The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1875-11-25

NO. 20
locked up and sequestered from vul
gar use, except on occasions of. mem
orable afhiction, where everything i
'purposely in disorder, - broken, -
shattered, d,-mutilated: to typify, by
| symbols appalling to the eye, tina,
/ desolation which has so long tram
pied on Jerusalem, and the ravag (
of the boar within the VINEYARDS o
Judaea. My mother, as a Hebrew
princess, maintained all traditional
customs. Even in the wretchcd sub
urb she had her chamber Of desoIa
tlOn.' There it was that | and my
sisters heard her last words. The
rest of her sentence was to be carried
into effect within a week. She, mean.
time. had disdained to utter any word
of fear; but that energy of fselt-control
had made the suffering but tie more
bitter. Fever and dreadful agitation
had succeeded. Her dreams showed
sufficiently to us, who watched her
couch, that terror for the future min.
gled with the sense of degradation for
the past. Nature asserted her rights.
But the more she shrank from the
suffering, the more did she proclaim
how severe it had been, and conse-
quently how noble the selt:conquest.
Yet, as her weakness increased, so did
her terror until l besought her to
+ take comfort, assuring her that, i'll
case any attempt should be made to
force her out again to public expos
ure, would kill the man who came
to execute the order,-that we would
all die together,-and there would be
acommon end to her injuries and her
fears. She was treasured by what
4'told her of my belief that no future
attempt would be made upon her.
She slept more tranquility but her
fever increased and slowly she slept
away into the everlasting sleep which
Knows Of no tomorrow.
"Here came a crisis in my fate.
Should I stay and attempt to protect
my sisters? But alas! what power
had I to do so amongst our enemies !?
Rachael end consulted; and many
a scheme we planned. Even whilst
we consulted; and the very night al
ter my mother had been committed to
the Jewish bury ing-ground, came all
officer, bearing an order for me to re-
pair to Vienna. Some officer in the
French army, having watched the
transaction respecting my pare' is,
was filled with shame and grief: He
wrote statement Of the whole to an
Austrian officer Of rank, my frther's
friend, who obtained from the empe
ror an order, claiming me as page Il
his own, and an officer in the house
hold service. O, heavens! what a
neglect that 1t did not include my sis
tets! However, the next best thing
was that I should use my influence at
the imperial court to get them pass
ed to Vienna. This l did, to the
utmost of my power. But seben
months elapsed before | saw tie en-
peror. If my applications ever met
his eye he might readily suppose that
your city. my friend, was as safe a
place as another for my sisters. Nor
did l myself know al! its dangers.
At length, with the cmpcror's leave
Of absence, | returned. And what
did l find? Eight months had passed
and the faithful Rachael had died,
The poor sisters, clinging together,
but now utterly bcrett of friends,
knew not which way to turn. In this
abandonment they fell into the isidiou~
hands of the ruftian jailer. My eld
est sister, Berepice, the stateliest and
noblest of beauties, had attracted this
ruffian's admiration while she was III
with her mother. And when | re-
turned to your city, armed with the
imperial passports for all, I found that
Berenice had died in the villains
custody; nor could obtain anything
beyond legal certificate of h"r
death. And, finally the b"''n''-,
laughing Marianne, she a.~, AL
died, and Of afliction :;,r III, ..,>s
her sister. You, my friend, had ot:'
absent upon your travels during the
cahmitous history l have recited.
You had seen neither nv father nor
my mother. But you came in time
TO- take under your protection, from
the abhored wretch, the jailer, my lit
tie broken-hearted Marianne. And
when sometimes you fancied that you
had seen me under other circumstan-
ces, in her it was, dear friend, and in
h er features that you saw mine.
"Now was the world desert to me.
I cared little, in the way of love,
which way | turned. But in the way
of hatred I cared everything. l
transferred myself to the Russian
service, with the view Of gaining
some appointment on the Polish
frontier, which might put it in my
power to execute my VOW of destroy
ing all the magistrates of your city.
War, however, ragged, and carried me
into far other regions. 1t ceased, and