ne would seem to
have received him without signs of repulsion or displeasure. Indeed
she seems to have been ready to hear anyone, to believe in those who
professed to wish her well, even when she did not follow their counsel.

It would require, however, no great persuasion on L'Oyseleur's part to
convince her that this was a more than usually important day, and that
something decisive must be done, now or never. Why should she be
so determined to resist her only chance of safety? If she were but
delivered from the hands of the English, safe in the gentler keeping of
the Church, there would be time to think of everything, even to make her
peace with her voices who would surely understand if, for the saving of
her life, and out of terror for the dreadful fire, she abandoned
them for a moment. She had disobeyed them at Beaurevoir and they had
forgiven. One faltering word now, a mark of her hand upon a paper, and
she would be safe--even if still all they said was true; and if indeed
and in fact, after buoying her up from day to day, such a dreadful thing
might be as that they were not true----

The traitor was at her ear whispering; the cold chill of disappointment,
of disillusion, of sickening doubt was in her heart.

Then there came into the prison a better man than L'Oyseleur, Jean
Beaupere, her questioner in the public trial, the representative of all
these notabilities. What he said was spoken with authority and he came
in all seriousness, may not we believe in some kindness too? to warn
her. He came with permission of the Bishop, no stealthy visitor. "Jean
Beaupere entered alone into the prison of the said Jeanne by permission,
and advertised her that she would straightway be taken to the scaffold
to be addressed (_pour y etre preschee_), and that if she was a good
Christian she would on that scaffold place all her acts and words under
the jurisdiction of our Holy Mother, the Church, and specially of the
ecclesiastical judges." "Accept the woman's dress and do all that you
are told," her other adviser had said. When the car that was to convey
her came to the prison doors, L'Oyseleur accompanied her, no doubt with
a show of supporting her to the end. What a change from the confined and
gloomy prison to the dazzling clearness of the May daylight, the air,
the murmuring streets, the throng that gazed and shouted and followed!
Life that had run so low in the prisoner's veins must have bounded up
within her in response t