A HUMAN MONSTER.

Evening Star, Issue 11453, 22 January 1901, Page 8

A HUMAN MONSTER.

Vassili Riazan, of Russia, the monster serfholder under Czars Paul and Alexander, the man whom his human cattle called " Bad Devil," is dead, at the age of eighty-two. After living-more than thirty-five years in an obscure St. Petersburg apartment, he died despised by former frirnds and fellow aristocrats, mercifully forgotten by the great mass of the Russian people. But in the district of Riazan, Great Russia, where the ruins of his " Palace of Hell" are mouldering in the forest known as the " Garden of Horrors," there was great rejoicing among the descendants of the moujiks he had once owned—33,ooo of them. Their " mirs" (village councils) at once gathered to appropriate funds for public merry-mak-ing, and the feasting went on for three days and as many nights, or until everybody was tired. Naturally the survivors of the period of serfdom were the heroes of these joyful occasions.

It is hard to believe nowadavs that up to March 17, 1863. nearly 24,000,000 of men. women, and children in Russia—that is onethird of her entire population at that time —were absolute slaves of the nobility, bound to serve their owners without compensation and subject to their jurisdiction without appeal. The nobles could sell them, one and all, could imprison, maltreat, or torture them, or could send them to Siberia or the scaffold. Their power over white men was infinitely greater than that of the American slave barons over their blacks. They could use the human material like their old boots or like vicious dogs—neither custom, nor fear of revolution, nor the State dared interfere with this hereditary privilege. But Va.-sili loved despotism better than money, particularly as he had more of the latter commodity than he knew what to do with. And his lust for tyrannv and blood increased as he became more and more used to trample the laws of humanity under foot and as he went about cutting human heads like cabbages. Russian his" torians assert that the reports of his cruelties and the wholesale murder of serfs practised on his domains more than anything else inspired the Czar-liberator to tie emancipation. Act of March. 1863. "THE PALACE OF HELL."

Vassili lived in the midst" nf his estates, that comprised a considerable part of the districts of Riazan and Vladimir. His fortune was so vast that he never knew its money value. His castle, styled the " Palace of Hell" by tic Ne.rfs." stood on the boundary line of the districts named, the line of demarcation passing through the great reception hall, and being marked there on the parquet. This circumstance helped Vassili to escape the Czar's wrath whenever - the St. Petersburg authorities made an attempt to hold him to account for some specially atrocious crime. But such attempts were few and far between. Barked by a bodyguard of 500 lancers, his dominion over the 35,000 serfs belonging to him was as absolute as Robespierre's Way over Paris in the days of the white terror, but it w.-.s more enduring. Below is a record o[ »omo of Vassili's deed? as told bv his ex-sli.ves sitting round the bonfires lighted on the occasion of his recent death. The serfs of the village of Divcnskaya, belonging to Count Valueff, started* a mild revolt in 1859, and his lordship, who was bu.-v injoying himself in St. Petersburg, asked his friend Vassili to quell the disturbances. This Vassili refused to do, on the plea that he might be compelled to exceed his ur.'lu.riiv but he added: " If you will sell mc that village I will punish those slaves sutßcijiitly to frighten the rest from ever attempting riot." Count Valueff. eager to rid himself of trouble, sold his hundred "souls" at Divenskaya at an extremely low price, and the same night lost the sum Vassili had' paid him at cards, Vassili being the winner So Divenskaya did not cost the " Bad Devil " as they called him, a single copeck. A few days later Vassili returned to Riazan, and taking part of his bodyguard with him, set out for Divenskaya, which was ten miles distant, soon after supper. ANNIHILATING- AN ENTIRE VILLAGE. Remember, there had been no proclamation concerning tho change of ownership no attempt at persuading the serfs to return to obedience; if they had had a chance to leam tnat Vassili, tho Bad Devil, was their master, no doubt they would have made instant submission. It was past midnight wlion the cavalcade, their horses' hoofs protected by straw and rags to avoid noise, arrived before Divenskaya, where everybody was asleep. After posting men all around tne village, rifle in hand, he instructed twenty of his lancers to set fire to the place at a. given signal. Then be gave this order : ' Burn everything, man and mouse. Those of you who let even a hen escape shall banc this vtery [night." And neither, hen nor cattle, neither men, nor women, nor children did escape—so ran Vassili's report to Count Valueff in St. Petersburg. The incendiaries did their work to perfection, and the lancers shot or cut down every living creature that tried to escape—human beings, horses, does oxen, sheep, goats, and-poultry—they were wiped out and their dead bodies thrown in the smouldering timbers. Three hours after the "Bad Devil" had arrived on the spot the village of Divenskaya had ceased to exist —this petty baron had erased it from the map of the empire. The town bearing the same name to-day is in a different locality. A cry of horror went through all serfdom when the facts became known, and tho authorities, who had defied public opinion so long, thought it at last incumbent upon themselves to interfere. The St. Petersburg Cabinet, being aware of Vassili's old trick, favored by the circumstances that the boundary line divided hu> house into two districts, despatched the Governors of Riazan and Vladimir at one and the same time to investigate the case and provide adequate punishment'. OUTWITTING A GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. It was agreed that tho two Excellencies should meet at Vassili's castle, and both started out on their errand. But upon arriving at the last station the Governor of Vladimir found a messenger waiting with a letter said to contain messages that made his immediate return to the county scat imperative. Without his colleague]! the Governor of Riazan could do nothing, of course, for when he began to examine Vassili, the baron simply walked over to the other side of the reception room into Vladimir territory, which was out of his jurisdiction. The letter that induced the second Governor to turn back was from Vassili, giving information where tho Governor could find .100,000 roubles in gold waiting for him. Here is another story even more characteristic of this last of the feudal barons, the nineteenth century Nero; bat before telling it it might be well to explain Vassili's popular name of " Bad Devil." In the .estimation of the Russian peasant the devil is rather a good fellov. r than otherwise. He is a maa's enemy, doing his best to drag him

down into hell, sure enough, but that's his trade ; he can't help it, and no one bears him any grudge on that account, for, on the other hand, he is capable of much unselfish attachment if treated kindly. Sometimes he helps a fellow out of scrapes and sets things sttaight to the satisfaction of all concerned. ,'lais being the Russian peasant's conception of His Satniiic Majesty, the name "Bad Devil" as applied to Vassili needs no further comment. Now to our story. In January, 1859, Vassili's 'learned to their utmost satisfaction that their cruel master was dead after a short illness. The funeral bell on the castle tower tolled out the great news, and a black flag waving at half-mast corroborated it. As none of the dead man's sons or other relatives were at the Palace of Hell just then, the lancers left, fearing a raid by Government troops that had been threatening for some time, and these henchmen out of the way the serfs flocked to the castle from all the neighboring villages. Their desire to feast their eyes on the impotent tyrant's lifeless form was quite in the nature of things, however, and neither their hatred nor their curiosity was allowed the upper hand before the "pop" (priest) had performed the usual religious rites. SCENES AT VASSILI'S BIER. The body lay upon ;tn impromptu bier in the centre of tho great hall, and the hundreds or more peasants that had assembled kept in the background while the "pop" closed the late Vassili's eyes, folded his hands, and lighted a number of tapers. Then he ordered the sexton to remain in tho room, saying the death prayers and went home. The pop having gone, tho serfs entered on tiptoe, one after tho other, but little by little they became bolder. Trup, the dreadod man looked more terrible in death than even he did in life, but dead dogs don't bite. Content at first to gaze upon their departed enemy with mute satisfaction, the peasants after a while began to give vent to their feelings, and the hubbub increased until their conversation drowned the sexton's litanies. Finally one in the crowd proposed that they go into the cellar and fetch wodka. Tho suggestion .was accepted with enthusiasm', and soon all were drinking to their heart's content. The sexton's faint objections were not heeded, and an orgy en.-ucd that would have been a disgrace to a low tap house. The serfs holding each other by the hand danced around the bier, singing and bawling forth insults and threats. They dared the corpse to get up and strike them or ride-abroad to punish the tillers of txie soil. "May your brother bum ynu well. Bad Devil." they cried. '■ You have long enough tortured us." Others addressed themselves directly to the good devil, praying him to make it warm for tho hated Vassili. Still others tugged at tho dead tyrant's moustache, and one fellow lore a big bunch of hair out of his head. Then it was agreed that the late barou must drink his serfs' health, and half a dozen hands busied themselves opening his jaws, while wodka. was poured over his face from numerous flasks and bumpers. " Son of a pig." cried a peasant of herculean stature, " drink to the health of mv bov, who rotted in your dungeon. Drink. I say. or I will kick ynu off your throne." With that he upset the liter, and was about to inflict further punishment, when the eyes of the " Corpse " opened. Three or four men witnessed tho "miracle." and their warning cries restrained the rest. The next moment absolute quiet reigned, and Vasili's voice was heard to murmur: "T will rise and punish those that insulted me ; thev shall be like the dust of the road."

HIS LAST BARBAROUS ACT. As the last words of the sentence clTed away the serfs saw Vassili actually get up, and they heard his voice, the voice that all knew so well. " Eustachius, thou who meant to kick me : Pachomius and Nuseha, Ivan, Peter, and Nicholas, down in the dust with you, desecrators of your lord's person !" The. revived Vassili named every one of the crowd who had insulted him by word or deed, and brought them to their knees. " You shall swing before noon," he cried. "As for tho rest., you shall k> knoutcd, every mother's son of you." His frightened pen-ants now coming forward, Vassili despatched them in all directions to call the lancers together, and as soon as his bodyguard rode up the serfs condemned to death were carried to the garden of horrors and executed, but not by the rone. They were lashed on the wheel and broken. Vassili, repenting of his mildness, had changed his order.—New York 'World.' SOCIETY WEDDINGS. <S» Having regard to the fact that in ma>jy ciEes several hundreds of pound.-) are sper-.t on a society weddirg, and that it may be witnessed by the highest in tho land, it hj not surprising, says a writer in ' Cas«elPß Saturday Journal,' in the course of achat about ' Rehearsing a Society Wedding,' that the biide's mother, who is the stago manager of the ceremony, should in her anxiety be desirous of having now and again something in the nature of an undress rehearsal of the great affair and the smaller ceremoniea and duties appertaining to it. Such rehearsals Ehe obtains tometimes, and there are soma interesting stories told of the way in which they have betn carried out. On several mornings previous to the event Lady So-and-so has attended tho church with her daughter, aDd in the first place plied tho vestry elork with qucetions on all manner of subjects, even sometimes anxiously taking his opiniou, and apparently attaching considerable weight to it, as to whether the weather ia likely to be fine or not on th« nuptial day. The good man ia asked whether he thinks a certain thing ought to be done in this way, and whether the bride ought to stand like that. In the church an imitation ceremony for the benefit of the bride has more than once been gone through, mamma for the time being acting the double role of clergyman and bridegroom. She shows the bride how to stand and walk, where to put her feet and hands, and generally gives her full instructions aB to wedding ceremony deportment. Ic is a not infrequent thing for a bridegroom himself to be a little anxious on such points, and to go to the church on bia own account for a little enlightenment; and the story goes that just before a wedding not long ego the bridegroom one morniDg suddenly appeared through the vestry door in company with his best man and the clerk, the idea being to get a few " tips," and there discovered at the chancel steps his blushing bride-elect and her maternal relative carefully going through a. course of education ia marriage and giving in marriage !