Volume II Part 19 (1/2)

”Do your Voices forbid you to tell the truth?”

”Is it that you wish to know matters concerning the King of France? I tell you again that he will regain his kingdom, and that I know it as well as I know that you sit here before me in this tribunal.” She sighed and, after a little pause, added: ”I should be dead but for this revelation, which comforts me always.”

Some trivial questions were asked her about St. Michael's dress and appearance. She answered them with dignity, but one saw that they gave her pain. After a little she said:

”I have great joy in seeing him, for when I see him I have the feeling that I am not in mortal sin.”

She added, ”Sometimes St. Marguerite and St. Catherine have allowed me to confess myself to them.”

Here was a possible chance to set a successful snare for her innocence.

”When you confessed were you in mortal sin, do you think?”

But her reply did her no hurt. So the inquiry was s.h.i.+fted once more to the revelations made to the King--secrets which the court had tried again and again to force out of Joan, but without success.

”Now as to the sign given to the King--”

”I have already told you that I will tell you nothing about it.”

”Do you know what the sign was?”

”As to that, you will not find out from me.”

All this refers to Joan's secret interview with the King--held apart, though two or three others were present. It was known--through Loyseleur, of course--that this sign was a crown and was a pledge of the verity of Joan's mission. But that is all a mystery until this day--the nature of the crown, I mean--and will remain a mystery to the end of time. We can never know whether a real crown descended upon the King's head, or only a symbol, the mystic fabric of a vision.

”Did you see a crown upon the King's head when he received the revelation?”

”I cannot tell you as to that, without perjury.”

”Did the King have that crown at Rheims?”

”I think the King put upon his head a crown which he found there; but a much richer one was brought him afterward.”

”Have you seen that one?”

”I cannot tell you, without perjury. But whether I have seen it or not, I have heard say that it was rich and magnificent.”

They went on and pestered her to weariness about that mysterious crown, but they got nothing more out of her. The sitting closed. A long, hard day for all of us.

10 The Inquisitors at Their Wits' End

THE COURT rested a day, then took up work again on Sat.u.r.day, the third of March.

This was one of our stormiest sessions. The whole court was out of patience; and with good reason. These threescore distinguished churchmen, ill.u.s.trious tacticians, veteran legal gladiators, had left important posts where their supervision was needed, to journey hither from various regions and accomplish a most simple and easy matter--condemn and send to death a country-la.s.s of nineteen who could neither read nor write, knew nothing of the wiles and perplexities of legal procedure, could not call a single witness in her defense, was allowed no advocate or adviser, and must conduct her case by herself against a hostile judge and a packed jury. In two hours she would be hopelessly entangled, routed, defeated, convicted. Nothing could be more certain that this--so they thought. But it was a mistake. The two hours had strung out into days; what promised to be a skirmish had expanded into a siege; the thing which had looked so easy had proven to be surprisingly difficult; the light victim who was to have been puffed away like a feather remained planted like a rock; and on top of all this, if anybody had a right to laugh it was the country-la.s.s and not the court.

She was not doing that, for that was not her spirit; but others were doing it. The whole town was laughing in its sleeve, and the court knew it, and its dignity was deeply hurt. The members could not hide their annoyance.

And so, as I have said, the session was stormy. It was easy to see that these men had made up their minds to force words from Joan to-day which should shorten up her case and bring it to a prompt conclusion. It shows that after all their experience with her they did not know her yet.