For these two men, with Xaintrailles, were the ruling Generals in
Orleans, and their voice would be paramount with the army there,
and would carry much weight with those reinforcements for the
relieving force which we were to find awaiting us at Tours and at
Blois.
Now La Hire, as all men know, was a man of great renown, and of
immense personal weight and influence. He was a giant in stature,
with a voice like a trumpet, and thews of steel; a mighty man in
battle, a daring leader, yet cautious and sagacious withal; a man
feared and beloved by those whom he led in warfare; a gay roysterer
at other times, with as many strange oaths upon his lips as there
are saints in the calendar; what the English call a swashbuckler
and daredevil; a man whom one would little look to be led or guided
by a woman, for he was impatient of counsel, and headstrong alike
in thought and action.
And this was the man who was to meet us at Tours, form his
impression of the Maid, and throw the great weight of his personal
influence either into one scale or the other.
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