Saturday, May 30, 2020

La Pucelle

Today is the feast of St. Jeanne D'Arc. From "Joan of Arc, in Rheims", by Felicia Hemans:

–She unbound
The helm of many battles from her head,
And, with her bright locks bow'd to sweep the ground,
Lifting her voice up, wept for joy, and said,–
"Bless me, my father, bless me! and with thee,
To the still cabin and the beechen-tree,
Let me return!"

Oh! never did thine eye
Thro' the green haunts of happy infancy
Wander again, Joanne!–too much of fame
Had shed its radiance on thy peasant-name;
And bought alone by gifts beyond all price,
The trusting heart's repose, the paradise
Of home with all its loves, doth fate allow
The crown of glory unto woman's brow.

John Everett Millais - Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc, by John Everett Millais