ured now the countrey environed as thei
before had ordained. Whiche negligence the citizens shut in perceiving,
sent worde thereof to the French captaines, which, with Pucelle, in the
dedde tyme of the nighte, and in a greate rayne and thundere, with all
their vitaile and artillery, entered into the citie."

When it was day, the Maid rode in solemn procession through the city,
clad in complete armor, and mounted on a white horse. Dunois was by her
side, and all the bravest knights of her army and of the garrison
followed in her train. The whole population thronged around her; and
men, women, and children strove to touch her garments or her banner or
her charger. They poured forth blessings on her, whom they already
considered their deliverer. In the words used by two of them afterward
before the tribunal which reversed the sentence, but could not restore
the life of the virgin-martyr of France, "the people of Orleans, when
they first saw her in their city, thought that it was an angel from
heaven that had come down to save them."

Jeanne spoke gently in reply to their acclamations and addresses. She
told them to fear God, and trust in him for safety from the fury of
their enemies. She first went to the principal church, where _Te Deum_
was chanted; and then she took up her abode at the house of Jacques
Bourgier, one of the principal citizens, and whose wife was a matron of
good repute. She refused to attend a splendid banquet which had been
provided for her, and passed nearly all her time in prayer.

When it was known by the English that the Maid was in Orleans, their
minds were not less occupied about her than were the minds of those in
the city; but it was in a very different spirit. The English believed
in her supernatural mission as firmly as the French did, but they
thought her a sorceress who had come to overthrow them by her
enchantments. An old prophecy, which told that a damsel from Lorraine
was to save France, had long been current, and it was known and applied
to Jeanne by foreigners as well as by the natives. For months the
English had heard of the coming Maid, and the tales of miracles which
she was said to have wrought had been listened to by the rough yeomen of
the English camp with anxious curiosity and secret awe. She had sent a
herald to the English generals before she marched for Orleans, and he
had summoned the English generals in the name of the most High to give
up to the Maid, who was sent by he