475273. JOAN OF ARC OR THE MAID OF ORLEANS FROM MICHELET'S HISTORY OF FRANCE TOUT BOSTON AND NEW YORK KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK 0710 6989 PREFACE. OUR prosy American homes need to be illuminated by the presence of heroines and of heroès. Long enough have the shadows of the bloodless personages of mere fiction rested upon the hearthstone. Life and history are always stranger than the day-dreams of fancy; they can satisfy the cravings of imagination, while they feed the heart and instruct the mind. We hunger for the real, and our souls grow strong when nourished with "deeds sublime." In our series of brief Biographies, we offer to all, portraits of the world's most heroic spirits, drawn by th most skilful hands. We begin with a woman, Joan of Arc, the Lie is the most (iii) brilliant chapter in Michelet's brilliant History of France. You have it here, reader, in large, clear type, and can easily peruse it, while sitting at home or riding along the dusty highway. If the true story of that child of France does not make your heart strangely beat, then go your way, - hoe your corn or wash your dishes, count your cash or return Mrs. Grundy's call, cut a coat or sew a shirt, write a brief or give the finishing touch of educational death to a beautiful young soul,-there is no latent heroism, no latent romance, in you; it is impossible to awaken in you not what sleeps, but what exists not, for it is not given to mortal to create something out of nothing. Accept, then, all you that are worthy,and we take comfort in believing that you are the majority, this picture of feminine heroism. The life of Joan of Arc reveals to us the heart of France, and prophecies to us, more clearly than the philosophic words of any statesman, the future of that great people. America, too, in due time, shall have her Maid of Orleans, to represent the noblest, purest womanhood that history has yet developed. The cry of protest, raised here and there with more or less wisdom, or folly, points to a future that is not without hope. Everybody in this country has heard of M. Michelet, but very few know any thing about him. A brief sketch of his life, we think, will be interesting to many. Jules Michelet was born at Paris, August 21, 1798. In 1821, he entered upon a career of instruction, under the happiest auspices. From that period to the year 1826, he was successively employed at the Collége Rollin as teacher of history, of ancient languages, and of philosophy. In 1827 he was appointed Maitre des Conferences at the École Normale. Shortly after the revolution of July he was placed at the head of the historical department of the National Archives. In 1838 he succeeded Daunau in the chair of history and moral philosophy |