The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-03-24

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them"
Paul shrugged his shoulders. He
rose from his seat. %lancin~ at Stein |
metz. who was looking on in silence
with his queer. hooking smile.
Il will go with you now" he said.
at is late enough already"
The starosta bowed very low, but he
said nothing.
Paul went to a cupboard and took
from il an Old fur coat, dragged at the
seams, stained about the cuffs a dull
brown-doctors know the color. Such
stains have hanged man bciore row,
for they are the marks of blood. Paul
mt on this coat He took n long, soft
silken scarf such as Russians wear in
winter, and wrapped it round his
throat, quite concealing the lower part
of his face. He crammed fur cap
down over his ears.
Come he said.
Karl SteinmetZ accompanied them
downstairs, carrying a lamp in one
hand. He closed the door behind them,
but did not lock it,
When the starOSta unceremoniously
threw open the door of the miserable
cabin belonging to Vasilli lula. Paul
gave little gasp. The foul air pouring
out of the noisome den was such that
it seemed impossible that human lungs
could assimilate it, There were at least
seven persons sleeping in the hut, Two
of them did not get up. One was dead;
the other was dying of cholera.
A heavily built man reached down
from the top of the brick stove cheap
tin paraffin lamp, which he handed to
the starosta BY the light of this Paul
came into the hut. The floor was filthy,
as may be imagined, for beasts and hui
man beings lived here together.
Paul pushed his way not unkindly
toward the corner where the two mo-
tionless forms lay half concealed by q
mass of ragged sheepskin.
Here" he said, this woman is
dead. Take her out. When will you
learn to be clean? This boy may live
with care. Bring the light closer, little
mother. SO, it is well. He will live.
Come, don't sit crying. Take all these
rags out and burn them. All of you go
out 1t is a fine night. You are better
in the cart shed than here. Here, you,
lula, go round with the starosta to his
store. He will give you clean blan-
kets."
They obeyed him blindly. lula and
one Of his daughters dragged the dead
body, which was that of very old
woman, out into the night. The staros-
the lamp was lighted, his courage hay
ing failed him. The air was foul with
the reek of smoke and filth and infec-
ton.
Eve are starving, eXcellency," Tula
said 81 can get no work. / had to sell
my horse in the winter, and l cannot
pillow my little piece of land. The gov
eminent will not help us. The prince
curse hin! docs nothing for us. He
lives in Petersburg, where he spends
all his money and has food and wine
more than he wants.
Paul turned round sharply and shook
the man Off.
get what I tell you. A great. strong
! fellow like you has no business on his
knees to any man. l will not help you
unless you help yourself. You are a
| lazy good-fOr-nothing. Get out!'
From hut to hut Paul went all
through that night on his mission Of
/ mercy, without enthusiasm, without
! high flown notions respecting mank ind,
! but with simple sense of duty that
was his. This was not the first time by
| any number that he had gone down
into his own village insisting in a
rough and ready way on cleanliness
and purity.
THE Moscow doctor" was looked up
on in Osterno and in many neighbor-
ing villages as second only to God. In
fact, many of the peasants. placed him
before their Creator. They were stu
| pid, vodka soddened, hapless men. The
Moscow doctor they could see for
themselves. He came iii, a very tangi-
bic thing of flesh and blood. built on. a
large and manly scale. He took them
| by the shoulders and bundled them out
of their own houses, kicking their bed
| ding after them. He scolded them. he
| rated them and abused them. He
| brought them food and medicine. He
| understood the diseases which from
| time to time swept over their villages.
| No cold was too intense for him to
| brave should they be in distress. He
asked no money, and he gave none.
/ But they lived on his charity, and they
! We're wise enough to know it.
,, Paul Alexis, half Russian. half Eng
fish, understood these people very
thoroughly. He took advantage OF
their ignorance, their simplicity. their
unfathomable superstition. He gov
erned rs no other could have ruled
them. by fear and kindness at once. He
mastered them by his vitality, the
wholesome strength of his nature his
influ!te superiority. He avoided the
terrible mistake of the nihilists by
| treating them as children to whom ed
ucation must be given little by little in
stead of throwing down before them
mass of dangerous knowledge which
their minds, unaccustomed to such
strong food, are incapable of digesting.
Paul was simple minded man. He
was not afraid of the Russian gov
arnmpnt Indeed he cultivated n fine