eft her free to do so.
But this is a perverted account of what she really did say, and M. Fabre
seems to be, like the rest of us, a little confused in his dates: and
the documents themselves on which he builds are not of unquestioned
authority. These, however, would be but small speck upon the sunshine
of her perfect humility and sobriety; if indeed they are to be depended
upon as authentic at all.

The day of Jeanne, her time of glory and success, was but a short
one--Orleans was delivered on the 8th of May, the coronation of Charles
took place on the 17th of July; before the earliest of these dates
she had spent nearly two months in an anxious yet hopeful struggle of
preparation, before she was permitted to enter upon her career. The time
of her discouragement was longer. It was ten months from the day when
she rode out of Rheims, the 25th of July, 1429, till the 23d of May,
1430, when she was taken. She had said after the deliverance of Orleans
that she had but a year in which to accomplish her work, and at a later
period, Easter, 1430, her "voices" told her that "before the St. Jean"
she would be in the power of her enemies. Both these statements came
true. She rose quickly but fell more slowly, struggling along upon the
downward course, unable to carry out what she would, hampered on every
hand, and not apparently followed with the same fervour as of old. It is
true that the principal cause of all seems to have been the schemes of
the Court and the indolence of Charles; but all these hindrances had
existed before, and the King and his treacherous advisers had been
unwillingly dragged every mile of the way, though every step made had
been to Charles's advantage. But now though the course is still one of
victory the Maid no longer seems to be either the chief cause or the
immediate leader. Perhaps this may be partly due to the fact that little
fighting was necessary, town after town yielding to the King, which
reduced the part of Jeanne to that of a spectator; but there is a
change of atmosphere and tone which seems to point to something more
fundamental than this. The historians are very unwilling to acknowledge,
except Michelet who does so without hesitation, that she had herself
fixed the term of her commission as ending at Rheims; it is certain
that she said many things which bear this meaning, and every fact of
her after career seems to us to prove it: but it is also true that her
conviction wavered, and other s