Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-08-12

ooi 'aihbJ VI buc luIurt, Out seeking IN l
the remembrance of the past all that Is
good, sacred and joyful. The boy
grew up behind Chinese wall apart
from all the joyful excitement, the busy
uproar of his generation, "heavily la
den, as the great Russian poet Ler-
montoff says with the hoary wisdom |
of his sifes.
When Andrusha was fourteen years |
OF age his father brought him to st. |
Petersburg to the Corps des Pages, the
first military school Of the Empire. On
taking leave of his son in the recep-
tion-room of the school the General for
the first time in his life betrayed some
weakness He clasped Andrusha in
his arms and whispered: "Be good
boy, become an honest soldier; remem-
Der you have got an old father whose
life you hold in your hand. If you
should ever bring shame on our name
! shall die" The boy felt two heavy
burning tears fall on his brow, and be-
wlldered, amazed by this unexpected
outburst of feeling he had hardly
suspected, he threw both his arms
around his father and broke out into
fit of wild, uncomfortable sobbing.
All the passion, all the love which had
been hitherto chilled in his young heart
by his fathers repulsive severity,
seemed at that moment to stream out
at once, shaking his body from head to
foot, and mingled with half-conscious
feeling OF pity for himself, for his cold,
bleak childhood.
And thus father and son parted.
During the four years of his studies
Andrusha but rarely saw his father.
The journey to Poltava was long one.
The net of railroads which now con-
meets the South OF Russia with the
capital did not exist even in the widest
dreams of a loyal subject of the Gear.
Travelling was slow and expensive and
General Saveliet''s fortune less than
modest. When at length at the end of
his studies, which he accomplished bril-
liantly, the young artillery officer, An
drei 1vanovitch Savelieff, came to pass
the long vacation with his father in the
small country house of Poltava, the
latter was deeply struck with the change
in the appearance and temper of his
son. Instead of merry, somewhat
silent but healthy and blooming boy
there sprang out of the perekladnaya
(mail carD the General had awaited
with such throbbing Impotence, an
earnest. pale man, with nervously ex-
pressive, deeply-marked face, with
fiery, piercing and unhinching gaze
one of those young faces only to be
found among the Russian generation
of to-day, face telling tale of deep
thought, of premature suffering and of
great tormenting love. And the
boys temper was changed too. Of his
former awe, mingled with an impulsive
tenderness towards his father no trace
was to be found. He met the latter
respectfully, but with certain mien of
independence and manly dignity which
struck the old General with utter
amazement, though 1t pleased him
on the other hand to find in his
son something akin to his own iron
nature. They met no more like father
and son, but like two soldier friends,
one younger than the other, but both
hardened in the great battle of life. 1t
was, however, precisely this resemb-
lance in both their natures that brought
J them further apart than ever. Both
J were not slow in detecting that they
, had no interest, no idea, no aim in life
/ in common with each other. While
the son was hardly able to answer cor
, rectly all his fathers queries about the
whereabouts of this or that General,
; the newest patterns of uniforms, or the
. most recent events in the life of the I'm
perial family, the father felt but little
/ interest and showed still less under
standing for the young officers erudite
: explanations of the newest improve
ment in artillery or the projected re-
, forms in the military administration.
3 Besides, the son had other studies
r which engrossed him, other books, not
treatises on artillery, which he read
= without ever showing them to his
7 father. Once the latter, coming un-
: expectedly into his sons room, saw the
titles of two of these books, 1.-The Life
t and Writings of Ferdinand Lassalle'
Q and Commentaries on John Stuart
= Mills Political Economy" Both names
a were naturally unknown to him, and
| the name of Tchernyshevsky, the cele.
{ brated Russian Socialist, being not
+ printed on the last named book, the
t brave old General retained no Other
i impression from thatincident than that
S his son, though capital soldier, wa:
e somewhat of bookworm.
: In autumn Andrusha returned to St
| Petersburg and entered the military
academy. He passed rapidly one grade
e of the military career after the other
l was in 1870 promoted Captain, tn,
s Shipka Pass affair, during which tn,
young artillery officer rendered sigma
e services, bringing him the dignity 0
n Colonel and the grand cross Of the st
/, George Order At the same time hi
S name became wildly known ii
IS scientific circles. He became editor o
t. one of the best military reviews of 81
Is Petersburg, and his house was tn
e gathering-place of the best and ables
o representatives of civil as we'll as mill
l. tary intelligent circles.
i Thus years went on. The grea
IS Nihilst movement broke out, holdin,
k Russian society in constant state @
Ie agitation and terror The storm
y reached even the old General in hi
1, solitary retreat. His exasperatiol
st against the ''mlscreants and muir
t. derers' knew no bounds. He eve
he went so far as to write letter, ad
ID dressed personally to the Gar, prot
E. fering his services for the good an
m holy cause" He never received an
al answer. The great number of youn
mobiles implicated in the conspirac
IN was what especially appalled, him
y. Have all those young knaves n
ID fathers with honor enough in thei
a hearts to kill the vipers they hav
" nourished in their bosom?" he used t
u exclaim when the papers brought {
MT him the name of some new aristockati