PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF JOAN OF ARC.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9124, 7 June 1895, Page 7

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF JOAN OF ARC.

».iin«.i-c 1° extracted from an Tbe .t n_ --"ele i . /--rr.r'l -V_,a_.i... Theh<«" c , ipr p _ (> , n , sccrer _ rr , n-r -f .he serene * V - A ,• -n molhii En.'iHh from the iVi.ial nnP'-lVi-h-'d ■■■ -nu«CMUt iv the rl? naI" ' . f F .., , 1r ... by j, an j,_ tl orM A c- rh> t _ an£> _ rr-«c^ A^.'.-. )e rt „ t ; iN of , be lifft of l* f ° r A-r f r<n i Hi e-nphv which i* J '. ...„■>.-r';" «'.':l(.i ltin_-i tptil'B in un que a:nO •_ >• > ■ ■- ' r --icr- i' i- '':*• crt!v "'or*" of * J_'man' , nf"'v-'hch c to us under oath, the -!—n;M'h co-no, tons rom tbe witness *-:»•!• Y. 1 .._!-,ri.lrerord'- of _ r,-,v '.ii:-l"f MM.andt-f the Process »beuii*i- in--- ---_» B-habilUa:i.in r.f a qis.-.r:«r of a century later, ar-- s"ii! P e<eived in the __tion*l arrhives nf Fr.m-f, and they furni'h with r.-mirl: .1.1- f-ilness th- f*ct* T;:e hi-itory of no other life of that remote tiny- i« k-ioin with either the cert«l-"'F or the r;i nprehensiveness thatattst-h.-H to her-. Tlf Sieur Loui.de Contei* f .i:hfulto her ofli-U! history in bis Persona! lUcollictic;:s and thus far _li trustworini'icss is unimpeachable; but hU ma>H of added particulars must depend for credit upon hit own word alone":— Often we gs;h.red in old Jacques d'Arc'9 bi£ dirt-floored apartment, with a great fire going, ami ptayed Rimes, and sang longs, and (old fortunes, and listened to the old villager* tell tales ani hi-tories _nd lies and one thins and another till tw.lve o'clock at night. One Avinier s night -?e were gathered there—it was the winter that for yearn afterwards they called the bard winter—and th t particular nieht was n sh;irp one. It blew a Rale outside, and the «creaniin._; of the wind was a gtirring sound, ami I thh.k 1 may say it was beautiful, fur it is great and fine and beauiiful to hear the wind rage aud storm and blow its clarion* like that, when you _r« inside and comfortable. And we were. We bad a roaring fire, and the pleasant tit spit "t the snow and sleet falling in it down ihe chimney, aud the yarning and laughing and -inking went on at a noble rate till about ten o'clock, a d then we bad _supper of hot porridge and beans and meal c-kes, with butter, and appatites to

match. Little Joan sat on a box apart, and had her bowl and bread on another one, and _er pets around her. helping. She had Bore than was usual of them or economical, because all the outcast cats came and look up with hf-r, aud homclcs or unlov«We animals of other kinds heard about it and came, and these spread the matter to the other creatures, and they came also: tod ns the birds and the other timid wild things of the woods were not afraid of her,/ bat always had an idea she wan a friend when they came across her, and generally struck up an acquaintance with her to get invited to the house, she always had samples of those breeds in stock. She w&s hospitable to them all, for an animal was an animal to her, and dear 07 mere reason of being an animal, no matter about its sort or social station ; and as she would allow of no cages, no collars, no fetters, but left the creatures free to come and go as they liked, they contented them and they came ; but they didn't go, to any extent, and so they were a marvellou. nulsance, and made Jacques d'Arcswear a good deal; but his wife said God cave the child the instinct, and knew what He was doing when Ho did it, there fore it must have its course; it would be no sound prudence to meddle with bis aff_lr_ when no invitation had been extended. So the pets were left In peace, and here they were, as I have 8-Id, rabbits, birdn, squirrels, cats, and other reptiles, all around the child, and full ot interest in her supper, and helping what they could. There was a very small xquirrel on her shoulder, sitting up, as those creatures do, and turning a rocky .ragment of prehistoric chestnut cake over ID. over in its knotty hands, and hunting for the less indurated places, and giving Its elevated bushy tail a flirt aud its pointed cars a to*s when it found one— signifying thankfulness and surprise— and then it filed that place off with those two slender front teeth which a squirrel carries for that purpose and cot for ornament, for ornamental they never could be, as any will admit that have noticed them. Everything was going fine and breezy and hilarious, but then there came an interruption, for somebody hammered on the door. It was one of those ragged road-stragglers—the eternal wars kept the country full of them. Ha came in, all ever snow, and stamped his feot and shook and brushed himself, and shut the door, and took off his, limp ruin of a hat and (lapped it once or twice against his leg to knock oil' its fleece of snow, and then glanced around on the company with a pleased look upon his thin face, and a most yearning and famished one in bis eje when it fell upon the victuals, and than he gave us a humble aud conciliatory salutation, and said it waa a leased thing to have a fire like that on such a night, and a roof overhead like t-li, and that rich food to eat, and loving friends to talk with—ah, yes, this was true, and God help the homeless, and such aa must trudge the roads in this weather I Nobody .aid anything. Tbe embarrassed poor creature stood there and appealed to one face after the other with his eyes, and fladlng no welcome in any, the smile on his own face flickering and fading and perishing meanwhile ; then ha dropped hla ga_e, the muscles of his face began to twitch, and he put up his hand to cover thla womanish sign of weakness. "Sit down." This thunder-blast was from old Jacques d'Arc, and Joan was the object of it. The stringer was startled, and took his hand away, and there avss Joan standing before him offering him her boAvl of porridge. The man suid, " God Almighty bless you, *7 darling !" and then the tears came, and ran down his cheeks, but he was afraid to Wfc the bowl.

"Do you hear mc? Sit down, I 9ay !" Thare could not be a child more easy to persuade 'ban Joan, but this was not the *ay. Her father had not the art; neither wuld he learn it. Joan said, " Father, ho 1» hungry, I can see it." "Let him work for food, then. We are being eaten out cf hou<e and home by his hke, and I have s&id I would endure it no Wore,and will keep my word. He bat the f«ce of a rascal anyhow, and a villain. Sit -dovm, I tell you !" "I know not if he is a rascal or no, but he Is hungry, father, and shall have my porridge—l do not need it." 'If you don't obey mc I'll Rascals are notenthled to help from honest people, *nd no bit. nor sup shall they have in this house. Joan \" &fee set her bowl down on tbe box and came over and stood bsfore her scowling 'atthar, and said, " Father, if you will not »et rre, then it must be as you say ; but I w °i*ld that yon would think—then you would see that it is not right to punish Ola part of him for what the other part «*» done; for It is that poor stra ger's "ad that does the evil thiugs, but It is n °t bin head that is hungry, it is his and it has done no harm to any •too*", but is without blame, and innocent, JM having any icay to do a wrong, even if ltw *» minded to it. Please let "

"What an idea! It is the most Idiotic •P*«ch I ever heard." But Aubrey, the maire, broke in, he oe '*ig fond of «n argument, and having a f r '"j gift in that regard, as all acknow"ojted:—"l will differ with you there, and will undertake to show the *°*npany'—here he looked around upon us *nd nodded his head in a confident wayehiM there ls * grain of seHse In wh * t the WUd UM »ald ; for look you, it is of a cer-

tainty most true and demonstrable that it is a man's head thab is master and supreme ruler over his whole body. Is that granted? Will any deny it?" He glanced around again; everybody indicaied assent. "Very well, then; that being the case, no part of the body is responsible for the result i when it carries out an order delivered to it by tbe head ; ergo, the head alone is

responsible for crimes done by a man's hmds or feet or stomach—do you get the ilea? am I r gut, thus f_r?" Everybody said yes, and said it with enthusiasm. Eloquence is a power, there is no question .f that. Even old Jacques d'Arc was c.rrud away, for once in hi* life, and Fhou'.ed out, "It's all right, Joau—give h;ra th'- porridge!"

Siie was embarrassed, and did not seem to know what to any, and so didn't say anything. It was because she had given the mau the porridge long ago, and he had already eaten it all up. When she was asked why she had not waiied until a deci-don was arrived at, she said the man's stomach was very hungry, and it would not have been wise to wait, since she could not tell what the decision would be. Now that was a good and thoughtful idea for a child.

The man waa not a rascal at all. He was a very good fellow, only he was out of luck, and surely that was no crime at that time in France. Now that hi. stomach had proved to be innocent it was allowed to make itself at home; and as soon as it was well filled and needed nothing more, the man unwound his tongue and turned it loose, and it was really a noble one to go. He had been in tbe wars for year-, and rbe things he told, and the way be told them, dred everybody's patriotism away up high, and set all hearts to thumping and all pulses to leaping; then, before anybody rightly knew how the change was made, he was leading us a sublime march through the ancient Klories of France, and in fancy we saw the titanic forms •_ the twelve paladins rise out of the mists of the past and face their fate.

And now, in this solemn hush, the stranger gave Joan a pat or two on the head und said: " Li' tie maid—whom God keep!—you have brought mc from death to life this night; now listen, here ia your rew_rd," and at that supreme time for such a heart-melting, soul-rousing surprise, without atioiher word he lifted up the most noble and pathetic voice that was ever heard, and began to pour out the Great Song of Roland.

Everybody rose and stood, and their faces glowed and their eyes burned ; and tho tears came and flowed down their cheeks, and their forms began to sway unconsciously to the swing of the song, aud their bosoms to heave and pant; and moanings broke out, and deep ejaculations ; and when the last verse was reached, and Roland lay dying, all alone, with hi* face to the field and to his alain, lying there in heap* and winrows, and took off and held up his gauntlet to God with his falling hand, aud breathed his beautiful prayer with his paling lips, all burst out in sobs and waitings. But when the final great note died out and the song was done, they all flung themselves in a body at the singer, stark mad with love of him and love of France and pride in her great deeds and old renown, and smothered him with their embracings; but Joan was there first, hugged close to his breast, and covering his face with idolatrous kitse*. The storm raged on outside, but that was no matter; this waa the stranger's home now, tor aa long as he might please.