The Seven Wives of Bluebeard | Page 6

of
age; very fine well-made young fellows, of whom one was a Dragoon, and the other a
Musketeer. I may add, having seen his commission, that he was a Black Musketeer.
When on foot, this was not apparent, for the Black Musketeers were distinguished from

the Grey not by the colour of their uniform, but by the hides of their horses. All alike
wore blue surcoats laced with gold. As for the Dragoons, they were to be recognized by a
kind of fur bonnet, of which the tail fell gallantly over the ear. The Dragoons had the
reputation of being scamps, a scapegrace crowd, witness the song:
"Mama, here the dragoons come: Let us haste away."
But you might have searched in vain through His Majesty's two regiments of Dragoons
for a bigger rake, a more accomplished sponger, or a viler rogue than Cosme de
Lespoisse. Compared with him, his brother was an honest lad. Drunkard and gambler,
Pierre de Lespoisse pleased the ladies, and won at cards; these were the only ways of
gaining a living known to him.
Their mother, Dame de Lespoisse, was making a splash at Motte-Giron only in order to
catch gulls. As a matter of fact, she had not a penny, and owed for everything, even to her
false teeth. Her clothes and furniture, her coach, her horses, and her servants had all been
lent by Parisian money lenders, who threatened to withdraw them all if she did not
presently marry one of her daughters to some rich nobleman, and the respectable Sidonie
was expecting to find herself at any moment naked in an empty house. In a hurry to find a
son-In-law, she had at once cast her eye upon Monsieur de Montragoux, whom she
summed up as being simple-minded, easy to deceive, extremely mild, and quick to fall in
love under his rude and bashful exterior. Her two daughters entered into her plans, and
every time they met him, riddled poor Bluebeard with glances which pierced him to the
depths of his heart. He soon fell a victim to the potent charms of the two Demoiselles de
Lespoisse. Forgetting his oath, he thought of nothing but marrying one of them, finding
them equally beautiful. After some delay, caused less by hesitation than timidity, he went
to Motte-Giron in great state, and made his petition to the Dame de Lespoisse, leaving to
her the choice of which daughter she would give him. Madame Sidonie obligingly replied
that she held him in high esteem, and that she authorized him to pay his court to
whichever of the ladies he should prefer.
"Learn to please, monsieur," she said. "I shall be the first to applaud your success."
In order to make their better acquaintance, Bluebeard invited Anne and Jeanne de
Lespoisse, with their mother, brothers, and a multitude of ladies and gentlemen to pass a
fortnight at the castle of Guillettes. There was a succession of walking, hunting, and
fishing parties, dances and festivities, dinners and entertainments of every sort. A young
seigneur, the Chevalier de Merlus, whom the ladies Lespoisse had brought with them,
organized the beats. Bluebeard had the best packs of hounds and the largest turnout in the
country side. The ladies rivalled the ardour of the gentle men in hunting the deer. They
did not always hunt the animal down, but the hunters and their ladies wandered away in
couples, found one another, and again wandered off into the woods. For choice, the
Chevalier de la Merlus would lose himself with Jeanne de Lespoisse, and both would
return to the castle at night, full of their adventures, and pleased with their day's sport.
After a few days' observation, the good seigneur of Montragoux felt a decided preference
for Jeanne, the younger sister, rather than the elder, as she was fresher, which is not

saying that she was less experienced. He allowed his preference to appear; there was no
reason why he should conceal it, for it was a befitting preference; moreover, he was a
plain dealer. He paid court to the young lady as best he could, speaking little, for want of
practice ; but he gazed at her, rolling his rolling eyes, and emitting from the depths of his
bowels sighs which might have overthrown an oak tree. Sometimes he would burst out
laughing, whereupon the crockery trembled, and the windows rattled. Alone of all the
party, he failed to remark the assiduous attentions of the Chevalier de la Menus to
Madame de Lespoisse's younger daughter, or if he did remark them he saw no harm in
them. His experience of women was not sufficient to make him suspicious, and he trusted
when he loved. My grandmother used to say that in life experience is worthless, and that
one remains the same