Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/406

400 that they might stumble, and throw horses, sleigh, passengers, baggage, and driver all in a heap, the alternative was nearly as bad as the preliminary danger.

"On the 6th of January we passed several places where baptizings through the ice were in progress. This is one of the days that the Church

consecrates to baptismal ceremonies, and throughout the Empire many thousands of devout worshippers are plunged into the icy water. We did not stop to witness the ceremony, but caught a glimpse of a priest reading from a book, while another was holding by the hands a man whose head just rose above the surface of the water. As fast as the baptized ones emerged from the hole through the ice they ran rapidly to the village, a short distance away.