The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-02
His Place in Liters.---

Pope Leo has his place in literature. for not only were his deliverances a matter of ecclesiastical obligation. but writing was his pastime; God gave to him a poets dreamful mind" and one of his last mental efforts was to perfect a poem which he had previously. written. Rev. George McDermot has spoken this fine sentence of the Popes poetic genius, ITO his mind. so strong and wise in the guid- 1 ance of men, fancy had given the touch | which is the ether of thought: the finer. | subtler essence which Is the souls soul, and which reveals itse}* 5n poetry' The editor of the Presbyterian Banner tells us that in looking through some | leaflets issued by the Board of Foreign Missions, his eye rested on a passage 1 from one of the encyciicles of Leo XIII to the clergy of Chili. Not only is light thrown upon the church and clergy of South America, but light is also thrown | on Leo himself. After a reference to his unsparing and fearless rebuke of his own clergy, he is spoken of. as having stood | for purity and, in some degree for pro- gress in his church.
 We are aware of how his conservative prelates stood aghast'' at his departure | from ecclesiastical traditions in his en- cyclicles on labor. Of these encyclicles Archbishop Ireland afirms that they were sublime and authoritative. Dr. John A. Zahm makes this summary of his work in intellectual fields: There | Is one aspect in which Leo XIII chal- lenges the verdict of history-as a scholar | among scholars, as the intellectual Pope of an intellectual age, as the founder of schools and universities in a great schol- | astic era, and as the grand Maecenas of | the scientific renaissance.
 Education. literature. temperance. the labor problem and divorce are subjects with which his pen has been busy. His writing has been pronounced as master pieces of Latin literature"
 Pope Leo's Work and Mission.
 The Cincinnati. Post says: ''We can not know just how much the world owes to Pope Leo. It is a secret. It is the un- written history of Europe. His death will bring about dispassionate estimate of Leo's mission and his work in the world. | There will be critical survey of both. That he was both great and good is gen orally acceded and will be-, But there is a great part of the thinking world that considers all men fallible., So the Pope will not be different from sother men, in having the white light of criticism turned upon him.
 Side Issues.
 It is told that while the Pope was i'll l that a number of Bordeaux pilgrims of- fered to sacrifice their lives for that of the pontiff. It is also said that Mgr. Don | Marcello Massaranti scattered handfuls l of silver about the streets of Rome, as | reward to those who should pick them up. | in compliance with his request that they pray for the recovery of the Pope.
 The Chicago Tribune published last Tuesday the picture of globe which was | bound with crape.
 Golfers Weekly publishes an account of the funeral and burial of Plus XI as l given by an American lady. resident of Rome. The entry of the solemn pageant into St. Peters Is thus described: HAt last the solemn portage for which we had been waiting, came down the few steps that led into the hall of the Consistory. and what a sight it was!'
 | First came the Host. carried aloft and | followed by four or five cardinals. with | archbishops, monsignori and bishops in their wake, and then the bier. covered | with red satin and carried on the should
 CTS of six men dressed in scarlet and l white.
 "The dead Pope was dressed in full l pontihcial robes, the mitre on his head and the sceptre in his poor nerveless
 hands which were covered by red silk
 gloves, the ring being on the outside of
 these.
 'The instant the bier entered the room the soldiers and noble guard. who were
 all on their knees drew their swords and presented, in one bewildering clash of
 arms. The priests and cardinals indeed | everyone in the room, chanted a low re-
 quiem that rolled in solemn peans through
 the dimly lighted hall.
 Each member of the cortage carried an enormous lighted candle. these flick
 ering flames adding much to the brilli-
 ance of the scene.
 d., l. aNxaS~ 0wrnl4T
 the procession moved along and down the
 steps, into the great silent St. Peters.
 Only this chosen assemblage went into
 the dusty depths of the stupendous
 church As the solemn tread and low
 volumed sound of chanting voices iierced
 the vast distances, 1t was like the throb-
 ping of a Beethoven symphony.
 ''In Latin lays rich with the classic lore
 Of ancient Rome his muse sublimely sang
 The glory of the spirit, son and sire;
 Sweet as Mymettan honey evermore.
 The Tuscan tongue to tuneful rapture
 Woke by the chords of Leo's silver Tyre"
 The "Voce della Varita" recounts some
 of the incidents of Leo XIIrs journey
 to London fifty-nine years ago. This IS
 the second time it said, of the recent
 visit of Edward VIII to the Vatican that
 Gioacchino Pecci and Edward of England
 have met. When that happened the first
 time the king was about four years or
 age, and he who received hm was then
 thirty-six years old. It was in fact. in 1S46, at the end of his Nunciature in Bel gfum, that Msgr. Gioacchino Pecci went
 to London, where he remained about month and there paid his respects to the ] royal family. Leo XIII is the only Pope
 who has walked in Piccadilly and occupi- ed seat in the Strangers Gallery in the
 House of Commons, where he heard
 Daniel o'Connell. Mgr. Pecci took an apartment fin Regent Street. His favorite walk was in Hyde Park. The Austrian ambassador presented him to Lord
 Palmerston, and thus he assisted at a reception given at if breign office. Queen Victoria whom kr Pecci hae formally met at Brus is during his : Nunciature" invited him to an official re- ' ception at court. During his stay in Lon [ don Mgr. Pecci officiated in two churches ] in the old Sardinian Chapel at the right
 of Lincolns Inn Fields, and at St Mary's in Moore's Fields. the former Catholic } Cathedral of London.
 ' Among the pretty incidents of the l Pope's illness was his care for favorite ? pigeon which came to his Bedside every } morning and which he had been in the
 habit of feeding. The bird is very tame and was evidently greatly attached to the 5 pontiff.