The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-15
chambers

SSIaIlDeTS JOufudi1
The most singular and striking body
Of trained soldiers serving under any
potentate is that which garrisons the
Pope's palace in Rome. From the sill.
ver.casqued noble guards, the Swiss
halberdiers in doublet and ruff, down
to the palatine guards in shake and
the ponttfcal gendarmes in bearskin,
they form a distinctive feature Of the
papal court and a BETTING setting ia
a medieval picture. Their gorgeous
or quaint uniforms. glancinS helmets
fashing. arns. glittering ~breastplatei
like the black-velvet doublete, ruffs
ing-are In perfect artistic. harmony
with their surroundings. from which
they receive and on which they be.
stow that correlative fitness Of the
vatican, although the presence OF
these troopers and foreign merceuar.
les. morally speaking, Is an anomaly
and an anachronism.
This singular little army of q spirit.
ual ~potentats consists Of noble Rom.
an volunteers. burgher civic guards
and Italian, or foreign m~ereenaries
ferently armed, uniformed and Of.
fcered. and each possessing q distinct
history Of its own and a separate or.
g%anization.
First in dignity and antiquity come
the noble guards. in their scarIe,
tuntcs. golden epaulets and silver he'll.
NETS. Raised in 1885 under the name
or likht horsemen they were formed
into two squadrons: and many year,
later. in 1855. their strength was in.
creased by the addition Of 100 free
scions OF noble houses who could
show z sufncient number Of quarter.
tngs. Tho two corps. were reorgauixed
and united. into one by Pope Plus VII
in 1901, when, after the stress and
storm OF the great French revolution
be had rtghted the ship Of st. Peter.
These noble guardsmen mount guard
In b ante-chamber Of his holiness
private apartment. surround the sedia
g%estatoria on solemn fetes and escort
the Pops. when. he drives ont. They
now number. s~ixty-nine all told, under
he command Of a lisutenent general.
The Swigs guards who rank next in
precedence. were first enrolled by the
lighting Pope. Julius H., and subse-
quently, during the ,seventssnth aud
eighteenth centuries, three companies
were added to the original one. After
many v~icissitudes. they were finally
reduced to n company. which mus.
ters 122 men of all ranks, command
ed by q captain ranking rs colonel.
OF these. 100 are privates or halbord-
iers. The ofhcsrs and men on state
occasions don their morions. breast-
plates and pauldrons. the ofiSSrs arm.
ed with partisans. the rnen with pole
axes; but when on guard and in un.
drsss the men are armed, with ordi-
nary modern rties, though they still
wear their medieval garb. The du.
ties OF these Switzer1. who NOW play
at soldisrtng. consist In standing on
guard At the grand portal 81 the "a.
tican. and escorting the pontiif when
he u borne. like some eastern po.
tientate. IN his sedia gestatorfa to cels.
brAts high MAS. on which occasion.
surrounded ~ his bodytuard. e. Il
presided By six h~slberdisr1 told on
for this. sspAciAf ssryios. and armed
with the formidable t3o.AAnded
sword Of their predecessors mention.
ed in Scott's Anne Of :Geierstein.
The other two corps Of household
tf0ops--namely the Palatine or pal
ace guards and pontiacial gendarmeh
are far more modern. and do not