The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-06-08


shirted peasant, dipping out the steaming
fluid with long iron lssale, and replying
with neyer falling good humor to the Sar-
castle observations and disparaging re-
marks Of the impatient crowd.
All" exclaimed one peasant. pointing
up at the water seller there's an avari-
cious man for you Look AZ himl sells
water at ten kopecls y tea kettleful
kak tibi ne steedno batushka-how are
you not ashamed my little father, TO sell
wateri God made the water and he gtpcs
it freely to everybody"
"Da hratoushkat Yes, my little
brother,s retorted the dispenser Of that
fluid, God made the water, but he didn't
make it hot: ii you want Gods water go
to the rivers and and fill your old tea ket-
tle;n and turning away with a half sup
pressed grin of triumph, he proceeded TO
supply another customer and reply with
ready wit TO another assailant.
Amid the shouting OF peddlerS, the
jangling of church bells, the popping of
beer bottles. and the confused hum of
thou sand voices, we walked on down the
main alley toward theeentre of the ceme-
terry The graves on both sides for a con-
siderable distance from the gateway had
been banked up to d height of three or
four feet, their sides escarped, and their
surfaces levelled. off, so as TO make rude
earthen tables, around which had been
constructed permanent wooden benches,
for the greater convenience of families
who desired to eat their annual memorial
dinner in comfort Many of the lot
owners had also sheltered their graves
with roofs, so that eTen bad weather
should not necessarily interfere with the
sacred duty of remembering the dead.
Nearly all the graves were covered with
white cloths, upon which We're plates,
cups ana saucers, together with loaves of
black bread, memorial cakes, slices of cold
meat and such other articles of food as
could be easily brought TO the cemetery
in baskets. But these. low, square
mounds. graves although they were, were
suggestive of anything but solemn emo
tions. A grave with seats around It. an
awning over it and big brass tea urn
smoking at one end, reminded an irrever-
ent American of Humpty Dumpty,s
hastily imprOvised steamboat, which
might be expected at any moment to
whistle and move away with ali the
mourners on board.
1t would be impossible to describe in
detail the curious types Of Russian hui
mainly which were presented to us at
every step. as we walked through the
graveyard. On every side were groups of
soldiers and civilians. peasant women and
nigh-born ladies, mo0Z1ikS and mobiles;
some eating and drinking reyerentlv, as
If partaking of sacrament, some laugh
ing and telling stories amid the popping of
champagne corkS and the cltnklng OF
glasses; few-a very few-sitting sadly
beside newly made graves, looking fixedly
at the fresh earth through their tears 1t
seemed strange place for sorrow, grave
yard though it was. | could not get rid
Of the IDEA that had come to a picnfc,and
enjoyment rather than suffering seemed
appropriate to the place. 1t was almost
with shock. therefore, that came sud-
denly. moment afterWard, upon a long
haired, black-robed priest, chanting
mournfully requiem for the soul of some
poor dead peasant. The father, mother and
sisters, their faces streaming with tears,
stood around the heap OF dry, bare earth
which covered the form of loved son
and brother, trying In vain to choke down
their sobs. and Joining now and then
with broken voices in the half-intoned
prayer-"O God of spirits aud OF all flesh.
who conquereSt death and the devil, and
giyest life to the world, grant, o Lord,
repOse to the soul of thy departed servant,
Alexander Deme triey1tch, in peaceful
place, in bright place, where there is
neither sickness nor signing; and all the
sins committed by him in thought, word
or deed, forgive them of Thy mercy and
love to mankind; for there is 20 man liv-
ing that sinneth not; Thou alone art
without sin, Thy word is forever and Thy
word is truth. o Thou, who art the
resurrection and the life. and the repose
of the souls of Thy departed servants; o
Christ, our Lord we praise Thee, with
Thy everything Father and Thy life-giving
Spirit, now. henceforth and forever"
The family bowed low over the grave,
with choking sobs at the conclusion of
the prayer, the priest swung smoking
censor crosswise above it, and amid
painful means from the women began to
chant the Everlasting Remembrance, ,;
The m burners all singing the last words
over and over again as a refrain. Let
the soul of Thy deceased servant, o Lord
repose In peace with the saints, and keep
him in everlasting remembrance.-ever
lasting ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS re-
mem rance." And the youngest
of the women threw herself in an agony
of grief upon the grave, exclaiming, "Akh
Sasha goloobchickr'-DO Ally, my
darlingp During all this time there was
no intermission of the noise and confusion
in the vicinity Moozhiks were hurrying
hither and thither with tea kettles ana
samoyars, paying no attention to the
weeping family; the prayer was broken
repeatedly by the popping of beer bottles,
laughter and loud calls for Ivan from
neighboring grave, and just as the
priest began the solemn chant of lever
lasting remembrance brute of a ped
dler, with board on his head, walked
heedlessly past, shouting at the top of his
voice, "Maleenal Maleenal Khoroshee
Maleenap - Raspberriesl Good Raspber-
riesv' Priests might pray and hearts
might break, but the public must know
kopecks quart. Nothing in this whole
extraordinary ceremony of remembering
the dead impressed me so forcibly and so
painfully as this total lack of sympathy
between the participating parties-the
unconcerned manner in which every in
diyidual pursued his own ends without
the slightest reference to the feelings of
Others. 1t would be supposed that peo-
pie who had assembled for the observance
OF so sacred a rite as this-the remem-
brance of dead friends-would feel GER
tain degree of mutual sympathy; and that
the many who had in measure outgrown
the first sharp pain of bereavement would
be careful not TO wound, by ill-timed
levity, the feelings of the few, whose
grief was more recent and more keen; but
there was not the slightest evidence OF
any such sympathy. Those who had come
to have picnic had their picnic, undis-
turbed by sympathetic considerations;
and the singing of requiem over a
newly made grave only few yards away
did not hush their laughter, nor percepti-
bly, lower their voices. Not far from Che
grave which have just described was
another, on which were sitting three
ragged, greasy Russian peasants, drink
ing beer. They seemed to be discussing.
as we passed, the character OF the man
whose boneslay under the sod on which
they sat. Yes, y said the most siisreputa-
BILE wretch of the tlffee, The was a good
fellowW and then, taking gulp of beer