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of the last plan of assassination formed against Mazarin—the nocturnal ambuscade, so well arranged for the 1st of September, 1643, did it also fail? In answer, without stopping to discuss the conjectures of Henri de Campion, we will confine ourselves to saying that Mazarin, who was on his guard, avoided the destined blow by staying away from the queen's palace on the evening when he was to have been stabbed on his return from the Louvre. The next morning, the scene was changed. The rumor was spread that the prime minister had narrowly escaped being slain by Beaufort and his friends on the night before, but that fortune had declared itself in his favor. A project of assassination, especially when it has failed, always excites extreme indignation, and he who has escaped a great danger and seems destined to come off victorious, has no difficulty in finding supporters. A host of men who would, perhaps, have seconded Beaufort had he been successful, came now to offer their services and their swords to the cardinal, and in the morning he repaired to the Louvre escorted by three hundred noblemen.

For some days past, Mazarin had felt that it was necessary at