HE5 Cornell University Library PG 3140.H25 Epic songs of Russia 3 1924 026 606 404 li p ^ Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924026606404 THE i?.-*-'^ EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA BY ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD WITH AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE PROFESSOR FRANCIS JrCHILD NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNEE'S SONS 1886 Copyright, 1886, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS. ELEOTKOTTPED AND PBINTED BY HAND, AVERY, & COMPANY, BOSTON, MASS. TO CLARENCE JOHN BLAKE, M.D., or BOSTON, IN EEOOGNITION OF THE FRIENDLY INTEREST WHICH HE HAS TAKEN IN ITS PREPARATION, 5CJts ISoflfe fa BeljicatelJ, BY THE AUTHOR. INTRODUCTORY NOTE. "T CANNOT forbear to bespeak a welcome for this spu'ited and sympathetic version of the, more important of the Great Russian Popular He- roic Songs. Besides the pleasure which may be got from it, it wUl help to an appreciation of that large class of our fellow-creatures, in the past and in the present, who have been educated by tradi- tion and not by books, and who, though living on oats, feel and cherish poetry not less than those who have been nursed in comfort and schooled in literature. The songs and tales of this class have now been collected from Siberia to the Azores, from Iceland to Cyprus, and more or less all the earth over. The pampered world of cultivated readers has made new and refreshing acquisitions from the inheritance of the poor and simple, and has reason to respect and admire those whom, at best, they pitied for their destitution of intellectual solaces and delights. Though this book is meant for the general reader, it cannot fail to be most acceptable VI INTRODUCTORY NOTE. to students of popular tradition wlio have been so unfortunate as to neglect Russian; for nothing of the same kind and compass has, so far as I know, been published in any language of Western Europe. The translator has said in her introduc- tion all that I should otherwise have felt called to say, and has left it for me only to express the obligation, which I for one feel to her, for under- taking this work, and the wish that it may meet with the reception which I think it deserves. F. J. CHILD. PREFACE. npHOROUGH study of the epic poems of Russia, (bylinas) as of other branches of folk-lore, is not to be thought of at the present day, without the aid of the comparative method, which must begin in the circle of the other Slavic literatures, Bulga- rian, Servian, etc. It has not seemed to me advisable to enter upon so vast a subject in this volume, which is intended for popular reading. I hope that the brief notes in the Appendix will suffice to give a general idea of the historical foundation of the bylinas, and of the relationship which exists between them and the epic poems of other nations. As it is extremely improbable that a complete translation of these Songs will ever be published, a word of explanation is necessary with regard to the method I have pursued. — Of each Song many ver- sions exist, varying in number from three to three dozen or more. Some of these, though mere frag- ments, contain important facts. Others are ren- vii viii PREFACE. dered inordinately long by the repetition of speeches, the multipHcation of details, or the interpolation of passages from other songs. In very few instances is the story complete ; and when complete, many characteristic details are lacking. Literal render- ing of such a vast and puzzling mass of poems, which are numbered by the hundred, and in theii- printed form, cover thousands of pages, is mani- festly impossible. Eclecticism is the only solution of the diflBculty, for the descriptive method conveys no adequate idea of either style or story. I have consulted all the variants. The style I have pre- served as nearly as possible, deeming the action sufficiently rapid and forcible to sustain the old- fashioned language. I venture to think that the result would satisfy the peasant-minstrels them- selves. I have simplified the spelling of the proper names as much as possible, and of the very few Russian words employed, and have accented all, in order that the pronunciation may not mar the reader's pleasure. The theory that the epic songs are of purely legendary origin, and not nature myths, is gaining ground. If this view is accepted, the very slight distinction between the Elder and the Younger heroes immediately disappears. It has seemed best, however, to retain that division, since it is customary in Russia and necessary to the proper PBEFACE. IX understanding of any reference to the subject. The mythological explanation will be found inter- esting from its ingenuity, whichever view may eventually prevail. For the hylinas I am indebted to the Collections of Kirshd Danil6f, Sakdrof, Rybnikof, Kiry6evsky, Bezonof, Hilferding, and the Ethnographical Bulle- tin of the Natural History Society of Moscow Uni- versity ; for my notes, to works on these Songs by Orest Miller, Schepping, Maikof, BusUef, Galak6f, and other recognized Russian authorities. ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD. Boston, August, 1885. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PASB Introduction 1 THE ELDER HEROES. Volga VseslIvich the Wizaed 23 Volga and Mikula Selyaninovioh the Villager's Son 28 Hero Svyatog6r 33 THE CYCLE OF VLADIMIR, OR OF KIEF. IlTA op Mt'ROM THE PEASANT HeRO, AND HeRO SvTA- togor 39 qcjiet dunai ivanovich 48 Stavr Godinovich the Boyar (Noble) 65 1-Ilya of Murom and Nightingale the Bobber . . 77 ■ Bold Alyosha the Pope's Son 88 The One and Forty Pilgrims 98 Ilya in Disguise 110 DOBEYNYA the DeAGON-SlAYER, AND MaRINA . . . 116 Ivan Godin6vich 124 dobrynya and the adventure of the pavilion . . 135 Chueilo Plenkovich, the Fop 139 xu TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Ilya and the Boon Companions 148 DiuK Stepanovich 151 Vasily the Drunkaed and Tzar Batyg . . . • 178 yIlya and Idol 183 DOBEYNYA and THE DrAGON 188 Ivan the Merchant's Son and his Horse . . . 201 Ilya of Mueom and Falcon the Hunter .... 206 Sweet Mikailo Ivanovich the Rover 214 Nightingale Budimirovich the Sailor Hero . . . 232 Danilo the Huntsman and his Wife 240 Ilya and the Adventure of the Three Roads . . 246 DOBRYNYA AND AlYOSHA 253 Ilya of Murom and Tzar Kalin 269 TzAE Solomon and Tzaritza Solomonida .... 282 THE CYCLE OF NOVGOROD. Vasily Buslaevich the Brave of Novgorod . . . 295 Merchant Sadko the Rich Guest of Novgorod . 313 APPENDIX. The AlXtyr Stone 327 Volga Vseslavich 329 Volga and Mikula 332' SvYATOGOR 334 Ilya of Mdrom 336 The Fair Sun Peince Vladimir 341 Quiet Dunai Ivanovich 342 Stave Godinovich 343 Bold Alyosha Popovich 344 TABLE OF CONTENTS. xiii PAGE DOBRTNYA THE DrAGON-SlATER 346 Ivan Godin6vich 349 Churilo Plenkovich 350 DiuK Stepanovich 351 Vasily the Drunkard and Tzar Batyg 352 Sweet MikXilo IvInovich the Eover 353 Nightingale Budimirovich 355 Tzar Solomon and TzarItza Solom6nida . . . . 356 Vasily Buslaevich 357 Merchant Sadko the Rich Guest of Novgorod . 357 THE EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. INTRODUCTION. n^HE highest stage of development reached by pop- -*- ular song is the heroic epos — the rhythmic story of the deeds of national heroes either historical or mythical. In many countries these epics were com- mitted to writing at a very early date. In Western Europe this took place in the Middle Ages, and they are known to the modern world in that form only, their memory having completely died out among the people. To this rule, there are two striking exceptions. — At the beginning of the present century, the old heroic songs were sung in the Faroe Islands, and that in a much more antique form than is preserved in the later. Middle Age versions. The second exception is still more remarkable. Russia presents the phenomenon of a country where epic song, handed down wholly by oral tradition for nearly a thousand years, is not only flour- ishing at the present day in certain districts, but even extending into fresh fields. Amid the vast swamps and forests of Northern Russia the hylinas ^ are sung to-day by scores of peasants, men 1 ByUna, from byt, to he: i.e., the story of something which has actu- ally occurred, in contradistinction to the account ol a purely imaginary event. 1 2 INTRODUCTION. and women, old and young, to whom they have de- scended through countless generations of ancestors, and whose belief is as implicit in the bogat^rs i whose deeds they celebrate as was the belief of the first of those ancestors. It is only within the present century, — within the last twenty-five years in fact, — that the discovery has been made that Russia possesses a national literature which is not excelled by the finest of Western Europe. About the middle of the last century, Kirshi Danil^f made a collection of songs among the workmen at the Demidof mines in the Government of Perm. It is not known who this Kirshi Danil^f was. An incomplete edition published from his manuscript in 1804 created some interest as a curiosity. In 1818 a more complete edition was issued; and the attention of students having been directed to the subject, various songs were written down by different persons, as occasion offered. A col- lection was also published in German at Leipzig in 1819, which contained some epic songs not since found. It was left, however, for Petr Rybnikof, to arouse general 1 The etymology of bogatyr, a hero, is uncertain. Some authorities refer it to a word current among various Turko-Mongolian tribes, iaga- dour, batour, bator, bagadar, which is applied to a hero who has thrice penetrated first and alone into the ranks of the enemy. The title is thereafter affixed to his name. But the Mongolians had borrowed the word from the Sanskrit, where it already denoted a person endowed with good luck, a successful person — and success constitutes an insep- arable attribute of all heroes. A more purely Kussian theory is that which derives it from bog, god, through the intermediate form bogdtrji, rich, as in Latin dives, rich, is immediately related to divus, godlike, i.e. endowed with an abundance of wonderful powers and gifts. In Little Kussia, bogatyr is still used to denote a rich man, and sometimes a hero. In the ancient Chronicles, the heroes do not bear the name of bogaiyrs until 1240, but are called ryezvetzy, bold, daring men, or udaltzy, braves, the title still applied to the heroes of the Novgorod cycle. INTRODUCTION. 3 attention and enthusiasm. In 1861-62 appeared the first two volumes of his great collection made on the shores of Lake Ondga. They were greeted with so much amazement and even incredulity, that Rybnikof appended to his third volume a detailed account of his journeyings and of the peasants from whose lips he had written down his songs. The publication of these songs marked an epoch in the literature of Russia. Petr N. Rybnikof was a government official who was stationed at Petrzavodsk on the western shore of Lake Ondga. Conversing in 1859 with some of the older inhabitants of the town, he learned that many curious and ancient customs, traditions and songs were pre- served among the villagers of the Oldnetz Government. In confirmation of the statement he was referred to two poems which had been published in the govern- ment journals. In the course of that year, he succeeded in obtaining some manuscript songs, which had been written down at the dictation of a peasant tailor known as " The Bottle." He then set to work to collect mon- uments of popular poetry, but at first found only histor- ical and spiritual songs and laments. In 1860 he was ordered to collect certain statistics, and this afforded him an opportunity to pursue his search among the people themselves. At Shungsk Fair he succeeded, with the aid of the police, in finding a couple of kaliky or psalm-singers, and persuaded them to sing all they knew. As very few of these hallky sing " worldly songs," i.e., byllnas, his hopes were again frustrated. He continued to hear much of " The Bottle," who in the pursuit of his calling roamed over the whole of the trans-On^ga region. But although, in search of him, Rybnikof made two journeys across 4 INTRODUCTION. Lake On^ga on the ice in severe winter weather, and one in summer on a leaky boat, it was not until 1863 that he succeeded in finding him. — Before this, how- ever, he had heard many an epic song from other singers. Knowing the distrust with which an official inspires the peasants, he dressed himself like a man of the peo- ple, and took passage on a market-boat returning to Pud(5ga, where " The Bottle " lived. Though it was May, the ice was not out of the lake, and it was bitterly cold. Contrary winds forced them to put in at an island covered with woods and swamps, only twelve versts from their starting-place, after having labored at the oars all night. The dirty hut of refuge was already crowded with peasants, weather-bound like themselves, so Rybnikof made himself some tea by a fire which was burning in the open air, and lay down on the ground to sleep. He was awakened by strange sounds. About three paces from him sat a group of peasants and an old man with a great white beard, bright eyes, and a kindly expression of countenance. From the old man's lips flowed a wondrous song, unlike any which Rybni- kof had ever heard, lively, fantastic, gay, growing now more brisk, again breaking off suddenly, and suggesting in style something very ancient and long forgotten by liv- ing men. That song finished, the old man began another — the famous lay of Sadk6 the Merchant of N6vgorod. Thoroughly aroused now, Rybnikof knew that this was his long-sought epic. Many a one did he thereafter listen to, sung by rhapsodists with fine voices and masterly dic- tion, but none of them ever produced upon him the fresh and overwhelming impression made by old L^onty Bogdan6vich with his poor, cracked voice and imperfect versions. INTRODUCTION. 5 Thanks to Bogdandvich, R^bnikof was enabled to find a great number of singers, and to overcome their habitual distrust of chindvniks (officials) sufficiently to induce them to sing all the songs they knew. In this manner he succeeded in collecting over 50,000 verses. — But this collection was far from exhausting the rich hoards of epic poetry treasured up in the region about Lake On^ga. In 1870 Alexander F. Hilferding, im- pelled by a desire to see something of the peasantry and to hear some of the remarkable rhapsodists described by Rybnikof, undertook a journey to certain districts recommended by the latter. But he did not pause there ; penetrating to the North and East of the OWnetz government, he found, apparently, the very home of epic poetry in the xix. century. In less than two months he had made a collection of byllnas even larger than Rybnikof s, containing 318 songs. The region is but little known, and a condition of things prevails which cannot differ much from that of epic days. The peasants on the borders of Lake On^ga have a comparatively enviable lot. They have inter- course with St. Petersburg, and are not entirely cut off from the world. But further to the North and East, in Kendzero, Vygdzero and Vadldzero, the peasant's lot is hard indeed. There lie forests, swamps, and again forests. The only means of communication between the hamlets which dot this vast wilderness is afforded by the scattered lakes. There are no carts, — they cannot be used on the marshy roads; sledges are employed even in summer, or voloki — long poles, one end of which is fastened to the horse collar, while the other end, with board attached to bear the load, drags on the ground. Where water communication is lacking, the peasant must b INTRODUGTION. go on horseback, making his own path through the dense forest. The cultivation, with great labor, of tiny clear- ings in the forest, and fishing in autumn, form the only means of livelihood, so that all are obliged to add some trade — hunting wild animals, teaming to the White Sea in winter, and so forth. The women and girls work equally hard, and the peasant is happy if, by their united labors, they manage to escape starvation. Oats prepared in various ways form the chief article of food, for they cannot raise either cabbages, onions, cucumbers or buckwheat. "The condition of things is growing worse," says Hilferding in 1870. Some bureaucrat took it into his head that the interests of the Treasury demanded the preservation of the Northern forests ; consequently, the peasants were forbidden to make their little clearings, in spite of the fact that they used only the land which was covered by a stunted growth of birches and alders, and did not touch the valuable wood, for the simple reason that the soil on which grow pines and larches is not fit for crops. This prohibition has had the curious effect in one district of introducing epic songs, where they had not been previously known. Agriculture is not favorable to the preservation of epic poetry, the singers coming almost entirely from the ranks of the tailors, shoe- makers and net-makers. When, therefore, this com- munity was forced to abandon agriculture, it took to making fine nets, — and to learning epic songs. Two of the causes which have aided in the preserva- tion of epic poetry in these remote districts, long after its disappearance from other parts of Russia, are liberty and loneliness. These people have never been subjected INTBODUGTION. T to the oppressions of serfdom, and have never lost the ideal of free power celebrated in the ancient rhapsodies. In these forest fastnesses they have never felt the influ- ences of change, — conditions remain as in epic times. Even education has hardly left a trace. A man who can read and write is very rare.^ Faith in antiquity and marvels is thus preserved. All the singers and most of their hearers believe implicitly in the hylinas, for when doubt enters, epic poetry dies. When Hilferding made the minstrels repeat slowly and with pauses, in order to enable him to write down their songs, they and the peasants present would interpolate remarks which showed their entire faith in the incidents narrated. If, as sometimes happened, a slight doubt was expressed as to whether a hero could wield a club of sixteen hundred pounds (forty poods), or annihilate forty thousand men with his own hand, the rhapsodists explained matters very simply : " People were not at all then as they are now." The singing of the poems is not now a profession, as it was in ancient Greece, in Europe during the Middle Ages, and as it is in Little Russia at the present day, where the Kohzdrs still exist. It has remained a domes- tic diversion for people whose voices and memories per- mit them to learn the old songs. The singing of religious songs or stlhs is of a pro- fessional character, however, and the haliky perekdzhie, or wandering-psalm-singers, mostly blind men or cripples, use it as a means of livelihood. That there were professional minstrels in Russia in the Middle Ages, there can be no doubt.' The Chronicles 1 Out of seventy singers, HiUerding found only four or five who could read and write. 8 INTRODUCTION. mention them at the Court of Saint Vladfmir's grand- son. The Church also denounced skomoroki (buffoons), fiddlers and players, and the singing of devilish (i.e. ■worldly) songs, before the Tatar conquest. If, as is probable, these "devilish songs" included the epic songs, we may assume that they were not originally composed for the common people, but were sung before the higher classes and the royal body-guard. The manner in which the exploits of the guard are magnified and those of the Prince belittled would seem to indicate that these songs were preeminently an entertainment for the body- guard. The minstrels also exercised their art before the Prince — if we can trust the evidence of the poems themselves.^ However this may be, the present minstrels all be- long to the peasant class, and are nearly all well-to-do, as talent for practical affairs seems to accompany a taste for epic poetry. Many of them would accept nothing from Rybnikof and Hilferding; and when the former offered a kerchief to the daughter of Ryabinin, one of the best singers, the minstrel at once presented an em- broidered towel, saying that it was customary for friends to exchange gifts at parting. As an instance of the esteem in which hylina singing is regarded by the peas- ants, it is related of this Ryabinin, that his comrades would take turns in doing his share of the work on the fishing-boat, on condition that he should sing to them. The aged bard also, from whom many of the present generation learned their songs, was in the habit of say- ing when asked to sing : " Give me a poltina (half a ruble), and I will sing you a bylina." The half ruble 1 See "Stavr Godinovich,'' and "Dobr^nya and Alydsha." introduction: 9 was always forthcoming ; but he was a very fine singer and the only one who demanded any thing from his fellows. So long as schools and trade do not penetrate to this secluded region, there is no danger of epic poetry dying out. Memory is the chief factor ; creative power, which undoubtedly exists (though it is supposed to have be- come extinct after Peter the Great's day), does not come into play. As a man has received his song, so he sings it, with all the obsolete words, sometimes quite unintelligible. If asked the definitions of these words, he will answer simply, "it is always sung so," unless the words chance to be included in his provincial vo- cabulary. In this manner have been preserved details of nature on the Dniepr, — the "plume grass," the "open plain," the " aurochs " (now extinct), of which the North Russian peasant knows nothing whatever. Yet not a few local touches are introduced ; — the mossy marshes and little lakes over which the hero gallops and picks his way, the fitting out of ships and the saddling of horses, all details dear and familiar to these lake-dwell- ers, are enlarged upon. One of the most striking results of local influence is seen in the preservation of the polydnitza. This has become so foreign an idea in the rest of Russia, that when Rybnikof s first volume was published even the savants did not know the meaning of the word. It was defined as a " bold fellow who gallops about seeking adventures ; " and even Dahl in his great dictionary gives it as " a band of desperadoes or robbers." But any peasant in North-eastern 016netz will explain that in ancient times heroic deeds were performed indiffer- ently by men and women, the men being called hogor t^rs and the women polt/dnitzas. 10 INTBODUCTION. Fine or poor, all the rhapsodists preserve the distinct characters in their songs perfectly. Never once does Vladfmir depart from the rSle assigned him, of a good- natured, but not always just, ruler ; Dobrynya is always courteous, Alydsha bold and cunning, Churilo foppish. Thus the story is always preserved intact. But in spite of the singers' assertions that they sing things exactly as they have learned them, two men who sing the same poem, which they have learned from the same person, will tinge it with their own distinct personal- ities to a marked degree. Thus, with some singers, the heroes are distinguished for their piety; other singers tone down the fiercest speeches in accordance with their own mild dispositions. Some render their songs inordinately long — two or three hours — by the multiplication of details and the repetition of whole passages, in true epic fashion. Yet with all these modi- fications, which render these ancient songs almost as much a living product of the nineteenth century as of the tenth, each song possesses as distinct a character as any of the epic lays which crystallized into a literary form in the Middle Ages and faded out of the memories of the people. A regular tonic versification forms one indispensable property of these epic poems ; irregularity of versifica- tion is a sign of decay, and a complete absence of meas- ure the last stage of decay. The common measure of the hylina is trochaic with a dactylic ending, of five or six feet, which with characteristic elasticity can be lengthened to seven or contracted to four. A longer or shorter measure than these is an evidence of decay. The measure varies with the subject to some extent. For example, Ryabfnin sang the lay of Stavr in trochaic INTBODUGTIOW. 11 measure with a dactyl, Mihdilo Rover in pure trochaic, and Volgd and Mikfjla in anapaests. The airs to which they are sung, or chanted, are very simple, consisting of but few tones, yet extremely diffi- cult to note down. Each singer has an air of his own (perhaps two), to which he sings all the songs in his repertory, modifying it according to the subject and sentiment, with the greatest skill. Rybnikof and Hil- ferding often dropped their pens and listened in amaze- ment and admiration to the skill of these untutored minstrels. It is interesting to trace the different stages of decay in an epic poem ending in the skdzka (tale). The epic poem has strictly defined characteristics ; names historical or pseudo-historical are given to places and persons, the style is determined, the rhythm fixed within certain limits. A weakening of these character- istics makes of the epic a pobyvdlehina or starina (old tale) ; further deterioration brings it to the class of ka- zdcheskiya (Cossdck songs) ; next comes the class of the molodyStzkiya (young men's songs), then the bezimydni- niya (nameless songs), then the skdzka or prose tale. At each step of this descending scale, it loses more and more of the definiteness of time and place as well as the names of the actors, until in the skdzka, all definite rules of construction, all indications of distinct locality, vanish. The epic songs proper are broadly divisible into three groups : the cycle of Vladimir or Kfef, that of N6vgorod, and that of Moscow, preceded by three songs of the Elder Heroes. With regard to the first two, and the Kfef cycle in particular, authorities on the origin of Rus- sian literature differ widely. One writer endeavors to 12 INTRODUCTION. prove that the Russians, while preserving the traditions common to all Aryan races in their Ceremonial Songs, en- tirely forgot the common Aryan stock of heroic legends. He assumes that these legends 'came back to them much later by appropriation from peoples of Turko- Mongolian race, who had become acquainted with epic traditions through Buddhism. This theory is analogous to that propounded by the distinguished Orientalist Benfey, with regard to European tales. According to this view, there is in Russian nothing but the crippled skeleton of foreign tales, to which have been added a few historical and geographical names and psychical traits furnished to various heroes by over-zealous stu- dents, who approached the subject with preconceived notions. That the epic songs possess a family likeness to the heroic legends of other Aryan races, is not denied by any one ; and this likeness is particularly strong in the case of the Rig- Veda, the Ramayana, the Edda and the Celtic epics. But about this epic skeleton, so to speak, a living body has grown up which is as characteristically na- tional as any of those mentioned. The examples cited from Tatar and Mongolian sources by the author of the theory above referred to, are in most cases extremely far-fetched. His views have been combated by distin- guished students of comparative mythology, and this wholesale appropriation from Eastern myths cannot be regarded as established. A comparison of these epic songs with the ancient Chronicles shows that the he- roes are thoroughly Russian, and that the pictures of manners and customs which they present are valuable for their accuracy. The point of departure for the mythologies of all INTRODUCTION. 13 Aryan races must be sought in the phenomena of Nature. These were first personified as gods, and when each of these gods became divided into two or more individuals, according to their various attributes, these attributes, now entirely independent personages, were called the sons and grandsons of the gods. The localization of these Nature-myths began in heathen times. They were attached to various places, historical events and persons. With the introduction of Christianity this localization became more decided, and the ancient objects of wor- ship were transformed, now into heroes, again into house demons or sorcerers, and fell under the ban as evil spirits or were merged with the new saints. Prince Vladfmir Svyatosldvich introduced Christian- ity into Russia in 988. It was not only established as the State religion, but the people, at Vladimir's com- mand, accepted the new faith, permitted their idols to be destroyed and themselves to be baptized by thou- sands forthwith. Though they had idols representing the powers of Nature which they worshipped, there were neither temples nor priests to interfere with this summary change. But their old beliefs could not be so readily set aside, and finding themselves thus pro- vided with two faiths, they solved the difficulty in the most natural manner, — by subjecting their heathen gods to baptism also. Thus, for instance, Perun the Thunderer became Ilyd (Elijah) the Prophet, the hero Ily4 of Murom of the Songs. This furnishes the key to the cycle of Vladimir, and shows how the epithet " two-faithed," often applied to the Russian people by their old writers, was earned. Side by side with the cycle of Vladfmir and the heroes of Kief, and sung by the same rhapsodists, flour- 14 INTRODUCTION. ishes the N6vgorod cycle, with its Braves (udaltzf). Much more restricted than either the Kfef or the Mos- cow cycle, it consists practically of but two songs. N6vgorod was one of the greatest cities of the North, a Slavic Venice, long before the other Russian towns had emerged from obscurity. It had extensive com- mercial relations with Western Europe and the Orient, and of this feature of N6vgorod the Great, Sadk6 the Merchant is the epic representative. Of the perpetual war waged against the Chouds, Scandinavians and other tribes, no trace remains in the songs which survive ; but the memory of the civil war which raged between the patricians and the common people, between the two quarters of the town separated by the Volkdf, is per- petuated in the song of Vastly Busldevich. This cycle is not So rich in the ancient poetry of the Elements as the Kief cycle, and compared with that, it is far more definite, practical and closer to history. In the two cycles already considered, the heroic epos, the historical fate of the people is reflected in its most salient features and essential spirit. — But there exist among the people epic songs which are more justly enti- tled to the general appellation bestowed upon all similar productions, hylinas — records of what has been. The actors in these songs are connected with well-defined epochs, with real events, and not only bear historic names like the heroes of the Kief and Novgorod cycles, but frequently perform the feats assigned to them by history. Epic marvels liave not wholly disappeared from these songs of what is termed the Moscow or Imperial cycle, and at times heroic, supernatural feats are narrated, evidently copied from the earlier cycles. These Mos- INTRODUCTION. 15 cow songs are inferior in force, and approach in style the " Old" or "Nameless Songs." The pre-Tatar period is not represented, and the cycle proper begins with Ivdn the Terrible ; and ends with the reign of Peter the Great, when the power of composing epic songs is sup- posed to have disappeared. Iv&n and Peter are the most prominent figures. As the period extending from the Kfef cycle to Ivdn is not rich in song, so likewise there is a great gap of a, hundred years before Peter the Great, in which the songs are in no way remark- able, notwithstanding the many striking events which would seem to have afi'orded fitting subjects for the popular muse. Fantastic as are some of the adventures in these songs, there is always a solid historical foundation. The same prociess which unites (Saint) Vladfmir SvyatoslAvich and Vladfmir Monomdchus in one person, is pursued with Ivan the Terrible. To this much-married Tzar are attributed many deeds of his grandfather Ivdn III. (his father being ignored), and other persons ; and he is always represented in a rather favorable light. The conquest of Siberia, the taking of Kaz^n and Astra- khan, the wars against Poland, the Tatars of the Cri- mea, etc., are the principal points about which are grouped the songs referring to Ivan's reign. Richard James, Almoner to the English Embassy to Moscow in 1619, only fourteen years after the brief reign of the False Dmftry, noted down many of the songs which were already current upon that event, and another collection of contemporary lays was made by Kalaid6vich in 1688. These are the first instances of the Russian national songs being reduced to writing. Many of those noted by James are reprinted in P. V. 16 INTRODUCTION. Kiry^evsky's great work in six volumes, ■which is very rich in songs of the Moscow cycle. The epic Peter the Great bears but a faint resem- blance to the historical Peter. His wars offered fine subjects for the singers, but they incorporated many a detail from the ancient myths of Dobrynya the Dragon Slayer and Ilyd, of Murom in their songs about the battle of Poltdva. The composition of epic poetry did not entirely cease until after the French invasion of 1812 ; though the songs of that epoch are much inferior to those of the ancient days, are utterly devoid of poetry, and merit attention 'only as curious mementos of the times. A more detailed account of the Moscow cycle is unneces- sary, as it will not be represented in this volume. Its methods can be observed in the songs of the semi-myth- ical epoch, where they appear at their best. These poems are sung in the same regions as those of the first two cycles, and also to a greater extent than the latter in the central governments of Tula and Saratof. In support of the theory that the poems of the Vla- dimir and Novgorod cycles were not original creations but derived from Turko-Mongolian sources, its advo- cates point to the fact that in the~ Government of Kief and Southern Russia, where they should have originated if of Russian composition, none are now to be heard, while in Siberia and the governments of Archangel, Simbirsk, Perm, Oldnetz (especially the latter), on the Don, and at the mouths of the V(51ga, they abound. This, they claim, proves that the epic songs came from the wandering hordes of Siberia. A more simple and natural explanation of this phenomenon is furnished by the history of the Kfef region. INTBODUGTION. IT — The lays of Vladfmir were composed in the X., XI., and xii. centuries. There are several reasons for assigning them to this epoch. — They all represent Russia as Christian, united under the rule of Vladimir, and in constant (generally hostile) contact with the Tatars. The action is almost exclusively confined to Kfef or its environs, and among the other towns men- tioned (all belonging to the Kief epoch) Moscow is not included. This confines them between the limits of 988 (when Christianity was introduced by Vladimir Svyatosldvich) and 1147 when Moscow first appears in the Chronicles, Yury the son of Vladfmir Monom^chus having built the first houses on the present site of the Kremlin. Most of the heroes are, moreover, mentioned in the Chronicles, and none of them can have lived later than the beginning of the xrn. century. Further proof is furnished by the "Word of Igors Troop "^ (^Slova o plkou Igorevye), — Russia's famous written epic poem and the only one which was com- mitted to writing earlier than the xvn. century. — In 1185, Igor, Prince of N6vgorod-Sy6versky, undertook a campaign of retaliation against the Polovtzy, a no- mad tribe of Turko-Finnish extraction living on the shores of the Don. This poem which is founded on that expedition bears internal evidence of having been composed during the lifetime of the principal actors in the drama. It is supposed to have been committed to writing in the xrv. or xr. century. The unknown author announces in the first lines, his intention of sing- 1 The original manuscript discovered in 1795, was destroyed at the burning of Moscow in 1812. A MS. copy preserved among the papers of Catherine II., and the text printed from the original in 1800 alone survive. 18 INTRODUCTION. ing in the "present style" — the style of the bylinas — " and not in that of Boyan," evidently a poet of repute at that time. This shows that these songs were in vogue as early as 1185. As the only epic poem which has been transmitted to us in writing, the " Word " is of the greatest value and interest, but it differs so radically from the bylinas (in spite of the author's intention) that it lies without the scope of the present work. The epic songs are the work of the people alone ; they present no traces of individual character, their heroes are more mythical than historical. The " Word," on the other hand, is the work of a poet, who has succeeded in coloring it strongly with his own person- ality ; its heroes are simple men, with no trace of the supernatural, the event chronicled is historical, and the poem forms an organic whole. — In the songs layers of poetry as well as of history are discernible, and it has been suggested that a system of poetical paleontology might be applied to them. There seems thus to be sufBcient ground for assum- ing that the songs of the Kief cycle (and those of the Elder Heroes) were already in existence when, in the X. and XI. centuries, Vladimir and Yaroslavl were founded, and the great movement of the South Rus- sian population towards the North and the East began. This movement continued to increase, particularly dur- ing the XII. century, when the seat of empire was removed to Vladimir. It is easy to see how the songs would be carried by this emigrating population from the South to the points which became later the centre of Great Russia ; and how, still later, the development of new needs and forms of life in the Russia of Mos- INTBODVOTION. 19 cow, removed the Kfef songs to the borders of the country together with other relics of antiquity. The devastation of Southern Russia by the Tatars in the xiii. century, and the decay of its civilization under the Lithuanian sway in the xiv. and xv., obliterated these poems from popular memory. When, in the xvi. century, the population of Southern Rus- sia organized itself anew in the forms of the Cossdck communes, it fabricated for itself a fresh cycle of epic legends, which finally replaced those of Kief. Thus, in Little Russia, where they originated, these epic songs are sung no longer, though a dim hint or a name may be found now and then in the Ceremonial Songs, and the Kohzdrs * celebrate the deed of a new race of Cos- sdck heroes. But in the lonely wildernesses of the North-east, where circumstances have called forth no great or warlike deeds, the ancient paladins of Prince Vladimir's court have no rivals, and the emigrants have cherished the songs and legends which recall their fair Southern home of yore. This progress of the epic poems ever further towards the North, recalls the famous migration of the Norse epos to Iceland, where it was committed to writing in the Middle Ages, affords a reasonable explanation of the present home of epic song, and renders the Sibe- rian theory superfluous. I Professional minstrels who accompany their songs on the Tcobzd or band4ra, a twelve-stringed Instrument, resembling a mandolin in shape. THE ELDER HEROES. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. VOLGA VSESLAVICH THE WIZARD. The red sun sank behind the lofty mountains, behind the broad sea, stars studded the clear heavens ; then Volgd Vsesld,vich was born in Holy Mother Russia, the son of Mdrfa Vsesldvievna and a Dragon. Mother Earth trembled, the wild beasts fled to the forests, the birds flew up to the clouds, and the fish in the blue sea scattered. At an hour and a half old, Volgd spoke thus to his lady mother: " Swathe me not in cocoon-like bands, neither gird me about with silken bonds. But swathe me, mother mine, in strong steel mail ; on my head set a helm of gold ; in my right hand put a mace, a heavy mace of lead, in weight three hundred poods." ^ In due course Lord Volga learned all wisdom and all cunning, and divers tongues. When he 1 A pood is about forty pounds. 23 24 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. attained to fifteen years ^ he collected a body-guard, bold and good — thirty heroes, save one ; and he himself was the thirtieth. To them Lord Volga spoke : " Good and brave druzhina ^ mine ! listen to your atamin.* Weave snares of silk, spread them on the damp earth, amid the dusky forest, and take martens, foxes, w^Ud beasts and black sables for the space of three days and three nights." His good body-guard hearkened to their elder brother, to their chief, and did the thing com- manded: but no single beast could they take. Then Lord Volga transformed himself into a lion, and trotted over the damp earth to the gloomy for- est, headed oflF the martens, foxes, the vrild beasts and black sables, the far-leaping hares and little ermines, capturing as many as he would. Again, on a day, Lord Volgd was in Kief town, with his nine and twenty heroes ; and he said to them : " Good my body-guard ! twine now mighty cords. Make them fast to the topmost crests of the trees in the dark forest ; and catch therewith geese, swans, clear falcons, and little birds of all the vari- ous sorts. And this ye shall do for the space of three days and nights." 1 In some versions, twelve years, the epic age of martial maturity. 2 From d-i-ug, a friend ; a body-guard where all were like brothers. See Appendix : Yolyd Ysesldvich. s Hetmau, Cossack chief. EPia SONGS OF RUSSIA. 25 And when they did so, and caught nothing, Lord Volgd turned himself into an ostrich-bird, and turned all back, geese, swans, clear falcons and lesser bu'ds. Again he ordered his good body-guard to take axes of stout metal, and build oaken vessels, and to knot silken nets, wherewith to take salmon, dolphins, pikes, flat fish and precious sturgeons, for three days and as many nights. And when they could not, he transformed himself into a pike, and drove aU the fishes back. And being again in Kief town, with his body- guard. Lord Volgd spoke : " Brave and good druzhlna mine ! Whom shall we send to the Turk- ish land, to learn the Tzar's mind, — what the Tzar thinketh, whether he meanethto come against Holy Eussia? If we send an old man, there will be long to wait; if a young one, he will sport with the maidens, he will divert himself with the young damsels, and hold converse with the old crones, and so also we shall have long to wait. Plain is it then that Volgd himself must go." Then Volgd became a little bird, and flew above the earth, and came speedily to the Turkish land. There he alighted over against the Tzar's little window, and Ustened to the secret talk between the Tzar and his Tzarltza. " Ai, my Tzarltza Pantdlovna ! I know what I know. Ltt Russia the grass groweth not as of yore. 26 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. the flowers bloom not as of old ; plainly, Volgd, is no longer among the living." To this the Tzarltza Pantdlovna made answer : " And thou my Tzar, thou Turkish Sdntal ! the grass still groweth as of yore in Eussia, and the flowers blossom as was their wont. Last night and in my dreams I saw a little titmouse fly from the East, and from the West a black raven. They flew against each other in the open plain, and fought. The little bird tore the black raven asunder, and plucked out his feathers, and scattered aU to the winds." Then Tzar Slntal the Turk made answer : " I am minded to march against Holy Russia shortly. Nine cities will I take and bestow upon my nine sons, and for myself I will fetch a rich furred cloak." " Thou shalt never take nine cities," quoth Pan- tdlovna, " for thy nine sons, nor shalt thou fetch for thyself a rich furred cloak." " Thou old devil ! " spake Tzar Sdntal the Turk, " thou hast but slept and dreamed." Therewith he smote her upon her white face, and, turning, smote the other cheek, and flung the Tzar- ltza upon the floor of brick ; and yet a second time he flung her. " Nay, but I shall go to Holy Russia!" quoth he, " and I shall take nine cities for my nine sons, and a rich furred cloak for my own wearing." EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. 27 Then Lord Volgd VsesMvich transformed him-, self to a little ermine, crept into the armory, turned back into a goodly youth, snapped the stout bows, broke the silken cords, all the fiery arrows, and the locks upon the weapons, and drenched all the powder in the casks. Again Lord Volg^ turned himself into a gray wolf, and galloped to the stable, and tore open the throats of all the good steeds therein. When that was done. Lord Volgd flew back to Kief town, to his good body-guard, in the form of a little bird. " Let us go now, my bold, good guards, to the Turkish land," he said. So they rode thither, and took all the Turkish host captive. " Let us now divide the prisoners," quoth Lord Volga. What lot was dear, and what was cheap ? Sharp swords were rated at five rubles, weapons of damascened steel at six rubles : — and but one lot was exceeding cheap — the women. Old women were valued at a quarter of a kopek, young women at half a kopek, and beauties at a copper farthing. 28 EPIC SONGS OF EUSSIA. VOLGA AND MIETTLA SELTAinNOVICH THE VrLIiAGER'S SON.i Courteous Prince Vladimir, of royal Kief town, gave to his beloved nephew Volgd, three cities, Kurtz6vetz, Oryek6vetz, and a third, Kresty^novetz. For Volg^ had traversed many lands, many hordes ; he had collected gifts in tribute from aU Tzars and kings, and had brought them to glorious Eaef town, to his uncle. Prince Vladimir. Much gold had he collected and silver and great pearls, and yet more of Arabian bronze, which darkeneth never, nor corrodeth, and is more precious than gold or pearls or silver. Now, in those three glorious cities given him by his uncle Vladimir, dwelt stiff-necked people, who obeyed no man, neither gave gifts nor tribute to any. Then young Volgd VsesMvich assembled his good body-guard, and set out to take possession of his towns. — As they rode over the open plain, Volga heard a husbandman ploughing. The plough screamed, the share grated against the stones. Volga rode in quest of the husbandman. A whole day he rode until evening, and heard the plough 1 See Appendix for mythological signification, etc. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 29 grate ever through the plain ; but dark night o'er- took him on the way, and he found not the man. A second day he rode toward that husbandman until dusk, and yet a third ; and on the third day he came upon the man driving his plough, and casting the clods of earth from side to side of the furrow. The husbandman ploughed up damp oaks, stumps and great stones ; and his nightingale mare was named " Raise-her-head ; " for she could lift it to the clouds. His plough was of maple- wood,, his reins of silk, the share of damascened steel with fittings of silver, and the handles of pure gold. His curls waved over his brows of blackest sable, his eyes were falcon clear ; his shoes were of green morocco with pointed toes ; and under the hollow of his foot, sparrows might fly. His hat was downy, and his caftan was of black velvet. Lord Volgd spoke these words : " God aid thee, husbandman, in thy ploughing and tilling ! " "Art thou come, Volg^ Vsesldvich, with thy troop ? " answered the husbandman. " Eldest thou far, Volgd ? Whither leadeth thy course, with thy good guard?" " I go to take possession of three towns which courteous Prince Vladimir, my uncle, hath given to me. Kurtzovetz, Oryekovetz, and Krestyano- vetz." " Ho, Volgd VsesUvich ! Robbers dwell there. Two days ago I was in that town, bearing two sacks 30 EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. of salt, of a hundred poods each, upon my night- ingale mare, and they demanded toll ; and for all I gave them they would still have more. Then I began to thrust them back by thousands ; he who was standing is now sitting, he who was sitting now lieth, and he who then lay will stand no more forever.^ " Then spoke Volg^ : " Husbandman ! come thou with me as my comrade." The husbandman at that, loosed the silken reins, turned his mare from the plough and mounted the good steed, and they rode forth. But the husbandman soon paused in thought. " Ho, there, VolgA ! " quoth he ; "I have left my plough in the furrow. Command now thy men to turn it from the furrow, scrape the soil from the share, and cast it into a willow bush, that robbers find it not, — that none discover it save those to whom it will yield service, — my brother peas- ants." So Volg^ despatched five of his mighty youths, and they twisted the handles all about, but could not draw that plough of maple-wood from the furrow. Then Volgd sent thither ten men, and again his whole body-guard; but the strength of them all 1 Something resembling this occurs in Boon de Mayence. Doon, who has heen reared far from men, does not even know the meaning of money, and when the ferryman demands toll, he pays his way with blows. EPIC SONGS OF BUSS I A. 31 was not enough to loose the share, shake off the earth and toss it into the willow bush. Then the husbandman rode up on his nightingale mare, grasped the plough of maple-wood with one hand, shook the soil from the share, tossed it to the clouds, saying : " Farewell my plough ! Never more shall I till with thee." Then they mounted their good steeds and rode, and came to the famous town of Kurtzovetz, to Oryekovetz, and to the little burgh of Krestydno- vetz. Thereupon the common folk assembled in throngs and gave them great battle. And those peasants were very cunning rogues. They reared a treach- erous bridge. But the youthful heroes were yet more cunning, and first sent forward their great force upon that bridge of staffwood. Then the bridge broke, and all that host fell into the little river, and began to drown and to be in sorry plight. Volgd and the husbandman urged their good steeds across that little stream, the Volkof, and the brave chargers leaped it. Then they began to do honor to the peasants, to give them due guerdon and to lash them vrith their whips. And when they had chastised these peasants at their good pleasure, they rode back whence they came. And the peasants began to be submissive from that hour, and to pay their just tribute. 32 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. The husbandman rode in front, and Volgi es- sayed to overtake him ; yet spur on as he would, he could barely keep in sight. Raise-her-head's taU. spread far abroad, her mane waved in the breeze, and she went at a walk ; but Volgd,'s horse galloped at full speed. Raise-her-head paced, and Volga's steed was left far behind. Then Volgd waved his cap and shouted. When the husband- man perceived it, he restrained his nightingale mare, the while Volgd spoke thus: " Halt, thou husbandman ! If that mare were but a stallion, I would give for her five hundred rubles." " Thou art but foolish, Volgd," the busbandman made answer : "I bought this mare as a foal from her mother's side for five hundi'ed rubles ; and were she a stallion she would be priceless." " By what name art thou called, husbandman, and what is thy patronymic 1 " asked Volgd. " Now ho, thou Volgd VsesMvich ! " the hus- bandman made answer ; " I will plough for rye and stack it in ricks, I will draw it home and thresh it, brew beer and give the peasants to drink : — and the peasants shall call me Young Mikiila Selyanl- novich, the Villager's Son." EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. 33 HERO SVYATOGOR.1 Hero Svyatog6r saddled his good steed, and made ready to ride afield. As he traversed the open plain, he found none with whom to measure the strength which flowed so fiercely through his veins. Weighed down with might, as with a heavy burden, he spoke : " Would there were a ring fixed in the heavens — I would drag them down ! If there were but a pillar firm set in damp mother earth, and a ring made fast thereto, I would raise the whole earth and twist it round ! " And as he went his way over the wide steppe, he was aware of a traveller there, and rode after him, but could by no means overtake him. He rode at a trot, and the wayfarer was ever before him ; — at full gallop, and the man stUl went on before. Then cried the hero : " Ho there, thou wayfarer ! pause a little, for I cannot overtake thee on my good steed." So the wayfarer halted, took a small pair of pouches from his shoulder and cast them on the damp earth. I See Appendix: Svyatogdr. 34 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. "What hast thou in thy pouches T' said Svy- atog6r. " Lift them from the earth, and thou shalt see," quoth the man. Then Svyatog6r sprang from his good steed, and seized the pouches with one hand, — and could not raise them. Then he essayed both hands ; — a breath alone could pass beneath, but the hero was sunk to his knees in the earth, and blood, not tears, streamed down his white face. " What lieth in thy wallet % " said Svyatog6r then. " Lo ! my strength hath not begun to fail me, yet I cannot lift this weight." " The whole weight of the earth lieth therein," the man made answer. "And who art thou] What art thou called, and what is thy patronymic \ " " I am MiklUushka ^ Selyanlnovich, the Villager's Son." " Tell me then, Mikulushka, inform me, how I may know the fate decreed by God ] " " Ride on the straight way, until thou come to the fork of the road. At the parting of the way, turn to thy left hand, send thy horse at full speed, and thou shalt come to the Northern Mountains. In those mountains, beneath a great tree, standeth a smithy; and of the smith therein do thou in- quire thy fate." 1 Ushka is the diminutive termination. EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. 35 Then Svyatog6r rode three days as he had been commanded, and so came to the great tree and the smithy, where stood the smith forging two fine hairs. Quoth the hero : " What forgest thou, smith % " The smith made answer : " I forge the fates of those that shall wed." " And whom shaU I wedl " " Thy bride is in the kingdom by the sea, in the royal city ; thkty years hath she lain on the dung- heap." Then the hero stood and thought : " Nay : but I will go to that kingdom by the sea, and will slay my bride." So he went to the royal city of that kingdom by the sea, and came to a miserable hut and entered. No one was there save a maiden lying on the dung- heap ; and her body was like the bark of fir-trees. Svyatog6r drew forth five hundred rubles, and laid them on the table, and with his sharp sword, he smote her on her white breast. Then he departed from that kingdom, and the maiden woke and gazed about her. The fir-bark fell from her limbs, and she became a beauty such as was never seen in all the world nor heard of in the white world. On the table lay the five hundi-ed rubles, and with this money she began to trade. When she had accumulated untold treasure of gold, she built dark red ships, freighted them with precious wares 36 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. and sailed forth upon the glorious blue sea. And when she was come to the great city, to the Holy Mountains, and began to barter her precious wares, the fame of her beauty spread through all the town and kingdom, and all men came to look upon her and marvel at her fairness. Hero Svyatog6r came also to gaze upon her beauty — and loved her, and began to woo her for himself. After they were married, he perceived a scar upon his wife's white bosom, and inquired of her : "Whatscar is thatr' And his wife made answer : " An unknown man came to our kingdom by the sea, and left five hun- dred rubles of gold in our hut. When I awoke, there was a scar upon my bosom, and the fir-bark had fallen away from my white body. For before that day, I had lain for thirty years upon the dung- heap." Then Svyatog6r the hero knew that none may escape his fate, nor may any flee upon his good steed from the judgment of God. THE CYCLE OF VLADIMIR, OR OF KIEF. EPIG SONGS OF BUSSIA. 39 ILTA OF MUROM THE FEASANT HERO, AND HERO SVYATOGOR. In the hamlet of KaracMrof, by Mlirom town, dwelt Hyd, ^ the old Cossdck. Thirty years he sat upon the oven, having neither arms nor legs, because of his grandfather's sin. And when thirty years were past, in summer, at the time of haying, his father and mother went forth to clear the forest-girdled meadows, and left Ily^ alone in the cottage. Then there came to him three wayfarers — Christ and two of his apos- tles, in the guise of poor brethren, strolling psalm- singers, and besought him that he would give them to drink. " Alas ! ye wayfarers, aged men, dear friends ! " said Ilyd ; " full gladly would I give you to drink : but I cannot rise, and there is none in the cottage with me." And the men made answer ; " Arise, and wash thyself; so shalt thou walk and fetch us drink." Then he arose and walked; and having filled a cup with kvas,^ brought it to the aged men. 1 For historical and mythological points, see AppeiicUx; Hyd of Murom. ^ A sourish liquor made from rye-meal. 40 EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. They received it, drank, and gave it again to Dyd, saying : " Drink now after us, Ilyd, son of Ivdn." When he had drunk, the old men said: "How is thy strength now, Ily4 ] " Ilyd answered : " I thank you humbly, ye aged men. I feel a very great strength within me, so that I could even move the earth." Then the men looked each upon the other, and said : " Give us to drink yet again." And Ilyd did so. And when they had drunk, they gave the cup to him the second time, and. inquired : " How is it with thee now, Ilya 1 " " The strength I feel is very great," said 11yd., " yet but as half the former strength." " Thus let it be," spoke the men : "for if we give thee more, mother earth will not bear thee up." And they said : " Go forth now, llyd." So Ilya set his cup upon the table, and went forth into the street with all ease ; and the aged men said : " God hath blessed thee, Ilyd, with this strength of His. Therefore, defend thou the Christian faith, fight against all infidel hosts, bold warriors and daring heroes, for it is written that death shall not come to thee in battle. Stronger than thee there is none in the white world, save only Volgd, (and he will take thee not by might but by craft), and Svyatog6r, and, stronger yet, beloved of damp EPIO SONGS OF EUSSIA. 41 mother earth, Mikiila Selyanlnovich, the Villager's Son. Against these three contend thou not. Live not at home, — labor not; but go thou to royal Kief town." And therewith the men vanished. Then Ilyd went forth to his father, in the clear- ing, and found him with his wife and laborers reposing from their toU. He grasped their axes and began to hew ; and what his father with the laborers could not have done in three days, that Ilyd achieved in the space of one hour. Having thus felled a whole field of timber, he drove the axes deep into a stump, whence no man could draw them. When his father with wife and laborers woke, and beheld the axes, they marvelled, saying: "Who hath done this?" Then came Ilya from the forest, and drew the axes from the stump ; and his father gave thanks to God that his son should be so famous a workman. But Ilyd strode far over the open plain; and as he went, he beheld a peasant leading a shaggy brown foal, the first he had seen. What the peasant demanded for the foal, that Ilyd, paid. — For the space of three months, he tied the foal in the stall, feeding it with the finest white Turk- ish wheat, and watering it from the pure spring. After these months were past, he bound the foal for three nights in the garden, anointing it with three dews. When that was done, he led the foal 42 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. to the lofty paling, and the good brown began to leap from side to side, and was able to sustain Ilya's vast weight; for he had become a heroic steed. — All this Ilyd did according to the com- mands of the aged psalm-singers who had healed him. Then Ilya saddled his good steed CloudfaU, pros- trated himself, and received the farewell blessing of father and mother, and rode forth far over the open plain. As he rode, he came to a pavilion of white linen, pitched under a damp oak ; and therein was a heroic bed, not small, for the length of the bed was ten fathoms, and the breadth six fathoms.- So he bound his good steed to the damp oak, stretched himself upon that heroic bed and fell asleep. And his heroic slumber was very deep ; three days and nights he slept. On the third day, good CloudfaU heard a mighty clamor toward the North. — Damp mother earth rocked, the dark forests staggered, the rivers overflowed their steep banks. Then the good steed beat upon the earth with his hoof, but could not wake Hy^, and he shouted with human voice : " PIo there, Ilyd, of Miirom ! Thou sleepest there and takest thine ease, and knowest not the ill fortune that hangeth over thee. Hero Svyatog6r cometh to this his pavilion. Loose me now, in the open plain, and climb thou upon the damp oak." EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. 43- Then sprang Ilyd to his nimble feet, loosed his horse and climbed into the damp oak. And lo ! a hero approached ; taller than the standing woods was he, and his head rested upon the flying clouds. Upon his shoulder he bare a casket of crystal, which, when he was come to the oak, he set upon the ground and opened with a golden key. Out of it stepped his heroic wife; in all the white world, no such beauty was ever seen or heard of; lofty was her stature and dainty her walk; her eyes were as those of the clear falcon, her brows of blackest sable, and her white body was beyond compare. When she was come forth from the crystal casket, she placed a table, laid a fair cloth thereon and set sugar viands ; and from the casket, she also drew forth mead for drink. So they feasted and made merry. And when Svyatog6r had well eaten, he went into the pavilion and fell asleep. But his fair heroic wife roamed about the open plain, and so walking, espied Ilyd upon the damp oak. "Come down now, thou good and stately youth," she cried: " descend from that damp oak, else will I waken Hero Svyatog6r and make great complaint of thy discourtesy to me." Ilyd, could not contend against the woman, and so slipped down from the oak as she had commanded. And after a space, that fair heroic woman took 44 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. Ilyd and put him in her husband's deep pocket, and roused the hero from his heavy sleep. Then Svyatog6r put his wife in the crystal casket again, locked it with his golden key, mounted his good steed, and rode his way to the Holy Mountains. After a little, his good steed began to stumble, and the hero to beat him upon his stout flanks with a silken whip. Then said the horse in human speech : " Hitherto I have borne the hero and his heroic wife ; but now I bear the heroic woman and two heroes. Is it a marvel that I stumble ? " Thereupon Hero Svyatog6r drew Ilyd from his deep pocket, and began to question him : — who he was and how he came in the pocket. And Ilyd, told him all the truth. When he heard it, Svya- tog6r slew his faithless heroic wife ; but with Ilyd he exchanged crosses, and called him his younger brother. And as they talked together, Ilyd said : " FuU gladly would I see Svyatog6r that great hero ; but he rideth not now upon damp mother earth, nor appeareth among our company of heroes." " I am he," quoth Svyatog6r. " Gladly would I ride among you, but damp mother earth would not bear me up. And furthermore, I may not ride in Holy Russia, but only on the lofty hills, and steep precipices. Let us now ride among the crags, and come thou to the Holy Mountains with me." EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. 45 Thus they rode long together, diverting them- selves ; and Svyatog6r taught Ilyd all heroic cus- toms and traditions. On the way, Svyatog6r said to Ily^ : " When we shall come to my dwelling, and I shall lead thee to my father, heat a bit of iron, but give him not thy hand." So when they were come to the Holy Mountains, to the palace of white stone, Svyatogdr's aged father cried : " Ai, my dear child ! Hast thou been far afield ? " " I have been in Holy Russia, father." " What hast thou seen and heard there 1 " " Nothing have I seen or heard in Holy Eussia, but I have brought with me thence a hero." The old man was blind, and so said : " Bring hither the Russian hero, that I may greet him." In the mean while, Ilyd had heated the bit of iron, and when he came to give the old man his hand in greeting, he gave him in place of it, the iron. And when the old man grasped it in his mighty hands, he said : " Stout are thy hands, Ilyd ! A most mighty warrior art thou ! " Thereafter, as Svyatog6r and his younger brother Ilyd journeyed among the Holy Mountains, they found a great coffin in the way; and upon the coffin was this writing : " This coffin shall fit him who is destined to lie in it." 46 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. Then Ilyd essayed to lie in it, but for him it was both too long and too wide. But when Svyatog6r lay in it, it fitted him. Then the hero spoke these words : " The coffin was destined for me ; take the lid now, Ilyd, and cover me." Ilyd made answer : " I will not take the lid, elder brother, neither will I cover thee. Lo ! this is no small jest that thou makest, prepai'ing to entomb thyself." Then the hero himself took the lid, and covered his cofiin with it. But when he would have raised it again, he could not, though he strove and strained mightily; and he spoke to Hya: "Al, younger brother ! 'Tis plain my fate hath sought me out. I cannot raise the lid ; do thou try now to lift it." Then Ilyd strove, but could not. Said Hero Svyatog6r : " Take my great battle sword, and smite athwart the lid." But Ilyd's strength was not enough to lift the sword, and Svyatog6r called him: " Bend down to the rift in the coffin, that I may breathe upon thee with my heroic breath." When Ilyd had done this, he felt strength within him, thrice as much as before, lifted the great battle sword, and smote athwart the lid. Sparks flashed from that blow, but where the great brand struck, an iron ridge sprang forth. Agam spoke Svyatog6r: " I stifle, younger brother ! essay yet one more EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. 47 blow upon the lid, with my huge sword." Then Ilya smote along the lid — and a ridge of iron sprang forth. Yet again spoke Svyatog6r : " I die, oh, younger brother ! Bend down now to the crevice. Yet once again wUl I breathe upon thee, and give thee all my vast strength." But Ilyd made answer : " My strength sufficeth me, elder brother; had I more, the earth could not bear me." " Thou hast done well, younger brother," said Svyatog6r, " in that thou hast not obeyed my last behest. I should have breathed upon thee the breath of death, and thou wouldst have lain dead beside me. But now, farewell. Possess thou my great battle sword, but bind my good heroic steed to my coffin ; none save Svyatog6r may possess that horse." Then a dying breath fluttered though the crevice. Ilyd took leave of Hero Svyatog6r, bound the good heroic steed to the coffin, girt the great battle sword about his waist, and rode forth into the open plain. And Svyatog6r's burning tears flow through the cofl&n evermore. 48 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. QUIET DUNAI IVANOVICH. Quiet ^ Dunai Ivdnovich roamed long from land to land, and in his wanderings, came at length to the kingdom of Lithuania. Three years did Diinai serve the King of that land as Equerry, three years as Grand Steward, three as Lord High Seneschal, and yet three more as Groom of the Chambers. The King loved the youth and gave him meet guerdon ; and the young Princess Nastasya favored him and kept him in her heart. On a certain day, the King made a gi'eat feast and banquet ; and the Princess, would have kept the youth from it. " Go not to this worshipful feast, Dtinai," she said. " There will be much eating and drunkenness, and thou wilt boast of me, tl^e fair maid. And so shalt thou lose thy head, Diinaii." But Diinai heeded not her warning and went to the feast. When all were well drunken, and the feast waxed merry, they began to brag.^ And 1 Dunai signifies not only the Danube, tut any river, and quiet or peaceful is always the accompanying adjective. See Appendix. 2 Bragging was very popular — in ancient times, and is often met with in ballads of Northern lands. A very amusing set of brags or gabs, occurs in the chanson de geste " Charlemagne's Journey to Jeru- salem." EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. 49 Diinai spoke much, boasting of his many wander- ings, of the King's favor and rewards, and of how the young Princess Nastdsya kept him ever in her heart. The King liked not this brag, and cried in a loud voice : " Ho there, ye pitiless headsmen ! Seize this quiet Dunai by the white hands, by his golden ring ; lead him into the open plain, and cut off his turbulent head." Then Diinai besought his keepers to lead him past Nastasya's dwelling, and before he was come to it, he cried softly : " Sleepest thou, Nastdsya ? Wakest thou not 1 Lo, they are leading Dunai to the open plain." And when he was over against her window he shouted at the top of his voice : "Sleepest thou,'Nastasya1 Wakest thou not? Dfinai goeth to his death. Forgive ! " With that great shout the palace quaked ; Princess Nastdsya woke, and ran forth into the spacious court of the palace, in a loose robe with- out a girdle, and cried in piercing tones : " Ho there, ye pitiless headsmen ! Take treas- ure as much as ye will, and release Diinai in the open plain. Then go seek in the royal pot-house ^ an accursed Tatar, some vUe wretch whom ye may 1 Kabdk. An interpolation of the 16th century. The pot-houses were called royal or imperial because, until recently, the crown derived its revenue from them. 50 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. render di-unk with wine. Cut off his turbulent head, and bear it to the King in place of Diinai's." The headsmen hearkened to the Princess's words, released Diinai, and bore the drunkard's head to the King of Lithuania. But Diinai traversed the open plain and came to Kief town. There he entered the royal pot- house, and drank away his hat from Grecian land, all his flowered garments, his shoes of morocco, and all that he had. And as Dtinai sat thus over his horns of liquor, it chanced on a day, that courteous Prince Vladi- mir ^ made a great and honorable feast, to many princes, boyd,rs (nobles) and mighty Russian heroes, where they sat eating bread and salt, carving the white swan, and quaflftng sweet mead, and green wine. The long day drew towards its close, the red sun sank to even, and all was merry at the feast when the guests began their brags. One vaunted his good steed and one his youthful prowess, this knight his sharp sword and that his deeds of might ; the wise man praised his aged father or mother, the foolish his young wife or sister. Then through the banquet hall paced Fair Sun Prince Vladimir, wrung his white hands and shook his yellow curls. No golden trumpet pealed, nor 1 See Appendix for Vladimir in his historical and mythological aspects. EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. 51 silver pipe trilled sweet, but Prince Vladimir spoke : " Boast not, brothers ; glory not in your- prowess nor in good steeds nor golden treasure. Have not I also red gold, pure silver, fair round pearls 1 But in this may ye glory : AU at my feast are wedded, save one, your Prince. I only am unwed. Know ye not of some Princess, who is my equal ? Lofty of stature must she be, of perfect form, her gait delicate and graceful, like the peacock; a faint flush in her face like to a white hare, and eyes of the clear falcon must she have, yellow hair, brows of blackest sable, and swan-speech entrancing. So shall I have one with whom I may think my thoughts, and take counsel, and ye my mighty princes, heroes and all Kief one to whom ye may pay homage." Then aU at meat fell sad and silent, and none spoke a word. The great fled behind the lesser, the lesser hid behind the small, and from the small came no reply. At length there stepped forth from behind the oven, a bold, brave youth, Dobrynya Nikltich, saying : " Our liege. Prince Vladimir ! grant me to speak a word without speedy death or distant exile, and chastise me not therefor." " Speak, then, Dobrynya Nikitich," said Vladi- mir, " God wlQ forgive thee." Then spoke Dobrynya, and wavered not : "I 52 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. know a fitting mate for thee, a princess, and all thou hast described is she — a beauty such as exists not elsewhere in all the white world. I have not seen her, but her fame I have heard from my brother in arms, my cross - brother, mighty Dtinai Iv^novich. He sitteth now ia the great royal pot-house over his horns, and hath not the wherewithal to come to thy honorable feast." Then spoke Vladimir : " Take my golden keys, open my iron bound chests, take treasure as thou requirest, and go, Dobrynya, to the royal pot-house, ransom Dunai's raiment, and conduct Drinal to our honorable feast." So Dobrynya took gold, and went to the pot- house. " Ho there, ye innkeepers and usurers ! " he cried, " take what ye wUl, and restore Dtinai's garments." When this was done, Dobr;ynya told Diinai how he was bidden to Vladimir's feast; and Diinai made answer : " Lo ! with drunkenness and hunger my turbulent head is broken." So they poured him a cup of green wine, in weight a pood and a half.^ This Diinai grasped in one hand and drained at one draught. Then the good youths set out ; and as they passed through Kief, maids and wives thrust heads and shoulders 1 Sixty pounds. The Tessels of liquor drunk by the heroes are rain-bearing clouds. EPIO SONQS OF BUS8IA. 53 from the windows crying : " Whence come such fair youths as these ? " When they came to the palace of white stone, to the fair banquet hall, Diinai crossed himself as prescribed, did reverence as enjoined, on two, three, and four sides, to all the Eussian heroes and to Prince Vladimir in particular. And they gave Diinai a seat at the oaken board, in the great corner,^ the place of honor. As he feasted, Fair Sun Vladimir began to in- quire of Diinai, and poured out green wine into a great cup of crystal from the East, set in a rim of gilt, and brought it to quiet Diinai. The measure of that cup was a bucket and a half, and its weight a pood and a half. Quiet Dtinai took the cup in one hand, and quaifed it at a breath. Then Fair Sun Vladlmu- poured an aurochs' horn of sweet mead, a pood and a half, and after that a measure of the beer of drunkenness. These also quiet Diinai drained at one draught, and intoxication showed itself in his head. Nevertheless he stepped forward without staggering, and spoke without confusion : " I know a bride fit to mate with thee, royal Vladimir. Twelve full years I served in yonder ^ The corner is the place of honor in the Bast ; the most illustrious tomha stand in the corners of the churches, and at the Coronation ban- quet, the Emperor dines alone in one corner of the ancient Urem (palace) known as the gold room. The kings of France sat in the left- hand corner of the apartment to hold their heds of Justice. 54 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. land of Lithuania, and the King's Majesty hath two great and fair daughters. The eldest, Princess Nastdsya, is no mate for thee; she rideth ever over the open plain seeking adventures. But the younger, the Princess Aprdxia, sitteth at home in a fair chamber embroidering a kerchief in red gold. Behind thrice nine locks she sitteth, and thrice nine guards, in a lofty castle, that the fair red sun may not scorch her nor the fine and frequent rains drop on her, nor the stormy winds breathe on her ; — that she may be seen of few." " Ai, my Russian heroes ! " spoke Prince Vla- dimir then : " Whom shall we send to far-off Lithuania 1 " And a hero made answer : " Fair Sun Vladimir ! we have not been in strange and distant countries, nor seen strange people. It is not meet that we should go. Send quiet Diinai Ivdnovich ; he hath served as ambassador, and viewed many lands. He talketh much; therefore send him to do thy wooing." Then spake Prince Vladimir : " Go thou, my Diinaiushka, to that brave Lithuanian realm, and woo the Princess Apr^xia for me with fair words." " Lord," said Dtinai, " it is not meet for a youth to go alone." " Take then a host of forty thousand, and treas- ure, as much as thou requirest : and if the King give not his daughter wiUingly, then fetch her by force." EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. 65 " I need no host to wage battle, nor golden treasure to barter," quoth Ddnai. " I will essay heroic force and royal threat. Grant me but my beloved comrade, Dobrynya Nikltich, — he is of good birth, and understandeth how to deal with people. And give us two good colts which have never borne saddle or bridle. And write thou a scroll, that our wooing of the Princess Aprdxia for our Prince Vladimir is honorable." All these things Fair Sun Vladimir did. Then Dlnai and Dobrynya went forth from the palace, and saddled their steeds ; put on them plaited bridles of parti-colored silks, and silken saddle- cloths, and upon these, felts, and then the saddles, their small Cherkessian saddles, and secured them with twelve girths with silver buckles, — the stirrup buckles were of gold. Then they arrayed and armed themselves ; put on their little caps from the Sorochlnsky land,^ forty poods in weight, took their maces of damascened steel, their stout bows, their silken whips, mounted their good steeds and rode through the narrow lanes of Kief. And the good steeds galloped at will. But when they reached. the highway out of Kief, they urged their good steeds on, spurring their brisk flanks, and smiting them with their braided whips of silk. Past deep lakes they rode, through forests dreaming still in primeval denseness ; and 1 Saracen laud. 56 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. so came to the brave land of Lithuania, and to the royal palace. There quiet Diinai asked no leave of gate-keepers nor porters, but flung wide the barriers and led the horses into the spacious court, bidding Dobr;fnya stand there and guard them. So Dobrfnya took the bridles in his left hand, and in his right, his little elm-wood club from Sorochlnsky. " Stand thou here, Dobrynya," spake quiet Diinai then, " and look towards the royal audience hall ; when I shout, then wUl be the time to come." Then quiet Diinai entered the royal hall where sat the King, crossing himself and saluting as pre- scribed by custom. " Hail, little father. King of brave Lithuania ! " " Hail, little Diinai Iv^novich ! Whither leadeth thy path? Art thou come to show thyself or to view us 1 Twelve years thou didst serve us faith- fully ; art thou now come to fight against us, or to serve us as of yore 1 — Yet eat thy fill, fair youth, and drink as good seemeth to thee." Then the King seated him at the great table iu the place of honor, giving him sweet viands and mead, and began again to inquire his errand. " My errand is good," Diinai made answer. " I come to woo thy daughter Aprd,xia for the Fair Sun, Prince Vladlmh-." Then he laid the scroll on the oaken table. The King looking upon it, tore the black curls EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 5Y from his head, and cast them on the brick floor, as he spoke in wrath : " Stupid in sooth is Vladimir of Eoyal Kief, in that he sent not as wooer a wealthy peasant, a good lord or a mighty hero ! But he must needs send me some noble's serf! Ho there, my trusty ser- vants ! Take this Dunai by his white hands, seize him by his golden ring, by his yeUow curls ; lead him to the deep dungeons for his discourteous speech. Shut him in with oaken planks, with iron gratings, and above sprinkle orange-tawny sand. Let his food be water and oats alone, until he shall bethink himself and gain his senses." Quiet Diinai hung his turbulent head, and dropped his clear eyes to the floor ; then raised his small white hand and smote the table with his fist. The fair liquors all were spilled, the dishes rolled away, the tables fell together, and the railed bal- conies of the palace sat awry. The Tatars all were terrified, the King fled to his lofty tower, and covered himself with his cloak of marten skins. Then quiet DAnai leaped over the golden chair (for he perceived that the matter was not a light one), seized one Tatar by his heels, and began to slay the rest. " This Tatar is tough," he cried ; " he wiU not break ; the Tatar is wiry, he wiU not tear." Dobrynya at that shout, began to lay about him, 58 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. and slew five hundred Tatars with his own right hand. Then the King's trusty servants fled to him from his prmcely court: " Ai, little father, King of brave Lithuania ! Thou knowest not the evil that is come upon thee. Into thy royal court no falcon clear hath flown, no raven black hath fluttered, but a bold and goodly youth hath ridden. In his left hand he graspeth the silken bridles of two good steeds, in his right he holdeth a club of elm- wood filled with lead. Wheresoever he waveth that club, the Tatars fall before it. He hath slain them all, to the last man, and none is left to continue the race ! " Then the King of Lithuania cried : " Ai, quiet little Drlnai Ivanovich ! Forget not my hospitality of yore ! Sit thou at one table with me, and let us consider this wooing of Prince Vladlmk. Take my elder daughter." " I will not," said quiet Dunai, and ceased not to slay. " Take then the Princess Apraxia, if thou wilt ! " said the King when he saw that. Then quiet Diinai went to the lofty castle, and began to knock ofi" the locks and to force open the doors. He entered the golden-roofed tower, and came to where the most fair Princess Aprdxia was pacing her chamber, clad in a thin robe without a girdle, her ruddy locks unbound, and no shoes upon her feet. EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. 59 "Ai, Princess Aprdxia! wilt thou wed with Prince Vladimir ? " said Dtinai. And she made answer : " These three years I have prayed the Lord that Prince Vladimir might be my husband." Then quiet Dtinai Ivdnovich took her by her small white hands, by her golden ring, and kissed her sugar lips for that sweet speech, and led her forth to the spacious court. There the King met them, and said : " Take also the Princess's dowry." So thirty carts were laden with red gold, pure silver, fak round pearls and jewels. Then they mounted their good steeds, and rode over the glorious, far-reaching, open plain. Dark night overtook them on the road. So the good youths pitched a linen pavilion, and lay down to sleep. They placed their good steeds at their feet, their sharp spears at their heads; at their right hands lay their stout swords, at their left their daggers of steel. The good youths slept and slumbered, enjoying the dark night. Nothing saw they, and nothing did they hear, not even the Tatar riding across the plain. They rose while it was still very early, and set out upon their way. And the Tatar rode in pur- suit, his steed all covered with the mire of the way. Then Dtinai was aware of the knight in the way, 60 EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. and sent Dobrynya on to Kief town in Holy Russia, with the fair Princess Apr^xia, but remained him- self in the open plain to meet that stout, bold adversary. When the Tatar perceived that he was pursued in turn, and that Dlinai had overtaken him, he began to smite Ddnai with his spear, and to say to himself: "Halt, Tatar, on the open plain; roar, Tatar, like a wild beast ; whistle, Tatar, Uke a serpent ! " So the Tatar roared and whistled; — the pebbles were scattered over the plain, the grass withered, the flowerets drooped, and Drinai fell from his good steed. But quickly sprang Dlinai to his nimble feet, and fought the Tatar knight, with mace, far- reaching spear and sharp sword, until all were broken or dulled, and he had overcome his adver- sary. Then he drew his dagger, and would have pierced him to the heart. " Tell me now, accursed Tatar," cried Dtinai, " and conceal it not; What is thy birth and tribe?" " Sat I on thy white breast," quoth the Tatar, " I would inquire neither tribe nor family, but would stab thee." Then Diinai sat upon his foe's white breast, and would have pierced it, but his tender heart was terrified, and his arm stiffened at the shoulder : for the bosom was that of a woman. " How now, fair Diinal ! knowest thou me not ] EPIG SONGS OF BU8SIA. 61 Yet we trod one path, sat in one bower, drank from one cup ! And thou didst dwell with us twelve fuU years. — But loud-voiced men have come from Holy Russia, while I was from home, and have stolen away my sister. And her I seek." " Ai, Princess Nastasya ! " cried quiet Dlinai, and raised her from the damp earth by her white hands, and kissed her sugar mouth. " Let us go to Kief town, and receive the wonder-working cross, and take the golden crowns." ^ So he placed her upon his good steed, took from her her mace of steel and her sharp sword, and mounting, led her horse behind them. Thus they came to Kief town, to God's church : and in the outer porch, they met Fau- Sun Prince Vladimir and the Princess Aprdxia who were come thither to be married. The sisters greeted each other, and Nastdsya received baptism. Then they were married, the younger sister first, as was meet, and the elder afterwards. And great was the marriage feast which courteous Prince Vladimir made for himself and for quiet Diinaii Ivanovich. — Three years they lived in mirth and joy : and in the fourth year, courteous Prince Vladimir made again a great and honorable feast. When aU had well drunken, they began to make brags. Diinai Ivdn6vich bragged also. " In all Kief town," quoth 1 Be married : referring to the crowns held over the heads of hride and groom during the marriage ceremony. 62 EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. he, "is no such youth as quiet Diinai. — From the Lithuanian land he drew forth two white swans ; he married himself, and gave another also in marriage." Princess Nastdsya answered him : " Is not thy boast empty, Dtinaiushka? Not long have I dwelt in this town, yet much have I learned. Fair is Churilo Plenk6vich, daring Aly6sha Pop6vich, and courteous young Dobrynya Nikltich ; " and so she praised the different heroes, yet spake no word of praise for Dunai, who had praised himself. " Neither in deeds of knightly exercise are the heroes lacking," quoth the Princess, " and even I can shoot somewhat. Let us now take a stout bow, and let us set a sharp dagger in the open plain, a full verst ^ away, and before it, a sUver ring. Let us shoot through the silver ring at the sharp dagger in such wise that the arrow may faU into two equal parts against the dagger, into two parts alike to the eye and of equal weight." Quiet Diinai was both ashamed and wroth at this, and said : " Good, Nastasiushka ! let us go to the plain, and shoot our fieiy darts." So they went forth. Nastdsya sent a burning arrow; it passed through the ring, and falling upon the sharp blade, was parted in twain ; and both the parts were exactly equal. Then Dunaiushka shot ; the first arrow he sent 1 Two-thirds of a mile. EPIQ SONGS OF RUSSIA. 63 too far, the second fell short, the third flew wide of the mark and was never found again. Quiet Diinai waxed very wroth thereat, and aimed a burning arrow smeared with serpent's fat at Nastdsya's white breast. Then she besought him: " Ai, fair DAnai Ivdnovich ! forgive my foolish woman's words. Better will it be for thee to punish me. Let this be thy first reprimand : take thy silken whip, dip it in burning pitch, and chas- tise my body. And for the second reprimand: bind me by my woman's hair to thy stirrups, and send thy horse at speed over the wide plain. — Bury me to the breast in the damp earth, — beat me with oaken rods, — torture me with hunger, — feed me with oats, and so keep me three full months. — But grant me only to bear thy son, and leave a pos- terity behind me in the world. For such a child there is not in all the town. His little legs are silver to the knee, his arms to the elbow are of pure gold ; upon his brow gloweth the fair red sun, upon his crown shine countless stars, and at the back of his head the bright moon beameth." Dunai heeded not her speech, but sent his burn- ing arrow into her white breast, and took out her heart with his dagger. And his son was as she had said. Then Dlinai's heroic heart burned within him for grief and remorse. "Where the white swan 64 EPIQ 80NQS OF RUSSIA. fell," he cried, " there also shall fall the falcon bright." Then he placed the hilt of his dagger on the damp earth, and fell upon its sharp point with his white breast. And from that spot flowed forth straightway two swift streams ; the greater was the river Don, the lesser the Dniepr, Nastdsya's river. Nastdsya's river flowed to the Kingdom of Lithuania, and thence to the Golden Horde. The Don, twenty fathoms deep and forty wide, ran past Kief town. Where they met, two cypress trees sprang up, and twined together, and on their leaves was written : " This marvel came to pass for the wonder of all young people, and the solace of the old." Thus the Song of quiet Diinai forever shall be sung, for the peace of the blue sea and the hearing of all good people. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 65 STAVR GODIHOVICH THE BOYAR (NOBLE). Courteous Prince Vladimir made a great feast in royal Kief town, and summoned thereto all his princes, boyars, mighty heroes and bold poly^- nitzas : ^ likewise many merchants and strangers. Among these last was young Stavr Godinovich from Ch^rnigof. Softly he mounted the steps, and lightly paced through the antechambers, as he crossed himself and bowed low on all sides, and to Prince Vladimir and his daughter in particular. The red sun inclined to even, and aU the youths were merry with drink, so that they waxed boast- ful. . The heroes vaunted their good steeds, heroic strength or golden treasure, the merchants their Siberian fox pelts, and black sables. — But Stavr sat alone, eating and drinking nothing, and making no brag. As Prince Vladimir paced the banquet hall, he espied Stavr sitting thus ; and he poured out a cup of green wine and brought it to him, inquiring wherefore he neither ate nor drank. " Thou tastest not my white swan," he said, " neither makest thou any brag. Hast thou, then, 1 Female waiiiors. 66 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. no towns with their suburbs, villages with their hamlets, nor even so much as a good mother or a praiseworthy young wife, of whom thou may est boast r' " Stavr hath enough whereof to boast, Prince Vladimir of royal Kief," quoth Stavr. " What petty outpost is this Kief of royal Vladimir, forsooth? Stavr's spacious court is no worse than the whole of Kief town. His palace covers seven versts, his halls and chambers of white oak are hung with gray beaver skins, the ceilings with black sables. His floors are of silver only — his hasps and hinges of steel. Thirty youths also hath Stavr, master shoemakers all ; — they sew shoes, pausing not. Stavr weareth a pair a day, and yet another day, perchance : then are they taken to the mai'ket place, and sold to princes and nobles for their full worth. And yet more hath Stavr whereof to boast: — thirty young tailors — masters of their trade, who make ever new caftans, so that Stavr weareth his garments but a day, or at the most, two days, and then selleth them in the market to princes and nobles at a great price. — But Stavr will not brag. — And yet more hath Stavr — a golden-coated mare, whose cost was five hundred rubles. On the best of her foals Stavi" rideth, and the worst he selleth at great prices to princes and boydrs. Hence Stavr's golden treasure is never exhausted. Yet one thing hath Stavr whereof he wdll boast, a young EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 67 wife, Vasillsa Mikiilichna : ^ she could buy and sell all Kief town, deceive all these princes and nobles, and drive even Fair Sun Vladimir from his senses." Then all at the feast fell silent at this word. Prince Vladimir liked not the discourteous speech, and his nobles cried : " Fair Sun Vladimir, Prince of royal Kief! Let us now thrust this churl into a cold dungeon, and let his young wife deceive us all, princes and nobles, drive thee. Prince Vladimir, from thy wits, and deliver Stavr from his prison." So Vladimir gave command that iron fetters should be placed on Stavr's hands and feet, and that he should be led to a dungeon forty fathoms deep, with iron doors and locks of steel, where his food should be oats and water. But Stavr's serving-man mounted his master's good steed and rode in haste to Ch6rnigof, to Stavr's palace of white stone, and his young wife. Now Vasillsa Mikiilichna had made a great ban- quet for the wives of the merchants and rulers of the town, and so the man found them feasting. When her husband's man told her all that had befallen in Kief, the young wife rose from her bench of oak, and said : " Time is it, my welcome guests, to betake your- selves to your own homes and dwellings." 1 Daughter of Mikiila the Villager's Son, and sister of Nastasya, Dobr^nya's wife, according to the peasant singer. 68 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. Then she seated herself in her folding chair, and for the space of three full hours she meditated how she might release her husband. " Untold treasure of gold will not ransom Stavr," she said, " nor may he be released by mighty heroic strength. Stavr must be saved by woman's wUes," Then she wrote a letter to show that she was an ominous ambassador fiom the Island of Kod6l, in the land of Ledenetz, come on an honorable mission to Fair Sun Prince Vladimir, to sue for the hand of his fair daughter Beauty.^ After that she hastened to her heroic chamber, and summoned her tiring- women : " Ai, my trusty maids, make haste and cut off my ruddy braid, fetch me an ambassador's apparel, and saddle me a heroic steed." In very great haste they sheared off her ruddy locks in fashion like a man's, dressed her in black velvet breeches and the garments of an ambassador, and led forth her horse. Then she summoned a body-guard of forty good youths, and they mounted and rode with her. When they had traversed half the way, a stem messenger came riding towards them from Kief town, and as they came together they saluted, palm kissing palm. Then the messenger began to inquire of Vasillsa whence this bold and goodly youth was come and whither he was going. She told him that she was sent by the stern King 1 Zapava, or Zabava. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 69 Yetmanulla Yetmanuilovicli, to collect tribute for twelve years, — three thousand rubles for each year. In turn the messenger told her, that he was on his way to seal up Stavr's palace, and to fetch his young wife to Kief. Then spoke the good youths of VasUlsa's guard : " We have been at Stavr's palace, and there is no one therein : for his young wife hath departed to the distant land, to the Golden Horde." So the messenger turned back to Kief, and out- riding them, told Prince Vladimir privately that a threatening ambassador,^ Vaslly Mikulich, was on his way to Kief from a far-oif land. Prince Vladimir was sore troubled thereat, and the people made haste to sweep the streets, and to lay pine-trees in the muddy ways, so that they might be passable. Then they waited outside the gates, for the coming of the ambassador from the stern King Yetmanulla Yetmanullovich from the far-off land of Leden^tz. But when Vaslly Mikiilich came, he passed not the gates : — he leaped the city walls, past the corner towers, and came to the spacious princely court. There he sprang from his good steed, thrust the butt-end of his far-reaching spear into the earth, flung his sUken bridle over the golden spike at its point, and entered straightway the fair, 1 Yasilisa appears as a Tzar^vich in some veisions. 70 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. royal halls, asking leave of none, but flinging wide the doors. There VasUlsa bowed on all sides, and to Prince Vladimir in particular, laid her letter on the oaken table, and demanded the hand of his daughter^ in marriage. Prince Vladimir rose to his nimble feet, took the letter in his white hands, broke the seal and scanned each word narrowly, then spake : "'Tis well, Vaslly Mikulich. I will give thee Beauty to wife. I go now to take counsel with my daughter." But when he came to his well-loved daughter. Beauty said : " What art thou minded to do, dear father % wilt thou give a maiden in marriage to a woman ? For I have marked this Vaslly Mikiilich. No threatening ambassador is he — but a woman, by all the signs. When he walketh in the court- yard, 'tis like a duck swimming ; his speech is a woman's pipe, his gait in the royal halls is mincing ; when he sitteth upon the waU-bench, he presseth his feet close one to the other ; his little hands are white, his fingers delicate, and upon them the marks of rings still linger." "That we shall see," quoth Vladimir: "for I will now prove this ambassador. I will have the steam bath prepared for him after his journey. If 1 Evidently the same Beauty (Zapava) who figures in other byUnas as Vladimir's niece. EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. 71 he be in truth a mighty hero, then wUl he come to the bath with me : but if he be a woman, he will not come." So the bath was heated, and Vladimir went to invite Vasily Mikillich. " Wilt thou steam thyself with me, after the road, good youth I" he said. And Vasily re- plied : " My soul burneth to do that. Pleasing will it be after my journey." Now, Prince Vladlmh was royally apparelled, and while he was busy with putting oif his gar- ments, Vasillsa hastened to the bath, wet her head, and came forth as Vladimir entered. " With great speed hast thou steamed thyself. Ambassador Vasily Mikulich ! Why didst thou not await my coming ? " " Thou art at home and at leisure. Prince Vla- dimir, but I am a traveller ; my business brooketh no long delay in the bath. I am come to woo. Give me thy young daughter to wife." "I wiU take counsel with the maiden," quoth Vladimir, and went to his daughter. But Beauty said : " WUt thou make thyself a laughing-stock for all Eussia, my father, and wed thy daughter to a woman 1 For, by all signs, she is no man." " I will prove her yet once more, my dear daughter," quoth Vladimir, and went to Vasily. 72 EPIO SONGS OF BUSSIA. "Is it pleasing to thee to shoot a match with my young men, V aslliushka Mikrllich 1 " "My soul longeth for that," she answered. Then they went forth upon the open plain, and began to shoot at a damp oak, a full verst distant. The arrow of one good youth flew past, another good youth shot short, a third shot wide of the mark. Some shot fair, but all the fiery arrows which were lodged in that tree by heroic hands did but make the damp oak quiver, as in stress of weather. Then Vasily Mikiilich spoke : " Ho there. Prince Vladimir ! I will have none of these heroic bows. I have by me a little trav- elling bow, with which I adventure out upon the open plain." Then came bold and goodly youths from the white pavilion without the walls, where she had left her body-guard. Five men bore the first end, and as many more the last, and thirty stout youths dragged along the quiver of burning arrows. — Then she took an arrow in her small left hand, — an arrow of steel, drew the great bow to her ear, and took aim at the damp oak. The cord of the stout bow sang, Vladimir crept about, and all his heroes stood as though stifled with stove gas. The firm dart screamed, lodged in the damp, ringbarked oak, and shivered it into splinters. Thereupon Prince Vladimir spat to one side, and said as he went away : "I wUl prove this ambas- EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 73 sador yet once again. If he be a woman, he will refuse a wrestling match." So he assembled thirty good youths and bold, in his spacious court, and spoke this word : "Ai, Vasfly Mikiilich! doth thy soul burn to wrestle with my men % " " In sooth, Fair Prince Vladimir, are there any with whom I may wrestle ? " the ambassador made answer. " Since my childhood have I run the streets, and many a bout have I vrrestled with the children in sport." Then Vaslly stepped forth into the court, grasped two heroes in one hand, three in the other, and knocked their skulls together, so that there was no soul left in them. Vladimir began to entreat her : " Curb thy heroic heart, young Vaslly Mikiilich, I pray : spare at least a remnant of our people." Vaslly answered : " I came on an honorable mission — to woo thy beloved daughter. If thou wilt now give her with honor, with honor wUl I take her ; but if not, I will take her without honor, and I will beat in thy sides." Then Prince Vladimir went no more to ask his daughter Beauty's pleasure in this matter, but betrothed her forthwith to the stern ambassador, and ordered a noble banquet and wedding feast. On the third day of the feast, when the time drew near for them to fare to God's church and be married, Vaslly grew sad and exceeding sorrowful. 74 EPIC SONGS OF BUS SI A. Then Prince Vladimir began to inquire of him why he was not merry. Vaslly made answer : "I know not why my soul is heavy. My father hath died, perchance, or my dear mother. Hast thou then no good youths, no players upon the glisly^ of maple-wood, who may solace us % " But when the harp-players were summoned, and played and sang songs of the olden days and of the present, and of aU times, Vaslly was still sad, and said: " Where is now Stavr Godinovich from our land? He is a master player upon the harp of maple-wood, and none but he can cheer my spirit." Then Prince Vladimir said to himself: "If I summon not Stavr, I shall anger the ambassador ; but if I summon him, he will be carried away." Nevertheless he dared not offend Vaslly, and sent for Stavr, to the princely banquet-hall. Stavr strung his harp, and began to pluck the strings. One string he strung from Kief, and one from Tzargrdd,^ the third from far Jerusalem. He played great dances, and sang songs from over the blue sea. Then Vaslliushka, the stern ambassador, began to sleep and dream,^ and to say : " Ai, Fair Sun 1 A sort of recumbent harp of four octaves. 2 Constantinople. 8 Among the ancient Slavs this was regarded as the highest com- pliment which could be paid to a musician. EPIQ SONGS OF RUSSIA. 75 Prince Vladimir ; let Stavr go to my white pavilion, and view there my body-guard, and walk in the open fields." This Vladimir would fain have re- fused, yet dared not auger the man ; and so allowed it. When they were come to the open plain and the pavilion, Vasilisa said : " Dost thou not know me, Stavr ? " And he answered : " After that dungeon, I cannot recall far distant years." " Ai, thou stupid Stavr ! . Knowest thou not thy young wife Vasilisa Mikiilichna ? " " Yea, her I should know after thirteen years." " Foolish Stavr ! thou hast not known me after scant three months." Then she went into the pavilion, put oflF her manly garb, and donned her own raiment ; and coming forth she took Stavr by his white hands, kissed his sugar mouth, called him her beloved husband. Then he knew his young wife, and said : " What will Fair Sun Vladimir do to us now ? Let us mount and ride swiftly hence ! " But Vasilisa said : " Not so : we must not steal away in this fashion from royal Kief. Let us rather go to Prince Vladimir." When they came to the royal palace, Stavr said : " Ai, thou Fair Sun Prince Vladimir ! I have made good my boast ; for thou hast betrothed thy daugh- ter to my young wife." Theii was Prince Vladimir shamed, and spoke TS EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. this word : " With reason did Stavr boast of his young wife, Vasillsa Mikiilichna ! May God for- give thee thy former offence ! But boast no more of thy young wife, and trade evermore in our good city of Kief without tax." But Stavr and Vasillsa mounted their good steeds, and rode to the glorious town of Ch^migof, to their lordly villages and palace of white stone. No more did Stavr frequent lordly banquets, and never more bragged he of his young wife, but dwelt thenceforth and took his ease in Ch6rnigof. EPIC SONGS OF MUSSIA. 11 IL7A OF MI^ROM AND NIGHTTNGALIi THE ROBBER. Young Ilyd of Murom, Ivdn's son, went to matins on Easter morn. And as lie stood there in church, he vowed a great vow : " To sing at high mass that same Easter day in Kief town, and to go thither by the straight way." And yet another vow he took : " As he fared to that royal town by the straight way, not to stain his hand with blood, nor yet his sharp sword with the blood of the accursed Tatars." His thhd vow he swore upon his mace of steel: " That though he should go the straight way, he would not shoot his fiery darts." Then he departed from the cathedral church, entered the spacious courtyard and began to saddle good Cloudfall, his shaggy bay steed, to arm him- self and prepare for his journey to the famous town of Kief, to the worshipful feast, and the Fair Sun Prince Vladimir of royal Kief, Good Cloudfall's mane was three ells in length, his tail three fathoms, and his hair of three colors. Ilyd put on him first the plaited bridle, next twelve saddlecloths, twelve felts, and upon them a metal bound Cherkessian saddle. The silken girths were twelve in number 78 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. — not for youthful vanity but for heroic strength ; the stirrups were of damascened steel from beyond the seas, the buckles of bronze which rusteth not, weareth not, the silk from Samarcand, which chafeth not, teareth not. They saw the good youth as he mounted, — as he rode they saw him not ; so swift was his flight, there seemed but a smoke-wreath on the open plain, as when wild winds of winter whirl about the snow. Good Cloudfall skimmed over the grass, and above the waters ; high over the standing trees he soared, the primeval oaks, yet lower than the drifting clouds. From mountain to mountain he sprang, from hill to hUl he galloped ; little rivers and lakes dropped between his feet; where his hoofs fell, founts of water gushed forth; in the open plain smoke eddied, and rose aloft in a pillax. At each leap Cloudfall compassed a verst and a half In the open steppe, young Ilyd hewed down a forest and raised a godly cross, and wrote thereon : "Ilyd of Milrom, the Old Cossdck, rideth to royal Kief town, on his first heroic quest." When he di-ew near to Ch^rnigof, there stood a great host of Tatars, — three Tzareviches, each with forty thousand men. The cloud of steam from the horses was so great, that the fair red sun was not seen by day, nor the bright moon by night. The gray hare could not course, nor the clear falcon fly, about that host, so vast was it. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 79 When Ilyd saw that, he dismounted, and falling down before good Cloudfall's right foot, he en- treated him : " Help me, my shaggy bay ! " So CloudfaU soared like a falcon clear, and Ilyd plucked up a damp, ringbarked oak from the damp earth, from amid the stones and roots, and bound it to his left stirrup, grasped another in his right hand, and began to brandish it. " Every man may take a TOW," quoth he, " but not every man can fulfil it." Where he waved the damp oak, a street ap- peared ; where he drew it back, a lane. Great as was the number that he slew, yet twice that num- ber did his good steed trample under foot : not one was spared to continue then* race. The gates of Chernigof were strongly barred, a great watch was kept, and the stout and mighty heroes stood in council. Therefore Ilya flew on his good steed over the city wall (the height of the waU was twelve fathoms), and entered the church where all the people were assembled, praying God, repenting and receiving the sacrament against sure approaching death. Ilyd crossed himself as pre- scribed, did reverence as enjoined, and cried : " HaU, ye merchants of Chernigof, warrior- maidens and mighty heroes all ! Why repent ye now, and receive the sacrament ? Why do ye bid farewell thus, to the white world ? " Then they told him how they were besieged by 80 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. accursed Tatars, and Ilyii said : " Go ye upon the famous wall of your city, and look toward the open plain." They did as he commanded, and lo ! where had stood the many, very many foreign standards, like a dark, dry forest, the accursed Tatars were now cut down and heaped up, like a field of graia which hath been reaped. Then the men of Ch6rnigof did lowly reverence to the good youth, and besought him that he would reveal his name, and abide in Chernigof to serve them as their Tzar, King, Voev6da,^ — what he would ; and that he would likewise accept at their hands, a bowl of pure red gold, a bowl of fair silver, and one of fine seed pearls. " These I will not take," Ilyd made answer, " though I have earned them, neither will I dwell with you either as Tzar or peasant. Live ye as of old, my brothers, and show me the straight road to Kief town." Then they told him : "By the straight road it is five hundred versts, and by the way about, a thou- sand. Yet take not the straight road, for therein lie three great barriers : the gray wolf trotteth not that way, the black raven flieth not overhead. The first barrier is the lofty mountains ; the second is the Smor6dina river, six versts in width, and the 1 Originally this signified a war chieftain. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 81 Black Morass ; and beside that river, the third barrier is Nightingale the Eobber. " He hath buUt his nest on seven oaks, that magic bird. When he whistleth like a nightin- gale, the dark forest boweth to the earth, the green leaves wither, horse and rider fall as dead. For that cause the road is lost, and no man hath travelled it these thirty years." When Ilyd the Old Cossdck heard that, he mounted his good steed, and rode forthwith that straight way. When he came to the lofty moun- tains, his good steed, rose from the damp earth, and soared like a bright falcon over them and the tall dreaming forests. When he came to the Black Morass, he plucked great oaks with one hand, and flung them across the shaking bog for thirty versts, while he led good Cloudfall with the other. When he came to Mother Smorodina, he beat his steed's fat sides, so that the horse cleared the river at a bound. There sat Nightingale the Eobber (surnamed the Magic Bird}, and thrust his turbulent head out from his nest upon the seven oaks ; sparks and flame poured from his mouth and nostrils. Then he began to pipe like a nightingale, to roar like an aurochs, and to hiss like a dragon. Thereat good Cloudfall, that heroic steed, fell upon his knees, and Ilyd began to beat him upon his flanks and between his ears. 82 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. " Thou wolf's food ! " cried Ilyd,, " thou grass- bag ! Hast never been in the gloomy forest, nor heard the song of nightingale, the roar of wild beast, nor serpent's hiss "? " Then Ily^ brake a twig from a wiUow that grew near by, that he might keep his vow not to stain his weapons with blood, fitted it to his stout bow, and conjured it: "Fly, little dart! Enter the Nightingale's left eye, come forth- at his right ear ! " The good heroic steed rose to his feet, and the Eobber Nightingale fell to the damp earth hke a rick of grain. Then the Old Cossack raised up that mighty robber, bound him to his stirrup by his yeUow curls, and went his way. Ere long they came to the Nightingale's house, buUt upon seven pillars over seven versts of ground. About the court- yard was an iron paling, upon each stake thereof a spike, and on each spike the head of a hero. In the centre was the strangers' court ; and there stood three towers with golden crests, spu-e joined to spu-e, beam merged in beam, roof wedded to roof. Green gardens were planted round about, all blossoming and blooming with azure flowers, and a fair orchard encircled all. When the Magic Bird's children looked from the latticed casements, and beheld a hero riding with one at his stirrup, they cried : " Ai, lady EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 83 mother! Our father cometh, and leadeth a man at his stirrup for us to eat." But El6na, the one-eyed, Nightingale's witch daughter, looked forth and said : " Nay, it is the Old Cossack Ilyd of Mlirom who rideth, and leadeth our father in bonds." Then spoke Nightingale's nine sons : " We will transform ourselves into ravens, and rend that peas- ant with our iron beaks, and scatter his white body over the plain." But their father shouted to them that they should not harm the hero. Nevertheless, Elena the witch ran into the wide coui-tyard, tore a steel beam of a hundred and fifty poods weight from the threshold, and hurled it at Ily^. The good youth wavered in his saddle, yet being nimble, he escaped the full force of the blow. Then he leaped from his horse, and took the witch on his foot : higher flew the witch then than God's temple, higher than the life-giving cross thereon, and fell against the rear wall of the couii, where her skin burst. " Foolish are ye, my children ! " cried the Night- ingale. " Fetch from the vaults a cart-load of fair gold, another of pure silver and a third of fine seed pearls, and give to the Old Cossack, Ilya of Murom, that he may set me free." Quoth Ilyd : " If I should plant my sharp spear in the earth, and if thou shouldst heap treasure about it until it was covered, yet would I not 84 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. release thee, Nightingale, lest thou shouldst resume thy thieving. But follow me now to glorious Kief town, that thou mayesf receive forgiveness there." Then his good Cloudfall began to prance, and the Magic Bird at his stirrup to dance, and in this wise came the good youth, the Old Cossdck, to Kief, to glorious Prince Vladimir. Now, fair Prince Vladimir of royal Kief was not at home ; he had gone to God's temple. There- fore Ilya entered the coui't without leave or an- nouncement, bound his horse to the golden ring in the carven pillar, and laid his commands upon that good heroic steed : " Guard thou the Nightin- gale, my charger, that he depart not from my stirrup of steel." And to Nightingale he said : " Look to it. Nightingale, that thou depart not from my good steed ; for there is no place in all the white world where thou mayest securely hide thyself from me ! " Then he betook himself to the Easter mass. There he crossed himself and did reverence as prescribed, on all four sides, and to the Fan- Sun Prince Vladimir in particular. And after the mass was over. Prince Vladimu- sent to bid the strange hero to the feast, and there inquired of him from what horde and land he came, and what was his parentage. So Ily^ told him that he was the only son of honorable parents. " I stood at my home in Miirom, at matins," quoth he, " and mass was EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. 85 but just ended when I came hither by the straight way." When the heroes that sat at the prince's table heard that, they looked askance at him. " Nay, good youth, liest thou not % boastest thou noti" said Fair Sun Vladimir. "That way hath been lost these thirty years, for there stand great barriers therein ; accursed Tatars in the fields, black morasses ; and beside the famed Smor6dina, amid the bending birches, is the nest of the Night- ingale on seven oaks ; and that Magic Bird hath nine sons and eight daughters, and one is a witch. He hath permitted neither horse nor man to pass him these many years." "Nay, thou Fair Sun Prince Vladimir," Ilyd answered ; " I did come the straight way, and the Nightingale Eobber now sitteth bound withia thy court." Then all left the tables of white oak, and each outran the other to view the Nightingale, as he sat bound to the steel stirrup, with one eye fixed on Kief town and the other on Ch6rnigof from force of habit. And Princess Aprdxia came forth upon the railed balcony to look. Priuce Vladimir spoke: "Whistle, thou Night- ingale, roar like an aurochs, hiss like a dragon." But the Nightingale replied : " Not thy captive am I, Vladimir. 'Tis not thy bread I eat. But give me wiue." 86 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. " Give him a cup of green wine," spake Hyd, " a cup of a bucket and a half, in weight a pood and a half, and a cake of fine wheat flour, for his mouth is now filled with blood from my dart." Vladimir fetched a cup of green wine, and one of the liquor of drunkenness, and yet a third of sweet mead ; and the Nightingale drained each at a draught. Then the Old Cossack commanded the Magic Bkd to whistle, roar and hiss, but under his breath, lest harm might come to any. But the Nightingale, out of malice, did all with his full strength. And at that cry, all the ancient palaces in Kief fell in ruins, the new castles rocked, the roofs through all the city fell to the ground, damp mother earth quivered, the heroic steeds fled from the court, the young damsels hid themselves, the good youths dispersed through the streets, and as many as remained to listen died. Ilyd caught up Prince Vladimir under one arm and his Princess under the other, to shield them ; yet was Vladimir as though dead for the space of three hours. " For this deed of thine thou shalt die," spake Ilya in his wrath, and Vladimir prayed that at least a remnant of his people might be spared. The Nightingale began to entreat forgiveness, and that he might be allowed to build a great monastery with his ill-gotten gold. " Nay," said Ilya, " this kind buUdeth never, but destroyeth EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 87 With that he to9k Nightingale the Eobber by his white hands, led him far out upon the open plain, fitted a burning arrow to his stout bow, and shot it into the black breast of that Magic Bird. Then he struck off his turbulent hea,d, and scattered his bones to the winds ,^ and mounting his good Cloud- fall, came again to Prince Vladimir. Again they sat at the oaken board, eating savory viands and white swans, and quaffing sweet mead. Great gifts and much worship did Ilyd receive, and Vladimir gave command that he should be called evermore Ilyd, of Miirom the Old Cossdck, after his native town. 1 A Little Russian legend states that Ily^ in his wrath chopped Nightingale into poppy seeds; and from those poppy seeds come the sweet-voiced and harmless nightingales of the present day. 88 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. BOLD AL'SrOSHA THE POPE'S SON. Fkom famous Eost6f, that fair town, rode forth two mighty heroes, like two bright falcons soaring. Aly6sha^ Pop6vich (the pope's dear child) and Aklm^ Ivdnovich were they hight. Shoulder to shoulder rode the warriors, heroic stirrup pressed to stirrup. And as they roamed the open plain, they saw nothing, — no birds flying overhead, nor beast fleet coursing o'er the plain. They found but three broad roads lying upon the steppe, and where these ways met, a burning stone and a writing thereon. Then said young Aly6sha : " Thou, brother Akim Iv^novich, art learned in the lore of schools. Look now upon this writing on this stone, and interpret to me its meaning." So AkIm leaped from his good steed, and looked upon the writing, and found the three broad ways depicted therein. The first way lay to Murom, the second to 1 A diminutive formed from Alexander, through Alexej. See Appendix. s Popular for Joachim. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 89 Ch^rnigof, the third to Kief town and courteous Prince Vladimir, Said Aklm : " Ho, there, brother, young Aly6sha Pop6vich! Which way doth it please thee to rider' And young Aly6sha answered : " Better will it be for us to go to Kief town, to courteous Prince Vladlmu-." So they wheeled their good steeds about, and rode to Kief town. Ere they reached the Safat river, they halted amid green meadows (for Aklm must needs feed the horses). There they pitched two pavilions, for Alydsha desired greatly to sleep. And when young Aklm had hobbled the good steeds, and loosed them in the green meadow, he lay down likewise in his own pavilion to slumber. The autumn night passed. Aly6sha awoke right early, rose, washed himself in the dews of dawn, dried himself upon a white cloth, and prayed God toward the East. Then young Aklm went to the good steeds, and led them to the Safat stream to water them, for Aly6sha had commanded him to saddle them with speed; and when this was done they mounted, and made ready to go to Kief town. As they rode, there met them in the way a wan- dering psalm-singer. His foot-gear was woven of the seven sUks, soled with pure silver, and the faces 90 EPIQ SONOS OF BUSSIA. were studded with red gold. His long mantle was of sable, his hat from Sorochlnsky, from the Gre- cian land ; his travelling whip weighed thirty poods, his cudgel moulded of heaviest lead weighed fifty. He spoke this word : " Han, bold and goodly youths ! I have seen Tugdrin the Dragon's Son. His stature is three fathoms, and the breadth across his shoulders is a full fathom ; the space between his eyes is an arrow's length. The horse beneath him is like a wild beast ; from his throat flames flash, from his ears, smoke riseth in a pillar." Then bold Aly6sha Pop6vich bade the psalm- singer yield his pilgrim garb, and receive Aly6sha's heroic raiment in exchange. So the pilgrim re- fused not, but gave his garments to Aly6sha, and put on the heroic raiment. And with speed did Aly6sha array himself, as a wandering Kaly6ka,^ took the staff of fifty poods and a dagger of dam- ascened steel, lest he should have need of it, and went to the Safat river. There he found Tugd,rin Dragon's Son, roaring in a huge voice : the green oaks trembled, and Aly6sha could hardly walk for that roaring. When young Tugdrin beheld the pilgrim, he demanded of him, \^hat he had seen or heard of young Aly6sha, Pope's Son, for he would fain 1 Pilgrim, psalm-singing lieggar : the professional singers of religions songs are known as kaly^ky perikdzhie, wandering psalm-singers. EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. -91 thrust him through with his lance, and burn him with fire. Pilgrim Aly6sha answered : " Come nearer ; for I hear not what thou sayest." Then, when Tugd- rin drew near, Aly6sha set himself against him, brandished his staff about his head, and smote Tugdrin's tempestuous head, and broke it. Tug^- rin fell to the damp earth, and Aly6sha sprang upon his black breast : whereupon young Tugarin besought him : " Hail, thou wandering psalm-singer ! Art thou not young Aly6sha Popdvichl If thou be he in very truth, let us now swear brotherhood." But Aly6sha trusted not his enemy. He smote off his turbulent head, drew off his flowered gar- ments (their value was one hundred thousand rubles), put them all on himself, mounted his good steed, and set out for his white pavilion. But when Akim and the pilgrim beheld him, they were sore afraid ; they mounted their good steeds, and rode toward Eostof town. But young Aly6sha followed and outrode them. When AkIm Ivan- ovich saw that, he turned about, drew forth his battle-mace of thirty poods, and flung it behind him (for he thought from the garments it had been young Tugdrin Dragon's Son), and struck Aly6sha's white breast, thrusting him from his Cherkessian saddle. Alydsha fell to the damp earth. Then AkIm 92 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. sprang down from his good steed, and would have pierced his white breast, but perceived thereon a wondrous cross of gold, and so said to the pUgrim : " This thing hath come upon me for my sins — that I should slay mine own brother ! " Then began they both to shake and rock Aly6sha, and gave him liquor from beyond the sea ; and there- with he became whole again, and they fell to converse among themselves, and to changing of raiment. The wandering psalm-singer put upon him once more his pilgrim's habit, Alydsha took again his heroic garments, and laid Tugd,rin the Dragon's Son's flowered apparel in his saddle-bags. Then they mounted their good steeds, and rode to Kief town to courteous Prince Vladimir. When they came to the princely court, they lighted down from their good steeds, bound them to the oaken pillars, and entered the fair hall. There they prayed to the Saviour's picture, touched their foreheads to the ground, doing homage to Prince Vladlmii-, Princess Aprdxia, and on all four sides. Courteous Prince Vladimir inquired their names and their country, and Alydsha made answer : " Lord, I am called Aly6sha Pop6vich : I come from Rost6f, and am son to the aged pope of the cathedral." Then Vladimir rejoiced, and said : " HaU, young Aly6sha Pop6vich ! According to thy lineage, seat EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 93 thyself in the great place, the fore corner ; or in the second, the heroic place, on the oaken bench over against me ; or in the third place, whereso- ever thou desirest." Aly6sha seated himself not in the great place, but with his comrade on the beam of the oven- bench. And after a little space, lo ! twelve mighty heroes bare in Tugarin the Dragon's Son on a great sheet of pure gold,^ and seated him in the great place beside the Princess Aprdxia. Then they fetched sugar viands, honeyed drinks, and all foreign liquors, and aU began to eat, drink, and make merry. But Tugdrin Dragon's Son ate not his bread with honor ; he thrust a whole loaf into his cheek (and they were monastery loaves of vast size). And not with honor did Tugdrin drink : he gulped a whole cup down at a swallow, and the measure of that cup was a bucket and a half. Then spoke up bold Aly6sha Pop6vich : " Ho there, courteous lord. Prince Vladimir ! What lout is this that is come to the court, what untu- tored fool] For he sitteth not honorably at thy table, but layeth his hand upon the Princess Aprdxia, kisseth her on her sugar mouth, and jeereth at thee. Prince. My lord and father had an old dog, that dragged himself with labor under 1 Bodies have been found in the kurgdns or mounds, hetween sheets of pure gold; but these belong to ancient Scythian times. 94 EPIO SONGS OF EUSSIA. the table, and choked himself with a bone. My father took him by the tail, and flung him out of the court-yard. And I will do the same to Tugdrin." Tugdrin blackened like a night in autumn, and Aly6sha was like the bright moon. And again the cooks were cunning, and fetched savory viands and a white swan, which the Prin- cess essayed to carve ; and so doing, she cut her left hand. Then she wrapped it in her sleeve, let it hang beneath the table, and said : " Ah, ye heroes and nobles ! Fain would I carve the white swan, were it not that I am still more fain to gaze upon this sweet youth, Tugdrin Dragon's Son." As she spoke, Tugdrin seized the white swan, and suddenly swallowed it whole, and therewith yet another great round loaf. Aly6sha said : " Courteous Lord Vladimir ! What boor and un- polished dullard is this that sitteth here? He thrusteth whole loaves into his cheek, and maketh but a mouthful of a white swan. My lord and father. Pope F6dor of Rost6f, had a miserable old cow. With pain she dragged herself to the court- yard, and broke into the kitchen, where she drank a keg of spiced small beer, — and burst. Pope F6dor took her by the tail, and swung her upon the hill. — So also wUl I do to Tugdrin the Dragon's Son." At this word, Tugdrin turned black as an autumn night, plucked out his steel dagger, and flung it EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 95 at Aly6sha. But Aly6sha was nimble, and Tugd,rin could not touch him. Akim Ivanovich seized the dagger, and said to Aly6sha ; " Wilt thou cast it at him thyself, or dost thou command me to hurl it 1 " " I will neither cast it, nor command thee. To- morrow I will meet him, I will lay a great wager with him — not of a hundred rubles, nor yet of a thousand ; — but my tempestuous head shall be my stake." Then sprang all the princes and nobles to their nimble feet, and backed Tugdrin. The princes staked a hundred rubles, the nobles fifty each, the peasants five. And the trading guests who chanced there, staked on Tugdrin all their three vessels, and all the foreign merchandise that stood on the swift Dniepr. Aly6sha's only backer was the ruler of Ch^rnigof. Then Tugarin rose in haste, went forth, mounted his good steed, spread his paper wings, and flew through the air. The Princess Apr^xia sprang to her nimble feet, and began to upbraid Aly6sha Pop6vich. " Thou villager, thou rustic lout ! thou wouldest not let my sweet friend tarry ! " But Alydsha heeded not hei' words; he rose, and, having called his comrade, hastened forth. They mounted, and rode to the Sd,fat river, and pitched their white pavilions ; preparing to rest, 96 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. they loosed their horses in the green meadow. All that night Aly6sha slept not, but besought God with tears : " Fashion, O God, a threatening cloud, send a cloud with rain and hail ! " Aly6sha's prayers came to Christ the Lord. God sent the cloud, and wet Tugdrin's paper wings, so that he fell like a dog upon the damp earth. Then Akim came and told Aly6sha that he had seen Tugdrin stretched upon the earth; and Aly6sha arrayed himself with speed, mounted his good steed, took his sharp sword, and rode against Tugdrin the Dragon's Son. When Tugdrin beheld Aly6sha, he roai'ed in a piercing voice : " Ho there, young Aly6sha Pop6- vich ! Shall I burn thee with fii'e, or trample upon thee with my horse, or impale thee upon my lance ? " " Hail, young Tugdrin Dragon's Son," Aly6sha answered, " thou didst lay a great wager with me, to contend and fight in single combat ; but now there is neither strength nor daring left in thee against me." Then, when Tugarin glanced behind him, Aly6sha sprang forward with speed, and hewed off his head. As the head fell upon the damp earth, it was like a beer-kettle. Then Aly6sha leaped from his good steed, un- coiled the cord from his horse, pierced Tug^rin's ears, bound the head to his horse ; and having brought it to Kief in this fashion, he flung it into the midst of the royal courtyard. EPIO SONGS OF EUSSIA. 97 When Prince Vladimir beheld Aly6sha, he entered his fair hall, seated iiimself at his richly decked table, and bade the banquet proceed for Aly6sha, After it had continued for a space. Prince Vladi- mir spoke : " Ho, young Aly6sha Popdvich ! In one moment thou hast given me solace. Dwell henceforth in Kief town, I pray thee, and serve me. Prince Vladimir, and I will reward thee with love, and with all my heart." This prayer bold young Aly6sha Pop6vich dis- regarded not, and began to serve Vladimir with loyalty and truth. But the Princess said : " Thou vUlager and rustic lout ! Thou hast parted me and my dear friend, young Tuglrin the Dragon's Son." Thereto Aly6sha made answer : " Little mother. Princess Aprdxia, I had almost called thee then by the name which thou hast merited." 98 EPIC SONGS OF EUSSIA. THE ONE AND FORTY PILGRIMS. On the open plain many great and mighty heroes assembled, forty bogatyrs and one ; and the one was young Kasydn Mikdilovich, their atamdn. They halted in a green meadow, dismounted from their good steeds, and sat down in a circle to hold counsel together ; and began to tell exploits. They told whither one bold and goodly youth had journeyed, how a certain other had been in many lands and hordes, which one had slain the accursed Tatars, and which the infidels forever accursed. When young Kasydn Mikdilovich heard the dis- course of these mighty heroes, he addressed them thus : " Greatly have ye sinned against God, ye mighty warriors ! For many turbulent heads have ye slain vdthout avail, and have shed hot blood. Are ye therefore agreed to what I shall propose ? Better is it for us now, to disperse our great host, and go to Jerusalem city to pray God in the holy sanctuary, to kiss the grave of the Lord, and to bathe in Jordan river, that our sins may be for- given. But it behooveth us to lay upon ourselves a great vow, ye mighty heroes ! — not to rob nor EPIC SONOS OF RUSSIA. 99 steal, not to yield to woman's charms, nor stain our knightly hands with blood. " And if any shall oiFend against this vow, then shall his nimble feet be hewn off at the knee, his white hands at the elbow ; his clear eyes shall be plucked from his brow, and his tongue torn out with pincers ; and he shall be buried to the breast in damp mother earth." This in no wise terrified the heroes, and they all agreed thereto. Then they loosed their good steeds upon the silken grass, to roam the open plain, and donned palmer's weeds. Over their heroic shoulders they threw their beggar's pouches of black cut velvet, embroidered in red gold, and strewn with fair seed-pearls. On their heads they set caps from the Grecian land, and in their white hands they took staves of precious fishes' teeth.^ Their raiment was like the poppy in hue, and each bore in his hand a precious antaventa stone. By day they journeyed by the fair sun's light; by night these stones and the jewels woven into their foot-gear of the seven silks, lighted them on their way. In this wise wandered the good youths from horde to horde, and so drew near to glorious Kief town. In the open plain they met the Fair Sun Prince Vladimir, hunting the white swan, geese, 1 Walrus tusk: greatly esteemed in the Archangel Government, and used tor fine carvings. 100 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. and small gray migratory ducks, foxes and hares, martens and sables black. When Prince Vladimir drew near, the pilgrims shouted in piercing tones : " Vladimir, Prince of Eoyal Kief! give alms to the wandering psalm- singers. We will not take a ruble, nor yet a ruble and a half; but whole thousands must thou give, yea, forty thousand well told ! " Then Prince Vladimir lighted down from his good steed, and greeted them, beseeching them to sing him the spiritual song of El6na, for he was fain to hear it from them. So the pilgrims thrust their staves into the damp earth, and hung their pouches thereon, and stand- ing in a circle, as is the custom with wandering psalm-singers, they sang the psalm of Elena in a half voice. — Mother earth trembled, the water in the lakes suited, the gloomy forests shook, and on the mountains the damp oaks bowed. Vladimir could neither stand nor sit nor lie. " Enough of this psalm of El6na, good youths ! " he cried. So the wandering psalm-singers took their velvet pouches, and made ready to pursue their journey. Said Prince Vladimu* then : "I have with me neither bread nor salt nor golden treasure. But go ye to Kief, to my Princess Apraxia; she will give you food and drink and lodging. Go, there- fore, to my princely palace, and say that the Fair EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. 101 Sun Prince Vladimir sent ye from the open plain." So they journeyed a day, and yet another day, and came to glorious Kief town : there they sought the spacious courtyard of the palace, and besought alms for Christ's sake. At their piercing cry, the domes tumbled from the lofty castles, the crowns from the trees ; mother earth quaked, and the liquors in the cellars grew thick. The Princess Aprdxia heard that great shout, and thrust herself out of the lattice window to her waist, quivering exceedingly with terror. Then she sent the stewards and cupbearers to greet young Kasyd,n MikaUovich and his companions, and bid them enter. When the pilgrims mounted the fair porch, step bent to step, and the new ante-chamber sagged beneath their tread. They crossed themselves as enjoined, prayed to the Saviour's picture, did rever- ence as prescribed to three sides and to four, and in particular to the Princess Apraxia. The Princess bade them welcome, and com- manded fair cloths to be laid on the oaken tables with all speed, sugar viands to be brought, and honeyed drinks. Then all sat down to meat : the pilgrims, the Princess Aprdxia, with her nurses and duennas, and her fair handmaidens. Young Kasydn Mikailovich sat in the great place of honor, and from his youthful countenance as from the fair 102 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. red sun, rays streamed. The stewards and cup- bearers hastened to and fro, bearing fair meats and drinks. They feasted long, even untU the fair sun sank in the west. Then the pilgrims were led to cham- bers where they might repose ; but the Princess Aprdxia herself led young Kasydn to a fair cham- ber apart, where stood a couch of smooth boards with bed of down, heavy cushions, and a coverlet of rich black sables. And when aU were asleep in the palace, save young Kasyan who was praying God, the Princess Aprdxia came to him, and told him of her love. But young Kasydn recounted to her the great vow which he had taken, and bade her tempt him not, but go thence. Nevertheless she came again, and yet the third time ; then the good youth seized his stout cudgel and brandished it, and bade her begone, or he would smite her until she fell upon the brick floor. At that she was troubled, and went thence ; but when Kasyan had fallen into a deep sleep, the Princess crept down from the glazed oven, took his pouch of rich velvet, ripped it open and placed therein the silver bratlna,^ from which the Prince 1 A peculiar sort of bowl or loving-cup which was passed round the table at the beginning of a feast. These cups are usually globular in form, with a lip like a band contracting inwards, which generally bears an inscription in Slavonic characters, such as: "Cup for going the round ; pour into it that which refreshes the mind, corrupts the morals, and divulges all secrets; " "I am the slippery path of truth," etc. EPIQ SONGS OF BUSSIA. 103 was wont to drink, on his return from the field ; then she sewed up the velvet again so that it might not be perceived. The next morning very early, the one and forty pUgrims arose, washed themselves very white, put on their shoes, and prayed to God. The Princess commanded the oaken tables to be served ; and when the pilgrims had eaten and drunk their fill, they prayed God for the Fair Sun Prince Vladimir, returned thanks to the Princess Aprdxia, swung their heroic pouches on their heroic shoulders, bowing low, and set out for Jerusalem. A little space after their departure. Fair Sun Vladimir came from the open plain, and sat down to eat and drink. Then the cupbearers began to search for the royal bratlna, through aU the palace, and Vladimir said : " Which of you hath taken the royal cup ? " The Princess Apraxia made answer in their stead: " Ai, Fair Sun Prince Vladimir ! there came hither from the open plain, sent by thee, forty psalm-singers and one. Is it not they, perchance, who have carried off the royal cup ? For they lodged here one night, and are but lately departed hence. They have taken thy royal cup ! " Then Prince Vladimir gave command in haste, that his mighty heroes should ride after the pil- grims. But 11yd of Miii-om warned him : " Ai, Fair Sun Vladimir ! these be no wandering 104 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. psalm-singers, but one and forty heroes bold, and whom have we to send against them ? " " Let us send bold Aly6sha Pop6vich," quoth Vladimir. So Aly6sha was despatched, and bidden to speak them fair. But Aly6sha was not courteous by nature, and when he came up with them, and beheld them sit- ting, eating bread and refreshing themselves, he cried : " Ho there ! ye are not wandering psalm-singers, but forty thieves and robbers ! Yield now peace- ably the royal cup which ye have stolen ! " Then sprang young Kasydn Mikailovich to his nimble feet, grasped his travelling cudgel, and flourished it widely. "Did we go to EJ[ef town for your royal bratina?" quoth he. " Nay, but I will give thee the cup." Aly6sha beheld with great terror that there was nothing to be done, and, wheeling his good steed about in haste, returned again to Kief. To Prince Vladimir he said that the brigands had set upon him when he asked for the royal cup, and had nearly unhorsed him, so that he had escaped with difficulty. Again spoke the Old Cossick : " Heed not that daring fool Aly6sha, Prince Vladimir ! for I know well how he addressed them. There is none for us to send but Dobr;fnya Nikltich : lo ! he knoweth how to petition with courtesy." EPia SONGS OF BUSSIA. 105 So Dobrynya gat to horse, and when he came upon the forty and one sitting on the open plain, eating and refreshing themselves, he cried : " Hail, ye forty pilgrims and one ! I beseech your hospitality." " Come hither, good youth," they answered, " sit with us, eat our bread and salt." " Ai, ye pilgrims," quoth Dobrynya : " how shall I tell you, good youths ? There is a great tumult amongst us of Kief. — For the royal cup of gold is lost ; without it, the Prince will not taste his mead. I pray you, therefore, good youths, search your pouches, lest it may have strayed into them through error." Then each looked upon the other, and knew not what to do. Said young Kasydn Mikdilovich : " Dear comrades, pious pilgrims ! open your pouches, and show them to this youth." All the pilgrims rose to their nimble feet, took their pouches, and showed to young Dobrynya: but the royal cup was not in them. Last of all, young Kasydn Mikailovich opened his pouch, and lo ! the princely cup was there. Then aU were exceeding wroth, and in great amaze, and said : "What shall we do with thee now, young Kasydn Mikdilovich ] lo, it was thyself who didst impose that great vow." "Beloved comrades," young Kasyan made an- swer, " I did not steal the royal cup : this thing 106 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. hath the Princess Aprdxia contrived because I would not yield to her. Nevertheless, do ye now the thing commanded, and break not your solemn vows." Then they all wept and began to take leave of him ; and though it was very grievous to them, they fulfilled then- vow. They hewed off his nimble feet to the knee, his white arms to the elbow, plucked his clear eyes from his brow and his tongue from his mouth, and buried him to the breast in damp mother earth. Then they bade him farewell, as a dead man, and betook them- selves to Jerusalem. Young Dobrynya Nikltich looked on at all their deed, then rode thence with all speed, bearing the royal cup, and came to Kief town, to Prince Vla- dimir's spacious court, gave the cup to the Pau- Sun, and related the marvel he had seen ; and how they had not stolen the royal cup, which was found upon them by mistake. But he told not what the Princess Aprdxia had done. From that hour the Princess Aprdxia fell ill with grief, and lay on the great dung-heap. But Prince Vladimir and many of his heroes made ready to go and view that great marvel. But before them came Mik6la ^ of Mozhdisk to young Kasydn Mikailovich, and restored his nimble feet, his white hands, his clear eyes, and his tongue : 1 St. Nicholas. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 107 he put breath also into Kasydn's white breast, set him on his nimble feet, and spake this word : " Go thy way, young Kasydn Mikailovich! thou shalt find thy friends at then- first halting-place. The Lord hath sent me to thee, good youth, because thou wert wrongfully slain, not having stolen the royal cup. Go now to Jerusalem, pray God in the sanc- tuary, kiss the Lord's grave, bathe in Jordan river. And when thou art come again to this our land, build a cathedral church to Mik6la of Mozhdisk ; for I am he." Then the hoary-headed old man vanished. Young Kasydn went his way, and overtook his companions late at night. He found them eating bread, and marvelling that they had executed him. But when they beheld him fairer than before, with his long curls hanging to his waist, and knew that the Lord and none other had been his help, they rejoiced with great joy. When Prince Vladimir and his heroes came to the spot where Kasydn had been slain, and found the deep pit wherein he had been sunk to the breast, but found him not, they were in great amaze, and returned to Kief town. After the forty pilgrim-heroes and one had made then- pilgrimage to Jerusalem, they returned again to where they had left their good steeds roaming, and rode to Kief town, to Fair Sun Vladimir's spacious court, where they asked alms in Christ's 108 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. name, that they might have the wherewithal to dine. Prince Vladimir heeded their mighty shout which shook the palace, and bade them enter, and eat his bread. But they answered : " Nay, we will not enter thy palace, for the Princess Apraxia is there, and she will again lay the royal cup in our young Kasyan Mikdilovich's pouch." So they told Vladimir what the Princess had done when they had lodged there, and how the good youth whom they had slain, had never- theless accompanied them to Jerasalem. Then Prince Vladimir sent his stewards and cupbearers to make obeisance to them and entreat them to enter. When they obeyed, Prince Vladimir saluted young Kasydn courteously, and Kasyan inquked how it fared with the Princess Aprdxia ; — if she were well. Thereto Vladimir made reluctant answer, " Let us not go to her for a week or two." Young Kasydn heeded not his speech, but went straightway with the Prince to her chamber ; and as they went the Priuce held his nose, but Kasyan cared not for the odor. They opened the doors of the fair chamber, and flung wide the little lattice casements. The Princess prayed to be forgiven; thereupon young Kasyan breathed upon her with his holy breath, laid his holy hand upon her and EPIQ SONGS OF RUSSIA. 109 pardoned her, and she was solaced; for she had suffered much, lying in shame a full half year. Then young Kasydn returned with Prince Vladi- mir to the banquet-hall, prayed before the Saviour's picture, and sat down with his comrades at the richly adorned tables. They ate and drank and refreshed themselves ; and when they would have pursued their journey, courteous Prince Vladimir besought them urgently to abide yet, a day with him. Young Princess Aprdxia also came forth from her retreat, arrayed herself with speed, and adorned herself, and came to the table with her nurses, ladies in waiting and fair handmaidens. Young Kasydn she saluted without shame or confusion, though her sin lay in her mind, and Kasy^n waved his small right hand over the sugar viands, hedg- ing them about with the sign of the cross, and a blessing. When all had feasted their fill, they saddled their good steeds, and having taken leave of court- eous Prince Vladimir and of each other, they rode each to his own country. And none of these forty heroes and one ever again roamed the open plain seeking adventures, nor stained their white hands with blood. When young Kasydn Mik^ilovich came to his own land, he raised a cathedral church to Mik6la of Mozhdisk, and began to pray constantly to God, and to repent of his sins. 110 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. ILTA IN DISGUISR On a day, as Ilyd, rode in the open plain, he communed thus with himself: "Lo, I have been in many lands, but 'tis long since I was in Kief town ; I will ride thither, and learn what is doing there." When he came to the palace in the royal city, Prince Vladimir was holding a merry feast. Ilyd entered -straight the banquet-hall, crossed himself as prescribed, did reverence as enjoined, bowing on all four sides, and to the Fair Sun Prince Vladimir and the Princess Aprdxia in particular. But Vla- dlmu- knew him not. " What is thy name and tribe?" he asked ; " and what thy patronymic ? " And Ily^ made answer : " Bright Vladimir, Fair little Sun! I am called Niklta from beyond the Forest." " Ho there, thou brave and free little fellow ! Sit down with us now, to eat bread and to feast : there is yet a little place yonder at the lower end of the table ; the other places are all filled. For prince-nobles, rulers, rich merchants and bold war- EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. Ill rior-maids hold feast with me to-day, and sixty great Eussian heroes." The Old Cossdck liked not this speech, — that he should break bread at the lower end of the table ; and he said this word : " And ho, thou Fair Sun Prince Vladimir! Thou eatest, feastest with the crows thyself, yet seatest me with the little crows 1 Nay! but I wiU not eat bread with nursling crows ! " This speech in turn pleased not the Fair Sun Prince. He sprang to his nimble feet, clouding over like the dusky night, and roared as he had been a wild beast. " Ho there, ye mighty Eussian heroes ! Will ye hear yourselves called crows — yea, and little crows \ — Seize the fellow, ye heroes, three by each arm ; lead him into the spacious court, and there strike oflF his turbulent head." They led him forth ; but Ilyd. waved one hand, and three heroes lay dead ; he waved the other hand, and the other three feU dead likewise, Then Prince Vladimir commanded that twelve should seize him ; and with them it fared the same. Then twelve grasped him, with six more behind; and these eighteen met their fate like- wise, for Ilyd's heroic heart burned within him when he was thus led out with ignominy. He fitted an arrow to his stout bow. " Fly, my shaft, about the princely wiudows>" he conjured 112 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. it ; " bear off all the golden spires, and the wonder- working crosses on God's temples." Then he gathered up all the spires and crosses, went to the royal pot-house, sold the precious spires for countless treasure, and began to drink up the imperial roofs in green wine. He assembled also all the hangers-on of the pot-house, sots, and aU who could drink green wine, led them into the kabdk, and bade them help him drink the princely spires. " What wiU the Prince do," said they, " when he knoweth that we are drinking his royal spnes ? " " Drink, boon companions ! care ye not for that. To-morrow I shall reign as Prince in Kief town, and ye shall be my chiefs." — Fair Sun Vladimir of royal Kief perceived that a great misfortune was at hand, and knew not who it might be that was come thus to town. But young Dobrynya Nikltich spoke up : "I know all the mighty heroes save one, — the Old Cossdck Ilyd of Mlirom. Of him I have heard that his death is not decreed in battle. This is no Niklta from beyond the Forest. It is Ilyd of Mlirom. Thou hast not known, Vladimir, how to welcome thy guest on his coming, nor honor him at his going." " Whom shall we send to bid him to an honor- able feast 1 " said Vladlmii- in amaze. " Bold Aly6sha Pop6vich will not know how to bid him. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 113 and Churilo Plenk6vich is good for nothing but to strut among the maids and women. We must send a clever man, who can read and write, one whose discourse is reasonable. Go thou, therefore, Dobrynya Nikitich ; beat thy forehead against the brick floor, against damp mother earth, before him, and say : ' Prince Vladimir hath sent me to thee, thou Old Cossack, Ily^ of Miirom, to bid thee to a worshipful feast. He knew thee not, good youth, and for that cause alone did he place thee at the lower end of the board to eat his bread. But now he entreateth thee to him with heartiness and great joy, "and commands thee not to bear iU will for what is past. For thy place, which was the worst of all shall now be the best, to wit, in the great comer.' " Then Dobrynya thought within himself: " Shall I not go to sudden death at Ilyd,'s hands? But if I obey not Fair Sun Prince Vladimir, it wiU fare iU with me." So he betook himself to the imperial pot-house, where sat Ilyd, of Mlirom drinking and carousing with the brawlers. " It is better that I should approach him from behind ! " thought Dobrynya. And so he did, and seized Ilyd by his mighty shoulders, and delivered his message. " Happy art thou, young Dobrynya Nikitich," quoth the Old Cossdck, " in that thou camest upon 114 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. me from behind. Hadst thou approached me from the front, thou shouldst have become ashes ere now! Now go, and say these words to thy Fair Sun Prince : ' Let strict ukases be promulgated throughout all the towns of Kief and Ch^migof, that all the pot-houses and drinking places of what- ever sort be opened freely for the space of three days, that all the people may drink green wiae without price. And whoso drinketh no green wine, let him quaff the beer of drunkenness ; and he who drinketh that not, sweet mead; that aU may know that the Old Cossdck Ily^ of Mllrom is come to famous Kief town.' Let this be done, and let an honorable banquet be made, or the Prince shall reign no longer than until to-morrow's morn ! " Then quickly, quickly, very, veiy quickly and with speed ran Dobrynya to Prince Vladlmh, and quickly, very, very quickly were the stern ukases issued, and a mighty banquet prepared. And vast multitudes assembled in the pot-houses, not to eat or drink, but to view the Old Cossack. When Ily^ came to the princely palace, he did reverence to all, and to the Prince and Princess in particular. Then Vladimir rose to his nimble feet, and spoke : " Ho there, thou Old Cossd.ck Ilya of Miirom ! Here is a place for thee beside me, either on my right hand or my left, and yet a third place — wherever it pleaseth thee to sit." There- EPIG SONQS OF BUSSIA. 115 with he took Ilyd by his white hands, and kissed him on his sugar mouth. And as they sat on the four-square stools about the oaken tables laden with sweet viands, Ilyd took not the highest place, but a lesser, and put the sots from the imperial pot-house about him. And they began to eat and drink and make merry. Thus was Hyd reconciled to courteous Prince Vladimir. 116 EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. DOBRYNYA THE DRAGON-SLAYER, AND MARINA From far, very far in the open plain, and farther yet in the vaUey, fled the herd of beasts, of wild beasts and serpents : at their head ran the Skiper- beast, with woolly hide, crumpled homs, and httle hoofs of steel. The Skiper-beast fled to the Dniepr river, and all the Dniepr 's waters were troubled. Its fair steep banks quaked, the deUcate tree-tops fell to the earth ia concert, brothers, when they heard of that birth. — For ia Holy Russia the Rich, young Dobrynya ^ Nikltich was born that day. When Dobrynya grew to man's estate, three years he feasted, three years he served as steward, three more he stood as keeper at the gate. Yet no fair word did he win of Vladimir, or soft bread, but only a good steed. In the tenth year, courteous Prince Vladimir made a great feast in. royal Kief town, whereat many heroes and bold warrior-maidens were assem- bled, eating and drinking merrily. Young Do- brynya Nikltich sat at the end of the oaken board, and spoke : "Fair Sun Vladimir of royal Kief! I have 1 Dobrynya is partly Uistorioal. See Appendix. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 117 served thee long in thy princely court : grant me leave now to vt^ander about Kief, through its narrovsr lanes." "Fly not forth, young sparrow," answered Prince Vladimir, " young Dobrynya, gallop not away." But all the mighty Eussian heroes said : " Go crave permission of the honorable widow, Aflmya Alexindrevna, thy mother, to prowl about the narrow lanes of Kief." This Dobrynya did, and his mother counselled him : " Walk through all the streets of Kief town, roam the little alleys at thy will ; only, go not to the vile Princess Marina Igndtievna, who dwelleth in a certain little lane. She is a witch, she hath murdered Prince on Prince, many Kings and Crown princes, nine Russian heroes, clear falcons all, and common folk without number. If thou goest to that Marina, thou wilt lose thy life, Dobrynya." The next day Dobrynya rose right early, washed himself very white in spring water, took his stout bow, his quiver of fiery arrows, and set out. As he wandered through the streets and many narrow lanes, he shot small sparrows on the haUs, blue doves upon the chambers, and so wandering, came at length to Marina's lane. Her palace was richly adorned. In her window sat a dark-blue dove and his mate cooing, yellow bill to bill, and mouth to mouth, with wing enfolding wing ; and it pleased not Dobrynya that they should sit thus. He 118 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. strung a silken cord to his bow, and fitted thereto a flaming arrow, and shot at the dove and his mate. The cord sang on the stout bow, but his left foot slipped, his right hand trembled — the arrow struck not the dove and mate, but flew straight to the lofty palace, through the lattice window to Mailn- ushka the vile, and slew Tugarin Dragon's Son her dear friend who was with her there. Dobrynya reflected : — "If I enter that palace I shall lose my head ; if I enter not — my arrow." Then he sent his trusty servant, his page, for the arrow. " Thou miscreant, Marina ! give back our burning arrow," quoth the page. But Marina said : " Nay, let him who shot the arrow come himself." Thereupon Dobrfnya entered with haste the spacious court, and with courtesy the new halls : fairly came he into the new chamber, and took his fiery arrow. Marinka lay upon a couch; in her right hand was a fiery dragon ; on her left, two little serpents. She took Dobrynya by his white hand, by his silver ring, kissed his sugar mouth, and said : " Ah, sweet Dobrynya Nikltich, give me thy love ! " Dobrynya made answer : " Sweet Marin- ushka Igndtievna, I wUl not! Thou hast slain nine mighty Russian heroes, and art minded to slay me likewise." Then he turned from the new chamber, and went forth into the spacious court, and so home to his mother. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 119 Up sprang Marinushka then, seized her dagger, and hacked Dobrynya's footsteps, flung them into the oven painted with many devices, and, conjured them with a powerful incantation : " Burn, ye foot- steps of Dobrynya, burn, in this oven of many hues ; and may his spirit likewise burn within him for me ! As I cut these footsteps, may Dobrynya's dear little heart cut for me ! " ^ Then worse than a sharp knife cut Dobrynya's heroic heart. That evening he ate nothing, at midnight he slumbered not, and waited only for the white dawn. Early rang the matin bells, and very early he arose, girt on his sharp sword, and went to the cathedral to the service; and thence to Marina's dwelling. When he came to the Princess, he bowed low before her; but she rose not, sat in discourteous wise, and returned not his salutation. " Ah, sweet Marinushka, give me thy love ! " he said. " What need is there for thee, young Dobrynya, to jest and make merry over me ? Long since I sought thy love, and thou lovedst me not : — and now thou cravest it of me ! Now thou art in my hands ! If I will, I can turn thee into a magpie, a raven, a pig, or an aurochs with golden horns, 1 The " charm of footsteps " practised by the ancient Germans is still employed in a slightly different form among the Burmese. 120 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. silver hoofs and velvet hide, or into a frog of the under world ; — and from that last estate there is no return forever." Then she transformed him into a brown aurochs, and sent him forth into the open plain, to drink swamp water and to eat marsh grass, to be chief over the nine brown aurochs who roamed there — the mighty heroes her bridegrooms. And as Dobrynya roamed there, a golden-homed aurochs, he espied a flock of geese, which belonged to Avd6tya Iv^novna, his beloved aunt. AU these did he trample under foot to the last gosling, not one did he leave. Then the goose-herds came and made complaint. " Ai, young Avd6tya Ivdnovna ! an aurochs with golden horns hath trampled under foot aU our geese ; not one hath he left us." After them fol- lowed the keepers of the swans, the shepherds and herdsmen, with the same complaint. Not a living creature of all thek flocks and herds had the golden aurochs spared. Then Avdotya Ivdnovna spoke : " That aurochs of the golden horns is my well- beloved nephew, young Dobrynya, whom Marina the Vile hath transformed." But when the guard- ians of the horses came and told how the aurochs had dispersed their charge over all the plain, spar- ing none, Avd6tya rose in wrath. She turned herself into a magpie, and flew to Mai'Ina the Vile, perched EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 121 in her little lattice window, and began to scold, and say : " Vile Princess Marinushka ! why hast thou transformed Dobrynya into a golden-horned aurochs, and loosed him to roam the open plain"? Turn back Dobrynya from his aurochs form, else will I turn thee into a long-tailed dog, and the children shall pursue thee ; — into a magpie, and thou shalt hover evermore above the open plain in semblance of a pie." Then Marina perceived that there was no help, and so transformed herself into a gray swallow, flew to the open plain, and alighting upon the aurochs's golden horns chattered and said : " Swear to me, Dobrynya Nikltich — for thou hast roamed the field and art weary, the bubbling marshes and art tired — swear now a great oath to take the golden crown with me, with Marinushka, and I wiU turn thee back from a golden-horndd aurochs to thine own shape again." " Ah, sweet Marinushka ! " Dobrynya answered, " only turn me from this form, and I will take that great oath. I will wed thee, Marina, and will even give thee the little lessons wherewith a husband instructeth his wife." Then Marina believed him, and turned him into a goodly youth as of old. " Now I must wed thee about a bush, Marin- ushka," he said, " about a willow bush in the open plain." So three times about the willow bush 122 EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. they paced, and Dobr^^nya called Marina his wife,^ and set out with her for royal Kief town. When they were come to Marina's lofty palace, Dobr^nya commanded the servant : " Ai, my trusty servant ! prithee a cup of green wine ; yet give me first a sharp sword." Then Marina turned him into a little ermine, and began to frighten him ; but the ermine escaped her snares. Then she turned him into a falcon, and began to alarm and to tease the falcon, which waved his wings, and besought the Princess Marina: " I cannot fly as a falcon should, I can only wave my wings ; grant me to drain a cup of green ^vine." The young Princess thereupon transformed him into a goodly youth, and Dobrynya shouted : " Ho there, my trusty servant ! a cup of green wme! But the trusty servant gave him very quickly a sharp sword. The cup of wine he quaffed not, but brandished his sword, and cut off Marina's turbu- lent head for her ungentle deeds. In the morning he went to his warm steam bath, and thither came princes and nobles. " Hail, Dobrynya Nikltich, with thy bride ! " they said. " Hail, ye princes and nobles and all the Court of Vladimir ! Last night I was wedded, brothers, and no longer alone, but now I am single and no 1 See Appendix: Dobrynya the Dragon-slayer. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 123 longer wedded. I have cut off Marina's turbulent head for her ruthless deeds ; for she had slain many Russian people, Princes and their heirs, Kings and Crown Princes, nine mighty Russian heroes, and of common folk an innumerable host ! " 124 EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. IVAN GODINOVICH. In Kief town dwelt a great and mighty hero, Ivdn Godin6vich.,^ nephew to Prince Vladimir. Long he roamed through many infidel lands ; many great hosts did he assemble, frightened Tzars and slew warriors. Upon a certain day, courteous Prince Vladimir made a great supper, whereat sat many honorable widows. Ivan Goduidvich sat with eyes fixed upon the floor, eating nothing, drinking nothing, tastiag not the white swan. " Ho there, Ivanushka ! " spoke Prince Vladimir. " Wherefore art thou sad ] Is not thy seat to thy liking ? Have I passed thee by with the cup of drunkenness \ Hath the fool scoflfed at thee, hath a black raven cawed at thee, or have the dogs barked ? " " None of these things have come to pass, Fan- Sun Prince Vladimir," Ivanushka replied. " But all in Eaef town are wedded : I only sit alone." " Why then dost thou not wed likevsise, Ivan Godin6vich % " " Fain would I wed, lord, but that may not be. 1 See Appendix. EPIO SONGS OF RUSSIA. 125 Where I would take, there I am refused: and where they would give, I will not take." Then spoke courteous Prince Vladimir : " Ho there, Ivdn! Sit thou on this folding-chair, and write a letter." So Iv^n sat upon the folding-chair, and wrote a letter of wooing to Dmitry the rich merchant in Ch6migof town ; and Vladimir the Prince set his hand to it. " 'Tis not thou, Ivan Godin6vich, who now goest a-wooing : — 'tis I, Prince Vladimir, who woo." Then quickly did Ivdn array himself, and quickly, very, very quickly and with speed did he ride to Ch^rnigof town, one hundred and eighty versts by -measurement: that space Ivan compassed in two hours. When he came to the courtyard of Dmitry the Merchant, he leaped from his good steed and bound him to the oaken pillar. Then he entered the fair hall, prayed to the Saviour's picture, did reverence to Merchant Dmitry, and laid the letter upon the round table. Guest ^ Dmitry broke the seal, looked upon it and read it. " Foolish Ivd,n ! Senseless Ivd.n ! " quoth he. " Thou art not the first, Ivdnushka ! My Avd6tya ' The ancient name for a meichant of the highest class. In the time of Ivan the Terrible, according to the Code, a. Guest received damages to the extent of 50 rubles for an insult, a common merchant 5 r., a boySrin 600 r. The comparative rank indicated had long prevailed, probably from Vladimir's day. 126 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. is now betrothed to Tzar Kosch6i of a distant land. If I give her to a Tzar, she will be a Tzaritza, and all the nobles will bow before her in homage ; but if I give her to thee, she will be a serf, and must sweep the cottage and clean the stable. But I have a dog in my courtyard; her will I give to thee." Then was Ivdn grieved : he seized the letter and ran forth, mounted his good steed, and hastened with what speed he might, to Kief, and told Prince Vladimir all that had passed. When Prince Vladimir heard how Ivdn had been scorned, he was grieved for Ivdnushka's sake, tore the black curls ^ from his head, and cast them upon the brick floor. " Take her not, Ivan," he said. Then was Ivdn wroth, and departed from the oaken tables, from the cloths richly patterned with drawn work ; leave took he of none, but opened the doors very wide and shut them very hard, thrusting the door-posts aside. " Ho there, Ivan Godui6vich ! " cried courteous Prince Vladimir then, " Take a hundred of my men, and a second hundred of the princely nobles, and yet a third hundred of thine own. Go in honor to woo, and if they give not the maid will- ingly, then take her by force." In haste did the youths assemble, and prepare for their journey. They had but passed the swift 1 Vladimir's liair is sometimes black, though generally golden. EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 127 Dniepr when a powdering of white snow fell, and upon this light, pure snow they beheld traces of three beasts. The first trace was of a brown aurochs, the second of a fierce lion, the third of a wild boar. Then Ivdn began to tell off the, youths in companies. He sent a hundred men after the brown aurochs, commanding them to take him with care and without bloody wounds ; another hundred sent he in pursuit of the fierce lion, and a third hundred after the wild boar, — these likewise must be taken heedfuUy and without disfiguring wounds, and borne to royal Kief, to great Prince Vladimir. But Ivdn himself went on alone to Chernigof town, rode into the midst of Guest Dmitry's spa- cious court, and bound his good steed to the oaken pillar. Then he entered the fair chamber, and prayed before the Saviour's picture, but did no reverence to Dmitry the rich merchant. With Dmitry were sitting then, divers of the Tatar body- guard,^ who had brought a gai'ment, in value one hundred thousand rubles, from the Tzar Kosch6i to his love Avddtya Dmitrievna. — The Tzar him- self was but three versts from Ch6rnigof, and with him was a host of three thousand men. " Give me thy daughter," spoke Ivan Godi- n6vich. " Thou shalt have the dog in my courtyard," Dmitry made answer as before. 1 Ulani. 128 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. "I shall neither ask thee much nor long dis- pute," said Ivdn ; and thereupon he rose from the hewn wall bench, pushed aside the sUken hangings, and so came into the new hall where sat the White Swan weaving liaen. " Hail, Avd6tya the White Swan ! " he said in greetmg. Upon Avd6tya's head were white swans, on her left shoulder black sables ; on her right shoulder sat bright falcons ; on the frame of her loom perched dark blue doves, and on her loom-bench, black ravens : and her face was like the first fair snows of autumn. " And hail to thee, fair Ivan Godin6vich," she answered ; then left her delicate linen, took Ivdn by his white hands, kissed his sugar lips, and fondled him. Then Ivdn delayed no longer, but led Avd6tya forth to the fair hall. There she began to weep and to say : " Thou hast known, my father, how to feed me and give me diink, to cherish me until I had attained my grov5l;h: but one thing, my father, thou hast not known — how to give me in marriage without great bloodshed ! " To this the Ch6rnigovian made reply: "WUt thou not eat bread and salt with me, Ivdnushka Godin6vichr'^ " Thou hast not refreshed the guest at his com- ing," quoth Ivan, " and at his going it shall not be permitted to thee." 1 " Bread and salt " is the epic euphuism for hospitality. EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. 129 Said Dmitry: " I have written a letter to Koscli6i the Deathless, and have thereto set my hand, and he shall cut off thy turbulent head." "When Koschei cutteth off my head," quoth Ivdn, " then will be the fitting hour to boast, both for him and for thee." Then he set Avd6tya on his good steed, and rode forth upon the open plain. After they had forded many streams, night overtook them on the plain ; and Ivdn pitched a pavilion of white damask linen for himself and his Avd6tya. Now when the news came to Kosch6i, he went forth to the stable-yard, took a foal with nine chains, put on him heroic trappings, girded on his broad sword, took his sharp spear and his battle- mace, seized on the way his steel dagger, and rode forth oyer the plain until he came to Ch6rnigof. There he learned that Ivan Godin6vich had in truth carried off Avd6tya the White Swan, and he rode in pursuit. When he espied the pavilion of white damask, he shouted in a piercing voice : " Dwelleth there any in this pavilion of fine damask 1 Let him who is alive therein, come forth ! " Iv^n heard this, and roused himself, good youth, from sleep, came forth, aifd washed himself with fresh spring water, dried himself upon a towel of fine damask, crossed himself as prescribed, did reverence as enjoined, and prayed to the most 130 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. wondrous Saviour. Then he mounted his good steed, took his arms, and rode at Kosch6i. The adversaries went apart about the space of three versts, and when they came together they gi-eeted each other, and smote each other with their Tatar spears, but yet pierced one another not. Again they rode aside about three versts, came at each other, saluted courteously and brandished their battle-maces. Ivdn's mace fell upon Kosch6i's head, and Kosch6i flew from his good steed. Ivd,nushka was cunning : he leaped over his good steed's mane to the eai'th, hurled himself upon Kosch^i's black breast, undid the silken loops, unfastened the but- tons of pure gold, and would have pierced his black breast, and taken out his restive heart with his liver. But he had forgotten his dagger of dam- ascened steel, and shouted with a great voice : " Ho there, my White Swan Avd6tya ! Thi-ow my steel dagger from the white pavilion : I must needs' prick Koschei's black breast, and draw forth his restive heart." Avd6tya obeyed his behest, and fetched the dag- ger. But when Kosch^i espied her, he spoke this word : " Bethink thee, Avdbtya the White Swan ! If thou livest with Ivan thou wilt be a servant, and must bow in lowly reverence before all men : but I will make thee a Tzarltza. Many lands shall do EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. 131 homage to thee, and all nobles shall do reverence to thee. Do thou therefore seize Ivdn by his ruddy curls, and drag him from my breast." And Avd6tya listened to his counsel. She flung the dagger far out upon the plain, seized Iv^n by his ruddy curls, and dragged him aside; and so Kosch^i got the upper hand. As he sat upon Ivan's white breast he opened his garments, and would have taken out his restive heart, and his liver, with his dagger which he snatched from its sheath. But Avd6tya had compassion on Ivdnushka, and said: " Pierce not Ivan's white breast, Kosch6i, pluck not his restive heart therefrom. Let us rather bind him with this three-stranded cord to yon damp, ringbarked oak." And they did so. — As Kosch^i came forth from the white pavilion, very early the next morning, two dark blue doves alighted upon the damp oak ; and he told Avd6tya. " Shoot me those dark blue doves," quoth the White Swan, " for I would fain eat of them." Kosch^i hearkened to her, fitted a sharp burn- ing arrow to his bow, and conjured it : " Fall not, my arrow, in the water or upon the damp earth; but fall, my shaft, upon the damp oak tree, and into the right eye of the blue dove thereon." But Ivan conjured in his turn : " O stout bow, 132 EPIC SONGS OF RUSSIA. clear burning mother arrow! fall not to earth, strike not the dove; but bound back from this damp oak, and pierce Kosch6i's black breast, drag forth his royal heart, to the discontent of old crones, and the cawing of black crows." So the arrow did, and attained Kosch6i's im- petuous heart ; and thus died Koschei the Death- less.'^ Then Avd6tya bethought herself once more and wept. " Long is woman's hair," she said, " but short, in sooth, are her wits ! I have deserted one shore, yet attained not unto the other. I will slay Ivdn, and go back to Ch6rnigof a maid." Thereupon she took the sharp sword from where it lay upon damp mother earth. But Ivanushka began to entreat her: "Ai, Avd6tya, my White Swan ! unbind me now from the damp oak ! " "Wilt thou "take me for thy wife, young Ivan Godin6vich'? If thou wilt swear it, I will sever the sUken bonds upon thy white hands. But if thou vrilt not swear it, I wUl give thee over to speedy death." Then Ivdn spoke firmly as he lay upon the damp earth : , . 1 Koschei is merely one of the incarnations ol the dark spirit. His " death " is generally concealed in some ohject remote from him, which it is necessary to destroy. He frequently figures in the skdzkas (tales), and occasionally dies, as in this case ; though always called the "Deathless." Specimens of these tales may be found in " Russian Folk-lore " (p. 85), by W. K. S. Balston. EPid SONGS OF BUSSIA. 133 " Eelease me, and I will neither beat thee, nor impute to thee great blame. I will but read thee three lessons meet for a wife." Yet Avd6tya was afraid, and would stiU have cut off Ivan's turbulent head, with her sharp sword. But her white hands trembled ; and the sword fell not upon Ivdn's white throat, but upon the silken cords, and severed them. Then the good youth rose up at liberty, placed Avd6tya upon his good steed, and rode over the open plain. " Alight noyi^ at the ford, Avd6tya my White Swan," he said : " pull oflP my morocco boot and fetch me fresh water therein, for I would fain drink at this spot." Avd6tya answered him : " Thou carest not to drink, Ivd,nushka Godin6vich, but only to slay me!" This seemed to Ivanushka a grief and a great evil ; so he hewed off Avd6tya's arms to the elbow, for her first wifely lesson : " I need not these," quoth he ; " they have embraced Koschei." For his second lesson he cut off her lips, saying: " These I need not : they have kissed Koschei." And for the third lesson, he smote off her feet to the knee : " Of these I have no need," quoth he : " they bore thee from my white pavilion to drag Ivdn by his ruddy curls." Last of all, he cut off her turbulent head. 134 EPIG SONGS OF RUSSIA. Then he washed his sword in the Dniepr river, and rode to Kief town, where all the mighty heroes came forth to meet him. Aly6sha Pop6vich laughed in his face : " Hail, Ivdnushka ! " said he. " Thou art wedded? But thou hast no companion with whom to dwell." And Ivdn Godin6vich replied : " I have wedded my sharp sword ! " EPIC SONGS OF BUSSIA. 135 DOBRYNTA AND THE ADVENTTTRE OF THE PAVn