It will be unnecessary to follow the armies of France through the campaign that ensued, or to trace my own individual career in the service, which was simply that of a young officer, possessed of considerable interest, who rose more by fortunate circumstances, and the exertions of a few indefatigable friends, than by any particular credit of his own. It is true that I was active and vigilant, and did not want courage; but at the same time, I cannot but acknowledge that both Monsieur de Villardin and Monsieur de Turenne made more of those qualities in my person than they deserved. After having followed the royal army through all its marches and countermarches, after having done what I could to distinguish myself at the siege of Rhetel and of Mouson, and after having taken part in the deliverance of Rocroy, I returned to Brittany with Monsieur de Villardin, at the end of the campaign, considerably richer in honour than I had set out. Everything at the Prés Vallée was as we left it, or so nearly so, that it seemed as if that part of the world had stood still, while we had been hurried through so many different scenes and events. Father Ferdinand appeared hardly changed in the least; and though Laura had grown taller, she was still a girl. My little page, indeed, had greatly improved; and in the couple of months that we spent at the château, wound himself not only round my heart, but also round that of Monsieur de Villardin himself; and when at our departure he petitioned earnestly to be taken with us, I thought that the Duke himself seemed inclined to second his request. Judging it better for himself, however, I left him for another year, and proceeded with Monsieur de Villardin to attend the coronation of the young king, a summons to which ceremony had curtailed our stay in Brittany. During the festivities that succeeded, Monsieur de Villardin became first acquainted with the Count de Laval, of whom I shall have more to speak hereafter. He was, as every one knows, wealthy and powerful; and though he was cold, and somewhat haughty, yet he was, I believe, a man of generous feelings, and a noble disposition, of which I had ultimately an extraordinary proof. He paid considerable attention to Monsieur Villardin; and it struck me from the first that he had some motive with which I was not aware, in the advances that he made towards the Duke. To myself, he always showed himself polite, though distant; and I was glad to find, as his acquaintance with Monsieur de Villardin advanced, that he was not inclined to assume a degree of superiority in his manners towards me, which I might not have been disposed to tolerate. He was, as I have said, somewhat haughty in his manners to every one, but certainly not more so towards myself than towards others.