Twenty Years After | Page 4

lent a strange expression to his pale lips; "yes, these noises prove to me,
indeed, that the destiny of favorites is precarious; but ye shall know I
am no ordinary favorite. No! The Earl of Essex, 'tis true, wore a
splendid ring, set with diamonds, given him by his royal mistress,
whilst I -- I have nothing but a simple circlet of gold, with a cipher on it
and a date; but that ring has been blessed in the chapel of the Palais
Royal,* so they will never ruin me, as they long to do, and whilst they
shout, `Down with Mazarin!' I, unknown, and unperceived by them,
incite them to cry out, `Long live the Duke de Beaufort' one day;
another, `Long live the Prince de Conde;' and again, `Long live the
parliament!'" And at this word the smile on the cardinal's lips assumed
an expression of hatred, of which his mild countenance seemed
incapable. "The parliament! We shall soon see how to dispose," he
continued, "of the parliament! Both Orleans and Montargis are ours. It
will be a work of time, but those who have begun by crying out: Down
with Mazarin! will finish by shouting out, Down with all the people I
have mentioned, each in his turn.

* It is said that Mazarin, who, though a cardinal, had not taken such
vows as to prevent it, was secretly married to Anne of Austria. -- La

Porte's Memoirs.

"Richelieu, whom they hated during his lifetime and whom they now
praise after his death, was even less popular than I am. Often he was
driven away, oftener still had he a dread of being sent away. The queen
will never banish me, and even were I obliged to yield to the populace
she would yield with me; if I fly, she will fly; and then we shall see
how the rebels will get on without either king or queen.
"Oh, were I not a foreigner! were I but a Frenchman! were I but of
gentle birth!"
The position of the cardinal was indeed critical, and recent events had
added to his difficulties. Discontent had long pervaded the lower ranks
of society in France. Crushed and impoverished by taxation -- imposed
by Mazarin, whose avarice impelled him to grind them down to the
very dust -- the people, as the Advocate-General Talon described it, had
nothing left to them except their souls; and as those could not be sold
by auction, they began to murmur. Patience had in vain been
recommended to them by reports of brilliant victories gained by France;
laurels, however, were not meat and drink, and the people had for some
time been in a state of discontent.
Had this been all, it might not, perhaps, have greatly signified; for
when the lower classes alone complained, the court of France,
separated as it was from the poor by the intervening classes of the
gentry and the bourgeoisie, seldom listened to their voice; but unluckily,
Mazarin had had the imprudence to attack the magistrates and had sold
no less than twelve appointments in the Court of Requests, at a high
price; and as the officers of that court paid very dearly for their places,
and as the addition of twelve new colleagues would necessarily lower
the value of each place, the old functionaries formed a union amongst
themselves, and, enraged, swore on the Bible not to allow of this
addition to their number, but to resist all the persecutions which might
ensue; and should any one of them chance to forfeit his post by this
resistance, to combine to indemnify him for his loss.
Now the following occurrences had taken place between the two
contending parties
On the seventh of January between seven and eight hundred tradesmen
had assembled in Paris to discuss a new tax which was to be levied on

house property. They deputed ten of their number to wait upon the
Duke of Orleans, who, according to his custom, affected popularity.
The duke received them and they informed him that they were resolved
not to pay this tax, even if they were obliged to defend themselves
against its collectors by force of arms. They were listened to with great
politeness by the duke, who held out hopes of easier measures,
promised to speak in their behalf to the queen, and dismissed them with
the ordinary expression of royalty, "We will see what we can do."
Two days afterward these same magistrates appeared before the
cardinal and their spokesman addressed Mazarin with so much
fearlessness and determination that the minister was astounded and sent
the deputation away with the same answer as it had received from the
Duke of Orleans -- that he would see what could be done; and in
accordance with that intention