He told them that
the monastery was poor and wanted money, and that this large sum would
be most useful for certain necessary expenses. But although he used many
unanswerable arguments, the old brute of a librarian had completely
awakened the spirit of discord, and the ignorant monks were ready to be
led into rebellion, by any one and for any reason or none. At last the
contest waxed so warm that the sale of the two manuscripts was almost
lost sight of, and every one began to quarrel with his neighbour, the
entire community being split into various little angry groups,
chattering, gesticulating, and wagging their long beards.

After a while the agoumenos, calling my interpreter, said that as the
monks would not agree to let him keep the money in the usual way for the
use of the monastery, he could have nothing to do with it; and to my
great sorrow I was therefore obliged to receive it back, and to give up
the two beautiful manuscripts, which I had already looked upon as the
chief ornaments of my library in England. The monks all looked sadly
downcast at this unexpected termination of their noble defence of their
principles, and my only consolation was to perceive that they were quite
as much vexed as I was. In fact we felt that we had gained a loss all
round, and the old librarian, after walking up and down once or twice
with his hands behind his back in gloomy silence, retreated to a hole
where he lived, near the library, and I saw no more of him.

My bag was brought forward, and when the books were extracted from it, I
sat down on a stone in the court yard, and for the last time turned over
the gilded leaves and admired the ancient and splendid illuminations of
the larger manuscript, the monks standing round me as I looked at the
blue cypress-trees, and green and gold peacocks, and intricate
arabesques, so characteristic of the best times of Byzantine art. Many
of the pages bore a great resemblance to the painted windows of the
earlier Norman cathedrals of Europe. It was a superb old book: I laid it
down upon the stone beside me and placed the little volume with its
curious silver binding on the top of it, and it was with a sigh that I
left them there with the sun shining on the curious silver ornaments.

Amongst other arguments it had been asserted by some of the monks that
nothing could be sold out of the monastery without the leave of the
Bishop of Tricala, and, as a forlorn hope, they now proposed that the
agoum