in a version of our own, as neither of the versions before us is quite to our mind. "And is it true, then? Am I with my people? And am no more rejected and despised? They curse me not; kindly they look upon me! This is my king! the banners these of France; See She receives her flag, and continues : you the rainbow yonder in the air? Her arms to me in love she stretches forth.- Whether Schiller was justified in departing as completely as he has done from the historical truth of this remarkable episode in the annals of the world, is a question into which we will not enter further than to express our conviction that, in the hands of such a poet as he, the heroine of Orleans would have lost none of the interest attaching to her career, if the crown of Christian martyrdom had been superadded to her well-earned laurels. Certain it is that no one has ever seized her character as completely as Schiller; nor does any part of his splendid poem contain a more graphic picture of the state of her mind, as it appears on the face of the historical documents now for the first time published, reluctant to enter upon her career of greatness, and yet full of holy enthusiasm and of pious resolution,-than the stanzas at the conclusion of the prologue, in which she takes leave of the scenes of her youth, to go forth on her high errand; and which will form the most appropriate conclusion to this tribute of our pen to the memory of Joan of Arc': 4 We are again obliged to have recourse to a version of our own. Mr. Thompson's rendering of these stanzas is altogether a failure. Instead of imitating the appropriate lyric stanzas of Schiller, he has lengthened them out, more suo, into epic Spenserian stanzas; and the translation, if translation it can be called, is throughout so full of affectation, and so unfaithful to the original, that we do not 66 Farewell ye mountains, and ye pastures lov'd; "Ye haunts of mine, where I my heart did yield Of danger, I another flock must tend. think it worth while to reproduce it. Miss Swanwick has preserved the metre, but taken a liberty, in our opinion unwarrantable, with the arrangement of the rhymes; her version is, as usual, simpler, closer to the original, and altogether superior; yet it does not satisfy us. We subjoin it, together with the original: Lebt wohl, ihr Berge, ihr geliebten Triften, Johanna sagt euch ewig Lebewohl. Ihr Wiesen, die ich wässerte! Ihr Bäume, Du Echo, holde Stimme dieses Thals, Ihr Plätze alle meiner stillen Freuden, Euch lass ich hinter mir auf immerdar! Zerstreuet euch, ihr Lämmer, auf der Heiden! Ihr seid jetzt eine hirtenlose Schaar, Denn eine andre Herde muss ich weiden, Dort auf dem blut'gen Felde der Gefahr. So ist des Geistes Ruf an mich ergangen; Mich treibt nicht eitles, irdisches Verlangen. Farewell ye mountains, ye beloved glades, Ye silent peaceful valleys, fare ye well! Johanna bids you all a long farewell. Which I have planted, bloom in beauty Farewell ye grottos and ye crystal springs! And thou, sweet vocal spirit of the vale, Who sang'st responsive to my simple strain, Johanna goes and ne'er returns again! Ye scenes of all my peaceful heartfelt joys, For ever now I leave you far behind! My gentle lambs, poor flock without a fold, O'er the wide heath now wander unconfined; For I am call'd another flock to tend, Where armies on the field of battle blend. This hath the holy Spirit's voice made known; No earthly motive drives me forth alone. "For He, who did descend on Horeb's height "Round thy soft limbs rude armour thou must bear ', No man must e'er thy heart with visions fair "Rude armour now must clothe thy tender frame, Thy bosom heave beneath a plate of steel. No mortal there may kindle earthly flame, Thy heart the glow of passion ne'er may feel, Dir blüht kein lieblich Kind an deiner For thee no hand the bridal wreath shall 5 M. Soumet has imitated this stanza in the following lines : "Il faut d'un dur acier que mon front s'environne: "For when weak fear the stoutest shalt dismay, And, as the reap'ress swift mows to the ground His fortune's prosperous wheel shalt thou turn round, "He who thus spake, bade me expect a sign; And here it is: the helmet comes from Him; As if by tempest or impetuous stream; 'Denn wenn im Kampf die Muthigsten "For when the most courageous hearts despair, When humbled France is just about to yield, Then thou my conquering oriflamme shalt bare, And, like a reaper in the harvest field, Mow down the haughty victors to the ground; Thou soon shalt turn the wheel of fortune round, To Gaul's heroic sons deliverance bring, Relieve beleaguer'd Rheims, and crown the king." The holy Spirit promised me a sign; He sends the helmet,-it hath come from Him; Its touch endues me as with strength I feel the courage of the cherubim ! I hear the charger's neigh, the trumpet's And the loud war-cry echo shrilly round. Je ne serai point mère; offert à mon baiser, 6 The helmet brought to Dom Remi by Bertrand. See above, p. 271. ART. II.-1. English Churchwomen of the Seventeenth Century. Second Edition. Derby: H. Mozley and Sons. London: James Burns. 2. The Women of England, &c. By MRS. ELLIS. Twentieth Edition. London: Fisher and Co. 3. The Daughters of England. By MRS. ELLIS. 4. The Wives of England. By MRS. ELLIS. Edition, in white morocco. 5. The Mothers of England. By MRS. ELLIS. A Marriage-day 6. Strictures on the Modern System of Education. By HANNAH MORE. London: Cadell. 7. Woman in her Social and Domestic Character. By MRS. JOHN SANDFORD. Sixth Edition. London: Longman and Co. ENGLISH gentlewomen of the present day are little likely to err for want of advice. Counsel, such as it is, abounds; it can be had by the pound, by the hundredweight, or the ton; by duodecimo, octavo, or quarto, as it may be required. "Hints, "Strictures," "Letters," "Remarks," "Essays," on female education or female character have been perpetually bubbling forth from the press for the last few voluminous generations. Hannah More, Mrs. Sandford, Miss Edgeworth, Miss Hamilton, Mrs. Ellis, these are but a few of the governesses of the sex. Mrs. Ellis alone has given birth to a complete library for women. Advice is ever trickling-nay, streaming from her pen. "Women of England," "Mothers of England," "Daughters of England," have each their respective volumes of advice; while "coming" volumes "cast their shadows before," and to complete the set, we are threatened with some special lecturings of governesses and old maids. By that time she will have gone round all the points of the compass, N., N.E., N.N.E., and so on. She will have circumnavigated the female world; every variety of female condition will have had its separate book; the Ellis-ium will be complete; and even the ingenuity of the most inveterate bookmaker will fail to find another peg to hang any further advice upon. By that time, too, we doubt not, her powers, like her subjects, will be exhausted, and her strength spent ; for we con |