pacitated by disorderly
habits or other cause, the place of authority was taken by some other
member--it might be by a woman--who was a good manager, and possessed
the greatest moral influence.

The relations between the Head of the Household and the other members
depended on custom and personal character, and they consequently varied
greatly in different families. If the Big One was an intelligent man,
of decided, energetic character, like my friend Ivan, there was probably
perfect discipline in the household, except perhaps in the matter of
female tongues, which do not readily submit to the authority even
of their owners; but very often it happened that the Big One was not
thoroughly well fitted for his post, and in that case endless quarrels
and bickerings inevitably took place. Those quarrels were generally
caused and fomented by the female members of the family--a fact which
will not seem strange if we try to realise how difficult it must be
for several sisters-in-law to live together, with their children and a
mother-in-law, within the narrow limits of a peasant's household. The
complaints of the young bride, who finds that her mother-in-law puts all
the hard work on her shoulders, form a favourite motive in the popular
poetry.

The house, with its appurtenances, the cattle, the agricultural
implements, the grain and other products, the money gained from the
sale of these products--in a word, the house and nearly everything it
contained--were the joint property of the family. Hence nothing was
bought or sold by any member--not even by the Big One himself, unless he
possessed an unusual amount of authority--without the express or tacit
consent of the other grown-up males, and all the money that was earned
was put into the common purse. When one of the sons left home to work
elsewhere, he was expected to bring or send home all his earnings,
except what he required for food, lodgings, and other necessary
expenses; and if he understood the word "necessary" in too lax a sense,
he had to listen to very plain-spoken reproaches when he returned.
During his absence, which might last for a whole year or several years,
his wife and children remained in the house as before, and the money
which he earned could be devoted to the payment of the family taxes.

The peasant household of the old type is thus a primitive labour
association, of which the members have all things in common, and it is
not a little remarkable that the