ROCHEFOUCAULD.

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therefore, sided with Conde, and endeavoured to alienatehim entirely from the coadjutor, and to draw over hisbrother and sister to the same side. He entered zea-lously into the plan of breaking off a marriage proposedbetween the prince of Conti and mademoiselle deChevreuse, who was known to be the mistress of DeRetz, which event widened the separation betweenthe parties. This led to more violent scenes than ever.Conde was forced to retreat, and only appeared stronglyguarded; and the queen took advantage of this showof violence to accuse him of high treason to par-liament. This occasioned the most tumultuous scenes.The two parties met in the Palace of Justice; bothConde and De Retz surrounded by followers eager todraw their swords on each other,—none more eagerthan Rochefoucauld, whom De Retz detested, and (ifwe believe the duke’s own account) had several timessought to have assassinated. On this occasion Roche-foucauld was on the alert to revenge himself. Mole,the intrepid and courageous president, alone, by hisresolution and firmness, prevented bloodshed. He im-plored the prince and the coadjutor to withdraw theirtroops from the palace : they assented. De Retz leftthe hall to command his followers to retire. Roche-foucauld was sent by Conde on a similar mission to hispartisans. This was a more difficult task than they hadapprehended : both parties were on the point of comingto blows; and the coadjutor hastened to return to thegreat chamber, when an extraordinary scene, related bythe duke in his memoirs, ensued. He had returnedbefore the coadjutor, and De Retz, pushing the dooropen, got half in, when Rochefoucauld pressed againstit on the other side, and held his enemy’s body in thedoorway, half in and half out of the chamber. “ Thisopportunity might have tempted the duke de la Roche-foucauld,” writes the duke himself. “ After all thathad passed, both public and private reasons led him todesire to destroy his most mortal enemy; as, besidesthe facility thus offered of revenging himself, while