daughter in the depths of winter, at Saint-Malo, in a small vessel which would take her to Dartmouth, in England, whence she intended to pass to Dunkirk and to Flanders. But the ships of war of the Parliament were cruising in those parts; they met and captured the miserable craft, and carried her to the Isle of Wight. There Madame de Chevreuse was recognized; and as she was known as the friend of the queen of England, the Parliamentarians were disposed to treat her harshly and to deliver her to Mazarin. Happily, she found that the governor of the Isle of Wight was the same Count Pembroke whom she had formerly known. She addressed herself to his courtesy,[1] and, thanks to his intervention, though
- ↑ Archives of foreign affairs, France, vol. cvi., p. 162. Letter of Madame de Chevreuse to Count Pembroke, governor of the Isle of Wight, April 29, 1645: "Monsieur, The continuation of my misfortunes obliging me to quit France in haste to preserve in a neutral country the liberty which the power of my enemies wished to take from me in my own, the only way by which I found it possible to avoid this disgrace was to embark at Saint-Malo to pass into England and thence into Flanders, in order to reach the country of Liege, where I might justify my innocence in safety if I could obtain a hearing, or at least shelter myself from the persecution to which the hatred and the artifice of the Cardinal Mazarin has subjected me for a year and a half past. Having taken passage with this design in a bark which I found ready to sail for Dartmouth,
showed indulgence to the Marquis de Coetquen, whose designs had been honorable. In his Lettres Francaises preserved in the Bibliotheque Mazarine, is the following passage, which does him honor, and which Richelieu would not have written. Fol. 376; to M. the Marquis de Coetquen, May 7, 1645: "From what you have taken the trouble to write to me, I acknowledge the information which you give me concerning the entrance of Mme. the Duchess de Chevreuse into one of your houses. Having conversed upon this with the gentleman whom I send back to you, I esteem it superfluous to write here the particulars which I have told him. Relying, therefore, on his parole, I shall content myself with assuring you that I have received with favor the proofs which you give me of your affection for the service of the king in this adventure. I have not failed to represent all that I ought to the queen, excusing that which has passed by the reasons which you send me, and by those which the said gentleman has narrated, etc."
