The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1889-08-01
A SECRET MEETING OF exlLEs.
How the Patriots in Siberia Hold Coun-
scl-"Ne Have n Erayeyard.n

How the Patriots In Siberia Hold Coun-
sei-"we Have Graveyard"
One by one the political convicts of
the free command began TO assemble
at Miss Armfeldt's house. Every few
minutes low signal knock would be
heard at one of the window shutters
and Miss Armfeldt would go cautious
ly to the door, inquire who was there,
and when satisfied that it was one Of
her companions would take down the
bar and give him admission The
small, dimly lighted cabin, the strain
cd hush of anxiety and apprehension,
the soft, mysterious knocking at the
window shutters, the low but eager
conversation, and the group of pale
faced men and women who crowded
about me with intense, wondering in
terest as if were q man who had Just
risen from the dead, made me feel like
one talking and acting in strange,
vivid dream. There was not, in the
whole environment, a single sugges-
ton of the real, commonplace, out
side world; and when the convicts,
with bated breath, began to tell me
ghastly stories of cruelty, suffering,
insanity and suicide at the mines, i
felt almost as if | had entered the
gloomy gate over which Dante saw
inscribed the dread warning, Leave
hope behind"
About 8 o'clock, just as had taken
out my note book and begun TO write,
a loud, imperative knock was heard
at the side window shutter Madam
Kolenkina exclaimed in low, hoarse
GtT.f,
let them come in. Tell them who Of
US are here, and perhaps they'll be
satisfied" Everybody was silent,
and it seemed TO me that could hear
my heart beat while Miss Armfeldt
went to the door and with cool self
possession said to the gendsrnes;
1--WE are all here; my mother, |, Kur
teyef, Madam Kolenkina and the
other names could not catch. After
a moments parley the gendarmes
seemed TO go away, Miss Armfeldt
shut and Iebarred the door, and com
ing back into tho room said with
smile, "They were satisfied; they
didn't insist on coming in" Then,
turning to me, she added in English;
"The gendarmes visit us three times a
day TO see what we are doing and to
make sure that we have not escaped.
Their visits, however, have grown to
be formal, and they do not always
come in.
Conversation was then resumed,
and for two hours or moro | listened
to stories of convict life in prison, on
the road or at the mines, and an
swered as well as 1 could the eager
,,,aptin,,u af Tho tnte ,.r,tl a,.l
to the progress of the Russian revolu-
tionary movement In tho course Of the
talk my attention was accidently at
tracted to a person whom / had not
particularly noticed before and to
whom ] had not been introduced. II
was man 80 or 95 years of age, with
colorless, strangely vacant face and
large, protruding blue eyes. He had
seated himself on low wooden stool
directly in front of me, had rested his
elbows on his knees with his chin
In his open hands, and was staring up
at me with a steady and at the same
time an expressionless gaze In which
there seemed TO be something un-
natural and uncanny. At the first
pause i'll the conversation he said to
me abruptly, but in strange, drawl-
ing, monotonous tone, "We-have-
a-graveyard - Of our own-here.
Would-you- like-to-see-itp
was so surprised and startled by
his manner and by the nature Of his
question that / did not for moment
reply; but the conviction suddenly
flashed upon me that 1t was political
convict who had lost his reason. AS
the knocking at the gate after the
murder in Macbeth seemed TO DE
Quincy TO deepen the emotions ex-
cited by the tragedy aud to reflect back
a sort of added horror upon all that
preceded it, SO this strange, unprompt-
ed question, with its suggestions Of In
sanity and death, seemed 10 render
moro vivid and terrible the stories Of
human suffering that / had just heard,
aud TO intensity all the emotions rous-
cd In my mind by the great tragedy
Of penal servitude.-George Kennan
| in Century.