第24章 THE RELIEF OF ORLEANS.MAY 1-8,1429.(3)

The next day,May 5th,was the Feast of the Ascension,and it was spent by Jeanne in rest and in prayer.But the other leaders were not so devout.They held a crowded and anxious council of war,taking care that no news of it should reach the ears of the Maid.When,however,they had decided upon the course to pursue they sent for her,and intimated to her their decision to attack only the smaller forts,which she heard with great impatience,not sitting down,but walking about the room in disappointment and anger.It is difficult[2]for the present writer to follow the plans of this council or to understand in what way Jeanne felt herself contradicted and set aside.However it was,the fact seems certain that their plan failed at first,the English having themselves abandoned one of the smaller forts on the right side of the river and concentrated their forces in the greater ones of Les Augustins and Les Tourelles on the left bank.For all this,reference to the map is necessary,which will make it quite clear.It was Classidas,as he is called,Glasdale,the most furious enemy of France,and one of the bravest of the English captains who held the former,and for a moment succeeded in repulsing the attack.

The fortune of war seemed about to turn back to its former current,and the French fell back on the boats which had brought them to the scene of action,carrying the Maid with them in their retreat.But she perceived how critical the moment was,and reining up her horse from the bank,down which she was being forced by the crowd,turned back again,closely followed by La Hire,and at once,no doubt,by the stouter hearts who only wanted a leader--and charging the English,who had regained their courage as the white armour of the witch disappeared,and were in full career after the fugitives--drove them back to their fortifications,which they gained with a rush,leaving the ground strewn with the wounded and dying.Jeanne herself did not draw bridle till she had planted her standard on the edge of the moat which surrounded the tower.

Michelet is very brief concerning this first victory,and claims only that "the success was due in part to the Maid,"although the crowd of captains and men-at-arms where by themselves quite sufficient for the work,had there been any heart in them.But this was true to fact in almost every case:and it is clear that she was simply the heart,which was the only thing wanted to those often beaten Frenchmen;where she was,where they could hear her robust young voice echoing over all the din,they were as men inspired;when the impetus of their flight carried her also away,they became once more the defeated of so many battles.The effect upon the English was equally strong;when the back of Jeanne was turned,they were again the men of Agincourt;when she turned upon them,her white breastplate blazing out like a star,the sunshine striking dazzling rays from her helmet,they trembled before the sorceress;an angel to her own side,she was the very spirit of magic and witchcraft to her opponents.Classidas,or which captain soever of the English side it might happen to be,blaspheming from the battlements,hurled all the evil names of which a trooper was capable,upon her,while she from below summoned them,in different tones of appeal and menace,calling upon them to yield,to go home,to give up the struggle.Her form,her voice are always evident in the midst of the great stone bullets,the cloth-yard shafts that were flying--they were so near,the one above,the other below,that they could hear each other speak.

On the 7th of May the fort of Les Augustins on the left bank was taken.It will be seen by reference to the map,that this bastille,an ancient convent,stood at some distance from the river,in peaceful times a little way beyond the bridge,and no doubt a favourite Sunday walk from the city.The bridge was now closed up by the frowning bulk of the Tourelles built upon it,with a smaller tower or "boulevard"on the left bank communicating with it by a drawbridge.When Les Augustins was taken,the victorious French turned their arms against this boulevard,but as night had fallen by this time,they suspended the fighting,having driven back the English,who had made a sally in help of Les Augustins.Here in the dark,which suited their purpose,another council was held.The captains decided that they would now pursue their victory no further,the town being fully supplied with provisions and joyful with success,but that they would await the arrival of reinforcements before they proceeded further;probably their object was solely to get rid of Jeanne,to conclude the struggle without her,and secure the credit of it.The council was held in the camp within sight of the fort,by the light of torches;after she had been persuaded to withdraw,on account of a slight wound in her foot from a calthrop,it is said.This message was sent after her into Orleans.She heard it with quiet disdain."You have held your council,and I have had mine,"she said calmly to the messengers;then turning to her chaplain,"Come to me to-morrow at dawn,"she said,"and do not leave me;I shall have much to do.My blood will be shed.I shall be wounded[3]to-morrow,"pointing above her right breast.Up to this time no weapon had touched her;she had stood fast among all the flying arrows,the fierce play of spear and sword,and had taken no harm.