dy to sink.

One day, while we enjoyed a halt, and the soldiers with their wives had
gone out to dance, according to custom, my comrade stayed at home
with me on pretence of friendship, and insulted me with his pity and
consolation! He told me that, though I was young and tender at present,
I should soon be seasoned to the service; and he did not doubt but I
should have the honour to contribute in some measure to the glory of
the king. "Have courage, therefore, my child," said he, "and pray to the
good God, that you may be as happy as I am, who have had the honour of
serving Louis the Great, and of receiving many wounds, in helping to
establish his glory." When I looked upon the contemptible object that
pronounced these words, I was amazed at the infatuation that possessed
him; and could not help expressing my astonishment at the absurdity of
a rational who thinks himself highly honoured, in being permitted to
encounter abject poverty, oppression, famine, disease, mutilation, and
evident death merely to gratify the vicious ambition of a prince, by
whom his sufferings were disregarded, and his name utterly unknown. I
observed that, if his situation were the consequence of compulsion, I
would praise his patience and fortitude in bearing his lot: if he had
taken up arms in defence of his injured country, he was to be applauded
for his patriotism: or if he had fled to this way of life as a refuge
from a greater evil, he was justifiable in his own conscience (though
I could have no notion of misery more extreme than he suffered); but
to put his condition on the footing of conducing to the glory of his
prince, was no more than professing himself a desperate slave, who
voluntarily underwent the utmost wretchedness and peril, and
committed the most flagrant crimes, to soothe the barbarous pride of a
fellow-creature, his superior in nothing but the power he derived
from the submission of such wretches as him. The soldier was very much
affronted at the liberty I took with his king, which, he said, nothing
but my ignorance could excuse: he affirmed that the characters of
princes were sacred, and ought not to be profaned by the censure
of their subjects, who were bound by their allegiance to obey their
commands, of what nature soever, without scruple or repining; and
advised me to correct the rebellious principles I had imbibed among the
English, who, for their insolence to their kings, were notorious all
over the world, even to a