The Portland daily press., 1879-04-21

iCQdCGOis cutlOI, Wudb yOu say vi tuC COuT,
nal OF Gourmands OF Paris"
On, and on, and on through the darkness
mitigated or unmi.gated by the kindly adj
missions of the chinks; on and Oh, till all
reckoning of his time was utterly confused.
But all things have an end on earth here,
and at last the carriage came to dead stand
still, with its half-dead passengers inside.
1t was at least as raw and as cold, as foggy
and disagreeable night as that of the depar-
ture from St. Petersburg, when for the first
time, the carriage door was opened wide
Right and left stood tall figure, indistinct
in gray capote, with fiat muffin.cap to crown
it; but the reflected lights ran up the barrel
of FURNISHED musket. In the open door
way of house, whence red glow as of a
cheerful fire came streaming out, stood an
other martial figure, in cooked hat, with
feathers, and the green uniform with aiguil-
lettes of an aidede camp. He raised his
hand to the cooked hat in question after the
military fashion of salute.
"Deign to descend, Monsieur"
81 am, then, at Tobolsk?'
"Oi none, monsieur, to the contrary"
"Where then? At Irkutsk? ?"
"Still less, monsieur; pray give yourself
the trouble to descend"
81 am hardly in that costume" objected
De la Jobardiere, "fcr that brutal of teld-
jager-"
"Obeyed. I have no doubt, his orders to
the letter; pray, monsieur, descend" insisted
The pluued aide-de-camp, with imperturbable
gravity.
''This, then, is at last Siberia?"
siberia, monsieur, by no manner OF
MEANS"
"But where on earth, then, have the
misfortune to find myself-excuse me-the
honor to make your distinguished acquain-
tance."
II have the distinguished honor" said the
staff officer, unwilling to be outdone in polite.
ness by the Frenchman, ito receive monsieur
at the grand guard of the headquarters of his
imperial majesty's army in Turkey within
the enceinte of the citadel of Silistria'
'PesteP' exclaimed De la Jobardiere. 81
begin to comprehend"
POSSIBLY" quoth the aide-de-camp.
scend."
This last word was in tone which ad-
mitted of no triaing.
With mourntul consciousness of the ludi-
crous appearance he presented that almost
everpowered the WEAKNESS, the anxiety, the
Indignation which possessed him, De la Jo-
bardiere stepped out Of his flying prison van,
and followed the aid-de-camp into the guard.
room. There, by solid deal table, stood
the feldjager, whose snub nose and scrubby
red moustache were henceforth impressed in,
delibly upon his captive's memory. An off,
Ger, whose bearing and appearance would,
without the stars and medals upon his breast
have given to the most careless observer in
dlcations OF a high military command, was
reading despatch apparently just handed to
him by that functionary, the envelope OF
which he had thrown carelessly upon the ia
BILE.
"a son Exc.
LIE Marechal deb"
was all that in his confusion De la Jobardere
was able to spell out.
Monsieur De la Jobardiere, I presume ?"
said this officer with glance Of inquiry but
OF perfect gravity.
"The same, Monsieur lie Marecha," fall
tered the owner of the appellation.
"What officer has the grand rounds, to.
night?" he next inquired, turning towards a
group of officers in the background.
Major RazumOffski. of the Orenburg artil-
lery Brigade" answered one of their number
with the accustomed salute.
us he mounted?"
"And at the door, general"
"Let one of his orderlies dismount, and let
Monsieur de la Jobardiere have his horse"
But consider little, Marechal, this cos
tume-or may say, this want OF it"
us no doubt regretable circumstance,
sir; but orders, sir, superior orders; excuse
me, the grand rounds should be starting-you
will be good enough to mount, and to accom-
pany the major"
There was no help for it; that stold field
jaeger was holding the dismounted troopers
nag at the door with unmoved countenance,
Upon the less impossible troopers own Tar
tar physlOgnomy, however, was something
like grin. A tro wn from the feldjager sup
pressed it as poor'De la Jobardiere scrambled
into the saddle, aud endeavored to make the
best arrangement of the blanket possible to
keep the damp night.air from his bare shins.
The quilt he clutched convulsively around
him with his right hand, while the LETT tugged
at the bride of his rough and peppery little
Baschkir steed.. 1t has very wide enceinte,
that fortress of Silstria; and tho major also
visited several outlying pickets. He rode at
a sharp pace from post to post, and the roads,
streets and lanes were eXecrable.
Population is not my forte, you know,
my good friends; and Tartar troopers sad
die, that is something-oh, to be felt If to be
known. 1t was one long agony that noctur.
nal ride. thought it little thing near as
long as that desolatiDg journey of jolts to
Silistria. Day was beginning to point, as we
drew up once more to the guard room door.
The Frenchman shuddered on perceiving
that the carriage, with nine horses harnessed
three abreast stood there as they rode up.
THE marshal" said the polite aid de-
camp, his first acquaintance, "bids me to
express to monsieur that he is desolated not
TO have the opportunity of offering to mon
sieur such poor hospitality as the headquar-
tiers of captured fortress can afford. But
monsieur will understand the importance of
taking 'to the foot of the letter. as his coun-
trymen express it in instructions-superior
instructions, he will comprehend. The
military code upon such point is absolute.
And have the HONOR" with significant
gesture toward the gaping carriage door, ito
wish monsieur bon voyage"
Bang went that odious door again; again
was the weight of the clamberipg fedjager felt
to disturb the equilibrium of the carriage for
moment; again did the hoarse voice shout
"Houpp lar again did the three whip-cracks
emulate the sharp report of pistol shots !;
again bound; again plunge; again the
carriage darted forward; and again might be
heard through slush and mud the splashing
galop of the trooper right and left.
Why let the tale of De la Jobardiere's mis-
cry be twice told? All was the same as be-
fore. The bumps, the thumps, the jol,s,
the crashes, the pitching and tossing, the
swaying 10 and fro, the currents of air, the
darkness and the struggling rays of light, the
WV VI DhoWh oioSuit, tuC sips VI tUQhI, luG
occasional: bowls of stch, all were repeated
all, as before. jumbed and confused to-
getheriin sad and inextricable Renaissance.
But when the carriage stopped again for
good, and when its door was once more
opened wide, the portico was loftier and the
staircase of wider sweep than at De la Jobar-
diere's own hotel door on the Morskaia. 1t
was night again, and it was again damp and
cold and foggy; but clear illumination rem
dered unnecessary the lantern Of the feldjager
or the glimmer OF the carriage lamps. With
in the doorway on either side stood, in full
dress uniform, two non-commissioned Off
GERS of the famous Preobrajenski grenadiers.
A gentleman in full-dress cut-away, with
black satin tights and silk stockings to cores
pond, with broad silver buckles in his shoes,
a chain of wide silver links round his neck,
silver key on his left coat tail, and straight
steel handled sword by his side, bowed coIr-
teously to DE la Jobardiere, and begged him
to follow him up stairs.
TreadiDg noiseessly upon velvet pile car
pets, he led the way through spacious ante
room into an apartment Where ali The light
was furnished by'a lamp with ground.glass
shade, which stood upon bureau strewn
with books and papers, at which a stately
fopro To-