My mother had what the French call a culte for the heroine whose life I have attempted to write in the following pages. It was but natural that one who loved and admired all that is good and beautiful and high-minded should have a strong feeling of admiration for the memory of Joan of Arc. On the pedestal of the bronze statue, which my mother placed in her house at Cliveden, are inscribed those words which sum up the life and career of the Maid of Orleans:— ' La grande pitié qu'il y avait au roy

The authors whose works I have chiefly used in writing this Life of Joan of Arc, are—first, Quicherat, who was the first to publish at length the Minutes of the two trials concerning the Maid—that of her trial at Rouen in 1430, and of her rehabilitation in 1456, and who unearthed so many chronicles relating to her times; secondly, Wallon, whose Life of Joan of Arc is of all the fullest and most reliable; thirdly, Fabre, who has within the last few years published several most important books res

Never perhaps in modern times had a country sunk so low as France, when, in the year 1420, the treaty of Troyes was signed. Henry V. of England had made himself master of nearly the whole kingdom; and although the treaty only conferred the title of Regent of France on the English sovereign during the lifetime of the imbecile Charles VI., Henry was assured in the near future of the full possession of the French throne, to the exclusion of the Dauphin. Henry received with the daughter of Charles V

It will be now necessary to go back in our story to the commencement of the siege by the English of the town of Orleans, in order to understand the work which Joan of Arc had promised to accomplish. Orleans was the place of the utmost importance; not merely as being the second city in France, but as forming the 'tête du pont' for the passage of the river Loire. The French knew that were it to fall into the hands of the English the whole of France would soon become subject to the enemy. The town

Leaving the now free and happy town to jubilate in its deliverance from the enemy, Joan of Arc went by Blois and Tours to Chinon. At Tours the King had come to meet the Maid. When within sight of the King, Joan dismounted and knelt before him. Charles came forward bareheaded to meet her, and embraced her on the cheek; and, to use the words of the chronicler, made her ' grande chère '. It was on this occasion that the King bestowed on Joan of Arc the badge of the Royal Lily of France to place in

We must now glance at the movements of the English since the deliverance of Orleans and their defeat at Patay, and the French King's coronation. What proves the utter demoralisation of the English at this time is that the Regent Bedford was not only afraid of remaining in Paris, but had also taken refuge in the fortress of Vincennes. He was so poor that he could not pay the members of Parliament sitting in Paris. Like other bodies receiving no pay, the Parliament declined to work. So restricted

The news of Joan's capture soon reached Paris, and within a few hours of that event becoming known, the Vicar-General of the Order of the Inquisition sent a letter to the Duke of Burgundy, accompanied by another from the University of Paris, praying that Joan of Arc might be delivered up to the keeping of Mother Church as a sorceress and idolatress. That terrible engine, the Inquisition, had, like some mighty reptile scenting its prey near, slowly unfolded its coils. Whether Bedford had or had n

The next day, the 29th of May, Cauchon summoned a large number of prelates and doctors—forty-two in all—to meet him at the archiepiscopal chapel, where he recounted to them all the circumstances of his late interview with the prisoner. He told them how he had found Joan, in spite of her abjuration, again dressed as a man, and of her having reaffirmed all that she had so recently abjured regarding her voices and apparitions. When he had concluded, Cauchon took the opinion of those around him. Wit

Twenty years after the events which I have attempted to describe, an act of tardy justice was accorded to Joan of Arc. Charles VII. at length felt it necessary, more for his own interest than for any care of the memory of Joan of Arc, to have a revision made of the iniquitous condemnation of the heroine. This King, even if unable to rescue the Maid of Orleans from her captors, might at least have attempted her release, yet during all the time—over a year—of her imprisonment he had not even made

Even in France no thoroughly satisfactory history exists of Joan of Arc, although a large number of histories have been written. Following is an enumeration of the most important. As was natural while her countrymen were divided into two camps, those writers who belonged to the side of the English attacked the heroine, or rather her mission, with ill-placed zeal. Of them Enguerrand de Monstrelet was the most eminent. Less well known chroniclers on the national side, such as Philip de Bergame, an

The Maid of Orleans (though a more poetical figure cannot be found in all history) has not been more fortunate at the hands of the poets than at those of the historians. To begin with her own countrywoman—for the first who sang of Joan of Arc was appropriately enough a fellow-countrywoman—Christine de Pisan. As the name indicates, this poetess was an Italian by origin, but appears to have lived most of her life in France. The latter part she passed in a convent. In the year 1429, Christine was s

Anonym, 'Chanson historique de Jeanne d'Arc et de ses hauts faits.' Orléans, 1862. 12mo. (Il n'a été publié que 35 exemplaires de cet ouvrage.) Attel de Lutange, J.F.D. d', 'l'Héroïne d'Orléans, 15^e siècle, avec une carte de tous les lieux cités dans cet ouvrage et un plan de la ville d'Orléans à l'époque de sa délivrance par Jeanne d'Arc.' 3 tom. Paris, 1884. 8vo. Aufrère-Duvernoy, C., 'Notice sur les monuments érigés à Orléans en l'honneur de Jeanne Darc.' 1855. 8vo. Ayroles, J.B.J., 'Jeanne

Bartlett, David W., 'The Life of Joan of Arc.' Auburn, New York, 1855. 12mo. Blake, Robert, 'Joan of Arc.' A poem. London, 1876. 8vo. Bray, Mrs., 'Life of Joan d'Arc.' London, 1874. 8vo. Caddy, Mrs. Florence, 'Footsteps of Jeanne d'Arc: A Pilgrimage.' London, 1866. 8vo. Charles, Mrs. E., 'Joan of Arc: A Story of the Fifteenth Century.' London, 1879. 8vo. 'Commines, Philip de, The Memoirs of.' 2 vols. London, 1855. 12mo. Davenport-Adams, W.H., 'The Maid of Orleans.' London, 1889. 8vo. Delepierre,