er, estranged him from his wife, and deprived him of the support of
the Princes of the Blood; forgetting, or wilfully overlooking the fact,
that a single effort on his own part must have sufficed for his
emancipation from this rule of iron.

On the departure of the Court for Fontainebleau, the Cardinal, according
to his usual custom, had excused himself on the plea of ill-health from
following the King; while Gaston d'Anjou, who, despite the concession
that he had made, still deeply resented the affront to which he had been
subjected by the arrest of his favourite, had remained in Paris.
Richelieu, was, however, far from inactive in his retreat; but, while he
was occupied in further schemes of self-aggrandizement, the partisans
of the Prince were equally busy in devising the means of ridding
themselves of a thrall so obnoxious to their pride; and after mooting
several measures which were successively abandoned from their apparent
impracticability, it was at length decided that, under the pretext of a
hunting-party, nine of the conspirators should proceed to Fleury, and
there assassinate their common enemy. Of this number was the unfortunate
Chalais; who, however, before the execution of the project, confided it
to a friend, by whom he was warned against any participation in so
dangerous an attempt, and advised immediately to apprise the Cardinal of
his danger. As the young Prince hesitated to follow this counsel, the
Commandeur de Valence, who was anxious to save him from, as he believed,
inevitable destruction, assured him that should he fail to communicate
the conspiracy to the minister, he would himself instantly reveal it;
upon which Chalais, intimidated by the threat, consented to accompany
him to Richelieu, and to confess the whole.

Having listened attentively to all the details of the plot, the Cardinal
courteously thanked his informants, and requested them to proceed to
Fontainebleau, and to repeat what they had told him to the King. He was
obeyed; and an hour before midnight Louis despatched a body of troops to
Fleury, with instructions to obey the orders of the minister whatever
might be their nature; while Marie de Medicis at the same time commanded
the officers of her household and a number of the nobility to accompany
the royal guards.

As Chalais had asserted, at three o'clock on the following morning the
clerks of the kitchen to the Duc d'Anjou arrived at Fleury, and
immediately commenced their prepara