And amid all this pomp of power and pride of place, how did the purple-robed politician regard the generous benefactress who had furthered his brilliant fortunes? It cannot be forgotten that the wretched Concini had been his first patron, and that when one word of warning from his lips might have saved the Maréchal from assassination, those lips had remained closed; that he had even affected to slumber with the death-warrant of the victim beneath his pillow, and had striven to rise upon his ruin. The after-career of Richelieu did not belie its commencement. The glorious talents with which Heaven had gifted him festered into a curse beneath his ambition; he became the marvel of the whole civilized world, and the scourge of those who trusted in his sincerity.
That Marie was as eager as Richelieu himself for the alliance with England is undoubted; for while the latter, whose enlarged political views led him to seek through this medium to curb the growing power of Austria and Spain, looked only to the aggrandizement of the nation which he served, the Queen-mother was equally anxious to secure for herself a safe asylum in the event of any new reverse; and consequently on this particular subject they acted in unison, the Cardinal openly striving to attain his own object, and Marie de Medicis secretly negotiating at the Court of St. James's to effect a marriage by which she believed that she should ensure her future safety.
The difference of religion between the contracting parties necessarily induced considerable difficulties, but as these were never, at that period, suffered to interfere with any great question of national policy, Richelieu unhesitatingly undertook to obtain the consent of the Sovereign-Pontiff, who, as the minister had foreseen, finally accorded the required dispensation. Nor was he deterred from his purpose by the opposition of the Spanish monarch, who caused his ambassador to assure Marie de Medicis that, in the event of her inducing the King to bestow the hand of the Princesse Henriette upon the Infant Don Carlos, he would secure to that Prince the sovereignty of the Catholic Low Countries on the demise of the Archduchess Isabella, and meanwhile the royal couple could take up their abode at Brussels under the guardianship of that Princess.[85]
The Queen-mother, however, placed no faith in the sincerity of this promise, while Richelieu met it by an instant negative, declaring that "every one was aware that Spain was like a canker which gnawed and devoured every substance to which it attached itself." [86] And meanwhile Louis, glad to have once more found an individual alike able and willing to take upon himself the responsibility of government, suffered the Cardinal to pursue his negotiation with England. The dowry demanded by James with the Princess was eight hundred thousand crowns, half of which was to be paid down on the eve of the marriage, and the remainder within eighteen months, while it was further stipulated that, in the event of her dying before her husband, and without issue, a moiety only of the entire sum was to be repaid by the Prince.
During the progress of this treaty, the Marquis de la Vieuville, whose rapid elevation had created for him a host of virulent and active enemies, was suddenly dismissed. Although not gifted with remarkable talents, M. de la Vieuville was a man of uprightness and integrity, who commenced his office as Superintendent of Finance by reducing the exorbitant salaries and pensions of the great officers of state and other nobles. This was not, however, his worst crime. Well aware of the constitutional timidity of the monarch, he had assumed an authority which rendered him odious to all those whose ambition prompted them to essay their own powers of governing, and among these, as a natural consequence, was the Cardinal de Richelieu, who, despising the abilities of the finance minister, chafed under his own inferiority of place, and did not fail to imbue the Queen-mother with the same feeling. La Vieuville was accused of arrogating to himself an amount of authority wholly incompatible with his office, and it is impossible to suppress a smile while contemplating the fact that this accusation was brought against him by the very individual who, only a few months subsequently, ruled both the monarch and the nation with a rod of iron.
The desired end was, however, attained. Weak and vain, as well as personally incompetent, Louis XIII was easily led to fear those upon whom he had himself conferred the power of lessening his own authority; and as so many interests were involved in the overthrow of De la Vieuville, it was soon decided. Fearful of betraying his own personal views, Richelieu took no active measures in this dismissal, nor were any such needed; as, in addition to his other errors, the finance minister had, by a singular want of judgment, excited against himself the indignation of Monsieur by committing his governor, Colonel d'Ornano, to the Bastille, upon the pretext that he had instigated the Prince to demand admission to the Council in order that he might obtain a knowledge of public affairs, but with the sole intention of procuring his own access to the Government. The jealousy of Louis was at once aroused by this assurance; and the arrest of his brother's friend and confidant had, as a natural consequence, resulted from the minister's ill-advised representation, an insult which Gaston so violently resented that he forthwith entered into the cabal against De la Vieuville, and thus seconded the views of the Queen-mother, who was anxious to replace the obnoxious minister by the Cardinal de Richelieu.
True to his character, on being apprised of the powerful faction formed against him, De la Vieuville resolved to tender his resignation, and thus to deprive his enemies of the triumph of causing his disgrace, for which purpose he proceeded to declare to the King his desire to withdraw from the high office which had been conferred upon him. Louis XIII simply replied: "Make yourself perfectly easy, and pay no attention to what is going forward. When I have no longer occasion for your services, I will tell you so myself; and you shall have my permission to come and take leave of me before your departure."
On the following day De la Vieuville accordingly presented himself as usual during the sitting of the Privy Council, when the King abruptly exclaimed: "I redeem the promise which I made to tell you when I could dispense with your services. I have resolved to do so; and you are at liberty to take your leave." The ex-minister, bewildered by so extraordinary a reception, attempted no rejoinder, but hastened to quit the royal presence. He had, however, no sooner reached the gallery than he was arrested by the Marquis de Thermes, and conveyed as a prisoner to the citadel of Amboise, whence he made his escape a year afterwards.[87]
The result of this arrest was a total change in the aspect of the Court. M. de Marillac[88] succeeded to the vacant superintendence of finance; the Comte de Schomberg was recalled to the capital, and made a member of the Privy Council; D'Ornano was liberated from the Bastille, restored to his position in the household of the Duc d'Anjou, and honoured with a marshal's bâton; while, to complete the moral revolution, Richelieu was appointed chief of the Council, and became, as the Queen-mother had anticipated, all-powerful over the weak and timid mind of the King under his new character of Minister of State.
Fully occupied as the Cardinal might have found himself by the foreign wars into which his ambition ere long plunged his royal master, he was nevertheless compelled to turn his attention to the intrigues of certain great ladies of the Court, which threatened internal dissension, and in which the two Queens ultimately became involved. The young Duc d'Anjou, whose prepossessing manners and handsome person had rendered him universally popular, began about this time to awaken the distrust and jealousy of the King; a feeling which was heightened by the marked preference evinced by Marie de Medicis for her younger son. The marriage of the Prince with the wealthy heiress of Montpensier, whose mother had espoused the Duc de Guise, had long been decided; but as Gaston had hitherto evinced the utmost indifference towards his destined bride, the subject had elicited little attention. Suddenly, however, this indifference gave place to the most marked admiration; and it became evident that he was seriously contemplating an alliance with the Princess who had been designed for him by his father. In so trivial and dissolute a Court as that of France at this period, it is needless to remark to how many fears and regrets such a resolution immediately gave birth; nor was it long ere two separate cabals were formed--the one favouring, and the other seeking to impede, the marriage. Passion and party-feeling overthrew every barrier of decency and dignity; and from this moment may be traced that insurmountable aversion which Louis XIII subsequently exhibited alike towards the Queen his wife and the Prince his brother.