Rabbi and Priest

M >> Milton Goldsmith >> Rabbi and Priest

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

"You have sent for me, father?" said the young man.

"Yes; sit down," answered Drentell, curtly. "Have you ever read the
history of Rome?"

Loris opened his eyes wide at the unexpected question.

"Why do you ask?"

"Answer my question. Have you ever read the history of Rome?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember the story of Brutus, whose son was engaged in a
conspiracy against the republic?"

Loris became very pale and stammered an indistinct reply.

"You do; I see it in your face! Tell me how did Brutus act towards his
son?"

"He condemned him to death," faltered Loris.

"Right! He condemned him to death. The malefactor paid the penalty with
his life."

The General arose and again paced up and down the room, in a vain
attempt to control his agitation.

"What have these questions to do with me?" asked Loris, nervously.

"Simply this," answered the Governor, coming to a sudden stop before his
son, while his eyes flashed and big blue veins stood out upon his
forehead: "I have proofs that my predecessor died an innocent man. I
have also the names of those Nihilists who should have suffered in his
stead. Shall I tell you whose name is at the head? My duty is clear. I
should follow the example of Brutus and deliver my son into the hands of
the law."

Loris, a thorough coward at heart, sank into a chair.

"Father," he stammered; "you would not condemn me to death; me, your
only child?"

"Coward!" cried the General, looking scornfully at his son, whom terror
had robbed of strength to stand. "You have the courage to plan
cold-blooded murder, but when the time comes to face your own death you
show yourself a miserable poltroon. Fear nothing: you shall not die. I
have passed a sleepless night, struggling between duty and parental
affection. But were it known in St. Petersburg that I had shown you
mercy, I would answer for it with my life."

"Father!" exclaimed the young man, remorsefully, hiding his face in his
hands.

"Don't interrupt me," said the General, savagely. "I have already
requested the immediate removal of your regiment to the frontier. The
Turks are aggressive, and our forces in that neighborhood should be
increased. By to-morrow you will receive your order to march. It is
absolutely necessary that you should leave Kief. Of your misguided
companions, Moleska, who revealed the conspiracy, is already in the
fortress, and the others will soon follow. For your own safety, you must
leave Kief before the arrests are made, or I will not answer for the
consequences."

"But, father, you will be lenient towards them," cried the young man.
"You will not condemn them to death. Remember that whatever may have
been their guilt, had it not been for the death of Pomeroff, you would
not now be Governor of Kief."

"For shame, Loris!" cried the General, red with anger. "Are you so lost
to all sense of honor that you must remind me that I stepped into office
over the corpse of my predecessor and my friend, murdered by my own son?
Do not provoke me too far! Your associates have been guilty of the most
grievous of crimes. They must die. Besides, were they to live they would
denounce you as their leader and even I could not save your life. Go!
Arrange your affairs, avoid further intercourse with your companions. By
this time to-morrow you must be on the way to the frontier while they
will mount the scaffold."

Loris shuddered and for the first time a sentiment of humanity moved
within him.

"I will not go," he said, resolutely. "I have lived and plotted with
them and I shall die with them."

"No, Loris, no," replied his father, softened. "You must depart. There
is no other course. A Drentell must not die a traitor's death. It would
break my heart and kill your mother, who dotes upon you. It will be
better not to see her before your departure. Questionings and
explanations are dangerous. After all this is forgotten, you may return
and work out the career I had hoped for you."

Loris, sorrowful and conscience-stricken, kissed his father's hand and
slowly left the room.

On the morrow, the Seventh Cossack Regiment received orders from St.
Petersburg to proceed to Kothim without delay, and long before nightfall
it was on the march. Next morning twelve conspirators were arrested at
their homes and dragged before the tribunal of judicial inquiry. Their
trial, like that of Pomeroff, was a mockery, for their fate had already
been decided. Defence was useless. The incriminating papers found in the
places designated by the informer Moleska sealed their doom. Governor
Drentell himself pronounced their sentence. Two days afterward they were
secretly executed.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 15: Foulke.]

CHAPTER XXIII.

LOUISE'S PRACTICAL ADVICE.

Tyranny, which for a brief period had slept, was now wide-awake and
aggressively active. Throughout the entire Empire despotism stalked
unimpeded. The recent attempt upon the Czar's life had increased the
vigilance of the police, and the most frightful atrocities were
committed in the holy name of Justice. The blood curdles with horror
when reading of the indignities and the injustice visited upon the
people.

"When the police deem it best," says one writer,[16] in portraying the
condition of that period, "they steal noiselessly through the streets
and alleys, surround a private dwelling in the dead of the night, and
under some false pretence, invade every room in the house, waking the
sleeping occupants. Each member of the household is given in charge of a
policeman, everything is turned topsy-turvy, books, papers, private
letters are carefully inspected--nothing is secret. It is not necessary
that the police should have any evidence for these searches. An
anonymous charge, a mere suspicion is enough. Houses have sometimes been
inspected seven times in a single day. If anything is discovered to
excite the suspicions of the police an arrest follows and the supposed
culprit is sent to the house of Preventive Detention. There he awaits
his trial for weeks and months and sometimes for years. He is brought
out occasionally for examination. If he confesses nothing he is sent
back to reflect. Sometimes the wrong man is arrested and confined a year
or two before the mistake is discovered."

The solitary confinement to which prisoners were doomed in this house of
detention was often fatal. The hardships to which they were subjected
frequently led to consumption, insanity or suicide. The examination of
prisoners and witnesses was dragged out to an interminable length. In
one celebrated case it lasted four years and over seven hundred
witnesses were kept in jail during that time. The prosecutor admitted
that only twenty persons deserved punishment, yet there were
seventy-three who died from suicide or the effects of confinement.

Louder and louder grew the clamor of the masses and the threats against
the imperial autocrat. Wholesale arrests could not quell the popular
voice. A prisoner wrote from his living tomb in the Troubetzkoi Ravelin:
"Fight on till the victory is won! The more they torment me in prison,
the better it is for the struggle!"

Governor Drentell entered upon his new duties at a trying time. His
existence was embittered by political strife and tumult, and by
complications with which he found it difficult to cope.

Let us seek him in his palace, by the side of his wife, Louise.

When we first met Louise, she was young and frivolous; now she is old
and frivolous. The years have dealt gently with her, however, for she is
still quite handsome and as vivacious, as capricious, as kind-hearted
and as religious as when we last parted from her, twenty-seven years
ago.

"Poor Dimitri," she said, dolefully, after her husband had recounted the
events of the day. "Eighteen persons exiled to Siberia and two sentenced
to death. How hard you toil! You will kill yourself with overwork!"

The General sighed.

"I should think," continued Louise, "that Loris could be of service to
you in these difficult affairs of State. Why don't you recall our boy?"

The General's brow clouded.

"He must remain at his post for the present," he answered. "After he has
achieved military glory, it will be time enough to initiate him in civil
affairs."

"But you need an adviser, an assistant who can take some of your work
off your hands."

"You are right! But who shall it be? There are so many Nihilists about,
that I cannot be too careful whom I take into my confidence."

Louise rocked herself awhile in silence. Suddenly she said, impetuously:

"I wish we were back in St. Petersburg, or even at Lubny. Do you know,
Dimitri, our days at Lubny were pleasant, after all?"

"Perhaps," answered Drentell, sarcastically, "that accounts for your
incessant desire to leave the place."

"I never know when I am happy," said Louise, truthfully.

For some minutes she again rocked herself vigorously. It was her way of
stimulating her mental faculties. Suddenly she cried:

"Ah, if you had only brought Mikail along. He might assist you."

"You appear too fond of Mikail's society," answered the Governor,
sharply; "and that is just why I left him in St. Petersburg."

"Fool," replied Louise, half in jest, half in earnest. "Why, he is only
my father confessor. You surely would not be jealous of a priest?"

"Yes, even of a priest, especially when he is as handsome and
fascinating as our Mikail."

Louise broke into a merry laugh.

"Then that is why you were so solicitous about placing him with the
Minister of War in St. Petersburg. You were afraid to bring him along on
my account?"

"Candidly, yes. In spite of his priestly robes, I fancied he was too
fond of your society and you of his, and I deemed it best for my peace
of mind to leave him at the capital while we came here."

For a time Louise's mirth appeared uncontrollable.

"Why, you goose!" she said, after her laughter had subsided. "Mikail has
never approached me but with the greatest respect. He knows that I have
been his benefactress, and I am sure that, while he thinks me awfully
ignorant, he respects me as he would an aged relative."

"And what are your feelings towards him?"

"I know what he was in the past; and, while I have unbounded admiration
for his wisdom, I can never forget how he first came into our house."

"Then there is no danger of your falling in love with him?"

"None, whatever. I am old enough to be his mother."

"But his beauty--his charms?"

"They do not compare with those of my dear husband," replied Louise, as
she twined her arms about Dimitri's neck, with all the coquetry of
twenty-seven years ago.

There was no reason to doubt Louise's sincerity, and the General felt a
little ashamed of his unfounded suspicions.

"Have you heard from the Minister since our departure from St.
Petersburg?" asked Louise.

"Yes; he has written several times. He cannot sufficiently praise the
keen intellect of our young priest."

"He is the very man you want. Have him come to Kief at once. You need an
assistant and Mikail is bound to you by ties of gratitude and
affection."

The General looked sharply at his wife. He still felt doubtful as to her
feeling for Mikail. But Louise rocked away, unconscious of her husband's
penetrating glance.

"Perhaps it will be best to have him come," he reflected. "Yes, it must
be so. After having had him educated, after having given him the
opportunity of becoming what he now is, it would be folly not to employ
him to my own advantage. I shall write for him to-morrow."

"I shall see," he said, at length.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 16: Foulke.]

CHAPTER XXIV.

A DANIEL COME TO JUDGMENT.

A week later Mikail arrived in Kief. He appeared to be about thirty
years of age, was tall of stature, well built and sturdy. His complexion
was dark, his features oriental, his face oval, framed by a coal black
flowing beard, which gave him an appearance at once imposing and
attractive. His large black eyes shone with the lustre of intelligence.
A deep and melancholy calm seemed fixed in their commanding gaze. His
quiet countenance and stately form, his black clerical garments, his
sedate step and thoughtful mien added to the impressive effect of his
appearance. His beauty, however, was marred by two serious defects. The
lower half of his right ear had been torn away and his left arm was
stiff at the elbow and almost useless.

We find him in earnest conversation with Governor Drentell and a few of
the counsellors of his court.

"It is to be deplored," said the Governor, "that there seem to be no
efficient means of quelling the popular discontent. Arrest and exile do
not have the desired effect. Our prisons are filled to overflowing and
there is scarcely a day that does not send its quota of criminals to
Siberia. Here, in the southern part of Russia, the state of affairs is
particularly threatening. It is becoming alarming."

"Your excellency," remarked Mikail, in a deep, musical voice, "the
object of exile is, or ought to be, corrective rather than vindictive.
But, in my opinion, it exasperates the community and increases the
discontent."

"But," objected one of the counsellors, "to allow discontented persons
to remain unmolested will make them dangerous to the State."

"Undoubtedly," replied Mikail, "unless we remove the cause of their
discontent."

"Remove the cause?" interrupted Drentell, surprised. "To remove the
cause would mean to grant them liberty of action, to grant them a
constitutional government, to acquiesce in the thousand reforms they
demand."

"Let us not disguise from ourselves the fact that the people are
entitled to all they ask," said Mikail, quietly; "that the inhabitants
of other countries enjoy these rights and more, too, and that they only
ask for what is the prerogative of every human being--liberty and
happiness. But," continued he, emphasizing the little word; "while other
nations may prosper under such a rule, Russia would not. Her people are
not ready to enjoy the rights they demand. They would look into the full
glare of the mid-day sun before having accustomed their eyes to
candle-light. When I spoke of removing the cause, I did not mean to
abolish the cause of their discontent, but to obviate the necessity of
sending people into exile."

The assembly, which had at first been appalled by the priest's
unpatriotic sentiments, now breathed more freely.

"How would you accomplish your purpose?" asked the Governor.

"By directing the attention of the masses to something which will for
the time divert their minds from their present projects."

"It has been tried," replied the Governor. "We have begun quarrels with
all the countries surrounding us without accomplishing our object."

"Naturally enough. A war with Turkey or with Bulgaria is of very little
interest to those living far from the scene of conflict. Beyond taking a
few soldiers out of the country such quarrels are productive of no good.
There must be some strong excitement in which every one can take a part
and feel a personal interest, and then Nihilism will decline."

"What do you propose?" asked the Governor, whose curiosity was now
thoroughly aroused.

"Nothing new," answered the priest, deliberately. "I have already had
the honor of suggesting it to his excellency, the Minister of War, who
graciously commended it. _We must attack the Jews_. They have enjoyed
immunity long enough. For over twenty years they have lived in security,
feeding upon the fat of the land, engaging in trades that are unlawful
and amassing wealth which rightfully belongs to the faithful of the Holy
Catholic Church." And Mikail crossed himself devoutly.

The Governor and his counsellors looked at each other, significantly.

The priest continued: "The Jews have entered every branch of trade and,
worse still, have acquired lands. This is clearly against the laws of
the Empire which forbid a Hebrew's owning land. They have crowded into
our cities to the exclusion of our own people. Kief now contains over
twenty thousand Jews, whereas I am confident that the ancient laws limit
the population to less than one-half that number. They have
systematically robbed and plundered the gentiles and by their wiles
defrauded the poorer classes. They control the trade in intoxicants and
the vast quantities drunk by the _moujiks_ pass through the hands of the
Jews. Their wives are arrayed in satins and laces and wear the most
elaborate jewelry, while our lower classes suffer poverty and misery. Is
it right, gentlemen, that the Jews should have such advantages over the
faithful? Something must be done to check their dangerous progress."

"Your reverence evidently bears the race no great love," suggested one
of the counsellors.

"I have cause to hate them," answered Mikail, with darkening brow and
heaving bosom.

"You are right, Mikail," answered the Governor, eagerly; "they are a
despicable, blood-thirsty race."

"But how will a crusade against the Hebrews relieve the troubled
condition of Russia?" inquired another of the gentlemen.

"It will divert the attention of the masses from their present sinister
projects. Once let them taste the blood of the Jews, give pillage and
carnage unrestrained license, and they will forget their chimerical
schemes, and, paradoxical as it may seem, domestic order will be
re-established."

"You are right," said Drentell, rising. "It is eminently proper that the
Government should give its attention to the Jews and their relations
with the rest of Russia's inhabitants. I do not believe, however, that
this agitation can be brought about in a month or even in a year.
Unfortunately, too many of our peasants live upon terms of friendship
with them, absolutely blind to the fact that they are being preyed upon.
We must open the eyes of these poor victims. We must point out to them
that the Jew saves money and amasses wealth, while they toil in penury;
that Jews fill our schools and colleges, while our people remain
ignorant; that the Jew, base, deceitful, and avaricious, fattens on
their misery."

"The _moujiks_ once aroused," resumed the priest, "and the race struggle
begun, the Czar may sleep in peace."

"Will his majesty approve our plans?" inquired one of the counsellors.

"There will be no interference from St. Petersburg," answered the
priest. "I have already prepared the Minister of War for such a course
and he is thoroughly in accord with us. We have but to notify him of our
intentions, and he will order a similar movement in all parts of the
Empire simultaneously."

This course being decided on, the Council broke up, the Jews little
dreaming of the sword that hung suspended over their heads.

CHAPTER XXV.

MIKAIL THE PRIEST.

In Russia, the ecclesiastical administration is entirely in the hands of
the monks belonging to the "Black Clergy," in contradistinction to the
village priests, called "White Clergy." A black priest must be brought
up in one of the five hundred rigorous monastic establishments of the
Empire. The order is under the supervision of bishops, of whom there
are a great number. The black priest looks upon the parish priest as a
sort of ecclesiastical half-caste, who should obey blindly, sharing all
the onerous duties but none of the honors of the calling.

The history of monastic life in Russia does not differ materially from
that in Western Europe. The early monks were mostly ascetics, living in
colonies in a simple and primitive manner, subsisting on alms and
charity. Their only aims in life were the glorification of God and to
live as Christ commanded, in poverty, humility and self-denial. With the
flight of time, this comfortless existence gave way to more luxurious
customs. Money, lands and serfs were given to these simple monasteries,
which gradually grew into a mighty power in the land, engaging in
commerce, exercising jurisdiction over large domains, and moulding the
religious sentiment of the Church and State. During this century,
however, they grew less powerful. Secularization of church lands and the
liberation of the serfs reduced many of them to poverty.

The monks, nevertheless, hold a position in the church vastly superior
to that of the village priest, or _batushka_, as he is called. These
_batushkas_ belong to a hereditary caste, the members of which have been
priests for generations. They are subject to the rulings of the district
bishop; their livings, their distinctive names, even their wives--for
they are allowed to marry--are provided for them by their religious
superior. Their condition is not enviable. They are for the most part
poor and ignorant, with no higher ambition than to perform the rites and
ceremonies prescribed by their church. The parishioners are satisfied
with very little, and the _batushkas_ have but little to give. They
preach but rarely, and only after having submitted the sermon to the
provincial _consistorium_. The moral influence they exercise over the
people is necessarily small.

It was to the "Black Clergy" that Mikail belonged. As far back as he
could remember, his home had been in a monastery and his daily
associates austere monks. He was taught that the Catholic faith is the
only path to salvation. In so far, his education was similar to that of
his brother priests, but while the Jew Jesus inculcated love of all men,
Mikail was taught to hate the Jews. No occasion was permitted to pass,
no opportunity neglected to instil the subtle poison into his young
mind. The monks would point to his torn ear and palsied arm, and so
vividly portray the tortures he had suffered, that Mikail clenched his
little fists, his face became flushed and his bosom heaved at the
recital of his wrongs. They took delight in repeating the tale, that
they might witness his childish outbursts of passion and fury. This
treatment had its desired effect; the boy developed into a rabid
Jew-hater.

As a child, Mikail was but a servant in the monastery, ill-treated and
ill-fed. The only joyful episodes of this period of his existence were
the occasional 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.

To the monks of his convent, Mikail formed a noteworthy contrast. His
mind, remarkably active for one so young, refused to accept the
intricate mass of dogmas without endeavoring to analyze them and trace
them back to their original sources. For years he had accepted the
stories of miracles and revelations unquestioningly, but after he had
begun a course of independent reading and reflection he discovered
discrepancies and contradictions, which sowed the seed of grave doubts
in his restive brain.

He confided his doubts to Alexei, his superior. This worthy gave the
matter very little consideration; he shrugged his shoulders, stroked his
beard, now a venerable white, and answered:

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20