The Notes of the Unknown by Nikolai Leskov. Short summary

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A collection combining stories about Father Paul and John. In the notes, pastors are subject to human frailties, need compassion, and are punished for their arrogance.

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The first story in the collection, «Excessive Maternal Tenderness,» tells of a widow who is overprotective of her son Ignatius. Her brother is near death, and they go to visit a relative. Father Paul explains to Ignatius how to behave in order to get a good inheritance.

The young man who returns from his trip tells him that his uncle has bequeathed him an estate and serfs. The shepherd wants Ignatius to give the estate to him. But the young man objects that it is not lawful for a priest to have serfs. Then Father Paul says that he would sell the serfs and live on the estate.

The widow worries about the behavior of her son, who has begun to masturbate constantly. The shepherd manages to find out from the boy that he had to spend the night at the station on the way back. Since there was no room, a Dutch grandmother slept in his room.

She chuckled, and smacked her lips like kisses until the morning. After that, he started smacking like her and couldn’t break up the habit. When a widow asks how to cure her son, the shepherd tells her to feed him with hay, calling him a donkey.