visits to the Count and Countess Drentell, at Lubny, to
whom he believed himself distantly related. They received him with every
appearance of cordiality, made inquiries about his progress, allowed him
to revel in the companionship of Loris for a day or two, and finally
sent him back to his dreary prison.

As he grew up, his treatment at the hands of the Poltava monks improved.
The Superior, Alexei, discovered a keen intellect in this reserved and
sullen lad. It was astonishing with what avidity he read the limited
number of books which the convent bookcase contained. His desire for
learning appeared insatiable, and the few kopecks which he earned in
showing strangers through the chapel and running errands for the monks,
were invariably spent at the book shops for some bit of precious
literature. By the time he was eighteen he had mastered all the learning
that Alexei could impart, and the superior was by no means an illiterate
or ignorant man. Mikail read Latin and German fluently, developed a
talent for theology, and his shrewd arguments won the admiration of his
fellow-priests.

"He has a brilliant mind," said Alexei to himself one day. "Who knows,
he may yet become a bishop."

The Russian Catholic Church occupies a unique position as compared with
the churches of Southern and Western Europe. She is now, as she was
centuries ago, apparently oblivious of the world's advancement and
impenetrable to new ideas. Her ancient traditions are still cherished.
The theological discussions and quarrels, the reformations and schisms,
which at various times shook the Roman Catholic Church to its centre,
had no terrors for the church of Russia. Intellectual advancement,
scientific research, inventive progress left her untouched and
uninfluenced. Her theology remained precisely as it was in the days of
Constantine and, like the self-sufficient snail, she withdrew into her
shell, her convents, and allowed the world to wag as it saw fit.

This apathy is easily explained. The Czar, the autocratic temporal
ruler, is also the spiritual head of the church. Hence, she has had all
her thinking done for her and has remained stationary. This trait has
had its influence over the intellectual character of her priests, who
are for the most part indolent and ignorant, content to believe whatever
their religion requires, without question or debate. Theological
discussions, such as we find in Protestant countries, are hardly known
in Russia.