The Assembly of the Notables—Bassompierre nominated one of the four presidents—The “sorry Château of Versailles”—The ballet of le Sérieux et le Grotesque—Execution of Montmorency-Boutteville and Des Chapelles for duelling—Death of Madame—Preparations for war with England—Louis XIII resolves to take command of the army assembled in Poitou—The King falls ill at the Château of Villeroy—Bassompierre is prevented by Richelieu from visiting him—Intrigue by which the Duc d’Angoulême is appointed to the command of the army which ought to have devolved upon Bassompierre—Descent of Buckingham upon the Île de Ré—Blockade of the fortress of Saint-Martin—Investment of La Rochelle by the Royal army—Bassompierre, the King, and Richelieu at the Château of Saumery—The Cardinal assumes the practical direction of the military operations—Provisions and reinforcements are thrown into Saint-Martin—Refusal of the Maréchaux de Bassompierre and Schomberg to allow Angoulême to be associated with them in the command of the Royal army—Schomberg is persuaded to accept the duke as a colleague—Bassompierre persists in his refusal and requests permission of the King to leave the army—He is offered and accepts the command of a separate army, which is to blockade La Rochelle from the north-western side—He declines the government of Brittany—Dangerous situation of Buckingham’s army in the Île de Ré—Unsuccessful attempt to take Saint-Martin by assault—Disastrous retreat of the English.
During Bassompierre’s absence in England, Louis XIII had paid him the very high compliment of nominating him one of the four presidents of the Assembly of the Notables, which was opened at the Tuileries by the King on December 2, 1626, and continued sitting until February 24 of the following year. This assembly, from which Richelieu had systematically excluded all the makers of cabals at the Court—that is to say, practically all the great nobles—voted in accordance with the Cardinal’s desires and recommended the reduction of useless expenditure, pensions, and the King’s Household, the re-organisation of the Army, which, when on a peace footing, was not to exceed 20,000 men, the strengthening of the Navy, the relief of the lower noblesse as a counterpoise to the greater, and the destruction of all the fortifications of towns and châteaux not required for the defence of the frontiers.
Bassompierre, being the junior of the four presidents,[103] does not appear to have spoken very often, but a sentence in one of his speeches is worth recording, in the light of subsequent events. Praising Louis XIII for the economy he had shown in not erecting any new buildings and even suspending the completion of these commenced before he came to the throne, he continued:—
“This shows that he had no inclination to build, and that the finances of France will not be drained by sumptuous edifices erected by him; unless someone wishes to reproach him with having built the sorry Château of Versailles, of the construction of which even a simple gentleman would not wish to boast.”
It was this “sorry Château of Versailles”—then a mere hunting-lodge—which, under Louis XIII’s successor, was to be transformed into the most costly and magnificent royal palace in Europe.
During the winter Bassompierre took part in a ballet organised by the King at the Louvre and the Hôtel de Ville, in which his Majesty danced himself. In this ballet, which was entitled le Sérieux et le Grotesque, what appeared to be a number of gigantic bottles entered from one wing and a party of Swiss officers from the other. The officers hastened eagerly towards the bottles, which, however, suddenly transformed themselves into women, whereupon the Swiss fled in alarm. But the ladies produced goblets brimming with wine, at the sight of which the officers returned, and Bassompierre, representing the Colonel-General of the Swiss, declaimed several stanzas in praise of Cupid and Bacchus:
“Lorsqu, Amour me faisait mourir,
Bacchus m’est venu secourir
Et rendre à jamais redevable;
Et toutesfois ce petit Dieu
Dans mon cœur qu’il rend miserable
Prétend d’avoir le premier lieu.”
And so forth.
In the course of the spring an event occurred which created an immense sensation and showed that Richelieu was no respecter of persons and was resolved to enforce obedience to the royal authority, even at the expense of the noblest blood in France.
One of the greatest social evils of the age was that of duelling, which, bad as it had been in the troublous times of the last Valois, had become even worse under Henri IV, during whose reign it is computed that no less than 8,000 gentlemen lost their lives on the “field of honour.” During the early years of Louis XIII’s reign the evil continued unabated; duels were of almost daily occurrence; men quarrelled and fought for the most trifling difference; they drew upon one another in the public street; they exchanged challenges to mortal combat even in the King’s chamber. From time to time various edicts against duelling had been issued, but the penalties attaching to their infraction had been seldom enforced, and it was not until Richelieu came into power that the first serious attempt to put a stop to it was made. In March, 1626, the Cardinal persuaded the King to issue a new and severe edict against the practice, which was to be punished by confiscation of property, by exile, and, in aggravated cases, by death. At first, however, the edict would not appear to have been taken very seriously, and duels continued to be fought without any very unpleasant consequences to the offenders. But Richelieu was only waiting for a chance to make a terrible example.