The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-02-11
NOT A MuRDERous MONSTER.
He Had Matrimonial Misfortunes, It
Is True, but He Seems to Have Been
the Only One Who Came to Grief on
Account of Them-His Tragic End.


speak with higher authority on the
real facts Of faery?-in LES Sept
Femmes de In Barbe-Bleue ct Autres
Contes MerveilleuX." One knew al
ready that Charles Perrault first wrote,
In about 1900, the historical biography
IF Bluebeard, but one did not know
mt! NOW how deeply Perrault. prob
ably through false Information. wrong
ed the memory of an excellent and i'll
treated parsonage. From NJ France
we learn that NJ Bernard de Montra-
goux. Of old and noble descent, lived
in 1860 or thereabouts at the ancestral
Chateau Les Guillettes. on his estates
between Compiegne and Pisrrefonds.
The castle, of browning outward as
pect, was inside a treasure house of
taste and wealth. Its owner. contrary
to long existing tradition. wore no
beard, only mustache and n little
tuft below the lower lip. He was
known through the countryside rs
Bluebeard because his hair was very
black, and therefore his close shaven
cheeks and chin were markedly blue.
He was fine figure Of man who.
in spite Of his manifest advantages as
good match, did not get on we'll with
women Of his own rank In life. This
was due to an incurable shyness on his
part: Pleasant and pretty girls who
had been well brought up attracted
him immensely. but also filled him
with an indescribable terror.
The first notable result of this nf-
Fiction was that the unfortunate or
phan. for such he had been since his
early youth, incapable of making pro-
posals for the hand of any Of the at
tractive and high born ladies in the
neighborhooG, married a certain Co
lette Passage, fascinating girl in her
way, against whose character nothing
seems known, who was going round
the country with a dancing bear.
Things went we'll enough for u few
months, and then Coette. who had at
first reveled in being lady Of quail
ity, began to long for her old freedom
The longing became irresistible, and at
last she took her departure secretly
with her justly beloved bear. 1t is
noteworthy that they made their es-
cape by way OF room that had door
leading to what had been water
meadows, and so to open country.
Perrault called this room "le petit cab
met" but it was also known as 1.-The
wretched prlncesses' ROOM" because
a Florentine painter had covered Its
walls with the most lifelike figures of
Gree. Niobe and Procris. The tragic
effect Of these paintings was enhanced
by the porphyry flooring Of the room.
which suggested bloodstains.
AIontragoux appeared inconsolable
at the disappearance, which was COM
plete, Of Colette, his first wife. and
doubtless his lot would have been far
less unhappy if he had never tried to
console himself. This, most unfor-
tunately, he did by marrying one
Jeanne de Ia Cloche, who turned out
to be violent dipsomaniac. Blue.
beard was of nature so kindly and
| noble that, although in fit of mad
passion she nearly killed him with a
kitchen knife, he continually hoped to
reclaim her by kindness. But one day
she strayed into the generally shut up
princesses' room. took the painted fig
ures for real people and was SO terri
fed that she rushed wildly into the
open fields, tumbled into deep pool
and so was drowned.
So things went on, new aff1ictior
with each new wife, and in each case
the final catastrophe. was associated
with the princesses' room. The china,
to the unhappy career Of the NOR,
than worthy and lovabe Bernard d,
Montragoux came with his seventh
wife, Jeanne de Lespoisse, clevercs
and most fascinating of family o
utterly INSCRIPTIONS adventures. N.
one knew anything about the supposed
late husband of the mother. OF tn,
two brothers, dragoon and q musket
Ger. one was a low rascal and mer
sponge; the other lived OH gaming ant
on the good nature OF women to whom
he made love. Anne. the sister. wa
the incarnation Of malicious cunning
Associated with this precious famil.
was a certain Chevalier de Merlus
who had a great deal to do with tn
final tragedy of NJ. de Montragoux'
career. The nature Of this TRACED.
may be Inferred but it Is curious that
while Perrault represented Bluebear,
as taking a journey in order to lay
trap for his wife, the fact was exactl,
opposite. Both before and after hi
marriage he had heaped benefits o.
all these wretches. When he wa
Obliged to go away in the matter Q
an Inheritance he gave all his key
without reserve to his wife, warnin
her out of pure love against the ur
happy associations Of the princesscs
room. AS soon as he was out of til
way a trap was laid for him, and
was in that very room that he wa
most treacherously assassinated. Th
worst and the best Of 1t was that n
de Merlus, after marrying the wealth
widow. became an exemplary husban
,, and subject Of the king.
Maternal Instinct.
We talk about maternal instinct
, There is no such thing. To be sur
there are things that have to do wi,
young which females possess and mall
lack. The wasp lays Its egg on Il
. body Of the caterpillar for the larva
r will never see. The hen sits twent
4 one days on any roundish, whitish o
ject Of the proper size. I have seen
; children's party every little 81
~. foH III &h< al,