Disturb- 
France. 
Retz. 
FRANCE. 
Toul, and Verdun, and giving up his pretensions to 
Pigneral, Brisac, and Alsace. This was the memorable 
peace of Wes i Signed at Munster, on the 24th 
day of October 1648, which, till the French Revolution, 
was considered as a fundamental law of the empire, and 
the basis of all subsequent treaties. ae 
France, however, was still at war with the Spanish 
branch of the House of Austria ; and as the United Pro- 
vinces, jealous of the former power, had concluded a 
separate treaty with Philip in 1647, the Cardinal found 
it nec to exert all his talents at this crisis, espe- 
‘ially as his influence was now seriously threatened by 
inectfen Gite yas mY inet 
In 1648, the Prince of Condé resumed the command 
in Flanders, where he reduced Ypres. He was opposed 
by the Archduke Leopold, who, to balance this acqui- 
sition, took Courtray and Furnes, and advanced to the 
though superior, were defeated: 5000 were 
‘hed; 3000 made prisoners ; and the Archduke him- 
The civil war in France now calls for our attention. 
cious Italian, who 
money due to the 
magistrates was not paid ; some quarters of the annui- 
i rent 3; murmurs € out; the ‘par- 
liament opposed the court ; and a civil war was on the 
‘point of being kindled. An arret of union between the 
‘courts of Paris gave the minister uneasiness, and was 
annulled by the council. The magistrates maintained 
‘that their oe oe eho regarded as pepe tn or 
reprehensible ; upon whi azarie replied, * ‘kin 
must be obeyed ; if he forbid wenn tassels ‘to bani 
strings, it is less the nature of the thing prohibited, than 
‘the prohibition, which -constitutes: the crime.” The 
parliament abolished ‘the situation of intendants of the 
provinces who were instituted by Louis XIII; on 
which the court, filled with indignation, resolved to 
have recourse to a very bold measure. During the ce- 
ebration of T'e Deum for the victory of Lors, a presi- 
dent and counsellor Wii: ari rma themsel 
. Py ves 
‘in the debates, were arrested by o fthe Cardinal ; 
‘upon which the ‘rose, chains «across the 
streets,’ formed: . fired on’ the «chancellor's 
coach, killed some soldiers, and the two prisoners 
liberated . i '¥y ; mela eder +A naae 
Carina de-” The coudjtor, archbishop of Paris)’ sfterwardurthe 
noe de Retz, fomented and took advan- 
‘tage of these disturbances : he was a man of a restless, 
In 1650, the Prince of Condé 
599 
intriguing, and seditious character; excessively profli- _ History. 
gate in his principles and manners, but possessed of 
very superior talents. He was jealous of Mazarine, at 
the same time that he despised his abilities. Thinking 
himself better qualified to fill the place of prime mini- 
ster, he employed all his talents and his powers of in- 
trigue to inspire the nobles with the ‘same jealousy of 
“Mazarine, which filled his own breast; at the same time, 
he inflamed the people and roused them to sedition, by 
representing the ignominy of submitting to the op- 
pressive administration of a stranger. e parliament 
of Paris warmly seconded his pretended views of refor- 
mation ; and a civil war was inevitable. 
The talents of Mazarine were by no means equal to Anne of 
the approaching danger ; and Anne of Austria, entirely Austria. 
a guidance, was nearly as ne as himself. 
She could not appear publicly inthe streets without 
being insulted’; she was continually reproached with 
sacrificing the good of the nation to her attachment to 
a foreigner ; and ballads and madrigals were sung in the 
street, on the subject of her amours.” ‘The women took 
an ‘active’ and zealous part at this crisis; and many of 
the most celebrated generals declared for or against the 
court, as ‘they “were ordered by their respective mis- 
tresses. In consequence of this state of things, and of 
their apprehension of greater dangér, the queen regent, 
along with her children and Mazarine, left Paris, and 
retired to St Germains." Here; according to Voltaire; 
their distress was'so ‘that they were'obliged to 
‘pawn the eown’ jewels cin order to raise money: the 
ing himself was often in want'of conamon iecessaries; 
and the pagés’of the chamber ‘were'dismissed, because 
they ‘not the means of maintaining them. The 
parliament now proceeded to extremities ; they decla- 
red the Cardinal-a disturber of the public’ peace, and 
anenemy to France: this ‘was the signal of revolt: a 
pp of parties took place. The Frondeurs, as the 
rebels were called, were headed by the’Prince of Conti; 
brother of the great Condé, anid»the Dukes of Beaufort, 
Bouillon, and Longueville.” 'Phe® Prince’ of Condé, 
though dissatisfied with the court, eng in'the royal 
cause, and joined the Queen at St Germains: » But the 
rebels wasted their time in disputes, or vain parade, 
and neglected to take measures even for the defence of 
the capital ; they were soon therefore thrown into alarm, 
when thePrince of Condé, at the lead of 6000 troops, ad- 
vanced against it. ;The Marshal Turenne, who had been 
allured by the Duchess de Longueville; sister of Condé, 
in vain attempted to defend Paris with an undisciplined 
rabble. A conference was “to; and a treaty con- 
eluded at ‘Rouel, by which a” general amnesty was 
granted, and the appearance of peace restored, with- 
out, however, any sincerity’of reconciliation or extines 
tion ‘of hatred on either’side. it hy wih 
' The court returned: toParis, aiid’ the’ Cardinal was Intrigues of 
received with! joy by that’ very Panes who, ‘such ‘a the nobility, 
very short tins before; had" threatened “his life. . It is and fickle- 
this levity of the French nation,—the’ absurd and con. "¢5 “a the 
temptible mixture of a frivolous gallantry with’the in. P°°P'™ 
trigues of state, and even with civil commotions,—-and 
the influence exercised by the Duchess of Longueville, 
and other! women of @ libertine ‘character, in making 
the'most ‘eminent leaders several’ times) change sides, 
that mark out these civil wars, ‘otherwise contemptible, 
a objects of interest and: study ‘to:those wlio wish to 
gain a minute, profound, and intimate’ acquaintance 
with the character of the French nation. 
y insulted the 
Queen and the Cardjnal, while, by his haughtiness, he 
