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Article THE COUNTESS AND THE SERF* ← Page 18 of 23 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Countess And The Serf*
charge into liis bosom , Avhen Anna , flinging herself upon him , beat down his arm . " Your opposition is idle , " said Ivan gloomily ; " your commands avail no longer . You have destroyed ray honour , and I will not leave your work incomplete . I might revenge myself more criminallyfor your life is in my hands ; but you are safe .
, Live on , under the burthen of your conscience . Live on , to remember that the man whom you once loved , died before your eyes with the brand of the lash upon him ; ancl to feel that the thongs which eat into his flesh may ere long gnaw into
your own heart . " The countess dropped upon her knees , ancl clung to him with frantic violence , but he flung her off . " Ivan , dear Ivan , listen to me— " shrieked the miserable girl ; " one moment , only one moment ; ancl then let us die together . "
" Speak , " was the harsh reply ; " I listen . " " Ivan , " resumed the trembling voice ; " by all that you hold most sacred—by the memory of your dead parents—of that one ivho was our common mother—renounce your frightful purpose . Your adopted sister , your affianced wife , kneels before you , guilty , most guilty , but repentant—she implores your pardon— - she beseeches you to live . Ivan , do I sue for the first time in vain ? "
" You do . You are fan-, very fair , Countess Zamoiska ; too fair to kneel at the feet of one Avho has bent beneath the lash , and Avhose slavery you have written in blows upon his flesh . Where was the memory of our common mother , of our betrothal , ivhen yom- voice uttered the sentence of degradation ? By you I was condemned to a life of ignominy ; but I am not dastard enough
to accept the burthen . " " I shall partake that ignominy , Ivan , if I become your wife . " " MY ivife ! " exclaimed the young man , in an accent of irrepressible emotion ; "MINE ! Do you then believe me to be so despicable as to suffer the daughter of my noble benefactor-, the princely Zamoiski , to link her fate with that of a smitten serf ?
No , madam , you have disgraced my body , but you cannot degrade my soul . I remember , " he added ivith sudden sadness , as he swept his hand across his pallid broiv : " yes , I rememberfor every word that you uttered on that fatal morning ivas burnt into my brain as by a heated iron , — -I remember that you taunted me with the bitter fact that the lord count , your father , had never freed me—that I had no document to prove me beyond your power—and you were right— -for my benefactor believed that it
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Countess And The Serf*
charge into liis bosom , Avhen Anna , flinging herself upon him , beat down his arm . " Your opposition is idle , " said Ivan gloomily ; " your commands avail no longer . You have destroyed ray honour , and I will not leave your work incomplete . I might revenge myself more criminallyfor your life is in my hands ; but you are safe .
, Live on , under the burthen of your conscience . Live on , to remember that the man whom you once loved , died before your eyes with the brand of the lash upon him ; ancl to feel that the thongs which eat into his flesh may ere long gnaw into
your own heart . " The countess dropped upon her knees , ancl clung to him with frantic violence , but he flung her off . " Ivan , dear Ivan , listen to me— " shrieked the miserable girl ; " one moment , only one moment ; ancl then let us die together . "
" Speak , " was the harsh reply ; " I listen . " " Ivan , " resumed the trembling voice ; " by all that you hold most sacred—by the memory of your dead parents—of that one ivho was our common mother—renounce your frightful purpose . Your adopted sister , your affianced wife , kneels before you , guilty , most guilty , but repentant—she implores your pardon— - she beseeches you to live . Ivan , do I sue for the first time in vain ? "
" You do . You are fan-, very fair , Countess Zamoiska ; too fair to kneel at the feet of one Avho has bent beneath the lash , and Avhose slavery you have written in blows upon his flesh . Where was the memory of our common mother , of our betrothal , ivhen yom- voice uttered the sentence of degradation ? By you I was condemned to a life of ignominy ; but I am not dastard enough
to accept the burthen . " " I shall partake that ignominy , Ivan , if I become your wife . " " MY ivife ! " exclaimed the young man , in an accent of irrepressible emotion ; "MINE ! Do you then believe me to be so despicable as to suffer the daughter of my noble benefactor-, the princely Zamoiski , to link her fate with that of a smitten serf ?
No , madam , you have disgraced my body , but you cannot degrade my soul . I remember , " he added ivith sudden sadness , as he swept his hand across his pallid broiv : " yes , I rememberfor every word that you uttered on that fatal morning ivas burnt into my brain as by a heated iron , — -I remember that you taunted me with the bitter fact that the lord count , your father , had never freed me—that I had no document to prove me beyond your power—and you were right— -for my benefactor believed that it