Morning journal and courier., 1892-02-17

l conscription and similar inevitable evils.
 Nay, he gives more thought to the 'domo- | vol than even to the tax-collector. for the
 latter's visits take place at fixed times, | whereas the former is constantly with him
 But familiarity invariably breeds con
 tempt, and also in this case the constant | presence of the house-spirit has deprived
 him of certain awe-inspiriug features | which are so characteristic of the ghosts
 of other countries. Thus in most parts of
 Russia the peasant pictures 10 himself the
 domoyoi as a little old man with 6 long
 beard and hirsute covering all over his
 body, and as manifesting decided prefer | ence for the petch (oven), where he lives with his wife and family. I have never
 heard of a house-spirit who had not ai
 least a wife; in the majority of cases he is | represented ss having alec several dsugh-
 ters. The latter are reputed 10 be exceed
 ingly attractive and possessing all the charms of youth and beauty. But woe to
 the mortal whose fancy takes & flight in
 that direction. He is inevitably lost | Some fifteen years ago came across an old army pensioner hailing from Voro- nesh. He had served under the Car Nicholas, and got his discharge after the Crimesn war. The old fellow was & good
 hand at describing the horrors of the ante emancipation days; his forte, however, lay
 in the domain of ghostlsnd. He was a | firm believer in house spirits. wood-spir- | its, water-nixies and 6 host of minor den- izens of the spirit-world. He had no doubt whatever that human beings are | sometimes enticed by the charming dsugh- | ters of the domovoi, and as a case fn point mentioned that of his own brother, a young fellow of nineteen, who had hAd the misfortune 10 get infatuated with the daughter of their house-spirit. "Heasen only knows, bsrin (mastert," the old man
 said with a deep sigh. ''how he came to
 meet the netshituiu (unclesn one), but there it was. He suddenly became a changed man, lost his appetite, could not sleep. would walk about like a man in 6 dream, not speaking to any one, or even answering when spoken to- At first we did not know what was the matter with him, but learned, on consulting the znsk- har Csorcerer), that the poor lad had been ensnared by the domovos's daughter. He lthe sorcererl tried all kinds of incanta- tions and other remedies, but they were all of no avail. The lad became worse and
 worse, would disappear for days roaming about in the fields, and return home com pletely tired out. Things thus went on for months, until one morning one of our
 neighbors found the lad hanging from a tree" Here the old man wiped away the tears from his eyes, muttering to himself, ''Biedny paren' biedny psren." (poor lad! poor ladD The domovoi, after that sad event, completely changed his behavior towards the household. He used to be very kind, even indulgent, both to the members of my informsnt's family and to their cattle, horses and poultry. He would look after the animals and see that they were we'll fed and watered, and not moles- ted by other spirits. Soon after the death of the young fellow the house-spirit began to play practical jokes of all kinds. He
 would, for instance pinch them, cause nightmares and otherwise disturb them
 in their sleep, throw sbout articles of fur | niture and kitchen utensils, slam doors, | and do a variety of other annoying things. Particularly spiteful he showed himself to | horses. He would tear out the hair of their names. take away their fodder and
 make them restive.
 heard similar stories of ghosts pranks from other peasants, although I have new CT come across another instance of 8 man actually falling in love with the domovoi's daughter. Very frequently the house. spirit takes a dislike to some particular member of the family, or even to some particular animal, giving vent to his feel | ings in variety of unpleasant ways. It | is, however, asserted that 8 gentle remon- | strsnce with the diedushka Qittle grand | father)-so the house spirit is generally al- | lnded to-msy in some cases avert his dis | favor. In certain districts the little | grandfather" seems to be less amenable to Il reason, and the inhabitants have therefore
 to resort to stronger means of pacifcstion.
 The services of the village sorcerer are \ first called into acquisition, and, if of no avail, offerings in the shape of hens, geese, | and, in very rare cases, even of cattle and | hnruac had sn Tn af | the eastern governments 6 hen or 6 goose | is killed in honor of the domovoi at regu- lar intervals, the head of the killed bird | being hung up somewhere in the court | yard for the special benefit of the 'slittle grandfather" and his family. It is also customary to dedicate to the house spirit l the halter by which a newly acquired horse or COW he'd been led to its new home,
 and as the petch is supposed to be his fs-
 vorite spot in the house, the rope is plsced
 there at night. In addition to this it is
 also thought necessary to recommend to
 the domovoi's favor every new animal in-
 troduced into the household. This is done
 by addressing him in some such manner as
 the following: "Diedoosnka, take kindly
 to this horse, feed and water him, do no,
 modest him myself, nor suffer thy wife and
 children to ill-treat him." At the death
 of the paterfamiliss his heir or successor
 is, in some parts, formally introduced tC
 the "little grandfather" the latter being
 implored to extend his protection to th,
 new master and his property in the sam,
 way as he had done to his predecessor
 Generally speaking, the domovoi is friend | ly to people he knows, but the reverse tS | strangers, snd 1t is owing 10 this circum
 stance that he is always invited to follow
 the family whenever the residence | changed. The oldest female of the hsuse hold goes to the old place, and filling
 new esrthenware vessel with burning coAls
 politely invites the little grandfather" tS
 take up his abode in the new house. Sh' then covers up the vessel and carries i
 home, where the master and his wife ST waiting at the door to meet their old frienS with bread and salt, |" this being the usu al form of welcome extended by hospita
 ble Russians. On the company then en
 tering the house the coals are emptied ol
 the hearth. and the ceremony of installa tion is considered complete. Domovois
 however, happen to be inimical toward
 each other, and very frequently a herc struggle ensues between the old house ghost and the new conner. If the latter i victorious the family may look forward tl
 peace and plenty, but should he succuml
 to the superior strength of his rival, tn household must be prepared for & verita , ble pandemonium at night time, and fo
 unpleasant surprises in the stable, COW shed and poultry yard. For the old spiri 1. is sure to have his revenge on the famil for trying to oust him from his quarters . Only on very rare occasions the domovoi
 act in accord with each other. It is be
 fore the advent of great calamity, sucl
 as the outbreak of 8 war, a pestilence or famine. All the spirits then meet in som secluded spot outside the village and mak night hideous with their howls and shrieks
 Next in importance are the Kikimori . They are supposed to be the spirits of chil dren who departed this life either withou t being baptized or with the curse of thei mothers resting on them. Although ol ' the whole quite harmless, they gre apt e
 | times to cause disturbances, especiall B when human being has succeeded il catching sight of them, in whic,- case the t revenge themselves on the offending per son by throwing at him tor her) ythin . that may be near at hand. Like the dom : ovois they live in the oven, but, unlik
 their neighbors, they manifest a prefer , ence for uninhabited houses. Only as re T gently as 1864 the whole population o , Krasnoyarsk, a government town in Sibe ria, was greatly agitated owing to . mum Der of Kikimori taking up their abobe il
 an uninhabited house, and amusing them