But this detail does not affect the
moral significance of the story. Yet I can not help thinking that a
man with such strong convictions as Ivan ought not to carry an axe.
Ivan, however, is still needed in Russia. Two or three years ago,
immediately after a wedding ceremony, the bride and groom, with the
whole wedding party, set out in sledges for the next town. The
wolves attacked them and ate every member of the party except the
four in the first sledge--husband, wife, and two men. As the wolves
drew near, these two heroes advised the husband to throw out the
bride, for if he did so, the three left might be saved, as their
haven was almost in sight. Naturally the bridegroom declined. Then
the two men threw out both bride and groom, and just managed to reach
the town in safety, the sole survivors of the whole party. I wish
that Ivan had been there to give them the proper welcome.
The poem _Clive_ is a psychological analysis of courage and fear,
two of the most interesting of human sensations.
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