Chapter XIV.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5697, 16 October 1896, Page 1

Chapter XIV.

—(Continued.)

Pierre was in his Holiness's bed-room. He,had feared one of those overwhelming attacks of emotion which madden or paralyse one. He had been told of women reaching the Pope's presence in a fainting conditipn, staggering as if intoxicated, while others^ came with a rush, as though "upheld and borne along by invisible pinions. And suddenly the anguish of hia own spell of waiting, his intense feverishness, ceased in/ a ; sort .of astonishment, a reaction which rendered him very calm, and so restored his clearness of vision that he .could see every thing. As he entered he distinctly realised the decisive' importance of such an audience, he, a mere, petty prijest in presence of the Supreme Pontiff,, the head of the Church, . All his religious and moral life would depend on it; and possibly it was this, sndden thought that thus chilled him on the threshold of . the redoubtable sanctuary, which he had approached with, such quivering steps, and which he would not have thought to eater otherwise than with distracted heart and loss of senses, unable to do more than stagimer the simple prayers of childhood. Later on, when he sought. to classify his recollections he remembered that his eyes had first lighted on Leo XIII, not, however, to the exclusion of his surroundings, but in conjunction with them, that spacious room hung with yellow damask whose alcove, adorned with- fluted marble columns, was so deep that the bed was quite hidden away in it, as well asother articles of furniture, a couch, a wardrobe, and some trunks, . those famous trunks in which the treasure of the Peter's Pence was said to be securely locked. A sort of Lotus XIV writing-desk with ornaments of engraved brass stood face to face with a large gilded and painted Louis XV pier-table on which a lamp was burning beside a lofty crucifix. The jpom was virtually bare, only three arm-chairs and four or five other chairs, upholstered in' light silk, being disposed here and there over the well-worn carpet. And on one of the arm-chairs sat Leo XIII, near a small table on which another lamp with a shade had been placed. Three newspapers, moreover, lay there, • two of them French and one Italian., and the last was half -unfolded as if the Pope had momentarily turned frdm it to stir a glass of syrup, standing beside him, with a long silver-gilt spoon: V • -In the same way as Pierre saw 1 the Pope's room, he saw his costume, his cassock of white cloth with white buttons, his white skull cap, his. white cape and his white sash fringed with gold and broidered at either end with golden keys. His stockings were white, his slippers were of red velvet, and these again were broidered with golden keys. What surprised , the young priest, however, was his Holiness's face and figure, which now seemed so shrunken that he scarcely recognised, them. This was his fourth meeting with the Pope. He had seen him walking in the Vatican gardens, enthroned 'in the Hall of Beatifications, and pontifying at St Peter's, and now he beheld him on that arm-chair, in privacy, and looking so slight and fragile that he could not restrain a feeling of affectionate anxiety. Leo's neck was particularly remarkable, slender beyond belief, suggesting the neck of .some little, aged, white bird. And his face, of the pallor of alabaster, was characteristically transparent, to such a degree, indeed, that one could see the lamp-light through his large commanding nose, as if the blood had entirely withdrawn from that organ. A mouth of great length, with white bloodless lip 3, streaked the lower' part of the papal countenance, and the eyes alone had remained young and handsome. Superb eyes they were, brilliant like black diamonds, endowed with sufficient penetration and strength to lay souls open and force them to confess the truth aloud. Some scanty white curls emerged from under the white skull cap, thus whitely crowning the thin white face, whose ugliness was softened by all this whiteness, the spiritual whiteness in which Leo XUPs flesh seemed as it were but pure lily-white florescence. At the first glance, however, Pierre noticed that if Signor Squadra had kept him waiting, it had not been in order to compel the Holy Father to don a clean cassock, for the one he was wearing was badly soiled by snuff. A number of brown ' stains had trickled down the front of the , garment beside the buttons, and just like any good bourgeois, his Holiness had a j handkerchief on his knees to wipe himself. ' Apart from all this he seemed in good health* having recovered from his recent indisposition as easily as he ■usually recovered from such posing illnesses, sober, prudent old man that he was, quite free from organic disease, and simply declining by reason of progressive natural exhaustion. Immediately on entering Pierre felt that tho Pope's sparkling eyes, those two black diamonds, tvere fixed' upon him. The silence was profound, and the lamps burned with motionless, pallid flames. He had to approach, and after making the three genuflexions prescribed by etiquette, he stooped over one of the Pope's feet resting on a cushion in order to kiss the red velvet slipper. And on the Pope's side there was not a word, not a gesture, not a

movement. When the yoxrng man drew himself up again he found the two black diamonds, those two eyes which were all brightness and intelligence, still rivetted on him. But at last Leo XIII, Avho had been unwilling to spare the young priest the humble duty of kissing his foot and who now left him standing, began to speak, whilst still examining him, probing a3 it were, his very soul. "My son/ he said, "you greatly desired to see me, and I consented to afford you that satisfaction." Ho spoke in French, somewhat uncertain French, pronounced after the Italian fashion, and so slowly did he articulate each-sentence that one could have written it down like so much dictation. And his voice, ,as, .Pierre , had previously noticed, was strong an,d'j nasal, one of those full voices which people are surprised to hear coming from debile and apparently bloodless and breathless frames. \ In. response to the Holy. Father's remark Pierre contented himself with bowing, knowing that respect required him to wait for a direct question before speaking. 1 However, this question promptly came. " "You live in Paris ?" asked Leo XIII. "Yes, Holy Father." "Are you attached to one of the great parishes of the city ? " . "J7o, Holy Father. I simply officiate at the little church of Neuilly." i " Ah, yes, Neuilly, that is in the direction of the Bois de Boulogne, is it not ? And how old are you, my son ? " " Thirty-four, Holy Father." A short interval followed. Leo XIII had at last lowered his eyes. With frail, ivory hand he took up the glass beside him, again stirred the syrup with the long spoon, and then drank a little of it. And all this he did gently and slowly, with a prudent, judicious air, as was his wont no doubt in everything. " I have read your book, my son,- 1 he resumed. "Yes, the greater part of it. As a rule only fragments are submitted to me. But a person who is interested in you handed me the volume, begging me to glance through it. . And that is how I was able to look into it."As he spoke he made a slight gesture in which Pierre fancied he could detect a protest against the isolation in which he was kept by those surrounding him, who, as Monsignor Nani had said, maintained a strict watch in order that nothing they objected to might reach him. And thereupon the young priest ventured to say: j"I thank your Holiness for having done me so much honour. No greater or more desired happiness could havo befallen me." He was indeed so happy ! ■On"- peeing -the., Po.p.&.so,cah^, p sp.,f| i eeJr J Qm i : all,sign3.of anger, and :■ on hearing him speak, in that .way, of . 'his, book, like one well • acquainted 1 with it, he imagined that his cause was won. . ... v . "You are in relation with Monsieur le Vicomte Philibert de la Choue, are you not, my son?" continued Leo XIII. "I was struck by the resemblance between soine of your ideas and those of that devoted servant of the Church, who has in other ways given us previous testimony of his good feelings." ' • "Yes, indeed, Holy Father, Monsieur de le Choue is kind enough to show me some affection. We have often -talked together, so it is not surprising that I should have given expression to some of his most cherished ideas." "No doubt, no doubt. For instance, there is that question of the working-class guilds with which he largely occupies himself, with which in fact he occupies himself rather too much. At the time of his last journey to Spine he spoke to me of it in the most pressing manner. And in the same way, quite recently, another of your compatriots, one of the best and worthiest of men, Monsieur le Baron de Fouras, who brought us that superb pilgrimage of the St Peter's Pence Fund, never ceased his efforts until I consented to receive him, when he spoke to me on the same subject during nearly an hour. Only it must be said that they did not agree in the matter, for one begs me to do things which the other will not havo ma do on any account. j Pierre realised that the conversation was straying away from his book, but he rej membered having promised the Viscount I that if he should see the Pope he would make an attempt to obtain from him a decisive expression of opinion on the famous question as to whether the work-ing-class guilds or corporations should be free or obligatory, open or closed. And the unhappy Viscount, kept in Paris by the gout, had written the young priest letter after letter on the subject, whilst his rival the Baron, availing' himself of the opportunity offered by the international pilgrimage, endeavoured to wring I from the" Pope an approval of his own ! views, with which. he would have returned •in triumph to France.'. Pierre conj scientiously desired to keep hia promise, and so he answered: "Your Holiness knows better than any of us in which direction true wisdom lies. Monsieur de Fouras is of opinion that salvation, the solution of the labour question, lies simply jin the re-establishment of the old free J corporations, whilst Monsieur de la Choue desires the corporations to be obligatory, protected by the State and governed by new regulations. This last 'conception is certainly more in agreement with the social ideas now prevalent in France. Should your Holiness condescend to express a favourable opinion in that sense, the French Catholic party would certainly know how to turn it to good result, by

producing quite a movement of the working classes in favour of the Church." In his quiet way Leo XIII responded : " But I cannbt. Frenchmen always ask things of me which I cannot, will not do. What I will allow you to say on my behalf to Monsieur de la Choue is, that though I cannot content him I have not contented Monsieur de Fouras. He obtained from me nothing beyond the expression of my sincere goodwill for the French workingclasses, who are so dear to me and who can do so much for the restoration of the faith. You must surely understand, however, that among you Frenchmen there are questions of detail, of mere organisation, no to say, into which I cannot possibly enter without imparting to them an importance which they do not have, and at the same :time greatly>" discontenting some people should. I please others." . • .. As the Pope pronounced these. last words he smileda pale smile, in which the shrewd, conciliatory politician/who was determined not to, allow his infallibility to be compromised in useless and risky ventures, j was fully revealed. And-theh lie drank a little more syrup and wiped his mouth with his handkerchief, like a sovereign whose Court day is over and who takes his ease, having chosen this hour of solitude and silence to chat as long as he may be so inclined. ■ • Pierre, however, sought to bring him back to the subject of his book. " Monsieur de la Choue/' said he, " has shown me so much kindness and is so anxious to know the fate reserved to my book — as if, indeed, it were his own — that I should have been very happy to convey to him an expression of your Holiness's approval." ! However, the Pope continued wiping his mouth and did not reply. " I became acquainted with the Viscount," continued Pierre " at the residence of his Eminence Cardinal Bergerot, another great heart whose ardent charity ought to suffice to restore the faith in France." ' This time the effect was immediate. " Ah ! yes, Monsieur le Cardinal Bergerot ! " said Leo XIII. " I read that letter of his which is printed at the beginning of your book r --He was very badly inspired in writing it to you ; and you, my son, acted very culpably on the day you published it. I cannot yet believe that Monsieur le Cardinal Bergerot had read some of your pages when he sent you an expression of his complete and full approval. I prefer to charge him with ignorance and thoughtlessness. How could he approve of yotir attacks on dogma, your revolutionary theories which tend to the complete destruction of our holy religion ? If it be a -lact thatJie had read v yourbook~the only excuse he can invoke is sudden, inexplicable,aberration. It is true" that a very bad; spirit prevails among a small portion of the French, clergy. What are called Gallican ideas are ever sprouting up like, noxious weeds ; there is a malcontent Liberalism rebellious to our authority which continually hungers for free examin-ation-and sentimental adventures." The Pope grew animated as he spoke. Italian words mingled with his hesitating French, and every now and again his full nasal voice resounded with the sonority of a brass instrument. "Monsieur le Cardinal Bergerot," he continued, "must be given to understand that we shall crush him on the day when we see in him nothing but a rebellious son. He owes. the example of , obedience; we shall acquaint him with our displeasure, and we hope that he will submit. Humility and charity are great virtues doubtless, and we have always taken pleasure in recognising them in him. But they must not be the refuge of arebellious heart, for they are as nothing unless accompanied by obedience — obedience, obedience, the finest adornment of the great saints !" (To be continued.)