[163O.]

At the close of January, 1630, the Duke d'Orleans, in compliance with his promise, took leave of the court of Lorraine ; and early in February he passed the French frontier, and had an interview with the King, who had already reached Troyes, accompanied by the two Queens and their several households. At this meeting the royal brothers displayed towards each other an amount of confidence which gladdened the heart of the Queen-mother, to whom their long estrangement had been a subject of perpetual grief and anxiety ; nor was their good-understanding lessened for an instant until their separation upon the departure of Louis for Lyons, when Monsieur in his turn proceeded to Orleans, where he remained until the middle of March; and thence he finally returned to Paris towards the close of April to assume his command.

As the Cardinal had foreseen, there was little time to be lost in retrieving the fortunes of the French armies. Casal in Montferrat, which was held by M. de Thoiras, was besieged by the Marquis of Spinolaf with an immense force, and he earnestly demanded the sum of fifty thousand crowns to defray the arrears due to his troops, who had began to murmur, and threatened to surrender. The Germans had once more attacked Mantua, which they ultimately took; and the army of MM. de la Force and Schomberg were suffering from sickness, famine, and desertions, and moreover harassed by the troops of the Duke of Savoy.