The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-09-12

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My brother, there is no hope, and [ must
die. It may be a question of days OF
hours only. Already | swallow with
the greatest difficulty.
s.Pray, Louis, pray for the soul of one
who longs for death.
"Your unhappy brother, PAUL"
There were two other letters-one
from Prince Vlastoff, another from the
French doctor. They gave me the dread
full details of my brothers death. He
died, as he had predicted, after fearful
sufferings from the mania Of hydro
phobia.
Ihave visited my brothers grave. ]
have seen the place where my brothers
life was sacrificed for the Princess
Bakouline-for she became the Princess
Bakouline of course. And then / went
to St. Petersburg to thank my imperial
master for his clemency, and stayed
with Prince Vlastof. One night, as !
was talking with my host, he said to me:
you've never been in this room before,
/ think. The very rug your feet are
resting on is the skin of the wolf that
killed your brother. The head is won
derfully life like" he said.
Yes, there was the head with glazing
eyes of glass, the mouth wide open, the
lips retracted, showing a double range OF
fierce and cruel fangs.
ut makes me shudder when I look
upon it" said Prince Vlastoff; ''but it's
a work of art all the same" he added,
with a little laugh.
Presently he left me, and | sat by the
fire in a half doze and thought of my
brother and his miserable death. 1t was
close on midnight.
The door was suddenly thrown open
and a tall woman in evening dress, muf-
fled in an opera cloak, rushed into the
ROOM, locked the door behind her and
flung the cloak from her shoulders. On
her pale cheek there was a great red
mark. When she saw me she fell upon
her knees.
"Paull'-she cried in Mortified ac-
cents-"Paul Bolskoi, have you come
back from the grave to haunt meg'
AS l stared at her in establishment ]
recognized my brothers evil genius in
the beautiful creature who knelt before
me, looking into my face with frighten-
ed eyes.
MADAM" 1 said coldly, ST am Louis
Bolskoi."
And then she rose. "You are very
like him." she said mechanically, and
she sat down in the chair opposite me
and stared at the CHASTITY, grinning mask
of the dead wolf, and as she looked she
shuddered.
"Your brother saved my life, Count
Bolskoi," she said, with a groan.
I bowed, but I did not answer her.
"Your brothers was a dreadful death, .
she went on, land ! sat by his bedside
and listened to his last rawlings. He
prayed in his wild delirium that / might
never know happiness in this world.
sacrificed your brothers love to vain
ambition, and sold myself to Prince
Bakouline. Tonight he struck me-you
see the mark upon my face-and / leave
him forever. just before your brothers
deasl, when his failing voice had sunk
to a whisper, he opened his eyes and
seemed to recognize me. Nadia, he
said, you will repent; and when you
have repented you will see me once
again, and l shall summon you to meet
your God He spoke again, Count
Bolskoi. I have repented, God knows
how bitterly, and when Isaw you sitting
there | thought that Paul had come
from the land beyond the grave to drag
me to the Judgment seat of heaven.
Count Bolskoi," she said bitterly, 'sIlong
for death"
She never looked at me, but stared al
the VOLTS face upon the floor, and me
chanically she placed her tiny foot be.
tween the double row Of white and glis-
tening teeth.
There was a furious knock at the door.
The Princess Nadia started to her feet,
and as she did so she gave a little scream
of pain, and I saw a small spot of blood
on her satin foot covering. The dool
was shaken ~furiously; the lock gave
way, and Il man broke in and hurled flu
rious words at the beautiful woman, who
stood confronting him, pale and silent.
He spoke in Russian, and then he turned
to me.
.You are the Count Bolskoi, sir" he
said; ''why do I find you closeted here
with my wife" he cried, and he glared
at me with furious eyes, inflamed with
drink and jealousy. 81 am the Prince
Bakouline, sir" he said more calmly,
'sthe husband of this-this woman"
"And l am her fathers guest" I said,
'sand / do notbandy words with drunken
men at midnight. But, Prince Bakou-
line, you are a coward. Have the good
ness to leave this house."
And then he turned and left the room
without a word. Next day we met,
some dozen versts from Petersburg.
Prince Valstof was my second, and ]
shot the Princess Nadia's husband dead
and crossed the frontier within a dozen
hours. And within the month the WON
an who had wronged my brother Paul
died, as my poor brother had died, a
raving maniac. The wolfskin rug was
the instrument of heavens vengeance;
the fangs of the dead beast had still re-
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