"Sire, my plans are laid," replied Louvois.
"Already!" cried Louis, joyfully.
"Already!" echoed De Maintenon, affrighted.
"Sire," continued Louvois, "as soon as your majesty has approved my plan, the couriers, who are waiting without, will transfer your royal commands to the army. It is my design to march at once upon the Rhenish provinces, and to take possession of the Palatinate."
"Good! but will our army be strong enough to fight the emperor and the Germanic confederation at once?"
"Sire, the emperor shall have occupation elsewhere, and the princes of the empire must be terrified into submission."
"But how, now?"
"Both ends may be reached by one stroke. The Rhenish provinces, Alsatia, and the Palatinate, must be transformed into a waste. We must wage against Germany a war of destruction, whose fearful consequences will be felt there for a century to come."
"Oh, sire," exclaimed De Maintenon, "such a war is contrary to the laws of God and man! Shall France, the most refined country on the globe, set to civilized Europe an example of barbarity only to be equalled by the atrocities of the Huns and Vandals?"
"My dear marquise," cried Louis, fretfully, "do be silent.—Go on,
Louvois, and let me hear your plans."