44 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

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 bed-side,
and a servant entered; but as scon as she saw Beauty, the
woman gave aloud shriek ; upon which the merchant ran up
stairs, and when he beheld his daughter he was ready to die
of joy. He ran to the bed-side, and kissed her a hundred
times. At last Beauty began to remember that she had
brought no clothes with her to put on; but the servant told
her she had just found in the next room a large chest full of
dresses, trimmed all over with gold, and adorned with pearls
and diamonds.

Beauty, in her own mind, thanked the beast for his kind-
ness, and put on the plainest gown she could find among them
all. She then told the servant to put the rest away with a
great deal of care, for she intended to give them to her sisters ;
but, as soon as she had spoken these words, the chest was gone
out of sight ina moment. Her father then said, perhaps the
Beast chose for her to keep them all for herself; and as soon
as he had said this, they saw.the chest standing again in the
same place. While Beauty was dressing herself, a servant
brought word to her that her sisters were come with their
husbands to pay her a visit. ‘They both lived unhappily with
the gentlemen they had married. The husband of the eldest
was very handsome, but was so very proud of this, that he
thought of nothing else from morning till night, and did not
attend to the beauty of his wife. The second had married
a man of great learning; but he made no use of it, only to
torment and affront all his friends, and his wife more than
any of them. The two sisters were ready to burst with spite
when they saw Beauty dressed like a princess, and look so
very charming, All the kindness that she showed them was