The Irish standard., 1908-10-31

The following fine description Of
Rome and the Pope is reprinted from
1.-THE World and Its Ways" by William
j. Bryan, Democratic candidate for
the Presidency:
The dominant feature of Rome is the
religious feature, and it is fitting that
it should be SO, for here the soil was
stained with blood of those who first
harkened to the voice Of the Nazarene
here cruel Nero lighted his gar
den with human torches, little think
ing that the religion of those whom he
burned would in time illuminate the
earth.
The fact that the city is the capital
Of the Catholic world is apparent cv-
crywhere. All interest is centered in
the Vatican and st. Peters. The civil
government of Italy extends to the ma
tion's borders, but the papal authority
OF Rome reaches to the remotest cor.
ners 81 the earth. was anxious to
zee tire man upon whom such vast re-
sponsibility rests, and whose words 50
profoundly influence laaillions Of the
human race. Lord Denbigh of England
lad given me letter. of introduction
to Cardinal Merry del Val, the papal
secretary Of state, and armed with this
visited the Vatican. Cardinal del
Val is an: exceedingly interesting man.
He was born of Spanish parents, bit
ono Of his grandparents was English,
and he is connected by ties Of blood
with several families Of the English
nobility. He was educated in Eng
land, and speaks that language fluent
u and without an accent, as he does
French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Ills linguistic accomplishments are al
most as great as those of the famous
Cardinal Mezzofanti. Cardinal del Val
is an unusually young man to occupy
such an important post-he is not yet
forty. He impresses one as a man of
rare ability and he possesses extraordi-
nary versatility and diplomatic
training that will make him eminently
useful to His Holiness. The: papal sec
retary Of state is a tall, slender, dis
tinguished looking man. His intellec-
tual face is thin and oval; his eyes are
large, dark and brilliant, showing his
Spanish birth, He received us in his
private apa1 tments in the Vatican.
They are among the most interesting
OF the 1900 rooms in that great build
ing and were once occupied by that ia
NOUS pope who was a, Borgia. The
ceilings and walls down to the floor
are painted magnificently, the decora-
tion having beee done by the hand of
a. master artist of Borgia's reign. For
centuries sllc suite now occupied by
Cardinal Gel Val had been part Of the
Vatican library. The beautiful walls
were once hidden by a coat of rude
whitewasll, but the paintings were dis
covered not long ago and restored once
more to view.
Before visiting the Vatican called
upon Monsignor Kennedy, the rector
OF the American college. Monsignor
Kennedy is learned and an exceed
ingly agreeable American, and under
his efficient management the number
of students in the college has been
doubled within a few years. He en-
abled me to meet Pope Plus Maestro
di Camera. BY the good offices Of
Cardinal del Val and the Maestro Ill
Camera, it was arranged that should
have private audience with the Holy
Father the following day, Monsignor
Kennedy acting as interpreter.
Pope Plus received us in his private
room adjoining the public audience
chamber, where distinguished Catholics
from all over the world We're collected
and ready 10 be presented and receive
the papal blessing.
The private audience room is a rath-
er small apartment. simply but beauti-
fully furnished and decorated. A small