tes Michelet of him--was
not likely to refuse a bribe; and, as we shall see, he acted in a
manner that has made the accusation of his treachery to his country
and Joan of Arc almost a certainty.

It was to prevent, if possible, Compiegne falling into the hands of
Burgundy that Joan of Arc hastened to its defence. On the 13th of May
she reached Compiegne, where she was received with great joy by the
citizens. The Maid lodged in the town with Mary le Boucher, wife of
the _Procureur_ of the King. At Compiegne were some important Court
officials--the Chancellor Regnault de Chartres, no friend to Joan as
we have seen, Vendome, and others. The country around and the places
of armed strength were all in the occupation of the English and
Burgundians; near Noyon, the town of Pont-l'Eveque was in the
possession of the English. This place Joan of Arc attacked, and she
was on the point of capturing it when a strong force of Burgundians
arrived from Noyon, and Joan had to beat a retreat on Crecy. On the
23rd of May, news reached Joan that Compiegne was threatened by the
united English and Burgundian forces, under the command of the Duke
and the Earl of Arundel. By midnight of that day, Joan of Arc was back
again in Compiegne. She had been warned of the danger of passing, to
gain the town, through the enemies' lines with so small a company.

'Never fear!' she answered, 'we are enough. I must go and see my good
friends at Compiegne.'

These words have been appropriately placed on the pedestal of the
statue of the heroine in front of the Hotel de Ville in Compiegne.

By sunrise all her troopers were within the town: not a man was
missing.

Compiegne was a strongly fortified place, resting on the left bank of
the river Oise, across which, as at Orleans, one long stoutly defended
bridge connected the right bank with the town. In front of the bridge
was one of those redoubts which were in those days called
'boulevards.' This boulevard was surrounded by a wet moat or ditch
connected with the principal bridge by a drawbridge, closed or opened
from within at pleasure. The town was surrounded and protected by a
broad and deep moat, filled from the river. Behind this moat rose the
town walls, girt with strong towers at short intervals. On the right
bank of the river extended a wide stretch of fertile meadow land,
bounded on the northern horizon by the soft low-lying hills of
Picardy. From the circuit of the walls across the plain the eye