she would have a visionary world about her there, too. Where we should only see trees and streams and grass and flowers, and might half fancy, from their beauty and brightness, that they must be alive and happy in a way of their own, every body then thought that there were fairies and wood-spirits. In England, indeed, it was believed that the elves and fairies had been driven away by priests and friars, and that that was the reason they could no longer be seen, as they used to be, dancing in the green meadows. In the forests where Jeanne lived the priest used to drive the fairies away, too; he came to say mass every year beside their favorite fountain, and under a great tree, on which the children would hang garlands to please the "ladies," as they called them. The priests, like every body else, believed in the fairies, but as the tales of them had come down from the old heathen times, they considered them unchristian, and that they ought to be banished.

Thus these people did really and truly seem to live in two worlds, the visible and the invisible; and though the commonplace, the busy, and the dull would half forget the invisible world, the gentle and quiet and thoughtful ones would live in it more than in the visible. Jeanne, besides being a good and pious girl, was full of poetry and imagination; when she was not sewing or spinning by her mother's side she loved dearly to go and pray in the quiet church where the saints were, or to wander in the woods, feeding the wild birds and listening to the church bells.

As she was growing up, this peaceful, visionary life was disturbed by the same miseries which disturbed the rest of the country. Sometimes poor fugitives, who had been driven out of their homes by the war, came through the village; sometimes her own people had to flee, and when they came back would find every thing destroyed or burned. Thus she began to think about the war and her unhappy country, and her whole heart was filled with pity and sorrow. She did what

she could to help the sufferers; when the poor refugees came by she gave them up her own bed, and went to sleep in the barn. She prayed and fasted; and as she brooded over these · sad things, and longed to do more, she seemed to be lifted out of herself and the little world about her. The saints seemed to come nearer to her; she began to see bright lights, and to hear strange voices, which no one else could see or hear. From out of the bright light a noble figure with shining wings spoke, and told her it was she who was to help the king of France, and to give him back his kingdom. The poor child was frightened; she was now seventeen or eighteen years old; she said she knew nothing about riding on horseback or leading soldiers. But as time went on she saw more and more visions, heard more and more voices, all bidding her rise and rescue her country.

No one believed her at first; her father and mother were angry, and forbade her leaving home; they even tried to marry her to an honest man of the village. But the impulse was too strong; she felt that she must go. At last she persuaded an old village wheelwright, her uncle, to take her to the nearest town, where she would find soldiers and a captain, who would send her to the dauphin. The captain was greatly puzzled when he saw this village girl arrive, and heard her say that the Lord had sent her to the aid of the dauphin. He was quite ready to think there was something supernatural in the matter, but he was by no means sure that it might not be the work of the devil instead of the saints; for, besides believing in the agency of the invisible saints and angels, every one believed, also, quite as firmly in the power of evil spirits, wizards, and witches; and to the end of her life half the world believed that poor Jeanne Darc was a sorceress inspired by the devil. The parish priest was sent for to sprinkle holy water, and to drive away the evil spirit, if there was one. But Jeanne was so gentle, so modest, and so firm in declaring that she was sent by God, that people began to believe in

her. The captain decided that he would send her to the king, or the dauphin, as she called him, for he had not yet been crowned. She was dressed in armor, and five or six armed men were appointed to attend her, though they did not know what to think about it, and were half afraid she might be a witch after all. But she stopped to pray at every church she passed, and at last arrived safely at the French court. When she saw the king, whom she recognized at once among the crowd of courtiers, she knelt down before him, saying: “Gentle dauphin, I am called Jeanne the Maid. The King of Heaven sends to tell you, by me, that you shall be consecrated and crowned in the city of Reims." It was in Reims Cathedral that all the kings of France were crowned, and the French people thought as much of that sacred city as the English did of Westminster Abbey.

Whether Charles believed in her divine inspiration or not, it seemed as if there was no other way of saving Orleans, and that this last desperate chance had better be tried. But, before that, it should be inquired into once more whether she might not be influenced by the devil, instead of by God. Four or five bishops examined her this time, but they could find nothing against her. When they desired that she would show a sign to prove that God had sent her, she said: "My sign will be to raise the siege of Orleans." Every one in the whole region declared that she was a saint; the defenders of Orleans had heard that a miraculous virgin was coming to help them, and sent earnestly entreating for her aid.

At last she was allowed to go. She rode forth, no longer like a poor peasant girl, but fully clad in beautiful white armor, mounted on a splendid black horse, and bearing a sacred sword, called the sword of St. Katherine, which, it was said, she had miraculously discovered in the church. Before her was carried a white standard, on which was the picture of God holding the world in his hands, and two angels, each with a lily-flower.

It is easy to imagine what an effect this wonderful sight. would produce both on friend and foe. The poor discouraged French roused up suddenly to hope and confidence. Here was this beautiful girl, this beautiful saint, sent expressly by God, to lead them to victory; and if God were for them, who could be against them? As she marched to Orleans, followed by her troop of soldiers, she had an altar set up in the open air, and they all received the sacrament. These wild, fierce men, who would obey no one else, would have followed the maid to the end of the world.

The English, on the other hand, lost heart. They, too, believed Jeanne was miraculously inspired. If it were God fighting against them, what could they do? But in their hearts many of them thought she was a witch and led by the devil. This seemed more terrible still. They were ready enough to fight against men-against the Frenchmen, whom they had beaten so often; but how could they resist the spells of a sorceress?

It was no wonder that it all ended as it did. When Jeanne led the French soldiers against the besiegers, the English, brave as they were, were terrified; they began to see visions, too. Sometimes they saw white butterflies fluttering around her sacred banner; sometimes they saw the saints or Michael, the archangel, among her troops. The siege of Orleans had lasted seven months; in ten days all the English forts were in the hands of the French, and the city was free. It was on a Sunday morning that the English retreated. The maiden caused an altar to be raised in the plain, and before the er emy was well out of sight the rescued people were kneeling around it giving God thanks.

Thus Jeanne had given the "sign" she had promised, and Orleans was delivered. Now she turned to the great work she had at heart-the coronation of the dauphin. It was a long journey to Reims, and a great part of the country through which they must pass was in the hands of the English or the

Burgundians. But the French knew no fears now; they crowded around the maid; always more and more of them followed her standard as she led the king to Reims. Wherever they went they were successful. They took one town after another-even Troyes, where Henry V. had been married; they defeated the English in the battle of Patay. At last they reached Reims, and in its venerable cathedral Charles was anointed, crowned, and consecrated king of France.

XXVIII.

WARS OF THE ROSES.-GUEST.

[After the raising of the siege of Orleans and the death of the duke of Bedford. the English were rapidly expelled from France. In England a child, Henry VI, was on the throne. The lawless habits acquired by the English nobles during the French war could not be restrained when they returned home. They divided into two factions, one rallying around the house of York and the other around the house of Lancaster, and they soon drifted into civil war. The struggle was ostensibly for the possession of the crown, but there were many causes at work to produce discontent.]

EDWARD IV.

But though we may be were all for nothing, and

IT is hardly necessary to study and recollect all about the twelve battles that were fought, and all the changes and chances of the war. Sometimes one side conquered, and sometimes the other. In the end we may say neiiher, or perhaps both, conquered, since a member of the house of Lancaster, marrying a member of the house of York, became undisputed king. inclined to say, then, that the wars nothing came of them, they had in