Evening star., 1916-12-03

ana Vlctlms OF Une women. when the
village grew too narrow field for his
adventures, s,hewandered awayas pilgrim.
"Rasputin had never had day of
schooling, and he had the direst ignorance
of anything that he might find in the
outside world, except what his priest had
told him of big cities with great churches,
and of monasteries and converts and holy
places. 1t was the beginning of an educa-
ton to make his wayfrom village to village,
trying the mettle and temper of strangers
with his questions and high spirits. You
can picture him when he reached Moscow,
tramping around and around the great
churches and palaces with open mouth
and staring eyes.
"He saw that men had done bigger
things in the world than he had ever
dreamed Of He decided that reading and
writing must have had something to do
with this power. A Rasputin does not
have to look long in this world for teachers.
He has had many. Amidst various hot
blooded adventures he found time to watch
fair fingers point out the letters of the
alphabet.
"Rasputin's development seems always
to have advanced by jumps Moscow re-
ceived him uncouth, uneducated, and
untamed. He had had only the most
shadowy ideas of the power and organi-
zation and the dogma of the great Russian
Church. Something in the refinement of
the city and the art of the wonderful
churches began to smooth away the out
side of his uncouthness. The paradox of
it all was that Moscow was now disap-
pointment to his new moods. Incredible
yes; but this central Siberian moujik
was demanding something from the great
Moscow churches that they could not
give. Rasputin told his friends that the
church lacked passion. Their answer
was that the materialism and commercial
ism of great city had engulfed the church
that he should 60 to Kief if he wished to
find holiness uncontaminated.
Again he picked up his pilgrim staff.
At Kief he found another great city; but
the atmosphere was narrow and bigoted.
For time he thought that this bigotry
meant life. But man of Rasputin's keen
senses can not long be fooled by the spe-
cious, and he was soon angered by the
corruption that he found. Possibly-who
can deny?-this hot-blooded, intemperate,
riotous, desirous wanderer was honestly
seeking some unfaltering purity of relig-
ion as salvation outside himself against
the raging fires within, the very fires which
later were to carry him to the pinnacle
of power and might.
"He heard of Holy Mount Athos, and
again he took up his wanderings. Again
he found pettiness. Pilgrims were going
to Jerusalem. He joined them. I said
that Rasputin was impressionable. Now
came the second great evolution in his
life. 1t came from the sea- To this child
of the steppes, the expanse, the colors, the
storms, the peace the majesty, the power,
and the mystery affected him as some
thing new and revolutionary from Gods
hand. The effect upon his life was tre-
mendous. He ceased being simple
mo1ik upon quest. he himself not half
knowing what he wished to find. He had
been struck with the conviction, the reve-
lation, that if he could feel this inspiration
of the sea, which others could not feel
until his words and his fire discovered the
treasures for them, he must then be pos
sessed of powers which they did not