burned incense and fasted, not for the sake of
receiving blessings of some sort from God, but for the sake of good
order. Man cannot live without religion, and religion ought to be
expressed from year to year and from day to day in a certain order,
so that every morning and every evening a man might turn to God
with exactly those words and thoughts that were befitting that
special day and hour. One must live, and, therefore, also pray as
is pleasing to God, and so every day one must read and sing what
is pleasing to God--that is, what is laid down in the rule of the
church. Thus the first chapter of St. John must only be read on
Easter Day, and "It is most meet" must not be sung from Easter to
Ascension, and so on. The consciousness of this order and its
importance afforded Yakov Ivanitch great gratification during his
religious exercises. When he was forced to break this order by some
necessity--to drive to town or to the bank, for instance his
conscience was uneasy and he fit miserable.

When his cousin Matvey had returned unexpectedly from the factory
and settled in the tavern as though it were his home, he had from
the very first day disturbed his settled order. He refused to pray
with them, had meals and drank tea at wrong times, got up late,
drank milk on Wednesdays and Fridays on the pretext of weak health;
almost every day he went into the prayer-room while they were at
prayers and cried: "Think what you are doing, brother! Repent,
brother!" These words threw Yakov into a fury, while Aglaia could
not refrain from beginning to scold; or at night Matvey would steal
into the prayer-room and say softly: "Cousin, your prayer is not
pleasing to God. For it is written, First be reconciled with thy
brother and then offer thy gift. You lend money at usury, you deal
in vodka--repent!"

In Matvey's words Yakov saw nothing but the usual evasions of
empty-headed and careless people who talk of loving your neighbour,
of being reconciled with your brother, and so on, simply to avoid
praying, fasting and reading holy books, and who talk contemptuously
of profit and interest simply because they don't like working. Of
course, to be poor, save nothing, and put by nothing was a great
deal easier than being rich.

But yet he was troubled and could not pray as before. As soon as
he went into the prayer-room and opened the book he began to be
afraid his cousin would come in and hinder him; and, in fact, Matvey
did soon appear and