Thereupon d'Aygaliers, delighted to find him so well inclined, begged him
to give him a letter for M. de Villars, and as Cavalier knew the marechal
to be loyal and zealous, and had great confidence in him, he wrote
without any hesitation the following letter:

"MONSEIGNEUR,--Permit me to address your Excellency in order to beg
humbly for the favour of your protection for myself and for my soldiers.
We are filled with the most ardent desire to repair the fault which we
have committed by bearing arms, not against the king, as our enemies have
so falsely asserted, but to defend our lives against those who persecuted
us, attacking us so fiercely that we believed it was done by order of His
Majesty. We know that it was written by St. Paul that subjects ought to
submit themselves to their king, and if in spite of these sincere
protestations our sovereign should still demand our blood, we shall soon
be ready to throw ourselves on his justice or his mercy; but we should,
Monseigneur, regard ourselves as happy, if His Majesty, moved by our
repentance, would grant us his pardon and receive us into his service,
according to the example of the God of mercy whose representative His
Majesty is on earth. We trust, Monseigneur, by our faithfulness and zeal
to acquire the honour of your protection, and we glory in the thought of
being permitted, under the command of such an illustrious and
noble-minded general as yourself, to shed our blood for the king; this
being so, I hope that your Excellency will be pleased to allow me to
inscribe myself with profound respect and humility, Monseigneur, your
most humble and obedient servant,
"CAVALIER."

D'Aygaliers, as soon as he got possession of this letter, set out for
Nimes in the best of spirits; for he felt sure that he was bringing M. de
Villars more than he had expected. And, indeed, as soon as the marechal