house of the Duke of Parma, at eight leagues from
Rome. He addressed himself to Pere la Chaise,
because M. de Torcy, to whom he had previously written,
had been forbidden to open his letters, and had sent
him word to that effect. Having, too, been always
on the best of terms with the Jesuits, he hoped for
good assistance from Pere la Chaise. But he found
this door closed like that of M. de Torcy. Pere
la Chaise wrote to Cardinal de Bouillon that he too
was prohibited from opening his letters. At the
same time a new order was sent to the Cardinal to
set out immediately. Just after he had read
it Cardinal Cibo died, and the Cardinal de Bouillon
hastened at once to Rome to secure the doyenship,
writing to the King to say that he had done so, that
he would depart in twenty-four hours, and expressing
a hope that this delay would not be refused him.
This was laughing at the King and his orders, and
becoming doyen in spite of him. The King, therefore,
displayed his anger immediately he learnt this last
act of disobedience. He sent word immediately
to M. de Monaco to command the Cardinal de Bouillon
to surrender his charge of grand chaplain, to give
up his cordon bleu, and to take down the arms of France
from the door of his palace; M. de Monaco was also
ordered to prohibit all French people in Rome from
seeing Cardinal de Bouillon, or from having any communication
with him. M. de Monaco, who hated the Cardinal,
hastened willingly to obey these instructions.
The Cardinal appeared overwhelmed, but he did not
even then give in. He pretended that his charge
of grand chaplain was a crown office, of which he
could not be dispossessed, without resigning.
The King, out of all patience with a disobedience
so stubborn and so marked, ordered, by a decree in
council, on the 12th September, the seizure of all
the Cardinal’s estates, laical and ecclesiastical,
the latter to be confiscated to the state, the former
to be divided into three portions, and applied to
various uses. The same day the charge of grand
chaplain was given to Cardinal Coislin, and that of
chief chaplain to the Bishop of Metz. The despair
of the Cardinal de Bouillon, on hearing of this decree,
was extreme. Pride had hitherto hindered him
from believing that matters would be pushed so far
against him. He sent in his resignation only
when it was no longer needed of him. His order
he would not give up. M. de Monaco warned him
that, in case of refusal, he had orders to snatch
it from his neck. Upon this the Cardinal saw
the folly of holding out against the orders of the
King. He quitted then the marks of the order,
but he was pitiful enough to wear a narrow blue ribbon,
with a cross of gold attached, under his cassock,
and tried from time to time to show a little of the
blue. A short time afterwards, to make the best
of a bad bargain, he tried to persuade himself and
others, that no cardinal was at liberty to wear the
orders of any prince. But it was rather late
in the day to think of this, after having worn the
order of the King for thirty years, as grand chaplain;
and everybody thought so, and laughed at the idea.