ds of the family, it had been decided that Armand
Jean should have the benefit.

Soon a fresh vision had formed before the eyes of the handsome Bishop,
who visited Rome and made friends among the highest dignitaries. He
was tall and slender, with an oval face and the keenest of grey eyes;
rich black hair fell to his shoulders and a pointed beard lent
distinction to his face. The Louvre and the Vatican approved him, and
many protesting voices were heard when Richelieu went down to his
country diocese.

Poitou was one of the poorest districts of France, the peasants being
glad enough to get bread and chestnuts for their main food. The
cathedral was battered by warfare and the palace very wretched. Orders
to {118} Parisian merchants made the last habitable, Richelieu
declaring that, although a beggar, he had need of silver plates and
such luxuries to "enhance his nobility." The first work he had found
to do was done very thoroughly. He set the place in order and
conciliated the Huguenots. Then he demanded relief from taxation for
his overburdened flock, writing urgently to headquarters on this
subject. He had much vexation to overcome whenever he came into
contact with the priests drawn from the peasantry. These were far too
fond of gambling and drinking in the ale-houses, and had to be
prohibited from celebrating marriages by night, a custom that led to
many scandals.

But Lucon was soon too narrow a sphere for the energy and ambition of a
Richelieu. The Bishop longed to establish himself in a palace "near to
that of God and that of the King," for he combined worldly wisdom with
a zeal for religious purity. He happened to welcome the royal
procession that was setting out for Spain on the occasion of Louis
XIII's marriage to Anne of Austria, a daughter of Philip II. He made
so noble an impression of hospitality that he was rewarded by the post
of Almoner to the new Queen and was placed upon the Regent's Council.

Richelieu had watched the coronation of the quiet boy of fourteen in
the cathedral of Notre Dame, for he had walked in the state procession.
He knew that Louis XIII was a mere cipher, fond of hunting and loth to
appear in public. Marie de Medici, the Regent, was the prime mover of
intrigues. It was wise to gain her favour and the friendship of her
real rulers, the Italian Concini.

Concini himself was noble by birth, whereas his wife, the sallow,
deformed Leonora, was the daughter of a {119} la