thing be of God, the Maid will come again when the time draws near;
but that if it is phantasy, or if she be deluded of the Devil,
perchance his backwardness will put a check upon her ardour, and we
shall hear no more of it. The Abbe Perigord, his Confessor, has
bidden him beware lest it be a snare of the Evil One"--and as he
spoke these words Bertrand crossed himself, and I did the like, for
the forest is an ill place in which to talk of the Devil, as all
men know.

"But for my part, when I think upon her words, and see again the
look of her young face, I cannot believe that she has been thus
deceived; albeit we are told that the Devil can make himself appear
as an angel of light."

This was the puzzle, of course. But surely the Church had power to
discern betwixt the wiles of the Evil One and the finger of God.
There were words and signs which any possessed of the Devil must
needs fly before. I could not think that the Church need fear
deception, even though a village maid might be deceived.

The forest was very beautiful that day, albeit travelling was
something slow, owing to the softness of the ground, and the
swollen condition of the brooks, which often forced us to go round
by the bridges instead of taking the fords; so that we halted a few
miles from Domremy to bait our horses and to appease our own
hunger, for by that time our appetite was sharp set.

It was there, as we sat at table, and talked with mine host, that
we heard somewhat more of this Maid, whom we had started forth in
hopes to see.