e several war songs on the battle of Sempach
which have come down to us, but in one only is there mention of
Winkelried and his deed. This is a long ballad of sixty-seven
four-line stanzas, part of which (including the Winkelried section)
is found in the additions made between 1531 and 1545 to Etterlin's
chronicle by H. Berlinger of Basel, and the whole in Werner
Steiner's chronicle (written 1532). It is agreed on all sides that
the last stanza, attributing the authorship to Halbsuter, of
Lucerne, "as he came back from the battle," is a very late addition.
Many authorities regard it as made up of three distinct songs (one
of which refers to the battle and Winkelried), possibly put together
by the younger Halbsuter (citizen of Lucerne in 1435, died between
1470 and 1480); though others contend that the Sempach-Winkelried
section bears clear traces of having been composed after the
Reformation began, that is, about 1520 or 1530. Some recent
discoveries have proved that certain statements in the song, usually
regarded as anachronisms, are quite accurate; but no nearer approach
has been made toward fixing its exact date, or that of any of the
three bits into which it has been cut up. In this song the story
appears in its full-blown shape, the name of Winckelriet being
given.

[Illustration: Arnold Winkelried At Sempach.]

JOAN OF ARC[8]

[Footnote 8: Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.]

By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX

(1412-1431)

[Illustration: Joan of Arc.]

In the history of the world since the dawn of time, there is no other
character so remarkable to me as that of Joan of Arc.

You have but to think of any young girl of your acquaintance, seventeen
years old, and try to imagine her leading an army to battle, storming a
fort, or planning a campaign, in order to realize in a measure the
astounding qualities possessed by this wonderful being.

Not only did she do all this as wisely as the most astute general who
ever lived, but she succeeded in liberating France from the hands of the
English, where we have very good reason to think it might have otherwise
remained to this day; for the English were gaining ground steadily, and
the French dauphin was utterly discouraged, and had ceased to make an
effort to maintain his rights, when Joan of Arc came to his rescue.

The English king, Henry V., had died in the midst of his triumphs. Two
months later, imbecile Charles VI., of France, passed away also, and
H