shrewdRichelieu
played
him
differently,deliberatelypushing
himinto
one
ambitious
project
after
another,
such as a crusade
against
the
Huguenots
and
finally
an
extendedwar
with
Spain.
The
immensity
of
these
projectsonly
madethe
king
more
dependent
onhis
powerfulpre-
mier,
the
only
manableto
keep
orderintherealm.And
so,
forthenext
eighteenyears,
Richelieu,
exploiting
the
king’s
weaknesses,
governed
and
moldedFrance
according
tohisown
vision,
unifying
the
country
andmak-
ing
ita
strongEuropeanpower
for
centuriestocome.
lntcipretation
Richelieusaw
everything
asa
militarycampaign,
andno
strategic
move
wasmore
important
tohimthan
discovering
his
enemy’s
weaknessesand
applyingpressure
tothem.As
early
ashis
speeoh
in
1615,
hewas
looking
forthe
weak
linkinthe
chain
of
power,
andhesawthatitwasthe
queen
mother,NotthatMariewas
obviously
weakmslie
governed
bothFrance
andher
son;
butRichelieusawthatshewas
really
aninsecurewomanwho
neededconstantmasculineattention.Heshoweredherwithafiectionand
respect,
even
toadyingup
toher
favorite,
Concini.Heknewthe
day
would
comewhenthe
king
wouldtake
over,
buthealso
recognized
thatLouis
lovedhismother
dearly
andwould
always
remainachild
in
relationtoher.
The
way
tocontrol
Louis,then,
wasnot
bygaining
his
favor,
whichcould
changeovernight,
but
bygainingsway
overhis
mother,
forwhomhisafv
fectionwouldnever
change.
OnceRichelieuhadthe
position
he
desiredm-prime
minister———hedis-
cardedthe
queen
mother,
moving
ontothenextweaklinkinthechain:
the
king‘s
owncharacter.Therewasa
part
ofhimthatwould
always
bea.
helpless
childinneedof
higherauthority.
Itwasonthefoundationofthe
king’s
weaknessthat
Richelieu
establishedhisown
power
andfame.
Remember:When
entering
the
court,
findtheweak
link.The
person
incontrolisoftennotthe
king
or
queen;
it
issomeonebehindthescenes-«
the
favorite,
thehusbandor
wife,
eventhecourtfool.This
personmay
havemoreweaknessesthanthe
kinghimself,
becausehis
powerdepends
on
allkindsof
capricious
factorsoutsidehiscontrol.
Finally,
when
dealing
with
helpless
children
whocannot
makedeci-
sions,
play
ontheirweaknessand
push
themintoboldventures,
They
will
haveto
depend
on
you
even
more,
for
you
willbecometheadult
figure
whom
theyrely
onto
get
themoutof
scrapes
andto
safety.
Observance
H
InDecemberof
1925,
guests
attheswankiesthotelinPalm
Beach,Florida,
watchedwithinterestasa
mysterious
manarrivedina
RoI1s—Royce
dn'ven
byajapanese
chauffeur.Overthenextfew
days
they
studiedthishand~
some
man,
whowalkedwithan
elegant
cane,
received
telegrams
atall
hours,
and
onlyengaged
inthebriefestof
conversations.
Hewasa
count,
they
heard,
CountVictor
Lustig,
and hecamefromoneofthewealthiest
familiesin
Europe—~but
thiswasall
they
couldfindout.
Imagine
their
amazement,then,
when
Lustig
one
day
walked
up
to
oneoftheleast
distinguishedguests
inthe
hotel,
aMr.Herman
Loller,
Tlll"l,H"|’|,l£'|'|||'\(IS
(,(ll‘\'ll
AstimewentonIwine
tolook
for
theIitllrt
weaknesses....It’:the
liitfe
tlrings
thatcmml.
OI;nice‘nrazximz.I
workedonthe
pre5x'—
den!
afalarge
bank
in
Omulm.The
[phony]
dealinvnlwedthe
purtlmyeof
(heytrvcl
railwayx_v.m=nzof
Omaha,
includirlg
a
bridge
acros.\'IIII4
MISSI.YSip[)I
RIVHL
My
pr:'ncz'pal.r
were
sup/,»os-
ally
t'}t*mzarz
am!
I
had
(0
rlegotitlle
with
Iiurlirz.While
awaiting
word
from
them.I
inrmrlz/(‘ed
myfake
mining-stockproposre
/ion.Sincethisman
was
rich,
I
decidedto
playforhigh
nuke...
MearnvlzilztI
played
golf
with
theIyrmkrr.
visitedhis
Imme,
and
men:Inrhctheaterwizlz
himandhis
wife.
Ttmugh
heshowed
wineinteram?in
my
xmck
deal,
hestill
warn
‘Iconvirzced,I
had
builtit
up
Inthe
point
thataninvestruem
of
3 I
,25(I.()0{)
war
requirmi.Oflhis
I
was
(0
putup
$9()().l)(l(),
tho
Imrzker
$35t),(IO0.
But
stillin»}zesr'€ti!m€.
One
eve-mug
whenI
wasatilulf
homflfor
(Iilmcr
I
worexumo
perfume-—Coty
'5
"April
Vi0le1.x"I!waxrm:{hm
considered
effemimzle
for
amanIr)useuzlrlsh
z)_/‘pnrfurrze.
The
(maker
'3
wifethough!
("I
veryIIM'('I_V.
"
W11eredid
youget
if?‘
"
“IIis:1rare
blend,
"
Itold
her,“especially
madefur
me
by
u
LAW 33