My grandfather`s aunt, who kept at that time a tavern, in which Basavriuk (as they called this devil-man) often caroused, said that no consideration on the earth would have induced her to accept a gift from him. But then, again, how avoid accepting?
Fear seize
Fear seized on every one when he knit his shaggy brows, and gave a sidelong glance which might send your feet God knows whither: whilst if you did accept, then the next night some fiend from the swamp, with horns on his head, came and began to squeeze your neck, if there was a string of beads upon it, or bite your finger, if there was a ring upon it; or drag you by the hair, if ribbons were braided in it. God have mercy, then, on those who held such gifts! But there was the difficulty: it was impossible to get rid of them; if you threw them into the water, the diabolical ring or necklace would skim along the surface and into your hand.
There was a church in the village St. Pantelei, if I remember rightly. There lived there a priest, Father Athanasii, of blessed memory. Observing that Basavriuk did,not come to church even at Easter, he determined to reprove him and impose penance upon him. Well, he hardly escaped with his life. “Hark ye, sir!” he thundered in reply, “learn to mind your own business instead of meddling in other people`s if you don`t want that throat of yours stuck together with boiling kutya.”
What was to be done with this unrepentant man? Father Athanasii contented himself with announcing that any one who should make the acquaintance of Basavriuk would be counted a Catholic, an enemy of (llirist`s orthodox church, not a member of the human race.
A dish of rice or wheat flour, with honey and raisins, which is brought to the church on the celebration of memorial masses.
In this village there was a Cossack named Korzh, who had a laborer whom people called Peter the Orphan perhaps because no one remembered either his father or mother. The church elder, it is true, said that they had died of the pest in his second year; but my grandfather`s aunt would not hear of that, and tried with all her might to furnish him with parents, although poor Peter needed them about as much as we need last year`s snow.
Read More about Victory over the Turks part 39
