Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 09.pdf/438

 Joan of Arc and Bluebeard. a time she answered these fools according to their folly. One Beaupere, a learned doc tor of theology, asked, " Did St. Margaret speak English?" "Why should she, since she is not of the English party?" was the quick response. " Did these saints hate the English?" "They love those whom the Lord loves and hate those whom He hates," answered Joan. " Does the Lord hate the English? " " Of the love, or the hate of the Lord for the English I know nothing. I only know that they will be put out of France, save those who are killed here." " Was St. Michael naked? " he asked. " Do you think the Lord has not wherewith to clothe his angels? " she rejoined. " Did he have hair?" asked the learned theologian. " Why should it have been cut off? " answered Joan. Beau pere pressed for information as to the out ward state of the Archangel's head till the girl replied that she knew naught about it. "Joan, "said the Bishop, "do you believe yourself in a state of grace? " This seemed a poser, for if she should answer," Nay," she admitted that she was not an instrument such as God would use; if " Yea," she committed the mortal sin of pride and thus belied her assertion; with heavenly wisdom she replied, "If I am not, please God may make me so. If I am, may God so keep me." Now, Canchón had a committee of the as sessors appointed to make a digest of the answers given. When this was done he named another small committee with whom he went and baited the poor girl in her miserable cell, traversing ever in a circle, asking the same questions about her voices, and her dress; Would she give it up? "Promise me that I shall hear mass if I dress like a woman, and I'll answer," was her frequent reply. A wretch, called Loiseleur, was often in her cell. A canon, a chum and tool of Cauchon, he feigned himself her friend and led her on to talk of various matters. The bishop had intended the notary to listen in an ad joining closet and take down what Joan said,

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but the lawyer was not as black as the bishop or the canon, and refused to do such foul work. At last she was pressed if she would sub mit to Holy Church as to whether she had been right or wrong. To her the Church appeared to be Canchón and his associates; how could she give the lie to all her life by submitting to their judgment? After con sidering this for some days' she offered to submit to the Lord, who sent her, to our Lady and to all the blessed Saints in Para dise. Unfortunately not one of these were among her judges, and few of her judges were ever likely to be with those holy ones. Cauchon explained the difference between the Church triumphant (to which she wished to appeal) and the Church militant, to which he and his friends belonged. " Would she submit to the Pope?" "Take me to him and I'll answer." She would not submit to the Church if it should order her to abandon what the Lord had told her to do. This she would submit only to God. On the 18th of March the preliminary in quiry was finished. All she had said was read over to Joan and she acknowledged the gen eral correctness of the report. Estivet, the prosecuting attorney, now prepared a digest of it, and this made what we would call the indictment. Cauchon pronounced it suffi cient to put her on her trial. There were seventy articles, or counts, in the indictment. Some eight of these were by way of intro duction and conclusion; four referred to the use of charms in her youth; six, to the wear ing of men's clothes; three, to her political and military conduct; five, her arms and banner; three, her leap at Beaurevoir; a dozen, her visions and voices; one, her re fusal to submit to the Church; others, her life in different places, her conduct towards her early suitor, her boastfulness, her presumptuousness and love of riches. Nearly every count was followed by state ments taken from Joan's evidence, but these statements were far from admitting the