Shackles. S. Skitalec
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this time Anna with a breakfast in a small knot came. Her heart clenched at the sight of the son surrounded with the school students considering it.
Long could not achieve from it to sense that happened to it. At last, the Laurels told that the head hurts it. Drearily, frowningly looked at mother, asked home.
Lavrusha did not get to city school.
VI
The fall in the village Shackles when burst the first frosts and will be chained as in iron, dirt on the wide rural street, always happened solar, windy, to the flying snare in the transparent sky.
The Volga woods seemed dressed in a crimson dye, gold and purple. After cleaning of bread weddings and wedding feasts were conceived.
Every day then the middle of the wide street, having stood in the row, there were a solemn rank discharged maids in fiery bright dresses, large, portly, vociferous, in short plisovy or velvet dushegreyka with assemblies behind and multi-colored buttons over them. There were they on a hen night and sang lingering wedding songs; the ringing chorus was heard on all village on four versts around.
At the end of the village, on the square about a tavern and shops, all late fall and all winter at first the least children, then teenagers, then adult guys gathered every evening and, clapping mittens, shouted:
– Give – give – yes – va-ah!
It meant the introduction in an ancient entertainment – the Russian fisticuffs.
Children, then guys and when absolutely darkens fought at first – there were men and even old men with gray-haired beards.
In long winter evenings above all village till midnight there was a groan from noise of fisticuffs. Since both ends of the village hundreds of fighters in sheepskin short fur coats, in fighting tawing mittens gathered.
The cult of physical force since ancient times dominated in Shackles. The fighters allocated on a fist fun became known and dear, like actors: did not interfere with it even belonging to “stranny”, landless people.
Fought – one end of the village with other end, the dissenters making a half of the village with Orthodox Christians. On each party there were athletes famous for the almost fantastic physical force. Were such that could pull out on the coast the sunk boat with water, lift on a back a cart with hay, break horseshoes, curtail into a tubule between fingers silver pyatialtynny. The victory of this or that party depended on their duel. Leaders met ahead of all, and behind them, coming, moving back, fight was humming: booming blows, howl and shouts were heard far on the village in frosty, snow night. Rules of fight in order to avoid bloodshed were strictly followed: not to beat “snouts”, not to beat “from a wing”.
Sometimes one of the parties was much stronger – weakness was driven nearly until the end of the village, but fresh forces suddenly were or there was a famous fighter – the issue of the combat sharply changed.
On the wide chetyrekhverstny street of the village all winter lasted on the road which is chopped up by measured blows of hoofs like a lying ladder, the Siberian, Ural and Orenburg wagon trains with frozen fish, furs, cotton and any raw materials. These wagon trains were long, with strong packed rozvalnyam, horses – strong, heavy – went a measured, disputable step.
Sometimes there passed caravans of camels with heavy vyyuka between high humps: through Candala before carrying out the Siberian highway there was an animal-drawn path – the main road.
For Maslenitsa all village in ten thousand inhabitants left to ride sledge. There were so many elegant sledge harnessed by exit horses in the harness rattling bells that horses moved a step, all weight from log huts of the same kind to another, in noisy, cheerful narrowness.
All riding had good horses, at many – trotters or amblers. The harness rumbled with bells and kolokolets, shone copper metal plates, silver set, decorated with silk brushes.
Having reached until the end of the village, long stood a camp, having got off in the dense mass of sledge, horses, people. Songs, sounds of strings were heard, thrown by humourous catchphrases and jokes on a subject about Maslenitsa: its effigy made of sticks, the painted paper and rags was lifted over crowd as a banner or a banner.
Some storyteller-pribautchik from guys of a daring look by a loud voice for a general fun recited:
Hi, my soul,
Wide Maslenitsa!
Your paper little body,
Lips your sugar,
Speech your honey!
Eh you, Maslenitsa,
Red beauty,
Fair-haired braid!
At this time the effigy of Maslenitsa flaunted over the heads of celebrating.
All crowd sbiratsya closely to those sledge from where usually ringing, young voice of an invisible rayeshnik was carried:
Honest Maslenitsa left
On seventy seven horses
In Moscow city to feast,
From seven mountains to ride,
To be consoled in honey-home brew!
I also there was,
Medical-wine of saws,
On lips flowed, and did not get into a mouth,
Anything happened!
The poem about Maslenitsa became infinite, was supplemented with improvisations; one stopped, another picked up:
During the Maslenitsa left
With women to be played,
I salesman of seven women,
Woman’s ensign!
After the competitions in jokes, jokes and humourous catchphrases turned back. All continuous mass of festive sledge filled the crowded street, the rumble stood from a sled scratch, clanking of a harness, shouts, songs, laughter. Singing was heard:
Since half of the night sledge began to creak,
Kolokoltsa, bells rang out…
Its last day, visited Maslenitsa Shrove Sunday the companies to each other, apologizing in free and involuntary offenses, on ancient custom bowing down zemno and three times kissing. The youth of both sexes used this custom: each guy this day could kiss with the girl in public.
Towards evening the same day took out for the effigy of Maslenitsa sat down and there solemnly burned.
In total in this village – broad-shouldered, large figures of men in cloth caftans and undergarments, solid log huts with a high porch, with carved roosters on gate, stone houses of rich men, fat maids, full horses, a strong harness, fisticuffs and festive revelry – said about prosperity and satiety of this rough, but strong hammered together semi-rustic, semi-kulak life of trade Volga villages.
The reason of this exclusive wealth of the state peasants of Middle Volga existed from olden days and consisted only in long-term rent of huge spaces of the state earth.
These peasants were as if small landowners-tenants or farmers as to their services there was a boundless number of the agricultural workers flowing in the summer to Middle Volga from land-poor provinces.
Left that peasants of rich villages, owing to historical accident, operated work of alien, poor peasants, having formed the populous kulak villages doing grain business.
The village of Candala was one of such numerous villages. From a distance from Volga this huge settlement with several stone houses and two tserkva was visible: old – stocky, and near it new – under construction on the reduced scale of the known temple in Moscow.
In Shackles almost each peasant conducted