'My dear and
good friends the clergy, burghers, and citizens of the town of Riom.'
It was sent to that place on the 9th of November from Moulins. In this
letter, the only one to which is affixed the Maid's signature, spelt
'Jehonne,' possibly signed by herself, she says that her friends at
Riom are aware of how the town of Saint Pierre-le-Moutier had been
taken, and she adds that she has the intention of driving out (_de
faire vider_) the other towns hostile to King Charles. She begs the
citizens of Riom, in order to accomplish this, to provide her with the
means of pushing forward the siege of La Charite, and asks them to
supply her with powder, saltpetre, sulphur, bows and arrows,
cross-bows, and other material of war, having exhausted all her stock
of such things in the late siege. Whether or not the burghers of Riom
were able to carry out Joan's wishes is not known. The town of Bourges,
however, provided funds out of its customs, and Orleans also sent
soldiers and artillerymen ('_joueurs de coulverines_') to the Maid's
army for the siege of La Charite.

But in spite of all efforts Joan of Arc was destined to fail in this
undertaking. No doubt her enemies at Court helped to thwart all her
attempts at raising a sufficient force to beleaguer so strong a place
of arms, and seeing her hopes of taking La Charite by assault vanish,
Joan of Arc relinquished the undertaking.

The remainder of that winter Joan of Arc passed in what must have
tried her high spirit sorely--inaction.

Accompanying the Court, she went from Bourges to Sully-sur-Loire, and
revisited Orleans. In the latter town we find some traces of her
passage, and some further traits of her sweet nature, and of that
simplicity which had endeared her so deeply to the hearts of the
people: a disposition no success altered, no disappointment
embittered. What was the chief charm of her character was this
simplicity, her entire freedom from self-glorification, her horror of
it being imagined that she was a supernatural or miraculous being,
even when those supernatural and miraculous powers were considered as
coming direct to her from Heaven--in fact, to use a slang but
expressive phrase, her utter freedom from humbug. This is one of the
most marked features of her character, although not the most glorious
or salient to those who are dazzled by her triumphs and extraordinary
career.

When she was told by people that they could well understand how little
she feare