Lucy Hamilton Hooper

“ When we met at breakfast this morning, George looked grave and troubled. He informed us that the friend whom he and Sacha had gone to see was dead, and then he seemed to make an effort to throw off gloomy thoughts, and to help us enjoy ourselves.
We went to the Kremlin again. A fresh, pure coating of snow had fallen during the night, and dazzled us in the sunlight. The domes of the churches within the walls took deeper, purer shades of blue, green, and gold, and the sunshine scintillated on the delicate tracery of the chains and crosses which surmounted them. ”

“ After all my efforts, I generally trust very much to luck for my back hair.
Judith made her appearance in a hideous pink wrapper, with her blond hair all twisted up into one tight knot, as if she had just stepped out of her bath.
"Dorris," she cried abruptly, putting down her candle, and closing unceremoniously the little pane in my window which I had opened to air the room, "Dorris, there are two hours before we need to start. I want you to tell me something."
There was a strange excitement in her tone, and her eyes were unusually large and bright. I looked at her in silence. ”

“ He went on calmly:—
"Have you, as she says, given Thurber a half-promise to marry him?"
"Oh!" I remonstrated, "he did not say anything about marrying. I only promised to think of an engagement."
My companion smiled rather sadly, as he looked at my flushed face.
"Engagements lead to marriage, and are just as binding," he said.
"I don't understand how you can think that."
"A woman has no right to engage herself to a man whom she does not intend to marry," George responded slowly; "and it seems to me that one ought to hold an engagement as sacred as a marriage. Don't you think so?" ”

“ Mud, moujiks, dirty snow, painted signs, poor old horses, gorgeous stucco palaces, bright-green churches, scarlet gates, walls with religious and battle pictures painted over them, shrines with burning candles, second-hand shops, brilliant passages, more churches than I can count, with gilded domes and minarets and crosses; and, most wonderful of all and above all, the Kremlin! There never was a city like it, and there never will be another.
"So this is Moscow," said Tom, when we had walked a few blocks. "I have seen enough to last me a lifetime." ”

“ Thurber to think I was in love with him! The darkness had settled down upon us; but the fire-light cast queer, flickering shadows into the corners.
"If," he continued, after a pause, "you have any lingering doubts of Thurber's fondness for you, I can lay them at rest. I know that ever since you came to Petersburg, he has been in love with you. All his friends have noticed the change in him. If you could have seen the state he was in after he left you this morning,"—he broke off suddenly.
"I begin to think," he went on presently, with an uneasy laugh, "that I have come on a Quixotic errand. ”

“ The silence which fell upon us seemed to last for hours; but in reality it could only have been a few minutes before George turned to me and said quietly,—
"You had better go now. They will miss you."
"But this is good-by," I cried brokenly, the tears falling like rain from my eyes as I lifted them imploringly to him. "Must I go away from you like this?"
He looked at me strangely for an instant; then, with an infinite tenderness, he put his arms round me and drew me to his heart. Very quietly he lifted my face to his, and kissed me twice on the lips. ”

“ I looked at his black hair, which is plentifully sprinkled with gray; at his high, white forehead; let my eyes wander down to his short, dark beard, parted, and brushed away from his chin; admired for a moment the clear red and brown of his skin; and wondered how he happened to have a straight nose, it was so different from his brother's. Then, as his cold blue eyes did not move from my face, I replied rather hesitatingly, "Judith has never made a confidant of me. I can tell you nothing about that."
"But you can judge somewhat. Is she a woman who, having given her word, would keep it?" ”

“ THERE is no possibility of denying that Judith is a coquette. It is the only thing I dislike about her. She is a dear, sweet-tempered girl; but sometimes I think she is perfectly heartless, when I see how she trifles with these men. I don't feel so sorry for George, because he is a thorough man of the world, and quite able to take care of himself; besides which, I have a strong conviction that if Judith cares for any of them, it is for him.
But poor Sacha is young and unsophisticated, and does not understand what the word flirtation means. ”

“ I confess frankly that I am as much puzzled with myself as I am with George. Instead of being consumed with grief at the sorrow I am causing others, I find it quite pleasant to have two men in love with me. I am quite aware that my feelings are selfish to the last degree. How heartless I must be! When I am with George I prefer him; and when I am with Mr. Thurber I wonder how I could ever have liked George better. ”

“ George, on the contrary, although he tells me fiercely enough that he knows I do not care for him, is uneasy and wretched if I talk long with any one else, and watches me continually. He gets in a passion with me, and then says he loves me too much to be angry. My sober judgment tells me that Chilton Thurber is much better suited to me.
My life is not as peaceful as it was before I had two lovers, and I fear I am growing inordinately vain. Judith must have an immense amount of character not to be completely spoiled by the amount of attention she has received. ”

“ Cheremenieff was in love with me, and for having made him understand in such a delicate way that I could not return his affection. It seems to me that I must be very attractive; for here is Mr. Thurber in love with me too,—as much in love as an icicle ever is. I wonder that no one at home discovered my fascinations.
Joking aside, I am growing tired of the utterly artificial life which I lead here, and would like to get back among my own people. If I had not been so interested in my own affairs lately, I should have been anxious about Judith. ”

“ The sharp pain in my heart dulled my other senses. I knew that Sacha's voice was going on and on, but had not an idea of what he was saying. I knew, too, that some acquaintances came and spoke to me; that Sacha left me, that the ambassador escorted me into the next room and gave me an ice, and that I ate it mechanically; but all the time I was saying mentally, "Infamous! Oh, poor Judith!"
Then a relief, sudden as the blow had been, came over me. Perhaps it was all a lie. George was not capable of such a thing. In any case, why should I care? I had never liked him. ”

“ It was so cold and dark as we entered that it struck a chill to the marrow of my bones.
"Imagine me your commissionnaire" said George, "while I explain everything to you. There are eleven domes in this church, and each one contains a chapel which is dedicated to a different saint."
"Why do you stop?" asked Tom. "If you are personifying a commissionnaire, you must never cease talking from the time you come in until we fee you."
"I really cannot think of anything more to tell you."
Alice now took her turn. "The church is built in memory of an idiot, or two idiots." ”

“ German, English, French, and Russian are considered only ordinary accomplishments."
"I don't understand how they can do it," I sighed.
"Poor Dorris!" laughed Alice. "Languages always troubled you more than any other study; and I fear your French would have been no better than your German, if you had not been educated by a French governess."
"It is a singular fact," I owned humbly, "that when I can read a language perfectly well, my tongue refuses to speak it. How unfortunate I should be, if I had not been taught French in my childhood!"
"It is time to start for the palace!" ”

“ Why do you call me Dorris?" (with renewed dignity.)
"If you are going to be my friend, of course I must say Dorris," he returned, leaning on the other side of the chair, thus preventing me from tilting it back and forth, and still looking as if he wished to laugh.
"I will not be your friend," I answered sullenly. "You said you did not wish it; and now I will not."
"You cannot be my enemy, for you have told me that you don't dislike me; and if you will be neither friend nor enemy, there is only one thing left for you to be, Dorris" (pleadingly) . ”

“ It was a little absurd, too, to be told so quietly that I was in love with this other man. George's cold, clear voice, informing me calmly of the condition of my heart! I spoke quietly in reply, though I was more inclined to laugh than do anything else.
"Are you not rather hasty in your judgment?"
"Possibly; but as you refuse to tell me why you would not have Thurber, I am forced to judge simply by appearances."
"Why should you be so excited over a small matter?" ”

“ Rows of mounted policemen lined the path from palace to pavilion where the carpet was spread: behind them appeared a surging, swaying mass of human beings. At intervals of two or three minutes, as the people encroached on the path, the policemen forced them to retreat by spurring their horses into the heart of the crowd, and making them kick and rear; we could hear the screams of women, mingling with the dull roar of the mob.
"Oh!" I cried in horror. "Is any one killed?" ”

“ Each of the carriages had postilions, coachmen, two men in the rumble, and three servants walking in the road on either side, dressed in the imperial livery. Some of the more prudent held up the skirts of their long, fur-lined coats, as they marched through the snow, thus presenting rather an absurd appearance. Another company of Cossacks brought up the rear; and the whole procession went, at an impressive, funereal pace, towards the palace.
Judith and I were very gorgeous in our court dresses. It seemed almost a pity that we could not always present such a fine appearance. ”

“ I sighed. "I cannot bear to think of Judith's marrying a foreigner."
Then I began to wonder what had happened to make Mr. Thurber talk so much to me and in such a confidential manner. Every time I see him he does something which surprises me. He broke the silence by saying,—"Does your antipathy to foreigners as husbands extend to Englishmen?"
Aha! thought I, I see what you are thinking of. Aloud I answered carelessly,—
"To a certain extent, yes. But although Englishmen do not make so good husbands as Americans, they come nearer my standard of excellence than any other foreigners. ”

“ Because Judith falls in love with a young man, you send her to us to be cured. I shall not find fault with you, for your ward proves to be a delightful companion; not the foolish, love-sick girl my fancy would have painted her if your letter had arrived before she did; and I can commend the course you have taken, from the bottom of my heart. We are a most harmonious quartette. Grace is always placid and happy. ”

“ George is fascinating. Notwithstanding my conviction of his insincerity, I find that in his presence I forget it, and am conscious of the attraction which seems to draw all women towards him. There is in him a peculiar quality of tenderness, which makes me feel that if I were ill, or suffering in any way, I could go to him for sympathy. This may be his true character, which occasionally pierces through the outside polish. I hope, for Judith's sake, that it is so. I never had so many contradictory opinions about a man before. ”

“ He continued, "I have never loved any one else, and I never shall care for another as I do for her."
I asked myself mentally if Sacha could possibly refer to me, but he soon undeceived me.
"Do you think she could ever care for me?" with a painfully anxious gaze.
"I don't know," I answered, rather stupidly. "Why don't you ask her?"
"I have so little to offer her," he said. "If she gave me a ray of hope, I could exist on that; but I fear to ask her, she is so beautiful and so much sought after," turning his eyes on George Piloff, a younger brother of Nicolas, who was hovering about Judith. ”

“ This is the conversation which I overheard between them the other day:—
"Blue," said the prince, looking at the dress which Judith wore, "is the color of the skies, and should be looked up to."
"Hear that!" whispered Tom. "He must be awfully hard up for a remark."
My cousin's reply was drowned in Tom's words.
The prince was speaking again.
"If I were as young as I once was—" and he looked unutterable things.
"I am glad," said Judith, flashing a coquettish glance at him, "that you are not as young as you once were. Very young men are great bores." ”

“ I turned to see Sacha's dark eyes fixed imploringly upon me.
"What did you say?" I asked.
"That I am the most miserable fellow on the earth," he exclaimed, in a dramatic whisper.
Following the direction of his eyes, I saw Judith sitting behind the curtain of the box, with her head turned away from the stage, presenting her pretty profile to our view. She was looking at a couple of large, brown hands, which were playing with an opera-glass; and the owner of the hands,—George,—with head bent forward until it was on a level with Judith's shoulder, was talking earnestly to her. ”