The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-05 00:00:00

A face more calculated to win confidence and inspire
affection I have never seen. One smile from that tender
mouth, one soft beam from those mild blue eyes, and errn
men would come as children to his knee. Though the very
opposite of those stern and haughty pontiffs which the
Protestant imagination may picture to itself, as it thinks
of a Hildebrand or a Julius, I could not conceive a man-
ner or a bearing more full of true dignity than that of the
Holy Father, as he sat enthroned amidst the Princes of
the Church, or rose to intone the vespers—which he did
with a musical and sonorous voice—or to impart the
apostolic benediction. I have elsewhere seen many pious
priests in the performance of their sacred functions ; but
never before did I behold a countenance more expressive
of profound piety, or so illumined with that heavenly
brightness which outwardly manifests the working of the
spirit within. It seemed, as it were, suffused with a light
from above. Heart and mind and soul appeared to be
absorbed, as they really were, in the ceremonies in which
he assisted; and not for a second's space did his at'eution
wander from his devotions. He communed as truly with
his God, in the midst of that splendid crowd, and with
hundreds of eager eyes riveted upon him, as if he were
kneeling in his private chamber, and asking for another
day of strength to meet the difficulties of his exalted but
perilous position.

There is the true Papal tone in the follow-
ing account of the amazing courage of the
Pope when ho was a cardinal :

An incident that occurred in the February of INII3
evinced the noble courage with which the prelate was
endowed, and the singular efficacy which Providence coin•
musicale', lo his words. One even►ng of the Carnival, a
little before dusk, the Cardinal was making his accustomed
visit before the altar of the Holy Sacrament in the
Cathedral, when the sacristan rushed towards him, crying
out " to hasten for God's sake, as murder was being per-
petrated in the sacristy." Invoking the Divine aid, the
Cardinal at once arose, and hastening to the spot, found
there, lying upon a form, a South of about twenty years
of age, who, having been dangerously wounded by a bayonet
thrust, had just taken refuge in the sacred building. The
Cardinal had scarcely reached the sufferer, when
three armed men rushed in, with the wicked intention of
completing their deed of blood. But nowise dismayed by
their naked weapons, and their looks of deadly hate,
Mastai boldly confronted the assassins, and presenting his
pectoral cross, described to them the enormity of their
crime, and commanded them to retire. His words, so
full of courage, and uttered as with the authority of one
commissioned by Heaven, struck terror into their breasts,
and were silently and almost unconsciously obeyed.

How silly ! How puerile ! Yet this is the
sort of style that is delighted in by saint wor•
shippers and preservers of relics.
Here are anecdotes of the true conventual
pattern. They are just the sort fit for reading
aloud amongst " novices :"

Several anecdotes are told of the Pope's gentleness and
familiarity with children. Amongst others, the following
is not the least characteristic. One day a little fellow, all
in tears, attempted to make his way through the ranks of
the Swiss guards, to present a petition. The Pope, hearing
the noise, inquired as to its cause, and sent for the peti-
tion. it was in these words :—" Most Holy Father, my
mother is old and infirm. lam too young to support her
life and mine. Oar landlord, a bad man, will turn us out
to-morrow if we don't pay him the four scudi we owe him.
Deign to lend them. I will pay you when lam bigger."
" What is your name, my good child, and how old are you?"
asked the Pope. "I am Paul ; and I am ten years old.' '
"What trade is your father ?" " He's waiting in Paradise
for us these ten years," answered the little fellow, with an
accent of touching emotion. "And your mother?" in-
put-NI the Pope. " She embroiders and prays from morn-
ing to night." Having asked the child where he lived.
and been told, the Pope desired him to come on the nex:
day. and that he would give him what his mother wanted.
In the meantime inquiries were made, which proved that
the statement of the child was correct : and when he
came again, the Pope gave him ten scudi. " I did not
ask you for ten," said the little fellow, and he gave
hack six. " Take them again, my good child," said the
Pope, " and tell your mother I will look after her for the
future."

Then the firmness of Pius IX. is thus pane-
gyrised. Again the italiits are our own :

In moments of the greatest danger he has displayed a
calmness and a presence of mind that are not always
associated with the more vulgar quality of mere physical
bravery. Mild and gentle as he is by nature, there is no
danger which he would not face, when called upon by a
consciousness of duty to do so. Remember how boldly
he braved, and how effectually he awed, the furious assns•
sins in the sacristy of the Cathedral of Imola. Also, how,
amidst the horrors of the fearful 16th of November, ISIB,
he maintained his position with unshrinking courage,
declaring that "he would yield nothing to violence." If,
at length, he did affect to yield, it was to save his faithful
guards and prrsonal attendants from being butchered, and
the streets of his capital from being deluge' with innocent
blood. Again, during his flight, he exhibited a coolness
and a courage which those Interested in his safety could
with difficulty emulate. And bravely, too, on another
critical occasion, but one of a far different kind, did his
nerves withstand a shock that made many a stunt heart
tremble at the time. This was on the Nth of April, IPOS,
when the flooring of a hall in the Monastery of St. Agnes
gave way beneath the unaccustomed weight of some hundred
and fifty persons ; and Pope, cardinals, prelates, generals,
soldiers, monks, and students, were whirled through the
yawning ruin, amidst falling beams, fragments of masonry,
and clouds of dust. Not a few were hurt, some more or