the Louvre, accompanied throughout his progress by the same acclamations
of loyalty and enthusiasm as had greeted the ears of his dead father
only a few months previously.

It had been a great relief to Marie de Medicis that before the departure
of the Court for Rheims a reconciliation had been effected between the
Prince de Conde and the Comte de Soissons; but her tranquillity was not
destined to last, the attendants of the Cardinal de Joyeuse and those of
the Marquis d'Ancre having had a violent altercation during the journey
on the subject of the accommodation provided for their respective
employers; and this quarrel was no sooner appeased than the new-made
Marquis originated another with the Duc de Bellegarde, alleging that as
First Lord of the Bedchamber he had a right to take precedence of the
Duke, who was Grand Equerry of France. M. de Bellegarde, irritated by
this presumption, complained loudly of the affront, and was supported in
his indignation by the Duc d'Epernon and by the Comte de Soissons, who
was becoming weary of the Italian adventurer.

Even the Queen herself could neither support nor justify such undue
pretensions; and M. d'Ancre, reluctantly convinced that he had on this
occasion swooped at too high a quarry, swallowed his mortification as
best he might, and endeavoured to redeem his error; an attempt in which
he was seconded by the Queen, in obedience to whose wishes M. le Grand
somewhat contemptuously consented to forego any further demonstration of
his resentment; while the Duc d'Epernon agreed, with even more facility,
to follow his example. The Comte de Soissons was not, however, so easily
to be appeased; and he accordingly, with the ever-wakeful policy for
which he was proverbial, made his reconciliation with the mortified
Marquis conditional upon his promise of assistance in his two darling
projects of obtaining the hand of the heiress of Montpensier for his son
the Comte d'Enghien, and of accomplishing the ruin of the Duc de Sully.

At this crisis the finance minister could ill afford to see a new
antagonist enter the lists against him, surrounded as he already was by
enemies eager for his overthrow. The Prince de Conde had neither
forgotten nor forgiven his advice to Henri IV to order his arrest when
he fled to Flanders to protect the honour of his wife; the Duc de
Bouillon was jealous of his interest with the Huguenot party; while the
Chancellor, Villeroy, and Jeannin were leagued agains