The Washington herald., 1912-07-14
BY LELAND CRAWFORD.

Rome. Italy, June 13.-Columns have
been written regarding the personal ap-
pearance of the Pope. his part in the
ceremony Of the consistory and the pomp
and splendor that surrounds the papal
court, yet relatively little is known Of
his intimate personality. This in part.
may be explained by reason OF the cere-
mony that surrounds the Pontir and by
reason Of the care that has been taken to
guard him from the approach Of Him
tentioned plebeians.
1t has always seemed to me- however.
that behind the church ceremonial there
must be a human side-some touch OF in
terest outside the stern formality that
guards every public move of Piux Y that
would bring the holy father. disciple of
Christ. on a plane with his fellows. 1t
is with this idea in mind that l sought
the streets contiguous to the Vatican
rather than a plea for a reception.
The Vatican itself is a magnificent old
pile. whose spires, roofs, and gables rise
high above an encircling grove of an
cient trees that decorate its gardens. The
quiet serenity of the vine covered mason
ry. the peaceful majesty lent by the hand
Of ages. and the atmosphere that seems
to surround the hallowed spot through
its long association with, the ecclesias-
tical history. make its imposing archi-
lecture the most prominent in Rome.
Vatican DoubIy Imposfng.
This feature is all the more accentu-
ated after a visit to the ancient Roman
amphitheater, and They're at aqueducts
and mausoleums of the Roman Emper-
ors. These. in truth, are imposing, but
they contrast sharply with the build
ings that house the Pope and form the
af ha .I.I,s
Roman buildings are inanimate and
magnificent in their death. while the
Vatican is animate and doubly imposing
through the soul that lives within.
The Vatican, indeed, lies apart and
distinct from the rest of the city. 1t is
not removed through its isolation, but
through its atmosphere. On the one
hand is the magnificent palace of King
Victor Emmanuel, busy with the toll of
war and feeding the countless avenues
that lead to the Ghetto: and on the
other is the palace of the Pope, vast.
silent. and imposing, set in an atmos-
phere of its own. and as much apart
from the busy city as though 1t were
surrounded by a desert.
In fact, its air OF Isolation is such
that one wonders in what light II Is
viewed by the surrounding millions who
have helped to effectually remove II from
the plane of mundane things by the act
that severed church and state some half
century ago. 1t Is not necessary to go
far to receive the answer.
Plutocrat and plebeian alike observe
the ancient fealty with all the devotion
Of true believers. There is little of the
anti-Catholic demonstrations that is pre-
valent in free-speaking America. And IT
seems that the church, through its sew
erence with the state. has gained rather
than lost by the transaction.
Son of Poor Peasant.
OF the Pope himself. his rites and
character, there are thousand stories
current. Plus x. the son OF q poer
peasant. is hailed everywhere as ''The
Father and to his people he has al
ways retained those simple manners and
customs that marked his novitate as
parish priest and teacher of the peas
arts
Something beside mere anecdote, how
ever. forms the foundation for these
stories Of simplicity and nobility of char
acter. There is in Rome at the present
day physical proof OF the Pontifrs for
mer obscurity. This proof lies with his
two sisters. Lucrecia and Teresa, unob-
trusive peasant women, who have fol-
lowed the Pope from his humble home
at Riese.
These women dwell in a little house
not stones throw from the Vatican.
The inside Of their dwelling Ii extreme
in its simplicity. and the only ornament
of the bleak walls being huge portrait
Of Plus X
Both of them are old. well along in
II