tool in the hands of this powerful minister. The historian Quicherat
has summed up George de la Tremoïlle's character as an avaricious
courtier, false and despotic, with sufficient talent to make a name
and a fortune by being a traitor to every side. That such a man did
not see Joan of Arc's arrival with a favourable eye is not a matter of
surprise, and La Tremoïlle seems early to have done his utmost to
undermine the Maid's influence with his sovereign. From the day she
arrived at Chinon, if not even before her arrival there--if we may
trust one story--an ambush was arranged by Tremoïlle to cut her off
with her escort. That plot failed, but her capture at Compiègne may be
indirectly traced to La Tremoïlle's machinations.

Those who have visited Chinon will recall the ancient and picturesque
street, named La Haute Rue Saint Maurice, which runs beneath and
parallel with the castle walls and the Vienne. Local tradition pointed
out till very recently, in this old street, the stone well on the side
of which the Maid of Domremy placed her foot on her arrival in the
town. This ancient well stone has recently been removed by the
Municipality of Chinon, but fortunately the 'Margelle' (to use the
native term) has come into reverent hands, and the stone, with its
deeply dented border, reminding one of the artistic wells in Venice,
is religiously preserved.

Of Chinon it has been said:

Chynon, petit ville,
Grande renom.

Its renown dates back from the early days of our Plantagenets, when
they lived in the old fortress above its dwellings: how Henry III.