Richelieu, so was she
now governed by the Oratorian, whose jealousy of Puylaurens led him to
deprecate the prospect of a reconciliation between the mother and son
which must, by uniting them in one common interest, involve himself in a
perpetual struggle with the favourite of the Prince. The monk affected
to treat the haughty _parvenu_ as an inferior; while Puylaurens, who had
refused to acknowledge the supremacy of individuals of far higher rank
than the reverend father, on his side exhibited a similar feeling; and
meanwhile Marie de Medicis and Gaston, equally weak where their
favourites were concerned, made the quarrel a personal one, and by their
constant dissensions weakened their own cause, wearied the patience of
their hosts, and enabled the Cardinal to counteract all their
projects.[190]

Unable to prevail upon the Queen to rescind her resolution, Monsieur
reluctantly returned alone to Brussels, where he was soon wholly
absorbed by pleasure and dissipation. All his past trials were
forgotten. He evinced no mortification at his defeat, or at the state of
pauperism to which it had reduced him; he had no sigh to spare for all
the generous blood that had been shed in his service; nor did he mourn
over the ruined fortunes by which his own partial impunity had been
purchased. It was enough that he was once more surrounded with splendour
and adulation; and although he applied to the Emperor and the sovereigns
of Spain and England for their assistance, he betrayed little anxiety as
to the result of his appeal.

Meanwhile the unfortunate Queen-mother, who had successively witnessed
the failure of all her hopes, was bitterly alive to the reality of her
position. She was indebted for sustenance and shelter to the enemies of
France; and even while she saw herself the object of respect and
deference, as she looked back upon her past greatness and contrasted it
with her present state of helplessness and isolation, her heart sank
within her, and she dreaded to dwell upon the future.

The death of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, who was killed at the
battle of Lutzen at the close of the previous year, had produced a great
change in the affairs of Europe; and, fearing that the Austrian Cabinet
might profit by that event, Richelieu represented to the Council the
necessity of raising money at whatever cost, and of using every
endeavour to effect a continuance of the hostilities in Germany and
Flanders, without, however, dec