Identifier: provincialrussia00stewuoft (find matches)
Title: Provincial Russia
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Stewart, Hugh, 1884-1934 De Haenen, F
Subjects: Russia
Publisher: London : A. and C. Black
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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uscovitecustoms, forbidding long beards and long robes,surrounding himself with foreigners, and toilingwith his o^v^l imperial hands at the boatmans oarand the executioners axe. The conviction spreadthat Peter was Antichrist. Harassed and per-secuted by the Tsars soldiery, the malcontentsplunged ever deeper into these impenetrablemarshes and forests. The more reasonable settledin peace by the shores of the White Sea, and thewilder orgiastic sects burned themselves in thou-sands. Of these wild martyrdoms, JNIerejhovskihas painted a remarkable picture in his Peterand Alexis, admirably translated by Mr. Trench.Religious ftmaticism is not yet dead in Russia, butit will rarely be seen by a foreigner. Pilgrims,however, he will see everywhere, and near Arch-angel in the summer the roads are full of them,bound for Solovetski, some of them sensible andsane peasants or from higher classes fulfilling avow, many of them rascals and vagabonds, manyhomeless, half-crazed wanderers that journey rest-
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V THE NORTH 25 lessly from one great shrine to another. Towardthese unbalanced naturals that are known as* Gods people, the peasantry show extreme kind-ness and not a little reverence. TurgueniefFslittle sketch of their ravings is thoroughly typical.A traveller takes refuge in a wayside inn fromheavy rain, and suddenly hears through thepartition a voice say : God bless all in thishouse ! God bless ! God bless ! Amen ! Amen !the voice repeated, prolonging the last syllable ofeach word in a wild, unnatural fashion. I heard aloud sigh and the sound of a heavy body sinkingdown on a bench. * Akulina —this was a female with the pil-grim— handmaiden of God, come here, thevoice began again. See, for as much as I amnaked, for as much as I am blessed . . . Ha-ha-ha! T-phew ! Lord, my God, Lord, my God,Lord, my God, the voice began to boom like adeacons before the altar, Lord, my God, Masterof my belly, look on my affliction ! Oho-ho ! Ha-ha ! . . . T-phew ! And blessed be this house tillthe

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