" But to hear these words of Daniel, whom
would you suppose you perceived, gentlemen, under that figure of
speech--Alexander or the Prince de Conde? God gave him that dauntless
valor that France might enjoy safety during the minority of a king but
four years old. Let him grow up, this king, cherished of Heaven, and
all will yield to his exploits; rising above his own followers, as
well as his enemies, he will know how sometimes to make use of, and
at others to dispense with, his most illustrious captains, and alone,
under the hand of God, who will be his constant aid, he will be seen
to be the stanch rampart of his dominions. But God chose the Duc
d'Enghien to defend him in his infancy. So, toward the first days of
his reign, at the age of twenty-two years, the duke conceived a plan
in the armor of which the seasoned veterans could find no vulnerable
point; but victory justified his course at Rocroi. The opposing force,
it is true, is stronger; it is composed of those old Walloon, Italian
and Spanish regiments that, up to that time, could not be broken; but
at what valuation should be placed the courage inspired in our troops
by the pressing necessities of the state, by past successes, and by
a young prince of the blood in whose eyes could be read victory? Don
Francisco de Mellos awaits the onset with a firm foot; and, without
being able to retreat, the two generals and the two armies seemed to
have wished to imprison themselves in the woods and the marshes in
order to decide the issue of combat like two champions in the lists.
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