In truth, they were speedily falling beneath the spell
which she was soon to exercise upon a whole army, and it is no
marvel to me that this was so; for every day I felt the charm of
her presence deepening its hold upon my heart.
Never have I witnessed such quickness of mastery as the Maid
showed, both in her acquirement of horsemanship and in the use of
arms, in both of which arts we instructed her day by day. I had
noted her strength and suppleness of limb the very first day I had
seen her; and she gave marvellous proof of it now. She possessed
also that power over her horse which she exercised over men, and
each charger that she rode in turn answered almost at once to her
voice and hand, with a docility he never showed to other riders.
Yet she never smote or spurred them; the sound of her voice, or the
light pressure of knee or hand was enough. She had never any fear
from the first, and was never unhorsed. Very soon she acquired such
skill and ease that we had no fears for her with regard to the
journey she soon must take.
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