uct the King to Rheims, there to be
anointed. The enterprise so courageously proposed was considered, and
her services publicly accepted. On the 29th of April, 1429, Joan of
Arc appeared before Orleans, with twelve thousand men. She made an
attack upon Fort St. Loup, which she carried, sword in hand, as well
as the bulwarks of St. John. She had a banner made after her own
device; her sword was taken from the tomb of a knight, where it had
lain more than a century; her helmet was surmounted with feathers. She
remained at the head of the army until 1430, when she was taken
prisoner by the English, at the siege of Campaigne. From the moment
she was a prisoner, the heroine was forgotten. Joan was condemned at
Rouen, by Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais, and five other French bishops,
to be burned alive for magic and heresy, and her cruel sentence was
put in execution on the 24th of May, 1431. Thus was the admirable
heroine cruelly delivered over in her youth to the flames, and
expiated by the punishment of the fire the signal services which she
had rendered to her prince and native country. The scene for the
tableau is taken at the moment when Joan of Arc, sword in hand, is
leading on the storming party over the bulwarks of St. John. She is
seen on the top of the ramparts, near one of the cannon which has just
been fired. Her soldiers are charging over the bulwarks around her. In
the background are to be seen the troops of the various armies,
engaged in hostile combat. The battlements should be three or four
feet in height, two feet wide, running across the front of the stage,
with an embrasure in the centre. Boxes covered with imitation-stone
paper are to be used for its formation. If a small cannon cannot be
procured, a mock one may be constructed of wood. Platforms rising
gradually from the ramparts to the back scene must be used for the
figures in the background to stand on. Joan of Arc should be tall in
stature, of good figure, and fine looking, with large black eyes, and
long black hair. Costume consists of a crimson skirt, coat of mail
buttoned up to the throat, helmet with flowing plumes, riding gloves,
crimson sash across the breast, belt and side arms. The banner is made
of white cloth, trimmed with crimson, with a gold cross in the centre,
and a gilt spear, and tassels on the end of the staff. Sword of rich
design, and quite long. Her position is, near the cannon, the right
foot on the top of the ramparts or cannon, the