The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-01-04

tended military mass taking their vaSlke
inspiration from the visions of devotee;
but many strange things have been witnessed
in France during the last five months, and
stranger still may come to pass before the
invaders are home again across the Rhine.
There was an humble imitator of the historic
Joan some weeks ago at Orleans; but
she turned out to be rather common
place younk person, who neither rode
horseback, nor carried n flashing blade,
nor made prophecies; she only rallied
the people by certain feminine eloquenoe,
and then turned them over to the recruiting
sergeant to practise the goose-step aud the
manual of arms in the ordinary prosalc
fashion The Maid of Orleans soon faded
from the public view; the Maid of Tours
seems to be a different and more romantic
sort of creature. Born in the pious parish of
Ars, where tho whole population thanks
to the reputed miraculous powers of the Cure
M. Viannev-have lived for years in an at
mosDhsre of supeTnaturalism, believing that
Heaven daily interposed to heal the sick, to
straighten the dcformed, to feed the starv-
ipg-hearing strange voices IN the air,
and seeing strange aud beautiful visions,
and encompassed all the while by
crowds of pilgrims who came in
thousands to this place to be cured Of their
ills, or to ask spiritual counsel of the humble
ascetic who passed all his days here in the
service of the poor, it is only natural that
from childhood she should have witnessed
miraculous sights and been the hersiue of
wonderful legends. She was in service at
Tours when the Virgin appeared and ordered
her to proceed to Paris and deliver certain
message to General Trochu. The girl con
suited her mistress; The mistress consulted
the cure: the cure consulted the bishop; the
bishop gave the young woman his blessing,
and bade her do as tbs vision had COM
manded.
Thus far there is nothing extraordinary in
the story. We dare say scores of excitable
young French girls have believed themselves
the depositaries of some divine commission
and have dreamed wild dreams, and in mo
ments of spiritual eXaltation seen unreal
sights and fancied that Heaven meant them
to animate and direct the defenders of their
country. But this case derives its interest
from the fact that SO many comparatively
prudent and sober people share the delu-
sions of the obscure serving maid, and be-
lieve that God has really chosen this means
of testifying His displeasure with Bismarck
and conveying to the PROSTATE French
the promise of His assistance. The UHjOH
of Tours puts implicit faith in the young
woman, visions and all, and gives Us
some curious particulars about the nature Of
her message. Precisely what she should say
until she arrived before the gates of Paris.
There "a matron of respectable appearance
would meet her and explain the elraud in
full. The narrative goes on to assure us that
the girl accomplished her journey and saw
Trochu. We are told little about her myste-
rious communication, except that she an
nounced the recapture of Orleans (Which she
could not then have known by any human
means), predicted a successful sortie to be
followed by depressing news, and declared
! that the Kaiser would never re-enter Berlin.
| This account would have been more salts
factory if it had explained how the holy
maid got through the Prussian lines (where
miraculous visions would not have been OF
much use to herr, and why the saints of the
Roman calendar should take such excellent
care Of nation which has just broken of
concordat and is understood to be not
very devoutly inclined towards the Roman
Church. But with all these defects, it finds
plenty of believers, and doubtless Tours auG
Paris are wonderfully encouraged in coase
quence. We may ridicule it-as of course
we shall-but the curiously exalted state
of the public mind in France which
welcomes such delusons is certainly
worth considering. It indicates a temper
strangely like the noble but unreasonable
enthusiasm which gave birth to the crusade
"a temper in which people is capable o
any sacrifice or any generous impulse, ant
entirely blind to common considerations o
prudence and sound policy, People in thi
temper never know when they are beaten
and in dealing with them the ordinary prn
cples of military science are entirely at fault
1t is impossible not to admire their elevation
of spirit, even while we grieve at their folly
Dut we should not forget that enthusiasm viii
not keep off defeat forever, and the disaster
when it can no longer be concealed, is al
to foresee it,