The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1900-07-07

E." -IHOC Ouly 10 every uOOh anu Co4 uSI
nf sthe vast emptre sof Russia has the
fame of John of ,Gronstadt spread, but
1t has reached tthe outside world, and
there are few places where his name is
mot known. Me is a Russian who is
believed by the Russians to have the
spower of working miracles and who
sevidently believes himself that he has
8 such a power. He has made Cronstadt
place of pilgrimage for the lame
and the lazy, the afflicted in mind, body
and estate of all Russia. The peasants
in their foul-smelling dresses of skin,
their dirt, disease and laziness, throng
the city, much to the disgust, Of the
regular dwellers there. From the
shores Of the, Arctic and the Pacific
oceans, and from the shores of the
Black Sea and from the borders of
: Asiatic khanates the pilgrims flock
to get glimpse of Father John, as he
is called, he being an ordained minis
ter of the Russian Greek church, to
partake Of his bounty and to receive
his blessing or his healing touches.
Many lodging houses have been built
in Cronstadt by enterprising persons
where the pilgrims are crowded in to-
gether, paying what they can. Some
of the proprietors of these places have
bargained to secure the presence of
Father John at their establishments.
Of course it is given out that Father
John is so busy that some days must
elapse before he will be able to attend;
meanwhile the number of the faithful
increases, and when a sufficient num-
Der has been got together they are as
sembled into a dimly lighted room,
into which another priest hurries,
quickly gives his blessing and as
quickly withdraws. Such shameless
deception became known to the town
authorities; the pilgrims were de-
nounced as nuisance, and some
months ago great efforts were made to
:, get the nuisance abated. However,
nothing has yet been done in this di-
rection, and it is unlikely that any
3. repressive measures will be taken.
When Father John appears abroad
I. the moujiks crowd to touch the hem of
bis robe or even to get within the
range of his vision. It is no wonder
that the ignorant peasants have such a,
faith in him when the nobility and the
= educated classes seem to have like
belief. When the Car Alexander III.
lay dying in the Crimea it was Father
John who, when the medical men had
given up hope, was summoned to the
bedside Of the emperor to try to ac-
complish by his prayers, what medical
skill had failed to do. The fact that
the czar died did not injure the repu-
tation of Father John. People said
that the miracle workers want of sue
cess was due to the will of God, and
s he was as much sought after as ever.
Sometimes Father John is summoned
to st. Petersburg, to the homes of those
+ who sit in the seats of the mighty
On such occasions there is always a
great gathering of the populace to see
him come and go. A traveller in Rus
sia, who recently witnessed one o1
these visits of the priest, thus des.
cribes the scene.
Crowds of people are not usual in
y Russia, for they are forbidden by the
police regulations, It was, therefore
all the more striking to observe g
gathering mob Of stalwart beggars an6
cripples of ::all ages, with the ubiqui
tous begging nun, attired in rusty
black, besieging one of the lordly man.
! :slons on the Winter Palace Quay o1
st. Petersburg one beautiful Marcf
morning. Such gathering together O.