Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1877-10-11

q. THE Emperor'e orders, noble gospo
din, he added with a adeprecatOry shrug
as be saw my veXed face. -7
Then Denetriu5 chimed- in. Hi
train, 100, had b,en delayed by tn,
concentration of troops on the Polisi
frontier, He, toe, had some hours tC
spend at Minsk. He had ordered din
ner at the Black Eagle, hard by. The
landlord knew him, well, and would
serve up a, t0lers BILE lepast. Would
be charitable and share, what would
otherwise be-a solitary meal? ~
Vassili gave me.a good dinner, and
we fingered long over our cigars and
coffee, chatting of other scenes and old
times. Then, at length, word was
brought that the train for Wilma was
in sight. s. - ..,l ~. 7-.g' -.,s ~.-s
~ .Now think of it, said my host, in
his careless way, ION your road to the
Counts chateau, you will pass START
Za-yesn he added, glancing at the
zen map that lay beside me on the Ia
b!e; 'of course you Will, and change
horses there ! wish, if it be not tco
much. to ask, that you would kindly
give a message from me to the village
priest, or papas, there-PGpe John
Petrovicb,' -, Mi lt..,.-...
Il will, with pleasure replied,
sbut remember, my, Russian is not very
fluent, and | presume the priest talks
no Ere pch.' e1a Jf.-, r.,' i .,.-.,i on.
= Vsssili lspghinglS assured me. that
the words were very few and simple,
and, suggested that i shoull pencil
them, from. his dictaiiop, on q Slip of
paper which he pushed toward me.
These were ethe words of the messages:
s,Your son. cour clergy Hlarry, you
know. like the laity,' ipterjected De-
mstrius) has been i'll, but take com.
fort, He is doing Well, now, and, if
he acts promptly, aith the blessing OF
the Panagia, viii succeed. He sends
his love, taiin and duty s.r..t-
L saw the PQpe's son. explained De-
metrius, the other. day at Odessa.
Young Cyril is corn dealer and q
hay merchant, Il pushipg, speculative
fellow. but as honest as the day. He
was recovering from fever, but hoped
to fl / MS purse by buy ing up all the
there is the railway whistle, so
We must be quick! You'll do my er-
rand. then, dear Arthur, will you not,
and gladden the heart of the poor oid
man?' .1 -
1t was not until long after Vassili
and / htd parted that it occurred to
me to onder why he should have
charged me with such a message. 1t
would have been simpler. surely. and
more speedy, rs mems ofconmuni-
eating with Pope john, to have relied
on the post Bat then these rustic
priests We're ignorant, tnd possibly the
eyes Of the papas we're not very we'll
10 deciphering manu-
scripts. At any rate i would make
point of executing the commission.
Pope John, English lord?' said the
at Staritza, faltering, as
q ,ked for a guide to show me the way
TO the parson Jge, While the slow pOstil-
lions were ui,harnessing. in the tardy
,shi0n ia viii. b woik is done in Rus
5ia, the tired h .rses IRON the carriage.
Certainly said /, tbserviDg his en-
IS the priest ill,or what
is there surprising in IA travellers in
1niring for him? sH
The landlord bowed o o',Sequiously.
You'll tiad the pspas il good health,
noble goSpodin,' he said, in sngared ac-
,ents. 'Yonder is the paSnnage, with
he white gable s'i -a-' t'
. Then want 10 guide, 10 conduct
me there said l, uehipg, and at
)nce walked across to the garden gate.
A neat, snug little dwelling was the
Darsona &c, with its white walls,its tiny
garden full of humble potherbs and
hardy flowers, snd the sacred pigeons
.ooing softly as. they summed Them
elves on its red eaved roof. An ILL
ooking fellow opened the door in an
wer to my sum lions. scanned me mar
owly, anu, as thought, with supi-
ion, and after some cJlioquy, conduct
ID meto what l que -sed, by the books
nd the pic ured saints on the walls, to |
,e the priests study. Ten minutes
,lapsed, and then came the master of |
he house, Pope John.
Forgive me, noble sir, if | have |
,ept you waiting said the priest
With as low q, bow as he could have |
inlthe presence of his Bishop. |
You bring me news, an told, of my |
lear son?' 100 - ~. i.-4e
cannot say that the reverend gen.
leman impressed me very favorably.
Pope John was corpulent old man, |
lone credit to a hermit; long white
OcSs falling from beneath his black |
'tlv, SIX cap, "a snuffy and frayed |
as. ok, aud dark blue Spectacles from
ehind which p~ir OF keen, though |
lAlf shut eyes surveyed me with
that had in it something
elm. The priests voice, too, at once
Uar5e and wheedling, grated on my
ar, though nothing could exceed the
land urbanity of his reception of me.
wi ce over did | repeat the substance
{ Vassili's remarks cJncerning the
onng corn dealer at Odessa, and
vice, at the old mans request, did l
lention very circumstance Of my in
erview with Demetrius, his kind and
oble patron as he called him; and
hen placed the written slip OF paper,
n which had penciled the message,
4 the priests hands, and declining his
ffer of refreshments, took my leave of
i'm. As | left the parsonage | thought
heard some whispered talk, and
hen low, sneerin.. laugh.
L am much Mistaken said to N.Y.
elf, as stepped into my carriage, and
ave my pOstillion the signal to start,
4 OPO thC soOd Olu as |
'assiii called him, be not As consum-
late and greasy humbug as any in
Ioscovy.' Then my thou ghts revert
d to rosy dreams of Marie and the
,ture, and | sank into reverie, to
'hich l only awakened to perceive
lat my driver was proceeding In
,isurely manner that WAS most upusu
!, for if Russians work slowly they
rive fast.
Gene, come, my lad!' said /, good
um Oredly; surely three good nags and
light kibitka ought not to go at a
,aiPs pace like this!'
AS spoke heard the gallop of dis
mt horses, minglins with the clang
steel. We were on a sandy road,
one OF those huge pine for.
sis, the sombre gloom of which, al
,rnsting with the glare of the white
md, has occasioned the name of Black
.ussis' to be assigned to those central
rovinces of the ancient Moscovy.
cry soon w. were 0vertaken by the