The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-05-29

In the daytime ne Slept N the servants
| kitchen or joked with the cooks, and at
night. nuffled up in a great coat. Ae
| walked about the park and made noise
with his manet. After him marched two
! old dogs. Kashtanka and Vune, hanging
| their heads. Vune was especially re-
spectful and caressing, with always the
same kind expression for friends and
| strangers. But he got no credit for this,
| for behind his respectful. caressing look
| he concealed the sly cunning Of a fox.
| No dog could steal up and grab 4 per-
| sons leg as he could-sneak into an ice
| house or steal a chicken from peas
ant. He often had his mind legs kicked;
twice he was strung up, and every week
he was hogge3. Just now, surely grand
father was standing by the gates,
| squirting his eyes toward the bright red
windows of the village church. stamping
| his feet and joking with the servants.
| His watchnans mallet was tied fast to
his belt, he was claDping his hands to-
gether and shivering with cold. and
with foolish giggle he was pinching
first the maid and then the cook
Shay we not have a pinch Of Ssuff.''
he said, presenting his snuffbox 10 the
women.
They took a pinch with delight, and
beside himself. 5ubbling over with laugh
ter. He offered snuff 70 the dogs. kash-
tankt whitfield it, sneezed and walked OF
| Indignantly to one side. Vune respect
| fully RETAINED from sneezing and wag-
ged his tail. The weather was fine. The
air was still fresh and clear. The night
was dark, but the trees and the glsten-
| ing hills and the white roofs of the
nuts could be seen, and chimneys. The
! heavens were filled with glistening stars
| and the Milky Way stood out as clear
| " as IL it had been cleaned for the holi-
! day and polished Of with snow.
Vanka sighed slipped his pen in the
ink and began to write again.
Yesterday l got a flogging. The mas
| ter caught me by the hair and dragged
me into the court and beat me vecause
1 fell asleep while I was rocking the
! baby's cradle. Last week the mistress
| ordered me to clean the herring, and L
| began with the tail, and she took the
herring and poked my face with its
| head over and over again. The older ap-
| prentices make fun Of me, and they send
me to buy vodka, and make me steal
cucumbers from the master. and then
| he beats me with whatever he can find,
and I have nothing to eat at all. They
give me dry bread in the morning, and
buckTheat mush at noon, and dry bread
again in the evening. AS for tea or
cabbage soup, the master stuffs IL ali
himself. They make me sleep in the
hall. and If the baby cries I cannot
sleep, because I have to rock the cradle.
Dear grandfather, take me away from
here, back home in the country. I can't
possibly stay here. bow to the ground
before you and pray God all the time to
let me be taken away from here-or else
1 will die"
Vanka's mouth twitched: he began
rubbing his black eyes and sobbing:
Il will fix your snuff for you and I will
pray God, and If YOU don't like what
l do you can beat me as much as you
want TO. And If you think you have no
place for me. 1 will beg the overseer,
in Christ's name, to let me clean the
boots or help the shepherd. I'cannot stay
here; it IS worse than death. I wanted
to run away and walk back home, but
I have no shoes and 1 am afraid of the
frost.
Moscow is a big city, and the houses
are big, and there are no sheep and the
dogs don't bite. The children do not go
around singing Christmas carols. We are
not allowed to go and sing in the choir
and once I saw in a shop window fish
hooks all ready on the lines and for all
| kinds Of fish, but very dear and some
would hold a forty FOUNDER, and in one
I shop I saw guns like your masters, and
even one, 1 guess, would cost a hundred
rubles.
And dear grandfather, when they
| have the Christmas tree at your mas
ters please take one OF the gold hazel
nuts for me and hide It. for me in the
green trunk. Ask Miss Olga Ignatievna.
and say it IS for vanka.'
-g-L.
| looked toward the window. He thought
how every year grandfather went to the
woods to cut the Christmas tree for the
great house and Away. todS his grand
son with him. An, what q happy tmei
Grandfather grunted and groaned and
the frost cracked and groaned until even
Vanka grunted and groaned. Always be-
fore he cut down the tree grandfather
smoked a pipe and took a long pinch Of
snuff. smiling all the while at the shv-
ering Fanka, and the Christmas trees
covered with hoary frost stood silently
by and waited to see which one must
Gle. Suddenly. nobody knows from
where. a hare shot across little white
mound like IN arrow, and grandfather
| could not refrain from CRYING out:
Hold Stop. stop. you snail devilt"
After cutting dowr the tree grand
father carried II TO the great house. and
there they began 20 trim IL. Buster than
anybody Miss Olga Isnatievna, Vankz's
favorite.
While Vanka's mother was alive she
was q maid AT the great house. and Mss
Olga IgHatievns used 10 feed Nanka car
smels. and without &uy tv8ub.e tauHht
him 10 read and 70 write % count -
10 one hurGTcd and also g dance the
cUadYilie. cut when Ms Hotser died the
orphan boy was taken out 10 the serv-
ants quarters with rs grsndfatheF. and
from tsere u Moscow, 70 the bo0tnaker.
Alyochin.
come. dear grandfather continues
Varka. for CArlst's sake come and take
ne away from here. Pity ire unhappy
orphan Esre everyone beats n. and I
want swfuily soret-ins 10 eat. AID I
cannot tell xou TcE dun II i; l cry a.
ire tine. IRE ether cas- tse master beat
ne with boot last C1ul ] Eel tsV-a
nearly 5es5 NJ NE s. wasted. Z e
worse ghas DOGS As5 row I san3
greetings - Alcore ard - the ore-eyeI
George and - Ire coac111an. and eor't
give ~ hermoaicsu - anyone. ! re-
c,ain your grandson. Ivan ToukoE Dear
grandfather. coEe"
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and sli2vet t.s precious lettsT 81
rsacet1sy scoring shd dreaming -
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