Page:Secret History of the French Court under Richelieu and Mazarin.djvu/154

140 opened the door to all the following events. It was then that Beaufort spoke of it to Henri de Campion in the presence of Beaupuis. The crime of Mazarin was that of continuing the policy of Richelieu. "The Duke de Beaufort said to me that he presumed I had remarked that Cardinal Mazarin was re-establishing the tyranny of the Cardinal de Richelieu, both in the court and throughout the whole kingdom, with even more authority and violence than had been seen under the government of the latter; that, having entirely gained the mind of the queen and won all the ministers to his disposal, it was impossible to check his evil designs without taking his life; and that, regard for the public good having made him resolve to take this course, he therefore acquainted me with it, praying me to assist him by my counsels and my personal aid in its execution. Beaupuis then took up the discourse, warmly representing the evils which the too great authority of the Cardinal de Richelieu had brought upon France, and concluding by saying that similar ills must be prevented before his successor should have had time to render them incurable." In conclusion, these are the views and the words of the Importants and the Frondeurs, of La Rochefoucauld and of Retz. Henri de Campion asserts that at first he opposed the project of the duke with so much earnestness that he wavered more than once, but that the two duchesses soon incensed him again, while Beaupuis and Alexandre de Campion urged him on instead of restraining him. Some time after, Beaufort having declared that he was fully resolved in the matter, Henri de Campion yielded on two conditions. "One was," says he, "that I should not be required to lay hands on the cardinal, as I would kill myself rather than do an act of this sort; and the other, that if the execution should be attempted in Beaufort's absence, I should not be there, while if he himself were present, I should not scruple to remain near his person, to defend him in any accidents that might happen; my employ near him and my affection for him alike obliging me to this.