RUSSIAN PESSIMISM.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2489, 23 June 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

RUSSIAN PESSIMISM.

A striking paper in the Contemporary last March is one on Pessimism in Russia by N. T. Sakui. So pessimist is feeling in Russia, that aooording to this writer, almost any sect succeeds if it is only pessimist enough—that is, if it toiches the abandonment of this world and its pleasures either through asceticism or self-mutilation, or suicide. About twenty years ago, for example, there aroso in the forest government of Perm a sect headed by a peasant named Khodkine. Khodkino taught that the only way of salvation was to make an end of this life of sin and ignominy. He carried his disciples into the forest where they dug catacombs and sewed gravecloths, and then he directed them to dio of hunger.

" Then began the interminable days of horrible suffering for these wretches. Tortured by hunger and thirst, women and children cried loudly for a few drops of water. The children's sufferings touched the hearts of somi; :if the fanatics, who knelt to tbeir etiief praying him t« Vav pity on these little ones. But Khodkine was immovable. Tears, prayers and suffering did not touch him, and the children writhed in agony, sucking the grass, chewing fern-fronds, or swallowing sand. Two of the fanatics could not endure the sight, and fled during the darkness of the night. This frightened Khodkine, and he resolved to hasten the death which was so long coming l . 'The hour of death has come : are you ready ?' ho asked. ' Wo are ready,' replied the unhappy people, all their strength exhausted. Then they began to massacre the children. The bodies of the victims were buried in the earth, and the survivors decided to continue their fast. But the fugitives had time to warn the police, and they came to the place. Hearing the steps of men approaching, and being unwilling to give themselves up alive into the hands of the servants of Antichrist, the fanatics reached the height of their

religious madness; swore to shed their blood for Christ, and abandoned themselves to horrible cinnge. They began by killing the women with hatchets, tlieu they put an end to the men most weakened by hunger, and the leader, Khodkine, and three others were the sole survivors. They saw the police and tried to escape into the forest, but were caught and delivered into the hands of justice."

Commenting on this the Spectator Bays: — 1 A few years ago a M nk named Ft'l ire preached suicide on the banks of the Volga, and eighty-four persons tried to burn themselves nlivo. One who was saved by the police recommended the propaganda, and hi* " teaching was very successful." More than sixty persons in the same locality decided to give themselves to a voluntary death. Among them were families, fathers, mothers, children. They no longer chose the forest to carry out their design, but on a day fixed beforehand the massacre took place in the peasants' izba. Peasant P. entered the house of his neighbour N., killed his wife and children ; then, still armed with his hatchet, he entered the barn were other fanatics were waiting for him with their wives, who calmly put their heads on the block, while P. played the part of executioner. Then he went to another izba, that of the peasant woman W., and killed her and her kins.women, while an accomplice killed their children. Then the accomplice put. his head on the block, begging P. to cut it off. P. in his return was killed by the peasant T. Thirty-five persons thus perished. A woman passing by was terrified at the spectacle and ran quickly to give the alarm. The ' Negators' who are numerous push Nihilism to its logical conclusions, deny that property can exist, reject marriage on account of its exclusiveness, refuse to take any service, and will not work, leaving an entire vagabond life. For these ideas they submit to any torture, whether from the State or individuals, against whom they refuse to appeal to the law. The only deduction drawn by the writer from these accounts is that Russian society is iu a state of fermentation ; but we should add that there must be in the Slav character a power of self-suppression which, though common in the East, is phanomenal in Europe. These people are only fakirs, after all.''