Evening star., 1902-03-01
Is in His Twenty-ffth Year
as Pope.
THE VATICAN PRISONER
MAY OUTLIVE THE DOCTORS WHO
ATTEND EIM.
Simplicity Of the Daily Life
CT Great
Scholar.
Nritten for TIE Evcn!lE Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
There is beginning this week all over the
world a celebration in which millions OF
people in every civilized country Will join.
Pope Leo XIII enters the twenty-fifth year
of his pontificate and the silver jubilee Will
continue for a year if his holiness lives
that long In the event of the successful
conclusion of this ceremony he will have
eoualed the quarter-century pontiticate of
ST. Peter and will have been surpassed in
length of service as the head of the Cath
olfc Church by only Plus VI and Plus IN.
For a man whose death has been expected
almost daily for several years, Pope Leo
has displayed astonishing vitality. His
quiet existence, the purity of his life, no
less than the strength Of his faith, have
tended to lengthen his years.
Long life he said recently 'is a char
acteristic of the Pecci family; they live
long. but death comes to them suddenly
So citen of late have reports of the pope's
death been made that his holiness Is rather
amused by them. and on this subject he
likes to have his little joke. when ne
said to the cardinals: They look for
conclave; | hold consistory,' or in reply
to comments on the accounts of his illness:
II suppose there is again a scarcity OF
sensational news. but / have yet much
work to do" For the past year two ply
the Vatican. and the pOpe's body servant
never leaves his side. taking his meals
in the private apartment of the pope.
Carpneto. d village almost within sight
Of Rome was the birthplace of Leo Kill
The goal of every pilgrim is the Pecci pal
ace. where the pope was born. The library
is of particular interest, for it contains vol
umes of manuscripts of great age, antique
books of all kinds and piles and piles OF
manuscripts written by Pope Leo himself
His childish letters to his Cara Signora
Madre'-Dear Madam Mother-to "SiGnor
Padre'-Monseur Father-written at the
age of nine years. are in hand of which
q man might be proud.
His College Days.
From college when about twelve years of
age, the future pontiff asked for writing
desk. .'as the other boys all had them"
After his elevation to the ponticate the
first letter signed with his new title was the
one sent to his old home:
VATICAN February 90, 1878
Dearest Brothers: | announce to you that
In the scrutiny of this morning the sacred
college has wished me to elevate my humble
person to the chair of st. Peter. This is
my first letter. which l address to my fam
ly, to which, imploring all happiness:
send with affection the apostolic benedic-
tion. Pray God much for me.
LEO P. P. XIII.
With massive features broad forehead,
the thin skin of which shows the tracing
brilliancy. a mobile mouth. large and char
acteristic ears. a countcnance pallid and
composed that of a corpse-it is thus
that Leo XIII has been described He is
always a dominant and imposing personal
itv-whether arrayed in the simple Sottano
Of white wool and the plain calotta (skull
cap,. or in splendid pontifical robes and
priceless gems Nervouslv restless he
rarely sits for any length of time, and
never without incessant changes Of atti-
tude. Until of late he took snuff constant
ly. but by medical advice he has re-
nounCed his one indulgence.
A Skilled Linguist.
Leo XIII speaks quite often in French
as in Italian and always with extreme ra-
pidity. He only commenced to study French
when appointed nuncio to Belgium "and
could speak as fluently as l do now by the
time j reached Brussels he is reported to
have said King Leopold used to exclaim,
II forget Pecci is Italian" He does not
speak English, although he began the study
of the language more than half century
ago. He has one phase which he always
addresses to English visitors at the Vati-
can: this is seat down."
He does his private writing with gold
pen, but his pontifical signature is always
given with a white fiattened quill. which
Is believed to have come from the wing
of dove, although persons who have seen
It say it must Eave come from larger
bird. The same quill has been used more
tnan 1OTty years II only serves Tor I'M
portant signatures and is kept in an ivory
case Then pen with which the pope signed
and dated the first document Of the twen-
tieth century was a present from the citi-
zens of Naples. it is of gold, mounted with
precious stones.
A letter to the pope must be in Latin The
style need not AZ classical. but the lam
guage is obligatory: Some sort of Latin
must be employed. The letters must be ad-
dressed to His Holiness. Pope Leo XIII,
the happily reigning' (pontiff) 1t must be-
gin with ''BeatisSime Pater,' Most Blessed
Father" and must end with some express
sion of regard. When it reaches the Vati-
1t has little chance of arriving at it's
destination unless some special precautions
have been taken. for the daily budget num-
bers 10000 documents An excellent way
OF getting letter into the pope's hands Is
to make of two envelopes. the outer
one directed as above prescribed. and the
inner one to His Holiness the Pope, the
Head of the Universal Holy Roman Inuuisi-
tion." A minor official who opened an en-
velope addressed thus would incur the pen
atty of communication. Such commune
cations are handed to the pope. who opens
them and passes them on unread TO Cardi-
nal RampOIla.
Has Pretty Wit.
The pope IS a keen Judge Of many things
and has a pretty wit He is reported to
have said that Mr. Hall Gaines Italians"
in spite of their names, are all Anglo-Sax-
ons. When it was suggested that the
works Of Signor d'Annunzio ought to be
condemned the pope replied, Let him alone.
He is about the only man who knows how
to write good Italian.
The daily menu of the pontiff consists Of
a cup of coffee with milk, a roll and no but
ter for his breakfast. AT dinner there are
soup, plain meat, fried vegetables and
chicken croquettes fried in butter as only
the Romans know how; pastry and one
glass of Burgundy. At o'clock a cup Of
bouillon. and at supper little cold meat.
Fruit is always on the table. especially
pears: small cup of coffee. with 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 preconceived idea of how
he desires to have his portrait appear says
an artist who has twice painted his holi-
ness. '.Squaring himself in his seat, his
hand upraised, with two fingers extended
as in the act of benediction. a conventional
smile drawing back his colorless lips, he
would sit motionless for a moment, stiffen-
ing every muscle as We all do in photo
graphic expectancy; then abandoning It,
eSyyofIa Mon E.pfaptv he wouId oYCto ivo