Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-01

Gus times, and more particularly on the
occasion of his Jubilee in 1888. enough
gifts of pure gold to ransom a kingdom.
The golden chaTices alone that are
kept in the storehouse Of the Vati-
can would probably represent a value
nearly as great as the sum total of the
klondike's product. Quite two-thirds OF
these We're in the Papal palace when
Leo was elected to the chair of Peter
in 1873, and the precious stones in most
of them magnify their value many fold.
They were for the most part gifts of SOW
ereigns or nations to the reigning Pom
tiff. The treasures inherited by the
present Pope are also embraced archie
piscopal and pontificial c~roziers and per-
toral crosses of gold, studded with gems;
various altar ornaments-use in the ex-
position of the Blessed Sacranent-thait
shine like the sunlight, and the vesti-
ments for the celebration of the Mass,
each and every article heavy with the
gold employed in its fabrication or deco
ration.
The pontifcate of the present ven-
to the treasures of the Vatican. Jan. l,
1883. Leo recited the Mass in st. Peters
in Rome. in celebration of the ~tiiftieth
anniversary of his ordination as a priest.
The preliminary ceremonies of his Gold
en- Jubilee began about a week earlier,
and continued for more han a month in
the new year, during which time an ex-
position was opened in the vast Ponti-
fical palace for the display of the pres
ents that had been sent to the head of
the Christian Church from every cornar
of the world.
Before the exposition was opened tons
upon tons of gold poured into the Vati-
,,r nj !, =, i,,r a, Wv in nnaorbhar Of 1897
and continuing without intermission
until after the exposition had been closed
in March of the following year. There
was scarcely an object received in which
the metal universally appropriate t. the
tiftieth anniversary did not figure IN
some form and proportion.
AT the jubilee Mass alole 50. 900, 900 in
gold, the most part in coined money
We're presented to His Holiness. There
were audiences Of Pilgrims from the
various countries, and those from
France alone presented to the Pope
$500, 90 in gold coin, besides many other
objects in wrought gold.
The Duke Of Norfolk, Envoy ENtraor-
binary from Queen Victoria. presented
to His Holiness on Behalf Of the Catho-
lies Of England. a massive basin and
ever Of solid gold. Her British Majesty
personally presented an altar ornament
Of gold worth many thousands Of dot
lars. The Emperor Of Russia sent a
mammoth crozier of solid gold, in,aid
With precious stones, and the Emperor
William Of Germany, a gold mitre that
blazed With diamonds and rubies.
ROYAL GIFTS. -
The Emperor Of Austria, Turkey ESt-
ma and Japan and the lesses monarchs
or chiefs Of state of Europe, America,
Asia and Africa raid tribute to the VEN
cradle Pontiff, in priceless articles
wrought of the rare metal. Don Pedro,
of Brazil, sent a pretoria cross sixteen
inches long o the purest gold ever mined
in his empire, and huge diamonds added
to the weight Of the massive gift.
There We're several statues of the yell
| low metal that weighed as much as the
average-sized man.; pontiical rings
made of gold of all shades of color.
studded with the papal gem of a size
that made it's worth incalculable, and
vestments embroidered in sod Of the
most exquisite workmanship. One OF
these sets of vestments was said Il haze
cost $40, 600. The total value Of tn Cold
en- Jubilee gifts to the Pope VAS esti-
mated at $14, 800, 900 Of which $500, 900
were in gold coin.
The actual possessions &C the Holy zee
that are contained In the Vatican Ta'a"@
exclusive of those treasures Wlich ar Il
gold or gems, are perhaps, worth doupt'
as much again as the figures that have
been given. Besides these there are Ger
tain galleries of the museum proper
which are devoted almost exclustvely to
the xhibit of jewelry in gold, ana these
articles are not included in the estimate
already given, for their intrinsic value
is enhanced greatly by their artistic
worth in view of their antiquity and his
toric character.
Leo XIII. is said to have distributed
the bulk of the money gifts sent to him
on his Jubilee in fostering the foreign
missions of his church, in aiding poor
dioceses at home and abroad, in improv-
ing the condition of the poor throughout
the world, and in general for the benefit
of humanity, but he did not, of course,
dispose of the wrought gifts that were
sent to him by the various nations, nor
convert the value of such gifts into cash
in promotion of his charitable inten-
tons.
These things are still treasured in the
Natican-and this is why the palace of
the Oldest dynasty in Christendom is still
richer thar the frozen gold fields of the
north, to which men are rushing these
days in quest for the yellow metal.