Part 22 (1/2)
[8] Warburton, III. p. 75.
[9] Cal. Dom. State Papers. Jermyn to Digby, 12 May, 1645.
[10] Anne of Austria, Queen Regent of France.
[11] Warburton, III. p. 82. 5 May, 1645.
[12] Memoirs of Anne de Gonzague. Ed. Senac de Meilhan. Memoirs of Cardinal De Retz, and of Mademoiselle de Montpensier.
[13] Bromley Letters, p. 127, 28 Nov. 1645.
[14] Bromley, pp. 129-131.
[15] Soeltl's Elizabeth Stuart, 1840. Bk. IV. Chap. 7, pp. 402-403.
[16] Strickland's Elizabeth Stuart, p. 209.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Bromley Letters, p. 134.
[19] Queen's Princesses, VI. p. 149.
[20] Bromley Letters, p. 136. Elector to Elizabeth, Jan. 9, 1646-7.
[21] Whitelocke, p. 306.
[22] State Papers, 20 April, 1647.
[23] Rupert Transcripts, Sept. 30, 1648.
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CHAPTER XII
COMMAND IN THE FRENCH ARMY. COURTs.h.i.+P OF MADEMOISELLE. DUELS WITH DIGBY AND PERCY
Sometime before the end of the war the Queen of England had fled to France, and had set up her court at that home of Royal exiles,--St.
Germains! There she had been joined by her son, the Prince of Wales, and by many English Cavaliers; and thither went Rupert in July 1646.
”If thou see Prince Rupert,” wrote King Charles anxiously to his wife, ”tell him that I have recommend him unto thee. For, albeit his pa.s.sions may sometimes make him mistake, yet I am confident of his honest constancy and courage, having at the last behaved himself very well.”[1] Henrietta, convinced by her husband's words, or forgetful of the reproaches she had so recently heaped upon her nephew, received Rupert graciously, and to the Prince of Wales he was of course very welcome.
Nor was his reception at the French court less cordial. The Queen Regent, impressed by his romantic history and famous courage, showered marks of her favour upon him; and Mazarin, the true ruler of France, at once offered him a command in the French army, ”upon whatever conditions of preferment or advantage he could desire.”[2] Rupert hesitated to accept the flattering offer, without his Uncle's sanction.
”Prince Rupert had several a.s.surances by the mouth of the Duke of Orleans, Cardinal Mazarin and others, of the charge of the foreign forces mentioned in my last,” says a letter in the Portland MSS., ”but I am informed {214} he defers to accept the commission of it, until he hears his Uncle, the King of Great Britain, doth approve it; which deference is well taken here.”[3]
Apparently Charles expressed approval of the arrangement, for Rupert finally entered the French service, reserving to himself the right of quitting it whenever his Uncle should need him. He was immediately given the rank of Field-Marshal, with a regiment of foot, a troop of horse, and a commission to command all the English in France. The Cavaliers, exiled and dest.i.tute, eagerly embraced the opportunity of serving under their Prince, and Rupert had no difficulty in raising a large corps, more especially as the conditions of service were exceptionally good. Among those who applied for a commission was the ever plausible Goring, but he found himself promptly refused, and thereupon took service under Spain.
The summer of 1647 found Rupert fighting his old enemies the Spaniards, in Northern France, and on the borders of Flanders. The campaign was a desultory one, in which little was effected, owing partly to the jealousies of the French officers, who were little more in concord than those of the English army had been. The two Marshals, Rantzau and Ga.s.sion, detested each other, and Ga.s.sion, at least, was exceedingly jealous of Rupert's reputation. His conduct throughout the campaign was, if not treacherous, extremely eccentric and he seems to have deserved the name of ”that madman” bestowed on him by Rantzau.
They marched first to the relief of Armentieres, and, on their arrival near the town, Ga.s.sion invited Rupert to come and ”view the enemy”