San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-08-17
SCRATCHED OUT.

Jury the Russian mobiles ruled their house
holds with a high hand Accordingly. whe'
the Dowager Countess Cheraski found tina;
her only son Ivan, young man OF about :
years, was engaged to marry beautiful ser!
on his estates, she forthwith DanIShed nlnI o.
France. and ordered the girl, to whom he was
engaged, to marry another serf Immediately
AS her commands had to be obeyed, poor
Sophia Uschakoff, for that was the girls
name. went with her father, some six days
after the counts departure. to the chapel
where the marriage service was to be per,
formed There were present, beside her
father and herself, Michael Tokhtamish tthe
bridegroom, his father, and the priest, an
old man who was upward Of 20 years OF age
The service had scarcely commenced when
the door of the little chapel opened, and Ivan
Cheraski. the young count, entered with q
revolver in his hand.
"You thought was out OF the country
he said. but not so have been bidinS my
time not far away from here. | knew all
about the infamous attempt to marry my be
trothed to this clown, and l have come TO
prevent it. Everything is ready-the priest
the altar and the bride. So. my good father
you will please marry me to Sophia Uscha
koff at once, or you and Michael Tokhtamlsh
shall die before five minutes are over"
do not know what would have happened
if the priest had refused to obey the counts
order As have said. Russian mobiles used to
be. and very likely still are. rather high
handed, especially in dealing with their de
pendents At all events. Ivan Cheraski was
a nobleman armed with a revolver, Michael
Tokhtamish was only serf who might have
been shot for the fun Of the thing, while the
priest was a very infirm old man, and bound,
moreover, by his religion to discountenance
bloodshed So the serf stood aside, the no
beman took his place, the priest performed
the service, and in a few minutes Ivan Che
raski and Sophia Uschakoff were man and
wife. The service over, the company entered
the vestry ROOM where the priest proceeded
to enter the particulars relating to the mar
riage in the registry book.
Now | must pause here to inform the
reader that in Russia it was the custom for
the priest. and not the parties who were mar
ried. TO sign the names of the bride and the
bridegroom in the marriage register. Alex
ander Troubetskoi, the priest, was placed, as
the saying is between two fires. IL he had
not obeyed the counts orders he would have
been shot. On the other hand, if the countess
dowager found cut what he had done, some
thing else as bad, or worse, would probably
happen. To escape from the dilemma he en-
tered in the register Michael Tokhtamish
instead Of Ivan Cheraski as the name of the
bridegroom The parties who were inter
ested did not observe the substitution. The
register was restored to its place, and the
Count and Countess Cheraski left secretly
for PARIS that evening.
For five years they lived very happily in
France and then the count died, leaving the
countess a widow with two children. His
mother had died about a year before, and
TroubetSkoi expired shortly after they left
the village Of Narouel, where the marriage
took place Or the death of her husband the
countess Went t. the province Of Minsk, in
Russia. 10 claim his estate on behalf of her
self and his children The claim was op
posed 10y his family, who produced the reg
ter which bore evidence of her marriage,
not with Ivan CherasIi, but with Michael
TOkhtamish There seemed. then, to be no
use in resortng to legal proceedings, as the
evidence OF the witnesses tC the marriage
who were all serfs. would be worthless
against the evidence of the marriage regis
ter Accordingly the countess rs she was
de jurc, if not de faclo, returned 20 France
Partly by the sale of her jewery and partly
owing to her husband having invested some
money IN their joint names III French ; per
cent. reHtes she had little more than e20O0,
and with this capital she Opened sort OF
boarding house in Paris Here she had been
living for about two years when a young
Englishman named Edwin Marston came to
stop at her establishment for few days
Up to the present have not said anything
about the character or appearance of
the Countess Cheraski, because, so far, !
have merely been reciting a number of facts
which are necessary to enable the reader to
understand the curious tale that we are ap-
preaching That she was either pretty, or
handsome. or beariful. in some sense or
other the reader will probably anticipate
from the fact of the count having fallen in
love with her If | mention that she was
tall, with dark hair and aquiline features all
who are interested in the matter can fill up
tie rest of her portrait to suit their own
tastes. In character She must have been Of a
rather truStful disposition, as VIII, | think,
appear from her conduct to Mr.. Marston
He was her senior by about two years, and
had been practicing as a surgeon and phvsi-
clan for some time in a very poor district in
the east end Of London When he first came
to her house be did not intend to remain
many days III Paris but his stay was pro
lOnged for ore reason or another over a
space of about three weeks, during which
time he and the countess had contracted a
very sincere friendship for each other
Finally, on the night before he left, she told
him her story, and asked him If he could see
any way in which she could establish the
rights Of herself and children.
''Not at present." said Mr.. Marston, when
be had listened attentvely to her story; but