craftiness in evading their promises, patience in biding their time, and the art of temporising with events; and they trusted that, if they could not avoid the perils of a burdensome protection, they might at any rate ensnare with promises and deceive with appearances. Amongst the Foreign Ambassadors, with the single exception of the French, who never hoped to derive any advantage from timid counsels, there was not one who was not tractable. Naples egged

on the Court; Tuscany yielded to the Austrian embrace; the King of Piedmont alone, with Massimo d'Azeglio as his minister, unwilling that free institutions should perish in Rome without commending them to the care of the Pope who had inaugurated them, sent the illustrious Cæsar Balbo, whose religion is as firm as is his faith in the liberty and the destinies of the nation, to the Pope as advocate for the liberal party. Balbo was accordingly admitted to an interview with Pius IX., and Cardinal Antonelli, who received him with great courtesy; he then endeavoured to persuade them that the throne, the peace of the people, and the honour of the prince, could only be secured by establishing liberal institutions. But both the Pope and Cardinal Antonelli were of a contrary opinion; they alleged the want of training in the people, the desire of the good not to make any fresh trial of those institutions on which they laid the blame of all the evils which had taken place, and the incompatibility or quasi-incompatibility (so they said) of the Constitution with the free exercise of the spiritual power. Balbo replied, that the training of the people could only be effected

by the practice of that which it is desirable to teach them; that if any desired the annulling of the Statute, they were not the good; the few who entertained retrograde opinions ought not to be reckoned; they were not worth anything, they had never done anything for His Holiness. Balbo then reasoned at length on their argument of the incompatibility of constitutional government with the free exercise of the spiritual power, animated by those liberal principles which, conjoined with profound reverence for the power of the keys, influence all his opinions; but his arguments produced no effect.

He had also a similar mission to fulfil towards the King of Naples and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and to urge them to follow the example of Victor Emmanuel. The first was courteous, and promised to resume his usual diplomatic relations with Piedmont, but gave no other sign of acquiescence; and the second, though he received Balbo with smiles, showed that his mind was full of suspicion. When Balbo congratulated him on having restored the Statute, the Grand Duke exclaimed, as if disdaining the praise," And what did you, gentlemen, think of me?" Then, speaking of the political bias of Piedmont, he added "it is necessary that its Government should go to work honestly." Perhaps he meant to say after the Austrian fashion, for his Government did so then, and does so still.

About this time Rosmini fell into great trouble. When he had heard from the Pontiff that the Statute was irrevocably condemned, he abstained from taking any steps whatever which could be regarded unbe

coming his profession as an obedient priest; but owing to the jealousy and envy of his ancient adversaries, who seized the occasion to injure him by fresh accusations, his works were anew charged with error and called in question, though they had been censured in vain during the Pontificate of Gregory XVI., and had been considered so blameless by Pius IX. that he had given the author a situation in the Congregations who are guardians of the Roman doctrines and the honour of the purple. When the news reached him, he requested that, if his books contained any errors, he might be made acquainted with them, and he would correct and amend them in all sincerity and humility; to which request he received a civil answer in the affirmative, but a condemnation was afterwards pronounced without further notice. As if this trouble were not sufficient, when he had gone from Naples to Gaeta, the sgherri went to his house in the night, and wanted to drag him before the Naples police court. He complained indignantly at this, said that he belonged to the Papal Court, and would not go without orders from the Pope unless they offered violence to his person. In the morning he went to Court, where he encountered nothing but sour faces instead of the kindly greeting he had been accustomed to receive; and the courtiers whose pleasure it had been to leave him at the mercy of the Neapolitan police, did not wish him to see either the Pope or Cardinal Antonelli. However, it so chanced that the Cardinal, who perhaps did not intend it, let himself be seen in the ante-chamber,

and he was then obliged to go to the Pope and request an audience for Rosmini. After considerable delay the Captain of the Swiss Guard, who was at the head of the police at Gaeta, came out and admitted Rosmini to the Pope, who spoke kindly to him, saying he had been ignorant of all which had taken place, and condoled with him about it; they were Neapolitan orders—he must submit-he must go to Naples. Accordingly he went, and repaired to the police, who banished him from the kingdom. Then, when he requested his passports, they would not give them to him, saying they had received fresh orders directing that he should remain; at last they granted him the favour of permitting him to leave. From this example it is evident what rabid feeling predominated, and that it was not only directed against institutions, but vented itself in ingratitude and cruelty towards men worthy of the highest esteem. Not one of those who had earned for themselves the title of liberal, or who could give liberal advice to the Pope, was had in esteem or honour at Gaeta, whilst the instruments of the Gregorian police were on the other hand restored to credit. Amongst them was a man of the name of Nardoni, who frequented the Court, and went about amongst the courtiers, trying to convince them he was not the identical person who had been condemned to the galleys for a theft during the reign of Napoleon; he even debased himself so low in order to clear his name from such a stain, that he wanted to strip in the presence of a member of the Pope's household, to show, as he said, that he had not

got the brand of the criminal on his skin. Let this be a sample of the dignity of those whom the Court delighted to honour.

The fall of Rome being near at hand, the Court, which had already matured and settled its scheme for a pure ecclesiastical restoration, turned its thoughts to the election of the Commissioner, who should proceed thither from the Pope as soon as the French had entered the city, and it made choice of Bernetti, one of the Ministers during the Gregorian restoration of 1831, a man of proud and determined character, acute intellect, harsh disposition, and averse to foreigners. It is said he accepted the office only on condition of being accredited with full powers, and that he had devised measures which would not have been acceptable either to the foreigners or to those who wanted to go back to the middle ages. But as France opposed the election

of Bernetti, and some of the Cardinals also demurred, Antonelli suggested that two colleagues should be associated with him, but he, wishing to take the mission wholly upon himself, and aware of the reasons which had prompted the fresh proposal, resigned the charge. It being then discussed whether the Pope should return to Rome as soon as it was taken, as the French wished and entreated, or whether he should take up a temporary residence in some other part or city of the State, Cardinal Antonelli was of opinion that the latter plan should be adopted, and he said so to Balbo himself, who begged that he would not, at all events, take the Pope amongst the Austrians. Pius IX. also,