The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-09-09
COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER g. 1870 VO

liant bearing might have belonged to .
paladin of old; we know that the in
ner man answered well to this brillian
outside when we learn that this knight,
name is Dunois. There is q middle
aged man, whose br0nzed, rugged fact
is redeemed by the kindly, almost faith.
eriy, look in his eyes, as he turns them
on Joan /; this is La Hire, the mos
stubborn fighter in the army. There i
a prince of the blood royal clasping 9
lovely, fearful lady in his arms, and We
hear Joan say, Weep not, sweet
duchess, your handsome lord, your
brave Alencon, shall come back safe to
his home"
But clouds are at hand, and we mus:
hurry forward. Joan's successes went
on even after the king was crowned Il
Rheims. De La Tremouille, now be-
gan to fear that II she continued much
longer at this rate she would make
Charles so powerful that he would break
away out of the leading-strings in
which he held him. He therefore, in
some subtle way, persuaded the king
to recall her from the army. For sew
eral months she lived in restless mac
tion at the French court. Charles en-
nobled her and her family. She was
pleased, but she wanted to be at her
work. At last, unable to stay quiet
any longer, she escaped from the court,
and rejOined the army. But her old
success did not now attend her. Per-
haps her confidence in herself was sha-
ken by the feet Of her going out to fight
without her kings sanction; perhaps
the soldiers were less true to her. One
day she led a sally from the town Of
Compeigne, which was being beseiged;
the French at first charged gallantly
into the midst of the enemy, and then
were driven back. Joan, however, and
a few faithful followers, among whom
was her favorite youngest brother,
Pierrie, was surrounded by the Eng
lish. The little band fought brayely in
her defence. Her brother shared her
fate, but not her prison. Never again
did the two talk over those sweet old
home memories, which had been so
dear to Joan, even in the day of her
highest glory. The stain of those two
most cruel and unjust acts, the trial
and execution of Joan Of Arc, rests
equally ON France and England. The
one shonld have ransomed her; the
other should have honored her, though
an enemy. But ungrateful Charles sat
still,spell-bound by the arts of De La
Tremouille; and the Duke of Bedford,
the English regent Though besought
and reproved by his wife, had not the
courage to deprive the common soldiers
of their vengeance. Joan's trial took
place at Rouen her judges were al
most all priests, some English and
some apostate French. In the midst
of these silver-tongued, serpent-heart-
ed men, all of whom were bent on her
destruction, the girl of nineteen show
ed a wonderful mixture of quiet digni-
ty and sharp w,man's wit. They
coaXed, they preached, they scOlded,
but not one word would she say about
the sign she had given her king. They
did indeed at last cheat her into re.
canting the truth of her mission, but
she repented, and denied the words as
soon as they were spoken. Whatever
she had done or said, their malice
would not ha ye let her live. The stake
was set up, the fire was kindled, and
i'm the flames of martyrdom her soul
sprang up to her God.