The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-03-01

9i f-s i-t- --.a D..
:. A REMARKABLE STORY.
| A French correspondent, travelling
In Russia, sends to his Parisian paper
the ensuing story Of . tragedy lately
enacted in the Cars District Ol
Plotsk. About thirty years ago an
old and bitter feud between two fami-
lies Of landed proprietos in that bleak
district reached q tragic climax in the
assassination of q prominent member
Of one household by his particular
foeman in the other. Swift remorse
and fear of the officers of justice drove
the murderer to suicide on the very
day Of his victims burial, and at first
the horror Of the whole affair had q
tendency to end forever q quarrel
which had produced such terrible re-
suits in both families; but after the
first shock of their bereavement the
kindred Of the slain man made threats
OF exActing more adequate revenge
than had been realized in the self.de-
struction Of his slayer, and the authori.
ties were obliged to interfere for the
prevention of further shedding of
blood. Constrained, then, by the
tardily aroused law, the rival families
at last concluded treaty of peace,
upon the payment of q certain sum of
| money by the murderer's relatives
and the feud was declared at an end !;
yet the hereditary enemies on either
side preserved q stern demeanor to-
ward each other, and the prophecy of
q mad village priest that the sssassipa-
ton must yet be expiated by another
death did not favor an early establish.
ment of friendship. Upon one man,
however, of the assassin's family the
prophecy here mentioned produced an
effect tending to cultivate an appear
ance of amity, at least. This person,
an uncle of the late assassin, and Q
rather nervous and superstitious kind
Of character at that time, became inn
pressed with the idea that his own in
FAINT son was the one destined by fate
to suffer for the crime of his kinsman,
and his paternal devotion resolved to
avert the threatened curse by doing all
that he could to heal the breach be.
tween the families. Under the in
fluence of his superstious fear he In.
sisted upon paying the whole sum of
money which had been demanded by
the relatives of the murdered man,
although thereby impoverishing him.
self; and from thenceforth spared no |
opportunity to conciliate those who
might otherwise remain the covert |
enemies of himself and his son. In |
furtherance of the same object the |
boy, as he grew to manhood, was |
carefully kept in ignorance of the |
feud OF his ancestors, and taught to |
treat the former enemies of his family |
as friends but, despite all this, the |
youth could never be brought to q
strong natural liking Of the people for /
whom his father professed the warm
est sentiments, and, CHANGING to learn |
by accident, one day, why the paternal
estate had been Impoverished, in ram
som, as 1t were, of his ownlife, shocked
and alarmed his sire by wishing himself
old enough to renew the war with the
foeman OF his dead cousin. With all
his old arrevived by this dispositionin
bis son, the father was melted to fresh
conciliatory Overtures to the family
from whom he still dreaded the full.
fillment of the old prophecy of retri-
button, and hesitated nOtat any sacri-
flee OF pride or property to secure their
good feeling for himself and his gen.
Grafton. Several years rolled on with
out particular incident in the matter,
until late in December last, when,
upon being informed that the head
Of the formerly hostile house was tenn
pOrarily in straits for the sum of 5000
rOubles to pay q pressing debt, the
ever-vigilant >paternal watcher wrote
at once to the embarrassed debtor,
offering to lend him the needed
1t would take nearly all
that he had left in the world to ac-
complish this romantic act of accom-
and his son protested
vehemently against the sacrifice but
here, thought the old man, was Q
supreme opportunity to bind the bor-
rover and his kindred to him and his
house for life, and when the former
greatfully consented to come after the
offered loan on the evening of the fol-
lowing day. his delight was as great
as though the projected benefactiOn
were TO be bestowed upon himself.
The home OF the father and son being
at Some distance from that of
the old enimies, the borrower came
hither on horseback, at the appointed
hour, and was cordially received by
the older man. The younger, still |
bitterly hostile to the transaction, re-
fused to be present at the interview,
and left the house but the meeting of
the elders was not the less friendly on
this account, and in the conversation
preceding the tender and acceptance Of
the money there was renewal of the
fraternal pact in which one of them
that the prophecy was rem.
dered harmless for another generation.
Over q glass of wine the new creditor
to the hearty thanks of his
debtor by frankly cOnfiding to him his
recollection, self-application
Of that same prophecy; and, with
many prOtestatiOns Of mutual esteem
for the present and future, both
pledged themselves to prevent any
revival of family feelings which
should by either thought or act, recall
the tragic past. With his rOubles in
his horse and started for
home. On his way, and short dis
tance from the house he had just left,
was piece of wood, under the leaf
less branches of which he had just en-
tered, when . masked mau, springing
from behind q tree, caught his horse
by the head, and, with pistol present
ed. demandrd immediate and silent
of the money, CARED by the
rider. Unarmed as the latter was, he
had no choice but to hand up his
treasure to the highwayman and be-
hold that MYSTERIOUS persOnage's dis
with it among the close
trees. Being thus robbed,
however, he was disinclined to risk
the possibly greater perils of q further
ride homeward, and disconsOlately
his steed's head returned in
deep detection to bis creditors man.
sion. Great were that creditors sur
prise and borrow upon hearing the
story of the robbery, and the robbed
man was welcomed to q bed for the
night with all the commiseratiOn of a
brother in sore distress. Both men
felt the misfortune keenly, but it was
the lender of the money who displays
the profounder emotion, under super
stitiOus presentment of something still
darker to come. The borrower was,
Of course, previously discounted, but
this did not defer him from q nights
sleep, which was broken near dawn
by the EXPOSITION of . pistol. Start
ing from his couch at the sound, he