The Dickinson press., 1892-11-05

CHAPTER Nv.
A PROUD SPIRIT.
Rachel Arama was the object of mucl
sympathy am"agst her W p op'e. ant
when it became known that She had de
journey to Eastern Siberia in order tlal sh'
nigh be with her father, her trends USE
every possible argument they could thint
OF TO try and dissuude her.
You will die on the way" said some.
"What matters il? Death can only CONF
to meoncc "sheanswered, phil"sophical'.y
"But, mayllaps, long ere YOU can reach
'IIc may" she returned; but while
have reason to think he lives, my duty j:
to go to him."
"And yet We are sure that your father
would not wish you to run sue terrible
peril for the sake of merely seeing him.
urged these friends.
II am my fathers daughter, and know
his thoughts and feelings better than any
otyou,' said Rachel.
but think OF the exile
II have thought of everything
'And then, can you forget that
your enemy, Peter AleNieff, has been
appointed Governor OF Sakhalin, whittier
your father has been sent? II
the Governor gets YOU both into his power
there, what do you suppose would be you!
fate"
Rachel broke into an awfully bitter laugh
as she made reply:-
"Can | forget, you ask, that Peter Alex
Jeff is there. l am a Jewish maiden, taught
from the moment that | could lisp to hon
or my father. | do honor my father, there
fore, while mo lasts. it is impossible
for NJ A., foryaf tlut pntar A lnyinti nv
fathers deadly enemy and mine own has
gone to Suklalin, where my father is a
prisoner
Thus she spoke, and with a strange lich:
in her eyes that WAS quite unusual; while
the words had Il covert meaning which did
not appear to those who heard them. Then
she breathed Il sigh that was pregnant with
that for her life had lost its salt; that those
things that hal erstwiile given her pleas
ure, pleasured her no Longer; ,ha, the hopes
ofyouth were dead. to be recalled to life
no more. But though ali this was SO, yet
had she fixed her eyes on Il goal towards
which she would press, and ever press. 1t
might be that the way thereto would betor-
tuous; that She would have to swervc now
to the right and anon to the left
but she would go OH with atcrrible earnest
ness and inileNiblc purpose. Men might
scott at her, the rains beat upon her, the
wolves nowl at her, the rivers bar her pas
sage and dangers of all kinds beset her
yet, unless she diet by the way she would
reach that goal. and then, and not till then,
would the object of her lite be fulfilled.
Thus it came TO pass that advice, per.
suasion. plealings, counse We're thrown
away upon her. Her nswcr was always to
this purpose:-
~ shall GO
Poorthing! 1t was sad that the sunshine
had been so early b.oited out of her lite,
and the veil that had screened her eye:
rom the hollowness and wickedness Of the
world should have been torn away so sud
denly and ruthlessly, revealing to her aston
ished gaze that behind the mask of roses
there was everything that was vile and
cruel. Az we .row old with the ~tleeting
we rs, and wrinkles and white hairs come
10 us, il is given lis to understand that the
world is a world of mutabllity, and things
IRE not what they seem. To learn this,
however, while the eye is still bright, the
rested, n. it we're, on the threshold of what
we supposed was a garden of gloly, but
which, to our horror, VIZ see is a place Of
woe ami s%epulchres.
Thus was it with Rachel Arama. who
now that her lover, her father. and ei
mother had been taken from her; and she.
though guilty of no cri.nc, 10 wrong, had
lJdl " UcdE tllC DllililS NllSSIuCS VI lIlt
lash on her white shoulders i'll the pres.
men-might have wallet out q
E"art-hroken prayer to the God o,
Israel that lie would release her from the
burden Of living, had it not been that sne
was upheld Ivy that one stern and ~relentie
purpose which had been born OF sorrow
and lostered by wrong; II wa>this purpose
that Kept her from shrinking with horror
from thA nrnSrprfS nj Tho inlIrYnv that lny
be ore her.
To every Russian the very mention o
Siberia centuries up. picture, of appalling
human suffering, and OF wrong il,tli ted by
hru al officials. and shame endured BY
delicately-nurtured women and high
Souled men, and ofa country pit tess il
Its sternnes and severity. 1t is true tina
in thu vast region included BY Siberia (ant
which extends from the Urals in the IVES
to the Pacific in the east, and from tn,
Atlas in the south to the silent and mys
terious Arctic OCEAN in the nortl) th-re ar
stretches OF smiling country, and town
where q high standard of cultivation an,
C vilization isto be found; but The curse o
Russia is over it all-the curse of a bruta
desrotism, off power that is welded witt
a relentless and tyr .nnical cruelty, that re
joices in til ~clanking of chains, andlaugh
aloud with a fierce and tiendish joy US wo
nv q tbAiN AbaSA ivan IN liS ol'l
inflicted upon them. God has turned Hi
face from Siberia, which spells sutfrrin
and wrong such as have scarcely had thei
parallel in the worlds history.
Before Rachel could start upon her jour
ney it was necessary that she should b
provided with letters and Government pa
pers setting forth that she was a tsee sui
iect; end permitted to travel through til
country to her father, who was q convic
Before these papers could be procured muc
formality had to be gone through. and til
delay was enough TO test the patience of
job himself.
But it happened that it came to Cour
Nicholas Suvorof'S ears that Rachel Aram
was DESTROYS OF journeying tn her lathe
and it seemed to him as ii Fate was worl
ing in the matter; anu in his ianatical re,
and bigotry he resolved to aid Fate, for thu
he areucd:-
Peter Alex:effis appointed Governor
Sakhalin. To Sakha in the Jews. Aaro
Arama and Moshka Umanski, have bee
transported. Now, Rachel would go
them. and SO it will come to pass that the
three people, who have been the cause
so much trouble. will fall into the pow,
OF AlcXietfncariy five thousand miles fro,
here. and il any man knows how to IL
power it is Alexieff. lie has a bitter wrol
to wipe out; he has served me We'll al
faithfully. and 81 II speed Rachel
him."
With this charitable thought in his mil
he caused a message to b. conveyed to Ii
saying that j! She would attend at his b
re,u he would exert his influence in Il
behalf with u view to forwarding her int
ests SO far as he could. Rachel had
personal knowledge OF this man, Tor it
doubt nj if she had observed him on tn
!. day of bitter memory, when he was pr.
; ent and witnessed her shame and humili
ton in the courtyard OF the Litovsk
. Zamok. But she knew by ommo rep
I that he was a Jew-!later, and never lost
= opportunity of displaying his antipatl
andenvy. When she received his mesa.
!; she said to herself, Report las bell
! him."
She had still but little knowledge oft
craft and guile that men can practice 9TH
wise. she would have suspected that tt
<'ferto be o~fservice concealed some hidd
e motive. AS it was. She went hastily
. the Counts bureau, and, having stat
i her Grand to the ianitors, she was spec
lily ushered into Suvorot's presence.
dark, saturnine sort gilman he wa nj