108 A. D. REGENCY OF MARY DE MEDICI. Ch. 10 than 3,600,000. France rapidly relapsed into the evils of Feudalism, and there was danger even of the destruction of the 1614 central power, and the subdivision of the kingdom into petty to principalities. The Parliament and the Royal courts were in 1624. frequent collision. The roads were infested with robbers, and the laws were unenforced. The foreign policy also was changed, and an alliance was made with the Pope, with Spain, and with the Jesuits. Con cini. nes. lieu. During the regency of Mary de Medici, the person who enjoyed the most power was Concini, an Italian favoritea courtier, who from a state of needy dependence became a peer of France, a marshal in the army, a governor of one of the most important provinces, and the possessor of immense estates; and all this without having discharged any important public services, and without any other claim than being the husband of the intimate friend of the Queen regent. The King detested him, but was only enabled to get rid of him by assassination. He was too powerful to be brought to justice in the ordinary way. and Concini was succeeded by a favorite even more unworthy De Luy--De Luynes, the young King's falconer. He became constable of France, the highest officer in the realm. His mismanagement and selfishness led to an insurrection of some of the great nobles, among whom were Condé and D'Epernon. While the kingdom was thus convulsed with civil war, Riche in every way mismanaged, Richelieu, Bishop of Luçon, appeared upon the stage. He was a man of high birth, was made doctor of the Sorbonne at the age of twenty-two, and, before he was twenty-five, a bishop. During the ascendency of Concini, he attracted the attention of the Queen, and was selected as secretary of State. Soon after the death of Luynes, he obtained a cardinal's hat, and in 1624 a seat in the council. The moment he spoke, his genius predominated, and the Monarch, with all his pride, bowed to the ascendency of intellect, and yielded, with a good grace, to a man whom it was impolitic to resist. RISE OF RICHELIEU. 109 A. D. 1624 to From that moment the reins of empire were in the hands Ch.10 of a master. Still it was not the policy of the Court to entrust the haughty Cardinal with unbridled power. But when the young King lost his favorite; when his mother defied his authority; when his brother sought to steal his 1628. sceptre; when the Prince of Condé and other nobles conspired against his throne; when the Protestants took up arms; when His dangerforeign enemies were entering France; when the finances were ous amdisordered, and troubles of every sort were accumulating with terrific force, it was necessary for him, timid and betrayed, to take into his service the only man in the kingdom capable of serving him or the country, however unscrupulous and ambitious he might be. bition. of Ri chelieu. Three great objects animated the genius of Richelieu, and Objects in the attainment of these he was successful. They were, the suppression of the Huguenots, the humiliation of the great barons, and the reduction of the power of Austria. For these objects he perseveringly contended during twenty years; and his struggles and intrigues to secure these ends constitute the history of France during the reign of Louis XIII. of La In order to annihilate the political power of the Huguenots, -for Richelieu cared more for this than their religious opinions, it was necessary that he should possess himself of the city of La Rochelle, on the Bay of Biscay, a strong fortress, Siege which had resisted, during the reign of Charles IX., the whole Ro power of the Catholics, and which continued to be their chelle. stronghold. Here they could always retire and be safe, in times of danger. It was strongly fortified by sea, as well as by land; and only a vigorous blockade could exclude provisions and military stores from the people. But England was mistress of the ocean, and supplies from her would always relieve the besieged. After ineffectual but vigorous attempts to take the city by land, Richelieu determined to shut up its harbour, first by stakes, and then by a boom. Both of these measures failed. But the military genius of the Cardinal was equal to his talents 110 SIEGE OF LA ROCHELLE. A. D. Ch.10, as a statesman. He remembered what Alexander did at the siege of Tyre. So, with a volume of Quintus Curtius in his 1628 hand, he projected and finished a mole, half a mile in length, to across a gulf, into which the tide flowed. In some places it was 1642. eight hundred and forty feet below the surface of the water, and sixty feet in breadth. At first, the besieged laughed at an attempt so gigantic and difficult. But the work steadiy advanced, and the city was finally cut off from communication with the sea. The besieged, in 1628, wasted by famine, surrendered; the fortifications were destroyed, the town lost its independence, and the power of the Huguenots was broken for ever. But no vengeance was taken on the heroic citizens, and they were even permitted to enjoy their religion. Fifteen thousand, however, perished at this memorable siege. Humili- The next object of Richelieu was the humiliation of ation of Austria. But the detail of his military operations would Austria. Depression of the be complicated and tedious, since no grand and decisive battles were fought by his generals, and no able commanders appeared. Turenne and Condé belonged to the next age. The military operations consisted in frontier skirmishes, idle sieges, and fitful expeditions, in which, however, the Cardinal had the advantage, and by which he gained, since he could better afford to pay for them. All motives of a religious kind were absorbed in his prevailing passion to aggrandize the French monarchy. Had it not been for the intrigues and forces of Richelieu, the peace of Westphalia might not have been secured, and Austria might again have overturned the "Balance of Power." The third great aim of the minister, and the one which he most systematically pursued to the close of his life, was the nobles. depression of the nobles, whose power was dangerously exercised. They had almost feudal privileges, were numerous, enormously wealthy, corrupt, and dissolute. His efforts to suppress their power raised up numerous conspiracies. But all who conspired against him were fated to feel the power of his vengeance, from which, when roused, no one ever HUMILIATION OF THE NOBLES. 111 escaped. And he brought them to justice, not merely as his Ch.10. enemies, but as culprits against the State. He never accused A. D. unless he could show the proofs of treason, and thus compel 1628 his royal master to maintain the dignity of his crown. to Mary His greatest enemy was the Queen mother, who had been 1642 Regent during the minority of her son, and who was indignant Exile at seeing her counsels disregarded, and her power undermined and by the very man whom she had patronized. The contest death of between the mother and the minister for ascendency over the mind of the King was long and desperate. But Richelieu prevailed, and succeeded in banishing the widow of Henry IV. from the kingdom. In her exile she was subject to many humiliations, and finally died, in neglect and poverty, at Cologne, in the year 1642, heart broken, helpless, and betrayed. She was a dangerous and intriguing woman, but had none of the vices which disgraced Catharine de Medici. the nobles. Nor did Gaston, Duke of Orleans, brother of the King, Ruin of and long heir-apparent to the throne, succeed any better than his mother, in his opposition to the ali powerful Cardinal. He, too, was obliged to beg his life for the treasons he committed, and was reduced to political insignificance, in spite of his rank and claims. The Prince of Condé did not rebel against the minister, since he remembered his former imprisonment, through Richelieu's suggestion, in the Bastile. The Duke of Guise, whose family had grasped the sceptre of Henry III., retired into obscurity and exile. The Duke of Soubise, the head of the Protestant party, fled into England. The Duke of Bouillon, Sovereign of Sedan, was compelled to resign his principality, The proud Epernon, who had ruled. the councils of Mary of Medici, was completely humiliated. The Duke of Vendôme, natural brother of the King, was obliged to flee to England. The Duke of Montmorency was executed as a culprit. So were the Counts Chalais, Bouteville, and Deschapelles. Cinq-Mars, favorite of the King, and grand equerry, perished on the scaffold. Marshal Bassompierre, the first general in France, was sent to the Bastile. Marshal 112 A. D. POWER OF RICHELIEU. Ch.10. Marrillac was executed for a pretended peculation. These executions and imprisonments were felt to be a humiliation of 1628 the whole body of the nobility, and so completely was the to order reduced, that all subsequent combinations failed. 1642. Humili the Parlia ment. Still Richelieu was not satisfied. He resolved to humble the Parliament, because it had opposed an ordinance of the ation of King, declaring the partisans of the Duke of Orleans guilty of treason. It had rightly argued that such a condemnation could not be issued without a trial. "But," said the artful minister to the weak-minded King, "to refuse to verify a declaration, which you yourself announced to the members of Parliament, is to doubt your authority." An extraordinary council was convened, and the Parliament, which was simply a court of judges, was summoned to the royal presence. They went in solemn procession, carrying with them the record which showed their refusal to register the edict. The King received them with stately pomp. They were required to kneel in his presence; their decree was taken from the record and torn in pieces before their eyes, and the leading members were suspended and banished. Suspensiou of the The Court of Aids, by whom the money edicts were registered, also showed opposition. The members left the court Court when the next edict was to be registered. But they were of Aids. suspended, until they humbly came to terms. "All the mal contents, the Queen, the Prince, the Nobles, the Parliament, and the Court of Aids hoped for the support of the people, and all were disappointed." Hence Richelieu triumphed. His next usurpation was the erection of a new tribunal for trying State criminals, in which no record of its proceedings should be preserved, and the members of which should be selected by himself. This court was worse than that of the Star Chamber. The Cardinal minister was now triumphant over all his enemies. He had destroyed the political power of the Huguenots, extended the boundaries of France, and decimated the nobles. He now turned his attention to the internal adminis |