Page:Joan of Arc - Southey (1796).djvu/128

 Deems nature sinless. Therefore, mark me well, Brethren, I would propose this woman try The holy ordeal. Let her, bound and stript, (Lest haply in her clothes should be conceal'd Some holy relic so profan'd) be cast In the deep pond; there if she float, no doubt Some fiend upholds, but if she instant sink O'erwhelm'd, sure sign that Providence displays Her free from witchcraft. This done, let her walk Blinded and bare o'er ploughshares heated red, And o'er these past, her naked arm plunge deep In scalding water. If from these she pass Unhurt, to holy father of the church Most blessed Pope, we then refer the cause For judgment: and this Chief, the Son of Orleans, Heal'd, as he says, even at the point of death, By her miraculous touch, shall pass with her The sacred trial." "Grace of God! exclaim'd The astonish'd Bastard; "Plunge me in the pool,  "O'er