第9章 DOMREMY AND VAUCOULEURS.1424-1429.(4)

We have little means of finding out how it was that Jeanne's long musings came at last to a point at which they could be hidden no longer，nor what it was which induced her at last to select the confidant she did.No doubt she must have been considering and weighing the matter for a long time before she fixed upon the man who was her relation，yet did not belong to Domremy，and was safer than a townsman for the extraordinary revelations she had to make.One of her neighbours，her gossip，Gerard of Epinal，to whose child she was godmother，had perhaps at one moment seemed to her a likely helper.

But he belonged to the opposite party."If you were not a Burgundian，"she said to him once，"there is something I might tell you."The honest fellow took this to mean that she had some thought of marriage，the most likely and natural supposition.It was at this moment，when her heart was burning with her great secret，the voices urging her on day by day，and her power of self-constraint almost at an end，that Providence sent Durand Laxart，her uncle by marriage，to Domremy on some family visit.She would seem to have taken advantage of the opportunity with eagerness，asking him privately to take her home with him，and to explain to her father and mother that he wanted her to take care of his wife.No doubt the girl，devoured with so many thoughts，would have the air of requiring "a change"as we say，and that the mother would be very ready to accept for her an invitation which might bring back the brightness to her child.Laxart was a peasant like the rest，a /prud'homme/well thought of among his people.He lived in Burey le Petit，near to Vaucouleurs，the chief place of the district，and Jeanne already knew that it was to the captain of Vaucouleurs that she was to address herself.Thus she secured her object in the simplest and most natural way.

Yet the reader cannot but hold his breath at the thought of what that amazing revelation must have been to the homely，rustic soul，her companion，communicated as they went along the common road in the common daylight."She said to the witness that she must go to France to the Dauphin，to make him to be crowned King."It must have been as if a thunderbolt had fallen at his feet when the girl whom he had known in every development of her little life，thus suddenly disclosed to him her secret purpose and determination.All her simple excellence the good man knew，and that she was no fantastic chatterer，but truly /une bonne douce fille/，bold in nothing but kindness，with nothing to blush for but the fault of going too often to church."Did you never hear that France should be made desolate by a woman and restored by a maid？"she said；and this would seem to have been an unanswerable argument.He had，henceforth，nothing to do but to promote her purpose as best he could in every way.

It would not seem at all unlikely to this good man that the Archangel Michael，if Jeanne's revelation to him went so far，should have named Robert de Baudricourt，the chief of the district，captain of the town and its forces，the principal personage in all the neighbourhood，as the person to whom Jeanne's purpose was to be revealed，but rather a guarantee of St.Michael himself，familiar with good society；and the Seigneur must have been more or less in good intelligence with his people，not too alarming to be referred to，even on so insignificant a subject as the vagaries of a country girl--though these by this time must have begun to seem something more than vagaries to the half-convinced peasant.And it was no doubt a great relief to his mind thus to put the decision of the question into the hands of a man better informed than himself.Laxart proceeded to Vaucouleurs upon his mission，shyly yet with confidence.He would seem to have had a preliminary interview with Baudricourt before introducing Jeanne.The stammering countryman，the bluff，rustic noble and soldier，cheerfully contemptuous，receiving，with a loud laugh into all the echoes，the extraordinary demand that he should send a little girl from Domremy to the King，to deliver France，come before us like a picture in the countryman's simple words.Robert de Baudricourt would scarcely hear the story out."Box her ears，"he said，"and send her home to her mother."The little fool！What did she know of the English，those brutal，downright fighters，against whom no /élan/was sufficient，who stood their ground and set up vulgar posts around their lines，instead of trusting to the rush of sudden valour，and the tactics of the tournament！She deliver France！On a much smaller argument and to put down a less ambition，the half serious，half amused adviser has bidden a young fanatic's ears to be boxed on many an unimportant occasion，and has often been justified in so doing.There would be a half hour of gaiety after poor Laxart，crestfallen，had got his dismissal.The good man must have turned back to Jeanne，where she waited for him in courtyard or antechamber，with a heavy heart.No boxing of ears was possible to him.The mere thought of it was blasphemy.This was on Ascension Day the 13May，1428.