Litchfield enquirer., 1881-02-10

creSe Roberto. Good might, Boris. Do not [ dream of Olga. Rather, if yon needs must dream, let it be of that young girl you sec ! wonder in the pink f:ock, Y who ia seated qui- etly and shyly near her mamma, as smlling and as blooming as herself Just look she has taken hold of her mothers dress, as if she were afraid of losing her. Olga has no fear of that sort; she knows how to stand alone'l
 1T withdrew into corner of the room to think over what I had heard I am gifted. l with good eye-sight, and at the distance I was from Olga, I could distinguish every feature as plainly as if l had been at her side. Yes, it was true, she resembled her mother,-not at first'sight, but only when you stripped her features of the charm of youth. What cold l hard looksFthose eyes might dart r How for bidding that.mouth appeared, when, infancy, extinguished the lovely, smile. that was play { ing round it! This, then, is what Olga will I be thirty years hence,' I said to myself, as looked at her mother. All at once, I felt afraid of the girl who had captiyated me an hour before. l cannot say why, my thoughts suddenly reverted to my grandmother and an old great aunt of mine, both of whom were alive at the tune. There was an extraordinary likeness between the two sisters and yet my father had often told me that his mother, in l her youth, had been beauty while his aunt, on the contrary, had been plain girl. A l whole train of ideas rushed through my brain concerning the immutable stability of the typical lines in each individual, ,-lines that external accidents-youth, ease, misfortune, illness, or good health-may disselnble as un- der veil for given time. but which, towards the close of life, stripped of all accidental cir cumstanoe or artifce, reveal the original plan, so as to speak, upon which the individual was constructed That original structure,,' said, is the true man all else IS semblance' Having come to that conclusion. left my nook and mingled once more with the crowd Chance brought me again near Olga. Her ex. pressive look spoke-a tiattering welcome.
 "'What g medltative air, Sir Philosopher ? she said. What can you ke thinking of? Give me your arm and take me out of this furnace. am suffocated here.'
 'l led her into another room; we went up to window, and, still leaning on my arm, she raised her beautiful eyes to the starry sky. There was an expression of gentle melancholy on her countenanoe. I could feel the regular beating of her heart, and deep sigh upheaved ] her maiden bosom {. b. .D. And I knew with absolute certainty I knew-that her whole being was lie: a lie, the dreamy eye; lie, the smiling mouth and tender words a lie, each throb of that stony heart! As she stood there mute and motionless by my side, like beautiful statue, saw her, not as she seemed to be, but as she aooud be thirty years hence. could perceive distinctly her real, 1 her typtcut features. They were those of her 1 mother, the woman with the wicked stern eyes and the cruel mouth. l let go her arm and drew a way. t""
 "'What is the matter ? she said withisur- prise. You are quite pale.' .-.- .. esa..
 ''No commonplace excuse was at my con- mand was under the spell of truth. You are hOrrible,' fatered out. She burst into a hat l joke was intended but without needing her. fled from the house.
 "From that day a new life began for me- My former light-heartedness was gone for ever could not help scrutinising every new face with peculiar attention, Young people especially interested me. Whenever I met them n company with their parents. I could not take my eyes off them until 1 had suc- ceeded in metamorphosing their young and blooming faces, and had given them the weary. furrowed, care-w orn, harsh resigned, or desponding countenance-as the case might be-of their father or mother. The youthful complexion faded, so to speak, under nay gaze the skin seemed to wither, and either to pucker into wrinkles, or to distend itself in fabby folds over the blurred and bloated out | line; the turned-up corners of smiling mouth were drawn down the liquid lustre of the eye was extinguished. My. passionate desire to discover the real face of the future under the visage actually before me became real mania. It often got me into trouble, for strangers have more than once asked me what l meant by my inquisitorial looks. resolved I hundred times to conquer this unfortunate habit, but it soon overmastered my will. At theatres, in concert-rooms, l was constantly seeking problems to solve. looked out for some unknown youthful face, and then in fancy, made it grow old. When this was effected, there was no stratagem to which 1 would not have recourse to get at the father and the mother of the individual had studied At f1rst was frequently obliged to recognize that had been mistaken the parents bore no resemblance to the image my fancy had con- jured up. 4would then seek the cause of my error, and, generally, I was successful in dis covering it. At last ascertained the true laws, the fixed rules in obedience to which each essential feature was to be transformed l in the course of years, so as to return to it's | typicsl form; and soon 1 became proficient in the useless, unproftable, and painful art to which had devoted myself. One glance was sufficient for me to discover the future under the present visage.
 ''The period which may term my appren- ticeship did not last long, as have said but 1 no sooner has 1 perfected myself in the art of observation, and acquired the certainty that I
 
 under it's temporary disguise. than I was struck with the fact that some faces remained, 90 to speak, retrdcto,y under my process. It was in vain that applied to them all the rules that had drawn up in order to reduce them | to their original type found it impossible to make them grow old.
 'One of these refractory faces was that of my own brother; another was that of friend of my sisters. a young girl whom saw daily at home, and whom l secretly worshipped. l "'Why is it, I would often ask myself, that am unable to transform those two? 1 would then bury my. face in my hands and think 1t over and over again. When did | that, Alexis and Sophie used to appear to me- pale, with closed eyes, but still bearing the stamp of youth upon their features. Soon after saw their two corpses looking just as l they had appeared to my minds eye. In an excursion on the lake, the boat in which they were together capsized. and both were drown | ed. .. -., ..-..q- ,... .s- .. -...a.z.. ...- ..
 ''rhe deep grief felt at the loss of my brother and of the girl 1 loved, to which was added the painful certainty had now required | or my power to discern the signs of early death on any conntenance, nearly drove me mad fer dangerously i'll, and for many weeks my life was despaired of. In time I recovered from the malignant fever which Lad attacked me, but the horrible visions that had haunted me during two years remained.
 | ''I retired to family estate in Southern Russia, and for whole year livsd in nearly absolute seclusion My servants were old, : good and simple people whom had carefully selected from among my fathers peasants. No one else was allowed toapproach me- "One day the mortal ennui to which was prey begat the unfortunate idea of subject l ing my own face to the process which had been in the habit of applying to others. dis covered that it belonged to the refractory class; | it was impossible to make it grow old I saw | myself. pale, with bright eyes and sunken cheeks, but still young-young as I had seen Alexis and Sophie. I shall die soon, I sad to myself, and the thought was almost relief to me. life had become burden, and yet was barely two-and,twenty ls When winter | rOlIn6 fOr fhn kha<