“And yet the alliance of Spain is considered as of vital importance to France!”

“Of great importance, certainly.  Spain has still soldiers who can fight well, as they have proved in Italy; and were the levies at home equally well drilled and disciplined, they would no doubt turn out good soldiers.  But these are, at present, almost undrilled.  They desert in numbers and return to their homes, after the slightest reverse, and prefer to act as partisans under leaders of their own choosing.  But with Philip once firmly seated on the throne, with French advisers and officers to assist him, and a few regiments to serve as a nucleus to his army, Spain could turn out a force which would be a very valuable addition to the strength of any European power.  With Spain as our ally we can, in addition to the force that she can put in the field, neglect altogether our southern frontier, and employ our whole army elsewhere.  With her as an ally of Austria or of England, we should have to keep an army in the south to guard our borders.”

Two days after leaving Paris, the party arrived at Peronne, where a considerable body of troops were collected, of which, although an aide-de-camp, Desmond now learned for the first time the duke was to take the command.  No movements of importance had taken place in the field, and as the force at Peronne still wanted several regiments, to bring it up to the intended strength, some weeks passed before it was set in motion.

The four aides-de-camp, however, had a busy time of it.  The main army was stationed in the neighbourhood of Lille, and frequent communications passed between Berwick and Vendome.

The allies were inactive.  Eugene had, early in April, met Marlborough at the Hague, and had concerted with him the plan for the campaign.  He had then gone to Vienna to bring up reinforcements, and until these arrived Marlborough hardly felt in a position to take the offensive, as the French armies were considerably stronger than his own, and he had not yet been joined by the troops from Hanover.

Except to receive orders, the aides-de-camp saw little of their commander.  He was absorbed in the difficult problems of the war, and was occasionally absent for two or three days at the camp of Vendome.  He always spoke kindly to them when on duty, but at other times dispensed altogether with their attendance, and as a rule took his meals alone.

“You see him at his worst,” d’Eyncourt said one day to his new comrades, “He is a different man when he is in the field.  Then he is full of life and activity, looking into every detail himself, endeavouring to infuse some of his own energy into others, full of care for the comfort of his troops, though ready to endure any hardship himself.  Then you see the real man; a noble character, idolized by the soldiers and loved by us all.  You must not judge him, in the slightest degree, by what he now is.  He has a great deal on his mind, and