But whatever were the hardships encountered, no word of murmuring
ever escaped the lips of the Maid; rather her courage and sweet
serenity upheld us all, and her example of patience and
unselfishness inspired even the roughest of the men-at-arms with a
desire to emulate it. Never, methinks, on such a toilsome march was
so little grumbling, so little discouragement, and, above all, so
little swearing. And this, in particular, was the doing of the
Maid. For habit is strong with us all, and when things went amiss
the oath would rise to the lips of the men about her, and be
uttered without a thought.
But that was a thing she could not bear. Her sweet pained face
would be turned upon the speaker. Her clear, ringing tones would
ask the question:
"Shall we, who go forward in the name of the Lord, dare to take His
holy name lightly upon our lips? What are His own words? Swear not
at all. Shall we not seek to obey Him? Are we not vowed to His
service? And must not the soldier be obedient above all others?
Shall we mock Him by calling ourselves His followers, and yet doing
that without a thought which He hath forbidden?"
Not once nor twice, but many times the Maid had to speak such words
as these; but she never feared to speak them, and her courage and
her purity of heart and life threw its spell over the rough men she
had led, and they became docile in her hands like children, ready
to worship the very ground she trod on.
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