Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BY
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK
LONDON
gip InitheIttOthRT
1900
pzen
COPYRIGHT, 1900
BY
CARDINAL RICHELIEU.
PREFACE
THE
is
made
to
Richelieu's
life
results of
his administration.
The
are
is
They
His corre-
of the highest
own mimoires
own
statements, and must often be corrected by references to his letters and other documents, but they
furnish an account of his career which is for the
unpublished.
now remains
Preface
iv
These
Contemporary memoirs are numerous.
are
all
but
vary largely in accuracy and importance,
contemporary
of value as giving different phases of
opinion, even
when they
The
statements of occurrences.
Bassompierre, Pontis, Fontrailles, Turenne, Gaston, M0I6, Montresor, Montglat; the
worthy
in
their
viefmoires of
some
profit.
The
very voluminous.
when complete,
The
will
work
is
also
M. Hanotaux,
contain the most valuable acgreat
of
permanent record
one
who
Preface
In
my
gave a
In writing
work.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
PAGE
IT
.1
Character of Richelieu
France
Poverty
dition of the
Nobility
of the
Medici.
II
17
States-General Called
Richelieu
Close
He
The
Conde
Delegate
Elected
of the States-General
Overthrow of
Criticisms on his Appointon Foreign Policy His Energetic Con-
Richelieu's
Activity
His Views
Luines Murder
ment
duct
of Concini
Disgrace of
Richelieu
III
vii
Council
61
Contents
viii
^
PAGE
to
Retires to his Bishopric-Banished
Avignon-Recalled
Queen-mother-Nom-
the
by theKing-His Relations with
of Luines-Richelieu Becomes
Cardinal-Death
as
inated
Cardinal Recalled to Office His Relations with the King.
CHAPTER
IV
79
lieu
I.a
Italy
of
of
at
the Huguenots.
CHAPTER V
RICHELIEU AND HIS ENEMIES, 1626-1637
Ill
CHAPTER
VI
all
Branches of Government
Assem-
Notables Destruction of Fortresses Evils of Tax Corruption in Office Proceedings against the
Farmers of Taxes Code of Michau Richelieu's Policy in
Italy Mazarin Relations with Lorraine The French
blies of
ation
Take
I42
Contents
CHAPTFR
ix
VII
PAGE
157
Wallenstein Recalled Death of Gustavus Murder of Wallenstein The Clergy Employed as Officers
Condition of the Army Employment of Mercenaries Bad
Condition of Roads Size of the Army Invasion of France
Conduct of Richelieu Death of Ferdinand Portugal Regains Independence Revolt of Catalonia Success of
the French War in the Low Countries Negotiations for
tenfeld
II.
Peace.
CHAPTER
VIII
185
Illness His
Estate
of his
IX
Growth of the Navy Organisation of Commercial Companies Defects in French Colonisation Slavery Use of
Tobacco Treaty with Russia Condition of the People
Paternal Theory of Government Condition of the Army
Number of Mercenaries Pay of the Soldiers Condition of
Government
ling
225
Contents
CHAPTER X
RICHELIEU'S RELATIONS WITH THE
His Treatment of the
PAGE
CHURCH
Huguenots His
259
Religious Belief-
of the
Virgin Belief
in
The Abbe
of St.
Cyran
He
is
Imprisoned by Richelieu
at
Cardi:ial
II;s
Death.
CHAPTER
LIFE
XI
....
297
ais
at
Richelieu's
Nephew The
Cardinal's Family.
CHAPTER
XII
tive
Theory
329
ILLUSTRATIONS.
CARDINAL RICHELIEU
Frontispiece
TURY.
SEINE,
...
12
print.]
[From
Museum.]
[From an old
British
20
[From an
old
in
the
ITS
RE-
.22
National Library,
DUCHY OF RICHELIEU
....
26
de Riche-
lieu?^
a steel engraving.]
Illustrations.
xii
MARY
De' MEDICI
[From the painting by F. Porbus
Museum
in
3^
in
the Prado
Madrid.]
-38
Reaux.\
des
...
.44
...
LEONORA
DUKE OF
58
70
72
Reproduced
LOUIS
XIII
76
I02
HENRY,
DUKE OF MONTMORENCI,
FRANCE
[From
MARSHAL OF
.
128
ANl^E OF AUSTRIA
MLLE. DE LAFAYETTE
[From Monmerque's
of Friedland
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS
COUNT VON TILLY
.
II.
1,3
1^6
l6o
and Mecl<lenburg.]
...
n6
a steel engraving.]
162
164
Illusirahons.
Xlll
CINQ-MARS
[From
HENRY
IV.
166
196
a painting by Lenain.j
DUKE OF BOUILLON
[From
l6,
a portrait
...
[From
2IO
by Baltazar Moncornet.J
contemporary painting
in the
232
Museum
at
Versailles.]
FATHER JOSEPH
CARDINAL MAZARIN
[From an
old print.]
.
[From an old
PRINCE OF CONDlS
MAP OF FRANCE
ReproRiche-
ei
......
284
print.]
HIS
CATS
....
.....
296
304
310
320
352
RICHELIEU
CHAPTER
NO
IT
In his
had few friends and many enemies his rule was harsh, it was not attended with
general prosperity, and it was marked by merciless
Few loved him and few regretted his
severity.
The King who maintained him in office
decease.
regarded him with ill-concealed dislike, the people
who suffered under his rule felt for him an unconlifetime he
cealed hatred.
as
is
and power, a paramount influence in European politics, the foremost place among European nations.
That he was an extraordinary man was acknowledged in his own day; and now it is seen that his
I
Richelieu
left its permanent impress on French government and French history, that it increased
the power of the French monarchy and secured
for it a position in Europe which it had not before
work
held.
It is not strange, therefore, that the French people
should hold in respectful if not in affectionate remembrance a man who helped to make France great.
He was
merciless to his enemies, but they are fordid not secure prosperity for the people,
he
gotten;
traditions
of past distress do not disturb
but the
posterity.
it
has
figure of
to those
who spend
little
it
may
When Armand de Richelieu was born, the kingdom of France was governed by Henry III., the
the Valois kings.
The country was still involved in the wars of religion, which raged during a
last of
good
Richelieu
Flanders, at the east and north, recognised the authority of the
King
of Spain.
Since then
it
seventeenth century, the country seemed very populous, and travellers were impressed by the number
of its people.
home
fertile
primeval
The
was widespread.
a mere hut, built
The
of
peasant's
mud and
home was
often without
usually
windows
In
it
he and
rough,
rarely eaten,
life.
found
is
now
in civilised lands.
the whole,
Richelieti
the
soil.
French
cities then,
the peasant's
lot,
and
in this respect
the people of
more
tractive.
cities
The
at-
now
possess
many
more
almost appalling.
in
this
By
many
render
it
out criminals.
7Si^^
54tiB
[.r*";
%0f^
"^-3^^
^ifM$l^d
^1
LU
(-
CC
>
UJ
ICO
respects
than a
diverged
laid
It
little
was
still
cities
of the Orient
streets
crossed
and
ings were
In this
that
freely
In
1637,
the
Richeliez
In this intricate maze of dark, narrow, and dirty
streets thronged a dense population, among whom
flourished a liberal proportion of thieves, murderers,
class,
undisturbed by any
Only
life
in a
had any
great city
is
in-
in
itself
towns.
Even
in
who would
Paris
is
now
Holy
was
It
A century later
another century it
and
in
Where the
all
travellers.
ings multiplied
for the laity
abounded
bells
thunder.
The
of the
capital
Richelieu
many
man.
When
It
was slight, and newspapers were practically unknown, the life of any locality was isolated, and the
The inpolitical effect of this was considerable.
fluence of Paris was less than it has since become,
because it was not so closely connected with the rest
of France there were, so to speak, no channels by
which impulses from the capital could reach the
provinces; the country was like an animal of low
organisation,
no nervous centre was closely con:
generally
little
now thought
indispensable.
weapons
cannon came into use; moat and
bridge, turret and portcullis, marked the fortress,
and within were provisions for the numerous menat-arms that the lord might require to defend his
home against his enemy. To the ancient portholes,
intended for archers, were added new openings
where culverins and musketry could be used the
arms had changed, but the warlike purpose of the
fortress was unaltered.
With the growth of monarchical authority internal disorder lessened, there was less need of fortifications, and the influence exercised by Italian art
The
of offence until
Richelieti
and
taste
the nobility.
times of disturbance.
increased and
h>
As
King
in
were soon
and magnificent residences, intended for peace and not for
war, decorated and adorned with a splendour of
which there had been little trace in the past, w:re
erected by wealthy nobles.
A great number of fortified castles were destroyed
by Richelieu's order. The measure was judicious,
although its importance has been somewhat overestimated.
These feudal fortresses had been impregnable against bands of unruly peasants, they had
been formidable against men-at-arms provided with
crossbows and battle-axes; but an army supplied
its effects
New
13
they
fell
demands
Still,
the destruc-
man had
It
ceased to exist.
was with
than social
when he became
minister.
Important as was his influence on the development of the French monarchy, he was no innovator,
he followed political traditions which had
The tendency of French
already taken deep root.
growth had long been to strengthen monarchical
power, and the great nobles, who once regarded the
heirs of Hugh Capet as only first among equals, at
The
yielded obedience to the King of France.
independent power of the nobility waned with the
decline of the feudal system, but the authority of
the monarch varied with the ruler and the condithere was order under a strong
tion of the realm
In
king, and insuborSination under a weak king.
the disastrous era of the English wars, any central
authority was at times unknown; in the sixteenth
century, the wars of religion divided France on new
lines, and it required the abihty and good judgment
last
Richelieti
14
of
Henry IV.
the
to render the influence of
King
again paramount.
It
that
own
privileges
first
came
into
public
notice.
So, also, in
many
still
Government.
Many
cities
it
for
King
It
own
The provinces which formed the French monarchy were irregularly bound together, and the administrative system was not far removed from the
mediaeval confusion of the feudal ages.
Prompt
action
population.
r61e
in
had taken an active part in the affairs of the continent, and again France had been of hardly more
importance than Poland. In the sixteenth century,
the wars of religion so distracted the land that the
influence of the country outside of its own boundHenry IV. restored order;
aries was small indeed.
he was an able and ambitious sovereign, and desired
that France should be a leader in the questions that
were agitating Europe. Abandoning Italy, where
French blood and treasure had often been wasted,
Henry sought to exert an active influence in Germany, and he endeavoured in every way to check
the dangerous power of Spain,
Richelieu
that
It
CHAPTER
II
CARDINAL
estate
of
17
Plessis
de Richeheu.
Richelieu
[1585-
While the older branches of the du Plessis familysank into provincial obscurity, the Richelieus made
They were good
their way to a certain prominence.
fighters,
civil
them taking an
the time as a
less age.
But he fled
from the abbey, discarded his gown, and became a
soldier.
Perhaps as a result of his religious training,
he was especially rigorous against heretics on one
;
occasion, a hundred
tion,
fitted for
These rough
did not add largely to their possessions, made considerable progress in the world they obtained a
certain position at the Court, and could hope
for some
marks of royal favour. In 1542, the grandfather
of
the future Cardinal married Frangoise de
;
Roche-
Richelieu
1617]
chouart, a
member
Early Career
of a powerful
19
and
illustrious
In
the
somewhat
The
speaking.
is
described as
" high
sions."
If
new connexions.
ere long
we
and a favourite
of that sovereign.
Henry
III.,
Richelieu
20
[1585-
made
He
vost.
obtained the
last
we
was,
are told, a
captain of the
was
If
less illustrious
quiet, judicious
Jehan,
son of
Fran9ois
Richelieu, and of
wife.
Five years
du
Plessis,
Dame Susanne
later, in 1590,
de
Seigneur of
la Porte,
his
came
sovereign.
He
left a
widow and
five children,
and
IN
PARIS.
Richelieu
1617]
Early Career
21
Like
when
the mortgages on
many needy
them were
In 1593,
some portions
the great
hall,
canals,
R^chel^e^l
22
[1585-
it.
The chateau
of Richelieu, as
it
in a
period
Eight towers protected it, and it was surrounded by a deep and broad
Within were the great halls, the numerous
fosse.
courts, galleries, and chambers of a castle, intended
not merely for the residence of a family, but for the
presence of a body of soldiers in time of need.
It
of almost perpetual disturbance.
money.
many
more
IN
ITS REBUILDING
THE NATIONAL
*'
BY THE CARDINAL.
LIBRARY, PARI3.
Richelietts
1617]
Early Career
23
The
mind
community
first
years of his
life
in a
arson and pillage, in a land where famine and pestilence were frequent visitors, and where these conditions
existed
not strong
enough
to
repress
the
violent
his education.
Richelieu
24
[1585-
was
amount
in
Latin
of useful information.
;
The
and the
Latin authorities were diligently studied.
Richelieu
pursued also the course technically known as philosophy, in which were embraced logic and such science as could be found in the books of Aristotle.
to use this language in their conversation,
When Armand
in
1617]
a gentleman
and
a soldier.
The
25
The academy was, moreover, a finishing school for manners, and Pluvinel endeavoured
of the period.
an accomplished cavalier.
Notwithstanding
his
The
hands
succession of nominal bishops collected the revenues for the benefit of the family, and the Episcopal
see in reality remained vacant.
[1585-
Richelieti
26
in the ecclesiastical
however con-
The chapter
could not continue indefinitely.
but they
bishop,
without
a
do
to
were perhaps willing
diocese
to be
of
the
revenues
would not allow the
buildings
went
to
ruin
religious
absorbed while the
lieus,
from lack of repairs. Accordingly, the canons began a suit against Madame de Richelieu, asking that
she be compelled to apply some part of the moneys
This action
she received to the needs of the church.
brought matters to a crisis; however favourable the
authorities or the courts might be to her interests,
they could not publicly declare that the cathedral
of
Ma-
that
if
ment
for
DUCHY OF RICHELIEU.
FROM HANOTAUX'S "hISTOIRE DU CARDINAL DE RICHELIEU."
1617]
became an inmate
become
27
monk. He
Grande
Chartreuse, and there passed his days in pious obscurity until he was called from his retreat by the
ruler
of
France.
Armand had no
special de-
Having chosen
man
the
to
dawdle
academy
more
for the
it
he quitted
new
profession he
made good
Richelieu
28
[1585-
He
was granted with no more delay than was ordinby the usages of the Roman curia.
In April, 1607, the young aspirant was duly consecrated as Bishop of Lugon he was not quite twenty-
tion
arily required
three.
Rome was
The
object of Riche-
to obtain a dispensation
standing his
to
insufificient
resorting
to
fraud,
when
dispensations
for
Richelieu' s
1617]
insufficient
Early Career
29
Many
scions
rule
early promotion.
documents.
dignitary returned to Paris and to his
The new
It
was
officially
tical
work.
nished
a bishop to
often disre-
more
the ecclesiastic
who
who
bishopric.
his decision
after a short
ti585-
Richelieu
30
devoted
stay at Paris, he set out for his new see, and
praisewith
flock
his
of
interests
the
to
attention
his
worthy assiduity. He was not a man to sacrifice his
temporal ambitions to the performance of ecclesiasbut he decided wisely, if only his own
advancement were to be considered. He was still a
very young man, little known, and with a small inHis office gave him indeed a certain rank at
come.
Court, yet he was an unimportant personage among
tical duties,
iers.
heart
to his
advance his fortunes more rapidly than dancing attendance on the Queen or her ministers; he was
young and could bide his time. At all events he
braved a winter's journey, which in those days of
bad roads was always a disagreeable and sometimes
a dangerous undertaking, and on December 21, 1608,
he celebrated pontifical mass in the cathedral that
had long stood in dilapidated disuse. It was sixty
years since the faithful at Lugon had been favoured
with a bishop residing among them.
Richelieu's flock had suffered from spiritual want,
and they were not much better off in their temporal
condition.
Lugon was situated in lower Poitou, and
was a town of two or three thousand people, the
seat of a very small diocese, surrounded by great
marshes, in a district both unhealthy and unproductive. The peasants who lived among the marshes
of lower Poitou, so a traveller declares, were the
poorest in
France.
Naturally, the
bishop of an
THE SORBONNE
(INTERIOR OF
THE COURT).
Richelieu
1617]
Early Career
my
quired for
He
sumed
position
its
his bishopric.
The
litigation
by which the
to his taste,
Richelieu
32
[1585-
reduction in taxation.
them some
however
self,
it-
General.
reader.
of
No more
plicity,
him
in literature
had Richelieu any taste for simand metaphors and tropes were as dear to
ordinary
life
Richelieu' s
1617]
Early Career
33
Some
the clergy
We
many
priests
go
in
bodies to the
fairs
and markets
unseemly fes-
tivities,"
bred disorder
among
among
[1585-
Richelieu
34
"
When
" and
we
by
its
nature,
over the left shoulder, considering certain days as fortunate or unfortunate, putting confidence in a certain number of lighted candles," etc.
His book called The Instruction of a Christian appeared in 1619; it was largely read and enjoyed the
distinction of translation into several languages;
though not an extraordinary work, it contained
much common sense and sound religion briefly and
tersely put.
Among other directions, were some
which illustrate again the bishop's belief in magic
arts,
for
entitled
rated themselves
controversial
writings he
did
Sepathese
Richelieu's
1617]
Early Career
35
he desired
prominence and power. He had many influential
friends with whom he corresponded, and whose
favour he sought to cultivate.
He was eager for
promotion and not over-scrupulous in the pursuit,
and he would have smiled at the modern apothegm
that the ofifice should seek the man.
He believed
;
might
punction.
of
the
young
was held by
Sully,
Richelieu
36
[1585-
Mary bore
of France.
little
resemblance to her
The
commonplace woman,
widow
of
narrow
in
ligion,
controlled
peace.
She was singularly unfortunate in obtaining
what she wished her regency was a period of constant disorder; her power was overthrown by the
murder of those to whom she was most attached;
;
and
of
a minister
she
whom
spent
who
did
she had
long years
hated most.
for
many
that
MARY
FROM THE PAINTING BY
F.
DE' MEDICI.
P0RBU8
IN
PRAOO MUSEUM
IN
MADRID.
Early Career
Richelieti s
1617]
37
wisdom
whom God
care,
whom
its
destination
the friends to
known
outside of his
own
Richelieu
38
came
for the
young
[1585-
on a more conspicuous
diocese of Lugon.
field
money.
Whatever
his
defects
of
character,
his
rank made him prominent, and he was the spokesman of a body of greedy and unruly noblemen. As
their demands were not granted, in the spring of
-^
1617]
39
body and
re-
move
carded the
name
as
it
body
Richelieu
40
In the elections of
members
[1585-
to the States-General,
the influence of the Government was usually exerDiscreet and well-afcised without concealment.
fected persons received the support of the numerous
functionaries
the central
with no obstacles.
The
and the
Bishop of Lu9on and the Dean of Saint Hilaire
were chosen without opposition.
The returns from the elections soon showed that
the Government would have little trouble in controlling the deliberations of the body, and the place
of meeting was accordingly changed to Paris.
On
at Poitiers to elect their representatives,
pomp
RicJielieu* s
1617]
Early Career
41
was satisfactory to the Queen he started no troublehis voice and vote were always
at the command of the Government.
Probably at
her suggestion, he was chosen as spokesman of the
clergy at the formal meeting, where the representa;
the
result
of
their
deliberations
was nothing
many
tedious
is
chronicler.
The
references to an-
tiquity and
ment
said,
" helps to
fit
them
for
Richelieu
42
[1585-
They
The
came
States-General of 1614
ness of this
body that
it
It
to an unsatis-
was the
fatal
it
weakcould
demands.
The deputies of the third estate
wished to remain in session until the King had answered their petitions; if they once dispersed, they
its
knew
"
One would
own
re-
and
kingdom of a young
when age should teach
to the
him the disorders which the States had not removed, but
had rather fomented and increased. Another planned
his
return,
abhorred
his stay at
Paris,
desired to see
1617]
tenderness the
'What
and
memory
friends,
and
43
to forget in their
another,
said
who
represent her so
'
Their complaints were unheeded. A formal answer was sent to some of the requests, and the
members were informed that the King, in his own
good time, would answer the other cahiers when
there was sufficient time for their examination.
The
taken
little
The
zealous,
the
pleased at
little
fruit
their
of their labours.
homes
The
development
room
of the
them
for
in
for the
sired
employment
that
political
the
of the clergy.
Bishop of Lu^on
preferment, and
when the
He strongly
should
de-
receive
session of the
own
He made many
friends,
for his
affairs.
who watched
his interests
Richelieu
44
[1585-
It
was doubt-
on his death-bed, he declared that he had no enemies but those of the State, and he might have said
the same thing about his friends.
To the men who
could assist him in his political schemes, like Father
Joseph and Mazarin, he was always constant; those
who
no further
or
service,
occupied
memory.
With the regency
of
little
Mary
de' Medici
began the
They had
long
1617]
45
Concino presently married the Queen's waitingwoman and friend, and the two exercised over the
weak mind of their patroness a strong and unwhole-
some
influence.
sister's
owed
Now
Richelieu
46
[1585-
He was employed
you
right worthily."
Richelieu's
1617]
Early Career
47
vigour in a step
this
was
far
council.
of
and feeble men, and while they retained their posithey had lost their power. They were now
dismissed and their places filled by men selected by
the favourite.
All of them were comparatively obscure, and, with one exception, after a brief enjoyment of power, they returned to the obscurity from
tions,
Richelieu
48
[1585-
member
employment
to
become
Government.
Notwithstanding the rapidity of his elevation,
Richelieu was still a very obscure man he was little
known in the community, and no one dreamed of
the career that lay before him.
He had made his
way into ofifice by attaching himself closely to those
who had places to bestow; there was nothing to
show that this adroit, eager office-seeker had the
of the
ment
He owed his
appoint-
A man of
Riche-
1617]
RicheliejL s
Early Career
49
office.
The
men
"
Richelieu
50
[1585-
He
con-
Richelieu's
1617]
later
Early Career
They showed
unusual maturity and a remarkable boldness of conception in a young man who for the first time found
himself in political ofifice.
Most men thus situated
are quite content to adopt the traditions of their
mind the
role
ancient alliances.
advancement
Nor was he
own
.
We
of Spain."
toward
which he diverged
widely from the principles accepted at Rome and
Madrid. " The different faiths which prevail among
us do not render us different states," he wrote.
We are united under a prince in whose service no
less clear in outlining his policy
Catholic
is
in
'
'
And the
future cardinal
Huguenots who were loyal to the King should resame favour as Catholics; that France,
ceive the
Richelieu
52
[1585-
among
the
German
of religion, but
of national advantage.
same firmness;
bellious nobles
own
1617]
the King.
53
affairs.
It
was often
own
purposely
Probably the
rule,
for the
questionable character.
man named
Luines, a
Queen-mother and
Luines was admirably
her advisers fell into error.
He was
fitted to please a shy and diffident youth.
enthat
skilled in all branches of the chase, and
his
in
deared him to his pupil; he was assiduous
lack
the
attentions, and if he lacked in brilliancy,
was acceptable to a dull boy.
Though the King was timid and ill-educated, he
He was jealous of
did not like to be neglected.
sovereign, but in this opinion the
power, even
if
how
to exercise
it,
Richelieu
54
[1585-
and he resented his own unimportance in a Government of which he was nominally the head. The
injudicious conduct of the favourite made it easy to
There were
arouse the King's ill-will towards him.
many ready
King
of France.
it
The
them
into effect
in their victim.
The execution
of resistance
of the order
was
Early Career
RichelieiL s
1617]
55
his
hand
At
to his sword.
dead on the spot. His foland the body was plundered, stripped, and left where it fell.
On the same night the remains of the ill-fated
favourite were secretly buried in the church of St.
Germain I'Auxerrois. They were not long left at
rest the brutality of the French populace has often
been excited by the taste of blood, and the mob
now broke into the church, the body was dug up
and hung by the heels on the gallows by the Pont
Neuf. There it was exposed to every sort of brutal
dismemberment; the limbs were hacked off and carried through the streets one man tore out the heart,
and broiled it over the coals, and these insults were
accompanied by obscene songs about the loves of
Richelieu's
the favourite and the Queen-mother.
carriage passed while the mob were engaged in these
brutalities, and he was alarmed lest his identity
should be known and he receive rough treatment
from those who regarded him as a follower of Concini, but he shouted lustily Vive le roi ! and was able
to get through without being recognised.
In the meantime, all was exultation among the
lowers
made no
fell
resistance,
Richelieu
56
[1585-
As Vitry
returned
'
present disgrace.
Richelieu's
1517]
Early Career
57
if
He
resigned his
Richelieu
58
[1585-
The property
falcons.
The
assassination of Concini
overthrow
of
When Mary
those
identified
LEONORA
DORI,
WIFE OF CONCINI.
Richelieu' s
1617]
cried: "
Early Career
59
me now
to the
future position.
affairs of
the State.
The mother
6o
Richelieu
[1585-1617]
marked by prodigality, weakness, and bad judgment, and it was now ended forever. In the last of
the long line of carriages could be seen the pointed
CHAPTER
III
DURING
the
He
attracted
was made
and
until
he
member
61
Richelieu
62
[1617-
162 1,
notice.
become one
of the
ernment.
Richelieu retired with the Queen-mother to Blois
professed to
he
lost
those
no opportunity
who enjoyed
1624]
excite suspicion.
"
all
will I
63
in
time to frustrate
them."
Notwithstanding Richelieu's professions of zeal in
the royal service, perhaps because they were so profuse, he did not obtain the confidence of Luines or
Louis XIII. His character did not excite confidthe stronger the belief in his ability, the
ence
greater was the fear of his double-dealing and the
apprehension that he was not a safe person to leave
At all events, he remained,
as the Queen's adviser.
as he himself says, a constant object of calumny and
;
slander.
Lugon, where
he could perform the duties of his office, exhort his
flock, and obey the commands of his God and his
lieu
commending
his retirement to
Richelieu
64
[1617-
King.
fort in
...
office.
am
resolved to pass
my
time
had
his ear
indicate that he
hour
to come.
Avignon
in the
wherever you
mistrust in
many
dm
1624]
65
was not even in French territory, he was as effectually removed from French politics as if he had been
The order was alike unexpected
exiled to Rome.
and unwelcome, but it was obeyed with the promptitude by which the disgraced minister sought to prove
The letter
submission to the King's will.
reached him on Wednesday of Holy Week; he did
not even wait for the Easter celebration, but on
Good Friday started on the long and painful journey
his
to his
new
place of exile.
by devoting himself
trial
Huguenots.
"
nothing of it myself," he writes in his memoirs, speaking of his book entitled A Defence of
the Principal Points of the Catholic Faith, " I leave
will say
it
to the
come."
had once tasted the sweets of power, its loss was gall
and wormwood. Moreover, there was no certainty
that his chance would return the King looked upon
him with distrust, and he could no longer use his
position with the Queen-mother to secure his recall
;
His
66
Richelieu
in the
[1617-
mind
sion was
more apt
Silent submis-
querulous argument.
His health was infirm; in his
gloom he thought that death might be near, and
prepared his
will.
It is a curious contrast with the
testament that became effective at his death a quarter of a century later.
Then he left palaces to the
King, dukedoms and millions of money to his
charge.
politician
who expected
of the disappointed
cessful career.
He
favour.
but that he
be prevented
from attending to the needs of his flock. " If M.
de Lugon had been content to be a good bishop in
his diocese," was the curt reply, " he would not be
office,
city,
where he is."
While the bishop sought consolation far the loss
of ofifice in exposing the manifold errors of Calvinistic theology, the Queen-mother remained
at Blois,
discontented with her lot, and constantly quarrelling with those who were in favour with
the King.
These disputes were not very important, but the
1624]
67
step.
He
counselled by Richelieu.
might be designing
who
a discreet policy.
wisdom
Such counsels were now
received favourably, and a brother of the Capuchin
was despatched to Avignon, with an amiable letter
those
to recall
declared that
him from
exile.
it
Richelieu
68
[1617-
mother.
Once
or twice she
went so
far as to take
1624]
69
But
promotion often came slowly, even when the representatives of the King were earnest in their demands,
and it was not always the case that a formal nominaThis was undoubttion was urged with much zeal.
certain in time to procure the desired honour.
The
edly the trouble with Richelieu's candidacy.
nomination was made, and there the matter rested.
At the end of another brief insurrection, in 1620, his
promotion was made one of the conditions granted
the Queen-mother, and the King at her request sent
a letter of recommendation. Probably Louis himself
was willing that Richelieu should become a carbut his advisers thought otherwise. Between
dinal,
Richelieu
70
[1617-
Richelieu and Luines there was some formal pretence of friendship, but the King's favourite distrusted both the capacity and the character of the
ambitious bishop, and had no desire to see his
in intrigue.
community than
was chiefly due
difference
1624]
71
not
fitted,
infantry.
When
new
dignity of constable,
The
cardinalate was
a great
Richelieu
72
11617-
French representatives
demanded Richelieu's promotion of the new Pope
in a manner which showed that they were at last in
On Septemearnest, and it was not long delayed.
ber 5, 1622, the elevation of the Bishop of Lugon
to the cardinalate was announced by Pope Gregory
XV. Richelieu was only thirty-eight when he received the highest honour, except the papacy, which
the Church could bestow, and his early promotion
was due, not to any great distinction which he had
won in Church or State, but to the skill with which
he had ingratiated himself into the confidence, the
good-will, perhaps even the affection, of Mary de'
But
Medici.
it
was a stepping-stone
ambition.
He
great a
man
RICHELIEU
IN
CARDINAL'S HAT.
1624]
73
ward him
chief pastor.
tions.
King with
his
lived at the
her son,
if
friendly.
She
influence over
considerable.
Richelieu
74
[1617-
Cardinal
men below
and a strong desire to keep the adviser of the Queenmother from obtaining a place in the King's council.
But if they had the desire to hinder Richelieu's
ambition, they had not the ability. The leader in
the council was La Vieuville, the superintendent of
finance, a man of small capacity and of questionable honesty.
He soon despaired of holding his position unaided, and sought to secure the good-will of
Mary de' Medici by opening the door of the council-
chamber
Apparently,
1624]
75
mother.
Richelieu
76
prime minister.
A statesman
in
[1617-
had
by
to deal with a
man
and
in
of jealous
it
was
subdue
strength
of
the
1624]
yj
all
united in desiring
had
it.
He constantly
He
if
he went from
78
Richelieu
[1617-1624]
Louis's char-
certain, but
CHAPTER
IV
new min
which confronted
THE problems
and he
were many and
the
serious,
ter
IS-
has fairly
re-
recognised.
He
all
name among
and
foreign nations."
executed.
8o
Richelieu
tl624-
also
1629]
8i
the Church.
rel
troops, to
whom
his allies.
It is
'
made by
sible
'
politics, or
war abroad. In truth, the position of the Huguenots was incompatible with a strong Government;
6
'
82
it
Richelieu
rendered
strength;
it
it
[1624-
left
full
by the constant
disturbance.
It was Riche-
recurrence of internal
to meet,
same rapidity
in
still
Henry IV.
1629]
83
it
was probably
political
new party
The
ment
of
weakness.
'
'
Richelieu
84
[1624-
its
after
Henry's
1629]
85
Government which, at
They had
best, looked upon them with suspicion.
long been in possession of a considerable number of
fortified towns, mostly in Southern France; by the
'
left in their
Henry
party,
holding
its
separate
councils,
of theology
were
in
dis-
the papacy, but in which matters of state were considered, preparations made for war, and armies levied,
should
fail
Government.
If this
was not a
and
ill-will
of
any
Richelieu
86
it
like
[1624-
it,
a man
the Protestants must secure a practical independence by force, or accept their lot with other citizens,
be subject to the same laws, and surrender any pre-
when
like Richelieu
always, on the
Henry
plea of
some
violated
privilege.
to their
preserve
fence,
entire
16291
Richelieu resolved
Grisons,
again
to
when some
Huguenot
La
party.
choosing this
in
behalf
Huguenot
of the
leaders were
in revolt,
the city of
interfere
of the
87
time for
stirring
ill-advised in
up insurrection.
Richelieu
88
their
[1624-
town
the inhabit-
who
a sister of Louis
this alliance
their
ticipations they
In both an-
The
alliance
was followed by constant bickerings over the nonobservance of some of the conditions of the marriage
The French complained that the servants
contract.
of Henrietta were dismissed, that she was harshly
treated, and that the lot of the English Catholics
became worse instead of better. The English replied that the French had failed to perform the
conditions
of
that the
1629]
ham
89
dress, the
charm
of his
handsome
The
gossips
La Rochelle.
The avowed motives
go
Richelieu
[1624-
had conducted
his
landing than the Cardinal shoggd-w-hat could be accomplished by indomitable resolution. While the
activity
of this unexpected
malady.
But the real king did not wait for the
recovery of the nominal King: he at once collected
an army and sent it to the relief of the French besieged in St. Martin; he gathered supplies, and
offered great rewards to those who would convey
them to the fort he pledged his own money and
credit to those who were unwilling to trust the
slow and uncertain payment that often awaited the
;
When
1629]
91
ships of
The
The English
own
exertions.
of
Richelieu
92
[1624-
them to action; he
anyone who would
convey to the garrison provisions for two months;
divers who made their way from the fort to the
as feelings of patriotism, urged
commander
at St.
little
surrender,
number of
their way
temporary
with reinforce-
With
The
in a few
Richelieu had sent the Bishop of Mende to superintend the preparations mass was said, and the little boats set sail with the Episcopal benediction.
Thus fortified, they succeeded in reaching their
;
amply supplied.
The
parts bottles
wine,
of
articles of food, to
loss.
besieged
that pre-
vailed within.
his reliance
on starving out
needy situation
and a prudent general would have seized the neighbourin gjsl and of Ol^ron, where abundant supplies
1629]
obtained.
Richelieu
until
93
garrison,
from
its
possession.
Buckingham's unfortunate expedition had involved the Huguenot party in war with the Government. The people of La Rochelle had at first
hesitated about forming an alliance with the English
But ambitious
opportunity for
deliverance; they decided to join forces with those
who professed to come to their aid, and in this decision they were followed by the entire Protestant
equally staunch in their patriotism.
leaders urged that this
was the
last
party of France.
Richelieu resolved, therefore, to lay siege to the
city
and by
its
all,
Richelieu
94
[1624-
of
Protestantism in France.
La Rochelle was
its
boasted a population
of between thirty and forty thousand, at a time
when few French cities contained fifty thousand
size as well as its strength.
It
people.
city required
16291
95
among them
the town.
When
The
independence asserted by the Rochellois was supported by the great strength of the
All around it stretched vast morasses, travplace.
It was impossible
ersed only by narrow causeways.
for an enemy to approach the city except over narrow roads, where an army could be repelled by a
The town itself was
small body of resolute men.
surrounded by massive fortifications great bastions
at the corners completed the works, and the pious
inhabitants had given them names which indicated
The Bastion of the Gostheir religious confidence.
pel was of special strength, and its defenders could
well hope that the Lord would never suffer it to be
beaten down.
There was little danger from the sea,
for the marine of the city was considerable in numbers, and the French King had no ships of war of
which they need be afraid.
practical
As
Richelieu
96
[1624-
For
great enterprise
this
Richelieu
summoned
expense.
and
friars as emissaries
general-in-chief.
a cardinal,
frock.
No
The commander,
was surrounded by a
soldiers bred to
in
all this
who was
the
staff in
mitre and
associates
his
1629]
La
97
The
Cardinal imposed a
no marauding was
remains
allowed,
in
Rochelle.
The camp,
said the
host of ecclesiastics
who
own
zeal-
many
To
lieu
enemies, and
it,
among them
owed
his elevation,
fast turn-
As
anyone.
wearied of
Paris.
The
its
to return to
Richelieu
gS
[1624-
sought to make life agreeable to him, and to intimate that it would be much more agreeable if he
would rid himself of his imperious minister. If the
siege had resulted in failure it is not likely that
Richelieu would have retained his place, he needed
a record of success to which he could appeal. Louis
glory,
La Rochelle were
Huguenot
criticism
of
Louis's relatives,
favourites,
made to capture it
With the implements of warfare that
by storm.
then
so
existed,
town
so
strongly situated
and
left
them
1629]
99
By
with
was more
in
own
On
preventing
its
completion.
Week
after
week,
in
Richelieu
loo
[1624-
of the city
scanty.
The mayor
ute mariner.
When
resol-
the person
The Duchess
of
Rohan was
in the city, a
woman
of the
She was active in the countown and her voice was against any sur-
end of a
were still
hoping that the Lord would deliver his own.
It was idle to expect that the other French Provictory or an honourable death
year's siege, those
who were
and
left
at the
alive
army
had collected, but Charles L, it was
thought, would not desert those in whose behalf he
had taken up arms. In May, 1628, an English fleet
of one hundred sail appeared in the bay, under the
command of Buckingham's brother-in-law, the Earl
of Denbigh.
The starving citizens thought that relief was now near at hand, but their joy was brief.
Though the French were far inferior in the number
and quality of their ships, they were protected by
batteries on land, and back of them lay the dike,
testants could successfully attack the great
Richelieu
'
1629]
loi
through which a passage must be forced. The English commander surveyed the situation, decided that
it was hopeless, and, almost without firing a gun, he
sailed
As
away home.
the
on
rats
and boiled
skins,
Some
had asked
children
lines,
of the old
to
be
the survivor.
'
now
people of
earnestly
it,
preparing to lead a
an
with that ill-fated undertaking. And so Buckingham himself fell a victim of the unwise war which
he had incited.
Richelieu
I02
Preparations
Buckingham's
were
continued
assassination, and,
[1624-
notwithstanding
late in
Septem-
final
their lives.
some
way
they were not successful. After two days of desultory fighting a storm arose and drove them back,
and they sailed away to England.
Any expectation of relief had now disappeared,
and famine had done its perfect work. The people
of the city had long been reduced to the last extremities of hunger, and subsisted on the vilest food.
When horse- and dog-meat were gone, they sought
nourishment from leather straps, from boots and
sword belts, boiled into nauseous messes with the
scanty greens they could raise within the fortifications.
Only 150 men were in fit condition to do
military service; the population of the town was
diminished by half- fifteen thousand people had
perished from disease and starvation.
The unburied dead lay scattered about the streets of the
camp
lU^ta^^MMiW^*-
*ii
B
(.>
>
v^
%. ^x*^.^
^A-t
-<&'*
1629]
103
Wont
to favour those
who
I04
Richelieu
L1624-
Duke
of
soldier.
When
way into
Italy,
1629]
105
at the
attire
allow
in it liberty of
vigour of Richelieu.
Huguenots submitted
In the
to
summer
their
fate.
of 1629, the
The King
Richelieu
Io6
[1624-
was terminated.
Richelieu him-
tions of no
less
fortifica-
The
exercise
of
their
religion
was secured to
had been for-
it
" The ark beat down the temple of Dagon," said Richelieu, "and God entered in triumph
the places from which His worship had been sacrilegiously banished."
The Cardinal established
numerous Jesuit and Capuchin missions in Protestant towns, and reopened and embellished churches
which had long been closed. His qualities as a
statesman did not prevent his being a strong and,
He has related the
at times, a bitter Catholic.
conversion of a Protestant town with a satisfaction
that we would have expected in Louis XIV., but
which seems strange in Richelieu.
bidden.
"
Catholics.
At once, fifteen or twenty were converted
and abjured their heresy; they were soon followed by a
greater number, until, finally, two hundred and fifty
families were converted in less than three weeks."
"
1629]
107
Any
become
a persecutor.
in their
resistance,
Richelieu
io8
[1624-
glad
the
heretical
subjects.
Within
favour;
Richelieu,
in his service,
and
all
were
left
observance of their
faith.
After the
fall
fortified cities,
of
La Rochelle and
they were no
allies in
some
chose generals or endeavoured to treat as an independent power with the general Government; in
modern phrase, they were out of politics, and they
for
it.
Almost
fifty
years of
1629]
109
for
them and
for the
XIV. by
The
by the revocresponsibility
La
in
no
Rochelle, or to
Protestant military
power
under Richelieu.
lO
Richelieu
[1624-1629]
XIV.
The
fact
CHAPTER V
RICHELIEU AND HIS ENEMIES
1626-1637
RICHELIEU'S
length
officials
academies
most Ciceronian Latin as
they sounded the Cardinal's praise.
He modestly
attributed his success to the blessing of God and the
wisdom and valour of the King, whose intentions
he had assisted in carrying into effect. But he was
now, in the eyes of all the world, the foremost man
success left him free to carry out his dein France
signs, alike in the foreign relations and the internal
it
development of the kingdom
gave him an
universities used their
112
Richelieu
King which
[1626-
his
enemies could
never overcome.
Yet
assured.
yet
it
to a
1637]
"
Richelieu
The King
himself."
Notwithstanding this difficulty, the Cardinal succeeded in pointing out an abundant supply of deficiencies.
Many thought, so the minister informed
Louis, that he paid so little heed to services rendered, that at the end of three days they were
wholly forgotten.
Moreover, the master was wont
to speak ill of his faithful servants, and dwell on
" His Majesty will please be careful
their defects.
to avoid this failing," said the minister.
Then
also he soon wearied of great questions, and dwelt
by preference on trifles, giving the impression that
the government of the State was a matter of indifference to him, and that he willingly left the decision
of important matters to others.
" To avoid this," said the prudent minister, " if his
Majesty desired, he could be so dexterously advised in
secret, that everything done would seem to be by his own
that the
it
to
be true."
he did not
of them, for
forget a
remedy
that
Richelieu
114
[1626-
he advised Louis to have a servant who would restrain the great nobles and act with authority in
matters which the King, from his temperament,
was sure to neglect, and he besought him not to
cherish any foolish jealousy of the accomplishments
of such a representative, for this was to be envious
By such curious exhortations,
of his own shadow.
certainly not lacking in plain speaking, Richelieu
sought to restrain the varying caprices of his master,
or
cise
foreign
policy,
his policy,
Richelieu
1637]
115
master in their own art. If Richelieu was surrounded by plotters and caballers, no man was bet-
purposes.
who
participated in
it.
He was
Only the
ill,
life
man, always
was the
heir presumptive,
ii6
Richelieu
[1626-
beyond the
possibility of overthrow,
disregarding
hated
the
minister
as
sincerely
as
did
Louis's
The
record of
throw would
all
volumes; some of them which illustrate not only the dangers of his career, but also the
nature of the Government, deserve some notice in
an account of his life.
In 1626, when Richelieu had been only two years
in office, the first great combination was formed
fill
1637]
Richelieu
against him.
It
117
to Mile, de Montpensier,
beautiful,
The
surest
way
to defeat the
tremblingly told
promised hereafter to
live in perfect
submission to
Ii8
Richelieu
necessary
for
the peace
of
[1626-
the community
but
all
the world.
who sought
his Italian
much
to
day had
weaken a
its
feeble constitution
almost every
it
was
said,
him doses of medicine by the hundred. Notwithstanding all this, Louis dragged out a sickly
to
At Lyons he was
dangerously ill the physicians bled him seven times
in one week, and then bade him consider his spiritual
existence for forty-two years.
;
welfare.
He
by night."
Richelieu
1637]
and His
Ene->nies
iig
more
by most
ill-
ness with a
was
of the Court.
felt
If
King
the
died,
the
minister's
after his
return to Paris.
party
left
20
Richelieu
[1626-
last
or the other.
meekly, "
of
it
it
should be
me."
Louis had been an embarrassed spectator of
this
ment
prime minister.
Richelieu
637]
121
become famous
to
reported that
fall
But
Richelieu
122
his advice.
At
all
[1626-
am
his
was arrested,
"
man
and condemned
my
shal's brother,
of
who was
ministry designated by
arrested,
prison.
Mary
1637]
Richelieu
little
123
death
brought him deliverance. Arrest without a charge,
and imprisonment without a trial, were not uncommon in French political life; Richelieu in those
respects was no more and no less an offender than
kings and ministers before and after him.
Louis's mother and brother were the Cardinal's
most dangerous enemies, and they could neither be
beheaded nor shut up in prison. But by their own
Bastille for twelve years, until the minister's
him
of their presence.
Mary
de'
Medici went to Compifegne with the King and CardiThey made a hasty return to Paris, and from
nal.
there the King sent his mother a letter, ordering her
" I will obey," she wrote in
to retire to Moulins.
"
and remain at Moulins until God, the proreturn,
tector of the
innocent,
shall
the Cardinal's ruin which always failed of accomplishment. Eichelieu had many enemies, but no one
It is
woman
to
Richelieu
24
of the
Luxembourg,
to suffer an exile's
[1626-
lot.
She
To
her, his
she
felt
ate a hate.
Cold as was Richelieu's nature, he was not insensible to the charge of ingratitude towards the author
In his will, prepared shortly before
of his fortunes.
his death, there was but one political reference, and
in that he wrote, " I must say that I have never
failed in my duty to the Queen-mother, notwithstanding the calumnies that have been heaped upon me."
There is no doubt that he was ungrateful to her,
and that his ingratitude was wise. He was not one
of the politicians who reward friends at the cost of
The Queen was destitute of political inand her career had shown how unfit she
was for power; she expected Richelieu to listen to
her counsels; he treated her with politeness and
declined to heed her advice; she regarded him as
the State.
telligence,
Richelieu
1637]
125
it
is
system
The schemes
Queen-mother
were not apt to ripen into action, and her abuse of
the Cardinal was innocuous, but he wished that no
thought of his enemies should escape him. Her
health became impaired and a physician was sent
her by the King; he probably ministered with
fidelity to her ailments, but he certainly showed
of espionage.
of the
man
priest,
life
who was
to the
also an
months more
to live.
Richelieu
126
The year
after
Mary
de'
[1626-
Medici, despairing of
an ill-advised and ill-fated insurrecshowed that the minister's hand would be laid
heavily even on the most illustrious insurgents.
When his mother retired into voluntary exile, Gaston abandoned the Court and took refuge in Lorraine.
That duchy was independent of France,
in theory, if not in fact, and was ruled by a prince
admirably fitted to command an army and entirely
by
his presence,
tion
He
at
once espoused
of overthrowing Riche-
ter,
Richelieu
1637]
127
in
throw the tyrant who had usurped the royal authorand Gaston styled himself lieutenant-general of
ity
the King for the purpose of repressing the violence
and evil deeds of the Cardinal.
Apart from the influence exercised by Montmorenci, the people of Languedoc had a local grievance.
They enjoyed a large degree of home rule, their
provincial States still met and sought to regulate
the quota which Languedoc should contribute to
the needs of the general government, and the collection of all taxes was in the hands of local officials.
In his desire for uniformity, Richelieu had intrusted
the collection of certain imposts to officials appointed
by the Crown, and this measure excited much dis;
content
among
Richelieu
128
[1626-
Castelnaudary, and any chance of victory for the insurgents was destroyed by Montmorenci's rashness.
of a small body of cavalry, he charged
on the enemy, and was at once struck
At the head
recklessly
prisoner.
When
lated that
retreated
in
confusion.
The
rebellion
ft
Richelieji
1637]
129
Richelieu,
possibilities.
Duke
brave
He was
in the
kingdom.
up that
if
he
it
was
said,
spilled the
had
blood
Montmorenci.
But neither prayers nor threats could move that
30
Richelieu
[1626-
it
see that no
He met
his fate
gentleman and a Christian. Four in the afternoon was the hour fixed, but he asked that the
time of execution might be two hours earlier, that
he might die at the same hour as his Saviour. To
Richelieu he left by his will a portrait of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, as proof that he was still his
like a
faithful servant.
"
been between
which I hope will
soon be in Heaven, moderate your grief and receive this
affliction from the Saviour.
Adieu once more, dear
us.
And
beseech you by
my
soul,
heart."
He
left
line of
Montmorenci
The
saries
than Montmorenci.
He
1637]
Richelieu
politics of
Germany more
If
opponents
his
He
most
bitter
may
be at
once dismissed he was not the man to become involved in any aflair of the heart, nor was he foolish
;
enough
The
to
make
she was a
Louis regarded
woman
of small capacity,
whom
Richelieu
132
[1626-
gave
rise
He
was
convinced, moreover, that in contemplating the possibility of his death she had decided to console herself
When
his
his
affections,
disclose the
character of the
man.
The
varied
loves
of his
ANNE OF AUSTRIA.
Richelieu
1637]
133
The amours
He
women, but
by
a passion
the
first
Richelieu
134
[1626
marked
by a modesty which excited the amusement rather
Though
flattered
in
Even
the minister.
was
rarely successful in
women.
offices of
young
girl
who
many
great nobles,
who had
had driven
Richelieu
1637]
135
there
in
is
more
which
peril in
women
may form."
Mile, de Hautefort
ties to
Richelieu
136
[1626-
choose a
new one
Mile, de
La Fay-
than her rival, was attractive in appearance and had a melancholy charm of
manner which might prove more pleasing to Louis
ette,
though
less beautiful
MLLE. DE LAFAYETTE.
FROM MONMERQUE'S " TALLEMANT DES raux.
'
Richelietc
1637]
137
also
to
The
only be found in a retreat from the world.
King feared that their affection might involve them
in
deadly
sin,
even the
priest,
this step.
who sometimes
young
All
received the
was
confessions of the
girl's heart,
lieu's service
"
my affliction
at hear-
ing from the mouths of persons of quality the false reports that
calumny spreads
of
you
Richelieu
138
[1626-
religion,
will
offer
if
no obstacle."
leave
for
the army
had begun
voice of
gaged
in carrying
Richelieu
1637]
a Jesuit
The
whom
who would
139
prejudicial to the
The
his
in evil courses,
more
relics
sacred
vessels
were
used
for
profane
purposes
was
divine.
The
lations with
the
King became
intimate,
and he
and
saints' days.
had a
When
Richelieu
little
book
pre-
on great feasts
came
into the
Richelieu
140
[1626-
and
The
arguments.
his lot
and bemoaning
his disgrace.
Richelieu
1637]
filled
who
141
spiritual
welfare and
temporal policy.
did
not
interfere
with
his
CHAPTER
VI
THE
624- I 642
accomplishment of
which he desired to hold
was not a man to be content with the
the objects
power.
He
mere possession
for
it
brought, or
was surrounded he
wished to be prime minister that he might execute
the internal reforms which he believed would make
France prosperous, and carry out the foreign policy
which he believed would render her great.
In every branch of the administration his will controlled, and his activity extended from appointing
a petty official to deciding on peace or war, from
scolding about the provisions furnished a regiment
It was a misto directing the plans of a campaign.
take that he attempted so much, for no man could
supervise all the details of a great government.
the paraphernalia by which
The
it
142
[1624-1642]
field
Administration of Richelieu
little
143
cer-
Tractable as the assembly proved, the Cardinal never troubled himself again to summon either
He ruled France, asking
nobles or commonalty.
King.
Richelieu
144
[1624-
In
all
many measures
of utility
of which, unfortunately,
were
destruction of
all
were required
for
many
ment
already in operation.
was the fundamental trouble with French taxmost of it fell upon those who were
least able to bear it. Land owned by the nobility and
by the Church was practically exempt, though from
land the Government derived the largest part of its
revenues.
The enormous duty on salt was a severe
imposition on the poor and there were many other
forms of taxation which added to their burden.
The cost of government is often the chief obstacle to
It
1642]
this
145
was true
in
when
it
fell
in
large
Bad
it.
secured unconscionable bargains from the Government and increased their profits by unconscionable
Richelieu
146
[1624-
most corrupt
modern
of
states,
do
it
is
at
the
cost
farming taxes
in
tion.
When
Corruption
finances.
is
there
is
made
Government's
sure to be prevalent
when
where stealing is
always be thieves and in the
it
When
known
the
I was an officer of finance," said a wellcharacter a century later, " I stole like all
'
rest.
'
by a person
The
ofifice
1642]
147
does not
many
of
them
and dress
are allied
to
like a prince,
and
in the kingdom.
Is it not horrible to see
Jacquet marrying the niece of the Duke of Mayenne,
and the daughter of Feydeau marrying the Count of
Lude? " and so on through a long list of misalliances.
Richelieu now instituted proceedings against the
body of tax farmers to compel a restitution of their
houses
excessive profits.
its
in
of corrupt conduct
ter of finance.
By an
was made to
edict to
fall
Richelieu
148
[1624-
it
penalties
ute
in
seeking to enforce
disapproval.
it
in.
a measure of reform.
It
many
first
for-
gotten.
the Cardinal
made
in the in-
another chapter.
We
his
The
1642]
Adi>ii)iistration
of Richelieit
149
it produced in France
Europe.
After the overthrow of the Huguenot party, there
was no fear of any serious internal disturbance, and
the Cardinal was free to deal with foreign powers.
and
in
He had
results.
no dreams
In
of con-
by Spain,
ill-will
50
Richelieu
[1624-
the development of
Richelieu's
new
is
political conceptions.
for a confederation of
papacy desired no
political experiments,
and the
upon the Pope
as a political leader.
The combination was not
feasible; the Cardinal soon recognised what was
possible in politics, and did not press his scheme.
The success of his career was largely due to the
Italian princes looked with distrust
were as
and he was never
led astray by the vague dreams that allured Napoleon.
He accomplished much because he set
strict limits to what he undertook.
In the course of these Italian campaigns, the
Cardinal first met Mazarin, and in 1630 he saw somewhat of the man who was to be his successor.
Mazarin was then a young Italian of twenty-eight,
in the service of the Pope; he was popular from his
winning manners, and had already gained a certain
prominence in Italian politics. He seems to have
been charmed by Richelieu's imposing personality,
but the Cardinal distrusted the smooth-tongued
Italian, and did not at once admit him to his
favour. " What he says cannot be received for gos;
his ambitions
Mary
de' Medici.
In
honour of being
1642]
151
to
more
attractive than
young diplomat
He
laboured diligently to
Richelieu's
confidence,
" I cannot
"
my
"
Richelieu
152
[1624-
was no French-born subject who could have continued Richelieu's foreign policy with the success
Despite the weaknesses of his characof Mazarin.
ter, the Italian was a diplomat of extraordinary
view.
The
next to French
German
soil; it
and Richelieu followed the established lines of French policy in his endeavours to
bring this territory under French control.
The
acquisition of Lorraine by France occupied almost
two centuries, and the slow process of absorption
was in curious contrast to the rapidity with which
it was wrested from France by Prussia.
In the long and varied history of the province, its
relations had in turn been intimate with the Empire
and with the French kingdom, but for a century
before the days of Richelieu, although Lorraine
invasion,
1642]
153
remained nominally a part of the Holy Roman Emit was more closely bound to France than to any
During the religious wars of
of the German states.
pire,
who
at all times
province;
and Jametz, a
result
little
The duke
princes not
Richelieu
154
[1624-
time Charles could only make terms by the surrender of Nancy, the capital of his province, and
By the agreethe most strongly fortified city in it.
this
all
city
was
to remain in
difficulties
King should be adjusted. Richelieu remarked that this might take until eternity, and he
was certainly willing that it should.
The difficulties were indeed interminable. The
duke constantly offended his powerful neighbour
and involved his province in hostilities with both
France and Sweden.
The Cardinal was an imperious protector and the duke was very loath to
be protected. The turmoil in which Lorraine was
involved by the unwise policy of its ruler rendered
the French
ravaged by Swedes and by French crops were destroyed and towns burned famine alternated with
pestilence, until more than half the population had
perished or fled from the country.
Richelieu wrote
that a century would be required to repopulate the
;
As
a result
of
all
these bickerings,
in
1641
the
Tlie
1642]
Administration of Richelieu
155
It
was
but
still
its
it so long, but in
former rulers, and Lorraine, although controlled by French influence, did
not become a part of that kingdom until a century
it
was restored to
its
later.
statesman.
He
entered the
field of
German
politics
156
Richelieu
[1624-1642]
War
administration.
CHAPTER
VII
War began
Thirty
THEassumed
power, and raged
Years'
before Richelieu
part.
in a
condition
dinand
II.,
Jesuits,
'57
Richelieu
158
[I6l8f
with his
ten years, Ferdinand's career was one of almost unbroken success. Frederick, the Elector Palatine,
I.
of England,
was
much
greater things.
Protestant rulers in
Germany
held vast possessions, that had once been the property of the Church, and their
title,
as Ferdinand
It
believed, was based on a denial of God's rights.
was true that this condition of things had long
existed, that the titles of these rulers had been
recognised by numerous treaties, and formed an
acknowledged part of the political system of Germany. Such arguments were deemed of no weight
by the Jesuit advisers to whom Ferdinand listened.
" No agreement of man," they said, " could avail
against the rights of God, no statute of limitations
ran against the Almighty."
Accordingly, in 1629, Ferdinand issued the famous
0648]
War
159
its
all
Treaty
lawful owners.
it
would
and
all
was
enlisted in the
Emperor's serv-
it.
With
Richelieu
i6o
Empire
[1618-
of
Richelieu had no wish to see a united, Germany, even if it were united under the leadership of
head.
a
good Catholic
in religious zeal;
the
House
of Austria
of Spain
if
were
allied in
blood
were to be checked,
it
was
zenith
Reformed faith.
But the animosity of the minor Catholic powers
had already compelled Ferdinand to dismiss from
his service his ablest general.
It was not strange
that Wallenstein was hated by all save his own
soldiers; he was a cold and ruthless man, and his
great horde of mercenaries plundered friend and foe
alike, demanding contributions from the faithful,
levying toll upon the heretic, and enforcing all demands by prompt and impartial pillage. Deaf to
complaints and indifferent to animosities, Wallenstein had proceeded on his victorious career, exerprinces of the
who
profited
1648]
War
i6i
tion,
Romans,
as
King
of the
Wallenstein's overthrow.
Father Joseph attended the
council where this was decided upon, and it was
said his insidious advice had much to do with Wallenstein's
at last obtained
dismissal.
his consent to
"
him."
said; "
He withdrew
to
The
loss of their
commander was
when for the
a serious one to
nor rich;
was
it
German
far
politics.
1648]
War
163
appeared as a forlorn and needy adventurer. Richelieu wished to check the imperial power, but he
wished also to obtain what advantages he could for
those of his faith, and he asked Gustavus to agree
that the exercise of the Catholic religion should
again be allowed in places where it had been forbidden.
But the Swedish King was unwilling to .alienate the Protestant princes whose aid he desired he
promised that Catholics should not be disturbed in
the exercise of their faith where it was already
allowed, and with this Richelieu was forced to be
;
content.
the imperial
Tilly suffered
army
lost
a crushing defeat,
nineteen thousand men, and
made him
art of utilising
many
made
river,
tl618-
Richelieu
64
he turned to the
His
dis-
After his
missal, Wallenstein
solitary grandeur
in his castle in
little
intercourse
was suggested that Ferdinand's son might be ascommand. " I will have no associate," was Wallenstein 's reply, " not if God
It
sociated in the
army rallied at the call of the victorious genbut whether he was unwilling to risk defeat, or
uncertain in which way he could best advance his
own fortunes, he was slow in putting his forces to
great
eral,
COUNT VON
TILLY.
1648]
War
165
tilled,
and as pillagers there was now little difference between the armies of the Emperor and the armies of
Sweden. A host of mercenaries had been added
to the little force of God-fearing men with whom
Gustavus landed in Germany, and never has the
science of devastation been practised more thoroughly than by the armies which laid waste German
soil during the Thirty Years' War.
The Duke of Bavaria cried loudly for aid, but
Wallenstein hated the duke, and would not hasten
The Emperor was powerless to
to his assistance.
give orders, and Wallenstein viewed the devastation
of Bavaria with calmness and content.
At last he
consented to join his forces with the Bavarian army,
and the allies laid siege to Nuremberg. Gustavus
led his troops to the relief of the town, and the
armies camped opposite one another before that
For more than two months they
ancient city.
watched each other, until forty thousand men
had perished from disease, and the surrounding
country was laid so bare that sufficient food for
the troops could no longer be found.
Then Gustavus broke camp and marched away, and Wallenstein followed.
On November
16, 1632,
fourteen
66
almost
Richelieu
in sight of
[16I8-
Within
If
Gus-
mortally
In
little
wounded and
Gustavus exposed
courage; he was
dead on the battle-field.
victory.
usual
reckless
fell
made
most man in Europe; he had established his reputation as one of the world's great captains, he had
become the hero of Protestantism, he had gained a
fame which is fresh after more than two centuries,
and will endure for centuries yet to come.
It is doubtful if Richelieu heard of Gustaviis's
death with regret; the genie which the Cardinal
had evoked proved so potent that he was filled with
apprehension.
He wished to check Ferdinand's
power, but when the morning mists broke before
the battle of Liitzen, Gustavus was more powerful
than Ferdinand had ever been.
If the King had
it is certain that the alliance between France
and Sweden would sooner or later have come to an
end.
Gustavus was not the man to shape his
lived,
16,
1632.
1648]
War
167
for there
As a result
Germany had ranged
and Sweden was the head
under
his leadership,
this
which France
dissolution,
still
stierna,
who
held a position in
Sweden
allies
as
command-
For a while
was soon
The mystery
months
been
of
of Wallenstein's life
fully
solved
his
policy
was controlled by
by loyalty
or
by treason.
68
On
Richelieu
[1613-
betray his master would be the best means of advancing his fortunes and punishing his enemies.
It was believed that the great condottiere could
army
to
In
1648]
War
169
^^
were attained only by years of exhaustive strife, and during Richelieu's administration
the contest was carried on with dogged pertinacity,
but with only moderate success. The Cardinal was
sagacious in choosing the wisest policy for France,
but he had not the ability to bring a war to a speedy
and successful termination. If he retained enough
of his early studies to have some taste for the details
of warfare, he manifested no talent for its conduct.
A valetudinarian priest could not be blamed if he
was unskilful in planning campaigns, and directing
the movements of armies, but Richelieu had not a
keen eye to detect military genius in others.
In war as in peace, he was fond of employing the
clergy, and he sometimes considered martial skill in
These
results
his ecclesiastical
promotions.
In recommending a
of
La
Some
of
them were
bishops,
armour over
their dalmaticas.
70
Richelieu
[1618-
of his generals who showed anywas Bernard, Duke of Weimar, a highborn freebooter, who had been trained under Gustavus, and who served for pay, plunder, and glory.
He was employed in the French service, and, if his
wages were high, he earned them by his victories,
but in 1639, when he was only thirty-six, his career
was checked by death.
Not only were the leaders, for the most part, of
mediocre capacity, but the armies they led were ill
equipped and ill disciplined, and it is not strange
that at the close of a campaign the war was generally
no nearer an end than at the beginning. There are
as marked differences between the seventeenth and
nineteenth centuries in the methods of warfare, as
in the methods of travel.
An army of to-day differs
from one under Louis XIII. as much as a modern
railroad differs from a muddy highway. The enormous armies of our age were unknown, not only because the population was smaller, but because to
equip and feed such numbers of men would have
been impossible. A sight of the soldiers of those
days would appall a rigid disciplinarian of our time.
Uniforms, which produce at least a semblance of
order and discipline, were usually lacking.
The
captain of a company was generally allowed a fixed
sum by the Government to feed and clothe his command, and the men were often ill fed and clad in
rags, while the officer drew allowances not only for
those in service but for soldiers who never answered
special talent
to roll-call.
The
letters of the
time are
full of
complaints as
1
;
1648]
War
it
was
adversaries.
clothes
army
infrequent.
composed of mercenaries
modern times was unknown,
largely
in military training.
In the French
Germans, Scotch,
almost every European nationality.
than
Weimar had
great
Poles, Swiss,
when he
achievement that
men
in
was regarded as a
Louis XIII. outbid all
died,
it
Richelieu
172
[1618-
When
the
Duke
of
out of a job.
Another reason why years passed without important military change was that often the campaigns
did not extend over
long campaign
is
only possible
1648]
War
early
in
73
the
summer.
The Emperor
to ac-
The number
of
men put
in
the
field
by the
costing in
all
of war;
if
it
74
Richelieu
[1618-
field of battle,
In 1636, an invasion of France by Spain threatened to bring the war to a disastrous end. The
northern frontier was insufficiently protected, and
in July the Spanish army pushed boldly into Picardy.
They advanced rapidly, meeting with little opposition, and laying waste the country as they passed;
in a few days they were less than one hundred miles
from Paris; the capture of the city seemed probable
and was certainly possible. No foreign army had
entered Paris since the English wars, and there had
been no time when it even seemed in danger since
the victory of Egmont at St. Quentin if the capital
had been sacked as a result of the wars in which
Richelieu had involved France, the career of the
Cardinal would have ended in shame and humiliation.
As the danger became imminent, the com;
1648]
War
75
in
he showed
By his example,
he inspired the King who disliked him, and the
public which hated him.
There was nothing in his
conduct on this occasion, writes an unfriendly witness, that was not brave and grand.
Disregarding the danger from muttering groups of
discontented men, he drove through the streets of
Paris, attended only by a few servants, exhorting all
to rally to the country's defence.
His courage
turned the tide; instead of an object of hatred, the
Cardinal, for the time at least, was the centre about
whom all gathered in the hour of national peril.
Paris witnessed one of the great patriotic uprisings
which have been frequent in her history. Rich and
poor were stirred by the cry that the country was
temporaries and attracts posterity.
mount
a cavalryman
76
Richelie7i
[1618-
it
might have been possible to capture Paris by a sudden advance; they were allowed to pass, and the
Louis took the field at
opportunity did not return.
the head of an army of over forty thousand men,
and the invaders were content to retreat unmolested
and carry away their plunder in safety.
The invasion of 1636 marked the most disastrous
period of the war.
Although the French and their
allies made slow progress, on the whole they fared
In 1637, Ferdinand
better than their adversaries.
II. died, closing a career which had caused untold
misery to the world, had laid waste a great part of
Germany, and checked the material and intellectual
growth of the country for a century. Though his
hopes had not been fully realised, and the Edict of
Restitution proved incapable of execution, the complete ascendancy of Catholicism in the hereditary
dominions of the House of Austria was assured. It
had been the project dearest to the Emperor's heart,
he had hesitated at no means to secure that end,
and he had not failed in his purpose. So his life
was crowned with the success which he most desired.
He was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand III., his
superior in humanity and his inferior in strength of
will.
Except
won
for
either
War
1648]
side.
With
177
inefficient
terms.
When
Richelieu
178
power
[I6I8-
wide posses-
sions.
still
enjoyed
many
privileges, which,
if
they
had been respected, would have preserved its character as a free, and almost an independent State.
But the Spanish were loath to respect the privileges of any possessions which came under their rule
during the reign of Philip IV., soldiers were quartered in Catalonia, the people were treated with
brutality, their rights disregarded, and their property plundered.
Olivarez wrote the viceroy with
the misdirected energy of despotism
"
backs
It is
all
in
In 1640, Catalonia and Roussillon declared themselves independent of the Spanish Crown, and, in
the following year, they were united to France by a
treaty which guaranteed their privileges and rights.
of misrule
and welcomed
1648]
War
79
In the extremity of
good judgment,
and the Pope did not see fit to designate half a
dozen bishops, who should consider the errors of
his wrath, the Cardinal lost his usual
Richelieu was
fleet.
'
management
of
cathedral.
sailors
The
fared
than by a
flock
better
priest.
may have
when commanded by
a sailor
i8o
Richelieu
[1618-
by
shelter at Port
Mahon, and
Arras, the rats will eat the cats," so ran the popular
apothegm.
But
after
forced to surrender;
French
it
possession.,
1648]
War
i8i
territorial
compensation, while
if
the people
re-
Namur, Luxembourg,
Hainault, Artois,
part
of
Ostend.
bour.
They
felt
safer
His
letters
contain
frequent
memoranda on the
methods by which
it could be
brought to a successful accomplishment.
It had to
encounter, however, not only the passive opposition
82
Richelieu
t1618-
it
1648]
in
183
War
the
way
of fighting.
in the
At the congress
at Miinster
much
itself.
As
early as
until
it
Richelieu entertained
little
she sought.
By
Richelieu
84
[1618-1648]
CHAPTER
VIII
ONLY
him
63 8- I 642
and pro-
We
now be
the
affair of
the quar-
There are
ment
185
Richelieu
86
[1638-
in
command.
He
and
for
lected
1642]
After
La
ers of
187
some abortive
war.
His policy
from the beginning was to insure order at home,
that France might exert a great influence abroad,
yet all his efforts did not secure complete tranquillity.
safely undertake a great foreign
The
revolts organised
by unsuccessful
intriguers,
of
Like many other great statesmen, Richelieu was a poor financier. The financial
system of the country was bad, and he did little to
improve it. A long war was not an opportune
season for financial reforms, and the evils of vicious
taxation were aggravated by the increasing needs of
the Government.
Richelieu was not a corrupt minister, but he was
a less vigorous ruler.
prodigal.
had
Henry
IV., with
in his character a
all
good deal
Under him
taxa-
was
money
light,
is
nothing
if
we accomplish our
end.
Richelieu
[1638-
The burden of
volts.
They were
taxation excited
many
petty
re-
a few officials
were hanged by the mob, and many malcontents
were hanged by the authorities. Howeiver unwise
and ineffectual, these risings proved that poverty
and suffering among the people were only too common under Richelieu. We read of insurrections of
peasants in Limousin and Poitou, in Gascony and
Guyenne, always excited by over-taxation, always
begun in the vain attempt to resist the imposition of
new taxes or to shake off the burden of old taxes.
" I fear," said an orator of the States- General in
1614, " that these excessive burdens and the oppression from which the people suffer will drive them
usually small
affairs,
The
1642]
rising
189
assume proportions of
importance.
remnants of
local
In Normandy, the local States once possessed considerable power; under Richelieu their
meetings became infrequent and their authority was
them.
diminished.
this institution,
and the
strongly attached to
efforts to destroy
it
increased
King a
After
met
in
sinister picture of
people
mandy
lot,
but a discontented
is
many
part due, as
was
in
French history,
this, to
for the
most
Richelieu
go
[1638-
title
of the
Army
of Suffering.
demanded the
repeal of
lot
all
As is
when
in this
little zeal in
repressing dis-
Rouen and
The
excesses.
other towns
authorities
indulged in similar
ordered the bourgeois to assist in quelling disturbances. " We have no arms " was the general reply;
" we have sold our weapons in order to raise money
1642]
191
money with which to meet the ever-increasing demands of the treasury. " You had better think
what you are doing," he wrote, " and consider the
consequences of the resolutions you adopt in your
council of finance."
If
All were
hand.
regular
to the province,
Normandy.
This ineffectual rebellion was soon followed by
another, which proved no
more
successful.
The
Their pronunciamento
contained the
for sup-
in
own
Richelieu
192
[1638-
men under
from such
the
ills
to rise.
if
they
who
the last; the royal army was defeated, chiefly because the Cardinal saw fit to confide it to an incom-
We
when he
He
1642]
It
193
killed,
attempt.
both occasions
it
who was
Orleans,
On
him
in the
lanimity.
diverted to
Mile,
When
de La
Queen.
Mile, de
La Fayette
presently re-
Convent of the
meet his former
Richelieu
194
the
[1638-
for her, as
had
lost
suborned a young lady of good family, young, beautiful, witty, and spirituelle, who disclosed to him the
inmost feelings and the secret councils of the Queen,
her mistress, and of the ladies of the Court, her
friends.
The Cardinal had no compunction in using
such confidences; they assured him of Mile, de
Hautefort's hostility, and he resolved to destroy
her influence over Louis by the only sure means,
banishment from his sight. The task was not an
easy one, but the Cardinal demanded the removal
of the offending favourite, and at last he obtained
an order from Louis that she should leave the Court
for fifteen days.
Mile, de Hautefort was outraged
by this affront and retired to the country, nor did
she return to the scene of these ignoble cabals until
Cardinal and King were no more.
It was necessary to supply the place she left
vacant, for Louis required some one as a confidant
1642]
and companion.
Richelieu
Weary
selected
195
women,
young man
of the wiles of
and procured for the son the opportunity of advancement. Cinq-Mars was, moreover, a youth of
much vanity and little ability, and could not be regarded as a possible rival to the all-powerful Cardinal, the foremost man of Europe, who had grown
grey
in
He
ment.
found serious
The
trials in his
is
not a bad
master's tempera-
Richelieu
196
[1638-
his
medicine.
The
certificate
The
certificate is in these
shall take
some
words
made
yesterday."
" We, the undersigned, certify to whom it may conwe are well contented and satisfied with each
other and have never been in such perfect intelligence as
cern, that
CINQ-MARS.
FROM
ft
PAINTING BY LENAIN.
1642]
197
now.
Dated
at St.
with him.
If
M.
le
Grand may
correct himself of
all
that
may
slight
to the
M.
le
displease the
King."
"
am vexed
King
In Janu-
writes Richelieu:
M.
le
Grand.
to
I said to
'
...
there.
up
He
told
his wealth
me
and
as willing to be plain
Cinq-Mars
as
M.
Richelieu
198
le
could not do
it.
finally told
[1638-
him
that I
He
would
there
is
Such
nothing in
fits
it
which
of petulance
it
is
would be
answered
to you,
not correct."
ambition.
in Paris,
these
hopes.
willing
to listen to
The
was ungrateful
1642]
The
Close
of Richelieu's Career
The
199
Cardinal
last
named
Richelieu
200
[1638-
decided that it might be necessary to kill the Cardibut they reached no definite conclusion as to
how and when the deed should be done. It seemed
desirable to have some city where the conspirators
nal,
army
so infirm that
when he walked
his
in his
deal of nonsense.
He had enough
sagacity to
know
but when he found that the powerful Duke of Bouillon and Cinq-Mars, the King's favourite, were ready
to enter into a secret treaty against their country, he
saw the
possibility of
advantage
for
Spain.
Ac-
1642]
201
hundred thousand crowns in cash, and twelve thousand crowns a month as pension.
No peace was to
be made except by the consent of all, and any places
they might capture in France were only to be surrendered when she yielded all that she had taken
from Spain during the war. The men who proup arms against the misrule of the
Cardinal promptly agreed that France should surrender all the conquests which he had won for her.
Fontrailles returned from Madrid with his dangerous
secret, and the treaty was delivered to Gaston.
In the meantime the intrigues of the Court continued their course.
In January, 1642, the King
started for the South, accompanied both by the
minister and the favourite, to take part in the
campaign in Catalonia. The Cardinal's health so
entirely failed him that he was obliged at last to
abandon the expedition.
Attacked by fever in
March, suffering from abscesses so that he was
unable to sign his name, he was left at Narbonne,
while the King, on April 22nd, departed for the
siege of Perpignan.
For over two months the
fessed to take
to
be precarious.
filled
much
Richelieu
202
disease,
still
[1638-
scene.
would
suffer
man whom he
still
believed to
Negotiations look-
knowledge.
The
to be the
to
him
"
first
They
1642]
Career
203
might expect from the King. But his star was again
in the ascendancy, and shrewd courtiers now foretold the overthrow of the presumptuous and indisLouis was weary of the campaign
creet favourite.
in Catalonia, and annoyed by Cinq-Mars's incapacThe King's favourites found him most critical
ity.
when they sought to take part in military affairs.
Louis was displeased with Cinq-Mars's ignorance as
a soldier, as he had been with that of Luines, and
he began to weary of his follower.
Late in May, the French sustained a severe defeat at Honnecourt, and it seemed for a moment as
if the disasters of the Corbie carnpaign might be
But the King declared that his confidence
" Whatever false
in the Cardinal was unshaken.
reports they spread," he wrote Richelieu, " I love
you more than ever. We have been too long together ever to be separated."
At this critical moment the great discovery was
made which was to overthrow the last cabal against
the minister.
A copy of the treaty made with
Spain in March came into the Cardinal's possesHow this treaty was disclosed still remains a
sion.
secret.
It has been suggested that the Queen or
some of Gaston's attendants may have betrayed the
plot Orleans was surrounded with men like unto
himself his chief adviser was' the Abb6 de la Riviere,
who was capable of any treachery. But Richeheu
had everywhere an admirable force of spies, and it
is not improbable that he obtained a copy of the
document through a secret emissary in Spain.
renewed.
The wonder
is
not so
much how
Richelieu
204
tl638-
so long.
discovered, as that it remained a secret
reckless,
and
indisnumerous,
were
The conspirators
on
his
dismayed
return
been
had
Fontrailles
creet.
to find the existence of the treaty known not only
to the
to
many
others.
Cinq-Mars's secrets
He
safety after
Richelieu's death,
but Cinq-Mars
it
1642]
205
Richelieu
2o6
[1638-
Duke
against a
life
God may
On June
28th, the
King
pray
"
1642]
talk with us
more
207
We
dis-
The
dearer than
interest of
life,
our
state,
who
served us best.
At Lyons, the
trial of
the con-
It
The law
Jesuitical
reasonings,
whom
facts
prove that
The
all
difficulty
had
2o8
R^chel2e^l
[1638-
Richelieu was a
as his
...
1642]
209
Executions
to the scaffold.
were regarded as a pleasing spectacle by persons of
all ranks, and in this case the prominence of the
parties and the nature of their offence lent a special
poignancy to the tragedy. The prisoners were surrounded by so dense a crowd that it was with difficulty the carriage could
make
its
way
to the principal
by
by a
suffering brief
little
shame,"
said
then prepared for death with equal grace and devoDe Thou followed him with the same firmness, although an observer says
for the public was
tion.
critical
in
end with a
of such
more
men were
of cavalier grace.
often
The
lives
Richelieu
2IO
fortitude
of
[1638-
to
meet
death with marvellous tranquillity. Similar spectacles were often seen during the Revolution.
Gentlemen, whose lives had been neither useful nor
edifying, faced ruin with calmness and met death
with a bow, a smile, and a prayer.
The Duke of Bouillon escaped the punishment
of his associates because he was able to pay a great
ransom. The strong city of Sedan still constituted
an independent sovereignty, and Richelieu had long
desired that it should become a portion of France,
instead of remaining a refuge for the unruly.
Its
possession gave importance to Bouillon's family,
and they were loath to surrender the city, but the
Cardinal stated the alternative with plainness. They
must do without Sedan, he said, or the Duke of
Bouillon
must do without
it was
Cardinal threatened
his
head.
certain
What
the
he would exe-
yielded.
DUKE OF BOUILLON.
FROM A PORTRAIT BY BALTAZAR MONCORNET.
The
1642]
Close
of Richelieu s Career
how many
211
were wasted in
plots and purposeless insurrections; he saved the
blood of the innocent by shedding freely the blood
lives
of the guilty.
The
careers of
in failure
them
at the
hours;
the loss
closing years.
of
It
now
He went up
the
Rhone
in
on
a barge, proceeding so
was seven-
in a
boat fastened
Roman
Richelieit
into the
[1638-
slept.
Thus he
down
He
was no sooner
in his
him
joy.
When the minister was somewhat rested he proceeded on his journey; two days' sailing down the
Seine brought him to Paris, and on October 17th he
Chains
was carried into the great Palais Cardinal.
placed
in
the
streets
to
keep
back
the
vast
were
crowds that gathered to see the great minister as he
returned slowly home in his stately litter, triumphant
over
all
The
his enemies.
One
seemed
to in-
From seven
to nine
to eight
he meditates,
at
till
others,
1642]
of
an invalid,
afflicted
and
213
by a com-
sinking to his
fast
grave.
Neither
absorbed
suffering
his
all
nor
the
cares of
State
same time we
with a scheme for pur-
curious,
He was
eager
all
the world
is
no one
of assured tranquillity.
always
felt
who do
France
.
The
is
in a condition
ancient emperors
will
Richelieu
214
[1638-
amount
of liberty.
the
official
who
He promised to dismiss
enemies of the Cardinal, to keep from him no
secret, and never to disclose the counsels which the
minister gave him.
The offenders were at once
dismissed.
It was the last victory in Court intrigues
which the Cardinal enjoyed.
Success attended Richelieu during his last few
months in more important fields than the anteof his imperious servant.
all
chamber
The
had kept
were assured before he quitted the scene. In Germany the allied armies were more successful than
1642]
215
In
they had been since Gustavus was their leader.
defeated
at
were
the
Austrians
January, 1642,
Kempen. They lost eight thousand men, and over
on the
field
of Breitenfeld,
The
allies
took possession of all Silesia and the most of Moravia and Saxony.
Elsewhere the efforts of Richelieu were crowned
The capture of Perpignan
with equal success.
secured Roussillon for France.
In Italy the princes
of Savoy abandoned their Spanish allies; Savoy
united her interests with those of France, and the
most of the duchy of Milan was soon taken from
Spain.
In the Low Countries the Spanish met with
similar ill-fortune.
Almost for the first time during
the long war the French and their allies were victorious in every quarter.
it
among the
Mary
life
in
exile.
If the hour of Richelieu's triumph was splendid,
was also brief. Shortly after his arrival at Paris
he went to his favourite country house in Rueil.
..it
On November
nal,
where
his infirmities
attack of fever.
The
Richelieu
desperate.
The death
[1638-
struggles of the
man who
had so long controlled the destinies of France absorbed the attention of the Court and the city; all
waited in suspense for the end. On December 2nd,
in all the churches of Paris prayers were offered for
Probably
the restoration of the Cardinal to health.
few of those who uttered them desired their fulfil-
ment at all events they were not answered. On December 2nd, the King visited the minister whom he
had supported so faithfully and loved so little. The
Cardinal said he must bid adieu to his master, but
he had the satisfaction of feeling that he had served
the King faithfully and was leaving him at the summit of his power, with all his enemies vanquished
he asked Louis in memory of his services to care for
the interests of his family, and he recommended as
useful servants Chavigni, De Noyers, and especially
;
whom
Cardinal Mazarin,
sor.
Though
the King's
?642]
Career
217
'
'
'
'
out
fear.
He
was
near,
room, and
He
in a
of seeing
Richelieu
2i8
year of his
life, in
[1638-
1642]
219
name
mankind.
When
ill
at
Narbonne,
in peril of
death and
in
now became
operative.
executed his
It
was
in
will,
many
which
respects
of feudal law.
according to the
strict rules
Duchy of Fronsac
and other lands to his nephew, Armand de Maille,
and still greater possessions, with the Duchy of
Richelieu, to his grand-nephew, on condition that
he should bear the name of Plessis de Richelieu.
All was strictly entailed, and by a provision which
sixty thousand livres a year; the
Richelieu
2 20
seems curious
that
tic,
if
in
[1638-
it
was provided
True
to his aristocratic
left for
collections, either of
books or works of
made no
art,
which
taste
ian ancestry.
No
of this era
1642]
221
in
222
Richelieu
[1638-
known
honest.
to statesmen
At
who were
regarded as reasonably
he declined to receive some of the enormous perquisites of his ofifice as superintendent of marine;
doubtless he could say that, great as was his wealth,
he could with ease have doubled it.
The salaries paid the holders of important positions were then very large.
In addition to these,
emoluments which would now be regarded as unseemly or corrupt were pocketed without scruple
and without animadversion. Of more importance
than the salaries and probably of more importance
than the perquisites, a man holding Richelieu's
power was
Crown.
No
all
A century
later,
when
hesita-
;;
1642]
223
Louvois
position
among
Though
placed
a bankrupt, but
oiifice
and no
The
in
difference
public expense,
is
worthy
of
by public men
attention, and
past,
at the
is
en-
is
the early
Roman
republic, or the
American colonies
draw
for
gaining
made wealth an
Pecuniary disinterestedness
among
two
office
Richelieu
224
[1638-1642]
poor and
a
like
disinterestedness
time
in
life.
may permeate
If
the
if
now
restrains
is
equally strong,
CHAPTER
IX
INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION
I
624- I 642
IT both
tion.
their result
was not
all
development, even
that he hoped.
France had already begun a career of colonial development which, if it had been pursued with intelligence, might have made her one of the great colonial
powers of the world. Richelieu was fully aware of
the importance of this field for enterprise, and if his
energies had not been absorbed by the Thirty Years'
15
225
2 26
Richelieu
[1624-
Internal Administration
1642]
227
sult
many
the foreign
commerce
of France.
He
chartered
if
all
of
New
The
Company
of
New
name
of Canada, extending
and many
On them
were imposed
28
Richelieu
[1624-
Canadian soil. These obligations were not disregarded the history of Canada shows that the supply
of priests was always sufificient and often excessive;
whatever else a French colony needed, it rarely
;
Another engagement was more imperfectly fulThe new company was required within
filled.
fifteen
years to
Canada,
all
Internal Administration
1642]
this the
229
To
the system of
his efforts to
he followed the unbroken traditions of French administration, and if his political conceptions were
marked by novelty, he never manifested any originality
in
questions of
commerce
or finance.
But,
them
to labour in their
Although
this
Richelieu
230
[1624-
it.
more
weed too
them
to use the
Amid
all
Only
a few
months
vicis-
of Cinq-Mars, and
fatal
American colonisation. Territowere given away by the edict with the looseness
Internal Administration
1642]
common
231
those days of uncertain rights and imperfect geography, for to the company was granted
all the islands of the West Indies between the tenth
and
in
included Cuba,
privileges of
Jamaica,
the company
The
wording
of the grant
politics.
Years'
as
if
If
War
behalf of
it
German
liberties,
Moscow, and
between two countries
that have since so often met as deadly enemies or
as sworn friends.
This treaty had only commercial
advantages in view, and its terms show how greatly
protective principles have grown since that day, for
by it French merchandise could enter Russia on
payment of a duty of two per cent. Compared with
the duties levied under modern protective tariffs,
both in Europe And America, the Russian Czar,
Michael Romanoff, seems like an early apostle of
sent a representative to the Court of
a treaty
first
free trade.
The
velopment.
national wealth
Richelieu
232
years of
tl624-
Richelieu's administration
it
is
doubtful
there
century religious
land
in
dustrial prosperity
disturbed by
civil
war.
When Henry
came an
era of good
and moderate taxa-
tion,
HENRY
FROM A CONTEMPORARY PAINTING
IV.
IN
MUSEUM AT VERSAILLES.
Iniernai
1642]
cheaper,
Admmisiratwn
surer market,
greatly under
silkworm
233
and agricultural
interests prospered
The
introduction of the
Henry IV.
added
and
in
of France
This prosperity
did not continue during the reign of Louis XIII.
Taxation became heavier under Richelieu and the
condition of the peasantry did not improve.
The
of
of England.
by Mary
de' Medici.
desire to concentrate power in the general government, with his conviction of the wisdom of rulers and
the
of the State
of
human
Richelieu
234
[1624-
silver
of
precious metals;
its
it
how much
was as
which no
legislation could
little
override,
little
change
regulation of
ity
it
in
commerce
The
Louis XIV.
It
We
Madame
de
Doubtless she
with the six she had lost,
Internal Administration
1642]
235
they
tastes of
Many
will wear.
upon extravagant dressing had been imFrance, and Richelieu was inclined to re-
restrictions
posed
in
suscitate them.
He
mutton.
some
case of conscience or
Each hour
some
of the
down
but paternal."
It would be hard to draw a line between the two, when the government was in the
hands of Richelieu.
If the Cardinal was unable to regulate the dress
of courtiers or the meals of divines as strictly as he
236
wished, he did
Richelieu
much toward
[1624-
modern times; in
every branch of the Government his impress was
found, reducing confusion to order.
In a nation
the organised administration of
re-
During the eighteen years of Richelieu's adminiswere not three in which the country
was at peace both at home and abroad. Not only
was he involved in almost constant warfare, but he
carried on war with armies of a size hitherto un-tration, there
known
in France.
Henry IV. calculated that he"
could raise an army of thirty-four thousand men
Internal Administration
1642]
237
In
with which to realise his dreams of ambition.
the
whole
162
Huguenots
in
1,
the war against the
prodigious.
The
condition
of
Europe made
it
possible to
that
service
RzcheHeji
238
human
[1624-
life,
says an historian,
all.
In 1870, a sub-
Yet
a soldier's lot,
it was so
modern times.
though
readily ac-
Not only
was the pay small, but the nine or ten sous a day
were almost always in arrears, and often were not
" There is a Frenchman in my service,"
paid at all.
cepted, was worse than in
said the
Duke
of Lorraine, "
who
constantly asks
for
'
'
words."
The
was larger
by sickness was in still
greater proportion.
If the pay was irregular, the
food was no less so.
Roads were bad, money was
scarce, corruption was on a gigantic scale, and of
system there was none. Naturally the commissariat
was always in a lamentable plight. Usually the
soldier was ill fed, and often he was not fed at all.
If food was wanting in the camp, there was no lack
proportion of
of
filth.
The
life
lost in battle
loss
Internal Administration
1642]
239
place,
to breed contagion.
be neglected.
The
soldier
enough to become a
anyone who thought it worth
unfortunate
Often, indeed,
som, he might be
left to
starve or he
might be sent
Nor
for those
maimed
Many
some more
monastery.
Notwithstanding all these hardships, the service
was more alluring than the monotonous discipline
cloisters at the
modern times. Where pay and rations were irit was impossible to preserve strict discipline,
and the soldier could indulge in a reasonable amount
of license.
He was only expected to serve six
months in a year, and he often shortened this time
by desertion; a host of camp-followers, men and
women, relieved the tedium of camp life; if the
Government did not always furnish sufficient rations.
of
regular,
Richelieu
240
[1624-
and
lust,
city
was committed
compensation
for
months
" After so
discomfort.
much
toil
and hardship,"
said Tilly
king
said
"
Those vagabonds
are
conceive."
The
description
Richelieu admits
cleaned their
broke the images of the
Virgin, trampled the sacrament under foot, and used
all religions,
oil,
They
the crucifix as a target for musket practice.
were guilty of other offences, more grievous if not
more impious.
If the modern army was not developed under
Internal
1642]
A dmhtistration
241
He succeeded
still
some kind
good work
of a hospital service.
in this direction;
activity of the
Red
The
Jesuits did
if
the French
army exceeded
in excellence that of
any
navy was
as
colonial
Richelieu
242
[1624-
and
this object
fully.
The
He had
plain of
still
ills
in order to escape
greater ills."
Apprehensive
lest
would be dangerous, he
them no time
for
Internal Administration
1642]
much
agree that,
at their ease,
of duty.
Having
if
243
less intelligence
the
memory
of their
all
moderate labour."
There was
little
for-
Richelieu
244
[1624-
petty tradesman,
its utility.
The
de-
service
this
was
amount
still
higher.
of education
man
of ability
The
increasing
influence of the
among
little
of the State.
The
facilities for
primary education were indeed irregular and uncertain, but the supply of schools more than sufficed
for the demand.
some provision
Internal Administration
1642]
is
paid as
245
much
as 175
price,
ing fruit from the neighbouring orchards, thus setting a bad example to his pupils.
Others were no
few days'
untaught.
Still,
much
the lack
local authorities in
Richelieu
i/\.6
[1624-
large.
widely
in
different places,
The
day was entirely uneducated and was content to remain so, and the Cardinal himself would have been
as much appalled by the prospect of universal education as by the prospect of universal suffrage.
There is no necessity for tracing the various measures by which the Cardinal accomplished the overthrow of local authorities, sometimes by violence,
sometimes by stealthy undermining, or by devising
new methods to render the action of the general
government more effective.
Nothing, perhaps,
tended more to restrict the power of these authorities
officers repre-
as superintendents.
him they
Internal Administration
1642]
first
As
247
far
make
day do we
came
to be called
administration.
superintendents
taking
as they
The growth
of the people
Their activity
steadily increased.
Not very important functionaries in the sixteenth century, under Richelieu
they became persons of weight; under Louis XIV.
their authority was still greater; under Louis XV.
they had so absorbed the direction of local concerns
placed.
y^Kt
such
ofificials
power of
it had
institutions.
But
all
local
until
Richelieu
248
little
[1624-
to centralisation
his successors,
and to
was fostered
it
the people
Rural
same
release
lics find in
the Church.
these
titles.
"
We
direct
to
examine
all
observe
all
regulations; to secure an
may pass
abundance
of pro-
subjects;
moneys
and so on,
employed,"
phase of
local, milit-
was subjected
Internal Administration
1642]
Then
less
249
far-reaching than
a hundred years
officials
soil, but
every detail of local administration, the repairs of
the parish church, the construction of the city
And
yet this
in his district,
telligent
men who
exercised
with
fair
judgment
or the people of
read or write.
some hamlet,
As
of
whom
few could
of the superintendents
was
beneficial.
They were
Richelieu
250
t1624-
men
of larger experience
The
evil
inherent in the
institution
timate harm.
The
its
own
affairs
no more use
General.
for parish
vestrymen than
He
in
than
had
for States-
days was little fitted for self-governYet there existed in the towns and in the
provinces many phases of political life, for the most
part relics of mediaeval conditions, slowly becoming
more and more torpid, which might have been revived and rendered useful. Instead of being utilised,
they were minimised by Richelieu. The paralysis
of local institutions was hastened by the all-perRichelieu's
ment.
Government
more important
Internal Administration
1642]
251
sumed
to
advise the
Government or to
criticise
tum
discussion
sign.
appeared,
Richelieu
252
[1624-
the
ad-
Naturally, also,
vertiser.
restricted
record,
and
its
in his private
manner
memoranda
are
many
directions
in
never omitted, or occasionally accounts of an enin the field, and, more rarely, a few words
gagement
this
reporter.
Renaudot
as
of a paper
is
his
Internal Administration
1642]
253
/^Newspapers,
supervision.
execution.
like
The
The
books,
edicts
minister recognised
the import-
more resolved
it
will
do
left
pensionless.
its
it
was rarely
inflicted,
but
So
long imprisonment was an ordinary penalty.
rigorous was the censure that even almanacs were
not regarded as beneath attention they were forbidden to print anything of a more dangerous character than the phases of the moon, eclipses, and the
;
various
conditions and
humours
of the weather.
Richelieu
254
[1624-
Duelling in France had steadily inThis custom has never enjoyed great favour among northern nations, and by
most English-speaking people has long been regarded, not only as vicious, but as absurd. It
after his day.
creased in virulence.
prevalent
more than
of the
in
soil farther
France, though
a harmless pastime.
seventeenth
century,
it
south, and
is
now
is
little
much
descendants.
The
results
not only
but a trifling word, a discourteous
gesture, an imaginary affront must be wiped out in
some grave
blood.
insult,
serious
Internal Administration
1642]
255
and
this
as an act of extraordin-
ary magnanimity.
as
oured to
Richelieu
256
[1624-
The
Royale, in
Paris,
and
made an
latter
part
of
the century
the
amelioration of
Internal
1642]
A dtninistration
257
French duelling.
Another measure attracted h"ttle attention, though
it was the formal assumption of what has since become one of the most important functions of government. Correspondence by letter was comparatively
of
of the population
little
ex-
the
Parisian
of supplying
messengers
to
carry
letters,
money, and packages to various parts of the kingdom. The privilege was of some value, and, in
1630, royal messengers began to carry letters for
private persons.
This duty was at first intrusted to
offices,
far
more
Richelieu
258
of the mails.
[1624-1642]
Alike from
Paris,
for
The
skill of his
time.
Government
Some
was ceded
and by them the enterprise was
again undertaken and completed.
The canal furnished a route by which goods from Touraine and
Anjou could reach the Seine by water, and great
was the admiration when boats loaded at Tours and
Angers appeared at the wharves in Paris. Yet this
traffic, cheap in comparison with transportation by
land, was subject to charges which now would be
thought ruinous. The carriage of a ton of merchandise from Briare to Paris by the canal, computed in relative values, cost seventy-two francs.
The same quantity is now carried the same distance
by water for one sixth of that sum, and by rail for
about one fifth of the cost and at ten times the speed.
of the
to private parties,
CHAPTER X
RICHELIEU'S RELATIONS WITH THE
RICHELIEU'S
CHURCH
Even
upon
Church
of
'
259
26o
Richelieu
its efforts
to reclaim
Nevertheless the Cardinal was a strong and ferhis faith in the principles of the
Christian religion and in the dogmas of the Catholic
vent Catholic,
referred show that Richelieu attached some importance to the practice of magic arts.
Presentiments
and prognostics disturbed his mind, he gave heed
to lucky and unlucky days, he feared that sorcerers
into
who
allowed to
excited
gold,
make
his
the minister,
who watched
King and
re-
Naturally
it
261
to have reposed
and
at the
was applied
when the
to
La
The
revelation
Losne was
raised,
was
for
fulfilled,
influenced Richelieu
is
less certain.
At
how
all
far
it
events,
enterprise.
Like other
matters of religion
when
apt to meditate on
ill,
and
during the disasters of the campaign of Corbie he experienced a genuine religious revival.
He confessed
and communicated with greater frequency.
He
262
Richelieu
and by writing
etics,
while
good
heed that their souls were in no peril.
It was at Richelieu's instance that in the following year Louis XIII. solemnly dedicated France to
the holy and glorious Virgin, whom he declared the
special protector of the realm.
The dedication was
made by formal proclamation, and was accompanied
by great religious ceremonies; a lamp, which should
forever burn, was placed in Notre Dame in memory
of the event, which was, moreover, to be celebrated
by yearly processions. Richelieu himself endowed
a lamp and a perpetual mass in the convent of the
Crucifixion.
But he seems to have gone beyond
the religious feeling of his time.
The
dedication of
In 1638,
it
161
this
of
when he was
1,
Maker.
In
we find
commit to
writing:
"
If
it
John
to deliver
me
will establish
which
shall
in
my
my
house
263
thanksgivings."
nise
when
Anne
his
of Austria
At
all
in 1638,
of the saint.
for
XIV.,
Richelieu
264
The
was widespread; it
was as prevalent in France as in most other European
countries, and the punishment of supposed witches
was frequent and severe. Yet, before Richelieu's
day, some writers, more enlightened or more sceptical, had begun to question whether such a thing
Montaigne discussed the question
really existed.
with acute and pleasing satire. The Renaissance,
tory.
belief in witchcraft
it
by unnoticed.
Peter in the
his abilities
little
provincial city of
Loudun;
his character
was
265
this
made him
the
cal
is
at Paris
almost as
much
as at
Loudun.
The Gov-
Richelieu
266
The medical
of the witnesses had identified him.
profession then, as now, was less credulous in such
matters, but several physicians, after examining the
inmates of the convent and hearing their tales, declared that they found, in the case of some of
the nuns, proofs of possession by the Evil One.
The Bishop of Poitiers stated that in his opinion the
charge of magic was established, the doctors of the
The
utterances
of
such authorities
Richelieu
attached
In their
zeal,
at the stake.
consider
to all
this
gloomy nonsense.
No
at
'
267
Virgin,
the
theological
common
writings,
Richelieu accepted
beliefs as to
terposition of
of the Church.
These doctrines then found acceptance among the
magistrates almost as much as among the clergy.
Many of the French parliaments, and among them
full
the Parliament of
Paris,
at
magic.
trial of
crime of
Grandier, two
men, of whom one was a priest, were accused of attempting Richelieu's hfe by the use of charms and
magical preparations.
The
Devil, so
it
was shown,
God kept
Though
But
prosecutions
entertain
no more accusations
Parliament of
Rouen protested
for witchcraft.
The
all
Richelieu
268
new
Church or State,
little more so.
Though
as
he was a
ideas, either in
remembered
that
with Spain, his alliances with Sweden and German princes, were foremost in his mind, theological controversy, the
priest
if
his contests
his
own
We
position in
it
have alluded to
His zeal
him favour
at
in
asserting
The
overof
La
to great rewards,
Roman
curia.
So far as the temporalities of the Church
were concerned, he helped himself with a free hand;
in an age of pluralists, he was a leviathan among
It
269
to give a list of
most of which
were confined to drawing the emoluments; his income from them all amounted to the
enormous sum of a million and a half yearly. But
in the Church as in the State Richelieu, while he
coveted money, coveted power more, and he was
the various livings he held, with the
his relations
less successful in
In his hands
would not have been sinecures, and
he greatly desired to fill them, but the Pope was
apprehensive of conferring power on a man whose
actions he could not control, and with a shortof Cluny,
these positions
The prevalent
much
to
aid.
"When
consider," he writes,
"that
in
my
early
men
Richelieu
270
and women, that one found only scandal and evil example in places where one sought for edification, I confess that I receive no little consolation in seeing that
irregularity and vice are now rarer in such places than
religious zeal was then."
is
League came a wholesome reaction; the Reformation had done its part in purifying the Church
of the
flock.
room
for
Church history
The
an honourable
one he did much toward correcting abuses and elevating the character of the clergy.
In his testament
Cardinal's place in
;
is
Church
271
said,
were
fitted to exer-
office.
govern a diocese.
At
all
able men.
who
filled
reign of Louis
so
many
triflers
of
them
or the profligate
XV.
War, Richelieu
which would have
been more important than the generalship of any
number of monasteries. Treves was allied with
France, and the archbishop was a friend of the
French.
The Archbishop of Treves was one of the
seven electors of the German Empire, and the ofifice
was filled by the promotion of the coadjutor at the
death of the reigning elector.
French agents began
In the course of the Thirty Years'
sought an ecclesiastical
ofifice,
electorate.
If their
Richelieu
272
ancient
political
was favourable,
sition
but
it
the
traditions.
or, if not,
members
The
reigning elector
if
French
influence,
But here again Richelieu encountered the stubHis opponents deborn resistance of the Pope.
clared that it would be monstrous if a French
minister
became the
ruler of a
German
electorate;
the idea;
man
of
it is
the
France,
wily
Cardinal,
becoming one
backed
of their
by the power
number.
At
of
all
Rumour
made perpetual
It is certain
that
was not
273
when
his
gratified.
of either of these
1629,
of a legate
The
it
is
legate's cross.
in 1638,
listened
clared that he
Richelieu
74
active proselytes,
number
of bishops
no desire
go too
far;
he knew
that Richelieu
threats,
luctantly, they
came
275
his
re-
at last.
difficulties
money
Richelieu
76
minister accepted
attracted
He was
Port Royal.
in his intellect
to be in theology.
his charac-
Mars
277
Gallicus,
the Spanish
of
He
advancement, and
all
these pro-
Richelieu
278
and
to support his
own
At any
long contro-
to a follower,
will
make much
279
ReLuther had
if
been kept in
280
Richelieu
of the wicked
be shortened."
XIIL
Though
he had agreed to
of pasture land.
281
sell
The
the
a
fit
ing the
nor dean
felt
resignations,
nominations as agreed.
The dean
was a proper man to be a bishop,
and Richelieu thought so also.
The Cardinal would
not have made the trade with a man whom he
bargaining for a sale of the bishopric.
believed that he
was
when
made
his con-
he got what he
Consider-
of the poverty of
deal.
we
find an illustration
Richelieu
22
that Richelieu
others saw no
When
and we see
to be disturbed where
ill
in 1637,
own vote
He would
as a cardinal, but he
known
bribery
reflect that
in
If
it
is
is
not un-
pleasant to
no longer a recognised
institution
An
account of
Richelieu's
relations
with the
pleasant country,
little
283
improved,
it is
Frangois LeClerc
du Tremblay was born in 1577 and was eight years
older than the statesman of whom he became so
He pursued the usual course
devoted a follower.
seventeenth-century architecture.
young man
of studies for a
his
In the
when he completed
On
taking the
title
of
ing of a priest,
Richelieu
284
vows
service of
victions
God."
With
per-
Hclijtcujes
i/i'_
Caluairc
Jiipcrieurs ic js Jcccmt't^
^it>dH'/c(i
rcnJu /cj/mt
16-3
c/ i/c
T\ihuJ nJaLu
cri/n- As-
mains d^Jcs
h.
FATHER JOSEPH.
FROM THE ENGRAVING BY MICHEL LA8NE.
Reproduced from Fagniez's " Le Pere Joseph et Richelieu."
zealous fanatic
who
285
never-failing interest.
in
ambassadors, or scheming
House
and
of
in-
life.
The number
of those
who sought
retreat
from the
thousand
were connected with religious
establishments.
Many doubtless were sincerely inclined to their calling, but the condition of the times
helped to fill convents and monasteries.
While
some chose a religious life from piety, others were
driven by necessity in an era of civil war and political confusion, parents looked with favour upon a
retreat where their children would be in safety; the
part of the seventeenth century; eighty
women,
it
is
said,
whom
suitable
of
discipline
in
many
religious
institutions;
the
members were indeed excluded from worldly pleasures, but the rigorous rules of the Order were sadly
relaxed
the
sisters
in
the
prayed
little.
Richelieu
286
the
Oratory was founded, the character of the episcopate was elevated, the great preachers of Louis
XIV. received their early training. At such a time
new life was instilled into many monastic institutions, and laxity and indifference were succeeded by
rigour and zeal.
The spirit of reformation was felt
in
many
women.
The
among
who was
still
an obscure Capuchin.
The
exalted
287
Luxem-
bourg.
The exhortations
out for
Certain
go its round in religious contemplation.
were
especially
to
be
cultivated
virtues
by the inmates,
silence,
humility,
charity,
by
seclusion,
their pains
and
and
Richelieu
288
ity
of the
289
found
in
the
also
Duke
from
A leader was
French nobleman,
Palestine.
of Nevers, a
who presently
The Order
of Christian Militia
support of
some
Holy Father
Rome
to solicit
He made
rules of his
charity
290
Richelieu
The
Spaniards
war against a friendly Sultan was another matNor was the prospect more hopeful in Germany, where the Thirty Years' War was beginning,
and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire preto a
ter.
291
though the older man of the two, he enrolled himself as a devoted follower, content to advance the
fortunes of his leader, and satisfied if he met his
The close relations which grew up beapproval.
tween them were never disturbed during all the
Father Joseph
vicissitudes of Richelieu's career.
He
who made
might
be.
tics.
" This
by the minister.
Father
If it
Joseph's acts,
he bore the
affront
with
Richelieu
292
his chief.
tioning submission to the service of another, indifferent as to worldly reward or public repute.
At
to the Capuchin,
and he acted
as secretary of state
In indefatigable
title.
discussed
"
I left
negotiations
all
to give sufficient
much absorbed
in
worldly matters
his soul.
Amid
293
when Corbie
in the
The Capuchin's
after
the
The
failure
The
revela-
His activity increased rather than diminDaily he prepared for the Cardinal's use a
oi the great mass of diplomatic correspond-
labours.
ished.
rhum^
and of his own interviews with foreign minisEarly in the morning he was at the Cardinal's
bedside, and late at night he was still with him,
discussing the innumerable questions to which each
day gave rise.
ence,
ters.
Richelieu
294
little
He was
surprise.
was
free
reluctance to consider
not
There was
doubt that his choice would have fallen on
Father Joseph, although there is much doubt if
the choice would have been a judicious one. The
Capuchin possessed untiring energy and unusual
diplomatic skill, but when no longer guided by
Richelieu's good judgment he might easily have
wandered into political vagaries. Notwithstanding
the weaknesses of Mazarin's character, he was better
fitted to carry out with success the policy which
Richelieu had devised.
In 1635, Grotius wrote
that if Richelieu should pass away, there could be
no doubt that Father Joseph, on account of his
extreme rascality, was destined to succeed to the
Cardinal's place.
But Grotius loved neither the
policy
little
a cardinal.
those
who were
The
loyal to
all
petty jealousies, but the Pope was willing to indulge his grudge against both Richelieu and Father
He had a
Joseph by refusing the promotion.
A Capuchin was bound to renounce earthly honours, and the pomp and state of
a cardinal were unfitting in one who had taken the
plausible excuse.
295
Many
of his
own
promotion.
Richelieu's
palace
him
as a
and shared
monk he lived in
in its pomp and
;
nal's board.
Richelieu
296
their
Urban
quest.
solicitations,
If
and
in
it
came too
late.
In that year Father Joseph was stricken with apoplexy and it was clear that he had not long to live.
He was himself
many
laboured a lifetime
in
vain;
his
career
of
CARDINAL MAZARIN.
CHAPTER
LIFE AT
THE
XI
tions to ambassadors,
many French
opportunity to
home
visit
At
he had
little
home
of royalty.
297
Richelieu
298
now known
many
years,
He
chose a
site
now
in
It
but at that
open
ent
Rue
des Petits
Champs
(the
The
Street
of
pres-
the
Little Fields)
of this
portion of
for his
residence.
On
In the early
The
299
and
it
seventeenth cent-
ury was considerable, and it was valuable in checking the coarseness and vulgarity that were common
in
the society
and used
of
the
language
Pr^cieiises
Letters,
ised.
tionised
as
not
far
Ridicules
well
as
whom
p'olitics,
Molifere
satir-
were revolu-
feeble
when compared
At
all
ing for
it,
it
Richelieu
300
the
of
Royal.
Palais
The growth
of
this
part
walls,
lines
On
instrument read, that the property should be inalienable, " the intention of the Cardinal being
that
it
The
its
came
not control
gift
Majesty and
Crown, having
The
Palais
Royal
in
time
and
sellers of
cheap jewelry.
much
of his time
was spent.
There,
also,
he erected
much
as an annual
301
expenditure of
Such an establishnot
that
of
a
private
man,
but of a prince.
was
ment
companies
of
horse-guards
in his servfour
He had
pay-roll
of
any
in
the
army;
on
his
equals
the
ice,
artists,
and
writers,
whom
he
diplomats,
to
were
four million dollars in our day.
own
resources.
own
He was
had been spent, there his first successes were gained, he had been chosen grand master
of the institution, and in his ecclesiastical disputes,
which were numerous, he could always rely on the
He showed his
faithful support of its members.
appreciation by constructing the college buildings
and church which still stand, and are used practically
as they were in Richelieu's days.
It was at his
own request that his remains were laid in the church
of the Sorbonne.
A charity which perhaps interested him as much as his gifts to the Church and
the monks was an establishment for the education
of twenty young gentlemen who, as a condition,
were bound to serve in the King's army.
It was at his city residence that the most of
It
Richelieu's life when prime minister was spent.
answered the purpose alike of a private residence
and of a public office.
There his secretaries were
found, ambassadors were received, and the work
was done which would now be performed in the
official buildings reserved for the use of the prime
There
minister or the secretary of foreign affairs.
of his early life
Richelieu
302
also
the great f^tes were given in which he deand there were held the literary meetings
lighted,
toil.
In
voluminous correspondence
who had
Sprinkled
of secretaries,
whose
overpaid, no matter
services
how much
303
as well as
at
frequently excited
his
end
him to
rally from
and his rivals
hoped, would prove mortal.
His was the triumph
of a sound mind in an unsound body.
He was interested in the theatre, and found pleasure in the pompous representations and ballets that
were produced at the Palais Cardinal.
Of other
amusement there was little. His increasing infirmities prevented outdoor exercise, and like most men
of active mind he found his greatest pleasure in his
work.
times
Richelieu
304
enemies.
in-
many
trate the
others of the time, was intended to illuswickedness of the Cardinal's nature, was
There
Fond
life.
is little
modes
of
life.
ciates in public
ofifice,
may
305
question.
splendour.
his
French
In
cence.
it
past, the
expense.
The
them.
erals
and
in
one respect
it
exceeded
The
Cardinal used priests not only as genand admirals but as impresarios the Bishop of
;
In the winter of 1640, further victories were celebrated at the Palais Cardinal with equal splendour,
Richelieu
3o6
snow, and, most imposing of all, the heavens opening and Jupiter appearing upon his throne.
In January, 1641, the tragedy of Mirame was
presented with even greater magnificence, at a cost,
it was said, of over two hundred thousand crowns.
It is
composition, and
it
is
certain that
Mirame
is
in
for
the great
occasion.
No
theatrical exhibition
in
When
the curtain
rose,
so
the chronicler
tells
of delightful gardens,
statues,
and grottos,
307
we
are
unmoved
by such effects, but they were regarded as marvellous achievements two hundred and fifty years ago.
When the play was over, a gilded bridge was thrown
to the feet of the Queen, she passed over, accompanied by the princes and princesses, and, on the
stage, now converted into a magnificent salon, began
the dance.
comedy of Scudery was acted by childand among them, strangely enough, was the
young Jacqueline Pascal, then fourteen years of age,
a sister of Blaise Pascal, and herself destined to be
one of the famous inmates of the Port Royal. She
acted with much success, and Richelieu rewarded
her efforts by forgiving her father for some act of
contumacy by reason of which his arrest had been
In 1639, a
ren,
ordered.
Besides representations of plays, there were frequent literary gatherings at the Palais Cardinal, the
recitation of new poems, the reading of new books,
which were submitted to the taste of the Cardinal
much
Amid
all
sassination,
Richelieu
3o8
literature
as
much
attention
as
was
"No,"
If this
was
A desire
it.
his
fame
as a statesman.
and
in his
some
become
weari-
work and
own
his policy,
it,
in relating that
much pain."
None of his productions have
received as
Cardinal left
309
his
advrce to posterity
much
which the
concerning
French administration.
The authenticity of this work has been one of the
moot questions in French history. Voltaire, whose
critical sense was acute, insisted that Richelieu had
" It was unworthy of the
no part in the work.
details of
" a collection
who
stole Richelieu's
ness."
name
to cover his
own empti-
It is
is
not a
3IO
Richelieu
the correction of rhymes alternated with the dicFrederick II. found relief
despatches.
tation of
amid
disaster in writing
regularly
for the
most
He
at
the
Cardinal's
reception
at
He was
Rouen.
one of the
Richelieu's
five poets,
literary
and
household.
was as imperious
Cardinal was in politics, and
dramatist
in
But
the
literature
great
as
their relations
the
were
to assist in
its
success.
When
it
PIERRE CORNEILLE.
FROM AN OLD PRINT.
311
acted in
judgment
Though
stage.
of the
Corneille
quitted
the Cardinal's
he interfered
in his behalf,
and induced
Possibly the
if it
In 1635,
the French
nal Richelieu,
number
who was
to frame
members was
its statutes.
The
they were
granted various immunities, and were to prepare a
dictionary, grammar, and rhetoric, which would be
of
fixed at forty
Richelieu
Most of the
whose claims to literary distinction were moderate, and the work with
which the body was intrusted remains incomplete
after two centuries.
the code of the French language.
original
members were
ofiScials
French
able.
literature has
One cannot
Academy on
dred and
fifty years.
Academy
has
membership is
French writers,
unabated,
its
its
value.
more
still
its
its
is
Few
creations of
turies bring.
We
Their
313
years' delay
luminaries of literature,
They did not penesuch remote regions even in his lifetime, and
now they charm nobody. Yet he was a critic of fair
the world from pole to pole.
trate
and if he accomplished no great work himhe did something to improve prose composition,
capacity,
self,
way
for those
who
could do great
work.
He was
full
also
famous
members of
own day.
in his
of pretty
He was
amusing things.
beloved
in
the fashionable
On
Mazarin
who
who patronised
neglected
it.
The
it,
'
Richelieu
314
whom
he preferred were for the most part secondmen. Even if his prot^g^s were not all geniuses,
his rule helped to develop the writers who were to
become famous under his successor. The heroism
of his character, the vigour and determination
with which he ruled the State, furnished more stimulus to literature than the criticism of his " five
rate
poets.
'
315
done much to solve the problems of life, but his inHe was
fluence on French literature was beneficial.
among the first who helped to deliver it from the
exaggeration and bad taste of the early part of the
century, and to develop the clear, concise, and
vigorous prose which marked the great writers of
the age of Louis XIV.
In the attention he paid to literature, Richelieu
followed the example which had already been set at
The Palais Cardinal dethe Hotel Rambouillet.
serves a place in the history of French literature,
not because authors there found any very valuable
assistance, but because authors were found there at
all.
Though Richelieu was aristocratic in his premind was open to new influences. Not
judices, his
their society
Richelieu
'
'
stopped.
before.
it
No
in
upon the
figure
weakened by
317
before
prime minister.
The
effect
traditions
London.
These
rela-
Germany
enjoyed by men
of letters enlarged their sphere of observation, sometimes improved their style, and often improved their
and Spain.
The
social recognition
manners.
It
would be
but some of
it
is
justly his
Richelieu
due.
At a time when men of letters occupied a
very uncertain position, he not only bestowed on
them his patronage, but he showed pleasure in re-
them
as associates.
Before his time there
were few French statesmen whose thresholds were
crossed by visitors having no recommendation save
the books they had written.
troubadour who
sang to entertain the company and was pleased to
eat a good meal with the domestics, a buffoon who
received with gratitude the piece of money thrown
to him, were usually the only representatives of
literature whom they received.
ceiving
The
it
in 1632,
seemed
Cond6
As
in
the Cardinal's
hand
surely
gratified
319
Richelieu
320
still
more imperious
Cardinal.
At
fierce.
Cardi-
to yield to Richelieu,
who was
visited
PRINCE OF CONDE.
321
Richelieu.
In 1619,
in semi-exile
of
Lugon was
Thymines.
They had
criti-
of
no great value.
conscientious
Richelieu
Archbishop of Lyons, and finally secured his promotion to the cardinalate. Thus two brothers were
members
his
insanity,
hold a place
among
guillon,
who
lived
the great
d'
Ai-
of his
and of
for
parts,
whom
who married
she had
a respectable gentleman
little affection.
He was
presently
323
killed, and,
a Carmelite
convent.
When
her uncle
became
binding.
during a long
when she
Flechier
life
was able
whom
sisted
if
he dictated the
who
Richelieu
324
modes
of
life
exceeded his revenues, and no Harpagon could scold a spendthrift son with more vigour
than the Cardinal lectured his unlucky nephew.
He was not indeed restricted to any beggarly state;
his allowance of servants would in these days suffice
his expenses
for
more
What
is
it
Cardinal also
made
list.
To
and lackey.
whom
the
own coachman,
Only four
cook,
of her attendants
how
large
325
a
part
of
debts,
Richelieu
326
seized a
her
sent
off.
in the service,
tion unaffected
The
by
his escapade.
no offspring, the
and Richelieu was forced
priest,
among
left
The
327
and
false.
Yet,
sovereign.
less bril-
leraie
who
ruled France.
of Constantinople
328
Richelieit
grief.
The Duchess of Mazarin fled
from France; she had refused to marry Charles II.
when he was a fugitive, and she became his mistress
when he was a king. The duke divided his energies
between daubing over famous paintings left by
Mazarin, in order to conceal nudities that were
offensive to his rigorous piety, and wasting his
estate in hundreds of lawsuits which a perverse
ingenuity enabled him to stir up. The union of the
families of Richelieu and Mazarin produced only
misery and scandal.
CHAPTER
XII
WHAT
ter
manner
of
man
life.
His intellect
though acute was not original, his characthough vigorous was not exalted. Yet he gained
in
of Europe, such as
is
rarely
high political
himself; he
32y
Richelieu
330
when found
in a sickly
he possessed the vigour of a centaur, as undisturbed in adversity and danger as if he had nerves
as
if
of steel.
With
nesses.
He was
pleasure
he found
tributes to his
it
showed the
skill of
mon-
331
Sitting
in
his
palace in
ness.
If the Cardinal attached to outward trappings
somewhat more weight than they deserved, this was
His implacabilnot a matter of great importance.
ity, what his enemies called his bloody-mindedness,
has been regarded as a more serious defect in his
character.
He was indeed a cold man, unwavering
in his animosities and merciless in punishment
his
charities were few and far between, he was not
tender-hearted, and it is doubtful if he was greatly
disturbed either by individual suffering or by general
conditions of distress.
In this he resembled most
other men.
There are few, indeed, like St. Francis
;
de Sales,
who devote
human woe.
By his profession,
from family
He
intrigue.
ties.
He was
compunction when he
est penalties for their
visited
misdeeds.
sever-
Richelieu
332
little
heed to their
sufferings,
The
The
who was
lax in the
and sent to the block gallant officers and highminded noblemen who drove his benefactress into
exile and made the King his puppet; who accumulated enormous wealth, while the peasant starved in
his hovel; who, in all questions of Church and State,
considered only the preservation of his power and
;
/ On
great
achievements
of
his
career;
disorder
was
Restilts
of Richelieu s Administration
333
pillage
recognise
me
in
it is a long time
France has gone there with a
since a marshal of
a great
part in
the
permanence of
affected posterity and
development ? In the
France we can
to concentrate the
power
of
still
find
It
self-rule.
nothing
Richelieu
734
in its
The
arbitrary
is
was not
Mary
but license.
liberty,
we can
de' Medici
In
the regency of
unchecked by the
general government.
ficial
to the public
home nor
consideration abroad.
an unruly
and unwilling to
suffer restraint, plundered the State when in power
and ravaged the country when in disgrace. From
a bankrupt treasury, a paralysed monarchy, and a
nobility, unfit to exercise control
turbulent nobility
tration
and
find a
we
government
influential
and strong,
335
own, the
in his
marauders.
To
Richelieu
is
French
government, the forms of administration, and the
The judgment
tendencies of national growth.
passed upon his work varies with the political beliefs of the judge and his reading of French history.
ing in a definite
of the
to the administration,
But the question remains, whether different tendencies could have been given to national growth,
formed
whether
liberty could have been obtained without the need
of revolution, and the country have gained its glory
whether a government could have been
at a less price.
it
was too
had been
mon-
cast,
the
'
Richelieu
33^
man.
That
political safety
might
lie in
a gradual
own
will
337
For the opinion of the multitude he felt a contempt which he did not conceal. " Nothing is
more dangerous," he wrote, " than to pay attenThe force of
tion to popular clamour.
reason should be our only guide."
By reason
Richelieu meant his own judgment, and in a similar way this word was interpreted by his successors.
If infallibility were always found in rulers,
But when the head of a centhis might be well.
tralised government was an indolent voluptuary
like Louis XV., and
enormous power was intrusted to corrupt and inefficient ministers, the results were disastrous.
In Richelieu's day, there was no ambiguity in
the assertion of the absolute and uncontrolled
authority of the monarch.
"A monarchical state,"
said an edict of 1641, " can allow no division of
authority.
The power lodged in the person
of the King is the source of the monarchy's greatness, the foundation on which its preservation rests."
Kings," said Richelieu, " are the living images of
God.
The royal majesty is second to the
Divine Majesty." " The first thing I considered,"
he said further, speaking of his policy as a minister,
" was the majesty of the King, the second was the
" I owe no account of
greatness of the kingdom."
.
my
to
God
my
State save
Louis XIV.
" Kings
further.
carried these
maxims only a
little
"
It is
the
Richelieu
338
God
When
monarchy
Results of Richelieu
Administration
339
all
institutions,
man
that
his
creations
Richelieu
340
later
superintendents
who
own
The mass
of the
little
War.
Resiilts
of Richelieu
Administration
341
The
disturbances of
the conquests
which had been acquired by the expenditure of so
much blood and money during the Thirty Years'
all
^r.
upon the administration of
not strange that he was
Impatient of the attempts made by the courts to
restrain the political action of the Government.
While it is hard to say how the problem of providing France with more liberal institutions could have
been worked out, it is certain that judges holding life
positions, which they acquired by purchase, could
never have formed a serviceable legislative body
or exercised a useful check on the royal authority.
Richelieu's influence
justice
was injurious.
It is
Richclien
342
rebels like
Montmorenci, or
of traitors
like
Cinq-
Mars, from the regularly organised courts. If occasionally some enemy of the Cardinal's had escaped
the
full
visit
Down
to
sorted to
methods
of evil precedent.
The
creation
and the convictions obtained without evidence worthy of the name, did permanent
harm to the development of French jurisprudence.
of special courts,
The
and the
less
evils of
this
343
must
Even
again,
is most likely
commission was appointed
to try or rather to condemn Marshal Marillac, but
it delayed the conviction and thereupon Richelieu
" It is
dissolved it and chose a new commission.
necessary to be careful in selecting the judges," he
The care was exercised, and a speedy conwrote.
is
to dissipate cabals."
y^ln
ill-will will
be harmless."
criticise.
He
little
to
War
/The
in
the seventeenth
witnessed
little
change
in
Richelieu
344
French kingdom
during most of the time the
country was involved in internal strife, wars of religion and wars of succession, and was in no condition to make important gains at the expense of other
nations. The Spanish empire was then at the height
;
of
its
Henry
III.
II. ruled at
Madrid and
carried
It
it
...
to completion.
in the direction
Results of Richelieu
Administration
345
The
it
of great importance.
Richelieu
346
Prussia.
Richelieu undertook the defence of the
minor German princes against the increasing power
of the Emperor, and French statesmen long regarded this as the true role for France to pursue.
Its success was assured by the Treaty of Westphalia,
which secured many blessings for the German
where
power.
of the
France,
it
Germany
Through the
in a condition
to
French
League
could be a dangerous
rival
Germany an
Emperor and
of
in
German
prince.
347
Huguenots when
nothing was actually ceded to France during RicheHe left unfinished the great wars in
lieu's lifetime.
which France had become involved, but most of the
acquisitions which the country finally gained were
practically secured before Richelieu's death.
Richelieu
348
By
zarin.
some
reservations,
was ceded
acquisition of vast
to France.
importance, for
it
It
was an
carried the
The French
it
fore
its
formal annexation.
Results of Richelieit
Administration
349
Though Lorraine
did not
become formally a part of France until 1766, practically it had long been French.
-^ Thus we may fairly look upon Richelieu's administration as the beginning of the hegemony which
France exercised over Western Europe for almost
two centuries. Her military power was increased
by the Revolution and by the genius of Napoleon,
who took
and not an unimportant part, in making
France the great military power of Western Europe.
No French
This was the object he most desired.
statesman before him had so clearly marked out
this policy, and none after him pursued a more
sagacious course in order to accomplish that result.
France owed much to the adroitness, the good
judgment, and the unwearied perseverance of MaIn the qualities of a diplomat he was not
zarin.
inferior to his predecessor, and he was served by far
But if Richelieu was not in all reabler soldiers.
spects superior to Mazarin, he was a man of more
original mind, as well as of more commanding character, and the credit of shaping the policy by which
France became the first of European powers, must,
in large degree, be awarded to the iron Cardinal.
The administration of Richelieu was not a period
but Richelieu can be regarded as one
part,
Richelieu
350
of general prosperity.
costly,
national well-being.
He
poor.
sult
but
war,
in larger
351
During the eighteen years of Mazarin's administrapeace was almost unknown. The war with
Spain began long before he became minister, and
ended only a little more than a year before his
death, and during five years of his administration
the evils of civil war still further aggravated the
After Mazarin's death Louis XIV. assituation.
sumed the burdens of State, and the country was at
war for more than one-half of the sixty-four remainDuring the century following years of his reign.
ing the death of Henry IV. the country was either
engaged in hostilities with foreign powers, or distracted by internal insurrection during more than
tion,
seventy years.
The population increased somewhat, and undoubtedly the nation's resources were larger at the
end of the seventeenth century than at its beginning,
but the rapid increase of wealth, to which we have
become accustomed in this century, was then unknown. Taxation increased out of proportion to
There can be no
the growth of national wealth.
doubt that under Richelieu's administration, and
during the closing years of Louis
XIV. 's
reign, the
is
Henry IV.
Richelieu
352
the
first
bound-
state.
THE END
its
beginning,
more powerful
MAP OF FRANCE.
INDEX
arrest,
210
Academy, French,
tion,
311
early
its
organisa-
members, 313
Alchemy, 260
Alsace annexed
France, 347,
to
348
Ancre, Marquis of see Concini.
Army, condition of, 170, 236
number of
suffering in, 171
mercenaries, 171, 172, 237
size of the army, 173, 237
nature
pay of soldiers, 238
of the service, 239, 240
Arras, city of, taken by the
French, 181
Austria, Anne of, dislikes Riche-
Duke
Buckingham,
of,
visits
leads an expedition
his
against the French, 90
defeat, 93
his murder, loi
Paris, 89
lieu,
97
305-
307
Balzac, 313
Duke
loi
105
deserts
Chateaux,
changes
the
numbers
Huguenots,
of,
11
destroyed by
Richelieu, 13, 144
plots
52
his
Richelieu, 199
of,
353
in,
12
Index
354
Cinq-Mars,
Grand
Equerry,
55
Concini, Marechale de
Conde,
Prince
arrest,
47
ment, 74
of,
Ferdinand
Fontrailles,
Viscount
of,
199,
200, 204
France,
condition
Henry
aries
IV.,
of,
under
of,
3,
;
see Dori.
39
38,
his
Corruption, frequency
223
of,
146,
243-246
Enghien, Duke
Duelling, 254-257
Dupes, Day
of,
120-122
marries Richquarrels
319
with Richelieu, 320
elieu's
England,
,
of,
niece,
relations
of
France
Epernon, Duke
of,
67
251
Germany, influence
of France in,
346
Grandier, Urbain, executed for
witchcraft, 265, 266
345,.
Inde.X
Gregory
XIV.,
makes
Pope,
Richelieu cardinal, 72
Grisons, The, alliance with, 81
Guiton, Jean, mayor of La
Rochelle, 100, loi
Gustavus Adolphus, King of
Sweden, 161
invades Germany, 162
his victory at
Breitenfeld, 163 ; his death,
166
;
355
296
Judiciary, influence of Richelieu
H
Hautefort, Mile, de, her early
life, 133
favourite of Louis
XIII.,
dislikes
134,
194;
Richelieu, 135, 194
loses her
favour, 136
Henry IV., his administration,
influence of, 15
prosper3
ity under, 233, 350
Highways, bad condition of, 7,
10, 68
Holland, ally of France, 181
jealous of the French, 182
makes peace with Spain, 183
Huguenots, growth of their party
in France, 82-84,
their assemblies, 85
are unruly, 87
at war with the Government,
overthrow of the party,
93
106-108
prosperity of the
Huguenots, 108, 109
;
La
Vieuville, superintendent of
finance, 74
is disgraced, 75
Lorraine, Duke Charles of, 153,
;
154.
France with,
Italy, relations of
149. 150
to his mother, 59
commends
retirement,
Richelieu's
63
Richelieu,
his
dislikes
74
character, 76 supports Richea good
lieu in office, 77, 98
soldier, 71, 104
his relations
with Richelieu, 112
infirm
health, 118; promises to disrestores
miss Richelieu, 119
;
Index
356
Louis XIII.
Continued.
disRichelieu to favour, 122
his
likes his wife, 131, 132
fondness for IVflle. de Hautefort, 133
his fondness for
Mile, de Lafayette, 136 allows her to retire, 138 his relations with his confessor, 139complains of condition
141
of soldiers, 171
impatient of
;
disaster,
175
relations
his
Cinq-Mars,
with
207
195,
visits Richelieu, 206, 212, 216
152, 349
no
demands
Richelieu's dismissal,
120 exultation of her followers, 122
she leaves France,
her hatred of Richelieu,
123
124 her death, 125
;
Mende, Bishop
bishop
of,
28-30
307
of, 306,
Monasteries, condition
270, 285, 286
Montmorenci, Duke
poverty
of,
g6
of, 92,
Mirame, play
306
lieu,
26g,
of,
of, joins in
insurrection, 127
is defeated,
128
is
his eminence, I2g
;
executed, 130
Montpensier, Mile, de, 117
M
Magdeburg, destruction
163
of,
Mantua, duchy
of,
of
surrendered to the
French, 154
confirmed
Edict
of, 84
Nantes,
by Richelieu, 108
Navarre, College of, 24
Navy, weakness of, 91, 180
strengthened
by Richelieu,
226, 227
inNevers, Duke of, 46, 52
embarks
herits Mantua, 104
on a crusade, 290
Newspapers, 251, 252
;
104
Nancy,
Nobility,
many of
power
of,
13,
14
them Huguenots, 83
Index
o
357
family
of,
315
Paris,
approves of
46 is appointed secrecriticisms
tary of state, 48
on his appointment, 49 his
conduct as minister, 50 instructions to ambassadors, 51
is disis minister of war, 52
missed from office, 56 leaves
little known,
the Court, 60
61
chief of the Queen's council, 62
retires to IjUfon, 63
banished to Avignon, 64 recalled to the Queen-mother,
nominated cardinal, 69
68
made cardinal, 72
chief
adviser of Queen, 73
becomes minister of the King,
his relations with the
75
cini,
dis-
pensation, 28
Peasants, poverty of, 5 taxation
of, 1B8
revolts of, 188-191
Pius v.,
crusade,
289
Poitou, condition of, 23, 30
Porte, Susanne de la, Richelieu's
mother, 20
throws
Portugal,
rule, 177
Postage, cost of,
off
Spanish
258
Protestant
treatment of
towns, 106
his
the Huguenots, 108, 109
triumphant return, iii his
advice to the King, I12-I14
his
his skill in intrigue, 115
plots
courage,
116,
175
fortifications
;
of
his
Index
358
Confd.
Richelieu, Cardinal
defeats
against him, 117, iig
spies in his
his enemies, 122
;
employ, 125,
dis194
liked by women, 131; dismisses Father Caussin, 140 his
summons asactivity,
142
semblies of notables, 143
poor financier, 144, 187 proceeds against the farmers of
his Italian policy,
taxes, 147
150 his opinion of Mazarin,
treatment of Lor150, 151
his foreign
raine,
153-155
opposipolicy, 155, 343-349
137,
tion
to
Ferdinand
II.,
159,
Low
monopoly, 229;
and in paternal government,
233-235; strengthens the
army, 236, 241 his political
227; believes in
disapproves of
242
ingeneral education, 243
views,
power
creases
tendents,
247,
superin250; controls
of
260
1 i c,
his treatment
witchcraft,
of
266,
267
holds many livings, 269 improves condition of monasand of the
teries, 269-270
seeks to be
episcopate, 261
archbishop of Treves, 271,
272 wishes to be papal legate,
273 quarrel with the Pope,
274 a n d with the clergy,
hostile
to
Jansenism,
275
276, 278; imprisons St.
sells his bishopCyran, 278
buys cardinals,
ric, 280, 281
282 his relations with Father
Joseph, 282, 287, 291, 293,
294 taste for building, 297
erects Palais Cardinal, 298builds church of Sor300
Isonne, 301
his occupations,
treatment of serv302-304
ants, 304
fetes given
by
his taste for
him, 305-307
political testaliterature, 308
ment, 309
poets in his
organises the
employ, 310
Academy, 311 his influence
on literature, 314 friendly to
marriage of his
authors, 317
with
niece, 318; quarrels
his
family,
Enghien, 320
321-328 resembles Pitt, 330;
permanence of his work, 333,
secures order, 334
335. 339
distrusts popular opinion, 337
influence on administration of
justice, 341
Richelieu, Alphonse de, brother
does not
of the Cardinal, 26
want to be bishop, 27 his
career, 321, 322
Richelieu, chateau of, 17, 21,
22, 297
Richelieu, Henri de, brother of
the Cardinal, 320, 321
Richelieu, Marshal, 327
Rohan, Duchess of, 100
264,
Rohan, Duke
of,
commands
Protestants, 105
Rouen,
the
Index
359
French, 180
Rueil, chateau
of,
300
amount of,
144, 145
of clergy, 275
187, 188
ter of,
St.
Abbe
Cyran,
Richelieu, 277
friendly to
of,
;
is
imprisoned,
liberated, 279
278
St. Simon, Duke of, 121, 136
Savoy, allied with France, 215
Sedan, becomes apart of France,
;
is
210
Sirmond, Father, confessor of
Louis XIII., 141
Slavery, 229
Soissons, Count of, insurrection
of, 191, 192
Sorbonne, church of, burial
place of Richelieu, 218 ; buildings erected by Richelieu,
301
Spain,
sends
French, 91
France, 174
fleet to assist
her army invades
bad government
makes peace
with Holland, 182, 183 makes
treaty with Cinq-Mars, 200
Spinosa, Marquis of, 91
of,
177,
178
250
Sweden,
165
161
her army,
162-
U
Urban VIII., opinion
218
272, 274
lieu,
of Richeopposes Richelieu,
121
Vignerot, Armand de, heir of
Richelieu, 219, 325, 327
Vitry, Marshal, 55, 56
Voiture, 313, 315, 316
W
Wallenstein, Duke of, 159 his
cruelty, 160
is
dismissed,
161; is recalled, 164; his
his treasonable
conduct, 165
plots, 167
is murdered, 168
Weimar, Bernard, Duke of, 170
Westphalia, treaty of, 183, 184
Witchcraft, belief in, 264-268
;