Page:Ossendowski - The Shadow of the Gloomy East.djvu/152

 CHAPTER XIX

HILE hunting in the provinces of Novgorod in the forests round the railway station of Luban, I was staying for a time in the little village of Marjino. Not very far away from the village was the estate of the Princes Golitzin, descendants of the Ruriks, one of the oldest aristocratic families in Russia.

One evening my host, a peasant of the name of Basil Batonin, whispered mysteriously into rny ear:

"Do you want to come and see the 'radenye' (serice) of the Chlysts?"

I knew that the Chlysts are Sectarians, and that their "radenya," or religious mysteries, are distinguished by particular savagery, so I agreed to accompany my host out of sheer curiosity.

It was already nine o'clock in the evening, and the dark autumnal night had come on.

Leaving home, we went in the direction of the ducal estate. My host led me into a large, rough-looking hut at the back of the courtyard.

The huge hall was sunk in dusk, as it was lighted only with seven wax candles placed along the walls. The atmosphere was suffocating with close on a hundred