Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1911-09-08

there Is some one In Russia-some
nobleman whom you love and who
loves you, but whose rank cuts you
of from him"
She sighed. but did not affirm or
deny my hypothesis. Her actions onls
confirmed me in 1t. for It filled the con,
ditions. She would be likely TO keep
such case hidden from the world for
the sake Of her lover. II not for her Own.
| returned the sigh, for / had dreaded
this very confession. My view OF the
case was further confirmed by an In
cident that occurred soon after. We
were sailing on the ocean when we
were overtaken by a sudden squall. l
lowered the sail as quickly as possible.
lea wing only Il small bit Of 1t loose for
steerage. The wind struck In from
the north and blew us southwark along
the coast. We were not only In danger
Of being tossed keel upward, but of
striking on sunken rocks. l confess !
was very much frightened. Lisa sat
as calmly as If we were swinging In
hammock.
"How brave you arew / said.
Brave! Do you call this something
TO fear? There are troubles far more
to be dreaded"
Fortunately the wind lulled as we
were passing an inlet, and. hoisting sail,
soon made smooth water and tied up
to low wooden pier.
\ lot oil a /
ped ashore.
"Why thank God?" said Lisa. Eve
don't know what to be thankful for
We don't thank him when some mis-
fortune befalls us. yet 1t may be
blessing in disguise"
why. Lisar' l exclaimed, looking at
her in surprise.
Don't mind me-" she said. smiling.
''Try and remember me as you knew
me in school, not as l am now"
She said nothing more as we walked
away toward our respective homes.
| Notwithstanding her seeming indiner-
ence | looked for some involuntary
| consciousness that she was relieved at
| our narrow escape from death in the
sea. but II she felt II she gave no sign.
Surely" said to myself. this love
must have taken strong hold of her
since she doesn't care TO have been
saved from death"
That she suffered was plain, but
how or what she suffered was mys-
terry. There were times when she did
not appear to suffer at all, when
some bright ray of hope seemed to
break In upon her and lift her out of
her dependency into whirl of mer-
rIment Once when she was in this
mood | said to her
81 know why you are happy today
You have received news of your lover.
All will yet he we'll"
watched her closely to observe the
effect of my words, but they had no
| effect. at least none that l could de-
tect. Her gay mood lasted till we
| parted. Then | saw tears.
Lisa" said. give me your conf
dence; trust me-"
81 cannot even trust myself" she
replied and ran away.
There were times when she would
| show tenderness for me. which
| could only account for on the ground
| that we were solitary companions In
| n foreign land Once when we were
walking on the beach by moonlight
she felt for my hand and held 1t In
| hers with her face averted. | tried
| to catch a glimpse Of 1t. but without
| avail till she turned and looked at me
as serenely as the moon was looking
| on the ocean.
One morning Lisa and I were walk
| ing on the beach. The wind was
northerly, and, though the sky was
| cloudless, the air was crisp. Both
| felt its invigorating influence, and sud
denly Lisa started to run. AS she did
| so she took a handkerchief either from
her belt or her bosom. l thought !
saw something white flutter away
| from her and fall on the sand, but
supposed 1t was the sunlight on the
| handkerchief She was running very
fast, and had all could do to catch
| her. When ! did so / had forgotten
to ask her If she had dropped any
| thing.
That evening the moon, which had
| waned, rose late, and concluded after
leaving Lisa to go to the rocks and
watch 1t come up out Of the water.
| 1t rose with its shrunken cheek, max
Ing a trudge of lighted wave crests
hAkx nx~I I Ann
ting still and concluded to go down
on to the beach. Indeed, missed nv
| companion and wished to bring her
nearer to me by going over the ground
where we had walked during the morn
ing. I was strolling along meditative-
ly when l saw something white on
the sand. l picked it up. 1t was a
letter. l have strong eyes and could
make out by the dim moonlight the
ADDRESS on the back. 1t was Nina
N1kalovich. The Russian name nat
urally attracted my attention. don't
know what it was that induced me
mechanically to slip the letter from its
envelope. am not used to reading
other peoples epistles. Perhaps it was
some working of the brain in advance
or logical reasoning, perhaps fate. At
any rate | did so and unfoded it. The
light was not sufficient to enable me to
read the finer writing within, except
one word that stared me in the face
my own name.
Striking a match. read the few
lines or the letter. II informed Nino
Nikalovich that during the previous
spring | had been seen in Philadel-
! phia.