He forwarded the great man a splendidly bound copy, which was
accepted with nothing more than thanks. In a rage the author suppressed
the sonnet and substituted a satire. This piece was bitterly cutting,
and terribly true. It galled Mazarin to the heart, and he was
undignified enough to revenge himself by cancelling the poor little
pension of L60 per annum which had previously been granted to the
writer. Scarron having lost his pension, soon afterwards asked for an
abbey, but was refused. 'Then give me,' said he, 'a simple benefice, so
simple, indeed, that all its duties will be comprised in believing in
God.' But Scarron had the satisfaction of gaining a great name among the
cardinal's many enemies, and with none more so than De Retz, then
_coadjuteur_[27] to the Archbishop of Paris, and already deeply
implicated in the Fronde movement. To insure the favour of this rising
man, Scarron determined to dedicate to him a work he was just about to
publish, and on which he justly prided himself as by far his best. This
was the 'Roman Comique,' the only one of his productions which is still
read. That it should be read, I can quite understand, on account not
only of the ease of its style, but of the ingenuity of its improbable
plots, the truth of the characters, and the charming bits of satire
which are found here and there, like gems amid a mass of mere fun.
Pages:
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454