"Are any of the fathers now confined in the place?"
"Not one. We have no criminals at Solovetsk."
"But some of the fathers are in durance, eh? For instance, where is that monk whom we brought over from Archangel in disgrace? Is he not here?"
"No; he has been sent to the desert near Striking Hill."
"Is that considered much of a penalty?"
"By men like him, it is. In the desert he will be alone; will see no women, and get no drink. In twelve months he will come back to the convent another man."
"Let us go up into this prison and see the empty cells."
"Not now."
"Why not? I am curious about old prisons; especially about church prisons; and can tell you how the dungeons of Solovetsk would look beside those of Seville, Antwerp, and Rome."
"We can not enter; it is not allowed."