St. Lazare when it
seemed uncertain where the daily bread was to come from, or whether it
was to come at all; but Vincent put his trust in God, who never failed
him, and he gave while there was anything to give.

Several times, while he was organizing relief for the eastern
provinces, his heart almost failed him at the magnitude of the work he
had undertaken, and it was at one of these moments that he dared to
face the terrible Richelieu, to demand peace in the name of the
suffering people.

"Monseigneur!" he cried, appearing before the great Cardinal with
tears streaming down his cheeks, "give us peace! Have pity on France
and give us peace." Richelieu's heart was certainly none of the
softest, but even he seems to have been touched by this earnest
appeal. At all events, he showed no anger.

"I wish for peace," he declared, "and I am taking means to procure it,
but it does not depend on me alone"; and he dismissed Vincent with an
unwonted urbanity. His was not the only hard nature that was softened
by contact with St. Vincent de Paul. The love of this man for his
fellow men was infectious, for it was born of his love for Christ.

Chapter 8
AT COURT

WHEN Louis XIII was on his deathbed, with all the Bishops and
Archbishops of France ready to offer him their services, it was M.
Vincent, the humble Mission Priest, who prepared him to meet his God.
During the last days of the King's life, Vincent never left him, and
in his arms Louis XIII breathed his last. Then, having done the work
for which he had come, Vincent slipped quietly out of the palace to
hasten back to St. Lazare and his beloved poor.

Some remarks made by the King during his illness and certain other
words of Vincent's were remembered by the Queen, Anne of Austria, who
had been left Regent during the minority of her son. Richelieu was
dead, and Mazarin, his pupil, a crafty and unscrupulous Italian, had
succeeded him as chief Minister of State. His influence over the Queen
was growing daily, but it was not yet strong enough to override all
her scruples. She was a good-natured woman, quite ready to do right
when it was not too inconvenient, and it was clear to her that of late
years bishoprics and abbeys had been too often given to most unworthy
persons. In France the Crown was almost supreme in such matters; the
Queen therefore determined to appoint a "Council of Conscience"
consisting of five members, whose business it would be to help her
wit