Chapter XXI

Refusal of the Protestants of Béarn to restore the property of the Catholic Church--Louis XIII and Luynes resolve on rigorous measures and set out for the South--Visit of Bassompierre to La Rochelle--He joins the King at Bordeaux--Arrest and execution of d’Arsilemont--The Parlement of Pau declines to register the Royal edict, and Louis XIII determines to march into Béarn--Bassompierre charged with the transport of the army across the Garonne, which is accomplished in twenty-four hours--Béarn and Lower Navarre are united to the Crown of France--Coldness of the King towards Bassompierre--Bassompierre learns that this is due to the ill offices of Luynes, who regards him as a rival in the royal favour--He is informed that Luynes is “unable to suffer him to remain at Court”--Bassompierre decides to come to terms with the favourite, and it is arranged that he shall quit the Court so soon as some honourable office can be found for him--The Valtellina question--Bassompierre appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to the Court of Spain--Birth of a son to Luynes.....pp. 255-270

CHAPTER XXII

An alliance with Luynes’s niece, Mlle. de Combalet, proposed to Bassompierre--His journey to Spain--His entry into Madrid--He is visited by the Princess of the Asturias, the grandees and other distinguished persons--His meeting with the Duke of Ossuña--His audience of Philip III postponed owing to the King’s illness--Commissioners are appointed to treat with Bassompierre over the Valtellina question--Death of Philip III--His funeral procession--An indiscreet observation of the Duke of Ossuña to one of Bassompierre’s suite is overheard and leads to the arrest of that nobleman.....pp. 271-285