1643.

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monarch's will, appointing a council, in which the partisans of Richelieu, Mazarin, and the prince of Condé, were to con trol the government, was set aside without difficulty by the parliament. Condé felt that he was powerless, and Mazarin made preparations for retiring to Italy.

Guilio Mazarini first appears in history as envoy from the pope. He was an Italian ecclesiastic, of no illustrious birth, and had been a follower of the Barberini; his sagacity discovered the French court to be a sphere where there was more room for his talents than the papal afforded. He came to Paris, attached himself to secretary Chavigny, and rose to be the confidant of Richelieu, who even intrusted him with the management of foreign affairs on the death of the friar Joseph, procured him a cardinal's hat, and recommended him as his successor. The Venetian ambassador described him, at this time, as possessing "a well-formed and agreeable person; as polite, adroit, impassive, indefatigable, prudent, eloquent, plausible, persuasive, an apt dissembler" in short, a perfect statesman of the Italian school. Yet, if he now remained at the head of affairs, it was owing more to good fortune, and to the complete dearth of rival talent, than to his own foresight. He had drawn up the late king's will, which had sought to limit the power of the queen-regent. Could Anne of Austria forgive this? She did so. Enemy as she was of Richelieu, and vilifier of his policy, no sooner did she find herself at the head of affairs, than she perceived this very policy to be the only one consistent with the welfare of the state and the security of its ruler. Brienne recommended Mazarin, who, on being applied to, promised the most scrupulous devotion to the queen.

The announcement of this reconciliation, of this return of Mazarin to power, was received with surprise and mortification by the returned exiles, the enemies of Richelieu, those who had deemed themselves possessed of the heart and confidence of the queen. They were for the most part young men, such as the duc de Beaufort, and a host of noble striplings, who were all, nevertheless, profound statesmen in their own esteem. With pretensions to govern, they found it necessary to alter or conceal their juvenile and frivolous habits; they affected to be grave and sententious, and some even thought it necessary to give time to study and reflection; a whim, the characteristic and beneficial consequences of which are seen in the Memoirs of De Retz, and the Maxims of the duc de la Rochefoucault: the latter was at this time one of the young friends of the queen. Despite the talents that some of these vouths afterwards displayed, their present pretensions and

demeanor were considered as absurd, and the party was ironically called les Importans, that of the Important. On the side opposed to them were drawn up cardinal Mazarin, the old partisans of Richelieu, and, amongst the noblesse, the prince of Condé and his gallant son, the duc d'Enghien.

The queen-regent, as became her position, affected neu rality, but supported her newly chosen minister. The Im portans, however, hoped to regain the ascendency throug the means of Anne of Austria's old favorite, madame de Chev reuse, who was now returning from her long exile. This lady had once been all-powerful with the queen: her misfor tunes, occasioned by that attachment, gave her, she thought, an increase of claim; she totally put out of consideration how far the policy of a regent might interfere with the affections of a queen, and her party pretensions were as high as her resentments. She was warmly and cordially welcomed back by Anne; Mazarin hastened to conciliate her will, and commenced by placing 50,000 crowns before her, asking, might he count her amongst his friends. Madame de Chevreuse required the dismissal of Chavigny, and the cardinal instantly consented to sacrifice the secretary: then came the great demands of the party, viz. that Sedan should be restored to the duc de Bouillon, the government of Britany to the duc de Vendôme, and that of Guienne to young Epernon; Havre, too, was required for the future duc de la Rochefoucault. These demands were no less than to re-constitute the power and independence of the grandees, that Richelieu had spent his life, and steeped his memory in blood, in order to reduce. Anne of Austria `and Mazarin, now in the place of authority held by Richelieu, could not but see with his eyes: the adroit Mazarin, however, did not give to madame de Chevreuse the flat and peremptory denial that would have come from Richelieu's mouth; he looked complaisant and yielding, and drew on the negotiatrix of the Importans to fresh pretensions. One of these was to supersede the chancellor Seguier by Château neuf. Now Châteauneuf had presided at the commission which condemned the duc de Montmorency, and to favor him would be to outrage the princess of Condé, sister of that duke. Mazarin pretended to stand out on this point, hesitatingly, no oubt; madame de Chevreuse insisted; and the cardinal, etermined to break with a party whose pretensions were xorbitant, and which sought to replace the aristocracy on its old footing of superiority to government and ministry, affected to break with them rather than insult the family of Condé; thus securing powerful support, and averting the suspicions

1643.

PARTY OF THE IMPORTANS.

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of the young noblesse from the political jealousy which he bore them.

A rupture was declared; and a lady's quarrel soon after occurred to precipitate hostilities, and give the minister a pretext for acting. The duchess de Longueville, of the family of Condé, and one of the beauties of the court, was maligned by madame de Montbazon, sister-in-law of madame de Chev reuse. The latter found a billet-doux in the handwriting of the former, and addressed, she asserted, to comte de Coligni. This piece of scandal or calumny convulsed the entire circle of influential personages. The duc d'Enghien challenged the duc de Beaufort; the duke of Guise and comte de Coligni fought in the Place Royal, madame de Longueville being spectatress of the discomfiture of her chevalier, who died of his wounds. The queen in vain endeavored to bring about an accommodation. The Importans were too deeply mortified, and nothing short of the disgrace of the cardinal would satisfy them. The queen peremptorily refusing this, the duc de Beaufort entered into a scheme for making away with the cardinal by violence. Circumstances occurred to baffle and interrupt the design. Epernon was sounded in the mean time by one of the conspirators, and he instantly betrayed it. The duc de Beaufort was consequently arrested on the following day. Mesdames de Montbazon and Chevreuse were both exiled, as well as the duke and duchess of Vendôme, the dukes of Guise and Mercœur, and other less illustrious nobles. Here is the exculpation of Richelieu, and the excuse of his severity. No sooner is Anne of Austria, his rival and enemy, in the place of power, than she is obliged to adopt his policy and his strong measures, notwithstanding that such acts did violence to her private feelings. She wept en ordering the arrest of Beaufort; but, like the late monarch, she was compelled to sacrifice her feelings to her own interest and that of the state.

Whilst Louis XIV.'s reign thus commenced at court by a struggle betwixt the aristocracy and the ministers of royalty, t was signalized on the frontier by a brilliant victory. One of the bad effects of stern despotism is to check the development of talent in those who serve, and to paralyze their efforts. Thus few feats of war were decisive under Richelieu, unless the siege of Rochelle, which he personally directed. Had the cardinal lived, the duc d'Enghien had never dared to give battle at Rocroi, against the advice of the mareschal de l'Hôpital, who superintended as it were the movements of the young general. The action took place but five days after the death of Louis XIII., whe. the future

Condé felt himself at liberty. The Spaniards, 25,000 strong, besieged Rocroi. The duke marched to its succor with an army somewhat less in numbers. De l'Hôpital commanded the left of the French, and Sirot, who boasted to have been the antagonist of three kings, Gustavus Adolphus being one, commanded the reserve. Albuquerque, an active general led the Spanish left wing; he had strengthened it by a pos of a thousand mounted musqueteers, concealed by a wood, an destined to distract and take in flank the attacking enemy The vigilance of Condé discovered the manœuvre. He ordered Gassion with the infantry of the right to disperse this force. The prince himself, after a delay well calculated, led on its cavalry against Albuquerque; and the infantry having cleared the wood of the musqueteers, appeared in flank to second him. Albuquerque's division was routed and driven off the field. De l'Hôpital in the mean time had been beaten on his side and put to flight. Sirot, however, supported him and rallied the fugitives, until the victorious Condé, turning and taking the victors of De l'Hôpital in flank and rear, decided the action. The Spanish reserve, commanded by the veteran count de Fuentes, themselves veteran bands, and the most redoubtable infantry in Europe, alone stood their ground, or prepared to make a lion's retreat from the French. Condé charged them. The Spaniards allowed him to advance within fifty paces, and then a battery of eighteen cannon, which their body concealed, opened upon the advancing column, and drove it back. Twice the prince rallied and led his cavaliers to the charge; he might have perished like Gaston de Foix at Ravenna, in rashly pressing a desperate enemy, when Sirot and the reserve arrived, surrounded the valiant phalanx of Spaniards, broke it after many efforts, punishing ungenerously its stubborn resistance by indiscriminate slaughter. At Rocroi was overthrown the military superiority of Spain. Its veteran infantry was destroyed, and so weakened by misgovernment were the resources and spirit of the country, that to renew this army, or rather to renew its ancient confidence, was foun impossible. The moral effect of the victory of Rocroi was its most important consequence. The capture of Thionville was all the advantage immediately drawn from it.

The four years which succeeded 1643 were years of tran quillity to the regent, triumph to Mazarin, and glory to France. The petulance of the noblesse was checked by the discomfi ture of the importans. Mazarin, instead of imitating Richelieu and reigning by terror alone, sought to captivate by giving scope to pleasure, and creating a general taste for light and social amusements. He encouraged fêtes and gallantry

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He was prodigal of favors, of money, of every thing save authority. He bound the noblesse, and their still more froward dames and mistresses, in golden and in flowery chains; and those, who a year before were clamoring for independent governments, then limited their ambition to a duke's title. The sage La Rochefoucault himself has recorded in his Memoirs how he pleaded for this important distinction, in order, as he observes, that his wife might enjoy the privilege of a tabouret or stool at court.

The year 1644 is marked by the brilliant manœuvres of the duc d'Enghien and Turenne, who drove the imperialist general, Mercy, from his lines near Fribourg. The Austrian, however, had his revenge. In May, 1645, he surprised Turenne in his camp, and defeated him. D'Enghien was instantly ordered to the Rhine to repair this defeat. It was August ere he could bring Mercy to action, and not then without a risk that might have been fatal. The imperialists had taken a strong position near Nordlingen. They occupied two eminences and a valley that lay between, a village of some size being the centre. Here Mercy had fortified himself, and, seconded by the famous John der Werth, thought he might turn the hero of Rocroi. Strongly against the opinion of Turenne, the prince determined to attack. He himself led his troops against the village in the centre. It was valiantly defended; and the houses and wall offered so many means of neutralizing attack and rendering resistance stubborn, that the young general despaired of overcoming on this point. He therefore flew to his left, led them with impetuous valor up the fortified eminence, and took it after a desperate struggle. Its cannon, turned on the village in the centre, soon gave the victory on this point also to the French who attacked. To the right the imperialists, under John der Werth, had beaten the mareschal de Grammont, but this advantage did not now avail. Mercy himself was slain, and his army suffered a complete defeat. In this battle it was evident that the personal valor and exertions of the young d'Enghien decided the day. His generalship was heroism, Turenne's was science.

The paucity of result arising from these brilliant victories disgusted the French government with the war. Spain and Austria were both wasted by the prolonged struggle, and negotiations commenced for peace. Hostilities ceased in 1647 betwixt Spain and Holland, and a treaty followed betwixt these belligerents. France was thus exposed without an ally. Her domestic tranquillity began again to be disturbed, and the house of Austria entertained in 1648 sanguine hopes of preluding to peace and facilitating it by a victory. The duc