CHAPTER I: A STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE
A mounted officer, followed by two orderlies, was proceeding at a brisk trot from Paris to St. Denis, in October, 1639, when he came upon a large party of boys, who, armed with sticks, were advancing in something like military order against a wall on the top of a low hill.
"What are you doing?" he asked the lad who appeared to be the leader.
"We are playing at war, sir. We are advancing against the fortress...
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