The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1915-03-19
COUSIN
LISA
By DONALD CHAMBERLIN

| Shovaloff you Immediately picture Il
man with heavy beard, shocky hair
large and thick set form. In other
words. you fancy me to be a Russian
! If you were to see me you would be-
| hold rather small man with closely
cut light hair and clean shaven face
| Moreover | cannot speak word of
Russian. / can only speak English
| and American English at that, for l
was born in the United States and
till recently had never been off the
| North American continent.
| NV father was born in the province
| of Perm in eastern Russia, lying next
| to Siberia He came to America when
he was very young, married an Amer
| lean girl and died within year after
L was born.
Ny father brought a little money
with him from Russia, which he used
to profit and left my mother in COM
Portable circumstances. When l was
| twenty-five a letter came to her stat
ing that the farm which had been in
the Shovaloff family for many years
must be sold. and l was interested.
She proposed that 1 go to Russia and
look after the matter. / loved travel
and caught at the plan eagerly.
When l reached my fathers former
home | did not wonder that he had
left it. The country round about was
thinly settled, though a village had
grown up near the farm. The people
had their own customs, which had
been handed down to them through
many generations. Some of these Gus
toms were very quaint.
My father had left a brother and
sister in Russia. The brother had
died unmarried, but the sister. a wild
| Ow. still lived. She had but one child,
a daughter, who jointly with me would
inherit the farm. She was very odd
though a very pretty, little damsel
about seventeen years old. could not
talk with my aunt or my cousin be-
cause they spoke no English and l no
Russian, but we found an interpreter
who served our purpose fairly we'll.
There was no hotel in the place. and
| was obliged to set up Il dwelling Of
my own. This | did in small house
which had been vacated. middle
aged woman who spoke little Eng
lish consented to be my hOusekeeper
and do my cooking. My aunt did not
invite me to stay at her house Why
knew not.
The business that brought me to
| worry rlcvu in VuOrI~inCr itCnlf
out. and the prospect of my getting
away was not prOpitious. [ had been
in the village several weeks when one
! morning | was surprised by a visit
from my Cousin Lisa. She came in,
! all bushes and with a shrinking man
ner. My housekeeper being present.
| saw no improperly in her coming,
but nevertheless wondered at it. Not
| being able to communicate with her
more than to say good morning, | ask
ed the hOusekeeper to inquire if there
was anything | could do for my cou-
sin. \ few words passed between the
two, and the housekeeper, with some
! embarrassment | thought, said that
! there was only one thing l could do
for my cousin, but had better find it
| out for myself.
| I concluded that l had struck anoth-
| err of the strange customs of the cOun-
| try and that I might as well let it
! work itself out. Lisa assisted the
! hOuSekeeper in the work. and | went
out about the business concerning
which l had come to Russia. | did not
return till evening. expecting surely
! that my cousin had gone. What was
my surprise to find her still there
How long l asked my housekeep-
! err, lis Lisa going to stay here"
always, unless you turn her out.
Turn her OUT
! eyes. And you cannot do that unless
you are willing to suffer the resent
ment of every one hereabout.'
What does all this mean?'
| 1T means that Lisa has offered TO
marry you"
! l was thunder struck. Little by lit
lie | drew from my informer that i'll
! this region of Russia when woman
wished to marry Il man she went to
his house and remained there. await
| inc his action. If he refused her it
was considered a great insult to her
and her family. If she had male rea-
tives they were likely to avenge what
was considered slight to her and
them
While had been charmed by my
little cousin had had up to this mo-
ment no thought of marrying iler. Her
action put the idea into my head. A
marriage between US would greatly ia
! cilitate the settling of the inheritance
i'm which we were interested. She was
very lovely. very modest. and in her
quaint Russian costume she looked
very pretty If dressed as ali Ameri.
can lady L would have no reason at