eaten, yet noble foe. He
gazed upon her with a great wonder in his eyes, and then, dropping
upon one knee, tendered his sword to her, which the Maid took, held
in her hands awhile, deep in thought, and then, with one of her
wonderfully sweet smiles, held out to him again.

"Gentle Duke," she said, "it hath been told me that you are known
in France as the English Roland; and if so, I would be loth to
deprive so noble a foe of his knightly weapon. Keep it, then, and
all I ask of you is that you use it no more against the soldiers of
France. And now, if you will let my gentlemen lead you to my tent,
your hurts shall be dressed, and you shall receive such tendance as
your condition requires."

But I may not linger over every incident of that march, nor all the
achievements of the Maid in the arts both of peace and of war.
Towns and castles surrendered at her summons, or flung wide their
gates at the news of her approach. Sometimes we fought, but more
often the very sound of her name, or the sight of the white figure
upon the great black horse was sufficient, and fortress after
fortress upon the Loire fell before her, the English garrisons
melting away or marching out, unable or unwilling to try
conclusions with so notable a warrior, who came, as it were, in the
power of the King of Heaven.

And not only did she achieve triumphs in war's domains; she was
equally victorious as a promoter of peace. For when the news was
brought to us that the Comte de Richemont, Constable of France, but
hitherto inimical to the King, desired to join us with a body of
men, the Duc d'Alencon would have sent him away with insult and
refused his proffer of help; but the Maid, with her gentle
authority and reasonable counsel, brought him to a different frame
of mind, and the Constable was received with a fair show of
graciousness. And although in the days which immediately followed
his aid was not of great importance (for when France had the Maid
to fight for her she wanted none beside), yet in the time to come,
when she was no longer there to battle for the salvation of her
country, De Richemont's loyal service to the King was of
inestimable value, and had it not been for the Maid at this
juncture, he might have been lost for ever to the French cause.

Her generosity shone out the more in that De Richemont was no
friend to her; indeed, he had regarded her as little better than a
witch before he came under the magic of her personality. His
g