Telegram-herald., 1889-10-14

TIE roon u whlch ! WA seated gave
ssiasnes of co<sl1sEsb-s ts-ste u Ihs fur
zishlnx. St~IthsI4nGIng thai every
thing "a 1. wss cd fashioned Tie balls
~srs aAornsd @igh ola family portraits.
~hils Al one side u the rooul az ancient
uiAao formed the chief attraction. Ia
Russia Il = not usual - carpet ths hoors.
ruzs oeiag s@pl0yed lnsLesa, oQg Ia this
case tie tioor 49, simply painted, ani zs
clean a. sap and water could MAKE il.
Whlls waiting El21-Eles only child az
Deared On tho scene, carrying Ia her
aruas the bird = zach lad lust presented
hsr mother.
The daughter, Elena. Was pretty, in
terssr1ng giTi q perhaps "A years. she
sas very much pleased with the black
grouse. calling Il n0y miloy ,my love-
and n every way eyincing hsr pleasure
zE ths unexpected gift l lad been
seated about fifteen minutes when the
ioor suddenly opened and Odicer Dura-
kon entered His appearance was sun
GENTLY fierce u make the saUutest heart
quail lie was a tail. powerful man.
who wore his % years lightly. Ills mus
tache, iron gray. was heavy and fierce
looking Added 10 this he had dark,
piercing eyes. which seemed To search
the depths of your inmost soul He was
dressed ia a full captains uniform,
which well became his tall, handsome
form. Such was Van Dimitrieyitch
Durakoff. the man l 50 much feared and
ef whom l had heard such frightful
lhings
His appearance did not az all reaSsure
me, and believed him capable OF ali he
had been accused OF. He met ne in a
very cool, dignihed manner / explained
my position to him, and begged that he
would cause me no delay, but permit me
70 continue my Journey as / had been
doing. told him / had some money
with me sufficient to pay for another
horse. l told him, as / had his wife,
that il was absolutely necessary for me
TO DO in Petersburg at the earliest posi-
Die moment. l had scarcely finished
speaking when he shouted, in a voice of
thunder: "Oh, no; that is against the
law. You will have 70 remain here un-
I'll your party arrives, which viii be some
days yet"
At this juncture the black grouse en-
tered slowly from another room, seem
ingly as If aware Of my danger, and, if
possible. 70 assist me. Looking at the
bird in astonishment, Durakoff ex-
claimed: "What is that?" l explained
that brought it a present to his wife.
"Oh" he said, taking my hand and
shaking il, my wife is SO fond OF birds,
and she has never before had in her pos
session live black grouse. A thousand
rubles could not make her as happy as
the presentation of this bird" Dura-
koff's whole manner had changed; so
there was, after all, soft side TO his
character. This man, so cruel to others,
had at least a tender regard for the part
ner of his JOYS. With a smile he turned
% NE and said: Il think can arrange
everything in satisfactory manner for
your departure. will see that you have
fresh horses and all you require until
you reach your next resting place"
he NlGll u 81 C49dIo tl4ld NO1A1 ~
be brought, with the remark that he kept
none but the best liquors. The daughter
came bearing the refreshments, and al
the same time 10 look after the bird. At
my request she seated herself at the
piano and played and sang some Russian
songs. The bird. surprised at the un-
usual sound, remained perfectly motion
less for some minutes, its attitude sug-
gestive of listening, which gave it a very
wise look and caused much amusement.
Dinner was soon served; it was good,
and being hungry did ample justice to
the tempting viands, washed down by
copious draughts of vodka Indeed, SO
much vodka did mine host force upon
me that soon found myself in scarcely
a Git condition to continue my journey.
When ready to start caused the officers
wife much merTiment by my clumsiness
in getting into the tarantas.
On parting with Officer DurakOf he
handed me letter to the next etape
officer, and in this wise l passed from
station to station. The presentation Of
the black grouse saved me forty days
on my Journey and the discomfort of
etape prison travel. When crossing
Lake Ladoga fell in with some Of my