The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1903-08-14
RUSSIAN PILGRIMS.
HOW AGED PEASANTS ATTAIN CASTE
IN THEIR VILLAGES.
They Travel Far Away to Pray mt
Distant Shrines and Monnsterics.
The Holy Places They Visit md mt
Which They Arc Fed md I,odued

| &"c "ohS finccs Tncy visit and mt
Which They Arc Fed and Nodged.
When the SHOWS Of winter melt in
Russia and the woods are fragrant
with violcts and the ice in great masses
floats down the rivers to the sea the
peasant who is on the threshold Of old
age, tired of long inaction, comes forth
from his izba and looks abroad.
: Strange thoughts have been stirring in
him for several months. rccollections of
a VOW that he once made that, il heav-
en- willed, he would one day worship in
certain monastery and there venerate
the relics of its saints. For many e.
long year it seemed as If this VOW
| would never be fulfilled, for there was
| work to do in tho village Of which he
could In no way rid himself, and still
more pressing was the burden of a
/ numerous family that could not be left.
But now the children have grown I'D
md can fend for themselves, and the
i father and mother are no longer of the
: same value to the community as labor
: ers. Indeed were they to quit the vii
4 lage they would not be much, missed.
| to redeem their lost position and to Oh.
title themselves for the rest OF their
lives to the respect Of all their neigh
bors. 1t is to go on far distant pill
I grimage.
lnnumcrablc are the sacred places in
Russia and out Of Russia which the
| pilgrims visit. On the sterile tundras
that end in the lonely strand where the
waves of the White sea fling their foam
upon the walls Of the Solovetsky mon
/ astery; OH the Quays Of Odessa, await
, Ing the steamer that will carry them to
, Jaffn. or on the monotonons straight
roads that for verst upon vcrst lead by
forests of white stcmmed birch or SOM
/ bcr pine to the resting place Of st.
Serge, near Moscow, or OF the saints
,, who sleep in the catacombs Of Pet
chersk at Kicv, there may be seen
bands OF pilgrims, STAFF in hand, jour-
neying on foot, through poverty or in
accordance with VOW, to their far
OF goal. The men often wear clumsy
, but comfortable shoes Of plated bark,
stockings fastened round the leg with
string. breeches reaching to the knees
and wide, baGgy, flowing coats attach
ed to the waist with colored belt.
The women have n colored underskirt,
short dress and bodice all in one and
bright hued handkerchief wrapped
round the head, knapsack on the
back and gourd or kettle fastened
10 girdie. but the costumes are
very various, and it would be impossi-
BILE to describe them all.
These pilgrims beg for money COM
paratively rarely. They have the self
| respect and independence which befit
people presumably SO pious. Perhaps
they have saved for this pilgrimage, for
. many years; they are hardy up to the
last degree. At night they sleep where
! they can, in n monastery or perhaps In
sheds that have been erected for them
by the road, and when they wish to
drink they stop and ask for water at a
PEASANTS hut, where they are respect
fully received. If they are short Of
bread the poor moujik will give them
some, IL he has any, for the charitable
instinct Of the people in Russia is mex
tinguishable. And perhaps, too, they
will render some service to the homes
that they visit. Tolstoi has described
pilgrim to the Holy Land who found
whole family dying Of starvation and
set them up again. And when Satur-
day arrives, and all good people are
bound by their religion to take bath,
then men and women will plunge into
the river regardless of the want of
bathing machines and careless of all
bathing regulations.
Glad, after this interminable march
Of many weeks Is the Russian pilgrim
when he sees far Off, flashing against
the azure sky, the domes Of the church
es Of the holy places where he is to
worship, and especially is he glad If it
be town, like Kiev, that stands on a
range of wooded hills. breaking the
monotony of the endless plain. Sing
ing more joyous hymn, he approach
es eagerly, for he knows that there are
food and lodging assured him at his
destination. At Jerusalem there Is an
immense convent built supported by
the Russian government, which is well
aware Of what the pilgrims do to in
crease Russian influence and her repu-
tation I'm the Holy Land. At Solovet-
sky there is hotel with sloping coun-
tiers that serve as n resting place. At
tho layra Of Petchersk, the oldest Of the
Russian monasteries, there has been
house for the poor since the eleventh
century. Some Of the pilgrims are ac-
cOmmodated I'm rooms that resemble
well kept baylofts, and each one has a
locker, where he may sit during the
day and sleep ut night. There is hos
pital there, too, with eighty beds, and
special wing for those whose ail.
ments are not of serious description.
And for three days pilgrims are lodged
and boarded free, and many are allow
cd to come and go just as they will.
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