]
XIX
"Then amongst strangers I was left--
But I perceive thou dost not heed--"
"Alas!
XIX
"Then amongst strangers I was left--
But I perceive thou dost not heed--"
"Alas!
Pushkin - Eugene Oneigin
"
"But tell me, nurse, can you relate
The days which to your youth belong?
Were you in love when you were young? "--
XVIII
"Alack! Tattiana," she replied,
"We never loved in days of old,
My mother-in-law who lately died(34)
Had killed me had the like been told. "
"How came you then to wed a man? "--
"Why, as God ordered! My Ivan
Was younger than myself, my light,
For I myself was thirteen quite;(35)
The matchmaker a fortnight sped,
Her suit before my parents pressing:
At last my father gave his blessing,
And bitter tears of fright I shed.
Weeping they loosed my tresses long(36)
And led me off to church with song. "
[Note 34: A young married couple amongst Russian peasants
reside in the house of the bridegroom's father till the
"tiaglo," or family circle is broken up by his death. ]
[Note 35: Marriages amongst Russian serfs used formerly to
take place at ridiculously early ages. Haxthausen asserts
that strong hearty peasant women were to be seen at work
in the fields with their infant husbands in their arms. The
inducement lay in the fact that the "tiaglo" (see previous
note) received an additional lot of the communal land for
every male added to its number, though this could have formed
an inducement in the southern and fertile provinces of Russia
only, as it is believed that agriculture in the north is so
unremunerative that land has often to be forced upon the
peasants, in order that the taxes, for which the whole Commune
is responsible to Government, may be paid. The abuse of early
marriages was regulated by Tsar Nicholas. ]
[Note 36: Courtships were not unfrequently carried on in the
larger villages, which alone could support such an individual,
by means of a "svakha," or matchmaker. In Russia unmarried
girls wear their hair in a single long plait or tail, "kossa;"
the married women, on the other hand, in two, which are twisted
into the head-gear.
]
XIX
"Then amongst strangers I was left--
But I perceive thou dost not heed--"
"Alas! dear nurse, my heart is cleft,
Mortally sick I am indeed.
Behold, my sobs I scarce restrain--"
"My darling child, thou art in pain. --
The Lord deliver her and save!
Tell me at once what wilt thou have?
I'll sprinkle thee with holy water. --
How thy hands burn! "--"Dear nurse, I'm well.
I am--in love--you know--don't tell! "
"The Lord be with thee, O my daughter! "--
And the old nurse a brief prayer said
And crossed with trembling hand the maid.
XX
"I am in love," her whispers tell
The aged woman in her woe:
"My heart's delight, thou art not well. "--
"I am in love, nurse! leave me now. "
Behold! the moon was shining bright
And showed with an uncertain light
Tattiana's beauty, pale with care,
Her tears and her dishevelled hair;
And on the footstool sitting down
Beside our youthful heroine fair,
A kerchief round her silver hair
The aged nurse in ample gown,(37)
Whilst all creation seemed to dream
Enchanted by the moon's pale beam.
"But tell me, nurse, can you relate
The days which to your youth belong?
Were you in love when you were young? "--
XVIII
"Alack! Tattiana," she replied,
"We never loved in days of old,
My mother-in-law who lately died(34)
Had killed me had the like been told. "
"How came you then to wed a man? "--
"Why, as God ordered! My Ivan
Was younger than myself, my light,
For I myself was thirteen quite;(35)
The matchmaker a fortnight sped,
Her suit before my parents pressing:
At last my father gave his blessing,
And bitter tears of fright I shed.
Weeping they loosed my tresses long(36)
And led me off to church with song. "
[Note 34: A young married couple amongst Russian peasants
reside in the house of the bridegroom's father till the
"tiaglo," or family circle is broken up by his death. ]
[Note 35: Marriages amongst Russian serfs used formerly to
take place at ridiculously early ages. Haxthausen asserts
that strong hearty peasant women were to be seen at work
in the fields with their infant husbands in their arms. The
inducement lay in the fact that the "tiaglo" (see previous
note) received an additional lot of the communal land for
every male added to its number, though this could have formed
an inducement in the southern and fertile provinces of Russia
only, as it is believed that agriculture in the north is so
unremunerative that land has often to be forced upon the
peasants, in order that the taxes, for which the whole Commune
is responsible to Government, may be paid. The abuse of early
marriages was regulated by Tsar Nicholas. ]
[Note 36: Courtships were not unfrequently carried on in the
larger villages, which alone could support such an individual,
by means of a "svakha," or matchmaker. In Russia unmarried
girls wear their hair in a single long plait or tail, "kossa;"
the married women, on the other hand, in two, which are twisted
into the head-gear.
]
XIX
"Then amongst strangers I was left--
But I perceive thou dost not heed--"
"Alas! dear nurse, my heart is cleft,
Mortally sick I am indeed.
Behold, my sobs I scarce restrain--"
"My darling child, thou art in pain. --
The Lord deliver her and save!
Tell me at once what wilt thou have?
I'll sprinkle thee with holy water. --
How thy hands burn! "--"Dear nurse, I'm well.
I am--in love--you know--don't tell! "
"The Lord be with thee, O my daughter! "--
And the old nurse a brief prayer said
And crossed with trembling hand the maid.
XX
"I am in love," her whispers tell
The aged woman in her woe:
"My heart's delight, thou art not well. "--
"I am in love, nurse! leave me now. "
Behold! the moon was shining bright
And showed with an uncertain light
Tattiana's beauty, pale with care,
Her tears and her dishevelled hair;
And on the footstool sitting down
Beside our youthful heroine fair,
A kerchief round her silver hair
The aged nurse in ample gown,(37)
Whilst all creation seemed to dream
Enchanted by the moon's pale beam.
