and son if her conjectures should prove to be true.
One day, in the early part of November, she received a letter from

Boris, announcing his marriage. She had barely strength and
presence of mind enough to conceal the paper in her bosom

before sinking in a swoon. By some means or other the young Prince
had succeeded in overcoming all the obstacles to such a step:

probably the favor of the Empress was courted, in order to obtain
her consent. The money he had received, he wrote, would be

sufficient to maintain them for a few months, though not in a style
befitting their rank. He was proud and happy; the Princess Helena

would be the reigning beauty of the court, when he should present
her, but he desired the sanction of his parents to the marriage,

before taking his place in society. He would write immediately to
his father, and hoped, that, if the news brought a storm, Mishka

might be on hand to divert its force, as on a former occasion.
Under the weight of this imminent secret, the Princess Martha could

neither eat nor sleep. Her body wasted to a shadow; at every noise
in the castle, she started and listened in terror, fearing that the

news had arrived.
Prince Boris, no doubt, found his courage fail him when he set

about writing the promised letter; for a fortnight elapsed before
it made its appearance. Prince Alexis received it on his return

from the chase. He read it hastily through, uttered a prolonged
roar like that of a wounded bull, and rushed into the castle. The

sound of breaking furniture, of crashing porcelain and shivered
glass, came from the state apartments: the domestics fell on their

knees and prayed; the Princess, who heard the noise and knew what
it portended, became almost insensible from fright.

One of the upper servants entered a chamber as the Prince was in
the act of demolishing a splendid malachite table, which had

escaped all his previous attacks. He was immediately greeted with
a cry of,--

"Send the Princess to me!"
"Her Highness is not able to leave her chamber," the man replied.

How it happened he could never afterwards describe but he found
himself lying in a corner of the room. When he arose, there seemed

to be a singularcavity in his mouth: his upper front teeth were
wanting.

We will not narrate what took place in the chamber of the Princess.
The nerves of the unfortunate woman had been so wrought upon by her

fears, that her husband's brutal rage, familiar to her from long
experience, now possessed a new and alarming significance. His

threats were terrible to hear; she fell into convulsions, and
before morning her tormented life was at an end.

There was now something else to think of, and the smashing of
porcelain and cracking of whips came to an end. The Archimandrite

was summoned, and preparations, both religious and secular, were
made for a funeralworthy the rank of the deceased. Thousands

flocked to Kinesma; and when the immenseprocession moved away from
the castle, although very few of the persons had ever known or

cared in the least, for the Princess Martha, all, without
exception, shed profuse tears. Yes, there was one exception,--one

bare, dry rock, rising alone out of the universal deluge,--Prince
Alexis himself, who walked behind the coffin, his eyes fixed

and his features rigid as stone. They remarked that his face was
haggard, and that the fiery tinge on his cheeks and nose had faded

into livid purple. The only sign of emotion which he gave was a
convulsive shudder, which from time to time passed over his whole

body.
Three archimandrites (abbots)and one hundred priests headed the

solemn funeralprocession from the castle to the church on the
opposite hill. There the mass for the dead was chanted, the

responses being sung by a choir of silveryboyish voices. All the
appointments were of the costliest character. Not only all those

within the church, but the thousands outside, spared not their
tears, but wept until the fountains were exhausted. Notice was

given, at the close of the services, that "baked meats" would be
furnished to the multitude, and that all beggars who came to

Kinesma would be charitably fed for the space of six weeks. Thus,
by her death, the amiable Princess Martha was enabled to dispense

more charity than had been permitted to her life.
At the funeralbanquet which followed, Prince Alexis placed the

Abbot Sergius at his right hand, and conversed with him in the most
edifying manner upon the necessity of leading a pure and godly

life. His remarks upon the duty of a Christian, upon brotherly
love, humility, and self-sacrifice, brought tears into the eyes of

the listening priests. He expressed his conviction that the
departed Princess, by the piety of her life, had attained unto

salvation,--and added, that his own life had now no further
value unless he should devote it to religious exercises.

"Can you not give me a place in your monastery?" he asked, turning
to the Abbot. "I will endow it with a gift of forty thousand

rubles, for the privilege of occupying a monk's cell."
"Pray, do not decide too hastily, Highness," the Abbot replied.

"You have yet a son."
"What!" yelled Prince Alexis, with flashing eyes, every trace of

humility and renunciation vanishing like smoke,--"what! Borka?
The infamouswretch who has ruined me, killed his mother, and

brought disgrace upon our name? Do you know that he has married a
wench of no family and without a farthing,--who would be honored,

if I should allow her to feed my hogs? Live for HIM? live for
HIM? Ah-R-R-R!"

This outbreak terminated in a sound between a snarl and a bellow.
The priests turned pale, but the Abbot devoutly remarked--

"Encompassed by sorrows, Prince, you should humblysubmit to the
will of the Lord."

"Submit to Borka?" the Prince scornfully laughed. "I know what
I'll do. There's time enough yet for a wife and another child,--

ay,--a dozen children! I can have my pick in the province; and if
I couldn't I'd sooner take Masha, the goose-girl, than leave Borka

the hope of stepping into my shoes. Beggars they shall be,--
beggars!"

What further he might have said was interrupted by the priests
rising to chant the Blajennon uspennie (blessed be the dead),--

after which, the trisna, a drink composed of mead, wine, and rum,
was emptied to the health of the departed soul. Every one stood

during this ceremony, except Prince Alexis, who fell suddenly
prostrate before the consecrated pictures, and sobbed so

passionately that the tears of the guests flowed for the third
time. There he lay until night; for whenever any one dared to

touch him, he struck out furiously" target="_blank" title="ad.狂怒地；有力地">furiously with fists and feet. Finally he
fell asleep on the floor, and the servants then bore him to his

sleeping apartment.
For several days afterward his grief continued to be so violent

that the occupants of the castle were obliged to keep out of his
way. The whip was never out of his hand, and he used it very

recklessly, not always selecting the right person. The parasitic
poor relations found their situation so uncomfortable, that they

decided, one and all, to detach themselves from the tree upon which
they fed and fattened, even at the risk of withering on a barren

soil. Night and morning the serfs prayed upon their knees, with
many tears and groans, that the Saints might send consolation, in

any form, to their desperate lord.
The Saints graciously heard and answered the prayer. Word came

that a huge bear had been seen in the forest stretching towards
Juriewetz. The sorrowing Prince pricked up his ears, threw down

his whip, and ordered a chase. Sasha, the broad-shouldered, the
cunning, the ready, the untiring companion of his master, secretly

ordered a cask of vodki to follow the crowd of hunters and
serfs. There was a steel-bright sky, a low, yellow sun, and a

brisk easterly wind from the heights of the Ural. As the crisp
snow began to crunch under the Prince's sled, his followers saw the

old expression come back to his face. With song and halloo and
blast of horns, they swept away into the forest.