ABSTRACT
The family of La Rochefoucauld is one of the noblest in France: it ranks equal with that of the sovereign, / and enjoyed almost monarchical power when residing on its own possessions; while its influence might give preponderance to the party it espoused, and even shake the throne. The friends of the family of la Rochefoucauld wrote to advise them to appear at court. The reigning duke and his sons immediately followed this counsel. The state of tumult and street warfare into which Paris was plunged by these intrigues at last determined the queen to the most desperate measures: she resolved to escape from the capital, with the young king, the cardinal, / and the whole court, and then to blockade it. That Rochefoucauld did not murder De Retz scarcely redeems him, / since we find that he entertained the thought, and almost repented not having put it in execution.
