Volume III Part 4 (1/2)

On the conclusion of the treaty a meeting was appointed between the King and his mother at the castle of Brissac, whither he repaired to await her arrival; and she was no sooner made acquainted with this arrangement than she hastened to the place of rendezvous, escorted by five hundred hors.e.m.e.n of the royal army. She was met midway by the Marechal de Praslin, and a short time afterwards by the Duc de Luxembourg, at the head of a strong party of n.o.bles, by whom she was warmly welcomed; and finally, when she was within a few hundred yards of the castle, Louis himself appeared, who, as her litter approached, alighted in his turn, an example which she immediately followed, and in the next instant they were clasped in each other's arms.

”I have you now, Madame,” exclaimed the King with a somewhat equivocal smile; ”and you shall not escape me again.”

”Sire,” replied the Queen, ”you will have little trouble in retaining me, for I meet you with the firm determination never more to leave you, and in perfect confidence that I shall be treated with all the kindness and consideration which I can hope from so good a son.”

These hollow compliments exchanged, Louis retired a pace or two in order to enable the Prince de Conde and the Duc de Luynes to pay their respects to the Queen-mother, by whom they were most graciously received; while Richelieu was no less warmly greeted by the young King and his favourite. No one, in fine, who had witnessed the scene, could have imagined that heart-burning and hatred were concealed beneath the smiles and blandishments which were to be encountered on all sides; or that among those who then and there bandied honeyed words and gracious greetings, were to be found individuals who had staked their whole future fortunes upon a perilous venture, and many of whom had lost.

After a few days spent at Brissac the King departed for Poitou, while Marie repaired to Chinon, whence she was to follow him in a few days; and thus terminated the second exile of the widow of Henry the Great, even as the first had done, in mortification and defeat.[57]

As a matter of course, the Ducs de Mayenne and d'Epernon no sooner saw that the cause of the Queen-mother had become hopeless than they hastened to make their submission to the King; although the former, fearing that his known hostility to the favourite might militate against his future interests, first endeavoured to induce M. d'Epernon to join him in forming a new faction for their personal protection; but this attempt met with no encouragement, Epernon declaring that as his royal mistress had seen fit to trust to the clemency of the sovereign, he felt bound to follow her example, and that he advised M. de Mayenne to adopt the same course. Such a reply naturally sufficed to convince his colleague that he had no other alternative; and after the professions usual on such occasions both n.o.bles prepared to lay down their arms.[58]

Louis having learnt at Poitiers that the Queen was on her way to join him, immediately proceeded to Tours to await her arrival, and to conduct her to the former city, whither she accompanied him with all the great ladies of the Court; and four days subsequently Marie de Medicis followed with her slender retinue. She was welcomed by Anne of Austria with haughty courtesy; and during the ensuing week all was revelry and dissipation. The young Queen gave a splendid ball in honour of her august mother-in-law; and on the morrow the Jesuits performed a comedy at which all the Court were present.

It is probable, however, that Marie de Medicis did not enter with much zest into these diversions, as she could not fail to perceive that the courtesy evinced towards her was reluctant and constrained; and when, on the arrival of the Duc de Mayenne, she witnessed the coldness of his reception, her fears for her own future welfare must have been considerably augmented. At his first audience Mayenne threw himself at the feet of the King, protesting his sorrow for the past, and imploring the royal pardon with all the humility of a criminal, but Louis alike feared and hated the veteran leaguer, and he replied harshly: ”Enough, M. le Duc; I will forget the past should the future give me cause to do so.” And as he ceased speaking he turned away, leaving the mortified n.o.ble to rise at his leisure from the lowly att.i.tude which he had a.s.sumed.[59]

Two days subsequently the King resumed his journey to Guienne, Marie de Medicis proceeded to Fontainebleau, and Anne of Austria returned to Paris. As Louis reached Chize he was met by the Duc d'Epernon, who, in his turn, sued for forgiveness, which was accorded without difficulty; and thus the Queen-mother found herself deprived of her two most efficient protectors,[60] and clung more tenaciously than ever to the support of the treacherous Richelieu.

The next care of Louis was to compel the resumption of the Roman Catholic religion in Bearn; after which he followed the Court to the capital, whither he had already been preceded by the Queen-mother.

FOOTNOTES:

[45] _Mercure Francais_, 1620. _Pieces Curieuses faites durant le Regne du Connetable de Luynes_, pp. 1-3.

[46] Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp. 70-72. _Vie du Duc d'Epernon_, book viii. Sismondi, vol. xxii. p. 458. Fontenay-Mareuil, _Mem_. p. 458. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 183, 184. Richelieu, _Hist. de la Mere et du Fils_, vol. ii. pp. 397, 398.

[47] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 183, 184. Fontenay-Mareuil, _Mem_. pp.

461-467.

[48] Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp. 106-108. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 186, 187.

[49] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 186, 187. Siri, _Mem. Rec_. vol. v. pp.

106-110.

[50] Siri, _Mem. Rec_. 1620, pp. 110-122.

[51] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 206. Pontchartrain, _Mem_. p. 313.

Fontenay-Mareuil, _Mem_. p. 462. Sismondi, vol. xxii. pp. 462, 463.

Matthieu, _Hist, des Derniers Troubles_, book iii. p. 650.

[52] Mezeray, vol. xi. p. 202. _Mercure Francais_, 1620-1621.

[53] Mezeray, vol. xi. pp. 206, 207. _Lumieres pour l'Hist. de France_.

Bernard, book iii.

[54] _Mercure Francais_, 1620. Siri, _Mem. Rec_, vol. v. pp. 135-137. Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. pp. 212, 213.

[55] Le Va.s.sor, vol. ii. p. 213. Mezeray, vol. xi. p. 210.