The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1902-12-18


fsaring lest everybody in the parlor
knew that a woman had embraced ana
kissed him little while before. lie
| looked on all sides uneasily, but salts
| fed that people danced and chatted as
before, he gave himself up entirely to
his new, -before-e experienced
sensation.
He now felt like dancing, talking,
running into the garden. He
forgot that he was round-shoul-
dered, colorless and tiuinteresting.
At supper Ryabovich ate and drank
mechanically everything that was
served him; and paying no attention
| to what was going on about him, en-
| deayored to explain to himself how
| the incident came about. The
| incident was of a rather mysterious
and romantic nature, but it was easy
to explain. young lady must have
made an appointment with some one
! in the dark room, she must have been
waiting there, and in her nervousness
have mistaken Ryabovich for her
| hero
"But who is she?" he asked himself,
surveying the faces of the women be-
fore him. "She is surely young, for
| old women don't make such appoint
| mentS.'
And then. she is surely intelligent,
he thought; indeed, he felt it'by the
rustic of her dress, by the perfume, by
| her voice.
He fixed his eyes on one young lady,
! with beautiful hands and shoulders,
an intelligent face and fine voice.
And as he gazed at her, he
wished her to be the one that kissed
! him.
After supper the guests, having eat
en- and drunk their fill, began to take
leave. The officers walked out into
| the garden. They were half intoN-
| Gated. lively, satisfied, but the dark
ness and the silence threw them into
rather pensive mood for awhile
| Ryabovich wondered whether the
| time would ever come when he, like
| Rabbek, would have a large house, n
| family, a garden; whether he would
| ever be in position to show marks OF
kindness to other people, to give them
| to eat and drink; to make them salts
| fed.
On reaching home, Ryabovich went
to bed Immediately. "Who is she?'
he asked himself, staring at the smoke
, stained ceiling. Beautiful feminine
hands, shoulders, eyes, dress and
| brooches hovered about before him
| in his imagination. He tried to fix his
| attention on these images, but they
seemed to wink and hop about hither
and thither. When he closed his eyes
the images disappeared altogether,
and he heard quick footsteps, the rus
Ting of a dress, the sound of kiss
and he was seized with boundless hap
piness.
Rising in the morning he felt that
last nights JOY was still throbbing in
| his heart. He glanced with delight at
the windowpanes, which were tinted
into a golden hue by the rays of the
rising sun, and listened with pleasure
! to the noise on the street.
A quarter of an hour later the bri-
| gade started off for the camps. As
they passed the generals house Rya-
,bovich looked at the windows. The
! shutters were closed. The people were
evidently sleeping yet. She who had
| kissed him last night was also sleep
ing. He pictured to himself the bed
chamber, with a wide-open window,
green branches peeping in at the win
dow. The odor of poplar, lilacs and
roses in the room, bed, n chair, the
dress which had rustled last night,
! slippers, a small watch on the table
nearby-all this he saw clearly and dis
tinctly, but the outlines of her face,
| the gentle smile-that which was most
important and eristic-escaped
his imagination. Ryaboyich cast IA
farewell glance at the village Of Mes
techko, and he suddenly became sad,
as though he were taking leave of
something very near and dear to him.
Presently he frightened up.
| "All that | dream of now and that
now seems to me impossible is in real.
ity a usual thing" thought Ryabovich
| looking at the clouds of dust before
him. 1T is a usual thing experienced
by everybody. For instance
| that general loved in his time, now he
! is married and has children. Capt
| Vakhter is also married and beloved,
| in spite of the fact that he isn't soweD
built and that the back of his neck is
| ugly and red, Salmauov is
rude, and yet had love affair which
ended in marriage. Am | not
like everybody else?"
And the thought that he was an or
dinary man like everybody else filled
him with joy and courage and hope.
| Now he pictured her boldly, giving full!
freedom to his Imagination. Mentally
| he spoke to her and caressed her, and
| pictured herself at the supper table
with his wife and children.
Soon camp life set in, and one day re
sembled another. During all this time
| Ryabovich felt and thought and be-
haved like lover, In the evening wher
! his fellow officers discussed love and