Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1882-06-29

mails in those days, and IL there had
been no one in the village could write.
So it happened that he found his moth
er had died and the little furniture been
sold to pay debts. All he cared for now
in the village was Grishka, and he de-
termined that then or never he would
gain her. Without taking off his KNAPP.
sack he went to her father. The old
man was sitting in his house drinking
and playing dice with his nephew.
The door was open, and in marched
Damian.
Boris Stephanovitch,' he said, my
mother is dead and l cannot send her
to ask for your daughter, so come
myself. 1 love her have forty-four
roubles and a good place with the wool
merchant. Will you promise her to
mep'
Old Boris turned his eyes slowly to
the young man, and said (:
Have yot got them with youT
Got whatY
The twenty-four roubles.'
Yes
Then I'll throw dice with you. If
you win, keep the roIbles and take
Grishka. If you lose, get out and both
er me no more
Damian never gambled, but in this
game he would have staked his soul to
the devil.
They cast the dice and this time Da-
mian's luck was against him, for he lost.
The old man seized the roubles and his
nephew burst into laugh. Damian
could not say word, but turned from
the door, death in his heart. But how
luck turns He had got to the end of
the village, when who should he see
coming from the well but Grishka her.
self, carrying jar OF water on her
shoulder, prettier and saucer than
ever.
Holy Mother Annap she cried out,
whence came you, Damian Sidor0ff? /
was not looking for such fine travelled
gentleman
'Grishka Stepanova,' said Damian, Il
am just back from the year-market. L
find my mother dead, and 1 have just
lost forty-four roubles to your father.
If l had won, he would have given you
to me for a wife. Now 1 am going
away forever. Rest in God
You ought to have seen how she
changed.
What r she cried, putting down her
jar and beginning TO cry, did my ras-
cally father play me for forty-four rou-
bles2 The old greedy miser, I'll slap
his face. And If 1 want you, Damian
Sidoroff, I'll have you. You come back
next spring and bring another forty
roubles, and I'll wait for you, and we
shall marry, no matter what father
says
You may believe Damian felt as if he
had drained bottle of champagne, and
you may guess how he consoled the Of
Tended beauty of the village. 1t was
not hard work, under those circum-
stances. That night after a hundred
vows, he left to return to the wool mer-
chant. The thought that he had the
forty-four roubles to earn made him
work all the harder and save all the
closer. He learned all about wool and
picked up some French and German,
More than once he saved his patron
from being cheated, and when it came
to dealing with the tchinovnicks (gov-
eminent oalcials), they squeezed him
less than they did his master.
One day in February when they had
brought to Tula sled of wool, whom
should he meat in tea-heuse but the
nephew Of Boris Stepanovitch, the one
who was present at the famous game.
All, Damian Sidoroff, said this one,
after they had taken tea, would to God
Uncle Boris had given you Grishka.
Though never thought much of you,
she has brought us worse luck than il
she had married you. Our boria has
died and his nephew came to look after
the land. The very first day that he
saw Grishka, he sent for her to be his
housekeeper. Uncle Boris talked a
good deal of the big wages she would
get, but she swore she wouldn't 60 for
a hundred roubles day, although the
new boyar is mighty handsome young
officer, and 1 don't believe another girl
in the village would have made fuss
about it.
What does the boyar do First, he
gets the assessor to find that Uncle
Boris owes hundred and fifty roubles
of back taxes then the Judge Of the
district says he wants HIM for
Inquiry and will have to shut him up
unless hundred roubles are found
then the police magistrate takes him
up on suspicion Of harboring horse
thief. know what it all means, and
as Grishka is as obstinate as a mule,
take nay wife and child and 20 up to
his excellency and beg leave to come
to lula to work at my trade of telling
till summer, for by that time Grishka
will have to come around and all will
be right again. The obstinate huzzy
His Excellency is noble gentleman.
When we had kissed his hand, he spoke
very kindly and said, "Go, my
children you shall have permits.
The old Boris What bad for
tune is hisl And Grishka, the poor
girl, will now be left alone Tell her
to come and see me and I'll try and
help her father out of this ugly scrape.