Evening Star Newspaper, April 11, 1930, Page 43

- THE EVENING STORY One of World-Famous Works of Literature TUncle Fedia. BY EUGENE MELCHIOR DE VOGUE. (Eugene chior, Viscount de Vogue, 1848-1910. was a French historian and eritic, son of the uis de Vogue, famous arche- \ologist.) In my earliest youth there used to ibe i@ the neighborhood where I lived :en old peddler who went by the name ©of Uncle Fedia. Np one knew him by any other name. Whence came Uncle ‘Fedia? Did he ever have a family, a zumz That is what nobody could 11 Unele Fedia used to make the tour of the villages in the vicinity. Four or five times a year he could be seen re- appearing with his telega (rude four- | Wwheeled, springless wafon), his little raw-boned horse and h# pack, full to :;wsung, of knick-knacks and curiosi- es. He was not a favorite. He had the ared look of a whipped cur and looked more like a good-for-nothing tramp than an honest Russian peasant. More- over, the villagers suspected the old peddler of exercising spells upon them, It was believed that all these traveling gentry had dealings with the evil one, and that it was not for nothing they | carried at the bottom of their packs all sorts of books, ink, pens and spec- tacles with which you could see a man three versts (almost two miles) away. As they went everywhere, mspecting} every house, and slept at night wherever | they happened to be, departing with the dawn, what was surprising if they bewitched children and cattle? However, I used to like Uncle Fedia. He played an important part in my youth; he held a place of honor in my memory. the place which is fullest of | Joyful pressions. As far back as I can remember the old peddler was in- geparable from our religious festivals What excitement there was when we heard the tinkle of his little bell as his old hors: stopped at the gate. He would open his basket—and, oh, what | treasures lodged therein! I used to| watch the bottom compartment, where, ®s I well knew, the playthings were i packed away. My father would frown and exchange glances with our old steward, who at once would look like a bulldog. As soon as the purchases were made the peddler would tie up his bundles. He never lingered. They would open the door for him and never lose sight of him while he was in the courtyard. One day my father told me how some one had set fire in the night to the house of one of our neighbors, a noble- fman, who lead his peasantry a hard life and was consequently on bad terms with them. My father did not doubt that this was a piece of the work of the miscreant known as Uncle Fedia, who | had been around the day before. In-| deed, the peddler was arrested the same | day while strolling through some pine | woods in the vicinity of the burned | house. H A trial was held, but, in spite of all the efforts of the prosecuting attorney. no distinet charge could be sustained against the prisoner. The examination, | however, pointed to the guilt of a| woman of our village, a certain’ Akon- | lina, who had been employed in the house of ‘our unfortunate neighbor. ‘This woman, dismissed on the very eve. ning of the crime, after a violent scene | in which threats and blows were used, | had not been seen in her hovel until the next day and could not satisfactorily explain_her whereabouts in the mean- | time. The court released Uncle Fedia, | not without some salutary advice and | an order to leave the country. Three months later the criminal trial | took place in the presence of a great number of people. My father and I attended. On the prisoner’s bench sat the accused and a little behind her one of her kinswomen was trying to amuse | two little girls, holding at the same time | a new-born baby. These were the chil- | dren of Akonlina, the prisoner. She young, neither homely nor prewy, a true type of Russian woman. | She continually watched the clock, as ! though awaiting some one or something which the hours would bring her. | ‘The proofs against her were crushing. ‘The prosecutor concluded by demand- ing the penalty provided by the edict | for the crime of incendiarism— | deportation to Siberia. Little was said | in the poor woman’s defense. One | Peasant had the courage to state that | this woman was killing herself with work and that her three children would | ‘be left defenseless if a calamity befell | er. The woman herself paid no atten- Zion to any one; she watched the clock | and the door. She was hoping one Anton, a cousin, might arrive to pro- ‘vide her alibi—she had been with him ‘when the fire was set. But he was on the high seas; he could not be reached. “I am innocent,” Ankolina said. “I know nothing about the fire. Let them | ask Anton—Ilet him come. He will tell Jhow it was. I know nothing of what ‘has happened. I am innocent.” She spoke with such an accent of sin- cerity that, in spite of the accumulation «of presumptive evidence against her, the convictions of many of those present ‘were shaken. We would have been glad if something very unexpected had hap- Fened. something which would release her. When sentence was pronounced, Akonlina fell to the floor, shaken with :so0bs, and appealed aloud to Christ to save her. The peasants fell on their knees and also prayed, The court was silent for a moment. Then Akonlina rose and looked to the door, expecting her prayer to be answered. ‘The door did open, but Anton did not enter. It was Uncle Fedia, the ped- wler, who entered. I saw him look kind- .ly toward the children of the aceused iwoman. He stepped quietly forward and knelt before the judge's bench. Asked what he wished, he spoke: “Pardon, ;zentlemen, judges, but this woman is not, guilty. I am the malefactor. I set the house on fire.” ‘They were at first incredulous. But they remembered he had first been ac- «cused of the crime. And he told a very sconvincing story of how he had doné ithe deed. He explained that he was taking vengeance on'the nobleman— nd being the suspicious character he \was, no_one doubted him. They believed ! glxécile Fedia could have done it—so he ‘The surprise of the first moment gave “way to a new conviction in the minds «of the judges and audience. Perhaps this conviction may haye been aided by the secret desire shared by all of seeirg “the ath of outraged justice turned from the head of Akonlin: We were 11 ready to find the culprit in this ~vagabond on whom suspicion in the first instance had so naturally fallen. Uncle Fedia was condemned to the fmines of Siberia. The term was re- darmes took him away. As he passed me, hindered by the crowd which was pressing about the door, I rummaged in my pocket and, finding there a few rubles, Islipped them into his hand. He only murmured: “Thanks, lad. It is nothing. My misfortune will hurt ne ne.” o ‘The affair was talked of for some time. The memory of the trial disap- eared with the ruins which had kept t alive, for the burned house was ree built. All that remained was an in- creased caution used toward peddlers! Then the miller, a terrible fellow, hat- ed and feared by the peasants, was killed in a fall. He had ilved l:‘l;s enough to confess to the priest. He that it was he who had burned that house, years before, to avenge himself because the lord had made his son join the army. Uncle Fedia gave himself up to save the widow Akonlina from being torn away from her children! 35 took the matter up—!letters were Months were con- red tape. They could find no exile in the mines answering to Uncle Fedia. Fedia seemed to be s common name—two vagabonds of that, name had died in the mines during the past two years. THe prison records were such that they could not locate our Uncle Fedia, and they refuscd to waste more time in the matter. Akonlina had a mass said for the soul of Uncle Fedia—it was the most she could do. We all attended. I un- derstood, as I recalled the figure of Un- cle Fedia—trembling in his peddler’s £ kin, in the midst o! Saturday Nites Sunday Nites Wednesday Nites W ashington's most popular place to dance. Wonderful music 1 floor. ar Swanee Syncopators Al Kamons Leading Think MH{,‘,L!ONS OF CUPS OF orp (ALVERT (oFFEE ENJOYED _BY COFFEE LOVERS 1T MUST BE GOOD i ok (v (s v e D I 1009, Pure:Coffee tyery Sip. Delicious duced to 10 years in consideration of the voluntary confession. Th Of the crowd of then were many who cried now, while thinking how little he had been under- stood. Census Takers Shun Islands. MARTIN, Tenn., April 11 (#).—Want- ed, somebody to take the census in some islands in the Mississippi River. Double pay and boat fare. None of the 135 enumerators hereabouts will take the job. ‘'Most every one knows why, says_Supervisor Biggs, meaning that employes, including “‘revenooers,” look alike on the islands. PR 2110 RN Another New Ultra-Modern Combination Grocery, ople:|LOW PRICE OF RUBBER HOLDS DOWN PRODUCTION Java Agricultural Department Re- views Dutch East Indies Conditions. By the Assoclated Press. BATAVIA, Java, April 11.—The de- partment of agriculture, in a review of rubber production by natives in the Dutch East Indies, expresses the opin- ion that the present low Fruu give no reason to believe there will be any sharp Meat and Produce Market OPENS TODAY AT 2502 14th St. N.W Quaker Maid Oven-Baked BEANS 2 153-0z. gmm in production in the near fu- I e Should ‘any material advance in rub- ber pyices take place, however, a large part of the areas now untapped will probably be brought into production, in Which event an important increase on ' | production may be expected. These considerations, the department concludes, prove that the only possible course for European estate owners to follow is to reduce production costs. Compared with 108,500 tons exported last year, the department estimates the potential production for the present year at 150,000 tons. The area not yet tapa- ble is reckoned as being two or three times larger than the present tapable area, shopping a pleasure. =15 TENDER CHUCK ROAST . 2Fe FANCY . Three Corner Roast Lb. Shoulder Lamb Roast Fancy Leg of Lamb Plate Boiling Beef Fresh Ground Hamburg Lean Stewing Lamb Swift’s Premium Franks Auth’s Royal Pork Auth’s Cooked Ham Swift’s Premium Hams WILDMERE FRESH EGGS Every Egg Candled and Guaranteed Carton . of 12 29 12-1b. Bag Stuffed Olives Plain Olives Sunnyfield Family and Self-Rising FLOUR 24-1b. Bag 45« 89 Famil. RIB ROAST 31e Ib. 290 1b., 23c 1b., 31c 1b., 49¢ %-1b., 20c . 31¢ Sunsweet Prunes ... Encore Prepared Spaghetti .............. Royal Quick Set Gelatine .................... 2™ 15¢ 2-07. bottle loc; 6-0z. bottle zgc z 2-0z. bottles lsc; 6-0z. bottle zzc Fancy Quality Applesauce ...................2 " 25¢c Cantrell & Cochrane’s C&C Ginger Ale, 2 ** 25¢ White House Evaporated Milk ....... 3 *" == 25¢c Shredded Wheat, Family and Self Rising rd tecsasesssemresegesevives s ¥ Philad_elphia Cream Cheese..........." 10c. SUNNYFIELD | Washington SLICED |Encore Macaroni - Flour BEREA ‘COLLEGE EXHIBIT TO BE HELD NEXT WEEK Handiwork of Kentucky Mountain Institution Will Be on View at Continental Hall. An exhibit and sale of the handicraft of students at Begea College, in tke Kentucky mountains, including hand- woven coverlets, bedspreads, hooked rugs and other products of spinning wheel and loom, will be held next week VALUES means more than just low prices—it embraces quality merchandise and matchless service as well. Value is the key word at your neighborhood A&P Food Store for there you find foods of the highest quality coupled with prices that make sav- ings a surety and offered with a service that makes Alashan-Pink Standard Quali Asparagus Bunch 39¢ —In Most Stores FANCY Strawberries Fancy Ripe at the D. A, R. Memorial Continental Hall, The famous mountain school, which has won indorsement of the D. A. R. organization, draws its pupils from isolated section of the hills, where the sturdy native art has persisted since ploneer days. The institution numbers among its graduates Miss Christine West, teacher of the school which President Hoover has established in the | Virginia mountains, The exhibit will be in charge of Mrs. | Anna Ernberg, director of the “fireside | industries” department at Berea for the | past 20 years and an expert weaver. gy Pimples. ° Nature's warning—help nature clear your complexion and paint red roses in your - » X ©f mere laxatives, Onltflc‘ The All-Vegetable Laxative TOMORROW ALRIGH) Make the test tonight [ oy s LI rResratnns IIIIl\\\\\\\\\\\'\\\\ New! L4 Appetizing — delicious —ready to serve—Van Camp’s Pureed Fruits and Vegetables. Specially pre- pared for infant feeding or when the doctor ""z 6 oz. cans zsc ‘Smooth Diet’ PURE ty Bulk or Package Iceberg Lettuce 2w 15c w 3¢ Fancy California FRESH Bananas | Cauliflower o 100 15% Oz. Cans 12-1b. Bag 5 P 11b. pkg. lsc; 21b. pkg. igc C 27" 1% e 98¢ w21 Effective Saturday Morning OLD GOLD CHESTERFIELD LUCKY STRIKE Cigarettes ' 2 Lgs. Pkgs. 25¢ Carton of 10 $1.19 Tin or Pkg. of 50 29¢ Water Ground CORN MEAL T 23e 5 39e s 19€ . 29¢ 10-Ib. Bag