Though such was the general feeling of the principal nobles of the French Court, very different, indeed, were the sentiments of the people of Paris upon the arrest of the Princes. Led by De Retz and Beaufort, and remembering the insults and defeats which Condé had inflicted upon them, the citizens of the capital could hardly find means sufficient to express their joy at the indignity offered to the greatest man of the country. Shouts and songs signalized his downfal. Bonfires blazed at every corner. Even the obnoxious minister himself was enthusiastically applauded for his ingratitude to his deliverer and protector; and every one declared that after this act, the Cardinal himself was no longer a Mazarin. Various rumours of these occurrences, which had taken place early in the year, had reached us in our retirement at Dumont; but I need not tell the reader that we had quite sufficient matter in the events of our private life to occupy all our thoughts. Even had it not been so, it is more than probable that Monsieur de Villardin would have avoided taking any part in the civil dissensions of the time, as he might have found some difficulty in choosing the party to which he would give his support. Bound by ties of intimate regard to the Prince de Condé, he felt, of course, anxious for his liberation; and although he had opposed the Prince himself in the cause of the Parliament, he was naturally of a loyal disposition. It is true that, like all the rest of the world at that time, he was destined to change his party more than once, but beyond doubt his own feelings naturally led him towards the Court. Under these circumstances, in all probability, he would, as I have said, have remained neuter, notwithstanding that continual desire for activity which Lord Langleigh had noticed at the time I was first introduced to him: but about the period of which I speak, an application was made to him, which--coming as it did at a moment when any sort of employment offered the prospect of relief from those bitter and consuming thoughts that preyed upon him,--proved irresistible. About three days after the dismissal of Madame Suzette, I was riding by the side of the Duke in one of the roads leading direct to the château, when we were suddenly encountered by a horseman coming at full speed, who paused and drew up his horse as soon as he perceived our party. Singling out Monsieur de Villardin, he at once rode up to him, and delivered a sealed packet, which was received with that sort of listless air which a combination of sickness and despondency had left behind upon the Duke, who demanded carelessly, "From whom?" "From the Princess de Condé, and the Dukes of Bouillon and Rochefoucault," replied the courier.