Page:History of Blue Beard.pdf/3



Rich Blue Beard's life we here unfold, His lots of jewels, stores of gold,— His thirst for blood is held to view, And secrets of the Chamber Blue.

A time ago, and at a considerable distance from any town, there lived a gentleman, who was not only in possession of great riches, but of the largest estates in that part of the country. Although he had some very elegant neat mansions on his estates, yet he generally resided in a magnificent castle, beautifully situated on a rising ground, surrounded with groves of the finest evergreens, and other choice trees and shrubs.

The inside of this fine castle was even more beautiful than the outside; for the rooms were all hung with the richest damask, curiously ornamented; the chairs and sofas were covered with the finest velvet, fringed with gold; and all his table-dishes and plates were either of silver or gold, finished in the most elegant style. His carriages and horses might have served a king, and perhaps, were finer than any monarch's of the present day. The gentleman's appearance, however, did not altogether correspond with his wealth; for, to a fierce disagreeable countenance, was added an ugly blue beard, which made him an object of fear and disgust in the neighbourhood, where he usually went by the name of Blue Beard, that all the girls and women ran away from him.

Though the Turkish laws allow every man the liberty to have as many wives and concubines as he can support, yet Blue Beard never had more than one wife at a time; and it was not a little remarkable, that out of twelve young and beautiful damsels, to whom he had been married, not one lived more than a few months, and by far the major part were reported to be dead in only a few weeks after their marriage; and their funeral conducted in so private a manner, that none of their relations had any opportunity of examining their bodies, to discover whether their death was occasioned by ill usage. Suspicion was further heightened by the circumstances of their having died at one particular castle in the country. To this castle, which was situated far remote from other dwellings, he had always chose to conduct his wives a few