ueror.

I looked, laughed, shook myself--and the melancholy thoughts instantly
fled. I felt daring, courage, a desire for life.

And let _my_ hawk soar over _me_ if he will....

"We will still fight on, devil take it!"

November, 1879.

PRAYER

No matter what a man may pray for he is praying for a miracle.--Every
prayer amounts to the following: "Great God, cause that two and two may
not make four."

Only such a prayer is a genuine prayer from a person to a person. To
pray to the Universal Spirit, to the Supreme Being of Kant, of Hegel--to
a purified, amorphous God, is impossible and unthinkable.

But can even a personal, living God with a form cause that two and two
shall not make four?

Every believer is bound to reply, "He can," and is bound to convince
himself of this.

But what if his reason revolts against such an absurdity?

In that case Shakspeare will come to his assistance: "There are many
things in the world, friend Horatio...." and so forth.

And if people retort in the name of truth,--all he has to do is to
repeat the famous question: "What is truth?"

And therefore, let us drink and be merry--and pray.

July, 1881.

THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

In days of doubt, in days of painful meditations concerning the
destinies of my fatherland, thou alone art my prop and my support, O
great, mighty, just and free Russian language!--Were it not for thee,
how could one fail to fall into despair at the sight of all that goes on
at home?--But it is impossible to believe that such a language was not
bestowed upon a great people!

June, 1882.

ENDNOTES:

[1] See endnote to "Old Portraits," in this volume.--TRANSLATOR.

[2] The Vigil-service (consisting of Vespers and Matins, or Compline and
Matins) may be celebrated in unconsecrated buildings, and the devout not
infrequently have it, as well as prayer-services, at home.--TRANSLATOR.

[3] Meaning the odour of the oil which must be used in preparing food,
instead of butter, during the numerous fasts.--TRANSLATOR.

[4] The custom of thus dressing up as bears, clowns, and so forth, and
visiting all the houses in the neighbourhood, is still kept up in rustic
localities. St. Vasily's (Basil's) day falls on January 1.--TRANSLATOR.

[5] An arshin is twenty-eight inches.--TRANSLATOR

[6] A park for popular resort in the suburbs of Moscow.--TRANSLATOR

[7] Incorrectly written for Poltava.--TRANSLATOR

[8] The fatter the coachma