He would there, he said, be more useful to the government of the young king; for, remaining at the side of Mary de' Medici, he would be able to advise her and restrain her.

He so completely persuaded Louis XIII.

and Albert de Luynes, that he received orders to set out for Blois with the queen-mother, which he did on the 4th of May, 1617.

The Bishop of Lucon, though still young, was already one of the ambitious sort who stake their dignity upon the ultimate success of their fortunes, success gained no matter at what price, by address or by hardihood, by complaisance or by opposition, according to the requirements of facts and times.

Dignity apart, the young bishop had accurately measured the expediency of the step he was taking in the interest of his future, high-soaring ambition.
On arriving at Blois with the queen-mother, he began by dividing his life between that petty court in disgrace and his diocese of Lucon.