been recognised by the Church; and in spite of an
intelligent and noble defence she was condemned to be burnt. At the
stake she behaved with heroic simplicity. When the flames curled round
her she called upon the saints who had befriended her. Her last
utterance was a cry of "Jesus!" An Englishman who had come to triumph
hung his head for shame. "We are lost," he said; "we have burnt a
saint!"

9. =The Last Years of the Duke of Bedford. 1431--1435.=--The English
gained nothing by their unworthy vengeance. Though the personal
presence of the Maid was no longer there to encourage her countrymen,
they had learnt from her to cherish that 'pity for the realm of
France' which had glowed so brightly in her own bosom. It was in vain
that towards the end of =1431= Bedford carried the young Henry, now a
boy of ten years, who had already been crowned in England the year
before, to be crowned at Notre Dame, the cathedral of Paris. The
Parisians were disgusted by the troop of foreigners which accompanied
him, and their confidence was shaken when Bedford sent the king back
to England as not venturing to trust him amongst his French subjects.
In =1432= the armies of Charles VII. stole forwards step by step, and
Bedford, who had no money to pay his troops, could do nothing to
resist them. The English Parliament, which had cheerfully voted
supplies as long as there seemed a prospect of conquering France, hung
back from granting them when victories were no longer won. In =1433=
Bedford was again forced to return to England to oppose the intrigues
of Gloucester, who, though he had lost the title of Protector when the
young king was crowned, had thrown the government into confusion by
his intrigues. When Bedford went back to France in =1434= he found the
tide running strongly against him. Little more than Paris and Normandy
were held by the English, and the Duke of Burgundy was inclining more
and more towards the French. In =1435= a congress was held at Arras,
under the Duke of Burgundy's presidency, in the hope that peace might
be made. The congress, however, failed to accomplish anything, and
soon after the English ambassadors were withdrawn Bedford died at
Rouen. If so wise a statesman and so skilful a warrior had failed to
hold down France, no other Englishman was likely to achieve the task.

10. =The Defection of Burgundy. 1435.=--After Bedford's death the Duke
of Burgundy renounced his alliance with the English and entered into a