Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1880-08-02

of civil as we'll as military intelligent
circles.
Thus years went on. The great Nj
hilist movement broke out, holding Rus
sian society in a constant state of agi-
tation and terror. The storm even
reached the Old General in his solitary
retreat. His evaporation against the
"miscreants and .smurderers" knew no
bounds. He even went so far as to
write letter, addressed personally to
the Gar, proffering his..services for the
''good and holy cause" He never re-
ceived any answer. The great number
of young mobiles implicated in the con-
spiracy was what especially appalled,
him. "Have all those young knaves no
fathers with honor enough in their
hearts to kill the vipers they have nour-
ished in their bosom 2" he used to ex-
claim when the papers brought to him
the name of some new aristocratic
''criminal." And then he added in an
undertone "Thank God Thank God %
thinking of his son, and what blessing
it was that he had turned out such a
serious, hard-working, brave soldier,
without any nonsense about him.
Then came the eliminating point of
the revolutionary horrors-the Winter
Palace explosion. The old Generals
indignation knew no bounds. At the
same time strange, apparently ground
less feeling of anxiety for his son, from
whom he had not received any letters
for some time, seized on him. 81 am
growing DID," he wrote to Andre, land
would like to see you, perhaps for the
last time. Try to get leave of absence
and spend couple of months with
me-"
The son had obeyed the fathers
wishes. And this night, the 10th of
May, he had arrived at Dubrovka-this
was the name of the Savelieff estate.
The same position who had brought
him from the nearest railway station
was also the bearer of letter for the
General The latter, however, more
touched and agitated by the meeting
with "his child" Gas he still called the
bearded colonel) than he cared to show,
put the letter mechanically into his
pocket without looking at it, and then
forgot all about it. Long after mid
night, father and son having emptied a
couple of bottles of champagne, of which
the old General had always small sup
ply in his cellar, both retired to rest.
On entering his bedroom, where his Or
derly, Matveitch, awaited him, the
General remembered the letter, and
drawing the lamp nearer to where he
stood, broke open the seal. He first
read the signature: canton Podbiel-
sky" His brows contracted as if a
painful recollection had cast a shadow
over them.
"What business has that man to write
to me % he muttered. Podbielsky was
a Polish nobleman who had formerly
been the Generals schoolmate. As a
very young man he had been implicat-
ed in the great Polish insurrection of
1880, and had purchased his pardon
from the Russian Government by be-
traying some of his associates. Since
that time General Savelieff, who hated
all traitors, even if they had rendered
service to the good cause, had broken
off relations with Podbliesky, while the
latter, rising rapidly, soon reached a
prominent and influential position in
the newly-formed "Third Section" OF
secret police. Now he was chief of the
chancery of that dreaded institution,
and moreover specially intrusted with
the Investigation of the Winter Palace
explosion. That man wrote as follows
''DEAR GENERAL: Remembering oul
former relations, allow me to address ;
word of honest warning to you. You
J son has been found to be implicated il
, the case of the dynamite explosion l an
now investigating
The old man read no further. Will
, a terrible oath, his face purple with in
dignation, he sprang up and threw th'
letter to the ground.
"a lie, an infamous lie p he ex
- claimed.
"Your Excellency," whispered tn
terrified Matveitch, "what is the mat
ter?"
Nothing. Leave me! p
o The old servant went out, shaking
q his head sorrowfully.
i. On remaining alone the General
: first impulse was to burn the lette
without reading it. On considering
J however, the position Podblelsky occu
pied and the responsibility he incurre
: by writing such a communication, Save
lief soon convinced himself that the lei
ter contained more than an empty threa
E or an utterly groundless calumny. H
. picked up the paper with tremblin
hand and read on:
s'There is, alas! no possible doubt a
" to his puilt All can do for YOU an