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Rh extreme sweetness, to Madame de Mercœur, "I give you joy that your husband should be the first conqueror of this redoubtable Valence."

"I deserve," replied the Duchesse, "some compensation for the anxiety I have endured."

"Anxiety! nonsense!" exclaimed the Swede; "A man is never in his proper element but when fighting. I am persuaded that war was always meant to be the one great luxury of the human race. War calls out all our good qualities; courage teaches a man to respect himself—and self-respect is at once the beginning and the guarantee of excellence. Besides, a campaign teaches patience, generosity, and exertion. So much for the morale; and as to the enjoyment, pardieu! I can imagine nothing beyond the excitement of leading a charge of cavalry."

"Alas, madam," said the King, smiling, "why cannot I offer you the bâton of a marshal?"

"You cannot lament," returned she, "the impossibility more than I do. What could God mean by sending me into the world a woman?—But let us change this mournful subject—it really affects my feelings."

"I am rejoiced," observed Louis, "that you have recovered from the ennui of Messieurs les Jésuites' tragedy."