One of the finest compliments ever paid by a sovereign to a victorious general was that which Louis XIV of France paid to Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Conde.
When Conde arrived at Versailles, in 1674, after fighting his last fight, the Battle of Seneffe, against a Dutch-German-Spanish army commanded by William of Orange, Louis paid him the high honour of going to the top of the grand staircase to meet him.
The great commander, suffering severely from gout, was scarcely able to mount the steps at all, and he besought the pardon of the king for making him wait. "Cousin," replied Louis with a smile, "when one is so loaded with laurels, it is of course difficult to walk."
歷來君主稱譽沙場奏凱的將領，情詞之盛，很少有如法王路易十四之譽孔代親王路易二世．德波旁。
一六七四年，孔代在西尼菲戰役之中，和奧蘭治親王威廉率領的荷蘭、德意志、西班牙聯軍交鋒。這是他打的最後一場戰役。他回到凡爾賽宮，路易十四為表尊崇，走到御階頂相迎。
戰功彪炳的孔代患嚴重痛風，幾乎無法走上御階，要路易十四等候，連聲請罪。路易十四微笑着回答：「親王，一個人肩負着那麼多的勞耀，舉步維艱，有什麼奇怪。」