The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-10-25
SELECTED STORY.
The Russian Spy.


heights of professional chair. So
at least said his professors at the
University of st. Petersburg, and
considering that they had seen so
much of him during his four years
student life they ought to know.
We students likewise held him in awe
and hedged him around with rever-
entail ostracism. That was our way
of dealing with the few men who
went in for hard work" as they
called it. We kept them at a re-
spectful distance and tabooed them.
The fact is, we heartily despised the
mean wretches who thus sacrificed
the glorious cause of humanity to
Grass egotism and sat down quietly
to work for themselves at a time
when society was going to pieces.
That same Kaffsky, for instance,
used to squander his days and nights
over mathematics and chemistry and
half a dozen kindred sciences, as if
life were to last for eternity. We
did not believe in a man having so
many irons in the fire, and we limit
ed our own efforts to the accomplish
ment of one single task-the regen-
Grafton of mankind as preliminary
step to the remodeling of Russian so
ciety. But for this we grudged no
sacrifice, not even that of our ar
dent desire for SELF reformation.
Kaffsky never fell in with these
views, and you had only to look in
- e.. - 1,of Ia
pathy with them. He was a low
sized, squarely built man of sallow
complexion, whose flowing beard,
had it been gray instead of jet black,
would have given him the appear
ance of venerable sage, a Russian
Zoroaster, for even as it was he
seemed quite old enough to be his
own father Still for all his exterior
GOODNESS you might detect in his
black, melancholy eyes unmistak-
able signs of latent lightnings, which
on occasion would flash forth with
effect. Long before this we had
weighed Kaffsky in the political bal
ance-the only one in vogue at Rus
sian universities 10 years ago-and
had found him sadly wanting He
was a member of none of the three
churches outside of which there is
no salvation-that of the sworn con-
spirators, who edited a forbidden po-
litical journal, Land and Liberty,
Matched plots against the state and
sometimes helped to carry them out;
that of unsworn conspirators from
whom the former were usually re-
cruited, and the bulk of students
who sympathized with everything
and everybody who embarrassed the
government.
Kaffsky held aloof from us all,
never took part in our skhodky
Gllegal meetings., attended lectures
with exasperating regularity, talked
with his professors on footing of
equality and was now within four
weeks of obtaining his degree and
receiving a post at the university
which would enable him to qualify
for a chair, and to crown all we had
just heard of his impending mar
rage. "a nice time to be thinking
of marrying and feathering his
nestl' we remarked to each other,
''just when the pillars of the social
edifice are giving way and we are
doing our best to pull them down in
order to build up something better"
But Kaffsky always was a selfish,
cold, concelted dog
When the name of his future bride
was mentioned, those among us who
knew her We're staggered a bit. Anna
Pavlovna Smirnova was not a Venus
but if she had much less beauty than
her photograph-wh is common
failing of women-she had a good
deal more wit, which is not by any
means so common. Although appar-
emily young enough to be Lis daug,
Ter, Anna Pavlovna was kaffsky' s
senior by Ave or six years. and 10
make matters still mole mixed she
was red Radical ut heart Former
iy her democratic vlows had got her
into hot water with tie authorities,
and it was not without considerable
difficulty that she had obtained her
present position 10 teacher of girls
gymnasy, which enabled her to live
IN mouest competency with her Wld-
owed mother. What bewitched Kaff-
sky in her or what attracted her to
him was a dark mystery to us who
knew them both.
Nor was it the only mystery about
10 man. The police, we knew, had
twice or thrice made elaborate in
quiries about him; had noted his
comings in and goings out and had
set watch upon his actions. Pla
toff, when arrested a few weeks ago
CHANGED to have Kaffsky's card in
his pocket and was subjected to g
hong secret cross examination about
his dealings with him.
We burst out laughing when told
Of this. 1.-THE secret police people
must be off their heads altogether,
said AleXeieff. las well sllsDect tht