Omaha daily bee., 1874-03-30
Plus TX.
Hi Faith, Hope and Advsrsities.

tFrOn Rsaan Letter to the London POST
The Pope, who a few weeks az
showed 81 great m anxiety to admin
liter the sxcraments to his Secretary
of State, Is now pressing upon hin
the expediency Of mixing his will
Thoroughly treasured on the score o
his own health, and confident of the
almost boundiess length of years tina,
is yet in store for himself the Holy
Father seems to look witt serene res
ignation on the fate of bis encourage
Cardinal Capalty, the great champion
of infallibiiily in the Gcumeu.
ical Council, has been for weeks dy.
ing BY inches. Chronic infirmity OF
mental alienation has made mere
wrecks of many senior members OF
the Sacred College. The staunchest
friends and servants of Plus TX. are
falling from him one by one, over
powered BY disea-e or decrepitude.
BE alone walks erect and unds unted,
ever young, yer ssnguine, outstrip-
ping his youngest ~chaplsins in his af-
tern0on saunters in the Vatican gar
denr, astonishing " more than en-
livening his gravest counsellors BY
the dryness of his humOr and the
keenness of his sarcasm. Certainly no
such burden of faith ever sat 30 light
ly on the heart of any mar. He con
siders himself as under the protection
of a special Providence.
Neither the politicians nor the big
OTIS can boast ofa permanent control
over hisactions. Antone!li has never
been thoroughly trusted. ard never
definitely discarded. The Jesu t, have
bewildered. but not persuaded, the
Holy Father. His self-conceit is
equslly proofagainst auth. Z tatlve mr..
gumsnt and subtle seduction. The
Church, he is convinced, is built on
a rock, and faith can move noun
tains. Non possuna,ls" will do it
all. He is at War with the powers
BY which Italy il ruled, but has new
er Invested himself of his snesking
kindness for his country. Even in
his sorest need of foreign interference
he was neither cordial nor grateful to
the French and Austrians whose bay-
onets propped up his throne, and in
his policy he VA rs little swxyed by
partiality to the Bourbons as to the
Bonaparte. A POpe's business, in his
opinion. is to be a Pspist, not an I'm
perialist Or Legitimist ; and a. q Pa
pal supremacy Is not to be easily en-
forced upon any Potentats, he would
fain base it on popular allegiance,
and places greater reliance upon the
spontaneous Roman tendencies which
are manifesting themselves in free
England and America than in any at
tempt made by the Government of
France Or Austria to carry out the
COncordats and establish religion by
order. He puts no faith in Princes,
aud scorns tho use of human means.
1t is not without seme hidden design
of Providence, he thinks. that his
ministers are removed or disabled ; |
that the overbearing Jesuits are dis,
persed, and the crafty Antonelli Grip
nled bv govt, and even the tyrannical
Tsrquini lies i'll.
Men and events have equally con
tributed to induce Plus TX. to look
upon himself a. q miraculous man.
A picture in SAINT Agnsse fuori l.
Mura represents him - upheld by
angels during the catastrophe by
which the floor sunk under him and
his suite at the time of his visit to
that sanctuary in lS47. His portrait
in mosaic is placed above the bronze
statue of the Prince Of the Apostles
in the great nave Of St. Peter's. in
of the t~wenty-6fth
anniversary of his accession mirac.
ulous contamination, which enabled
him to "see the years of Peter" and
obviously singled him out for some
great recondite purpose in Gods gov
ernance of the world.
The wall by which the trsnsept of
the Vatican Basilics was cut of from
the main body Of the church, to I've
used rs a couneil-chamber in 1859, i.
suffered to remain, TO the grisvous
Disagreement of the edi6ce, lest the
word should suppose that the Synod
Wa more than adjourned by the &C.
cupatiOn Of Rome, or by the cou6ne-
ment of the Pope to his palace. So
long A. the Pope con.iders himself
safe from any possibility Of a mistake.
he thinks he ne ed harbOr no fear OTIS
m~ischance. His omnipotence is
founded on his infalibility.
In the estimation Of the italian
multitude, Plus TX. is q jettdtore.
who brings misfortune upon any pei
son or thing on which his "evil eye"
rests-vho breaks whatever he
touches. His own temporal power,
the throne Of the Neapolitsn Bour-
bons, that Of Isabella Of Spain, the
career of Macmillan of Austria, the
fortunes Of the house itself Of the :.
Hapsburgs, have all to bewail the
consequences of the ill-fortune which
attends whatever obtains the Pope's
blessing. The PapSl excommunica-
ton has been for Victor Emmanuel,
for Bismarck, for all the foes to the
Pspal power, . pledge Of success.