The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1913-12-05

moved soul of human companion. she
was. it is sure, deeply sorry for her
husband. And pity is akin to love
The Moscovites had ali instinct of this
On the few church and ceremonial
days when the Grand Duke Serge
drove out from the kremlin the Granu
Duchess Elisabeth sat beside him, anu
they returned safe.
As the political black clouds weigh
ed down more and more threateningy
on the governor of Moscow the car
in St. Petersburg was advised to abof
ish the office. This was decided on
and one February morning Serge was
driving out in a single horse closeu
carriage to pay a final POOR prendre
congo" call on one of the successors
to part of his authority when ne
young student, kalaieff, threw me
bomb that killed master and cOach
man together. In few minutes ne
Grand Duchess, bareheaded and wrp
ped in a pelisse, darted across tue
snow and knelt by what remained ID d
blood-drenched cloak of her HUSBAND
A day later, again bareheaded, sue
walked through the snow-clad streets
at the simple funeral of the coachnah'
taking her place side by side witt Ills
peasant wife and the family of poor
people. She went to see kalafn IN
prison and begged in a simple, ftllul
way to be told why the young man
killed her husband. Kalaieff reralned
unmoved by this appeal, but be own
distress brought tears to his eyS' ne
would not ask for pardon, apough
she said to him, stretching OF ner
hands, that she herself as CnsIiah
woman pardoned him, and woul pray
for him to God.
1t is from that tragic day ut the
Grand Duchess put this world ehlho
her and fixed her whole benign 'he
consultations of religion. For many
months she lived in completeseclu'
sion. Then Trepoff, who had peeh
transferred to St. Petersburg gov
nor and had beaten down theanery
population, had himself fallenn dls'
grace and died of sheer exhaustn ana
an overweight heart. The CT aho
his family were cruising at II tlme'
and none of them, nor Of the mag
mates at the court, would reFn 70
stand by Trepoff's grave. ID car
even signified that the occasio need
not be recognized, but the irand
Duchess Elisabeth defied hk Will.
She left her retirement in 1scow,
came to St. Petersburg and endeo
every one of the elaborate',fvice
for the dead held beside Ipons
coffins and stood by while ite put
in its grave.
When she returned to MosG she
gave her mind to organizingsr re-
ligious life into system. nrst
she took the regular VOWS d nun
of poverty, chastity and obence.
Then in a large, bare houseltside
the Kremlin gates she startep the
beginnings of Convent of and
Marta. At first ten LADY il
Russian families worked I.
i-ghs.r day began ~ I in 9
with prayer. Later til %
themselves with needlew> Me
aged poor and for the SIGN hos
pitfalls, and they we're taughts dis
pensing of simple medicine Since
then the numbers in the Avent
have grown to about thirtSome
of them go out reading to thAdrid.
den; and the Grand DuchesArself
sometimes performs the duty wash
ing the dead. There are no wants
whatever in the convent. the
work is done by the aristocrS sis
tiers themselves. IN
AS Mother Superior the Eand
Duchess has four rooms. hrst
some of her followers thougthat
her complete devotion mighpPss
away as her personal sorrow wspft,
ened by time. But the travail Der
soul is leading her rather tdpre
/ complete abnegation of earthpn'
Germs. She attends all the re
: night services of the Russian o-
dox church where prayers of ir&s.
sion are said. One of the sissAof
|. the convent has mentioned to hSn'
i lily how the Mother Superio1pe
g Grand Duchess, on returning fr64e
t night service, pins an ikon over
a bed and again prays alone befoL#
d At times the life of Serge's Nv
e seems to suggest remote pel
with that other fate-crossed i'm
a woman, the Empress Elizabetef
y Austria. With both great beauld
e physical health bore them till e
,r life through years of what q q
d complete enjoyment of this
lie and then came a sudden turning1
e But with the Russian Elisabet$
,e has been marked by no failing
It. mental faculties. Women like
e, Grand Duchess Serge make
n. choice definitely and with serenF
&c sion. Even among the Moscow
as as they see her tall, graceful fig
I'D her white robe moving activeltQ
mt noiselessly among their dive
'ly there ia lust a silent look of reax