nce's paternal estates had passed out of his hands,--his family was
in disgrace at court, and the derangement of his finances was no secret
to any body. Suddenly he left the capital, apparently for the purpose of
putting his affairs in order; and, after a brief absence, reappeared and
commenced a life of splendid extravagance. His balls and entertainments
were so magnificent as to attract the notice of the court, and, it was
rumoured, to mollify imperial displeasure. The countess's father became
suddenly gracious, and soon nothing was talked of in St Petersburg but
the marriage of the two lovers. Of the origin of the enormous fortune of
the bridegroom, to which this change in the sentiments of his future
father-in-law was unquestionably to be attributed, nobody could give a
distinct account, though it was pretty generally whispered that he had
entered into a compact with the mysterious money-lender of the Kolomna,
and from him obtained a large loan. Be this as it may, the wedding
formed the whole talk of the town. Bride and bridegroom were the object
of universal envy. Every body had heard of their beauty and virtues, of
their ardent and constant love; and all rejoiced that the obstacles to
their union were removed. Numerous were the prophetic pictures drawn of
the blissful existence the young couple were certain to enjoy. The event
proved very different. In one twelvemonth a total and terrible change
took place in the character of the prince. Hitherto noble, generous, and
confiding, he became, on a sudden, jealous, suspicious, impatient, and
capricious. He was the tyrant and tormentor of his wife; and, to the
unbounded astonishment of every body who had known him before his
marriage, treated her with inhuman brutality, and was even known to
strike her! In one year the beautiful and dazzling girl, who was
followed by a crowd of obedient adorers, could not be recognised in the
careworn and unhappy wife. At length, unable longer to support the cruel
yoke of such a marriage, she sought a separation. At the first
notification of this step, the prince gave way to the most uncontrolled
fury,--burst into her chamber, and would infallibly have stabbed her,
had he not been seized and removed by force. Mad with rage, he turned
his weapon upon himself, and lay a corpse at the feet of his
horror-stricken friends. Besides these two incidents, which attracted
great notice in the higher circles, a number of other instances were
cited as