Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-10-10
A Curious Love Scene.

David Kerr.
Moonlight over the terrace Of the ear s
country palace at Peterof A tall, hand
some young officer in the uniform OF the
Russian imperial guard and a girl In a
costly ball dress leaning over the carved
balustrades of the terrace hand in hand, or
gazing silently into each others eyes.
Twill you not tell me your name, even
now?' asked the young man at length, In
a tone of tender entreaty.
''Oh, no, no-notyet! answered the girl,
TREMENDOUSLY. Let US be happy while we
can't will not be for long'
Not for long," echoed the young off
GER, wonderingly. why, what possible
harm can come to us from my simply know
ing who you are, dearest? Tell me what
all this means.
81 can not tell you, must not tell you,
she replied despairirgly Ever since
that day when we first met in the woods
''The happiest day Of my life y
Ever since then," she continued,
have been dreading that each meeting
would be our last; for ifany living soul
were even to suspect that we have met and
spoken thus
But just then there came stranger and
startling interruption.
A vast black shadow fell athwart the
moonlight, and towering figure in the
gorgeous uniform of a Russian cruissier
came striding toward them along the ter
race.
There were few men who would not have
recognized at a glance that massive head
and gigantic form, and those cold piercing
eyes which no touch of human feeling had
! ever sOftened.
Daughter, said he, In cold, measur-
| ed tone, more ominous of evil than the
noisiest anger, they are looking for you
in the ballroom; go quickly!'
At the word daughter" the young
guardsman started as if he had been shot.
He had no difficulty in guessing who his
mysterious lady love was, when her father
stood before him in the person of Nicholas,
emperor of RUSSIA
The car waited till the young grand
duchess had disappeared, and then turning
to her lover, asked III the deepest tones of
his commanding voice:
who are you?"
In clear unfaltering tone the doomed
man told his name and rank. Nicholas
| started slightly, as if that name were famil-
lar to him, and then he said coldly:
Follow mel
So saying he led the young subaltern
| (who followed with firm step as if he
were going to court ball instead of to APP
parently certain death) away from the
main front of the palace through d low
side door and up winding stair into a
small room which seemed to have no fur
niture beyond chair, writing-table and
lamp suspended above it.
/ The ear seated himself, and, looking
keenly at the young Russian, said in the
deepest tones of his commanding voice:
Nov, what have you to say?'
Nothing, answered the guardsman,
with the reckless courage of despair. Il
might say, indeed and truly-that kn 9w
not who her imperial highness was, but |
will not even plead that excuse. My life
| is In your majesty's hands-do with it as
you will. ;"
Their eyes met and for moment the two
men gazed fxedly at each other in silence.
| Then the car turned round to the table
and began to write.
Was it death sentence that was being
written so quickly and coolly?
Suddenly Nicholas rose and handed
him a sealed letter, addressed to the vice
/ roy of the Caucasus.
Take this letter, said he, land stor
not by day or night till you deliver it. V
The young officer bowed and departed
without word upon a journey of several
thousand miles, which might very possibly
have a violent and shameful death at the
! end of 1t.
| Meanwhile Nicholas went back to the
| ballroom, with the very ghost of a smile
playing over his marble features like moon
light upon a statue. He thought that he
! had merely got rid of presumptuous lad,
and was doubtless well pleased to have
done So What he had really done
! Though he himself never knew it) was to
decide the event of mighty war and
! to open a new chapter In the history of
| Russia.
Twenty years had passed since that
night, and all st. Petersburg was in a
fever of JOY and triumph. The long war
with the Circassian mountalneers OF the
! Caucasus ended at last, and the terrible
mountain chief, Schamyl, the life and
soul of that desperate struggle, was enter
| ing the Russian capital as a prisoner, side
| by side with his conquerer, the great
! Prince Bariatinski. And Prince Baria-
tinski was no other than the grand duch-
ess's former lover, the young officer of the
/ imperial guard.
Many changes had occurred since he
| left st. Petersburg on that memorable
night. expecting to see it no more. The
car Nicholas had died by his own hand.
with his iron heart broken by the disasters
! of the Crimean war His daughter was
| far away, reigning over a loveless home
and crumbling Kingdom; while her lover.
unknown subaltern of the guard, was now
| governor general of all southeastern Rus
| STA, knight of order of St. Alexander
! Nevski. and, for the moment at least, the
most famous man in the whole Russian
empire.
'sHa. Eagle!" cried familiar voice in
French, calling him by his regimental
nickname. ''how goes it, old comrade ?
! We never could find out why Nicholas
Pavlovitch (Nicholas. the son of PAUL. sent
! thee to the Caucasus In such hurry; but,
anyhow. it was the luckiest event of thy
/ life"
80 it seems now" answered Prince
: Bariatinski, with a momentary cloud upon
his handsome face; ''but [ can tell thee
that at the time thought otherwise:'
And probably the grand duchess had
thought otherwise, too; for, although she
and Bariatinski never met more, 1t was
whispered that she never wholly forgot the
handsome young officer who had come so
strangely into her life, and had been so sud-
denly taken out of it.
About 200 miners on the Yukon river In
Alaska, are attacked with scurvy and it is
feared they will greatly suffer the coming
winter unless provisions are sent them.