The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-03-20

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ling. 80 strong m logic. - entirely an
.ntellsctlalist. 80 utterly devoid of any
graceful impulsiveness. who always based
his operations upon reason untinctur-d
by emotion. Richelieu never had a fe-
male supporter In an age and at a court
whore women had hitherto bsen JdircCtly
or Indirectly supreme. On the contrary.
all the women shrank from him. not ex-
Guiding his own niece. Mime. de- COur-
halet. 20 whom he promised every honor
France could provide for presiding over
his household. hut who neverthele-s tried
Co nee from him into convent. Now
when We consider the time at which this
petty noble. for such Richelisu Was, with
out wealth or any court influence to speak
90. began TO force himself into proni-
nence-A time. that II. when Marie de
Aledicis ruled France In the minority Of
her son. the future King. Louis Kill
Marie de Mecicis. who was quite conn
plstsly a woman 10 any ever was-sensuRl
also and capricious in an extreme degree
and when We hold In mind his incapacity
for ever Cooperating with a woman 50
as To control her. there can be nothing
surprising In the fact that after having
crept into a subordinate position at court
as an ultramoniane and advocate Of
Marie's pro-Spanish and pro-Vatican
leanings he suddenly whisked round tn AN
exactly opposite tack al soon as Louis's
minority ended
Mr. McCabe. laboring under the afore-
mentioned fallAcy Of historians. tells III
that this policy alone would save France.
But ne may he permitted to observe
that IL alone could land the young Tar
dinal u thirty nine IN the ssai ~ real
premiership. He took chance. no doubt.
buzz he had the mettls to take chances
He S=ss accused at this crisis u -treach
cry and. in fact. he went back on
everything he had prev iO,isly been advo-
eating But in no other way could h"
have mounted the steps that led ~ the
actual FIlerzhip Of hts country For that
he had To separate Louis from his mother
and to govern the King in opposition
TO the DowARer. He succeeded then in
winning the centre OF power, Louis Kill.
and all the rest % his days he was Ousily
occupied In keeping hold u what he had
carried against a thousand back-tair-
intrigues. ever renewed 60 force him To
loose his hold. Marie favored the Vati-
can and spain: therefore, and perhaps
for no other reason originally. Richelicu
opposed those influences. In no alterna-
tive way. apparently az least. could he
have reached the goal q his personal
ambition 90 surely, The mastery for
eign policy. for which he has gained 40
much repute. seems, after all, to have
been but q coefficisnf. Co say the least.
OF his domestic -srT.visine.' Indeed
the romance OF Richelieu's career comes
chiefly. it appears. from this. that he
was constantly fighting against women
and romance. and used their own wea.
pons against them II may he added
that. 80 far a. We can tell. this cold calcu-
lator was never outwitted except by
women-by Queen Anne. for instance.
occasionally: by the famous Nine. de
Chevreuse. and by Mile. De Lafayette; all
Of whom hated him from the bottom OF
thsir feminine Learts
In a footnote in the middle - hrs work
SIR. McCabs makes some interesting rs-
marks upon the historical value q Dumas's
novel The Three Musketeers.' The
point he says. referring To she energy
and -Napoleonic survey % the Cardinal
us well made in The Three MUsketeers.
but otherwise the reader must beware
Of seeking history in that brilliant story.
IL takes a license with the known facts
that would have =oandalized Scott. Il
is full u anachToni-ms that generally
have no artistic ground at all In iS2s
Richelisu was not ~ years old. but ",
he vas not a duke. and he had no guards.
His niecs was still in the convent. and the
Duchess d'AigIillon, his mistre~s.
was really the same niece after her secund
marriage elsewhere SIr. McCabe ven
lures to doubt whether Dumas knew who
the DUchs,srs Il 'AiEuillou was at all when
he wrote these pa--ages. and probability
appears To he on Mr.. McCsbe's side
The siege u Ia Rochelle does not occur
Till two years later. the war In Italy tall
four years later. and the Palais Cardinal
II later still Other prominent details.
like the constant braWling and duelling.
helong To a much earlier year The duel
ling q the Cardinal with the royal guards
10 an -audacious doubl" anachronism
IL IL hard 20 understand Why MIR McCabe
uses the word -anachronism- here. -Au-
CRcious- the superstition certainly ~.
seeing that Richelieu only existed ~ Pre-
mier 10y grace of the Kings suDordination
10 ham. but there WAS No period in his
career 90 which any such -duelling-
could truthfully ire a-cribed. for tho car
dinal prcdecsa-.-d this King. who played
Emperor william I To- hts B-marck. and
he depended wholly upon hi- mastery of
him up to his death.
However. this footnnte j. notable a.
being really the only contribution - Mr..
Mct 'abe TO a rectification II the .xut.r-
ant rnulat,o genius triumphant march
through historical fiction.
The famous day II dup-- ~ we'll told
by MIR McCabe that day when Louis
XIII had at last L" choose h.tWs.an his
mother. Marie de M'dIci=. aud the up-
start Cardinal The hing dismissed
Richelieu; couriers were despatched a.
swiftly as horses could carry them To
convey the welcome tidIug- ." Madrid
and Vienna and Rom. Rirh"l'.u welded
To cioofn: Marie - de-critet a.. -tut--iied
by her triumph But ~ m" middle ~
this cataclysm th" d,Ill. athlstg King.
.. "a, Iuyad bta mother loss than h. f..r..I