offended mistress and an ex-favourite—­A hollow peace—­Gaston retires to the Court of Lorraine, where he becomes enamoured of the Princesse Marguerite—­The Cardinal invites him to return to Paris—­Monsieur accepts the proposed conditions—­The French troops march upon Piedmont—­Richelieu is appointed Lieutenant-General of the royal forces in Italy—­The King resolves to follow him—­Anxiety of Marie de Medicis to avoid a rupture with Spain—­Dissensions between the two Queens—–­Mademoiselle de Hautefort—­Failing influence of Marie de Medicis—­Self-distrust of the King—­The Queen-mother endeavours to effect a reconciliation between her sons.

La Rochelle had no sooner surrendered than, as already stated, Richelieu determined to make an attempt to undermine the power of Austria, greatly to the dissatisfaction of the Cardinal de Berulle, Marillac the Keeper of the Seals, and all the other members of the secret council of Marie de Medicis.  The position of Philip was at that moment a formidable one; Germany, which was almost entirely subjugated, was prepared to supply him with an immense number of troops, while the treasures which had poured in upon him from the New World made him equally independent as regarded the outlay required to support his armies.  Moreover, religious prejudices strengthened their antagonism to the meditated war.  The Emperor was anxious to exterminate the Protestants, and the Council consequently looked upon all opposition to that potentate as a crime against their own faith.  M. de Berulle was eloquent and enthusiastic; Marillac aspired to build up his fortunes on the ruins of those of Richelieu, and to succeed him in his office as prime minister; and Marie de Medicis clung with tenacious anxiety both to the Emperor of Germany and the King of Spain, who had alike approved of her determination to effect the overthrow of the man whom she had herself raised to power, and by whom she had been so ungratefully betrayed.  Marie and her counsellors were, however, by no means a match for the astute and far-reaching Richelieu, who had, by encouraging the belligerent tastes of the King, and still more by so complicating the affairs of the kingdom as to render them beyond the comprehension and grasp of the weak monarch, and to reduce him to utter helplessness, succeeded in making himself altogether independent of his benefactress, none of whose counsellors were capable of competing for an hour with his superior energy and talent.  Aware of his advantage, Richelieu consequently despised the opposition by which he was harassed and impeded in his projects; and while he affected to pay the greatest deference to the representations of the Queen-mother, he persisted in his enterprises with an imperturbability which ensured their success.