The evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 1909-10-15

l
10 Tpvs. but Hs ossms 10 Have 0ssn
ths Only One Who Came 70 osiss On
Account ss Thsm-l4is Tragic End.
The supposedly detessnbIe isiuebenrd.
the monster Of murderous poiygnmy.
the very name Of the ogre Into whose
mouth one used. n one could. In child.
hoods happy hour. 10 throw india rub.
i,cr balls. was IN truth n man who has
been M cruelty aud malcvoleDtiy ma
iigncd by history ns Nero. Richard Ill.
Macbeth. tufti quantl No says ~.
Anatoic France pray who can
speak with higher authority on the
real facts Of fseryf-in LES Sept
Fcmmcs de- In Bsri,e-BIe et Autres
Conics Mervciiieux." One knew nI.
ready that Charles i'srrnuit nrn wrote
In about 1000. the historical biography
Of nlueienrd. but one did not know
until now how deeply PerrnuIt. prob.
ably through false Information. wrong
ed the memory of IN excellent and I'll
treated parsonage. From n. France
We learn that ~. Bernard de- Montra.
goux. Of old and noble descent. lived
IN ltiSO OF thcreab0uts at the ancestral
Chateau ISs 0uilIettes. on his estates
between Compiegne and Plcrrefonds.
The castle. Of frowning outward ~.
pcct. was inside . treasure house Of
taste and wealth. its owner. contrary
10 long existing tradition. wore no
heard. only q mustsche and q little
tuft below the lower iip. lie was
known through the countryside as
Biuebeard because his hair was very
black. and therefore his close shaven
cheeks and chin were markedly blue.
He was q nisS ngure Of q man who.
In spite of his manifest advantages ~
q good match. did not get on well with
women Of his own rank IN life. This
was due 10 On incurable shyncss on his
part Pleasant and pretty girls who
had been well brought up attracted
him immensely. bot also filled him
with an indescribabie terror.
The nrst notable result Of this af.
6iction was that the unfortunate or.
pban. for such he had been since bis
early youth. incapable Of making pro-
Tosals for the hand Of amy of the at.
tractive and high born ladies In the
nelghborhood. married q certain Co
letts Passage. q fascinating &iri In her
way. against whose character nothing
seems known. who was going round
the country with . dancing bear.
Things vent well enough for . few
months. and then CoIette. who had At
nrst rcvelsd In being Q lady Of quail.
lty, began 10 long for her old freedom.
The longing became irrcsistiblc. and at
last she took her departure secretly
with her Justly beloved bear. Il b
noseworthy that they made their e.
caps by way Of q room that had door
leading 10 what had been water
meadows. and 20 10 open country.
Pcrrault called this room he petit cab
inet." but u was also known NJ ''the
wretchcd princcsscs' room." because
q Fiorcntine painter had covered It's
walls with the most lifclike dgures Of
Circc. Niobe and Procris. The tragic
effect Of these paintings was enhanced
by the porphyry flooring of the room.
which suggested bloo,istains.
Montragoux appeared inco0solable
at the disappearance. which was CON-
pietc. of Colettc. his drst wife. and
doubtless his lot would have been Tar
less unhappy II he had never tried to
console himself. This. most unfor.
tunatciy. he did by marrying Que
Jeanne de In Cioche. who turned out
10 be violent dipsomaniac. Blue
heard was 0f nature % kindly and
noble that. although IN q at of mad
passion she nearly killed him with q
kitchen knifc. he continually hoped 10
reclaim her by Kindness. Hut Que day
she straycSl into the generally shut up
princcsscs' room. took the painted fg.
urcs for real people aud was 10 terri
fied that she rushed wildly Into the
open fields. tumblcd Into q deep pool.
and ~ was drowned.
10 things went on. a new athictton
with each new wife. aud In each case
the dual catastrophe was associated
with the Processes room. The climax
to the unhappy career OF the norc
than worthy und lovable Rernari de-
MontrSy0ux came With his seVcutn
wife. Jeanne dc I.cspoisse. cievcrcst
and most fascinating of a family of
utterly interruptions adventurcrs. No
one know anything about the supposed
late husband Of the mother. Of the
two brothers. a dragoon and y muskst'
ser. one was a low rascal and u mere
sponge; the other lived on gaming aud
on the good nature OF women to whom
he made love. Anne. tho sister. was
the incarnation Of malicious cunning.
Associated with this precious family
was Z certain Chevalier dc Merlus.
who had great deal to do with the
ilnal tragedy Of NJ. de Nontngoux's
career. The nature Of this tragedy
may be inferred. but II y curious that.
while rerrault represented blusbeard
% taking q Journey IN order 10 lay .
trap for bis wife. the fact was exactly
opposite. Both before aud aftsr his
marriaGs be had hesped. benefits on
Oh thee wrstches. When he was
-