The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1892-03-05
A RUSSIAN SACRIFICE.
a FATHER OFFERS UP HIS SON ~
DID ABRAHAM or OLD.

tnbntbeal Deed 81 Pt~us hebrew.
Pathetic DssthLsd u the Child.
Toward the close OF day 10 late winter
Dmitri kurtin SAT 1t the door Of his log
ixbs reading He was man Of about fifty,
tall, dark. emaciatei. with narrow, high
forehead, piercing small eyes and com.
pressed lips-the face Of = fra redemptor.
stern, forbidding. sombeT. BY the fading
afternoon light Kurtin sat with his book
An old slsyonic Bible. Inherited from his
grandfather. 1t was the eve Of St. Isaac.
and be was reading the history OF the an
Client patriarch. reading and pondering,
reading and praying. lie had read and 70
read the terrible story OF Abral,am's inter.
rnpied sacrifice Of his son. and the old He
brew tale seemed somehow TO possess a
strange fascination for him. filling his
mind with awful thoughts that would
come surgiDg In upon him. he knew not
whence.
He explained aft@rward that be thought
Of the wickedness of the world and the ut
ter hopiessness Of salvation coming to men
had been for q long time weighing him
down with grief That all men must
perish because Of their iniqnity and dis
tance from God Was an idea that for weeks
had been taking firiner hold Of him What
could be do to prevent the inevitable doom
that was to fail on aankindt Filled with
this notion he sat and read the old story Of
Abraham aud Isaac, and the sw full thought
entered his mind that he and his wife aud
son would lie etrrnaily lost unless they
found some means Of satisfying divine jus
tioe. Jehovah jireh. Jehovah jireh," he
would mutter TO himself ''in the mountain
OF the Lord 1t shall he provided"
He would reason with himself: "If the
Lord asked me 10 offer up Grisha TO prove
me, would lie found wantingt q Lord,
don't prove me. he il my only son, little
GrishA But shouldst thou have il SO, IL
will he grand To hear thy voice saying. BE
cause thou hast obey-d my voice. and hast
not withheld thy son. thine only son
Grisha, that in blessing will bless thee
and make thy faith An example TO the ma
,ions 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
IL became too dark 10 read entered my
izba and went 10 bed. but during the night
my sorrow 40 Increased upon me that
could no, sleep, aud several times rose to
light more aud yet more candles before tie
holy icon. During the greater part OF the
night prayed on my knees for my own
and my famlly's salvation. all the time the
thought growing stronger and stronger
within my breast that little Grisha must
I've sseriheed.
''he ~ss sprightly. joyful child. and
clever beyond his years-sneh wise things
hc would say sometimes IL sacrificed
him ! would thereby save him from the
temptations Of life from the temptation.
when he grew ap. OF forsaking the faith
and making shipwreck Of bis soul
| concluded TO prepare for him a sure
path 10 heaven. Early in the morn
ing. long before daylight broke upon the
world. went out into the dark. 10 the
garden behind the iEoa. kueit down and
asA-d the ise,i-emer for sign
II asked that IL IL be his will that ! offer
Gp my GrislA. the desire TO do 80 should
come from The rlgh, side: II not, from the
left You must know ths,. according 60
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 neiurned with q
Joyful heart TO the iEha. for | now knew
taas sht %NffAAN NfA-' ~" "Na' FAaostr
TtE sASi.IrtCE
On a broad bench ia tie inner room
Gr4sha slcp, with his mother. gentle
woman. loving her boy passionateiy and
admir4ng bis precocious wisdom kurtin.
fearing opposition from his wits. seni her
on some pne,eht 10 The pelghboring village
Then. turning " hts sou, hc said. Rise.
Grtsha, aud put on n white shirt, that
may rejoice over thee" hur;in atierward
explained 10 the examining magistrate tina,
in the society Ia which hc belonged il was
considered sinful to die in striped or colorrd
clothes
when the hoy bad pa, on the vi bite shir,
he WAS told by his father 10 lie down again
on the tench, kur;lu folded up far coat
and carefully pisc~d II under bis sons
bead. then sitting down beside him be
drew knife from bis sleeve and stabbed
him several times The child WAS sinking
.asi a. the red dawn grew brighter aud
brighter ia the eastern heavens. sending
level tesms through the little window Of
the ishz. and luridiy illuminating this ter
rlble fanatic IN the execution OF his awful
deed
kartin noticed the crimson light steal
ing athwart the ghastly face OF the fault
less sacrifice lie Mas awe stricken, trem
hlcd oonvulsively. and. tottcring 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.
Forgive me. Grisheuka, that have made
thee suffer; IL Is all for thy good. little
boy"
The dying child. no; We, unconscious,
murmurcd. ''Gocdby, little father" But
Kurtin. not ye; satisfied glazed the boy in
an e4slcr position. and made him say.
God will pardon thee, little father"
pEAVH OF vHE FATHER
Then he lighted fresh candles before the
icon and prayed for the sou! Of the boy one
Of those pathetic Russian prayers for the
dying, asking the child 10 try To repeat the
words after him. The poor little fellow
did 20 n well as his trembling voice would
allow. and Quavcring out the last word Of
the prayer his terrible suf'erings ended.
When kurtin's wife returned home she
saw at a glance what had happened. Hor
ror stricken. she ran to the village elders
The neighbors aocked to the scene Of the
fearful tragedy and found the murderer
lying scnseless before tn. icon.
About a fortnight sfterward the gov
ernor of the state jail of Vladimir invited
the doctor and the chief warden to con
sultation on the state Of prisoner con
fined in the lunatic ward, who had refused
for days 20 take any food, and who passed
his days aud nights In agonizing cries for
forgiveness and help. They went to see
the prisoner Opening the door Of the cell
| In which he wa. confined, they cav
through the imperfect light q shspeless
bundle, buddlod Close up to the wall. mo-
I Al Iii a. l.. u