Richelieu

Introduction

Ease of the French monarchy — The new appanaged nobles and the Hundred Years' "War — Charles VII. expels the English — The standing army and the permanent taille — Louis XL humiliates the nobles — Strength of the monarchy imder Francis I.-— Evil results of the sale of offices — The wars of religion — Decline of the royal power — Successes of Henry IV. — Victory of the crown only partial — Independence of the nobles, the Huguenots and the sovereign courts — The minority of Louis XIII. — Greatness of Richelieu's work — Difficulty of his biography Page 1

CHAPTER I Richelieu's early life

1585-1614

The family of du Plessis — The du Plessis de Richelieu — Career of Fran9ois du Plessis — Birth of Armand Jean — His life at Richelieu — He enters the College of Navarre — Transferred to the Academy — The bishopric of Lucon — Armand returns to the University — Consecrated bishop at Rome — He quits Paris for Lugon — Motives for this step — Letters to Madame de Bourges — His conduct as bishop — His religious attitude — Early relations with Jansenism — Connection with Berulle and

VI RICHELIEU

Father Joseph — Death of Henry IV. — Richelieu in Paris — Acquaintance with Barbin and Concini — Returns to his diocese — His attitude towards parties at court — Letter to Concini — Election to the States-General — Personal appearance — Feeble health — Character and aims

Chapter II The States-general Richelieu's First Ministry

1614-1617

Questions before the States-General — The jpaulette — Quarrels of clergy and third estate — Richelieu orator of the clergy — Concini and the ministers — Conde and the Huguenots oppose Mary de Medici — Treaty of Loudun — Fall of the old ministers — Richelieu rises to prominence — Conspiracy of the nobles — Arrest of Conde and flight of his associates — Richelieu receives office — His difficulties — Measures against the nobles — Assassination of Concini — Fall of the ministers — Richelieu at the Louvre — He quits tbe court 26

Chapter III Richelieu And The Queen-mother

1617-1624

Government in the hands of Luynes — Hostility to the Huguenots — Edict to restore church lands in Beam — Richelieu exiled to his diocese — His answer to the four ministers of Charenton — Exile in Avignon — Writes the Instruction du GhrMen — Unpopularity of Luynes — The nobles join the queen-mother — Her escape from Blois — Richelieu sent to join Mary de Medici at Angouleme — His policy at this period — The treaty of Angouleme — Henri de Richelieu killed in a duel — Continued hostility between Mary de Medici and Luynes — The nobles

CONTENTS vii

again rally round the queen-mother — Civil war — The rout of Pont-de-Ce — Richelieu negotiates a treaty — His relations with Luynes — Enforcement of royal edict in Beam — Huguenot discontent and organisation — Campaign of 1621 — Luynes constable— His death — Mary de Medici still opposed by Conde and the ministers — Campaign of 1622 — Treaty of Montpellier — Conde leaves France in disgust — Richelieu receives the cardinal's hat — The government of the Brularts (Sillery and Puisieux) — La Yieuville procures the dismissal of the ministers — Richelieu admitted to the council . . . Page 39

Chapter IV The Valtelline And La Rochelle

1624-1628

Richelieu's schemes of domestic reform — Compelled to abandon them for foreign politics — Threatening progress of the house of Hapsburg — Difficulties in the way of the ministers — Renewed alliance with the Dutch — Negotiations about the English marriage — Fall of la Vieuville — Richelieu first minister — His policy in the English negotiations — Question of the Valtelline — The forts in the hands of the pope — De Coeuvres seizes the Valtelline — Revolt of the Huguenots — Ships obtained from England and Holland — Naval victory over the rebels — Negotiations with the Huguenots — Indignation of the Ultramontane party against Richelieu — Treaty of Monzon with Spain — Treaty with the Huguenots — Conspiracy of Ornano and Madame de Chevreuse — Collapse of the conspiracy — Fate of Chalais — Richelieu appointed superintendent of navigation and commerce — His maritime schemes — Quarrel between France and England — Buckingham's expedition to Rhe — Critical position of France— Energy displayed by Richelieu — Relief of the fort of St, Martin — Buckingham compelled to abandon Rhe — Siege of La Rochelle— Plan of blocking the harbour- Period of the king's absence— Richelieu directs the siege- Failure of the English attempts to relieve La Rochelle — Surrender of the city— Its treatment .... 55

Viu RICHELIEU

CHAPTEE V

THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION AND THE DAY OF DUPES

1628-1631

The question of the Mantuan succession — Siege of Casale — Louis XIII. and Eichelieu cross the Alps for its relief — Treaty of Susa — Peace with England — Treaty between Spain and Rohan — Campaign in Languedoc — Submission of the Huguenots — They retain religious toleration but lose their political privileges — Discontent of Gaston of Orleans — He goes to Lorraine — Enmity of Mary de Medici against Richelieu — Its motives — Relations of Richelieu and Louis XIII. — Gaston returns to France — Imperialist troops sent to Mantua — Richelieu's second expedition to Italy — Attitude of Charles Emmanuel of Savoy — The French take Pinerolo — Conquest of Savoy — Fall of Mantua — Siege of Casale — Truce of Rivalta — Relations of France with Gustavus Adolphus — The emperor and the Catholic League — Diet of Ratisbon — Treaty of Ratisbon — Richelieu refuses to confirm it — Illness of Louis XIII. — Relief of Casale — Open quarrel of Mary de Medici with Richelieu — The Day of Dupes — Gaston goes to Orleans — Mary de Medici at Compiegne — Gaston goes to Lorraine — The queen-mother escapes to Brussels — Settlement of the Mantuan succession by treaties of Cherasco — France keeps Pinerolo — Successes of Richelieu . Page 81

Chapter VI France Involved In The European War

1631-1635

BicheUeu made duke and peer — Threatened coalition in favour of Gaston — Lorraine — Treaty of Vic — Gaston's marriage and retreat to Brussels — Gustavus Adolphus in Germany — Services which he renders to France — Louis XIII. and Richelieu in Lorraine — Treaty of Liverdun — Gaston in France — Montmorency— Battle of Castelnaudari — Execution of Montmorency — Gaston retires to Brussels — Death of Gustavus Adolphus — Illness and recovery of Richelieu — Fall and imprisonment of

CONTENTS ix

Chateaiineuf — E-ichelieu and his colleagues — League of Heilbronn — Renewed invasion of Lorraine— Surrender of Nancy — Abdication of Charles IV. — Complete occupation of Lorraine — Gaston's marriage with Margaret annulled — Return of Gaston and Puylaurens — Imprisonment and death of Puylaurens — Wallenstein's policy — His death— Battle of Nordlingen— Break up of the Protestant League in Germany — Treaty of Prague — Dangers to France if the war came to an end — Seizure of the elector of Trier by the Spaniards — France declares war against Spain Page 110

Chapter VII Reverses And Triumphs

1635-1640

French alliances — Military preparations — Disasters of 1635 in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and at sea — Causes of failm-e — Campaign of 1636 — Invasion of Picardy — Panic in Paris — Richelieu's courage — Repulse of the Spaniards — Conspiracy of Orleans and Soissons — Risings in Normandy and Guienne — Episode of Louise de la Fayette — Campaign of 1637 — More French reverses — Loss of the Valtelline — The French fleet recovers the Lerins — Series of triumphs begin in 1638 — Bernhard of Saxe- Weimar takes Breisach — His death — France becomes his heir — The Spaniards in Piedmont — Battle and captm-e of Turin — Naval victories — Destruction of Spanish fleet in the Downs — Relations with England — Revolt of Catalonia and Portugal — Capture of Arras — Extent of Richelieu's triumphs — Birth of the dauphin — Death of Father Joseph 133

Chapter VIII Domestic Government

Richelieu's influence almost as great in France as abroad — The aims of his domestic policy — Treatment of the Huguenots — Measures against the nobles : the destruction of fortresses ; edict against duelling ; appointment of intendants — Relations with the Parliament of Paris — Hostility to the provincial estates —

Organisation of the Conseil du Boy — The Gonseil d'etat — Centralisation inevitable — -Merits of Richelieu's government : military and naval organisation ; patronage of commerce and colonisation — Defects : neglect of manufactures and agriculture ; financial maladministration — Attempts to conciliate public opinion — Meetings of notables — Patronage of literature and foundation of the Academy — Origin of the Gazette de la France Page 157

Chapter IX Richelieu And The Church

Condition of the French Church during the religious wars — Religious revival in the seventeenth century — Charitable orders — Advance of clerical and secular education — Monastic reform — Richelieu's relations with the papacy — Relations of Church and State — Clerical taxation — Richelieu and St. Cyran — Richelieu's opportunism in ecclesiastical matters— His superstition — Case of Urbain Grandier . . .184

CHAPTER X Richelieu's last years

1641, 1642

Military events of 1641 and 1642 — Rising of Soissons — His death — Conspiracy of Cinq-Mars — Richelieu's illness at JSTarbonne — His Avill — Detection of the plot — Execution of Cinq- Mars and de Thou — Completeness of Richelieu's success — His death — Continuance of his policy — Gradual relaxation of severity — Death of Louis XI 11. — Permanence of Richelieu's influence — Richelieu's character — His ill-health — His isolation — The insecurity of his position — His relations with Louis XIII. — His vindictiveness — His unpopularity 207

Appendix A. — The Genealogy of the Richelieu family Appendix B. — The chief books on the period Appendix C. — The Testament

231 232 234

INTRODUCTION

Rise of the French monarch}' — The new appanaged nobles and the Hundred Years' "War — Charles VII. expels the English — The standing army and the permanent taille — Louis XL humiliates the nobles — Strength of the monarchy under Francis L — Evil results of the sale of offices — The wars of religion — Decline of the royal power— Successes of Henry IV. — Victory of the crown only partial — Independence of the nobles, the Huguenots, and the sovereign courts — The minority of Louis XI I L — Greatness of Richelieu's work — Difficulty of his biography.

The history of France from the tenth to the close of the eighteenth century is bound up with the history of the French monarchy. Under the early Capets France was a mere geographical expression ; its kings were little more than the titular chiefs among a number of feudal nobles, and their practical authority was limited to the He de France. From this powerless condition the monarchy was gradually raised by the energy of Louis yi., the prudence of Philip Augustus, and the legislative ability and high personal character of Louis IX. But the real founder of absolute monarchy in France was Philip IV., who created that administrative system which gradually extended itself over the whole kingdom, and undermined the independent local institutions of feudalism. Successful war and the extinction of the old mediaeval families enabled the crown to bring most of the provinces under its direct rule. But a new danger arose from the practice of granting these provinces out as appanages to members of the royal family, who formed a new nobility as eager for independence as the feudal magnates whose place they had taken. At the same time the disasters of the wars with Edward III. and Henry V. seriously weakened the monarchy, which sunk again into impotence under John II. and Charles YI. But the falling structure was successfully rebuilt under Charles VII. and Louis XL In the former reign the English were expelled, a standing army established, and a revenue secured by the imposition of the permanent taille. Louis XL broke up the formidable League of the Public Weal, and the decline of the great Burgundian power on the death of Charles the Bold freed the French crown from its most dangerous rival. The marriage of the heiress of Brittany to two successive kings extinguished the independence of the last of the feudal provinces. The victory of the monarchy seemed to be assured, when Francis I., at the head of a compact and well-organised kingdom, successfully resisted the enormous but ill-compacted power of Charles V.

But a subtle evil was already undermining the foundations of this imposing edifice, and was destined in the end to overthrow it. This was financial maladministration. The chronic deficit, which was the chief immediate cause of the Revolution of 1789, was already in existence in the sixteenth century. It is not a little curious that France, the home of financial theories, has only produced in its long history three

INTRODUCTION 3

great financial administrators — Jacques Coeiir, Sully, and Colbert ; and their efforts only succeeded in postponing the inevitable crash. Among the ruinous exjjedients to which the crown was impelled by an empty treasury, the most fatal was the sale of offices. This practice, which originated in the fifteenth century, was raised into a system by Louis XII., who is said to have copied the usages of the Eoman court. In order to make these offices valuable their holders must be irremovable. Thus the crown, of its own accord, surrendered the control over its own officials. The administrative institutions, such as the parliament of Paris, which had been the most efficient agents in extending the royal power, became in the seventeenth century the most serious opponents of royalty.

The period following the death of Henry II. (1560) is the most critical in the history of France. A country on which geography had imposed the necessity of unity, and which had risen to greatness in Europe by attaining that unity under a strong monarchy, was sucldenlj^ divided by the most powerful of forces — religion. Not only was the practical authority of the crown almost annihilated during the long struggle between Catholics and Huguenots, but its theoretical foundations were torn up and examined by polemical writers on both sides. While the Huguenots endeavoured to conciliate support by vindicating the independence of nobles and municipalities, the Jesuits taught that the voice of the people was the voice of God, and that circumstances might arise in which tyrannicide was not only a right but a duty. At the same 'time military necessities forced the kings to intrust the government of the great provinces to powerful nobles, who used their delegated authority in their own interests, and threatened to revive a military feudalism which recalled the anarchy of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

The struggle ended at last in the defeat of both the extreme parties ; and their defeat was due to their collision with that passionate desire for unity which has been the dominant force in French history from that day to this. The Huguenots, the prototypes of the later Girondins, aimed at establishing a system of local isolation, which must have effaced France from among the great states of Europe. The success of the League would have subjected the Galilean Church to Rome, and would have made France a vassal and tool of the Spanish Hapsburgs. The victory of Henry IV. and the middle party, which represented national interests and instincts, was secured by Henry's acceptance of Roman Catholicism, and by his grant of the Edict of Nantes to the Huguenots.

Henry IV. is a great as well as an attractive figure in history, and he deserves much of the idolatry with which the French have always regarded him. He restored order after the chaos of the religious wars. He founded the Bourbon monarchy, which was to preside for the next two centuries over the history of France, and was to guide that country to an ascendency in Europe, to which it still looks back with boastful regret. With the aid of Sully he restored the balance between income and expenditure, and encouraged the development of the internal resources of France. He humbled the power of Philip II., and inaugurated the foreign policy which was followed with such success by Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis XIV.

INTRODUCTION 5

But the work of Henry IV. was still incomplete, when he was removed by the dagger of Ravaillac. Neither he nor Sully had the genius or the foresight to found a new system of government, which was necessary for the triumph of the new dynasty. Even in the task of destroying abuses, both king and minister were trammelled by their past lives, and by the circumstances under which Henry had come to the throne. In some matters a policy of compromise was all that was possible for them. Under their rule the forces of disorder were checked rather than annihilated. Again, the provincial governorships remained in the hands of the great nobles, though their authority was limited by the appointment of lieutenant-generals, who were to act as the agents of the crown, and by the policy of intrusting the chief towns in a province to persons independent of the governor. And the supplementary clauses of the Edict of Nantes conferred upon the Huguenots, not only religious toleration, but also a political independence which enabled them to stir up disorder whenever it suited their interests. Above all, the sale of offices, instead of being abolished, was systematised by the institution of the jMulette. Members of the parliament and of the other central courts, by paying an annual tax to the crown, became the absolute proprietors of their offices, which they could transmit to their heirs or dispose of by sale to whom they pleased. Thus the office-holders in France came to form a vast hereditary corporation, with corporate interests to defend, and virtuallj^ independent of the crown. The nobles, the Huguenots, and the sovereign courts, were left by Henry IV. to be the great obstacles in the way of his successors,

The insecurity of the monarchy under these conditions was clearly manifested during the regency of Mary de Medici. There are few more depressing and wearisome periods of history than the first thirteen years of - the reign of Louis XIII. The incessant intrigues of the great princes against the crown and against each other, the complete subordination of national to personal interests, the petty rivalries of the Huguenot leaders, Bouillon and Eohan, the coalitions against the queen's favourite, Concini, and against the king's favourite, Luynes, have been described in contemporary memoirs with a fulness which they only merit as an effective contrast to the state of things which preceded and which followed them. The regent and her ministers purchased a few years' peace by lavish bribes to the nobles at the expense of the monarchy, while she sought to strengthen herself against domestic opposition by abandoning the foreign policy of her husband, and concluding a close alliance with Spain. The revival of the Hapsburg supremacy, threatened in the first period of the Tliirty Years' War, was allowed to progress without hindrance from France.

From these disorders and dangers France was saved by the greatest political genius she has ever produced. No man was ever more completely a politician than Eichelieu, and no figure is more indispensable in a series which professes to form a gallery of " Foreign Statesmen." His own memoirs treat of nothing but politics. The character of the man himself must be looked for in the accounts of contemporaries, few of whom were able to estimate his greatness or to appreciate his aims. The details of his private life have

INTRODUCTION 7

to be gleaned from scattered sources, but chiefly from the letters and papers which have been edited in so masterly a manner by M. d'Avenel.

In writing the life of Richelieu one must narrate the history of France and, to a great extent, of Europe during an eventful period of nearly twenty years. Perhaps this consideration helps to explain why no firstrate biography of him has been produced, even in France. In spite of the innumerable books that have been written on this period, the work of Aubery, although an avowed panegyric, and published as long ago as 1661, has never been completely superseded. It is to be hoped that M. Hanotaux may yet find sufficient leisure amid the distractions of political life to continue the great work which he has begun, and that this will fill what is an undoubted lacuna in historical literature. In the meantime this little volume can only attempt a brief estimate of the work which Richelieu achieved — and achieved with such success that he must be regarded as the chief founder, not only of France before the Revolution, but of much that is most characteristic of France at the present day.

CHAPTEE I

RICHELIEU'S EARLY LIFE

1585-1614

The family of du Plessis — The du Plessis de Richelieu — Career of Frangois du Plessis — Birth of Armand Jean — His life at Richelieu — He enters the College of Navarre — Transferred to the Academy — The bishopric of Lu9on — Armand returns to the University — Consecrated bishop at Rome — He quits Paris for Lucon — Motives for this step — Letters to Madame de Bourges — His conduct as bishop — His religious attitude — Early relations with Jansenism — Connection with Berulle and Father Joseph — Death of Henry IV. — Richelieu in Paris — Acquaintance with Barbin and Concini — Returns to his diocese— His attitude towards parties at court — Letter to Concini — Election to the States-General — Personal appearance — Feeble health — Character and aims.

The family of du Plessis has no history. For generations it had lived in provincial obscurity on the borders of Poitou. In the fifteenth century Francois du Plessis, a younger member of the family, inherited the estate of Richelieu from his maternal uncle, Louis de Cl6rembault. His descendants were the du Plessis de Richelieu, and their chief residence was the castle of that name, situated on the Mable, near the frontier of Poitou and Touraine. The first member of the family who played any notable part in history was Francois du Plessis, great-

Chap. I Richelieu's Early Life 9

grandson of the inheritor of Richelieu. He rendered valuable services to Henry of Anjou during his brief tenure of the crown of Poland, and retained his favour when he returned to France as Henry IH. Eaised to the dignity of grand provost of France, Francois du Plessis became one of the most prominent and loyal servants of the last of the Valois. When his master died under the dagger of Jacques Clement, it was he who arrested the assassin and took down the depositions of the eye-witnesses.

The death of Henry III. left his Catholic followers in a difficult position. The traditions of his family seemed to impel Fran9ois du Plessis to join the League. But he showed on this occasion a practical foresight worthy of his great son, and at once espoused the cause of Henry of Navarre. He had already gained the confidence of the new king by his bravery at Arques and at Ivry, and had just been appointed captain of the guard, when he was carried off by a fever during the siege of Paris on July 10, 1590.

Francois du Plessis was married to Suzanne de la Porte, daughter of the celebrated avocat, Francois de la Porte, and herself possessed of the practical ability which characterised her family. They had three sons and two daughters, and the youngest child, Armand Jean, was born at Paris in the rue du Boulay, on September 9, 1585. The child was so feeble and sickly that it was not thought safe to have him baptized till May 5, 1586. His god-parents were Marshal Biron, Marshal d'Aumont, and his paternal grandmother, Fran^oise de la Rochechouart.

Armand Jean was only five years old when his father died, and his mother carried her children from the capital to the seclusion of Richelieu. There, amid the disturbances of the civil war between Henry IV. and the League, the boy's education was carried on for the next seven years. We have no evidence that he showed any youthful precocity or gave any signs of future greatness. Aubery, who wrote under the auspices of Richelieu's relatives, and who would certainly have preserved any family traditions about his hero, tells us nothing of this period of his life, so that we may conclude that there was nothing to tell.

A distant province like Poitou offered few educational advantages in the sixteenth century, and at the age of twelve Armand was sent to Paris, and was admitted to the College of Navarre. There he went through the ordinary courses of grammar and philosophy, and an anecdote of his later years proves that he retained a grateful recollection of this period of his education. In 1597 Jean Yon, one of the philosophical teachers of the College of Navarre, held for the third time the office of Rector of the University, and the young scholar, robed as a chorister, accompanied him on a solemn procession to the tomb of St. Denis. In later days, whenever the University wished to prefer a petition to the all-powerful cardinal, the venerable Yon was always included in the deputation. Richelieu confessed that he never saw his old teacher without a sentiment of respectful fear, and the deputation, even if its request were not granted, was certain of a gracious answer from the minister.

At this time Richelieu was destined for a military career, and he had only received the usual rudimentary education when he was transferred from the College of

Navarre to the Acadmiie, an institution founded by Antoine de Pluvinel to train the sons of noble families in the exercises and accomplishments which were to fit them for a soldier's life. It was here that Armand acquired the military tastes which never deserted him. He was at all times ready to exchange his cassock for a knight's armour, and equally willing to give his advice as to the handling of an army or the construction of a fortress.

The young marquis de Chillon, as he called himself at the Academy, was only seventeen years old when an event occurred which suddenly altered all his aspirations. In 1584 Henry III., in accordance with a practice not uncommon in those days, had granted to Francois du Plessis the disposal of the bishopric of Lu9on. His widow, left in somewhat straitened circumstances, had found the revenues of the bishopric one of her chief resources.' The episcopal functions were exercised in the meantime by one Fran9ois Yver, who was avowedly only a " warming-pan " until one of the sons could take his place. But the chapter of the diocese resented the diversion of the episcopal revenue to secular and personal uses, and threatened to go to law with M. Yver, whose position was indefensible. In these circumstances Madame de Eichelieu determined to procure the appointment of her second son, Alphonse Louis, to the bishopric. From 1595 he is occasionally spoken of as bishop of Lu^on, though he never really held the office. Suddenly, about 1602, he absolutely refused to seek consecration, became a monk, and entered the Grande Chartreuse. In the next year M. Yver, on the suit of the chapter, was ordered by the parliament to devote a third of the revenue of the bishopric to the repairs of the cathedral and of the episcopal palace.

These events were a great blow to Madame de Richelieu, but she had still one expedient left. By a petition she delayed the enforcement of the decree of parliament, and in the meantime her third son was to assume the position which his brother refused. Armand seems to have made no opposition to his mother's will. In 1603 he quitted the Academy, and resumed his •studies at the University. His eldest brother, Henri, was now at court, where Henry IV. had received him with favour as his father's son, and where he was able to defend the interests of his family. In 1606 the king wrote to the French envoy at Eome, urging him to obtain from the pope the appointment of Armand Jean du Plessis to the bishopric of Lu9on, although he had not yet reached the canonical age.

Meanwhile Eichelieu, who had taken deacon's orders and completed his theological course in this year, became impatient of the delays of the papal court, and hurried to Eome to look after his own interests. He succeeded in obtaining favour with the pope, and was consecrated by the cardinal de Givry on April 17, 1607. There is no foundation whatever for the story told in later years by Eichelieu's detractors that he deceived the pope as to his age by producing a false certificate of birth, and that when he afterwards confessed the fraud Paul Y. declared that "that young man will be a great rogue." Equally unfounded is the counterbalancing story that the pope was so impressed with Eichelieu's stores of theological learning that he exclaimed, JEquum est ut qui swpra cetatem sapis infra mtatem ordineris (It is only

I EICHELIEU'S EARLY LIFE 13

fair that one whose knowledge is above his age should be ordained under age).

On his return he resumed his studies at the University until, on October 24, 1607, he was admitted a member of the Sorbonne or theological faculty. For the next year he remained in Paris, acquiring a certain reputation as a preacher, cultivating the acquaintance of all who might be of use to him, and retaining the favour of the king, who frequently spoke of him as "my bishop." From the first, his ambition was for political distinction ; his avowed model was the cardinal du Perron, who had acquired a great but fleeting reputation as the champion of the orthodox creed against the Huguenots. Everything seemed to attract the young prelate to remain in Paris : in days when ecclesiastical duties sat lightly on church dignitaries, it appeared preposterous to expect him to reside in a petty, unattractive provincial town like Lu^on, far removed from the capital, without society, with dull and depressing surroundings, and close to the chief stronghold of the heretics. Yet in 1608 Eichelieu suddenly determined to bury himself for a time in what he himself termed "the most villainous, filthy, and disagreeable diocese in the world."