the King alone. The Dukes death, and the incessant opposition of the Protestants, hindred him from going farther. But his Son, who succeed∣ed him in his Ambition and in all his Designs, made it appear upon the first occasion, how far the Treacherous Intentions of this Family went. He shuts up his King in the Louvre, on purpose to lay him aside. You have the Story of it in Mezeray's Chronological Abridgement, under the year 1588. He put himself in the head of that powerful Faction, which, as the Bishop of Rhodes assures us, designed to take away the Succession of the Royal Family. The same Bishops tells us, That this new Duke of Guise, had thoughts of making himself King, and that he endeavored it se∣veral ways.
6. The Prince of Condè, who was so well assured that the Duke of Guise, Father to this Man, had so foul a design, did questionless look upon him with another eye then Maimbourg do's, who would make us believe,
that he was in a very high degree Master of all the excellent Qualities which can contribute to make a great Prince, without any fault that might Ecclipse the splendor of so glorious Perfections: and that he was a truly Christian Hero.
At this rate, a profound Dissimu∣lation and horrid bloody Treason are to be reckoned as nothing. The Prince of
Condè profers to justifie his Innocence against his Accusers by
Combat, assuring himself to make them confess, that it was they them∣selves who had conspired the overthrow of the Government and Blood Royal.
This Defiance was chiefly intended to the Duke of
Guise. But this Duke
would not take it to himself: but deeply dissembling the mat∣ter, he commends the Prince his generosity, and said, He was likewise ready to justifie his Innocence, though privately he took care to have him apprehended. In good earnest, Monsieur
Maimbourg's Morals must be strangely depra∣ved, since he is no longer a Jesuit, not to find any fault in a Prince guilty of so prosligate a Dissimulation and notorious Treachery. And does he think, if
Lewis the Fourteenth ever comes to open his eyes, he will think himself obliged to those that would make such a Man pass for a
truly Christian H••ro, who has done his utmost to disappoint him of the Crown, by taking it from his Ancestors, and endeavoring to cut off the Illustrious Race of the
Bourbon's? If an
••nglishman should Canonize
Cromwell, and place him among the Hero's, Can you imagine he should be well re∣ceived at Court, or that the King should repose any great confidence in his Loyalty? Monsieur
Maimbourg must know, that the Prince of
Condè, being what he was, could not look upon this pretended Hero otherwise than as a Monster. He was obliged, by the duty of his Relation, his Honor, Loyalty, and all that was becoming a Great Mind, with all his might to set himself against those wicked Designs, which he saw the Duke of
Guise and the Cardinal of
Lorrain had so plainly layed. Would you have had him stood with his hands in his pockets, when he discover∣ed