The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1895-08-02
A MYSTERY OF THE AGES.
Counterfeit Maid of Orleans Foremost of
All Historic Impostors.

All historic lmpostor-.
In the long array OF historic impos-
tors the foremost place is due to the
false Pucelle. That false Pucelles
should arise indeed was not strange;
rather 1t would have been strange had
they not arisen. Through the middle
ages the common policy OF secretly
numbering political prisoners was al
ways logged by the nemesis of pre-
tenders When one was put down an
other arose. These sha lows played
their parts with varying success, but
not one of them had 50 hard part -
play, nor one Of them played ii with
such spirit and unparalleled success
as che false Pucelle
Let US consider the difficulties which
attended her enterprise. She was
obliged TO represent character uniqu.
IN the history Of the world. a maiden
warrior whose face, whose ways and
noble manners" were intimately ia
miliar to her kinsfolk. TO the court. 10
the army, to the companies, to the
clergy, and u many OF the cities Of
France.
She had 10 deceive or make accom-
plices Of the brothers, and probably Of
the cousins Il Jeanne dare Now. Il
the brothers may have had something
70 gain 10y the resurrection OF their
sister, the cousins gained nothing but
were at the expense Of much good
cheer" Again. this shadow was obliged
20 bcguile the whole town If Orleans
ii
well known to every body above the
age of twelve The impostor was wei
coined by gentlemen who had seen the
true maid at the coronation in Rheims
Finally. She r1 Sc boot 20 boot" beside
Marechal he Rails. as Jeanne fare
had often ridden 81 years before
For this .m20ster. unlike Per6.n
Warbeck. enjoyed 60 advantage from
long lapse q time ami confusion q
memories The maids brother had
charged beside her at Comp.se7s IL
1890; the taHa ot Orleans had enter
tanned thu maid .a H. Sc, hl;a b
citg AMI the brother, accented 'u.
shallow tn lia Tie au-ai1- { the
true ul.l lii. Heeu wi.ae~>eI rr t-n.
OF q rs.-I~ - people oa MAY Buy .tt-;
nevertheless the autumn Of sass
the fl.~- mtri accepted b. :hs t
people who zaev the true maid .r~..
Mysterious I'D her origin, The false
pucele eya8e> liz In her decline
We lose sight If her forever in l457.
Il is only ser'a.n that all domestic an
official belief i'm her must have exuir,
with the reversal II the Judgment o
the court ot E,ucu hy the inquisi:ion.
in the previous year The whole affair
is the most inscrutahle OF historical
romances, and is complicated 10y some
slight inaccuracies and confu,ions OF
learned modern French historians TO
them and To their diligent researches
In archives We owe all our information
yet it must DE said that they OCCASION
ally mislead or perplex US by making
errors not very difficult to avoid.
NJ. Vignier says that Due de Gram
mont has been surprised by his main
tanning that Jeanne was not burned
Ills authSty for his skepticism is the
extract from the Metz Chronicle dis
covered by his brother, Pere Nigner
and copied ont for him by notary
royal, as early as March. 1915. This
famous extract may be abridged to the
following effect: On May 20, 1896. Ia
Pucelle Jehanne arrived at La Grange
aux Ormes near ST. Privay. Thence
She was taken to see some noblcmen
at Metz, "et Sc faisoit appeler Claude"
That same day came two Of the
maids brothers Pierre du Lys,
knight, and Petit Jehan, an esquire
They thought that their sister hal
been burned, but as soon as they saw
this woman they recognized he-, a.
she did them Presents Of arms
horses and jewels were conferred on
this false Pucelle, who passed into
Luxembourg, where she was enter
tanned at Arlon by Nine de Luxem-
bourg- Elizabeth Of Corlitz. Thence
the count u Warnonbourg Wurtem
berg led her t. Cologne; he loved her
much, and gave her a very fair cuirass
(Some of the gentlemen who welcomed
this false maid had seen Jeanne dare
at Rheims, Says VI. Lecoy de la MarcheJ
From Cologne she returned to Arlon
and married the knight Robert des
Armoises. or dies lermoises The bride
and bridegroom retired 10 Metz, and
lived, as long IS they pleased, in Rob
ert's house before the church Of Saiucte
Segoleine Nineteenth Century Re
view.