Half-frightened
herself at what she said, she exclaimed to a neighbor, "There is now,
between Colombey and Vaucouleurs, a maid who will cause the king of
France to be crowned!"
Now came the turn in the war, when all the strength of both sides was to
be gathered up into one great struggle, and it was to be shown whether
the king was to have his right, or the usurper triumph. The real leaders
of the war were the Duke of Bedford, regent of England, and the captains
of the French army. Bedford gathered a vast force, chiefly from
Burgundy, and gave its command to the Earl of Salisbury. The army went
on; they gained, without a struggle, the towns of Rambouillet, Pithwier,
Jargean, and others. Then they encamped before the city of Orleans. To
this point they drew their whole strength. Orleans taken, the whole
country beyond was theirs, as it commanded the entrance to the River
Loire and the southern provinces; and the only stronghold left to King
Charles was the mountain country of Auvergne and Dauphine.
The men of Orleans well knew how much depended upon their city. All that
could be done they did to prepare for a resolute defense. The siege of
Orleans was one of the first in which cannon were used. Salisbury
visiting the works, a cannon broke a splinter from a casement, which
struck him and gave him his death wound. The Earl of Suffolk, who was
appointed to succeed him, never had his full power.
Suffolk could not tame the spirit of the men of Orleans by regular
attack, so he tried other means.
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