God flew into the marriage bed 4 letters. God of love and marriage among the Slavs

Gods, like people, from time immemorial got married, and sometimes even played weddings. The divine Egyptian twins Osiris and Isis became husband and wife while still in their mother’s womb. God Amon, in the guise of a priest, regularly performed marital duties in relation to his priestess, who lived in Egyptian Thebes. And he, taking the guise of Pharaoh, participated in his marital relations with the queen, who thus became the wife of Amon. In Mesopotamia, sacred marriage ceremonies were very popular and took place in many temple centers. The marital duties of a god were usually performed by the priest or king who personified him. It is not entirely clear why the omnipotent gods needed mortal assistants, but the fact remains: starting from the middle III millennium BC and at least until the turn of the era, Sumerian, Akkadian, and then Babylonian kings and priests regularly ascended to their marital beds instead of their gods. In Sumer, the king married the goddess Innana. At Ur, the lunar god Nanna and his wife Ningal were combined in the same way. A gigantic ziggurat sanctuary was erected in Babylon; in the highest of its towers stood a huge bed, covered with magnificent fabrics. On this bed the god Bel-Marduk married his wife Tsarpanitu. Marduk was an omnipotent god: according to his word, the stars lit up and went out in the sky, he commanded the winds and storms, he created the sky, the earth and man. But in bed he needed help, which the king of Babylon provided to him. Later, when the position of king was abolished by the Persian conquerors, the high priest began to come to the aid of God. And nearby, next to the sanctuary of Marduk’s wife, Tsarpanitu-Militta, a whole crowd of her assistants worked. Babylonian women from noble families, mobilized to serve the goddess, sold themselves to foreigners. The proceeds went to the needs of the temple, but it was not for the sake of these pennies that the wives and daughters of the richest families of Babylon were given to strangers. Their service was a symbol of sacred marriage. Ancient Greek gods, unlike the Babylonian ones, they tried to fulfill their marital duties themselves. Moreover, most of the male Olympian gods also had numerous mistresses, both among goddesses and among people. Supreme God Greek Zeus married his sister Hera; the wedding took place on the island of Crete, not far from the place where the Knossos Palace was later built. And for some reason the annual anniversary of this wedding was celebrated in Boeotia. Here the so-called “Dedalia” was carried out: a doll depicting the goddess Hera was cut out of an oak trunk, dressed as a bride and placed on an ox-drawn cart. A live “bridesmaid” was seated nearby. With music and dancing, the solemn procession went to the banks of the Asop River, and then returned back to the city. Once every few years, the accumulated “divine consorts” were burned on the top of Mount Cithaeron. Zeus did not always get along with his wife; perhaps he was pleased to see her burned at the stake, at least symbolically. Zeus was generally not a very faithful husband. Soon after the marriage, without divorcing his wife, he entered into an alliance with his other sister, Demeter. It is unlikely that Zeus and Demeter celebrated their wedding: they must have been afraid of the jealous Hera. But people filled this gap and decided to give Demeter official status. In the Eleusinian sanctuary near Athens, the Greeks annually celebrated a ritual wedding - a mystery, personifying the marriage of Zeus and Demeter. The role of god and goddess was played by the high priestess of Demeter and a special priest. After torchlight processions, sacrifices and other ceremonies, “Zeus” and “Demeter” retired for a mystical union. True, there is reason to think that the union of the priest and priestess was limited to mysticism, for the priest before it began was given a dose of hemlock to drink, which, although it was not life-threatening, but completely deprived him of male power. However, the real Zeus apparently did not drink hemlock, because Demeter in due course gave birth to an equally divine daughter from her divine husband, who was named Persephone. The girl was a beauty, but in her grief, her own uncle Hades fell in love with her. The fact that Hades was a relative did not particularly bother anyone: this is a common thing among the gods. But his profession is ruler the afterlife- could not cause delight either in the bride or in her mother. Therefore, Hades turned to Zeus directly for matchmaking and, having received consent, kidnapped Persephone without even informing Demeter. As a sign of protest, Demeter stopped fulfilling her duties as the goddess of fertility, and famine struck the earth. In the end, the parties came to an agreement and decided that Persephone would live part of the time with her husband and part of the time with her mother. This was probably the first “guest” marriage in history. Today, “guest” marriages, when spouses live separately and only visit each other, are very popular in the West. But Hades was not at all sure that his young wife would visit him, so before the first parting, he gave her a pomegranate seed to swallow. It is not entirely clear why this action should have tied the young, cheerful goddess, a lover of flowers, to her old and gloomy husband. However, the trick worked: since then, Persephone has been returning to her husband every year for about four thousand years, which each of us can personally observe when the seasons change. According to mythographers, Zeus gave his daughter a considerable dowry: the island of Sicily, and according to some sources also greek city Thebes and the Cyzicus Peninsula. Aristotle mentions the ritual wedding of the wife of the king (and later the archon-king) of Athens and the god of wine Dionysus, which was held annually at the king's residence, on the north-eastern slope of the Acropolis. But information about whether God attracted mortal assistants or performed marital duties personally has not been preserved. In Alexandria it was customary to celebrate the anniversary of the marriage of Aphrodite and Adonis. To do this, statues of gods decorated with flowers and fruits were put on display for the public to see. If the gods of Mesopotamia needed the help of people to fulfill their marital duties, the Greek gods, on the contrary, themselves willingly came to the aid of mortal husbands. And if the wives did not want, then the gods took on the appearance of their faithful. It is known that Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon, gave birth to Hercules from Zeus, who entered her bedchamber under the guise of her husband. A similar story happened in Sparta already in historical time, in the 5th century BC. The wife of King Ariston gave birth to a boy, who was named Demaratus. The king expressed some doubt about paternity, but then recognized the child as his own. After the death of his father, Demaratus inherited the Spartan throne. However, ill-wishers doubted the legality of his rights, especially since Ariston no longer had children from any of his wives and was considered infertile. The most contradictory rumors spread about the origin of the heir. The Pythia was asked, and she reported that Ariston was not the father of Demaratus. Then Demarat's mother, not daring to argue with the Pythia, admitted that a ghost had entered her bedchamber under the guise of her husband. divine hero Astrabaka from the nearby shrine. And then, that same night, Ariston himself fulfilled his marital duties. So even if Ariston is barren, then the ghost of Astrabacus is not barren. And a child born of a deity has no less rights to the Spartan throne than the son of a king. True, this explanation did not satisfy everyone, and Demaratus lost his kingdom. But it apparently suited the Persian king Darius I, who made Demaratus his guest and adviser. The Roman emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, who went down in history as Heliogabalus, was known as a great lover of divine weddings. Since childhood, he was a priest of the sun god Heliogabalus, from whom he received his nickname. Not content with the usual priestly service, the diligent emperor decided to act as a matchmaker for his heavenly patron. He demanded that in order to marry God, the statue of Pallas Athena, revered by the Romans, should be transferred to the imperial bedchamber. The will of the emperor was fulfilled, but the sunniest god himself did not like the marriage initiative. Somehow he informed his favorite that he did not want to have a goddess of war as his wife, and even one dressed in full military weapons. Then the emperor demanded for God new wife. This time he decided to combine Heliogabalus with the Phoenician goddess Astroarcha (whom the Carthaginians identified with the Moon), arguing that the Moon would be the most suitable consort for the Sun. The statue of the goddess was brought to Rome with a huge amount gold. In addition, the emperor organized a collection of funds for the “dowry” of the goddess, after which she was, according to all the rules, “married” to the Sun God. And the citizens of the Roman Empire were ordered to “indulge publicly and privately in all kinds of fun and feasts, since the gods were getting married.” * * * Weddings of the gods are by no means a thing of the past. Residents of Bengal to this day annually celebrate the marriage of the Earth goddess and the Sun god Dharma. The ceremony is timed to coincide with the flowering of the sal tree. Poultry is sacrificed to the Sun. And then the usual cheerful wedding takes place with drumming and songs, dancing and libations. The local priest and his wife become the deputies of the bride and groom at this holiday. As Fraser writes, “at the end of the ceremony everyone eats, drinks, has fun, dances, sings obscene songs and finally indulges in the most disgusting revelry. The purpose of this rite is to encourage the earth to give birth in abundance." In the 19th century, the Votyaks of Malmyzh district experienced several crop failures in a row. They were attributed to the activities of the malevolent god Keremet. Since it was beyond human power to appease God, the Votyaks decided that he could be re-educated by positive female influence. They decided to marry God to the virtuous goddess of fertility Mukilchin. But the goddess lived far away, in sacred grove Votyak Kura. A special delegation was sent there, which, after the wedding feast, cut out a piece of turf in the grove and, in an elegant cart, with the ringing of wedding bells, brought the “bride” to their god. The marriage concluded in this way really had the most profound effect on the wicked Keremet. positive influence. The shortage stopped, and everything would have been fine, but the Kura Votyaks presented their claims. Since the divine "bride" carved from native land, left Kura, where, in turn, crop failure began. Apparently, after the wedding, the goddess shifted all her attention to her husband’s lands. It's not just gods who marry. Smaller spirits also marry, and very often they demand brides from the human race. The spirits that once lived in America were especially famous for this. In one village in Peru, a fourteen-year-old girl was married to a stone in the shape of a person. The merry wedding lasted three days. True, the spirit of the stone was unable to properly fulfill its marital duties, and the wife retained her virginity (at least according to official version). Nevertheless, the marriage was considered legal, and the young wife, who made sacrifices to her stone husband on behalf of the entire people, enjoyed great respect from her fellow tribesmen. Every year, at the beginning of the fishing season, the Algonquin Indian tribe gave two young Algonquin women in marriage to the spirit of fishing nets. Legend has it that long ago, fishermen began to be plagued by bad luck; no one knew how to help the grief. But one day a man appeared to them and introduced himself as the spirit of the net. He explained that he had lost his wife and was looking for another, but could not find a single virgin. Unable to fulfill the conjugal duty, the spirit categorically refused to fulfill the official duty. The unfortunate fishermen decided to satisfy the picky spirit, and so that there would be no complaints about virginity or the number of brides, two very little girls were married to him at once. However, the Indians were not too keen on seeing their daughters as fishing net wives. Or maybe they were afraid that the girls, when they grew up, would not be able to maintain the purity that was so dear to the spirit. In any case, the marriage contract with the seine is concluded for exactly one year. At the wedding feast, a fishing net is spread between two brides who are six or seven years old. The groom is asked to catch something in the coming season more fish. Part of it, of course, goes to the “wives.” And on next year the spirit is invited to a new wedding... The married net began to yield so much more fish than the single one that rumors of this reached the Huron Indians, who soon adopted this useful custom from the Algonquins. Spirits associated with water are generally extremely keen on virgins. At one time, an evil spirit lived in the ocean off the coast of the Maldives, which appeared to the islanders every month in the form of a ship with burning lanterns. The residents were sure that a wide variety of troubles could be expected from the spirit, so they bribed him with a virgin chosen by lot. The girl was dressed in wedding dresses and were taken to a pagan temple standing on the shore. And in the morning she was found dead and lost her innocence. The terrible wedding was repeated every month until, according to the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, a certain pious Berber drove the spirit back into the sea by reading verses from the Koran. It happens that virgin brides are attacked not only by gods and spirits, but also by especially advanced animals. Residents of the Indonesian island of Buru say that their village was once subjected to a terrible invasion of crocodiles. The priests explained that it was all about the love that the leader of the crocodiles living in the surrounding area felt for one of the girls of the village. The young islander was dressed in wedding robes and handed over to the “groom”. How did it turn out? family life", history is silent. However, the invasion of crocodiles eventually stopped. However, sometimes weddings with animals are much less bloody, at least for the brides. IN ancient india the Ashvamedha ritual was practiced - sacrifice and symbolic marriage with a horse. This custom was described back in Vedic times, and later in the Mahabharata. A king who wanted to expand the borders of his power or have an heir would release his horse and follow him with his army, conquering all the lands on his way. After a year, the horse was strangled, and the king’s wife, surrounded by concubines, entered into a ritual marriage with the horse’s corpse and performed symbolic sexual intercourse with it. Horse in Indian mythology associated with Surya - the sun god. As a result of such a brilliant marriage, the queen was supposed to give birth to a worthy heir to her lord... The Ashvamedha ritual is described not only in myths. King Samudragupta I not only held it, but even issued commemorative coins on this occasion. Later, the wedding with a horse was repeated by the Rajput rulers Prithviraj Chauhan in the 12th century and Jai Singh II in the 18th century. Ritual marriages of cows are also practiced in India, but fortunately they are bloodless. One such wedding took place recently in the village of Hemda in Rajasthan. The cow named Kaushalya and the bull Kanhaiya were dressed in wedding clothes and according to all the rules they got married in the temple of the god Shiva. At this wedding everything was like people's: a crowded solemn procession with music and dancing, guests, and sweet treats. The owners of the animals acted as parents. The horned newlyweds solemnly walked around the sacred fire, the necessary mantras were read over them... A local Brahman told reporters that such a wedding would ensure prosperity for the entire village. Indians play and weddings between plants. A Hindu who plants a mango grove will never pick the first fruit until the grove “gets married.” Usually one of the mango trees is chosen as the groom and a marriage is concluded between him and a tamarind tree growing nearby. If tamarind is not available, you can replace it with jasmine tree. But there is no substitute for an expensive ritual. Brahmins with their families and guests are invited to the wedding and a feast is arranged that is in no way inferior to a “human” wedding. India, of course, is an exotic country. But even in the very center of Europe, in one of the most civilized countries in the world, to this day the ceremony of marriage with a deity takes place annually. This is a Venetian rite of betrothal to the sea... It began at the turn of the millennium, in commemoration of the military victories of Doge Pietro II Orseolo. But then the ritual did not have any wedding connotations: the Doge and his retinue turned to the sea with a request for favor and sprinkled themselves and the sea with holy water. The marriage was proposed, oddly enough, by the Pope Alexander III- in 1177, in gratitude for Venice’s help in the fight against Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he granted the then Doge the right to the northern part of the Adriatic, according to legend, accompanying the award with the words: “I consolidate your power over it [the sea], like the right of a husband to his wife.” . Betrothal with a ring in itself is a completely Christian rite, but when applied to the sea it takes on a clear pagan connotation. Nevertheless, the pope showed worthy toleration. Since then, for six centuries, the Doge of Venice every year, standing on a specially built galley, in front of a huge crowd of people, uttered the ritual phrase: “We are engaged to you, O sea, to forever own you!” - and threw it into the water of the lagoon Golden ring. IN Italian the word "sea" male. But it is in the Venetian dialect that the sea, to the delight of the Doge, is a woman, so that “ownership of the sea” is completely heterosexual in nature. After the abolition of the position of doge, the mayor of the city began to marry the sea. Meanwhile, the sea is slowly absorbing Venice...

Of these, there are some who had a relationship after marriage and some had one, others two, others three children and subsequently lived as virgins. Others have a relationship once a year for the sake of childbearing and then live again as brother and sister. Others abstain during periods of fasting and then have relationships. Others cannot achieve this either. Others - once in the middle of the week, so that there are three days before communion and three days after communion. Others stumble here too, therefore Christ, after the resurrection, appearing to the holy apostles, first of all said: As the Father sent Me, so I send you... Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; whoever you leave it on will stay on it(John 20:21-23).

The goal is for everyone to strive with reason and honor, in accordance with their spiritual strength. At first, of course, age is an obstacle. However, as years pass and as the flesh weakens, the spirit can prevail, despite the fact that then married people begin to gradually partake of Divine delights; and this even more helps them to naturally be distracted from carnal pleasures, which at that time seemed to them very insignificant. So, those who are married are in some way sanctified and go to heaven along this path, which does not go so steeply into ropy. While the monks rush straight to the top, climbing the rocks, and rise to heaven.

You must keep in mind that the issue of this relationship does not concern you alone and you do not have the right to decide it yourself, but only by mutual agreement, as the Apostle Paul says (1 Cor 7:5). When this is achieved, then By mutual consent again requires caution: the strong must take the side of the weak. In many cases, one side, in order not to upset the other, says that it agrees, but is internally tormented. These are mainly wives, since they have little fear of God and possess the liveliness of the flesh. Often, due to lack of reasoning, some pious husbands, hearing from their wife’s lips that she agrees, immediately indiscriminately move on to long period abstinence, and then the wives are tormented, break into irritability, etc. Husbands think that their wives have advanced in valor and want to live even more chastely, for even longer, and then women are tempted to get to know their friends, etc. When and this happens, then they begin to have remorse (about the fall), and husbands try to live even more chastely, seeing their wives as having no disposition, because they believe that they have advanced spiritually more than them and have no desire for carnal things. The reason, naturally, is women's selfishness and jealousy, since they feel lagging behind. When a wife sees her husband wanting to live a spiritual life, she forces herself to surpass him.

Forgive me for invading an area that is alien to me, because the business of a monk is not these topics, but the rosary. But, in order not to upset you, I was forced to write to you on these issues (I know about them from the outside), which annoy many brethren in the world and give room for activity to the devil.

It has great importance whether the spouses have similar temperaments. When one has a moderate temperament and the other has a lively one, or one has a lively and the other has a moderate temperament, one should sacrifice the strong for the benefit of the weaker, and then gradually the second will receive help and restore his health, and then, being healthy, both will to strive.

I already said at the beginning and I return to this: an honest and reasonable struggle for the sanctification of the married is required. If we look at this somewhat spiritually, we will understand that married people should also strive to some extent (I believe that this would also be wrong if they, being married, had as their goal only food, sleep and carnal pleasures; man is not only flesh, but also spirit). The flesh should help sanctify the soul, and not bury the soul. I’m not saying that the one who lives as a virgin after one or two children, or has relationships only once a year for childbearing, or the one who abstains during periods of fasting, etc., should be the first to receive a score of 10, the second - 8, the third - 6 and the fourth - 4. God sees the efforts of each and the strength He has given to each, and will reward each accordingly. I love them all equally and admire those who strive honestly. If only they did not commit the crimes of abortion, etc.

I apologize for my bad handwriting. Since I had one spiritual activity and then many letters at once, I am writing to you in a hurry in order to quickly begin my studies.

May Christ and the Most Pure Mother be with you.

My respect to your father, the priest.

With love in the Lord, monk Paisiy

The elder’s opinion on this issue could not be different from the instructions of the Apostle Paul (see: 1 Cor 7:29) and the Apostle Peter (see: 1 Pet 2:1).

1 Pet 2:11; 1 Cor 7:29.

Two ancient spirits vigilantly watched the spouses having mercy on the wedding bed - the good God Love and the evil God Nelyub.

For us now, the word love can only mean a relationship to something or someone dear, liked, pleasant, sweet and desired. And among our ancient ancestors, Lyub was an important mythological character, endowed with remarkable powers and expressive power.

Moreover, God of Love belonged to the hidden sphere of human relations - he guarded the marriage bed as a family shrine. As you can see, his mission was honorable and very responsible. Apparently the word “love” in Russian comes from the name of God Lyub.

Lyub's most important task was his vigilant fidelity in driving away his main antipode and enemy - the evil Nelyub - from the bed of the spouses. After all, if he manages to get to his lovers, then expect failure in love pleasures, and what is worse in actions to increase offspring. And according to the custom of the ancients, this is a shame and a stain on the entire family.

Interestingly, both of these spirits, good and evil, were often represented in the form of cats. Only kind Lyub was the color of the sun, fluffy and affectionate, and held a magical holly stalk in his teeth. And Nelyub, accordingly, was completely black, gloomy and always kept a branch of henbane in his teeth - the herb of discord and madness.

It is believed that the ancient Russians considered cats to be very strange and precious creatures. Therefore, domestic family Gods were presented in feline forms.

The plant attributes of these spirits were also not accidental. For example, since ancient times, holly was held in high esteem by Old Slavic healers, who used it in the treatment of many human ailments, together with hazel and string. Holly was believed to rid the body of “garbage” and was also a regulator of male power, both in increasing it for procreation and in calming down from unreasonable activity and sin on the side.

Belena, on the contrary, “wit for mind” turned on: where masculine activity was supposed to be honorable, it evoked sleep, where marital fidelity had to be preserved, it brought down untimely lust. So it turns out that so famous expression“He has eaten too much henbane” once had a meaning not only in inappropriate public behavior of a person, but also in describing the delicate unseemly affairs of a married husband.

It is clear that Lyuba was welcomed and pleased in every possible way. Mothers and matchmakers whispered to him all sorts of requests for the happiness of the newlyweds, baked him a fluffy oval cake - Lyubok, into which they stuck a boletus mushroom with the cap down and the foot up, as a symbol of the union of the masculine and feminine principles.

Everyone firmly believed that the connoisseur of the marriage sacraments would appreciate the presented delicacy, which was placed at the head of the marriage bed, and would constantly keep watch in order to protect the sweet aspirations of the spouses from the evil spirit Nelyub and all outside ill-wishers.

Perhaps there were others secret ways to please the good spirit of Lyuba, but they did not reach us. But if evil spirit Nelyub managed to get to marriage bed- there was trouble, quarrels, failures and all sorts of grievances. So they said after that in Rus' - “a cat ran between the young.” It is clear that the ill-fated cat was black. Maybe this is where the dislike for black furry pets came from, to whom many warning signs and sayings were dedicated?

God of passion among the ancient Slavs, son of the goddess Lada (mythical)

The Shepherd in N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden”

Character by A. N. Ostrovsky, “The Snow Maiden”

Slavic Amur

All-name Russian pop singer(Musi-pusi)

Snow Maiden's favorite shepherd

By what name on our stage do we know Ekaterina Chuprinina?

God of love and marriage Slavic mythology

A character from A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden”

Pop singer, "Peas"

A character from N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden”

Singer Katya

Who sang about “jagu-jagu”?

Who sang about “musi-pusi”?

Who sang about “musipusi”?

. “kruchuverchu” (singer)

. “twirl-twirl” (singer)

Singer named Katya

Katya... grew up. estr. singer

Katya... Russian pop singer

Katya from singers

. "Snow Maiden" (character)

Singing Katya

Russian pop singer

. "Snow Maiden" (pers.)

Pop singer from Russia

Ekaterina Chuprinina on stage

Character "The Snow Maiden"

Katya on stage

Slavic god of love and marriage

Katya who sings

Ostrovsky's character

Sang about marmalade

God of love and marriage among the ancient Slavs, son of Lada

A character from A. N. Ostrovsky's fairy tale play "The Snow Maiden"

In Slavic mythology, the god of love and marriage, son of Lada

Character from A. Ostrovsky's play "The Snow Maiden"

Russian pop singer

Snow Maiden's favorite shepherd

. “Twist and Twirl” (singer)

. "Snow Maiden" (pers.)

. "Snow Maiden" (character)

Katya the singer

Who sang about "jagujaga"

Who sang about "musi-pusi"

M. the name of an ancient Russian god, compared with Cupid, Cupid; in song choruses one can also hear: lel-lyuli, lelya, lelyushki. To cherish someone, undead, to caress, to cherish. Cherish, cherish chickens. thief. flicker, shine? talk about water: Water cherishes, but does not go into your mouth; but this can mean: sways, sways, or beckons and comforts, flatters. -sya, they suffer. and return according to the meaning of speech. Cherishing Wed. valid by value verb Lelya, Lelya, Lelenka vol. Vlad. Godfather, mother talking to child; and. chickens lalya, baba, children's nursery rhyme, toy; children's shirt. Let's put it on! The woman fed the child, gave birth to a man, fed him, raised him, whom she cherished. Lolyakat tver. lalyk, speak uncleanly, l vm. r, like little guys. Lelyakish m. Tver. seasoned in bread, donkey, unbaked bread

Character "Snow Maiden"

Pop singer, "Peas"

The Shepherd in N. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Snow Maiden"

Character by A. N. Ostrovsky, "The Snow Maiden"

By what name on our stage do we know Ekaterina Chuprinina

Character from A. N. Ostrovsky's play "The Snow Maiden"

Character from N. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Snow Maiden"

Pefitsa named Katya

God among the Slavs

Katya...pop singer

And again there were mixed up tears, and kisses, and words, and shouts, and stories about how Prince Alexei and Vaida miraculously escaped from the rebels, having stumbled upon a detachment of Mikhelson’s regular troops, which they brought with them to Novo-Izmailovo, and how Alyoshka, not remembering himself, he got out of Siluyan’s cellar (he was clutching his head, wondering why the secret door was still open!) - and ran wherever his eyes looked until he came across the Pugachevites, and then, out of nowhere, Grinka appeared and fooled the men's heads by assuring them that Alyoshka was his brother. The guys sat out in the forest, and in the morning, after waiting for the robbers to leave, they climbed into the manor’s house, where Little Fox had already woken up and couldn’t find a place out of fear. Almost until noon, the three of them could not decide what to do and where to get help, but suddenly Prince Rumyantsev, who had fallen behind his squad, flew into the courtyard on a lathered horse to find out what happened to his wife and relatives in Novo-Izmailovo, captured by the Pugachevites.

Elizabeth thanked God countlessly when she learned that her sister was alive and unharmed, but then the peasants came, brought Tatyana’s headless body and laid it next to the dead Vaida and the old Prince Izmailov, who quietly and inconspicuously left this world, exhausted by the loss of blood, severe pain and unbearable already the burden of returning happiness... And for a long time on that day joy and sorrow alternated, tears of happiness and tears of sadness flowed alternately, and too much was forgotten in a hurry - only to be reminded of itself later, much later, by new pain and new wounds.

All the estates where the Pugachevites lived were destroyed by the roots or so filled with blood that it was impossible to live there without being disturbed by the countless ghosts of those killed and tortured.

Novo-Izmailovo was no exception. They drove the enemy away, buried the dead (they all lay down side by side in the new cemetery near the chapel in the estate park - Prince Mikhail Ivanovich and the gypsies Vaida and Tatyana). Prince Alexei, having settled a German manager in the estate - skillful, fearless and heartless - gave him complete freedom in all measures that he would consider necessary to use to restore the manor's house and the entire ruined household; then he sent Lisonka with her husband and little son to Ryazanovka, and took his family to Lyubavino, hoping that time would someday dispel the memories of the bloody massacre at the Novo-Izmailovsky estate.

More and more attached to Lyubavin, which was indeed beautiful, and beautifully located, and in a skillful hand brought in considerable income, the prince nevertheless now often thought about returning to Izmailovo-Moscow, once abandoned in grief by Mikhail Ivanovich, and now quite ready for the return of his heirs. Every year, Prince Alexei planned to go there in the spring, when it was dry, but there were always things to do that canceled his plans. In addition, the Empress, concerned, among other things, about the state of Russian interests in the Balkans, often called Prince Izmailov to St. Petersburg for advice and conversation, for few people in Russia knew so much about the situation of the Serb brothers and few people had such pain in their souls over this devastated Slavic country. However, so far the solution to the Balkan issue was limited to advice and conversations alone, although these trips took a lot of time from the prince.

Years passed, and much was forgotten. Princess Elizabeth was tormented less and less by longing for the dead Vaida and Tatiana, but she was still tormented by bewilderment: what actually happened that night when he was captured old prince when Alyoshka almost died? Who is to blame for this? No, Elizabeth could not even imagine that Tatiana would decide to harm her son, but more and more often she was tormented by suspicion: was the gypsy to blame for the captivity of the old prince? Wasn't she the one who handed him over to Aristov? Tatyana behaved very strangely that evening, strange words she spoke, and when talking about revenge, as Elizaveta and Masha now recalled, she became not herself at all... But she had, oh, she had something to be angry with Mikhail Ivanovich for, why to take revenge on him - what if she couldn’t resist? And saints, they say, are tempted - Tatyana was by no means a saint! Over the years, the name of the gypsy became surrounded by new and new rumors - more and more terrible, even creepy. Elizabeth was only surprised where they came from, although she knew that the peasants and servants were good at gossiping about all sorts of incredible things. Even her children sometimes listened to these tales with their ears hanging open - what can we say then about all sorts of Natashkas, Agafyas, Agapkas with Lukyashkas, and even about the same Grinka?..

And Grinka, by the way, took root with the Izmailovs, turning from the adopted son of the walking woman Akulka into the adopted son of a prince. Alexey and Elizabeth, overwhelmed with gratitude for saving their son, found that the most generous reward would be at a low cost for such a good deed; and since Alyosha did not want to part with his new friend and called bro, it was decided: to take Grinka with him to Lyubavino and raise him with his children as if he were his own. And so it happened, and so it was, and everyone soon got used to the fact that a foster child was being raised together with the barichs.

And what? People don’t even get used to this!

Grinka stood in age just between Masha and Aleshka: a year younger than one and a year older than the other. However, a person who did not know such details would have no doubt that in this trio he was the eldest, since he was the horse breeder and ringleader. No, it cannot be said that he incited the princes to perform unnecessary pranks. He himself loved to play pranks, which is true, that’s true, but he always guarded the wild, gambling Alyoshka from extremes, while he protected Masha like the apple of his eye - and then, in a fit of this care, he really seemed older than his years.

The children were inseparable both in fun and in their responsibilities: they studied together with the chamberlain and madam, hired foreign teachers, and sat next to each other during all lessons.

Mashenka turned sixteen: by the standards of that time, she was ripe for marriage. Hunters from all over the province - hunters for the beauty and dowry of Countess Maria Valeryanovna Stroilova - constantly circled around, but this young girl looked at the men with discernment. Flesh from flesh, blood from the blood of her ardent and fearless mother, Mashenka could only love a person superior to her. She did not think about the special beauty, wealth, or position in society of this unknown person. If only he were a hero!

Only one person in her circle turned out to be like that. The same adopted Grinka.

It must be said that no one called him by this disparaging childhood nickname anymore. Now he was Gregory and fully corresponded to this daring and reckless name. It was impossible to recognize the runt that old Nikitich had once pushed into the living room of the Novo-Izmailovsky house in this tall, still thin, but already with turned, broad shoulders young man, fleet-footed and agile both in movements and in thoughts.

It's amazing how excited he was. And although in the humanities Alyoshka was far ahead of him with the vividness of his imagination, however, in the exact disciplines, where calculation, ingenuity and quick thinking were required, Grigory had no equal.

His face also changed. The green eyes became so bright and beautiful that, first of all, they attracted attention; and in the light of these eyes that unkind cunning of the features that came from the previous downtroddenness and distrust faded - or almost faded. It appeared only occasionally, in moments of concern. Let's say, when Gregory thought that, despite all the love of the prince, princess and their children for him, he was just an adopted child, that is, a nobody, a man without a family, without a tribe, without a fortune, completely dependent on the mercy of his patrons... However, the attitude towards him was the best, but still the uncertainty of his position could not help but concern Gregory, and he worked hard to become a necessary and even irreplaceable person in this house.