The Savannah morning news., 1904-08-05
Plus A DEMOCRATIC POPE.
Stories of His Hatred of Fuss and
Ceremony.
From the New York Sun.

passed. through New DIX yesterday
| on a tour of this country told interest
ing stories about Pope Plus X while
waiting for a train to take him west
| ward. The stories came out in reply to
the question. What are the striking
characteristics of the present Pontiff?"
Well said the eminent divine, set
| thing himself more comfortably, the ex-
preston of pleasure on his face evinc-
| ing his delight at being able to tell
about the new Pope. FIRST and fore
| most, he is democratic, and what you
| people here term a hustler
His manners are amazingly demo-
| cratic. To an American they would APP
peal very strongly, for he impresses
you as if he had lived in and absorbed
| much of the American principle of
| democracy. His rise from a poor bare
| footed peasant boy, with his piece of
| Indian meal bread in his pocket for
| his luncheon at school, to the highest
| office in the Roman Church has not in
| the least changed his native simplicity
| of manner. He is essentially a man of
| the people and his popularity through
| out Italy is universal
| Everybody speaks we'll of the Pope.
| He is loved by all, which is remarkable,
| in view of the many breaches of ETH
! quette Of which he has been accused
| since he came to the Vatican. His lib
| eral views on such matters, however,
are gradually convincing those who
| would wish to rule the Vatican ac-
cOrding to the strictest form of ETH
| quette, and to-day it is a real pleas
| ure to find that when you visit the
| Pontif you are made at once to feel
| at home.
while he was Archbishop of Mantua
| and afterwards Patrach of Venice the
| Pope always went about in the simplest
manner. In Venice he always rode in
| the gondolas and public conveyances,
| and could frequently he seen in the
| public parks, strolling among the peo-
| pie, chatting with them on the current
| topics of the day He was friendly with
| the municipal authorities, and could al
ways get what he wanted from them.
For this reason he became highly sue
cessful in organizing and building up
| his parishes.
His home was presided over by his
| three spinster sisters who did all the
cooking. At meals, they sat down with
| the Patriach and chatted with him dur
| ing the meal. When he was elected
Pope the Vatican courtiers began to
| feel uneasy as to what he would do.
Then he shocked them all by hav-
ing his private secretary Mgr. Bres-
| san, whom he brought with him from
Venice, dine with him at the same ia
| BILE. Such a thing had never hap
pened in the history of the Popes. It
| was terrible.
We must speak to him. said the
courtiers. He does not know
The next day, before he had been
| spoken to, he ordered dinner for three,
and when it was served a second pri-
waite secretary was asked to dine with
| him. This was going beyond all bounds.
| The courtiers spoke to the Pope. While
| the conversation was being delcately
| handled he answered the diplomats by
| ordering dinner for five.
That ended the determination to in
sist on the etiquette by which the Pope
| dined alone at one table and had no
one else in the room. But the fear
| arose that as he had always had his
| three sisters dine with him this would
| be the Pope's next move
| He startled the courtiers one morn
| ing by renting apartments in a new
| building adjoining the Vatican and in
stalling therein the three sisters. I'm
mediately all the other apartments in
| the building were rented to aspiring
| ecclesiastics, who now pay the greatest
| court to the three simple, modest sis
| tiers. They are typical Italian peasant
women and are wholly innocent of the
| possible designs of those about them,
who think that by paying homage and
| court to them they in turn will obtain
favors from their brother, whom they
1 call to this day in their simple way
| Beppe,' the familiar diminutive for
| Giuseppe, the Pope's baptismal name
THUS far his Holiness has not had
| his sisters dine with him, and it is
| not likely that he will The only two
l ioc CT Of l..
the Pope's apartments since the foun-
dation of the Roman Catholic Church,
| were those of Queen Christine of Swe-
| den, who sat at a separate table and
| lower down than the Pope at a light
| luncheon served to her, and of the
| Grand Duchess of Tuscany, who after
| communion at the hands of Leo XIII.
| was served with some refreshments
| in the Pope's apartments. The Pope
then did not eat anything himself, so
| you can see that the rule is so firmly
established that it will be scarcely
broken by the present Pontiff.
He is fast doing away with many
| forms of etiquette which have endured
| for centuries. For instance visitor
had always to genufect three times
upon coming into the presence of the
| Pope; first, upon crossing the TIRES
hold, then when half way, then at the
| Pope's side. You then kissed the cross
upon his right slipper. and remained
kneeling all the time you We're in his
presence.
This Pope will have none of it, He
| invariably comes to greet you and
| will then go and get a chair for you
and chat in food old fashion, making
you feel at home Immediately. 1t ma
| turally shocked all within the Vati-
can, but they are getting used to it
| now.
AN amusing incident occurred
| when a diplomat called recently, ex-
pecting, of course all the old forms.
He was surprised at first, by the
change, but soon recovered HIM
self, had his interview, and was de-
parting:
In the old form you always bowed
yourself out of the Pope's presence, but
as Plus X went to the door arm in arm
with the diplomat, talking the while.
he did not have the chance to bow.
At the threshold he returned to genu-
fleet, and to his surprise found the
| Pope rearranging the chairs about the
| rooms in the most matter of fact way.
The Pope smiled, and the diplomat re-
| tired amazed.
The ladies will ever be indebted to
him for banishing the form of having
| them bow themselves out of his pres
ence. With their long trains, this
was ever a source OF worry and not a
little embarrassment to them. They
don't have to do II with Plus Y. He