Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-12-20
TWO QUEER SERVANTS.
s,ery illustrating the stupidity OF
Central Russian Servants.

lyon talk Of having trouble with
ronr servants, Courtenay. my boy"
!,id Captain Lansdowne, of the British
6y,goen Guards, as he sat at the
/ 5,nhla window of his hotel in Moscow,
sstching the red winter sunset fade be-
Eind the great white battlements and
-reeu-tilcd towers encircling the
aGorodskaya Tchast" Getty quarter)
DWELL. lust YOU come and live in Russia
tr a wear or two, and then You'll
think all Western servants absolute
narfcction."
That's so,n assented Mr.. Hiram
govler. with dry smile upon his keen
American face 1--WE engineered three
railroads. between this and Volga, and
ought To know what sort of critters
tbe Russians are,
But really. now, You know ex-
,ostulaied C0urtenay who. as Il new
arrival, was being put through course
II Russian manners and custom by his
tro fliends-"s of these stories
tbat they tell about servants can't pos
sibly be true. For instance, fancy any
body expecting one TO believe that an
officers servant could bring his master
two odd boots, and say: Faith, | don't
know what's got into thin boots to-day.
There's another pair downstairs in
that very same shape, shuren
well, I'm sorry to contradict You,
old fellow" said the captain, laughing,
"but it happens that / saw that done
myself and the officer was the senior
major of our regiment"
and if YOU want q parallel case, :"
ehimed in Mr.. Boyler, II guess we can
accommodate you right away
So saying, he stepped to the door,
and shouted into the passage, 'Nanya!"
Johnny
"Sei-tchassn directly answered a
hoarse voice, and in came short,
square. low-browed fellow with red
calico shirt outside all his other clothes,
and face whose profound and placed
stupidity was worthy of Tartar idol.
Bring two logs for the stove" said
the Americans; "and mind that one
must be longer chan the other
Away plodded honest Ivan like a
plough-horse and and returned present
Kwith two split logs of unequal length.
"Durahi' (fooD. cried Mr.. Bowler,
with admirably feigned anger. II told
you to have one piece longer than the
the other and instead of that you've
got one piece shorter than the other"
Ivan hung his head in confusion.
so have, sure enough. It's all my
faults barin' (master); "but I'll 90 and
change it this moment
well. = cried Courtenay, as Ivan dis
appeared, If there's another such fool
q, that in Russia, I'd like to see him,
that's all!'
$50 YOU shall, in less than half a
minute, said Captain Lansdowne, go
ing to the door in his turn. "Meesha!n
(Dlikc)
A ha,ty step was heard outside, and
a tall, sclaggy fellow entered, whose
gaunt face had none of the stOlid salts
faction which marked the heavy
features Of Ivan. On the contrary, he
wore q restless and troubled look, as if
he We're dimly conscious that he was a
fool, aud was always trying to find out
how and why.
Were you pleased to call, Yury
Peuoytch?' George, son of Peter),
asked be.
YES, / want you to do a job for me.
You know Pashkog's store just across
the street? Well. here are two twenty
hopec6 pieces (silver coins worth
about q dime). $50 and bring me
twenty k0pecks' worth of white bread
and twenty kopecks worth OF cheese
OF \. nj Michael on his errand. and
Mr.. Courtenay who could not inn
agiuc now amy one could manage to
Juurlp ,ach plain commissioners
greatly puzzled when a quarter of an
hour went by without any sign of his
raturu
"Spu hing must have happened to
him. >a. If, said he at last.
u hatuu'r tie slightest doubt of it,
answered the captain, with a sly smile,
"and Il pretty well guess what that
sonnet a- Is Clap on your coat and
nat aau come along. FASHIONS isn't
far Oh. lod I'll be bound we shall find
Mas.cr ,''chael at the door the shop"
The. Iay found him sure enough,
with ~l % an expression as might be
worn p man who had Just upset a
plate soup over his wife's new dress.
lie Wa ratching his head perpleXedly
Wthua Aaud while he held out the
Two silver coins IN the other.
"Oh fmin BARN, cried he on see
ing them, at was written for me at my
birth 'nat | should be unlucky, and
lhere's Ho escaping it,"
NV what's wrongP' said the cap
0m.N.'h side glance at Courtenays
a'tou.,lad face.
Eve mixed the two coins" answered
hieAa IN heart-broken tones, land
No" B te-t know which was the one
l'r tho bread and which was the one
Tor The .ease. 49, Jumpers Magazine.