Page:John Feoktist Dudikoff - Beasts in Cassocks (1924).djvu/30

  to the waiter and having served whatever the latter brought, returned to my post at the door.

In spite of such a difference in position—Dobroff being an Inspector General to the two "saintly" Prelates, and I only on probation,—he shook my hand very warmly and said: "I am very, very glad and happy to meet a man after my own heart in a strange country." This was followed by jokes and hints thrown in apparently to make it impossible for me to understand everything, but I caught several of the innuendoes. Thus I understood, when Archbishop Platon told Dobroff that he envies Bishop Alexander, who had such a "gay time last night amongst young chickens," that Alexander had spent the night with prostitutes. Platon felt that he was entitled to a greater share of that type of entertainment than Bishop Alexander because of his higher rank—moreover he was growing older and could not waste any time.

A few minutes later Archbishop Platon said to me: "I appoint you Inspector General, under the supervision of Mr. Dobroff. You must take orders from him as you would from me. To begin with, see Archpresbyter Ivan Ivanovitch (Slunin). And now, my darling Feoktistich, I know you are tired, and besides, our old men's talk probably bores you. … Well, sleep peacefully."

This meant—"Betake yourself home." I took the hint, rose, received the Archbishop's blessing and went to Gorokhov's apartment at 1286 Lexington Avenue, where I made my home. It was too early to go to bed—I was not invited to the "conference" most probably on account of Friday’s Lent, and I spent the evening in my room thinking of my native land and my near and dear ones.

The next day I was sent to Mr. Dobroff with a packet. He received me in a very friendly manner, examined the seals on the packet most minutely and said, looking me straight in the eye: "There are experts who can break a seal and then replace it so cleverly that God