SKETCHES 
 
 GRECO-RUSSIAN CHURCH 
 
RIVINGTONS 
 
 HonlJOn Waterloo Place 
 
 ©Xforlr High Street 
 
 CamtrtCgr Trinity Street 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GRECO-RUSSIAN CHURCH 
 
 BY |. 
 
 H. C. ROMANOFF 
 
 WITH INTRODUCTION 
 
 By THE AUTHOR OF " THE HEIR OF REDCLYFFE." 
 
 " Journeying westward, evertnore. 
 We know the lonely Spouse 
 By the dear mark her Saviour bore. 
 
 Traced on her patient irtirof."— Christian Year. 
 
 RIVINGTONS 
 1868 
 

 Digitized by 
 
 the Internet Archive 
 
 
 
 
 in 2015 
 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/sketchesofritescOOroma_0 
 
 ^1 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 '^HE scenes which are offered to the public in the follow- 
 ing chapters are intended to illustrate the actual working 
 of the Greco-Sclavonic Church in Russia. They are collected 
 by an English lady married to a Russian officer, and stationed 
 in one of those remote provinces which have no attractions 
 to invite the tourist, and thus are scarcely known to ordinary 
 readers, except by name, while the national habits are there 
 best preserved in their full peculiarity, unaltered by foreign 
 influences. 
 
 Jn the memory of many of us, the Greek Church was 
 almost ignored. There were numerous persons who divided 
 Christendom into Protestants and Roman Catholics, and 
 supposed all the former to hold the truth, all the latter to be 
 in error, and if the existence of Eastern Christians was pressed 
 on them would have classed them as a more ignorant and 
 debased species of Roman Catholics. Clearer knowledge 
 has, however, dawned on us. We have become accustomed 
 to regard foreign communions with more discrimination and 
 
vi 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 more candour. The prayers for unity, which have so long 
 been repeated with the most vague and undefined sense of 
 what was therein asked, seem at last to be so far answered 
 that there is a certain heaving and moving in the dissevered 
 fragments, almost a yearning to be one again, and even a few 
 absolute efforts which, though as yet uncertain and spasmodic, 
 may yet, under God's grace, lead to something more definite 
 and authoritative. 
 
 Looking back into the far past, we see that the germs of 
 separation were to be found from the first foundation of the 
 Church. Eastern and Western, Greek and Latin, differed in 
 constitution and prejudices as well as in language, and tradition 
 and custom necessarily diverged the more as time went on. 
 The sense of the paramount importance of unity, together with 
 the large-minded candour of the primitive Fathers, prevented 
 any actual schism from taking place. The dispute respecting 
 the time of keeping Easter was, as they perceived, no worthy 
 cause for casting off the brethren whose hope was in the 
 same Resurrection ; and while essentials remained the same, 
 unchanged, unbroken, they could perceive that small modifica- 
 tions of ceremonies to suit climate, character, or circumstance, 
 were the very signs of the Catholicity of the Church in 
 distinction to the exclusive Jewish ritual. 
 
 United, then, the Eastern and Western Churches resisted 
 the' heathen persecutions, and held the great councils; nor 
 was it till days of greater ease and laxity that the minor 
 differences were permitted to make the rent that had so long 
 threatened. Much of outer circumstance assisted in this 
 
Introduction. 
 
 vii 
 
 result. In earlier days the East and West partook of almost 
 similar culture, and Greek and Latin were almost equally 
 familiar to the educated. The Celtic Church of Gaul was 
 planted by Asiatic Greeks, and long retained traces of their 
 influence ; and whilst the Roman Empire was unbroken, 
 there were no national enmities to promote misunder- 
 standings. 
 
 But when the Latin portion of the Church was overrun by 
 the Gothic nations, a spirit was brought in far more alien to 
 the Greek than what had gone before. The subtlety and 
 timidity of the Eastern temperament were contemptible to the 
 high-spirited Frank or German, and when the majesty of 
 Rome had overawed him and won his reverence, he made 
 her his own, but fostered her impatience of the rivalry of 
 Constantinople. 
 
 A clause, true in itself, but introduced, no one knew how, 
 into the Nicene, or rather Constantinopolitan symbol, as 
 repeated in the West, became the cause of fierce debate, and 
 for this, after six centuries of Oneness, Rome finally severed 
 herself and those Churches which had learnt to look to her as 
 their guide . 
 
 Many endeavours to heal the wound were made, but their 
 failure was owing far less to doctrinal diff'erences than to the 
 prejudices and hatreds of the multitude on either side. The 
 crusades, which might have been a grand occasion of union, 
 made the division wider, through the narrow timid policy of 
 Alexis Comnenus, the ignorant exclusiveness and avarice of 
 the Franks, and the aggression of the Roman patriarchate. 
 
VUl 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 Since that time Rome has continued to exalt herself and 
 maintain those pretensions to universal dominion and in- 
 fallibility which alienated the Greeks, and have hitherto proved 
 barriers against union with her. 
 
 The Russian Church is a child of the Greek. Her con- 
 version was the work of the tenth century, and was accom- 
 plished by missionaries from Constantinople, who introduced 
 the Sclavonian Liturgy, and a translation of the Scriptures drawn 
 up in the ninth century by Cyril and Methodius for the use of 
 the Bulgarians. These have ever since been scrupulously 
 adhered to by this most conservative nation. In the seven- 
 teenth century a revision took place, in which the evident 
 errors of copyists were corrected, but this caused the utmost 
 discontent, and occasioned the chief schism in the Russian 
 Church, since a certain number of persons refused to give up 
 the old corruptions of text that they deemed absolutely holy. 
 For many years the reproach of ignorance and superstition 
 seems justly to have attached to the Russian clergy, and 
 though there were many saintly men among them, their 
 cultivation was at a low ebb, and they were left behind in 
 that rapid march of intellect which has proceeded ever since 
 the time of Peter the Great. Their power over the people 
 was, however, so great, that Catherine II. was forced to comply 
 outwardly with every rite of their Church, and it was the gay 
 travellers at her court who, perhaps, chiefly led to the de- 
 preciation of the religion of the country. 
 
 Since that time education and civilization have much 
 improved the intellects of the clergy. Many are really learned 
 
Introdtiction. 
 
 ix 
 
 men, and intelligence is fast spreading throughout the 
 people. 
 
 What their religion is, and how it is carried into their lives, 
 will best be gathered from the ensuing collection of sketches. 
 Some, as will be seen, are accounts of the rite and its 
 accessories, the prayers, &c., being translated from the Sclavonic 
 offices ; some interweave the accounts of the ceremonies with 
 tales illustrative of that middle-class life of Russia, which is so 
 little known to us. It is a picture of this people as they 
 really are in both family and religious life, and though here 
 and there, — as in the reception of the Princess Dagmar, — the 
 old intolerant Eastern temper shows itself, yet on the whole 
 this book will show us that we have more in common with the 
 Russian than we thought, especially in the really needful 
 ordinances that are essential to the very existence of the 
 Christian. 
 
 Some of these chapters are upon the Sacraments of the 
 Greek Church, the two divinely ordained and "generally 
 necessary to salvation," and those other five ordinances which 
 both the East and West term Sacraments, and four of which 
 we own as sacramental, though hesitating to class them with 
 the two of universal application, while the last has Scriptural 
 authority that it is not' easy to explain away. The other 
 chapters are on occasional ceremonies, the consecration of a 
 church, of a bell, a Bishop's visitation, the thanksgiving 
 ceremony for the Tzar's preservation, &c., and the very curious 
 rite for the adoption of a child. 
 
 We cannot help hoping that these descriptions may be 
 
X Introduction. 
 
 found of value to those who are not capable of studying the 
 fundamental doctrines of the Greek Church, and that even 
 those scholars who can examine into her documents may be 
 glad to have this opportunity of seeing what is her external 
 work, and her influence among the people. 
 
 C. M. YONGE. 
 
 June is/, 1868. 
 
PRIITCBTOIT. 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 ■J" N compiling the sketches which I now venture to offer to 
 the public in a collected form, I have had two ends 
 constantly in view ; viz. to present the English with correct 
 descriptions of the ceremonies of the Greco-Russian Church, 
 and at the same time with pictures of domestic life in Russian 
 homes, especially those of the clergy and the middle-class of 
 nobles. I trust that the performance of the latter task may 
 be found as correct as the former, on strict revision and 
 careful comparison with the Sclavonic Ritual, has proved 
 to be. 
 
 I feel bound to acknowledge my deep obligations to the 
 Reverend Pastors of Christ's flock here, to whom I have 
 occasionally applied for explanation or information, and for 
 the great assistance that the admirable little books of the 
 Rev. B. Michailoffsky have afforded me. The greater part 
 of the explanations of symbols, &c., I have obtained from 
 Bishop Benjamin's valuable and learned book, " The New 
 Table of Covenants." 
 
 H. C. ROMANOFF. 
 
 VOTKINSK, April 1868. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. 
 
 Roman the Reader— taue 
 
 Baptism . 67 
 
 Baptismal Unction 73 
 
 Consecration of a Church 82 
 
 II. 
 
 Confession and Communion 115 
 
 HI. 
 
 Ordination 137 
 
 IV. 
 
 Marriage 159 
 
 V. 
 
 Extreme Unction, Funeral Services, and Requiems . . 221 
 VI. 
 
 Church Beli-s 263 
 
xiv 
 
 Contents. 
 
 VII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Fourth of April 281 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Adult Unction — 
 
 The Princess Dagmai 's Admission to the Greco-Russian Church 313 
 
 IX. 
 
 Adoption 333 
 
 X. 
 
 A Bishop's Visitation 413 
 
romAn the reader 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 BAPTISM, BAPTISMAL UNCTION, CONSECRATION OF 
 A CHURCH 
 
ROMAN THE READER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OMAN'S birth caused great joy to his parents, who had 
 
 been married twenty years ere they were blessed with 
 a son. 
 
 His father was a deacon, in a considerable village not far 
 from the Siberian tract. He lived in a wooden house of his 
 own, with a palisaded garden in front, if that may be called a 
 garden which was but a narrow slip of ground, so thickly 
 planted with lilacs and raspberry and black-currant bushes, that 
 at the time the fruit was ripe there was scarcely any possibility 
 of getting at it. The dwelling consisted of a large lofty 
 kitchen, a bed-room, and a parlour, all on the ground floor. 
 The walls were not lath and plastered, there were no carpets 
 on the floors, nor curtains at the windows ; the furniture con- 
 sisted of a birch-wood sofa and a dozen chairs, covered with a 
 large-patterned cotton print, a table before the sofa, and two 
 smaller ones beneath the looking-glasses in the piers ; besides 
 this ordinary furniture there was a psaltery, on which the 
 Deacon used to perform various sacred melodies on holiday 
 evenings. The comer formed by the two windowed walls was 
 hung with pictures of the Saviour, His Mother, the patron 
 
 B 
 
 7 
 
2 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 saints of the master and mistress of the house, and of the 
 master's deceased parents ; some with silver or metallic set- 
 tings, others in the rough and extra pre-Raphaelitish style 
 called Souzdalsky, from the town where they are painted by 
 thousands. The other walls were covered with portraits of the 
 Imperial Family, and a few sentimental engravings from 
 English annuals, with English titles that nobody in the village 
 could read, and no one even knew where they were originally 
 picked up ; they were the parting gift of one of the many 
 stanovoys^ that had ruled at Elenovka. 
 
 The bed-room contained only one bed properly so called ; 
 the bedding of the children (who slept on large pieces of thick 
 felt, spread at night on the parlour floor, with pillows in cotton- 
 print cases, and patchwork quilted counterpanes), was stowed 
 away under the bedstead during the day. The kitchen was 
 like all Russian peasant homes ; the whole house was scru- 
 pulously clean and neat ; a faint smell, reminding one of 
 incense, wax, and church oil, pervaded the place, and pro- 
 ceeded from the clothing, long hair, and person in general of 
 the Deacon, a quiet, sober, thrifty man ; not very bright, but 
 well-intentioned, and faithful in the performance of his duties. 
 When he married he had every chance and hope of having a 
 comfortable place with Priest's orders; but his patron, the 
 Rector of the Seminary, died suddenly before he had been 
 able to fulfil his promises, and Dmitri Hypatievitch Gideonoff 
 was thankful enough to accept a Deacon's place and calling. 
 But he always lived in the hope that some of these days the 
 desire of his heart would be accomplished. 
 
 A Deacon of the Greco-Russian Church is capable of 
 
 1 Representative of the law in villages. He has civil rank, and is 
 subordinate to a superior officer in the district town. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 3 
 
 becoming a Priest if he undergoes a certain examination ; he 
 often marries a Priest's daughter, and in his turn gives his 
 daughters in marriage to candidates for Priest's orders ; but he 
 is considered a degree lower in position than a Priest. The 
 habits and mode of Hfe of all classes of ecclesiastics are so 
 similar, that I may say the only difference rests on the pro- 
 portional state of the finances of either. The families of all, 
 however, are always superior in town to those who have been 
 bom and bred in the country. 
 
 There is a peculiar charm in the village dwellings of these 
 hard-worked and ill-paid Ministers of the Gospel. I do not 
 pretend to dispute that many are ignorant, " given to much 
 wine," and lovers of lucre ; but it is but fair to state that their 
 faults and failings are grievously exaggerated in many of the 
 books of Russian travel that have fallen into my hands. 
 These hasty judgments leave a lasting impression on the minds 
 of the public, and the result reminds me of the opinion the 
 Russians have formed of English schoolmasters, founded on 
 the Squeers of Mr. Dickens's " Nicholas Nickleby," which they 
 suppose to be a faithful portrait of the pedagogues of Great 
 Britain. Nothing can be more unpleasant to an English 
 person in Russia, or to a Russian in England, than the igno- 
 rance concerning each other that he cannot but observe in 
 both nations ; and the feeling of amusement that this at first 
 excites changes into irritation or indignation when his endea- 
 vours to set the errors to rights are futile, for the Russian is as 
 opinionated as the Englishman — or vice versa : but I must go 
 on with my story, and not grumble at my fellow-creatures. 
 
 The Deaconess was not a lively or amiable person by 
 nature, and circumstances combined to make her less and less 
 so every year of her life. In the first place, she could never 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 forgive her husband for being a Deacon and not a Priest, and 
 took every opportunity of casting the same in his teeth ; 
 reminding him that she was a Priest's daughter, and reproach- 
 ing him for having married before he was sure of the place, 
 liinting that the history he gave of himself to her father, and 
 the good-will of the Rector, were nothing but humbug. She 
 had an almost annual disappointment, too, in the births of nine 
 daughters, and did not attempt to conceal her relief and satis- 
 faction when four of the number were removed to a happier 
 home. She was idle, inefficient, and fussy, as mother of a 
 family and mistress of a house, and had it not been for the 
 pious Deacon all would have gone to rack and ruin in their 
 little household. One circumstance only, connected with her 
 as housewife, which contributed to the earthly comfort of her 
 husband, was her magnificent culinary talent. The notion 
 that it was carefully cultivated from purely selfish motives 
 did not, fortunately, spoil the healthy appetite of the hard- 
 working son of the Church, and it was decidedly a creature 
 comfort to see, as well as to partake of, the simplest and 
 cheapest dinners when prepared and served a.s Pavla Lavren- 
 tievna did when she intended partaking of the same herself. 
 
 In personal appearance the husband and wife were very 
 ordinary; but he had a "redeeming point" in the form of 
 a benevolent expression of countenance, and a frank and 
 cheerful manner which, from constant ill-temper and dis- 
 content, were for ever strangers to the plain face of the 
 Deaconess. 
 
 All the nine little girls were as like as drops of water, with 
 their father's pleasant grey eyes and luxuriant light hair, and 
 their mother's round fat face and wide mouth ; but all had the 
 Deacon's good temper and industry. As the survivors grew 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 5 
 
 up, they contributed infinitely to the cheerfulness and comfort 
 of their home ; and it was with great personal regret that their 
 parents parted with them when suitable bridegrooms asked 
 for them. At the time of their brother's birth two were 
 already married, two rapidly growing into womanhood ; then 
 there was a gap of eight or nine years, caused by the deaths 
 of the four babies, and then No. 9, a good, quiet, fat child of 
 five, Nadejda by name. 
 
 Hypatitch, as the Deacon was familiarly called, had gone 
 to the nearest town to buy a few little luxuries, such as tea, 
 raisins, sweet cakes, and nuts, for an approaching holiday, 
 when his son was born ; and his happiness and satisfaction on 
 hearing the joyful news were greater than he had ever expe- 
 rienced since he was praised by the Inspector before all the 
 scholars. The Priest of the village and the Stanovoy's wife 
 were invited to be sponsors to the child ; and in the meantime 
 the name of Rorakn was given him, partly because he was 
 born on the eve of St. Roman's day, partly because his father 
 had a friend of the name whom he greatly valued. His 
 mother, naturally a hardy vigorous woman, was inclined to 
 avail herself of the importance and interest with which her 
 new maternity invested her, and give herself up to laziness and 
 enjoyment ; but her young daughters' cookery did not suit her 
 taste at all ; and on the third day of her infant's existence, 
 after partaking of some very indifferent pea-soup, (to which 
 Evpraxia, the eldest girl, had added a pint of cold water by 
 way of making it " do " for the family supper), she declared 
 her intention of rising the next morning to cook a decent 
 dinner, and greatly shamed poor Evpraxia by calling the pea- 
 soup pig-wash. The Deacon attempted a remonstrance, but 
 was met by such a storm of reproach that he could but reply 
 
6 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 by begging her to do anything but be angry — no, that is — 
 distress herself. 
 
 So the next day she prepared a tasty little meal ; and by 
 way of teaching Evpraxia to take more pains in future, she 
 compelled her to eat the remains of the pea-soup before she 
 touched anything else. She considered that now she had 
 every right to be as exacting and cross as it was possible for 
 mortal woman to be, and made everybody in the house 
 (except the baby) as miserable as she could desire. The elder 
 girls whispered in secret after some unmerited scolding, 
 " Never mind, they would soon be old enough to be brides 
 and that they would consent to be married to the squintingist 
 and ugliest suitor that might make them an offer sooner than 
 remain at home to be scolded from morning till night 
 like that. 
 
 "But tyatinkaV'^ said the younger, a very tender-hearted 
 damsel of fourteen. 
 
 " Yes ! poor tyatinka ! I should be sorry for him, certainly, 
 and for Nadinka ;" — but the shrill voice of the mother would 
 put a stop to their confidences. 
 
 Little Nadinka, who was too young to be made useful in any 
 other manner, was stationed on a little stool by the side of the 
 liulka,^ and commanded, with dark threats of unheard-of pains 
 and penalties should she leave her post, to rock her baby 
 brother unceasingly. The patient little thing would long for a 
 game of play with the cats, for a run in the yard, for a nestle 
 in tyatinka's lap, but never stirred from her stool. When her 
 mother passed she would raise her imploring eyes to her face, 
 but never got a word of encouragement or caress ; nothing but 
 
 1 Papa ; used by the merchants and lower class of ecclesiastics and other?. 
 ^ Cradle ; it is suspended from the ceiling, and rocks up and down. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 7 
 
 a shake of the fist and a promise of the corner, deprivation of 
 supper, and the hke, if Romknoushka^ woke before his time. 
 Her plain Httle face shone with delight when a hardly per- 
 ceptible movement in the closely-curtained liulka gave notice 
 that the tightly-swaddled baby was awakening. Nadinka's 
 efforts would redouble, and she would rock with all her little 
 might, singing her lullaby song, or saying, " Go to sleep, 
 Romanoushka ! sleep, my angel! sleep, batinka!" until her 
 mother came to relieve guard. Then she would jump from her 
 stool ; but, much as she longed for motion, she never left the 
 side of the liulka until she had been allowed to kiss the little 
 boy. Pavla Lavrentievna, as soon as she felt the soft light 
 burden on her lap, seemed to become another woman, and all 
 the sweetness of maternal love shone in her face. Tender 
 words, before unknown to her lips, and unheard by the nine 
 baby girls, were lavished on her unconscious son. Little by 
 little, fear of awakening or alarming him caused a marked 
 softening of her voice and tone when giving orders to, or find- 
 ing fault with, her husband and daughters. The latter thanked 
 the Almighty every hour of their lives for giving them a 
 brother; and the Deacon, who had been grieved from the 
 bottom of his pious heart for twenty-one years by his wife's 
 perpetual bad temper, took courage, and prayed night and 
 morning that this blessed change might be lasting. All the 
 hopes of the husband and wife were now centred in the 
 " pope,'' as they began to call him from the first hours of his 
 life ; and dreams of a splendid career at the seminary, of a 
 town appointment, a rich and lovely bride, for him ; and for 
 them, of a very calm and happy old age — were cherished by 
 both in the colours most pleasing to either. 
 
 ' Dim. for Roman. 
 
8 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 Roman throve beautifully ; his first smile and first tear, 
 which are considered by the Russians as harbingers of 
 reason in an infant, were quite epochs in the family history, 
 so much was said about them. He was a fair, plump, good- 
 tempered child, and had all the beauty of the family, being 
 really a remarkably lovely infant, although strikingly like both 
 his parents. His father insisted on his being vaccinated ; and 
 as this involved a journey to the district town, where each had 
 relatives and were sure of a welcome, Pavla Lavrentievna was 
 pleased to consent. And thereby arose a terrible dispute. 
 Evpraxia and Antonina had had the small-pox in their early 
 childhood, and escaped almost without a single pock ; but 
 little Nadinka had neither been vaccinated, nor had she ever 
 been sick of any rash-complaint whatever. The Deacon pro- 
 posed taking her to town also, and having her vaccinated with 
 the baby ; but his wife set her face against it with an obstinacy 
 that was as aggravating as it was unreasonable. 
 
 " Think, Mother, reflect for a moment ! Nadia is a little 
 girl. Of course I should be sorry if either of them were 
 stricken with small-pox ; but of the two, Nadinka's personal 
 appearance is the more important, she being a girl." 
 
 "A girl ! a girl ! she'll do just as well as the others, please 
 God. Look at Evpraxka and Antoshka, are they not fine girls? 
 ' blood and milk,' ^ one may say ! and were they not ill. Wise- 
 head, eh? And did not you groan over them, God forgive 
 you, as if they were painted pictures, or picked-out beauties? — 
 Ugh!" 
 
 " Whatever they may be to other people," shouted the 
 Deacon, roused, for his girls were his delight and pride, 
 " they are painted pictures for me ! Yes ! and better than 
 1 A literal translation, expressive of a fine complexion. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 9 
 
 picked-out beauties, for they are godly good-hearted girls. 
 And they are my born children, Mother, which is everything 
 in one word. And shall I ever forget my Katinka and 
 Lubinka, when that same small-pox was on them? or God's 
 angel, Doushinka, who died of it, Mother ! I wonder at 
 myself, I declare," said the fond father, " that it never entered 
 my head before. And I w/// take Nadia. So get ready her 
 things. Mother." 
 
 The real fact was that the poor little girl had not a frock fit 
 to wear in town, before her grand relations, and the little lamb- 
 skin shouba, in which she frisked about in the yard, had but a 
 very shabby and well-worn cotton-tweed covering. It mattered 
 not if the expedition were postponed for a few days, while the 
 little wardrobe was being brought into order ; but Pavla Lav- 
 rentievna argued and argued that go they must that very 
 week, and so worried the Deacon, that he was on the point 
 of giving in, when the innocent object of dispute leant 
 her plump arms on his knees, and looking up into his face, 
 said coaxingly, — 
 
 " Yes, do take me this once, tyatinka ! 
 
 " Yes, I will ! you shall go, my lapinka ! We'll see what 
 we have got in our box, eh ? Come along." 
 
 We need not repeat the reproaches and grumblings that 
 were elicited by this decision. Nadinka was overjoyed, and 
 accompanied her father to the bed-room, where there stood 
 a large gaudily-painted iron-bound chest, out of which he took 
 pieces of all sorts of draper's and mercer's wares ; linens and 
 calicoes, pieces of silk and satinet for future gowns and cloaks 
 for the elder girls ; then home-spun linen, lace, thread, and at 
 last cotton prints. 
 
 " Don't touch that blue one, Deacon I it is a full dress, and 
 
lO 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 will do for a grown girl. Nor that pink remnant, fright that 
 you are ! it will be just enough for the pope — please God — at 
 three or four years old." 
 
 " The pope shall have a prettier one, Matoushka ! This 
 will just suit us : eh, Nadia? — Now girls ! Who is my handi- 
 work-woman and dressmaker ? Both ? well, wait a minute. 
 Where's the lining? and have you some white thread to sew 
 with? Yes ? well then, mother will cut it out for you directly, 
 and I know it will be ready by to-morrow evening." 
 
 He then put back all the things as tidily as a woman, and 
 taking his son from his wife, wheedled her into cutting out the 
 little frock in her best style. Evpraxia undertook to wash 
 other appendages to her little sister's toilette, and all seemed 
 to be the happier for the child's pleasure. 
 
 The girls anticipated having great fun during their parents' 
 absence, but carefully concealed their airy castles, for fear of 
 means being taken for their prevention. The Deacon asked 
 a neighbour, the sister of the Reader, who was a great hand 
 at singing Christmas songs, telling fortunes with cards, and 
 "guessing fate," to keep house with his darlings, and secretly 
 left them a little stock of tea and honey, nuts and sweet 
 biscuits, for it was Christmas time, and he liked them to be 
 happy and comfortable in their own way. 
 
 Early in the morning the horse was put to, and the wicker- 
 carriage on the country sledge made as comfortable as hay 
 and carpets could make it. Little Nadia, in her old best 
 dress nicely washed, her shouba cleaned and considerably 
 improved by a binding of cotton velvet, — all the work of 
 her clever sister Evpraxia— was in the state of restlessness 
 and impatience that most children exhibit when on the point 
 of making an unusual outing; but at last the delightful 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 II 
 
 moment arrived when she was lifted in by her mother's side, 
 and the Deacon's long legs vaulted after her. 
 
 They had not gone more than six versts from their village, 
 when Romoushka^ began to manifest sj-mptoms of discomfort, 
 and in a short time these turned into a violent fit of screaming, 
 which his mother in vain endeavoured to pacify. Supposing 
 that the cold must affect him in some way, they determined 
 to stop at the nearest hamlet, and warm the little fellow 
 before proceeding further. Altogether they had forty versts 
 to perform. 
 
 Hypatitch was well known in every hamlet of his own parish 
 and in many others as well, and had no difficulty in deciding at 
 whose house to stop. Pavla Lavrentieraa knew the mistress 
 well too, and had informed her of the object of theii journey 
 before she had been in the warm kitchen five minutes. 
 
 "Well, you know best, of course," said the woman; "it's 
 your affair, not mine : but God forbid I should ever allow a 
 child of mine to be vaccinated, Can we be greater than 
 God Himself? If He pleases to afflict us, dare we dispute 
 His holy will?"-' 
 
 " But, Yakolevna, consider," argued the Deaconess, " if you 
 were to break your arm, or get a bad cough, would you not 
 try to be cured ? Is it not the same thing ? only vaccination 
 prevents, you know." 
 
 " Well, you know best ; you are grammatical, of course : 
 but still it is the mark of the Beast ! Yet who knows ? Now 
 there's our Vasilka has been laid up with it these five weeks, 
 
 1 Dim. for Roman. 
 
 ^ This feeling is so universal among the peasants, that Government 
 compels them to have their children vaccinated, but frequently they bribe 
 the vaccinators to leave them alone. 
 
12 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 and if he will get up with his eyes or without them, God 
 knows. It is His will ! " 
 
 The Deaconess turned pale. "What ! the small-pox in your 
 house ? Let us be off this instant ! " cried she, catching up 
 her baby and rolling him anyhow in his wrappers. " Hy- 
 patitch ! Father Deacon ! where is that malefactor ? Akh ! 
 Gospodi ! Gospodi ! " 
 
 It was at least a quarter of an hour before the Deacon 
 could be hunted out. The master of the house where they 
 had stopped had led him to a neighbour's to look at a horse 
 that was for sale. The infant, soothed by the warmth, had 
 ceased crying, and, heedless of the entreaties of the good 
 people to wait and have dinner, spite of the smoking viands 
 on the hastily-spread table, the whole party left the house in 
 less than half an hour after having entered it. 
 
 They reached the town towards evening, and stopped at 
 the house of Pavla Lavrentievna's brother, a priest, who was 
 married to a lay lady, with whom the Deaconess could 
 never get on at all ; though, to be sure, she did not get 
 on very well with anybody. However, they met with a very 
 kind welcome, and the sister-in-law quite won Pavla Lavren- 
 tievna's heart by going into raptures with the " sweet baby." 
 Nadinka, too, came in for a large share of petting ; and her 
 cousin, a girl of si.xteen or seventeen, made her perfectly 
 happy by curling her hair at night, an operation she had 
 never undergone before, and by making her a whole family 
 of rag dolls, with embroidered features, and hair stolen from 
 the cook's distaff. 
 
 The country visitors had to remain longer than they in- 
 tended, in consequence of the vaccination day at the hospital 
 having been altered from Wednesday to Saturday, the latter 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 13 
 
 day being more convenient for the country people, who came 
 with things for sale to the markets. The Deacon reflected 
 that the girls at home had sufficient provisions to last them 
 an extra day or two, and was rather pleased than otherwise 
 to have a little holiday. His wife was quite in her glory, 
 and took the opportunity of learning how to dress several 
 new dishes, and to bake various fashionable rusks and biscuits, 
 from her brother's clever town cook. 
 
 Saturday came ; and the operation was duly performed : 
 and immediately afterwards they set out on their journey 
 home, the children being extra-warmly wrapped up. 
 
 " Only look, Hypatitch ! " said the Deaconess, about a 
 week after, " how the dear son's arms are swelled ! My 
 lamb ! my pigeon ! But there, never mind ! he will be a 
 beauty all his life; a smooth delicate-faced boy! and not 
 pitted and pocked as if the hens had been pecking at him, 
 a popik that he is ! " 
 
 " Hm ! And how are my Nadejda Dmitrievna's arms?" 
 said the father, turning towards the child, who was arranging 
 the sugar-loaf-paper furniture that her cousin had cut out for 
 her, in a corner of the deep window-sill. " Come here, girly, 
 and show yourself to me." 
 
 He bared the little arms, but to his surprise there was 
 not a sign of inflammation on either ; merely the traces of 
 the three slight scratches, now quite healed, that had been 
 inflicted by the experienced hand of the assistant-surgeon. 
 " What is the meaning of this. Mother ? " 
 
 "It does not take with everybody," said the Deaconess, 
 indifferently. " I have heard of people having their children 
 vaccinated three times, and it's not succeeding once." 
 
 " Yes ; I have heard of it too. But what I mean is this ; 
 
14 
 
 Roman tJic Reader. 
 
 have we let her catch cold with it ? Because you know that 
 would not be over and above safe for her, Mother. Has 
 she been out into the yard or anywhere in the cold ? — Girls 
 hey ! Evpraxinka, has Nadia been out since we came from 
 town ? " 
 
 All the family at once declared that to their certain 
 knowledge she had not crossed the threshold. 
 
 " Well ; God forbid ! but if it does not take this time, I 
 shall send her to Ivan Lavrentievitch's with the Reader on 
 Friday, and ask him to have it repeated, and to keep her 
 there till all is finished." 
 
 This was said on Sunday afternoon, and on Tuesday Pa via 
 Lavrentievna began to observe that the litde girl was languid 
 and irritable, did not care for her meals, and towards evening 
 complained of pain in her back. This made her father declare 
 still more vehemently that the vaccination had got a chill, 
 and he groaned much as he abused himself for not leaving 
 her with her aunt and uncle. They put her to sleep in the 
 best bed, gave her raspberry tea, and covered her with several 
 fur pelisses to promote perspiration. She fell into a restless 
 slumber ; and the parents, ill at ease on her account, went 
 to bed at a late hour. 
 
 The next day the little sufferer had something that nobody 
 could understand — a faint, or a fit. Evpraxia and Antonina 
 firmly believed that she was going to die directly, and set 
 up lamentations of the most dismal description. Pavla Lav- 
 rentievna immediately sent Antosha for the old woman who 
 attended the family in sickness ; and as soon as she heard 
 an account of all the symptoms, she said at once that the 
 patient was sickening for small-pox ! The Deaconess said 
 that when the others had it, she did not remember anything 
 
Roman the Reader. 15 
 
 like a fit ; but the old woman remarked that perhaps it had 
 taken place during the night, and had passed otf itself, un- 
 observed. Hypatitch was away at the time, carrying home 
 hay; but when he arrived and heard the sad news, he stuck 
 to his first conviction, that the vaccine matter had been 
 thrown inwards by a chill, and agreed with the old woman 
 that it was now coming out in the form of " natural " small- 
 pox. And it was not until the poor little darling was lying 
 fearfully ill, that he and his wife recollected the circumstance 
 at the hamlet on their road to town. 
 
 She had it violently, and at one time her medical attendant, 
 the old woman, pronounced her in a hopeless state. Nothing 
 like medicine was administered, but they used to take her 
 to the bath every day and steam her, to bring out the eruption 
 more freely. She did not die; it was when the days were 
 much longer and the sun much warmer, when drops began 
 to fall from the roofs, and the fowls to venture out into the 
 yard, that she was dressed for the first time after her recovery 
 — awfully disfigured, but with eyes uninjured. Those of the 
 Deacon had been often very red and swollen during his 
 little daughter's sickness ; Pavla Lavrentievna was too much 
 taken up with her baby to bestow much time or thought 
 on the patient. " If she dies, she will go to the Kingdom 
 of Heaven," she said to all whom she saw ; " but if she 
 lives, God's will be done! But she will be a ChrisL's-bride^ 
 all her life ; remember my words ! " 
 
 Great was Nadia's happiness when she was strong enough 
 to hold her little brother, now a fat grave child of nearly 
 six months old. As months passed on and turned into years, 
 
 ^ Spinster. The term is applied to sickly or afflicted maidens who are 
 not likely to marry. 
 
i6 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 she was still his careful nurse and indulgent playfellow, and 
 he repaid her with the most ardent affection and implicit 
 confidence. Evpraxia married a layman, much to the dis- 
 pleasure of her mother; but the Deacon hked his future 
 son-in-law so much, that he insisted on his wife's offering 
 no foohsh objections. Antonina followed her sister's ex- 
 ample at an early age ; but her bridegroom was a candi- 
 date for Priest's orders, with an excellent situation in view ; 
 and the silly mother did not conceal her preference for 
 this daughter and son-in-law before all the rest; and why? 
 Because the latter had a better place than the others ; that 
 was all ! 
 
 Romkn was a fine little boy, intelligent and bold, and 
 very gentle-tempered and tender-hearted withal. He and 
 Nadia ran wild until he was nearly seven years old, when 
 his father began to teach him the Sclavonic alphabet, that 
 bugbear to all ecclesiastical children ; and Nadia, in order 
 to help him, and perhaps from a natural love of acquiring 
 knowledge, learnt it at the same time. 
 
 " Az, nasJi, an ; glagol, est, lii/di, ycir, gel ; angel. O 
 Nadia, I cannot! I really cannot f" the poor little fellow 
 would sob. " When shall I get to hear it with my ears ? 
 If tyatinka would but let me read straight off, it would be 
 much easier. Booki, ik, boo ; rtzi, ya, ria ; Booria ; rtzi, 
 ya; . . . O'i ! " 
 
 Nadinka was not as quick as Roman, but she was perse- 
 vering, and older than he, consequently she overcame the 
 difficulties of the Church alphabet sooner than her brother. 
 Evpraxia's husband, hearing of her feats with Sclavonic, sent 
 her a "civil" spelling-book, as they call it in distinction to 
 that of the Church. In' the former the letters are called. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 17 
 
 as in other European languages, " a, b, v, g," and so on, 
 while the same letters in the Sclavonic or Church alphabet 
 are named az^ booki, vedi, glagol; so that to spell the syllable 
 ga, the wretched learner must pronounce thus, " Glagol, az, 
 ga." The ear can play no part whatever, and the eye very 
 little, until the sounds are drummed into the head. The 
 process of reading in Sclavonic is easy enough to those who 
 ran read civil Russ; but nothing can be more puzzling to 
 a beginner than the absurd old system of spelling in Sclavonic. 
 
 Pavla Lavrentievna was very vexed with her son-in-law's 
 present to Nadia, and threatened to take it from her, and 
 lock it up. " Thank God ! " said the pious mother, " my 
 other girls never read anything but the Holy Scriptures, or 
 the Lives of the Saints, as it becomes maidens of eccle- 
 siastical family, in the language of the Church ; but if we 
 let that wild thing learn the civil spelling-book, we shall 
 have her reading novels and song-books ; who knows ? Not 
 to speak of the time it takes, drawing her attention from 
 the distaif and sewing to nonsensical pictures and verses and 
 fables, and what not. Tphoo ! " 
 
 Dmitri Hypatitch read the whole volume through, from 
 the picture illustrating the letter A, to the National Hymn 
 at the end ; including a new system of arithmetic, moral 
 reflections, an epitome of sacred and Russian history, orthodox 
 prayers, and fables of " the Fox and the Crow," " the Wolf 
 and the Lamb," and others, familiar to every learner in 
 Europe ; and he pronounced it excellent, and to contain 
 nothing contrary to sound faith and doctrine. And hence- 
 forth Nadia's Sunday afternoons and holidays were passed 
 in the perusal of the spelling-book, and in copying out on a 
 slate the moral reflections, which were very much to her taste, 
 c 
 
i8 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 Roman little by little conquered the Sclavonic difficulties ; 
 and picked up not a little knowledge from his sister, (who 
 could not read otherwise than aloud) ; the civil spelling- 
 book did him a good turn also, and the clerk of the stanovoy 
 taught him to write a good hand, so that when it was 
 considered time to send "the pope" to the district school, 
 previous to entering the seminary, he was as well prepared 
 as could possibly be expected of him. 
 
 From an early age his father used to take him to church, 
 and encouraged him in joining his little voice with those 
 of the singers. Accustomed from his babyhood to the idea 
 of ultimately becoming a priest, he entered into the services 
 with interest and intelligence ; and his favourite amusement 
 during the long winter evenings was christening, marrying, 
 and burying dolls ; he even had canonicals for that purpose, 
 made by his indulgent sister out of blue sugar-loaf-paper, an 
 article much in favour for harness, houses, and other play- 
 things with the rising generation of holy Russia. 
 
 It is doubtful whether Pavla Lavrentievna would ever have 
 made up her mind to part with her darling, had it been possible 
 for him to become a pope without leaving the paternal roof; 
 and as it was, she made a great fuss and to-do when her hus- 
 band on his return from town one day seriously desired her to 
 get the boy's wardrobe into perfect order, and placed at her 
 disposal various ginghams and prints, while he carried off two 
 pieces to the village tailor, to be made up for the future 
 scholar. 
 
 Like most children all the world over, Romkn was delighted 
 at the prospect of a change ; and it was not till he absolutely 
 pronounced the word " good-bye " to the weeping Nadia, that 
 he felt an atom of regret at leaving his home. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 19 
 
 Both his parents accompanied him to town, and placed him 
 in comfortable quarters with the widow of a reader, who main- 
 tained herself and family by taking in little boarders. Many 
 and sincere were the tears shed by the Deaconess during a 
 conversation with Roman's landlady, while the Deacon went 
 to the Head Master of the Ecclesiastical school, to introduce 
 the new pupil to him, and to beg his acceptance of a small 
 tub of honey. Pavla Lavrentievna bought a pound of nuts 
 and some sweet beans and biscuits for the fellow-lodgers of 
 her son; and besought them not to ill-use, beat, teaze, or 
 laugh at him. The following day the parents returned home ; 
 and the Deaconess, by way of soothing her grief for the 
 absence of her son, sought distraction and entertainment in 
 leading Nadia " such a life as never was," to use the sura and 
 substance of Petrovna the Reader's wife's report of home 
 doings to Evpraxia, when she met her at a neighbouring 
 village fair. 
 
 And a " life " it was, in very truth ! The poor young girl, 
 never a beauty, was nothing less than ugly now, from the 
 effects of her dreadful illness; and her unamiable mother 
 upbraided her with her ill-looks every day in the week, calling 
 her a hen-pecked phiz, an object, a fright, a pea scarecrow, 
 and a dozen other terms of ridicule and contempt, in which 
 the Russian language is as rich as it is in those of affection and 
 caress. No reason can be positively assigned for this treat- 
 ment, except the general one, that Pavla Lavrentievna could 
 not exist without scolding somebody ; and as she had no one 
 left but her husband and Nadia, she selected the latter as 
 being a completely defenceless and unrevengeful object. Nor 
 did Nadia deserve the constant fault-finding that embittered 
 her life; she was an obedient, hard-working, and singularly 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 submissive girl. Never did a word of. insolence, and seldom 
 one of self-justification, pass her lips ; and whatever was 
 required of her, she fulfilled to the best of her ability. The 
 secret of all was, that, despite her plain face, she was her 
 father's idol, and the decided favourite of the light of Pavla 
 Lavrentievna's eyes— her adored popik ; and it is to be feared 
 that jealousy was the chief cause of her heartless treatment of 
 her daughter ; unless I allude again to the necessity of having 
 one upon whom to vent her ill-temper. 
 
 Nadia's days were passed in active household work, all of 
 which, except the actual preparation of food, fell to her share ; 
 and that is no trifle in a Russian family, even in so humble a 
 home as that of the Deacon. There were two cows, calves, 
 sheep and goats and pigs to feed, and the cows to milk : she 
 was fond of all her dumb charges ; but the out-door depart- 
 ment that was especially to her taste was the care of the 
 poultry. She knew the habits and tastes of every feathered 
 creature in the yard ; and had many facts to relate about each 
 which would have been worthy of Kidd's Journal itself 
 
 Then her in-door business was considerable : she was maid- 
 of-all-work \ and when everything was brought into the precise 
 state of order that her mother exacted, she had flax to spin, 
 and the yam to weave when all the flax was spun : and then 
 the linen to bleach. Holidays, and the period that elapses 
 between the weaving of last year's flax and the pulling up of 
 that of this year, were passed in performing the laborious 
 handiwork peculiar to the Russians — ornamenting the ends of 
 long narrow towels and the edges of sheets with a kind of hem- 
 stich in many rows, which forms an open ground on which to 
 embroider, in thick glossy flax-thread, various devices, gene- 
 rally of a very primitive and unartistic description : a stocking 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 21 
 
 was always lying on the window-sill, ready to be taken up at 
 odd moments. 
 
 Thus brought up, it is not surprising that Nadia, at fifteen 
 years old, was very nearly as ignorant as any of the girls of the 
 village ; for though she could read and write (that is, form 
 characters with a pen or pencil — a letter she never had occasion 
 to write), she had positively no time to think of anything but 
 what she had to do. While Romkn was at home she could 
 always pour out her little troubles or great vexations to him, 
 child as he was ; and she often heard him read aloud and con 
 his lessons, the substance of which remained in her retentive 
 memory ; but since he had gone she had no food for either 
 mind or heart, except a very respectful adoration for her 
 father. 
 
 When she had attained her seventeenth year, and was still 
 without a single suitor, her position became more and more 
 painful. Her mother, always eager to seize on any real cause 
 for complaint, began to taunt her with her maidenhood, telling 
 her that her four sisters were wives and mothers at her age, 
 and bringing forward examples of other ecclesiastical damsels 
 who had lately been wooed and won. Her other daughters, 
 too, had been remarkable for their good voices and excellent 
 singing ; no wedding in the whole blagotchinie' ^ was complete 
 without the Elenovka Deacon's girls to act as leaders in the 
 wedding choruses. In poor Nadinka there was nothing 
 exterior to be proud of. 
 
 Romkn had not been educated to very delicate feelings or 
 elegant manners ; but at the time he was placed at school he 
 was a pure-minded, warm-hearted, and decidedly well-disposed 
 child. The tricks, the bad words, the malingering and laziness 
 ' Ecclesiastical district. 
 
22 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 of his fellow-boarders at first shocked him extremely; and he 
 once or twice attempted to remonstrate, but he was always 
 met with such round abuse, (accompanied often by blows and 
 kicks, to which he was entirely a stranger,) that he left off 
 expressing his horror or indignation, and little by little got 
 accustomed to it all. This hardening system was pursued with 
 the "utmost vigour, unpunished, and it would seem unnoticed, 
 by Denisovna, the landlady, who fulfilled her engagement to 
 the letter, gave the boys full meals, washed their linen, and. 
 sent them to the bath every Saturday, and on the eve of every 
 holiday ; but as far as their morals and conduct were con- 
 cerned she never interfered in the least, except indeed when 
 their tricks and mischief were likely to affect her own property 
 or quietude. 
 
 The teachers of such schools are not answerable for the con- 
 duct of the pupils ; they are paid for teaching some particular 
 branch of knowledge, and each arrives at the school when the 
 hour of his lesson approaches, mounts his high desk, delivers 
 his lecture or lesson— during which at least one grand thrashing, 
 and several minor ones, are administered (not by the teacher, 
 but by the keeper of the building, generally an old soldier, 
 whose business it is to light the stoves, sweep the school, and 
 thrash the boys) — makes his bow and goes away. Minor 
 punishments, such as standing or kneeling in the corner, 
 and other old-established forms of discomfort, were largely 
 inflicted, and every teacher, except one, was hated with a 
 whole-heartedness that might have done wonders in a good 
 cause. 
 
 The teachers themselves were not a little to be pitied ; they 
 had a thankless task ; and not one had a notion of altering 
 the old beaten form of instruction, or if he had, pluck was 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 23 
 
 wanting to put it into execution. A dislike of innovations, a 
 general horror of anything out of the old original well-known 
 track is, I think, one of the most remarkable traits in the Rus- 
 sian character ; and nowhere is it so marked as in the ecclesi- 
 astical class. I do not refer to religious opinion or forms, 
 because alterations or innovations with regard to them are 
 looked on as impossibilities, and in fact, I may say that they 
 actually are so. 
 
 Among the half-dozen of Denisovna's boarders was one 
 whose previous habits and tastes had more in common with 
 Roman's than those of the rest. He was the orphan grand- 
 child of a Protopope, in one of the neighbouring manufacturing 
 towns, and was distantly related to his landlady. He had 
 been petted, coddled, and doted on by his grandmother, dressed 
 and attended to like the son of a noble, taught with the utmost 
 gentleness by his grandfather, and then suddenly thrown into 
 the little whirlpool of childish vice which every large public 
 school, more or less, presents. His principles were more lax 
 than those of Romkn ; he was ready to join every plan of 
 naughtiness, and applaud every bold stroke of impertinence 
 or lying. He would soon have become as bad as any of the 
 worst in the school, had it not been for Romkn and Roman's 
 protector, a great muscular lad of fourteen, stupid to the 
 last degree at learning, but not vicious, and with fists that 
 were the terror of his companions. He had saved Romkn 
 and his friend from more than one beating, and instructed 
 them in the art of self-defence with a zeal that either of the 
 teachers might have done well to imitate. Thus protected 
 by physical force, Romkn and his chum, who rejoiced in the 
 name of Appolon, dared to be well-behaved and, in com- 
 parison with many others, good boys. 
 
24 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 The idea of inquiring into tlie character of Roman's com- 
 rades never crossed the minds of his parents ; they warned him 
 in general terms against association with bad boys, against 
 improper language, and other vices ; and placed him with 
 Denisovna, because she had the reputation of being very con- 
 scientious and honest, and kind and motherly to her little 
 lodgers. 
 
 Boys — children, in a word — are exactly the same in Russia 
 as they are in England ; just as fond of " awful fun," all the 
 more delightful if seasoned with mischief, just as apt to shirk, 
 to malinger sometimes, and just as much the anxiety, pride, 
 and delight of their parents ; each of them having twenty 
 redeeming points for their various failings — have they not, 
 mothers ? 
 
 Suffice it to say, that Romkn did not pass unscathed through 
 this beginning of ordeals. He learned to lie, to pretend he 
 was very bad when he only felt lazy ; but he hated himself 
 for yielding to the temptation, acknowledging its full guilt in 
 his soul ; and always protested against bad language and pil- 
 fering : he was Denisovna's champion in all the evil designs of 
 the three naughty ones on her edible property. He was the 
 leader of the virtuous party, backed by the vote of the pretty 
 Appolon, and the fists and bass voice of Grisha Banin, who 
 delighted to thwart the others, just for the sake of thwarting, 
 and of showing off his prowess. 
 
 As for the learning itself, the progress and improvements 
 fluctuated now one way, now the other ; but the result was, 
 that when he was fifteen, he was removed to the Ecclesiastical 
 Seminary at the Government town. Great were the disappoint- 
 ments, trouble, and anxiety, and many were the sleepless 
 nights that fell to the lot of Hypatitch before he attained his 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 25 
 
 object — the free admission for his son to the Seminary, with 
 board and lodging. Pavla Lavrentievna's relatives found 
 connexions who managed the affair ; and the success of their 
 efforts was the wonder of all who knew the circumstances ; for 
 the vacancies for free admission are supposed to be kept for 
 orphans, or the sons of very poor or retired members of the 
 clergy ; and the Deacon of Elenovka could not be called a 
 very poor man, though he was by no means a rich one. 
 
 Romkn had been several months at the Seminary, when he 
 learned by mere chance that his godmother's family were 
 residing at the Government town. Her husband had had 
 several removes since she stood sponsor for Roman ; and 
 gradually the Gideonoffs had lost sight of her. Her godson was 
 not as bashful as one might expect of a boy educated as he had 
 been ; and he wished extremely to see his godmother, to pener 
 trate into the bosom of a lay family; and he communicated 
 this desire to Appolon, who had been admitted at the same 
 time as he ; and was urged by him to try by all means to make 
 himself known to her, representing that the renewal of his 
 acquaintance with the wife of a counsellor might prove very 
 beneficial to him. Romkn had a very high opinion of Appo- 
 lon's advice, and of his knowledge of the world, and was 
 pleased that he approved of the plan. 
 
 The first time a holiday occurred after the consultation, 
 Romkn asked leave to visit the Counsellor Haraldin. 
 
 " What business have you with Counsellor Haraldin ?" said 
 the teacher on duty, with a sneer in his voice that roused 
 Roman's blood ; but he answered respectfully in the plural, 
 as well-bred people always do. 
 
 " The Counsellor's wife is my godmother ! " 
 
 " Thou liest ! " was the reply ; " how could she happen 
 
26 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 to be your godmother, when they Hve here, and your father 
 serves in the country ? " 
 
 " Her husband served at our place also," said Romkn ; 
 " he was the Stanovoy ; and Katerina Antonovna stood for 
 me fifteen years ago." 
 
 " A — ah ! hm ! " said the teacher ; and he thought, ' A 
 Counselloress's godson ! upon my word ! ' — " Well, get you 
 gone. Behave yourself decently, I humbly beg ; and if 
 I find you have deceived me — the threshold ! ^ Do you 
 hear ? " 
 
 Romkn murmured an answer ; his heart beat high while 
 the teacher wrote his name on the pass, without which no 
 one can leave the Seminary for fear of being called a truant. 
 
 " Come along, lad ! " said Appolon, almost as pleased as 
 ^oman himself; he was a good-natured boy; "we must get 
 you up a bit. I'll give you some of my pomatum, and 
 lend you my gloves : only mind you bring me something 
 good ! " 
 
 " Of course ! " said Roman, as he threw off his coat, and 
 commenced a tremendous ablution. " Listen, Polia ! " he 
 coijtinued, with his face all over a thick lather, and his eyes 
 tightly screwed up, "what shall I say to them, now that I 
 have got leave to go? I feel quite — you know — " 
 
 " Nonsense ! fiddlesticks, brother 1 Wash yourself tho- 
 roughly, and then we'll speak on that subject. Round your 
 throat ! your nape ! sloven that you are ! " 
 
 Romkn obeyed, and succeeded in "cleaning" himself to 
 his friend's satisfaction. Appolon was a bit of a beau, and 
 liked to have everything as smart as the rules and notions 
 of the Seminary would permit. He had a little store of 
 1 Floggings are inflicted on the threshold of the room in seminaries. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 27 
 
 such appendages to the toilette as many of the Seminarists 
 had never seen, and very few possessed. Besides a clothes- 
 brush, and a large ivory comb, small-toothed on one side, 
 and large-toothed on the other, he had a tooth-brush and 
 a pound-pot of clove-pomatum ; two needles, and a skein 
 of black and white thread ; stamped envelopes, directed to 
 his grandfather, in the old man's hand; and other property, 
 which gained him the title of the " Seminary Libinberg," the 
 name of a well-known dandy of the Government town. 
 
 When the clothes had been thoroughly brushed and beaten, 
 and a most generous supply of pomatum applied to Roman's 
 hair, Appolon handed him a pair of cotton gloves, and began 
 to give him instructions how to behave, and what to say. 
 Romkn became impatient, and did not pay much attention 
 to the latter part of the lesson, said he should be late, and 
 ran away; while Appolon shouted after him, "And mind 
 you don't pour your tea into the saucer, nor turn, the cup 
 upside down when you have done ! " 
 
 " All right ! " answered Rom^in, from the bottom of the 
 stairs. 
 
 Katerina Antonovna, the Counsellor's wife, was very sur- 
 prised to see her godson, and very agreeably surprised to 
 find him a nice-looking and tolerably well-spoken boy. She 
 gave him a very kind welcome, asked him to stop all day 
 at her house, and introduced him to her children — a boy 
 of sixteen, and two little girls of twelve and eleven. A 
 quarter of an hour sufficed to make him feel quite at his 
 ease ; the young Haraldins were pleasant and talkative, and 
 showed him all sorts of games and amusements, of which 
 he had hardly an idea. He had never spent such a delightful 
 day in his life. Alexandre Haraldin was a gymnasist, full 
 
28 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 of the new ideas of progress, civilization, emancipation, and 
 liberty of thought that have become the rage in Russia 
 during the last eight or nine years, or so ; he enchanted 
 Roman with his eloquence, and was in his turn enchanted 
 by the attention and respect with which his god-brother drank 
 in every word he said. It is true that Romkn did not per- 
 fectly understand all that he heard ; and indeed it required 
 an ear accustomed to the jargon that Alexandre made use 
 of to follow his ideas. As for the little girls, they were 
 lady-like quiet children ; they seemed quite to feel with their 
 brother, and occasionally joined in his rhapsodies. 
 
 After dinner — such a dinner as the humble guest had 
 never beheld — Katerina Antonovna proposed a drive, and 
 Rorakn had the satisfaction of standing on the zapiatka^ 
 with Alexandre, and dashing rapidly through the principal 
 streets behind a pair of restive well-fed horses. Madame 
 Haraldin, the little girls, and a guest, occupied the sledge, 
 covered with a handsome velvet rug with a bear-skin lining. 
 The Seminarists who had leave of absence, and who happened 
 to be walking in the streets through which the Haraldins 
 passed, recognised Gideonoff, and envied him from the bottom 
 of their hearts. 
 
 Before tea, the young ladies played duets on the piano — 
 another novelty for Romkn ; and after tea, at which meal 
 he did not forget Appolon's injunctions, the whole family, 
 Counsellor and all, played at " biographical loto." 
 
 When he took his leave, the Counsellor patted him on 
 his back, called him a molodetz,^ and bade him come to 
 see them whenever he liked. Godmamma added a few kind 
 
 1 A sort of shelf at the back of a sledge. 
 - Fine fellow. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 29 
 
 words ; and the young people appointed the following holiday 
 for their next meeting. 
 
 Was it for the better or for the worse that things had 
 taken such a turn ? Romkn was quite elated \ and the whole 
 of next day's recreation was passed in describing to Appolon 
 the house, the furniture, the costume of the ladies, and every- 
 thing else that could be described, with as much of the 
 conversation as he could remember. Appolon came to the 
 conclusion that the Haraldins must be a very learned and 
 superior family, and congratulated his friend on his having 
 met with so kind a reception. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 'HE Counsellor and his wife were so truly kind and hos- 
 
 pitable, and their children so friendly, that Romkn soon 
 became sincerely attached to them. He gradually became 
 more polished in his manners, expressed himself better, and 
 was very popular in the circle of which Alexandre was leader, 
 and which was composed of the brightest lads of his class, 
 and the most vehement supporters of the new ideas. They 
 used to read and criticize the best journals, got up little 
 "literary evenings," and joined with all the eagerness and 
 enthusiasm of youth in the universal joy which the prepa- 
 rations for the great change in the serf-class caused. Of 
 politics they never spoke, nor did they care for them. 
 Politics involved questions regarding other nations, and their 
 business was with fatherland ! Nationality was the hobby. 
 Everything must be Russian — Sclavonic : and one of the 
 principal reasons that they took so warmly to Roman was 
 because he was a son of the Orthodox Church ; a real 
 thorough-bred Russian, without anything foreign in him. He 
 (lid not think it necessary to confess that he was doing his 
 utmost to learn French. 
 
 In two years Romkn was another being. No longer the 
 timid, awkward, country scholar; but a sufficiently self-pos- 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 31 
 
 sessed youth, with plenty of conversation, well-read, and 
 well-mannered. As for his personal appearance, he was 
 called by the ladies " a most interesting young man." 
 Perhaps my readers may understand the kind of face his 
 was, if I call it well-proportioned. Not one feature was 
 handsome, but the whole formed a singularly pleasing counte- 
 nance ; rather curly light hair, a sun-burnt fresh complexion, 
 and exquisite teeth, helped to make him better looking than 
 he really was. "A proper youth and tall," his friends called 
 him ; " the Russian type ; " " real Russian nature ; " — but 
 people always do apply these terms to good-looking and 
 prepossessing persons. He was looked on in the Haraldins' 
 house, and by Alexandre's party, as the representative of the 
 ■ Seminary of the " young strength " of the Orthodox religion. 
 There was much truth, but also much enthusiasm, in the 
 feeling of the little coterie; fortunately, Romkn had the good 
 sense not to be, nor to appear, conceited. 
 
 He had been home twice during this period, and found 
 everything in its old state. He tried to initiate Nadia into 
 the "spirit of the times;" and she assented to all he said, 
 but was no more imbued with the said "spirit" than the 
 Deacon was. All that she thoroughly comprehended was 
 her brother's ardent desire to be useful to his fellow-creatures, 
 and to establish schools in his future parish, if there were 
 not any; and he proposed that Nadia should live with him, 
 and be the mistress of the girls' school. This proposition 
 pleased her, and at length became a sort of idee fixe. She 
 tried her skill in teaching on a neighbour's child, after 
 Romkn had returned to town, but, either from the stupidity 
 of the pupil or the inexperience of the teacher, nothing 
 came of it. This she communicated in a very short note 
 
32 
 
 Rojuan the Reader. 
 
 to her brother ; the perusal of which caused lowness in his 
 spirits for some minutes. 
 
 " Now look here !" he said to Appolon, who was still his 
 faithful friend, and the receptacle of all the impressions he got 
 out of the Seminary ; "this is a fact : a fact, I repeat, worthy 
 of remark! Read that 1" and he walked up and down the 
 room in an agitated manner, while Appolon read as follows : — 
 
 "Dearest Brother, Roman Dmitrievitch, 
 
 " I congratulate you on your approaching names-day, 
 wishing you health ; we, thank God, are well, which -we also 
 wish you, and tyatinka and maminka give you their blessing, 
 which can never be taken away ; and I began to teach Ivan's 
 Dounka to read, but she cried, and it was' no use continuing. 
 
 " Your sister, 
 
 "Nadejda Gideonoff." 
 
 " Hm ! this young lady has never been to the Institution, I 
 presume I" said Appolon, sraihng ; "but there is an absence 
 of paper-mania, which ought to delight you reformers. Short 
 and distinct, my friend ! What do people write letters for ? to 
 communicate their ideas to their correspondents ? Yes. Well 
 then, here you are, you know " 
 
 " Will you please to hold your tongue?" cried Roman, vexed. 
 " Words and words, nothing but words ! Hear me, brother ! 
 This is where it is bitter !" and he thumped his broad chest. 
 
 " Now, Heaven help me ! I don't understand one word ! be 
 explicit, lad : what is it all ?" 
 
 Roman, thus taken down (as he frequently was) from his 
 state of exaltation, explained the matter in plain Russ. 
 
 "What's to be done?" was the genuine national reply. 
 "Nonsense, brother ! what can that poor girl do alone? Be 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 33 
 
 reasonable ! Has she ever seen a school in her life ? has she 
 the remotest idea of tuition ? You should think before you 
 act, much more before you exact acts from other people. Ah, 
 you impatient fellow !" 
 
 The characteristic of Roman's impatience was that no cold 
 water that was ever thrown on it could reduce its fire. 
 
 He was already a " philosopher," as the pupils of the highest 
 class but one are called, when the eldest son of the Haraldins 
 came from Kazan, where he was a student at the university, to 
 spend his summer vacation at home. Rom^n was absent from 
 town, spending his holidays with his eldest sister, whose hus- 
 band had a parish about two hundred versts from town, and 
 before he returned to the seminary they received the news of 
 the good Deacon's death, which occurred very suddenly from 
 gastric fever. Sadly down at heart, poor Romkn was glad to 
 
 return to Q , and to seek consolation in the house of his 
 
 friends, whose kindness had been so uniform and sincere from 
 the day he had presented himself to his godmother. Michael 
 Haraldin and he soon began talking of the subject most 
 interesting to each — their respective places of education ; and 
 these conversations were often renewed. The student listened 
 with interest to the account Romin gave of the system of 
 teaching in the Seminary. He dwelt particularly on the diffi- 
 culty many of the pupils found in bringing their minds to a 
 proper state of seriousness previous to taking Holy Orders, 
 and of the utter unfitness of some. He confessed that at times 
 he suffered from qualms of conscience, as to whether he were 
 really fit to be a priest, and touched on the awful responsibility 
 of that calling. 
 
 " If you have any doubts on the subject," said Michael, 
 " you had better give up all thoughts of entering the Church ; 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 do not you think so yourself?" and he looked inquiringly into 
 Roman's eyes through his spectacles — (why do students almost 
 invariably wear spectacles ?) — resting his chin on the palm of 
 his hand, and his elbow on his crossed knees. 
 
 Romkn could not find an answer for a moment. " What ! " 
 he at length exclaimed, " not enter the Church ! How am I to 
 live, then ?" 
 
 " As you please. As you can." 
 
 " But I have just lost my father. My mother and sister look 
 to [me for support. I am the only son ; my father left us 
 nothing but a small house and its contents — what can I be, 
 what am I fit for? " 
 
 " Do not be in too great a hurry, Roman Dmitri^vitch. 
 Neither you nor I can decide, here, in a few moments, what 
 you ought to do, or what you are fit for. Take time to reflect. 
 Consult with your own heart and conscience ; ask yourself if 
 you wish above all things to be a priest, and compel yourself 
 to give an answer — a clear honest answer !" 
 
 " I never thought of being anything else," replied Romkn, 
 with a gesture of impatience. " We are like the Levites, you 
 know. We sons of the clergy are born and brought up with 
 the prospect before us of following the same calling as our 
 fathers, grandfathers — ancestors, in fact : we grow up with the 
 conviction that Priests, Deacons, or Readers we must be. Our 
 parents do not approve of our becoming laymen ; many will 
 not give their blessing to such sons as feel an insurmountable 
 aversion to the Church — fancy that ! Perhaps the fellow might 
 make a very good military mUn, civil servant of the crown, or 
 something; but if the father deprives him of his parental 
 blessing, what can he do but be ordained? And then our 
 maftiages. I do not suppose you would find half a dozen 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 35 
 
 fathers or mothers in our whole diocese, but would sooner see 
 their son married to the ignorant daughter of a country Reader, 
 than to an educated girl of the nobles. But there ! what's to 
 be done ? And the Consistory, and the Vladika ? ^ they 
 cannot endure departure from the Church. Lastly, finally, and 
 in conclusion, the Church will give me daily bread, without 
 which, alas ! man cannot live." 
 
 " Daily bread," repeated Michael Andre'itch ; " what were 
 your hands given you for % Work, lad ! find employment ; 
 copy papers, teach, sweep the streets, bake your ' daily bread ' 
 yourself! but again I repeat, do not take vows upon you which 
 will be a burden to perform." 
 
 " I do not say — I did not say, ever, that the vows would be 
 a burder^. I only say," — and he turned his glowing face 
 towards the picture of St. Nicholas in the corner, — " help me, 
 Lord! to be Thy faithful Pastor ! — such as he was !" he said 
 to Michael, pointing to the picture, and sitting down again, 
 still crossing himself 
 
 " Then where are your doubts ? By your own account, you 
 are going to enter the Church just for daily bread. Now that 
 is a sin, brother ; a sin, a horrible sin, on your soul ! Is it 
 possible that you never thought of that before ?" 
 
 " No," whispered Romiln. To Michael's astonishment and 
 confusion, he perceived two great tears trickling down Roman's 
 cheeks, with more in his eyes ready to follow them. He felt 
 sorry, and yet pleased that his god-brother was touched to the 
 quick by his arguments. He put his arm round Romkn's 
 neck as if he were a woman or a child. 
 
 " Forgive me, brother," (Romkn was weeping copiously 
 " I did not mean to hurt your feelings. Only think before you 
 1 One of the titles given to the Archbishop. It means sovereign. 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 decide. God grant you may decide to be a Priest — a faithful 
 Pastor, as you say. You see we students are open-spoken 
 people — we can't endure routine— we want conviction. And 
 you and I have a right to be candid with each other : we are 
 god-brothers, Romkn Dmitrievitch ! " 
 
 They grasped each other's hands. " I will consult Ivan 
 Petrovitch," said Roman, in a few moments. 
 
 " One of your teachers ? " 
 
 " No ; my brother-in-law, a very conscientious excellent 
 man, old enough to be my father ; and very nearly as fond of 
 me, I do believe, as my late father was. He is always building 
 castles in the air for me. Yes !" said Rom^n, suddenly 
 brightening, as if he had recollected something all at once ; 
 " there is one thing (as we have touched on the subject) that is 
 always revolting to me — marrying for a place. No ! if it were 
 for a ten-thousand-roubles-a-year place, I would not consent to 
 marry any woman unless I liked her, respected her — in a word, 
 loved her." 
 
 " And what do you mean by marrying for a place ? " 
 
 " Do not you know ? Oh, that is one of our systems, one of 
 our ways of getting our maidens provided for. For instance, a 
 Priest, with an unmarried daughter, dies. Well, she may be a 
 nice amiable girl that any one might be glad to have for a wife ; 
 she tnay be elderly or ugly ; worse still if she be ill-tempered 
 or in bad health. The Consistory knows every bride in the 
 diocese ; besides, the mothers send petitions to the Vladika, 
 begging that a bridegroom may be found for her daughter. 
 The candidate for the place is informed that if he chooses to 
 take the girl, the place is his ; a married man gets a refusal at 
 once — though, to be sure, if he knows that there is a bride 
 there, he does not think of asking for it." 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 37 
 
 "Good God !" cried Michael, "what an abuse !^ Go on, 
 brother !" 
 
 " The candidate thinks, ' Who knows, perhaps the girl may 
 please me,' and off he sets, perhaps some hundreds of versts, 
 to look at her. Thfere are cases on record, that candidates 
 with mothers and orphan brothers and sisters on their hands 
 have not been able to make up their minds to such conditions. 
 And the position of the poor girl — what must be her feelings ? 
 Other candidates, just for the sake of ' daily bread,' as I say, 
 marry cross old frights, for whom nobody sued during the life- 
 time of the father : and I leave you to imagine the domestic 
 happiness that is to be expected. It is a fact." 
 
 "Is it possible?" murmured Michael, shaking his head. 
 
 " And sometimes the girl is pretty and agreeable ; the fellow 
 absolutely falls in love, thinks himself a happy man, marries, 
 and finds himself mistaken. Yet some of these marriages 
 prove very happy ; but it is an exception to the general rule." 
 
 " I never happened to hear of this horrible plan before. I 
 am astonished at its being permitted by the authorities." 
 
 " Not only permitted," cried Roman, who had his " fever " 
 on him, " it is one of the greatest evils that exist in the eccle- 
 siastical class. It extends even to Readers. But wait a bit," 
 he continued, setting his teeth and clenching his fist, "their 
 turn will come ! give us time ! We must have reform too ; we 
 need it, God knows, more than all your lay departments of 
 service put together." 
 
 " Be cautious, brother ! " 
 
 " If I had not my poor weak mother, and a sister who is 
 
 1 By an Imperial Ukase of the 22d May, 1867, this custom was pro- 
 hibited, as well as the long-established rule of places descending from 
 father to son, or from one relative to another. 
 
38 
 
 Roma7i the Reader. 
 
 likely to remain a Christ's-bride all her life, I would not care 
 for anything? I would speak out ! I'd tell all I know, and 
 expose them all, I would — tyrants, simoniacs, bribe-takers, 
 that they are ! " 
 
 " Sh — sh ! that will do, brother ! We all have our causes of 
 complaint — in the University too. But if we were to talk till 
 midnight we should not have done. Enough of this for to-day ! 
 Come into Mamasha's room." 
 
 Here the new friends tried to converse, to rally Agnessa 
 Haraldin, a lively coquettish girl not long returned from the 
 Smolny monastery at Petersburg, who used to practise flirting 
 on her god-brother, pour passer le temps, and who, had a very 
 bad fit of the black dog that evening ; but all the party were 
 dull, and it was not till Alexandre returned from an expedition 
 with another gymnasist that they revived a little. Romkn 
 returned to the Seminary early, and in a very unsettled and 
 miserable state of mind. 
 
 This lasted for some days. He could not fix his mind on 
 his tasks,— and it happened that he had to prepare for the 
 "homily lecture," i.e. lesson on sermon - writing. Nothing 
 entered his head ; he was absent, irritable, and intensely dis- 
 satisfied with himself Appolon, who adored him outright, was 
 wretched, and began to fancy that Romjln had lost his heart 
 to Agnessa Andreevna. He took an opportunity of pump- 
 ing him, and got scolded and snubbed thoroughly ; but he had 
 the satisfaction of hearing the ungallant youth bestow such 
 epithets on the young lady as convinced him his fears were 
 unfounded : he called her a frozen turnip, a fashion picture, 
 " Honey-Sugarovna," and insisted on Appolon taking back 
 his words. The end of it all was that he opened his heart to 
 his friend, and told him all that had passed between the 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 39 
 
 student and himself. Appolon advised him not to talk to 
 that " worldly " fellow any more, to forget it, and all other 
 lay nonsense, and to go on with his studies, and to do his 
 duty in that station of hfe unto which it had pleased God 
 to call him. 
 
 Romkn began to argue : he would not acknowledge that 
 he had any station yet. That if he felt he could not do 
 his duty in the station his parents had prepared for him — 
 that is, wanted him to prepare himself for — he must seek 
 another station ; and so on. Appolon's temper was about 
 as lovely as could be found in the Empire, and his mind 
 as open to conviction ; but he remain 
 patience, and at last spat in the air. 
 
 " Nonsense, brother ! " was all he could say, as he hurried 
 away, with a very red face and bright eyes. 
 
 Alexandre Haraldin, who had finished the course at the 
 gymnasium, was to go with his brother to Kazan and enter 
 the University also. The day of parting came ; Alexandre 
 promised to write to Romkn, and implored him to keep true 
 to his " convictions ; " to work in the good cause. " What 
 a nice pope he will make!" exclaimed Alexandre; stepping 
 back to gaze with affectionate interest at him, and appealing 
 with his eyes to his brother. Michael did not reply ; but 
 he wrung Romh.n's hand when they said good-bye, and said 
 he should be interested to hear how he got on, and how 
 all would end. 
 
 Romkn occasionally visited his godmother after her sons' 
 departure ; but he felt himself out of place without youths 
 of his own age. Agnessa was not the girl to please him, 
 even in a sisterly sort of way ; and Katerina Antonovna 
 could not but perceive the indifference with which he regarded 
 
40 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 her, and observed with increasing anxiety the vexation and 
 even tears that Roman's occasional boyish disputes caused 
 her daughter. It was not very difficult for the mother to 
 find out the real cause, and the kind-hearted woman was 
 at a sad loss how to act for the best without injuring Agnessa 
 or hurting her godson's feelings — in a word, to prevent his 
 frequenting the house, without his knowing why it was 
 necessary. She was on the point of telling her husband 
 all her misgivings, when a circumstance occurred that altered 
 everything. 
 
 One morning the Haraldins' servant announced to his 
 mistress that a priest wanted to speak to her. The Counsellor 
 was at the Governor's, and Katerina Antonovna told the 
 visitor so. He said his name was Ivan Mironoff, from Boo- 
 gorki, and that he had particular business with the Counsellor ; 
 five o'clock was appointed for a meeting, and at that time 
 the Priest again came. After mutual introductions, he said, 
 with an abruptness that almost amounted to incivility, that 
 he had important business to consult about, and that the 
 facts were these — 
 
 " You have a son at the University, Andre Michaelovitch ? " 
 
 "Two, batioushka," answered the Counsellor, who was 
 mildness personified, and who did not quite like the stern 
 and haughty manner of his visitor. 
 
 "Two? indeed ! Well, the fact is this, that one of them, 
 a student at the University of Kazan, has been upsetting 
 my young relative, Romkn Gideonoff, who has been in the 
 habit lately of frequenting your house, and I do not know 
 what to do with him. The fellow was making first-rate 
 progress at the Seminary, and was thought highly of, as I 
 hear from the Rector. We all hoped that in due time he 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 4^ 
 
 would get a first-class certificate, be ordained a priest, and 
 thus procure means for his aged parent to pass her latter 
 years in peace and comfort. When, quite unexpectedly," 
 continued the Priest, rising from his seat and placing a 
 folded paper in the Counsellor's hand, " I received this letter 
 from him, in which he declares himself unfit to be a priest, 
 deacon, or reader — and asks my advice. I wrote back, and 
 told him to pray to God to assist him to make him fit, 
 and to try to get over this — this — hallucination. However, 
 last week I received a private letter from the Rector — an 
 old friend of mine — saying that the affair was likely to go 
 too far. So I came here." 
 
 Here he handed another letter to the Counsellor, and 
 went on — 
 
 " Now, most excellent Sir, allow me to represent that your 
 son, by his ill-timed and ignorant interference, has ruined 
 that boy, and with him his newly-widowed mother and a 
 sister who will be dependent on him ; and are now, while 
 their affairs are yet unsettled after the death of the Deacon, 
 living on the small pittance that the four sons-in-law can 
 spare from their little purses. Consequently, I, as Romlln's 
 eldest brother-in-law, demand reparation from you as repre- 
 sentative of your son ; — not money ! God forbid ! but advice, 
 practical advice ; and I further demand, that if my endeavours 
 to dissuade him from this new notion are fruitless, you will 
 find him a suitable place. Sir. That's all. My respects ! 
 If you wish to communicate with me, you can hear of me 
 at the Rector's." 
 
 The Counsellor took the cigar out of his mouth ; he did 
 not exactly understand what his son had been guilty of. 
 He begged the Priest to sit down again ; and having prevailed 
 
42 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 on him to do so, told him that he had no idea of anything 
 of the sort having taken place ; that he regretted extremely 
 that any transactions in his house should have given offence 
 to the relatives of his wife's godson, to whom his whole 
 family Avas much attached, but that he did not consider 
 himself responsible for his son's opinions. 
 
 The Priest was beginning an angry reply, but the Counsellor 
 went on — 
 
 " I repeat, I do not consider it my business at all, bati- 
 oushka ; but to show my good-will to the young man himself, 
 and to his mother, who was a very obliging neighbour to 
 us at Elenovka, I will do what I can for him." 
 
 Father Ivan at once became cheerful and courteous ; 
 thanked Andre Michaelovitch very heartily, and remained 
 to drink tea. The whole evening was passed in animated 
 conversation, the principal subject of which was what they 
 had best do with Roman. They parted, having discovered 
 that at Boogorki there was an influential person with whom 
 the Counsellor had been intimate some years before ; and 
 to him it was decided Andre Michaelovitch should write, 
 and beg him to give Roman employment for a time, while 
 a suitable situation was being found. Father Ivan particularly 
 
 wished that he might not remain at Q , where the 
 
 Counsellor might have established him with more certainty 
 and less trouble, but the brother-in-law evidently wanted to 
 have the youth under his own eye. 
 
 The letter, conveyed by Father Ivan himself to the 
 personage, received a favourable answer; the formalities 
 were soon concluded, and Romkn found himself at Boogorki 
 in a most unpleasant position. His brother-in-law wished 
 him well, and meant kindly ; but the constant hints and 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 43 
 
 reminders that he threw out irritated Roman ; and although 
 they had no open quarrel, in a month's time he had hired 
 a small room for himself in an artisan's house, on the pretext 
 that it was nearer the schools ; he paid three roubles a 
 month for it, with dinners and suppers from the artisan's 
 table. He received five roubles a month, and his duties 
 were to employ himself in the artisans' free boys' school, 
 and to teach the choristers singing. His spare time, which 
 was not a little, he spent in keeping up his studies, giving 
 private lessons to two or three merchants' sons, and in 
 writing a journal, extracts from which he occasionally sent 
 to his friends the Haraldins. 
 
 The letter he received from them in answer to that he 
 wrote to inform them of the change in his career, gave him 
 comfort and courage, and a degree of zest for his new occu- 
 pation (which he did not like at all), and reconciled him 
 a little to his fate, with which he was not altogether content. 
 In fact, he was unhinged ; and it is to be doubted whether 
 he himself knew what he wanted ; but he did want something 
 that he did not possess, and that was enough to make 
 him feel unsettled — at any rate, unsettled until he could 
 decide what it was. 
 
 I cannot take upon myself to describe the anger and 
 indignation of the Deaconess when she heard of Roman's 
 having left the Seminary. Nadia's lot was harder than ever, 
 and the stanovoy's wife, who had always been very kind 
 to her, began to think how she could manage to separate 
 the mother and daughter for a time, in order to give the 
 one a rest, and the other time and occasion to feel the 
 want and value of her daughter. So she one day advised 
 Pavla Lavrentievna to think about finding a trade for Nadia, 
 
44 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 and of giving up part of her immense farm stock. Of course 
 the Deaconess turned on her tears directly. 
 
 " Okh ! matinka, Tatiana Alexandrovna ! " said she, " your 
 words and advice are like pearls ! Tell me what to do, 
 my beauty ! Who will buy my poultry ? judge for yourself ! 
 The beasts and birds bind me hand and foot ! " 
 
 Tatiana Alexandrovna advised her to fatten them, and 
 then freeze them in the autumn ; and it quite enlivened 
 the old lady to hear that a goose would bring her fifty 
 kopecks at least, and a turkey about a rouble, at the town 
 market. Tatiana then heard, for the sixth time at least, 
 a doleful complaint of Roman's conduct, ended by the very 
 inquiry that she wished to elicit — "what she must do to 
 live ? " 
 
 " The best thing I can think of is for you to send Nadejda 
 Dmitrievna to town — to Boogorki, that is — to learn some 
 handiwork that is not likely to go out of fashion, and for 
 you to keep house at home and take in lodgers : for instance, 
 either of Ignaty Sylvesterovitch's clerks would be thankful 
 for such a nice clean lodging, and would pay you at least 
 a rouble a month." 
 
 This also pleased Pavla La\Tentievna. The next question 
 was, what trade Nadia should learn. She remembered a 
 sergeant's wife at the nearest town, who used to quilt silk 
 counterpanes in a pattern like cockle-shells, for all the eccle- 
 siastical brides that had married during the last twenty years ; 
 and she thought it would be a profitable thing ; but Tatiana 
 Alexandrovna represented that the sergeant's wife had already 
 an apprentice, that weddings were not so frequent as to 
 give constant emplojTnent to two persons ; and she voted 
 for weaving table-Unen, which, after many objections, and 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 45 
 
 an evident preference on the Deaconess's part to the cockle- 
 shell quilting, as being a superior occupation, was selected. 
 
 Tatiana Alexandrovna was going to Q in a fortnight's 
 
 time, and she undertook to place Nadia at Boogorki with 
 her sister, Father Ivan's wife, and to make arrangements 
 with a weaver woman whom she well knew during a residence 
 at Boogorki, and who taught girls her craft for the con- 
 sideration of one silver rouble, two poods of rye flour, and 
 two pounds of butter. 
 
 Tatiana Alexandrovna was very pleased at the success 
 of her innocent intrigues; by this arrangement Rom^n and 
 his sister would have opportunities of communication unin- 
 terrupted by maternal interference, sneers, and inuendoes. 
 As for Nadia, who had scarcely ever had anything so like 
 a holiday in her life, she was in a state of happy excitement 
 and confusion that was pleasant and infectious to witness ; 
 and at the same time her misgivings about her costume, 
 her manners, and conversation, caused many a hearty laugh 
 to her good-natured companion. Her sister was astonished 
 and delighted to see her ; and Romkn's satisfaction was 
 greater still. She did not hesitate to tell him the utmost 
 particulars of their mother's rage and disappointment, and 
 her own grief and tears, when Father Ivan informed them 
 of his being a layman. Roman was much distressed, and 
 implored her to spare him — to have patience, and to say 
 no more on the subject; altogether he appeared so down- 
 hearted and miserable, and looked so pale, that Nadia was 
 quite uneasy about him. And every day he became more 
 and more convinced that he had made a great mistake. 
 
 Soon after Nadinka arrived at Boogorki, the manifesto 
 of the celebrated 19th February, 1861, was published. The 
 
46 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 workmen of the iron-rolling and chain-cable works there, 
 formerly Crown serfs, now almost free men, began to receive 
 an increase of wages — double, treble, and tenfold, in pro- 
 portion to their skill and merits. The clergy, backed by 
 the civil authorities, seized the opportunity, and got up a 
 subscription for the erection of a new church, which was 
 much wanted. The population was 16,000, and there were 
 only two churches, one of which was very smaH. Besides, 
 the Raskol^ was making great progress in one particular part 
 of the town. The upper classes of regular church-goers were 
 desirous of enlarging the cathedral ; but the general feeling 
 among the workmen was a wish to establish a permanent 
 place of worship on a favourite, and it would seem favoured, 
 spot at the extreme end of the town. There had been a 
 hamlet there when first the iron-works were established, but 
 buildings had been added to both Boogorki and Kliutch,^ 
 and at last they united into one large town. At the foot 
 of a very steep and sudden hill was the source of a rivulet, 
 the waters of which were held in great repute for their 
 softness and limpidity, and people from a distance even 
 used to send for it to drink. Immediately over the bubbling 
 source there existed from time immemorial a tiny chapel, 
 consecrated to St. Nicholas, a very favourite saint among 
 the Russians ; so tiny was it that a dozen people formed a 
 crowd in it. Traditions of the salubrious qualities of the 
 water, and of the singularly gracious answers to prayers 
 offered in the chapel, caused the spot to be much frequented 
 by the devout and sick ; and on the two holidays in the 
 year that are dedicated to St. Nicholas, the concourse of 
 people was immense. It was here that vox populi voted 
 
 1 Schism. ' Klhitch means a fountain, spring, or source. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 47 
 
 unanimously for the building of a church, in remembrance 
 of, and ill gratitude to Almighty God for, the Liberation 
 of 1863. 
 
 The subscriptions amounted to a far greater sum than 
 the Committee expected in their most sanguine moments. 
 The list was not closed, and they hoped that during the 
 time the building was going on, an additional sum might 
 be raised for the interior fittings and adornments. The 
 architect had to draw a new and larger plan, with due 
 regard to the means collected, which was signed by the 
 
 members of the Committee, and finally sent to Q for 
 
 the approbation and blessing of the Archbishop. 
 
 The first stone (i.e. brick) was laid very privately one 
 rainy muddy day in spring, with a very short religious cere- 
 mony ; no one seemed to be aware of the circumstance, 
 except the architect, the contractor, the clergy, and our 
 Romkn. He had been the most successful collector ; his 
 gentlemanlike and pleasing address, his capability of being 
 like a noble with the nobles, and a peasant with the work- 
 men, rendered him the person of all others likely to succeed 
 in so difficult and delicate an errand ; and he entered into 
 the affair with all the fervour natural to his disposition. The 
 whole time the building was going on, his evening rambles 
 were almost invariably directed to the tufty, birch-covered 
 hill, which showed like a little shady park from over the 
 roofs of the log-houses near it. 
 
 The work went on rapidly ; week by week the walls became 
 higher and higher, the roof was put on, the cross and bells were 
 at last raised, each with a similar short ceremony ; the floor 
 was laid down ; and finally, the tiny old chapel, round which 
 the church was built, and which had remained untouched 
 
48 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 all the time, was entirely removed, and the space left in 
 the floor by its absence, filled in. 
 
 The interior of the church was still in its rough unfinished 
 state ; but matins and acathistus were constantly performed 
 in the new chapel. 
 
 Romkn was naturally thrown among the clergy much more 
 than into the lay society of Boogorki. There were several' 
 excellent men among them, who deeply regretted that the 
 Church was deprived of so intelligent and conscientious a 
 servant as they supposed Roman might have been. Each 
 knew the grief that his decision had caused his family, and 
 the absolute poverty that it brought on them and on himself. 
 He contrived to economise his earnings in such a manner 
 that he was able to send occasional presents to his mother, 
 who could not accustom herself to the screwing system at 
 all ; she had lived all her life in comfort and plenty, ac- 
 cording to the ideas of her class. Romh.n had been at 
 Elenovka twice since he left the Seminary, performing the 
 seventy versts' journey on foot ; but the Deaconess's tears 
 and reproaches might have wounded a less sensitive heart 
 than his, and his reflections were by no means satisfactory : 
 his visits only irritated the one and distressed the other, and 
 the only person to whom they brought real pleasure was 
 Nadia. 
 
 Romkn had been resident at Boogorki about a year, when 
 the Counsellor offered him a place at Solikamsk, as assistant 
 to the post-master. It was a step towards rank, it is true ; 
 but Solikamsk was so far off, the place itself so very 
 uncertain, and the salary so very trifling, that he was advised 
 by his friends not to accept it. The Counsellor felt hurt, 
 and declared he would never do anything more for him ; 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 49 
 
 but Romkn did not know this, and it was well he did not. 
 Soon after the Counsellor retired from service. 
 
 Nadinka had proved a remarkably apt pupil with the 
 weaver-woman, who thoroughly understood her business, and 
 imparted it as thoroughly to her pupils. On Nadinka's 
 return home after a three months' sojourn at Boogorki, the 
 various samples of her linen damask excited the utmost 
 admiration, not only among the clerical ladies, but even 
 among the wives of the richer peasants. Orders poured in 
 from all quarters, and soon Nadia was in a position to raise 
 her price. Pavla Lavrentievna had got accustomed to being 
 rather less idle during her daughter's absence; and was so 
 glad that the latter had constant and lucrative employment, 
 that she voluntarily performed the house business herself. 
 The parlour was let to the stanovoy's married clerk, a par- 
 tition having been put up which divided the room and 
 made two apartments out of one. The only rent she received 
 was this : the clerk was to provide firewood for the whole 
 house all the year round, thus saving Pavla Lavrentievna 
 from much trouble, and amounting in fact to more than 
 rent would have been ; but the Russian is fond of paying 
 and receiving in " kind," as they call it. 
 
 The Deaconess now lived not a whit worse than she would 
 had her son been a priest in some remote country parish ; but 
 she considered that she had just cause for grumbling, and 
 grumble she did. I must mention that she did not send a 
 petition to the Vladika about a bridegroom for Nadia, for 
 several reasons : first, she felt that the poor girl was, to use the 
 mildest expression, extremely plain ; that she was older than 
 candidates for the Deacon's place were likely to be ; and she 
 did not relish the notion of undergoing the public insult of a 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 refusal on the part of the bridegroom ; then Nadia cried so 
 much, and both she and Rom^n were so much against it ; 
 and lastly, the Priest of Elenovka, Romkn's godfather, advised 
 her not. The Deacon who was appointed to the vacancy 
 accepted the situation, with the conditions that he was to pay 
 the widow of his predecessor a pension of three roubles a 
 month until her son should finish his education ; but on 
 Romkn's becoming a layman, this pittance was withdrawn, and 
 therefore Tatiana Alexandrovna proposed the plan which had 
 so well succeeded. 
 
 Father Ivan, who was himself almost as energetic and ardent 
 as his young brother-in-law, having exhausted all his eloquence 
 on him during that memorable visit to the Government town, 
 had then and there pronounced a solemn vow that henceforth 
 he would never speak to him on the subject, nor help him to 
 get back into the road to Holy Mother Church, nor persuade 
 him to return thither. The first part of this rash exclamation 
 — for it was little more — he certainly did observe, avoiding all 
 direct conversation on the subject, but occasionally indulging 
 in an inuendo or sneer. But his affection and good-will 
 towards Romkn were deep and sincere ; and he managed with 
 some difficulty to bring the Protopope^ of Boogorki to the con- 
 viction that the young man was ruining himself for life ; and 
 besought him, as Pastor of his flock, to speak a word to him — 
 to bring back the lost sheep. The Protopope was very aged 
 and infirm, and had of course much experience ; he repre- 
 sented that there were plenty of ecclesiastics without Romkn ; 
 that he was going on, as far as he could learn, very steadily 
 and satisfactorily, and advised not unsettling and worrying 
 the young fellow a second time ; but at last he himself was 
 » High Priest. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 5 
 
 convinced, as I said before, that he would be doing a good act 
 if he dissuaded Roman from his present calling. He liked 
 Rom^n personally, and was highly satisfied with him as regent, 
 or singing-master of the choir. In a word, he and all the 
 clergy of Boogorki joined in a sort of conspiracy against 
 Romkn, and they took every opportunity to win him back to 
 the fold. For some months he was in a state of painful 
 indecision ; worldly fears of being thought a weak character — 
 an easily- persuaded person — mingled with sincere doubts as 
 to his own fitness to be even a Reader. There was now 
 no other way of becoming a priest but by serving as ponomkr 
 (reader) and deacon, first. It would perhaps take many years 
 to gain the goal. If the truth must be told, he never ceased 
 to regret that he had not finished the course at the Seminary ; 
 and it was a mistake too, on the part of his friends : they 
 ought to have insisted on his completing his education there, 
 and then, if he felt unwilling to enter the Church, he might 
 have still entered the civil service, with a right to rank, 
 from which his present position precluded him until a certain 
 number of years of service entitled him to it. The Protopope 
 at last told him outright that if he chose to go to Elenovka 
 for a month or two as ponomkr (lay reader, unordained 
 reader), to get into the way of it, he would give him an 
 opportunity of being consecrated, by sending him with Father 
 Ivan, who was going to Q for the Antimins, or com- 
 munion-cloth,^ for St. Nicholas' Church, which was to be 
 consecrated as soon as that indispensable appendage to the 
 
 1 Priests and Deacons only can touch this consecrated thing : laymen and 
 even Readers may not lay their hand on it. It is brought from the Arch- 
 bishop in a case made for the purpose, which is worn on the breast of the 
 bringer during his journey. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 Roinan the Reader. 
 
 Greco-Russian altar was received ; and promised to keep 
 him as regent until an opportunity occurred for him to take 
 Deacon's orders. 
 
 This was said soon after Christmas. Rom^n counted his 
 money, and found that he had seven roubles in hand and 
 a month's wages to receive. It was not much, certainly; 
 but he determined to raise a little more by the sale of his 
 lay costume— for he had made up his mind. But before 
 he offered his coats and paletots for sale, he ordered the 
 ecclesiastical garments with long skirts, and bespoke a belt 
 at the girls' school to be worked in Berlin wool. His land- 
 lord, a cutler and locksmith, presented him with a clasp 
 for it of his own workmanship, which was not the only gift 
 he had bestowed on his lodger, the first being a steel walking 
 staff, and the other a seal of very curious workmanship ; 
 both were offered as keepsakes on Roman's name's-days. 
 When the whole costume was ready, he presented himself 
 to the Protopope, and said he had decided to take his High 
 Reverence's advice. He trusted that his determination, to 
 which he had not come without many tears and many 
 prayers, would be blessed, and that the feeling of unworthiness 
 under which he still laboured, might become less painful 
 when he entered in earnest into his new work. The Pro- 
 topope and other priests commended his humility, and 
 comforted and encouraged him. On the whole, he was 
 more at peace with himself than he had been for nearly 
 two years ; he could honestly say that he did not regret 
 leaving his lay position, he only regretted the past, and the 
 two years that he considered he had lost. 
 
 Pavla Lavrentievna, instead of receiving her son with the 
 rejoicings over " the sinner that repenteth," " the prodigal 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 53 
 
 son," (for as such she regarded him,) that would seem but 
 natural, sneered at him for being only a ponomar, and drew 
 odious comparisons with what might have been had he 
 remained at the Seminary. All this and many other dis- 
 agreeables he took as the crosses he was bound to bear in 
 his holy calling. His natural sharpness and intelligence 
 rendered the learning of his duties a mere trifle, accustomed 
 as he was to constant attendance at church. In a month's 
 time he returned to Boogorki with a letter to the Protopope 
 from Father Petre^ his godfather, saying that he considered 
 him ready for any place in the blagotchinie as Reader. The 
 Protopope desired him to do his devotions during the fourth 
 week in Lent ; and after the strengthening and refreshing of 
 
 his soul by Holy Communion he was to be sent to Q- 
 
 for the Antimins. 
 
 On his arrival there, he first of all made his obeisance to 
 his old friend the Rector, who received him with open anns, 
 and shed tears of happiness on seeing him in clerical costume. 
 He inquired with interest into the history of Roman's return 
 to the Church, gave him his blessing, and promised that 
 his business should be quickly done for him. Thanks to 
 the Rector, he had scarcely any dealings with the Consistory, 
 and consequently his little purse remained almost untouched, 
 as he was not obliged to open it to satisfy the demands 
 of secretaries, clerks, and even door-keepers. When the 
 solemn day arrived for his ordination, he felt calm and very 
 happy. After the benediction of the Vladika, his luxu- 
 riant hair, longer than it was when he was a layman, was 
 snipped by His Eminence cross-wise in four places, with 
 the words, "In the Name of the Father," "And of the Son," 
 
 1 Russ. for Peter, pronounced Peortre. 
 
54 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 " And of the Holy Ghost." " Always, now, henceforth, and 
 for ever and ever." And all present, at each pause, said 
 " Amen." 
 
 A short garment, something like a large tippet, which, like 
 everything in and connected with the rites of the Greco- 
 Russian Church, has a mystical meaning, signifying the yoke 
 that the future servant of the Church has taken upon himself, 
 was placed on his shoulders, also by the Vladika. 
 
 It was in a firm clear tenor that Romkn the Reader 
 intoned the Epistle of the day in the awful presence of the 
 Archbishop. It seemed to him as though the visible bene- 
 diction he had just received had given him fresh strength 
 and courage to " grasp the sword of Heaven ; " he felt 
 indeed ready and "nothing loth 
 
 Body and soul to live and die 
 In witness of his Lord, 
 In humble following of his Saviour dear." 
 
 But when the Archbishop put the candlestick into his 
 hand — the symbol of his calling, for in the language of the 
 Church the Reader is called a candle-bearer — it was with 
 difficulty he could restrain his tears. 
 
 But he went through it bravely ; and was met at the 
 chapel door by a few old friends, now " theologians," i.e. 
 pupils of the last class, who expected ere long to be priests, 
 or students in the University. Appolon Voskresensky was 
 of course the foremost to congratulate Romkn, and dragged 
 him off to the lodging of one of the theologians not on the 
 foundation, where he had prepared a little congratulatory 
 feast, consisting of vodka (of which, alas ! these theologians, 
 philosophers, and even the youthful third-class rhetoricians, 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 55 
 
 are far too fond), tea, and minced cabbage pies. Appolon 
 informed Romkn that he had a rich bride in view, an only 
 daughter ; and that her papa was so fond of him that he 
 had promised to give up his place to him, on condition, 
 of course, that he would marry the daughter. Roman asked 
 if she were pretty. 
 
 " M yes ! that is, she'll do well enough for us priests." 
 
 " Thou art not in love, brother ? " asked Romkn, smiling. 
 
 "Not yet. Love, may it please your Reverence, is non- 
 sense ! But I intend to be agreeable to her as soon as I 
 have done with all this bother. I've no time to fall in love 
 just now." 
 
 Romkn found to his great regret that the Haraldins had 
 removed to some place in Little Russia, where Michael had 
 a peace-mediator's appointment Agnessa was married to 
 somebody there ; no one knew exactly to whom. The 
 Haraldins seemed almost forgotten. 
 
 Father Ivan's precious commission, after several delays, 
 was at last delivered to him ; and Romkn set out with him 
 on his journey back to Boogorki, where they were met with 
 congratulations and triumph again. The Consecration was 
 fixed for an early day. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 J^OMAN had had several commissions entrusted to him to 
 
 fulfil at Q , among which was a list of books for the 
 
 schoolmaster, his former chief, who had taken great interest 
 in his affairs all along, and had always been friendly and 
 kind to him. As soon, therefore, as the necessary interview 
 with the Protopope had taken place, he set out with the 
 parcel to M. Artemin's, who met him in the entrance with 
 congratulations and good wishes, and smilingly requested 
 him to return both. 
 
 Romkn did so, and naturally asked the reason. 
 
 " God has given us a son, Romkn Dmitrie'vitch," was the 
 answer. 
 
 " Ah ! glory to God ! " 
 
 " Yes ; and you have come very opportunely, for all the 
 people in the house are in a state, you see, and I am looking 
 after the other little ones. Come into my cabinet, and 
 peep at them. Ah, thank you, thank you very much," he 
 said, as Romkn placed in his hands the heavy parcel. " Come 
 and have a glass of tea with us, and tell me all about your 
 doings." 
 
 They entered the cabinet and shut the door gently behind 
 them. The breakfast was laid on a card-table, where two 
 
Rotndn the Reader. 
 
 57 
 
 little children were seated on high chairs, and a third with 
 a rusk in her hand was crawling on the carpet. Her father, 
 laughing and caressing her, took her on his lap ; and having 
 tied, in the tenderly awkward manner peculiar to fathers, a 
 napkin round her throat, proceeded to feed her with moistened 
 bread and tea. Romkn asked in what manner he could be 
 useful. 
 
 " Why, you see, Elena Philipovna is always anxious to 
 have ' the prayer ' read as soon as possible. The child was 
 born yesterday evening, and she wished to have it done 
 last night ; but really I did not like to trouble Father Peregrin, 
 at such a late hour. So when you go home — (no, don't hurry, 
 brother ! I tell you, sit down and have a glass of tea with 
 us) — when you do go home, perhaps you would be so kind 
 as to call in at Father Peregrin's, and tell him of this, witli 
 my compliments. When he has leisure, you know, Romkn 
 Dmitri^vitch." 
 
 " With great pleasure," answered he, in an animated manner ; 
 "you know I am his Reader. I shall help to christen 
 your son, Boris Andreitch ! " he added, smiling, as if it was 
 rather an amusing circumstance. 
 
 "Yes, to be sure. Well, now tell me what you did, and 
 
 what was done with you at Q ? How did it all come off? 
 
 Without any extra bother, I trust." 
 
 " None whatever, thank God ! I am perfectly satisfied 
 with my expedition ; the only drawback was, tliat I found 
 
 my godmother's family had left Q . And to confess the 
 
 truth, it was mortifying to see the fellows I had left in my 
 own class, far behind myself, candidates for priest's or 
 deacon's orders. There was a little sharp chap that I used 
 to patronize, who is sub-deacon ; as proud and important 
 
58 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 as mortal can be to serve the person of the Vladika, and 
 ordering me about as if I were a crosier-bearer! What a 
 fool I was, Boris Andreitch ! — and am still," he added, relapsing 
 into his low spirits. 
 
 "No such thing! You acted impulsively, certainly; but 
 the impulse was a good one, an honest one. You are not 
 the only good man who has altered his opinion, Romkn 
 Dmitrievitch. For God's sake, forgive yourself, and forget 
 all you may have to regret in your past life. You have 
 done all you could to repair what you consider your errors. 
 Be happy, lad ! ba content ! — that's the word, eh ? Have 
 another glass ? " 
 
 "No, thank you. I will go at once to Father Peregrin's. 
 Good-bye." 
 
 " Till we meet again, Romkn Dmitridvitch." 
 
 "Who knows? Perhaps I may read the prayer to Elena 
 Philipovna next time ? " he said, opening the cabinet door 
 after it had closed on him, and peeping in with his old 
 bright face. 
 
 Boris Andreitch laughed, " Merci ! We have enough : — at 
 present," he added, with the reverence of the Russian for 
 the children God had given, or might give him. 
 
 The new-born infant lies swaddled in its dark liulka, the 
 convenient though by no means ornamental cradle of the 
 babes of Russia, A four-sided bag of ticking is strongly sewn 
 to a frame of wood, which has an iron ring at each comer 
 through which are passed leather straps, and by them the 
 liulka is suspended to the extremity of a long pole, the 
 other end of which passes through a ring fastened in the 
 ceiling, and which is so pHant that the slightest touch given 
 to the wooden frame causes it to move gently and noiselessly 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 59 
 
 up and down. A wide curtain of dark print, or in very 
 well-to-do families, of silk, hangs round the Httle bed from 
 the pole. 
 
 A wrinkled old nurse sits by the liulka, rocking it and 
 chanting in a cracked and sleepy voice a monotonous lullaby. 
 She watches the child like a soldier on guard at a prison 
 door, and woe to the incautious visitor who exclaims, " Oh, 
 what a lovely child ! Ah, what a fine healthy baby ! " 
 
 " God bless him ! The Lord be with him ! The Holy 
 Virgin be about him ! " the nurse would exclaim, indignantly. 
 " Do you wish the little angel to be bewitched, sudarina ? 
 Is it the first child you have ever seen? the first pretty 
 one ? Ah, thou Christ's-babe of mine ! thou Lord's-child of 
 mine ! go to sleep, my General ! " ^ Half pleased at your 
 praise, half apprehensive of the effect your exclamations (the 
 thing is, to avoid interjections) may have on the sleep and 
 health of her charge, she draws the dark curtains closer 
 around him, murmuring prayers for his welfare, while the 
 abashed visitor excuses herself, assuring the nurse that she 
 has by no means an evil eye, and never bewitched anybody 
 in her life. 
 
 " Well, don't boast ! " retorts nurse. 
 
 The baby's mamma is, in nine cases out of ten, perfectly 
 well, and of course as happy as mortal can be. The only 
 caution that is laid stress on is keeping her bed-room as 
 dark as possible, to prevent her from reading and working, 
 against which the faculty resolutely set their faces for six 
 long weeks. The lady-doctor who attends her, and lives in 
 the house for the time, insists on her lying quiet for nine 
 
 1 Russian nurses call the boy infants Generals, in the hope that they 
 may attain that dignity when they grow up. 
 
6o 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 days, but she very often rebels, or gets up when her duenna 
 is asleep, to look at the other children and give a mistress's 
 scrutinising glance round the rooms. 
 
 Cleopatra Vasilievna, Elena Philipovna's lady-nurse, has 
 been educated at an establishment at Petersburg, or Moscow, 
 has heard lectures from first-rate professors, and has a diploma 
 certifying her capability and skill in her profession. She 
 may safely be applied to, a medical man being very rarely 
 called in ; in fact his presence is the exception, by no means 
 the rule.^ Such a lady-nurse — who is received into society, 
 and is in general a great favourite with her patients — is 
 provided by Goveni?ne?it for every town and Government 
 establishment of importance. She receives pay, differing 
 according to the extent of the district under her care ; it 
 is not much, but with the presents of money and dresses 
 that the ladies make her, and her almost constant absence 
 from home, and consequently the non-necessity of keeping 
 much of a table or household, she is generally rather well- 
 to-do than otherwise. Her life, though passed in endless 
 anxiety for the health and safety of her patients and grand- 
 children (as she calls the babies), sleepless nights and busy 
 days, is a pleasant and varied one to her, especially if she be a 
 pet with the families she attends. Her duties are to tend the 
 mother, uniting in her person the skill of the medical man 
 to the manual care of the nurse ; to watch her, lest any change 
 should demand the aid of the doctor ; to look after her diet, 
 amuse her, and keep her quiet. The baby, as I said before, 
 has a nurse to rock it, &c. &c. but tlie lady-nurse always 
 washes and swaddles it herself This operation is widely 
 
 1 Notwithstanding, fatal cases are of far less frequent occurrence in 
 Russia than in England. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 6i 
 
 different from an English washing and dressing, as the 
 following description will show. 
 
 A small metal bath, or even a little wooden trough, is 
 placed on a couple of chairs, and warm water poured into 
 it to the depth of not more than a lady's hand-breadth : a 
 small, thickly-quilted sort of mattress, made of any old 
 material that is soft, and quilted with camel's hair, not 
 wadding, is placed at the bottom for the infant to lie on. 
 Beneath the head a towel or wrapper is put, rolled up like 
 a bolster, to raise the ears out of water ; and on this again 
 is put a clean linen wrapper (by this I mean a little sheet, 
 about a yard long and three-quarters broad, used for swaddling), 
 and here they lay the little baby in its shirt, which is then 
 taken off. The washer covers the child with the sides of 
 the warm wet wrapper on which it Hes, and gently squeezes 
 the water over it from a sponge. When it is thoroughly 
 soaked, somebody else takes the sponge and continues the 
 operation, while the lady-nurse washes it well with her soft 
 hand. Warm water is added gradually by the assistant as 
 the rest, being of so little depth, becomes cool. She then 
 holds the child on her palm, and washes its back, and the 
 assistant rinses it from head to foot by pouring water over 
 it from a large ladle with a short handle, much used in 
 Russian housekeeping, and called a kovshik. She throws, 
 immediately afterwards, a wrapper of swanskin or linen, 
 warmed, over the infant, and they proceed to dry and then 
 to powder it from a little muslin bag of potato-flour. 
 
 The clothes — if clothes they can be called — lie on one 
 another in the exact order that they are required, on a 
 pillow, and here they lay the baby when dry. First comes 
 the linen band, much like an English one, with the taped 
 
62 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 ends rolled up at the right hand of the nurse, convenient 
 to swathe the child's body. Then the little shirt (a mere 
 apology for a garment), a linen wrapper, then a wanner one, 
 of flannel or swanskin, and lastly the swaddles. This is 
 a long band of lined print, or bound swanskin ; sometimes 
 it is a piece of crocheted or knitted work, of about two 
 yards in length and a lady's span in breadth, with long broad 
 tapes at the rolled-up, right-hand end. The wrappers are 
 folded round the child, head and all, arranged over its 
 forehead like the napkins in pictures of Lazarus rising from 
 the dead ; the arms are pinioned to the sides, the legs 
 straightened, — " contrary to natur," as Mrs. Gamp says, — and 
 in this position the swaddle is wound round it neatly in a 
 spiral manner, and finally tied at the feet. The baby is then 
 wrapped in a little quilted counterpane, or marsala quilt, 
 fed, and put into its liulka to sleep. 
 
 Some babies hate being swaddled from the day of their 
 birth, and soon learn to cry the instant they are laid flat on 
 their backs. Others cannot sleep unless swaddled. They 
 generally leave it off at about six or eight months old, but 
 many continue it a longer or a shorter period, according to 
 the disposition of the child ; for it is a fact that a stout, 
 inanimate child remains in swaddles till about a year old, 
 while the lively ones cast them off at three or four months. 
 They often stretch themselves out, and hold their hands to 
 their sides, when sleepy and desirous to be put to bed. 
 
 The whole operation of washing as thoroughly as any 
 mother need wish, or any baby require, drying and swaddling, 
 can be performed in about five minutes by a skilful person ; 
 the lady-nurse has taken lessons in the art, and the rapidity 
 with which she swaddles is little short of legerdemain. An 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 63 
 
 ordinary mother can do it in eight or ten minutes, provided 
 her assistant (generally the old nurse) is passably sharp in 
 her wits and ways. In this manner children are washed 
 morning and evening till they are able to sit up in their 
 bath, and begin to dabble and splash as other Europeans 
 of their age do. It should be remarked that the swaddles 
 are removed on the child's awakening, except during the 
 first week or two of its life. 
 
 Dressing a baby in upper clothes until it is at least forty 
 days old is considered strange, rather improper, and awfully 
 cruel. After six weeks they put a loose garment of the 
 masculine gender, called a roubashka (shirt) and made of 
 print, cachemire, or silk, according to circumstances, on a 
 little boy, with a bib : a little girl has a frock which has a 
 certain feminine look, a cap and a pinafore ; both are 
 enveloped in the unbecoming quilt, which, ugly as it is, 
 certainly serves as a support to the tender little body. Both 
 the bathing and dressing (swaddling excepted) of the Russian 
 child seem to be more humane than the lap-washing and 
 tittivating of the little Briton ; but as neither can speak from 
 experience while babies, nor remember it when grown up, 
 the respective merits of either plan must at present remain 
 undecided. 
 
 When a child is about twenty-four or thirty hours old, the 
 Priest is sent for to give it a name, and to read prayers on 
 behalf of it and its 'mother. His coming is accompanied by 
 a good deal of proposing and disputing about the name, but 
 it generally happens that the infant is called after the Saint 
 on whose day it was born, or in honour of some great saint 
 whose feast will soon fall. On the father's preferring some 
 particular name, the patron of which is remembered in the 
 
64 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 Church at a distant period from the date of naming, no 
 impediments are offered, but it is considered more pious to 
 take the name that presents itself, as it were, for selection. 
 
 Father Peregrin attended immediately to Roman's message. 
 On his arrival Boris Andrditch spoke to him on the subject 
 just mentioned, and having decided in a few seconds, led 
 the Priest to his wife's room. Cleopatra Vasilievna had 
 swaddled the baby in its best sheets, and wrapped it in a 
 silken quilt ; and nurse, whispering prayers all the time, 
 was lighting the little float in the lamp that hangs before 
 the picture. 
 
 "My respects, Elena Philipovna," said Father Peregrin, 
 making the sign of the cross over her. " I congratulate you 
 on the birth of your son." 
 
 "Thank you. How do you intend to call him?" 
 
 " Boris Andrditch and I have been consulting about it. I 
 propose Alexis, as 'Alexis, the man of God,' will fall next 
 week ; but if you do not wish it, there are Alexandre, Conrad, 
 Cyprian." 
 
 " No, Alexis is a good name. It is all the same to me." 
 
 Father Peregrin bowed, and unfolding his cope, which he 
 brought wrapped round his Ritual, a clasped book in the 
 Sclavonic tongue, put it on with an ejaculation, and turning 
 towards the picture, began to read the prayers. Cleopatra 
 Vasilievna, Boris Andr^itch and his mother, and the elder 
 children, stood behind him, devoutly bowing and crossing 
 themselves. Elena Philipovna wept quiet tears of thankfulness 
 and joy. 
 
 There are two distinct forms of prayers used on this 
 occasion, and the second, which answers to the circumcision 
 of the Mosaic law, ought to be performed in church eight 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 65 
 
 days after birth. This, however, seems to be obsolete, for I have 
 never heard of its being otherwise done than in the manner I 
 am now relating. After the first form, which relates principally 
 to the mother, with petitions for her recover)-, thanksgiving for 
 her safety, and in which the child is not mentioned by name, 
 the second is commenced. After a few preparatory ejacula- 
 tions and doxologies, the Priest reads the Lord's Prayer, and, 
 turning towards the infant, makes the sign of the cross on its 
 forehead, lips, and breast ; after which, with his face towards 
 the picture again, he reads the following prayer : — • 
 
 " O Lord our God, we pray to Thee, and implore Thee 
 to send down the light of Thy countenance on this Thy 
 servant, Alexis (or on this Thy handmaid, Mary, for instance), 
 and be he signed with the cross of Thy only-begotten Son 
 in his heart and mind, that he may escape from the vanities 
 of the world, and from all wicked slanders of his enemies, 
 and follow Thy bidding. Grant, O Lord, that he may ever 
 keep Thy holy Name unrenounced, that he may frequent 
 Thy holy Church, and the solemn sacraments of thine 
 Anointed ; and that, having lived according to Thy command- 
 ments, and preserved the SeaP unbroken, he may receive 
 the blessedness of the elect in Thy kingdom ; through the 
 grace and mercy of Thine only-begotten Son. To. Him, with 
 Thy most holy, good, and quickening Spirit, be all blessing, 
 now, henceforth, and for ever. Amen." 
 
 (Here he takes the child in his hands — not arms — and 
 holds it up before the picture, making the sign of the cross 
 with it, and saying) : — 
 
 " Hail, blessed Virgin, the mother of our Lord, who gave 
 birth to Christ the Sun of Righteousness, who lighteth those 
 1 The Seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 
66 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 that are in darkness. And hail, O thou righteous old man,i 
 who didst receive into thine arms the Saviour of our souls, 
 by whom we hope for resurrection." 
 
 The benediction concludes this short service, and henceforth 
 the infant is called and known by its name, or diminutive ; 
 a word synonymous with "Baby," as a proper name, not 
 existing in the Russian language. 
 
 In a day or two Elena Philipovna received her lady friends, 
 who came to congratulate her, all very smart. She herself 
 received them in bed with a pretty lace cap and white 
 cachemire sortie de bal on ; her pillow-cases were trimmed 
 with embroidered frills, and an elaborately quilted pink satin 
 coverlet was thrown over the usual bed-clothes. Unmarried 
 ladies do not make these visits. Coffee is handed, with 
 rusks or sweet buns, as it always is to a morning visitor. 
 
 Romkn felt greatly interested in this christening, and called 
 several times to ascertain when it would take place. Elena 
 Philipovna, who had patiently submitted to the nine days' 
 ordeal of bed-keeping, was up and about in a fortnight as 
 merry as a cricket, though Boris Andr^itch scolded her in- 
 cessantly for running about and doing too much. On the 
 Feast of the Annunciation the christening was to come off. 
 
 The godfather provides a gold cross ^ about an inch and 
 a half in length, to hang round the child's neck, if a boy 
 by a blue ribbon, if a girl a pink one. He also pays the 
 Priest's fee. The godmother prepares a piece of material 
 as a dress for the mother, and a shirt and girdle for the 
 baby. If it be a boy, the shirt is made exactly like a man's, 
 
 1 Simeon. 
 
 2 We are speaking of a noble's family. The lower classes use silver or 
 brass crosses, which cost from one to twenty kopeckas. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 67 
 
 only in proportion, of fine nainsook, or Scotch muslin, trimmed 
 with lace and blue ribbons. A little girl has a very smart shift, 
 or chemise, trimmed also with lace, but with pink ribbons. 
 
 Baptisms in an officer's or noble's family generally take 
 place at home. On the table in the large saloon lie some 
 waxen tapers, a clean fine towel, and a glass of water. A 
 small carpet is laid down before the picture (which is always 
 in the corner of the room, and of ei'cry room, entrance- 
 hall, kitchen, and laundry, in a Russian house), and on it 
 stands the font. It is larger than the font of the English 
 Church, generally of copper, silvered, and is brought from 
 the church for the occasion. 
 
 The sponsors, relatives, and Cleopatra Vasilievna had 
 already arrived when Father Peregrin, the Deacon, and 
 Roman, carrying a great bundle of canonicals, made their 
 appearance. Cleopatra Vasilievna received the cross, shirt, 
 and dress from the sponsors, and, laughing and flirting with 
 Romkn, arranged them in the requisite order on the table ; 
 while RomJm, humble Reader as he was, stuck the three 
 candles to the edge of the font, superintended the pouring 
 of the warm water into it, and ran into the kitchen for hot 
 embers for the censer. Father Peregrin placed the sponsors 
 to his mind, and Cleopatra Vasilievna took Aleshinka, the 
 baby, from his nurse, and stood by the side of the godmother. 
 
 There are four distinct ceremonies performed at a christ-l 
 ening,^ although it appears to be but one service : these 
 are, first, the renunciation, and confession of faith ; secondly, 
 
 ^ " ^. In what does Baptism consist ? 
 
 " A. The behever is immersed three times in water, in the Name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Short Catechism of the 
 Orthodox Church.) 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 the actual Sacrament of Baptism ; thirdly, unction ; and 
 fourthly, the washing, with the cutting off of the hair. 
 
 The service opens by the Priest, who is not yet in full 
 canonicals, and has merely put on his cope, approaching 
 the infant (who, be it borne in mind, is completely naked, 
 though wrapped in its various coverings and its silk quilt), 
 and blowing in its face, crossing it three times over its brow, 
 lips, and breast. (The clergy make the sign of the cross by 
 uniting the tip of the thumb with those of the fourth and 
 middle fingers, the laity by uniting the thumb with the 
 middle and fore fingers, and moving the hand so as to form 
 a cross in the air, but not as though a line were being drawn ; 
 the movement more resembles the gentlest tap imaginable.) 
 He then lays his hand on its head, and reads over it a 
 prayer, followed by the conjurement, or exorcism of the devil, 
 in which the Evil One, with all his angels and legions, is 
 commanded to depart from the infant ; and another prayer 
 is addressed to the Almighty God of Sabaoth to defend him 
 from all spiritual and bodily harm, and to grant him the 
 victory over all evil spirits. 
 
 He then blows on its brow, lips, and breast, saying three 
 times, " May every evil and unclean spirit that has con- 
 cealed itself and taken up its abode in his heart depart from 
 thence ! " 
 
 The service now proceeds similarly to that of the English 
 Church. The same questions, or rather questions to the 
 same effect, are put to the sponsors, but are repeated thrice. 
 When the Priest asks, " Dost thou renounce," &c. both he 
 and the sponsors, the nurse and infant, turn their backs to 
 the font, i. e. look towards the west, where the sun sets and 
 from whence no light proceeds, but on the contrary, blackness 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 69 
 
 and shadows,^ symbols of the Prince of Darkness ; and on 
 the last answer being made, " / have renounced him" the 
 Priest says, " The7i blow and spit on him" setting the example 
 himself by blowing gently, and making the gesture of spitting 
 at the unseen enemy in token of horror and hatred of him. 
 They then turn again towards the picture (or to the east 
 if it be in church), the other questions respecting the faith 
 of the sponsors are made, and the Reader repeats the Nicene 
 Creed three times on their behalf. Previous to each repetition 
 the sponsors are questioned again. 
 
 P. Have you confessed Christ ? 
 
 .S. I have confessed Him. 
 
 P. And dost thou believe in Him? 
 
 »S. I believe in Him as King and God. 
 
 At the end of the last repetition of the Creed, the 
 admonition, " Fall down and worship Him," is added ; to 
 which the sponsors make answer, " I worship the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the Trinity consubstantial and 
 indivisible," prostrating themselves at the same time. 
 
 " Blessed be God," ejaculates the Priest, " who desireth the 
 salvation of all men, and that all may come to the know- 
 ledge of His truth. Now, henceforth, and for ever, Amen."^ 
 
 After a short prayer, the parents leave the room, and 
 generally retire to the bed-room to pray for God's blessing 
 on their little one : they are not allowed to be present, as 
 it is supposed that they give their child entirely to its god- 
 parents. This custom is de rigueiir ; even in the court 
 
 1 Michailoffsky. 
 
 2 This part of the service is extremely ancient, mention being made of 
 the exorcism by Tertullian in the second century, and of confession both by 
 him and by S. Cyprian in the third century. (Michailoffsky.) 
 
70 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 ceremonials that are published in the newspapers of the 
 imperial christenings, a clause is always inserted: '■'■Note. 
 — His Imperial Majesty (or His Imperial Highness) will 
 then leave the chapel for an inner apartment." It probably 
 dates from the very earliest days of Christianity, when the 
 parents of a convert were generally unbelievers, and conse- 
 quently had neither the wish nor the right to be witnesses 
 of a Christian ceremony. The private opinions of Priests 
 respecting the observance of this custom at the present day 
 seem to be in perfect accordance with the common sense 
 and religious feeling that would insist rather on the presence 
 than the absence of those whose prayers, one would think, 
 were the warmest and most fervent of any offered on the 
 occasion. Still more so when we reflect that orthodox 
 parents of the present day are answerable for their children's 
 religious education, and that it is not left now to the sponsors, 
 as in the early days of the Church.^ 
 
 The Sacrament of Baptism now commences ; the Priest 
 puts on his full canonicals, made of a gaudy sort of brocade, 
 with gold and silver vi^oven in it ; lighted tapers are placed 
 in the hands of the sponsors, a.nd those stuck to the font 
 are lighted ; incense is waved round the font ; the Deacon 
 and Reader chant a litany, while the Priest whispers a 
 prayer for himself This is followed by the benediction of 
 the water, which is performed by the Priest's immersing his 
 right hand in it crosswise, three times, and blowing on it, 
 praying all the time ; finally, by making the sign of the 
 cross on its surface with a little feather dipped in holy oil, 
 he and his assistants singing hallelujah. The font, being a 
 vessel in which the baptized person receives salvation, is a 
 
 1 Michailoffsky. 
 
Roman the Reaaer. 
 
 71 
 
 symbol of Noah's ark ; the oHve branch brought by the dove 
 as a token that the waters had abated, and a proof of the 
 absence of danger, is typified by the olive oil on the water 
 of the font, which serves as a sign that the child is saved 
 from the taint of syi, and by the grace of God restored to 
 a new life of holiness and purity.^ The infant is then anointed 
 for the first time, but this is not the Sacrament of Unction. 
 In ancient times, we are told, young warriors on the point 
 of going to battle for the first time used to be anointed with 
 oil ; thus the new Christian who will have to battle against 
 the enemies of his salvation — the world, the flesh, and the 
 devil — is anointed as " Christ's faithful soldier and servant." 
 Olive oil, possessing salutary properties, is here the type 
 of the inner healing of the soul by baptism. It is also 
 the symbol of the grafting in of the wild olive tree {i.e. the 
 convert) to the tree (i.e. Jesus Christ:^ Romans xi. 17). 
 When the Priest anoints the child on the brow, he says, 
 " The servant of God, Alexis, is anointed with the oil of 
 gladness. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost, now, henceforth, and for ever. Amen ; " 
 on the breast, " for the healing of thy soul and body ; " on 
 the ears, " for the hearing of the Word ; " on the hands, 
 "Thy hands have made me and fashioned me ; " on the feet, 
 "that his feet may walk in the way of Thy commandments." 
 
 The Priest now rolls up his sleeves above the elbows, the 
 Reader holding back the wide sleeves of his chasuble ; 
 dexterously seizing the babe, he plunges it Avith astonishing 
 rapidity into the water, completely immersing it three times, 
 with the words, "The servant of God, Alexis, is baptized in 
 
 ^ Michailoffsky. Compare Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 ' Michailoffsky. 
 
72 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 the Name of the Father, Amen. And of the Son, Amen. 
 And of the Holy Ghost, Amen." And it is at the mention 
 of the three Names that each immersion takes place.'' He 
 stops its ears with his thumb and little finger, its eyes with 
 the fourth and fore fingers of the right hand, and with his 
 palm he covers its mouth and nostrils ; with his left hand 
 he holds its body, and plunges it face downwards. It is 
 not every priest who has the knack of performing this difficult 
 task well. I have heard that little innocents have been known 
 (though this a rare occurrence) to be drowned at the very 
 moment they were made Christians ; T should suppose, how- 
 ever, that they must have been very weakly, perhaps in a 
 dying state, as a priest would hardly undertake the task 
 unless he felt himself competent. 
 
 The little Christian, gasping for breath, is laid face down- 
 wards in the arms of its godfather (if a girl of its godmother), 
 who already holds the dress before mentioned for the mother, 
 covered with the child's own wrappings. While the lady- 
 nurse and godmother are covering it up and arranging it 
 comfortably, the Priest washes his hands, by having the glass 
 of water poured over them, and wiping them on the towel 
 prepared, singing all the time the thirty-second Psalm, " Blessed 
 is he whose sins are covered," &c. He then puts on the cross, 
 with these words, "The servant of God, Alexis, is arrayed in the 
 garments of righteousness, in the Name," &c. ; while the Reader 
 intones " Grant me a white robe, O Thou who art clothed with 
 light as with a garment, most merciful Christ our God ! " The 
 baptized one is clad in a white garment, in token of the 
 spiritual purity he has just received by baptism, and in allusion 
 
 ' In cases of extreme sickness, sprinkling, or pouring of water, is 
 considered sufficient. 
 
Roman the Reader. 73 
 
 to the pureness of life which a Christian should observe. In 
 ancient times, when more adults than infants were baptized, 
 this white garment was worn for eight days following, pre- 
 serving beneath it the unction of holy oil. The cross is hung 
 on his neck in token that he must now fulfil the will and 
 commandments of the Crucified One, be ready to bear what- 
 ever cross He may please to send him, and to endure any 
 misfortune or persecution for His sake.^ 
 
 Immediately afterwards the Sacrament of Unction begins.2 ' 
 The idea seems to have taken its origin from the appearance 
 of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove, immediately after 
 the baptism of our Lord. " It is not sufficient," says the 
 learned Bishop Benjamin, in his Novy Skrijai, " for the new 
 believer to be immersed in water ; he must be baptized with 
 the Spirit also." And in order to give an outward and visible 
 sign of the inward and spiritual grace conferred by the 
 Apostolic " laying on of hands," the Greek Church chooses 
 the form of anointing with oil, many allusions being made 
 to that custom in the New Testament (see i John ii. 20, 
 and following verses; 2 Cor. i. 21, 22). The service begins 
 with the following prayer :— 
 
 " Blessed art Thou, O Lord God Almighty, the Fountain 
 of Goodness, the Sun of Righteousness, shining on such as 
 are in darkness with the light of salvation, by the coming 
 of Thy only-begotten Son our Lord ; and granting to us Thy 
 unworthy servants purification by holy water, and Divine 
 
 ^ As the cross might injure the infant's breast, especially when swaddled, 
 it is usually hung in the liulka where it sleeps, until it is old enough to 
 wear it as other Russians do, night and day. 
 
 2 " Q. In what does Unction consist ? 
 
 "A. The baptized person is anointed with oil, with the mysterious 
 words, 'The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Ghost.' " (Short Catechism.) 
 
74 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 sanctification by unction ; and who hast mercifully admitted 
 this Thy servant to regeneration by water and the Spirit, 
 and granted him remission of his voluntary ^ and involuntary 
 sins ; grant him, O Lord and merciful King, the seal of 
 the gift of Thy all-powerful and adorable Spirit — the com- 
 munion of Christ's holy body and blood. Preserve him in 
 Tliy holiness, strengthen him in the faith of the orthodox 
 Church, deliver him from the Evil One and all his snares, 
 and keep him by Thy saving fear in purity and righteousness 
 of spirit, that by every deed and word he may be acceptable 
 to Thee, and become Thy child and the heritor of Thy kingdom. 
 For Thou art our God, the God of mercy and salvation, and 
 to Thee be glory, to the Father, and to the Son," &c. 
 
 He then makes the sign of the cross with the feather 
 dipped in a tiny bottle of holy oil,^ on the brow, eyes, 
 nostrils, ears, lips, breast, hands and feet, each time with 
 the words, "The Seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost."^ The 
 
 1 This prayer was of course composed at a time when adult baptism was 
 more frequent than that of infants. 
 
 2 This oil has been prepared and blessed by the Metropolitan, and is 
 considered to convey the strengthening grace necessary for the continuation 
 of a truly Christian life. Unction occupies the place which confirmation 
 does in other Churches. 
 
 3 The anointing of the Russian Tzar, who for the second time in his life 
 is anointed with holy oil at his coronation, generally takes place at Moscow, 
 in the Cathedral of the Assumption. Immediately after the communion of 
 the clergy in the altar, the royal gates are opened, and two archbishops 
 approach the throne (of the Emperor), and announce to him that the time 
 for the ceremony of anointing and communion has come. The Emperor, 
 after delivering his sword to one of his courtiers, descends from his throne, 
 and proceeds in his imperial robes to the royal gates, where he delivers his 
 crown and regalia to attendants. The Metropolitan then anoints him vrith 
 holy oil (the same as that used at baptism.il unction) on the brow, eyes, 
 nostrils, lips, ears, breast, and hands, saying, ' The Seal of the gift of the 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 75 
 
 Priest, followed by the sponsors, still holding the child, now 
 walks round the font, chanting with the Deacon and Reader, 
 "As many of us as have been baptized into Christ have 
 put on Christ (Gal. iii. 27) : Hallelujah." The godmother 
 or godfather having taken the child, they again walk round 
 the font, with the same words ; the third time, if there be 
 two pairs of sponsors, one of the other pair take it. 
 
 Reader. — " The Lord is my light and my salvation," &c. 
 
 Then follows the Epistle, read by the Reader (Romans 
 vi. 3), "So many of us," &c., to "alive unto God through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord ; " and after a few sentences and 
 doxologies, the Gospel (St. Matt, xxviii. 16, to the end 
 of the chapter). 
 
 The Sacrament of Unction terminates with the Litany for 
 the Imperial Family, the baptized, and his sponsors. 
 
 The ceremony of shaving the hair ..used formerly to be 
 performed on the eighth day after baptism, when the shirt 
 was taken off. It begins with two prayers (though to the * 
 looker-on it would appear but the continuation of one long 
 service) ; after which the Priest takes a small wet sponge, 
 and wipes the places anointed, saying, " Thou art baptized, 
 
 Holy Ghost.' Immediately afterwards the Archbishop wipes the places 
 anointed with jeweller's cotton. The Emperor is now led by the Me- 
 tropolitan into the altar, where he receives the Holy Eucharist, but not as an 
 ordinary layman. As the Lord's anointed, and Head of the visible Church, 
 he receives it from the Metropolitan as the clergy Ao—in the Altar. 
 Having partaken of the wine and water and bread that is always eaten 
 after the sacrament, and washed his hands and lips, the Emperor returns 
 to his throne. The Liturgy then proceeds, and finally concludes with the 
 prayer for ' many years ' of health and happiness, after the singing of 
 which the Emperor places the crown on his head with his own hands, and 
 on conclusion of the whole ceremony leaves the cathedral with it still on his 
 head, and his sceptre and globe in his hand." (Michailoffsky. ) 
 
76 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 thou art sanctified, thou art anointed with oil, thou art purified, 
 thou art washed, in the Name of the Father," &c. 
 
 The Httle Christian, having nothing of its own to offer 
 to its Maker but the hair of its head, the first " sacrifice " 
 is made by shearing it.^ In ancient times servants were 
 shorn in token that they must fulfil the will of another : 
 thus the cutting of an infant's hair indicates that the newly- 
 made Christian should henceforth be servant to the will of 
 Christ, from whom he has just received so many gifts of 
 grace.'-' The hair is snipped off in four different places with 
 a small pair of scissors, thus forming a cross, the Priest 
 saying, " The servant of God, Alexis, is shorn in the Name," 
 &c. The godfather collects the morsels of down, and 
 pinching them up with a bit of wax from his taper, throws 
 it into the font ; this is done merely to insure that the hair 
 may, with the water, be thrown into a place where no 
 impurity can reach it, and no foot tread on it. ^ If the little 
 pellet sinks, it is considered a sign that the child will soon 
 die. This ceremony also concludes with the same litany 
 as that after unction. Altogether it takes about twenty 
 minutes or half an hour to perform. The whole party, headed 
 by the godfather with the child in his arms, proceed to the 
 parents, and, having congratulated them on the baptism of 
 their little darling, it is placed in its mother's arms. 
 
 "But happiest ye, who seaFd and blest 
 Back to your arms your treasure take, 
 With Jesus' mark impress'd 
 ^ To nurse for Jesus' sake." 
 
 The baby is taken by its happy mother into the nursery, 
 swaddled in* warm things, fed, and put to sleep; in nine 
 1 Bishop Benjamin. ^ Michailofrsky. ^ Ibid. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 77 
 
 cases out of ten it slumbers soundly for many hours, which 
 is considered a good sign. 
 
 The sponsors were still congratulating each other, and 
 Boris Andreitch, when Cleopatra Vasilievna appeared with 
 her beaming countenance, bearing a waiter full of brimming 
 champagne glasses. Fresh congratulations, kissings, and 
 clickings of glasses ensued ; while Romkn, collecting all the 
 canonicals, and the appurtenances to the Sacraments of Baptism 
 and Unction, tied them up in bundles, and tried to feel as 
 easy as he did in society when a layman. Cleopatra Vasilievna 
 came up to him, and bade him drink her grandson's health. 
 He suddenly recollected that he had come without a kopecka 
 in his pocket, and etiquette demands that those who drink 
 the baby's health should place a present for the lady-nurse 
 under the glass. ^ But there was nothing to be done ; blushing 
 like a girl, he drank off the glass, bowing far too elaborately 
 for a Reader, and placed it on the waiter Looking at her 
 steadily in the eyes, he said, " I did not know that champagne 
 is handed to a Reader!' 
 
 " A Reader ! You are not a Reader for your old friends ! 
 You'll be Roman Dmitrievitch for me until you're a pope, 
 and I don't intend to be Tnarried until you are ready to 
 crown me ! 
 
 The good-natured woman's simple heartiness restored his 
 equality of spirits, so that when Boris Andreitch saw him pre- 
 paring to take his departure, and begged him to stay to tea, 
 he consented without any awkwardness or mai/vaise honte. 
 Tea soon followed, and what is called a dessert, consisting 
 
 1 The sum in an officer's family varies from five or three roubles to fifty 
 kopeckas. 
 
 5 Perform the marriage ceremony. 
 
78 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 of preserves in glass vases, sweetmeats and dried fruits ; soon 
 after which the guests departed. 
 
 Such is the baptismal service of the Greco-Russian Church, 
 be it performed at home or in church ; in the latter instance 
 it generally presents a scene at once strange and amusing, 
 notwithstanding the solemnity of the occasion, especially if the 
 parish be a large one. Nearly everywhere in large country 
 towns the market takes place on Saturday, but it generally 
 extends to Sunday till noon, and the greatest concourse of 
 peasants is to be met with early on the Sabbath morning. 
 The opportunity of killing two birds with one stone, i. e. 
 getting the baby christened and going to market either to buy 
 or sell, brings sponsors almost exclusively on Sunday to town, 
 and after mass as many as forty or fifty infants are brought by 
 their baboushkas^ who seat themselves on a bench in the 
 church, near the western door, or, if space be wanting, on the 
 floor, while mass is going on. The cries of the babies and the 
 consolations offered by the baboushkas do not at all interfere 
 with the due celebration of mass, nor the preaching of the 
 sermon ; and on its conclusion, after all the private molebens 
 have been performed, a row of workmen's wives and country 
 women churched, and perhaps during the finishing of the 
 burial service over the corpse of some poor villager, the font 
 is brought out of its corner and placed in the middle of the 
 church before the royal gates. The Readers busy themselves 
 in arranging the sponsors in a three-quarters of a circle round 
 the font, an open space being left between it and the royal 
 gates, so that no one stands with their back towards them. 
 They stand in pairs, each with their particular godchild and its 
 baboushka behind them. One name for all the boys, who are 
 
 1 Monthly nurse, wise woman, she-doctor, of the peasants. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 79 
 
 placed on one side, and one for all the girls, who are on the 
 other, are selected from the Calendar, according to the date 
 of the Sunday, without any previous consultation with the 
 sponsors as to whether the baby has a brother or a sister of 
 the same name, and consequently it frequently happens that 
 there are several Johns, Peters, and Prascovias in one family. 
 A sharp sponsor or baboushka, however, takes care to inquire 
 what names are to be given, and begs, if they are already in 
 the family, that another may be substituted. 
 
 It is impossible to repress a smile when the blowing time 
 comes, to see the Priest moving from group to group, and puff- 
 ing, with pursed-up lips, on each infant's face ; one hundred 
 and twenty distinct times must he blow on the babies alone 
 (not to speak of the water and the devil), if there be but forty 
 children. The rapidity and dexterity with which the immer- 
 sions are performed, the exact similarity of expression in each 
 tiny face, and of the position of the arms on emerging from 
 the water, where it is held for one instant towards the east, is 
 also very striking. A healthy child always throws its head 
 back, gasping ; its eyes and mouth are open, its arms un- 
 consciously extended towards the east, and it cries loudly 
 immediately it gains its little breath. A weakly babe hangs 
 its head and limbs in silence, and lacks the almost intelligent 
 struggle that marks the vigorous infant. 
 
 In the event of a child's being born in a hopeless state, or 
 of its becoming ill so suddenly as to have no time for sending 
 for the Priest, the nurse or any one else may legally baptize it. 
 A pure vessel of water is procured, and the infant is immersed 
 with the same words as those used by the Priest. No sponsors 
 are required, and the child is not baptized a second time; the 
 Priest merely performs the Office of the Sacrament of Unction 
 
8o 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 over it, should it survive, and if it dies before that is done it 
 has a right to Christian burial. 
 
 Although, by an ukase of the year 1836, a boy cannot be 
 sponsor before he is fifteen, and a girl before she is thirteen 
 years old, the Russians are fond of having very young children 
 to stand for their babies — too young, sometimes, to be able 
 to repeat the Nicene Creed, and, of course, without the 
 slightest idea of the solemnity of their office. The Priest 
 certainly can justify himself by answering that the other 
 sponsor is of years of discretion (for by the rules of the 
 Church one sponsor only is required, viz. a man for a boy, 
 and a woman for a girl), and care is always taken that the 
 child-sponsor's companion be a grown-up person. 
 
 A husband and wife cannot stand together for one child. 
 Persons of any form of Christian religion may stand for 
 a Russian child, but with due regard to the rule that a boy 
 baby have an orthodox adult godfather, and a girl an orthodox 
 adult godmother. 
 
 Although one sponsor is required, and the generality of 
 Russian christenings present only one pair, viz. godfather 
 and mother, yet you may have as many pairs as you please ; 
 the names of those who received the child from the font, and 
 carried him round it, are written in the register, to the 
 exclusion of the others. 
 
 There is a popular belief among the lower orders that a 
 pair who were baptized at the same christening, " in one font," 
 i.e. in the same water, cannot lawfully marry, but this seems 
 to be without foundation. 
 
 In forty days, or thereabouts, after the child's birth, the 
 mother goes to be churched, and takes the baby with her to 
 be received visibly into Christ's Church, and to receive the 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 8i 
 
 Sacrament, as it is considered fully worthy to do so by the 
 obligation of its sponsors. When the royal gates are opened 
 during Mass, and the Deacon appears with the Cup in his 
 hand, the nurse, or a friend, approaches the steps ^ with the 
 infant, when the Priest comes forward, and putting a small 
 quantity of wine only, by means of the spoon used also at 
 adult communion, into the child's mouth, pronounces these 
 words : " The servant of God, Alexis, communicates in the 
 Name, &c." The Deacon wipes its lips with a silken napkin 
 provided for the purpose. 
 
 After the Liturgy the mother beckons to a Chorister or 
 Reader, and begs him to let the Priest know that she wishes 
 to be churched, and he soon appears in his cope, and with his 
 book, from which he reads a short form very similar to that of 
 the Church of England. He then takes the baby and presses 
 its little face to the silver-covered pictures that adorn the 
 altar-screen, praying, or rather ejaculating, aloud, " The 
 servant of God, Alexis, is admitted into the Church of Christ." 
 These words are repeated behind the altar-screen, and again 
 on issuing therefrom. A little girl is not taken behind the 
 screen, as no woman is allowed to pass the royal gates. The 
 benediction follows, and the Cross is presented to the mother, 
 who reverently kisses it ; it is also pressed to the lips of the 
 unconscious babe. A fee is of course paid. 
 
 After this ceremony she returns the ladies' visits. There are 
 no " kind inquiries," or " return thanks " in black and white. 
 Until she has been to church it is considered improper to 
 leave the house, except for exercise or to see relatives or sick 
 friends. 
 
 ^ The mother herself cannot present her child to Communion, nor may 
 she kiss the cross, until after the service of churching has been performed. 
 
 G 
 
 1 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ^EFORE attempting a sketch of the Consecration of a 
 Church, it is imperative to give a brief description of the 
 building itself. I do not intend to speak of the large and 
 magnificent cathedrals of the capitals and government towns, 
 but of the ordinary churches of the smaller towns and villages. 
 It must be remarked, however, that, strictly speaking, every 
 house of God intended for the form of worship called 
 Pravoslavife is built according to the following general plan. 
 
 The Russian churches are principally and professedly built 
 in the Byzantine style, but many seem to me to have no style 
 at all. They have a rather long body, with a cupola over the 
 east end, and the belfry at the west. Some churches have 
 several belfries built at the corners, and small ones have their 
 bells hung in a little tower on the top of the cupola. It is 
 these belfries and cupolas that lend a feature completely 
 Russian to the building. For the edification of some of 
 my readers I may as well remark that the form of these 
 cupolas resembles a Spanish onion, root upwards. Most of 
 thera are surmounted by a cross, and are frequently covered 
 with bright metallic plates that shine in the sun. 
 
 The church is divided into three parts, — the entrance, the 
 body of the church where the people stand, and the altar place. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 83 
 
 This is in imitation of the Temple of Solomon, which was also 
 divided into three distinct parts ; besides which, it has other 
 mystic meanings. There are no seats, and no possibility of 
 sitting down for the ordinary church-goer, however fatigued or 
 weak in health he may be ; unless, indeed, faintness compels 
 him to make himself the object of general observation by 
 resting on any projections or steps that may present themselves 
 to the sufferer. By making great friends with the beadles, I 
 have known ladies in bad health, who were unwilling to forego 
 the comfort of joining in the prayers of the Church, but who 
 were unable to stand during the long services, having been 
 accommodated with chairs behind the screens, where the 
 readers and singers stand ; but only in cases where the 
 choristers sang in the gallery or choir. There is no organ 
 in the Greco-Russian church, nor any instrumental music 
 permitted in it. 
 
 The body of the church, then, presents the appearance of a 
 vast empty hall, at the east end of which is an elevation of 
 two steps in height, extending the whole width of the building; 
 and at about two or three (or in large churches more) yards 
 distant from the top step, is what I will call the altar-screen ; 
 a slight wall, richly ornamented with pictures in silver, or 
 plated rizas — that is, they are completely covered with metallic 
 plates, chased and ornamented, which represent the clothing 
 (Scl. rizd) of the saints, and there are apertures left for the 
 face, hands, and feet of the painting to be visible ; before each 
 are candlesticks or suspended lamps of immense size, capable 
 of containing thirty or forty candles, which candles can be 
 purchased from the sexton at the entrance. In this screen, 
 which reaches to the roof of the building, are three doors. A 
 large double one, composed of open gilt carvings, with small 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 Roman the Readei^. 
 
 pictures introduced in them, is in the middle, and is called 
 " the royal gates ; " and on either side, a small one called 
 the Deacons' door. It is behind the screen that the Priest 
 stands during the Liturgy and other services ; at times the 
 royal gates are completely closed, and all possibility of the 
 congregation seeing what is being done precluded by the 
 drawing of a silken curtain (symbol : the veil of the Temple) 
 over the inner side thereof. The space behind the screen is 
 called the Altar, and it occupies about the eighth of the length 
 of the entire building. In it, immediately before the royal 
 gates, stands a square table, which is called the Throne, and 
 which is the altar in fact. On it are placed the Gospels, an 
 immense volume richly bound in velvet or in silver-gilt plates, 
 and ornamented with enamel medallions of the Saviour and 
 the Evangelists ; a gold or gilt cross for the congregation to 
 kiss, a sort of tiny catafalque with a little box in it for the 
 Holy Elements, and a silk handkerchief in which is carefully 
 wrapped the Antimins. 
 
 Beneath the Throne there is frequently a little box containing 
 a portion of relics, in allusion to the passage in Revelation 
 vi. 9. This, however, is only in cases when the Archbishop 
 himself consecrates the church in person, and not by deputy. 
 
 As I have before remarked, the Greco-Russian services are 
 full of allusions and simiHtudes, which often seem very far- 
 fetched, and in some instances rather incomprehensible. To 
 enumerate one-half, or one-hundredth part of them, would 
 weary my readers, and be a task of no small trouble to the 
 laborious and enterprising person who should undertake it. 
 But to impart an idea of these symbols, I will mention a 
 few of the inward and spiritual meanings of the last-named 
 appurtenance to the altar. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 85 
 
 And first, the table itself represents various incidents con- 
 nected with Jesus Christ; for instance, the Throne of the 
 Almighty, Christ being One with the Father — the Table of the 
 Last Supper — the Cross — the Sepulchre ; but I think attention 
 is drawn to it more in the last point of view than in the others. 
 It has several coverings : the first, a white linen one, called the 
 Sratchitza, is made in the form of a cross, the four ends 
 hanging down, and covering the legs of the Throne to the very 
 floor, and is in remembrance of the " linen clothes " left by 
 the Saviour in His tomb on Easter morn. Another covering, 
 of the same fashion as the Sratchitza, but made of some rich 
 material, is called the Inditia, and represents "the glory of 
 God." It is always as magnificent as means permit. The 
 third article is the Iliton ; it is the handkerchief before 
 mentioned, and reminds us of the " napkin " which bound the 
 head of our Lord, and which the Apostles Peter and John 
 found " wrapped in a place by itself." It is always in a folded 
 state, except at the time of the celebration of the Holy Sacra- 
 ment, when it is spread out on the Altar, with the Antimins 
 uppermost. 
 
 This Antimins, which is always kept wrapped up in the 
 Iliton, is a small piece of silk or linen material about fifteen 
 inches square, with a picture stamped on it, representing the 
 burial of Christ by Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Women. 
 At the four corners are the busts of the Evangelists. Above 
 and below is an inscription to the effect that it was in very 
 deed consecrated by the Archbishop of the diocese, and that 
 through it his blessing is conveyed to the whole building. 
 A minute portion of relics, anointed with holy oil, is secured 
 in a tiny bag or pocket, and sewn on that side of the Antimins 
 which is turned to the east. Without an Antimins no church 
 
86 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 in Russia can exist ; it cannot be consecrated without one, and 
 until it is consecrated, Mass, /. e. the celebration of the Holy 
 Sacrament, cannot be performed. 
 
 A church ought to be consecrated by the Vladika himself ; 
 but as the immense distances of Russia render this frequently 
 almost impossible, this plan of consecrating the Antimins 
 empowers the Blagotchiny of a district to consecrate new 
 churches in his own particular blagotchinie. 
 
 Besides the Throne, there is another table in the altar, at 
 the north side, called the Altar of Sacrifice, on which are the 
 Holy Vessels, as they are called, and several other utensils, 
 which are unknown in the Anglican Church : for instance, the 
 Spear (in remembrance of that which pierced the Saviour's 
 side), used for cutting out little triangular morsels of bread for 
 the Sacrament ; the Star, which forms a sort of covering to 
 the plate ; the Spoon for administering the Sacrament ; and 
 other things. Besides these, to the extreme east wall is 
 placed a chair, on which the Vladika alone can sit ; on either 
 side of it are, or are supposed to be, seats for twelve Priests — 
 in allusion to the twelve Apostles. 
 
 The Priests put on their canonicals in the altar ; but the 
 various garments, suitable for occasions of joy or woe, are 
 kept in a vestry in the entrance, and brought by the Sacristan 
 into the altar. 
 
 The greater part of the Liturgy is performed by the Priest 
 in the altar, and one does not hear much that he says ; the 
 Deacon stands principally before the royal gates, with his 
 back to the congregation. But there is so much movement in 
 all the Greco-Russian services, that to denote the exact plan of 
 their performance is almost impossible. Infants are anointed 
 and baptized in the body of the church, facing the royal 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 87 
 
 gates (the font is moveable, and is brought from the corner 
 where it usually stands) ; the Sacrament is administered at the 
 steps leading to the altar; Confession is performed in some 
 private and remote corner of the building, face to face with 
 the Priest. There are no confessionals. The Ordination of 
 Priests takes place in the altar ; Marriage is celebrated in the 
 body of the church, with the royal gates open all the time ; 
 and the Burial Service chanted in the same place, the deceased 
 lying with his head to the west, his feet to the east, and 
 his face uncovered, — except Priests, who are entirely hidden 
 from view. 
 
 Romkn had taken an intense interest in all that concerned 
 St. Nicholas' Church, from the time he was made collector of 
 the funds ; and it increased to positive affection for the 
 building as it approached its completion. And it was one ot 
 those churches that seem to win, by a secret charm, a greater 
 congregation than others ; its picturesque situation, the rippHng 
 rivulet that flowed from beneath the vaulted foundation of its 
 altar, its remarkably sonorous and cheerful-toned bells, and the 
 elegant and well-ordered adornments of its interior, combined 
 to make it most attractive ; besides which, the Priest in whose 
 town-district it happened to be was a favourite ; and the 
 Protopope was half pleased, half jealous of the throngs 
 that assembled when " hours " and an acathistus were chanted 
 there. 
 
 Offerings poured in from all sides ; a rich merchant pre- 
 sented an elegant inditia ; another, who had derived benefit, as 
 he supposed, from the water of the spring when afflicted with 
 inflamed eyes, gave the cup and plate ; a former governor of the 
 
 government of Q , who had recovered from a severe illness 
 
 at Boogorki, had sent the bells from Slobodskoy. The ladies 
 
88 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 contributed various embroideries ; and even the pupils of the 
 artisans' girls' school sent in their mite in different articles of 
 needlework necessary for the rites of their Church. During 
 the three weeks that elapsed between Romkn's return from the 
 Government town and the eventful day, he and his choir sang 
 themselves almost hoarse in preparation for it. On the eve 
 there were night-matins, and everything was prepared for the 
 morrow's ceremony. 
 
 By seven o'clock the next morning the church began to fill. 
 Nothing like tickets existed, nor was permission asked ; it was 
 open to all comers — that is, to all who could get in. The 
 stanovoy, the peace-mediator,^ and the " head " or peasant- 
 representative of the law for the workmen — a respectable and, it 
 would seem, too mild a man for his office — had hard work to 
 maintain order; everybody wanted the best place, and the 
 best place was the altar, which from the first had been crowded 
 to the utmost with ladies, to whom it was open for the last 
 time, and who were anxious to avail themselves of the 
 opportunity. 
 
 The Antimins, placed on the Plate and covered with the 
 Star and a little piece of embroidery called the Veil, lay on a 
 little reading-desk to the right-hand side of the royal gates, 
 opposite the picture of Christ. On a large table in the 
 middle of the church were the Cross, the Holy Oil, the 
 coverings for the Altar-Throne, and all the sacred vessels for 
 the Altar of Sacrifice, with a similar Inditia to that for the 
 Throne. An immense candle in an immense candlestick stood 
 at each corner of the table. 
 
 1 Mirovoy posrednik ; a new authority, established at the time of the 
 Liberation. He is supposed to be the go-between of the nobles and the 
 peasants. 
 
Rojnan the Reader. 
 
 89 
 
 The first thing each Priest does on coming into the 
 Altar of the Church about to be consecrated, is to dress 
 himself, or rather to suffer himself to be dressed by the 
 Sacristan (generally one of the Readers), in his full ca- 
 nonicals, five in number, which are as follow (each article 
 is kissed and signed with the Cross before the wearer puts 
 it on) : — 
 
 First, the alb, a sort of frock with loose sleeves ; donned 
 with these words : " My soul doth magnify the Lord, who 
 clotheth me in the garment of Salvation." 
 
 Secondly, the cuffs. The right-hand one is laced with these 
 words : " The right hand of the Lord hath the pre-eminence : 
 the right hand of the Lord bringeth mighty things to pass;" 
 the left one with — " Thy hands have made me and fashioned 
 me : O give me understanding, that I may learn Thy com- 
 mandments."' 
 
 Thirdly, the belt. " Blessed be the Lord, who girdeth me 
 with strength, and maketh my path undefiled." 
 
 Fourthly, the stole. " Blessed be God, who hath poured 
 His grace on His priests." 
 
 Fifthly, the chasuble, or upper garment. " Thy priests, O 
 Lord, are decked with health, and Thy saints shall rejoice 
 and sing." 
 
 There is also a sixth article, called the Epigonation, which is 
 bestowed for long and faithful service, and consequently is not 
 worn by the younger Priests. It is of no use, apparently, 
 being merely a square stiff thing made of brocade, about nine 
 inches long and six broad : it is trimmed with gold fringe, and 
 with an embroidered cross in the middle ; strings are sewn to 
 the upper corners, and secure it to the shoulder of the wearer. 
 The ejaculation used when this is put on is, " Gird Thee with 
 
90 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Thou most Mighty ! " It 
 dangles at the side. 
 
 The Russian name for the Epigonation signifies something 
 worn on the thigh. 
 
 On the occasion of a Consecration, the Priests put on a long 
 apron of peculiar fashion, made of white calico, and long wide 
 sleeves of the same material, fastened with running tapes 
 at the wrist and above the elbow : this is to protect their 
 canonicals from injury during the ensuing operations. 
 
 When all the Priests are assembled and vested, they leave 
 the altar by the left-hand Deacons' door, and proceed to the 
 table in the body of the church. Each holds a lighted candle 
 in his hand, and so do the Deacons, Readers, and congrega- 
 tion. The Protopope, who in this case performed the part of 
 the Archbishop, began the service by chanting the molbben 
 for Lammas Day, followed by the benediction of the Water ; 
 which done, he and the other Priests, eight in number, carried 
 the table with all the things on it, through the royal gates, 
 which till then had been closed, into the altar. 
 
 Now they begin to wash the Throne ; sprinkling it plentifully 
 with holy water, and rubbing it with soap and sponges.^ Not 
 a fibre of the wood is left unwashed ; within, without, under- 
 neath, and round about, they rub, splash, and wipe dry. After 
 this, four large nails are driven into the comers, with stones, 
 thus fastening the thick top of the table to its legs ; and 
 the holes made for the heads of the nails are filled up with 
 voskomastica, a mixture of wax, mastic, incense, and powdered 
 marble, melted together. This is in remembrance of the 
 
 1 These are sent in great quantities by religious families, and are re- 
 claimed after the ceremony : they are supposed to be beneficial in sickness. 
 The candle end that remains is carefully kept as a remedy for toothache. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 91 
 
 "spices and ointments" that the holy women prepared for the 
 Body of Jesus. The superfluous voskomastica is scraped away 
 with knives prepared for the purpose. Perfumes are then 
 poured on the table, mingled with holy water, and wiped 
 away ; also red wine, in the form of a cross ; after which 
 the wood is rubbed as perfectly dry as is possible. 
 
 The chanting of the i4Sth, 23d, and 84th Psalms, by the 
 choir, accompanies these ablutions. 
 
 They then take the Sratchitza, sprinkle it with holy water, 
 and put it on the Throne, tying it extremely smooth and tight 
 by a thick cotton cord, bound three times round the table in a 
 dent made for the purpose in the thick board : this is covered 
 with the Inditia, while the choir sings the 93d Psalm. 
 
 The ladies are now requested to leave the altar ; and the 
 Holy Gospels, the Cross, and the other things before mentioned 
 are removed from the table to the Throne, each being pre- 
 viously sprinkled with holy water, and carefully wiped. 
 
 The same washing, driving the nails, and filling in the dents 
 is repeated with the Altar of Sacrifice, the covering put on it, 
 the Holy Vessels placed there, and covered with a brocade 
 cloth. The sprinkling of the walls and floors of the altar 
 follows ; which when done, the High Priest says — 
 
 " Let us depart in peace ! " 
 
 The junior Priests take the Holy Water, the Gospels, the 
 Cross, &c. The readers, sextons, and beadles, and the more 
 devout of the people, take the church banners and the principal 
 pictures. The High Priest, having waved incense towards the 
 Antimins, takes it reverently in both hands, plate and all 
 (having delivered the censer to the Deacon), and holding it on 
 his head, moves forward towards the west door, forming the 
 head of the procession. The second Priest sprinkles the wall 
 
92 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 and the people as they go round the church, the choir singing 
 all the time this Tropar : — 
 
 "On the rock of Faith, O Holy Lord, is Thy Church 
 founded, in which our prayers are offered to Thee. Receive 
 Thy people, who cry to Thee in faith ! Save us, O Lord our 
 God ! save us ! 
 
 " Glory to Thee, O Christ our Lord, the praise of the 
 Apostles and the joy of Thy Martyrs ! By them wert Thou 
 confessed in the Holy Trinity ! " 
 
 When they get round to the west door again, they stop in 
 the entrance, with their faces towards the door, which is shut. 
 Half of the choristers have remained inside, and are stationed 
 near the door. 
 
 High Priest. " Blessed be Christ our God, always, now, 
 henceforth, and for ever ! " 
 
 Choir (inside the church). " Amen." 
 
 High Priest. " Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift 
 up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." 
 
 Choir (in the church). " Who is the King of glory ? " 
 
 (These quotations from the 24th Psalm are repeated three 
 times.) 
 
 Deacon. " Let us pray to the Lord ! " 
 
 All the Choristers. " Lord, have mercy upon us ! " 
 
 Then the High Priest reads, still in the entrance, a long and 
 beautiful prayer ; which is succeeded by a shorter one, called 
 the Entrance Prayer : — 
 
 " O Lord God our Governor, who had ordained estates in 
 heaven, and hosts of Angels and Archangels to serve Thy 
 glory, grant that our entrance may be like unto the entrance of 
 Holy Angels, who with us serve Thee, and with us praise Thy 
 Goodness ! 
 
Roman the Reader. 93 
 
 " For it is very meet to give Thee all praise and honour and 
 worship ; to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy 
 Ghost ; now, henceforth, and for ever." 
 
 All the Choristers. " Amen." 
 
 High Priest. "The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of 
 glory ! " 
 
 Choir (in the church). "The Lord of Hosts, He is the 
 King of glory ! " 
 (Also repeated three times.) 
 
 The door is then opened, and the procession enters and 
 proceeds again to the altar through the royal gates. Here 
 the High Priest places the Antimins on the Throne, and lays 
 on it the Holy Gospels, and having waved incense says another 
 prayer, in a loud voice, he and all the clergy and congregation 
 on their knees. He then takes the Cross, and standing before 
 the royal gates at the top of the steps, with his face towards 
 the people, signs with it three times on the east, south, west, 
 and north ; the Deacon waving the censer all the time, and 
 the choir singing, " Lord, have mercy upon us," each time that 
 the High Priest signs. 
 
 The kissing of the Cross immediately follows, first by the 
 clergy, and then by as many of the people as can make their 
 way to the steps. Another Priest stands by the one who holds 
 the Cross, and sprinkles each one as he kisses the Cross, a 
 Deacon or Reader holding the vessel of holy water. 
 
 The Consecration was immediately followed by Mass ; and 
 the Priest whose district it was preached a short sermon, simple 
 and very much to the purpose. Among other things, he 
 invited the congregation to Confession, to the Table of the 
 Lord, to bring their children to be baptized and be married. 
 He did not, however, allude to the possibility of performing 
 
94 
 
 Roman the Reader, 
 
 requiems or the burial service in that bright cheerful House of 
 God — why sadden that joyful day? One of the choristers, a 
 wag in his way, nudged Romkn, and called his attention to the 
 omission : he got nothing but contemptuous silence for an 
 answer ; but Romkn could not help thinking, who would be the 
 first to be buried or married here ? 
 
 Nearly six hours' service fatigued both priests and people. 
 At two o'clock the merchant who had given the Inditia enter- 
 tained the clergy at a handsome dinner ; but it had scarcely 
 come to a conclusion when the sweet bell of St. Nicholas 
 announced that it was time for vespers ; and Father Peregrin 
 and Romkn left the scene of festivity to perform them. For a 
 whole week the Antimins lay unfolded on the Throne, and every 
 day full service. Matins, Mass, and Evensong, were performed ; 
 and each with the assistance of Romh.n. 
 
 The brief lovely summer of Russia in those latitudes had 
 arrived. Under Father Ivan's directions, Romkn was pre- 
 paring with feverish ardour for Deacon's Orders. He was 
 beginning to think, too, that he must seek for a wife, but at 
 present he had not met with anybody likely to suit him : the 
 wife he wanted would indeed have been a wonder — should he 
 eventually find her. He required her to be pious, wise, kind, 
 industrious, aff"ectionate, and lively; something of a scholar 
 too, a good housewife, and an agreeable hostess ; sufficiently 
 well-looking to excite his own admiration, and a neat dresser ! 
 
 He had not seen his mother since he had been ordained, 
 and a letter from Nadia informed him that she had been ill, and 
 that she wished extremely to see her son. He obtained 
 permission to leave Boogorki for a week ; and as he had but 
 very little cash, he set out on foot. He had heard of a very 
 charming Deacon's daughter at a village a litde out of the 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 95 
 
 road to Elenovka, and he contrived to get a commission to her 
 father from one of his brother Readers, who was related to the 
 Deacon in question, by way of introduction. 
 
 He arrived at the village purposely late in the evening ; and 
 having refreshed himself with a good night's rest in the hay- 
 loft of the peasant at whose house he supped, he made himself 
 as beautiful as his costume permitted, and presented himself at 
 the Deacon's house. The young girl was not at home ! She 
 had gone with her mother at an early hour into the fields to 
 pull up the flax. 
 
 What was to be done ? He was rather disappointed, but at 
 any rate he had become acquainted with the tyatinka, which 
 was half the battle. 
 
 It was one of those burning hot days in July which have no 
 parallel in Great Britain. The early morning was hot enough, 
 but from noon to six o'clock it was overpowering, especially 
 in the open country — in fields of rye just ready for harvest, 
 barley, and buckwheat. Romkn was thankful when, at about 
 one o'clock, he reached a small and almost deserted hamlet, 
 all the able-bodied inhabitants of which were occupied in the 
 fields. With some difficulty he found an old woman, left in 
 charge of a whole generation of little grandchildren, whom he 
 persuaded to give him a meal ; after which he lay down in a 
 comparatively cool comer, and fell into a heavy sleep. It was 
 still a burning glowing afternoon -when he awoke, undecided 
 whether he was the better for the nap or not ; but he knew 
 that he had still about twenty-two versts before him, and there 
 was nothing to be done but to push forwards ; so he bathed 
 his heavy head with some cool well-water, which he drew for 
 himself, besides several pairs of buckets for his hostess, and 
 set forth again on his journey. 
 
96 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 The road became more and more familiar to him, and his 
 heart was full of joy and peace as he trudged along, recog- 
 nising now a bridge, now a distant hamlet, now the hay-stack 
 of a neighbour at Elenovka — all of which served as it were as 
 landmarks, and showed him the distance he had still to travel. 
 Instead of its becoming cooler towards evening, the air seemed 
 to get more and more oppressive, dark clouds appeared in the 
 distance, and rumblings — Romkn could hardly decide whether 
 of thunder or of somebody passing over a wooden bridge in a 
 country cart — began to be heard. He did not care being 
 wetted to the skin if the rain should come — indeed, he rather 
 fancied the idea of such a shower-bath ; meanwhile, the still- 
 ness that precedes a violent thunder-storm became overpower- 
 ingly oppressive, and the rumblings increased to claps, preceded 
 by vivid flashes of lightning, and accompanied by a violent 
 hot wind. Roman redoubled his pace ; it was now nearly five 
 hours since he had partaken of his very frugal meal of chopped 
 onions and kvass, with black bread, at the deserted hamlet ; 
 and he began to muse on creature comforts at his mother's 
 house — of a swim in the river, and of a quiet tete-a-tete with 
 Nadinka at the open window, when the Deaconess should 
 have gone to bed. 
 
 " Lord, have mercy upon me ! " he exclaimed, crossing 
 himself, as a blinding flash flew past him, followed instan- 
 taneously by a deafening peal of thunder. He was passing 
 through a field of buckwheat in full flower, the pretty pink 
 and white blossoms showing like snow in harvest-time. He 
 looked around him for something approaching to shelter, but 
 the vast plain was bounded on all sides by distant forests of 
 various aspects, and only here and there a solitary tree relieved 
 the flatness of the scene ; his heart beat high, and a chill of 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 97 
 
 alarm ran through his veins. During a momentary cessation 
 of the thunder, the church bells of Elenovka were distinctly 
 heard, wafted by a dusty gust of wind : their sound rejoiced 
 and calmed the traveller. 
 
 " The angel of the Lord tarrieth about them that fear 
 Him ! " he said aloud, as his trembling hand made " the sign 
 of man's redemption " over his pallid face and heaving breast ; 
 but before it had made the last movement over his heart, that 
 heart beat for the last time. . . . Romkn fell to the ground, 
 struck dead by lightning. 
 
 " By the Grace of God ! " 
 
 * V'r * O % # 
 
 " Lord, have mercy on our sins ! Ah, thou most holy 
 Queen of Heaven ! merciful Micholai ! ^ Here's a sin, a sin ! 
 Lord, teach me what to do ! Batioushka ! Romkn Dmitri^- 
 vitch ! " cried the Elenovka miller, who was the first to pass by 
 after that flash. An abundant and refreshing rain had fallen, 
 and the sun was again shining in gentle splendour on the 
 delicate flowers of the buckwheat, and sparkling in the drops 
 that lay in their tiny cups. Romkn was lying a step or two 
 from a sharp turn in the road, and the buckwheat was 
 sufficiently high to conceal him from the miller's view until 
 his horse suddenly pulled up, and by so doing nearly threw 
 his master out of the cart. The bells of Elenovka, clearly 
 heard in the fresh still air, announced that service had begun ; 
 it was the second peal of night-matins, the next day being 
 the great Russian Feast of St. Elijah. 
 
 The miller stood for a few moments undecided what to do. 
 His knowledge of law was not very extensive, and the Russian 
 has an aversion to corpses in general, which increases to 
 * The peasants frequently pronounce Nicholai " Micholai." 
 H 
 
98 
 
 Roman the Reader'. 
 
 positive horror when death has been violent or accidental. 
 Besides, the law forbids the removal of a body from the place 
 where it was found until the authorities have viewed it, and 
 held a sort of inquest on it ; yet, to leave poor Romkn's 
 remains in the very middle of a well-frequented road, and by 
 such a turn that passengers from Elenovka could not see it 
 until they were within a step or two of it, was awkward, and 
 might occasion frights and misfortunes, especially to passers-by 
 in country carts ; not to speak of the disfigurement that might 
 ensue to the body. His mother-wit came to his rescue, and 
 suggested covering the corpse with the wicker body of the cart, 
 which would protect it in a measure without compelling him to 
 touch it. The worthy miller's hands trembled so that he could 
 hardly untie the knots of cordage which secured the basket to 
 the wheel part of the cart, and he was in a sad state of mud 
 on rising from his back and knees after the operation. Having 
 performed his pious task with many ejaculations of horror, pity, 
 and self preservation, he seated himself on the telega,'^ and, 
 turning his horse's head towards Elenovka again, drove with 
 his utmost speed homewards. 
 
 On his arrival at the village, the Evening Service was still 
 going on. He drove straight to the stanovoy's house, and was 
 told that both Ignaty Silvestrovitch and Tatiana Alexandrovna 
 were at church ; but considering the urgency of the case, he 
 resolved to call the former out quietly. 
 
 " I'll go myself," he said to the cook. 
 
 "Are you out of your mind, Micah Maxim ovitch ? " ex- 
 claimed she. " Only look at yourself ; are you fit to enter the 
 temple of the Lord? What is the matter?" she asked, look- 
 
 ' The wheel part of a couiitiy cart. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 99 
 
 ing into his face, and observing his scared appearance for the 
 first time. " What has happened ? " 
 
 " A sin, a sin, Matrionoushka ! The Lord was pleased for 
 me to find it out. There is nothing to be done. I must see 
 Ignaty Sylvestrovitch immediately, or I may answer for it!" 
 and he moved towards the kitchen door. 
 
 " Well, stop ! I'll run for him," said the cook ; " only tell 
 me, what is it ? " 
 
 "A body, a human body !" whispered the miller, not feel- 
 ing certain that he was acting quite lawfully in telling anybody 
 before the stanovoy. " And I suppose that death was caused 
 by the Grace of God." ^ 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " cried Matriona ; " it was an awful storm ! Akh 
 ti Gospodi ! and whose body is it, my rodimoy ? " 
 
 " That's not your business, Baba ! " was the sharp repl}- ; 
 " go for Ignaty Sylvestrovitch, or I must go myself" 
 
 " Directly, directly — this moment, rodimoy," cried the cook, 
 as she threw a shawl over her head and hurried out of the house. 
 
 The woman had the sense not to make her way through the 
 throng to her master, who stood near the altar-steps ; she told 
 her errand to the sexton, who was stationed near the west 
 door at his little table, with wax tapers for sale ; and he quietly 
 delivered her message to the stanovoy, who immediately 
 followed him, to the astonishment of the congregation, and to 
 their no small curiosity. 
 
 "What is the matter?" he asked of the cook, who still stood 
 at the sexton's table. 
 
 ^ This expression is applied to deaths and fires, or any misfortune caused 
 by lightning. 
 
 ^ Relative — a term of civility or kindness applied alike to kindred or 
 strangers. 
 
 H 2 
 
lOO 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 " Micah Maximovitch has come to our house, all over dirt, 
 Master; and he has found a dead body, somewhere — by the 
 Grace of God, he says. Master ; so — — " 
 
 " Hold your tongue, woman, in God's House," said the 
 stanovoy ; " be off with you. I'll come direcdy." 
 
 One or two pious worshippers who stood near heard what 
 Matriona had said, and in a few minutes the whole congrega- 
 tion knew it — that is to say, the last person was informed that 
 Micah Maximovitch had been killed by lightning, and that the 
 cook had discovered his body. 
 
 The stanovoy, with the indifference' and business-manner 
 characteristic of all stanovoys, immediately set about the 
 formalities. He was originally a Cavalerist, but had lost an 
 arm in tlie Hungarian campaign, which, however, did not 
 prevent his riding on horseback on every possible occasion. 
 He ordered his steed to be speedily saddled, and rode to 
 the spot. There having glanced at the pale calm face, in 
 the first twilight of setting sun and rising moon, he again 
 mounted his horse, and, after a moment's reflection, gave a 
 few necessary orders to the underlings who had accompanied 
 him, and rode forward to town. 
 
 In less than three hours he had reached the doctor's 
 residence. That functionary had already gone to bed ; but 
 he instantly rose on hearing who had come, ordered refresh- 
 ments to be served, while his horses were being put to ; 
 and in half an hour's time, the friends, for such they were, 
 were seated in a commodious wicker equipage, and on the 
 Elenovka road. 
 
 A guard in the meantime had been placed over the body, 
 consisting of three timid peasants, who regaled each other 
 the whole night with tales of horror adapted to the occasion. 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 lOI 
 
 They had the effect, however, of keeping the narrators and 
 hearers awake during the brief July night, and others came 
 to reheve them soon after midnight ; curiosity overcame fear, 
 and the first party vokmtarily stayed until Ignaty Sylvestrovitch 
 returned with the doctor at about three o'clock. They were 
 much surprised to see them so soon ; for in general doctors 
 and stanovoys assemble for an inquest without the slight- 
 est regard to the season of the year, and it is no un- 
 common thing to hear of villagers who have died suddenly, 
 or in a suspicious manner, being kept in the ice-cellar for 
 many days — sometimes more than a week or a fortnight — 
 while one or the other of the necessary authorities is being 
 waited for, before whose decision no Priest dares perform the 
 Burial Service. A glance was sufficient for the medical 
 man to decide at once that lightning had caused Roman's 
 death. 
 
 The steel walking-stick that his landlord had given him 
 some two and a half years ago, and which had been his 
 constant attendant on all his rambles, was the fatal instrument. 
 He carried it over his shoulder, with a little parcel of books 
 that the father of the charming daughter had asked him to 
 take for Father Petre. His better coat, a change or two of 
 linen, and a piece of cotton print which he had bought on 
 credit for a dress for his sister, were tied up in a bag and 
 strapped to his shoulders like a knapsack. 
 
 All the formalities having been observed, the doctor and 
 stanovoy proceeded to Elenovka to commit them to paper ; 
 and Romkn was laid on a cart, covered with matting, and 
 slowly conveyed to his native village. 
 
 It was still early morning ; and, strange to say, the people 
 whom it most concerned were ignorant of the misfortune that 
 
I02 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 had befallen them; for Ignaty Sylvestrovitch had threatened 
 any one with the utmost rigours of the law who should 
 communicate the report to Pavla Lavrentievna -before his 
 return to Elenovka. Nadinka, it is true, had heard at church 
 that some one had been killed by lightning, and she repeated 
 it to her mother ; but it seems to be the peculiarity attendant 
 on all accidents and mishaps, that the recipients are generally 
 the last persons to think of its happening to them in particular ; 
 and so it was in this instance. One would have thought 
 that as Pavla Lavrentievna — now quite recovered — was ex- 
 pecting her son every hour, she would have been full of 
 solicitude and maternal misery ; would have rushed to the 
 place where the accident had happened, to make sure that 
 Romkn was not the victim. She did however think of him, 
 for she said — supposing he would come straight from Boo- 
 gorki, and not knowing of his intention to pass through the 
 village where the Deacon's daughter resided — 
 
 " Well, the kingdom of Heaven be his ! And thank God 
 that it is not our Romknoushka ! " 
 
 She was still asleep ; but Nadia was up already, and busy 
 milking the cow in the grass-grown yard, when the stanovoy 
 knocked at the wicket-gate with his whip, which he instinc- 
 tively held in his hand, although he had left his horse at 
 town in the doctor's stable, and great was her surprise on 
 opening it to see him at so unusual a time. She murmured 
 an apology for her house-working attire, and asked him into 
 the house ; but he waved his only hand, and made a gesture 
 of silence as he said — 
 
 " Where's Pavla Lavrentievna ? " 
 
 " She's asleep still — that is — LIl go and see " 
 
 "Sh— sh— sh ! no! hold your tongue, Nadinka — Nadejda 
 
Roman the Reader. 103 
 
 Dmitrievna," he added, correcting himself, " let her sleep. 
 Did you hear nothing last night? were you at church? I 
 have just come from the inquest." 
 
 "Somebody was killed by lightning, they said," answered 
 Nadinka, with pity in her voice and inquiry in her eyes. 
 "Is it true, then ? " 
 
 "Yes, too true, Nadejda Dmitrievna. My dear girl, how 
 grieved I am for your mother and you ! But what is to be 
 done ? Such is the will of God ! " 
 
 She could not bring herself to understand him quite, but 
 answered, " Exactly so, Ignaty Sylvestrovitch," and looked 
 still more inquiringly into his face. 
 
 "There was nothing to be done. I looked at him last 
 night at about nine o'clock, and knew then that the doctor 
 could not be of any use ; but I rode on to town for him, 
 and we have just finished the inquest. They will be here 
 soon. Listen, listen, Nadejda Dmitrievna I " he exclaimed 
 with great concern, kneeling down by her side and trying 
 to raise her — for at his last words she had fallen to the 
 ground, and was weeping aloud, according to the Russian 
 custom — " for God's sake don't make a noise ! we must tell 
 your mother, you know." But she continued her lamentations 
 so loudly, that ere he had raised himself from his knees, 
 several neighbours had come to see what was the matter. 
 
 "Is it possible, your Nobility," said a tall thin woman 
 with a baby in her arms, "that it really is Romkn Dmitri e'vitch ? 
 Is it possible ? " 
 
 " More's the pity, more's the pity, Kyprianovna ! How 
 shall we break it to the Deaconess? In ten minutes or so 
 they will have arrived with the deceased." 
 
 Kyprianovna offered to do it herself ; and, like most persons 
 
I04 Roman the Reader. 
 
 of her class, was rather pleased than otherwise that the task 
 had devolved on her. The other women were trying to 
 console Nadinka, but without the slightest success. Ignaty 
 Sylvestrovitch was about to enter the house, when Pavla 
 Lavrentievna rushed out, and with a screaming flood of tears 
 made her way through the little crowd of sympathisers, and, 
 followed by several of them, ran to meet the approaching 
 throng. The rest stayed with Nadia, who, having exhausted, 
 herself in a very short time, fell from one fainting fit into 
 another, frightening Ignaty Sylvestrovitch so much that he 
 sent for his wife ; and by the time she arrived, with Various 
 remedies in her little basket, the yard and house were so 
 thronged with sympathising or inquisitive people, that she 
 had some difficulty in reaching the room where Nadia, as 
 pale as Rom^n himself, and perfectly senseless, lay stretched 
 on her mother's yet warm bed. 
 
 Father Petre was already there, very distressed and tearful ; 
 the new Deacon, and the two Readers. Two old men were 
 drawing water from the well in the street, and otherwise 
 making preparations for their melancholy duties. Half an 
 hour afterwards, Romkn lay on the table in his canonical 
 garment brought from the church ; and Father Petre, in a 
 voice choked by the heart-breaking tears of old age, performed 
 his first requiem. 
 
 But above all the voices of the assembled multitude, and 
 those of the Priest, Deacon, and Readers, might be heard 
 Pavla Lavrentievna's cry- — " Oh, what will become of me ? 
 Who will feed me now?" 
 
 And Nadinka passed from the fifth faint to the sixth ; 
 her sweet attendant standing by her and doing all she could 
 to bring her to consciousness, and aided in her pious work 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 by her husband's clerk, a retired sergeant major, Andro- 
 nitch. 
 
 Romkn was laid by his father's side in the churchyard 
 at Elenovka. Father Ivan, grieved and shocked to the depths 
 of his hot but loving heart, came to the funeral. On his 
 return to Boogorki he ordered a handsome wooden cross 
 for Roman's grave, and on the ninth day performed a requiem. 
 It so happened that Father Peregrin had gone to a distant 
 town to be present at his son's wedding, and Father Ivan 
 did duty for him at St. Nicholas'. It was the first requiem 
 that had been sung there. 
 
 By the fortieth day the cross was brought from Boogorki, 
 and placed over the green grave. On it was this inscription 
 in Sclavonic ; it was in golden letters on an ultramarine 
 ground : — 
 
 Here rests the Body of the Reader, 
 ROMAN DMITRIEVITCH GIDEONOFF, 
 Who was born November 17TH, 1842, 
 And ended his Life, by the Grace of God, 
 July 19TH, 1864. 
 
 " S^Ijg #racc is sufficient for me." 
 
 A week or two after the fortieth day, with all its observances 
 and tears, had been duly celebrated. Tatiana Alexandrovna 
 was sitting in the arbour for the last time, as she supposed. 
 
io6 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 that summer, and was cutting the leaves of the new journals 
 she had just received, while her children played in the 
 garden. A brisk step caused her to raise her eyes from 
 the book that lay on her knees, and before her she beheld 
 Andronitch, standing as stiff and as straight as a post, with 
 his arms pressed to his sides in strict military style. 
 
 " Zdravie jalayou,^ Sudarina ! " he exclaimed, as her eyes 
 rested on him. 
 
 "Good-day, Feodoroff," replied Tatiana Alexandrovna ; 
 " what is your errand ? " 
 
 " To your mercy, Sudarina ! Matoushka, Tatiana Alexan- 
 drovna — about an affair, that is, of my own ; with your 
 permission ! " 
 
 "Well, what is it?" 
 
 " I take the liberty of informing you that I have a wish 
 to enter into lawful matrimony." 
 
 " Ah ! well, I am glad to hear it," said she. " ' It is not 
 good for man to be alone,' you know. And who is the 
 bride ? " 
 
 " That's the thing, Sudarina ! You see, there is no bride 
 at present ; that is, I have made up my mind as far as I 
 am concerned ; but their ^ female parent, Sudarina, will not 
 
 give their consent. So I thought " And honest Andronitch, 
 
 in great confusion and a profuse perspiration, suddenly became 
 silent. 
 
 " So you want my advice, I suppose," said Tatiana 
 Alexandrovna ; " but you must understand that I can't at- 
 tempt to give it unless you tell me all the circumstances." 
 
 1 " I wish you health." The usual greeting of soldiers to their superiors. 
 
 2 People wishing to speak very politely in Russ, always use the plural, 
 instead of the singular number. 
 
Roman the Reader. 107 
 
 " Exactly so, Sudarina. The fact is, I asked Petrovna, 
 the Reader's wife, to speak to the Deaconess ; but they are 
 proud, Sudarina, excessively proud — they won't hear of such 
 a thing ! " 
 
 " What a tiresome, disagreeable old body that Deaconess 
 is ! (God forgive me for judging her !) I am afraid, Feodoroff, 
 you will have some trouble with her, even if you persuade 
 her to consent. So it is Nadinka ? What did the Deaconess 
 depute Petrovna to say ? " 
 
 "They were very angry with Petrovna for doing my 
 mission," said poor Andronitch in a low voice, as if he 
 were afraid of Pavla Lavrentievna hearing him ; " and told 
 her they would as soon see Nadejda Dmitrievna married 
 to a cat- merchant as to me. It's very hurting, Sudarina. 
 And they forbade Petrovna the house; and the Reader, he 
 forbade his wife to undertake such tasks for the future. I 
 am sure I don't know what to do, Sudarina." 
 
 " I am afraid it is rather a forlorn hope, Andronitch ; 
 for she is as obstinate as she is cross. But I think you 
 had better first find out if Nadejda Dmitrievna entertains 
 the same opinion as her mother." 
 
 " Exactly so, Sudarina. The fact is, that she does not," 
 answered Feodoroff, cheerfully. 
 
 " Then that quite alters the case ! Why do you not go 
 to Pavla Lavrentievna yourself, and boldly ask for her 
 daughter, like a brave man as you are, Feodoroff^," she said, 
 glancing at his breast, on which shone a row of little crosses 
 and medals, and motioning with her hand towards them. 
 
 " I am not sure of myself, Sudarina ; for I know that 
 if she said anything against my calling, I should not be able 
 to keep a civil tongue. And why should she despise me ? 
 
io8 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 In what -respect am I not a bridegroom for her daughter ? 
 In years, maybe, but that's all. Thank God, I served His 
 Imperial Majesty Nicholai' Pavlovitch (the kingdom of Heaven 
 be his !) and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Alexandre 
 Nicholaevitch (God grant him long to live !)," and he crossed 
 himself as he said this, " for twenty-five years in faith and 
 truth. I have a good place, thanks to his Nobility (God 
 grant him good health, and to you also, Sudarina !), and a 
 trade, and — — " he pointed to his medals with his right hand, 
 and fairly winked with emotion. 
 
 Tatiana Alexandrovna continued cutting her books all the 
 time this conversation was going on, and she now bent her 
 head still lower. 
 
 " They are so dreadfully proud, are the Deaconess, Sudarina," 
 pursued the unfortunate lover, after a profuse use of a checked 
 pocket-handkerchief " For instance, Tatiana Alexandrovna, 
 on Tuesday it was the name's-day of Nadejda Dmitrievna, 
 and I made her a little pair of shoes,^ — neat, accurate little 
 shoes, with high heels, and channel soles — quite a sight to 
 see ! I took her measure by my eye," he continued, warming 
 on the subject like a true amateur, "and put white linings 
 to them, and metaUic eyelet holes, and silken ribbons, 
 Sudarina ; — a first-rate article. So I wrapped them up in 
 a French pocket-handkerchief, and went to congratulate 
 Nadejda Dmitrievna. I entered, and I said, ' Allow me, 
 Nadejda Dmitrievna, to wish you joy on your Angel's day, 
 and to present you with a specimen of my work.' ' Akh, 
 akh, akh,' says the Deaconess, ' what nice shoes ! they will 
 just fit me ! ' she says ; and she kicked off her own and 
 began to put mine on. ' Nadinka has a new pair already,' 
 
 1 A great portion of the Russian soldiers are boot and shoe-makers. 
 
Roman the Redacr. 
 
 109 
 
 she says. And she squeezed her teet into them betore my 
 very eyes I I never felt such a fool in my life, Sudarina ! " 
 concluded Andronitch, gravely. 
 
 Tatiana Alexandrovna could not help smiling, though she 
 fully sympathised with the honest soldier. " Rude creature ! " 
 she said, indignantly. 
 
 " And Nadejda Dmitrievna, she said nothing, only looked 
 sorrowful like. And 1-wer new shoes were not to be compared 
 to mine. Besides, it is not at all becoming for an old 
 woman like the Deaconess to go stumping about in high 
 heels, Sudarina." 
 
 " I should think she would feel very uncomfortable in 
 them, Feodoroff, not being accustomed to it. So you see 
 she will receive a punishment of her own infliction." 
 
 " Exactly so. Which I am sure she will ! " said Andronitch, 
 brightening up at the idea. " But I was going to beg — 
 Tatiana Alexandrovna, Matoushka ! do not refuse my humble 
 request ! speak a word for me to the Deaconess ! Perhaps she 
 will listen to you. That is, if you approve of it, Sudarina." 
 
 " It is a difficult task, Feodoroff, and a delicate one too. 
 I hardly know how to act. But if Ignaty Sylvestrovitch has 
 no objection, I will see what I can do for you. I must 
 ask his opinion and his advice. But I do think the Deaconess 
 rather likes me." 
 
 Down went the warrior on his knees, and would have 
 touched the earth with his brow had not Tatiana Alexandrovna 
 begun to scold the instant he made his first movement ; it 
 had the effect of bringing Andronitch to his feet like a 
 professed tumbler. It was beginning to get damp ; Tatiana 
 Alexandrovna called the children indoors, and once more 
 setting the sergeant's mind at rest, she returned to the house. 
 
I lO 
 
 Roman tJie Reader. 
 
 Pavla Lavrentievna was indeed very indignant and grand 
 at Andronitch's presumption, and of course wreaked all her 
 spite upon Nadia. The poor girl herself, reflecting that she 
 had now lost her dearest friend and only protector, and 
 on the improbability of becoming the wife of anybody 
 belonging to her own immediate class, was more than merely 
 willing to marry Feodoroff. She liked him for his good 
 looks and manly bearing, his music (he played on the violin 
 at all the village feasts), and his tales of his military career, 
 and respected him for his sobriety and industry ; in a word, 
 she wished with all her heart that it could come about, and 
 was beginning even to feel a certain degree of something 
 like tenderness towards him, of which however she was 
 intensely ashamed in the depths of her modest soul. She 
 laid the foundation of some castles in the air too, relative 
 to her future home, which always caused her to blush crimson 
 when she remembered that it was not sure to be. She even 
 went so far as to imagine how nice it would be if her 
 mother were to give up the house to the newly-married pair, 
 and go to visit the other daughters by turns. She was very 
 busy digging up carrots and beet-roots for winter store, when 
 Tatiana Alexandrovna, who had found out where she was, 
 knocked at the fence, and gently bade her open the door 
 leading to the river. 
 
 " Nadinka," she said, after a little conversation on common 
 subjects, "who do you think has sent me here? Now do 
 please be open, there's a good girl, and tell me if I am 
 to persuade Maminka to consent, or not." 
 
 Of course a burst of tears was the opening answer. 
 
 "I am not going to persuade you either one way or the 
 other, my poor dear," said Tatiana Alexandrovna ; " but I 
 
Roman the Reader. 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 must have an answer, you know, before I go into the house, 
 or return home." 
 
 "You know best, Tatiana Alexandrovna," sobbed Nadia. 
 "I dare not — I'm frightened. I'm sure I don't know what 
 I ought to say ! " with another burst. 
 
 "Well, have it out first, and then perhaps you'll be able 
 to decide. I'll wait a bit. Only make haste, please." 
 
 " The thing is," said Nadia, with a tremendous sob, " that 
 he's a good man." 
 
 "I know he is. Certainly. Well?" 
 
 "Well— that's all." 
 
 " Once for all, that is your answer ? Further ? " 
 
 "You know, yourself, Tatiana Alexandrovna." 
 
 " Oh, then, with God's blessing, we will set it all to 
 rights at once, Nadinka ! Don't cry, dear. Come into the 
 house in a quarter of an hour. We must go through it 
 sooner or later, so let us have it over to-day." 
 
 It was not without a considerable mustering of her moral 
 courage that the young lady entered the Deaconess's domain. 
 She was enjoying an early tea, with delicious new honey, 
 thick cream, and the most tempting krendels^ imaginable. 
 Wherever Tatiana Alexandrovna went she was sure of a 
 welcome — even from Pavla Lavrentievna ; and by way of 
 propitiating her she accepted a cup of the herb tea (for 
 the Deaconess only allowed herself Chinese tea on holidays), 
 and praised it and the biscuits as they really deserved. 
 
 Fortune favoured her ; for although the Deaconess was 
 very nearly getting into a dreadful passion at the bare idea 
 of Nadia's being willing to marry anybody, she was reconciled 
 to the proposition itself by Tatian Alexandrovna's represen- 
 
 1 A species of bakery much used with tea and coffee. 
 
112 
 
 Roman the Reader. 
 
 tations of the advantages it offered to herself. She hinted, 
 too, at the possibihty and probability of Feodoroff's having 
 rank conferred on him, and concluded by repeating his offer. 
 " Of course," she said, " it remains in your hands to refuse 
 or not ; but really, Pavla Lavrentievna, all things considered, 
 I would advise you to give them your blessing. Otherwise," 
 she continued, rather grandly, " I shall feel that I have 
 offended you, and of course shall be obliged to give up 
 the pleasure of your further acquaintance." 
 
 Such a multitude of different feelings were struggling in 
 the head and heart of the old lady that she did not know 
 which to listen to. She did not like to give in ; she did 
 not like the notion of any bridegroom but an ecclesiastic. 
 
 And had she not always said that Nadia was a Christ's- 
 bride ? 
 
 Besides, what would her brother at town, and his wife, 
 and their son at the university, say? 
 
 Just as if they cared, though ! proud stuck-up things that 
 they were ! SMd show them she did not value their opinion, 
 she would. Thank God, she could get on without it ! 
 
 But she hated his military phiz, she did : and his Petersburg 
 talk, and his short hair. " But there ! what's to be done ? 
 we are wretched orphans ; we must thank our Creator for 
 what He is pleased to send ! " 
 
 On which consoling thought she remained fixe, in a sniffing 
 state of tearfulness. Nadia, who had not dared to show 
 herself before, now sidled into the room. The Deaconess 
 was fairly ashamed of scolding her daughter before Tatiana 
 Alexandrovna ; so she desired her to wash and comb herself 
 immediately, and to put on her best dress. 
 
 " Tatiana Alexandrovna has taken the trouble to ask your 
 
Roman the Reader. 1 1 3 
 
 hand for Anton Andronovitch," she said ; " and whether you 
 wish it or not, (I do not ask you, Nadejda Dmitrievna, I am 
 your female parent, and have the right to dispose of you !) you 
 are to be married to him. Sh — sh ! Not a word ! Dress 
 yourself ! " 
 
 Having so far succeeded, Tatiana Alexandrovna bade her 
 capricious hostess farewell ; and that same evening Andron- 
 ovitch, who was waiting in the counting-house to hear his 
 fate from her, having decked himself in all his crosses and 
 medals, and taking the Deacon and his fellow-clerk to act 
 as chorus in the whole affair, had the satisfaction of finding 
 himself Nadinka's affianced husband. 
 
 In three weeks' time they were married. 
 
 1 
 
CONFESSION AND COMMUNION. 
 
 I 2 
 
CONFESSION AND COMMUNION. 
 
 " Q. What is meant by Communion ? 
 
 " A. The believer receives the very Body of Christ in the fonii of bread, 
 and the very Blood of Christ in the form of wine. 
 " Q. What benefits does the communicant receive ? 
 
 "A. He becomes one with Christ, and thus is entitled to everlasting life. 
 " Q. What is Confession ? 
 
 " A. The person who has sinned after his Baptism confesses his sins to 
 the Priest, and through him receives absolution from Jesus Christ Him- 
 self." — S/iort Catechism. 
 
 'HERE is no such ceremony as Confirmation in the Greco- 
 
 Russian Church; a child continues to receive the Holy 
 Sacrament from the time of Baptism about twice a year — at 
 Easter-tide and on its Saint's day — until it is seven years old, 
 when it ought, by the rules of its Church, to be brought to 
 Confession. The lower orders take their little ones to the 
 Sacrament every time they are the least ill. 
 
 Let it not be imagined that a child, past absolute infancy, 
 approaches the Amvon without a feeling of undefined reverence 
 and awe, even before it knows the meaning of the rite that it 
 is observing. The heightened colour, the devout crossings 
 and prostrations when the Priest appears and takes the Cup 
 
ii8 Confession and Coinmunion. 
 
 and Spoon from the Deacon's hand, prove that indeed we 
 ought neither to say nor 
 
 " Dream that heavenly notes 
 
 To childhood's ears are vain." 
 
 A httle one of three or four years old, with the usual amount 
 of capacities, and good health and disposition, shows, by the 
 quiet and subdued character of its innocent play during the 
 rest of the day, that it experiences a " soothing charm " beyond 
 our comprehension. 
 
 The preparation for the first Confession is a very solemn and 
 trying thing for delicate and excitable children, though by far 
 the greater number take it as a matter of course. I never 
 heard of a child crj'ing at first Communion, nor of behaving 
 itself otherwise than as a reasonable being. But the Russians 
 are self-possessed from their very cradles, and go through 
 ceremonies with the utmost calmness and resignation, which 
 would astonish many English people. 
 
 We will suppose that little Saschinka^ B is seven or eight 
 
 years old, and has been regularly brought to the Holy Com- 
 munion twice a year since her baptism, unless when sickness 
 or very bad weather prevented it. She is a good little girl in 
 general, without having a decidedly serious" or " pious " turn ; 
 is amiable, truthful, and religiously disposed in the Russian 
 acceptation of the term, — that is to say, she does not forget to 
 say her prayers night and morning ; reverently standing before 
 the picture, and prostrating herself at least three times, goes up 
 to the priest of her own accord for his blessing when he comes 
 to the house, and stands immoveable at church, looking 
 straight before her and not staring about her. Her mother 
 thinks she is too little to go to Confession ; Sdschinka is her 
 
 ' Dim. of Alexandra. 
 
Confession and Communion. 1 1 9 
 
 eldest child, and she never yet had doings with other children ; 
 she feels nervous, and would like to put it off till August, when 
 people sometimes prepare themselves and partake of the Holy 
 Sacrament in preference to the Great Fast, as they call Lent ; 
 but .her husband advises her to lose no time, and her sister, 
 who has had a large family, speaks to her about it very 
 seriously, and brings forward many examples of naughty 
 children being suddenly reformed, and a completely new tone 
 of feeling and practice being observable in others who were 
 simply troublesome or mischievous — also some few very 
 melancholy instances of particularly sweet children dying 
 without Confession after seven or eight years of age, to the 
 never-ending remorse and self-reproach of their too fond 
 
 parents. This last argument decided Mrs. B , for nothing 
 
 disturbs a Russian conscience more than the idea of dying, 
 or suffering others to die, unshriven. 
 
 Saschinka's religious attainments are not by any means 
 great, but she is considered pretty well prepared because she 
 knows the prayers most common in the Greco-Russian Church. 
 These are far more numerous than those exacted by the 
 Anglican Church from the youth or maiden about to be con- 
 firmed, ^ and being in the Sclavonic dialect, they present 
 difficulties which the English prayers do not. The Lord's 
 Prayer, Nicene Creed, and Ten Commandments are the first 
 that are learnt, of course ; besides these, there are the Hymn 
 to the Holy Ghost, the Russian version of " Hail, Mary," and 
 another Hymn of Praise to her ; morning and evening prayers 
 before and after meat, and before and after learning. Any 
 great knowledge of Sacred Historj' is not to be expected from 
 
 ^ See Third Paragraph at the end of the Catechism in the Book of 
 Common Prayer. 
 
I20 Confession and Commnnion. 
 
 such young cliildren, and it is to be observed that the history 
 and stories from the Old Testament are always mastered 
 before beginning the history of our Lord. Sdschinka receives 
 the intimation that she is to " do her devotions " this year, as 
 a matter of course : is she not nearly eight years old? She 
 knows that it is all the same before God, but thinks it will be 
 very terrible to confess her sins to Father Paul. 
 
 " How ashamed I shall be, " she thinks, and perhaps says 
 to her mother or a little friend, " to tell how I made grimaces 
 at grandmamma behind her back, for not letting me take off my 
 wadded jacket when I was so hot after the bath ! or how I 
 shook the liulka when Vasinka cried, and would not go to 
 sleep ! Of course that was very sinful, because I was angry. 
 Yes, and once I said my prayers before I had washed myself, 
 and nurse says that it is a sin. But then, certainly, Father 
 Paul is very kind, and it will be very nice to be forgiven."' 
 The new white frock, pink sash, and curled hair of the day of 
 Communion comes into the head of the little Russian, who 
 inherits her ancestresses' love of dress to a certain degree, and 
 altogether she looks forward to it with pleasure and pride. 
 Her father calls on Father Paul, and begs him to prepare his 
 little daughter. He comes twice a week for a month or so, 
 examines her, and explains the Catechism and Sacred History 
 to her, gives her good advice and interprets her prayers to her. 
 This is after Christmas, and the Sacrament will be administered 
 to her in Lent. 
 
 The Great Fast approaches, preceded by three preparatory 
 weeks, answering, doubtless, to the Septuagesima, Sexagesima, 
 and Quinquagesima of the Anglican Church. The first of 
 these weeks is called Splos/inaia, an untranslatable term, which 
 signifies that the Wednesday and Friday of such a week (of 
 
Confession and Communion. 121 
 
 which there are several in the year) are not observed by a fast; 
 the second is like all others. But although, strictly speaking, 
 Lent commences with all its rigours on the Monday after 
 Quinquagesima, meat is eaten for the last time on Sexagesima 
 Sunday. In the North-east Governments this last meal of 
 animal food is invariably pell-m'eny^ a tiny pudding the size of 
 a child's ear (which it greatly resembles in shape), filled with 
 beef minced to the veriest paste. They are boiled for eight or 
 ten minutes in water, and eaten hot in vast quantities, with a 
 mixture of sour cream, vinegar, and pepper. The preparation 
 oi pell-7neny is a very long job, but is invariably set about with 
 the utmost good-will, and often, in domestic families, all the 
 members assist, just for the fun of the thing. This farewell 
 feast is followed by the Butter Week or Carnival, the festivities 
 of which vary according to the distance of a place from the 
 capitals or government cities. In large towns, and particularly 
 in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the mad whirl of amusements, 
 though not to be compared to that of the Carnival of the 
 South, is next to indescribable. There are morning as well as 
 evening performances at the operas and other theatres, public 
 ice-hills, and a regular fair, with shows, conjurers, circuses, 
 and play-actings, on the great open squares (called Places) of 
 the Northern Palmyra ; here, however, nothing is sold but 
 eatables and drinkables. In the interior these gaieties are 
 confined to promiscuous visitings, pancake eatings (a mere 
 excuse for giving or attending a dinner-party), sometimes 
 private theatricals, costumed balls, and nearly always ice-hills, 
 for high and low. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Sexa- 
 gesima week are public holidays, and no business is done ; 
 the afternoons are devoted to driving out, the more furiously 
 ^ A Tartar word which signifies "my ear." 
 
122 Confession and Comnmnion. 
 
 and frightfully the better, and sliding down the ice-hills. The 
 acme of enjoyment is on Quinquagesima Sunday, which is 
 called Pardoning Day. 
 
 During this Butter Week the rules of the Church permit eggs, 
 milk in all its forms, and fish ; and it is in consequence of the 
 important part that butter plays in the cookery of these days 
 that the week takes its name. Buckwheat pancakes are the 
 staple dish of noble and peasant from Monday till Pardoning 
 Day included. 
 
 The workmen or burghers make what they call a city in 
 different parts of the town or village — simply a mass of hard- 
 beaten snow, ten or twelve feet high, and five or six in 
 diameter. A flag waves on its summit, and one party defends 
 while another besieges it. The arms used by the besiegers are 
 generally blunt old swords that formerly graced the sides of 
 civil etnp/oyes, but which are sharp enough to cut into the 
 snow and undermine the mayor and his supporters, whose only 
 weapons are dead hens, dogs, and cats. The victorious party 
 compel the vanquished to treat them to refreshment, exclusively 
 of a liquid description at the nearest tavern. 
 
 The B family, of course, take their part, however trifling, 
 
 in the gaieties of the Butter Week, which tend rather to banish 
 from Sdschinka's mind the subject of the approaching de- 
 votions ; but she is suddenly reminded of the nearness of the 
 Great Fast by the solemn booming of the largest bell on 
 Pardoning Day, which calls the orthodox to vespers, and to 
 the commencement of Lent. She and her mother set forth to 
 church, with difficulty avoiding accidents from the crowds of 
 drivers and their restive horses that they meet ; but before they 
 reach the church the streets become emptier and quieter. 
 
 It is very quiet in the church too, and Saschinka's mother 
 
Cojifession and Communion. 123 
 
 whispers to her neighbour that it " smells " of the Great Fast 
 already. The orthodox light tapers before the pictures, and 
 pray that they may pass Lent devoutly, be received to Holy 
 Communion, and live to see a joyful Easter. The vespers are 
 quietly performed, and at their .conclusion the Priests take 
 leave of each other and of the congregation by prostrating 
 themselves on the Amvon, as though taking leave or asking 
 pardon. The verb "to forgive, to pardon," is the same as 
 "to say farewell, to bid adieu," so that the word prnstchait'e 
 may be translated or understood either as " good-bye " or 
 "pardon me." 
 
 This custom, I am told, originated in the earliest ages of 
 Christianity in Russia, when holy men and women used to 
 separate themselves from the world during Lent, and retire to 
 caves or huts, and before they set out they used to take leave 
 of, and ask pardon for any ill done, or offence committed 
 against, their friends and neighbours. 
 
 After vespers the congregation kiss and take leave of each 
 other — of course I mean such as are acquainted. The clergv 
 of the place go to each other's houses, and sing what are called 
 Stikhi^ which I suppose I may translate " spiritual songs." 
 
 Before the family retire to rest, during the course of the 
 evening, the ceremony of bidding farewell and asking pardon 
 of each other is gone through again between the members, old 
 and young. The servants come in, prostrating themselves at 
 their master's and mistress's feet, who in their turn ask their 
 pardon and kiss them. Personal forgiveness is never expressed, 
 the answer always being " God will forgive you." Being now 
 " in peace and charity with all men," the orthodox go to bed, 
 to awake to all the strictness of the Fast. 
 
 ^ Literally, verses. 
 
124 Confession and Communion. 
 
 The next day is called Clean Monday; the house is scrubbed 
 thoroughly — " to wash away the butter," they say — and the 
 family go to the bath. The Great Fast has begun ! No English 
 person can imagine the rigour with which it is kept by those 
 who keep it at all : very few are those who do not. The first, 
 fourth, and seventh, or Passion Week, are the most strictly 
 observed, and those whose health will not permit of abstinence 
 from meat for eight weeks (counting the Carnival) always con- 
 trive to fast during them. There are persons, however, who 
 physically cannot fast, but these are very rarely met with, and 
 they are always dreadfully ashamed of themselves. During 
 the whole time every article of food that can be traced to an 
 animal (except fish, which is, however, considered a luxury, 
 and not eaten by the religious during the whole of Lent, and 
 by ordinary fasters during the three weeks above-mentioned) is 
 banished from the table. Many old ladies (who are always the 
 most rigorous fasters) will not use sugar, because it is purified 
 with bullock's blood ; they substitute honey, raisins, or preserves 
 boiled with honey, for sugar. The universal opinion is that 
 the most trying diet is tea and coffee without cream. They 
 put slices of lemon, preserves, raspberry and other syrups in 
 their tea ; walnuts, blanched almonds, or milk of almonds, or 
 poppy-seeds in the coffee. There is a distinct set of kitchen 
 utensils on purpose for fast cookery. The very iron ladles 
 are changed. A knife that has buttered one slice of bread 
 cannot be used to cut a second dry slice for a faster ; another 
 knife would be used, and the slice cut from the other side of 
 the loaf It is astonishing how they contrive to subsist at a 
 time when fresh fruit and vegetables are not to be procured. 
 Here is a dinner or two for examples : — 
 
 First dinner. — A pasty, made of minced and fried sour 
 
Confession ajid Communion. 125 
 
 cabbage. Soup of dried white mushrooms, fried onions, and 
 potatoes. Cutlets of rice, with a sauce of preserved green peas. 
 Roast or fried potatoes and salad of salted cucumbers. Com- 
 pote of apples, figs, French plums and raisins. Of course 
 vegetable oil is used instead of butter ; there are four sorts : 
 oil of hemp-seed — which, though of a darkish, greenish, disa- 
 greeable colour, is the sweetest of all, because the freshest — 
 of poppy-seeds, sunflower-seeds, and Florence oil, which, in 
 the interior, is almost always horrid. The cooking is by no 
 means greasy ; the Russians do noi drink oil, and train-oil is 
 utterly unknown, except perhaps in the Government of Arch- 
 angel, but I am ready to affirm the next to impossibility of a 
 Russian using it for food, when I take into consideration his 
 extreme observance of the " clean " and unclean. 
 
 Second dinner. — Pea-soup with fried crusts ; little patties of 
 minced carrots. Cutlets of mashed potatoes, with a sauce of 
 mushrooms. Roast or fried pumpkin, with salad of cranberries 
 or bogberries. Kissel, made of potato-flour boiled in kvass 
 and honey, with raisins, or in cranberry or raspberry juice, and 
 turned out of a shape like a jelly when cold. Those who eat 
 fish can, of course, vary their fare much more, but every one 
 says that nothing sickens one so much as fish every day. 
 
 The morning service (not matins) made use of during the 
 forty-nine days of Lent, is widely different from that of the rest 
 of the year, when the Masses of St. Basil the Great or of St. 
 John Chrysostom are used ; during the Great Fast a service, 
 performed only during that time, and called the Liturgy of 
 Preconsecrated Elements, is substituted in their place. It 
 means, that instead of Mass {i.e. Celebration of the Lord's 
 Supper) being sung daily, a portion of the Elements con- 
 secrated at a previous Mass is administered, instead of newly 
 
126 Confession and Communion. 
 
 consecrated bread and wine. The history of this singular 
 service is as follows : — 
 
 Mass, properly so called, is, as above stated, the celebration 
 of the Holy Communion, which is duly consecrated and partaken 
 of by the officiating Priest and Deacon every time that Mass 
 is performed (it would not be Mass without Communion), even 
 though none of the congregation present themselves as com- 
 municants. In the earlier days of the Christian Church the 
 Fathers did not consider it seeming to celebrate the comforting 
 feast on days of humiliation and mourning for sin, and per- 
 mitted Mass to be sung on Saturdays and Sundays only, 
 during Lent, and on the Annunciation and Holy Thursday.' 
 But as many pious Christians, accustomed to daily Communion, 
 could not bring themselves to forego the strengthening and 
 refreshing of their souls by the Body and Blood of Christ, the 
 Holy Church granted them the indulgence of the Liturgy 
 of Pre-consecrated Elements, when the bread and wine 
 consecrated on the Sunday preceding is administered on 
 Wednesdays and Fridays to those who desire it ; ^ but at the 
 present time lay-people endeavour to arrange their devotions 
 in such a manner that they may communicate on the Saturday, 
 i.e. at the celebration of full Mass. 
 
 On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays throughout Lent 
 a service called Hours is substituted for the usual Liturgy, 
 though many of the prayers and litanies used at Mass are 
 sung in it. But to return to the Liturgy of Pre-consecrated 
 Elements. 
 
 When the bread and wine are brought forth from the altar 
 during ordinary Mass, the Priest and Deacon issue from the 
 
 1 In remembrance of the institution of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 2 Michailoffsky. 
 
Con/essioji and Communion. 1 2 7 
 
 left-hand Deacon's door, and while they intone the prayer for 
 the Imperial Family and the Archbishop of the diocese, they 
 stand on the Amvon with their faces to the congregation, who 
 welcome the as yet not completely consecrated Elements with 
 prostrations, but afterwards rise from their knees. The 
 peculiar solemnity of the bringing forth of the Pre-consecrated 
 Elements is, that they are carried in perfect silence from the 
 table of sacrifice through the left Deacon's door, past the 
 screen, and into the altar again by the royal gates, to be placed 
 on the throne, while all the people remain prostrated on the 
 floor, unworthy, as it were, to gaze on the vessels that contain 
 the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 This is the principal feature that strikes the beholder during 
 the days of devotional preparation. The prayer of St. Ephraim 
 of Syria (who lived in the fifth century), pronounced by the Priest 
 soon after the commencement of service, serves to bring the 
 minds of the congregation to a state of humility and penitence 
 It reads as follows : — 
 
 " O Lord and Sovereign of my life, take from me the spirit 
 of idleness, despair, love of power, and unprofitable speaking." 
 
 Here he and all the people prostrate themselves three 
 times. 
 
 " But grant to Thy servant the spirit of purity, meekness, 
 patience, and charity." 
 
 Three prostrations as before. 
 
 " Yea, O Lord ! grant that I may see my own sins, and not 
 judge my brother ! For Thou art blessed, for ever and ever !" 
 Again three prostrations. 
 
 Another exception to the usual course of the service is the 
 singing an anthem before the Amvon, which is generally 
 performed by the Readers and Choristers, but any of the 
 
128 Confession and Communion. 
 
 congregation who wish to sing it may do so, always supposing 
 that they are able to do it well, or at any rate passably. The 
 words are taken from the 141st Psalm, in the following order: — 
 
 " Let my prayer be set forth in Thy sight as the incense, 
 and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice. 
 
 " Lord, I call upon Thee : haste Thee unto me, and con- 
 sider my voice when I cry unto Thee. 
 
 " Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keep the door 
 of my lips. 
 
 " O let not mine heart be inclined to any evil thing : let me 
 not be occupied in any ungodly works." 
 
 Each verse is repeated by the choir, who, with the congrega- 
 tion, kneel during the repetition. The melody of this anthem 
 is very sweet, and the effect of the whole very striking. 
 
 Our communicants intend to prepare themselves in the 
 fourth week, and on the Wednesday they begin their devo- 
 tions.^ Wednesday in the fourth week is called Middle-Cross 
 Day, because it is the middle of the Great Fast, and it is the 
 custom to make little cakes or biscuits in the form of a cross 
 on that day, as the English do Cross-buns on Good Friday. 
 There are other customs during the Great Fast which deserve 
 notice : such as the baking of little cakes in a form which 
 somewhat resembles a bird, with currants or wild cherries for 
 its eyes ; this is observed on the 9th of March, the Feast of the 
 Forty Martyrs, who were fed, says tradition, during a cruel 
 imprisonment, by larks, which flew into their dungeon with 
 food for them. On Lady-day, too, it is considered a Christian 
 duty to do some particularly benevolent act, especially setting 
 captives free; and to enable the orthodox to indulge this 
 
 i The more religious prepare during the whole week, but I take a 
 general case as an example. 
 
Confession and Co7mnunion. 129 
 
 desire, the " roughs " of large towns employ themselves, for 
 some time previous, in catching birds of all and any sort, and 
 selling them, to be set free, on the Feast of the Annunciation. 
 
 On the Thursday morning Saschinka is carefully and 
 gradually wakened at half-past five, and goes to matins with 
 her mother. None of the family touch a morsel before leaving 
 home. It is not quite light, and Sdschinka feels a mixture of 
 nervousness and satisfaction. They come home at about 
 seven, breakfast, and are off again to Mass at nine ; at four 
 vespers are sung. The services are very long, and it is 
 extremely fatiguing. Friday passes in the same manner, except 
 that after vespers Confession takes place. 
 
 Each communicant goes behind a screen, placed for the 
 time in a corner of the church, or near the Deacon's doors, 
 where the choristers stand during service ; there is no screen 
 placed there. The " Spiritual Father " awaits them with a 
 little naloy, on which lie the Gospels and the Cross, and after 
 some preparatory prayers the following words are addressed 
 to the penitent : — 
 
 " Behold, my child, Christ stands here invisibly to receive 
 thy confession. Be not ashamed nor afraid, and conceal 
 nothing from me, — but without hesitation tell me what thou hast 
 done, and receive absolution from Jesus Christ. Behold His 
 picture before us ! I am only a witness, and certify before 
 Him all that thou tellest me : if therefore thou concealest 
 anything from me, thou wilt be doubly sinful. Mark well, 
 therefore, that thou leave not this ghostly hospital without 
 receiving the healing that thou requirest." 
 
 Here follows a number of questions, to which the penitent 
 answers, " I have sinned," when he feels they strike home, but 
 to many it is to be supposed and hoped that he can answer, 
 
 K 
 
130 Confession and Communion. 
 
 " I have not sinned." Almost every Priest has his own 
 peculiarity in confessing his ghostly children, — one being ex- 
 tremely indulgent, another very much the reverse ; one paying 
 greater attention to sins of omission, another to those of 
 commission, and each to some one sin in particular, which 
 probably strikes him as being more deadly than others. 
 Besides answering the form of questions put, the penitent is 
 bound to open his heart to the Priest if he has been guilty of 
 any sin which does not strictly come under the category, and, 
 if he be already under penance, to say so. Full confession 
 having been made, and a desire to lead a new hfe expressed, 
 a prayer is read on behalf of the penitent, and on its conclusion 
 he prostrates himself before the Priest, who lays his hand, with 
 the end of his cope beneath it, on his head (in token that he 
 may consider himself under the protection of the Church), and 
 pronounces the absolution as follows : — 
 
 " Our Lord and God Jesus Christ, by the grace and bounty 
 of His love to mankind, pardon thee, child (Peter or Ekaterina, 
 for instance), all thy sins : and I, unworthy Priest that I am, 
 by the power given to me, do forgive and absolve thee from all 
 thy sins in the name of the Father, &c. &c." 
 
 Here he signs him with the sign of the Cross, and on his 
 rising from his knees presents him the Cross to be kissed. A 
 fee and a candle are left on the naloy. 
 
 Government proves its solicitude for its servants by render- 
 ing yearly confession almost obligatory, and an officer who 
 neglects it for more than one year is fined by a certain 
 deduction from his pay. Soldiers and sailors, government 
 workmen, and the pupils of public schools and academies for 
 all ranks of society, are sent or brought to Confession and 
 Communion regularly every year. The marriage ceremony 
 
Confession and Communion. 131 
 
 cannot be performed if either of the parties have not attended 
 the Sacrament during the past year, be he an orthodox Greco- 
 Russian, Lutheran, Catholic, or Anglican. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the nature of a penitent's con- 
 fession is such as to debar him, by the rules of the Church, of 
 the privilege of Communion for a certain period. A list of 
 crimes and misdemeanours, 1 1 5 in number, with the penance 
 to be imposed on the offender, — some of them exceedingly 
 singular, — are to be found in the Ritual. The following are 
 remarkable for their strangeness or severity : — ■ 
 
 § 10. Magicians, that is to say enchanters, and foretellers, 
 wax and lead melters . . . . to be kept from Communion 
 twenty years. 
 
 § 18. Such as tell fortunes with grains and beans — six years. 
 
 § 47. Such as dig up coffins, in order to steal anything 
 therefrom — ^ten years. 
 
 § 49. Such as marry a second time are not permitted to 
 communicate for one year, and — 
 
 § 50. Such as marry a third time — four years. If, however, 
 he be more than forty years of age, a third marriage is un- 
 pardonable ^ (according to the " Divine Rules " of a certain 
 Matthew). 
 
 § 64. They whose child dies unbaptized by their own care- 
 lessness are deprived of Communion three years ; must 
 perform 200 prostrations every day during that period, and 
 fast on Mondays as well as Wednesdays and Fridays. 
 
 § 65. A woman who overlays her infant — seven years. 
 
 § 75. A Priest who repeats the Confession of sins made to 
 him by a ghostly child has a penance of deprivation of place 
 
 1 Nevertheless third marriages frequently take place, and I never heard 
 of the parties being excommunicated. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 Confession and Communion. 
 
 for three years, but is allowed to communicate once a month : 
 he is to perform 100 prostrations every day. The civil laws^ 
 say that the tongue of auch an one should be rooted out. 
 
 § 82. Such as bless one child and curse another, love the 
 one and hate the other, and divide their property unequally 
 between them, — be they excommunicated from the Church, and 
 cut off from Holy Communion. 
 
 § 84. Whosoever eats the flesh of an animal that died a 
 natural death, or that was killed by a wild beast or bird, or a 
 " thing strangled, or blood," or a thing caught in snares — if he 
 be a Priest, to be deprived of his office ; if a secular, of Com- 
 munion for two years. 
 
 § 87. He who dares to call in a Jewish physician, and be 
 attended in sickness by him — if he be a Priest, to be deprived 
 of his office — a secular, to be excommunicated. 
 
 § 88. A Priest who hunts or catches birds — to be deprived 
 of office three months. 
 
 Wilful murder is punished by banishment from the table of 
 the Lord for twenty years ; manslaughter, for ten years ; for 
 kilHng in battle, or on meeting robbers (if they fall on one 
 Avith the sword), three years. If, however, robbers come to 
 steal property, and the owner, instead of running away, kills 
 one or all of them — twenty years. 
 
 On Tuesdays and Fridays, after vespers, a Deacon or 
 Priest reads aloud on the Amvon, for those who intend to 
 communicate the following day, an address or exhortation, 
 interspersed with Psalms, ejaculations, and reflections ; it is 
 called "the Rules," and it is immensely long. After the 
 hearing of these rules, no food whatever ought to be taken 
 until after the receiving of the Holy Eucharist. Confession 
 1 Very ancient laws, of course. 
 
Confession and Commtinion. 
 
 133 
 
 generally takes place after vespers on the eve of Communion, 
 but occasionally on the same day, after matins. 
 
 On the Friday evening our absolved penitents go to the bath, 
 curl their hair, if they be little girls, and prepare their costume 
 for the morrow ; go to bed early, and on returning from matins 
 the next morning they dress in their best — though not in ball 
 costume. Officers, government employes, soldiers, in fact all 
 who wear uniform, appear in full dress, but without swords 01 
 sabres. Ladies — by this I mean married women — wear their 
 handsomest silk dress, a lace shawl or pretty mantle, and a 
 cap with ribbons, not flowers. Young girls and newly-married 
 ladies put on white muslin dresses, and adorn themselves as 
 for a little party ; they like, as a rule, to have a new dress for 
 the occasion. Most old ladies array themselves in the clothes 
 they intend to be buried in, with the addition of a shawl or 
 mantle, and a cap made for a living creature and not for a 
 corpse. I shall never forget the appearance of some ten 
 or a dozen very aged women of the workman-class, who 
 approached the altar-steps in a body, in a retired manufacturing 
 town in the Government of Perm. They had on long white 
 homespun linen shirts and sarafdns,^ their legs wrapped round 
 with very narrow towelling, and plaited bark shoes on their 
 feet. Their heads were enveloped in immensely long towels, 
 arranged on the forehead so as to nearly hide the eyebrows, 
 folded square-wise down the cheeks, crossed under the chin, 
 and the ends flowing down the back. The effect of this 
 ghostly array, with the yellow, wrinkled faces of the wearers, 
 is literally more " easily to be imagined than described." 
 Before they leave home they kiss everybody, servants and 
 
 * A petticoat, gored, and worn with the waist thereof immediately under 
 the arm-pits. 
 
134 Confession and Communion. 
 
 all, in token of charity and good will. On arriving at church 
 they take off their hoods or warm handkerchiefs, their fur 
 cloaks or paletots, and put them on a window-seat or some 
 convenient place ; after which they approach the altar-screen, 
 prostrate themselves before the pictures in it, and kiss them, 
 and then they go to their usual place. The Liturgy proceeds, 
 as I before said, in the usual manner. When the royal gates 
 are slowly opened, and the Deacon appears with the Cup in 
 his two hands, held on a level with his face, and covered with 
 an embroidered velvet napkin, and when he pronounces the 
 words, " In the fear of the Lord, and in peace, come ye ! " 
 all present who are communicants approach the steps of the 
 Amvon, from which it is administered. The Priest, taking 
 the Cup from him, pronounces very slowly and distinctly the 
 Articles of Belief on the subject, which the communicants 
 ought to repeat after him. 
 
 " I believe, Lord, and confess, that Thou indeed art Christ 
 the Son of the living God, who camest into the world to save 
 sinners, of whom I am chief I also believe that this is indeed 
 Thy most pure Body, and this Thy Holy Blood. I therefore 
 pray Thee to have mercy on me and to forgive me all my sins, 
 voluntary and involuntary, by word, by deed, by knowledge 
 or ignorance, and grant me worthily and blamelessly to par- 
 take of Thy most pure Sacrament, for the remission of sins and 
 for life everlasting. Receive me this day, O Son of God, as a 
 partaker of Thy Last Supper. For not as a secret enemy 
 I approach, not with the kiss of Judas, but like the thief 
 I confess Thee, ' Lord, remember me in Thy kingdom.' And 
 may the Communion of Thy Holy Sacrament be not to my 
 judgment and condemnation, but to the healing of my soul and 
 body. Amen." 
 
Confession and Conimnnion. 
 
 135 
 
 The napkin is now removed : the Priest, taking one morsel 
 of the Bread (which is cut into tiny morsels and mixed with 
 the Wine) in the Spoon with a little Wine, puts it in the mouth 
 of the communicant (who receives it with hands crossed on his 
 breast, after a devout prostration) with the words " The servant 
 of God (so and so) communicates in the name of the Father," 
 &c.^ The Deacon holds a silk handkerchief under the chin of 
 the communicant to prevent the possibility of a drop falling to 
 the ground, and wipes his lips with it afterwards; the com- 
 municant then kisses the edge of the Cup, a type of the 
 wounded side of Christ,^ crossing himself, but without prostra- 
 tion, in honour of the presence of the Sacraments. He then 
 goes up to a little table, where a Reader stands with a tiny 
 ladle always replenished with warm wine and water, intended 
 as a sort of rinsing after the Eucharist, and tiny loaves of 
 bread, from the sides of which the morsels of bread used in the 
 celebration were cut out with the Spear. He lays on the 
 salver an offering according to his ability, and employs him- 
 self in private devotions until the rest of the people have 
 received the Sacrament, and the Priest, having concluded the 
 Liturgy, is at liberty to perform a short special service of 
 thanksgiving for the spiritual comfort, and to present the 
 Cross to be kissed. 
 
 The rest of the family meet our communicants in the lobby 
 with congratulations ; they have hardly time to reach the tea- 
 room, when the maid appears with a tray full of cups of hot 
 coffee, thick almond milk, and krindles, or little sweet buns. 
 
 ^ The choir sings, " Receive ye the Body of Christ ; taste ye the fount of 
 everlasting life," an indefinite number of times during the Communion of 
 the orthodox. 
 
 2 A small quantity of luarm water is mixed with the wine in remem- 
 brance of that which poured from the wound of our Lord. 
 
136 Confession and Commtinion. 
 
 They dine early, and generally lie down on the sofa, or out- 
 side the bed, to rest for an hour or two before vespers, for the 
 services are really very fatiguing, and they have been obliged 
 to rise so early for the few previous days. They go, however, 
 to vespers and to Mass the next day. The evening is passed 
 in privacy, but not in a strictly devotional manner. 
 
 The generality of the Russians receive the Sacrament and 
 confess once a year during the Great Fast, as related, but some 
 go twice, — that is to say, in Lent and in the Gospojinsky, or 
 Assumption Fast, which lasts from the ist of August to the 
 15th. Besides these there are two others, the Petroffsky, 
 which extends from Trinity Monday to St. Peter's day (29th 
 June), and consequently differs in length according to the time 
 when Easter falls ; and the Christmas or Philip Fast, which 
 lasts from 15th November (St. Philip's Day) to Christmas Day. 
 Besides, there are the Wednesdays and Fridays throughout 
 the year (except during the few Sploshna'ia weeks before 
 mentioned). None of these are so strictly observed as Lent, 
 from which it is called emphatically the Great Fast. 
 
ORDINATION. 
 
ORDINATION. 
 
 " Q. In what does Ordination consist? 
 
 "A. The Archbishop, by the laying on of hands, imparts to the person 
 called to be a Priest the power of celebrating the Sacraments." — S/w?/ 
 Catechism. 
 
 HE Government of Perm is peculiarly rich in metals, 
 
 which accounts for the vast number of foundries, iron 
 and brass works, gold washings, &c., both private and belong- 
 mg to the Crown, that are scattered over that vast province, 
 which, however, forms but a part of the district known to the 
 Russians as " the Oural," and which signifies, not only the 
 mountains themselves (which exist only in the imaginations 
 of geographers and on the map, and are scarcely perceptible 
 to the traveller), but the surrounding country. 
 
 In one of these zavods, as the little factory towns are called 
 in Russ, I passed three years. It was a very small zavod, 
 peopled principally by the workmen and the clerks of the 
 counting-house, and besides our own house there were but two 
 which belonged to " nobles : " in one lived the Intendant 
 of the Works, a captain in the Engineers ; in the other, an 
 
Ordination. 
 
 artillery officer, whose duty it was to prove and pack off iron 
 for the arsenals. There was also a doctor, a very kind 
 person and a most excellent medical man, but so extremely 
 eccentric a character that I can hardly call him a member of 
 our society. There were one or two young engineer officers, 
 one or two employes, and two priests and their wives. On 
 grand occasions, such as christenings and name's days, we 
 mustered no less than sixteen souls ! 
 
 It was very dull at this little zavod, which I will call 
 Vedenioffka. The post came in only once a week, and 
 nearly always came in late. The nearest district town, which 
 was smaller than Vedenioffka itself, was fifty versts distant ; 
 and we might have been fifty thousand versts off " from any- 
 where else," as the Irishman said, as far as seeing a chance 
 visitor went, for Vedenioffka was 170 versts from the great 
 high road. 
 
 There are no rural delights in our out-of-the-way place in 
 Russia, as there are in the nooks and corners of Old England : 
 no infant-schools, nor ruins, nor farms ; no old churches, 
 agricultural meetings, flower-shows, and archery and croquet 
 parties. Reading-libraries are only known in Government 
 towns, and periodicals are very dear in Russia, and so were 
 books at the time I speak of; but we received altogether 
 fourteen periodicals, which we used to exchange on the 
 mutual obligation system, and in this manner had plenty to 
 read — newspapers, journals, magazines, ladies' work ditto, a 
 musical journal, &c. &c. Our occupations and pleasures 
 were of course entirely domestic. In the winter — and the 
 winters are very long in those parts, lasting from October to 
 April — it was next to impossible to, walk or drive out except 
 when an extraordinary ray of sunshine shone on a mild day ; 
 
Ordination. 
 
 but this was a very rare event, — so rare that the only impres- 
 sion of a winter at Vedenioffka is intense frost, too intense 
 to drive out except to get to a friend's house, wrapped up 
 to the very eyes, — or snow too thick and blinding for one 
 to have any pleasure either in driving or walking. 
 
 But the summer was lovely ! the soil first-rate, " tcherna- 
 zem," black earth, as it is called ; and I never saw such 
 vegetation, so rapid, yet so healthy. We had a large old- 
 fashioned garden, with alleys of raspberry and black currant 
 bushes, which yielded loads of fruit. I often used to regret 
 that I could not send my peas and carrots to an English 
 show — I am sure they would have gained a prize. The fields 
 and forests were full of beautiful flowers and fruits ; mush- 
 rooms we used to get in basket-cart loads, and salt them for 
 winter use. There is a quaint Russian proverb which says, 
 Koli khleba kra'i, tak i pod yeliii rai" ("Where there is 
 plenty of bread, it is Paradise even under the fir-tree "). If 
 so, then Vedenioffka must be a Paradise indeed, for it 
 abounds in provisions of all sorts, except fish. 
 
 The popes, as the Priests are familiarly called, are generally 
 considered below the usual standard of education ; and though 
 they mingle in society, they always seem to belong to another 
 class. Their dress and appearance strike a foreigner by their 
 singularity. They wear long beards, and hair parted down 
 the middle from the forehead to the nape of the neck, the 
 two long braids of hair streaming over their shoulders and 
 breasts. This, at home, they plait in two tails, so that in 
 public it is wavy. They wear a very long loose garment, 
 with large sleeves, altogether not unlike a lady's berrnous ; 
 it differs in material, according to the purse of the wearer, 
 from cloth, prunella, &c., to satin-turc and damask. Beneath 
 
142 
 
 Ordination. 
 
 this they wear a long coat resembHng that of Noah and his 
 family in a toy ark, which, especially when they have a 
 broad-brimmed hat on, and a long walking-stick in their 
 .hands, they are not at all unlike. Their wives in general 
 are decidedly uneducated, but are first-rate housekeepers and 
 nursing mothers. The limited society of Vedenioffka was 
 the cause of our being brought into contact with the clergy 
 more frequently than in larger towns, and here I became 
 acquainted with good Anna Ivanovna, Father Spiridon's wife. 
 
 Many is the kind turn I have received from dear, kind, 
 sharp-witted Anna Ivanovna, at times when a gentle womanly 
 bosom is wanted to pour one's little griefs into, or cool, strong 
 sense, to guide one in moments of indecision and trouble. 
 I think of her as one of my best and truest friends, and 
 insist on calling her so, smile and shrug her shoulders as the 
 elegant Petersburg-bred colonel or captain's wife may. 
 
 I took my work one winter's afternoon, and drove to her 
 house to spend an hour or two with her. I had heard that 
 one of her sons had gone wrong — run away from the eccle- 
 siastical seminary, and that Father Spiridon had gone to see 
 about it, so I thought I would call in to cheer her loneliness as 
 well as I could. 
 
 " Ah ! my dear," she cried, darting out of her kitchen, 
 " how do you do ? Well, thank God you have come ! The 
 pope, you know, is absent, and it is dull work without him, 
 although he is an old man. That rascal, Philka ! but you 
 probably have not heard about his feats?" she continued, 
 while I was unwrapping myself in her best room, which 
 served as parlour and state bed-room, and she vvas lighting 
 candles from a lath. 
 
 " Yes, I have heard something ; I am very sorry " 
 
Ordination. 143 
 
 "Not for the boy, I hope? it will be the saving of him, 
 please God. But the pope is to be pitied ! It is the Lord's 
 will to give us fools in all our sons!" she added, slapping 
 her knees with emphasis, and sighing deeply. 
 
 I remarked that they might improve. 
 
 " Improve ! catch them improving as long as that grand- 
 mother of a pope is their father ; he doats on them ! He 
 melts like wax at the sight of them; he won't let anybody 
 abuse them but himself, — not even me! And I know very 
 well now," she went on, bursting into tears, and wiping her 
 eyes with the ends of the cotton handkerchief with which 
 her head was bound, and which was tied behind in a bunch, 
 " that he will beat little Philip's life half out of him, and 
 then entirely spoil all impression that may be made on 
 him by treating him to cakes, and nuts, and pies. Ah ! if 
 / were their father, my dear, what fine fellows they would 
 be ! They have the best of capacities, all of them, and the 
 best of hearts, but they are fools, — Lord forgive me my sins ! 
 — and will be, it seems. The urn !" she cried, suddenly re- 
 membering the presence of a guest; — "it's boiling. Vera, 
 my friend, bring the urn in. I thank my Almighty Creator 
 that He has spared me one girl," she said in a whisper, 
 alluding to her little daughter Vera, "that has a head 
 instead of a bladder on her shoulders. But a pretty hostess 
 I am, treating my precious guest to my own troubles." 
 
 " My dear Anna Ivanovna, you know I always tell you 
 mine, and you comfort me so nicely ; now see if I have at all 
 profited by your example." 
 
 She shook her head sadly, and took a pinch of snuff (that 
 was the only thing I did not like in her, and I never could 
 eat her rusks with an easy mind). 
 
144 Ordination. 
 
 "We all have our own fashions of grumbling, my dear; 
 but I do think that one of the best ways to get cheerful 
 again is to tell out all one's trouble to some one who will 
 listen, and who can understand one. Yes ? And see if you 
 and I do not have a good laugh before we part to-night ! 
 But he is weak, is the pope." 
 
 She rose from her seat, and began to lay the cloth for tea, 
 and to bring out her best tea-things, bright with gilding. 
 Vera brought in the urn steaming and puffing as only Russian 
 Ipsecoquens, as the doctor translated the word Sanfiovar, can ; and 
 the process of tea-making and drinking ensued. " You see,'' 
 said she, while it was going on, " they all have voices ; and he 
 (the runaway, I mean) has such a good one, that the Regent 
 wants to get him into the Bishop's choir, which would be the 
 making of him, my dear. The choristers in the Bishop's 
 choir are always chosen from among the seminarists; and 
 there was Avenir, our second, who was there some time. 
 You may believe it or not, but all Perm used to go to the 
 Bishop's ChapeJ on purpose to hear that fright sing ! It used 
 to be crowded, the boys said, and the Governor's lady used to 
 send him a pound of bon-bons every time after she heard him. 
 And yet that fright (though fright he is not, God bless him ; 
 but if he were but a little wiser !), just when they were on the 
 point of giving him a permanent situation as chorister (with 
 wages !), he must needs follow our eldest's example. ' I don't 
 want to be an ecclesiastic, I want to be a layman.' Tphoo ! 
 * Well, be a layman ; cut your hair ; shave (when your beard 
 grows) ; battle with want ; make your mother cry herself 
 blind; there's my blessing for you!'" said Anna Ivanovna, 
 ajjostrophizing the absent Avenir with great energy, and ges- 
 ticulating with an empty tea-cup in her hand. " Well, Peter, 
 
Ordinatio7i. 145 
 
 he is a quiet little fellow, and he goes on singing steadily, 
 though he is not in the Bishop's choir. But when Philip 
 heard that he was to be taken there, he runs away (in the frost, 
 
 mind ! mind that !) and got as far as Q , where our eldest 
 
 serves as writer, and he let us know by the postman that 
 Philip had arrived on foot, half dead with cold, hunger, and 
 fatigue," concluded the mother, bursting into tears afresh. 
 
 " He had sold his boots," remarked Vera, a quiet, dark- 
 haired girl of twelve or thirteen, " for food on the road, and 
 his print shirt also. He arrived at my brother Nicholas's in 
 bark shoes, and without any shirt, and was so tired that 
 when he came into the house he went straight into the 
 kitchen, climbed up on the stove without speaking a single 
 word, and lay down to sleep there in his fur pelisse, just as 
 he was." 
 
 " He slept nearly twenty-four hours without waking, and was 
 so weak with hunger that they could not get a word out of 
 him when he woke, except ' Bishop's choir,' until he had some 
 tea ; then they gave him some dinner, and he told them all 
 about it," said Anna Ivanovna. 
 
 " But why do not they like to be in the Bishop's choir ? " I 
 asked, very naturally. 
 
 " God knows. Of course they are obliged to behave extra- 
 properly, that's all. The seminarists have lately got some 
 absurd notions into their heads, and must needs stuff Philip's 
 with them." 
 
 " But if they really do not Avish to be Priests or choristers, 
 why do you force them ?" 
 
 " What can I do with them ? Tell me, now ; tell me ! do 
 me the favour ! They are educated gratis at the seminary ; 
 a Priest's son is seldom admitted into military or special 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 Ordination. 
 
 academies and colleges, unless indeed he pays for them himself ; 
 and where are we to get the money to educate six boys to be 
 officers ? And if he chooses to finish the course at the ecclesi- 
 astical seminary, and not enter the Church, but become a lay- 
 man, still he must serve three or four years, according to the 
 degree he has taken, before he gets civil or military rank. No : 
 it is far better for a Priest's son to tread in his father's steps." 
 
 " Two hundred versts on foot ! in such frosts as we have 
 had lately, too, and such a little fellow (he was not more than 
 ten or eleven) ! I cannot help thinking that he must have had 
 some very strong reasons for it, Anna Ivanovna ! " 
 
 "No, stuff and nonsense !" 
 
 " Perhaps he is frightened of his teachers " 
 
 " And why should he be afraid of his teachers ? only in such 
 case if he learns badly, and is impudent or idle ! And in such 
 case, my most excellent lady, I am delighted that he should be 
 afraid of his teachers ; serve him right !" 
 
 " Perhaps he is persecuted by his school-fellows, or some- 
 thing." 
 
 " Nonsense, I tell you ; and if it were so, do you think we 
 should remove him from the seminary, eh ?— Well, when the 
 pope heard of it he burst out crying, and said he would take 
 them all home, and send them to the villages as labourers 
 until they were eighteen, and then make soldiers of them all. 
 Of Avenir, too ; yet he, thank God, is getting on pretty well, 
 
 Nicholas says, as clerk at Q , though it will be a long time 
 
 before he gets quite on his legs, because he was fool enough to 
 give up before he had quite completed the course. Though, 
 to be sure, it is no little trouble to get a son into a Church- 
 place comfortably ; there are dozens of candidates for one 
 vacancy, and the Government towns swarm with seminarists 
 
Ordination. 
 
 147 
 
 who have gone through their examination splendidly, but 
 cannot find places ; Lord help them !" 
 
 " Then what do they do for their living?" 
 
 " Some are mean enough to live at the expense of their 
 parents or friends ; others go out as private tutors, or get places 
 in schools or colleges, others are glad to transcribe papers, or 
 keep accounts for einployes or merchants, some quite fall, from 
 idleness, hopelessness, and bad company. But though in some 
 respects our class is an ill-used one, Priests have one privilege 
 that even the grandest general in the empire does not enjoy !" 
 
 " What can that be ? " I asked. 
 
 " His word is an oath of itself ! If he be brought forward 
 as witness, or on any other occasion his testimony is required, 
 he is not obliged to take the usual oath, his calling being con- 
 sidered a sufficient guarantee for his veracity.^ And his chil- 
 dren, as well as himself, are exempted from corporal punish- 
 ment,- not that it is likely though, that they would do anything 
 to deserve it." 
 
 " And when they do find a place, Anna Tvanovna, they get 
 ordained, I suppose?" 
 
 " The first thing to be done, my dear," said Anna Ivanovna, 
 laughing and tapping my arm, " when the place is found, is to 
 marry ! to find a bride ! She must be young, and a maiden 
 (ecclesiastics cannot marry widows), handsome if possible, and 
 have a good dowry. They nearly always take their wives 
 from clerical families, for the laity, you see, do not understand 
 our ways ; a rich young lady would not marry a poor Priest, 
 
 1 Monks and nuns are exempted also, on the same grounds. — Micliail- 
 oiTsky. 
 
 2 By the recently-made laws nearly everybody is exempted from the old 
 punishment of tods. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 Ordination. 
 
 and would not be a good and useful wife to him, because she is 
 not accustomed to house- work, cooking, spinning, and what we 
 call village economy.' And a poor one he will not take ; but of 
 course there are exceptions. Then when he is matried all 
 right (of course with the blessing of the Vladika) he must go to 
 the Government town to be ordained, unless by some extra- 
 ordinary piece of good fortune the Bishop should happen to 
 be on his round of visitation, when he might be ordained in 
 his native town, or wherever he might happen to be. Oh, it 
 costs a terrible deal of money j but then, when once he is in 
 his place, nothing can get him out, if he does his duties well, 
 and is not a drunkard." 
 
 " I wonder why a person must be married before he becopie 
 a Priest?" I said, not quite expecting that Anna Ivanovna 
 could inform me satisfactorily. 
 
 " Because the Holy Scripture says that he must be ' the 
 husband of one wife.' Of all the clergy. Readers only can 
 marry a second time, and if they do, their alb is taken from 
 them. The candidate must marry before taking Deacon's 
 orders. One wife, mind ! my pope cannot marry again if I 
 die, which is a comfort, for he takes good care of me, old 
 woman as I am. But I was a real beauty in my youth ; not 
 one of my children is like me ; popes, every one of them." 
 
 I can quite believe that Anna Ivanovna was a beautiful girl, 
 although she has now no teeth visible except two in the lower 
 jaw, and looks very thin and worn. Her blue eyes are still 
 fine ; her nose aquihne (a rarity in Russia), but small ; her 
 complexion, too, is fair and fine, with the remains of bloom on 
 her now hollow cheeks. 
 
 " Tell me, Anna Ivanovna, how you got man-ied, and all 
 about it,' I said, seeing that she was in a communicative 
 
Ordination. 
 
 149 
 
 humour. " But first tell me one thing — you were taken from 
 a lay family, were you not ? " 
 
 " No, my dear ; I am the daughter of a protopope, and all 
 my kith and kin belonged to the Church, except my noble 
 sons, who, of course, expect to be generals or actual councillors 
 of State one of these days. But why do you think I am of a 
 lay family? " she asked, smiling. 
 
 I felt rather confused, but I smiled also, and answered 
 openly, which was my only way of escape. " Because you 
 are not like any other popodia'^ that I know, Anna Ivanovna." 
 
 " No ! I admit that our sisterhood is neither learned nor 
 refined, but we suit for Priest's wives, — they require working 
 women. And you know, my dear, the weakness of our 
 Russian girls ; if they can say a phrase or two in French, and 
 jingle a little on the piano, they set up for grand ladies ; and 
 as for making rye bread, or mangling the linen on the katok- 
 valyok,^ or setting up a length of linen to weave — Lord bless 
 you ! " and she waved her hand. — " How I got married, eh? 
 Well, much about the same way as other folks, I suppose." 
 
 " You have begun your story, Anna Ivanovna, and you 
 must finish it," I said, laughing. " You said ' My father was a 
 protopope.' Now pray go on." 
 
 " Very well ' My pope's father was very poor, and had a 
 large family. He lived in our district, and he and my father 
 were on very friendly terms. Spiridon Andreevitch used to 
 come home for the vacations on foot from the Government 
 town, and help his father in the field work. If ever I did 
 happen to notice him at all, I only remember thinking him a 
 very lanky, silent lad ; just such another as our Avenir, only 
 with black hair. The two fathers often used to joke and plan 
 1 Pope's wife. ^ A little hand-mangle. 
 
50 
 
 Ordination. 
 
 a wedding, but it only made me mad at the moment, and I 
 never supjDOsed it really would be. My father had a very 
 good place in a large village, part of which belonged to a 
 rich proprietor, a simple, hospitable old man ; self-willed, 
 tyrannical, and kind at the same time, — the very type of an old- 
 fashioned land-owner. His second son died, leaving two 
 daughters about my age ; they lived with their grandfather, 
 and I was their bosom friend and only companion, for the 
 surrounding land-owners had no daughters of our age. I was 
 my parents' only girl, and a great pet ; my father took unusual 
 pains with my education, and taught me geography and 
 history as well as reading and writing ; I was always fond of 
 reading, and the young ladies lent me plenty of books. My 
 mother accustomed me to liousehold work from my childhood; 
 the management of the cows, sheep, pigs, and poultry; 
 gardening, spinning, and all the processes to be gone through 
 from the time the flax is sown to the last time of rinsing a 
 piece of linen at the river, and laying it on the grass to dry, 
 before rolling it up to be put away. I learned bead-work and 
 lace -making at the proprietor's house. Being the only daughter, 
 I had a handsome dowry in linen and wool ; a beautiful down 
 bed and six large pillows from our own geese ; laced towels, 
 and body, table, bed and household linen in abundance, all of 
 my mother's and my own spinning, weaving, bleaching, and 
 sewing, besides twenty pieces of linen unmade, for future use. 
 And, as I said before, I was a pretty girl, and a singer (the 
 boys got their voices from me, my dear, allow me to tell you, 
 for the pope's singing, as you know, is a mere growling), and I 
 could make a gown smartly, so that I had plenty of suitors ; 
 but I did not care for one of them, and was so happy at home, 
 that when my fatlier came home one night from a neighbour's 
 
Ordination. 
 
 name-day party, and said that, thank God, Father Andres 
 Spiridon had found a place, and that it was time to think of 
 the wedding, I cried three nights and days incessantly, and 
 notliing but my father's absolute command could have made 
 me consent to marry .Spiridon. But he insisted on it, and 
 when my bridegroom came to be formally betrothed to me 
 I was agreeably surprised. He was grown stouter, and quite 
 chatty, and was so kind to me, and so amusing and lively, that 
 by the time the wedding-day came I was almost reconciled 
 to being his wife. In three weeks or a month all the business 
 of courting and marrying was done. I was sixteen, and he 
 twenty-two. My father gave us a cow and a horse, six sheep, 
 and pigs and poultry, besides household utensils, an urn and 
 a set of tea-things, and all that sort of thing. Our village was 
 about a hundred versts from my father's, so that we often saw 
 each other. It was not a rich place, but we contrived to live 
 there without want for seven or eight years, when he was 
 removed to a better place in a town. We have had several 
 moves — more than Priests generally have — and at last came 
 here ; it is not a very good place, but I have no reason to 
 complain or to reproach my Creator. We are not rich, as you 
 know, but we live without getting into debt ; and if it were not 
 for those stupid boys, and the loss of my dear daughter (which 
 added ten years to my age, my dear — only twenty-two years 
 old, and the best of girls !), I should be perfectly happy. Yes, 
 perfectly happy." 
 
 " And after your wedding did you go to town with Father 
 Spiridon ? Did you see him ordained ? " 
 
 " Of course. I saw it all, and it seemed to me very grand 
 and imposing, because I had only seen an Archbishop's Mass 
 once in my life before. He was a Reader when he married ; 
 
Ordination. 
 
 then he was ordained Sub-Deacon, then Deacon, and last of 
 all Priest. You know a Reader is not considered an ordained 
 minister ; he is merely blessed, and his hair, like that of an 
 infant at baptism, is cut in the middle of the church, and a 
 short garment put on his shoulders, called a Feiiol; but it is 
 not worn at Divine Service, only the alb, which an unconseCrated 
 Ponomar^ has not the right to put on." 
 
 "And all these consecrations took place on one day, one 
 after the other?" 
 
 " No ; each on different days, and at different times in the 
 Liturgy ; and only one person can be ordained during one 
 service, so that the Archbishop seldom performs Mass without 
 an ordination or consecration of some kind. At each ordination 
 some article of canonicals is added, and put on in the church ; 
 for instance, the Sub-Deacon dons the scarf over his Reader's 
 alb, a full Deacon receives the cuffs, and a Priest the vestment 
 and stole. When the Bishop gives him either of these canon- 
 icals, he says the word ' Axios ! ' aloud, which means ' he is 
 worthy,' and which is repeated by the clergy and the choir. 
 On the day that my husband was ordained Deacon of course 
 he ate nothing before he went to Mass, and he appeared among 
 the Sub-Deacons who helped in the service of the day. A 
 Deacon is ordained after the consecration of the Eucharist, 
 showing that he is not an indispensable person at the celebration 
 of the Holy Communion, but merely a servant or assistant. Do 
 you know that Deacon means servant, in Greek ? " 
 
 I was forced to confess my utter ignorance of the dead 
 languages, and particularly of Greek. 
 
 "Well, and I should not know, but that I am constantly 
 hearing my pope talk to the boys, or to guests about ecclesi- 
 
 1 A lay Reader. 
 
Ordination. 
 
 153 
 
 astical concerns. Just at the end of the service, then, the 
 candidate is led by two Sub-Deacons into the altar, and there 
 they deliver him over to the Proto-Deacon or Deacon , who 
 addresses the congregation with the word Poveli^ which in this 
 instance means ' Permit ! ' that is, he asks the consent of thepeople^ 
 from among whom the new Deacon is supposed to be elected, 
 to his ordination ; then he addresses the clergy with the same 
 word, by way of asking their permission to his entering their 
 holy profession and joining their holy brotherhood ; and lastly 
 to the Bishop, thus begging his pastoral blessing. After which 
 he leads him up to the Bishop, and precedes him round the 
 altar three times, the candidate kissing the corners of the 
 throne, each tiine saying, ' O God of Holiness, God of 
 Strength, God of Immortality, have mercy on us ! ' And as 
 he passes the Bishop he kisses his omophorium, staff (or 
 crozier) and hand. The choir sings Tropars^ all the time. The 
 candidate then kneels down, but on one knee (the right one) 
 only, in token that he does not take all the duties of ministry 
 on himself, and places his hands crosswise on the throne, with 
 his forehead leaning on it between them, and in this position 
 the Bishop lays his hand on him, by putting the end of his 
 omophorium on his head and pronouncing the blessing ; the 
 choir sang Kyrie Eleison on the right hand in Russ, and on the 
 left in Greek. On the conclusion of the prayer the canonicals 
 of a Deacon were delivered to my husband, who rose to his 
 feet, and were placed in his hands by the Bishop himself, each 
 with the word Axios. Of course he kissed the Bishop's hand. 
 When his new canonicals are put on, the new Deacon kisses 
 
 1 Compare "The Form and Manner of Ordaining of Priests" in the 
 Prayer Book, " Good People," &c. «S:c. 
 ^ A Psahn or Canticle. 
 
154 
 
 Oj'-dmation. 
 
 and is kissed by all the other Deacons present, in token of 
 brotherhood, and he immediately enters on his new duties, the 
 Ripida^ being placed in his hand, and stands on the north 
 side of the throne. At the time of the administration of the 
 Sacrament he receives it as a Deacon, that is to say, in the 
 altar, and at the end of the service says the Litany, that being 
 one of his principal duties." 
 
 " Well ; and the ordination as Priest ?" 
 
 " It is almost the same. It takes place earlier in the course 
 of the Liturgy ; the candidate is led by Deacons to the Altar, 
 is received by Priests, and kneels at the throne on both knees, 
 and, besides giving him his canonicals, the Bishop places the 
 missal, or book for the performance of matins, Mass, and 
 vespers, in his hand. Axios is of course pronounced. After 
 consecration the new Priest kisses and is kissed by the other 
 Priests present, in token of brotherhood. Then they go on 
 with the service, the newly-ordained Priest taking his place 
 with his fellows, and when the Holy Elements are consecrated, 
 the Bishop places in his hands a piece of the Bread, which he 
 holds during the time of Communion. This signifies that he is 
 now not only the Minister of the Sacraments of Christ's reli- 
 gion, but their keeper, and the distributor of them to others.^ 
 The prayer that is read just at the end of the Liturgy, is always 
 given to the new Priest to read on the day he is ordained, one 
 of his principal offices being to pray for the flock committed to 
 his care, and to beg for all blessings on them both for this 
 
 1 A curious thing made of metal, resembling a coal-hole grating in the 
 pavements of London streets — round, and about eight or ten inches in 
 diameter ; it is gilt, and is a showy thing ; there is a long handle to it It 
 is a symbol of angels' wings. 
 
 2 Michailoffsky. 
 
Ordination. 1 5 5 
 
 world and the next, which is the subject of that particular 
 prayer. You must know tliat a protopope is ordained anew, 
 but it is a mere form, and he has nothing added to his canoni- 
 cals. The consecration of a Bishop or Abbot is of course very 
 grand, and all the signs of their office are put on them in the 
 church, as the Priests' and Deacons' are." 
 
 I thanked my kind friend for her information, and, after a 
 little more conversation on usual subjects, I was thinking of 
 rolling up my work and taking my departure, when we heard 
 the jingling of horse-bells, and immediately afterwards the 
 squeaking of tlie old yard gates. 
 
 "It is the pope!" cried my hostess, running out to meet 
 him. 
 
 He entered in a minute or two, his long beard all white with 
 frost, and his hair plaited in two tails. He crossed himself 
 devoutly before speaking a word to his wife or daughter, — who 
 laughingly refused to be kissed, — and gave me his blessing, on 
 my approaching him with the back of my right hand crossed 
 on the palm of my left. 
 
 " Well ?" said Anna Ivanovna, anxiously. 
 
 "Thank God !" was the reply. 
 
 "Thank God !" repeated she, crossing herself, mth a deep 
 sigh of intense reUef " Go on ! Vera ! the urn, as quickly as 
 you can!" 
 
 The little girl ran to heat it ; Father Spu-idon wiped his 
 tliawing beard, divested himself of his many wrappers, and sat 
 down, relating something about his driver, which even I did 
 not attend to, and which Anna Ivanovna, burning with impa- 
 tience and motherly solicitude, interrupted without ceremony. 
 
 " How did it all end, martyrizer?" she cried. 
 
 " I told you it is all right. Curiosity, curiosity, matoushka ! 
 
Ordination. 
 
 Shall I never cure you of that abominable habit ? Twenty-five 
 years have I been trying to eradicate it, and still it is as strong 
 as ever — so there's nothing to be done," he continued, sud- 
 denly changing his tone from the sentimental to the natural, 
 " but to gratify it, eh ? When I got to Q , Philip hid him- 
 self in the hay-loft, and would not come out ; and, after 
 remaining there nearly an hour, still maintained silence. I was 
 so mad with him, that I roared out to him in the yard that if 
 he did not show himself, I would set fire to the hay-loft, so out 
 he crept. — (Give me a pinch.) — Out he crept, and came into 
 the house shaking and shivering, and threw himself at my 
 feet. I said, ' Don't come near me, or I shall knock you 
 down;' and I sat still, drinking tea, without saying one word to 
 him, for an hour or so, which I think frightened him more 
 than if I had flogged him. Then I said, ' Now, Philip Spirid- 
 onovitch, I am not going to beat you ; but 1 intend you to be 
 in the Bishop's choir ; so get your dinner, and we will be off.' 
 I was sorry for the boy," he continued (Anna Ivanovna was 
 crying and ejaculating, ' Thou darling of mine ! thou beauty of 
 mine ! my gold ! my batioushka !'), " very sorry : he was so 
 scared and thin. He said his companions had put him up to 
 it, and that little Shagin, Father Hippolyte's boy, of Cortem- 
 efifka, ran away at the same time. I did not lay my hand on 
 him, mother; but after dinner I gave him some parental 
 advice, and some parental threats ; and I told him flatly that 
 he is to be a chorister or a chimney-sweeper." (Father 
 Spiridon chuckled, and his wife actually sobbed.) " So he chose 
 to be a chorister. We went m.errily enough to Perm, and 
 when we got there I went straight to the inspector, then to the 
 regent (and paid my respects to the Rector, too ; he is an 
 Archimandrite," he explained to me ; "a very influential person 
 
Ordination. 
 
 157 
 
 with the Vladika), and got him into the choir, written, signed, 
 and sealed, as I may say, without the shadow of a difficulty. 
 For the fact is, mother, that they are only too glad to be sure 
 of such a voice as Philip's." 
 "Of course. And Petinka ? " 
 
 "Pdtinka is my own boy ! He is just as gentle and quiet as 
 ever, and he nearly cried his eyes out for his brother; yet, as 
 soon as they met, he fell on him and thrashed him before my 
 very eyes. ' Don't be a runaway, a runaway, a runaway,' he 
 said at each blow. As it was in the cause of virtue, I gave 
 him my fatherly blessing to repeat it if ever Philka should 
 think of doing so again. He sings in the seminary choir, but 
 his voice is not equal to his brother's." 
 
 It was high time for me to go. I congratulated the worthy 
 couple on the happy conclusion of the affair, and felt very glad 
 that poor little Philip had got off so easily. He never 
 attempted running away again. 
 
MARRIAGE. 
 
MARRIAGE. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 " Q. In what does Marriage consist ? 
 
 " A . The union of the bridegroom and bride by their mutual consent is 
 blessed by the Church, it being a type of the union of Christ with His 
 Church." 
 
 FTER receiving an excellent education in one of the 
 
 many Government institutions that exist in Russia for 
 the poor or orphaned daughters of nobles, Lizavetta Zorine 
 was taken home by a cousin of her deceased mother's, who 
 would not consent to the cherished child of her best and 
 earliest friend being cast on the world as a governess ; and 
 the young girl herself, who looked on her relative as a mother, 
 hesitated not an instant when, by the rules of the establish- 
 ment, the matter was left to her decision. 
 
 Liza's "aunt," as she called her, had herself been an 
 orphan, and had resided from a very early age with a family 
 of relations — landed proprietors, in which, as she grew up, 
 she was far from happy; she had to endure her aunt's con- 
 
 M 
 
l62 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 tinual scoldings, upbraidings, and grudgings, the horrors of 
 her uncle's drinking-fits, her boy-cousin's persecutions and 
 teasings, and the ridicule which her every action and obser- 
 vation drew from Zenobia, the second daughter of the house, 
 who was just her age, and had received a very superficial 
 education at a pension at Moscow, which distinction, she 
 considered, entitled her to behave with insolence and con- 
 tempt to every less fortunate mortal. 
 
 The elder daughter, Nadine, as it was then the fashion to 
 call the possessors of the national name of Nadejda, was 
 good, gay, and loving, a perfect contrast to her sister Zenobia ; 
 and to her the poor neglected orphan clung with all the frantic 
 tenderness of a young girl towards one a little older than 
 herself, but who still may be called her bosom friend. 
 Nadine taught Polinka^ all that she herself knew, and found 
 an apt and eager pupil in her. Not only did she master the 
 French language sufficiently, in the two years which elapsed 
 between her teacher's leaving school and her marriage, to 
 enable her to converse fluently, but she could read with 
 enjoyment various journals of embroidery, &c., and light 
 novels, and even a little of Chateaubriand, Victor Hugo, 
 and other favourites of the Institutka of those days, — played 
 a little on the piano and guitar, and drew birds and butterflies 
 passably well. Nadine's marriage was with a young officer, 
 not of high rank, and with nothing but his pay, and it was 
 the signal for new rules in her mother's establishment. The 
 nurse, who since her charges left the nursery had become 
 housekeeper, was, by virtue of the then existing laws, made 
 over to the young bride as part of her dowry, for Nadine 
 knew nothing of housekeeping ; and poor Polinka, who knew 
 1 Dim. of Polixena. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 163 
 
 but little more, was installed in nurse's place, to make the 
 tea and coffee, give out the provisions, attend to the dairy, 
 and superintend the great washings and cleanings, which 
 constitute such an important item in Russian domestic 
 economy. 
 
 Polinka did her duty as well as she could, but she did not 
 like it at all ; she was young and inexperienced too, frightened 
 to death of her aunt, and timid in giving orders to the 
 servants, who frequently did not attend to them, and then 
 she had to bear the full force of her aunt's ire. Her days 
 were passed in a tearful, striving, but rather dawdling ful- 
 filment of the duties imposed on her, secret readings of 
 poetry and prose, which, according to the taste of the 
 literature of the day, was all in favour of melancholy, solitude, 
 disappointment and grief, transcribing, much to the dis- 
 pleasure of her aunt, such passages as seemed to suit her 
 case ; making and altering her very limited and modest 
 garments. Poor little thing ! do not judge her too harshly, 
 gentle, well-informed English girl ; she had no one to teach 
 her better, no one to encourage her. 
 
 At last an army doctor, pitying her oppressed and persecuted 
 state, and the apparent increase of rigour with which she 
 was treated, did all he could to better her condition by offering 
 himself in marriage. She was a blooming girl of nineteen, 
 quite well-looking enough for a man to lose his heart to ; 
 was cheerful enough when she forgot her sorrows, which she 
 always did when he talked to her, and was, as he had abundant 
 occasion to observe when attending her uncle in a long and 
 difficult illness, the kindest, best little body in the world — 
 to his mind. He was twelve years her senior, and not the 
 man likely to take the fancy of a young girl ; but she was 
 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 thankful and overjoyed at the chance of escape from her 
 present home, and consented without any ado to be his wife. 
 
 Her uncle and aunt were glad to get her off their hands, 
 useful as she had been for the last two or three years : they 
 provided her with a dowry of scanty proportions with regard 
 to linen, but magnificent as far as silk gowns, velvet mantles, 
 and be-feathered bonnets went. Arrayed in these, the young 
 Doctorsha made her wedding-visits with her happy husband, 
 to the envy and distraction of her young friends, and especially 
 of her cousin Zizi (who, though she laughed on every occasion 
 at the worthy bridegroom, and made great fun of the whole 
 affair, secretly envied Polinka's position as a bride), and to 
 the admiration and rapture of the mammas, who did not fail to 
 laud to the skies the munificence of the uncle and aunt, and to 
 call down blessings from thence on the orphan's benefactors. 
 
 Time passed on. Polixena made a very kind and efficient 
 wife to her good doctor, and the domestic duties, that before 
 had been such a bore to her, were her delight and pride in 
 her own house ; the doctor was what he seemed before his 
 marriage, and the result of it all was that they were very 
 happy together. He had procured a town practice in the 
 interior, as he did not like dragging his wife and household 
 from place to place with the regiment, and he was getting on 
 in the world quietly and surely, when one day Polinka received 
 a letter from Nadine's husband, informing her that he had 
 just lost his darling wife, who from her death-bed had implored 
 her cousin to take compassion on her little five-years'-old 
 Lizette. He added that he was on the point of leaving 
 Moscow, where he had hitherto lived, for the Caucasus, and 
 proposed assigning a sum of money to be paid to Dr. Koupe'eff 
 annually for his little girl's maintenance. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 Polinka glanced at her husband with the tears streaming 
 down her plump cheeks. 
 
 " Of course ! " he said, in answer to her look ; " but how 
 shall we get her here ? Feodor Pavlovitch is evidently too 
 much distracted by this terrible misfortune to write clearly. 
 We must answer this letter, and ask him to be more explicit. 
 But no; see, he says he is going on the isth, and it is the 
 2 0th to-day. Consequently he is already on the road. And 
 where has he left the child? Listen!" he continued, after 
 a short pause, holding up his hand as it was his wont to do 
 when he wished to be paid attention to ; " old Mrs. Stepanoff 
 is at Moscow — write to her, Polia, and ask her to hunt out 
 the poor little darling and bring her here with her when she 
 returns home.'' 
 
 " An excellent idea !" exclaimed Mrs. Koupdeff, " and she is 
 such a kind person that I am sure she will consent. I will go 
 immediately to her daughter's for her address. Poor dear 
 Nadine ! she never was very strong : we must have a requiem 
 performed, Andre Gavrilovitch." 
 
 "Certainly; but go at once to Mrs. Stepanoff 's daughter's, 
 while I write the letter to the depot, enclosing poor Feodor's, 
 so that they may settle all his affairs comfortably with 
 Mrs. Stepanoff It is post-day, too." 
 
 Matters were arranged better than might have been expected ; 
 the letters to the depot and to Mrs. Stepanoff were duly sent, 
 received, and attended to ; the little girl was not only hunted 
 out by the active and benevolent old lad)', but all her mother's 
 upper clothing, and the goods and furniture that the poor 
 distracted young widower had left in the care of his landlord, 
 were advantageously disposed of, the linen and silver collected, 
 and, together with the litde Liza, — a dehcate, spoiled, pretty 
 
1 66 Marriage. 
 
 child, — were brought safely to G , where she was received 
 
 with showers of tears and kisses by her " aunt," as Polixena 
 Matveevna called herself, and as the first cousins of parents 
 always are called by the Russians. 
 
 The Koupeelfs had two little ones of their own, fine, merry 
 boys of two years and of ten months old, and Polia had a way 
 of getting on with them which did not at all suit the irritable 
 and capricious little Liza. The doctor, however, had views of 
 his own on the subject of physical and moral education; he 
 soon found out that Liza's failings were more those of bad 
 breeding than of character, and he insisted on his wife's going 
 hand in hand with him in bringing her, gently but firmly, 
 to the standard that his own children had already attained. 
 In a year's time she had become a healthy, good-natured, 
 obedient little girl, devotedly fond of her uncle and aunt, and 
 rewarding them for the extraordinary pains they had taken in 
 her improvement, by her affectionate and obliging little ways. 
 
 Her father continued to write regularly for some years, 
 during which time Liza's grandparents died, leaving their estate 
 in such a plight that the eldest son could do nothing but sell 
 it in order to pay their debts, his own, and his brothers. The 
 elegant Zizi, after refusing several good men in the hopes of 
 securing a " general," had bestowed her hand on an aged 
 councillor, who was known to be extremely wealthy, and who 
 proved to be extremely stingy. In fact, the happiest of the 
 whole family was Polinka. 
 
 When Liza was about ten, official information was received 
 that her father had died of decline, at Vladikavkass. Dr. 
 Koupdeff immediately set about trying for a nomination in one 
 of the Institutes. The trouble and expense (expense, that is, 
 to the greater part of petitioners, to whom every kopecka is 
 
Marriage. 
 
 167 
 
 " money ") that such an undertaking incurs are only rendered 
 bearable by the hope of their being, eventually, not taken 
 in vain. First, the certificate of birth ^ and baptism, on a 
 stamped paper of ninety kopeckas' value. Secondly, of vaccina- 
 tion, good health, and sound mental faculties ; particular stress 
 is laid on the child's being free from fits of any kind. The 
 stamped paper for this costs five silver roubles. Thirdly, the 
 formulary list of service of the father, or his certificate if he 
 be living and retired, y^^r/j' kopeckas. Fourthly, if he be retired 
 on account of ill-health, a medical certificate is required, one 
 rouble. Fifthly, the petition, otie rouble ; and sixthly, a certifi- 
 cate of the acquirements of the little candidate, signed by a 
 competent examiner, and written on ordinary paper. These 
 documents, when collected, are sent off to the place of desti- 
 nation, which varies, according to circumstances, and they 
 generally remain a very long time unanswered in consequence 
 of the immense number of applicants, and the consequent 
 indispensability of ballot. Liza was not more fortunate than 
 others ; but her turn came at last, and in her twelfth year she 
 was nominated to an Institute of high repute. No outfit was 
 required, for the orphans are clothed, as well as fed and 
 educated— fitted for governesses. We know already that 
 Polixena Matv^evna was not a highly-educated woman, but 
 with the assistance of a master for arithmetic and grammar 
 she prepared her little niece very creditably; and Liza took 
 her stand among the other recruits of her age, equal to most, 
 superior to many, and inferior to but very few. 
 
 Formerly this certificate was to be procured only from the consistory of 
 the diocese in which the child was born ; it was always a long job, and 
 often a difficult one, if the family had removed to a distant government. 
 Within the last few years the regulations allow of its being simply a copy 
 from the church register, attested by a Priest, Deacon, and Reader. 
 
i68 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 True to the rule that every undertaking should begin with 
 prayer, and end with thanksgiving, the Greco-Russian Church 
 provides children about to begin or to resume their studies, 
 with a special service for the purpose of asking the blessing of 
 God on their new, and perhaps unknown duties. It is used 
 not only at the commencement of education, but on the 
 conclusion of long holidays, each time that the pupils assemble 
 anew,^ on the introduction of a governess or tutor into a 
 private family, and previously to setting forth on a journey for 
 the purpose of placing a boy or girl in an educational esta- 
 blishment. On the eve of the day of Liza's departure from 
 home, her uncle took her to church, and requested that this 
 Mole'ben might be performed on her behalf 
 
 A Naloy^ is placed in the body of the church, and holy 
 water prepared. The hymn to the Holy Ghost forms the 
 commencement ; it is followed by Psalm xxxiv., which is 
 adapted to the occasion in a remarkable manner, inciting the 
 little ones, as it does, to the joys of religion. " O taste and 
 see how gracious the Lord is ! blessed is the man that trusteth 
 in Him." " Come, ye children, and hearken unto me : I will 
 teach you the fear of the Lord." The great Litany is then 
 intoned by the Deacon ; to it are added the following special 
 petitions : — - 
 
 " That it may please Thee to send down on this child (or 
 children) the spirit of wisdom and understanding ; to open 
 their minds and their lips, and to enlighten their hearts to the 
 receiving of good teaching." 
 
 1 The pupils are either taken to church, or the service is performed in the 
 schoolroom ; the teachers and frequently the parents attend it, and join 
 their prayers with those of the Church for the children given to tliem or 
 committed to their care. - A small moveable reading-desk. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 169 
 
 '■^ Lord, have mercy 07i us." 
 "That it may please Thee to plant in their hearts the 
 beginning of true wisdom, Thy Divine fear, and to chase from 
 their minds the follies of youth, that they may eschew evil and 
 do good." 
 
 " Lord, have mercy on us." 
 " That it may please Thee to open their minds, that they 
 may receive, understand, and retain all good and soul-saving 
 teachings." 
 
 '■^ Lord, have mercy on iis." 
 "That it may please Thee to instil into their minds the 
 wisdom of Him that sitteth on Thy Throne, that they may 
 know what is pleasing to Him." 
 " Lord, have mercy on ns." 
 " That they may increase in wisdom and stature, to the glory 
 of God." 
 
 "Lord, have mercy on 7is." 
 " That they may, by their wisdom and virtuous life, and 
 their stedfastness in the orthodox faith, be the joy and 
 comfort of their parents and a pillar to the orthodox 
 Church." 
 
 "Lord, have mercy on ns." 
 " That it may please Thee to preserve them and us from all 
 grief, wrath, and want." 
 
 " Lord, have mercy on ns." 
 " Defend, save, preserve, and have mercy on them and us, 
 O Lord, by Thy grace." 
 
 " Lord, have mercy on ns." 
 The Priest then reads this conclusion to the Litany : — 
 " As Thou amongst Thy disciples earnest and grantedst them 
 Thy peace, come Thou also among us, and save us ! " with 
 
1 70 Marriage. 
 
 several other "verses," after which the Epistle and Gospel are 
 read, each of which are beautifully adapted to the occasion. 
 
 Before the reading of the Epistle (Eph. i. 16 — 20, and iii. 18 
 — 21), the choir always sing a prokinien, or preparatory verse. 
 
 On this occasion we must again admire the selection 
 made : it is from Psalm viii. 3 : " Out of the mouths of babes 
 and suckHngs hast Thou ordained praise." " My heart shall 
 rejoice in Thy salvation." 
 
 The Gospel, read by the Priest over the lowly-bent heads 
 of the children, is taken from St. Mark ix. 13 — 16. On 
 its conclusion they kiss the Holy Book in token of devotion 
 and respect to its contents. A second Litany follows, after 
 which the Priest, " with all attention and feeling," reads this 
 prayer in a loud voice : — 
 
 " O Lord God, our Creator, Who didst teach us men, by 
 teaching Thy chosen disciples, how to receive Thy instruction, 
 Who taughtest Solomon, and all others who sought it, Thy 
 wisdom, open the minds, hearts, and lips of these Thy 
 servants, that they may acknowledge the justice of Thy laws, 
 and understand throughly all good teaching that is given to 
 them ; to the glory of Thy Holy Name, and to the benefit 
 and strengthening of Thy Holy Church, make them to 
 understand what Thy Holy Will is. Defend them from all 
 assaults of their enemies, keep them firm in the orthodox 
 faith, and in all goodness and purity throughout all the days 
 of their lives, that they may increase in understanding and 
 in the fulfilling of Thy holy commandments, and so to 
 prepare themselves to glorify Thy Name as to be heirs of 
 Thy kingdom." 
 
 The benediction, in tl:e following words, concludes this 
 beautiful little service : — 
 
Marriage. 
 
 171 
 
 " The blessing of God be with you, and His grace, and 
 fulness, and mercy, now, henceforth, and for ever." 
 
 As each child kisses the cross held in one hand of the 
 Priest, he is sprinkled with holy water from the brush which 
 he holds in the other hand. 
 
 Andre' Gavrilovitch took her to Petersburg himself, and 
 even persuaded his wife to give herself a holiday, and leave 
 her little family to the care of Anna Martinovna, a kind, useful 
 old maid, who, though a noble, was as poor as a church mouse, 
 and was only too glad to live for a month or two in the 
 doctor's comfortable house, with nothing to do but to order 
 dinners and make teas for the children, and to partake of the 
 same with them; for the care of the obedient, well-behaved 
 little Koupe'efifs could hardly be called trouble. She knitted 
 an astonishing number of children's socks most exquisitely, 
 during her sojourn in the doctor's house, and every week 
 wrote them a letter to one and the same effect, with the 
 slightest possible variation of expression. " Glory to God ! 
 Pavlinka and Petinka are in good health, and Olinka also, 
 glory to God ! And the cows, glory to God, continue to give 
 plenty of milk ; and I hope you and the most respectable 
 Andre Gavrilovitch are in good health and prosperity." In 
 two months they returned, with all sorts of purchases, which 
 the ladies of the town rushed to inspect and take patterns 
 from. Papasha brought his darling Paul and Peter complete 
 coachmen's costumes for winter wear, consisting of little sheep- 
 skin kaftans,^ embroidered with coloured silks, silken girdles 
 and blue velvet caps, and a sarafan and straw hat for the baby 
 Olga, with plenty of toys for all three. Then there were 
 
 ^ A long coat or robe worn by the Russian peasants and coach- 
 men. 
 
172 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 Petersburg cotton gowns for the nurse and maid, and a neat 
 cap and woollen dress for Anna Martinovna, who, pleased as 
 she was to receive such a token of kind feeling from her 
 friends, was in her heart of hearts sorry to see them at home 
 again for her own sake, as she foresaw the necessity of taking 
 her leave. The children, however, were so fond of her, and 
 her domestic arrangements during Polixena Matveevna's 
 absence proved her to be so orderly and careful, that the 
 doctor proposed to her to remain with them, half companion, 
 half housekeeper, particularly as Polinka was not quite strong 
 just then, and required more time for attending to her little 
 boys' studies. 
 
 Peacefully and happily, almost without alloy, passed six 
 years more of the lives of the Koupdeffs ; two or three children 
 had been added to their family ; Paul and Peter had been 
 established some time in the artillery academy, one child had 
 nearly died of the croup, and another badly burnt, though 
 he escaped without any visible scar to disfigure him ; new 
 papers had been hung in all the rooms, and a piano bought : 
 these were the most remarkable events in their home history ; 
 but now, the return of Liza from the Institute was regarded 
 as a sort of era in the family. 
 
 Aunt Zizi, who lived at Petersburg, and whose stingy 
 husband had left her a wealthy widow, had taken but little 
 notice of Liza, except now and then to bring or send her a 
 lath basket of sweetmeats, apples, or oranges; but she now 
 undertook to equip her, and even went so far as to add a few 
 articles from her own purse. Liza stayed with her until an 
 
 opportunity occurred for her return to G with a lady 
 
 escort, and the few weeks that she lived in Aunt Zizi's house 
 were principally employed in buying and ordering the necessary 
 
Marriage. 
 
 173 
 
 things ; but the elder lady, who had always had a " strong weak- 
 ness " (as they say in Russ) for dress and personal ornamenta- 
 tion, was surprised to find so little sympathy on Liza's part on 
 the subject. All her endeavours to raise raptures about wreaths 
 of flowers, canezous, high-heeled boots, ear-rings, nets, &c. &c., 
 were fruitless ; Liza's answer generally being — 
 
 " Yes, I suppose it will do, thank you, aunt. It is all the 
 same to me." 
 
 "Ah! such a lovely net as that, and she says 'it will 
 do,' mais c'cst a ravir ! It will strike all your stupid poky 
 
 G peoi)le ! And the hat a la paysanne! go and put 
 
 it on." 
 
 Liza would submit, for the sixth time in the course of that 
 day, and suffer herself to be admired and criticised by her 
 aunt and her aunt's friends, to whom all the purchases were 
 exhibited for approval. Zizi certainly had good taste, and 
 they were unanimously pronounced to be magnifique, char- 
 mant, parfaitcment de bon gout, and so on. 
 
 At last the opportunity arrived, in the person of an elderly 
 landed proprietress, who was performing a sort of pilgrimage 
 from one monastery to another. She had not long before 
 arrived from the Solovetsky monastery on the White Sea, 
 and she now intended returning to her estate, which was 
 
 not far from G , and belonged to that district. The day 
 
 of departure was fixed, and Liza began to prepare for her 
 journey; one more visit to the old familiar walls of the 
 Institute, one last embrace of the kind instructresses and dear 
 companions, and then, with all her finery carefully packed, 
 her album full of farewell and exalte effusions, she set forth 
 on her road home. 
 
 Many were the day-dreams she indulged in during that 
 
1 74 Marriage. 
 
 weary fortnight ; it was in the winter, and consequently they 
 had to travel in the old-fashioned kibitka, stopping every 
 twenty or twenty-five versts to change horses, to warm them- 
 selves and to drink tea, or dine in the hot uncomfortable 
 station-houses. Liza's protectress slept almost the whole 
 time that they passed in the kibitka, and thus her reflections 
 were seldom interrupted, and her inevitable dulness rarely 
 brightened. The brief visit to Aunt Zizi had left an un- 
 satisfactory impression on her mind, and she longed to meet 
 her second mother, and to pour all her airy castles, her doubts 
 and wishes, into that kind and indulgent bosom. 
 
 Then came the long-wished-for arrival, the joyful meeting, 
 the exclamations of surprise at Liza's growth, Anna Marti- 
 novna's open admiration of her good looks, Liza's dehght with 
 the baby (babies are things unknown in the Institute), and 
 her astonishment that Olinka knew who she was, forgetting 
 that the child had heard little or nothing but conjectures 
 about Liza's arrival for the last month or more. 
 
 After the first burst of welcome and joy had subsided, 
 Polixena Matveevna led her to a neat, cheerful little bed- 
 room, prettily furnished, where she found a .green stand full 
 of plants in bloom (Andrd Gavrilovitch did not consider 
 plants poisonous), a work-table, book-shelves with " Mai'koff''s 
 Poems," Mey's sweet verses, Tourge'niefif's exquisite "Notes 
 of a Sportsman," and other well-selected works, besides the 
 already received numbers of two or three of the best peri- 
 odicals. These Httle attentions touched our Institutka; she 
 was prepared to love Polixena Matvdevna as she would 
 her own mother, and when she heard the kind voice say, 
 " If I have forgotten anything that you want, dear, tell me, 
 and you shall have it if it is in our power," the young girl 
 
Marriage. 175 
 
 burst into tears, and could not utter a word for happiness and 
 gratitude. 
 
 " Now, aunty," she said the next morning, when they all 
 met at the coffee-table, she looking much prettier after a 
 good night's rest, and attired in one of the becoming 
 Petersburg dresses, and with her beautiful light brown hair 
 arranged nicely, " I do not intend to be idle ; I want to help 
 you ; you must give me some occupation. And I think, if you 
 would allow me to teach Olia, I should be able, and Yashinka 
 too, when he is a little older. You will let me, aunty?" 
 
 " By all means ; only do not spoil them." 
 
 " Oh no ! I will be dreadfully strict. Then I must help you 
 to sew. Do you know that the Empress praises the good 
 sewers more than the beautiful embroiderers ? I can sew very 
 neatly. And we will read, together, aunty, and play duets; yes?" 
 
 " My dear, I never was a performer." 
 
 " But secondo ? surely, aunty, you can manage a second© ? 
 Is your piano a good one? Let me see !" 
 
 The Koup^effs hoped to find Liza capable of playing 
 passably, but they were quite unprepared to hear such a 
 finished performance, and it was a real delight to them, for 
 both were great lovers of music ; the charm of her playing 
 was enhanced by the readiness with which she always sat 
 down, and the apparent unconsciousness of so far surpassing 
 most lady musicians. Anna Martinovna applauded loudly, 
 to the secret annoyance of the other hearers. 
 
 Liza was very happy ; her needlework, piano, little Olga's 
 studies, and her own reading, formed her daily occupations ; 
 while occasional visits, a dance now and then, a ride on 
 horseback, a row on the river, deprived the quiet life of a 
 country town of a degree of monotony which would have 
 
176 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 been irksome to the lively girl, who, however thoroughly she 
 enjoyed it when afforded, was by no means eager after amuse- 
 ment; her aunt adored her, and with her uncle she was on the 
 best possible terms, until — 
 
 Yes, luitil! Until Gregory Gregorievitch — the aulic coun- 
 cillor, aged forty-five, the owner of the best house in G 
 
 (with a wing, too), the possessor of some fifty thousand 
 roubles safe in the Interior Loan (and consequently with five 
 hundred chances of winning the much envied two-hundred- 
 thousand prize !) — a very respectable, worthy, and not dis- 
 agreeable person — made Liza an offer of marriage ! 
 
 When her uncle, whom this distinction greatly flattered and 
 delighted, communicated it to her, he was extremely surprised, 
 disappointed, and to say the truth enraged, on hearing, as far 
 as a violent flood of tears would permit, a decided and definite 
 refusal. 
 
 " She was so happy at home. She did not care a fig for 
 Gregory Gregorievitch, and she did not want to be married 
 at all. Would much rather live with her dear aunt." Here 
 she threw herself on Mrs. Koupeeff's neck, "and begged of 
 her uncle to tell that insupportable old thing, Gregory Gre- 
 gorievitch, that she never could, never would ..." 
 
 "Insupportable old thing!" repeated Andre' Gavrilovitch, 
 who considered forty-five as the prime of life. "Sudarinia,^ 
 are you aware of whom you are speaking? And do you not 
 know that I am your lawful guardian ? that you are bound to 
 obey me, Sudarinia ? Liza, Liza," he added, deeply hurt, " I 
 never should have expected this from you !" 
 
 "Don't scold me, uncle! forgive me!" she exclaimed, 
 seizing his hand and kissing it. " Wait a little ! I hardly 
 1 My lady or madam. 
 
Marriage. 177 
 
 know what I am saying. I never thought of such a thing, 
 uncle ! " 
 
 " Give her a day or two to consider, Andrd Gavrilovitch," 
 said Polixena Matveevna, wiping her eyes and drawing Liza 
 to her ; " she is frightened, perplexed." 
 
 " Well, well, be it so," said the doctor ; " to-morrow evening 
 at tea-time I shall expect your answer, Elizavetta Feodorovna ; 
 
 and I hope Think, my soul !" he continued, with tears 
 
 in his eyes, for if he did lose temper, it was never for long ; 
 " think of the future ! As long as I am able to serve, I count 
 it a happiness and blessing, God knows, to have you in my 
 house and cherish you as my own dear child ; but if I were to 
 fail in health, or if it were to please God to take me hence ? 
 Think of that ! " 
 
 " I would go out as governess, and send all my salary to you 
 or aunty," cried the affectionate girl, " but not be Gregory 
 Gregoridvitch's wife 1 No, not for " 
 
 " Stop, stop ! many is the happy wife that has said those 
 same words. Reflect seriously, my little angel. Compose 
 yourself, and try to think of him more favourably. Go and 
 talk to Anna Martinovna ! " 
 
 Alas ! but little sympathy did she meet with in matter-of- 
 fact Anna Martinovna, who had heard of the offer before it 
 was spoken of to Liza, and was almost as pleased as the 
 doctor. She was sitting in the tea-room, with her spectacles 
 on, laying out a fortune with an old pack of cards, and Liza 
 saw that she was the subject of her divinations by the queen 
 of spades (her representative as a brown-haired lady) lying in 
 the middle of the octagon. Not a word was spoken by either 
 until the queen had arrived safely by the side of the king and 
 ace of diamonds, which meant Gregory Gregorie'vitch and his 
 
 N 
 
1 78 Marriage. 
 
 house, when Anna Martinovna took the opportunity of 
 launching forth into praises of that worthy, of his mother 
 (a cross, stingy old lady, whose very existence formed one of 
 Liza's principal objections, though she did not dare acknow- 
 ledge it), of his disposition, generosity, important position, &c. 
 The handsome house, with its inevitable wing, the splendid 
 furniture, the paper-hangings and cornices from St. Petersburg, 
 the carriages and grey horses, garden and hot-houses, were all 
 described, extolled, and commented on. Liza felt worried 
 to spitefulness, and the last stroke was added by Anna 
 Martinovna exclaiming rapturously, "And how he will dress 
 you ! He says that you shall have nothing to do from morning 
 to night, but sit in velvet, jewels, and flowers, like a Tzaritza." 
 
 " I don't want to be dressed in velvet ! " said Liza, crossly ; 
 " it must be very hot, and stiff, and uncomfortable ; and 
 flowers always tickle my neck and prick my head. I detest 
 them ! A most delightful prospect truly, to sit still and do 
 nothing from morning to night : I should be a corpse in no 
 time ! Like a Tzaritza, too ! I wonder whether he ever saw a 
 Tzaritza doing nothing all day? I wish he could see our 
 Empress, and know what a deal she does ! As for the jewels 
 — well, I should like to have a good watch, I confess." 
 
 "He'll give you a beauty," said Anna Martinovna, "all 
 studded with brilliants." 
 
 " I don't want it studded with brilliants," cried Liza, still 
 more irritated than before, " only a good goer ! Do please 
 remember, Anna Martinovna, that we are not living in the 
 days of the boyarins, when such persuasions had weight with 
 their cooped-up girls. I wish," she said, relapsing into her 
 tearful state, " that he would marry you, Anna Martinovna ! " 
 
 " I wish he would, too, my dear," said the good-natured old 
 
Marriage. 
 
 179 
 
 lady, laughing heartily, which made Liza cry more than ever. 
 "I should like to see myself dressed in velvet, crowned with 
 flowers, and covered with jewels, I should !" 
 
 "Oh! you cruel, provoking creature!" sighed poor Liza. 
 " I came here thinking you would comfort me, and take my 
 part, and instead of that " 
 
 The bare hint at unkindness was enough to melt the soft 
 heart of the really amiable woman ; she threw her arms round 
 Liza, and promised never to say another word in favour of 
 the unwelcome suitor, and even to tell Polixena Matveevna 
 that he was quite an unsuitable match for such a young girl. 
 Liza sat sobbing, in a weak-minded manner, a very picture of 
 misery, till supper-time, when she slipped away to bed without 
 eating a morsel. 
 
 Of course the subject was renewed next morning with 
 Polixena Matve'evna, who had received strict orders from the 
 doctor to do her utmost to persuade Liza to accept this grand 
 offer. At last, finding all her arguments fail, she came to her 
 own, perhaps a very natural, conclusion. She made up her 
 mind that her niece preferred somebody else, and communi- 
 cated the idea to her husband. 
 
 " In that case," said he, gravely, " God forbid I should force 
 her. Try to find out, my dear. Who can it be ? Lord, forgive 
 us our sins ! Yes, that may be, who knows ? " 
 
 Now she was one of those happy girls who can dance with 
 agreeable and good-looking young officers and employes, ride 
 out with them (aunty and the children following in the 
 (Iroschky), play duets with them, and yet not take a particular 
 fancy to any or either of them. She was, in fact, perfectly 
 heart-free. She supposed, if ever the notion entered her head, 
 indeed she felt quite sure that one of these days she should be 
 
i8o 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 married, be very fond of an ideal of a husband, and have 
 beautiful little children with naturally curling hair ; but she 
 was so completely happy at home, that this feehng was by no 
 means the besetting one. And not one young man had yet 
 appeared whom she preferred to another. She was very 
 miserable, quite desperate indeed, when tea-time was ap- 
 proaching, and the dreaded hour of decision drawing near. 
 She did not know which alternative was the most frightful, — 
 vexing her dear, kind, generous uncle, or marrying that 
 pompous, middle-aged, business-like old thing. His years 
 were a sort of a day cauchemar,^ for ever returning to her 
 imagination ; he had lost a front tooth too ; though to be sure 
 he was an excellent man, everybody said so ; but if he would 
 be so very kind as to make an offer to somebody else, she 
 really did think she might acknowledge that she liked, 
 respected, wished well to Gregory Gregorievitch. But as her 
 suitor, she detested him. 
 
 " There's nothing to be done," she said to herself, " but 
 to tell uncle that I can't. And if he is most dreadfully angry 
 with me, why, I have a diploma, and I can go out as governess. 
 Perhaps I shall meet somebody there whom I can love. But 
 how lonely I shall be without aunty and Glinka, and dear 
 uncle! and Varinka, and — oh! oh!" But aunty came to 
 her relief 
 
 "There is something mysterious in all this, Lizotchka,"^ she 
 said, entering the pretty bed-room where the weeping damsel 
 sat. " Now, will you be candid with me, and tell me the real 
 and true reasons that you have for going against your uncle's 
 wishes ? It strikes me that you must have an attachment, my 
 dear. Now it is quite natural and pardonable if you have, at 
 1 Nightmare. ^ Dim. for Elizavetta, 
 
Marriage. 1 8 1 
 
 your age ; but before we decidedly refuse Gregory Gregorievitch, 
 you must tell me who it is." 
 
 Then there was a way to escape. An idea, which she 
 instantly repulsed, flashed through her mind. She sat pinch- 
 ing her handkerchief, with downcast eyes. Did she really like 
 anybody? No. Decidedly not. But if she said so, then 
 uncle would insist on her marriage. Must she tell a lie? 
 Is not there any one whom she loves ? Shoubine, who sings 
 so beautifully ? or Prshlensky, that handsome Pole ? Belaeff ? 
 No, she did not care a straw for one of them. 
 
 " Well, darling, who is it ? No one but Andre Gavrilovitch 
 shall know ; tell me ! " 
 
 One struggle more with her pure, unsullied conscience, and 
 the fib was told. " Leonoff ! " 
 
 " Leonoff? " Polixena Matveevna was actually struck speech- 
 less with surprise, and could only pronounce that one name in 
 alternate tones of interrogation, astonishment, amusement, and 
 doubt. Liza sat like a statue, frightfully pale, her deep 
 breathing only giving sign of life. 
 
 "And he?" at length gasped her aunt; "has he ever 
 spoken to you, does he " 
 
 " Never !" whispered poor Liza, as she fell to the floor in a 
 state half hysterical, half fainting. 
 
 In the course of the evening a note was composed, written 
 out clean on a sheet of large writing-paper, in the doctor's 
 bold, clear hand, and dispatched to the aulic councillor, the re- 
 ceipt of which very much astonished that excellent gentleman. 
 
 Leonoff was the poorest, youngest, and most modest of all 
 
 the young men of G . He was, however, not ill-looking, 
 
 had completed a university education, and bore the character 
 of a most worthy, intelligent, and respectable youth. But he 
 
X82 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 entered into society so little, and, when he did make his 
 appearance, was so reserved, almost shy with the ladies, and 
 especially with the young ones, that it is not to be wondered 
 at that the Koupeeffs were astonished at Liza's confession. 
 
 It was just for all these reasons that she had selected his 
 name, nothing more. Nothing could exceed the kindness 
 and delicacy of her uncle and aunt on the subject ; but her 
 mental sufferings were terrible. Her shame before Almighty 
 God for her wilful lie, her dread of Leonofif's hearing of it, her 
 affectionate heart's misery at thus deceiving and continuing to 
 deceive her dearest friends, all combined to make her far more 
 wretched than an unrequited or deceived attachment could 
 have done. Often was she on the very point of throwing her- 
 self at her guardians' feet, confessing all, and imploring their 
 forgiveness ; she felt ready even to make up for her faults by 
 declaring herself ready to marry her rejected suitor, but for- 
 tunately for her he had not pined long after her refusal. He 
 had made up his mind to get married, and set about wooing 
 and winning the handsome, but next to speechless daughter of 
 a Priest, without delay. What she dreaded most on earth was, 
 meeting Leonoff face to face, — " eyes to eyes," as they say in 
 Russ, and reading in those eyes the knowledge of a secret that 
 did not exist. And her reflections how he must despise and 
 detest her formed scarcely less subject than the rest for her 
 torturing self-reproaches. 
 
 Leonoff's history is soon told ; his father was a poor 
 employe, the youngest son of a good old country family. He 
 died soon after his only boy had entered the University of 
 Moscow, and his widow took up her abode with a married 
 daughter. When her son Constantine Petrovitch finished the 
 university course, she very much wished to accompany him to 
 
Marriage. 
 
 the distant government whither he was going to serve, and 
 where a very modest appointment, with a very tiny salary, had 
 been offered to him. Her daughter, however, dissuaded her, 
 until Kostinka^ should gain a little promotion, and be in a 
 position to receive his mother in comfort. 
 
 He lodged, as it happened, in an old brown log house 
 belonging to a deaf relation of Anna Martinovna, who " did " 
 for him, and was alwaj s loud in his praises. He paid so 
 regularly, was so content with his meals, and so careful of his 
 clothes ; never had any noisy parlies ; only now and then a 
 visitor, as quiet and retiring as himself, would call in to drink 
 a glass of tea and smoke a papyros of an evening with her 
 " golden " lodger. For she was very fond of him, and loved 
 to imagine that a little son of hers that had only lived long 
 enough to be christened, and who would have been about 
 Leonoff's age, would have been just such another, and she 
 literally treated him with maternal tenderness. In the confusion 
 caused by Liza's hysterics on the memorable evening of her 
 confession, his name had been incautiously mentioned in Anna 
 Martinovna's hearing, and she could not resist the temptation 
 of relating the extraordinary circumstance to the deaf relative, 
 who in her turn took an early opportunity of mentioning it to 
 her lodger. 
 
 PoorLeonoff! if ever a daring thought had entered his 
 head— if ever he did dream of love and matrimony, an image 
 very like Liza's always figured in those dreams. He dared 
 not wholly believe the truth of his landlady's whispered com- 
 munication, the possibility, the probability of it; he stared, 
 then bent down to write again, for he blushed like a girl, mur- 
 muring, " Nonsense," "Impossible !" yet felt supremely happy. 
 
 1 Dim. for Constantine. 
 
1 84 Marriage. 
 
 He had heard that Gregory Gregoridvitch had wished to 
 marry Liza, and as it happened that he was under that coun- 
 cillor's command, he had fancied how pleasant it would be to 
 have such a sweet, amiable, unceremonious young chiefess. 
 Then he had heard of the refusal, which was considered as the 
 most extraordinary and incomprehensible piece of foolishness 
 
 by the inhabitants in general of G . And now he knew 
 
 the reason ! but was it true ? Could it be ? would it ever be? 
 Notwithstanding all his modesty, he could not help hoping 
 that it was not altogether an impossibility ; and so meditated 
 and meditated, until he was fairly in love. 
 
 At last they met, for the first time since they had begun to 
 think of each other under such strange circumstances. As a 
 rule Leonofif rather hated dancing than otherwise, especially 
 when he scarcely knew his partners, and he always set out to 
 a party with the feeling that he must pay a tribute due from 
 youth to the middle-aged givers of a dance, and dance he did, 
 but only to please his host or hostess. On this occasion, how- 
 ever, he prepared for the party with a beating heart, and felt 
 glad that he had not rendered the only way of gaining a few 
 minutes' conversation with Liza impossible, by refusing to 
 dance on former occasions. 
 
 The Koup^efifs arrived after Leonofif, and Liza evidently 
 had partners previously engaged, with whom she danced, 
 talked, and laughed in her modestly, self-possessed way, appa- 
 rently unconscious of Leonofif's presence. But oh ! how she 
 felt the watching and following of those brown eyes, how she 
 dreaded meeting them in the grande ronde, and avoided even 
 passing by the door, where he stood between the dances. 
 But at last he approached her, and succeeded in engaging her 
 for a quadrille. The fourth, fifth, sixth were promised ; she 
 
Marriage. 
 
 blushed painfully while the invitation was going on, and 
 accepted the seventh. 
 
 The man must have been more than human had he not 
 interpreted that blush of shame and self-reproach favourably 
 for himself The quadrille passed in the most unsatisfactory 
 manner : Leonoff tried all sorts of subjects, but Liza got 
 inextricably confused ; she felt ready to cry, and if it had been 
 any one else but Constantine Petrovitch she must have rushed 
 away from the quadrille, she thought. Her poor little soft 
 hand trembled in his like one in an ague ; and how he longed 
 to be able honourably to hold it, as his own, to calm the 
 frightened, fluttered heart, to tell her how long, how very long 
 ago he had loved her ! But " tioblesse oblige," and so, alas ! 
 does pattvrde. He did not hint, in the most distant manner, at 
 his feelings, but he went home perfectly happy ; enough that 
 he had seen those blushes, that nervous confusion, that he had 
 felt that trembling hand once more as he seated her after the 
 quadrille. He resolved to work harder than ever, at any rate, 
 to gain a step, and then. ... 
 
 While Liza gradually forgot her misery, especially after her 
 confession in the Great Fast following, and little by little 
 regained her happiness and equanimity. 
 
 About two months after this first meeting, which proved to 
 be by no means the last, and which was followed by several 
 others, each less embarrassing than the preceding one," Dr. 
 Koupeeff received a parcel of books through the post, and 
 went to get it and to write the receipt for it in the book at 
 the post-office. In Russia, a post-master is an officer ; and 
 as all money-letters and parcels pass through his hands, he 
 generally knows pretty well how people's affairs, in a little 
 town like G , stand. 
 
i86 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 "Andre Gavrilovitch, my respects ! Come for the little 
 parcel ? Immediately ! Take a chair, I beg. We have a great 
 deal to do to-day, and, besides that, plenty of visitors. Easter 
 will soon be here, and we have a great deal of money corre- 
 spondence in consequence. Ah yes ! Constantine Petrovitch 
 Leonoff — you are pleased to be acquainted with him ?" 
 
 "Yes, I know him slightly." 
 
 "Well, he has had a money letter from Moscow — two 
 hundred roubles, sir, and an insured letter from Yaroslavl." 
 
 "I congratulate him," said the doctor, as he signed the 
 book which the postilion placed before him, " and wish him 
 such letters every post." 
 
 "Stop a minute!" continued the loquacious post-master; 
 " that's not all ! only fancy why the money was sent, sir. For 
 the expenses of a journey to Yaroslavl, sir. He has come 
 into an inheritance of an estate with two hundred souls, sir ; 
 he is a landed proprietor, Andre Gavrilovitch." 
 
 "Is it possible?" said the doctor, delighted always to hear 
 of his neighbour's good fortune ; " I am truly glad to hear ol 
 it ! He is a very good young fellow, and always respectful 
 and affectionate to us old boys. There is the receipt. Good 
 morning !" 
 
 " My respects, Andre Gavrilovitch !" 
 
 It was perfectly true. No one was more surprised than 
 Constantine himself, who was entirely ignorant of the fact 
 that the heir to the estate, an orphan cadet of twelve or 
 fourteen, had died a few months before his grandfather, who 
 was a second or third cousin of Leonoff's. The estate was 
 in excellent condition, and the old man had left neither debts 
 nor pledges ; all that Leonoff had to do was to go and take 
 possession of his property. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 187 
 
 The Koupe'effs did not tell Liza of this change in his 
 affairs ; they thought it best for it to come to her knowledge 
 by other means. In the evening of that same day, Leonoft 
 himself came, and entered the doctor's cabinet and con 
 suiting-room, which was close to the entrance-door, as 
 cabinets generally are. Andre Gavrilovitch was reading atten- 
 tively the new medical books he had received in the morning, 
 and the sound of the spring-bell when Leonoff opened the 
 outer door did not attract the attention of the other members 
 of the family, as the doctor had visitors at all hours of the 
 day, who had no business with anybody but wth him. After 
 the first greetings, Leoijoff told him of his unexpected good 
 fortune, showed him both letters, and concluded by asking 
 Liza in marriage. 
 
 "My dear, I am rejoiced, thank the Lord!" cried the 
 doctor, embracing his guest. " God bless you ! I'll call her 
 directly," he said, hurrying out of the room, and quite for- 
 getting that the young lady must be prepared for such a 
 meeting. 
 
 " I have the honour to congratulate you on an offer of 
 marriage, Liza ! " he exclaimed, entering the sitting-room 
 hastily, where Polixena Matveevna was at work, while Liza 
 read aloud, and Anna Martinovna knitted her eternal stocking. 
 "It's all right!" he added to his wife, and nodding. " Con- 
 stantine Petrovitch does you the honour to ask your hand, 
 Lizavetta Feodorovna !" he continued, with a low bow; "he 
 has just inherited an estate with two hundred souls. I have . 
 the honour to congratulate you ! Come along !" 
 
 Liza stared vacantly at her uncle, and turned red and pale 
 by turns. " The time for my punishment is come," thought 
 she ; " I will go through it, with God's blessing, and may 
 
1 88 Marriage. 
 
 He accept my penitence!" "May I go alone?" she said, 
 timidly. 
 
 The doctor laughed. " Oh, by all means, if you wish it ! 
 Go, with God's blessing ! " He was in tremendous spirits ; 
 and when Liza had left the room, he not only kissed his wife, 
 but even Anna Martinovna, in the plenitude of his joy. 
 
 Liza entered the cabinet where Leonoff sat waiting his fate, 
 and then stood still at the door. He rushed forward and 
 attempted to take her hands, but she put both behind her. 
 
 "Constantine Petrovitch," she began, "let me speak." She 
 could hardly utter the words audibly, her voice was thick, and 
 her speech stuttering. " I am very guilty before you. Forgive 
 me, for Christ's sake ! I told a lie ! I made use of your honest 
 name as a screen. I never loved you. Forgive me !" she 
 cried, prostrating herself at his feet. He raised her before her 
 pale forehead had touched the floor, and placed her gently in 
 her uncle's arm-chair. A passionate burst of tears came to 
 her relief. 
 
 " Calm yourself, I intreat of you, Lizavetta Feodorovna ! " 
 he said kindly. "Whatever you may have done wrong 
 towards me, I forgive beforehand. There ! wipe your 
 eyes ! Tell me what it is that you mean," he continued at 
 intervals. 
 
 " Who told you 1 " she asked, for mistrust whispered to her 
 that he knew. 
 
 " Never mind who told me, Lizavetta Feodorovna ; enough 
 that it made me very, very happy for nearly half a year. And 
 it is in your power to make me still happier." 
 
 " But you do not know all about it, Constantine Petrovitch ; 
 you do not know how guilty I am;" and in a few words she 
 told him all, — all, without disguising one fact or feeling. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 189 
 
 He listened in silence, with a smile of indulgent pity on his 
 countenance. 
 
 "Then this is the penance you have imposed on yourself? 
 Then may God forgive you as I do !" he said, rising, and 
 making the sign of the cross over her. " Let us forget all 
 about this business, except the pleasant part of it, — I mean 
 the hopes I have cherished so long, — and you know how 
 silently, Liza. Must they be given up? May I not hope 
 that the words, hastily spoken last year, may be repeated in 
 earnest, one of these days? Give me a chance of pleasing 
 you. — Liza !" He took the hand that had trembled so at the 
 Christmas party. " You have made me your father confessor 
 to-day, and you have received pardon ; but you must let me 
 impose a penance on you. I ask no more than this — do not 
 quite refuse me till I return from Yaroslavl, — I shall be gone a 
 month." 
 
 " As you will." 
 
 "Liza ! Liza !" he cried, kissing her hand ; "you shall love 
 me at last ! you will consent, I know ! And you will let me 
 write to you ? " 
 
 " Under cover to my uncle." She rose from her seat, and 
 continued, firmly now, — " Pray understand that, for your sake 
 as well as my own, I can say nothing further until your return. 
 And I should wish this to remain between us." 
 
 With the hopefulness and buoyancy of youth he consented 
 to her terms, and bade her farewell. " I shall go to-morrow ; 
 my kibitka^ is being prepared now. It will be a horrid journey 
 in the thaw, and almost worse when I return ; but it is all the 
 same to me now," he added, in a burst of sincerity that he 
 could not repress. "Good-bye, Lizavetta Feodorovna." 
 
 1 A winter equipage. 
 
igo Marriage. 
 
 "Till we meet again, Constantine Petrovitch." 
 
 Dr. Koupdeff seemed rather disappointed when Liza told 
 him that no arrangements were to be made until Leonotf's 
 return, and that they both wished the affair to be kept secret 
 till then. He consented, however, to her receiving letters from 
 Constantine, and said that she might answer, which, however, 
 she did not intend to do. 
 
 The next day he could not refrain from coming once more 
 before his departure. He found his hoped-for bride still very 
 reserved and timid, but the last shake of the hand, which, 
 however, she would not allow him to kiss, had a mysterious in- 
 fluence on his spirits, and he left G in a state of happiness 
 
 that he had never in his life experienced. On his arrival at 
 the estate, he wrote her a short, respectful, business-like letter, 
 which it gave her greater pleasure to receive than she ever 
 expected. The next was longer and slightly more familiar : 
 he described the house and village, the gardens and surrounding 
 country, his meeting with his mother and unmarried sister, 
 who had come from Moscow to join him ; told her of the 
 joyful consent of the former to his early marriage, and of his 
 having nearly secured a Government situation in the neigh- 
 bouring town, which was merely four versts from the estate. 
 
 Half-a-dozen letters, her aunt's and uncle's warm repre- 
 sentations, Anna Martinovna's botherings, and, ciif n, her own 
 gratitude for his delicacy and kindness, her pity for his dis- 
 appointment //—and her appreciation of his worth, which 
 no one questioned, settled the matter. When the time came 
 for his return, Liza's mind was quite made up, and she 
 welcomed him from her very heart. She even went to meet 
 him in the entrance when she saw him approaching the house, 
 instead of waiting for him in the drawing-room, as Anna 
 
Marriage. 
 
 191 
 
 Martinovna said a bride should do, dressed in a white muslin 
 dress and pink ribbons. 
 
 "Are you prepared to fulfil your penance completely?" he 
 asked, smiling, after the first greetings, which were strictly formal. 
 
 " It is no longer a penance," said Liza, looking at him in 
 the eyes, but with tears gathering in her own. She had made 
 up her mind to be candid with him, at the expense of every 
 young-lady-like scruple. 
 
 " I must invent another, then," said he, now perfectly 
 happy; and taking her hand, they went together into the 
 saloon, where Dr. Koupdeff met them, joined their hands, 
 and made them kiss each other. Polixena Matveevna came 
 in at the same time, and after mutual greetings, the bride and 
 bridegroom were blessed by Liza's uncle and aunt. In a few 
 days the betrothal took place, in honour of which a ball was 
 given. The Priest blessed the young couple before the 
 company assembled, in the presence of the family only, and 
 a few intimate friends. The ceremony is very short, consisting 
 merely of a few prayers which the Priest reads before the 
 picture in the saloon, after which the pair exchange rings, 
 and kiss each other. This ceremony is not always observed, 
 and seems to be gradually going out of fashion. 
 
 You seldom hear of a match being broken off in Russia, 
 yet the numbers of hurried and precipitate engagements that 
 take place are truly astonishing. After the betrothal, the 
 bridegroom almost lives in the house of the bride, all his 
 time being spent with her except that required for service. 
 He goes home at a late hour, and makes his appearance at 
 coffee (luncheon time) next morning. This is very pleasant 
 for the parties themselves, but is sometimes irksome to the 
 good mammas. 
 
192 Marriage. 
 
 From the day of Liza's betrothal, the whole house was in 
 a whirl of business. Workwomen were hired to make the 
 trousseau, and joined the nurse in singing wedding choruses 
 from morning to night. Polixena Matve'evna did nothing 
 but cut out and give orders ; and the doctor, who, like most 
 Russian house-fathers, was an excellent purchaser, chose and 
 bought all the linen, calico, muslin, and prints required — 
 bargaining, as he himself expressed, "in the sweat of his 
 brow." Aunt Zizi was applied to for the bonnets and dresses, 
 and all those articles which come under the term "modes," 
 two or three great boxes of which arrived through the post 
 in six weeks' time after the money-letter was sent. Con- 
 stantine Petrovitch, according to the old Russian custom, 
 made his bride a present of her wedding costume, which his 
 married sister sent, ready-made from a "body" of Liza's 
 that was forwarded to her, from one of the first magazines 
 at Moscow. He also presented her with various articles of 
 jewellery, and with a watch, without any ornaments in particular, 
 " but a good goer." This was Anna Martinovna's contrivance, 
 for she and Leonoff were great friends, and he often used to 
 consult her on little matters. Once she happened to relate 
 to him her conversation with Liza on the evening of Gregory 
 Gregorie'vitch's proposal, and he instantly wrote for the best 
 
 that could be found at D , the nearest Government town, 
 
 after much secrecy, whisperings, and mystery between him 
 and the good old lady, who was as happy as a child on 
 such occasions. 
 
 The dowry of a Russian maiden is a very serious thing; 
 not only must she have a more than full wardrobe for her 
 own personal use, but all the household linen, kitchen utensils, 
 silver, tea and dinner services, carpets, and even curtains— 
 
Marriage. 
 
 193 
 
 frequently the furniture of the bed-room and boudoir of the 
 bride,^ — are provided by the parents.^ A piano is indispen- 
 sable with people in good circumstances, even if the bride be 
 no musician. People in straitened circumstances begin to 
 scrape things together for their daughters from their early 
 childhood ; and where a spare ten or five-rouble note turns 
 up, it is sure to be laid out in linen or calico, or something 
 of the sort, to be made up, little by little, as time permits. 
 The amount of linen and plate that is sometimes given is 
 really exorbitant, and the former by far too much for the 
 ordinary lifetime of a woman. In such a case, it goes to her 
 daughters. I know one bride, the wife of a person holding 
 by no means an important position, who "carried off" eight 
 poods''- of plate in different forms, from the indispensable tea- 
 spoon to a washing-basin and jug. All was soUd silver ; not 
 one article was plated. The wedding presents, such as are 
 made by relatives and friends to an English menage, are 
 seldom given, except when the parties are very poor, and 
 then the richer relations sometimes help them. 
 
 Liza's dowry was handsome and plentiful, but not tre- 
 mendous. The uncle had been a careful and conscientious 
 guardian, and the little sum of money realized by the sale of 
 her parents' effects at Moscow, which had been advantageously 
 placed out at interest, was now made use of Until then the 
 whole expense of her wardrobe, &c., had been the Koupeefif' s, 
 since her father's death. Her mother's plate was almost un- 
 touched, and came to her just in the same state as it had to 
 Nadine some twenty years before. 
 
 ^ Should the young wife die childless, her dowry can be lawfully claimed 
 by her parents, except her bed, and the picture with which she was blessed. 
 ^ 288 lbs. avoirdupois. 
 
 O 
 
194 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 Occasionally the young ladies of G formed parties, 
 
 and came to help the bride make her clothes. I cannot say 
 much work was done on these occasions, and Polixena 
 Matveevna had sometimes to unpick and re-sew the tasks 
 performed by the noisy young sempstresses, who, however, 
 were all firmly persuaded that they had been of great use. 
 Polixena Matveevna always grumbled as much over this 
 as her nature permitted, for it is a popular belief that if any 
 part of the dowry be unpicked the young couple will be sure 
 to quarrel after marriage. 
 
 They were obliged to hurry the preparations, as the vacancy 
 to which Leonoff had the promise of being appointed was to 
 occur in June, and he did not wish to let it pass, as it was 
 merely nominal, with the slightest possible business, and would 
 scarcely interfere with his many duties as a landowner, but 
 would conduce to his importance in the Government nobility. 
 The engagement took place in April, and the wedding-day 
 was fixed for the ist of June. The Russians have a sort of 
 superstition about weddings in May (founded on the resem- 
 blance in sound of the verb to be worried, to the name of 
 the month), supposing them to be unlucky. And our worthy 
 Koupe'effs were not free from the usual "beliefs" of their 
 country. 
 
 Consultations had being going on during the whole time of 
 the engagement concerning the guests of honour to be invited 
 as "assistants" at the wedding. These are more numerous 
 than those required at an English wedding, as the following 
 list will show. 
 
 First, in importance, is the Tysatsky, or Avitness in the 
 church books to the marriage. He is generally the grandest 
 of the connexions, but not a very near relation ; far instance. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 195 
 
 not the father or grandfather of either of the parties. If the 
 family hst fail to find a person answering to the degree of 
 importance required, viz., rank or position, age, and sufficient 
 affluence to render the office unimportant to him in a pecu- 
 niary manner, — an acquaintance is invited. The Ty'satsky 
 pays for the lighting-up of the church — in some places the 
 Priest's fees; but I think that his mere presence, especially 
 if he have the heavy epaulettes of a general or colonel, 
 and plenty of orders and medals, is the great thing aimed at. 
 He has nothing to do at the ceremony, and is in fact merely 
 the witness. 
 
 Next come the ladies of honour, who accompany the bride 
 and bridegroom to church. In the absence of the godmothers 
 of the parties, they are selected from among the nearest 
 married relatives, aunts, sisters, &c. These failing, the most 
 intimate acquaintance are requested to undertake the office, 
 always having in view that the indispensable finery be not 
 unsuitable to the age, position, or finances of the lady. 
 
 The Schafers, or bridesmen, have the greatest part to play 
 as far as doing is concerned, the others merely being. They 
 ought to be young unmarried men of lively and agreeable 
 dispositions, good, and not idle dancers, able to take on them- 
 selves the office of masters of the ceremonies for the whole 
 day. Their duties are many and various, but they have no 
 actual expenses to meet, except indeed the purchase of sweet- 
 meats (bon-bonnieres) for the bridesmaids. The schafers, who 
 are required both for bride and bridegroom, are generally two 
 in number, but often they are doubled and trebled ; and the 
 more, of course the merrier. 
 
 Another personage, whose office must not be forgotten, is 
 the Boyarin, who carries the picture to church; both bride 
 o 2 
 
196 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 and bridegroom have one. He is generally a little boy from 
 four to ten or twelve years old, though in the absence of so 
 young a child in the family an adult frequently fills his place. 
 These persons, who of course suppose that they form a very 
 important feature in the ceremony, carry the pictures with 
 which the pair have been blessed, face outwards, flat against 
 their breasts, holding them on each side, and on their arrival 
 at church deliver them over to the Reader, who places them 
 leaning against the altar -screen, or takes them behind the 
 royal gates, and leaves them, in either case, during the 
 marriage service, when they are again given to the Boyarins 
 to be taken home. 
 
 There is also an office which a person in an inferior station 
 is always delighted to fill. The housekeeper, the dress-maker, 
 the old nurse, or the bride's wet-nurse, sometimes a relative of 
 lower degree, is invited to superintend the carrying of the 
 dowry from the house of the bride's parents to that of her 
 future husband, to arrange her room, and prepare everything 
 for her private use. 
 
 The bridesmaids are not dressed alike in general, and not 
 confined to numbers. They assemble at the bride's house, help 
 to dress her, and accompany her to church. The only rule 
 that seems to be observed concerning them is that the bride's 
 schafer has the privilege of choosing one of them to escort to 
 church^ — a distinction which, though often embarrassing to all 
 parties, is in most cases delightful to one, and perhaps two. 
 
 Liza insisted on having the devishnick (farewell girls' party) 
 without the presence of one gentleman, and on the eve of the 
 
 wedding-day all the unmarried ladies of G , from twelve 
 
 or fourteen years of age to old Matrona Evgrafovna, the pro- 
 topope's rich sister, assembled ; they danced, sang choruses. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 197 
 
 chased each other in the garden, and made a tremendous 
 noise. Anna Martinovna was in her glory, and performed 
 the Kazatchok, a national dance, with Nina Strjalkoffska, the 
 apothecary's daughter, a lively, pretty, half-Polish girl of 
 seventeen, to the delight of all beholders. Tea, ice-cream, 
 sweetmeats and lemonade, were consumed to a frightful extent, 
 and excited grave doubts in the mind of the doctor, — who was 
 only allowed to be witness from the door of his cabinet, — as to 
 the state of health the partakers would find themselves in the 
 next day. Finally they sat down to supper, at which they 
 scarcely ate anything, but in which figured a "Temple of 
 Love," made of macaroons, with Olinka's doll, in the cha- 
 racter of Cupid, sitting in the middle, crowned with flowers 
 and with wings, bow and quiver, complete, all made of gilt 
 paper. This was a surprise prepared by Anna Martinovna, 
 who was great in fancy cookery, and it was hailed with 
 screams of delight by the easily-pleased party, who forth- 
 with demolished the temple with one accord, and then 
 divided the ornaments as a remembrance of their frolic- 
 some evening. 
 
 Liza was excited, and frisked with her young companions, 
 played for their dancing, sang and danced with the rest as if 
 she were still one of them ; but when they were gone, the 
 reaction was violent, and she sobbed on her aunt's shoulder 
 as if her heart were breaking. The doctor became concerned, 
 and gave her some drops, blessed her, and made her say her 
 prayers in his presence. In a little time her sobs became 
 less frequent, but he desired his wife not to leave her until 
 she had fairly gone to sleep. Polixena Matveevna sat by her 
 bedside until her hand, which had been grasped in Liza's, 
 could be gently disengaged from the now yielding fingers. 
 
198 Marriage. 
 
 ■ and whispering a blessing on the slumbering girl, she made the 
 sign of the cross over her three times, and stole out of the 
 room on tiptoe. 
 
 When Liza awoke the next morning, she saw Anna Martin- 
 ovna standing by her bedside with a little parcel in her hand. 
 
 "From the bridegroom!" she exclaimed, "with his compli- 
 ments, and a lady's maid, my golden Lizavetta Feodorovna ! 
 She arrived only yesterday afternoon from the estate, and is 
 Avaiting to see you." 
 
 " A lady's-maid ? How kind, how thoughtful of him ! My 
 dear, excellent, good Kostinka ! how he does spoil me ! Let's 
 see her, Anna Martinovna !" 
 
 The good soul ran away for the maid, and Liza sat up in 
 bed and unsealed the packet, which contained a morocco case, 
 in which, on the delicate white velvet, lay a beautiful set of 
 jewels, intended, doubtless, as an accompaniment to the 
 wedding-dress ; also a small but well-executed picture of her 
 patroness saint, with a written paper to the effect that it came 
 with the blessing of her affectionate mother Maria Leonoff. 
 
 In came Anna Martinovna, followed by a tall, stout, smiling 
 girl of eighteen or twenty, smartly dressed, who approached the 
 bedside with innumerable bows, and kissed Liza's hand, repeat- 
 ing what was evidently a prepared speech. 
 
 " Good morning to you, my beauty ! my golden young 
 mistress ! my red sun ! my lapooshka, donshinka, Elizavetta 
 Feodorovna L Constantine Petrovitch desires his humble 
 obeisance, and so does our mother Maria Vladimirovna, and 
 our young lady Katerina Petrovna. I beg of you, my beauty, 
 to love and pity me, your humble servant and true slave!" 
 and she kissed Liza's shoulder as she ceased speaking. 
 
 "What is your name, my dear?" said Liza, rather confused. 
 
Marriage. 199 
 
 "Prascovia, sudarinia. Parasha they call me. I would 
 dare to inform you that Constantine Petrovitch's body-servant, 
 Dmitry (Mitka Crooked-nosed they call him at our place), is 
 my father. My born father, sudarinia." 
 
 Parasha laid stress on this relationship, as though it were a 
 distinction. 
 
 "Oh, indeed !" said Liza. 
 
 " He was body-servant to Vavil Yakovlitch, our deceased 
 master (the kingdom of Heaven be his), who was pleased to 
 send me to Moscow to learn serving and dress-making." 
 
 " Ah !" said Liza, "that's very nice." 
 
 " Exactly so, my golden beauty ! I lived with a madame 
 seven years, and I learned the whole art, even to the cutting- 
 out business, sudarinia ; but when Constantine Petrovitch 
 came to the estate, batioushka begged him to take me home, 
 and so he left directions with Maria Vladimirovna to send for 
 me, and then pack me off to you, my lady." 
 
 " Very well," said Liza, amused at the girl's talkativeness and 
 the selection of long words which a half-educated Russian so 
 loves to introduce. " But to-day I should like my old servant 
 to attend me for the last time ; we shall have time to get 
 acquainted, Parashinka. You can go to the girls' room, my 
 pretty, and they will give you some sewing to do." 
 
 Liza hastened to dress herself ; long, long did she remain on 
 her knees before the dear familiar picture of the Saviour, before 
 which she had offered so many prayers of repentance, so many 
 supplications that the cloud might pass, before she knew how 
 generous and good he would prove, and so many of thank- 
 fulness when she found in what honest hands she had fallen. 
 Long did she pray for strength and wisdom, for His blessing 
 on her future husband, whom she now indeed did love — loved 
 
200 Marriage. 
 
 and respected to adoration. Never did a happier bride rise 
 from her knees on the morning of her wedding-day. 
 
 The old custom is for the betrothed pair to fast (eat nothing) 
 on the day of their marriage until after the ceremony, which 
 in the family of a noble almost always takes place in the 
 evening. Polixena Matv^evna insisted on Liza's eating a good 
 breakfast and dinner, and she very sensibly obeyed. Dr. and 
 Mrs. Koupeeff, accompanied by the bride, attended early mass, 
 and had a mol^ben performed. At twelve o'clock, the schafers 
 arrived. Constantine of course chose his most intimate comrades 
 for the office ; one was a very lively young man, with the reputa- 
 tion of a wit, but he had merely the faculty of making people 
 laugh by the 7vay in which he said things. On this occasion, 
 however, he made quite a literary speech, as Anna Martinovna 
 said, having tact enough to refrain from amusing anybody 
 until the evening. The other was the handsome Pole, an 
 unwearied dancer and a great favourite with all the ladies. 
 Liza's schafers were the junior doctor, chosen merely because 
 he was unmarried and Dr. Koupeeff wished it, and fancied that 
 he would be offended if not invited, as he was, of all the 
 bachelors, the most frequent visitor at the house. He, in his 
 turn, accepted the office from the sole wish of not offending 
 the Koup^effs by a refusal. His companion was a wild young 
 jicnker (cadet without rank in the army), a distant relative of 
 the doctor's, who had been in love with Liza five distinct 
 times, and five distinct times been cruelly refused ; yet he 
 continued on the best possible terms with her, and kept putting 
 off the threatened blowing-out of his brains until a plausible 
 opportunity, which, he announced to her, had now arrived. 
 
 "With God's blessing! Anatoly, you are incorrigible !" said 
 Liza, vexed. He opened the piano and sang Schubert's 
 
Marriage. 
 
 20I 
 
 "Adieu," with exaggerated expression, and continued playing 
 the part of a distracted lover the whole time, but the Koupeefifs 
 were so accustomed to his extravagances that no one paid the 
 slightest attention to his groans and sighs. He had pledged 
 his woollen counterpane, a pair of winter goloshes, and an 
 accordion, in order to raise funds to buy not only his share of 
 bon-bonni^res for the bridesmaids, but a beauty for Liza. His 
 companion placed a large box of caramel on the table, with 
 the brief information that it was for " the girls," and relapsed 
 into a silent state of smiles, while the three others "did" the 
 absurd, the gallant, and the necessary, i.e. concerning the 
 arrangements about the carriages, who was to go with whom, 
 and so on ; coffee and a champagne luncheon followed, and 
 they took their leave. 
 
 Polixena Matveevna had been busy since early morning, 
 preparing, arranging, and giving orders. She and Anna 
 Martinovna had decorated the usual parlour as a dressing- 
 room, Liza's little chamber being too small to accommodate 
 so many young ladies. Polixena Matveevna' s toilet-table was 
 placed between the windows, wreathed with flowers ; the wed- 
 ding costume, consisting of a handsome white brocade dress, 
 with the usual wreath and veil, was spread out on the sofa, 
 and all the rest of the garments to be worn by the bride, on 
 a table. Here also lay a tea-tray covered with a napkin, and 
 filled with what is called " maiden beauty," and supposed to 
 be the cast-off attributes of girlhood, which the bride dis- 
 tributes among her companions. This is in imitation of 
 peasant brides (or rather the keeping up of a custom that 
 dates hundreds of years back), who, until their marriage, wear 
 ribbons at the end of the plait of hair which hangs down 
 their backs, and on their wedding-day cut them up and divide 
 
202 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 them among their young friends. Immediately after the mar- 
 riage ceremony the hair is braided into two plaits, and wound 
 round the head, -which for ever afterwards remains covered with 
 a sort of tight cap tied behind, and leaving the ears exposed 
 — or else with a cotton or silk handkerchief bound round the 
 head, and tied behind in a bunch of ends. 
 
 In the saloon, on a small table, covered with a snowy nap- 
 kin trimmed with lace, and looped up with orange blossoms, 
 were placed a large picture of the Virgin, with silver-gilt 
 platings and a handsome frame, a large bun-loaf at least two 
 spans in diameter, and a silver salt-cellar, filled with salt, on 
 the top of it. Before the picture was spread a little carpet, 
 part of Liza's dowry. After the departure of the schafers, 
 the Priest was sent for, and after a short moleben these objects 
 and the wedding-clothes were blessed solemnly. The family 
 then dined, and soon after the young ladies began to assemble 
 to dress the bride. 
 
 Nina Strjalkoffska was the first to come ; she was very 
 grave (for her), and only the sight of the bon-bonnieres, and 
 her being requested to choose which she liked best, roused her 
 
 from her melancholy; she and all the young ladies of G 
 
 were truly grieved to lose their amiable and affectionate com- 
 panion. Little Olinka, who had been alternately crying for 
 the loss of her angel, her archangel Lizotchka, or dancing with 
 delight at the anticipation of seeing a wedding, was to dis- 
 tribute the " maiden beauty," which consisted of a handsome 
 neckerchief or ribbon for each young lady. I need hardly 
 say that the change of coiffure observed by the peasants or 
 the boyarinias of old times does not take place among the 
 nobles of the present day ; but a married lady, however 
 young, begins to wear caps and head-dresses from the day of 
 
Marriage. 203 
 
 her wedding ; and though she generally goes bareheaded at 
 home and in a usual way, it would be considered strange were 
 she to appear at ball, dinner, or theatre, in fact anywhere 
 where she is so-called dressed, without something like a cap 
 on ; and even if she wears a wreath, the smallest scrap of 
 blonde or lappet is added to show the dignity of the wearer. 
 
 By five o'clock all had arrived, and the junior doctor's box 
 of caramel was fast emptying, when Katinka Berezoff, the 
 most experienced of all the dressers, — for she had decked no 
 less than seven brides, — took upon herself to begin the 
 business by combing out Liza's hair, and each of the girls 
 passed the comb through her long tresses ; Olinka, and even 
 little Varinka, aged eighteen months, made believe to do the 
 same ; Anna Martinovna, with floods of noisy but sincere 
 tears, entangled the partings. Parasha and the nurse and 
 workwomen sang part of the wedding song in the door- 
 way : — 
 
 " Ah, my braid, my braid of maiden hair, 
 Ah, soon shall it be divided into two," &c. 
 
 Then Katinka solemnly set to work and dressed Liza's hair in 
 a masterly manner ; she was dressed, I should observe, in a 
 garment half peignoir, half morning-gown, made of white 
 brilliantine, trimmed with handsome embroidery and braiding. 
 
 I leave it to my readers to imagine the chattering, laughter, 
 and noise that was going on all the time, the impossibility of 
 deciding how the " front " hair was to be arranged when there 
 were so many opinions, and each opinion so very decided and 
 obstinate. Bandeaux, k la Pompadour, "k FEugdnie, k I'lmpera- 
 trice were proposed ; and at one time Katinka sat down, and 
 said, " Until you have decided, mesdames, I may as well rest," 
 
204 Marriage. 
 
 which had the effect of their leaving it to her taste entirely, 
 so she did it \ I'Eug^nie, because she was the most accustomed 
 to it. Then they screwed Liza into a pair of white satin stays. 
 All her linen and things were trimmed with lace and pink 
 ribbons. Anatoly, who had arrived, put on one satin boot for 
 her, with a ten-kopeck piece in it (from the depths of his 
 treasury, he said) ; the other was put on by little Yashinka^ 
 Koupeeff, her boyarin, with a gold piece. Polixena Matveevna 
 as a " happy wife " put the new earrings into her ear with a 
 whispered prayer. Good old Mrs. Stepanoff, who had always 
 been fond of Liza from the time they met at Moscow, some 
 fourteen years before, and who was now too infirm to leave the 
 house, sent a tiny bag through Anna Martinovna, which that 
 affectionate and zealous lady secreted in Liza's petticoats 
 unknown to all. It contained a scrap of black bread, a pinch 
 of salt, a morsel of yellow soap, a silver five-kopeck piece, and 
 a prayer, written, printing-hand, in Sclavonic. This is a 
 sort of talisman, supposed to attract the blessing of Heaven, 
 plenty, and riches, believed in strictly by the auld-world and 
 the peasants, but repudiated and laughed at by the so-called 
 educated. Olinka, meantime, distributed the " maiden beauty," 
 while the servants — much to the annoyance of Polixena Mat- 
 vdevna, but by the secret instigation of the doctor, who 
 adored every nationality — sang a noisy chorus to the effect 
 that the bride must part with her virgin loveliness in like 
 manner. The young ladies formed bows of their ribbons, and 
 pinned them to their dresses. They were all, with one or two 
 exceptions, in white ; not strictly ball-dresses, but what would 
 be worn at a small evening party in England. 
 
 Perfumes, pomades, and toilet requisites of all sorts had 
 ' Jemmy. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 205 
 
 been sent for the use of the bride and bridesmaids by 
 Leonoff. 
 
 When completely dressed, the bride and her attendants 
 adjourned to the drawing-room, becoming very quiet and 
 silent all on a sudden. The little table before the sofa was 
 covered with a white cloth, and loaded with glass dishes and 
 vases of preserves, dried fruits, sweetmeats, &c. Polixena 
 Matv^evna has dressed herself, too, in a new silk — a new dress 
 being indispensable if one is about to bless anybody — the 
 doctor in full uniform as a civil physician. 
 
 The lady of honour arrives. She is the police-master's wife, 
 the beauty of G— — , and is dressed in a lovely pink moire- 
 antique dress and a little white lace pardessus, a tiny thing on 
 her head made of flowers and blonde, and called a cap. Tea 
 is handed, and the sweetmeats on the table partaken of. 
 
 In the meantime, festivities of rather a noisy description 
 have been going on at the bridegroom's lodgings. He, how- 
 ever, has managed to keep sober ; and let it not be supposed 
 his guests are actually tipsy, but they are all in tremendous 
 spirits, and ready for all sorts of frolic. They have dined 
 with him, after accompanying him to the vapour-bath, where, 
 having gone through the process of steaming and thrashing, 
 just for the fun of the thing, he partook of champagne instead 
 of kvass to refresh him, and of course his companions re- 
 freshed themselves likewise. At half-past six Gregory Gre- 
 gori^vitch, his immediate chief, whom he had asked to be his 
 father, as well as Tysatsky, on the occasion, and his pretty 
 wife, who was to be lady of honour, arrived in their handsome 
 carriage. G. G., with all his orders and medals on, and his hair 
 pasted down on his baldness by means of Philocome,^ looked 
 1 A kind of bandoline. 
 
2o6 Marrtage. 
 
 very imposing. His wife was arrayed, notwithstanding the sea- 
 son and the hot weather, in a splendid velvet dress ; and very 
 handsome she looked, with her brilliant black eyes and enor- 
 mous diamonds, but was as silent as a fish, as they say in Russ, 
 and sat smiling, in a position like a \>ea.\it\{\x\ gravurc de modes. 
 
 Gregory Gregorievitch's smart lacquey carried a large bundle 
 wrapped in the softest, silkiest napkin ; it contained a rich 
 cake on a silver waiter, which, with the massive salt-cellar, 
 was fit to be presented to the Emperor himself, with bread and 
 salt; Gregory Gregorievitch hked to do things handsomely, 
 
 and he sent a clerk with post-horses to D , on purpose 
 
 for them, and for the most magnificent picture of the Saviour 
 that he could find there, which was now carried by the 
 boyarin. Leonoff had chosen a smart little gymnasist, who, 
 with his hair curled, and in his neat uniform and white gloves, 
 with a sprig of orange-blossom on his breast, played his part 
 with the gravity and self-possession peculiar to Russian boys. 
 (I must remark here, that a rude school-boy is a being next 
 to unknown in Russia ; the boys are decidedly gentlemanly.) 
 Tea, of course, is handed. 
 
 The schafers having announced that all is ready at church, 
 and that it is time to set off, the father and mother take their 
 places before the picture in the corner, and after a short prayer 
 said to themselves, the father takes the picture prepared for 
 the purpose, and waves it crosswise over the bridegroom's 
 head three times (he kneeling with bowed head), and presents 
 it to him to kiss. He then gives it to the mother, who does 
 the same. Then, taking the loaf, he waves it in a similar 
 manner, with the salt-cellar on it,^ but it is not kissed. 
 
 1 It is considered a bad omen if the salt-cellar falls to the ground at this 
 ceremony. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 207 
 
 Nothing is said during this brief ceremony but the words, 
 "In the Name of the Father," &c. The son kisses his 
 parents' (real or invited) hands, they embrace him, and he 
 immediately sets out for church with his lady of honour, the 
 schafers preceding him, and the boyarin, bareheaded, going 
 first of all, with the picture in his hands. 
 
 As soon as the bridegroom, with his attendants (the Tysat- 
 sky being one of them), has been left at church, the bride's 
 schafers, who have been at either house alternately since 
 morning, what with one thing and another, proceed to in- 
 form the bride's party that he is waiting for her. The same 
 ceremony is performed with the picture and loaf that the 
 Priest blessed in the morning;^ the schafers raise the weeping 
 bride from her knees, and she takes a solemn farewell of her 
 parents, relations, young friends, and all who are in the house. 
 This is a most affecting moment for all parties, and is par- 
 ticularly trying to the parents, who, as at baptism, are never 
 present at the marriage ceremony, and who remain motionless 
 in the comer, praying for the young couple, until one of the 
 schafers arrives to tell them that the crowns are taken off. 
 The bridegroom's parents observe the same custom.^ 
 
 Leaning on the arm of her lady of honour, the bride is 
 conducted to the carriage by her schafers, who perform the 
 part of pages for her ; and having 'slammed the carriage-door 
 to, they leap into the equipage placed at their disposal, and 
 tear off to church again (at any rate one of them does, if the 
 
 1 In some families these loaves are taken to church to be blessed, with 
 the pictures. Frequently they are made of rye-flour, that being the staple 
 nourishment of the Russian, in preference to wheat-flour. 
 
 ^ To prevent misunderstanding, be it borne in mind that the persons who 
 blessed Leonofif were not his real parents, and that they fulfilled a donbh 
 office. 
 
208 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 other has a bridesmaid to escort), in order to inform the bride- 
 groom that the bride is coming, that he may have time to 
 meet her in the porch. The bride's boyarin frequently 
 accompanies her in the same carriage, his head always bare, 
 and his face turned the way they are going. Little Yashinka, 
 though only six years old, behaved with perfect propriety. 
 
 The young pair, followed by the attendants, but preceded 
 by the Boyarin, in a scarlet silk shirt and black velvet full 
 trousers and high boots, strutting bravely, his cheeks flushed 
 with the exertion of carrying the heavy picture, proceed, hand 
 in hand, to the body of the church, where a carpet is laid 
 down, and a naloy, with the Cross and Gospels on it, placed 
 thereon. The candelabra is immediately over the naloy, and, 
 be it broad daylight or pitch-dark, it is always lighted. Here 
 the bridegroom, his lady of honour and schafers, awaited the 
 arrival of the bride, while the choir sings a long sort of anthem, 
 which is called a concert, and which is not particularly striking 
 as far as melody goes, while the words are completely unheard. 
 This space of time, which lasts ten minutes or more, accord- 
 ing to the distance of the house from the church, is a great 
 trial to the young man, who stands the gazing-stock of some 
 three or four hundred pairs of eyes, all eager and curious to 
 see as much as can be seen (for a noble wedding in the 
 interior always attracts the lower orders, not to speak of the 
 acquaintance). Nor is the position of the lady of honour 
 agreeable ; she feels that her toilet is being criticised, priced, 
 and torn in pieces by the lady-spectators, — fancies her hair 
 is untidy, her cap one side, or something of the sort. The 
 ladies of honour, I should observe, have nothing to do but 
 to stand by the side of their respective charges during the 
 service, and tell them what to do if they do not know. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 209 
 
 On the arrival of the bride the choir sings a cheerful 
 measure, the royal gates open, the young pair prostrate them- 
 selves three times, and they and the whole wedding-party cross 
 themselves, while the Priest in his full canonicals appears, and, 
 approaching the affianced pair, makes the sign of the cross 
 over their heads, while they reverently bend. Two wax 
 candles,^ ornamented with flowers and ribbons, which the 
 schafers have brought and placed on the naloy, are lighted, and 
 placed by the Priest in their hands.^ The incense is then 
 waved, and the service of betrothal commences. 
 
 It opens with the usual beautiful Litany, followed by two 
 short prayers, and then the Priest goes into the altar, and 
 brings from thence two plain thick gold rings which have been 
 worn during the engagement, and which, having been given 
 to the Priest at the commencement of the service, have lain on 
 the throne during the Litany and prayers. The Priest takes 
 one in his right hand and makes the sign of the cross over 
 the bridegroom's head with it, saying these words : 
 
 "The servant of God, Constantine, betroths himself to the 
 servant of God, Elizavetta, in the Name," &c. 
 
 The ring is then given to the bridegroom. 
 
 The same words are made use of when he signs the bride, 
 with the alteration of names. The second ring being left in 
 her hand, the two exchange rings three times. This signifies 
 that their future joys, cares, intentions, and actions should 
 be mutual and in good agreement.^ Sometimes they are 
 
 1 It is the custom to observe which candle is the longest on its being 
 extinguished ; the one whose candle is shorter than the other will die first. 
 
 2 In allusion to the lamps with which the virgins met the bridegroom 
 (St. Matthew xxv.). At second marriages candles should not be given, 
 but this rule is seldom observed. 
 
 ^ Bishop Benjamin. 
 
 P 
 
2IO Marriage. 
 
 exchanged by a third person, as for instance at Imperial 
 weddings ; but this is not a general custom. 
 
 A prayer follows to Almighty God for His blessing on the 
 betrothal, the Litany for the Imperial Family, for the betrothed, 
 and the blessing. Now comes the Sacrament of Marriage, 
 called in the Sclavonic " Crowning." 
 
 The bride's schafer comes forward, and lays before the pair 
 a large pink silk handkerchief, and the Priest, by a gesture, 
 invites them to approach nearer to the naloy, so that they 
 have to stand on the handkerchief It is a popular super- 
 stition, which however nobody confesses to believing, that 
 the one who steps first on this handkerchief will be head 
 in the house. The Priest now chants Psalm cxxviii., 
 " Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord," between e^ch 
 verse the choir singing, " Glory be to Thee, O Lord : glory to 
 Thee." 
 
 The Priest then asks them if they are willing to take each 
 other for husband and wife, as in the English ritual, with 
 the addition of a question which may sometimes be rather 
 awkward to answer, — " Have you ever promised yourself to 
 another?" to which the ritual indicates the answer which 
 is supposed will be made, "I have not promised myself, 
 honourable Father." 
 
 The Litany follows again, and then three rather long prayers, 
 consisting of supplications for the spiritual and temporal 
 welfare, health, happiness, conjugal harmony, and ultimate 
 salvation of the betrothed persons ; and immediately after- 
 wards the Reader appears with a salver, on which lie two 
 gaudy crowns of plated silver, ornamented with little me- 
 dallions of our Saviour, the Virgin, &c. One of these the 
 Priest takes carefully in his hands, and making the sign of the 
 
Marriage. 
 
 21 I 
 
 cross with the crown over the head of the bridegroom, says, 
 loud enough for the whole church to hear, "The servant of 
 God, Constantine, is crowned with the handmaid of God, 
 Elizavetta, in the Name,"&c., holds the medallion of our Lord 
 to his lips to be kissed, and places the crown on his head : 
 it is not, however, always left there ; frequently the schafer 
 holds it at a few inches higher than the head of the bride- 
 groom, from behind, as these crowns are very large and heavy, 
 and when the parties bow there is danger of their falling off, 
 or at any rate dropping over the eyes. The strictly orthodox 
 prefer wearing the crown on their heads,^ and the common 
 people always do so : to prevent its shaking at every move- 
 ment a handkerchief is stuffed in at the back between the 
 bridegroom's head and the crown ; the bride's wreath, veil, 
 and coiffure, generally render this unnecessary for her. 
 
 The same words are pronounced over the bride, with the 
 change of names. The Priest then solemnly pronounces the 
 following words three times, each time signing the cross 
 before them, they answering by low bows, " O Lord our God, 
 crown them with glory and honour ! " 
 
 Then the Reader intones, in a deep voice, the latter part of 
 the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, from the 
 
 1 Nothing can be prettier than the wedding of a candidate for holy 
 orders, if he be already a consecrated Reader. In the first place all the 
 clergy present as guests or assistants stand in a row behind the pair, in 
 their canonicals, and with lighted tapers in their hands. The bridegroom, 
 in his alb of gold and silken brocade, the crown on his head, from beneath 
 which flows his long, wavy hair, and the almost invariably very youthful 
 bride in her white dress, and long veil hanging from beneath the crown, 
 remind one of the old Tzars and their meek Tzaritas, and the whole 
 ceremony partakes of a character peculiarly Russian, which the European 
 costume of most bridegrooms renders imperfect in other cases. 
 
 P 2 
 
212 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 twentieth verse, gradually raising it in a chromatic scale towards 
 the last verse, which he reads very loud — " Let the wife see 
 that she reverence her husband." This is followed by the 
 Priest's reading the Marriage of Cana from the second chapter 
 of St. John's Gospel ; and when the Testament is unclasped 
 for him to read from, the bride's schafer again comes forward 
 and places on the page a ribbon as a marker. This, as 
 well as the handkerchief on which they stand, remains as a 
 perquisite to the clergy. 
 
 After some more prayers and short Litanies, a small sort of 
 silver ladle, called the Common Cup, with a very short handle, 
 is brought on the salver by the Reader. It csntains wine 
 mingled with water ;i and the Priest, having blessed it, holds it 
 to the lips of the pair, who sip it alternately each three times. 
 This is in allusion to the Marriage of Cana, reference to which 
 is made in the prayers preceding, as well as by the Gospel, 
 and as a type that the husband and wife must share everything 
 in joy or grief It is also in remembrance of the custom of 
 the primitive Church for newly-married persons to partake of 
 the Holy Communion on their nuptial day, further allusion to 
 which is made by the choir singing the Lord's Prayer, as 
 during the Liturgy, immediately before the partaking of the 
 Common Cup.^ 
 
 Now the Priest, in sign of the indissolubility of their union, 
 joins their hands beneath his stole, and followed by them, 
 still hand in hand, walks slowly round the naloy three times, 
 while the choir sings. This circle is a symbol of the eternity 
 of their union, says Bishop Benjamin; it is also a procession, 
 
 » It is popularly called Union, on account of its typifying the union of 
 husband and wife by the mixture of water and wine. 
 * Michailoffsky. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 213 
 
 expressive of their joy. It is to be remarked that the ceremony- 
 can be lawfully interrupted until this procession takes place, 
 but after it the betrothed are really man and wife. 
 
 These words are then addressed to the newly-married man, 
 " Be thou exalted, O bridegroom, like unto Abraham, and 
 blessed like unto Isaac, and multiplied like unto Jacob. Walk 
 in peace, and do rightly according to the commandments of 
 God." Having removed the crown and placed it on the 
 salver again, he turns to the bride and says : " And thou, O 
 bride, be thou exalted like unto Sarah, and rejoice like unto 
 Rebecca, and multiply like unto Rachel. Rejoice with thy 
 husband, and keep the ways of the Law, as is well pleasing to 
 God." 
 
 A short prayer, as follows, is then read : — • 
 
 "O God, our God, who camest to Cana of Galilee and 
 blessed the marriage there, bless these Thy servants, who 
 have now united themselves in holy matrimony according to 
 Thine ordinance. Bless Thou their goings out and their 
 comings in, prolong their days in goodness, record their union 
 in Thy kingdom, that it may remain pure, undefiled, and 
 unslandered for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 The husband and wife are then desired to kiss each other 
 three times, and the usual benediction concludes the office ; 
 but it is followed immediately by a tiny service of only a page 
 in length. It is called the " Removal of the Crowns," and has 
 the following history. In ancient times it was the custom for 
 the newly-rnarried pair to wear the crowns for a week after 
 their wedding, and having finished all the feastings and re- 
 joicings attendant on it, to appear before the Priest in order 
 to have them removed, and to receive his blessing on their 
 entering the routine of every-day life. 
 
214 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 Immediately after the conclusion of the whole service the 
 wedding-party and all the friends and acquaintances who 
 may be among the spectators congratulate the newly-married 
 couple, kissing cheeks or hands as the case may be, and 
 offering good wishes. 
 
 They then go to kiss the pictures with which the altar-screen 
 is adorned, the schafers attending, in order to assist the bride 
 to rise after her'prostrations. A moleben follows ; but it is fre- 
 quently performed at home immediately on the return of the 
 wedding-party from church, when the ceremony of benediction 
 by the parents is again gone through. They are then seated 
 on the sofa side by side, and champagne being handed in 
 abundance by the schafers,^ congratulations recommence. 
 
 As Leonoff's apartments were very small, there was no 
 dancing, and the only guests were the actors in the ceremony 
 and a few very intimate friends. During the evening, which 
 passed very merrily notwithstanding, Gregory Gregorie'vitch, 
 
 who was a great lover of music, and who had sent to D 
 
 for a band of musicians for the ball he intended to give in 
 honour of his "son's" marriage, contrived to have them placed 
 under the windows in the deaf widow's kitchen-garden, where 
 they played various overtures and concertos, to the great 
 delight of the hearers. 
 
 The next day Liza donned her cap for the first time, and 
 looked very pretty in it, and her white muslin morning-dress 
 with its pink ribbons. This costume is as strictly observed the 
 first few days after the wedding as a white dress and veil are 
 for the marriage ceremony. 
 
 Then came the first grand dinner at the Leonoffs'. The 
 
 1 In wealthy families a supply of white kid gloves is prepared in place of 
 those the schafers may spoil in handing the champagne. 
 
Marriage. 
 
 215 
 
 papas and mammas, real and unreal, all the relatives, the ladies 
 of honour, tysatsky, and schafers are invited, and all the 
 bride's riches in the shape of table-linen, plate, glass, and china 
 are displayed to the best advantage. In a few days the^ make 
 their visits to their acquaintance, Leonoff in full uniform, and 
 Liza in a handsome blue silk dress, white shawl, and elegant 
 light bonnet, with the inevitable feathers, permitted only 
 to married ladies (on bonnets), according to the Russian laws 
 of fashion in the interior. The same evening Dr. Koupeeff, 
 who was perfectly in his element, and enjoyed the whole affair 
 as only a Russian can, gave his ball, followed by a very grand 
 affair at Gregory Gregorie'vitch's ; two days after which the 
 
 young pair left G for their future home. 
 
 Tinkle, tinkle, go the horse-bells, as they approach their 
 village, through field, forest, and meadow, and forest again. 
 They are chatting happily together, when crooked-nosed 
 Dmitry suddenly shouts from the coach-box, " Your nobility ! 
 Barinia Sudarinia ! Glory to God, there's our church ! we 
 shall soon be at home ! " 
 
 Both endeavoured to raise themselves from their half-recum- 
 bent position, and to look out at the sides of the iarantass : in 
 the distance, from among trees, hay-stacks, and fields of rye 
 and corn, lay a little village, with a green-roofed church in 
 the midst. Kostia and Liza, at the sight of the cross on 
 its summit, silently crossed themselves, but not without an 
 unuttered though heartfelt prayer. 
 
 ****** 
 Several civil laws exist in Russia respecting marriage which 
 one cannot but approve ; such, for instance, as the measures 
 taken for the rendering bigamy next to impossible. Officers of 
 the civil as well as military service, soldiers, sailors, and all 
 
2i6 Marriage. 
 
 other persons in the employ of Government are obliged to ask 
 permission of their commanding officer, which is certified in 
 writing, and without which no Priest dares perform the mar- 
 riage ceremony. The fact and date of the marriage, together 
 with the full name of the wife, are inserted in the formulary 
 list of service, and wherever that officer or servant of the Crown 
 goes, even should he be retired from the service, the formulary 
 goes with him, an everlasting certificate that he is a married 
 man.^ Should he become a widower, the date of his wife's 
 death is inserted, as well as those of the births of their 
 children. 
 
 The passports of merchants, &c. &c., serve as formularies 
 for them, and the fact of their being married or single is 
 added ; which is especially necessary if they are in the habit 
 of going to distant places, either with or without the intention 
 of marrying. 
 
 Eighteen for the bridegroom and sixteen for the bride are 
 considered years of discretion ; younger than that they cannot 
 marry ; nor can men past eighty nor women past sixty. 
 
 Persons who have not attained civil majority (twenty-one 
 years) cannot marry without the consent of their parents or 
 guardians. 
 
 A fourth marriage cannot take place, and a third is con- 
 sidered rather improper, and demands a penance of five 
 years exclusion from Holy Communion. A second marriage 
 demands a penance of two years. 
 
 The degrees of affinity are divided into blood relationship 
 and spiritual kindred. The former is far more strict than that 
 of the English Prayer-book : cousins of every denomination, 
 be they so-called Scotch cousins, cannot marry; connexion- 
 ' Michailoffsky. 
 
Marriage. 2 1 7 
 
 ship is called kindred; and even the intermarriages of four 
 members of two families, as yet unconnected, require the 
 sanction of the Archbishop. I may bring forward two instances 
 of the kind which, having occurred within my own experience, 
 I can vouch are no inventions. 
 
 Mary and Elena G were first cousins. Elena was an 
 
 orphan, and lived with her paternal uncle, Mary's father. 
 
 Mary became engaged to Lieutenant O , and his elder 
 
 brother, during the engagement, had time enough to fall so 
 seriously in love with Ellen (and she with him) that it became 
 a question of honour whether to retreat altogether, and thus 
 ruin the happiness of both, or to ask the blessing of the 
 Bishop. Of course the latter was decided on by the lovers ; 
 
 but when Captain O made his formal offer, they found an 
 
 impediment in old G , who did not like the idea of the 
 
 youthful Elena becoming, not only the wife of the elder 
 brother, but of the superiorofficeof his daughter's betrothed, and 
 was obstinate accordingly. After much trouble, however, the 
 blessing was given, and the marriage proved a very happy one. 
 
 The other was a more intricate affair, and included two 
 impediments ; the first being that the bride, a respectable lady 
 of thirty-six, was the widow of a Priest, and although no /aw 
 exists that a second marriage cannot be entered on by a 
 Priest's or Deacon's widow, it is not approved of, not con- 
 sidered " the thing " by the clergy in general. But the lady 
 in question was an excellent housekeeper, and just the very 
 match for the suitor, a widower with two children ; they liked 
 each other, and both were tired of being lonely. Their 
 connexionship stood thus. 
 
 Eugenia and Olga B were sisters. Eugenia married 
 
 Mr. A , and died after the birth of her second child. 
 
2i8 Marriage. 
 
 Olga, many years after, married Mr. C , whose sister was 
 
 already a widow. It came into her head to unite her widowed 
 brother-in-law with her husband's sister, principally for the 
 sake of her little neices ; but the trouble it gave her, and the 
 noise that the affair raised in the family, among the clergy, 
 and in the Consistory, was something remarkable. After an 
 infinity of difficulties, however, real and imaginary, the per- 
 mission came, and the marriage took place. 
 
 By spiritual kindred is meant the relations that exist between 
 sponsors and their god-children, or the parents of the latter. 
 A child's godfather cannot marry her or her mother, should 
 she become a widow ; and the sponsors cannot marry each 
 other. For this reason the intelligent parents of an infant are 
 careful to select such persons to answer for it as are not likely 
 to take a fancy to each other. 
 
 An orthodox Russian cannot marry an unbaptized person ; 
 marriages with foreigners or persons of other forms of Christian 
 religion are lawful, but the unorthodox party binds himself, 
 or herself, by writing, not to make objections to the baptism 
 of their children in the Greco-Russian faith. 
 
 Whatever may be the sect to which bride or bridegroom 
 belong, the wedding cannot take place unless the parties have 
 confessed and communicated during the past year. 
 
 When all formalities have been duly observed, and all need- 
 ful inquiries made, the Priest feels at liberty to publish the 
 banns, which must be called the three Sundays or holidays 
 previous to the wedding-day. The whole affair is then written 
 in a book, which the bridegroom and bride, and their witness 
 or witnesses, sign before the ceremony takes place. 
 
 A marriage celebrated in secret and without witnesses is null 
 and void. 
 
Mai^riage. 
 
 219 
 
 There are times of the year and days in the week when 
 weddings cannot take place. These are Tuesdays, and Thurs- 
 days, and Saturdays ' throughout the year, and during the fasts. 
 (See end of Communion and Confession.) 
 
 Should several couples appear at one time to be married, 
 each service must be read separately ; and if there are twenty 
 couples, the service must be performed twenty times ! 
 
 ' As being the eves of Wednesday and Friday, the days on which our 
 Lord was sold and crucified ; and Saturday as being the eve of Sunday. 
 
EXTREME UNCTION, FUNERAL SERVICES, 
 AND REQUIEMS. 
 
EXTREME UNCTION, 
 
 ETC. ETC. 
 
 " Q. In what does Extreme Unction consist? 
 
 "A. The sick person is anointed with oil, and healing grace is prayed 
 for on his behalf." — S/wri Catechism. 
 
 'HE Sacrament of Extreme Unction is administered to 
 
 adults only (that is to say, to such as are of age to 
 confess), to the dangerously sick who are in full possession of 
 their senses, who are admitted subsequently to Communion 
 of the Sick and its indispensable preparation by Confession. 
 It ought to be performed by seven Priests (in remembrance of 
 the seven Churches), but in those places (which are of course 
 of far greater number in Russia than large towns) where there 
 are not so many one Priest cati perform it. A person in 
 sound health is not considered eligible to it, because it is 
 instituted for the sick; whatever mortal danger therefore a 
 person may be about to be exposed to — battle, infection, &c. 
 — he cannot prepare himself for death by this Sacrament if he 
 be in good health. Insane persons, the unconfessed and un- 
 repentant, are excluded from it. Persons of other religions 
 may be anointed with Extreme Unction if previously confessed 
 and anointed with the Seal of the Holy Ghost, according to 
 
224 
 
 Extreme Unction. 
 
 the Office of Conversion. Sickness, death, and grief, although 
 the same in themselves, everywhere take different forms in 
 different countries. Yes, people certainly do fall ill, take 
 medicine, and die (or get better again, as it happens) quite 
 differently in Russia to what they do in England. There is 
 far less lying in bed, infinitely less physicking and fussing; 
 but there is much more groaning and despairing on the part of 
 the patient, and an apparent absence of very great solicitude 
 on that of the friends, which, by those who are not intimately 
 acquainted with Russian character, might be mistaken for 
 indifference : it is founded, however, on their unbounded trust 
 in the Almighty, and a sort of unbelief in doctors in general, 
 which may be detected in the educated as well as in the lower 
 classes. It is seldom that a peasant or workman makes up 
 his mind to seek medical aid until he is past, or next to past, 
 cure, when the timely advice of a physician might not only 
 have saved his life, but also much suffering. If, however, he 
 decides to ask advice, and receives some medicine for his 
 complaint, he always takes it with the utmost reverence, 
 crossing himself and asking God's blessing on it. A Russian 
 mother or nurse never administers physic to a child or patient 
 without murmuring, " Lord, bless ! " and bidding the receiver 
 cross himself The lower orders have not an idea of dieting, 
 and insist much on the sick person eating that which his 
 "heart" exacts. Indeed the nobles seem to think this im- 
 portant aid to recovery rather nonsense and "invention," 
 and submit to it more from respect to the doctor than from 
 conviction of its beneficial influence. 
 
 The peasant women believe firmly in their baboushkas,^ 
 and follow blindly their frequently absurd advice. According 
 
 . ' ■ ^ Wise woman. — midwife. 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 225 
 
 to their opinion, the vapour-bath is the prime healer of all 
 diseases, from small-pox to a simple cold; and for minor 
 complaints, such as loss of appetite, lowness of spirits, restless- 
 ness in infants, &c., they have always the plea of bewitchment. 
 To do away the effects of the evil eye, in which they are firm 
 believers (I speak of the lower order, though many may be 
 found among the nobles), the baboushka takes a vessel of 
 tepid water, in which she puts a cinder or two, and a pinch of 
 salt. If the cinders hiss very much, it is sign the first that 
 " the servant of God, So-and-so," is really bewitched. Having 
 said a preparatory prayer, she crosses the water, and begins to 
 whisper another, of immense length and extraordinary mystery 
 and incomprehensibility of language, holding the vessel up to 
 her chin. The wonder is, how they contrive to commit such 
 stuff and nonsense to memory ; and, as they are almost in- 
 variably " unlearned and ignorant " women, how their teachers 
 have the patience to drum it into their heads. In a few 
 minutes she begins to yawn to a degree that astonishes and 
 alarms the unaccustomed beholder ; — sign the second of the 
 presence of bewitchment. When at last the prayer is finished, 
 she crosses the water again, and taking a sip of it in her mouth 
 squirts it through her lips into the face of the patient three 
 times, makes him drink a little, and finally washes his face 
 and head (without soap) with the remainder. Strange as it 
 may appear, the effect of this operation, particularly on little 
 babies, is really astonishing. I have seen infants who have 
 cried, or been sleepless for hours without any apparent reason, 
 suddenly become quite composed after the squirring. Of 
 course it is to be attributed to the shock occasioned, and 
 which, I suppose, acts in some way on the nerves ; the 
 Russians believe it to be from the old woman's whisperings. 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 Extreme Unction. 
 
 Of all the diseases that flesh is heir to, the ague seems to 
 present to the Russian baboushka a field for the most varied 
 and singular operations in the healing line of any that exist 
 in her practice. It is surrounded by superstitious and myste- 
 rious convictions; it is called "the neighbour" (fem. gen.), "the 
 friend" (fem. gen.), while its real medical name, likhoradka, 
 or likhomajika, signifies spiteful joy or spiteful allurement, as 
 though an unseen evil spirit took a spiteful delight in torturing 
 his victim. There is a belief, too, that until it is frightened 
 away it will continue to " bother " the patient ; also, that when 
 the complaint is coming to a favourable crisis, it appears in a 
 hideous form in dreams. This is probably owing to the fact 
 that horrible dreams certainly do trouble the ague patient 
 when he is beginning to amend, as I can testify by bitter 
 personal experience ; and such is the derangement of the 
 system, that it frequently happens that the dream continues 
 after the sleeper has awakened, especially if he wakes in a 
 fright. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, if the horror- 
 loving, superstitious peasant relates apparently absurd and » 
 impossible histories of such visions having appeared to him ; 
 of his struggles, battles, and victories over "the neighbour;" 
 and of her being far more frightened of him than he of her, 
 in the end. 
 
 Of course there is a prayer against ague, as well as for other 
 complaints ; as a general rule, I should observe, that it is 
 the speciality of one or two baboushkas in particular, who 
 have the reputation of being particularly fortunate in relieving 
 people of this aggravating, wearying, mysterious complaint. 
 The patient is generally taken to the bath, where the prayings 
 and squirtings are performed ; various herbs are given to drink 
 in an infused state, and various cautions prescribed, — even a 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 227 
 
 diet to a certain degree insisted on (strange to say, for once 
 in a way, it agrees entirely with that of the doctor), — it con- 
 sists in total abstinence from milk, eggs, fish, and pork. Be- 
 sides this, some charm or another (every baboushka having her 
 own particular one, which she considers infallible) is recom- 
 mended as indispensable. Of such, the following are a few of 
 the most popular ; they are, in most cases, worn round the 
 neck on the same silken cord that the cross is suspended by, 
 and are enclosed in a little bag, or simply tied up in a rag : — 
 
 1. Incense, or rather cinders that have been in the censer 
 (luring three liturgies for the repose of some one's soul. 
 
 2. A curious prickly herb, something like an immortelle, 
 the name of which I do not know either in Russ or EngHsh. 
 It is prescribed by the Ziryans, a Christian tribe who live at 
 the north of the Government of Perm. It is not known 
 hereabouts, and is called simply the Ziriansky herb. It is 
 placed at the bed's head, or under the pillow, and worn round 
 the neck as well. 
 
 3. A blessed Easter egg that has lain on the Bojnitza (a 
 little three-cornered shelf in the corner of a room for standing 
 the pictures of Saints on) for three Easters. It is sewn up in 
 a leather or oil-skin bag. 
 
 4. A live spider, confined in a thimble or a nutshell, and 
 tied up in a rag. 
 
 5. The word Abracadabra, written thus : — 
 
 Abracadabra, 
 Bracadabra, 
 Racadabra, &c. 
 
 At each line one letter being missed to the last A. One 
 word is cut off every day and burnt by the patient himself 
 
 6. Passion Candle. This is a waxen taper that has been 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 
 
 Extreme Unction. 
 
 used at the following services : — Matins on Palm Sunday ; 
 Holy Thursday, evening service ; Good Friday, vespers ; 
 Saturday's Twelve Gospels ; and Easter Sunday's midnight 
 matins. It need only burn for a few seconds at each service ; 
 another taper can be held during the remainder of the time. 
 The candle-end is worn round the neck, or a little of the wax 
 dropped or stuck on the cross the patient wears. 
 
 7. Camphor, over which a certain prayer has been said by 
 the baboushka. 
 
 8. Water, fetched at break of day, and taken from a running 
 stream at one scoop, the way the water runs. Silence must 
 be observed on the road to and from the stream, and on 
 arrival at home the Lord's Prayer, Belief, and part of the 68th 
 Psalm are said three times over the water. 
 
 9. A sure and certain way to get rid of ague is by making a 
 rag doll, dressing it sufficiently smart to attract the attention 
 of a child, and, having whispered some magic words over it, 
 throwing it over a fence into some strange yard or garden 
 where it is likely to be noticed. The person who picks it 
 up will get the ague, and the maker of the doll be relieved 
 therefrom. 
 
 Smile, as the English reader doubtless will, it is a fact that 
 the use of one of these " sympathetic means," as the nobles 
 call them, by acting on the imagination, or what not, of the 
 patients, doubtless is beneficial ; and I know numberless in- 
 stances of persons of education, and with the usual contempt 
 of such for superstitions, worn out and wearied with a tedious 
 and obstinate visitation of " the neighbour," yielding to the 
 persuasions of the nurse, cook, or a friend of the auld-world 
 sort — submitting to a thrashing in the bath, and a course of 
 cinders, spiders, or running water, and getting well. 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 229 
 
 The herbs that the baboushkas collect and prescribe are, 
 without doubt, salutary ; and it is not to be supposed that 
 their medical treatment is to be entirely despised ; but it occa- 
 sionally happens that they make use of arsenic and other 
 poisons, and sometimes with very melancholy results. As a 
 class they are most kind, good-natured, sympathising souls, 
 and by no means the mischief-makers that they might be. 
 Every family has its pet baboushka, whose appearance is always 
 hailed with delight by the children, to whom she brings hard- 
 boiled eggs, turnips, sunflower seeds,^ or some such luxury ; 
 the house-mother tells her of her own aches and pains, and of 
 the children's ailments, and, whatever may be the time of day, 
 treats her with tea, and a preparatory glass of balsam — favourite 
 beverages with them all. 
 
 But there comes a day in every family when the doctor him- 
 self shakes his head, and the nurse openly declares that it is 
 time to send for the Priest. The sick person is generally the 
 first to insist on its being done ; the friends feeling that this 
 is the last resource, and naturally reluctant to believe that their 
 dear one is really past doctor's skill. As I before said, the 
 Russian patient is very despairing, and, in nine cases out of ten, 
 fancies that he is going to die whenever he is ill, declaring 
 his last hour has come, and imploring those about him not to 
 let him die unconfessed. It is enough for a servant to get a 
 splinter into her finger, and for the place to gather or become 
 inflamed, for her to give warning, solemnly, with floods of tears, 
 and to make up her mind that Anthony's fire, as they call 
 mortification, is coming, and that she must make haste to 
 prepare her shroud. In an hour or two, having persuaded her 
 to wait some result that you invent to gain time, you find her 
 ' Eaten as nuts. 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 sitting at table, eating black bread and kasha, with a truly 
 enviable appetite. 
 
 " How are you getting on, Tatiana ? " 
 
 " Thank God, barinia,i Alexe'y got it out for me. But I 
 thought my death had come." 
 
 "Well, glory to God ! I told you so." 
 
 " Exactly so. Of course, barinia, you know best ; you 
 are ' learned ; ' you must know better than we fools." 
 
 "Then why did you not beHeve me at first? O Tania ! 
 Tania ! " 
 
 When Extreme Unction is decided on, notice is given to 
 the priest or priests, and to such of the relatives and acquaint- 
 ance as are hkely to come and join in the prayers of the 
 family. In fact, it is considered a Christian duty to come 
 unasked, much more if you are personally invited, and almost 
 at every Unction may be found several persons who are utter 
 strangers. The room is generally crowded with visitors, con- 
 sisting principally of old ladies and baboushkas in all accepta- 
 tions of the word. 
 
 When a person is dying of a complaint, such as consump- 
 tion, that is known to be fatal, but which does not prevent his 
 leaving the house, he endeavours to have this Sacrament 
 performed in church, when the ceremony takes a solemnity 
 that it never can present to such a degree in a private 
 house. It is performed, after Mass, in the body of the 
 church, the sick person in a chair with his face towards the 
 royal gates, which are open during the service. In either 
 case the letter is exactly the same ; but, as by far the greater 
 number of persons have it solemnized at home, we will take 
 that instance as our example : — 
 
 1 Mistress, my lady. 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 231 
 
 A table, covered with a clean white cloth, is placed before 
 the picture (or a little naloy if at church, between the sick 
 man and the Am von), and on it a dish or plate of wheat-grains 
 or flour ; ^ on this flour is fixed a small empty lamp-glass or 
 wine-glass, if there happens to be nothing else at hand. 
 Round this are stuck in the flour seven little pointed sticks 
 (about the length of an old-fashioned brimstone match), in 
 honour of the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost ; on the top of 
 each is wound a little cotton wool. The Priest on his arrival 
 arranges all this as it should be, pours a little oil, mixed 
 with wine, in remembrance of the Good Samaritan, into the 
 glass vessel, and hands a lighted taper to the other Priests, 
 and to every person in the room. He then waves the incense 
 round the table, and towards the people. Turning towards 
 the picture again, he begins the service. 
 
 It is very long, and commences with prayers, canons, irmos, 
 psalms (not the Psalms of David), followed by the benediction of 
 the oil (which must not be confounded with that made use of at 
 Unction, properly so called, and which is blessed by the Metro- 
 politan himself). The prayer of benediction is as follows : — 
 
 " O Lord, who by Thy grace and bounty dost heal the 
 infirmities of both our souls and bodies, sanctify this oil to 
 the healing of him who is to be anointed therewith, to the 
 laying low of all passions and impurities of the flesh and spirit, 
 and of all other evil, that by him Thy most Holy Name may 
 be glorified, — the Name of the Father," &c. 
 
 1 The grain or flour is meant as a type of death and resurrection ; for as 
 the grain, though now dry, has within it the elements of life and fruit, so 
 the sick man, exhausted and wasted as he now is by sickness, may, by the 
 grace of God and the prayers of the assembled pastors of the Church, 
 return to strength and vigour, and bring forth the fruits of a holy life. — 
 Michaxioffsky. 
 
232 
 
 Extreme Unction. 
 
 It is read in silence by the other assisting Priests, if present, 
 and all the time the Reader intones various "Voices," as 
 certain verses of a meditative nature are termed. The Deacon 
 then reads the first epistle, which is taken from James v. 
 lo — 1 6 ; and the first or principal Priest reads the Gospel 
 of St. Luke X. 25, the story of the Good Samaritan. 
 
 Several prayers and a little Litany follow. When the last 
 prayer is read the first Priest takes one of the little sticks, and 
 dipping the end wound with cotton in the oil, anoints the 
 sick person with it, of course using the sign of the cross, 
 on his forehead, nostrils, cheeks, lips, breast, and hands, while 
 he reads a prayer for his recovery, which begins thus, the 
 patient crossing himself devoutly all the time : — 
 
 " O Holy Father, the Physician of our souls and bodies, 
 who sent Thine only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to 
 heal our sicknesses, and to save us from death, heal also this 
 Thy servant (So-and-so) of all his spiritual and bodily in- 
 firmities," &c. 
 
 This is done seven times, and each time a fresh stick is 
 used, and by a fresh Priest if there are seven present, by turns 
 if there are two or more, and by the one Priest only if there 
 is but one. The rest of the service is but a mere repetition of 
 the former part, but with different Epistles and Gospels for 
 Unction, viz. :— 
 
 Second. — Romans xv. i — 8. St. Luke xix. i — 11. 
 
 Third. — i Corinthians xii. 27, to xiii. 8, ending with the 
 words " Charity never failetli." St. Matthew x. i — 9. 
 
 Fourth. — 2 Corinthians vi. 16 ("For ye are the temple") to 
 vii. 2. St. Matthew viii. 14—24. 
 
 Fifth. — 2 Corinthians i. 8 — 11. St. Matthew xxv. i — 14. 
 
 Sixth. — Galatians v. 22 to vi. 3. St. Matthew xv. 21 — 29. 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 233 
 
 Seventh. — i Thessalonians v. 14 — 24. St. Matthew ix. 
 9—14. 
 
 The Priests each read a different prayer after the Gospels. 
 The book of the Holy Gospels is then held open over the head 
 of the sick person ; if there are seven or several Priests, they 
 stand on either side of him, each holding the book open, while 
 the one who has the seniority of age or place reads a beautiful 
 prayer to the same effect as that in the Visitation of the Sick 
 in the Book of Common Prayer, " O most merciful God," &c. ; 
 a few other prayers, various in expression but to the same pur- 
 pose, follow, and the service concludes by the patient asking 
 the blessing and personal forgiveness ^ of the Priest, and of all 
 present, which is, I need hardly say, a heartrending ceremony 
 for the friends of the dying person. 
 
 The service for Confession and Communion of the sick is 
 the same, in effect, as the usual form, only greatly abridged. 
 There is, however, a distinct service which does not exist in the 
 English ritual, although there is, it is true, a " commendatory 
 prayer for a sick person at the point of departure." It is called 
 in the Sclavonic Prayer Book, "A form of prayer to our Lord 
 Jesus Christ and to the most pure Mother of our Lord, at the 
 separation of the soul and body of every orthodox believer." 
 
 It opens by the Priest making inquiries exactly similar to 
 those in the visitation, with the additional question as to 
 whether the sick person has confessed ; all are made when the 
 Priest and patient are alone, the friends being sent out of the 
 room ; when answered they are recalled, and the prayers, or 
 rather hymns, begin. They are very short, but many in 
 number, and consist of Irmos, or the first verses of Psalms, 
 Komlaks, or short psalms, all greatly resembling the Psalms of 
 ^ See Confession — "Pardoning Day." 
 
234 
 
 Extreme Unction. 
 
 David, or texts of Scripture. For instance, " My soul, my 
 soul, arise ; why sleepest thou ? The end is nigh, and prayer 
 is needful for thee. Begin thy work, then, and may the Lord 
 Christ, who is everywhere Holy, and who filleth all things, 
 have mercy on thee." 
 
 The " form " concludes with the real commendatory prayer, 
 which resembles that in the Commination, " O most mighty 
 God and merciful Father," but concluding more like the prayer 
 " for a sick person when there appeareth small hope of re- 
 covery." The Virgin is not mentioned or referred to in it. 
 
 The Priest is generally sent for to read this prayer when a 
 great and apparently serious change takes place, such as the 
 limbs becoming cold, the eyes fixed, or other symptoms of 
 approaching death making themselves apparent. When the 
 friends see that he is going, they lay a Saint's picture at 
 the back of his pillow, and stick a lighted taper at the head of 
 the bed. The poor lay the dying on the bench " under the 
 Saints," or picture in the corner. When a child is expiring the 
 father or mother takes it gently on a pillow, and holds it, 
 crossing and blessing it repeatedly all the time, under the pic- 
 ture, while it sighs its innocent breath away. . . . 
 
 And all is over ! The parted lips remain parted, the sigh that 
 you expect yet once more comes not. Breathless the anxious 
 relations gaze at .... is it possible ? the body ! it is no longer 
 father, mother, wife, son, but a body only ! The one of the 
 family who has the greatest firmness quietly lays a hand on 
 the eyelids, while the rest still cross themselves and ejaculate 
 in tearful whispers, " Lord ! receive his spirit !" " Lord ! 
 remember him in Thy kingdom !" then sink sobbing to their 
 knees, kissing the dear hand which but a few minutes ago 
 made its last movement by devoutly, though hardly per- 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 235 
 
 ceptible, signing the heaving breast. The mother and father 
 stand by the bedside of their little child, cross it again and 
 again, and pray that its sufferings may be shortened. The 
 men of the family sob quite as violently as the females ; a 
 friend, or a more distant relation, or even one of the ser- 
 vants, seeing the inability of the master and mistress to think 
 of such painful matters, sends for a baboushka (or if the deceased 
 were a man, for one of his own sex) to lay the corpse out. 
 
 I cannot find out the reason, but a mother is not allowed 
 to wash and dress her dead child, nor to carry it to the grave ; 
 all my inquiries on this subject have proved vain. The com- 
 mon people say mysteriously, " How can such a thing be, 
 matoushka barinia?" and the nobles, "I don't know, really, 
 but it is not the custom with us." Most ladies, and many 
 men, especially those advanced in years, prepare their grave- 
 clothes themselves,^ together with all the velvet, brocade, 
 muslin, calico, and linen required at a funeral. Young 
 married ladies are frequently buried in their wedding-dress. 
 The usual grave-clothes of a lady or a well-to-do person, 
 consist of the usual underclothing of European womankind, 
 the dress she has been accustomed to wear at communion, 
 a net cap if married, curled hair, and flowers if a maiden. 
 
 Persons in his Imperial Majesty's service, from the general 
 to the private soldier, from the actual councillor of state to 
 the humblest of writers in the civil service, all in fact who 
 wore it during their lives, are buried in full uniform, with 
 their orders and medals pinned to a cushion which is placed 
 near them while they lie in the house, and which afterwards 
 plays a part in the funeral procession. 
 
 Little babies have their smart christening-shirts put on over 
 ' See Confession. 
 
236 
 
 Extreme Unction. 
 
 another, stockings, and new shoes (new shoes, boots, or plaited 
 bark-shoes for the country peasant class, or the rigorously- 
 religious of the better-to-do of the lower orders, are indis- 
 pensable in all cases). Children who have outgrown these 
 tiny garments, are dressed in a long sort of wrapper, made of 
 white muslin, with a full frill round the neck and wrists. A 
 little boy's wrapper is bound round the waist and confined at 
 the wrists by blue ribbons ; and an amber, wooden, or stone 
 cross — no matter, so that it be not silver or gold— is hung 
 round his neck by a blue ribbon. A little girl's dress is 
 the same, but with pink ribbons. 
 
 When washed and dressed, with many a prayer and pious 
 ejaculation, the corpse is carried into the saloon and laid on 
 a table, which is placed cornerwise, with the head towards 
 the picture. Sheets are laid on the table, and pinned neatly 
 at the comers, so as to hide the legs. Pillows are placed 
 under the head of the deceased, the hands crossed on the 
 breast, and the fingers of the right hand bent, as though in the 
 act of making the sign of the cross. A taper is sometimes 
 placed in the hand ; and if the person be married, the remains 
 of the wax candle he held during the marriage ceremony is 
 used, and for this melancholy occasion carefully kept under 
 the glass of the blessing picture from the day of the wedding. 
 A small picture of the Saviour or a Saint is placed on his 
 breast. The body is covered with a piece of broad new calico, 
 and over it is laid what I suppose I must translate by the word 
 pall; for a grown person in good circumstances, two or three 
 breadths of brocade {partchd, a material of very varied species, 
 from the rich velvet embroidered with gold, to the coarse silk 
 and worsted stuff with gold or silver flowers interwoven ; one 
 or the other are always of a gaudy, showy pattern) are used. 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 237 
 
 or a few breadths of satin-turc ; for children, a blue or pink 
 silk handkerchief, such as are worn by the peasant-women on 
 their heads ; they are about a yard square, and as they are 
 cut from the piece as required, two may be bought undivided 
 if wanted. Palls ready-made, with a cross of gold lace sewn 
 on them in the middle, of various degrees of handsomeness, 
 are kept at churches, and let out to those who cannot afford 
 a new one, and the pay is added to the funds of the church. 
 
 In the meantime, they have sent to the church for the 
 crucifix and four tall candlesticks, also for a supply of tapers, 
 while another messenger has been despatched for the Priest 
 and Deacon to perform a requiem, and for a Reader to read 
 over the corpse. This last person is sometimes only a peasant 
 or burgher, who gets his bread by reading over the dead ; 
 women very frequently perform this dismal office, and de- 
 formed or painfully-plain girls of humble rank are brought 
 up for this express purpose, as a sure means of gaining an 
 honest livelihood. In wealthy families a Church Reader is 
 almost always employed. In either case, he has an assistant 
 who reads while he sleeps and takes his meals, and the two live 
 in the house all the time the corpse remains unburied ; they 
 read the Psalter over and over again, interspersed with 
 prayers, and the never-ceasing, low, monotonous sound of 
 their voices is inexpressibly mournful and tedious. The 
 Reader has a little desk, like those which violinists use, 
 covered with a towel, on which his Sclavonic Psalter, bound 
 in strong brown leather and fastened by uncouth brass clasps, 
 rests. The burgher or peasant Reader is generally an old 
 man unfit for work of a more laborious description. He 
 stands by the side of the table where the deceased lies, with 
 his face towards the picture. 
 
238 Exb^eme Unction. 
 
 The crucifix, which is about a yard and three-quarters in 
 height, is placed in the corner beneath the picture, before 
 which, of course, the suspended lamp burns ; and the four 
 candlesticks, which are higher than the table itself, are placed 
 on the floor at each end of the table. They have draperies of 
 muslin or calico tied round them like petticoats ; the ribbon 
 with which they are tied is black for an elderly person, and 
 blue or pink for the young ; a sort of scarf, also of muslin or 
 calico, is twisted round the crucifix. 
 
 If the family wish to inform any of their friends or relations 
 of what has happened, they send a messenger, who communi- 
 cates the intelligence in these words : — 
 
 " Michael Alexandrovitch (name of deceased) desires his 
 compliments to you, and wishes you may live long," — which 
 means that he has ceased to live himself. The hearers after 
 expressing their sorrow, regret or surprise, always cross them- 
 selves and exclaim, " The kingdom of Heaven be his !" If, 
 in large towns, it is wished to publish a death in the newspaper, 
 it is done in the following form, and in a separate paragraph, 
 among the advertisements. Births, marriages, and deaths are 
 not printed in Russian papers as in England. 
 
 "Sophia Conradievna Gourieff informs her friends and 
 acquaintance, with grief, of the demise of her husband, the 
 Secret Councillor, Pavel Petrovitch Gourieff, which occurred on 
 the iith instant, and begs such of them as desire to show 
 respect to the memory of the deceased, to assemble at her 
 house on the day of his funeral, Tuesday next, the 14th instant, 
 at nine o'clock in the morning" (or at such and such a 
 church). 
 
 All the looking-glasses in the room where the body lies (the 
 Russians are very fond of mirrors, and hang them in every pier 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 239 
 
 if they can afford it), and in the rooms leading out of it, are 
 covered with sheets or table-cloths. 
 
 All these arrangements are made in a very short time — an 
 hour or two at most. The bedstead of the deceased is taken 
 into the yard, the pillows and bedding into the loft, a light 
 and very airy place, having openings at each end to produce a 
 thorough draught ; in winter it is used for drying the freshly- 
 washed linen, and it is a general receptacle for everything that 
 requires airing. The ladies of the family put on any black 
 gown that they may happen to possess, or in its total absence 
 the darkest one that their wardrobe contains, until a new black 
 one is made. 
 
 In due time, and frequently before all is brought to order, 
 and the first burst of grief and bewilderment subsided, the 
 Priest arrives with words of comfort and kindness, and sings 
 a requiem, which is observed twice a day during the time the 
 body remains at home, and evening-matins every afternoon at 
 five or six. The most remarkable feature in the requiem is the 
 chanting of " Everlasting Remembrance." The Priest says, 
 after several prayers for the repose of the deceased's soul, and 
 for the forgiveness of all his sins, voluntary and involuntary : — 
 
 "With the Saints let the soul of Thy deceased servant, 
 O Lord, rest in peace, and keep him in Everlasting Remem- 
 brance." The choir take up the last words and sing them to 
 a mournful strain several times. This is sung at every requiem 
 and funeral, and always makes the mourners weep violently. 
 
 It is considered a Christian duty (James i. 27) to visit 
 the bereaved in their affliction, and it would be taken very ill 
 if they were to shut themselves up and refuse to see their 
 friends, who, however unwelcome, mean kindly, of course. 
 A mere inquiry, on the other hand, unless the friend were ill 
 
 I 
 
240 Exti'eme Unction. 
 
 or infirm, would be thought strange and unkind by the 
 mourning family. There is, of course, no ceremony in such 
 visits : the acquaintances put on the nearest approach to 
 mourning that their wardrobe permits, and after a silent prayer 
 before the picture, bow to, and frequently prostrate themselves 
 before the corpse, reverently lift the covering from his face, and 
 kiss either his forehead, hand, or the picture on his breast, 
 according to the terms of relationship, friendship, or acquaint- 
 ance on which they felt themselves with him and his family. 
 Condolements are the same in every language, but there is one 
 phrase that is invariably to be heard, and which is peculiarly 
 Russian, " We shall all go there (meaning the grave, I presume), 
 only not at the same time." On the whole, I should say the 
 mourners are more than resigned to these visits, — they are truly 
 thankful for them. 
 
 The gates (in provincial towns and villages) of the yard are 
 thrown open, any who chooses being free to come in to take a 
 look at the deceased, make their obeisance to him, and pray 
 for the peace of his soul. One of the family is always in the 
 room to attend to the candles and act as watcher. The Reader 
 never leaves off his quiet monotonous reading. 
 
 The house is teeming with business ; mourning must be got 
 ready for the funeral, which takes place three days after death ; 
 and preparations made for two dinners, one for the Priests and 
 friends and such of the acquaintance as have been so kind as 
 to attend the funeral, the other for any beggar who may 
 choose to come, and which is served in the kitchen, or, in 
 the summer, in the barn or coach-house if there are a great 
 many guests. 
 
 Alms are distributed every day to the beggars that wait for 
 charity at the church porch before and after Mass, with the 
 
Extreme Unction. 
 
 241 
 
 injunction to pray for the peace of So-and-so, merely mention- 
 ing the Christian name. 
 
 In a few hours the coffin is brought, but it is not always 
 quite ready; in some houses they have it covered with 
 velvet, or some other material, at home, but I think this 
 custom is going out. The more distant relatives or intimate 
 acquaintance employ themselves in decorating the interior 
 by pinking muslin and making ruches of it to go round 
 the edge of the coffin, making the pillow, &c.i They 
 never have a feather pillow for the coffin ; it is stuffed either 
 with wadding or with the refuse of flax. The common people 
 say it is a sin to bury a person with a down pillow ; the edu- 
 cated class do not know why — " but it's not the custom " — the 
 usual answer. They have an idea, too, that if there is a 
 pigeon's feather amongst those with which the pillow is stuffed 
 on which a sick person lies, he will not be able to die until it 
 is taken away ; and if anybody is a long time dying they 
 change every pillow in the house under his head, fancying that 
 in each there must be a pigeon's feather. The pigeon or dove, 
 being the emblem of the Holy Spirit, is greatly respected in 
 Russia, and is seldom eaten, in fact never, by the rigidly 
 orthodox. 2 
 
 ^ This is speaking of the interior, where there are no undertakers, pro- 
 perly so called, and where a joiner makes the wooden part of tlie coffin. 
 
 * An English friend of the writer once sent her a present of four pigeons 
 that he had caught in his yard. The cook very reluctantly plucked them, 
 and grumbled a good deal at making a pie of them ; but when the mistress 
 of the house came with the usual bag for feathers, in order to dry them 
 before making them into a pillow, nothing could induce the cook to add 
 those of the pigeons to the stock. " God forbid, sudarinia," she said; "if 
 it were to happen that one of the orthodox were taken with his death- 
 sickness on the bed or pillows that you intend to make, the sin would rest 
 on my head that he could not give up his soul ! No, sudarinia, as you 
 R 
 
242 
 
 Extre7ne Unction. 
 
 The coffin is not like an English one. It is broad at the 
 head, and gradually narrows towards the feet ; it is very shallow, 
 and has a deep lid ; it stands on four little round feet like a 
 tea-caddy. The very poor have a log hollowed out ; the 
 better class plain deal, sometimes painted ; but the nobles 
 always have it covered with some kind of material, varying 
 in richness according to the means of the family. Cotton 
 velvet, black, violet, red, or blue, is the most used, but 
 frequently silver cloth, brocade, glac^ silk, &c. It is trimmed 
 with gold tinsel lace, which is very effective and extremely 
 cheap ; a long cross is formed of it on the lid : there is 
 no name-plate. The inside is lined with calico and mushn, 
 and trimmed round the edges with the ruches before men- 
 tioned, and it is remarkable that every scrap of calico, velvet, 
 muslin, or lace, or any other material that has been used for 
 the grave-clothes or coffin, is put into the latter to be buried 
 with the corpse, — not a snipping is left : if it be a very large 
 remnant it is given away in charity, but it is not suffered to 
 remain in the house, for they fancy that if it does it will "come 
 in " for another corpse. If the deceased be limp, or if his 
 eyes open, it is considered a sign that he is " looking out " for 
 another to follow him. I remember one instance of the sort 
 which made a deep impression on a nurse of ours. Her father- 
 in-law died, and, as she said, " not all the kopecks in the 
 house could keep his eyelids down." She was of a melan- 
 choly disposition, and this circumstance evidently preyed upon 
 her spirits. Two or three months afterwards her brother-in-law, 
 
 please ! I will buy a pound of down out of my own wages in the place of the 
 pigeons' feathers, if you are vexed with me. It is a pure bird, sudarinia." 
 Of course the matter was given up, seeing the woman's earnestness, but the 
 opinion does not seem to be universal in Russia. 
 
Ftmcral Services. 
 
 243 
 
 the son of the deceased, was drowned, and we heard of nothing 
 but batioushka's'^ open eyes for some time, with histories of 
 similar occurrences, more or less remarkable. 
 
 There are always two or three old women in the house at 
 this time, people who have some sort of relation with, or inte- 
 rest in, the family ; the cook's mother, the washerwomen, the 
 old baby's wet-nurse, and the new bab/s baboushka. They 
 condole with the mourners, relate dismal histories of deaths, 
 funerals, supernatural appearances, and complaints, some of 
 which are extraordinary and impossible, as the " hairy sipples," 
 " green asthma," and " brown creatures " of the English poor. 
 As one goes another comes, and to each the servants or 
 mourners describe the dying moments of the deceased, accom- 
 panying the narrative with copious tears and with prayers for 
 the repose of his soul. 
 
 On the morning that the funeral takes place the house 
 begins to fill at about nine o'clock, and when the bell for Mass 
 begins to ring the Priests and Deacons, accompanied by the 
 Readers and choristers, come to perform the last requiem, and 
 to accompany the funeral procession to church. The body is 
 frequently put into the coffin, which is blessed and waved over 
 with incense by the Priest, at this time, or at one of the pre- 
 vious requiems, and the nearest relative does it, assisted by the 
 others. It is never left to the undertaker or servants to do. 
 Sometimes the body is removed from home to church the day 
 before burial, so that the persons invited to the funeral assemble 
 at church the next day ; but they are requested also to be 
 present at the carrying of the body from home. In such a case 
 the ceremonies are exactly the same as when done on the 
 ' Father. 
 R 2 
 
244 
 
 Funeral Services. 
 
 morning of the funeral ; the corpse remains in the church all 
 night, and the Reader reads there as he did in the house. 
 
 The house is open in the strictest sense of the term, the 
 saloon and entries crowded. All the officers and employes 
 invited come in full uniform, the ladies in slight mourning. 
 The female members of the family, little girls and all, wear 
 black stuff dresses, large capes bound with white, and little 
 caps of black crape or net. Bonnets are out of the question. 
 The Priests wear black cotton velvet canonicals with silver lace. 
 Soldiers, forest-guards, or other persons without rank under the 
 command of the master of the house, are requested (or more 
 strictly speaking, request to be allowed) to come and help 
 to carry the coffin, lid, cross, &c. If the family have no 
 dependants of the kind, a relative or friend frequently offers 
 the services of the men under his command. 
 
 Having waved the incense, the Priest begins, "Blessed be 
 our God," &c. When the words come in the Litany, " Let us 
 pray for the peace of the soul of the deceased (So-and-so), and 
 for forgiveness of his sins, voluntary and involuntary," the 
 friends prostrate themselves, and the ladies cry bitterly at the 
 mention of the 7iame. The service in the house is very short, 
 and at its conclusion the relatives kiss and take leave of the 
 deceased at home. Let it be understood that the lid of the 
 coffin is not put on yet, and that the face on every occasion 
 of requiems, &c., is fully exposed to view; but, when the 
 bearers take up their burden, the pall is drawn over the head. 
 One of the male relatives holds the handle at the head, 
 others those parallel to the elbows. I say handles, but more 
 correctly it is a long piece of home-spun linen, passed through 
 the handles and under the coffin, that is held. 
 
 First of all goes the bearer of the cross ; then the lid, on 
 
Funeral Services. 
 
 245 
 
 which, if the deceased was an officer, are placed his sword, its 
 sheath, and his hat. If he had orders and medals, they are 
 carried by the youngest officer of the funeral party, on a cushion. 
 Immediately preceding the coffin walk the Priests, and with 
 them the rest of the clergy and the singers, chanting at short 
 intervals ; the men with the candlesticks are near the coffin, 
 and the friends follow it ; all the male followers, including 
 the Priests, &c., are bare-headed, even in the severest 
 frosts.' The procession, if procession it can be called when 
 there is not the slightest notion of order and which moves 
 briskly enough, is accompanied by a long and broad motley 
 crowd. When they arrive at church, Mass begins ; the coffin 
 is placed in the body of the church before the royal gates, on 
 a sort of box without a bottom, and covered with black velvet 
 or calico ; the lid is placed on a stool by its side, the attendants 
 stand about the head. Tapers are handed to every one who 
 wishes to hold one, besides the actual guests and family, but 
 they are not lighted until the Burial Service begins. Three 
 tapers are stuck to the coffin, one at the head and the others 
 parallel to the shoulders of the corpse. 
 
 After Mass, the service commences with the first part of 
 Psalm cxix., followed by the Litany, a number of psalms (not 
 of David), irmos, and hymns, interspersed with prayers and 
 litanies. There is a great deal of repetition. 
 
 Then come the Beatitudes, with a little prayer after each ; 
 more hymns, and constant supplications for the repose of the 
 soul of the deceased. 
 
 ^ On meeting a funeral the Greco-Russian always takes off his hat until 
 the procession has passed; and all men, women, and children cross^ them- 
 selves with an ejaculation for the repose of the deceased, be he known or 
 unknown to them. 
 
246 
 
 Funeral Services. 
 
 The Epistle is i Thessalonians iv. 13 — 18, and the Gospel 
 from St. John v. 24 — 31, after the reading of which the tapers 
 in the hands of the Priests and others are extinguished. 
 
 Before the corpse is taken to its last resting-place the Priest 
 reads aloud a printed paper in the Sclavonic language, which 
 he afterwards places in the dead man's hand. It is a prayer, 
 and not, as I have read in certain books of travel in Russia, a 
 passport to the next world. The custom appears to be exclu- 
 sively Russian, and had its origin in the following manner : — 
 
 In the very early days of Christianity (which was introduced, 
 and even made compulsory, by St. Vladimir, a Grand Duke, in 
 the year 988) there lived a very holy man at Kieff, Theodosius 
 by name, who was the founder of monastic brotherhoods in 
 Russia, and became abbot of the first band of monks that 
 established themselves in the celebrated caves of Kieff. A 
 follower of Duke Iziaslaff, the then reigning monarch of 
 Kieff, became a great admirer of Theodosius, and profited 
 by his counsel on all important occasions ; and having the 
 highest opinion of his worth and piety, he begged him to 
 confess him, and write down the form of absolution that he 
 used. St. Theodosius complied, and the Prince, after carry- 
 ing the document about with him wherever he went during 
 his subsequent life, requested, when he felt that his end was 
 approaching, that it might be buried with him. Ever since that 
 time (1032 — 1074) the imitation of this pious fancy has been 
 kept up. The prayer, or rather absolution, is printed on a 
 large sheet of paper, with small medallion-like vignettes of the 
 Saviour, His mother, and St. John the Baptist. It reads as 
 
 follows, with a space ( ) left for the Christian name 
 
 of the deceased to be written in : — 
 
 " Our Lord Jesus Christ, by His Divine grace and gift. 
 
Ftmeral Services. 
 
 247 
 
 when He bestowed on His Holy Apostles and Disciples the 
 power to bind and loose the sins of men, said, 'Receive 
 ye the Holy Ghost : whose soever sins ye remit, they are re- 
 mitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are 
 retained.'^ From whom this power being conveyed by succes- 
 sion even unto us, through me be spoken the absolution of 
 this ghostly child (....) of all sins that are committed by 
 man against God, by word, deed, or thought, willingly or 
 unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously. And if he were 
 under the curse or excommunication of a Bishop or Priest, or 
 under the curse of his father or mother, or if he broke his 
 own vow, or in any other way sinned as a man, but repented of 
 all with a contrite heart,— be all these sins and bonds ab- 
 solved to (him or her), and as a weakness of our nature be 
 consigned to oblivion, for His mercy's sake, through the 
 prayers of our most pure and most blessed Lady and Mother 
 of God, the eternal Virgin Mary, of the Holy Ghost and 
 of the most laudable Apostles and all Saints. Amen." 
 
 On the brow of the corpse is placed a sort of band called 
 ■X coronet ; it is sometimes put on before the commencement 
 of the service ; it is about two inches in width and long 
 enough to go round the head, and is made of glazed paper 
 or white satin. Cherubim are printed on it in gold and 
 colours, and a text or prayer, such as " O death, where is 
 thy sting?" &c., in golden Sclavonic characters. 
 
 When the prayer has been put beneath the cold, motionless 
 fingers, the "last kiss" is given. The httle picture that lay 
 on his breast is placed on a naloy at the foot of the coffin, 
 and each person, before he approaches the deceased, crosses 
 himself before it : first in order, the Priests, Deacons, and 
 
 ^ St. John XX. 22, 23. 
 
248 
 
 Funeral Services. 
 
 the rest of the clergy; then the mourners and their friends, 
 and afterwards any one else who wishes to show this last 
 mark of love, respect or forgiveness towards the deceased, 
 the choir singing appropriate hymns all the time. The picture 
 on the naloy is then taken by one of the assistants, who holds 
 it while the principal Priest reads a short prayer, and subse- 
 quently carries it before his breast in front of the procession 
 to the grave. 
 
 The painful ceremony of kissing concluded, the coffin is 
 carried, as before, to the churchyard, and placed at the 
 brink of the grave ; the pail is taken away by an officiating 
 Reader, and remains as a perquisite to the Church, and 
 the Hd fitted on, seldom nailed down, but merely secured 
 by means of two square pegs, with corresponding holes in 
 the coffin. Two long pieces of home-spun linen (which is 
 very narrow, not more than fourteen or fifteen inches in width) 
 are passed under the coffin, and thus it is lowered into the 
 grave, which is by no means deep, sometimes bricked, and 
 frequently, in summer-time of course, lined with green turf. 
 
 The Priest takes a handful of earth and throws it on the 
 coffin, with the words, " The earth is the Lord's, and the 
 fulness thereof, and the wide world, and they that dwell 
 therein." 
 
 If the deceased were anointed with Extreme Unction, they 
 throw the lamp or wine-glass in which the oil and wine were 
 poured, with what may remain in it, into the grave; also 
 the ashes from the incense then used. This seems to be in 
 remembrance of the " spices and ointments" prepared by the 
 holy women to anoint the body of the buried Saviour. A 
 very short canto is then sung, the blessing given, and all is 
 '' finished. Each member of the family throws a handful of 
 
Funeral Services. 
 
 249 
 
 earth on the coffin, and the family does not leave the margin 
 of the grave until it is quite hid from human sight. 
 
 In the meantime business has been going on actively in the 
 house of mourning. As soon as the funeral procession has 
 left the yard, three or four women appear with pails of hot 
 water, and bunches of bass, their garments tucked up, their 
 feet and legs bare, and they vigorously set to, to wash the 
 floors of the whole house, which they perform standing, not 
 kneeli ng, and the very sight of which is enough to make one 
 feel apoplectic. Then tables are brought in, and laid for 
 dinner, and preparations made in the kitchen or coach-house 
 for entertaining the beggars. 
 
 The dining-table for the nobles is laid much the same as all 
 continental tables are ; two plates for each person, with knife 
 and fork, spoon, napkin, and glasses ; down the middle of the 
 table are castors, decanters of kvass, mead, beer, and water, 
 and black bottles of foreign wines and native nalivka.^ No 
 table-spoons or carving-knives are visible on the table. 
 
 The tables for the beggars are covered with coarse white, or 
 striped blue and white cloths of home-spun linen ; heaps of 
 wooden spoons, painted yellow or red, a salt-cellar, and a jban 
 (a sort of wooden jug with a cover, and gaudily painted) filled 
 with kvass, are placed at intervals, and all round are laid small 
 loaves of wheaten bread and slices of rye loaves for each 
 person. 
 
 The guests, in which I include the beggars, who are all, 
 more or less, known to the family from having constantly 
 
 1 Prepared thus : an immense bottle, containing from two to eight or ten 
 gallons, is half filled with fruit, — raspberries, currants, or mountain ash, &c., 
 and on them poured vodka. The bottle is kept in the sunshine for a certain 
 period, and then the liquor is strained off, sweetened, and bottled for use. 
 
250 Ftmeral Services. 
 
 received alms from them at the church porch or at the house, 
 accompany the mourners home ; and the first thing to be done 
 isj to wash one's hands and face immediately on entering 
 the house, for which purpose water, soap, and towels are 
 prepared by the hostess, who, having performed this ablution 
 herself, sets about ordering tea and coffee for the drawing- 
 room guests. The Priests and Deacons, in fact all who serve 
 at Mass, never eat or drink until it is over, and many religious 
 persons, especially old ladies, do the same. As soon as this is 
 over, the beggars' dinner, or rather the prayer which precedes 
 it, and which is immensely long, begins. 
 
 " My dear Ivanovna," says the mistress to one of the old 
 women who are lingering about, " do be so good as to see if 
 Nicephorovitch is come, and if there is plenty of incense, and 
 a candle before the picture, all as it should be. Run, my dear 
 mother." 
 
 Nicephorovitch, the corpse Reader, is there, and all is ready. 
 The family, and any of the guests who choose to go, repair to 
 the place prepared, to see what is to be seen and help to 
 entertain the company. Some forty or fifty beggars, witliout 
 their wallets, and all clean, and attired in the best of their 
 patched-up garments, are assembled in groups, some sitting on 
 the benches, some lounging about the yard, but all quiet, 
 unobtrusive, and civil even to courteousness ; the family invite 
 them to table, inclining the head each time, and using affec- 
 tionate or respectful diminutives to them all ; not as if they 
 were kindly feeding them out of charity, but treating them as 
 guests. Nicephorovitch lights the taper before the picture, puts 
 hot coals into his little brazen censer, and begins a fatiguingly 
 long prayer, on the conclusion of which the guests cross 
 themselves, and take their seats. The family, assisted by the 
 
Fzmeral Services. 
 
 servants and the old women before mentioned, wait on them. 
 Large fish pasties, cut up in goodly portions, are brought from 
 the kitchen ; then enormous wooden bowls of cabbage-soup, 
 to which five or six help themselves with the wooden spoons 
 straight from the bowls into their mouths — there are no plates ; 
 then kasha, that is, grain of some sort — millet, barley, buck- 
 wheat, &c., boiled in milk or water to a smash ; lapshd, 
 an imitation of macaroni, made of flour and eggs mixed and 
 rolled out very thin, then cut up in shavings and boiled in 
 milk ; fried dough, korovai, made of hundreds of little bits of 
 dough like nuts, first dipped in oiled butter, and then packed 
 into a shape to be baked, and many other dishes. All these 
 dainties are served with oiled butter in little pots, into which 
 the guests dip their bits or spoons ; everything is plentifully 
 salted, and washed down by deep draughts of kvass and beer. 
 
 When, towards the end of the repast, a dish called kissel 
 (potato-flour boiled in kvass to the consistence of paste, and 
 much resembling it in appearance) is served, Nicephorovitch 
 lights his incense again ; all rise and join in another prayer 
 and " Everlasting Remembrance." Then they sit down and 
 eat the kissel, with honey diluted with warm water. After 
 dinner they cross themselves, and thank the family for their 
 good cheer. They are requested to attend Mass during the 
 forty days that are observed after the death of a Russian, and 
 invited to another dinner at the end of that time. The beggars 
 reiterate thanks, with blessings and ejaculations for the health 
 and salvation of their entertainers and the repose of their 
 deceased relative, and quietly disperse. 
 
 " Bring up dinner," says the master, on his way to the 
 house or saloon ; " and sharply, my brothers." 
 
 The rest of the company have been waiting the return of 
 
252 
 
 Funeral Services. 
 
 the family, and thinking what a wearisomely long history it all 
 is ; but the mistress asks them to take their places, and the 
 second repast begins. 
 
 The inevitable fish pasty, soup, a made dish or two, roast 
 birds of some kind, turkey or partridges or young fowls, with 
 what is called salad (boiled potatoes are never given with roast 
 meat). This salad, in the absence of green-meat, is salted or 
 pickled something — cucumbers, apples, pumpkins ; sometimes 
 mushrooms or gherkins in vinegar, and even cherries and 
 currants, tied up in little bunches ; preserves, and a mixture of 
 beetroot cut small, and bogberries boiled with honey, a little 
 cinnamon and cloves : then pancakes, with preserves and 
 sugar, and a great dish of what looks like shaky blanc-mange, 
 but it is in fact nothing more than kissel, only made of milk. 
 When this appears, the Priests and Deacons get up from table, 
 stand before the picture, and begin to chant " Everlasting 
 Remembrance." All the company rise, and the mourners 
 break out afresh. On its conclusion they sit down again and 
 eat the said pancakes and kissel, " in remembrance " of the 
 departed. 
 
 I never yet met with an educated Russian who approved of 
 this extraordinary custom. " One has just begun to get a little 
 composed," said a sobbing girl, who had but that morning 
 seen her mother laid in the grave ; " one knows that nothing 
 can bring them back ; one tries to be cheerful for the sake of 
 the rest — when all at once those tiresome Priests get up and 
 tear one's feelings to pieces with their mournful singing. As 
 
 if " and she suddenly stopped and fell to crying more 
 
 bitterly than before. 
 
 " But it is for the last time, dear !" I ventured to observe, 
 though I fully agreed with her. 
 
Requiems. 253 
 
 '^The last time ! and the ninth day ! and the twentieth ! and 
 the fortieth ! But you foreigners can't understand anything !" 
 
 "Ah ! yes, I forgot. It is rather difficult to remember all 
 these customs." 
 
 And so at first it is, indeed. After dinner a waiter is 
 brought in full of glasses, and a large tureen full of warm 
 honey-water. This is ladled out by the Deacon, he and the 
 Priest singing all the time, and then handed by him to the 
 company, who take a sip or two of the sickly beverage " in 
 remembrance," and soon after disperse. 
 
 People whose circumstances permit it have evening-matins 
 and Mass performed every day for forty days after the death 
 has taken place, and distribute trifling alms to the beggars each 
 time. Besides this, special requiems are sung on the ninth, 
 twentieth, and fortieth days over the grave, and the Priests 
 are generally, but not always, entertained as on the day of 
 the funeral. At any rate, they are invited to the fortieth day : 
 on the first two occasions a " lunch " (which consists of as good 
 a dinner as you could wish to eat, only without soup) is pre- 
 pared for them. On the fortieth day^ the funeral is almost 
 acted over again ; a requiem, dinners, Nicephorovitch, kissel, 
 and " Everlasting Remembrance " being again on the scene. 
 
 Immediately on return from church on all these occasions, 
 and on the name's-day and anniversary of the death of the de- 
 ceased, the family eat a spoonful of what is called koutia ; it 
 is boiled rice and raisins, sweetened with honey. They take 
 it to church in a sugar-basin or butter-dish, and place it, with a 
 taper stuck to it, on the little black naloy before which re- 
 
 ^ If the deceased have left a will, it is not read until the fortieth day, after 
 the mass and requiem. 
 
254 
 
 Requiems. 
 
 quiems are sung. This is repeated at every requiem, and is 
 done "in remembrance " of the deceased, but in what manner 
 this dish can bring to memory a departed friend is more, doubt- 
 less, than any of my readers can suggest. It is, however, thus 
 explained by Bishop Benjamin : " The rice (or, as in ancient 
 times ordained, wheat-grain) typifies the deceased Christian, 
 who will hereafter rise again like the buried seed (John xii. 
 24). The honey implies that on resurrection a sweet and de- 
 lightful existence awaits us in the kingdom of heaven. The 
 raisins, dried up as they now are, will, on coming up, be beau- 
 tiful and lovely, as the glorified Christian will be (i Cor. xv. 
 43> 44)-" 
 
 On the name's-day and anniversary of the death of a person, 
 requiems are religiously observed by the friends, and dinners 
 frequently given, d la fortieth day, but without Nicephorovitch. 
 
 Every family has what is called a " remembrance book " — a 
 little pamphlet in which are written not only the Christian 
 names of the actual relations, but of the acquaintances, old 
 servants, beggars who have been accustomed to receive alms 
 at their hands, &c., in fact everybody for whom the owner 
 of the remembrance book bears a kindly feeling. When a 
 requiem for one particular person is performed, the names of 
 the rest are distinctly read through by the Priest and Deacon 
 several times during the course of it. They are also read 
 during Mass. 
 
 Requiems are not performed for little children, as they are 
 considered sinless until of age to come to confession ; and in 
 the Burial Service for Infants, which is distinct from that of 
 adults, though not greatly different, the deceased is styled " the 
 innocent (or guiltless) babe. So-and-so," and not " the servant of 
 God." In the remembrance books they are called " the Babe 
 
Requiems. 
 
 255 
 
 Ardalion," or " the Babe Nadejda," and not simply Ardalion or 
 Nadejda, as it would be written were they adults. 
 
 The office of Burial of a Priest is distinct again from the 
 offices for adults and babies, though still without any great 
 difference. Priests, Deacons, and Readers are buried in their 
 canonicals, the former with a book of the Holy Gospels in his 
 hand, and with face covered with the silk napkin used for 
 covering the Sacramental Cup, the whole time of the service. 
 
 Tuesday week after Easter Day and Saturday after Ascen- 
 sion Day are especially devoted by the Russians to the memory 
 of the dead, and of their parents in particular, from which they 
 are called the Parents' Days. The orthodox religiously observe 
 the established offices and customs with regard to the dogmas 
 inculcating prayers for the dead, but they seem to be particu- 
 larly impressed with the conviction that alms are peculiarly 
 beneficial and comforting to the souls of the departed. If 
 they have but five kopeckas to dispose of, they prefer changing 
 them into twenty poloushkas (4 poloushkas=i kopecka, ^d. 
 sterling), and distributing them among the beggars that stand 
 in a double row at the church doors, to having a requiem 
 performed, but if their means permit it they observe both 
 customs. The alms are of course given with the injunction 
 to pray for the soul of John, Mary, or Peter, whatever the 
 name of the deceased may be. 
 
 I had heard much of the feastings and lamentations that 
 take place in the churchyards on Parents' Days, and at last 
 determined to satisfy my curiosity by going on purpose to see 
 them ; I found an opportunity too, by accompanying a young 
 orphan relative who was desirous of having a requiem sung 
 over her parents' graves, and who was too timid and inex- 
 perienced to go alone on such an errand. 
 
256 
 
 Requiems. 
 
 Followed by Sascha, the laundress, who carried the koutik, 
 tied up in a napkin, we set forth early in the morning to the 
 cemeter}^, which is admirably situated on a hill of consider- 
 able height, and thickly planted with beautiful birch and pine 
 trees. I was struck by the number of beggars who were 
 standing or sitting by the road-side waiting for alms, and 
 asking for them " for Christ's sake," " for your parents' 
 sakes." Each was provided with a capacious wallet, and a 
 loukoshko, a sort of pail made of lime bark, but incapable of 
 holding liquids. The nearer we got to the church the more 
 numerous were the beggars and the more clamorous for 
 charity. We gave nearly every one small coin, of which we 
 had previously prepared an immense quantity in bulk, though 
 trifling in value. The common people principally bestowed 
 eggs, coloured and raw, cakes of fried dough, or curd tarts, 
 for which the wallets and loukoshkos had been prepared. The 
 beggars were mostly old, blind, or crippled, and there were a 
 great many children who called themselves orphans ; but I am 
 inclined to think that the curd tarts and eggs had attractions 
 for some few rogues whose fathers and mothers little suspected 
 where they were that morning. 
 
 Crowds of women and girls in their second-best holiday 
 attire were wending their way by the different streets and lanes 
 towards the cemetery, at the gates of which were erected half 
 a dozen or more booths, with cakes, nuts, and other dainties, 
 presenting the appearance of a fair. Here and there might 
 be seen schoolboys, who, having laid in a little stock of 
 small pieces of writing-paper, a pen and a bottle of ink, stood 
 ready to write down the names of the deceased relatives of 
 such persons as had no remembrance book, of course for a 
 trifling " consideration." The little cemetery church, where 
 
Requiems. 
 
 257 
 
 Mass was going on, was so full that we renounced all 
 attempts at entering it, and proceeded to the family enclosure 
 of graves, there to wait for the Priest who had been re- 
 quested, the evening before, to perform the requiem. The 
 mourners were rapidly filling the churchyard, and the lamenta- 
 tions were already beginning ; but I took them for a distant 
 song, and felt disappointed in the reality, after having heard 
 so much of the heartrending cries that are uttered on this 
 occasion. But it was the commencement only, the tuning up, 
 in fact. 
 
 The early spring morning was fresh almost to sharpness, and 
 we deemed it prudent to take a little exercise in order to warm 
 ourselves ; we knew that we had plenty of time, for the 
 " Dostoyny " bell was only just ringing, so we proceeded to a 
 little crowd surrounding a grave whence certain doleful sounds 
 proceeded. 
 
 The women respectfully made way for us, and there, on a 
 recently-formed mound, with a plain pine wood cross, on 
 which was carved the date " 1859," and nothing more, lay a 
 female figure, in a smart gown, a violet satin-turc paletot, and 
 a bright-coloured cashmere handkerchief on her head. The 
 voice was that of a young girl, and a few phrases served to 
 inform us that she was howling— zs, the peasants say very cor- 
 rectly — for her mother. I confess that it seemed to me too 
 perfect to be sincere, and the endless chant she kept up proved 
 that affliction had not affected her memory. She would fling 
 herself violently on the grave, howling, roaring, and hiccoughing 
 between each phrase in a tone indescribable, and chanting a 
 lament which is next to untranslatable, but was to the follow- 
 ing effect : — 
 
 " Oh, my dear Mammika ! — My red Sun ! — Why didst thou 
 
 s 
 
25.8 
 
 Requiems. 
 
 leave me ? — A bitter orphan ! — Who will care for me ? — My 
 own bom Mother ! " &c. 
 
 Between each phrase she would bang her head on the 
 mound, tossing her arms wildly ; the screams were too loud 
 and forced to be affecting — that is, to us ; but several tender- 
 hearted women were shedding real and copious tears. At last 
 an elderly woman came up to her, and endeavoured to raise 
 her, but in vain ; she flung and howled more than ever. 
 
 " That will do, Pashinka ; enough, my pigeon ! " she said ; 
 "thou wilt cry thine eyes out, weeping at home, and shrieking 
 here ! Get up, matoushka ! " 
 
 But Pashinka was not to be persuaded, and the woman, after 
 several essays, left her. She was getting quite hoarse, and we 
 quite tired of looking at her, and of hearing her mournful 
 repetitions, but I wanted to know the end of it, and was soon 
 gratified ; for when another woman, with a great bowl full of 
 curd tarts tied up in a coloured handkerchief, approached her 
 with nearly the same words as the first woman, she got up, 
 groaned once or twice, blew her nose, looked about her, 
 sniffed violently on one side, and went with the crowd to look 
 at another orphan, as if she had never howled in her life. 
 
 This was a family group, — three sisters at the grave of their 
 father. The eldest stood, stooping towards the grave, and 
 chanted in a piercingly screaming voice, absolutely painful to 
 listen to, a long and really touching lament, in which she 
 described the comforts they enjoyed during his lifetime, and 
 the hardships and cares they experienced since his death. She 
 seemed really distressed. The other two were on their knees, 
 with their heads and arms on the grave, and they cried and 
 sobbed, and screamed, in a manner impossible to describe 
 or imagine, the whole time I stood by. 
 
Requiems. 
 
 259 
 
 We were thoroughly weary of the scene, when we saw our 
 Priest approaching our enclosure, and we hastened to join 
 him. Several of our acquaintance joined us ; the koutia was 
 placed on one of the graves, and the requiem was hurriedly 
 and unimpressively performed. At the conclusion the follow- 
 ing prayer was read : — 
 
 " O God of spirits and of all flesh, who conquerest death and 
 the devil, and givest life to the world, grant, O Lord, repose to 
 the souls of Thy departed servants (such and such names), in 
 a peaceful place, in a bright place, where there is neither 
 sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing ; and all the sins committed 
 by them in thought, word, or deed, forgive them of Thy 
 mercy and love to mankind, for there is no man living that 
 sinneth not. Thou alone art without sin ; Thy truth is for 
 ever, and Thy Word is truth. O Thou who art the Resurrec- 
 tion and the Life and the Repose of the souls of Thy departed 
 servants, O Christ, our Lord, we praise Thee, with Thine 
 Eternal Father and Life-giving Spirit, now, henceforth, and for 
 ever." " Everlasting Remembrance" of course follows, and 
 with it the requiem ends. 
 
 After receiving his fee the Priest left our enclosure, and was 
 immediately surrounded by mourners, all begging him to sing 
 at some particular grave. 
 
 At every enclosure (by this I mean a family group of graves, 
 surrounded by a little paling), there stood a relative or several 
 relatives waiting for a Priest, and at most of the humbler 
 mounds also. 
 
 The better class merely had a requiem performed, and 
 immediately returned home, unless they joined a friend in the 
 same pious duty ; the working men's wives and daughters 
 remained to " commemorate" their relations, and made a sort 
 s 2 
 
26o 
 
 Requiems, 
 
 of table of the mounds by spreading a handkerchief like a 
 table-cloth, and laying gingerbread, eggs, curd tarts, and even 
 vodka, on it. When the weeping, which continued for about 
 two hours after Mass, had ceased, the mourners set to to 
 commemorate the departed by partaking of his favourite 
 dainty ; and if he were fond of a glass, the vodka was sipped, 
 with the ejaculation : " The kingdom of Heaven be his ! he 
 loved a drink, the deceased !" 
 
 It is not only in low life that the Russian remembers his 
 lost ones at table. They all have a habit of saying, " When I 
 die, remember me by coffee," or green peas, pistachio nuts, 
 or any favourite eatable or drinkable, and is sometimes merely 
 a Russian way of expressing a liking in particular for anything. 
 For months after the death of a dear friend of mine I could 
 not drink coffee without tears, even in the house of an ac- 
 quaintance, and at home could not abide the sight of the 
 coffee-pot, the canister, or the mill. I recollected how she 
 enjoyed making it, how she used to hide the cream-pans, in 
 order to make sure of having thick fresh cream, how we used to 
 laugh over those coffee-drinkings, and what a pleasant meal it 
 was for us all until that sad blank in our party was made ; and 
 to this day I seldom see the table prepared for it but I think, 
 with a sigh, " Dear M ! how fond she was of coffee !" 
 
 Besides the two days in the spring, there is another in the 
 autumn, which has been observed in Holy Russia for several 
 centuries. It is not kept by the common people, but is 
 marked by a requiem on the Saturday that falls nearest to 
 the 26th of October, and was instituted in remembrance of 
 those who fell at the great battle of the Koulikoff Field, so 
 famous in Russian history. It took place in 1380, during 
 the reign of the brave, wise, and pious prince, Dimitry of the 
 
Requiems. 261 
 
 Don, who may be called the King Arthur of Russia, and who, 
 next to his ancestor, St. Alexander Neffsky, is decidedly the 
 favourite hero of the Russians. 
 
 This battle was remarkable not only for the signal victory 
 gained over the hated and hateful enemies of Dimitry and his 
 subjects, — the Tartars, — but for the deep piety which dis- 
 tinguished the undertaking of it, and the thankfulness to 
 Almighty God which the success called forth. The river 
 Nepriadva lay between the Russians and Tartars, and the 
 question was, who was to cross it ? Dimitry was undecided 
 what to do, — to bide his time and await the coming of the 
 enemy, or to be the first to begin the fight, — when a lettei;^ 
 was brought to him from St. Sergius (the abbot of the 
 Trinity monastery near Moscow, which still flourishes), a 
 very holy man, whose counsel and blessing were highly 
 valued by Dimitry. "Be strong!" said the epistle, which 
 Dimitry took as an encouragement to act decisively; and, 
 full of faith and hope, he lost no time in giving orders to 
 his followers to cross the river. He desired that his own 
 black, princely banner, with the representation of the Saviour 
 on it, should be unfurled before him ; and while his 200,000 
 men were crossing the Nepriadva, he continued " on his 
 bones," i.e. knees, at the brink of the water, praying for 
 blessing and success. 
 
 This was in the evening. The next morning, — 8th Septem- 
 ber, — the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, rose dull and 
 foggy, and the hearts of the soldiers were down, but Dimitry 
 rode through the ranks at break of day, encouraging them, 
 calling them his dear brothers, and exhorting them to "be 
 strong." "We are ready !" they cried, inspired by his words ; 
 " and if we fall for our country, do thou desire that the Church 
 
262 Requiems. 
 
 may remember us, and do thou keep up our remembrance 
 in the hearts of our children." He gave his word, and kept 
 it sacredly. So did the brave warriors, when the sun broke 
 through the mist, and displayed to their eyes the field 
 before them covered with countless Tartar forces. Dimitry 
 crossed himself, and with the shout, " God is our refuge 
 and strength ! " rushed to the combat, and his people after 
 him. On the vast space of ten versts the adversaries 
 fought desperately for three hours, and the advantage was 
 rather on the side of the Tartars, when Prince Vladimir, the 
 cousin and counsellor of Dimitry, came to his aid with a 
 reserve, and made the enemy fly. Mamai, their Khan and 
 leader, who with five of his nobles was witness of the fight 
 from a hill, groaned aloud when he saw the flight of his army, 
 and ejaculating, " Great is the God of the Russians ! " turned 
 and fled also.^ 
 
 The pious prince nearly lost his life in the fray ; but he 
 lived, not only to institute the " Dimitry's Saturday," as the 
 day is still called on which the requiem for the KouUkoff 
 warriors is celebrated, but to found a church near the field 
 in remembrance of his victory ; and his wife, also in memory 
 of the same, established a convent for nuns at Moscow. By 
 other accounts it was founded by the mother of Prince 
 Vladimir, Li:nitry's aunt, the Princess Mary, who became a 
 nun, and was buried in the church attached to the convent 
 in 13S9. 
 
 ' Zolotcfif s " History of Russia." 
 
CHURCH BELLS. 
 
CHURCH BELLS. 
 
 " Funera plango, fulgera frango, sabbata pango, 
 Excita lentos dissipo ventos, paco cruentos." 
 
 {Inscription of an Ancient Bell. ) 
 
 pROBABLY the following little sketch would never have 
 been written had not the new excise laws on vodka ^ 
 lately come into force. Until 1863 the manufacture of that 
 article was not allowed to all parties, and its sale was limited 
 to the few who were rich enough to purchase the privilege of 
 retailing it. At the present time the price of intoxicating 
 liquors of all kinds has become much lower, and the number 
 of kabaks or small taverns has increased to an astonishing 
 degree. Here, where we have twenty thousand inhabitants, 
 there are upwards of ninety kabaks, and in every tiny hamlet 
 in the neighbourhood you are sure to see one, if not two or 
 more log huts, with the inscription over the door, " Sale of 
 wine, on the premises, or to be carried home. Koiipetz (mer- 
 chant) So-and-so." 
 
 " In the days of Noah," said a patriarchal old man, the 
 watchman of the Government dam belonging to the iron 
 
 1 A kind of whisky. 
 
266 
 
 CJmrch Bells. 
 
 works, as he stood before us while we were resting on the 
 rocking-bench on the boulevard that ornaments the said dam, 
 " it was just the same as it is nowj" and he pointed with the 
 long staff on which he was leaning, looking like Noah himself, 
 to a basket-cart full of tipsy workmen, who were driving past 
 at a furious rate, and singing in drunken falsettos at the top of 
 their voices. " The Bible says so," he continued, evidently 
 supposing that the Scriptures were utterly unknown to us ; the 
 assurance with which he spoke awakened my curiosity, and I 
 encouraged him to go on. 
 
 " Twenty years, sudarinia, did Noah preach to the people, 
 but nothing could induce them to give up vodka. And when 
 the Lord sent the mighty Deluge, they climbed up into the 
 pine-trees, sudarinia, with shtoffs'^ and pol-shtoffs'^ in their 
 bosoms, and drank there until the water reached them. And 
 so it will be again." 
 
 " But the writings say that there never will be a deluge 
 again, grandfather !" 
 
 " All the same ! When the great day comes, how will it fare 
 with those who do as the people in Noah's time did?" 
 
 All this was said in reference to what had happened in 
 Easter week that year. 
 
 On Wednesday, the 6th of April, I was sitting at the window 
 reading, that is with a book in my hand, but more often glanc- 
 ing at the groups of gaily-dressed women and girls with their 
 kaftanned cavaliers, wading their way through the mud to the 
 swings and merry-go-rounds at the other end of the town, than 
 at its pages. The thaw itself was over, leaving behind it dirt 
 indescribable, but the weather was glorious overhead, and 
 it was really provoking to be compelled to sit indoors. 
 1 A quart. ^ A pint. 
 
ClmrcJi Bells. 
 
 267 
 
 Suddenly, the clanging of the church bells (which are rung 
 incessantly during Easter week, except in the night, and while 
 Divine Service is going on) ceased ; and when, a few minutes 
 afterwards, it was resumed with redoubled vigour, I observed a 
 great difference in the tone of the Great Bell. It had become 
 much weaker, and had a strange cracked sound. I opened 
 the was isi das^ and listened attentively, but sat down again 
 undecided as to what had happened. The next day, however, 
 I was told that the sexton had allowed some tipsy men to ring 
 the bells, and that they had broken the great one in question, 
 which accounted for its altered tone. 
 
 Soon after, a book was brought to me by the churchwarden, 
 with a request that I would write my name down as a sub- 
 scriber towards the purchase of a new bell, which was to be 
 ordered at Slobodskoy, a town of considerable commercial im- 
 portance in the Government of Viatka, where there is a bell 
 foundry ; but I was too indignant with the church authorities 
 for allowing such disorders in the House of God, to consent ; 
 and intimated to the abashed warden that it was not fair to 
 make the parishioners answerable for the mischief every tipsy 
 man might create. But a handsome collection was made 
 without my dole, and the new bell ordered, but many months 
 passed before we heard any further tidings of it, and in the 
 meantime we had become thoroughly accustomed to the 
 cracked voice of our old friend, and hailed each Sabbath and 
 holiday as heartily when warned by it, as we did when its 
 sound was clear and strong. 
 
 Russian bells are infinitely larger than those in England, and 
 are sonorous in proportion, but the art of ringing as practised 
 in Great Britain is, as far as I am aware, unknown here. 
 1 A ventilating pane in the window. 
 
268 
 
 Church Bells. 
 
 During a residence of nearly a year in St. Petersburg I never 
 heard anything resembling a chime, and at different periods I 
 have noticed the same at Moscow and Kazan. Once only I 
 heard something like a tune in the tolling of the bells in the 
 cathedral church at Ekaterinburg, the capital of the Oural, 
 but it was marred by the incessant booming of the great bell. 
 They are not rung, but struck ; that is, the clappers alone are 
 moveable. 
 
 Notwithstanding the sameness of the Russian ringing, an 
 accustomed ear can easily distinguish the meaning of the 
 various sounds produced by the numerous bells that usually 
 hang in the smallest belfry ; for instance, the every-day peal for 
 Mass, matins, and vespers is composed of the second bell in 
 size, which summons the orthodox to Divine Service in the 
 follo\ving manner : — First, three solemn tolls, with the interval 
 of about a minute and a half between each, following by an 
 even and uninterrupted repetition of the same, but allegro, for 
 about twenty minutes. This, for Mass, is followed by a com- 
 plete silence of ten minutes' duration or thereabouts, and 
 concluded by a grand clanging and clashing (called a tr'czvon, 
 or treble peal) of all the other smaller bells, which lasts for 
 two or three minutes more. This signifies that service will 
 begin immediately. For matins and vespers, it is nearly the 
 same, but with smaller intervals, and of less duration. At that 
 part of the Liturgy where the choir sings, " It is worthy and 
 meet to bow down to the Father, and to the Son, and to 
 the Holy Ghost, to the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible," 
 the great bell on holydays, and a lesser one on week-days, ring 
 for about three minutes, until another hymn beginning also 
 with the words, " It is worthy," and sung to the Holy Virgin, 
 is commenced. From this circumstance the peal is called 
 
Chui'ch Bells. 
 
 269 
 
 Dostoyno, iforthy, the word with which the two hymns begin. 
 This seems to be peculiar to the Russian Church, as it does 
 not exist in other branches of the Greek Church, and to have 
 been introduced about the middle of the seventeenth century. 
 It was ordained in order that those who were unable to join 
 their fellow Christians at church might at any rate lift up their 
 hearts with them at the sound of this bell, for it precedes 
 immediately the Transubstantiation of the Elements — the 
 most solemn and important moment in the Liturgy. On the 
 conclusion of Mass, if there be an Imperial mole'ben for either 
 of the members of the reigning family, it is preceded and 
 followed by a noisy trezvon.^ 
 
 On Sundays and great holidays the order is as above, except 
 that the largest bell in the belfry is used for the tolling, and 
 that the second comes into use with the rest of the smaller 
 ones in the trdzvon. 
 
 Wedding-peals are utterly unknown, and tolling for the dead 
 also ; but the bells clang in a particularly mournful manner 
 as the funeral procession approaches the cemetery. On the 
 death of a Priest, however, the great bell is tolled all the time 
 they are laying out the corpse, which is done with a certain 
 ceremony by the brother Priests. 
 
 When the Archbishop of a diocese is on his way to visit a 
 
 1 On the accession of his present Tmperial Majesty, he proposed to the 
 Metropolitan to shorten in a measure the Liturgy, but his Eminence said 
 that in no manner was it possible but by abridging the litanies for the 
 Imperial family, in which each member was fully named and titled several 
 times during the course of the service. The words, " and all the Imperial 
 family " were consequently substituted after the full titles and names of the 
 Emperor and Empress, the Heir and Heiress. Formerly, too, every birth- 
 day and name's-day of the Grand Dukes and Duchesses was observed by a 
 moleben, but it is now celebrated on the Sunday following. 
 
270 
 
 Church Bells. 
 
 place, a tremendous trezvon is kept up from the time that his 
 carriage is within hearing of the bells, until his Eminence has 
 reached and entered the church, which he always does before 
 going into any other house, — straight from his carriage, with 
 all his suite ; the Archimandrite, Proto-deacon, Sub-deacons, 
 choristers, &c. After a short service he returns to his car- 
 riage, and proceeds to the house prepared for him, to the 
 sound of a trezvon similar to that which announced his arrival, 
 and which is repeated every time he goes anywhere from 
 home during his visit, and when he finally leaves the place. 
 
 From Easter to the 14th of September, the Feast of the Dis- 
 covery of the Cross (called in the Book of Common Prayer 
 " Holy Cross Day "), matins are performed in the interior on 
 the eve of Sundays and great feasts, and not on the morning 
 of the days in question. The booming of the great bell at sir 
 o'clock on such eves has a peculiar charm, and I cannot under- 
 stand why this arrangement should not remain during the whole 
 year. From the 14th of September to the following Easter, 
 the orthodox are called to matins at five or six in the morning, 
 and sometimes still earlier ; and it is saying much for the 
 religious feeling of the Russians to acknowledge that the 
 churches are almost invariably crowded at matins on Sundays 
 and holydays. Let it be remembered that here, in the Govern- 
 ment of Viatka, from November to March we have frosts 
 varying from 10° to 35°, and even 40° (though of rare occur- 
 rence), Reaumur, with occasional days of comparative warmth, 
 which, however, are very "few and far between." Such a state 
 of cold, as the latter figures intimate, is positively incompre- 
 hensible to an inhabitant of Great Britain. Fancy getting up 
 at five o'clock, and proceeding on foot in the dark, with 20° 
 or 30° of Jack Frost ! Let me add that no true Greco-Russian 
 
Church Bells. 
 
 271 
 
 would think of preparing himself or herself for such a cool 
 walk by a cup of hot tea or coffee. 
 
 On New Year's Day, 1864, when the congregation left tlie 
 church after Mass, they were agreeably surprised by the sight 
 of the new bell, which had arrived during the service, and was 
 left under a sort of gallows in front of the church, which had 
 been prepared for it in the autumn. In out-of-the-way places like 
 this, there is so little in the shape of novelty and news, that this 
 circumstance formed subject for conversation during all New 
 Year's Day : conjectures as to its weight, tone, and price ; narra- 
 tives of other bells ; the history of its cracked predecessor, and 
 reminiscences of the Priests who had charge of God's little flock 
 here when it was brought from Slobodskvy nearly thirty years 
 previously — were heard on every side. My curiosity was 
 aroused, and I went to look at the new bell a week or so after 
 its arrival, when it was hanging in the gallows before mentioned, 
 while the pulleys and other contrivances required to raise it to 
 the belfry were being prepared at the works. 
 
 It was a very handsome piece of workmanship, bronze, with 
 bands of bright brass, and its shape very elegant. It is eight 
 feet some inches in height, weighs 10,950 lbs. avoirdupois, and 
 cost upwards of 5,00c silver roubles (about 800/.), at eighteen 
 silver roubles per pood. On its four sides are bas-reliefs 
 representing the principal pictures in the church for which it 
 was destined, namely — that of the Saviour, the Holy Virgin 
 of Vladimir (that is to say, after the manner of a celebrated 
 picture at Vladimir), St. Dimitry Rostoffsky, Metropolite in the 
 time of Peter the Great, and St. Nicholas, the miracle worker, 
 who lived in the third century. 
 
 Besides these bas-reliefs, which are very fairly executed, 
 the bell is richly ornamented with arabesques in tlie Russo- 
 
272 
 
 Church Bells. 
 
 Byzantine style, and between the brass bands are the following 
 inscriptions : — 
 
 1. " O let the earth bless the Lord ; yea, let it praise Him. 
 O ye Heavens, bless ye the Lord." (Song of the Three 
 Children.) 
 
 2. " In the evening, and morning, and at noon-day will I 
 pray, and that instantly : and He shall hear my voice." (Ps. 
 Iv. 18.) 
 
 3. " I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall 
 not prevail against it." (St. Matthew xvi. 18.) 
 
 4. " For the cathedral church of the Annunciation of the 
 Blessed Virgin in Votkinsky Zavod, from the devouter 
 frequenters of that House of God. To the Lord God are 
 known their names." 
 
 This description of our bell will give the reader a sufficient 
 idea of those of Russia in general ; but perhaps a Httle further 
 information on the subject may not be without interest. 
 
 Let it be borne in mind that the largest bell in England, 
 that of Christ Church College, Oxford, weighs but 17,000 lbs. ; 
 the Great Bell of St. Paul's, London, 11,474 lbs. ; and the cele- 
 brated Tom of Lincoln, 10,854 lbs., less by 96 lbs. than the 
 new one at Votkinsk, which is but a Government zavod (or 
 manufacturing town, important only for its works, which produce 
 wrought iron, cables, anchors, and iron ships). But the bells ' 
 in large towns, especially in St. Petersburg and Moscow, are 
 infinitely larger than any of those above mentioned. 
 
 The original Ivan ViUki (Big John) of Moscow, for which 
 no belfry could be built strong enough, weighed 432,000 lbs. 
 It still exists in the enclosure of the Kreml, with a large piece 
 like a door broken out of its side. Its size is enormous, and 
 a hermit might live in it very comfortably. 
 
Church Bells. 273 
 
 The Ivan Viliki, which succeeded the former one, weighs 
 216,000 lbs. and hangs in the belfry of the Church of St. John 
 the" Great, at Moscow. 
 
 In the magnificent cathedral of St. Isaac, at St. Petersburg, 
 which was completed and consecrated two years after the 
 accession of his present Imperial Majesty, Alexander the 
 Liberator, after nearly twenty years building, is the largest and 
 most sonorous bell in that city. It weighs 53,072 lbs. and is 
 ornamented with, a large picture in bas-relief of St. Isaac of 
 Dalmatia, to whom the cathedral is dedicated, and with five 
 medallion portraits of its Imperial builders (for it was begun 
 several times), viz. Peter I. (the Great), Catherine 11., Paul I., 
 Alexander I., and Nicholas I. It contains a considerable 
 portion of gold and silver. 
 
 Bells have always been in great favour with the Russians, 
 and are regarded by the peasants with a superstitious reverence. 
 They are not, however, christened, as I have heard it affirmed ; 
 but, as we shall see in the sequel, merely consecrated, as is 
 every other article that is to belong to the House of God. 
 
 We read in Russian history, so rich in episode and charac- 
 teristic anecdote, that the Tzar Ivan Vasilievitch, surnnmed 
 the Terrible, who lived contemporary with Queen Elizabeth 
 (and made her an offer too, by.lhe-by) and whose religious 
 fanaticism was almost equal to his dreadful cruelty, was very 
 fond of ringing for matins^ in the monastery which he had 
 formed in the precincts of Moscow for himself and three 
 hundred of his chosen boyarins.^ At three or four o'clock in 
 the morning he used to go into the belfry with his two sons, 
 and Maliutka Skouriatolf, a favourite of his, and assemble the 
 
 ^ " Paco cruentos " (?) there is an exception to every rule- 
 ' Ancient Russian nobility. 
 
 T 
 
274 
 
 Church Bells. 
 
 rest of the singular fraternity by his doleful pealings. Woe 
 betide the unfortunate boyarin who failed to attend the 
 summons! During Divine Service Ivan performed such fervent 
 prostrations, that he always had marks, and frequently bloody 
 ones, on his forehead, from the blows he inflicted on it by 
 banging it on the stone pavement. Yet, not unfrequently, he 
 would give his most terrible orders during the Liturgy.' 
 
 When Prince Andre Kourbsky, once the friend and favourite 
 of Ivan, fled in terror from his barbarous sovereign, and joined 
 the bitterest enemies of Russia, the Lithuanians, he resolved to 
 write a letter to the terrible Tzar and tell him his reasons for 
 dealing thus treacherously, and "to open his soul," says the 
 chronicler, " which was filled with bitterness and indignation." 
 But, how to send the epistle ? Of course no post existed at 
 that time, and the Prince was at a loss how to get the letter 
 conveyed. His faithful follower and servant, Vasili ShibanofF 
 Stremyanoy (stirrup-bearer), the only one of all his retainers 
 who had accompanied him to the Lithuanian camp, and who 
 had already proved his devotion to his lord by insisting on his 
 taking his horse when that of Kourbsky was overcome by the 
 weight of its runaway rider, and unable to go further, offered 
 his services, though he well knew that his fate was next to 
 certain on appearing before the "threatening eyes" of the 
 bloodthirsty tyrant with such a commission. Kourbsky gladly 
 availed himself of Shibanoff's offer, and gave him money, 
 which the fine fellow indignantly refused. 
 
 At the time of his arrival at Moscow we are told that the 
 " Tzar was humbly ringing the bells," but when Shibanoff was 
 brought into his presence in the Red Vestibule of the Palace, 
 and delivered the sealed packet with the bold words, " From 
 1 Kaiamzin's "Histoi^ of Russia." 
 
 I 
 I 
 
Church Bells. 
 
 275 
 
 my master, and thine exile, the Prince Andr^ Kourbsky," he 
 struck him so violently on the leg with his sharp sceptre 
 (probably the very same with which he subsequently killed his 
 darling and innocent son) that the blood poured from the 
 wound ; but the gallant Vasili, resolved for his master's sake 
 to endure whatever torments might be in store for him, stood 
 silent and unmoved. 
 
 The letter was a very threatening one, and foretold all sorts 
 of calamities for the Tzar, who was now anxious to ascertain 
 the particulars of Kourbsky's flight, and especially if he had 
 any companions of his own nation ; but although the heroic 
 servant was subjected to tortures which only Ivan the Terrible 
 could invent or insist on, nothing could be elicited from him 
 but "praises of his master," and expressions of readiness and 
 gladness to die for him. Even the cruel Tzar himself, in his 
 answer to Kourbsky, seems touched, for he upbraids the Prince 
 with the fidelity of Shibanoff. " Let thy servant Vaska shame 
 thee !" he writes; "he preserved his truth to thee before the 
 Tzar and the people ; having given thee his word of faith, he 
 kept it even before the gates of death." 
 
 "And thus died Shibanoff Stremyanoy !" concludes thepoet,^ 
 in his charming ballad on the subject. The torture-masters 
 worked hard from early morn till late at night, one succeeding 
 the other when the first was tired out ; yet Vasili's last words 
 were to implore the forgiveness of God for his master's 
 treachery. 
 
 Our bell remained in its temporary place of suspension for a 
 fortnight, during which time a considerable sum was collected 
 from the workmen and peasants who wished to hear its sound, 
 which they fancied was beneficial for the soul and conducive 
 ^ Count Th. A. Tolstoy. 
 T 2 
 
2^6 
 
 Chiu'ch Bells. 
 
 to salvation. Each stroke cost three kopecks (about a penny), 
 but many of the orthodox offered more, and the ringer in- 
 dulged the poor for less or for nothing. Women brought flax 
 and home-spun linen of their own handiwork, and this, as well 
 as the money, all went to the church treasury. On the 15th of 
 January, at eleven o'clock, we were warned by a grand clatter- 
 ing of the lesser bells (the old one having been removed to 
 make room for the new one), that if we wished to see the 
 raising of the bell— a religious ceremony — we must make haste. 
 It was a glorious day, " blue and golden," with no wind, con- 
 sequently the 28° were endurable. We found a considerable 
 crowd outside the church, and feared that it would be double 
 inside, but were agreeably surprised by the contrary, and I 
 was astonished to find only one lady and two little boys of the 
 nobles among the whole congregation. One of the Priests 
 was reading an acathistus to the Virgin, while the others gra- 
 dually dropped in, and disappeared behind the altar-screen. 
 
 In the body of the church before the royal gates, stood a 
 low naloy, on which were two candlesticks with burning tapers, 
 and a large pewter sort of tureen containing holy water, or 
 rather water that was destined to be blessed. There was a 
 good deal of going backwards and forwards among the Readers 
 and sextons, and evident preparation. At last the High Priest — 
 who, in by no means so handsome canonicals as I had expected 
 on this occasion, issued from the royal gates, followed by three 
 other Priests and the Deacon, and placing himself before the 
 naloy, with his back to the greater part of the congregation, 
 and his face towards the Gates — began a moleben, and blessed 
 the water by plunging the cross in it three times, each time 
 holding the same, on taking it out of the water, over another 
 smaller vessel, which the Deacon held, and allowing the drops 
 
Church Bells. 
 
 277 
 
 to fall from the cross into it : with these drops the bell was 
 afterwards sprinkled. 
 
 The congregation now approached the naloy, and each, as 
 he kissed the cross, which the High Priest held, was sprinkled 
 by him with water from the first vessel. This is performed by 
 dipping a sort of brush, very like those used for whipping 
 creams, into the water, and by a sharp movement of the 
 wrist dispersing the drops on the heads of the congregation. 
 
 A procession was immediately afterwards formed, con- 
 sisting of the clergy and Readers, churchwardens and sextons, 
 each with something in his hand. Two Readers went before 
 with the church banners ; two sextons followed with horrid, 
 dull, waxed dropped lanterns containing tapers, as candles in 
 the usual tall candlesticks would be liable to be blown out. 
 The congregation pressed forward, eager to obtain the nearest 
 possible position to the High Priest ; we lingered purposely, 
 and had the best view of all the proceedings from the top of 
 the church steps, whicli are upwards of twenty in number. 
 At their foot, with a quantity of linen wound round it to pre- 
 vent its rubbing when it entered the belfry, lay the bell, a 
 mystery of cordage and pulleys twisted about it ; and when I 
 looked at the immense mass, I lelt nervously doubtful as to 
 whether the means prepared were strong enough to raise it. 
 My companions experienced the same dread, and we moved 
 to the left, lest the 10.950 lbs. should fall on our heads. 
 
 The High Priest read a few prayers on reaching the bell, 
 not a word of which was audible, and then proceeded to 
 sprinkle it in the manner I have described, walking round it 
 as he did so. The choir, with the remaining Priests, sang 
 psalms and irmos, but the sound was completely drowned 
 by the hum of voices and the shouts of the workmen to each 
 
?78 
 
 Church Bells. 
 
 other as they arranged the cordage ; a dozen or so of men 
 were in the belfry, and five hundred in the street below, ready 
 to pull at the cords ; and when the service, which did not 
 occupy more than five minutes, and which was by no means 
 striking in any respect, was concluded, a great noise ensued, 
 which ended in the signal to begin pulling being given, and 
 in a few seconds the huge mass began to move. The blocks, 
 however, were imperfectly arranged, and they were obliged 
 to lower the bell again while they were being put to rights, 
 and we had to stand an extra ten minutes in the frost. 
 
 " And now with many a rope suspending, 
 
 Come, swing the monarch's weight on high, 
 By our last toil its throne ascending, 
 
 To rule the azure canopy. 
 Stretch the pulley — now he springs ! 
 Yet another — now he swings ! 
 Let him bid the land rejoice, 
 Peace be on his earliest voice ! 
 
 That offspring of consuming fire 
 
 And man's creative hand. 
 High from the summit of the spire 
 
 Shall murmur o'er the land ; 
 Shall tell of sorrow to the sad, 
 
 Reflection to the wise, 
 And peal on rapt Devotion's ear 
 , The sounds of Paradise. 
 
 And all his changeful fate brings down 
 
 On suffering man below, 
 Shall murmur from its metal crown. 
 
 Or be it joy or woe." ^ 
 
 When it begins to ascend again the shouts ceased, and the 
 crowd made the sign of the cross devoutly, while the melodious 
 
 , 1 Lord Leveson Gower's translation of Schiller's " Song of the Bell." 
 
Church Bells. 
 
 singing of the choir, now agreeably audible, accompanied the 
 bell on its rapid progress to its place of final destination. 
 
 A great crashing of the lath and plaster about the opening of 
 the belfry rather alarmed the crowd, and an attempt at a rush 
 was made, but no harm was done, and in a few seconds the object 
 of our interest was safely deposited perpendicularlyon the tempo- 
 rary floor prepared for it ; but it could not be hung for several 
 days, owing to the contrivances required for lifting it in that 
 limited space being out of order, and it was not until the 
 Sunday following that we heard its real tone. I cannot say 
 by what law of acoustics it rang more clearly and sonorously 
 in its gallows than in the belfry, but such is the fact ; every- 
 body was disappointed in its strength and sweetness, but its 
 " voice " is pleasant enough, and of course infinitely preferable 
 to that of its cracked predecessor. 
 
 My extract from Schiller's poem reminds me of the fate of 
 that ill-fated old bell. If I am not mistaken, the old bell is 
 represented by Moritz Retzsch, in the last of his charming 
 outline illustrations of that charming song, as lying overgrown 
 with brambles and grass in the churchyard. Our authorities 
 are more practical — our old friend was immediately taken to 
 the works, on its removal from the belfry, and there broken 
 into small pieces, so that it might be the more readily trans- 
 ported to Slobodskoy, there to be refounded. 
 
 No authority seems certain as to the exact date of the in- 
 troduction of large bells into Christian churches, but the gene- 
 ral opinion appears to be that they were invented by Paulinus, 
 Bishop of Nola, a town near Naples, about the year 400 ; but 
 their use was not general until the sixth century. It is to be 
 supposed that their introduction into Russia should date from 
 the time of Vladimir's conversion, 988, though they were not 
 
28o 
 
 Church Bells. 
 
 universal ; for we read of certain wooden, iron, or brass plates, 
 suspended in the entrances of churches, being beaten for the 
 purpose of calling the faithful together to prayer. Even where 
 there were real bells, they were only rung on Sundays and 
 great feasts, and the plates made use of on week days. Little 
 bells, however, were known in the time of Moses, ex. 1491, 
 as may be seen in Exodus xxviii. 33-35 ; and, in imitation of 
 Aaron's robe, the Bishops of the Greco-Russian Church have 
 little tinkling things on their copes and mantles to this day. 
 They are mentioned also by Zechariah in the fourteenth 
 chapter of his prophecy, twentieth verse, as attributes of war 
 horses. 
 
 Valdai, a town not very far from St. Petersburg, is cele- 
 brated for its bells, the sweetness and depth of the tone of 
 which are unsurpassed. 
 
 The use of small bells in the harness of post and country 
 horses is universal in the Russian empire. 
 
THE FOURTH OF APRIL. 
 
THE FOURTH OF APRIL. 
 
 'y HE fourth of April, 1866, and the twenty-fifth of May, 1867, 
 have become important dates in the history of Russia. 
 On both those memorable days it pleased Almighty God to 
 save the life of the Emperor from " the arrow that flieth by 
 day." The particulars of the event at Paris are doubtless as 
 well known in England as in Russia : it is to the former attempt 
 therefore that I would draw the attention of the reader, — a 
 history so strange and exciting that I cannot but relate it just 
 as it came to my ov/n knowledge. 
 
 When first the report that there had been an attempt on the 
 Emperor's life reached us (15th April, o.s.) everybody here 
 said, "Of course it is those Poles again." " It must be some 
 wretched Pole who is tired of his life : " the bare possibility of 
 the criminal being a Russian never entered our heads ; and 
 this was the feeling all over Russia, as may be plainly seen by 
 the expressions of the various addresses of congratulation to 
 the Emperor that are published in the newspapers. This was 
 on Friday evening, and the next day everybody was trying to 
 know as much as they could about the shocking event ; but as 
 nothing more than a telegram from the Archbishop of Viatka 
 to the High Priest had been received, and as, in consequence 
 
284 The Fourth of April. 
 
 of the thaw, the post is always delayed a week or so at that 
 time of the year, we had to wait as patiently as we could ; and 
 in the meantime came the 17th April, of a triple holiday for 
 Russia this year. First, it is the birthday, of our beloved, 
 amiable, philanthropic Alexander II.; secondly, the silver 
 wedding of their Imperial Majesties was to be celebrated on 
 the 17th (the real wedding-day being tlie i6th); thirdly, on 
 that day the great new reform of public tribunals, which 
 has been so much talked of and wished for, was solemnly 
 established by the Emperor himself in presence of the senate, 
 the ministers, and other high authorities, in the Senate Hall at 
 St. Petersburg. 
 
 We arrived at church on the Sunday in question in very 
 good time, as we supposed ; the church doors were wide open, 
 and the building crammed with people ; many were standing 
 on the top of the stone steps outside the doors ; the staircases, 
 windows, and an addition to the church which is not completed, 
 were packed in every possible place. The choir singing 
 " Mnogia leta " (many years), and the High Priest waving the 
 best great cross at the amvon, just as I reached the door, 
 made me suppose that we were late, as a Tzarsky mole'ben is 
 generally performed after Mass ; and a confused idea of clocks 
 and watches being wrong, disappointment and curiosity 
 mingled in my mind as I asked, "Are we late or early ? " At 
 this moment, however, the High Priest, addressing the con- 
 gregation, said, " We have just been praying to God in conse- 
 quence of the Emperor's birthday. After Mass there will be 
 another mole'ben, the occasion of which will then be explained 
 to you." A murmur like the rustling of leaves in a great forest 
 ensued : it arose from the whispers of one-half of the congre- 
 gation to the other half : " Ah, that will be the thanksgiving 
 
The Fozirth of April. 285 
 
 moleben for the Emperor's preservation ; " and everybody 
 seemed to brighten up with the hope of hearing soraetliing 
 further of the exciting news. 
 
 Nothing more, however, was heard then. On the conclu- 
 sion of Mass, when the clergy had taken their places in the 
 body of the church, one of the Deacons ascended the amvon, 
 and read in an aggravatingly weak voice the said telegram, 
 which stated the facts already known in as few words as pos- 
 sible, and desired the thanksgiving of the congregation for his 
 Imperial Majesty's wonderful preservation. The High Priest 
 then read a very short address, which contained nothing more 
 than an earnest exhortation to love and honour the Emperor, 
 and to thank God with all our hearts and souls for preserving 
 the Liberator to us. After this the moleben began. 
 
 The thanksgiving service of which I now speak is not 
 composed on purpose for every extraordinary occasion, as for 
 instance similar " Forms of Prayer to Almighty God " are in 
 Great Britain. It is to be found in every moleben book, and 
 may be made use of by any person. For instance, if I hear of 
 the recovery from sickness of a dear friend, of his safe arrival 
 from a journey or voyage — in fact, on any occasion that gives 
 me peculiar joy and gratitude— I go to church; and after 
 service inform a Reader, Deacon, or Priest, whichever I may 
 happen to meet first, of my wish. The naloy is placed in a 
 convenient part of the church, and the Priest comes out from 
 behind the altar-screen with his book and the cross in his 
 hand. When the Gospel is read, the Priest turns towards me, 
 and I and my companions bend very low, while he holds the 
 Testament over our heads, and intones rather loudly. My 
 Christian name, "The servant of God, Peter, the handmaid 
 of God, Ekaterina," is made use of throughout the service, 
 
286 
 
 The Fourth of April. 
 
 when I am alluded to ; at the conclusion I kiss the cross, and 
 place a fee according to my ability in the Priest's hand. 
 
 This is a private service ; but what we have to do with now 
 is the solemnly official moleben for the Emperor and the 
 members of the Imperial family. It is the imperative duty 
 of all officers in any branch of the service, civil or military, to 
 attend in full uniform ; soldiers, cozacks. Government clerks — 
 in a word, all who are in his Imperial Majesty's service 
 — should be present also. After Mass the royal gates are 
 not closed, and as many Priests, Deacons, and Readers, as the 
 parish contains,^ issue from them in a procession, generally 
 dressed in their most gorgeous canonicals, and take their place 
 in the body of the church ; the High Priest with his face 
 towards the royal gates, and the others on either side of him, 
 facing the north and south doors. One Deacon stands, stole 
 in hand,. a little behind the High Priest ; the other a httle in 
 front of the side Priests, with his face towards the royal 
 gates ; a Reader stands at a little reading-desk, ready to intone 
 the Psalm, Epistle, &c. Other Readers (as candle-bearers) 
 stand about ready to perform their duty. 
 
 The High Priest begins by saying, "Glory to the Holy, 
 One, and Indivisible Trinity, always, now, henceforth, and 
 for ever and ever." 
 
 Reader. — "Amen. O God of Holiness, Might, and Immor- 
 tality, save us ! Our Father, &c. Lord, have mercy on us." 
 (Twelve times.) Doxology. "O come and bow down to our 
 Lord God." (Three times.') And Psalm cxviii. 
 
 Then the choir sings, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! 
 glory be to Thee, O God ! " which is followed by the foremost 
 
 1 Such molebens take place in the principal or Cathedral Church of the 
 town, and the Mass is performed in the other churches earlier than usual. 
 
The Fourth of A pril. 
 
 287 
 
 Deacon chanting the usual Litany, to which are added several 
 petitions adapted to the occasion ; and especially to implore 
 Almighty God to graciously receive our hearty thanks, and 
 to " hear our present prayers, to assist us in carrying out our 
 good intentions, and to send His grace on us and on His 
 Holy Church." Between each sentence the choir sings, 
 " Lord, have mercy upon us." 
 
 " We beseech Thee to preserve Thy Holy Church, and 
 Thy servant (So-and-so, or) our most pious, autocrat, and 
 puissant Emperor Alexander Nicholaevitch of all the Russias, 
 and all of us, from all grief, misfortune, wrath, and necessity, 
 and from all enemies visible and invisible, and to grant to 
 Thy faithful servants, health, long life, peace, and the Angel 
 of the Lord tarrying round about them for ever." 
 
 Choir. — " Lord, have mercy upon us." 
 
 Here follow several short prayers of thanksgiving, interspersed 
 with responses from the Deacon or Reader, after which the 
 latter intones the Epistle. 
 
 For general occasions they read Ephesians v. 8 ; begin- 
 ning with " Walk as children of light," to " the fear of 
 God." 
 
 On Imperial birthdays the second chapter of the First 
 Epistle to Timothy is appointed, from the ist to the end of 
 the 6th verse. On the anniversaries of victories, Romans viii. 
 37—39 is read. 
 
 The Gospel is then brought from the altar with great 
 ceremony ; it is carried by the Deacon, accompanied by two 
 Readers with enormous lighted tapers in their hands, and he 
 places himself before the High Priest with the great book in 
 his arms, it resting against his breast. The High Priest takes 
 off his kamilivka, a high hat without a brim, made of violet 
 
288 The Fourth of April. 
 
 velvet, and reads from the seventeenth chapter ot St. Luke, 
 1 2th to the end of the 19th verse. 
 
 Now follows the Special Litany for the Imperial Family, 
 with a repetition of the petitions made in the former Litany ; 
 and then comes a prayer, read by the High Priest, in which 
 the congregation join on their knees. Be it borne in mind 
 that the Russian ordinarily prays standing, and only in 
 moments of peculiar fervour goes down on his knees ; this, 
 then, is considered an extraordinary occasion. 
 
 "O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, the God of all mercy and 
 bounty, whose goodness is boundless, and whose love to 
 mankind is unfathomable ; we fall before Thy Majesty, and 
 with fear and trembling as unworthy the beneficence and 
 compassion Thou hast shown to Thy servant (Such-an-one, or 
 to Thy handmaid So-and-so), now humbly bring to our Lord, 
 Governor and Benefactor, our praise, honour, singing, and 
 glory ; and again falling before Thee, thank Thee, and humbly 
 pray for Thy boundless and unspeakable mercy towards us. 
 And as at the present time Thou hast received the prayers 
 of Thy servants, and mercifully answered them, so do we 
 now implore Thy infinite love to guide us to true virtue, that 
 Thy faithful servants may continue to receive Thy benefits ; 
 that Thy Holy Church, and this town, may be preserved 
 from all evil, and kept in peace and quietness by Thee, with 
 Thy Eternal Father and Thy Consubstantial Spirit, to Whom 
 all thanksgiving and praise be said and sung." 
 
 Immediately after this the choir sings either "We praise 
 Thee, O God," or " Glory to God in the highest." Tlie Deacon 
 goes to the altar, and brings from thence the cross, which the 
 High Priest meets at the amvon, and holds it before his breast 
 in both hands ; while the Deacon, as soon as the hymn is 
 
The Fottrth of A pril. 
 
 289 
 
 finished, chants in a very loud voice, ascending in a chromatic 
 scale, the petition for "many years" of health and happiness, 
 on behalf of the Emperor and the Imperial Family. (This is 
 omitted in private molebens.) It ends with the words, 
 " Preserve him (or them) for many years," and the choir takes 
 up the last words and sings them to a cheerful melody nine 
 times, during which time the High Priest signs the people 
 with the cross, also nine times, towards the west, the south, 
 and the north, each three times. He then kisses the cross ; 
 the clergy approach in order of seniority, and after them the 
 congregation, to do the same. 
 
 The people were deeply affected, many shed tears, many 
 wept, and several sobbed, crossing themselves devoutly, and 
 prostrating themselves very frequently. Our place is 2,000 
 versts from the capital, and I do not suppose that one- 
 thousandth part of the population (except the officers) have 
 ever seen the Emperor. 
 
 On that same Sunday came the post ; and little by little, as 
 .succeeding posts came in, and private letters were received 
 from St. Petersburg, our curiosity became in a degree satisfied ; 
 but I do not expect any one will be quite easy until the fate of 
 the would-be regicide is decided, and the conclusion of the 
 whole matter known. And this is the beginning of it. 
 
 On Monday, 4th April, a young journeyman cap and hat 
 maker left his home to perform a mole'ben for his own health 
 and prosperity at a little chapel that has long been established 
 in the log-house that Peter the Great built for himself when 
 first he began to found the new capital of Russia. It was the 
 young man's name's-day — that is, the holiday of the saint 
 whose name he bears, " St Joseph the Psalm Writer," and he 
 had of course been allowed to absent himself from work. On 
 u 
 
290 
 
 The Fourth of April. 
 
 arriving at the bridge that leads to the island on which the 
 log-house stands, he found that it had been removed in 
 consequence of the expected break-up of the Neva, and that 
 his expedition to the chapel was out of the question. He 
 therefore turned his steps along the Palace Quay, and when he 
 reached the gates of the Summer Garden, a favourite place 
 of resort in spring, he saw one of the Imperial carriages 
 standing there, and guessing rightly that the Emperor was 
 walking in the garden, he strolled in to get a glimpse of him. 
 All his endeavours, however, were fruitless ; for when he 
 entered one alley, the Emperor turned into another ; and if he 
 waited at the corner of a third, his Imperial Majesty would 
 take a short cut by a fourth. So he went to the gates, and 
 established himself as near the carriage as he could, so as to 
 see him when he came out of the garden. 
 
 It was about four o'clock. There was a little crowd already 
 waiting also, and among them was one young man who parti- 
 cularly annoyed our cap-maker by pushing and crowding him. 
 He was dressed in the style that has lately become popular 
 with extra-national young men of the fast description — a red 
 shirt, trousers stuffed into his boots, and a grey paletot, in the 
 front pocket of which he kept his right hand all the time. 
 Shortly afterwards the Emperor appeared, accompanied by his 
 nephew and niece, the Duke of Leuchtenberg and the Princess 
 of Baden. He stood for a moment at the steps of the carriage 
 to put on an upper coat, and just then a shriek was heard, 
 followed instantaneously by the report of a pistol. The young 
 man in the grey paletot had shot at the Emperor, and the 
 cap-maker had been the instrument of the Almighty in averting 
 the death-blow. The villain attempted to run, but was of 
 course caught immediately, and the crowd fell on him with 
 
The FoiadJi of April. 
 
 291 
 
 cries of fury and indignation, tearing his clothes, hair, and 
 beard, and deahng him blows with stick or fist ; but this was 
 only for a few seconds. The Emperor, with the calm presence 
 of mind that distinguishes him, went up to them, putting them 
 aside with the words, " Leave him alone, children and every 
 hand fell, except those of the police, who had already secured 
 him. "Who art thou?" the Emperor asked of him. "A 
 Russian." "A Russian?" repeated the Tzar ; " then why did 
 you want to kill me 1" " Because you took away our land." 
 He wanted to play the part of a peasant, but of course failed. 
 Beneath the red shirt was another of the finest Holland linen, 
 and in the pockets of the grey paletot were found papers that 
 led to the arrest of upwards of a hundred persons. The 
 Emperor ordered him to be led away immediately to the 
 Chief of the Gendarmes ; and he himself drove straight to the 
 Kazan Church, to return thanks, by a private moleben, to 
 Almighty God for his escape from death. The Duke of 
 Leuchtenberg and his sister went to the Winter Palace, and 
 walked straight into the Hall of Imperial Council, where there 
 happened to be a meeting of its members, and informed them 
 of what had happened, and they assembled in the private 
 chapel that is attached to the palace to return thanks on their 
 part. In the meantime his Imperial Majesty had returned 
 home, and immediately after the moleben the members 
 offered him their congratulations ; he then went a second time, 
 accompanied by the Empress, and their Imperial family, to 
 the Kazan Church. On his second return home he had an 
 impromptu reception of the generals, adjutants, and other 
 officers on duty in the palace ; ministers, senators, and in fact 
 everybody who has admission to court, and who had heard of 
 the event of that memorable afternoon. The first words that 
 u 2 
 
292 
 
 The Fourth of April. 
 
 the Emperor spoke after the usual acknowledgments of their 
 enthusiastic demonstrations of loyalty, were to ask who was 
 his preserver. General Todtleben (the Sevastopol hero), who 
 was with the Emperor in the summer garden, had taken the 
 cap-maker under his protection, seated him in his carriage, and 
 brought him to the palace, and he now presented the bewil- 
 dered but delighted young man to the Emperor, who embraced 
 and kissed him three times, thanking him for his good service, 
 and turning to the assembled multitude, said, " Gentlemen, I 
 cannot but make the preserver of my life a noble. What do 
 you say?" to which they replied with shouts of hurrah in 
 hearty assent. They then learned that his name was Joseph 
 Komisaroff (Osip Ivanovitch they call him in Russ), that he 
 was a former serf of Baron Kister, that he was born in his 
 former owner's village of Molvitino, in the Government of 
 Kostroma, not more than twelve versts' distance fromDomnino, 
 the birthplace of Susanin, who, by a noble act of the most 
 complete self-sacrifice that exists in the pages of any history, 
 saved the life of the founder of the present reigning family of 
 Romanotf, in 1613. 
 
 He was made to tell his own tale, which he did with a 
 modest self possession that much pleased his listeners ; these 
 are his own words : — 
 
 " I do not know, and cannot tell what it was, that made my 
 heart beat in an unusual manner at the sight oi i/iat mm, when 
 I observed liim pressing towards the front of the crowd. I 
 could not keep myself from watching him, though I forgot all 
 about him when I saw that the Emperor was approaching, 
 until he pushed me roughly aside, and left me just behind his 
 right arm. I hen I saw that he drevra pistol out of his pocket 
 and aimed it at the Emperor, but I knocked his arm up just 
 
The Fourth of April. 
 
 293 
 
 as he must have let the cock fall, for he shot in the air. After 
 that I cannot remember anything at all until I felt myself being 
 kissed by a general;^ but still I was confused and stunned, 
 and my tongue would not serve me. I only came to my 
 senses fully, and recovered my speech, in an hour or two 
 afterwards." 
 
 Is not truth ^7/zfa_>'^ stranger than fiction? What is fiction 
 but an imitation of the truth ? He who left his humble lodging 
 (which- he shared with several other fellow-workmen) in the 
 morning only a poor foreman to a cap-maker, returns to his 
 frightened young wife a noble ! kissed, embraced, and thanked 
 in the warmest terms by the Tzar himself, by all the grand 
 dukes, ministers, senators and generals ; laden with promises, 
 favours, and gratitude. An hour or two after he had been 
 brought to the palace he was sent with two aides-de-camp for 
 his wife, in one of the Imperial carriages. When they arrived 
 (it was evidently a preconcerted plan between Komisaroff and 
 his companions) Osip Ivanovitch waited in the corridor with 
 one of the officers, while the other entered the lodgings. The 
 fellow-workmen, surprised, and probably alarmed at the sudden 
 appearance of such a dazzling spectacle as that of an Imperial 
 aide-de-camp, started from their seats, and stood still like posts. 
 
 "Does Osip Ivanovitch Komisaroff live here?" asked the 
 aide-de-camp. 
 
 " Yes, your High Nobility," answered one of the men ; " but 
 he is not at home. He went to church this morning, and has 
 not returned yet." 
 
 " I am sorry to hear it, because I want to see him very 
 much. Where is his wife ? " 
 
 " She's gone to bed." 
 
 * Todtleben. 
 
294 
 
 The Fourth of April. 
 
 " May I trouble you to wake her?" said the aide-de-camp. 
 
 " Directly, your High Nobility and the speaker went to 
 rouse the unconscious sleeper, while the other men stood 
 staring at the visitor. 
 
 Mrs. Komisaroff soon appeared ; she did not know what to 
 conjecture on beholding such a guest, but supposed that some- 
 thing dreadful had happened, particularly as her husband was 
 so long from home. She answered the questions put to her 
 by the aide-de-camp ; but the last must have seemed very 
 strange — " Do you love your husband ? " 
 
 " Of course I do, your High Nobility," replied she, sincerely 
 and simply ; " he is my husband, and we live very comfortably 
 together." 
 
 " Well, if you love him so much, go and open the door for 
 him." She obeyed instantly, and Komisaroff and the other 
 aide-de-camp entered the room. On seeing her husband in 
 such company the poor girl became alarmed, supposing he 
 was under arrest for some unheard-of crime. " Tchto fi eto 
 nadelal ? " she exclaimed in horror ; which may be translated 
 — " What have you been and gone and done ? " 
 
 " Nothing, nothing, Lisa," said he soothingly ; " but dress 
 yourself quickly and come with us." He would not answer any 
 more questions until she was ready. She hurried on her 
 "things but when she got into the street and saw the grand 
 carriage, the footmen and gendarmes that accompanied the 
 party, she fainted away with fright. But she was finally brought 
 to the palace all right, and led into the most splendid room 
 imaginable. 
 
 " Here they placed us side by side," relates Komisaroff, " and 
 we could not come to our senses for delight ; when all at once 
 the doors opened and the Emperor and Empress came in and 
 
The Fourth of April. 295 
 
 walked straight up to us, the Emperor to me, and the Empress 
 to Lisa, and kissed us in the most affectionate manner. 
 ' Thou savedst my Hfe,' said the Emperor, ' and for that I make 
 thee a noble. — I think, gentlemen, that he deserves it,' said he, 
 speaking to the people present. And they all, when' they 
 heard these gracious words, began to shout hurrah." A few 
 days afterwards they were again summoned to the palace, 
 and this time Lisa was dressed in the national costume 
 of a Boyarinia of the Government of Kostroma : the Empress 
 granted her a pension for life as a token of gratitude towards 
 Komisaroff. To distinguish him from others of the same name, 
 the Emperor desired the additional name of Kostromskoy (in 
 allusion to his native Government, which has, by a curious 
 coincidence, given two preservers to the Tzars) to follow that 
 of Komisaroff. Louis Napoleon sent him the Cross of the 
 Legion of Honour ; and other sovereigns of Europe have con- 
 ferred marks of their distinction on him. A subscription was 
 immediately got up in St. Petersburg to enable the new noble to 
 take his stand among his fellows. Nine thousand silver roubles 
 were collected in a few hours. Contributions, some of the 
 most substantial kind, others, the touching originality of which 
 cannot but provoke a smile, poured in from all corners of the 
 Empire. Countless towns presented Osip Ivanovitch with the 
 freedom thereof; a landed proprietor, who owns a vast estate 
 near Molvitino, made him a gift of 780 de'siatins ' of land ; a 
 merchant gave him a house ; the society of a certain town, the 
 name of which I forget, sent him a troika of horses ; the work- 
 men of the Government factory at Toula sent him a magnificent 
 gun of their own workmanship ; Ekatrineburg sent a seal of the 
 
 ^ A (.lesiatin is equal to two and a half acres. 
 
296 
 
 The Foitrth of April. 
 
 most exquisite mountain crystal, with Susanin engraved on it ; 
 and a boot-maker at St. Petersburg announced his intention 
 of keeping Osip Ivanovitch shod gratis. 
 
 This favourite of fortune was consigned to the care of Gene- t 
 ral Todtleben by the Emperor himself, to be taught to be a 
 gentleman, and ultimately made an ensign in his Imperial 
 Majesty's regiment of Shooters. The wife was a peasant girl, 
 and at the tin^e we are speaking of they had one little child, a 
 baby girl of eight months old. 
 
 It would be a hard task to enumerate one-fiftieth part of the 
 number of deputations, dinners, demonstrations, and addresses 
 that the Russian papers chronicled in connexion with this 
 affair. The poor Moscow students, for instance, miserable and 
 enraged to hear, on publication of the examination of the 
 criminal, that he had 7vis/ied to be one of them during the past 
 year, and had even written his name on the university books, 
 though he had never attended any of the lectures, got up a regu- 
 lar sight of themselves. They went in a body to have a mole'ben 
 performed in the church of our Lady of Iver, and then formed 
 a procession and marched about the old city, chanting the 
 national hymn, and endeavouring to show to the utmost their 
 loyalty and their deep gratitude to God for the preservation of 
 their beloved sovereign. Ofcour.se they sent him an address. At 
 the theatres no piece could be performed at St. Petersburg or 
 Moscow without the Hymn preceding it, the audience joining in 
 enthusiastic chorus. The excitement of the play-goers was at its 
 highest pitch when the Emperor, a few days after " the 4th," 
 appeared at the Great Theatre : on this occasion the Hymn was 
 sung nine times, and a very popular Russian opera was given, as 
 being d-propos to the feelings of the public. It is called " Life 
 for the Tzar," and has for its subject the story of Susanin. Osip 
 
The Fotirth of April. 297 
 
 Ivanovitch, with his wife and relatives, occupied a box when the 
 second representation took place, and was soon recognised. 
 That was enough for the excitable Russians, and nothing would 
 do for them but to have him out. The noise became so intense 
 that the manager went to Komisaroff Kostromskoy's box and 
 begged him to humour the public, as he did not know how to 
 quiet them otherwise. He assented, and presently appeared 
 among the actors and actresses, all eager to press his hand ; the 
 shouts and applause increased rather than otherwise, and Osip 
 Ivanovitch, " unaccustomed as he was to public ' appearing, was 
 quite distressed at this demonstration. The curtain was lowered, 
 but as the row became still greater it was obliged to be raised 
 again. Fresh transports ! It was too much for his nerves, and 
 he exclaimed, " I shall faint ! " as, seizing his temples with both 
 hands, he rushed from the stage to give way to a burst of 
 sobbing. The manager informed the public that Mr. Komisaroff 
 Kostromsky was indisposed, and the piece went on quietly. 
 But they would not let the second act be performed : they 
 were brimful of patriotism, and the scene of the second act 
 is laid in Poland, with Polish dances, &c. (the music of which, 
 by-the-bye, is exquisite). In conclusion, when the last chords 
 of the beautiful finale died away, the audience were treated to 
 a demonstration on the part of the actors. They disappeared 
 for one instant, merely while the curtain fell and rose again, 
 and entered the stage carrying a large portrait of the Emperor, 
 which they placed in front and then sang the Hymn, to which 
 all, actors, actresses, and audience, joined their voices ; 
 absolutely going down on their knees in their ecstasy of 
 loyalty, for the Hymn is, in reality, a prayer for the Emperor. 
 
 Having made so frequent allusion to Susanin, and as 
 perhaps his name, so famous in Russian story, may have 
 
298 The Fourth of April. 
 
 been mentioned in connexion with that of Komisaroff Kos- 
 tromskoy even in the English papers, it seems almost impera- 
 tive to tell the tale how he saved the life of a Tzar. 
 
 Russia had been in a miserable state for many years. Ivan 
 the Terrible had long finished his terrible course ; his little 
 son, St. Dmitry, had been murdered at Ooglitch ; and a long 
 train of disorders, civil wars, and their attendant troubles, with 
 several changes of Tzars chosen from the connexions of the 
 true Ruric race (St. Dmitry being the last of his line), not one 
 of whom gave complete satisfaction to his subjects, brought 
 things to a crisis ; and at last, by the vigorous efforts of 
 Prince Pojarsky's sword and eloquence, order was in some 
 degree established, and the real heir, a youth of sixteen, traced 
 out and invited to be Tzar. Educated in a monastery, 
 Mikhael Feodorovitch hesitated for some time ere he accepted 
 the arduous task ; but when the boyarins proved to him 
 beyond a doubt that he and his father were the nearest heirs, 
 and that, as his father was a monk, the choice must fall on 
 him, he submitted ; and bidding farewell to the Hypatieffsky 
 monastery, took up his abode at an estate in the Government 
 of Kostroma. 
 
 The Poles, who even then were on unfriendly terais with 
 Russia, were vexed at the nomination of Mikhael to the 
 'throne, because they hoped to take advantage of the unsettled 
 state of the country, and to get possession of it, which they 
 had long been trying to do. A band of clever fellows was 
 sent to Kostroma, to murder, as quietly as they could, the 
 youthful Tzar, as the surest and shortest road to gaining their 
 ends. On reaching the neighbourhood of the city they sepa- 
 rated into small parties, with the intention of asking their way 
 to the Romanoffs' estate, and meeting there to accomplish 
 
The Fourth of A pril. 
 
 299 
 
 their mission. The party that happened to take the right road 
 met with a peasant of the village of Domnino, Ivan Susanin by 
 name, and they addressed themselves to him for the needful 
 information. The man was a sharp fellow, and instantly 
 guessed, by their dress and pronunciation, that they were 
 Poles, and knowing that the people were no well-wishers to 
 Russia he suspected at once foul play, although they told him 
 that they had been sent to the Tzar on important business. 
 He pretended, however, to undertake the guidance of the 
 party to the estate, which he represented as being a long way 
 off, though it was not more than a verst or two. It was in the 
 winter, bitterly cold, and a dreadful snow-storm was drifting ; 
 he persuaded them first of all to enter his house, where he 
 regaled them to the best of his power, gave them strong drinks 
 to induce sleep, and in the meantime contrived to send a 
 faithful messenger to Mikhael, to warn him of danger, and to 
 recommend his leaving his present residence secretly. Well 
 warmed, fed, and refreshed by a few hours' sleep, the ruffians 
 soon after midnight set forth with Susanin, whom they promised 
 to load with gold if he led them in safety to the Tzar. He 
 conducted them by by-paths into the thickest and most im- 
 penetrable part of the forest, and, having thoroughly exhausted 
 them, began to express a doubt of finding the right road. As 
 day dawned, they got out of patience with him, and accused 
 him of deceiving them. Susanin, now quite sure that the Tzar 
 was in safety, and knowing that it was next to impossible for 
 the Poles to find their way out of the forest, boldly replied, 
 " No, you deceive yourselves ! You thought I would sell my 
 Tzar to you. But God has strengthened me, and the Tzar 
 Mikhael is saved." Hereupon the ruffians began to torture 
 him, and in fact literally chopped him to pieces ; but his last 
 
300 The Fourth of April. 
 
 words were, " I would rather die than be a traitor, and God 
 will receive my soul." Most of the party died in that forest, 
 of cold, hunger, and fatigue, and the few that crawled out 
 alive told this tale of heroism. Mikhael Feodorovitch richly 
 rewarded the family of his preserver. He gave a large tract of 
 land to the daughter and son-in-law of Susanin (he had no 
 son), and to their heirs for ever. They are called to this day 
 the Belopashtzi — the name that was then given them, and 
 they still enjoy the privileges then granted them. They pay 
 no taxes, and are exempt from military service. Their numbers 
 at the present time amount to about four hundred persons, 
 who are employed principally in agricultural pursuits. 
 
 The similarity of the merits of these two men of course 
 consists merely in the fact that both were instrumental in 
 saving the life of a sovereign ; but as to comparing the mere 
 instinct that compelled Komisaroff to knock up the assassin's 
 arm to the noble self-sacrifice of Susanin, it is of course out 
 of the question, and the particulars I have related are merely 
 meant to show how strongly and loyally our Alexander II. is 
 loved and valued by his people, as is proved by the manner in 
 which they honour his preserver. At the same time I cannot 
 but express my conviction that, had Osip Ivanovitch kiioivn 
 that the bullet he turned from the Emperor must pierce his 
 own heart, he would not have hesitated one instant, nor any 
 other man, woman, or child in Holy Russia ! 
 
 As for the mistaken, unhappy, guilty wretch who dared raise 
 his hand against his sovereign — and such a sovereign as 
 Alexander the Liberator is — it is, alas ! alas ! too true that he 
 really was a Russian — a pravoslavny^ Russian subject. How 
 the newspapers did try, to be sure, to prove that he was of 
 * Orthodox. 
 
The Fourth of April. 
 
 301 
 
 Tartar origin ! and we have, at any rate, the satisfaction of 
 tracing his name " Karokozoft " to two Tartar or Turkish 
 words, — karo, black, and koza, an eye or a sheep ; (so that in 
 English his name means a black sheep!) which combination, 
 like many Tartar and other foreign names, have, in the course 
 of time, and by the addition of the oj^ (sign of the genitive 
 plural masculine) become Karokozoff. The Tartars are in the 
 habit of giving each other a nickname, in accordance with 
 personal appearance or peculiarity, and it is doubtless such a 
 cognomen that is the root of this now unhappily notorious 
 name. The kind-hearted Emperor expressed his intention of 
 conferring another name on the relatives of the would-be 
 assassin, and on any other persons who may bear the same ; 
 furthermore he strictly enjoined that no slights, insults, or 
 injustice may be shown towards such persons, as they are 
 wholly exempt from all participation in the crime of their 
 relative. 
 
 The son of a landed proprietor, and left an orphan at the 
 age of two years, Dmitry Vladimirovitch Karokozoff, having 
 completed the course of education in the Gymnasium, was 
 placed in the university of Kazan, from whence he was ex- 
 pelled for " unlawful proceedings." From Kazan he went to 
 Moscow, and entered his name there as student, but as he did 
 not attend one university lecture, nor even complete all the 
 formalities, the Moscow students may with truth deny that he 
 was of their number. He appears to have been of a gloomy 
 and hypochondriacal disposition, and was so disgusted with 
 life a few months before the event in question that he asked 
 an acquaintance for some opium. He arrived at St. Petersburg 
 from Moscow on the 2d April, and took a small room in the 
 well-known hotel called Znamensky, where he left, on the 4th, 
 
302 
 
 The Foitrth of April. 
 
 a. small mahogany box and some upper clothing. On the 
 floor was found a letter torn up to the minutest shreds — not 
 so minute, however, but that they were re-united. It was 
 addressed to a distant relative of the writer, and he was 
 sent for with all speed from Moscow. The poor man was 
 utterly at a loss to imagine what he could be wanted for at St. 
 Petersburg, and still more so when informed that his testi- 
 mony was required towards clearing up some facts relative to 
 the 4th of April. He protested that he did not know any- 
 body at St. Petersburg, " except, indeed, a young relative who 
 went there a little while ago." That young relative was the 
 criminal ! When he was brought into the room where Karo- 
 kozoff was confined, he burst into tears, trembling from head 
 to foot, and exclaiming, "Oh, Dmitry! is that thou? My 
 God ! is it possible?" He had been carefully kept in ignorance 
 of the probability of the " young relative " turning out to be 
 the principal actor in the events of the day. The investiga- 
 tion of the whole affair was entrusted to Count Mouravioff, 
 the brother of the well-known hero of Kars, who said, on 
 receiving the important commission, " I will get at the 
 bottom of it, if I have to lay down my bones in the attempt." 
 He did get to the bottom of it, but alas ! he had to l^y down 
 his bones for it ! On the 29th of August following, a few days 
 before the final sentence was pronounced on the chief actor 
 in the affair and a supposed accomplice, Count Mouravioff 
 suddenly expired ; and though it was not officially announced 
 that his death was caused by poison, vox popiili unanimously 
 declares such to be the case, and, as no official contradictions 
 of the report were published, it is received by most persons as 
 an undisputed fact. His body was brought from his country 
 seat to be buried in the cemetery of St. Alexander Neffsk)', at 
 
The FoiLvih of April. 303 
 
 St. Petersburg, and the Emperor paid the high respect to 
 his memory of attending his funeral, commanding the soldiery 
 himself, and conversing with the Count's widow in the kindest 
 manner. 
 
 On the 3 1 St of August, Karokozoff, proven guilty of attempted 
 regicide, and of belonging to a society contrary to religion, 
 government, moraJfe, and human nature, was condemned to 
 death by hanging. At the same time sentence was given 
 concerning tlie supposed accomplice — by name Alexandre 
 Kobylin, a young medical man attached to a military hospital 
 at St. Petersburg. He was accused of knowing of Karokozoff's 
 intention, and of concealing the same ; also of having supplied 
 him with a horrible poison, that would not only kill him in- 
 stantaneously after the committal of his crime, but completely 
 disfigure his face. Karokozoff at first maintained so obstinate 
 a silence that he might have been supposed to be a 
 mute ; all endeavours to take his photograph were unavailing, 
 on account of the hideous grimaces by which he disfigured 
 his countenance; but he found his tongue when questioned 
 about this poor young man, and told so many fibs concerning 
 him, that at one time it was thought he was indeed implicated 
 in the business, but it turned out in the course of the ex- 
 aminations that Karokozoff had introduced himself to Kobylin 
 under a false name, and under the pretext of requiring medical 
 advice, and that he stole some poison that Kobylin had brought 
 from the hospital for the purpose of making some experiments 
 on animals. This poison was submitted to analysis, and 
 found to be incapable of killing a man instantaneously, or 
 of disfiguring his corpse, and, in a word, the unfortunate 
 young doctor, whose only fault was not demanding the 
 passport of his patient, and who for several months had 
 
304 
 
 The Fourth of April. 
 
 been regarded by all Russia with the horror and indignation 
 due to his supposed crimes, was completely cleared of all im- 
 plication in Karokozoff's business, and set at liberty without 
 a stain on his character. 
 
 Not so, however, the regicide's real accomplices, who, to 
 the number of thirty-four, were traced out, brought to judg- 
 ment, and ultimately condemned to divers degrees of punish- 
 ment, according to the extent of the guilt of each. All, with 
 the exception of two, described as " teachers," i.e. masters, — 
 one of whom was fifty, the other thirty-three years of age, — 
 were under thirty, and twenty-six of the number varied from 
 nineteen to twenty-three. Almost each one was accused of 
 some one crime in particular, but the principal accusation 
 against them all in general was their participation in the 
 formation of a csociety called by the awful name of Hell, — 
 an appellation perfectly in accordance with its detestable 
 principles, ■ — regicidal, revolutionary, socialistic, murderous, 
 and godless to the last degree. It had been forming ever 
 since 1863, but its doings were principally confined to making 
 plans only, which fortunately were not all put into execution. 
 Nothing was too shocking to religion, morals, and the human 
 heart, for it to seize on as means of attaining an end ; two 
 instances out of the many will suffice for the English reader 
 to comprehend, in a degree, the wickedness of this secret 
 society. 
 
 ist. A plan for the liberation of four of the most dangerous 
 Polish ringleaders of 1862-3; of political offenders, and in 
 particular of a certain Tchernischeffsky, who was also the 
 author of a novel entitled, " What is to be done ?" which made 
 an immense noise at the time of its periodical publication, and 
 did worlds of harm to the rising generation by its immoral and 
 
The Fourth of April. 305 
 
 socialistic tendencies. Strauden, one of the members, was to 
 go to Siberia for this purpose, provided with false passports, 
 poison for the prison or mine keepers, «&:c., and to raise 
 means for these and other horrible plans. 
 
 2d. A wretched boy, named Victor Feodosiefif, a noble, 
 undertook to poison his own father, and actually procured the 
 deadly drug for that purpose, in order that he might come 
 into his inheritance without delay, and be at liberty to help the 
 society with it ! 
 
 Each of the conspirators was provided with a small quan- 
 tity of deadly poison, sufficient to cause speedy death should 
 he fall into the hands of justice. It was concealed in a hollow 
 button, and worn among the hair. Not any of them, however, 
 availed themselves of it, as far as I am aware, — at any rate 
 none of the thirty-four. 
 
 The one who distinguished himself as being actor in all the 
 crimes of which the society was guilty, was a young citizen, 
 Nicholas Ishutin by name, who was condemned to be hanged, 
 the rest were sentenced to various degrees of transportation, 
 from penal servitude in the mines of Siberia for life, with 
 deprivation of all rights of birth a-nd position, to the merely 
 nominal punishment of being under the surveillance of the 
 police. 
 
 The 4th of September was fixed for the execution of Karo- 
 kozofif. The place appointed was a vast plain almost at the 
 extremity of St. Petersburg, called the Smolensky field, close 
 to the cemetery of that name. In the midst stood the gallows, 
 and a little distance from it the scaffold, surrounded by a 
 balustrade, and with the pillar of infamy in the middle. 
 Soldiery stood around them, and beyond the soldiers a vast 
 concourse of people — several hundred thousand, they say. Two 
 
 X 
 
3o6 The Fottrth of April. 
 
 executioners, in grey kaftans, from beneath which might be 
 seen their red shirts, moved to and fro in the space between 
 the scaffold and the gallows. 
 
 At a quarter to seven in the morning the procession ap- 
 proached the Smolensky field with the prisoner. Karokozoflf 
 was in a carriage with a Priest, but on arriving at a certain 
 point he was taken out and placed on a cart of infamy with 
 his back to the horses. He was dressed in a black coat and 
 cap, and grey trousers, and on his breast hung a black board, 
 with the words " State Criminal " written in white letters. He 
 was deadly pale, and appeared extremely agitated ; if he had 
 not been bound to his seat he must have fallen inevitably, 
 and every turn of the wheels made his body sway to and fro. 
 The cart was surrounded by a convoy of gendarmes with drawn 
 swords in their hands. On reaching the foot of the scaffold he 
 was released from his bonds by the executioners, and on rising 
 from his seat he took off his cap and crossed himself twice ; 
 but strength of mind and body again deserted him, and he was 
 almost carried on to the scaffold. 
 
 A deadly silence reigned over the vast multitude, when a 
 functionary ascended the scaffold with the sentence in his 
 hand. It was interrupted, however, by the drums of the 
 soldiery, which beat to the march for a few seconds before the 
 functionary began, in a loud and distinct voice, to read from 
 the paper which he held in his hand. It was the official sen- 
 tence of death. Karokozoff stood, violently agitated all the 
 time ; his head now drooping on his breast, now on his 
 shoulders, his mental agony depriving him of all power over 
 his muscles. Where was now the contempt of death and the 
 disbelief in a future state that would have dictated suicide a 
 few months before ? where the strength of will that was to 
 
The Fourth of April. 307 
 
 enable him to swallow deadly poison on the alarm only of 
 approaching justice? 
 
 The spectators listened to the reading of the sentence with 
 heads bared, in respect to the law that dictated it, and the 
 soldiers presented arms ; on its conclusion the functionary 
 retired, and his place was occupied by a Priest, in black 
 canonicals, and with a cross in his hand. The condemned 
 man instantly fell on his knees, and on the Priest's approach- 
 ing him began his last confession. The Office of Absolution 
 being performed, and the Commendatory Prayer read over 
 him, he rose from his knees and kissed the cross. The Priest 
 having made " the sign of man's redemption " over him once 
 more, left him, and the executioners began their duty. Sup- 
 ported by them, Karokozoff bowed on all sides to the crowd 
 by way of taking leave of his fellow-countrymen, and asking 
 their pardon for his crime. Having led him to the pillar of 
 infamy, they proceeded to remove his coat, bound his eyes 
 with a white handkerchief, and dressed him in a sort of shroud, 
 the sleeves of which, very long, were tied behind like those of 
 a strait waistcoat. Here again his heart failed him, his knees 
 bent beneath him, and he was again almost carried to the gal- 
 lows. When the noose was placed on his neck, the people 
 took off their hats and crossed themselves, while the drums 
 began to roll. 
 
 At ten minutes past seven all was over ; the body was placed 
 in a coffin and taken immediately to burial. Before the crowd 
 had dispersed, not a trace of scaffold or gallows remained on 
 the Smolensky field. 
 
 Exactly a month afterwards preparations were made for 
 executing the sentences on Ishutin and ten of his com|5anions. 
 who were to be publicly deprived of their rights "of birth and 
 X 2 
 
3o8 The Fourth of April. 
 
 position, at the same place and the same hour of the day. 
 St. Petersburg was on its feet at an early hour, wending its way 
 towards the Smolensky field, and the crowds that assembled 
 were even greater than on the former occasion. The prepara- 
 tions were exactly similar, except that there were several 
 pillars of infamy instead of one. The melancholy cortege 
 having arrived, the criminals were placed in a row on the scaf- 
 fold and the sentence publicly read. There were two orthodox 
 Priests and a Pater for the Roman Catholics, and on the con- 
 clusion of the reading one of the former proceeded to the 
 gallows, followed by Ishutin. The same offices were per- 
 formed as in the former instance, but when the cross was held 
 to the lips of the prisoner to be kissed, he clung to it so long, 
 and with such tenacity, that the Priest, distressed and per- 
 plexed, knew not what to do. To wrench it from his eager, 
 despairing grasp, was almost as impossible as to allow the 
 painful scene to be prolonged. Each time that he endeavoured 
 to remove it from the lips of the condemned, he fell to kissing 
 it with still greater fervour. He desisted at last, however, — 
 the Priest signed him, and left him to the executioners. 
 
 The other Priest, on the platform, was speaking to the 
 remaining prisoners while they dressed Ishutin in his shroud, 
 and otherwise prepared him for death ; the rope was round his 
 neck : one more instant and he would have been suspended 
 in the air, when a movement in the crowd, a murmur, which 
 instantaneously became a shout of joy. • " A messenger ! a 
 State .messenger ! Pardon from the Emperor!" arrested the 
 executioners' hands. 
 
 In the distance, with difficulty moving through the dense 
 crowd, which however did its utmost to make way for it, was 
 a droschky, on which stood a State messenger, waving a 
 
The Fourth of A pril. 309 
 
 white paper over his head. In a few minutes he arrived at 
 the foot of the scaffold. 
 
 All heads were bared immediately. The bandage was 
 torn from Ishutin's eyes, the shroud hastily taken off ; the 
 Priest again presented the cross to his lips, and he clang to it, 
 even kissing it more passionately than before. The rope was 
 drawn from the ring, and its noisy fall on the floor of the little 
 platform beneath the gallows called forth joyful shouts from 
 the spectators. The commutation was then read aloud — it 
 granted life to Ishutin, and a mitigation of punishments to the 
 other offenders. 
 
 Thus ended the last act connected with the memorable 
 event of 1866. But the loyal feelings of the people required 
 a demonstration that would outlive the momentary though 
 sincere effusions of joy and gratitude that I have before de- 
 scribed ; and when it was proposed to erect a little chapel on 
 the spot where the deliverance took place, and a subscription 
 for the purpose opened, offerings poured in, from the widow's 
 mite to the thousands of the millionaire. In the short space of 
 one year — I say short, advisedly, for the distance of Russia 
 from Italy, and the frozen state of the Baltic from November 
 to April, present difficulties that other countries more southern 
 have not to contend with — a beautiful little edifice was com- 
 pleted, in which native Serdobolsk granite, Carrara marble, of 
 the species called bardiljo, labradorite, and lapis lazuli, all 
 highly polished, are mingled with exquisite taste. The general 
 style of the architecture employed is that known as French 
 rococo of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with garlands 
 of sculptured flowers in white marble, shields, and other 
 favourite ornaments, of that period. On each of the four 
 sides on the shields are colossal heads, painted by Professor 
 
The Fottrth of April. 
 
 Sorokine, representing, on a golden ground, the Saviour, the 
 Holy Virgin, St. Joseph the Psalm Writer, and SS. George and 
 Zosim, the memory of whom is celebrated by the Church on 
 the 4th of April, as well as that of St. Joseph. Above each arch 
 are appropriate texts in brilliantly gilt and glistening letters ; 
 that facing the Neva, and consequently just over the place 
 where Providence preserved the life of the Emperor, is 
 "Touch not Mine Anointed," Psalm cv. 15. On the two 
 other sides are " The power of the Highest shall overshadow 
 thee," Luke i. 35. " My heart shall rejoice in thy salva- 
 tion," Psalm xiii. 5. The cost of this chapel was 67,000 
 silver roubles, which is said to be very reasonable, when 
 the value of the materials is taken into consideration. The 
 chapel occupies the site where the gate formerly was, [and 
 forms, with the celebrated grating of the Summer Garden, a 
 great ornament to that part of the Quay. 
 
 The jDrincipal objects of interest of the interior is a large 
 picture of St. Alexander Neffsky, the patron Saint of the 
 Emperor, in a frame of white sculptured marble. On either 
 side of it is a cross formed entirely of the pictures presented 
 to his Imperial Majesty by various towns, villages, and private 
 persons in remembrance and in testimony of heartfelt con- 
 gratulation on his wonderful deliverance. These crosses are 
 each fifteen feet in height ; and as the pictures are all deco- 
 rated with silver, or silver-gilt platings (Rizas), and some even 
 with precious stones, they form a very brilliant and effective 
 whole. 
 
 On the 4th of April, 1867, immediately after Mass, a mole'- 
 ben was sung at the Kazan Church, and on its conclusion the 
 Metropolitan, Isidore, with other members of the clergy, and 
 accompanied by the choirs of the Kazan Church, and the 
 
The Fourth of April. 3 1 1 
 
 Alexander Neffsky Monastery, proceeded on foot to the 
 Summer Garden, where they were joined by the Emperor and 
 his Imperial sons, brothers, and nephews. The whole party 
 now moved towards the chapel, the Emperor walking by the 
 side of the Metropolitan. The Grand Duchesses, with their 
 ladies and maids of honour, the Ambassadors with their wives, 
 the Diplomatic Corps, Members of the Senate, Governors of 
 cities, and a vast assemblage of the elegant pubHc, were accom- 
 modated with seats on a platform covered with crimson cloth, 
 that surrounded the building, which was covered with a veil, 
 and of course the surrounding garden and road were crowded 
 with the less fortunate of the population of St. Petersburg. 
 
 On the removal of the covering the ceremony of consecra- 
 tion was performed, which in most respects is the same as that 
 for a church ; but as there is no altar, of course there were 
 no washings, &c. The termination of the ceremony was 
 marked by the firing of cannon from the Fortress of SS. Peter 
 and Paul on the other side of the river. 
 
 Then followed the Thanksgiving Service. During its per- 
 formance the Emperor desired that Osip Ivanovitch Komi- 
 saroff Kostromskoy, who was present, should approach him, 
 and on his obeying the summons he shook the hand of his 
 deliverer in a friendly and hearty manner, on the very spot 
 where a year before that hand had turned away the instrument 
 of death; and when the choirs chanted in joyful Mnogia 
 leta!" he was evidently affected, and again turning towards 
 Osip Ivanovitch he embraced him affectionately, which move- 
 ment of spontaneous and grateful acknowledgment brought 
 tears to the eyes of all spectators. 
 
ADULT UNCTION. 
 
ADULT UNCTION. 
 
 THE PRINCESS DAGMAR'S ADMISSION TO THE GRECO- 
 RUSSIAN CHURCH. 
 
 ROM the first time it was rumoured, now about three years 
 
 ago, that a marriage was proposed between the heir to the 
 Russian throne and the youthful Princess Dagmar of Denmark, 
 a feehng of universal satisfaction was evident. It arose 
 probably from the popularity of the Princess of Wales, and the 
 natural supposition that her sister would be equally deserving of 
 a people's affection. Even the sad event at Nice did not seem 
 to damp the general feeling that " Dagmar is ours" and that 
 sooner or later she would be the Heiress, although more than 
 a year elapsed ere the renewal of the question was hinted at 
 in the newspapers. It was well known, however, that the gifts 
 which the Grand Duke Nicholas had presented to his royal 
 bride, and which are said to have cost a million and a half 
 of roubles, were sent back to the owner when she returned 
 them to the Imperial parents, and experienced people said 
 that that was a sure sign of a second engagement. It was 
 said also, that the deceased Heir expressed a wish on his 
 death-bed that his brother might be his successor in every 
 particular; and from his affectionate appreciation of the 
 
3i6 
 
 Adult Unction. 
 
 excellences of the one, and his deep love towards the 
 other, it is easy to believe this report, proving, as it does, 
 the amiability and loving solicitude of the dying youth, 
 whose goodness of heart was so well known, even out of 
 his own immediate family. 
 
 The bride of a Russian Grand Duke must be a member of 
 the Greco-Russian Church ; a thorough course of instruction, 
 therefore, is indispensable, previous to the marriage, if she be 
 a Protestant or Roman Catholic. Teachers of modern Russ 
 and Sclavonic, and a Priest of high standing, are sent to her 
 in order to prepare her for this important step. The Princess 
 Dagmar proved herself a very apt pupil, as will hereafter be 
 seen, and she had more time to perfect herself than other 
 Imperial brides. 
 
 The husbands of the Grand Duchesses of Russia are not 
 obliged to follow the above rule, nor are their children 
 compelled to be Greco-Russians, as are those of a Russian 
 subject of the orthodox religion and a foreigner.' 
 
 All preliminaries being concluded, the Princess Dagmar, ac- 
 companied by her brother the Crown Prince, and a numerous 
 suite, among whom were her religious instructor and her 
 governess, left Copenhagen on the loth of September last (old 
 style), amid the tears and blessings of the Danes. All that affec- 
 tion and respect could devise to amuse and please her during 
 her voyage was prepared for her, and the little fleet that 
 accompanied her presented fresh surprises every evening — 
 
 1 On the marriage of a Russian with a person of different religion, the 
 unorthodox party is required to sign a paper, by which he or she promises 
 that the children who may be born to them shall be baptized and educated 
 in the Greco-Russian faith, and binding him or herself not to lay any 
 difficulties in the performance of their religious duties. 
 
Adult Unction. 
 
 317 
 
 now a display of fireworks, now a beautiful illumination ; 
 either of which, from the originality of the place, or the 
 beauty of the reflection in the calm water, must have presented 
 a certain charm. 
 
 On arriving off the first Russian post, the officers came 
 forth to greet their future Heritress, bringing with them the 
 usual offering, bread and salt, on a silver dish; and she 
 delighted the hearts of the givers by reading off fluently, and 
 with an excellent pronunciation, the little inscription that was 
 engraved on the dish. It was not very long, being simply 
 to the effect that the bread and salt came from the officers 
 of such and such a fortress, with the date of presentation. 
 The latter must have been the test of her Russian attain- 
 ments. 
 
 A few miles off Cronstadt, the Danish squadron was met 
 by his Imperial Majesty, the Grand Duke Heir, Alexander 
 Alexandrovitch, his brothers, and nearly all the male members 
 of the Imperial family, accompanied by a perfect armada of 
 steamboats, filled with persons anxious to witness something 
 like the first meeting between the bridegroom and bride. 
 On this subject, however, History is silent; but she records 
 that the Princess kissed the Emperor's hand, that he kissed 
 her forehead, and that she looked up into his face with tears 
 in her sweet eyes, but a smile on her sweet lips ; that she is 
 of middle stature, chataine, with a lovely rosy complexion, and 
 is exquisitely graceful and winning ; that she was dressed very 
 simply, in a grey skirt and black velvet jacket, and a small 
 round hat. Leaning on the Emperor's arm or hand, she wa's 
 conducted from the Danish frigate to the boat that conveyed 
 the Imperial party back to their yacht, and then proceeded 
 to Peterhoff, an Imperial residence on the Gulf of Finland, 
 
Adult Unction. 
 
 about twenty versts from St. Petersburg, where she was met in 
 the most affectionate manner by the Empress and the Grand 
 Duchesses. 
 
 After a few days' rest, the grand entry into St. Petersburg took 
 place. It was the 17th of September — a day of almost universal 
 festival in Russia, for it is dedicated to the very popular saints, 
 Sophia, Vera, Nadejda, and Lubove ; ^ and as there is scarcely 
 a family but has one or two (and sometimes all the four) 
 members who bear either of these names, it may truly be 
 called a national holiday. I do not suppose that the day was 
 selected in particular, but the circumstance was very pleasing 
 to the public ; and the veteran witer, Raphael Zotoff, in 
 allusion to the name by which the Princess has hitherto been 
 known, and which is said to signify " Day-dawn," says, " On 
 the day which is observed by a countless multitude of name's- 
 day keepers all over the vast empire, a new Dawn, beaming 
 over our fatherland, promises us long and happy days of 
 peace and prosperity, and shines on us with new Faith, Hope, 
 and Love." 
 
 The weather was exquisite, like a warm bright June day ; a 
 mass of people, extending from the railway station to the 
 Winter Palace, and edged by a living framework of brilliant 
 soldiery, awaited the procession from an early hour. Wherever 
 space permitted, platforms were erected for spectators to sit 
 on, decorated with carpets, flowers, flags, and other ornaments. 
 The houses of the aristocracy were elegantly ornamented with 
 plants, flags of either nation, with draperies suggestive of the 
 princely titles of the owners, mantle-like, with ermine trim- 
 mings. Others, again, had day illuminations, stars, &c., which 
 shone with a thousand prismatic colours in the bright sunlight. 
 1 Faith, Hope, and Love, or Charity. 
 
Acttdt Unction. 
 
 319 
 
 I need not say that every window and balcony was crowded, 
 and that the house-tops were covered with people. At about 
 twelve o'clock, a distant murmur, which grew nearer and 
 nearer, louder and louder, as the news became general, 
 proclaimed that the train had arrived, and in due time the 
 gorgeous procession appeared (in strict accordance to the 
 ceremonial published the day before), amid the shouts of the 
 delighted crowd. 
 
 First came the outriders, then the PoHce Master of St. 
 Petersburg (a Lieutenant-General of his Imperial Majesty's 
 suite), and the gendarmes, all on horseback, followed by 
 his Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy, which is unlike any 
 other regiment in any other country, being composed of 
 picked Circassians, in velvet caps, and with chased drawn 
 swords, mounted on exquisite horses, with rich trappings in 
 the Eastern style, and broad silver stirrups. Then followed 
 the court servants of various degrees : the out-runners, with 
 tall feathers on their heads ; blackamoors in red jackets 
 embroidered with gold j hunters in green clothing ; the Em- 
 peror's stirrup-bearer in a fur cap, and a broad scarf on his 
 breast ; masters of the ceremonies in open phaetons, and 
 dressed in splendid uniforms, and with wands surmounted by 
 the two-headed eagle in their hands, followed by innumerable 
 Cossacks, equerries, squires, &c. At last appeared the carriage ; 
 gilt, the upper part nearly entirely of glass, carved, and lined 
 with velvet, and with a painted ceiling. It was drawn by eight 
 milk-white horses, richly adorned, and each led by a smart 
 man in a cocked hat. Here sat the fair young Princess, in 
 the national dress, which is the court costume of Russia. On 
 this occasion it was of blue velvet, and is described as being 
 extremely becoming to its wearer. Her future mother-in-law 
 
320 
 
 Adult Unction. 
 
 was with her. On either side of this carriage rode — the 
 Emperor ; the happy Heir, who constantly turned towards 
 the carriage to answer a question or make an observation to 
 the Princess ; his Imperial brothers and uncles ; the Crown 
 Prince of Denmark, &c. Between this carriage and others 
 containing the Grand Duchesses and the ladies and maids of 
 honour, all in court costume, were office-holders and military 
 in different uniforms, a moving mass of floating feathers, gold 
 embroidery, glittering epaulettes, swords, and helmets. 
 
 The Nevsky Prospect is a broad handsome street of great 
 length, from five to five and a half versts ; at one extremity is 
 the station, at the other the Admiralty and Palace Places, 
 where, between the latter and the lovely Neva, stands the 
 Winter Palace, a town of itself. It was along this Nevsky 
 Prospect that the splendid procession moved. Half-way down, 
 to the left of a large Place, stands the Kazan Church ; here 
 the cortege stopped, and the Princess and the Imperial family 
 got out of their carriages or off their horses, and entered the 
 church to perform a moleben. They were met at the door 
 by the Metropolitan Isidore, and numerous clergy in full 
 canonicals. All the other persons who took part in the 
 procession remained stationary in the street during the special 
 service. On its conclusion the cortege proceeded further, and 
 finally reached the Winter Palace, when a salute of all the 
 cannons at once, in the Petropavloffsky Fortress (which is on 
 the other side of the river, not quite opposite the palace), 
 announced the entry of the Imperial bride into the home of 
 her father and mother in law. 
 
 Here another crowd awaited her : the maids of honour of 
 less degree, the pupils of various educational Institutes for 
 the daughters of nobles, with their teachers and inspectresses, 
 
Adtdt Unction. 
 
 321 
 
 the cadets of the Government military academies, pupils of 
 various lyceums, academies, &c. 
 
 The Princess ascended the marble staircase with the 
 Empress leaning on her arm, and shortly afterwards had to 
 show herself on the balconies to the shouting people below, 
 always in company with the Empress. 
 
 In the evening — which is described as being quite Italian 
 from its warmth and loveliness — there was a magnificent 
 illumination in the city, and the Imperial family went forth 
 in their private carriages to see it, accompanied at every turn 
 by the pleased and excited throng. 
 
 The next day they went in state to the opera, and sat in the 
 State box, of the size and magnificence of which people who 
 have only seen the shabby, dirty, inconvenient theatres of 
 London can have no idea. It is like a splendid drawing- 
 room ; and the house itself is on a piece with it. The 
 performance lasted only two hours ; it was merely to give 
 the public an opportunity of seeing their future Heiress. 
 
 The space of time between the entry and the wedding, with 
 its preparatory ceremonies, was passed principally at the 
 Emperor's country residence at Tzarskoe Selo (Tzar's village). 
 
 The programme of the ceremonial attendant on the Sacra- 
 ment of Unction was published October loth, and the Office 
 itself took place on the 12th, the Betrothal on the 13th. 
 
 Admittance to Communion in the Greco-Russian Church 
 is attainable only by receiving previously the Sacrament 
 of Unction, which forms the third part of the ceremony 
 of Baptism ; ^ but, the actual Sacrament of Baptism being 
 required only once^ in the life of a Christian, it is not 
 
 ' See Baptism. 
 
 ' " One Lord, one faith, one baptism." (Epli. iv. 5.) 
 V 
 
322 
 
 Adtilt Unction. 
 
 considered necessary to repeat it on entering the bosom of 
 the Eastern Church, though Unction is indispensable. On 
 this occasion, too, if the person do not bear a name that 
 is strictly Russian — that is, one borne by a saint that is 
 acknowledged by the Greco-Russian Church — he receives a 
 new one. For instance : the wife of the Grand Duke Michael, 
 a princess of Baden, whose name was Cecilia Augusta, was 
 re-named Olga, on becoming a Greco-Russian, although both 
 names are translatable into Russ, and have representatives in 
 the Calendar ; but being uneuphonious, and what in English 
 we should call queer (Kekilia Avgoosta), they were laid aside. 
 Besides, the Imperial family have a set of names that seems to 
 be popular with them, and from which they seldom depart ; 
 these are Maria, Alexandra, and Olga, and they occur several 
 times in the present reigning family. There are, however, the 
 Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, and the little Grand Duchesses 
 Vera and Anastasia ; the former was born during the Crimean 
 War, and was probably named with regard to contemporary 
 events : and these are the only exceptions. 
 
 In the present instance, however, the baptismal names of 
 the Princess Dagmar include two that might be bestowed 
 on a Russian infant — Maria and Sophia. Of these the 
 former was selected, which, with the patronymic " Feodo- 
 rovna," — taken also from the numerous names of King 
 Christian (Christian, again, being not in the Calendar), — 
 forms the name of an empress who was greatly beloved 
 and highly respected during a very long lifetime, and deeply 
 regretted when that life ended. She was the wife of the 
 Emperor Paul, and grandmother to Alexander II. It was 
 doubtless in affectionate remembrance of her that the name 
 "Maria Feodorovna " was composed for the young Heiress, 
 
Adult Unction. 
 
 323 
 
 and the Russians seem to consider it a good omen for her 
 and for them. 
 
 At ten o'clock in the morning on the day appointed, when 
 all the people who were expected to be in attendance, or who 
 were permitted to be in the palace during the ceremony, 
 had assembled, the Minister of the Court announced to the 
 Emperor that all was ready. A procession was formed, 
 according to the programme, and began to move through the 
 spacious halls and apartments of the vast palace, all of which 
 were filled with spectators, who on such occasions are allowed 
 to stand in places allotted to them. For instance : in one 
 room are generals ; in another, nobles and their wives and 
 daughters ; and in a third, merchants ; and so on. 
 
 Slowly the procession proceeded towards the palace chapel, 
 which is within the building itself; the Emperor and Empress 
 together, followed by the generals-in-waiting, the Minister of 
 the Court, &c. ; then the Princess, looking most charming in a 
 simple dress of white satin, trimmed with swan's-down, without 
 any ornament on her head, and no jewels save a cross. 
 
 On reaching the chapel door they were met by the 
 Metropolitan and other clergy; and the Emperor, taking his 
 future daughter-in-law by the hand, led her to the former, 
 when the following Office commenced, previous to the actual 
 Sacrament of Unction, the Princess still standing at the door. 
 
 Metropolitan. Wilt thou renounce the errors of the Lutheran 
 Church and its falsities.'* 
 
 Answer. I will. 
 
 The Metropolitan lays his hand on her head, and the 
 Deacon intones, "Let us pray to God;" answered by the 
 choir, " Lord, have mercy upon us." 
 
 M. For Thy Name's sake, O Lord God of Truth, and that 
 Y 2 
 
324 Adult Unction. 
 
 of Thine only Son and the Holy Spirit, look down on Thy 
 handmaid Maria, now desirous of being worthy of reception 
 into Thy Holy Orthodox Church, and of the shelter of her 
 wings. Deliver her from all her former errors, and fill her 
 with true faith, hope, and charity ; grant that she may walk in 
 the way of Thy Holy Commandments, and do that which shall 
 please Thee, which if a man does them, he shall live by them. 
 Write her name in Thy Book of Life ; unite her to the fold of 
 Thy heritage, that in it she may glorify Thy Holy Name, and 
 that of Thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and of Thy Life- 
 giving Spirit. And may Thine eyes look graciously on her 
 for ever, and be Thine ears open to her prayers ; make her to 
 rejoice in the work of her hands, and in the confession and 
 praise of Thy High and Holy Name, and that she may glorify 
 Thee all the days of her life. 
 The choir sings a Vozglas.^ 
 
 M. Turn thyself to the west, and sincerely, and with thy 
 whole heart, renounce the errors of Lutheranism, and confess 
 the true Orthodox Faith. 
 
 She turns towards the west, with outstretched arms ; and the 
 Metropolitan asks her, — 
 
 " Dost thou renounce all the errors of Lutheranism ? and 
 dost thou reject all that is contrary to God and to His truth, 
 and that is damnable to the soul ?" 
 
 A. I renounce all the errors of Lutheranism, and reject all 
 that is contrary to God and His truth, and that is damnable to 
 the soul. 
 
 M. Dost thou renounce all convocations, traditions, and 
 statutes, and all Lutheran teachers and their teachings, which 
 
 1 Sort of Doxology. 
 
Adult Unction. 
 
 325 
 
 are contrary to the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church ? and dost 
 thou reject them ? 
 
 A. I renounce and reject them. 
 
 M. Dost thou renounce all ancient and modem heresies and 
 heretics, which are contrary to God? dost thou reject them and 
 condemn them to anathema ? 
 
 A. All ancient, &c. 
 
 The novice then turns to the east. 
 
 M. Hast thou renounced all the errors of Lutheranism? 
 A. I have renounced them. 
 
 M. Dost thou desire to unite thyself to the Orthodox Greco- 
 Russian Church ? 
 
 A. I desire it with my whole heart. 
 
 M. Dost thou believe in One God, who is worshipped and 
 glorified in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? 
 and dost thou worship Him as thy God and King? 
 
 A. I do believe in one God, &c. 
 
 A prostration follows ; and the convert, on rising, repeats the 
 Nicene Creed. 
 
 M. Blessed be our God, who lighteth every man that cometh 
 into the world. Repeat to us the dogmas, traditions, and ordi- 
 nances of our Orthodox Church, which thou boldest. 
 
 (Here follow the ten Articles of Religion, which, from their 
 length, I should suppose the Princess read aloud, as it would 
 be a difficult task, even to a native Russian, to repeat them by 
 ote, for they of course are in Sclavonic.) 
 
 A. The Apostolic and ecclesiastical ordinances which were 
 stablished at the Seven Councils,^ and the rest of the Greco- 
 
 1 The seventh Council was held at Constantinople in 754, and afterwards 
 convened at Nice in 786. It is known by the name of the Second Nicene 
 Council. 
 
326 
 
 Adtilt Unction. 
 
 Russian traditions, statutes, and rules, I accept and confess ; 
 also the holy writings and the prayers that the Holy Eastern 
 Church has acknowledged and acknowledges, I accept and 
 acknowledge. 
 
 I BELIEVE and confess that the seven Sacraments of the New 
 Testament — to wit, Baptism, Unction, Communion, Confes- 
 sion, Ordination, Marriage, and Extreme Unction — were 
 instituted by Jesus Christ and His Church, as the means of 
 receiving the grace and influence that they convey. 
 
 I BELIEVE and confess, that in the Divine Liturgy ^ the true 
 Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is verily received in 
 the form of Bread and Wine, for the remission of sins, and 
 for the obtaining eternal life. 
 
 I BELIEVE and confess, according to the understanding of 
 the Holy Eastern Church, that the Saints in Christ who reign 
 in heaven are worthy to be honoured and invoked, and that 
 their prayers and intercessions move the All-merciful God to 
 the salvation of our souls. Also, that to venerate their incor- 
 ruptible relics, as also the previous virtues of their remains, is 
 well-pleasing to God. 
 
 I ADMIT that the pictures of Christ our Saviour, of the Holy 
 Virgin, and of other Saints, are worthy to have and to honour, 
 not for the purpose of worship, but that by having them before 
 our eyes we may be encouraged to devotion, and to the imi- 
 tation of the deeds of the Righteous Ones represented by the 
 pictures. 
 
 I CONFESS that the prayers of faith addressed to God are 
 accepted favourably by the mercy of God. 
 
 I BELIEVE and confess that power is given to the Church by 
 Christ our Saviour, to bind and to loose ; and that what is 
 1 Mass. 
 
Adult Unction. 
 
 327 
 
 bound or loosed by that power on earth, shall be bound or 
 loosed in heaven. 
 
 I BELIEVE and confess that the Foundation, Head, and Su- 
 preme Pastor and Bishop of the Holy Greco-Russian Church 
 is our Lord Jesus Christ; and that from Him all Bishops, 
 Pastors, and teachers are ordained ; and that the Ruler and 
 Governor of the said Church is the Holy Ghost. 
 
 That this Church is the Bride of Christ, I also confess ; 
 and that in her is true salvation , to be found, and that no one 
 can possibly be saved in any other except her, I believe. 
 
 To THE HOLY Synod directing, as to the Pastors of the 
 Russian Church, and to the Priests by them ordained, I pro- 
 mise to observe sincere obedience, even to the end of my days. 
 
 The Metropolitan, satisfied that the convert is well prepared, 
 now places the end of his omophorium^ in her hand, and 
 proceeds to the body of the church, tendering her, as it were, 
 to the amvon, while he says the foUo^vmg : 
 
 " Enter thou into the Church, leaving the errors of Luther- 
 anism far behind thee ; examine thyself, that thou free thyself 
 from the nets of death and eternal misery ; reject from this 
 time all the errors and false teachings which thou heldest 
 hitherto; honour the Lord God our Father Almighty, Jesus 
 Christ His Son, and Holy Spirit, the one true and living God, 
 in the Holy Indivisible and Consubstantial Trinity." 
 
 Having by this time arrived at the foot of the amvon, where 
 a naloy stands with the Gospels and cross, she lets go the 
 omophorium, and the choir sings the sixty-seventh Psalm 
 — on conclusion of which, the Metropolitan desires her to 
 prostrate herself before the Gospels, while he says a short 
 litany. 
 
 ' Bishop's stole. 
 
328 
 
 Adtilt Unction. 
 
 M. Send down Thy Holy Spirit, and the face of the earth 
 shall be renewed. 
 
 Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 M. Turn Thee, O Lord, and be gracious to the words of Thy 
 servant. 
 
 Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 M. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places 
 plain. 
 
 Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 M. Lord, save Thy servant, who putteth her trust in Thee. 
 Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 M. Be thou to her a strong tower from the face of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 M. The enemy shall not come nigh unto her, neither the 
 son of perdition harm her. 
 
 Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 M. Lord, hear my prayer, and let my crying come unto 
 Thee. 
 
 A most beautiful and touching prayer follows the litany, 
 imploring the blessing of God on the new member of the 
 Orthodox Church ; after which, the Metropolitan says to the 
 still kneeling convert, — 
 
 "Rise, and stand firm ; stand in fear." 
 
 She rises, and says : " This true Orthodox Greco-Russian 
 Faith, which I now, of my own free will, confess and sincerely 
 hold, I will confess and hold, with the help of God, whole and 
 undefiled to my latest breath, and will teach and inculcate the 
 same as much as lies in my power ; all its rules I will striv- 
 ingly and joyfully perform, and will endeavour to keep my 
 heart in virtue and innocence ; and in token of this, my true 
 
Adult Unction. 
 
 329 
 
 and sincere confession, I kiss the Word and the Cross of my 
 Saviour." 
 
 The Metropohtan presents the Gospels and cross to her to 
 kiss, and pronounces a blessing on her. It should be observed, 
 that though a formal confession of sins, " from earliest child- 
 hood, as far as can be remembered," has been observed pre- 
 vious to the Office of Conversion, the penitent cannot receive 
 absolution from the Priest until renunciation of the former 
 religion and profession of the orthodox faith has taken place, 
 according to the above form. At this part, therefore, the 
 Metropolitan says, — 
 
 " Bow thy knees before the Lord God whom thou hast 
 confessed, and receive absolution of thy sins." 
 
 The Princess prostrates herself, with her forehead on the 
 ground, while he reads the form of Absolution, which is about 
 the same length as our own English one ; on its conclusion, he 
 says, — 
 
 " Rise, Sister ; and as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, 
 pray to Him with us, that thou mayst be worthy to re- 
 ceive, through the Unction of Holy Oil, the grace of the Holy 
 Spirit." 
 
 The Office of Unction, slightly different from that used at 
 Infant Baptism, now commences. The oil which is made use 
 of on this and other occasions is prepared and blessed by the 
 Metropolitan himself, and is only made at St. Petersburg and 
 Kiefif, and from thence sent to the different dioceses, to be 
 distributed to every church in the empire. It is boiled in the 
 chapel attached to the Synod, in presence of other ecclesiastics, 
 and with a ceremony and form of prayer for the occasion. It 
 is composed of the finest and purest vegetable oil, and various 
 spices, myrrh, mastic, incense, &c., and the atom of a relic. 
 
330 
 
 Adult Unction. 
 
 I am told that it is extremely difficult to prepare, as a verj' 
 little over-boiling spoils it. 
 
 One of the Priests or Deacons present now brings out of 
 the altar the vessel containing the holy oil, a sponge, a little 
 clean stick with a morsel of cotton wool wound round one 
 end (or a feather), and a little vessel of warm water ; these he 
 places on a small low table prepared for the purpose, and with 
 them the Gospels and cross just made use of. Two lighted 
 candles, in immense candlesticks, are placed before it, between 
 it and the royal gates. When the preparations are complete, 
 the Metropolitan bows to the congregation three times, and the 
 service commences with a doxology and the Hymn to the 
 Holy Ghost ; then the full Litany, with several clauses relative 
 to the person about to be anointed. The Metropolitan then 
 reads aloud this prayer, which is nearly the same as that used 
 at Infant Unction : — 
 
 " Blessed art Thou, O Lord God Almighty, the Fountain of 
 Goodness, the Sun of Righteousness, shining on such as are in 
 darkness, with the light of salvation, by the coming of Thy 
 Only-begotten Son, our Lord ; and granting to us, Thy un- 
 worthy servants, purification by Holy Water, and Divine sanc- 
 tification by Unction ; and who hast blessed Thy handmaid 
 Maria by turning her from the errors of heresy, and to the 
 knowledge of Thy truth, that with repentance she may turn to 
 Thy mercy, and unite herself to Thy chosen flock ; and the 
 absolution of whose sins, and the dissolution of whose oaths, 
 I, Thine unworthy servant, have given. Grant her, O Lord 
 and merciful King, the Seal of the Gift of Thy All-powerful 
 and Adorable Spirit — ^the Communion of Christ's Holy Body 
 and Blood. Preserve her in Thy holiness, strengthen her in 
 the faith of the Orthodox Church, deliver her from the Evil 
 
Adult Unction. 
 
 331 
 
 One and all his snares, and keep her by Thy saving fear in 
 purity and righteousness of spirit, that by every deed and word 
 she may be acceptable to Thee, and become Thy Child, and 
 the Heri tress of Thy Kingdom. For Thou art our God, the 
 God of mercy and salvation ; and to Thee be glory ! to the 
 Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now, hence- 
 forth, and for ever." 
 
 Immediately afterwards the Unction takes place— preceded, 
 of course, by the Princess crossing herself devoutly. The 
 Metropolitan turns towards her, and proceeds to make the sign 
 of the cross, with the splinter or feather dipped in the oil, on 
 her forehead, over her eyes, nostrils, lips, ears, breast, hands, 
 and feet,^ with the words at each sign, " The Seal of the Gift 
 of the Holy Ghost. Amen." 
 
 Deacon. Let us pray to God. 
 
 Choir. Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 Then follows a short prayer, to the same effect as the pre- 
 ceding. 
 
 The Metropolitan then takes the sponge, and dipping it 
 in the warm water, wipes the places anointed, saying, "Thou 
 art justified, thou art sanctified, thou art purified, by the Name 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by God's Holy Spirit ; and thou 
 
 1 The soles of the feet are anointed at baptism ; the Imperial brides are 
 therefore provided with slippers of a peculiar form, which are partially- 
 slipped off, while the wearers kneel. This rule, however, seems to be not 
 always observed thus; for an old lady, a German by birth, who was 
 anointed immediately before the ceremony of her marriage took place, told 
 me that the "Seal" was put on her knees, and that her lady of honour 
 raised the skirt of her dress for the purpose. A priest informs me that 
 when he receives rascohiitzas (female schismatics) into the Church, he 
 always anoints their knees. Neither forms are de rigiieiir, for the word 
 Nogd means the entire limb, leg and foot ; so that whichever is anointed, 
 the letter is observed. 
 
332 
 
 Adult Unction. 
 
 art anointed with oil, in the Name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost, now, henceforth, and for ever. 
 Amen." 
 
 A secret prayer, a short litany, a doxology, and the blessing 
 conclude this office. 
 
 Divine Service followed immediately; and when the choir 
 commenced singing the pre-Eucharistic Hymn, the Empress led 
 the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna to the pictures in the 
 altar-screen, which she kissed ; and on the re-opening of the 
 royal gates, when the Deacon comes forth with the Cup, inton- 
 ing, " With the fear of God, and with faith, approach ye !" she 
 conducted her to the steps of the amvon, when, for the first 
 time, she received the Communion according to the rites of 
 the Orthodox Church. 
 
 The exquisite clearness and perfection with which she pro- 
 nounced the Confession of Faith (not the Creed, but a short 
 form) before the Holy Elements were administered to her, as 
 well as the answers and professions in the office of Conversion, 
 struck all present with delight and astonishment : it was 
 listened to with breathless interest; and in another second the 
 neighbouring apartments and halls echoed with the eagerly 
 given and received information of the Imperial bride's 
 acquirements. 
 
 The Emperor, too, seems to have been equally delighted ; 
 for while the Grand Duke and Duchess were receiving the 
 congratulations of the clergy, he was pleased to call aside the 
 Priest who was entrusted with the Princess Dagmar's religious 
 instruction, and thanked him in the warmest terms for the 
 excellent manner in which he had fulfilled his task. 
 
ADOPTION. 
 
ADOPTION. 
 
 /~*AN you imagine anything more distressing than not 
 
 ^ knowing one's own mother? Pity me, then, for that 
 is my case, Fedinka!" 
 
 " You'll get accustomed to it," replied Fedinka, a young 
 officer in the Cavaher Guards, the playmate in childhood 
 and companion in youth of the first speaker, who had been 
 the protegee and god-daughter of his great-grandmother, the 
 Baroness Schenkendorf, recently deceased. 
 
 " The thing is, that I am the most useless creature imagin- 
 able ! Mamasha is very poor (that is, she thinks so, but 
 Lukeria Gregorievna says that three hundred and fifty roubles 
 a year is plenty to live on), and is not accustomed to occupa- 
 tion. Dear godmamma ! oh, how grateful I am for that one 
 teaching — that I am useless ! I know it, and that is one step 
 towards mending. Godmamma always told me the truth." 
 " Don't cry." 
 
 " I wish people would let me have all my cries out as you 
 do, Fddia," she said, after sobbing for some minutes, and 
 putting her handkerchief into her pocket, and her hand into 
 his. " You'll write to me very often, won't you ?" 
 
 " Of course, darling." 
 
336 
 
 A doption. 
 
 "And tell me all about Inna, just as you used before, here, 
 in the dear, dear old house? and about Ivan Pavlovitch's 
 quarrels with Simon Alex^evitch ? and how the dear students 
 get on : mind, Fedia !" 
 
 " Yes, my soul." 
 
 " Particularly about Inna, and yourself. Oh, the idea of my 
 being miserable at going home to live with Mamasha ! What 
 a wicked creature I must be ! But why did she give me up 
 to godmamma? why did she let me get accustomed to all 
 
 this " and she waved her hand round her, indicating the 
 
 rich and elegant appointments of the room they were sitting in. 
 
 " I tell you you had better stop with us. Inna would be as 
 glad as I." 
 
 " No, F(fdia ; she is my mother. She is getting old, too, and 
 I must do my duty by her." 
 
 " Listen, Agrafena ! has your mother done her duty by 
 you?" (He did not like Madame Mordvinofif, if the truth 
 must be told, and forgot caution in his affection for her 
 daughter.) "You say, why did she give you up to grand- 
 mamma ? Because she was idle, Grousha ;^ because she 
 thought it would be a fine thing. (You'll excuse me.) She is 
 highly educated, you know, and could have taught you herself 
 every bit as well as our Lukeria Gregorievna — but idleness is 
 the root of all evil ! And what are its fruits ? That her own 
 child is breaking her heart at returning to her roof ! That 
 she loves comparative strangers better than her own brothers 
 and sister ! Who was it, I should like to know, that asked 
 her, only yesterday evening, which was the elder brother, Andr^ 
 or Nicholai? I am astonished that you remember their 
 names ! " 
 
 1 Dim. for Agrafena. 
 
A doption. 
 
 337 
 
 " What's to be done ? Groaning and moaning over the past 
 is of no use. We must try to be wise at the present time in 
 order to be less regretful in future. I'll do my best — with 
 God's help." 
 
 "At any rate, stay with us until you go to Q . Have 
 
 you quite made up your minds ?" 
 
 " Mamasha does not know her own. She wants to be com- 
 fortable, you see, and yet wishes to stay here. I proposed 
 getting pupils, just to help a little, but she won't hear of it — 
 she says they would distract her — I have made up my mind, if 
 I have any voice in the matter, because Nicholai Nicholai'e- 
 
 vitch, when he proposed our going to Q , wrote that living 
 
 there is nearly half as cheap again as at St. Petersburg. That 
 settles the matter in my opinion — besides being near Phi- 
 moushka^ and her darling little baby! It must be done, 
 Fe'dia !" 
 
 " So it seems, if you will not agree to my arrangements. 
 But when shall we see you again, Grousha ? " 
 
 " Don't talk of it We must not think of ourselves, but set 
 about our duties. Lord, help us !" 
 
 " Without doubt, He will, my soul !" Sisterless and brother- 
 less, Fedia had never felt his orphanage till now. 
 
 Olympiada Modestovna, Agrafena's mother, was employed 
 during this conversation, and much that preceded and followed 
 it, in collecting every packable article that belonged directly or 
 indirectly to her daughter. The Baroness was immensely rich, 
 and provided for Agrafena in the handsomest manner during 
 her lifetime, but left nothing to her in her will, probably from 
 the impression that her great-grandson and god-daughter would 
 ultimately marry, and that thus the latter would be amply 
 
 * Dim. for Seraphima. 
 Z 
 
338 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 provided for. " What earnestly she wished, she long believed ; " 
 and though she never hinted her desire to either of the young 
 people, she encouraged their intimacy as much as possible, but 
 it ended in Grousha's taking on herself the negotiations 
 between Feodor and his great-grandmother concerning his 
 engagement to a maid of honour with whom he had fallen 
 violently in love, ended only to continue in another and far 
 more intimate form, for they never were so attached to each 
 other as after that incident. The Baroness would not hear of 
 it, and the poor little gentle maid's papa would not consent 
 until the Baroness herself should ask for his daughter's hand 
 on behalf of Fe'odor Kyrilovitch. Olympiada Modestovna 
 thought over all this " history " as she packed up Grousha's 
 things, with mingled regret, bitterness, and self-reproach, at 
 never having taught her to encourage Fedinka's affectionate 
 feelings before he met with the maid of honour. As she turned 
 over the clothes and linen that had been so bountifully and 
 tastefully provided, and heaped them into the portmanteau and 
 chests that stood open to receive them, she more than once 
 abused the memory of her benefactress, and the stupidity and 
 unworldliness of her innocent daughter. A few costly jewels, 
 the gifts of the Baroness and the thoughtless but warm-hearted 
 Fe'dia, made her eyes brighten and her spirits rise for a 
 moment, and she tied them up carefully in a handkerchief ; 
 but the discontented, mournful expression of her face returned 
 again when she looked at Grousha's library — an immense one 
 for so young a girl. "Never mind," she thought, "they will 
 bring a price as waste paper." Besides these, she took pos- 
 session of the carpet, curtains, pictures of the saints, and even 
 the plants in the windows — and great credit to herself for not 
 carrying off the furniture and toilet-service. In the evening 
 
Adoption. 339 
 
 they left the Baroness's stately mansion for the uncomfortable 
 unhome-like lodging that Olympiada Modestovna occupied in 
 the 24th line of the Vasilieffsky Island, which forms part of 
 the city of St. Petersburg, and where she had lived for many 
 years in an unsatisfactory state of shabby lazy gentility, always 
 in hopes that Grousha would marry somebody very rich and 
 invite her to live with her. But Grousha had not a taste for 
 matrimony, or her time had not come, for she was now nineteen 
 years old, and still not in love with anybody, rich or poor ! 
 
 After a great many disputes, Grousha won the battle, and it 
 was decided that the Mordvinoffs should take up their per- 
 manent abode at Q , where the married daughter lived. 
 
 They had a very long journey before them, and they deemed 
 it prudent to wait till the spring before setting out on it, as the 
 river navigation affords facilities that the winter roads could 
 not do, to say nothing of the cold. Olympiada Modestovna was 
 astonished to find her daughter intent on becoming useful and 
 practical, and so very far from being a fine lady. She persuaded 
 her mother to dispose of two of their three serf servants — 
 for my tale goes many years back, in the days when proprietors 
 could sell their people like cows and sheep. Of course Olym- 
 piada Modestovna objected strongly at first, asking who would 
 dress her, who would wash and iron the collars and caps, who 
 mend the stockings, &c. To all this Grousha answered quiedy, 
 "I will;" and with a perseverance that showed how much 
 good there was in her, she patiently learnt all the details of 
 getting up fine linen, patching and darning, boiling coffee, and 
 even a Httle of cooking — all which she did "with her might;" 
 and while the terrible days of winter gradually gave way to the 
 sloppy thaw, and the thaw to the bright delicious balm of a 
 Russian spring, she was being transformed from the elegant 
 z 2 
 
340 
 
 A doption. 
 
 petted protegee of the almost millionaire Baroness von Schenk- 
 endorf to the working, economizing girl-noble of the class to 
 which she really belonged (she was the orphan of a colonel in 
 the Naval Artillery). She knew that her mother was too old 
 to alter her notions and habits, that something must be done, 
 and that sooner or later all the knowledge she was now acquir- 
 ing would prove useful to herself or to others, and she felt a 
 new zest and pleasure in accustoming herself to these homely 
 employments, partly doubtless from their entire novelty to her, 
 but greatly from the conviction of their absolute indispen- 
 ability. She was greatly assisted by the advice of a young 
 German matron who lived in a little house at the end of their 
 garden. Her husband was foreman in a pianoforte manufactory ; 
 and though he received good wages, living in St. Petersburg 
 is no joke, and his bright little wife had hard work to manage, 
 with three tiny children too. It was in her exquisitely clean 
 kitchen and parlour that Grousha took a lasting fancy to the 
 homely happiness of life in the middle class, and a disgust to 
 the "appearance-making" of her mother and many of her 
 acquaintances, with lessons that she never forgot of industry 
 and carefulness. Regrets did enter her head — serious regrets, 
 for the loss of many advantages and luxuries that could not 
 but have charms for one to whom they had become habits — 
 the opera, the drives in carriages of Viennese or English work- 
 manship, the society that frequented the Baroness's hospitable 
 house, and the evening reunions of clever and superior people 
 that so often assembled there — and die sudden change from a 
 family of upwards of twenty persons, counting all the distant 
 relatives, orphans of former stewards of the Baroness's estates, 
 aged tutors of her deceased sons, governesses of her grand- 
 daughters, and other houseless folk, who were fed by her 
 
Adoption. 
 
 341 
 
 bounty, to the monotonous company of the ever-grumbling 
 Olympiada Modestovna, was really a trial to her. But Feodor 
 Kyrilovitch often drove in his gallant Httle sledge to see her, 
 and pour forth his rhapsodies about his Inna into her ever- 
 sympathising ear ; and two students, pensioners of the Baroness, 
 who had lived under the same roof with her for many years, 
 and been her playmates and companions, like Fedia, used to 
 wrench moments of leisure from their working hours, and come 
 to " help " Grousha in her new capacity as housekeeper. She 
 herself often spent an afternoon in the home of her girlhood, 
 with her dear old governess and adviser, Lukeria Gregorievna. 
 
 Thus passed the time till May, when the Mordvinoffs bade 
 adieu to damp but beautiful St. Petersburg, and set forth on 
 their journey to Orenburg. Grousha found it very hard to part 
 with Feodor Kyrilovitch and his " family " (as he loved to call 
 the inmates of his grandmother s house, whom he insisted on 
 keeping on the same terms exactly as during her lifetime), and 
 he felt that he was losing the presence of his best earthly friend 
 and adviser. Lovely and loveable as his young bride was, she 
 was too childish and inexperienced to supply at once the place 
 of that faithful and indulgent girl. He had not a secret from 
 her ; she knew all his naughty histories of gambling-parties, 
 bets, presents to grasping actresses, and debts to horse-dealers, 
 money-lenders, and jewellers ; and though she scolded him 
 roundly in private, she always managed to bring him safely 
 through interviews with his grandmamma on the ticklish sub- 
 jects, and never heard any impertinent arguments, such as those 
 he occasionally offered to General Andreeff, his guardian. He 
 would not say good-bye to her, persisting in repeating " do 
 sviddnia I"^ till the train was out of hearing. 
 
 ^ " Au revoir." 
 
342 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 Grousha enjoyed her two thousand five hundred versts' 
 journey rather than otherwise, and reUshed the various mishaps 
 and discomforts attendant on Russian travelhng, which were 
 causes of serious annoyance to poor Olympiada Modestovna, 
 who had long ago outgrown any fancy for adventure, or any 
 
 taste for fun. On their arrival at Q they stayed a fortnight 
 
 with Seraphima Nestorovna, Grousha's sister, who had been the 
 wife of one of the inspectors of the gold-washing works there 
 for about three years, and was her mother's own daughter in 
 every respect. Her husband passed his mornings at the works, 
 and his evenings at the card-table ; he was considered a good 
 officer and a pleasant comrade, and Madame Mordvinoff, who 
 despised him for his unimportance and poverty when he in- 
 sisted on marrying her silly useless Seraphima, felt all at once 
 a degree of awe and respect for him on finding him on the 
 
 footing he had gained at Q , and the style of their living, 
 
 though on a small scale, was decidedly of the sort she affected : 
 but Grousha felt that it was an unsatisfactory state to be in 
 constantly, and was glad when her mother became the pur- 
 chaser of a small but very convenient, cheerful log-house on 
 the banks of the beautiful lake that fed the works, with a large 
 garden and a shady balcony. The superintending of the paper- 
 ing and painting of this dwelling, the making and hanging of 
 curtains, hunting out persons who had furniture to sell,^ bar- 
 gaining for the same, and giving the whole place that indescrib- 
 able air of elegance and comfort that a person accustomed 
 to them alone can give, were of course Grousha's care, and 
 she was as happy over it as a little girl with her doll's house. 
 
 * In small towns in the interior one must either content oneself with 
 second-hand furniture, or order it to be made, which takes a very long time. 
 There are no cabinet-makers' shops. 
 
Adoption. 
 
 343 
 
 Olympiada Modestovna began to appreciate her daughter's 
 new-found talents, especially when applied to her own immediate 
 comfort ; but she could never fully understand or believe that 
 Grousha enjoyed it, and it was always with a manner half apolo- 
 getical that she proposed or hinted at any addition or alteration 
 that incurred fresh trouble. Besides the serf woman whom 
 they brought from St. Petersburg, and who was a first-rate 
 cook, they hired a young girl to be maid and errand-runner. 
 
 Thus comfortably established, the Mordvinofifs enrolled 
 
 themselves on the list of the Q society, and (as new-comers 
 
 almost invariably are) were received by its members with the 
 utmost cordiality. They made fornial visits to the ladies, who 
 quickly returned them, and in their train the husbands and 
 brothers, and gradually the solitary bachelors, made their ap- 
 pearance. There were some'very agreeable people among the 
 number, some few rather tiresome, stupid, or mischief-making, 
 but on the whole very bearable. 
 
 There was one of the sterner sex, however, who did not call 
 on the Mordvinoffs until he was sent for in his professional 
 capacity — this was the doctor, Esper Andr^evitch Pankreffsky ; 
 but the ice once broken, he became a more frequent visitor than 
 any of the others. Olympiada Modestovna was certainly an 
 ailing person, and the pretext of inquiring after and prescribing 
 for his patient was an honest one, but it is not to be supposed 
 
 that professional ardour alone was the attraction. The Q 
 
 people wondered at his taking so much notice of that strange 
 creature, Agrafena Nestorovna, by no means a pretty girl either, 
 with her pale face and dark eyes and quiet ways. They could 
 not understand what it could be, especially as Grousha pro- 
 fessed herself indifferent to the charms of dancing, did not play 
 well enough to give pleasure to other people, and never laid 
 
344 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 wagers of her own fancy-work. Nevertheless, the doctor went 
 as often as he conveniently could. 
 
 He was quite a young man, and had been educated at 
 St. Petersburg, in the same university as Grousha's student 
 friends ; the youngest son of a general officer, and moving in 
 the higher circles of the middle class, he had chosen of his 
 own free will, and to the surprise of his father, and indignation 
 of his mother, who wished him to serve in the army or navy, 
 the profession of a physician, as being that by which he hoped 
 to have the greatest opportunity of being useful to his fellow- 
 creatures. He placed the medical profession above all others, 
 except the calling of a Priest, which he considered almost too 
 high for mortal man to follow ; the frivolity and idleness of his 
 officer brothers disgusted him when a boy, and he had a horror 
 of war and wounds that amounted to a monomania in the 
 adolescent. There was certainly a portion of eccentricity in 
 his character, but so much noble feeling and straightforward 
 sincerity in his convictions, that his parents gave way, and 
 let him do as he wished. His father dying before he had 
 completed his medical education deprived him of the means of 
 continuing his studies in one of the German Universities as he 
 had intended to do, and made him accept the first appoint- 
 ment that was offered him on passing his final examination, 
 as it involved no expense to his mother, whom he devotedly 
 loved. He was a goodly person to look at, with the most 
 beautiful blue eyes that ever beamed from behind spectacles. 
 An adept in his profession, and an attentive, sympathising, and 
 successful practitioner, yielding wherever he dared to the 
 wishes and opinion of the senior doctor, his superior officer, 
 yet gently insisting on having his own way if convinced of its 
 necessity for the patient — a pleasant comrade, and agreeable 
 
Adoption. 
 
 345 
 
 and intelligent at all times — such was the man who dared to 
 lift his eyes to Grousha, and court her as his future wife. 
 Not a word, and scarcely a look, had however passed be- 
 tween them after an acquaintance of nearly six months ; and 
 Olympiada Modestovna, who still indulged in very brilliant 
 castles in the air for her daughter, never imagined for a 
 moment that anything serious could be thought of by the 
 two young people, and was merely enchanted with the doctor 
 in his professional line, holding him up as a model of atten- 
 tion. " Not even at St. Petersburg had she ever met with 
 such a medical man! Never!" 
 
 Agrafena Nestorovna, who took, things as they came, and 
 always tried to make the best of everything, had determined 
 from the first to appear content, even if things did not quite 
 come up to her own standard : " things," however, turned out 
 better than she expected ; she and her mother were getting 
 rather fond of each other — at any rate, they were getting 
 accustomed to each other, and she was very happy at home, 
 but certainly Esper Andre'evitch's acquaintance had something 
 to do with it. 
 
 She and hei- sister did not become very great friends. 
 Seraphima Nestorovna was a frivolous, empty-headed creature, 
 given to dress, smoking, card-playing, and flirting ; a shocking 
 housekeeper, and a very careless mother ; but Grousha had an 
 ever new pleasure in going to her house, because of the 
 darling little godson that she had there. It was her delight 
 to wash him, to comb and cut his hair, to mend and make 
 his clothes, play with him, cut out paper figures for him, 
 and be his abject slave at all times. She had always been 
 fond of children, but this one she doated on, and she had a 
 way of her own of pleasing them — never talking baby nonsense 
 
346 
 
 A doption. 
 
 to the little ones, nor moralizing to the elders, yet always 
 contriving to leave an impression on their minds of some 
 amiable or useful teaching. She could break in violent boys 
 and tiresome girls after a few seances, and the grandmammas 
 and nurses of such declared that she must have a zdgovor 
 (spoken charm or exorcism) for it. This also was an occasion 
 
 for wonderment on the parts of the Q people, especially 
 
 the young ladies, with not one of whom Grousha could become 
 intimate, and on a " bosom friendly " footing ; and although 
 she was perfectly polite and good-natured, yet it must be 
 acknowledged that she was cool to them. At Christmas time 
 she was obliged to go to parties and dance, but as a make-up 
 she persuaded her mother to give a child's ball, ostensibly 
 to little Boris, her nephew, but in reality to assemble all 
 her dear little friends and enjoy the sight of their fun and 
 happiness. 
 
 When the day fixed for the little party arrived, Grousha 
 was deep in preparations from early morn ; but to her great 
 disappointment little Borinka had begun to cough so distress- 
 ingly during the night that it was impossible for him to go 
 to his grandmamma's, particularly in such a severe frost as 
 that which was pinching the noses and chins of the orthodox 
 that day. As the other guests had joyfully accepted the in- 
 vitation, it was considered inconvenient to put off the party, 
 and Grousha went on preparing the rooms and candelabra 
 with great activity ; everything was ready at noon, but Olym- 
 piada Modestovna had not given her the money requisite for 
 some bon-bons and sweetmeats, figs and raisins, and other 
 good things that are indispensable at such meetings. There 
 was to be a dinner-party at the magistrate's at two o'clock, to 
 which Madame Mordvinofif was invited ; and on Grousha's 
 
Adoption. 347 
 
 earnestly representing the imperative necessity of " dessert," ^ 
 she promised to buy it on her way home. The rooms were 
 full when she made her appearance at seven o'clock, and 
 Grousha, assisted by a good-natured widow neighbour, Anfisa 
 Fomishna by name, was very busy giving each guest his tea. 
 She kissed her sister (who had brought Olympiada Modestovna 
 home in her sledge, and popped in for a moment to warm 
 herself and look at the children), and then eagerly whispered, 
 "And the dessert, Mamasha?" 
 
 "Akh! was there ever such a head as mine? It quite 
 escaped my memory. What shall we do ?" 
 
 " Come with me, Grousha," said Seraphima good-naturedly. 
 " Mamasha is frozen. I will leave you at the shop, and you 
 can buy the things while I am driving home. I will send back 
 the sledge immediately for you." 
 
 "Oh, that is delightful!" said Grousha. "Mamasha, you 
 must pour out the tea ; and don't forget Anfisa Fomishna," 
 she added in a whisper. " Get the money ready, Mamasha ; 
 I will go and dress." 
 
 " Wrap up warm, Groushinka,^ it is awfully cold !" 
 
 In ten minutes' time they had reached the shops ; Grousha 
 jumped out, and bidding her sister good-bye, began to make 
 her purchases. She had not many to make, but they were of 
 such a description that it required a little time and great 
 patience to select them good of their kind and reasonable 
 in price. They had been duly weighed out and paid for, 
 and tied up in a great coloured handkerchief that her mother 
 had thrust into her muff for the purpose, when she began 
 
 1 "Dessert" is the word used in Russ for the bonbons, figs, &c. &c., 
 above mentioned. 
 ' Dim. for .^grafena. 
 
348 Adoption. 
 
 to wonder why the sledge was so long in coming, for Sera- 
 phima's house was only two or three minutes' drive distant. 
 The shop was little better than a booth, and it seems to be the 
 peculiar feature of such buildings that they attract the utmost 
 degree of cold to themselves, and to their floors in particular. 
 Grousha's feet, protected as they were by thick felt boots over 
 the ordinary bottines of house wear, began to feel the cold in 
 no small degree. Her fingers had caught the nip when 
 handling and trying the things produced for her selection, and 
 not all the blowing and breathing that her lungs could perform 
 were able to restore circulation out of doors, consideritig that 
 there was a frost of 35° (Reaumur). She walked up and 
 down the tiny shop, the proprietor of which was already 
 preparing to shut up, and rendering the space that served for 
 poor Grousha's promenade still smaller by hauling indoors the 
 various boxes and casks of salt, raisins, tobacco, and candles 
 that were exposed for sale during the day-time outside 
 the booth. The candle burnt more and more dimly every 
 moment, and not a sound could be heard in the deserted 
 market-place. 
 
 "Akh! what shall I do, Vasili Stepanovitch ?" she said 
 to the shopman in a distressful voice. " Do be so kind as 
 to look if my sledge is coming." 
 
 The man looked up and down and across the market-place, 
 round which the shops stood ; it presented a perfectly undis- 
 tinguishable space of utter darkness, the only lights being 
 the stars : he said that no one was coming either way. 
 
 Another five minutes passed, and the welcome sounds of a 
 fast-approaching vehicle were distinguishable ; it dashed by, 
 however, leaving poor Grousha ready to cry for impatience and 
 cold, for it is a singular feature of the effects of frost on the 
 
Adoption. 
 
 349 
 
 Iiuman frame, that people generally feel a strong disposition to 
 whimper, when under its influence to a great extent. 
 
 "What shall we do indeed, sudarina?" said Vasili Stepano- 
 vitch ; "it is time for me to go home too. We will stop for 
 five minutes longer, and if they do not come for you by that 
 time you had better walk with me to our house, and we'll 
 have the- horse put to for you." 
 
 " Oh, I can't walk," said Grousha, in a tearful voice, from 
 her seat on a bass sack of walnuts. " My feet are quite 
 numbed, and my hands too! Oh, what shall I do?" and 
 she broke down completely, and cried, in a very weak-minded 
 manner, as it would appear to those who have never felt more 
 than eight or ten degrees of frost in their lives. 
 
 The shopman was pondering how to get rid of this un- 
 welcome and melancholy customer, when the snow again 
 yielded to the iron fittings of a sledge ; and at the same 
 instant as it stopped, a tall figure well muftled in a badger 
 cloak and sable cap strode in hastily with the words, "A 
 packet of papyros-cigarettes, quick ! " 
 
 Grousha sprang to her feet : it was Pankreffsky. " Oh, I 
 am so glad ; please, take me home ! I am frozen to death." 
 
 " Agrafena Nestorovna ! why, how? what is the meaning of 
 this ? Bless my heart," he continued, taking her stiff marble- 
 like fingers into his warm hands, " this is no joke ! " and he 
 led her to his basket-sledge, while the shopman followed him 
 and gave the cigarettes to the coachman. 
 
 " Drive for your life ! " shouted Esper Andrdevitch in his 
 authoritative tone, seizing the ends of the reins with his left 
 hand, and urging the horse forward. The whole time the 
 little journey lasted he was alternately inquiring anxiously and 
 tenderly how Grousha felt, or roaring at the coachman for 
 
350 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 imaginary slowness. On their arrival at home he took her 
 in his arms as if she had been a child of ten, and carried her 
 into the entrance, which he found empty, and laid her on the 
 roondook,^ while he tore off his own wraps and hurried into 
 the rooms to call Olympiada Modestovna. 
 
 " Have the goodness, madam," he said in the stern voice 
 he was accustomed to assume with refractory or unnecessarily 
 fussy patients, " to attend to your daughter. She is violently 
 cold, and if I mistake not, frost-bitten." 
 
 Olympiada Modestovna, much alarmed, meekly followed 
 him to the lobby. "Who, I should like to know, left her 
 in the shops even for five minutes during such a frost as this? 
 How did she get there ? It is unpardonable, upon my word, 
 Olympiada Modestovna." 
 
 " O Mamasha, Mamasha ! " whimpered Grousha, as she tried 
 to feel her feet on the ground. " I am so dreadfully, dreadfully 
 cold, and so — sleepy." 
 
 " Come, come, let me take off your things ! " said Pankreff- 
 sky soothingly, going down on his knees to pull off her boots, 
 while her mother and Anfisa Fomishna unwound her scarf 
 and removed her hood and shouba, thus admitting warm air 
 gradually to her chilled limbs. " Snow, here ! goose-grease ! 
 move , can't you ? " he cried reproachfully to the crowd of 
 little guests and their nurses and governesses that had 
 assembled round the sufferer. Half-a-dozen people rushed 
 they hardly knew whither, but all the doctor wanted was 
 room to pass into the inner apartments. " Carry Agrafena 
 Nestorovna into her room," continued he to the cook. 
 
 1 An immense sort of locker, such as there are in schools : it is placed 
 in lobbies for keeping shoubas in, and for throwing shoubas on during short 
 visits. 
 
Adoption. 35 1 
 
 " Thank God, no great mischief is done ; if we can keep 
 her awake, and bring back circulation in the feet, we shall 
 be soon all right." Anfisa Fomishna had taken off her 
 stockings, and the doctor ascertained that though frightfully 
 numbed and perfectly white, like those of a corpse, they 
 were not so-called frost-bitten ; and the hands were even 
 less affected, owing probably to the rubbing and squeezing 
 they had undergone during the drive home. The cook had 
 just taken Grousha up when the outer door opened, and 
 Seraphima's coachman entered, bringing with him a great 
 puff of frost, and diffusing a mist of intense cold from his 
 person. 
 
 " To your graciousness, Esper .Andreevitch, Seraphima Nes- 
 torovna sends you her compliments, and begs you will come 
 with me as quickly as possible. Little master is very ill." 
 
 " In five minutes, brother ! Wait for me. Go and warm 
 yourself in the kitchen. In five or ten minutes," was the 
 answer. 
 
 " Oh go, go, doctor," said Grousha imploringly from the 
 cook's shoulder ; " they can rub me, only you tell them how. 
 My angel Borinka, please go to him." 
 
 " I will go when I have finished your business. I don't 
 intend you to be lame, or to lose either of your ten toes, if it 
 lies in my power to prevent it." Grousha was comparing the 
 loss of one toe to Borinka's life. " Now sit down and put 
 your feet on this stool " (they had reached the bed-room, 
 where a pailful of snow already stood), "and let me rub 
 them with snow, while Olympiada Modestovna is so kind 
 as to rub one hand and Anfisa Fomishna the other ; and, in 
 the meantime, breathe deeply to get warm air into your lungs, 
 and try to laugh and to be very cheerful." 
 
352 
 
 A doptio7i. 
 
 " But I can't be cheerful, Esper Andreevitch," groaned the 
 poor girl, as the vigorous rubbing of the animated doctor 
 brought the first agonizing sensation of returning circulation. 
 " Oh ! oh ! And then poor dear Borinka ! what can be the 
 matter with him ? He only had a cough this morning." 
 
 " I dare say the nurse gave him something that disagreed 
 with him, while his mother was absent at the magistrate's, and 
 he is slightly indisposed, you know. And pray remember what 
 a very anxious yet undiscerning mother your sister is, and how 
 often she has sent for me, post-haste, in a similar manner, 
 without the slightest necessity." 
 
 " Yes. But still — Oh ! please, Esper Andreevitch, don't 
 rub so hard 1 Oh — h ! " 
 
 " Think of the great martyress St. Catherine, or St. Barbara, 
 Agrafena Nestorovna," said he, looking up sm.iling into her 
 face : and notwithstanding her groans of agony, and absolute 
 writhings, she could not help giggling hysterically as he went on 
 to describe a picture that he had seen in a country church, 
 illustrative of the sufferings and martyrdom of the former 
 saint, depicted by a self-taught artist in the most barbarous 
 style. Little by litde, however, a throbbing glow of warmth 
 succeeded the uncomfortable sensations, and both feet and 
 hands became of a deep red colour, and considerably swelled. 
 A quarter of an hour had sufficed to renew circulation, and the 
 doctor now requested Anfisa Fomishna to pour out a cup of 
 tea for the patient, and to put a teaspoonful of rum into it. 
 
 "Well, now you are quite comfortable, I hope?" he said, as 
 he wiped his hands and covered her feet with a large shawl, 
 " Pray be cautious for the future ; and remember that the 
 parts once caught by frost, however slightly, are always more 
 susceptible than those which have escaped." 
 
A doption. 
 
 353 
 
 " Thank you, doctor, very much. If it had not been for 
 you, I really believe I should have died." 
 
 " I ?" repeated he. Her hands, swelled and burning hot, with 
 the fingers awkwardly spread out, lay in her lap : he took one 
 up and kissed it. 
 
 Both felt confused, but deiiciously happy. " You are my 
 patient now. Adieu, till we meet again." 
 
 "Good-bye. Make haste to Borinka !" 
 
 He was looking for his cap, when Olympiada Modestovna 
 came in with a distressed face. 
 
 " I really must drive you out of the house, Esper Andrde- 
 vitch !" she said, with an attempt at a laugh ; " it seems that 
 poor Borinka is the cause of Grousha's misfortunes this even- 
 ing : for when Phimoushka got home she found him so ill that 
 she forgot, I suppose, that her sister was freezing at the shop, 
 and sent the coachman with the sledge to your house for you, 
 and your people packed him off to the hospital." The doctor 
 gave a grunt of impatience. " And then, somehow, they 
 guessed that you must be here. I was so flurried and alarmed, 
 and still feel so agitated, that I am afraid I have not thanked 
 you at all. I am sure " 
 
 " No cause whatever for thanks, Olympiada Modestovna ; 
 only let me beg you to look at the thermometer when you have 
 occasion — imperative occasion — to send so young a person as 
 your daughter anywhere, especially to the shops." 
 
 " Yes ; it was certainly very unthinking of me. But there, 
 do pray go, doctor ! I shall not be easy till I hear what is the 
 matter with the little darling." 
 
 Grousha during all this talk had been stamping about the 
 room in her great felt boots, for she could not get her little 
 bottines on ; and the spoonful of rum having done its duty by 
 
 A A 
 
354 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 her unaccustomed head, she felt in tremendous spirits, and per- 
 formed several pirouettes and pas, to the secret delight of the 
 doctor, and rather to the scandalization of her mother, who 
 shook her head several times at her in a warning manner. 
 The doctor took his leave, and the mother and daughter went 
 arm-in-arm to the zala, where the children were playing at 
 " recruits," with loud clapping of their hands. They surrounded 
 their hostesses with eager inquiries after the fate of Grousha's 
 toes, which some of them evidently fancied had broken off 
 like icicles ; and she was laughing at their horrified looks, when 
 her mother whispered, "Run, my soul, and see if he is gone : 
 if not, ask him to come back after he has seen Borinka; it will 
 be such a relief to me." 
 
 She went dancing and singing to the lobby ; Esper Andree- 
 vitch had just laid his hand on the handle of the outer 
 door, having wrapped himself up to such a degree that only 
 his eyes were visible. 
 
 " Esper Andrdevitch, stop ! Mamasha begs you will return 
 here after prescribing for Borinka, because she is so very 
 anxious about him. If you please." 
 
 He turned towards her and held out both hands ; and be- 
 fore she knew what she or he was doing or intending to do, her 
 own were clasped in them, and their eyes met as they never 
 before had done. The passionate kiss he imprinted on her 
 palms brought her to herself, and she drew them hastily from 
 his grasp ; not a word was uttered by either, and he hurried 
 away. 
 
 Grousha's head reeled for more intoxicating causes than the 
 punch tea. She now felt sure of what she had hardly dared to 
 think. She crossed herself again and again, breathed deeply 
 with the full joyful instinct of reciprocated affection — " O Lord 
 
Adoption. 
 
 355 
 
 (iod, I thank Thee! I thank Thee for this happiness," she 
 murmured. And she fancied she should feel like this all the 
 rest of her life. She came into the tea-room, because there 
 were less people there ; and having asked Anfisa Fomishna for 
 another cup of tea, as a reason for not being in the zala, stood 
 with her back to a warm stove, " rejoicing in hope," giving 
 way to the full flow of innocent rapture she was thus suddenly 
 put in possession of; gloating, as it were, over her sweet secret, 
 and as a wind-up, she actually kissed her own hands — in the 
 dark corridor leading to the zala — simply because his lips had 
 touched them. " That will do, Grousha," she said to herself, 
 astonished at her own madness ; " now go and be Agrafena 
 Nestorovna." 
 
 It was lucky for her that her mother and guests knew about 
 that spoonful of rum ; otherwise they would have been wonder- 
 ing what could have made her in such wild spirits. She danced, 
 whirling with the little girls, and sending the bigger boys into 
 raptures by flirting with them. Half an hour passed like five 
 minutes, when a small note was put into her hand, so hurriedly 
 dispatched that the writer had neither directed nor even folded 
 it. It contained these words : — 
 
 " The child is too ill for me to leave it. Croup in its 
 worst form. 
 
 " E. P." 
 
 "Oh! I must go to Phima !" she exclaimed, as the tears 
 started to her eyes, handing the scrap of paper to her mother ; 
 "or perhaps you would like to do so, Mamasha? Is the 
 bearer gone?" 
 
 " No, Miss ; he is warming himself in the kitchen. Snow is 
 falling very thick, Miss." 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 Adoption. 
 
 " Snow? oh, then it must be getting milder ! Mamma, may 
 I go ? Say one thing or another, dear Mamasha ! " 
 
 But Olympiada Modestovna was determined to be prudent 
 this time, and firmly set her face against Grousha's leaving the 
 house. The loving heart had not one scrap of selfishness in 
 it; and her own joy was entirely forgotten in anxiety for the 
 little sufferer, and pity for his parents. Her mother sent back 
 word that she herself would come the first thing next morning, 
 and begged the sledge might be sent whatever the weather 
 might be. After a pretty little supper, the delighted party 
 broke up ; and as the elders had been entirely taken up with 
 waiting on the little ones, they sat down to table after the 
 guests were gone. Grousha felt gushes of happiness, sleepi- 
 ness, and anxiety for Borinka alternately, and was very tired of 
 hearing nothing but consultations between Anfisa Fomishna 
 and her mother concerning the duties of a housekeeper in a 
 " rich " house, and exchanges of information about a Mr. 
 Vesnin, the proprietor of some gold works at about fifteen 
 
 versts from Q ; he was immensely rich, and had just 
 
 arrived from St. Petersburg, for the first time, to take the man- 
 agement of the estate and works into his own hands. Anfisa 
 Fomishna, the needy widow of a police-officer, had been 
 recommended to him as a first-rate manager, and she was 
 anxious to pick up a few hints from a person accustomed to 
 high life before entering on her new duties. Bed-time did 
 come at last, and Grousha was never so glad of the quiet of 
 her own room ; she wanted to think over seriously the events 
 of that day in her life, and to conjecture what would be the 
 upshot of them. 
 
 The next morning proved quite a mild one in comparison 
 with its predecessors, and Olympiada Modestovna prepared to 
 
A doption. 
 
 357 
 
 set off to her daughter's immediately after breakfast. Nicholai 
 Nicholai'evitch came for her, and his face at once told that his 
 darling was better. He was loud in his praise of Esper 
 Andrdevitch's exertions, and in wonderment at his astonishing 
 energy and health. " You know he was dancing till four yes- 
 terday morning ; and he was with us till nearly four to-day, 
 when he was sent for to Lougofifka. He asked for a cup of 
 strong coffee, and in a quarter of an hour's time was on his 
 road. He is a fine fellow, really, and the kindest of souls ! 
 You should have seen him consoling Phimoushka last night, 
 and doing everything for the child with his own hands, as ten- 
 derly as its mother — and much more cleverly, to tell the truth. 
 I declare I quite despised myself as a father, when I saw how 
 he soothed and relieved the poor little thing." 
 
 Grousha hstened with sparkling eyes and pink checks— she 
 looked almost pretty. 
 
 " If you can manage it, Maman," continued Nicholai 
 Nicholaievitch, " I really should be grateful for your company 
 at our house to-day. You see, I invited Vesnin and one or 
 two others to dine ; and, of course, Phimoushka is rather 
 fatigued and flurried, and I do not want to put them off, so if 
 you " 
 
 " Certainly, certainly ! I said last night that I would come ; 
 but, mon cher, I will not stop to dinner, please, you can do 
 without me then. I must have my nap to-day, for I was 
 cheated out of it yesterday." 
 
 " Well, I won't insist. But we must have Agrafena to dine !" 
 said he, with a glance, that Grousha did not observe, at Olym- 
 piada Modestovna. " She will like to see her godson all right 
 again ; and Phimoushka particularly requests it." 
 
 "Very well; she shall go when I return home," observed 
 
358 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 Olympiada Modestovna, rising from the breakfast-table, and 
 locking the tea-caddy. Grousha was thinking how long the 
 doctor would be at Lougoffka, and what would happen when 
 he came back, and she quite started when her mother threw 
 the keys into her lap, and began to give her some directions 
 about the dress and appendages that she wished her to wear 
 at the dinner. During Olympiada Modestovna's absence, she 
 employed herself in bringing the little household to rights after 
 tlie dissipation of the previous evening, and had dressed her- 
 self even to her mother's complete satisfaction when she 
 arrived, and, after a minute inspection, wrapped Grousha up 
 in extra warm clothing, and dispatched her with God's 
 blessing. 
 
 Scarcely had she reached her sister's door, when at that of 
 her own home stood Pankreffsky. He had come to speak to 
 her mother. After a sleepless night (unless a doze on the 
 road to Lougoffka may be called sleep), and a very anxious, 
 busy, but successful visit of five hours to his patient, he had 
 dashed home, drunk hastily a cup of coffee, and having got 
 himself up to the best advantage, he set forth, not without a 
 trifling agitation in his heart of hearts, to ask for his wife. Of 
 course, he did it so suddenly and so straightforwardly as to 
 take Olympiada Modestovna very much by surprise ; and she 
 told him so, adding that she must have time to think — that she 
 ought to write to her sons — (one was somewhere between 
 Cronstadt and Japan, by-the-bye) — that she really didn't know 
 —that she was quite in a flutter. But he was not the man to be 
 put down by Madame Mordvinoff's freeziness or nervousness, 
 and pinned her to her place until he had exacted something 
 like a definite answer — a promise to let him know whether it 
 was to be yes or no in a week's time ; it was given on the 
 
Adoption. 
 
 359 
 
 condition that he should not by word or hint communicate on 
 the subject with Grousha during that period. 
 
 Simply and honestly he gave his word, secure in his own 
 mind that she was his already. 
 
 " And whatever may be the result, Esper Andreevitch, re- 
 member that she has no dowry. We are very poor people, 
 doctor ; there is nothing for you to regret." 
 
 He was too much taken up with the subject he had at heart 
 and in hand to notice this uncomplimentary observation. " T 
 only want her" he answered, in a rather thick voice. 
 
 " Ah ! you think so now !" said Olympiada Modestovna in a 
 pathetic voice ; " but it will be another history when you have 
 half-a-dozen children to provide for and educate. Oh, that 
 education !" 
 
 " We must begin modestly of course ; but I do not think she 
 need feel — straitened — in my house. I cannot consider my- 
 self poor, Olympiada Modestovna, as long as I have health and 
 such a Government appointment as mine, although my salary i.f 
 small. I would not allow myself to think of it — that is, I would 
 not speak to you, did I not know I was acting honestly by her. ' 
 
 Olympiada Modestovna was sure of it. She could not 
 help feeling herself carried away by his warmth, and began to 
 experience a very strong partiality towards him. But to see 
 Grousha, — for whom she had formed such hopes, — the bride ot 
 a provincial medical man, when there was an unmarried gold- 
 washer in the same town with her — no, she made up her mind 
 to be callous. 
 
 " Let me hope, Olympiada Modestovna," he continued, after 
 a long, horrible pause ; " say one encouraging word ! I will try 
 to be a very kind son-in-law to you !" he went on, as she still 
 made no answer. 
 
360 Adoption. 
 
 " I do not doubt the sincerity and excellence of your inten- 
 tions, Esper Andre'evitch. God forbid !" she said at last. 
 
 She allowed him, however, to kiss her hand, when taking a 
 a very low-spirited leave. 
 
 " It is but a chance," she thought, as she heard the outer 
 door creak after him ; " but as long as Vesnin is here, and 
 does not become attentive to anybody else, I shan't give that 
 lad any decided answer." 
 
 After which resolution she made a very-good dinner, took a 
 comfortable nap, and would have slept still longer had she not 
 been awakened by Seraphima's chattering and noisy laugh. 
 
 " You here ?" murmured the sleeper, with an emphasis of 
 surprise on the pronoun. 
 
 " Yes ! here I am, for I could not rest until I had told you all 
 about it." 
 
 " But how is Borinka? All about what?" 
 
 " Oh, he is all right, thank God ! no return of the barking : 
 Esper Andreevitch is the most excellent physician and delight- 
 ful man in the world ! but that is not what I am thinking of 
 just now," she said, smiling, and screwing up her eyes in order 
 to express rapture. The fickleness of my heart is notorious, 
 you know, and it is occupied at present by another object." 
 
 " Oblige me " began Grousha, who was evidently bored 
 
 thoroughly already. 
 
 " No, no, no, my soul !" rattled on the sister ; " let me have 
 it out, and I shall feel easier in my mind. He is sitting with 
 my husband now — the doushka !" 
 
 " You are speaking of Mr. Vesnin, I suppose ? Well ! and 
 how do you like him?" 
 
 " Oh !" exclaimed Seraphima, " he is the most delightful man 1 
 One can see directly that he belongs to good society ! His hair 
 
Adoplion. 361 
 
 — oh ! and his coat, Mamasha ! I never saw such cloth in my 
 Ufa ! It is exactly like beautiful thick black satin ! and so are 
 his hands." 
 
 "Like black satin ?" murmured Grousha archly. 
 
 " You ! — hold your tongue ! Like white satin, or pink, or 
 whatever else it is ; — and such a diamond ring !" 
 
 " On which finger was it, now ?" asked Grousha mischievously. 
 
 " Not on his thumb, you teaze ! Oh, and his teeth, Mama- 
 shitchka! they are exquisite !" 
 
 " For pity's sake do not enlarge upon that subject before me, 
 Phima, for it reminds me of a day of the most poignant anguish 
 of mind and body that I ever lived through," said Grousha. 
 
 " Anguish?" 
 
 " Yes. Godmamma sent me one fine day with Lukeria Gri- 
 gorievna to Wallenstein's — the dentist, you know, on the Nev- 
 sky Prospect — to have a tooth stopped in some new invented 
 patent way ; and, while we were waiting our turn, I passed the 
 time in examining the glass cases that were in the ante-chamber ; 
 they were filled with pink gums, or jaw-bones of beautiful 
 teeth. Exactly like Mr. Vesnin's. I cannot look at him without 
 thinking of them and my subsequent agonies." 
 
 " You absurd girl ! " said Madame Mordvinoff, smiling in 
 spite of herself 
 
 "Well!" cried Seraphima, vexed; "is that not proof clear 
 that his teeth are beautiful, if they remind you of models ? Is 
 it not, Mamasha?" 
 
 " I did not say that they were not beautiful," said Grousha ; 
 " they are too beautiful — models, as you say." And she laughed 
 till her mother and sister could do nothing but shake their 
 lieads, shrug their shoulders, and at last join in her merriment, 
 without distinctly comprehending its cause. 
 
362 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 " He must have sat for a model to Walienstein," she con- 
 trived to say. 
 
 '■'■Enfant!''' murmured Olympiada Modestovna indulgently. 
 "Seriously, Mamasha," Seraphima went on, "he is very 
 commeil faut." 
 
 " I quite believe you, my dear," answered her mother quietly ; 
 "and how long does he intend to remain here?" 
 
 " Till after Twelfth Night. But he will often come here for 
 a day or two from his estate ; he says it is dreadfully dull 
 there." Grousha had left the room, wiping her eyes of her 
 laughter-tears. "And you can't think how taken up he was 
 with that she-fool," — meaning her sister — " and she scarcely 
 deigning to answer him ! He was glad to meet somebody ac- 
 customed to St. Petersburg life, naturally. Because that is his 
 sphere, you know — the opera, and masquerades, and pdits 
 soiipers, and all that " 
 
 " Yes," replied Olympiada Modestovna, feeling that such were 
 hardly the subjects that Grousha could be expected to be up in. 
 
 " I dare say he will make you a visit to-morrow, because he 
 said that he was not acquainted with all the members of our 
 society, and that he must make haste to do so, because he in- 
 tends inviting a party to his estate. Mamasha ! if he invites 
 us, you'll be so very kind as to remain with Borisa, won't you ? 
 And we can take Agrafena with us." 
 
 " Very well, my dear." Olympiada Modestovna was com- 
 pletely occupied with the idea of Vesnin's being taken up with 
 Grousha, and she determined to keep Pankreffsky's offer a 
 secret at present, even from Seraphima, who, put into a very 
 good humour by her mother's ready assent to her request, began 
 to chatter about the alterations and additions to her toilet that 
 the party in view would render necessary, and went home in 
 
Adoption. 363 
 
 high, good spirits, notwithstanding Grousha's farewell freak of 
 exposing her own white teeth in a ridiculous grimace. The 
 evening was passed very sleepily indeed, and both the Mord- 
 vinoffs went to bed early. The mother retired principally to 
 reflect on the best course to take in the present dilemma — for 
 she considered herself to be in one. An honourable offer of 
 marriage from a poor physician, and the chance, the most dis- 
 tantly possible chance, of the same from an almost millionaire ! 
 The circumstances that were favourable to her secret wishes 
 were — first, the fact of Vesnin's confessing it to be awfully dull 
 alone at the estate ; second, his having been glad to meet 
 somebody belonging to his' own class from St. Petersburg ; 
 thirdly, his being taken up with that she-fool ; fourthly, that 
 Grousha knew nothing of the doctor's proposal. 
 
 Olympiada Modestovna closed her eyes with the determina- 
 tion to manage the affair in her own way. 
 
 The next day, Michael Emilianovitch Vesnin appeared to 
 pay his respects to the Mordvinoffs, and introduced himself in 
 the French language. He was gentlemanly, but not handsome, 
 pallid, with very light grey eyes, and fair brown hair that 
 waved in abundance ; but the blackness of his moustache and 
 imperial formed a suspicious contrast with his very blonde 
 lashes and brows. His costume and teeth were really faultless ; 
 and Olympiada Modestovna could not help remarking them. 
 He was so extremely polite, he knew so many grand people, 
 and he paid so many compliments, direct and indirect, to his 
 hostess as well as to her daughter, that the former entirely lost 
 her heart to him. 
 
 With all his drawing-roomnesses, as the Russians say, he 
 was by no means an unpractical or stupid man, and had a 
 very kind heart, and the best of intentions ; but he was 
 
364 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 decidedly selfish, and frightfully spoilt, — spoilt by foolishly 
 indulgent parents till seventeen years old, and till of age by a 
 guardian, who feared to offend him, lest he should revenge 
 himself on attaining his majority (an idle and causeless fear, 
 for the youth was of a peaceable disposition), and finally, when 
 he came into his property, by society, by wily, grasping, 
 or needy people, who flattered and courted him for their 
 own ends. He had one very strong weakness— one of the 
 most common of all that attack mortals moving in a certain 
 sphere — an adoration of high-sounding names, ranks, and 
 titles. 
 
 A remark, unwittingly made by Nicholai Nicholaievitch, 
 attracted his attention to Grousha far more strongly than any 
 graces of mind or person had power to do. Speaking of the 
 comparative advantages of life in the capitals or provinces, 
 and of the dulness and flatness of society in the latter, 
 generally speaking, he said, "For instance, my sister-in-law. 
 How do you think she, a girl of eighteen or nineteen, finds 
 it? She, who was brought up in the house of the Baroness 
 Schenkendorf ! You know that family?" 
 
 " Had heard it mentioned ; was not personally acquainted." 
 
 " Not extraordinary, since the old lady was almost exclusively 
 surrounded by her old friends, and did not seek new acquaint- 
 ances. Yes, the Baroness was Agrafena Nestorovna's god- 
 mother, and all but adopted her, accustomed her to her own 
 style of living, and died ! Died ; and of course her mother 
 took her home (and they two almost strangers to each other !) 
 to this poky hole ! " 
 
 Affretix V said Michael Emilianovitch. 
 
 He sat nearly an hour with the Mordvinoffs, wondering 
 what subject would interest that silent girl, when the casual 
 
Adoption. 
 
 365 
 
 mention of Feodor Kyrilovitch caused him to brighten con- 
 siderably. " Fe'dinka," as Grousha always called him, was 
 evidently tenderly brought to mind ; he knew him. 
 " Goloubintsoff ? " he asked. 
 
 "The same. Sous-lieutenant in the Cavalier Guards. Do 
 you know him ? " 
 
 " Intimately ; that is, I did know him before I went abroad ; 
 he was member of the club to which I belonged." 
 
 " He is my late godmother's great-grandson, and all the 
 same as brother to me. I am glad you know him. He is 
 on the point of being married to one of the Morozoffs." 
 
 "H'm. The Morozoffs of Moscow?" 
 
 " No. Prince Morozoffs daughter, maid of honour to Elena 
 Pavlovna." 
 
 Here was a rich discovery! Had Grousha known his 
 vulnerable point, she could not have attacked him more 
 expertly ; and they continued talking in the same style for 
 some time longer. 
 
 On the same day there was to be a public ball, and 
 Grousha, though not fond of dancing, and quite sufficiently 
 
 blasee to be indifferent to the gaieties of Q ; was looking 
 
 forward to it with a mixture of timidity and delight, in antici- 
 pation of an inevitable meeting with Esper Andre'evitch. He, 
 poor fellow, in blissful ignorance of any rival, open or secret, 
 had heroically determined to avoid all meetings with his 
 beloved until the question was settled ; but how to get off 
 from his at first self-imposed, but now imperative, duty of 
 being master of the ceremonies, at similar assemblies, picnics, 
 &c. was the question. His patient at Lougoffka came to his 
 reUef, and he found it indispensable to go there and see how 
 she was getting on, and convenient to do so that same 
 
366 Adoption. 
 
 evening ; so he prepared everything in the morning, and then 
 prevailed on a young officer to take on himself the duties of 
 
 the evening. Just at the time that the ladies of Q were 
 
 beginning to dress for the ball, his horse and sledge were 
 brought to the door, and he gave slight vent to his feelings in 
 the physical enjoyment of the rapid motion, and the reining 
 in of his spirited horse. For a man in love, he spent the 
 evening very passably ; his host was a clever and intelligent 
 man, and full of cordiality and gratitude to the doctor for 
 saving his wife's life. He possessed a son too, the object of 
 his ardent wishes ; and happiness generally makes, or ought 
 to make, people particularly pleasant. The patient, too, was 
 well, and beaming with joy over her infant, and the lady 
 doctor was in such glorious spirits that Pankrefifsky forgot 
 himself ; and if Grousha's graceful figure, and the beaming 
 eyes that met his on the frost-biting night, would very often 
 recur to his imagination, it was without impatience, or chafing 
 at delay. 
 
 She, in the meantime, was dancing very languidly with the 
 
 Q cavaliers, and particularly so with Michael Emilianovitch, 
 
 who exhausted his grand-monde eloquence in sma:ll talk to no 
 purpose. "Fedinka" was the only subject that seemed to 
 awaken her ; but she looked so superior to the other girls in 
 the room, the very turn of her head and tone of her voice 
 betokening the secret of her breeding, that, knowing that 
 secret (as everybody else did), he felt himself irresistibly 
 attracted to her, and said so much in hints during various 
 short conversations with Olympiada Modestovna and Sera- 
 phima, that the former determined to proceed a step or two in 
 the business she had on hand without delay. And first, she 
 began her diplomacy by " the rule of contrary," which is 
 
Adoption. 367 
 
 supposed to be very effectual in bringing young ladies round 
 to their mammas' opinions. 
 
 Michael Emilianovitch helped them to dress and muffle like 
 a true ladies' man, and insisted on conducting Olympiada 
 Modestovna to her sledge, which she strenuously opposed, but 
 of course submitted to. Grousha, to his great disappointment, 
 ran round, and scrambled in at the other side ; but he Avould 
 not let them go till he had tucked them well in all round. 
 Olympiada Modestovna prophesied cold, cough, rheumatism, 
 and other effects of the frost, all of which he laughingly 
 consented to endure for the ladies' sake. 
 
 " There's a bore for you ! " exclaimed she, as soon as the 
 sledge had got out of the yard. " I trust every tooth in his 
 head will ache for his pains ! That is, if they are real ! " 
 
 " Mamasha ! " 
 
 " They are too beautiful to be his owti, my dear ; that's my 
 opinion," she returned, laughing. " And sticking to us all the 
 evening ! What will the Horizontoffs think ? " 
 
 Grousha did not care what the Horizontoffs would think, 
 although she could not endure that family ; but it was not in 
 her nature to be able to hear a creature falsely blamed without 
 taking his part. She defended Vesnin with great warmth, 
 proving that the mutual acquaintance with Fedinka was the 
 sole reason for his particular attentions, "because, of course, 
 the poor man must be horribly dull here after his travels and 
 his St. Petersburg life." 
 
 la bofme heure !" thought Olympiada Modestovna. 
 
 Another morning visit, and a meeting at Phimoushka's house, 
 where there was a card party, and where everybody played 
 except Vesnin and Grousha, who were thus left entirely to 
 each other's mercy for amusement and conversation, settled 
 
368 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 the matter in Olympiada Modestovna's mind, and she deemed 
 it prudent to get rid of the doctor at once ; two days only 
 remained to the end of the week, and an answer must be 
 given. Of course Nicholai Nicholaievitch and his wife were in 
 the conspiracy : the tiling was to get Grousha herself to refuse 
 Esper Andreevitch. A very slight circumstance helped them 
 materially in their heartless ends. They met the doctor at the 
 shops, where Grousha and her mother were buying a toy for 
 little Borinka. The merest common-places passed ; but while 
 Olympiada Modestovna was paying the bill, and Grousha 
 examining some other toys on a shelf, he came up to her, and 
 with his eyes full of fun, asked after her frost-bites. She 
 answered that they were quite well ; but where had he been all 
 this time ? 
 
 " Very busy with my patients." 
 
 " I thought I was. to be a patient, too," she said, smiling, 
 but with slight reproof in the tone. 
 
 The light that shone in his eyes at hearing these words was 
 extinguished the next instant by Olympiada Modestovna's 
 summoning her daughter home ; and there was something in 
 the tone of her voice that awed Grousha. 
 
 " How dare you go and flirt in the very shops ? " she said 
 to her daughter, as soon as they had seated themselves in 
 Seraphima's sledge, which was conveying them to her house. 
 " The shopman was looking at you all the time, and the 
 boys giggled ! Esper Andreevitch, of course, is an excellent 
 physician, but I must say, he forgets himself; and any one, to 
 look at you, would say that you were over head and ears in 
 love with him ! " 
 
 " Mamasha ! " 
 
 " He's only making a fool of you, my dear— a pastime, while 
 
Adoption. 
 
 369 
 
 a rich bride is turning up. Trust to my experience ; poor 
 men are never to be depended on — seldom, that is. And I 
 shall put a stop to it at once, Grousha, for I do believe that you 
 like him ; and I am not going to stand by and see my child's 
 happiness and peace destroyed, and herself made a laughing- 
 stock of ! " 
 " Mamasha ! " 
 
 " I have long observed your goings on, Grousha ; but 
 to-day's behaviour has convinced me, so it is no use to 
 deny it." 
 
 " Deny what ?" 
 
 " That you are attached to that pitiful doctor, who has not 
 even been to see you since your absurd misfortune that night, 
 as any other medical man would." 
 
 "/ in love?" The laugh that attended these words was 
 sadder than the most mournful groan. "You are mistaken, 
 Mamasha," she added, her woman's pride coming to the 
 rescue. 
 
 " And you promise to give up this flirtation ? " 
 
 " FHrtation ? Mamasha, you are quite, quite mistaken ! " 
 
 " My dear, I know more of the world than you do, and 
 Esper Andrdevitch is by no means the person I should wish 
 for a son-in-law" (here she did tell the truth); " besides, it is 
 not for you to seek him, my dear." 
 
 The words had been as good as said : " I in love ? you are 
 mistaken," i.e. " I do not love him ; I do not like him." A 
 refusal — flat. 
 
 On their arrival at Phima's, the poor girl could hold out no 
 longer ; and rushing to her sister's bed-room, she buried her 
 face in the pillows, and cried bitterly. Olympiada Modestovna 
 said that she had been giving her a little scolding, and it was 
 B u 
 
370 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 laid to that account. To be accused of flirting ! of seeking the 
 doctor ! but no, she had told the truth ! she was not in love ; 
 she would never confess to that. She liked him very much, 
 very very much ; oh ! could that be being in love ? Stuff and 
 nonsense ! she merely respected him above all others, because 
 he was such a very clever doctor, and such an intelligent man, 
 and such a pleasant companion. Thus did she reason with 
 herself Being in love, in her opinion, was " to go on," as 
 Fddia did, to talk of nothing but the object, to despise food 
 in general, to fret and groan because the clock would tell the 
 truth and show eleven o'clock instead of one, to use strong 
 language on the subject, and altogether to be ridiculous and 
 pitiful. But could it be that he was not in earnest? True, he 
 had never said a word to her on that forbidden subject to all 
 but solemnly betrothed bridegroom and bride ; but those tell- 
 tale eyes, and the indescribable manner of satisfaction and 
 happiness that came over him whenever he approached her — 
 her only— and sat down by her side with his preparatory 
 smile? She was not going to break her heart, of course 
 . . . but still .... Better not think of it any more— if 
 possible. 
 
 It was not possible. She was farther " gone " than she 
 suspected. She despised herself as a weak-minded, self-loving 
 girl, who had allowed herself to be led away by her imagina- 
 tion. But she was faithful to the death to her ideal. " He 
 never meant to deceive me, I am sure ; he is just as 'good and 
 noble as ever. He is none the worse man for not loving me ; it 
 was my mistake ; it is all my fault." She felt a sort of consola- 
 tion and mournful pleasure in laying all the blame to herself. 
 Not a word more passed between her and her mother on the 
 subject; and Seraphima had the good sense not to question 
 
Adoption. 
 
 37^ 
 
 her on the subject of the scolding, which she took so much 
 to heart. 
 
 In a week's time the poor girl had become so thin and pale 
 that Olympiada Modestovna almost repented of writing the 
 letter that had been now in the doctor's hands five or six days. 
 It was very polite, thanking him for the honour he had done 
 her daughter; but as the latter professed herself perfectly 
 indifferent to him, she could not urge the matter, as in such 
 cases she considered the mutual feelings of the parties con- 
 cerned of the first and greatest importance. She begged, 
 however, that this little episode might not alter the friendly 
 feeling on Esper Andreevitch's part, with which she had the 
 honour, &c. &c. 
 
 The doctor was aware of the attentions that Grousha was 
 receiving daily from Vesnin, and he considered himself jilted. 
 It was hard to acknowledge, but he always preferred staring 
 truth in its very face to self-deception. He also preached 
 lectures to himself on his own folly in fancying she liked him, 
 and called himself all manner of names ; cursed wealth, and, 
 rather pardonably, wished all rich men at Jericho. Finally 
 he sat down resolutely to translate Dr. Thomson's " Domestic 
 Management of the Sick-room" — for he knew the English 
 language to perfection, — by way of distracting his thoughts 
 from the too engrossing subjects of regret and vainly banished 
 tenderness. 
 
 Thus heartlessly separated, the young lovers met with a stifT- 
 ness and coldness that was unbearable to both, and they each 
 avoided such meetings as much as possible. In the meantime, 
 Michael Emilianovitch had passed from the polite to the 
 attentive, and from the attentive to the devoted stage, and 
 at last, through Nicholai' Nicholai'evitch, a formal proposal 
 
 B B 2 
 
372 Adoption. 
 
 was made. Olympiada Modestovna kept up her dignity as 
 long as prudence permitted it, and Grousha was ungracious 
 enough to say that it was all the same to her, so long as 
 Mamasha was contented ; and, face to face with that tender 
 parent, told her that she only married Michael Emilianovitch 
 
 to get rid of the Q cavaliers. She was in the last state 
 
 of misery, and the despair that renders people insolent or 
 caustic. She liked Vesnin, respected him, and hoped to be 
 happy some of these days with him, but anything like affection 
 she at present did not entertain for him. 
 
 Never was bridegroom more devoted than Michael Emihano- 
 vitch, notwithstanding Grousha's indifference. He attributed 
 this to her aristocratic breeding, and comforted himself withal ; 
 and remembered the words of an old nobleman, who had had 
 great experience in his life in that way — that the cold bride 
 always makes the most loving wife. His attentions to Olym- 
 piada Modestovna were the source of the greatest satisfaction 
 that Grousha enjoyed, and she comforted herself with the 
 thought that she was fulfilling to the utmost of a daughter's 
 duty in submitting to her wishes. 
 
 Twinges of conscience did attack Olympiada Modestovna, 
 sharply sometimes, when she observed, with that sensation 
 popularly called " a turn," the pale serious face, and the 
 lustreless eyes, and spiritless movements of her once cheerful 
 and animated, though never very high-spirited Grousha, and 
 compared her listless greetings of the adoring Michael, with 
 the brightening glance and rising colour that the doctor's 
 comings called forth. But the deed was begun, and must 
 be accomplished. 
 
 They had a very grand wedding. Michael Emilianovitch — 
 who, though not by any means parsimonious, always thought 
 
Adoption. 
 
 373 
 
 twice before spending his money— spared neither expense, 
 trouble, nor invention, in doing honour to his bride. Her 
 trousseau was magnificent, to say nothing of costly jewels and 
 massive plate, all of which were the gifts of the bridegroom. 
 He sent for workmen and materials from Kazan, to repair and 
 beautify his house at Agafino, as his estate was called, after his 
 late mother. Though not very large, it was commodious ; and 
 when the workmen left it, it was a model of elegance and 
 comfort. Not a thing was forgotten that could tend to the 
 pleasure, and gratify the fancies or taste, of his precious 
 treasure ; and she fully appreciated his kindness, though unable 
 to express her feelings as warmly as she wished, and as she 
 knew she ought. A few days after her marriage, however, the 
 ice was broken. She felt sorry for Michael, and feared she 
 had not done her duty by him — had forgotten him entirely in 
 her own misery; and suddenly it occurred to her to make 
 a clean breast of it, and ask his forgiveness for her wayward- 
 ness and coldness hitherto. He heard her with the utmost 
 patience and goodness, soothing her and comforting her as he 
 wiped the blessed peace-giving tears away, and giving her such 
 advice as she had never heard before. He appeared to 
 her quite in a new light, and so did she to him ; and from that 
 evening of mutual confidence, Grousha was indeed changed 
 " from the cold bride to the loving wife." 
 
 If the tenderest affection, mixed with a fair proportion of 
 jealousy, and the most devoted attention, mingled with a large 
 share of selfishness, could make a woman happy, Grousha had 
 every reason to be so. Not a wish that money could indulge 
 was denied ; and whatever Michael Emilianovitch might be 
 in private, he was always a model husband in public. 
 Hut greater happiness was in store for her. Oh ! with what 
 
374 Adoption. 
 
 transports of joy did she welcome her little son ! For the first 
 time in her life she began to say her prayers with fervour every 
 time she prayed — for the first time in her life she was filled 
 with complete happiness that had not one but in it. Michael 
 Emilianovitch, too, was enchanted, and became devoted to 
 tiresomeness. He applied himself to business with redoubled 
 ardour, now that he had an heir to leave it all to, and his gold- 
 washings became the talk of the surrounding engineers, and 
 the sight of the neighbourhood. 
 
 This first baby was named Dmitry : but alas ! he lived only 
 long enough to know his young mother; and, to add to 
 Grousha's sorrow, he died in her absence. She had been 
 summoned suddenly to her mother, who was alarmingly ill, and, 
 as it was mid-winter, it was impossible to take the baby. 
 Olympiada Modestovna was possessed with a conviction that 
 she was dying, and repeatedly asked forgiveness of her daughter 
 with an earnestness and distressfulness that made a great 
 impression on Grousha. A messenger used to come twice a 
 day from Agafino to keep her informed of the child's health, 
 and Michael Emilianovitch wrote droll bulletins as commence- 
 ments to the love-letters that the messenger always brought 
 from him. The morning's intelligence of that fatal 2nd of 
 December was worded, " that Dmitry Michaelovitch was quite 
 well, was dressed in his buff shirt with black spots, and was 
 pleased to laugh ' with his voice,' — i.e. aloud." But in the 
 afternoon, at three o'clock, another bulletin arrived — the infant 
 had a violent fit of screaming, the cause for which no one in 
 the house could divine, and therefore Vesnin sent for his wife 
 and the doctor. Olympiada Modestovna had become rather 
 better, and Grousha hastened to her darling, whom she had 
 not seen for three days. She leaped out of her tarantas before 
 
Adoption. 375 
 
 her man-servant had time to assist her, and was met at the 
 door by Esper Andr^evitch, who had arrived a few minutes 
 earlier, and whose grave face prepared her to hear bad news. 
 " Doctor ! you can save him !" 
 
 He led her into the entrance, and undressed her gently ; 
 while Michael Emilianovitch's unrepressed sobs were heard 
 from the zala, and told her what Pankreffsky could not find 
 words to do. 
 
 " My poor Agrafena ! you have come too late !" said Michael 
 Emilianovitch, meeting her at the door of the zala ; " Mitinka 
 is gone !" 
 
 He led her tenderly to the table in the corner, where, like 
 a beautiful figure in wax, lay the little darling : unaltered 
 by pain or long illness, fast asleep one would think, only 
 very pale. 
 
 The Russian salute was duly performed by the bereaved 
 mother before she looked at Dmitry's face. " My first joy ! " 
 she whispered, as she flung back the sheet, and covered 
 his cold brow and hands with kisses. Her husband strove 
 to entice her away, but she resisted all his efforts, and continued 
 gazing, gazing, submitting to none of his propositions but 
 that of a chair. And there she sat all night, deaf to the 
 entreaties of husband, doctor, and housekeeper, and of all the 
 female servants, who implored her not to let fall any tears 
 on the little corpse. No fear of that, for no tears had come 
 yet. Nature gave way at about six in the morning, and she fell 
 asleep with her head on the table by Mitinka's side. In the 
 meantime, the full laying out had been accomplished, and the 
 
 candlesticks and cross brought from Q Church ; it was a 
 
 sight at once touching and awful, when Seraphima Nestorovna 
 and some ladies of Q arrived to condole and help, as the 
 
376 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 custom is : the little corpse laid out in the utmost elegance, 
 with his white satin pillow, trimmed with blonde and pale blue 
 flowers — his pall of blue brocade, with silver fringe, lace and 
 cross— his tiny hands crossed upon his breast, and his head 
 bare — the corner of the pall partly covering the head of his 
 sleeping mother, and concealing her face — one arm served her 
 as a pillow, the other, covered now by the upper pall, was 
 thrown across the child. Michael Emilianovitch, the picture 
 of sorrow and solicitude, paced up and down the room, 
 pausing now and then at his wife's side, and looking at her 
 with mingled anxiety and impatience. She awoke at about 
 twelve, refreshed in body, and recovered from the blow that 
 had stunned her faculties ; she wept abundantly, though gently, 
 and joined her husband and guests at dinner. 
 
 The next day they carried him in his little toy of a coffin to 
 
 Q , and the body of "the sinless babe Dmitry" was 
 
 consigned to the frozen earth, leaving behind it a blank, which 
 I suppose only a mother can fully understand or imagine. 
 
 Michael Emilianovitch was almost glad to hear, on leaving 
 the churchyard, and going to inquire after his mother-in-law, 
 that she was worse, as he hoped that anxiety and attendance 
 on the patient might act in a degree as distraction to his wife, 
 whom he promised to send in the morning. She had returned 
 home immediately after the funeral to receive her guests — the 
 Priests, Deacons, and Readers, who had buried her darling, and 
 some of her more intimate friends — who were invited to that 
 doleful meal, a funeral dinner. She appeared very calm, was 
 attentive and agreeable to all her guests, and very gentle and 
 kind to Michael Emihanovitch, who continued to weep at 
 intervals with unabated agony. He wandered from room 
 to room with his mournful story — here, Mitinka was born — 
 
Adoption. 377 
 
 here, he himself was sitting when they told him he had a son — 
 here, in this mirror, he used to look at himself, and laugh — 
 here — but the last remembrance was too much for him. 
 
 Dmitry's kormilitza,i a great tall stout countrywoman, was 
 loaded with gifts ere she left the Vesnins' house ; and both 
 husband and wife kissed her, and bowing low, thanked her for 
 her care and tenderness to her little nursling. The exact cause 
 of the screaming could never be determined, but the immediate 
 cause of death was doubtless exhaustion. Thus die in Russia 
 countless numbers of " sinless babes." 
 
 Michael Erailianovitch gave way so entirely to this his first 
 great grief, and became so low and spiritless, that Grousha 
 advised him to go to St. Petersburg for a change, but none of her 
 persuasions were of the slightest avail, until she had recourse 
 to a little white lie, and confessed that she wished to go ; that 
 Fe'dinka had often invited her to stay with him and his Inna, 
 and that she wanted to see their little girl, her god-daughter. 
 Olympiada Modestovna had completely recovered, and there 
 was nothing to prevent their going, except that the roads 
 were beginning to spoil ; nevertheless, they set out for their 
 long journey, and arrived in St. Petersburg just in time for 
 the great Russian festival of Easter, which fell very early 
 that year. 
 
 Grousha's first business was to visit the tomb of her god- 
 mother, and have a requiem performed over it, after which she 
 and her husband went to Feodor Kyrilovitch's house. The 
 young man happened to be at home, and his delight amounted 
 to absolute wildness when he saw his dear Agrafena " in the 
 flesh," as he said, before him. He knelt down before her and 
 kissed all her ten fingers, palms and wrists, then seized her by 
 
 1 Literally feeder — i.e. wet nurse. 
 
 1 
 
378 Adoption. 
 
 the waist and walked with her, while Michael Emilianovitch, 
 the model of propriety, was introducing himself to the late 
 maid of honour and to some half-dozen other persons, who 
 were evidently inhabitants of the house, and who all knew and 
 were glad to see Grousha again. Lukeria Grigorievna was 
 hunted out too, and brought to the affectionate embrace of her 
 former pupil. 
 
 " What a belief evime she has become!" exclaimed the old 
 lady ; " who would have thought it !" 
 
 Grousha thanked her for the compliment, and joined in the 
 hearty laugh of the rest. Lukeria Grigorievna was right — 
 Grousha had greatly improved in her personal appearance ; 
 she was one of those persons who, unhandsome in their early 
 youth, become comely matrons in their seconde jeunesse, and 
 although Grousha was only twenty-three, she had already 
 attained the look of charming gravity and importance that 
 belongs to the feiinne couverte only, and which sat particularly 
 well on her. 
 
 Michael Emilianovitch was delighted to find himself once 
 again in his old circle, after two years among moojiks and 
 
 draughtsmen (he forgot the Q society). Fddinka gave him 
 
 a warm welcome as a. relation, for such he always regarded 
 Grousha, and a hearty recognition as co-member of his club ; 
 they were soon deep in asking and answering questions about 
 mutual acquaintances, when Grousha interrupted them by 
 saying, — 
 
 "And my god-daughter, Feodor Kyrilovitch ? You must 
 show her to me !" 
 
 There was a painful pause, although it lasted but a few 
 seconds, and again Grousha heard those mournful words— 
 " You have come too late, Agrafena." 
 
Adoption. 379 
 
 " We lost her in the Great Fast," said Madame Goloubint- 
 soff gently. 
 
 " We also " began Grousha, but said no more. 
 
 " We did not know God had given you a child," said Fe'odor 
 Kyrilovitch, seating himself by her. " It is so long since you 
 wrote. My poor Agrafena ! and was it a little girl also ?" 
 
 " No, a son, Dmitry. He lived only four months, and he 
 died during Mamasha's serious illness. But of course you 
 know nothing about that yet ?" 
 
 " To your shame be it spoken, Agrafena ! No, I know- 
 nothing that may have befallen you since — let me see — May 
 or June last year !" 
 
 " I do feel ashamed of myself." 
 
 " A la bonne heure !" 
 
 " Your baby was a little one, though," said Inna Nikitishna, 
 " but ours was fourteen months old, and could talk and walk. 
 She was a lovely little darling. I will show you her bust. 
 Baron Klodt's first master took it for a monument that they 
 are doing for her. Where is the drawing, Fedia ?" 
 
 He told her where it lay, and she led Grousha into her own 
 little boudoir, where she showed her a design for the memorial 
 • tomb. It represented the baby girl rising, with outstretched 
 arms, from her knees, a wreath of flowers cast on the ground 
 beside her, and very small wings, as if but just appearing. 
 The uplifted face and joyful though surprised expression 
 seemed to indicate that the sculptor's idea was that of unseen 
 angels having come to fetch her. The casting was too death- 
 like to be agreeable, but it proved the loveliness of the lost 
 child's features, and the wonderful adaptation of them to the 
 design. 
 
 The two bereaved mothers — who in their girlhood had only 
 
38o 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 met at balls, and who were not, speaking in the language of 
 etiquette, acquainted, though each knew the other better, from 
 F^odor Kyrilovitch's frequent conversations, than many who 
 have exchanged a dozen or so of visits — found that there was 
 another bond between them besides Fedinka. Seated before 
 the comfortably glowing fire, Inna told Grousha how much she 
 loved and respected her, and had done so ever since she knew 
 Theodore ^— how happy she was with him, and how kind he 
 was to everybody. There was a simplicity amounting even to 
 childishness in the whole manner and conversation of the 
 pretty youthful Inna, and an evident yearning to be good and 
 useful, but an ignorance of how to set about it, that delighted, 
 amused, and yet distressed Grousha. They soon became very 
 intimate ; the subject of the babies — both lost and expected — 
 was ever interesting to each. They used to have private teas 
 in that snug boudoir, and Fe'dinka often joined them, while 
 Vesnin, who dashed into the whirl of St. Petersburg society with 
 an eagerness and zest that his long " fast," as he called it, had 
 undoubtedly induced, was enjoying himself in his own wa)- 
 among officers and chinovniks. 
 
 In May the Goloubintsoff"s removed to an estate near Moscow 
 for the summer, and Grousha persuaded her husband to let her 
 accompany them, and advised him to go in the meantime to 
 Belgium, to purchase some machines and engines that he had 
 long wished to introduce into his works, and which were really 
 requisite for their completion. A party was formed, much to 
 Grousha's distaste, of a horsey, gambling, and otherwise unde- 
 sirable-as-a-cornpanion cuirassier, and a curious specimen of 
 real talent in a shabby ever-tipsy artist, both of whom Michael 
 Emilianovitch had taken under his protection. He greatly 
 ' Feodor. 
 
A doption. 
 
 wished her to accompany them, but Inna begged her so hard 
 to stay with her during the summer, and had been so aiHng of 
 late, that she insisted on having her furlough, particularly as 
 she hoped that her husband would be sooner surfeited with 
 pleasure and excitement, and disgusted with his companions, if 
 left entirely to himself. 
 
 They had not been in the country more than a month, when 
 another little girl was born to Fedinka and Inna, and received 
 the name of its godmother Agrafena. The event was cele- 
 brated by great rejoicings and merry-makings, all of which, 
 being thoroughly to Grousha's taste, she would have greatly 
 enjoyed had Michael Emilianovitch been with lier ; her 
 greatest happiness and delight was to nurse and watch her 
 little godchild. 
 
 " Dear Agrafena Nestorovna !" Inna used to say when she 
 caught her in the nursery, " I am ashamed of being quite 
 happy until you have yours in your arms. I feel selfish in 
 showing my joy before yours comes." 
 
 It did come in time, but not, alas ! to gladden its mother. 
 It never saw the light ; and to its parents' intense sorrow, was 
 buried, nameless, unbaptized, and unsung. To add to 
 Grousha's distress, the awfully solemn prayer that is provided 
 for such melancholy occasions was read with a distinctness 
 and emphasis by the young Priest who was called in, that 
 seemed almost insulting, particularly as she was unprepared 
 for it, and supposed that the same would be used, with some 
 omission, that is read on the birth of a living child. The 
 paroxysm of agony that ensued, and the passionate appeal to 
 the Priest to confess her that very minute, made the lady 
 doctor so uneasy that she sent for a physician immediately. 
 Michael Emilianovitch, who had been several weeks at home 
 
382 Adoption. 
 
 in lodgings at St. Petersburg, was nearly distracted at seeing his 
 wife so excited, and they were obliged to drag him away from 
 her by force. The Priest shed tears, as he assured the poor 
 young woman that he had no alternative but to read the prayer 
 in question— that the other, used when the child was living, 
 could not possibly be read on this occasion, because it con- 
 tained repeated allusion to it by name even. With the utmost 
 gentleness and kindness, soothing her like a child, he received 
 her confession, and promised to come in half an hour's time 
 to see how she felt. He gave her his word as a citizen as well 
 as a Priest that he acquitted her of all blame, blessed her, 
 and, as the father of a baby family, permitted himself to ex- 
 press the hope that the ensuing new year — for it was Christmas 
 time — would bring her new joy in the possession of a living 
 child. 
 
 The Vesnins were all this time at St Petersburg, where 
 Michael Emilianovitch declared his " affairs " kept him. The 
 journey and visit to Belgium proved less ruinous and unsatis- 
 factory than Grousha expected, and the machines had been sent 
 to Agafino with a Belgian machinist to put them up and show 
 the Russians how to manage them. Grousha was beginning to 
 want to see her mother and sister, and Borinka with his little 
 brother, and to pine after Mitinka's grave. She was very 
 depressed, although she recovered her health very rapidly after 
 her last illness ; every child that she saw brought the full rush 
 of maternal love and regret to her heart, and she prayed night 
 and day that the blessing of Father Arseny might rest on her : 
 she even made a vow that if it should please God to give her a 
 living child, it would be her life's business to endeavour to be 
 a good mother to it, and to bring it up as " Christ's faithful 
 soldier and servant." This wish at last became a mania, and 
 
Adoption. 383 
 
 slie thought and did nothing but with reference to her longed- 
 for child. 
 
 They had returned to Agafino, and lived there for nearly 
 two years without anything remarkable taking place in their 
 family history, when one autumn afternoon, when the rain was 
 drizzling, as it only does in a Russian autumn, and people 
 could find in their hearts to do nothing more energetic than 
 read the newspaper or knit stockings, a little boy appeared to 
 enliven the family. He was a model of infantine vigour and 
 health, and was the image of his enraptured mother, whose joy 
 and fervent gratitude were nearly the cause of a serious feverish 
 attack. She would not let the baby be out of her sight, and 
 the only cure for hysterical symptoms was to lay the little 
 swaddled bundle by her side. When she was in a state to 
 bring her thoughts into order, and had recovered the shock, as 
 it were, of so great mercy and happiness, her husband, who 
 looked more on his sons as heirs to his wealth than as " chil- 
 dren" sent " from the Lord," asked if it were not time to send 
 for the Priest, and name the baby. As usual, the Calendar 
 was brought out, and Anfisa Fomishna, who still filled the 
 situation of economka in the Vesnins' house, and who was a 
 great connoisseur of all the saints and their respective merits, 
 and a first-rate reader of Sclavonic, which Michael Emiliano- 
 vitch declared was worse than Greek to him, read out the 
 names for the " Seditzma," or seven days, counting from' the 
 date of the child's birth. 
 
 " October month. Eighteenth day. /and /, that is. Very 
 good. Here we are ! The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke. 
 Luke Michaelovitch ?" she inquired of the listening parents. 
 
 " No, Matoushka, that won't do." 
 
 " The holy martyr Marinus, and Saint Julian, the dweller in 
 
384 Adoption. 
 
 the wilderness. Julian ! that's a good name, Agrafena Nes- 
 torovna." 
 
 " Yes, my dear ; but then our coachman is called Julian." 
 
 " Well, then, call him Yakovlitch, and the baby Julian." 
 
 " No ; he always smells of the stables, Anfisa Fomishna," 
 said Vesnin, laughing. 
 
 "No reason," decided the housekeeper; '■^ Phita, I, that is, 
 the nineteenth. Holy prophet Joel, and the holy martyr Varus, 
 with his seven companions in Egypt. Blessed Cleopatra — no, 
 that's a woman's name — and her son, John?" and she looked 
 up inquiringly — " Righteous John of Rilsk ; Sadoth, Bishop of 
 Persia, and his one thousand two hundred and eighty com- 
 panions in martyrdom." 
 
 " My dearest Anfisoushka ! you don't mean to say that all 
 their names are there?" cried Michael Emilianovitch, in 
 pretended alarm. 
 
 " What a set of names !" sighed Grousha. 
 
 " All the same, my soul. All angels are alike before the 
 Almighty, similarly the same as all men are alike before Him. 
 Don't sin. Well, there's Hilarion ; two Hilarions, the Great, 
 and the Bishop. (Laria, Laritchka. I knew a blind beggar, 
 named Laria, who always went bareheaded, and my dear 
 mother used to give him three kopeckas every Saturday ; 
 we children used to call him Larka.) H'm ! Gaius, and Zotic, 
 Bishop Averkius ; and the seven youths — the same seven 
 youths, you know, who went to sleep for three hundred and 
 seventy-two years, and then woke up again." 
 "Well, what of them?" 
 
 "The seven youths are called Maximilian, Tamblich, 
 Martinian, Dionysius, Antoninus, Constantine, and John." 
 " Maximilian ? Well, I choose him then. Louisa Carlovna 
 
A doption. 
 
 385 
 
 had the sweetest little fellow in the world named Max. I did 
 not know it existed in our Calendar." 
 
 "Oh ! what a name to choose ! Maxia,plaxia !"^ exclaimed 
 Anfisa Fomishna. 
 
 " I knew a fellow," said Michael Emilianovitch, " a captain 
 in the Hussars, who is called so, and the Duke^was his god- 
 father." (That decided him.) " It will do very well." 
 
 " Maxia !" said Grousha, addressing the unconscious infant, 
 who was " taking a walk," that is lying unswaddled, and stretch- 
 ing its little limbs and yawning in an uncouth, awkward manner; 
 " I hope you are not going to be a plaxiaP 
 
 " His name's-day will be on the festival of the most pure 
 Lady of Kazan," continued Anfisa Fomishna, clasping her 
 book. " A holiday, you know. Well, after all it is not so bad, 
 except that it hurts one's tongue and cracks one's teeth to 
 pronounce." 
 
 Grousha laughed, and kissed the child's toes, which she 
 declared were like pink sugar-plums all in a row. She allowed 
 herself all sorts of freaks and nonsense, in the plenitude of 
 her happiness, and Seraphima, who had four children by this 
 time, could only shrug her shoulders and marvel at it all. She 
 had never lost a child ! 
 
 Little Max only cried when he ought, only was ill when he 
 ought — by the Mede-and-Persian-like laws of the Russian nurse 
 — to be ill. He held up his head like a grenadier, and smiled 
 ■when ten days old,— a sure sign, said nurse, that he would soon 
 die. Small-minded and weak as it may seem, such prophecies 
 always made Grousha feel wretched. His ears being limp, and 
 his intelligence extremely early developed, were also deemed 
 
 1 Plaxia, cry-baby ; from the verb plakat, to weep, to cry. 
 Of Leuchtenberg, son-in-law of the late Emperor Nicholas. 
 C C 
 
386 
 
 A doption. 
 
 warnings of early dissolution. Nevertheless, he throve beauti- 
 fully, increasing in his baby wisdom as well as in stature, the 
 pet and darling of all who knew him. He " went " to everybody, 
 stranger or friend, though he recognised the latter always with 
 affectionate caresses, while he looked gravely and inquiringly 
 into the face of the former, and was never shy or frightened 
 of moojiks ; kissed the Popes, and crossed himself as a true 
 orthodox Russian should, when little more than a year old. 
 Need it be said that he was the light of his mother's eyes and 
 the darling of her heart — the pride and delight of his father? 
 
 Michael Emilianovitch, who was really a man of business, 
 and bent on doing his utmost to improve his estate and bene- 
 fit his workmen, had made many additions and alterations 
 that did credit to his judgment and to his benevolence. First, 
 he built a hospital, with houses for a medical man and an 
 apothecary ; then a school for boys and girls, and quarters for 
 the teachers, consisting of four nice rooms, and kitchen and 
 out-houses to each. Ever since he had taken up his abode at 
 Agafino, he had been at war with the Archbishop of the diocese 
 and the Protopope of the district, on account of difficulties 
 they made concerning the building of a church there ; and it 
 was not till he threatened to lay a complaint before the Holy 
 Synod, that he obtained a " blessing," i.e. permission to begin 
 the good work. The fact was, that the loss of that particular 
 part of his parish was not at all to the taste of the Protopope, 
 who contrived to lay difficulties before the Vladika.^ Besides 
 the buildings, there were also several additions in the way 
 of society : for instance, the doctor, a very good, clever man, 
 his wife and a daughter, who was a great musician ; the apothe- 
 cary, whose young wife, in delicate health, was detained at 
 1 Bishop. 
 
A doption. 
 
 387 
 
 St. Petersburg; the schoolmaster, and his mother and young 
 sisters, and the schoolmistress, who was a Priest's widow, and 
 her daughters, two very good-natured girls, who were great 
 favourites with little Max. With these good people, who 
 adored her for her kindness and readiness to assist and be 
 obhging whenever she had an opportunity, and with her husband 
 and darling boy, Grousha was perfectly happy. Yes, perfectly ; 
 because she was sensible enough to refrain from expecting 
 her belongings to be faultless, and was always ready to see 
 the bright side of things and of people. 
 
 The church walls were nearly half built when little Maxia's 
 fourth name's-day came round, and just about that time Michael 
 Emilianovitch received some letters, post after post, which 
 evidently made him anxious and unsettled ; and at last he took 
 Grousha into counsel, the result of their consultations being 
 that she packed him off to St. Petersburg, but only for one 
 month. The fact was, that his agent in the capital had just 
 died, when he was on the point of selling some old " Lom- 
 bardy " four per cent, bank billets, and buying new Government 
 ones at iive per cent. So much capital had been expended on 
 the buildings and machines, and such good incomes were being 
 paid to the new staff, that both the Vesnins considered it their 
 duty towards Max and towards their serfs to put their affairs 
 into the best state they could, and to seize the present oppor- 
 tunity ; and as there seemed to be no one of their acquaint- 
 ance at St. Petersburg who could undertake the exchange of 
 such a capital as Michael Emilianovitch's, it was decided that 
 he had better do it himself. They had been so peaceful and 
 happy since their return to Agafino from St. Petersburg, that 
 he did not at all like the idea of leaving home ; but to lose 
 time was to lose thousands, so he made up his mind to go. 
 c c 2 
 
388 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 The agent had left some of Vesnin's affairs in such a dis- 
 ordered state, that it took longer to bring them to rights than 
 Michael Emilianovitch anticipated. Christmas came again, 
 and he was still absent. Seraphima invited her sister and 
 nephew and the Agafino doctor's family to come and " meet " 
 the New Year at her house : and Max begged so hard to go 
 and play with his cousins, that Grousha consented, the weather 
 being particularly mild and lovely. There was to be a Christmas- 
 tree, with a gift for every guest, little or big, and other enter- 
 tainments, which, when the time came, were thoroughly en- 
 joyed. Max was very interesting, and very becomingly dressed 
 in a Russian suit ; very full black velvet charivari (knicker- 
 bockers), high boots with red tops, and a blue Persian shirt, 
 embroidered in the Eastern style ; he was a tall, stout, well- 
 built litde fellow, with blue eyes and very light hair, rather a 
 large mouth, and red cheeks — quite a Russian. 
 
 Grousha was as happy as any of the children at the begin- 
 ning of the evening, and was the prime mistress of the cere- 
 monies, but towards the end she became thoughtful and dull ; 
 one of the mammas had told her that a party of gymnasts 
 (several of whom were present) had, it was supposed, brought a 
 new disease, something between measles and scarlet-fever, from 
 
 the Government town, and that several children had it at Q 
 
 She resolved to return home the next day. 
 
 Max slept long and soundly, and did not open his eyes till 
 nearly noon, after the party. His breakfast of warm milk and 
 a rusk was brought to him, but there was a reluctance to par- 
 take of it that at once alarmed the ever-anxious mother ; and 
 when he came and laid his head against her, she found his 
 temple so hot, that she at once sent for Parpheny Ivanovitch, 
 the Agafino doctor, who had gone to pay a few visits. He 
 
Adoption. 
 
 389 
 
 quieted her fears, but bid her remain at Q for three days 
 
 longer in order to see the results of the feverish symptoms. 
 They continued, but did not increase ; and during the course 
 of the third day the eruption appeared, but although it was 
 " friendly " Max did not appear at all ill ; Seraphima's children, 
 four of whom caught the contagion, were much worse, and 
 much more exacting, cross, and unmanageable. All the symp- 
 toms of the strange new complaint developed themselves fully; 
 no sore throat, but the eruption of scarlatina, and the sneezing 
 and weak eyes of measles, with the fever of both. No medi- 
 cine whatever was given to them ; they were merely kept in 
 one room of moderate warmth, and supplied with new mead 
 to bring out the rash, and ii\ a week's time they were all well 
 again, though very fretful and discontented with their lot in 
 being kept in one room, which was still strictly prescribed by 
 their medical man. Grousha was quite worn out with watch- 
 ing and self-imposed sleepless nights (for which there was not 
 the slightest necessity), and Parpheny Ivanovitch begged her 
 to send for Olinka, the schoolmistress's elder daughter, to 
 assist her in amusing and attending on Max ; he was very 
 good on the whole, but troubled with the irritability of 
 convalescence, which even his mother could not entirely 
 soothe. 
 
 Olia arrived very quickly, and Max himself packed otf his 
 mother to go to sleep, while he related every particular of his 
 illness, of the party, and of Basil's caprices, which made a 
 great impression on him. " I never saw such a capricious boy 
 as that Basil in my life," said he. " I am sure he can't love 
 his mother a bit ! and how she does scold him ! My Mamasha 
 is much kinder." Grousha heard this from her sofa-bed in 
 the next room, and fell asleep as happy as ever. 
 
390 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 All the little patients were rapidly regaining their strength 
 and ordinary frames of mind, when a travelling milliner arrived 
 
 at Q with her merchandise. Seraphima was seized with 
 
 an imperative want of a new velvet mantle, and went to look 
 at the milliner's stock, but could not decide which to choose. 
 The Frenchwoman would not consent to her taking the 
 mantles home, and nothing remained but to persuade Grousha 
 to accompany her on a second visit. Confident in her son's 
 obedience, and in Olinka's vigilance, she consented ; and 
 Seraphima, besides leaving strict orders with the nurses and 
 maids not to let her children run out of their nursery, begged 
 Olinka to keep a sharp look-out on their movements, and in 
 case of rebellion to put the offender in the corner. Grousha 
 merely said, " Maxinka will not leave the room, I know," as 
 she kissed him at parting. 
 
 Seraphima was in raptures with a very successful bargaining, 
 and a splendid mantle, and talked incessantly on the road. 
 When they entered the house, they were astonished at hearing 
 the sounds of a grin ding-organ proceeding from the apart- 
 ments, and to Seraphima's horror her little three-year-old girl 
 ran to meet her in the lobby, and embraced her knees before 
 she had thrown her fur cloak off. The cold in those parts of 
 Russia is so intense that it is a great risk to enter the room 
 where children or sick and convalescent persons are, imme- 
 diately on return from a walk or drive ; because the dress 
 brings with it such a quantity of cold air, that it requires 
 several minutes to warm it, before approaching the very young 
 or weak. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that Seraphima was extremely 
 angry, and sent off the affectionate little pet with all haste to 
 her nursery, utterly at a loss to account for the organ. On 
 
Adoption. 391 
 
 entering the zala, however, she found all her children (except 
 the baby, who was asleep) wrapped in various shawls, com- 
 forters, and even quilts, standing in a group at the farther end, 
 and looking at the gymnastic performances of a wretched 
 little Jewish girl, who was contorting her limbs in various 
 exercises to the music of " The Alarm Galop." 
 
 " What is the meaning of this, nurse ? Avdotia ! Get 
 along with you, you naughty children ! And that Olia ? what 
 is she about ? " The children stole away quietly, all crying. 
 " How dare you disobey me ? Did I not desire you to keep 
 the children in the nursery?" 
 
 " They cried so," began the nurse. 
 
 " If they cried their eyes out, still you should have kept 
 them in the nursery. There are at most twelve degrees of 
 warmth here ; and they only just recovered ! And how dare 
 you admit those people in my absence ? " 
 
 " We thought that for five minutes it would do no harm." 
 
 "The Alarm Galop" suddenly ceased, and the dirty Hebrew 
 grinder began to play " The little Canary-bird is silent," with 
 a screeching accompaniment of the little Jewess' voice. 
 
 " Hold your unbaptized tongue this instant ! " shouted 
 Seraphima, ready to cry, "and be off with you !" The Jew 
 left go of the handle, but the instrument emitted such hideous 
 undefined sounds, that he was obliged to grind to the end of 
 the phrase, while his miserable companion put on a long 
 petticoat over the ballet-like garments she had been figuring 
 in, and with an involuntary tinkle of the triangle that she had 
 in her hand, performed an elaborate curtsey and left the room. 
 
 Grousha had cautiously approached the apartment where 
 she left Max, and now found him comforting and coaxing poor 
 Olia, who was in tears, and in great trouble. The poor girl 
 
1392 Adoption. 
 
 said she had done all she could to prevent the nurses and 
 children going to look at the acrobatic performance, advising 
 them to wait till Seraphima Nestorovna's return, but that all 
 her endeavours were in vain ; the servants were very rude, and 
 desired her not to interfere, so she returned to Max, who, 
 though he greatly wished to see the sight, heroically submitted 
 to her reminders of Mamasha's \vishes. 
 
 "I did not go out of the room, Marnasha !" he said re- 
 peatedly; "did I, OHtchka? indeed I did not ! I am a good 
 boy ! yes, Marnasha !" 
 
 " Yes, my soul. But do not get on my lap just yet, wait till 
 I am a little warmer. — Never mind, Olinka dear, I am sure 
 Seraphima Nestorovna will acquit you of all blame." 
 
 It was nearly February, and Grousha had already ordered a 
 troyka of horses to be sent from Agafino for her, when she 
 was again made anxious and uneasy, and felt she must put 
 off her return for a day or two longer. Little Saschinka, 
 Seraphima's three-year-old daughter, had become languid, 
 sleepy, more than usually irritable, but stotit, all at once ; and 
 other symptoms revealed themselves, which caused them to 
 send for Parpheny Ivanovitch (the old doctor scarcely left his 
 house, and Pankreffsky had been gone several years, and had 
 a fine appointment at Kieff, and a very charming wife), who 
 said she had caught cold, and prescribed for her. He told 
 Grousha, however, that the symptoms were dropsical, and that 
 they were sometimes the result of cold after scarlet-fever. 
 The disease had left the house full three weeks before, but he 
 urged Grousha to remain where she was, as a journey of fifteen 
 versts might be injurious to Max, and added that convalescents 
 from this new form of complaint were probably peculiarly 
 susceptible of cold, as several other children had dropsical 
 
Adoption. 393 
 
 symptoms also. Dreading their appearance in her precious 
 boy, Grousha scarcely left him for five minutes together ; and 
 he continued well for another week, when he began to com- 
 plain of his boots being tight, and his mother discovered that 
 he had begun to swell. Poor little Saschinka suffered dread- 
 fully, and would not let any one touch her ; two of the others 
 were ill, but less seriously, and the remaining three were well. 
 How, when, and where Max could possibly have got a chill 
 was as much a mystery as the illness of little Dmitry. Though 
 much disfigured, he appeared so cheerful, and declared him- 
 self feeling so well, that his mother did not feel particularly 
 unhappy about him, and the shock was more than ever 
 terrible, the wrench more than ever heart-breaking, when, a 
 week after the symptoms had appeared, and after a particularly 
 cheerful day and pleasant evening, he suddenly became very 
 ill of dropsy in the heart, and, before the morning dawned, 
 was " on the table." He was sensible and loving to the 
 moment of his death, his last act being one of obedience to 
 his agonized mother's wish — " Cross yourself, darling." 
 
 "It can't be," said Grousha. Although she had been 
 crossing him every time he sighed, with the words, " Lord I 
 receive his spirit." Although she saw that that pure spirit 
 had fled, she could not believe that it really was so. They 
 brought feathers and mirrors, and held them to the lips of the 
 pale fixed face, but the former remained motionless, the latter 
 bright. No, it was not a mistake, but still she could not 
 believe it. 
 
 She could not cry — could only make one prayer, " Forsake 
 me not, O Lord God of my salvation." During the succeeding 
 days of preparation she was the mover and manager of all, wrote 
 to her husband, and helped Seraphima to nurse the invalid 
 
394 Adoption. 
 
 children, but for ever and ever the one thought would remain 
 in her aching heart — " Max is dead ! " Two days after the 
 funeral, Michael Emilianovitch returned home, to find that 
 home childless. 
 
 It was summer again, and Grousha was walking up and down 
 the paths of her garden at Agafino, thinking how her little boy 
 used to vex her by twisting round on one heel on the newly 
 laid gravel, thereby making little holes in it, and asking herself 
 if she had always been right and just towards him, but feeling 
 thankful that she could acquit herself of blame — when Anfisa 
 Fomishna met her, in her gardening costume, and with very 
 mouldy hands, with the backs of which, as she came up to 
 Grousha, she endeavoured to smear away tears that were 
 flowing with increased rapidity. 
 
 " What on earth is the matter, Anfisa Fomishna? " 
 
 " Sh — sh — nothing. Only the apothecary's wife is in the 
 garden there," pointing to the end of their own, " with her 
 children. Come and look at them, sh — sh !" 
 
 Grousha followed quietly, and suffered herself to be led up a 
 great soft bank of flourishing pumpkins, all in flower, which 
 were sprawling over an immense space in the south, basking in 
 the bright sunshine. Then from a little chink in the fence the 
 housekeeper showed her a family picture that brought the first 
 refreshing sobs of "natural grief" that had relieved her poor 
 heart since her son's death. 
 
 A pale, thin, shabbily dressed, but very pretty young girl was 
 pacing slowly up and down an unplanted kitchen -garden, with 
 a Httle child half asleep in her arms, and singing Annchen von 
 Tharau, which Grousha had often heard her Geraian friend of 
 the twenty-fourth line lull her thriving babies to rest with. She 
 was still gazing at the evidendy consumptive mother, and the 
 
Adoption. 395 
 
 lovely cherub of a child, when a third figure appeared, shouting 
 noisily at a hen that he was chasing — and it was at the sight of 
 him, a little boy of four or five years old, and the words in 
 German addressed to him by his mother — " Max, Max, don't 
 wake your sister!" that made Grousha bend her head down 
 to the earth and cry hysterically. Anfisa Fomishna, in a great 
 fright, but glad that her plans had succeeded, and crying with 
 all her might, carried her oif like a child into the house, and 
 after letting her have her cry out, proposed to send for the 
 little boy. 
 
 " Oh do ! do ! dearest Anfisoushka ! " said Grousha, gulping 
 down the glass of iced water that Michael Emilianovitch had 
 been urging her to drink. 
 
 " You will be better now, my friend," he said, as he drew her 
 closer to him and kissed her burning cheek. 
 
 In ten minutes' time the housekeeper returned, leading in 
 the little neighbour, who, except in his name and age, had 
 nothing to remind the Vesnins of his sainted namesake. He 
 had his father's dark grey eyes, almost hazel, and brown hair, 
 and a sun-burnt, bright complexion. He was rather put out at 
 being cried over and kissed, in such a passionate manner, but 
 promised to love Grousha and to come very often to see her ; 
 was extremely communicative, and seemed to be extremely 
 conceited. He had various little tricks of the Russian " rising 
 generation " description, that convulsed the whole party with 
 laughter. Michael Emilianovitch was delighted with him, 
 promised to take him out driving and even shooting, and in- 
 troduced him to his horses and dogs. Anfisa Fomishna brought 
 forth treasures of another kind ; first a delicious breakfast of all 
 sorts of country good things, and afterwards sweets in abun- 
 dance. The child was evidently pleased with his reception. 
 
396 Adoption. 
 
 and when the housekeeper led him away on the expiration of 
 the stipulated half-hour, he declared that the clocks must be 
 wrong, and that Mamasha was very glad to get rid of him, 
 because he made such a desperate row at home. 
 
 Anfisa Fomishna popped her head into the room on coming 
 home, and announced that Amalia Carlovna was dressing to 
 make Grousha a visit. She had arrived from St. Petersburg but 
 a few days before, and Michael Emilianovitch, who had seen 
 her in the winter, said that he feared she had only come to 
 Agafino to die, for that even then she was far gone in consump- 
 tion, the result, he seemed to think, of anxiety and discomfort 
 caused by her handsome husband's intemperance. She soon 
 arrived, and introduced herself as having a small claim on 
 Grousha's friendliness, being the sister of the German piano- 
 forte-maker's wife, the bonny house-wife who used to teach her 
 domestic economy ! 
 
 Grousha was very glad : she could trace a strong family 
 likeness ; but oh ! how sad a difference between the plump 
 rosy Louisa, and this poor transparent thing ! She soon at- 
 tached herself to the Vesnins with all the sentimentalism of her 
 German nature ; and they did all they could to pet and indulge 
 her during the short space that she had to live. She used to 
 tell Grousha how she and Hanschen, as she would call her 
 Ivan Vasilievitch, fell in love when he was a student at Dorpt ; 
 how naughty and fascinating he was ; how her dear Vater and 
 Mutter would not consent, and how they both wept ; and how 
 at last she married him when only fifteen years and a half old 
 — that she was not twenty-two now, yet had lost three children, 
 and was soon, akh, l)ow soon I going to join them. 
 
 She got weaker and weaker, worse and worse ; her husband 
 drank more deeply than ever to drown grief, for he adored his 
 
Adoption. 
 
 397 
 
 Maliushka — at least, so he said ; and little Max — who, like his 
 St. Petersburg cousin, had made such an impression on Grousha, 
 and had been named after a dear brother of Louisa and Amalia 
 Carlovna — became an almost constant resident in the house of 
 the proprietor. 
 
 On one occasion Grousha had been reading German hymns 
 to the dying girl, and talking to her seriously and sweetly about 
 the " rest " that is prepared " for the people of God," when 
 they came to earthly things, and Grousha ventured to hint what 
 had lain on her mind ever since she saw Max and knew how 
 ill his mother was, and what had been proposed half in joke 
 by Michael Emilianovitch — no less a business than seriously 
 adopting the little fellow, in the place of his namesake. The 
 young mother eagerly caught the hint, and implored of Grousha 
 to carry it into effect ; but they both dreaded opposition on the 
 part of the child's father, and still more of his maternal grand- 
 mother, to whom Grousha undertook to write ; and on her 
 return home she spoke to her husband about it earnestly and 
 seriously. 
 
 " He is a fine boy," said Michael Emilianovitch, after a 
 tearful consideration of the matter between the husband and 
 wife, " and seems healthy (God be with him !) ; but, my little 
 friend, he is not as caressing — as heartily affectionate as ours 
 was. Though, to be sure, we can't expect that." 
 
 " I do not mean to say that he can ever fill Max's place in 
 my heart, Michael, that is of course out of the question ; but 
 to have a child of his age and name to care for and to do for 
 would be a great comfort to me." 
 
 " 7/" God gives us others?" 
 
 " Max will be our eldest son." 
 
 " You will love the others better than him, poor boy !" 
 
398 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 " 1 do not promise more than I can perform. I will be just 
 to him, and he shall never know that I love him less. Besides, 
 in all probability we shall not have any more, and in our old 
 age we should regret having passed this dear little orphan by. 
 No, Michael— let me have him ! " 
 
 " Well, my soul, you shall. He shall be ours. But we must 
 talk to Ivan Vasilievitch, and look at the Code, to make sure 
 of what the laws say on the subject. It is a serious business. 
 I believe there is a contract to be signed by us, as well as by 
 the father." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " Because it would be very provoking if the father were to 
 claim him 'when he grows up, after my educating him and 
 caring for him all the time of his boyhood. And poor Galkin 
 is not to be much depended on. I shall dispatch him as soon 
 as his wife dies." 
 
 " Oh, Michael Emilianovitch ! " 
 
 " My friend, his unfortunate habit is especially dangerous 
 (not to him, but to others) in his profession. I am for ever 
 fearful of his poisoning somebody by mistake, or sending an 
 internal me'dicine with a yellow signature or an external with a 
 white one, which is quite possible. He is an uncommonly 
 clever fellow, but wine levels man with the brutes, you 
 know." 
 
 Galkin was invited to spend the evening, to look over 
 and help to arrange some beautiful botanical engravings that 
 Michael Emilianovitch had just received ; and towards supper- 
 time, while his head was still clear, Vesnin broached the sub- 
 ject, representing it, of course, in such a light that he would be 
 doing Grousha an infinite service by consenting. " And," added 
 Michael Emilianovitch, " I trust that your child would in no 
 
Adoption. 
 
 399 
 
 wise suffer, for he would be my eldest son, even if I were to 
 have half-a-dozen others." 
 
 The wretched man burst into tears, lamented his fate, 
 mourned his dying Maliushka, and then joyfully consented 
 without farther ado. Under pretext of keeping the invalid 
 quiet, it was arranged that Max should forthwith take up his 
 abode as a visitor with the Vesnins during his mother's 
 lifetime, and afterwards proceed to business. 
 
 The first pang that Grousha felt on the subject was the 
 utter impossibility of consenting to dress the new Max in his 
 predecessor's clothes. His own were in a deplorable state ; 
 but it seemed to Grousha indelicate to Galkin's feelings to buy 
 him anything until all the formalities were completed, and he 
 was really her own adopted son. Anfisa Fomishna, accustomed 
 for so many years to the fine linen and whole garments 
 of her employers, was horrified at his " little bits of rags," as 
 she called them, and persuaded Grousha to make him some 
 shirts, and knit him some socks, and to do up the outer 
 garments sufficiently to avoid distressing Amalia Carlovna. 
 The volatility of the boy's disposition showed itself by his 
 becoming completely reconciled to leaving his parents and 
 sister, and strongly but not as yet tenderly attached to the 
 members of his new home ; and Grousha had a daily and 
 hourly trial in seeing Michael Emilianovitch take an interest 
 and delight in him, to an extent that he had never shown 
 to his own less high-spirited son. She was glad that this 
 period of probation had been arranged, in order to test her 
 own heart before receiving him in the eyes of the world and 
 the law as her own child. She did not then know that the 
 blessing of the Church is also instituted in the Greco-Russian 
 religion on occasion of Adoption. The one thought, however. 
 
400 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 that obstacles might arise, proved to her that she really did 
 love the lively loving little darling, for the clasp of his arms 
 round her neck, when she went to his bed-side in the dark to 
 bless him, told him that he loved her, though he did not 
 choose to show it before others. She gradually became so 
 accustomed to his presence, that the idea of losing him was 
 painful to a degree that proved to her that she was sincere to 
 herself 
 
 Galkin grew worse rather than better; and Michael Emi- 
 lianovitch showed his kindness and generosity by hiring a 
 Government sous-apothecary for a time, on pretext of 
 Galkin's being so taken up with his sick wife, but in reality 
 to watch the operations of the apothecary, and to prevent 
 accidents. He was not required long — after a relapse the 
 poor girl rapidly sank. Grousha sent three hundred versts 
 for a German pastor to administer the Holy Sacrament to 
 
 her, and persuaded him to remain at Q at the Vesnins' 
 
 expense just a little time longer, in order to bury her according 
 to the rites of her own Church. Galkin knew nothing of 
 this private arrangement ; he was completely lost in grief and 
 in seeking for consolation. The poor little baby girl was 
 taken to the schoolmistress, and was to be sent by the first 
 opportunity to Toula, where her paternal grandmother lived, 
 and who returned a willing consent to Max's adoption. 
 
 " You'll be a better mother to him than ever I could be," 
 whispered the poor weak Amalia, holding Grousha's hand in 
 both hers, and gazing into her face with those glassy eyes. 
 
 " I'll do my best, darling." 
 
 "And never, never excuse him — when he is older — if he — 
 if he is like my Hanschen." 
 
 " We won't let him be so, with God's help." 
 
Adoption. 401 
 
 "Who knows? My Hanschen was not so before. And 
 you'll let him speak German, won't you ? " 
 
 " Of course. Some of these days we will take him to see 
 your father and mother at Dorpt. Perhaps he will go to the 
 university there : would not that be nice ? " 
 
 " Akh, yes ! Akh, how tired I am ! " 
 
 " Then rest, darling — don't talk. Shut your eyes, and think 
 how happy you are going to be." 
 
 "Yes — so happy," murmured Amalia. She was soon dozing, 
 and Grousha saw her no more alive. 
 
 She was glad to find that Max was at first inconsolable for 
 his mother's loss, and was rewarded for the generous and 
 amiable feeling by his declaring that now mamma was dead 
 he should love Agrafena Nestorovna. But she was to find a 
 thorn in that rose, too. 
 
 " Then let me be your mother, Maxinka ; call me Ma- 
 masha ! " 
 
 The child looked gravely into her face, and shook his 
 head. 
 
 " Impossible," he said, as if it were a settled matter. 
 " Why impossible ? " 
 
 "Because you are Agrafena Nestorovna," he said, after a 
 pause, and with a slight laugh, "you are not Mamasha." And 
 she saw that it would not do to hurry him. 
 
 It was indeed out of the question to leave Galkin as apothe- 
 cary : Michael Emilianovitch was sorry for the man, but the 
 lives of his serfs were a responsibility that he deeply felt, and 
 Parphdny Ivanovitch used to grumble and tell tales out of 
 school more often than was agreeable on the subject. With 
 some difficulty he procured him an appointment as lecturer on 
 chemistry at a Government gymnasium ; and when he had 
 
 D D 
 
402 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 gone, both he and his wife felt that Max was almost their 
 own. Tremendous correspondence had been going on 
 between Michael Emilianovitch and various Government 
 secretaries, and other persons in the Civil Service, and they 
 had got as far as the Governor ; but, after all said, done, and 
 written, nothing could be completely arranged without the 
 sanction of the Emperor. 
 
 Grousha turned pale when she heard this — and from 
 whom? From Anfisa Fomishna, who all along had taken 
 a vivid interest in the affair, and who thought, with justice, 
 that the presence of childish happiness and life would 
 do Grousha's health good as well as her heart. It seems 
 that a childless merchant had adopted a distant relation 
 of hers, and she well remembered all that passed on that 
 occasion ; and that the magistrate who drew up the " act," 
 as the contract is called, told the assembled relatives that 
 the adoption of a child by a noble required the Imperial 
 consent. 
 
 "But suppose the Emperor should not please to consent?" 
 said Grousha. 
 
 " Nonsense ! what objections could he make? It is merely 
 a form." 
 " Oh ! " 
 
 Grousha repeated this to her husband, and he said that it 
 was perfectly true, but that she need not be uneasy — the 
 Emperor would be very glad if he knew that such a fine 
 little subject had been saved from such a lost-one of a father, 
 and very much obliged to them for adopting him. " But the 
 shoe that pinches is this, Agrafena : the clauses in the Code 
 of Family Laws say, that 'a childless noble may adopt one of 
 his nearest relatives.' Now, the authorities through whose 
 
Adoption. 403 
 
 hand this affair must pass stick to the fact that Max is a 
 stranger in blood to us both." 
 "Well?" 
 
 "It seems a serious objection, but one that I hope — that 1 
 insist on overcoming. You know that I am an utter orphan. 
 The mortality and childlessness in our family is something 
 extraordinary. To begin with, my two grandfathers were 
 both only sons, and their sisters died unmarried or childless ; 
 my parents were only children, and my five brothers and 
 sisters died in infancy. One grandmother had a sister in a 
 convent, who never married; the other had three brothers, 
 bachelors, who were all killed in the Turkish wars. So that 
 I have no relations that I arn aware of. I am perfectly justified 
 in adopting this stranger." 
 
 " Certainly — at least, so it seems." 
 
 " There is another form to be gone through which will make 
 you smile. We must formally ask your sister (on your side) 
 to let us adopt one of her children, and she will give us a 
 formal refusal." 
 
 " But she won't ! " cried Grousha ; " she has over and over 
 again hinted that it would be far more benevolent to adopt 
 her Basil — she would like it of all things ! " 
 
 " Yes, she would : but Nicholai Nicholaievitch ?" 
 
 " He is very fond of his children." 
 
 " So it appears to me. And now I think it is in a fair way 
 to go further. The Governor wants us to make a ward of 
 him, but I must confess I should prefer the other way." 
 
 No one but a Russian, or a resident in Russia, can form half 
 an idea of the slowness with which Government questions drag 
 to their decision. The nomination of a child to a Government 
 institution, the question of a pension, the acceptance of an 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 A doption. 
 
 officer's retirement, require months, and sometimes years, to 
 decide. The system of correspondence — every grave question 
 being settled at St. Petersburg — is the cause of this frequently 
 painful and never agreeable delay. It required Vesnin's 
 presence at the Government town to overcome the apparently 
 trifling difficulties of his case. Nicholai Nicholaievitch not 
 only gave a formal refusal to part with either of his darlings, 
 but was almost offended at such an idea being proposed, and 
 in the heat of the moment said a great deal that need not 
 have been said, had he heard Vesnin out first. But at last an 
 immense packet of documents, all written on stamped paper, 
 consisting of a petition from Vesnin to the Emperor, Max's 
 register of birth and baptism, hunted out with great difficulty, 
 and other papers, were sent to the Senate to be laid before his 
 Imperial Majesty. Vesnin wrote to Fe'dinka and to all his St. 
 Petersburg friends, begging them to use what influence they 
 could command in furthering his affair, and in due time the 
 long-wished-for document arrived — and the sanction printed 
 in the newspapers — that 
 
 "The young child Maximilian, son of the titulary Counsellor 
 Ivan Galkin, is lawfully adopted, with change of family name, 
 to that of his adopting father, by the Government secretary,^ 
 Michael Vesnin, of Agafino, Orenbourg Government, as son and 
 lawful heir to the lawful share of his possessions. Signed in 
 the original by Alexander." 
 
 Nearly three years had passed since the first brick was laid of 
 the church at Agafino, and it had been consecrated a few 
 weeks before the Vesnins received the paper that made Max 
 
 1 Second civil rank ; it has no relation whatever to the office of a 
 secretary. Titularj- Counsellor is the fourth rank. 
 
Adoption. 
 
 405 
 
 their lawful son ; but there was another ceremony to be gone 
 through. The sanction of the Emperor had been obtained ; 
 it remained now to acknowledge him publicly, and to ask the 
 blessing of the Almighty on this new relationship by means of 
 the moleben used on adoption. Anfisa Fomishna, with the deep 
 religious feeling of her class, with her Sclavonic lore and worldly 
 experience, had excited the imaginations of Grousha and her 
 husband during the difficulties that arose about the child being 
 a stranger, and told them about the strange office, and how the 
 merchant in question had it performed ; and they both said 
 that if it only pleased God to bless them in the overcoming of 
 the difficulties, they would most certainly have this moleben per- 
 formed. The Agafino Priest, Father Platon, had never heard 
 of it j and it was not till they had turned the leaves of the 
 Moleben Book almost to the last that they found it. A few 
 words at the end made Michael Emilianovitch and the Priest 
 raise their heads, look with surprise at each other, and smile. 
 
 "I will go to the Protopope at Q ," said Vesnin; " per- 
 haps we may be able to leave that out." 
 
 " I do not think so, Michael Emilianovitch. Our services are 
 always carried out to the letter. If you object to this mole'ben, 
 you can have simply a Thanksgiving one performed." 
 
 " No, no, Father. We said that this one should be per- 
 formed — and the prayers are beautiful. But I am afraid of 
 frightening the child, that's all." 
 
 The Priest shook his head. " What's to be done ? If it 
 was a vow that you made, it must be performed, Michael 
 Emilianovitch." 
 
 "It was something very like it!" said Michael Emiliano- 
 vitch; "hastily, thoughtlessly made, as too many vows are." 
 
 The Protopope at Q heard the story, and shrugging his 
 
4o6 
 
 Adoption. 
 
 shoulders, wondered at the fancy people nowadays have for 
 digging up antiquities, but confessed that it was occasionally 
 made use of in modern times, wholly and entirely, and without 
 any alteration whatever. He permitted himself to ask of his 
 much-respected Michael Emilianovitch how he came to know 
 of the moleben in question. 
 
 Vesnin told him, and observed another shrug of wonderment 
 at the source. He invited the old man to Agafino on the fol- 
 lowing Sunday, when he proposed going through the ceremony 
 after Mass, and celebrating the Adoption afterwards by a 
 dinner and a little dance. 
 
 Max has quite become the son of the house : they have got 
 him to call the Vesnins Papasha and Mamasha, simply by third 
 persons speaking of them always as such. Mamasha is very 
 fond of him, and has made a very good honest little boy of 
 him ; he is a great happiness to her, but Michael Emilianovitch 
 doats on him, and, it may be truly ^?^\^, forgets that he is not 
 his own child. He is nearly seven years old, and can read 
 and write Russ well, and French passably; he is Mamasha's 
 pupil, and knows every story in the Bible and in Russian his- 
 tory as well as Mesdames Zontag and Zolotoff,^ — is his father's 
 constant companion in his visits to the works and the diggings, 
 and knows almost every workman and his specialty in the 
 place. He is always building something, and Papasha says 
 that he will be a first-rate technologist. His disposition is very 
 sweet, and his abilities excellent ; but he is extremely mis- 
 chievous, self-willed, and opinionated — qualities which, Michael 
 Emilianovitch maintains, are absolutely necessary to make a 
 man of him, and which, when not directed immediately against 
 himself, delight him past all description. 
 
 * Writers for children. 
 
Adoption. 407 
 
 The day of the ceremony dawned tranquil and sunshiny ; 
 the house was full of visitors, who had arrived the previous 
 evening in order to be present at Mass. When the great bell 
 boomed forth solemnly for service, Grousha and Max were on 
 their knees in her little cabinet, Max repeating his prayers, and 
 Grousha saying Amen in her heart to them. He says now, 
 " Lord, have mercy on Papasha and Mamasha ! Lord, have 
 mercy on Thy servant Ivan P Lord, remember Thy deceased 
 servant Amalia ! Lord, have mercy on the babe Lubinka ! and 
 on me, the babe Maxinka ! Grant me, Lord, wisdom and 
 intelligence, the fear of God in my heart, good health, and a 
 Christian end." Besides this prayer, which is the same as 
 " Pray God " of the English child, he says the Lord's Prayer, 
 the Russian version of " Hail, Mary," and the same of " Come. 
 Holy Ghost !" He enunciates the Sclavonic beautifully, and 
 understands every hard outlandish word. 
 
 Grousha was very much overcome, and rather anxious about 
 the mol^ben, which was so near now. They did not take any 
 breakfast that day, and she had been talking to Max about his 
 taking Infant Communion for the last time. He knew no par- 
 ticulars of the moleben, and Grousha did not know whether to 
 prepare him or not ; but she so feared a scene in church. She 
 was sitting in her arm-chair considering this matter, when 
 Anfisa Fomishna came in to consult her about some house- 
 keeping concern, and she confided her difficulties to the good 
 woman's simple sense to solve. " Just say nothing about it," 
 she said. " You'll frighten him, or offend him, if you give him 
 time to reflect on it. Keep him by your side as long as you 
 can, and Father Platon will manage the rest." Grousha, like 
 all unnecessarily anxious people, wondered what had made 
 Galkin. 
 
4o8 Adoption. 
 
 her plague herself so, and kissed the sharp-witted old lady as 
 she thanked her for her advice, and called her a dear old 
 puzzle-solver. 
 
 It was considered such a sight, that many persons, not 
 
 invited as guests to the Vesnins' house, came from Q and 
 
 the surrounding villages to witness the Benediction or Adop- 
 tion ; and the doctor's, schoolmaster's and mistress's, and 
 Priest's houses were full of company. The family of the pro- 
 prietor was the first among the nobles to enter the church, 
 Michael Emilianovitch in his full court costume as "noble 3" 
 his wife elegantly dressed to do honour to the occasion, but 
 looking rather paler and graver than usual ; and Max, charming 
 in a black velvet suit, and red shirt just visible at the neck and 
 wrists. He stood very devoutly during the whole of the long 
 service of Mass ; and a sermon on Infant Communion, in- 
 tended expressly for him, worded very simply, and containing 
 a few heart-stirring allusions to the approaching Benediction, 
 was preached by Father Platon ; and immediately afterwards, 
 
 the Q Protopope, who performed Mass, administered the 
 
 Holy Sacrament to him. He pleased the old man very much 
 by kissing the Cup and the hand that held it, and by his 
 serious devout bearing. He returned to his mother's side, and 
 received her kiss and congratulation, and after Mass those of 
 his father and the assembled acquaintances. Olympiada 
 Modestovna, now a very infirm old woman, and who 
 had opposed all Grousha's plans as much as lay in her 
 power, was present, and obliged for decency's sake to do the 
 same. Unfortunately, Max could not bear her, and, open 
 as the day, never concealed his dislike, which she repaid 
 tenfold. 
 
 And now the closed royal gates were opened, and Father 
 
Adoption. 409 
 
 Platon, with his Testament and cross, issued therefrom. Con- 
 trary to custom, Michael Emihanovitch and his son ascended 
 the steps of the amvon, and with lighted candles in their 
 hands, made an obeisance to the ground, and crossed them- 
 selves three times as the Priest chanted " Blessed be our God, 
 now, henceforth, and for ever." After a few short prayers and 
 kondaks, the following prayer was read, with the distinct 
 enunciation that has lately become, happily, so common, but 
 which then was quite a new thing : — 
 
 " O Lord our God ! who through Thy beloved Son, our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, hast called us to be the children of God by 
 Adoption, and the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, saying, ' I will be 
 a Father to him, and he shall be to Me a son O merciful 
 Father and King, look down from heaven. Thy dwelling-place, 
 on these Thy servants ; and their natures (strangers to each 
 other in the flesh) do Thou unite in the bonds of relationship 
 as father and son, by Thy Holy Spirit ; confirm them in Thy 
 love, bind them with Thy favour, bless them with Thy glory, 
 strengthen them in Thy faith, preserve them for ever, and 
 grant that an unseemly word may never pass their lips; 
 and be Thou the Recorder of their vow, that even to the 
 end of their lives their love be not broken, that they never 
 fail in their duty to Thee, in whom all things living have 
 life ; and make them heirs of Thy Kingdom. To Thee is 
 due all honour, glory, and worship, to the Father, and to the 
 Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now, henceforth, and for ever. 
 Amen." 
 
 The Priest then turns his face towards the congregation, and 
 says, " Peace be to you all !" 
 
 And the Reader answers, for the congregation, " And to thy 
 spirit" 
 
Adoption. 
 
 Priest. " Bow your heads before the Lord." (The congre- 
 gation stand with bent heads while he reads this prayer.) 
 
 " O Almighty Father ! the Creator of all things created, who 
 in the first Adam didst institute relationship in the flesh, and 
 by our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, hast made us Thy 
 children through grace, to Thee alone are all things known, 
 even from the beginning. Before Thee these Thy servants 
 now bow their heads, and implore Thy blessing on the union 
 as father and son that they have agreed on between them- 
 selves, trusting in Thee. And that by stedfastness in holiness 
 of life they may be worthy of Adoption by Thee. In this, as 
 in all things, be glorified Thy Name, O Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost, now, henceforth, and for ever. Amen." 
 
 The Deacon, who was standing behind Max, now whispered 
 to him, " Go and bow yourself down at your Papasha's feet, 
 Maxinka!" The child instantly submitted, and Michael 
 Emilianovitch placed his foot for one instant of time on his 
 neck. (He did it so cleverly and quickly, that the dear little 
 fellow never knew of it.) He then raised him to his feet again, 
 and said, " This day thou art my son ; this day have I begotten 
 thee." According to the rubric, the newly-made father and son 
 embraced and kissed each other after these words. 
 
 The usual benediction followed, and the family received the 
 congratulations of the Priest. Michael Emilianovitch placed 
 Max's little hand in his mother's, and kissed her affectionately, 
 wishing her joy ; and almost before she had kissed him, they 
 were surrounded by relatives, friends, and acquaintances, the 
 workmen and their wives, all eager to offer their congratula- 
 tions, and to wish well to them. 
 
 It is a source of never-ceasing gratitude to Grousha, that 
 neither she nor her husband ever had occasion to regret this 
 
Adoption. 411 
 
 step, for they were blessed in their son more highly than they 
 dared hope. He manifested a studious disposition, notwith- 
 standing his extreme liveliness, which, backed by a desire to 
 excel, made him one of the first pupils of the gymnasium ; and 
 it is to be hoped that his career at the university will be as 
 successful as that which has just closed. He has two little 
 sisters, but he never felt that he was less loved than they ; and 
 Grousha frequently confesses that his affection to herself, his 
 attention to his father, and his tenderness and fondness to the 
 little girls, leave her nothing to wish, only that he may be 
 spared, and that this peace and happiness may be continued 
 to their family. 
 
 The graves of the two little brothers are not the less care- 
 fully tended for all that. 
 
A BISHOP'S VISITATION. 
 
A BISHOP'S VISITATION. 
 
 ^^^T all times a trying and terrifying business, the expected 
 visitation of the Bishop this year seemed to be peculiarly 
 so to the minds of the clergy of high and low degree in our 
 town and blagotchinie. This probably arose from the fact of 
 his Eminence having been but very recendy appointed to this 
 diocese, and although report decided in his favour, yet there 
 was no knowing how he might be worried or displeased at 
 different places on the road between the Government town and 
 our place, and in what humour he might be pleased to arrive ; 
 for it is a fact, proved by many remarkable instances, that 
 bishops have tempers as well as other people. 
 
 A Bishop always travels with a suite, consisting of an Archi- 
 mandrite, a Proto-Deacon, Sub-Deacons to robe and attend him 
 during service and assist at the same, and a youth called a 
 sloujka (which word I really cannot translate otherwise than 
 Slavey, it being the diminutive of Slougd, a servant). His 
 work is by no means hard, and consists principally in standing 
 and looking very pretty a little behind the Bishop at his left 
 hand, with a book in his own, which he opens when required 
 at the proper place, and, stepping forward, holds it before his 
 Eminence to read from. A good-looking lad seems to be 
 
4i6 A Bishop's Visitation. 
 
 selected, for I never yet saw an ugly slou jka, and a certain grave, 
 respectful, but withal coquettish and becoming manner is com- 
 mon to them all, and probably is in a certain degree acquired. 
 A choir of some twelve or sixteen strong, with their Regent, 
 or leader, also accompanies the party, and forms one of the 
 attractions at the episcopal liturgy, which is altogether very 
 interesting, and much more showy than a mere ordinary Mass, 
 as celebrated by a Priest, can be. 
 
 The approach of the Bishop was duly announced to us by 
 the ringing of bells, which I have before mentioned, so that 
 those who wished to see him arrive had time to dress and as- 
 semble in the church. The Protopope had gone to the nearest 
 village in the march-route, a distance of thirty versts, to meet 
 the Vladika,^ and accompany him hither; but all the other 
 Priests (and among them one poor man dying of decline, whom 
 we had not seen at church for many a day) and the rest of the 
 clergy were ready in the cathedral to receive him, and had only 
 just time to hurry on their canonicals, when he arrived. It was 
 five o'clock on a burning hot July afternoon, but fortunately the 
 cathedral is large and cool, and all the doors were opened; it 
 was prettily decorated too, with boughs of birch and lime trees, 
 arranged so as to form an alley in one part that he would have 
 to pass ; and the " bit of green " was refreshing to the eyes, if 
 not to the imagination of the other senses, and was suggestive 
 of shade and gentle fannings of boughs. 
 
 The carriage, drawn by six horses, stopped at the west door, 
 and his Eminence immediately ascended the steps, supported 
 by two stanovoys ; it was merely an act of civility on their 
 part, however, for he is a brisk, active man, and did not require 
 any assistance whatever. He was dressed in a rich violet and 
 1 The Bishop. 
 
A Bishop's Visitation. 
 
 417 
 
 black silk damask cassock, and on his head was a high round 
 hat (the monkish hood), with a long veil of black stuff some- 
 thing like barfege, hanging over it down over his back. Round 
 his neck, suspended by a chain, is the Panagia, sparkling in 
 the sun ; of it I will speak presently. 
 
 At about five or six steps from the door, within the cathe 
 dral, he was met by the clergy ; and here he was robed in his 
 episcopal mantle, an immense garment of puce-coloured satin, 
 on which are sewn three double rows of a striped red and white 
 ribbon, about four inches broad ; at either side of the fastening 
 at the neck there is a square piece of stiff gold embroidery, 
 having on it a cross ; they are about a lady's span in diameter, 
 and typify the Old and New Testaments, signifying that the 
 teacher of God's Word should employ both. The striped 
 ribbons are emblems of the streams of knowledge flowing from 
 the Holy Bible. It is impossible, I think, for even a woman 
 to convey to a woman the exact cut of this garment ; suffice it 
 to say that if it were laid out flat on the floor it would be found 
 to be nearly circular — that it is extremely long, and has a train 
 which the sloujka carries ; and near the feet are sewn little 
 tinkling things like the bells on a child's coral, which are in 
 imitation of the bells on Aaron's robe. They signify — for 
 everything in the Greco-Russian Church has a symbolic or 
 mystic signification — that the Bishop must be ready ever to 
 preach the Gospel, and to call on others to do the same.^ In 
 his hand he holds his crosier, which at first sight might be 
 taken for a parasol ; it is about four feet in height and of con- 
 siderable weight, being made entirely of metal. Near the top 
 is a sort of handle, silver gUt and chased, which gives the 
 crosier the appearance of an anchor, the symbol of hope of 
 1 Bishop Benjamin. 
 E E 
 
41 8 A Bishop's Visitation. 
 
 salvation ; this is surmounted by a cross, and about two inches 
 lower than the handle is a decoration of white silken material 
 adorned with several rows of gold fringe and a bow of crimson 
 ribbon at the top, which I can liken to nothing but a little 
 petticoat, and which gives the notion of a smart parasol. 
 
 Blessing the people on each side of the narrow space left 
 him to walk to the elevation prepared for him in the body of 
 the church (the same place as where weddings are celebrated), 
 the Bishop proceeded, followed by the clergy and his suite. 
 A short mole'ben was performed, which did not last more than 
 ten minutes, after which the Bishop returned to his carriage 
 and drove to the house of a Protopope, where rooms were pre- 
 pared for him and his companion the Archimandrite, who is 
 rector of the ecclesiastical seminary, and prior or superior of 
 the monastery at the Government town — an important person 
 among the clergy. Both belong to the order of Black Eccle- 
 siastics, i.e. monks and consequently celibates, in distinction 
 from the White Ecclesiastics, or ordinary clergy. 
 
 The Bishop is called Apollos, but this is not his baptismal 
 name. He received it on becoming Bishop, and it is probably 
 the third he has received in his lifetime. First he was named 
 at baptism, secondly when he took his monkish vows, and 
 thirdly when ordained a Bishop. He has an extremely ani- 
 mated and prepossessing countenance, and so kind and simple 
 a manner, that one felt at once that reports of him must be 
 true ; and his brief stay here proved that he is what he had 
 been described, a business-like person with regard to busitiess — 
 of which he has an immensity, doing, deciding, and judging for 
 himself, without any advice, direct or indirect, from those who 
 surround him ; and a most amiable and agreeable Vladika, 
 without any exactingness or grandeur, of which they say he 
 
A Bishop's Visitation. 419 
 
 has a perfect horror. Contrary to the custom of other prelates 
 whom I have seen, he utters all he has to say in his natural 
 voice, distinctly and audibly ; there is no affectation of extreme 
 age and weakness, no grandeur or infinite condescension in his 
 manner ; altogether a something pervaded his whole person 
 and presence which made one feel very glad for his brethren 
 the poor dear Priests, who have been so anxious concerning the 
 visitation for so many months. 
 
 Mass was to begin, people said, very earLy the next morning. 
 The low-spirited asserted that it would be at six o'clock at the 
 latest, and prophesied such crowds that it would not be worth 
 while trying to get into the cathedral. Others said that it 
 would be empty rather than otherwise, because it was hay- 
 making time for the workmen and their families (each of whom 
 has a hay-field), and because it would be too early for the nobles, 
 who certainly do get up very late. Under such circumstances, 
 therefore, it was very desirable that the service should take 
 place earlier rather than later, particularly as the weather was 
 insufferably hot, and the idea of a crammed church when 
 there are some 28° or 30° Reaumur in the shade is suf!iciently 
 terrifying. Eight o'clock, however, was the hour fixed by his 
 Eminence, who with his characteristic good nature consented 
 to a longer ringing of the bells than he is accustomed to, in 
 order to give such of the inhabitants as might not know of the 
 early hour appointed, time to assemble at church. 
 
 We arrived at half-past seven ; it was already very hot, and 
 we felt thankful that service was to take place thus early, and 
 not during the still more oppressive hours of noon-day. There 
 were only the Deacons and Readers, the sextons and church- 
 warden, and a very few of the congregation, in the cathedral ; 
 but the Proto-Deacon soon arrived, and began to put our 
 E E 2 
 
420 A Bishop's Visitation. 
 
 Deacons through a regular repetition of what they would have 
 to do ; for although the service is essentially the same when per- 
 formed by either Priest or Bishop, yet there is more ceremony 
 when the latter is present, and to a person unaccustomed to 
 aiding at a Bishop's Liturgy it is doubtless puzzling to remember 
 when and where to bow, how to turn round, to the right hand 
 or to the left, when to wave the incense extra times, and so on. 
 The Proto-Deacon, a fine old man, the exact Hkeness of pictures 
 of Moses, was, to confess the truth, very cross with our Deacons 
 (one of whom is nearly as old as he) ; got out of patience with 
 them, and pushed them about as a dancing-master does awk- 
 ward pupils. In the meantime, one of the Sub-Deacons, an old 
 acquaintance of ours, whom we knew as a lad before his ordi- 
 nation, was giving instructions to his young brothers, seminarists 
 who were at home for the holidays. To the younger was in- 
 trusted a vast candlestick, very nearly as high as himself, and 
 with the candle, which is about three inches in diameter, far 
 overtopping him ; to the other the crosier aforesaid ; both are 
 carried before or behind the Bishop during Mass, as the case 
 may require. The boys doubtless had a slight knowledge of 
 the duties imposed on them, and which were very probably 
 earnestly begged for ; but they must have had wonderful 
 memories, to bear in mind the minute instructions that were 
 given — which side they must stand on at such a time, which on 
 another, when to pass before and when behind the Bishop. 
 Under the charge of the crosier-bearer were also placed several 
 little round mats, which are moved from place to place for his 
 Eminence to stand on. Such a mat is about fifteen inches in 
 diameter, and is called an orletz, from the orel, an eagle — a 
 representation of which bird, with a glory about its head, and 
 flying over a fortified city, is embroidered on the mat. The 
 
A Bishop's Visitation. 421 
 
 city signifies the diocese of the Bishop ; and the eagle — a 
 far-fetched symbol of Divinity — is in allusion to St. John the 
 Divine being represented in pictures with that bird. To keep 
 up the idea of the signification, the glory is added, meaning 
 that the light of Divine teaching should ever beam over the 
 diocese committed to the Bishop's care.^ 
 
 The candle and crosier bearers also went through a mimic 
 service, their brother correcting them, encouraging them, and 
 amusing them all the time. A raised platform was placed 
 in the body of the church for the Bishop. It had two steps, 
 and was about two yards and a half square, and fifteen inches 
 higher than the pavement of the cathedral. It was covered 
 with a carpet, and on it was placed a seat, covered with a 
 crimson velvet cloth adorned with gold fringe. 
 
 At eight o'clock the bells began to ring, and all the people, 
 of whom by this time a great number had assembled, rushed 
 to get the best places. We secured those that we had set our 
 minds on ever since we heard that the visitation was to take 
 place, and managed to keep them too, notwithstanding the 
 pushing and nudgings that we had to endure ; we stood in the 
 corner formed by the projection of the amvon steps, so that 
 we were as close to the royal gates as we could be, and besides 
 having the advantage of seeing the whole ceremony, we had 
 also a fair space before our faces to breathe in, as nobody 
 could possibly stand in front of us. The Bishop arrived in the 
 stipulated quarter of an hour, and was robed in his mantle 
 near the door, as on the previous evening. 
 
 Service immediately commenced on the Bishop mounting 
 his platform ; and during the chanting of the choir and the 
 intonation of the " Hours" by the Reader, the Deacons brought 
 ' Bishop Benjamin. 
 
422 A Bishop's Visitatio7i. 
 
 forth the episcopal robes from the ahar, on a large silver 
 dish. He then rose from his seat, and after blessing the 
 Sub-Deacons, wlio followed the robe-bearers, submitted him- 
 self entirely to them ; and they, possessing themselves each 
 of one of his arms, forthwith commenced robing him in his 
 canonicals, as follows : — 
 
 At each new ordination in the Greco-Russian Church, some 
 new article of canonicals is added, so that the number a Bishop 
 has to put on is greater than those of a Priest^ — a Priest more 
 than a Deacon, and so on. The canonicals and attributes 
 added at the consecration of a Bishop are, first the cope ; 
 second, the omophorium ; third, the panagia (a large medallion- 
 like picture of the Virgin and Child, in enamel ; it is richly 
 ornamented, and surrounded by a glory-like border, studded 
 with precious stones ; it is worn round the neck, suspended to 
 a thick gold chain) ; fourth, the cross, of unusually large size, 
 also worn round the neck ; fifth, the mitre ; and sixth, the 
 crosier, which seems at once to represent the crook of the 
 shepherd and the sceptre of the monarch. 
 
 The actual robes are seven in number, viz. the alb, stole, 
 belt, cuffs, and epigonation of the Priest ; and the episcopal 
 cope and omophorium. 
 
 The cope much resembles the ordinary vestment of the 
 Deacon, but it is made of far richer stuff, and has the same 
 little tinkling bells as those on the mantle, sewn down the 
 sides where the seam ought to be, and along the sleeves ; for 
 the two sides are united by loops extending from bell to bell 
 after the manner of buttons, the cope being cut out of one 
 whole piece of material, with a hole for the head to pass 
 through, and having no seams, like the garment of the Saviour. 
 It is put on with the same words as those used by Priests. 
 
A Bishop's Visitation. 
 
 423 
 
 The omophorium resembles the stole of the Priest and the 
 scarf of the Deacon, but is much longer than the one and 
 broader than the other ; it is put on differently too, one end 
 hanging down in front, the other behind, after being wound 
 about the shoulders and looped up in a particular manner. 
 This part of the canonicals is the peculiar mark of the Bishop, 
 as the stole of the Priest, and the scarf of the Deacon. It 
 contains sheep's wool in its texture, though it is so concealed 
 by silver and silk thread as to be imperceptible. This is a 
 symbol of the lost sheep whom the pastor tends, and of the 
 Lamb of God who was slain for us.^ 
 
 The Sub-Deacons, accustomed to their task, disrobed his 
 Eminence of his mantle and ordinary cassock, and he remained 
 in his under cassock — a Noah-hke garment of brown satin — 
 for a few seconds, when his attendants proceeded to robe him, 
 with a dexterity and unison in every movement that had a 
 degree of gracefulness about it. At the same moment, for 
 instance, they would take the cuffs from the dish, and present 
 them to be blessed ; at the same instant finished lacing them, 
 so that the Bishop's plump hands, small and white as a woman's, 
 were ready at once to give the double blessing. After the 
 seven canonicals had been put on, the Deacon and Sub- 
 Deacons again retired to the altar, returning soon after at 
 a certain part of the service, the Deacon bearing the silver 
 dish, but this time empty. Over his shoulders was thrown a 
 long and broad towel of new book muslin, with the ends 
 embroidered in different coloured wools : it was put on exactly 
 as ladies used to wear scarves some twenty-five years ago, as a 
 pardessus. One of the Sub-Deacons bore an elegant vase-like 
 silver-gilt vessel, with a spout and handle ; from this he poured 
 ' Bishop Benjamin. 
 
424 A Bishop's Visitation. 
 
 water into the dish over the hands of the Bishop, who rinses them 
 and his face slightly, and then both Sub-Deacons, taking 
 hold of the ends of the towel and passing the middle over 
 the head of the Deacon, present it to him to wipe himself 
 dry. On such an awfully hot day as the one I am speak- 
 ing of, I am sure those few drops of water must have 
 been refreshing to the poor man, loaded as he was with his 
 seven canonicals. " Be it not supposed," says St. Cyril of 
 Jerusalem, in the fifth book of his Teachings, " that this is 
 done to cleanse the body from outward impurities, for we never 
 enter a church in a dirty state of body. It signifies that our 
 souls must be purified from all sins and wickedness. For 
 as the hands are the instruments of action, the washing of 
 them shows the purity and undefiledness of our desires. Hast 
 thou never heard the words of David ? who says, ' I will 
 wash my hands in innocency, and so will I go to Thy altar, O 
 Lord.' " And St. Germanus says, " The washing of a Priest's 
 or Bishop's hands should remind them that we must approach 
 the holy table with a clean conscience, mind, and thoughts 
 (the hands of our souls), with fear, meekness, and heartfelt 
 sincerity." 
 
 After another interval an enormous silver comb was brought, 
 on the same great salver, and the Bishop passed it through his 
 hair and beard. It was eight or nine inches in length and at 
 least four or five in breadth, with the teeth very broad — " few 
 and far between." The mystic signification of this custom 
 which beyond a doubt exists, I have been unable to ascertain. 
 The mitre — a very handsome piece of workmanship, which I 
 can hardly decide to whom to ascribe, to the gold-embroiderer, 
 jeweller, or an unknown artificer in a craft that has no name 
 (for it is impossible to say what it is made of ; it is not metallic. 
 
A Bishop's Visitation. 425 
 
 yet it is studded with pearls and other jewels) — was then 
 donned, the panagia, and the cross. 
 
 When fully robed, the Bishop takes two golden candlesticks 
 in his hands ; one, with two branches, is called a Dikiria ; and 
 the other, with three, a Trikiria. Their peculiarity is, that the 
 nozzles are so made as to unite the flames of the three or two 
 candles when they are lighted : the meaning of the first is the 
 twofold nature of our Lord, God and man ; the symbol of the 
 other, — the Holy Trinity. With these candlesticks he waves 
 the sign of the cross over the congregation, many more times 
 than I can enumerate during the course of the service, the 
 people receiving the blessing with bent heads and devout 
 crossings. Each time that the Sub-Deacons present these or 
 any other thing to his Eminence, they kiss the hand which 
 takes it 
 
 While waiting for the arrival of the Bishop to Mass, a 
 whisper that our old friend the Sub-Deacon was to be ordained 
 as Priest was circulated, to the great satisfaction of the con- 
 gregation. We forgot, however, that such is an impossibility, 
 as he first must be ordained full Deacon, and only one 
 ordination can take place during one Liturgy ; and the whisper 
 proved to be an incautious hoax, and had arisen merely from 
 the Sub-Deacon's having said in remark to some one's informing 
 him that he had come to church to see the Bishop, " Oh ! I 
 thought you had come to see me. To see me ordained Pope." 
 Our disappointment, however, was partially made up for by 
 witnessing the bestowal of the epigonation on a village Priest^ 
 
 ' This distinction was bestowed in reward of the Priest's untiring efforts, 
 and their happy results, in teaching the V^otyak children of his parish. The 
 Votyaks are a tribe of Finnish extraction, great numbers of whom reside 
 in the governments of Viatka and Perm. They are, for the most part, 
 
426 A Bishop's Visitation. 
 
 belonging to the blagotchinie. He was led by two others 
 to the steps of the elevation, a Deacon standing by with the 
 new canonical on the salver ; he first crossed and prostrated 
 himself devoutly with his face to the royal gates, and then 
 prostrated himself, without crossings, before the Bishop, who 
 after a very short admonition and prayer, threw the suspending 
 band of the epigonation over the candidate's shoulder, the 
 assistants partly removing his chasuble for that purpose. The 
 Bishop, as he did this, called aloud the word " Axios," ^ while 
 the newly adorned Priest kissed his hands. The choir repeated 
 the word in a joyful strain, while the Vladika went on address- 
 ing the Priest, and presented his shoulder to him to be kissed, 
 which, of course, was part of the ceremony. The Priest, an 
 anxious-looking man, was not aware of the reward that was in 
 preparation for him, and the surprise and gratification it caused 
 absolutely scared him, and, probably from extreme nervousness, 
 he kept his mouth open during the whole of the succeeding 
 service, hke a person in a fever; but he read the pre-amvon 
 prayer at the end firmly enough. 
 
 Mass now proceeded much in the usual manner, the few- 
 additions to it caused by the Bishop's presence only sei-ving to 
 make it more attractive. It begins by his Eminence, having 
 crossed the candles again on three sides, leaving his elevation 
 in the middle of the church and proceeding to the altar, 
 followed by the other Priests present, who hitherto have stood 
 in two rows, with their sides towards the Bishop, in the space 
 between him and the amvon. After kissing the sacred pictures 
 on the royal gates, he waves incense round the throne, and 
 
 baptized Christians, but they speak their own language, though they all 
 can make themselves understood in Russ. Their occupation is exclusively 
 agriculture. ' " He is worthy." 
 
A Bishop's Visitation. 427 
 
 then comes out again from the royal gates (which are open 
 all the time of a Bishop's Liturgy, except during the conse- 
 cration and receiving of the Elements) and waves it to the 
 people, repeating, not intoning, part of Psalm li. Never 
 in my life, from the lips of Englishman, German, or Russian, 
 did I hear any portion of Scripture so exquisitely, yet so 
 simply, so freely from all effort, repeated as those few verses. 
 Completely unprepared, and situated so as to be able to hear 
 the slightest intonations of his voice, I drank in every syllable 
 — tears, to my own extreme surprise, streamed down my face. 
 "Make me to hear of joy and gladness, that the bones that 
 Thou hast broken may rejoice !" were the last words I heard 
 as he turned into the altar again, and I think I shall never 
 forget them. The congregation glanced at each other in silent 
 rapture. 
 
 The Proto-Deacon, who continued during the whole time to 
 testify by various gestures his contempt of, astonishment at, 
 and indulgence towards the awkwardness and ignorance of 
 our Deacons, intoned the litanies and Gospel magnificently : 
 the latter was taken from St. Luke ii., ending with the words, 
 " For with God nothing shall be impossible." It was really 
 astonishing that such an aged man could produce such sonorous 
 sounds, they actually rang in one's ears to a degree that was 
 absolutely painful to those who stood close to him ; but I 
 conjecture, from the quivering of the half-closed eyelids, the 
 compressed lips, and the raising of the whole body on tiptoe 
 when a very loud or high tone was required, that it was a great 
 effort to hirn. He performed by far the greater part of the 
 service. 
 
 While the Cherubim's hymn was being sung, the Bishop 
 stood at the royal gates, and the trio again appeared with the 
 
428 A Bishops Visitation. 
 
 salver, vase, and muslin towel, and the ablution was repeated. 
 This is done immediately before the great procession with the 
 Elements. The choir sang the hymn very sweetly. 
 
 On the conclusion of Mass the Bishop preached a short 
 sermon, the subject of which was an admonition to his flock 
 not to neglect the table of the Lord. He alluded to his 
 thankfulness to the Almighty for the reception he had every- 
 where met with on his arduous journeys from the Government 
 town, but added that he dare not accept it as a personal 
 distinction to himself, though it rejoiced him to observe the 
 zeal of his dear flock to the pastor whom God had placed over 
 them ; and unworthy as he felt himself, he could not but " take 
 the cup of salvation" presented to him, "and call on the name 
 of the Lord" in behalf of his children. He spoke in the 
 same simple but impressive way as he did when repeating 
 the psalm. 
 
 Mass being sung, he was disrobed in the altar, and his 
 cassock and mantle having been again put on, he came to the 
 amvon to give the people his blessing. Each crowded up, 
 with the back of the right hand crossed on the palm of the 
 left (both of course ungloved) : the Bishop makes the sign of 
 the cross over them, and then lays his own hand for one instant 
 on them to be kissed. He would not hear of hurrying this 
 ceremony, nor of leaving his station until the congregation 
 were satisfied ; several children told me that they went up 
 several times, and that each time he said something kind to 
 them. We waited on the west steps to see him go out, exposed 
 to the broiling sun of noon ; and it must have been very little 
 less than half an hour afterwards that a movement in the crowd 
 betokened his exit. The people rushed again, the stanovoys 
 shouting to them to have done, to let his Eminence pass, but 
 
A Bishops Visitation. 429 
 
 he begged them to desist, and went forward, deahng his 
 blessings to everybody who managed to stumble up to him. 
 Finally, when seated in the open carriage that an inhabitant of 
 the town had placed at his disposal, the crowd tore headlong 
 after him, and he continued making the sign of the cross on 
 either side, till he disappeared behind the ready open door of 
 his temporary dwelling. 
 
 At a quarter to two on the same afternoon, while we were 
 exchanging our impressions of the morning's service over the 
 coldest dinner that could be invented, the principal ingredient 
 in the fare being lumps of ice, we heard a peal of clanging 
 bells, by which we were informed that his Eminence had left 
 our town ; and, once more seated in his close stuffy chariot, 
 was on the way to the next, which is seventy versts distant, and 
 where exactly the same scenes would be enacted as those of 
 which we had been witnesses here. 
 
 IHE END. 
 
LONDON 
 
 CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, PRINTKHS, 
 BREAD STREET HILL. 
 
November, j868. 
 
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illcssrs. Bibington's iStlD ^ublttattons 7 
 
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20 . Jttcssrs. IRfbington's iSftD publications 
 
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i^ltssrs. Bitiington's j^.tto publications 21 
 
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22 JWcssrs. IRfbJngton's ^clu ^ufilications 
 
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 Edited by T. V. Fosbery, M. A. , Vicar of St. Giles's, Reading. 
 
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.picssrs. IftibCngton's i^tto ^ublfcatCons 23 
 
 A Practical Introduction to Latin 
 
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 and formerly Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
 Fourtc'citik Edition. 8vo. 6j-. 6J. 
 
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 IContfon, <®iforB, anti (JamliriUgc 
 
24 iWmrs. IRiblngton's j^tto ^ublttations 
 
 Latin via English ; 
 
 being the Second Part of Spelling turned Etymology. 
 
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 and formerly Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
 Third Edition. 12 mo. 4^. (>d, 
 
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JW<»sr8. IRibington's iSeto ^uliluattons 25 
 
 JV£W PAMPHLETS 
 ON THE IRISH CHURCH aUESTION. 
 
 BY THE BISHOP OF OSSORY. 
 
 The Case of the Established Church in Ireland. By 
 
 James Thomas O'Buien, D.D., Bishop of Ossory, Ferns, and Leighliii. 
 Third Edition. With Appendix. 8vo. 2s.6d. 
 
 The Appendix may also be had separately, is. 
 
 BY LORD REDESDALE. 
 
 SpeeeJi in the House of Lords on Friday, \']th Jnly, 
 
 j868, on moving for a copy of the Coronation Oath; with a Reply to an 
 Article in the "Saturday Review." 8vo. td. 
 
 BY JOHN JEBE, D.D. 
 
 TJie Rights of the Irish Branch of the United 
 
 Church of England and Ireland Considered on Fundamental Principles, 
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 BY THE REV. LORD O'NEILL AND THE REV. DR. LEE. 
 
 The Church in Ireland, i. The Difficidiics of her 
 
 Present Position Considered. By the Rev. Lord O'Neill, of -Shane's 
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 Churchmen in England and Ireland at this Crisis towards Her. By the 
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 BY THE REV. G. R. OLEIC. 
 
 Letters on the Irish Question. By G. R. Gleig, 
 
 M.A., F.R.G.S., &c., Chaplain-General to the Forces, and Prebendary of St. 
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 The Church, the Land, and the Constitution ; or, 
 
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 "EonBon, ©iforU, ana ©ambritigc 
 
20 
 
 JWcssrs. Htbington's iSctn \9ublications 
 
 Ar£W PAMPHLETS. 
 
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 BY THE BISHOP OF PERTH. 
 
 Chrisfs Spiritual Presence with His Worshippers 
 
 the True Glory of His House : a Sermon preached in the New Parish 
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 BY ARCHDEACON WORDSWORTH. 
 
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 Sacred Music: a Sermon preached at the Anni- 
 
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 TJic Position of the Church of England as a National 
 
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JWcssrs. IRibington's iSefio publications 27 
 
 CATENA CLASSICORUM, 
 
 A SERIES OF CLASSICAL AUTHORS, 
 
 EDITED BY MEMBERS OF BOTH UNIVERSITIES UNDER 
 THE DIRECTION OF 
 
 THE REV. ARTHUR HOLMES, M.A. 
 
 FELLOW AND LECTURER OF Cl.ARE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, LECTURER AND LATE 
 FELLOW OF ST. JOHN's COLLEGE, 
 AND 
 
 THE REV. CHARLES BIGG, M.A. 
 
 tATE SENIOR STUDENT AND TUTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD, SECOND 
 CLASSICAL MASTER OF CHELTENHAM COLLEGE. 
 
 The following Parts have been already published:— 
 
 SOPHOCLIS TRAGOEDIAE, 
 Edited by R. C. Jebb, M.A. Fellow and Assistant Tutor of Trinity 
 College, Cambridge. 
 [Part I. The Electra. 3s. 6d. Part II. The Ajax. 3s. 6d. 
 JUVENALIS SATIRAE, 
 Edited by G. A. Simcox, M.A. Fellow and Classical Lecturer of 
 Queen's College, O.xford. [Thirteen .Satires. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THUCYDIDIS HISTORIA, 
 Edited by Charles Bigg, M.A. late Senior Student and Tutor of 
 Christ Church, Oxford. Second Classical Master of Chelten- 
 ham College. 
 
 [Vol. I. Books I. and II. with Introductions. 6s. 
 DEMOSTHENIS ORATIONES PUBLICAE, 
 Edited by G. H. Heslop, M.A. late Fellow and Assistant Tutor 
 of Queen's College, Oxford. Head Master of .St. Bees. 
 
 [Parts I. c*c II. The Olynthiacs and the Philippics. 4s. 6d. 
 
 ARISTOPHANIS COMOEDIAE, 
 Edited by W. C. Green, M.A. late Fellow of King's College, 
 Cambridge. Classical Lecturer at Queens' College. 
 
 [Part I. The Acharnians and the Knights. 4s. 
 [Part II. The Clouds, ^s. 6d. 
 [Part III. The Wasps. 3s. dd. 
 
 ISOCRATIS ORATIONES, 
 Edited by John Edwin Sandys, B.A. Fellow and Lecturer of 
 St. John's College, and Lecturer at Jesus College, Cambridge. 
 
 [Part I. Ad Demonicum et Panegyricus. 4s. 6d. 
 
 ■jEonHon, ©iforU, anw CCambrittgc 
 
28 Jllcssrs. lafbington's igcto publications 
 
 CATENA CLASSICORUM— Opinions of the Press. 
 
 Mr. /ebb's SopJwdes. 
 
 " Of Mr. Jebb's scholarly edition of 
 the ' Electra' of Sophocles we cannot 
 speak too highly. The whole Play 
 bears evidence of the taste, learning, 
 and fine scholarship of its able editor. 
 Illustrations drawn from the literature 
 of the Continent as well as of England, 
 and the researches of the highest clas- 
 sical authorities are embodied in the 
 notes, which are brief, clear, and 
 always to the point." — London Re- 
 view, March i6, 1867. 
 
 " The editorship of the work before 
 us is of a very high order, displaying 
 at once ripe .scholarship, sound^judg- 
 
 cellent Introduction gives an account 
 of the various forms assumed in Greek 
 literature by the legend upon which 
 ' The Electra ' is founded, and institutes 
 a comparison between it and the 
 ' Choephorae' of .«schylus. The te.\t 
 is mainly that of Dindorf. In the notes, 
 which are admirable in every respect, 
 is to be found e.\-actly what is wanted, 
 and yet they rather suggest and direct 
 further inquiry than supersede exertion 
 on the part of the student.*' — AtJic- 
 
 " The Introduction proves that Mr. 
 Jebb is something more than a mere 
 scholar, — a man cif real taste and 
 feeling. His ,:,-,!!. i- n upon Srhlegel's 
 remarks on the I J. cir.i urt . ^^ c believe, 
 new, and ceri.uiiU juvl .\s we have 
 often had occasion to savin this Review, 
 it is impossible to pass any reliable 
 criticism upon school-bcoks until they 
 have been tested by experience. The 
 notes, however, in this case appear to 
 be clear and sensible, and direct at- 
 tention to the points where attention is 
 most needed." — \['cstiuinster Review. 
 
 "We have no hesitation in saying 
 that in style and manner Mr. Jebb]s 
 notes are admirably suited for their 
 
 purpose. The explanations of gram- 
 matical points are singularly lucid, the 
 parallel passages generally well chosen, 
 the translations bright and graceful, 
 the analysis of arguments terse and 
 luminous. Mr. Jebb has clearly shown 
 that he possesses some of the qualities 
 most essential for a commentator." — 
 Spectator 
 
 *'The notes appear to lis exactly 
 suited to assist boys of the Upper 
 Forms at Schools, and University 
 students ; they give sufficient help 
 
 without over-doing explanations 
 
 His critical remarks show acute and 
 exact scholarship, and a very useful 
 addition to ordinary notes is the scheme 
 of metres in thechoruses." — Guardian. 
 
 "If, as we are fain to believe, the 
 editors of the Catena Classicomnt 
 have got together such a pick of 
 scholars as have no need to play their 
 best card first, there is a bright promise 
 of success to their series in the first 
 sample of it which has come to hand 
 — Mr. Jebb's 'Electra.' We have seen 
 it suggested that it is unsafe to pro- 
 nounce on the merits of a Greek Play 
 edited for educational purposes until it 
 has been tested in the hands of pupils 
 and tutors. But our examination of the 
 instalment of, we hope, a complete 
 ' Sophocles,' which Mr. Jebb has put 
 forth, has assured us that this is a 
 needless suspension of judgment, and 
 prompted us to commit the justifiable 
 rashness of pronouncing upon its con- 
 tents, and of asserting after due perusal 
 that it is calculated to be admirably 
 serviceable to every class of scholars 
 and learners. And this assertion is 
 based upon the fact that it is a by no 
 means one-sided edition, and that it 
 looks as with the hundred eyes of 
 Argus, here, there, and everywhere, to 
 keep the reader from straying. In a 
 
 i:ontJon, ©I'fortf, anti ffiambritigc 
 
JWfssrs. Hibington's ^cto publications 29 
 
 CATENA CLASSICORUM— Opinions of the Press. 
 
 concise and succinct style of English 
 annotation, forming the best substitute 
 for the time-honoured Latin notes which 
 had so much to do with making good 
 scholars in days of yore, Mr. Jebb 
 keeps a steady eye for all questions of 
 grammar, construction, scholarship, and 
 philology, and handles these as they 
 arise with a helpful and sufficient pre- 
 cision. In matters of grammar and 
 syntax his practice for the most part is 
 to refer his reader to the proper section 
 of Madvig's ' Manual of Greek Syn- 
 tax :' nor does he ever waste space 
 and time in explaining a construction, 
 unless it be such an one as is not satis- 
 factorily dealt with in the grammars 
 of Madvig or Jelf. Experience as a 
 pupil and a teacher has probably taught 
 him the value of the wholesome task 
 of hunting out a grammar reference 
 for oneself, instead of finding it, handy 
 for slurring over, amidst the hundred 
 and one pieces of information in a 
 voluminous foot-note. But whenever 
 there occurs any peculiarity of con- 
 struction, which is hard to reconcile 
 
 to the accepted usage, it is Mr. Jebb's 
 general practice to be ready at hand 
 with manful assistance." —Ccw/'^'w/i;- 
 rary Review. 
 
 " Mr. Jebb has produced a work 
 which will be read with interest and 
 profit by the most advanced scholar, 
 as it contains, in a compact form, not 
 only a careful summary of the labours 
 of preceding editors, but also many 
 acute and ingenious original remarks. 
 We do not know whether the matter 
 or the manner of this excellent com- 
 mentary is deserving of the higher 
 praise : the skill with which Mr. Jebb 
 has avoided, on the one hand, the 
 wearisome prolixity of the Germans, 
 and on the other the jejune brevity of 
 the Porsonian critics, or the versatility 
 which has enabled him in turn to 
 elucidate the plots, to explain the 
 verbal difficulties, and to illustrate the 
 idioms of his author. All this, by a 
 studious economy of space and a re- 
 markable precision of expression, he 
 has done for the 'Ajax' in a volume 
 of some 200 pages." — Atlienceum. 
 
 Mr. Simcox's Jtcvenal. 
 
 " Of Mr. Simcox's ' Juvenal ' we can 
 only speak in terms of the highest com- 
 mendation, as a simple, unpretending 
 work, admirably adapted to the wants 
 of the school-boy or of a college pass- 
 man. It is clear, concise, and scru- 
 pulously honest in shirking no real 
 difficulty. The pointed epigrammatic 
 hits of the satirist are every where well 
 brought out, and the notes really are 
 what they profess to be, explanatory in 
 the best sense of the term." — Lo7idoK 
 Review. 
 
 " This is a link in the Catena Classi- 
 co-nun to which the attention of our 
 readers has been more than once di- 
 rected as a good Series of Classical 
 works for School and College purposes. 
 The Introduction is a very comprehen- 
 sive and able account of Juvenal, his 
 
 satires, and the manuscripts." — Athe- 
 
 "This is a very original and en- 
 joyable Edition of one of our favourite 
 classics." — Spectator. 
 
 " Every class of readers— those who 
 use Mr. Simco.x as their sole inter- 
 preter, and those who supplement 
 larger editions by his concise matter 
 — will alike find interest and careful 
 research in his able Preface. This 
 indeed we should call the great feature 
 of his book. The_ three facts which 
 sum up Juvenal's history so far as we 
 know It are soon despatched ; but the 
 internal evidence both as to the dates 
 of his writing and publishing his Sa- 
 tires, and as to his character as a 
 writer, occupy some fifteen or twenty 
 pages, which will repay methodical 
 study." — Churchman. 
 
30 JUcssrs. IKi&mgton's Mcio ^ulilications 
 
 CA TENA CLASSICORUM— Opinions of the Press. 
 
 "Mr. Bigg in his ' Thiicydides' 
 prefixes an analysis to each book, and 
 an admirable introduction to the whole 
 work, containing full information as to 
 all that is known or related of Thucy- 
 dides, and the date at which he wrote, 
 followed by a ver>' masterly critique on 
 some of his characteristics as a writer." 
 —A theumim. 
 
 " While disclaiming absolute ori- 
 ginality in his book, jVIr. Bigg has so 
 thoroughly digested the works of so 
 many eminent predecessors in the same 
 field, and is evidently on terms of such 
 intimacy with his author as perforce 
 to inspire confidence. A well-pondered 
 and well-written introductionhas formed 
 a part of each link in the 'Catena' 
 hitherto published, and iVIr. Bigg, in 
 addition to a general introduction, 
 has given us an essay on ' Some Cha- 
 racteristics of Thucydides,' which no 
 one can read without being impressed 
 
 Thucydides. 
 
 with the leamingand judgment brought 
 to bear on the subject." — Standard. 
 
 " We need hardly say that these 
 books are carefully edited ; the reputa- 
 tion of the editor is an as.surance on 
 this point. If the rest of the history is 
 edited with equal care, it must become 
 the standard book for school and 
 college purposes. " — yo/irt Bull. 
 
 " Mr. Bigg first di.scusses the facts 
 of the life of Thucydides, then passes 
 to an examination into the date at 
 which Thucydides wrote ; and in the 
 third section expatiates on some cha- 
 racteristics of Thucydides. These 
 essays are remarkably well written, 
 are judicious in their opinions, and 
 are calculated to give the student much 
 insight into the work of Thucydides, 
 
 the works of subsequent historians." — 
 Museum. 
 
 Mr. Hes lop's Demosthenes. 
 
 " The usual introduction has in this 
 case been dispensed with. The reader 
 is referred to the works of Grote and 
 Thirlvvall for information on such 
 points of history as arise out of these 
 famous orations, and on points of 
 critical scholarship to ' Madvig's 
 Grammar,' where that is available, 
 while copious acknowledgments are 
 made to those commentators on whose 
 works Mr. Heslop has based his own. 
 Mr. Heslop's editions are, however, 
 no mere compilations. That the points 
 required in an oratorical style differ 
 materially from those in an historical 
 style, will scarcely be questioned, and 
 accordingly we find that Mr. Heslop 
 has given special care to those cha- 
 racteristics of style as well as of lan- 
 guage, which constitute Demosthenes 
 the very first of classic orators." — 
 Staudard. 
 
 "We must call attention to New 
 Editions of various classics, in the 
 excellent ' Catena Classicornm' series. 
 The reputationand high standing of the 
 editors are the best guarantees for the 
 accuracy and scholarship of the notes." 
 — W estmiitster Review. 
 
 " The notes are thoroughly good, so 
 far as they go. Mr. Heslop has care- 
 fvUly digested the best foreign com- 
 mentaries, and his notes are forthe most 
 part judicioui extracts from them." — 
 Museutn. 
 
 "The annotations are scarcely less to 
 be commended for the exclusion of 
 superfluous matter than for the excel- 
 lence of what is supplied. Well-known 
 works are not quoted, but simply re- 
 ferred to, and information which ought 
 to have been previously acquired is 
 omitted." — A tlienceuin. 
 
imcsars. laibington's iSfto publications 
 
 CATENA CLASSICORUM— Opinions of the Press. 
 
 Mr. Green's Aristophanes. 
 
 "The Editors of this Series have 
 undertaken the task of issuing texts 
 of all the authors commonly read, and 
 illustrating them with an English Com- 
 mentar>', compendious as well as clear. 
 If the future volumes fulfil the promise 
 of the Prospectus as well as those 
 already published, the result will be 
 a very valuable work. The excellence 
 of the print, and the care and pains 
 bestowed upon the general getting up, 
 form a marked contrast to the school- 
 books of our own day. Who does 
 not remember the miserable German 
 editions of classical authors in paper 
 covers, e-xecrably printed on detestable 
 paper, which were thought amply good 
 enough for the school-boys of the last 
 generation? A greater contrast to 
 these can hardly be imagined than is 
 presented by the Catena C^assu'oriaii. 
 Nor is the improvement only external : 
 the careful revision of the text, and 
 the notes, not too len.gthy and con- 
 fused, but well and judiciously selected, 
 which are to be found in every page, 
 add considerably to the value of this 
 Edition, which we may safely predict 
 ivill soon be an established favourite, 
 not only among Schoolmasters, but 
 at the Universities. The volume before 
 us contains the first part of an Edition 
 of Aristophanes which comprises the 
 Acharnians and the Knights, the one 
 first in order, and the other the most 
 femous of the plays of the great Athe- 
 nian Satirist." — Cliiirchiiian. 
 
 "The utmost care has been taken 
 with this Edition of the most sarcastic 
 and clever of the old Greek dramatists, 
 facilitating the means of understanding 
 both the text and intention of that 
 biting sarcasm which will never lose 
 either point or interest, and is as well 
 adapted to the present age as it was 
 to the times when first put forward." — 
 Bell's Weekly Messenger. 
 
 "The advantages conferred on the 
 learner by these compendious aids can 
 only be properly estimated by those 
 who had experience of the mode of 
 study years ago. The translated pas- 
 sages and the notes, while sufficient 
 
 :be 
 
 to assist the willing learner 
 regarded in any sense as a cram."— 
 Clerical Jourjial. 
 
 " Mr. Green has discharged his part 
 of the work with uncommon skill and 
 ability. The notes show a thorough 
 study of the two Plays, an independent 
 judgment in the interpretation of the 
 poet, and a wealth of illustration, from 
 which the Editor draws whenever it is 
 necessary. " — Museum. 
 
 "Mr. Green presumes the existence 
 of a fair amount of scholarship in all 
 who read Aristophanes, as a study of 
 his works generally succeeds to some 
 considerable knowledge of the tragic 
 poets. The notes he has appended are 
 therefore brief, perhaps a little too brief. 
 We should say the tendency of most 
 modern editors is rather the other way ; 
 but Mr. Green no doubt knows the 
 'ilass for which he writes, and has been 
 careful to supply their wants." — Spec- 
 
 " Mr. Green's admirable Introduction 
 to 'The Clouds' of the celebrated 
 comic poet deserves a careful perusal, 
 as it contains an accurate analysis and 
 many original comments on this re- 
 markable play. The tevt is prefaced 
 by a table of readings of Dindorf and 
 Mcineke, which will be of great service 
 to students who wish to indulge in 
 verbal criticism. The notes are copious 
 and lucid, and the volume will be found 
 useful for school and college purposes, 
 and admirably adapted for private 
 reading. " — Kxamifier. 
 
 "Mr. Green furnishes an excellent 
 Introduction to 'The Clouds' of 
 Aristophanes, explaining the circum- 
 stances under which it was produced, 
 and ably discussing the probable object 
 of the author in writing it, which he 
 considers to have been to put down 
 the Sophists, a class whom Aristo- 
 phanes thought dangerous to the morals 
 of the community, and therefore ca- 
 ricatured in the person of Socrates, — 
 not unnaturally, though irreverently, 
 choosing him as their representative." 
 — A fiieiueion. 
 
 IContron, ^xforU, anU Camtntrgc 
 
32 JJTcssrs. IRibington's iScto publications 
 
 CATENA CLASS/CO RUM. 
 The following' Parts are in course of preparation;— 
 
 PLATONIS PHAEDO, 
 Edited by Alfred Barry, D.D. late Fellow of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge, Principal of King's College, London. 
 
 DEMOSTHENIS ORATIONES PUBLICAE, 
 Edited by G. H. Heslop, M.A. late Fellow and Assistant Tutor 
 of Queen's College, Oxford. Head Master of St. Bees. 
 
 [Part III. De Falsa Legatione. 
 
 MARTIALIS EPIGRAMMATA, 
 Edited by George Butler, A. Principal of Liverpool College ; 
 late Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. 
 
 DEMOSTHENIS ORATIONES PRIVATAE, 
 Edited by Arthur Holmes, M.A. Fellow and Lecturer of Clare 
 College, Cambridge. [Part I. De Corona. 
 
 HOMERI ILIAS, 
 Edited by S. H. Reynolds, M.A. Fellow and Tutor of Brasenose 
 College, Oxford. [Vol. I. Books I. to XH. 
 
 HORATI OPERA, 
 Edited by J. M. Marshall, M.A. Fellow and late Lecturer of 
 Brasenose College, Oxford. One of the Masters in Clifton 
 College. 
 
 TERENTI COMOEDIAE, 
 Edited by T. L. Papillon, M.A. Fellow and Classical Lecturer of 
 Merton College, Oxford. 
 
 HERODOTI HISTORIA, 
 Edited by H. G. Woods, M.A. Fellow and Tutor of Trinity 
 College, Oxford. 
 
 TACITI HISTORIAE, 
 Edited by "W. H. SiMCOX, M.A. Fellow and Lecturer of Queen's 
 College, Oxford. 
 
 PERSII SATIRAE, 
 Edited by A. Pretor, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, 
 Classical Lecturer of Trinity Hall. 
 
 IContton, ©ifottt, antr CCamfiriirge 
 
A