The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1903-09-30
RUssI u PHI b ] ]. j lis.
HOW AGED Pr rs q AIN CAST &
III T4Eik vi AGES

e ~
They EFare1 Tar &SFay So Pay %
DIstnnt shrines n1.a lIo1hsseFies.
TIse HToly Prhees T.isex Visit sind rs
pgbsch 4iacy Are Esea azs1i 10 lgse-
when the SHOWS OF winter melt IN
russia and the woods are fEagrarlt
With vioIets and the Ice In stsqt 5liisse
sf6Sfs down the rivers 70 the sea
peasant who IS on the threshold q. OLD
re. tired OF long inaction, comes forth
fpm LIS izba and looks abroad
6nge Thoughts have been stirring In
biiS 4or several months. recoliections Of
q vow that he once made that g heay-
"a yiiied. he would one day worship In
a eert.l 10 monastery ana there veneraee
die relics OF its saints. For many 9
long wear Il seemed as if this VOW
voIiid never be FULFILLED. for there was
work 10 DO IN the village OF which he
conId IN no way rid himself, and stiIl
more pressing was the burden Of q
numerous family that could not be left
But now the children have grown up
and can Rend Tor themselves. and the
father and mother are no longer OF tns
same value TO the community as labor
era. Indeed were they to quit the VIZ
iago they would not be much missed:
To redeem. their lost position ana to en-
title themselves for the rest Of their
lives TO the respect OF ali their neigh
bofs. 1t Is to go on far distant PHI
grimage.
Innunerable are the sacred places in
Russia and out Of Russia which the
piierinis visit, On the sterile tundras
that end In he lonely strand where the
WIVES the White. sea fling their 9os1ila
upon aliSs walls OF the SoIoy mon
astery son the quayss or Odessa, agilit-
ing the steamer thut VIII carry them 10
JANA, or on the monotonous straight
roads TINT for verst upon yerst lead by
forests of white stemmed birch or SOM
Der pine to the resting place OF st
Serge. near Moscow, or of the saints
who sleep in the cntacombs OF Pet
chersk at Kfev, there may be seen
bands of pilgrims, staff In hand. jour
neying on foot, through poverty or in
accordance with vow. to their far
off goal The men often wear clumsy
but comfortable shoes of piaited bark
stockings fastened round the leg with
string, breecies reaching to the knees
| and wide. buggy. flowing coats attach
! ed to the waist with colored belt
The women have colored undersklrt..
a short dress and bodice MI in one ana
q bright hued handkerchief wrapped
round the head. knapsnck on the
back and gourd or kettle fastened
to a gfrdle. But the costumes are
very various, and It would be impossi-
BILE to describe them ALL
These pilgrims beg for money COM
parativeIy rarely. They have the self
respect and Independence which hetit
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 a 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
win render some service to the homes
that they visit. Tolstoi has described
a pilgrim to the Holy Land who found
a whole family dying of starvation anu
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 VIII plunge into
the river regardless OF the want OF
bathing machines and careless OF an
bathing regulations.
Glad, after this intermfnable march
Of many weeks. is the Russian pilgrim
when he sees far Off. flashing against
the nzure sky. the domes of the chureli-
es of the holy places where he IS to
worship. and especially is he glad II II
be town, like Eiev, that stands on
range of wooded hills, breaking the
monotony Of the endless plain. Sing
ing more Joyous hymn, he approach
es eagerly, for he knows TINT there are
! food and lodging assured him Mt his
destination. At jerusalem there IS m
Immense convent built, supported py
the Russian government, which Is well
aware of what the pilgrims do 10 IN
crease Russian influence and her repu-
! tation In the Holy Land. At Soiovet-
sky there is hotel with sloping coun-
tiers that serve as a resting place. AT
| the lavra of Petchersk, the Oldest OF the
| Russian monasteries, there has been
n house for the poor since the eleventh
| century. Some of the pilgrims are nc
commodated in rooms that resemble
well kept hayIofts, and each one has
! locker. where he may sit during the
day and sleep Mt night. There is a hos
pital there, too, with eighty beds, ana
! speciaI 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
ed to come and go just as they will.
LnnR's Literary Output.
Andrew Lang held ut one time what