There was of course great exaggeration in all this, for the English had
fought desperately enough in her presence except on the one occasion
of Patay, notwithstanding all the early prestige of Jeanne. But at all
events it was made perfectly clear that the foregoing conclusion must
be carried out, and that Jeanne must die: and, not only so, but she must
die with opprobrium and disgrace as a witch, which almost everybody out
of Rouen now believed her to be. The public examination which lasted six
days was concluded on the third of March, 1430. On the following days,
the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth of March, meetings
were held, as we have said, in the Bishop's house to consider what
it would be well to do next, at one of which a select company of
Inquisitors was chosen to carry on the examination in private. These
were Jean de la Fontaine, a lawyer learned in canon law; Jean Beaupere,
already her interrogator; Nicolas Midi, a Doctor in Theology; Pierre
Morice, Canon of Rouen and Ambassador from the English King to the
Council of Bale; Thomas de Courcelles, the learned and excellent young
Doctor already described; Nicolas l'Oyseleur, the traitor, also already
sufficiently referred to; and Manchon, the honest Clerk of the court:
the names of Gerard Feuillet, also a distinguished man, and Jean
Fecardo, an advocate, are likewise also mentioned. They seem to have
served in their turn, three or four at a time. This private session
began on the 10th of March, a week after the conclusion of the public
trial, and was held in the prison chamber inhabited by the Maid.

We shall not attempt to follow literally those private examinations,
which would take a great deal more space than we have at our command,
and would be fatiguing to the reader from the constant and prolonged
repetitions; we shall therefore quote only such parts as are new or so
greatly enlarged from Jeanne's original statements as to seem so. At the
first day's examination in her prison she was questioned about Compiegne
and her various proceedings before reaching that place.(1) She was
asked, for one thing, if her voices had bidden her make the sally in
which she was taken; to which she answered that had she known the time
she was to be taken she would not have gone out, unless upon the express
command of the saints. She was then asked about her standard, her
arms, and her horses, and replied that she had no coat-of-arms, but her
brothers had, w