The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-07-19
CITY OF ROME WHEN LEO
ASCENDEDPAPAL THRONE

Excerpt in the New York Mail and Elk
orsino.9 Courtesy of the Macmillan
Co. Copyright 1901.
Immediately after the taking of the
city in 1870, three distinct parties declared
themselves, towit, the clericals, or
Blacks. the Monarehists or Whites, and
the Republicans. or Reds. All three had
doubtless existed for a considerable time
but the wine of revolution favored the
expression of truth. and society awoke
one morning to find itself divided into
camps holding very different opinions.
At first the mass of the greater mobiles
stood together for the lost temporal pow
er of the pope, while great number of
the less important families followed two
or three great houses in siding with the
Royalists. The Republican idea, as was
natural. found but few sympathizers in
the highest class, and these were l be-
lieve, in all cases young men whose faith
ers were Blacks or Whites, and most Of
whom have since thought fit to modify
their opinions, in one direction or the
other Nevertheless, the Red interest
was, and still is, tolerably strong and
has been destined to play that powerful
part in parliamentary life which gener-
ally falls to the lot of a compact third
party, where a fourth does not yet exist
or has no political influence, as is the
case in Rome.
For there is "a fourth body in Rome
which has little political but much social
Importance. 1t was not possible that peo-
pie who had grown up together in the
Intimacy Of a close caste life, calling
each other thee and thou" and form
ing the hereditary elements of a still
feudal, organization, should suddenly
break off all acquaintance and be stran-
gers one to another. The brother,
born and convinced Clerical found that
his own sister had followed her husband
to the court of the new king. The rigid
adherent of the old order met his own
son in the street, arrayed in the garb OF
an Italian officer. The two friends who
had stood side by side in good and evil
case for a score of years saw themselves
suddenly divided by the gulf which lies
between a Roman cardinal and senator
of the Italian Kingdom. The breach was
sudden and great, but it was bridged for
many by the invention of a fourth pro-
portional The points Of contact be-
tween White and Black became Gray,
and social power, politically neutral
and eonstitutionally Indifferent, arose as
a mediator between the Contents and the
Malcontentss There were families that
had never loved the old order, but which
distinctly dislllled the new, and who
opened their doors to the adeherents OF
both. There is a house which has be-
come Gray out of a sort of superstition
inspired by the unfortunate circum-
stances which oddly conceded with each
movement of its members to join the new
order. There is another, and one OF the
greatest in which a very high hereditary
dignity in the one party still exercised
by force Of circumstances, effectually
forbids tie expression of sincere SYM
pathy with the opposed power. Another
there is whose members are cousins OF
the one sovereign and personal friends OIL
the other.
A further means of amalgamation has
been found in the existence of the double
embassies of the great powers. Austria
France and Spain each send an ambassa-
dor to the king of Italy and an ambassa-
dor TO the pope of like state and I'M
portance. Even Protestant Prussia main
tains a minister plenipotentiary to the
Holy See Russia has her diplomatic