e was not great, and neither Geoffrey, Antoine, nor Henri had
possessed commanding abilities. Nor was Frontenac the boyhood friend
of his king as his father had been, for Louis XIV was not born till
1638. Frontenac's rank was good enough to give him a chance at the
French court. For the rest, his worldly prosperity would depend on his
own efforts.

Inevitably he became a soldier. He entered the army at fifteen. It
was one of the greatest moments in French history. Richelieu was prime
minister, and the long {19} strife between France and the House of
Hapsburg had just begun to turn definitely in favour of France.
Against the Hapsburgs, with their two thrones of Spain and Austria,[2]
stood the Great Cardinal, ready to use the crisis of the Thirty Years'
War for the benefit of his nation--even though this meant a league with
heretics. At the moment when Frontenac first drew the sword France (in
nominal support of her German allies) was striving to conquer Alsace.
The victory which brought the French to the Rhine was won through the
capture of Breisach, at the close of 1638. Then in swift succession
followed those astounding victories of Conde and Turenne which
destroyed the military pre-eminence of Spain, took the French to the
gates of Munich, and wrung from the emperor the Peace of Westphalia
(1648).

During the thirteen years which followed Frontenac's first glimpse of
war it was a glorious thing to be a French soldier. The events of such
an era could not fail to leave {20} their mark upon a high-spirited and
valorous youth. Frontenac was predestined by family tradition to a
career of arms; but it was his own impetuosity that drove him into war
before the normal age. He first served under Prince Frederick Henry of
Orange, who was then at the height of his reputation. After several
campaigns in the Low Countries his regiment was transferred to the
confines of Spain and France. There, in the year of Richelieu's death
(1642), he fought at the siege of Perpignan. That he distinguished
himself may be seen from his promotion, at twenty-three, to the rank of
colonel. In the same year (1643) Louis XIV came to the throne; and
Conde, by smiting the Spaniards at Rocroi, won for France the fame of
having the best troops in Europe.

It was not the good fortune of Frontenac to serve under either Conde or
Turenne during those campaigns, so triumphant for France, which marked
the close of the Thirty Years' War. From