Wichita eagle., 1888-10-20
THE NEW BLUEBEARD.


About two miles from the Fatirnas'
house there lived very nice. respectable
old lady and her niece, whose name was
Zerlina- At the time Of Bluebeard's last
few marriages zeriina had been away at
boarding schooi, and although Mrs. Ter
lima Chat was the aunt) had always left q
card after the wedding receptions, she
bad never been to any OF them, and knew
but little of the family. It may be that
she had q slight prejudice against Mr..
Bluebeard on account Of having had occa-
sion TO call, or, rather. to leave a card, so
many different times. after so many diff
ferent receptions, and all weddings; but
she was such nice old lady that she
always believed everything every one
told her, and when Zerhna met Mr.. Blue
beard at lecture Zone Of a course,, and
finding that he talked well, and knowing
her aunt always left cards for his wives
when he wasn't q widower, gave him per-
mission to can Mrs. Zerlna said he was,
she had no doubt, very nice.
He came the very next day and stayed
two hours talking about very wise things,
and then he sent the old lady some
flowers, and sent them his carriage to take
them to drive, and took them to a concert,
of really good music, which, as Mrs. Ter
lima couldn't at all understand, she had a
great respect for, and then be gave orders
for his house to be newly painted and
have new awnings up stairs and down,
and people nodded their heads and said
they had thought 1t was about time for
Mr. Biuebeard to have q wedding.
When the engagement was announced
several people spoke to Mrs. Zerlina about
it and said they thought it was a rather
risky thing to marry into that house-it
couldn't be well drained, or something
and Mrs. Zerlina began TO think that it
might be her duty to say something to
zerlina So she began very tirnidly with
3 little aIlusion to the fact that the
deaths Of the lest three or four Mrs. Blue
boards bad been very sad.
Indeed, said ZerIina. ndiferently.
Mrs. Zerfins felt little discouraged at
the want of interest, but she added that
there were people who thought that it
was strange IL he were really such kind
and devoted husband. that Fatima should
have been willing to go off and leave him
SO soon after they were married.
my dear aunt, sold Zerlina, threading
her needle with pink floss (she was en-
broidering lovely high art tidy, "Fa-
TINA wouldn't have known kind and de-
voted husband Ii she'd had one. l went
to school with Fatima. and | knew her;
she was a fool Why, that girl could no
more make bonnet than she could cook
a dinner; and as for her studiesl she
might have hit a date by accident within
ten years, but she stuck at plain
geonstry, TO my certain knowledge,
and never finished Greek" You
see Zerlina had been ut the
Harv-no, suppose it couldn't have been
the Harvard annex but it was some place
like that, and the cooking class, and she
had taken sewing lessons. and altogether
she was a very wise young person In
deed, she was so wise that Mrs. Zerlina
was little bit afraid of her, and had to
cough gently two or three times before
she ventuTed little further and said
that. with young girl. 1t seemed little
sad, so many times widowed seemed to
have-jUst httle-you know-and the
sentiment-and-
Zerlina smiled indulgently and shook
her head
''How fortunate it is, then," she said.
that have no .,fntiment."
Mrs Zeriina gasped; you know she was
quite old and things had changed since
she WIS married and thought there was
but one man Ia the world and that he was
so delightful and perfect that it was the
most wonderful and beautiful thing in
the whole history Of time that he should
care for heri
No" Zerlina repeated, 81 have 20 SEN
tiInent; no well educated girl has; and
then I've read Howells and l know that
life Is extremely commonplace and that
we arc oil bound to be unhappy anyway,
and that it makes very little difference
with whom one is unhappy, you are sure
to wish you'd tried the other man. which
ever one you take; that is, if you have
choice In the matter; and I've decided to
try Bluebeard"
After that. Mrs. Zerlina thought she
might just as well drop the subject and
tust accept Mr. Bluebeard's polite invita-
zion to make her home with them
They wero married very quietly, because
Bluebeard had always had gay weddings.
and settled down at once in the freshly
painted house, with Mrs Zerlina in a
sunny front room. Mr.. Bluebeard read
aloud every evening. and Mrs. Zerlina
wrote to her second cousin by marriage
that peopse might talk as they pleased,
nicer man about the house she never
wished to see than Mr.. Bluebeard.
After awhile, Mr.. Bluebeard began to
get restless, and Zerlina. seeing that he
wes the kind of man who needed good
deal OF change of air-you know I told
you how wise sho was-suggested that he
should 30 and look after some mines of
his Her husband was little surprised,
but he said If she wouldn't miss him, il
she wouldn't be lonely, he guessed he
would.
Why, certainly shall miss you," Ter
lima said; I'VE are so constituted as to
miss anything that we are accustomed to,
but ana never lonely; have too much
to do. And then shah be very busy; it
VIII be good chance TO look over things.
There are great many unused rooms n
the house that shall take the opportunity
TO hive gone over. l never have the
house cleaned when there is aman about"
Eluebeard hooked at her admiringly, and
said she WIS certainly the most sensible
woman he had ever met Then he gave
Ler the famous bunch Of keys and told
her that the whole house was at her dis
posA except the blue chamber. Zsrlina
tied red ribbon Gu the forbidden key
and put the bunch in her drawer IN such
a calm way that Bluebeard thought shs
hardly realized the solemnity of the oeca-
nion- so he added few words and then
left her. with sad heart at the knowl-
edge that he would next meet her as her
executioner. When his carriage had
driven of Mrs 6luebeard gave the neces-
sary directions to the housekeeper and
then sat down to write an essay on "Co-
education for the now quarterly
Soon after. Nuebesrd came home and
found everything most delightfully."- clean
snd fresh particularly good dinner, his
wife In q becoming new dress she had
naada Hifh her own hands and ue,xx,r,s-