is matchboarded Chapter-room, as if he had beheld
Brother Dominic, while apparently he was striving to persuade his
brethren to accept the Father Superior's advice, nevertheless taking
sides, and thereby travelling along the road that leads toward
destruction. This was the thought that paralyzed Mark's tongue when it
was his turn to speak, and this was why he would not commit himself to
an opinion. Afterward, his neutrality appeared to him a weak compromise,
and he regretted that he had not definitely allied himself with one
party or the other.

The announcement in _The Dragon_ that the Order had been compelled to
give up the Aldershot house produced a large sum of sympathetic
contributions; and when the Father Superior came back just before Lent,
he convened another Chapter, at which he told the Community that it was
imperative to establish a priory in London before they tried to reopen
any houses elsewhere. His argument was cogent, and once again there was
the appearance of unanimity among the Brethren, who all approved of the
proposal. It had always been the custom of Father Burrowes to preach his
hardest during Lent, because during that season of self-denial he was
able to raise more money than at any other time, but until now he had
never failed to be at the Abbey at the beginning of Passion Week, nor to
remain there until Easter was over.

The Feast of St. Benedict fell upon the Saturday before the fifth Sunday
in Lent, and the Father Superior, who had travelled down from the North
in order to be present, announced that he considered it would be
prudent, so freely was the money flowing in, not to give up preaching
this year during Passion Week and Holy Week. Naturally, he did not
intend to leave the Community without a priest at such a season, and he
had made arrangements with the Reverend Andrew Hett to act as chaplain
until he could come back into residence himself.

Brother Raymond and Brother Augustine were particularly thrilled by the
prospect of enjoying the ministrations of Andrew Hett, less perhaps
because they would otherwise be debarred from their Easter duties than
because they looked forward to services and ceremonies of which they
felt they had been robbed by the austere Anglicanism of Brother George.

"Andrew Hett is famous," declared Brother Raymond at the pitch of
exultation. "It was he who told the Bishop of Ipswich that if the Bishop
made him give up Benediction he would give up singing Mornin