I:
B y N ICHO LAI GOGOL
O n oould bay recognised this
: village of our a llftl over .100
' no a hamlet It waa,
the Poorest kind of hamlet
Half ' doson miserable ixbaa,, - badly
thatched wer. gestured her and there
over tha Held. -Ther waa not an n
' cloaura or a decant ahed to ahaltar anl
' ., mala or wagons. , That waa tha war tha
wealthy Uvad; and It yu bad lookad lor
, - our. brother, tha poor why. a hole- In
".. the ground that waa cabin fdf you)
, -Only by tha ainoke oould yon tall that a
God-created man lived there. . You ask
why. they lived ao. It waa not entirely.
through poverty; almoat every one led a
wandering. Coaaack life, and gathered
-'not a little plunder in foreign landa; it
waa rather becauae ihere waa no reaaon
'.' for aattlng up; a well-ordered wooden
. house. How many people were wander
. ing ail over the country v;runeans,
Poles. Llthuanlana! It was-qults poe
' albla that their own countryman might
make a daaoent and plunder everything.
Anything waa possible. :- r
, In this hamlet a man,- or rather a
-devil a .human form, often made bis ap
. pearance. Why ha, came, and whence,
- no one knew. He prowled about, got
' drunk, and auddenly dlaappaarad as.. If
Into the air, and thera waa no hin of
i hi a existence. -Then, again, behold, be
, aeemed to have dropped from the say,
'.; and went flying about tha a treat a ot the
... village, of which no trace now remains.
, and which waa no - mora than 100 paeea
f rom . Dlkanka. - Ha would collect -to
gether all the . Coeaeoke be met; then
t-. thera were songs, laughter, money la
abundance and vodka flowed like water.
Ha would addreas tha pretty girls, give
- them ribbon, earring, atrlnga of beada
- more than they knew what to do with.
', It la ' true that tha pretty glrla rather
;. heaiutad aJbout accepting his preeents.
Ood know. perhaps they had paaaed
through unclean ...hands. My- grand
!' father' a aunt who kept a tavern at that
time, In which Baaavrluk often had his
, carouses, aald that no consideration on
. tha face ot tha earth would have Induced
her to accept 'a gift from him. And
; then, aaaln. bow avoid accepting T
Fear eised'evsry one whan he knit
hi brlatly brown, and gave. a' sidelong
- glanoa which might send your feet, Ood
- knows whither; but if you accept, then
- the nest night soma flend from the
- swamp, with horns on his head, comes to
' call, and begins to squeese your neck.
- when there Js a string or oaaas upon u
or bite , your linger. If there Is a ring
' upon it; or drag you by tha hair. If rib
- bona are braided In it ooa nave mercy.
" then, on those who' owned such -gift!
' But here waa tha difficulty; .t was Im
poaalble to get rid ot them; If you threw
' them into the water, the diabolical ring
" or necklace would aklm along the sur-
face, and Into your hand. -
, Thera was a church In the pillage
St.- Pantelel. if I remember rightly.
- There lived there a priest. Father Atha-
naall of bleaaed memory. Observing
.' that Baaavrluk did not coma to church,
- even on faster, ha determined to re-
prove hlitf. and impose penance upon
-s him. i Well, ha hardly eacaped-wlth hie
life. -'"Hark ye. air!" he thundered In
;' reply, "learn to mind your own bualneaa
.. Instead of meddllnr la other people's.
If you don't wsnt that aroat'a throat ef
' yours stuck together with boiling sweet
rice." What waa to be dona with this
, unrepentant-., man? . -Father Athanastl
contented hlmaelf with announcing that
anyone who should make the acquaint-
'i a nee of Baaavrluk would be counted not
a Catholic, an enemy of Christ s churoo,
not a member of. the human -race. -
In -thla village there) was at Coaaack
named Koran, who had a laborer whom
neoDle " called Peter - the Orphan par
hapa becauae no -one remembered either
his father or mother, me cnurcn axar
oaf It is true, aald that they had tiled
of the peat in bis second year; nut my
'grandfather's aunt would not hear to
that, and tried with aa ner migni to
furnlahrhtm with parents, although poor
Peter needed them about aa milch as we
' need laat year's enow.. She said that
- Walfatberhad been. Zanorosba. tepten
prisoner by -the Turks, underwent bod
only knows what tortures, and having,
,- by some miracle, dlagulaed himself aa
a eunuch, bad made his escape.- Little
cared -the black-browed youths and
maidens about bis parents, -They merely
. remarked that. If he only had a) new
coat, a red Bash, a black lambskin cap.
with a dandified blue crown on his bead,
a Turkish saber banging by his aide, a
whip In ana hand and a pine with hand-
. some mduntlnsu in tha other, be would
surpass all the- young men. But the
' pity was that the only thing poor Peter
bad was a gray svitka with more boles
In it than there are gold pieces In a
v Jew's Jacket. - V; -'' - -, '"
. And that was not th worst of It, 1ut
thla i that Korsh bad a daughter, such
a beauty aa I think you can hardly
bava chanced to see. My deceased
grandfather's aunt used to say and you
know that It is easier for a woman to
kiss tha Evil One than to call anybody
a beauty, without malice be It aald
that this Coaaack Maiden's cheeks were
as plump and fresh aa the plnkeat oooov
when Juat bathed In God's dew: and.
glowing. It unfolda Its petals and co
quets with th rising "sun: that ber
brows were like black cords, such as our
maidens buy nowadays, for. their crosses
and ducats, of th Moscow peddlers who
visit the villages with their baskets
and evenly arched as though peeptmt
Into her clear ayes; that her- little
mouth, at alght of which the youths
' amscked their lips, seemed mad to emit
the aonga of nightingales; that bar hair,
black as tha raven's wing, and soft a
young flax,' fell In curia over her waist, j
Eh! may I never Inton another alle
luia In the choir If I would not have
klaaed ber, In spite of the gray which i
ISy m. w. Oaaflsld, Been Xxsewt, V.
- Separwaent ef Ag-rloultur.) "
EXAMINATION of th . conditions
- thafvexlat In Multnomah county
affecting th .' propect for
. .... . . . ,
ouiiaing gooa rosas, s.v7f
m to" offer som suggestions to th
people, based on somewhat extended ob
servation and considerable experience.
I have It la mind to present som funda
mental fact that will bear on th situa
tion hre in this, county, and. Indeed,
are applicable to most of th count!
f Oregon.' -.- - - ' - . a ; v
- Th us of prisons or bom pise ef
confinement ' to punish' thoe who break
tie laws of'thelr country, state or mu
nicipality have been In vogu from time
immemorial, and for-th protection and
welfare of tha people neceaaarily must
continue to exist The people today ar
seeing this matter brought to a acienc.
The system that permitted th Innocent
end guilty silks to b entombed In dark
and dreary dungeona la now only a tra
dition of an age that ha paaaed away
never to be resurrected. The grueeome
Bastlle, dread instrument of absolutism,
o'umbled befor th fury of an aroused
V'. "
Is making Ha way all through the old
wool which .covers my pate, and my old
woman beside roe like a . thorn In, my
side! , Well, you know what happen
when - young men and - maids live side
by side. In the twilight the heels of rert
boots were always visible In the plaoa
where Pidorka chatted with her Petrua
But Korah would never have suspected
anything out of tha way; only on day-
it la evident that none but the evil on
oould have Inspired him Petrua took
it Into bla head to klas th -Coaaack
maiden's roey lips with all - his - heart
In the passage.' without ' first looking
wall about him; and that aama evil one
may the son of a dog dream of the
holy cross caused - the old . graybeard
like a fool to open 'the eettage door at
the aama moment. Korsh waa petrified,
dropped , hta Jaw, and clutched at the
door for support. Thoe unlucky klaaea
had cempletely . atunned him. It sur
prised him' more than tha blow of a
peatla on the wall,' with which. In our
days, the mushlk generally drives out
his Intoxication 'for lack of , fuses and
powder. t iA, y - ',,:'' s--'
Beeoverlng'Wmaelf.'TIi took hie
grandfather' a hunting - whip, from - the
wall, and was about to belabor Peter's
back with it. when Pldorka's little sis-year-old
brother Ira rushed tip from
somewhere or other, and.- grasping his
fathefe Jega with his -little hands,
screamed out, "Paddy, daddy) don't beat
Petrua!" ."' " -. .'..,.':,...-;.--'
What was . to b 'don. A father's
heart is . not made of atone. Hanging
the whip again upon, the wall, be led
him quietly from tha house. - 'If you
ever show yourself In my 'cottage again,
or even under the windows, look out.
Petro! ' By heaven, . your black - mua
tache will disappear; and your -black
locka, though wound twice about your
ears,, will take leave jot your pete,, or
my name la not Terentiy Korsh.". Bo
saying, he gar him a little taste of his
flat In the nape of the neck, so that all
grew dark before Petrns, and be flew
headlong.' Bo there' waa aa end of their
klaalng. ;. - - -';,
Borrow seised upon- our doves; and a
rumor was rife. In the village that a
certain Pole, all embroidered with gold,
with mustaches, saber, spurs, and pock
ets jingling like the belle of the beg
with which our sacristan Taraa goea
through the church every day, had be
gun to frequent -Korsh a house. Now.
it Is well known why the father Is vis
ited when there Is a " black-browed
daughter about. Bo on day Pidorka
buret into tears and clutched the band
of her Iras. ' "Iras, my -dear. Ivas, my
love, fly to Petrua. my child of gold
Ilk an arrow-front a bow, TelUlm-alL
I would bar loved his irown eyes. I
would have kissed bis. Whit face.' but
my fat decrees not so. Hot than one
towel -have I wet with- my burning
tears. ' I am sad. I am heavy at heart.
And my father In my enemy., X will
not marry that Pole,-whom I . do not
love. 'Tell him they are preparing a
wedding, . but there will be no music
at our wedding: eecleslsstles will sing
Instead of pies and kobsaa. -1 ahalt not
dance with my - bridegroom: - they will
carry me out; Dark, dark, will 1m my
dwelling of maple wood; and. Instead
of chimneys, a eroes will stand upon
the roof." .5 - - - - , n
Petre stood petrified, without moving
from the spot, when the Innocent child
lisped out Pldorka's words to blm. "And
unhappy man.' thought rogo to the
Crimea and Turkey, win gold and return
to thee, my beauty! But It may sot be.
The evil eye ha seen us.: Z will bava
a wedding. The black crew will. caw.
Instead of tha nop. ver met the smooth
Held will be my dwelling: the dark blue
clouds, my roof -tree. - The eagle rwtlt
caw out my brown aye th rain will
wash - th Cossack s . bones, and in
whirlwinds will dry them. . But what
am IT Of whom.- to whom, am I com
plaining 'TIS plain. Ood willed It so.
If J am to toe lost, then SO be It!" and
be -want straight to ths tavern. .
My late grandfather aunt was some
what surprised on seeing Petrua la tha
tavern, and at an hour when good mm
go to morning maaa; and she stared at
him as though In a' dream, when be de
manded a lug of brandy, about balf a
Dillful. But tha poor fellow tried In
vain to drown his woe. . The vodka
stung his tongue like nettlee, and tasted
more bitter than wormwood. . ...... j
.4 .'S. K. .
1 i
people, and. In Its ruin waa buried a
system that has n kinship with th
age that Is seeking to apply the prin
ciples of Justlc and humanity to th
solution of ths prison problem. '
t That " w"fiir fsr short of a aatls-
faetory solution cannot be denied, but
that -we ar, step -by step, working out
this great problem Is evident t all stu
dents of prison science. . , ; -
There are certain principles er factors
that must b observed In . working out
fthl ' great problem of , convict labor.
They are: first that society should be
protected by reforming th criminal, or
by taking away his power to Injur so
ciety by keeping him confined: eecond.
thst . punishment . should - be sever
enough to serve the purpose of deterring
ether from th com mission of crime;
third, that habita of Industry and so
briety should be Inoculated In th crim
inal, with th view thst h may reform
and. become Industrious and self-sup
porting; fourth, that th burden of coat
t th state, - county or municipality '
should, b lightened aa far as can b '
. Drawing from th London Illustrated News how bow the; Russian
The upper left band panel thowa
occupied by another family.-1 The
municipal lodging house, -for sleep!
Ing from one bowl In soup house,
."Tou have sorrowed ' enough, Coa
eack.7 growled a base vole behind him.
He looked round Baaavrhikl . Ugh,
what a face Hla hair waa Ilka a brush,
bla ayes Ilk those of a bull. : 1 know
what you lack; here It Is." s Then be
Jingled a leather purs which hung from
bis girdle, and smlled'dtabollcaJly. Pe
tro ahuddered. T,. J ' ' , "'. ' .
: "He. be, be! yes, bow it ahlriea!-.- he
roared. . shaking out . duoats into ' hla
hand; "he, be. ht and boar It JlnglesT
And I only ask ens thing -for a. whole
pile of such shlnera" ' .t i, "
"It la th Evil One!" exclaimed P
tro. - "Olv them her! ' I'm ready for
anything!". They struck hsnds upon it
"Be here,- Petro, you are rip Juat In
time; tomorrow I Bt John th Bap
tlst'a day. Only, on this one. night la
th year -does the fern blossom. Delay
not I will await the at midnight th
th Bears ravine.- - - y-:
I do not believe that ' chickens await
th hour whan- th woman brings thalr
corn with as much- anxiety as Petrua
awaited . tha avnlng. And. In fact ha
lookad to. aw whether the shadows of
tha trees - war not lengthening. If th
sun were not turning red toward jaet-thumnd-thalongerTh
watched., tha
more Impatient he grew. - How long It
wast Evidently, God's day bad lost Its
end somewhar. - : r .-. - - '
And now th sun la gone.- The sky
la red only on . one side, and It la al
ready growing dark. It grows colder In
th fields, v It gets duaky and more
dueky, and at last quit dark. At last!
With, heart slmost bursting from bis
bosom, he set out on tils -way.' and cau
tiously descended through the dens
wood Into the deep hollow called the
Bears ravin. - Baaavrluk was already
waiting there. It was so dark that you
could not see a yard befor you. Hand
In band they penetrated the thla marsh,
clinging to th luxuriant thorn busbea,
and stumbling at almost every step. At
last they reached aa open spot Petro
looked about him; h bad never chanced
to 00m there befor. - Her Baaavrluk
baited. A ' - i - ::-'.-,
"Do you aee before you three hlllockat
Thar ar a great many sorts of flow
ers upon them. But may som power
keep you from plucking vn on of
thenv But aa soon as tno fern blossoms,
eels It and look not round, no matter
wbat may seam to b going n behind
thee." v.yM.. -,r'. . ..-:,-:-
Petro wanted 1 ksk end. behold, he
was no longer there! He approached
the three hillocks whr were the
flowera? H aaw nothing.- Th wild
steppe-grass darkled around and atifled
everything In Ita luvurianc. But th
lightning flashed: and befor him stood
a whole bed of flowers, all wonderful,
all strange; and there were also th slm
pi fronds of fern. Petro doubted bis
don by compelling the prisoner to pro-
duo by his labor sufficient to com pen
sat for ot ot maintenance. . That th
convict shouldwork sad that such work
should b productive, as far as practical,
ha hmgstne -hn"dtrmlnd and
legislation In on form or another with
this end In view la now almost universal.
The practlo of leasing th convict to
contractors for apeclfled sum has been
denounced aa being open to th worst of
abuses, becauae under It th atate hag ho
ear f th convicts and shirks th r
aponelblllty. leaving th temptation Ot
excessive' gain on tha part of the con
tractor unchecked. Th contract systam,
by which th labor of th convict 1
awarded to th highest bidder, has been
moat . severely condemned by th New
Tork state commission of prison In
thalr report for lltl. Th plan prloe
system Is als condemned. a In all these
caaea the-prlc paid la barely aufflcleht
to par cost of maintenance of th eon
vlct leaving ' sll profits to go to, th
contractor and the good coming In di
rect competition with free and hont la
bor, and to meet this unjust competi
sA 'MAY cT
half a room, the home of a worUnepnanV 'JamUy. "The other half 1
upper right hand picture showa bos alalia rented by the month in the
?ing quarters. The picture at the bottom shows a grpup of workmen et-
senses and 4 stood thoughtfully, before
them with both hands upon his sides. ,
- "Now is th time,' thought Petro, and
extended hla hand. He sees hundreds
of Shaggy hsnds reach from behind blm,
also for th flower; and there Is a run
,nlnr about from place to- place. In' the
rear. . He half shut his eyes. . plucked
sharply at ths stalk, and tha flower re
mained In hla hand.. All became still.
Upon a atump apt Baaavrluk, all blue
like a eorpaa, It moved not so much aa
a 'fmger.- "Hla eyes wer Immovably
nxea on eometning visible to him slone.
His mouth waa half open and speech
lass. All about nothing stirred. Ugh
It .wee horrible! - But then a-jehlatle
was beard, which mad- Petro' -heart
grow cold within- him; and It seemed to
him that tha graae whlapered, and the
flow re began to talk among themaalves
in delicate voices. Ilk little allver bells;
th trees rustled In waving cntotlon;
Basavrluk's face suddenly became-full
of life and Jils aye sparkled. . -"Th
witch has Just -returned," he muttered
between hie teeth. - "Be ' here. Petrol
A beauty will stand before you In a mo
ment; do- whatever ah commands. If
not you are loat forever." Then he
parted th thorn-bush with;' a knotty
atlck. and before aim, atood a tiny laba.
on cnicaen a legs, ss tney say. Baaa
vrluk sraot It with his fist and the
wall -trembled. A large hlack dog ran
out to- meet them, and with, a whine,
transforming Itself. Into - a- cat--flew
etralgbt at bla eyes. .- "Don't b angry,
don't be angry,' you old Satan!" said
Baaavrluk, employing auch word aa
would have made a good man stop bis
eara. Behold! tnatead or a cat an old
woman, with a face wrinkled Ilk a baked
apple, and all bent Into a bow; her noee
and chin war Ilk a pair ot nutcrackers.
A stunning beauty! thought Petro. and
cold chills ran down his back. ' The
witch tore the flower from bis hand,
bent ever and muttered ever it for a
long time, epiinkllng-H-wtth aorae kind
of water. Bparka flew from ber mouth.
froth appeared on her lips.
"Throw it awayr.ab said, giving It
back t Petro. - ,..'',.' - "
Petro threw It away, and wbat won
der' was thlsT Th flower did not fall
straight to ths earth, but for'a long time
twinkled like a fiery ball through the
darkness and swsm through tha air Ilka
a boat At laat It began to sink lowsr
and lower, and fell so for away that a
little star, hardly larger than a poppy-
seed, wss barely visible.
"Here," croaked th old woman. In a
dull vole, and Baaavrluk. giving blm a
aped, aald: "Dig here, Petro; ber you
will see more gold than you or Korsh
ever dreamed of." ...... v -1
, Petro apat on bis hands.' 'seised the
spade; applied his foot, snd turned 'up
th earth, a second, a third, a fourth
time. . . .... There , was - something
hard; th spade clinked and would go
no farther. .Then hla eyes began to dls-
tion the prloe of free and honest labor
Is often forced ' down far below the
point It would otherwise be. '., .- - 1
Ther can' b 'no question ef th In
justice of permitting prison labor -to
compete with fre labor , under any of
the abov kystama . . .
How ' to ' utllls this great' army . of
criminals, numbering, according te th
laat cenaua, over 71,000,. and have their
work productive and yet not com In
direct conflict with fre labor, has long
been a perplexing question. , How . to
produc th moat beneficial reaults to
th people at larg with th least dtrl
ment ta . th onvlct, naturally 'sug
gest th application of this labor upon
public works, so that no prison manu
factured article of commarc wlll.be
allowed to compete with th product of
free labor. ' Th labor should not b ap
plied to th construction of public
buildings, which would stherwls be
built by fre Isbor. ' 1 " -' , -.:
How, then, should It b applied? Th
a newer naturally suggests itself apply
It to the lmprovameat ot pubUc high
,. , .i . . . . j- ' 7- , - - -
: llveaJJI
mechanic In St. Petenburj
tlngutsh a small. Iron-bound coffer. ..He
tried to seisa It; but the cheat began to
sink into ths earth, deeper, farther, and
deeper still: snd behind him he heard a
laugh, more ilk a serpent's bias. "No,
you ahall not aee th gold until you pro
cur human blood," said the witch, and
led up to him a child of t. covered with
a whit sheet Indicating by a sign that
hs was to cut off bis head. '
- Petro was stunnetr. A trifle. Indeed,
to cut off a man's, or eyen .an Innocent
child's head for no reaaon whatever! In
wrath, he tore off the aheet -enveloping
hla head, and behold! befor him stood
I veal , And th poor child ' crossed' his
little handa. .and hung his heed. -
Petro flew upon the witch with th knife
Ilk a madman, and was 09 th point f
laying- nmnaa on ner.. . . , - t
. "What did you promts for th' girtr
.' . - v -thundered Baaavrluk; and like a
snot he wss on bis naca. The witcn
stamped her foot; a blue flame flashed
.from the earth; It Illumined It all In-
aide, and It. was as If molded of crystal;
and all that waa. within the earth became
visible, aa if In the palm of the band.
Dueati.pf eciOua- Stones Ta cheats snd
kettles, were piled in hesps beneath tha
very apot they stood on. His eyes
burned, . , . his mind grew troubled.
. . , He grasped 'the knife ltke a mad
man, and tha Innocent blood spurted Into
his eyes. Diabolical laughter resounded
on all aides. : Misshaped monsters flew
paat blm In herds. ... Air went
round his hesd. . Collecting all hia
strength, h set out to run. Everything
turned red before hint. The trees seemed
steeped In blood, and burned snd
groaned. The aky glowed and glowered.
Burning points, like lightning,
flickered befor hla eyes. Utterly ex
hausted, ha rushed Into bis miserable
novel, and fell to th ground Ilk a hog.
A. death-like sleep overpowered him.
Two dsys snd two nights did Petro
sleep, without once awakening. When
hs cam to hlmaelf. on th third day.
h lookad long at all th corner of hla
hut; -but In -vain did he endeavor to
recollect; his memory was like a misers
pocket, from' which you cannot entice a
quarter of a kopek. Stretching himself,
hs heerd something clash st his feet
He looked. - . . . two bags of gold.
Then only, ss If in a dream, he recol
lected that ha had been aeeking some
treasure, that something had frightened
him In the woods. . . . But at wbat
price b had obtained It, and how, he
could by no mean understand. ' ... -
Korsh ssw th sacks snd wss molli
fied. "Such a Petrua, quite unheard of!
Tee, and did I not love him? Was he
not to m as my own sonT And tha old
fellow carried on his fiction until it re
duced him to tears. Pidorka began- to
tell him how some pssslng gypsies had
atolea Ivas;' but Petro could not even
recall him to such a degree had the
devil's , influence darkened als mind!
way, th property ot. th people, used
by, th people and for the benefit of
th people, th natural avenues of com.
merce, as nlns tenths of ' th product
of th world must first be transported
over tha public highways. . ,
Statietlce show that ; where It .' haa
been tried, th coat of Improved road
construction la about on half that" of
fre labor. Th objection I ralaed that
thla plsn offers too many opportunities,
for escape. Profeaaor X A. Hohmea, la
an article . on , "Road Building With
Convict Labor.", atatea that th annual
cap of eonvlcts la lee than two -per
cent; In fact, leas than from our Jalla.
Many excellent roads have been byllt
by convict labor at a minimum of cost
thu proving th feasibility snd econ
omy of th plan. ; It gives th convict
a healthy employment la tha open air,
Instead of shutting him up In a stuffy,
dusty, dlaeaae breeding shop. - It also
encourages the .budding ef- Improved
roada throughont th land, la a direct
benefit to th state and a saving to th
taxpayers.- -.'t v. -
There 'wss no reason for delay- - Th
Pol waa dismissed, and the wedding
feaat prepared: rolla ware baked, towel
and bandkercblefa embroidered; th
young people wer seated at table; th
wedding-loar waa cut; bandurse, cym
bals, kobsl, sounded, and pleasure was
rif. ... .'.-. .,. V !;A..-. - V'V:
A wedding In the olden time was not
like ne of the present day. My grand
father's aunt used to tell what doings!
how the e maidene in featlv head
dresses of yellow, blue and pink ribbons.
above which they bound gold braid; in
thin chemisettes embroidered on all tha
seams with red silk, and strewn with
tiny stiver flowers; In morocco shoes, with
high Iron heels danftd th gorlltsa -as
swimmingly ss peacocks, and aa wildly
aa tha whirlwind;, how the youths with
their ship-shaped cape upon thalr heada.
the crowns of gold brocade, with a little
slit . st the nape, where th hair-net
peeped through, and two horns projecting.
one- In front and another behind, of the
very finest black lambskin; In huntushas
of the finest blue silk with red borders-
stepped the gopak; how tha lads in tall
Cossack caps and light cloth svltkas girt
with sliver-embroidered belts, their short
pipes in then- teeth skipped befor them
and talked nonsense. .Even Korsh could
not contain hlmaelf, as he' gased at the
young people, from getting gay In his
old agev Bandura In band, alternately
puffing at hla pip and singing, a brandy
glass upon his bead, th graybeard be
gan tha national dance amid loud ehouta
from the- merrymakers.:. What will not
people devise In merry mood I They even
began to disguise their faces. They did
not, look like human beings. ,
Pidorka and Petrua began to llvs Ilk
s gentleman and lady. There was plenty
of everything, and everything waa hand
some. . , .' But . honest people shook
their heada ' when they looked at their
way ot living. "From the Devil no good
can - com," they unanlmoualy agreed.
"Whence, except from the tempter of
orthodox 'people, cam'. this wealthf
Where else could be get such a .lot of
gold? ' Why, on the very day that he got
rich,' did Baaavrluk . vanish aa If Into
thin air?" Say, If you can, that people
Imagine things! in fact a mpntn naa
not paaaed. and no one would have recog
nised Petrua. - Why. what had happened
to blm? vOod mows. H slats In' en
spot and says no word to sny one; be
thinks continually, and seems to be try-
Ing to recall something. ; When Pidorka
succeed In getting"' hlnr to speak , b
seems to forget , himself, "carries on a
conversation, and even grows cheerful
but If he Inadvertently glances at the
aacka, "Stop I Stop! I have forgotten,"
be cries; and again plunge Into reverie,
and again strives' to recall' eomeiMng.
Sometimes when be haa sat lonf In a
place It seems to blm as though It were
coming, Just coming back to mind, . .
and again all fades away. It seams as If
hs Is sitting In the tavern; they bring
blm vodka; .vodka stings him: vodka is
repulsive to htm. Some on comes along
and strikes him on the shoulder; . . ,
but beyond - that everything- is - veiled
in-darknees before blm. The perspiration
streama down bla face, and he sits ex-
hauated In th same place.
What did not Pidorka do? Sh consulted
the sorceress; snd they poured out fear,
and brewed potions but sll to no avail.
And ' so tha summer psased. Many a
Cossack -had mowed and reaped: many a
Cossack."' mora enterprising than the rest
had set off upon an expedition. Flock
of ducks war already crowding our
marshes, but thara waa not even a hint
of Improvement " , - .. . .-
It was red upon th steppes. . Rick
of grain. Ilka Coaaacka' cap, dotted th
field here and there. On the highway
war to be encountered wagon loaded
with brushwood and logs. Th ground
had become more solid, and in places
wss touched with ' frost. Already bsd
th anew begun to besprinkle th aky,
and the branches of the trees were cov
ered with rime like rabbit akin.
At laat the snow becan to. melt and
th ic rind sunned awav: but Petro
remained th same; and. th longer It
went on, the mora morose be grew. He
eat. in the middle of th cot tare as
though nailed to ths spot with the sack
of gold at his feet. He grew ahy, bla
hair grew long, h became terrible; and
atill he thought ot but on thing, still
he tried to recall something, snd got
sngry and ill-tempered because, he could
Multnomah county has a chanc to ex
emplify this syatem and set an example
before th country, Mpectally th state
of ths Pacific northwest by utilising her
county, convicts and taking advantage
of her great natural reeourcea an
abuadance of th finest road material.
Nature hss don her shar In giving you
som of th grandest aoenle drive west
of th Rockies. Why not do your part
and Improve them, make them a thing of
beauty, aad pleasure, . ss wall aa of
uUlrtyt ' - j--,1'- ,.".-; ' -.- '
.-.What can be snor entrancing than to
drive over a' beautiful boulevard, "with
mountains towering abov you a n
side and en th other a beautiful river
reaching away- to th saa, a grand ave
nue of . commerce, with vessels laden
with th products of your factor! and
mills, steaming away to th porta of
dlatant lands; In th dlstaac th grand
ummlta of your moantaln'peaka rapped
In verlaatlng snow, making a picture
never to be forgotten? . Al wattor. ef
travel have r -y r' ' -oluatloa
' "
not recall Itv ; Often, rising wildly fix
his seat h gesticulates violently, fir ;
hla. yes on Something as though '
slreua of catching It; his lips mevq'aa
though desirous f uttering som long- -forgotten
word and remain apeachleea.
Fury takes possession of him; b gnaws
and bites bis handa like a man halt
crasy. and In hla vexation, tear out hie
hair by th handful, until calming down, y
he fall Into forgetfulness. as It were, .
and again begina to recall, and la again '
seised with fury snd freeh torture. .
. . -. What visitation of Ood 1 this!
i Pidorka was neither dead nor alive.
At first it waa horrible to her to remain
alone In the cottage; but in course of .
time, th poor, woman grew accustomed
to bar .Borrow. - But it waa Impoaalbl
to recognise th Pidorka of former day. -No'
blush,, no smile; she ' wss thin and
worn with grief, snd had wept her
bright eyea swsy. Once, some on wh
evidently took pity on her, advised her '
t go to the witch who dwelt In th
Bear ravine, and enjoyed tha reputa. '
lion of being able to cur every dlaeaae :
In tha; world.. -', "-' .-;v'v, :,. -'.
She ' determined td 1 try , thla las
remedy;- word by word -she. persuaded '
th old woman to coma to her.. Thla .
waa St John's eve, ss It chanced.-; Petro; .
lay insensible on th bench, and did .
net observe th new-cower. Littl ay
little he ; roae, and looked about him.
Suddenly he trembled In every limb, as .
though h wer on th ; scaffold; hla
hair rose upon hi head. ,'.,... and her '
laughed auch a laugh aa pierced Pldoka a
heart with fear. "I have remembered,
remembered!" be cried In terrible Joy;
and, swinging; a hatchet round his head. .
h flung It at th old woman with all1
his might The hatchet penetrated th'
oaken door three Inchea,
Th old woman disappeared, and ev
child of sawn in a white blouee, wil1
covered head, atood In th middle of the
cottar. - . . . Th aheet flew off.)
"Ivas!- crld Pidorka, and ran to him;l
but tha apparition became eovered from;
head to foot with blood, and illumined'
th whole room with rd light. ... ,f
Sh ran Into tha passage In her terror.!
but on recovering herself a llttle.j.
wlehed to- help him; In vain! th door;
had alammed to behind her so securely
that aha could hot open It
. People ran up and began t knock;'
they brok In th door, aa though, ther
waa but on mind among them. Th'
whole cottage .was full of smoke; snd
Just (n ths middle, where Petrus had
atood. was a heap of sahes, from which
moke was still rising. They flung?
themselves upon the sacks; only broken
potsherds ley there Instead ef ducats.
The Cossacks stood with stsrlng ayes
and open mouth; not daring to move a
hair, a if rooted to th earth, auch,
terror did' thla wonder Inspire la them.
I do not remember What happened
next Pidorko took a vow to go upon
a pllgrlmag. collected th property left
her by her father, and in a few days It
was aa if she had never been in the pil
lage. Whither ah had gone, no en
could telL Offlclou old woman would
have dispatched her to the earn place,
whither Petr had gone; but a Coaaack:
from Kief reported that he had seen, in
a cloister, a nun withered to a mer
skeleton, who prayed- uncesalngiy; and
her fellow villagers recognised her aa
Pidorka, by all ths signs that no on
had ever beard ber utter a word; thut
she had com os foot, and bad brought'
a frame for th Ikon of Ood' mother -set
with such brilliant stones that all
wer da asled at th sight v
Butthis wag not lha end. . if . you)
pleas. - On th same day that the evil
on made way with Petrus. Baaavrluk'
appeared again;, but all fled from him.
They knew what sort of a bird h was
none else than Satan, who had aaaumedl
human form In order to unearth treas
ure; and, sine treasures do not ylAi
t unclean hands, he seduoed th young.)
Thst same rear, all deserted their rtl
utSf-and collected -la-a, village; but,!
even ther, there waa no peace on ao-'
count of tha accursed Baaavrluk. . I
Another time, th church elder him
self, whe was fond of ,an occasional prt-i
vat Interview with my grandmothers!
brandy glaaa, had not succeeded in get
ting to th bottom twice, when b beheld'
the glaaa bowing very low to him. "8a-;
tan take you. let ua make the elan ot ther
eroa over your .... And the same,
marvel happened to hia better half. 6n;
had Juat begun to mix th dough In a
huge kneading trough, . when auddenly!
the trough sprung up. "Stop, stop;
where ar you going?" Putting ita arms
akimbo, with dignity, It went skipping;,
all about th cottage.- .... Tu saay-;
laugh, but It waa no laughing matter te
ur grandfathers. .And In vain did'
Father Atbanaall go through all th
village with holy water, and chaa th
devil through all th streets with his
bruah: and ray late grandfathers aunt
long complained that a soon as It waa
dark, some one' came knocking at the)-
door, and scratching at th wall.
Well! All appears to be quiet now la
th place where our village atanda; but
It was not so very long ago my father
waa still alive that I remember how '
a good roan eould not pasa tha ruined
tavern, which' a diahoneat rao had long
managed for their own Interest. Front
th smoks blackened chimneys smok
poured out la a pillar, and rtalns high
in th sir, ss If to take aa observation,
rolled oft Ilka a cap, scattering burnlMt
coals over the steppes; and Satan sobs
so pitifully In hla lair that th startle."
ravena rose In flocks from th neighbor
Ing oak wood, aad flew through tha al
1th wUd erleavt '
tells us that th thrifty peopl of Bwlts
erland . tranaform th allver of their
mountain peek Into five franc piece
and the golden glow of their aunaet
Into napoleon. '
- Overloeked a rertaaa. '
- i From Harper Magastne. -'
Th man with whom th ' writ
bunked- a aober. induatrloua yeung fel
lowengaged In working a lease wltt
several partners. ' They aank a ehatt
110 feet In depth and "drifted" from
th bottom In thalr search for gold,
until not a penny was left la their treaa
ury. .
' Ther had discovered absolutely fiet
lag. The lease was abandoned, and a.l
war obliged to go to work for w.
Day after day they had flung their r- al
acroae a monater orsil fin e r
volcanic rock, out'"' t f.-c 1
near by. and given c
That !- of 1.'
T'-e 1e s
the e . I
OT to tM
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t i '
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