CEN LXXV. - BLUEBEARD. I. YENTURIES since there flourished a man, A cruel old Tartar as rich as the Khan, Whose castle was built on a splendid plan, With gardens and groves and plantations; But his shaggy beard was as blue as the sky, And he lived alone, for his neighbors were shy, And had heard hard stories, by the by, About his domestic relations. II. Just on the opposite side of the plain So he sent them an invitation to tea, III. As soon as there happened a pleasant day, They dressed themselves in a sumptuous way, And rode to the castle as proud and gay As silks and jewels could make them ; And they were received in the finest style, And saw everything that was worth their while, In the halls of Bluebeard's grand old pile, Where he was so kind as to take them. IV. The ladies were all enchanted quite, For they found old Bluebeard so polite Then he offered to marry the younger one, With feasting and with laughter. BLUEBEARD. V. As kind a husband as ever was seen And as happy as she could be, too; But her husband called her to him one day, "The keys of my castle I leave with you; But if you value my love, be true, And forbear to enter the Chamber of Blue! Fatima promised him; then she ran To visit the rooms with her sister Ann; But when she had finished the tour, she began VII. Well, the woman was curiously inclined, She paused at the door; - all was still as night! VIII. The room was gloomy and damp and wide, From the scene of the disaster. IX. She tried to forget the terrible dead, But shrieked when she saw that the key was red, And sickened and shook with an awful dread 181 When she heard Bluebeard was coming. But he took his keys, and, seeing the stain, What does this little blood-stain tell? You've broken your promise; prepare to dwell You've broken your promise, and you shall die.” XI. "No!" shouted Bluebeard, drawing his sword; 66 'Only ten minutes," he roared again; And, holding his watch by its great gold chain, And retired till they were completed. XII. "Sister, O sister, fly up to the tower! XIII. "Time's up!" shouted Bluebeard, out from his room; "This moment shall witness your terrible doom, And give you a dwelling within the room Whose secrets you have invaded.” "Comes there no help for my terrible need? BLUEBEARD. "There are horsemen twain riding hither with speed." "O, tell them to ride very fast indeed, Or I must meet death unaided!" XIV. "Time's fully up! Now have done with your prayer," But a loud knock rang at the castle gate, XV. They were her brothers, and, quick as they knew And his dying groan was sounded. XVI. 'T was a private funeral Bluebeard had ; And, though they said nothing, they all were glad But Fatima first ordered some graves to be made, And after some painful months, with the aid XVII. Then she cheered the hearts of the suffering poor, And an acre of land around each door, And a cow, and a couple of sheep, or more, To her tenantry she granted. So all of them had enough to eat, And their love for her was so complete They would kiss the dust from her little feet, 183 J. G. Holland. LXXVI. ANDROCLES AND THE LION. HERE was a certain slave named Androcles,* who TH was so ill-treated by his master that his life became insupportable. Finding no remedy for what he suffered, he at length said to himself: "It is better to die than to continue to live in such hardships and misery as I am obliged to suffer. I am determined, therefore, to run away from my master. If I am taken again, I know that I shall be punished with a cruel death; but it is better to die at once than to live in misery. If I escape I must betake myself to deserts and woods inhabited only by wild beasts; but they cannot treat me more cruelly than I have been treated by my fellow-creatures; therefore, I will rather trust myself with them than continue to be a miserable slave." 2. Having formed this resolution, he took an opportunity of leaving his master's house, and hid himself in a thick forest at some miles' distance from the city. But here the unhappy man found that he had only escaped from one sort of misery to experience another. He wandered about all day through a vast and trackless wood, where his flesh was incessantly torn by thorns and brambles. He grew hungry, but could find no food in his dreary solitude. At length, he was ready to die with fatigue, and lay down in despair in a large cavern which he accidentally discovered. 3. He had not lain long quiet in the cavern, before he heard a dreadful noise, which seemed to be the roar of some wild beast, and alarmed him very much. He started up, with a design to escape, and had already reached the mouth of the cave, when he saw coming towards him a lion of prodigious size, who prevented any possibility of retreat. The terrified man now believed his destruction to be inevitable; but to his great astonishment, the beast advanced towards him with a gentle pace, without any * Pronounced An'dro-cleez. |