The "Day of the Dupes." the "Year of Corbie."

This singular title, The "Day of the Dupes," has been given to the 11th of November, 1630, memorable as the day when Cardinal Richelieu triumphed over his enemies. The intriguing and ambitious Marie de Medici, mother of the weak-minded Louis XIII. Of France, finding Richelieu superior to all her intrigues, by tears and prayers finally prevailed upon her son to banish his "insolent Minister" and raise Marshal de Marillac to that office. The courtiers flocked to the palace of Luxembourg for mutual congratulations, and the glad news was sent to Madrid, Vienna, Brussels and Turin. Richelieu seemed utterly cast down and unable to avert the ruin which seemed ready to fall upon him, when he was persuaded by his friends to make one last effort to recover the favor of the King. With this view, he ordered his coach and proceeded to Versailles, then only a small hunting lodge which Louis XIII. had recently purchased; there he had an interview with his sovereign. The result of this memorable visit was that Richelieu was restored to his place as prime minister; the duped courtiers were soon made to feel the Cardinal's vengeance, and among those who were brought to the scaffold, was Marshal de Marillac, the would-be Prime Minister.

In 1636, during the Thirty Years' War, when Richelieu was taking the part of the German Protestant princes against the Emperor, the Imperialists, taking advantage of the absence of Richelieu's armies, penetrated France as far as Corbie, scarce fifty miles from Paris. They could have captured the city itself, but, fortunately, preferred to retire and enjoy the immense booty they had already secured. So great was the terror in Paris, and so vivid the recollection of it, that the citizens long styled that crisis "The Year of Corbie."