JOAN OF ARC. [ABRIDGED.] THOMAS DE QUINCEY. THOMAS DE QUINCEY was the son of a prosperous merchant in England. He was born at Manchester on the 15th of August, 1785, but spent his childhood in a country house near the town. He was a shy, dreamy boy, and his later writings record many impressions which he received in these early years. His father 5 died when he was about seven years old, and his mother, a stately lady with fine intellect, cared for her little ones at their country home, doing her best for their education. De Quincey learned to read and write while he was a very little child, but his first schooling was given him by one of his guard- 10 ians, who was curate in Salford, two miles from De Quincey's home. After the father's death William De Quincey, a boy of twelve, returned from boarding school. He was five years older than Thomas, boisterous, frank, and clever, and led his younger 15 brother a hard life. William waged war with the factory boys on his way to and from school, and poor little Thomas was forced to join in their battles. The hours of reverie and poetical thought were interrupted, for William took possession of him like a whirlwind. Four years later the old home was sold, De Quincey's mother went to live at Bath, and Thomas entered the grammar school of the town, where he remained for two years. He was very popular among the teachers because of his aptness as a Latin scholar. He was next sent to a private school, where he was a favorite because of his kind and friendly disposition and his willingness to help any of the boys with their Latin or Greek. He was a 20 25 leader in their games, but showed his literary turn of mind in mimic fights between the Greeks and Trojans. He had become acquainted with young Lord Westport, who invited him to travel with him about England and Ireland. 5 While with Lord Westport he met King George III., who chatted with him, asking if he was of French descent. Thomas proudly assured his majesty that the English De Quinceys dated back to the Conquest. He met the king several times at fêtes to which he was invited with Lord Westport. 10 On his return home, De Quincey desired to attend the grammar school at Bath. He did not care for the private school, for there was no one there with whom he could contend. It was decided, however, that he should attend the grammar school at Manchester, where he studied for a year 15 and a half, and then, after appealing in vain to his guardians, ran away. He first intended to wander among the English Lakes. He had read some of Wordsworth's poems and longed to meet the poet, but, recognizing that a runaway would hardly be looked 20 upon with favor, returned to his home. Here he found an uncle who furnished him with funds and gave him permission to travel about for a season and enjoy his liberty. De Quincey traveled about North Wales from July until the 25 late fall of 1802, and then went to London. Here he lived a wretched life, his money gone, and he was dependent on charity, living from hand to mouth. He was finally discovered and reclaimed by some friends and went back to Chester, where his mother resided. 30 In the autumn of 1803 he accepted an offer made by his guardians and entered Worcester College, Oxford. Little is known of De Quincey's life at college beyond the fact that he spent much of his time in quiet reading and study. It was during these days as a student that De Quincey began to take opium, first as a release from pain and later for its effect as a stimulant. In 1807 he made the acquaintance of Coleridge, whom he regarded with the love of a son. This friendship led to an introduction to Wordsworth. Two years later he took up his 5 abode at the Lakes, in the pretty cottage at Grasmere, where Wordsworth had been living, and this was his home for more than twenty years. Coleridge, Southey, and John Wilson ("Christopher North") had their homes in this region, and De Quincey spent many hours 10 in walks and talks with his friends. For seven years De Quincey lived alone in his pretty cottage and then married a lovely young girl named Margaret Simpson. The habit of opium taking had almost mastered him, so that 15 he lost ambition and capacity for work. Three years after his marriage he determined to break off this terrible habit. His family were in need, and he must support them. He was offered the position of editor of a Westmoreland newspaper. He aroused from his life of indulgence and opium 20 dreams and became connected with the magazines. His connection with Blackwood drew him to Edinburgh, where he was often a guest at the home of his old friend "Christopher North." He became acquainted here with Carlyle. At length, in 1830, he took his family to Edinburgh, which 25 was his home until his death in December of 1859. JOANNA, as we in England should call her, but, according to her own statement, Jeanne D'Arc, was born at Domremy, a village on the marches of Lorraine and Champagne. Here lay two roads, not so much for 30 travelers that were few, as for armies that were too many by half. The situation of Joanna was full of profound suggestions to a heart that listened for the stealthy steps of change and fear that too surely were in motion. But, if the place were grand, the time, the burden of the time, was far more so. The air overhead in its 5 upper chambers was hurtling with the obscure sound; was dark with sullen fermenting of storms that had been gathering for a hundred and thirty years. It was not wonderful that in such a haunted solitude, with such a haunted heart, Joanna should see angelic 10 visions and hear angelic voices. These voices whispered to her forever the duty, self-imposed, of delivering France. Five years she listened to these monitory voices with internal struggles. At length she could resist no longer. Doubt gave way, and she left her home for- 15 ever in order to present herself at the dauphin's court. Joanna was a girl of natural piety, that saw God in forests, and hills, and fountains, but did not the less seek him in chapels and consecrated oratories. This peasant girl was self-educated through her own medi- 20 tativeness. If the reader turns to that divine passage in "Paradise Regained," which Milton has put into the mouth of Christ when first entering the wilderness, Oh, what a multitude of thoughts at once 25 |