Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-03

adored me. while the commanders of tn
regiment, who were constantly bein
changed, looked upon me as an incurabl
evil.
81 was calmly, or rather boisterously, er
joying my reputation, when a certain youn
man Joined our regiment. He was rich, an
came of a distinguished famly-I will nc
name him. Never in my life dld 1 NEE
with so brilliant, so fortunate fellowi-
young, clever, handsome, with the wilde.
spirits, the most reckless bravery, bearing
celebrated name, possessing funds of whic
he did not know the amount, but whic
were inexhaustible. You may imagine tn
effect be was sure to produce among us. NJ
leadership was shaken. Dazzled by m
reputation. he began by seeking nv friend
shin. But received him coidly; at which
without the least sign OF regret, he kep
Rloof from me.
s'I took dislike to him. His success il
the regiment ana in the society of womel
brought me TO despair. 1 tried to pick
quarrel with him. To nv epigrams he re
piled with epigrams which always seemed
10 me more pointed and more piercin.
than nv own, and which were certainly
much llVeller; for while he joked, wa
rsving.
Finally, at ball at the house of
Polish landed proprietor, seeing him re
ceive marked attention from all the ladies
snd especially from the lady of the house
who had formerly been on very friendly
terms with me, | whispered some low insul
In his ear. He flew into passion, and gave
me a slap on the cheek. We clutched oui
swords; the ladies tainted; we were sepa-
rated; and the same night we drove out tc
fight.
at was nearly daybreaK. l was standing
at the appointed spot with NV three sec
onds. How impahently 1 awaited my op-
ponenti The spring sun had risen, and it
was growing hot AT last 1 saw him in the
distance. He was on foot, accompanied by
ohlv one second. We advanced to meet
him. He approached, holding in his hand
his regimental cap, filed full of black cher
ries.
The seconds measured u PAGES 1t was
for me to fire first Bslt nv excitement was
SO great that could not depend upon the
certainty of my hand; and. in order to give
myself time to get calm, ceded the first
shot TO my adversary. He would not &C
cept it, and we decided TO cast lots.
the number fell to him; constant favorItc
of fortune that he wasI He aimed, and
put q bullet through my cap.
at was now nv turn. His life at last was
in INV hands; | looked at him eagerly, try
ing 10 Getect Il only some faint shadow of
uneasiness. But he stood beneath my pis-
tol, picking out ripe cherries from his cap
and splitting out the stones, some of which
fell near me. His Indifference enraged me.
w hat is the use, thought /, of depriving
him of life. when he sets no value upon il.
As this savage thought fitted through my
brain I lowered the pistol.
You don't seem TO be ready for death. >
I 4. A-a
don't want to interfere with you.'
"'You don't interfere with Inc in the
least, be replied. BE good enough to fire.
Or don't fire if you prefer it; the shot re-
mains with you, and 1 shall be at your serv-
ice at any moment
Il turned to the seconds, informing them
that ] had no intention of firing that dav.
and with this the duel ended. L resigned
ny commission and retired to his little
place. Since then not single day has
passed that 1 have not thought of my re-
yenge: and now the hour has arrived"
SIlyio took from his pocket the letter be
had received that morning; and handed it to
me to read. Someone (it seemed to be his
business agent) wrote to him from Moscow,
that certain individual was soon to be
married TO young and beautiful girl.
You guess, said Silvio, who the GER
COW. We shall see whether he will be as
Indifferent now as he was some time ago,
when in presence of death he ate cherriesi'
With these words Silyio rose, threw his
cap upon the floor and began pacing up and
down the room like a tiger in his cage. L
remained silent. Strange contending feel.
Jugs agitsted me.
The servant entered and announced that
the horses were ready. Silvio grasped my
hand tightly. He got into the telega, in
which lay two trunks, one containing his
pistols, the other some personal effects. We
wished goodbye second time, and the
horses galloped of.
II.
Many years passed. and family circum-
stances obliged me to settle In the poor little
village of N. Engaged in farming,
1 sighed in secret for my former merry,
careless existence. Most difficult of all 1
found it to pass in solitude the spring and
winter evenings. Until the dinner hour l
somehow occupied the time, talking to the
starosta, driving round to see how the work
went on, or visiting the new buildings But
as soon as evening began TO draw in, was
at loss what to do with myself. NY books,
in various bookcases, cupboards and store
rooms l knew by heart The housekeeper,
kurilovna, related TO me all the stories
she could remember. The songs OF
the peasant women made me melancholy.
! tried cherry brandy, but that gave me the
headache. / must confess, however, that I
had some fear OF becoming drunkard from
ennui, the saddest kind of drunkenness
imaginable, of which had seen many e1-
amnles in our district.
had no near neighbors with the exception
of two or three melancholy ones, whose con-
Yersation consisted mostly of hiccups and
sighs. Solitude was preferable to that.
Finally decided to 90 to bed as early as
possible, and 10 dine as late as possible, thus
shortening the evening and lengthening the
dav; and l found this plan a good one.
-Four versts from my place was large
estate belonging 10 Count B.; but the
steward alone lived there. The Countess
had visited her domain once only, lust after
her marriage, and she then only lived there
about a month. However, in the second
spring of my retirement, there was a report
that the Countess, with her husband, would
come TO spend the summer on her estate, and
they arrived at the beginning of June.
The advent of rich neighbor is an iIn-
portant event for residents in the country.
The landowners and the people OF their
household talk of it for q couple OF months
beforehand, and for three years aiterwsrd.
AS far as 1 was concerned, must confess,
the expected arrival of young and beauti-
full neighbor affected me strongly. l burned
with impatience to see her, and the first
Sunday after her arrival started Tor the
village, in order to present myself to the
Count and Countess as their near neighbor
aud humble servant.
The iootman showed me into the Counts
study, while be went 10 inform him of NV
arrival. The spacious room was furnished
In q most luXnrions manner Arainst the