The Dermott news., 1915-06-17

pean press,' said the ambassador with marked intonation, that Monaco IS the smallest state in Europe. It is nothing of the kind The smallest state in Europe at present is the Vatican
 The Vatican! But that is an abode "a building"
 You are an Englishman, and Of course ignorant of matters which are of vital interest to two-thtrdS of Europe. Nevertheless you must sure ly be aware that the holy father. under the Italian law of papal guar. antics. retains his rank as soYerelghs and that the inviolability of the Nau- can is expressly recognized, No oil cial of the Italian government can enter it's doors for any conceivable purpose without the Pope's permission. It is not considered part of the Italian territory; i'll other words 1t Is an ln- dependent state. within whose limits Plus X is as absolute as the ezar ot Russia.
 The Catholic powers of Europe, il is we'll known. are represented at the papal court by ambassadors, who are entirely distinct from those accredited to the Quirinal. France, although gov erned by freethinkers, has continued to observe this custom, which IS due to her position as protector of the Latin Christians in the east, and l assure you that during my mission to the Vatican 1 was most devout.
 Ut was my good fortune to be hon ored with the particular confidence Of Pic Mono, for it is by that name that Plus X was universally known Tn hls lifetime. He was remarkable pope. Believe me. no one but a very great man could have maintained the pres. tige of the papacy unshaken as he did through the misfortunes which afflicted it during his long reign.
 The only thing which embarrassed me in Rome was the necessity which I was under in my character of ambas- sador to the Holy See. of strictly avoiding all intercourse with the court of King Victor Emmanuel The severe estrangement which prevailed be tween the papacy and the kingdom ot Italy was later illustrated by the ad= venture of the poor Kiug of Portugal who found himself obliged to quit Rome without visiting either the pope or the king, as he could not show re- spect to one without giving Umbrage to the other.
 Tn spite of these restraints l formed the acquaintance in private Of several persons who were in touch with the Quirinal Among these was a certain Count GuHelmo Vescaro.
 "Vesearo was a man who appeared to be of good family, and he was suhi- ciently polite and wellinformed to be an agreeable companion. He was also moderately well off for an Italian. where the people are poorer than any where else in the world, except in Athens. In spite of these advantages, I perceived before very long that he was unpopular, but I found no reason for dropping his acquaintance.
 One taste Vescaro and I possessed in common, this was a passion for gems of all kinds, but especially cam eos and intaglios The members of the Italian nobility are distinguished for their interest in curiosities of this sort. The heirs of 2,000 years of civ ilization, they find the same fascina- tion in 0 rare medal or antique that our young men find in a new dancer uk do in bulldog or a prize fight,
 Tt was inevitable that should take advantage of my mission to study the famous collections of the Vatican There is no other museum in Europe to be compared with this of the popes in which they have been accumulatlng treasures for centuries, and which IS continually being added to at the pres ont day. l spent many hours every week in exploring it's recesses. and in con versing with Monsignor Perratti, a very learned Jesuit, who had the superintendency of the department of antiquities.
 On several occasions happened to ntSt AAlthb hAAC NpAAAN NN q '"N ~A' my way to the museum, and pressed him to accompany me. But he invari- ably declined.
 "J have reasons. which do not care to speak about. for not wishing to be seen in the Vatican he said to me on one of these occasions. when had permitted myself to be rather i'm portunate. During the period before the holy father was deprived of the temporal power. served in the papal troops. and his holiness has perhaps resented my subsequent adhesion to Nshe house Of Savoy At all events am not willing to expose myself to the risk of being told that my presence in the Vatican is considered an in- trusion.'
 "I could not but respect Vescaro for his delicacy. though it seemed 10 me misplaced, as the museum of the Vatican was quite public place, to which the whole world was in the habit of coming In my next conver,