g, that a fourth while
officiating at the Easter service was dragged by the hair from the altar
by the deacon? Was it possible for the people to venerate priests who
spent their time in gin shops, wrote fraudulent petitions, fought with
crosses as weapons and abused each other at the altar? Was it possible
for them to have an exalted opinion of a God-inspired religion, when
they saw everywhere about them simony, carelessness in performing
religious rites, and disorder in administering the sacrament?[18]

Mikail's heart turned sick. Nowhere could he find that truth which he
sought. Even the better educated priests appeared to have given their
creed no thought, no reflection.

Still the young priest did valuable service in the field assigned to
him. Through his indomitable will be corrected many of the abuses which
existed in his district, and raised the parish clergy to a higher
standard of efficiency and morality.

So the years passed. The friendship between Mikail and General Drentell
grew stronger as the nobleman learned to value the brilliant intellect
of his _protege_. His occasional visits to Lubny continued, and the
General usually profited by the clear, good sense of the young man, who
displayed as thorough a knowledge of agriculture as he did of theology.
Mikail and Loris, on the other hand, could never agree. The priest had
no patience with the hare-brained, pampered young aristocrat, and
occasional differences were the result. For the sake of the General's
friendship, however, as well as for the preservation of his own dignity,
Mikail restrained his feelings. At the age of twenty, Loris entered the
army, and for a while the growing animosity of the two was happily
checked.

The Bishop, greatly admiring his assistant's ability, offered him an
important position in his consistorium. This Mikail firmly refused. He
assigned as his reason that he found congenial work among the
parishioners; but in reality the priest felt in his heart that his
veneration for the Catholic creed was growing daily less, and that
vexing doubts and difficulties had gradually crowded out the faith he
had once possessed. It was at this time that General Drentell's
influence obtained for him a desirable position with General Melikoff,
the Minister of War. The priest gladly accepted the honor, happy to
escape from the continual hypocrisy of his clerical duties.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 17: A _blagotchinny_ is a parish priest who is in d