POPULAR STORY
OF
BLUE BEARD.
FRONTISPIECE.
THE
POPULAR STORY
OF
BLUE BEARD.
Embellished with neat Engravings.
COOPERSTOWN:
Printed and sold by H. and E. Phinney.
1828
The Alphabet.
A B C D E F G H I J K
L M N O P Q R S T
U V W X Y Z
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
p q r s t u v w x y z
A B C D E F G H I J K
L M N O P Q R S T
U V W X Y Z
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
p q r s t u v w x y z
fi fl ff ffi ffl—fi fl ff ffi ffl
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. , ; : ? ! ' () [] * † ‡ § ¶
THE
POPULAR STORY
OF
BLUE BEARD.
A long time ago, and at a considerable distance from any town, therelived a gentleman, who was not only in possession of great riches, butof the largest estates in that part of the country. Although he hadsome very elegant neat mansions on his estates, he generally residedin a magnificent castle, beautifully situated on a rising ground,surrounded with groves of the finest evergreens, and other choice treesand shrubs.
The inside of this fine castle was even more beautiful than theoutside; for the rooms were all hung with the richest [Pg 6]damask,curiously ornamented; the chairs and sofas were covered with the finestvelvet, fringed with gold; and his table-dishes and plates were eitherof silver or gold, finished in the most elegant style. His carriagesand horses might have served a king, and perhaps were finer than anymonarch's of the present day. The gentleman's appearance, however, didnot altogether correspond to his wealth; for, to a fierce disagreeablecountenance, was added an ugly blue beard, which made him an object offear and disgust in the neighbourhood, where he usually went by thename of Blue Beard.
There resided, at some considerable distance from Blue Beard'scastle, an old lady and her two daughters, who were people of somerank, but by no means wealthy. The two young ladies were very pretty,and the fame of their beauty having reached Blue Beard