Note 3 — Chapter XX

The second examination of the unhappy Chalais, perhaps,—perhaps the lamentable scene of Anne of Austria's appearance before the council. It does not seem that De Tronson was particularly intimate with the Count de Chalais during his prosperity; but he certainly spoke in his favor to the king after his arrest, and painted in strong colors the danger of marrying Gaston to the rich heiress of Montpensier, whose revenues would in time make the heir-presumptive more wealthy than the monarch. Indeed, to many it has seemed that in this marriage Richelieu made the most dangerous error of his life. De Tronson seems to have been an amiable man and a man of talent, who somewhat feared Richelieu and courted him as much as honor and honesty would permit. But he soon disappears from the political stage; and his ultimate fate I do not know.