how herself; when she would naturally return to Lorraine to seek her
family.

The comparative obscurity in which she must have remained for the rest
of her life, otherwise quite inexplicable on any hypothesis of
her survival, is in harmony with the above-given explanation. The
ingratitude of King Charles towards the heroine who had won him his
crown is the subject of common historical remark. M. Wallon insists upon
the circumstance that, after her capture at Compiegne, no attempts were
made by the French Court to ransom her or to liberate her by a bold coup
de main. And when, at Rouen, she appealed in the name of the Church to
the Pope to grant her a fair trial, not a single letter was written by
the Archbishop of Rheims, High Chancellor of France, to his suffragan,
the Bishop of Beauvais, demanding cognizance of the proceedings. Nor did
the King make any appeal to the Pope, to prevent the consummation of the
judicial murder. The Maid was deliberately left to her fate. It is upon
her enemies at court, La Tremouille and Regnault de Chartres, that we
must lay part of the blame for this wicked negligence. But it is also
probable that the King, and especially his clerical advisers, were at
times almost disposed to acquiesce in the theory of Jeanne's witchcraft.
Admire her as they might, they could not help feeling that in her whole
behaviour there was something uncanny; and, after having reaped the
benefits of her assistance, they were content to let her shift for
herself. This affords the clew to the King's inconsistencies. It may
be thought sufficient to explain the fact that Jeanne is said to have
received public testimonials at Orleans, while we have no reason to
suppose that she visited Paris. It may help to dispose of the objection
that she virtually disappears from history after the date of the tragedy
at Rouen.

Nevertheless, this last objection is a weighty one, and cannot easily
be got rid of. It appears to me utterly incredible that, if Jeanne d'Arc
had really survived, we should find no further mention of her than
such as haply occurs in one or two town-records and dilapidated
account-books. If she was alive in 1436, and corresponding with the
King, some of her friends at court must have got an inkling of the
true state of things. Why did they not parade their knowledge, to the
manifest discomfiture of La Tremouille and his company? Or why did not
Pierre du Lis cause it to be proclaimed that the English were li