Perhaps some persons may have taken sufficient interest in those who have played a secondary part in our history to wish to know what became of them after the events which lost the conspiracy and saved the regent. We will satisfy them in a few words. The Duc and Duchesse de Maine, whose plotting they wished to stop for the future, were arrested—the duke at Sceaux, and the duchess in her house in the Rue Saint HonorÉ. The duke was taken to the chateau of Doullens, and the duchess to that of Dijon, and afterward to the citadel of ChÂlons. Both left at the end of a few months, disarming the regent, one by an absolute denial, the other by a complete avowal. Richelieu was arrested, as Mademoiselle de Valois had warned him, the day after that on which he had procured Bathilde's interview with the regent; but his captivity was a new triumph for him. It was reported that the handsome prisoner had obtained permission to walk on the terrace of the Bastille. The Rue Saint Antoine was filled with most elegant carriages, and became, in twenty-four hours, the fashionable promenade. The regent—who declared that he had proofs of the treason of M. de Richelieu, sufficient to lose him four heads if he had them—would not, however, risk his popularity with the fair sex by keeping him long in prison. Richelieu, again at liberty, after a cap The Abbe Brigaud—arrested, as we have said, at Orleans—was kept for some time in the prison of that town, to the great despair of Madame Denis and her children; but, one fine morning, as they were sitting down to breakfast, the abbe entered, as calm as ever. They asked him a number of questions, but—with his habitual prudence—he referred them to his judicial declarations, saying that the affair had already given him so much trouble that they would greatly oblige him by never speaking of it any more. Now, as the Abbe Brigaud was quite an autocrat in Madame Denis's establishment, his desire was religiously respected, and from that day the affair was as completely forgotten in the Rue du Temps-Perdu as if it had never existed. Some days afterward Pompadour, Valef, Laval, and Malezieux went out of prison in their turn, and began again to pay their court to Madame de Maine, as if nothing had happened. As to the Cardinal de Polignac, he was not even arrested; he was simply exiled to his Abbey d'Anchin. These proofs of clemency appeared to Dubois so out of all reason that he came to the regent, intending to make a scene about it, but the regent only replied by repeating the burden of the song which Saint-Simon had made on him: "For I am Philippe le Debonnaire, Philippe le Debonnaire." This enraged Dubois so much that the regent, in order to pacify him, was obliged to transform him into his Eminence the Cardinal. END OF "THE CONSPIRATORS." [Transcriber's Note: The following typographical errors present in the original edition have been corrected. On page 242, an extra quotation mark after "would deceive." was deleted. On page 243, an extraneous period following "which his fathers had left him" was deleted. On page 250, "The Chevalier d'Harmentel saw" was changed to "The Chevalier d'Harmental saw". On page 260, "D'Harmental only knew the Marquis de Pompador" has been changed to "D'Harmental only knew the Marquis de Pompadour". On page 266, "soupe au fromage and macroni" was changed to "soupe au fromage and macaroni". On page 286, "you come, young and inexperiened" was changed to "you come, young and inexperienced". On page 293, a comma following "he sketched the delicious picture before him" was changed to a period. On page 298, a missing quotation mark was added after "I admit no one into my games." On page 318, "abstracted mein" was changed to "abstracted mien". On page 320, "she might as well open her's" was changed to "she might as well open hers". On page 321, "Mizra's skill" was changed to "Mirza's skill", "acquired for Mizra" was changed to "acquired for Mirza", and "evidently not to Mizra" was changed to "evidently not to Mirza". On page 323, "the statue of Henri IV.." was changed to "the statue of Henri IV.", and "standing at her wnidow" was changed to "standing at her window". On page 325, "were not eompensated" was changed to "were not compensated". On page 326, "secretely the mistress" was changed to "secretly the mistress". On page 329, a missing quotation mark was added before "I did come to speak". On page 339, "Melezieux advanced" was changed to "Malezieux advanced". On page 354, "sat down opposite D'Harmemtal" was changed to "sat down opposite D'Harmental", and a missing quotation mark was added following "something profoundly sad has happened to you.". On page 377, "where the orignals are" was changed to "where the originals are". On page 408, "the name—the name—of—Chevalier—Raoul D'Harmental" was changed to "the name—the name—of—Chevalier—Raoul d'Harmental". On page 410, "By the light of the t orch" was changed to "By the light of the torch". On page 411, "mounted on the postllion's horse" was changed to "mounted on the postilion's horse". On page 412, "risked all, sufered all" was changed to "risked all, suffered all".] |