The wageworker., 1910-12-02

I w;lS tou, he'd by II. =. could not Tor
bear taking his hand. and when he
bent forward for u kiss l could not
help giving him one.
now had two lovers bet ween whom
1t WAS not easy for ille to decide. On
the one hand. there was (;raviel,ieff,
who permitted the to understand that
1t was II great .ondescenSlon on the
part Of hiS family to consent to min.
gle its blood with mine. Indeed. con-
siderfng that he came OF the oldest
stock iu Russia and | was noble, only
on my mothers side the match would
be very advantageous to me On the
other hand was my hoy soldier. WHO
was 40 anxious to honor me that be
apologized for returning. alive after
having sent me as u mark OF his de-
votion the bullet that was supposed to
have killed him. Never was Il woman
called upon to decide bet tween such
extremes.
And while I was undecided. or. rath
er. while ! was unable 10 burt III.
young lover by turning him away fot
the man ii seemed best for me to mar
ry. my position was II delicate one
When the count learned that paui
Nevinsky was his rival he was yer,
much aStoniAhed. Paul had no for
tune. was Il comnnner and wt$ III
years and appearance Il mere boy.
That such Il man should presume to
compete with him for the favor ct
any woman was u great blow to Ora
vienieff's vanity. That | should cuu
slider I'aul at all In competition With
q nObienlan ut his rank and wealti,
somewhat diminished the counts good
opinion OF the. | believe that on this
account. had he not ht,pn too proud I"
give in to such all inferior person. he
would have withdrawn his proposal
for my hand.
Az for Paul. when he frs; learned
that he had rival III Count t;ra-
vienieff all hope deserted him. II
would not truly love you he said.
should Insist upon your hest"wing
yourself on me when Il l",sition so
much more exalted than l could give
you is in store for you
could not but contrast the self CON
iidence of the count with the. ilnMleSty
of the little general. Nevertheless
was not SO affected by this difference
between the two men as by the fact
that the one considered himself too
good for me. while the other cared
only for the honors he had won that
he might lay them at my feet.
One evening my TWO lovers happen
ed to call upon me at the same hour.
As soon as the count saw the general
his brow darkened. introduced
them The count bowed stiftiy. The
general returned the salute with more
aniahiity than might haye been ex-
pected under the circumstances. The
counts fOrl,earance with me for keep
ing him so long in doubt broke down.
II cannot consent" tie said haughti-
ly, ITO he placed in rivalry with one
who though he has distinguished him.
self ON the field of battle. belongs to
an entirely different class from my
own I have offered you my heart and
hand. 1t remains for you t" decide
whether you prefer to be the wife of
Il noble or the wife Of Il comlnOner.
II General EevinSky can bpStow upon
you what am able to bestow | will
resign you for your own good. 1t not
let him cease to come between you
and me-
Count" I said. II will no longer
keep you in ignorance of my decision
fully appreciate the substantial hon
orS you are able tO t,'st0W upon the.
General Nevinsky has already made
me one gift which | hold in greater
aStoo,,, han thx, wealth I xvnIllH Sf,, ra