He is then set down, with his face fronting the
baldachin, when he immediately takes off the tiara, and begins the
ceremony.
That ended, he leaves the church in the same state, and then
ascends the staircase, in order to prepare to give the benediction, which
is usually given from a window above the facade of the church. The Pope is
there seated on a chair with the triple Crown on his head. Troops of
cavalry and infantry are drawn up in a semi-circle before the facade of the
church, and the whole vast arena of the Piazza di San Pietro is covered
with spectators. On a sudden his Holiness rises, extends his hands towards
heaven, then spreads them open, and seems as if he scattered something he
held in them on the crowd below; a silly young Frenchman who was standing
next to me said: Le voila! Le voila qui arrache la benediction au ciel, et
qui la repand sur tout le monde! I could not refrain from laughing at this
sally, tho' I was much impressed with the solemnity of the scene, which I
think one of the grandest and most sublime I ever beheld. This ceremony
concluded, salves of ordnance were fired. The Pope retires amidst clouds of
smoke, and seems to vanish from the Earth. The troops then fire a feu de
joie and move off, playing a march in quick time, and the company
disperse.
It is the etiquette on these occasions that no person be admitted either
into the church of St Peter or into the Sistine Chapel except in full
toilette. The ladies dress generally in black with caps and feathers; the
gentlemen either in black full dress or in military uniform. From the
variety of foreigners of all nations that are here, most of whom are
military men, or intitled to wear military uniforms, much is added to the
splendour of the spectacle.
On the evening of Easter Monday, I was present at the illumination of the
facade of St Peter's. Rows of lamps are suspended the whole length of the
columns and pilasters and all over the cupola, so that, when illuminated,
the style of the architecture is perceptible. The illumination takes place
almost at once. How it is managed I cannot say; but a splendid illuminated
temple seems at once to drop from the clouds, like the work of an
enchanter; I say drop from the clouds, because the illumination begins
from the cross and cupola and is communicated with the rapidity of
lightning to every other part of the edifice. About ten o'clock the same
evening the most magnificent firework perhaps in the world begins to play
from the castle of St Angelo. All kinds of shapes are assumed by these
fireworks: here are castles, pagodas, dragons, griffins, etc. These last
about an hour and then conclude, and with them conclude all the ceremonies
used in commemoration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Among the sights of Rome I must not omit that of a famous robber of the
name of Barbone, who was the terror of the whole surrounding country from
the depredations he committed. Having capitulated, and surrendered himself
to the Papal Government, he is now confined in the Castle of St Angelo as a
state prisoner. His wife, or a woman calling herself so, is confined there
with him, and she is said to be a woman of uncommon beauty. It is quite the
rage among the English here to go to see these illustrious captives, and
Madame Barbone, superbly dressed, receives the hommage of the visitors. The
Duchess of D[evonshire] is said to have visited her, and made her a present
of a pearl necklace. I hope this is not true. Surely the Duchess, who is a
woman of talent and an encourager of the fine arts, might have found some
other object worthier of her munificence. What claims the mistress, or even
the wife, of a public robber can have on the generosity of travellers, I am
at a loss to conceive; but such is the bizarrerie and inconsequence of
the English, and no doubt, be this story of her Grace of D[evonshire]
having given a present true or not, it will occasion many other presents
being made to the captive Princess by a host of silly lord-aping English
men and women. Barbone has, it is said, made an excellent capitulation. He
has stipulated to be released from prison after a year and a day's
confinement, and no doubt he will then resume his old trade of brigandage.
In the meantime he has disbanded his troops, as he calls them; but will his
troops obey him, now that he is a captive? will they not rather chuse
another leader?
In the time of the French occupation, nothing of this kind took place; but
the present Government is weak and timid. I have not been myself to see
either Barbone or his wife, but I have heard quite enough about them; they
form one of the principal sights in Rome, and I am quite unfashionable in
not having gone to visit them; for according to the opinion of my English
acquaintance, he who has not seen Barbone and his wife has seen nothing.
* * * * *
I started from Rome on the second of April with a vetturino, and on
arrival at Baccano, we struck off into a road on the right hand, and
arrived at Civita Castellana at a late hour. Civita Castellana merits no
further attention, except that it is supposed to stand on the site of the
ancient city of Veii. The following day at ten o'clock we reached the small
town of Narni. Here are the remains of a beautiful bridge, constructed over
the ravine, thro' which flows the river Nera, and which was built in the
time of Augustus. It affords a very favorable specimen of the Roman bridge
architecture. There is a small chapel here, and it contains, engraved on a
stone, a description of a miracle wrought here about four years ago by the
Virgin Mary, who saved the life of a postillion.
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