Page:Daughters of Genius.djvu/466

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454 THE TRIAL OF JEANNE DARC. heinous charge against her : " The hair cut round like that of young men, shirt, breeches, doublet with twenty points reaching to the knee, hat covering only the top of the head, boots and gaiters, with spurs, sword, dagger, cuirass, lance, and other arms carried by soldiers." This was her equipment for the field. She still wore man's dress, and doubtless her person showed the effects of nine months' imprisonment and three months of chains and fetters. The presiding bishop told her to place her hands upon the Gospel and swear to answer truly the questions that would be proposed to her. " I do not know," said she, "upon what you wish to question me. Perhaps you will ask me things which I ought not to tell you." " Swear," rejoined the bishop, " to tell the truth upon whatever may be asked of you concerning the faith and the facts within your knowledge." " As to my father and mother," she said, " and what I did after setting out for France, I will swear willingly ; but the revelations which have come to me from God, to no one have I related or revealed them, except alone to Charles, my king; and I shall not reveal them to you though you cut off my head, because I have received them by vision and by secret communication, with injunction not to reveal them. Before eight days have passed I shall know if I am to reveal them to you." The bishop urged her again and again to take the oath without conditions. She refused, and they were at length obliged to yield the point, and accept a limited oath. Upon her knees, with both hands placed upon a missal, she swore to answer truly whatever might be asked of her, so far as she could, concerning the common faith of Christians, but no more. Being then questioned concern- ing her name and early life, she answered thus : " In my own country I was called Jeannette ; since I