His favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave Their mirth and their employments, and shall come And make their bed with thee. As the long train Of ages glide away, the sons of men, The youth in life’s green spring, and he who goes In the full strength of years, matron and maid, The speechless babe, and the gray-head man,-- Shall one by one be gathered to thy side, By those who in their turn shall follow them. So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan which moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. 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 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 guardians, 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 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 leader in their games, but showed his literary turn of mind in mimic fights between the Greeks and Trojans.