rd
of such a thing! Your bishop, all the way from London, driving night and
day for five days across the steppes, to give you twenty English folk
your services! Why, our bishop is only two or three days down the river
at Omsk, but we could not expect him to come here for us."

"Well, you see," observed my friend, "our English Church does not forget
her children, even if they are scattered far and wide. And we shall be
glad to see him and receive Holy Communion and have sermons from him
about our faith and highest duties."

After a moment's silence the priest looked up suddenly and said:--

"I wonder if your bishop will come to our service on Sunday and join
with us in worship? If he will address us how glad we shall be to hear
him!"

"He will certainly come, and, what is more, we will all come with him,
and we will all be at divine service together for once. Suppose we have
our Celebration at 7.30, and you arrange yours for 8.30 instead of 8.15,
and we will all come over together? We shall fill our little room,
and can't invite others; but we will all accompany the bishop to the
church."

[Illustration: _The Russian Priest at Spassky._]

Next day (Sunday), after our Communion--all the staff received it--we
went over, I in my robes, to the church, and were received by the
wardens, the choir leading off with a hymn as we entered. The wardens at
once conducted me behind the screen where the priest stood before the
altar in his vestments, with a boy server on either side beautifully
vested, the one in gold and the other in silver tissue.

After bowing to me gravely and reverently, he began the service. Nothing
is _seen_ of it by the congregation, and they hear only the voice of the
priest, and are told from the other side of the screen what is passing
within. The Russian Liturgy is full of traditional ceremonies, and
rather bewildering, I should think, to an English Churchman; but there
is no question as to the great reverence which distinguishes it. The
priest confided to his manager afterwards how nervous he felt at
celebrating with a bishop at his side, and how anxious he felt to make
no mistake. He did not show it, however, and was as reverent and
absorbed as any priest ought to be when back again in thought and word
and deed in the Upper Room, where, on the same night on which He was
betrayed, our LORD left us the memorial of His Passion and the
Sacrament of His love and grace.

It was touching also to see th