The man who foresees the necessity of undergoing this severe penance will think twice before putting on a disguise.

So at least it must have been in the good old times; but in these degenerate days--among the Russian peasantry as elsewhere--the fear of the Devil, which was formerly, if not the beginning, at least one of the essential elements, of wisdom, has greatly decreased.

Many a young peasant will now thoughtlessly disguise himself, and when the consecration of the water is performed, will stand and look on passively like an ordinary spectator! It would seem that the Devil, like his enemy the Pope, is destined to lose gradually his temporal power.
But all this time I am neglecting my new acquaintance on the top of the stove.

In reality I did not neglect him, but listened most attentively to every word of the long tale that he recited.

What it was all about I could only vaguely guess, for I did not understand more than ten per cent of the words used, but I assumed from the tone and gestures that he was relating to me all the incidents and symptoms of his illness.