Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-04-12
THE POPE AT ROME.
The Personal Habits of Leo XIII,
and How He Passes His Time.
Boston JonrnaI.


Now that there is so much talk con-
corning the possible, not to say probable,
departure of the Pope from the Vatican
and from that Rome in which he is no
longer master, it may be interesting to
know something of the way in which he
lives, and how his time is divided in
what he is pleased to call his prison.
The present Pope is of rather austere
habits, and his elevation to the highest
Office in the Church has not led him in
any way to relax the rather rigid charac-
ter of his personal conduct. He always
rises between six and half past six in the
morning, which, in the soft italian eli
mate, is not so great a sacrifice as in
harsher chimes; and at half past six
he is dressed by his valet.
de chambre. an old servant named
Central who has long been with
him. He then says mass in his private
chapel, and shortly afterward hears
second said by one of the almoners who
is on duty. He next leaves the chapel
and takes a very light breakfast, after
which he looks over the morning papers,
and awaits the arrival of Cardinal Jaco-
bini, who is his Secretary of State, and
who never fails to appear in Leo XIII. s
rooms at $50 exactly. His visit lasts
long time. The two confer together
on all the foreign affairs which have
any reference to the Holy See, and
in the intervals of their conversation
the Pope gives audiences to the
secretaries of congregations, to members
of the diplomatic corps, and to such
distinguished strangers as he pleases
to receive. Toward noon, by the formal
order of his physicians, but somewhat
against his will, the Pope goes down into
the reserved gardens of the Vatican,
borne in a sedan chair. He gets into
carriage, and escorted by two of the
"Noble Guards" on horseback, takes a
long ride if the weather is pleasant.
after which returning to the palace. At
two o'clock he dimes. as all Romans do
at that hour. His favorite dish is boiled
beef. Only few privileged persons are
admitted to this repast, none of them
taking part in it, as according to the
tradition no one is even allowed to
take a seat at the Holy Fathers ia
bic. All that the etiquette of the Pom.
tifical Court allows is for the invited
guest to sit at a table Just below
that at which the Pope has his place.
One of the POpes nephews, the Count
Camille Pecci, is Leo XIII. s especial
favorite, and lives in an apartment graci-
ously placed at his disposition in the
Vatican. 1t is said that when the Count
Camille was doing his volunteer duty of
year, as obliged to do by the civil laws
Of his country, he used frequently to
visit the Vatican in his uniform of
simple soldier of the Italian army, and
strangers wandering in the corridors
were not a little surprised to see the
POntifcal guards bowling low with re-
spect, and before young man whose
uniform represented the supposed
tyranny over the temporal power. After
dinner the Pope usually retires to his
private apartments to work, to give
audiences and to pray. About an hour be-
fore the Angelus he takes little nap and
then short walk in the Loggie of Ra-
phael. At o'clock in the evening, like
all the rest of the Romans, he sups, takes
nothing between dinner and supper ex
cept a small glass of Bordeaux wine, in
which he dips biscuit. At II o'clock
he goes to bed. 1t is after dinner that
most of lis real work is done, either
with one of his private secretaries or
alone. He sometimes greatly surprises
the ecclesiastiCs who surround him by
bringing out in the morning some docu-
ment that he has written in the previous
afternoon, quite independent of the ira
ditions or the advice by which Popes are
usually supposed to be guided In fact,
he is highly intellectual. spirited and
original man, and sOrely feels the oppres
sion of the Papal crown. Perhaps if be
had remained in lower place his origi-
nality would have won for him a greater
reputation than he now seems ever likely
to achieve.