Smyrna times., 1903-09-16
RUSSIAN PILGRIMS.
HOW AGED PEASANTS ATTAIN CASTE
IN THEIR VILLAGES.

They Travel Far Away to Pray at
Distant Shrines and MOnasteries.
The Holy Places They Visit and at
Which They Are Fed and Lodged.
When the SHOWS of winter melt in
Russia and the woods are fragrant
with yiolets 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, recOllections Of
a vow that he once made that, if heav
en- willed, he would one day worship in
a certain monastery and there venerate
the relics of its saints. For many a
long year it seemed as if this VOW
would never be fulfilled, for there was
work to do in the 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 up
and can fend for themselves, and the
father and mother are no longer of the
same value to the community as labor
ers. Indeed were they to quit the vii
lage they would not be much missed.
One way, however remains for them
to redeem their lost position and to en-
title themselves for the rest of their
lives to the respect of all their neigh
bors. 1t is to go on far distant pill
grimage.
Innumerable 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; on the quays of Odessa, await
ing the steamer that will carry them to
Jaffa, or on the mOnOtOnOus straight
roads that for verst upon verst 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 catacOmbs of Pet
chersk at Kiev, there may be seen
bands of pilgrims. staff in hand, jour
neying on foot through poverty or in
accordance with a vow, to their far
off 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 a cOlored hob
The women have &C 3reG underskirt,
a short dress and bodice all in one and
bright hued handkerchief wrapped
! round the head, knapsack on the
back and a gOurd or kettle fastened
to a girdle. 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 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. if 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
a 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 a 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 tC
worship, and especially is he glad if il
be town, like Kiev, that stands on 8
range of wooded hills, breaking the
monOtOny of the endless plain. Sing
ing a more joyous hymn, he approach
es eagerly, for he knows that there arr
food and lodging assured him at his
destination. At Jerusalem there is al
immense convent built, supported by
the Russian government. which is wei
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 a hotel with sloping coun
ters that serve as a resting place. A
the lavra of Petchersk, the oldest of the
Russian monasteries, there has beer
a house for the poor since the eleventh
century. Some of the pilgrims are ac
commOdated In rooms that resembl,
well kept haylofts, and each one has
locker, where he may sit during tn,
: day and sleep at night. There is hos
pital there, too, with eighty beds, ant
a special wing for those whose all
, ments are not of a serious description
And for three days pilgrims are lodge,
and boarded free, and many are allow
ed to come and go just as they will.
, Lang's Literary Output.
Andrew Lang held at one time Wha