The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1872-03-27
TH1 ATA I'm YTHLn -H1aAIn.

ana made aground work Of rarest
tints upon tho white marble floor.
She was clud in o white robe, and
looked 30 fair and unearthly ia her
listlcss attitude us she waited the re.
turn OF De- Rstz from his midnight
vlgils, or orgies, or dealings with OWL
ones. This WAS her GROSS to already y
wait in troubling expectancy hou,
after hour, ofteu till tho dawn of day.
But just at midnight on the night Of
her deutb, there came to the door
where her eyes were straiued in ex.
pectanoy to meet her husband. a tall
dark figure, masked and with tapor
in the hand. She started in terror,
aud was about to shrek, when voice
spoke and the upraised hand demand.
ed sileuce. "Lady, one whom you
love is in great dauger-you may vet
save him. Rise quickly and follow
me-"
A foreboding Of ill had hung over
her all that day. Sue believed that
Do Retz WAS in some peril, and she
arose to follow.
"Lsad mo to him, I bs:eech you,"
sho replied, deeply moved. As they
hurried along not soul was III tho
castle. She passed out from tho
gloomy pile into the fresh, pare air Of
heaven. The moon had already faded
behind the wing Of the castle. They
reached the banks Of the Erdre. Thu
still, wavcless river appeared blacker
than ever. Not breath stirred the
leaves of the long line of trees that
grew by the very brink. Mt word
was spoken by either. Sometimes
she was in advance Of the dark and
mysterious guide leading rather
than following, 30 great Was her desire 0
to reach her cruel husband. Nothing
was ever heard Of the end Of that mid :.
night journey--but the finale. A fair
form with lung dark hair sweeping
around the p,le and gi,liSh face, was
found floating upon tue sulln stream.
Sho was buried with great pomp aud
display. Her death vas attributed
to acu,den1, having wandered off in
her sleep she mistook her way aud
walked into the Erdro. Do Re Was
of course nearly mad with grief this
time. So greatly were tho sy sympathies
Of his friends eulisted for this double
bereavement that an immense fortune
was lain at his command hy another
wife who was shortly to follow in the
grim phantom train with the others.
The others. The manner of her death
lacked the del'cacy of choice which
charact er1zed the first. Her brain
Was said to be perforated in many
places by small sharp instrument,
heated to the highest degree Of in
te,seness.
The fourth and ff;h were disposed
Ut In the same way, as it had
proved TO be both a sure and safe
one. The six h died of excessive
mirth ; she went laughing in widest
glec cut of this wo'ld-many nt,cstcd
that every day peals of laoghthe rang
through the castle. The mirtbfuI
Lady appeared to have found the
sunny side Of her lords character, and
Vf life too.
'Twos very strange to die of mirth,
was if not cit can be easily no.
counted for when We ascertained that
this laughter was produced by tick
ling the 8, les Of her teet persever-
icgly for hours day after day.
Aud the seventh, how did she
dic?
sYou should remember that she
turned States evidence against De-
Retz, aud by 80 doing livea to good
old age. and had the ification Of
seeing tho monster dragged in
chains, by order of Jean V. Duke
of Brittany, to the meadow of the
Magdelaine, to be burned to death
Out of excess of mercy ho was taken
from the blazing pile and straugied.
"A fiorcntine, called Prelutti, was
put to the torture he confc. sed him,
self to "e the accomplicc Of Blue
Beard IL the murder Of his wives, aud
that the onl y remorse he had ever
experienced in the course of crime
was in the long and silent walk
with the lovely Hsloise to the E,drc,
when sho looked mp in his fuce 80
trus'ingly, pleading with him to hur-
ry on, chiding his slow Footsteps that
were but keeping measure with his
failiup heart.