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Article THE COUNTESS AND THE SERF* ← Page 2 of 23 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Countess And The Serf*
" to you I owe it that the grave did not bereave me of both my treasures , and she shall be a sister to your son . This she must learn from me . " He was , of course , obeyed ; and thus the Avealthy heiress and the vassal ' s penniless child greAV on side by side , sharing the same sports , ancl partaking of the same indulgences .
They had attained their eighth year , when a sister of the count , who had made an imprudent marriage , and been early widowed , sank beneath her sorrows , and , in dying , bequeathed to the affection of her only brother a fair girl , for whom she earnestly implored his protection . The appeal was not made in vain ; Zamoiski welcomed the lovely little orphan with a father ' s tenderness ; and thenceforward the three children
became almost equally clear to him . So extreme a concession on his part elicited both comment and expostulation from his fellow nobles , but the count disregarded their prejudices ; truly withered in heart , he only seemed to live again in the caresses of the three little beings over whom he watched with all a father ' s fondness . The dawning beauty
of the two cousins , and the precocious intellect of their adopted brother , alike interested his best feelings ; and when—after having shared the instructions of the several masters to whom Zamoiski had confided the education of his daughter and his niece—the young Ivan had attained to a sufficient age , Zamoiski generously entered his young favourite at the college of Wilna , where he was to remain three years in order to complete his studies .
The parting between the children was affectionate ancl sad . Anna ancl Eudoxia wept in each other ' s arms , but the boy turned aside to wipe away the rebel tears which ivould not be suppressed . " Three years soon pass , dear sisters , " he said , as he stiwe to clasp them both together in his arms ; " ancl Avhen they are over I shall return to the castle , ancl you will love me better , far better , than UOAV . " The girls replied only by a fresh burst of grief .
" NOAV , " resumed the manly lad , struggling against the agitation which was gaining upon him : " now , we are only children , but at the end of those three years I shall be able to protect you in danger as well as my lord the count . Our studies will be over , and we shall be constantly together . You , dear sister , will take your guitarancl Eudoxia will call to her choicest
, memory songs , while I replace old Valerian , the boatman , on the lake by moonlight . Think , too , of our wild rides along the crests of the mountain range , where they say that we are yet too young and unskilful to A enture ; and through the recesses of the dim pine
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Countess And The Serf*
" to you I owe it that the grave did not bereave me of both my treasures , and she shall be a sister to your son . This she must learn from me . " He was , of course , obeyed ; and thus the Avealthy heiress and the vassal ' s penniless child greAV on side by side , sharing the same sports , ancl partaking of the same indulgences .
They had attained their eighth year , when a sister of the count , who had made an imprudent marriage , and been early widowed , sank beneath her sorrows , and , in dying , bequeathed to the affection of her only brother a fair girl , for whom she earnestly implored his protection . The appeal was not made in vain ; Zamoiski welcomed the lovely little orphan with a father ' s tenderness ; and thenceforward the three children
became almost equally clear to him . So extreme a concession on his part elicited both comment and expostulation from his fellow nobles , but the count disregarded their prejudices ; truly withered in heart , he only seemed to live again in the caresses of the three little beings over whom he watched with all a father ' s fondness . The dawning beauty
of the two cousins , and the precocious intellect of their adopted brother , alike interested his best feelings ; and when—after having shared the instructions of the several masters to whom Zamoiski had confided the education of his daughter and his niece—the young Ivan had attained to a sufficient age , Zamoiski generously entered his young favourite at the college of Wilna , where he was to remain three years in order to complete his studies .
The parting between the children was affectionate ancl sad . Anna ancl Eudoxia wept in each other ' s arms , but the boy turned aside to wipe away the rebel tears which ivould not be suppressed . " Three years soon pass , dear sisters , " he said , as he stiwe to clasp them both together in his arms ; " ancl Avhen they are over I shall return to the castle , ancl you will love me better , far better , than UOAV . " The girls replied only by a fresh burst of grief .
" NOAV , " resumed the manly lad , struggling against the agitation which was gaining upon him : " now , we are only children , but at the end of those three years I shall be able to protect you in danger as well as my lord the count . Our studies will be over , and we shall be constantly together . You , dear sister , will take your guitarancl Eudoxia will call to her choicest
, memory songs , while I replace old Valerian , the boatman , on the lake by moonlight . Think , too , of our wild rides along the crests of the mountain range , where they say that we are yet too young and unskilful to A enture ; and through the recesses of the dim pine