brevity.
“If I was Commander-in-Chief, it was to thrash the English.”
Death was staring her in the face here all the time, but no matter;
she dearly loved to make these English-hearted Frenchmen squirm,
and whenever they gave her an opening she was prompt to jab her
sting into it. She got great refreshment out of these little episodes.
Her days were a desert; these were the oases in it.
Her being in the wars with men was charged against her as an
indelicacy. She said:
“I had a woman with me when I could–in towns and lodgings. In
the field I always slept in my armor.”
That she and her family had been ennobled by the King was
charged against her as evidence that the source of her deeds were
sordid self-seeking. She answered that she had not asked this grace
of the King; it was his own act.
This third trial was ended at last. And once again there was no
definite result.
Possibly a fourth trial might succeed in defeating this apparently
unconquerable girl. So the malignant Bishop set himself to work to
plan it.
He appointed a commission to reduce the substance of the
sixty-six articles to twelve compact lies, as a basis for the new
attempt. This was done. It took several days.
Meantime Cauchon went to Joan’s cell one day, with Manchon and
two of the judges, Isambard de la Pierre and Martin Ladvenue, to
see if he could not manage somehow to beguile Joan into
submitting her mission to the examination and decision of the
Church Militant–that is to say, to that part of the Church Militant
which was represented by himself and his creatures.
Joan once more positively refused. Isambard de la Pierre had a
heart in his body, and he so pitied this persecuted poor girl that he
ventured to do a very daring thing; for he asked her if she would be
willing to have her case go before the Council of Basel, and said it
contained as many priests of her party as of the English party.
Joan cried out that she would gladly go before so fairly constructed
a tribunal as that; but before Isambard could say another word
Cauchon turned savagely upon him and exclaimed:
“Shut up, in the devil’s name!”
Then Manchon ventured to do a brave thing, too, though he did it
in great fear for his life. He asked Cauchon if he should enter
Joan’s submission to the Council of Basel upon the minutes.
“No! It is not necessary.”
“Ah,” said poor Joan, reproachfully, “you set down everything that
is against me, but you will not set down what is for me.”
It was piteous. It would have touched the heart of a brute. But
Cauchon was more than that.
Chapter 14 Joan Struggles with Her Twelve Lies
WE WERE now in the first days of April. Joan was ill. She had
fallen ill the 29th of March, the day after the close of the third
trial, and was growing worse when the scene which I have just
described occurred in her cell. It was just like Cauchon to go there
and try to get some advantage out of her weakened state.
Let us note some of the particulars in the new indictment–the
Twelve Lies.
Part of the first one says Joan asserts that she has found her
salvation. She never said anything of the kind. It also says she
refuses to submit herself to the Church. Not true. She was willing
to submit all her acts to this Rouen tribunal except those done by
the command of God in fulfilment of her mission. Those she
reserved for the judgment of God. She refused to recognize
Cauchon and his serfs as the Church, but was willing to go before
the Pope or the Council of Basel.
A clause of another of the Twelve says she admits having
threatened with death those who would not obey her. Distinctly
false. Another clause says she declares that all she has done has
been done by command of God. What she really said was, all that
she had done well–a correction made by herself as you have
already seen.