The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JULY 8, 1867.

The Fenian General Halpin and a Fenian agent
named Breslin were brought in this morning from
Cork and lodged in Kilmainham Gaol. They were
identified on board the outward bound American
steamer et Queenstown by Corydon and Devany.
Captain Condo; retained in custody since his
acquittal, has been released at the request of the
American Minister, and sailed for the United States
yesterday, bound not to return.

Miscellaneous Foreign News.

Roni, June 26.
The day before yesterday the Pope held a Cap-
pella Papale, according to custom, on St. John's
day, at the Lateran Basilica, and assisted at the
Mass celebrated pontifically by Cardinal Alfieri,
archpriest of St. John Lateran. Notwithstanding
the overpowering heat, he was surrounded, both on
the road and during the function, by a countless
crowd.
Romans have a very picturesque custom for
Midsummer Eve : rows of flower stalls are set up
in the open space round St. John Lateran, which
form a pleasing promenade for a number of holi-
day makers, to the sound of rustic music ; and as,
under ordinary circumstances, it is an abstinence
day, an appropriate dish is prepared for the occa-
sion—in tents of striped sailcloth of many colours,
decorated with wreaths of verdure—consisting of
lumache (snails), prepared with herbs and bread-
crumbs and fried in oil.
Yesterday the Pope was pleased to give audience
to the foreign priests in the large hall called of the
Cena, over the vestibule of St. Peter's. He first
made an address on the duties of their condition,
and then they all defiled before him, and he gave
them his blessing as they passed. Each was to
have had a bronze medal and a copy of the Pope's
address, but it was impossible to get anything
like a sufficient number ready in time as there
were above 10,000 within the Sala and without,
vainly striving for admission. The Pope was heard
very well by all, but had to read very loud, and at
the close appeared somewhat fatigued. I hear,
however, that he was quite recovered by the
evening.
The excursion trains continue to bring us in three
flocks of pilgrims a day. A deputation is expected
shortly from Turin of a religious confraternity
which counts Victor Emmanuel among its digni-
taries. The members will appear in their habit,
and bear their insignia with them.
A commission of bishops, selected in due pro-
portion out of the various nationalities, in which
Mgr. Manning has his appropriate position, has
been appointed to draw up the address of the
Episcopate to the Sovereign Pontiff. An interest-
ing incident, which occurred at one of their ses-
sions,'has been mentioned to me. A bishop of
the United Greek Church, who was one of the
number, asked why, in a general assembly of
bishops of the whole Church, the address should
be written in Italian rather than any other tongue.
He spoke in *perfectly fluent and very elegant
Italian, so he was actuated by a catholic, and not
a personal motive. Cardinal Mattei rose in reply,
and taking the address in his hand, dictated it off
in Latin.

The proclamation of the Revolutionary Commit-
tee, of the 31st of May, speaks of the happiness
enjoyed by the people of Italy, which the Roman
population " sees, hears, and reads of, but may not
taste as yet." A Roman paper commenting on this,
points out as a curious evidence of how little truth
there can be as to this boasted happiness, seeing
that from all points of the new kingdom the
scanty population is driven to emigration. The
Calabrese and Sicilians have for months past been
seeking refuge by thousands in Tunis and Egypt ;
and the Florence official journal has lately been
publishing a warning that the labour market of
Switzerland is overstocked with Italian emigrants,
in spite of which the flood continues to set in that
direction. It would seem they had rather be any-
where than in the midst of the new " happiness"
of Ita'y.

A priest, who accompanies Mgr. Hassoun,
Patriarch of Constantinople, has just been giving
me an interesting account of the consecration of
his new cathedral of the Catholic-Armenian rite
which, though it took place some few months
ago, may not be known to some in England.
The function was solemnized with a pomp long
unknown in Catholic ceremonies in this locality.
There were eleven bishops present. Mgr. Hassoun
wore some splendid vestments which, I believe,
were presented to him by the Empress of the
French. At the same time he went through the
ceremony of inaugurating the palace at Pera, built
for him at the expense of Bogos-Messili-Bey and
his two sisters.
Liszt has been on a mission to Buda from the
Holy Father, to present the Emperor of Austria
with a very precious reliquary, on the occasion of
his Coronation. He has returned to superintend
the rendering of his new oratorio of " Christ."

The Pope held a Consistory early this morning.
After conferring the red hat on the Cardinal
Archbishop of Seville, he pronounced the Allocu-
tion, which will reach you before you go to press.
Subsequently he distributed to the bishops the
brief, authorizing them to wear the violet berretta
and zucaetta (skullcap).

I spoke in my last of the efforts being made to
tamper with the soldiers of the foreign legion and
bribe them to desert. It was, in consequence,
found necessary to adopt some stringent measures
which will have a better effect than too great leni-
ency. A picket of gendarmi overtook a party of
deserters on Sunday, about four miles out of
Rome, going towards Correse. Being summoned
to surrender, they showed fight, and in the fray
one of the gendarmi was slightly wounded, and one
of the deserters fatally. You have probably heard
of the exploit of a party of idle youths (some
150 in number), belonging to the neighbourhood
of Terni, secretly banded together, who were found
marching on the night of the 19th towards Rome,
uttering revolutionary cries. At the very moment
they reached the frontier, just beyond the woods
round Farfa, a detachment of Italian Infantry
came down upon them, and called them off—an
order which it seems they very quickly complied
with, and without venturing a single shot. Some
forty or fifty were made prisoners, but the re-
mainder took to their heels. Whether this was an
act of genuine good faith on the part of the
Italian Government, or was a concerted movement
to make a show of friendliness towards the Ponti-
fical regime, or merely an excuse for concentrating
troops on the frontier, cannot be made out decid-
edly. A telegram, announcing that such a move-
ment might be expected, was received by General
Kanzler, who sent a few Zouaves in the direction
indicated. Not the least importance is attached
to the circumstance here.

June 29.
lam just returned from to-day's great and glo-
rious ceremony. We had to take our places before
o
seven, and, though the function was concluded by
o'clock, it was past two before we got away.
There are always many friends to be met on such
occasions, and, with me, it is always a favourite
part of the Roman ceremonies to watch the melt-
ing away of the immense multitudes they collect.
The good humour, politeness, and order with which
they break up and literally depart in peace, is more
like a military evolution than the spontaneous
dispersion of a promiscuous crowd, in which the
lowest and poorest orders muster in large propor-
tion. It gives one an impression of a greater dif-
fusion of civilization than one can witness in any
other capital of Europe. The heat was intense,
but I don't believe anyone thought of it ; and yet,
after some nine or ten hours' exertion under it,
one does not feel adequate to give you anything
like a worthy account in the haste which to-day's
post would render necessary. M. Veuillot is here,
and from his ready pen you will have the fullest
account that could be rendered to-day. There
was, however, an accident of an alarming nature,
which threatened to have defeated the whole cere-
mony, which I must tell you of. The lighting of
the vast multitude of tapers was nearly completed,
when the draperies before one of the high windows
of the transept caught fire—draperies of such thick
silk that one would not have thought it could have
burnt. A murmur rose through the crowded
church, which was more alarming than sight of the
fire, which, for a moment, we thought might burn
itself out without dainage.
-A
minute after, how-
ever, it communicated itself to the central and
larger window, and most unaccountably, for the
distance between them is not less than fifteen or
twenty feet. This
Was a more serious affair, and
large flakes of burning matter floating about soon
set fire to the woodwork scrolls, from which the
candle sconces start,
While the candles, guttering
down and melting in the heat, stimulated the
flames. Apparently, it was
quite unperceived by
anyone in authority,
and people began to whisper
reminiscences of the catastrophe of Lima, and
some turned to force their way out of the throng.
The quickly communicating impulses of a large
body of people have something in them very
moving. We seemed to be living through a long
danger, and ideas of personal suffering, and of the
mocking exultation of the enemies of the Church,
mingled themselves strangely—the ladies in the
palchi, bereft of the support of the masculine ele-
ment, were turning pale, and the more courageous
were gallantly preventing the outburst of a panic
among their sisters. And yet so admirable is the
forethought and order with which everithin*ere
is managed that, before three minutes by my
watch had elapsed, a band of pompicri had made
their way in through the windows, one body set-
ting themselves to remove the rows of candles
which twisted round their arms like snakes, and
all decorations in any danger of ignition, while
another body
Slung down buckets of water from
the upper part of the roof, where a perpetual
fountain plays, and directed them on to the burn-
ing mass with all the precision of a daily-repeated
manoeuvre rather than the haste to be expected on
so trying an occasion. Within the lapse of a quar-
ter of an hour all was safe again,
and outer cur-
tains supplied to the windows where the accident
had happened, to prevent any further mischief from
the draught ; and rueuitinie the great procession

The officers of the Pontifical army give a soirée
in their Casino in the Piazza Colonna this evening
in honour of the foreign bishops. To-morrow
they are themselves invited in turn to a lunch
given at the Minerva Hotel by the visitors to
Rome.

June 28.
WC have been visited this week by an event
which has produced a very sad impression in
' English circles here, and will throw many families
at home into mourning. The eldest daughter of
Mr. Howard, of Corby, who has been spending
, some little time here with him, was taken ill at the
end of last week, shortly after their return from
an excursion to Naples and Capri. On Sunday
alarming symptoms were developed of typhoid
cerebral fever, which terminated fatally on Monday
night. She was in the first bloom of youth,
having but lately completed her twentieth year.
The funeral had to take place on Tuesday night ;
there was a most beautiful and impressive service
at Sta. Maria del Popolo, at 9.45, some forty
bearded 'Capuchins, an equal number of Augusti-
nians, and about as many of a Mort/ confraternity,
with their red capes, standing round the body to
chant the solemn office, their torches and tapers
relieving the gloom with a subdued and congenial
light. The Office of the Dead was at 8.30 next
morning. The Archbishop of Westminster and
many other bishops were prevented being present
by having to attend the Consistory at the Vatican.
The Bishop of Edinburgh, however, assisted, as
did Monsignori Stonor and Howard. Many of the
le
hadit t l
a l e
storm bereaved
and father.a good
We
Italian nobility, and the principal English resi-
dents and visitors, attended to testify their sym-
pathy with
a visitors curious
than sp speculation
we lati
deal of rain on
Tuesday, which everyone has felt e
ea
nw
great
00 b oaonnd.
It
is:lio(w many more thou-
sandloo,ooo up to the present time) would have crowded
in for this ceremony if it had been •
appointed for
a pleasanter season ; and then, what
would have
become of them ? Mgr. Talbot told me some days
ago the applications for tickets were then just
four times as numerous as the places. Bishop ,

ception of Burke, were closely shaven. Six constable Vaughan and a good many English intend to
of the C division and an acting sergeant and prison make their way to cooler regions as soon as to-
warders:accompanied the convicts to Holyhead. morrow's function is over. Thef unction is expected
The Poor Law Commissioners have declined to to last six hours. Grand processions have been
appoint a Presbyterian chaplain to the South Dub- going on every day during tie octave of Corpus
lin Union, on the ground that there are only three Domini, from various churches in different parts of
Presbyterian paupers in the house, and they are at Rome, all numerously followed. I was not able
liberty to go out to worship on Sundays. to attend that at St. Peter's yesterday, but I was
The half-yearly meeting of the Mining Company told the Holy Father carried or followed the
of Ireland was held yesterday, Mr. Thomas Bewley Blessed Sacrament on foot, which he has never
in the chair. The report, which referred in favour- done before to my knowledge. In the evening,
able terms to the proceedings of the past year, and there was a proca (rehearsal) of 300 singers, in
which recommended a dividend of 10 per cent., was the gallery of the dome, with beautiful effect.
unanimously adapted. At an extraordinary meet- To-night, the Vigil of the Centenary festa, we are
ins, subsequently held, the board
of directors were to have the unique spectacle of the illumination of
empowered to reduce their number from 15 to 11. the dome of St. Peter's. All the other festivities, I
A meeting was held last evening at Kingstown find by the official programme, will be just what I
to support the Clerical Vestments Bill. Tls a meet- announced in a former leiter. This evening,
condemned ritualistic practices, and expressed its after Vespers, the Holy Father blesses the bishops'
cordial sympathy with the Earl of Shaftesbury for pallia, ready for distribution in the course of the
his zeal and perseverance in conducting the bill year. The palliunz is a narrow strip of woollen
through the House of Lords. The attendance was stuff, marked with six crosses in black silk.
large, and the feeling against ritualism was very Borne on the shoulders, it symbolizes the type of
strong.
the Pastor bonus bearing the erring sheep back to
the fold, and the crosses represent that on which
suffered the Lamb who taketh away the sins of the
world. Every year, on St. Agnes's day (21st
January), there is a very pretty ceremony at St.
Agnese fuor' le mura ; the Pope assists at the
Mass, and, while the choir is singing the Agnus
Dei, the Chapter of St. John Lateran present him
with two young lambs bound on a satin cushion
and covered with flowers, which, after being laid
on the altar and blessed, are consigned to two
sub-deacons, who afterwards give them into the
care of a community of nuns. Some of their
wool is interwoven with the material of which the
pallia are made, and which are always consecrated
after the first Vespers on SS. Peter and Paul's
day by the Pope, or whoever assists in his stead
on the occasion, at St. Peter's. The pallia are
afterwards kept in a gold urn in the Confession,
under the High Altar of St. Peter's. The use of
the pallium is of very ancient observance in the
Church. We read that in 335 Pope St. Mark con-
ferred it on the Bishop of Ostia : whose successors
have always worn it. For many centuries, however,
it has been considered to belong to the peculiar
insignia of archbishops, who, indeed, have no right
to the title till they have received it, and under
normal circumstances must come to Rome within
three months of their con secration to be invested
with it at the hands of the Sovereign Pontiff. It
has, however, at various times been granted to sim-
ple bishops besides the Bishops of Ostia : thus the
present Pontiff gave:it, in 1897, to the Bishop of
Valence, in acknowledgment of his care of part
of the mortal remains of his VII., who died in
exile in his episcopal city.
After the blessing of the pallia, the chair of St.
Peter was borne in procession from its ordinary
position to the altar of the Madonna del Soccorso,
where it will remain exposed io the veneration of
the faithful during the Octave, by order of his
Holiness. The Pontifical Zonaves have applied
for the honour of guarding it in turns, night and
day.

had begun moving in in serene unconsciousness
of danger.

The intense heat of the day again and again
made the tapers at different points bend and fall
over, with their wicks downwards, and then blaze
up ominously, threatening their fragile and in-
flammable sconces. About ten o'clock a large glass
chandelier at the back of one of the transepts,
came down by the breaking of its cord,-,with a
clash which sounded like another cannon, for they
were firing from St. Angelo, trumpets flourishing,
and all the bells of Rome ringing. Yet no harm
came of any of it. St. Peter was decidedly at
watch over his beautiful Basilica, no less than over
the faithful assembled in his honour, and if the
decorations were blemished here and there by a
hiatus in the p Aterns of flame, each such hiatus
but showed forth as a memento of a signal mercy.
Of the musical performance, I scarcely dare ven-
ture to speak. It is like criticizing the Apocalypse ;
every one knows either by experience or fame of
the marvellous acoustic perfection of St. Peter's ;
and when the choir, placed round the dome answered
the choir over the entrance, the swelling and dying
away of the responsive sounds may be called magi-
cal. The Offertory was intensely beautiful, and
I was inclined at one time to admire it more than
anything else. But when, not merely the multi-
tudinous choirs, but the whole countless throng of
sonorous-voiced people poured out their souls in
the Veni Creator, the Te Deum, and the Litany of
the Saints, I knew there was nothing on this earth
could surpass that.

The soiree at the Minerva last evening was very
brilliant and well attended. The large rooms de-
voted to it hardly sufficed for the crowds assembled.
They were very tastefully decorated with flowers
and trophies of arms, and busts of Pius IX. and
General Lamoriciere. Mgr. Mermeillod, Bishop of
Geneva, who entered in company with Colonels
d'Argy and de Charrette, was asked by General
Kanzler to address a few words to the assembly
before it broke up. Mgr. Mermeillod complied. He
spoke with great earnestness of the joy which
bishops all over the world, labouring in the ser-
vice of souls and contending for the faith once
delivered to the saints, felt in the reflection that
there was ever round the Holy Father a guard of
noble hearts kindled by faith and devotion, who
are rallied round him by the sole force of their
convictions and determined to vindicate the liberty
of the soul. The worthy bishop was frequently
interrupted by hearty cheers, and shouts of Evviva
it Papa Re were raised at its close and taken up
by the crowd in the Piazza outside.

HOW MAXIMILIAN WAS CAP2URED.

The following letter, dated Queretaro, May 20,
gives some details of the betrayal of the unfortunate
Maximilian :
"The principal defence of this town consists in
the vast convent of La Cruz, situated at the south
and on the side of the city of Mexico. This build-
ing, a relic of the splendours of the Spanish domina-
tion, is constructed of stone and adobe (bricks
hardened by the sun) ; a part of its enclosure is,
besides, protected by earth iutrenchments. The con-
vent covers, with its dependencies, more than ten
acres of ground, and forms a citadel on which siege
artillery only could make any impression. Such, five
days ago, was the principal position of Maximilian,
who for some time had made it his head-quarters.
Immediately opposite in the Corretas mountains the
Mexican General Escobedo was established, and his
advanced guard occupied the valley which separates
La Cruz from the Corretas. In the night of May
14 there was a council of war in the town. The
Imperialist army had exhausted all its supplies, and
was likely to be soon reduced to the last extremities.
As flour was wanting, the Intendance every day
caused to be slaughtered a certain number of horses
and mules which there was no means of feeding
from want of provender. Even this resource
threatened to fail before long, and for that reason
Maximilian resolved on attempting a vigorous
sortie, and opening for himself a passage through
the enemy's lines. At 11 o'clock the troops were .
under arms and the artillery in position ; everything I
was ready for the attack. But at tli last moment,
in consequence of the slow movements of his gene-
rals, the Emperor found himself obliged to counter-
mand the expedition. Already at that moment the
army had been sold to the enemy. The fort of La
Cruz was to have been occupied an hour later by
the troops of the Liberals. It was notorious that there
were a considerable number of persons in the ranks
of the Imperialists disposed to give up the town,
but who would ever have suspected the colonel of
the regiment of the Empress, the keeper of the key
of Queretaro the commander of the fort of La Cruz
Miguel Lopez himself ? He was the man who, in
the evening of the 14th, sent to Escobedo a letter in
which he offered to betray his companions in arms
for 3,000 ounces of gold ($18,000). Escobedo na-
turally did what any other general would have done
in his place—he accepted the proposal. Towards
midnight the advanced guard of the Liberals, pro-
tected by the darkness, left the camp, and arrived
without noise before the convent. Colonel Lopez,
ordering his soldiers to ground their arms, opened
the gates to the enemy. From that moment the
Emperor Maximilian, who was sleeping ,
tranquilly
in another part of the building, was irretriev-
ably lost. At the first gleam of the morningthe Archduke was on foot, and immediately per-
ceived that some extraordinary event had taken
place. Rousing up the Prince of Salm-Salm, his
aide-de-camp, Maximilian directed his step towards
the outer enclosure of the convent, but had scarcely
advanced a few paces when he was surrounded b y
a detachment of soldiers commanded by Colonel
Ringon Gallardo. Lopez himself accompanied the
detachment, and pointed out the Emperor to the
troops, crying out, ' That is the man—seize
him.' A curious incident then occurred. Colonel
Gallardo, a brave soldier, who did not seem
greatly to relish the treachery of Lopez, stepped
up to Maximilian, and said to him, ' You are a
private person and not a soldier ; we have nothing
to say to you, go about your business.' With
these words he pushed his Majesty outside the
convent. Five minutes later I met Maxi-
milian, who seemed not to have yet recovered
from his surprise. Ile was walking as fast as
possible towards Cerro de la Campana, at the other
extremity of the town. This position is a fortified
bill commanding the northern part of the place. On
his arrival there he was joined by Generals Mejia,
Castillo, and Avellano, the Prince de Salm-Salm
and several others of his officers; but it soon be-
came evident that any resistance was impossible.
Four battalions of infantry and all the Liberal
cavalry were surrounding the Cerro. The white
flag was then hoisted, and the Archduke with all
his staff then surrendered to General Corona. The
prisoners were allowed to retain their horses, arms,
and personal effects ; and a few hours later they
were conducted to the convent of La Cruz.
The first companies of the Mexican advanced
guard which had entered the town com-
mitted some excesses ; several houses were pil-
laged and some persons rifled in the streets,
but immediately after the arrival of the general
officers order was re-established. On the whole, fewer
art of violence were perpetrated than might have
been expected." A subsequent letter from Quere-
taro, dated May 25, contains the following :
" From the convent of La Cruz the Prince was con-
ducted, with his officers, to that of Santa Teresita,
where they were placed in rooms devoid of all com-
fort. During three or four days they slept on the
bare ground, and the* food was very insufficient.
The arrival of the Princess de Salin-Salm and her re-
monstrances with Escobedo had the effect of amelio-
rating the condition of the prisoners. They were
transferred to another convent, that of Las Capu-
chinas, and they are now permitted to receive
from their friends provisions, wine, and clothing.
The adventures of the Princess de Salm - Salm
would form a strange chapter in a romance. Twice
did she traverse the Liberal lines to reach the capi-
tal and return from it, and on two occasions was
fired at by the Mexican sentries. She was after-
wards detained prisoner for two days at Guade-
loupe by General Diaz for having distributed money
to the German captives at that place. She at length
obtained a passport authorising, or rather ordering
her to proceed to the coast and quit the country.
But with that passport she made her way to que.