Makar's Dream

Maoriland Worker, Volume 12, Issue 303, 20 December 1922, Page 2

Makar's Dream

By VLADAMIR G. KOROLENKO.

<Ko'r<jl ; 6iiko; Russian novelist, died a few. months ago. In thie i?hqrt story; a drunken old pea« stent is takeii in a dream before the Taion, or god- of the forest, to be judged for Ms many sins. The sins are piled upon a Tfooden ecalepan, and'the virtues* upon a golden one— but alas, the virtues rise high into the air. Thereupon old MSkarj driven to despair, breaks out into'protest so eloquent that the judge is "puzzled.)

The scales trembled again ... the old Taion was lost in thought.

"How-is this?" said he. "There are good people still living on. the earth. Their eyea are bright, and their faces shine, and their robes are spotless.

.... Their hearts are as tender as good soil; they receive the good seed, and bring forth beautiful fruit and the perfume is sweet in my nostrils. Look at yourself!".

All eyes were turned towards Makar, who felt ashamed of his appearance. He knew that his eyes were not bright, and his face begrimed,, fei-j hair and beard matted and tangled, and his clothes torn. True, he had been thinking of buying a pair or his death, in order to appear at the judgment seat as " behooves an honest peasant. But he had always spent the money on drink, and now he stood before the Taion in raggod sh.oes, like the last of the Yakouts. ... He would gladly have sunk under the ground.

"Thy face Is dark," went on the Taion. "Thy eyes are not bright, and thy clothes'.are torn. And thy heart is.overgrown'with, weeds, and thorns. T.hat is.,.the reason ; why I love ruine own that are pure and good and holy, and turn my-face away from such as you are."

Makar's heart was ready to break. He felt ashamed of Ids existence. Hβ hung his head, but suddenly lifted ifc and began to speak again.

Who were those just aad gogd mea the Taion was speaking abotit? If lao meant those who were living in Una palaces on the earth at the same tim© as Makar did, he knew them well enough. Their eyes were bright because they had not shed as many tears as he.had, and their faces shone because they were ; bathed in perfume, and their clean garments had been wrought by other people's hands. Did he not see that he too had been born like the others, with bright, open eyes, in which heaven and 'earth were reflected as in a mirror, aard with a pure heart which was ready to take in alt that was beautiful in the world. And if he longed now to hide his wretched self under the ground, it was no fault of his . . .he did not. know whose fault-it was .. . all h,e knew was that all the patience had died in his hoarjt.

If Makav had seen the effect which his speech had produced on the ola Talon, and that every word he sale fell on the golden .scale like: a weiglit of lead, his rebellious heart woulc have been soothed. But he saw nothIns, because he was full of blind tiesoair. .

lie thought of his past life, whicl? had been so liard. How had he been able to bear it so long? He had borne it because the star of hope had slion? through the darkness. And now thf star had vanished, and the hope was dead. . . . Darkness fell on his son!.and a storm rose in. it like the stormwind which flies across the steppe in the dead of night. He forgot where he was; before whom he stood —forgot everything except his anger. But the old Taion said to him: "Wait, -poor man! You are no longer on earth. There is justice for you here." And .Mafcai* trembled. He realised that they pitied him; his ntpart was softened; and, as he thought of hiss wretched life, he 'burst into tears, weeping: over himself. The old Taion wept too, and so did the old father Ivan. Tears flowed from the eyes of the young serving-nien, and they vvi}>cd them with wide sleeves. And the scales trembled, and the wooden scale rose higher and higher!