Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1881-05-25
Conquered.

], Stanislas Vanofski. colonel of cnir-
assicrs in the service of his most sacred
imperial moie sty the Gar Alexander,
have experienced all the yicisStnlcS OF
n military lifc but for cnnui and tor
menting dulness nothing is to be men,
toned in comparison with the first six
months cf my stay ut the post OF Vladi
kMkoss.
This is small town in the govern
mcnt of Kicv. Half battalion was the
utmost force ever stationed there, but,
by most singular misfortune, we, the
pets of st. Petersburg society, were
ordered away from our comfortable
quarters in the Petropaulovitch barracks
to this wilderness, merely because we
were anxious to improve ourselves by
travel.
But one of our number professed to
spend the term of our banishment con-
tentedly. This was Lieut. Victor Khar-
viell, the legimental pet. A propensity
to make love and an inability to live
within his means made st. Petersburg
rather uncomfortable for our dashing
lieutenant but so far removed was
Vladi Kavkoss from civilization that the
duns and love.letters that had covered
his plate every morning at Petropaulo-
witch totally disappeared, and he re-
covered his spirits, which had been
somewhat dropping before our banish-
ment.
The people around us were as COM
mon-place as the town itself; but one
man ever interested us enough to make
second inquiry about him. This was
a tall, ugly, wild-looking man, about
fifty. His name was Loris Bolaroff, and
he might DO seen any hour of the day
riding about the neighborhood on n
miserable horse, with three or four dogs
barking around him. We judged him
at first to belong to that class of small
proprietors who, ruined by emancipa-
ton, are on their way downward to ex.
treme poverty but our surprise may he
imagined when we found him to be a
man of immense fortune, which he man.
aged with the utmost shrewdness. Still
more astonishing, he was of high birth,
and had been one of the most brilliant
lights at the court of the Gar Nicholas !;
but from some unexplained motive he
suddenly withdrew from court, came to
this remote place, changed himself IN q
year from polished man of the world
into boor, and became the nnconth
creature in speech, habits, and attire
that We now found him to be.
This information was brought us by
Victor Kharviefl As usual, lie was in
luck. Wandering around the high fence
that inclosed the grounds of Loris Dol
aroff's house one day, trying to invent q
plausible ex ,use for knocking at the
strongly-barred door, he heard loud
and sudden shrek. He climbed the
wall, and saw young woman standing
paralyzed with horror, while lizard
writhed itself almost upon her. To
whip out his sword and kill the creature
was but the work of n moment. He
then turned his attention to the terrified
girl. He did not tell us precisely his
method of composing her, but she soon
informed him that she was Varva Bolar.
off.
| Il WIS ClluTuleu, Siiu fiCeoi, ,cAAihG
it to us as we sat smoking around the
stove, sand nearly overwht lined with
thanks by the young lady. Here said
I to myself, Victor Kharvieff, You are
the luckiest dog alivel After all oul
scheming to get inside that inclosure,
you are so fortunate as to appear just at
the right moment and to do Mademoi.
selle Bolaroff great service,-perhaps
to save her life. Now, just imagine the
gratitude of the affectionate father You
will have the ontree to his house, drink
his wine, ride his horses, "-we all
laughed at the idea Of Loris Bolarofi's
cellar and stable -" and perhaps mar,
ry his daughter Just then the affec.
tionate father comes along, leading his
spawned, ring-boned horse, with his
stick in his hand, and his dogs barking
as il they would eat me mp. We'll,
shouted he harshly, what are you doing
here, Mr.. Officer? Sir, i replied,