[128] Siri, Mém. Rec. vol. vi. pp. 789, 790.
[129] Le Vassor, vol. vi. pp. 254, 255.
CHAPTER VII
1630
Gaston returns to France--Precarious position of the French armies--Death of the Duke of Savoy--The French besiege Pignerol--Richelieu urges the King to possess himself of the Duchy of Savoy--Marie de Medicis opposes the measure--Louis XIII overruns Savoy--The French lose Mantua--Jules Mazarin--The King is attacked by fever at Lyons--Moral effects of his indisposition--He consents to dismiss the Cardinal from office--Reconciliation of the royal family--The Court return to the capital--Richelieu endeavours to regain the favour of the Queen-mother--Policy of Marie--Richelieu seeks to effect the disgrace of Marillac--The two Queens unite their interests--Meeting of the royal brothers--Gaston inveighs bitterly against the Cardinal--The Queen-mother takes up her abode at the Luxembourg--Louis proceeds in state to bid her welcome--Monsieur publicly affronts Richelieu--A treaty is concluded with Italy--Public rejoicings in Paris--Marie dismisses the Cardinal and his relations from her household--A drama at Court--Richelieu prepares to leave Paris; but is dissuaded, and follows the King to Versailles--Exultation of the citizens at the anticipated overthrow of the Cardinal-minister--The courtiers crowd the Luxembourg--Bassompierre at fault--Triumph of Richelieu--Hypocrisy of the Cardinal--"The Day of Dupes"--A regal minister--The Marillacs are disgraced--Anne of Austria is suspected of maintaining a secret correspondence with Spain--Gaston conspires with the two Queens against Richelieu--Divided state of the French Court--A fête at the Louvre.
At the close of January 1630 the Duc d'Orléans, in compliance with his promise, took leave of the Court of Lorraine; and early in February he crossed the French frontier, and had an interview with the King, who had already reached Troyes, accompanied by the two Queens and their several households. At this meeting the royal brothers displayed towards each other an amount of confidence which gladdened the heart of the Queen-mother, to whom their long estrangement had been a subject of perpetual grief and anxiety; nor was their good understanding lessened for an instant until their separation upon the departure of Louis for Lyons, when Monsieur in his turn proceeded to Orleans, where he remained until the middle of March; and thence he finally returned to Paris towards the close of April, to assume his command.[130]
As the Cardinal had foreseen, there was little time to be lost in retrieving the fortunes of the French armies. Casal in Montferrat, which was held by M. de Thoiras,[131] was besieged by the Marquis de Spinola,[132] with an immense force, and he earnestly demanded the sum of fifty thousand crowns for defraying the arrears due to his troops, who had begun to murmur, and threatened to surrender. The Germans had once more attacked Mantua, which they ultimately took; and the armies of MM. de la Force and de Schomberg were suffering from sickness, famine, and desertions, and, moreover, harassed by the troops of the Duke of Savoy. Charles Emmanuel meanwhile was advancing in person upon Savillan, in order to provoke an engagement with the French forces; and on every side difficulty and danger loomed over the banners of Louis, when the Duke of Savoy was suddenly attacked by apoplexy and expired towards the close of January. He was succeeded by Victor Amédée his elder son, who was the husband of Madame Christine de France, the sister of the French King; and it was anticipated that the closeness of this alliance would at once terminate all aggressive measures on the part of France, and that the new Duke would be suffered to take peaceful possession of his inheritance. Such, however, was not the policy of the Cardinal, and accordingly the operations already directed against the Duchy were suffered to proceed.
Shortly after the arrival of the King at Lyons he received a despatch from the minister stating that he had taken Pignerol, and thus secured a safe passage for his Majesty into Italy; and that he was about to join him at Lyons, in order to receive his further commands.