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HISTORY,

ETC. ETC.

JEANNE D'ARC was the daughter of James d'Arc and of Isabella Romée, labouring people, living upon the produce of a small landed property which they possessed at Domremy and its environs, of which they were the cultivators. James d'Arc was originally of Séfonds, near Montierender, being descended from a good and ancient family of that country, which is ascertained from several titles and contracts still preserved at Saint Dizier. The armorial bearings of this family were a bow armed with three arrows, the remains of which are still apparent upon some ancient tombs. Isabella Romée was a native of Vouthon, situate about three miles from Domremy. It It appears that these villagers were pious, unsophisticated, hospitable, and of the most rigid probity, enjoying a spotless reputation. Besides the heroine of our memoir, they had four children, three boys and a girl. The eldest son was named Jacquemin; the second, John; the

when the poor applied to her parents for relief. She was scrupulously obedient to her parents; she frequented the company of the most virtuous females of the village, and she was cherished by all the inhabitants of Domremy.

When her work was done, Jeanne would repair to the church, where, upon her knees, she offered up her prayers with a fervency that bespoke the devoutness of her mind.

In her thirteenth year, she displayed little taste for those amusements which are followed with avidity by girls of such an age; and when they commenced their pastimes, Jeanne retired to her secret devotions. She was particularly fond of conversing on the subject of the Almighty, and of the Virgin Mary, who was the object of her tenderest love and constant thoughts.

Jeanne did not frequent the church at mass only and vespers, but was equally fond of embracing all opportunities of religious worship. She often went to confession, and never failed to receive the sacrament at Easter. She was frequently discovered in the church alone, her looks stedfastly fixed upon the images of our Saviour and the Virgin; and when the sound of the bell summoned the rustics to devotion, Jeanne was uniformly among the first to repair to the village sanctuary for that purpose.

Not far from Domremy, was a small chapel con

secrated to the Virgin, known by the name of the Hermitage of Saint Mary, or, the Chapel of our Lady of Bellemont. The young men and maids of Domremy and of Greux were accustomed to repair thither, for prayer, on a certain day of every year. Jeanne was in the habit of attending this spot every Saturday to meditate upon God, and to deplore the calamities to which France was then subjected. Thither, by way of offering, she carried candles, which she burnt before the image of the Virgin, to whom she addressed her prayers. Sometimes, during the week, an irresistible desire would prompt her to visit this chapel, while her parents thought she was occupied in the fields, or pursuing her usual labours. The spot upon which this structure stood is still distinguishable by a mass of stones, which are not, however, the remains of that ancient building, but merely a heap of rubbish collected in the fields, and regularly deposited there by the labourers.

Not far from Domremy rose the venerable forest of Chenu, which could be seen from the residence of Jeanne d'Arc. Beneath this wood, on the high road leading from the village to Neufchateau, was a majestic beech whose spreading foliage afforded a welcome shade to the weary traveller. So aged was this tree, that at the period of Jeanne's infancy no one could ascertain the time at which it had been planted, and it was known by the name

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