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ESTABLISHMENT OF CAPUCHIN ORDER IN INDIA - II 525 Master, Fr Arsenius was able to have an insider's view of the Novitiate and he was greatly impressed by what he saw; according to him, against all the odds the Order had a bright future in lndia 69 . Meanwhile the Commissary, who was on the search for a commodious house to serve the friars of Agra as their villa, selected one that was close to St Emilian's Church in Mussoorie; it was buyable for Rs 40,000, though initially the owners had insisted on Rs 42,000. The size of the amount did not scare the missionaries since the General was expected to foot the bill for the villa 7°. How– ever, the General was taken aback when informed of the price. Explicatively, he said that what he had in mind was the restructuring of one of the houses of the Mission and not the acquiring of a new one. The amount corresponding to sFR 10,000 from the Opera Seraphica was already on its way to India and it could be earmarked for such purpose and if there were to be a shortfall, it could be cove– red by the proceeds of the sale of the building "C:;ilidonia" in Dehra Dun 71 • But all these plans remained on paper when it was clarified that there was no pressing need to move the clerics away from the House of Sardhana 72 • On 5 December the Commissary received the decree of 9 November 1923, reconfirming him in office; but it would be Fr Christopher of Castel del Piano who would be the Regular Superior of Agra. The situation, however, turned sud– denly fluid with Fr Christopher's announcement that he would not assume the charge; on his appealing to Rome, the Commissary continued to act as Regular Superior, pending Rome's last say. On second thoughts the Commissary too rushed a missive to Rome, expressing his readiness to be relieved of his office in favour of Fr Christopher, if that would induce the latter to change his mind. But 69 AGCap G 68, rv, Novizjato eStud.to, "Relationes Particulares": Fr Arsenius to Fr Gen– eral, Sardhana 30 July 1924: "Senza peccare di ottimismo eccessivo, ritengo di poter esprimere la mia fiducia che questa istituzione - nonostante le non poche difficolta - se aiutata e sostenuta, produrra buoni frutti e buoni missionari". 70 AGCap G 68, II, Novizjato e Stud.to, Fr Commissary to Fr General, Agra 25 October 1923: "Veda almeno, se puo, di farci avere una buona quota della Svizzera". 71 AGCap G 68, II, Noviziato eStud.to, Fr General to Fr Commissary, Rome 21 November 1923: "Se le modificazioni da farsi alla casa da Noi proposta, richiedessero spese superiori alle somme disponibili, crederemmo opportuno ricorrere alla vendita dello stabile che sta a Dehra Dun, detto 'Calidonia', sulla regolarita del quale la P.V conosfe il nostro pensiero". 72 AGCap G 68, Iv, Novizjato e Stud.to, "Relationes Particulares": Fr Arsenius to Fr Gen– eral, Mussoorie 23 October 1923: "Per mancanza di personale ed anche perche sul momento la necessita di un'altra casa non e urgente; gli studenti ora sono due e. raggiungeranno il numero di sei o sette soltanto nel venturo agosto".