No event could have been more unfortunate for the ambitious Connétable than the successful defence of Montauban. Louis loved war for its own sake, but he was also jealous of success; and he felt with great bitterness this first mortification. He had, moreover, become conscious that he was a mere puppet in the hands of his ambitious favourite; and he was already becoming weary of a moral vassalage of which he had been unable to calculate the extent. As the brilliant Connétable flashed past him, glittering with gold, the plumes of his helmet dancing in the wind, and the housings of his charger sparkling with gems, he looked after him with a contemptuous scowl, and bade the nobles among whom he stood admire the regal bearing of le Roi Luynes; nor was he the less bitter because he could not suppress a consciousness of his own disability to dispense with the services of the man whom he thus criticized.
Upon one point Louis XIII greatly resembled his mother; with all his arrogance and love of power, he possessed no innate strength of purpose, and constantly required extraneous support; but it was already easy for those about him to perceive that fear alone continued to link him with the once all-powerful favourite. Rumour said, moreover, that superadded to the jealousy which the King entertained of the daily increasing assumption of the Connétable there existed another cause of discontent. The Duchesse de Luynes was, as we have said, both beautiful and fascinating, and Louis had not been proof against her attractions, although his ideas of gallantry never overstepped the bounds of the most scrupulous propriety. The lady had on her part welcomed his homage with more warmth than discretion, and the favourite had not failed to reproach her for a levity by which he considered himself dishonoured. Madame de Luynes had retorted in no measured terms, and the young sovereign, who detested finding himself involved in affairs of this nature, and who had, moreover, reason to believe that he was not the only individual favoured by the smiles of the coquettish beauty, soon evinced an aversion towards both husband and wife, which encouraged the enemies of De Luynes to hint that the reverse which his Majesty had lately suffered at Montauban might be entirely attributed to the incapacity and selfishness of the Connétable. This opinion soothed the wounded vanity of the King, and he talked vehemently of his regret for the brave men who had fallen, among whom was the Duc de Mayenne, and bitterly complained of the dishonour to which he had been subjected; while in order to revenge himself at once upon De Luynes and the Duchess, he condescended to the meanness of informing the former that the Prince de Joinville was enamoured of his wife, and subsequently boasted to Bassompierre that he had done so. The Marquis listened in astonishment to this extraordinary communication, and in reply ventured to assure his Majesty that he had committed a serious error in seeking to cause a misunderstanding between a married couple.
"God will forgive me for it should He see fit to do so," was the sullen retort of Louis. "At all events it gave me great pleasure to be revenged on him, and to cause him this annoyance; and before six months have elapsed I will make him disgorge all his gains." [64]
The rumour of his projected disgrace soon reached the ears of the bewildered favourite, who instantly resolved to redeem himself by some more successful achievement. He accordingly ordered the troops to march upon and besiege Monheur, an insignificant town on the Garonne, which was feebly garrisoned by two hundred and sixty men, and which was in consequence sure to fall into his hands. As he had foreseen, the place soon capitulated, but the late reverse had rendered Louis less accessible than ever to the claims of mercy; and although by the terms of the treaty he found himself compelled to spare the lives of the troops, numbers of the inhabitants were put to death, and the town was sacked and burned.[65] This paltry triumph did not, however, suffice to reinstate the Connétable in the good graces of his royal master, who continued to indulge in the most puerile complaints against his former favourite; and the latter's mortification at so sudden and unexpected a reverse of fortune so seriously affected his health that, while the ruins of the ill-fated town were still smouldering, he expired in an adjacent village of a fever which had already caused considerable ravages in the royal army.
When intelligence of the decease of De Luynes was communicated to the King he did not even affect the slightest regret, and the courtiers at once perceived that the demise of the man upon whom he had lavished so many and such unmerited distinctions was regarded by Louis as a well-timed release. So careless indeed did the resentful monarch show himself of the common observances of decency that he gave no directions for his burial; and, profiting by this omission, the enemies of the unfortunate Connétable pillaged his residence, and carried off every article of value, not leaving him even a sheet to supply his grave-clothes. The Maréchal de Chaulnes and the Duc de Luxembourg, his brothers, with whom at his first entrance into life he had shared his slender income, and whom in his after days of prosperity he had alike ennobled and enriched, looked on in silence at this desecration of his remains, lest by resenting the outrage they should incur the displeasure of the King; and it is on record that the Abbé Rucellaï and one of his friends alone had the courage and generosity to furnish the necessary funds for embalming the body and effecting its transport to its last resting-place.[66]
The resolute position still maintained by the Protestants chafed the arrogant temper of Louis XIII, who, although personally incapable of sustaining the royal authority, was yet jealous of its privileges. Political and civil liberty was in his eyes a heresy to be exterminated at whatever cost; and while he was as infirm in purpose as a child, he grasped at absolute monarchy, and panted to acquire it. This, as he at once felt, could never be achieved while there existed within his kingdom a party which claimed to limit his prerogative, and to maintain the rights which it had acquired under his predecessors, and thus he eagerly resolved to rid himself of so dangerous an enemy; but although his determination was formed, he found himself unequal to the self-imposed task; he had no reliance on his own strength, and until he had selected a new favourite upon whom he could lean for support, he dared not venture upon so serious an undertaking.
There were, however, many candidates for the vacant honour, and De Luynes was scarcely in his grave ere two separate parties began to strive for pre-eminence. That of the ministers was headed by Henri de Gondy, Cardinal de Retz, President of the Council, Schomberg, Grand Master of the Artillery and Superintendent of Finance, and De Vic, Keeper of the Seals, who exerted all their efforts to dissuade the King from again placing himself in the power of a favourite; believing that should he consent to retain the government in his own hands, they need only flatter his foibles to secure to themselves the actual administration of the kingdom; a policy which they commenced by urging him to follow up his intention of pursuing the war against the Protestants.
On the other hand, the courtiers who were anxious for peace, and who desired to see Louis once more quietly established in his capital, were earnest that he should advance Bassompierre to the coveted dignity; nor were they without sanguine hope of success, as even before the death of De Luynes, the wit, courage, and magnificence of the courtly soldier had captivated the admiration of the King, who had evinced towards him a greater portion of regard than he vouchsafed to any other noble of his suite; while so conscious were the ministers of this preference, that in order to rid themselves of so dangerous an adversary, and to effect his removal from the Court, they offered to Bassompierre the lieutenancy of Guienne and the bâton of a marshal. These honours were, however, declined--not from ambition, for Bassompierre, although brave in the field, was an ardent votary of pleasure, and the Court was his world; but he was wise enough to feel that he did not possess the necessary talent for so perilous a post as that which his friends would fain have assigned to him; and he was the first to declare that the intrigues of both parties would fail, since the King must ere long fall, as a natural consequence, under the dominion of his mother, or that of the Prince de Condé.[67]
On the 28th of January Louis re-entered Paris, where he was received with enthusiasm; and the meeting between the mother and son was highly satisfactory to both parties. In compliance with the advice of Richelieu, Marie de Medicis exhibited towards the young sovereign a deferential tenderness and a modest exultation, which flattered his vanity, and disarmed his apprehensions. No allusion was made to the past, save such as afforded opportunity for adulation and triumph; Louis began to look upon himself as a conqueror, and the Queen-mother already entertained visions of renewed power and authority.
So soon as the death of De Luynes had been made known to M. de Condé, he had hastened to meet the King, in order to forestall the influence of Marie. Aware that she anxiously desired a termination of the war, he threw himself into the cabal of the ministers, and urged Louis to complete the work which he had so ably commenced, by compelling the Protestants to evacuate La Rochelle, Montauban, and Royan, the only fortified towns of which they still remained in possession; conscious that should he succeed in once more involving the country in civil war, his royal kinsman would not be able to dispense with his own support.