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238 BENEDICT VADAKKEKARA The General Commissary prayed Fr General to permit Br Paul Hughes of Kildare to receive the Major Orders and the priestly Order as soon as he would be making his solemn profession on 25 January 1891. In his letter of 19 May 1890 he reported back to Fr General that Brs Pius and Fidelis had completed their course in theology and were doing sacred eloquence. They were deacons; he wanted to know if he could request the Archbishop to ordain them or have them wait till the new Regular Superior would be appointed. The performance of the six stu– dents of philosophy in the examination was to his satisfaction 130 • A series of events paved the way for reaching a definitive impasse as regards the reopening of the Novitiate. All things considered, it appears that a certain myopic outlook coupled with a lack of ma_gnanim– ity characterised Mgr Jacopi's response towards Fr General's interven– tions on the question of the Novitiate. Fr Louis was not far out when he, in his disappointment, said that Mgr would not easily find a replace– ment for him 131 • The Archbishop gave to the Propaganda a witless pic– ture of the events in stating that he had agreed to the surrendering of the Novitiate House to the Capuchin Order in return for its promise to supply teachers for his schools 132 • Perhaps he had been labouring 130 AGCap H 59, III, Fr Mark to the General Secretary of Missions, Lahore 19 May 1890: "Due volte ho fatto subire l' esame di filosofia ai sei Studenti da Mussoorie. Fanno abbastanza bene soltanto non hanno facilita per parlare la lingua latina". In April 1893 there were 4 students in Agra and these would within a few months be ready to join the ranks of the missionaries: AGCap H 4, IV, Fr Raphael to the General Secretary of Missions, Florence 20 April 1893: "In Mussoorie ci sono 4 studenti che fra pochi mesi terminano lo studio ed anche questi si potrebbero mandare come assistenti ad alcuni Padri anziani, sapendo essi di gia ambe le lingue...". 131 APCapTusc, Missione Indostan, Incarto I, Fr Louis to Mgr Jacopi: "V.E. ha potuto vedere coi suoi occhi quale e la mia vita a Mussoorie; eppure per due anni lo considerano confortevole perche ci era pace... Le auguro che trovi un altro come me, ma, se e quello che credo, ho da dubitarne con molto fondamento". As a matter of fact none of his successors measured up to the mark. After his departure the needed stability never reigned at the Friary of Mussoorie. 132 AGCap H 4, I, Propaganda to Fr General, Rome 15 July 1891: "Stando le case in questi termini egli IJ acopi] afferma che se l' Ordine non vuol dare soggetti per le scuole di Mussoorie e cosa naturale e giusta che ii convento da lui fabbricato allo scopo dell'insegnamento resti a Jui pd servizio dei maestri e de! corpo insegnante. Quindi Mons. Jacopi prega che non venga approvata da questa S. Congregazione la cessione de! detto Convento. Ora a questo S. Congregazione non e stata presentata alcuna conven– zione relativa all'affare in parola". The Mission Council of Agra wanted the Order to have the right to the free use of the Friary. Mark too believed that such a house