第96章 THE EXAMINATION IN PRISON.LENT,(9)

Next day the questions about St.Michael's personal appearance were resumed，as a little feint we can only suppose，for the great question of the Church was again immediately introduced；but in the meantime Jeanne had described her visitor in terms which it is pleasant to dwell on."He was in the form of a /très vrai prud'homme/."The term is difficult to translate，as is the Galantuomo of Italy.The "King-Honest Man，"we used to say in English in the days of his late Majesty Victor Emmanuel of Italy；but that is not all that is meant--/un vrai prud'homme/，a man good，honest，brave，the best man，is more like it.The girl's honest imagination thought of no paraphernalia of wings or shining plumes.It was not the theatrical angel，not even the angel of art whom she saw--whom it would have been so easy to invent，nay to take quite truthfully from the first painted window，radiating colour and brightness through the dim，low-roofed church.But even with such material handy，Jeanne was not led into the conventional.She knew nothing about wings or emblematic scales.He was in the form of a brave and gentle man.She knew not anything greater，nor would she be seduced into fable however sacred.Then once more the true assault began.

She was asked，if she would submit all her sayings and doings，good or evil，to the judgment of our Holy Mother，the Church.She replied，that as for the Church，she loved it and would sustain it with all her might for our Christian faith；and that it was not she whom they ought to disturb and hinder from going to church or from hearing mass.As to the good things she had done，and that had happened，she must refer all to the King of Heaven，who had sent her to Charles，King of France；and it should be seen that the French would soon gain a great advantage which God would send them，so great that all the kingdom of France would be shaken.And this，she said，that when it came to pass，they might remember that she had said it.She was again asked，if she would submit to the jurisdiction of the Church，and answered，"I refer everything to our Lord who sent me，to our Lady，and to the blessed Saints of Paradise"；and added her opinion was that our Lord and the Church meant the same thing，and that difficulties should not be made concerning this，when there was no difficulty，and they were both one.

She was then told that there was the Church triumphant，in which are God，the saints，the angels，and all saved souls.The Church militant is our Holy Father the Pope，vicar of God on earth，the cardinals，the prelates of the Church，and the clergy and all good Christians and Catholics，which Church properly assembled cannot err，but is guided by the Holy Spirit.And this being the case she was asked if she would refer her cause to the Church militant thus explained to her.She replied that she had come to the King of France on the part of God，on the part of the Virgin Mary，the blessed Saints of Paradise，and the Church victorious in Heaven，and at their commandment；and to that Church she submitted all her good deeds，and all that she had done and might do.And if they asked her whether she would submit to the Church militant，answered，that she would now answer no more than this.

Here again the argument strayed back to the futile subject of dress，always at hand to be taken up again，one would say，when the judges were non-plussed.Her first reply on this subject is remarkable and shows that dark and terrible forebodings were already beginning to mingle with her hopes.

Asked，what she had to say about the woman's dress that had been offered to her，to hear mass in：she answered，that she would not take it yet，not until the Lord pleased；but that if it were necessary to lead her out to be executed，and if she should then have to be undressed，she required of the Lords of the Church that they would give her the grace to have a long chemise，and a kerchief for her head；that she would prefer to die rather than to alter what our Lord had directed her to do，and that she firmly believed our Lord would not let her descend so low，but that she should soon be helped by God and by a miracle.She was then asked，if what she did in respect to the man's costume was by command of God，why she asked for a woman's chemise in case of death？answered，/It is enough that it should be long/.

The effect of these words in which so much was implied，must have made a supreme sensation among the handful of men gathered round the helpless girl in her prison，bringing the stake in all its horror before the eyes of the judges as before her own.No other thing could have been suggested by that piteous prayer.The stake，the scaffold，the fire--and the shrinking figure all maidenly，helpless，exposed to every evil gaze，must have showed themselves at least for a moment against that dark background of prison wall.It was enough that it should be long--to hide her as much as was possible from those dreadful staring eyes.

The interrogatory goes on wildly after this about the age and the dress of the saints.But a tone of fate had come into it，and Jeanne herself，it was evident，was very serious；her mind turned to more weighty thoughts.Presently they asked if the saints hated the English，to which she replied that they hated what God hated and loved what He loved.She was then asked if God hated the English.She replied that of the love or hate that God had for the English，or what God did for their souls，she knew nothing；but she knew well that they should be driven out of France，except those who died there；and that God would send victory to the French against the English.Asked，if God was for the English so long as they were prosperous in France：she answered，that she knew not whether God hated the French，but believed He had allowed them to be beaten because of their sins.

Jeanne was then brought to a test which，had she been a great statesman or a learned doctor，would have been as dangerous，as the question concerning John the Baptist was to the priests and scribes.