RICHELIEU Armand-Jean du Plessis, cardinal de (1585- 1642) le grand homme d'Etat et ministre de Louis XIII. L.S. "Le card de Richelieu", Péronne 1 July 1641, to the Superintendent of Finance Claude BOUTHILLIER, in Paris; the letter, signed by the Cardinal, is written successively by two of his secretaries, Denis CHARPENTIER, and Pierre CHERRÉ; 1 page in folio, address on the back "Pour Monsieur le Surintendant à Paris", red wax seals with arms on pink silk lakes (portrait engraved by J. Lubin enclosed). He thanks him for having transmitted news of Charlotte des Essarts, wife of François du HALLIER (the Marshal of the Hospital), and he sends back the letter from Mme du Hallier, as the Superintendent wished. "I do not think I can tell you how pleased I am with the diligence with which you dispatch public affairs when they are sent to you. I do not ask you to go on with what I know, though you will. But it is impossible for me not to testify to you the ease with which business is conducted....