The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-05-13 00:00:00

IciaT I

JOAN OF ARC

The Correspondent .of: the. Standard thlis describes thl
Joan of Arc lOte at Orleans :

The visit of Marshal MacMahon to Orleans proved
!somewhat of a disappointment*, enterprisingecerress
pondents. When a man like Marshal MacMahon,
combining high military rank with the chief dignity
•pf the State, was annearucecl to pay an official visit to
this famous old city, connected as it is with ancient
victories and recent defeats, on the 447th •anniversary
of the expulsion of. the Euglishlepm Fort St. Loup by
La Pucelle, it was only reasonable -te; suppose that the
occasion would be oneof iao 'cOrMailon interest. At
least it was supposed that there would be a
demonstration of a patriotic and political character,
with something of the Jeanne d'Are feeling about
it ; the extrusion of the foreigner from the
national soil—in a word, that under the cover of cele-
brating the past verypeaning allitionti would be made
-to the present, and po-ssibly-to the fittni-de 'Those ex-
pectations were utterly disappointed. The natives of
Orleans and the surrounding districts are not of a de-
monstrative character. They remind one in their de-
meanour of that thrifty person who-fed his flock on the
Grampian Hills, and to increase their store seems the
height of their ambition. Though Orleans and the
country in the midst of which it lies occupy the
very heart of the site of the fighting on the Loire,
the nat. iyes-;do .not -appear to have suffered from
the - invasion, and certainly do not show that
reaentment which is perceptible in .Other parts of
the country.- The Marshal was received. by the
Orleanais cordially, but without anything like enthu-
-siasin. He is one of the largest landowners in the de-
partment of Loireti, and that he should visit its chief
town on the occasion of the concours regional, which is
held there every seven years, was regarded very much
as a matter of course. This concours regional, an agri-
cultural show, is the great attraction. " The Jeanne
d'Arc fête is annual, and the townspeople seem to
regard it with that feeling which familiarity sometimes
begets. In short, we went down to witness a political
demonstration, and beheld a cattle show and festivities
chiefly connected with agriculture. The Marshal,
attended by General de Cissey and the Minister of
e•Agricuiture and Commerce, travelled down to Orleans
L yesterday by the ordinary express.
,General Bataille,
I who commands the 10th Army Corps, the Prefect of
the Department, and the Mayor and Municipal Council
were present. There were no military or police to
keep the way, and as the train was well filled people
who had no claim to rub elbows with officials got en-
tangled with them. A brass band kept performing
with great power of lungs and outside a battery of
artillery was firing a salute. Nothing daunted, the
Mayor plunged into a speech; and when he had got
half way through it the brass band which belonged to
the traditional Pompiers was silenced. There was a
great rush from behind by passengers anxious to get
out and a good deal of confusion and crushing, but the
most perfect good humour prevailed. There were no
shouts of airy kind on the part cf the crowd. The
wind was high, and as watering the streets is an idea
that does not appear to have commended itself to the
Orleanais mind, whirling clouds of dust cut the recep-
tion very short. I think I need hardly go through a
minute detail of the official receptions.that followed.
After a hurried breakfast at the Prefecture the Marshal
received all the authorities. speeches were delivered in
which stress was laidon the concours regional, and the
slightest possible allusion to Jeanne d'Arc. Then there
was a military carrousel, in which about 50 men of the
11th Hussars, who had come down from Fontainebleau
for the purpose, displayed feats of horsemanship. In
two instances the saddle girths gave way as the men
were picking up large dulls' heads at the sword's point,
and of course they came to grief. But the exhibition
of horsemanship was creditable to the regiment, and
the Marshal, who never shows better than in the
saddle, must have been pleased at witnessing the im-
provement in the riding of the cavalry. Afterwards he
went round to the various ma,nufactories in the cit v. Great
crowds rushed after him as he' drove about, and though
there was no cheeringor shout; ng of any kind, the teeling
of sympathy was unmistakable. The people of Orleans
regard the Marshal as one of themselves, but they do
not seem capable of displaying enthusiasm. The Mar-
shal visited the cattle show and awarded the prizes.
Among the successful candidates I find some English
names. In the prize lists fer agricultural machinery a
French exhibitor, M Noblet, got a. piize medal as a
reward for his successful efforts to introduce into
France the Yorkshire breed of porkers. After this
heavy agricultural business, the Marshal went to the
cathedral, where he was received by Monsignor
Dupaxiloup. The cathedral itself, though only abont
250 years old—it was rebuilt under Henry IV.
—is worth going down to Orleans to sees It •was
eumptuously decorated, and .the siervice was most
impressive. At seven this evening, as the slatting. sun
is gilding the portals of this grand building, a histori-
cal calvacade, clad in armour and bearing Joan of
Arc's banner, with "Jesus—Maria" embroidered on
it, is crossing the bridge from the south side of the
Loire, and wending its way to the cathedral: On the
.Pcpare in front a stand is erected, on. which Marshal
MacMahon has taken up a position. The banner is
formally handed to the bishop, amid a flourish of
trumpets. The crowd shouts, and thus the show ends.
In the evening, when it grows dark- there are to be
fireworks, but to reach you in time thisetelegradi has
to be dispatched by train to Paris, and must now break
off.

-list( ea
this tragedy, the production of JAepli
Reed, author of the "Register Office," Mr. Nicholls,
in his "Literary Aneodocss,''giKetk some curious par-
' ticufa: Ite-alsO regieslan anetclofe or Johnson con-
cerning it "It happened that I was in Bolt Court on
the day that Henderson the justly celebrated actor,
was first introduced to Dr. John Eon ; and the conversa-
tion turning on dramatic subjects, Henderson asked
the Doctor's opinion of " Dido " and its author.
"Sir," said Johnson, "I never did the man All injury,
yet he would read his tragedy to me."