qually her superior in age and her inferior in rank. I was told
that he had presented his bride with the pearls formerly belonging to
the shrine of the Madonna of Loretto, and I remember to have seen her
once in evening dress, adorned with pearls of enormous size, which were
probably those in question. I thought her quite as beautiful on another
occasion, when she wore a simple gown of _ecru_ silk, with a necklace of
carved coral beads. This was at a reception given at the charity school
of San Michele, where a play was performed by the pupils of the
institution. The theme of the drama was the worship of the golden calf
by the Israelites and the overthrow of the idol by Moses.

The industrial school of San Michele, like every other institution in
the Rome of that time, was entirely under ecclesiastical control. If I
remember rightly, Monsignore Morecchini had to do with its management.
This interesting man stood at the time at the head of the administration
of public charities. He called one day at our lodgings, and I had the
pleasure of listening to a long conversation between him and my husband,
regarding chiefly the theme in which both gentlemen were most deeply
interested, the education of the working classes. I was present, some
time later, at a meeting of the Academy of St. Luke, at which the same
monsignore made an address of some length, and with his own hands
presented the medals awarded to successful artists. One of these was
given to an Italian lady, who appeared in the black costume and lace
veil which are still _de rigueur_ at all functions of the papal court. I
remember that the monsignore delivered his address with a sort of
rhythmic intoning, not unlike the singsong of the Quaker preaching of
fifty years ago.

Of the matter of his discourse I can recall only one sentence, in which
he mentioned as one of the boasts of Rome the fact that she possessed
_la maggiore basilica del mondo_, "the largest basilica in the world."
The Church of St. Peter, like that of Santa Maria Maggiore, is indeed
modeled after the design of the basilicas or courts of justice of
ancient Rome, and Italians are apt to speak of it as "la basilica di san
Pietro." To another monsignore, Baggs by name, and Bishop of Pella, we
owed our presentation to Pope Gregory Sixteenth, the immediate
predecessor of Pope Pius Ninth. Our cousin the consul, George W. Greene,
went with us to the reception accorded us. Papal etiquette was not
rigorous i