ate and partial armour that suited
it; and the townspeople had subscribed to buy her a further outfit, and
a horse which seems to have cost sixteen francs--not so small a sum in
those days as now. Laxart declares himself to have been responsible for
this outlay, though the money was afterwards paid by Baudricourt, who
gave Jeanne a sword, which some of her historians consider a very poor
gift: none, however, of her equipments would seem to have been costly.
The little party set out thus, with a sanction of authority, from the
Captain's gate, the two gentlemen and the King's messenger at the head
of the party with their attendants, and the Maid in the midst. "Go: and
let what will happen," was the parting salutation of Baudricourt. The
gazers outside set up a cry when the decisive moment came, and someone,
struck with the feeble force which was all the safeguard she had for her
long journey through an agitated country--perhaps a woman in the sudden
passion of misgiving which often follows enthusiasm,--called out to
Jeanne with an astonished outcry to ask how she could dare to go by such
a dangerous road. "It was for that I was born," answered the fearless
Maid. The last thing she had done had been to write a letter to her
parents, asking their pardon if she obeyed a higher command than theirs,
and bidding them farewell.

The French historians, with that amazement which they always show when
they find a man behaving like a gentleman towards a woman confided to
his honour, all pause with deep-drawn breath to note that the awe of
Jeanne's absolute purity preserved her from any unseemly overture, or
even evil thought, on the part of her companions. We need not take
up even the shadow of so grave a censure upon Frenchmen in general,
although in the far distance of the fifteenth century. The two young
men, thus starting upon a dangerous adventure, pledged by their honour
to protect and convey her safely to the King's presence, were noble and
generous cavaliers, and we may well believe had no evil thoughts. They
were not, however, without an occasional chill of reflection when
once they had taken the irrevocable step of setting out upon this wild
errand. They travelled by night to escape the danger of meeting bands of
Burgundians or English on the way, and sometimes had to ford a river to
avoid the town, where they would have found a bridge. Sometimes, too,
they had many doubts, Bertrand says, perhaps as to their reception at
C