of mercy whose
representative His Majesty is on earth. We trust, Monseigneur, by our
faithfulness and zeal to acquire the honour of your protection, and we
glory in the thought of being permitted, under the command of such an
illustrious and noble-minded general as yourself, to shed our blood for
the king; this being so, I hope that your Excellency will be pleased
to allow me to inscribe myself with profound respect and humility,
Monseigneur, your most humble and obedient servant,

"CAVALIER."

D'Aygaliers, as soon as he got possession of this letter, set out for
Nimes in the best of spirits; for he felt sure that he was bringing
M. de Villars more than he had expected. And, indeed, as soon as the
marechal saw how far things had gone, in spite of everything that
Lalande could say, who in his jealousy asserted that d'Aygaliers would
spoil everything, he sent him back to Cavalier with an invitation to
come to Nimes. D'Aygaliers set out at once, promising to bring the young
chief back with him, at which Lalande laughed loudly, pretending to
be very much amused at the baron's confident way of speaking, and
protesting that Cavalier would not come.

In the meantime events were happening in the mountains which might
easily have changed the state of mind of the young chief. The Comte de
Tournan, who was in command at Florae, had encountered Roland's army in
the plain of Fondmortes, and had lost two hundred men, a considerable
sum of money, and eighty mules loaded with provisions. The anxiety which
this news caused to M. de Villars was soon relieved; for six days after
the defeat he received a letter from Cavalier by the hands of Lacombe,
the same who had brought about the interview on the bridge of Avenes.
In this letter Cavalier expressed the greatest regret for what had just
happened.

D'Aygaliers therefore found Cavalier in the best of humours when he
joined him at Tarnac. The first feeling that the young chief felt on
receiving the invitation was one of stupefaction; for an interview
with the marechal was an honour so unexpected and so great, that
his impression was that some treason lay behind it; but he was soon
reassured when he recalled the character for loyalty which the marechal
bore, and how impossible it was that d'Aygaliers should lend himself to
treachery. So Cavalier sent back word that he would obey the marechal's
orders; and that he put himself entirely into his hands in what
concerned the arrangements for