Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-06

gers alighting and repeating the tive
| words of the driver, "Vot gFanista'
(Here IS the boundary.
They were in forest clearing.
Before them, by the roadside, stood 9
tall pillar, and round about it strange
weird group of men and women, soldiers
on foot and mounted Cossacks, their
| spears bright amidst light feathery flakes
of falling snow, which was transforming
the surrounding country into white
world.
They had arrived at the boundary post
of Siberia, a square pillar, ten or twslve
feet in height, of stuccoed or plastered
| brick, bearing on one side the coat OF
arms of the European province of Perm
! and on the other the Asiatic province of
Tobolsk. "No other spot between ST.
! Petersburg and the Pacific, - says Mr..
| George KEENAN,, whose current work 1
have already mentioned, sis more full
| of painful su ggestlons, and none has for
the traveller q more melancholy interest
than the little opening in the forest where
stands this grief pill
lar. Here hundreds OF thou
sands of exiled human beings
men, women and children, princes,
mobiles and peasants-have bid goodb bye
forever TO friends, country aud home.
No other boundary post in the world has
! witnessed so much human suffering or
been passed by such multitude Of heart
broken people. More than one hundred
and seventy thousand exiles have tTav-
eled this road since 1878. and more than
half million since the beginning Of the
present century As the boundary post
is situated about halfway between the
last European and the first Siberian
etape, it has always been customary to
allow exile parties to stop here for rest
and for a last good-bye to home and
country. The Russian peasant, even
when a criminal, is deeply attached to
his native land, and hearLrending
scenes have been witnessed around
the boundary pillar when such
party, overtaken perhaps by frost and
snow in the early autumn, stopped here
for last farewell. Some gave way to
unTestrained grief: some comforted the
weeping; some knelt and pressed their
faces to the loved soil of their native
country and collected little earth to
take with them into exile; and a few
pressed their lips to the European side of
the cold brick pillar, as if kissing good
bye for ever to all that 1t symbolized. At
last the stern order 'Stroisa!' form
ranks) from the under officer of the con-
voy put an end to the rest and the leave
taking, and at the word March, the
grey-coated troop OF exjles and conviots
crossed themselves hastily all together
and, with confused jingling of chains
and leg-tetters, moved slowly away, past
the boundary post into Siberia. -
AS Dick Chetwynd tumbled out of the
tarantas, and pressed forward towards
the exiles, the stern order 'Form
T-oT DO fhn TNll
"March!' were given, and prisoners
prepared to resume their weary and
t-breaking journey
Captain Karakazov?' exclaimed
Dick Chetwynd at venture, hardly
daring to think that he had overtaken
the band he was following, but with
desperate hope that It might be So
Whether he had not spoken loud
enough TO command attention amidst
the clanking of chains and the miscel-
laneous orders and EXPLANATIONS, his ex-
cited interrogatory passed UNDECIDED.
"Is this Capt. Karakazov's COM
mand?' he shouted in French.
No reply; but there was a movement
In the ranks which attracted his attention.
"Capt. KarakazoYi he shouted again
at the top of his voice, his fellow-pas-
sengeTs now regarding him with both sur
prise and alarm. An officer who had
been busy receiving the reports of some
subordinate, turned somewhat angrily
towards him.
81 am Capt. KarakazoV, - he said.
What is your business, sir, with me?''
"Thank God!'' exclaimed Dick. |
''You have prisoner, Philip Forsyth -
at which moment one of the exiIes fell |
forward from a group and was caught |
,,1T a.
in the arms OF woman who, turning to-
ward Chetwynd and the officer, disclosed |
to the English traveller the weird face of
the woman in the gold medal picture,
the scene of which flashed upon Dick
with a strange terrible realization; the
winter background of lurid light, the
snow, the bearded prisoners, the hooded
the mounted guard, the
thoughtful student, the woman at bay.
Before the officer in command had time
TO say another word, Dick Chetwynd was
On his knees by the side of Philip For
syth.
"Great God!' he exclaimed, whisper
ng into the ear of the woman, ''the
Countess Stravensky!'
She looked at him with fearful light
n her great violet eyes, and placed
niger upon her lips with a gentle sibil-
ant 'Hush!
Dick Chetwynd had hardly put his arm
'ound his friend than he was roughly
ragged into the roadway and literally
lung at the feet of Capt. Karakazov,
Who saluted him with some coarse words
n Russian. The next moment, Dick, on
lis feet, glaring at the officer, hurled at
lim few equally strong expletives in
english. Both having thus somewhat
oothed their angry agitation, Dick, in
french, said:
''Sir. / have orders for you from the
minister Of war at st. Petersburg, and |
'ipher also from his imperial majesty of
till more Importance. !"
Permit me to see them, - said the
fficer.
While they spoke the evening was
q pidly changing into night. A lantern
7as brought, in the CLEAN of which Dick
'hetwynd showed his authoritative writ
ngs to Capt. Karakazov.
''They are sufficient. said the officer,
'and l beg you viii accept my apol-
gies.'
eff these orders are promptly carried {
ut l assuredly will; otherwise {
1.-THE orders will, of course, be I
romptlY obeyed,' reading the st. Pc {
srsburg Instructions and laying empha- I
IS on the words. 1.-THE unconditional