THE FRENCH SPIRIT 35 



God's lightuiug to its maik, that rau before France aud 

 laggard Europe by many a century, confounding the mal- 

 ice of the ensuai'er, and making dumb the oracles of false- 

 hood." 



To these estimates we add that of Mark Twain, who has ciemens 

 made one of the most discriminating studies of the Maid 

 of Orleans, and given his mature conclusions in a recent 

 article entitled "Saint Joan of Arc." After a masterly 

 review of her military career — "the briefest epoch-mak- 

 ing military career known to history," lasting only a year 

 and a month — he says : 



"That this untrained young creature's genius for war a Genius 

 was wonderful, and her generalship worthy to rank with 

 the ripe products of a tried and trained military expe- 

 rience, we have the sworn testimony of two of her veteran 

 subordinates — one, the Due d' Alenyon, the other the great- 

 est of the French generals of the time, Dunois, Bastard 

 of Orleans ; that her genius was as great — possibly even 

 greater — in the subtle warfare of the forum, we have for 

 witness the records of the Rouen Trials, that protracted 

 exhibition of intellectual fence maintained with credit 

 against the master-minds of France ; that her moral great- 

 ness was peer to her intellect we call the Rouen Trials 

 again to witness, with their testimony to a fortitude which 

 patiently and steadfastly endured during twelve weeks 

 the wasting forces of captivity, chains, loneliness, sick- 

 ness, darkness, hunger, thirst, cold, shame, insult, abuse, 

 broken sleep, treachery, ingratitude, exhausting sieges of 

 cross-examination, the threat of torture, with the rack 

 before her and the executioner standing ready : yet never 

 surrendering, never asking quarter, the frail wreck of her 

 as unconquerable the last day as was her invincible spirit 

 the first. 



" From the verdict (of Rehabilitation, twenty-five years The wondor 

 after she had been condemned and burned by the Church ° ^ ^^^ 

 as a witch and familiar of evil spirits) she rises stainlessly 

 pure in mind and heart, in speech aud deed and spirit, 



