The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-19
POPE LEO'S TRAITS.
Some Peculiarities of the Late POntif
That Were Emphasizing.
Emily Crawford's Letter.

Emily Crawfords Letter.
Prince Di Belmonte, a Neapolitan bishop
tells me that the Pope had not a flexible or
soft disposition. He only seemed TO yield and
stopped TO conquer. AS a master he was i'm
perative and spoke to those about him in
brief dry terms that did not admit of the
person he addressed offering an explanation
or limiting a remonstrance. He could be f1u-
ent in talking to visitors of mark. Other
wise, he was a man of few words. The face
curiously hid its strength. His jawbone and
nose and the modelling of his forehead ex-
pressed hard, strong, masterful character.
The wide mouth, devoid of teeth, became a
opening and closing like the lid Of Al box
His small piercing eyes denoted a critical
spirit.
The voice was strong and almost harsh
without being unmusical. Nobody but his
valet Contra, saw him eating. He had no
dining room and ate at his little table in his
study at which he wrote. The dinner was
taken from the kitchen by Contra in pad
locked wicker basket.
The major domo, Maceli. received each
dish from the chef on a copper platter de-
void of ornament, but bearing the papal
coat of arms and the letters S. A. p, stand
ing for Sacred Apostolical Palace-letters
also marked on the napkins.
The Pope only used false teeth for the
sake of articulation when receiving visitors
of mark. He could not masticate All his
meats were finely chopped by his chef and
fried in balls in oil. He liked chicken
chopped fine thrown into a thick bechameI
(four and milk sauce and then made,
when cold, into sausage like roly-polies
thickly busted with bread crumbs, and also
fried.
He generally took a bowl of strong beef
or chicken broth made in the French way
to open his appetite, some very we'll
cooked vegetables. his dish Of triburated
meat and hardly any bread.
His vintage was two glasses OF Bordeaux
which he mixed, instead OF water with the
white Gottafesriata wine. In the morning he
took milk, chocolate, two UNDERGONE eggs
which he drank out of the shells, and some
of the Vatican garden. All his affections
were concentrated in his nephews and nieces
and their children. A vainer man never
lived.
He could not endure vanity in others and
disliked Cardinal Manning because he
thought him vain. When BENJAMIN Con-
slant went to the Vatican to paint his por-
trait Leo begged him not to make him look
old. He set the painter talking about the
court of England, Queen Victoria, the (then)
Prince and Princess of Wales, and spoke of
the latter as having plunged into high
of which, he said after a pause, she has
had 80 many. Leo's appetite was never
great.
He did not. when Pope. eat more than
would have satisfied an Italian child of six
years old. An English child of that age
He was not clean eater, and If he did not
like anything he spat IT into his napkin.
One of his few sensual enjoyments was
taking snuff. He took IL in quantities. At
the end of the day the front of his white
robe was all soiled. The snuff that fell from
his nostrils formed little heaps on the floor
and fell over the paper on which he wrote.
He only used snuff King Alphonso and
Queen Christina sent him-so dark as To be
almost black.