prince of Conti, born in 1629, whose name also became famous in the struggles of the Fronde. At an early age he was removed to Bourges, where, under the care of La Boussière, his tutor, he went through the usual course of education given by the jesuits. In his bodily exercises, as in his studies, he surpassed all his companions; at twelve years of age he had completed his course of philosophy, and sustained several public disputations. For the completion of his education, his father sent the young duke d'Enghien to take charge of his government in Burgundy. He there made himself acquainted with all things relating to the military and judicial administration of the province, and diligently studied engineering, fortification, and the whole art of war. In 1640 he assisted under marshal de la Mèlleraye at the siege and taking of Arras in Flanders, and distinguished himself by most brilliant valour. The prince de Condé, whose ambition was insatiable, now desired for his son the command of an army. This object could only be obtained by paying court to Cardinal Richelieu; he, therefore, condescended to solicit for his son the hand of Claire Clemence de Maillé Brèzé, the cardinal's niece. The young duke d'Enghien expressed the strongest repugnance to the marriage thus arranged for him by his father; but he was obliged to submit, and the betrothal took place on the 7th of February, 1641. In the following year, shortly after the death of Richelieu, he was named general-in-chief of the army that was sent to defend the frontiers of Champagne and Picardy against the Spaniards. He was marching towards Landrecies, when he learned that the enemy had turned their steps towards the Meuse and were besieging Rocroy, which was at the point of being reduced. Gaining the heights above this place on the 18th of May, 1643, he made his attack at day-break on the 19th, and gained a brilliant and complete victory, after a battle disputed with the utmost obstinacy for six hours. He then marched to Thionville on the Moselle, which, after a siege of two months, he compelled to capitulate. By this conquest, and some others of minor importance, he became master of the whole course of the Moselle as far as Trêves, thus terminating the most glorious campaign ever made by a general of twenty-two years old. The following year, 1644, he was sent to join the army in Germany, and to take the command as generalissimo. Uniting his forces to the small army, only ten thousand men, of Turenne, he defeated the count de Mercy at the head of fifteen thousand Bavarians, besieged and retook Fribourg, which had fallen into the hands of the enemy, and effected the capture of Philipsbourg, which was followed by the capitulation of Worms, Oppenheim, and Mayence. The campaign of the following year commenced under Turenne, very unfavourably for Franco. D'Enghien was despatched to retrieve the fortune of the war, which he accomplished in a series of brilliant triumphs, ending in the battle of Nördlingen. In 1646 he attacked and took Dunkirk, after an obstinate defence. On 25th December this year the prince of Condé died, and the duke d'Enghien succeeded to the title of prince of Condé, but was usually called Monsieur le Prince. The queen regent conferred on him all the governments and appointments which had been held by the late prince. But this did not satisfy Condé. He laid claim to the post of high-admiral, which, at the instigation of Mazarin, was refused. This rebuff irritated him greatly against the cardinal, who, on the other hand, entertained a growing jealousy and apprehension of the power, ambition, and influence of the young prince. Early in the spring of 1647, Condé accepted the command of the army in Catalonia, which was engaged in assisting the inhabitants in their revolt against the king of Spain. On the 12th May he appeared before Lerida, and vigorously commenced the siege of that stronghold, but was compelled on the 17th June to abandon the attempt. This check, the first he had ever sustained, caused a profound impression, not only in France, but throughout Europe. Next year he accepted the command of the army of Flanders, and on the 20th of August was fought the ever memorable battle of Sens, one of the most glorious that the reign of Louis XIV. could boast. This great victory may be said to have terminated the campaign of 1648, and with it the war with Germany.
The troubles of the Fronde had been for some time agitating Paris, and immediately after the victory at Sens Condé received an order from the queen to terminate the campaign as speedily as possible, and hasten to support her with his counsels and his sword. He obeyed with regret, foreseeing the inevitable disasters of a career where moderation was almost impossible, and success and failure both alike ruinous. The contest between the queen's party, supported by Condé, and the citizens of Paris, whose object was the dismissal of Cardinal Mazarin, continued till the spring of 1649. An accomodation was then patched up, which fell to pieces before the end of the year. Vacillating and undecided between his predilection for the throne, his dislike of Mazarin, and his contempt for the bourgeoisie, Condé listened occasionally to all, but treated none of them fairly and frankly, and displeased all by turns. The queen was at length wrought upon to consent to the arrest and imprisonment of the prince and his chief partisans. Lulled into security by the consummate dissimulation of the queen and Mazarin, the prince, with his brother and the duke of Longueville, were all three seized one night, January 18, 1650, and secretly hurried off to Vincennes, whence they were some time afterwards conducted to the Chateau de Marcoupy, and finally, for greater security, transferred to Havre. The princess of Condé escaped with her son into Berri, and assisted by the counsels of Pierre Lenet and by the count of Coligny, raised her husband's standard at his own fortress of Mountrond, displaying throughout the period of his captivity the most admirable constancy, prudence, and bravery in withstanding his enemies. At length, after thirteen months' detention in captivity, a reaction began to take place in favour of the illustrious captive. Pity for the unfortunate fate of Condé, admiration for his military exploits, sympathy for the devotion of his young wife had taken possession of all hearts. A powerful combination, headed by the coadjutor of Paris, Gondy, afterwards cardinal de Retz, and the great chief of the Fronde, effected the fall of Mazarin and the release of Condé. The prince was for a moment master of a great position, and might perhaps have employed it to the blessing of his country, had his talents been of the same high order in civil as in military affairs; but lost amidst the petty and inextricable intrigues of the second Fronde, he allowed himself to be bewildered by fears and suspicions of treachery, threatening his liberty, or even his life. But his course decided on, Condé seemed to recover all the energy and vigour of his character. He proceeded at once to take up arms in his own government of Guienne; despatched his faithful Lenet to Madrid, to seek the assistance of the king of Spain in his enterprise; and established his own head-quarters at Bourdeaux. For a moment the return of Mazarin in 1652 to his old place and favour at court excited the popular rage, and gave an impulse to the party of the Fronde; but fortune no longer smiled on Condé's career, and the king's party, as it was now called, headed by Turenne were, on the whole, successful everywhere. At length Condé, assuming the command of an expedition in person, obtained an important victory at Bleneau. He then marched on Paris, which closed its gates against his soldiers. On the 2nd July, 1652, he was encountered at the barrier of St. Antoine by the royal forces. A terrible conflict ensued, in which his troops were completely worsted. Turenne was advancing to a last decisive attack, when suddenly the cannon of the Bastile—for that fortress commanded the battle-field—opened upon the king's troops, and checked their farther advance. The gates were opened, and Condé retreated into the city, protected by the artillery that should have defended its walls against him. Soon after this engagement the Fronde began to fall to pieces of itself; many of the principal leaders had been slain, or placed hors de combat by their wounds; others submitted unconditionally to the royal authority. After much conflict of mind, Condé determined to quit the kingdom, and withdrawing from Paris, 14th October, 1658, with such of his followers as still remained to him, directed his march to the head-quarters of the Spanish army in Flanders. The next seven years of his life were passed in the service of the king of Spain, in fighting against his own country. In these contests he was generally opposed by Turenne. The battle of the Downs, as it was called, into which Condé was forced by the Spanish generalissimo against his own better judgment (June 14, 1658), was followed immediately by the surrender of Dunkirk to Turenne, and the complete humiliation of Spain. In the treaty of peace which was signed between France and Spain, Nov. 7, 1659, there were eight articles in relation to Condé, stipulating that the prince should be restored to his honours, estates, and the government of Burgundy, as well as to the pardon and favour of his sovereign, that he might receive from Spain a million of dollars, and that pardon and restoration to their estates should be granted to his partisans
