286 THROUGH RUSSIA ON A MUSTANG. 



considerable influence on the every-day life and sur- 

 roundings of the peasantry. With all their church 

 ceremonies and outward observance of the official 

 religion, and their self-denomination of " the Ortho- 

 dox," the superstitious moujik is only a half-converted 

 heathen. So much is this the case that it is sometimes 

 difficult to define where paganism ends and Chris- 

 tianity begins in his creed. 



For instance, not only does he regard the Christian 

 ikons much as his ancestors of the old pagan days did 

 their idols, but he enthrones them in precisely the 

 same place in his house that they used to occupy. In 

 the home of the pagan Slavs the household idols used 

 to stand on a bench or shelf in what was and is still 

 known, as the " Upper Corner," the farther right-hand 

 corner from the door, and facing the big stove which 

 occupies the central part of the house and around 

 which the rooms are built. Then, as now, this was 

 the sacred corner of the house, and the holy ikons of 

 the present day have merely dethroned the pagan 

 images and occupy the same shelf in the same corner. 



This corner is also referred to as the ".Great Corner," 

 or the " Beautiful Corner," and no member of the 

 family thinks of crossing the threshold to enter the 

 room without making toward it the sign of the Cross. 



Near this corner is set the family dinner-table, 

 another custom that connects the present with the 

 past, when the heathen Slavs used to transfer the idols 

 from the shelves to the table during meal times. The 

 moujik of to-day does not place the ikons on his dinner- 

 table, but he believes the souls of his ancestors, and of 

 any members of the family who have died, are hiding 



