66 Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughter'd saints, whose bones Another cause why France listened so respectfully to the Protector, may be found in the circumstance, that he had become an active and formidable ally against Spain. Cromwell engaged, when he made an alliance with Louis, to co-operate with him in besieging Mardyke, Gravelines, and Dunkirk, on condition that the last-mentioned place should, on its conquest, remain in his possession. Accordingly, six thousand English joined the French army in Flanders during the year 1657; and, in the next year, they laid siege to, and captured Dunkirk, defeating Condé, in the Downs, with great slaughter. Louis entered Dunkirk, and gave it up to Cromwell; Mazarin observing on the occasion, in his letters, that the Protector was "the greatest man upon earth." This victory, which was followed by the capture of many other places, caused the king of Spain to desire peace. France, also, though victorious, was anxious for the same blessing. Conferences were accordingly held in the isle of Pheasants, in the midst of the Bidassoa, which divides both kingdoms, to this end. These conferences, which were carried on personally and solely by Mazarin and Don Louis de Haro, commenced in August, and continued till November, 1659, when a treaty of peace was concluded. The Treaty of the Pyrenees, by which this peace is known in history, consisted of 124 articles. The first twenty-seven of these articles related to commerce, providing, that it should be as free as that between England and Holland. The thirtythird article related to the marriage of Louis and the infanta of Spain, as recently settled by contract, in opposition to Margaret, a princess of Savoy, to whom he had affected to pay court, and Maria Mancini, niece of Mazarin, whom it was his wish to espouse. From the thirty-fourth to the sixtieth article, related to territorial arrangements, which, as regards France, were as follows:The frontier line of France, northward, commenced by including Gravelines, then ran south to Lillers, excluding St. Omer and Aire; the boundary in Hainault was marked by Landrecies, Quesnoy, Marienburgh, and Philippeville. To the right of the Meuse, Montmedy, and Thionville, were the extreme fortresses of the French kingdom. Lorraine was attached in reality to France, although its duke was nominally restored: Alsace was finally ceded to the French. On the south-east, France gained the fortress of Pignerol, on the other side of the Alps. In the south-west, by the acquisition of Roussillon, the Pyrenees became the boundary of France. Thus France assumed, at the Treaty of the Pyrenees, its present form and extent : Franche-Comté and French Flanders excepted, which have been added subsequently. The most difficult point to settle in this treaty was that which referred to the restitution of the prince of Condé to his rank and possessions. Mazarin remained firm against any concessions to him, until Don Louis threatened to form for him a principality of Rocroi, and other towns on the Flemish frontier, when the French minister, alarmed at such a proposition, yielded. Condé facilitated his return also, by giving up some of those towns of France, and making full submissions, at which price he was restored to his rank and estates, and the government of Burgundy. The first public act after this treaty was the marriage of Louis with the infanta of Spain, which was celebrated in June of the following year, with great magnificence. The courts and monarch met for this purpose in the isle of Pheasants, A.D. 1660, At this period Mazarin may be said to have carried every great object which Richelieu had devised, and himself had sought to accomplish, into effect. The nobles were humbled, the house of Austria weakened; and France, enriched at her expense, had attained solidity and a powerful frontier. Nor had Mazarin been less successful in ennobling his own family, and building up his own house in wealth. His pecuniary wealth, with his valuables and pictures, of which he was passionately fond, was immense. His ruling passion was that of avarice; a passion which was strong in death. To that consummation, Mazarin was now fast hastening. Whilst engaged in the conference of the treaty, a malady had seized on him, which Guenaud, the great physician of the day, pronounced to be his death-warrant in two months. This was an awful prospect for a man whose life had been spent in the sole pursuit of that which appertains alone to earth. The very thought haunted him, and filled him with keen regrets and dismal fears. A few days after he had received Guenaud's opinion, Brienne perceived him in his night-cap and dressing-gown, tottering along his gallery, and pointing to his paintings, exclaiming, "Must I quit all these?" Then observing Brienne: "Look," he exclaimed, as he seized hold of his arm, "Look at that Corregio! that Venus of Titian! that incomparable deluge of Caracci! Ah! my friend, I must soon leave all these." At another time, Brienne surprised him slumbering in his chair and murmuring, "Guenaud has said it! Guenaud has said it!" And yet, when thus warned, he made no preparation for the dread alternative. His thoughts were still upon his honours, his riches, his paintings-still clinging to earth. Even a few days before his death he caused himself to be dressed, shaved, rouged, and painted, in which state he was carried in his chair to the promenade, where the courtiers, who had long envied him, paid him ironical compliments on his improved appearance! Cards, over which so many precious hours are thrown away, to the destruction of the soul, were the amusement of his death-bed, his hand being held by others, in order to enable him to shift them in the play. They were only laid aside when the papal nuncio came to impart to him that plenary indulgence, to which the prelates of the sacred college are entitled, according to the ritual of the Church of Rome-but not according to the word of God. Thus as he had lived, so he died, forgetful, though a dignitary of the Church of Rome, of the God who made him, and of that Saviour whose minister he professed to be. He expired on the 9th of March, A.D. 1661. From the death of Mazarin to that of Colbert. The termination of the career of Mazarin may be considered the commencement of the reign of Louis XIV. Till that period, he had only lent his name to the transactions and events which had taken place. Harlay, archbishop of Rouen, president of the assembly of clergy, having asked him to whom he was now to address himself on state matters, he replied, "To myself;" and thenceforth France had no other master till the day of his death. The council of Louis, as formed by the cardinal, was composed of the chancellor, Seguier, keeper of the seals; Le Tellier, minister at war; Lyonne, minister for foreign affairs; and Foquet, superintendent of the finances. The latter being charged with criminal extortions, and the charge proved, the first act of the king's authority was to cause him to be imprisoned for life, and to confide the finances to Colbert, with the title of comptroller-general. This was a wise measure, for Colbert was stern, economical, and orderly, whence, in the course of a few years, he relieved the public from a great weight of taxation, as will be seen in a future page. These were the men who formed the king's chief council; and, by their means, spending several hours every day with them, he soon acquired a minute knowledge of the affairs of |