Part 91 (2/2)
And in her dream, surrounded by saints, like the donors in church pictures, kneeling and in rapture, she wrestled with her heavenly counsellors for the poor folk of Compiegne.
What she had heard of their fate caused her infinite distress; she herself would rather die than continue to live after such a destruction of worthy people. For this reason she was strongly tempted to leap from the top of the keep. And because she knew all that could be said against it, she heard her Voices putting her in mind of those arguments.
Nearly every day Saint Catherine said to her: ”Do not leap, G.o.d will help both you and those of Compiegne.”
And Jeanne replied to her: ”Since G.o.d will help those of Compiegne, I want to be there.”
And once again Saint Catherine told her the marvellous story of the shepherdess and the King: ”To all things must you be resigned. And you will not be delivered until you have seen the King of the English.”
To which Jeanne made answer: ”But in good sooth I do not desire to see him. I would rather die than fall into the hands of the English.”[2076]
[Footnote 2076: _Trial_, vol. i, pp. 150, 151.]
One day she heard a rumour that the English had come to fetch her. The arrival of the Lord Bishop of Beauvais who came to offer the blood money at Beaurevoir may have given rise to the report.[2077]
Straightway Jeanne became frantic and beside herself. She ceased to listen to her Voices, who forbade her the fatal leap. The keep was at least seventy feet high; she commended her soul to G.o.d and leapt.
[Footnote 2077: _Ibid._, p. 13; vol. v, p. 194.]
Having fallen to the ground, she heard cries: ”She is dead.”
The guards hurried to the spot. Finding her still alive, in their amazement they could only ask: ”Did you leap?”
She felt sorely shaken; but Saint Catherine spoke to her and said: ”Be of good courage. You will recover.” At the same time the Saint gave her good tidings of her friends. ”You will recover and the people of Compiegne will receive succour.” And she added that this succour would come before Saint Martin's Day in the winter.[2078]
[Footnote 2078: _Ibid._, vol. i, pp. 110, 151, 152.]
Henceforth Jeanne believed that it was her saints who had helped her and guarded her from death. She knew well that she had been wrong in attempting such a leap, despite her Voices.
Saint Catherine said to her: ”You must confess and ask G.o.d to forgive you for having leapt.”
Jeanne did confess and ask pardon of Our Lord. And after her confession Saint Catherine made known unto her that G.o.d had forgiven her. For three or four days she remained without eating or drinking; then she took some food and was whole.[2079]
[Footnote 2079: _Trial_, vol. i, p. 166. _Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris_, p. 268. J. Quicherat, _Apercus nouveaux_, pp. 53, 58.]
Another story was told of the leap from Beaurevoir; it was related that she had tried to escape through a window letting herself down by a sheet or something that broke; but we must believe the Maid: she says she leapt; if she had been attached to a cord, she would not have committed sin and would not have confessed. This leap was known and the rumour spread abroad that she had escaped and joined her own party.[2080]
[Footnote 2080: _Chronique des cordeliers_, fol. 507, recto. Morosini, vol. iii, pp. 301-303. _Chronique de Tournai_, ed. Smedt, in _Recueil des Chroniques de Flandre_, vol. iii, pp. 416, 417.]
Meanwhile the Lenten sermons at Orleans had been delivered by that good preacher, Friar Richard, who was ill content with Jeanne, and whom Jeanne disliked and had quitted. The townsfolk as a token of regard presented him with the image of Jesus sculptured in copper by a certain Philippe, a metal-worker of the city. And the bookseller, Jean Moreau, bound him a book of hours at the town's expense.[2081]
[Footnote 2081: Lottin, _Recherches sur la ville d'Orleans_, vol. i, p.
252. _Trial_, vol. i, p. 99, note 1. _Journal du siege_, pp. 235-238.
S. Luce, _Jeanne d'Arc a Domremy_, p. cclxiii, note 2.]
He brought back Queen Marie to Jargeau and succeeded in obtaining her favour. Jeanne was spared the bitterness of learning that while she was languis.h.i.+ng in prison her friends at Orleans, her fair Dauphin and his Queen Marie, were making good cheer for the monk who had turned from her to prefer a dame Catherine whom she considered worthless.[2082] Only lately the idea of employing Dame Catherine had filled Jeanne with alarm; she wrote to her King about it, and as soon as she saw him besought him not to employ her. However the King set no store by what she had said; he agreed to Friar Richard's favourite being allowed to set forth on her mission to obtain money from the good towns and to negotiate peace with the Duke of Burgundy. But perhaps this saintly dame was not possessed of all the wisdom necessary for the performance of man's work and King's service. For immediately she became a cause of embarra.s.sment to her friends.
[Footnote 2082: _Trial_, vol. i, pp. 296, 297.]
Being in the town of Tours, she fell to saying: ”In this town there be carpenters who work, but not at houses, and if ye have not a care, this town is in the way to a bad end and there be those in the town that know it.”[2083]
[Footnote 2083: Register of the Accounts of the town of Tours for the year 1430, in _Trial_, vol. iv, p. 473, note 1.]
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