The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 6, 1868

ROMAN AFFAIRS.

......--.,101.---

(Film: the Roman Correspondent of the Westminster Gazette)
ROME, March 28.

One of the first public ceremonials in which
the new cardinals engage is that of taking pos-
session of their titular churches. Mgr. Gonella
performed this function at Sta. Maria sopra
Minerva on Sunday. It was at an earlier day
than is customary, but, having to sing the
High Mass there before the Pope on the 25th,
it was necessary to take possession first.
Though the pointed arches and polychrome
of the Minerva always seem out of place in a
country where architecture deals in broad
spaces, and nature affords means for more
permanent colouring in its many-hued mar-
bles, it is yet impossible to be present at any
great ceremony there and not let one's fancy
busy itself with the parallel between it and
what our own cathedrals once were. Of course
there are many churches farther north where
the resemblance is much easier to trace ; but
the point which impresses the mind here is
its being one of the countless mementoes of
identity of our own rite with that of the heart
of Christendom.

I Two files of Dominicans kept the way for
the cardinal to pass up the nave, and on the
steps of the great west door he was received
by the superior clergy .of the church, who
handed him the holy water stoup, and, having
assisted to drape him in the flowing purple,
led him to a faldstool, covered with scarlet
velvet, for his genuflection to the high altar.
As he rose from his knees the censers were
brought and waved, and then, with the cross-
bearer and Swiss guard in front, he paid his
devotion at the altar of the Blessed Sacrament
and the Lady Chapel. After this he took
his place at the new throne prepared for him
' while the Te Deum was sung. The monks
were then admitted to do homage, the pro-
fessed being saluted by him on both cheeks,
and the others kissing his hand. The official
act was then read aloud from the altar, and
the ceremonial closed with the presentation
of a bouquet of flowers.
This week witnessed also the recurrence of
another and greater celebration in the same
church, as a Cappella Papale is always held
here to celebrate the festival of the Annun-
ciation. The Pope comes to it in great gala,
and besides a number of cardinals, the senator
and civic authorities attend in State, as well as
the Corps Diplomatique. At the end of the
Mass there is a distribution of dowries to a
number of young women, who wear a very
peculiar dress on the occasion.
' Being one of the not common occasions on
which the Pope is to be seen at a function
outside the Vatican precincts, it always
attracts a dense crowd of people. He comes
to it in great gala in his State carriage, of
which the sides are of • glass, so that he may
be easily seen by the people. It is drawn by
eight massive black horses, with their manes
platted into a perfect cornice of crimson and
gold. A detachment of Dragoons and of
Horse
,Gendarmi, in their gran& tenere, leads
the way ; after them come carriages for the
sacristans and chaplains of the Pope, another
detachment of Dragoons, and then a prelate of
the household on a white mule, bearing the
Pontifical cross. Then, in nearer attendance
on the Pope's carriage, comes the Noble Guard,
while all the serving-men of the household walk
bareheaded beside the cortege.
The Piazza of the Minerva is always a bril-
liant sight on this occasion, filled with people
on the look out for the Pope, and with the State
equipages of the great, civil, military and reli-
gious, who are attending the function, while
from the windows are hung out crimson velvet
draperies and tapestries, and as the Holy
Father passes, fair hands shower down flowers
from them.

.
More animated and striking still is the scene
within the church, when the motley assemblage,
hardly restrained within the line by files of
guards, surges, now forward, propelled by its
instinct of curiosity, now backward, thrilled
by a spontaneous sensation of awe, as the
Vicegerent of Heaven is borne aloft, pouring
down his benedictions on the heads of his
people, canopied by the long vista of lofty
pointed arches, and with the brilliant hues of
the painted windows shedding rays of glory
around him.

The scene is too gorgeous and too stirring
to allow you to hear your mass of obligation
without distraction. You turn to seek a low
mass, and are carried away by an eddy in the
currents which are streaming through the
nave. After being carried, with sensations
similar to those Edgar Poe describes, in his
story, from the Maelstrom, past forms and faces
the strangest and the most familiar, but with
an impetus which prevents you from distin-
guishing the individuality of any, you find
yourself landed in the chapel of the Ssma.
Annunziata, where a Dominican monk who
preceded you in your strange course, and regard
for whose chasuble alone made a way through
the throng, is just going to offer up the divine
sacrifice.

You lean for rest against the moulding of a
plinth, and are almost startled as you see rest-
ing. it, sculptured in marble, a figure in
posture and vestments almost identical with
the *august presence which was just borne
past you. It is only the monumental effigy
of a Pope, and has been there for centuries,
but it is another link in the chain of identity
between the Church of the past and of the
present.
The Mass proceeds to the accompaniment of
the distant strains of the Papal choir; sounds,
seemingly destined always to be intermingled
with a sort of dull, timeless chorus, the cease-
less tramp of passing feet, which, if it be a little
annoying, yet consoles by reminding that they
are tending to do homage to the Vicar of
Christ, and of the power by which he draws all
men unto him.

Over the altar is a beautiful painting, which
I has been ascribed to B. Angelico, but is more
I probably by Benozzo Gozzoli. It is one of those
old compositions of great grasp, which, while
portraying in chief some paramount mystery,
weave in some subordinate and not inharmoni-
ous application of it. The main subject is the
dedication of the chapel—the Annunciation.
In the highest part of the canvas, and on the
right side, God the Father is gazing down
on the kneeling figure of the Virgin, lighting
up by the brightness of His presence the clouds
which surround him—midway hovers the
divine dove, the nucleus of a shower of golden
rays which encompass the handmaid of the
Lord. Before her the angel Gabriel bends re-
verently, and typifies the sanctity of his ads_
sion by the presentation of a lily branch. Then
comes the subordinate subject. Between the
angel and our Lady is a group commemorative
of the foundation of the confraternity of the
Ssma. Annunziata, one of whose good works
is the endowment of the fund for providing
the dowries given away on this festival. By
bringing the two subjects thus in contact, the
recipients of the bounty are reminded that,
whether they elect the religious or secular
state, the Blessed Virgin is still their model
for life, and the practical showing forth of one
practice of charity, the fruit of the doctrines
which first germinated for earth in the Incar-
nation, suggests to the beholder to go and do
likewise. The timid, shrinking manner of
the young girls, as they receive the purse our
Lady holds out to them, is depicted with great
delicacy and grace, but the remaining figure is
worthy of all attention as a contemporary por-
trait of the founder. For, with the picture
in our minds' eye, which modern histories have
traced, we should not at first sight recognize
in the simple Dominican habit, in the tender
solicitude for the little ones he is leading up
to our Lady, in the calm countenance and
lowly attitude, the famous Grand Inquisitor
of Spain, Cardinal Torquemada.
I had fancied the Pope looked languid as
he was carried into the church, but I met him
later in the Scrofa on his homeward way, and
found him more animated even than usual, in
conversation with Cardinal Bonaparte, who,
with Cardinal Berardi, was selected to occupy

the State carriage, and share the honour of the
floral shower.

After this function, in conformity with an
ancient custom, the Swiss Guard remains in
the Convent of the Dominicans at the Minerva,
to share the midday meal of the monks.
You will have already heard by the tele-
grams of the withdrawal of a brigade of French
troops, and that the same transports which
fetch them away bring fresh reinforcements
of materiel. There remain two regiments of
infantry, a battalion of chasseurs, a squadron
of cavalry, three batteries of artillery, and the
engineering staff corresponding to a whole
division, while the provision of munitions of all
sorts are such as to suggest preparations for
a protracted siege. The fortification of Civita
Vecchia is being pushed with greater activity
than ever, and it is expected it will be com-
pleted by the 15th of April. Something like
a thousand workmen are at work, under the
directions of the French engineers, though not
at the cost of the French Government, but of
the funds which Christendom lays at the feet
of the Pope.
Of course there are many surmises as to
the causes of this contradictory action on the
part of Napoleon. There are not wanting those
who see in it proofs of treachery and complicity
with Italy, and no doubt there are good
grounds for suspecting this. Yet it seems
more than any one would dare, in the face of
France and of Europe, to set up defences which
arc secretly destined to serve against the cause
by which they are subsidized.
Others say that in the present exhausted
condition of Italian finance, and in face of the
disaffection prevailing at various points of the
kingdom, it is impossible for her to draw off
any considerable number of men towards the
Papal frontier, and that as there is no imme-
diate attack to be apprehended, it is sufficient
to keep a small nucleus of troops round the
French flag. While at the same time as both
the present Government of Italy and its
supreme head are in a very insecure position,
and one of the first acts of a revolution would be
to proclaim an attack on Rome, it is well to
have the defences in an available condition.

It is quite possible, however, also that
hygienic reasons have counselled a remove of
the companies which have now been some time
stationed at a—to Frenchmen, insufferably—
dull and not over healthy post ; or that the
present reorganization of military matters in
France may render desirable the translation of
men from here into other companies.
Viterbo has been entirely left by them and
has been garrisoned this week by the carbinieri
esteri, under Major Costello.
The conduct of Austria is a subject of great
pre-occupation just now, and it is rumoured
that it will not he many days before Mgr.
Falcinelli, the nuncio at Vienna, will have to
demand his passports for returning to Rome,
and that he has already written to friends here
to secure him an apartment. Crivelli is, how-
ever, undeniably well-disposed, and has staved
off a crisis hitherto.

Among: ilately arrived celebrities is Mr.
Speke, who, it is to be hoped, will derive benefit
from the complete change of scene Rome affords
an Englishman. Also Admiral Farragut, who
had an audience on Saturday, and. while he
was charmed with the courtesy with which
I the Holy Father received him, is said to have
spoken with as great freedom as he is reported
to have used towards the Prefect of Naples.
Another recently arrived is the Duchess of
Northumberrand, of whom a story is afloat
that, being met by the Pope outside the walls
—both having left their carriages to take a
walk, for which many parts of the environs of
Rome offer so great temptation—the Holy
Father, without recognizing her, made, as she
knelt before him, some allusion to the plea-
santness of the fresh spring air, and added,
" May God grant yon health, figlia mia, and
above all the health of the soul, which is the
most precious." And that poor Henry Drum-
mond's daughter was so touched by the winning
grace of the Pope, that she has delighted
ever since to talk of Catholicity with the faith-
ful among her acquaintance, and that with an
apparently sincere desire to seek the truth.
When the Canadian Zouaves were presented
to the Pope on Tuesday week some four or five
were still without their uniforms, but were not,
however, excluded from joining their com-
panions. The Pope, alluding to their travel-
ling uniform of nearly white cloth, said, smiling
as he came up to them in turn, " So, I see,
you have the idea of dressing like so many
Popes." To another, whose name was Gideon,
he observed, " Then we may be stout-hearted,
indeed, if we have a Gideon among us."
In another fortnight the changes in the
various garrisons usual in the spring season
will take place. The troops now in Rome will
country, where
and those who
trY, where the air is
fbree s sheen: d
ui nr ti
no
g thethe
are more acclimatised concentrated in Rome.
A portion will also be kept and exercised by
turns in the three camps to be formed as soon
as the weather admits. Before these changes
take place General Kanzler will probably hold
a review of the garrison of Rome at Villa
Borghese.
Papaleises preparatory
rc
army have been
folTlohwein g soldiersthe
spiritualof the
the Pascal Communion with most edify-
ingthe
ex
regularity and attention, in which matter
the best possible example has been set them
by their officers. And this not only in Rome,
but at all the garrisons. Thus at Monte
Rotondo, where the third battalion is stationed,
the exercises of the retreat were given in dif-
ferent places by English, French, and Dutch
priests, and the men who had been following
them assembled for a general Communion
yesterday morning to the number of seven or
eight hundred.
A special retreat has likewise been held
here for Government employes at the Gesii,
which has been numerously attended.

There was a grand funeral service to-day for
the repose of the soul of the ex-I<ing
of BaVaria,
arranged by the members of St. Luke's Aca-
demy, at the Church of St. Luca, out of grati-
tude to his memory as a patron of art. The
Pope subscribed 2,000 francs to the artist's
fund to do honour to the occasion, and the
general effect attained was exceedingly appro-
priate and successful. A very lofty catafalque
occupied the space under the dome, and over
it were suspended graceful draperies of black
and gold. The whole of the interior of the
church was marked out with hangings of the
same, richly ornamented, and corresponding
to the lines of the architecture.
High up hung
festoons of chandeliers, while the gloom of the
church below was only relieved by four fiaccole
at the corners of the bier, whose fitful glare
made strange and fantastic outlines to the
crowd of assistants.

Cardinal Hohenlohe, as well as two or three
other cardinals, assisted pontifically at the
function, and in the palchi were several mem-
bers of the Corps Diplomatique.
Later in the day the new cardinals went to
the Campidoglio to return the visit of congra-
tulation of the Senator they were received with
much picturesque state.
A return of delightful weather has visited us
to-day, after a few days interval of severe cold,
accompanied by a strong north wind. There
has been a heavy fall of snow between Foligno
and Perugia, interrupting the mails.
We were thrilled yesterday by a report that
the Marseilles and Civita, 'Vecchia boat had
been lost a few hours out of Genoa. As there
was a number of Zouaves on board returning
home, either on leave of absence or at the
termination of their two years' engagement,
considerable excitement prevailed. I had my-
self parted but a few hours before from some
who were full of life and excitement at the
prospect some of seeing their mothers and
friends, showing their wounds and little tro-
phies, and imparting their impressions of the
Eternal City, so you may imagine how it
shocked me. As the north wind ought not to
be dangerous in the locality indicated, I re-
tained some hope that the story might prove
a canard, and have taken some pains to ascer-
tain the truth, and I am happy to say the
best informed do not seem to attach much ,

credit to it. The agent of the company assured
me most positively that he had this afternoon
received atelegram from Marseilles announcing
the safe arrival of the vessel, and that it was
not one which touched at Genoa. He had
been assailed on all sides with inquiries, but
could assign no origin to the report. The
telegrams from Marseilles will doubtless have
informed you of the facts before you receive
this, if; after all, there has been any accident.
I hear the English and Belgian papers have
been circulating a report as to the alleged fail-
ing health of the Holy Father. I never un-
derstood what purpose these stories serve. I
have already spoken of his animation on Wed-
nesday, and some friends, who met him on the
Scala Regia going down to his carriage a day
or two ago, assure me he was never looking
more robust. He walked so fast down the
stairs' it was not easy to follow him, they said.
Rome is still very full, but numbers are
pouring down to Naples to take the usual rapid
glance at her attractions, and then return here
for Easter.

The Girandola, it is said, is to be from the
slope of S. Pietro in Montario instead of in
the Piazza del Popolo as of late years, because
the smoke and rocket-stocks injured the plants
on the Pincio. The situation is good for the
purpose in some respects, as it can be seen from
a greater distance than when at the Piazza
del Popolo, though hardly by so many people.
However, it makes a new effect and a new
sensation.

The trial was concluded this week of the nine
Garibaldians who entered as artillerymen with
the view to carry out a plot to blow up the
castle of Sant Angelo. With the usual and
almost regretable lenity which characterizes
the Papal Government, they are only sentenced
to various terms of penal servitude. In case
of any recurrence to this sort of thing on any
future occasion, however, I believe a severer
course of action will be resorted to.

Please let me correct a typographical error
which I see in my letter in the paper of the
21st—speaking of the application of the artil-
lery officers at Civita Vecchia to Paris for larger
pieces of artillery. It should stand—" The
reply was that they should be sent immediately
there was any reason to apprehend that they
would be required." Not, " they should be
sent immediately—there was ev'ery reason to
apprehend, &c." There is a very important
difference in the sense conveyed.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

(From the Anylo-American Times.)
PARIS, April 2.

There are times and seasons when we cannot fix
upon paper the photography of clear and lucid
thoughts. There may be many things to speak
of, but, from derangement of the human ma-
chinery, ideas jumble together, without lucidity
or arrangement, unless one is such a writer as
Dumas, who spins out his " Three Musketeers"
into 20 years after, and then winds up with the
almost interminable history of De Bragelonne, or, as
the Viscount Tonson de Terrail, the tutelary genius
of the French halfpenny newspapers, who, after
killing, and bringing again to life times innumer-
able his hero Rocambole
,the most unmitigated
scoundrel, by the way, that ever disgraced the
pages of a novelist, is supposed at this moment to
be engaged in again reproducing him in the guise of
a Fenian. There is a pleasure, it may be, in mad-
ness, that none but madmen know, and which may,
perhaps, account for the facility and fertility of the
sensational productions of the present day ; but, as
regards a simple newspaper correspondent, the case
is different, and though he may indulge a little
in sensationalities (if there be such a word)
the varied questions upon which he purposes to treat
do not admit of the high pressure and railway
progress of the romancist. Finding myself this
morning in just such a predicament, I strolled out
to find in the fresh breeze of a lovely spring morn-
ing the conventional remedy. I reserve for greater
leisure the amusing incidents I found in my route.
The Courses de Vincennes have gone off this week
with considerable eclat. The prize given by the
Emperor of 10,000 francs was well contested, fifteen
horses having been entered, thirteen of which came
to the starting place. The race was won by the
Duke of Hamilton's horse S!y Fox, beating Bon
Espoir by a neck. There can be no doubt that the
latter was the best horse ; the difference in weight,
however (27 lbs.), together with the excellent rid-
ing of Cassidy, who literally lifted in his horse at
the last moment, decided the victory in favour of
the former. The Prize of Tourelle (1,500 francs)
fell to the lot of Champ d'Oiseau, the property of
the Baron Finot, a really good horse; Polar Star
and La Jumelle second and third. The handicap for
1,000 francs was won by Saint Contest, Royal Tar-
tan second, Arthur a bad third. Whilst speaking
upon sporting matters it may not be amiss to re-
mark that the Society of Regattas at Paris has
held a meeting for the purpose of forming their
constitution for 1868. M. Young has been chosen
President ; M. C. Dassy, President of the Sailing
Club ; and M. E. Castral, President of the
Rowing Club, vice-president ; M. Thierry, treasurer.
The Paris Rowing Club will make a good many of
the cracks look to their laurels, if I be not very
much mistaken in the opinion which, as an old row-
ing man, I have formed of their performances on
many occasions, including that of the abortive In-
ternational Regatta which came off last year. I
have been down this morning to look at the new
office with which the increasing development of our
Journal has induced you to favour us. It is very
well and pleasantly situated in the centre of the
Place de la Madeleine, and being just opposite the
entrance of the Marche aux -Fleurs; the atmosphere is
fragrant with a perfume which our numerous lady
visitors will, I am sure, inhale with the greatest
possible satisfaction. The transition from flowers
to feathers and flounces is soon made, and
leads me to speak of a very brilliant bal
masque which carne off recently at Colonel
Norton's apartments at the Champs Elysees.
The salons were brilliantly illinninated, and
redolent with the odour of exotics, the lobster salad
and champagne unexceptionable. How could it be
otherwise, when the Duc de Montebello himself was
present in the somewhat singular disguise of a
crocodile mask. The " mazy," as Mr. Jurveller
says, commenced at eleven in the evening. Ido
not pretend to be a connoisseur in costumes or a
marchand des habits, but many of the costumes were
specially elegant. Colonel Norton looked well in
that of a Baden peasant, a costume something be-
tween that of a Spanish muleteer and Mexican
majo. Madame Norton represented a Polish
countess ; Madame Bouligny exchanged a very
tasteful blue domino for the picturesque costume of
a Swiss peasant girl ; Miss Morse, daughter of the
celebrated Professor, well became the Basquina of
romantic Spain ; whilst Miss du Hamel, adding to
a blue domino the attractions of hair powder,
brought back to the spectator the times of Louis
Quatorze ; Mrs. Downing, of New York, made
a very enchanting marchioness ; Miss Harbeck,
a Pole of the most attractive description ;
Mr. Cook represented Ravel for the Hugue-
nots ; Mr. Thompson Fra Diavolo, whilst Mr.
Boufanti, as a Spahi, recalled the celebrated lines
of Byron, which, however, I have no time at pre-
sent to quote. The sale of the debris of the Uni-
versal Exposition has brought into circulation a
strange story, singular especially as instancing the
unassuming outer shell in which great financial men
sometimes envelope themselves. When the debris
was put up to auction it was knocked down for the
sum of four million ten thousand and some odd
hundreds of francs. " Where is the purchaser ?"
inquired the treasurer of the Imperial Commission.
" lie is not here, but I represent him," said an
ordinary-looking individual. The treasurer had his
doubts and set off at once to the residence named
of the great buyer. It was a deserted and desolate-
looking building, something in the style of the halls
of Ivor—mouldy heaps of old iron and other debris
forming the principal objects which mat the gaze
of the doubting official, • who at once summoned
the household by a stirring peal of the bell.
" Where is Mr. M." said the great man.
" Ill," was the reply of a solitary old woman,
who made her appearance broom in hand. " Where
are his bureaux, his foreman." "He has none,"