Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-08-23

the task was harder than that of N
martyr defyiug thu foes Of his faith.
These very walls heard her simple and
brave answer. "Truly, Though Won
should destroy my limbs. and make NV
soul go forth from my body, / shall not
say TO you augbt else; and II should
say to you any snch thing. ] should
always say afterwards that you made
me say 1t by forco." Tho spot in the
old market place whore she was after
wards burned is marked by marble
slab, and above on the wall is a tablet
to her memory, which is always over
hung with the hideous funeral wreaths
of flowers made of black, white and
purple beads such as ornament every
tombstone in every cemetery in Francs
and add another terror to death.
Jeanne's statute in a square nearby
is hung also with these wreaths and
within one is the inscription, "Aban.
doned by the people, denied by the
king, burned by the church. I"
Wc seem TO havo aliehted In tho
midst Of historic localities for our
neighbor, tho old priory of st. GerYais
where William the Conqueror died,
was later tho headquarters of the Duke
of Clarence during the siege OF the
town by Henry the Fifth. The hill
back of us is the Mnntaux Malades,
thus named because on its summit was
built hospital and church for the care
Of the cases Of leprosy brought back
from the East by those who went to
the Crusades. We trust the neighbor-
hood has had time to be disinfected
since that time. A part OF the original
church still remains in the line found
Norman arches of the nave OF the
present church. The unfortunate iepers
were conducted to the hospital with
exactly the same ceremony as was used
for the ipterment OF the dead. Each
was followed by the brotherhood to
which he belonged and preceded by
mourner ringing a dirge, The service
for the dead as read in the church
before he entered the hospital where
he was to spend the rest of his life.
At American weddings bridesmaids
and ushers make frantic efforts to label
the bride and groom SO that all may
recognize them as such; their labors
would be spared in France, for there
TODD people the bride and groom on
leaving the church where they were
married lead in q long procession of
funeral sayo for the gay dresses within,
while among the poorer classes the
world is even more Enthusiastically ap-
prised Of the happy event. We have
been favored by the sight of several
such Wedding parties down the street
| by our house. The bride, dressed in
white with crown of white flowers on
her head and white slippers on her
feet, danced down the dusty hill with
| the groom's arm around her waist, and
followed by the whole bridal company,
including the parents, all dancing
! along with arms entwined. At one Of
these dances the fiddler, who rrecedes
them wished TO turn into side street
when the whole party stopped in
protest, evidently not wishing to be
detected from their course down the
main street. They argued loudly and
sooD was surrounded by the crowd
apparently desired, to see their we'd
ding bravery.
The European custom Of building
high walls around house does not
add TO the beauty Of the street, but
does insure the privacy and comfort Of
the homo, for the family can enjoy Us
freely and unobser,ed the delights Of
the garden as Of the house. These
gardens are charming and homelike;
around the walls are trained grape
vines and fruit trees; there are neat,
well tended strawberry beds, iose-
bushes that seem always in bloom,
ported plants effectively disposed,
cherry trees loaded with fruit and
always stretch of green turf and q
summer house with foliage, dense as
wall. where the family dine al freses
on summer evenings with fresh ROSES
on the table, dessert of cherries fresh
from the tree, or berries from the beds
and all is intimate and cosy. A. s.