Latest / Story of Old France / 82 - Story of Old France by H. A. Guerber

Transcript

82 - Story of Old France by H. A. Guerber · Story of Old France

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Section eighty one of the Story of Old France. This
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Marc Desanzo. The History of
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Old France by H. A. Gerber, Section eighty one. The
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: beginning of a great reign. Louis the thirteenth, having died
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: sixteen forty three before his son and heir was five
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: years old, Anne of Austria, was immediately proclaimed regent as
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the king's will provided the remainder of the will was, however,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: utterly disregarded, one of the queen mother's first moves being
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: to take the young king to the Parliament of Paris
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: to have some of its measures annulled. Little Louis the
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: fourteenth is said to have behaved in the most creditable
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: fashion on this occasion, standing very still on a high
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: stool and holding out his hand to be kissed with
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: the utmost gravity and decorum. While the Queen was nominally
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: at the head of affairs, the royal authority was really
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: directed by Cardinal Mazarin, the man whom Richlieu designated as
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: most capable to carry on his work an Italian of
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: rather common extraction, unable to express himself in French without
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: betraying his foreign origin, Mazarin was equally despised and hated
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: by the courtiers, many of whom fancied they should have
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: had the privilege of ruling in the regent's name. To
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: overcome their opposition and secure his own ends, Mazarin cleverly
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: used both flattery and diplomacy. It was because of his
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: smooth and insinuating manner that the courtiers slyly said, after
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: the lion comes the fox Richelieu, of course, was the lion,
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: for he had opposed them openly and had never tried
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: to conciliate them by flattery or concession, as did the
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: sly fox Cardinal Mazarin. It was mainly by his artful
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: ways that Mazarin won the Queen's favor and gained complete
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: influence over her. Still clever as Mazarin was, he made
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: one great mistake, for he sorely neglected the education of
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: the little king, who should have had every advantage. Thus
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: he left him until his seventh year, to the care
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: of women, and then abruptly turned him over to that
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: of men who knew little about children, and hence did
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: not succeed in either entertaining or instructing him. Nevertheless, the
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: child showed fine aptitudes and an intense pride, which evidently
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: formed the basis of his character, and which, if properly directed,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: would have made him greater than he ever became. When
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the history of his country was first read aloud to him,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Louis the fourteenth's youthful ambitions were so greatly fired that
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: he boldly announced he was going to emulate Charlemagne, Saint Louis,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: and Francis the First, And he flew into a terrible
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: rage when some one reproved him for being lazy by
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: comparing him to Louis the slothful, one of the do
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: nothing kings. Mazarin's neglect of the young king's comfort and
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: education arose mainly from innate stinginess. He cut down expenses
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: to such an extent we are told that he would
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: allow Louis the fourteenth only two pairs of sheets a year,
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: saying that if they were washed once every six months,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: it would be quite enough, as laundering was very expensive.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: With a miserly prime minister and a weak and vain mother,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Louis the fourteenth received most of his training from his
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: devoted valet, who was so impressed by his master's position
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: and dignity that he insisted upon the boy's behaving like
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: a king at all times. Once, when the young monarch,
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: in a playful mood, began to wrestle, this man suddenly
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: sat down and put on his hat, two things which
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: were never allowed in the presence of the sovereign. This
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: unusual conduct on the part of the generally respectful attendant
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: so startled and mystified the young prince that he paused
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: abruptly in his play to demand haughtily what it might mean.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Whereupon the valet, resuming his wonted bearing, instantly replied, pardon, sire.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: I did not realize that the king was in the room.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: As the queen was known to be pleasure loving, easygoing
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: and gentle, her brother in law, Gaston and the other
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: nobles eagerly clustered around her, flattering her in every way
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: and begging gifts and favors, which she freely showered upon them. Indeed,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: such were the benefits they then received, and such their
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: greedy hopes for the future, that they kept singing the
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: regent's praises until someone maliciously suggested that there were only
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: five words left in the French language, namely the oft
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: heard phrase the queen is so good. Louis the fourteenth
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: reign had begun when the French period of the Thirty
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Years War was just at its height, and it was
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: on the very day of his coronation that the Battle
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: of Rocois took place sixteen forty three. In this memorable encounter,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: the French general later known as the Great Conde, who
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: was then only twenty two years old, won a brilliant
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: victory over the Spaniards, but the fame resulting from this
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: triumph so completely turned his youthful head that he soon
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: after joined a conspiracy formed by some nobles who were
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: of the opinion that they alone should advise the queen
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: and Mazarin's stead. At the head of the conspirators was
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: the fiery Duke of Beaufort, a grandson of Henry the Fourth,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: who planned nothing less than the murder of Mazarin. But
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: while Beaufort was brave, he was not cautious. So Mazarin,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: having discovered the plot, had this leader locked up in
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: the fortress of Vacennes, where he had to remain in
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: close confinement until he effected a romantic escape five years later. Meantime,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: the Thirty Years War went on, and Condet, again in command,
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: helped to win the Battle of Fribourg sixteen forty four,
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: where many brave Frenchmen lost their lives. This evidently did
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: not trouble the young general, for when his attention was
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: called to the fact, he carelessly retorted, why Paris alone
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: daily supplies France with as many men as we have
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: lost during all these encounters. Though he did not feel
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: for his men, Conde could nevertheless inspire them to do
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: great deeds. In this battle, for instance, it was reported
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: that he suddenly threw his staff of command into a
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: trench ahead of him, bidding his men follow and help
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: recover it, which they did. The next year, Condee fought
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: another famous battle, nord Lingoln, and in sixteen forty six
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: he besieged and took Dunkirk, a very important port on
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: the Channel. But he was not the only famous general
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: in France at that time. Turenne was equally noted for
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: bravery and shared with CONDEI the glory of his great victories.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Besides Turenne waged by himself a brilliant and successful campaign
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: in Bavaria. The war had lasted so long and the
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: losses had been so great that the enemy were now
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: weary of warfare. Not long after another victory by Conde
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: at Lant, the Thirty Years War ended with the Treaty
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: of Westphalia sixteen forty eight. This treaty not only secured
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: France in her recent conquests, but assured the independence of
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: both Holland and Switzerland. Besides, it placed France again at
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: the head of nations, and for one hundred and fifty
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: years thereafter served as the basis of common law in Europe.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: End of Section eighty one.