ou a good shady spot where you
can witness what no mortal eye has seen in all these eighteen Christian
centuries, and is little likely to see again in eighteen centuries to
come."

"What may that be?"

"A Pope of the Romish Church, pronouncing his blessing from the _loggia_
of St. Peter's on the Roman army, preparatory to its marching forth to
fight for freedom. Durando's troops are now marshalled in St. Peter's
Square, awaiting the papal blessing on the swords drawn for liberty and
country. It has, I know, been your dream to witness a sight like that,
and now I come to invite you to its realisation."

"Well, well, that is something worth while," admitted the advocate. "The
whole Roman army, and Durando himself! Surely, I can't afford to miss
it." The invitation had driven quite out of his head all the objections
so strenuously urged the day before.

The ladies had no difficulty in reaching the places reserved for them;
for the gentlemen, however, it was not so easy to find even
standing-room. But at length Manasseh guided his companion to one end of
the scaffolding which supported the ladies' platform, and there found
for him a V-shaped seat in the angle of two beams, while he himself
stood on a projecting timber which afforded him room for one foot, and
clung to the woodwork of the platform with both hands. The discomfort of
his position was lightened for him by the fact that, only a few feet
above, he could see Blanka's face as she sat with eyes directed toward
the _loggia_ where the Pope was soon to appear.

It was a grand spectacle. The whole army--infantry, cavalry,
artillery--was drawn up in the immense _piazza_, each regiment carrying
two flags--the banner of the Church, on which were depicted the keys of
heaven, and the red, white, and green flag of Italian freedom. The
background to this scene was furnished by the cathedral itself, a vast
throng of spectators crowded the foreground, and the whole united to
produce an effect of pomp and grandeur that fairly beggars description.

The clocks struck eighteen--midday. The great bell sounded in the
western turret of the cathedral, and the booming of cannon was once more
heard from the Castle of St. Angelo. The service within the cathedral
was at an end, the leather curtains that hung before the great bronze
doors parted, and out poured the procession of pilgrims, until the whole
wide expanse of the portico was filled. Mysterious music fell on the ear
from som