CHAPTER VI. DISORDERS, TROUBLES, AND CIVIL WARS, IN THE Misfortunes after the death of Henry IV. THE assassination of Henry IV., which is sus- 1610. pected, on probable grounds, though they do not amount to a proof, to have been effected by a conspiracy, overthrew the whole structure which his wise conduct had raised, dispelled all the hopes of the good subjects, and plunged the kingdom into every species of misfortune. Under the mask of mourning, and in the midst of the public sorrow, the joy of several persons discovered itself even in the Louvre. These intriguers, these rapacious and ambitious men, already built projects for raising their fortune on the ruins of their country. Louis XIII. was but nine years old, and a regency was on the point of opening a way to the most destructive cabals. The Duke d'Epernon, who had been incessantly disturbing the government during the last reign, immediately gave wing to his arrogance. In full parliament, he in a manner or The duke d'Epernon. the on Arret dered the nomination of Mary Medici to the conferring regency, laying his hand on the hilt of his regency sword, and saying, in a threatening tone, It is the queen. yet in the scabbard, but shall be drawn, if the queen be not this instant granted a title which is her due by the order of nature, and the rules of justice; and that court, being no longer free to act, passed an arret conformable to his pleasure. According to ancient custom, the decision of this affair belonged to the states-general. But the juncture was critical; time pressed; it was necessary to prevent the disorders of anarchy, and the parliament doubtless saw with pleasure so important an addition made to their authority. Concini and · Nothing can equal the vices and follies of the his wife new government. The Florentine Concini, Marall powerful. quis d'Ancre, afterwards marechal of France, and still more his wife Eleanora Galigai, had an absolute ascendant over the mind of the queen, whose weakness and incapacity gave full play to their passions. These two foreigners, equally rapacious and subtle, raised themselves, from a condition below mediocrity, to the summit of fortune. The council of state met only for form sake; its members debated, Secret but they decided nothing. Every thing was council. regulated by a secret council, which assembled at undue hours, determined all measures, changed the political system, and acted upon maxims directly opposite to those of Henry IV. Concini and his wife, the pope's nuncio, the Spanish ambassador, and Father Cotton, were in the number of its members. Was Sulli wrong when he said, We are going to fall under the dominion of Spain and the Jesuits; all good French men ought to look to themselves, for they will not long be left undisturbed? In fact, almost all the deliberations tended to an union between France and Spain, by the marriage of Anne of Austria with the king, and his sister Elizabeth with the son of Philip III., the dissolution of the alliances formed under the last reign, the ruin of the Calvinists, and the dissipation of the treasure, either to enrich favourites, or to purchase adherents. Charles Emanuel, duke of Savoy, who relied upon the faith of treaties, was shamefully abandoned to the vengeance of the Spaniards; but Lesdiguieres marched twice to his assistance, notwithstanding the king's prohibition, which is another proof of the weakness of the govern ment. Sulli court. Sulli could be looked upon only with an evil eye in this court, whence every sentiment of retires from honour was banished. His manly frankness, his noble pride, made him incapable of yielding to pernicious counsels. He demanded leave to retire, which was granted with pleasure, and employed the rest of his life, which lasted till 1641, in doing an additional service to posterity, by writing his Memoirs; wherein he has transmitted to us his sentiments, and the maxims of his policy. Once, when he returned to Paris, because the king stood in need of his advice, the courtiers ridiculing his dress and carriage, he said to Louis XIII., When the king, your father, did me the honour to consult me, he first dismissed all the buffoons and fops of the court. Must the glory and prosperity of a great kingdom depend upon two incomparable heads! Rebellion of the of the states: general. 1614. Troubles, civil wars, disorders and misforprince of tunes, rapidly trod on the heels of each other. Conde. The whole state was filled with cabals, Condé, Meeting with some other princes of the blood, and a number of the chief nobility, rose in rebellion. As there was no force sufficient to reduce them, all their demands were granted by the treaty of Sainte-Menehould. In 1614, the statesgeneral were assembled, in compliance with the leaders of the faction; but the meeting produced only disputes. The clergy, still tinctured with Italian prejudices, ardently solicited the publication of the council of Trent, and rejected, as a rash attempt, the proposal made by the third estate, to enact a law, declaring, That no temporal nor spiritual power has a right to dispose of the kingdom, and to absolve the subjects from their oath of allegiance. An arret of parliament, which ranks the independence of the crown among the fundamental laws, was afterwards annulled, as if the court of Rome had presided in the king's council. of the Remon: In 1615, the parliament making remonstrances strances on the dissipation of the treasure left parliament by Henry IV., only two millions of which were received. remaining, on the ruinous and useless expenses ill by which the state was weakened, and other abuses which were multiplying every day, an arret of council was issued in reply, declaring, that the parliament had no right to intermeddle in affairs of state. Afterwards, on the representations of the attorney-general, Louis gave only this brief reply, It is my pleasure, and likewise the queen's. The king might have governed alone, being of age the former year; but, though he was jealous of power, we shall find him perpetually surrendering it into other hands. The embarrassment of the court was increased by a new rebellion of the prince of Condé, supported by the Calvinists. This prince, after publishing a manifesto in the most violent terms, suffered himself to be duped, laid down his arms, returned to court, and was arrested in the middle of the Louvre in 1616. The Marechal d'Ancre, or rather his wife, then made a total change in the ministry, and promoted Richelieu, bishop of Lucon, to the office of secretary of state, who was one day to govern in the name of Louis XIII. Rewards were lavished upon men entirely undeserving; by which the malecontents were only emboldened, and the civil war was kindled for the fourth time. So enormous were the riches of Concini, who was at first very poor, that he offered to raise an army of seven thousand men at his own expense. The favourite, though equally detested and despised by the great men, supported himself against all their efforts; but he met with a more dangerous enemy in young Luines, whose fortune was almost equally amazing with his own. This man had risen to favour by his skill in training birds for the amusement of the monarch; and Louis being one of those weak minds, that suffer themselves to be governed by people who have the art of pleasing them, Luines found means to inspire him with a jealousy for his authority; persuaded him to shake off the yoke of a domineering mother, and to rid himself of a foreigner who governed that princess, and consequently was master of the |