The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-11-13

the young mans agitation. remained per-
fecrly calm, Anton Ivanovitch BorodIn re-
solved to throw ND his appointmenta as tutor
in General Gontcharoff's family and enter
the army.
There will be war with Turkey before
long," he said to himself. land / will get
cross the Danube. The prejudiced old
General will think better of ME then; and
If. before the end OF the campaign, get
made q superior officer-which is more
than posslble-he will perhaps listen to my
prayers anc give me his daughter. AS
chief of q regiment he may respect me.
But what does he care for tutorf / am
like the dirt beneath his feet" Then,
speaking aloud. he exclaimed: You will
hear OF me again, Natalia Ivanova."
Good bye. Anton Borodin.n was her only
answer. my brother is about to enter the
cadet school" she added, after q pause.
land my father Will probably not want
your services any more"
Those words deprived Anton Borodin's
departure, as they were intended to do, of
all tragic significance. Leaving Natalia's
presence with final gesture of despair, the
young man hurried to the Generals stndio.
told him that for certain family reasons of
the first importance he must ask permis-
sion to give up his engagement at once.
and received cheque from the General,
perfectly. After few words of fare we'll 10
the boy who. until now, had been under
his care, he went TO his bedroom, packed
MP his not very burdensome supply of
clothes. rang for servant TO carry his
trunk down stairs and place it on a drosch-
Xxi, gave the man q few roubles and then
drove to the neares: Russian hotel; Dot,
that is TO say, a cosmopolitan hotel, such
as may now be found in every large cap
ttal, but sort of a caTavanserai. where
rooms with bare walls scanty furniture
and questionable beds were all that the Wis.,
itor could obtain.
Borodin dined at restaurant. ordered
Q jew clothier to call upon him at his
carayanserai. and in the evening sold
all his waIdrobe-everyt thing, indeed, that
he possessed, except his oldest suit. Attired
IN this. he went the next morning TO the
barracks Of the Preobrsjenski Regiment
of the Imperial Guard. and offered himself
for service in the ranks. Being young,
tall and strong, be was at once accepted.
Then. casting aside his well-worn civilian
clothes, lie put on the uniform of the his
toric corps he had now joined. and. with
come other recruits. all of them peasants,
was taken into the barrac k-ysrd for his
first drill
1t happened, strangely enough, that on
that same day Colonel Miliutin. of the gen.
eral staff. was transferred for regimental
duty TO the Preobrajenskls. His rank was
that OF lieutenant colonel. and he had been
placed in command of the bsttalions to
which anton Borodin had been assigned.
Borodin knew Colonel Miliutin q little
from having met him at the house of the
Gontcheroffs, where he was one of the
numerous admirers by whom Natalia, In
her character of pretty GIRL was constant
ly surrounded. Among the other men
most conspicuous in their attentions to
her was an enterprising sneak named
Gorski, one of the newly-made order of
,Darristers. and, as before mentioned.
BorodIn. The most demonstrative of the
three was certainly the barrister. Miliutin
main tained o certain reserve from good
taste. while Borodin kept comparatively
in the background from timldity.
Colonel Miliutin had never paid much
attention to Borodin, whom he regarded
with absolute indifference; and now In
his green uniform. his helmet and his
cropped lair there was Dut lltLio CnaDc6 or
the new recruits being recognized by his
commanding officer. For some time they
did not even meet Borodin was not vet
sufficiently trained to do duty with the bat
talon; and he would not, perhaps. for
many q day have been brought into outact
with his battalion chief. bur for the acct
dent of his beng placed one afternoon on
sentry duty outside the left wing of the
barracks. 1t was fine day, and as the
officers strolled about the open space in
<r.r Of hair an NJ tharr ro..1
one another in the French language. never
pausing for one moment to consider W neither
any one might be within earshot Who could
understand them.
Borod in was Z OF much astonished at what
be heard, though he was little surprised
at the freedom with which 10 W as expressed.
Again and again such things had been said
in his presence at General Gontharofps.
But to talk liberalism. lncendiarisn. prog
ress reyolution-whatever name might
be gwen TO such things-in a barrack- yard;
this. indeed. made him. wonder. Among
the takers was Colonel Miliutin himself.
and Borodin listened with the greatest at
tention to every word that fell from his
ipa He uttered nothing which was repre-
hensible in itself. but much that could be
30 considered were it reported in certain
quarters.
Why not denounce himi This was the
man. or. at least. one of the men. who stood
between him and Natalia. Pondering over
the matter, Borodin could not make up his
mind what to do until he heard, IN the
evening. that next day Colonel Miliutin
was TO marry General Gontcharoff's rich
and beautiful daughter. Colopel MIliutin's
battalion was TO furnish q guard of honor
for the occasion: and Borodip. 10 his bitter
modification. was one OF the men told Oft
To line the church.
All Borodin had heard Colonel Miliutin
say was that long as soldiers were
brutally treated they would behave like
brutes; and that the first thing for the
officers TO do toward their eley9 tion was to
establish schools In every Darrack. This
had already been done In the barrack-room
of the artillery of the Guard: and Colonel
Miliutin declared that be would not rest
until it was done IN the barracks of the
Guard generally. or, at least, of the regl-
meht TO which he himself belonged
Tnis was not much to report but 4. was
when, after the wedding, Bo.odin was
and full or hatred, TO the offices of the
Third section declaring that he had i'm
portant news TO communicates, he obtained
an interview with one of the chiefs.
In bis rage he made such exaggerated
statements as to what MlliutIn was plan
nlng and plotting. that he fondly hoped
tho Colonel would be arrested that very
night But the practice of seizlng without
accusation and sending into exile without
trial had been discontinued since the ac-
cession of the liberal minded, kind hearted
Alexander III, the emancIpator of the serfs:
und there was nothing in Colonel MilIu-
tins utterances. even maguified by his
denunciat0r, 10 make them the subject of a
formal charge such as could be brought be-
fore q Jury. Bordin. however was COM
mended for his loyalty and zeal, and the