er
building planned by the wise Gregory the Thirteenth, and ever since
then, until 1870, the Popes lived there during some part of the year. It
is modern, as age is reckoned in Rome, and it has modern associations in
the memory of living men.

It was from the great balcony of the Quirinal that Pius the Ninth
pronounced his famous benediction to an enthusiastic and patriotic
multitude in 1846. It will be remembered that a month after his
election, Pius proclaimed a general amnesty in favour of all persons
imprisoned for political crimes, and a decree by which all criminal
prosecutions for political offences should be immediately discontinued,
unless the persons accused were ecclesiastics, soldiers, or servants of
the government, or criminals in the universal sense of the word.

The announcement was received with a frenzy of enthusiasm, and Rome went
mad with delight. Instinctively, the people began to move towards the
Quirinal from all parts of the city, as soon as the proclamation was
published; the stragglers became a band, and swelled to a crowd; music
was heard, flags appeared and the crowd swelled to a multitude that
thronged the streets, singing, cheering and shouting for joy as they
pushed their way up to the palace, filling the square, the streets that
led to it and the Via della Dateria below it, to overflowing. In answer
to this popular demonstration the Pope appeared upon the great balcony
above the main entrance; a shout louder than all the rest burst from
below, the long drawn 'Viva!' of the southern races; he lifted his
hand, and there was silence; and in the calm summer air his quiet eyes
were raised towards the sky as he imparted his benediction to the people
of Rome.

Twenty-four years later, when the Italians had taken Rome, a detachment
of soldiers accompanied by a smith and his assistants marched up to the
same gate. Not a soul was within, and they had instructions to enter and
take possession of the palace. In the presence of a small and silent
crowd of sullen-looking men of the people, the doors were forced.

The difference between Unity under Augustus and Unity under Victor
Emmanuel is that under the Empire the Romans took Italy, whereas under
the Kingdom the Italians have taken Rome. Without pretending that there
can be any moral distinction between the two, one may safely admit that
there is a great and vital one between the two conditions of Rome, at
the two periods of history, a distinction