Ellsworth American., 1876-11-16
The Cost OF q Train.

ed with the utmost elegance. was walking
on the Moscow promenade, leaning upon
her husbsnd's arm, and letting the lonn
train Of her rich dress sweep the dust and
dirt of the street.
A young officer. coming hastily from Z
side street, was so careless as ocatch on.
Of his spurs in the ladv's train. and In sr
instant great piece was torn out of the
costly but fraii material Of the dress.
L beg thousand pardons, madame.
said the officer with polite bow, and then
was about passing on, when he was de-
tanned by the lady's husband.
You have insulted my wife,
Nothing was farther from my intention,
Sir. Yonr wife's long dress Is to blame
for the accident. which sincerely regret,
and ] beg you once more to received my
apologies tor any carelessness on my par !,
Thereupon he attempted to hasten on.
You shall not escape So said the lady,
with her head thrown back in a spirited
way. To-day Is the first time l have
worn this dress, and IL cost two hundred
rubles. which you must make good
My dear madame, beg you not to de.
tain me. | am obliged to 60 on duty at once.
As to the two hundred rubles-I really
cannot help the length Of your deess, yet
l beg your pardon for not having been eau
tious.'
You shall not stir. sir. That you are
obliged TO go on duty is nothing to US.
My wife is right; the dress must be made
good
The officers face grew pale.
You force me to break through the
rules Of the service, and shall receive
punishment
Pay two hundred rubles and you are
free
The quickly changing color in the young
mans face betrayed how inwsrdly dis
tsrbed he was; but stepping close up to
them both he said with, apparent SELF
/ command:
lou will renounce your claim when
/ tell you that | am s-a-poor man. who
has nothing to live on but his officers paw.
aud the amount of that pay hardly reaches
the sum OF two hundred rubles In q whole
! year. | can, therefore. make no
amends for tho misfortune, except by again
| begging youf pardon.
oh anybody could say all that; but
well see II it's true; we'll fnd out II
you have nothing but your pay, | declare
myself not satisfied with your excuses,
aud demand NV money. persisted the
lady, in the hard voice OF q thoroughly
unfeeling woman.
That Is true-you are right the hus.
bahd added, dutifully supporting her.
BY good luck we havethe opeu court now
just in session. Go with US before the
! judge and he will decide the matter.
All further protestation on the officers
part that he was poor, that he was expect
ed on duty, and so forth. did not help
matters. Out OF respect for his Uniform
and 10 avoid an open scene he bad to go
with them TO the court room. where the
gallery was densely packed with a crowd
OF people.
After waiting some time, the lady lad
leave TO bring her complaint.
What have you 10 answer 20 this COM
plsint?' said the judge, turning to the Of
iicer who seemed embarrassed and half
in de spair,
On the whole. very little. As the late
ness Of the hour. and being required on
duty, s9ppflfd, W whnchwas dragging on
the ground | caught one OF my spurs in
il aud had the misfortune TO tear the dress.
Madame would not receive my excuses,
but perhaps now she might fud herself
more disposed TO forgiveness, when again
declare. so help me God, committed this
awkward blunder without any mischievous
intention, and | earnestly beg that she
will pardon me.
4 murmur ran through the gallery, evil
IDENTIFY from the people taking sides with
the defendant, and against long trains In
general and the lady in particular.
The judge called the court to order and
asked Are you satisfied with the defend
ants explanation:
Not at all satisfied. | demand two
hundred rubles In payment for my torn
dress.
Defendant. will you pay this sumT
Il would have paid II long before this
had | been in position TO do so. Un-
fortunately l am poor. My pay as an Of
iicer is ali have TO live on
y ou hear, complainant, that the defend
ant is not able 10 pay the sum you demand
OF him. Do you still wish the COM
plant 10 stand?'
An unbroken stiffness reigned through
out the hall, and the young officers breath
could be heard comm. hard.
Il wish it to stand. The law shall give
me my rights.
There ran through the rows of people
a murmur of indignation that sounded like
a rushing OF water.
Consider, complainant, the conse-
Quences OF your demand. The defendant
can be punished only through being de-
prved of his per IsOnal liberty. and by that
you could obtain no satisfaction, while to
the defendant II might prove the greatest
injury 10 his rank aud position as an officer.
and especially a he is poor and dependent
| upon his pay. Do you still insist upon
| your complaint?
! 4 still insist upon it,
The course The affair was taking seemed
TO have become painful to Il e lady's hus
baud. He spoke with his wife urgently,
but, as could be seen by the way with
which she held up her head and the ener-
| gy with which she shook it, quite uselessly.
.,,l. f,rt Lar
consideration of the case, when a loud
voice was heard from the audience:
Il will place the two hundred rubles at
the service of the defendant
There followed silence, during which
q gentleman fnrcr5 lis way through the
crowd and placed himself by the young Of
fcer's side.
Sir, | am the Prince W-,and beg
you will oblige me by accepting the loan
Of the Two hundred rubles in question
Prince. am not worthy Of your kind
ness, for don't know if | shall ever be
able to pay the loan.' answered the young
man in voice tremulous with emotion.
Take the money. at all events. l can
wait until you are able to return it, There
upon the prince held out two notes Of
hundred rubles each. and coming close up
to him, whispered few words very softly.
| AuVIC a. = Sh0oVh htiu6 w va INC VI
ficer's face. He immediately took the two
notes, and. turning toward the lady. hand
ed them to her with polite bow.
Il hope. msdame. you are ssisfied.'
With a malicious smile she reached out
her hand for the money.
Yes; now l sm satisfied
With scornful glance over the crowd
Of spe ctators, she prepared to leave the
cOurt-roo on her husbands arm.
Stop, madame said the officer. who
had suddenly became like another man,
with nrm and confident manner.
What do you wAntT
The look that young woman cast upon
him was insulting IS possible.
L want my Dress he answered, with
. slight but still perfectly polite bow.
Give me your address, and will send
il to YOU
.Oh no. my dear madam, am in the
habit of taking my purchases with me Al
once. Favor me with the dress immedi.
ately.
A shout of appreciation came from the