house in which the
greatest genius of the Flemish school had first seen the light. The room
in which Rubens was born had been reverently preserved in all its
original comfort by his family, and this apartment became the private
chamber of the Queen; who, for a time, sanguine as to the result of the
painter's mission, and rendered doubly hopeful by the constant reports
which reached her of the rapidly-declining health of Richelieu,
supported her new misfortunes with courage.

Unfortunately, however, for his victim, it was only physical suffering
by which the Cardinal was prostrated, for never had his mental powers
appeared more clear or more acute, or his iron will more indomitable,
than at this period, when a slow but painful disease was gradually
wearing away his existence; while superadded to this marvellous strength
and freshness of intellect--marvellous inasmuch as it triumphantly
resisted both physical agony and the conception of all those
rapidly-recurring and conflicting political combinations by which he had
excited alike the wonder and mistrust of every European state--his
irritation and impatience under the restraint enforced upon him by his
bodily ailments rendered him a more formidable enemy than ever.
Prematurely old, ruined in constitution, ever dreading the knife of the
assassin and the pen of the satirist, greedy of gold and power, wrapping
himself lovingly in the purple and fine linen of earth, while conscious
that ere long the sumptuous draperies of pride must be exchanged for a
winding-sheet, Richelieu looked with a jaundiced eye on all about him,
and appeared to derive solace and gratification only from the
sufferings of others. He had pursued the unfortunate Duc de la Valette
with his hatred until the Parliament, composed almost entirely of the
creatures of his will and the slaves of his passions, had condemned to
death the representative of the proud race of Epernon; and he had no
sooner accomplished this object than, emboldened by his fatal success,
he next ventured to fly his falcon at a still nobler quarry; and he
accordingly accused one of the natural sons of Henri IV, the Duc de
Vendome, of conspiring against his life. As, however, the Prince was not
within his grasp, so that his condemnation could not consequently
involve the loss of life, he contented himself with causing him to be
declared guilty _par contumace_, and with subsequently making a display
of affected generosity, and soliciting