of
bishops, priests and deacons. The ambassadors of the great powers
receive fresh credentials to the conclave, and proceed in state, to
present them to this delegation, at the grille. An address, carefully
prepared, is delivered by the envoy, and receives a well-pondered reply
from the presiding cardinal.

Twice a day the cardinals meet in the chapel contained within the
palace, and there, on tickets so arranged that the voter's name can not
be seen, write the name of him for whom they give their suffrage. These
papers are examined in their presence, and if the number of votes given
to any one do not constitute the majority, they are burned, in such a
manner that the smoke, issuing through a flue, is visible to the crowd
usually assembled in the square outside.

Some day, instead of this usual signal to disperse, the sound of pick
and hammer is heard, and a small opening is seen in the wall which had
temporarily blocked up the great window over the palace gateway. At last
the masons of the conclave have opened a rude door, through which steps
out on the balcony the first Cardinal Deacon, and proclaims to the many,
or to the few, who may happen to be waiting, that they again possess a
sovereign and a Pontiff.

AN AUDIENCE WITH PIUS X[19]

BY MARY EMOGENE HAZELTINE

We arrived in Rome at three in the afternoon, with letters which ensured
us an audience with the Pope. A friend, long resident in Rome, who
advised us to present them at once, accompanied us to the Vatican.
Passing through an interesting part of the city, including the St.
Angelo Bridge across the Tiber, we soon found ourselves in the
world-famous Colonnade of St. Peter's. Ascending the steps leading to
the Vatican, we passed the Swiss Guard in their famous uniforms designed
by Michelangelo, and climbed what seemed like endless stairs, passing
guards at almost every turn, who pointed out the way indicated by the
address on our credentials.

Arriving at an anteroom, a priestly secretary, speaking excellent
English, read our letter with what seemed to us, from the expression of
his face, great interest and evident approval. Why should this not have
been? Our letter was from the Apostolic Delegate then in Washington--the
Pope's own representative in America. It was in Italian, in the highest
official form, and conveyed the intelligence that we were traveling in
Italy for a brief vacation, mentioned all four of us by name, and said
that, while we