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

Literature.

CARDINAL Dr.,,

ou.
THE COURTIER'S PLOT

By Parra l'or.roY,

(For Linervyst Standard.)

f.,HAPTEIt XV,

The dawn of the day. The Coadju'or and his suite. The
Falai; de .Ins,ice The tr,, tor convicted. The insult and
challenge. The cele,rated sitting. The craft of the Coadjutor
An ordeal. tra.,ge events.
For the space of a month ;.fter the midnight interview
had taken place in the hbrary of the Coadjutor, Fabien
and Elizabeth remained concealed within the cloister of
Notre Dame. On time 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 anspices ; but Gondi at once saw that it was
indisoensible 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.
yond 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 ; but save
a casual visit from the scholar, and the attendance of
Dame Gezairlio, the old housekeeper of the Coadjutor,
not a human vacs: greeted them from morning till night.
Oh ! hoe- that yo7lLig• pair did sigh for the pleasant fields
of Normandy, for the broad and sunny lands of Croissi,
and t!-.-• deep groves of IVlontglat.
the most profound mystery was ob-
set.% ::,-eting the a' sence of Elizabeth, at the palace.
The Queen, to avod 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; but,
itlthough 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 indica-
tions, that it would not he prudent just then to plead thi)
cause of his young fr;ends. It appeared as if there x"'
isted between the two, a tacit convention that the subject.
should be avoided whilst the affairs of the state so impa-,
riously required that they should act in concert. Neither i
one nor the other seemed willing to make any advances I
in the matter—the Qu..en to pardon; those who had,Uf-,
fended her, nor the Coa,:ljutcr to abandon those over wbotn
he had thrown the shield of his powerful pro'ection.-
The most dangerous enemy the newly-married couple'
had to contend against was Albert de Croissi. , From the
first moment he had no doubt as to the hiding,
two victims had chosen. But as Albert continued-in •
disgrace at court, he was not invested with any power th
act against the fugitives, and he was too politic a gentle'2,l
man to run a risk by which he might get himself perhaps
still deeper into disgrace, since he was totally uninformed-
how the Queer, felt upon the subj.-et of the absence ofliel
maid of honour, as well as Fabien's di.sappearari6ee
Ile therefore contented himself with rambling about the-
cloister,- and engaging in conversation, at all times„
the gentlemen who formed the Coadjutor's guard. Thie
marvellous sagacity of Eustace de Vireton, whom
had especially commissioned to watch over Fabien:and
Elizabeth, had at all times baffled his manoeuvres; hiat
De Croissi did not doubt that if the power of the,Cuid-
jutor at any time declined, he might seize his vietimtety
force, and which perhaps would not be then displeasi»g
to the Queen. The lot of the young couple, therefore,
seemed intimately connected with the' fortanes -of. their.
protector, who maintained his unboundectinfluenee amidst
all the political changes and fluctuations of the time.. .AV
this epoch of revolutions and troubles events followed.
thickly one alter another, and from the departure of Codes'
to'Saint .Maur great alterations took place at court... ore
the first warning of his danger, the Prince was staggered
iii lr the boldness of the project meditated for the purpos'e
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 populer
and powerful than before. He had required and obtained;
the dismissal of Servien, Lionne, and Chateauneuf, Who
were suspected by him as the authors t f the contemplate&
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 St. Maine it;
tended by a magnificent train, and once more took ,pose
session of his residence in the city. Day by day did he I
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 powerfirl I
personage in Paris.
Such then was the political aspect of affairs on the2let
August, 1631, about one month after 'the eventful escaPit
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 Parilauciato.,
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 she*
that the old and legitimate faction should not hurni..,
liate the new. Gondi, on his part, prepared himself
for the streggle, and all e ho sided with lime, were desired
to meet him this day at the Paleis de Justice. It might,
have been imagined that the Parisians were about to
commence a battle, by the warlike preparations visible on I
all hands. The artisans, in their shops, rubbed off the
rust from arquebuses that had belo aged to their sires in '
the time of the League. Everywhere was to Le 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 patale tempera-
ment, the affairs of the day seemed likely to turn out warm,
since they were 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.
111aterials 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. Several houses were closed, and boarded
up, to serve the purpose of fortresses. But in the princi-
pal court of the Petit Archeveque 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 walls,
while horsemen and foot soldiers pressed forward in that.
vast square, now become too small for their accommoda-
tion. 7n the centre were six coaches which were in-
tended to convey to the Palais-de-Justice the chiefs of
the party of the Queen. Lacqucys and pages in livery,
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-. I
nal noise.erithout 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, darted 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 Fabien, overwhelmed with as-
tonishment; whither would you conduct me r
" To Parliament."
" Oh ! why is this, Sir P" asked Elizabeth, with terror,
" Fabian will be recognised, arrested, or perhaps-
-11
" 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 he 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
attire 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 in'o his designs."
4' I obey," said Croissi, " because I have sworn to do