The Irish standard., 1905-01-07
THE HOLY MAID
Mark TWain's Euolgy Of "Saint
Joan of Arc"
Most Extraordinary Person
Race Has Produced.

Mark Twain contributes an article ell
titled Saint Joan of Are" He says
that the official record of the trials and
trbulations of Joan of Arc is the most
remarkable history that exists in any
language, and he styles Joan us 1.-THE
NEST extraordinary person the human
race has ever produced" Mr.. Clemens
concludes his sketch us follows:
We can understand how Joan of Arc
could be born with a military genius,
with leonine courage, with incompar;l-
bic fortitude, with a mind which was
in several particulars prodigy
mind which included among its spe-
cialties the lawyers gift of detecting
traps laid by the adversary in cunning
and treacherous arrangements of
seemingly innocent words, the orators
gift Of eloquence, the advocates gift
of presenting case in clear and conf
pact form, the judges gift of sorting
and weighing evidence, and finally,
mere trace of the statesman's gift Of
understanding Il political situation and
how to make profitable use of such op.
portunities as it offers; we can COM
prehend how she should be born with
these great qualities, but we cannot
comprehend how they became immedi-
tnl1 nffn
developing forces of a sympathetic at
mosphere and the training which
comes Of teaching, study, practice,
| years of practice-and the help of a
thousand mistakes. We can UNDER
stand how the possibilities of the fu-
ture perfect peach are all lying hid in
the humble bitter almond, but we can
| not conceive the peach springing di-
rectly from the almond without the in
tervening long seasons of patient cult
Walton and development, Out of cat
tle-pasturing peasant village lost in the
remoteness Of an unvisited wilderness
and atrophied with ages Of stupefac-
ton and ignorance we cannot see a
Joan of Arc issue equipped to the last
detail for her amazing career and hope
to be able to explain the riddle of it,
labor at it as we may.
1t is beyond us. All the rules fail in
this girls case. In the worlds history
| she stands alOne-quite alone. Others
have been great in their first public
exhibitions of genralship, valor, legal
talent, diplomacy, fortitude; but al
ways their previous years and associa-
tiOns had been i'll a larger or smaller
degree u preparation for these things.
There have been no exceptions to the
ule. But joan was competent in law
case at 1G without ever having seen a
law book or a courthouse before; she
had no training in soldiership and no
associations with it, yet she was a
competent general in her first cam
paign; she was brave in her first battle,
yet her courage had no educa tion-not
even the education which boys
courage gets from never-ceasing re-
minders that it is not permissible in
mimi iiniiinun uu uffl .;:,;TAO N
a boy to be coward, but only in a
girl; friendless, alone, ignorant, in the
blossom of her youth, she sat week
litter week, prisoner in chains, before
her assemblage of judges, enemies
hunting her to the death, the ablest
minds in France, and answered them
out of an untaught wisdom which over
matched their learning, baffled their
tricks and treacheries with native
Sagacity which compelled their Won
der, and scored every day a victory
against these incredible odds and
camped unchallcnged on the field. In
the history of the human intellect, I'M
trained, inexperienced, and using only
its birthright equipment. of untried
capacities, there is nothing which APP
prOacllcs this. Joan of Arc stands
alone. and must continue to stand
alone, by reason of the unfellowed fact
that in the things wherein she was
great she was so without shade or sug-
%cstion Of help from preparatory teach
ing. practice, environment or expert
cncc. There is no one to compare her
with. none to measure her by; for all
others among the illustrious grew to-
wards their high place in an atmos-
phcre and surroundings which discov-
cred their gift to them and nourished
Fit, Intentionally or unconsciously. There
have been other young generals, but
they We're not girls; young generals,
but they have been soldiers before
they We're genrals; she began as
general; she commanded the first army
she ever saw; she led it from victory
to victory, and never lost battle with
it; there have been young commanders
in-chief, but none so young as she;
she is the only soldier in history who
has held the supreme command of
nations armies at the age of IL.
Her history has still another feature
which sets her apart and leaves her
without fellow or competitor: there
have been many uninspired prophets,
but she was the only one who ever ven-
tured the daring detail of naming,
along with foretold event. the events
NraciSo notIro tho cnooiol tip,o limit