However authoritative this command might be, Jeanne continued undecided; she recalled to her mind the numerous obstacles which it was necessary she should surmount; as she neither knew the king nor the route that was requisite to be pursued in order to gain the "God commands it," the voice then exclaimed, court... ..... 66 I go thy ways to the city of Champaine, the only one still remaining faithful to the king; the governor will conduct thee to the prince." Jeanne at length yielded, and presented herself before the governor, who, either impelled from a motive of humanity or forewarned by some divine impulse, received her with courtesy, and conducted her to the king, without any This account of the visions of Jeanne differs from those transmitted to us by other authors, as well as from the account given during the legal proceedings against her; which affords another proof that the marvellous statements accompanying her history, were the fruits of the imagination of her contemporaries. Nearly all the accounts extant, relative to the Pucelle, demonstrate that the wish of every writer was to attach something supernatural to the mission of Jeanne; of which, however, there is not the least occasion; since it is merely necessary to peruse the writings of those authors with attention, to discover that they may be divested of the wonderful, without weakening, in the smallest degree, the extraordinary feats of this heroine as handed down to us by the historian. This does not appear to have been the case, as Baudricourt, in the first instance, paid no attention to her story, but dismissed Jeanne and her uncle, who accompanied her; subsequent to which he merely made known to Charles VII. what the Pucelle had accident having occurred, although the road which he took was through the country occupied by the enemy. "Illius adventum rex senserat. Atque suorum Consilio procerum minime decreverat illam Audire ANTE DIES TRES † dum venisset ad ipsum." No sooner had Jeanne presented herself to the king, than the minds of all his advisers were changed, and her mission was sanctioned by theologians. "Post hæc rex prudens astutè fungitur ejus Colloquio ut meliùs nympham dignoscere possit. required. Neither was a second journey, afterwards undertaken, (the period of which, however, is not specified in history), attended with any better success. It was not Baudricourt who accompanied Jeanne, for, upon her third expedition to Vaucouleurs, about the month of February, which lasted for three weeks, when she had attained her object, two gentlemen furnished her with male accoutrements, together with arms and a horse, and also undertook to escort her. Neither was the journey to Chinon authorized by Baudricourt, until he had received a notice to that effect from the court, upon which he gave her a letter addressed to the king. + Laverdy, at page 352, note 26, says, that only two or three days intervened before the introduction of Jeanne to the king. Is it therefore probable, that, during such a short interval of time, she could have learned to wield a lance with ease and elegance, as well as to manage a horse like the most expert cavalier? Not satisfied with this research, the king further ordered — • The precise day when Jeanne arrived at Chinon is not ascertained; but, as Baudricourt did not consent to her departure prior to his receiving the news of the battle of Herrings, which, at the earliest, could not have reached him till between the fifteenth and the twentieth of February, and as the journey occupied eleven days, consequently it must have been the end of the month when the Pucelle arrived at Chinon.t The period of her quitting the court in order to repair to the siege of Orleans is also unknown; at least, various opinions have been hazarded upon the subject. Admitting that which retards the departure of Jeanne to the latest moment, the government would have had fifty days to train her mind for war, as well as for that courage and intrepidity of which she subsequently gave so many signal and extraordinary proofs ! Even this, however, was not much; what must then be said, when we find that this lapse of time, instead of being employed in teaching her horsemanship, the use of arms, and other manœuvres, whereby she might acquire the method of influencing the soldiers in the hour of peril, &c., was, on the contrary, occupied in harangues with the council, researches of matrons, examinations of theologians, and † It was probably later, for, according to a passage in an old manuscript chronicle, we find, "The sixth of March, 1428, the Pucelle came to the king :" and Serres, in his inventory, at page 224, equally asserts, that it was the sixth of March. The king then despatched Jeanne to succour Orleans, which had sustained a very long siege. She rescued the city, although the English were in great force, while she had few troops; many were killed or fled, and she captured a great number (innumeri) of prisoners. After this the Pucelle repaired to the king, who advanced to receive her, welcoming her with transport, and causing her to sit beside him for a length of time.* She then supplicated that he would despatch her to combat against the remainder of his enemies; upon which, troops were furnished, and, at their head, she took various cities, fought and beat the English, captured numerous prisoners, put to flight the most experienced generals, recovered in a short time a vast extent of territory; in short, to her was universally attributed the salvation of the country. "Tantus erat pudor huic et tanta modestia ut ipsa interrogatories by the magistrates; the last of which alone continued for three weeks, the same taking place at Poitiers, at fifteen leagues from the court. * No other author makes mention of these circumstances, which are, however, by no means improbable, when the astonishing benefits derived from the conduct of Jeanne are taken into consideration. †There was uniformly but one statement, during the process of Jeanne, in regard to her piety, her charity towards the poor, her humanity with regard to the sick and wounded soldiers, the severity of her morals, her bravery, &c. We will now content ourselves by adducing a testimony no less certain in the person of Hume, who, when speaking of the proceedings instituted by the regent duke of Bedford against Jeanne, styles it an action which, She ate, drank, and slept, but little, continuing for the space of six days and nights under arms, without retiring to rest. She carried herself well on horseback, took delight in the conversation of men, and despised that of her own sex. (Verba vana fugiens.) God at length perceiving that France could maintain herself, deprived the kingdom of the assistance of Jeanne. This chapter, dated Ast, in 1435, terminates with an eulogy of the duke of Orleans, and an exhortation to that prince to support his captivity with patience. whether originating in vengeance or policy, was equally barbarous and dishonourable. To this he adds, that she was a prisoner of war; that she had been guilty of no breach of faith or cruelty during her campaigns, nor of any crime in the course of her civil life; that she had rigidly observed the practice of every virtue, and the propriety of conduct requisite in her sex....that the English never impeached the rigid purity of her morals........and, where he speaks of the death of the duke of Bedford, the same historian remarks, that his memory was without blemish, except as regarded the barbarous execution of the Pucelle. Smollet equally declares that the conduct of the regent in this point cannot be justified. And lastly, Carte, who is silent in regard to the atrocious iniquity of the judgment, avows that, "The chastity of Jeanne was never called in question, not even by her most implacable enemies, and that her courage could not be too much admired." On the score of humanity, Jeanne herself affirmed, and no author has denied the assertion upon this point, that, if she carried a banner, it was from a desire to kill no one, nor even to make use of her sword. - Villaret, xiv. 389, after the manuscript process. |