"Is there a reason for it?"
"Our dissensions."
The Father did not see the pleased expression of his auditor's face, but proceeded: "Yes, our dissensions. They multiply. At first the jar was between the Church and the throne; now it is the Church against the Church—a Roman party and a Greek party. One man among us has concentrated in himself the learning and devotion of the Christian East. You will see him directly, George Scholarius. By visions, like those in which the old prophets received the counsel of God, he was instructed to revive the Pannychides. His messengers have gone hither and thither, to the monasteries, the convents, and the eremitic colonies wherever accessible. The greater the presence, he says, the greater the influence."
"Scholarius is a wise man," the Prince said, diplomatically.
"His is the wisdom of the Prophets," the Father answered.
"Is he the Patriarch?"
"No, the Patriarch is of the Roman party—Scholarius of the Greek."
"And Constantine?"
"A good king, truly, but, alas; he is cumbered with care of the State."
"Yes, yes," said the Prince. "And the care leads to neglect of his soul. Kings are sometimes to be pitied. But there is then a special object in the Vigils?"