of the aid of foreigners."

Unhappily for herself, however, Marie de Medicis disregarded this
wholesome and generous advice; and although Richelieu, in order to save
appearances, from time to time repeated the proposal, she continued to
persist in an exile which could only be terminated at his pleasure.[198]

Having succeeded by this crafty policy in inducing a general impression
that the unfortunate Queen persisted from a spirit of obstinacy in
remaining out of the kingdom, when she could at any moment return on
advantageous conditions, the Cardinal next exerted himself to create a
misunderstanding between Marie de Medicis and Monsieur, for which
purpose he secretly caused it to be asserted to the Prince and
Puylaurens that the Queen-mother, anxious to make her own terms to the
exclusion of Gaston, had despatched several messengers to the French
Court with that object. Monsieur affected to discredit the report, but
Puylaurens, who was weary of an exile which thwarted his ambition,
eagerly welcomed the intelligence, and soon succeeded in inducing Gaston
to give it entire credence. Thenceforward all confidence was necessarily
at an end between the mother and the son; and the favourite,
apprehensive that should Marie de Medicis conclude a treaty with the
sovereign before his master had made his own terms, she might, in order
to advance her own interests, sacrifice those of the Prince, hastened to
despatch a trusty messenger to ascertain the conditions which Louis was
willing to accord to his brother. The reply which Puylaurens received
from the Cardinal was most encouraging; Richelieu being anxious that
Monsieur should act independently of the Queen-mother, and thus weaken
the cause of both parties, while his gratification was increased by the
arrival of a second envoy accredited by Gaston himself, who offered in
his name, not only to make every concession required of him should he be
restored to the favour of the King, but even to allow the minister to
decide upon his future place of abode; while Puylaurens, on his side,
offered to resign his claim to the hand of the Princesse de Phalsbourg,
the sister of the Duc de Lorraine, which had been pledged to him, if he
could induce his Eminence to bestow upon him that of one of his own
relatives.

In reply to the last proposition the Cardinal declared himself ready to
secure to the favourite of Monsieur, should he succeed in making his
royal patron fulfil the promises which