| 279 | 280 | 281 | 282 | 283 |
| 1 | 73 | 145 | 218 | 290 |
|
difficult for you to kill the man, but his blood will surely stain your
own soul. You may think you have killed a bad man--that you have gotten
rid of evil--but you will soon find out that the seeds of still greater
wickedness have been planted within you. If you yield to misfortune it
will surely come to you."
As Peter was not without sympathizers among the peasants, the poor serfs
were consequently divided into two groups: the followers of Vasili and
those who held the views of Mikhayeff.
On Easter Sunday no work was done. Toward the evening an elder came to
the peasants from the nobleman's court and said: "Our superintendent,
Michael Simeonovitch, orders you to go to-morrow to plough the field for
the oats." Thus the official went through the village and directed the
men to prepare for work the next day--some by the river and others by
the roadway. The poor people were almost overcome with grief, many
of them shedding tears, but none dared to disobey the orders of their
master.
On the morning of Easter Monday, while the church bells were calling the
inhabitants to religious services, and while every one else was about to
enjoy a holiday, the unfortunate serfs started for the field to plough.
Michael arose rather late and took a walk about the farm. The domestic
servants were through with their work and had dressed themselves for the
day, while Michael's wife and their widowed daughter (who was visiting
them, as was her custom on holidays) had been to church and returned. A
281
Page
Quick Jump
|