Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1903-08-16

polla. remember once taking with
court chamberlain at the Vatican, the
| brother of a cardinal. He habitually
saw Rampolla every day. But, al
though l g ave him a very good cigar,
he vainly pent half an hour trying to
| tell me what the man was like at close
| range and what sort of life he led, and
| ended by leaving the impression that
he himself knew nothing whatever
| about it. The cardinal has the same
power whic Disraeli is said to have,
that of com. oletely discharging his face
of all expression. AS he stalks past in
the professions with that long skidding
stride of his. the eyes almost closed
the lips rapidly and inaudibly numb
ling somethi ng-devotions, we will sup
pose-he is utterly Sphinx-like. He may
be thinking of the Heavenly City, or
longing for his lunch. You get no in
dication from his face. You come away
with the conviction that, if this man
should ever become pope. he would at
least make church history interesting.
That is all one feels safe in saying of
him.
The cardi rails cultivate invisibility.
The etiquette of the Curia forbids
their walk ng in the streets. They
must drive in closed carriages and with
coal black horses. Occasionally, in viii
la gardens or out in the Campo na,
they descend to earth and relax their
venerable knees. On the Janiculum ]
once saw 70. IT cardinals gravely sus-
pend their promenade to watch one
small boy trying to get the string of his
kite disentangled from a tree. l re-
gret to say that he finally broke the
string, and their eminences went away
disappointed. But that incident was
exceptional, AS rule, you must go
to some church when fiesta is taking
place. To see Cardinal Vannutelli. one
should go to Santa Maria, Maggiore on
Christmas afternoon. At vespers there
is a procession with relics the most
highly venerated of which is carried
in richly adorned glass case. 1t is
reputed to be nothing less than .por-
ton of the Saviour's cradle. The Car
dinal Archpriest brings up the rear
and is visible from afar. If Rampolla
is a tall man. Vannutelli is a giant:
and / am convinced that the sediarii
(the man who carry the pope throne
on tAeir shoulders). must view witt
CONSERVATION even the vaguest rumor
of his succession to the almost incor-
poreal incumbent who has Just passed
away.
Should he become pope, theirs would
indeed be a strenuous lie. Bishops
mitre- and all, he is simply a walking
campa.nile-and this is almost comical-
ly emphasized by the square, dumping
figure o. Cardinal Matthew, who, for
some re; tson, always insists on tod
ding along just behind him. Vannu-
tell has &. strong, striking, homely
face. 1t is the face of a man, who, by
hard think ing and sheer merit, has
gone far; hut of personal magnetism
not an atom. \ vigorous mind in a
herculean DO 1y. the physical reinforce
ment of a del elimination to rise and to
rule. all are Il :ere. But at the end. you
have the feeling that you have seen
another cardil1al-and nothing more
Besides, the climax of his splendid
abilities is now behind him. He has
never looked the same man since his
bitter disappoint ment at not being
made project OF the Propaga nda last
summer. He had SERVED up to it, as
Lord Holland said of the treasury, and
he fully expected to have it. When
first saw him after the appointment of
his successful rival. 1 had difficulty in
recognizing that it was the same Van
nutelli. He had suddenly grown
The prelate. who then stepped in be-
fore him may very possibly block his
aspirations to the papacy as well. Car
dinal Gotti is usually described by emu
merating all the things that he isn't
To begin with, he is not an aristocrat.
But that he happens to be the son of
Genoese laborer is neither new nor
startling in the Roman Catholic
church. The first pope was a fisher
man. Hildebrand was the son of
carpenter, and the one English pope,
Adrian w. began life as a beggar boy
But the negative side of the cardinal
goes beyond this. He appertains to
no party, he represents no tendency.
Somehow the idea has gained currency
that he is liberal. but no one. not even
a Roman correspondent. could instance
anything authentic to prove it. Dur
ing the years that he has lived in Rome
he has carefully avoided being seen
in public except when indispensably
necessary, and with even more care he
has avoided committing himself on any
important question. File is believed to
be the choice of Leo XIII. for the sue
cession. but that is pure conjecture In
short, nobody knows anything about
him. Personally, he is a man of med
ium figure, irregular features, and a
peculiarly white complexion. 1t is a
thoughtful face, but what is he think
ing about? Rampolla'S appearances
piques conjecture and challenges even
the most fantastic speculations. There
is something about Gotti which dis
courages in advance anything of that
sort. You feel that, after infinite guess
ing you would leave him where you
found him. and end just as wise as
you were when you began When the
great Carmelite church of Santa Te-
resa was consecrated about d year ago
Gotti officiated. 1 took occasion, for