The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1877-08-22

at least were oincerS-
"Pall upl halt, | say ~ shouted ht
who seemed to eommard ; and in at
instant my driver obeyed.
Secure the foreigner - was the
ns xt order; and with amazing quick
ness was grasped by two Of the dis
mounted troopers
Resist aud | 6re!' gruwled Q
Cn-ssck Corp ,ral, pressing the muz
z'c ef his pistol 20 NV left temple
while bis soldiers dexserou>ly chain
ed MY wrists Together Then. ~hAk
lug of the s;upor of surprise, | foune
my tongue There was, said, evi
den,ly some mistake, some confusion
of persons. My passport, if they
would kindly look for it in the breas
pocket of my ulster, would prove me
to be Arthur Musgrave, of the British
diplomatic service, junior attacbe 0
Il. b. Ms Legation at Madrid.
Prisoner. you trifie with justice y
said the commandani s,erply, il
French aud. indeed, when the mo
rocc, case was drawn out and opened
it proved to be empty. My passp1r
and papers were gone, iuexplicably Il
me. As stared blankly there wa
roar of laughter, mingled With IN
meu,s on nv etffon'ery
Remove the pretended Z lglish
mani" ordered Ihe C ! l,n-l aud
was ihsust back into the carriage, |
soldier pn each -ids of M, and con
duc;ed 10 the town Of Forj X, where
wa, i,dged 10 all.
d. not ike, even vet. tp fecal
what | underwent duriag the mi,era
ble three weeks that | spen, ia ID.
prison Of Tori *. l. was not thi
the cell was narr w, the bed >qialid
aud the fare bard and bad. wa,
young and strong, and could rougf
it. But il was maddening to be ex
ternally examined aud cross eximin
ed by civil magistrates and military
functionaries, uone of whom woulC
listen to the plaiE truth, and all o
whom tried, by threat, promise, per
suasion, to wiring out of me c1nfes
sion which, as they said, would ena
bic me to claim the Cars mercy anC
lighter punishment for my crime
| was browbeaten, bul.ied, argued
with, cJaxed, but never accused o
anything. When Inquired the ma
ture of my offense l was jeered at
When adjured my captors to write
to the British Embassy, my prayer
was treated as an impudent jest
Aud when | mentioned Count Orloff
the Governor of the province, as my
future father-in-law, | really thought
the Judge of Instruction would have
flown at my throat, so angry was
he.
"Only bread and water for the
contumacious. | heard him roar 70
the jailer as he went out. | thought
between them., that they would have
driven me mad, aud should have
welcomed Siberia as release.
| grew sullen at last, and refused
to return any answer to the interrog.
atories with which they piled me
| began almost to doubt my own
identity. 1t could not be myself,
Arthur Musgrave, who was the ten
ant of this Russian den, aad daily
questioned as to my completely 10
something extremely subversive Of
Church and State Let them knout
me, hang me, Danish me if they
would, | felt as though | were the
only sane man among a pack Of mad
men.
Here is the wretch your Excellen-
ey," said a voice one day as my cell
door was thrown open, with clatter
Of swords AID spurs on the stone floor
that indicated The arrival of some
distinguished parsonage; there the
desperate is, lord Governor !"
l looked up. There, in front Of
the group stood, in rich uniform,
the breast of which sparkled with or
ders, the "excellency" in question.
The recognition was mutual.
Count Orloff" What, Mus
grave! Arthur, my dear boy, what
terrible error is this ?"
And to the scandal of the Judge,
the jailor, and the rest Of them, the
Governor of the province hurried
across the grimy floor 10 clasp my
hands, and to order in voice that
brooked no denial or delay, that my
chains should Instantly be taken of.
My poor fellow, how you must
have suffered" said the Count feel
ingly, as be saw how pale and bag
gard | had grown. And then came
explanations, the cream Of which
was that there had been socialist
conspiracy. u whispered one, luckily
detected in time, a prime mover in
which had been my acquaintance,
Nissili, who had evidently made "a
cat's-paw Of me in inducing me to
carry his message TO the priest,
while at The same time be purloined
my English passport and papers,
probably for the sake Of escaping, 10
Ease of the worst. under nv Lame.
But Pope John, and his SON.
said | bewIldered.
The real Pope John, sad old
rogue" answered the Count smiling,
had been arrested the day before
you reached S,atiiza, and you found
nis house 10 posse of The Police.
fhe whi.e-bearded person to whom
gou oave the message, disguised in
he priests clothes, was Major Bulow,
'f the Imperial Gendaremie aud
he message itself was an artiul cJu-
,oction. couched in q sort of verbal
:ipter, the key to which a traitor
gave us, aud which, but for our mill
sry precautions, would have led to
'evuli OF the Polish regiment at Tyer,
md raising of tine psasantry in 50
As ii is. all is safe, aud
elegram has just informed me that
! assili himself has been captured On
be frontier lfever mau deserved
yoa are free, Arthur.
jome with me, and Marie and | will
each you to forget this misery"
have been married and happy
Iow this many year, but do not
hink that the ill-omenea face of De-
aetrius Vassili viii ever be seen
gain on this side of the Oaral. .--AH
a., Y.,or R<,tnI