for the man you saved."

"Thank you, captain; that's my best card to play, as things are going.
But I'd have given something to have it the other way about."

"Of course you would, my good fellow. It's the fortune of war; I'm up
to-day, you're up to-morrow. And you've no cause to be anything but
mighty proud of yourselves--you of the Irish Brigade. I never saw
better stuff than you've turned out this day."

"And many's the thanks, son. A bit o' praise comes sweet even from an
enemy."

"Enemies only professionally, Oborne; in private life we're from
to-day the best of friends."

At a later hour Sergeant Oborne informed Fairburn that he had carried
Captain Blackett's paper about with him for some little time, having
had no opportunity of passing it on to any likely Englishman, or
having forgotten it when he had the opportunity.

The slaughter at Malplaquet was terrible on the side of the Allies,
amounting to 20,000, or one-fifth of the whole number engaged. The
French, who had fought under shelter, lost only about one half of that
total. Mons surrendered shortly afterwards, and the victory was
complete, the road to Paris open. Yet what a victory! Villars declared
to his royal master that if the French were vouchsafed such another
defeat, there would be left to them no enemies at all.

This proved to be the Duke of Marlborough's last great battle and his
last great victory. "A deluge of blood" it had been. And, what was
worse, rarely has a great victory produced so little fruit.
Marlborough had quite expected to see his success at Malplaquet put an
end to the war. It did nothing of the kind; for two more years the war
continued. The rest of its story, however, may be told in a very few
words.

Louis XIV once more asked for peace, and made certain offers to the
Allies, but these would be contented with nothing less than the
expulsion of Philip from Spain. The conference, at Gertruydenberg,
therefore came to nothing. This was in the early part of 1710. The
work of capturing the fortresses in French Flanders and the province
of Artois was proceeded with, and in 1711 Marlborough took Bouchain,
in France. But the Duke had apparently lost heart to some extent, and
there was no very vigorous action. At home the war had become hateful
to a very large proportion of the people; its cost in men and money
frightened them.

The year 1710 was a busy and a decisive time in Spain. At first
success seemed to lean to the side o