against whom they defended them- The fervant giving him fach an an felves with an intrepidity which fhewfwer as was fatisfactory, he fuffered him to mount him on his horse, and to conduct him as gently as poffible to the houfe which he had defcried from the top of the tree. On their approach towards the porch the humane inhabit ed that they were determined to fell their lives very dearly. Agapetus had flain three of the affailants with his own hand, but having received many deep wounds, and growing faint with lofs of blood, he tumbled from his horfeant, whofe locks were filvered over with and lay on the ground without motion, and feemingly without life. His fervant, alarmed at his fall, rufhed into the thickeft part of the wood, leaving his mafter to the cruelty of his affffins. The captain of the banditti, thinking him really dead, riffed his pockets of every thing that was valuable, ordered one of his comrades to place his portmanteau on his horfe, and gave a fignal for the corps to quit the dangerous pot without delay. ge, and whofe heart was the temple of all the focial virtues, met them with tottering fteps, and with the warmeft fympathy invited Agapetus to accept of fuch affiftance as his family could afford him. Old Martio's wife feconded his entreaties, and Agapetus was introduced into a chamber, where his fervant undreffed him and put him to bed. After fome moments, which Martio thought neceflary for his refreshment from the fatigue of undreffing him, the old man entered the room, accompanied by his fon, who had ftudied furgery at Paris, and after a few years practice had accumulated fo ample a fortune that he determined to quit the profeffion, to retire to his father, to rock the cradle of declining age, and supply with oil a lamp, whose flame was quivering to a point, and must foon be extinguifhed. As foon as the banditti were gone, which Agapetus's fervant was apprifed of by the found of their horfes hoofs, he crept towards that part of the wood near which he faw his mafter fall: glad even to hear him groan, as he thought that his death was certain, he rufhed out of the wood, tore his own linen to bind up his master's wounds, and perceiving a fpring bubbling at a fmall diftance, ran to it to fetch fome water, with which he firft washed his On examining Agapetus's wounds, mafter's face, and the remainder, which the old man's fon pronounced them he had referved for that purpose, dangerous, but not mortal. He made he made him fwallow as well as he ufe of his utmost fkill towards his recould. After the interval of a few covery; but what contributed most tominutes Agapetus opened his eyes, re-wards it, were the attentions of Cleocognised the humanity of his fervant, ra, Martio's youngest daughter. and clofed them again. The fervant too well perceived his weakness, and refolving, if poffible, to remove him to fome place where he might receive all that affittance which he ftood in need of, and which it was not in his power to give him, he afcended one of the loftiest trees in the wood, and after an anxious furvey of the country around, he efpied an old feat fituated in the midit of a grove. Overjoyed with this difcovery he defcended, ran to his mafter, who had fomewhat recovered his fpeech, and afked him if there were no hofpitable roof near in which he might lay his wounded limbs, and exhale his departing breath? The young lady had taken the veil, but the convent to which she belonged being fo much out of repair, so as not to be habitable, fhe was indulged, as is ufual in fuch cafes, to refide among her friends. The rules of the fociety to which fhe belonged enjoined its members to vifit the fick and wounded, and to adminifter them fuch affiftance as might expedite either the effects of the drugs of the phyfician, or the applications of the furgeon. (To be concluded in our next.) ME Memoirs of the Maid of Orleans. MEMOIRS of the celebrated MAID of ORLEANS. (Continued from p. 369.) N affembly of grave doctors and 457 vere, affembled to efcort it. She ordered all the foldiers to confefs themfelves before they fet out on the enterprize; fhe banished from the camp all women of bad fame; fhe difplayed A theologians cautioudly examin- in her hands a confecrated ba ner, ed Joan's miffion, and pronounced it undoubted and fupernatural. She was fent to the parliament then refiding at Poitiers, and was interrogated before that assembly-the prefidents, the counsellors, who came perfuaded of her impofture, went away convinced of her inspiration. A ray of hope began to break through that defpair, in which the minds of all men were before enveloped. Heaven had now declared itself in favour of France, and had laid bare its outstretched arm to take vengeance on her invaders. Few could diftinguish between the impulfe of inclination, and the force of conviction; and none would fubmit to the trouble of fo difagreeable a fcrutiny. After thefe artificial precautions and preparations had been for fome time employed, Joan's requests were at lalt complied with; fhe was armed cap-apee, mounted on horfeback, and fhewn in that martial habiliment before the whole people. Her dexterity in managing her feed, though acquired in her former occupation, was regarded as a new proof of her miffion, and the was received with the loudeft acclamations by the fpectators. Her former occupation was even denied; fhe was no longer the fervant of an inn; she was converted into a fhepherdefs, an employment much more agreeable to the imagination. To render her ftill more interefting, near ten years were fubtracted from her age, and all the fentiments of love and chivalry were thus united to thofe of enthufiafm, in order to inflame the fond fanof the people with prepoffeffions in her favour. cy When the engine was thus dreffed up in full fplendor, it was time to ef fay its force against the enemy. Joan was fent to Blois, where a large convoy was prepared for the fupply of Orleans; and an army of ten thousand men, under the command of St. SeVOL. X. where the Supreme Being was reprefented grasping the globe of the earth, and furrounded with flower-de-luces; and the infifted, in right of her prophetic miffion, that the convoy should enter Orleans by the direct road from the fide of Beauffe: but the Count de Dunois, unwilling to fubmit the rules of the military art to her infpirations, ordered it to approach by the other fide of the river. where he knew the weakest part of the English army was ftationed. Previous to this attempt, the Maid had wrote to the Regent, and to the English general before Orleans, commanding them, in the name of the Omnipotent Creator, by whom he was commiffioned, immediately to raise the fiege, and to evacuate France, and menacing them with divine vengeance in cafe of their difobedience. AR the English affected to speak with derulon of the Maid, and of her heavenly commiffion, and faid, that the French king was now indeed reduced to a forry pass, when he had recourse to such ridiculous expedients: but they felt their imagination fecretly struck with the vehement perfuafion which prevailed in all around them, and they waited with an anxious expectation, not unmixed with horror, for the iffue of thefe extraordinary preparations. As the convoy approached the river, a fally was made by the garrifon, on the fide of Beauffe, to prevent the English general from fending any detachment to the other fide: the provifions were peaceably embarked in boats, which the inhabitants of Orleans had fent to receive them: the Maid covered with her troops the embarkation : Suffolk ventured not to attack her; and the French general carried back the army in fafety to Blois : an alteration of affairs which was already vifible to all the world, and which had a proportional effect on the minds of both parties. 3 N The Maid entered the town of Orleans, arrayed in her military garb, and difplaying her confecrated ftandard, and was received as a celestial deliverer by all the inhabitants. They now believed themselves invincible under her facred influence, and Dunois himself perceiving fuch a mighty alteration both in friends and foes, confented that the next convoy, which was expected in a few days, fhould enter by the fide of Beauffe. The convoy approached; the waggons and troops were paffed without interruption between the redoubts of the English; a dead filence and aftonishment reigned among thofe troops, formerly fo elated with victory, and fo fierce for the combat. one redoubt, and proved fuccefsful : all the English who defended the entrenchments were put to the fword, or taken prisoners; and Sir John Talbot himself, who had drawn together, from the other redoubts, fome troops to bring them relief, dared not to appear in the open field against so formidable an enemy. Nothing feemed impoffible after this fuccefs to the Maid and her enthusias tic votaries. She urged the generals to attack the main body of the English in their entrenchments; but Dunois, ftill unwilling to hazard the fate of France by too great temerity, and fenfible that the leaft reverfe of fortune would make all the prefent visions evaporate, and restore every thing to its The Earl of Suffolk was in a fitua- former condition, checked her vehetion very unusual and extraordinary, mence, and proposed to her first to exand which might well confound a man pel the enemies from the forts on the of the greatest capacity and firmest other fide of the river, and thus lay temper. He faw his troops overawed, the communication with the country and ftrongly impreffed with the idea entirely open, before the attempted any of a Divine influence accompanying the more hazardous enterprizes. Joan was Maid. Instead of banishing these vain perfuaded, and these forts were vigoterrors by hurry, and action, and war, roufly affailed. In one attack the he waited till the foldiers fhould re- French were repulfed; the Maid was cover from the panic, and he thereby left almoft alone; fhe was obliged to gave leifure to thofe prepoffeffions to retreat, and join the runaways; but fink ftill deeper into their minds. The difplaying her facred standard, and amilitary maxims, which are prudent innimating them with her countenance, common cafes, deceived him in thefe her geftures, her exhortations, she led unaccountable events. The English them back to the charge and overfelt their courage daunted and over-powered the English in their entrenchwhelmed, and thence inferred a Divine vengeance hanging over them. The French drew the fame inference from an inactivity fo new and unexpected. Every circumstance was now reverfed in the opinions of men, on which all depends. The fpirit, refulting from a long course of uninterrupted fuccefs, was on a fudden transferred from the victors to the vanquifhed. ments. In the attack of another fort, he was wounded in the neck with an arrow; the retreated a moment behind the affailants; fhe pulled out the arrow with her own hands; fhe had the wound quickly dreffed; and she hastened back to head the troops, and to plant her victorious banner on the ramparts of the enemy. By all thefe fucceffes the English The Maid called aloud, that the were entirely chased from their fortigarrifon fhould remain no longer on fications on that fide: they had loft athe defenlive, and the promifed her bove fix thousand men in thefe differfollowers the affittance of heaven in at- ent actions, and what was ftill more tacking those redoubts of the enemy, important, their wonted courage and which had fo long kept them in awe, confidence were wholly gone, and had and which they had never hitherto given place to amazement and despair. dared to infult. The generals fecond-The Maid returned triumphant to the ed her ardour; an attack was made on bridge, and was again received as the guard Memoirs of the Maid of Orleans. guardian angel of the city. After performing fuch miracles, the convinced the moft obdurate incredulity of her divine miffion : men felt themselves animated as by a fuperior energy, and thought nothing impoffible to that divine hand, which fo vifibly conducted them. It was in vain even for the English generals to oppofe with their foldiers the prevailing opinion of fupernatural influence. They themselves were probably moved with the fame belief. The utmost they dared to advance was, that Joan was not an inftrument of God; he was only the implement of the devil: but as the English had felt, to their fad experience, that the devil might be allowed Yometimes to prevail, they derived not much confolation from the enforcing of this opinion. It might prove [have proved] extremely dangerous for Suffolk, with fuch intimidated troops, to remain any longer in the prefence of fuch a courageous and victorious enemy, and he therefore raised the fiege, and retreated with all the precautions imaginable. The French refolved to push their conquefts, and to allow the English not leisure to recover from their confternation. Charles formed a body of fix thousand men, and fent them to attack Jergeau, whither Suffolk had retired with a detachment of his army. The fiege lafted ten days, and the place was obftinately defended. Joan difplayed her wonted intrepidity on this occafion. She defcended into the force in leading the attack, and fhe there received a blow on the head with a ftone, by which fhe was confounded, and beat to the ground: but the foon recovered herself, and in the end rendered the af fault fuccefs ful: Suffolk was obliged to yield himself a prifoner to a Frenchman, called Renaud; but before he fubmitted, he asked his adversary whether he was a gentleman. On receiving a fatisfactory answer, he demanded whether he was a knight. Renaud replied, that he had not yet attained that honour. "Then I make you one," replied Suffolk; upon which he gave him a blow with his fword, which 459 dubbed him into that fraternity; and he immediately furrendered himself his prifoner. So The remainder of the English army was commanded by Faftolffe, Scales, and Talbot, who thought of nothing. but making their retreat as foon as poffible into a place of fafety, while the French efteemed the overtaking them equivalent to a victory. much had the events which paffed before Orleans altered every thing between the two nations. The vanguard of the French, under Xaintrailles, attacked the rear of the enemy at the village of Patay. The battle lafted not a moment: the English were difcomfited and fied: the brave Faftolffe himself fhewed the example of flight to his troops; and the order of the garter was taken from him as a punishment for this inftance of cowardice.Two thoufand men were killed in this action, and both Talbot and Scales taken prisoners. It is certain In the account of all thefe fucceffes, the French writers, to magnify the wonder, reprefent the Maid (who was now known by the appellation of the Maid of Orleans) as not only active in the combat, but as performing the office of general, directing the troops, conducting the military operations, and fwaying the deliberations in all councils of war. that the policy of the French court endeavoured to maintain this appearance with the public; but it is much more probable that Dunois and the wifer commanders prompted her in pl her meafures, than that a courty girl, without experience or education, could, on a fudden, become expert in a profeffion, which requires more gonius and capacity than any other active fcene of life. It is futficient prake that she could diflinguish the perfons on whofe judgment the might rely; that the could feize the hints and fuggetions, and, on a fudden, deliver the opinion as her own; and that he could crab, on occafion, that vifionary and ent fiaftic fpirit, with which he was u doubtedly actuated, and could terr it with prudence and difcretion. 3 N 2 (To be continued.) The MISTAKEN LOVER. (Concluced from Page 400.) B eclairciffement, taking each of the ladies by the arm, was going homewards, when the mufical friends, begged to have the honour of attending them home. When they came to the houfe Bentivolio thanked them for their civility, and afked them to go in and accept of fome refreshment. After staying fome time, and talking on a variety of fubjects, that preference which Antonio could not first beftow, was now decided: and the prize was given to Sapphira. There was a gentleness and mildnefs in her fentiments which he could not but ad The railing of the fieze of Oricans armour, and difplaying her facred banwas one part of the Maid's promife toner, which bad fo often dipated and Charles; the crowning him at Rheims confounded his fierceft enemies: and was the other; and the now infiled the people fhouted with the most unvehemently, that he would forthwith feigned joy, on viewing fuch a complifet out on that enterprize. A few cation of wonders. weeks before, fuch a propofal would have appeared the moft extravagant in the world. Rheins lay in a diftant quarter of the kingdom, was then in the hands of a victorious enemy, the whole road wn'ch led to it was occupied by their garritons, and no imagination could be fo fanguine as to thinkDENTIVOLIO, fatisfied with the that fuch an attempt could fo foon come within the bounds of poffibility; but as it was extremely the intereft of Charles to maintain the belief of fomething extraordinary and divine in these events, and to avail himself of the prefent confternation of the English, he refolved to follow the exhortations of his warlike prophetefs, and to lead his army upon this promifing adventure. Hitherto he had kept remote from the fcene of war: as the fafety of the ftate depended entirely upon his perfon, he had been perfuaded to retrain his military ardour: but obferving this profperous turn of affairs, he now deter-mire, and if her perfon was truely fe mined to appear at the head of his ar- minine, there was not less femality in mies, and to fet the example of valour her mind. As they were all together to all his foldiers and the French on the threshold Antonio feemed by nobility faw at once their young fo- his looks to beg a fecond interview vereign affuming a new and more bril- with Alicia, who anfwered only with liant character, feconded by fortune, blufhes. Altamont bowing, thanked and conducted by the hand of hea- Bentivolio for his kindnefs, and begven; and they caught fresh zeal to ex-ged he might be permitted to renew ert themselves in placing him on the his vifit. Bentivolio, with all the cauthrone of his ancestors. tion of age, replied," he must first Charles fet out for Rheims at the be acquainted with his character: afhead of twelve thousand men ; heter which it would be time enough to paffed by Troye, which opened its give him an anfwer." gates to him: Chalons imitated the To obviate all objections, Altamont example; Rheims fent him a deputa-informed him of his family, and his extion with its keys, before his approach pectations, concluding with those of to it; and he fearce perceived, as he Antonio his friend. paffed along, that he was marching through an enemy's country. The ceremony of his coronation was here performed with the holy oil, which a pigeon had brought to King Clovis from heaven, on the firft eftablishment of the French monarchy: the Maid of Orleans itood by his fide, in complete By this detail Bentivolio found the parents of Altamont and Antonio were his intimate acquaintance: but still attached to his characteristical precaution, he replied, that he was fatisfied with his connections; but it were neceffary that they fhould each of them gain the confent of their parents, pre |