Bisbee daily review., 1911-03-02

l lc AoulltSS s1duld hfONeNu1 SIGp- ! ped from her gondola and went into her paiazzio. Not that she lived at
 Venice; she lived nowhere very long at one time, but she was rich enough to hire palace now at Rome, now at l Florence, and when she was in Paris, Berlin or Vienna, there being no pal, aces for rent in those capitals. she would usually take some notable dwell ing. The countess had no more fixed position in society than in the matter of residence.
 Entering her drawing room, she found a man waiting for her There was nothing in his apparel to indicate mat ne had called upoa tie countess as a visitor. He was ten years her s5ur0r, but looked twenty years older than she. His hair was perfectly white. His face was furrowed and bore traces of having endured suffering His eye gave evidence of the same strain.
 You wish. to see me?'' asked the countess, scrutinizing the man as one who fears every stranger lest he come on an errand or revenge or justice. T have waited an hour for you But the afternoon being fine and your lady ship doubtless having enjoyed your trip on the Grand canal, l would not have hurried you for the world. I have been looking forward to this meeting for years. Surely minutes, even an hour or two. could not make much difference
 Il do not know you"
 That is not surprising. One doesn't retain q smooth cheek at Kara Be sides, l have been through a number af hunger strikes. Then travelling through an ice wilderness for months would not bring the same ruddy com plexiOn as being rowed by a gondOlier on the Grand canal at Venice"
 The bloom in the countess face was whitened like a rose touched by a frost She knew now whc tho man was and stood listening to him with out reply.
 You remember a little maid, the daughter of q peasant living on the estate of q nobleman in Russia? No flower in his conservatory possessed the exuberant beauty of this child just about to bud into womanhood- And she had a mind to use it, too, to what she considered the best advantage. During her early teens she captured with 1t the son of the nobleman on whose estate she lived. She married i him.
 But, his people not relishing their blood being mixed with the peasantry and being convinced that her motives were not of the pureSt, would have nothing to do with her But they paid her well to stay away from them and, her young husband discovering that her heart was as cold as the bloom in her cheek was warm. let her go. In deed, she did not ask him to go with her
 "The next he heard of his little wife was at St. Petersburg. She had more money than she had received from her husbands family, but it was not known from whence it came. A cer- tain grand duke was attentive to her. so much so that, since grand dukes marry only with royalty, her reputa- tion suffered. But she was playing a bold game She willed that her impe- rial lover should marry her. But, hay ing a husband already, this was i'm possible. It might not be impossible l if sie could get rid of her husband. cone day when out shooting he was attacked by a party of men. Having captured him, they took him to the su- ! perintendent of police, and he joined the next caravan setting out for Sibe- ria
 His wife had made failure. He was to have been executed, but the czar would not consent
 But if she might not be a grand duchess she might at least possess enormous wealth. Her imperial lover lavished millions upon her-millions that her husband. among others, was taking from the Kara mines, impelled i to work, whether able to do so or not. ! by the knout. For twenty years he helped to add to these riches that were lavished upon his wife. Then one day an opportunity occurred; he escaped from the prison and started for a land f or IreeuOul.
 And now he is here to quit once more his peasant life"
 He ceased to speak, and the countess ] stood waiting for him to continue. ! Since he did not she asked:
 And what are your intentions con corning meT
 q have no intentions concerning | you. But there is a transaction that has not appeared in the story I have ! told, and the Russian government has l intentions which will be made mani fest through the king of Italy"
 The countess caught at piece of | furniture near which she stood and swayed like a reed shaken by the ! wind
 "A generation has passed the vis- itor continued. sThe grand duke is dead, and there is & new czar of Rus | sia."
 The woman summoned voice to ask:
 When will they be here?''
 Not soon enough to occasion undue haste on your part, but too soon to enable you to leave Italy" The counfeSS walked fo . eahinet