Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1889-10-09

SOCldllO0S anu III OWN adventures lie
insisted upon Vladimir's staying for
dinner, assuring him that there would
be no difficulty in finding two IN re
witnesses And so it happened that TO
sooner was dinner over than two local
proprietoTs weIe announced. Both we-e
in favor of the marTiagp, as ell as of
tho means of effectng it, and, o.
course. were ready at moments no.
tice to offer their services and, should
circumstances require it, to sacrifice
their lives for the nob'e ciuse. Vladi-
MIR was overjoyed. He embI aced his
friends and after bidding them an af
fectionate dosvidanie (good-byel hur-
ris1 of to make the necessary p. epa: a.
ti5ns.
The day drew 10 a close Night set
in. A strong northern wind filed the
air with burning cold. A ''miatel"
(storm) Vladimir thought TO himself as
he sat in the sleigh driving as rapidly
as his horse could carry him to Dsha-
drino, where he intended to arrive be-
fore Masha. The road to Dshadrino
was familiar to hun, and he expected
to traverse the short distance in an
hour at the most. The reverse of his
expectations, however, was the result
The wind grew stronger and stronger.
eliminating soon in a raging and
binding snow storm. The road was
swept out of sight, the familiar sur
roundings vanished. Vladimir's effoI IS
to keep to the right track were fruit
less. The horse went on at hapha-
Zard, now ascending a snow-drift and
now falling and upsetting the sleigh in
a ravine. An hour, two passed, but
not the slightest sign of Dshadrino.
The storm continued raging. The
prospects for brighter sky were any
thing but promising. The poor horse
was completely tired out, being scarcely
able to move on. Vladimir was in
despair. A cold sweat bedeweI his
face.
At last it occurred to him that he was
travelling the wrong way. He stopped,
reflected a m ment, made some sort of
geographic al calcul ul4tion and turned
to the Iignt. He Consulted his watch;
it was past two in the morning. Oh,
horrorl But towards Dshadrlno lie
went, in spite of the boundless snow
fleld and the innumerable snow drifts
and ravines that lay before him. Now
and then his sleigh would upset, throw
ing him into the snow. But his own
bodily comfort was the least to be
thought of.
itself to his sight. 1t was a small for
est. "Blessed be the Lord" he thought
TO himself. ''Dshadrino must be near {"
Thus encouraged he drove onward.
But the farther he went the mo- em-
barrassed became his position and the
more horr.d were the thoughts that
filed his mind. Only now he began to
realize the full extent of his perIlous
adventure. He lashed the horse; the
poor animal made an effort to move.
He lashed it again and again, but it
would not trot. Gradually, however,
he passed the forest. The plain, snowy
field, stretching in the distance as far
as his eye could reach, presented itself
once more to his sight. Although the
storm subsided aud the bright moon
hung once again over his cherries and
monotonous surroundings, it was Bit
terly cold. AS he drove along, contem-
plating all sorts of means TO extricate
himself from his perilous position, he
beheld village, consisting of four or
five little huts. He directed his horse
towards 1t, and as he reached the first
hut began to rattle at tie window with
all the might of man for whom there
is nothing left but despair. A few
moments later the window was raised
and long, gray beard, apparently
belonging to the master Of the house,
became visible.
"What is it you want?n
"Can you tell me how far it is to
Dshadrino?''
"Dshadrino! Dshadrinol Let me see.
I'reckon 1t Will be about ten versts.''
A thunderbolt or an electrical shock
could not have had more effect upon
Vladimir than these words. He re-
mained upon the spot, motionless, like
man doomed to death.
''And where do you come from?"
resumed the old man. Vladimir had
no patience to answer his question.
''Can L hire your horse to take me
there?" he uttered at last.
Hire my horse! Why, man. wait
till L buy onel''
''Then give me a guide. ! will pay
him all he wants for his services ("
''This I'll do. Just wait a second,
I'll send out my son and he will take
you there" said the old man disappear
ing in the darkness. The young fel-
low, armed with a dubina. soon ap-
peared and, without losing any time,
they started on their way TO Dshadrino.
Morning dawned when they reached
their destination. The church was
locked. After paying his guide he
directed his steps towards the minis
ter's house. Alas, his team was not
to be seen there. How sad the news
that awaited him.
But let us return to Nenaradovo and
see what is going on in Gavrilo Gavrll-
ovitche's house.
Nothing in particular.
AS usual, the old folks rose early in
the morning-Gavrilo Gavrilovitch ap-
pearing in his ancient "kolpak" and
felt jacket, and P4raskovia Petrovna
in her warm morning gown. The
samovar was brought in. the table was
set and as Mashs failed to appe4r in
the gostinnu', or dining room, serv-
ant maid was dispatched to her apart
ment to inquire how she felt in gen.
eral. The maid soon returned an
nouncing that the baruishnia (miss)
had restless night, but that she felt
much better now and would soon join
them at the table. The maid had no
sooner made her report than Masha
appeared, approaching her papenka and
mamenka with an affectionate good
morning.
'.How is your health, dear?" inquired
Gavrilo Gavrilovitch.
81 feel much better, papa" replied
Masha.
"You must have caught cold,
Masha,'' interposed Paraskovia Pc
troyna-
"That may be, Mamenka.
The day passed quietly. but towards
evening Masha took sick. a doctor
WAS imme iiately sent for. and when he
arrived two hours later he found the
patient in a state of delirium. 1t soon
developed into a high fever, and for
two weeks thu poor girl hovered be-
tween lie and death.
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