THE BRIDE'S TRAGEDY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 214, 17 February 1915, Page 3

THE BRIDE'S TRAGEDY.

] A RUSSTAX JOAN OF ARC. The Vossisclio Zcitunn- quotes the following from an officer's letter from tli» Polish front:—"Tlero we arc in Poles' land—ahout five niilcs from tin' so-called biflli-roiifl, in a so-called villain, far from all civilisation. Tlio. inhabitants fijrht sliv of lis like beaten dnjrs or like cliililrcii. and when they want to ask anything of ns they kneel as in flio time of serfdom and want to kiss the licm 'f our coats. Tlio villa?/' consists of dilapidated lints, sucli :is v.e sliould use i'-i staldos for our horses Rain comes st: i'.ililv down, just as if the heaven* wanted to clear tlie earth of all sin. \V,. liu.il lieen advancing for fifty-four hours until we reached tins villaand liere 1 was witness of the conclusion of a pathetic love story, dust as T was opeiiin"; ilie door of the peasant house a !ion-eommjssionod officer of the Roeanient comes out to meet me with a iirinninii face. Tie had just, wilh a handful of men. partly killed and rairfiv taken prisoner* half a company of Russians. We enter throueli the low doorway into the interior of ;he hut. and mv first rests upo n a verv vouoc; l!us. sian soldier—almost a child'—who was Kleepini; upon a matrons of straw and smiliiijr i„ its dreams. V.'e come nearer. 1 ]>ut mv hand upon his forehead -coV ns ice. Tin- liov is d-ad. The men iniproiieh to take off his v ,-,. t ~I„(l„„. Tle-v "'-•'•'•'I i" a semi-circle a'-oiind him. SnddenU- there is whisp, rimr, and a horror 1 seems (~ ] mv ,. seiz.'d (hose bravo fe| lons, wlio otherwise are not afraid .1 any pev/er in ,]„, m:V :,]. One stops our I :■-.' says: "ferasc me. sir. u,,, Uuss'an soldier is a jrirl!' This is th.. wa:' of ■AH. -*s we afterwards i,,,r„t. she was the hnde of a Iln— i.n officer, aed lied lou'.;l.t wiil, !,i„, thro M ..diont the camhae.oi slh.ul.lcv -„ shoulder. ~„,( , vi;s ~t last, struck ,(,«,! !,,■ „ ],„n,,,. ;„ I|r| . lircasl. We ~|l 1,:,,.,,] nm . ,„,.,,| s ~,,., , Vl , Jiavo her a ~,!,.„,„ funeral/'