ROME.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5570, 20 May 1896, Page 1

ROME.

BY EMILE ZOLA. .[Translated Bt Ernest Alfred * Vizetelly.] (All Mights Reserved.) Chapter III — (Continued.) ** To sum up the matter, Monsieur l'Abbe," said Boccanera, " the affair of your book presents certain difficulties. As I have told you, I have no precise information, I have seen no documents. But knowing that my niece took an interest in you, I said a few words on the subject to Cardinal Sanguinetti, the Prefect of the Index, who was here just now. And he knows little more than I do, for nothing has yet left the secretary's hands. Still he told me that the denunciation emanated from personages of rant and " influence, and applied to numerous pages of your work, in which it was said there were passages of the most deplorable character as regards both discipline and dogma." Greatly moved by the idea that he had hidden foes, secret adversaries who pursued him in the dark, the young priest responded : " Oh! denounced, denounced ! If your Eminence only knew how that word pains my heart ! And denounced, top, for offences which were certainly involuntary, since my one ardent de'sire was the triumph of the Church ! All I can do, then, is to fling myself at the feet of the Holy Father and entreat him to hear my defence." Boccanera suddenly became very grave again. A stern look rested on Ms lofty brow as he drew his haughty figure to its full height. "His Holiness," said he, " can do everything, even receive you, if such be his good pleasure, and absolve you also. But listen to me. I again advise you to withdraw your, book yourself, to destroy it, simply and courageously, before embarking in a struggle in which yon will reap the shame of being overwhelmed. Eeflect on that?' Pierre, however, had no sooner spoken of the Pope than he had regretted it, for he realised that an appeal to the sovereign authority was calculated to wound the cardinal's feelings. Moreover, there was no further room for doubt. Boccanera would be against his book, and the utmost that he could hope for was to gain his neutrality by bringing pressure to bear on him through those about him. At the same time he had found the Cardinal very plain spoken, very frank, far removed from all the secret intriguing in which the affair of his book was involved, as he now began to realise ; and so it was with deep respect and genuine admiration for the prelate's strong and lofty character that he took leave of him. ' " I am infinitely obliged to your Eminence," he said, " and I promise that I will carefully reflect upon all that your Eminence has been kind, enough to say to me." On returning to the anteroom, Pierre there found five or 'six persons who had arrived during his audience, and were now waiting 1 . There was a bishop, a domestic prelate, and two old ladies, and as he drew near to Don Vigilio before retiring, he was surprised to find 1 him conversing with a tall, fair young fellow, a Frenchman, who also in astonishment, exclaimed, "What - are you here in Eome, Monsieur l'Abbe?" • For a moment Pierre had hesitated. " Ah ! I must ask your pardon, Monsieur Narcisse Habert," he replied, " I did not at first recognise you ! It was the less excusable as I knew that you had been an attache at our embassy here ever since last •year." Tall, slim, and elegant of appearance, Narcisse Habert had a clear complexion, with eyes of a bluish, almost mauvish, hue, a fair frizzy beard, and long curling fair nair cnt short over the forehead in the Florentine fashion. Of a wealthy family .of militant Catholics, chiefly members of 'the bar or bench, he had an uncle in the diplomatic profession, and this had decided his own career. Moreover, a place at Eome was marked out for him, for he there had powerful connections. He was a ■nephew by marriage of Cardinal Samo, whose sister had married another of his uncles, a Paris notary ; and he was also cousin-gennan of Monsignor Gamba del Zoppo, a cameriere segreto, and son of one of his aunts, who had married ' an Italian colonel. And so, in some measure for these reasons, he had been attached to the embassy to the Holy See, iis superiors tolerating his somewhat fantastic ways, his everlasting 1 passion for art which sent him wandering hither and thither through Eome. He was, moreover, very amiable and extremely well-bred; and it occasionally happened, as was the case that morning, that with his weary and somewhat mysterious air he came to speak to one or other of the cardinals on some real matter of business in the ambassador's name. So as to converse with Pierre at his ease, he drew him into the deep embrasure oi one of the windows. "Ah ! my dear Abbtv how pleased I am to see you," said he. " You must remember what pleasant chats wehad when we met at Cardinal Bergerofs I told you about some paintings which yor were to see for your book, some miniature: of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries And now, you know, I mean to tak( possession of you. I'll show you Eome as nobody else could show it to you. Fv< seen and explored everything. Ah ! then are treasures, such treasures! But ii truth there is only one supreme work ; om

always comes back to one's particular passion. The Botticelli inj the Sixtine Chapel— ah, the Botticelli \" His voice died away, and he made a faint gesture as if overcome by admiration. Then Pierre had to promise that he would place himself in his hands and accompany him to the Sixtine Chapel. "You know ■svhy I am here," at last said the young priest. "Proceedings have been taken against my book ; it has been denounced to the congregation of the Index." "Your book! is ifc possible?" exclaimed Narcisse: "a book like that with pages recalling the delightful St Francis of Assisi!" And thereupon he obligingly placed himself at Pierre's disposal. "But our ambassador will be very useful to you," he said. "He is the best man in the world, of charming affability, and full of the old French spirit. I will present you to him this afternoon 6i* to-morrow morning at the latest; and since you desire an immediate audience with the Pope, he will endeavour to obtain one for you. His position naturally designates him as your intermediary. Still, I must confess that things are not always easily managed. Although the Holy Father is very fond of him, there are times when his Excellency fails, for the approaches are so extremely intricate." . Pierre had not thought of employing the ambassador's good offices, for he had naively imagined that an accused priest who came to defend himself would find every door open. However, he was delighted with Narcisse's offer, and thanked him as warmly as if the audience were already obtained. . " Besides," the young man continued, " if we encounter any difficulties I have relatives at the Tatican, as you know. 1 don't mean my uncle the cardinal, who would be of no use to us, for he never stirs oiit of his office at the Propaganda, and will never apply for anything. But my cousin, Monsignor Gamba del Zoppo, is very obliging, and he lives in intimacy with the Pope, his duties requiring constant attendance, on him. So, if necessary, I will take you to see him, and he will no doubt find a means of procuring you an interview, though his extreme prudence keeps him perpetually afraid of compromising himself. However, it's iinderstood that .you may rely upon me in every respect." ' " Ah ! my dear sir," exclaimed Pierre, relieved and happy, "I heartily accept your offer. You don't know what balm your words have brought me ; forever since my arrival everybody has been discouraging me, and you are the first to restore my strength by looking at things in the true French way." ' : Then, lowering his voice, ,he told the attache qi his interview with Cardinal Boccanera, of his conviction that the latter would not help him, of the unfavourable information which had been given by Cardinal .Sanguinetti, and of the rivalry which he had divined between the two Narcisse listened, smiling, and in his'turn began to gossip confidentially. The rivalry which Pierre had mentioned, the premature contest for the tiaro which Sanguinetti and Boccanera were waging, impelled to it by a furious desire to become the -.next Pope, had for <a long time been revolutionising the black world. There was incredible intricacy in the depths of the affair ; none could exactly tell who was pulling :the strings, ' conducting the vast intrigue. As regards generalities it was simply known that Boccanera represented ; absolutism— the Church freed from all compromises with modern society, and waiting in immobility for the Deity to triumph over Satan, for Eome to be restored to the Holy Father, and for repentant Italy 1 , to perform penitence for its sacrilege ; whereas Sanguinetti, extremely politic and supple, was .reported to harbour bold and novel ideas : permission to vote to be granted, to all true Catholics,t a majority to be gained by this means in the Legislature ; then, as a final corollary, the downfall of the House of Savoy, and the proclamation of a kind of republican federation of all the former petty States of Italy under the august protectorate of the Pope. On the whole the struggle was between these two antagonistic elements — the first bent on upholding the Church by a rigorous maintenance of the old traditions, and the other predicting the fall of the Church if it did not follow the bent of the coming century. But all was steeped in so much mystery that people ended by thinking that if the present Pope should live a few years longer, his successor would certainly be neither Boccanera. Ti"ovSa.7ioriiiii«tti. -All at once Pierre interrupted Narcisse : ' " And Monsignor Nani, do you know him?' \- I spoke with him yesterday evening. And ; there he is coming in now !" ' Nani was indeed just entering the anteroom with his usual smile on his I amiable pink face. His cassock of fine , texture, and his sash of violet silk shone j with discreet soft luxury. And he showed 5 himself very amiable to Abbe Paparelli, who accompanied him in all humility, begging him to be kind enough to wait f until his Eminence should be able to receive him. ' " Oil ! Monsignor Nani," muttered 3 Narcisse, becoming serious, "he is a man i whom it is advisable to have for a friend."

+ Since the occupation of Eome by the Italian 3 authorities, the supporters of the Church, obedient i. to the prohibition of the Vatican, have abstained a from taking part in the political elections, this being their protest against the new order of things s which they do not recognise. Various attempts e liiive been made, however, to induce the Pope to e ttive them permission to vote, many mpmbers of the Roman aristocracy considering the present course 11 impolitic and harmful to the interests of the e Church.

Then, knowing Nani's history, he related it in an undertone. Born at Venice, of a noble but ruined family which had produced heroes, Nani, after first studying under the Jesuits; had come' to Eonie to perfect himself in philosophy and .theology, at the Cdllegio Eomano, -which was then ako under Jesuit management. Ordained when three-and-twenty, he had at once followed a nuncio to Bavaria as private secretary; and then had gone as auditore to the nunciatures of Brussels and Paris, in which latter city ho had lived for five years. seemed to predestine him to diplomacy, his brilliant beginnings and his keen and encyclopredical intelligence, but all at once he had been recalled to Eonie, where he was soon afterwards appointed Assessor to the Holy Office. It was asserted at the time that this was done by the Pope hiinself, who, being well acquainted with Nani, and desirous of having a person he cauld depend upon at the Holy Office, had .given instructions for his recall, saying that he could render far more services at Eome than abroad. Already a domestic prelate, Nani had also lately become a Canon of St Peter's and an apostolic prothonotary, with the prospect of obtaining a cardinal's hat whenever the Pope should find some other favourite wlio would please him better as assessor. " Oh, Monsignor Nani !' continued Narcisse. "He's a superior man, thoroughly well acquainted with modern Europe, and at the same time a very saintly priest, a sincere believer, 'absolutely devoted to the Church, with the substantial faith of an intelligent politician — a belief different, it is true, from the narrow gloomy theological faith which we ' know so well in France. And this is one of the reasons why you will hardly understand things here at first. The Roman prelates leave the Deity in the sanctuary and reign in His name, convinced that Catholicism is the human expression of the government of God, the only perfect and eternal government, beyond the pales of which nothing but falsehood and social danger can be found. While we in our country lag behind, furiously arguing whether there be a God or not, they do not admit that God's existence can be doubted, since they themselves are His delegated ministers ; and they entirely devote themselves to playing their part's as ministers Whom none can dispossess, exercising their power for the greatest good of humanity, and devoting all their intelligence, all their energy to maintaining themselves as the accepted masters of the nations. For his part Monsignor Nani, after being mixed up in the politics of the whole world, has for ten years been discharging the most delicate functions- in v Eome, taking part in the inost varied and most important affairs. He sees all the foreigners who come to Eome, knows everything, has a hand in everything. Add to this that he is extremely discreet and amiable, with a modest}' which seems perfect, though none can tell whether, with his light silent footstep, he is not really marching towards the highest ambition, the purple of sovereignty." "Another candidate for the tiara," thought Pierre, who had listened passionately ; for this man Nani interested him, caused him an instinctive disquietude, as though behind. his: pink and smiling face he could divine an infinity of obscure things. At the same time, however, the young priest but ill understood his friend, for he again felt bewildered by all this strange Eonian world, so different from what he had expected. Nani had perceived the two young men and came !. to wards them with his hand cordially outstretched: "Ah! Monsieur l'Abbe Froment, I am happy to meet you again. I won't ask you if you have slept well, for people always sleep well at Eome. Good-day, Monsieur Habert ; your health has kept good I hope, since I met you in front of Bernini's Santa Teresa, which you admire so much.J I see that you know one another. That is very nice. I must tell you, Monsieur l'Abbe, that Monsieur Habert is a passionate lover of our city ; he will be able to show you all its finest sights." 1 Then, in his affectionate way, he at once asked for information respecting Pierre's interview Aviththe cardinal. He listened attentively to the young man's narrative, nodding his head at certain passages, and occasionally restraininghis sharp smile. The cardinal's severity and. Pierre's conviction that he would accord him no support did not at all astonish Nani. It seemed as if he had expected that result. : However, on hearing that Cardinal Sanguinetti had been there that morning, and had pronounced the affair of the book to be very serious, he appeared to lose his self-control for a moment, for he spoke out with sudden vivacity: / "It can't be helped, my dear child, my intervention came too late. Directly I heard of the proceedings I went to his Eminence Cardinal Sanguinetti to tell him that the result would be an immense advertisement for your book. Was it sensible ? What was the use of it? We know that you are inclined to be carried away by your ideas, that you are an enthusiast, and are prompt to do battle. So what advantage should we gain by embarrassing ourselves with the revolt of a young priest who might wage war against us with a book of which some thousands of copies have been sold already ? For my part I desire that nothing should be done. And I must say that the Cardinal, who is a man of sense, "was of the same mind. He raised his arms to Heaven, went into a passion, and exclaimed that he was never consulted, that the blunder was already committed beyond recall, and that it was impossible to prevent process from taking its course since the matter had already been brought before the Congregation, in consequence of denunciations from authoritative sources, based on the gravest motives. Briefly, as he said, the blunder was committed, and I had to think of something else." ' "* All at once Nani paused. He had just noticed that Pierre's ardent eyes were fixed upon his own, striving to penetrate his meaning. A faint -flush then heightened the pinkness of his complexion, whilst in an easy way he continued, unwilling to reveal how annoyed he was at having said too much : " Yes, I thought of helping you with all the little influence I possess, in order to extricate you from the worries in which this affair will, certainly land you."

tThe allusion is to a statue representing St Theresa iu ecstacy, with the An«el of Death descending to tranfix her with his dart. It stand3 in a transept of Sta. Maria della Vittoria. (To be continued.)