Connecticut western news., 1879-04-16
A Russian Pyrie.

Rather less than year ago, during the spring season, at B., pleasantest of German watering places, three per seEs, who seemed to be inseparable com panions, walked daily together in the. grounds of the Kursaal. One was beautiful Russian girl, Ida Koratine, who was always attended by her brother, an ex-colonel In the Czar's army. The third member of the group was a young English officer, Captain the Hon. Charles Guerdon, of the Eighteenth Lancers. It was evident to all who observed this gay youngster that he was deeply in love with his Russian friends sister.
 Was she in love with h1m? On this point Guerdon himself could have made no satisfactory answer. He had been ordered to B. by doctors to recruit his health after hunting accident, and had made the acquaintance of the Kora- tines at the hotel table d'hote. They were persons of high birth. in afluent circumstances, and of very pleasing man. ners. Count Korantine, who was not more than thirty, had seen good deal of military service, had travelled much, and was the most companionable of men, always ready to join in any amusement, to chat or to listen to others chatting. He quite won Charley Guerdon's heart by his horsemanship Gor he had two or three splendid animals and rode every morning with his sister, and also by his bright manner at the ccGrte table, for he played any stakes you pleased, with out caring whether he won or lost. As for Ida Koratine she was the most de- icious of girls. Tall and graceful, with the fair wavy hair and pink complexion which bespoke her Lithuanian blood, she had large dark <ss, at once grave and soft, and a little mouth which could smile with exquisite sweetness. Ida was, like most high-born Russian ladies, capital hnguist, speaking English and French with faultless accuracy, and with just slight foreign accent, which lent piquansy to her talk. She was, more over, an accomplished pianist and singer; so was her brother. Sometimes after dinner the Koratines would invite their English enemy" as they called him for fun, to come to their apartments to take cup of Caravan tea; and then, at his request, they would sing him some of the ballads of their country Koratine played on the zitta, or Hunga rian guitar, Ida on the piano and the Counts we'll l-trained baritone voice blending with his sisters pure soprano made rare melody. She was a deadly pistol shot, and practiced every day witl her brother at target which had beel set up in an alley of the hotel gardel for their convenience by the landlord The rapidity with which the brother ant sister loaded, the cool quickness of thei aim, their unerring precision in making patterns of crosses or lines on the card at which they fred, filled the English man with surprise the first time he wit messed their performance.
 "I say, Miss Ida" he remarked, "i wont do for me to quarrel with you You would very soon call me out an pink me-"
 ooh, we are not pTacticing for duels, laughed Ida. "We have wolves in ou country and girl should know how | protect herself"
 The peculiar way in which she emphI sized the word wolves," and the hgl that kindled for moment in her eyes { she spoke, ought to have arrested Cue don's attention, but they did not. E had noticed, however, that the Kor tines appeared tohave mystery in the lives; they avoided ell allusions to u motives which had induced Count Kor the to leave the army, and they e pressed radical or Nihilist opinions rath curious to hear from persons of the station. Ida seemed to be much mo of revolutionist than her brother. Sl often questioned the Englishman abo his eountry's free institutions a, listened with a wistful eagerness to I confused explanations, for constitution law was not much studied in the Fig teenth LanceEs, and Charley Guerd
 was pnzzled to define in what his biri
 right of liberty consisted. Now .
 then Ida betrayed loo unguardedly
 love for political conversation and th
 her hrcther veald interfere with IC
 and . cAress. which always checked b ss,S ss~sy wssssa ~ ms was saw nm
 eyes Gaerdon had been struck q
 touched from the outset by tho whc
 hearted affection which the Aro&her {
 sister bore to each other. They VI
 orphans and KorssSneas love for Ida
 much in ito< pssegnal foadnesss but
 looked up to her brother as 6 hero.
 infAalible being. 6 demigod, and
 mere msnner of chneing so hSs 6
 whea theF walked. Of hzighssziag VI
 he zpcke tp ksr, cf putfiag up her fl