3. "One evening," he says, "whilst riding in the vicinity of Kandy, in Ceylon, my horse evinced some excitement at a noise which approached us in the thick jungle, and which consisted of a repetition of the ejaculation urmph! urmph ! in a hoarse and dissatisfied tone. A turn in the forest explained the mystery, by bringing me face to face with a tame elephant, unaccompanied by any attendant.

4. "He was laboring painfully to carry a heavy beam of timber, which he balanced across his tusks, but, the pathway being narrow, he was forced to bend his head to one side to permit it to pass endways; and the exertion and inconvenience combined led him to utter the dissatisfied sounds which disturbed the composure of my horse.

5. "On seeing us halt, the elephant raised his head, reconnoitred us for a moment, then flung down the timber and forced himself backwards among the brushwood, so as to leave a passage, of which he expected us to avail ourselves. My horse still hesitated. The elephant observed it, and impatiently thrust himself still deeper into the jungle, repeating his cry of urmph! but in a voice evidently meant to encourage us to come on.

6. "Still the horse trembled; and, anxious to observe the instinct of the two sagacious creatures, I forbore any interference. Again the elephant wedged himself farther in amongst the trees, and waited impatiently for us to pass him; and after the horse had done so tremblingly and timidly, I saw the wise creature stoop and take up his heavy burden, trim and balance it on his tusks, and resume his work, hoarsely snorting, as before.”

7. Now almost any trained animal, if left alone to decide for himself, in such a case, would have put down his load, if he could, and walked away. But how like a faithful and industrious man this elephant acted! As there was no room to pass, he made way, waited for the horse, encouraged him to come on, and then, when he had passed, took up his load again and went along.

T. W. Higginson.

LXXV. - BLUEBEARD.

I.

ENTURIES since there flourished a man,

CENT

A cruel old Tartar as rich as the Khan, Whose castle was built on a splendid plan,

With gardens and groves and plantations; But his shaggy beard was as blue as the sky, And he lived alone, for his neighbors were shy, And had heard hard stories, by the by,

About his domestic relations.

II.

Just on the opposite side of the plain
A widow abode with her daughters twain;
And one of them — neither cross nor vain
Was a beautiful little treasure;

So he sent them an invitation to tea,
And, having a natural wish to see
His wonderful castle and gardens, all three
Said they'd do themselves the pleasure.

III.

As soon as there happened a pleasant day, They dressed themselves in a sumptuous way, And rode to the castle as proud and gay

As silks and jewels could make them; And they were received in the finest style, And saw everything that was worth their while, In the halls of Bluebeard's grand old pile, Where he was so kind as to take them.

IV.

The ladies were all enchanted quite,

For they found old Bluebeard so polite
That they did not suffer at all from fright,
And frequently called thereafter;

Then he offered to marry the younger one,
And as she was willing the thing was done,
And celebrated by all the ton

With feasting and with laughter.

V.

As kind a husband as ever was seen
Was Bluebeard then for a month, I ween;
And she was as proud as any queen,

And as happy as she could be, too;
But her husband called her to him one day,
And said, "My dear, I am going away;
It will not be long that I shall stay ;
There is business for me to see to.

VI.

"The keys of my castle I leave with you;
But if you value my love, be true,

And forbear to enter the Chamber of Blue!
Farewell, Fatima! Remember!'

Fatima promised him; then she ran

To visit the rooms with her sister Ann;
But when she had finished the tour, she began
To think about the Blue Chamber.

VII.

Well, the woman was curiously inclined,
So she left her sister and prudence behind
(With a little excuse), and started to find
The mystery forbidden.

She paused at the door; - all was still as night!
She opened it; then through the dim blue light
There blistered her vision the horrible sight
That was in that chamber hidden.

VIII.

The room was gloomy and damp and wide,
And the floor was red with the bloody tide
From headless women, laid side by side,
The wives of her lord and master!
Frightened and fainting she dropped the key,
But seized it and lifted it quickly; then she
Hurried as swiftly as she could flee

From the scene of the disaster.

IX.

She tried to forget the terrible dead,

But shrieked when she saw that the key was red, And sickened and shook with an awful dread

When she heard Bluebeard was coming.
He did not appear to notice her pain;
But he took his keys, and, seeing the stain,
He stopped in the middle of the refrain
That he had been quietly humming.

X.

"Mighty well, madam!" said he, "mighty well! What does this little blood-stain tell?

You've broken your promise; prepare to dwell
With the wives I've had before you!

You've broken your promise, and you shall die."
Then Fatima, supposing her death was nigh,
Fell on her knees and began to cry,

"Have mercy, I implore you!"

XI.

"No!" shouted Bluebeard, drawing his sword;
"You shall die this very moment," he roared.
"Grant me time to prepare to meet my Lord,"
The terrified woman entreated.

"Only ten minutes," he roared again;

And, holding his watch by its great gold chain,
He marked on the dial the fatal ten,

And retired till they were completed.

XII.

"Sister, O sister, fly up to the tower!
Look for release from this murderer's power!
Our brothers should be here this very hour;
Speak! Does there come assistance?"
"No; I see nothing but sheep on the hill."
"Look again, sister!" "I'm looking still,
But naught can I see whether good or ill,
Save a flurry of dust in the distance.”

XIII.

"Time's up!" shouted Bluebeard, out from his room; "This moment shall witness your terrible doom, And give you a dwelling within the room

Whose secrets you have invaded."

"Comes there no help for my terrible need ?”

“There are horsemen twain riding hither with speed." "O, tell them to ride very fast indeed,

Or I must meet death unaided!"

XIV.

"Time 's fully up! Now have done with your prayer,"
Shouted Bluebeard, swinging his sword on the stair;
Then he entered, and, grasping her beautiful hair,
Swung his glittering weapon around him ;
But a loud knock rang at the castle gate,
And Fatima was saved from her horrible fate,
For, shocked with surprise, he paused too late ;
And then the two soldiers found him.

XV.

They were her brothers, and, quick as they knew
What the fiend was doing, their swords they drew,
And attacked him fiercely, and ran him through,
So that soon he was mortally wounded.
With a wild remorse was his conscience filled

When he thought of the hapless wives he had killed;
But quickly the last of his blood was spilled,

And his dying groan was sounded.

XVI.

'T was a private funeral Bluebeard had;
For the people knew he was very bad,

And, though they said nothing, they all were glad
For the fall of the evil-doer ;

But Fatima first ordered some graves to be made,

And there the unfortunate ladies were laid,
And after some painful months, with the aid
Of her friends, her spirits came to her.

XVII.

Then she cheered the hearts of the suffering poor,

And an acre of land around each door,

And a cow, and a couple of sheep, or more,

To her tenantry she granted.

So all of them had enough to eat,

And their love for her was so complete

They would kiss the dust from her little feet,
Or do anything she wanted.

J. G. Holland.