g the young prince with ambitious thoughts--that the next step
would be an attempt to share the crown itself with his majesty. The
cardinal foresaw how much Monsieur would be offended by the refusal and
would not fail to betray his impatience, and inflame the jealousy of the
king. Yet Richelieu bore still an open face and friendly voice for
Ornano, whom he was every day undermining in the king's favour, till all
terminated in a pretended conspiracy, and Ornano perished in the
Bastile, of a fever, at least caught there:--so much for the friendship
of Father Joseph! And by such men and such means the astute minister
secretly threw a seed of perpetual hatred between the royal brothers,
producing conspiracies often closing in blood, which only his own
haughty tyranny had provoked.

Father Joseph died regretted by Richelieu; he was an ingenious sort of a
_creature_, and kept his carriage to his last day, but his name is only
preserved in secret histories. The fate of Father Caussin, the author of
the "Cours Sainte," a popular book among the Catholics for its curious
religious stories, and whose name is better known than Father Joseph's,
shows how this minister could rid himself of father confessors who
persisted, according to their own notions, to be honest men, in spite of
the minister. This piece of secret history is drawn from a narrative
manuscript which Caussin left addressed to the general of the
Jesuits.[223]

Richelieu chose Father Caussin for the king's confessor, and he had
scarcely entered his office when the cardinal informed him of the king's
romantic friendship for Mademoiselle La Fayette, of whom the cardinal
was extremely jealous. Desirous of getting rid altogether of this sort
of tender connexion, he hinted to the new confessor that, however
innocent it might be, it was attended with perpetual danger, which the
lady herself acknowledged, and, warm with "all the motions of grace,"
had declared her intention to turn "Religieuse;" and that Caussin ought
to dispose the king's mind to see the wisdom of the resolution. It
happened, however, that Caussin considered that this lady, whose zeal
for the happiness of the people was well known, might prove more
serviceable at court than in a cloister, so that the good father was
very inactive in the business, and the minister began to suspect that he
had in hand an instrument not at all fitted to it like Father Joseph.

"The motions of grace" were, however, more active