f it and grateful for it for many
a century to come. And she had been adored--as if she could help that,
poor thing, or was in any way to blame for it. The cowed veteran and the
wavering recruit had drunk the spirit of war from her eyes and touched
her sword with theirs and moved forward invincible--hence she was a
sorceress.

And so the document went on, detail by detail, turning these waters
of life to poison, this gold to dross, these proofs of a noble and
beautiful life to evidences of a foul and odious one.

Of course, the sixty-six articles were just a rehash of the things which
had come up in the course of the previous trials, so I will touch upon
this new trial but lightly. In fact, Joan went but little into detail
herself, usually merely saying, "That is not true--passez outre"; or,
"I have answered that before--let the clerk read it in his record," or
saying some other brief thing.

She refused to have her mission examined and tried by the earthly
Church. The refusal was taken note of.

She denied the accusation of idolatry and that she had sought men's
homage. She said:

"If any kissed my hands and my vestments it was not by my desire, and I
did what I could to prevent it."

She had the pluck to say to that deadly tribunal that she did not know
the fairies to be evil beings. She knew it was a perilous thing to say,
but it was not in her nature to speak anything but the truth when she
spoke at all. Danger had no weight with her in such things. Note was
taken of her remark.

She refused, as always before, when asked if she would put off the male
attire if she were given permission to commune. And she added this:

"When one receives the sacrament, the manner of his dress is a small
thing and of no value in the eyes of Our Lord."

She was charge with being so stubborn in clinging to her male dress that
she would not lay it off even to get the blessed privilege of hearing
mass. She spoke out with spirit and said:

"I would rather die than be untrue to my oath to God."

She was reproached with doing man's work in the wars and thus deserting
the industries proper to her sex. She answered, with some little touch
of soldierly disdain:

"As to the matter of women's work, there's plenty to do it."

It was always a comfort to me to see the soldier spirit crop up in her.
While that remained in her she would be Joan of Arc, and able to look
trouble and fate in the face.

"It appears that this mission of y