The period covered by the administrations of Richelieu and Mazarin is one of both interest and importance. Yet I am not aware that any full history of this time has been written in English. The career and character of Riche lieu are, to a certain extent, familiar, but, perhaps, most have a general idea of his administration, rather than a familiarity with what he actually did. Both the character and administration of Mazarin are, I think, little known fto most English readers. Yet eighteen years which em braced the Fronde, and the treaties of Westphalia and the Pyrenees, cannot be deemed unimportant. If the policy of Richelieu is worth studying, the man who was his legitimate successor should not be ignored by students of history. The accuracy of modern scholarship demands, also, the examination of authorities which, until recently, have been largely inaccessible and wholly disregarded. There are a great number of contemporary memoirs covering this time. Many of the leading political characters have left their own records of their careers. It is upon such authori ties, chie?y, that any works treating of this period have been based, with the exception of a few recent French publications. The ideas entertained of the Fronde, for example, and of the characters of Mazarin and Condé, have been principally derived from various contemporary memoirs, of which those of Retz are best known and have been most used. Many of these memoirs furnish much information that is accurate and valuable, and a study of them is indispensable. But it is impossible.
