out from the defile.
Turenne mounted his horse, and, calling upon Hector to follow him, rode
forward with his principal officers to meet Enghien.

"It has been a terrible battle, prince, and if your loss equals mine the
victory has indeed been won at a terrible cost."

"Mine has been heavy, too," Enghien said, "but we have gained our
object."

"Not wholly," Turenne replied, "for Merci has taken up a position as
strong as that from which we have driven him."

"I wish that I could have lent you a hand in the fight," Enghien said,
"but the Bavarians had fallen back into the woods, and we knew not
whether they still held their ground there. In the rain and darkness
it would have been dangerous to have crossed the broken ground with
its woods and ravines, and the troops, after their exertions and heavy
marches, were incapable of such an effort. Indeed, I had lost fully half
my infantry, and the cavalry would be useless for such work. You must
indeed have been sorely pressed, having Merci's whole force to contend
with. Still, I had no doubt even if you could not issue from the
defile you would be able to check the enemy." Then the generals in turn
repeated the details of the battles in which they had been engaged and
the losses they had suffered.

Turenne then introduced his principal officers to Enghien, and when he
had done so called up Hector.

"I need not introduce this officer to you, prince," he said.

"No, indeed," Enghien replied, holding out his hand; "I have good reason
to recollect you, Colonel Campbell. You have heard, marshal, what a good
service he rendered me at Rocroi?"

"He has rendered me one no less this night," Turenne said. "I never saw
a regiment stand more steadily than the one which he commands, and which
he has trained to what seems to me perfection. For the last three hours
that regiment alone bore the brunt of the battle, although assailed
alternately by infantry and cavalry, and thus afforded time to reform
the regiments that fought earlier in the afternoon and to give me hope
that even were the enemy to overcome the resistance of his men, I could
still be able to check their further advance."

He then told Enghien the manner in which Hector had arranged and fought
his troops.

"A good device indeed," Enghien said warmly, "and methinks it worthy of
adoption whenever infantry have to meet other infantry and cavalry, for
the muskets take so long to reload that there might not be half a do