art
of God the King of Heaven to push you all forth of France. If you obey I
will be merciful. And be not strong in your own opinion, for you do not
hold the kingdom from God the Son of the Holy Mary, but it is held by
Charles the true heir, for God, the King of Heaven so wills, and it is
revealed by the Maid who shall enter Paris in good company. If you will
not believe this news on the part of God and the Maid, in whatever place
you may find yourselves we shall make our way there, and make so great
a commotion as has not been in France for a thousand years, if you will
not hear reason. And believe this, that the King of Heaven will send
more strength to the Maid than you can bring against her in all your
assaults, to her and to her good men-at-arms. You, Duke of Bedford, the
Maid prays and requires you to destroy no more. If you act according to
reason you may still come in her company where the French shall do the
greatest work that has ever been done for Christianity. Answer then if
you will still continue against the city of Orleans. If you do so
you will soon recall it to yourself by great misfortunes. Written the
Saturday of Holy Week (22 March, 1429).(1)

Jeanne had by this time made a wonderful moral revolution in her little
army; most likely she had not been in the least aware what an army was,
until this moment; but frank and fearless, she had penetrated into
every corner, and it was not in her to permit those abuses at which an
ordinary captain has to smile. The pernicious and shameful crowd of camp
followers fled before her like shadows before the day. She stopped the
big oaths and unthinking blasphemies which were so common, so that La
Hire, one of the chief captains, a rough and ready Gascon, was reduced
to swear by his _baton_, no more sacred name being permitted to him.
Perhaps this was the origin of the harmless swearing which abounds in
France, meaning probably just as much and as little as bigger oaths in
careless mouths; but no doubt the soldiers' language was very unfit for
gentle ears. Jeanne moved among the wondering ranks, all radiant in her
silver armour and with her virginal undaunted countenance, exhorting all
those rude and noisy brothers to take thought of their duties here, and
of the other life that awaited them. She would stop the march of the
army that a conscience-stricken soldier might make his confession, and
desired the priests to hear it if necessary without ceremony, or church,
un