the Manufcript to fome Nuns of a Convent near Comerci in Lorraine, who garbled them. James the Second, however, told the laft Duke of Ormond, that he had seen a perfect copy of them, which was lent to him by Madame Caumartin.

Joli, his Secretary, describes his Master in his retreat at Comerci in no very favourable manner; as idling away his time in hunting, going to puppetfhows, now and then pretending to administer justice amongst his tenants, writing a page or two of his own life in folio, and fettling fome-points in the genealogy of his family-that of Gondi. The Cardinal's reply to Joli's remonftrances to him on this fubject was a curious one: "I know all "this as well as you do, but I don't think you "will get any one else to believe what you say of << me." An opinion fo highly advantageous to the Cardinal's talents and character had gone out into the world, that the people of France could not bring themselves to think ill of one who had been a very popular Demagogue amongst them.

On the day in which he was permitted to have an audience of Louis the Fourteenth at Verfailles, the Court was extremely full, and the highest expectations were formed of the manners and appearance of the Cardinal: when however they faw an hump-back'd, bow-legg'd, decrepid old man, who perhaps did not feel much elevated with his

fituation, their expectations were fadly disappointed; and particularly fo, when his Sovereign merely faid to him, "Your Eminence is grown very gray fince "I laft faw you." To this the Cardinal replied, "Any perfon, Sire, who has the misfortune to in"cur your Majefty's displeasure, will very rea"dily become gray."

St. Evremond has preserved an anecdote of the Cardinal's noblenefs of mind and liberality during his retreat at Comerci. As he was riding out on horseback, he was furrounded by fome Spanish foldiers that were in the neighbourhood. The Officer however, on being told his name, ordered him to be released, and difmounting from his horse, made an apology for the behaviour of his foldiers. The Cardinal, taking a valuable diamond ring from his finger, prefented it to the Officer, faying, "Pray, "Sir, at leaft permit me to render your little "excursion not entirely useless to you."

De Retz refigned the Archbishopric of Paris, and procured in exchange for it the rich Abbey of St. Denis. He lived long enough to pay all his debts, and divided his time between Paris and St. Denis; at the latter place he died at a very advanced age, and in the strongest sentiments of piety and devotion. He is occasionally mentioned in Madame de Sevigné's Letters, as a man of great talents for converfation, and much afflicted with

the head-ach. He had the honefty to say of himfelf, "Mankind supposed me extremely enterprifing "and dauntless when I was young, and I was "much more fo than they could poffibly imagine:" and this may be readily acknowledged, from an anfwer which he made to fome one who reproached him, when he was young, with owing a great deal of money. "Why, man,” replied he, " Cæfar, "at my age, owed fix times as much as I do."

No one knew better how to manage and cajole the multitude than Cardinal de Retz did, yet he complains that they left him at the Angelus' bell to go to dinner. One of his maxims refpecting the affembling of that many-headed Monster should be diligently confidered both by the Leaders of Parties and by the Governors of Kingdoms: "Qui"conque affemble le Peuple l'emeut---Whoever "brings the people.together, puts them in a state "of commotion,"

CARDINAL MAZARIN,

on his triumphant return to Paris, after the Peace of the Pyrenees, created a great number of Dukes; and on being asked why he was so profuse of that honour, replied, "I will make fuch a number,

❝ that

"that it shall be difgraceful to be a Duke and "not to be a Duke." Though a very able, he was a very timid Minifter. His brother the Cardinal of Aix ufed to fay of him, "Only make "a little bustle, and he will defift." One of his favourite measures was procraftination. "Time "and I against any other two perfonages," was his reply, when urged to brisk and violent measures.

Mazarin was an extremely handsome man, and had a very fine face: this he was fo anxious to preserve, that not many days before he died, he gave audience to the foreign Minifters with his face painted. This made the Spanish Minifter fay, "Voila un portrait qui refemble à M. "le Cardinal." As Tacitus fays of Tiberius, though now his ftrength and his conftitution began to fail, yet his diffimulation continued as perfect as ever. He fent for the Prince of Condé, and told him something confidentially, which the Prince was the more inclined to believe, as he saw the dying state in which his Eminence was. A little time after his death, to his great aftonishment, he found that even in that awful fituation the Cardinal had not told him one word of truth.

Mazarin exhibited in himself a fingular inftance of the viciffitudes of fortune. He was of a very low extraction, had been a gambler, be

came

came Prime Minister of a great Country, was afterwards banished and a price fet upon his head, and then returned triumphantly to his Adminif tration with greater power than ever. Madame de

Baviere fays, that he was married to his Sovereign Anne of Austria, and that he treated her extremely ill.

The Cardinal was by no means a fanguinary Minifter. He let the People talk and write as they → pleased, and he acted as he pleased. A collection of the fatires written against him was preferved in the Colbert Library at Paris: it confifted of fortyfix volumes in quarto. When he laid any new tax, he used to afk his confidants what the good people of Paris were doing, whether they were ridiculing him, and making fongs and epigrams upon him. When he was answered in the affirmative, he used to say, "I can never have any "reafon to fear a Nation which vents its fpleen fo "very gaily; let them laugh on."

When the Cardinal was obliged to quit Paris, his effects were fold at public auction; his very valuable library was bought for the Court of Brunfwick, and is at prefent in the capital of that Duchy, Mazarin appears once in his life to have been in a very enviable fituation. When the French and Spanish armies were drawn up in order of