CAPTAIN ROBERT OF BAUDRICOURT.
Robert of Baudricourt, the commander-in-chief of Vaucouleurs, a man in
the prime of life, of military bearing and of a face whose harshness was
relieved by intelligent and penetrating eyes, was walking in nervous
excitement up and down a hall in the castle of the town. Instructed by a
recent despatch of the desperate position of Charles VII and the danger
Orleans ran from the close siege of the English, the captain walked at a
rapid pace, grumbling, blaspheming and shaking the floor under the
impatient beat of his spurred heels. Suddenly a leather curtain, that
concealed the principal entrance to the hall, was pushed aside and
revealed a part of the timid and frightened face of Denis Laxart, Joan's
grand uncle. Robert of Baudricourt did not notice the good man; he
stamped with his feet on the floor, struck the table a violent blow with
his fist near where lay the fatal despatch he had just received, and
cried:
"Death and fury! It is done for France and the King! All is lost, even
honor!"
At this exclamation of exasperation, the courage of Denis Laxart failed
him; he dared not approach the captain at such a moment, and he reclosed
the curtain, behind which, however, he remained standing awaiting a more
opportune moment. But the rage of Robert of Baudricourt redoubled. He
again stamped on the floor and cried:
"Malediction! All is lost--all!"
"No, sir! No, all is not lost!" said the good Denis Laxart, resolutely
overcoming his fear, but still remaining behind the shelter of the
curtain. A second later he pushed his head through the portiere and
repeated: "No, sir; all is not lost!"
Hearing the timid voice, the captain turned around; he recognized the
old man, whom he rather esteemed, and asked in a rough voice:
"What are you doing at that door? Walk in--why do you not walk in?" But
seeing that Denis hesitated, he added still more gruffly: "The devil
take it! Will you come in!"
"Here I am, sir--Here I am," said Denis stepping in; "but for the love
of God, do not fly off in such a temper; I bring you good
news--news--that is unexpected--miraculous news. All is not lost,
sir--on the contrary--all is saved. Both King and Gaul!"
"Denis!" replied the captain, casting a threatening look at Joan's
uncle, "If your hair were not grey, I would have you whipped out of the
castle with a sword's scabbard! Dare you joke! To speak of the safety of
King and France under such circumstances as we find ourselves in!"
"Sir, I beseech you, listen without anger to what I have to tell you,
however incredible it may seem! I do not look like a clown, and you know
me long. Be good enough to listen to me patiently."
"I know you, and know you for a good and wise man; hence your
incongruous words shock me all the more. Come on, speak!"
"Sir, as you see, my forehead is bathed in perspiration, my voice chokes
me, I am trembling at every limb; and yet I have not even begun to
inform you why I came here. If you interrupt me with outbursts of rage,
I shall lose the thread of my thoughts--"
"By the bowels of God! Come on! What is it!"
Denis Laxart made a great effort over himself, and after having
collected his thoughts he said to the captain in a hurried voice:
"I went yesterday to Domremy to see my niece, who is married to James
Darc, an honest peasant from whom she has two sons and a daughter. The
daughter is called Jeannette and is seventeen years--"
Noticing that the captain's ill restrained impatience was on the point
of exploding at the exordium, Denis hastened to add:
"I am coming to the point, sir, which will seem surprising, prodigious
to you. Last evening, my little niece Jeannette said to me: 'Good uncle,
you know Captain Robert of Baudricourt; you must take me to him.'"
"What does your niece want of me?"
"She wants, sir, to reveal to you what she told me yesterday evening
without the knowledge of her parents, without the knowledge even of
Master Minet, the curate--that mysterious voices have long been
announcing to her that she would drive the English from Gaul by placing
herself at the head of the King's troops, and that she would restore to
him his crown."
Struck dumb by the extravagance of these words, Robert of Baudricourt
could now hardly contain himself; he was on the point of brutally
driving poor Denis out of the hall. Nevertheless, controlling his rage
out of consideration for the venerable old man, he retorted caustically:
"Is that the secret your niece wishes to confide to me? It is a singular
revelation!"
"Yes, sir--and she then proposes to ask you for the means to reach the
gentle Dauphin, our Sire, whom she is absolutely determined to inform of
the mission that the Lord has destined to her--the deliverance of Gaul
and the King. I must admit it to you, I was struck by the sincerity of
Jeannette's tone when she narrated to me her visions of saints and
archangels, when she told me how she heard the mysterious voices that
have pursued her for the last three years, telling her that she was the
virgin whose advent Merlin foretold for the deliverance of Gaul."
"So you have confidence in your niece's sincerity?" asked the captain
with a mixture of contempt and compassion, interrupting the old man whom
he considered either stupid or crazy. "So you attach credence to the
words of the girl?"
"Never did anyone reproach my niece with falsehood. Therefore, yielding
to her entreaties, I yesterday evening obtained from her father, who
seemed greatly irritated at his daughter, permission for her to
accompany me, under the pretext of spending a few days in town with my
wife. This morning I left Domremy at dawn with my niece on the crupper
of my horse. We arrived in town an hour ago. My niece is waiting for me
at home, where I am to take her your answer."
"Well! This is my answer: That brazen and insane girl should have both
her ears soundly cuffed, and she should be taken back to her parents for
them to continue the punishment.[29] Master Denis Laxart, I took you for
a level-headed man. You are either an old scamp or an old fool. Are not
you ashamed, at your age, to attach any faith to such imbecilities, and
to have the impudence of coming here with such yarns to me? Death and
fury! Off with you! By the five hundred devils of hell--get out, on the
spot!"