A SIBERIAN TRAGED

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2886, 13 January 1891, Page 4

A SIBERIAN TRAGED

Mme. Akdlofp was a, slender, bioivlc-haired little Parisienne, who once used to dance lightly in <•"<• ball-rooms of the ChaoipsElyaecs, and chatter gaily of the things of the Boulevard; hut she now no longer felt interest in anything Paris wad to her a vanished dream, Siberia an unehuigiug reality. Nine months out of every year of blank, mourning snows, white silence, oxtending from horizon to horizon : then a brief respite, when the fields caught (lower, and colour rushed through every valley and over every hill, and innumerable insects buzzed in the green underwood of the steppes —such is Siberia. She had married Count Ardloff, the Governor of Tobolsk, to save her father from ruin, but this child of the asphalt thrived but poorly in the desert, and her husband saw, and with fierce anger, that she eoukl not endure her present life;! saw thero was nothing in common between them but the chain of marriage by which ho held her. 11 Scratch the Russian and you will Hud the Tartar." Nothing can he more true. Primitive races can but ape the sentiments and retinements of feelings which made bearable our lives, and Count Ardloff could not pass the gulf—the impassable gulf—the gulf made by centuries of civilisation which lay between him and his wife. He could hold her to his bosom, but even then she seemed nearer to Vanca, a young Polish otlicer, than him. And yet no friendship could be purer : they were merely exiles who talked of their distant homes, their io-st friends, and their abandoned dreams. ?>ut such sentiments are little understood in Siberia, and ugly little rumors concerning 31 me. Ardloll" and young Vanca had begun to be whispered—the end of a phrase hissed slightly and a concluding smile turned" somewhat serpent wise—that was all

Count Ardloll' watched and waited us suspicious and fierce as a wild

fill. , He was a man about tifty ; las beard was strong and gray, and he stood like Hercules, .five years passed in Paris had lent him a disguise which, in his ordinary moods, perfectly enabled him to hide his Tartar character, and when she married him, the bright French

girl little thought that a few ghsses of champagne or a slight contradiction would transform the elegant gentleman on whose arm she leaned into a savage Cossack. Now a fierce gleam shot from his eves as they fell upon his wife, who, lying luck in her easy chair, sat languidly listening to Yauoa's clear voice. It mattered not to the Count what they were saying. He did not stay to consider whether they were planning an elopement or talking of the emperor, tie merely hated her for appearing to be so intimate with one of his oflieers. She belonged to him; she was his property—a property he had acquired because it had pleased him to do so. What then, did she mean by thinking of or concerning herself about anyone else I These were tho Count's thoughtsas ho took the cards that had been handed to him and shuffled them through his strong fingers. Some eight or a dozen gentleman in the uniform of the Russian Army were grouped around him, a lady sat at the piano, and couples were seated under the greenery of the exotic plants with which the recesses of the room were filled. There was not much conversation, the interest of the company being apparently centred in the Count. Every now and then someone passed across the room, and, after watching the cards for a few minutes, would cringingly murmur some words of adultation. Every phrase begin or ended with " Your excellency," and w.is rounded off with a bow. Rut the Count paid very little attention to his flatterers. When hebv.l finished de.iling. as he threw down th:-! lvv. card, he glanced again in the direction where his wife was fitting. As she listened to the young Pole, her attitude grew more and more abandoned. He spoke to her of her past life, of a lost love ; and the accents of regret with which he narrated his experiences reminded her of how she had suffered similar deceptions; of how her aspirations and glad visions had, like his perished. They spoke of those sad, eternal truths which each pair of lovers fancy they alone have discovered, but which have moved all past generations, as they will doubtloss move all those which aro coming to birth, till man's soul has ceased to bo what it is. So absorbed were Yanca and Mine Ardloll' in the contemplation of tho past, that they were only so much conscious of each other as each helped the other to realise their separate, lives. The outer world had faded from them, and in the insinuating emotion which drew them together she leaned her hands over the edge of the chair, and i olio wiugthemovement instinctively' ho took up tho glove she had laid down and played with it. At this sign of intimacy, the Count's eyes flashed vindictively, and he called to his wife, ii.ipatiently : "Marie, will you order some champagne.''' Without answering, she told, Yanca to ring the bell. Instantly rising, he complied with her request and "then, forgetting he had not returned the Countess her glove, stopped to speak to a friend. His friend tried tc warn him with a look, but, before a word could be said, the Pole had walked across the room, still twirling the fatal <dove in his fingers. ° He did this with a certain nonchalance that would have angered a better-tempered man than Count Ardloff. A grim scowl passed

across his face, and lie whispered soni"thing to an aide-de-camp, who stood near him. The officer left room. It was a terrible momeni:. full of consternation and silence ; but before the unfortunate Pole had time to realise his danger two Cossack soldiers entered the apartment. The company gave way before them, withdrawing into groups and liivs. Vanca had his back turned to them, and he still wrapped the fatal glove round and round his fingers. He stood as if lost in reverie, scanning a marble bust of the Countess. At last the .stillness of the room awoke him, and, as the Cossacks were about to seize him, he turned. Mis frightened eyes met theirs ; he started back precipitately, but, with a quiet movement, the soldiers laid hands upon him. In a low voice the aide-de-camp said : " You are arrested by order of his excellency. Dazed and bewildered, Vanca pushed the soldiers from him, and, stretching forth his hands appealed to the Count. " How is this, your Excelleney ?'' he cri-d, wildly ;'• I am guilty of nothing. There must be some mistake."

Count Ardloll' stood broad, tall and vindictive, with the light of lustre shining full on his high, bald forehead : an iron-grey beard concealed the lower part of his square face.

Yanca cried oi:c more word of appeal, and then stopped, puzzled. Mme. Ardloff arose, pale and trembling, but her husband motioned her away. The quests remained in rows, still as the 'figures of a froize. and, at a sign from the officer, with a movement of shoulders, the Gossaclcs forced the Pole from the room. The scene was very short. Immediately after, the (Wit spoke of indifferent things, and glasses of champagne were handed round. .Mine. Ardloff stared vacantly, unable to collect her thoughts ; till, suddenly seeing the glove which Vanea hid dropped, the reason of his arrest dawned upon her, and she trembled violently, and so agitated was she that alio could scarcely say good-bye to her guests. The Count, however, dismissed them rapidly, speaking all the time of the approaching summer, the number of convicts that had escaped from the mines, and the emperor. When husband and wife were

alone, the Couut picked up the glovo :md handed it to the Countess, with an ironical smile, and, without alluding- to what had happened, said that it was very Into, and advised hor to retire to her room. She obeyed without answering. She know something horrible was going to happen, and, stupefied with fear, she amounted the staircase. Ho stayed behind to give an order, and, mastering her fears, she listened. He was talking in the hall below to his aide-do-camp, and she heard him say that Yanca must be at once degraded to the ranks, and her heart beat with joy at the prospect of his escaping with so slight a punishment. Her emotion was so great that she did not catch the next phrase, when she heard her husband was telling his officer to have all in readiness, that he would be at the barracks at nine next morning. There.was something strange in this, and Jlme. Ardloff went trembling to her room- The shadows seemed livid, and the lamp burned luridly, and oppressed with the horrors of tho evening, sho sat in tho silence afraid to go to bed. Through the frozen window-panes she could see glistening the wide snows of the Siberian winter. Wearily she asked herself why sho had been condemned to live in these impassable deserts. The howl of a dog broke the stillness of the night, and it sounded in her excited mind like the last dying cry of some poor one unjustly done to death. "What was to become of Yanca '>■ Why uonld not she save him 1 Save him ! Was there need for that ?• Starting to her feet, she strove by an effort of will to rid herself of her terrors. Then, shaking with forebodings and regrets, she undressed ; but a hundred fancies assailed hor imagination and gave life to the figures on the tapestry, to the shadows on the floor, and, while, like a ghost in a tomb, she lay restless in her large, bed. Sleep tied from her, until at last she fell into a deep dreamless torpor from which, toward morning, she was awaked by a heavy tramping of feet in the corridor. A moment after her husband entered, lie was attired in the Russian military cloak, and his hand was on his sword. " Get up," he said impatiently ; " I want you to come out with me. I have ordered the sledge. " Why should I get up at this hour? "It is only just daylight, and 1 am very tired. 1 ' "lam sorry you are so tired, but I want you to come to the barracks." Remembering the order sho had heard given over night, Mme. Ardloff turned pale at the mention of the word barracks. _ Twenty times she felt an indefinite desire risiug up within her to throw herself into his arms and beg of him to bo merciful, but he looked so implacable that any interest sho might show for Yanca would only .still further prejudice his chances of escapeWrapping her long, blue-fox fur mantle around her, she told him shejjwas ready. lie looked to see ' if sho had forgotten, anything. Her ; handkerchief lay on the table, and as ho Lauded it to hor his attention 1 was attracted by a flacou dc ml ■ void I lie. "We may want this," he said, 1 and slipped it into hor pocket. '■ What do you moan ?" sho said, turning suddenly ; '< are you going to murder me?" "To murder you!" he replied, laughing cynically: "wbat nonsouse !'

And half pushing hor before him, they descended the staircase. She tried several times to resist him, but ho got her into the sledge. "To the barracks," ho cried to the coachman, as he sat down beside his wife and arranged the rugs. During tho drive neither apoko a woid. His face was clouded in a sort of sullen moodiness, and terrified she looked down the dazzliug perspectives of tho outlying streets. Tho barracks wore situated at the ond of tho eastern suburb. The horses cantered briskly, and soon a largo building appeared. It stood alone : all round stretchedtne white oxpanse of the stoppes; and the sledge passed a large gateway into the barrack-square, which had been cleared of snow.

The officer who was waiting co receive them helped the Count to descend. Mine. Ardloff was told to remain seated.

Immediately after, a trumpeter blow a call, "and a file of men marched to within a fow yards of tho sledge and formed themselves iuto a double line. •'Front rank,quick march," cried tho officer. When they had gone eight paces, he cried, " Halt!" and then gave the order, "Right about turn." Vanca was then led forth. He walked between two soldiers. He was naked to tho waist, and behind him camo the executioner. He carried in his hand a barbarous knout, and overj his shoulder daugled its seven cruel lashes.

In Eussia an officer of the army cannot bo flogged, but he can be degraded to the ranks in twentyfour hours. This is what happened in tho present case. Vanca was now a common soldier, uud was waiting to receive the fifty lashes to which he had been sentenced.

And the fashion of administering the knout in Prussia is as follows : The condemned man is forced to walk between two files of soldiers ; before, him, holding a sword pointed at his breast, is an officer, who steps backward with a slow and precise pace, which regulates the strokes which the executioner administers. So terrible are tho loaded thongs, armed at tiic end with sharp iron hooks, that at the tenth or eleventh blow oven the most robust fall faintin" to the ground. Sometimes, however, the executioner is merciful, and kills the victim outright; but more often he is forbidden to strike with his full force, and the mangled beinc is carried to a hospital and cured of his wound?; and this is repeated until he has received his full punishment. Such is Russia—and for Yanca all was now prepared; the soldiers stood in a line, the executioner twirled his lashes, only an officer to lead the way remained to be appointed. It was for Count Ardloff to do this.

He looked around: there were half-a-dozen men standing around him, any of whom might have been chosen. As he glanced from one to the other his attention was attracted by a man who from a doorway at the other end of the barrack-yard, was eagerly watching. "Who is that man?" asked the count. The man was called. It was Yanca's brother. " What are you waiting about the doorway for V "I was waiting to see if your Excellency would pardon my poor brother," replied the Pole. " Pardon your poor brother," said Count Ardloff with a bitter sneer : " I will show you how I pardon. Draw your sword and lead the way, and take care you don't walk too fast."

After one deep questioning look, which told him that the Russian meant to be obeyed, ho broke his sword across his knee, and said, as he hurled the pieces scornfully aside; "Do with me u.s you will, but I will not serve a country inhabited by barbarians and governed by fiends."

Even the Cossacks exchanged glances of sympathy, and had they known the whole truth, it was not improbable that they might have revolted. Suffice to say that for a moment Jlrae. Ardloff feared for her husband's safety. But this fierce brutality dominated his soldiers, and the elder Vanca was manacled, and a heavy guard placed over him.

The scene that then presented itsef was this : Two files of soldiers, Count Ardloff commanding, stern and implacable; one brother half naked and bleeding, the other in irons; a pale woman with agony written in her face, wrapped up in furs, and a pair of horses munching in their nose bags, unconscious of aught els 6. The officer took another step back; the seven thongs whirled in the air, and again tore into red furrows the lacerated flesh. As Vanca staggered forward, his face convulsed with pain, his eyes fixed on Mme. Ardloff, and they asked, with a terrible eloquence, " Oh, why, did you betray me V

Her arras were clasped, and in ber emotion, having lost till power of utterance, she strove to send forth her soul to tell hiiu of how innocent she was. Then another blow fell, and the blood squirted horribly, and the flesh hung ragged. It was sickening, and from sheer horror and nausea Mine. Ardloff fainted. But it was her husband's intention that she should witness, to the end, the revenge lie had so carefully prepared, and diving his hand into the pocket of her mantle, he produced the bottle of sal volatile. With this he quickly restored her to consciousness and then she heard him saying : " Awake, awake, for I wish you to see how I punish those who insuit me." Vanca had now received nine strokes. He was but a raw mass of quivering flesh. Hopeless and faintly, like one in a nightmare, Mme. Ardloff strove to speak, until at last the words long denied her rose to her

lips, but they cane too late, and, mad with pain, the tortured man, with a whirling staggering, motion, precipitated himself on to the drawn sword, and fell on to the ground a corpse.

This was unexpected. There were hurried words, and a trampling of feet, and a deep silence, but Mmo. Ardloff remembered little. The J imprecations of the elder brother hurled after her as she was driven away sounded dim and indistinct in her ears during the long days of delirium which followed this double tragedy, for on arriving home she saw her husband make out the order for Vanca's transportation to tho mercury mines. She pleaded and prayed wildly, but the Count only smiled grimly in reply to her hysterical supplications. It seemed to her that the heaven should fall to crush, that the earth should open to receive, so inhuman a monster. She raised her hands, she screamed madly, her thoughts danced before her, faded and then there was a blank ; and during several weeks for her, Time stood still. Slowly her senses returned to her j dim—through a mist, through a heavy torpor, that held her powerless and inert—they returned to her and with them came the ghastly remembrance of a terrible crime. The subject was never alluded to. The aS'uir was hushed up : but time could neither blot nor tear this cruel page out of 3lme Ardloff s life. Her only consolation was tho certitude that no pain was in store for her greater than she experienced, when, yearsafter, in a ball-room at St. Petersburg, after Count Vanca, an old man with long white hair, and a life's sorrow on his face, said to her: " Madame, I hope your children are very well."