San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-12-31

OF gentleman.
The train rushed out through the darkness,
finging out its piercing shrieks to the night,
sometimes slackening its pace a moment,
only to start Off again under full steam But
at last its course became steadily slow; it
whistled several times, and stopped short
Ivan appeared at the door to receive or
ders.
The Countess Marie gave final look at
her strange travelling companion, and then
said, brusquely, to her servant:
"Ivan, thou wilt now return to the count;
shall have no more need of thee"
Stupefed, the man opened his eyes enor-
mously. He began to stammer out:
"But-Varinel"
mo, thou shalt not come; I have changed
my mind; prefer thou shouldst remain in
Russia. Here. this is the money to pay thy
way. Give me thy cap and cloak, quicklyp
Dumfounded, the old servant took off his
cap and cloak, obeying without word-ac-
customed as he was to the sudden whims and
irresistible caprice of masters. And he went
his way with tears in his eyes.
Again tho train started, making for the
frontier. Then the Countess Marie said to
her neighbor:
"These things are for you, sir You are
now my servant, Ivan Iplace but one con-
dition upon what do-namely, that you
never speak to me, that you do not utter one
single word. neither to thank me nor for any
other cause whatsoever"
The stranger bowed without speaking.
Soon they stopped again, and uniformed
officials entered the train. The countess
showed them her rsper and pointing to the
man seated in the further end Of the car,
said: .,
THAT is my servant Ivan, aud this is his
passport"
The train moved on.
For the rest of the night they sat alone to-
gether, without speaking.
At dawn, as they halted at German sta
ton, the stranger got out. Then, standing
before the window of the car door, he said:
Pardon me, madam, for breaking my
promise, but as have deprived you Of your
servant it is just that should replace him.
Do you need anythingl'
She replied, coldly:
go and tell my waiting maid to come"
He did so and disappeared.
But later on, when she got out to take some
refreshments, she saw him standing at dis
lance, watching her. And they arrived at
Mention.
The doctor paused at this stage of the
story. After few moments he resumed.
"Well, one day, as l was receiving clients
in my office, a fine, tall man came in, who
said to me:
doctor, l come to ask you for news of the
Countess Marie Baranow. | am-although
she does not know me-a friend of her hus-
band"
replied:
"There is no hope for her, regret to say.
She will never return to Russia"
And all Of a sudden the man burst nto a
passion of sobs; then he rose and staggered
from the room like drunken man.
The same evening told the countess that
stranger had called at my Office to inquire
about her health. She seemed to be affected,
and then told me the whole story just as
told it to you. And she added:
THAT man, whom do not know, now fol-
lows me everywhere, like my own shadow.
meet him every time | go out; he looks at
me in a strange way, but never speaks"
She paused thoughtfully a moment and
then exclaimed:
''See! am willing to wager that he ia
this moment before the window"
She rose from her reclining chair, went to
the window. lifted the curtain aside, and
there, sure enough, was the man who had
come to my office-sitting ON a bench of the
public promenade, with eyes fixed on the
windows of the residence. He observed u.s.
rose, and walked away without once turning
to look.
Then ] became the witness Of a very as
tonishing thing-the mute love of those two
beings, neither of whom knew the other
He loved her with the devotion of a res
cued animal-grateful and devoted to the
death. He came every day to see me, with
the question, How is she?'-comprehendin
that had OWNED his secret. And he used
to weep fearfully at seeing her passing by,
winter and weaker every day.
/ She would say to me:
~ only spoke once to that singular man,
and it seems to me as though / had known
him for twenty years"
And whenever they met she returned his
salute with grave and charming smile l
felt that she was happy, all lonely as she was,
and knowing herself doomed to die-I knew
that she felt happy just at being loved in
that strange way, with such respect and
such constancy, with such romantic exag-
geration, with such supreme devotion. And
for all that, still obstinate in her exaltation,
she persistently and desperately refused to
receive him, to learn his name, or to speak to
him. She would always say:
mo, mol 1T would spoil this strange friend
ship We.must always remain unknown to
each other"
AS for him, he was certainly Quixotic, for
he never tried to bring himself any nearer to
her. Ee had resolved to keep to the very
end the absurd promise he had made her in
the railroad car.
Very often during her long hours of weak