Belle Étoile

“ All this fell out as the Dove foretold. The green bird begged for liberty. "First," said Belle-Etoile, "I wish that thou wouldst restore my three brothers to me."
"Under my left wing there is a red feather," said the bird: "pull it out, and touch the rock with it."
The Princess hastened to do as she was instructed; the rock split from the top to the bottom: she entered with a victorious air the hall in which stood the three Princes with many others; she ran towards Cheri, who did not know her in her helmet and male attire, and could neither speak nor move. ”

“ What would be our fate if we irritated the gods by encouraging feelings which were displeasing to them? The syren spoke so vaguely, that one must have a great fancy for guessing, to apply what she said to ourselves." "You refuse to do so, cruel one," said the afflicted Prince, "much less from the respect you owe the gods, than from your aversion to me!" Belle-Etoile did not answer him, and raising her eyes to heaven, heaved a deep sigh, which he could not help interpreting favourably. ”

“ Belle-Etoile put on a rose-coloured velvet dress, trimmed with brilliants, her hair fell in large curls upon her shoulders, ornamented with knots of ribands; the star upon her forehead shone splendidly, and the chain of gold around her neck, which could not be taken off, seemed to be of a metal more precious even than gold. Nothing to mortal eyes would have appeared more beautiful. Her brothers were attired with equal splendour, particularly Prince Cheri ”

“ She told Belle-Etoile that she should be sure to come and see her.
The Princes returned from the chase, one brought a young wild boar, another a hare, and the third a stag; they laid all the spoil at their sister's feet, but she looked upon this homage with a sort of disdain, she was engrossed by the advice of Feintise. Her anxiety about it was even apparent, and Cheri, who had no other occupation than studying her humour, was not a quarter-of-an-hour in her company, without remarking it. "What is the matter, my dear Etoile?" said he; "the country we are in is not perhaps to your liking. ”

“ In despair we rail at Fate,
And strive to charm, when all too late."
Belle-Etoile thought the words were very pretty; she went to the balcony to see who it was singing. As soon as she appeared, Feintise, who had dressed herself very neatly, made her a low curtsey; the Princess bowed in her turn, and as she was in a lively humour, asked her if the words she had just heard were made upon herself. "Yes, charming young lady," replied Feintise, "they were made upon me; but that such may never be made upon you, I come to give you some advice, that you ought to profit by." ”

“ Queen Blondine, who had mourned for them all these years, embraced them, and the wicked Queen-Mother and old Feintise were justly punished. And the King, who thought his nephew Cheri the handsomest man at Court, consented to his marriage with Belle-Etoile. And lastly, to make everyone happy, the King sent for the Corsair and his wife, who gladly came. ”

“ Accept, Belle-Etoile," he continued, "accept this singular fruit; no one in the world deserves it so much as you do; but what can it bestow on you more than you already possess?" Petit-Soleil and his brother came and interrupted this conversation. They were delighted to see the Prince again. He gave them an account of his journey, which lasted till the morning.
The wicked Feintise had just returned to her little cottage after discoursing with the Queen-Mother upon her projects. She was too uneasy to sleep quietly. She heard the sweet singing of the apple, that nothing in nature could equal. ”

“ When she went hunting, he accompanied her: when she stayed at home he always found some excuse for not going out himself. Petit-Soleil and Heureux, who were her brothers, addressed her with less tenderness and less respect. She remarked the difference, and doing justice to Cheri, she loved him better than she did the others. As they grew up, their mutual affection increased with their age. At first it was productive of unalloyed pleasure. "My gentle brother," said Belle-Etoile to him, "if my wishes could render you happy, you should be one of the greatest kings on earth." ”

“ Truly, you cannot mean that." "Ah! what should I have done," continued Belle-Etoile, "if they had brought me my dear brother, dead or dying?" "He should not go any more," said the old woman; "the others ought to oblige you in their turn, and the enterprise is not so dangerous." "Never mind," said the Princess, "I do not feel inclined to expose them." "Indeed, I pity you," said Feintise, "to lose so advantageous an opportunity ”

“ They admired together the wonderful stars, the chains of gold that could not be taken off their necks, and their long ringlets. Much greater was the woman's astonishment when she combed them, for at every instant there rolled out of their hair pearls, rubies, diamonds, and emeralds. ”

“ Shortly after, the King came that way, with his brother and the Lord Admiral. They were all so struck with the beauty of the three Princesses, that the King married the youngest, Blondine, his brother married Brunette, and the Lord Admiral married Roussette. ”

“ Prince Cheri at break of day perceived a handsome young man, from whom he learned where the singing-apple was to be found: but after travelling some time without seeing any sign of it, he saw a poor turtle-dove fall at his feet almost dead. He took pity on it, and restored it, when it said, "Good-day, handsome Cheri, you are destined to save my life, and I to do you signal service. You are come to seek for the singing-apple: it is guarded by a terrible dragon." ”

“ Enter Ottilia.
Otti. I find thee punctual.
'Tis well for thee thou art so. By my life,
If thou hadst failed me I had sought the king.
Where is the priest? On to the chapel.
Cæsa. Stay,
And hear me! for the hour is come that weighs
Our fates in the same balance. Thus then briefly,
Thou art most fair, in wit most choice and subtle,
In all rare talents still surpassing all,
And for these gifts, and thy long tried affection,
I feel I owe thee much, owe thee firm friendship,
Eternal gratitude, faith, favour, love,
And all things save my hand. ”

“ I have starved myself to death, but I shall die content since I have seen your face once more.”
“No, dear beast,” cried Beauty, passionately, “you shall not die; you shall live to be my husband. I thought it was only friendship I felt for you, but now I know it was love.”
The moment Beauty had spoken these words, the palace was suddenly lighted up, and all kinds of rejoicings were heard around them, none of which she noticed, but hung over her dear beast with the utmost tenderness. ”

“ Never did I realized of what the human heart is capable until Belle came into the store, one lovely spring morning, looking like a seraph in a new spring bonnet, and blushingly—with a saucy flash of her dark eyes that made her rising color all the more divine—inquired for table-damask and 4-4 sheetings. ”

“ Only Beauty shed no tears. They reached the palace in a very few hours, and the horse, without bidding, went into the stable as before. The merchant and Beauty walked toward the large hall, where they found a table covered with every dainty and two plates laid already. The merchant had very little appetite; but Beauty, that she might the better hide her grief, placed herself at the table, and helped her father; she then began to eat herself, and thought all the time that, to be sure, the beast had a mind to fatten her before he ate her up, since he had provided such good cheer for her. ”

“ But Beauty’s young life shall not be sacrificed; I am old, and cannot expect to live much longer; so I shall but give up a few years of my life, and shall only grieve for the sake of my children.”
“Never, father!” cried Beauty; “if you go back to the palace, you cannot hinder my going after you; though young, I am not over-fond of life; and I would much rather be eaten up by the monster, than die of grief for your loss.”
The merchant in vain tried to reason with Beauty who still obstinately kept to her purpose ”

“ Madonnas, saints, and such like pictures which fill the churches of Italy and Spain, works of the old masters, are now chiefly prized for their grace of form and richness of coloring,--exhibitions of ideal beauty, charming as creations, but not such as we see in real life; George Eliot's novels, on the contrary, are not works of imagination, like the frescos in the Sistine Chapel, but copies of real life, like those of Wilkie and Teniers, which we value for their fidelity to Nature. ”

“ He sought a path out of the forest, but could not find one, and presently he saw an old woman with a nodding head, who came up to him. “My good woman,” said he to her, “can you not show me the way out of the forest?” “Oh, yes, my lord King,” she replied, “I can do that very well, but upon one condition, which if you do not fulfill you will never again get out of the wood, but will die of hunger.”
“What, then, is this condition?” asked the King.
“I have a daughter,” said the old woman, “who is as beautiful as anyone you can find in the whole world, and well deserves to be your bride. ”

“ There are existences that are ever gloomy, lived under ashen skies; but suppose a glorious day, when the sun of heaven glows in the azure air,—such was the May of their love, during which Etienne had suspended all his griefs,—griefs which had passed into the heart of Gabrielle, who, in turn, had fastened all her joys to come on those of her lord. ”

“ When you wish to return, you have nothing to do but to put your ring on a table when you go to bed. Good-by, Beauty!” The beast sighed as he said these words, and Beauty went to bed very sorry to see him so much grieved. When she awoke in the morning, she found herself in her father’s cottage. She rang a bell that was at her bedside, and a servant entered; but as soon as she saw Beauty the woman gave a loud shriek; upon which the merchant ran upstairs, and when he beheld his daughter he ran to her, and kissed her a hundred times. ”

“ The many portraits of her I have seen are much like the pictures of George Eliot: red hair, a pale high forehead, keen dark eyes, a nose hooked like the beak of an eagle, sharp chin. Such is not the face to win admiration, much less to waken love; yet, when nearly seventy—an age which no art can conceal—she listened to the soft flatteries of her courtiers as tributes to her beauty which they could not repress. ”

“ And I breathed the old familiar perfume of frankincense and lavender and felt her pure breath upon my brow. It was a moment of consecration. Even had she not been my mother, I should have felt awe and veneration for this stately and distinguished woman with her expression of long and patiently endured affliction, her fresh, well-preserved old age, her solemn, dignified garb and the peculiar sphere of purity and chastity that seemed to surround her. All my shame and humiliation came to my mind and threatened to relieve itself in a flood of tears. ”

“ It had lighted Ottalie. It had burned upon the pane when Ottalie's mother stood there. Nature was enduring; Nature the imperfect; Nature the enemy, which blighted the rose and spread the weed. Thinking of the woman who had waited for him there in his vision, he prayed that her influence in him might help to bring to earth that promised life, in which man, curbing Nature to his use, would assert a new law and rule like a king, where now, even in his strength, he walks sentenced, a prey to all things baser. ”

“ Etienne, like a silent witness day and night, had pointed upward to the great beyond, to the immeasurable depths of stars, away from this world of struggle, passion, and human desire. Men had fought, schemed, died, and been forgotten since the rising sun first turned its fane to golden fire ”

“ Beauty, full of surprise, but very happy, suffered the prince to lead her to his palace, where she found her father and sisters, who had been brought there by the fairy-lady whom she had seen in a dream the first night she came.
“Beauty,” said the fairy, “you have chosen well, and you have your reward, for a true heart is better than either good looks or clever brains. ”

“ The queen is clothed in garments given her by blind fortune and unreasoning chance, while George Eliot wears robes of glory woven in the loom of her own genius.
The world is beginning to pay homage to intellect, to genius, to heart. ”

“ A princess such as your Highness requires, one who has subdued the first eager longings of her heart and resigned herself to consider the duties of her lofty rank as the first necessity, is the Princess Ottilie. ”

“ The slight hints which frequently escaped her had no effect upon Ottilie; for Ottilie had been assured by Edward that Charlotte was devoted to the Captain, that Charlotte herself wished for a separation, and that he was at this moment considering the readiest means by which it could be brought about.
Ottilie, led by the sense of her own innocence along the road to the happiness for which she longed, lived only for Edward. Strengthened by her love for him in all good, more light and happy in her work for his sake, and more frank and open toward others, she found herself in a heaven upon earth. ”

“ Blow up love's ruddy peat in man and wife:
And all that night, harps throb and warpipes cry
Around the king, enthroned in joy complete,
Etain beside him, Ailill at his feet.
But through the songs of praise that round him swell,
One voice to him has music sweeter far. ”

“ I saw the High Priest, the lovely Mother Priestess, the Vestals, the choir and musicians, all earnestly engaged in some holy ceremony. The music, the heavenly spiritual influence of the atmosphere, the exquisite fragrance of incense and perfumes, with the purity reflected by the Vestal attendants, so enraptured and enthralled me that the thought that I would ever have to leave its sacred boundaries caused me to lose consciousness and, when I awoke, you were bending over me. ”