Alas! for the days of glory which had gone before! Why did we keep
her with the King's armies, when the monarch's ear was engrossed by
adverse counsel, and his heart turned away from her who had been
his Deliverer in the hour of his greatest need?
Methinks she would even now have returned home, but for the
devotion of the soldiers and the persuasions of the Duc d'Alencon,
and of some of the other generals, amongst whom the foremost were
Dunois and La Hire. These chafed equally with the Maid at the
supine attitude of the King; and the Duke, his kinsman, spoke out
boldly and fearlessly, warning him of the peril he was doing to his
kingdom, and the wrong to the Maid who had served him so faithfully
and well, and to whom he had made such fair promises.
But for the present all such entreaties or warnings fell upon deaf
ears. The time for the King's awakening had not yet come.
Nevertheless, we had our days of glory still, under the banner of
the Maid, when, after many months of idleness, the springtide again
awoke the world, and she sallied forth strong in the assurance of
victory, whilst fortress after fortress fell before her, as in the
days of yore.
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