New-York tribune., 1908-06-14
w,ben Sonia Was a LfffIe G;~I

,.,+ fifty years ago, II a remote part OF Rus
ss.-e stood al the edge OF great imperial
s. large manor house, with massive stone
fafe -oss-bordered terraces. hothouse oranseries
ss Garden running down 20 a beautiful lake
e..v -. this was a house OF wealth and luxury
:. formed a strange contrast to the surround
So r,--v which was wild, picturesque and DESC
Et u.ests Of prey roamed in the forest which
N,ss fol- hundreds OF miles, and in winter the
s,shes wolves even came down to the edge of
',.re where they howled mournfully The huts
- ,easan1s miserable that they scarce
Q .--ss like the homes of human beings and in
:. ~ the great houses Of the district only chill
- snd old people were 10 be found. There had
Polish revolt not long before and as the
- owners had been mostly Poles, many of them
s.5 left the country
,-sse the manor house life was as lonely as If
= ortside The family lived apart in four diff
-, r-oups and net only at dinner and even
- they did not talk, for they all had separate
..-asfs Somehow, although they were all in
..ngsnt and agreeable people. who would have
ICED one snother's society II they had known
-s another, they had never succeeded in getting
scszstniec
V-,e KrukovslIy had her apartments on the Sec
= soor with her eldest daughter AniIta She
.s rsueh younger than her husband and was
.esutt.gI accomplished and amiable. But she was
zvrv riud. and dared not interfere either in the
-,srsgeunent Of Ter house or the care Of her chill
t-sa There we're serfs in Russia in those days but
: his case the serts ruled their mistress instead
!, her ruling them. They had been in the family
lo-r before she came into it, and they resented
,4c,s interference with customs handed down
t.rourh generations Of krukovskys
General krukoVsky's study was on the ground
saor ofs tower, which formed building by itself
Esre he lived n 2 world OF his own. TO which no
ass else =ss admitted. His wife was g child TO
hin sr5--ho1Eh ~ was very fond of his children
zrl,e
q. Then they adored hirn-<at other times they
r.-e sfraid cf him.
Tie second daughter. Sonia. six years younger
tran Anuta. and her eoverness. had most of the
r-ound floor themselves. and the only son
Fets shared wing with h.s tutor
This kind of life must have been very 61u for
sTs-ybedy, except. perhaps, the general who was
ru,h older than the Others and liked solitude hut
70 one was SO lonely as Sonia. Aniuta had been
esuosted for society and had been queen Of the
ealiren's balls in the larger towns where they had
lived before General hrukovsky being relieved
.-on active service had retired 10 his estate. so
fse was dreadfully bored by country life and pined
.-- ST. Petersburg. But she at least had the So
cety Of her mother. and poor Sonia had nobody
Tie goVerness was not agreeab BILE person, and
eo.is was such strange child that Nine Kr1-
surzky Cid not understand that she was longing
70 Be loved She had not the beauty and charming
rsnnsrs that made every one love Aniuta, and she
hsi unfortunately overheard the nurse say that
r.sn she arrived her parents had been disappointed
ss,suse she vas not little boy. So she got the
is thar she was only tolerated IN the family and
rs MADE her shy. awkward, and q little disagree
stk When taken 10 the drawing room 10 be in
rsiused 70 her mothers guests. she would cling
r ks- nurses dress and look sullen that Mime
Erasuvsky would get impatient and say 10 the
rEx, Take her away, am quite ashamed OF