e four
parts were there. The bass certainly was, and I was told that the nuns
with deep voices submitted them to careful training until they were able
to reach very low notes indeed. There was, of course, no accompanying
music, the conductor just waving her open hand to and fro to beat time,
and the precision and crispness of the whole hymn were wonderful.

The chapel is a fine building beautifully painted by the nuns
themselves, and its services are conducted by a priest and deacon. The
deacon is a special feature in the ranks of the Russian clergy, and is
responsible for all the choral parts of the services, apart from the
actual priest's part in the Liturgy of course, and is chosen for the
beauty of his voice. If a young man has a very fine voice and is
wondering what use he shall make of it, he sees nothing at all
unbecoming or incongruous in saying that he has not made up his mind yet
whether he shall choose the Church or the stage.

[Illustration: _The Abbess Magdalena._]

When I was being introduced to the Ekaterinburg deacon, my friend and
interpreter whispered to me, "He gave up the opera to come here."
I thought, in my ignorance, that he had left the world for religion, and
full of sympathetic interest said:--

"Ask him if he has ever regretted it!" and was rather disconcerted when
he said in an off-hand way:--

"Oh! well of course I missed things at first, but I'm gradually getting
used to it."

The Abbess confided to us that sometimes from the way he offered the
incense she thought he must be thinking he was on the stage still.

He was a remarkably good-looking man with a wonderfully rich voice, and
as none of the clergy ever cut hair or beard after Ordination, and his
was just getting full, he looked a most picturesque and interesting
figure. I should like to meet him again, and put the same question, in
the hope of a somewhat more encouraging answer.

The Abbess, as well as managing and inspiring her sisters, superintends
a really remarkable work. Her revenue is a very large one, and she gives
a portion of it to the Bishop of Ekaterinburg for the work of his
diocese--he is a young and energetic prelate whom I greatly liked when I
knew him later--and out of the remainder she supports an Orphanage for
six hundred girls in the Convent. The remarkable thing, however, about
her management is its essentially practical, sensible, and considerate
character. The girls do not wear a uniform, but can consult