ad only begun. Most astounding of all--and
this brings me to the fact which led me into this digression--the
peasants in winter often rush out of the bath and roll themselves in the
snow! This aptly illustrates a common Russian proverb, which says that
what is health to the Russian is death to the German.

Cold water, as well as hot vapour, is sometimes used as a means of
purification. In the villages the old pagan habit of masquerading in
absurd costumes at certain seasons--as is done during the carnival in
Roman Catholic countries with the approval, or at least connivance,
of the Church--still survives; but it is regarded as not altogether
sinless. He who uses such disguises places himself to a certain extent
under the influence of the Evil One, thereby putting his soul in
jeopardy; and to free himself from this danger he has to purify himself
in the following way: When the annual mid-winter ceremony of blessing
the waters is performed, by breaking a hole in the ice and immersing a
cross with certain religious rites, he should plunge into the hole as
soon as possible after the ceremony. I remember once at Yaroslavl,
on the Volga, two young peasants successfully accomplished this
feat--though the police have orders to prevent it--and escaped,
apparently without evil consequences, though the Fahrenheit thermometer
was below zero. How far the custom has really a purifying influence,
is a question which must be left to theologians; but even an ordinary
mortal can understand that, if it be regarded as a penance, it must
have a certain deterrent effect. The man who foresees the necessity
of undergoing this severe penance will think twice before putting on a
disguise. So at least it must have been in the good old times; but in
these degenerate days--among the Russian peasantry as elsewhere--the
fear of the Devil, which was formerly, if not the beginning, at least
one of the essential elements, of wisdom, has greatly decreased. Many
a young peasant will now thoughtlessly disguise himself, and when the
consecration of the water is performed, will stand and look on passively
like an ordinary spectator! It would seem that the Devil, like his enemy
the Pope, is destined to lose gradually his temporal power.

But all this time I am neglecting my new acquaintance on the top of the
stove. In reality I did not neglect him, but listened most attentively
to every word of the long tale that he recited. What it was all about
I could onl