The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1890-10-30

death and seized my hand. Paul.
she shrieked. as she fell upon her
knees at my feet, Paul, my love. my
life, you are wounded, and for my
worthless sake!'
And then I saw three little bleed
ing points on the back Of my hand.
Madam ] said, coldly sympathy for
one below you in degree is surely mis-
placed. turned away, Louis, and |
walked alone to the castle. .
''rhe French doctor from Warsaw
gives me every hope; but. Lolis. some
thing tells me that ] shall die, and
shall have died in swing the life OF a
woman who is worthless.
y
Louis. here is great news for you,
my brother; the car is willing to let
by-gones be by-gones; our rank and
our property are to be restored. Prince
Vlastotf only to-day handed me the re-
script from his imperial master Count
Bolskoi,' he SAID, as he pressed my
hand, don't speak to me Of gr;ltitude;
| shall ever be your debtor.
''The French doctor has come again.
My brother. there is no hope and ]
must die It may be question OF days
Or hours only. Already ! swallow
with the greatest difficulty.
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
dreadful details of my brothers death.
He died, as he had predicted, after
fearful sutferines from the mania of
hydrophobia.
| have 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 majesty for his clemency,
and stayed with Prince Vlastoff. One
night, as l was TALKING with my host,
he said to me: ''You We 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 wonderfully life-like,'' he
said.
Yes, there was the head with glar-
ing eyes of glass. the mouth wide
open,' the lips retracted, showing I.
double range Of fierce and cruel fangs.
ut makes me shudder when [ look
upon it," said Prince Vlastoff; but it. S
work of art all the same" he added,
with a little laugh.
Presently he left me, and I sat by
the fire in a half-doze and thought Of
my brother and his miserable death.
It was close on midnight
Z The door was suddenly thrown open,
and a tall woman in evenin g-dress.
muffled in an opera cloak, rushed into
the room, locked the door behind her,
and flung the cloak from her should
ers. On her pale cheek there was a
great red mark. When she saw me
she fell upon her knees.
':Paul!" cried in Mortified ac-
cents Paul Bolskoi, have you come
back from the grave to haunt me?"
AS l stared at her in astonishmenr
recognized my brothers evil genius in
the beautiful creature who knelt be-
fore me, looking into my face with
frightened eyes.
MADAM" l said, coldly, Il am
Louis Bolskoi."
And then she rose. .'You are very
like him." she said, mechanically; and
she sat down in a chair opposite me,
and stared at the CHASTITY grinning
mask OF the dead wolf; and as she
looked she shuddered.
our brother saved my life, Count
Bolskoi," she said. with a groan.
| bowed. but ! did not answer her.
You brothers. was a dreadful
death she went on; ''and I sat by his
bedside and listened to his last raw
ings 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 death, when his
failing voice had sunk into a whisper,
! he opened his eyes and seemed to
recognize me. Nadia he said, YOU
will repent; and when you have re-
pented you will see me once again,
and shall summon you to meet your
God He never spoke again, Count
Bolskoi. I have repented, God knows
how bitterly; and when I saw you sit
ting there I thought that Pull had
come from the land beyond the grave
to drag me to the judgement-seat OF
| heaven. Count Bolskoi,' she said,
bitterly, II long for death.
t She never looked at me. but stared