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April 23.—I went to see Cardinal Giustiniani this morning, thinking that, as one of the
Pope's ministers, he could give me some light upon the future plans of the government about quarantines.
But it was plain that he knew little or nothing about it. . . . .
April 24.—The Prussian Minister, with his usual indefatigable kindness, came this morning and settled the question about
Naples for us. He had been to the Cardinal.
Secretary of State's Office, and read the despatches received to-day from the Nuncio, and the measures of the government here in consequence, in order to be able to tell us the whole truth . . . . After we had settled this point I had a long and interesting talk with
Mr. Bunsen on matters relating to the
Roman government and society, about which he feels all the interest of one who has lived here twenty very active and happy years, where he was married, and where his nine children were born to him; but though he loves
Rome as few
Romans do, no man sees more clearly its present degraded state and its coming disasters.
April 25.—. . . . We dined at Prince Musignano's, a great dinner given by him on his being made a
Roman Prince, in his own right, by the
Pope.
Two or three Cardinals were there; the
Mexican Minister; Monsignors four or five, and among them
Capuccini, perhaps the most important person in the
Roman government;
Alertz;
1 Prince Corsini; and so on. It was a luxurious and elegant dinner, very well managed as to conversation.
Au reste,
Cardinal Odescalchi, the
Mexican, and
Alertz, with whom I sat, were very agreeable, the Cardinal curious about
America, and thoroughly ignorant.
Capuccini gave no hopes about the
cordons. So, no doubt, we decided well not to go to
Naples.
and Frascati, in all the radiance of an Italian spring, and accompanied by their friends
.
An agreeable incident occurred on that last evening, which is thus described in the Journal:—
