| Show terrible experience of a russian jewess among the refugees an anecdote which is absolutely true in every detail will illustrate and explain the feelings of some of the refugees in america not far from a new york police station is a largo three story brick building ago it was dwelling but time and the small boy have played havoc with its facade doors windows an dailing it is occupied by a well to do russian who years ago fled his native land for alleged complicity in some plot against the czar it has long been the rendezvous of political refugees of both sexes russian lists polish liberators french com socialists and cosmopolitan mo politan anarchists the circle met theres th ereis composed of educated and clever people nearly all are excellent linguists anddore or less successful in trade literature or professional life owing probably to the terrible scenes in which they have been actors all are more or less eccentric in behavior speech or ideas not long since a party of a dozen men and women were spending the evening in the large old fashioned parlor all smoked a few sipped the vitriolic vodka between the s of their cigarettes while all the rest assuaged thirst with the cheap wines of the rhine and moselle the conversation had been political and literary rather than anecdotal in character and had flagged until the room was almost silent the only person speaking was a handsome jewess of 24 or gurre was theodora she was a rare type of that race being a superb blonde with bright golden hair large lust blue eyes and exhibiting hi the powerful figure and splendid health which characterizes the hebrew women to BO remarkable a degree As she paused at tho end of an argument and drained a glass of some one asked what made vou a nihilist dorar nothing very remarkable to us russians she replied 1 I belong to a god family in a small downin the warsaw province I 1 married a rabbi of our synagogue and we were very the czar then made a down a new governor from st Peter to replace our old one who was a good and just man although a russian general the newcomer had every vice and no virtue of any kindl he was so bad and cruel that our friends wrote us when he came warn ing us against him my husband the next sabbath in the synagogue told our popple about him and advised them to be overcautious in not violating any of the tyrannical laws with which we were cursed though he saoko in hebrew for fear of spies some one betrayed him to the governor he was arrested tried flogged on tho public square into insensibility and sent to baberia for life I 1 was present when he underwent his agony and stood it until I 1 became crazed I 1 broke through tho crowd toward the wretch of an official and cursed him and hiff master the czar and swore vengeance against both I 1 too was arrested and tried at court martial and sentenced to receive a hundred blows with the rod in the public square I 1 a woman was taken by drunken and heathen cossacks to the place tied by my hands to tho whipping post my clothing torn from my body to the waist and beaten before all the soldiery and the people of the town at the twentieth blow J fainted but the ropes held me up and the full hundred were counted on my body they cut me down rock and salt and water and some iron that eats like fire into my back to stop the bleeding and carri edno to the hospital hay two months aind was discharged 1 had but one idea then and that was vengeance by patience I 1 managed to gel employment in the governors palace as seamstress beam stress one afternoon he was in his bath and sent for towels the attendant was tired and I 1 volunteered to take them I 1 put them over my arm and under them I 1 held a long stiletto sharp as a needle I 1 entered the room and he was reading and smoking iu the bath I 1 laid the towels by his side with my left hand and at the next moment with my right I 1 drove the knife through his heart it was splendidly done he never made a sound and I 1 escaped to this land that is why I 1 am a nihilist do any of you doubt she sprang excitedly from her chair and in a half a minute had bared herself to the waist the front of her form from neck to belt might have passed as the model of the venus di milo the back and furrows that crossed and interlaced as if cut out with a iron patches of white gray and angry red holes and hollewa with hard hideous edges half visible ribs and the e adges of mined muscles and all of which moved contracted and lengthened with the swaying of her body chere was a gasp from every one present the aged host rose silently her on the forehead and helped her to put back her garments then again the wine passed round and hat secret toasts were made as the party drank will never be known |
