THE HEROINE OF FRANCE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 258, 19 July 1918, Page 6

THE HEROINE OF FRANCE

s STORY OF TfIKJAID OF DOMREMY (By "An Englishman," in the "Daily Mail.") Jl. Jlaurico Bancs, always the fervent champion of tne honour of Prance, lias proposed that tho birthday of Jeanne a'Arc bo kept as a solemn festival. 11 saints and heroes deserve reverence, not. a word should bo spoken in opposition to this wise proposal. There is no respect too .lofty to Iks shown to the Maid of Domremy, and the respect should bo shown with a greater humility and a nobler grace because Prance, and England too, must still stand before the memory of Jeanne d'Arc in an attitude .of stricken penitence. And in the war which is being waged against the evil-hearted Germans Jeanne d'Arc has been a constant inspiration to the French. That she has ungeared to them in ghostly shape many'thousands believe. That she has been in the lninds and hearts of her countrymen no one may doubt. She was the liberator of "the sweet land of France," and they who to-day have taken up her burden keep befon them tho same loftv ideal which .was hers. They, too, would liberate their country from the foreign yoke; they, too, would save France from the cruel menace of the oppressor. Happy is the land which can claim as its nursing the wonderful Jlaid, which can point with pride to the example she sot of courage and humility. Her life would have been a miracle even had she never listened to the magic voices in the fields of Lorraine. She came forth the pattern of faith and chivalry in .France's darkest hour, and she came forth fully equipped for her Jiigh purpose. She knew the task which lay before her, and she knew how it should be accomplished. To drive the Entrlish from Orleans and to see the Dauphin crowned at Reims were the objects which she kept always before her.

Anjnsnired Leader,

And it is one of the tin pierced mysteries how tliis Alaid, without military lore or training, siwuid have shown herself, not only a prudent counsellor but also a valiant cnpt.iin. All the 6ecrets of leadership were revealed to her. She could fill her soldiers with the spirit ot victory, as Napoleon filled his valiant men. She imparted to her army something of her own faith and see'mlmess. She shared a certain austeritv of ninnt with Cromwell. Above all, sne believod confidently that she was appointed to' achieve a definite purpose, and she did not falter in the fulfilment of what she believed a Divine dutv. She was n child of 17 when she won her victories, and such victories at such an age cannot, bo matched in history. Neither Alexander nor Caesar can boast an equal triumph of youth. At 17 Napoleon was a junior lieutenant of artillery. To Jeanne d'Arc alone belongs the glory of freeing hor country, when she might have been working peacefully in her father's fields. She had nothing to learn of tho military art. i knowledge, of tactics and strategy was her birthright. "To concentrntb quickly, to strike swiftly, to strike hard, to strike at vital pints, and, despising vain, noisy skirmishes and 'valiances,' to fight with invinciblo tenacity of purpose"---these wero tho lessons which had been put into her mind, as though by a ltivine will an'd for a Divine purpose. Gentle as sho was, she did not recoil before death and wounds, the harsh necessities of a battlefield. At her trial one of the'examiners asked her if she had ever been present when English blood was shed. "In God' 6 name, yes," such was her reply; "how mildly you talk! Why did they not leave France and go back to their owu country?" And the answer drew from a gallant English lord the cry: "She is a. bravo girl! If only 6ho were English!" Thus she faced tho enemies of Franco with knowledge and with courage. The victory of Orleanswas of her own winning, and she won it, moreover, after sho had been wounded; and ffenceforth until the failure at Paris she was invincible.

In the meantime she had seen the Dauphin crowned at Reims, in the beautiful church which has been reconsecrated by the brutality of the Germans. And let it not bo thought that this was a barren ceremony. Without the symbol of the enwning the Dauphin was not King, and tho Maid had well measured its importance. "Gentle King," she said, kneeling after the consecration, ''now ia accomplished the will of God, Who'decreed that I should raise the siego of Orleans and bring you to this city of Reims to receive your solemn eacring, thereby showing that you are tho true King, and that Prance should be yours." And for her the crown which was placed upon the Dauphin's head was no worldly crown: it was a crown, as 6ho told her judges, which "no goldsmith on eartli could fashion."

No Honour Too High. Even when she knew defeat was near, even when she- had received a premonition—and her premonitions never failed' —that she was to be made captive, she lost nothing of her gallantry. They told her at Crepy that her poor 300 men could not pass through the enomy hosts, and they left her undismayed. "By my stall," she cried, "we are enough. I am going to see my good friends at Compiegne." And never was she greater than when faced sternly by disaster. The grim Burgundians themselves were forced to admit the grandeur of her bearing. She thought only of her handful of comrades, and her comrades fled. Surrounded and almost alone, she was made captive, and asked to surrender. "I have sworn and given my faith," she answered with her native pride, "to another than you, and I will keep my oath."

From tho moment of her captivity the whole world about her is involved in disgrace. To put the burden of reproach upon tho English is to misread history. Not France, nor Burgundy, nor England can escape the charge of treachery. The Burgundians sold her like a chattel. Hei 1 infamous judges were Frenchmen all, and gave her neither a fair trial nor a respectful hearing. Tho English had seized the most powerful of their foes, and were content that she should .be punished, oven though no crime might be .imputed to her. We all share the guilt, and need not be over-nice in its apportioning. But this must bo said: the guilt of France is the deeper-dyed, because France owed to the Maid ho'r liberation, Ijecause the French King owed to her his crown. "For England she was an enemy, like another, and therefore to be punished, justly or unjustly, according to the inexorable code. But what shall be said of the miscreant Jung upon whose head sho had placed a crown, and who basely deserted her iu the hour of her darkness?

And when sho confronted her infamous judges, among whom for infamy may Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Benuvnis, be always remembered, she showed another quality of her invincible mind. Sho revealed herself iis.n master of eloquence, Tho spirit and wisdom of the answers which she flung at her persecutors are unsurpassable. A beauty of phrase matches, at each reply,, a dignity- of< sense. Like another hero, who gavo his life for his cause, she

"Nothing common did or mean Upon that memorable scene." Never did her judges get (he bettor of her. This untaught girl overtopped them all in courage and in argument. She. repined at nothing. When sho refused to give her word not to escape they loaded her with chains, and she was content. In speech, as in arms, she was resolute and unafraid. She sojourned but a brief nineteen years in a world which was not worthy to keep her longer, and there is no honour too high for France to pay her to-day—France, whose greatest hero she still remains, though the marvel of her lifo and death is separated from U6 by tho glory of Napoleon.