Omaha daily bee., 1902-03-02

land l could speak as fuently as l do now
by the time l reached Brussels" he is re-
ported to have said. King Leopold used to
exclaim, II forget Pecci is an Italian" He
does not speak English, although he began
the study Of the language more than a half
century ago. He has one phrase which he
always addresses to English visitors at the
vatican, this is, seat down"
He does his private writing with a gold
pen, but his pontihcal signature is always
given with a white, fattened quill, which is
believed to have come from the wing of a
dove, although persons who have seen It
say it must have come from a larger bird.
The same quill has been used more than
forty years. 1t only serves for important
signatures and is kept in an ivory case.
The pen with which the pope signed and
dated the first document of the twentieth
century was a present from the citizens of
Naples. 1t is of gold, mounted with
precious stones.
A letter to the pope must be in Latin. The
style need not be classical, but the lam
guage is obligatory. Some sort of Latin must
be employed. The letters must be addressed
to His Holiness Pope Leo XIII, the hap
PLY reigning (pontiff)." 1t must begin with
"Beatissime Pater" Most Blessed Father
and must end with some expression of re-
gard. When it reaches the vatican 1t has
little chance of arriving at its destination
unless some special precautions have been
taken, for the daily budget numbers 20, 900
documents. An excellent way of getting a
letter into the pope's hands is to make use
of two envelopes, the outer one directed as
above prescribed and the inner one to His
Holiness the Pope, the Head of the Uni
versal Holy Roman Inquisition." A minor
official who opened an envelope addressed
thus would incur the penalty of excom-
munication. Such communications are
handed to the pope, who opens them and
passes them on unread to Cardinal Ram
polla.
The pope is a keen judge Of many things
and has a pretty wit. He is reported to
have said that Hall Gaines Italians" in
spite of their names, are all Anglo-Saxons.
When it was suggested that the works Of
Signor d'Annunzio ought to be condemned
the pope replied, Let him alone. H. is
about the only man who knows how to
write good Italian"
Simple Mode of Living.
The daily menu of the pontiff consists OF
a cup of coffee with milk, a roll and no
butter for his breakfast. Al dinner there
is soup, plain meat, fried vegetables and
chicken croquettes fried in butter as only
the Romans know how, pastry and one
glass of Burgundy. At 6 o'clock, a cup Of
b%ouillon, and at supper a little cold meat.
Fruit is always on the table, especially
pears; a small cup of coffee with a little
sugar is taken during the day, now and
then. The dish best liked by his holiness
is pasta, made specially for the vatican
table by the nuns of Santa Maria. This is
made from new laid eggs and flour of the
finest quality.
The pope has a preconceived idea Of how
he desires to have his portrait appear,
says an artist who has twice painted his
holiness. Squaring himself in his seat.
his hand appraised, with two fingers ex-
tended as in the act of benediction, a con-
ventional smile drawing back his colorless
lips, he would sit motionless for a mo-
ment, stiffening every muscle, as we all do
in Photographic expectancy; then abandon
ing 1t, VOLTA NOR enfant!" he would ex-
claim, with an air Of triumph. He is always
much interested in his portrait and the
artist and renders every assistance neces-