nd far more
disastrous, for the French had now for the first time beaten in the
open field their former victors. The once invincible were now the
vanquished, and the great names of Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt had
lost their glamour. When the news was known that the English under
Talbot and Fastolfe had been beaten, and that the great commander for
so many years the terror of France had been made a prisoner, and that
these mighty deeds had been accomplished by the advanced guard of the
French army under the inspiration of the Maid of Orleans, the whole
country felt that the knell of doom of the English occupation in
France had rung.

There is an anecdote relating to Joan of Arc at Patay that should find
a place here. After the battle, and while the prisoners were being
marched off by the French, Joan was distressed to see the brutality
with which those captives unable to pay a ransom were treated. One
poor fellow she saw mortally wounded by his captors. Flinging herself
from her saddle, she knelt by the side of the dying man, and, having
sent for a priest to shrive him, she remained by the poor fellow's
side and attended to him to the end, and by her tender ministrations
helped him to pass more gently over the dark valley of death.

Michelet discovered this story in the deposition of Joan of Arc's
page, Louis de Contes, who was probably an eye-witness of the scene.

With this brilliant victory at Patay closed Joan of Arc's short but
glorious campaign on the Loire. Briefly, this was the career of her
victories:--On the 11th of June the Maid attacked Jargeau, which
surrendered the next day. On the 13th she re-entered Orleans, where
she rallied her troops. On the 15th she occupied the bridge at Meun,
and the following day she attacked Beaugency, which yielded on the day
after. The English had in vain hoped to relieve Jargeau: they arrived
too late. After the fall of Beaugency they fell back, and were
defeated at Patay on the 18th.

A wonderful week's work was this campaign, ordered and led by a maiden
of eighteen. What made Joan of Arc's success more remarkable is the
fact that among the officers who served under her many were lukewarm
and repeatedly foiled her wishes. And it is not difficult to trace the
feeling of jealousy that existed among her officers; for here was one
not knight or noble, not prince, or even soldier, but a village
maiden, who had succeeded in a few days in turning the whole tide of
a war, whic