Miscellany: Major Cheglo-vsky: The Aged Siberian Exile

Ouv readers may reniember that some linie ago, accounts frotu St. Petersbuigh mentioned the return from Sibéria ot' nn xüe, whose advauced á'ge, together with the romantic in'cidents of his life, excited deep interest ati'd sympathy. The exile was Major Cheglovsky, who. in the reign óf Catharine II., was banished to Siberia for having incurred the displeasure of the redoubtable Potemkin, whose rival he was in the afïbctions of a Polish lady of high rank. On his return to St. Petersburgh, abbiit a year and a half ago, Major Clieglovséy was presented to the Emperor and the Imperial He was then about ninety-five yèars'of age," and had passed nearly seventy yearsof his lile in exile. The Romantic circumstances which led to his banishment are thus related: While in the full enjoyment of the faTor of his Imperial mistress, Potemkin, who never really loved Catharine, became deeply enamëured of. the Polish Princess Zumovsky. The Princess then was what the Countess WoronzoLf-ArshkofF now is, the soverergn arbiter' of fashion, and the star of the salons of St. Petersburgh. She inspired Potemkin with a violent passion, to which it was believed she herself was not wholly indifferent. Potemkin, at all events, whethêr with -or without reason, flattered himself that fae had made some advances in the good Agraces of the lady, when, to his diamay, ihe was struck by a marked change in her manner towards him. She suddeiily became cold, reserved and serious. It was remarked that this lady's altered mariner wa dated from the time of the fire in the .theatre of St. Petersburgh, on which oc.casion she had been exposed to great dan.ger; and had, indeed,been indebted for her life to the heroism of a young officer, who, when the flames were rapidly spreading through every part of the building, rushed-into her box and bore her out in safeUv Potemkin was deeply moriified at the Jady's coldnèss, and being detevmined tóascertain its cause, he surrounded the Princesa by an imperceptible but vigilant espionage. Hovvever, no circumstance of any importance was brought to light, and Potemkin was beginning to console himself with the belief that the Princess's altered manner was the mere result ol caprice and coquetry, when an incident occürred which banished from his mind all doubt of the fact that he wassupplanted by a rival. On the 8th of March, 1774, the Empress Catharine was seated at one of the windows of the Hermitnge Palace, looking at some military evolutions, performed by the imperial Guards and the four regiments of Preobojuiski. Beside the Empresssat the Princess Zumovsky, and behind stood Count Potemkin. The second baltallion of the Preobajuiski had just reached the middle of the bridge of Troist, when the Princess leaned over the rail of the balcony, as if anxiously watching for some one; and eifhér voluntariiy or by accident dropped one of her gloves. A youngofficer, who had raised his eyes to tho palace windovv, and who saw the glove drop, received it on the point of his sword, and after pressing it to bis lips, thrust it into his bosom.The princesa colored deeply, and Potemkin, fixing his eyes upon her said, sternly - 'That officer, Madam, has enriched himself with one of the gloves, for whom is the other destined?' 'For you, Count,' replied the lady, recovering herself possession 'if you are so gallarit as to atlach any valué to such a trifle.' 'Give it me said Potcmkin, and putting the gloveintuhis pocket,he wuhdrew. On the evening of that day, a feldjager, and two cossacks proceeded to the ahode of Major Cheglovski. At sight of them the officer turned pale, for hé well knew what such a visit portended. 'You must accompany me said the feldngor.' - __- 'YVhither?' 'That is a secret.' 'VVliere are your orders?' 'Here, readthein.' 'Will the journey be long?' 'Perhaps.' 'May I be permitted to take a bag of oubles andsome papers with me?' 'Neither money nor papers. You Tiust take nothing! 'Wel),' said the Major, 'I obcy. But at least, I may take a last far.ewell of my mother. She has just returned to rest. - Pray iet me bid her adieu. I vvilj nol detain you more than a few moments.' 'Impossiblfi! Our orders are peremptory. Y ou must depart this instant.' Any resistanee vvould have been in vnin, and even tho slightest attempt to resist would have been visited with severe punishinent. The Major descended to the street door, where a teleque was waiting: A teleque was a vehícle ihen used in Russia - ï was high, with two wheels, aui had a single seat or bench of wood. Cheglovsky mounted the teleque, which being drawn by two swift Urkanïan horses, soon passed bêyond ihe Va-iliOstrofF, leaving in (fie (ar distnnce the blue domes and gilded spires of the cathedral and citadel. The snow feil thickly, and soon cdvëred the riVute travell-ers. One of the cossacks drovc the teleque, and the other sat on the wood en seat, he being one sideof the Major,' and feldjager on the other. The cossack wlió sat on the wooden seat soon feil asleep, and for a moment, the Major conceived the design j of strangling iiim and attempting his escape; but the bronze eye-lid of the feldjagger never closed throughout the whole of the night. Thé reached Pochezirskoe; and then Cheglovsky ventured to enquire whether they had reached their destination. 'Not yet,' replied the feldjagger. They changed horses and again galloped off; Vystarka and Punesko were successively passed; and at each relay, the major, with anxiety increasing m proportion to the listahce, laconically interrogated híá escort. Every inquiry was answered with the terrible 'Not yet.' Whilst passing through the forest of Volosga, the teleque follo'ved by a pack of hungry wolves, who continued in sight for the distance ofseveral wersts. The feldjager took no notice of them, it being an incident cf common occurrence on such journeys. To be devoured by wild beasts, frozen to death or buried in a tomb of snow, are a few of the many horrors ihat await travellefs in thosedesert wilds. Imaginatióñ can picture nothing so desolate as the interminable succession or white plains'.vhose weary uniformity is broken only atdistanf intervals by a tnonastery constructed in the Asiatic style, a hut of twistèd " bamboo or a giganTic barren mountain'. The miserable journey lasted ten days, and Cheglovsky was almost worn out by fatigue, when the teleque h'alted at the boundary of a dreary steppe, and drew up beforë some huts,which appeared more like the dens o bears ihan hurnan habitations. 'We are now at our journeys'a end, said the fëldjager. The Major turned deadly pale. 'írnpossible!' be exclaimed, convulsive ]y pressing the hand of his sinister cora panion. 'You do not intend to abandon me alcne in this horrid wilderness? - What have I done? What is my crime? Why am I thus tnysteriously draggec from my home? It must be that I am tlio victirn of some unaccountable error! Foi mercy'ssake conduct me back toSt. Petersburgh, and all that 1 possess in the world shall be yoürs!' 'Í da re not!' replied tho feldjager; '] must obey my orders.' He then drew from the pocket of his cloak a smal! packet, and presenting it to the Major he added - 'Here is something which General Potemkin commanded me to give you at parting.' The packet contained the other glove ef Princess Zumovsky. Cheglovsky trembled under the influence of violent emotion; but summoning from the recollection of his love the courage which had nearly'forsnken him - ' Well, sir', said he, 'teil General Potemkin that I fear Siberia les.s than I esteem his present. This gift will render me happy during my exle.' The fëldjager bowed, and moanted the teleque, which rapidly drove off. Cheglovsky walched itsdeparture with the despair that would take possession of a lonely explorer of the catacombs, should he see the lamp die out which was to guide bim back to life and daylight. Sixtyïight years elapsed - sixty-eight long years, spent amid privations, dangers, niseries of every kind!In 1842, a Russian oíKcer, sent to Tojolsk on a government míssion, accidentally discovered the once gay and handsome Major Cheglovsky, then nearly a centenarian. Having been made ac]uaintea with his e.xtraorüinary story, ne communicated it to General Cherenichey, who hímself related it to the Emperor. - The injustice had been a secret, the reparation was public. The exile was conveyed from Siberia to St. Petersburgh, and the Emperor Nicholas, in the presence of twelve regirnents, mustered on he Admiralty Square, addressed to him he follovving gracious words:- "Be assured Major Clieglovsky, that ïad I earlier knpwn your misfortünes. hey should long ogo have terminated. - ileniciin for the rest of y pur life in St. Peersburgh, and a pension of 4000 roubles shall be seltled upon you. The Emperor will pay it.'Cheglovsky has carefully preserved the uniform which he wore in the middle of the eighteenth century. Though ninety-seven years of nge, lie is occnsionally seen walking on tfie Newsky Perspective. He iiolds himself erect, his countenance is placid and serene, and he appears to gaze with astonislnnent on the population ofSt. Petersburg!), who have, of course. changed not a little in seventy years. He speaks with au enthusiam unsubdued by age and suflering of ihe Empress Catharine, the Prince de Ligne, the Count de Segur, and Alexis OrlofF; and he seems al most to fancy that those personages si i 1 1 live and move in the saloons of the Hermitage and the Gardens of the Thurida Palace. On his nnvival in the Rnssian capital, Cheglovsky's first task was to make his vvill. ft contains only two lines, which are to the following eiTect: - "I request, as the last favor that can be rendercd to me, that I may be buried witli the glo'ves which will be found fnstened round my neck by a black ribbon."