Blue Beard and his Castle.Theruins of the Chateau de la Verriere, on the banks of the Erdre, in the department of the Loire Inferieure, are, according to the tradition of the neighboring peasantry, those of the castle of the celebrated Blue Beard, the hero of the well known nursery tale. This formidable personage, who is not altogether a creature of fancy, was Giles de Retz, who lived in the reign of Charles VII., and was a vassal of John V., duke of Bretagne. He was tried at Nantes, on suspicion of having destroyed a number of children, who had been seen to enter the castle, and were never heard of afterwards.The bodies of several were afterwards found, he having caused them to be put to death to make use of their blood in writing charms and forming incantations to raise infernal spirits, by whose means he believed, according to the horrible superstitions of the times, that buried treasures would be revealed to him. On his trial he confessed the most horrible acts of atrocity, and was sentenced to be burnt alive; but the duke caused him to be strangled before he was tied to the stake. This execution took place December 25th, 1440, and a detailed account of it is still preserved in a manuscript in the archives of Nantes.A Horse stung to death by Bees.—We learn from the Hartford (Connecticut) Patriot, that Mr. William Russell, of Spring Hill, tied his horse near a bee-hive, a few days ago, when the swarm set upon the horse and stung him until he sunk down in the greatest agony and immediately died. Before he fell, Mr. Russell made every effort to remove the horse, but the poor brute seemed spellbound, and refused to stir. The day was warm, and Mr. Russell had been driving fast.The Flowers of Spring.—The shower of rain that was falling a few minutes ago, is passed away; the sun is shining bright, the drops of rain are glittering like diamonds on the young leaves. How sweet is the smell of the sweetbriar after the rain! How pleasant does the garden look! A few weeks ago there were little signs of life anywhere, but now every border is full of flowers, and fresh buds are still showing their heads above the ground. Among the low green leaves, we see colors of blue, and red, and yellow, and orange, and purple. Where were these beautiful flowers in winter? Were they dead? They were buried, indeed, in the ground, and their fair blossoms were not then unfolded, but there was life in their roots. There was life, too, in the seeds which were sown a little while ago, though they did not spring up till the rain and sunshine came.Your kind heavenly Father sends you flowers, not only to teach you wisdom, but to give you sweet and innocent pleasure. So now, my little ones, enjoy the sunshine, for it will soon pass away. The clouds are gathering again. Look for violets and primroses in the sunny banks, gather the cowslips and tie them into yellow balls, and let no innocent joy of spring pass by you.—English magazine.Boisterous Preaching.—A celebrated divine, who was remarkable in the firstperiod of his ministry for a loud and boisterous mode of preaching, suddenly changed his whole manner in the pulpit, and adopted a mild and dispassionate mode of delivery. One of his brethren observing it, inquired of him what had induced him to make the change? He answered: “When I was young, I thought it was thethunderthat killed the people; but when I grew wiser, I discovered it was thelightning—so I determined to thunder less and lighten more in future.” It is a pity that all preachers had not made the discovery.
Theruins of the Chateau de la Verriere, on the banks of the Erdre, in the department of the Loire Inferieure, are, according to the tradition of the neighboring peasantry, those of the castle of the celebrated Blue Beard, the hero of the well known nursery tale. This formidable personage, who is not altogether a creature of fancy, was Giles de Retz, who lived in the reign of Charles VII., and was a vassal of John V., duke of Bretagne. He was tried at Nantes, on suspicion of having destroyed a number of children, who had been seen to enter the castle, and were never heard of afterwards.
The bodies of several were afterwards found, he having caused them to be put to death to make use of their blood in writing charms and forming incantations to raise infernal spirits, by whose means he believed, according to the horrible superstitions of the times, that buried treasures would be revealed to him. On his trial he confessed the most horrible acts of atrocity, and was sentenced to be burnt alive; but the duke caused him to be strangled before he was tied to the stake. This execution took place December 25th, 1440, and a detailed account of it is still preserved in a manuscript in the archives of Nantes.
A Horse stung to death by Bees.—We learn from the Hartford (Connecticut) Patriot, that Mr. William Russell, of Spring Hill, tied his horse near a bee-hive, a few days ago, when the swarm set upon the horse and stung him until he sunk down in the greatest agony and immediately died. Before he fell, Mr. Russell made every effort to remove the horse, but the poor brute seemed spellbound, and refused to stir. The day was warm, and Mr. Russell had been driving fast.
The Flowers of Spring.—The shower of rain that was falling a few minutes ago, is passed away; the sun is shining bright, the drops of rain are glittering like diamonds on the young leaves. How sweet is the smell of the sweetbriar after the rain! How pleasant does the garden look! A few weeks ago there were little signs of life anywhere, but now every border is full of flowers, and fresh buds are still showing their heads above the ground. Among the low green leaves, we see colors of blue, and red, and yellow, and orange, and purple. Where were these beautiful flowers in winter? Were they dead? They were buried, indeed, in the ground, and their fair blossoms were not then unfolded, but there was life in their roots. There was life, too, in the seeds which were sown a little while ago, though they did not spring up till the rain and sunshine came.
Your kind heavenly Father sends you flowers, not only to teach you wisdom, but to give you sweet and innocent pleasure. So now, my little ones, enjoy the sunshine, for it will soon pass away. The clouds are gathering again. Look for violets and primroses in the sunny banks, gather the cowslips and tie them into yellow balls, and let no innocent joy of spring pass by you.—English magazine.
Boisterous Preaching.—A celebrated divine, who was remarkable in the firstperiod of his ministry for a loud and boisterous mode of preaching, suddenly changed his whole manner in the pulpit, and adopted a mild and dispassionate mode of delivery. One of his brethren observing it, inquired of him what had induced him to make the change? He answered: “When I was young, I thought it was thethunderthat killed the people; but when I grew wiser, I discovered it was thelightning—so I determined to thunder less and lighten more in future.” It is a pity that all preachers had not made the discovery.