{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_43050/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_43050","id":"gutenberg_43050","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43050","summary":null,"tags":["Bluebeard (Legendary character) -- Juvenile fiction","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Novels","Curiosity -- Juvenile fiction","Fairy tales"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                  A\n              NEW HISTORY\n                  OF\n              BLUE BEARD.\n\n              WRITTEN BY\n          GAFFER BLACK BEARD.\n\n    For the Amusement of Little LACK\n         BEARD, and his PRETTY\n                SISTERS.\n\n            Adorned with Cuts.\n\n           From Sidney's Press,\n               NEW-HAVEN.\n\n                  1806\n\n\n\n\nA New History of BLUE BEARD.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nOnce upon a time there lived, a great way off, an old man who had two\ndaughters, the name of the eldest was Fatima, the youngest Irene. Irene\nwas a very pretty girl, but Fatima was beauty itself; and so very good\nbesides, that every body loved her: you may see her introduced to a\ngentleman, to whom she was going to be married, her father having\ngiven his consent, had not the fame of her beauty reached the ears of\na very great man, I should have said tyrant, for he was a very cruel\nover-bearing nobleman, and had been married to several ladies, of whom\nnobody knew what was become: but as he was very rich, and lived in a\ngrand castle, of which I here present you with the drawing; he some how\nor other, was never long without a wife. This nobleman, whose name was\nAbomelique, but generally called Blue Beard, on account of his beard\nbeing of that color, being determined to see her, under a pretence of\nbusiness paid the father of Fatima a visit. Poor Fatima! she little\nthought the great Abomelique was come to her father's cottage on her\naccount; but so it was, he came attended like a king, (you may see him\nin the picture) the father of Fatima standing at the door to receive\nhim; as soon as he entered the house the old man entertained him\nin the best manner he could, and ordered his two daughters to dress\nthemselves in their best, and wait upon him; who, being good girls,\nsoon did as they were bid; no sooner did Blue Beard see Fatima than he\nfell violently in love with her. I should not say love, for it was that\nkind of love a wolf has for a pretty innocent lamb; so without any\nmore ado, he told her father the reason of his coming, offering to make\nher his wife; and that himself, and his other daughter, should go and\nlive with him at the Castle.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe father was quite delighted with the offer, especially as Blue Beard\ntold him he should be the master of all his slaves, and next himself in\npower. Irene too tho't she should like it vastly; \"what a fine thing,\"\nsaid she to herself, \"it will be to have fine rooms to walk in when\nthe weather is bad, and gardens to range in when the weather is fine;\nwell, I almost wish he had fallen in love with me, for I don't think\nthe great Abomelique would be so ugly, if it was not for his monstrous\ngreat Blue Beard;\" Such was the thought of Irene. As to poor Fatima she\nfainted away, which frightened Blue Beard, who would have been glad\nto have found her agreeable to his wishes, however with much ado they\nbrought her to herself when Blue Beard left her, promising to come\nthe next day, and fetch her in state to the Castle: after he was gone\nnothing ran in the father's head but how he should enjoy himself at the\nCastle. As to Irene, she could not help pitying her sister, who was in\na sad taking.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nFatima had a real love for Selim, to whom her father had promised his\nconsent in marriage. You see promises with some, like pye-crust, is\nmade to be broken. Ah! silly old man, you little think about the evil\nthat hangs over your daughter's head. As Fatima knew she should be\nforced to go with Blue Beard, she wrote immediately to Selim. Now only\nthink what a fine thing it is to be a scholar, for if Fatima could not\nhave wrote to her lover, nobody else would have done it for her, and\nwhat would have been the consequence you will find by and by; so above\nall things learn to read your book, that your daddy and mammy may learn\nyou to write too; well as soon as she had finished her letter, she gave\nit to a trusty messenger, who set off full speed and soon arrived at\nSelim's house. I must now return to Blue Beard, who could not get a\nwink of sleep all night, so much did he think of his intended bride:\nso, no sooner had the sun gilded the mountain's tops than he was up,\nand the procession was ordered to move towards the village; you can\nthink what a fine sight it was, first came two trumpeters, then two\nkettle-drums, then two French horns, then two men with fine silken\nflags, then some of his black slaves armed with bows and arrows; next\ncame the great Abomelique himself, riding on an elephant, under a fine\nsilken canopy; next followed another elephant richly dressed, with a\nfine seat on his back, with a silken canopy over it, for Fatima and her\nsister; a fine Arabian horse followed, led by a black slave, for her\nfather; a band of music following; then his slaves armed with bows and\narrows, closed the procession. Blue Beard brought some fine clothes\nalong with him for Fatima and her sister, which the father insisted\nupon her wearing. It was in vain for her to tell him she could not\nbe happy, as her heart was given to Selim; he knew that Blue Beard\nwas very rich, and like many others, he thought happiness consisted\nin wealth; so, says he, have him you must, and have him you shall:\nAbomelique, at the same time, took all manner of pains to please her;\nfor, beside the fine clothes, he brought her jewels and diamonds in\nprofusion, and promised she should want for nothing when she got to the\ncastle.\n\nAfter being dressed in a very grand manner she was put or rather forced\ninto her seat on the elephant's back along with her sister Irene; the\nladies round about, who came to the sight, could scarce keep from\nenvying her, forgetting that very fine clothes may hide a very heavy\nheart, as it did now. No sooner was the company seated than the music\nbegan to play, and off the great Abomelique marched in triumph with\nhis prize. Her lover Selim no sooner received her letter, than knowing\nno time was to be lost, went directly to his brother, who commanded a\ntroop, who promised to assist him to the utmost, so it was agreed to\nmuster their men, and to set off immediately for the father, and bring\nFatima away: or, if Blue Beard had already got her, to force her from\nhim, who by now had arrived at his Castle. Sure nothing could equal the\nrejoicings made to welcome her.--Blue Beard conducted her to a fine\nseat in a magnificent garden, where refreshments were placed and some\nof the females were ordered to dance to entertain her; but for all this\nshe was still melancholy; as to her father he was as merry as a grig,\npulling about the women, and driving about the men; and Irene would\nhave been merry could she have seen her sister so. Blue Beard having\na mind to leave her a little to herself, pretended he had business of\nthe utmost importance to transact, told her he must leave her till the\nevening, giving her at the same time the keys of all the apartments of\nthe Castle, telling her, as she was mistress of the place to go freely\ninto any of them, except that room, the door of which was in the Blue\nChamber; and of which this key, set with diamonds, opens the lock; upon\nyour life don't go into that chamber, giving Fatima the keys; and then\nwith a look that frightened her sadly, left her; as soon as he was\ngone, Irene cried, 'now is not that kind of him to give you the keys to\ngo where you please?' 'No, my dear sister,' said Fatima, 'I had much\nrather he had kept them; you find I am forbid going into one room, did\nnot you hear him say, my life depended on it.'\n\n'I don't think anything of that,' said Irene, 'I long to see that\nchamber in particular; come don't mope so, if you had not seen Selim\nfirst, you might be very happy, for setting aside his beard I don't\nthink Abomelique so very ugly; now as he won't be at home till evening,\npray do let us go over the Castle, I long to have a rummage.' It was a\nlong while before Irene could persuade her sister to go; however she\nagreed at length, and away they went; it would tire your patience if I\ntold you all the fine things they saw, in one of the rooms there was a\nfine guitar hanging up, which Fatima took down, and began playing upon\nto divert her melancholy.\n\nIrene would not let her sister play upon it long, for she was impatient\nto see the rest of the chambers, when at length they arrived at the\nblue one, this was the grandest of all, it was lined with looking\nglasses, ornamented with fine blue enamelled frames; here you might see\nyourself from head to foot; the mantle piece was supported by pillars\nof the finest blue china; and though it was called the Blue Chamber,\nit might as well have been called the Golden one as the floor was\nlined with it, two glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling by chains of\ngold. In short, nothing was wanting to make this the finest room that\never was seen: in the middle of this chamber stood the door of that\nthey were forbid to enter: 'well, sister Fatima,' says Irene, 'I am\nquite delighted with this place, I should like to see the next chamber\nvastly, I dare say it must be finer still; come, what say you to it,\nshall we look at it? there is nobody here to see us, and you know we\nneed not tell of ourselves.'\n\n'Dear sister,' said Fatima, 'pray don't ask me, I dread the thought of\nit, let us be satisfied with what we have seen, and return; indeed I\nbegin to be tired with the ramble we have had;' 'well, my dear sister,'\nsaid Irene, 'we may not have such another opportunity a great while,\nif you wont go in, let us just open the door, and only look in, sure\nthere can be no great harm in that.' 'I could like to please you,' says\nFatima, 'but I am sadly afraid;' 'Pho!' cried Irene, 'don't be afraid\nbefore you are hurt; come, fear nothing.' Fatima, to please her, took\nthe key all sparkling with diamonds, and put it to the lock, when the\ndoor flew open in an instant, and discovered such a dismal scene, that\nFatima instantly fainted away, the walls were lined with the skeletons,\nand the floor was strewed with the limbs of the dead wives the cruel\nBlue Beard had already murdered, which were swimming in their blood,\ninto which, when Fatima fainted, she dropt the key. At one end of this\ndismal room stood the figure of death holding a dart, and over him was\nwrote, in characters of blood, _The punishment of curiosity_. 'Mercy on\nme!' said Fatima, as soon as she recovered, 'what will become of me.\nAbomelique will surely find me out, and no doubt serve me as he has\ndone the poor creatures we have just seen.'\n\n'Come, dear sister,' said Irene, 'let us get away, I am very sorry\nI persuaded you to open the door;'--'Where is the key gone,' says\nFatima, ''tis not in the door?' 'Perhaps it is dropt,' says Irene; and\nso it was sure enough, and what was worse, into the blood: she took\nit up, locked the door, and wiped the blood from off her hands, but\nin spite of all they could do, they could not wipe it from the key.\nNow you must know this key was the gift of a fairy to Blue Beard; and\nwhen poor Fatima found she could not clean it, she cried bitterly, and\nIrene could not help crying too. 'You know, my dear, 'tis a saying, one\ntrouble seldom comes alone;' and that was the case now; for while they\nwere thinking what they should do, a black slave entered to tell them\nAbomelique was returned, and expected them in the grand saloon. This\nwas terrible news for Fatima, who gave herself up for lost; however,\ngo she must.\n\n'Now as they were going,' Fatima says to Irene, 'my dear sister,\nyesterday I wrote to Selim, and as I make no doubt but he received the\nletter, this day I hoped to see him; pray do you go to the top of the\ntower, and if he should be coming, beckon him with your handkerchief\nto make haste.' Away went Irene with a heavy heart; while Fatima, with\na heavier one, went to meet Blue Beard; who, as soon as he saw her,\ncried out, 'Well Madam, how have you entertained yourself? don't you\nthink there are sights in the Castle worth looking at?' 'Yes,' replied\nFatima, sighing, 'there are indeed!'--'But why sigh, my love!' says\nBlue Beard, 'I hope you have not broke the order I gave you; come, give\nme the keys.' Poor Fatima with an aching heart, put her hand into her\npocket, and pulling out the keys, gave them to him with a trembling\nhand.\n\nBlue Beard was afraid something had happened by her trembling; he\nno sooner saw the blood on the key of the chamber he forbid her to\nenter, than his countenance changed, and he roared out in a voice like\nthunder, 'Ah! wretch, I see what you have been at; you have seen my\nformer wives, who have forfeited their lives by their curiosity, and\nyou shall now go and lay among them.'\n\nSo saying he seized her by the hair of her head: when, falling on her\nknees, she besought him to spare her life; but he was a monster not to\nbe moved. When she found he was determined to kill her, she begged him\nto grant her a little time to say her prayers. He bid her go, but not\nbe long or he would fetch her.\n\nGetting up into her chamber, she called for her sister, and asked her\nif she saw any thing. 'No, dear sister,' said Irene, 'nothing but the\ndreary common and the sky.' 'Are you most done?' said Blue Beard;\n'yes,' cried Fatima; when calling again to Irene, she said, 'sister,\nwhat do you see?' 'Nothing, dear sister, but a flock of sheep.' 'Are\nyou not a coming?' said Blue Beard, in a surlier voice than before;\n'yes directly,' said Fatima; when calling to her sister, she asked her\nif she saw nothing? 'yes,' cried Irene, 'I see a great cloud of dust,\nbut it is a great way off.' 'If you don't come down,' Blue Beard roared\nout, 'I will fetch you;' 'coming,' cried Fatima: when calling again\nto her sister, she asked her what she saw? 'I see,' cried Irene, 'a\nnumber of horsemen riding full speed towards the Castle;' 'wave your\nhandkerchief, dear sister, that they may make more haste, or I fear it\nwill be all over with me.'\n\nAt this instant entered Blue Beard, and seizing her hair, began\ndragging her towards the Blue Chamber, while her shrieks were enough\nto pierce the heart of stone. He had not dragged her far before he\nheard the sound of feet on the stairs and as tyrants are always\ncowards, he stopt to listen.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHe had not stopt long before Selim, (who had forced into the Castle)\nfollowing the cries of Fatima, rushed into the room, with his sword in\nhand. 'Villain', said Blue Beard, drawing his scymater, 'what dost thou\nhere?' 'Tyrant,' cried Selim, 'to punish such a monster as thou art.'\nThey said no more, but at it they went. Despair lent courage to Blue\nBeard; love to Selim; while poor Fatima sat trembling on the floor. At\nlength Selim prevailed: for running Blue Beard through the body, he\nlaid him breathless on the floor.\n\nHe now went to Fatima, who was fainting, and taking her in his arms,\ncarried her to the window to give her air.\n\nIn the mean time his brother had overcome the slaves, who were not\nsorry to hear of Blue Beard's death.\n\nSelim took possession of the Castle, gave the slaves their liberty,\nand married Fatima. Selim's brother fell in love with and married\nIrene, and they all lived together happily.\n\n\n\n\n  Cruel Blue Beard being dead\n  And those lovers in his stead,\n  Time goes merrily along,\n  Now a dance, and then a song:\n  for whenever true love's found,\n  Joy and pleasure will abound.\n  By the poor around they're blest,\n  By the rich around carest;\n  Guilt may leave behind its stings,\n  Nought but comfort virtue brings.","title":"A New History of Blue Beard: For the Amusement of Little Lack Beard, and His Pretty Sisters","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":2878}