Or whether he fasted or ate;

And at all hours, early and late!

Right lucky was Lord Aladdin!

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[PAGE]

[ BLUE-BEARD.]

Onceon a time there was a man so hideous and ugly

That little children shrank and tried to hide when heappeared;

His eyes were fierce and prominent, his long hair stiff likebristles,

His stature was enormous, and he wore a long bluebeard—

He took his name from that through all the country round abouthim,—

And whispered tales of dreadful deeds but helped tomake him feared.

Yet he was rich, O! very rich; his home was in a castle,

Whose turrets darkened on the sky, so grand and blackand bold

That like a thunder-cloud it looked upon the blue horizon.

He had fertile lands and parks and towns andhunting-grounds and gold,

And tapestries a queen might covet, statues, pictures, jewels,

While his servants numbered hundreds, and his wineswere rare and old.

Now near to this old Blue-beard’s castle lived a lady neighbor,

Who had two daughters, beautiful as lilies on astem;

And he asked that one of them be given him in marriage—

He did not care which one it was, but left the choiceto them.

But, oh, the terror that they felt, their efforts to evade him,

With careless art, with coquetry, with wile andstratagem!

He saw their high young spirits scorned him, yet he meant toconquer.

He planned a visit for them,—or, ’twas rather onelong fête;

And to charming guests and lovely feasts, to music and todancing,

Swung wide upon its hinges grim the gloomy castlegate.

And, sure enough, before a week was ended, blinded, dazzled,

The youngest maiden whispered “yes,” and yielded to herfate.

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[PAGE]

And so she wedded Blue-beard—like a wise and wily spider

He had lured into his web the wished-for, silly littlefly!

And, before the honeymoon was gone, one day he stood beside her,

And with oily words of sorrow, but with evil in hiseye,

Said his business for a month or more would call him to adistance,

And he must leave her—sorry to—but then,she must not cry!