St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-05-21
A STRANGE PASSION.

What a row all my friends and rel
atives made when they heard was go
ing off to Russia to become the tutor of
q parcel of girls and boys. Ihad income
enough to live on, and every one knew
seemed to think that ought to become
barriSter or become celebrated in some
way or another.
LIDO not exactly know why took the
tutprShip in Russia unless it was to sat
iSfy within, and because L had nothing
particular to do just at that time. / ar
rived at my destination one very cold
December day, feeling so irritated in
mind over the wearisome journey that
[ hardly thaWed out when Nine. ES-
trokOff and her husband received me SO
cordially.
My pupils dropped in one by one and
were presented, three boys varying from
eleven to sixteen and young lady of
An hour later the last pupil arrived, a
girl of twelve.
l see her now as plainly as on that
day, in her simple frock, her golden
hair lying in long curls on her shout
ders. her great blue eyes looking half
frightened at me.
played draughts with her that even
ing and lost every game.
In fact, L devoted myself more to the
study of her sweet face than to the
board.
There was no denying it; had COM
mitted two acts of folly for which the
world would brand me as a lunatic.
| had fallen in love at first sight, and
the object of my attachment was neither
more nor less than twelve years old.
| was greatly puzzled, as time went
on, to discover that l was quite alone in
my admiration of Ludmela.
All the family acquaintance were
lost in admiration to the charms of
Mile. Estrokoff.
|. Only to one unworthy seeker had the
exceeding fairness of the little one re-
vealed itself.
remember my mother, who was fond
of quaint theories and curious concerts,
always maintained that the mere pres
ence in the same room of person of
strong character always exercised GER
tain influence, either for good or evil, on
the weaker persons around them.
| had not been in the room with Lud-
mela for five minutes ere | felt her in
fluence and knew that | was in the pres
ence of one whose face was but the
mirror of her soul.
Her whole life, during the year that l
knew her, was one long self-denlal-
utterly unOStentatiOuS, and therefore
utterly unrecogniZed
To this day l do not know whether
her sweet caressing ways came of affec-
ton, or from desire to give fellow
creature pleasure.
Whatever prompted her action, my
life with her was all happiness.
For one year-ah, how quickly it went
hI-f
and seldom left her side.
At night kept myself awake longing
for the day to come and reunite US.
For hours | would sit, her little hand
in mine, happy as l shall never be again,
until we meet again in some other
world, and clasp her hands again as
in the days of old.
One year after (the anniversary, I re-
member it was, of the day on which we
had first metz she said-I remember
her wOrds-''My good old friend cher
favOrite name for me), ''shall you be of
Tended if | go out for half an hour?
There is one more place on the sledge?"
She went: there was an accident, and
she returned to die.
Her last words were for me,
8: ''Do not forget blue eyes."
Darling, God is witness that never
for one short moment have | forgotten
you'll"
/ went to her funeral; the rest
dropped wreaths ON her coffin.
The world always drops wreaths on
collins, even after it has broken the
heart lying there.
dropped tears, bitter tears, for my
life's joy gone for ever.
The night after the funeral l started
back for England.
visited the Estrokoffs a year or two
back.
All my old pupils had married ire
proachably.
Ludmela's name was not mentioned,
and l did not mention it.
only went and sat by her grave, and
fancied l still held her little hand and
looked into her face as in the days gone
by.