France Under Mazarin: With a Review of the Administration of Richelieu. E-book. Formato PDF James Breck Perkins   -  Forgotten Books, 2017  - 

October 22d was equally ineffectual in insuring peace for his administration. On the 12th of November the Parlia ment again assembled, but it was soon seen that the dis. Contents had not been allayed' by the vacation.' The judges returned from the quiet of their country seats ready for tumultuous debates and fierce denunciations of the cardinal. Many of the provisions of the edict of October had been distasteful to the government, and they were enforced with the irregularity of reluctance. Complaints were soon made of failures to comply with its regulations. Fourteen or fifteen millions had been raised since La Meilleraie had charge of the finances, but the soldiers had received no pay, the officials no wages, and the rentiers no interest. It was the intention Of the queen, said Orleans and Condé in her behalf, to execute the declaration in good faith, and if there had been any violation of it she desired to be informed, that it might be remedied; but if pretexts were sought to prevent raising the necessary supplies, and if it was endeavored, under the pretence of seeking the public good, to raise Obstacles to the government, they would be the first to advise her to seek the necessary means for preserving the state and the royal authority.' There were many who were quite ready to obstruct the government, and who were not to be deterred even by the threats of the prince of Condé. The public denunciations of Mazarin became more bitter, and some libels that were published were so fierce that, tolerant as the cardinal was of public abuse, he had the printer of one of them arrested and banished.'

France Under Mazarin: With a Review of the Administration of Richelieu. E-book. Formato PDF James Breck Perkins   -  Forgotten Books, 2017  - 

The period covered by the administrations of Richelieu and Mazarin is one of both interest and importance. Yet I am not aware that any full history of this time has been written in English. The career and character of Riche lieu are, to a certain extent, familiar, but, perhaps, most have a general idea of his administration, rather than a familiarity with what he actually did. Both the character and administration of Mazarin are, I think, little known fto most English readers. Yet eighteen years which em braced the Fronde, and the treaties of Westphalia and the Pyrenees, cannot be deemed unimportant. If the policy of Richelieu is worth studying, the man who was his legitimate successor should not be ignored by students of history. The accuracy of modern scholarship demands, also, the examination of authorities which, until recently, have been largely inaccessible and wholly disregarded. There are a great number of contemporary memoirs covering this time. Many of the leading political characters have left their own records of their careers. It is upon such authori ties, chie?y, that any works treating of this period have been based, with the exception of a few recent French publications. The ideas entertained of the Fronde, for example, and of the characters of Mazarin and Condé, have been principally derived from various contemporary memoirs, of which those of Retz are best known and have been most used. Many of these memoirs furnish much information that is accurate and valuable, and a study of them is indispensable. But it is impossible.