Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1913-06-27
Russian
Episode
Ia Which a Passport Plays
an Important Part
By EDWARD z. CHANDLER

mistress. Ny parents q ded Wnen
] was a little girl. aud I wal brought
up by an aunt. who had q family Of
her own and was not sorry when I be-
came independent Of her. though she
had nothing 10 do with my support.
For some years II has been considered
quite allowable for American girls Of
independent character and means to
travel abroad by themselves without
escort Acting upon this. l resolved
to see the world.
After visiting those countries in Eu
rope that are a common ground for
tourists l became curious to see Rus.
STA. | was warned to keep away from
the snowy empire on account OF the
revolutionary troubles infesting II, but
thia only heightened my desire to visit
f. / saw no reason why l should have
any trouble. l had no desire to de
pose the car and II / had would new
er have thought Of contributing my
puerile powers to that end. Before
leaving America l had received q pass.
port from the state department, and.
though / had had no occasion to use
Il in other countries, l knew that
would need It In Russia.
But before going there l resolved to
learn something OF the Russian Ian
guage. I spent n winter In Florence,
Italy, where ] found a teacher, and by
spring was enabled to v fairly
well In Russian. Had I not been thus
prepared l should not have this story
TO tell, for the story came from making
an acquaintance, and ! could not have
very well made, or at least retained,
the acquaintance without being able
to speak Russian.
After passing by train the border Of
the empire a young girl who got Into
my compartment was good enough to
answer questions l asked about st. Pc
tersburg, giving me information Al to
where l might abide. Girl tourists sci
dom go to hotels; they almost always
stop at pensions or apartments, and
the greatest drawback to their journey.
ing alone is arriving at a town not
knowing Of such a house in which to
locate.
The Russian girl told me that she
was going to st. Petersburg without a
chaperon and had been provided ahead
with apartments by friends. When she
heard that l was an American she
seemed 10 take an especial interest in
me. asking ms about my country and
how TO get there. / noticed her study
ing my features and my general ap
pearance, but why she did so l was at
a loss to know. Before we reached
the capital 1 was surprised at her pro
posing to share her apartments with
me during my stay there. Since I must
go among strangers anyway and had
become favorably impressed with her
I told her that ! would be greatly
obliged for the privilege of staying
with her, at least till I could hnd per-
manent quarters.
I found the apartments very com
Portable. I supposed they were expen
sive and questioned my friend about
the rental. She replied that she did
not know; / need give myself no con
cern about that; ! might pay her what
ever I liked. But / did not let the mat
ter drop till I had arranged the price.
and since ! saw no occasion TO hunt
for another lodging l settled myself
where / was for an indefinite stay. We
were served by a cook and a chamber
maid. There were four bedrooms,
though we needed but two. Indeed,
we were provided with every comfort.
Ny friends nRme was Catherine. Her
other name being very hard to pro
nounce l do not give It here. Like
most OF her countrymen, she was very
fair both In hair and complexion. There
was an uneasy. restless look In her
eye which did not correspond with
naturally passive features. why she
came to St. Petersburg. who were the
friends who had provided her with
these apartments. what she was doing
AZ the capital, she did not tell me. No
n ever came to see her, but I fancied
that she must go to Q others, for she
spent very little time at home. l, too.
was out a great deal. seeing what
thare was to be seer 10 the way of
sighta Indeed. the only time we met
during the day was at luncheon and at
dinner. but we usually spent our even
ingB together.
One night was awakened by an III
ness and, getting out OF bed, went to
GATHERINGS room for assistance. She
was not there. A clock was ticking on
her dresser, and l noticed that the
hands stood at half past l o'clock. The
bed had not been disturbed. wns
very much astonished. She had said
nothing about expecting to go out dur
Ing the night. and could not under
stand how ahe would do 90 without an
escort I went back TO bed and lay
there wondering. What should 1 say
70 her In the morning dbOut dnding
her ABSENT ] concluded to walt for
her to speak about Il ! lay TIL morn
ing before getting to sleep. the matter
Of the mystery I bad stumbled upon
keeping me awake far more than my
nlposs. Indeed. the former quite drove
the latter away.
Aakhalu. - sw,t - feet