The Pope at home.
--A resident at Home furnishes the following information relative to the domestic habits of the
Pope:
‘
His Holiness rises about 6.
At 7 he says mass in a room adjoining his bed-room.
Almost all the cardinals and the
Roman bishops follow the same custom.
When a prelate at
Rome hires a furnished apartment he brings with him a portable altar, and says mass at home; and it does not unfrequently happen that a foreigner who hires an apartment which has been previously occupied by a prelate finds some of the remnants of those altars.
The
Pope is served by a camer and by a prelate, priest, or deacon.
There are at the Vatican ten secret camericri more or less closely attached to the
Pope, according to their age. At the hand of them are
Mrs. Stella.
De Merode,
Talbot, and Elcol, who are always near
his Holiness.
They keep him company, amuse him, and make him laugh, which is not very difficult, for in private life Plus IX.
Is smiling and happy.
At eight o'clock
his Holiness takes his coffee and some trifling refreshment; Mgr.
Stella alone is present at that meal, as he opens the letters which have arrived and reads them to the
Pope.
At nine, when the repast is over and the letters read,
Cardinal Antonella makes his appearance from the floor above.
He is always gentle and mild--"Holy Father," here; "Happy Father, " there; he praises the genius of the
Pope, his knowledge of affairs, &c. That is the way in which the Cardinal always addresses Plus IX.
Cardinal Antonella consults him on everything, and is his most humble servant.
The political conversation and business of the
Sovereign Pontiff with the
Minister lasts for an hour or two.
About half-past 10 or eleven the audiences commence.
The
Pope dressed in white, is seated in a large armchair, with a table before him. He says two or three words to all the persons who are presented to him, in the language which they speak--
French,
Italian, or Spanish; but if English or German be spoken, an interpreter becomes necessary.
Sometimes during the audiences he signs applications for indulgences which have been made to him in writing.
The
Pope willingly signs those applications, writing at the bottom of them. "
Flat Plot None" At two o'clock the pontifical dinner takes place.
From three to four the
Pope takes his elects, as every one does at Home if you call at the house of a cardinal at that hour, the answer invariably is "His eminence is reposing." The
Pope does neither more nor less than others.
At five
his Holiness takes a drive in a carriage, escorted by guards, camericri, and monsig. At seven the
Pope sups, and afterwards plays a game at billiards.
At ten all the lights at the Vatican are extinguished."
’
