romises of his allies.
The Spaniards sent neither money nor men, while the Austrians received
orders to march away from Sedan and to join the Spaniards, who were
marching to the relief of Arras.

The duke, deserted by his allies, prepared to defend Sedan till the
last. Fortunately for him, however, the position of the French at Arras
was critical. The place was strong, two armies were marching to its
relief, and it would therefore have been rash to have attempted at
the same time the siege of Sedan. The king himself had joined the army
advancing against Bouillon, while the cardinal remained in Paris. Many
of those round the person of the king, foremost among whom was the
Marquis of Cinq-Mars, his master of horse, spoke very strongly in favour
of the duke, and represented that he had been driven to take up arms
by the persecution of the cardinal. The king was moved by their
representations, and gave a complete pardon to Bouillon, who was
restored to the full possession of all his estates in France, while on
his part he released the prisoners, baggage, and standards taken in the
late battle.

This was welcome news to Hector, who at once prepared to cross into
Italy; but when they reached Chambery he heard that Turenne had been
ordered to join the army that was collected near the Spanish frontier,
in order to conquer Roussillon, which lay between Languedoc and
Catalonia. The latter province had been for three years in a state of
insurrection against Spain, and had besought aid from France. This,
however, could not easily be afforded them so long as the fortress of
Perpignan guarded the way, and with other strongholds prevented all
communication between the south of France and Catalonia. As it was
uncertain whether Turenne would follow the coast route or cross the
passes, Hector and his companion rode forward at once, and arrived at
Turin before he left.

"I am glad to see you back again," the general said as Hector entered
his room, "and trust that you are now strong again. Your letter, giving
me your reasons for leaving Sedan, was forwarded to me by a messenger,
with others from my brother and his wife. He speaks in high terms of
you, and regretted your leaving them; but the reason you gave for so
doing in your letter to me more than justified the course you took,
and showed that you were thoughtful in other than military matters. You
served me better by leaving Sedan than you could have done in any other
way. In thes