The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-12-18
A RUSSIAN SACRIFICE
A FATHER OFFERS UP HIS SON AS
DID ABRAHAM OF OLD.

tall, dark, emaciated, with narrow, high
forehead, piercing small eyes and COM
pressed lips-the face of fra redemptor,
stern, forbidding, somber By the fading
afternoon light Kurtin sat with his book
an old Slavonic Bible, inherited from his
grandfather 1t was the eve of st. Isaac,
and he was reading the history of the an
Gent patriarch, reading and bordering,
reading and praying. He had read and re-
read the terrible story of Abraham's inter-
rupted sacrifice of his son, and the old He
brew tale seemed somehow to possess q
strange fascination for him, filing his
mind with awful thoughts that would
come surging IN upon him, he knew not
whence.
He explained afterward that he thought
of the wickedness of the world and the ut
ter hoplessness of salvation coming to men
had been for long time weighing him
down with grief. That all men must
perish because of their iniquity and dis
lance from God was an idea that for weeks
had been taking firmer hold of him. What
could he do to prevent the inevitable doom
that was to fall on mankind? Filled with
this notion he sat and read the old story of
Abraham and Isaac, and theawful thought
entered his mind that he and his wife and
son would be eternaIly lost unless they
found some means of satisfying divine jus
tice. "Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-jireh," he
would mutter TO himself, sin the mountain
of the Lord it shall be provided"
He would reason with himself: eff the
Lord asked me to offer up Grisha to prove
me, would be found wanting2 o Lord,
don't prove me; he is my only son, little
I,,%r - 4
will be grand to hear thy voice saying, Be
cause thou hast obeyed my voice, and hast
not withheld thy son, thine only son
Grisba, that in blessing / will bless thee
and make thy faith an example to the ma
tons and accept thy sacrifice to the bless
ing of the nations of the EARTH"
THE INSPIRATION.
The correspondent translates a portion
of the statement made by kurtin some
few days after this to the examining mag
istrate of the town of Vladimir: when
it became too dark to read / entered my
izba and went to bed, but during the night
my sorrow so increased upon me that I
could not sleep, and several times rose to
light more and yet more candles before the
holy icon. During the greater part of the
night prayed on my knees for my own
and my family's salvation, all the time the
thought growing stronger and stronger
within my breast that little Grisha must
be sacrificed.
"He was a sprightly, joyful child, and
clever beyond his years-such wise things
he would say sometimes. If l sacrificed
him would thereby save him from the
temptations of life from the temptation,
when he grew up, Of foFsaking the faith
and making shipwreck of his soul
concluded to prepare for him a sure
path to heaven. Early in the morn
ing long before daylight broke upon the
world, l went out into the dark, to the
garden behind the izba, knelt down and
asked the Redeemer for a sign.
81 asked that if it be his will that / offer
up my Grisha. the desire to do SO should
come from the right side; if not, from the
left You must know that, according to
our belief, angels give all thoughts from
the right side, and the devils all from the
left After long praying the thought came
from the right side, and / returned with a
joyful heart to the izba, for l now knew
that my sacrifice would be acceptable"
THE SACRIFICE.
On a broad bench in the inner room
Grisha slept with his mother, gentle
woman, loving her boy passionately and
admiring his precocious wisdom. Kurtin,
fearing opposition from his wife, sent her
on some pretext to the neighboring village.
Then, turning to his son, he said, Rise,
Grisha, and put on white shirt, that
may rejoice over thee" Kurtin afterward
to the examining magistrate that
in the society to which he belonged it was
considered sinful to die in striped or colored
clothes.
When the boy had put on the white shirt
he was told by his father to lie down again
on the bench. Kurtin folded up fur coat
and carefully placed it under his sons
head then sitting down beside him he
drew knife from his sleeve and stabbed
him several times. The child was sinking
fast as the red dawn grew brighter and
brighter in the eastern heavens, sending
level beams through the little window of
the izba, and luridly illuminating this ter
rible fanatic in the execution of his awful
deed.
Kurtin noticed the crimson light steal
ing athwart the CHASTITY face of the fault
less sacrifice. He was awe stricken, trem-
bled convulsively, and tottering to the
corner where the icon hung, he fell pros
trate on his face and implored the Al
mighty to accept his offering. Then, re-
turning to his still living son, he cried,
So Forgive me, Grisheuka, that | have made
thee suffer; it is ali for thy good, little
boy"
The dying child, not yet unconscious,
"Goodby, little father" But
Kurtin, not yet satisfied, placed the boy in
an easier position, and made him say,
God will pardon thee, little father"
DEATH OF THE FATHER.
Then he lighted fresh candles before the
ICON and prayed for the soul of the boy one
Of those pathetic Russian prayers for the
dying, asking the child to try to repeat the
words after him. The poor little fellow
did so as we'll as his trem bling voice would
allow, and quavering out the last word of
the prayer his terrible sufferipgs ended.
When Kurtin's wife returned home she
saw at glance what had happened. Hor-
ror stricken, she ran 10 the village elders
The neighbors fiocked TO the scene of the
fearful tragedy and found the murderer
lying senseless before the icon.
About a fortnight afterward the gov
ernor of the state Jail of Vladimir invited
the doctor and the chief warden TO con-
sHlJatiUI On Tue Staet VI "a pAASpnCH COH-
fined in the lunatic ward, who had refused
for days TO take any food, and who passed
his days aud nights in sgonizing cries for
forgiveness and help. They went TO see
the prisoner. Opening the door of the cell
in which he was confined, they saw
through the imperfect light a shapeless
bundle, huddled close up 10 the wall, mo
ionless. But all suffering had ceased 1t I
was the body of DClitri kurrin, starved TO 4
deaf -Christian World.
MRS EM.L nlEn AkppN