The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1903-01-08
The Kiss

A LII the six batteries of the N re-
n serve artillery brigade on their
way to the camps stopped to pass the
night in the village of Mestechko.
When the tumult was at it's highest,
and the officers hustled about noisely
near the cannon, man in plain clothes
appeared on horseback from behind
the church, lifting his hat, said:
'His Highness, Lieut.. Gen. Won Rab-
bek, invites the gentlemen officers
to his house for tea"
And the man on horseback raised
his hat again and disappeared behind
the church.
half an hour later the officers, 10
in number, stood at the threshold of
the generals house. They were met
by Won Robbek himself, good-looking
old man of about 60, in plain clothes.
The general shook their hands and
smiled, though it was clearly evident
on his face that he invited the officers
merely because he thought decency
required it.
When the officers entered the large
dining room, ten or IL ladies and gentle
men were already seated by the long
table, drinking tea.
".Gentlemen, there are so many of
you here that it is impossible to intro
duce you one by one!" said the general
in loud voice, trying to appear very
cheerful. Introduce yourselves, gen.
tlenen, as best you like!
The officers, some with very serious,
even stern faces, others smiling for
cedly, and all feeling rather awkward,
made bows to those in the reom and
seated themselves by the table to drink
tea.
Capt. Ryabovich, a small, round
shouldered man, in spectacles and
lynx-like sidewhiskers, felt more awk-
ward than any of his fellow-officers.
While some of his colleagues tried to
look serious, and others smiled for
cedly, his face, his lynx-like sidewhisk-
ers, and his spectacles seemed to say:
i am the most timid, the most BASH
full and colorless officer in the entire
prigade!" AT first he could not fix
his attention on any one face or OBJ
ject in the room. The faces, dresses.
the cut-glass decanters filled with
cognac, the steam rising from the
glasses of tea,-all these blended into
one huge impression, which filled
Ryabovich with confusion and with
desire to hide his head somewhere. But
little later he mastered himself, and
recovering his sight, began to observe
things.
Won Rabbek and his family were skill
iuily entertaining the officers, looking
after their glasses and their mouths,
lnqmrlng now and then, whether all
OF them were drinking, whether every
ones tea was sweet, why this one ate
no biscuits, why that one drank no
cognac. And the more Ryabovich
looked on and listened the less he liked
TINS far from sincere but well-discip-
lined family.
After tea the officers stepped into
the parlor, where they found many
young and good-looking women. The
piano began to thunder; then a sac
waltz was waited through the wide
open windows, and somehow every
Dody recalled that spring was in the
ar. All began to feel the fragrance
OF young poplar, roses, and lilacs.
which filled the room. Under the in
nuence of the music, the cognac began
70 tell on Ryabovich-he smiled and
watched the women, and it seemed To
nlm that the odor of roses, poplar and
macs came not from the garden. but
from the faces and the dresses Of the
women.
Boon dancing sets were formed
hyabovich stood near the door. among
those that did not dance. He had
never danced in h:.s life, he had never
ciasped the waist of woman. Rabo-
wen hked to see man taking strange
girl by the waist for a dance. hut he
could never imagine himself in the
position Of that man. There wa. a
time when he envied his comrades their
daring and cleverness and he suffered.
ihe knowledge that he was shy, round
sAoaldered long-waisted, with lynx-