ntpensier--Character
of Gaston--He refuses to accept the hand of the lady--Arrest of M.
d'Ornano--Vengeance of Richelieu--Indignation of Monsieur--Alarm of the
Queen-mother--Pusillanimity of Gaston--Arrest of the Vendome
Princes--Edicts issued against the great nobles--Sumptuary
laws--Execution of the Comte de Bouteville--The reign of
Richelieu--Policy of Marie and her minister--Distrust of the
King--Conspiracy against the Cardinal--Richelieu threatens to retire
from office--A diplomatic drama--Triumph of the Cardinal--Execution of
Chalais--Heartlessness of Gaston--Monsieur consents to an alliance with
Mademoiselle de Montpensier--A royal marriage--The victims of
Richelieu--Marie de Medicis and the Cardinal endeavour to increase
the dissension between Louis XIII and his Queen--Exile of the
Duchesse de Joyeuse--Accusation against Anne of Austria--She
becomes a state prisoner--Subtlety of Richelieu--Anticipated
rupture with England--Embassy of Bassompierre--Death of the Duc de
Lesdiguieres--Favour of Saint-Simon--Pregnancy of the Duchesse
d'Orleans--Dissolute conduct of Monsieur--Birth of Mademoiselle--Death
of Madame--Marie de Medicis seeks to effect a marriage between Monsieur
and a Florentine Princess--Buckingham lands in France, but is
repulsed--Illness of Louis XIII--Disgust of the Duc d'Orleans--Louis
wearies of the camp--He is incensed against the Cardinal--The King
returns to Paris--Monsieur affects a passion for the Princesse Marie de
Gonzaga, which alarms the sovereign--His distrust of the
Queen-mother--Marie de Medicis withdraws her confidence from the
Cardinal--Mother and son--Louis returns to La Rochelle--The city
capitulates--Triumphal entry of Louis XIII into Paris--Exhortation of
the Papal Nuncio.

The death of James I. and the succession of Charles, Prince of Wales, to
the English throne, at the commencement of the year 1625, excited the
greatest uneasiness at the Court of France, where all parties were alike
anxious for the arrival of the Papal dispensation. Nor was the new
monarch himself less desirous of completing the contemplated alliance,
as only three days were suffered to elapse after the demise of his royal
father ere he hastened to ratify the treaty, and to make preparations
for its immediate fulfilment.[90]

On the arrival of the long-expected courier from Rome the dispensation
was delivered into the hands of Marie de Medicis by Spada, the Papal
Nuncio; and on the 8th of May the Duc de Che