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
A widow abode with her daughters twain;
And one of them - neither cross nor vain
Was a beautiful little treasure ;

So he sent them an invitation to tea,
And, having a natural wish to see
His wonderful castle and gardens, all three
Said they'd do themselves the pleasure.

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
That they did not suffer at all from fright,
And frequently called thereafter;

Then he offered to marry the younger one,
And as she was willing the thing was done,
And celebrated by all the ton

With feasting and with laughter.

BLUEBEARD.

V.

As kind a husband as ever was seen
Was Bluebeard then for a month, I ween;
And she was as proud as any queen,

And as happy as she could be, too;

But her husband called her to him one day,
And said, "My dear, I am going away;
It will not be long that I shall stay ;
There is business for me to see to.

"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
To think about the Blue Chamber.

VII.

Well, the woman was curiously inclined,
So she left her sister and prudence behind
(With a little excuse), and started to find
The mystery forbidden.

She paused at the door; - all was still as night!
She opened it; then through the dim blue light
There blistered her vision the horrible sight
That was in that chamber hidden.

VIII.

The room was gloomy and damp and wide,
And the floor was red with the bloody tide
From headless women, laid side by side,
The wives of her lord and master!
Frightened and fainting she dropped the key,
But seized it and lifted it quickly; then she
Hurried as swiftly as she could flee

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

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When she heard Bluebeard was coming.
He did not appear to notice her pain ;

But he took his keys, and, seeing the stain,
He stopped in the middle of the refrain
That he had been quietly humming.

What does this little blood-stain tell?

You've broken your promise; prepare to dwell
With the wives I've had before you!

You've broken your promise, and you shall die.”
Then Fatima, supposing her death was nigh,
Fell on her knees and began to cry,
"Have mercy, I implore you!"

XI.

"No!" shouted Bluebeard, drawing his sword;
"You shall die this very moment," he roared.
"Grant me time to prepare to meet my Lord,”
The terrified woman entreated.

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'Only ten minutes," he roared again;

And, holding his watch by its great gold chain,
He marked on the dial the fatal ten,

And retired till they were completed.

XII.

"Sister, O sister, fly up to the tower!
Look for release from this murderer's power!
Our brothers should be here this very hour;
Speak! Does there come assistance?"
"No; I see nothing but sheep on the hill."
"Look again, sister!" "I'm looking still,
But naught can I see whether good or ill,
Save a flurry of dust in the distance."

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,"
Shouted Bluebeard, swinging his sword on the stair;
Then he entered, and, grasping her beautiful hair,
Swung his glittering weapon around him;

But a loud knock rang at the castle gate,
And Fatima was saved from her horrible fate,
For, shocked with surprise, he paused too late;
And then the two soldiers found him.

XV.

They were her brothers, and, quick as they knew
What the fiend was doing, their swords they drew,
And attacked him fiercely, and ran him through,
So that soon he was mortally wounded.
With a wild remorse was his conscience filled
When he thought of the hapless wives he had killed;
But quickly the last of his blood was spilled,

And his dying groan was sounded.

XVI.

'T was a private funeral Bluebeard had ;
For the people knew he was very bad,

And, though they said nothing, they all were glad
For the fall of the evil-doer ;

But Fatima first ordered some graves to be made,
And there the unfortunate ladies were laid,

And after some painful months, with the aid
Of her friends, her spirits came to her.

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,
Or do anything she wanted.

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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.