)--"no
baron or squire or knight of the shire," &c. Truly on this occasion
the holy father had not been unmindful of himself; and, considering
the early hour and dreary state of the weather; was as jovial as the
heart could desire. A peculiar leer and frequent ebullitions of
laughter, from mysterious causes, showed the frame of mind he was in.
After coffee, and a glass of aniseed brandy, we viewed his priestly
robes, which were of cloth of gold and very handsome. We then
proceeded to make the acquaintance of the other officials, going the
round of the convent. We were most cordially received; indeed, we
appeared to be a godsend to these poor people. There was a Dalmatian
schoolmaster, a very intelligent young man, who superintended the
branch of national education; his highness's secretary, an Italian;
and a woman from Cattaro, the wife of another now absent at the camp,
and the only example of female aristocracy in Montenegro. At the
apartment of each of the inmates, coffee, invariably excellent, and
glasses of brandy, were handed round. These the holy personage in our
company always emptied to the uttermost, and then would romp and
wrestle with the schoolmaster, and perform all kinds of frolics. He
was a Hungarian by birth. When our German or his Italian respectively
failed, then Latin assisted our communications; and, what with the wet
weather and the coffee, we all became very sociable and chatty. After
an hour or two so spent, we took our way to the chapel. It is very
small; not capable, I should say, of accommodating above twenty or
thirty persons. There, embalmed, are the remains of the late Vladika.
The vicar removed the lid of the coffin, and he there appeared attired
in full canonicals. His face, however, was hidden, and the covering
was not removed. The limbs appeared to be much shrunk. The holy man
took the hand of the deceased, and, kissing it with the most solemn
devotion, burst into a wild laugh, and closed the lid. A small trifle
_pro salute animae_ was expected in a box adjoining it. We next went to
the robe-room, passing along a series of mouldy and rat-eaten floors
to a small room, such as might be found in a dilapidated stable-loft;
there, from old dingy boxes, were drawn forth such garments as created
astonishment--the richest damask and cloth of gold of all
colours--their weight enormous--so massive that they would almost
stand alone. I have never seen any thing so splendid; and the effect
of such