lifted himself, and was just going to swing himself into the saddle, when the horse took fright at a pig, sprang against the paling; and the man was heavy; he did not reach the saddle, but was thrown on his belly against the paling. There was one sharp pole that stood out above the paling, and this was higher than the others. And he fell on his belly straight on this pole. And it ripped open his belly, and he fell on the ground.

The muzhiks were coming from the plowing; the horses snorted and refused to pass through the turn into the gates; the muzhiks looked to see what the matter was, and there Mikhail Semyonovitch was lying on his back, his arms stretched out, and his eyes fixed, and his insides had gushed out over the ground, and his blood made a pool — the earth would not drink it.

The muzhiks were frightened; they drove the horses in by another way; only Piotr Mikhyeyitch dismounted and went to the overseer, and, seeing that he was dead, closed his eyes, harnessed the telyega, helped the dead man's son to put him in a box, and carried him back to the manor-house.

The barin learned about all these things, and on account of the sin forgave the muzhiks their tax.

And the muzhiks learned that God's power works not by sin, but by goodness.

THE TWO OLD MEN

CHAPTER I

"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." -JOHN iv. 19-23.

"WO aged men resolved to worship God in old Jerusalem. One was a rich muzhik; his name was Yefim Tarasuitch Shevelef: the other - Yeliser Bodrof was not a rich man.

Yefim was a sedate muzhik; he did not drink vodka, or smoke tobacco, or take snuff. All his life long he had never used a bad word, and he was a strict and upright man. He had served two terms as village elder1 and had come out without a deficit.

He had a large family, -two sons and a married grandson, and all lived together. As for himself, he was hale, long-bearded, erect, and, though he was in his seventh decade, his beard was only beginning to grow gray.

Yeliser was a little old man, neither rich nor poor; in former times he had gone about doing jobs in carpentry; but now, as he grew old, he began to stay at home, and took to raising bees. One of his sons had

1 The starosta, or starshina, is president of the village council, and is held accountable for the taxes levied on the mir, or commune.

gone away to work, the other was at home. Yeliser was a good-natured and jolly man. He used to drink vodka, and take snuff, and he liked to sing songs; but he was a peaceable man, and lived amicably with his family and his neighbors. As to his person, Yeliser was a short, darkish little muzhik, with a curly beard; and like his name-saint, Elisha the prophet, he was entirely bald.

The old men had long ago promised and agreed to go together, but Tarasuitch had never found the leisure; his engagements had never come to an end. As soon as one was through with, another began: first the grandson got married; then they expected the younger son from the army; and then, again, he was occupied in building a new izba.

One festival day the old men met, and sat down together on the timber.

'Well," says Yeliser, "when shall we set out, and fulfil our promise?"

Yefim knit his brow.

"We must wait awhile," says he. "This year it'll come hard for me. I am engaged in building this izba. I counted on spending about a hundred rubles; but I'm already on the third, and it is n't finished yet. You see, that'll take till summer. In the summer, if God grants, we will go without let or hindrance."

"According to my idea," says Yeliser, "we ought not to put it off; we ought to go to-day. It's the very time-spring."

"It is a good time certainly; but this work is begun: how can I leave it?

"Haven't you any one? Your son will attend to it." "How attend to it? My eldest son is not to be trusted— he is given to drinking."

"We shall die, old friend; they'll have to live without us. Your son must learn."

"That's so; but I should like to see this job finished under my own eyes!"

66 Ah! my dear man, you will never get all you want done. Only the other day, at my house, the women

And

folks were cleaning house, fixing up for Easter. both are necessary, but you'd never get done. And my oldest daughter-in-law, a sensible woman, says, 'Thank the Lord,' says she, 'Easter is coming; it doesn't wait for us, else,' says she, 'however much we did we should never get it all done.'

Tarasuitch was lost in thought.

"I have put a good deal of money," says he, "into this building; and we can't go on this journey with empty hands. It won't take less than a hundred rubles."

Yeliser laughed out:

"Don't make a mistake, old friend," says he; "you have ten times as much property as I have. And you talk about money! Only say when shall we go? I haven't anything, but I'll manage it."

Tarasuitch also smiled.

"How rich you seem!" says he; "but where will you get it?"

"Well, I shall scrape some up at home- that'll be something; and for the rest, I'll let my neighbor have ten of my hives. He has been after them for a long time."

"This is going to be a good regret it."

"Regret it? No, old friend. thing in my life except my sins. precious than the soul!"

swarming-year; you'll

I never regretted any-
There is nothing more

"That's so. But it's not pleasant when things aren't right at home."

"But how will it be with us if our souls are not right? Then it will be worse. But we have made a vow - let us go! I beg of you, let us go!"

CHAPTER II

AND Yeliser persuaded his friend. Yefim thought about it, and thought about it; and in the morning he came to Yeliser.

"You are right. In Since we are alive, and

"Well, then, let us go," says he. death and in life, God rules. have strength, we must go."

At the end of a week the old men had made their preparations.

Tarasuitch had money in the house. He took one hundred rubles for his journey; two hundred he left for the old woman.

Yeliser also was ready. He sold his neighbor the ten beehives. And the bees that would swarm from the ten hives, also, he sold to the neighbor. He received, all told, seventy rubles. The other thirty rubles he swept up as best he could. The old woman gave him all that she had saved up against her funeral; the daughter-in-law gave what she had.

Yefim Tarasuitch intrusted all his affairs to his oldest son, he told him what meadows to rent, and where to put manure, and how to finish and roof in the izba. He thought about everything, he ordered how everything should be done.

But Yeliser only directed his old woman to hive the young swarms of bees that he had sold, and give them to his neighbor without any trickery; but about household affairs, he did not have anything to say:

If anything comes up, light will be given what to do and how to do it. You people at home do as you think best."

2

The old men were now ready. The wives baked a lot of flat-cakes,1 sewed some bags, cut new leg-wrappers; they put on new boots, took some extra bastshoes, and set forth. The folks kept them company to the common pasture, bade them good-by, and the old men set out on their journey.

Yeliser set out in good spirits, and, as soon as he left the village, he forgot all about his cares. His only thoughts were how to please his companion on the way, how not to say a single churlish word to any one, and

1 Lepyoshki.

2 Onutchi, strips of cloth used by the muzhiks instead of stockings. 8 Lapti.