The first political event worthy of record which occurred in France at the commencement of the year 1611, was the retirement of the Duke de Sully; who, on the 24th of January, received the reply of the Regent to the letter in which he had solicited her permission to withdraw from the government. It contained a faintly-expressed regret at the resolution he had taken; “but that,” as he himself says, “was merely for form's sake;” and the accuracy of his judgment is evidenced by the fact that only two days after he had again written to declare that his determination was unalterable, the Duke de Bouillon delivered to him the official warrants by which he was discharged from his duties of superintendent of finance, and captain of the Bastille. These were worded in the most flattering terms; and he was guaranteed against all inquiry or annoyance upon either subject from the day in which he resigned his tenure of office. A third warrant was, moreover, added, by which, in consideration of his past services, the Queen bestowed upon him the sum of three hundred thousand livres; and a few days subsequently he received letters from the King and the Regent authorising him to transfer the command of the Bastille to M. de Châteauvieux; which he had no sooner done than he turned all his attention to the final arrangement of his public accounts, in order that he might, with as little delay as possible, be enabled to quit the capital.