Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - IV. Relief Work in Rjasan
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
as Antichrist, who was seducing- them with food, fuel, and
other worldly goods. The Orthodox Church, he said, was
strong enough to “exterminate Antichrist and his work.”
No wonder that many were frightened. But one of the
mushiks in my hearing, settled the matter to his own
satisfaction in a very logical way. “If the Lord,” he said, “is like
his servants, the popes and officials who oppress and rack us,
and Antichrist is such a person as Tolstoi, who freely feeds
us and our children, I had rather belong to Anti-Christ, and I
shall send my starving children to his eating-room.” Later
on, the peasants sent their children by thousands.
After our late dinner, while the Count was busy and the
mushiks, crowding as usual to his headquarters, I took a walk,
and noticed a gendarme, probably stationed there to keep a
watch on what was going on. Besides this open representative
of the Government of Petersburg, there was a crowd of
detectives, swarming in or about Byegitchevka. Sometimes
they would come disguised as applicants, asking for help and
denouncing the authorities; sometimes as friends, volunteering
their services. The Count’s experienced eye, however, soon
detected these, and he politely told them that they were not
wanted.
The evening of the same memorable Saturday saw a gathering
of helpers and friends from different quarters, who had
come to spend that night and part of the following Sunday in
consultation and friendly intercourse with their master. Of
this highly interesting group, of whom two were women, none
were above middle age, and all were educated, some possessing
a high degree of learning, and all from prominent families.
One had been a Fellow of Moscow University and was about
to be nominated to a professorship, when he suddenly quitted
the University and “went to the people.” In mushik dress he
shares the peasant’s life and toil, helping them in every
possible way, believing this to be a better object of life than
the attempt to beat Greek and Latin into the heads of the
Russian upper class youth. Yet he was no dreamer, but a
man of imperturbable calmness of mind, acute understanding,
and deep knowledge of human nature. Two years ago, he
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
