The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-03-24

|
days and nights in the darkness of his
dungeon. / followed him. The turn
key locked the dungeon and joined us.
We found two sleighs at the door of the
Governors house. He made the pris-
oner get into the sleigh had come in,
and then he and l got in. He sat by
the side of the prisoner; | sat on the
front seat. The old mans legs were
consequently between mine. felt
them shivering. The Governor was
wrapped in furs. was wrapped in my
thick military cloak, and even then
both of us were cold. The old man was
almost stark naked, but the Governor
did not offer him even blanket to
cover him. | thought for a moment
of taking off my cloak and giving it
to him the Governor read my
thought and said: 1T is not worth
WHILE So | kept on my cloak We
drove toward the river Neva. When
we reached the middle of the river our
sleighs moved toward Cronstadt. The
wind-it was blowing gale-blew from
the Baltic, the hail cutting our faces it
was one of those terrible drifting snow
storms such as are never seen except in
the Gul Of Ginland. Accustomed as we
were in the darkness, we could not see
ten PAGES from us. When we had
rounded the neck of land on the river
the drifting snow-storm burst upon us
in all its violence. You cannot con-
ceive what terrible thing is this lorna
do of wind and hail and snow in these
wide marshes, where there is not tree
to break its violence. On we went,
through a moving atmosphere, which
was so filled with snow-hakes it seemed
ready every moment to become solid
and suffocate us between walls of snow.
Our horses snorted and neighed, and re-
fused TO move. Our drivers could not
make them bulge single step, except
by applying the lash most mercilessly.
They ran out Of the road and came near
upsetting us against the river bank
thousand times. | knew it did some
times happen, even IN broad daylight,
that sleighs and horses, with everybody
in them, fell into the air-holes in the
river, which never freeze over, and dis
appear forever. | thought we might
cross one of these air-holes and disap-
pear in their unfathomable abyss. Good
heavens what night what night |
spent And the old mans legs trembled
more and more. How he must have
suffered with the cold At last we
stopped. We were some three or four
miles below st. Petersburg. The Cover
nor got out of the sleigh and went to.
ward the one which held the four sol
diers all of them had leaped from the
sleigh. They held the instruments
he, - L.. a,
The Governor said, Make hole in the
ice | could not repress an involun-
tary scream of terror. began now to
comprehend the hellish tragedy. All
said the old man, in a tone which
seemed like the sheer of a skeleton,
the Empress remembers me, Ell?
What Empress did he mean? Anne, or
Elizabeth, or Catherine? He evidently
believed one of them still reigned. He
was ignorant even of the name of him
who condemned him to death What
was the darkness of this night compared
to that which reigned in his coll The
four soldiers set TO work. They broke
the ice with their hammers, cut it with
hatchets, pried it up with their levers.
Suddenly they all leaped back the
ice was completely broken and the wa
ter rose.
90 Get out of the Sleigh said the
Governor to the old man.
1.-The order was useless-the old man
had gotten out before the Governor
spoke, and was kneeling on the ice, en-
gagged in silent prayer The Governor
whispered to the four soldiers. He evil
IDENTITY gave them an order, and then he
returned to the sleigh and took seat
by me. had not quilted the sleigh.
The old man soon rose from his knees.
:" am ready said he.
"The soldiers leaped on him. turn.
ed my eyes away. But if | did not see,
l heard. heard a body fall into the
gulf of water. l voluntarily looked.
The old man had disappeared. | forgot
that it was not my place to give orders,
and | screamed to the driver,
Drive home Drive home =
80 Not yet said the Governor.
The sleigh had started this exclama-
ton made the driver stop.
80 We are not through yet, said the
Governor to me, in French.
80 What else is to be done? p
go We must wait.
ave waited half an hour.
90 The hole is frozen over, your Ex-
cellency,' said one of the soldiers.
80 Are you surer said the Governor.
"The soldier struck the hole with his
lever; it was evident that it was covered
with solid ice.
:" Drive home, said the Governor.
"The horses bounded away at full
speed. In fifteen minutes we were in
the fortress. Ny guide took the Gov
ernor's place in the sleigh, saying to the
driver as he got in: Go to the Red
Palace
" Five minutes afterward | was in the
Emperor's chamber. He was standing
in the middle of the floor, and in the
same dress he wore when / first saw
him. He came up to me.
80 Well, said he.
90 | have seen it,
:" You have seen it? you have seen
it? you have seen it /? said he.
Ns only mo c;ra I ,o,I;aI o,I