gratitude at his aunt's feet. "My own
dear auntie, Melania Prokhorovna, get me married for heaven's sake!
I'll buy you an embroidered kerchief in return, the very best in the
whole market." The widow comes to pay Melania a visit, and is induced
to believe, on the evidence of beans (frequently used for the purpose
of divination), that her destined husband is close at hand. At this
propitious moment Trofim appears. Melania makes a little speech to the
young couple, ending her recommendation to get married with the
words:--

"I can see well enough by the bridegroom's eyes that the bride is to
his taste, only I don't know what the bride thinks about taking him."

"I don't mind!" says the widow. "Well, then, glory be to God! Now,
stand up, we'll say a prayer before the Holy Pictures; then give each
other a kiss, and go in Heaven's name and get married at once!" And so
the question is settled.

From a courtship and a marriage in peasant life we may turn to a death
and a burial. There are frequent allusions in the Skazkas to these
gloomy subjects, with reference to which we will quote two stories,
the one pathetic, the other (unintentionally) grotesque. Neither of
them bears any title in the original, but we may style the first--

THE DEAD MOTHER.[24]

In a certain village there lived a husband and wife--lived happily,
lovingly, peaceably. All their neighbors envied them; the
sight of them gave pleasure to honest folks. Well, the mistress
bore a son, but directly after it was born she died.
The poor moujik moaned and wept. Above all he was in despair
about the babe. How was he to nourish it now? how to
bring it up without its mother? He did what was best, and
hired an old woman to look after it. Only here was a wonder!
all day long the babe would take no food, and did nothing but
cry; there was no soothing it anyhow. But during (a great
part of) the night one could fancy it wasn't there at all, so silently
and peacefully did it sleep.

"What's the meaning of this?" thinks the old woman; "suppose
I keep awake to-night; may be I shall find out."

Well, just at midnight she heard some one quietly open the
door and go up to the cradle. The babe became still, just as if
it was being suckled.

The next night the same thing took place, and the third
night, too. Then she told the moujik about it. He called his
kinsfolk together, and held counsel with them. They determined
on t