A Heroine of France: The Story of Joan of Arc

  CHAPTER XIV. HOW THE MAID CLEARED THE KING'S WAY.

  We started forth from Selles, where the army which was to do thiswork had assembled. It was not so great a force as it would havebeen but for the hesitations of the King, and the delays imposed byhis Council. For the men who had marched from Orleans, flushed withvictory, eager to rush headlong upon the foe and drive them back totheir own shores, had grown weary of the long waiting, and had beeninfected by the timidity or the treachery of those about the Court.They had melted away by little and little, carrying with them thebooty they had found in the English bastilles round Orleans, gladto return to their homes and their families without furtherfighting, though had the Maid been permitted to place herself attheir head at once, as she did desire, they would have followed herto the death.

  Still, when all was said and done, it was a gallant troop thatresponded to her call and mustered at her summons. The magic of hername still thrilled all hearts, and throughout the march of eventswhich followed, it was always the common soldiers who trustedimplicitly in the Maid; they left doubts and disputings andunworthy jealousies to the officers and the statesmen.

  The Maid went forth with a greater glory and honour than has,methinks, ever been bestowed upon woman before--certainly upon nohumbly-born maiden of seventeen years. Some said that she wasactually ennobled in her own person by the grant to quarter thelilies of France, and that her brothers ranked now amongst theknights and nobles. Others declared that she had refused allpersonal honours, and that she still remained a humble peasant,though so high in the favour of the King, and so great a personagein the realm.

  As for me, I cared nothing for all this. To me she was always theAngelic Maid, heaven sent, miraculous, apart from the earth, thoughliving amongst us and leading us on to victory.

  To the army she was--and that was enough. She was the companion andfriend of princes, nobles, and knights; but she was never as otherswere. An atmosphere of sanctity seemed ever to encompass her. Allwho approached her did her unconscious homage. None could be withher long without being conscious that she was visited by soundsunheard by them, that her eyes saw sights to which theirs wereclosed. We were to have added witness to this in the days whichfollowed.

  So here we were gathered at Selles upon that bright June morning,just one month after the relief of Orleans. The King had presentedto the Maid a great black charger; a mighty creature of immensestrength and spirit, but with something of a wicked look in hisrolling eyes which made me anxious as he was led forward. The Maidin her white armour--its rent deftly mended, its silver brilliancefully restored--with her velvet white-plumed cap upon her head anda little axe in her hand, stood waiting to mount. But perhaps itwas the gleaming whiteness of this slender figure that startled thehorse, or else the cries and shouts of the populace at sight of theMaid excited him to the verge of terror; for he reared and plungedso madly as his rider approached that it was with difficulty he washeld by two stalwart troopers, and we all begged of the Maid not totrust herself upon his back.

  She looked at us with a smile, and made a little courteous gesturewith her hand; then turning to the attendants she said:

  "Lead him yonder to the cross at the entrance to the church; I willmount him there."

  Snorting and struggling, casting foam flakes from his lips, andfighting every inch of the way, the great charger was led whitherthe Maid had said. But once arrived at the foot of the cross, hesuddenly became perfectly quiet. He stood like a statue whilst theMaid approached, caressed him gently with the hand from which shehad drawn her mailed gauntlet, and, after speaking kindly words tohim, vaulted lightly on his back.

  From that moment her conquest of the fierce creature was complete.He carried her throughout that wonderful week with a gentleness anddocility, and an untiring strength which was beautiful to see. Thebrute creation owned her sway as well as did men of understanding,who could watch and weigh her acts and deeds.

  So, amid the plaudits of the people, the fanfare of trumpets, therolling of drums, the rhythmical tread of thousands of mailed feet,we rode forth from Selles, led by the Maid, beside whom rode theKing's cousin, the Duc d'Alencon, now resolved to join us, despitehis former hesitancy and the fears of his wife. He had marched withus to Orleans, but had then turned back, perhaps with the notunnatural fear of again falling into the hands of the English. Thishad happened to him at Agincourt, and only lately had he beenreleased.

  Perhaps his fears were pardonable, and those of his wife more so.She had sought earnestly to hold him hack from this new campaign;and, when she could not prevail with him, she had addressed herselfto the Maid with tears in her eyes, telling her how long had beenhis captivity in England, and with how great a sum he had beenransomed. Why must he adventure himself again into danger?

  The Maid had listened to all with gentle sympathy. Though sofearless herself she was never harsh to those who feared, and theappeal of the Duchesse touched her.

  "Fear nothing, Madame," she answered, "I will bring him back to yousafe and sound. Only pray for him always--pray for us day andnight. I will make his safety my special care. He shall return toyou unharmed; but I pray you hinder him not from serving hiscountry in this great hour of need."

  So the Maid prevailed, and the Duc was entrusted with the commandof the army, second only to the Maid herself, who was distinctlyplaced at the head of all--whose word was to be supreme; whilst theKing's fiat went forth that no Council should be held without her,and that she was to be obeyed as the head in all things!

  And men like Dunois, La Hire, and the Chevalier Gaucourt heard thiswithout a murmur! Think of it!--a campaign conducted by a girl ofseventeen, who, until a few weeks before, had never seen a shotfired in her life! Ah; but all men remembered Orleans, and were notsurprised at the King's decree.

  As we marched along in close array, we gathered many recruits bythe way, notwithstanding that we were in the territory which hadsubmitted to the English rule. Knights and gentlemen flocked forthfrom many a chateau to join themselves to the army of themiraculous Maid, whilst humble peasants, fired by patriotism andzeal, came nightly into our camp seeking to be enrolled amid thosewho followed and fought beneath her banner.

  And so for three days we marched, our ranks swelling, our heartsfull of zeal and confidence, till news was brought us that the Dukeof Suffolk, one of the bravest and most chivalrous of Englishknights and soldiers, had thrown himself and his followers intoJargeau, and was hastily fortifying it for a siege.

  This news reached us at Orleans itself, whither we had returned inthe course of our march, to be received with wild acclamations bythe people there. So loving were the citizens, that they were lothindeed to see the Maid set forth upon any mission which threateneddanger to herself or her army; and their protestations andarguments so wrought upon many of the generals and officers, thatthey united to beg her to remain inactive awhile, and send to theKing for fresh reinforcements before attempting any such arduoustask.

  The Maid listened with her grave eyes wide in amazement.

  "You say this to me--here in Orleans! You who have seen what myLord accomplished for us before! Shame upon you for your lack offaith--for your unworthy thoughts. We march for Jargeau at dawntomorrow!"

  Never before had we heard the Maid speak with quite such severityof tone and word. Her glorious eyes flashed with a strange lambentlight. She looked every inch the ruler of men. All heads were bentbefore her. None dared speak a word to hinder her in her purpose.

  The morrow saw us before Jargeau. Its walls were strong, it waswell supplied with those great guns that belched forth fire andsmoke, and scattered huge stone balls against any attacking force.But we had brought guns with us--great pieces of ordnance, to setagainst the city walls, and the Maid ordered these to be broughtand placed in certain positions, never asking counsel, alwaysacting on her own initiative, without hesitation and without haste,calm and serene; with that deep, farseeing gaze of hers turned fromher own position to the city and back again, as though she saw insome miraculous
vision what must be the end of all this toil.

  "Mort de Dieu!" cried La Hire, forgetting in his wonder the loyallykept promise to swear only by his baton, "but the Maid has nothingto learn in the art of gunnery! Where hath she learnt such skill,such wisdom! We never had guns to place at Orleans! Where has thechild seen warfare, that she places her artillery with the skill ofa tried general of forces!"

  Ah!--where had the Maid learned her skill in any kind of warfare?Had we not been asking this from the first? This was but anotherdevelopment of the same miracle. For my part I had ceased now towonder at anything which she said or did.

  At daybreak on the morrow the roar of battle began. The air wasshaken by the crash and thunder of the guns from both sides. But itwas plain to all eyes how that the cunning disposition of ourpieces, set just where they could deal most effectively with a weakpoint in the fortifications, or a gateway less capable than othersof defence, were doing far more hurt to the enemy than their firedid to us. For the most part their balls passed harmlessly over ourheads, and the clouds of arrows were for us the greater danger,though our armour protected us from over-much damage.

  But it was before Jargeau that the incident happened, which so manywriters have told of the Maid and the Duc d'Alencon; how that shedid suddenly call to him, nay more, drew him with her own hand outof the place where he had stood for some time near to her, sayingin a voice of warning, "Have a care, my lord, there is death athand!"

  Another young knight boldly stepped into that very position fromwhich she had snatched Alencon, and an instant afterwards his headwas struck off by a cannon ball. The Maid saw and covered her eyesfor a moment with her mailed hand.

  "Lord have mercy on that brave soul!" she whispered, "but why didhe not heed the warning?"

  Well, the fighting round Jargeau was fierce and long; but the Maidwith her standard held stubbornly to the place beside the wallwhich she had taken up, and at sight of her, and at the sound ofher clear, silvery voice, encouraging and commanding, the men cameever on and on, regardless of peril, till the scaling ladders wereset, and through the breaches torn in the walls by the guns, oursoldiers swarmed over into the town, shouting with the shout ofthose with whom is the victory.

  Again the Maid triumphed. Again the hearts of the English meltedwithin them at the sight of the White Witch, as they wouldtauntingly call her, even whilst they cowered and fled before her.The French were swarming into the city; the great gates were flungopen with acclamations of triumph; and the Maid marched in to takepossession, her white banner floating proudly before her, her eyesalight, her cheeks flushed.

  One of the young gentlemen not long since added to her household,Guillame Regnault by name, from Auvergne, a very knightly youth, afavourite with us all, came striding up to the Maid, and salutingwith deep reverence, begged speech with her. She was never too muchoccupied to receive those who came to her, and instantly he had herear.

  "My General," he said, "the Duke of Suffolk is close at hand. Wepressed him hard, and it seemed as though he would die sword inhand, ere he would yield. But I did beg of him in his own tongueswith which I am acquainted, not to throw away his noble life;whereupon he did look hard at me, pausing the while in thrust andparry, as all others did pause, for us to parley; and he said thathe would give up his sword to THE MAID OF ORLEANS, and to noneother. Wherefore I did tell him that I would run and fetch her toreceive his submission, or take him to her myself. But then hismind did change, and he said to me, 'Are you noble?' So I told himthat my family was noble, but that I had not yet won myknighthood's spurs. Then forthwith did he uplift his sword, and Iread his meaning in his eyes. I bent my knee, and there and then hedubbed me knight, and afterwards would have tendered me his sword,but I said, 'Not so, gentle Duke, but I hear by the sound of thesilver trumpet that the Maid, our General, is close at hand. Sufferme to tell her of what has passed, and I trow that she will herselfreceive your sword at her hands.'"

  "You did well, Sir Guillame," spoke the Maid, using the new titlefor the first time, whereat the youth's face kindled and glowedwith pleasure. "Bring the Duke at once to me here. I will receivehis surrender in person."

  Truly it was a pretty sight to watch--the dignified approach of thestalwart soldier; tall, upright, a knightly figure in battered coatof mail; bleeding from several wounds, but undaunted andundauntable; and the slim, youthful white figure, with uncoveredhead, and a face regal in its dignity; and yet so full of sweetcourtesy and honourable admiration for a beaten, yet noble foe. Hegazed upon her with a great wonder in his eyes, and then, droppingupon one knee, tendered his sword to her, which the Maid took, heldin her hands awhile, deep in thought, and then, with one of herwonderfully sweet smiles, held out to him again.

  "Gentle Duke," she said, "it hath been told me that you are knownin France as the English Roland; and if so, I would be loth todeprive so noble a foe of his knightly weapon. Keep it, then, andall I ask of you is that you use it no more against the soldiers ofFrance. And now, if you will let my gentlemen lead you to my tent,your hurts shall be dressed, and you shall receive such tendance asyour condition requires."

  But I may not linger over every incident of that march, nor all theachievements of the Maid in the arts both of peace and of war.Towns and castles surrendered at her summons, or flung wide theirgates at the news of her approach. Sometimes we fought, but moreoften the very sound of her name, or the sight of the white figureupon the great black horse was sufficient, and fortress afterfortress upon the Loire fell before her, the English garrisonsmelting away or marching out, unable or unwilling to tryconclusions with so notable a warrior, who came, as it were, in thepower of the King of Heaven.

  And not only did she achieve triumphs in war's domains; she wasequally victorious as a promoter of peace. For when the news wasbrought to us that the Comte de Richemont, Constable of France, buthitherto inimical to the King, desired to join us with a body ofmen, the Duc d'Alencon would have sent him away with insult andrefused his proffer of help; but the Maid, with her gentleauthority and reasonable counsel, brought him to a different frameof mind, and the Constable was received with a fair show ofgraciousness. And although in the days which immediately followedhis aid was not of great importance (for when France had the Maidto fight for her she wanted none beside), yet in the time to come,when she was no longer there to battle for the salvation of hercountry, De Richemont's loyal service to the King was ofinestimable value, and had it not been for the Maid at thisjuncture, he might have been lost for ever to the French cause.

  Her generosity shone out the more in that De Richemont was nofriend to her; indeed, he had regarded her as little better than awitch before he came under the magic of her personality. Hisgreeting to her was rough and blunt.

  "Maiden," he said, "they tell me that you are against me, and thatyou are a witch. I know not whether you are from God or not. If youare from Him, I do not fear you. If you are from the devil, I fearyou still less."

  She looked him full in the face, gravely at first, but with a smilekindling deep down in her eyes. Then she held out her hand in tokenof amity.

  "Brave Constable, this is well spoken. You have no cause to fearme. You are not here by my will, it is true; for I have enough menwith me to do the will of my Lord; but since you have come for loveof the Dauphin, who soon must be crowned King, you are welcomeindeed; and I know that you will live to serve him faithfully,though in the present you have foes at Court who turn his heartfrom you."

  So again she saw what lay beyond our ken, and which the future hasbrought to light. Alas, that she never saw the day when the Kingthrew off his supine fear and idleness, and played the man in theconquest of his kingdom, and when De Richemont fought like a lionat his side! Yet who dare say that she did not see and did notrejoice even then? If the light came only in gleams and flashes,surely it came to her charged with an infinite joy!

  And now I must tell of the last exploit of this wonderful eightdays' triumphal march through a hostile country--that battle ofPatay, where, for the firs
t time, the Maid met the foe in the open,and directed operations not against stone walls, as in every casebefore, but against an army drawn up in a plain.

  There had been marching and counter-marching which only a map couldmake clear. What matters it the route we pursued, so long only asour progress had been attended by victory, and the fortressescleared of foes, so that the journey of the King could now be takenin safety? Yet there was one more peril to face; for the army solong expected, under Sir John Fastolffe, was now heard of somewhereclose at hand. He had joined himself to Talbot, so it was rumoured,and now a great host was somewhere in our neighbourhood, ready tofall upon us if they could find us, and cut us to pieces, as theyhad done so often before--witness the fields of Crecy, Poictiers,and Agincourt!

  For the first time there was uneasiness and fear in the ranks ofthe soldiers. They had infinite confidence in the Maid as a leaderagainst stone walls, for had they not seen her take tower aftertower, city after city? But she had never led them in the openfield; and how could they expect to meet and triumph over theEnglish, who had always vanquished them heretofore?

  We knew not where the foe lay; all we knew was that it wassomewhere close at hand; and so strong grew the fear in the heartsof Alencon and many others, that they begged the Maid to fall backupon the camp at Beaugency, and to wait there for furtherreinforcements. But she shook her head with decision.

  "Let us find them first, and then ride boldly at them. Be notafraid; they will not stand. My Lord will give us the victory!"

  And how did we come upon them at last? Verily, by a mere accident.We were marching in good order towards the great plain of Beauce,which at this time of the year was so thickly overgrown withvineyards and cornfields that we saw nothing of any lurking foe;and I trow that we were not seen of them, although a great host waslying at ease in the noontide heat, watching for our coming, Idoubt not; but not yet drawn up in battle array.

  A stag, frightened by our approach, broke from the thicket, andwent thundering across the plain. All at once a shower of arrowslet loose from English bows followed the creature's flight,together with eager shouts and laughter, betraying the presence ofthe unsuspecting foe.

  With a lightning swiftness the Maid grasped the whole situation.Here was an army, waiting to fight, it is true, but for the momentoff its guard. Here were we, in order of march. One word from her,and our whole force would charge straight upon the foe!

  And was that word lacking? Was there an instant's hesitation? Needsuch a question be asked of the Maid? Clear and sweet rose herwonderful voice, thrilling through the hot summer air.

  "Forward, my children, forward, and fear not. Fly boldly upon them,and the day shall be yours!"

  She charged, herself, at the head of one column; but La Hire, inthe vanguard, was before her. With shouts of triumph and joy theold veteran and his followers thundered into the very midst of thestartled English, and we followed in their wake.

  The Duc d'Alencon rode beside the Maid. His face was pale withexcitement--perhaps with a touch of fear. He remembered the fightat Agincourt, and the wound received there, the captivity and wearywaiting for release.

  "How will it end, my General, how will it end?" he said, and Iheard his words and her reply, for I was riding close behind.

  "Have you good spurs, M. de Duc?" she asked, with one flashingsmile showing the gleam of white teeth.

  "Ah Ciel!" he cried in dismay; "then shall we fly before them?"

  "Not so," she answered; "but they will fly so fast before us thatwe shall need good spurs to keep up with them!"

  And so, indeed, it was. Perhaps it was the sight of the elan of theFrench troops, perhaps the fear of the White Witch, perhaps becausetaken at unawares and in confusion, but the English for once madeno stand. Fastolffe and his men, on the outer skirts of the force,rode off at once in some order, heading straight for Paris, but thebraver and less prudent Talbot sought, again and again, to rallyhis men, and bring them to face the foe.

  But it was useless. The rout was utter and complete. They could notstand before the Maid; and when Talbot himself had fallen aprisoner into our hands, the army melted away and ran for its life,so that this engagement is called the "Chasse de Patay" to thisday.