The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-03-05 00:00:00

iterattire.

CARDINAL DE RETZ,

otr.
THE COURTIER'S PLOT.

BY PETER POPJOY,

(For the Liverpool Standard.)

CUAPTER XV,

The dawn of the day. The Coadjutor and his suite. The
Palais de Justice The tra•tor convicted. The insult and the
challenge. The celebrated sitting. The craft of the Coadjutor
An ordeal. strange events.
FOR the space of a month fter the midnight interview
had taken place in the Libra-y of the Coadjutor, Fabien
and Elizabeth remained concealed within the cloister of
Notre Dame. On the day after their arrival they were
married by the chaplain of the Coadjutor. This bridal,
as may well be imagined, was .solemnised under the
cloudiest auspices; but Gondi at once saw that it was
indispeusible to disarm the malice and scandal, which
would sooner or later he indulged in, when the re-
sidence of a young and lovely girl in the dwelling of a
prelate whose gallantries were no mysteries to the gay
world, became known. This important ceremony had
however brought with it but little happiness to the young
couple, nor did it modify that kind of life which had been
prescribed to them from the first by the Coadjutor; cooped
up within the walls of the cloister, restricted to their
own apartments with hut a silent court-yard in view, and
with but little to amuse and nothing to interest them, be.
pond their own society, it may be well imagined that,
considering all circumstances, with their fate uncertain,
the future a chaos, that time did not fly very swiftly
away. Fabien endeavoured to cheer up the drooping spi-
rits of his bride, and bade her hope for the best ; bur save
a casual visit from the scholar, and the attendance of
Dame Germain, the old housekeeper of the Coadjutor,
not a human face greeted them from morni,g till night.
Oh ! bow that young pair did sigh for the plea=ant fields
of Normandy, for the broad and sunny lands of Croissi,
and the deep groves of Montglat.
In the meantime the most profound trr..-,,,,ry was ob-
served, respecting the a' seuce of Elizabeth, at the palace.
The Queen, to avoid the scandal of her flight, spread a
report that her maid of honour was absent by her express
commands ; and if the courtiers made it a subject of gos-
sip, they did so quietly. Anne of Austria, as one may
readily believe, suspected that the Coadjutor had some
connection with her extraordinary disappearance; bur,
although she saw him every night in her oratory, she did
not speak to him upon this most delicate subject; while
he, on his part, was silent, perceiving, by certain ind,ca-
Cons, that it would not be prudent just then to plead the
cause of his young friends. It appealed as if there ex-
isted between the two, a tacit convention that the subject
should he avoided whilst the affairs of the state so impe-
riously required that they should act in concert. Neither
one nor the other seemed willing to make any advances
in the matter—the Queen to pardon those who had of-
fended her, nor the Coadjutor to abandon those over whom
he had thrown the shield of his powerful protection.
The most dangerous enemy the newly-married couple
had to contend against was Alpert de Croissi. From the
first moment he had no doubt as to the hiding place his
two victims had chosen. But as Albert eontinued in
disgrace at court, he was not invested with any power to
act against the fugitives, and he was too politic a gentle-
man to run a risk by which he might get himse f perhaps
still deeper into disgrace, since he was totally uninformed
how the Queen felt upon the subject of the absence of her
maid of honour, as well as F abien's disappearance.
He therefore contented himself with rambling about the
cloister, and engaging in conversation, at all times,
the gentlemen who formed the Coadjutor's guard. The
marvellous sagacity of Eustace de Vireton, whom Gondi
had especially commissioned to watch over Fabien and
Elizabeth, had at all times baffled his manoeuvres ; but
De Croissi did not doubt that if the power of the Coad-
jutor at any time declined, he might seize his victims by
force, and which perhaps would not be then displeasing
to the Queen. The lot of the young couple, therefore,
seemed intimately connected with the fortunes of their
protector, who maintained his unbounded influence amidst
all the political changes and fluctuations of the time. At
this epoch of revolutions and troubles events followed
thickly one after another, and from the departure of Conde
to Saint Maur great alterations took place at court. On
the first warning of his danger, the Prince was staggered
with the boldness of the project meditated for the purpose
of getting rid of him, but he soon profited by the indigna-
tion which was publicly expressed when the plot became
generally known. In fact Conde became more popular
and powerful than before. He had required and obtained,
the dismissal of Servien, Liunne, and Chateauneuf, who
were suspected by him as the authors of the contemplated
plot against his life ; he obtained a guarantee to enter
Paris without fear of molestation; and at length, assured
by every possible strong precaution, quitted ht. Maur, at-
tended by a magnificent train, and once more took pos-
session of his residence in the city. Day by day did he
attend the Parliament, accompanied by a numerous reti-
nue, and if it had not been for the influence and bold front
of the Coadjutor, he would have been the most powerful
personage in Paris.

Such then was the political aspect of affairs on the 21st
August, 1651, about one month after the eventful escape
from the palace.

Upon the morning of this day the whole neighbourhood
of Notre Dame was thronged by crowds of persons, who
assembled to accompany the Coadjutor to Parliament.
The sitting of the evening before, had been stormy, the
yellow scarfs had shewn in superior number in the grand
chamber, as Conde had assembled his partisans to shew
that the old and legitimate faction should not humi-
liate the new. Gondi, on his part, prepared himself
for the struggle, and all who sided with him were desired
to meet him this day at the Palais de Justice. It might
have been imagined that the Parisians were about to
commence a battle, by the warlike preparations visible on
all hands. The artisans, in their shops, rubbed off the
rust from arquebuses that had beioiged to their sires in
the time of the League. Everywhere was to be met with
persons hearing great sabres, and sinking beneath the
weight of ancient cuirasses, while to judge by the martial
gait of certain citizens known to be of a paciac tempera-
ment, the attar, of the day seemed likely to turn out warm,
since they wire induced to mingle in the expected pro-
ceedings.

These preparations took a graver aspect in the vicinity
of the cloister. There, might be recognised fewer of the
clumsily armed citizens, and a far g eater number of sol-
diers, and well-mounted and well-equipped gentlemen.
Materials were placed at the angles of the streets, so that
barricades might instantaneously be erected, if necessary.
Men were posted on the frowning towers of Notre Dame,
with grenades. Severul houses were closed, and boarded
up, to serve the purpose of fortresses. But in the princi-
pal court of the Petit Areheveque" were signs that could
not be mistaken, and which presented the appearance of
of an arsenal at the moment of an attack. Muskets, ar-
quebuses, and halberts, were ranged along the walk,
while horsemen and foot soldiers pressed forward in that
vast square, now become too small for their accommoda-
tion. In the centre were six coaches which were in-
tended to convey to the Pal.ais-de-Justice the chiefs of
the party of the Queen. Lacqueys and pages in liver),
attached to the Coadjutor, ran about executing various
commands in the very busiest way, in the midst of the
horses and heaps of arms. They cried aloud, they shouted,
while sonorous oaths made the holy echoes tremble. The
confusion was enough to turn a timid man's brain, and the
bustle of the scene was sufficient to raise an uneasy feel-
ing for the peace of the city of Paris.

At the extremity of the immense buildings of the
cloisters of Notre Dame, in a quiet chamber, the windows
of which opened upon a little court-yard, where the infer-
nal noise without fell upon the ear with but a murmuring
sound, sat Fabien and Elizabeth, side by side, attired in
simple costume. They conversed in under tones, with-
out one thought of the tumultuous passions that were ex-
cited in the breasts of thousands near them. Dame Ger-
main, who had come to pay her accustomed visit, stepped
out every minute upon the balcony, to see if anything
were going forward below; and if a straggling cavalier
happened to pass beneath the window, the officious but
kind-hearted woman thus placed as a gaoler over them,
duly reported the circumstance.

Their conversation had taken a turn more sad perhaps
than usual, and a profound melancholy seemed to have
settled on their faces. In vain it was that Fabien en-
deavoured to console Elizabeth, and make her believe
in what he himself, entertained no faith ; silence at
length ensued, and they sat like the images of despair.
Elizabeth wept upon her husband's breast.

At this moment the Scholar, out of breath, darter'. into
the room. Although he was clad in black, a handsome
rapier was suspended at his side, which gave him an un-
usual martial air. Astonished at his sudden appearance,
Fabien and Elizabeth instantly rose, while Dame Ger-
main uttered a cry of affright ; but the brave Scholar,
without troubling himself with the disquiet he had occa-
sioned, said to Fabien, hastily—
" Quick, quick, Mons. Fabien de Croissi ; get ready ;
we only wait for you, to depart."
" For me ?" exclaimed Fahien, overwhelmed with as-
tonishment ;whither would you conduct me P"

" To Parliament."
" Oh ! why is this, Sir P" asked Elizabeth, with terror,
" Fabien will be recognised, arrested, or perhaps—"
" I can answer you nothing, lady, but that my lord has
ordered me to summon your husband, and it is certain
that he has good reasons for what be does. If Ido not
deceive myself, he meditates certain projects by which
he will be enabled to bring you out of the false and un-
happy position in which you are now situated."
" But how P by what means ?"
" He has not told me any ; but merely given me in-
structions. He desires you, Mons. Fabien, to prepare to
accompany him to the Palais de Justice, and that you
attic e yourself in the same costume which you wore on
the day of your presentation to the Queen. This he has
expressly bidden me to tell you."
" This is strange," said Fabien, looking at Elizabeth.
" Obey our protector," replied the countess, with con-
fidence; " obey him, Fabien, without endeavouring to
seek info his designs."
" I obey," said Croissi, " because I have sworn to do