In 1658, in compliance with the urgent request of Crom well, Turenne was ordered by Mazarine to besiege Dun kirk, while the port was blocked up by an English squadron. The Prince of Conde, and Don John, came to its release. Turenne quitted his lines to encounter the enemy ; and the Prince of Conde, whose advice was not followed, anti cipated the disastrous consequences, observing to the Duke of Gloucester, who was with him, that if he had never seen a battle lost, he would see one now. The English and the French charged with rival valour ; the Spaniards were totally defeated, with the loss of 9000 of their best soldiers, and pursued even to the gates of Fumes ; but the troops under the immediate command of Conde, effected their retreat in tolerable order. Ten days afterwards Dun kirk surrendered, and Louis entered in triumph ; but he was soon obliged to deliver it up to Lockhart, Cr omwell's ambassador. Fumes, Dixmude, Oudcuarde, Menlo, Gra velines, and Ypres, also were reduced. The success of Turenne alarmed the court of Spain, and induced it to think of peace ; nor was Mazarine averse to it, one of the great objects of his policy being to obtain for the House of Bourbon the eventual succession oldie Spanish monarchy. With this view, he had formerly proposed peace to Philip IV. on condition that a marriage should take place between the Infanta and Louis XIV.; but as the King of Spain had at that time only one son, an unhealthy infant, the proposal was rejected, lest the Infanta, if she succeeded to the throne of Spain, should carry her right to an enemy. Now, how ever, as Philip had another son, he agreed to the proposal of Mazarine. A cessation of arms was immediately resolved upon ; and, in order that the preliminaries of a treaty might be settled in the most satisfactory manner to each party, Mazarine, and Don Louis de Haro, met on the frontiers of both kingdoms, in the Isle of Pheasants, in the Pyrenees, A. D. 1659. Much time was consumed in disputes about precedency ; but at length the conferences were begun, and, after four months, were concluded by the celebrated treaty of the Pyrenees. According to this treaty, Louis received with the Infanta a dowry of 500,000 crowns of gold ; Alsace and Itousillon were confirmed to him ; and he restored the duchy of Lorraine to Charles IV. ; and St. Omens, Ypres, Menin, alit! 0 udenarde to the Spaniards ; he also consented to pardon the Prince of Conde, and so lemnly renounced all claim to an y territory that might fall to him in right of his queen. The King of Spain, on his part, parclund the rebellious Catalans ; gave up Verceil to the Duke of Savoy ; Reggio to the Duke of Modena ; and the Duke of Newburgh, the long disputed succession to the city of Juliers, which had been sequestered by the house of Austria.
On the 9th of March, 1661, a little more than a year af ter the treaty of the Pyrenees, Cardinal Mazarine died ; and his concern for his wealth was marked, even in the last moments of his life. By a deed of gift he resigned his tidies to the king, who immediately restored the instru ment. His immense wealth was soon dissipated by the pro digality of the Marquis of Mein' al, who had marl ied his favourite daughter, or niece, Hortensia Mancini, and as sumed the title of Duke of Mazarine. On the ruin of her husband, Hortensia retired to England, and subsisted on a pension allowed her by Charles the Second.
" Historians have seldom done justice to the character of Mazarine, whose political caution restrained the vigour of his spirits, and the lustre of whose genius was concealed beneath his profound dissimulation. if his schemes were less comprehensive, or his enterprises less bold than those of Richelieu, they were less extravagant. He has been ac cused of avarice, and seemingly with justice ; yet if we reflect, that, being an indigent foreigner himself, he mar ried seven nieces to French noblemen.of the first distinction, and left his nephew Duke of Nevers, we shall, perhaps, be inclined partly to forgive him. So many matches could
not be formed without money ; and the pride of raising one's family is no contemptible passion. lie had the singular honour of extending the limits of the French monarchy, while France was distracted by intestine hostilities ; and of twice restoring peace to the greater part of Europe, after the longest and most bloody wars it had ever known. Nor must we forget his attention to the Spanish succession, which afterwards made the house of Bourbon so formida ble to its neighbours, and is a striking proof of his political foresight. His leading maxim was, that force ought never to be employed but in default of other means ; and his per fect knowledge of mankind, the most essential of all men tal acquisitions for a minister, enabled him often to accom plish his views without it. When absolutely necessary, have seen him employ it with effect." On the death of Mazat hie, the officers of state inquired of Louis, to whom they were to apply : They were sur prised and disappointed, when the monarch answered, " to He was at this time 22 years of age ; he had been ill educated, and was consequently ignorant ; addicted to pleasure, and had been carefully kept at a distance from all knowledge of business by the cardinal ; but he had measured his own powers of mind ; and he already felt the first aspirations after that glory, which was the ruling pas sion of his life. He had also many circumstances in his favour, and which could not fail of impressing the minds of his subjects with loyalty, respect, admiration, and even esteem. He was remarkably handsome in his person, at the same time that there was about him a wonderful degree of majesty and dignity ; these, which of themselves might have only inspired awe, were softened and tempered by af fability and politeness; so that, if he was not the greatest king, he was at least, as Bolingbroke expresses it, the best actor of majesty that ever filled a throne." His dig nity of mind, and loftiness of ambition, even induced him to render his pleasures more decent than they wonld have been, had he been destitute of these qualities; and his court, following the example of the sovereign, was soon distinguished by its elegant gallantry. The French have always been characterised by their fondness for show, and their vanity : these he gratified in an uncommon degree, by the magnificence of his palaces, and the splendour of his public entertainments. Even his own want of litera ture was concealed, or forgotten, in the patronage he ex tended to literary men, not only in his own kingdom, hut also over the rest of Europe. These qualities rendered Louis extremely popular with the great majority of his subjects ; while, with the more discerning, his reign was hailed with pleasure, as soon as the measures of Colbert began to ope rate towards the advantage of France, and Louis, by the confidence he placed in this minister, discovered that his objects extended beyond mere pleasure or glory. Though the king in other respects had no reason to be grateful to INIazarine, who had frequently misled him, and had neglect ed his education, and the formation of habits necessary for his high and arduous situation ; yet he had received one favour from him of great moment, when he inspired him with confidence for Colbert, one of the greatest statesmen that France has produced. Fouquct, superintendant of finances, who dissipated the public money, was disgraced and imprisoned, after a sumptuous entertainment which he gave the king at his pleasure house, that is said to have cost him 18 millions of the then current money. His suc cessor Colbert, had only the title of general. Ile soon put the finances into excellent order ; raised enormous sums for the public service ; and created a navy, and supported a large standing army, without oppressing the people.