BELLE YVONNE, AND HER HUSBAND THE DWARF.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 51

BELLE YVONNE, AND HER HUSBAND THE DWARF.

From the French of Daniel Kiche. , (Strand Magazine.) Solitary, by the .sea shpre, in a cottage which the rough winds, from across the ocean shook like a worn-out and abandoned ship, lived the aunt of Balla Yvonne— who was beautiful as a spring day, with the gold glint of her hair, her eyes as blue as the cloudless sky, and her skin as fair as the hue of the lilies growing by the margin of the well. But though she w.as. beautiful enough to surprise a kieg, Yvonne was very unhappy. Her old witch of an aunt, who lived by theft and the spoils of wrecked mariners gathered from the. shore, beat ber much -more'i often, than complimented her on her good looks. ■ The little one ' neyer complained, hpw'ever. Merely- to -live "was a, delight to- her, and while listening -to- the- songs of the . birds on the heath, and breathing the sweet scent of the- furze flower,_she forgot all the ill-treatment of which' ehe was the daily victim. Now, one afternoon, when the old woman had sent Yvonne to gather mussels on the shore, a handsome carriage drawn by six white horses stopped- at the cottage door. / All the people ot "the village followed it wonderingly,- expsctic'g that some charming prince would alight .from it. But to their great astonishment the person who dej scended • was ■ orily- a -little man — zsofc tal!e.T than* a distaff— with a head as ~ big as a -lion's, and' a Igreat :black beard, which he wore plaited down to hie waist, round which it was coiled like a belt;. The dwarf was dressed in silk, satin, and gold; rings and jewels sparkled on all his fingers, and' the knob of his cane was composed of a single diamond. He entered the miserable cottage, and the old woman was so • overcoms by the sight of him that- stie- threw .herself upon her knees before him in sign of humility and deference. "Kise. woman," said the dwarf, in a thin little voice, like the lone of a flageolet; "I have to speak with you on a matter of importance." As she was rising, in obedience to his command, she- received- fall in the raose a purse filled with gold pieces ; but, far from complaining, her face brightened into a hideous smite, and.shs asked, humbly t ",What can I do to satisfy you, my lord ? " " I have noticed," he replied, " your niece, Yvoune.'agile as a'young goaf;, flitting about the rooks; she is ,so beautifel that I have come to ask for her band." The old woman clapped her lags three times with her hands, which with her'was a sigp of uster stupefaction. "You, a rich lord, who have a carnage drawn by six white horses, and so many purses fall of gold pieces that you throw them to old women — you wish to marry my

niece 2 " " It is my dearest wish, supposing she will consent." " She refuse such an honour ? " squeaked

the old woman ; " I would eat her liver if ! ahe r^are I "* : If.'oni a distance Yvonne perceived the - assembled village, and though she could not imagine- what it- meant, the concourse -of peop'e about her aunt's door alarmed her so - much that her rosy cheek- became pale. She was obliged to go' horne s howevsr. ! Slowly, and bending under the weight of the. load of mussels she had gathered, she made her way towards the cott3go. On seeing her approach the curious crowd opened to let her pass, crying : j " Here she is — here she is ! " Toe poor child felt her heart contract ■ more and more. When she learned that her hand was 'Sought by the dwarf, Belle Yvonne burst into j tears. She would have preferred to remain ' nnmarried" all her life than to wed such a frightful creature I Seeing this, the old witch of an aunt begged his lordship to come again the next day, assuring him that her niece would then . be ready to accept him ; and when next day the dwarf returned, Yronne received him with smiles. What had the old woman said to bring; about this change ? Had she dazzled her with the prospect of riches, or terrorised her by force or threats 2 No ; the old witch had caused her unsuspectingly to eat the brain of a mole strangled with three fern &talks on a moonless night under a tree in which an owl was hooting. This charm, the power of which lasted two days, made all men who met her sight appear beautiful as the herosß of a dream. She, therefore, received the dwaif with joy, and, on the second day, they were married, and he conducted her across wide lands and through dark forests to her new home. Once arrived in the great hall of her magnificent castle, lit by four torches held in golden sockets, the charm cams to an end, and poor Yvonne trembled with fear on hearing her dwarf husband say to her : " Madam, I know that I am neither b:g nor beautiful, in spite of my long beard; and, as I am very jealous, I warn you that you will never be allowed to go beyond the limits of my domain. You will see'no other man besides myself. With those exceptions, pray understand me, gentle wife, your everj desire, every dream, shall be accomplished."' * Yvonne was at first greatly distressed by , her complete solitude. Youth needs noise and movement for the expenditure of its excess of strength ; it needs, also, in provision for tba days" of its old "age, to store up pictures, thoughts, and facts, to be revived when the time comes when activity is replaced by a qniet seat in an old armchair by the fireside. ' A sense of deadly weariness weighed upon ber. Bat an the yearn made bo change in

her situation, she determined to make the best of it, by diverting herself by all means pqssible, in company with her Eervant, MarieJeanne, a good, rough girl, fond of laughing and chattering.

At the close of an autumn day the two women were sitting at a window watching the setting sun, when some portions of a ballad, sung by , two delicate and fluent voices, reached their ears.

, This song, thrilling the dusky calm, touched and delighted the two recluses, and, when the voices ceased, both leaned out of the window to get sight of the troubadours, bus saw, under their balcony, only two dwarfg, so exactly like Yvonne's husband that they conld not repress an exclamation cf bewildered astonishment. Like him, they were not taller than' a distaff ; like him, they had each a head as big as a lion's; and, like him, each had a long plaited beard coiled round his waist.

Recovered from their astonishment, the two young women were moved to laughter by this curious resemblance. Then MarieJeanne, who was always on the look-out for distraction for her mistress, proposed :

" Suppose we asked these two musicians to come and amuse ns a little 1 "

" How can you think of such a thing 7 What if my lord should x'etarn 2 "

" Ob, never fear, madam I He will not return till late in the evening ; you will have plenty of time to amuse yourself with their songs." , Ifc did not need much pressing to induce -the poor recluse to accept- this tempting offer, and, clapping her hands with pleasure, .she permitted Marie- Jeanne to' make a sign to them to cotne up. In the course of a few moments the two dwarfs sang, accompanying themselves on the viol; and the lady and the Bervant, who for so long had not had any amusement of any kind, danced till they were out of breath. Suddenly, while tu^y wore in the full enjoyment of their new-found pleasure, the sound of footsteps gritting on the -gravel walk in the court of honour fell npon their ears. " Heavens ! My husband I " " Your husband 2 " " We are lost I " "Don't give way to despair so quickly," said Maritt-Jeanoe, who was not readily alarmed. " Chickens don't allow their recks to be wrung without screeching: loud enough to make themselves heard. W&'il find some way." " Do you think it possible 2 " Marie-Jsanne did not answer this question, bul. hurried across the room to a large coffer, the lid of which she raised. " Qaick I hide yourselves in this chest," she .said to the musfcians. " The master is very spit6fal, and if he discovers you in this house he will be sure to cut you into little pieces and feed big dogs with them."

Terrified ous of their wits they instantly obeyed, and Marie-Jeanne shut down ths lid, s«!.ted herself npon it, and coolly set to •work knitting.- • -

Not a moment too soon, for- &he had hardly made a dozen loops when the little lord entered the room. The discomposure of Tiis wife was at once observed by him.

" What is the matter with yoa, Belle Yvonne ? You are as pale as a corpse."

"I, my lord ! " Bhe stammered. "I am feeling a little weak this evening, that is all."

" That comes of your not being allowed to go abroad, perhaps," said Marie- Jeanne boldly.

" The park is large, my beloved ; it must auffioa for your walks." Than, changing the subject to avoid a discassion which had many times been reopened, he added : " I have mislaid here the little box of pistoles, of which I have need, and have returned in search of it."

" Search, search, my lord," said Belle Yvonne ; adding, in a tone scarcely louder than the breath of the summer air, " The company ol my lord is always agreeable."

. Leisurely he examined all the furniture, felt in all the drawers, hoping by chance to discover what it was his wife was hiding from him — for that she was hiding something from him he felt certain ; but neither seeing nor hearing anything unusual, he kissed ber hand, and with his cofliret under his arm quitted the room.

When they had eeen him cro?s the drawbridge Marie-Jeanne hurried to the great chest and raised the lid. Alas I the little lord had stayed too long, and the two musicians, deprived of air, had both been suffocated.

(To be continued.)