d upon presenting the Maid with a sum of money, the use she
made of it, after offering at various shrines, was to provide a
marriage dowry for Janet Polnoir. Never did she think of herself;
never did she desire this world's goods.

This was shown very plainly upon her triumphant return to Chinon,
with the blessing and sanction of the Church upon her mission, with
the enthusiasm of the people growing and increasing every day, and
her fame flying throughout the length and breadth of the realm. By
this time the King and all his Court knew that a deliverer had been
raised up in our midst, and instead of lowly lodgings being
allotted to the Maid and her train, the whole Tower of Coudray was
set apart for the use of herself and her suite. The custodian De
Belier and his wife had charge of her, and to her were now
appointed a staff, of which the brave Jean d'Aulon was the chief,
and to which Bertrand and Sir Guy de Laval and myself belonged,
together with many more knights and gentlemen, all anxious to do
service under her banner. Also she had in her train some persons of
lowlier degree, such as her brothers, for whom she always had
tender care, and who believed devoutly in her mission, although
they saw of necessity less and less of one another as the Maid's
mission progressed, and took her into a different world.

But all this grandeur was no delight to her, save inasmuch as it
showed that at last her mission was recognised and honoured. When
asked what she would have for herself in the matter of dress and
armour, her answer was that she had already all she required,
although she only possessed at this time one suit more than she had
started forth with from Vaucouleurs. Although she saw the courtiers
fluttering about like butterflies, and noted how men, as well as
women, decked themselves in choice stuffs and flashing jewels, she
asked none of these things for herself; and when the Queen of
Sicily, always her best and kindest friend, sent to her some
clothing of her own designing--all white, and beautifully worked,
some with silver, and some with gold thread and cord, and a mantle
of white velvet, lined with cloth of silver--she looked at the
beautiful garments with something between a smile and a sigh; then
turning towards the great lady who stood by to watch her, she first
kissed her hand, and then, with a sudden impulse of affection, put
her arms about her neck, and was drawn into a close embrace.

"Are you not please