with very great Reluctance. A Man, who was condemn'd to die some Years ago
for the Crime which brought down Fire from Heaven upon _Sodom_, would not
hear any Talk of Confession; upon which Cardinal _Banchieri_, at that time
only a Prelate, being one of his Comforters, and exhorting him to beg of
God to pardon his Sins; _What!_ said the Criminal to him, _Would you have
me die for a Crime, of which you Priests are all guilty to a Man? I don't
know_, said the Cardinal, _of any Priests that are so unhappy as to commit
such a Crime; but if there are, they don't plead guilty in the Face of
Justice_. Another Malefactor being very loth to die, a Comforter said to
him, that Kings and Popes must all submit to Death. _True_, reply'd the
Convict, _but they are not all hang'd_.
After a Criminal has confess'd, he receives the Sacraments, and the
Comforters continue with him till the next Day. At Ten o'Clock, which is
the Hour of Execution, he is convey'd in a Cart to the Gallows, to which
he rides backwards, attended by two Priests, and two Comforters. When they
are come to the fatal Place, they set him down out of the Cart before a
Chapel to say his Prayers; and then they make him walk backwards to the
Foot of the Ladder, which he always mounts with his Back to it; when the
Hangman, who is at the Top of it, fastens the Rope about his Neck, and
then leans with all his Weight upon his Shoulders, to put him out of his
Pain. After he is expir'd, Masses are said in all the Churches, and even
in the Pope's Chapel, for the Repose of his Soul; and for this End a
Collection is made, to which the poorest People contribute something; at
length, after he has hung four or five Hours, he is bury'd like another
Man.
You'll excuse me, Sir, for concluding my Letter with such a dismal
Subject: The Post is just going off, and I have many other Letters to
write, so that I hope you won't take it ill that I add no more to this. I
am, &c.
[Illustration]
LETTER XXXIV.
_SIR_, _Rome, October 10, 1731._
This being in all Appearance the last Letter I shall write to you from
ROME, I shall now give you the best Answer I can to the Questions you put
to me in your last.
You desire, _Sir_, that I should give you a faithful Character of the Holy
Father; but do you consider well what it is you require? Is it likely that
such a private Man as I, who only see the Pope thro' a Perspective in all
his Glory and Grandeur, shou'd be able to paint him? No, Sir, the
Successors of St. _Peter_ are not like other Princes: None but such of
their Domestics as are their most intire Confidents can know them
thoroughly; and these, either out of their Zeal or Policy, paint them
always, if not as they are, at least as they ought to be. You will tell
me, that in all Courts 'tis the same Case; and that, notwithstanding this,
one may judge of Princes by their Actions. 'Tis very true, yet this gives
us but an imperfect Idea of Princes, who often do Good or Harm without
meaning either.
To judge by outward Appearances, _Clement_ XII. may be rank'd among the
greatest Popes that ever the Church had: He had always, even before he was
Pope, the Reputation of an honest Man, and all his Pride is to merit that
Character: He is rigid; and, if I may venture to say it, sometimes blunt
in his Answers: His earnest Application to the retrieving of the Finances,
which were very much disorder'd by the Ministers of _Benedict_ XIII.
renders him an [OE]conomist, perhaps more than suits with his Dignity: He
has the Interests of the Holy See very much at heart; but is accus'd of
being more troubled for the Loss of the Duchy of _Parma_, (which they give
out here was devolv'd to the Holy See by the death of the Duke _Francis
Farnese_) than for the Disturbances owing to the Affair of the
Constitution in _France_: He is a great Admirer of Persons of Quality, but
he does them little good: His good Husbandry extends even to his Nephews,
whom he has loaded with Honours and Titles; but he has hitherto given
them very little Money. When he was a Cardinal, his House was open to
every body; he liv'd magnificently, and it was expected he would rather be
a prodigal Pope, than a _saving_ one: He was civil and affable, but not
very ready to do Services; for if he made his Friends welcome, he thought
that was enough; Business was what took up little of his Time, and he bent
his Thoughts more to noble Living than to Affairs of State. And the
_Romans_, who had other Reasons not to be pleas'd with his Election, said
he rose to the Pontificate from a Game at Picquet.
Since he is become a Pope, he is quite another sort of a Man: He is
desirous to know every thing that passes, and is fond of being his own
Minister. But 'tis his Misfortune, that his Memory begins to fail him, and
he is almost blind; besides which, as he never was employ'd in State
Affairs, he knows them not so much by Experience as Theory: Yet for all
this it were to be wish'd, for the sake of the Ecclesiastical State, that
he had been chose Pope in the place of _Benedict_ XIII. But 'tis the
Unhappiness of this Country, that its Princes are commonly more harass'd
with their bodily Infirmities, than with the Cares of Government: 'Tis
pity that the Pope is so old; for he has the very Qualities that
constitute a great Prince. Notwithstanding his great Age, he has had the
good Luck to make ten Cardinals, tho' he has not been sixteen Months in
the Pontificate; but his last Promotion of five Cardinals was not
generally approv'd of. Among other coarse _Pasquinades_ that were utter'd
upon that Occasion, this Inscription was affix'd to several Gates of the
Pontifical Palace, _Nostro Signora fa una bella Promotione, quatro Matti,
ed un Minchione, +i. e.+ Our Lord, has made a fine Promotion, four Madmen
and one Fool_. Those five Cardinals were Signior _Guadagno_, the Pope's
Nephew, formerly a barefooted _Carmelite_; Signior _Doria Maestro di
Camera_, Archbishop of _Benevento_; Signior _Gentili_, a _Datary_, who had
been formerly _Secretary of the Congregation of the Bishops, and the
Regular Clergy_, a Post which, tho' the very next Step to a Cardinal's
Cap, the Pope had made him resign for the Office of a _Datary_, which is
but a mean Commission; Signior _Ferrayo_, and Signior _Bichi_, both
Nuncios in _Portugal_.
The last is noted for the Broils that he occasion'd between the Holy See
and the Court of _Lisbon_: The King of _Portugal_ being disgusted with
this Nuncio for having defrauded him of the Customs, by entring Goods upon
his own Account, which he sold afterwards to the Prejudice of the
_Portuguese_ Merchants, and being moreover exasperated with this Prelate
for assuming more Authority to himself, than his Predecessors had ever
done, demanded of _Clement_ XI. to recall him; and upon that Pope's Death
he repeated his Instances to _Innocent_ XIII. who at length consented to
his Demand: But then the King, for what Cause I know not, alter'd his
Mind, and declared he was not willing that _Bichi_ should leave his Court
till the Term of his Nunciature was expired. And as the Pope had nominated
M. _Ferrayo_ to relieve _Bichi_, and was obstinate for the Return of the
latter to ROME, the King order'd his Ambassador to demand of the Pope for
what Reason he recall'd _Bichi_; and in case the Holy Father should
declare that it was to punish his Nuncio, He injoin'd him to say, that
this Minister was intirely innocent of the Matters laid to his Charge in
_Portugal_; but that if, on the contrary, the Pope should give him to
understand, that he recall'd _Bichi_, to give him such an Office in the
Apostolical Palace as might secure him a Cardinal's Hat, he the Ambassador
should then make Answer, that His _Portuguese_ Majesty was of Opinion,
the Dignity of Nuncio at his Court ought to procure the Purple for all
those who resided with him in that Quality; and that therefore his Majesty
would never suffer M. _Bichi_ to depart from _Lisbon_, till he was
declared a Cardinal.
The Pope exclaimed against the King's new Demand, repeated his Orders to
_Bichi_ to return to ROME, and sent away M. _Ferrayo_ for _Portugal_. But
the King would not let _Bichi_ go out of the Kingdom, nor _Ferrayo_ come
into it; and _Bichi_ himself refus'd to obey the Holy Father, who
threaten'd him with Excommunication, but the Prelate, being sure of the
King's Protection, did not much value the Apostolical Censures. The King
in short continu'd to solicit the Hat for him strenuously; but _Innocent_
XIII. would not hear it mention'd, alledging that it was not proper for
him, who, in Quality of Cardinal Protector of _Portugal_, had impeach'd
_Bichi_ at the Holy See, to advance him to the Purple. _Benedict_ XIII.
who was of a beneficent and pacific Disposition, no sooner came to the
Pontificate, but he wrote a Letter with his own Hand to the King of
_Portugal_, wherein he promis'd him the Hat for _Bichi_. The Sacred
College, when they were inform'd of the Pope's Intentions, made smart
Remonstrances to him, and every Cardinal in particular represented to him
how unworthy _Bichi_ was of the Purple. Cardinal _Corsini_, the present
Pope, was the Man that declar'd himself against that Prelate with the
greatest Warmth; for he told the Pope, that notwithstanding his Respect
for his Holiness, he would never consent that _Bichi_, that dishonourable,
that faithless Man, (which were the Epithets wherewith he honour'd him)
should be one of his Brethren. In a Word, the whole Sacred College shew'd
so much Disgust at the Thoughts of this Promotion, that the Pope was
oblig'd to revoke the Promise he had made to the King of _Portugal_. That
Monarch, incensed to see himself made a Jest of by the Priests, recalled
his Ambassador and Envoy then at ROME, and ordered his Subjects to leave
that City, and to have nothing more to do with the Holy See. And the Pope,
in his Turn, recalled _Ferrayo_, who still continued in _Spain_, on the
Frontier of _Portugal_, and summoned _Bichi_ to ROME, whither at last he
was determined to return.
During this, _Benedict_ XIII. died, and _Clement_ XII. succeeding him,
_Bichi_, who is his Kinsman, went to _Sienna_, the Place of his Birth.
There it was that he heard of his Promotion, which was made on the 24th of
_September_ last, but not without strong Debates in the Sacred College. A
great number of the Cardinals put the Holy Father in mind, that he was
formerly the most zealous Stickler against _Bichi_: And in the Consistory
wherein the Pope propos'd him, a Cardinal gave his Opinion, that the
Prelate might be admitted into the Sacred College in Quality of a
Penitent, The Pope happening to say, that he knew of no other Way to come
to an Accommodation with the King of _Portugal_, than by making _Bichi_ a
Cardinal; one of the Cardinals made Answer, 'I question whether the
promoting of _Bichi_ will set us to Rights with _Portugal_; but let it
happen as it may, 'twill be, at the worst, but one Hat more ill bestow'd.'
The _Romans_ actually pine for an Accommodation with _Portugal_; for the
Ambassadors of that Crown have always expended great Sums here, especially
since the Accession of the present King, who has caus'd a great deal of
Money to be laid out here in Statues, Pictures, and other Things of Value.
'Tis reckon'd upon the whole, that the Absence of the _Portuguese_ is a
Loss to the City of ROME of above a Million of _Roman_ Crowns in a Year.
The Pope's Nephews are like their Uncle, Men of great Sincerity, Honour
and Probity; but whether 'tis owing to the Indolence of their Tempers, or
to their Want of Interest with their Uncle, they serve nobody, and know
not the Pleasure of doing Good. The Cardinal, who should naturally have
the most Credit, is he that has the least: He is penurious to the last
Degree[16]. Before he was made a Cardinal and Minister, People conceiv'd a
high Idea of him; they believ'd that a Person who had travelled so much as
he had done, and who had been many Years employ'd by the Great Duke in
_France_, and at the Congress of _Cambray_, must needs be well versed in
Business; therefore they apply this Verse to him,
_Tel brille au second rang, qui s'eclipse au premier._
i. e.
_He shines so much in the second Class, as eclipses him in the first._
Every body allows he is an upright Man; but they don't look upon him as a
Minister. He is so reserved, that 'tis quite disgusting; and when he
grants any Favour, he does it in so strange a Manner, that they who
receive it are sorry they were beholden to him. I question whether he will
have very many humble Servants left, when his Uncle dies.
In the same Consistory wherein the Pope made _Bichi_ a Cardinal, the Holy
Father talk'd a great deal about the Succession of _Parma_. He complain'd
in general Terms of the Emperor, for arrogating to himself those
Prerogatives relating to the Dominions of _Parma_, which were only due to
the Holy See. He acquainted the Sacred College with every thing that he
had done for maintaining the Rights of the Church; he said, that as soon
as he was informed that the Duchess of _Parma_ was really not with Child,
he ordered his _Nuncio_ at _Parma_ to take Possession of the Dominions,
that were devolved to the Holy See by the Extinction of the Male Line of
the _Farnese_ Family; that his _Nuncio_ had executed his Orders; but that
_Stampa_, the Emperor's General and Commissary, had caus'd an Edict to be
publish'd, whereby, in the Name of the Emperor, he forbad all the Subjects
of _Parma_ from owning any other Sovereign, but him to whom his Imperial
Majesty shou'd give the Investiture of the Duchy. The Pope said, he was
sorry when he heard _Stampa_ had taken that Step; but that he expected
from the Emperor's Justice and Piety, that he wou'd not approve of the
Conduct of his General, and that he wou'd not do any thing contrary to the
incontestable Claim of the Holy See to the Dominions of the _Farnese_
Family. The Cardinals returned a very modest Answer to the Pope, thanking
him for the Endeavours he had us'd to maintain the Rights of the Holy See,
and praying him to continue them. The Cardinals _Cienfuegos_ and
_Bentivoglio_, being inform'd of all the Complaints which the Pope
intended to make in this Consistory, took care not to be there. These
Gentlemen are extremely angry with the Emperor; 'What! _said they_, to
have no more Respect for the Pope and the Holy See, to invade the Estates
of the Church, and dispose of them as he pleases, are these Actions
becoming an Emperor, Protector of the Catholic Faith?' Really, to hear how
they talk, one wou'd think the Emperor had actually taken all they had
from 'em; tho' I am persuaded, that if he would but give them the Duchy of
_Parma_, they wou'd consent to his being a _Jansenist_.
You desire, Sir, to be inform'd of the Reception that is given here to
Ambassadors. I shou'd have done this long before you desired it, if I had
seen any Ambassador go to an Audience of the Pope, besides the _Maltese_,
who has not so grand a Reception here as the Ambassadors of Crown'd Heads.
'Twas on the second _Sunday_ in _Lent_, in the Afternoon, that the
Ambassador of _Malta_, who has resided here six Years in Quality of
Ambassador of that Order, made his Entry as Tributary Ambassador
Extraordinary. This Minister, repairing without any Retinue to the
Vineyard of Pope _Julius_, without the Gate _del Popoli_, was complimented
there, on the Part of the Pope, by the _Major Domo_, and the oldest
Prelate; and on the Part of the Cardinals, and principal Nobility, by
their Gentlemen. After this, the Cavalcade was made with more Order than
is commonly observ'd here at public Ceremonies. First came the several
Coaches and Six of the Cardinals, Princes, and other Persons of
Distinction, following one another without Observation of the respective
Ranks of their Owners. Then came two of the Ambassador's Grooms on
Horseback, who were follow'd by four cover'd Waggons, and a Couple of
Field Carriages, cover'd with Tapestry, that was embroidered with his
Excellency's Coat of Arms. Next came the Ambassador's Master of the
Horse, follow'd by six led Horses, two Trumpets, with the Lackeys, _Valets
de Chambre_, Pages, and Gentlemen belonging to the Ambassador, all on
Horseback. These were follow'd by the chief Lackeys of the Cardinals
riding upon Mules, and carrying their Master's red Hats flung over their
Shoulders; and after these came the Cardinals Gentlemen, who were follow'd
by a Detachment of Light-horse. The Chamberlains of Honour follow'd riding
upon Mules. The Knights of _Malta_ on Horseback rode just before the
Ambassador, who was supported by the _Major Domo_, and Signior _Colonna_,
the oldest Prelate. His Excellency was preceded by twelve running Footmen
in his Livery, and he walked in the Middle of a Couple of Files of the
hundred _Switzers_ of the Pope's Guard. Three of the Ambassador's Coaches
and Six clos'd the March. The whole Train pass'd thro' the chief Streets
of ROME, and accompany'd the Ambassador to his Palace, where his
Excellency treated all the Company with Refreshments.
On the Day of Audience, the Ambassador went in his Equipage to the Palace
of _Monte-Cavallo_, attended by the Coaches of the Cardinals and the
Nobility. He was receiv'd at the Top of the Stairs by the _Major Domo_,
who conducted him into that called the Prince's Apartment. The Ambassador
having waited there a little Time, two Masters of the Ceremonies came to
acquaint him, that his Holiness was ready to admit him to an Audience in
the Consistory then sitting. The Ambassador went thither, conducted by the
Masters of the Ceremonies; and Signior _Acquaviva_, the _Major Domo_,
received him at the Entrance of the Hall of the Consistory, and conducted
him to the Entrance of the Court fronting the Pope. The Ambassador fell on
his Knees, and made a profound Obeisance to the Pope, who gave him his
Blessing. Then he fell on his Knees again in the Middle of the Court, and
the third Time at the Pope's Feet, to whom he made his Speech kneeling. In
this Posture he also delivered the Letter from the Grand Master to the
Holy Father, who gave it to a Prelate, ordering him to read it. The
Ambassador arose, and having crossed the Court, saluting the Cardinals on
the Right and Left, he fell on his Knees at the Entrance of the Court,
opposite to the Holy Father. There he heard the Grand Master's Letter
read, and afterwards a very long Speech in _Latin_, which an Abbat, who
was a Knight of _Malta_, made in the Name of the Order, upon his Knees.
The Prelate had no sooner read the Letter, but he answered the Speech in
_Latin_. The Ambassador, who was still on his Knees, arose, after the
Prelate had ended his Speech; went and kneel'd again at the Pope's Feet,
which he kiss'd, and then presented to his Holiness the Knights of
_Malta_, who had accompany'd him to the Audience, and who all kiss'd the
Holy Father's Feet. The Pope, rising from his Seat, retir'd to his
Apartment; but the Ambassador stay'd in the Hall of the Consistory, till
all the Cardinals were gone out. He then returned to his Palace, where he
gave a grand Repast to the Knights of his Order. The next and the
following Days, he made his Visits of Ceremony to the Cardinals. Their
Eminencies don't give Precedence to the Ambassadors; but bating that only,
they treat them as their Equals.
I have been assured, that the Ambassadors Extraordinary of Kings are
lodged three Days in the Pontifical Palace, during which they have the
Honour to dine once with the Holy Father. If I continue here till the
Arrival of the Duke of _St. Aignan_, the Ambassador of _France_, who is
every Day expected, I will give you an Account how he is received; for
tho' these Ceremonies are printed here, I shall be willing to have ocular
Demonstration of the Things that I write to you.
Of all the public Functions at this Place, there is none more august, and
more solemn, than the Procession with the Holy Sacrament, when 'tis
carry'd by the Pope. Upon _Corpus Christi_ Day, the Holy Father was placed
in an Arm-chair, without a Back to it, with a Desk before him, upon which
he laid the Pyx that contained the Holy Sacrament. His Cope, which was
very long, and very wide, so cover'd the Desk and the Chair, that the Pope
seemed to be kneeling. His Head was uncovered, and in this Posture he was
carry'd by eight Men. In my whole Life, I never saw any thing more
exemplary than the Countenance of the Pope during the Ceremony, his Face
being the very Picture of Contrition and Devotion. The Procession set out
from St. _Peter_'s Church, attended by all the Fraternities, the Monastic
Orders, the _Roman_ Nobility, the Conservators of ROME, the Governor of
ROME, the Chapter of St. _Peter_, and all the Prelates and Bishops. Three
_Tiara_'s, and as many Mitres, adorn'd with Pearls and Diamonds, were
carry'd before the Holy Father. The Pope was environed with the hundred
_Swiss_ of his Guards, all in Armour, and by the Officers of his Chamber;
and the Procession was clos'd by the Light-horse, and Cuirassiers on
Horseback. The Colonnade of St. _Peter_, and the Streets, were hung with
Tapestry, and cover'd with Canvas, to keep off the Heat of the Sun. As the
Pope passed by the House where the Family of the _Stuarts_ liv'd, he gave
to those Princes the Blessing of the Holy Sacrament. The Holy Father's
Nieces were in a neighbouring House; but they did not receive that
Honour, it being reserved only for Sovereigns.
You seem, Sir, to be so much prejudiced against the holy Office of the
Inquisition, that I must endeavour to convince you of the mistaken Notion,
which, I presume to say, you have conceived upon that Head. Honest People
have no more Reason to dread this Tribunal, than any of the other Courts
of Justice. They tell a thousand Stories of it in our Part of the World,
and especially among the _Protestants_, which are absolute Falsehoods. Be
but an honest Man; speak of God and the Saints with all due Respect, or at
least don't offer to insult them; give no public Scandal; and you have
nothing to fear from the Holy Office. To speak the Truth, will not a Man
in all the Christian Countries, that is notoriously impious in Word or
Deed, will he not be taken to Talk by the Consistories, and by the Law? I
own, for my part, that I don't see wherein that Barbarity, and that
Inhumanity consists, which the Holy Office is charg'd with in _Protestant_
Countries; on the contrary, it seems to me to be the mildest Tribunal in
the World. Let me be guilty of the greatest Injuries to God and Religion,
in Thought, Word or Deed; if I do but go and confess my Crimes to the Holy
Office, and tell them I repent of my Wickedness and Folly, the Father
Commissary will represent the Horror of my Sins to me, will exhort me, for
the Salvation of my Soul, to behave and think better for the future, and
at last will absolve me. Where now is that _Protestant_ Tribunal, which is
content with a voluntary Confession? Instead of absolving the Penitent,
don't they condemn him to Imprisonment, and bodily Pains?
For these sixteen Months that I have been at ROME, I have not heard of any
one's being arrested by the Holy Office; on the contrary, I have seen
Acts of Clemency perform'd by this Tribunal, so much run down, which
perhaps the Consistory of _Geneva_ would never have done. I had not long
been here, but there came one _Pallas_, a Native of _Toulon_, and Captain
in _France_, who brought a young Woman with him, whom he said he had
ravish'd; he desir'd a License of the Vicar to marry her, which was
granted. But some Months after, there comes a Woman, who appear'd to be
the Wife of _Pallas_, and the Mother of the young Creature that he had but
just married, and who was ready to lie in. _Pallas_, perceiving his Crime
on the Brink of being detected, goes and reveals the whole to the Holy
Office, which first gave him Protection for his Person, and in a few Days
after acquitted him, injoining him at the same time to take his first Wife
again. This _Pallas_ dying not many Days after, his two Wives went to Law
for their Jointure. I question now whether this Officer would have been
acquitted by a Parliament of _France_.