The Prince of Condé, having won numerous battles, was coming to greet Louis XIV, who awaited him at the top of a staircase. As he suffered from gout he walked slowly.
“Please excuse me Sire if I make you wait. My gout…”
“Take your time, cousin. One cannot walk briskly when arriving loaded with so many victories.”
Reception of Le Grand Condé at Versailles (1878), by Jean-Léon Gérôme.
Vicente Vega, Diccionario Ilustrado de Anécdotas (Barcelona: Gustavo Gili, 1965), p. 848. (Nobility.org translation.)
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 33
