Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-22
A DAY WITH A POPE.
all Europe Specializing on the Fut-
ure of Pope Leo XIII.
THE PRISONER OF THE VATICAN
Conceded by Prince Bismarck to be a
Great Statesman.
LEVs LOVE AND RESPECT FOR AMERICA
lcoRRnspoNDENcr OF THE DISPATCH.

now turning on the Vatican. All Europe is
speculating as to the future of the old man
who now sits in the chair Of Peter, the fisher
man, and who loves to term himself the
prisoner of the Vatican"
There is good deal of fermentation going
on in all the nations of Europe. Bismarck,
Crispi, the Italian Prime Minister, the
rather weak head of tne not over-reputable
House of the Hapsburgs; the Gar of.all the
Russias and the young Emperor Of the Ger
mans, not to mention the rulers Of France,
England and Spain. have good deal to
worry about.
And yet all of them are keeping very
sharp watch on the grayhaired, slender,
feeble old man who nearly daily walks in
the Vatican gardens meditating how all this
muddle is to come out. Nor is there lack OF
reason for watching this man, whose posi-
tion is such that all Europe may at any time
willingly or unwillingly become embroiled
over him and what he claims as his right.
And all this is intensified by the fact that
tits generally conceded that as master of
diplomacy and state craft Leo XIII. is the
peer of anyone in Europe. Bismarck, who
is not given to over admiration OF opponents,
has freely conceded the great ability OF the
present Pope as statesman. And Bismarck
is no mean judge.
A very different man from Plus TX. is
Leo XIII. Trained in a different school,
possessing q temperament very different
from that of his predecessor, having an In
tellect finer and more keen, aid having, too,
an ability to look forward into the future
and to fit his course to suit the progress of
thought in and out of the Church, Leo has
been able to leave his mark on the public of
Europe in no uncertain manner, and has
demonstrated that in many respects he is
among the greatest of the later Popes.
FOOLISH FLYING RUMoRs.
Leo XIII. has long since passed the term
of three score and ten years, allotted by the
Psalmist for man to live, and is to-day, in
some respects, the most interesting figure in
Europe. Even now in the height OF the en-
ervsting Italian summer, when one feels
like doing as little as he can, even of talk
ing, gossip is rife concerning this prisoner
of the Vatican" Now we hear that he is to
leave Rome. Again we learn that he is not.
He is not to have a refuge on the Island of
Malta. He will be sheltered in England.
He will not go to England He is to go to
Spain. He is not to 90 to Spain. He will
buy the principality of Monaco and retire
there. He will do nothing of the sort. He
will go to the United States. He will not
go to the United States.
But aside from the political interest at
tached to him, Just now the Pope is receiv-
ing good deal Of attention for other
reasons. Pope Leo is an old man.
- 1,ta
very feeble man. He is
still Pope, every inch Of him, and he is
still, as he always has been since he has
been Pope, the master of his household, the
head of his Church in fact as well as in
tion to the duties of his important Office.
Old though he is, there are certain pomp-
Gus ceremonies in which the Pope must from
time to time take part. But on the whole
his inner life is one of extreme simplicity.
1t is thus that he wishes it to be- Increasing
years have brought a desire for rest and
quiet. Beside, although Leo XIII. has all
his life been man OF action, and nearly
always in some important executive or
diplomatic position, he is really by in
clination a student and would be, if he
could, somewhat of a recluse. So despite
the talk about the fact that he is "pris-
oner" within the Vatican walls, I question
if Leo XIII. would like anything better in
the evening of his life than his princely
seclusion in one of the finest palaces in
the world. surrounded by every luxury, by
what he still more highly prizes, treasures
in art and literature from every land that
no living monarch could duplicate for love
or money.
A HARD DAYS WORK.
The days work at the Vatican is hard
one, and it begins early. Like Gladstone
the Pope is an early riser. In this hot sum-
mer weather the age and feebleness of the
Pontitf prevent him from doing as much
work as formerly. However, he is out of
bed long before in the morning. Even as
early as 6 the Pope may be seen by those
about the Papal household accompanied by
a private chamberlain and some servants of
his household descending into the Vatican
gardens. Here he walks and meditates,
and here too he receives his Secretary of
State and other Secretaries. Here, too,
other distinguished visitors are received
when not received in one OF the inner rooms
or in the Pope's private library.
The Pope's morning walk over, and it
is usually made alone, his attendants, even
the Chamberlain, following at respectful
distance, he returns through the wood,
mounting to his apartments by means of
private staircase. Breakfast is very in
significant matter with the present Pope,
who is, and ALWAYS has been, singularly
abstemious man. 1t is after this that the
Pope turns to business. He manages little
of his vast correspondence personally. The
task would be too great, for his mail is from
all parts of the world and In all languages.
1t is handled by secretaries, passed through
the hands of the Cardinals, who, to use
familiar term, form the Pope's Cabinet.
These are at the heads of the standing COM
mittees in the Sacred College. The less
important matters are not brought to the
attention of the Pope at all. Leo Kill.
however, has managed to keep very we'll
informed even as to the minor details of the
workings of the vast machine of which he
is the head. So when the Cardinal Prefect
of the Propaganda, or some other Cardinal
holding executive powers, report to the Pope
as to matters in their departments, they
sometimes find that he knows more about
them than they do themselves.
There is some OF the work that the Pope
insists upon doing himself. When ad-
dresses are sent to him from Catholic con-
fessors and conventions, he In many cases
insists upon debating the replies to them
himself. The same is the case in preparing
his encyclicals He is perfectly willing to
consult with the members oil the Sacred
College concerning the matter Of these let
tiers, and sometimes he takes advice from
them, but the matter of his public writings
is his own.
MAN WHO INSPIRES RESPECT.
1t is in mis- public receptions and in his
audiences with visitors that Leo XIII. ap-
pears to the best advantage to the casual OBJ.
server. He cannot give so much time now
clans have ordered otherwise. But he still
receives very large number of all creeds. 1
have yet to see either a Protestant or