Much mystery attaches to the young person now before us. It is supposed
that she was called Joan _d’Arc_, because we are in the dark as to her
birthplace, unless we accept the idea that she came from Arcadia. She
suffered much from nightmare, and fancied she was riding over France as
its victoress. Consequently she adopted men’s clothes. It is well to
observe too that she cut off her hair before she arrived at _Chinon_. She
headed an army, so the tale goes, of 7,000 men; and with the strength of
her arms the foe was defeated. After which she came to ruin (Rouen), that
is to say she was burnt there.
Virtue and manliness always succeed in the long run, however, and her
successes have been immortalized in Paris by a gorgeous tombstone,
entitled the Arc de Triomphe!
The next figure I shall introduce is one of a paragorical nature. The
Queen of Night, represented by a daughter of Eve. Unseen she spreads her
mantle over the earth, and thus acts the part of a_n_ _it_inerant angel.
The umbrella in her hand is also an emblematic figure, representing the
pernicious influences which attend upon her, and is called the deadly
nightshade. In the absence of any further proofs of the authenticity of
this character there will be an interval of a minute, during which the
band will play.—_Exit._
Roderigo Pipkins immediately strikes up, but suddenly leaves off, takes
out the ringlet from his pocket, and waves it before the audience.
Berlinda hides her face in her pocket handkerchief.
_Roderigo advancing, and whispering to Berlinda_—
“Berlinda is it you dear? do you love me now as then?
O! wilt thou be my bride, love, and not fly oft again?
You will? Then come up quickly—Smith will come ere long;
He’ll be puzzled when he reckons, you’re another figurant!”
_Berlinda stands on a pedestal beside the wax figures, and Roderigo
covers her with a sheet._
_Enter Alonzo Napoleon Smith._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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