Chapter the Third

The Prior's Dilemma



With Abbot Napp away on his travels, Prior Sembera was in a terrible dilemma the following morning. He was leading the morning Mass, and normally this would have been an opportunity to fully embellish the service with all the religious details that Abbot Napp usually (and carelessly in Sembera's opinion) left out. Instead of slowly walking towards the altar in a dignified manner, the good Abbot had a tendency to scuttle up to the lectern and babble the Latin service hurriedly, instead of intoning the inspirational words in a solemn and inspirational manner. Prior Sembera relished the opportunities given to him to lead the services back to a more holy atmosphere. He had once suggested a return to holding Matins and Lauds - services held at midnight - and it was only after a near rebellion by his fellow monks that he was reluctantly persuaded that it might not be a good idea.

But today he was in a hurry to finish the morning service early since choir practice was held immediately afterwards and the Prior felt that his singers needed all the practice they could get. It was with a tinge of annoyance therefore that he was stopped by Brother Matthew outside the Chapel.
"I wonder if you would mind," Brother Matthew asked him sweetly, "if I went to see Monsignor Schrattenbach this morning?"
"What ever for?" Prior Sembera replied. He was well aware that no one talked to the Bishop's secretary without permission ever since the disastrous events of the 'Bishop's Report', when, talking to the Bishop had led to serious monastery difficulties (see Chapter 2).

"Theological matters," said Brother Matthew airily, well aware that Prior Sembera had not been told of Mendel's latest difficulties. "A point or two about the catalogue of restricted books. I need to clear up an issue of the latest ..."
"Yes, yes," interrupted the Prior, not anxious to get into a long discussion. His choir was waiting and the delorious sounds of the Confutatis were already sounding in his ears. "By all means, but ..." he was suddenly suspicious, "don't start any arguments."
"Me? Never!" said Brother Matthew piously crossing himself.

So it was that a well wrapped Brother Matthew began a series of morning visits. His first stop was Brother Gregory's room where he found his friend suffering from a high fever. As anticipated, Mendel was working himself up into a state of ill-health, his well known reaction to stress. But this morning Brother Matthew was accepting no excuses.
"Out of bed with you," he insisted with irrepressible enthusiasm, and hauled the complaining monk out of his bed and down to breakfast. Being an ethnic Czech, Brother Matthew did not normally eat breakfast, but Mendel, being of German origin, did.

With food inside him, Mendel was persuaded to walk to the Realschule and take up his morning classes, which, co-incidentally was Brother Matthew's first stop on his own itinerary. Brother Matthew had once been a teacher himself, but a combination of his unfortunate tendency to teach ethnic studies coupled with the schemes and scheming of Brother Timothy had long since deprived him of classroom duties.

Back in his own classroom, Brother Gregory's spirits began to rise once more. Canceling the usual period of penmanship, he plunged straight into a further discussion of cells and what they might mean for biology - a new term that had just been coined for the study of living things. Outside, in the school's main corridor, Brother Matthew grinned to himself; get Mendel in front of a class with a topic that interested him, and nature was the best healer. Taking his time, Brother Matthew examined the scene of the crime. The hall table was exactly where it had been described, and Brother Matthew checked for himself how much could be seen both from Mendel's doorway and from the main archway further down the corridor. But all he could prove to himself was that the table was visible from almost the entire length of the hallway.