UNDER RICHELIEU AND MAZARIN.
77
At the sight of these proofs, Louis was troubled;[1] he could scarcely believe his own eyes, and he fell into a deep melancholy, from which he recovered with bursts of indignation against him who could thus abuse his confidence and conspire
- ↑ The details of this affair are not even given by the Père Griffet; they are only to be found in the archives of foreign affairs, France, vol. cii. During the first days of June, the domestic troubles of the king, the intrigues of Cinq-Mars, who was still at Narbonne, near him, and the dangers of the cardinal, were the subjects of Richelieu's inquiry, but not a word of the treaty of Spain. On the 12th of June all was made clear by the following billet of De Chavigny and De Noyers to Richelieu: "Narbonne, this 12th of June, at 10 A. M.—M. de Chavigny arrived this morning an hour before the king awakened. M. de Noyers and he, after having conferred together, sought his majesty, to whom they recounted in detail all the affairs of which he had been notified. All the measures have been taken in conformity with the views of his Eminence, and the despatches will be made this day without fail. The king approves of the journey of M. Castelan in Piedmont.—Chavigny, de Noyers." Here all is clear. On the 11th of June Richeheu received the decisive news. He instantly sent Chavigny to the king with the proofs, and also with the measures he proposed to take. Chavigny travelled all night, and at twelve in the morning, in company with De Noyers, he saw the king, who read the despatches sent him by Richelieu, listened to the explanations of the ministers, and immediately approved and adopted the necessary measures, among which was the sending of Castelan to the Italian army to arrest the Duke de Bouillon. On the 12th Louis did not hesitate; but afterwards he fell a prey to gloomy reflections. Letter of De Noyers to Chavigny, who had returned to Taraseon, dated the 15th of June, says: "I think that it will be necessary to find means to enable M. de M.(azarin) to speak to the king, for strange thoughts trouble his mind. He said to me yesterday that he doubted whether one name had not been substituted for another. I thereupon said all that you can imagine to divert him from this idea, but he is still in a profound reverie. He was taken ill in the night, and at two took medicine, after which he slept for two hours. I saw him this morning, and gave him news of his Eminence, of whose improvement he was glad to hear. At the same time I showed him the extract from the letter of M. de Courbonne, and through this the arrangement of his Eminence with Savoy, and the advice concerning the islands. Upon this he made no comment, but said to
