sa ville. In the name of God, the counsel of God our Lord is surer and of more effect than yours. You have thought to deceive me, and you are more deceived than I am; for I assure you, that the best assistance ever yet sent to any one, whether to knight or to city, is the succour of the King of heaven, not accorded through love for me, but proceeding from God himself, who, at the prayer of Saint Louis and Saint Charlemagne, has taken pity on the city of Orleans, and will not permit that the enemy should at the same time possess the body of the duke of Orleans * and his city." A council was then held, when after due consideration it was resolved, that to prevent the English from having time to collect their forces, the French should remount the banks of the Loire as far as Checy, about two leagues east of Orleans, at which place there was a port in every respect commodious for discharging the supplies into large vessels. The wind, which had till this period uniformly continued adverse to the arrival of the barks, became favourable; the craft passed at no great distance from the enemy's forts, and gained the left bank of the river in safety at the same time with La Pucelle and the army. Dunois then proposed that Jeanne

Charles, duke of Orleans, who was made prisoner at the battle of Agincourt in 1415, still remained a captive in England, and did not recover his liberty until 1440.

d'Arc should enter into Orleans,* but she continued very undecided upon this point; being averse to quit the troops, who were well disposed, and had still a march to perform in order to cross the river at Blois, in consequence of the difficulty there was of procuring a sufficient number of boats to enable them to pass the Loire at the spot where they had halted. La Pucelle, however, yielded at length to the entreaties of the Bastard, and entered the city, armed cap-à-pied, mounted on a white horse, and causing her standard to be carried before her. She was accompanied by the count Dunois and many other chieftains of war, and immediately proceeded to the principal church to offer up her humble thanks to the Almighty. Upon this occasion the enthusiasm of the inhabitants of Orleans had attained its acmè; there was not an individual who did not feel animated; both men and women flocked

• Lenglet, vol. i. page 61, states, that count Dunois entreated Jeanne to enter the city of Orleans, where she was so ardently looked for, but that she refused to acquiesce, being desirous not to abandon her people; all of whom, she said, were perfectly obedient, and fortified with the sacraments of the church.-Deposition of Count Dunois, 22d February, 1456.

In the same page, Lenglet adds, "At her entrance into Orleans, she dismounted at the cathedral to offer thanks to God for the prosperous result of her expedition."-Deposition of Jaques Lesbahy, 16th March, 1456.

M. Lenglet must have been guilty of an oversight, as the latter statement contradicts the assertion previously made.

around her; she was welcomed as a tutelar angel descended from heaven; while she continued exhorting the people to place their confidence in God, assuring them that through the medium of faith they would escape the hatred and the fury of their enemies.*

On the following day La Pucelle conferred with Dunois as to the measures most expedient to be pursued; giving it as her opinion that immediate advantage should be taken of the ardour and willingness evinced by the Orleanese to attack the English bastilles; in which decision she was seconded by La Hire and Florent d'Illiers, while several other captains conceived it necessary to await the arrival of the army. These contrary sentiments gave rise to very warm debates, which terminated in opposition to Jeanne's desire: it was, however, decided, that several leaders should proceed to expedite the arrival of the forces.

* It was originally the editor's intention to have here introduced the Diary of the Siege. However, upon consulting the various authorities, and comparing them with the contents of that document, so many additional statements were found, of a most interesting nature, connected with the siege, that it was deemed absolutely necessary to present them to the public.

In the ensuing pages the several details alluded to are condensed; and as the matter occupies but a few leaves, there is reason to hope, that the nature of their contents will requite the reader for the trouble of their perusal.

Jeanne d'Arc, finding that nothing could as yet be undertaken, and by no means discouraged on account of the ill success of her epistolary communication to the English, took advantage of this delay to renew the application. She despatched her two heralds at arms with a letter addressed to the lord Talbot, the earl of Suffolk, and the lord Scales, with the contents of which historians have not made us acquainted, but it is probable that it contained nothing more than a repetition of the contents of her former letter. This document was received with every mark of opprobrium and contempt: and one of her heralds was detained, the other being despatched for the purpose of making known to her all that had transpired. La Pucelle on perceiving her messenger immediately exclaimed: "Que dit Talbot? What does Talbot say?" When the herald having recapitulated all the injurious epithets which the enemy had lavished · upon her, and told her that if they could seize her person they would burn her at the stake, Jeanne instantly replied: "Or t'en retourne, et ne fais doute que tu ameneras ton compagnon, et dis à Talbot, que s'il arme je m'armeray aussi, et qu'il se trouve en place devant la ville, et s'il me peut prendre, qu'il me face ardoir; et si je le deconfis, qu'il face lever les sieges et s'en aillent en leur pays. Return then thy ways, and do not doubt that thou wilt bring back thy companion; and tell Talbot that if he

arms I will. also arm myself, and let him take his station before the city; and if he can secure me, let him cause me to be burnt; and if I discomfit him, let him raise the siege and go back to his own country." This singular challenge was not accepted by our English hero,

Notwithstanding the disdain with which the English affected to treat Jeanne d'Arc, it is certain that they already began to feel the fatal effects of her influence, as the ardour with which she inspired the French soldiery spread terror through the British ranks.

On the day when the convoy entered Orleans, Dunois, according to the deposition of Daulon, repaired to the residence of La Pucelle, and announced to her that Fastolf was conducting reinforcements to the English. Jeanne, rejoiced at the idea of having to combat that redoubted enemy, expressed herself in the following terms to the Bastard: "Bastard, bastard, en nom de Dieu, je te commande que tantôt que tu sauras la venue dudit Fastolf, que tu me le fasses savoir; car s'il passe sans que je le sache, je te promets que je te ferai ôter la tête. Bastard, bastard, in the name of God, I command thee, that as soon as thou shalt ascertain the coming of the said Fastolf, that thou lettest me know; for if he passes without my knowledge, I promise thee that thy head shall be stricken off." It is obvious that this exclamation was the result of an enthusiastic