Page:Secret History of the French Court under Richelieu and Mazarin.djvu/66

52 intrigue and adventure. It was under the influence of these varied feelings that she decided to resume a negotiation with Richelieu that had never wholly been broken off, and the successful termination of which appeared easy enough, since both parties equally wished for it.

This negotiation lasted for more than a year. The cardinal authorized Boispille, the steward of the family de Chevreuse, and Abbé du Dorat, to repair to England, the better to conduct this delicate affair. They bestowed much time and pains on it; more than once were they obliged to go from London to Paris, and from Paris to London, to smooth down the difficulties that were constantly arising. The oft-broken thread was knotted anew, but only to be again broken. The cardinal and the duchess sincerely desired to effect a reconciliation, but knowing each other well, each wished to exact from the other almost impossible pledges of fidelity. On studying the various documents to which this long negotiation gave rise, we recognize therein the genius and characteristics of Richelieu and of Madame de Chevreuse; the habitual artifice of the cardinal with his ill-dissembled firmness; and the suppleness of the beautiful duchess, her apparent submission, and her inflexible precautions. Richelieu gradually relaxed his habitual rigor, but his claims—always visible through the most studied courtesy—warned Madame de Chevreuse to be on her guard, and to make no mistakes with a man who forgot nothing, and who was powerful enough for every thing. It is a curious spectacle to see them employing all the manœuvres of the most refined diplomacy, and