THE PILGRIM AND THE PILGRIMAGE.
PILGRIMAGES--THE BOHOMOLETS--MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN
VÉLIKI-OUSTIONG--ON THE DVINA--ARCHANGEL.
Long, however, before reaching Véliki-Oustiong I had decided upon
the part which it now behoved me to play. As I had been a commercial
traveller as far as Irbite, thence through all my wanderings in the
Ourals I had called myself a workman looking for employment in the
foundries at Bohotole, or in the salt works at Solikamsk. But I
had no sooner left the last-named town behind me than I gradually
assumed the manners and the attributes of a pilgrim, on his way to
pay his devotions to the holy images of the convent of Solovetsk,
in the White Sea. Thus, I became a _bohomolets_, according to the
phrase which is thus consecrated in the country, and which literally
means ‘a worshipper of God.’ The worship of holy images and pictures
obtains largely in Russia, where four spots enjoy a peculiar renown,
and attract an infinite number of visitors. These are Kiow, Moscow,
Véliki-Novgorod and the convent of Solovetsk. Many Russians, even
some of the richest merchants, make the tour of all these four places
in succession, a journey which is performed on foot, and occupies
several years. I actually met at Onega two women, of whom one was still
quite young, who had courageously performed the whole of this round,
and were then on their way back to their native districts beyond the
Oural Mountains, and beyond Verhouterie in the government of Irkutsk.
The greater number of the pilgrims content themselves, as a general
rule, with visiting the sanctuary which is nearest to them; and thus
thousands of the faithful from all the northern countries, and from
Siberia itself, annually repair to the convent of Solovetsk, the
journey thither being generally made in winter, because the roads at
all other times of the year are impassable.
These _bohomolets_, both men and women, are everywhere welcomed and
well received, although it will happen that among their ranks an
occasional rogue will be found making year after year a lucrative trade
out of his peripatetic piety. Indeed, the Russian peasant regards the
entrance of a _bohomolets_ into his house as a benison, and not content
with extending to him alms and a cordial hospitality, he often confides
money to a pilgrim, meaning it to be deposited in the sanctuary,
and there expended on his account in burning tapers, accompanied by
vicarious prayers. I have been myself compelled in my character of a
pilgrim to take charge of the pious deposits and tithes of the poor.
I was induced to adopt this disguise as much by the hope of uniting
myself to some one of the pilgrim bands as by the universal respect
paid to their character, and by the small chance that under their
dress I should be exposed to any demands for my passport. While
traversing the steppes of Petchora I had met several such companies on
the way to Véliki-Oustiong, but while claiming fellowship with them
I carefully avoided incorporating myself into their ranks. Too great
an acquaintance might, I feared, betray me to them; but I had the
opportunities of furtively studying their devotional habits. At last,
having reached Véliki-Oustiong, I thought myself sure enough of my
part to be able without risk of detection to attempt a way of life in
common with one of these bands of ‘worshippers of God.’ We were in the
town, and I found myself sufficiently embarrassed as I stood alone in
the great market-place, where, by good luck, a young man in a citizen’s
dress stepped out of a shop, and came up to me as he said, ‘You are a
_bohomolets_ going to the monastery of Solovetsk.’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, I am going there too; have you got a lodging?’
‘Not yet, I have only just arrived.’
‘Then come along with me. Our numbers are great already, it is true,
but there will be room enough for you. Our hostess is a good woman,
she cooks for us and bakes our bread; I have just been buying flour and
groats,’ and he pointed to the sack which was on his shoulder. I made
haste to follow my guide, whose name was Maxime, and who was a native
of the government of Viatka. We soon reached our dwelling-place, and
there in two _izba_ were crowded together upwards of twenty pilgrims
of both sexes. No one mentioned my passport, and the landlady was so
complaisant as to prepare my bread for me, while I soon established
friendly relations with my companions as well as with the many other
pious travellers who filled the town, to the number of two thousand,
for they all awaited there the breaking up of the ice of the Dvina,
when on rafts and in barges they would make their way to Archangel.
What odd, curious, and instructive faces I might have studied among
my fellows! There might be seen the most sincere asceticism wholly
detached from sense and sin, and specimens of that well-considered
and adjusted piety which trims between the interests of both worlds.
There was every degree between a beatitude which savoured of idiotcy,
and the most astute and hypocritical imposture, so that Leonardo da
Vinci might have found models among the ample collection, as well for
his Apostles as for his Judas. I could not, of course, escape from
the natural consequences of my situation; and there was no help for
it, when, especially through the Passion Week, I had to take part in
the innumerable nasal canticles raised by my brethren in the _izba_,
and furthermore when I was compelled to repair every day to join with
them in matins and in even-song, not to speak of making the sign of
the cross about a thousand times, with _poklony_ by the hundred, or
of carrying lighted candles, and of kissing the hand of the _popes_.
The sight of these priests always gave me an uneasy twinge, for I
feared lest some day I might be requested to repeat the Russian creed,
of which I was absolutely and profoundly ignorant. But, luckily, my
_poklony_, executed with zeal and dexterity, served me in good stead--a
gymnastic exercise which, as exacted by Russian orthodoxy, let me say,
is a sufficiently fatiguing one, as anyone will experience who tries to
touch the ground with his forehead a hundred times running, and that
too without bending his knees. My inward religious feelings suffered
from such mummery, but at least I managed to avoid having to confess
to one of the _popes_, which I did under pretence of having fulfilled
that duty a few days previously at Lalsk; and when once the Holy Week
had passed, this high pressure devotion appeared to subside a little,
though the psalms and stations observed in the churches still occupied
a great deal of our time; and I personally was far from regretting the
long hours thus spent in the sacred edifices, which were resting places
infinitely preferable to our _izba_.
I had ample leisure to inspect Véliki-Oustiong, and, with the exception
of Archangel, it is the Russian town with which I am best acquainted.
Built almost entirely of brick, it has, however, especially on the
banks of the Suchona, some handsome houses; but its greatest ornament
consists of course in its churches, which are painted yellow, and
crowned with zinc roofs coloured green. I think that I counted not
fewer than twenty-two of these; and there are also two convents, one
for monks (_tcherntsé_), dedicated to Saint Michael; the other for
nuns, which is without the walls. I regret to say that the life and
conversation of the latter body, especially of its younger members, did
not appear to me to be highly edifying.
Although the population of Oustiong does not exceed 15,000 souls, the
town has, notwithstanding, some commercial importance--being, in truth,
the natural depôt for all the different products of the countries of
Viatka, Perm, Vologda and of Siberia. These products, which consist,
for the most part, in grain of all sorts, flax, hemp, tallow, salt
meat, tar, wood, and furs, &c., accumulate at Véliki-Oustiong, to be
transported thence, through the Dvina, to Archangel, and to be shipped
from that port in vessels bound for all the quarters of the globe. It
also happens that numbers of sailors and boatmen assemble there, to
await the opening of the Dvina, and then to conduct the merchandise in
barges, of which there are many thousand, and of which the owners are
called _prikastchiki_. Now, these contractors allow the _bohomolets_ to
have a free passage in their boats, provided they victual themselves
for the voyage, and bring with them a sufficient supply of flour,
groats, and dried fish; while any pilgrim who is willing to take an
oar receives fifteen roubles (in paper) from the _prikastchiki_, who
are only too glad of such an offer, as there is often a great want of
hands. I had never yet handled an oar in a large barge; but I undertook
this labour, in the hope of adding a little to my finances. I had
spent precisely fifteen roubles since I left Irbite. Bread in those
regions was cheap, and during the passage of the Ourals, and on my
further march, I had never had any occasion to incur foolish expenses;
but I was, nevertheless, very thankful to have the means of bringing
my viaticum back to its original figure of seventy-five roubles. So,
on the first day on which the Dvina was navigable, I, along with my
fellow-pilgrims, struck a bargain with one of these boat-owners--glad
to escape, at last, from Véliki-Oustiong, where I had spent a whole
month in interminable devotions, and where I had been miserable from
_ennui_ and restlessness. One proposition with regard to my voyage
troubled me a little, I was to remit my passport to the _prikastchiki_,
and he, as was customary in these passages, was to keep it for me,
and return it when we landed. The hurry and bustle of our embarkation
reassured me, however, a little; and, indeed, the master did but give
one glance at my unhappy little pass, when the sight of its seal
seemed to content him; and thus, on the 10th of May, 1846, I found
myself installed in the barge, ready to start and drop down the Dvina
to Archangel.
A Dvina boat is a sufficiently curious piece of construction, and, seen
from any distance, mostly resembles a house, or a floating barn. There
is no art in guiding it. Everything is left to the muscular labours
of the crew, and each craft requires from forty to sixty boatmen. The
number of the oars varies from thirty to forty, and they do not pretend
to be anything but small fir trees. Among the many curious parts of
these boats, which are intended to serve either as magazines for the
wares or shelter for the passengers and crews by night, I will only
mention one great chest, of rough deals, placed on four pile-heads on
the roof, and filled with clay to the middle. This is the kitchen,
and fire is kept up in it during the whole day; while, on two great
beams, fastened transversely to the sides of the case, and over
wooden pins, hang the pots in which the food is prepared. We carried
our baggage on board in the evening, and slept there all the first
night, till, at day-break, the _nosnik_--that is to say, the master of
the vessel--cried, with a loud voice, ‘Be seated, and pray to God!’
Everyone then assembled on the deck, and after preserving for a moment
a devotional attitude, worthy of a Mussulman, each man rose, crossed
himself repeatedly, and made his _poklony_. When the prayers were
finished, every living soul on board, from the master to the poorest
of the _bohomolets_, threw a piece of copper money into the stream, to
render the Dvina propitious to their course along its breast.
The aspect of the river, covered with many boats and rafts, is a very
animated one. After any lengthened halt, and at the moment of again
getting under weigh, one hears again the cry, ‘Be seated, and worship
God!’ The crew goes through the accustomed exercise, while signs of the
cross and the _poklony_ went on vigorously, whenever we hove in sight
of any of the many little chapels which abound on both banks of the
Dvina. During a calm, the barge was allowed to float with the stream,
and then both passengers and crew would rest, sing, or converse. I was
struck with the great lack of ideas and sentiment which was apparent
in the songs of our company, in spite of their generally possessing
a sweet and graceful melody; and these are common characteristics of
Russian popular airs. If the wind rose, or if we neared any dangerous
part of the river, the boatmen would then exert themselves; and they
displayed both agility and strength. I, for my part, strove diligently
to acquit myself of the duties of my task; and I may say, without
flattery, that I soon acquired superior dexterity in handling the
oar, and in steering. Thus I had the satisfaction of being applauded
by the old helmsman, and of hearing the name of Lavrenti (my assumed
cognomen) invoked in all moments of difficulty. In spite of our
diligence, the barge stuck twice in shoal water, and then our united
efforts were required, for ten or twelve hours, before we could make
her float, and get her off again. One frequent amusement of the voyage
was being boarded very often by little skiffs, filled by women and
children, who asked us for alms. They sang one of the sweetest and
most plaintive melodies that I ever heard in my life, of which the
refrain always was the words--‘Little fathers, little mothers, give us
bread!’--‘_Batiouchki, diadiouchki, daïtie khlebtsa!_’ No one on board,
either crew or pilgrims, could refuse the request; and these beggars
would then strike up another song, and wish us a good and a happy
journey.
Our navigation of the Dvina lasted a fortnight. Gradually, as we
approached Archangel, I saw that the nights became shorter--the last
one, indeed, was marked by an interval of only two hours between the
setting of the sun and its rising again; and during that time also,
any one might have read or written without difficulty. When at last
the towers of Archangel began to glitter in the early morning beams,
the whole crew gave a shout of delight, while the boatmen hastened to
throw into the stream the big chest full of earth, which had served as
our kitchen range. The other boats did the same with their respective
kitchens, for this, it appears, is a time-honoured observance. The
rowers, in like manner, break off the ends of their oars, with a
prodigious noise--another strange custom among the navigators of the
Dvina; and when, at last, we reached the landing-place, each man had
his passport restored to him, and received from the _prikastchik_ the
fifteen roubles which he had gained by the labour of his hands.
Thus I was in Archangel! I touched the shores of that bay of the White
Sea, which, in all my weary wanderings in the Ourals, had appeared
to my mind’s eye as the haven of refuge! I now beheld those flags
fluttering on vessels of deliverance, of which a vague and fairy-like
impression had often risen, like a _Fata Morgana_, to cheer me on my
Ostiak couch in the heart of the lonely forest. Ah, how grateful to my
eyes were those pendants, barred with stripes of many hues--to eyes
which for so many months had dwelt only on vast desert expanses of
snow! How ardent and sincere was the thanksgiving which I now recited
among my fellow ‘worshippers of God,’ who were thankful, like myself,
to have reached the end of pilgrimage!
I knew, however, that I must avoid making any over-hasty step, and in
order to act out my part, I repaired with my companions to the station
of Solovetsk (_Solovetski dvorets_), that is to say, to the huge
buildings erected in Archangel itself, by the monks of the convent in
the Holy Isle, for the accommodation of the pilgrims. There, as was
the custom, I left my slender baggage in the hands of the porter, and
I was truly thankful to remark that no inquiries as to passports were
addressed to those who arrived. In spite of the large number of its
_izba_, the house was crammed with inmates, and I could find only a
small corner in the highest part of the barn; and this I had to share
with an elderly devotee of the other sex, whom piety certainly did not
render a more lovely object, while on all the following days, no sooner
did one party of _bohomolets_ leave the establishment on its way to the
Holy Isle, than another arrived from Véliki-Oustiong, and in this way
the caravanserai was constantly as full as it could be. The natural
consequences of such an agglomeration of persons, of such a mixture
of all ages and of both sexes, are more easily to be guessed than
described; and it is much to be wished that, between the paradise of
the Holy Isle and the hell of these _Solovetski dvorets_, there should
be some place of purgatory, for it would conduce greatly to the morals
and to the sanitary well-being of those concerned. I need not say that
the chants and processions of Véliki-Oustiong were resumed here with
a marked increase of fervour; and on the day after our arrival I had
_to assist_ in the chapel (_tserkiew_) of the establishment at many
strange acts of devotion, such as are not to be met with except in the
churches of the orthodox. This chapel was filled with _bohomolets_,
some of whom were having prayers read over their heads, others had the
benefit of Akathisti (Antiphones) in the same way, while others again
crouched, and bore the gospels on their backs. The gospel in this case
is a huge folio tome, about two feet in length, and printed in large
antique type; the boards are two solid planks of wood, and encrusted
upon them are the Twelve Apostles in silver. The execution is very
massive, and the officiating _pope_ has great difficulty in lifting
so heavy a book. The man who wishes to have the gospels read upon him
must stoop, but not kneel, until his head serves as a sort of desk.
It is true, that several _bohomolets_ may put their purses and their
heads together for this service of devotion, but then the grace, like
the weight, is distributed among them; and he who wishes to receive it
in all its efficacy, endeavours to make of his individual person, and
for a quarter of an hour, one of those quaint cariatides of the faith.
Everything is bought and sold in the Russian church, and according to
the size of the offering, whether greater or smaller, the _pope_ on
these occasions either reads out the gospel of the day with sonorous
gravity and unction, or mumbles it over in haste with contemptuous
carelessness; and it requires both the strong convictions and the
strong neck of a Russian peasant to submit to such religious exercises.
But what miracles will not piety perform! One of my companions in our
lodging-house, a peasant of Viatka, had complained of violent pains
in his head, but after having gone through this operation with the
Evangel, and having had his neck swelled by it, till the veins of both
neck and face seemed ready to burst, he assured me, as we left the
chapel, that it was as if some one had lifted off with their hands the
horrible pains from which he had suffered: ‘Praise be to God’ (_Slava
Bokow_).
The occupations of a fervent _bohomolets_ did not, however, prevent
my wandering about the town. Archangel has a population of not much
more than twenty thousand; but its port and commercial business give
it an air of great animation. The town proper is joined by a wooden
bridge over the Dvina with the island of Solonbal--a sort of suburb,
in which has arisen the palace of the Governor. Many churches and some
good houses in brick decorate this city, which is mainly constructed of
wood. One single wide street, which extends through the whole length of
Archangel, is paved: all its other streets and lanes are excessively
dirty and muddy, for the _toundra_, or marshy clay upon which, like
St. Petersburg, this city has been built, crops up in all directions.
In one of the squares rises a colossal statue of Lomonossov. To
this rhetorician and celebrated grammarian is traced the origin of
a national literature in Russia, under the reign of the Tzarina
Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great.
The chief, and indeed, the only object which I had in view in this
town may easily be guessed. Although the season had only begun, about
twenty vessels were already in the bay; but among the different flags
which waved from their masts, I was not able to discover one with the
tri-coloured emblem. The absence of this ensign was in itself of bad
augury to me. The ships were, for the most part, English; there were
also some from Holland, Sweden and Hamburg, but not one French. I very
soon perceived also that on the deck of every vessel walked a Russian
soldier, a vigilant witness, whose eye it was impossible to elude,
for this watch was not taken off even at night; while sentries posted
at short distances from one another formed an unconquerable barricade
along the quays of the harbour, and obliged all who came and all who
went to give an account of themselves. How, then, with these sentries
on the alert, could I make a signal to any captain or seaman! A crowd
of idlers and foot passengers crossed the quays, and added to the
difficulty of any such attempt. How then could I, if any sea-faring man
should pass, accost him in French or in German--I, in my _bohomolet’s_
dress, and surrounded by any number of people! Must I not surely draw
all eyes upon myself, and bring about an immediate arrest! I continued,
nevertheless, to wander up and down the quays, in the hope that some
favourable opportunity would present itself; but, alas! none such
came. And thus I was obliged again to turn my steps to the _dvorets_,
where, by this time, I was expected to join in the pious exercises of
the rest. On the second day, all those who had reached Archangel with
me embarked for the Holy Island; but I, pretending excessive fatigue,
did not accompany them, and again betook myself to the harbour. I
sauntered up and down by the edge of the water which I had hoped was
to have set me free; I even saw some ships that had finished taking
their cargo on board, a sign that they would soon set sail and depart.
My heart beat violently; my breast heaved, and I could hardly repress
the cry, ‘Save me! Do not abandon me thus!’ At last I accosted some
seamen, busy with tie hawsers which still fastened a ship to the
pier. In spite of the extreme danger thus incurred, I ventured a few
words in French; they only raised their heads and stared at me with
amazement. I tried German, but with as little success; till, finally,
they burst into a loud laugh, and I had to slip away as quietly as I
might, for a crowd had already collected round me. On the following
day my efforts had no better result, and I shall not describe either
the torment of those three days, or the different attempts I made to
reach any of the outward bound vessels. In spite of the severity of the
season, I did not hesitate even to bathe in the harbour, hoping thus to
approach some one of the ships; but nothing came of it, and no chance
of escape offered itself to me. Late on the third day I returned to
the _dvorets_, and there turned over in my mind all the circumstances
of my present state, and I finished by arriving at the heart-breaking
conviction that I could no longer reckon upon the port of Archangel.
Already some surprise was excited that, as a _bohomolets_, I had so
strangely delayed my departure for the Holy Isle, and to remain any
longer in the town, to await the arrival of some French trader, would
have been to order my own arrest. Had I not assumed the character of
a pilgrim, I might perhaps have ventured into some _café_ of public
resort, and I might have flattered myself with the hope of making the
acquaintance of some foreign captain; but in my peasant’s dress how
could I present myself in any such place? Ah! that last night passed
in the caravanserai of the pilgrims, how dark, and how sad it was! It
was the thought, it had been the hope, of Archangel which had given me
strength to meet the greatest dangers, and to endure the most terrible
privations. And now, having reached the object of all my efforts, I was
to find that they had been all in vain, and that I must fly from the
city which I had so long persisted in greeting as the place of my final
deliverance.