of so grave a
determination." Let us be chary, therefore, of accusing Conde of levity;
let us recognise that insensibly his position had become such that he
could neither remain in it nor quit it, in one way or another, save with
equal danger.

[1] La Rochefoucauld, p. 76.

Among the different motives which rendered Conde averse to civil war,
the passion that he had just begun to feel for the Duchess de Chatillon
must not be forgotten. We shall return a little further on to this
episode in Conde's life. It is sufficient to remark here that it was
grievous to him to quit the lovely Duchess, who then was residing very
close to Chantilly, in the charming chateau of Merlon or Mello, near
Pontoise, the enjoyment of which had been granted to her for life by the
old Princess de Conde, Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency, who expired
in her arms at Chatillon-sur-Loing, in December, 1650--a gracious grant,
which the Prince, her son, had hastened to ratify with a somewhat
interested generosity. Madame de Chatillon had her reasons of more than
one kind for being opposed to the war, and in the intimate counsels of
the Prince she urged him to an understanding with the Court. In that she
made common cause with La Rochefoucauld, and was in open quarrel with
Madame de Longueville. Sensible of Conde's passion without sharing it,
she managed that lofty lover with infinite tact, at the same time that
she was deeply enamoured of the young, handsome, and brave Duke Charles
Amadeus of Savoy, Nemours,[2] who from his youth and adventurous
instincts would have longed for war, and whom she alone, seconded by La
Rochefoucauld, retained in the party of peace.

[2] Charles Amadeus had succeeded to the title and rank of his elder
brother, the Duke de Nemours, one of Conde's intimate friends in
youth, who had been killed early in action, even before Rocroy.
Conde had transferred to Charles Amadeus the affection which he bore
his brother. The young duke had married the beautiful Madlle. de
Vendome, daughter of Duke Caesar, and sister of the Dukes de
Mercoeur and Beaufort, and by her he had two daughters who became,
one the Queen of Portugal, the other the Duchess of Savoy. At the
death of the Duke de Nemours, in 1652, his title passed to his
younger brother Henri de Nemours, Archbishop of Rheims, who then
quitted the church, and espoused Madlle. de Longueville, the
authoress of the Memoirs.

E