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My iination pictured the fate of Marie, and I trembled for her

"Listen, Captain Mironoff," said I to the Commandant, "our duty is to defend the fortress to our last breath; that is understood, but the safety of the woht of; send the, if the route be still open"

Mironoff turned to his wife "You see my dear! indeed it would be well to send you somewhere farther off until we shall have defeated the rebels"

"What nonsense!" replied she "Where is the fortress that balls have not reached? In what respect is our fortress unsafe? Thank God, we have lived here twenty and one years We have seen Bashkirs and Kirghis; Pougatcheff can not be worse than they"

"My dear, stay if you will, since your faith is so great in our fortress But what shall we do with Marie? It will be all well if we can keep off the robber, or if help reach us in time If the fortress, however, be taken--"

Basilia could only stas

"No, Basilia," continued the Commandant, who remarked that his words made a deep impression on his wife, perhaps for the first time in his life, "it is not advisable that Marie stay here Let us send her to Orenbourg, to her god-mother's That is a well-manned fortress, with stone walls and plenty of cannon I would advise you to go there yourself; think what ht happen to you were your fortress to be taken by assault"

"Well! well! let us send Marie away," said the Captain's wife, "but do not drea of the kind It is not becoe, to separate e place We have lived together; let us die together"

"You are right," said the Commandant "Go, and equip Marie; there is no time to lose; tomorrow, at the dawn of day, she shall set out; she h indeed there is no one to spare Where is she?"

"She is at Accoulina's," said his wife "She fainted upon hearing that the fortress had been taken"

Basilia went to prepare for her daughter's departure The discussion still continued at the Commandant's, but I took no further part in it Marie reappeared at supper with eyes red from tears We supped in silence and rose froht, each one sought his rooot my sword, on purpose, and went back for it; I anticipated finding Marie alone In truth she ave me my sword