Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-06-04

changed into floating figures reckoning
with shadowy arms. "You can stay
here II you like" l said;" II am going
back"
The old man laid q OBTAINING hand
upon my arm, "Stop," he said; don't
you see how the fog is th~ickening? We
must wait now till the moon rises"
His voice had grswh strong and I'm
perious; it was he who commanded now.
In silence / yielded and stood beside
him, staring at the ground. l remem-
Der ] stirred it with my heel and watch
ca the water oose up from under my
boot-then / raised my eyes. Great
Heavenl We were not aienel
Gathering round rs, hemming as In
on either side, surged a vast crowd OF
shadowy, shifting FERNS, sometimes
pressing so close that / cenld plainly
distinguish their faces, and sometimes
receding into vague uncertainty again.
A cold sweat broke out on me and my
brain reeled. "Ceurage!" said the voice
OF Vassili close beside nae, and suddenly
all terror and excitement left me, and
In their place came a great awe, as In
the presence Of death. And l looked
and saw that there were men and
women and children In the crowd, and
all their faces, whether old or young,
were rigid with the same ~despairing
woe, and all their eyes were wide open
and terrible In q fixed %imploring stare.
How closely they pressed round us, and
how silently! A ~thronging multitude,
and yet this deathless stillness-not a
rustic, not a footstep, not a breath.
"Who are theY?" asked my COM
panion.
He stretched out his hands toward
them. 'Leok ut them and see. These
are they who in the long centuries OF
the past dragged out their miserable
lives and died by cruel deaths; the bod
les Of some have crumBled long ago to
dust and the hearts OF others have but
just ceased to beat. See, from all parts
of the empire they have come-from
holy Russia, from Poland and Lithu-
ania, from the steppes OF the Ukraine,
from the mines and forests OF Siberia.
These are the oppressed Of an %accursed
counrry and On accused race. These
were given over, tied and bound, to the
mercy of their fellow men. These are
the countless unknown victims TO whom
the sunlight became q mockery and all
hope q lie, who cried TO God for venge-
ance, and God avenged them not.
Some passed in chains along our roads
and streets, the endless procession that
ever passes to the land Of living death;
some yielded their last breath
beneath the knout, some languished
and went mad in prison cells, some
crowded away MANNED to die in holes
and caves Of the earth, some surrender
ed willingly all that makes the world
sweet, spending themselves on a for
lorn hope, giving their lives for a hope
less cause; others, yet more miserable,
perishek like the beasts, walled in by
ignorance, not knowing why they lived
or died, and all. all arc forgotten! But
when the books are opened and the
long list is read, surely there will be
found recorded not only the nameless
fortunes, the lifelong c%aptivities, the
lingering deaths, but also the illusions
destroyed, hopes deceived, minds for
ever imbittered, warped natures, bro
ken hearts. Surely the hearts blood
OF these, though they be not all saints
or martyrs, crieth from the ground,
How long, 0 Lord, holy and just and
true, how long?'"
His voice died away, and ven as it
ceased there rose q low wall from the
very ground under u feet. 1t rose
higher and higher, 1t swelled louder
and louder, till 1t grew into a great cry.
And then all those death-like faces
were raised to heaven, and the cry be-
came q mighty shout for vengeance,
shaking the earth and rending the
sky, and with that shout ringing in my
ears l sank into the ~blackness OF night.
When 1 returned to consciousness l
was lying on thu floor Of thu black
smiths izba, with some one bending over
me and holding a glass to my lips,i it was
a woman, and the light from the forge
played on her face and dress. Not quite
certain il / was in the land OF the living
yet, / mechanically gulped down the
preferred draught, horribly as 1t scorch-
ed my throat. The painful sensation
revived me q little, and / realized that
Vassili was kneeling beside me, sup
UOIlllk lily uOdu Wlbn OhO a
A mad rage took possession OF me.
'I suppose you want to poison me-" l
cried in English, mot content with be-
quilting me out there and half killing
me. But you shall repent this. Do
you hear, you old villain?"
Poor Barine!" said the woman, pity
He raves!"
"You hear herl" l cried, clutching
his arm. TELL her that she lies; tell
her how the dead rise from their graves
al your bidding and stare and stare.
y y = ! sank back exhausted into
the old mans arms.
OF what took place afterward | have
only a confused and uncertain recollec-
ton. This much l know, they pressed
more vodka on me and l refused 1t.
Before l remounted my horse l made
Vassili swear by all his saints that he
would guide me not back to Paulovsk,
but to the Zagarines' house at K.
1 Cannot tell how long that ride last
ed. At first, as 1 saw the dim moon
light irrsdiating the endless misty
plain, it seemed to me that we should
ride on forever. Then an intense
drowsiness stole over me, so that l had
enough TO do to keep from reeling in
the saddle. There is a blank in my
recollections after that, and l can only
dimly remember the amazed face OF the
Zagarlnss' dvornik as l staggered into
the house, and the startled voice OF my
cousin from the landing asking who
had arrived.
1 awoke from . heavy sleep late the
next day almost as weak as II 1 had
been recovering from an illness, but not
in a high fever, as my cousin had
feared might be the case. She told me
that Vassili had followed me into the
house and had insisted on her giving
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