Chantilly in History and Art

gainst him and did his utmost to undermine the confidence placed in him by the Queen-Regent. In this way the warrior and the priest soon became open adversaries. If it was h

t intimacy with Anne of Austria, was then at her bedside. It was the last interview between Condé and his mother. Her Majesty seemed tired, and after a few words dismissed the Prince, who then proceeded to the Salle de Conseil, where Mazarin awaited him. There he found also his younger brother, Conti, and his brother-in-law, Monsieur de Longueville. Presently Mazarin under some pretext left the room, and no sooner had he gone than the captain of the Queen's body-guard, Captain Quitaut, entered, and making his way towards Condé and the others, said, not however without embarrassment, "Gentlemen, I have the Queen's orders to arrest you." Condé for a moment seemed thunderstruck. Was this her Majesty's gratitude for the victories he had gained against the enemies of France? Then, seeing

never seemed to forsake him, even though he was behind prison walls. One day he learned from the doctors who came to visit his sick brother Conti, that his wife Claire-Clemence was employing every effort sh

d upon her as harmless. It was rather Condé's sister, Madame de Longueville, whom he feared, and whom he had intended to arrest with her husband. S

ld be separated from her son, at which she was greatly alarmed. Taking Lenet aside, she declared to him emphatically that she would never be separated from her only child; but that she intended, on the contrary, to co

. The young Duc d'Enghien took his morning rides on his pony, anglers with rod and line repaired to the ponds, gay parties of pleasure-seekers roamed over the lawns and along the avenues, and the woods resounded with the winding of the huntsman's ho

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as pointed out to him as the Princesse de Condé; and he was told that she was suffering from so severe a cold that she could not possibly leave Chantilly at once. Furthermore a child, also suffering in the same way, was shown to him as the young Duc d'Enghien. These persons were, however, in reality an English governess and the gardener's son, for the Princess herself, with her son in her arms, had made good her escape by a pathway that had by chance been left unguarded. Some of her ladies and gentlemen followed her at a distance until she safely reached a spot in the woods where she found a carriage, which had been kept always ready for emergencies. In this conveyance, after a fatiguing jo

nce the Duc de Bouillon came out to meet her. The Princess, mounted on a splendid charger named "Le Brézé," which had come from her f

de Mazarin." It may be remarked here that the citizens of Bordeaux had every reason to be grateful to Condé for his kindness to them when, upon a previous occasion, they had revolted against their hated Governor, the Duc d'Epéron. The Princesse de Condé decided to approach the city by water, and as soon as her ship came in si

come to demand justice of the King against the violence of Mazarin," she said imploringly, "and I place my person and that of my son in your hands." At the same time the little Duke, dropping on one knee, cried out: "Gentlemen, I implore you

ich were taking place at Bordeaux, had removed the Princes from the fortress of Vincennes to a prison at Havre; and at the same time ordered the Princess to leave Bordeaux and retire to Montroux. After distributing handsome gifts to all those who had befriended her, she departed with a numerous cortège, amid a shower of flowers; and on hearing that the Queen was at Bourg-sur-Mer, sought an intervie

ose influence extended from Paris to Warsaw and even to Stockholm. She persuaded no less a person than Queen Christina of Sweden to plead for the Grand Condé's lib

under the Queen-Regent's sign-manual for his unconditional release. The Cardinal entered the cell wherein the Princes were confined in his travelling attire and himself announced to them that their captivity was at an end. Whereupon compliments were exchanged and healths drunk; Mazarin even privately affirming to

to the Palais-Royal, where they were received by the Queen-Regent and the young King, who welcomed them with his accustomed warmth, as if nothing had occurred. In the evening a supper was given in

him, endeavoured to show his gratitude. He met her with a train of twenty carriages to accompany her entry into Paris; and nothing could have touched the Princess's heart more p

n amount of recompense for the great wrong which had been done to him. He demanded for himself the Governments of Burgundy and Champagne, besides other rewards for his

ting Mazarin's absence, promised her that he and Gaston d'Orléans would bring the Cardinal back from exile if Condé were once more arrested. Condé, although his freedom was so recent, felt insecure and retired with his wife and son to Saint-Maur, where Madame de Longueville joined the

jusqu'a la dernière extremité, et ils n'etaient capable d'aucune reconnaissance pour les services qu'on leurs avait rendu." These were the qualities which at this period of his life turned the scale against him. It was not against France or the King that Condé proposed to fight, but against the Italian Cardinal, the trusted confidant of Anne of Austria; and his grievance was that he had not only been deprived of

his party triumphed over his last scruples. It was then that he pronounced the famous words: "Vous me force