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94
SÖNYA KOVALÉVSKY
The parish priest, Father Philip, had a son who had
always hitherto rejoiced the hearts of his parents by
his good temper and obedience. Suddenly, just as he
had finished his studies in the ecclesiastical seminary,
almost at the head of his class, this model youth,
without a word of warning, turned into a disobedient
son, and flatly refused to become a priest, although
he had but to hold out his hand in order to obtain a
desirable parish. His Reverence, the Bishop,
summoned him to him, and entreated him not to quit the
bosom of the church, giving a very plain hint that all
he had to do was to express a wish for it and he would
be appointed priest in the village of Ivanovo (one of
the richest in the government). Of course, to this
end he would be obliged, as a preliminary requisite,
to marry one of the daughters of the former priest,
because it has been the custom from time immemorial,
that the parish forms the dowry, so to speak, of one
of the daughters of the deceased priest. But even
this enticing prospect did not beguile the young man.
He preferred to go to Petersburg, enter the university
at his own expense, and condemn himself to a diet of
tea and dry bread during the four years of his studies.
Poor Father Philip grieved over his son’s folly, but
he might yet have consoled himself had the latter
entered the department of law; of course, because that
was the most profitable. But his son entered the
department of natural sciences instead, and, on
reaching home for his first vacation, uttered such nonsense
about man being descended from the ape, and about
Professor Syetchenoff having proved that there is no
soul, but only reflection, that the poor, embittered
father seized his sprinkler and sprinkled his son with
holy water.
In former years, when he returned to his father
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