he had resolved to develop their -intelligence and to open their minds to Truth: the strong principle of -all reform. His doubt of the utility of controversy had been confirmed -by the spectacle of the recluses of the Church. Study had convinced him -that theologians had taken the wrong road and exaggerated the spiritual -influence of the "power of piety." He believed in the practical piety -of Charity, and he accepted as his appointed task the awakening of -Christian love. His impelling force was not the bigotry which - - proves religion orthodox - By apostolic blows and knocks, - -nor was it the contemplative faith which, by living in convents, -deprives the world of the example of its fervour; it was that practical -manifestation of the grace of God "which fits the citizen for civil -life and forms him for the world." - -In the end Père François's religion became purely practical and he had -but one aim: the awakening of the soul. - -His critics talked of his "dreams," his "visions," and his -"religio-sentimental revival." His piety was expressed in the saying: -"Religious life is not an attitude, nor can the practice of religion -save a man; the true life of the Christian springs from a change -of heart, from the intimate and profound transformation of his -personality." We know with what ardour Père François went forward to -his goal, manifesting his ideals by his acts. By his words and by his -writings he worked a revolution in men's souls. His success equalled -the success of Honoré d'Urfé; few books have reached the number of the -editions of the _Introduction à la vie dévote_.[106] - -In Paris de Sales had often visited a young priest named Pierre de -Bérulle, who also was deeply grieved by the condition of Catholicism, -and who was ambitious to work a change in the clergy and in the Church. -Père Bérulle had discussed the subject with Vincent de Paul, de Sales, -Bourdoise, and other pious friends, and after serious reflection, -he had determined to undertake the stupendous work of reforming the -clergy. In 1611 he founded a mission-house called the Oratoire. "The -chief object of the mission was to put an end to the uselessness of -so many ecclesiastics." The missionaries began their work cautiously -and humbly, but their progress was rapid. Less than fifteen months -after the first Mass was offered upon the altar of the new house, the -Oratoire was represented by fifty branch missions. The brothers of the -company were seen among all classes; their aim, like the individual -aim of Père François, was to make the love of God familiar to men by -habituating man to the love of his brother. They turned aside from -their path to help wherever they saw need; they nursed the sick, -they worked among the common people, they lent their strength to the -worn-out labourer. - -They were as true, as simple, and as earnest as the men who walked with -the Son of Mary by the Lake of Galilee. Bound by no tie but Christian -Charity, free to act their will, they manifested their faith by their -piety, and it was impossible to deny the beneficence of their example. -From the mother-house they set out for all parts of France, exhorting, -imploring the dissolute to forsake their sin, and proclaiming the love -of Christ. Protestants were making a strong point of the wrath of -God; the Oratorians talked of God's mercy. They passed from province -to province, they searched the streets and the lanes of the cities, -they laboured with the labourers, they feasted with the bourgeois. -Dispensing brotherly sympathy, they entered the homes of the poor as -familiar friends, confessing the adults, catechising the children, -and restoring religion to those who had lost it or forgotten it. They -demanded hospitality in the provincial presbyteries, aroused the -slothful priests to repentant action, and, raising the standard of the -Faith before all eyes, they pointed men to Eternal Life and lifted the -fallen brethren from the mire. - -Shoulder to shoulder with the three chevaliers of the Faith, de Sales, -de Bérulle, and Père Vincent, was the stern Saint Cyran (Jean Duvergier -de Hauranne) who lent to the assistance of the Oratorians the powerful -influence of his magnetic fervour. The impassioned eloquence of the -author of _Lettres Chrétiennes et Spirituelles_ was awe-inspiring. The -members of the famous convent (Port Royal des Champs) were equally -devoted; their fervour was gentler, but always grave and salutary. -Saint Cyran's characteristics were well defined in Joubert's _Pensée_. - - The Jansenists carried into their religious life more depth of - thought and more reflection; they were more firmly bound by - religion's sacred liens; there was an austerity in their ideas and - in their minds, and that austerity incessantly circumscribed their - will by the limitations of duty. - -They were pervaded, even to their mental habit, by their uncompromising -conception of divine justice; their inclinations were antipathetic to -the lusts of the flesh. The companions of the community of Port Royal -were as pure in heart as the Oratorians, but they were childlike in -their simplicity; they delighted in the beauties of nature and in the -society of their friends; they indulged their humanity whenever such -indulgence accorded with their vocation; they permitted "the fêtes of -Christian love," to which we of the present look back in fancy as to -visions of the first days of the early Church. Jules Lemaître said in -his address at Port Royal:[107] - - Port Royal is one of the most august of all the awe-inspiring - refuges of the spiritual life of France. It is holy ground; for - in this vale was nourished the most ardent inner life of the - nation's Church. Here prayed and meditated the most profound of - thinkers, the souls most self-contained, most self-dependent, most - absorbed by the mystery of man's eternal destiny. None caught in - the whirlpool of earthly life ever seemed more convinced of the - powerlessness of human liberty to arrest the evolution of the - inexorable Plan, and yet none ever manifested firmer will to battle - and to endure than those first heralds of the resurrection of - Catholicism. - -François de Sales loved the convent of Port Royal; he called it his -"place of dear delight"! In its shaded cloisters de Bérulle, Père -Vincent, and Saint Cyran laboured together to purify the Church, until -the time came when the closest friends were separated by dogmatic -differences; and even then the tempest that wrecked Port Royal could -not sweep away the memory of the peaceful days when the four friends -lent their united efforts to the work which gave the decisive impulsion -to the Catholic Renaissance. - -Whenever the Church established religious communities, men were called -to direct them from all the branches of de Bérulle's Oratoire, because -it was generally known that the Oratorians inspired the labourers of -the Faith with religious ardour, and in time the theological knowledge -gained in the Oratoire and in its branches was considered essential -to the true spiritual establishment of the priest. Men about to -enter the service of the Church went to the Oratoire to learn how to -dispense the sacramental lessons with proper understanding of their -meaning; new faces were continually appearing, then vanishing aglow -with celestial fire. Once when an Oratorian complained that too many of -their body were leaving Paris, de Bérulle answered: "I thank God for -it! This congregation was established for nothing else; its mission is -to furnish worthy ministers and workmen fitted for the service of the -Church." - -[Illustration: ST. VINCENT DE PAUL - -FROM A STEEL ENGRAVING] - -De Bérulle knew that, were he to give all the members of his community, -their number would be too feeble to regenerate the vast and vitiated -body of the French clergy. He could not hope to reap the harvest, but -he counted it as glory to be permitted to sow the seed. - -Vincent de Paul was the third collaborator of the company. It was -said of him that he was "created to fill men's minds with love of -spiritual things and with love for the Creator." Père Vincent was a -simple countryman. In appearance he resembled the disciples of Christ, -as represented in ancient pictures. His rugged features rose above a -faded and patched soutane, but his face expressed such kindness and -such sympathy that, like his heavenly Ensample, he drew men after him. -Bernard of Cluny deplored the evil days; but the time of Louis XIII. -was worse than the time of Bernard. The mercy proclaimed by the Gospel -had been effaced from the minds of men, and the Charity of God had -been dishonoured even by the guides sent to make it manifest. Mercy -and Charity incarnate entered France with Père Vincent, and childlike -fondness and gentle patience crept back into human relations--not -rapidly--the influences against them were too strong--but steadily and -surely. Père Vincent was amusing; it was said of him that he was "like -no one else"; the courtiers first watched and ridiculed, then imitated -him. When they saw him lift the fallen and attach importance to the -sufferings of the common people, and when they heard him insist that -criminals were men and that they had a right to demand the treatment -due to men, they shrugged their shoulders, but they knew that through -the influence of the simple peasant-priest something unknown and very -sweet had entered France. - -Vincent de Paul was a worker. He founded the Order of the Sisters of -Charity, the Convicts' Mission-Refuge, a refuge for the unfortunate, -the Foundling Hospital, and a great general hospital and asylum where -twenty thousand men and women were lodged and nourished. To the -people of France Père Vincent was a man apart from all others, the -impersonation of human love and the manifestation of God's mercy. By -the force of his example pity penetrated and pervaded a society in -which pity had been unknown, or if known, despised. The people whose -past life had prepared them for anything but good works sprang with -ardour upon the road opened by the gentle saint who had taught France -the way of mercy. Even the great essayed to be like Père Vincent; -every one, high and low, each in his own way and to the extent of his -power, followed the unique example. Saint Vincent became the national -standard; the nobles pressed forward in his footsteps, concerning -themselves with the sick and the poor and trying to do the work of -priests. They laboured earnestly lavishing their money and their time, -and, fired by the strength of their purpose, they came to love their -duty better than they had loved their pleasure. They imitated the -Oratorians as closely as they had imitated the shepherds of _Astrée_, -and "the monsters of the will," Indifference, Infidelity, and Licence, -hid their heads for a time, and Charity became the fashion of the day. - -Père Vincent's religious zeal equalled his brotherly tenderness; he -was de Bérulle's best ally. A special community, under his direction, -assisted in the labours of the Oratoire. The chief purpose of the -mother-house and its branches was the purification of the priesthood -and the increase of religion. When a young priest was ready to be -ordained he was sent to Père Vincent's mission, where, by means of -systematic retreats, he received the deep impression of the spiritual -devotion and the charity peculiar to the Oratorians. - -Bossuet remembered with profound gratitude the retreats that he made -in Père Vincent's Oratoire. But there was one at Court to whom the -piety of Père Vincent was a thorn in the flesh. We have seen that -de Bérulle's work was the purification of the clergy, and that Père -Vincent was de Bérulle's chief ally. Mazarin was the Queen's guardian, -and the Queen held the list of ecclesiastical appointments. A Council -called the _Conseil de Conscience_ had been instituted to guide the -Regent in her "Collation of Benefices." The nominees were subject to -the approbation of the Council. When their names were read the points -in their favour and against them were discussed. In this _Conseil -de Conscience_ Père Vincent confronted Mazarin ten years. Before -Père Vincent appeared men were appointed abbots regardless of their -characters. Chantelauze says in _Saint Vincent de Paul et les Gondis_ -that "Mazarin raised Simony to honour." The Cardinal gave the benefices -to people whom he was sure of: people who were willing to devote -themselves, body and soul, to his purposes. Père Vincent had awakened -the minds of many influential prelates, and a few men and women -prominent at Court had been aroused to a sense of the condition of the -Church. These few priests and laymen were called the "Saints' Party." - -They sat in the Council convened for the avowed purpose of purifying -the Church. When Mazarin made an ignoble appointment, Père Vincent -objected, and the influential prelates and the others of their party -echoed his objections. Through the energy of the "Saints," as they -were flippantly called by the courtiers, many scandalous appointments -were prevented, and gradually the church positions were filled by -sincere and devoted men. The determined and earnest objections of so -many undeniably disinterested, well-known, and unimpeachable people -aroused the superstitious scruples of the Queen, and when her scruples -were aroused, she was obstinate. Mazarin knew this. He knew that Anne -of Austria was a peculiar woman, he knew that she had been a Queen -before he had had any hold upon her, and he knew that he had not been -her first favourite. He was quick, keen-sighted, flexible. He was -cautious. He had no intention of changing the sustained coo of his -turtle-dove for the shrill "_Tais-toi!_" of the Regent of France. -But he was not comfortable. His little diaries contain many allusions -to the distress caused by his inability to digest the interference -of the "Saints." He looked forward to the time when he should be so -strong that it would be safe for him to take steps to free himself -from the obsessions of the _Conseil de Conscience_. He was amiable -and indulgent in his intercourse with all the cabals and with all the -conflicting agitations; he studied motives and forestalled results; he -brought down his own larks with the mirrors of his enemies. He had a -thousand different ways of working out the same aims. He did nothing -to actively offend, but there was a persistence in his gentle tenacity -which exasperated men like Condé and disheartened the frank soldiers -of the Faith of the mission of Port Royal and the Oratoire. He foresaw -a time when he could dispose of benefices and of all else. A few years -later the _Conseil de Conscience_ was abolished, and Père Vincent was -ignominiously vanquished. Père Vincent lacked the requisites of the -courtier; he was artless, and straightforward, and intriguers found -it easy to make him appear ridiculous in the eyes of the Queen.[108] -Mazarin watched his moment, and when he was sure that Anne of Austria -could not refuse him anything, he drew the table of benefices from -her hand. From that time "pick and choose" was the order of the day. -"Monsieur le Cardinal" visited the appointments secretly, and secured -the lion's share for himself. When he had made his choice, the men who -offered him the highest bids received what he had rejected. In later -years Mazarin was, by his own appointment, Archbishop of Metz and the -possessor of thirty fat benefices. His revenues were considerable. - -Nowhere did the Oratorians meet as determined opposition as at Court. -The courtiers had gone to Mass because they lost the King's favour if -they did not go to Mass, but to be inclined to skepticism was generally -regarded as a token of elegance. Men thought that they were evincing -superior culture when they braved God, the Devil, and the King, at one -and the same time, by committing a thousand blasphemies. Despite the -pressure of the new ideas, the "Saints' Party" had been difficult to -organise. It was a short-lived party because Mazarin was not a man to -tolerate rivals who were liable to develop power enough to counteract -his influence over Anne of Austria concerning subjects even more vital -than the distribution of the benefices. The petty annoyances to which -the Prime Minister subjected the "Saints' Party" convinced people that -when a man was of the Court, if he felt the indubitable touch of the -finger of Grace, the only way open to him was the road to the cloister. -It was known that wasps sting, and that they are not meet adversaries -for the sons of God, and the wasps were there in swarms. François de -Sales called the constantly recurring annoyances, "that mass of wasps." -As there was no hope of relief in sight, it was generally supposed -that the most prudent and the wisest course for labourers in the -vineyard of the Lord was to enter the hive and take their places in the -cells, among the manufacturers of honey. So when La Grande Mademoiselle -looked upon the convent as her natural destination, she was carrying -out the prevalent idea that retreat from the world was the natural -result of conversion to true religion. It was well for her and for the -convent which she had decided to honour with her presence that just -at the moment when she laid her plans her father had one of his rare -attacks of common sense--yes, well for her and well for the convent! - - -IV - -Mademoiselle's crisis covered a period of six months; when she -reappeared patches adorned her face and powder glistened in her hair. -She said of her awakening: "I recovered my taste for diversions, and I -attended the play and other amusements with pleasure, but my worldly -life did not obliterate the memory of my longings; the excessive -austerity to which I had reduced myself was modified, but I could -not forget the aspirations which I had supposed would lead me to the -Carmelites!" Not long after she emerged from her religious retreat -politics called her from her frivolity. Political life was the arena -at that hour, and it is not probable that the most radical of the -feministic codes of the future will restore the power which women then -possessed by force of their determined gallantry, their courage, their -vivacity, their beauty, and their coquetry. The women of the future -will lack such power because their rights will be conferred by laws; -legal rights are of small importance compared to rights conferred and -confirmed by custom. The women of Mademoiselle's day ordered the march -of war, led armies, dictated the terms of peace, curbed the will of -statesmen, and signed treaties with kings, not because they had a right -to do so, but because they possessed invincible force. Richelieu, who -had a species of force of his own, and at times wielded it to their -temporary detriment, planned his moves with deference to their tactics, -and openly deplored their importance. Mazarin, who dreaded women, wrote -to Don Luis del Haro: "We have three such amazons right here in France, -and they are fully competent to rule three great kingdoms; they are the -Duchesse de Longueville, the Princesse Palatine, and the Duchesse de -Chevreuse." The Duchesse de Chevreuse, having been born in the early -century, was the veteran of the trio. "She had a strong mind," said -Richelieu,[109] "and powerful beauty, which, as she knew well how to -use it, she never lowered by any disgraceful concessions. Her mind was -always well balanced." - -[Illustration: DUCHESSE DE CHEVREUSE] - -Retz completed the portrait: "She loved without any choice of objects -for the simple reason that it was necessary for her to love some one; -and when once the plan was laid it was not difficult to give her a -lover. But from the moment when she began to love her lover, she loved -him faithfully,--and she loved no one else." She was witty, spirited, -and of a very vigorous mind. Some of her ideas were so brilliant that -they were like flashes of lightning; and some of them were so wise -and so profound that the wisest men known to history might have been -proud to claim them. Rare genius and keen wits which she had trained -to intrigue from early youth had made her one of the most dangerous -politicians in France. She had been an intimate friend of Anne of -Austria, and the chief architect of the Chalais conspiracy. After the -exposure of the conspiracy, Richelieu sentenced her to banishment for -a term of twenty-five years, and no old political war-horse could have -taken revenge sterner than hers. She did not rest on her wrongs; her -entrance upon foreign territory was marked by the awakening of all -the foreign animosities. Alone and single-handed, the unique Duchess -formed a league against France, and when events reached a crisis she -had attained such importance in the minds of the allies that England, -though vanquished and suing for peace, made it a condition of her -surrender that the Duchesse de Chevreuse, "a woman for whom the King -of England entertained a particular esteem," should be recalled to -France. Richelieu yielded the point instantly; he was too wise to -invest it with the importance of a parley; he recalled the woman who -had convened a foreign league against her own people, and eliminated -the banishment of powerful women from his list of penalties. He had -learned an important political lesson; thereafter the presence of the -Duchesse de Chevreuse was considered in high diplomatic circles the one -thing needful for the even balance of the State of France. After the -Spanish intrigue, which ended in Val de Grâce, the Cardinal, fearing -another "league," made efforts to keep the versatile Duchess under his -hand, but she slipped through his fingers and was seen all over France -actively pursuing her own peculiar business. (1637.) - -The Duchesse de Chevreuse once traversed France on horseback, disguised -as a man, and she used to say that nothing had ever amused her as well -as that journey. She must have been a judge of amusements, as she had -tried them all. When she ran away disguised as a man, her husband and -Richelieu both ran after her, to implore her to remain in France, -and, in her efforts to escape her pursuers, she was forced to hide -in many strange places, and to resort to stratagems of all kinds. In -one place where she passed the night, her hostess, considering her a -handsome boy, made her a declaration of love. Her guides, deceived by -her appearance gave her a fair idea of the manners worn by a certain -class of men when they think that they are among men and free from -the constraint of woman's presence. On her journeys through Europe, -she slept one night or more in a barn, on a pile of straw, the next -night in a field, under a hedge, or in one of the vast beds in which -our fathers bedded a dozen persons at once without regard to their -circumstances. Alone, or in close quarters, the Duchesse de Chevreuse -maintained her identity. Hers was a resolute spirit; she kept her -own counsel, and she feared neither man nor devil. Thus, in boys' -clothes, in company with cavaliers who lisped the language of the -_Précieuses_, or with troopers from whose mouths rushed the fat oaths -of the Cossacks, sleeping now on straw and now with a dozen strangers, -drunk and sober, she crossed the Pyrenees and reached Madrid, where she -turned the head of the King of Spain and passed on to London, where she -was fêted as a powerful ally, and where, incidentally, she became the -chief official agent of the enemies of Richelieu. - -When Louis XIII. was dying he rallied long enough to enjoin the -Duchesse de Chevreuse from entering France.[110] Standing upon the -brink of Eternity, he remembered the traitress whom he had not seen in -ten years. The Duchesse de Chevreuse was informed of his commands, and, -knowing him to be in the agonies of death, she placed her political -schemes in the hands of agents and hurried back to France to condole -with the widow and to assume the control of the French nation as the -deputy of Anne of Austria. She entered the Louvre June 14, 1643, -thinking that the ten years which had passed since she had last seen -her old confidante had made as little change in the Queen as in her -own bright eyes. She found two children at play together,--young Louis -XIV. and little Monsieur, a tall proud girl with ash-blonde hair: La -Grande Mademoiselle, and a mature and matronly Regent who blushed when -she saluted her. One month to a day had passed since Louis XIII. had -yielded up the ghost. - -The Duchesse de Chevreuse installed herself in Paris in her old -quarters and bent her energies to the task of dethroning Mazarin. - - * * * * * - -The Palatine Princess, Anne de Gonzague, was a ravishingly beautiful -woman endowed with great executive ability. "I do not think," said -Retz, "that Elizabeth of England had more capacity for conducting a -State." Anne de Gonzague did not begin her career by politics. When, as -a young girl, she appeared in the world of the Court, she astonished -France by the number and by the piquancy of her adventures. She was -another of the exalted dames who ran upon the highways disguised as -cavaliers or as monks. No one was surprised no matter when or where he -saw Anne de Gonzague, though she was often met far beyond the limits -of polite society. Fancy alone--and their own sweet will--ruled the -fair ladies of those heroic days. During five whole years Anne de -Gonzague[111] gave the world to understand that she was "Mme. de Guise, -wife of Henri de Guise, Archbishop of Rheims" (the same Henri de Guise -who afterward married Mme. de Bossut). - -Having passed for "Mme. de Guise" sixty months, the Lady Anne appeared -at Court under her own name "as if nothing had happened," reported -Mademoiselle. Whatever may have here "happened," Anne de Gonzague -reappeared at Court as alluring as in the flower of her first youth; -and, as the _Chronicle_ expressed it: "had the talent to marry -herself--between two affairs of womanly gallantry--to the Prince -Palatine,[112] one of the most rabidly jealous of gentlemen," because, -as the pious and truthful Bossuet justly remarked, "everything gave way -before the secret charm of her conversation." When nearly thirty years -of age she obeyed the instincts of her genius and engaged in politics, -with other politically inclined ladies, including Mme. de Longueville, -whose only talent lay in her blonde hair and charming eyes. - -Despite the poverty of her mental resources, Mme. de Longueville was -a natural director of men, and she was but one of a very brilliant -coterie. The prominent and fiery amazons of the politics of that epoch -are too historically known to require detailed mention. They were: the -haughty, dazzlingly superb, but too vicious and too practical in vice, -Montbazon; the Duchesse de Chatillon (the imperious beauty who had her -hand painted upon a painted lion whose face was the face of the great -Condé), and many others who to the measure of their ability played -with the honour and the lives of men, with Universal Suffrage, and with -the stability of France, and who, like La Grande Mademoiselle, were -called from their revelries by the dangers which threatened them. - -The daughter of Gaston d'Orléans had grown up firmly convinced that -the younger branch of the House of Paris (her own branch) could do -anything. That had been the lesson taught for more than a century -of history. From Charles VIII. to Louis XIII. the throne had been -transmitted from father to son but three times; in all other cases it -had passed to brothers or to cousins. The collaterals of the royal -family had become accustomed to think of themselves as very near the -throne, and at times that habit of thought had been detrimental to the -country. Before the birth of Louis XIV. Gaston d'Orléans had touched -the crown with the tips of his fingers, and he had made use of his -title as heir-presumptive to work out some very unsavoury ends. After -the birth of his nephews he had lived in a dream of possible results; -he had waited to see what "his star" would bring him, and his hopes -had blazed among their ashes at the first hint of the possibility of -a change. When Louis XIV. was nine years old he was very sick and -his doctors expected him to die; he had the smallpox. Monsieur was -jubilant: he exhibited his joy publicly, and the courtiers drank to the -health of "Gaston I." Olivier d'Ormesson stated that the courtiers -distributed all the offices in the King's gift and planned to dispose -of the King's brother. Anne of Austria, agonising in prayer for the -life of the King, was horrified to learn that a plot was on foot -to abduct little Monsieur. She was warned that the child was to be -stolen some time in the night between Saturday and Sunday. Maréchal -de Schomberg passed that night on his horse, accompanied by armed men -who watched all the windows and doors of the palace. When the King -recovered Monsieur apologised for his conduct, and the sponge of the -royal forgiveness was passed over that episode as it had been over many -others. Under the Regency of Anne of Austria the Court was called upon -to resist the second junior branch, whose inferiority of pretensions -was more than balanced by its intelligence and audacity. - -The pretensions of the Condés had been the cause of one of Mazarin's -first anxieties. They were vast pretensions, they were unquestionably -just, and they were ably sustained by the father of the great Condé, -"Monsieur le Prince," a superior personage whose appearance belied his -character. People of his own age remembered him as a handsome man; but -debauchery, avarice, and self-neglect had changed the distinguished -courtier and made him a repulsive old man, "dirty and ugly."[113] He -was stoop-shouldered and wrinkled, with great, red eyes, and long, -greasy hair, which he wore passed around his ears in "love-locks." His -aspect was formidable. Richelieu was obliged to warn him that he must -make a serious attempt to cleanse his person, and that he must change -his shoes before paying his visits to the King.[114] His spirit was as -sordid as his body. "Monsieur le Prince" was of very doubtful humour; -he was dogged, snappish, peevish, coarse, contrary, and thoroughly -rapacious. He had begun life with ten thousand livres of income, and he -had acquired a million, not counting his appointments or his revenues -from the government.[115] His friends clutched their pockets when -they saw him coming; but their precautions were futile; he had a way -of getting all that he desired. Everything went into his purse and -nothing came out of it; but where his purse was not concerned Monsieur -le Prince was a different man; there he "loved justice and followed -that which was good."[116] He was a rigorous statesman; he defended -the national Treasury against the world. His keen sense of equity made -him a precious counsellor and he was an eminent and upright judge. -His knowledge of the institutions of the kingdom made him valuable -as State's reference; he knew the origins, the systems, and the -supposititious issues of the secret aims of all the parties. - -The laws of France were as chaotic as the situation of the parties, -and no one but a finished statesman could find his way among them; but -to Monsieur le Prince they were familiar ground. Considerable as were -his attainments, his children were his equals. Mme. de Longueville, -though shallow, was as keen a diplomat as her father, and by far more -dangerous; the Duc d'Enghien was an astute and accomplished politician. -The world considered the Condés as important as the d'Orléans', and -fully able to meet the d'Orléans' on the super-sacred footing of -etiquette. We shall see to what the equality of the two families -conducted them. Struggles between them were always imminent; their -quarrels arose from the exigencies of symbolical details: the manner of -the laying of a carpet, the bearing of the train of a State robe, et -cetera. Such details seem insignificant to us, but that they do so is -because we have lost the habit of monarchical traditions. When things -are done according to hierarchical custom, details are very important. -At every session of the King's Council "peckotings" passed between -Gaston d'Orléans and Monsieur le Prince and an attentive gallery looked -on and listened. But something of sterner stuff than "peckotings" was -the order of the day when the Court met for a ceremonious function; -material battles marked the meetings between Mlle. de Montpensier -and Mme. la Princesse de Condé; Mme. de Longueville was brave, and -La Grande Mademoiselle was not only brave, but fully determined to -justify her title and defend her honour as the Granddaughter of France. -The two princely ladies entered the lists with the same ardour, and -they were as heroic as they were burlesque. The 5th December the -Court was scheduled to attend a solemn Mass at Notre Dame, and by -the law of precedence Mademoiselle was to be followed by Mme. la -Princesse de Condé. The latter summoned her physician who bled her in -order to enable her to be physically incapable of taking her place -behind Mademoiselle. Gossips told Anne-Marie-Louise of her cousin's -stratagem, and Mademoiselle resorted to an equally efficient, though -entirely different, means of medical art calculated to make bodily -motion temporarily undesirable, if not impossible. Mademoiselle was -determined that she would not humiliate her quality by appearing at -Mass without her attendant satellite (Saint Simon would have applauded -the sufferings of both of the heroic ladies, for like them he had been -gifted by nature with a subtle appreciation of the duties and the -privileges of rank), but the incident was not closed. By a strange -fatality, at that instant Church came in conflict with State. Cardinal -Mazarin, representing the Church, inspired Queen Anne to resent her -niece's indisposition. The Queen became very angry at Mademoiselle, -and impelled by her anger, Monsieur commanded his daughter to set out -immediately for Notre Dame; he told her rudely that if she was too sick -to walk, she had plenty of people to carry her. "You will either go or -be carried!" he cried violently, and Mademoiselle, much the worse for -her stratagem, was forced to yield. She deplored her fate, and wept -because she had lost her father's sympathy. - -The reciprocal acidity of the junior branches was constantly manifested -by fatalities like the event just noted, and by episodes like the -affair of "the fallen letters" (August, 1643). Although all the -writers of that day believed that the reaction of that puerile matter -was felt in the Fronde, the quarrel, like all the other quarrels, -was of so senseless a character that it awakened the shame of the -nation. The story is soon told: Mme. de Montbazon picked up--no one -knew where--some love letters in which, as she said, she recognised -the writing of Mme. de Longueville. Her story was false, and Anne of -Austria, who frowned upon the gossip and the jealousies of the Court, -condemned Mme. Montbazon to go to the Hôtel de Condé and make apologies -for the wrong that she had done the Princess. All the friends of the -House of Condé were expected to be present to hear and to witness the -vindication of Mme. la Princesse. - - Monsieur was there [wrote Mademoiselle], and for my part I could - not stay away. I had no friendship for Mme. la Princesse, or for - any of her friends, but on that occasion I could not have taken a - part contrary to hers with decorum; to be present there was one of - the duties of relationship which one cannot neglect. - -On that occasion the relatives of the family were all in the Hôtel de -Condé, but their hearts were not in their protestations, and the Condés -were not deceived. The petty scandal of the letters fed the flame of -enmity, which Mazarin watched and nourished because he knew that it -was to his interest and to the interest of the State to foment the -quarrel between the rival cousins. An anonymous collection of "memoirs" -says: - - Seeing that he was pressed from all sides, the Cardinal thought - that the safety of his position required him to keep the House of - Orleans separate from the House of Bourbon, so that by balancing - one by the other he could remain firmly poised between the two and - make himself equally necessary to both. It was as if Heaven itself - had dropped the affair of the fallen letters into his hands, and he - turned his celestial windfall to such account that the Luxembourg - and the Hôtel de Bourbon found it difficult to maintain a decent - composure; at heart they were at daggers' points. The Duc d'Orléans - and the Duc d'Enghien were regarded as the chiefs of the two - hostile parties, and the courtiers rallied to the side of either as - their interests or their inclinations led them![117] - -Apparently Mazarin's position was impregnable. The world would have -been blind had it failed to see that the arguments used by the Prime -Minister when he conferred with his sovereign were of a character -essentially differing from the arguments generally used by politicians, -but it was believed that the Cardinal's method was well fitted to his -purpose, and that to any woman--and particularly to a woman who had -passed maturity--it would be, by force of nature, more acceptable and -more weighty than the abstract method of a purely political economist, -and more convincing than the reasons given by statesmen,--or, in fact, -any reason. - -Anne of Austria had not been a widow four months when Olivier -d'Ormesson noted, in his journal, that the Cardinal "was recognised as -the All-Powerful." For his sake the Queen committed the imprudences -of a love-sick schoolgirl. She began by receiving his visits in the -evening. The doors were left open, and the Queen said that the Cardinal -visited her for the purpose of giving her instructions regarding -the business of the State. As time went on the Cardinal's visits -lengthened; after a certain time the doors were closed, and, to the -scandal of the Court, they remained closed. At Rueil the Queen tried -to make Mazarin sit with her in her little garden carriage. Mazarin -"had the wisdom to resist her wish, but he had the folly to accompany -her with his hat upon his head." As no one ever approached the Queen -with head covered, the spectacle of the behatted minister astonished -the public. (September, 1644.) A few weeks later every one in Paris -knew that an apartment or suite of rooms in the Palais Royal, was being -repaired, and that it was to be connected with the Queen's apartments -by a secret passage. The public learned gradually, detail by detail, -that Mazarin was to occupy the repaired apartment, and that the secret -passage had been prepared so that the Prime Minister might "proceed -commodiously" to the royal apartments to hold political conferences -with the Queen. When everything was ready, the _Gazette_ (19th -November) published the following announcement: - - The Queen in full Council made it plain that, considering the - indisposition of Cardinal Mazarin, and considering that he is - forced, with great difficulty, to cross the whole length of the - great garden of the Palais Royal,[118] and considering that some - new business is constantly presenting itself to him, and demanding - to be communicated to the Queen, the Queen deems it appropriate to - give the Cardinal an apartment in the Palais Royal, so that she - may confer with him more conveniently concerning her business. Her - Majesty's intention has been approved by Messieurs, her ministers, - and with applause, so that next Monday (21st November), his - Eminence will take possession of his new residence. - -The Queen's indiscretion won the heart of the favourite, and he longed -for her presence. Twice, once at Rueil and once at Fontainebleau, he -displaced La Grande Mademoiselle and installed himself in her room at -the Queen's house. The first time that Mazarin supplanted Mademoiselle, -the haughty Princess swallowed the affront and found a lodging in the -village, but the second time she lost her patience. "It is rumoured in -Paris," wrote d'Ormesson, "that Mademoiselle spoke to the Queen boldly, -because the Cardinal wished to take her room in order to be near her -Majesty." (September, 1645.) - -Some historians have inferred that the Queen had been secretly married -to her Minister. We have no proof of any such thing, unless we accept -as proof the very ambiguous letter which the Cardinal wrote to the -Queen when he was in exile. In that letter he spoke of people who tried -to injure him in the Queen's mind. "They will gain nothing by it," -wrote Mazarin; "_the heart of the Queen and the heart of Mazarin are -joined_[119] by liens which cannot be broken either by time or by any -effort,--as you yourself have agreed with me more than once." In the -same letter he implores the Queen to pity him: "for I deserve pity! it -is so strange for this child to be married, then, at the same time, -separated from ... and always pursued by them to whom I am indebted for -the obstacles to my marriage." (27th October, 1651.) These words are -of obscure meaning, and they may as easily be interpreted figuratively -as literally. They who believed that the Queen had married Mazarin -secretly must have drawn their conclusions from the intimate fondness -of her manner. Anne of Austria was infatuated, and her infatuation made -it impossible for her to guard her conduct; her behaviour betrayed the -irregularity of the situation, and it is probable that her friends were -loth to believe that anything less than marriage could induce such -familiarity. However that may have been, Mazarin's letters give no -proof of marriage, nor has it ever been proved that he claimed that he -had married the Queen. - -When judgment is rendered according to evidence deduced from personal -manners, changes in time and in the differences of localities should be -considered. Our consideration of the Queen's romance dates from the -period of the legitimate, or illegitimate, honeymoon. (August, 1643, or -within six weeks of that time.) - -The public watched the royal romance with irritation. Having greeted -the Mazarin ministry with a good grace, they (the people) were -unanimously seized by a feeling of shame and hatred for the handsome -Italian who made use of woman's favour to attain success. The friends -of the Queen redoubled their warnings, and retired from the royal -presence in disgrace. One of her oldest servitors, who had given -unquestionable proof of his devotion,[120] dared to tell her to her -face that "all the world was talking about her and about his Eminence, -and in a way which ought to make her reflect upon her position." ... -"She asked me," said La Porte, 'Who said that?' I answered, 'Everybody! -it is so common that no one talks of anything else.' She reddened and -became angry."[121] Mme. de Brienne, wife of the Secretary of State, -who had spoken to the Queen on the same subject, told her friends that -"More than once the Queen had blushed to the whites of her eyes."[122] -Every one wrote to the Queen; she found anonymous letters even in her -bed. When she went through the streets she heard people humming songs -whose meaning she knew only too well. Her piety and her maternity had -endeared her to the common people, and they, the people, had looked -indulgently upon her passing weaknesses; but now things had come to a -crisis. One day, when the Regent was attending a service in Notre Dame, -she was surprised by a band of women of the people, who surrounded her -and fell at her feet crying that she was dissipating the fortune of -her ward. "_Queen_," they cried, "_you have a man in your house who is -taking everything!_"[123] - -The fact that the young King was being despoiled was a greater grief -to the people than the abasement of the Queen. It must be avowed that -Mazarin was the most shameless thief who ever devoured a kingdom in -the name of official duty and under the eyes and by the favour of a -sovereign. His cry was the cry of the daughters of the horseleech. It -was understood that Mazarin would not grant a service, or a demand -of any kind, until his price had been put down, and in some cases -the commission was demanded and paid twice. Bussy-Rabutin received a -letter commanding him to "pay over and without delay" the sum of seven -hundred livres. The letter is still in existence. Condé wrote it and -despatched it, but it bears his personal endorsement to the effect that -he had been "ordered" to write it. Montglat states that Anne of Austria -asked for a fat office for one of her creatures, that the office was -immediately granted, and that the appointee was taxed one hundred -thousand écus. Anne of Austria was piqued: she had supposed that her -position exempted her from the requirements of the ministerial tariff; -she expostulated, but the Cardinal-Minister was firm; he made it clear, -even to the dim perceptions of his royal lady, that the duties of -the director of the French nation ranked the tender impulses of the -lover. Patriotic duty nerved his hand, and the Queen, recognising the -futility of resistance, trembling with excitement, and watering her -fevered persuasions with her tears, opened her purse and paid Mazarin -his commission. By a closely calculated policy the State's coffers were -subjected to systematic drainage, the national expenses were cut, and -millions, diverted from their regular channels, found their way into -the strong box of the favourite. The soldiers of France were dying of -starvation on the frontiers, the State's creditors were clamouring -for their money, the Court was in need of the comforts of life[124]; -the country had been ravaged by passing armies, pillaged by thieving -politicians, harrowed by abuses of all kinds. The taxes were wrung from -the beggared people by armed men; yet "poor Monsieur, the Cardinal," -as the Queen always called him, gave insolently luxurious fêtes and -expended millions upon his extravagant fancies. No one cared for his -foreign policy. Would political triumphs bring back the dead, feed -the starving, rehabilitate the dishonoured wives and daughters of the -peasants, restore verdure to the ruined farms? - -The Queen's anxiety to create an affection strong enough to blind the -eyes of her courtiers to her intimacy with Mazarin had inspired her -with a desire to lavish gifts. "The Queen gives everything" had become -a proverb; the courtiers knew the value of their complaisancy, and -they flocked to the Palais Royal with petitions; offices, benefices, -privileges, monopolies either to exploit, to concede, or to sell were -freely bestowed upon all who demanded them. Each courtier had some new -and unheard-of fancy to gratify, either for his own pleasure or for the -pleasure of his friends; anything that could be made visible, anything -that could be so represented as to appear visible to the imagination, -was scheduled in the minds of the courtiers as dutiable and some one -drew revenues from it. One of the ladies of the Court obtained from the -Queen the right to tax all the Masses said in Paris.[125] "The 13th -January, 1644, the Council of the King employed part of its session -in refusing 'a quantity of gifts' which the Queen had accorded, and -which were all of a character to excite laughter." The royal horn had -ceased to pour; the Queen's strong-box was empty. The courtiers knew -that there was nothing more to gain; one and all they raised their -voices, and the threatening growl of the people of Paris echoed them. -The day of reckoning was at hand; had Anne of Austria possessed all -that she had given to buy the indulgence of her world, and had she -willed to give it all again, she could not have stilled the tumult; -to quote Mme. de Motteville's record: "The people's love for the Queen -had diminished; the absolute power which the Queen had placed in the -hand of Mazarin had destroyed her own influence, and from too fondly -desiring that the Parisians should love her lover she had made them -hate him." In the beginning of the Regency Mazarin had been popular; -after a time the people had lost confidence in him, and the hatred -which followed their distrust was mingled with contempt. - -Mazarin had emptied the treasury of France. No better statement of -his conduct was ever given than Fénelon gave his pupil, the Duc de -Bourgogne, in his _Dialogues des Morts_. Mazarin and Richelieu are the -persons speaking. Each makes known the value of his own work; each -criticises the work of the other. Mazarin reproaches Richelieu for his -cruelty and thirst for blood; Richelieu answers: - - "You did worse to the French than to spill their blood. You - corrupted the deep sources of their manners and their life. You - made probity a mask. I laid my hand upon the great to repress their - insolence; you beat them down and trampled upon their courage. - You degraded nobility. You confounded conditions. You rendered - all graces venal. You were afraid of the influence of merit. You - permitted no man to approach you unless he could give you proof of - a low, supple nature,--a nature complaisant to the solicitations - of mischievous intrigue. You never received a true impression. You - never had any real knowledge of men. You never believed anything - but evil. You saw the worst in a man and drew your profit from it. - To your base mind honour and virtue were fables. You needed - knaves who could deceive the dupes whom you entrapped in business; - you needed traffickers to consummate your schemes. So your name - shall be reviled and odious." - -[Illustration: CARDINAL MAZARIN] - -This is a fair portrayal, as far as it goes; but it shows only one side -(the worst side) of Mazarin's character. The portrait is peculiarly -interesting from the fact that it was especially depicted and set -forth for the instruction of the great-grandson of the woman who loved -Mazarin. - -It is probable that stern appreciation of the duty of the -representative of Divine Justice primed the virulence of the pious -Fénelon, when he seated himself to point out an historical moral for -the descendant of the weak Queen who sacrificed the prosperity of -France on the altar of an insensate passion. - -La Grande Mademoiselle was one of Mazarin's most hostile enemies, and -her memoirs evince unbending severity. The weakness of her criticism -detracts from the importance of a work otherwise valuable as a -contemporary chronicle. She regarded Mazarin's "lack of intelligence" -as his worst fault. She was convinced that he possessed neither -capacity nor judgment "because he acted from the belief that he could -reject the talents of a Gaston d'Orléans with impunity. His conduct -to Princes of the Blood proved that he lacked wisdom; he stinted the -junior branches of their legitimate influence; he would not yield to -the pillars of the throne the power that belonged to them by right; he -thrust aside the heirs-presumptive, when he might have leaned upon -them! Manifestly he was witless, stupid, unworthy the consideration of -a prince." - -Mademoiselle asserted that Mazarin deserved the worst of fates and -the scorn of the people. She believed that many evils could have been -averted had Monsieur been consulted in regard to the government of the -kingdom. She affirmed that it was her conviction that all good servants -of the Crown owed it to their patriotism to arm and drive the Cardinal -across the frontier of France. That was her conception of duty, and it -smiled upon her from all points of the compass. - -Not long before the beginning of the Fronde, the fine world of Paris, -stirred to action by the spectacle of the royal infatuation and by the -subjection of the national welfare to the suppositive exigencies of -"the foreigner," embraced the theory of Opposition, and to be of the -Opposition was the fashion of the hour. All who aspired to elegance -wore their rebellion as a badge, unless they had private reasons for -appearing as the friends of Mazarin. The women who were entering -politics found it to their interest to join the opposing body. - -Politics had become the favourite pastime of the highways and the -little streets. Men and women, not only in Paris, but in the châteaux -and homes of the provinces, and children--boys and girls--began to -express political opinions in early youth. - -"Come, then, Grandmamma," said little Montausier to Mme. de -Rambouillet, "now that I am five years old, let us talk about affairs -of State." Her grandmother could not have reproved with a good -grace, because her own "Blue Room" had been one of the chief agents -responsible for the new diversion just before the Fronde. A mocking but -virile force arose in the Opposition to check the ultra-refinements of -the high art, the high intellectual ability, and the other superfine -characteristics of the school of Arthénice. The mockery of the -Opposition was as keen and its irony was as effective as the mental -sword-play of the literary extremists. Wit was its chief weapon and its -barbed words, and merry yet sarcastic thrusts had power to overthrow a -ministry. The country knew it and gloried in it. The people of France -would have entered upon revolution before they would have renounced -their "spirituality." In the polemics of the new party the turn of a -sentence meant a dozen things at once; a syllable stung like a dagger. -Frenchmen are the natural artists of conversation, and they never -found field more favourable to their art than the broad plains of the -Opposition. Avowed animosity to the pretensions of the pedants and -light mockery of the preciosity of the _Précieuses_ offered a varied -choice of subjects and an equally varied choice of accessories for -their work. The daring cavaliers of the Opposition passed like wild -huntsmen over the exhausted ground, with eyes bent upon the trail, -and found delicate and amusing shades of meaning in phrases scorned -and stigmatised as "common" by the hyper-spiritual enthusiasts of the -Salons. - -In the exercise of free wit, the women of the new political school -found an influence which before their day had been monopolised -by the polemists of the State's Councils. They--the women of the -Opposition--swept forward and seized positions previously held by men, -and since then, either from deep purpose or from pure conviction, -they have held their ground and exercised their right to share, -or to attempt to share, in the creation and in the destruction of -governments. Mademoiselle followed the fashion of the day when she -frequented the society of people who were in disgrace at Court. She -ridiculed the King's Minister, and as she was influential and popular, -outspoken and eager to declare her principles, she was called an -agitator, though in the words of Mme. de Motteville, "she was not quite -sure what she was trying to do." Mazarin, whom Mademoiselle considered -"stupid," had entangled the wires of the cabals and confused the minds -of the pretenders with such consummate art that the keenest intriguers -gazed in bewilderment upon their own interests, and doubted their -truest friends. For instance, Monsieur, who had mind and wit "to burn," -could not explain, even to himself, why he repudiated Mademoiselle -when she quarrelled with the second junior branch. He knew that he was -jealous of his rights and of all that belonged to him; he knew that the -power of the Condés was a menace, that his daughter was a powerful -ally for any party, that her championship was, and always had been, his -strongest arm against an unappreciative world, and after one of the -senseless exhibitions of anger against Mademoiselle to which Anne of -Austria, impelled by Mazarin, frequently incited him, he asked himself -why he maltreated his daughter when she resisted the usurpations of his -hated cousins, the Condés. - -[Illustration: MADEMOISELLE DE MONTPENSIER - -FROM A STEEL ENGRAVING] - -"Why," he queried piteously, "should I plunge the knife into my own -breast?" - -Why he did so, and why many another as astute as he moved heaven and -earth to effect his own downfall was the secret of Mazarin. - -Mademoiselle wept bitter tears for the loss of her father's friendship; -then she arose in her pride, resolved to tread the path of life -alone, according to her independent will. She was twenty years old -and in the fulness of her beauty. She described her appearance with -complaisancy[126]: - - I am tall; I am neither fat nor lean; I have a graceful and freely - moving figure, and my bearing is natural and easy. My bust is well - formed. My hands and feet are not beautiful, but there is great - beauty in their flesh, and the flesh of my throat is also very - pretty. My leg is straight, and my foot is well formed. My hair is - a beautiful ash-blonde. My face is long, and its contour is fine. - The nose is large and aquiline. The mouth neither large nor little, - but distinctly outlined and of a very agreeable form. The lips are - the colour of vermilion. My teeth are not handsome, but neither - are they horrible. My eyes are blue, neither large nor small, but - brilliant, gentle, and proud, like my mien. I have a haughty, but - not self-glorified air; I am polite and familiar, but of a manner - to excite respect rather than to attract the lack of it. I am - indeed very indifferent about my dress, but my negligence does not - go as far as untidiness. I hate that! I am neat, and whether I am - laced or loosely robed, everything that I wear looks well. This is - not because I do not look incomparably better with tightly fitting - garments, but it is because negligence and loose garments sit less - ill upon me than upon another, for I may say, without boasting, - that I become whatever I put on better than anything that I put - on becomes me.... God ... has given me unparalleled health and - strength. Nothing breaks me down; nothing fatigues me; and it is - difficult to judge of the events and the changes in my fortunes by - my face, for my face rarely shows any change. I had forgotten to - say that I have a healthy complexion, which is in accord with what - I have just said. My tint is not delicate, but it is fair, and very - bright and clear. - -Before the lessons of experience and evil fortune changed -Mademoiselle's handsome face, she was thus vivaciously described by an -anonymous contemporary: - - This Princess of the blood of kings and of princes is haughty, - daring, and of a courage much more like the courage of a man than - is commonly found in woman. It may be said with truth that she is - an amazon, and that she is better fitted to carry a lance than to - hold a distaff. She is proud, enterprising, adventurous, quick, and - free of speech. She cannot bear to hear anything contrary to her - own opinion. As she has never loved either the King's ministers - or her father's ministers, she has avoided them; because had she - received them in her home, or frequented their society, civility - would have constrained her to show them deference. Her humour is - impatient, her mind is active, and her heart is ardently set upon - whatever she undertakes. As to dissimulation, she does not know - the meaning of the term. She tells what she thinks, careless of the - opinion of the world. - -She was described in divers ways, according to the impressions of -her associates. One said that her manner gave evidence of serious -reflection; another called her too vivacious. It was supposed that she -had been the first to assert that the soul ought not to be susceptible -to love, and therefore her admirers sang to her of the aversion felt by -Pallas for the allurements of Venus. Mademoiselle had said: - - "_Je n'ai point l'âme tendre._" - -and she had meant what she said, and been glad to have it known that -she was heart-free. - -She was blamed for her rude manners and for her outbursts of anger. -When she declared that she longed to go to war with the soldiers her -critics laughed at her pretensions. It was generally believed that her -faults were numerous, and that she had few of the qualities considered -desirable in woman; but no one ever called her petty, cowardly, or -false. La Grande Mademoiselle was never a liar; she never betrayed -friend or foe. She was brave and generous; and it was not her fault if -when nature placed her soul in the form of a woman it gave her the mien -and the inclinations of a man. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 87: _Registres de l'Hôtel de Ville_ (Collection Danjou).] - -[Footnote 88: _Mémoire du roi au plénipotentiaires_ (6th January, -1644). ("Il ne faut pas s'étonner de tout ce que disent nos enemies; -C' est à nous de tenir: il est indubitable qu'ils se rangeront peu à -peu.")] - -[Footnote 89: The first of our casinos.] - -[Footnote 90: _Mémoires_ of Mademoiselle.] - -[Footnote 91: Olivier d'Ormesson.] - -[Footnote 92: Mademoiselle erred as to the date; the _Gazette de -France_ fixes it March 8th.] - -[Footnote 93: About six millions of francs.] - -[Footnote 94: Mademoiselle errs in supposing (in her memoirs) that it -was but one year. Such errors are frequent in her writings.] - -[Footnote 95: _Père de Bérulle et l'Oratoire de Jésus_, M. l'Abbé -Houssaye.] - -[Footnote 96: _Saint François de Sales_, Fortunat Strowski.] - -[Footnote 97: The Abbé Houssaye, _loc cit._] - -[Footnote 98: _Saint Vincent de Paul et les Gondis_, Chantelauze.] - -[Footnote 99: _Le Cardinal de Bérulle et Richelieu_, the Abbé Houssaye.] - -[Footnote 100: _Les Libertins en France au XVII. Siècle_, F. T. -Perrens.] - -[Footnote 101: _Oraison funèbre d'Anne de Gonzague_, Bossuet.] - -[Footnote 102: _Port Royal_, Sainte Beuve.] - -[Footnote 103: _Bérulle et l'Oratoire_, the Abbé Houssaye.] - -[Footnote 104: Fortunat Strowski.] - -[Footnote 105: Their uselessness, their ignorance have made us despise -them.--Bossuet.] - -[Footnote 106: _Manuel de l'histoire de la littérature française_, F. -Brunetière. - -The first edition of _La vie dévote_ appeared in 1688, the _Traité de -l'amour de Dieu_ appeared in 1612.] - -[Footnote 107: The address delivered on the occasion of Racine's -Centennial, 26th April 1899.] - -[Footnote 108: Motteville.] - -[Footnote 109: _Mémoires._] - -[Footnote 110: _Declaration pour la Régence_ (21st April, 1643).] - -[Footnote 111: Born in 1616.] - -[Footnote 112: Édouard, Prince Palatine, a younger son of the Elector -Palatine, Frédéric V.] - -[Footnote 113: Motteville.] - -[Footnote 114: Duc d'Aumale's _Histoire des princes de Condé_.] - -[Footnote 115: Among other emoluments he had 800,000 livres.] - -[Footnote 116: _Mémoires_ of Lenet.] - -[Footnote 117: Manuscript _Mémoires_ published in fragments with -Olivier d'Ormesson's Journal, by M. Chervel (who appears to have been a -member of the House of Condé).] - -[Footnote 118: Mazarin lived in a palace which became the Bibliothèque -Nationale.] - -[Footnote 119: In Mazarin's letters the words in italics are either -in cipher or in words which he had agreed upon with the Queen when -arranging the details of his absence; in this instance we have used the -translation given by M. Ravenel in his _Lettres du Cardinal Mazarin à -la Reine_, etc.] - -[Footnote 120: La Porte.] - -[Footnote 121: _Mémoires_ of La Porte.] - -[Footnote 122: _Mémoires_ of de Brienne, junior.] - -[Footnote 123: See the journal of Olivier d'Ormesson. This scene took -place March 19, 1645.] - -[Footnote 124: Motteville.] - -[Footnote 125: _La misère au temps de la Fronde_ (quoted from the -records of the Council).] - -[Footnote 126: _La Galerie des portraits de Mlle. de Montpensier._ (New -edition.) Édouard de Barthélemy.] - - - - -CHAPTER V - - I. The Beginning of Trouble--Paris and the Parisians in - 1648--II. The Parliamentary Fronde--Mademoiselle Would Be Queen - of France--III. The Fronde of the Princes and the Union of the - Frondes--Projects for an Alliance with Condé--IV. La Grande - Mademoiselle's Heroic Period--The Capture of Orleans--The Combat in - the Faubourg Saint Antoine--The End of the Fronde. - - -I - -Few political crises have left, either upon participants or upon -witnesses, impressions as diverse as the impressions left by the -Fronde. As examples of this fact take Retz (whose _Mémoires_ are the -epopee of revolutionary Paris), Omer Talon, the Queen's friend, M. -de Motteville, La Rochefoucauld, duke and peer, Gaston d'Orléans, de -Beaufort, Anne de Gonzague, Mme. de Chevreuse, and all the messieurs -and mesdames whose ways of thinking we know. They furnished the divers -views of the Fronde from which we gain our knowledge of that event, -and as they deduced their impressions from the effect which the Fronde -had upon their personal interests or sympathies, and from their mental -conditions, it is difficult to form an independent or a just idea. -Versatile and brilliant imaginations have left kaleidoscopic visions -of a limited number of very plain realities, and as the only means of -giving uniformity and sequency to a narrative which, though it covers -various periods, is circumscribed by certain limits, is to make a -selection from the many means of study furnished by a voluminous mass -of documents, I have detached from history nothing but the facts which -were connected with the life of the person around whom I have woven -this narrative. - -By relating everything concerning La Grande Mademoiselle and by showing -her actively engaged in her daily pursuits when the Fronde took shape -and during the war, I have hoped to make visible to the reader at least -one figure of the most confused of all the harassed epochs of our -modern history. - -Mademoiselle's point of view may not have been one of the best, but it -had at least one merit: it was not the point of view of an ordinary -observer. The Fronde was La Grande Mademoiselle's heroic period, -and her reasons for embracing the cause were fit for the fabric of -a romance. She intended to marry, and a marriage appropriate to her -high station required the veiling smoke of the battle-field and the -booming music of great guns. She entered the army and played her part -with such spirit that, according to her own story, she wondered to the -end of her days how she could have committed so many follies. These -pages are written to explain the mental condition which evolved not -only La Grande Mademoiselle's follies but the follies of many of her -countrymen. - -It is evident from the memoirs on record that Mademoiselle did not -expect a revolution, but in that respect she was as clear-sighted as -her contemporaries; no one looked for any change. Four years had passed -since the people raised the barricades, and all that time Paris had -growled its discontent. Neither the Regent nor the courtiers had cared -to ask what the canaille were thinking. The curés had been driven -from the devastated country parishes to beg bread and shelter in the -monasteries, and the industrious French people who had always been neat -and merry lay in rags on their sordid beds, dying of famine because the -usurers of the State--the national note-holders--had seized their tools -and confiscated all means of paying the labourer. - -In 1644 the people invaded the Palais de Justice and noisily protested -against the new tax. They ordered Parliament to take their threats to -the Queen. The Queen refused to remit the tax, and the city immediately -assumed the aspect which it habitually wore on the eve of revolution. -Groups of men and women stood about the streets, the people were -eager and excited,--they knew not why. Business was suspended. The -shopkeepers stood on their doorsteps. The third night after the Queen -refused to listen to the appeal of the people, the milk-soup boiled -over! Bands of men armed with clubs descended from the faubourgs, -crowded the streets of Paris, and, to quote an eye-witness, "they gave -fright enough to the city where fear and like emotions were unknown." -After a few hours the crowd dispersed and the city became calm. But -the road was clear, the canaille had found the way; they knew that -it was possible to arm with clubs, or with anything that they could -handle, and surge into the streets against the Crown. From that hour -forerunners of the approaching storm multiplied. Parliament openly -sustained the demands of the people. In Parliament there were natural -orators whose denunciations of the causes of the prevailing misery -were brilliant and terrible. The people's envoys accused the Regency -of permitting the abuses, the injustice, and the oppression which had -wrecked the peace of France. They persisted in their protestations, -and the Majesty of the Throne could not silence them. At the solemn -sessions of the beds of justice and in the Queen's own chambers they -presented their arguments, and with voices hoarse with indignation, -and with hands raised threateningly toward heaven they cried their -philippics in the Queen's ears. Seated beside his mother the child-king -looked on and listened. He could not understand the meaning of all the -vehement words, but he never pardoned the voices which uttered them. -The Court listened, astonished. - -Mademoiselle weighed the words of the people, she paid close attention, -but her memoirs do not speak of the revolts of public opinion. She was -as unconscious of their meaning as the Queen,--and to say that is to -tell the whole story. Only sixty years before that time the barricades -of the League had closed the streets of Paris, and only ten years -before the theatre lovers had witnessed a comedy called _Alizon_, in -which one of the ancient leaguers had fixed such eyes upon the King -as our Communardes fixed upon the Versaillais. No one had forgotten -anything! The Parisians had kept their old arms bright; they were -looking forward to a time when arms would be needed; yet the Regent -thought that when she had issued an order commanding the people not to -talk politics she had provided against everything. - -The nation's depths, as represented by the middle classes, had found -a new apostle in the person of a member of the Parliament, "President -Barillon." Barillon had been a pillar of the Government, but his -feelings had changed. Mme. de Motteville, who was in warm sympathy with -the Regent, wrote bitterly of his new opinions. She said: - - That man has a little of the shade of feeling which colours the - actions of some of the men of our century who always hate the happy - and the powerful. Such men think that they prove their greatness - of heart by loving only the unfortunate, and that idea incessantly - involves them in parties, and makes them do things adverse to the - Queen. - -The Court was as blind as the Queen's friend; it could not see that -the day was coming when the determination to abolish abuses would -sweep away the ancient social forms before their eyes. In the opinion -of the Queen the criticisms and the ideas of the King's subjects -constituted felony, and it was Barillon's fate to go down. Barillon had -been the Queen's devoted friend and champion. After the King died he -had worked hard to seat the royal widow on the throne. He believed--no -one knew what excuse he had for believing such a thing--that the Queen -shared his ideas of the rights of the poor and the humble, and that -she believed as he believed: that kings owed certain duties to their -subjects. Barillon was not forced to wait long for his enlightenment. -Anne of Austria was a woman of short patience, and advice irritated -her. As soon as the President's eyes were opened to the truth he rushed -headlong into the arms of the Opposition. Anne of Austria scorned "his -treachery to the Crown." His impassioned thoughts of divine justice -were enigmatical to the sovereign understanding. She was enraged by -the obstinacy of her old friend, and by her orders he was cast into -the prison of Saint Piguerol, where he died, as the just Motteville -said, "regretted by every one." Barillon was the precursor of the -"Idealogues" of the eighteenth century and of the Socialists of our own -day. - -The Queen was one of the people who seem to have received eyes because -they could not be blind without eyes. The King's porringer was empty -because the King had no money. The Queen, his mother, had pawned the -jewels of the crown to appease her creditors, yet she was indignant -when the bourgeois said that France was bankrupt. She did not attach -any importance to "that canaille,"--as she called the Parliament,--but -she regarded criticism or disapproval as an attempt upon the authority -of her son. As she expressed her exotic ideas freely, the bourgeois -knew what she thought of them, and her abusive epithets were scored to -the credit of the Opposition. As much from interest as from sympathy -the Opposition invariably sustained the claims of the people. "The -bourgeois were all infected with love for the public welfare," said -the gentle Motteville bitterly. So the Court knew that in case of -difficulty it could not count upon "that canaille." - -Neither could Parliament count upon itself. There were too many -counter-currents in its channels, too many individual interests, too -many ambitions, too many selfish intrigues, to say nothing of the -instinct of self-preservation which had turned the thoughts of the -nobles toward a last desperate attempt to prevent the establishment of -the absolute monarchy. They had resolved to make the attempt, and by it -they hoped to save the remnant of their ancient privileges. They would -have been justified in saving anything that they could lay their hands -on, for no man is morally bound to commit suicide. In point of fact the -only thing which they were morally bound to do was to remember that -duty to country precedes all other duties, but in that day people had a -very dim idea of duty to country. La Grande Mademoiselle believed that -the King's right was divine, but she did not hesitate to act against -the Court when her personal interests or the interests of her house -demanded such action. After the "Affair Saujon,[127]" she practically -retired from Court. Alluding to that fact, she said: "I did not think -that the presence of a person whom the Queen had so maltreated could be -agreeable to her Majesty." - -She made long visits at her château of Bois-le-Vicomte, near Meaux. -Her little court knew her prejudices and respected her feelings. She -regarded the success of the French arms as a personal misfortune, -because a French victory conferred more glory upon Monsieur le Prince. -The death of the elder Condé had not lessened the insolent pretensions -of the second junior branch, and the honours claimed by the hawk-eyed -general afflicted the haughty Princess d'Orléans, who had no valiant -soldier to add glory to her name. - -Referring to the battle of Lens Mademoiselle said: - - No one dared to tell me of it; the paper containing the account of - it was sent to me from Paris, and they placed it on my table, where - I saw it as soon as I arose. I read it with astonishment and grief. - On that occasion I was less of a good Frenchman than an enemy. - -This avowal is worthy of note because it furnishes a key to the -approaching national crisis. Mademoiselle's treason was the crime of -architects of the Fronde; of the Nobility first, afterward of all -France. Mademoiselle wept over the battle of Lens, and when her father -commanded her to return to Paris to appear with the Queen and to join -in the public rejoicings her grief knew no bounds. The scene in the -Palais Royal had destroyed her confidence and her sympathy, and she -could not have "rejoiced with the Queen" on any occasion; but her -father's commands were formal, and she was forced to assist with the -Court (August 26th) at Notre Dame, when the _Te Deum_ was chanted in -thanksgiving for the victory of France. - - On that occasion [said Mademoiselle] I placed myself beside - Cardinal Mazarin, and as he was in a good humour I spoke to him of - liberating Saujon. He promised me to do all in his power. He said - that he should try to influence the Queen. I left them all at the - Palais Royal and went away to get my dinner, and when I arrived I - was informed of the clamour in the city; the bourgeois had taken - arms. - -The bourgeois had taken arms because of the unexpected arrest of two -members of Parliament. "Old Broussel" was one of the two, and to the -people he personified the democratic and humanitarian doctrines of -President Barillon, who had died in his prison because he had angered -the Queen by pleading the people's cause. The news of his arrest -fell like a thunderbolt, and the people sprang to arms. The general -excitement dispelled Mademoiselle's grief; she was not sorry for the -uprising. She could not see anything to regret in the disturbance of -the monarchy. Monsieur and the Queen had shown her that her interests -were not theirs, they had tormented and humiliated her, and it pleased -her wounded pride to think that her enemies were to be punished. The -Tuileries were admirably situated for the occasion. Should there be a -revolution it could not fail to take place under her windows, and even -were she to be imprisoned--as she had been before--she could still -amuse herself and witness the uprising at her ease. At that time there -were no boulevards; the Seine was the centre of the capital. It was -the great street and the great open hall in which the Parisians gave -their fêtes. Entering Paris either from Rouen or from Dijon, travellers -knew by the animation on the water when they were near the city. From -the Cours la Reine to the little isle Saint Louis the river was edged -with open-air shops and markets. On the river were barges laden with -merchandise, with rafts, with water-coaches (which looked like floating -houses), and with all the objects that man sets in the public view to -tempt his fellows and to offer means of conveyance either to business -or to pleasure. At various points the bargees and other river-men held -jousts. All through the city there were exhibitions of fireworks and -"water serenades," and along the shore, or moving swiftly among the -delicate shallops and the heavy barges were gilded pleasure galleys -with pennants flying in the wind. - -The light, mirrored by the water, danced upon the damp walls of the -streets which opened upon the quays. - -The Seine was the light and the joy of Paris, the pride of the public -life. Its arms enveloped Notre Dame, the mass of buildings called -"the Palais," the Houses of the Parliament and the Bourse, an immense -bazar whose galleried shops were the meeting-place of strollers and -of gossips. A little below the Palais stretched the Pont-Neuf, with -its swarms of street peddlers, jugglers, charlatans, and idlers who -passed their days watching the parade of the people of Paris. "The -disinherited," unfortunate speculators in the public bounty, sat apart -from the stream of travellers, preparing for their business by slipping -glass eyes into their heads, or by drawing out their teeth the better -to amuse the public and to solicit alms. - -All the emotions of the people were manifested first upon the river. -The Seine was a queen; we have made it a sewer. - -Even then Paris was a great cosmopolitan city, capable of receiving the -people of the world; it was the only place in Europe where a palace -could be made ready for guests in less than two hours. In less than one -hour the hosts of the inns prepared dinner for one hundred guests at -twenty écus a cover. - -Yet in many respects the powerful city was in a barbarous condition; it -was neither lighted nor swept, and as its citizens threw everything out -of their windows, the streets were paved with black and infected mud. -There was little or nothing like a police system, and the city was sown -with "places of refuge" (a survival of the Middle Ages), which served -as hiding-places for highwaymen and other malefactors, who enshrined -themselves among the shadows and lay in wait for the weak or the unwary. - -At that time the Duc d'Angoulême, the illegitimate son of Charles IX., -used to send his servants into the streets to collect their wages -from the passers-by. Having collected their money, the clever fellows -returned to the ducal palace. The Duc d'Angoulême possessed the right -of shelter, and his palace was vested with all the power of the horns -of the altar: once within his gates, the criminal was in safety and -"inviolable." - -The Duc de Beaufort used to send his servants out into the streets to -rob travellers for his personal benefit. When the robbers were arrested -their proprietor demanded their release and made great talk of an -indemnification. - -The excessively mobile Parisian character has changed many times since -the day of the Duc de Beaufort; but the people of the present are -counterparts of the people of the times[128] of Louis XIII. and the -Regency. One of Mademoiselle's contemporaries said: "The true Parisians -love to work; they love the novelty of things; they love changes in -their habits; they even love changes in their business. They are very -pious, and very--credulous. They are not in the least drunkards; they -are polite to strangers." - -Subtract the piety and add absinthe, the mother of Folly, and we -have the Parisians of our own day. They too are industrious; they are -always changing something; they are changeable in themselves; they -are credulous; they call religion "superstition," but they believe -in "systems," in "panaceas," in high-sounding words, and in "great -men"--men truly great, or spuriously great; they still cherish a belief -in revolutions. They are as ready now as they were centuries ago to die -for an idea, for a Broussel, and for much less than a Broussel. Just -such Parisians as we meet in our daily walks raised the barricades in -1648. Broussel's windows looked out upon the river; the boatmen and -the people of the water were the first to hear of his arrest, and they -rushed crying into the streets; the people of the _Halles_ joined them; -and the "good bourgeoisie" followed the people's lead. The tradesmen -closed their shops, the chains were drawn across the streets; and in -the twinkling of an eye Paris bristled with antiquated firearms like an -historical procession. - -Mademoiselle, who heard the noise, ordered her carriage, and went -out to pass the barricades. She had never seen the mob as she saw it -then. The people swayed forward to meet the insolent noble who dared -to defy them; but when they recognised their Princess, their hoarse -cries turned to shouts of welcome, and eager hands raised the chains. -Then, haughtily ignoring their fond smiles, Mademoiselle passed and the -chains fell behind her. - -So, with the canaille hailing her, she reached the Luxembourg, turned -and recrossed the river, firm in her power as the Princess of the -people. She had seen the barricades, and the sight was to influence her -life. - - * * * * * - -She returned to the Tuileries in a glow not of triumph,--she had never -doubted the people,--but she had passed the barriers raised by the -people against her enemies, and the people had confirmed her right to -rule, while the Regent trembled! - -The Granddaughter of France was the real head of the people, and as -the faëries had been present at her baptism, obstacles and monsters -vanished at her approach. - -With tender pride the people watched her progress; their favour was -never based upon reason; they did not ask why they loved the haughty -Princess who called them "Knaves" and considered them fit for the -scaffold or the fagots. She was their goddess, and whenever she -appeared they fell at her feet and worshipped her. - -The Court did not approve of Mademoiselle's democratic popularity. When -she arrived at the Tuileries she was imprisoned in her room; but as the -whole Court was imprisoned, and as no one dared to cross his threshold, -she was not inclined to murmur. Upon the whole the situation pleased -her. She watched the pale, frightened faces of the courtiers with -secret joy. Until then the Court had taken the people's threats for -jests, but the barricades had opened their eyes to the danger of their -position; the mob was at the palace gates, and no one knew how soon -it would be in the palace! Mademoiselle was in high spirits. Standing -at her open window, she watched the people; they were massed upon the -quays eating and drinking by the light of little bonfires; many of them -stretched out upon the ground where they could watch her and slept -there until morning. - -The night was calm, but Mademoiselle said of the day which followed it: - - Early in the morning I was awakened by the Long Roll; the troops - were starting to take back the Tour-de-Nesle, which some of the - wretches had captured. I sprang from my bed and looked out of my - window; it was not long before they came back; some of them were - wounded, and I was seized with great fear and pity. - -The canaille crowded the rue des Tuileries; the men carried swords, and -they did it so awkwardly that Mademoiselle laughed at them. - -The courtiers were prisoners; all the streets were barricaded with -wine-butts filled with earth and with manure. Given time, skilled -workmen could not have raised a more effective obstacle; it was good -work, well done, and as a symbol of the strength and the intention of -the people it was redoubtable. - -[Illustration: THE TOWER OF NESLE - -FROM A CONTEMPORARY PRINT] - -The barricades of the Fronde, floating the old banners of the League, -had evoked the past and touched the revolutionary current in the -abandoned souls of the Parisians. Retz claimed that his hand fired -the powder, and to do him justice, though his Memoirs make a great -deal of the part that he played in the Fronde, they tell less than -the truth. He might have said without boasting that he held Paris in -the hollow of his hand. He had worked hard to acquire the power by -which he bent the people to his will. Vincent de Paul had been his -tutor, and Retz had been an unworthy pupil; he had remembered but one -of Père Vincent's many lessons of brotherly love. His mind had seized -the warning: "Know that the people is a Being, to be considered; not -an inanimate object to be ignored," and from that simple precept he -had deduced utilitarian conclusions fitted for his personal service, -and drawn from them a plan for his own conduct. The principle of -man's humanity had given him his idea. He had based his system on the -susceptibility of men to the influence of intelligent suggestion, and -by the judicious warmth of his sympathy he had surrounded himself with -just such elements as his plan required. - -This young Abbé Retz was the coadjutor of his uncle, the Archbishop -of Paris. He was of an excellent family. He was astute, and, having -decided to turn the people to account, he applied his mind to the task -of learning the opinions of the lockpickers and ruffians of the city. -His office gave him the right to go everywhere and to be seen in all -company. He frequented the cellars and the garrets, he fraternised -with the cut-throats, he distributed alms, and as equivalent for -what he gave received instruction in the magic vocabulary of the men -who shut the streets of a city as easily as a warder shuts a door; he -studied the ways of the canaille seven years, living hand-in-glove -and cheek-by-jole with the men of the dens; he studied his world as -he studied the policy of the ministry and the face of the Queen; and -when he felt that the footing of the Court was insecure he broke away -from Royalty and put into action the science of the cut-throats. To act -the part of Marius or Coriolanus before the people was to satisfy an -ambition which had haunted him since he had first read Plutarch. Retz -was the type of the hero of romance at a time when Corneille met his -models in the public streets. - -He cared more to excite the admiration of the masses than to acquire -position or money; he was influenced more by passionate love of -brilliant and extraordinary exploits than by ambition, because he -knew that his exploits made the people admire him. In his opinion an -out-and-out adventure was worth more than all else, and no condition -seemed to him as desirable as the life of a conspirator. He was called -_le petit Catilina_, and the title pleased him better than any other. -His "popolo," collectively and individually, gloried in him, understood -him, trusted him, and sympathised with him in all his longings. He was -at home and at ease and as safe as in the archiepiscopal palace in the -most dangerous of their dens. - -[Illustration: CARDINAL DE RETZ] - -He was the subject of all species of critical judgments; La -Rochefoucauld and Saint Simon spoke admiringly of his "prodigious -genius." Anne of Austria called him a "factionist." Mazarin, who as -he loved neither virtue nor vice, could not judge justly of one of -Plutarch's heroes, did not like Retz; but he feared him. Mademoiselle -said in her memoirs: "The Cardinal tells me that he believes that -Retz has a black soul." People who knew no better laughed at the -Archbishop's nephew, and Retz involuntarily fostered their delusion. -His swarthy face, crooked legs, and near-sighted awkwardness were well -fitted to call forth the gayety of light-minded courtiers. To add to -his questionable appearance, he robed himself in the costumes of a -cavalier; his doublets and other garments were of gaudy stuffs, belaced -and bedecked with baubles which were in all respects, and without -any qualifying reservation, beneath the notice of a serious or an -appreciative gentleman. His personal carriage (a prancing and tiptoeing -swagger) impressed strangers with the idea that he was an unfortunate -ballet-master whose troubles had dethroned his reason. But there are -men upon the earth who are so constituted that they can support all the -ridicule that can be heaped upon them; Retz was one of them; the fact -that he was pleasing to women proves it. - -While this enterprising episcopal agitator was engaged in earnest -contemplation of the first effects of the mischief that he had made -in his own quarter (the quarter of Notre Dame) the Parisians were -preparing for battle; the fathers were polishing their muskets, -the children were sharpening their pocket-knives. But Paris was -calm, the rioters had gone back to the faubourgs. The streets were -clear between the Tuileries and the Palais Royal, and Mademoiselle -paid a visit to the Queen. She was in the Queen's salon when the -Parliamentary deputation arrived, acting under stern orders from "the -nation's depths," to demand the release of Broussel. Anne of Austria -was angry; she refused the demand and the deputies went back to the -bourgeoisie. They were not gone long; Mademoiselle was still with the -Queen when they returned with the people's ultimatum: _The people -will have Monsieur Broussel!_ Anne of Austria was not dull and every -possible contingency had been covered by her astute mentor. She ordered -Broussel's release and the deputies departed, calm but triumphant. - -Mathieu Molé negotiated the release, and while he talked to the Queen -a member of Parliament, accompanying him, explained the political -situation to Mademoiselle. The deputy's discourse was a clear statement -of ugly facts and their consequences; it gave Mademoiselle an insight -into the reasons and the secret views of the magistrates. The canaille -spoke so loud that all the world could hear; the people's messengers -held their heads as high as the nobles. As Mademoiselle watched "the -long robes" file out of the royal presence she realised that all the -riots and all the menaces had been but the beginning; she knew that -the time was coming when, married or not married, every woman in France -would be given her chance to do her duty. - -When Broussel returned to the people the barricades disappeared; but -the canaille was still nervous; a practical joker cried out that the -Queen was preparing another Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, and the old -muskets followed by the pocket-knives rushed into the streets. Another -joker said that the Queen of Sweden with her army was at the gates of -Saint Denis, and a prolonged roar was heard and the mob filled the -streets and began to pillage. So, amidst alarms and alternations of -hope and fear, the days passed for a time. The people of Paris rioted, -then returned to their wretched homes. Whatever the day had been, -the night brought vigilance. All slept dressed, ready for action. -Mademoiselle, who was everywhere at once, was not afraid. When the -canaille growled the loudest she went her way. She was happy; she -revelled in sound and in movement and in the fears of the Court. At -a ball in the rue Saint Antoine she heard shots fired all night and -"danced to the music of the guns." - -The Queen was anxious to be far from Paris; Mazarin too craved rest; -but the royal habit of carrying about all the furniture of the -household made secret escape difficult. The people were watching the -Palais Royal; they were determined that the Queen should not leave -them. Nevertheless the Court decided to make the attempt. - -Apparently there had been no change at the royal palace; the -roast-hasteners and the soup-skimmers were in their places, and all -the mouth-servants were watching with ears pricked to hear the first -whisper of an order, ready to hand water or to run at the beck and call -of the myrmidons of the myrmidons. In the streets around the palace -lounged the people, silent and sullen, giving vent to angry criticisms -or watching for "tall Mademoiselle." Mademoiselle appeared frequently -at her windows, and the people greeted her with friendly cries. Paris -was calm; the silent river, bearing its gilded galleys, its charlatans, -jugglers, serenaders, and shouting and singing river-men, ran by under -its bridges as it had always run; the Parisians laughed at their own -suspicions; one group left its post, then another, and thus, gradually -relaxing their vigilance, the King's warders returned to their homes. -The 12th September, before daylight, a few wains loaded with furniture -crept away from the Palais Royal and took the road to Rueil. At -daybreak the more suspicious of the Parisians approached the palace and -watched and listened. Evidently the royal life was still progressing in -regular order. The following morning before Paris was awake the young -King was drawn from his bed, dressed, carried out into the courtyard, -hidden in a coach, and set upon the road taken by the furniture. -Mazarin accompanied him. Anne of Austria, "as the most valiant" (to -quote the words of Mme. de Motteville) remained in the palace to cover -the retreat of her Minister. In the course of the morning she was seen -in various parts of Paris; that evening she vanished as the King and -the Cardinal had done before her. - - -II - -The royal flight deflected Paris. The members of Parliament reproached -themselves for their excess of severity. They made overtures to the -Queen. - -It was believed that Anne of Austria, assured of the safety of her -little brood, would reopen some of her old foreign correspondence and -attempt to avenge her wrongs. Broussel had been released against her -will--the city had raised the barricades--the Minister was an Italian -and the Queen was anything but French! Paris prepared for the worst. -Whence would the trouble come, from Spain or from England? - -Parliament continued to send deputies to Saint Germain, but the Queen -was obdurate. All business was suspended; people slept in their -clothes; the bourgeois hid their money. The courtiers, who had remained -in their palaces, hurried away followed by their furniture; and the -evil faces which appear in Paris on the eve of a revolution were seen -all over the city. The wains carrying the courtiers' furniture were -pillaged, and the pillagers sacked the bakeries. Parliament had seized -the reins of State, but the Parliamentary sessions resembled the stormy -meetings of the existing Chamber. Personal interests and the interests -of the coteries had entered politics. After a deplorable day in -Parliament Olivier d'Ormesson noted sadly in his journal: "The public -welfare is now used only as a pretext for avenging private wrongs." - -Mademoiselle's feelings in regard to the events of the day were varied; -they could not be wholly pleasant, for there was nothing in the revolt -of the people to tempt the imagination of a personage fully convinced -that the King was the deputy of God. The first Fronde was an outburst -of despair provoked by an excess of public anguish. Yet Mademoiselle -considered it the adventure of a party of agitators. The preceding -century France had been an exceedingly rich country. Under Richelieu -Monsieur had depicted it in a state of famine, and in the early days -of the Regency, and later, when foreign nations were lauding Mazarin's -diplomacy, the people of Paris were perishing from every form of -squalid misery. The State paid out its moneys without counting them, -lent at usurious interest, and gave the notes of its creditors to its -note-holders, the bankers; the note-holders fell upon the debtors -like brigands; the taxes were collected by armed men. Wherever the -tax-gatherer had passed the land was bare, cattle, tools, carts, -household furniture, and all the personal property of the victims of -the State had been seized; the farmers had nothing to eat, nothing to -sleep on, no shelter; they were homeless and hopeless; they had but one -alternative: to go out upon the highways, and, in their turn, force -a living from the passers-by at the point of the knife. Through the -brigandage of the note-holders every year added a strip of abandoned -ground to the waste lands of France. - -The nation had turned honest men into thieves and pariahs. - -Barillon raised his voice and the grave opened to receive him. Broussel -was saved, but his salvation precipitated the catastrophe. The Queen -had fled, abducting the King. The national Treasury was empty; affairs -were desperate, and Parliament, its honour menaced, decided upon a -measure which, had it been successfully effected, would have changed -the course of French history. - -England had inaugurated a successful political method by giving the -nation a Constitution, and by introducing in France the orderly -system with which the House of Commons had endowed England. With that -end in view the magistrates and all the officials, who had paid for -their offices, tried to seize the legislative and financial power -of the State. They thought that by that means they could bring the -royal authority to terms, and make the national Government an honest -executive and guardian of the people's rights,--in the words of -the reformers, "make it what it should be, to reign as it ought to -reign."[129] - -The nation, individually, approved the Parliamentary initiative. Each -citizen, courtier, or man of the lower order urged on the scheme. Some -applauded because they wished for the good of France. Others looked -forward to "fishing in troubled waters." All knew that a great deal of -business could be done under cover of the excitement attendant upon -national disturbances. They who had no need of money and no thought -of financial speculation hoped that their personal schemes might be -advanced by a national crisis. Mademoiselle was of the latter class. -She had decided to unite her acres and her millions with the fortunes -of the King of France. Louis XIV. was ten years old. Anne-Marie-Louise -was one and twenty, and she looked her age; her beauty was of the -robust type which, mildly speaking, is not of a character to make a -woman look younger than her years. Her manners were easy and assured. -To the child who had so recently been dandled upon her knee the tall -cousin was neither more nor less than the dreaded though respectable -daughter of his uncle; the young King shrank from her. Mademoiselle -suspected that he feared rather than loved her, and although her -flatterers had told her that age was not an obstacle among people of -her rank,[130] she was troubled by a presentiment that she should not -be able to capture that particular husband unless she could carry him -off by force; the thought unhinged all her political convictions; but -the enterprises of Parliament gave promise of utility. Her memoirs -show that she studied the situation from every point of view, and -that a conflict raged within her breast. At times she believed that a -public disturbance would be favourable to her interests; at other times -she was worried by the thought of the inconveniences attendant upon -war. One day she approved the designs of Parliament; the next day she -indignantly denounced the subjects who had attempted to circumscribe -the authority of the King. She adapted to the royal situation all the -maxims derived from the "Divine Right," yet she rejoiced at all the -errors of the Court. - -She had errors in plenty to sustain her courage; the situation was so -false that anything but error would have been impossible. Married or -not married, Anne of Austria allowed herself a dangerous latitude; -Mazarin did not protect her, she protected and defended him; to her -mind all that he did was charming; she glanced knowingly at her -courtiers if he opened his mouth or if he moved his hand. Her eyes -beamed upon him with familiar meaning, and while he talked her arch -smiles asked the Court if her Chief of Council was not a prince -among men and the flower of ministers. She would have been happy -in a hovel had she been able to fix him stably among his precious -ancient draperies and the thousands of rare objects with which he -had surrounded his handsome form. Mazarin had feathered his nest _à -l'Italien_, and the style was by far too superfine for the times and -for the taste of France. The gossips of the royal domestic offices had -circulated the intimate details of the royal life. The public knew all -about the favourite; they knew what he wore, what he ate, and what he -did; and they thought of him as always at play with small, strangely -rare animals, as graceful, as handsome, and as highly perfumed as their -master. In imagination they saw Mazarin steeped in sloth, battening on -the public funds, and nourishing his soft beauty by the aid of secrets -of the toilet of his own invention. Anne of Austria did not care what -the people thought. She delighted in Mazarin. She was happy because she -had been able to lay the nation at his feet. The people said that she -had laid them under his feet, and they declared with curses that it -should not be. - -Mazarin had rendered France incalculable services, but no one thanked -him or did him justice. No one understood the work that he had -accomplished. Paris knew nothing of foreign affairs. The people's minds -were engrossed by the local misery, and so little interest was taken -in politics that when the Peace of Westphalia was signed no one in -France noticed it although the world classed it among great historical -events.[131] - -Paris knew more of the King's scullions than of Mazarin's diplomacy. -The King's cousin: Mademoiselle la Princesse Anne-Marie-Louise -d'Orléans,--fit bride for any king! must remain upon the stocks to -pleasure "the Queen's thief." - -The King, also, was the victim of the foreigner. - -There was little in the royal larder, and that little was not equally -distributed; the cohorts of the kitchen had made more than one strong -personal drive in the King's interest. The wilful head with its -floating veil of curls, the pouting mouth and tear-dimmed eyes were -the oriflamme of the cooks' pantries. "Monsieur le Cardinal had forty -little fishes[132] on his platter! I only had two on mine!" wailed -the young monarch, and the cooks' corps rose in a body to defend the -"Divine Right." - -"_Ma foi!_" growled the bourgeois, "but he has _toupet_, that one! he -makes himself master of the King's mother, takes the food out of the -King's mouth, and sets up his pomade-pots in the King's house!" The -people knew that, if they knew nothing of Westphalia; the handsome fop -had eclipsed the diplomatist. - -The people called Mazarin "the pomade inventor" and "moustache of the -paste-pots" (not to cite their grosser expressions). When the mob -cried: _Vive le Roi!_ Retz heard echo answer: _Mais point de Mazarin!_ -The Queen was like all women deep in love; she wondered why people -blamed her. - -Her anger embittered the situation, but after making many futile -attempts Parliament persuaded her to resume her duties and (the last -day of October) the King, the Queen, the Court, and the retinue, -followed by loaded vans, passed through the suburbs homeward bound. -Before they reached the city they saw that public feeling had changed. -The people had lost their respect for the Court. No one cared either -for the Queen or for her Minister. The canaille hummed significant -songs and cast bold glances at the mature lovers; the courtiers' eyes -furtively lingered upon the walls where coarsely worded posters accused -the Queen of her delinquencies. Anne of Austria was brave. She entered -Paris with cheeks aflame but with head high. She would change all that! -Parliament had urged her to return.... - -Time passed and the general attitude retained its flippancy. At Court -all were counting the cost and planning how they could best turn the -coming misfortunes of the Crown to their own profit; écus, dignities, -offices, benefits of all kinds, would be within the gift of the new -administration. The great were prepared for the emergency. Retz had -driven his curés over to the opposition. La Rochefoucauld had urged -Mme. de Longueville after the clerical sheep and Conti after her. Anne -of Austria's patience was at an end; she had no one to advise her; -after she had assured herself that the Condés would sustain her, she -set out to the Luxembourg. Monsieur was in the agonies of one of the -diplomatic attacks to which he was subject; no one knew whether his -pains were real or feigned. He was in bed. He had not changed since the -days of Richelieu; he was the same light-hearted, nervous, and bold -poltroon, but his intellect was keen, he charmed strangers, he was -pleasing even to those who knew him best. Though the Queen was used to -his arts, she was dazed by the flood of words with which he welcomed -her. From tender anxiety for her well-being he passed to the real -anxiety of well-defined personal terror. Then, without stopping to take -breath, he gave vent to such sentimental emotions that when Anne of -Austria told her errand he had neither the face nor the force to refuse -her prayer. She begged him to conduct the King out of Paris secretly, -and--"_By the faith of Monsieur!_" he swore that he would do it. - -This second flight was fixed for the night between the 5th-6th January. -It was agreed that they should retire to Saint Germain, although -there was no furniture in the château. Nothing could be sent out this -time--the palace was full of spies--the people were on the watch! Let -the furniture follow! Fatality must see to that! Mazarin bought two -small camp-beds and sent them to Saint Germain; he left to Providence -the task of providing for the rest. - -The night of the 5th January Anne of Austria went to bed at her -habitual hour for retiring. When she was assured that all the people -of the palace were asleep she arose and confided her secret to her -_femme-de-chambre_ who awakened the servants, whom she could not do -without. At three o'clock they took the King and little Monsieur from -their beds and dressed them in their warmest garments. The Queen then -led the children down an abandoned flight of steps which opened on the -garden. It was moonlight and the cold was stinging. The royal family, -followed by one _femme-de-chambre_ and a few officers, passed out of -the garden by the small door opening into the rue Richelieu. In the -street they found two coaches waiting for them. They reached the Cours -la Reine, which had been chosen for the general meeting-place, without -difficulty; no one had arrived, and they waited. Mazarin had passed the -evening at a soirée; at the appointed hour he entered his carriage and -drove straight to the Cours la Reine. Monsieur and Condé had been with -Mazarin all the evening, but instead of going directly to the Cours -they hurried to their homes to prepare their unconscious families. Mme. -de Longueville refused to leave her bed; she declared that she would -never abandon Paris. Monsieur awakened his wife; she believed that -she was dying, and her cries aroused the children; Monsieur had three -infant daughters,[133] the eldest was two years and six months old; the -youngest had attained the age of two months and fifteen days. The young -Lorraines were vociferous, and mother and babes wept together; Gaston -sang and whistled, laughed and grimaced. Finally when all the buckles -had been adjusted, when the last limp arm had been introduced into its -warm sleeve, the four helpless beings, struggling against the efforts -of their natural leader, moved painfully through the dark passages of -the Luxembourg into the little streets, and across the river. As the -murmuring band passed the Tuileries a light struck in Mademoiselle's -apartment illumined all the windows. Mademoiselle was rising at her own -time! No need of haste for her, no need of secrecy! Her will was the -people's law. At sight of the lighted windows the tears of the feeble -wife flowed afresh. - -Beyond the Tuileries all was confusion. At the last moment the Queen -had despatched messengers to summon the courtiers and the courtiers -had sent messengers to warn their relatives that the Court was on -the march; all had hurried from their homes, and lord and lady were -pressing forward toward the Cours la Reine, the gentlemen fastening -their garments askew, or wrong side out as they went; the ladies, -still in their nightcaps, moving wearily, soothing or upbraiding their -weeping children. All wondered what it meant, all asked what the -Canaille had done to force the Court to flee. - -Mademoiselle was the last to reach the Cours. To quote her own words, -she had been "all troubled with joy" when ordered to prepare for -flight, because she had believed that her enemies were about to take a -step which would force them to look upon the effects of their folly; -but the misery of the sudden flitting, the indecent haste, the broken -rest, the consciousness of bodily weakness had swallowed up her glee, -and she arrived at the Cours in an ugly humour. She ached with cold; -she was crowded in the coach; she sought excuses for intimating that -the Queen had brought a useless flight upon the Court. The children -voiced their woes. Numb with the cold, worn out and querulous, the -ladies chided their husbands and the husbands rudely answered. The moon -went down upon the wretched exiles; day had not dawned and black night -hid the general woe. - -They fled in the darkness, _cahin-caha_, the children sobbing, the -women expressing their sufferings in ways equally tempestuous. The -Queen was gay; she was running away with Mazarin! "Never," said -Mademoiselle, "had I seen a creature as gay as she was! had she won -a battle, taken Paris and had all who displeased her put to death, -she could not have been happier." They found Saint Germain bare; they -had neither furniture nor clothing; they were worn out and anxious, -and the château furnished no means of rest or refreshment; the exiles -stood at the gates all day watching the highway and questioning the -passers-by. No one had seen the luggage or the furniture. Toward night -news arrived from Paris; the wains were not coming; the people were -angry because the Queen had run away; they had fallen upon the loads; -they had broken the courtiers' furniture. Only one load was on the -road,--Mademoiselle's; the King's loads had been respected, but they -were not to leave Paris. - -Mademoiselle had left the bulk of her commodities to be sent out at a -later day; only one load belonging to her had started to leave Paris; -the people had examined that tenderly and then despatched it for Saint -Germain. - -No need to watch longer for the loaded wains! The tired courtiers made -the best of a bad business; half a dozen of the highest of the Great -"shared the Cardinal's two camp-beds"; the quilts on which the children -had been bedded on the way from Paris were spread upon the floor. Those -who had no mattresses lay upon straw or upon bare boards. The ladies -fared worst of all; they had been used to the tender cares of their -_femmes-de-chambre_. - - * * * * * - -Mademoiselle's spirits rose; she had always boasted that she was "a -creature superior to trifles," and the general difficulty had put her -on her mettle. Monsieur's wife wept feebly; she told the courtiers of -the luxury of her early life, and of her present sufferings. Monsieur's -little daughters were restless and displeased. Mademoiselle noted this -adventure in her memoirs: - - I slept in a vast and finely gilded room, but there was very little - fire in it, and it had neither window-panes nor windows, which, as - the month was January, was not agreeable. My mattress was on the - floor, and my sister, who had no mattress, slept with me. I had to - sing to her to put her to sleep; she greatly troubled my sleep. She - turned, and re-turned; then, feeling me close to her, she cried - out that she "saw the beast," and then I had to sing to her again, - and thus the night passed. I had no underclothing to change, and - they washed my nightdress during the day and my day-chemise during - the night. I had not my women to comb my hair and to dress me, and - that was very inconvenient. I ate with Monsieur, who made very bad - cheer.... I lived in that way ten days, then my equipage arrived, - and I was very glad to have all my commodities. - -Louis XIV. and little Monsieur played about Saint Germain in the wintry -weather, and as the days passed their garments acquired the marks -of use. The King's furniture did not arrive, neither did his boxes; -the Parisians would not permit them to leave the city. All the gates -of Paris were guarded; no one was passed without papers. It was so -difficult for people of quality to obtain passports that the ladies ran -away in the garb of monks, or disguised in some other way. The Marquise -d'Huxelles went through the gates in the uniform of a soldier, with -an "iron pot" on her head.[134] Paris had never refused its favourite -anything, and Mademoiselle's chariots went and came and no one asked -what they contained; the belongings of her friends were transported -as freely as her own if they were in her boxes or in her wains. In -after life she used to call those days "the time of plenty." "I had -everything!" she wrote exultantly; "they gave me passports for all -that I wished taken out, and not only that, but they watched over and -escorted my chariots! nothing equalled the civilities that they showed -me." - -Time passed; the royal garments were unfit for wear and the Queen, -reduced to extremities, begged Mademoiselle to smuggle for her. -Mademoiselle granted her request with joy. She recorded the event -exultantly: "One has enough of it,--when one is in condition to render -services to such people, and when one sees that one is of importance!" - -The Parisians had given their favourite a convincing token of their -love, and she regarded it as a proof that she was the one best fitted -to share the throne of France. - -As the Parisians slept well on the night of the Queen's second flight, -they were not conscious of their separation from royalty until the -morning of the 6th January. The first emotion felt was consternation. -Parliament made overtures to the Queen; the Queen rudely repulsed -the overtures, and Parliament issued an edict of expulsion against -Mazarin. Mazarin expelled, Parliament raised money, and set about -recruiting an army. The Council of the Hôtel de Ville, representing -Parisian commerce, sent a delegation to the King. Arrived in the royal -presence, the deputies fell at the King's feet. They portrayed the -horrors of civil war, they explained to the child that to be driven to -attack Paris would be abominable. In the midst of his supplications -the chief speaker, choked by sobs, cut short his plea. His emotion was -more effective than any argument; his tears proved the solemnity of -the hour. The King wept bitterly, and, in fact, every one wept but the -Queen and Condé, who surveyed the general distress dry-eyed. - -When calm was restored Anne of Austria refused to yield. The die was -cast; civil war was inevitable. After long deliberation the Hôtel de -Ville declared for resistance. The masses of the people were defiant; -they accused the royal family of treason; they demanded vengeance.[135] - -At that moment, when the nation stood alone, without a king, when a -mob, driven mad by despair, clamoured for justice from the nobles, -Mme. de Longueville entered the political field. Nature had not -intended Mme. la Duchesse de Longueville for a business career; she -was the impersonation of the soft graces of elegant leisure; and even -in her grave she charmed men, as she will always charm them while -there exists a portrait of her pale hair and angelic eyes, or an -historian to recount "the delights of her calm mind illumined by the -reflection of celestial light."[136] The fashionable education of the -day had been her ruin; the little court of the Hôtel de Condé, long -sojourns at Chantilly, where people lived as the heroes and heroines -lived in _Astrée_,[137] excessive novel-reading and frequent and -subtle discussions of "love" had made Mme. de Longueville a finished -sentimentalist; and in her path she had found waiting for her a man -well disposed and well fitted to exploit her sentimentalism, and bold -enough to avow the part played by him in her career. - -La Rochefoucauld's ambition was to augment the grandeur of his house, -and he could not see why he should not put France to fire and sword, -if by doing so he could seat his wife on a tabouret close to the -Queen.[138] Under his guidance, Mme. de Longueville cast off her sloth -and sacrificing her indolence to what she was assured was her "glory," -became a political centre and acquired an influence as romantic as -herself. Many of the lords who, after the flight of the Court, offered -their swords to Parliament "for the service of the oppressed King" -(that was the formula), were urged to that action by the persuasive -Mme. de Longueville. M. de Longueville was her first recruit, the -Prince de Conti was her second. - -As soon as it was known that France was preparing for civil war, -Mesdames de Longueville and de Bouillon started for Paris. The day -after they arrived at their destination they presented themselves at -the Hôtel de Ville, saying that they had come "to live right there, in -the Town Hall, under the eye of the municipality, as hostages for the -fidelity of their husbands." - - Imagine [said Retz] these two ladies seated in the portico of the - Hôtel de Ville, all the more beautiful because they had arranged - themselves as if they had not cared for their appearance, though, - in fact, they had taken great pains with it. Each held one of her - children in her arms; and the children were as beautiful as their - mothers. The Grève was full of people, even to the roofs. All the - men shouted with joy, and all the women wept their tenderness. - Having been gently led into the street by the aldermen, the - Duchesses timidly returned to the portico and seated themselves - in their old places. The city authorities then abandoned a vacant - room to them, and in a few hours, with furniture and with other - articles, they turned the concession into a luxurious salon, where - they received the visits of the Parisians that same evening. Their - salon was full of people of the fine world; the women were in full - evening dress, the men were in war harness; violins were played in - a corner, trumpets sounded an answer from the street, and people - who loved romance were able to fancy that they were at the home of - "Galatée" in _Astrée_. - -So the Parisians were duped in the first days of the Fronde. "Galatée" -reigned, and the reign of nymphs is expensive. The Court of the nymphs -was daily augmented by general officers who offered themselves to the -cause amidst the artless plaudits of the people. The generals were as -expensive as the nymphs; they demanded money for themselves and for -their soldiers; they exacted from Parliament a promise which Parliament -agreed to put into effect whenever it could make terms with the Regent. -M. le Prince de Conti demanded an important place at Court, money, and -favours for his friends. M. de Beaufort demanded an important position, -the government of a province for his father, money and pensions for -himself, favours for his friends. - -The Duc de Beaufort was a jolly dog whom the people loved. He was -called "the King of the Halles," a title which expressed his popularity -with the fish-wives, rabbit-pullers, agents of the abattoirs, -strong-porters, sellers of mortuary wreaths, cheese merchants, and -all the rest. He lounged through the markets and the slums tossing -his sumptuous head like a Phœbus-Apollo. He affected the _argot_ of -the canaille. His good nature was infectious and although he was an -Harpagon and a brigand by proxy, he was a very agreeable courtier. - -[Illustration: MADAME DE LA VALLIÉRE - -FROM A STEEL ENGRAVING] - -The Maréchal de la Motte demanded a colonelcy for himself and favours -for his friends. Every one wanted something, and all felt that whatever -was to be had must be had at once; the time was coming when the nation -would have nothing to bestow. - -A document now before me contains sixteen names; the greatest names of -France.[139] The owners of those names betrayed the King for the people -because they hoped to gain honours and benefits by their treason. They -would have betrayed the people for the King had they hoped to gain more -from the King than from the people. The nobility had taken the position -held by certain modern agitators; they resorted to base means because -they were at an extremity. Like the farmers of France, the nobles had -been ruined by the egotism of the royal policy. - -They had been taught to think that they could not stand alone. -Richelieu had prepared for an absolute monarchy by making them -dependent upon the King's bounty; he had habituated them to look for -gifts. This fact does not excuse the sale of their signatures, but it -explains it. They knew that they had lost everything, they knew that -the time was at hand when, should all go, as they had every reason -of believing that it would go, the Government would have favours to -bestow; they knew that their only means of speculation lay in their -signatures. They were not base hirelings,--their final struggle was -proof of that! they were the "fools of habit"; Richelieu had taught -them to beg and they begged clamorously with outstretched hands, and -not only begged but trafficked. - -When they demanded honours and favours they did nothing more than their -hierarchical head had habituated them to do. So much for their sale of -signatures. The fact that they had resolved to make a supreme fight, -not for independence,--they had no conception of independence,--but -against an absolute monarchy,[140] explains the Fronde of the Princes. -At the other end of the social ladder the mobility, or riff-raff, had -taken the upper hand, dishonoured the people's cause, and made the -Parisians ridiculous. - -Driven to arms by their wrongs, lured by the magnetic eloquence of the -skilled agents of political egotists, led by a feverish army of men who -held their lives in their hands, and commanded by women who played with -war as they played with love, the soldiers of the Fronde wandered over -the country encamping with gaily attired and ambitious coquettes, and -with ardent cavaliers whose gallant examples fretted their own enforced -inaction. They were practical philosophers, moved by the instinct which -sends the deer to its sanctuary. "Country" and "Honour" had come to be -but shibboleths: they, the Frondeurs, were of a race apart from the -stern regulars who blocked the capital under Condé, and when the time -to fight came they ran, crying their disgust so loud that the whole -country halted to listen. The public shame was unquestionable, and the -national culpability, like the culpability of the individual, was well -understood; the cry of "treason" aroused a general sense of guilt. -Certain of the men of France had been faithful to the country from the -beginning; the nation's statesmen, notably the magistrates, had acted -for the public good; but in the general accusation Parliament, like -all the other factors of the Government, was branded; its motives were -questioned, and the names of honest men were made a by-word. - -Passing and repassing, in and out of all the groups and among all the -coteries, glided the Archbishop's coadjutor; now in the costume of -a cavalier, bedizened with glittering tinsel, now in the lugubrious -habit of his office. When dressed to represent the Church he harangued -the people wherever he chanced to meet them; the night-hawks saw him -disguised and masked running to the dens of his conspirators. Whatever -else he was doing, he found time to preach religion, and he never -missed a gathering of pretty women. - - * * * * * - -Meanwhile the price of bread had tripled; the Revolution had reached -the provinces, and the generals had signed a treaty of alliance with -Spain. This was paying dear for the violins of the heroines of the -Hôtel de Ville! - -In Parliament the magistrates, the solid men of France, revolted -against the seigniors as they had revolted against the barricades. They -knew what influences had been brought to bear upon individuals, they -had seen the royal power exercised to the ruin of the country, they -knew the strength of the mobility, and their own honour had been called -in question; but their action was the result of an unselfish impulse. -National affection, a natural patriotism, had raised them above fear -and above rancour. They were determined to rescue the country, and they -had lost faith in all intentions save their own. - -Acting on their own counsel and on their own responsibility, they -hastened to conclude the peace negotiations of Rueil (11th March, -1649). Their action irritated the generals. Peace thus arranged was not -in their plan; it brought them no profit: they argued and bargained. - -To quote Mme. de Motteville, they "demanded all France" in payment -for their part in the treaty. They made it plain that if they should -give their signatures it would be because they had been paid for -them. Shameless haggling marked this period of the Fronde. After all -those who had influence or signatures to dispose of had plucked the -many-membered monarchy even to its pin-feathers, and after each of -the assistants had taken a leg or a wing for himself, the generals -consented to lay down their arms, and peace was proclaimed to the sound -of trumpets. - -The day after the proclamation was issued, Mademoiselle asked her -father and the Queen for permission to return to Paris. - -She wished to see how the Parisians regarded her and how they would -receive her. She set out from Saint Germain across the devastated -country. The soldiers of both parties had burned the houses, cut down -the trees, and massacred or put to flight the inhabitants. It was -April, the time when all the orchards are in flower, but the suburbs -within six miles of Paris were bare and black; the ground was as -lifeless as a naked rock. - - -III - -"Monday, 8th April," noted a contemporary, "Mlle. d'Orléans arrived -at her lodgings in the Tuileries, amidst the great applause of the -Parisians. Tuesday, the 9th, every one called on Mademoiselle." - -Mademoiselle wrote: "As soon as I was in my lodgings every one came -to see me; all Paris came, the highest and the lowest of the party. -During my three days' stay in Paris my house was never empty." A second -visit to the Tuileries was equally triumphant, and Mademoiselle was -confirmed in her determination to accomplish her destiny by marrying -the King of France. The project was public property; the capital of the -kingdom approved it, and the people were ready to barricade the streets -in case the King, the Queen, or the Italian objected to it. - -_Mademoiselle should sit upon the throne! the People willed it!_ - - * * * * * - -At that time a comedy equal to any presented upon the stages of the -theatres was played at Saint Germain, and the Queen was leading -lady. The chiefs of the Fronde, generals, members of Parliament, -representatives of all the corporate bodies and of all the -classes--even the humblest--visited the château and assured the Queen -of their allegiance. As Mademoiselle said: "No one would confess that -he had ever harboured an intention against the King; it was always some -one else whom he or she had opposed." The Queen received every one. -She was as gracious to the shop-keeper as to the duke and peer. Anne -of Austria appeared to believe all the professions that the courtiers -made; and all alike, high and low, went away with protestations of joy -and love.[141] The only one who lost her cue in this courtly comedy -was Mme. de Longueville. Her position was so false that though she -was artful she quailed; she was embarrassed, she blushed, stammered, -and left the royal presence furiously angry at the Queen, although, -to quote an ingenuous chronicler,[142] "the Queen had done nothing to -intimidate her." - -Saint Germain returned the visits made by the city, and each courtier -was received in a manner appropriate to his deserts. Condé was saluted -with hoots and hisses. The Parisians had not forgotten the part that -he had played in the suburbs. The other members of the Court were well -received, and when the Queen, seated in her coach, appeared, holding -the little King by her hand, the people's enthusiasm resembled an -attack of hysteria. The city had ordered a salute, and the gunners -were hard at work, but the public clamour was so great that it drowned -the booming of the cannon, and the aldermen fumed because, as they -supposed, their orders to fire the salute had been ignored.[143] -Exclamations and plaudits hailed the procession at every step. The -canaille thrust their heads through the doors of the royal carriage and -smiled upon the King; they voiced their praises with vehemence. Mazarin -was the success of the day; the women thought him beautiful, and they -told him so; the men clasped his hands. Mazarin eclipsed Mademoiselle, -and Mademoiselle, neglected by the people, found the time very long. - -Speaking of that hour she said, "Never was I bored as I was that day!" - -The beauty of the Queen's favourite won the hearts of the people of -the Halles, and the royal party entered the palace in triumph. When -Anne of Austria first left her palace, after her return from exile, the -women who peddled herrings fell upon her in a mass and with streaming -eyes begged her to forgive them for opposing her. Anne of Austria was -bewildered by the transports of their admiration. They approved of her -choice of a lover; they sympathised with her in her love, and they were -determined to make her understand it. The Queen's delicacy was wounded -by the latitude of their protestations. - -Paris had made the first advances and royalty had accepted them. As -there were no public "journals," to speak to the country, a ball was -given to proclaim that peace had been made, and the ball and the -fireworks which followed--and which depicted a few essential ideas upon -the sky by means of symbolical figures--acted as official notices. The -fête took place with great magnificence the 5th September. - -Louis XIV. was much admired, and his tall cousin almost as much so. -"In the first figure the King led Mademoiselle," said the _Chronicle_ -"and he did it so lightly and with such delicacy that he might have -been taken for a cupid dancing with one of the graces." The guests of -the Hôtel de Ville, the little and the large Bourgeoisie, men, wives, -and daughters, contemplated the spectacle from the tribunes; they were -not permitted to mingle with the Court. Anne of Austria watched them -intently; she was unable to conceal her surprise at their appearance. -The wives of the bourgeois displayed a luxury equal to that of the -wives of the nobles. Apparently their costumes were the work of a Court -dressmaker. Their diamonds were superb. Anne of Austria had assisted at -all the official fêtes of thirty years, and she had never seen such a -thing. - -The French Bourgeoisie was to be counted; not ignored. The appearance -of the bourgeoises was a warning, but the quality either could not, or -would not seize it. - -When Paris had wept all the tears of its tenderness it returned to its -former state of discontent. The whole country was restless; news of -revolts came from the provinces. Condé was hated; he was imperious and -exacting; he was in bad odour at Court; he had offended the Queen. As -Mazarin was in the way of his plans, he had attempted to present the -Queen with another favourite. Jarzé, a witless popinjay, was the man -chosen by Condé to supplant the accomplished successor of de Richelieu. -Jarzé was a human starling; he was giddy, stupid, and in every way -ill-fitted to enter the lists with a rival armed with the gravity, the -personal beauty, and the subtlety of Mazarin. Jarzé had full confidence -in his own powers; he believed that to win his amorous battles he had -only to have his hair frizzed and storm the fort. Anne of Austria was -sedate and modest and she was deep in love. Jarzé had hardly opened the -attack when she ordered him from her presence. Condé, stunned by the -effect of his diplomacy, wavered an instant upon the field, but a sharp -order from the Queen sent him after his protégé. Anne of Austria felt -the outrage, and she vowed eternal anger to Condé. - - * * * * * - -Condé's lack of tact, coupled with his determination to work miracles, -led him into many false positions. He had no political wit, and nothing -could have been less like the great Condé of the battle-field than the -awkward and insignificant Condé of civil life. In battle he acted as -by inspiration. He surged before his armies like the god of war; he -was calm, indifferent to danger, impetuous, and terrible; face to face -with death, his mind developed and he could give a hundred orders to a -hundred persons at once.[144] In Parliament, or with the chiefs of his -political party, he was as nervous as a woman; he stood trembling, with -face paling or reddening, laughing when he ought to weep, and bursting -into fits of anger when the occasion called for joy. There was nothing -fixed, or stable, in his whole make-up, except his overweening pride -and an "invincible immoderation,"[145] which eventually precipitated -him into the abyss. No one had as much natural wit, yet no one was as -fantastic in tastes and in behaviour. He adored literature: sobbed -over _Cinna_ and thought Gomberville's _Polexandre_ admirable. He -swooned when he parted with Mlle. de Vigean, a few days later he--as -Mademoiselle termed it--"forgot her all at one blow." He was a great -genius but a crackbrain; a complicated being, full of contrasts and -contradictions, but singularly interesting. He has been described as a -"lank prince, with unkempt, dusty hair, a face like a bird-of-prey, and -a flaming eye whose look tried men's souls." - -The summer was barely over when Condé forced the Cardinal to sign -a promise not to do any thing without his (Condé's) permission. -Condé's imperious nature had driven him head long, and at that moment -Monsieur's position depended upon his own activity. He had it in his -power to sell support to the Crown; the Queen was on Change as a -buyer. One step more and it would be d'Orléans against Condé with the -Throne of France at his back! Monsieur's wife and Mademoiselle seldom -agreed upon any subject, but they united in urging Monsieur to seize -his opportunity. As usual, the household spies informed the people -of the family discussions, and the popular balladists celebrated the -aspirations of the ladies d'Orléans by a song which was sung all over -Paris. France was represented as imploring Monsieur to save her from -Condé, and Gaston was represented as answering: - - ... "I am sleepy! I would pass my life in sleep, - Never have I a wish to be awakened: - My wife, my daughter, you plead in vain, - I sleep."[146] - - Monsieur trembled with fear [wrote Retz]; at times it was - impossible to persuade him to go to Parliament; he would not go - even with Condé for an escort; the bare thought of it terrified - him. When a paroxysm of fear seized him it was said that his Royal - Highness was suffering from another attack of colic. - -One day when several of his friends had, by their united efforts -succeeded in getting him as far as the Saint Chapelle, he turned and -ran back to his palace with the precipitation and the grimaces of a -client of M. Purgon.[147] - -Nothing could be done with Gaston; his conduct made Mademoiselle -heart-sick. When the second or new Fronde took shape she had no part -in it. She looked, on as a listless spectator, while Mazarin spun -his web around his enemies and worked his way toward the old Fronde. -Condé was marching on to a species of dictatorship when the King's -minions brought him to a halt. He was arrested and cast into prison -and the Parisians celebrated his disgrace by building bonfires (18th -January). A great political party composed of women from all parts of -France arose to champion Condé, and still the bravest of all women, La -Grande Mademoiselle, sat with head bowed, deep in grief; her father's -cowardice had drained life of its joy. - -Having aroused the wrath of France by adventures which were the scandal -of their hour, Mme. de Longueville had taken refuge in a foreign land -and formed an alliance with Spain. France looked on bewildered by the -turn of events; Mme. de Chevreuse and the Princess Palatine were in -active life regarded as equals of men of State, consulted, and obeyed. -Mme. de Montbazon had her own sphere of action; Mme. de Chatillon had -hers[148]; both ladies were powerful and dangerous politicians. Others, -by the dozen, and from one end of the kingdom to the other, were -engaged in directing affairs of State. - -Even the insignificant wife of Condé whom no one--not even her -husband--had counted as worthy of notice, had reached the front rank at -a bound by the upheaval of Bordeaux; yet La Grande Mademoiselle, who -possessed the spirit and the energy of a man, was peremptorily ordered -by her father and forced to follow Anne of Austria from province to -province suppressing insurrections. - -In the many months which Mademoiselle considered as unworthy of note in -her memoirs, the only period of time well employed by her was passed in -an attack of smallpox, which she received so kindly that it embellished -her; she said of it: "Before then my face was all spotted; the smallpox -took that all away." - - * * * * * - -Mme. de Longueville's alliance with Spain had cost France the invasion -of the Archduke Leopold and de Turenne. In 1650 the Court went to the -siege of Bordeaux and Mademoiselle was compelled to accompany the Queen -and to appear as an adherent of the King's party; but before she set -out upon her distasteful journey she wrote a letter to the invader -(the Archduke Leopold) which she was not ashamed to record and which -contained a frank statement of her opinion: - - Your troops are more capable of causing joy than fear. The whole - Court takes your arrival in good part, and your enterprises will - never be regarded as suspicious. Do all that it pleases you to do; - the victories that you are to win will be victories of benevolence - and affection.[149] - -Let us remember the nature of those victories of "benevolence and -affection" before we form an opinion. Time has veiled with romance the -manœuvres which the amazons of the Fronde made to excite the masses to -rebellion, but the legend loses its glamour when we consider the brutal -ferocity of the armies of the seventeenth century and the abominations -practised in the name of glory. The women who shared the life of the -generals of the Fronde were travesties of heroines, devoid of the -gentler instincts of woman; there was nothing good in them; their -imaginations were perverted, they incited their followers to cruelty, -and playing with tigerish grace with the love of men, they babbled -musically, in artful and well-turned sentences, of the questions of -the day, and mocked and wreathed their arms above their heads when -their victims were dying. - - * * * * * - -The Court arrived at Libourne 1st August and remained there thirty -days. The weather was very warm, and the Queen secluded herself in her -apartment and forced Mademoiselle to sit at her side working on her -tapestry. Mademoiselle fumed; she was imprisoned like a child while -all the ladies of France were engaged in military service. To add to -her mortification, she felt that the Queen had taken a false step and -that all Paris was laughing at the Court. Sitting in the Queen's close -rooms, Mademoiselle reflected bitterly on her position. She had again -entered into collusion with Saujon. The Emperor was for the second time -a widower, and Mademoiselle had re-employed the services of her old -ambassador. She had sent Saujon to the Emperor to make a second attempt -to arrange a marriage. But she had not renounced the King of France, -and one of her confidential friends had opened her eyes to the real -character of her enterprise. Until then it had seemed natural enough -that she should make efforts to establish herself in life; but through -the officious indelicacy of her friend she had learned that she was -pursuing two husbands at once. One of the objects of her pursuit was -a man of ripe age, doubly widowed, the husband of two dead wives; the -other a child of tender years,--and neither one nor the other would -consent to marry her. She was glad to be far from Paris, where every -one knew and pitied her. She burned incense to all her gods and prayed -that civil war might keep the Parisians too busy to remember her. Her -grief and shame were at their height when the scene changed. Monsieur -awoke; Retz had worked a miracle. By means of his peculiar method, -acting upon the principle of humanity's susceptibility to intelligent -suggestion, Retz had persuaded Monsieur that he, Monsieur, was the only -man in France fit to mediate between the parties; after long-continued -series of efforts his clerical insinuations had aroused Gaston from -his torpor, and one evening when the Queen, flushed and irritable, and -Mademoiselle, dejected but defiant, sat at their needlework Gaston -entered the dim salon and announced his importance. The trickster of -the pulpit and of the slums had managed to infuse a little of his own -spirit into the royal poltroon, and for the first time in his political -career Gaston displayed some of the characteristics of a man. In an -hour Bordeaux knew that the Prince d'Orléans had arrived in Libourne as -the accredited mediator of the parties. The politicians fawned at his -feet, and Anne of Austria rose effusively to do honour to Monsieur le -Prince d'Orléans. By order of the Regent all despatches were submitted -to Gaston, who passed upon them as best he could. - -Mazarin rose to meet the situation; he was not bewildered by Retz's -tactics; he affected to believe that Monsieur must be consulted upon -all matters, and by his orders Monsieur's tables were littered with -documents. Mazarin multiplied occasions for displaying his allegiance -to the royal arbiter. Mademoiselle met the change in her situation -joyfully, but calmly. It was the long-expected first smile of fortune; -it was the natural consequence of her birth; things were entering -their natural order; but she was observant and her mémoirs show us -that she valued her incense at its real worth. While the political -world bent the knee before Monsieur Mazarin fortified his own position. -He sat with the ladies in the Queen's salon, he betrayed a fatherly -solicitude in Mademoiselle's future and, as he acted his part, his -enthusiasm increased. One day when he was alone with Mademoiselle he -assured her that he had prayed long and earnestly for her establishment -upon one of the thrones of the world. Sitting at her tapestry, -Mademoiselle listened and averted her head to hide her anger. Mazarin, -supposing that he had aroused her gratitude, exposed all his anxiety. -Mademoiselle did not answer. At last, astonished by her silence, he -cut short his declamation. Mademoiselle counted her stitches and -snipped her threads; Mazarin watched her impassive face. After a long -silence she arose, pushed aside her embroidery frame, and turning to -enter her own apartment, she said calmly: "There is nothing upon earth -so base that you have not thought of it this morning." Mazarin was -alone; he sat with eyes fixed upon the floor, smiling indulgently, -wrapt in thought; he was not angry,--he was never visibly excited to -anger; but he did not return to the subject. Mademoiselle had resented -his overtures because she had made known her projects freely and he -had promised her a king, not an emperor. She reported the Cardinal's -conduct to Lenet: "The Cardinal has promised me, a hundred times, that -he would arrange to have me marry the King[150]--but the Cardinal is -a knave!" The Queen said with truth that Mademoiselle was becoming -a rabid Frondeuse. Mademoiselle had her own corps of couriers, who -carried her the latest news from Paris; her court was larger than the -Regent's. When Bordeaux was taken the people saw nothing and talked of -nothing but Monsieur's daughter. Mademoiselle exultantly recorded her -triumph: - -"No one went to the Queen's, and when she passed in the streets no one -cared at all for her. I do not know that it was very agreeable to her -to hear that my court was large and that no one was willing to leave my -house, when so few cared to go to her house." - -While the Regent languished in solitude waiting for visitors who -did not arrive her Minister received the rebuffs of the people of -Bordeaux. The Queen was sick from chagrin, and as soon as arrangements -could be made she returned to Paris. On the way to Paris the Court -stopped at Fontainebleau. Gaston descended brusquely from his coach -and as his foot touched the ground gave way to a violent outburst -of nervous anger. Mazarin was the object of his fury; in some occult -way the Cardinal had wounded his feelings. He fled to his room and -locked his door, refusing to see either Mazarin or the Queen. As he -stood his ground, and as no one could approach him, the Queen implored -Mademoiselle to pacify him; and Mademoiselle, carrying her olive -branch with a very bad grace, set out to play the part of dove in the -ark. After many goings and comings, Monsieur consented to receive the -Queen; but the Queen acidulated rather than sweetened the royal broth, -and Monsieur broke away from her in a passion of fury. From that time -all that Anne of Austria attempted to do failed; her evil hour was -approaching. Mazarin had thought of two alternatives: he believed that -he might buy Retz by making him a cardinal; or that he might win the -good-will of Mademoiselle by marrying her to the King. But could he do -either one thing or the other? Could he mortify his own soul by doing -anything to give Retz pleasure? Retz was hateful to him. - -Despite his powerful diplomatic capacity, Mazarin was not a politician, -and some of his instincts bore a curious family resemblance to the -characteristic instincts of the average woman; so although he believed -that it would be possible to buy Retz with a red hat the thought of -giving him the hat distressed him. So much for one of his alternatives! - -As to marrying Mademoiselle to the King of France,--that would be -difficult, if not impossible; the thought of such a marriage was -repugnant to the King. Louis XIV. was wilful and the Queen was an -indulgent mother. She pampered her children; she excused the King's -failings. Mazarin was patient, but he had often considered Anne of -Austria adverse to reason when the King was in question. The Cardinal -was master of the Queen, but he was not, he never had been, he never -could be, master of the Queen-mother. - -In his extremity he resorted to his usual means,--intrigue; but he -found that his power had waned. There were people who might have helped -him, and who would have helped him in former times, but they had ceased -to fear him; they demanded pay and refused to work without it. Mazarin -was too normally natural a man to act against nature; he clung to his -economies and as his supposititious agents refused to take their pay in -"blessed water," his plans failed. His attempts were reported to his -intended victims and before the sun set Mademoiselle of the Court and -of the people, and the Abbé Retz of the Archbishopric and of the slums -had arisen in their might against "the foreigner." Both of the leaders -of the masses were implacable; each was powerful in his own way; both -believed that they had been duped by the Archbishop's coadjutor; Retz -had expected a hat; Mademoiselle had expected a husband; both, vowing -vengeance to the death, turned their backs upon Mazarin. Mademoiselle -had acquired the habit of suspicion; politics had given her new -ideas; Retz had always been suspicious and he had prepared for every -emergency. Mazarin, sitting in his perfumed bower, felt that the end -was near. What was he? What had they always called him? "The stranger." -... The whole world was against him ... the nobles, the Parliaments -... the old Fronde, the Fronde of the Princes! ... Retz with his -adjutants of the mobility! To crown his imprudence and to prove that -he was more powerful as a lover than as a politician, Mazarin took the -field at Rethel (15th December, 1650) and won the day; Turenne and -his foreigners were beaten, and fear seized the people of France. An -intriguer of that species could do anything! France was not safe in his -presence; he must be driven out! During the Fronde it was common for -women to dictate the terms of treaties. Anne de Gonzague, the Palatine -Princess, whose only mandate lay in her eyes, her wit, and her bold -spirit, drew up the treaty which followed Rethel, and the principal -articles were liberty for the princes and exile for Mazarin. - -Mademoiselle approved both articles before the treaty was signed. The -times were full of possibilities for her; her visions of a marriage -with Louis XIV. had been blurred by a sudden apparition. Condé had -arisen in her dreams with a promise of something better. Might it not -be wiser policy to unite the junior branches of the House of France? -Might it not be more practical, more fruitful in results, to marry M. -le Prince de Condé than to wage war against him? That he was a married -man was of small importance. His wife, the heroine of Bordeaux, was -in delicate health and as liable to die as any mortal; in the event -of her death the dissent of the Opposition would be the only serious -obstacle. Mademoiselle confided all her perplexities to her memoirs; -she foresaw that the dissent of the Opposition would be ominous for -the royal authority, and therefore ominous for the public peace. She -reflected; Condé was a strong man; and who was stronger than the -Granddaughter of France? She decided that they two, she and Condé, -made one by marriage, might defy the obstacle. Mazarin knew all her -thoughts, and he felt that the earth was crumbling under his feet; to -quote Mademoiselle's own words: "He was quasi-on-his-knees" before her, -offering her the King of France; but he made one condition: she must -prevent her father's adhesion to the cause of M. le Prince.[151] Anne -of Austria, with eyes swimming in tears, presented herself humbly, -imploring Mademoiselle, in the name of their ancient friendship, to -soften Monsieur's heart to "Monsieur le Cardinal." The Queen begged -Mademoiselle to make her father understand that she, the Queen, "could -not refuse Monsieur anything should he render her such service." -Mademoiselle was ready to burst with pride when she repeated the -Queen's promise. A future as bright as the stars lay before her; for -the first time and for the last time she had a reason for her dreams. - -Monsieur was the recognised chief of the coalition against Mazarin, but -he was afraid to act; he did not like to leave compromising traces; -he resisted when it was necessary to sign his name. Knowing that the -treaty uniting the two Frondes must be signed and that he must sign it, -his political friends went in a body to the Luxembourg treaty in hand. -Gaston saw them coming and tried to escape, but they caught him in the -opening of a double door, and closing the two sides of the door upon -his body, squeezing him as in a vise, they thrust a pen between his -fingers; then holding a hat before him for the treaty to rest on, they -compelled him to sign his name. An eye-witness said that "he signed it -as he would have signed a compact with the devil had he feared to be -interrupted by his good angel." A few weeks later Parliament demanded -the release of the princes and the exile of Mazarin. Then Mademoiselle -was given a vision which filled her cup of joy to overflowing. - - I had intended [she wrote in her memoirs] to go to bed very early, - because I had arisen very early that morning; but I did not do - it, because just as I was undressing they came to tell me of a - rumour in the city. My curiosity led me out upon the terrace of - the Tuileries. The terrace looked out upon several sides. It was - a very beautiful moonlight night and I could see to the end of - the street.[152] On the side toward the water was a barrier; some - cavaliers were guarding the barrier to favour the departure of M. - le Cardinal, who was leaving by way of La Conférence; the boatmen - were crying out against his getting away; there were many valets - and my violin players, who are soldiers, although that is not their - profession. They were all trying to drive away the cavaliers, who - were helping Mazarin to escape. Some pretty hot shots were fired. - - * * * * * - -At that same hour the Palais Royal was the scene of a drama. Mazarin -was taking leave, and the Queen thought that she was looking upon him -for the last time. The lovers who shared so many memories, and who must -have had so many things to say before they parted, dared not, even for -a moment, evade the hundreds of eyes fixed upon them. Mazarin could not -conceal his grief; the Queen, though calm, was very grave. To the last -moment the unhappy pair were forced to speak in such a way that the -courtiers could not judge of their sorrow by their looks. At last it -was over; the door closed upon Mazarin, and the wretched Queen was left -among her courtiers. Mazarin hurried to his rooms, disguised himself -as a cavalier, and went on foot out of the Palais Royal. Finding that -the cavaliers and river-men were fighting on the quay, he turned into -the rue de Richelieu and went away unmolested. It is known that before -going to Germany he went to the prison of Havre and set the princes -free. Eleven days after Mazarin took leave of the Queen Paris learned -that Condé was _en route_ and that he was to sup at the Luxembourg the -following day. Mademoiselle knew that her new projects depended upon -her first meeting with M. le Prince. She had sent the olive branch to -his prison, but she did not know how he had received it. She awaited -his coming at the Luxembourg. She said of that first interview: - - Messieurs the Princes came into Madame's salon, where I was, - and after they saluted they came to me and paid me a thousand - compliments. M. le Prince bore witness in particular that he had - been very much pleased when Guiteau assured him of my repentance - for the great repugnance that I had felt for him. The compliments - ended, we avowed the aversion that we had felt for one another. - He confessed that he had been delighted when I fell sick of - the smallpox, that he had passionately wished that I might be - disfigured by it, and that I might be left with some deformity,--in - short, he said that nothing could have added to the hatred that - he felt for me. I avowed to him that I had never felt such joy as - I felt when he was put in prison, that I had strongly wished that - he might be kept there, and that I had thought of him only to wish - him evil. This reciprocal enlightenment lasted a long time, and it - cheered and amused the company and ended in mutual assurances of - friendship. - -During the interview the tumult of a great public fête was heard. At -sight of Condé Paris had been seized by one of her sudden infatuations. - -At the gates of the Palais Royal the masses mounted guard night and day -to prevent the abduction of the King. It was generally supposed that -the Queen would try to follow the Cardinal. - -The Frondeurs were masters of Paris; their hour had come, and they held -it in their power to prove that they had led France into adventures -because they had formed a plan which they considered better than the -old plan. But if there were any among them who were thinking of -reform, their good intentions were not perceptible. The people of the -past resembled the people of our day; they thought little of the public -suffering. Interest in the actions of the great, or in the actions -of the people whose positions gave them relative greatness, excluded -interest in the general welfare. The rivalries and the personal efforts -of the higher classes were the public events of France. Parliament -was working along its own lines, hoping to gain control of the State, -to hold a monopoly of reforms, and to break away from the nobility. -The nobility, jealous of the "long robes," had directly addressed the -nation's depths: the bourgeoisie and the mobility. - -Retz had supreme hope: to be a Cardinal. Condé hoped to be Prime -Minister. Gaston had staked a throw on all the games. Mme. de -Longueville dreamed of new adventures; and the Queen, still guided by -her far-off lover, laboured in her own blind way upon a plan to benefit -her little brood. She looked upon France, upon the people, and upon -the Court as enemies; she had concentrated her mind upon one object; -she meant to deceive them all and turn events to her own advantage. -By the grace of the general competition of egotism, falsehood, broken -promises, and treason, the autumn of 1651 found the Spaniards in the -East, civil war in the West, the Court in hot pursuit of the rebels, -want and disease stalking the land, and La Grande Mademoiselle still -in suspense. In the spring during a period of thirty-six hours she -had supposed that she was about to marry Condé. Condé's wife had been -grievously sick from erysipelas in the head; to quote Mademoiselle's -words: "The disease was driven inward, which gave people reason for -saying that were she to die I might marry M. le Prince." - -At that critical moment Mademoiselle freely unfolded her hopes and -fears; she said: - - Madame la Princesse lingered in that extremity three days, - and during all that time the marriage was the subject of my - conversation with Préfontaine. We did not speak of anything else. - We agitated all those questions. What gave me reason to speak of - them was that, to add to all that I heard said, M. le Prince came - to see me every day. But the convalescence of Madame la Princesse - closed the chapter for the time being and no one thought of it any - more. - -In the course of the summer the Princess Palatine, who supposed that -she could do anything because she had effected, or to say the least -concluded the union of the Frondes, offered to marry Mademoiselle -to the King "before the end of September." Mme. de Choisy, another -prominent politician, exposed the conditions of the bargain to -Mademoiselle, who recorded them in the following lucid terms: - - Mme. de Choisy said to me: "The Princess Palatine is such a - blatant beggar that you will have to promise her three hundred - écus in case she makes your affair a success." I said "yes" to - everything. "And," pursued Mme. de Choisy, "I wish my husband to - be your Chancellor. We shall pass the time so agreeably, because - la Palatine will be your steward; you will give her a salary of - twenty thousand écus; she will sell all the offices in the gift of - your house,--so you may imagine that it will be to her interest to - make your affair succeed. We will have a play given at the Louvre - every day. She will rule the King." Those were the words she used! - One may guess how charmed I was at the idea of being in such a - state of dependence! Evidently she thought that she was giving me - the greatest pleasure in the world. - -Although Mademoiselle did not go as far as to say "no," she ceased to -say "yes" to everything. Her reason for doing so was baseless. She -had acquired the conviction that the young King, Louis XIV., loved -the tall cousin who seemed so old to his thirteen-year mind.[153] La -Grande Mademoiselle appalled him; her abrupt ways and her explosions -of anger drove back his timid head into its tender shell; but she had -persuaded herself that he wished to marry her. And she was so sure of -her facts that she dropped the oars provided by Mme. de Choisy, and -sat up proudly in her rudderless bark, without sail or compass. She -believed that the King loved her, she was thankful to be at rest, and -she left to her supposed lover the care of the royal betrothal; she -sighed ingenuously: "That way of becoming Queen would have pleased me -more than the other." That is easily understood; however, nothing came -of it. Anne of Austria had sworn to her niece that she would give her -the King; but when Mademoiselle's back was turned she, the Queen, said -stiffly: "He would not be for her nose even were he well grown!"[154] - -Mazarin had done well in supposing that there would be some advantage -in intermarrying the junior branches as a means of ending the family -quarrels. - - I have learned from different sources [he wrote to the Queen] that - Mademoiselle's marriage to the King would arrange everything. Le - Tellier[155] came expressly to see me; he came from Retz and the - Princess Palatine and for that very purpose. And the others also - have written to me about it; but if the King and the Queen have the - same feeling in regard to that matter that they did have, I do not - think that it would be easy to arrange it (7th January, 1652). - -Mazarin dared not insist; he felt that he was no longer in a posture -where he could indulge in displeasing exactions. While Parliament was -rendering decisions against Mazarin, the people close to the Queen were -working to obliterate his image from her heart, and their efforts were -successful.[156] They occupied the Queen's mind with other friends, -the thought of whom filled Mazarin with the torments of jealousy. He -was in retreat in Brühl. May 11th he wrote to the Queen: "I wish that -I could express the hatred that I feel for the mischief-makers who are -unceasingly working to make you forget me so that we shall never meet -again." - -The 6th July Mazarin had heard that Lyonne had boasted that he pleased -the Queen, and he wrote: - - If they could make me believe such a thing either I should die of - grief or I should go away to the end of the world. If you could see - me you would pity me ... there are so many things to torment me - so that I can hardly bear it. For instance, I know that you have - several times asked Lyonne _why he does not take the Cardinal's - apartments_,[157] showing your tenderness for him because he gets - wet passing through the court. I have endured the horrors of two - sleepless nights because of that! - -Mazarin spoke passionately of his love; he told the Queen that he was -"dying" for her; that his only joy was to read and re-read her letters, -and that he "wept tears of blood" when they seemed cold; although, as -he said, he knew that no one on earth could break the tie that bound -them. We have none of the Queen's answers, but we know that they called -forth Mazarin's despairing declaration that he should return to Rome. -Three weeks later the Queen caused the King to sign a declaration which -the betrayed lover answered by a pathetic letter. - - 26th September. I have taken my pen ten times to write to you - ... I could not ... I could not ... I am so wretched ... I am so - beside myself at the mortal blow that you have given me, that - I do not know that there will be any sense in what I say. By - an authenticated act the King and the Queen have declared me a - traitor, a public thief, a being inadequate to his office, an - enemy to the repose of Christianity.... Even now that declaration - is sounding all over Europe, and the most faithful, the most - devoted Minister, is held up before the world as a scoundrel ... - an infamous villain. I no longer hope for happiness or for rest. - I ask for nothing but my honour. Give that back to me and let them - take the rest.... Let them strip me, even to my shirt ... I will - renounce all--cardinalates--benefices,--everything! if I can stand - with sustained honour ... as I was before I dreamed of your love. - -Time passed, and Mazarin regained his senses, "made arrows of all sorts -of wood," raised an army, and entered France. As he drew near Poitiers, -where the Court was staying, the Queen's heart softened, and when he -arrived she had been at her window an hour watching for him. - - -IV - -In 1651 Mademoiselle was busy. She attended all the sessions of -Parliament and all the seditious soirées of the Luxembourg. She urged -the Frondeurs to violence, and as she was a magnetic speaker, her -influence was great. Her leisure was given to the pleasures which Paris -offers even in time of revolution. She accompanied the King in his -walks and drives; she rode with him to the hunt; whenever he was in -Paris they were together. Mademoiselle had again refused the hand of -Charles II. of England. Charles was still waiting for his kingdom, but -his interest in his future had been awakened; his mind had developed, -and he had determined to enter into possession of his States. - -Mademoiselle was courted and ardently admired. The people worshipped -her, the popular voice echoed the spirit of the "Mazarinades" sung by -the street singers. Paris was determined to place her upon the Throne -of France. Well employed though her time had been, she had done nothing -to distinguish herself, nothing to give her a place among heroines -like the Princesse de Condé and the enticing Mme. de Longueville. But -the year 1652 was on its way, and it was to bring her her long-awaited -glory. - -After an unsuccessful attempt to make peace, Condé had again taken -the field and called his allies, the Spaniards, to his assistance. He -had carried on his parleys as he had carried on his chastisement of -the suburbs, and his exactions had confirmed hostilities. Maddened by -his failure, he had set out with eyes flaming to break the spirit of -the people and to turn the absolute power instituted by Richelieu to -his own account. Monsieur sustained him against the King. Retz and a -party of Frondeurs were trying to make an alliance with the Queen; they -were ready to consent to everything, even to the return of Mazarin. -Parliament was working for France upon its own responsibility; it -opposed Condé as it opposed Mazarin. Mazarin had bought Turenne and led -the army into the West to fight the rebels. Monsieur's appanage, the -city of Orléans, was menaced by both parties, and it had called its -Prince to its assistance. The people of Orléans had sent word to Paris -that either Monsieur or Mademoiselle must go to Orléans at once: "If -Monsieur could not go Mademoiselle must take his place." Mademoiselle -heard the news and went to the Luxembourg to see her father. She -reported her visit thus: - -"I found Monsieur very restless. He complained to me that M. le -Prince's friends were persecuting him by trying to send him to Orléans; -he assured me that to abandon Paris would be to lose our cause. He -declared that he would not go." - -[Illustration: VICOMTE DE TURENNE] - -The evening of the day of the visit thus reported when Mademoiselle was -at supper in her own palace, an officer approached her and said in a -low voice: "Mademoiselle, we are too happy! it is you who are coming -with us to Orléans." - -Mademoiselle's joy knew no bounds. She passed the greater part of -the night preparing for the journey. In the morning she implored -the blessing of God upon her enterprise; and that done, went to the -Luxembourg to take leave of her father. She appeared before Monsieur -dressed for the campaign and followed by her staff. Under the helmets -of her field marshals appeared the bright eyes of women. Inquisitive -people, all eager to see Mademoiselle depart for war, had assembled -in and around the Luxembourg. Some of Monsieur's friends applauded; -others shrugged their shoulders. Monsieur was of too alert a mind to be -blind to the ridiculous side of his daughter's chivalry, and though his -affections were sluggish, he realised that he had set loose a dangerous -spirit. He knew that Mademoiselle was an ardent enemy, that she was -impetuous; that she cared nothing for public opinion; when once started -what could arrest her progress? His paternalism overcame his prudence, -and in a loud, commanding voice he ordered the astonished generals to -obey Mademoiselle _as if she were himself_; then, dragging the most -serious officers of his staff into a far corner of the room where -Mademoiselle could not hear him, he commanded them to hold his daughter -in leash and prevent her from doing anything important "without -explicit orders from her father." - -Mademoiselle was in high spirits; her fair hair was coiled under her -helmet, her cheeks glowed, and her eyes blazed; the records of the -day tell us that she was "every inch a handsome queen and soldier," -that she was "dressed in grey," and that her habit was "all covered -with military lace of pure gold." She took leave of her father amidst -the hurrahs of the people, and all through the city her subjects -wished her joy, called upon God to bless her arms, or blasphemously -proclaimed that such a goddess had no need of the god of the priests. -The day following her departure she was met by the escort sent forward -in advance of her departure by the generals of the Fronde. She was -received by them as chief of the army, and long after that time had -passed with all its triumphs, she proudly noted the fact in her memoirs: - -"They were in the field and they all saluted me as their leader!" - -To prove her authority she arrested the couriers and seized and read -their despatches. At Toury, where the greater part of the army of -the Fronde was encamped, she presided over the council of war. The -council was all that she could have wished it to be, and her advice -was considered admirable. After the council Mademoiselle gave orders -for the march. In vain the generals repeated her father's last -instructions; in vain they begged her to "await the consent of his -Royal Highness." She laughed in their faces; she cried "_En avant!_" -with the strength of her young lungs. All the trumpets of her army -answered her; the batons of the tambour majors danced before high -Heaven; and, fired by such enthusiasm as French soldiers never knew -again until the Little Corporal called them to glory, the army of -the Fronde took the road, lords, ladies, gallant gentlemen, and raw -recruits. - -Night saw them gaily marching; the next morning they thundered at the -gates of Orléans (27th March, 1652). - -Mademoiselle announced her presence, but the gates did not open. From -the parapet of the ramparts the garrison rendered her military honours; -she threatened, and the Governor of the city sent her bonbons. The -people locked in the city hailed her with plaudits, but not a hinge -turned. The authorities feared that to let in Mademoiselle would be to -open the city to the entire army. Tired of awaiting the pleasure of the -provost of the merchants, Mademoiselle, followed by Mesdames de Fiésque -and de Frontenac, her field marshals, went round the city close to -the walls, searching for some unguarded or weak spot where she might -enter. All Orleans climbed upon the walls to watch the progress of the -gallant and handsome cavalier-maiden and her aids. It was an adventure! -Mademoiselle was happy; she looked up at the people upon the walls and -cried merrily, "I may have to break down the gates, or scale the walls, -but I will enter!" - -Thus, skirting the city close to the walls, the three ladies reached -the banks of the river Loire, and the river-men ran up from their boats -to meet them, and offered to break in a city gate which opened upon the -quay. Mademoiselle thanked them, gave them sums of money, told them to -begin their work, and the better to see them climbed upon a wine-butt. -She recorded that feat, as she recorded all her feats, for the benefit -of posterity: "I climbed the wine-butt like a cat; I caught my hands -on all the thorns, and I leaped all the hedges." Her gentlemen, who -had followed her closely, surrounded her and implored her to return -to her staff. Their importunities exasperated her, and she ordered -them back to their places before the principal gates. She animated the -river-men to do their best, and they worked with a will. The people -within the walls had become impatient, and while the river-men battered -at the outside of the gates they battered at the inside. Gangs of -men, reinforced by women, formed living wedges to help on the good -work. Suddenly a plank gave way and an opening was made. Mademoiselle -descended from her lookout, and the river-men gently carried her -forward and helped her to enter the city. To quote her own words: - - As there was a great deal of very bad dirt on the ground, a - _valet-de-pied_ lifted me from the ground and urged me through - the opening; and as soon as my head appeared the people began to - beat the drums.... I heard cries ... "_Vive le Roi!_" "_Vive les - Princes!_" ... "_Point de Mazarin!_" Two men seated me on a wooden - chair, and so glad was I ... so beside myself with joy, that I did - not know whether I was in the chair or on the arm of it! Every one - kissed my hands, and I nearly swooned with laughter to find myself - in such a pleasant state! - -The people were transported with delight; they carried her in -procession; a company of soldiers, with drums beating, marched before -the procession to clear the way. Mmes. de Fiésque and de Frontenac -trudged after their leader through the "quantity of very bad dirt," -surrounded by the people, who did not cease to caress them because, as -is explicitly stated, "they looked upon the two fairly beautiful ladies -as curiosities." The local contemporary chronicles lead us to suppose -that the people were not the only ones who indulged in kisses on that -occasion; the beautiful Comtesse de Fiésque is said to have kissed the -river-men; she was in gallant spirits; la Frontenac finished the last -half of her promenade with "one shoe off and one shoe on," though the -legendary dumpling supposed to attend a parade in "stocking feet" was -lacking. - -After events had resumed their regular course, the people wrote and -sung a song which was known all over France: - - Deux jeunes et belles comtesses, - Ses deux maréchales de camp, - Suiverent sa royale altesse - Dont on faisait un grand cancan. - - Fiésque, cette bonne comtesse! - Allait baisant les bateliers; - Et Frontenac (quelle detresse!) - Y perdit un de ses souliers. - -On the way to the Hôtel de Ville the procession met the city -authorities, who stood speechless before them. Mademoiselle feigned -to believe that they had started to open the gates. She greeted them -blandly, listened to their addresses, returned their greetings, and -closed a very successful day by sending a triumphant message to her -father. One by one her staff had entered by the broken gate, and the -generals saluted her with heads low; they were abashed; they had taken -no part in the capture of Orleans. - -The Orleanists were firm in their refusal to let the army enter the -city, and the young general, accepting the situation, ordered her -troops to encamp where they were, outside of the chief gates of the -city. The following day at seven o'clock in the morning, Mademoiselle, -enthroned upon the summit of one of the city's towers, looked down -scornfully upon "a quantity of people of the Court" who had hurried -after her hoping to share her victory. The people of Orleans were quick -to catch the spirit of their Princess; they climbed upon the city walls -and jeered at the wornout laggards, and Mademoiselle's cup of joy was -full. She looked with delight upon the discomfiture of the belated -courtiers and upon the envious tears of the travel-stained ladies. - -That day she made her first appearance as an orator. Her memoirs tell -us that at first she was "as timid as a girl"; then, regaining her -self-possession, she expounded the theories of the Fronde and told -the people why the nobles had arisen to deliver the country from the -foreigner. When she had said all that she had to say she returned to -her quarters. In her absence the Duc de Beaufort had sallied out, -attacked a city, and been repulsed. Mademoiselle was indignant; she -had not given de Beaufort orders to leave the camp. She called a -court-martial to try him for insubordination and breach of discipline. -Court was convened very early in the morning, in a wine-shop outside -of the city. Despite the long skirts of the field marshals, it was a -stormy meeting. Messieurs de Beaufort and de Nemours came to words, -and from words to blows. They tore off each other's wigs; they drew -their swords. Mademoiselle's hands were full. She passed that day and -the night which followed it in strenuous efforts to calm the tumult. -All the people within hearing of the mêlée had hastened to the field -of action, and being on the spot and in fighting trim, every man had -seized his occasion and settled his difficulty with his neighbour, and -all, civil and military, had fought equally well. - -The 30th, letters of congratulation arrived from Paris. Monsieur wrote: -"My daughter, you have saved my appanage, you have assured the peace of -Paris; this is the cause of public rejoicing. You are in the mouths of -the people. All say that your act did justice to the Granddaughter of -Henry the Great." This, from her father, was praise. Condé supplemented -it: "It was your work and due to you alone, and it was a move of the -utmost importance." - -Mademoiselle's officers assured her that she had "the eye of a -general," and she accepted as truth all that they told her and -considered it all her due. About that time she wrote to some one at -Court a letter which she intended for the eyes of the Queen, and in the -letter she said in plain words that she intended to espouse the King of -France, and that any one--no matter who it might be--would be unwise to -attempt to thwart her wishes, because she, Mademoiselle, held it in her -power to put affairs in such a state that people would be compelled to -beg favours of her on their knees.[158] Anne of Austria read the letter -and scoffed at it. - -Despite her brilliant débuts, Mademoiselle was tired of life. The -authorities of Orleans considered her a girl, and no one in the city -government honoured her orders. Her account of those days is a record -of paroxysms: "I was angry!... I flew into a passion.... I was in a -rage.... I berated them furiously.... I was so angry that I wept!" - -Yes, Mademoiselle, whose will had been law to the people of Paris, -could not make the people of Orleans obey her. In answer to her -commands the town authorities sent her sweetmeats, bonbons, and fair -words. When Mademoiselle commanded them, they answered: "Just what -Mademoiselle pleases we shall do!" and having given their answer, -they acted to please themselves. The general commanding the army of -the Fronde was ill-at-ease, sick for Paris, tired of Orleans. She -begged to be permitted to leave Orleans, but her father commanded her -to remain. He enjoyed her absence. She had tried in vain to persuade -him to relieve her of her command; human nature could endure no more; -forgetting her first duty as a soldier, she disobeyed orders and joined -the army of the Fronde at Étampes (May 2d). The weather was perfect; -she had escaped from Orleans, she was on her horse, surrounded by her -ladies. All the generals and "a quantity of officers" had gone on -before, and she could see them, as in a vision, in the golden dust -raised by the feet of their horses; the cannon of the fortified towns -thundered, the drums of her own army rolled; she was in her element; -she was a soldier! Condé once told her, when speaking of a march which -she had ordered, that Gustavus Adolphus could not have done better. - -The morning after her arrival at Étampes she went to Mass on foot, -preceded by a military band.[159] After Mass she presided at a council -of war, mounted. After the council she rode down the line and her -troops implored her to lead them to battle. - -The review over, she turned her horse toward Paris, not knowing that -Turenne had planned to circumvent the army of the Fronde. Turenne -knew that the presence of the Amazons distracted the young generals, -and he considered the moment favourable to his advance. Near Bourg -la Reine Condé appeared, followed by his staff. Immediately after -his return from the South he had set out for Étampes to salute the -General-in-Chief of the army of the Fronde. - -The people had missed their Princess. In her absence they had rehearsed -the sorrows of her life, and she had become doubly dear to them; they -had magnified her trials and idealised her virtues; they had gloried -in her exploits. Relaying one another along the road beyond the city's -gates, they had waited for her coming. At last, after many days, the -outposts of the canaille descried the upright grey figure followed by -the glittering general staff and guarded by the staff of Condé. - -The beloved of the people, insulted by the Queen, despoiled by the -Queen's lover of the right of woman to a husband, imprisoned and -forsaken by her father in her hour of need, had risen above humanity! -She had been a heroine, she had forgiven all her enemies, had captured -Orleans, had assured the safety of her own city,--and now she had come -home! They laid their cheeks to the flanks of her horse; they clasped -the folds of her habit; and a cry arose from their wasted throats -that scared the wild doves in the blighted woods along the highway. -Mademoiselle had come home! "_Vive Anne-Marie-Louise, la petite-fille -de la France!_" - - * * * * * - -Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orléans, Duchesse de Montpensier, who had taken a -stronghold unaided save by a few boatmen, heard thanksgiving on all -hands, and to crown her joy--for she loved to dance--the city gave a -great fête in her honour. But there was one bitter drop in her cup: her -father had been made sick by her arrival. He dared not punish her in -the face of the people's joy; but he retired to his bed and abandoned -himself to the pangs of colic and, when Mademoiselle, flushed with -pride, arrived at the Luxembourg, he refused to see her; he sent word -to her to "Begone!" he was "too sick to talk of affairs of State." - - * * * * * - -Monsieur had cares of various species. Condé and his associates had -forced him to take a prominent position in politics, and his terror -of possible consequences made his life a torment. Condé was deep in -treasonable plots. He had returned from his Southern expedition -flaming with anger; he had goaded the people to the verge of fury, and -reduced Parliament to such a state that it had adjourned its assemblies -without mention of further sessions. He had made all possible -concessions to the foreigners; he had so terrified Monsieur that the -unhappy Prince saw an invasion in every corner. But Gaston had still -another master; he had fallen a victim to the machinations of the wily -Retz. For reasons of his own, the Archbishop's coadjutor had found it -expedient to familiarise Monsieur with the canaille, and he had so -impressed the people with the idea that "d'Orléans" sympathised with -them that they fawned upon Gaston and dogged his footsteps. An incoming -and outgoing tide of ignoble people thronged the Luxembourg. Monsieur's -visitors were the lowest of the mobility, and they forced their way -even into his bed-chamber. They sat by him while his _coiffeur_ dressed -his hair, they assisted at his colics, and officiously dropped sugar -in his _café-au-lait_. Among his visitors were ex-convicts, half-grown -daughters of the pavement, and street urchins, and they all offered him -advice, sympathised with him, urged him to take courage, and assured -him of their protection, until Gaston, helpless in his humiliation, -writhed in his bed. When he had been alone and free from the sharp -scrutiny of his natural critic, his daughter, his lot had been hard, -but with Mademoiselle at hand it was torment. Mademoiselle was a -general of the army; she had taken her father's place; she felt that -her exploits had given her the right to speak freely, and one day when -she visited Madame (she told the story herself), she "rated her like -a dog." Madame was in her own apartment; she studied her complaints, -sipped her "tisanes," swathed her head in aromatised linen, and neither -saw nor heard the droning of the throngs who buzzed like flies about -her husband. - -[Illustration: VIEW OF THE LUXEMBOURG (LATER CALLED THE PALAIS -D'ORLÉANS) IN THE 17TH CENTURY - -FROM AN OLD PRINT] - -It is worthy of note that the princes did not forecast the future. -Reason ought to have shown them that the revolution would sweep them -away as it swept all else should not Royalty intervene in their behalf. -The Canaille was mistress of the streets, and her means was always -violent. Her leaders were strong men. In 1651 she had her Marats and -her Héberts, who used their pens to incite France to massacre; and her -Maillards, who urged her on to pillage the homes of the nobility and -to fell, as an ox is felled in the shambles, all, however innocent, -whom it served their purpose to call suspicious. Such men did bloody -work, and they did not ask what the nobles thought of it. Insolent, on -fire with hate, lords of a day! they sprang from the slimy ooze with -the first menace of Revolution to vanish with the Revolution when the -last head rolled in the sawdust; cruel, but useful instruments, used by -immutable Justice to avenge the wrongs of a tormented people! - - * * * * * - -When Mademoiselle returned from Orleans Paris wore the aspect of the -early days of the Terror. Even the peaceable and naturally thrifty sat -in idleness, muttering prayers for help or for vengeance, either to God -or to the devil. All were afraid. The people of the Bourgeoisie had -set their faces against the entrance of Condé's troops. The devastated -suburbs were still in evidence; it was supposed that Condé would bring -with him drunkenness, rapine, fire, and all the other horrors of a -military possession. So matters stood when the army of the King and the -army of the Fronde, after divers combats for divers issues, fought the -fight which gave Mademoiselle her glory. - -She was then the Queen of Paris. Her palace was the political centre as -well as the social centre of France. Of those days she said: - -"I was honoured to the last point. I was held in great consideration." -Yes, she was "honoured," but the honour was in name only; the -ceremonial was all that there was of it and--worst of all for her proud -heart--she knew that it was so. It was the affair of Orleans over -again. In Orleans, when she had issued orders, the city government had -sent her bonbons, paid her compliments, and followed their own counsel. -They had answered blandly, "As Mademoiselle pleases"; but, in point of -fact, Mademoiselle was of no practical importance. To her, flattery and -fine words; to others, confidence and influence. The statesmen thought -that she was neither discreet nor capable of wise counsel. She was too -frank and too upright to be useful as a politician. Monsieur hid his -secrets from her. Condé's manner told her everything, but he never gave -her the assurance which would have established her on firm ground; and, -looking practically upon that matter, what assurance could he have -given her? What, in honour, was he free to say? - -The Prince de Condé, who was continually spoken of as Mademoiselle's -possible husband, paid hypothetical court to Mademoiselle, but when he -had serious subjects to discuss he carried them to the salon of the -beautiful Duchesse de Chatillon, who was then the rising star of the -political world of Paris. Mesdames de Longueville and de Chevreuse were -setting suns, and very close to the horizon. Ignoring Mademoiselle, -they had made an independent attempt to reconcile the princes and -restore them to the good graces of the Court; their attempt had -failed. The Duchesse de Montpensier was the only one at Court who had -maintained friendly relations with the princes. - - * * * * * - -One night, in the Cours la Reine, Mademoiselle found herself close to a -marching army. Condé's troops, pressed by Turenne, were hurrying into -Paris close to the ramparts (which then stood where we now see the -Place de la Concorde and the great boulevards). - -Mademoiselle was mounted; she was talking with an officer. She watched -the winding line of the troops thoughtfully, and when the Cours hid -it from view she went into Renard's garden, where she could watch it -out of sight. Her heart ached with forebodings; the army had marched in -disorder at the pace of utter rout and with flank exposed. She wrote in -her memoirs: - - All the troops passed the night beside the moat[160], and as there - were no buildings between them and my lodgings, I could hear their - trumpets distinctly. As I could distinguish the different calls, - I could see the order in which they were moving. I remained at - my window two hours after the bells rang midnight, hearing them - pass,--and with grief enough I listened! because I was thinking of - all that might happen. But in all my grief I had, I know not what - strange presentiment,--I knew that I should help to draw them out - of their trouble. - -Mademoiselle had intended to take a medicine which she considered -necessary, but as she thought that it might interfere with her -usefulness, she countermanded the doctor's orders. On what a slender -thread hangs glory! - -July 2d, at six o'clock in the morning, some one knocked at -Mademoiselle's door, and Mademoiselle sprang from her bed but half -awake. Condé had sent to ask for help. He was with his army held at bay -against the closed gates of Paris attacked by the army of de Turenne. -The messenger had been sent to Monsieur, but Monsieur, declaring that -he was in agony, had refused to see him. On that answer the messenger -sped to the palace of the Tuileries. Mademoiselle dressed and hurried -to the Luxembourg. As she entered the palace Monsieur came down the -stairs, and Mademoiselle attacked him angrily; she accused him of -disloyalty, and reproached him for his pretence of sickness. Gaston -assured her calmly: "I _am_ sick; I am not sick enough to be in bed, -but I am too sick to leave this house." - -"Either mount your horse or go to bed!" cried Mademoiselle. She -stormed, she wept, all in a breath (as she always did when she could -not force her father to do his duty), but Monsieur was a coward and -nature was too strong to be controlled; she could not move him. Retz -had worked upon Gaston's cowardice as a means of furthering his own -plans; his plans included the death of Condé and the failure of the -Fronde; therefore tortures would not have drawn Gaston from his house -upon that occasion, even had he favoured intervention in behalf of -Condé. - - * * * * * - -Long before the messenger of Monsieur le Prince had knocked at the door -of the Tuileries, the army of the Fronde, at bay against the wall of -the city, had awaited the word required to open the gates of Paris. -Still another hour had passed and Mademoiselle's endeavour had been -vain. Years after she recorded the fact with sorrow: "I had begged -an hour, and I knew that in that time all my friends might have been -killed--Condé as well as the others! ... and no one cared; that seemed -to me hard to bear!" - - * * * * * - -While Mademoiselle was imploring her father to help her Condé's friends -arrived; they beset Gaston and commanded him to send help at once to -the Faubourg Saint Antoine. Condé and his men were fighting for their -lives; the people of the Faubourg had mounted the heights to see the -battle. - -Gaston was exasperated, and to rid himself of the importunities of his -party he ordered his daughter to go to the Hôtel de Ville and tell the -authorities that he commanded them to issue an order to open the gates. -As Mademoiselle ran through the streets the bourgeois, who had gathered -in groups to give each other countenance, begged her for passports; -they were ready to leave the city. - -A half-starved, ragged mob filled the Place de Grève; the canaille -blocked the adjoining streets. The palace was like an abandoned -barrack. The sunlight fell upon the polished locks of the old muskets -of the League, and not a head dared approach the windows. Mademoiselle -ran through the mob and entered the Hôtel de Ville. Let her tell her -errand in her own way: - - They were all there; the provost of the merchants, the aldermen, - the Maréchal de l'Hôpital, the Governor ... and I cried to them: - "Monsieur le Prince is in peril of death in our faubourgs! What - grief, what eternal shame it would be to us were he to perish for - lack of our assistance! You have it in your power to help him! Do - it then, and quickly!" - -[Illustration: LA ROCHEFOUCAULD - -FROM A STEEL ENGRAVING ] - -They went into the council-room. Mademoiselle fell upon her knees at -the open window, and, in silence, the people watched her; they were on -guard, waiting for her orders. In the church of Saint Gervais priests -were offering the Mass; she could hear them and she tried to pray. -Minutes had passed and nothing had been done. She arose from her knees -and, entering the council-room, urged the men to act; she implored, -she threatened; then, hurrying back to the window, she fell upon her -knees. Rising for the last time, pale and resolute, she entered the -council-room; she pointed to the Grève where the people stood with eyes -fixed upon the windows, then, stretching her arm high above her head, -she cried violently: "Sign that order! or--_I swear it by my Exalted -Name!_ I will call in my people and let them teach you what to do!" - - * * * * * - -They fell upon the paper like wolves upon a lamb, and an instant later -Mademoiselle, grasping the order, hurried up the rue Saint Antoine to -open the city's gates. - - * * * * * - -Not far from the Hôtel de Ville a cavalier in a blood-stained doublet, -blinded by blood from a wound in his forehead, passed her, led like a -child between two soldiers; both of the soldiers were weeping: it was -La Rochefoucauld. - -Mademoiselle called his name, but he did not answer. At the entrance to -the rue Saint Antoine another wounded man appeared, bareheaded, with -blood-stained raiment; a man walking beside him held him on his horse. -Mademoiselle asked him: "Shalt thou die of thy wounds?" he tried to -move his head as he passed on. He was "little Guiteau," Mademoiselle's -friend who had carried the "olive branch" to Condé's prison. But they -were coming so fast that it was hard to count them--another--then -another! Mademoiselle said: "I found them in the rue Saint Antoine -at every step! and they were wounded everywhere ... head ... arms -... legs! ... they were on horse--on foot--on biers--on ladders--on -litters! Some of them were dead." - -An aristocratic procession! The quality of France, sacrificed in the -supreme attempt against man's symbol of God's omnipotence: the Royalty -of the King! - -By the favour of the leader of the tradesmen the gates of Paris had -opened to let pass the high nobility. Paris enjoyed the spectacle. The -ramparts swarmed with sightseers; and Louis XIV., guarded by Mazarin, -looked down upon them all from the heights of Charonne. - - * * * * * - -The soldiers of the Fronde had had enough! Crying, "_Let the chiefs -march!_" they broke ranks. So it came to pass that all who fought that -day were nobles. The faubourg saw battalions formed of princes and -seigniors, and the infantry who manned the barricades bore the mighty -names of ancient France. Condé was their leader and, culpable though he -had been, that day he purged his crimes against the country by giving -France one of the visions of heroism which exalt the soul. - - * * * * * - -Condé was everywhere! "A demon!" said the soldiers of the King; -"superhuman" his own men called him. Like the _preux chevaliers_ of -the legends, he plunged into the fray, went down and rose with cuirass -dented and red with blood, to plunge and to come forth again. - -The friends dearest to his heart fell at his feet, and still he bore -his part. He fought with all-mastering courage; he inspired his men; -and the stolid bourgeois and the common people upon the ramparts, moved -to great pity, cried out with indignation that it was a shame to France -to leave such a man to perish. That combat was like a dream to the -survivors. Condé's orders were so sharp and clear that they rang like -the notes of a trumpet; his action was miraculous, and in after years, -when his officers talked of Roland or of Rodrigue, they asserted, to -the astonishment of their hearers, that they had known both those -redoubtable warriors and fought in their company on many a hard won, -or a hard lost, field. To their minds there was neither _Rodrigue nor -Roland_; they knew but one hero, and he was "Condé." - - * * * * * - -That day in the Faubourg Saint Antoine, at the gates of Paris, bathed -with the blood and the sweat of the combat, when he had all but swooned -in his cuirass, he rushed from the field, stripped, and rolled in the -grass as a horse rolls; then slipped into his war harness and took -his place at the head of his army, as fresh as he had been before the -battle. - -But neither his courage nor his strength could have saved him, and he, -and all his men, would have perished by the city ditch if Mademoiselle -had not forced Paris to open the gates. - -Some one living in the rue Saint Antoine offered Mademoiselle shelter, -and she retired an instant from the field. Soon after she entered her -refuge Condé visited her and she thus recorded her impressions of the -day: - - As soon as I entered the house M. le Prince came in to see me. He - was in piteous case. His face was covered with dust two inches - deep; his hair was tangled, and although he had not been wounded, - his collar and shirt were full of blood. His cuirass was dented; - he held his bare sword in his hand; he had lost the scabbard. He - gave his sword to my equerry and said to me: "You see before you - a despairing man! I have lost all my friends!" ... Then he fell - weeping upon a chair and begged me to forgive him for showing his - sorrow,--and to think that people say that Condé cannot love! I - have always known that he can love, and that when he loves he is - fond and gentle. - -[Illustration: PRINCE DE CONDÉ] - -Mademoiselle spoke to Condé of the battle. They agreed upon a plan -for ending it, and Condé returned to the field to lead the retreat. -Mademoiselle went to the window to watch the men take out the baggage -and make ready for the march. She could see the guns. The people of -the faubourgs carried drink to the men in the ranks and tried to help -the wounded; and she who had been taught to ignore the emotions and the -actions of inferiors wept when she saw the famished people of the lower -orders depriving themselves to comfort the men who had laid waste the -suburbs; Condé and his troops were well known to them all. - -Disgust for the prevailing disorder had turned the thoughts of the -bourgeois toward Mazarin, whose earlier rule had given the nation -a taste of peace. Mademoiselle, who knew nothing of the bourgeois, -was aghast at their indifference to the sufferings of the wounded. -The men of peace looked with curiosity upon the battle; some laughed -aloud; others stood upon the ramparts and fired upon the retreating -Frondeurs. Mademoiselle left her window but once; then she ran through -the rue Saint Antoine to the Bastille, and, climbing to the summit -of the tower, looked through the glass. The battle was raging; she -saw the order given to cut off Condé, and, commanding the gunners to -train their guns on the King's army, she returned to her post, veiled -by smoke and choked by powder, to enjoy her glory; and it was glory -enough. Twice in the same day she had saved M. le Prince. As one man -the retreating army of the Fronde turned to salute her, and all cried: -"_You have delivered us!_" Condé was so grateful that his voice failed -him. - - * * * * * - -That evening at the Luxembourg, and the evening following, at the -Tuileries, after a night robbed of sleep by thoughts of the dead and -the wounded of her army, Mademoiselle heard praise which called her -back to the demands of life. - -Her father did not address her, and his manner repelled her advances. -Toward evening, when he supposed that all danger had passed, he went -to congratulate Condé. His bearing was gay and pleasant and his face -was roguish and smiling. In the evening his expression changed, and -Mademoiselle noted the change and explained it to his credit; she said: -"I attributed that change to his repentance. He was thinking that he -had let me do what he ought to have done." We know that Gaston was not -given to repentance; all that he regretted was that he had permitted -his daughter to take an important place among the active agents of the -Fronde; he was envious and spiteful; but neither envy nor spite could -have been called his ruling failing; his prevailing emotion was fear. - -The 4th July the bourgeois of Paris met in the Hôtel de Ville to -decide upon future action. The city was without a government. The -princes, Monsieur, and Condé attended the meeting; they supposed that -the Assembly would appoint them Directors of Public Affairs. The -supposition was natural enough. However, the Assembly ignored them and -discussed plans for a reconciliation with the Regency, and they, the -princes, retired from the meeting furiously angry. When they went out -the Grève was full of people; in the crowd were officers of the army, -soldiers, and priests.[161] - -[Illustration: DUC D'ORLÉANS] - -Several historians have said that the princes, or their following, -incited the people to punish the bourgeois for the slight offered by -them to their natural directors. No one knew how it began. As Monsieur -and Condé left the Grève and crossed the river, shots were fired -behind them. They went their way without looking back. Mademoiselle -was awaiting them at the Luxembourg. Her account of the night's work -follows: - - As it was very warm, Monsieur entered his room to change his shirt. - The rest of the company were talking quietly when a bourgeois came - in all out of breath; he could hardly speak, he had come so fast - and in such fear. He said to us: "The Hôtel de Ville is burning - and they are firing guns; they are killing each other." Condé went - to call Monsieur, and Monsieur, forgetting the disorder in which - he was, came into the room in his shirt, before all the ladies. - Monsieur said to Condé: "Cousin, do you go over to the Hôtel de - Ville." But Condé refused to go, and when he would not go to quiet - the disturbance people had reason to say that he had planned the - whole affair and paid the assassins. - -That was what was unanimously declared. It was the most barbarous -action known since the beginning of the Monarchy.[162] Outraged in his -pride and in his will because the bourgeois had dared to offer him -resistance, the splendid hero of the Faubourg Saint Antoine, at the -fatal moment, fell to the level of Septembrist; and as Monsieur must -have known all about it, and as he did nothing to prevent it, he was -Condé's accomplice. - - * * * * * - -As de Beaufort was on excellent terms with the mob, the princes -sent him to the Hôtel de Ville; he set out upon his mission and -Mademoiselle, who had followed close upon his heels, loitered and -listened to the comments of the people. When she returned and told her -father what she had heard Gaston was terrified; he ordered her to go -back to the Hôtel de Ville and reconnoitre. - -It was long past midnight, and the streets were deserted. The Hôtel de -Ville was a ruin; the doors and windows were gone, and the flames were -still licking the charred beams; the interior had been pillaged. "I -picked my way," said Mademoiselle, "among the planks; they were still -flaming. I had never seen such a desolate place; we looked everywhere, -but we could see no one." They were about to leave the ruins when the -provost of the merchants emerged from his hiding-place (probably in the -cellar) with the men who had been with him. - -Mademoiselle found them a safe lodging and went back to her palace. -Day had dawned; people were gathering in the Place de Grève; some were -trying to identify the dead. Among the dead were priests, members of -Parliament, and between thirty and forty bourgeois. Many had been -wounded. - -The people blessed Mademoiselle, but she turned sorrowfully away. She -thought that nothing could atone for such a murder. She said of the -event: - - People spoke of that affair in different ways; but however they - spoke, they all agreed in blaming his Royal Highness and M. le - Prince. I never mentioned it to either of them, and I am very glad - not to know anything about it, because if they did wrong I should - be sorry to know it; and that action displeased me so that I could - not bear to think that any one so closely connected with me could - not only tolerate the thought of such a thing, but do it. That blow - was the blow with the club; it felled the party. - - * * * * * - -Immediately after the fire, when the city was panic-stricken, M. le -Prince's future promised success; he had every reason to hope. Many -of the political leaders had left Paris, and taking advantage of that -fact, and of the general fear, Condé marshalled the débris of the -Parliament, and they nominated a cabinet. Gaston was the nominal head; -Condé was generalissimo. The Hôtel de Ville had been repaired, the -cabinet was installed there, and Broussel was provost of merchants, -but the knock-down "blow with the club" had made his power illusory. -Generally the public conscience was callous enough where murders were -concerned, but it rebelled against the murder of 4th July. The common -saying in Paris was that the affair was a cowardly trap, deliberately -set. Public opinion was firm, and the Condé party fell. Before the -massacre the country had been tired of civil war. After the massacre -it abhorred it. The people saw the Fronde in its true light. With the -exception of a few members of Parliament,--patriots and would-be -humanitarians,--who had thought of France? The two junior branches, -or the nobility? They had called the Spaniards to an alliance against -Frenchmen, and, to further their selfish interests, they had led their -own brothers into a pitfall. - -Who had cared for the sufferings of the people? The Fronde had been a -deception practised upon the country; a systematic scheme fostered by -men and women for personal benefit. To the labourer hunted from his -home to die in the woods, to the bourgeois whose business had been tied -up four years, what mattered it that the wife of La Rochefoucauld was -seated before the Queen? Was it pleasure to the people dying of famine -to know that M. de Longueville was drawing a salary as Governor of Pont -de l'Arche? A fine consolation, truly! it clothed and fed the children, -it brought back the dead, to maintain a camp of tinselled merry-makers, -"among whom nothing could be seen but collations of gallantry to women." - -Those were not new reflections, but they had acquired a force which -acted directly upon the currents established by Mazarin; and just -at the moment when the people awoke to their meaning, the Queen's -clairvoyant counsellor removed the last scruple from the public -conscience by voluntarily returning to his exile (19th August). - -Then came the general break-up. Every man of any importance in Paris -raised his voice; deputies were sent to ask the King to recall Mazarin. -Retz, whose manners had accommodated themselves to his hat, was -among the first to demand the recall, and his demand was echoed by -his clergy. Monsieur (and that was a true sign) judged that the time -had come to part company with his associates; he engaged in private -negotiations with the Court. The soldiers vanished; Condé, feeling that -his cause was lost, essayed to make peace, and failed, as he always -failed, because no one could accept such terms as he offered. As his -situation was critical, his friends shunned him. Mademoiselle still -clung to him, and she was loved and honoured; but, as it was known that -she lacked judgment, her fondness for him did not prove anything in his -favour. - -Mademoiselle was convinced of her own ability; she knew that she was a -great general. She formed insensate projects. One of her plans was to -raise, to equip, and to maintain an army at her own expense: "The Army -of Mademoiselle." Such an army would naturally conquer difficulties. -Some foreign Power would surrender a strong city,--or even two strong -cities; and then the King of France would recognise his true interests, -and capitulate to the tall cousin who had twice saved Condé and taken -Orleans single-handed,--and at last, after all her trials, having done -her whole duty, she would drain the last drops of her bitter draught, -and find the closed crown lying at the bottom of her cup,--unless--. -There was a very powerful alternative. Mademoiselle's mind vacillated -between the King of France and the great French hero: M. le Prince de -Condé. An alliance with Condé was among the possibilities. The physical -condition of Condé's wife permitted a hope,--twice within a period of -two weeks she had been at death's door. On the last occasion Paris had -been informed of her condition in the evening. - - I was at Renard's Garden [wrote Mademoiselle]. M. le Prince was - with me. We strolled twice through the alleys without speaking one - word. I thought that probably he was thinking that every one was - watching him,--and I believed that I was thinking of just what he - was thinking,--so we were both very much embarrassed. - -That night the courtiers paid court to Mademoiselle,--they spoke freely -of the re-marriage of M. le Prince,--in short, they did everything but -congratulate her in plain words. - -Though Mademoiselle knew that her fairy tales were false, she half -believed in them. In her heart she felt that her heroinate--if I may -use the term--was drawing to a close, and she desired to enjoy all that -remained to her to the full. In her ardour she made a spectacle of -herself. She appeared with her troops before Paris, playing with her -army as a child plays with leaden soldiers. She loved to listen to the -drums and trumpets, and to look upon the brilliant uniforms. One night -M. le Prince invited her to dine at his headquarters, and she arrived, -followed by her staff. She never forgot that evening. "The dirtiest man -in the world" had had his hair and his beard trimmed, and put on white -linen in her honour,--"which made great talk." Condé and his staff -drank to her health kneeling, while the trumpets blared and the cannon -thundered. She reviewed the army and pressed forward as far as the -line of the royal pickets. Of that occasion she said: "I spoke to the -royal troops some time, then I urged my horse forward, for I had great -longing to enter the camp of the enemy. M. le Prince dashed on ahead of -me, seized my horse's bridle, and turned me back." - -That evening she published the orders of the day, did anything and -everything devolving upon any and all of the officers on duty, and -proved by look and by word that she was a true soldier. When it was all -over she rode back to Paris in the moonlight, followed by her staff and -escorted by Condé and his general officers. The evening ended with a -gay supper at the Tuileries. - -That visit went to her head, and a few days later she besought her -father to hang the chiefs of the Reaction. "Monsieur lacked vigour." -That was the construction which Mademoiselle put upon his refusal to -hang her enemies, and it was well for her that he did, for the hour -of the accounting was at hand. The 13th October she was intoxicated -for the last time with the sound of clanking arms and the glitter of -uniforms. M. le Prince with all his army visited her to say "farewell." -The Prince was to lead his army to the East; no one knew to what -fortune. She wrote mournfully: - - It was so beautiful to see the great alley of the Tuileries full - of people all finely dressed! M. le Prince wore a very handsome - habit of the colour of iron, of gold, of silver, and of black - over grey, and a blue scarf, which he wore as the Germans wear - theirs,--under a close-coat, which was not buttoned. I felt great - regret to see them go, and I avow that I wept when I bade them - adieu ... it was so lonely ... it was so strange ... not to see - them any more ... it hurt me so! And all the rumours gave as reason - for thinking that the King was coming and that we all should be - turned out. - -The princes left Paris on Sunday. The following Saturday, in the -morning, when Mademoiselle was in the hands of her hair-dresser, she -received a letter from the King notifying her that, as he should -arrive in Paris to remain permanently, and as he had no palace but -the Tuileries in which to lodge his brother, he should require her to -vacate the Tuileries before noon on the day following. Mademoiselle was -literally turned out of the house, and on notice so short that anything -like orderly retreat was impossible. Borne down by the weight of her -chagrin, she sought shelter where best she could. We are told that she -"hid her face at the house of one of her friends," and it is probable -that to say that she hid her face but feebly expresses the bitterness -of the grief with which she turned from the only home that she had ever -known, in which she had lived with her princely retinue, and which -she had thought to leave only to enter the King's palace as Queen of -France. She was brave; she talked proudly of her power to overthrow -royalty, and to carry revolution to the gates of the Palais Royal, and -until the people saw their young King her boasts were not vain; but -her better nature triumphed, and in the end her wrath was drowned in -tears. The day after she received notice to vacate the palace she was -informed that her father had been exiled. She went to the Luxembourg to -condole with him. On the way she saw the King. She passed him unseen by -him. He had grown tall; he saluted the people gracefully and with the -air of a king; he was a bright, handsome boy. The people applauded him -with frenzy. - -Mademoiselle found her father bristling with fury; his staring eyes -transfixed her. At sight of her he cried angrily that he had no account -to render to her; then, to quote Mademoiselle's words, "Each told the -other his truths." Monsieur reminded her that she had "put herself -forward with unseemly boldness," and that she had compromised the name -of d'Orléans by her anxiety to "play the heroine." She answered as she -thought it just and in accordance with the rights of her quality to -answer. She demonstrated to her father that there were "characters" -upon earth who refused to give written orders because they feared to be -confronted by their signatures when personal safety required a denial -of the truth. She explained the principle of physical timidity and -incidentally rehearsed all the grievances of her life. Gaston answered -her. The quarrel ended, Mademoiselle piteously begged her father to let -her live under his protection. She recorded his answer word for word, -with all the incidents of the interview: - - He answered me: "I have no vacant lodging." I said that there - was no one in that house who was not indebted to me, and that I - thought that no one had a better right to live there than I had. He - answered me tartly: "All who live under my roof are necessary to - me, and they will not be dislodged." I said to him: "As your Royal - Highness will not let me live with you, I shall go to the Hôtel - Condé, which is vacant; no one is living there at present." He - answered: "That I will not permit!" I asked: "Where, then, do you - wish me to go, sir?" He answered: "Where you please!" and he turned - away. - -The day after that interview, at a word from the King, all the -Frondeurs left Paris. The highways were crowded with great lords in -penance and with heroines "retired." Poor broken idols! the people -of Paris were still chanting their glory! Monsieur departed, bag and -baggage, at break of day, - - Avec une extreme vitesse. - - * * * * * - - Mademoiselle son ainée - Disparut la même journée.[163] - -The daughter of the victim of degeneracy had developed her father's -weakness. Although Mademoiselle was in safety, she trembled. She who -had challenged death in the last combat of the Fronde, laughing merrily -as she trained the guns on the King of France, thrilled with terror -when letter followed letter warning her to leave Paris, and giving her -the names of people destined for the Bastille. All the letters, were -anonymous, and all were in different and unknown hands. - -She did not wait to ask who wrote the letters; she did not listen to -her faithful Préfontaine, who assured her that there was no danger and -begged her to be calm. - -La Grande Mademoiselle, appalled, beside herself, unmindful of her -glory and her dignity, crying out wild orders to the people who blocked -her way, fled from Paris in a hired coach driven by a common coachman. -She did not breathe freely until the scene of her triumphs lay far -behind her, and even then, the appearance of a cavalier, however -peaceable, caused her new terror; she prayed, she trembled; a more -piteous retreat was never made! - -But the adventures of the route distracted her thoughts. She was -masked, travelling as "Mme. Dupré," a woman of an inferior order. She -dined with her fellow-travellers in public rooms, talked freely with -common people, and faced life on an equality with the canaille. For a -royal personage such experience had savour. One day in the kitchen of -an inn a monk talked to her long and earnestly of the events of the -day and of Mademoiselle, the niece of Louis XIII., and her high feats. -"Yes!" said the priest, "she is a brave girl; a brave girl indeed! She -is a girl who could carry a spear as easily as she could wear a mask!" - -Mademoiselle's journey ended at the château of a friend, who welcomed -her and concealed her with romantic satisfaction; being as sentimental -as the shepherdesses of _Astrée_, it pleased the chatelaine to fancy -that her guest was in peril of death and that a price was set upon -her head. She surrounded Mademoiselle with impenetrable mystery. A few -tried friends fetched and carried the heroine's correspondence with -Condé. Condé implored her to join the legion on the frontier; he wrote -to her: "I offer you my places and my army. M. de Lorraine offers you -his quarters and his army, and Fuensaldagne[164] offers you the same." - -Mademoiselle was wise enough to refuse their offers; but she was -homeless; she knew that she must make some decisive move; she could -not remain in hiding, like the princess of a romance. Monsieur was at -Blois, but he was fully determined that she should not live with him. - -When Préfontaine begged him not to refuse his daughter a father's -protection, he answered furiously: "I will not receive her! If she -comes here I will drive her back!" - -Mademoiselle determined to face her destiny. She was alone; they who -loved her had no right to protect her. She had a château at Saint -Fargeau, and she looked upon it as a refuge. - -Again the heroine took the road, and she had hardly set foot upon the -highway when the King's messenger halted her and delivered a letter -from his royal master. - -Louis XIV. guaranteed her "all surety and freedom in any place in which -she might elect to live." Mademoiselle, who had trembled with fear when -the King's messenger appeared, read her letter with vexation; she had -revelled in the thought that the Court was languishing in ignorance of -her whereabouts. - -She had gone fast and far and accomplished twenty leagues without a -halt, when such a fit of terror seized her that she hid her head. Had -she been in Paris, the courtiers would have called her seizure "one of -the attacks of Monsieur." It was an ungovernable panic; despite the -King's warrant she thought that the royal army was at her heels, and -that the walls of a dungeon confronted her. Her attendants could not -calm her. The heroine was dead and a despairing, half-distracted woman -entered the Château of Saint Fargeau. She said of her arrival: - -"The bridge was broken and the coach could not cross it, so I was -forced to go on foot. It was two o'clock in the morning. I entered an -old house--my home--without doors or windows; and in the court the -weeds were knee-high.... Fear, horror, and grief seized me, and I wept." - -Let her weep. It was no more than she deserved to do as penalty for -all the evil that she had brought about by the Fronde. Four years -of a flagitious war, begun as the effort of conscientious patriots, -under pressure of the general interest, then turned to a perambulating -exhibition of selfish vanities and a hunt for écus which wrecked the -peace and the prosperity of France! - -In one single diocese (Laon) more than twenty curés were forced to -desert their villages because they had neither parishioners nor -means of living. Throughout the kingdom men had been made servile by -physical and moral suffering and by the need of rest; borne down by -the imperious demands of worn-out nature, they loathed action. The -heroes of Corneille (of the ideal "superhuman" type of the heroes of -Nietzsche) had had their day and the hour of the natural man--human, -not superhuman--had come. - -Five years later, when Mademoiselle returned to Paris, she found a -new world, with manners in sharp contrast with her own. It was her -fate to yield to the influence of the new ideal, when, forgetting -that a certain degree of quality "lifts the soul above tenderness," -she yielded up her soul to Lauzun in romantic love. Some day, not far -distant, we shall meet her in her new sphere. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 127: May, 1648.] - -[Footnote 128: Gamboust.] - -[Footnote 129: André d'Ormesson. (See note accompanying Olivier -d'Ormesson's journal.)] - -[Footnote 130: Lenet's _Mémoires_.] - -[Footnote 131: See official documents. (Paris, 31st October, 1648.)] - -[Footnote 132: Forty sole. (See Olivier de Ormesson's journal.)] - -[Footnote 133: Monsieur's second marriage had endowed him with five -heirs, three of whom (daughters) had lived.] - -[Footnote 134: _Journal des guerres civiles_, Dubuisson-Aubenay.] - -[Footnote 135: Retz.] - -[Footnote 136: Unpublished and anonymous memoirs cited by Chévruel.] - -[Footnote 137: _La jeunesse de Mme. de Longueville_, Cousin.] - -[Footnote 138: _La Rochefoucauld_, J. Bourdeau.] - -[Footnote 139: _Demandes des princes et Seigneurs qui ont pris les -armes avec le Parlement et Peuple de Paris_ (15th March, 1649.) See -_Choix de Mazarinades_, M. C. Moreau.] - -[Footnote 140: For a study of the complicated causes of the fall of the -nobility see _Richelieu et la Monarchie absolue_, G. d'Avenel.] - -[Footnote 141: d'Ormesson.] - -[Footnote 142: _Registres de l'Hôtel de Ville pendant la Fronde._] - -[Footnote 143: _Registres de l'Hôtel de Ville pendant la Fronde._] - -[Footnote 144: _Segraisiana._] - -[Footnote 145: _Mémoires_ of La Rochefoucauld.] - -[Footnote 146: - - . . . "_Je veux dormir, - Je naquis en dormant, j'y veux passer ma vie. - Jamais de m'éveillen il ne me prit envie, - Toi, ma femme et ma fille, y perdez vos efforts, - Je dors._" -] - -[Footnote 147: _Le Journal de Dubuisson-Aubenay._] - -[Footnote 148: _La jeunesse du Mareschal du Luxembourg_, Pierre de -Ségur.] - -[Footnote 149: M. Feillet cites this letter in _La misére au temps de -la Fronde_, but he does not give its date.] - -[Footnote 150: Lenet's _Mémoires_.] - -[Footnote 151: Motteville.] - -[Footnote 152: The street separating the terrace from the garden, rue -des Tuileries.] - -[Footnote 153: He was less than thirteen years old.] - -[Footnote 154: _Mémoires_, La Porte.] - -[Footnote 155: This name is of doubtful authenticity; Mazarin's letters -to the Queen are in cipher in some parts. In this book I have followed -the text of M. Ravenel, _Lettres du Cardinal Mazarin à la Princesse -Palatine_, etc. (1651-1652).] - -[Footnote 156: _Les Mémoires_ of Guy Joly and of Mme. de Nemours.] - -[Footnote 157: Mazarin's apartments in the Palais Royal, next to the -Queen's apartments. Lyonne lodged in the _rue Vivienne_.] - -[Footnote 158: Motteville.] - -[Footnote 159: Mademoiselle's memoirs.] - -[Footnote 160: The city ditch.] - -[Footnote 161: _Mémoires_ of Conrart and the _Registres de l'Hôtel de -Ville_.] - -[Footnote 162: Omer Talon.] - -[Footnote 163: _La muse historique_, de Loret.] - -[Footnote 164: Governor of the Spanish Low Countries.] - - - - -INDEX - - - A - - Absinthe and Folly, 339, 340 - - Absolute monarchy, the, 229, 230 - - Absolution, 277 - - Académie l' Française (_see_ Conrart and Corneille) - - "Academy," the, 38, 39, 41 - - Adamas (the druid), 104 - - Administration, 248 - - Adolphus, Gustavus, 33, 34 - - Adonis, 129 - - Æstheticism, 107 - - Alaric, 141 - - Alcidon, 172 - - Alençon, d', 6 - - Alidor, 171 - - _Alizon_, 332 - - _Alphise_, 137 - - Amazons, 31, 408 - - Amelotte, Père, 278 - - _Aminta_, Tasso's, 168 - - Ancestors, 4 - - Andilly, d', Arnauld, 31, 35, 37 - - Andrieux, d', the Chevalier, 117 - - Angelieo, Fra, 205 - - Angennes, d', Julie (Mme. Moutausier), 42 - - Angoulême, d', Duc, 339 - - Angoumois, the hermit of, 144 - - Anjou, 116 - - Anne of Austria, her appearance, 14; - Louis XIII. accuses her of love for Monsieur, 19; - her retort, 20; - her visits to Renard's Garden, her retinue, 25-27; - her disgrace, and her appeal to La Rochefoucauld, 35; - her kindness to Mademoiselle, 59; - her detestation of de Richelieu and de Richelieu's revenge, 83; - her hopes and - rehabilitation, 86, 87; - her lack of jealousy, 86; - her promise to Mademoiselle, 89; - the attentions of the Duc de Bellegarde, 96, 97; - her patronage of the drama, 183, 184; - her second promise to Mademoiselle, 196; - her widowhood, 235; - return to Paris, 238; - appointment to the Regency, 239; - her pretensions and promises to Mademoiselle, 255; - quarrel with Mademoiselle, 266; - her anger, 270; - her visits to convents (extract), 273; - condemnation of Barillon, 333; - her poverty and her indifference to public opinion, 333; - the people's demand for Broussel and her refusal and forced consent, - 346; - her flight, 349; - her folly, 353-355; - return to Paris, 356; - second flight, 357, 358, 360; - reception at Saint Germain, 372; - return to Paris, indignant rejection of Jarzé, 373-376; - at Libourne, 381-384; - the evil day, 388-390; - her letters from Mazarin, 395-397; - Lyonne, 396, 397; - renewal of her relations with Mazarin (overtures to Lyonne, - _see_ Mazarin's letters), 396, 397 - - Aragon (_Don Sancho_)--a play--180, 181 - - Ariosto, 144 - - Aristotle, 39 - - Arnauld, Mothe, de la (Claude), 36 - - Arquien, d', Marie, 94 - - Artagnan, d', 40 - - Arthénice ("the Fair"), 123, 127, 128, 139, 147, 149, 153, 323 - - Assisi, d' (or Assise d'), François ("Père François"), 205 - (_see_ Catholic Renaissance) - - _Astrée_, 92, 99-101, 103-106, 108-111, 147, 157, 160, 161, 166, - 167, 294, 364, 366, 433 - - Aubignac, d' (the Abbé), 164 - - Auchy, d', Vicomtesse, 55, 114 - - Auvergne, 229 - - Avenel, d', Vicomte, 38 (note), 120, 368 - - Avesnes, 67 - - Avranches, 95 (_see_ Huet) - - - B - - Bagnolet, 193 - - Baladins, 28 - - Balagny, 117, 118 - - Baltic Sea, the, 33 - - Balzac, 124, 142, 144, 165 - - Baradas, young, 207 - - Barillon, 332, 333, 336, 351 - - Barine, Arvède, 134 - - Baro, Sieur, 93, 157 - - Barricades, 340-342 - - Barthélemy, E., 137, 144, 325 - - Basserie, I. P., Mlle., 201 - - Bassompierre, 38, 232 - - Bastille, the, 232, 256, 421 - - Battle, the last, 415-421 - - Bazin, 200 - - Bearnais, the, III. (_see_ Henry IV.) - - Beaufort, de, Duc, 248, 328, 339, 366, 367, 405, 424 - - Beaupré, de, 118 - - Bélésis, 24, 25 - - _Belle-au-Bois-dormant_, 57, 58 - - Bellegarde, de, Duc, 96, 97, 107, 128 - - Belles Lettres, 125, 126 - - Berthod, Père (_see Mémoires_) - - Bérulle, de, Pierre, 275, 280, 289, 290, 292, 295 - - Béziers, 71, 72 - - Bibliothèque Nationale, 83 - - Bird House, 23 - - Blasphemy and Vice, 282 - - Blois, 7, 74, 76, 156, 188, 191, 434 - - Blood, Princes of the, 221, 248, 321 - - Blue Room, the, 121, 122, 126, 127, 130, 133, 137, 142, 144, 145, 323 - - Boileau, 126 - - Bois-de-Boulogne, 25 - - Bois-le-Vicomte, 335 - - Books and writings, 38 - - Book of _Edification_, 115 - - Bordeaux, "the heroine of," wife of Condé, 379; - siege of, 380; - Monsieur arrives as mediator, 382 - - Bordeaux, the Archbishop of, 116 - - Bossuet, 279, 281, 285, 295, 305 - - Bossut, de, Mme., 197, 305 - - Bouillon, de, army of, 192; - _Godefroy de Bouillon_, 155; - Mme., 365 - - Bourbon, de, Marie (Wife and Madame (1) of Gaston), - Duchesse d'Orléans, 3, 12, 60, 187 (_see_ Marie, Duchesse - de Montpensier, cousin of Madame (1), and object of the - first of the Bourbonic aspirations of de Soissons); - (_see_ de Soissons and Campion, 187) - - Bourbon, de, Mlle. (Mme. de Longueville), 143, 149-151 - - Bourbon, de, House of, 312; Hôtel de, 312 - - Bourdaloue, 279 - - Bourdoise, 278, 289 - - Bourg la Reine, 408 - - Bourgeois, the wives of the, 18; - sons of, 37; - meet to appoint a government, 422; - (mention of the bourgeois), 333, 334, 336, 355, 375, 416, 421, - 422-424, 426 - - Bourgeoisie, 281, 282, 340, 371, 374, 375, 412 - - Bourges, 39 - - Bourgogne, Hôtel de (_see_ Theatres) - - Bourse, the, 338 - - Bouvard (the leech), 15 - - Brégis, de, Comte, 114 - - Brégy, de, Mme., 50 - - Brienne, de, Mme., 316; - (mention of de Brienne, Jr.), 316 - - Brissac, Hôtel de, 77 - - "Broussel, Monsieur," Provost of Merchants, 336, 340, 346, 347, - 349, 351, 425 - - Brühl, 395 - - Brunetière, F., 93, 95, 181, 289 - - Brussels, 35, 200 - - Buckingham, 216 - - Burgundy, 116 - - Bussy-Rabutin, 133, 317 - - - C - - Cabals, the, 85, 324 - - Campion, 187, 188, 192 - - Canaille, the, visit their goddess, 268; - arm with clubs, 331, 334, 346, 347, 359, 397, 408, 410, 411, 416, 433 - - Cardinal-Infant, the, 196, 199, 200 - - Carignan, de, Mme., 138 - - Carlos, 180, 181 - - Carmelite, Mademoiselle's desire to be a, 299 - - _Carrousel_, the, 22 - - _Cas de Conscience_ (_les_), 39 - - Case, de la, Marquis, 114 - - Cassandane, Princess, 79 - - Castelnaudary, 71 - - Catholic League, 212 - - Catholic Renaissance, 283, 299 - - Cavalier, French, 102 - - Celadon, 94, 99, 100, 104, 169 - - Célidée, 171 - - Centennial (Racine's), 291 - - Chaillot, 24, 25 - - Chalais, 5, 8, 73, 190, 266, 301 - - Champagne, 192 - - Champagne, de, Philip, 205 - - Champs-Élysées, 23, 25 - - Chancellor, the, 243 - - Chantel, de, Mlle., 54 - - Chantelauze, 295 - - Chantilly, 81, 82, 155, 364 - - Chapelain, 54, 129, 130, 131, 144 - - Charente, la, 142 - - _Chargés, grandes_ (Court chancellors, _chevaliers d'honneur_, - etc.), 27 - - Charity (Order of the Sisters of), 294 - - Charles I., King of England, 193 - - Charles II., 397 - - Charles V., 13 - - Charles VIII., 306 - - Charonne, 418 - - Chartres, 7; - Bishop of, 214, 215 - - Chateaumorand, de, Diane, 94 - - Châtellerault, 21 - - Chatillon-sur-Seine, 277 - - Chatillon, de, Mme. la Duchesse, 305, 379, 413 - - Chaussée d'Antin (rue de la), 25 - - Chenonceaux, 109 - - _Chérubin_ (Cherubino), 261 - - Chevaliers of the Order, 62, 166 - - Chevreuse, de, Mme. la Duchesse, her hotel, 22, 181, 300-304, 328, - 379, 413 - - Chief of Council (_see_ Mazarin) - - Chief General of the Armies of France (_see_ Enghien, d', Louis, duc) - - Chimène, 174-176 - - Choisy, 7-9 - - Choisy, de, Mme., 393 - - Chronicles (contemporary), 7, 305, 374 - - Church, the, 63, 158, 197-199, 275-277, 286, 288, 289, 291, 292, 296, - 369 - - _Cid_, the (_see_ Corneille) - - _Cinna_, 177, 181; - effect upon Condé, 377 - - Cinq-Mars, Henry, Marquis d'Effiat, 200-202, 206-210, 218, 220, 221, - 223-226; - his mother, 201 - - "Circle, the" (_see_ Salon Rambouillet) - - Claque, the, 215 - - Claude, cousin and bride of the Cardinal-Bishop, 197 - - Clarinte, 53 - - Cléonville, de, Sieur, 70 - - _Clitandre_, 170, 171 - - _Clorinde_, 155 - - _Clovis_, Desmarets's dramatic poem, 213 - - Cluny, Bernard of, 293 - - Cluny, Musée, 123 - - Colbert, 78, 133 - - "Collation of Benefices," 295 - - Colietet, the seeker for domestic comfort, 141 - - Cologne, 221 - - Combalet, de, Mlle. (Mme. d'Aguillon), 64 - - Comedy, the dramatic play, and theatre, 44, 158 - - Communardes, the, 332 - - Compiègne, 67 - - Concorde, Place de la, 23, 413 - - Concorde, Pont de la, 23 - - Condé, the great, 34, 39, 57, 126, 297, 306-309, 317, 335, 358, 363, - 373, 375-379, 387, 388, 390-393, 398, 406-409, 412-416, 418-425, - 427-429, 434 - - Condé (Père), 115, 335 - - Condé, de, Mme. la Princesse (mother of the great), 149, 150 - - Condé, de, Mme. la Princesse (wife of the great), the heroine of - Bordeaux, 309, 310, 379, 393, 398 - - Condé, Hôtel de, 311, 364, 432 - - Condé, de, House of, 311, 324, 325 - - Conférence Library (_see_ Vicomtesse d'Auchy), 56 - - Conférence, quai de la, 390 (Mazarin's departure) - - Conrart, Valentin, 136-138, 144, 423; - Madame, wife of, 138 - - _Conseil de Conscience_, 295, 297 - - Contes de Perrault, les, 57, 58 - - Conti, de, Prince (his treatise), 60, 61 - - Corbie, the siege of, 190 - - _Cordons Bleus_, 63 (Order of the Saint Esprit) - - Coriolanus, 344 - - Corisande, the fair, 277 - - Corneille, Preface, iv., v.; 1, 56, 105, 106, 135, 139, 141, 145, - 153, 161, 167, 168, 170-184, 194, 195, 213, 215, 344, 436 - - Corporal, "the Little," 401 - - Corps, army (escorting the royal mourners), 235 - - Cossack, natural investiture of, 113; - gestures of, 122; - oaths of, 303 - - Costar, Pierre, 124, 167 - - Coulanges, de (the Abbé), 54, 55 - - Council, the, 231, 240, 243; - Chief of, 239, 244 - - Councils of Finance, 37 - - Cours la Reine, 24, 25, 337, 358, 359, 413 - - Court of Catherine de Médicis (Mlle. de Senterre), 97 - - Court of France, the requirements of, 27; - spirit of, 126 - - Court of Germany, the, 263 - - Court of _le Grand Envie_, 94 - - Court of Henry IV., 97 - - Court of Miracles, the, 23 - - Court of the Valois, the, 97 - - Court of Vienna, the, 263 - - Courtenvaut, 155 - - "Croquemitaine," 60, 90, 213, 216 - - Cross, the true, 281 - - Crusaders, the, 4, 153 - - Cures, Curés, abbeys, and abbots (_see_ Catholic Renaissance) - - Cyrus le Grand, 42, 47 - - - D - - Damophile, 47-49, 55 - - Dauphin, 40, 89, 90, 159 - - Dauphine (place), 165 - - _Débats_ (_Journal des_), 65 - - Declaration against Monsieur, 229 - - Declaration for the appointment of an Executive Council, and for a - nominal Regent, 233 - - Dedalus, 23, 107 - - Des Jardins, de, Mlle., 56 - - Desmarets, 213 - - _Dialogues des Morts_, 320 - - Diana, 150 - - _Dictionnaire des Précieuses_, 79, 113 - - Dijon, 337 - - Diodée, Mlle., 56 - - Divers pieces, etc., 66, 68, 70, 71 - - _Doll's House_ (Ibsen's), 174 - - Dombes, 21 - - Dôme, le (pavillon de l'Horlage), 22 - - Don Lope, 181 - - _Don Sancho d'Aragon_, 180 - - Drama, the, 177 - - Dubuisson-Aubenay, 362, 378 - - Dulaure, 108 - - Du Perron, 286 - - _Dupes, Journée des_, 60 - - Dupré, Mme., 433 - - Durandarte, 153 - - - E - - Echo, the, 23 - - _Edification_ (book of), 115 - - Education, Fénelon on, 30, 31 - - Effiat, d', Henry (_see_ Cinq-Mars) - - Elbœuf, d', duc, 62 - - Elect, the, 196 - - Elector Palatine, Frederick V., 305 - - Element, religious, the (_see_ Catholic Renaissance) - - Eloquence, 71 - - Emerson, iii., Preface - - Emperor (Ferdinand III.), 263, 264, 267, 272; - wife of, 262, 264 - - Empire, 212, 264, 273; - Second Empire, 216 - - Enghien, d' (Louis), duc, 247, 309, 312 - - England, 256 - - England, King of, Charles I., 193 - - England, King of (Prince of Wales), 259 - - England, Queen Henriette of, 193; - throne of, 257; - Elizabeth of, 304 - - Epernay, 134 - - Épernon, d', duc, 116 - - Episcopate, the, 197, 205, 276, 277 - - _Epistles of St. Paul_ (_Homilies on the_), 56 - - Erinne, 50 - - Erudition, 71 - - Esprit, Jacques, 127 - - Étampes, 407, 408 - - Europe, 131, 194, 211, 229 (contemporary Europe, 185) - - Exile (_see_ Saint Fargeau), 434, 435 - - - F - - Farce, the, 168 - - Father Joseph, 65 - - Favourite (Monsieur's), Abbé de la Rivière, 262, 263, 265-267 - - Favourites of Louis XIII., young Baradas and Cinq-Mars - (_see_ Cinq-Mars) - - Feminist leaders(_see_ de Chevreuse, de Chatillon, de Gonzague, - and de Longueville) - - _Femmes Savantes, les_, 45 - - Fénelon, 30; - sketch of Mazarin, 320, 321 - - Ferdinand III. (_see_ Cardinal-Infant, and 273) - - Feuillade, de la, 248 - - Fiésque, de (belle Comtesse), 401 - - Fiésque, de, Mme., 249 - - Fiésque, de, M. le Comte, 193 - - Finance (Councils of), 37 - - Flanders, 196, 200, 251 - - Flèche, la, 155 - - Fontainebleau, 13, 61, 62, 314, 384 - - Fontenelle, 215 - - Force, de la, Piganiol, 23 - - Foreign Affairs, Department of, 5 - - Forez, 95 - - _Fortunio_, 261 - - Foundlings' Hospital, 294 - - France, progress under Richelieu, 212 - - France, woods and gardens of, 109 - - Fra Angelico, 205 - - French clergy, the, 286, 293 - - Fronde, the crime of the architects of the, 335 - - Fronde, the last battle of the, 414-421 - - Frondeurs, their opportunity as masters of Paris, 391 - - Frontenac, de, 401, 403 - - Fuensaldagne, 434 - - - G - - Galatée, Queen Marguerite, 94, 108, 366 - - Galilee, Lake of, 290 - - Gamboust, 23, 120 - - Garden, Renard's, 23-25, 414, 428 - - _Garenne, La_, 23 - - Gassau, Jean, 28 - - Gassion, de, Jean, 31-34 - - Gauls, the, 279 - - _Gazette, la_ (de France), 261, 313 - - _Gazette, la_ (de Loret), 114 - - _Gazette, la_ (de Renaudot), 64, 65, 75, 78 - - Gendarmerie and light cavalry (Gaston's), 229 - - German students, 140 - - Germany, 59, 94, 212, 264, 272, 390 - - Gesvres, des, duc, 50 - - Giotto, 205 - - Godeau, Antoine, 140 - - "Gold Room," 166 - - Gondis, les, 107 - - Gonesse, 251 - - Gonzague, de, Anne, "wife of Henry de Guise," Archbishop of Rheims, - 281, 304, 305, 328, 379, 387, 393, 395 - - Gordes, 210 - - Gournay, "the worthy," 55 - - Government, the, 61, 64, 211, 332, 351, 368, 369 - - Governor of Orleans, the, 401 - - Gramont, de, Maréchal, 117 - - _Grand Cyrus, Le_, 42, 47 - - Greece, 150; - language, 35, 37, 55, 79 - - - H - - Halles, the, 340, 366, 374 - - Hardy, Alexander, 163 - - Haro, del, Don Louis, 300 - - Harpagon, de, 367 - - Hauranne, de, Jean Duvergier (_see_ St. Cyran), 290 - - Hautefort, de (Madame de or Mlle. de), 35, 85-88, 90, 114 - - Havre, the prison of, 390 - - Hébert, 411 - - Helmet of Minerva, 134 - - Henry III., 96 - - Henry IV., 13, 91, 94, 101, 222, 406 - - Henry IV., the Court of, 97 - - Hermes Trismegistus, 56 - - Hermogène, 24 - - Heroinate, the, 399, 430 - - Hérouard, 15, 155 - - Hesiod, 49 - - Hippocrates, 39 - - Hocquincourt, d', 118 - - Hohenzollern, 16 - - Holy Orders, 196, 197 - - Holy See, 242 - - _Homilies on St. Paul's Epistles_, 36 - - Hôpital, l', de Maréchal (threatened by Mademoiselle), 113; - in Council, 416 - - Horace (Camille), 176-179 - - Hôtel-de-Ville, 18, 143, 363-365, 370, 374; - Orleans, 404, 416, 417, 422, 423; - fire (Condé's revenge), 424, 425 - - Houri, the, 250 - - House of Commons, 351 - - Houssaye (the Abbé), 275, 278 - - Huet (the ecclesiastical head of Avranches), 95, 128 - - Huguenot, a, 137 - - _Humanities_, the, 195 - - Hungary, 194 - - Huxelles, d', Marquise, 362 - - - I - - Ibsen's _Doll's House_, 174 - - Idea, the innate, 55; - (the monarchical), 185 - - Idealogues, 333 - - l'Ile, Saint Louis, 337 - - Importants, the, 248 - - Indifference, Infidelity, and Licence, 295 - - Infant-Cardinal, 196, 199, 200 - - _Iphigénie_ (Racine's), 185 - - Installation, Mademoiselle's first, 25 - - Institute of France, 144 - - Intrigue, Spanish (Duchesse de Chevreuse and Val-de-Grâce), 302 - - Italy, gardens of, 109 - - - J - - Jacob, 75 - - Jansenism, 106, 181 - - Jansenists, 291 - - Jarzé, 375, 376 - - Jesuit Brothers, 155 - - _Jeunesse dorée_ (la), 279 - - Jewels, silver dishes, debts, etc., 258 - - Joly, Guy, 395 - - Joseph, Père ("Father Joseph"), 65 - - Joubert, 291 - - _Journal des Débats_, 65 - - _Journée der Dupes_, 60 - - Judas, 11 - - Julleville, de, Petit, 93, 170, 171 - - Jurisconsults (Richelieu's), 250 - - Justice, Palais, de (invaded by the people), 330 - - - K - - Kerviler, Mme., 144 - - Kerviler, René, 137 - - - L - - La Barre, 149, 152 - - "La Belle Paulet," 143, 144, 149 - - La Bruyère, 139, 146 - - La Calprenède, 1, 166 - - Lafayette, de, Mlle., 88, 132, 144 - - La Flèche, 155 - - Lanson, 165 - - Laon, diocese of, 435 - - La Porte, 316 - - _La Pucelle_, 129, 130 - - "La Pucelle Priande," 142, 150 - - La Rochefoucauld, 328, 345, 356, 365, 376, 417, 426 - - Latin (required by the priest), 277 - - Lauzun, 2, 436 - - La Valette, de, Cardinal, 149, 150, 152 - - La Villette, 151 - - League, the, 98; the banners of, 342 - - Le Maître, Antoine, 37 - - Lemaître, Jules, 106, 170, 174, 176, 291 - - Lenet, 40, 308, 352, 354 - - Lenôtre, 109 - - Lens, battle of, 335, 336 - - Leopold, Archduke, 264 - - Le petit Catilina ("Little Catiline"),344 - - _Les cas de Conscience_, 39 - - _Les Femmes Savantes_, 45 - - "Le Tellier," 395 - - Letters, men of, 126, 127 (_see_ Hôtel de Rambouillet) - - Libourne, 381, 382 - - Library (National), 244. - - Library of the _Conférence_ (founded by the Vicomtesse d'Auchy), 56 - - Lignon, Academy of, 94 - - Lignon (river), 100 - - Lignon, shepherds of, 95 - - Ligurian peninsula and sea, 212 - - Limoges, de, Mme., 173 - - Lisieux, de, Bishop, 148, 149 - - _Litterateur_, the, 131 - - Little Corporal, the, 401 - - Little Monsieur, 304, 307, 362 - - _Livre, d'Or_, the, 113 - - Loire (river), 402; - men of the river, 403 - - Longueville, de, M. and Mme., 129, 300, 305, 309, 311, 356, 358, 365, - 366, 372, 379, 380, 392, 413 - - Longueville, de, M. and Mlle., of Bagnolet,--family of de Soissons, 193 - - Lope, Don, 181 - - Lorraine, de, Charles, 434 - - Lorraine, de, Henry II. (Duc de Guise), 197 - - Lorraine, de, Marguerite (the Princesse Gaston), 64, 188 - - Lorraine, Nicholas François, 197, 198 - - Loudun, 155 - - Louis XIII., his palace, 13, 14; - his sickly youth, 15; - his kennels, 23; - his quarrels, 66; - his personal literature, 66, 242; - his exhibition of his scars, 233; - his care for France, 233; - his death, 235 - - Louis XIV., 304, 306, 317, 331, 333, 348, 349, 351-354; - the King's scullions, 354; - a hungry cherub, 355; - looks down from Charonne upon the last battle of the Fronde, 418; - returns to Paris, 431; - his message to La Grande Mademoiselle, 434 - - Love, Christian, 286, 288, 291; - of man for woman (_see Astrée_) - - Luxembourg, the (home of Gaston d'Orléans), visited by the mobility, - 410 - - Lycoris, 137 - - Lyonne (_see_ Letters of Jules Mazarin to Anne of Austria) - - Lyons, Archbishop of, 149; - city and people of, 223, 226, 228 - - Lysandre, 171 - - - M - - Madame (1), wife of Monsieur (Gaston d'Orléans), 12, 14, 20 - - Madame (2), wife of Monsieur (Gaston d'Orléans,) (Marguerite de - Lorraine), 62, 250-254 - - Madame (mother of Comte de Soissons), 193 - - Madrid, 303 - - Maillard, 411 - - Maillé-Brézé, de, Mlle., 57 - - Maintenon, de, Mme., 30 - - Mairet, 165 - - Malines, Archbishop of, 197 - - Malherbe, 114, 127-129 - - "Mandragora, old" (cave of), 108 - - Marais, the (theatre of), 162; - Les Messieurs du, 209 - - Marat, 411 - - Maréchal de l'Hôpital, the, 416 - - Marfée, 193 - - Marguerite de Lorraine, Madame (2) (wife of Gaston), 62; - her crime, 250; - her complaints, 253; - her advent and effect upon the spiritual atmosphere, 253 - - Marillac, de, Maréchal, 118 - - "Marin" (Marini), 129 - - Marius, 344 - - Marivaux, 95 - - Marolles (Abbé de Villeloin), 201 - - Marsan, pavillon de, 22 - - _Marseillaise, La_, 182 - - Marshals of France, 235 - - Mascarelle, 24 - - Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, 101 - - Massarini, Jules, diary of, 365-397 - - Matton, Ursule, 28 - - Mauconseil (rue), 162 - - Mauny, de, Maréchal, 116 - - Mazarin (Massarini), first known in Paris as Papal Nuncio, called by - Louis XIII. to assume the duties of de Richelieu, 242; - his invisibility, 242, 243; - his appointment as Chief of Council, 243; - his modesty, 247; - his "methods," 312; - his avidity, 317; - his foreign policy, 318; - Fénelon's sketch of his character, 320; - his promise to Mademoiselle, 336; - carries the King from Paris (in flight), 348; - the popular idea of Mazarin, 354; - his services in France mentioned as of incalculable value, 354; - his "forty little fishes," 355; - names given by the people, 355; - his return to Paris, 355, 356; - his second flight and his provisions for his stay at Saint Germain, - 357; - Parliament threatens expulsion, 363; - his would-be rival, Jarzé, 375; - Mazarin as a weaver, 378; - buffeted by the people of Bordeaux, 384; - repulsed by Gaston, 385; - his feelings in regard to de Retz, 385; - his inclination toward intrigue, 386; - his foolhardy victory at Rethel, 387; - Mazarin sues for Mademoiselle's aid, 388; - _Farewell!_ 390; - love-letters, 395-397; - enters France and again reduces royalty, 397; - with the King views the last battle of the Fronde, voluntarily - returns to exile, 426 - - Mazarinades, the, 397 - - Médée, 170, 171 - - Médicis, de, Catherine, 96, 97 - - Médicis, de, Marie, defence of Richelieu, 17; - her music, 17; - her death, 221 - - Ménage, 131-133 - - Merchants, Provost of, 416 - - _Mercure Française_, the, 64 - - Metz, Mazarin, Archbishop of, 298 - - Meudon, 251 - - Michelet, 17, 82 - - Middle Ages, vestiges of the, 28 - - Minerva, the Helmet of, 134 - - Miracles, the Court of, 23 - - Miracles (tools requisite for the working of), 172 - - Moderation, 71 - - Molé, Mathieu, 229, 346 - - Molière, 24, (Mascarelles) 45, 132 - - Monarchy, absolute, 187, 229, 230 - - Mondory, 165 - - Money, Spanish, 62 - - Monsieur ("d'Orléans"), his constancy and patience, 189, 253; - receives the sympathy and the encouragement of the people, 410 - - Montaigne, 55, 112 - - Montausier, de, M., 42; - "Little Montausier," 322, 323 - - Montbazon, de, Mme., 192, 305, 311, 379 - - Montegut, Émile, 93, 94, 95, 98 - - Montglat, 229, 232, 317 - - Montmartre, rue, 162 - - Montmorency, de, Constable, 38; - Duke, 62, 71; - Marshal (son of the Constable), 41 - - Montpensier, duchy of, 7, 21; - estates of, 257 - - Montpensier, de, Mlle. (Marie de Bourbon), 5, 187; - Montrouge, 258 - - Montsoreau, de, Comte, 116 - - Morillot, Paul, 93, 99 - - Motte, de la, Maréchal, 367 - - Motteville, de, Mme., 10, 28, 82, 96, 206, 218, 220, 238, 240, 252, - 254, 258, 259, 267 (269 the Worthy Motteville on Truth), 297, 307, - 318, 320, 324, 328, 332-334, 370, 388, 406 - - Mousaux, the captaincy of, 51 - - Muntz, Eugene, 107 - - Musée Cluny, 123 - - - N - - Nancy, 134, 250 - - Nanterre, 238 - - Nantes, 155 - - Napoleon, _La Vie de César_, 216 - - Narbonne, 219 - - National Soul, the, 248 - - Nation's statesmen, the, 37 - - Navarre, 32 - - Nemours, de, duc, 405 - - Nerval, de, Gérard, 19 - - Nesle, Tour de, 342 - - Neuilly, bridge of, 237 - - Nicanor, 49 - - Nietzsche, 177-179, 436 - - Notre Dame, 310, 317, 336, 338, 346 - - - O - - "Obstacle, the," 229 - - Office (profession of the Episcopate), 275; - personal service of prayer and meditation required of the priest - of the Latin Church, 277 - - Old Madame de Guise, 232 - - Old Mandragora (cave of), 108 - - Opposition, the, 216, 230, 322-324, 333, 334, 388 - - _Orasie_, 97 - - Oratoire, l', 289, 292, 295, 297 - - Oratorians, the, 290-292, 294, 295, 298 - - "Order, the," 166 - - Orléans, 398, 399, 401, 402, 404-407, 409, 411, 412, 427 - - Orléans, d', Gaston, duc, 189 - - Orléans, d', Madam (1) (Marie de Bourbon) 5, 12-20 - - Orléans, d', Madame (2) (_see_ Marguerite de Lorraine) - - Ormesson, d', André, 351 - - Ormesson, d', Olivier, 258, 268, 270, 281, 306, 312-314, 317, 350, - 351, 355, 372 - - Ornano d', Maréchal, 7, 8 - - Orpheus, 261 - - Ortolans (_see_ Charles, Prince of Wales) - - Ossonne, d', duc, 165, 243 - - - P - - Padadin, 34 - - Palais, Cardinal, 204, 205, 213-215 - - Palais de Justice, 330 - - Palais Royal, 156, 281, 313, 314, 319, 336, 346, 348, 390, 391, 396, - 430, 432 - - Pallas and Venus, 327 - - Pan (the god), 108 - - Papal Nuncio, 242, 243 - - Paradise, 132, 224 - - Paris, Archbishop of, 343 - - Paris, 7, 12; - streets of, 19, 24, 37, 50, 51, 60; - people of, 61, 70, 74,77, 86, 91, 127, 129, 140, 147, 149, 151, - 156, 182; - dregs of, 163, 165,168, 188, 191, 203, 207, 208, 213, 225-228, - 232, 234 - - Parliament, establishment of the Regent, 243, 330, 331, 334; - demands for the release of Broussel, 346; - overtures made to the Queen, 349; - stormy sessions, 349; - the Magistrates and their sincerity and worth, 370; - débris of Parliament, 425; - patriots and would-be humanitarians, 426 - (general mention from pages 91 to 426) - - Parma, Duke of, 78, 157 - - Pastoral, 168 - - Pau, 32 - - Paul de Vincent, 275, 279, 289, 290, 292-297 - - Paulet ("La Belle"), 143, 144, 149 - - Pauline, v., Preface - - Pavillon de Flore, 22 - - Pavillon de l'Horloge, 22 - - Pavillon de l'Marsan, 22 - - Pavillon de Rohan, 120 - - Paying theatres, the, 162, 165 - - Pellisson, 95 - - Perrault, 58 - - Petits Champs, rue des, 118 - - Phédre, v., Preface - - Philamente, 45 - - Philippe Augustus, the old fortress of, 13 - - Pibrac, de, Mme. ("the Aged"), 173 - - Pity, 71 - - Place de la Concorde, 23 - - Place Dauphine, 165 - - _Place Royale_, play, 104, 105, 171; - the place Royale, 249, 252 - - Pleirante, old, 171 - - Plutarch, 344, 345 - - Poitiers, 397 - - Poland, 94 - - _Polexandre_, 377 - - _Polyeucte_, 135, 144, 177 - - _Pompée_, 177 - - Pont de l'Arche, 426 - - Pont-Neuf, 165, 168, 338 - - Pontis, de, Louis, 38, 40, 41 - - Pontoise, 89 - - Pope, the, reference to him in Richelieu's dying charge to Mazarin - ("Our Good Master"), 242 - - Port-au-Foin, 227 - - Port Royal, 30, 40, 106, 281 - - Pouvillon, _Les Antibel_, 169 - - Power, contemporary, 197 - - Prayer Book, de Richelieu's _Hours_, 204; - de Richelieu's picture gallery, 205 - - _Précieuses, les_, 47, 50, 79, 109-113, 115, 119, 146, 303, 323 - - Préfontaine, 393, 433, 434 - - Press, the, 64 - - Prévost (Abbé, the), 95 - - "Priande, Pucelle La," 142, 150 - - Prime Minister, 243, 244, 246 - - "Prince Charming," 11 - - Prince Palatine, 305 - - Prince of Wales, the, 259, 262, 264 - - Princes, the Order of, 180 - - Protestant Alliance, 248 - - Protestants, 277 (_see_ Catholic Renaissance) - - Provost, the (of the merchants of Paris), 238, 416 - - _Pucelle, la_, 129, 130 - - _Pulcherie_, 183 - - "Purgon, M.," 378 - - Puylaurens, 75, 217 - - Puymorin, 117, 118 - - Pyrenees, 109, 303 - - - R - - Rabbit Warren, 23 - - Racine (IV.), 95, 127, 182, 183, 185 - - Rambouillet de, Château, 147, 148 - - Rambouillet, de, Hôtel, 22, 42, 47, 110, 113, 121, 123, 126-128, 134, - 138-142, 144, 145, 147, 152, 179 - - Rambouillet, de, Madame, 114, 119-122, 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, - 141-143, 148, 323 - - Rambouillet, de, Mlle., 140, 148, 149 - - Rambouillet, de, _née_, Angélique de Grignan, 143 - - Ranke, Leopold, 229 - - Reaction, 429 - - Réaux, des Tallemant, 42, 56, 114, 118, 119, 121, 131, 132, 149 - - _Recueil de divers pièces_ (_see_ "personal literature" under King), - 66, 68, 70, 71 - - Reformation, 284 - - Regency, 117, 240, 241, 249, 250, 307, 320, 331, 339, 350, 422 - - Regent, 14, 87, 233-238, 240, 243, 256, 263, 295, 296, 304, 317, 330, - 332, 341, 366, 382, 384 - - Register, Parish, 252 - - Religion, 153 - - Religious element (_see_ Catholic Renaissance) - - Renard, the garden of, 23-25 - - Renaudot (_Gazette_, the), 64, 65 - - Rethel, 387 - - Retz de Cardinal (ex-Abbé), 10, 75, 83, 133, 240, 247, 300, 426 - - Reynier, Gustave, 165 - - Rheims, Archbishopric, 197 - - Richelieu de, considered necessary to France, 16; - his enemies at Court, his relations at Court, the portly - quadragenarian, etc., his lute-playing, 17; - his jealousy, 35; - his persecution of Anne of Austria, 35; - his struggles with the high powers of France, 59; - his discipline of Monsieur (Mademoiselle's knowledge of it), 60, 61; - the banquet of the _Knights of the Saint-Esprit_, his present from - the King, 63; - his appreciation of the power of the so-called "Press," 64; - his editorship, 65; - Monsieur's accusation of (Gaston's letters to the King), 68; - (the King's eulogy, etc.), his polemics in the _Recueil_, his - self-praise, 71; - his victims (Gaston's associates), the death of Puylaurens, 74; - acts as godfather, 75; - his riches, genius, cruelty, and ambition, his declaration of love - to Anne of Austria, his heart, etc., Val-de-Grâce, 82-84; - his rebuke of Mademoiselle, 90; - conspiracy of Monsieur and de Soissons, 190, 191; - introduction of Cinq-Mars to the King, 201; - the Star of Richelieu, 202; - his pomp, his bodyguard, 203; - his palace (hotel and theatre), 204, 205; - his part as peacemaker, his work for France, 211-213; - his grand fête, _Mirame_, 213-216; - his disgrace _Le petit Saint-Amour_, etc., 217, 218; - his attempt to corrupt Cinq-Mars, his insult offered to Cinq-Mars, - Cinq-Mars's anger, his conspiracy, de Richelieu's revenge, his - travelling room, his closing days, his death and funeral, 218-230; - various references to, 231, 232, 238, 242, 243, 247, 266, 280 - - Richelieu, de (brother of the Cardinal), Archbishop of Lyons, 149 - - Richelieu, rue, 358, 390 - - Rigol, Eugène (_see_ works cited) - - Rivière, de la, Abbé, Monsieur's favourite, 262, 263, 265-267 - - Roche-sur-Yon, 21 - - Rocroy, 34, 246 - - _Rodrigue_, 165, 175, 176, 261, 419 - - Roger, "Louison," 76, 77, 156 - - Rohan, de, Pavillon (Palais de Rohan, Place Royale), 209 - - Roland, 419 - - Rome, 197, 396 - - Ronsard, 112 - - Rotrou, 213 - - Rouen, 337 - - Roule (chemin de), 237, 238 - - Rousseau, J. J., 95 - - Rubens, 221 - - Rueil, 73, 74, 90, 203, 209, 210, 313,314, 348, 370; - artificial cascades of, 108 - - Ryer, de, Pierre, 93 - - - S - - Sablé, de, Marquise, 50 - - Saint Amour, "Little," 216, 217 - - Saint Antoine, rue, 347, 417 418, 420, 421; - faubourg, 416, 419, 423 - - Saint Augustine, 53 - - Saint Bartholomew, 347 - - Saint Bernard, 277 - - Sainte-Beuve, 141, 281 - - Sainte Chapelle, la, 378 - - Saint Cloud, 50, 107 - - Saint Denis, Carmelite nuns of, 57; - rue de, 162; - gate of 347 - - Saint Dominick, 205 - - _Saint Esprit_ (chevaliers of the Order of the), 63, 166 - - Saint Evremond, 249 - - Saint Fargeau, 21, 434, 435 - - Saint François de Sales, 276 - - Saint Georges, de, Mme., 29, 77, 84, 249 - - Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, 13 - - Saint Germaine, 90, 91, 108, 201, 202, 206, 232-236, 253, 349; - fairs of, 165 - - Saint Gervais, church of, 417 - - Saint Honoré, rue, 118; - market of, 29; - faubourg, 237 - - Saint Julian, abbey of 155 - - Saint Laurent, fair of, 165 - - Saint Piguerol, prison of, 333 - - Saint Simon, 116, 147. 310, 345 - - "Saints' Party," the, 296, 298 - - Saint Theresa, 274 - - Sales, de, François, 98 - - Salon, the Blue Room, 118, 119, 121-123, 125, 127-129, 131, 134, 136, - 141-147, 152 - - Sand, George, 95 - - _Sapho_, 42, 47-50 - - Sarrazin, 124, 141, 146 - - Saujon, 264, 265, 272, 335, 336, 381 - - Sauval, 23, 108 - - "Savante," a, 46, 47, 49, 53, 56, 79 - - Savoy, 33 - - Scapin, 24 - - Schomberg, de, Maréchal, 307 - - Scudery, de, Mlle., 1, 24, 42, 47, 49, 50-53, 55, 57, 135, 143 - - Sedan, 191, 192 - - See, Holy, 242 - - Segrais, Sieur, 79, 161 - - Seine, the, 22, 23 337, 338 - - Seminaries (ecclesiastical), 277 - - Senneterre, de, Mlle., 97 - - Septembrist, 423 - - Sévigné, de, Mme., 53, 54, 95, 123, 132, 136, 144; - her criticism of _Bajazet_, 183, 281 - - Sisters of Charity, 294 - - Sobieski, John, 94 - - Soissons de, Comte, 187-194 - - Soissons, de, Comtesse, 77 - - Soissons, Madame, mother of M. le Comte, 193 - - Somaize, 113 - - Sons of the nobility, the, 37, 38 - - Sorbonne, the, 56 - - Soul of the nation (national soul), 248 - - Spain, 81, 83, 194, 212, 213, 219, 255; - literature of, 98, 156; - influence upon the Court of France, 111; - alliance with, 248; - "Envoy" of, 255; - King of, 303, 379, 380 - - "Spanish money," 62 - - State, the, 17; - importance of women in, 44; - "the obstacle," the French cavalier's opinion of, 102; - shield and the sword of, 229; - credits of, 318; - magistrates attempt to pacify, 351 - - Statesmen, the nation's, 37 - - Strowski, Fortunat, 285 - - Strozzi, Maréchal, 134 - - Students of Philosophy (_see_ Antoine Godeau) - - Success, 246 - - Supervisor (of the national finances), 37 - - "Sur-homme," 178 - - Suze, 25 - - Swans' Pond, 23 - - Sweden, King of, 33, 34, 407 - - Sweden, Queen of, 347 - - - T - - Tacitus, 54 - - Tallemant des Réaux, 114, 118, 119, 121, 128, 131, 132, 143, 149 - - Talon, Omer, 31, 37, 328, 423 - - Tarascon, 219 - - _Te Deum_, 76, 336 - - "Temple, the" (_see_ Salon Rambouillet) - - Theatre (the comedy or play), 155, 156, 164, 165, 168 - - "The Elect," 196 - - "The Humanities," 195 - - The indulgent Abbé, 217 - - The Innate Idea (_see_ Vicomtesse d'Auchy) - - Thélème, the Abbey of, 230 - - "The Manly Passions" and "Monsters of the Will" (_see_ Corneille and - Nietzsche and 195) - - The Press, 64 - - Thesssaly, 150 - - The Terror, 412 - - Thou, de, François August, born 1607, died 1642, son of Thou the - historian, friend of Henry d'Effiat de Cinq-Mars, and Confidant - of Madame la Duchesse de Chevreuse, 223-225 - - Tivoli, fountains of, 150 - - Toledo (Bishop of), 196 - - Tour de Nesle, 342 - - Tours, 76, 155, 156 - - Toury, 400 - - Treasury, the National, 308, 351 - - Treatise on the dramatic play (Prince de Conti), 160, 161 - - Treaty, peace (the Peace of Westphalia), 354, 355 - - Trissotin, 47, 127 - - Tuileries, the, 13, 22, 23, 29, 60, 78, 156, 158, 221, 249, 253, 260 - - Turenne, de, 247, 380, 387, 398, 408, 413, 414 - - - U - - Urfé d'Honoré, 92-95, 98-101, 104, 106, 109-111, 124, 157, 167, 168, - 170, 288, 289 - - Usson, d', Château, 108 - - - V - - Vadius, 131, 132 - - Val-de-Grâce, 81, 83, 84 - - Valette, de la, Cardinal, 149, 150, 152 - - Valois, the, 13, 96, 97 - - Vanini, 279 - - Vaugelas, 138 - - Veille rue du Temple, 165 - - Vendômes, the, 232 - - Vengeance, 177 - - Venus, son of, 168 - - Verdue, de, Mme., 113, 114 - - Versaillais, the, 332 - - Versailles, 92; - the Minerva of, 2 - - Vice and Virtue, 279 - - Vieuville, de, Marquis, 62 - - Vigeau, de, Mlle., 149, 377 - - Ville l'Evêque, 25 - - Villepreau, 118 - - Villette, la, 151 - - Vincennes, 13; - Wood of, 74 - - Virgil, 54 - - Virtue, 254 - - Vivienne, rue, 396 - - Voiture, "Little," 133-136, 140, 144-146, 150, 152 - - - W - - Warren, Rabbit, 23 - - Westphalia, Peace of, 246, 354, 355 - - Wisdom, 71 - - Wives (of the Bourgeoisie), 375 - - "Wives, Fish," (of the Halles), 374 - - - Y - - Yveteaux, de, M. ("d'Yveteaux"), 128 - - - Z - - Zoroaster, 56 - - - - -FRENCH HISTORY. - - -OLD COURT LIFE IN FRANCE. - - By FRANCES ELLIOT. Illustrated with portraits and with views of the - old châteaux. 2 vols., 8º, $4.00. Half-calf extra, gilt tops $8.00 - - "Mrs. Elliot's is an anecdotal history of the French Court from - Francis I. to Louis XIV. She has conveyed a vivid idea of the - personalities touched upon, and her book contains a great deal of - genuine vitality."--_Detroit Free Press._ - - -WOMAN IN FRANCE DURING THE - -EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - By JULIA KAVANAGH, author of "Madeline," Illustrated with - portraits on steel. 2 vols., 8º, $4.00. Half-calf extra, gilt tops, - $8.00 - - "Miss Kavanagh has studied her material so carefully, and has - digested it so well, that she has been able to tell the story of - Court Life in France, from the beginning of the Regency to the end - of the revolutionary period, with an understanding and a sobriety - that make it practically new to English readers."--_Detroit Free - Press._ - - -FRANCE UNDER MAZARIN. - - By James Breck Perkins. With a Sketch of the Administration of - Richelieu. Portraits of Mazarin, Richelieu, Louis XIII., Anne of - Austria, and Condé. 2 vols., 8º $4.00 - - "A brilliant and fascinating period that has been skipped, - slighted, or abused by the ignorance, favoritism, or prejudice - of other writers is here subjected to the closest scrutiny of an - apparently judicial and candid student...."--_Boston Literary - World._ - - -A FRENCH AMBASSADOR AT THE COURT OF CHARLES II.; LE COMTE DE COMINGES. - - From his unpublished correspondence. Edited by J. J. 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PUTNAM'S SONS, NEW YORK AND LONDON. - - -PETER ABELARD - - =By Joseph McCabe, author of "Twelve Years in a Monastery," etc. - Octavo. Net, $2.00. (By mail, $2.20)= - - "A virile and dramatic piece of biographical - composition."--_Nation._ - - "An ideal biography."--_American Journal of Theology._ - - -ST. AUGUSTINE AND HIS AGE - - =By Joseph McCabe, author of "Peter Abelard," etc. With Portrait. - Octavo. Uniform with "Peter Abelard." Net, $2.00. (By mail, $2.20)= - -Mr. McCabe, the scholarly author of "Peter Abelard," brings to bear the -same thoroughness of research, the same vigor of reasoning, and the -same attractive style that characterized the Abelard volume in writing -this latest work. He is especially fitted for the task by reason of his -ecclesiastic and scholastic training. - - -THE SONS OF FRANCIS - - =By A. MacDonell. With eight full-page illustrations. Octavo, cloth, - net, $3.50.= - -Mr. MacDonell presents in a fascinating story the record of the -disciples of Francis of Assisi, in which the reader will find many -attractive glimpses of St. Francis himself. The writing is admirably -simple, lucid, and sympathetic, and the memoirs are surprisingly varied -in their interest. The plates have been prepared from noteworthy -originals which rank among the great works of art of the period. - - -New York--G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS--London - - +------------------------------------------------------------------+ - | Transcriber notes: | - | | - | P.6. 'MEDIC S' changed to 'MEDICIS'. | - | p.50. 'aujourd'huy' changed to 'aujourd'hui'. | - | P.83. Footnote 'National' changed to 'Nationale'. | - | P.95. 'inaginative' changed to 'imaginative'. | - | P.114. 's'aecrut' changed to 's'accrut'. | - | P.138. 'phenominal' changed to 'phenomenal'. | - | P.160. 'aud' changed to 'and'. | - | P.163. 'française' changed to 'français'. | - | P.181. 'nêtes' changed to 'n'êtes'. | - | P.181. 'Je le soutien, Carlos, vous nêtes point son fils' | - | l think should read 'Je le soutiens, Carlos, vous n'êtes pas | - | son fils'. | - | P.183. 'It it' changed to 'It is'. | - | P.228. 'dualogues' changed to 'dialogues'. | - | P.247. Footnote # 'ennemies' changed to 'enemies'. | - | P.287. 'woful' changed to 'woeful'. | - | P.315. Footnote # 'Lettres des' changed to Lettres du'. | - | | - | P.345. 'aud' changed to 'and'. | - | P.367. Footnote # 'Parlementet' changed to 'Parlement'. | - | P.377. 'imperi-ious' should be 'imperious', changed. | - | P.391. Added 'I' to 'where I was'. | - | P.423. Footnote 1 'del' Hôtel' changed to 'de l'Hôtel'. | - | Adds: added . after dollar amount--various. | - | Fixed various punctuation. | - | Note: underscores to surround _italic text_, and = around | - | =bold text=. | - | | - +------------------------------------------------------------------+ - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of La Grande Mademoiselle, by Arvede Barine - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LA GRANDE MADEMOISELLE *** - -***** This file should be named 50717-0.txt or 50717-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/7/1/50717/ - -Produced by Jane Robins and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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