In the legend, the Duchess Isabella, wishing earnestly to obtain
some object, was instructed by the crafty court astrologer to
kiss day by day for a hundred days a certain beautiful picture,
and she would receive the fulfilment of her wish. It was a
sinister trick, for the picture contained a subtle poison
which stained the lips with every salutation. Little by little
the golden tresses of the queenly woman turned white, her
eyes became dim, her color faded, her lips became black; but,
infatuated, the suicidal kiss was continued until before the
hundred days were complete the royal dupe lay dead.
So we yield ourselves to the sorcery of sin; despite many warnings,
we persist in our fellowship with what seems truth, beauty,
liberty, pleasure, until our whole soul is poisoned and destroyed.
(Text.)--W. L. WATKINSON, “The Transfigured Sackcloth.”
(920)
See ALLUREMENT, FATAL.