ereigns led to wars and tumults; how, in the time of Henry the Fifth,
of England, a state of wild confusion existed on the continent, and how
that king also claimed to be king of France; how this fifth Henry was
married to Catherine, daughter of King Charles, and how they were
crowned king and queen of France; how, in the midst of his triumphs,
Henry died, and his son, an infant less than a year old, was declared
king in his stead; how wars broke out, and how, at last, a simple maiden
saved her country from the grasp of ambitious men. Hardly anything in
history is more wonderful than, the way in which she was raised up to
serve her country's need, and, having served it, died a martyr in its
cause.

Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans, was born in the forest of Greux, upon the
Meuse, in the village of Domremy, in Lorraine, in the year 1412. At this
time France was divided into two factions--the Burgundians and the
Armagnacs--the former of whom favored the English cause, and the latter
pledged to the cause of their country.

Joan was the daughter of simple villagers. She was brought up
religiously, and from her earliest youth is said to have seen visions
and dreamed dreams; the one great dream of her life was, however, the
deliverance of her country from foreign invasions and domestic broils.
When only about thirteen years of age, she announced to the astonished
townspeople that she had a mission, and that she meant to fulfill it.

The disasters of the war reached Joan's home; a party of Burgundians
dashed into Domremy, and the Armagnacs fled before them. Joan's family
took refuge in the town of Neufchateau, and she paid for their lodging
at an inn by helping the mistress of the house.

Here, in a more public place, it was soon seen and wondered at that such
a young girl was so much interested in the war. Her parents were already
angry that she would not marry. They began to be frightened now. Jacques
D'Arc told one of his sons that sooner than let Joan go to the camp he
would drown her with his own hands. She could not, however, be kept
back. Very cautiously, and as though afraid to speak of such high
things, she began to let fall hints of what she saw. Half-frightened
herself at what she said, she exclaimed to a neighbor, "There is now,
between Colombey and Vaucouleurs, a maid who will cause the king of
France to be crowned!"

Now came the turn in the war, when all the strength of both sides was to
be gathered up into one