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Rh fines were inflicted on a number of the more prominent Stundists in the district of Tarastch. Both Tyshkevitch and Zyboulski were arrested and conveyed to prison in Tarastch, where they remained for over a year. In gaol they were often visited by priests sent to them by the Metropolitan, who used every effort to persuade the prisoners to return to the Church. Long disputations were held in the prison cell between these devoted men on one side and the inquisition agents on the other. They discussed the worship of the Virgin, the mediation of the Saints, the use of the sign of the Cross, and reverence to icons; but to one and all of the learned arguments of the priests the Stundist leaders made one answer: "These things are altogether absurd and unnecessary, and if they are not idolatrous, they lead to idolatry. We will have none of your theatrical accessories. We want the New Testament and that alone—nothing else."

Early in 1872 Stundism had spread over the whole of Tarastch and into the thickly-peopled Kanev and Vasilkovski districts. The history of its progress in these two districts, especially in Kanev, is full of interest, the element of adventure entering largely into it. Kanev is a small town on the middle Dneiper, and north and south of it are long stretches of reed and sedge, through which the mighty stream flows. Some of the most powerful sermons ever delivered by Stundist preachers were delivered among the rustling sedge on the banks of the river, with scouts out all around watching for the police. Night meetings were frequent. Out in hollows in the steppe, or in outlying cottages, the Kief Stundists met in small but enthusiastic bodies to worship God, unmolested by the police, and their always faithful allies, the priests. There is a well-authenticated story of a leader who, when conducting one of these night services, was hurriedly told