THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 RICHARD CORBET. 
 Adderley. 

 
 -
 
 HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL 
 
 MEMOIRS 
 i 
 
 OF 
 
 PIUS THE SIXTH, 
 
 AND OF 
 
 HIS PONTIFICATE, 
 
 DOWN TO THE PERIOD OF HIS RETIREMENT INTO TUSCANY j 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 CURIOUS AND INTERESTING PARTICULARS, 
 
 DERIVED FROM THE 
 MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES OF INFORMATION, 
 
 CONCERNING 
 
 HIS PRIVATE LIFE, 
 
 HIS DISPUTES WITH THE DIFFERENT POWERS OF EUROPE, 
 
 THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO 
 
 THE SUBVERSION OF THE PAPAL THRONE AND 
 THE ROMAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed by S. HAMILTON, Falcon-court, Fleet-flrect, 
 FOR. C. G. AND J. ROBINSON, PATE R-NOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1/99-
 
 flT- 
 
 . 
 
 
 . 

 
 '' 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 DISPUTES between the Court of Rome and the 
 Tufcan Government, - page I 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Difputes between Pius and the Court of Naples, 28 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 New Wounds in/lifted by the Court of Naples on the 
 Privileges of the Court of Rome, 49 
 
 r 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Mortifications received by Pius from the Court of Na- 
 ples Abolition of the Homage cf the Palfrey, yz 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Pius's Relations ivith different Powers of Europe 
 with the United States of America *with Po-
 
 vj CONTENTS. 
 
 land the King of Sweden the Republic of Ve- 
 nice Portugal the Dukes of Modena, Parma, 
 &c. - - 103 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 State of the Roman Government, previous to the 
 
 Period of its Overthrow, . iq6 
 
 / J 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Connexions between France and Pius VI. down to the 
 Revolution of 1789, - - 170 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Ecclefiaftic Reforms undertaken by the National Af- 
 fembly of France, 204 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Injuries received by France from the Court of 
 Rome, - - 234 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 EmbarraJJments and Inconjljlsncies of the Court of 
 Rome, - - - a6i
 
 CONTENTS. vii 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Immediate Caufe of the Downfall of the Roman 
 Government, - 324 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Confequentes of the Entry of the French into 
 Rome, - - 341 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 Fate of Plus and his Nephews* - 357 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. / 
 
 Principal Reforms effeRed in the Roman State by the 
 new Government y n 372 
 
 , 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Conclujion> - 385
 
 HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL 
 
 MEMOIRS OF PIUS VL 
 
 AND OF 
 
 HJS PONTIFICATE. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Difputes between, the Court of Rome and the Tufcari 
 Government. 
 
 ITH greater gentlenefs of manner and fu- 
 perior coolnefs of temper, Leopold profefled 
 nearly the fame principles in administration as 
 his brother : and it will ever be confidered as a 
 memorable circumftance in the hiftory of the 
 J)refent century, that two brothers, two princes 
 of that fame houfe of Auftria whofe paflion? 
 have fo often thrown the world into confufion 
 and increafed the errors as well as the calamities 
 of mankind, Ihould in concert have undertaken* 
 each within his own dominions, to banifh de-> 
 grading and oppreflive prejudices, and partly Jo 
 
 VOL. II. JB
 
 fealife that hope, which has fo often been difap- 
 pointed, of feeing philofophy feated on the 
 throne. Notwithftanding a few miftakes, fuch 
 as muft ever attend the firft fteps taken in a 
 quite novel career, the reign of Leopold will 
 ever be accounted one of the moft fupportable ; 
 and Tufcany, indebted to him for her profperity, 
 will long blefs his memory. 
 
 But, to produce thofe beneficial effects which 
 fhe (till enjoys, Leopold had to overcome many 
 obftacles, to thwart many interefts, confequently 
 to create many mal-contents. During feveral 
 antecedent ages, the court of Rome, with her 
 preteniions confecrated by the credulity of man- 
 kind, and the abufes introduced by her ambi- 
 tion cloked under the facred veil of religion, 
 flood in the way to oppofe all thofe who at- 
 tempted to illuminate and regenerate any por- 
 tion of the human race. Leopold combated her 
 with a perfeverance which was finally crowned 
 with the moft complete fuccefs. 
 
 Scarcely was Pius the Sixth feated on the 
 pontifical throne when he perceived that he 
 ihould find in that prince a formidable enemy. 
 In 1775, Leopold ordained that all ecclefiaftical 
 pofTefiions fituate in his Hates fhould thencefor- 
 ward be fubjet to the fame contributions as 
 other property ; and he fixed the age at which 
 his fubje&s might be admitted into a religious
 
 order. In the following year he fupprefled all 
 hermits who had not privileged hermitages (pri- 
 vileged hermits !), and reftrained them all from 
 begging. This was little toward the accom- 
 plifhment of the vaft plan which he had in con- 
 templation; but it was much for a beginning. 
 The court of Rome fighed and murmured : that 
 of Florence continued unfliaken in its purpofe : 
 nor was this the only mortification that Pius was 
 doomed to fuffer from it. 
 
 How great was the alarm of that pontiff when, 
 in 1778, he faw the grand-duke revive the an- 
 cient pretenfions of Tufcany to the duchy of 
 Urbino collecl: information refpecting the num- 
 ber of perfons of both fexes in the different reli- 
 gious orders, and the amount of their revenues 
 enjoin them to give graiuitoufly the.firft ele- 
 ments of inftruftion to youth oblige them to a 
 ftricT: obfervance of the rules of their refpelive 
 inftitutions, a flow though fure mode of dimi- 
 niming their number exclude them from pub- 
 lic places- and render their fuperiors refpon- 
 fible for any fcandalous conduct of which they 
 might be guilty, &c. It is a difgrace to human 
 nature and to the Chriftian religion that fuch 
 prudent meafures mould at any time have been 
 confidered as innovations : but they were viewed 
 as fo many eifays which prefaged more ferious 
 B 2
 
 reforms, and might therefore well alarm the 
 court of Rome. 
 
 Leopold, however, in accomplifliing thefe re- 
 forms, was fometimes miftaken in his choice of 
 the means and the inftruments he employed. He 
 was in fea'rch of a man, at once intrepid and en- 
 lightened, who, knowing the true limits which 
 Chriftianity ought not to exceed, mould purify 
 without deftroying it, and fhould co-operate with 
 him in opening the eyes of his fubjets without 
 incurring the rilk of too violently fhocking their 
 prejudices. For, though as much a philofopher 
 as his brother, yet, more moderate in his philo- 
 fophy, he faw that religion was a ufeful ally to 
 the throne, that it furnifhed a fupport and a 
 fupplement to the temporal authority: he only 
 wimed that it mould not prove its rival. But, 
 to effecl: this great revolution without any con- 
 vulfion, he flood in need of agents who mould 
 unite prudence with intrepidity. The men who 
 are bed qualified for fuch a talk are rather thofe 
 who fhrink from the public eye than thofe who 
 thruft thcmfelves forxvard to view. His choice 
 fell on one of the latter description Scipio 
 Ricci,bi(hop of Piftoja. 
 
 That prelate was noted for his averfion to re- 
 ligious mummeries, as well as for his bold enter- 
 prifing 'character. Fond of innovation rather
 
 than of reform, he would perhaps have efta- 
 blifhed the reign of fupcrftition in Tufcany if it 
 had before been unknown. Finding it already 
 eftablifhed, its overthrow was become the object 
 of his ambition ; and he purfued his plan with 
 much greater zeal than difcernment. After 
 having fuccefsfully pafled through his academic 
 courfe in Tufcany, but not without fome morti- 
 fications which had begun to four his temper, he 
 devoted himfelf to the ecclefiaftical profeffion, 
 and early announced a with to aft a confpicuous 
 part in the world. He was propofed to the 
 Holy See by the grand-duke as candidate for 
 the bifhopric of Pittoja, and repaired to Rome to 
 folicit the iffuing of the bulls cuftomary on fuch 
 occafions. There the perfons in whofe hands 
 lay the diftribution of fpiritual favours fubjetied 
 him to various difficulties, which irritated his 
 irafcible humour ; and he returned to Florence 
 highly diflatisfied with the court of Rome. His 
 complaints, his projects of reform, were in per- 
 fect accord with the grand-duke's fyftem : they 
 fixed the attention of Leopold, who liftened to 
 him with complaifance, confulted him, and en- 
 couraged him in his reformatory ideas. Thus 
 allured of his fovereign's approbation, he imme- 
 diately went to try in his little diocefe the expe- 
 riment of his philofophic innovations. Leopold, 
 who wiflied for arguments and examples in
 
 favour of his own fyftem, fuffered him to proceed. 
 Ricci now found himfelf pofleffed of extraordi- 
 nary power, which he exercifed in a manner 
 that fometimes excited ridicule, and at others 
 fhocked the ideas of the public. He beftowed 
 his attention on thofe minutiae which are of no 
 importance unlefs fo far as people choofe to 
 make them fo. We will quote a few inftances. 
 His diocefe was full of thofe Jlations which 
 ferve to retrace before the ages of the faithful 
 the different paufes which our Saviour may be 
 fuppofed to have made in his painful walk up to 
 mount Calvary. Each of them was marked by 
 an image, at the foot of which the devotees 
 flopped to kneel down and pray. One of the 
 bifhop's firft flops was to reduce thofe ftations to 
 balf their former number: upon which the peo- 
 ple exclaimed againft him as guilty of herefy. 
 He wiihed to abolifli the worfliip of images: 
 immediately he was branded as a Calvinift, a 
 heretic, an atheift. In Tufcany, as in every 
 other catholic country, the priefts, in celebrating 
 mafs, pronounced certain words in a low voice : 
 he maintained that the divine fervice was in- 
 tended as much for the congregation as for the 
 prieft, and that nothing ought to be concealed 
 from them : he therefore gravely ordained that 
 the clergymen mould pronounce in a loud voice 
 all the prayers of the mafs. With the approba-
 
 tion of the Holy See, which was eafily obtained 
 for fuch inftitutions, there had been eftabliflied 
 in Tufcany a new fyftem of devotion directed to 
 " the f acred heart of Jefus." The zeal of the 
 bifliop of Piftoja was inflamed againft an efta^ 
 blifliment which he thought incompatible with 
 found theology: he wrote a pailoral letter to 
 forbid it, and, fetting himfelf up as a cenfor of 
 the Holy See, aflerted that the pope had fuflfered 
 himfelf to be deceived. This happened in 1781, 
 a fhort while before Pius's journey to Vienna. 
 
 Pius, alarmed by thefe various attempts againft 
 his authority, directed a brief to the bifliop to 
 recall him to his duty. Mifled in turn by his 
 2eal, he ufed expreffions in it which the grand- 
 duke confidered as very offenfive ; and war was 
 declared. In a very energetic memorial which 
 his minifter at Rome was obliged to prefent to 
 the pope, he demanded of him a fpeedy andfignal 
 reparation. " The times of Gregory VII. and 
 Boniface VIII.," faid the grand-duke, " are no 
 more. Sovereigns will no longer permit the 
 pope to break through the refpecl which is due 
 to them, or arrogate to himfelf the right of com- 
 manding their fubje&s." Leopold ordered his 
 minifter to depart immediately unlefs he ob- 
 tained fatisfaclion. 
 
 In times lefs fraught with tempefts for the 
 B 4
 
 8 
 
 Holy See, Pius's letter would have been deemed 
 moderate. But Leopold was on the watch for 
 a pretext : his philofophy had grown into a kind 
 of paflion ; and the paflions are irafcible, and 
 cannot brook delay. Yet what was the imme- 
 diate caufe of this great rupture ? A pitiful ad- 
 venture which ought never to have tranfpired 
 beyond the gates of the cloifters. There were 
 at Prato fome Dominican friars who acted as 
 confeflbrs to a convent of Dominican nuns in 
 their vicinity. This fpiritual relation had here, 
 as in many other cafes, given to the ftronger fex 
 a great afcendency over the weaker -, and irre- 
 gularities of more than one kind had been the 
 confequence. Suddenly the hypocritical bilhop 
 of Piftoja was inflamed with faintly wrath : he 
 aflerted that the Dominican nuns of Prato had 
 been corrupted <c in do6trine and morals" by the 
 friars their confeflbrs : and, inftead of denounc- 
 ing that diforder to the pope according to the 
 hitherto eftablifhed rule, he loudly declaimed 
 againfi their fcandalous condut, and addrefled 
 his complaint to the grand-duke. Leopold feifed 
 this opportunity to infift that the Dominican 
 nuns mould no longer remain under the guidance 
 of their feducers, and that all nunneries in ge- 
 neral fhould be in immediate fubje&ion to the 
 biihops. 'Pius thought it a duty he owed to the
 
 dignity of the Holy See to reprimand the biihop 
 of Piftoja for having eluded his interpofition. 
 Hence the grand-duke's refentment. 
 
 The pope, terrified by his menaces, did not 
 himfelf venture to pronounce on a queftion 
 which appeared to him of high importance. He 
 confulted an aflembly of cardinals: thefe took 
 the opinion of the heajis of religious orders ; and 
 they, apprehenfive of greater florins, acquiefced 
 in the will of the grand-duke. 
 
 This was the epoch of the mo'ft ferious quar- 
 rels between the emperor and the pope. The 
 whole Sacred College, not excepting even the 
 prudent Bernis, were alarmed at this combina- 
 tion of perfections ready to fall at once on the 
 Holy See : for the pontiff was at the fame mo- 
 ment engaged in a ftruggle with Ruflia for the 
 archbilhopric of Mohilow, and contending alfo 
 with Naples and with Venice, as we {hall fee 
 in the fequel. Cardinal Bernis, forgetting his 
 mild and amiable philofophy, took part with 
 his brethren, predicted the greateft misfortunes 
 to the Holy See, and fighing taxid the impru- 
 dence of fovereigns. All mankind are alike 
 when their intereft is at flake. On this occa- 
 lion, the pope was perhaps the moft mod crate of 
 all thofe who fuffered by thefe encroachm- : 
 the temporal power. Already the cardinals 
 branded his iiJence with the name of cowardice;
 
 10 
 
 and it was in great meafure by their inftigation 
 that he was impelled to write to the bifhop of 
 Piftoja in that refolute tone which gave fuch of- 
 fence to the grand-duke. 
 
 Cardinal Corfmi, however, entered into fome 
 explanations with the Tufcan minifter at Rome, 
 which effected an accommodation ; and the . 
 ftorm was for a time appeafed. But the firft 
 fteps had been taken: the grand-duke delibe- 
 rately meditated on his plan of reform, and con- 
 tinued carrying it into execution. The pope 
 was foon convinced that refiflance on his part 
 would only make the evil worfe, and entered into 
 a compromife on every point which did not ap- 
 pear to him of primary importance. In the 
 courfe of the year 1782, for inftance, he con- 
 lented to the fuppreflion of feventeen convents 
 in the territory of Sienna. But he fpeedily re- 
 pented of thofe forced acts of condefcenfion, 
 when, in the fame year, Leopold, clofely tread- 
 ing in his brother's fteps, and not even awaiting 
 the refult of Pius's journey to Vienna, enjoined 
 all bifhops and ecclefiaftical fuperiors to draw 
 out a ftatement of the different fums of money 
 annually fent from his dates to Rome on what- 
 foever account to fufpend fuch remittances 
 and to keep thofe fums ready at his difpofal ; 
 and when, after a few months more, he entirely 
 fupprefted all contributions of that nature, and,
 
 11 
 
 diverting their produce from its facred deftina- 
 tion, had the boldncfs to command that all fums 
 already collected under thefe different pretences 
 Ihould be diftributed among the poor of each 
 parifli. He afterward, without the approbation 
 of the pope, aboliflied forty ufelefs convents. 
 
 He proceeded even farther, if poffible; and 
 the pope's pride was particularly hurt by his 
 next ilep. Pius was fcarcely returned from Vi- 
 enna, and ftill enjoyed all the illufion of the fuc- 
 cefs of his apoftolic journey, when the grand- 
 duke, without alleging any pretext, without any 
 other motive than his own convenience, fuddenly 
 fequeftrated the rich revenues of an abbey which 
 the. pope himfelf, with Leopold's confent, had 
 conferred on cardinal Salviati. Pius fancied he 
 faw a ftriking difference between the two bro- 
 thers : he was not yet undeceived with refpect to 
 Jofeph's difpofition v But how great was the 
 condensation of the zealous fupporters of ortho- 
 doxy, when they learned that Leopold had abo- 
 lifheci the inquifition in his ilates, and this " by 
 his fupreme authority" and of his " certain know- 
 ledge" confecrated forms of expreifion, which 
 the pope thought himfelf alone entitled to ufe 
 in ' ecclefiaftical matters! That tribunal, more 
 moderate at. Rome than in any other part of 
 Europe, was fo organifed, compofed, and kept
 
 12 
 
 within bounds, that it was the faithful ally of 
 the papal power without ever becoming its ri- 
 val. There feemed to exift no inquifition at 
 Rome except for form' fake, and, as it were, to 
 ferve as a model to 'other catholic countries. 
 The abolition of the Holy Office was therefore 
 not in its own nature an unpardonable crime in 
 the eyes of the pope : but, that a fecular prince 
 fhould dare to decree it without the interven- 
 tion of the Holy See ! fuch an act was, in the 
 opinion of the canonifts, an infringement of the 
 rights of the church, which was not to be tole- 
 rated. Finally, during the fame year the grand- 
 duke, itill by virtue of that power which was 
 faid to be a ufurpation of the rights of the Holy 
 See, declared that all monafteries mould be fub- 
 jet to the bifhops; that the latter fliould alone 
 and without concurrence nominate to the vacant 
 livings in their diocefes, fliould confer prebends, 
 and, in a word, perform of themfelves every thing 
 which the See of Rome had aflurned the right of 
 doing for them. The datdrio was to retain 
 only the profits arifing from the nominations to 
 the bifhoprics of Tufcany. 
 
 Political quarrels feemed for a while to mingle 
 with thofe of a religious nature. At a time when 
 the ecclefiaftical ftate was threatened 1 with a 
 fcarcity, the legate of Ravenna had prohibited
 
 13 
 
 the exportation of corn from the territory under 
 his jurisdiction. Some Tufcans, who lived by 
 that commerce, having attempted to continue 
 it, were apprehended. The grand-duke aiTumed 
 a menacing tone : they were releafed, and he 
 demanded no further reparation. It was for a. 
 moment thought that he entertained a more fa- 
 vourable difpofition toward the court of Rome. 
 Ke bore no antipathy to Pius, as a temporal 
 prince : he only was determined to (trip him of 
 all his fpiritual ufurpations,. to reftore religion to 
 its primitive purity within his own dates, and no 
 longer fuffer his fubjects to grovel in fupgrftition, 
 ignorance, and flavery, which retarded their re- 
 generation. 
 
 But the bilhop of Piftoja was preparing new 
 perplexities for the court of Rome. He had 
 gained an afcendency over the mind of the 
 grand-duke by flattering his pai"fion for innova- 
 tion : and he made a beginning in his own dio- 
 cefe with a degree of warmth approaching to 
 extravagance. The attack he had made in 
 iyS[ on the ridiculous confraternity of" the 
 heart of Jefus" had excited numerous enemies 
 againft him. He was publicly reviled as a Jan- 
 fenift, a very ferious reproach from the mouths 
 of Italian divines ; and he would have been ftill 
 more grievoufly abufed if people had been better 
 acquainted with his thoughts.
 
 14 
 
 Exafperated by con tradition, he no longer 
 obferved any bounds. Thus the world had feen 
 the monk Luther begin by preaching againft in- 
 dulgences, and conclude by wrefting from the 
 court of Rome one half of her empire. During 
 Paffion-week in the year 1786 he introduced the 
 ufe of the vulgar tongue in the celebration of 
 divine fervice. Soon after, by a paftoral letter 
 he announced the convocation of a diocefan 
 fynod, to which he invited all the bifliops, dears, 
 and parifh-priefts of Tufcany. Of two hundred 
 and twenty ecclefiaftics who attended that af- 
 fembly, all except five adopted not only his in- 
 novations in the liturgy and in difcipline, but 
 alfo his opinions refpe&ing faith, grace, the au- 
 thority of the church, and predeftination opi- 
 nions which, according to the decifion of the 
 Holy See, were heterodox. This was going 
 beyond the intentions of the grand-duke, who 
 was frequently heard to fay, " I mean to reform 
 difcipline, but I do not wifh to meddle with 
 do&rinal points." However, as he lefs dreaded 
 the excefs than the want of zeal in thofe mat- 
 ters, he overlooked the bifliop's deviations from 
 the prefcribed line of conduft. But the court 
 of Rome, as may well be imagined, was much 
 lefs patient. Already, at the inftigation of the 
 fanatics by whom he was furrounded, Pius had 
 prepared againft the feditious prelate a bull of
 
 15 
 
 excommunication : but reflexion, the fear of 
 irritating the difeafe by that violent remedy, and 
 the hope that the court of Spain would interpofe 
 in favour of the papacy, with-held his hand 
 which was ready to hurl the thunderbolt. 
 
 In the following year the bifhop of Piftoja re- 
 paired to Pifa to wait on the grand-duke, and 
 enjoy his triumph. The populace, every-where 
 and ever the fame, had loudly murmured againll 
 his innovations: though they forgave his opi- 
 nions refpeting grace, they could not forgive 
 his diminution of the number of images: but 
 when they favv him honoured by the notice of 
 their fovereign, they lavifhed on him their accla- 
 mations. Already Ricci, and another Tufcan 
 prelate, the bifhop of Colle, encouraged by thcfc 
 firft fucceflfes, had announced fynods, each in his 
 own diocefe. Leopold now thought it was time 
 that he mould fecure to himfelf the honour of 
 the reformation, and fanttion it in fuch man- 
 ner as mould fcreen him from the accufation of 
 ufurping the fpiritual power. He proclaimed a 
 general fynod, whofe objecl, he faid in his cir- 
 cular letter, was to prevent the divifions which 
 might refult from thefe local fynods, and to 
 eftabliflj throughout entire Tufcany a perfect 
 uniformity in ecclefiaftical matters. Eighteen 
 archbifliops or bifhops met in confequence in the 
 Pitti palace. But here an oppofition began to
 
 16 
 
 appear, which afflifted Leopold who only fought 
 the good of his country, and which excited the 
 indignation of Ricci, whofe fole aim was the 
 gratification of his ambition and vanity, but 
 who now faw his reign at an end. The three 
 archbifbops of Florence, Pifa, and Sienna, with 
 ten bimops, refufed to adopt the reforms pro- 
 pofed by the grand-duke. The populace, 
 fwayed by fuch authoritative example, forgot 
 their late cnthufiafm in favour of Ricci, and foori 
 paffed to the oppoflte extreme. Recolle&ing 
 that he had, five years before, caufed I know not 
 what relique to be removed from the church of 
 Prato, they crowd in tumultuous diforder to the 
 houfe of his grand-vicar forcibly take from 
 him the relique carry it in triumph to the 
 church caufe a mafs in honour of it to be ce- 
 lebrated according to the Roman ritual run to 
 pillage the biihop's palace burn the archives- 
 vent their fury on the books which are pointed 
 out to them as heterodox caft them into the 
 flames together with different articles of furni- 
 ture and the prelate's picture, fmging hymns in 
 honour of the Virgin, which were occafionally 
 interrupted by the cry of *' It is thus that here- 
 tics muft be treated !" 
 
 The grand-duke thought it his duty to reprefs 
 thefe diforclers excited by Ricci's enemies. They 
 had .been openly heard to obferve at his fynod
 
 17 
 
 that it was " an affembly without a head i" to 
 Which it was anfwered, " the grand-duke has a 
 head capable of fupplying the place of that of 
 the pope." Leopold determined to convince 
 Ricci and his adherents that they had not been 
 miftaken in relying on his fupport. He caufed 
 the authors of the tumult to be apprehended. 
 Ricci, whether through generofity or hypocrify, 
 made interceffion in their favour. " I muft de- 
 clare,*' faid he, " that, in the heat of that popu- 
 lar ferment, not a fingle word was uttered againft 
 the fovereign. It is I, it is I alone, whom their 
 inftigators wifli to render odious to thefe good 
 people, whofe fimplicity is eafily led aftray. I 
 am the flumbling^block: it is through hatred of 
 me that attempts are made to defeat the wife in- 
 tentions of the grand-duke." Leopold wiftied 
 at leaft to indemnify him for the lofles he had 
 fuffered by this perfecution, and accordingly 
 created him fuperintendent of the property of 
 the fuppreifed monafteries, with a falary of three 
 thoufand crowns. Ricci, to prove the difinter- 
 eftednefs of his zeal, accepted the office, but 
 declined the falary. Such marks of good-will, 
 however, confirmed him in his plan of reform. 
 From Pifa, where he was retained by the grand- 
 duke, he circulated paftoral letters by w r hich he 
 ordained that promifes of marriage mould be re- 
 garded by the tribunals as of no efFeft abo 
 
 VOL. II. C
 
 18 * 
 
 lifted the ufe of oaths diminiflied the numbec 
 of feiftivals, &c. 
 
 Leopold meanwhile laboured to bring over 
 the difTenting bilhops to the principles of the 
 three reforming prelates. He was fuccefsful 
 with only a few of their number : all the others 
 obftinately perfevered in their refufal ; and Leo- 
 pold had. in contemplation fome ferious mea- 
 fures to conquer their oppofition. 
 
 On the other hand, the refentment of the court 
 of Rome was at leaft equal to her chagrin ; and 
 fear alone compelled her to obferve moderation 
 in expreffing it. Pius, acquiefcing in the grand- 
 duke's demand, confented that Pontremoli mould 
 be erefted into a bifhopric. But, Leopold hav- 
 ing propofed to him four candidates, the. pope 
 had the courage to prefer the laft. Leopold 
 aflcrted that the pontiff's choice ought to have 
 fallen on the firft, as being the man for whom he 
 felt the greateft intereft. Pius obftinately re- 
 fufed to comply, under pretence that the firft of 
 the candidates was an outrageous Janfenifl, 
 ' wholly devoted to the bimop of Piftoja. This 
 was inviting a new temped which might become 
 ferious. The Tufcan minifter wrote in plain 
 terms to the nuncio that he muft choofe the can- 
 didate who had the grand-duke's approbation, 
 or ftate the reafons why he was, reje&ed, and 
 thereby afford him an opportunity of juftifying
 
 19 
 
 Jsimfelr*; that his royal highnefs would not re- 
 cede from his right of prefentation ; that, if it 
 Were contefted, he would coiifider fuch proceed- 
 ing as a continuation of the offenfive perfonali- 
 ties, of the hoftilities, which he had for fome time 
 conftantly experienced from the court of Rome; 
 4 that, in fupport of the rights of his fovereignty, 
 he would, if neceffary, come to a formal rup- 
 ture, and recall his minifter. 
 
 This language did not intimidate the court of 
 Rome : it fent to the nuncio at Florence very 
 energetic inftructio.is, and even an order to w ; h- 
 draw if the court of Tufcany renewed its me- 
 naces. This firmnefs was not attended with 
 -fuch confequences as might have been expected. 
 Leopold was naturally of a pacific difpofition : 
 he- dreaded infurre&ions, and the dangers of a 
 fchifm. It appears even that the emperor ad- 
 vifed him to yield. This was the epoch when 
 the pretenfions of the nuncios made fome noife 
 in Germany. Jofeph in a fit of refentment in- 
 tended to abolifh the office of nuncio : but 
 thinking it neceflary firft to take the opinion of 
 the Aulic Council, he was informed by them in 
 anfwer that the nuncios were authorifed in Ger- 
 many by the conftitutional laws, in every thing- 
 concerning religion and the canons : whereupon 
 he renounced his project. Leopold did not 
 choofe to (how himfelf more daring than his 
 c 2
 
 20 
 
 brother, but, foftening his refentrrrent for the 
 moment, affured the pope that it never had been 
 his intention to fay any thing that could imply 
 difrefpeO; to his holinefs j that his refentment 
 was folely leveled againft certain mifchief- 
 makers who fowed diffenfion between the two 
 courts j that he would caufe the queftion which 
 divided them to be inveftigated in an amicable 
 manner; that he was far from wiihing to come 
 to a rupture, &c. 
 
 The court of Rome, which had not for fome 
 years been accuftomed to fimilar fuccefles, was 
 dazzled by the fplendor of its prefent triumph. 
 But the truce was not of long duration : for, 
 foon after, the pope having prohibited all the 
 books which had appeared at Florence, Prato, 
 and Piftoja, concerning ecclefiaftic affairs Leo- 
 pold, on the other hand, forbade the reading of 
 the fanatical libels which the court of Rome had 
 caufed to be printed againft his reforms books 
 which foftered the fpirit of fuperftition among 
 his people, and had excited them to revolt. The 
 pontiff had the courage to maintain the conteft ; 
 and, oppofing reprifals to reprifals, prohibited the 
 introduction of the Florence gazette in which the 
 court of Rome was frequently abufed; and, what 
 was yet more ferious, he forbade the importation 
 of Tufcan wines into the ecclefiaftical ftate. 
 The animofity of the court of Rome purfued
 
 Leopold even beyond the bounds of Italy. The 
 pontiff had intrigues fet on foot in Germany to 
 prevent the grand-duke's election as king of the 
 Romans, at a time when the declining health of 
 Jofeph II. evinced the neceffity of choofing a 
 perfon to fucceed him. Prompted by fo many 
 caufes of complaint, Leopold did not feel him- 
 felf bound to obferve any meafure. Recalling 
 his minifter from Rome, he reverted to his ori- 
 ginal idea, and, by an edit of the twentieth of 
 September 1788, entirely abolifhed the office of 
 nuncio in his dominions, ordaining that for the 
 time to come the nuncio mould no longer poflefs 
 any privileges except thofe which were enjoyed 
 by the reprefentatives of purely temporal fove- 
 reigns. Soon after, he forbade, on pain of ba- 
 nifhment, all members of religious orders in the 
 grand-duchy to maintain any relation with fo- 
 reign fuperiors j declaring them to be fubjecl to 
 the bifhops alone in fpiritual concerns, and to 
 the lay tribunals in thofe of a temporal nature. 
 He commanded that there mould in future be 
 no appeals to the Holy See ; that ecclefiaftical 
 caufes fhould in the firft inftance be brought be- 
 fore the bifhop, and definitively decided by the 
 metropolitan, according to the ancient hierarchi- 
 cal order eftablifhed in the church. This edict 
 reduced to nothing the pretended primacy of 
 the fovereign pontiff. 
 
 c 3
 
 22 
 
 The alarm at Rome was very lively. The 
 pope immediately appointed a congregation of 
 thofe cardinals in whom he placed the greateft 
 reliance Borromeo, a fenfible intelligent man, 
 of a very fihgular turn of mind, but incapable of 
 any over-violent meafures againft fovereigns ; 
 Paldtto, who, under an exterior roughnefs of 
 manner, concealed a fund of very ; found fenfe 
 accompanied by great probity, and'who had in 
 general conduced -himfelf very judicioufly to- 
 ward the temporal powers ; -Negroni, who was 
 the molt agreeable to them of all the cardinals ; 
 Zelada, whom they efteemed for his gentle 
 manners, his knowledge, and his conciliating 
 difpofition ; Buoncompagni, at that time fe- 
 cretary of ftate, and the molt enlightened. mem- 
 ber of the Sacred College, connected moreover, at 
 leaft by intereft, with the principal catholic courts, 
 This congregation had for their fecretary the 
 prelate Campanelli, the 'pope's auditor. The 
 fele6tion of fuch men to compofe it did not an-, 
 nou'nce an intention of carrying matters to ex- 
 tremity. But Leopold was highly irritated, and, 
 inftead of liftening to terms of conciliation, de- 
 manded the furrender of the nuncio's papers. 
 On this occafion the. pope difplayed an inftance 
 of vigour tempered by prudence. If he had 
 always acled in the fame manner, he would have 
 avoided many misfortunes. Although he thought
 
 23- 
 
 fhe grand-duke's demand 1 very extraordinary, 
 cardinal Bnoncompagni made anfwer in bis 
 name to the Tufcan minifter, that he " would 
 prefer fuffering any violation whatever, rather 
 than (loop to fuch meannefs," the papers of s. 
 foreign minifter being even more facred than his 
 perfon ; that, neverthelefs, through a love of 
 peace, he would communicate all fuch of the 
 nuncio's papers as folely related to matters of 
 confcience. To this declaration, which was 
 more energetic than could reafonably have been 
 expected, the fecretary of ftate joined a proteft 
 againft the infringements made on ecclefiaftic 
 difcipline by the late edict of the grand-duke. 
 At Florence the animofity againft the pope was 
 too violent to admit of this proteft producing the 
 fmalleft effect : the courier who had brought it 
 returned without an anfwer. All the opponents 
 of the papacy, with the bifbop of Piftoja at their 
 head, faw their victory certain, and thought 
 themfelves no longer bound to a delicate ob- 
 fervance of moderation. Ricci printed the ails of 
 his fynod : foon after, the grand-duke alfo pub- 
 lifhed thofe of the provincial fynod which he had 
 convoked at Florence in the preceding year, 
 adding to them an apology for the conduct o 
 the bifhops, and a refutation of the pretenfions 
 of the court of Rome. 
 
 That court palll-d the entire year 1789 in the 
 c 4
 
 midft of ftorms: and while the national aflembly 
 of France was preparing for it much more vio 
 lent tempefts, the court of Florence, not yet 
 forefeeing the confequences of which the latter 
 would be productive to all fovereigns, continued 
 to purfue its plan of philofophic perfecution. 
 The biftiop of Piftoja did not difplay modefty in 
 the enjoyment of his triumph. While the con* 
 gregation, appointed to examine his works, was 
 preparing to deliver them to the inquifition and 
 caufe them to be burned by the hands of the 
 common hangman, Ricci, depending on the fup.- 
 port of the grand-duke in whofe court he acled 
 the part of prime-minifter, teflified the moft 
 infulting contempt for the Holy See, ridiculed 
 its thunders, its pretenfions, and its partifans. 
 In announcing to cardinal Salviati that Leopold 
 with-held from him the revenues of a rich abbey 
 which he poffefled in Tufcany, he affe&ed to be 
 ignorant of his rank, and addreffed his letter to 
 " the prieft Salviati." Leopold, on his part, 
 not content with recommending in a circular 
 letter to all the Tufcan bifhpps to conform to 
 the principles of the fynod of Piftoja, advanced 
 temporal pretenfions at the expenfe of the pa- 
 pacy, and claimed the duchy of Urbino, as 
 ufurped by the popes from his predeceflbrs. 
 
 But the period of the tribulations which Pius 
 had been doomed to fufier from the grand -duke,
 
 25 
 
 wag now arrived- An unexpected incident op 
 portunely happened, which faved him from the 
 impending criiis. The days of Jofeph II. were 
 numbered: he died on the 22d of February 
 1790; and Leopold was called to the imperial 
 throne. The reforms which had been intro- 
 duced in church affairs were now deprived of 
 their principal fupport. Scarcely had he quitted 
 Tufcany, when fu per ft it ion regained there a part 
 of the ground (he had loft. The provifional re- 
 gency, eftabliihed by Leopold under the guid- 
 ance of Gianni as prefident, adopted injudicious 
 meafures, of which the refult was a dearth and 
 popular commotions. The clergy, long kept in 
 fubjetion, again reared their heads, and for a 
 time refumed their former fway. The regency 
 thought themfelves very happy in being allowed 
 to come to terms with them, and left the arch- 
 bifhops of Florence, Pifa, and Sienna, at full li- 
 berty to re-eftablifh every thing that had been 
 deftroyed. In an inftant were feen to revive 
 from their afhes the confraternities, the procef- 
 fions, the altars that had been overthrown, the 
 ancient liturgy, and all the religious mum- 
 meries. 
 
 But an aft of weaknefs was never found an 
 cflfe&ual mean of appearing difcontent. The 
 Confraternities, the hermitages, the reliques, did 
 not procure for the people thofe fupplies of wine
 
 and oil of which they flood in need. Some 
 private ilorehoufes were plundered ; and the 
 president Gianni could no otherwife fave himfelf 
 from the.violence of the infuriate populace than 
 by efcaping through a wihdow. Inebriated 
 with fanaticifm, the people of Tufcany were on 
 the point of launching into the fame exceffes as 
 the French nation com milted in the intoxication 
 of their liberty. Their fury however fubfided 
 when they no longer had before their eyes the 
 principal objet of their hatred : and the court 
 of Rome obtained at leaft a flight ronfolation 
 amid the evils by which it was threatened, and 
 which itfelf had provoked. But its triumph 
 was neither complete nor durable. Every thing 
 of an effential nature in Leopold's eftablifhments 
 furvived his removal. After the infurredion of 
 the populace, the bifhop of Piftoja retired to 
 Chiante, where he continued to exercife his 
 fantaftic functions : thence he ilfued, in favour of 
 all who applied to him, thofe difpenfations for 
 which until then application had always been 
 made to Rome j and, perfevering with puerile 
 obftinacy in the profecution of his plans, he 
 fucceeded in fubftituting a breviary * of his 
 own invention in lieu of that ufed in the Roman 
 
 * A book of prayers ufed by the Romifti clergy, and con- 
 taining all the different fer vices except the mats.
 
 27 
 
 church. Wife Leopold ! were thefe the vie* 
 tories which you pointed out to his zeal ? 
 
 But the new grand-duke, lefs ardent than his 
 father, and having, in common with other fo- 
 vereigns, his reafons for dreading reforms, far 
 from encouraging the hi (hop of Piftoja, pre- 
 vailed on him to refign his fee. The intelligence 
 of this event was grateful to the court of Rome: 
 nor was Leopold tardy to announce it in an 
 affectionate letter to Pius, to which he thought 
 that flight atonement juftly due.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Difputes between Pius and the Court of Naples. 
 
 JL HE courts of Vienna and Florence were not 
 the only ones that harafled Pius during the fif- 
 teen years immediately antecedent to the French 
 revolution. That of Naples had from an earlier 
 period been engaged with the Roman See in 
 difputes of a more ferious nature, and of which 
 the confequences were ftill more difagreeable to 
 the pontiff. 
 
 The Neapolitan government, however, did not 
 entertain any perfonal antipathy to Pius, al- 
 though it had taken fome fteps to oppofe his 
 elevation to the pontificate. But it was at this 
 time fwayed by the marquis Tanucci, who, 
 with all his native warmth and pertinacity, fub- 
 ferved the animofity of the houfe of Bourbon 
 againft the Jefuits, who had framed for him- 
 felf a certain fyftem of philofophy ftrongly ini- 
 mical to the ufurpations of the court of Rome, 
 and who, above all things, viewed with in- 
 dignation the kind of vaflalage to which the 
 crown of Naples was reduced with refpe6t to 
 the papacy.
 
 Thefe different caufes of difcord excited the 
 clouds of mifunderftanding between the two 
 courts within a few months after Pius had 
 affiimed the tiara. 
 
 Don Carlos, who afterward mounted the 
 throne of Spain under the name of Charles the 
 Third, had, on his acceffion to the crown of 
 Naples in 1735, found the Neapolitan clergy 
 in poflefllon of confiderable influence, and of 
 four fifths of the entire revenue of the kingdom. 
 Though religioufly difpofed, he entertained fuf- 
 ficiently precife ideas refpeting the temporal 
 authority, and perfeveringly laboured to confine 
 the fpiritual power within its proper bounds. 
 He had heard mention made of a profeffor of 
 law in the univerfity of Pifa, by name Tanucci, 
 who had acquired great fame by his theologic 
 erudition and the firmnefs of his principles. He 
 invited him to court, and foon gave him his entire 
 confidence. During the reign of Don Carlos, 
 however, Tanucci had done nothing more than 
 pave the way for the great reforms in ecclefiaftic 
 affairs. But, having been nominated prefident 
 of the regency which Charles, at the time of his 
 departure for Spain, had appointed for the mi- 
 nority of his fon (Ferdinand the Fourth) whom 
 he left on the throne of Naples, Tanucci, now 
 releafed from every reftraint, gave the rein to 
 the impetuofity of his charater, and ferioufly
 
 30 
 
 bent his thoughts on defpoiling the Holy S'eef 
 of its ufurpations. 
 
 The duchy of Benevento was fequeftrated in 
 1768. In the following year Tanucci made a 
 confiderable diminution in the fees accruing to 
 the Roman chancellery : he prohibited the mo 
 naileries from making new acquifitions of pro- 
 perty : he ftripped the nuncio of feveral of his 
 pretended privileges. It was cuftomary to fend 
 annual contributions from Naples for the works 
 of Saint Peter's church and for the Vatican li- 
 brary : thefe were fupprefled. Tanucci even 
 difputed the pope's right to confer benefices 
 within the dominions of the Neapolitan 'mo- 
 narch. In 1772 he revived the pretenfions of 
 young Ferdinand, as heir of the houfe of Far- 
 nefe, to the duchies of Caftro and Roncrglione.' 
 The difpleafure which the court of Rome had 
 given to the houfe of Bour.ban by its conduct 
 toward the duke of Parma, furniflied a plaufi- 
 ble pretext for thefe acts both of temporal and 
 fpiritual hoftility. But the hour of reconcilia- 
 tion arrived : the duchy of Benevento was re- 
 ftored: the prefentation of the palfrey*, which 
 had been fufpended, was again put in pralice. 
 But the changes which had been effected in ec- 
 clefiaftic difcipline ftill fubiifted : and when the 
 
 * See page 38.
 
 31 
 
 bull for the fupprefiion of the Jefuits that bull 
 fo earneftly folicited and fo long expected 
 was at length publiihed in the dates of his Nea- 
 politan majefty, it was with the following claufe 
 " without prejudice to the rights of the royal 
 fovereignty and jurifdiclion." 
 
 Pius the Sixth, on his acceffion to the pon- 
 tifical chair, endeavoured to cajole the court of 
 Naples : but he foon found that his efforts were 
 ineffectual. Cardinal Orfmi, the Neapolitan 
 minifter at Rome, who had made fruitlefs ex- 
 ertions to prevent Pius's election, now refigned 
 his minifterial functions, after having reprefented 
 the new pontiff to his court as a zealous partifan 
 of the Jefuits. 
 
 Tanucci did not need this additional incentive 
 to the profecution of his plan. He maintained 
 that to the king alone belonged the right of no- 
 minating to the bilhoprics and abbeys which 
 were of royal advowfon, that the pope could, 
 at moft, appoint only to thofe of a different de- 
 fcription, and that, even then, he was bound to 
 confer them on perfons approved by the king. 
 He confined within narrower limits the jurifclic- 
 tion of the nunciature, and even took a pleafure 
 in thwarting the pope on fubjects of trifling 
 importance. Among the variety of abfurd 
 cuftoms introduced by the Holy See, was that 
 of granting a four years' indulgence tc> all who
 
 H 
 
 during the jubilee fhould vifit four of the prin- 
 cipal churches at Rome. A royal edit was 
 iffued, which declared, that, to obtain thofe 
 fpiritual favours, it was fufficient to perform 
 that pious formality in four churches at Naples. 
 In this inftance the fovereign fhowed himfelf evert 
 more ridiculous than the pontiff: if he believed 
 in the efficacy of indulgences, he could not, 
 deftitute as he was of fpiritual power, think 
 himfelf authorifed to determine the mode of ob- 
 taining them : he therefore in his turn was guilty 
 of ufurpation : but there are countries where 
 philofophy is obliged to compromife with fuper- 
 ftition. 
 
 Tanucci adopted meafures of greater utility ; 
 he fuddenly fupprefled feventy-eight monafteries 
 in Sicily : he confolidated fome biftioprics into 
 one, caufed abbeys to be conferred by the fole 
 authority of the king, and directed the bifhops 
 to fill by their own nomination the vacant livings 
 in their diocefes. It was no longer poflible to 
 forefee where the court of Naples would flop : 
 even by that of Spain it was confidered as over- 
 ftepping the bounds of prudence. The Spaniih 
 minifter Monino was inftrufted to interpofe ; 
 but cardinal Orfini confirmed Tanucci in his 
 obftinate perfeverance. 
 
 At this period the archbimopric of Naples 
 became vacant, and proved the fource of a new
 
 S3 
 
 conteft between Plus and Ferdinand. The king 
 claimed the right of nominating to it according 
 to his own pleafure ; and the pontiff maintained 
 that the nomination could not take effet with- 
 out his concurrence. Cardinal Giraud, who 
 had materially contributed to the elevation of 
 Pius to the pontificate, and retained a certain 
 afcendency over him, afted as mediator in 
 bringing this difference to an amicable termina- 
 tion, and without the intervention of Tanucci 
 or Orfini. It was agreed that the king alone 
 ftiould nominate to the archbimopric of Na- 
 ples, and that, in return, the fee of Palermo, 
 which was alfo vacant at the fame time, mould be 
 conferred by the pope without the concurrence 
 of Ferdinand. 
 
 But when the ground of quarrels is of ancient 
 date, and they are conne6ted with perfonalities, 
 whatever truces may temporarily fufpend them 
 are not of long duration. Tanucci and Orfini 
 on the one hand, on the other the pope's fecre- 
 tary of ftate and the Rezzonicos, mortified at 
 Giraud's fuccefs, fought and foon found an op- 
 portunity of breaking that which had been con- 
 cluded on this occafion. A perfuafion was ex- 
 cited in the mind of the pope that the new 
 archbifhop of Naples was tainted with Janfe- 
 nifm. To incur fuch an accufation, it was fuf- 
 ficient that a man were known to be not a friend 
 
 VOL. II. D
 
 34 
 
 to the Jefuits* From a period of above three 
 centuries back, the archbifhop of Naples had 
 by invariable ufage been decorated with the 
 Roman purple. Ferdinand afked that euftomary 
 favour for his creature : Pius refufed it ; and 
 hoftilities blazed forth anew* This event ex- 
 a&ly co-incided with the wiflies of Tanucci, 
 whofe buftling difpofition inftigated him to feek 
 for broils with even greater eagernefs than his 
 philofophy led him to purfue plans of reform. 
 He was moreover ftung with jealous mortifica- 
 tion on observing that the new Spaniih minifter, 
 the duke de Grimaldi, lived on terms of clofeil 
 intimacy with his coufm-german Pallavicini, the 
 fecretary of ftate. He was apprehenfive of a 
 fecret underflanding between them for the pur- 
 pofe of inducing Charles the Third to recom- 
 mend to his fon a more moderate conduft to- 
 ward the court of Rome. The ufual effect of 
 oppofition on his temper was to irritate him,, 
 but never to make him recede from his purpofe. 
 Accordingly he fent information to the pope, 
 that a perfiftence in his refufal mould be fol- 
 lowed by retaliation on the part of the Neapo- 
 litan government ; that the archbifhops of Na- 
 ples fhould never again be permitted to accept a 
 feat in the Sacred College ; that they could readily 
 difpenfe with Roman decorations j that the king 
 $vould create an eccleliaftic order of which the
 
 35 
 
 hiembers fhould be clothed in purple after the 
 manner of the cardinals ; that, after all, the car- 
 dirialitian dignity was nothing more than a fu- 
 perfetation in the hierarchy, &c. 
 
 Pius felt fome alarm, and had recourfe to pa- 
 ternal remonftrahces, the mode in which he 
 ufually concluded. His nuncio was inftru&ed 
 to reprefent mildly to the king that his holinefs 
 felt a confcientious repugnance to the exalta- 
 tion of a Janfenift to the cardinalate. But he 
 experienced an unyielding inflexibility in the 
 Neapolitan court, where Tanucci ftiil maintain- 
 ed his fway. In all his meafures, even thofe 
 of the moft prudent caft, a love of mifchief bore 
 fome (hare. He ftudied to procure a triumph 
 for that chimerical Janfenifm which excited 
 fuch uneafy fcruples in the bofom of the holy 
 father. The new archbifhop of Naples was 
 obliged to erafe from the paftoral letter by 
 which he announced his nomination the cuftom- 
 ary words " et apoftolic* fedis gratia *," which 
 would have implied that he was indebted for it 
 to the fee of Rome. 
 
 About this time a Dominican friar, a profeflbr 
 of theology, wrote a book which the Roman in- 
 quifition prohibited under the pretence that it 
 was tinctured with Janfenifm. The author was 
 
 * " And through the favour of the apoflolic fee." 
 D 2
 
 36 
 
 degraded from his profeflbrial chair by cardinal 
 Boxadors the general of his order, and fum- 
 moned to appear before him. He obeyed : but 
 fcarcely had he reached Rome, when the king 
 or, to fpeak more properly,- TanuccioTdered 
 him to return to Naples, to refume his chair, 
 and to write a continuation of his work. The 
 docile Dominican paid equal obedience to this 
 new mandate ; and the mortification of the 
 court of Rome was extreme. 
 
 Every circumftance now fcemed to co-operate 
 in exafperating the quarrel between the papacy 
 and the Neapolitan government. The former 
 had peaceably enough recovered the privilege 
 of annually receiving from the latter a homage 
 which was ftill more flattering to the vanity of 
 the pontiff than thofe purely eeclefiaftic prero- 
 gatives which were fucceffively wrefted from his 
 grafp : I mean the prefentation of the palfrey. 
 
 It is well known that Charles of Anjou, who 
 was in great meafure indebted to the protection 
 of the poj)e for the acquifition of the throne of 
 Naples, wifhing at once to exhibit a proof of 
 his gratitude and to fanftion his ufurpation by 
 the (lamp of legitimacy, fubje&ed his newly- 
 acquired kingdom to the annual payment of 
 forty-thoufand florins to the fee of Rome, and, 
 furpafling in obfequioufnefs his predeceflbrs of 
 the Norman line, declared himfelf a vaffal of
 
 37 
 
 the fovereign pontiff, binding himfelf to pre- 
 fent to him every year a white palfrev, and en- 
 tailing on all his fucceffors the performance of 
 that degrading a6t of homage. 
 
 At the period of thefe tranfa&ions the popes 
 flood towering in the zenith of that power which 
 at length gave fcandal to all Europe whorn they 
 had fo long kept in thraldom. It may well be 
 fuppofed that their arrogance took due advan- 
 tage of To finking an inftance of fubmiflion. 
 The fervile devotion of the temporal fovereigns 
 even out-ran the pretenfions of the Roman fee. 
 Thofe of Naples had prided themfelves in a 
 difplay of munificence as a palliative of their 
 degradation : nor had the popes negle&ed to 
 claim thefe homages as matter of right, and to 
 confider the moft trifling minutiae of them as an 
 eflential part of their dignity. When that was 
 at ftake, every thing, even the moft ridiculous 
 cuftom, was accounted facred ; and the guilt of 
 facrilege, as it were, attached to the man who 
 mould dare in the flighted degree to infringe it. 
 But neither the name nor the deed carried any 
 terror to the foul of Xanucci. He only awaited 
 a convenient pretext to emancipate the crown 
 of Naples from the tributary fubje&ion in which 
 he had found it funk. The following was the 
 mode of tendering that tribute, which had in
 
 is 
 
 the firft inftance been flipulated in a very vague 
 manner by its vile and criminal author. 
 
 Every year, on the eve of the feftival of the 
 spoftles Peter and Paul, at the conclufion of 
 vefpers, a kind of throne was erected for the 
 pope in the area before St. Peter's church. A 
 white palfrey was led to him, richly caparifoned, 
 and (hod with filver. On the left fide of the 
 faddle hung a purfe containing fix thoufand 
 ducats, or a bill to the fame amount, payable at 
 fight. Prince Colonna, the grand- conftable of 
 the kingdom of Naples, had the charge of pre- 
 fenting the palfrey, which for that purpofe was 
 conduced to the foot of his holinefs's throne : 
 prince Colonna then gave the animal a ftroke 
 with a rod on the fore-legs ; whereupon the 
 docile creature, having been long trained to the 
 performance of this refpeftful feat, proftrated 
 himfelf, and again rofe. His miffion now ful- 
 filled, his illuftrious interpreter took the gold or 
 the paper, prefented it to the pope, and thus 
 clofed the ceremony. The court of Rome was 
 careful to enhance the pomp of the fcene by the 
 mod magnificent apparatus : and could it do 
 lefs to honour that reirmant of the fovereign fu- 
 premacy which it once had arrogated to itfelf 
 over all Chriftendom ? 
 
 The pontiffs, however, had not uninterrupted-
 
 iy enjoyed the proud gratification of this tri- 
 bute. During the continuance of their grand 
 conteft with the courts of the houfe of Bourbon, 
 the prefentation of the palfrey had been fufpend- 
 ed : after the reconciliation, the praftice was re- 
 fumed : but even in the fecond year, in 1776, 
 the performance itfelf was productive of a fcene 
 which might have been followed "by its aboli- 
 tion. A difpute of etiquette arofe between the 
 pages of Cornaro the governor of Rome and 
 thofe of prince Colonna, which had nearly inter- 
 rupted the augujl ceremony. It was afferted at 
 the time that the quarrel had been privately ex- 
 cited by cardinal Pallavicini who was fufpefted 
 of acting in collufion with the mifchievous Ta- 
 nucci. Such a manoeuvre was by no means 
 probable : yet Pius was fo far fatisfied of its 
 probability that he conceived a yet flronger an- 
 tipathy to his fecretary of ftate, whom he had 
 never loved, and in whom he always viewed the 
 man who had be.en his moft formidable compe- 
 titor. However the queft'ion may be decided 
 refpecling the charge againil Pallavicini, Ta- 
 nucci took occafion, from the fcene which had 
 occurred, to propofe the adoption of a much 
 lefs pompous mode ofprefenting the palfrey and 
 the money. But, for one of his fucceffors was 
 rcferved the talk of accomplilhing fomething 
 further. Tanucci, bowed down with the weight 
 D 4
 
 40 
 
 of years, foon afte.r retired from the minify ; 
 an event which proved a fource of great joy to 
 the court of Rome. The pope however had 
 the prudence to refrain from teftifying the plea- 
 fure which he felt on the occafion : and it was 
 well that he obferved that caution ; for Tanucci, 
 had relinquifhed on|y tfce title of prime minifter, 
 and for fome time longer continued to enjoy all 
 the power annexed to the ftation. 
 
 But, before he retired from office, he prevailed 
 on the king to adopt the meafure of which the 
 pontiff was apprehenfive. The Neapolitan mi- 
 nifter was directed to announce to the pope, 
 that, for the purpofe of avoiding all future dif- 
 putes on the fubjecl: of etiquette, the palfrey 
 and the fix thoufand ducats mould thencefor- 
 ward be prefented, not by the grand-conftable 
 Colonna invefted with the character of embaiTa- 
 dor extraordinary, but by a fimple agent. 
 
 We have often feen with what fond affection 
 Pius cheriflied the pomp of ceremonial. The 
 Neapolitan declaration therefore wounded him 
 in a very tender part ; and in his affliction he 
 turned for relief to the Spanifh minifter, know- 
 ing that Charles the Third, when he had not 
 any fubjecl: of quarrel with him, fympathifed in 
 his diftrefles, and that he retained confiderable 
 influence over the young king his fon, and over 
 Tanucci. His complaints did not meet with a
 
 41 
 
 reception correfpondent to his hopes. The court 
 of Madrid was not yet certain of his intentions 
 with refpeft to the Jefuits, and accufed him of 
 having given teftimonies of his condefcenfion to 
 their partifans. The Spanifh minifter Florida- 
 Blanca did not conceal from cardinal Pallavi- 
 cini that he had himfelf little reliance on the 
 efficacy of his intercefiion. That minifter, na- 
 turally of an imperious temper, was extremely 
 impatient of the ilighteft attack upon what he 
 juftly confidered as his own work. 
 
 Within a very mort time after, he was re- 
 called home to occupy the flation of prime mi- 
 nifter of Spain, and was fucceeded in his foreign 
 miffion by the duke de Grimaldi. Pius, al- 
 though he felt an efteem for Florida-Blanca, 
 was neverthelefs rejoiced to fee himfelf relieved 
 from the prefence of that auftere cenfor. The 
 fecretary of ftate efpecially was delighted to 
 learn that the poft of Spanifh minifter at Rome 
 was to be filled by his near relative whom he 
 called his protector, and with whofe eafy difpo- 
 Jition he was acquainted. But the pope and 
 his minifter were not benefited by the change. 
 The count de Florida-Blanca entered on his 
 miniftry with a thorough knowledge of the court 
 of Rome, of its prejudices, of its ridiculous 
 pretenfions, and its contefts with the Neapoli- 
 tan court. Till that time he had acled in rigid
 
 conformity to rigid inftructions : thenceforward 
 it was by himfelf that the instructions were to 
 be given. As to the duke de Grimaldi, it was 
 foon perceived at Madrid that he fuffered him- 
 felf to be deceived by the Jefuitical party : and 
 the confidence of the court was repofed in the 
 chevalier Azara, who, at firft under the fimple 
 title of agent, and after a few years under that 
 of minifter, acquired at Rome the afcendency to 
 which his knowledge and energetic character 
 juftly entitled him. 
 
 The count de Florida-Blanca who, previous 
 to his departure from Rome, had been a witnefs 
 of the profane chagrin excited in the pope's 
 bofom by the threats of the Neapolitan court 
 refpecling the palfrey, and had obferved him to 
 figh at the idea that it would perhaps be under 
 his pontificate that the Holy See fliould be de- 
 prived of that glorious homage condefcended to 
 exert all his influence for the purpofe of faving 
 him from that mortification. His efforts were 
 fuccefsful, and the famous ceremony was per- 
 formed in 1777 with the accuftomed pomp. 
 The pope teftified a puerile joy on the occa- 
 fion ; and the people of Rome celebrated with 
 enthufiafm what they confidered as a kind of 
 victory. .That victory however was not in all 
 points complete : and it was eafy to perceive 
 that the court of Naples reluctantly yielded to a
 
 43 
 
 foreign impulfe. The contlable Colonna, in 
 presenting the tribute from the Neapolitan 
 monarch, added, to the folernn expreliions con- 
 fecrated by long cuftom, thefe words of fmifter 
 omen, " for the prefent year," and faid that 
 " the prefentation of the palfrey was only a 
 teftimony of devotion toward Saint Peter and 
 Saint Paul.'* Hereupon the pope, though taken 
 unaware, immediately replied, " We accept 
 the palfrey as a feudal offering due from the 
 crown of Naples :" and the attending crowd 
 applauded this reply by repeated cries of" viva I 
 viva /" Such are the important objects with 
 which fovereigns often feed their vanity ! On 
 both fides fome diflatisfation prevailed. At 
 Naples the grandees murmured, and complained 
 that the advantage fo courageoufly gained by 
 Tanucci was bafely relinquiihed by his fuc- 
 ceflbr. 
 
 That fucceflbr, the marquis della Sambucca, 
 did not however fpare the feelings of the court 
 of Rome in other refpects : he purfued Tanuc- 
 ci's plan, or rather the fpirit of Tanucci conti- 
 nued t animate and guide the Neapolitan go- 
 vernment. In the fame year all the bifhops in 
 the kingdom were forbidden to receive bulls 
 from Rome under any pretence whatever. Not- 
 withltanding the conftitutional independence 
 which Sicily was entitled to enjoy with refpeft
 
 44 
 
 to the See of Rome, the popes, ever dextrous in 
 taking advantage of any negligence in the fe- 
 cular governments, had fucceeded in caufing 
 their bulls to be accepted by the bifhops of 
 that ifland, and even obtaining the royal exfe- 
 quatitr. This abufe was profcribed. The vigi- 
 lance of old Tanucci would not fuffer even in 
 the marquis della Sambucca the ilighteft dero- 
 gation from the treaties which bound the court 
 of Rome. That new minifter wiflied to tolerate 
 in the kingdom of Naples two ex-Jefuits, his 
 relatives. Tanucci fecretly complained of the 
 circumftance to the court of Madrid ; and im- 
 mediately Charles III., who ftill continued to 
 exercife his paternal authority at Naples, very 
 ferioufly recommended to the king his fon not 
 to fuffer that exception from the general law 
 which banifhed the defunct fociety from his 
 dominions. At this period his recommendations 
 ftill poifefled over the king of Naples all the in- 
 fluence of commands. Sambucca's two proteges 
 were fent after their brethren into the papal ter- 
 ritory. Thus an abfent and foreign monarch 
 gave the law at Naples through the organ of a 
 minifter who had ceafed from his functions : 
 and this fingular phenomenon fuggefled to a 
 traveller who was at that time paffing through 
 the Neapolitan dominions, that " the kingdom 
 of Naples refembled the empire of the fhacles,."
 
 45 
 
 The interpolation of Charles, however, for 
 fome time faved the pontiff from new mortifi- 
 cations, and effected a temporary fufpenfion of 
 his difputes with the Neapolitan court. On each 
 iide fome flight teftimonies of condefcenfion 
 were given. The king deigned to afk the pope's 
 confent to the fuppreffion of a rich Carthufian 
 monaftery ; and the pope deigned to acquiefce, 
 but on condition that, in taking pofleffion of 
 the property belonging to it, he fhould make 
 provifion for the fupport of its monkifh inmates. 
 The prefentation of the palfrey took place in 
 1778, but with the fame mortifying reftritions 
 as in the preceding year. The king had ftill an 
 exifting caufe of complaint againft the Holy 
 See : the pontiff perfevered in his refufal to 
 grant the Roman purple to the archbifhop of 
 Naples. Ferdinand loft his patience, and fud- 
 denly put a ftop to the difpenfations which the 
 datario ftill continued to grant. By this meafure 
 the pope faw one branch of his revenue cut off: 
 yet he checked the emotions of his refentment, 
 and hoped that time would operate much in his 
 favour : but time was his moft cruel enemy ; it 
 was employed in maturing the plans of thofe 
 new hoflilities which his opponents were pre- 
 paring for him, and which the pontiff himfelf 
 ceafed not to provoke by his own obftinacy. 
 
 The king of Naples, conformably to preceding
 
 46 
 
 regulations, himfelr', by virtue of his right of 
 advowfon, nominated to all the bilhoprics which 
 became vacant in his dominions. The pope 
 refufed to confirm his choice, and ftill main- 
 tained that the nomination belonged to the 
 Holy See : he did not however nominate ; and 
 thus the diocefes remained deftitute of fpiritual 
 fuperiors, and the people murmured againft the 
 court. At the fame time Pius affected to be- 
 tray a want of confideration for prince CimitHe, 
 the Neapolitan plenipotentiary, and neglected to 
 cultivate the good-will of the marquis della 
 Sambucca who had fhe'wn a difpofition to fup- 
 port him. That minifler had fent to Rome one 
 of his fons, whom he deftined for the clerical 
 profeflion; and the pope, under pretence that 
 the young man was guilty of irregularities in his 
 conduct there, refufed to give him an abbey for 
 which he made folicitation as if the Jon of a nri- 
 wjler flood in need of perfonal merit to entitle 
 him to any favour xvhatever ! Never had the 
 fcruples of Pius been fo unfeafonable. 
 
 Thefe various incidents had fuch an eflecl: in 
 exciting mutual animofity, that in 1780 the one 
 party was determined on a complete rupture, 
 while the other looked forward to fuch an event 
 with refignation. Prince Cimitile, who. had for 
 fome time been abfent, fuddenly returned to 
 Rome, and declared to the pope, that, unlefs the
 
 47 
 
 vacant fees were filled without delay, he would 
 entirely quit his court. The pontiff, who had 
 his alternate fits of firmnefs and weaknefs, diet 
 not. on this occafion fufTer himfelf to be intimi- 
 dated by the threat: but, miftaking obftinacy 
 for dignified fleadinefs, " What !" faid he to his 
 friends " that court of Naples treats me with 
 greater contempt than a village pried." 
 
 There was a circumftance, however, which 
 encouraged him to that difplay of refolution, and 
 rendered it lefs meritorious. He was fupported 
 by Bernis and the chevalier Azara : their courts 
 were difpleafed to fee that of Naples betray a 
 greater portion of malevolence than of firmnefs in 
 the attacks which it made on the papacy. The 
 former, as a cardinal, felt a perfonal intereft in 
 the maintenance of its immunities, of what he 
 called its acquired rights. The latter, though 
 more of a philofopher than his friend, as not 
 being bound by the fame duties or the fame 
 trammels, was neverthelefs obliged to follow the 
 inftrutions of his pious court. In concert they 
 warded off feveral ftrokes which the court of 
 Naples aimed at the pontiff; and it was to 
 their interpofition alone that his vanity was 
 indebted for a repetition of the homage of the 
 palfrey in 1780. But at Naples the plan of re- 
 form was determined : the execution might in-
 
 43 
 
 deed; in compliance with fome temporary cir- 
 cumftances, be poftponed ; fome hopes might 
 be encouraged; fome relaxation might take 
 place on particular pretenfions : the hand was 
 fufpended, but it ftill continued armed.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 New Wounds infiitled by the Court of Naples nit 
 the Privileges of the Court of Rome. 
 
 _rxT Naples the mod alarming projects were 
 in agitation. In 1781 there was queftion of 
 nothing lefs than abolifhing all the regulations 
 of the Roman chancelleryof fending bodies 
 of troops toward Benevento, and Ponte-Corvo 
 and (if thefe menacing fteps mould not be fuf- 
 ficient to extort from the pope's obftinacy a 
 confirmation of the bifliops nominated by the 
 king) of convoking a provincial council com- 
 pofed of all the prelates in the kingdom, and 
 there making choice of three bifliops who mould 
 be empowered to proclaim, in the pope's name, 
 the nomination to the vacant fees. The court 
 of Spain again interfered to prevent the fcandal 
 which was about to be given to all the catholic 
 part of Europe by a fovereign who was ac- 
 counted one of the moft religious. Prince Ci- 
 mitile was again ordered to return to Rome. 
 There, without the participation of the cardinal 
 fecretary of (late whofe intentions were fufpet- 
 ed, the Neapolitan minifter negotiated with car- 
 
 VOL. II, X
 
 50 
 
 dinals Giraud and Conti an agreement which fof 
 a time dried up the fource of fome difputes. 
 This tranfitory reconciliation again procured for 
 the pontiff, in 1781, the fo much contefled en- 
 joyment of the homage paid to the Holy See on 
 the eve of the feftival of Saint Peter. That com- 
 penfation confoled him for the diminution which 
 he faw effected in the kingdom of Naples of that 
 prodigious fwarm of monks, whofe number, 
 even to his eyes, appeared in the fame difad- 
 vantageous light as to thofe of the Neapolitan 
 reformers. -There were found -will it be be- 
 lieved?^ there were found fixteen thoufand 
 mendicant friars diftributed i feven hundred 
 convents. Pains were taken to reduce their 
 number to two thoufand eight hundred and 
 eight : the bithops were directed to watch over 
 their conduct, and to reprefs the fcandalous ex- 
 cefles in which they indulged themfelves. 
 
 A pitiful difpute on a point of etiquette foon 
 after revived the dormant animofities. Prince 
 Cimitile was only a minifter of the fecond rank j 
 and, as fuch, he had, according to the ceremo- 
 nial of the Roman court, no claim to the title of 
 Excellency^ w r hich however is fo ridiculoufly la- 
 viflied in Italy: but he had a right to it, as a 
 knight of the order of Saint Januarius. Neverthe- 
 lefs they had the meannefs to refufe it to him ; 
 adding <it the fame time that they would have
 
 made no difficulty of allowing-it, if he had ap- 
 peared at Rome un-vefted with a diplomatic 
 character. Thus, becaufe he had the honour of 
 reprefenting his fovereign, he was, as it were, 
 degraded in the eyes of- the papacy. Such ab- 
 furd inconfiftency merited no other notice than 
 that of contempt. But the Neapolitan court, 
 equally puerile in their refentment, were fb 
 piqued by it, that they refumed the work of re- 
 form which they had fufpended. They fe- 
 queftrated feveral rich -benefices : they ordained 
 that for the time to come no perfon mould be- 
 queath to churches, convents, or other eccle- 
 fiaftic eftablifhments, any legacies in money or 
 immovable property, becaufe, faid the royal or- 
 dinance, " all thofe corporations are fufficiently 
 rich." What cool deliberate reafon ought to 
 have done, but had left undone, was the effet 
 of a fit of anger. 
 
 No fooner did the court of Rome at any time 
 provoke the refentment of the Neapolitan, 
 than it devifed fome flattering fcheme to ap- 
 peafe it. Thus in the prefent year, on the firft 
 application made by the queen, a German Ex- 
 Jefuit, father Giirtler, who was her fpiritual di- 
 retor, obtained a rich benefice ; and, in the 
 warmth of his gratitude, father Giirtler exerted 
 all his influence to effeft a reconciliation be- 
 tween the two courts. The negotiations wer 
 E 2
 
 re-commenced, and pi'omifed to be attended 
 with a happy iffue, conduced as they were by 
 fuch conciliating agents as the pope had em- 
 ployed on the occafion the cardinals Conti, 
 Negroni, and Antonelli. The two former were 
 attached to the rational principles of the ca- 
 tholic courts : Antonelli entertained high no- 
 tions of the pretended rights of the Holy See ; 
 but he poffeffed learning, knowledge, and abili- 
 ties, and had as great an afcendency over Pius 
 as any one could acquire. Accordingly the me- 
 diation of thefe three commiffioners, and the 
 marks of condefcenfion mown by the pope to 
 the fovereigns of Naples, gave room to hope for 
 fome fuccefs. The parties were beginning to 
 come to a mutual good underftanding W'ithin 
 a few weeks after the commencement of the 
 year 1782: the palfrey was again prefented in 
 the month of June following, and with the ufual 
 pomp. The pontiff difiembled the pain that his 
 ienfibility received from feveral meafures which 
 the Neapolitan court ftill continued to purfue. 
 As they did not feem the offspring of a fit of ill 
 humour, they appeared to him lefs grating ; or 
 he faw, that, as they were adopted with cool 
 deliberation, they were the refult of an irrevo- 
 cable plan, and he did not choofe to render his 
 fituation worfe by impotent attempts at oppofi- 
 tion.
 
 53 
 
 Accordingly his holinefs affeted an appear- 
 ance of refignation on receiving the intelligence 
 that one of the principal bulwarks of the papa- 
 cy the tribunal of the Holy Offi.ce was falling 
 to ruin in almoft every part of Italy ; that in Si- 
 cily, more particularly, the fentence of abolition 
 pronounced againft it by a philofophic vice-roy, 
 the marquis of Caraccioli, had excited, not the 
 indignation of the people as might have been 
 expelled, but their enjhufiaftie joy ; that it was 
 with difficulty they had been restrained from 
 demoliming the former palace of the inquifi* 
 tion j that the ftatue of Saint Dominic, fo appo- 
 fitely placed at the entrance of .that deri, had 
 been broken to pieces by the enraged Sicilians ; 
 that all the papers of the Holy Office had bcea 
 committed to the flames, all its property con- 
 fifcated to the benefit of the crown, and the 
 epifcopal tribunals commuTioned to take exclu- 
 five cognifance of thofe offences which until 
 then had belonged to its jurifdi&ion. 
 
 At the fame period the court of Naples in- 
 flicted other and ftill more painful wounds on 
 the papacy. It declared that every religious 
 order, whofe general refided at Rome, mould be 
 releafed from all fubjeclion to him : it forbade 
 the members of thofe orders to receive from the 
 court of Rome thofe irregular bulls which arbi- 
 trarily conferred on them ecclefiaftic titles with-
 
 54 
 
 out the king's concurrence : it granted to the 
 United Greeks, who were very numerous in Si- 
 cily, a bilhop of their own fec~t, and exclusively 
 nominated him." And it was only by the public 
 voice of fame that Pius was apprifed of all thefe 
 tranfaclions ! 
 
 During the courfe of thefe events the arch- 
 bifliop of Naples died without having obtained 
 the cardinal's hat. The petty triumph which 
 this circumftance afforded, fomewhat aflfuaged 
 the mortifying fenfations of the pontiff's breaft. 
 The king nominated to the vacant fee the bifhop 
 of Calvi, a man of ducal family, monfignor Jofeph 
 Capece Zurlo. He had been a member of the 
 religious order of the Theatins that order for 
 which the Neapolitan court ftill retained a pe- 
 culiar affection. He at leaft, who was an into- 
 lerant and fanatical prieir, could not appear 
 objectionable in the eyes of the papacy. Pro- 
 bably the king thought him only devout j and 
 furely that could not prove a ground of exclu- 
 fion for him any more than for the queen. Ac- 
 cordingly the pope had no excufe to plead in 
 oppofition to his election. 
 
 In electing him, neverthelefs, the king had 
 decided a queftion which the pope confidered as 
 yet undecided. The pontiff, however, neither 
 choofing to acknowledge the king's right, nor 
 willing, to found the charge for a new conteft.
 
 55 
 
 confirmed the new archbifhop without exprefs- 
 ing in his bull by whom he had been nominated. 
 But this laft effort quite exhaufted his patience, 
 which entirely failed him when the Neapolitan 
 monarch elevated to the bifhopric of Potenza 
 a certain Andrea Serrao, the author of a trat 
 which, according to the decifion of the Holy 
 See, breathed the fpirit of Janfenifm that is to 
 fay, defended the rights of fovereigns againft 
 the pretenfions of the court of Rome. Pius 
 with perfevering obftinacy refufed to proclaim 
 his eletion. In vain Serrao repaired to Rome, 
 requefted a private audience of the pope, re- 
 traded in fome meafure the aflertions which 
 might have given him offence : Pius continued 
 inflexible. The court of Naples was again ex- 
 afperated, and commanded Serrao to remain at 
 Rome in the Neapolitan minifter's hotel until 
 he mould have overcome the oppofition of the 
 Roman chancellery. But it was all to no pur- 
 pofe. The royal fifcal being confulted on this 
 affair, purfuant to his advice the bilhop of Po- 
 tenza was put in poffeffion of one third of the 
 income of his fee, that he might be enabled to 
 aft with due dignity his part of fuitor at the 
 court of Rome. This was treating the ftub- 
 born pontiff with great moderation : but his 
 ob/linacy was incurable : his bed friends no 
 longer recognifed him as the fame man that he 
 
 E 4
 
 had once been : they faw him, fhunning their 
 prudent counfels, refign himfcif to the treache- 
 rous guidance of his obfcure theologifts of a 
 Mammachi and a Zacearia inftead of confult- 
 ing thofe cardinals in whom he had at firft ap- 
 peared to place fome confidence. 
 
 The year 1783 commenced under circum- 
 ftances of the moft inaufpicious afpeft to him. 
 Even Spain, that had hitherto been his principal 
 fupport againft the hoftilities of the court of 
 Naples, now took part with that court in oppo- 
 fition to him. The Neapolitan minifter, highly 
 difgufted with the perfonal mortifications which 
 he had been obliged to endure, had quitted 
 Rome. The chevalier Azara was commillioned 
 to fupply his place; and the pope was. not be- 
 nefited by the change. The Spaniih minifter 
 fpoke to him with a franknefs which ought to 
 have alarmed him. " It was time," he faid, " to 
 " put an end to thofe refufals which in the be- 
 ft ginning had been only ridiculous, but which 
 " might ultimately terminate in fatal confe- 
 *' quences. Why drive the Neapolitan court to 
 " extremities ? Did it VKA pofiefs various means 
 " of wreaking its vengeance ? could it not put in 
 " execution a plan which it had already con- 
 " ceived that of caufing the new bifliop of Po- 
 " tenza to be- confirmed, according to the sn- 
 " cicnt difcipline, by three bifliops of the coun-
 
 57 
 
 " try, and thus difpenfing with the mterpofition 
 " of the See of Rome ? The repugnance, more- 
 " over, which that court felt to the performance 
 " of the annual homage, was well known: why 
 " then furnifh it with an additional motive for 
 " completely emancipating itfelf from the ob- 
 <f noxious ceremony? and did his holinefs wifh 
 " to incur the felf-reproach of having by his own 
 " mifmanagement forfeited a prerogative fo flat- 
 " tering to his vanity ?" 
 
 Pius, however, was fo obftinate, and fo ill ad- 
 vifed, that even tl.is laft argument did not make 
 him in his purpofe. He infifted that Serrao 
 fliould make recantation of his dangerous maxims 
 in a particular formula which he himfelf would 
 dictate to him. The court of Naples, wearied 
 by thefe vain quibbles, fent information to the 
 pontiff, that, unlefs Serrao were proclaimed 
 without delay or reftrition, meafures of ex- 
 tremity mould immediately be adopted, which 
 his holinefs would have reafon to regret. The 
 crifis was now become more alarming than at 
 any former period, and Pius began to be inti- 
 midated. 
 
 He felt the ncceflity of calling in the aid of 
 counfellors fomewhat more influential than thofe 
 to whom he had before given his confidence, 
 lie therefore intruded the interefts of the Holj 
 Sec to the hands of cardinals Antonelli, Albani,
 
 58 
 
 Bofchi, Zelada, and Cafali. We have already 
 made known the character of Antonelli. Al- 
 bani was dean of the Sacred College, poffefTed 
 fome abilities and confiderable influence, and 
 was one of the partifans of the defundt fociety. 
 Bofchi was a man endowed with information, 
 prudence, a luminous understanding, and liable 
 to no other imputation than that of a remaining 
 attachment to the Jefuits. . We have more than 
 once fpoken of Zelada, who was acute, en- 
 lightened, but of an efTentially mild and conci- 
 liating difpofition. Finally, Cafi-ii was a crea- 
 ture of the Jefuits, little inclined to toleration, 
 rigidly inflexible, but of fevere probity. 
 
 Such were the five counfellors intrufted with 
 the critical negotiation. They conducted it with 
 honefty and dexterity, and fucceeded in remov- 
 ing the chief obftacle that ftood in the way of 
 its happy conclufion. The pope at length con^ 
 iented to proclaim not only the bifhop of Po- 
 tcnza, but alfo twenty-one other prelates who 
 had been nominated by the king. Much time 
 had already been loft in deciding whether a 
 bifhop Ihould be proclaimed in this manner or 
 in that : but the fource of theologic fubtilties 
 was not yet exhaufted. Pius confidered himfelf 
 as having made a great effort, and expected to 
 reap the reward of what he had done: in fhorr, 
 he hoped to regain in few days all the ground
 
 59 
 
 that fo numerous reforms and fo many dan-' 
 gerous publications had caufed him to lofe. 
 Serrap had given fcandal by his heterodox af- 
 fertions : he mud now give edification by a pro-? 
 feilion of faith very authentic, very circumftan- 
 tial. ?' But, will it not be fufficient," aiked the 
 good bifhop of Potenza, " if I exculpate myfelf 
 " from the imputations brought againft me, and 
 " acknowledge the pope as the fupreme head, 
 " and centre of unity, of the catholic church ?" 
 This was not enough to fatisfy Pius, who liked 
 to enter into particulars. He infifted that Ser- 
 rao mould give verbal anfvvers to eleven quefti- 
 ons which he propofed to him, and of which 
 almoft every one afforded proof that his holi- 
 iiefs was very imperfectly acquainted with the 
 fpirit of the times. Benedift XIV., even Can- 
 ganelli himfelf* would have kept them confined 
 within the privacy of their own bofoms, be- 
 caufe they were fenfible that there are certain 
 delicate chords which will not bear to be 
 touched. The following are fome of thofe 
 queilions : and from them the world may judge 
 of the degree of intellectual illumination poflefled 
 by the wifeft members of the Sacred College. 
 
 " Do you feel a fincere veneration for the 
 " Holy See ? Do you acknowledge in the pope 
 '* an entire and unlimited authority over every
 
 60 
 
 " thfng connected with the maintenance of rell- 
 " gion and ecclefiaftic difcjpline ? 
 
 " Have you never attempted to infringe the 
 "bull Unigenitus ? 
 
 " Do you think that the Italian catechifm, 
 " attributed to Monfieur de Fleury, ftands in 
 " need of correction ? 
 
 " Do you approve of the religious focieties 
 " confirmed by the Holy See ? and do you think, 
 " that, while they punctually follow the rules of 
 " their refperive inftitutions, they may be ufeful 
 " to the church? 
 
 " Have you ever difapproved of the pof- 
 " feflion of church property when it is duly ad- 
 " miniftered ? 
 
 " Do you intend to fubmit your public con- 
 " duel to the infpetion and judgement of the 
 " Holy See r" 
 
 Was it poflible that Pius could have flattered 
 himfelf with a hope that thefc queftions fhould 
 meet the approbation of the Neapolitan court, 
 on whofe meafures they pafled an indirect cen- 
 fure ? The event proves, that, on this as on 
 many other occafions, he had been deficient in 
 forefight. The king's minifters and theologifts 
 being confultedj unanimouily declared in anfwer 
 that the pope's fummons was an innovation, 
 and even an infult to the king, as likewife to
 
 61 
 
 the bimop, who had never afforded any room 
 for affixing on him a fufpicion of herefy ; that 
 the queftions themfelves confounded the limits 
 of the two powers, and infringed the rights of 
 the temporal fovereignty. The Neapolitan mi- 
 nifter received order to reprefent the matter in 
 this light to the pope, and to inform him that if 
 he would not be fatisfied with the declaration 
 offered by the bifhop of Potenza, his ma jelly 
 would recall him from his embafTadorial miflion, 
 and adopt other meafures in that common caufe 
 which equally interefted all the catholic go- 
 vernments. At the fame time an injunction 
 was laid on the bimop of even adding to his de- 
 claration that it was not to be otherwife under- 
 ftood.than in a fenfe conformable to the rights 
 of fovereignty and the conftitutional laws of the 
 Two Sicilies. 
 
 Thus, inftead of a triumph from that miftaken 
 meafure, Pius reaped a refufal, mortifications, 
 and new menaces. Too late he perceived that 
 it was again neceffary to yield : and the cardi- 
 nals, on being confulted, advifed him to make a 
 virtue of the neceffity. Zelada, uniformly con- 
 fident in his conciliatory difpofition, mod of all 
 contributed to determine the pontiff's compli- 
 ance. On thofe terms the ridiculous cere- 
 mony of the palfrey was again performed that 
 ytv.
 
 64 
 
 In the year following, the Neapolitan court 
 proceeded in the fuppreffion of monafteries, and 
 the reformation of fome of thofe numerous abufeS 
 which are ever the unfailing fruits of facerdotal 
 influence. In .its conduct was difcernible a mix- 
 ture of philofophy, of religious veneration for 
 fome objects which it thought refpeclable, of 
 tendernefs for others which the people would 
 not tamely have fuffered to be wrefted from 
 them, and which even the fovereign authority 
 itfelf was interefted in fupporting. Hence thofe 
 half-meafures, which prove either a want of ca- 
 pacity to embrace a plan in its whole extent, or 
 a want of ftrength and courage to carry it into 
 execution. Too little was done toward en- 
 lightening the people ; enough, to afflict the 
 court of Rome. The king prohibited all future 
 application to it for difpenfations : he aflerted 
 his right of advowfon over all the churches in 
 his dominions : nothing more was left to the 
 pope than the privilege of confecrating and 
 giving his benediction to prelates, and convok- 
 ing councils. To the king was referved the 
 care of prefiding at elections, protecting the 
 clergy, and difpofing of the furplus of all church 
 revenues for the benefit of the poor : to the 
 bifliops was given the faculty of granting matri- 
 monial difpenfations in all degrees of confan- 
 guinity, and of exercifing over all the religious
 
 G5 
 
 orders a jurifdiction unpontroled by concurrence 
 or appeal. 
 
 The pope, thoroughly convinced of his own 
 impotence, thought himfelf ftill happy that even 
 his. interpolation was in any cafe defired. The 
 king of Naples wifhing to relieve the diftreffes 
 in which the unfortunate inhabitants of Apulia 
 and Calabria had recently been involved pious 
 foundations! devotional legacies, the excefs of the 
 clerical revenues, were naturally marked out 
 for thofe offices of humanity, or, if you pleafe, 
 of Chriftian charity. The Roman pontiff, whole 
 content might have been deemed altogether fu- 
 periiuous, was invited to give his fan&ion to 
 thofe meafures, With prompt alacrity he ac- 
 cjuiefced in the wifnes of the Neapolitan court, 
 and even ftretched his condefcenfion fo far as to 
 permit that all the clergy in the kingdom mould 
 for the fame benevolent purpofe be fubjecled to 
 a tax in proportion to their abilities. It might 
 have been afked on which fide the condefcenJion 
 really exifted in the monarch who folicited 
 fuch permiiiions, or in the pope who granted 
 them? But, what will perhaps appear yet more 
 aftonifliing, the Neapolitan clergy mowed thcm- 
 felves lefs tractable than the head of the church 
 himfelf appeared. Confcious of the ftrength 
 he derived from this concurrence of the fpiritual 
 with the temporal airhority, the king conceived
 
 tliat he might without fcruple or danger fup- 
 prefs a great number of convents in Calabria* 
 The priefts had the boldnefs to oppofe the fup- 
 preffion, and grounded their difbbedience on 
 the famous bull In ccend Domini, which, among 
 other political herefies, contains this principle, 
 that " whoever does not refpect the inviolabi- 
 lity of the property of the clergy, is ftricken 
 with anathema." The court of Rome were 
 ftrongly fufpefted of a fecret agency in that re- 
 iiftance : but the king had their overt confent ; 
 and, availing himfelf of that advantage, he or- 
 dained that all thofe who, in oppofition to his 
 edicts, fhould appeal to that bull which was fo 
 juftly profcribed, mould be deprived of their 
 temporal property and treated as foreigners, and 
 that whoever mould print and publifli it, fhould 
 be punifiied as guilty of a crime againft the 
 ftate. 
 
 This meafure was not a little bold for an Ita- 
 lian fovereign, and efpecially for a prince of re- 
 ligious character. Ferdinand neverthelefs pro- 
 ceeded yet farther. Of a hundred and thirty- 
 nine biflioprics in the monarchy of the Two 
 Sicilies, only twenty-fix were acknowledged to 
 be of royal advowfon : all the others had till 
 this time been fubjet tp the pope's nomina- 
 tion. Suddenly the king of Naples, encouraged 
 by the example of his brother-in-law, revived
 
 his claim to the right of indifcriminately nomi- 
 nating to all the epifcopal fees in his dominions* 
 The influence of the court of Madrid, which 
 had for fome time reprelTed that pretenfion, 
 was beginning to lofe its former Weight : the 
 Neapolitan monarch, as he advanced in age, 
 was grown weary of continuing fubjeft to the 
 control of Charles III., his father : the queen 
 alfo was very impatient of that yoke ; and the 
 chevalier Acton, who already enjoyed confider- 
 able authority, encouraged the royal pair in 
 their refinance. There even exifted a very vio^ 
 lent animofity between that minifter and the 
 count de Florida-Blanca ; and, as they govern- 
 ed their refpeftive courts with almoft defpotic 
 fway, a coolnefs had taken place between the 
 Spanilh and Neapolitan fovereigns, which was 
 each moment liable to degenerate into an open 
 quarrel. 
 
 While affairs were thus circumftanced, the 
 cardinal de Bernis, in May 1784, paid a vifit to 
 Naples. The queen repofed, or at leaft affected 
 to repofe, equal confidence in his intellects and 
 his intentions. Bernis, by his franknefs and con- 
 ciliating dexterity, fucceeded in accomplifhing 
 a partial reconciliation, which however was 
 foon followed by more violent ftorms : but 
 thefe do not properly belong to our fubjetr. 
 
 VOL. n, F
 
 66 
 
 During a fortnight that Bernis fpent at the 
 court of Naples, he had occafion to plead the 
 caufe of the papacy ; and he performed the 
 taflc with that infinuating addfefs which was 
 fo natural to him, and which did not appear to 
 fail in its effect on the queen of Naples, though 
 herfelf fo eminently fkilled in tbaf kind of fe- 
 duclion. He fpoke however in the language of 
 an ecclefiaftic prince, which, notwithftanding 
 all his philofophy, he underftood as well as any 
 of his brethren. The Holy See, he obferved, 
 had already gratified the Neapolitan court with 
 numerous facrifices : if the latter required fur- 
 ther conceffions of that kind, it muft expect to 
 meet with confiderable repugnance. A fhort 
 time before Bernis' arrival, a fit of peevifhnefs 
 had produced the effect of breaking off a nego- 
 tiation which had been commenced refpefting 
 the principal grounds of the difpute : for pee- 
 vifhnefs had great influence in all the determi- 
 nations of that unfteady and capricious court. 
 Bernis, however, fucceeded not only in remov- 
 ing all the prejudices which flood in the way of 
 pacification, but alfo in gaining attention to 
 what he had to propofe. He obtained, that, at 
 the approaching feftival of the holy apoflles, 
 the pontifical vanity fliould again be tcafted 
 with the homage of the palfrey: he extorted
 
 67 
 
 fome vague promifes, and carried back to Rome 
 fbme hopes which the pope participated, but 
 which were foon difappointed. 
 
 No long time elapfed before the pontifflearned 
 that an almo'ft unlimited ufe was made of the bull 
 by which he had authorifed the fuppreffionof fome 
 monafteries, and the incorporation of others into 
 one. That meafure had been purfued to fuch 
 lengths, that it had, in the language of the Ro- 
 man court, degenerated into a perfet fyftem of 
 robbery. The nuns of the fupprefled convents 
 had renounced the rules of their order, and, 
 releafed from the confinement of the cloifler, 
 exhibited to the world the fcandalous fpeftacle 
 of a fecular life. Some good fouls had fent to 
 Naples a fum of money deftined for the canoni- 
 fation of I know not what female faint. That 
 fum was diverted from its facred deftination, 
 and applied to the purchafe of corn. Could 
 fuch a facrilege be pardoned ? And it was at 
 the fame epoch that the Neapolitan monarch, 
 to fill up the meafure, renewed his pretenfions 
 to the right of nominating to all the biflboprics 
 in his dominions. 
 
 The pope thought it again neceffary to have 
 recourfe to the court of Spain : he firft applied 
 to its minifter, Azara, and gave him unlimited 
 powers to terminate the difputes between the 
 papacy and the king of Naples. The Spanim 
 F 2,
 
 miniller determined to prove that his holrnefs's 
 confidence was not in this inftance mifplaced. 
 The chevalier Afton at the very commence- 
 ment of the bufmefs mowed himfelf fufficiently 
 difpofed to labour at an accommodation. Strong 
 prepofleflions were entertained againft him as 
 well at Madrid as at Verfailles : he wifhed to 
 evince by his conduct that he was not fo averfe 
 to conciliation as he was acculed of being ; and 
 from thefe favourable fymptoms the court of 
 Rome conceived fome hopes. It was moreover 
 fuppor'ted by the marquis della Sambucca, who, 
 forgetting his private caufes of complaint againft 
 the pope, remembered that he was indebted for 
 his promotion to the felicitations of that court 
 and the Intrigues of the Jefuits. 
 
 But the joy of Pius was ever deftined to be 
 of fliort duration. Scarcely had he begun to 
 refurrte fome confidence when he learned that 
 meafures were continued in Calabria to an ex- 
 tent far exceeding his intentions ; that the 
 churches and other ecclefiaftic foundations 
 which had furvived the difafters of that province, 
 were fecularifed, and that the property which 
 had belonged to them was applied by the king 
 of Naples to eftablifhments of public utility. If 
 Pius had entertained founder notions of policy, 
 if his charity had been greater than his devo- 
 tion and his felfifhnefs, he would have ap-
 
 9 
 
 plauded thefe changes : but, viewing them in 
 no other light than as additional infringements 
 of his rights and of the immunities of the church, 
 he felt them as fo many deep wounds inflicted 
 on his bofom. His comforter Azara advifed him 
 to have direct recourfe to the interpofition of 
 the king of Spain. Charles III. accordingly in- 
 terpofed at Naples through the medium of the 
 marquis della Sambucca, in whom he carefled 
 the rival and the enemy of the chevalier Aclon. 
 It was cuftomary with Pius to go every year, 
 in the fpring feafon, pcrfonally to vifit the works 
 at the Pontine marihes, and to fpend a few 
 .days at Terracina near the frontier of the king- 
 dom of Naples. It was a relaxation, a diverfion 
 from his chagrins, a feaft to his felf-love. La 
 Sambucca caufed a propofa! to be made to him 
 that he mould take advantage of that journey, 
 to treat in perfon refpecling the affairs on which 
 the two courts were yet divided. For that puiv 
 pofe la Sambucca was to repair to Terracina : 
 but, previoufly to the interview, he wifhed that 
 fome principal points (hould be fettled, efpecial- 
 ly that fome accommodatory medium mould be 
 adopted refpe&ing the nomination tp bilhop- 
 rics; that the pope ihoukl acknowledge the 
 king's right to it, with fome modifications/- Pius 
 liftened to' thefe proportions, and, through the 
 organ of the chevalier Azara, faid that he
 
 70 
 
 would be found " very reafonable :" but he re- 
 prefented that the points on which his concef- 
 iion was required antecedently to all negotia- 
 tion, were precifely thofe which were to be dif- 
 cuffed. La Sambucca infifted on their prelimi- 
 nary admiffion, and confidentially intimated to 
 the Spanifli minifter, that, if his holinefs fet out 
 without having given a previous aflurance to 
 that erFel,h e would only expofe himfelf to a 
 failure in the objeft of the interview, and pre- 
 pare a triumph for his enemy A6ton, whofe ap- 
 parent good will to the court of Rome had been 
 but tranfitory. " No !" replied Pius to the 
 Spanifli minifter, " I cannot ccnfent to an abfo- 
 " lute and unlimited nomination : the wound 
 " would be too furely mortal. But why might 
 " not the king confent to a modification ? why 
 " not allow me the faculty of choofing one of 
 " three candidates whom he ihould propofe to 
 "me?" 
 
 The chevalier Azara was not a little aftonifh- 
 cd to obferve the perfevering uniformity with 
 which he was particularly fmgled out as the in- 
 terpreter on thefe occafions he, who had been 
 fo feverely calumniated at Naples, who had 
 been reprefented to the king and queen as a 
 ftern intra6\able man, and a fomenter of dif- 
 cord between them and the Spanifli monarch. 
 But he was candid and honed ; he felt an at-
 
 71 
 
 tachment to the pope ; and, although in his 
 own mind he could juftly appreciate the pon- 
 tiff's pretenfions, he aided him to the utmoft of 
 his power at the court of Naples. He afiured 
 the royal pair that he perfifted in the difpofition 
 to ferve them with zeal, but at the fame time 
 reprefented to them that they muft not ex- 
 peft to gain at the firft onfet the very objecl 
 which was the ground of the conteft. La Sam- 
 bucca was inflexible. " If the articles on which 
 " I infift," faid he, " be not determined, I will 
 " not go to Terracina." The indignation of the 
 pope was roufed by this obftinacy : but reflexion, 
 aided by the counfels of the chevalier Azara, 
 calmed his paffion ; and he pledged his word 
 that he would confent, provided fuch a com- 
 plexion were given to the bufmefs as ihould at 
 lead: fave his honour. It appears that la Sam- 
 bucca was not fatisfied with thefe vague af- 
 furances : for, though Pius fet out for Terracina 
 on the gth of May (1785), the propofed inter- 
 view did not take place. 
 
 F 4
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Mortifications received by Pius from the Court of 
 Naples. Abolition of the Homage of the Palfrey. 
 
 JL OWARD the fame period Pius experienced 
 from the Neapolitan fovereigns a mortification 
 which he fenfibly felt, On the 30th of April 
 they embarked for Legorn, whence they pro- 
 ceeded to the northern parts of Italy, openly 
 affecting to avoid paffing near the fovercign 
 pontiff. Coniidering the footing on which they 
 then flood with him, an interview would have 
 been embarralling ; and they were not forry to 
 give him that indirect proof of their diffatisfac- 
 tion. They were accompanied by the grand- 
 duke of Tufcany, and met the emperor at Parma. 
 The only town of the papal territory in which 
 they flopped was Bologna, where the legate, 
 cardinal Buoncompagni who afterward became 
 fecretary of ftate, received them with that no- 
 blenefs of manner which was his character]' ftic 
 feature. They were fenfibly pleafed with his 
 reception, vifited the curiolities of the town, be- 
 haved with the moil winning politenefs ; but
 
 73 
 
 not a word was faid concerning their difputcs 
 with the Holy See. Pius was tempted to fend 
 his nephew to them at Pifa, to invite them to 
 pafs through Rome on their return. But it was 
 infmuated to him that fuch a ftcp would only 
 be a gratuitous and unavailing derogation from 
 his dignity. The Neapolitan fovereigns returned 
 to 'their own dominions without affording him 
 any token of their remembrance. 
 
 After their return they gave him new dif- 
 quietudes. They received fourteen chefis filled 
 with the plate of the fuppreffed churches, which 
 they fent to the mint : they treated canonries as 
 dignities of a purely temporal nature, and dif- 
 pofed of them without the concurrence of the 
 papacy : they fupported the religious orders in 
 their independence of their generals refiding at 
 Rome. After fuch meafures, there remained, 
 in the opinion of the pontiff, but one more ftep 
 to herefy, or at leaft to fchifm. 
 
 During thefe tranfaftions cardinal Pallavicini 
 died ; and the choice of a fucceflbr to replace 
 him was attended with embarraffmerit. The 
 mind of Pius, as we fhall prefently fee, was 
 prepoflefled againft cardinal Buoncompagni : but 
 he facrificed his repugnance to various confide- 
 rations, efpecially to the hope that, as the cardi- 
 nal was agreeable to the court of Naples, he 
 might there render fervice to the Holy See,
 
 74 
 
 Accordingly one of the firft fteps of the new 
 fecretary of flate was to repair to Naples : but, 
 inftead of exhibiting himfelf to advantage in an 
 amiable and winning chara&er which he was 
 very capable of afTuming, he appeared in no 
 other than that of the cardinal and the minifter. 
 He returned from his fruitlefs million, leaving in 
 his ftead a Milanefe prelate, who, more ferioufly 
 employed in political affairs than in religious dif- 
 cuffions, fucceeded in determining the bound- 
 aries of the two ftates between Abruzzo and 
 Umbria. But the ecclefiaftic difputes were be- 
 coming more and more embittered : in this fame 
 year the king further prohibited his fubje6ts to 
 receive any indulgences from Rome without his 
 fan&ion. Our grand-children will fmile when 
 informed that even fo late as the year 1785 it re- 
 quired an exertion of courage in a fovereign to 
 fubjecl a tribute of that kind to the control of 
 his authority. 
 
 The fituation of the pontiff, with refpeft to 
 Naples, became yet worfe at the commence- 
 ment of the year 1786. La Sambucca, his only 
 remaining fupport, was at length obliged to 
 yield in the flruggle againft the chevalier Afton. 
 The interefts of the papacy thenceforward de- 
 pended on the marquis del Marco, minifter of 
 juftice and of ecclefiaftic affairs. Formed in the 
 fchool of Tanucci, and a devoted creature of the.
 
 75 
 
 chevalier Aton, he had, in addition to his na- 
 tural duplicity of character, no other talents to 
 recommend him than a blind fubmiffion to the 
 will of that chief minifter, and to the court of 
 Rome a great (lock of malevolence which he 
 millook for philofophy. An antagonift much 
 more formidable becaufe he was really a 
 philofopher, and had during his Sicilian viceroy- 
 alty exhibited proofs of his boldly reforming 
 fpirit was the marquis Caraccioli, who fuc- 
 ceeded la Sambucca in the department of fo- 
 reign affairs. The Jefuits and other confidential 
 friends of the pontiff trembled at this revolu- 
 tion 3 nor was it long ere their apprehenfions 
 were realifed. The duchefs de Maddaloni was 
 at this time engaged in a fuit to obtain a divorce 
 from her hufband : me gained her caufe before 
 the confiftory of Naples: the duke appealed 
 from the fentence ; and the king referred the 
 matter to a commiffion. The nuncio attempted 
 to interpofe the fpiritual authority of the head 
 of the church, becaufe there was queltion of a 
 facrament : but he was over-ruled, and informed 
 that marriage, inafmuch as it is a contract, mud 
 ever lie within the jti'fifdx&ion of the temporal 
 power. A ftronger or more explicit deciiion 
 could not have been expected from a proteitant 
 court. 
 
 The fate of the religious orders, which yet
 
 remained undecided, was definitively determined 
 i>y,an ordinance in which the king was made to 
 fpeak with a boldnefs of language at which 
 kimfelf muft have been aftoniflied. It fet forth 
 that his majefty, after mature examination, was 
 thoroughly convinced that the fubjeftion of the 
 religious focieties to generals reliding out of his 
 dominions was " an abufe, a violation of the 
 ""rights of the biihops, the offspring of thofe 
 " ages of darknefs and fpiritual calamity, of thofe 
 " falfe decretals forged by an impoftor who had 
 fe fuffered himfelf to be led aftray by his blind 
 * affeclion for' the court of Rome." 
 
 This meafure, and especially its motives, 
 proved a thunder-ftroke to the Holy See and its 
 adherents. Theologifts are confulted : the ge- 
 nerals of the religious orders affemble in the 
 pope's palace, and draw up a pro left in oppofi- 
 tion to the raft ordinance of the Neapolitan 
 monarch. Unavailing clamours ! The mal -con- 
 tents could not on this occafion expert to receive 
 fupport from the court of Spain : that court had 
 itfelf been for fome years meditating a fimilar 
 reform. 
 
 The court of Rome, however, found in the 
 new Neapolitan miniftcr a greater propensity 
 to conciliation than they had at firft expected. 
 The marquis Caraccioli and the cardinal Buon- 
 compagni entertained for each other a, rccipro-
 
 77 
 
 cal eftee'm. Both prudent and enlightened men, 
 fuperior, each in his refpe&ive country, to the 
 furrounding crowd of their contemporaries, they 
 would perhaps have been of the fame opinion if 
 they had been placed in the fame fphere of life. 
 They mutually fought each other's acquaintance. 
 Caraccioli broached a direct correfpondence 
 with the cardinal, for the purpofe of amicably 
 terminating the differences which kept their 
 courts at variance. After they had begun to 
 underftand each other a little, the pope fent 
 count Galeppi to Naples without any oftenfible 
 commifllon, but (imply to hear whatever the 
 Neapolitan government might be difpofed to 
 fay to him : for the Roman court were not daz- 
 zled by thofe advances j and it was with good 
 reafon that they were not. At the moment 
 v/hen a reconciliation feemed approaching, the 
 tribunal of Santa Clara pronounced that three of 
 the biihoprics which were the fubjefts of the 
 conteft, being of royal advowfon, ought to be 
 fubjeft to the king's nomination. The arch- 
 bilhop of Naples whofe exemplary virtues were 
 alloyed by a fanatic zeal for the court of 
 Rome, the entire Sacred College, and the pon- 
 tiff himfelf, loudly exclaimed againft the deci- 
 fion ; and there was queftion of proceeding to 
 violent meafures. But the prudent friends of 
 Pius calmed his mind, and he checked his re-
 
 78 
 
 fentment left he fhould caufe a mifcarriage of 
 the negotiation which was about to be com- 
 menced. 
 
 It began under happy aufpices. Galeppi was 
 highly pleafed with the queen's difpofition. 
 Dextrous, infmuating, fuccefsfully adopting every 
 tone and efpecially that of confidence, fhe en- 
 chanted the incipient negotiator. He had ima- 
 gined that Caraccioli's influence was to be his 
 principal, his only, refource : yet he found the 
 queen even more conciliating than the minifter. 
 But while he fuffered himfelf to be dazzled by 
 thefe appearances, a fequeftration was laid on 
 the very abbey which cardinal Buoncompagrii 
 poflefled in the kingdom of Naples, and part of 
 its revenues appropriated to ufeful eftablifh- 
 ments: a laudable reform, without doubt, though 
 the time and the object were ill chofen. Was 
 this ftep the effect of duplicity ? or did it pro- 
 ceed merely from the want of reflection ? Thefe 
 are queftions not eafily to be anfwered even by 
 thole who have had the clofeft and moft fre- 
 quent accefs to the queen of Naples. That 
 procedure, liable at. kaft to the charge of incivi- 
 lity, was yet quite recent when the queen, per- 
 haps moved by compaffion, wrote with her own 
 hand to cardinal Buoncompagni, that, notwith- 
 flanding appearances, the king was defirous of an 
 accommodation with his holinefs. Soon after,
 
 79 
 
 fome efforts were made to difplay a. 
 confiftent with this affurance : recommendation 
 was given to obferve a degree of tendernefs to- 
 ward the court of Rome, at lead in point of 
 form ; and the tribunals were directed to fliew 
 fome regard for the religious orders. 
 
 At length Galeppi fucceeded in removing 
 a firft difficulty. In September 1786, it was 
 agreed that the king mould thenceforward no- 
 minate to all the biflioprics in his dominions ; 
 that the pope mould be empowered to difpofe 
 of fixty thoufand ducats of church-revenues in 
 favour of Neapolitan fubjefts, and of fix-thou- 
 fand toward the fupport of his nuncio at Na- 
 ples. Galeppi would have wiftied to obtain 
 further fucceffes, and efpecially to effect a fuf- 
 penfion of the fuppreffion of monafteries : but 
 his efforts were of no avail. Perhaps, however, 
 they might not have been unfuccefsfal if he had 
 chofen to leave the bufinefs entirely in the hancL 
 of the marquis Caraccioli, who, to the great 
 nftonifliment of the world, was become at his 
 court the principal advocate of the papacy he 
 who, both in England and in France, had fo 
 often indulged his wit at the expenfe of religion 
 who had fo flightingly treated its minifters in 
 Sicily who had more than once been heard to 
 fay at Paris, " If ever I become minifter to the 
 " king of Naples, I'll find means to render him
 
 80 
 
 " Independent of the grand mufti of Rome." But 
 Galeppi wimed to multiply his means : a hun- 
 dred agents were employed in the bufmefs of 
 his negotiation : it failed, and he returned to 
 Rome in April 1787, carrying with him a plan 
 of accommodation which the apoftolic chancel- 
 lery refufed to admit. 
 
 Inftead of being aftonifhed at the condefcen- 
 fion of a court of which the two mod influential 
 men difplayed a boldnefs of principle fo alarm- 
 Ing to the caufe of orthodoxy inftead of ap- 
 pearing grateful for it Pius afferted that he had 
 done every thing in his power to fatisfy the king 
 of Naples, and that it would not be his fault if 
 an accommodation mould not take place. It 
 was particularly to the French and Spanifh mi- 
 nifters that he held this language, hoping that 
 their courts would interpofe in his favour. But, 
 at Madrid as well as at Verfailles, people were 
 tired of thofe inceffantly reviving difputes, of 
 thofe alternations of ftubbornnefs And com- 
 plaifance, of reafon and extravagance. Pius 
 therefore faw himfelf abandoned to his own rc- 
 fources, and called in the aid of his favourite 
 remedy : Buoncompagni was directed to coni- 
 pofe a long memorial, in which he endeavoured 
 to prove the legitimacy of the pontiff's preten- 
 tious, and efpecially the inviolable jurisdiftion of his 
 nuncio at Naples: A prelate was appointed to
 
 * 81 
 
 convey this memorial to Galeppi, who had re- 
 turned to his poft : but by the king's order it 
 was coolly and briefly anfwered that the pope's 
 pretenfions were inadmiffible, and that it was 
 no longer poflible to think of an accommoda- 
 tion. 
 
 For a long time back every thing had been 
 done at Naples in fits of peevifhnefs. In all the 
 operations of the government it was eafy to 
 difcover the influence of a woman, who alter- 
 nately vibrated between benevolence and ani- 
 mofity, and followed at one time the temperate 
 counfels of Caraccioli, at another the violent 
 fuggeftions of A6lon, but oftener the impulfes 
 of her own caprice. 
 
 After fuch a repulfive anfwer, could any man 
 have expe&ed to fee the negotiations once more 
 renewed before the conclufion of the year ? 
 Pius, it is true, made the firft advances, and 
 came forward with more moderate pretenfions. 
 Caraccioli fignified, that, fince the pope mewed 
 himfelf more reafonable, it became eafy to ef- 
 fet a reconciliation, of which the king himfelf 
 was extremely defirous ; but that it was necef- 
 fary to lay afide all thofe little wiles, all thofe 
 fubtilities, which had caufed the preceding ne- 
 gotiations to mifcarry. 
 
 The cardinal fecretary of ftate thought him- 
 felf the perfon moft capable of realifing the new 
 
 VOL. II. G
 
 hopes which the pontiff was beginning to enter- 
 tain ; and with that idea he repaired to Naples 
 in the month of October. A fufpicion prevailed 
 that a zeal for the interefts of the papacy was 
 not his real motive for undertaking that journey. 
 Gorani, in his Secret Memoirs of the Courts of 
 Italy, aflerts that he was principally attracted to 
 Naples by his defire of revifiting a woman with 
 whom he had been very intimately acquainted 
 at Bologna ; and the libertine conduct of th,e 
 cardinal gives credibility to the aflertion. He 
 probably accomplished the object in which his 
 heart Was concerned ; but he failed in that 
 which would have flattered his vanity. He was 
 extremely pleafing in his manner : he was well 
 received ; and he propofed a plan of conciliation 
 in which the pope made fome new facrifkes: 
 but they were not deemed fufficient. 
 
 Gorani relates that Buoncompagni, fully per- 
 fuaded that he mould find the king more ac- 
 commodating than his miniflers, requefted of 
 him a private audience, at which, after having 
 with his infmuating eloquence urged to him his 
 apoftolic arguments, he thus concluded his ha- 
 rangue " Your majefty may reft aflured that 
 " your condefcenfion to the Holy See is the only 
 " mean of avoiding a multitude of unpleafant cir- 
 " cumftances, and of acquiring in all events a 
 " faithful and fteady friend."" Cardinal/' re-
 
 plied the king" I have liftened to you as long 
 " as you thought proper : do you now liften to 
 " me in turn. I was not afraid to difpleafe the 
 " king of Spain my father when I felt it my duty 
 " to defend the rights of my crown. Can you 
 " then imagine that I (hall entertain any fear in 
 " defending them againft the pretenlions and fub- 
 " tilities of your fovereign ? No ! nothing can pre- 
 " vail on me to confent to the demands of Pius 
 " VI., becaufe I deem them unjuft." 
 
 We think ourfelves authorifed to queftion the 
 authenticity of this dialogue, as bearing too lit- 
 tle conformity to the characters of the fpeakers. 
 The cardinal's friends have never had any know- 
 ledge of it : and befides, if he had carried home 
 from Naples fo explicit a declaration, how could 
 the pontiff, immediately after Buoncompagni's 
 miffion, have indulged in that fecurity which 
 the bed-informed obfervers remarked in him ? 
 However that point be determined, the cardinal 
 returned to Rome without having made any 
 progrefs in the bufinefs; and the year 1787 
 concluded amid cold demonftrations of mutual 
 good underftanding. 
 
 And now commenced that year which was to 
 inflict on the pope the moft painful of all morti* 
 fications that it was poffible for him to expe- 
 rience. The month of June was far advanced, 
 and no meafures had yet been taken for th
 
 84 
 
 folemn 'prefentalion of the palfrey. No new 
 caufe of complaint had arifen on either fide : 
 how then account for the delay ? for his holi- 
 nefs could not even for a moment admit the 
 idea of a total omiflion of the accuftomed ho- 
 mage. Saint Peter's eve at length arrived : the 
 conftable Colorma, the hero of the ceremony > 
 has not yet made his appearance: but " the an- 
 " nual tribute at lead: will be fent." The annual 
 tribute is equally invifible. 
 
 Pius was deeply affected : he would have 
 wifhed to avoid expofmg himfelf to ridicule by 
 the utterance of impotent complaints : but he 
 dreaded the bnrft of univerfal indignation. The 
 fatal hour is come: he afcends his throne 
 with mournful countenance furveys the fur- 
 rounding affembly of cardinals, and an im- 
 menfe auditory who participate his dejection 
 pronounces a difcourfe, which he endeavours to 
 render impreffive by pathos of tone, and in 
 which he accumulates arguments that to him 
 appear unanfwerable. He reminds his audience 
 that he has " done every thing to conduct the 
 41 negotiations to a happy conclufion: he has writ- 
 " ten conciliatory letters j but the king of Naples 
 " has not anfwered them ; and,- without any 
 " previous notice, he now offers him the affront of 
 *' fudderly discontinuing a homage which he had 
 " conftantly paid him fuice his acceffion to the
 
 85 
 
 " throne a homage guarantied by die exprefs 
 " promife of his father Charles III. a homage 
 " enforced by feveral bulls, and, among others, 
 " by that of Julius II. which denounces the threat 
 " of ecclefiaftical cenfures againft the king who 
 " mould omit it." He quotes thofe bulls, repeats 
 the paffages from them, not now in that thun- 
 dering voice which he was fond enough of af- 
 fuming in, the midft of his court on ftate occa- 
 fions, but in that melancholy and almoft fup- 
 pliant tone which is employed to move an in- 
 cenfed conqueror. 
 
 The few moderate men who heard him were 
 ftruck with admiration on obferving how fuc- 
 cefsfully he had been able to reftrain or at leaft 
 to foften the expreilion of his chagrin $ while 
 the crowd of fanatics beftowed on his forbear- 
 ance the name of bafe pufillanimity. But when, 
 at a diftance from the fcerie of action, we repre- 
 fent to ourfelves an old man, a fovereign, fighing 
 through vexation becaufe a horfe has failed to 
 come and pay him his periodical obeifance, we 
 no longer participate either the admiration of 
 the one party or the indignation of the other, 
 but look down with pity on the weaknefs and 
 vanity of frail mortals. 
 
 In the evening of that finifter day, at the mo- 
 ment when the Neapolitan ambafTador fhould 
 have prefented himfelf, the ff cat of the Apoftolic 
 c 3
 
 Chamber gravely made his proteftrefpefting the 
 delay of the cuftomary homage. The pope ad- 
 mitted the proteft, and thought he thereby faved 
 his honour and his rights. He next wrote to 
 the king of Naples a letter in circumfpect lan- 
 guage, but in a pathetic ftrain, which however 
 had loft all its force on thofe to whom it was 
 now addreflfed. He communicated this produc- 
 tion to the Spanifh minifter, who greatly ap- 
 plauded the form he had given to it. The che- 
 valier Azara and the cardinal de Bernis ftill con- 
 tinued to be his confidants and comforters ; 
 though, to avoid involving them in difficulties, 
 he had ceafed to apply to them for advice. The 
 two fage minifters, who were witnefles of his 
 affliclion, were very capable of appreciating its 
 objet, but could not forbear giving him teili- 
 nionies of their fympathy. 
 
 On the feventh of the following July, Ricciar- 
 delli, the Neapolitan charge-des-affaires, came 
 to prefent to cardinal Buoncompagrii the twelve 
 thoufand Roman crowns which his court once 
 more condefcended to pay as a tribute. " The 
 " principal circumftance of that homage is its 
 " folemnity," replied the cardinal, rejecting the 
 proffered fum. After the expiration of a fort- 
 night, Ricciardelli delivered to him a memorial 
 fetting forth, that the pope having refufed to 
 receive the twelve thoufand Roman crowns
 
 87 
 
 the king his mafter, defirous, as in preceding 
 years, to make a pious offering to the apoftles 
 Peter and Paul, had ordered him to depofit it in 
 a public bank where it fhould await the difpo- 
 fal of the Apoftolic Chamber. The cardinal con- 
 ceived he was fupporting the dignity of the pa- 
 pacy by replying in another memorial that the 
 pious offering, without the palfrey, did not fulfil 
 the engagements contrafted by the king of Na- 
 ples and his predeceflbrs to the Holy See ; that, 
 in confequence, the fijcal of the Apoftolic 
 Chamber had made a fecond proteft, and that 
 the bank in which the fum was depofited had 
 received directions to hold it at fignor Ricciar- 
 delli's difpofal. The latter fent back the me- 
 morial, the proteft, &c. becaufe he could not 
 receive them without an order from his court. 
 
 This conteft of empty formalities did not how- 
 ever terminate the difpute. The king of Na- 
 ples ftooped to pick up the gantlet which the 
 cardinal had flung down before him. He an- 
 fwered his memorial at great length, and in the 
 ftyle of a lawyer: he intimated that the dif- 
 ferences might have been terminated if Galeppi 
 had employed lefs of fubtility and more of iin- 
 cerity in his negotiations, and if cardinal Buon- 
 compagni had been authorifed to conclude defi- 
 nitively : he did not refufe the cuftomary obla- 
 tion j but he thought the pomp of the ceremony 
 c 4
 
 88 
 
 at lead unneceffary, fmce it was not exprefled in 
 the at of inveftiture : that at itfelf was fuper- 
 fluous, fmce the Neapolitan monarchs poffeffed 
 their kingdom by the right of conqueft, and 
 its enfeofment was a ufurpation, which could 
 only be borne in ages of ignorance and bar- 
 barifm. 
 
 Never before had any catholic prince fpoken 
 in fo bold language to the court of Rome, whofe 
 aftonifhment was now almoft equal to their af- 
 fliclion. Cardinal Borgia, fecretary of the Pro- 
 paganda and a learned theologift, was appoint- 
 ed to reply to it. But what arguments could he 
 advance in oppofition to force combined with 
 reafon ? Quotations, the authority of fathers of 
 the church and of the councils, ancient Concor- 
 dat a, recent regulations ! In this memorial, 
 xvhich was alternately learned and pathetic, the 
 pontiff enumerated all the lleps he had already 
 taken to effet a reconciliation with the court of 
 Naples : but he could not, he faid, without ren- 
 dering himfelf contemptible, fuffer a cruel wound 
 to be inflicted on the authority of the Holy 
 See. 
 
 The Neapolitan fovereign condefcended to 
 reply to this erudite homily. He was obliged 
 to pay fome deference to the prejudices of his 
 fubjecls as well as to fatisfy his own fcruples. 
 He was willing, as the French monarchs had
 
 89 
 
 often done before, to kifs the pontiff's toe, and 
 at the fame time to bind his hands in chains. 
 He affumed a tone of franknefs and candor, 
 which probably was intended as mockery by 
 thofe who dictated his reply, though from his 
 mouth it was fmcere. In mild and almoft hum- 
 ble terms he represented that he confidered the 
 pecuniary tribute as fulfilling the whole of his 
 duty to the Apoftolic See ; that the pomp of the 
 ceremony was not matter of obligation ; that 
 the prefentation of the palfrey was a cuftom 
 which could not be traced farther back than 
 the preceding century. The truth was, that no 
 exprefs mention of that ridiculous formality had 
 been made in the at of inveftiture given to the 
 .prefent fovereign, though it had been mentioned 
 in that granted to the king his father, who gua- 
 rantied it for himfelf and his fucceffors. 
 
 It was ferving the court of Rome according 
 to their tafte, to engage with them in a polemic 
 difcuflion. Pius and his fecretary of ftate, who 
 were feldom in unifon, differed in opinion re- 
 fpefting the proper form to be given to the an* 
 fwer which the king of Naples expected. The 
 pontiff wiflied to fwell it out to a voluminous 
 memorial, under the perfuafion that arguments 
 derive additional flrength from their bulk. 
 Meanwhile, to fill up the time that muft elapfe 
 U'fore the quarrel were decided, the Neapolitan
 
 90 
 
 government perfevered in the purfuit of its plan, 
 gave orders for the fequeftration of all the ab- 
 beys and fimple benefices, aflumed the right of 
 nominating to them all, and burft the laft re- 
 maining ties by which the religious focieties 
 were yet bound to their generals. 
 
 The Holy See fufpended its labours, and 
 tried, if poffible, to flop the court of Naples in 
 its too rapid career. About this period, an in- 
 cident of a private nature gave birth to new dif- 
 putes. The archbimop of Naples had diffolved 
 the marriage of the duchefs di Mattalona *, 
 and, without the concurrence of the Holy See, 
 had given her a certificate declaring her at li- 
 berty to marry again. A bi(hop of Motula had 
 afterward taken up that caufe. This, accord- 
 ing to Pius, was a violation of all the rules of 
 ecclefiaflic difcipline : wherefore, to apply a 
 fpeedy remedy to thefe diforders, he drew up 
 two briefs, the one for the duchefs, the other for 
 the bimop, and directed his internuncio to deli- 
 ver them to the parties. The duchefs refufed 
 to receive that which was addreffed to her, and 
 refufed in fuch a tone as forbade all attempt to 
 infift on the point. The internuncio was dif- 
 concerted, and faid within himfelf, " Let us act 
 " more adroitly with the bimop : let us lay for 
 
 * In page /5 fhe is defignated by the name of Maddalorj.
 
 * f him an ambufcade from which he cannot 
 " efcape without caufmg open fcandal." Ac- 
 cordingly he took him unaware, and, with his 
 brief in his hand, attempted to offer him a fort 
 of violence. The bilhop of Motula was a man 
 of rough manner : he rudely thruft back the 
 emiflary, and even made ufe of language difre- 
 fpeclful to the Holy See. The poor internuncio 
 had ftill lefs reafon to boaft of the fuccefs of his 
 fecond attempt, which, though unfuccefsful, ir- 
 ritated the court of Naples, from whom he fud- 
 denly received an order to quit the kingdom 
 within eight and forty hours. The name of trea- 
 Jon was given to the audacity by which he had 
 been prompted to introduce, without the king's 
 confent, thofe acts emanating from a foreign 
 power. But the fame hand which figned this 
 fentence fought to alleviate its confequences, 
 and recommended the internuncio to the pope's 
 clemency, becaufe, faid his majefty, his conduct 
 had been irreproachable in every inftance ex- 
 cept that criminal attempt. 
 
 The court of Naples, with its ufual incon- 
 fiftency, foon palling from rage to repentance, 
 wrote to the pope, as to difarm his refentment, 
 and propofed to renew the negotiation : but the 
 wound was already inflicted. Pius fenfibly felt 
 this affront, which prefaged to him many others 
 in fucceilion. Cardinal Buoncompagni unbo-
 
 , - 32 
 
 V 
 
 Ibms his painful feelings to the cardinal de Ber- 
 nis, and fupplicates him to procure the interpo- 
 fition of the eldeft fon of the church * in behalf 
 of her chief. This happened toward the con- 
 clufion of the year 1788, a period when Louis 
 XVI. was himfelf involved in considerable dif- 
 ficulties : his interceffion therefore was feeble, 
 and of very little efficacy. 
 
 An unfortunate combination of circumftances 
 accumulated the fubjecls of difpute between the 
 Roman court and that of Naples. 
 
 The order of Malta was at this time rent by 
 divifions which "extended to thefe two courts. 
 The ambiguous ex'ftence of that ordei was a 
 fruitful fource of diflbnlion. The grand-mafter, 
 as a temporal iovereign, was a vaflal of the 
 crown of Naples : as chief of an order, he was 
 fubjecl: to the Holy See : hence a frequent 
 claming of jurifdilion. At this period, exifted 
 at Malta a very violent quarrel between a knight 
 named de Loras and the commander Dolomieu. 
 The latter having difpleafed the court of Na- 
 ples, had, at the inftigation of his adverfary, 
 been banifhed from the kingdom of 'the Two 
 Sicilies. Returning to Malta, he there fuffered 
 a fecond difgrace, which was a confequence of 
 the former : he was deprived of his office of re- 
 
 * His moft Chriftian majefty, the king of France,
 
 9* 
 
 prefentative in the fuperior council of Malta. 
 From this fentence he appealed to the Roman 
 Rota, as the tribunal to whofe jurifdi&ion were 
 fubject all the judgements of the order. The 
 Rota had the boldnefs to abfolve the com- 
 mander, and alleged, as the motive of its deci- 
 fion, that the caufeof Dolomieu's condemnation 
 was hidden, and " did not appear to be of a 
 " criminal nature." 
 
 This was, to fay the leaft of it, a daring mea- 
 fure, confidering the fituation in which the pa- 
 pacy then ftood with refpet to the Neapolitan 
 court. The latter took offence at it, and, long 
 accuftomed to difregard the reftraints of delica- 
 cy in its relations with the foveroign pontiff, im- 
 perioufly demanded the reverfal o-f a decifion 
 " equally inconfiderate as erroneous and ab^ 
 " furd." The cardinal fecretary of ftate, who 
 by this time was thoroughly weary of his poft 
 at the helm in the midft of fo many ftorms, 
 would not venture to undertake the talk of 
 writing an anfwer, as defired. A congregation 
 of cardinals was confulted, who pronounced 
 that, in criminal caufes of the knights of Malta, 
 appeals to the court of Rome muft always be 
 admitted. Cardinal Buoncompagni, confident 
 in this decifion, replied that the Rota was au- 
 thorifed to al as it had done, and that it by no 
 means merited the imputations thrown out
 
 againft it. The court of Verfailles protected 
 Dolomieu : but his adverfary, excelling him in 
 the arts of intrigue, had found means to intereft 
 great perfonages in his own behalf, and pro- 
 cured powerful recommendations from all quar- 
 ters. The court of Rome attempted to ftrug- 
 gle againft fo formidable a party : but even the 
 friends of the Holy See were of opinion that it 
 too frequently received appeals from the grand- 
 mafter, and that by fuch affe6tation of para- 
 mount authority it only exafperated the govern- 
 ments which already had caufes of complaint 
 againft the papacy. The Neapolitan govern- 
 ment in particular was thereby rendered more 
 averfe to conciliation. 
 
 The pope meanwhile had concluded his vo- 
 luminous performance, and now condefcended 
 to communicate it to cardinal Buoncompagni, 
 who, not having expected that mark of confi- 
 dence, felt himfelf flattered by it, though he ne- 
 verthelefs feverely criticifed his holinefs's pro- 
 duction. " That memorial," faid he to his 
 friends, " is briftled with quotations, overloaded 
 " with authorities : the pope has fucceeded in 
 " rendering it at once tirefomely dull and in- 
 " conclufive : the king of Naples will never 
 " take the trouble of perufing it : but he will 
 " caufe ft to be anfwered with equal prolixity $ 
 " and thus, inftead of remedying the difeafe, we
 
 * : Ihall find that we have only increafed its 
 " virulence." The memorial, however, without 
 undergoing any alteration, was difpatched in 
 February 1789, and produced the effei which 
 the cardinal had predir.ed. 
 
 At the approach of the feftival of the apoftles 
 Peter and Paul, the epoch of that ceremony of 
 which the fufpenfion was productive to his holi- 
 nefs of fo many fleeplefs nights, he wrote to the 
 king of Naples, in hopes of reviving fome 
 fcruples in his breaft. Vain attempt ! the pal- 
 frey did not make his appearance ; and the ffi 
 cal renewed his proteft, but with yet greater fo- 
 lemnity than on the preceding occafion ; recall- 
 ing to memory that the offering of the pious do- 
 nation was to be made " cum prxfentatione para* 
 " phreni albi decent er ornati, per ipjum regem vel per 
 " ejmfpeciakm legation regio characters mtmitum, non 
 '* alicui miniftro pontificio vel camera apojtolicse, fed 
 " IPSI ROMANO PONTIFICI, PUBLICE, et cum 
 " folith Jolemnitatibus, ac in R EC o G N ITI o N E M ME" 
 " MORATI DOMINII *." Such were the ex- 
 preffions of the engagement renewed by the king 
 
 * With the prefentaticn of a white palfrey decently caJ- 
 parifoned, by the king himfelf or by his fpecial embaflatlor 
 veiled with the regal chara&er, not to any of the pope's mi- 
 nifters or to the Apoftolic Chamber, but to the Roman pcntijf 
 in per/un, publicly, and with the ufual folemnities, and as an 
 ent of the cfvrtjaidfwire'ignty.
 
 don Carlos: and who could think of breaking 
 through a cuftom fo folemnly fanHoned? Yet 
 the Neapolitan agent continued inflexible : he 
 depofited the annual tribute in a public bank, as 
 he had done in 1788 : the fifcal renewed his pro- 
 teft ; and the agent refufed to receive it. 
 
 After a few days, the Neapolitan agent fent 
 a paquet from his court to the prelate Federici, 
 one of thofe fubordinate characters who have 
 acquired the confidence 'of their employer and 
 who often abufe it. Federici^ who temporarily 
 fupplied the place of the fecretary of ftate, was 
 more irritable than the pope himfelf, or had lefs 
 command of his temper. He refufed to receive 
 the paquet: it was fent to him a fecond time ; 
 and a fecond time he refufed to accept it. Pius 
 was not informed of this repeated breach of ci- 
 vility until the mifchief was irreparable : the in- 
 telligence wounded him to the foul. " Perhaps 
 " he had been made to reject a propofal of ac- 
 " commodation ! perhaps that paquet contained 
 " king Ferdinand's anfwer to his memorial !" 
 Cardinal Spinellii who, fmce the death of Or- 
 fini, was protector of the crown of Naples at the 
 court of Rome, happened at this time to be at 
 Naples. That prelate pofTeffed a good heart, 
 pure intentions, a native fund of found fenfe, 
 and refined penetration ; nor could Pius have 
 chofen a fitter perfon to be his interpreter. Ac-
 
 97 
 
 cordingly he commiifioned Spinelli to exculpate 
 him from the involuntary offence, which was 
 imputable to Federici alone. But the court of 
 Naples, confidering itfelf as fuperior to the af- 
 front, was equally regardlefs of the apology : it 
 quietly advanced in its predetermined career, 
 and fpared none either of the fpiritual or tem- 
 poral ufurpations of the court of Rome. 
 
 The duchy of Caflro and Ronciglione, lying 
 within the territory that was called Saint Pe- 
 ter's Patrimony, had formerly belonged to the 
 Farnefe family, and had, under fome frivolous 
 pretext, been Confifcated by the Apoftolic Cham- 
 ber. The king of Naples,, who, as heir of the 
 houfe of Farnefe, continued to bear the title of 
 that duchy, determined at this period to recover 
 the properly of his ancestors. This was a new 
 fource of uneafinefs to the pope in that me- 
 morable year 1789, when the national aflembly 
 of France began to give the fignal for thofe 
 mortal wounds which were to be infli6ted on 
 the papacy. The other catholic governments 
 forefaw the approaching evil : they faw with 
 fecret forrow that the boldnefs of reform would 
 overftep the bounds which they had wilhed to 
 reach, and that the phiiofophic audacity of the 
 French nation threatened the very exiftence of 
 that fpiritual authority which it might be the 
 intereft of the temporal fovereigns to modify, 
 
 VOL. II, H
 
 -98 
 
 butnot totally to overthrow. However power- 
 ful a monarch may fee.l himfeif by his own 
 ftrerigth, in critical, moments he wiihes to fave 
 his auxiliaries : thofe governments, therefore, 
 were feen to fufpend their hoftili.ti.es againft the 
 pontificate, without however making any retro- 
 grade motion. Such' was the conduct of the 
 Neapolitan court in the year 1789: it did not 
 furrender its conquefts; but it forbore to add to 
 
 their number. 
 
 * 
 
 In the month of July 1789, the king of Na- 
 ples at length replied to Pius's long memorial ina 
 refpetful and affectionate ftyle which announced 
 a defire of accommodation. But, with regard 
 to the prefentation of the palfrey, he explained 
 himfeif in a manner which forbade the pontiff 
 to entertain any further hope on the fubje6l. 
 He reverted to the times of the ufurpations and 
 hoftile invafions of Innocent IV. and Alexander 
 IV., " days of violence," he faid, " which ought 
 " never to be remembered without horror. And 
 " although he himfeif (Ferdinand) had ftill per- 
 " mitted the prefentation of the palfrey, he had 
 " not formed any engagement to have that cere- 
 <c niony accompanied by a numerous cavalcade., 
 ^ a folemn embafTy, .the roar of artillery, and all 
 k< the pomp of a triumphal exhibition. Such 
 ee folemnity was purely voluntary on his part: it 
 " was equally unbecoming his dignity as uncon-
 
 99 
 
 " formable to the holinefs and humility pro- 
 " fefled by the vifible head of God's church. 
 " His resolution was taken j nor could any con- 
 *' fideration induce him to alter it." 
 
 The pope accordingly perceived that the de- 
 cree was irrevocable : the puerile homage of the 
 palfrey, fo flattering to his vanity, was irreco- 
 verably loft ; and from his pontificate would 
 henceforward be dated the difgrace of the tiara. 
 He was on the eve of fuffering much more fe- 
 vere loffes ; but none of them more painfully af- 
 fefbed him than this. Perhaps at this moment 
 he continues to deplore it within the recefles of 
 his Carthufian retirement at Florence. 
 
 During thefe tranfaftions the marquis Ca- 
 raccioli died; an event which opened a new 
 fource of alarms for Pius. In his relations with 
 the Neapolitan court, all the marks of conde- 
 fcenfion had proceeded from that minifter, the 
 meafures of violence from the chevalier A&on, 
 and the ats of inconfiderate caprice from the 
 queen. Henceforward therefore he had no 
 room to expeft the delicacy of tendernefs in the 
 treatment he was to experience. 
 
 But in this idea he was miftaken. In propor- 
 tion as the French revolution, which threatened 
 to prove fo fatal to him, was gradually deve- 
 . loped, the other governments became lefs en- 
 terprifing. That of Naples, without abandon- 
 H 2
 
 too 
 
 ing its pretenfions to Benevento, to the duchy of 
 Caftro and Ronciglione, and to the indepen- 
 dence of its crown, fettled by compromife cer- 
 tain difficulties relating to difcipline. At the 
 conclufion of the year 1789 the negotiations 
 were refumed ; and the following year pro* 
 duced an accommodation by which the pope 
 renounced only what he had no hope of reco- 
 vering. It was agreed that each king of Na- 
 ples fhould, on his acceffion to the throne, pay 
 five hundred t'noufand ducats as a pious offering 
 to Saint Peter ; that the pope mould nominate 
 to all the letter benefices, but that his choice 
 ihould be confined to the king's fubjecis ; that, 
 for the epifcopai fees, he Ihould elect one of 
 three candidates prefented to him ; that appli- 
 cation Ihould be made to him for difpenfations 
 and matrimonial affairs, but that he fliould be 
 obliged to confirm all the difperifations already 
 granted by the biihops ; that the prcfentarion 
 of the palfrey mould be for ever aboliflied, and 
 that the king of Naples (hould ceafe to be called 
 vajj'al of the Holy See. 
 
 This reconciliation was followed by a vifit of 
 the king and queen of Naples to the pope dur- 
 ing Paffion-week of the year 1791. Pius Javiih- 
 ed on them all his moft affecting fuavity of man- 
 ner, his rnoft fumptuous difplay of courtly pa : 
 laue. He exhibited to them the fuperb and
 
 101 
 
 ever-novel fpetacle of the girandole fire- work 
 played off from the caftle of Saint Angelo, and 
 the illumination of the cupola and colonnade ot 
 Saint Peter's church. He vifited them at the 
 Farnefe palace, which belonged to their family. 
 He offered them a prefent of eatables which 
 they refufed, and another of mofaics which they 
 accepted with pleafure. To gratify them, the 
 ceremony of the anniverfary of Pius's corona- 
 tion was celebrated two days before its ftated 
 time. They made their appearance at the prin- 
 cipal aflcmblies in Rome in the palace of 
 prince Doria, in that of the conftable Colonna, 
 at the Villa Borghefe. They in fome meafure 
 became reconciled with thofe Romans to whom 
 they and their fubje&s had teftified an inveterate 
 antipathy ran antipathy which they nourifhed 
 with food raked even from the annals of ancient 
 Rome. It is a known fad that the kings of 
 Naples, to indulge their rancor againft thofe Ro- 
 mans their detefted neighbours, had place^over 
 the gates of the caftle of Caferte, reprefentations 
 of hiftoric events calculated to tarnifli the glory 
 of their anceftors, fuch as the capture of Rome 
 by Brennus, the fubjugation at the Furca? Cau- 
 dinae, &c. But this ftay which the Neapolitan 
 monarch and his confort made at Rome, the re- 
 ception which they experienced there, and the 
 fordial conferences that took place between 
 H 3
 
 102 
 
 them and the pope, confiderably foftened the 
 afperity of mutual prepofieffions. 
 
 From that epoch indeed every circumftance 
 tended to efTeft an approximation between the 
 Roman pontiff and tbofe of the European pow- 
 ers that flood in oppofition to France. At fir ft 
 Pius lent them his fpiritual aid with what fuc- 
 cefs, is univerfally known: at length, to his 
 great misfortune, he determined to add alfo the 
 afliftance of his temporal arms. After having 
 long fought againft thofe powers for his own in-, 
 terefts, he was ruined in fighting under the fame 
 banners with them in fupport of the common 
 caufe,
 
 103 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Pius's Relations with different Powers of Europe 
 with the United States of America with Poland 
 the King of Szveden '-the Republic of Venice 
 .. Portugal the Dukes of ' Modena, Parma, &c. 
 
 JLF Pius has, by fome of his fault's, merited a 
 part of his misfortunes, it muft be owned that he 
 governed the church at a period when the ' 
 greateft taieiits and the greateft virtues would 
 have been unable to fcreen it from the ftorms by 
 which it was aifailed. After the perfevering 
 efforts of half a centurv, philofophy had made a 
 progrefs which was truly alarming to every kind 
 of authority. She could not fail to make con- 
 verts of thofe men whom their education had 
 predifpofed to receive her le'flbns, of the worldly 
 throng whofe paiiions (lie left in many refpecls 
 unreftrained, and whom Hie emancipated from 
 the troublefome yoke of confcientious fcruple. 
 Had Die confined herfelf within thefe bounds, 
 (he would not have proved a dangerous foe to 
 that clafs of men who turned to lucrative ac- 
 count thofe prejudices which me combated, 
 but (he had faccetfively loweredherfelf to the level' 
 H 4
 
 104 
 
 of the moft vulgar understandings : flie had pene- 
 trated even into feminaries and cloifters: in every 
 country fhe had gained fome profelytes around 
 the throne ; and, in fome, (he had even feated 
 herfelf upon it. Such was the enemy that Pius 
 had to combat at the commencement and during 
 the whole continuance of his pontificate. On 
 every fide he fuffered her attacks. We have al- 
 ready feen what he had been obliged to endure 
 from the emperor, from the emperor's brother 
 the grand-duke, from the government of Naples, 
 and even from the ecclefiaflic electors. Spain, 
 whofe fceptre had during two fucceffive reigns 
 been fwayed by religious princes, and from 
 which to the laft moment he received fo many 
 marks of deference even Spain did not forbear 
 to give him uneafinefs. The irreconcilable 
 hatred of the court of Madrid to the Jefuits, its 
 urgent importunity for the canonifation of the ve- 
 nerable Palafox, its maxims of government very 
 nearly approaching to the liberties of the Galli- 
 c.an church, conftantly flood in oppofuion to the 
 deareft affe&ions of the pontiff, and to his moft 
 deeply rooted prejudices. Formerly the Holy 
 See had. been a kind of facred citadel which kept 
 the nations in awe, commanded even their fove- 
 reigns, and menaced them with its formidable 
 thunders. In latter.times, the reverfe had taken 
 place } and it was now become as it were the
 
 105 
 
 butt againfi. which were directed all the batteries 
 of the temporal authority. Their artillery al- 
 lowed not a moment's repofe to the befieged, 
 \v'no each day faw tumbling in ruin fome part 
 of thofe ramparts which they had been accuf- 
 tomed to conlider as inexpugnable. Heretics, 
 fchifmatics, catholics of every (hade and gra- 
 dation, bifhops, even devotees, feemed all to 
 have formed a general league as againft a com- 
 mon enemy. Its able auxiliaries, the Jefuits, 
 formerly fcattered in all parts of the univerfe, 
 vvere now almoft all collected around it : but, 
 far from adding to its ftrength, they increafed 
 its dangers by governing it according to the 
 rules of an antiquated fyftem of tatics, of which 
 every manoeuvre was watched and defeated. 
 
 Almoft all the temporal powers feemed to 
 have formed the plan, if not of utterly denying, 
 at leaft of considerably abridging, the fpiritual 
 jurifdi&ion of the court of Rome : and it were 
 no difficult talk to enumerate the few excep- 
 tions to this rule which fome of their number 
 have furniftied. But it will be matter of no 
 fmali furprife to find one of thofe exceptions be- 
 yond the ocean, in a nation young indeed in the 
 date of her political exiftence, but already old in 
 wifdom faithfully obfervant of the principles 
 of univerfal toleration which formed one of the 
 chief of her fundamental laws acknowledging 
 no paramount mode of worfhip, but affording
 
 106 
 
 protection to all religions whdvfe profeflbrs had 
 taken refuge within her territories. During two. 
 centuries North America had been the afylum 
 of a considerable number of catholics whom per- 
 fecution had driven from different countries. So 
 long as thofe refugees had, together with their 
 adoptive countrymen, continued fubject to the 
 oppreflive yoke of England, their civil exiftence 
 had been equivocal and precarious. At length 
 breathing under a regular and protecting go- 
 vernment, they determined to fecure the exercife 
 of their mode of vvorfhip by the nomination of a 
 biihop. The congrefs, although for the moft 
 part confiding of philofophers and proteftants, 
 did not fcruple to at as their interpreter in ap- 
 plying to the court of Rome*. In 1789 they 
 alked of the pontiff a bifhop for the catholics of 
 North America, leaving to the Holy See the per- 
 petual right of nomination. Pius, who was not 
 accuilomed to fuch deference even from the ca- 
 tholic powers, accepted the offer, but did not 
 make an improper ufe of it. He left to the 
 members of the catholic cle.rgy the talk of no- 
 minating their bifliop. in this firft inftance, only 
 referving to himfelf the privilege of confirming 
 
 * That pontifical vanity and policy flioald have magnified 
 into a folemn aft of congreis feme private application from a 
 committee of catholics or from their clergy, is quite in cha- 
 racter : but be it remembered that the congrefs have uniformly 
 abllalncd from all interference in matters of religion.
 
 107 
 
 their choice. The perfon whom they elevated 
 to the epifcopal chair was John Carroll, who 
 fixed his fee at Baltimore, and affumed the title 
 of pope's legate. 
 
 The authority of the pontiff was thus making 
 fome diftant acquifitions, while his loffes were 
 accumulated clofe around him : and to modern 
 Rome might have beeii applied what Racine 
 {aid of the ancient 
 
 " O Rome ! thy bitt'reft foes Hand at thy gates." 
 
 Accordingly, while the emperor, the grand- 
 duke of Tufcany, and the king of Naples, 
 feemed to confpire againft the papacy, it re- 
 ceived fome confolations, fome indemnifications 
 from certain ftates of the North. Have we not 
 feen the great Frederic teftify a regard for the 
 pontiff; Catherine II. likewife, notwithftanding 
 the vexations caufed to Pius by her agents, pay 
 a fort of homage to his fpiritual authority ? But 
 it was more particularly from Poland that he 
 more than once received flattering marks of de- 
 ference. 
 
 In 1 775, it had been remarked in this lad-men- 
 tioned country that the number of holidays was 
 too great. Application was made to the pope, 
 who fuppreffcd thirty. Several members of the. 
 confederation of Bar had leagued themfelves by 
 oath againft king Staniflaus; and when they 
 afterward wiQied for a reconciliation with him,
 
 10S 
 
 they afked and obtained of Pius an abfolution 
 from their oath. The whole nation, however, 
 were not equally well difpofed toward the court 
 of Rome ; and many of the Poies were heard to 
 exprefs their wifhes that their country might be 
 emancipated from thofe fpiritual trammels which 
 retarded its progrefs in profperity. In lyyS-ap- 
 peared the plan of a code, digefted by the il- 
 luflrious Zamoiiiki, propofmg to abridge the ju- 
 lifdiclion of the pope's nuncio and the immuni- 
 ties of the clergy to abolifh the pra&ice of ap- 
 peals to the court of Rome to fubje6l all its 
 bulls to the king's approbation to eftablifh a 
 rule that monadic vows could not be pronounced 
 except by perfons of mature age, &c. But the 
 hour was not yet come when the torch of reafon 
 fhould be permitted to difpel the clouds of fu- 
 perftition from the Poliih Iky : the clergy of that 
 kingdom arofe in oppofition to thefe innovations: 
 the pontiff bitterly cenfured them; and the diet 
 of 17.80, in which the individuals who would 
 have been affected by them poffeffed a predomi- 
 nancy, rejected the plan of the intended code. 
 Its author went to feek an afylum in a -happier 
 land, where philofophy was not a crime : he 
 found protection under the \ving of Jofeph II. 
 Pius did not, during the whole courfe of his 
 ponti6cate, gain a more complete triumph. 
 
 King Staniflaus, enlightened as he was, pro- 
 cured for the pope fomc other fucceffcs j feeling
 
 109 
 
 probably that the church afforded a fupport to 
 his limited and tottering authority. In 1779, 
 wifhing to fupprefs a chapter of canons, which 
 was equally ufelefs as fo many others of the kind, 
 he applied to the pope for permiilion. A con- 
 gregation of cardinals examined this momentous 
 queftion, decided it in the negative, and Sta- 
 niflaus fubmitted to their decifion. 
 
 In 1782, feveral marks of infanity, which had 
 been difplayed by the too-famous bimop of Cra- 
 cow, having induced his chapter to caufe him to 
 be confined, and this meafure having been ap- 
 proved by the diet, Staniflaus thought proper to 
 difarm the pope's refentment which might have 
 been excited by this fuppofed invafion of his 
 fpiritual authority, and for that purpofe fent to 
 him a plenipotentiary to juftify the Polifh go- 
 vernment. Finally, whoever recollects the con- 
 ciliatory part which Staniflaus took in the thorny 
 bufmefs refpe&ing the archbilbop of Mohilow, 
 muft acknowledge that no fovereign among 
 Pius's contemporaries took greater pains than 
 he to feek opportunities of alleviating the pon- 
 tiff's diftrefles. 
 
 Another northern potentate, whom difference 
 of religion as well as the diftance of his domi- 
 nions might naturally have precluded from, al- 
 moft all connexion with the pope Guftavus 
 III., who fought to diftinguim himfelf by every
 
 no 
 
 fpccies of fingularity, feemed to affect 
 marks of regard for the head of a church to 
 which he did not himfelf belong. In 1781 he 
 published an edi& favourable to the catholics of 
 his kingdom, and on this occafion fignified to 
 Pius that " the ftyle of the edicl: was adapted to 
 te the conceptions of the Swedifli nation, but 
 " that the ftatutes were conformable to the 
 " fpirit of the mildeft toleration." 
 
 Two years after this, he perfonally paid 
 homage to the pontiff whom he had courted 
 from fuch a diftance. Setting out from Sweden 
 under the title of the count de Haga, he arrived 
 on the fecond of November at Pifa, where at this 
 time the grand-duke refided. Thence he wrote 
 to the pope a mod affectionate letter, announc- 
 ing his fpeedy arrival at Rome, and affuring him 
 that the catholics in his ftatcs enjoyed and ever 
 fhould continue to enjoy his peculiar protection. 
 Piranefi, his agent at Rome, experienced a very 
 cordial reception on delivering that letter to the 
 pontiff. A northern monarch, a heretical prince, 
 coming to vifit his holinefs, and loading him 
 with civilities, while fo many catholic princes 
 compelled him to fwallow deep draughts from 
 the bitter cup of infult and indignity ! fuch an 
 event at once afforded a feaft to his felf-love, and 
 poured the balm of con fo! at ion into his wounded 
 bofom. Immediately he difpatched a courier
 
 Ill 
 
 who was ordered to meet tile royal traveller on 
 the frontier of the Ecclefiaftical State, and ac- 
 .company him to Rome. On a former occafion 
 \ve mentioned that this courier was deceived by 
 the emperor, who pafled himfelf for the count de 
 Haga, and entered Rome under that title. The 
 illufion continued until the moment when the 
 pope and the emperor appeared in each other's 
 prefence. Pius affered to feel only an agree- 
 able furprife on difcovering his error ; though his 
 bofom harboured an inward vexation, which he 
 exerted his utmoft power to conceal., This un- 
 expected though promifed vifit undoubtedly flat- 
 tered his vanity : but at the fame time it revived 
 unpleafing recollections,' and was perhaps an 
 omen that boded new ftorms. He had nought 
 but homage to expect from the king of Sweden: 
 with the inflexible Jofeph he was to have con- 
 nexions of a different kind ; and the latter en- 
 joyed with malicious pleafure the ill-difTembled 
 embarraffment of the pontiff, who, he plainly 
 faw, would by far have preferred the prefence 
 of the ft ray fon to that of the rebel. 
 
 The real count de Haga clofely followed him 
 who had furreptitioufly ufurped his name. On 
 the morrow of his arrival he affifted at divine 
 fervice celebrated in Saint Peter's church by the 
 pope himfelf, who profufely laviflied on him 
 every token of affection. His affable demean-
 
 our immediately gained for him the good-will of 
 the Romans. He neglected none of thofe 
 winning arts of conciliation which were fo fami- 
 liar to him ; and he dextroufly accommodated 
 them in juft proportion to places and perfons. 
 Cardinal Antonelli having, as chief of the pro- 
 paganda, teftified to him his gratitude for the 
 kind indulgence which he granted to the catho- 
 lics in his dominions, " If God,'' replied he with 
 a hypocritic countenance, " prolong my life and 
 " health, I hope to do much more in their fa- 
 " vour." With zealous eagernefs he vifited all 
 the curiofities of Rome, and every-where left in 
 the minds of thofe with whom he converfed an 
 advantageous idea of his underftanding, his tafte 
 for the fine arts, and his refined politenefs. He 
 particularly teftified an earneft defire to fee that 
 famous mufeum on which he knew that Pius fet 
 a great value. The king and the pontiff there 
 met as it were by chance : their meeting pow- 
 erfully excited the curiofity of the fpeclators ; 
 and even the flighted particulars of what took 
 place on the occafion were minutely obferved 
 $md carefully treafured in remembrance. 
 
 A French painter made this interview the fub- 
 jel of a piclure which was highly applauded by 
 the voice of flattery : but if was not, as Goran? 
 intimates, the firft or the only piece on the fub- 
 ject. That author appears to be further miftaken
 
 113 
 
 when he aflerts that this meeting was ah accom- 
 fnodatory medium adopted to avoid the embar- 
 raflment of regulating the ceremonial of etiquette 
 between a proteftant monarch and the head of 
 the Roman church. There could exift no que- 
 ftion of ceremonial with refpeft to Guftavus, fmce 
 he did not travel in the character of a king, and 
 had announced his wifli to remain moft pro- 
 foundly incognito at Rome. Nay too literal an 1 
 interpretation was given to that defire dictated 
 by his feigned modefty, in fparing him the fa- 
 tiguing homage of public entertainments, and 
 the wearifome pomp of ftate dinners. The 
 count de Haga, however, would have been 
 pleafed to fee people occafionally recollect the 
 king of Sweden : and he had the littlenefs to 
 complain of the omirTion to the cardinal de Ber- 
 nis in a tone of affected gaiety> of which that 
 keen quick-fighted courtier did not fail to un- 
 derftand the real meaning. The academy of 
 the Arcadians alone gave him a reception calcu- 
 lated to remind him of his royal rank. The 
 pope, however, did not omit any of thofe tefti- 
 monies of affectionate regard which ought to have 
 been more plealing to him than ats of oftenta- 
 tious homage. 
 
 After a few months' flay at Rome, he departed 
 for Naples, taking his route through the Pontine 
 marines. He admired the works there, and be- 
 
 VOL. II, I
 
 114 
 
 ftowed the mod pompous eulogiums on tliem 
 after his return ; for, from the caftle of Caferte, 
 where he fpent fix: weeks, he went back to 
 Rome in time to aflift at the religious folemni 
 ties of Paffion-week. Never before had they 
 been celebrated with greater brilliancy than oii 
 this occafion. The great number of diftin- 
 guimed foreigners who then happened to be at 
 Rome ferved further to enhance their pompous 
 fplendor. Guftavus, who had fet out with a re- 
 folution of admiring every thing, was ftruck by 
 the majefty with which the pontiff gave his be- 
 nediction to the people on Holy Thurfday and 
 Eafter-day: and, to fuftain with uniformity his 
 aflumed character of protestor of the catholics, 
 he declared aloud that the proteftants were to 
 blame for condemning the pomp of thofe cere- 
 monies ; and that, fmce religion was neceffary, 
 it was right to clothe it with every external de- 
 coration which could render it auguft and im- 
 .preflive. He feemed at this moment to have 
 forgotten that religion is more refpecied in thofe 
 countries where it appears in the moft fimple 
 garb. He teftified a curiofity for every thing 
 connected with the catholic mode of worfhip ; 
 and the pope fliowed great alacrity in gratifying 
 him. He caufed him to affift at the admiflion 
 of a novice, in the convent of capuchin nuns : 
 he even granted him the privjlege fo difficult
 
 llo 
 
 to be obtained of entering the interior recefies 
 of a nunnery: it remained acceffible to him at 
 all hours of the day; but GuQavus made a mo- 
 derate ufe of that permiffion. 
 
 He determined to treat the Romans with a 
 fpe&acle quite novel to them, and which put 
 their toleration to the" teft in a fingular manner. 
 A Swedifh bilhop, the baron Taube, his chief 
 almoner, came from the remote regions of Swe- 
 den to perform for him the functions of his mi- 
 niftry. Perhaps Guftavus was afraid left his 
 fubjects fhould think him perverted by the fociety 
 of the Roman idolaters, and wiihed to (how him- 
 felf faithful to the proteftant mode of worfhip 
 even in the centre of catholicifm. He caufed a 
 chapel to be fitted up in his palace : the chief 
 almoner pronounced in it a difcourfe to prepare 
 his flock for communion : on the morrow, at the 
 conclufion of a pathetic fermon, he celebrated, 
 divine fervice according to the rite of the con- 
 feflion of Augfburg ; and the king, accompanied 
 by his Swedifh attendants and fome foreign 
 Lutherans, received the facrament, while a 
 crowd of Romans, who more ftrongly felt the 
 impulfe of curiofity than of fanaticifm, flood 
 affembled at the gate of his palace and in the 
 adjacent ftreets, without expreiling any other 
 emotions than thofe of aftonifliment. 
 
 On this occafion Pius exhibited a proof of his 
 
 12
 
 116 
 
 tolerance which gave offence to none but bigots, 
 It would have been difficult for a pope to have 
 fhown himfelf more of a philofopher. 
 
 During this fecond refidence at Rome, Gufta- 
 vus had the fatisfa&ion to find that his pretended 
 defireof remaining incognito was fomewhat lefs 
 indulged. When he went on a vifit to the col- 
 lege of the propaganda, which is deftined to 
 Jhed the light of the catholic faith over all parts 
 of the globe, and of courfe maintains con- 
 nexions with all the nations which dwell on its 
 furface, Guflavus received from its members a 
 compliment which he might in vain have ex- 
 pected any-where elfe : he was prefented with 
 his own eulogium in verfe, written in forty-fix 
 different languages f His furprife was lively, 
 and expreffed in a lively manner. 
 
 It was recollected, fomewhat too late, that 
 the grand-duke and duchefs of Ruffia, though 
 travelling like him under modeft titles, had con- 
 fented that the dome of Saint Peter's cathedral 
 fhould be illuminated in compliment to them. 
 Why then was a lefs brilliant reception given to 
 the king of Sweden? The cardinal de Bernis 
 and the chevalier Azara fpoke on the fubjet to 
 the pontiff. Some perfons of inferior grade ob- 
 je&ed on account of the expenfe to be incurred 
 by that magnificent fpeclacle ; and the circum- 
 itances of the papacy were fuch at this period,
 
 117 
 
 as did not warrant a difregard to the fuggeftions 
 of prudential oeconomy. But Pius delighted, 
 above all things, in the pompous mow of exhi- 
 bitions ; and he wiihed to leave an advantageous 
 impreffion of his own behaviour on the mind of 
 Guflavus. Accordingly the dome of Saint Pe- 
 ter's was illuminated. This happened at the 
 termination of the Swedifti monarch's fecond 
 refidence at Rome. Previous to his departure, 
 the royal traveller made to the pope a prefent of 
 three boxes of Brafil wood, which were accepted 
 with a pleafure bordering upon enthufiafm ; for 
 fuch was Pius's ufual manner of receiving what- 
 ever was calculated to add to the embelliftiment 
 of his mufeum. Thofe three boxes contained 
 two hundred and twenty-two medals, of which 
 eighty-nine were of gold, and the remaining 
 hundred and thirty-three of filver. They were 
 a colle&ion of the effigies of all the Swedifh 
 kings who had diftinguiflied themfelves in any 
 department whatever. 
 
 It was not without fenfations of regret that 
 Pius faw Guftavus depart j and the pontiff and 
 the king tenderly embraced each other at the 
 moment of feparation. The former had been 
 fincere in the teftimonies of his arTe&ion : for, as 
 Jofeph II. had feveral times obferved, he was, 
 " at bottom, a good kind of man." Gufta- 
 vus had only ated an affumed character j but 
 '3
 
 us 
 
 he had played his part well ; for he was an ex- 
 cellent actor. 
 
 While the pope received fuch pleafmg treat- 
 ment from a prince on whom he had no claims, 
 he flood expofed to the perfecutions, frequently 
 indeed deferved, of thofe governments from 
 which he had a right to look for fome refpect 
 at lead. The Venetians, in particular, were 
 very troublefome neighbours to him as a tem- 
 poral fovereign, and, as father of the faithful^ 
 very indocile fons. 
 
 No nation of Italy, however, had greater rea- 
 fon to be fatisfied with the relations by which it 
 was linked to the court of Rome. In the courfe 
 of three centuries and half, five Venetians had 
 occupied the chair of Saint Peter : the moft emi- 
 nent dignities of the church had been profufely 
 lavifhed on natives of their republic ; yet it had 
 been involved in unceafing broils with the popes. 
 Benedict XIV., who was not a man of refentful 
 temper, entertained againft the Venetians an in- 
 curable averfion : even the benevolent Ganga- 
 nelli was never able to fucceed in conciliating 
 their friendfliip ; and Pius VI., who feemed 
 predefined to experience every kind of trouble 
 and oppofition, had, in the very firrt year of his 
 pontificate, reafon to complain of their conduct 
 toward him* A great number of abbeys and 
 prebends were under the protection of their
 
 119 
 
 nobles. Suddenly the fenate fecularifed thofe 
 eccleflaflical foundations, and decreed the incor- 
 poration of their poffellions with thofe of the 
 nobility. 
 
 This was the firft fignal of a quarrel which an 
 event of flrange fatality could alone have termi- 
 nated that is to fay, the overthrow of both go- 
 vernments. Pius, whofe authority at this time 
 was yet unimpaired, afTumed a menacing tone, 
 and faid to the Venetian ambaflfador, " Unlefs 
 " the fenate revoke their decree, I will not ac- 
 " knowledge the new patriarch of Venice. It 
 t( is time that your republic declare whether it 
 " choofe to remain in Saint Peter's bark, or to 
 " quit it." He could not then forefee, that, 
 within the period of his own exiftence, Saint 
 Peter's bark and the Venetian bucentoro* 
 fliould both be daflied to pieces againft the fame 
 rock. The embafTador oppofed threat to threat : 
 " Were it fo," faid he, " I would foon quit 
 *' Rome, and your nuncio fhould be fent back 
 " to you." " It is of little confequence to 
 " me," replied the pontiff, " to have at my 
 " court the embaflador of a ftate which ftiows 
 " fo little refpeft for the Holy See, while I ele- 
 " vate its fubjecls to the higheft dignities of the 
 " church." 
 
 * The doge's ftate veflel. 
 
 14
 
 t 120 
 
 In the following year the animofities were in- 
 creafed to fuch a degree that Pius, defirous of 
 emulating the warlike exploits of one of his pre- 
 deceflbrs, the impetuous Rovere *, ferioufly 
 talked of declaring war againft the republic of 
 Venice. But the two cardinals of the name of 
 Rezzonico, who were theinfelves Venetians, in- 
 terpofed : the pope calmed his paffion, and fub- 
 mitted the examination of his caufe to five of 
 the moft enlightened cardinals. Of their num- 
 ber Caftelli alone fpoke the accents of peace : 
 the other four maintained that the patriarch 
 ought not to be confirmed unlefs the fenate re- 
 drefled the grievances of the Holy See. But the 
 fenate, who had interefted in their favour the 
 courts of Vienna and Naples, anfwered in the 
 haughty language of difdain, and mowed them- 
 felves difpofed to break off the negotiation. 
 
 The pontiff, whofe fits of courage were not of 
 long duration, foon came to terms, and pro- 
 claimed the patriarch in the Confiftory. In rer- 
 turn for this conceffion, he thought himfelf en- 
 titled to require that all edifts militating againft 
 the jurifdi&ion of the Holy See mould be re- 
 voked. But the fenate,- far from being moved 
 according to his hope, fupprefled at difcretion 
 
 * Julius II. who occupied the pontifical throne from Octo- 
 ber 31, 1503, to February 21, 1513.
 
 121 
 
 every convent which they thought ufelefs : nor 
 had Pius any other confoiation than that of 
 learning that the Venetian commonalty loudly 
 murmured againft that aflembly, which fuffered 
 itfelf to be guided by the impetuous ardor of 
 the younger fenators. But of what confequence 
 was the commonalty at Venice? The fenate, 
 regardlefs of its murmurs, continued to purfue 
 their reformatory plan, and, after the example of 
 feveral other fovereigns, limited the age for tak- 
 ing vows, diminilhed the number of convents, 
 and fet bounds to their invafive covetoufnefs. 
 Like the cat in the fable, they enjoyed a double 
 pleafure from thefe innovations they were pro- 
 moting the interefts of their own ftate, and at the 
 fame time mortifying the pope, who too late 
 perceived, that, in this univerfal conspiracy 
 againft his authority, there was no enemy whom 
 he was authorifed to difregard as unworthy of 
 notice, 
 
 An incident of a purely temporal nature, 
 which occurred in 1780, furnifhed a new caufe 
 of difUirbance in addition to the many which al- 
 ready exifted. The Ferrarefe territory, it is well 
 known, bordered on that of Venice. Near Ro- 
 vigo, a river which formed the. boundary, often 
 overflowed. The Venetian fenate determined 
 on the erection of a dike to check its ravages. 
 This falijtary meafure excited the ilUhumour of
 
 122 
 
 the court of Rome ; and a body of troops was 
 lent againft the workmen, of whom fix were 
 killed in making oppofition to the military force. 
 The fenate demanded a fignal fatisfaftion, 
 threatening, in cafe of refufal, to obtain it by 
 force. On this occafion Pius fufFered himfelf to 
 be intimidated : he threw the blame of that 
 tranfaclion from his own flioulders on thofe of 
 his legate, who in his turn exonerated himfelf 
 by producing the order which he had received 
 from cardinal Pallavicini. But the Venetian 
 fenate, confident of being fupported by the 
 courts of Vienna and Verfailles, had already fent 
 troops to the fcene of aclion j and nought re- 
 mained for the pope but to yield. His foldiers, 
 who were accufed of having exceded their or- 
 ders, received punimment, and the works of the 
 dike were refumed. The limitary ftream was 
 effectually coerced from ever again overflowing : 
 but the refentment of the fenate, not fo eafily 
 reftrained, continued to burft forth on every 
 occafion. 
 
 The republic of Venice had in Dalmatia a 
 number of fubjecls profeffing the Greek faith, 
 and ftill continuing in feparation from the 
 church of Rome. It had ever afted toward 
 them with toleration : to treat them with favour 
 was a fure mode of mortifying the court of 
 Rome; and the Venetian fenate eagerly feifed
 
 123 
 
 4he opportunity. In 1782 they invited to Venice 
 an archbifhop of the Greek feft, and gave him 
 a church for the celebration of divine fervice ac- 
 cording to his own liturgy. The pope imme- 
 diately exclaimed againil the fcanda', and 
 hurled his fpiritual thunders againft the church 
 that was thus profaned. The Venetians laughed 
 at the holy father's wrath, though they con- 
 defcended to enter into explanations for the pur- 
 pofe of proving how unreafonable it was. The 
 refult of the difcuffion proved that the exiftence 
 of that Greek church was not an innovation, and 
 that the only novelty in the whole affair was the 
 folemnity with .which the divine fervice had now 
 been celebrated in it. The pontiff was obliged 
 to fubmit : but his thoughtlefs impetuofity was 
 not calculated to accelerate an accommodation. 
 The fenate caufed a confiderable diminution to 
 be made of the fums which the Venetians were 
 afccuftomed to pay to the court of Rome. The 
 pope fighed at the lofs, and it was natural tliat 
 he (hould. The fenate fupprefled fome rich 
 monasteries, and applied their revenues to the 
 endowment of hofpitals that were deftitute of 
 refources. The pope (ighed again : but did he 
 deferve that any one fhould fympathife in his 
 afflictions? 
 
 At length the French revolution, which even 
 in its fir ft ftage wore an afpecl highly formidable
 
 124- 
 
 to princes and ariftocratic governments and re- 
 ligious eftabliihments, warned the catholic fo^ 
 vereigns and ftates to confpire in one common 
 caufe : yet Rome and Venice Hill continued at 
 variance. An arrangement concluded in 1749 
 feemed to have put a final period to the difputes 
 refpe&ing their boundaries on the banks of the 
 jPo. It fecured to each of the two ftates the 
 free navigation of that river, obviated on each 
 Jide the ravages of its exundations, and prevented 
 the infalubrity of both its banks. But the Ro- 
 mans infringed thofe wife regulations: they 
 changed the courfe of the flream according to 
 their own convenience, by oppofing to it artificial 
 obftru6tions : on the left more bordering on the 
 Venetian coaft, they opened for it a new mouth, 
 through which the mafs of its waters flowed off 
 and inundated the territory of the republic. 
 The former mouth was (topped up; the naviga- 
 tion was injured in confequence: the accuftomed 
 approaches of the Po became dangerous and jm- 
 prafticable : foreign navigators complained, and 
 fhunned the fpot. The fenate of Venice had, 
 in their turn, juft caufe of complain^ and de- 
 manded reparation. 
 
 The court of Rome had now recourfe to her 
 ufual expedient, and, by a tedious and fophifti- 
 cal (latement, laboured to prove the goodnefs of 
 Jier caufe, and the innocency of her operations.
 
 125 
 
 The Venetian fenate haughtily afferted the 
 rights of their fovereignty appealed to treaties 
 talked of compulfory meafures exculpated 
 themfelves to foreign nations by afcribing to the 
 arbitrary proceedings of the papacy the impeded 
 ftate of the navigation. Difcuflions took place ; 
 conferences were held ; menaces were thrown 
 out. But more momentous interefts intervened 
 to claim the attention of both governments and 
 fufpend their conteft. The powers who have 
 fucceeded them, have inherited that quarrel: 
 for concord did not pcefide at their firft appear- 
 ance on the theatre of Italy. Will the court of 
 Vienna and the Cis-Alpine republic agree better 
 refpecling the mouths of the Po than the Vene- 
 tian fenate and the Roman government ? At 
 lealt it may fafely be aflerted that the two latter, 
 in making their exit from the ftage of political 
 exiftence, did not mutually regret each other. 
 
 This double caufe of difagreement exifled 
 only for fome of the catholic powers : but there 
 was not perhaps one of them, great or fmall, re- 
 mote or proximate, which had not at the fame 
 period its difputes with the Holy See refpecting 
 ecclefiaftic concerns. Even Portugal, which, 
 of all the European nations, feemed the moft fer- 
 vilely devoted to the papacy, occasionally added 
 to the load of embarraflments under which Pius 
 laboured. His pontificate was during two or
 
 126 
 
 three years contemporary with the miniftry of 
 of the marquis de Pombal, that imperious mini 
 fter, who, full of the fpirit of the times, dared to 
 attempt feveral phiiofophic innovations amid a 
 people Ids illumined by the light of philofophy 
 than any other nation in- Europe. Scarcely had 
 Pius taken his feat on Saint Peter's chair, when 
 Pombal attempted to deprive him of the colla- 
 tion of all the benefices in Portugal. A compro- 
 ipife was however entered into: the king re- 
 ferved to himfelf the annual fum of a hundred 
 and twenty thoufand crowns to be levied on the 
 vacant church livings ; and fifty thoufand were 
 granted to the pope for the maintenance of fix 
 hundred Portuguefe Jcfuits who had been ba- 
 nimed to his dominions. The death of Jofeph 
 I., which was foon followed by the difgrace of 
 the marquis de Pomba], delivered the court of 
 Rome from a formidable antagonifh 
 
 Immediately the fcene was changed. The 
 queen had fecretly fighed over the various 
 wounds which the ex-minifter had inflited on 
 the Holy See, and now hafled to cure them. 
 She kept up a regular correfpondence with Pius 
 -re-cilablifhed his' nuncio in the enjoyment of 
 all the privileges of which he had been ftripped 
 reftored to liberty feveral fanatics who had 
 fuffered perfecution under the defpotifrn of the 
 preceding miniftry reftored feveral devotional
 
 127 
 
 inftitutions which it had abolillied. The queen, 
 good-natured, fmcerely pious, but eafily influ- 
 enced, obeyed the fuggeftions of thqjpnarquis de 
 Pombal's enemies. Superftition now began to 
 re-appear with triumphant fway : the papacy, 
 threatened with fo many lofles, received fome 
 confolations ; and Portugal was about .to re- 
 plunge into the darknefs from which it had be- 
 gun to emerge. 
 
 In ,17 78 Pius obtained from the court of Lif- 
 bon a new concordatum, by which the collation 
 of all the prebends was equally divided in thirds 
 to the queen, the bifhops, and himfelf. Soon 
 after, the patriarchal fee of Lifbon, which Pom- 
 bal had deprived of almoft all its honours, reco- 
 vered its former fplendor, its revenues, its nume- 
 rous and opulent chapter. The partifans of the 
 Jefuits were countenanced ; and even an idea 
 was for fome time entertained that the Jefuits 
 themfelves were to be again taken into favour. 
 Pius's enemies had induftrioufly difleminated 
 that report : the minifters of the courts of the 
 houfe of Bourbon were alarmed by it ; and the 
 chevalier de Menefes, the Portuguefe minifter, 
 was directed formally to contraditt it. The only 
 meafure which the court of Lifbon thought pro- 
 per at the moment to take in favour of the Je- 
 fuits and the See of Rome, was to grant mode- 
 rate penfions to the former, and thus relieve the
 
 128 
 
 Apoftolic Chamber from the burden of their" 
 maintenance, of which it had till that time borne 
 almoft the entire weight. 
 
 Thus paffed fix or feven years of the moft per-, 
 feft good underftanding between the courts of 
 Lifbon and of Rome. While all the other fove- 
 reigns, whether religious or not, were making 
 ecclefiaftic reforms, abridging the power of the 
 clergy, and curtailing the revenues of the Holy 
 See, the queen of Portugal alone continued to 
 found convents, re-eftablifhed the inquifition, 
 and, obedient to the fuggeftions of her hufband * 
 who. was a zealous partifan of the defunft fo* 
 ciety, fufTered an occafional ray of hope to cheer 
 its profcribed and fcattered members. All the 
 other catholic powers, if they did not threaten a 
 rupture with the Holy See, at leaft made no 
 fcruple of fetting bounds to the fums which 
 their fubje&s, whether of the clergy or the laity, 
 paid to it as the purchafe of bulls for benefices, 
 of difpenfations, &c. The Portuguefe alone, 
 after the example of their fovereign, multiplied 
 their demands for fpiritual favours, of which 
 they paid the price not only without murmur 
 but with pious alacrity. In every other catholic 
 country, the prelates, whether opulent or other- 
 wife, teifed the datario with applications for a re- 
 
 * Don Carlos,
 
 du&ion of the tax on their bulls : but the datdrio 
 experienced no fuch importunity from the bene- 
 ficed clergy of Portugal, who, on the contrary, 
 fliowed themfelves the moft devoted and mod 
 generous of thp fons of the church. To folicit. 
 for any abatement of thofe dues, which they 
 confidered as fo legitimate and facred, would 
 have appeared to them a facrilege. 
 
 Some flight dorms, however, difturbed the 
 tranquillity of that fo peaceful horizon. In fpite 
 of prieftly oppofition, fome rays- of philofophy 
 burft through the gloom which fat brooding 
 over Portugal. The prince of Brafil, lefs prieft- 
 ridden than his mother, had fuffered himfelf to 
 be perverted by the perufal of fome foreign books. 
 In 1787 he had the boldnefs to order Portuguefe 
 tranllations of the books of the normal fchools of 
 Vienna, and to introduce them into fchools 
 which he had himfelf eftablifhed. Soon after, 
 he caufed certain pofitions, which were difagree- 
 able to the Holy See, and which he had found 
 in a journal printed at Berlin, to be fuftained at 
 the univerfity of Coimbra fuch as the follow- 
 ing " The fovereign may refume grants made 
 " to the church" <c He may, without impiety, 
 " tolerate every religion that is not incompa- 
 " tible with the fafery of the ftate" " He may 
 ** expel the pope's nuncios from his dominions, 
 " forbid his fubje&s to make application to the 
 
 VOL. ii. "K
 
 130 
 
 " pontiff, and authtfrife bifliops to grant difpen- 
 " fations" - <c He deferves praife if he endea- 
 " vour to emancipate his authority from the 
 " yoke of the Holy See, &c. &c." Thefe dogr 
 mata were novel in Portugal: at Lifbon they 
 were heard with aftonifliment ; at Rome, with 
 mingled horror and indignation. 
 
 The young prince feemed determined not to 
 confine himfelf to the bare theory of thofe bold 
 principles of which he encouraged the propaga- 
 tion. He had'fucceeded in opening his mo- 
 ther's eyes to a perception of the diforders pre- 
 valent in the snonafteries of both fexes, and the 
 fhameful excefs, of opulence which they enjoyed. 
 The queen, notwithstanding all her devotion, 
 faw that a diminution of the number of monks 
 would tend to promote the profperity of her do- 
 minions:; and accordingly, in 1788, (he ordained 
 that none of her fubjects mould thenceforward 
 become a member of any religious order with- 
 out the royal fanftion. Some other meafures of 
 her government excited in the pope's breaft an 
 apprehenfion that me would become lefs obedi- 
 ent tp his will. 
 
 About this period the prince of Brafil died. 
 Entitled to regret on many accounts, he was la- 
 mented by the whole nation, the clergy ex- 
 cepted. 
 
 The impulfe which he had given to the go-
 
 131 
 
 **ernmentof his country continued to operate for 
 fome time after his death. In 1790, her Moft 
 Faithful Majefty felt a touch of companion for 
 thofe clafles of the people upon whom alone the 
 weighty preffure of taxation fell : (he ordained 
 that all her fubjecls, not excepting the nobility 
 or clergy, fhould equally bear the burden: and 
 the pope, who differed fo many lories for which 
 his confent was not alked, thought it prudent to 
 fantiion by a brief this derogation from the im- 
 munities of the church. Encouraged by the 
 fuccefs of this firft meafure, the queen proceeded 
 to greater lengths. The archbitliop of Braga 
 poflefled the prefcriptive nomination to all the 
 offices of magiftracy belonging to his fee : the 
 queen infifted that he (liould renounce that right : 
 the prelate appealed to the court of Rome : but 
 the queen, without awaiting its decifion, iflued 
 an edil fuppreffing not only the fignorial rights 
 of the archbifliop, but likewife all the temporal 
 jurisdictions of the clergy. 
 
 Thus, while the national aflembly of France 
 were inrli&ing the deepeft wounds on the Ro- 
 man church, her Aloft Faithful Majefty fuffered 
 herfelf to be hurried away by the torrent of ex- 
 ample, and contributed her ihare toward embit- 
 tering the cup of mortification for the pope. 
 But ihe foon perceived the dangers to which the 
 
 K 2
 
 progrefs of French principles at once expofed 
 both the altar and the throne : {he fufpended her 
 reforms : ftie participated the wifhes, and at 
 length the exertions, of the other European 
 powers who had confpired againft the moft for- 
 midable enemy of the Holy See. 
 
 The duke of Modena, too, proved himfelf at 
 the fame time a troubleforne neighbour to the 
 Holy See, as well as an unruly fon. From his 
 progenitors he had inherited pretenfions to the 
 duehy of Ferrara, which had been wrefted from 
 his family in 1598. He had made repeated ef- 
 forts to enforce his claims, and even proceeded, 
 in 1784, to fome military preparations which 
 alarmed Pius's fears: but the great catholic 
 courts extended their protection over the pon- 
 tiff's temporal power, as their quarrel lay only 
 againft the ufurpations of his fpiritual authority. 
 The duke of Modena did not follow up his pro- 
 jects : but in the following year he executed one 
 which his philofophy had long before planned : 
 he for ever abolifhed the inquifition within his 
 little Hate, which had more than once been dif- 
 turbed by the agents of that execrable tribunal ; 
 and to the bifliops alone he intruded the care of 
 watching over the purity of the faith. 
 
 Finally, even in Switzerland, of which the 
 catholic portion had ever been reckoned among
 
 133 
 
 the moft zealous fupporters of the papal defpo- 
 tifm, meafures were adopted to prevent the ufur- 
 pations of the nuncio at Lucern. 
 
 Amid this univerfal confpiracy of the catholic 
 fovereigns againft the Holy See, the duke of 
 Parma was almoft the only one who continued 
 unconditionally enllaved to it. Educated by phi- 
 Jofophers, he had flood conftantly on his guard 
 againft their irreligious maxims: and on him 
 was now devolved the tafk of atoning for the 
 uneafmefs which his ftate had given to the 
 court of Rome under the pontificate of Cle- 
 ment XIII. His excelfive devotion confoled and 
 encouraged the fucceeding pontiffs. While all 
 the other governments were employed in abo- 
 liihing the inquifition, or at lead reftri&ing it 
 within certain bounds, the duke of Parma, 
 moved by divine infpiration, determined to re- 
 eftablifh it. This meafure, he aflerted in his 
 edift, was dictated by " his paternal affection 
 " for his people, with the view of fcreening 
 <c them from the poifon of herefy and incredu- 
 " lity." He even promifed to affift that tribunal 
 with an armed force, if necefiTary. He next un- 
 dertook its apology, which he addreffed to the 
 tribunal itfelf ; and vindicated it from the injuf- 
 tice with which it was condemned by its ene- 
 mies : " although," faid he, " the holy office ever 
 " ats with moderation, and with all that mild- 
 K 3
 
 134 
 
 " nefs which charafterifes the church, the wick- 
 " ednefs of the age paints it neverthelefs in the 
 " moft odious colours." The inquifition requited 
 his encouragements by the mofl fevere vigilance 5 
 and the ftate of Parma, above every other in 
 Europe, might claim the honour of being the 
 moft fanatical and fuperftitious. Its prince fur- 
 rounded himlelf, in his feat at Colorno, with fa- 
 cred pi&ures and reliques which be had pro- 
 cured from Rome ; and, by fo many merits, he 
 was well entitled to rank as the moft faithful 
 fon of the church. Hence he obtained from 
 the Holy See a teftimony of good-will, which he 
 alone was capable of duly appreciating : he had 
 long folicitcd permiffion for the priefts in his 
 ftate to celebrate three mattes on Eafter-day; 
 and that Jignal favour was granted as a reward of 
 the pious zeal which had impelled him to re- 
 eftablifh the inquifition. 
 
 Such had, during fixteen years, been the rela- 
 tions, more or lefs hoftile, of moft of the Euro- 
 pean powers with the court of Rome. During 
 that long interval, France who had even 
 during the dark ages marched at the head of 
 all the govern ments that oppofed the ufurpations 
 of the papacy fecmed to have concluded with- 
 it a truce for many years to come. But fud- 
 denly Ihe ftarted from her trance : and, being 
 herfelf whirled along by a tide of the moft im-
 
 perious circumftances, flie afTailed and over- 
 turned that ancient throne of which philofophy 
 had on every fide Tapped the foundations. 
 
 But, before we enter on a defcription of that 
 grand cataftrophe, we think it necefTary more 
 particularly to explain what was, a mort time 
 before, the ftate of that Roman government, 
 whofe long duration ought more powerfully to 
 excite our aftonifhment than its overthrow,
 
 136 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 State of the Roman Government, previous to the 
 Period of its Overthrow. 
 
 JLN one of the preceding chapters we have no- 
 ticed the chief part of the defects of the Roman 
 government. They alone might, in any other 
 country, have been fufficient to occafion its 
 overthrow : but, among a people void of energy 
 engaged by fuperftitious exhibitions vifited 
 by fo many foreigners, of whom fome diverted 
 the Roman's attention from the confideration of 
 his grievances, while others relieved his diftrefs 
 under a mild climate where the wants of na- 
 ture are few and eafily fupplied placed in a 
 political fituation where each day produced 
 frefli aliment for his curiofity, each year fome 
 new gratifications or at leaft fome hopes to feed 
 his ambition of whatever kind under a govern- 
 ment deftitute indeed of force, but adminiftered 
 without tyranny under a government, in fhort, 
 . over which, according to the notions of the vul- 
 gar, God himfelf and his apoftles feemed imme- 
 diately to prefidc abufes which would have been 
 the leaft tolerable in other countries and other
 
 137 
 
 circumftances, might have long fupported them- 
 felves in peaceful impunity. 
 
 Toward the laft years, however, which imme- 
 diately preceded the French revolution, thofe 
 abufes had rifen to fuch a height, that even 
 thofe obfervers who were the lead difpofed to 
 gloomy anticipation prefaged ferious calamities 
 to the Holy See : fuch in particular was the mo- 
 derate, the conciliating, and one might fay the 
 optimift, cardinal de Bernis. 
 
 The Roman government was guilty of cul- 
 pable neglect efpecially in two particulars on 
 which chiefly depends the profperity of a ftate 
 morality and finance. 
 
 All clafles in the ftate were tainted with im- 
 morality not indeed that immorality of prin- 
 ciple, that unblulhing impudence of depravity, 
 which publicly proclaims its infamy, and mocks 
 at all fcruple : on the contrary, vice, inftead of 
 wearing at Rome a difgufting appearance, cloked 
 itfelf with all thofe difguifes which could either 
 palliate it or at leaft render it fupportable. It 
 fometimes adopted the language of virtue, and 
 conftantly wore the mafk of devotion. There, 
 as in almoft every country where great impor- 
 tance is attached to religious ceremonies and 
 ,where confequently they are brilliant and nu- 
 merous, people thought they had performed 
 their duty as good men and Chriftians, wheo
 
 they bad acquitted themfelves of their external 
 obligations. The Romans, even thofe of the 
 moft enlightened clafs, combined the irregula- 
 rities of vice with the practices of fuperftition, 
 In a word, Rome was the true country of mo- 
 dern Pharifees. 
 
 At their head marched the members of the 
 Sacred College. Thefe, almoft to a man, eflen- 
 tially vicious from principle as well as inclina- 
 tion, faw in the catholic religion three objects 
 very diftinct from each other its morality, of 
 which the maxims were conftantly in their 
 mouths, which they never obferved except on 
 occafions of publicity and when it required of 
 them no great facrifices, and which they boldly 
 violated whenever they were fure of fecrecy and 
 impunity j -its dogmata^ which they profefled in 
 public with fanatic emphafis, but which they 
 laughed at in private; -its difcipline, for the 
 maintenance of which they would have fet the 
 tmiverfe in flames, provided they could them- 
 felves efcape the ravages of the conflagration, 
 To render their conduct a complete practical 
 fyftem of depravity, nought was wanting except 
 fcandalous notoriety : but, inftead of that, hypo- 
 crify clofed the black lift. There now were no 
 longer to be found]any real TartufFes * except in 
 
 * Tartujfe is the name of an arch-hypocrite in one of j\lo- 
 liere's plays.
 
 139 
 
 one fpot of Europe : that fpot was Rome ; and 
 thofe Tartuffes were the cardinals, and the can- 
 didates for the cardinalitian dignity. Of the 
 three vows by which they were bound, they were 
 faithful to the obfervance of only one the vow 
 of obedience ; but it was that fervile obedience 
 which invites the hand of defpotifm, and affords 
 a fufficient apology for its oppreflions. Under a 
 vain grimace of affeted humility they concealed 
 all the refinements and lofty pretenfions of pride. 
 With refped to the moft difficult of all the 
 Chriftian virtues, it is well known how they 
 praHfed it : that fex which is called indifcreet 
 was not the only one at whofe mercy their fe- 
 crets lay : and, in this particular at leaft, they 
 bore a ftrong refemblance to thofe Cjefars whom 
 they had fucceeded. 
 
 This mixture of prefumptuous ambition and 
 feigned humility,' of external decorum and inter- 
 nal corruption, of apparent fuperftition and fe- 
 cret incredulity, had ftamped on all their Emi- 
 nences a peculiar charafter by which it was im- 
 poiTible not to recognife them. Their words, 
 their looks, their features, every thing about 
 them was falfe. Habituated from their early 
 age to diffimulation and diftruft; they fufpe6ted 
 each other, guefled at each other's thoughts, but 
 never betrayed their own. Refembling in many
 
 particulars the harufplces * their predeceffors, they 
 differed from them in one, which was that they 
 did not laugh on meeting each other*. Hence 
 the difficulty of defining a prince of the Roman 
 church: hence the diverfity of features under 
 which they have been generally pourtrayed, and 
 the diverfity of characters under which they have 
 been alternately feen to aft. 
 
 Such models might well be expected to find 
 imitators. Being the channels through which 
 mod favours flowed, the organs through which 
 mofl applications were made, and all poffeffing a 
 certain mare of influence, it was natural that 
 they fhould be furrounded by clients interefted 
 in pleafing them : and to pleafe it was neceflary 
 to refemble them. Accordingly, by progreffive 
 degrees, all the Romans formed themfelves after 
 the example of the cardinals, with fuch diffe- 
 rences only as a more or lefs refined education 
 might be expected to place between them. In 
 other countries the court take the ton from the' 
 fovereign : here the college of cardinals was the 
 Sovereign ; and all Rome copied the pattern 
 
 * Soothfayers who pretended to foretell future events from 
 an infpedion of the entrails of vi&ims. Cato the Cenfor, who 
 himfelf belonged to the board of augurs, faidhe was furprifed 
 that a harufpex could refrain from laughing whenever he faw 
 ens of his brethren. Cicero, de Divin. ii. 24.
 
 141 
 
 which they fet. Among thofe copies, it is true, 
 there were fome hideous caricatures : the like- 
 nefs extended in gradation even to the popu- 
 lace, who, lefs adroit in the art of diflimulation, 
 knew not how to indulge in depravity without 
 giving fcandal, and united fuperftitious credu- 
 lity and unaffecled fanaticifm with the coarfeft 
 irregularities of vice, ran from the temple to the 
 tavern, and paififd from the adoration of a Ma- 
 donna to debauchery and aiTaif] nation. 
 
 All claffes, all profeffions, were infected by 
 the contagion of thofe corruptive principles : 
 the only exceptions to the general rule were a 
 few individuals of the great Roman families 
 who were peculiarly favoured by nature, fome 
 men of letters, and fome artifts 
 
 Rari nantes in gurgite vafto. 
 
 It was now no longer by heretics alone that 
 Rome was termed the modern Babylon : every, 
 thing there was venal : in civil affairs juftice 
 was adminiftered with partiality ; in thofe of a 
 criminal nature, with an indolence which was 
 miftaken for humanity. Crimes were neither 
 watched, nor prevented, nor punifhed. The po- 
 lice was reftlefs without vigilance : its vile agents, 
 the Jbirri, were a horde of fp-ies and robbers, 
 more likely to increafe than prevent diforder 
 in a moment of critical emergency. All the
 
 142 
 
 fprings of the administration betrayed that want 
 of tone and vigour which is the fure precurfor 
 of approaching difiblution. The government 
 often fhowed obftinacy, but never true firm- 
 nefs; duplicity on all occafions - on none, ge- 
 nuine policy. Feeblenefs was confpicuous in 
 all its meafures; and the national want of 
 fpirit was difcoverable even in the commit 
 fion of crimes. Compofed of fuch elements, 
 the Roman (late mud unavoidably have been, 
 as experience has proved that it was, eafy to be 
 overturned, difficult to be again reared from its 
 fall. 
 
 Notwithftanding fo many defects, this go-* 
 vernment would have been or at leaft would 
 have appeared fupportable, if the finances and 
 every thing connected with them had been bet- 
 ter adminiftered if provifions had been more 
 plenty and lefs dear. But even the firft princi- 
 ples of political ceconomy were unknown at 
 Rome. Still, however, fome improvement might 
 have taken place if the modern Romans had 
 imitated the conduct of their anceftors, who co- 
 pied the wife inftitutions of their Tufcan neigh- 
 bours. But they did not follow that example : 
 they faw near their frontiers the ftate of Tuf- 
 cany pro fpering under a fyftem diametrically op- 
 pofite to that which long cuftom had confe- 
 crated among them j and they conducted them-
 
 us 
 
 felves as if they thought that the promifed im- 
 mutability of the church were connected with 
 that of their adminiftration. 
 
 On a former occafion we have fpoken of the 
 Apoftolic Chamber, and of its defective organifa- 
 tion. On it in great meafure depended the 
 finances ; and their ruined ftate bore teftimony 
 to its want of (kill. The evil, it is true, might 
 be traced back to the pontificate of Sixtus V. 
 whofe ambitious enterprifes had begun to in- 
 volve the chamber in debt. He had borrowed 
 nearly ten millions of Roman crowns, of which 
 he expended one half on aquedurs, obelifks, 
 embellimments. The other moiety he had de- 
 pofited in the caftle of Saint-Angelo, as a re- 
 ferve appropriated to the purchafe of corn in 
 times of fcarcity. He had at the fame time 
 endeavoured to eftablifh a finking-fund : but his 
 plan was not followed j and the public debt had 
 increafed under his fucceflbrs. Some of them, 
 however, had proved that the diforder might be 
 remedied by a prudent economy. Clement 
 XIV., for inftance, had, in five years, faved 
 above a million and half of French livres. But 
 Pius, inftead of treading in Clement's fteps, dif- 
 played fuch ftately pomp, and engaged in fuch 
 cxpenfive fchemes, that the grievances of the 
 people were accumulated and their menacing
 
 murmurs were heard even in the firft years of 
 his pontificate. 
 
 The Ecclefiaftical State poffeffed none of thofe 
 refources which can furnifh prompt and effica- 
 cious remedies. Its commerce was almoft en- 
 tirely parlive, except fome exportations of wine 
 and oil that of corn when the harveft was 
 good in the provinces warned by the Adriatic 
 fea that of wool and filk, which were almoft 
 entirely fent out of the country inftead of being 
 manufa&ured at home. Its induftry, as we have 
 already feen, was next to a nullity. The ba- 
 lance of trade was wholly to the difadvantage of 
 the Romans, who muft in a fhort time have 
 been entirely exhaufted of their fpecie, if the 
 datario and the chancellery had not drawn back 
 a part of it from the different catholic countries 
 of Europe. But what thefe two offices received 
 was not fufficient to fave the treafury from 
 debt ; fince from them was derived a part of the 
 cardinals' incomes, together with the falaries of 
 that hoft of perfons employed in expediting 
 briefs and bulls. It was difficult to afcertain 
 the total of thofe tributes, equally difgraceful to 
 thofe who received as to thofe who paid them : 
 but there is reafon to think that in 1788 the 
 aggregate revenues of the datario and the chan- 
 cellery ftill amounted to two millions four hun-
 
 145 
 
 dred and thirty-five thoufand Roman crowns* 
 Such nearly was the fum of fpecie which flowed 
 hito Rome to fupply the place of that which 
 was drained away by the numerous importa- 
 tions from foreign countries. Exclufive of this, 
 the Apoflolic Chamberreceived between fourteen 
 and fixteen millions of livres arifmg from certain 
 lands belonging to it, from the farming of cer- 
 tain taxes paid by the communes of the Eccle- 
 fiaftical State, from the taxes on butchers' meat 
 and on corn entering the city of Rome, from the 
 produce of a lottery, and from the duties on the 
 importation of foreign commodities. But from 
 thefe revenues were to be deducted nearly five 
 millions and half which were paid in intereft by 
 two public banks founded by the government : 
 and the expenfes were fo little proportioned to 
 the receipts, that in 1787 the former exceeded the 
 latter by near a million and half of French 
 livres. 
 
 In any other (late, fuch a deficiency would 
 have been eafily fupplied : but the Roman go- 
 vernment was as barren in contrivances as in re- 
 fources. Its conduct was like that of old bache- 
 lors, who pay little regard to the interefts of 
 their heirs. In the papal territory were fome 
 very rich land-owners whom it was neceffary to 
 treat with delicacy, but very few capitalifls. 
 
 VOL. II. It
 
 146 
 
 The great mafs of the people poflfefled only, 
 precarious means of fubfiftence, and were flip- 
 ported either by their own labour, by the libe- 
 ralities of travellers, or by alms from the mo- 
 nafteries. Could fuch a government have even 
 the appearance of credit? The only mode, 
 therefore, by which it could provide for the ex- 
 cefs of the expenditure, was the creation of pa~ 
 per-money a ruinous mode, when the govern- 
 ment which adopts it has no fecurities to offer, 
 nor any fund for redemption a mode, which 
 in the end cannot fail to inflame the difcontents 
 of the people to the utmoft. Accordingly the 
 improper ufe made of it by Pius was the chief 
 motive by which the Romans were difpofed, if 
 not to take an aclive part in deftroying their 
 exifting government, at leaft to ftand uncon- 
 cerned fpe&ators of its overthrow. 
 
 i That paper-money however bore no intereft. 
 It confiited of bank-notes, which were called 
 cedole, and which ferved for all payments above 
 the fum of ten crowns. Even in the firft years 
 of Pius's pontificate, they were at a difcount of 
 five per cent. Workmen's wages had rifen, 
 provifions like wife were become dearer, in pro- 
 portion to that lofs; and the evil became (till 
 worfe in procefs of time. It was in great mea- 
 fure his. work ; and that was the principal
 
 147 
 
 ground of the people's hatred to him ; for that 
 is the fpecies of opprefliori which they bear 
 with the lead patience. 
 
 There was nothing in the other branches of 
 the adminiftration which could reconcile the 
 'Romans to Pius. We have feen him conftantly 
 furrounded by obfcure and fanatical advifers, 
 and almoft invariably munning the counfels of 
 his rigid friends. He did not repofe his confi- 
 dence in any of thofe who, by their fituations or 
 their talents, were entitled to it: and, without 
 pronouncing too harm a judgement on him, it 
 may with truth be faid that he neither knew 
 how to govern nor fuffer himfelf to be governed. 
 To be convinced of the truth of this afiertion, 
 it is fufficient to take a view of his conduft to- 
 ward the different cardinals who fucceilively 
 held the principal poft of miniftry under him 
 that of fecretary of ftate. 
 
 Having been raifed to the pontificate chiefly 
 by the influence of the courts of Verfailles and 
 Madrid, he accepted from their hands, much 
 rather than felefted by his own choice, the car- 
 dinal Pallavicini, who had, to the laft day, been 
 his moft formidable competitor. He kept on 
 good terms with him becaufe he was conneted 
 with the court of Spain by means of the duke 
 de Grimaldi his coufm-german : but he never 
 entertained for him either friendmip or confi- 
 
 L 2
 
 143 
 
 dence. Pallavicini felt a fecret propenfity in 
 favour of the Jefuits ; and that was perhaps his 
 only point of co-incidence with the pope. They 
 were both obliged to conceal that propenfity, 
 and even to adopt meafures which were often- 
 fibly in oppofition to it : but even here they 
 were not always in accord. The cardinal, more 
 calm and cautious, fought to avoid even the ap- 
 pearance of an offence to the catholic courts ; 
 while the pontiff, impetuous and obftihate, was 
 more ready to commit errors than to repair 
 them.- 
 
 Thus they lived nearly ten years in a rela- 
 tion which was reciprocally difagreeable. More 
 than once, Pallavicini, convinced of the infuf- 
 riciency of his efforts to pleafe the capricious 
 pontiff, wiflied to retire from his ftation. But 
 France and Spain were as well fatisfied with 
 him as his limited influence would allow : they 
 were certain at lead that he was incapable ei- 
 ther of doing or advifing mifchief : their mini- 
 iters therefore preffed him to continue in office ; 
 and he yielded to their perfualions. After hav- 
 ing drunk deep of the cup of mortification and 
 difguft, he languished for fome time, and at 
 length died on the 24th of February 1/85. 
 Bernis and Azara perfonally regretted him, be- 
 caufe he was good-natured, compliant, and 
 well-intentioned .: yet they could not forbear fay-
 
 149 
 
 ing to each other, " He has been ufelefs to us, 
 " and we have caufed his misfortune." 
 
 It was chiefly on this account that they for- 
 bore to interfere in the choice of a perfon to 
 fucceed him. The public voice defignated five 
 candidates the young cardinal Doria, who had 
 been nuncio in France, and had there rendered 
 himfelf an obje6t of affection ; cardinal Ga- 
 rampi, who poflefied gentlenefs of difpofition. 
 and manner, an enlightened underftanding, and 
 erudition, but whofe health was feeble, whofe at- 
 tachment to the Jefuits was much too notorious, 
 and who, for that and fome other reafons, would 
 not have been agreeable to the court of Spain j 
 cardinal Zelada, of whom we have often al- 
 ready fpoken, and whom we ihall more than 
 once again have occafion to mention ; cardi- 
 nal Archetti, who had conduced himfelf with 
 fufficient prudence during his nunciature in Po- 
 land, but whofe talents did not rife above me- 
 diocrity, and who had a propenfity to thofe petty 
 Italian finejjex which often prove more dangerous 
 than ufcful, efpecially in fuch circumftances as 
 thofe in which the papacy at that time ftood. 
 His chief merit was his connexion with cardinal 
 Antonelli, one of the moft enlightened members 
 of the Sacred College, who had removed from 
 the minds of the French and Spanim courts the 
 prejudices which tbey had conceived againffc 
 *< 3
 
 150 
 
 him during the embaffy of Monfieur Aubeterre^ 
 but in whom, neverthelefs, they did not yet re- 
 pofe entire confidence. The fifth candidate 
 was the prelate Sylva, a man not deflitute of ta- 
 lents, but who was not yet fufficiently known. 
 
 Of thefe five candidates, two alone, Doria and 
 Archetti, fixed the attention of the pontiff, who 
 for fome time hefitated between them and the 
 cardinal Buoncompagni. Refpe&ing this deli- 
 cate choice, he confulted Bernis, without whofe 
 approbation he was fenfible that he ought not 
 to determine ; France being at that time the 
 power with which it was moft incumbent upon 
 the Holy See to keep on good terms, and the 
 prudence of cardinal de Bernis, the French mi- 
 nifter, infpiring the pontiff with fmcere efteem 
 for him. Pius compared and difcufTed with him 
 the advantages and difadvantages that would 
 attend the election of each of the three cardinals 
 whom he had in view. " I know," faid he to 
 Bernis, " that the firft would be agreeable to 
 " your court : but he is yet very young. He 
 " may have a knowledge of foreign affairs : but 
 " is he equally acquainted with thofe of the 
 " home department ? Befides, I do not know 
 " whether his temper and mine would agree : 
 " and at my age 1 can no longer offer myfelf 
 " violence each moment by afts of virtue." He 
 then avowed that the cardinal Archetti ap-
 
 '151 
 
 peared to him th.e fitted man for the miniftry, as 
 well on account of his character as of his capa- 
 city j that, of all thofe who might be propofed, 
 he would be the moft agreeable to him $ " but," 
 added his holinefs, " he is not rich enough. He 
 " is, befides, a Venetian ; and the conduct of 
 " his republic toward me has not been fuch as 
 " mould induce me to afford it that gratifica- 
 " tion." Hence it appears that Pius was capable 
 of harbouring refentment, but that fometimes at 
 leaft he was fincere. 
 
 At length he came to the third of thofe xvhom 
 he had in contemplation the cardinal Baon- 
 compagni, whom he knew to be efteemed by 
 the two minifters whofe good-will he wifhed to 
 preferve, and of whom Jofeph II. had conceived' 
 fo favourable an idea during his laft vifit to 
 Italy. Buoncompagni had long been legate at 
 Bologna, where he difplayed confiderable talents 
 and great firmnefs. In that miffion, however, 
 he had made fome mal-contents. The Bo- 
 lognefc had a peculiar government of their own, 
 which was a mixture of ariftocracy and demo- 
 cracy ; and they enjoyed feverai privileges, of 
 which they were jealoufly tenacious. The legate 
 had oppofed the kind of independence in which 
 they wilhed to maintain themfelvcs with refpedt 
 to the Holy See: he had laboured to humble 
 their grandees, under pretence of reftorir.g to the 
 L 4
 
 people their legitimate authority : but the peo- 
 ple had of themfelves perceived, or by the fug- 
 geftions of others were taught to fufpeft, that 
 this tender concern for their interefts arofe 
 purely from his wiih to fubftitute, in the Bolo- 
 gnefe territory, the defpotifm of priefts to that 
 of the nobles. 
 
 Thefe were grievances of which the remem- 
 brance was not obliterated by the real fervices 
 which he had rendered to the country in drain~ 
 ing part of its marfhes and rendering them fuf- 
 ceptible of cultivation. Even thofe very fer- 
 vices were fubjecls of blame in the eyes of his 
 cenfors, becaufe the legate had not been able to 
 undertake thofe ufeful works without increafing 
 the debts of the province by fome millions of 
 crowns. Jt was even afferted that he had en- 
 riched himfelf during his legation ; and the Bo- 
 lognefe conildered as the fruit of his extortions 
 that wealth which he difplayed among them in 
 the indulgence of a fcandalous luxury. Whe- 
 ther thofe reproaches were well or ill founded, 
 it certainly cannot be denied that Buoncom- 
 pagni had hitherto feryed the court of Rome 
 with great zea! and fuccefs, and given proofs of 
 an extraordinary capacity : and thefe conftitute 
 the ftrongefl claims to the gratitude and efteem 
 of a defpotic fovereign. 
 
 But to Pius peripnally h$ appeared liable to
 
 153 
 
 very ferious objections ; and the pope did not 
 conceal them from the cardinal de Bernis, but 
 told him that he was fomewhat afraid of Buon- 
 compagni's haughty unbending difpofition, and 
 that it muft be a painful talk to be obliged to 
 conduct buiinefs with a minifter of that charac- 
 ter. He neverthelefs intimated his readinefs to 
 facrifice his perfonal feelings for the fake of 
 making a choice which mould be agreeable to 
 the catholic fovereigns and ufeful to the Ecclefi- 
 aftical State. 
 
 Although Bernis did not difTemblehis attach- 
 ment to cardinal Buoncompagni, to whom, 
 fince his return from Bologna, he had given 
 ftrong teftimonies of regard, he did not choofe 
 to force the will of the pontiff j and his court, as 
 well as that of Spain, determined that Pius 
 Ihould be left at perfect liberty to make his own 
 choice. The minitters of thofe two courts 
 would have been pleafed, in cafe of Buoncom- 
 pagni's excluiion, to fee one of the four follow- 
 ing cardinals elevated to the prime-miniftry 
 Zelada, rcfpefting whom their fentiments had 
 never varied Negroni, whom they had ten years 
 before wifhed to raife to the papacy Conti, who 
 had ever been agfeearble to the crowned heads 
 on account both of his character and his prin- 
 ciples and Palotta, who, notwithstanding his 
 blunt and almoft rude manner, was univerfally
 
 154 
 
 confidered as the moft honeft man in Rome, and 
 one of the moft enlightened. But they knew 
 that none of the four was likely to prove ac- 
 ceptable to the pontiff, with whom they did 
 not co-incide in principle. 
 
 Pius, uninfluenced by any external impulfe, 
 continued near four months in fufpenfe refpet- 
 ing the choice of his fecretary of ftate. Buon- 
 compagni was of too haughty a temper to feek 
 to fix the wavering mind of the pontiff, who, 
 on the other hand, was not forry to prolong the 
 uncertainty. Meanwhile the management of 
 buiinefs was intruded to the miniftry of fubor- 
 dinate agents who cautioufly avoided to thwart 
 his will. At length, after much deliberation, 
 the efteem which he could not with-hold from 
 cardinal Buoncompagni, the defire of making 
 a choice which mould prove agreeable to France 
 and Spain and efpecially to cardinal Bernis, and 
 the need in which he flood of a firm and en- 
 lightened man to reprefs the mal-con tents of 
 Rome, prevailed over his repugnance ; and, be- 
 fore the expiration of June, he notified to the 
 minifters of the courts of Verfailles, Madrid, and 
 Vienna, that he had chofen the cardinal Buon- 
 compagni for his fecretary of ftate. 
 
 This new minifter had, on his firft entrance 
 into office, fome very critical affairs to conduct: 
 that of the nuncios in Germany the difputes
 
 155 
 
 between the Holy See and the court of Naples, 
 which were then rifen to their higheft degree of 
 warmth the arreft of the cardinal de Rohan, 
 of which we fhall fpeak in another place foon 
 made him regret his legation at Bologna, where 
 he had found a greater facility of acquiring fame 
 and of doing good. Befides, it was not long 
 before he faw a holt of enemies arifing againft 
 him. Of thefe, one who took the leaft pains to 
 difguife his enmity was the pontiff's own ne- 
 phew, who had for a confiderable time been in 
 expectation of the cardinal's hat, and had ob- 
 tained it fhortly after Buoncompagni's inftalla- 
 tion. On this occasion he received marks of 
 affectionate regard from all the diltinguimed 
 characters in Rome; and thofe teftimonies of 
 affection were at that time fmcere; for he was 
 univerfally beloved. About the fame period 
 his uncle appointed him fecretary of the briefs, 
 an office for life, which conferred on him great 
 privileges. 
 
 Buoncompagni took the alarm on beholding 
 fo many favours conferred upon a man by whom 
 he knew himfelf not to be viewed with the eyes 
 of friendihip. He faw moreover that the ne- 
 phew was eager to trench upon his rights, and 
 to form a coumerpoife to his influence : where- 
 upon he teftificd his uneafmcfs to the pontiff, 
 %vho allured him that he had his entire confi-
 
 156 
 
 dence he meant, no doubt, all the confidence 
 which he was capable of repofmg in any man. 
 Pius at firft treated Buoncompagni with greater 
 cordiality than had been expecled; and the lat- 
 ter exerted fufficient command over his temper 
 to prevent its being productive of any of thofe 
 fcenes which the pope himfelf had apprehended. 
 This tranfient good underftanding was chiefly 
 attributable to the cares of the cardinal de Ber- 
 nis, who himfelf thought it would be durable, 
 and congratulated himfelf on it as his own 
 work. He was pleafed to fee Pius confult his 
 fecretary of ftate, and what was more wonder- 
 ful follow his advice. He imagined that a re- 
 formation had taken place in the pontiff's mind; 
 and in the year 1787 he wrote to his court, 
 " Pius begins to feel that ftatefmen are more ne- 
 " ceffary to him than thcologifts." 
 
 The influence of Buoncompagni's temperate 
 prudence was particularly difcernible in the 
 conduct of the Roman court at the period of the 
 attempts made by the bifhop of Piftoja. Pius 
 concealed his vexation on beholding that prelate 
 fo formally wage war againft the Holy See, and 
 his joy on witneffmg his defeat. During the mi- 
 niftry of Buoncompagni, the quarrel with the 
 Neapolitan court continuing to acquire additi- 
 onal animofity, he thought that a perfonal in- 
 terview would more powerfully operate to effect
 
 157 
 
 a, reconciliation than the mediatory offices of 
 the beft-chofen agents. , Accordingly he went 
 to fpend a month at Naples, where, though his 
 prefence did not produce all the effect which he 
 had expected, at leaft he fucceeded in prevent- 
 ing that explofion which any other perfon might 
 perhaps have accelerated. 
 
 .He juftly appreciated the value of that frivo- 
 lous tribute to which Pius's vanity annexed fuch 
 confequence. He faw that bubble diffipated 
 under his miniftry, without feeling any other re- 
 gret for the lofs than what was occafioned by. 
 the mortification with which he faw Pius af- 
 fected. Through his hands pa(Ted all the recla- 
 mations, demands, protefts, and long memorials, 
 by which the court of Rome hoped to bring that 
 of Naples to a greater degree of deference for. 
 the Holy See. He had cleariy forefeen how in- 
 efficacious all his means would prove toward ac- 
 complifliing the defired objet : but a circum- 
 ftance ilill more unpleafing to himfelf perfonally, 
 was that thefe difcuffions in which he was the 
 organ, expofed him to the rifque of incurring 
 the ill-will of that court whofe friendship he for 
 powerful reafons wifhed to cultivate. His fa- 
 mily poflefled very coniiderable eftates in the do- 
 minions of the Neapolitan monarch, and, among 
 others, the principality of Piombino, which 
 ?lone yielded an annual income cf above two
 
 158 
 
 hundred thoufand livres. He friends had lohg 
 continued urging him to quit a pod in which he 
 did not enjoy a degree of authority fufficient to 
 compenfate the embarraffments in which it in- 
 volved him, the dangers to which it expofed 
 both himfelf and his relatives. For fome time 
 he refifted their felicitations* 
 
 Thofe who have had a clofer acquaintance 
 with cardinal Baoncompagni, judge him with 
 lefs feverity than Gorani has done. According 
 to their defcription, he was a man of under- 
 ftanding and honour, who felt the ambition of 
 an exalted foul that of rendering fervice to 
 his country at the fame time that he laboured to 
 acquire fame for himfelf. Not withftanding fome 
 marks of affelion from Pius, he foon difcovered 
 that it would be impoffible for him to gain the 
 pontiff's entire confidence, without which he 
 never could accomplifh that laudable objeh 
 It was refufed to him in every thing which con- 
 cerned the affairs of the home department.- To- 
 ward the commencement of the year 1 789, his fa- 
 mily even excited his apprehenfions left, unknown 
 to him, an accommodation mould be negotiated 
 between the pope and the court of Naples. 
 His difguft became each clay more vifible ; and 
 it acquired additional ftrength from the appear- 
 ance, at that period, of a work pubiiilied in 
 France, under the title of ' Critical and im-
 
 159 
 
 ** partial Reflexions on the Revenues and Con- 
 <f tributions of the Clergy in France, or Ex- 
 " tra6ts of Letters written in 1786 and 1787 
 " to his Eminence the Cardinal Buoncompagni 
 
 Ludovili, by the Abbe de M " This 
 
 publication was the prelude to an attack made 
 in that fame year on the French clergy. The 
 cardinal was more than aftonifhed to find him- 
 felf prefented to the public as concerned in dif- 
 cufling a queftion of a nature fo delicate for the 
 Holy See : and he protefted that he had had no 
 intercourfe whatever with the author, whofe 
 principles he was far from approving. It almoft 
 invariably happens that we only confirm fufpi- 
 cion by the warmth of our efforts to repel it. 
 Thus it fared with the cardinal in this inftance : 
 his enemies interpreted his proteftation in their 
 own way, and congratulated themfelves on the 
 importance which it gave to the French abbe's 
 publication, beyond what it had pofieffed even 
 in France. 
 
 Thefe various motives impelled Buoncom- 
 pagni to form the refolution of retiring. He 
 communicated his intention to his friends Bernis 
 and Azara. " I am determined," faid he, " to 
 <c refign the miniftry : but I will do it nobly, 
 " without uttering a complaint, and efpecially 
 " without aiking any remuneration." Thofe 
 two minillers laboured to diffuade him from his
 
 160 
 
 purpofe : " he poflefled," they faid, " the pub- 
 " lie efleem, even that of the pope, if he did 
 ""not enjoy his entire confidence: he was 
 " agreeable to the crowned heads ; and in the 
 ". crifis with which the Holy See was threatened, 
 " fuch a man as he was neceflary. Befides, 
 " how could he difpofe of himfelf in retire- 
 tf ment? accuflomed as he had been to bufmefs, 
 fs he would feel himfelf overpowered by the 
 " burden of unemployed leifure." 
 
 For fome time Buoncompagni yielded to the 
 folicitations of his friends. The pontiff was no 
 doubt informed of his intention, and of the dif- 
 fatisfalion which had prompted it : he affe6ted 
 to teftify a more than ufual regard for him, and 
 even conferred on him a favour of no ordinary 
 kind by appointing one of his near relatives 
 governor of the caftle of Saint-Angelo, an of- 
 fice which was ufually referved for the pope's 
 nephews. But Buoncompagni was a man whofe 
 refolutions were not eafily fhaken. He gained 
 certain information that his interpofition was 
 eluded in the negotiation with the court of Na- 
 ples : he entered into a warm explanation on the 
 fubjeft with the pontiff; he upbraided him with 
 his myfterious fecrecy, and with the confidence 
 which he repofed in a certain Neapolitan prelate 
 who had not the confidence of any body elfe. 
 
 Pius, not choofing to fubjecl: himfelf to the
 
 161 
 
 reproach of having caufed the retirement of fo 
 valuable a man, and being awed by the ener- 
 getic chara&er of the cardinal, ufed diiTirnula- 
 tion with him, and liftened to his complaints 
 with an appearance of intereft : but Buoncom- 
 pagni did not miilake the pontiff's real difpofi- 
 tion, and now more ftrongly than ever felt the 
 impropriety of continuing in the miniftry. 
 
 Almoft every year Pius paid a vifit to the 
 Pontine marines. On the eve of his departure 
 he faw cardinal Buoncompagni make his appear- 
 ance : " It is time," faid the latter, " that I 
 <c frankly enter into an explanation with your 
 " holinefs. I accepted the miniftry which you 
 " offered to me, bccaufe I hoped, that, aided 
 " by your confidence, I mould be able to per- 
 " form its functions with honour. My expecta- 
 " tion has been difappointed : my health is in- 
 " jured : my ftrength is no longer adequate to 
 " the tafk which I have undertaken. Obftacles 
 " of every kind concur in rendering it each 
 " day more difficult to me. It is a duty which 
 " I owe to your holinefs, a duty alfo to my- 
 " felf, to refign a poft in which I cannot be- 
 " ferviceable." 
 
 Pius appeared aftoniflied and even afflited by 
 his determination, which he combated with the 
 tone of fincerity, with the accents of friend{h,ip. 
 " No !" faid he : " you fliall not abandon me 
 
 VOL. II. M
 
 162 
 
 ** in the midft of the critical circumflances in 
 " which I am placed. Come to me at Terra- 
 " cina : we will there difcufs the motives of your 
 " refolution; and I hope it will not be proof 
 u againft my arguments, and efpecially my fc~ 
 " licitations." 
 
 Pius imagined he had fhaken the cardinal's 
 purpofe : but Buoncompagni was not hafty in 
 forming his determinations ; and when once 
 they were formed, it was difficult to make him 
 alter them. On this occafion he had confulted 
 nobody : and it was not till after the above ex- 
 planation tha the communicated the affair to Ber- 
 nis and Azara, who now plainly perceived, from 
 the ftep which he had taken, and from their 
 knowledge of Pius's temper, that no hope of 
 accommodation any longer remained. Another 
 circumftance moreover contributed to increafe 
 the difguft of the cardinal fecretary of ftate, 
 and to render it invincible : that was the influ- 
 ence which the prelate Ruffb had acquired. 
 
 We have already explained the nature of his 
 claims to the pontiff's good-will. Pius wifhed 
 to repay to him the fervices which he had for- 
 merly received from the cardinal Ruffo his uncle. 
 He promoted him to that office which affords 
 the ampleft fcope for doing good or doing mif- 
 chief the pofl of treafurer to the Apoftolic 
 Chamber, from which he had removed the ho-
 
 163 
 
 neft cardinal Palotta, to make room for a man 
 who combined amenity of manner and brilliancy 
 of talents with depravity of morals and infatiate 
 avidity. Ruffo was callous to all fcruple when- 
 ever there was queftion of gratifying the pope's 
 willies, and enriching his nephews. Thus it 
 was that he had gained a preponderancy, to 
 which every thing mutt yield, every thing in 
 fal did yield, except the noble pride of the 
 cardinal Baoncompagni, and the aufterity and 
 franknefs of the Spanilh minifter, the chevalief 
 Azara. 
 
 The latter, who was in the habit of telling 
 the pope fuch bold truths, and of telling them 
 often with fuccefs and ever with impunity, 
 fpared no pains to prevent that fatal afccndency 
 which the prelate Ruffo was daily acquiring. 
 What motive could he have had to reprefs his 
 zeal ? He expected no favours from the pope; 
 and he fpoke in the name of one of thofe fove- 
 reigns whofe friendship Pius felt himfelf the 
 mod interefted in preferving. The Spaniard re- 
 colle&ed that it was to him the pope's nephew 
 was indebted for the title and dignity of a gran- 
 dee of Spain : and Pius did not feem fufficiently 
 to remember that fervice Azara took advan- 
 tage of all thefe circumftances to attack the va- 
 rious diforders which had, especially of Jate 
 M 2
 
 1(14 
 
 years, made an alarming progrefs. The pontiff 
 liftened to him with apparent deference, yet fol- 
 lowed the fuggetHons of his flatterers. The 
 chevalier Azara, at length convinced of the in- 
 efficacy of his remonftrances, tried during fome 
 time to forbear grating his holinefs's ear with 
 their unwelcome importunity. 
 
 Azara's coolnefs alarmed Pius, who could 
 fhow fufficient fupplenefs of difpofition when- 
 ever in tereft or fear rendered it neceffary. The 
 latter unbofomed his uneaiinefs to the cardinal 
 de Bernis, who had kept himfelf at a diftance 
 fince the time when he had feen that, in fpite 
 of his counfels, the court of Rome was hurrying 
 on to its own deflru&ion. But Bernis was of a 
 temper to be eafily brought back : he did not 
 refift the flattering careffes of the pontiff: he 
 exerted himfelf to diffipate the clouds which had 
 arifen between him and the chevalier Azara. 
 The pope, who well knew the influence which 
 that minifter enjoyed in the Spanim court, again 
 turned to him, loaded him with civilities, and 
 affected to feek his advice on occafions of diffi- 
 culty. At this period he had formed the project 
 of increasing the already fcandalous opulence of 
 the duke his nephew by making to him a ceffion 
 of the duchy of Caftro and Ronciglione. Azara 
 had fpoken bis fentiments on the fubjecl: with his
 
 165 
 
 ufual feverity : and the pope dared not, for the 
 prefent, venture to carry his defign into execution. 
 
 But, in every other refpeft, the afcendency 
 of Ruffo was uncontrolable. Buoncompagni, 
 whofe intentions were upright and whofe princi- 
 ples were thofe of a ftatefman, faw that it would 
 be vain for him to ftruggle againft fuch an an- 
 tagoniil; and this was one of the chief motives 
 which confirmed him in his refolution of re- 
 tiring. 
 
 The gout, to which he was fubjcft, prevented 
 him from repairing to Terracina : and Pius, on 
 his return from the Pontine marmes, found him, 
 as he had left him, determined on quitting the 
 miniftry ; a determination which no doubt gave 
 the pontiff fecret pleafure. He now faw that 
 he ran no rifque in renewing his folicitations, 
 and therefore again entreated the cardinal not to 
 abandon him. " You complain of your health," 
 faid he to him feelingly. " Well, then ! be at- 
 " tentive to it : take all the time necefifary to 
 " re-eftablifh it. Go, breathe a purer air : try 
 " fome falutary baths : I pledge you my word 
 " that I will do nothing material in your ab- 
 " fence without confulting you." 
 
 Accordingly Buoncompagni fet out for the 
 baths of Vicenza. He there remained fome 
 months, lefs employed in the re-eftablifhment 
 of his health than in the compofition of a long
 
 166 
 
 memorial againft his antagonift RufFo, Re- 
 flexion, and retreat which is fo favourable to it, 
 only confirmed him in his refolution. Notwith- 
 ftanding the hypocritic entreaties of the pontiff, 
 he perceived that the imprefljon, made on his 
 holinefs's mind by the explanation which had 
 taken place between them, ftill continued and 
 would long continue with unabated force. In 
 September 1789, he fent in to him his refig- 
 nation, to which Pius replied in honorific terms 
 that ferved as a cloke to palliate his fpleen, 
 and vexation. The ex-fecretary did not longer 
 than ten months furvive his difgrace j for fuch 
 was the light in which he confidered his retire- 
 ment, though on his part voluntary. 
 
 The breaft of Buoncompagni panted with in-* 
 ordinate ambition. It ha,s been afferted that 
 chagrin haftened the period of his exiftence-r-an 
 afiertion which, if true, would. prove in him a 
 weaknefs of mind very far from compatible with 
 what the world knows of him, with his un- 
 common energy of charafrer, his robuft conftir. 
 tution, and that imperturbable infenfibility which 
 is perhaps necefiary in a ftateJfman, but which 
 his cenfurers have confidered in him as a very 
 grievous fault. Enyy has not fpared his me- 
 mory : Gorani has attributed to him many de- 
 fedts, and even vices ; but thofe who have had a 
 nearer view of his conduct judge him with lefs
 
 167 
 
 feverity. He certainly did not pofiefs either 
 the humility, or especially the chaftity, of a 
 Chriftian. But the cardinal de Bernis and the 
 chevalier Azara, who had better opportunities 
 than Gorani of appreciating him, never thought 
 that his talents were but fuperficial. 
 
 The period of his retirement was that when 
 the Holy See was beginning to fuffer the moft 
 formidable attacks from France. A minifter of 
 Buoncompagni's character, equally prudent as 
 he, but enjoying greater authority, would then 
 have been very neceffary to the Roman pontiff. 
 The Sacred College contained no cardinal of 
 that temper : thofe who poflefled any capacity, 
 either were viewed with very fufpicious eye 
 by the catholic powers, or would have been un- 
 acceptable to the pope. The minifters of France 
 and Spairi again propofed the cardinal Zelada, 
 whom they had invariably efteemed, and againft 
 whom Pius foftered no prepoffeflion. 
 
 Zelada, as we have already feen, was adroit 
 and infmuating. In peaceable times he might 
 have been a fit perfon for the pontiff's choice: 
 but his charater, naturally void of energy, was 
 moreover enfeebled by age and infirmities. 
 He was at this period feventy-two years old : 
 he was himfelf fenfible of his own infufficiency, 
 and alleged it, in objection, to his two friends 
 and even to the p.)pe: he yielded however to 
 M4
 
 1(58 
 
 their felicitations, but foon repented of his co m 
 pliance. If he had confined himfelf to the fame 
 fphere in which he had hitherto moved, as the 
 enlightened protector of the arts, librarian of 
 the Vatican, director of the Pio-Clementine 
 Mufeum, he would, in fpite of the calumnies of 
 his enemies, have continued to be the object of 
 public efteem, the confpicuous Roman indivi- 
 dual with whom foreigners of all clafles were 
 the moft anxious to be acquainted, and with 
 whofe behaviour they had the greateft reafon to 
 be fatisfied. But he yielded to the delufive fug- 
 geftions of tardy ambition : his reputation fuf- 
 fered a. partial eclipfe when he attempted to fuf- 
 tain a character not fuited to his caft : the man 
 of letters, the man of fcience, the man of amiable 
 difpofition, was forgotten : the only light in 
 which he was now viewed was that of an in- 
 competent minifter. Thus he exchanged his 
 peaceful and eafy enjoyments for the ftorms of 
 the miniftry, and for thofe chagrins which em- 
 bittered his declining years. He fuffered the 
 preparatory fteps to be taken for overthrowing, 
 and even by -his own injudicious meafures acce- 
 lerated the overthrow of, that government' over 
 which he had the vanity to prefide. A witnefs 
 of the firft difaftcrs of the Holy See, he poflfefled 
 neither fufficient firmncfs nor fufficient Ikill to 
 either prevent or alleviate them. He had the
 
 169 
 
 mortification of hearing them imputed to hirn- 
 felf, and of finding none but cenfurers among 
 his own countrymen, .and implacable adverfa- 
 ries among the French, among that very nation 
 which hitherto had never mentioned his name 
 but in the language of encomium and admi- 
 ration. 
 
 But his fhort and Inglorious miniftry is con- 
 ne6ted with the French revolution ; and, before 
 we conclude this work, it is proper that, in re- 
 Counting the misfortunes of which that event 
 was productive to the Holy See, we complete 
 the pitlure of Pius's pontificate by prefenting 
 a retrofpeclive iketch of his connexion^ with 
 France previous to that epoch which proved fo 
 fatal to him.
 
 170 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Connexions between France and Pius VI. down t9 
 the Revolution in 1789. 
 
 I 
 
 T mud ever be confidered as a fingular event 
 in the hiftory of the court of Rome, that the na- 
 tion which effected at lead its temporal dedruc- 
 tion, was precifely that particular one among all 
 the European nations of which it had before had 
 the lead reafon to complain. While Spain, in 
 her implacable animofity againft the Jefuits, ha* 
 raffed Pius whenever he betrayed, the flighted 
 fymptom of partiality to them, the court of 
 France, it is true, co-operated with her as in a 
 common caufe : but it was eafy to perceive that 
 this was done rather through complaifance to an. 
 ally than from any fenfation of perfonal unead- 
 nefs. The danger of the defunft fociety's in- 
 trigues, which appeared fo imminent to Spain, 
 made little impreflion on the miniftry at Ver~ 
 failles. In France, Fanaticifm had flirunk back 
 in retrograde motion before the light beaming 
 from the torch of Philofophy. Some members 
 of the fuperior clergy occafionally endeavoured
 
 171 
 
 to aid the former in recovering her loft ground : 
 but they experienced little fupport or counte- 
 nance ; and the decrees of public opinion fuper- 
 feded the neceflity of any which the court might 
 have iflTued. The pretenfions of the priefts, 
 which at the commencement of the century had 
 {till continued to caufe fome alarms, were now 
 treated with ridicule by the bulk of the nation, 
 and no longer excited any .uneafinefs in the 
 breaft of government. The devotees alone 
 viewed the clerical order with a fort of religious 
 awe ; but devoteefliip was now confined to the 
 obfcure claffes of the community, and its profef- 
 fors had ceafed to be formidable. There were 
 few enlightened or powerful men who really 
 felt the devotional fpirit ; and thofe who did not 
 had no intereft in affecting it. Religion was 
 therefore infenfibly lofmg its fvvay : no more of 
 it was preferved than what was neceffary for 
 the fupport of the royal authority. Its minifters, 
 even thofe of moil exalted grade, unfcrupuloufly 
 refigned themfelves to the indulgence of all the 
 worldly paffions, and did not even take the trou- 
 ble of afiuming the maik of hypocrify. There 
 now hardly exifted between the Gallic and the 
 Roman courts any relations except thofe of habit 
 and courtefy: and, as the former had no longer 
 any thing to fear from the latter, neither didihe 
 feek to be feared by her. Accordingly we fee,
 
 172. 
 
 that, from the firft year of Pius's pontificate until 
 the year 1789, very few drfcuiiions of an intri- 
 cate nature took place between France and 
 Rome. 
 
 Will it be believed that one of the-firft objefts 
 which occupied the attention'of the cardinal de 
 Bernis under the new pontificate was the re- 
 fearch to be made in France for the difcovery of 
 proofs to eftablifh the faintfhip and atteft the 
 miracles of " the bleflcd queen Joan de Valois," 
 firft wife to Louis XII. and founder of the order 
 of? the Annunciation, who had been beatified by 
 Benedict XIV. in the year 1743? Solicitations 
 Iiad long been made by the court of France for 
 her eanonifation : and it was a cardinal, once a 
 courtly abbe, the voluptuous author of the 
 " Four Parts of the Day," and an amiable phi- 
 lofopher, who did not difdain to be the agent in 
 this momentous negotiation I But the bufinefs 
 involved one of thofe chimeras on which were 
 founded the fplendor and power and opulence 
 of the church ; and, to promote fuch important 
 interefts, even the molt enlightened and other- 
 wife honed , men made no fcruple to render 
 -themfclves the organs of impofhire. 
 
 This was not the only difgraceful tie by which 
 France was at that time connected with the 
 court of Rome, and continued fo connected until 
 the memorable sera of the revolution. It is i'uffi-
 
 173 
 
 ciently known that the biftiops, the abbots, the 
 holders of thofe benefices which are termed con- 
 fiftorial becaufc the nominations to them were 
 proclaimed by the pope in a confiftory of cardi- 
 nals, were obliged to pay for the ifluing of the 
 bulls without which they could not take poffef- 
 fion j that an office called the datario * had the 
 charge of iffuing them ; and that the fees which 
 it required of the perfon promoted, were, by the 
 concordatum of Francis the Firft, fixed at one 
 year's income of' the benefke. It is true, an 
 abatement was mod commonly obtained on the 
 eftablifhed price of the bulls: Clement XIV., 
 naturally, diiinterefted, had been very accommo- 
 dating in compromifes of that kind: but Pius, 
 at the very outfet, fliowed himfelf more rigid in 
 his demands: and, what will appear very ftrange, 
 he really fancied himfelf bound in confcience to 
 aft with that ftriclncfs. Thus, by a moft extra- 
 ordinary fubverfion of the principles of that reli- 
 gion which in its very infancy had fo formally 
 forbidden fimony, the heads of the, catholic 
 church had carried the prohibited practice to 
 fuch extent that they at laft became fcrupu- 
 lous of not being as fimoniacal as it was poflible: 
 and the fage Bernis himfelf, when direted, 
 on each change of benefices, to folicit a diminu- 
 
 * The datario was rather the perfon at ll/e bead of the 
 office in queftioii.
 
 174 
 
 tion of the amount of that fcandalous tax, wast 
 not far from participating thofe fcruples. He 
 felt a fort of companion for that unfortunate Ro- 
 man treafury, which thefe re-iterated felicitations 
 tended to impoverifti : and he more than once 
 wrote to Verfailles, when defired to prefent a 
 new petition, that it was " begging alms of the 
 " poor." 
 
 Bernis, however, was in fome refpecls ex* 
 cufable. He poffeffed in the court of Rome a 
 certain, influence of which he gave frequent 
 proofs an influence which, under the yoke of 
 flavery that ftill prefled on us in many inftances, 
 he wifhed to referve for objects of higher impor- 
 tance ; and he was afraid of exhaufting it by ap- 
 plications which official avidity could not receive 
 otherwife than with repugnance. Befides - 
 though we do not offer this as an additional ar- 
 gument in his juftification he was, as cardinal- 
 proteclor, perfonally interefted in feeing that 
 fource of revenue fecured from diminution. 
 This requires fome explanation. 
 
 Since fo degrading an inftitution has been 
 aboliflied, never more to appear, it is not a mat- 
 ter of indifference to learn by what fophifms co- 
 vetoufnefs compounded with pride in the catho- 
 lic church. 
 
 The falaries of the cardinals-protectors had no 
 connexion with thofe payments known by the
 
 175 
 
 name of annates, and fanKoned by the concorda- 
 turn. The king did not allow them any penfion 
 from his treafury : but, as they were appointed 
 to folicit the iffuing of the bulls, and to propofe 
 in the confiftory the candidates for thofe abbeys 
 and biflioprics to which the king had the nomi* 
 nation, they received, at the expenfe of the per- 
 fons promoted, a fee equivalent to the penfion 
 which might have been allowed to them. It 
 was a kind of affignment which the king, their 
 debtor, gave to them on the income of the bene- 
 fice which he had been pleafed to confer. 
 
 When thofe who had been nominated to con- 
 fiftorial benefices 'wiflied to have the honour of 
 being propofed by the pope himfelf in the con- 
 fiftory, that they might the fooner gain poflef- 
 fion, they paid two different fums called propine, 
 the one for the pope, the other for the cardinal* 
 protestor. 
 
 But, when the latter was dire&ed to pro- 
 pofe for benefices, the bulls were not iffued 
 until after two formalities had taken place. 
 He was firft obliged to proclaim the candidate 
 in a previous confiftory ; then, in a fecond, to 
 make the formal propofition of the confiftorial 
 benefice to which the pope had nominated. 
 Thus the candidate loft as much in point of time 
 as he gained in point of economy : for in this 
 cafe he had but one propina to pay ; but then, on
 
 ire> 
 
 the other hand, he had to wait ibmetimes fix: 
 months for the iffuing of his bulls. In either 
 event, the cardinal-protestor was fure of receiv- 
 ing his propina. : and, after all, he was, under that 
 pompous title, nothing more than an agent em- 
 ployed by his nation in ecclefiaftic and benefi- 
 ciary affairs, and particularly thofe of which the 
 decifion was confined to the confiftory. 
 
 From thefe details it mutt evidently appear 
 that the cardinal de Bernis was perfonally in- 
 terefted in preferving the revenues of the Holy 
 See. The fingle article of the propine annually 
 yielded to him, on an average, from twenty-four 
 to thirty thoufand livres. He was not greedy: 
 but the high ftyle in which he was rather accuf- 
 tdmecl than obliged to live did not allow him to 
 be perfectly difmterciled. It was therefore al- 
 ways with a fort of repugnance, though always 
 with fuccefs, that he applied for abatements : 
 and this was during feveral years his moft im- 
 portant employment, and the only contrariety he 
 experienced at Rome. 
 
 ' We lhall but flightly mention the oppofition 
 in 1775 by the French clergy to the project of 
 uniting the ufelefs -order of the Antonines with 
 that of Malta. Louis XVI. had already agreed 
 with Pius on that bufmefs : the briefs which the 
 pontiff \vas to iifue were prepared ; when fud- 
 dcnly the French prelates, animated by laudable
 
 177 
 
 zeal for what they termed the interefts of the 
 church, addreffed very urgent remonftrances to 
 the pope on the fubjeft of the intended union. 
 We will not trouble our readers with a detail of 
 the erudite theologic arguments by which they 
 endeavoured to awake fcruples in the breaft of 
 his holinefs : it will be fufficient to obferve that 
 Pius found himfelf very much embarrafled on 
 the occafion, and thought it his duty to fufpend 
 the ifTuing of the briefs, and appoint a congre- 
 gation to examine that queftion of fo un-impor- 
 tant a nature. He ferioufly faid to Bernis, who 
 liflened to him, confoled him, encouraged him, 
 and fometimes fcolded him, * f That meafure is 
 " indifpenfable, if I wifh to avoid expoiing my- 
 " felf to reproach or remorfe." The court of 
 Verfailles thought proper to allow him time for 
 reflexion. 
 
 The pope, already ill advifed, gave to the 
 bull of incorporation a new form which dif- 
 pleafed our miniftry, who teftified their difplea- 
 fure with confiderable warmth : and this was 
 perhaps the only time previous to the revolution, 
 when France affumed toward him a menacing 
 tone. Vergennes wrote to Rome " Let them 
 " not drive us to extremities : let them not force 
 <f us to recollect the diftindlion, already fo well 
 * known, between religion and politics. Teli the 
 *' pope," added he " make him thoroughly 
 
 VOL. II. N
 
 173 
 
 " fenfible that impunity is not to be expelled 
 " in fporting with a king who is the firmed pil- 
 <c lar of the pontifical throne." Vergennes had 
 not an idea that he was uttering truths which 
 would ere long be felt in their fulleft force. 
 
 This pitiful affair chagrined the pontiff, whofe 
 mind was already tormented by more than one 
 fubjeft of uneafmefs. It caufed fufpicions to 
 fall on his friend, one of the principal authors of 
 his elevation, the cardinal Giraud, to whom the 
 miniftry at Versailles attributed the impertinent 
 modelling of the bull, and whom they accufed of 
 ingratitude. The cardinal de Bernis was fen- 
 fibly hurt by the imputation : he bore a fricnd- 
 fhip to cardinal Giraud : he defended him with 
 warmth, and, what was not ufual on his part, in 
 a ftyle bordering upon harfhnefs. He intimated 
 that encouragement was too incautioufly given 
 in France to thofe philofophic maxims which, 
 though good in themfelves, might, in their ap- 
 plication, involve the overthrow of religion, and, 
 in fuccefiive gradation, that of many prejudices 
 which it was important to preferve. This was 
 certainly very natural language in the mouth of 
 a courtier and a cardinal ; but at the fame time 
 it proves that Bernis was endued with a fagacity 
 of which that period furnimed few examples, 
 and a forefight which he has himfelf feen iultificd 
 by fubfequent events.
 
 179 
 
 Bat this firft ftorm was diffipated: the pope 
 yielded ; and the incorporation of the order of 
 Saint Antony was effe&ed in the mode that 
 we had wiihed. The French clergy, who ftili 
 thought themfelves poffefled of fome ftrength, 
 were not difcouraged by this failure of fuc- 
 cefs : two years after, they thought proper to 
 remonftrate with the pope on his condefcenfion 
 for our government : they founded the alarm on 
 occalion of the fuppreflion of fome monaftic or- 
 ders. Pius already knew what he had to expect 
 from an attempt to thwart a powerful fovereign 
 \vhofe fupport was neceffary to him. He felt or 
 feigned to feel a fit of anger againft thofe pre- 
 lates who feemed difpofed to dictate to him. 
 He exprefsly faid that " their reproaches, how- 
 " ever refpeclfully conveyed, contained notwith- 
 " {landing a leffon which did not fuit him." If 
 he had always received their fuggeftions in the 
 fame manner, he would have faved France and 
 himfelf from many calamities. 
 
 If we except thefe tranfient difputes, and the 
 quarrels refpe&ing the Jefuits, in which France 
 made a common caufe with Spain, the firft eight 
 or ten years of Pius's pontificate pafled with 
 every mark of deference on his part to the French 
 government. Whenever there was queftion of 
 any demands of a critical nature, he was careful 
 N 2
 
 180 
 
 to compofe his congregations of thofe cardinals 
 who were the lead inclined to raife difficulties, 
 and the moft difpofed to gratify us. This was 
 in great meafure the work of Bernis, who was 
 his counfellor, his comforter, and very rarely bis 
 cenfor. Accordingly, in 1782, the cardinal 
 fpoke of Pius in the following terms " His 
 " virtues are more numerous than his defects ; 
 * and, in his heart, he is a Frenchman." Louis 
 XVI. and Pius VI., in obferving this mutual 
 forbearance toward each other, feemed to have 
 a prefentiment that the time would come when 
 each mould (land in need of the other's aid: 
 "but they certainly did not forefee how fatal that 
 harmony would prove to both parties at a time 
 when it was no longer in feafon. 
 
 There reigned, then, an almoft conftant good- 
 underftanding between the courts of Rome and 
 Verfailles, when an incident, of as ftrange ap- 
 pearance to the one as to the other, for fome 
 time interrupted it an incident which was very 
 far from being unconnected with the French re- 
 volution, and confequently with the fubverfion 
 of the papacy I mean the famous profecution 
 of the cardinal de Rohan that tranfa&ion 
 which feemed preconcerted for the expfefs pur- 
 pofe of at once covering with ignominy the 
 higher order of nobility, the prieftliood, and the
 
 131 
 
 throne, and to ferve as a pretext and an apology 
 for the attacks which were foon after made upon 
 them. 
 
 We will not here recall to our reader's me- 
 mory the part of that mameful complication of 
 imprudence and meannefs which exclufiveljr 
 concerns France : our nation has already been 
 too long fatigued and mocked with the detail of 
 the particulars : it is our duty to recount in this 
 place the part only which relates to the Holy 
 See. 
 
 The intelligence of the cardinal's having been 
 arrefted even in his pontifical robes was a thun- 
 der-ftroke to the pope and the whole Sacred 
 College. Pius felt himfelf deeply hurt that it 
 had not at lead been formally notified to him by 
 the king : he neverthelefs fpoke of it to the car- 
 dinal de Bernis in the language rather of grief 
 than of indignation : but he frankly owned to 
 him that if the arreft was followed by judge- 
 ment, it would be impoffible for him to avoid re- 
 curring to the obfervance of the canonical rules. 
 
 Notwithftanding the philofophy of his princi- 
 ples and the moderation of his temper, Bernis 
 at times recollected that he was a prince of the 
 church ; and, on important occafions, he warm- 
 ly fupported the pretended rights of the body to 
 which he belonged. He fent information to 
 his court that the meafure hinted by the pope 
 N 3
 
 182 . 
 
 was unavoidable, if the cardinal de Rohan's 
 trial was carried before a fecular tribunal with- 
 out the intervention of the Holy See and of the 
 bifhops delegated by it. The cardinal's rela- 
 tives and friends had been apprehenfive left 
 Bernis fhould fhow himfelf adverfe to him, be- 
 caufe they thought he foftered prepoffeffions 
 againft the Rohan family. But they were little 
 acquainted with his difpofition. Bernis was 
 neither rancorous nor vindictive : he efpoufed 
 the caufe of his unfortunate collegue with the 
 zeal of a generous man, and at the fame time 
 with as great moderation as could be expected 
 of a cardinal. 
 
 The pope, on his part, though on other oc- 
 cafions fo fiery and fo impotent of his firft 
 emotions, conducted himfelf in this affair with 
 greater circumfpedtion than could have been 
 fuppofed. One would have thought that his 
 foul, foftened in the fchool of adverfity, was 
 become more inclined to refignation. Expofed 
 to fo many contrarieties, he faw that govern- 
 ment with which he had hitherto had the lead 
 reafon to be diffatisried, ready, like the others, 
 to inflict a wound on the immunities of the Holy 
 See. He faw the danger that he incurred by 
 alienating the French court : he therefore en- 
 deavoured only to mollify and difarm it. But it 
 was fignified to him from Verfailles that he
 
 183 
 
 ought carefully to avoid meddling in that affair, 
 or renewing the pretenfions of the ancient pon- 
 tiffs. This indirect menace deeply afflicted him : 
 the friendfliip of Bernis now became more ne- 
 ceflary to him than at any former period : he un- 
 bofomed his thoughts to him without referve : 
 " Write/* faid he, " that the king will find in 
 <f me a difpofition to remove every difficulty 
 " and to afford him fatisfaclion : but I expecl: 
 " from his piety fome attention to the Holy 
 " See. I will not make any ftir, I promife you : 
 *' but can I refufe to protect the rights of the 
 " Sacred College rights which are fecured 
 " even by the concordatum ? Confefs that the 
 " queftion is a queftion of delicacy. Well ! I 
 " will propofe it to a congregation of fix cardi- 
 " nals. Their opinion (hall be prudent and tem- 
 " perate, or I will not follow it, I was urged 
 * f to iflue without delay a folemn brief afferting 
 " thole rights of which an infringement is at- 
 " tempted. Perhaps I ought to do fo : but 
 *'- no ! 1 will content myfclf with writing a con- 
 " fidential letter to the king." 
 
 If the prejudices of education cpuld have 
 been excufed in Pius, together with thofe. of his 
 country and ftation, even Philofophy herfelf 
 would have pronounced this language .to have 
 been proper. But how is it polhble to recon- 
 cile with philofophy, with the principles of any 
 N 4
 
 154 
 
 good government, the pretenfion of a prieft, 
 whether a native or a foreigner, who thought 
 himfelf authorifed to interfere in the trial for an 
 offence purely temporal ?~ Could a concor datum, 
 wrefted by infolent power from the hand of 
 weaknefs in an age of ignorance, be paramount 
 to thofe eternal laws on which refts the inde- 
 pendence of a ftate ? Such are the remarks 
 which might have been made even by a catho- 
 lic, if he retained the flighteft notion of juftice 
 and reafon. Pius appealed to Louis's piety, for 
 the purpofe of gaining a triumph for his own 
 maxims : but people began to perceive, that, 
 according to the ideas of the Holy See and its 
 ambitious fupporters, piety was nothing elfe 
 than a blind devotion to the will of the head of 
 the church. Befides, piety was at that moment 
 entirely out of the queftion at Verfailles: the 
 object in view was to gratify the vengeance of a 
 woman who wore a diadem : and to that grand 
 intereft every other consideration muft filently 
 yield, and yielded in effecl. But that was a cir- 
 cumfiance of which the court of Rome either 
 were or affeted to be ignorant. 
 
 "While things were in this fituatiqn, the cardi- 
 nal de Rohan hoping to mollify his enemies 
 by refignation, or to experience greater in- 
 dulgence from a tribunal to whofe equity he 
 had voluntarily intrufteci himfelf had fubmitted
 
 185 
 
 the examination of his caufe to the parliament 
 of Paris. This ftep was a new fource of morti^ 
 fication, a new caufe of embarraffment, for the 
 Sacred College, who favv what they termed 
 their rights betrayed by one of their own mem- 
 bers. The pope, as he had intimated to Bernis, 
 had appointed a congregation whofe opinion he 
 mould take on the momentous queftion of which 
 the determination gave him fuch uneafmefs. 
 He had compofed it of fuch cardinals as at 
 that time bore the higheft character for mo- 
 deration Albani, dean of the Sacred College ; 
 the grand penitentiary, Bofchi, confpicuous 
 for prudence, though he had figned the famous 
 monitory againft the duke of Parma; Borro- 
 meo, a fmgular chara&er, but a man of great 
 mental talents, and profeiling moderate princi- 
 ples with refpet to the crowned heads ; 
 Doria, formerly nuncio in France; Negroni, 
 who had invariably been agreeable to France 
 and Spain ; and Buoncompagni, at that time 
 fecretary of ftate. 
 
 The unanimous opinion of this congregation 
 was, that the pope fhould write two letters, the 
 one to his Mod Chriftian majefty, the other to 
 the cardinal de Rohan ; that, in the former he 
 mould reprefent, that, purfuant to the concor da- 
 tum, cardinals and biihops were to be tried at 
 Rome; that, in the latter, he fhould reproach
 
 186 ', 
 
 the cardinal de Rohan with a violation of his 
 oath in acknowledging as his judges the mem- 
 bers of the parliament of Paris. 
 
 Pius acted in conformity to the opinion of the 
 congregation. His language to the king was 
 tender and almoft fuppliant. " I pray your ma- 
 jefty," faid he, " that the cardinal de Rohan's 
 tc caufe may be carried before a competent 
 " judge, whom I will delegate in concert with 
 " your majefty. I hope you will imitate your 
 " predeceffors by affording me the very great 
 '* confolation of feeing, that, under your govern- 
 ft ment, the rights of the church are preferved, 
 " while, to my great affliction, they are elfewhere 
 * c trampled under foot in various ways," &c. 
 
 The king's minifters, without going to the 
 bottom of the queftion, without even contefting 
 the ridiculous privileges claimed by the court ot 
 Rome, anfwered that every man was at liberty 
 to renounce his privileges, and that this was 
 what the cardinal de Rohan had done. The 
 .letter itfelf met with an indifferent reception. 
 Bern is was obliged to undertake its apology. 
 According to his reprefentation, " the pope 
 <f could not, without incurring general obloquy 
 (c at Rome, without dishonouring himfelf in the 
 " face of the church, have been filent on the oc- 
 " cafion. Befides, had not the peers and the 
 '* members of parliament their peculiar judges,
 
 187 
 
 " from whofe tribunal they could not be de- 
 tc barred ? It was the lefs pollible for the pope 
 " to refrain from afting in the bufinefs, as the 
 <c 'afTembly of the clergy had themfelves fet the 
 " example of appealing to Rome." 
 
 It was thought fomewhat ftrange at Versailles 
 that the cardinal de Bernis fhould fuffer himfelf 
 to be fo far led aftray by the fpirit of his order 
 as to maintain fuch indefenfible pretenfions. 
 " Tell the pope/' faid the miniftry in their letter 
 to him, " that our kings have never allowed 
 " their hands to be tied up in that refpeft when 
 " the affairs are, whether clofely or remotely, 
 " connected with ftate caufes; that the cardi- 
 " nal's offence has no relation to his epifcopal 
 " character ; that the king could not give him a 
 " greater inftance of indulgence than by allow- 
 " ing him a choice of the mode in which he wifh- 
 " ed to be tried." 
 
 Such arguments as thefe were not likely to 
 meet a welcome reception at Rome. The car- 
 dinal de Rohan's caufe was Supported there 
 much rather becaufe it was conne6led with the 
 immunities of the church, than through any in- 
 tereft that was felt for him. On the contrary, 
 the pope in particular was very angry with him 
 for having thus lowered the dignity of the Ro- 
 man purple : he was even fomewhat hurt by the 
 light unconcerned manner in which the cardi-
 
 188 
 
 nal, when writing to him the firft time, propofed 
 to him a perfon to fucceed him in his epifcopal 
 functions which he could no longer perform. 
 The object in view (it was faid at Rome) was to 
 fave the honour, not of His Eminence who was 
 now irretrievably degraded by his own conduct, 
 but of the church, 
 
 The pope however had no fuccefs with the 
 court of Verfailles. In vain were his complaints 
 clothed in moderate and fupplicating language : 
 their object was appreciated with that philofo- 
 phic feverity which had pervaded all clafles of 
 fociety and even the government itfelf. It was 
 intimated to Pius that he ought to avoid reviv-^ 
 ing the ancient difcuffions, that even his own 
 intereft (hould point out to him the propriety of 
 abandoning the cardinal de Rohan, fmce fo few 
 people in France were inclined to favour the 
 pretenfions of the clergy. Such was the purport 
 of me anfwer which Louis XVI. returned to the 
 pope. The congregation of cardinals were again 
 confulted, and gave it as their opinion that the 
 pope ought to write a fecond letter, which, 
 without being lefs pathetic than the former, 
 Ihould contain, in favour of the claim of the 
 Holy See, thofe/o conclii/ive arguments that were 
 to be found in the facred canons. Pius was at 
 all times difpofcd to rely on the efficacy of fuch 
 a remedy : nor had his affair with the emperor
 
 189 
 
 yet cured him of that notion. He therefore fat 
 down to compofe, not fo much a letter, as a 
 theologic differtation, which was hardly read in 
 the public offices at Verfailles. 
 
 Throughout Europe, the affair of the cardinal 
 de Rohan was viewed under all its various 
 afpecls. Different opinions were entertained; dif- 
 ferent pretenfions were advanced. Bernis, dif- 
 playing the character of a courageous ftatefman 
 rather than of a fanatic canonift, advifed that 
 this fhameful bufmefs fliould be humed in 
 iilence, to avoid involving the queen herfelf in 
 a (hare of the difgrace. But the counfel came 
 too late. The cabinet of Madrid regretted that 
 an obfcure intrigue fliould make fo much noife, 
 and propofed the adoption of fome meafure of 
 conciliatory compromife. The emperor viewed 
 the cardinal de Rohan as a prince of the holy 
 Roman empire : he afferted his own rights as 
 head of that empire, and would not confent that 
 the pope mould pronounce fentence without his 
 concurrence. The elector of Mentz claimed his 
 rights over a prince who, as bills op of Strafburg, 
 was his fuffragan. The diet of Ratiibon ad- 
 vanced its pretenfions to take a part in a caufo 
 in which a ftate of the empire was concerned. 
 But the parliament of Paris had the caufe'in 
 their hands ; and all the claims advanced were 
 ineffectual. Bernis, however, returned to the
 
 charge : he extolled the pontiff's moderation* 
 " Let people beware !" faid he. " They invite' 
 " dangers, they will caufe an explofion, if they 
 " treat the Holy See with too little refpecl. By 
 " dint of opposition they may yet render it for- 
 " midable." And, affuming, for the conclufion 
 of his harangue, the florid ftyle of his youth, 
 " Is it not better," faid he, " to yield to the 
 " cooing of the dove, than to expofe themfelves 
 " to the fcreams of the exafperated eagle ?" - 
 But what an eagle was Pius at this period ! Ah \ 
 if he had always thought proper to confine him- 
 felf to his dovely character, he would have faved 
 France and himfelf from numerous calamities. 
 
 The French government, however, had at this 
 time no caufes of complaint againft the court of 
 Rome. It wasfenfible that the pontiff was only 
 acting his part as was natural : it combated his 
 pretenfions, but without acrimony. Vergennes 
 wrote that all the vile particulars of that affair 
 were wholly unconnected with the precepts of 
 the gofpel. The king himfelf returned to the 
 pope's erudite homily a pathetic but ftrongly 
 negative anfwer : " Let not your holinefs make 
 renewed felicitation," faid he : " for I cannot 
 " avoid renewing my refufal." And farther 
 on " We feel how juilly your holinefs is af- 
 " feted by the fituation in which ftands a bi- 
 " fhop, a member of the Sacred College : but
 
 " we pray you to confider that we ourfelves are 
 " not free from uneafinefs on occafion of this 
 " ftrange event. Betides, the cardinal himfelf 
 " has made choice of the tribunal by which he 
 " is to be judged: to remove the caufe at pre- 
 " fent to any other were an inftance of tickle- 
 " nefs which would only furnifli additional mat- 
 " ter to employ the tongue of fcandal." 
 
 Pius found himfelf in a very perplexing fitua- 
 tion : for, while France exhorted him not to 
 meddle in that affair, the zelanti at Rome ao 
 cufed the cardinal fecretary of ftate, Buoncom 
 pagni, of having infpired him with too great 
 " indifference and remiflhefs" in his conduct. 
 This injuftice brought him over to the maxims 
 of moderation : and he affured the court of Ver- 
 failles, that, without liftening to the fuggeftions 
 of fanaticifm, he would content himfelf with 
 preferving the honour of the Koly See, and tak- 
 ing meafures to prevent the difgrace of the car- 
 nal de Rohan from reflecting on the whole body 
 of cardinals. 
 
 The Sacred College mowed themfelves lefs 
 accommodating, even with refpect to the cardi- 
 nal de Rohan. They ferioufly faid to the pope, 
 " We will rather refign our hats * than ihare 
 
 * The cardinal's hat, as a diftin&ive badge of the dignity, 
 is fufficieutly kno\vn.
 
 192 
 
 " our dignity with a man who fhould be declar- 
 " ed guilty of fraud, forgery, and theft." In 
 their private converfations, they fpoke of their 
 umvorthy collegue in terms equally bitter. 
 '* Why," faid they, (S fhould we retain in our 
 "body, hitherto fo illuftrious and refpefted, a 
 " brother become infamous in the eyes of all 
 " Europe, and who would be expelled from his 
 " regiment if he were a foldier ?" The genera- 
 lity of them would have wifhed, that, immedi- 
 ately when the order was iflfued for arrcfting the 
 cardinal de Rohan, the pope had deprived him 
 of his hat. Pius would have fuffered himfelf to 
 be led to that ftep, if Bernis had not diffuaded 
 Kim. He awaited the opinion of the congrega- 
 tion of cardinals refpefting the mode of conduct 
 which it was proper for him to adopt : and they 
 decided that the pontiff ought, in full confiftory, 
 provifionally to fufpcnd the grand-almoner of 
 France from all the functions peculiar to the 
 cardinalate, until he (hould exculpate himfelf 
 to his holinefsj that he ought next to give no- 
 tice of this meafure to the king of France, and 
 alfo to the king of Poland who had propofed 
 him as a candidate for the cardinalitian dignity. 
 
 In conformity to that deciiion, the pope held 
 a confiftory on the i3th of February 1786, and 
 there pronounced a Latin difcourfe in which 
 the grand-almoner was very fovercly treated, at
 
 193 
 
 lead in appearance. Pius expofed in his ha- 
 rangue the behaviour of the " very inconfiderate 
 " cardinal de Rohan * :" he announced the fuf- 
 penfion of his dignities until he fhould, within 
 fix months at fartheft, appear, either in perfon 
 or by his reprefentative, to exculpate himfelf 
 from the charge of having fpontaneoufly fub- 
 mitted the trial of his caufe to an incompetent 
 tribunal. " From that moment," added Pius, 
 " he deferved to be deprived of all his eccle- 
 " ilaftic dignities, as a foldier abandoning 
 " the army, ought to be degraded, expelled 
 " from the camp, and deprived of his military 
 " privileges." (The Sacred College and its head 
 appear to have been fond of comparifons drawn 
 from the military profeflion.) " But at leaft we 
 " cannot avoid provifionally fufpending him 
 " from all the honours, all the decorations, all 
 " the rights, annexed to the cardinalitian dig- 
 " nity, even from his right of concurring in the 
 " eleclion of a fovereign pontiff." 
 
 Immediately after this oftentatious ceremony, 
 the pope wrote to Louis XVI. in a very pathetic 
 ftyle to acquaint him with the motives of his de- 
 termination : and the Sacred College notified it 
 to the grand-almoner in a letter in which they 
 at once began to put it in execution. In the 
 eyes of his collegues, Rohan was now nothing 
 
 " " Inconiultiflimus cardinal!* de Rohan." 
 VOL. II. O
 
 more than a private individual : they with-held 
 from him thofe pompous titles which the court 
 of Rome had invented in contempt of Chriftian 
 humility. They no longer addrefs him as " Your 
 " Eminence," or " My Lord Cardinal," but (im- 
 ply, " You." 
 
 Thefe apparent fymptoms of anger and feve- 
 ritv were, however, nothing mere than a cloke 
 under which lurked one of thofe intrigues fo 
 familiar to the Holy See. It was difcovered 
 at Verfailles that the grand-almoner's fecretary 
 kept up a regular correfpondence with the car- 
 dinal dean, and fome other cardinals, who were 
 attached to the party of the Jefuits ; that they 
 ' employed the agency of that Victoria Lepri, 
 who 'was at this time carrying on her famous 
 law-fuit againft the pope, and who was in habits 
 of intimate connexion with the Albani. Under 
 pretence of fupporting the pontifical authority, 
 they wiflied to prevail on Pius juridically to 
 fummon the grand-almoner before his tribunal. 
 This was a triumph which they wiflied to pro- 
 cure for the cardinal de Rohan, who had long 
 been fecretly connected with the principal par* 
 tifans of the defunct fociety, and on whofe in- 
 fluence an ill founded reliance was placed at 
 Rome. This was a fure mode of bringing the 
 pope under the difpleafure of the courts of 
 France and Spain. But the plot was difcovered 
 by the Ikill of the cardinal fecretary of date, and
 
 195 
 
 defeated by his firmnefs. It was however 
 great point gained by the complotters, to have 
 led Pius to the bold ftep which he had taken in 
 full confiftory. The court of Verfailles wifhed 
 to have prevented it : but the intimation of that 
 wifli came too late. Bernis, who had a very 
 embarrailing part to aft, endeavoured to juftify 
 the pontiff to the beft of his power; he fig- 
 nified in his letter that he had never found 
 him more traclable than on that occafion ; but 
 that it had been impoilible for Pius any longer 
 to refift .the importunities by which he was at- 
 tacked on every fide. " Befides," faid the car- 
 dinals, of whofe fentiments Bernis was the in- 
 terpreter, " how can you expeft us to fhow fo 
 *' great tendernefs to one of our collegues ac- 
 *' cufed of very grievous offences, while you 
 " treat him fo rigoroufly at Paris ?" 
 
 Pius's brief, and the addrefs which had pre- 
 ceded it, caufed a great fenfation in France. 
 The brief, although worded with circumfpec- 
 tion, muft neceffarily produce the effect of ex-' 
 citing a conteft on the fubjet of jurifdiclion in 
 an affair which was already in the Hands of the 
 parliament of Paris. That body even maintained 
 that the brief infringed the liberties of the Gal- 
 lican church of which they had ever mown 
 themfelves zealous fupporters ; and they ordered 
 the defendant to pay no regard to it. 
 
 O 2
 
 196 
 
 This incident caufed great perplexity to the 
 cardinal de Rohan and even the pope himfelf. 
 Should the cardinal proteft againft tne decree of 
 the parliament, he would produce in the minds 
 of his judges an unfavourable difpofition toward 
 him : and could the pope overlook the affront 
 offered to him by the public reje&ion of a brief 
 which he had conceived himfelf authorifed to 
 iffue? As the court of France did not at this 
 time entertain unfriendly fentiments toward the 
 Holy See', they gave a turn to the affair, which 
 prevented all noife, without at the fame time 
 facrificing thofe principles from which they 
 would fuffer no derogation. The pope's brief 
 was, agreeably to the wilh of the parliament, 
 confidered as non-exiftent, but not jeje&ed with 
 the fame publicity that had attended fome 
 former tranfa&ions. With refpecl to the decree 
 of the Sacred College, it was, for form-fake, de- 
 livered to the governor of the Ballille, with an 
 injundion, however, that he mould not forward 
 it to its deftination. 
 
 But this incident awaked the attention of go- 
 vernment to the dangerous preteniion *of the 
 foreign cardinals, who affe&ed a dependence on 
 t\vo authorities at the fame time. " What 
 " means," it was aiked, "that oath which obliges 
 " them to maintain the rights, the honours, and 
 " the privileges, of their order ? and agahift whew
 
 197 
 
 * ( are they to maintain them ? Can it be againft 
 " their temporal fovereign ? Such is the inter- 
 " pretation implicitly contained in the decree 
 " of the Sacred College, but which will never 
 " be admitted in France, where it would be 
 " thought better for ever to renounce all idea of 
 " having French cardinals." 
 
 Let us obferve, by the way, that this fcanda- 
 Jous adventure of the cardinal xle Rohan ought, 
 on various accounts, to be confidered as one of 
 the efficient, perhaps even one of the moft im- 
 mediate, caufes of the French revolution, and 
 that it was at the fame time one of the fevered 
 blows that could be leveled at the church of 
 Rome. It difgraced the court, degraded what 
 was called the royal authority., and prepared the 
 public mind fqr a fevere difcuffion of the rela- 
 tions exifting between the catholic dates and 
 the Holy See, and of thofe delicate queftions 
 which defpotifm, if it had been prudent, would 
 have fuffered to fleep undifturbed, efpeciallv at 
 a period when progreilmg knowledge led to the 
 examination of thofe ridiculous prejudices which 
 had no other fanftion than that of their antiqui- 
 ty. How could mankind have retained any re- 
 fpet for that Roman church when they beheld 
 the conduct of one of its princes, whom his own 
 imprudence and inconfideration, to fay nothing 
 worfe, had rendered the tool, the confidant, and 
 03
 
 at length the derifion, of a corrupted court ? 
 when they faw him, amid the infamy with which 
 he djfgraced himfelf, attempt to retain a rem- 
 nant of dignity which only ferved to render 
 more conspicuous the ignominy of his fituation. 
 The cardinal de Rohan had for his friend and 
 confidant a certain abbe Georgel, who,, on this 
 critical occafion, ferved him with his ufual ad- 
 drefs, but with an apoftolic zeal which could 
 not be viewed in any other than a ridiculous 
 light. In a new confiftory held on the third of 
 April, the pope had nominated, to perform the 
 functions of the cardinal as bimop of Strafburg, 
 the dean of the chapter of the cathedral there. 
 The abbe Georgel, who was -one of his grand- 
 vicars, affected to imprefs the public with a per- 
 fuafion that the fufpenfion of the bifhop's func- 
 tions was but temporary, and to intereft the 
 fenfibility of his flock for their paftor's captivity. 
 In his (lead he iffued a mandate by which he 
 permitted in his diocefe the ufe of eggs during 
 the Lent : and in that mandate he compared 
 the cardinal to the apoftle Paul " writing to the 
 " faithful from the recefles of his prifon ':" and 
 comparing himfelf to Saint Paul's difciple Ti- 
 mothy, he exprefied his hope that people would 
 pay the fame attention to the difciple as to the 
 apoftle. This double comparifon gave rife to 
 fe v eral fare afms : it was alked, at Rome parti-
 
 199 
 
 cularly, whether any account was to be found in 
 the Acts of the Apoftles of Paul and Timothy 
 having been implicated in a " necklace" bud- 
 nefs. ts The cardinal de Rohan," it was faid, 
 " fuffers, like Saint Paul, for his excefs of faith-: 
 " but is it for the faith in Jefus Chrift ?" 
 
 The cardinal de Bernis did not indulge in 
 thofe witticifms : this unfortunate affair caufed 
 him various mortifications, and furnifhed him 
 with opportunities of difplaying his charafteriftic 
 goodnefs and moderation. He knew in what 
 light he ought to view both the difgraceful trial 
 of de Rohan, and the pretenfions of the Holy 
 See : but, as a courtier, he feared the degrada- 
 tion of the court, and, as a cardinal he felt for 
 the immunities of the church. He had the 
 courage, will it be called, or weaknefsr to 
 undertake the defence of that brief which mili- 
 tated againft our principles. He received an 
 intimation from Verfailles expreffive of furprife 
 that a French prelate mould feem to approve 
 maxims which tended to fecure to the pope a 
 jurifdiftion over foreign ecclefiaftics. Bernis 
 mildly repelled the charge : but, in his anfwer, 
 he ventured to defend " thofe privileges, which 
 " had flowed from the piety of kings." " It 
 " was permitted,"- he added, " to exclaim againft 
 " a violation of, them, provided there exifted a 
 V difpofition to fubmit if the king thought pro- 
 04 
 

 
 200 
 
 ** per to fufpend t!;em. At the fame time he had 
 " no objection to make, nor had the pope himfeif, 
 tc to the N liieafure which had been adopted. 
 " With refpeft to the letter written by the Sa- 
 " cred College to the cardinal da Rohan, Pius 
 " wifhed above all things to avoid provoking 
 " any disturbances, but he could not refufe to 
 * c allow that ftep, urged as he had been by the 
 *' felicitations and reproaches of thofe who telt 
 ee an intereft in the dignity of the Holy See." 
 
 The court of Verfailles condefcended to ad- 
 mit his reafons, and even agreed that it ought to 
 do juflice to Plus's moderation. For this he 
 'was indebted to the influence of Bernis, and the 
 temperate prudence of Buoncompagni. The 
 'latter, notwithftanding the pope's want of affec- 
 tion for hiai, had fufficierit weight to ftiiie an 
 affair which, at a different 'time and in other 
 -hands, might have produced very ferious quar- 
 >els. Each party afferted their pretenfions, but 
 without ill humour. Some fl ght triumphs were 
 gained: none was extorted by force: none left 
 behind it any vefliges of animofity. The agents- 
 general of the clergy claimed the immunities of 
 their body in favour of the cardinal de Rohan. 
 This was one of thofe confervatory ats which 
 prove nothing, and which do not pledge to any 
 thing. The internuncio Pieracchi reprefented 
 that his? million had entirely failed of its object
 
 20! 
 
 if the pope's brief and the letter from the Sa- 
 cred College remained in the hands of the go- 
 vernor of the Baftille without being feen by 
 the cardinal. He was permitted to communi- 
 cate them to him : for which purpofe he repair- 
 ed to the Baftille, and read them to the cardi- 
 nal, but without allowing him to take copies of 
 them. 
 
 The term of the cardinal's tribulations now 
 approached : in the beginning of June, he was, 
 by a decree of the parliament, acquitted of the 
 crime laid to his charge : from which moment 
 all the pretenfions of the Holy See fell to the 
 ground. But, although the cardinal de Rohan 
 had been acquitted by a court of juftice, 
 Louis's grounds of complaint againft him ftill 
 remained undimiflied. He was baniihed to his 
 abbey of Chaife-Dieu, and commanded to refign 
 -the office of grand-almoner. The Holy See, 
 however, had not the fame reafons for continu- 
 ing its fe verity after the decree which had de- 
 clared him innocent : the honour of the Sacred 
 College could defire nothing further; and the 
 pope, in a confiftory held on the i8th of June, 
 re-infhted him in his cardinalitian dignity. But 
 he could not fcreen him from ridicule and 
 ihame, or remove the prejudice which fuch an 
 adventure excited againft the whole Sacred 
 College.
 
 202 
 
 This was the only conteft of a fcrious nature 
 which the court of France had in eleven years 
 with the court of Rome. But the Holy See was 
 doomed to be tormented by all the powers of 
 Europe in their turns : and it was from that 
 which had ihown it the greateft tendernefs, and 
 for which it had teftified the greateft regard, 
 that it was fated to receive the moft violent 
 wounds and at length the wound of death. 
 Such, beyond the Pyrenees, that animal, armed 
 by nature and his own courage *, is feen exhi- 
 biting to a circus crowded with curious gazers 
 the fpettacle of a combat in which twenty af- 
 failants alternately attack him, defy his formi- 
 dable arms which their dexterity renders ineffec- 
 tual, briftle his brawny neck with painful aj.- 
 rows, and make the blood dream down his vi- 
 gorous flanks : his ftrength is exhaufted : the 
 bell has tolled his laft hour : the vulgar comba- 
 tants retire : the matador alone advances within 
 the lifts: all eyes are fixed upon him: his eyes 
 are riveted on his victim, whofe motions h.e 
 watches, whofe craft he foils, till at length, up- 
 lifting his arm guided by dexterity and nerved 
 with vigour, he ftrikes, and the viclim falls to 
 the ground. 
 
 * See a defcription of the bull-fights in any book of travels 
 in Spain.
 
 203 x 
 
 Thus, during fifteen years, had the enemies 
 of the Holy See fapped the foundations of the 
 papal throne -, and, during that ftruggle, France 
 had flood aloof. At length flie appears, and is 
 to occupy the fcene.
 
 04 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Ecdejlajlic Reforms undertaken by the National 
 Ajfembly of France. 
 
 JTA-LTHOUGH the government of France had 
 remained an inactive and fometimes even a be- 
 nevolent ipectaior of thofe contefts which the 
 court of Rome haci hitherto had to fuftain againft 
 fo many foyereigns jealous of their temporal au- 
 thority, the fenfible part of the nation was never- 
 thelefs impreflfed with the principles of which 
 thofe fovereigns made a tardy application. It 
 was by her hiftorians, her canoiiitts, and efpe- 
 cially her philofophers, that they had been pro- 
 fefled with the greateft energy. It was in her 
 language, which was become the univerfal lan- 
 guage of enlightened Europe, that they had been 
 developed and brought down to the level of 
 every mind : and there was not perhaps, during 
 this latter half of the eighteenth century, a coun- 
 try in Europe where men were more tired, than 
 in France, of the pretenfions of the Holy See, 
 more afhamed of the tributes paid to it by cre- 
 dulity, more mocked by the conduft of the 
 priefts, the opulence of the higher clergy, and
 
 205- 
 
 that innumerous mob of monks who did not even 
 atone for their inutility by leading an exemplary- 
 life. 
 
 Among the fuperior clafles, who alone had any 
 influence on the government, a perfect unanimity 
 of opinion and of vvifhes prevailed refpedting 
 tbofe abufes. But to reform them was no eafy 
 talk. Although the reafon of every enlightened 
 man called for their abolition, there were num- 
 bers, and thefe not the leaft powerful, who were 
 interefted in their prefervation. Louis XV.>, 
 amid the diforders of a fottiih life, had retained 
 a fort of mechanical devotion. A certain in- 
 frincl: taught him that his own power was con- 
 nected with that of the church : he did not wifli 
 that it fliould become his rival : but he was not 
 forry to fee it reigli under him and for him. His 
 fucceflbr, who felt a much more genuine devo- 
 tion, had inherited the fame maxims. Befides, 
 u:ider both reigns, the clergy, who conftituted 
 one of the three orders of the (late, and even the 
 only one which conilantly had a kind of organi- 
 fation, flood as watchful fentinels around the 
 throne, and by their fupp:>rt repaid the fupport 
 they received from it, whenever their own im- 
 munities did not come in collifion with the re- 
 gal authority. 
 
 A few fparks of philofophy had even reached 
 a part of that order, who were called the fupe-
 
 rior elergy : and by thefe prelates, much morfc 
 ambitious than philofophical, certain reforms 
 had long fmce been projected ; but they were' 
 fuch as, while they diminifhed the prerogatives 
 of the Holy See ; were to increafe the power of 
 thofe projectors. They did not wilh a rupture 
 with the pontiff, whom they confidered as the 
 Centre of catholic unity : but neither did they 
 choofe to live in fervile dependence on him. 
 They were fufficiently perfuaded, for inftance, 
 that to the fpirrtual authority belonged the right 
 of granting marriage-difpenfations - 3 but they 
 thought themfelves competent to grant them. 
 They participated the general wifh refpefting 
 the multiplicity of convents and the enormity of 
 their wealth : they wifhed to purify and thin the 
 ranks of that numerous hoft of ecclefiaftic mili- 
 tia, but not entirely to difband it. Reduced 
 within proper bounds, they thought it ufeful for 
 the defence of the' church, and even, in a certain 
 degree, contributory to their own confequence, 
 as their vanity took a pleafure in contemplating 
 that hierarchy of which themfelves occupied the 
 moil elevated grade. Thus they were not averfe 
 to reforms: on the contrary, they wifhed for 
 them not yet aware, that, in treading that flip- 
 pery path, one has not always the power of 
 flopping where he choofes. Nay, even among 
 the lower clergy, who were the objects of their
 
 difdain, there were men more clear-fighted than 
 they with refpect to the common interefts of the 
 whole ecclefiaftic body. 
 
 Long will be remembered the anfwer given 
 by a monk to Monfieur de Lomenie, fince a car- 
 dinal an anfwer, which, under the fhape of a 
 trifling play of words, contained a ftriking pro- 
 phecy which fubfequent events have fo fully ac- 
 complifhed. Monlieur de Lomenie, at that time 
 archbifliop of Touloufe, was prefident of the 
 board of commiffioners appointed by the clergy 
 to promote-the reformation of the monafteries. 
 Converting one day on his plan with a monk who 
 did not entirely co-incide with him in opinion and 
 who to the'beft of his power defended the caufe of 
 his brethren, the archbiihopinfifted, and peeviflily 
 faid, u Yes ! 'tis a determined point : it is ab- 
 ** folutely neceflfary to reform this monkery*.'' 
 " Take care !" replied the other : " after the 
 f< monkery, they will proceed to the prieftery, and 
 " at length, my lord, to the bljhopry? 
 
 But the fuperior clergy were connected by too 
 many links with the throne, and thought their 
 ^xiftence too fecure, to admit of (imilar prefen- 
 timents. Befides, how could they forefee the 
 
 * Molnaille, a contemptible mob of monks : prttrailk and 
 tnltratile (here rendered pricjlery and bijbopry) are words of fi- 
 milarly contemptuous import, coined from prefre a fr'teft, and 
 miire a mitrt.
 
 206 
 
 concatenation of events which were foon to ve- 
 rify them ? With an ahnoft philofophic courage, 
 therefore, they purfued that kind of reformation 
 which was not likely to reach themfelves. Tbe 
 court of Rome began to be alarmed at their 
 proceedings in the year 1787, the period when 
 the papacy differed the mod painful wounds 
 from all quarters except France.^ The French 
 clergy were affembled in one of thofe periodical 
 meetings where they determined the amount of 
 the contributions which they fhould pay to the 
 king under the denomination of a free gift ; 
 and they had manifefied a difpofition to attempt 
 the fuppre-iTion of certain abufes. The pope 
 was on the point of addreffing to them a moni- 
 tory letter to divert them from thofe innovations 
 which were gaining ground in feveral ftates. 
 He communicated his intention to the cardinal 
 de Bernis, who combated it with that afcen- 
 dency which he always poffeffed over Pius, and 
 which increafed on critical occafions ; and he 
 fucceeded in perfuading his holinefs that the 
 meafure was " at leaft ufelefs." 
 
 In fat, our government was now in its turn 
 entering the career of reforms alarming 'to the 
 Holy See. We had obtained the fuppreffion of 
 the order of Celeftines in France: during the 
 courfe of the fame year, 1787, we demanded, 
 and in a tone which admits not a refufal from
 
 209 
 
 a Weaker power, that the Celcftines of the 
 Comtat of Avignon mould alfo be fuppreflfed : 
 and, without giving to the pope any notice of 
 our intention, we feifed the property which thofe 
 monks pofieflTed in our territory. The court of 
 Rome fighed at that violent proceeding, and 
 efpecially at the ungracious manner in which it 
 took place: but they fighed infecret,not choofing 
 to alienate a government whiqh had hitherto 
 been the proteclor and comforter of the Holy 
 See. At the fame time a decree of the privy- 
 council fuppreiTed the ancient Obfervance * of 
 Cluni : and it was only by the voice of public 
 fame that the pope was informed of the trans- 
 a&ion ! It is true, we did nothing more than 
 exert our juft rights : but we had not accuftomed 
 Pius to fuch mortifications. 
 
 Still more poignant was his grief when he 
 flrft received intelligence of an edict tending to 
 meliorate the fituation of the proteftants in 
 France. Even cardinal Buoncompagni himfelf, 
 temperate as he was in every thing which did 
 not immediately affect the inrereils of the holy 
 Roman church, viewed that aft with the eyes 
 of a catholic prieft. He did not fcruple to be 
 ambitious, jealous, avid of glory, to purfuc a 
 
 * Some of the religious orders were fplit into fes and par- 
 ties, the one valuing themfelves on a more rigid obfcr-'janct of 
 their original rules, than the others. Hence the term. 
 VOL. II. P
 
 210 
 
 licentious courfe of life fo feverely prohibited by 
 that religion whofe welfare was fo dear to him : 
 he fancied that God was much lefs offended by 
 his irregularities than he would be on feeing a 
 period put in France to the perfecution of fome 
 millions of peaceable fubje&s, who did not 
 think as he thought, but who led a fomewhat 
 more exemplary life. Already he trembled left 
 the indulgence mould be carried fo far as to al- 
 low them the public exercife of their mode of 
 worfhip. 
 
 He recovered, however, from his alarm on ob- 
 fcrving that the edict proceeded no farther than 
 granting them the civic character, to infure the 
 legitimate exiftence of their children. " But 
 <f if" faid he to the cardinal de Bernis, who 
 was the more readily difpofed to adminifler com- 
 fort to him, as he had feemed to participate his 
 apprehenfions " if, as the report had prevailed, 
 " there had been queftion of eftablifhing in 
 " France that toleration which is fo much vaunted 
 " in an age that calls itfelf philofophic, his ho* 
 " linefs could not have avoided oppofing to that 
 " dangerous innovation his paternal but ener- 
 " getic remonilrances." 
 
 At Rome, however, the pope and his mini- 
 fters were the perfons who received with the 
 greatefl refignation that firft effort of tolerance ' 
 the reft of the Sacred College were thrown by it
 
 in 
 
 r 
 
 into the deepeft confternation : and, in the 
 alarm felt by their hypocritic zeal, they would 
 even have voted for fome meafure which they 
 might have called vigorous, but which the reft 
 of the world would have juftly confidered as im- 
 prudent, and which would have produced no 
 other effect than that of accelerating their down- 
 fall. But Pius's moderation checked them. 
 Why mould we not do him the juftice to 
 which he is entitled on this occafion ? Why 
 fhould we, violating truth under pretence of 
 ferving the caufe of philofophy, render him 
 more odious than he really was ? We will af- 
 fert, then -at the rifk of routing the indignation 
 of thofe modern fanatics who infift that their 
 'enemy did not, could not, take any fteps that 
 were not criminal that Pius ated, under thofe 
 circumftances, with as temperate prudence as a 
 pope poflibly could. Not a harm exprefllon 
 emanated from his pen ; not an intolerant piece 
 iffued from the Roman prefs. The pontiff con- 
 tented himfelf with writing to the cardinal of 
 Sens, who had jurt been elevated to the poft of 
 prime-minifter of France ; and the purport of 
 his letter was to congratulate him on his promo- 
 tion, and to recommend to his care the catholic 
 religion. It is true, he faw a ground of confi- 
 dence in what he termed the " piety" of Louis 
 p 2
 
 XVI. : it is true alfo that the cardinal de Bernis 
 ufed all his exertions to keep him within the 
 bounds of moderation : but was there not fome 
 merit in following a prudent counfel at fuch a cri- 
 tical moment ? That prudence, however, was but 
 tranfient : the influence of the cardinal de Bernis 
 was very far from exclufive : it was often coun- 
 terbalanced by that of fome thcologifts equally 
 blind as obftinate, of fome lawyers who fwayed 
 the pontiff by means of that which mod fuc- 
 cefsfully operated upon his mind by flattery. 
 
 At this period the cardinal de Bernis ought to 
 have infpired the pope with greater confidence 
 in him, becaufe, although perhaps he might not 
 internally approve his holinefs's maxims, at lead 
 he adopted his language, even when addreffing 
 his own court. He conjured them to regard* 
 not the pontiff's complaints (he uttered none), 
 but his anxieties. He was himfelf, he faid, not 
 far from conceiving fimilar uneafmefs : he was 
 afraid the development of the principles con- 
 tained in the edict relative to the proteftants 
 would fhake the foundations of the eftablifhed 
 religion in France : then proceeding to notice 
 the Obfervance of Cluni fo abruptly fuppreffed, 
 it grieved him, he faid, that France, which had 
 fet the example of refpeft for the Holy See, had 
 been deficient in it on that occafion by not in-
 
 213 
 
 Tiling the pontiff to concur by a brief in effect- 
 ing that reform. 
 
 But the die was caft. The French court, 
 though fyftematically moderate in its conduct 
 toward that of Rome, was obliged to yield to 
 the torrent of public opinion, which laboured 
 to over-rule the government until able to over- 
 turn it. Even the clergy, notwithstanding the 
 fanatic wiflies of fome members of their body, 
 notwithftanding the interefted wifhes of almoft 
 the whole order, naturalifed fome principles of 
 political oeconomy amid the prejudices of catho- 
 licifra. They fuffered knowledge to dirTufe its 
 rays among the people, becaufe they could not 
 fmother its light with impunity, or without dan" 
 ger to themfelves. They admitted fome maxims 
 of that toleration whofe voice was heard by 
 every man of unwarped mind and honed heart, 
 J n the hope that by making flight facrifices they 
 might evade the neceflity of greater and more 
 painful. It was a kind of alliance or, if you 
 pleafe, compromife which they formed with the 
 philofophers for the purpofe of diminifhing the 
 influence of the latter, or at leaft participating 
 it. But the clerical body, of which one of the 
 principal members had jult been placed at the 
 head of the miniftry, found the philofophers lefs 
 generous, or more perfeverant in the purfuit of 
 P 3
 
 514 
 
 their plan, than had been expected. Their firii 
 fuccefles, inftead of difarming, infpirited them 
 with additional courage. The affembly of the 
 notables was the firft theatre which exhibited an 
 energetic development of thpfe principles that 
 were deftined to regenerate France : it was there 
 that the boldTpirit of reform made trial of its 
 ftrength and from that moment our nation muft 
 have feen what it had to hope for, and the court 
 of Rome what they had to fear. 
 
 During the interval which elapfed between 
 the period of this affembly and that of the ftates- 
 general, the court, which was already alarmed 
 on its own account, and faw that the fituation 
 of the finances was one of the principal fubjects 
 on which it would be obliged to anfwer, began 
 an anxious examination of the contributions of 
 various kinds whofe weight preffed on the (houl- 
 ders of the people. That which they paid to 
 the court of Rome appeared one of thofe from 
 which they ought in the firft place to be re- 
 lieved. That tribute had long been viewed by 
 philofophy, and even by rational religion, as ri- 
 diculous on the part of thofe who paid it, flmme- 
 ful on the part of him who accepted it. Had 
 it even l^een moderate, it would neverthelefs 
 have deftrved thofe two epithets : but people 
 indignantly exclaimed againfl the enormity of
 
 215 
 
 the fums which annually flowed from France to 
 Rome. Many perfons were perfuaded that they 
 amounted to feveral millions: and that idea 
 would have been jail, if the annats, that is to 
 fay the entire produce of one year's income, had 
 been flriclly paid on each appointment to the 
 confiftorial benefices. But, on the one hand, at 
 the time when the concor datum was concluded, 
 each of thofe benefices had, in the table of rates 
 annexed to that treaty, been eftimated much be- 
 low its real value ; and, on the other, each new 
 pofleflbr of fuch benefices almoft invariably ob- 
 tained a confiderable redu&ion of the fum which 
 by that valuation he was bound to pav. 
 
 The following fummary, taken from the data?, 
 no's office itfelf, will prove how far people were 
 miftaken in that refpect. 
 
 From the-firft of January 1779 to the end of 
 December 1788, the fees of every kind paid by 
 French fubjects amounted to the fum of feven 
 hundred thoufand three hundred and fixty-nine 
 Roman crowns, and eighty bajocchi about three 
 millions fix hundred and fevenry-fix thoufand 
 nine hundred and thirty-eight livres, fourteen 
 fols *. 
 
 * On; hundred and fifty-three thoufand two hundred an,d 
 five pounds, fifteen iliillings, and fevcn pence, fterling. 
 
 p 4
 
 216 
 
 Rom. Crown. Baj. 
 
 For confiftorial matters, bi- 
 ihoprics, abbeys, inflitu- 
 tjons, unions, 446,002 90 
 
 For beneficiary matters, bulls, 
 provisions, vacancies by 
 deceafe, co-adjutorfhips, 
 resignations, indults, fe- 
 cularifations, habitations, 
 difpenfations on account 
 of age 58,050 65 
 
 For marriage difpenfations 177,928 55 
 For Simple copies of deeds 
 and letters of nomination, 
 as fees for anticipated pof- 
 feffitm * , - - , r 18,387 70 
 
 Iivre8. So!-~ 
 
 Total 700,369 80 
 Which, taken on an average of years, made 
 the annual fnm of -.-.. . . 
 
 3,676,938 14 
 3fi7.fiQ3 l^* 
 
 During the year 1788, it is true, thefe pay- 
 ments had been heavier than in the preceding 
 years, becaufe the promotions had been more 
 numerous. The fum would have amounted to a 
 hundred and ninety-eight thoufand four hundred 
 crowns : but the cardinal de Bernis obtained a 
 reduction of it to a hundred and twenty-five 
 thoufand eight hundred and thirteen, or about 
 lix hundred and fixty thoufand five hundred and 
 eighteen livres, five folsf. 
 
 * Fifteen thoufand three hundred and twenty pounds, 
 eleven millings, and lix pence halfpenny, tterling. 
 
 t Twenty-ieven thoufand five hundred and twenty-one 
 pounds, eleven millings, and ten pence halfpenny, fterling.
 
 irr 
 
 Such were the refults prefented to Louis 
 XVI.'s council in the month of March 1789. 
 
 Although they fell materially fliort of the idea 
 which had been formed of that tribute, the 
 court neverthelefs thought that the payment of 
 even fitch a fum mult prove very burden- 
 feme, efpecially in the exifting critical (late of 
 the finances ; and therefore it wifhed to affume 
 to itfelf the merit of fupprcffing it. But the 
 cardinal de Bernis flood forth as the advocate of 
 the Holy See: he reprefented that it was in pur- 
 fuance of the concordatum that thofe moderate 
 contributions were paid ; that, in affairs of that 
 nature, innovations were dangerous ; that he 
 had invariably laboured to obtain as great abate- 
 ments as poflible, &c. 
 
 The idea of fuppreffion had not originated in 
 a fit of ill-will : the French government re- 
 nounced it for the prefent ; and the court of 
 Rome thought a part of its revenues was faved. 
 But how great were its alarms, and thofe even 
 of Bernis himfelf, when they read, in the pro- 
 ceedings of feveral of the bailiwicks, violent 
 declamations againft the enormous fums which 
 France paid for difpenfations, bulls, &c. Bernis 
 undertook to defend the caufc of the papacy, not 
 only HS a theologift, but a!fo as ti ftatefman. 
 * They are then ignorant," fuid he in writing 
 Jo Vcrfaillcs, " that thofe i'nonnw>fur>is do not, on
 
 21S 
 
 " an average, annually amount to more than 
 " four hundred tboufarud Iivres*j that the im- 
 " portation of our fugars and coffee into the 
 " Ecclefiaftical State caufes a return of four times 
 " that fum to France; that all Rome are clad 
 " in our (tuffs of Lyons ; that if the pontiff were 
 " to give to the Englifii that preference over us 
 " which they folicit, and which in a fit of re- 
 *' fentment he might be induced to grant, we 
 " fhould lofe more than we could gain by the 
 " fuppreflion." 
 
 Thefe arguments might have appeared plaufi- 
 ble to a court which had reafon to fear fetting the 
 example of reform : but they had no weight 
 with an affembly whom the voice of the people 
 imperioufly commanded to undertake the work 
 of reformation; and the payment of the an- 
 nats was one of the firft abufes removed by the 
 dates-general. 
 
 At the news of this event, a deep and uni- 
 verfal confirmation prevailed in the capital of 
 the catholic world. Bernis himfelf, the cool, 
 the moderate, the philofophic Bernis, could not 
 without extreme difficulty fubmit to this firft 
 blow ftruck at his immenfe revenue. The fup- 
 preilion of the annats alone deprived him of 
 
 * About fixteen thoufand fix hundred and fixty-fix pounds 
 fteiiing.
 
 219 
 
 between twenty and thirty tboufand livres per 
 annum. That of the tithes foon followed, and 
 proved yet more fatal to him. The chief part of 
 his income from the archbimopric of Alby, from 
 his priory of La Charite-fur-Loire, and of his 
 two other abbeys, was in tithes. He bitterly 
 complained of a treatment " fo unforefeen and 
 " fo unmerited," as he aflerted. " He certainly 
 " enjoyed a brilliant fortune : but all Europe 
 " knew in what manner he had employed it 
 <f during the laft twenty years. Already ftand- 
 " ing on the brink of the grave, would he in 
 " future have fufficient for his own fupport, 
 " after having given bread to fuch numbers r" 
 
 His firfl ftep was to reform his houfehold. 
 
 But thefe complaints of a fingle individual, 
 however eftimable he might be in other refpeb, 
 were drowned and loft amid the loud cries ut- 
 tered by the Roman court and its dependents. 
 t( Behold," faid they on every fide, " the con- 
 " cordatum violated, the clerks and fecretaries 
 ' ruined, the pope much worfe treated by France 
 " than he has been by Jofeph II. !" Pius un- 
 doubtedly participated thofe painful feelings: 
 but he had for fome time fufficient felf-command 
 to refrain from giving them vent. He was ou 
 the point of writing to the king a fuppliant let- 
 ter : but it was not the king who aimed the 
 ftrokes that were intiicfted on him. Bernis re-
 
 220 
 
 commended to him refignation, which himfelf 
 found fo difficult of practice in his own cafe. 
 
 The pope contented himfelf with ordering 
 public prayers for the relief of the neceffities of 
 the church. He might be pardoned for em- 
 ploying that confolation : but that was not the 
 only balm of which his wounded bofom flood in 
 need. At his invitation Bernis waited on him ; 
 he found him in affliction, but without weaknefs, 
 full of refpe&ful confidence in the affiftance of 
 heaven and the religious difpofition of the king 
 of France. The zelanti, who had lefs faith in 
 thofe refources, thought he had others ftill re- 
 maining of a more efficacious nature. They ad- 
 vifed him to pen a brief in which devotion 
 and theologic erudition mould lend each other 
 mutual aid, and in which he fliould fpeak a 
 language fuitable for the head of the church. 
 He refilled their fuggeftions, and contented him- 
 felf with writing to Louis a fuppliant and pa- 
 ternal letter, perfuaded that the national affem- 
 bly, already fo formidable, would not in this 
 inftance take his conduft amifs. The fuccefs of 
 his letter was fuch as he might have expected : 
 very fortunately for him, it produced no effect 
 whatever. 
 
 Although meafures of energy followed each 
 other in rapid fucceifion, ftill however the na- 
 ioiial affembly (bowed fome remnant of defc-
 
 rence for ftie head of the church : they wiflied 
 him to explain his fentiments refpecling the re- 
 forms which had been made in it. The pontiff 
 defired a fccond conference with the cardinal de 
 Bernis. " I will," faid he to him, " confent to 
 " the fuppreffion of the annats, fo far as per- 
 " fonally coiicerns myfelf : but I cannot give a 
 " categoric anfwer without the concurrence of 
 " the other parties interested, efpecially the car- 
 " dinals, whofe propine are founded on the reve- 
 t( nue of the annats." He confulted the three 
 cardinals who were chiefs of the ecclefiaftic or- 
 ders Albani, of that of 'the bifhops Bor- 
 romeo, of the priefts Altieri, of the curates. 
 Thefe cardinals, evidently perceiving that all 
 refiftance would be ineffectual, confented to the 
 fuppreffion of the annats, " but without noife," 
 added they, " without derogation from exifting 
 " treaties." It is not very eafy to difcover what 
 falvo they hoped to eflablifli by that claufe. 
 Bernis however exulted in this trifling fuccefs : 
 but it was the laft : he had now nought further 
 to expet than misfortunes for the Sacred College 
 and himfclf. He attempted to make interceflion 
 in favour of thofe fecretaries and clerks of the 
 chancellery and datario's office who had pur- 
 chafed their employments, and who were necef- 
 fary to us fo long as there fliould exiftany relations 
 between France and the Holy See .
 
 222 
 
 feut the moft painful wound had not yet been 
 inflifted. It was given on the fecond of No- 
 vember 1789, when a decree of the national af- 
 fembly pronounced all ihe pofleffions of the 
 clergy to be national property. This decree ex- 
 cited the indignation of the Sacred College : on 
 ,Pius its only effel was confternation ; and he 
 faid to thofe about his perfon, " I forefee great 
 " misfortunes : but I will periift in my filence." 
 His fmall remaining flock of moderation was 
 gradually exhaufted by thefe trials. His fe- 
 cretary of ftate, Zelada, fucceffbr to Buoncom- 
 pagni, was a matt of keen fubtile character : his 
 manner was mild and affable ; and he would 
 have filled his poft with propriety in ordinary 
 circumftances : but, at fuch a tempeftuous fea- 
 fon as this, his want of energy and genuine dex- 
 terity rendered him very inadequate to the taik. 
 The influence of his moderation^ however^ 
 concurred in preventing the imprudent fteps 
 which the pontiff might have taken in the year 
 1789, and from which he forbore. They both 
 faid, and their conduct proved their words to 
 be in unifon with their thoughts that " by 
 " breaking filence in thefe times of agitation 
 " and trouble, they would only increase the 
 evil." Soon, neverthelefs, mail we fee the 
 pope breaking his filence, and augmenting the 
 mifchief which he hoped to prevent.
 
 223 
 
 It is true, the ftrokes leveled at his anti- 
 quated immunities were daily increafing. Be- 
 fore the conclusion of that year Which had al- 
 ready been fo fatal to him, the king was in- 
 vited by a decree to forbear nominating to any 
 benefice until the general plap relative to the 
 clergy Ihould be prefented. This was the com- 
 pletion of the cardinal de Bernis' forrows ; and 
 he was heard mournfully to fay on this oc- 
 cafion, " Lo ! the cardinal-protestor of France 
 " is left without functions and without emo- 
 " laments!" He had never injured any perfon: 
 he was old and infirm -, and it would have been 
 cruel not to pity him : but it is in the very na- 
 ture of great meafures fuch as thoCe by which he 
 furtered, to ilrike at random and without refpecfc 
 of perfons. 
 
 Hitherto, however, the attacks had been 
 wholly confined to the pope's fpiritual authority : 
 but the moment was now come when a part of 
 what he called his patrimony was to be invaded. 
 Bouche, one of the deputies from Provence, was 
 the firft to exprefs a wifh for the re-union of the 
 Comtat of Avignon to the French monarchy. 
 
 That petty tratt of country had been a fource 
 of frequent difputes between the kings of France 
 and the popes. -The legitimacy of its acquifi- 
 tion by the Holy-See had remained problematical
 
 2124 
 
 among hiltorians, but inconteftable among the? 
 canonifts. This queftion, which the French go- 
 vernment confented to leave undecided while 
 on good terms with the pontiff, was decided by 
 overt at whenever it had any caufe of com- 
 plaint againft him. Thus, twice in a fmgle 
 century the firft time under Louis XIV., the 
 other under his fucceffor the Comtat had been 
 feifed by France, in whofe hand this was an ef- 
 fefctual mean of chaftifing thofe popes with 
 whom me was diflatisficd. At the epoch of 
 Clement XIV.'s elevation to the papacy me had 
 been in pofleffion of it fince the time when Cle- 
 ment XIII. had incurred her difpleafure by his 
 ridiculoufly fanatic conduct toward the duke of 
 Parma. The long-expecled bull, which fup- 
 preffed the order of the Jefuits, was, in 1774, 
 the fignal of reconciliation, and was foon fol- 
 lowed by the reftitution of the Comtat. 
 
 From that period, however, the pofTeflion of it 
 was no longer fo peaceably enjoyed by the Holy 
 See as it had been in times paft.. The pontiff ex- 
 perienced fome contrarieties from the tax-farm- 
 trs, who wifhed to extend to it the fale of fait : 
 his right to certain tolls was contefted : in abolifh- 
 ing the order of the Celeftines in France, we 
 maintained that the fuppreffion ought alfo to 
 include the city of Avignon j and, as a preli-
 
 minary flep to that effect, we began by feifmg 
 the property which thofe monks poffeffed in our 
 territory. 
 
 Thefe petty difputes Were affairs of confi- 
 derable magnitude for the Holy See, and parti- 
 cularly for its vice-legate. They prepared the 
 public mind for a revolution; People began to 
 view with impatient eye a fmall ftate inclofed 
 Within the bounds of a great kingdom, and, by 
 its pofition, often ferving as the haunt of rob- 
 bers and affording {helter to fmugglers : they 
 examined more attentively by what title a foreign 
 prieft poffeffed a property in the interior of 
 France ; and doubts were raifed concerning its 
 legitimacy. 
 
 The inhabitants of Avignon and of the Com- 
 tat were even at this time divided into two 
 parties. The one which, it muft be owned, 
 was the more numerous -bore, without mur- 
 muring, a yoke which the popes had aim oft al- 
 ways rendered light. They faw themfelves on 
 the fame footing with the natives of France in 
 every advantageous point of view ; and, as fub- 
 je6ts of he pope, they enjoyed fome privileges 
 which the French did not participate. They 
 were not overburdened with taxes : and in the 
 feeblenefs of the Roman, government they faw 
 nought but mildnefs. The others, on the con- 
 trary, felt their indignation raifed by the idea of 
 
 VOL. iii, Q_
 
 being enflaved to a pontiff, and regretted that 
 they were not completely members of a nation 
 which, even under the monarchy, a&ed a con- 
 fpicuous part. Thefe latter had for their ad- 
 herents all the men of energetic minds, all thofe 
 whofe philofophic penetration could form a juft 
 idea of prieflly ufurpation and tyranny, all thofe 
 whofe turbulent fpirit delighted in innovation. 
 
 Such were the difpofitions of people's minds 
 in the Comtat when the firft fliouts of li- 
 berty were heard in France. The identity of 
 manners and language, vicinity, and the multi- 
 plicity of exifling relations, produced fuch ef- 
 fecl: as muft naturally have been expefted ; and 
 the inhabitants were foon in unifon with the reft 
 of the French. In Auguft 1789 they already 
 had their national guards : foon after, a deputa- 
 tion from Avignon petitioned for the re-union 
 of their city with France. They did not yet 
 fpeak the general wifh of .their concitizens ; but 
 it was now eafy to forefee the fate of the Comtat. 
 
 A foon as intelligence was received there of 
 the motion made by Bouche, the adminiftralion 
 appointed by the pope declared their refolution 
 of continuing faithful to his holinefs. 
 
 Meanwhile, however, the people affembled, 
 and, without yet (haking off the papal yoke, 
 framed for themfelves a new conftitution. There, 
 as elfewhere, the public voice was imperious:
 
 the vicelegate, to retain at leaft a fhadow of 
 authority, wifhed that this incipient revolution 
 fliould appear to be his work, and gave his fanc- 
 tion to the new conftitution. But the court of 
 Rome, who thought themfelves at a diftance 
 from the danger, were lefs accommodating : in 
 April 1790, a bull arrived at Avignon which 
 annulled all the ordinances extorted from the 
 vice-legate^ and prohibited the papal commif- 
 fioners to publifli them. From that period, 
 Avignon became a theatre of diflenfions that 
 drenched with blood the beautiful diftrii of 
 which that city is the capital. The details of 
 thofe tranfaftions belong to the hiftory of the 
 French revolution ; and we will here notice fuch 
 particulars only as have a diret relation to the 
 pontificate of Pius VI. 
 
 His bull had brought to Avignon the feeds of 
 difcord. The vice-legate, no longer thinking 
 himfelf fafe there, retired to Carpentras, where 
 he protefted againft all that had been done. 
 
 Meanwhile the French party faw the number 
 of their partifans rapidly increafing ; and on the 
 twenty-fixth of October the nine diftricls of the 
 Comtat unanimoufly exprefled their wifh to be 
 incorporated with the department of the Mouths 
 of Rhone. Soon after this, the oppofite party 
 gained a temporary afcendency. The court of 
 Rome proceeded no farther than intriguing in
 
 228 
 
 the Comtat, and had avoided all explanation of 
 its fentiments refpe&ing thofe innovations which 
 appeared to be defired by the majority of the in- 
 habitants. Its partifans, affefting to aft as the 
 organs of the entire diftrift, fent to the pope a 
 deputation announcing to him that it was the 
 unanimous and earneft wifh of the people to 
 adopt the French conftitution, and conjuring 
 him no longer to perfevere in a filence of which 
 'the continuation might produce a rupture of the 
 focial compaft: " but/' added the deputies, 
 * f if his holinefs accept the decrees of the French 
 te constituent afTembly relative to the civil or- 
 " ganifation of the clergy, the Comtat will re- 
 " main inviolably attached to him, and will 
 " immediately declare any ufurpation of its ter- 
 " ritory to be high treafon againft foriety" 
 
 Pius was too much infatuated with the immu- 
 nities of the Holy See, and too ill advifed, to 
 adopt fuch a mezzo termine. A hatred of French 
 principles was become one of the dogmata of 
 the Sacred College. The equivocal eonduft of 
 the pontiff and of his vice-legate weakened the 
 party who were oppofed to the union. On re- 
 volutionary ground one firft bold ftep is foon 
 followed by another, efpecially when the hand 
 of power is at fuch a diftance as to leave a con- 
 fident hope of impunity. The afiembly of the 
 Corntat declared that they ceafed toconfuler the
 
 29 
 
 vice-legate as the pope's reprefentative, and 
 prohibited all future applications to him under 
 the penalties of prevarication. They did not 
 hpwever decree an .abfolute disjunction from the 
 papacy, but named three confervators, who fwore, 
 allegiance to " the nation, the law, and the 
 " Holy See." 
 
 Avignon, now become the centre of infurrec- 
 tion, outftripped the reft of the Comtat in the 
 revolutionary career. On the feventh of Fe- 
 bruary 1791 it celebrated the feftiyal of the fe- 
 deration. The archbifhop and his clergy re- 
 fufing to take the civic oath, the commune de- 
 clared the archbimop to have forfeited his dig- 
 nity, and deprived the canons of their prebends. 
 At length, toward the middle of March, the 
 Avignonefe abrogated the pope's temporal fove- 
 reignty over them, and feifed his revenues. Car- 
 pentras ftill continued refractory, and determined 
 to perfevere in its former allegiance to him. 
 
 But the hour was now approaching when the 
 fate of the Comtat was to be definitively deter- 
 mined. The national aflembly made itthefub- 
 jecl of their deliberations in the month of April. 
 Bouche proved that there was a plurality of 
 fourteen thoufarrd votes in favour of the union : 
 Menou, by a diplomatic difcuilion, proved the 
 lawfulnefs of the meafure ; and it was voted in
 
 230 
 
 fpite of all the oratory and erudition difplayed 
 by Maury. But it was not carried into effect 
 without the moft violent difturbances, excited 
 by the intrigues of the court of Rome, and 
 which, during all the remainder of the year 
 1791, rendered the unfortunate Comtat a theatre 
 of horrors. 
 
 It may naturally be fuppofed that the re-union 
 of the Comtat with France was reprefented at 
 Rome in the moft odious colours. But the Ro- 
 man court had not waited for this provocation 
 before they gave the moft decifive proofs of their 
 ill-will to the French. Pius's moderation had 
 coft him too violent an exertion of felf-command 
 to be of long continuance. The fear of a revo- 
 lution ferved him at firft as, a pretext for perfe- 
 cuting the individuals of our nation. Whoever 
 was known to be a native of France and not to 
 profefs principles contrary to thofe which flie 
 had adopted, was branded as a patriot a name 
 which, in the vocabulary of the Roman govern- 
 ment, defignated a man worthy of being impri- 
 foned, banifhed, or at lead ftriftly watched. 
 That government fucceffively pafied from bold- 
 nefs to terror, from defpotic meafures to religious 
 mummeries. In Auguft 1791, it was alarmed 
 by a pretended confpiracy faid to be plotted by 
 the unfortunate prifoners whom it had confined
 
 231 
 
 in the caftle of Saint- Angelo. It releafed them, 
 and ordered them to be conduced out of the 
 territory of the Ecclefiaftical State. 
 
 Caglioftro's affair was connefted with thefe 
 fufpicions and persecutions. After the fliame- 
 ful trial on the fubjet of the necklace, that 
 famous impoftor, having quitted France, and 
 peragrated England, Holland, Switzerland, had 
 ranged through Italy, had fpent fome time at 
 Naples, and thence returned to Rome, where 
 he had married Lorenzia Feliciani, who, under 
 the name of Serafina, has been feen in France 
 participating his intrigues, his adventures, and 
 his misfortunes. It appears that me was the 
 immediate caufe of his arreft. Caglioftro gave 
 her very harfli treatment : (he contrived to 
 efcape from his tyranny; and as her hufband, 
 who was an enemy to every other worfhip except 
 that of the fantaftic beings which he caufed to 
 be adored by fools, had prevented her from pro- 
 fefling her religion, the firft ufe Ihe made of her 
 liberty was to go to confeflion. She difclofed 
 to her ghoflly director all the dangerous fchemes 
 of which (he was the involuntary confidante and 
 accomplice, and prayed him to denounce them 
 to the government. It was in confequence of 
 this denunciation that Caglioftro had been ar- 
 rrifted on the twenty-eighth of December 1789,
 
 232 
 
 and immured in the dungeons of the inquifition. 
 In fearching his houfe, little money was found j 
 but there were jewels and rich clothes, and, 
 among others, fome Turkifli drefTes. 
 
 Hitherto nothing had appeared which could 
 afford reafon for treating him with rigor : but ere, 
 long, in different houfes at Rome which he had 
 hired, written proofs were difcovered of a con- 
 fpiracy that he had formed againft the city, 
 againft the Ecclefiaftical State, and againft the 
 pope himfelf. The tedious examination of his 
 caufe produced fufpicions that he was a partifan 
 of the " French principles." The proceedings 
 were long and fecret, and gave rife to a variety 
 of conjectures. At length, on the fixteenth of 
 April 1791, he received his fentence, by which 
 he was condemned to perpetual imprisonment. 
 His wife, who, as the reward of her informa- 
 tion, had been arrefted at the fame time with 
 him, was (hut up in v a convent. For a while 
 thoughts were entertained of putting him to 
 death : but, for that purpofe, it would have been 
 necefiary to have his trial profecuted to judge- 
 ment by the Koly Office, and to condemn him 
 for the crime of for eery. This would have been 
 adding ridicule to horror : and the court of 
 Rome was afraid to put this additional weapon 
 into the hand of philofophy, which already
 
 233 
 
 combated with fo great advantage. He was 
 transferred to the cattle of Santo r Leone in the 
 duchy of Urbino. 
 
 The world remained fome time ignorant of 
 the real crimes for which he was punilhed. 
 His trial, however, was afterward publifhed by 
 piece-meal ; the pope allowing this deviation 
 from the general rule which required that fuch 
 proceedings fliould remain buried in thp moft 
 profound fecrecy. The publication of his trial 
 informed the curious inquirer that the great crimes 
 of Caglioftro were his being or at leaft pretend- 
 ing to be initiated in the myfteries of Egyptian 
 free-mafonry, and in thofe of the fe& of the il- 
 luminati. To the eyes of that ignorant and fa- 
 natic court of Rome, this appeared fufficient to 
 prove him clofely connected with thofe princi- 
 ples which were at once dreaded by defpotic 
 authority and by orthodoxy, 
 
 But, in fyite of all" the efforts of the Holy 
 See, they were making rapid progrefs: they 
 even fpread beyond the limits of France. In 
 the beginning of the year 1791 there appeared 
 atVenice a philofophic treatife on the interdift, 
 in which the language of the gofpel was thus 
 parodied " Verily, verily, I fay unto you, the 
 " empire of reafon is at hand ; and the thunders 
 " of the Vatican lhall not prevail againft it."
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Injuries received by France from the Court o 
 
 JL IUS, however, flill perfifted in the neutrality 
 which he had profefled fmce the commence- 
 ment of our troubles. Such conduct was not 
 pleafmg to the majority of the members of the 
 Sacred College : they recommended to the holy 
 father what they called firmnefs : they hoped 
 thus to produce a fchifm in France, and to fave 
 there at leaft a part of the immunities of the 
 church. A fchifm held, out the profpect of 
 " faithful fervants oppofed to rebellious fons : 
 " and was it not better to divide the family than 
 " fuffer it to be entirely loft ? It was, after all, 
 *' only ordering the amputation of fome rotten 
 " branches, for the fake of faving the trunk.' 1 
 The godly Romans relied at the fame time on 
 fuccefs in another way, and employed the arts 
 of intrigue ;n France to procure it. They 
 hoped that the king would fet to the orthodox 
 party an impofing example by refufing to re- 
 ceive the facrament from the facrilegious hands 
 of an infamous wretch who had taken the oath 
 (fuch were their charitable expreflions). But 
 Louis was not yet entirely led aftray by his coun-
 
 fellors, and refufed to the Sacred College the 
 gratification of that triumph. 
 
 Soon after, a new fubjfft arofe which gave 
 additional pain to the Roman court. One of 
 thofe infamous wretches who had taken the oath 
 Gobel, the new bifhop of Paris, iffued a man- 
 date, in which, to calm (as he faid) the con- 
 fciences of his flock, he enumerated a lift of 
 hply bifhops who had all been elected by the 
 people. The pope was now fenfibly alarmed, 
 and mournfully faid " I forefee it ! France will 
 " efcape from me !" To prevent that misfor- 
 tune, he formed the refolution of puniming thofe 
 refractory prelates who had fet the. example of 
 revolt from the Holy See. Toward the end of 
 April, a brief was received at Paris, figned with 
 the name of Pius, followed by the iignature of 
 the abbe Royou, in which the former bimop of 
 Autun was fufpended from -his fun&ions, and 
 declared excommunicate at the expiration of 
 forty days, unlefs he returned to a fenfe of his 
 duty. It has been averted that an auto-da-fe was 
 celebrated at Rome, at which his effigy made a 
 confpicuous figure, clad in zfambenito : but this 
 was a tale invented by fome wag who wiihcd 
 to furnifh a counterpart to what reallv hap- 
 pened at Paris, where the pope's effigy, de- 
 corated with all his pontifical robes, had been 
 Burned by the multitude in the intoxication of
 
 236 
 
 a fanaticifm very different from that which had 
 actuated their anceftors. 
 
 The attention of the court of Rome was en- 
 gaged by more ferious trifles. Although the 
 civil conftitution of the clergy now feemed to be 
 nearly forgotten, the Holy See was zealoufly em- 
 ployed in endeavouring to cure that wound in- 
 flicted on the Roman church. 
 
 In the month of May was appointed a new 
 congregation of thirteen cardinals and five pre- 
 lates, who exerted their talents in compofmg a 
 confojatory letter to the bi (hops, rectors, cu- 
 rates, who had had the godly courage to refufe 
 taking the conftitutional oath. 
 
 In the midft of thefe tranfactions, the poft 
 from Turin brought intelligence of Louis's flight. 
 This was a fubject of exultation for the court of 
 Rome : feftjve preparations were made to cele- 
 brate that great event : a crowd of Frenchmen 
 fet out from Rome to enrol themfelves under 
 the banners of their king now reftored to li- 
 berty. Pius difpatched to the nuncio Pacca, 
 who refided at Bruflels, a letter moft patheti- 
 cally affectionate, in which he congratulated 
 Louis on his deliverance, recommended him to 
 the protection of heaven, wifhed him " a fpeedy, 
 u peaceable, and triumphant return to his king- 
 " dom." The Roman populace hurried in a fit of 
 errthufiafm to the palace inhabited by the French
 
 257 
 
 king's aunts, and rent rte air with repeate"! 
 fliouts of " Viva il re di Francia ! *" 1 he priefts 
 ran from flreet to ftreet vociferating prayers for 
 the king " delivered from the hands of his mif* 
 " creant perfecutors f." Even the cardinal de 
 Bernis himfelf, forgetful of his age and cha- 
 faifter, indulged in the demonftrations of puerile 
 joy. 
 
 This delirium, however, was foon fucceeded 
 by poignant regret and even by the fting of re- 
 pentance. The Roman court were fenfible that 
 they had provoked a ftorm of vengeance from 
 which they could not efcape ; yet, inftead of 
 taking any fteps to appeafe the French nation 
 whofe triumph could now no longer be con- 
 fidered as problematic, they braved her refent- 
 rnent, laboured to excite a fchifm in her bo* 
 fom, and profcribed all thofe who concurred in 
 her revolution. 
 
 The archbimop of Sens, whom Pius had 
 created a cardinal, was become one of the prin- 
 cipal objects of his animofity. The pontiff had 
 infilled that he fliould either revoke his accept- 
 ance of the civil conftitution of the clergy or re- 
 nounce his cardinalitian dignity. Lornenie had 
 
 * Long live the king of France 1 
 
 f The Italian cxprefiion, nvnigdJi, literally fignifies bang* 
 Vihfcoundrch.
 
 anfwered this injunction with a courage which 
 was not congenial to him, but which the cir- 
 cumftances demanded " Your holinefs leaves 
 " me no alternative but that of becoming a 
 " traitor to my country, or refigning the hat. I 
 *' cannot poffibly hefitate, and I fend it back to 
 " your holinefs." But a voluntary refignation 
 was not, in the eyes of the Sacred College, a pu- 
 nimment ; and punimment was what their re- 
 fractory collegue had merited. The pope there- 
 fore thought it his duty to hold a fecret con- 
 fiftory toward the end of September 1791^ and 
 to erafe the name of Lomenie from the lift of 
 cardinals. In the difcourfe which he pronounced 
 on this occafion, he inveighed with great viru- 
 lence againft the French principles. 
 
 Thus the Roman government attracted the 
 thunder-clouds which were to burft over their 
 own heads , and their terror increafed in the 
 fame proportion with their averfion to France, 
 which was embittered to the higheft degree., 
 when the incorporation of the Comtat was at 
 length voted on the eighth of October. From 
 that moment they no longer obfefved any 
 bounds either in the expreflions of their hatred, 
 or in their vexatory meafures, for which the 
 care of their own fafety ferved as a pretext. 
 They caufed gibbets to be erected during the 
 night at the doors of feveral houfes, particularly
 
 that of the prefident of the axnotia, who was 
 threatened by the murmurs of the populace : 
 they exercifed the moil oppreffive vigilance with 
 refpedt to foreigners : they ordered every inn- 
 keeper to give in a lift of all the perfons who lodg- 
 ed with him : they commanded the governors of 
 the frontier towns to admit none who could not 
 produce an exprefs written order from the Holy- 
 See. They now dreamed of nothing but infur- 
 reclions ; and in fome places, as at Orvieto and 
 Civita-Vecchia, thofe dreams were on the eve of 
 being realifed. The tremendous cry of " Viva 
 " la liberta * /" was there heard to refound ; and 
 a band of sbirri were fent to difperfe the fadlious 
 multitude. A certain Oftavio Capelli was ac- 
 cufed of infidelity : the Holy Office, which in or- 
 dinary times difplayed much greater moderation 
 at Rome than in any other catholic country, 
 thought that the circumftances of the prefent 
 period made feverity its duty, even at the rifk of 
 incurring odium and ridicule : accordingly Ca- 
 pelli, as " a vifionary ', an impcjlor, a free-mafon, 
 " a man fufpefted of herefy" was condemned to 
 feven years' imprifonment. Soon after, a Ragu- 
 fan monk, who was held in refpecl: at Rome and 
 even connected with the dean of the Sacred Col- 
 lege, was fuddenly arrefted by that formidable 
 
 * Liberty for ever \
 
 240 
 
 tribunal : his crimes were thofe of being a fret- 
 majon and initiated in the fame myfteries as Ca- 
 glioftro. 
 
 During this and the following year the cour* 
 of Rome accumulated the proofs of its terror* 
 and of ics enmity to the French revolution. The 
 aunts of Louis XVI. had repaired to Rome -in 
 queft of an afylum from the perfecutions to 
 which their family and their religion flood ex- 
 pofed. They were received there lefs even as 
 princefles than as victims. The cardinal de 
 Bernis accommodated them in his hotel, and, 
 by his refpectful attentions, laboured to confole 
 them for the lofs of that unbounded homage 
 which they no longer received at the court of 
 -their nephew. The pope directed the princefs 
 della Santa-Croce every-where to accompany 
 them. 
 
 They were foon followed by that courageous 
 but impotent champion of the Roman preroga- 
 tives, the abbe Maury, who came to feek at 
 Rome the reward of his exertions, an indemni- 
 fication for his glorious defeat. Pius could not 
 have treated him better in confequence of a 
 victory : he made him the offer of an apartment 
 in the Vatican j but the modeft abbe contented, 
 himfelf with a lodging in the houfe of the car- 
 dinal fecretary of ftate. 
 
 Scarcely arrived at Rome, he was nominated
 
 241 
 
 archbifhop of Thebes : he was deftined for an 
 important million, and allowed a falary of fixty 
 thoufand Roman crowns. He befpoke rich 
 liveries, and prepared to prove himfelf, by the 
 difplay of great luxury, the worthy reprefenta- 
 tive of " the fervant of the fervants of God*.' 1 
 On the firft of May his miflion was declared : he 
 was to repair as nuncio to the diet of Frankfort. 
 He was confecrated archbilhop of Nicsa in 
 Saint Peter's cathedral, in prefence of Louis's 
 aunts, by the cardinal Zelada, a'.Tifted by two 
 refra&ory and fugitive French bifhops thofe of 
 Vence and Perpignan. The choice of fuch a 
 nuncio excited the aftonifhment and indignation 
 of all thofe haughty Roman prelates who faw 
 them/elves poftponed to a foreign prieft diftin- 
 guifhed only by foriie ufelefs talents. But the 
 pope has fo ordained : Maury is to fet out for 
 Frankfort : he will moft affuredly obtain the 
 reftitution of the Comtat ; for he himfelf has 
 promifed that he will. 
 
 It was at this epoch that the war had juft blazed 
 forth between France and the confederate poten- 
 tates. Pius, not content with giving them the 
 aid of his orifons, feemed alfo to make prepara- 
 tions for entering the lifts with them. He re- 
 
 * Strvus fer-vorum Del, a title aflumed by the .proud b 
 lity of the popes. 
 
 VOL. II. R
 
 viewed his troops, equally formidable by theif 
 numbers as by their valour. Let us attend him 
 in his review. 
 
 The fovereign pontiff had at this time a com- 
 pany of a ; hundred Svvitzers, and one of hal- 
 berdiers two companies, the one of light horfe, 
 the other of cuiraffiers, each confiding of two 
 hundred men indifferently mounted the city 
 guard,, forming a regiment of two hundred, 
 known by, the appellation of the Red-coats 
 the garrifon of the caftle of Saint-Angelo, amount- 
 ing to about a hund.red a batallion of Corfi- 
 cans =-the garrifons of Civita-Vecchia and An- 
 cona, comprifmg about three thoufand Total 
 of the totals, five thoufand men. 
 
 It was on the ftrength of this army that the 
 court of Rome began their warlike prepara- 
 tions, and conceived the projeft of forming a 
 military line which fhould f extend from the 
 Adriatic to the Mediterranean. Accordingly 
 they gave orders for the march of troops and 
 the tranfportation of artillery augmented the 
 garrifon in the caftle of Saint-Angelo fent their 
 treafurer to Civita-Vecchia to expedite the in- 
 tended armaments directed that town to be 
 put into a ftate. capable of fuftaming a fiege 
 and even named a generaliffimo : but where 
 was a fit man to be found in the Ecclefiaftical 
 State? They were obliged to borrow one from
 
 43 
 
 of the powers at war with the commort 
 enemy. The choice firft fell upon Capranica, 
 who had been for fome time in the fervice of 
 the king of Sardinia- afterward upon baron 
 Marwitz, a Pruffian officer : nor was he the 1 aft* 
 
 Meafures of policy are called in to the aid of 
 thofe military preparatives. A fecret congre- 
 gation is held at the houfe of cardinal Gerdyl. 
 The critical afpeft of the times calls for fome 
 grand expedient : what decifive determination 
 will their wifdom adopt ?* That of propofing a 
 jubilee to avert the difafters which impend over 
 the church of Rome ! 
 
 Hoftilities of this kind might well have been 
 paffed over in filent difdain. The French go- 
 vernment, however, thought proper to notice 
 them. In the month of July, when giving to 
 the nation an account of the difpofitions of the 
 different European powers, it announced to 
 them that the court of Rome was alfo be- 
 come the irreconcilable enemy of France that 
 it had moft loudly protefted againft the feifure 
 of Avignon that, to ftipport its claims, it had 
 made application to all the powers, even to 
 Ruflia that it refufed to admit any diplomatic 
 agent of the republic, under what title foever 
 that France might already confider herfelf as 
 come to an open rupture with the papacy. 
 
 But the Holy See thought, no doubt, that it 
 
 R 2
 
 244 
 
 might, under fhelter of its own feeblenefs, brave 
 with impunity a power which already mowed 
 itfelf formidable. The infolent manifefto of the 
 duke of Brunfwick makes its appearance : it is 
 received at Rome with enthufiaftic tranfport : 
 it is tranilated into Italian, and profufely diftri- 
 buted : it is confidered as the fignal for the an- 
 nihilation of the Impious race of Frenchmen ; and 
 perfecution is exercifed with increafed virulence 
 againft the individuals of their nation. The 
 French government however overlooks thefe 
 new outrages with high-minded difdain. Its 
 attention is occupied by more momentous in- 
 terefts : it has juft aflumed the republican form,, 
 and is on the eve of becoming ftill more for- 
 midable. 
 
 About this period appeared in public a let- 
 ter addreffcd by an anonymous writer to Pius 
 VI. In it the pontiff was treated with extreme 
 feverity : it contained an acrimonious enumera- 
 tion of his defers and his faults, and retraced 
 the principal features of his reign. From the 
 following paffage a judgement may be formed of 
 the ftyle of that letter, which is rather a monu- 
 ment of eloquent indignation than a hiftoric do- 
 cument. " You concur, by your contributions, 
 ft in the crufade of the enemies of France. The 
 " draining of the Pontine marines, which might 
 " have crowned you with glory, covers you with
 
 245 
 
 vc difgrace, becaufe it is nothing better than an 
 " abfolute robbery, lince you have ufurped that 
 " vaft traft, and converted it into a principality 
 " for your nephew, to whom you have, per fas 
 " et nefas *, given an eftabliihment equal to the 
 " opulence of fome fovereigns. Had you not 
 " already incurred exceflive guilt in ruining 
 " your people, as well by the enormous fums fo 
 " ill expended in the infipid conftru&ion of a 
 " facrifty which will never be any thing better 
 " than a monument of your foolifh vanity and 
 " want of tafte- as by the frequent emiffion of 
 " paper-money by which you have tripled the 
 " debts of the ftate ?" In another place the 
 anonymous author reproaches him with having 
 taken for his model thofe fanatic popes who had 
 elevated their throne on the bafis of ftupid folly 
 and ignorance, inftead of the prudent Benedift 
 XIV., who, above all things, avoided theologic 
 difputes. He adds " For you, holy father ! 
 " was referved the tafk of overturning that 
 * throne of folly to which the moft Jliameful vices 
 " have raifed you, and on which you have only 
 fl difplayed vanity, ignorance, prefumption, and 
 
 " the moft greedy nepotifm How impru- 
 
 " dent in you, holy father ! to fet yourfelf up as 
 
 * By right and by wrong without regard to the diftino 
 tiou between right and wrong.
 
 "the defender of religion and morality, when 
 " all the actions of your private and public life 
 " are fo many proofs of your atheifm and im- 
 " morality !" &c, The writer concluded by re- 
 commending to him to abdicate the throne, and 
 dictating to him the language in which he ought 
 to addrefs the catholic world in difavowing all 
 the follies to which he had lent the fan.ction of his 
 authority. 
 
 This violent philippic did not produce at 
 Rome the effect which had been expected from 
 it. The eye of malevolence even difcovered in it 
 the marks of exaggeration : its author was view- 
 ed in no other light than as one of thofe elo- 
 quent infidels who had fvvorn to overturn the 
 throne and the altar : it fupplied with new argu- 
 'ments the enemies of the French revolution, and 
 furnimed an additional proof that men often 
 mifs their aim by overihooting the mark. 
 
 Within a fhort time after, the executive coun- 
 cil came much nearer to it by fpeaking to the 
 pontiff in vigorous language which was not in- 
 confiftent either with French urbanity or with 
 truth. In the beginning of December he re- 
 ceived from them a letter fuperfcribed, " The 
 " executive council of the French republic, to 
 " the prince bifliop of Rome." They very ener- 
 getically demanded of him the enlargement of 
 feveral Frenchmen who were arbitrarily confined
 
 at Rome. " Pontiff of the Roman church !" 
 faid 'they " hitherto ruler of a fceptre which is 
 " ready to efcape from your grafp ! know the 
 " maxims of the French republic. Too juft to 
 " have any thing to conceal even in diplomacy 
 " too powerful to employ menaces but too 
 <* high-minded to overlook an outrage (he is 
 " ready to avenge it if peaceable reclamations 
 {; fliould prove ineffectual/' 
 
 But his holinefs had in fome refpe&s antici- 
 pated thofe reclamations : even before they 
 reached him, he had caufed feveral French ar- 
 tifts to be fet at liberty, of whofe number were 
 Chinard an able fculptor, and Ratel. On the 
 thirteenth of November they had been releafed, 
 having recovered all their effects, even to their 
 national cockades. But we had ftill feveral 
 caufes of complaint againft the court of Rome. 
 Some fubaltern officers, natives of France, who 
 were in the Roman fervice, were fhaven, de- 
 graded, fent to the galleys, for having fpoken 
 favourably of their country. The cardinal of 
 York, bimop of Frafcati, had prohibited the 
 innkeepers of his diocefe to receive any French- 
 man into their houfes. The pulpit, the con- 
 feffional, every thing, was employed to exafpe- 
 rate the people againft us. BlindctJ by fear and 
 rage, defpotifm, as frequently is the cafe, exhi- 
 bited itfelf at once in a ridiculous and an atro- 
 R 4
 
 248 
 
 clous light. The pope called to Rome a body 
 of militia to fupply the place of the ordinary 
 guard. Thofe militia-men, ftill more grotefque 
 in their appearance than his holinefs's regular 
 troops, became a fubjecT: of laughter to the citi- 
 zens : whereupon the Holy See iffued ftrift or- 
 ders that people mould confider them as real 
 foldiers, under pain of corporal punimment. 
 Some wags, however, having, in contempt of 
 that injunftion, made themfelves merry at the 
 expenfe of the Roman militia-men, atoned for 
 their forbidden merriment under the ftrokes of 
 the rod. 
 
 The^ recruiting fervice meanwhile was profe- 
 cuted with ativity ; and, toward the end of De- 
 cember, the pontiff publicly announced, that, 
 although, he had no reafon to apprehend any 
 hoftilities, and intended to preferve a perfect 
 neutrality, he felt it neverthelefs his duty to 
 provide for the fecurity of his coafts, and to raife 
 troops in his different provinces for the fafe- 
 guard of his capital. 
 
 He did not lofe fight of the neceffity of pro- 
 viding a chief for that army which was affem- 
 bling at his command. Several had already 
 been propofed. The choice feemed for fome 
 time to be fixed on an Auftrian general, by name 
 Caprara, who, after having viewed thofe heroes 
 whom he was to conduct in the path of glory,
 
 declared in plain terms, that, " at the firft mulket- 
 " Ihot, they would all run away, and leave him 
 " tete-a-tete with the enemy/' 
 
 Such was the ftate of affairs, and fuch the tem- 
 per of the public mind, when an incident, ra- 
 ther extraordinary than unforefeen, intervened 
 to precipitate a cataftrophe which every circum- 
 ftance tended to accelerate. 
 
 For fome time antecedent, the French refid- 
 ing in Rome had been able to difcover from fe- 
 veral indications that there exifted an intention 
 of involving them all in a general proscription : 
 and the mildeft reproach that can be brought 
 againft the Roman government, is, that it did 
 not redouble its diligence to defeat that horrible 
 confpiracy. At that period we ha(! not at Rome 
 any acknowledged agent : but our minifter at 
 Naples had fent thither one of his fecretaries of 
 legation, Bafleville, to plead the caufe of his op- 
 preffcd compatriots. Baffeville had obtained 
 from the Secretary of (late an anfwer calculated 
 to remove all uneafinefs ; and the pontiff himfelf 
 had increafed their unfufpeiing Security by fome 
 of thofe phrafes which appear the fpontaneous 
 effufions of candor. The French were prepar- 
 ing to attend one of their meetings when they 
 learned the difafter that had happened to our 
 admiral's veflel after the expedition to Naples; 
 and they made a colleftion among themfelves
 
 250 
 
 to contribute to the reparation of the damages. 
 Such was the object of their firft two meetings 
 in the palace of the academy. They were to 
 meet a third time to deliberate on the means of 
 fubftituting, in lieu of the ancient armorial in- 
 fignia which decorated that palace, the arms of 
 the republic. But the populace, misinformed re- 
 fpe6ting the obje6t of the intended meeting, 
 furioufly crowded to the academy, where they 
 arrived before the artifts. BafTeville, and Flotte 
 a major belonging to the fleet off Naples, were 
 the firft who had exhibited the tricolor cockade : 
 on that very day they had worn it at a vifit 
 which they paid to the fecretary of ftate, who 
 faid to 'them, * 4s The cockade is no longer a 
 " badge which the French are prohibited to 
 " wear in Rome." 
 
 During the interval preceding the hour of the 
 appointed meeting, thefe two Frenchmen were 
 taking an airing in a coach. BafTeville had with 
 him his wife and child. Their carriage flowly 
 moved along the Corfo, one of the broadeft and 
 moft frequented ftreets of Rome. The Roman 
 government has aflerted that the affected difplay 
 of the tricolor cockade had irritated the popu- 
 lace. It was rather the government itfelf that 
 had excited them to a6!s of violence, by fo many 
 preceding meafures ftrongly Tramped with the 
 characters of hatred to all who were attached to
 
 251 
 
 France. Be that, however, as it may, the French 
 in the coach were fudclenly aflailed with hoot- 
 ings, (tones, and muficet-thots. Bafieville orders 
 his coachman to drive home, fprings from the 
 carriage, oppofes the efforts made by major 
 Flottc to defend him, \vhen fuddeniy he feels 
 himfelf pierced with a bayonet. The foldiery, 
 imreftrained by any control, drag him expiring 
 to the adjacent guard-houfe, and feem to have 
 given the fignal for a general mafTacre. A 
 crowd of wretches ravening for carnage run 
 about the ilreets, vociferating " Long live the 
 " pope ! The holy faith for ever ! Saint Bartle- 
 " my for ever *! Death to all the French !" 
 
 Meantime the pupil-penfioners of the aca- 
 demy ran terrified through the halls, and faw 
 themfelves in danger of being murdered amid 
 the matter-productions of the arts. 
 
 Several fats deeply inculpate the Roman go- 
 vernment. Some ftatements, which are at leaft 
 of queftionable authority, tend to exculpate it, 
 by throwing the provocation on the fide of the 
 French. If we were difpofed to anticipate the 
 decifion of hiftory, to which alone it belongs to 
 pronounce between thefe contradictory affcrtions 
 at a period when the palfions mall be lulled 
 
 * The mafiacre of the proteftants in France on Saint Bar- 
 tholomew's day, A. D, 1572, will naturally recur to the wind 
 of i lie reader.
 
 252 
 
 to filence, we would fay that Rome-^-at this 
 time crowded with mal-contents of various de- 
 fcriptions, but all unanimous in detefting the 
 French revolution, all faithfully perfeverant in 
 that deteftation which they confidered as a duty 
 muft have contained, if not numerous accom- 
 plices, at leaft numerous confidants, of that hor* 
 rible confpiracy to which the unfortunate Bafle- 
 ville fell a vi&im ; -that the government could 
 not be ignorant of it ; that, as it did not prevent 
 its execution, it may fairly be accufed of having 
 at leaft connived at it j and that this fufpicion 
 derives confirmation from the ftyle of the edi& 
 itfued three days after by the pope : for, inftead 
 of making a difavowal in the moft decifive lan- 
 guage and in that hypocritically mournful tone 
 which Italian duplicity mud have found it eafy 
 to afTume, he contented himfelf with faying, 
 through the organ of his fecretary of ftate Ze- 
 lada, that he " fenfibly felt the teftimonies which 
 " the people of Rome had given him, on the 
 " preceding days, of their attachment to religion 
 " and their affe6tion for his holinefs's perfon ; 
 " but that the holy father was affiitted to fee 
 " that the fame people, amid the emotions to 
 " which they had yielded in expreffing their 
 " fentiments, had fuffered themfelves to be hur- 
 " ried on to fame excefles which had d'[flurbed the- 
 " public tranquillity excetles unbecoming a na-
 
 ** tion who ought to pride themfelves on having 
 " been nurtured with good precepts, and trained 
 " up in the principles of a morality whofe every 
 " maxim recommends peace, gentlenefs, and 
 " charity toward our neighbour." In another 
 part, his holinefs commands his fubje&s " to 
 " keep themfelves in future in a more calm flat e 
 " to refrain from all kind of tumult or affem- 
 " blage to do no damage to any hotel or any JJiop 
 " and not to infu/t any perfon, of whatfoever 
 " origin or country, or any property belonging 
 " to him," &c. 
 
 And it was in this foft and tenderly indulgent 
 language that the court of Rome exprefled their 
 difapprobation of a horrible crime committed 
 againft a French agent who had been feceived 
 by their principal minifter a few hours before ! 
 Was it thus that they hoped to difarm the re- 
 fentment of the formidable republic which at 
 that time made fuccefsful oppofition to a great 
 part of Europe, and already threatened the moft 
 firmly eftabliflied thrones ? 
 
 If any thing could appear more aftoniftiing 
 than the phlegmatic unconcern of the court of 
 Rome on fuch an occafion, it was the patience 
 of the French government which condefcended 
 to reft fatisfied with fuch a cold difavowal, and 
 whofe anger was appeafed by fome flight marks 
 of repentance.
 
 254 
 
 But the indignation which mutt have fired 
 the bofom of every Frenchman of every im- 
 partial obferver, if there were any fuch at the 
 time is at leaft energetically exprefled in an 
 anonymous letter addrefTed from Florence to the 
 cardinal Zelada, and dated January 25. By it 
 we are informed that " his eminence Zelada, a 
 " man of fuch reputed mildnefs and conciliat- 
 " ing difpofition, was, at this critical moment 
 " when the lives of all the French feemed to be 
 " in danger, feated by the pope's fide, calmly 
 " entertaining him with the fucceflive details of 
 " the (hocking fcene which the populace were 
 " afling in the ftreets of Rome. Ah ! cardinal 
 " Zelada, what is become of that reputation for 
 " prudence, ability, and humanity, of which you 
 " had been twenty years in pofleffion, and which 
 " caufed you to be beloved by the minifters of 
 " France and Spain, courted by all foreigners, 
 " and held in eftimation through all Europe ? 
 " What ! you compel us then to confider that 
 " brilliant reputation as one of the ufurpations 
 "of the court of Rome, and to view you no 
 " longer as that able .minifter whom the world 
 " was pleafed to think you, but as a detected 
 " hypocrite whofe conduft infpires aimed as 
 " much contempt as averfion r" 
 
 To account, however, for that cool apathy of 
 the Roman government after an event that might
 
 255 
 
 have caufed its inftant overthrow, it is only ne- 
 ceflfary to recollect that our government, though 
 plumed with glorious fucceffes, might ftill ap- 
 pear to (land on dubious ground ; that the Holy 
 See had as a rampart, to fhelter it from our refent- 
 ment, a great part of Italy of that country 
 which was ftill thought inacceffible to our arms; 
 and efpecially that it was furrounded by perfi- 
 dious counfellors, who, making heaven a party in 
 the defence of their purely mundane interefts, 
 talked of nothing but celejlial vengeance, from 
 which it was impoffible for the impious, facrile- 
 gious, regicide nation to efcape. 
 
 The pontiff, however, did not place fuch blind 
 reliance on thefe great motives of fecurity as not 
 to adopt other precautions. He configned to 
 oblivion his grounds of complaint againft the 
 court of Naples, and, in concert with it, planned 
 meafures of defence. He vifited his arfenals 
 and his pawn-bank * 3 to appreciate the afliltance 
 which he might expect from thofe two grand 
 finews of war, fteel and gold. Alas ! they were 
 both very feeble : no cannons in the arfenals, 
 little gold in the coffers ! But his principal re- 
 fource was the fanaticifm of the Roman popu- 
 lace ; and he fpared no pains to render it fub- 
 
 * Monte-di-pieta pawn broker's office, only on a more ex- 
 tenfive fcale than ours, and with this further difference, that 
 the government, i. e. his holinefs, was the head pawn-broker. 
 See Chap. XXXI. toward the end of this volume.
 
 fervient to his views. At this time he carried 
 on intrigues in all the courts of Italy, and, fetting 
 afide the fcruples of intolerance, was in concert 
 with that of Saint-James's againft the common 
 enemy of the peace of Europe. Thofe two courts 
 of Rome and London feemed to have divided 
 heaven and earth between them; the one re- 
 ferving to itfelf the religious refources, the other 
 the political. 
 
 Pius filled to the beft of his power his double 
 character of temporal prince and pontiff; and, 
 forefeeing that the vengeance of France could 
 be at moft only procraftinated, he called forth, by 
 energetic proclamations, a'll his means of de- 
 fence. " At the found of the bell," faid he in 
 one of them, " which mall announce an inva- 
 " fion, let all the men run to arms : let them 
 " fend off to the interior of the country all the 
 " cattle and forage; let them fet fire to what- 
 " ever elfe remains ; and let them endeavour to 
 st deftroy by every practicable mean a lawlefs and 
 * mercilefs enemy." Such were the expreffions 
 ufcd by the father of the faithful, the vice-gerent 
 of the God of mercy ! 
 
 He contented himfejf however with exhorting 
 andinviting, becaufe he was convinced, he faid, 
 that all his fubjefts, equally good catholics as 
 good citizens, would confider it as their duty to 
 combat a horde of " barbarians who had fworn
 
 257 
 
 rr to overturn, wherever they went, the throne 
 " and the altar." He next ''pro mi fed indemni- 
 fications for lofles, rewards for diftinguifhed 
 a&ions, and particularly a complete amnefty to 
 criminals who flioiiid rlep forward to expiate their 
 crimes by fighting in defence of the fate and of reli- 
 gion. From this levy en maffe, thus called forth 
 in the name of heaven and earth, he excepted 
 none but old men above the age of fix ty years, 
 children below that of fixteen, infirm perfons, 
 and ecclefiaflics in general, whcfe funclion it 
 was to " raife their hands on the mountain while 
 " the faithful were combating in the plain." 
 
 This extraordinary proclamation Would alone 
 have been fufficient to juftify the meafures which 
 were at length taken againft the court of Rome, 
 and even againft the catholic church. How was 
 it poffible any longer to acknowledge, as the 
 prevailing religion in a ftate, that religion of 
 which the fovereign pontiff, with his facred 
 book in his hand, dares proclaim to the univerfe 
 that it ij$ neceflary to deftroy an enemy by every' 
 p-afticable mean encourages to the commUlion 
 of crimes by the facility of expiation, in abfolv- 
 ing all criminals who fhall ftep forth to " fight 
 " in defence of the Hate and of religion" and 
 fantions the flothful idienefs of the pricfts by 
 deftining them to remain ina&ive fpeft^tors 
 of thofe combats in which they impel their 
 
 VOL. II. S
 
 258 
 
 flock to engage, and which are undertaken for 
 their own defence? In the age of the cru- 
 fades, in that of the league*, did fanaticifm 
 ever fpeak in language more abfurd or more in- 
 tolerant ? 
 
 The emperor alfa was one of the principal 
 fupporters of Pius, who received from him coun- 
 fels, eulogiums, encouragements, and who with 
 godly tranquillity beheld the Englifh and Spanifli 
 fleets protecting Italy from invafion. But the 
 fuccefTes of the coalition were neither conftant 
 nor univerfal : the Piemontefe army had fuf- 
 fered repeated checks ; and it was Hill neceflfary 
 to obferve fome delicacy of conduct toward 
 France. Inftead, therefore, of braving the re- 
 public, the pontiff, toward the end of June, or- 
 dered the refloration of a French tartane which 
 had been captured by one of \\isguar dacojlas, and 
 carried to Civita-Vecchia : for he was " not," he 
 faid, " at war with France." By what epithet 
 fhall we characlerife that pontiff who dares to 
 affert that he is " not at war with France," yet 
 invites his fubjecls to deliroy all the French " by 
 " every practicable mean," and labours in every 
 court of Europe to excite enemies againft them ? 
 
 But a circumftance which more ftrongly ope- 
 
 * The catholic league, formed againft the huguenots, is 
 the reign of Henry III. of France,
 
 59 
 
 rated than his falutary dread of France in ren- 
 dering him (till cautious, was the feeblenefs of 
 his refources. Of this he every day gained frefli 
 conviftion. Toward the conclufion of the year 
 1793 the taxes were burdenfome and ill paid : 
 provifions were fcarce and dear: the people 
 vented loud murmurs on feeing them embarked 
 and fent off to fupply the fleets of the confederate ' 
 powers. Two months after, neceffity compelled 
 the adoption of a meafure which at any other 
 time would have been deemed more than bold. 
 The new treafurer, Laporta, who had fucceeded 
 the fquanderer Ruffo, put in requifition the plate 
 belonging to the churches, for the purpofe of de- 
 voting it to the mintage of ten millions of fmall 
 coin, intended to be employed in paying off 
 the cedole. 
 
 Pius eagerly laid hold on every circumftance 
 which afforded him an opportunity of difplay- 
 ing his zeal. In the firlr. months of the year 
 1794, fuccefs feemed to fmile on the Auftrian 
 arms. The emperor had conceived the idea of 
 placing himfelf, at leaft during a while, at the 
 head of his army. Such -a glorious inftance of 
 felf-devotion appeared to Pius deferving of en- 
 couragement and even of recompenfe : accord- 
 ingly he fent to Francis II. a golden medal re- 
 prefenting Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and in- 
 clofed in a relique-cafe. " Fight," faid he to 
 s a
 
 260 
 
 him, in a letter which accompanied the prefenf 
 " fight in the name of thofe two valiant fol- 
 " diers of Chrift." This exhortation reached 
 the emperor probably after his precipitate re- 
 treat : it was difapproved even at Rome : but 
 the pope had contracted the habit of committing 
 aclions which alternately expofed him to ridi- 
 cule and refentrnent ; nor mall we fee an end of 
 fuch condut until the hour of his downfall. 
 
 The remainder of the year 1794 was fpent in 
 devifing means to procure a fupply of fpecie, and 
 means to fanaticife the multitude. The former 
 proved a more difficult talk than the latter. To 
 carry on his military preparatives, an increaf- 
 ed expenditure became neceflary, and, confe- 
 quently, .an augmentation of taxes. The Ro- 
 man people now, inftead of rifing againft the 
 French, were near rifing againft their own go- 
 vernment ; and, at the termination of the year 
 1794, attempted to fet fire to the palace of the 
 duke Brafchi, whofe riches excited indignation 
 amid the general diftrefs.
 
 261 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 EmbarraJJments and Inconjiftencies of the Court of 
 Rome. 
 
 V ARJOUS circumftances at this time con- 
 curred in irritating the minds of the Romans, 
 During the three preceding years, the pope had 
 thought proper to prohibit the diverfions of the 
 carneval, in confideration of the calamities of 
 the church. The lower orders alone fuffered by 
 this prohibition : the nobles alone diverted them- 
 felves; the law being mute with refpett to the 
 latter. The impatient inhabitants of the Trafte- 
 vere quarter arid of the Porta del Popolo % fhocked 
 at that exclufive privilege, refolved to have their 
 {hare alfo in the diverfions of the feafon. On the 
 Thurfday before Lent (of the year 1795) they 
 ran about the flreets in mafks. On the follow- 
 ing Monday the patrols attempted by violence 
 to reprefs thofe Tallies of coarfe but innocent 
 gaiety ; the confequence was an open infurrec- 
 tion, in which ftilettoes and knives were em- 
 ployed to fecond the volleys of ftones. The 
 3orghefc palace was befieged : but a few hand- 
 
 $3
 
 fuls of coin difperfed the befiegers. The duke 
 Brafchi was involved in fimilar danger : his wife, 
 confined by ficknefs to he rbed, was near lofing 
 her life in confequence of the fright. The Piom- 
 bini and Chigi palaces were preferved by barri- 
 cadoes. 
 
 Private individuals were the only fufferers by 
 this commotion : they were pillaged : they were 
 obliged to pay ranfoms. The terror was general 
 throughout Rome ; and many foreigners fled 
 from the city. The government remained a 
 pafiive fpe&ator of the ftorm in hope that it 
 would prove no more than a tranfient guft. 
 They did not difcover in a few bands of plun- 
 derers the elements of a ferious infurreUon. 
 The Romans at this time did not referable thofe 
 of their anceftors who, feceding to the Sacred 
 Mount, compelled the fenate to pay deference 
 to their wimes and much lefs thofe Frenchmen 
 of the fourteenth of July who in a tingle day 
 fhook the foundations of their ancient govern- 
 ment. On thisoccafion (and it was perhaps the 
 only inftance of his prudent management during 
 ten years) the pope applied to the evil its true 
 remedy. He did not confider this mutinous fit 
 as indicative of a fettled wifh for liberty. But, 
 when the danger was paft, he adopted indeed a 
 meafure which might well have been thought 
 ridiculous, Sufficient refpecthad not been paid
 
 263 
 
 to liis agents : he therefore thought proper to 
 declare the papal foldiers inviolable as their 
 mailer, and to announce that any infult offered 
 to a Jbirro would be deemed an act of high 
 treafon. 
 
 In the courfe of the year 1795, which was fo 
 favourable to our arms, the pope did every thing 
 in his power to avoid coming to a rupture with 
 us, and even took fome fteps, which, at the fame 
 time that theyafforded glaring evidence of his ter- 
 ror, ferved well enough to conceal his averfion. In 
 July he learned that a French brigantine, chafed 
 by two Neapolitan tartanes, had been driven 
 afliore on the coaft of the Ecclefiaftical State, 
 and that its haplefs crew, efcaped from fhip- 
 wreck and captivity, were roaming in the woods 
 near the fea-fide, t and in the utmoft diftrefs. His 
 pontifical bowels yearned : he fent affiliance to 
 thofe unfortunates, caufed their veffel to be re- 
 paired, and convoyed by an efcort to a certain 
 diflance. On this occafion he declared that he 
 was at war with nobody, that he was defirous of 
 living in peace, and did not wifli to injure any 
 nation. 
 
 A fingular circumftance was, that, even while 
 he was caufing public prayers to be offered up 
 for the fuccefsof the imperial armies, and lavifli- 
 ing on them his plenary indulgences, he treated 
 the fubje&s of Auftria with greater feverity thau 
 s 4
 
 264 
 
 he exercifed againft the French. During the 
 year 1795 he detained in prifon two chaplains of 
 the court of Vienna, Monaco and Poli, on the 
 charge of being attached to the opinions of the 
 bifliop of Piftoja. This, truly, was a fit moment 
 to think of thofe puerile difcutfions, which at 
 moft were only worthy of the attention of the 
 church in her hours of peaceful leifure ! 
 
 The court of Rome had now precifely reached 
 the period of its greateft internal embarraiTments. 
 Specie, provifions, confidence in the government, 
 all was deficient at the fame time. To palliate 
 one dileafe which was already deemed incura- 
 ble, they increafed another of more dangerous 
 complexion the difcontent of the people. A 
 new emiti'ion of cedole was made, which were 
 not exchangeable for cadi in any fums above 
 five crowns. The venders of provifions were 
 obliged, ct the clofe of each week, to carry to 
 the bank dello Spirito Santo a part ^of the fpecie 
 which they had Deceived, and to accept cedole in 
 exchange for it : moft of the convents were in- 
 vited to fend their fuperrluous plate to the mint : 
 but ail thefe icfources proved yet inefficient $ 
 and fo urgent was the diftrefs of the papal trea- 
 fury 'toward the end of December, that the pope 
 confented to fell a great number of his carrt 
 riages, and foity of his fineft horfes, The fuirj 
 of fixty thoufand crowns which he raifed by the
 
 ale was quickly fent to the pawn-bank and the 
 bank dello Splrito Santo, which were crowded 
 with people importunately preffing for the ex- 
 change of their ceJole. 
 
 The immediate caufe of this increased diftrefs 
 lay in the military preparations which the court 
 of Rome had the boldnefs to make for the pur- 
 pofe of repelling an attack which their own ex- 
 traordinary conduct had provoked. In April 
 1796, at the moment when they feemed defirous 
 of deprecating the ftorm which already began to 
 growl over their heads, a body of Neapolitan 
 cavalry prcfcnted themfelves on the frontier, 
 wiihing to pafs through the Ecclefiaftical State 
 on their way to the Milanefe. What did his 
 holinefs now do to prove his neutrality? He 
 appointed a commandant, who was direcled to 
 accompany the Neapolitans, and infure to them 
 a fuppiy of provifions. 
 
 This inftance of partiality was not calculated 
 to conciliate the good-will of a victorious gene- 
 ral, who was already matter of Lombardy, and 
 who, ftatjoned at Milan as the centre of his pre- 
 fent and future conquefts, threatened all Italy, 
 and particularly the papal territory. The court 
 of Rome had not imagined that his fuccefles 
 i be durable ; and; according as they had 
 appeared certain or doubtful, the pope had al- 
 ternately behaved with fupplenefs or arrogance.
 
 266 
 
 In the fpring of 1796 he plainly perceived that 
 his pofition was uncommonly critical : but to 
 whom ihould he have recourfe for its meliora- 
 tion ? The 'cardinal de Bernis, formerly his coun- 
 fellor and mediator, was himfelf no longer in 
 that calm fituation which might enable him to 
 give prudent advice j he was befides, on more 
 than one account, odious to that government 
 whofe anger was to be averted. The Spanifh 
 roinifter alone remained in fuch an attitude as 
 could render his intervention ufeful ; his court, 
 after a tranfient war, was again on terms of 
 amity with the French republic : his character, 
 his knowledge, his long experience, the (lately 
 magnificence by which he was furrounded, the 
 figure that Spain had conftantly made among the 
 catholic powers, had raifed him to be the man of 
 greateft confequence in all Rome. The Spanifli 
 palace and its extenfive appurtenances confli- 
 tuted in that city a kind of independent (late, 
 whofe chief faw under his protection and guid- 
 ance a population of fourteen thoufand fouls, 
 enjoyed his immunities which no hand would 
 have dared to violate, and had his guards and 
 even his gentlemen. The greateft perfonages, 
 the cardinals, courted his favour : thofe who bore 
 him no affection were neverthelefs afraid to re- 
 fnfe him the outward marks of efteem and re* 
 N fpect; and, where every other fentiment was
 
 S67 
 
 wanting, at leaft he commanded fear. Such was 
 the man, whom not every heart invited, but- 
 every eye looked up to, when they faw the Eccle- 
 fiaftical State threatened with invafion by the 
 vi&orious Buonaparte. 
 
 The cardinal Zelada had not long been in 
 office before he perceived his own impotence. 
 He felt himfelf extremely inadequate to the tafk 
 which Pius had thought he might venture to in- 
 truft to him. Deftitute of activity, and poflefling 
 hardly any influence, he was no better than a 
 mere oftenfible tool in all thofe meafures of 
 which the French government had reafon to 
 complain. The court of Rome, juftly alarmed 
 by the progrefs of a revolution which attacked 
 prejudices of every kind, thought it neceflfary to 
 oppofe a barrier to that torrent. The ordinary 
 means were inefficient. Zelada, characlerif- 
 tically feeble, and whofe faculties were ftill far- 
 ther enfeebled by age, was ill qualified fmgly to 
 guide the reins of government in fo critical cir- 
 cumftances. The pontiff committed thern to 
 the hands of a congregation compofed ^of fome 
 cardinals, as Albani, Gerdyl, Antonelli, Borgia, 
 Zelada himfelf, together with fome prelates, and 
 appointed as their fifcal, that is to fay their prin- 
 cipal agent, a criminalift named Barberi, a juii 
 man, it was fai.d, but fevere and violent, who, 
 t>y his exceffes, contributed not a little to acce-
 
 268 
 
 Jerate the downfall of the Roman government, 
 It was through him alone that the pope held 
 correfpondence with the congregation, all whofe 
 reports Barber! diftorted in obedience to the dic- 
 tates of his own paffions. He thus engrofled all 
 the authority which ought to have been veiled 
 in the congregation : he exercifed acts of per- 
 fonal vengeance : he fubferved every fufpicion ; 
 he let loofe every hatred ; and, while he conti- 
 nued to difguft Romans and foreigners, the 
 friends and the enemies of France, the pontiff 
 alone confidered himfelf as indebted to him for 
 his own falvation and that of the ftate. Every 
 individual bowed fubmiinve, every tongue was 
 filent, at lead in his prefence. 
 
 Notwithftanding the clamours of the factions 
 oppofed to France, the chevalier Azara ftill re*- 
 tained not only fome afcendency over the pope, 
 but alfo the confidence of the Roman people. 
 He condefcended to make one laft effort to ex- 
 tricate the Holy See from the danger in which a 
 fucceflion of imprudencies had involved it. He 
 confented to become its mediator with the youth- 
 ful conqueror who menaced its territories, and 
 repaired to Buonaparte at Milan. All Rome 
 in anxious expectation awaited the refult of his 
 conferences with that general. The populace 
 loucjly expreflcd their willies for the prefervation 
 of peace ; they affembled in crowds before the
 
 door of duke Brafchi,. whom they fufpefted of 
 entertaining a defire different from theirs ; nor 
 could they otherwife be appeafed than by afftir- 
 ances that the duke-nephew had on the contrary 
 determined his uncle to commence a negotia- 
 tion. 
 
 But the progrefs of the conferences was much 
 lefs rapid than that of our arms. Intelligence 
 was received at Rome, that, on the firft of Mef- 
 fidor (June 19, 1796), a divifion of the French 
 army had entered the papal dominions. On the 
 frontier of the Bolognefe and Modenefe territo- 
 ries flood the fort of Urbino, which we could 
 not leave in our rear. It was fummoned to fur- 
 render. This fort was garrifoned by five hun- 
 dred foldiers, " fine-looking fellows," faid Buo- 
 naparte in his relation of the affair, " and well 
 " clad: but they were pope's-men !"' The fort 
 furrendered. This was our firft conquer! in the 
 Ecclefiaftical State. Soon after, we became 
 mafters of Bologna, Ferrara, and even Ancona. 
 Thus the Holy See loft, within a few days, two 
 of its legcitine governments, its two fineft pro- 
 vinces, which it has never fince recovered, and 
 where no individual has regretted its yoke. 
 
 The news of thefe events caufed a great fer- 
 ment among the Romans. They affembled in 
 groups which difplayed the features of anxiety 
 rather than of fedition. The government, how-
 
 270 
 
 ever, was alarmed by thefe appearances : the 
 fecretary of ftate addreffed a proclamation to 
 the mal-contents, and fpoke to them in the lan- 
 guage both of the temporal and fpiritual powers, 
 which flood in need of mutual fupport to.fuc- 
 ceed in (till retaining any authority. " As Chrif- 
 " tians," faid he to them, " have recourfe to 
 " God : as fubje&s, place confidence in your 
 " fovereign, who leaves nothing unattempted 
 " to fecure peace.*' 
 
 About this time the priefts of the' Ecclefiaftical 
 State crowded to the temples, to the public 
 fqiiares opened to their flocks the treafures of 
 celeftial liberality promifed forty thoufand years 
 of indulgence to whoever mould affift in repelling 
 the French, " the fcourges of the church *. 
 
 The general anxiety, however, continued to 
 operate with undiminiflied poignancy. Already 
 
 * Thus they commented on a brief iflued by the pope, 
 which had been profufely difleminated through the country, 
 and which is worthy of being preferred, as one of the mofr 
 curious monuments of atrocious fanaticifm. It is as follows : 
 
 <f To all our dearly-beloved catholic fons, brethren in Je.fus 
 " Chrlft. 
 
 " We pray you, for the good of Chriftianity and of his holl- 
 " nefs, to take up arms in defence of religion. Whoever ihall 
 tf kill a Frenchman, will perform a facrifice acceptable to God ; 
 " and his name (hall be infcribed among the names of the eleft 
 " of the Lord." 
 
 See the " Political and Military Memoirs, illuftrative of the 
 Secret Hiftor>- of the French Revolution," vol. ii. page 183'
 
 271 
 
 the principal Roman families were feen re- 
 tiring from the city. The cardinals were pre 
 paring to follow them, when a courier arrived, 
 who had been difpatched from Bologna by the 
 chevalier Azara, with the news of the armiftice 
 which he had juft concluded. The facrifices 
 which he had been obliged to make were pain- 
 ful : it coil the pope the two legatine govern- 
 ments of Bologna and Ferrara, his fined paint- 
 ings, his mod beautiful ftatues, and a contribu- 
 tion of fifteen millions : but thefe were the only 
 terms on which he had been able to arreft the 
 tide of Gallic conqueft. 
 
 This armiftice fupplied the enemies of the 
 chevalier Azara with new means of bringing him 
 into difcredit, and even rendering him odious. 
 According to their reprefentations, that mini- 
 fter " had facrificed the Holy See : his condut 
 %< was dictated by his hatred of the Romans, and 
 " by his irreligious principles, evidently fimilar 
 " to thofe which the French arms rendered tri- 
 " umphant." But this was not a feafon for de- 
 clamatory invetive : it was neceflary to devife 
 means of fulfilling the condition of the fatal ar- 
 miftice. The pope immediately fent v for the 
 cardinal camerlingo and the governor of Rome : 
 he convoked the congregation of ftate : he deli- 
 berated : he refigned himfelf to his deftiny, and 
 in the night of the 28th of June difpatched a
 
 272 
 
 plenipotentiary to Paris. The perfon chofen foi* 
 that million was Pieracchi, who had already been 
 internuncio in France ; and with him was affo- 
 ciated Evangelifti, whom the Chevalier Azara 
 had taken with him to Bologna as his fecretary. 
 
 Thefe political fteps were followed by public- 
 prayers, thankfgivings, and proclamations : but 
 the chief difficulty was not yet furmounted. 
 The contribution promifed to France mud be 
 raifed without delay. The ordinary refources 
 were exhaufted, nor could taxation furnifh new. 
 Pius propofed in a fecret confiftory to take the 
 remainder of thofe firms of money which had 
 been treafured in the caftle of Saint- Angelo fince 
 the pontificate of Sixtus V. On any other oc- 
 cafion fuch a meafure would have been deemed 
 facrilege : under prefent circumftances, the ter- 
 ror was now fo profound and univerfal that the 
 pope's propofition was unanimoufly adopted. 
 
 But thofe treafures of the caftle of Saint-An- 
 gelo were hardly fufficiertt to pay the firft inftal- 
 ment: for the fubfequent payments it became 
 necefTary to employ other means. The churches 
 and all the pious foundations were obliged to 
 deliver up all their ornaments and vcffels of gold 
 and filver which were not abfolutely indifpen- 
 fable for the celebration of divine fervice. An 
 edict was ifiued, inviting all the pope's fubjecls 
 to carry to the treafury all their fuperfluous plate.
 
 273 
 
 Four Roman noblemen were charged with the 
 collection. The prince Doria fent in a gratui- 
 tous donation which was valued at half a million. 
 
 To divert the minds of the Romans from 
 brooding on thofe fubje&s of anxious concern, 
 prayers were called in to their aid, and indul- 
 gences, and miracles in particular, which feemed 
 to be multiplied in thefe critical moments. At 
 Ancona, notwirhftanding the prefence of the 
 French who were fo little inclined to fuperfti- 
 tious credulity, there was not a Madonna that 
 had not exhibited fymptoms of animation; and 
 the faithful were firmly perfuaded that to the 
 interceffion of the Virgin alone they were, in- 
 debted for that armiftice which coft them fo dear 
 and yet was fo earneftly defired. At Rome, as 
 it was highly proper, the miracles were even 
 more brilliant than at Ancona. There, all the 
 Madonnas opened and fhut and rolled their 
 eyes : near fome of them, withered flowers re- 
 covered their bloom, dry branches refumed their 
 verdure ; and the multitude flocked "in crowds 
 to the fight, admired, and attefted what they 
 had feen. 
 
 It was amid this phrenfy of devotion that the 
 chevalier Azara entered Rome on his return 
 from Bologna, Notwithftanding the inftigations 
 of the chevalier's enemies, the pontiff received 
 him with eager warmth, gave him feveral fccret 
 
 VOL. II. T
 
 274 
 
 audiences, and received from him counfels of* 
 Which fubfequent events have proved that he 
 had not the wifdom to avail himfelf. Pius's 
 intellects were at this time in a date nearly bor- 
 dering on alienation : but there was fomething 
 gloomy in his delirium. Thofe miracles, which 
 by all his flock were confidered as fo aufpicious 
 omens, to him appeared fure tokens of the divine 
 wrath : to appeafe it, lie ordered vifits, in the 
 form of proceflions, to fix churches. In thofe 
 religious ceremonies, ladies of the higheft rank 
 bore the facred banner ; and the cardinal della 
 Sommaglia, well fitted by his natural caft as by 
 his ftation for acting every fort of character, did 
 not difdain the tafk of carrying the crofs. 
 
 Such was the manner in which the court of 
 Rome was preparing to receive the French com- 
 miflioners who were coming to execute the con- 
 ditions of the armiftice. The cardinal Zelada 
 thought it his duty to teftify the warmeft defire 
 of giving them a good reception: and although 
 it was well known what he thought of the fi- 
 tuation of the Holy See, he had the effrontery 
 to declare in a hypocritic proclamation that 
 the armiftice was " an effect of God's mercy, 
 " fmce it was, after all, an advantage to facri- 
 *' fice a part for the fake of preferving the reft." 
 He moreover threatened with the fevereft pu- 
 ffilhrtients whoever fhould dare to offer even the
 
 275 
 
 flighted infult to the French commiffioners or 
 any of their fuite. By this conduct the court 
 -of Rome announced very pacific intentions, but 
 at the fame time betrayed confiderable diftruit 
 of the difpofitions of the Roman people, and 
 feemed to prepare for itfelf an apology before- 
 hand. 
 
 In the .month of July* arrived the firft of the ex- 
 pefted commiffioners, citizen Miot, our minifter in 
 Tufcany. The chevalier Azara, who after having 
 tranfafted the afTairs of the court of Rome now 
 did the honours for it, went to meet the Gallic 
 commiffioner as far as Ponte-Molle, and intro- 
 duced him into Rome under the efcort of a pi- 
 quet of cavalry, and preceded by a French 
 courier decorated with that tricolor cockade 
 which, a few months before, had fo violently 
 excited the indignation of the Roman people. 
 
 Miot was at fiift received with all the ap- 
 pearances of warm cordiality, and diftinguiflied 
 by thofe honours which are ufually referved for 
 embafladors extraordinary. All the cardinals, fo 
 well fchooled in the arts of diffimulation, came 
 to vifit him. The chevalier Azara procured him. 
 an audience of the pope, which lafted nearly 
 an hour: the converfation wholly turned on in- 
 different topics, nor was any except tranfient 
 mention made of the conditions of the armi- 
 ftice. Pius folemnly declared that they were, in 
 T a
 
 276 
 
 his eyes, " una cofa facrofanta * :" but experience 
 foon taught us what degree of fmcerity accom- 
 panied thofe words pronounced with a peniten- 
 tial air. Afterward, for form-fake, Miot had a 
 conference with the cardinal Zelada. The latter 
 was fo enfeebled by age and folicitude as hardly 
 to retain the ufe of fpeech : he therefore no- 
 minated a prelate to fupply his place in the con- 
 ferences relative to the armiftice. 
 
 The other French commiflioners fucceflively 
 arrived. Their prefence caufed a lively fenfa- 
 tion at Rome : they were viewed with an eager 
 curiofity which had nothing ofFenfive in it. They 
 naturally awaked unpleafing recollections: but 
 what comparifon between a fet of pacific com- 
 miflioners for the moft part men of temperate 
 prudence and thofe formidable conquerors from 
 whom the city ought to have deemed herfelf 
 thrice happy to have only received laws at a di- 
 ftance ? Cacault, who ha df long been employed 
 in Italy, clofely followed Miot to Rome ; and, 
 at the end of July, the conferences refpecling 
 the execution of the armiftice were begun in 
 the chevalier Azara's hotel. At thofe meetings 
 the pope employed, as his interpreter, the fijcal 
 Barberi, whofe intractable difpofition was al- 
 ready too well known. He ftill poflefled para- 
 mount influence, and exerted it in fuch manner 
 
 * A moft facred obje&.
 
 277 
 
 as to increafe the number of wrongs chargeable 
 on the pope. They had not yet reached the 
 term of their final completion. 
 
 At this period we received a flight check, 
 and were obliged to relinquifli for fome time the 
 fiege of Mantua. Pius's perfidious counfellors 
 faw that this was a favourable moment to repair 
 at lead a part of his lofles ; and, notwithftand- 
 ing the energetic reprefentations of the chevalier 
 Azara, the pontiff difpatched a vice- legate to 
 retake poffeffion of the legation of Ferrara. 
 This little triumph was of fhort duration. The 
 vice-legate, on his arrival, found the Ferrarefe 
 tolerably quiet, and imagined that they were 
 difpofed to replace themfelves with pleafure 
 under the papal yoke : but he faw them rife in 
 infurre&ion when he attempted to fubftitute the 
 arms of the fovereign pontiff to thofe of the 
 French republic. Soon afterward the tide of 
 Gallic victory refumed its wonted courfe : the 
 vice-legate's million was at an end ; and he 
 thought himfelf very fortunate in being allowed 
 to return to Rome. 
 
 Meantime the refpeclful attentions which had 
 in the firft inftance been mown to the French 
 cornmiflioners were fucceeded by infults as foon 
 as our fituation began to appear critical. Miot, 
 returning to his poft at Florence after a month 
 fncnt in Rome, became the objet of a popular 
 
 T 3
 
 278 
 
 commotion in his way through Spoleto ; nor did 
 he without difficulty efcape the rage of the po*. 
 pulace who were ftirred up againft him. Even 
 at' Rome, two of our commiffioners, who had 
 quietly flopped to view the column of Trajan, 
 were-firft aflailed with a volley of ftones thrown 
 by children, and afterward, in attemp'.ing to 
 make their efcape, -heard the alarming -cry of 
 ft Kill them! they are Frenchmen ! they are 
 " commiflioners !" In fact they were in imminent 
 danger of lofing their lives ; and, for their pre-* 
 fervation, they were folely indebted to the in- 
 terference of a Roman officer who conduced 
 them to the governor of the city. The latter 
 ftammered out an apology in the following hy- 
 pocritic ftrain " You -m'uft attribute this com- 
 tc motion, which we difavow and regret, to the 
 " unfavourable intelligence received concerning 
 fi the French armies." <l And what would you 
 " fay," replied one of the commiffaries, " if i 
 " now that we have victories to celebrate in- 
 t( ftead of lolTes to deplore-r-we fliould difpenfe 
 " with our obfervance of the armiftice r" The 
 governor promifed to exert increafed vigilance : 
 the commiiTioners were conducted to their habi- 
 tation, but not without hearing on every fide of 
 them the loud hootings of the populace. 
 
 On the fecond day after this event, notwith-. 
 landing the promifes of the government, not-
 
 279 
 
 withftanding the numerous patrols, fome French- 
 men were again infulted. Cacault loft all pa- 
 tience, and was on the point of fuffering his in- 
 dignation to break forth ; but he was appeafed 
 by the chevalier Azara, who promifed to obtain 
 for him complete fatisfaclion from his holinefs. 
 Pius wore the appearance of aftonifhment, of 
 affliction : he iffued frefli orders : he commanded 
 guards to be placed within reach of the French 
 plenipotentiary. Some delinquents were arrefted; 
 and aflurances were given that they fhould be 
 punifhed. 
 
 It was thefe fcandalous fcenes that finally de- 
 termined the cardinal Zelada in the intention 
 which he had long formed of retiring from of- 
 fice. He was very old and infirm, and faw him- 
 felf refponfible for difagreeable incidents which 
 he had not the power to prevent. The entire 
 government of Rome refted at this, time on the 
 internal police, which was nominally intruded 
 to the congregation heretofore mentioned, but in 
 faft was entirely furrendered to the ffcal Bar- 
 beri, who was now become the objet of univer- 
 fal deteftation. On the eleventh of Auguft the 
 chevalier Azara wrote to the pope that the pub- 
 lic intereft demanded the difmiffal of ' the ffcal* 
 as the only mean of keeping the people within 
 bounds, and appealing the French republic, 
 whofe refentment might be productive of the 
 T 4
 
 280 
 
 moft difagreeable confequences to the Eccle- 
 fiaftical State. 
 
 But Pius could not confent to part with Bar- 
 beri. He thought the views of the Spanifh mi- 
 nifter were equally anfwered by fubftituting in 
 Zelada's ftead a cardinal toward whom Azara 
 appeared to be very favourably difpofed, and 
 who was reputed to poflefs both prudence and 
 energy. He informed the chevalier that he had 
 appointed to the miniftry the cardinal Ignatius 
 Bufca. 
 
 Since this new minifter may be confidered as 
 the immediate caufe of the final calamities of 
 the Holy See, he deferves to be more particu 1 - 
 larly known. 
 
 The prelate Bufca, fprung from an illuftrious 
 family in the Milanefe, was gifted with fome 
 external accomplishments : to tallnefs of flature 
 and elegance of figure he added that manner 
 which announced an acquaintance with polite 
 life, and language fufficiently florid to difguife 
 the mediocrity of his mental endowments. 
 
 He had travelled in his youth, and, after hav- 
 ing peragrated France and Germany, had been 
 nominated to the poft of nuncio at BrufTels. 
 This was not one of thofe nunciatures which di- 
 rectly led to the cardinalate. On his return, 
 Bufca was appointed governor of Rome. In ad- 
 dition to zeal and fteadinefs, that poft required
 
 281 
 
 confiderable abilities. Bufca endeavoured/ to 
 diftinguifli himfelf in it by his reforms : but he 
 was completely the man of pleafure ; he foon 
 relinquiihed a talk which was rendered too la- 
 borious by the contrarieties he had to encounter; 
 and, on quitting the governorfhip of* Rome to 
 put on the cardinal's hat, he humoroufly enough 
 obferved that the only obligation which the 
 Romans had confented to owe him, was that of 
 having taught them " the ufe of ice-punch." 
 
 This fpeech was chara&eriftic of him in a 
 two-fold light as a fenfualift and as a man of 
 humour. Thofe two qualities which, whether 
 good or bad, are pretty generally aflbciated 
 with franknefs concealed in the cardinal diffi- 
 mulation fufficiently profound to miilead even 
 the chevalier Azara in forming his opinion of 
 him. Bufca perceived that this minifter w r as 
 the only man in Rome who preferved the cool- 
 nefs of fober judgement amid the moft violent 
 tempefts the only one in whom the pope con- 
 tinued to place any confidence, and by whofe 
 aid " a man of talents, fuch as he was," could 
 hope to aft a confpicuous part. He attached 
 himfelf to his company: he afliduoufly fre- 
 quented the circle of the princefs della Santa- 
 Croce, which had long been the habitual ren- 
 dcz-vous of the foreign minifters, efpecially thofe 
 of France and Spain, That lady was effentially
 
 282 
 
 kind, eafy, obliging. The cardinal Bufca fuc. 
 ceeded in his efforts to pleafe her : he often faw 
 at her houfe the chevalier Azara, and gave him 
 teftimonies of confidence, affection, deference. 
 A clofe intimacy took place between them; 
 and the chevalier Azara, whom on other ccca- 
 fions it was not eafy to deceive, fancied he faw 
 in him not only a friend, but alfo a man of ami- 
 able difpofition, refined Underftanding, and con- 
 ciliating manner,^ fuch, in (hort, as the pope 
 could defire for his minifter in the critical cir^ 
 cumftances by which he was furrounded. 
 
 The cardinal Zelada was difgufted with the 
 miniftry, and had given more than fufficient 
 proofs of his incapacity. Nothing more than 
 the flighted hint was neceffary to induce him to 
 retire. The Spanilh minifter, who poifed in his 
 hand the deftiny of Rome, was perfectly fure of 
 being able to influence the pontiff in his choice 
 of a new fecretary of ftnte. Our ?gent in Rome 
 at this time was Cacault, who had for many 
 years been employed in political millions in 
 Italy, where he had won the general efteem, 
 Cacault frequently faw the cardinal Bufca, and 
 had conceived of him as favourable an opinion 
 as that entertained by the chevalier Azara, 
 They both feemed to have forgotten a fcene 
 which had proved that thofe forms of urbanity 
 which the cardinal well knew how to affume,
 
 283 
 
 were a cloak under which lurked confiderable 
 violence and rudenefs of paffion. At table at 
 the houfe of the princefs della Santa-Croce, one 
 of the guefts, who excited his jealoufy, having 
 indulged in fome poignant fallies, Bufca darned, 
 his plate in his rival's face. He would not have 
 efcaped a fevere retaliation, if the princefs had 
 not interpofed her conciliatory influence to fe- 
 parate th*e two champions. Through refpeft 
 for her, the quarrel was appeafed, and the 
 amiable cardinal was pardoned that " momen- 
 f( tary ftart of vivacity" 
 
 This adventure was nearly forgotten when 
 Bufca was propofed to the pontiff by the Spanifh 
 minifter to fill the poft of fecretary of ftate 
 that is to fay, was appointed. The chevalier 
 Azara foon had reafon to reckon him among 
 the number of thofe who requited his favours by 
 ingratitude, and Rome had equal caufe to ac- 
 count him one of her molt dangerous minifters. 
 
 Of the different factions which agitated Rome 
 and oppreffed the feeble pontiff with a load of 
 heavy anxieties, the moft aftive was that of the 
 Albani, which was, on more than one account, 
 devoted to the houfe of Auflria. The cardinal 
 of that name, as dean of the Sacred College and 
 by his birth a member of almoft all the congre- 
 gations, had great influence on the determina- 
 tions of the Holy See, One of his nephews was
 
 2S4- 
 
 nuncio at Vienna : another was employed about 
 the perfon of the archduke Ferdinand, gover- 
 nor-general of Lombardy. Thus the whole fa- 
 mily were, by the ties of intereft, attached to the 
 court of Vienna. They and all their adherents, 
 the fanatics, the partifans of the Englifli and 
 Neapolitans, vented murmurs of indignation at 
 the bare found of our fuccefles in Italy, and ex- 
 erted their utmoft efforts to drag the* court of 
 Rome into the coalition of confederate Europe j 
 not, however, on a preemption that Pius could, 
 as a temporal potentate, throw any great weight 
 into the fcalej but becaufe they knew that the 
 Holy See ftill retained a powerful empire over 
 the confciences of a part of Europe, and that, in 
 the eyes of thofe faithful fons of the church, a 
 caufe became fan&ified by the adherence of the 
 fovereign pontiff. 
 
 The various enemies of France, then, em- 
 ployed at Rome all the machinations of intrigue, 
 at one time to depreciate our victories, at an- 
 other to predi6t our difafters, and on every oc- 
 fion to defame both the principles of the French 
 revolution and the men who laboured to eftablifh 
 it. The moment our fuccefles appeared doubt- 
 ful, thofe intriguers inflamed the mind of govern- 
 ment, urged the military preparations, and re- 
 commended meafures of oppreilion. Did we 
 gain any advantages ? they immediately re-
 
 285 
 
 ceded ; and the court of Rome, obedient to 
 their impulfe, fpoke in the language of concili- 
 ation, and adopted fome fteps tending to prove 
 its pacific difpofition. 
 
 At this period the Neapolitans were prepar- 
 ing to fend affiftance to Auftria j an obje& 
 which they could not accomplifh without march- 
 ing their troops through the territories of the 
 Ecclefiaftical State. Already they had ad- 
 vanced a body of three thoufand men to Ponte- 
 Corvo, under pretence of preventing defertion. 
 This circumftance was an additional caufe of 
 embarraffment to the court of Rome, who faw 
 that they muft repel, as a band of invaders, thofe 
 troops- whofe prefence they could not but fe- 
 cretly defire for their own defence. Cacault,iu 
 a written memorial, declared to the cardinal fe- 
 cretary of ftate, that, if the Neapolitans entered 
 the Roman territory, his government would con- 
 fider the armiftice as broken. This menacing 
 notice was communicated to the court of Naples; 
 and on the anfwer of that court was now to de- 
 pend the alternative of peace or war. 
 
 The court of Rome were already involved in 
 confiderable perplexity, when they received a 
 courier from Paris. His difpatches related to 
 the negotiation which was about to be com- 
 menced at Florence in confeqjence of the ar-
 
 286 
 
 xniflice. The demands of the French govern- 
 ment were peremptory. The hour of conquefl 
 was not yet come ; but the feafon of delicacy was 
 already paft. We demanded, as a preliminary 
 ftep, a declaration by the pope, fetting forth, 
 that, whereas certain common enemies had fur- 
 reptitiouily obtained from his piety certain briefs 
 which, in their principles and their effels, were 
 contrary to the rights of nations, he "difap- 
 * f proved and annulled them." The injunction 
 was fevere : that the infallible pontiff mould, to 
 the face of the univerfe, acknowledge himfelf to 
 have been miftaken ! mould accufe his friends ! 
 fhould renounce them ! But the danger was 
 urgent, and called for a fpeedy determination. 
 Pius affembled a congregation more numerous 
 than any of the preceding, and compofed of all 
 the moft enlightened members of the Sacred Col- 
 lege. Thefe were the dean Aibani, Zelada, 
 Gerdyl, Bufca, Antici, della Sommagiia, Anto- 
 nelli, all cardinals of whom we have already 
 fpoken Caraffa,a man of talents, but intriguing, 
 dangerous, and avowedly hoftile to the French 
 Roverella, one of thofe whofe pleafing manner 
 had recommended them to the pope, and who 
 with fuavity of difpolition united a mind tolera- 
 bly well cultivated Aliieri, prudent and mo- 
 derate even to timidity Carandini, not defi-
 
 2S7 
 
 cieht cither in addrefs or capacity, but devour- 
 ed by fee ret ambition, and univerfally hated and 
 feared, &c. 
 
 Even before this Areopagus had declared its 
 opinion, Pius had again recourfe to the inter- 
 pofition of the chevalier Azara to diffipate the 
 florin which was gathering againft him at Flo- 
 rence. But the apparent homage, thus paid to 
 his capacity, was only a mean employed by his 
 enemies to remove him out of the way. He 
 foon perceived that fuch had been their view : 
 for hardly had he fet out on his miffion when 
 the fapient congregation pronounced in the 
 mod ftrongly negative terms on the pretenfions 
 of the Gallic government. In particular, the 
 two oracles of Roman theology, Gerdyl and 
 Antonelli, difplayed all their eloquence and eru- 
 dition to prove that the church was undone if 
 her chief incurred the criminal bafenefs of mak- 
 ing the retrograde ftep which was required of 
 him. His briefs, they maintained, were con- 
 formable to the decifions of the councils, the 
 opinions of the holy fathers, &c. ; and by a re- 
 traftation of them he would fanction all the in- 
 roads made during the laft feven years upon 
 the rights of the church. 
 
 In dictating this decifion, the fpirit of fanati- 
 cifm had perhaps lefs influence than the fpirit of 
 party that is to fay, of that Auftrian faftion
 
 28S 
 
 which had thrown afide the mafk fince the 
 departure of the chevalier Azara, and under 
 whofe banner the new fecretary of ftate had en- 
 rolled himfelf. The great negotiator Gaieppi, 
 who had accompanied Azara, ftill however con- 
 trived to fave appearances. Suddenly returned 
 from Florence, he arrives at Rome, has a 
 conference with the pope, another with the 
 cardinal Bufca. A new congregation, more 
 numerous than the preceding, is direfted to exa- 
 mine the conditions of peace propofed by the 
 French government, and rejets them as inad- 
 miflible. Galeppi returns to Florence to try the 
 effect of a new attempt : but the predominant 
 party at Rome were bent upon war ; and the 
 itep which they had taken rendered it unavoid- 
 able : they therefore make preparation for it, 
 and by means which only increafe the difcon- 
 tent of the people. 
 
 The pope depreciates the coin by increafing 
 its nominal value above one fourth. 
 
 He deprives the churches and private indi- 
 viduals of all their fuperfluous plate. 
 
 He obliges all proprietors to fell their corn at 
 a low price to the department of the annona, 
 and, in payment, to accept cedole at par, though 
 at this time they were fubjet to a difcount of 
 above fifty per cent. 
 
 The military preparatives were now carried
 
 289 
 
 on with redoubled activity. A civic guard 
 was organifed at Rome ; and the grcateft fa- 
 milies afpired to diftinguim themfelves 'on the 
 occafion. The fenator Rezzonico is nominated 
 generaliffimo of that guard : the three princes, 
 Aldobrandini, Gabrielli, and Giuftiniani, are 
 appointed colonels. Thirty - two companies 
 are formed, each confifting of a hundred and 
 fifty men : numerous patrols fcour the ftreets 
 by night and by day ; and Rome the holy once 
 more becomes Rome the warlike. Levies are 
 made on all (ides ; feven hundred men are di- 
 fpatched toward Bologna and Ferrara : the car* 
 dinal Bufca collects all the vagabonds fcattered 
 throughout the Ecclefiaftical State, who are com- 
 pelled either to take up arms in its defence or 
 to quit the country : the militia afTembles with 
 activity : nought is feen in every direction but 
 tranfportations of fmall arms*, artillery, tents, 
 waggons, Contributions of every fpecies pour 
 in from all quarters : gold, filver, jewels, cedoU, 
 provifions, cattle, every thing is offered with a 
 kind of enthufiafm which might have been 
 miftaken for that of patriotifm. Several rich 
 individuals levied corps at their own charge, or 
 
 * The expreffion in the original is fomewhat different, viz. 
 armcs blanches, compriling fv/ords, bayonets, pikes, &c. &c 
 but excluding all kinds of hrc-arms. 
 
 VOL II. V
 
 290 
 
 defrayed the expenfe of equipping or arming 
 them the conftable Colonna, for inftance, a 
 complete regiment of infantry the banker Tur- 
 lonia, a company of cavalry confiiiing of eighty 
 men fully equipped. 
 
 In this almoft general ferment, equal aftivity 
 is every-where difplayed. The Roman govern- 
 ment, making off its habitual torpor, feems to 
 have refumed fome portion of energy only for 
 the purpofe of running with hafty ftrides to ruin. 
 Pius, himfelf the tool of the predominant fac- 
 tion, fends to all the catholic courts a manifefto, 
 in which, after having explained the ftate of his 
 negotiation with Franco, he calls upon them to 
 unite in the defence of religion. At the fame 
 time he addrefTes to his fubjets a proclamation 
 exhorting them to take up arms for the purpofe 
 of repelling the aggrefibr. He fufpends the ex- 
 ecution of the armiftice, which had already been 
 commenced. Half a million, on account of the 
 contribution which he had to pay, was by this 
 time at Rimini : he ordered it to be brought 
 back, together with the -cattle that conftituted 
 a part of the fourth million payable in articles of 
 provifion. The feven hundred thousand crowns 
 drawn from the caftle of Saint-Angelo for the 
 fame purpofe, were carried back to the coffers 
 whence they had been taken: the ftatues, al- 
 ready packed up in cafes, were replaced in their
 
 291 
 
 former ftations : the cardinal Pignatelli, who was 
 advanced on his journey toward Brefcia, received 
 orders to return. 
 
 All thefe meafures, liable to the charge of 
 rafhnefs at lead, were principally concerted with 
 the court of Vienna 5 but, from that of Naples 
 likewife, fupport was confidently expe&ed ; 
 when fuddenly the Roman government were in- 
 formed that the marquis del Vafto had juft 
 figned a treaty of peace between that court and 
 the French republic. They inftantly confidered 
 themfelves as undone ; and in fat fo they were, 
 but fora combination of circumftances to which 
 the papacy was indebted for the ephemeral 
 prolongation of its exiftence. 
 - Let pofterity determine what motives could 
 have induced Buonaparte to fpare the pontifical 
 throne which it would have been fo eafy for 
 him to crufh under the wheels of his triumphal 
 car : fuffice it for us to retrace here a fummary 
 fketch of thofc fats of which we have been 
 witnefles. 
 
 The chevalier Azara, who had gone to Flo- 
 rence in the hope of faving the court of Rome, 
 felt fomething more than aftonifhment on learn- 
 ing, that, in his abfence, fo great and fuccefsful 
 pains were taken to ruin it ; and that, inftead 
 of wilhing for his return, the cabal openly con- 
 gratulated themfelves on having refcued the 
 u a
 
 pontiff from his influence. Pius knew not well 
 how he ought to conduct himfelf toward the 
 Spanifti minifter: on the one hand, he dared not 
 venture to follow his counfels 5 on the other, he 
 was afraid of difpleafing the court of Madrid. 
 In Oftober 1796, he thought it incumbent on 
 him to make a direft application to Charles 
 IV., requefting him to interpofe his mediation 
 between France and the Holy See. 
 
 The Spanifli monarch returned a very affec- 
 tionate anfwer, in which however he explicitly 
 declined the requefted interference. The pon- 
 tiff now felt how unwifely he had a&ed in aban- 
 doning Azara to the blind indignation of the fana- 
 tics. The cardinal Bufca endeavoured to pre- 
 ferve toward the chevalier a femblance of cor- 
 diality and gratitude even at the moment while 
 he entertained with the court of Vienna a per- 
 fidious connexion, of which the intended iflue 
 was to terminate in the overturning of all that 
 the Spanifh minifter had accomplifhed : and in 
 his correfpondence, to which he laboured to 
 give the appearance of friendfhip, he had inti- 
 mated to him that the pope would feel himfelf 
 ferioufly embarrafTed if, at fo critical a junfture, 
 that minifter were again to make his appearance 
 at Rome. This was the circumftance that gave 
 rife to the letter written by Azara to cardinal 
 Bufca in the year 1796.- -a letter certainly not
 
 293 
 
 intended for publication, but which neverthe- 
 Jefs was publifhed. 
 
 That letter was noble and lofty: the juft re- 
 fentment that warmed Azara's breaft, was dif- 
 guifed in it under the forms of friendlhip and 
 familiarity, which however did n-ot prevent it 
 from being extremely apparent. He gave the 
 papal miniftcr information of the treaty which 
 we had recently concluded with the Neapolitan 
 court, and of the confequences which muft 
 thence refult to the Holy See. " I ought not," 
 added he, " to communicate fuch intelligence to 
 " a minifter who is not at liberty to enter into 
 (t explanations with a poor infeftsd mortal: but 
 " my heart is weak, and feels an afTe61ion for 
 ic my friends, even when they are ungrateful, be- 
 " caufe it fuppofes them to be miftaken, and 
 " willing to be undeceived." " I fee," added he 
 in another" place, " that, in fpite of evil influ- 
 " ence, he" (the pope, who had written to him) 
 " retains a friendftiip and kindnefs for me: af- 
 " fure him that I am very far from wifhing to 
 " expofe him to the inconvenience which he 
 " might fuffcr from my return to Rome. I well 
 " know^to what excefles a crowd of phrenlied 
 {t fools are capable of proceeding : they may 
 " caufe the Spaniih palace to be fet on fire, my 
 " furniture to be dellroyed they may indulge 
 " in every outrage againft me but they cannot 
 u 3
 
 u difturb the peace of my confcience. It does 
 " not become me to obtrude rny advice, while you 
 " have fo many other advifers : yet, as a laft 
 " token of my friendihip, I muft inform you 
 " that a moment may fave you at the expenfe 
 " of fome facrifices : but, that moment once 
 
 " elapfed, your ruin will be complete If 
 
 " a reliance on your own ftrength, if your arma- 
 " ments, infpire you with confidence, confumma- 
 " turn eft *." cc Allure the pope," faid he in con- 
 clufion, " that I am his friend, not his flat* 
 <f terer." Then afiurning with the cardinal a 
 tone of familiar gaiety which reminded him of 
 his former connexions with the Spaniih minifter, 
 and of one of his Eminence's favourite inclina' 
 tions, " As to you/* faid he, <f moft eminent 
 " fecretary ! I would be ftrongly tempted to give 
 ce you a drubbing, and then to dine with you on 
 " turkey and truffles. Adieu ! I beftow on you 
 * c my benediction." 
 
 But thefe reproaches were inefTe6tual, thefe 
 advices came too late : the pope was too clofely 
 furrounded by evil counfellors, to be any longer 
 acceiLb'e to the voice of reafon. In vain was 
 Cacault vefted with plenipotential authority to 
 negotiate : in vain did Buonaparte fend informa- 
 tion to the pr.pe that his holinefs had it in his 
 
 * The bufmefs is done 'tis all over with you.
 
 295 
 
 power to obtain terms lefs fevere than thofe 
 which had been fent to him from Florence ; 
 that, for his own part, he wiftied " rather to be 
 " the faviour of the head of the church, and of 
 " thofe beautiful countries, than their deftroyer." 
 The only anfwer obtained by Cacault, was, that 
 the court of Rome lay under engagements to 
 the emperor, whom it was therefore neceffary 
 for them to confult in the firfl inftance. 
 
 Accordingly there exifted at that time a very 
 active negotiation between monfignor Albani 
 and the cabinet of Vienna. At firft the inter- 
 preter of the Holy See was very indifferently re- 
 ceived : he heard the court of Rome condemned 
 for having figned the armiftice and formed a 
 connexion with the court of Naples without 
 the emperor's confent ; nor did he obtain more 
 than a hope that his imperial majefty would not 
 abandon the caufe of the church. 
 
 The coldnefs of this reception nearly had the 
 effect of leading back the court of Rome into the 
 path of prudence, and inducing them to refume 
 the negotiations which had been commenced at 
 Florence. Such indeed was the conduct recom- 
 mended by fome of the cardinals, and particu- 
 larly by Valenti and Antici : but the opinion of 
 cardinal Albani pievailed. " There is," fatd he 
 to the congregation, " nothing furprifing in the 
 " reception of which you complain : it is only a
 
 " natural confequence of the German manners: 
 " let us temporife : we may reft affured that the 
 " court of Vienna will again come over to us." 
 
 The event in fome meafure verified the pre- 
 dictions of the cardinal dean. Soon after, a 
 courier from his nephew arrives with informa- 
 tion that the emperor had confented to an alliance 
 with the pontiff, and promifed to fend him ge- 
 neral Col 15, feveral officers, and ten thoufand 
 men, to drive the French from both the lega- 
 tions. 
 
 This intelligence intoxicated with joy the 
 pope and that crowd of fanatics who wiftied for 
 war, from whofe dangers they were perfonally 
 exempt. The delirium appeared univerfal in 
 Rome, becaufe moderate men were filent and 
 fighed in fecret. Whoever fhould have at- 
 tempted to open the eyes of the court of Rome 
 to the inanity of their proje61s, and to the dan- 
 gers which they courted, would have been 
 branded as a Jacobin. The fatal war into which 
 they had determined to plunge, was clothed 
 with all the forms of a war in defence of religion. 
 
 Each body of troops, previous to their de- 
 parture, aflifted at a fermon well calculated to 
 fire their bofoms with fan^icifm. The volun- 
 teer cavalry, before they commenced their 
 march, devoted a week, not to tactical man- 
 oeuvres, but to fpirityal exercifes. On the fixth
 
 297 
 
 of January 1797, were confecrate-3, in Saint-Pe- 
 ter's church, the colours of feveral corps w r ho 
 were ready to take the field. On thofe colours 
 was embroidered a crofs in imitation of the 
 labarum of Conftantine, accompanied by the 
 following infcription, an infallible prefage of 
 victory " In hoc figno vinces" "Go!" cried 
 the fanatic monks who were commiifioned to 
 exhort thofe patriot heroes " go, fight in the 
 " caufe of religion ! Imitate your anceftors ! Go, 
 " and conquer the univerfe !" 
 
 Amid this phrenfy of enthufiafm, it was dif- 
 ficult to obtain a hearing for the language of 
 moderation. Cacault neverthelefs attempted it : 
 he propofed fome conditions which under any 
 other circumftances would have been accepted. 
 The Neapolitan minifter, the marquis del Vafto, 
 who at this time poflefled confiderable influence, 
 acted as mediator in hope of inducing the court 
 of Rome to accede to them. But the congre- 
 gation, being confulted, rejected them almoft 
 unanimoufly ; demanding, as a preliminary, the 
 reftitution of the two legations. 
 
 During thefe tranfa&ions, on the twentieth of 
 January arrives general Colli, whofe prefence 
 infpires the Romans with additional boldnefs. 
 He vifits his holinefs's petty army : he is pleafcd 
 with the foldiers, diflatisfied with the officers : 
 he demands augmentations, particularly in ca-
 
 valry. The pope repofes in him a blind confi- 
 dence, and intrufts him with the exercife of his 
 fovereign power. He ftrains every nerve to 
 complete, under the command of the Auilrian 
 general, the number of at leaft fix thoufand 
 horfe and eight thoufand foot. But Buonaparte 
 is foon to re-appear upon the ftage, and the fcene 
 will quickly change. 
 
 That youthful conqueror, obliged to raife the 
 fiege of Mantua, had marched with a detach- 
 ment of his army to ftrike a blow at Legorn. 
 'At the expiration of three weeks he was re- 
 turned. In the interval of his abfence, the feat- 
 tered parts of his army had formed a union. 
 Our enemies, whofe hopes had been re-animated 
 by that diverfion to a point remote from the 
 principal theatre of the war, now fpeedily faw 
 all their projects overthrown. The year 1796 
 concluded with a feries of fuccefles fo brilliant 
 and rapid and numerous, that the military hiftory 
 of the univerfe cannot perhaps furnifli a more 
 memorable epoch. 
 
 It was during this time that the pope carried 
 on his negotiations with the emperor, ancj> ob- 
 tained from him the promife of ten thoufand 
 men and one of his generals. We already had 
 ftrong reafons for fufpeting this perfidious un- 
 der- plot, when Buonaparte found pofitive proof 
 of it in an intercepted letter from the cardinal
 
 299 
 
 Bufca to monfignor Albani who fo faithfully 
 ferved at Vienna the anti-gallican faction in 
 Rome. The cardinal very explicitly faid in that 
 ] e tter " So Ion g as I am allowed to hope for 
 " affiftance from the emperor, I will temporife 
 " with refpeft to the proportions of peace made 
 " to us by the French." And in another place 
 " Still true to my opinion, and jealous of my 
 " honour, which I think hurt by treating with 
 " the French while there exifts a negotiation 
 " pending between us and the court of Vienna." 
 He fpoke in it with great franknefs refpecling 
 general Colli: he impatiently awaited his ar- 
 rival, he calculated with monfignor Albani the 
 means of exciting a civil war in France, (f with-* 
 " out too deeply implicating the Holy See," Sec. 
 After fuch a difcovery there was no longer 
 any delicacy to be obferved toward the court of 
 Rome. On the thirteenth of Piuviofe (February 
 18, 1797) Buonaparte, from his head-quarters at 
 Bologna, declared, that, the pope having for- 
 mally refufed to execute two articles of the ar- 
 miftice concluded on the fecond of Meffidor 
 preceding having inceffantly continued to ex- 
 cite people to the crufade againft France - 
 having even caufed his troops to advance within 
 ten miles of Bologna having commenced hof- 
 tile negotiations with the court of Vienna and, 
 finally, having refufed to anfwer the pacific
 
 300 
 
 overtures made by citizen Cacault, miniller oi 
 the French republic, &c. the armiftice was 
 broken. 
 
 Immediately after the promulgation of this 
 fpecies of manifefto, the French army invaded 
 the Ecclefiaftical State, feifed upon Irnola, Forli, 
 Cefena (the pope's birth-place); and, in the 
 eutfet, Pius fuffered the lofs of four or five 
 hundred men killed, a thoufand prifoners, four 
 pieces of artillery, &;c. 
 
 Colli, however, was exempt from the difgracc 
 of thefe firft di falters. He had not reached 
 Rome until the twelfth of January; when he 
 immediately beftowed his attention on the orga- 
 uifation of the papal forces. But our warriors 
 gained fo rapid fucceMes that the commander in 
 chief of the troops of the Holy See was foon 
 left without an army to command. In few days 
 the French made themfelves matters of Ro- 
 magna, the duchy of Urbino, and the marqui- 
 fate of Ancona ; and on the thirtieth of Pluviofe 
 (February 18) Buonaparte dated his difpatches 
 from his head-quarters at Tolen^ino, fome leagues 
 beyond Loreto : for the celebrated image of the 
 Virgin at that place had performed no miracles 
 to check the rapidity of our career. The Santa 
 Cafay which contained it, was fituate on an emi- 
 nence commanding the fhore of the Adriatic^ 
 from which it is two miles and half diftant-
 
 Defended by a feeble wail, two (mail forts, and 
 a garrifon of twelve men, what refources did it 
 poffefs for refinance on every fide, and particu- 
 larly on that of the land"? But the beach is un- 
 approachable except by boats : and that wall, 
 thofe forts, the proximity of the fortrefs of An- 
 cona the ftrength of the church containing the 
 treafures, which is folidly built, and fecured with 
 brazen gates the Santa Caja itfelf being coal ;d 
 vvith marble and Ihut with iron doors all thefe 
 circumftances combined were fufficient to pre- 
 fcrve the revered image from the rapacity of 
 the inHcbls. The pope little fufpeted by 
 \vhat kind of infidels this monument of fuper- 
 ftition was to be plundered : it fuffered that fate 
 from the hands of the French fo eafily victorious. 
 A lavifh profufion of diamonds ornamented the 
 Virgin and the infant Jefus : but devotees are 
 credulous and far from quick-fighted , and the 
 profane vifit of Buonaparte was necelTary to 
 convince the world that the greater Dumber of 
 thofe diamonds were equally falfe as the divinity 
 to whom they were confecrated. 
 
 Meanwhile what were the Romans doing ? 
 They had at firft fuffered their imaginations to be 
 dazzled bv the molt brilliant iliufions on feeinjr 
 
 ' O 
 
 that the emperor ferioufly attended to the inter- 
 eils of the Holy See : anti-gallican hatred was 
 fuffered to rage uncontroled : I-'renchmca were.
 
 302 
 
 imprifoned : our commiflioners were infulted, 
 and particularly our minifter Cacault. But, on 
 hearing of the triumphant march of the Gallic 
 army, Rome trembled, and turned her attention 
 toward the means of appeafmg the refentment 
 of the exafperated conqueror. 
 
 That conqueror, however, was lefs formidable 
 than the Romans fuppofed him: he did not wifli 
 to overturn the pontifical throne ; and he now 
 gave a fecond proof of his difpofition in that 
 refpeA. 
 
 When, in the preceding year, after he had 
 invaded the legatine governments of Bologna 
 and Ferrara, there broke forth an infurre&ion in 
 ^he latter, the little town of Lugo, which had 
 been the principal focus of the diforder, was 
 indeed treated with great rigor : but the hand 
 of vengeance flopped there : for Buonaparte 
 aimed only at producing repentance, witnefs, 
 his treatment of cardinal Mattei, archbilhop of 
 Ferrara. 
 
 Sprung from one of the principal families of 
 Rome, and elevated to the higheft dignities of 
 the church, Mattei was as fimple as a village- 
 prieft, and with all the fincerity of his heart a 
 fanatic. At the approach of the French, he had 
 mounted his pulpit and declaimed againft them 
 with truly apoftolic zeal. Buonaparte, victorious 
 in fpite-of his eminence's holy oratory, fent for
 
 303 
 
 him, reprimanded him, and ordered him to pri- 
 fon. On the morrow he fummoned him to his 
 prefence, and made him undergo a long admo- 
 nition, to which the good cardinal made no 
 other anfwer than a humble peccavi*. Buona- 
 parte, affe&ed by his docility, propofed to him, 
 as an atonement for his offences, to go in per- 
 fon to Rome, there to negotiate a folid peace, 
 and thus to fave his country and his fovereign. 
 
 Mattei embraced the offer with enthufiafm, 
 and promifed every thing that was required of 
 him, provided that the fpiritual rights of the 
 Holy See fhould remain inviolate. He more 
 than once repeated (t We can refignedly fub- 
 " mit to every temporal facrifice : but, for God's 
 " fake, dear general ! let us not meddle with fpi- 
 " ritual matters." In this difpofition he fet out 
 for Rome, where at firft he experienced an in- 
 different reception becaufe he made profeffion 
 of pacific fentiments which did not accord with 
 thofe of the Holy See : but it was foon glad 
 to employ his interpofition. 
 
 He had now continued at Rome fince the 
 month of October 1796: and, on the news of 
 Buonaparte's fucceffes, he wrote to that con- 
 queror a pathetic letter which did not fail to 
 produce its intended effect. Buonaparte an- 
 
 * I have tranfgrefled I have done wrong.
 
 304 
 
 fw'sred it on the twenty-fifth of Pluviofe: "I 
 " recognife," faid he to the cardinal, " in the 
 " letter that you have taken the trouble of writ- 
 " ing to me, that fimplicity of manners which 
 " charafterifes you." The general then entered 
 into fome details refpe&ing the caufes of com- 
 plaint which the court of Rome had given to 
 France, and concluded with thefe words " I 
 " am willing once more to prove to entire Eu- 
 " rope the moderation of the directory of the 
 " French republic, by granting him * five days 
 " to fend a negotiator, provided with full powers, 
 " who mall repair to Foligno, where I mail 
 " be," &c. 
 
 Inftead of a fingle plenipotentiary, the pope 
 without delay fent him four his nephew the 
 duke Ludovico-Brafchi, and the marquis Ca-< 
 millo Maffimi, merely for the fake of adding 
 dignity to the tranfadtion the cardinal Mattei, 
 as perfonally known to Buonaparte ^and mon- 
 fignor Gkileppi, an acute and dextrous negoti- 
 ator, and, of the four, the one upon whom he 
 placed the greateft reliance. They had an in- 
 terview with Buonaparte at Tolentino, inftead 
 of Foligno, the place before appointed. 
 
 The conferences at firft proceeded flowly. 
 The plenipotentiaries attempted to higgle about 
 
 * The pope.
 
 $05 
 
 a few millions: but Buonaparte, who was equally 
 in hafte to levy a fort of contribution on the Eo 
 clefiaftical State, and to return and place himfelf 
 again at the head of his army to invade the here- 
 ditary dates of the emperor Buonaparte, tired of 
 the tedious progrefs of the Roman negotiators, 
 faid to cardinal Mattei on the eighteenth of Fe- 
 bruary 1797, " If you do not to-morrow give un- 
 " referved cc nfent to all my proportions, on the 
 ft following day I'll march againft Rome." On 
 the morrow the good cardinal waited on the ge- 
 neral, faying, " We confent to the whole." 
 
 Immediately they began to draw up the ar- 
 ticles : they dined : after dinner the treaty was 
 concluded: they figned it: they fupped, em- 
 braced each other, and feparated. The next 
 day Buonaparte, with the officers of his ftaff, 
 was on his way to Auftria, having left behind 
 him general Victor, who, with an 'army of fifteen 
 thoufand men, formed a line acrofs the Eccle- 
 fiaftical State, from Perugia to Ancona, and 
 remained there until the articles of the treaty 
 were carried into execution. The principal of 
 thofe articles were in fubftance as follow 
 
 The pope (hall pay thirty-one millions. 
 
 He fliall furnifli fixteen hundred horfes fully 
 caparifoned. 
 
 He (hall grant a penfion to the family of 
 BafTeville. 
 
 VOL. ii. X
 
 306 
 
 There fhall be a treaty of commerce con- 
 cluded with France. 
 
 All Romagna (hall be free 5 and there fhall be 
 a French garrifon at Ancona. 
 
 While this treaty was 'under negotiation, the 
 greater part of the Ecclefiaftical State was oc- 
 cupied by the French arms j and all was con- 
 fufion at Rome. Terror had filenced refent- 
 ment. There was neither courage nor unani- 
 mity in the councils.: not a man to be found 
 who was capable of dire&ing the meafures which 
 circumftances required. The pope in particular 
 was panic-ftruck ; and* while his deputies were 
 letting out for Tolentino, he was making his 
 preparations for retiring to Naples. A confi- 
 derable treafure was to have been fent before 
 him to Terracina. On the report of that pro- 
 jecl, the people flocked in crowds to the bank to 
 exchange their cedole, which they offered at a 
 difcount of feventy per cent. The treafure dif- 
 appeared : the pontiff was diverted from his 
 project ; and, to give a different dire&ion to the 
 peo'ple's thoughts, he lavifhly treated them with 
 procefficns, the forty hours' prayers, and pulpit 
 invective againft the French. 
 
 With refpeft to general Colli, he foon per- 
 ceived that he had been placed at the head of 
 troops who ran away at the flighteft fhadow of 
 danger. He had reafon to congratulate himfelf 
 o'n the refolution which the pope had taken of
 
 so? 
 
 terminating fo unfortunate a war with all pof- 
 fible fpeed : but he had the mortification of 
 feeing the pontiff's deputies fet out to beg a 
 peace at Tolentino without giving him any no- 
 tice, and the treaty afterward figned without 
 any intimation to him of what was going for- 
 ward. Never had a campaign been of Ihort- 
 er duration, never miflion lefs fuccefsful. He 
 hafted to quit a theatre where he had found 
 neither glory nor refpeft. 
 
 The pope had much ftronger claims to pity, 
 if indeed companion be due to merited misfor- 
 tunes. He faw the fabric of his hopes over- 
 thrown, three of his provinces irrecoverably lon% 
 his coffers empty, his fubjefts difcontented, and 
 already exhaufted by the pecuniary efforts which, 
 the armiftiee had required. New exertions 
 however were neceffary to fulfil the conditions 
 of the recent treaty. On the twenty-fourth of 
 February, the cardinal Bufca published a mourn- 
 ful proclamation, in which he reminded the 
 pontiff's fubje&s, that, " on the fixth of July 
 " preceding, they had been called upon to de.- 
 " liver up the whole of their plate ; that after- 
 <c ward the pope had gracioufly contented him- 
 " felf with one half; but that, the prefent con- 
 " jun&ure being yet more critical than the for-. 
 " mer, his holinefs commanded that the remain- 
 " ing moiety of thofe articles of gold and filver 
 
 X 2
 
 308 
 
 '* fliould within the fpace of three days be ca*- 
 " ried to the pontifical treafury." 
 
 This was one of the laft public a&s performed 
 by that cardinal Bufca who had fo infolently 
 betrayed the confidence repofed in him by the 
 minifters of France and Spain. The pope, to 
 convince the French government of the fincerity 
 of his converfion, thought it neceffary to difmifs 
 the perfidious minifter who had led him aftray, 
 and well nigh ruined him. By that flep he par- 
 ticularly wifhed to appeafe the chevalier Azara, 
 whom a very juil refentment kept as it were 
 in exile at Florence. Accordingly, as foon as 
 Bufca was retired from office, prefling felicita- 
 tions were made to induce the Spanifli minifter 
 to return to Rome. Accordingly he did return, 
 but not till after the expiration of a month. 
 The pride of the Holy See, however, would not 
 fuffer the public to entertain an idea that it was 
 folely for the purpofe of gratifying the court of 
 Madrid that the cardinal had been difmiffed. A 
 report was fpread in Rome that the pope had 
 only yielded to the exprefs defire of Bufca him- 
 felf. 
 
 The choice of a perfon to fucceed him was 
 embarrailing. The poft of prime minifter could 
 not be given to any cardinal againft whom ftrong 
 prepoileilions were entertained by the French 
 government a circumltance which necefiarily
 
 309 
 
 excluded a great number of the members of the 
 Sacred .College. The Neapolitan minifter, the 
 marquis del Vafto, was at this time all-powerful 
 in Rome. He was the foul of the party who 
 had hurried the Holy See into ill-judged mea- 
 fures, and whofe hopes had been fo completely 
 difappointed. He had recently cemented an al- 
 liance between his family and that of the cardi- 
 nal Doria, of whom a favourable idea had been 
 formed in France, and with whom the French 
 and Spanifh minifters had always lived on a 
 footing of intimacy. He thought that the choice 
 of fuch a miniiter would reconcile all the dif- 
 ferent interefts ; and, while he only confulted his 
 own private affettion, he well enough promoted 
 our views. The cardinal Doria united a good 
 underftanding with purity of intentions, but pof- 
 fefled neither the experience nor the energy 
 which the circumftances of the times would have 
 required. He did not perfonally merit any fe- 
 rious reproaches from us : and, though he was 
 unable to fupport the tottering fabric of the Ro- 
 man government, at lead he did not contribute 
 to accelerate its fall. 
 
 But that government had already received the 
 fatal (hock, and the peace ot Tolentino could 
 not fave it from ruin. That pacification had only 
 increafed the di falters, the difcontonts, and the 
 cxhauition of the ftate. The papal territories 
 X 3
 
 were every-where maken by violent conVulfions . 
 in the marquifate of Ancona, at Macerata, at 
 lefi, at Monte-Sant-Elpidio, infurrecYionary at- 
 tacks were made upon the French j nor was it 
 without bloody executions that the rebels could 
 be reprefled. In the duchy of Urbino, on the 
 contrary, where the Gallic invafion had excited 
 a relifh and a hope of liberty, the people felt 
 extreme reluctance to bend their necks anew to 
 the pontifical yoke : and in a ftate much more 
 contiguous to the capital, in the Perugino, there 
 exifted a wifli to (hake off the papal chain, and 
 form a union with the Cis-Padane republic. 
 Never had any country groaned under the inflic- 
 tion of fo many fcourges at the fame moment. 
 
 The refentment of Spain furnifhed an addi- 
 tional caufe of chagrin to the Holy See. Charles 
 IV. had felt deep indignation at the manner in 
 which the court of Rome had behaved toward 
 the chevalier Azara : and he thought it incon- 
 fiftent with his dignity that he mould again make 
 his appearance there until he had received fignal 
 fatisfa&ion. Neverthelefs, when the Spanifh 
 monarch faw the Ecclefiaftical State invaded by 
 our troops, and the holy father threatened in his 
 very capital, his filial piety was moved : the 
 chevalier Azara was authorifed to return to his 
 poft, and accordingly he went back to Rome in 
 April 1 797.
 
 311 
 
 Charles went further, but under the influence 
 of certain motives which the Holy See did not 
 perhaps fufpect till afterward. There were then 
 at his court two prelates, fuppofed to be very active 
 intriguers, and whom a prevalent party wifhed 
 to remove out of the way under fame plaufible 
 pretext. The critical pofition in which his ho- 
 Jinefs at this time frood, furnifhed fuch a pre- 
 text : a propofal was made to them of going to 
 compliment the pope, to give him confolation, 
 to aid him by their counfels : and, for the pur- 
 pofe of concealing the real object of this miffion, 
 the precaution was taken of decorating it by 
 the addition of a prelate refpectable for his cha- 
 racter, as well as the regularity of his conduct 
 and his exalted dignity the cardinal Loren- 
 zana, archbilhop of Toledo. The two prelates 
 who accompanied him were d'Efpuig, archbi- 
 fliop of Seville, who had formerly been at Rome 
 in the quality of auditor of the Reta and Muf- 
 quiz, archbifhop of Seleucia, and ghoftly di- 
 reclor to the queen. 
 
 Thefe three prelates fet out under a perfua- 
 fion that they were going to fulfil a very impor- 
 tant miffion. D'Efpuig, in particular, who en- 
 tertained ambitious views, did not doubt that it 
 would conduct him to the honours of the cardi- 
 nalate and the office' of protector of the churches 
 of Spain. The cardinal Lorenzana, much more 
 ? 4
 
 312 
 
 fimple in his manners as well as his defires, and 
 fincerely attached to the Holy See, undertook 
 the journey to Rome as an apoftolic peregrina- 
 tion. He was a devoted fon going to aid his pa- 
 rent in diftrefs. The reverend fathers of the 
 order of Mercy, with whom he had formerly had 
 connexions, had prepared a lodging in their con- 
 vent for him and his two fellow-travellers. The 
 chevalier Azara had recently returned to Rome, 
 where he flill had numerous enemies. Wifhing 
 to remove the cardinal Lorenzana beyond the 
 reach of their influence, he urgently prefled him 
 to come and refide in the palace of Spain. The 
 two' other prelates remained with the monks of 
 the order of Mercy, and fodn difcovered the 
 inanity of their miflion. 
 
 This triple embafly, which had made fomuch 
 noife in Spain and Italy, finally appeared to have 
 had no other objett than a fimple homage paid 
 by his catholic? majefty to the head of the church. 
 The archbifhop of Seville and the queen's con- 
 feffor returned to Spain after the expiration of a 
 few months ; the cardinal Lorenzana alone con- 
 tinuing with the pope, whom he did not aban- 
 don even in his concluding misfortunes. This 
 was one confolation which the pious and humane 
 Charles wiftied to leave to the dethroned pontiff. 
 
 Commotions, anxieties of every kind, lively 
 alarms, ferious loffes, a cataftrophe which coft
 
 313 
 
 him at once his money and his peace and his 
 glory, humiliations, infurreftions, every thing 
 that can render a prince's reign tempeftuous 
 fuch were the events that marked for Pius the 
 chief part of the year 1797. H was as deeply 
 affected by them as he poflibly could be : he 
 was attacked by fo fevere a malady during the 
 month of May, that the choice of a fucceflbr 
 was already become an object of deliberation. 
 Three candidates were placed on the lift Mat- 
 tei, whofe interpofition had obtained peace for 
 the Holy See, and who was fuppofed to be lefs 
 difagreeable to France than any other cardinal 
 Antici, whofe addrefs and activity we have 
 more than once had occafion to mention and 
 Chiarainonte, who was fupported by the older 
 cardinals who were the moft ftrongly attached to 
 the obfolete pretenfions of the court of Rome. 
 
 Pius's recovery fruftrated many calculations, 
 difappointed many hopes, aitd even excited dif- 
 fatisfaclion among the Romans, who are more 
 deiirous of changes than any other people. The 
 duke Brafchi felt the effects of their ill-humour: 
 coming out from his convalefcent uncle, he was 
 ftunned with a peal of hifles ; and, not daring to 
 return to his own palace, he immediately fet out 
 for Terracina, taking his way through his duchy 
 cf Nemi. This was a new fymptom of that fe-r-
 
 314 
 
 mentation which was beginning to difcover itfelf 
 in feveral parts of the papal dominions, and even 
 at Rome, where the fcarcity of fpecie inflamed 
 the public difcontent to the higheft degree. 
 That thirft of revolution which had already pof- 
 fefled a certain portion of the people, mowed 
 itfelf in various modes. On the gate of that 
 fame duke Brafchi, had been written in red 
 letters thefe menacing words " Arrendetevi, 
 " tiranni ! O morte, o liberla * !" Bills were alfo 
 ftuck up in various places, holding forth the fame 
 alarming alternative. The Carmagnole and other 
 patriotic airs were publicly fung ; and people 
 were heard to fay aloud in the ftreets, " As foon 
 " as the pope dies, the face of affairs will be 
 " changed." No meafures were fpared that 
 could tend to provoke an infurredlion, or at leaft 
 to excite the apprehenfion of fuch an event. In 
 one place was read on the walls, " The time is 
 " come ;" in another, " Rome is in her laft 
 " agony f." In the beginning of Auguft, a 
 paper was feen pofted up, which contained the 
 following lines : 
 
 * Submit, ye tyrants ! Death or liberty 1 
 
 f Literally, " at the extreme unElion? in allufion to the 
 popifh ceremony of anointing fick perfons with confecrated oil 
 in their laft agonies.
 
 315 
 
 ** Non abbiamo pazienza : 
 " Non vogliamo pid eminenza, 
 " Non vogliamo piil fantita, 
 " Ma eguaglianza e liberta *." 
 
 For fome time the Roman government con- 
 tinued to witnefs thefe diforders with nearly paf- 
 five apathy : but about the middle of the year 
 1 797 tne y appeared to afTume fo alarming an 
 afpecl:, that it very unfeafonably relinquished that 
 fyftem of torpid ina&ivity, which never could 
 have proved fo fatal to it as the vigilance and 
 feverity that it thought neceflary to be exerted 
 in . thefe latter times. The garrifon of Rome 
 was changed, and augmented with additional 
 force: the caftle of Saint- Angelo was fupplied 
 with provifions and ammunition, as if there had 
 exifted an intention of making it fuftain a regu- 
 lar fiege ; and troops were ftationed in different 
 quarters of the city. 
 
 Thefe, however, were only precautionary mea- 
 fures, for which the influence of urgent terror 
 might be admitted as a reafonable apology : but 
 when the government was feen to employ more- 
 over the expedients of trembling and opprefiive 
 defpotifm to arreft perfons who appearedy/^/- 
 cious, fuch as Angelucci, a Ikilful furgeon and a 
 zealous patriot, who has fince been fo amply 
 
 * Our patience is exhaufted : we do not choofe to have any 
 more Eminences or Holinefles, but liberty and equality.
 
 316 
 
 avenged for that tranfient outrage two bro- 
 thers, of the name of Bouchard, bookfellers 
 Afcanelli, a rich Jew, in whofe houfe were af- 
 ferted to have been found ten thoufand yellow 
 cockades (the colour worn by the Romans), a 
 quantity of fire-arms, three trees of liberty, &c. 
 from that moment people faid that " the lall 
 ** hour of the papacy was at hand." 
 
 The pecuniary embarrafifments, which alone 
 would have been fufficient to excite a revolu- 
 tion, were a ferious addition to the many already 
 exifting caufes of anxiety. The contribution 
 which the French had exacted by the treaty of 
 Tolentino, had exhaufted every public, every 
 private, coffer. The pontiff had been obliged 
 to repeat his emiflions of cedole, confequently to 
 depreciate dill lower that paper-money which 
 was already in fo low a ftate of depreciation. 
 The riches of the church ftill prefented him with 
 fome refources. Thofe fcruples which refpecl 
 that facred property in ordinary times, were now 
 wholly unfeafonable : accordingly, in the month 
 of Auguft, all the clergy, fecular and regular, 
 were ordered to exhibit a minute ftatement of 
 their property, and within fix months to furnifh 
 a loan to the amount of one-fixth of its value at 
 an intereft of three per cent. 
 
 This edict increafed the public difcontent. 
 The clergy openly -accufed Pius of violating the 
 facred canons, the bulls, and the oaths by which
 
 317 
 
 he had bound himfelf on his acceffion to the 
 pontifical throne. He had gone to Vienna, they 
 obferved, " for the exprefs purpofe of diverting. 
 " Jofeph II. from his intention of devoting a part 
 " of the church property to the neceffities of his 
 " ftate ; and now himfelf imitated the conduct 
 " of that philofophic prince." The pope could 
 hardly appear in public without being hooted 
 and biffed. Several cardinals were even infulted 
 with abufive language, among others the cardi- 
 nal Carandini, who fell fick of chagrin in confe- 
 quence of it. The Roman purple was not ac- 
 cuftomed to be treated with fuch irreverence. 
 But it was principally againft the cardinal ne- 
 phew that the torrent of popular indignation 
 was directed. His name, furrounded with dif- 
 graceful epithets, was difplayed in all the in- 
 flammatory bills with which every wall in Rome 
 was covered. 
 
 The fermentation now r fpread through all 
 ranks and all ages. At this period was difco- 
 vered a kind of confpiracy formed among the 
 ftudents, who were impatient of the yoke of 
 their preceptors, and enamoured of the tricolor 
 'cockade. The elements of a revolution were 
 collecting and combining ; and it was forefeen 
 that a fingle fpark falling among this heap of 
 combuftible materials would produce a confla- 
 gration : but it did not yet appear probable that
 
 318 
 
 it would be France who mould fet fire to it by 
 hurling her thunder into the collected pile. 
 Still fmaller feemed the probability that a go- 
 vernment which by its weaknefs was fo deeply 
 interefted in preventing every crifis, fhould itfelf 
 provoke that under which it fank in ruin. A 
 feeble government, long known to be fuch, can- 
 not with impunity make a difplay of force. 
 The arrefts, the proscriptions, inftead of curing, 
 exafperated the difeafe ; and defpotifm, after a 
 vain effort to infpire terror, was itfelf terrified in 
 tifrn. 
 
 Under pretence of maintaining peace in the 
 city, the regular troops and militia received or- 
 ders to- hold themfelves in readinefs for every 
 event. The pope required that fix men of the 
 company which conftituted his guard of honour 
 (hould be polled every night in his ante-chamber, 
 and the fame number on the outfide of the Va- 
 tican. The time was now no more when his 
 guards were only employed for the decoration 
 of his .court ! Without having ever indulged in 
 any violent exceffes, he faw himfelf, by vanity 
 and improvidence and obftinacy, reduced to the 
 painful condition of fufpicious tyrants. 
 
 Amid this general fubverfion produced by the 
 conflict of fo many contending paiTions, it was 
 almoft impoffible to advance a ftep in any direc- 
 tion without exciting murmurs. The individuals,
 
 319 
 
 whether French or Romans, who were held 
 in confinement, loudly complained of injuftice 
 and oppreffion : they maintained, that, fince 
 they fuffered on account of the Gallic revolu- 
 tion, whoever was vefted with any power by the 
 French government was of courfe their natural 
 protector; nor could they pardon either luke- 
 warmnefs, tardinefs, or even difcuffion, on the 
 part of the political or military agents whofe rn- 
 terpofition they implored. 
 
 During thefe tranfaftions, arrived at Rome, as 
 minifler plenipotentiary of the French republic, 
 Jofeph Buonaparte, brother to the general. Every 
 eye was anxiouily turned toward this new repre- 
 fentative of France : every individual ftudied to 
 interpret his moft trifling words, his moft iniigni- 
 ficant actions : the devotees thought or affected 
 to think that a French republican muft neceffa- 
 rily be a man of repulfive demeanour, regardlefs 
 of the cuftoms of different countries, and efpe- 
 cially void of religion. They were therefore 
 agreeably furprifed to find him conciliating, full 
 of urbanity, and particularly to fee him go to 
 mafs. His behaviour in the outlet, his language, 
 itruck them as ominous of good j and the parti- 
 fans of the Holy See began to imagine that it 
 yet refted on folid foundations. The French re- 
 publjc, however, ftill had reafon to be difpleafed 
 with it on more than one ground
 
 320 
 
 It kept on foot a greater number of troops 
 than it ought to have done after the conclusion 
 of the peace : 
 
 Romans, foreigners, particularly Frenchmen, 
 were perfecuted through hatred of the Gallic 
 revolution : 
 
 The pope feemed to feel a repugnance to the 
 formation of any connexion with the Cis-Alpine 
 republic : 
 
 French emigrants and refraftory priefts, even 
 fince the eighteenth of Fru&idor in the fifth 
 year of the republic (Sept. 4, 1797), flocked in 
 crowds to Rome, and were there well received: 
 
 Finally, a new Auftrian general, Provera, was 
 come from .Vienna to take the command of the 
 papal troops. 
 
 The minifter Buonaparte energetically ex- 
 plained himfelf on all thefe heads, and obtained 
 fome half-fucceffes. The peace of Campo-For-^ 
 mio had recently been figned; and the court of 
 Rome could not now entertain any perfidious 
 hope, any concealed plan lurking behind the 
 veil of ftudied appearances. 
 
 Several of the perfons detained in prifon were 
 fet at liberty, and, among others, Angelucci 
 and the two brothers of the name of Bouchard. 
 After a fhort time, thofe three martyrs of liberty 
 fet out from Rome, as it were in triumph, and 
 amid the acclamations of the multitude, to go
 
 and prefent themfelves to Buonaparte at Raftadt, 
 and thank him for their deliverance, which was 
 in great meafure his work. The enthufiafm 
 which they excited, efpecially at the moment of 
 their departure, gave confiderable umbrage to 
 the friends of the papacy, who faid that thofe 
 exceffive demonftrations of joy were " infults to 
 " the government." 
 
 In truth, the Roman government were in 
 every point of view degraded. They had no- 
 body to whom they could intruft the command of 
 their petty army : they had not been able to re- 
 tain Provera who had been fent to them by the 
 court of Vienna ; for Buonaparte had informed 
 the pope, through the medium of his brother, 
 that, unlefs that Auftrian general quitted Rome 
 within twenty-four hours, he would march into 
 the Ecclefiaftical State and recommence hofti- 
 lities. 
 
 The cardinal Doria was commiflioned to 
 communicate to Provera the intentions of the 
 French general, and accompanied the execution 
 of that difagreeable tafk with all the forms which 
 could tend to render it excufable. Provera only 
 requefted a refpite of two days, which was 
 granted to him. Previous to his departure, he 
 waited on the pope, who received him with tears 
 in his eyes, and allured him that nothing but 
 
 VOL. II. Y
 
 522 
 
 force could reduce him to that extremity. The 
 next day Provera was on his way to Naples. 
 
 At the fame time the papacy ftood in a very 
 embarrafling pofition with refpecl to the Cis- 
 Alpine republic, a dangerous and importunate 
 neighbour, who, indignant at the proofs of ill- 
 will given to her by the court of Rome, had al- 
 ready determined to declare war againft the 
 Holy See. Pius fent to Milan a minifter com- 
 miflioned in his name to acknowledge the new 
 republic. But this tardy recognition did not 
 difarm the anger of the Cis-Alpine government, 
 which had not only reproaches in referve for the 
 papacy, but alfo claims to advance at its ex- 
 pen fe. 
 
 Thofe claims related to certain portions of the 
 marq.uifate of Ancona and of the duchy of Ur- 
 bino, which had been difmembered from the ex- 
 archate of Ravenna by king Pepin, and given to 
 pope Stephen III. This was going very far 
 back in queft of very feeble arguments : but the 
 Cis-Alpine government added arguments of a 
 more conclufive nature to thefe diplomatic pre- 
 tenfions : it dire&ed Dombrowfki, a Polifli ge- 
 neral in its fervice, to feife upon fort Santo-Le- 
 one, fituate on the frontier of the duchy of Ur- 
 bino. The peafants of the furrounding coun- 
 try, called together by the found of the tocfin,
 
 323 
 
 and animated by that devotion, or rather that 
 fpirit of fanaticifm, with which pains had long 
 been taken to infpire them the unfortunate 
 peafants engaged in combat with the Cis-Alpine 
 troops. This firft fcene of civil war between 
 the inhabitants of Italy was pretty bloody. 
 Better conduct could not have' been expected of 
 the papal militia. The fort of Santo-Leone 
 even made fome refiftance* The commandant, 
 however, yielded to menaces, but obtained the 
 honours of war. For the prefent, the vi&orioiis 
 troops did not proceed farther. 
 
 Confirmation prevailed in Rome on the in- 
 telligence of this aggreflion. The government 
 was oppreffed by too many calamities to think' 
 of defending itfelf. Scarcity of cam, popular 
 murmurs, ruinous meafures of finance, exunda- 
 tions of the Tiber^ infurre&ions in various parts 
 of the Ecclefiaftical State every circumftance 
 concurred in overwhelming the pontiff with a 
 weight of folicitude. The firft and only plan 
 that prefented itfelf to his mind was that of ap- 
 peafing the refentment of his enterprifmg neigh- 
 bours with all poffible fpeed : for which purpofe, 
 he framed, in concert with the minifter Buona- 
 parte, a memorial in which he acknowledged 
 the Cis-Alpine republic, and teftified the moft 
 earneft defire of living on good terms with it. 
 y z
 
 324 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Immediate Caufe of the Downfall of the Roman 
 Government. 
 
 W E now approach that epoch fo decrfive for 
 the Holy See the twenty-eighth of December 
 1797, from which day we may date its fub- 
 veriion. 
 
 Ten or fifteen days, however, previous to 
 that period, there did not yet appear any of thofe 
 fymptoms that are ufually precurfive to a fink- 
 ing cataftrophe. The difcontent of the people 
 was indeed ftrongly marked ; and it arofe from 
 various motives the dearnefs of provifions, the 
 daily increafing depreciation of the cedole, and 
 feveral edicts refpecling money-matters, which 
 alarmed the indigent clafs of the community : 
 But it did not appear probable that thefe grie- 
 vances mould fo foon have produced a univcrfal 
 in fur reel ion, much lefs the overthrow of an an- 
 cient government to which the people were at- 
 tached by numerous ties. There were in Rome 
 many perfons of different ranks who profeflect
 
 325 
 
 the maxims of the French revolution : but they 
 were not all equally refpeftable for their con- 
 duel; and there were but a very fmall number 
 whofe influence could appear formidable to the 
 Holy See. A little aftivity in the police would 
 perhaps have proved fufficient to keep thefe in 
 fubjeftion for a long time : and nothing lefs than 
 one of thofe great events which forcibly fpeak 
 to the fenfes fuch as the fuicide of Lucretia, 
 or the blood-flained garb of Casfar would 
 have been requifite to produce a revolution fo 
 fudden, fo complete, from elements apparently 
 fo weak. 
 
 The pontiff himfelf affeQed the mod perfect 
 fecurity amid the weighty fubje&s of inquietude 
 by which he was environed. He went every 
 day to prayers at the Vatican, and afterward to 
 take an airing a few miles out of Rome. What- 
 ever anxiety he felt, folely regarded the refult 
 of his negotiation at Milan, whither he had 
 fent on million a cardinal who gave him little 
 hope. The Cis-Alpine republic mowed no dif- 
 pofition to conciliation : it kept provifional pof- 
 fcfiion of the fort of Santo-Leone : it talked 
 of withdrawing from the pawn-banks of Rome 
 the fums which its citizens had lodged thefe 
 ivhile they remained under the Auftrian dominion. 
 
 The priefts, afting pcrfe&ly in character, 
 continued to inflame the weak minds, to fofter
 
 326 
 
 in them an averfion to French principles, and 
 to mourn over the calamities of the church : 
 they ran from temple to temple, from ftreet to 
 ftreet, preaching and prediling " the end of 
 * c the world,'' and, according to the cuftom 
 which has ever prevailed, calling in the aid of 
 miracles to fupport their prophecies. They had 
 not an idea th&t they were fo near the end of 
 their reign, which to them infaft was tf the end 
 * of the world." 
 
 At this time there was in Rome a prophetefs 
 of another kind a French woman named la 
 BroufTe, who was with all fincerity a fanatic, or 
 rather under the influence of fober madnefs. 
 She foretold that the empire of the popes was 
 drawing near to its end ; that heaven was weary 
 of it ; and that (lie would not depart from Rome 
 till fhe had feen that prediHon accomplished. 
 At any other time her extravagancies would have 
 excited only laughter or pity : but at the pre- 
 fent period they co-incided with much more 
 alarming fymptoms; and they did not fail to 
 produce fome fcnfation. 
 
 Such were the various difpofitions of the in- 
 habitants of Rome at the moment of the filently 
 gathering and almoft unperceived ftorm which 
 broke forth on the twenty-eighth of December. 
 
 We live at too fliort a diftance from that event 
 to ufe the language of hiftory in relating it.
 
 327 
 
 The paflions have on both fides disfigured its 
 features ; nor would they, on either hand, pardon 
 that impartiality which fliould fairly appreciate 
 what was in great meafure their work. A fum- 
 mary of facts, therefore, and a ftatement of their 
 confequences, will be fufficient for the per- 
 formance of the talk which we have undertaken 
 to fulfil. 
 
 It appears from the temperate report fent by 
 the ambaffador Buonaparte, on the eleventh of 
 Nivofe, to the minifter of foreign relations, that 
 neither he, nor the chevalier Azara whom his fa- 
 gacity and long experience rendered fo com- 
 petent a judge of fuch matters, had conceived 
 that a popular commotion, attempted five days 
 before, bore any characteristic of a nature that 
 could juftly alarm the government; and that, far 
 from concurring in it, the French minifter had 
 marked it with his difapprobation. The papal 
 foldiery, if dire&ed by prudent orders or guided 
 by well-intentioned chiefs, would have been fuf- 
 ficient to quell that difturbance without effufion of 
 blood. But the infurgents having run to take re- 
 fuge within the jurifdictioncf the French ambaf- 
 fador's palace, which ought to have been for them 
 not a place of head-quarters as they pretended, but 
 an inviolable afylum, the armed force, equally vile 
 as atrocious, had the audacity to purfue them in- 
 to its precinfts, and to convert that afylum into a 
 Y 4
 
 328 
 
 theatre of battle. Already the law of nations 
 was moft glaringly violated : and this firft trans* 
 greflion, not having been prevented, not having 
 been immediately atoned for, was fufficient very 
 ferioufly to inculpate the Roman government : 
 but it was followed by a fecond crime which 
 decided the ruin of the papacy. 
 
 Among thofe by whom the French ambafiador 
 was furrounded, and who ccr-operated with him 
 in checking the effervefcence of- the infurgents 
 and particularly the blind fury of the pontiff's 
 fatellites, was general Duphot, fo honourably 
 diftinguifhed by his brilliant courage. He fprang 
 toward that infuriate band who had already im- 
 molated fo many unfortunate victims in the 
 courts and the veftibule and even on the (lair- 
 cafes of the French palace; and that young 
 hero, whom Hymen was preparing to unite 
 within few days with the lifter of general Buo- 
 naparte, fell, the victim of his generous de- 
 votion, under the repeated ftrokes of the bafe 
 Wretches whofe rage he had hoped to appeafe. 
 
 The chevalier Angioiini, the Tufcan minifter, 
 had hardly received intelligence of this mocking 
 tranfaftion when he hafted to the minifter of 
 France to participate his dangers, and difplayed 
 in this critical moment equal prudence and 
 courage. Animated by the fame fentiments, 
 the chevalier Azara configned to oblivion every
 
 329 
 
 fubjeQ: of complaint which he had againfl the 
 Holy, See, and folely defirous of ferving it at 
 the fame time that he afforded to the French a 
 new teftimony of his affe&ion, and to the city 
 of Rome a frefh proof of his prudence and firm- 
 nefs he flew to the Vatican. 
 
 The pope was tick : his fecretary of ftate was 
 wholly ignorant of what had happened at the 
 French ambaflador's palace , and, two hours 
 after the event, the Roman government had not 
 yet taken the flighted ftep in confequence of it- 
 It was neverthelefs by its orders that the de- 
 tachment of cannibals had been fent againft the 
 infurgent crowd j and after having let them 
 loofe into that theatre of blood, it had not 
 appointed any perfon to watch or direft or re- 
 ftrain them ! Even if the Roman government 
 had been guilty v of no other crime than that in- 
 conceivable improvidence, could it poilibly have 
 cfcaped the refentment of the French republic? 
 
 After the fcene of which the minifter Buona- 
 parte had been a witnefs at the fight of the life- 
 lefs corfe of his unfortunate compatriot who 
 had been on the point of becoming his kins- 
 man, and who, after having braved death in 
 the field of glory, had received the fatal wound 
 from the hands of an unbridled foldiery he 
 conceived that the dignity of his charaler, 
 much more than the care of his perfonal fafcty,
 
 330 
 
 forebade his longer (lay in a place where the 
 moft facred rights were violated, and certain 
 impunity feemed to await the violation. 
 
 It would not be credited, if Jofeph Buona- 
 parte had not himfelf affirmed the fact, that 
 fourteen hours were elapfed after the murder of 
 general Duphot, before a ftngle Roman pre- 
 Tented himfelf to inquire into the ftate of affairs. 
 
 During that interval the French anibaffador 
 had written feveral letters to the fecretary of 
 ftate to acquaint him with his firm determination 
 of quitting Rome, and to demand of him the 
 neceflary paflports. The cardinal Doria vainly 
 attempted to prevail on him to ftay : the am- 
 baflador departed the next morning for Florence, 
 whence he tranfmitted to the French directory a 
 narrative of what had happened in Rome. He 
 took charge of a difpatch from the cardinal to 
 the marquis Maffimi, at that time the fovereign 
 pontiff's minifter in Paris. In that difpatch 
 Doria deplored, in the name of the holy father 
 and in his own, an event which it had, by his 
 account, been impofTible for them either to 
 forefee or prevent. " You are to requeft of the 
 " dire&ory," faid he to the marquis, " that 
 " they will demand whatever fatisfaclion they 
 " think proper. To demand and to obtain it, 
 " will be the fame thing : for neither his holi- 
 nefs nor I nor the court of Rome will ever be
 
 331 
 
 * c eafy in mind until certain that the directory is 
 fatisfied." 
 
 It will naturally be afked how the pope and his 
 fecretary were employed during that fcene which 
 now called forth thofe expreflions of their tardy 
 repentance. Every circumftance proves that car- 
 dinal Doria, incapable of guiding the reins of go- 
 vernment in difficult times, and equally incapable 
 of any participation in a confpiracy of which he 
 muft have fallen one of the firft victims, had made 
 KO preparation, and that, at the moment of the 
 explofion, his reafon was quite bewildered. 
 As to the pope, the ftate of his health, if we 
 may believe Doria's account, did not allow that 
 he mould even be informed of the affair before 
 night. It appears therefore that neither the one 
 nor the other was chargeable on this occafion 
 with any thing more than very great improvi- 
 dence. Accordingly, the ambaffador Buonaparte, 
 though fired with juft refentment, did not incul- 
 pate either the pontiff or his minifter : he even 
 thought it is duty, at the moment of his de- 
 parture, to give the fecretary of ftate a laft tef- 
 timony of his perfonal efteem, and to affure him 
 that he would retain " the mod cordial re- 
 " membrance of the character and the conduct 
 " and the polite and friendly behaviour of the 
 " cardinal Doria, whofe goodnefs of heart was 
 *f not in its proper fphere among the irrecon-
 
 c< cilable enemies of the French name who flill 
 " governed the court of Rome." 
 
 Scarcely was Jofeph Buonaparte gone from 
 the city when the chevalier Azara was earneftly 
 entreated in the pope's name to exert his efforts 
 to recall him. The Spanifh minifter, whofe in- 
 terpofition it was now fomewhat too late to 
 invoke, contented himfelf with anfwering that 
 he was prohibited to take any further concern 
 in the affairs of Rome. Befides, Jofeph Buona- 
 parte was very little difpofed to yield to felici- 
 tations of that kind. He thus wrote on the 
 fubjecl: to the rulers of the French republic 
 " This government does not fwerve from its 
 " ufual character. Crafty and ram in com- 
 " palling 'Criminal deeds, bafe and groveling 
 " after they have been committed, it now lies 
 " proftrate at the feet of the minifter Azara, 
 ft entreating him to come to me at Florence, 
 " and bring me back to Rome/' 
 
 A 'government thus appreciated could not 
 hope to obtain pardon ; and vengeance clofely 
 followed the crime which it had at leaft fuffered 
 to be perpetrated. 
 
 In the infliction of that vengeance the Cis- 
 Alpines took the lead. Scarcely were they in- 
 formed of what had happened at Rome, when 
 loud accents of indignation refounded in their 
 political affemblies and in their private focietics.
 
 333 
 
 At Milan, on every fide, were heard the cries of 
 " Death to the affaffin pontiff ! Vengeance to 
 <c our deliverers !" In the conftituttonal circle a 
 levy of troops was recommended, for the pur- 
 pofe of making war on the pope : and while 
 the Italian and French forces were already on 
 their march toward his dominions, letters from 
 Milan faid " Soon fhall that Tiber which is 
 " flained with the blood of our brethren that 
 " Capitol inhabited by aflaflin priefts that 
 " Field of Mars which bluQies to be trodden by 
 " a nation of flaves be purified from the accu- 
 " mulated crimes and ignominy and fervitude of 
 " twenty centuries." 
 
 Meantime difmay and confirmation had feifed 
 upon all thofe who flood in confpicuous ftations 
 in Rome. The government difpatched couriers 
 in every direction, and ftrove to intereft in its 
 favour the courts of Florence, of Naples, and of 
 Vienna. More fufpicious and implacable than 
 at any former period now, at a time when its 
 own feeblenefs and the impending danger mould 
 have enforced the praftice of at leaft mildnefs 
 and moderation, it multiplied the number of 
 imprifonments ; and, mingling religious murn- 
 mery with political rigor, it fufpended all thea- 
 tric entertainments, appointed a jubilee, and 
 prayers, and fermons. 
 
 Recovered from its firft 'ftupor, it puts into
 
 334 
 
 circulation a moft true and faithful ftatement, in 
 which it depicls the condu6t of the French in 
 the moft odious colours. A Roman journalifl 
 carries ftill farther the audacity of unblufhinjr 
 
 1 O 
 
 impudence : he announces to the univerfe that 
 the pope is preparing to " arm a hundred and 
 *' fixty thoufand men, and to drive France back 
 " within her ancient limits," He formally gives 
 the lie to the editor of the Florence gazette : 
 " What muft," fays he, " above every thing 
 " elfe, excite the indignation of the public, is 
 * e the intolerable impudence with which fome 
 * c people have endeavoured, by a heap of falfe- 
 " hoods, to blacken the conduct of the pontifi- 
 " cal government, on the occafion of an event 
 <c which the time and the circumftances and a 
 <c connefted feries of facts render fo notorious as 
 " to create an impoffibility of its affording room 
 " for either mifconception or controverfy. But 
 " the world will fee who has been the author 
 " of the popular commotions, what means have 
 " been employed, what fchemes have been con- 
 < certed, to realife the plan of producing a re- 
 " volution among the people of Rome, ever 
 " faithful to their God and to their fovereign. 
 <c A glance of the eye caft over Italy will be 
 " fuflicient to furnifli a refutation of fuch ca- 
 " lumnies, and to prove the moderation and 
 ff forbearance of the pontifical niinifter. It is
 
 335 
 
 ** only neceffary to obferve in what manner and 
 <c during how long a period that government 
 <f has, through the love of peace, exhibited to 
 cc Europe the fpetacle of the moft painful hu- 
 " miliations, the greateft facrifices, the moft de- 
 * f plorable condition," &c. 
 
 From the tranfaftions that had preceded the 
 murder of Duphot which was no more than the 
 bloody cataftrophe of a tedious drama, it be- 
 comes eafy to appreciate this language, no lefs 
 hypocritic than infolent. 
 
 General Berthier was directed to avenge the 
 French republic. Arriving at Anconaonthe twen- 
 ty-fifth of January 1798,116 immediately marched 
 forward at the head of feveral columns of Gallic 
 and Cis- Alpine troops. Retarded for a while 
 by the fnows of the Apennine, he advanced 
 toward Rome, as if he were traverfing the de- 
 partments of the French republic. 
 
 Could he meet with any refiftance ? The pope 
 was funk into a ftate of weaknefs approaching 
 to imbecillity : the reft of the Romans either 
 were lethargifed by the fame ftupor, or impa- 
 tiently expected the arrival of the French. Some 
 defenfive meafures were however adopted by 
 the terrified members of the Roman government. 
 The cardinals, who ftill preferred fome remair.s 
 of courage, held frequent congregations, and de- 
 liberated whether they ought to flee or await
 
 336 
 
 the enemy. They ftill ftruggled to retain the 
 reins of empire which were ready to ^fcape 
 from their enfeebled grafp. They fent com- 
 miffioners into the Campagna di Roma and to 
 the adjacent coaft, where the people complain- 
 ed of the dearnefs of provifions and their bad 
 quality. 
 
 In the interval of expectancy preceding the 
 arrival of the French, a more animated contefl 
 was carried on between the mummeries of fu- 
 perftition and the efforts of patriotifm. While 
 the ftreets were paraded in every direction by 
 proceffions, the walls were covered with fatiric 
 placards *. While the Madonnas med tears in 
 anfwer to the vows addreffed to them, portraits 
 of general Buonaparte were diftributed among 
 the people, with the infcription, " This is the 
 " true likenefs of the holy faviour of the world/' 
 
 Berthier had caufed his approach to be an- 
 nounced by a proclamation which had terrified 
 the one party and infpirited the other. " A 
 *' French army," faid he, " is now on its march 
 " toward Rome. I declare that its only objeft 
 " is to chaftife the murderers of the brave Du- 
 " phot, the fame perfons who have embrued 
 " their hands in the blood of the unfortunate 
 " Bafle'ville, and who have forgotten the refpec^ 
 
 * Pofting-bills.
 
 337 
 
 tc which they owed to the ambaflador of the 
 Cf French republic. The Roman people, who 
 " have had no participation in thofe deeds of 
 " horror, fliall, in the French army, find pro- 
 " tectors and friends." 
 
 Encouraged by thefe afTurances, the people 
 affembled in the Cam-po-Vaccino, under the au- 
 fpices of fonie chiefs, fuch as Riganti, a lawyer 
 diftinguifhed by his talents, and by his refent- 
 ment againft Pius the duke Bonelli, who had 
 travelled much, -and had brought back to Rome 
 the ideas of liberty a certain Pignatelli, a 
 Neapolitan, nephew to the marquis Gallo, who 
 had recently quitted the fervice of the emperor, 
 and for fome time, with undaunted zeal, pro- 
 fefled revolutionary principles at Rome. In this 
 aflembly the Roman people proclaimed their 
 independence on the t wenty-feventh of Pluvibfe 
 (February 15). Immediately the tree of liberty 
 was planted in front of the Capitol, and in all 
 the public fquares. 
 
 General Berthier lay encamped at the gates 
 of Rome. At noon he received a deputation 
 from the Roman people, acquainting him with 
 their revolution, and communicating to him the 
 plan of a provifional government which they 
 had adopted. 
 
 Soon after, preceded by martial mufic and all 
 VOL, u, z .
 
 S3S 
 
 the grenadiers of his army, and followed by his 
 ftaff-officers and a hundred horfemen from each 
 regiment -of his cavalry, he proceeded dire6tly 
 to the Capitol, traverfing the crowded throng of 
 a countlefs multitude of people, among whom, 
 however, if we may venture to believe the affer- 
 tion of fpectators worthy of credit, the number 
 of thofe whom curiofity alone had attracted to' 
 the fpot was much greater than that of the real 
 lovers of liberty. 
 
 Arrived at the Capitol, general Berthier pro- 
 nounced a^ harangue fuited to the occafion :a 
 harangue, whofe Laconic energy entitles it to be 
 tranfmitted to pofteriry 
 
 " Ye manes of the Catoes, of the Pompeys, 
 " of the Brutuses, of the Ciceroes, of the Hor- 
 " tenfiuses ! receive the homage of free French- 
 ". men in that Capitol where you fo oft have de- 
 " fended the rights of the people, and fhed luftre 
 " on the Roman republic. 
 
 " Thofe defcendents of the Gauls, with the 
 " olive of peace in their hands, come to this au- 
 " guft place, to re-edify in it the altars of liber- 
 " ty creeled by the firft of the Brutuses. 
 
 " .And you, Roman people, who have now 
 " recovered your legitimate rights ! recolleft 
 <c that blood which .flows in your veins ! furvey 
 <s thofe monuments of glory by which you arc
 
 339 
 
 *' furrounded ! refume your priftine greatnefs, 
 <f and the virtues of your progenitors * !" 
 
 A fpe&acle fo novel, a harangue fo worthy of 
 thofe fcenes which awaked the grandeft recol- 
 lections, might well be expected to" eletrife, aaid 
 did in fat eletrife, the foul of every individual 
 prefent. 
 
 The ceremony concluded, general Berthier 
 was re-condu<5ted to his camp amid peals of ac- 
 clamation ftill more fpontaneous and more uni- 
 verfal than thofe which had hailed him on his 
 entrance into the city. 
 
 Some perfonages of eminence in Rome the 
 crafty cardinal della Sommaglia, at that time car- 
 dinal-vicar Arrigoni, who was prefident of the 
 annona and the young prince Giuftiniani, joined 
 by the Neapolitan minifter, Belmonte-Pignateni 
 had been fent by the pope to the French ge- 
 neral. They hoped to mollify him, to obtain of 
 Jiim terms of accommodation. Pius, or thofe 
 who made ufe of his name J, had indulged the 
 
 * This laft paragraph differs, in my original, from the 
 concluding fentence given by Mr. Duppa in page 174 of his 
 " Brief Account of the Subverfion of the Pap:il Govern- 
 " ment." Without pretending to decide \vhich is the ge- 
 nuine fpeech of Berthier, I have contented myi'elf with faith- 
 fully tranflating my text. 
 
 f During this crifis, Pius concealed himfelf from every 
 eye. He remained in the Vatican, furrounded by fome in- 
 judicious and obfcure counfellors whofe names do not deferve 
 Z 2
 
 340 
 
 Jiope that, at the expenfe of a contribution of a 
 few millions and the facrifice of two provinces 
 already infected with the revolutionary fpirit, 
 the .Holy See might yet be able to redeem its 
 fafety. But the firmnefs of Berthier diffipated 
 thofe illufions : he refufed to admit a deputation 
 from a government which had already ceafed to 
 exift, and declared that he would receive none 
 except from the Roman people. 
 
 That people, in effect, had created a provi-* 
 fional government, and, reviving the higheft dig- 
 nity of ancient Rome, had elected feven confuls, 
 among whom Riganti and Bonelli, the moft con- 
 fpicuous of their chiefs, were not forgotten. 
 
 to be refcued from oblivion. The deputies who were fent tq 
 Berthier did not fee the pontiff either previous to their de-? 
 parture or after their return. Every command, every infor-. 
 mation, pafled through the medium of cardinal Doria.
 
 341 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Conferences of the Entry of the French into Rome* 
 
 J\S foon as the ancient government faw that 
 its hopes had been difappointed, thofe who had 
 Jaken the moft aHve part in its operations, or 
 who had recently been its moft culpable agents, 
 perceived the danger which threatened them. 
 Several efcaped from the peril by flight- fuch as 
 the cardinals Albani and Bufca a certain cap- 
 tain Amadeo, who commanded the company 
 that had fired upon Duphot the corporal Ma- 
 rinelli, who had given him the firft wound a 
 certain Englilh banker, by name Jenkins. With 
 refpett to the cardinal Brafchi, he was at Naples 
 on a political miffion in conjunction with mon- 
 fignor Galeppi, and took good care not to re- 
 turn. 
 
 At this period, which immediately preceded 
 the arrival of the French, Rome prefented a 
 fpeftacle truly curious to an attentive fpe&ator. 
 Here were feen priefts bitterly inveighing againft 
 the emperor, and crying out on every fide that 
 he had deceived them : there the members of 
 the ancient government, uncertain what diilant 
 23
 
 342 
 
 afylum they might hope to reach with impuni- 
 ty, concealed themfelves in Rome itfelf. The 
 bifhops, not thinking themfelves fafe in the pro- 
 vinces of the ftate, came to take refuge in the 
 capital. A great portion of the people remained 
 qutet, and fiiently awaited their doom. In fe- 
 veral quarters of the city, the indignation ex- 
 cited by the fanatic devotees fecretly fermented, 
 and broke out in knife-ftabs even more frequent 
 than ufual. The miracle of the Madonna open- 
 ing her eyes, which had. been ; fb ingenioufly 
 contrived by monfignor Galeppi, was more than 
 once repeated, but now began to lofe its effect 
 and made fewer dupes. 
 
 And how was the pope employed mean- 
 while ? His holinefs fometimes gave way to the 
 tranfports of grief: but much oftener, motion- 
 lefs and penfively filenr, he aftonifhed thofe 
 around him by his apparent ferenity. Was it 
 philofophy ? was it refignation to the will of 
 heaven ? or was it a mere apathy refulting from 
 the enfeebled ftate of his organs ? The queftion 
 was not decided at the time, and will perhaps 
 remain for ever undecided. - 
 
 General Rerthier having come to take up his 
 refidence in Rome, affumed in faft the reins of 
 the government, which as yet had only nominal 
 chiefs. 
 
 His f-rft flep was to caufe a funeral ceremony
 
 343 
 
 to be celebrated in honour of the manes of the 
 unfortunate Duphot. A maufoleum was^erected 
 to the deceafed chief in the piazza of the Vati- 
 can ; and that monument, furrounded with cy- 
 prefs-trees" and illumined by funereal torches, 
 was decorated with Latin infcriptions comme- 
 morating his warlike talents, his patriotic devo- 
 tion, and his tragic fall. The urn which inclofed 
 his afhes was placed on an antique column 
 erected in the area of the Capitol. 
 
 Not content with thefe laft honours, his 
 manes expected the additional gratification of 
 vengeance. Several of the moft active agents of 
 the court of Rome, which in thefe latter times 
 had rendered itfelf fo odious, were arrefted 
 among others, the prelate Grivelli, governor of 
 Rome, a pacific and moderate man, but who 
 was made refponfible for thofe diforders which 
 he had not been able to prevent the Benedic- 
 tine Altieri, nephew to the cardinal of that 
 name, and the blindly-devoted tool of the cardi- 
 nal Albani, th.at is to fay, of the moft impla- 
 cable enemy to the French. Particular feverity 
 was exercifed againft the fifcal Barber i, deferved- 
 ly hated on account of the influence he had ac- 
 quired, and of the perfecutions by which he hr.d 
 harafled all the inhabitants of Rome whether 
 natives or foreigners, and efpecially Frenchmen 
 z 4
 
 544- 
 
 -who appeared to him in the flighted degree 
 to merit the obnoxious title of patriots : not, 
 however, that he was naturally ill-difpofed ; for 
 even his enemies, while they condemned the 
 feverity of his character, did juftice to its inte- 
 grity. All his exceptionable actions arofe from 
 his prejudices and his ignorance : exclufively 
 verfed in criminal jurifprudence, he was unac- 
 quainted either with political affairs or with 
 mankind. He was imprifoned and banifhed. 
 He would have experienced more rigorous treat- 
 ment, if the chevalier Azara, who neverthelefs 
 had reafon to be diffatisfied with him, had not 
 interceded in his favour. 
 
 One of Berthier's firil operations was to fup- 
 prefs the odious prerogative of the right of 
 afylum enjoyed by churches and other privileged 
 places, and to banifh all French emigrants from 
 the territories of the Roman republic. 
 
 The greateft difficulty was the talk of com- 
 pofing in a fuitable manner the new government 
 of the Roman republic. To accomplifli that 
 object, general Berthier adopted in the firft in- 
 flance the moft prudent expedient. He con- 
 iulted the chevalier Azara, who, in addition to 
 uncommon fagacity, poflerTed a perfect know- 
 ledge of the local circumftances : but the Spa- 
 nith minifter had many motives for wiihing to
 
 $45 
 
 decline fo delicate a bufinefs ; nor did he con- 
 fent to take a part in it until urged by the re 
 iterated felicitations of the French commif- 
 fioners. He propofed then a fort of mixed go- 
 vernment in which all the clafles of Rome might 
 have participated : he furnifhed a lift compofed 
 of three cardinals, two princes, two of the mod 
 celebrated lawyers, fome bankers, and fome 
 agricultors. It was adopted ; but its duration 
 had not extended beyond the fpace of a few days, 
 when a multitude of patriots, more zealous than 
 enlightened, crowded round the French com- 
 miffioners, and obliged them to make a new 
 choice. Under the title of confulate, a directory 
 was created, confiding of fix members, inclufive 
 of the prefident. The lawyer Riganti was the 
 perfon who filled the prefidental chair in this 
 firft confulate, which had for its fecretary-ge- 
 neral a Frenchman diftinguifhed by his talents 
 and his patriotic zeal, citizeu Baflal, antece- 
 dently a conftiiutional cure at Verfailles, and 
 afterward a member of the national conven- 
 tion. 
 
 This government, however, was yet only pro- 
 vifional : previous to its definitive organifation, 
 it was thought neceffary to wait the arrival of 
 three new French commiffioners, who had 
 been chofen with particular care by the direc*
 
 346 
 
 tory, and furnifhed with all the information that 
 fuch a million required. 
 
 From the very day of general Berthier's entry 
 into Rome the ancient government may date the 
 epoch of its overthrow. It neverthelefs ftruggled 
 for fome days in the arms of death. Such of the 
 cardinals as had not already fled from the city 
 on the wings of terror, were aflembled in coun- 
 cil, and feemed difpofed ftill to uphold the 
 authority of the pontiff. They were preparing 
 to celebrate the anniverfary of his coronation : 
 but how poignant their grief when they wit- 
 neffed the march of the Roman and French pa- 
 triots who were proceeding to plant, with the 
 moft folemn pomp, the tree of liberty before the 
 ftatue of Marcus Aurelius ! A heart-felt con- 
 viction told them that their lad hour was ar- 
 rived : the Gallic army were the real fovereigns 
 of Rome, and could admit no partition of autho- 
 rity ; nor did there any longer remain to the Sa- 
 cred College even the refource of a capitulation. 
 Humbled, difarmed, deftitute of fupport and of 
 friends, they faw themfelves compelled to fur- 
 render at difcretion. 
 
 Behold them now in the deepeft affli&ion 
 marching to the Vatican, the centre of their 
 fallen empire. With mournful eye they furvey 
 thofe veftibules, thofe halls, which they had
 
 347 
 
 never been wont to traverfe ungreeted by the 
 homage of a bowing throng. Thofe cardinals, 
 fo elate with their dignity, find themfelves fud- 
 denly denuded of all thofe brilliant externals 
 which heretofore intoxicated their pride. They 
 accompany with their profound but fmothered 
 fighs thefe words of the fcripture, which hitherto 
 they had had on their lips alone, and of which 
 they now too late feel the truth (< f^anitas vam- 
 tatum, et omnla vanitas *." The glory, the influ- 
 ence, the power, the fplendor, with which they 
 dazzled the vulgar and were themfelves dazzled 
 all is eclipfed. Thofe rivals of fceptred mo- 
 narchs will henceforward deem themfelves thrice 
 happy to be mingled and loft in the crowd of 
 the meaneft individuals, and to convert their ob- 
 fcurity into a fliield to fcreen them from the ani- 
 mofity of thofe who triumph in their humiliation. 
 With melancholy voice they pronounce their 
 <: abfolute renunciation of the temporal govern- 
 " ment." 
 
 But they have not yet reached the period of 
 their calamities. At firft they are quietly enough 
 permitted to attend to the fale of thejr effeis, 
 previous to their departure from a city where 
 they no longer have any thing to expet but 
 mortifications and perfections. But foun the 
 
 * Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.
 
 348 
 
 ftorm gathers around them : the new govern- 
 ment is organifed, and fucceflively obliterates 
 every veftige of the ancient, efpecially every 
 trace of fanaticifm. The cardinalitian dignity, 
 even the prefence of the cardinals in Rome, 
 was deemed incompatible with the new order 
 of things. The moment of extreme rigor 
 was now arrived : none of the cardinals were 
 fpared, except thofe whofe great age or infirmi- 
 ties claimed fome lenity. Two of their number 
 in particular Albani and Bufca had no room 
 to expecl any favour. They had been the moft 
 aHve inftruments in the laft deeds of perfidy 
 committed by the court of Rome ; and they had 
 both haftily fled to fhelter themfelves in a place 
 of fafety. Their property was confifcated : the 
 ftatues and other precious effets contained in 
 the famous Villa Aibani were expofed to fale^ as 
 was likewife every thing that Bufca poflefled at 
 Santa Agatha de* Monti. 
 
 Several others, who feemed to have lefs reafon 
 to be alarmed, had alfo adopted the refolution 
 of fleeing before the perfecution which their an- 
 ticipative fears apprehended. Some of them, 
 however, would have had claims to indulgence, 
 fince they had not forfeited their title to efteem. 
 Such were Archetti, who had not derogated 
 from the charader of prudent moderation which 
 he had gained by his millions in the North
 
 349 
 
 Antici, who had had fufficient forefight to dif- 
 Jfuade from every meafure tending to alienate 
 France Altieri, peaceable and deftitute of in- 
 fluence : fuch in particular was the cardinal 
 Caprara. This prelate, after having been nun- 
 cio at Vienna, had, contrary to the pontiff's 
 wiihes, obtained the Roman purple on the em- 
 peror's nomination. Pius, who was extremely 
 fufceptible of difadvantageous impreffions, had 
 never pardoned him that triumph. Caprara 
 jievertheiefs was a member of that numerous 
 congregation who during the grand crifis di- 
 rected the public and military operations ; and 
 he conftantly oppofed the unwife meafures ap- 
 proved by the majority. He poffeffed judge- 
 ment, fagacity, as great a (hare of probity as an 
 Italian cardinal could poflefs, and feveral of the 
 other qualities which conftitute the Itatefman. 
 France had no perfonal grudge againft him : yet 
 he thought it improper for him to remain at 
 Rome, and retired to Bologna, his native place, 
 where his family were held in high eftimation. 
 Pignatelli and Archinto fled for fafety, the one 
 to Naples, the other to Tufcany. Gerdyl, per- 
 haps the only individual among the cardinals 
 who had, together with the faith, retained alfo 
 the love of poverty and the fimple manners, of 
 the primitive church Gerdyl, after having abr 
 j3 ; oate4 the Roman purple, went to feek qn
 
 350 
 
 afylurn at the court of the Sardinian monarch, 
 whofe youth he had trained by his inftruclions. 
 Renuccini witneffed the confiscation of his houfc 
 and all his property. Altieri and Rezzonico 
 were confined to their habitations by fevere ill- 
 nefs. Valenti lay at the point of death. 
 
 Almoft all the other members of the Sacred 
 College experienced treatment which feveral 
 of them at leaft had not reafon to expe<5t. We 
 will particularly quote the inftance of the cardinal 
 Doria. General Cervoni, governor of Rome, 
 who lived with the cardinal, had counfelled 
 him to make his efcape, becaufe, as he informed 
 him, all the cardinals who were found in the 
 city would be arrefted. " I will not flee," re- 
 plied Doria : " I have nothing to reproach my- 
 " felf with : I will participate the doom of my 
 " collegues." Accordingly he was arrefted as 
 well as they and feveral prelates and fome Ro- 
 man nobles. 
 
 The cardinals were in the firft inftance con- 
 ducted to the convent of the Converthe at Rome. 
 Befide Doria whom his generous devotion had 
 not faved, their number confifted of Antonelli, 
 one of the moft enlightened, yet one of the 
 moft fanatic the cardinal-vicar della Sommaglia 
 whofe intentions were at leaft liable to fufpicion 
 Borgia, diftinguifhed by his talents and his, 
 tafte for the fciences, and who might have been
 
 351 
 
 fpared without any inconvenience Roverella, 
 ftill lefs dangerous than Borgia Carandini, pre- 
 fetof the Buon-Governo, who by his tyrannic ad- 
 miniftration had acquired a ftronger title to the 
 hatred even of the Romans themfelves than of 
 their emancipators Vincenti, very inimical to 
 France, but whom his fears had at an early pe- 
 riod rendered extremely circumfpeft, and now- 
 rendered equally fupple in adverfity, &c. Ar- 
 chetti had, fomewhat too late, attempted to 
 cfcape : but he was overtaken in his flight, and 
 conducted back to Rome under the efcort of a 
 piquet of cavalry. 
 
 Mattei had deceived the hopes derived from 
 his converfion effected by general Buonaparte. 
 The negotiator of Tolentino was no longer the 
 conciliating mediator who had faved the Holy 
 See, and who had been pardoned fome trans- 
 greffions in confideration of the pious and honeft 
 fimplicity of his manners. His ardent zeal had 
 blazed forth afrefli at the fight of thofe cala- 
 mities which were pouring upon the Roman 
 church. He confidered as incompatible with 
 orthodoxy the civic oath which the citizens of 
 the Roman republic were obliged to take : he 
 pndeavoured, by his preaching, to difluade his 
 diocefans from the commiffion of that impious 
 aft : he was arrefted, fent into baniihment, and 
 his property was confifcated. He retired to the
 
 352 
 
 country beyond the Po, which lay within the 
 boundaries of his diocefe of Ferrara. And the 
 famous cardinal Maury what will become of 
 him amid this ftorm of perfccution which might 
 have been expe&ed to reach him among the 
 tirft? He had the dexterity to (belter himfelf 
 from its fury. Concealed, during the grand crifls, 
 in his diocefe of Montefiafcone, as foon as he 
 thought the tempeft overblown, he takes in open 
 day the road to Florence ; and his daring auda- 
 city is crowned with fuccefs. At the diftancc 
 of few leagues from Rome he flopped to change 
 horfes at the very moment when the three new 
 French commuTioners had arrived the citizens 
 Daunou, Monge, and Florent. He was reco- 
 gnifed : but it, remains uncertain whether he 
 himfelf was aware of the recognition : at leaft 
 his imperturbable features were not feen to un- 
 dergo any alteration. One of the commiffioners 
 walks round his carriage, views him, and, fully 
 convinced of the identity of his perfon, can 
 hardly refrain from giving vent to his detefta- 
 tion of one of the bittereft enemies of the French 
 revolution. He regrets that he has not with 
 him an armed force to execute inftantaneous 
 juftice on his eminence in a territory where the 
 inviolability of the cardinalitian character is now 
 no more than a chimzera. He deliberates : but 
 the horfes are put to both carriages are v\
 
 353 
 
 readinefb and they fet off in different direc- 
 tions. Thus Maury efcaped an imminent dan- 
 ger, of which he did not even feem to enter- 
 tain a fufpicion, but of which he may perhaps 
 be apprifed by the perufal of thefe lines. 
 
 Let us however acknowledge a facl: which the 
 ftrongeft prejudice cannot deny ; and let us, in 
 this one inftance, anticipate the fevere language 
 of hiftory. All the cardinals, guilty or innocent; 
 were promifcuoufly involved in the fame indif- 
 criminate profcription by a blind animofity by 
 no means congenial to the intentions of the 
 French government or thofe of its principal 
 agents. The majority of thofe princes of the 
 church were objecls of odium, or at leaft of con- 
 tempt and ridicule : but means were now found 
 to render them interefting. With very few ex- 
 ceptions, all thofe who fecurely awaited the ar- 
 rival of the French were the victims of avarice 
 rather than of hatred. The chief crime for which 
 they were compelled to make atonement was 
 their opulence, real or fuppofed ; and if the car- 
 dinal Gerdyl, for inftance, was fpared, it was 
 only becaufe the fimple and 'modeft life which 
 he led in almoft abfolute indigence, had fuffi- 
 ciently notified to the world his inability to pay 
 the price of his ranfom. 
 
 The greater number of thofe who had been 
 
 VOL. II. 2 A
 
 3,54 
 
 confined in the convent of the Convertite at 
 Rome were foon afterward transferred to Ci- 
 vita-Vecchia. Already mention was made of 
 tranfporting them tQ fome remote iiland : but 
 they foon learned by what means they might 
 obtain their pardon. A few of their number 
 with confiderable firmnefs oppofed that fpecies 
 of perfecution, for which they were not pre- 
 pared j all the others deemed themfelves fu- 
 premely happy in the opportunity of purchafing 
 their liberty by great facrifices. Several, as Al- 
 tieri and Vincenti, were feen to renounce the 
 Roman purple, late fo envied, now fuddenly be- 
 come fo dangerous ; others, to requeft as a favour 
 that they might be defignated by the title of 
 " citizen' in the* paffports which were granted 
 to them for their exit from the territories of the 
 Ecclefmftical State. 
 
 After having, the greater part of them, fuf- 
 fered infult, impriibmnent, fpoliation, they 
 hafted to fcek, at a difiance from Rome, fome 
 afylum where they might enjoy the only bleffing 
 to which they now afpircd tranquillity. Some 
 took refuge at Florence, others at Milan, at Bo- 
 logna, at Naples, and in the ftates 'of Venice. 
 Hardly was the new government formed, whe'n 
 there on longer, exifted a trace of the ancient, 
 no longer a cardinal to be feen in Rome except
 
 355 
 
 tome Individuals of that rank who were detained 
 by their great age or their infirmities *. 
 
 With refpeft to the individuals of the great 
 families of Rome who did not belong to the fa- 
 ccrdotal body, they fubmitted with a tolerable 
 (hare of refignation to that cataftrophe which, 
 reduced them to a level with the crowd of ci- 
 tizens. They were not enemies whom it could 
 be difficult to fubdue : their education, the effe- 
 minate life they had dozed away in the lap of 
 opulence and beyond the reach of dangers and 
 alarms, had not prepared their fouls for the 
 exertions of that energy which could have ren- 
 dered them formidable opponents and worthy 
 objefts of perfecution. On the arrival of the 
 French, feveral of them were heard to fay with 
 humble franknefs, " We have been accuftomed 
 " to, obey : to whom our obedience (hall be paid, 
 " is of little confequence to us, provided we be 
 " allowed to retain our property and our lives." 
 Accordingly they were almoft univerfallyfpared : 
 their houfes, their furniture, their villas, every 
 thing belonging to them, remained inviolate; 
 
 * Certain phrenetics, who are unfufceptive of any other 
 fentiment than hatred, \vill perhaps befiow on us their re- 
 proaches for having exprefied our commiferation of the car- 
 dinals. To fuch cenfors we give this brief reply Even car- 
 dinals are men as well as we, and, when they are unfortu- 
 nate, have claims to our fympathy. We know none who are 
 unworthy of pity, except thofe who have n,-ver felt it. 
 2 A 2
 
 356 
 
 ttor did they fuffer any other lofs than that of 
 their titles and dignities. Some of their number 
 even efpoufed the Roman revolution with every 
 appearance of cordial attachment. Such, in 
 particular, was the prince Borghefe, one of the 
 richeft individuals in Rome, and who was eleled 
 a member of the fenate : fuch alfo was the 
 young prince Giuftiniani, who is now at Paris 
 as reprefentative of the new republic, and who 
 has difarmed malevolence by the temperate pru- 
 dence of his conduct and the gentlenefs of his 
 manners. 
 
 Thofe few againft whom feverity was exer- 
 cifed, had deferved that treatment by engaging 
 in plots which the circumftances of the times 
 rendered unjuftifiable. The duchefs of Lante, 
 having been convicted of carrying on a counter- 
 revolutionary correfpondence, was for fome time 
 detained in confinement. The marquis del 
 Monte-Santa-Maria, by taking part in one of 
 thofe infurrections which broke out in various 
 quarters of the Ecclefiaftical State that of Citta 
 di Caftellano excited the rage of the patriots ; 
 and his country-feat was clemoliflied. The ex- 
 penfes of the war, together with thofe of the 
 new adminiftration, rendered neceffary the im- 
 pofition of extraordinary taxes ; and their weight 
 fell, as might naturally have been expected, on 
 the moft opulent families of Rome.
 
 357 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Fate ofPivs and of his Nephews* 
 
 A: 
 
 .S to the pope and his family, amid this ge- 
 neral fubverfion, their fate was the more de- 
 plorable as they fell from a more exalted ftation. 
 The fympathy which they might have excited 
 was confiderably diminifhed by the recollection, 
 of their excefles, or at leaft of their errors. But 
 there are certain bounds to refentment even in 
 thofe bofoms which have been the moft deeply 
 wounded, even in hearts of the moft rancorous 
 mould. The pontiff's two nephews fank in one 
 day from opulence to beggary. The cardinal 
 Brafchi, lefs greedy than his brother, derived 
 the principal part of his fortune from the rich 
 benefices that his uncle had accumulated on him. 
 In confequence of the profcription, thofe bene- 
 fices were fpeedily vacated, and he had reafon 
 to envy the fcanty pittance of a village prieft. 
 Witn regard to the duke his brother, the voice 
 of exaggeration has not perhaps fwelled the 
 amount of his extortions, or breathed additional 
 infamy on the difgraceful means which he 
 2 A3
 
 358 
 
 employed to enrich himfelf : but his territorial 
 pofleflions, -at leaft, had certainly been over- 
 rated. His movable property was immenfe : 
 his luxury of every kind equalled that of a little 
 fovereign : but we think ourfelves juftified in 
 averting, that, in landed cftates, he never pofleflfed 
 above forty thoufand Roman crowns of annual 
 income. Within a few days after the revolu- 
 tion in Rome, nought remained to him but the 
 ribbons and croffes with which he had fuffered 
 himfelf to be accoutred by various fovereigns of 
 Europe ; and he even thought himfelf thrice 
 happy to find a temporary '(belter in Tufcany 
 from the perfections by which he was forced to 
 atone for his avidity, and for the fcandalous ufe 
 which he had made of his power. His pictures, 
 his prints, his antiques, all the treafures of his 
 mufeiim, his rich furniture, every thing of his 
 that could be found, was confifcated and ex- 
 pofed to falc. His lands, particularly thofe 
 which he had acquired in the Pontine marines, 
 were treated as the acquisitions of victory, and 
 fold for the benefit of the conquering army. 
 
 His wife, known by the title of the duchefs of 
 Nemi, was lefs hardily treated t,han- he.. At 
 fir ft, however, me was the obje6t of peculiar fe- 
 verity : fljc was arrefted and thrown into con- 
 finement ; being coniidered as a perfori whom it 
 was indifpenfably neceffary to fecure. But this
 
 359 
 
 was a miftaken- idea : flic was therefore foon re- 
 ftored to liberty, and even permitted to bring 
 forward her claims. The French commiilioners 
 found her refigned, fuppliant, and hardly feeming 
 to recollect that (lie had lately been the rlrft lady 
 in Rome. She began by demanding of them 
 fixty thoufand crowns which (he faid (lie had 
 brought as her marriage-portion : the fum was 
 reduced to thirty thoufand. She then claimed 
 for her daughter a movable property to the 
 amount of about thirty thoufand crowns : on 
 this fcore flie was allowed ten thoufand. What 
 fhe was fufTered to retain of her perfonal pro- 
 perty may be valued at an equal fum. She kept 
 the jewels, the diamonds, with which fhe was 
 abundantly provided. Of twenty carriages 
 which (lie had owned, me was permitted to 
 choofe two of the mod elegant. She was in- 
 dulged with the privilege of realifmg in national 
 property the thirty thoufand crowns granted to 
 her an indulgence which enabled her to retain 
 :i part of the beautiful cftate me- poflefled at 
 Tivoli. After the completion of thefe econo- 
 mic arrangements, which were more favourable 
 to her than (he could have reafonably expefted, 
 flie requeued leave to retire to Fermo in the mar- 
 quifate of Ancona, whither (lie was invited by 
 the man not her hufband who was to confole 
 her for fo many misfortunes. To this requeft 
 2 A 4
 
 360 
 
 fte received a refufal ; not that there exifted a 
 wifli to thwart her in the indulgence of that in- 
 clination'which certainly was not her firft effay : 
 but the commiffioners did her the very gratuitous 
 honour of fuppofing that it was important that 
 ihe ftiould not remove from the vicinity of Rome. 
 She obtained permiffion to retire to Tivoli, 
 where fhe has iince lived fufficiently free from 
 moleftation. 
 
 It remains for us to fpeak of the chief of that 
 family, which, by a feries of imprudent ats, 
 fuddenly fell from the pinnacle of greatnefs to 
 the depths of the mod deplorable humiliation. 
 Pius, who, by his own obflinacy and the evil 
 counfels to which he had given ear, had prepared 
 the way for the overthrow of the Roman go- 
 vernment, remained almoft entirely ignorant of 
 the cataftrophe which completed that event. 
 He was yet overwhelmed with the confternation 
 caufed by the entry of the avengers of Duphot, 
 when he learned that the cardinals had abdi- 
 cated their temporal authority : he faw general 
 Cervoni enter, who at this time held the chief 
 command in Rome: he came to announce to 
 the pontiff that -the people had thought proper 
 to refume their fovereignty. " And my dig- 
 " nity !" exclaimed his holinefs in the accent of 
 profound grief. " It is too intimately conne&ed 
 f< with religion, which the people are determined
 
 361 
 
 C{ to preferve inviolate. They have fo exprefled 
 " their refolution in the folemn at which has 
 " been proclaimed in their name; and they 
 " promife to make for you a provifion fuitable 
 <{ to your rank." " And my perfon !" continued 
 Pius. " It is in perfect fafety; and they en- 
 " a e to furnifh a guard of a hundred and 
 " twenty men for its protection." Pius was 
 filent, and affumed an air of refignation. 
 
 But the hopes which this beginning had en- 
 couraged him to conceive were foon difap- 
 pointed. Notwithftanding the wifh fo formally 
 and folemnly announced by the people of Rome 
 in favour of liberty, that capital harboured a con- 
 fiderable number of mal-contents of fincere fa- 
 natics, who confidered the fall of the papal 
 throne in no other light than as the downfall of 
 religion many hypocrites who from motives of 
 vanity and ambition were interefted in fupport- 
 ing the ancient order of things. Under thefe 
 circumstances, the prefence of the pope might 
 give birth to confpiracies. Though he had, 
 while vefted with fovereignty, been viewed with 
 the eyes of hatred or at leaft of indifference, his 
 misfortunes had now rendered him an objed of 
 fympathetic intereft. The French commiflion- 
 crs thought it indifpenfable to the public fafety 
 that he mould be removed from Rome, and even 
 from the Ecclefiaftical State. He was conducled
 
 toTufcany, not at the rcqueft of the grand-duke, 
 but with his confent, which that prince would 
 have been very glad to have the liberty of re- 
 fufing. He was fenfible that the prefence of 
 fuch a gueft might become troublefome, and 
 even dangerous. Pius was at firft conduced ta 
 Sienna. 
 
 Here he lived in peace, and forgotten by al~ 
 moft every one except the devotees and fome 
 curious perfonSj when an earthquake fhook the 
 place which he had chofen for his retreat, and 
 threw down feveral buildings. Pius lodged in 
 the convent of Saint Barbara; but,, at the mo- 
 ment when the fhock was felt, he happened to 
 be walking in one of the public gardens of the 
 city. He was.haftily conveyed from within the 
 walls of Sienna, to a country-houfe called by the 
 name of Hell; which circumftance gave rife to 
 the farcafms of the undevout who had not felt 
 compalTion for his misfortune. After fome time 
 he was conduced to Florence. At the moment 
 of his entering this city, the Iky, which is ufually 
 io ferene in Tufcany, was overcaft with heavy 
 clouds, and the rain fell in torrents. Malignity, 
 which is fo prompt, efpecially in Italy, to feife 
 opportunity of exercifing itfelf, did not fail 
 to obferve that the pope brought bad weather 
 with him wherever l^e came. 
 
 His firft interview with the grand-duke, which.
 
 363 
 
 took place in prefence of the marquis Manfre- 
 dini, was on both fides accompanied by marks 
 of melting tendernefs. The grand-duke in par- 
 ticular was moved even to the fliedding of tears : 
 but he was not infenfible of the inconvenience 
 which might refult to him from keeping the 
 pope in his capital. In a few days after his ar- 
 rival, Pius was conduced to a Carthufian mo- 
 nailery, at the diftance of two miles from Flo- 
 rence. 
 
 The fallen pontiff did not appear fo deeply 
 afFecled by his fituation as might have been fup- 
 pofed : his health, far from being impaired by a 
 cataftrophe which would have caufed any other 
 perfon in like circumftances to die with grief, 
 feemed to be in a more fiourifliing flate. His 
 relifli for the pleafures of the table accompanied 
 him to his folitiide: and, on that fubjeft, the 
 following anecdote is related by credible wit- 
 nefles On his arrival at the Carthufian convent, 
 his holinefs, who, among the fmall fuite of fer- 
 vants by whom he was accompanied, had not 
 forgotten his cook, gave him permiflion to take 
 his ftation in the conventual kitchen, and there 
 ordered him to prepare for his table delicate vi- 
 ands which formed a ftriking contrail with the 
 frugal fare of the monks. The latter, mortified 
 no doubt by the comparifon, pretended to be 
 fcandalifed at the holy father's fenfuality, and
 
 364 
 
 pronounced it to be the fource of thofe calami- 
 ties which defolatcd the church. The cook 
 warmly defended the caufe of his ufeful profef- 
 fion, and, in revenge of the ill-humour fhown by 
 thofe reclufes, flipped, unknown to them, a bit 
 of meqt into their peas-foup *. This horrible 
 plot being difcovered, the monks utter fhrieks 
 of indignation, which reach the ears of his holi- 
 nefs. Pius fancies he ftjll hears the revolutio- 
 nary ftorm growl around him : he inquires what 
 caufe has excited it : to avoid the repetition of 
 fuch a fcene, he orders that his kitchen be hence- 
 forward feparate from that of the monks ; and 
 they congratulate themfelves on no longer having 
 before their eyes the fcandalous exhibition of 
 the fovereign pontiff's epiciirifin. 
 
 Vanity, as another anecdote proves and that 
 particular fpecies of it which was the lead ex- 
 cufable in a pontiff-and an old man the vanity 
 which is connected with external accomplifli- 
 ments -did not abandon Pius in his retreat. 
 There lived at Florence a young Hungarian 
 painter who was defirous of the honour of draw- 
 
 * The CaTthufians, obferving a perpetual Lent, never eat 
 flefh-meat : nncl, according to the notions of their church, the 
 fmalleft particle of fleth, or the fmalleft drop of its juice, min- 
 gled with any quantity of falling-fare, is fufficient to conta^ 
 niiuafe the whole, mafs fo completely that whoever taftes of i| 
 is guilty of the no fmall crime of violating thefcft !
 
 ing his holinefs's portrait, with the intention, as 
 hefaid, of prefenting it to the emprefs. He was 
 conduced to the holy father, who accepted his 
 offer with a fort of enthuiiafm. " Let your 
 ** pencil," faid he to the young artift, " revive 
 " that bloom and animated complexion xvhich 
 " is fomewhat faded through age and chagrin : 
 " paint me in fcarlet robes, to give the greater 
 " relief to my features." The painter is faid to 
 have paid docile obedience to the directions of 
 the pontiff's vanity; and Pius, even in the fea- 
 fon of difgrace, ftill found a flatterer. It is af- 
 ferted that his eyes dwelt with pleafure on that 
 portrait, which, fome years before, would have 
 ^een a very good likenefs, and which, by an in- 
 nocent deception, carried him back to a lefs ad- 
 vanced age, and to happier days. 
 
 Thefe anecdotes will to many people afford 
 fufficient ground for difpenfing with that pity 
 which they might otherwife be inclined to be- 
 ftow on him. Can we confider him as an obje6t 
 of compaflion, when we fee him fo refigned, fo 
 contented, ftill fo well difpofed to relifh the 
 only indulgences that have been left within his 
 reach ? 
 
 It is moreover aflerted, that, inftead of repin- 
 ing at his fate, he has fevefal times proteiled that 
 he had renounced all hope of ever reviiiting 
 Rome, and that his utmoft wifli was to conclude
 
 166 
 
 his days in peace in the Carthuflan monatfery* 
 He enjoys there likewife fome other confola* 
 tions : he is not forgotten by all mankind in his 
 obfcure retreat : he has there received magnifi- 
 c;ent prefents from all quarters. One day he faw 
 ten purfes brought in to him, each containing 
 five hundred crowns. The donator chofe to 
 keep his name fecret : all that is known is that 
 he was a Florentine. The prefent was accom- 
 panied by a note containing thefe words, " To 
 " provide ten "fhirts for his holinefs." Another 
 Florentine caufed a fedan-chair to be conftrufted 
 for him, richly gilt, decorated with all the fym- 
 bols of the church, and difplaying in front a iil- 
 ver plate infcribed with thefe words, which their 
 author confidered as prophetic, " Poftfata re- 
 " furgo." Many prelates, and almoft all the 
 chiefs of the catholic church, have made him 
 confiderable offers which he has had the genero- 
 fity to decline. But he accepts without fcruple 
 the favours tendered by fovercign princes. He 
 receives a monthly penfion of three thoufand 
 crowns from a neighbouring court : the king of 
 Spain continues faithfully obfervant of his former 
 cuftom of annually fending to him an abundant 
 provifion of drugs, wines, and tobacco: he has 
 a!fo given him teftimonies of affectionate regard 
 which Pius has much more fenfibly felt ; for that 
 monarch has not onlv dire&ed the cardinal Lo-
 
 367 
 
 i 
 
 renzana to continue to refide near the pontiff, 
 but has alfo fent him a difpatch in which he 
 aflures him that he has not ceafed to confider and 
 to refpeft Pius VI. as " head of the catholic 
 " church." 
 
 The ferenity which Pius enjoys in his retreat 
 has nevertheless been clouded by a tranfacKon 
 which indeed was well calculated to awake 
 whatever fmall fpark of fenfibility he yet retains.- 
 That nephew, dear to his vanity ftillmorc than 
 to his affection that nephew, who was the ob- 
 ject and the principal accomplice of thofe faults 
 for which Pius is now forced to atone was 
 among the foremoft in fleeing from Rome. He 
 had come to his uncle, and feerned to take a de- 
 "light in adminiftering to him fome confolations. 
 But the grand-duke did not think he could with 
 propriety tolerate him in his dominions. Brafchi, 
 when preparing for his departure from Tufcany, 
 took the liberty of repairing a part of his loffes by 
 carrying off from the holy father a confiderable 
 fum of money which the pious munificence of 
 the faithful had deftined for the fupreme head 
 of the church, and not for the prince of the Pon- 
 tine marines. Pius, fired with indignation at 
 fuch treatment from a cheriihed nephew, re- 
 fumed a momentary energy to lavifh on him, in- 
 ilcad of affectionate adioux, his paternal inipre-
 
 36s 
 
 cations. The reign of nepotifm could not have 
 terminated in a more fcandalous cataftrophe. 
 
 Not alone did earthquakes and ingratitude 
 dirtu,rb Pius's repofe in the different retreats to 
 which he had been configned. The policy of 
 the French government alfo gave him more than 
 one caufe of difquietude. It was not that he 
 conducted himfelf in the Carthufian monaftery 
 at Florence in fuch manner as to awake fufpi- 
 cion : there exiflccl no reafon to apprehend that 
 thofe perfons whom he had been permitted to 
 take with him at his departure from Rome, 
 would become the inftruments of intrigue or fa- 
 naticifm : they were a chamberlain, fome of his! 
 gentlemen, fome prelates, a phyfician men as 
 little formidable on the fcore of talents as of in- 
 fluence. The pope himfelf led and Hill conti- 
 nues to lead a uniform, peaceable, and fequeflered 
 life : he retires to reft at an early hour : he rifes 
 very late, and palfes the remainder of the day in 
 eating, drinking, writing, or dictating to his fe- 
 cretary. His intellects are enfeebled by age even 
 more than by chagrin. 
 
 At Sienna he had a kind of ecclefiaftic court, 
 and was furrounded by a certain pomp : the 
 faithful fiill flocked to his prefence, and courted 
 the honour of his benedictions. But, fmce his 
 removal to the Carthufian monaftery, his circle
 
 369 
 
 has been very circumfcribecl. He wifely avoids 
 making himfelf too acceiTible, and admits the 
 viiits only of fome devotees or perfons attracted 
 to him by curioiity. The Tufcan government; 
 which is deeply interefted in watching him to 
 avoid giving any caufe of complaint to France, 
 is extremely careful that he maintain no relation 
 of a fufpicious nature. 
 
 It had propofed to the minifter of the 
 French republic that he mould name all the 
 perfons who were to compofe his holinefs's 
 houfehold, and mould have the infpeHon of his 
 private conduft. It would have been a circum- 
 itance unparalleled in the annals of the Roman 
 church to fee her fovereign pontiff under the tu- 
 telage of a heretic, for our minifter at Florence 
 was born a member of the proteftant commu- 
 nion. Citizen Reinhart declined that delicate 
 charge: but he is neverthelefs equally well ap- 
 prifed of every thing that paffes within the Car- 
 thufian monaftery at Florence. 
 
 Notwithftanding all thefe motives of fecurity, 
 fome jealoufy has been excited by Pius's reii- 
 dence in the heart of Italy. Apprehenfions have 
 been entertained, that, by ftill continuing fo near 
 to' thofe whom he had fo long dazzled by the 
 fplendor of his dignity, he might, perhaps con- 
 trary to his own willies, awaken their regret, and 
 furnifli the ground of fome confpiracy. In the 
 
 VOL. II. 2 B
 
 370 
 
 month of Thermidor of the fixth year of the re- 
 public *, the French government urged the 
 grand-duke of Tufcany to fend him out of his 
 dominions. To our demands the grand-duke 
 replied, " I did not wim for the pope : it was 
 " the French commiffioners who fent him to me. 
 " I would be glad that he were at a diftance 
 " from Tufcany : but you will not infift on my 
 " expelling him. If you defire that he quit the 
 tf country, every thing mail be made ready for 
 " his departure carriage, inns, (hip : but it 
 " refts with France to take the charge of con- 
 " veying him elfe where/' The dire&ory iiir 
 fitted, and caufed the following 'meffage to be 
 delivered to the grand-duke " Send him out 
 " of Tufcany, or we will hold you refponfible 
 " for the disturbances which his proximity ex- 
 " cites and may yet further excite in Rome." 
 
 In confequence of thefe re-iterated urgencies 
 the court of Tufcany concerted with the cabinet 
 of Vienna to provide a retreat for his holinefs in 
 the hereditary ftates of the houfe of Auftria; and 
 that was the object of the marquis Manfredini's 
 journey to Vienna. Already it was determined 
 .that Pius mould be conveyed to the convent of 
 Mcelk near the Danube, when the affair of the 
 ambaflador Bernadotte at Vienna induced an 
 
 * Between July ipand Auguft 18, 1798,
 
 371 
 
 alteration of the plan. It was then propofed to 
 Tend the pontiff to Spain : but, Charles not con- 
 fcnting to admit him into his kingdom except on 
 conditions which appeared inadmiffible, it was 
 next refolved that he fhould embark for the ifle 
 of Sardinia. At this period, his health appear- 
 ing too much impaired to leave him fufficient 
 ftrength for a long voyage his intellects being 
 weakened to fuch a degree that his reafon might 
 have been thought alienated and all fear being 
 now vaniflied of thofe dangers which might 
 arife from his refidence in Italy fewer inconve- 
 niences feemed to attend the meafure of fuffer- 
 ing him to vegetate in the Carthufian monaftery 
 near Florence : and it is probable that he will 
 there terminate his exiftence. 
 
 Still ftronger is the probability that his tem- 
 poral reign is at an end. His pontificate that 
 is to fay, his fpiritual authority may yet fubfift 
 in the eftimation of thofe who think that the ca- 
 tholic church cannot difpenfe with a head, nor 
 Jefus Chrift with a vicegerent : but, diverted of 
 all thofe external acceffories which at once gave 
 it luftre and rendered it dangerous, it may be 
 prolonged for the confolation of the faithful, 
 without difturbing the tranquillity of Europe, 
 and efpecially that of Italy. 
 
 2 B 2
 
 372 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Principal Reforms effected in the Roman State by tltt 
 neiv Government. 
 
 JTXT length we have reached the period of 
 our career. The pope may yet exift for the 
 comfort of fome millions of pious fouls : but 
 the Roman government, of which he was the 
 head, is irretrievably overturned^ and its dis- 
 jointed wreck lies fcattered in different directions. 
 On the /ite which it once^ occupied, a new go- 
 vernment has been reared. Although its orga- 
 nifation does not make a part of our fubjeft, at 
 leaft our duty requires that we point out the 
 moft material innovations which it produced in. 
 what was termed the Ecclefiaftieal State, and 
 efpecially in its capital. 
 
 It may naturally be concluded, that, imme- 
 diately after the arrival of the French in Rome, 
 the greater part of thofe eitablifhments which 
 were linked with the Roman church vanifhed 
 from fight, and alrnoft all thofe that conllituted 
 u part of the pope's temporal government. The
 
 373 
 
 principal edifices received a new deftination, 
 In the palace on Mount-Quirinal, known alfo 
 "by the name of Monte-Cavallo, where the Ro- 
 man pontiff was wont to fpend a portion of the 
 year, the directory took their ftation, and efta-. 
 blifhed their offices and all their dependencies : 
 and, although that palace is fpacioufly ample, 
 the directory united with it, for their ufe, the 
 edifice of the Confulta. 
 
 The Vatican, fo long revered as the fanc^uary 
 whence iffued thofe fpiritual thunders which 
 fo oft have fhakcn Europe the Vatican, where, 
 to the difgrace of Chriftian humility, pontifical 
 luxury was difplayed amid furrounding matter* 
 pieces of the arts, and rich collections of books, 
 mannfcripts, and all thofe productions of genius 
 which reflect honour on the human race the 
 Vatican, on cealing to be the rcfidence of a 
 doubly defpotic fovereign, was exclufively de- 
 voted to the fciences. There was eftablifhed 
 the new national institute, and there were lodge 4 
 all its members, notwithstanding the averfion 
 they had teftified to that part of Rome, which 
 prejudice had reprefented as infalubrious. 
 
 It may well be imagined that the propaganda, 
 the Holy Office, and all the monuments of into- 
 lerant fanaticifm, have for ever vaniihed, as 
 likewife every thing not effentially connected 
 with the catholic church. Of thofe various in- 
 2
 
 37-i 
 
 ftitutions which difgraced religion at the fame 
 time that they enriched its minifters, a fingle 
 one has furvived the univerfal reform : that is 
 the office of the datario, which owes its prefer- 
 vation to motives of policy. The reformers 
 felt that they could not abolim it without ma- 
 terially injuring the projperity of regenerate 
 Rome, of whofe refources a confiderable por- 
 tion was cut off by the revolution, inafmuch as 
 it has for a time banifhed from her walls thofe 
 foreigners jyho came to admire and ftudy the 
 mafter-produ&ions of the arts, and for ever all 
 thofe who came to beg or purchafe favours from 
 the papal court. 
 
 The datario annually poured into that capi~ 
 tal of popery a fupply of about three mil- 
 lions of livres a fum which could not, without 
 ferious inconveniences, be withdrawn from a 
 population of a hundred and fixty thoufand 
 fouls, nearly deftitute of all the aids of indu- 
 ftry. Befides, it was much lefs the patrimony 
 of the priefls than of a multitude of fecretaries 
 and clerks and others who would, by its aboli- 
 tion, have fuddenly found themfelves deprived 
 of all means of fubfiftence. In particular, it 
 was the fole dependence of a great number of 
 private individuals, who enjoyed, under the 
 name of vacabili, annuities fecured by mortgage' 
 of the produce of the datario. That inftitution
 
 375 
 
 has therefore been differed to fubfift, with only 
 an alteration in its form. The minifter of the 
 court of Madrid, previous to his departure from 
 Rome, concurred with the new government in 
 organifing a new eftablifhment, whence the bulls 
 for benefices are, in the name of the abfent pon- 
 tiff, ifTued to the fubjefts of Spain in nearly 
 fimilar manner as heretofore. The other poten- 
 tates who, for the fame object, ftill maintain re- 
 lations with the Holy See, have likewife made 
 particular arrangements on that head. 
 
 Another inftitutionhas been annihilated, which 
 was at once interwoven with both the tem- 
 poral and the fpiritual powers, and was in- 
 compatible with the new form of government : 
 \ve mean the functions of the cardinal-vicar. 
 
 That officer was not only the pope's vicar- 
 general a's biftiop of Rome, but allb a judge in- 
 verted with temporal authority, and poffeffing a 
 jurifdi&ion, both civil and criminal, which 
 equally extended to the laity as to the clergy. 
 With him lay the direftion of the police, and 
 the fuperintendence of the moral conduct of the 
 citizens. In the exercife of thefe powers which 
 are liable to fo many abufes, he had for his fe- 
 cret agents a horde of fpies who frequently hur- 
 ried him to arbitrary exceiTes, by blafting, on the 
 flighted fufpicion, the honour of married wo- 
 men, and fometimes that of their 
 2 B 4
 
 376 
 
 v rhe twenty-eight parifh-priefts of Rome aided 
 him in his functions : they infmuated themfelves 
 into families : they pryed into their domeftic 
 fecrets -, and their troublefome vigilance had a 
 ftronger tendency to excite fcandal than to re- 
 prefs diforder. This fpecies of inquifition ceafed 
 on the arrival of the French i and in its (lead 
 was fubftituted a police organifed on the re- 
 publican fyftem. 
 
 As to the purely ecclefiaftic functions of the 
 pope, thofe prejudices which the reformers 
 wifhed to refpect would not fuffer them to be 
 fufpended. They were committed to a prelate 
 .who'fe exiftence was hardly fufpeted the per- 
 fon who, under the title of vice-Cerent t governed 
 the diocefe of Rome properly fo called. He 
 has continued to officiate pontifically and with 
 all the former pomp. He began his career 
 by aboliming a great number of feftivals : and, 
 although his jurifdiction be confined within the 
 limits of his own bifhopric, he extended that 
 abolition to every other diocefe in the Roman 
 republic. The French commiffioners, far from 
 oppofing this kind of ufurpation, were glad to 
 fee an ecclefiaftic authority, legal or not, reform 
 an abufe which the temporal power could not 
 perhaps have attacked with equal fuccefs. 
 
 The metropolitan church of the catholic 
 world, the church of Saint Peter at Rome, has
 
 '377 
 
 loft nothing of its former fplendor by the change 
 of the government. The illumination of its dome 
 has been feveral times repeated j and it has 
 even been made to difplay that fpe&acle, of 
 fuch magic effecl, known by the appellation of 
 the <c luminous crofs" The reformers did not 
 choofe to deprive the Romans of any one of 
 thofe acceflbries of their public worfhip to which 
 they attached fo great value. They have even 
 fuffered the church of Saint Peter to retain the 
 income ' of Avhich it was before poflefled: its 
 canons enjoy their prebends, hold their chap- 
 ters, and attend the choir, as in time paft. No 
 alteration has been made in the vefture of the 
 priefts or friars : the proscription has been con- 
 fined to the dignity and decorations of the car- 
 dinals, becaufe their order was a furreptitious 
 interpolation on the true ecclefiaftic hierarchy, 
 and they constituted rather the political than 
 the fpiritual council of the pontiff. Refpeft 
 was paid, in Saint Peter's, even to that famous 
 Jacred door which was never opened but once in 
 every twenty-five years ; and over it are ftill 
 read the words, " Pius VI. anno 1775 aperuit et 
 daufit *." Nothing was removed except thofe 
 faftuous infcriptions with which tne pontiffs 
 had decorated the profane edifices occupied as 
 
 * Pius VI. opened and fhut [this door] in the year !/"-
 
 the feats of their perfonal refidence : and the 
 portal of Saint Peter's cathedral ftill informs the 
 paffenger that to the care of Paul V. the arts 
 and religion are indebted for that immortal mo- 
 nument. 
 
 The new government has particularly pre- 
 ferved two eftablifhments of a purely temporal 
 nature, in which the whole Roman people were 
 interefted the two banks known by the names 
 of the monte-di-pieta and the Spirito-Santo. 
 
 The former of thefe had originally been no* 
 thing more than a bank where money was lent 
 on pawns, and which iffued notes or cedole re- 
 prefenting the value of the property that it re- 
 ceived. In procefs of time it degenerated from 
 its primitive inftitution : its notes were multi- 
 plied far beyond the extent of its capital ; and 
 there is no exaggeration in aflerting, that, to- 
 ward the conclufion of Pius's pontificate, above 
 four fifths of that paper-money were unfecured 
 by pledges. The hofpital of the Spirito-Santo, 
 on the contrary, poffefles very confiderable re- 
 venues. It had acquired great credit, received 
 depofits of money, circulated its notes, and 
 paid them without difficulty on prefentation. 
 In thefe latter times, that falutary inftitution 
 had been utterly perverted : the amount of its 
 notes far exceeded that of its funds j and no- 
 thing but fmall notes, with barely the balance
 
 379 
 
 in fpecie, could be obtained of it in exchange 
 of its larger paper. To provide for his extrava- 
 gant expenfes, Pius had greatly augmented the 
 debts of that eftablifhment. 
 
 It was a taflc of no fmall difficulty for the 
 new government to remedy fo many ,diforders, 
 efpecially at the epoch of a revolution which 
 necefiarily demanded an increafe of expenditure. 
 At its outfet, however, it grafped fuch refources 
 as circumftances prefented to it : in the firft 
 place it affumed the inheritance of all the do- 
 mains belonging to the extincl: government, and 
 of the property adminiftered by the Apoftolic 
 Chamber : to thefe were added the poffeffions 
 of feveral religious communities, whofe abolition 
 "was effected without violent means. This re- 
 form was begun by fending away from. Rome 
 all the foreign monks and friars, by whofe re^ 
 moval the multitudinous fwarms of thofe pious 
 drones were reduced above one third. In con~ 
 fequence of this meafure, feveral communities 
 were reduced to two or three members : a cer- 
 tain number of thefe were united in one place j 
 and the polTeffions of the vacant convents were 
 declared to be national property. Another fpe- 
 cies became, by confiscation, French property ; 
 fuch as thofe of the duke Brafchi. Thofe of 
 both descriptions were expofed to fale : but the 
 former, infpiring the purchafers with lefs conri-
 
 380 
 
 dence, were not fold at above feven or eight 
 years' p.urchafe, whereas the latter produced ten 
 or twelve times their annual value. 
 
 In the cedole the government naturally fore- 
 faw a fource of embarraflment. To raife their 
 value a little, it ftrove to open a channel to 
 drain them from circulation, and accepted them 
 at par to the amount of one third of the pur- 
 chafe of the national property. But this meafure 
 appearing to throw too great a burden on 'a 
 treafury which could not afford to fuffer any 
 loffes, in a fhort time the cedole were not taken 
 at any higher rate than that at which they paffed 
 in the ordinary courfe of exchange. 
 
 To fupply the city with provifions was one of 
 the principal objects which engaged the anxious 
 attention of the government in its outfet; and 
 here it reaped the bitter fruits of the difaftrous 
 adminiftration to which it had fucceeded. Com- 
 pelled to have recourfe to the ruinous expe- 
 dients which we had employed in 1794, it 
 bought up corn at a high price, and retailed it 
 at a lofs. 
 
 But how was it to provide for this expenfe, 
 and for all the others concomitant on the revo- 
 lution ? The firft plan adopted was that of im- 
 pofing a tax on capital, and to exatt three per 
 cent from all thofe who poffeflTed eftates exceed* 
 jng five thoufand crowns in valise. But the col-
 
 leclton of this fupply proceeded flovvly, and the 
 public neceflities each day became more and 
 more urgent : it was therefore found neceflary 
 to call in the aid of thofe enormous contribu- 
 tions levied on the principal families of Rome 
 revolutionary meafures, it is true meafures 
 fraught with ruin even , to the ( multitude, fince 
 they compelled thofe families to curtail their 
 expenfes, to leave their domeftics deflitute of 
 occupation, their tradefmen deftitute of bufi- 
 nefs, their workmen defntute of employment. 
 But the circurnftances were imperious : nor is it 
 eafy to remedy the inveterate evils generated by 
 a radically defective adminiftration : it is not the 
 work of a few months to re-animate agriculture 
 and induftry, paralyfed by feveral fucceffive cen- 
 turies of ignorance and fupine negleth 
 
 What will neverthelefs afionith all thofe who 
 were acquainted with the deplorable condition 
 of the Ecclefiaftical State, is the exertions which 
 Jt was able to bear even after the difmember- 
 ment of its two richeft provinces, the legations 
 of Bologna and Ferrara. By this lofs the Holy 
 See had expiated its firft offences againft the 
 French republic. A fecond time it aroufed her 
 reftmtment: our army advanced as far as To- 
 lentino : a contribution of thirty-five millions 
 was demanded : the court of Rome found mean.
 
 382 
 
 to furnifh it, partly in fpecie, partly in diamonds 
 which at firft were admitted as part of the pay- 
 ment : afterward 'the value of the diamonds 
 was excluded from the account ; and the pope 
 was obliged to complete in cam the full amount 
 of the contribution. To this fum if we add the 
 requifitions in kind, the produce of pillage, the 
 fpoils of churches, the taxes impofed on the 
 principal families, &c.. &c. we mall not be 
 guilty of exaggeration in aiTerting, that, from 
 that country apparently fo poor, there have 
 been drawn by various modes nearly two hun- 
 dred millions of livres *. It is true, indeed, 
 that its means are now exhaufted - that the 
 chief fources of its artificial wealth are dried 
 up that fpeedy diligence muft be exerted to 
 open others, as the only expedient to fave 
 that ftate from falling to diffolution at the very 
 moment of its revivifcence. One of the mofl 
 effectual meafures for warding off that calamity 
 is to recall the fine arts which have been banifli- 
 ed by the revolutionary tumult from that land 
 which feems to be their true birth-place. Even 
 without awaiting the return of peace, the new 
 government have already beftowed their atten- 
 tion on that defirable objeft, and their efforts 
 have been feconded by France. 
 
 * Above efght millions ftcrling.
 
 383 
 
 It is fome months fmce the French directory 
 have called for the refurrection of that academy 
 of painting, fculpture, and architecture, from 
 which have come forth fome of the great ge- 
 niufes that reflect luftre on our country. It was 
 prapofed to complete the eftablimment by the 
 aflbciation of mufic : the Roman republic has 
 even created funds for its fupport, and affigned 
 to it a revenue of fixty-thoufand livres to be 
 taken from the thirty millions placed at her dif- 
 pofal. 
 
 But that revenue, and the eftablimment itfelf, 
 will be of precarious duration fo long as the 
 Roman republic remains unconfolidated. If it 
 mould be fhaken by new convulfions if the 
 profpect of its permanency mould ftill continue 
 doubtful if internal and external dangers fliould 
 threaten its exiftence, and banifh from it the fe- 
 curity and leifure of peace- there would then 
 be ftrong reafon to fear left that capital of the 
 arts mould lie buried under the ruins of the pa- 
 pacy. 
 
 We have now conducted the pontificate of 
 Pius VI. even beyond that cataftrophe which, in 
 prematurely inflicting on it the ftroke of death, 
 has fruftrated all the calculations of probabi- 
 lity. We have alfo afTifted at the fubver- 
 fion of his temporal throne, and the firft opera-
 
 584 
 
 .i 
 
 tions of the popular government who have fea-ted 
 themfelves in his place. The head of the Ro- 
 man church ftill exifts for the faithful : but the 
 defpot of Rome has difappeared. A few re- 
 flexions on that fingular event (hall conclude our 
 work.
 
 385 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Ccnclujion. 
 
 H 
 
 ISTORY abounds with events which elude 
 the eye of common forefight, and even take fa- 
 gacity itfelf unaware. The fubverfion of the 
 pontifical throne cannot appear furprifing ex- 
 cept to thofe who are void of reflexion. Its 
 long duration is much more aftonifhing than its 
 rapid fall : an afiertion whofe truth is proved to 
 demonftration by the feries of facts which we 
 have related. 
 
 For the artificial exiftence of the government of 
 the Ecclefiaftical State, juftly comparable to a co- 
 loflus with feet of clay, no other caufe could be 
 affigned than the illufion by which it was environ- 
 ed. But, within the laft fifty years in particular, 
 how many circumftances concurred in diffipating 
 that illufion ! the abolition of the Society of 
 Jefus the progrefs of philofophy, fo formidable 
 to facred prejudices the efforts of alrnoft all 
 the fovereigns to ftrip the Holy See of its ufur- 
 pations the continuity and impunity of their 
 fuccefles, &c. &c. 
 
 VOL. II. 2 C
 
 386 
 
 The pontiff's temporal authority was fo in- 
 timately interwoven with the divinity of his 
 miffion, that it was impoifible to render the lat- 
 ter doubtful without rendering the former pre- 
 carious. An elective fovereign, elevated to the 
 throne at the approach of old age and con- 
 demned to die without poflerity, could not 
 itrike deep roots around him, or increafe his re- 
 fpeclability by alliances. -His family, taking 
 advantage of his tranfient fplendor, might indeed 
 excite envy, but could not, like thofe of other 
 fovereigns, derive numerous fupports from the 
 operation of hope, from the permanency of their 
 influence, from that refpecl which is mechani- 
 cally paid to nobility of blood. Thus the fcep- 
 tred pontiff flood ifolated in the midft of his 
 court, and had no other fupport than the fuper- 
 ftitious zeal to which he was indebted for his 
 exaltation. His interefts were connected only 
 with thofe of religion : through it he ruled j and 
 with it he mult fall, unaided by any auxiliaries 
 except the obfcure and impotent herd of de- 
 votees. 
 
 The perfonal talents of the pope could alone 
 compenfate the fragility of the foundations on 
 which his throne retted. But what could be ex- 1 
 peted of a pontiff who, by the tedious duration 
 of his reign, fatigued the impatience of his pre- 
 fumptive fucceffors -alienated the minds of the
 
 387 
 
 people by his exactions difgufted all ranks by 
 the crying abufes of nepotifm fucceflively loft 
 all thofe prerogatives which had ever been 
 deemed facred and, by his errors as well as his 
 reverfes, convinced even the vulgar throng that 
 the vicar of Jefus-Chrift was but a frail mortal ? 
 
 In endowing Pius with fome virtues which 
 would have rendered him an eftimable character 
 in a private ftation, nature had refufed him all 
 thofe great qualities which fupport a throne in 
 tempeftuous times, efpecially that providence 
 which prepares its poffefTor to meet anticipated 
 events, and that dexterity which enables him to 
 elude their influence. He had not even thofe 
 energetic vices which fometimes procure a par- 
 don for criminal deeds. To be able to face the 
 exifting circumftances, he ought to have united 
 the moderation of Benedict XIV. with the firm- 
 nefs of Sixtus V. : but Pius's moderation was 
 never any other than timidity his firmnefs, than 
 tranfient obftinacy. 
 
 If indeed, himfelf incapable of guiding the 
 reins of government with a vigorous hand, he 
 had refigned them to a minifter of fuperior abi- 
 lity if he had poflefled the art of combining in 
 aflbciation the ambition of the great and the 
 aflent of the people all might yet have been 
 well with him. But this was not the cafe : on 
 2 c 2
 
 388 
 
 the contrary, his miftruft and vanity excluding 
 all thofe who would have been able to afford 
 ailiftance to his incapacity, Pius neither knew 
 how to fway the fceptre himfelf nor fuffer it to 
 be fwayed by others. 
 
 Under his long pontificate, the finews of that 
 government which of itfelf was fo enervate, be- 
 came (till farther relaxed. No vigilance was 
 difcernible in the police, no feverity in the pro- 
 ceedings of juftice, no order in the finances. 
 There was nobody at Rome to command, no- 
 body to obey. The minifters themfelves felt and 
 acknowledged their impotence : feldom was an 
 inftance difcovered of their wifli to injure more 
 feldom ftill, of their energy. They had more 
 than once been heard to fay, with pitiful in- 
 genuoufnefs, . in anfvver to reclamations which 
 they allowed to be juft, " We will give orders ; 
 " but we are fure that they will not be ex- 
 " ecuted." 
 
 The grandees of the Ecclefiaftical State were 
 neither the adversaries nor the fupporters of that 
 pufillanimous government. Without feeling any 
 intereft in its profperity, they lived, with refpeft 
 to it, in the moft apathic neutrality. The fplen- 
 dor of their race, and their great fortunes, might 
 have given them at lead feme influence: but ef- 
 feminacy and flavery had rendered them fo dc-
 
 389 
 
 generate that they would not have made any 
 greater efforts to produce a revolution in Rome 
 than they did to prevent it. They flood an un- 
 refifting prey for the firft invader, whether he 
 came with views of conqueft or of emancipation. 
 At the approach of the French army, they ad- 
 vanced to meet liberty, not with the enthufiafm 
 of men worthy of its bleffings, but with the do- 
 cility of flaves. Fortunately for themfelves, for- 
 tunately for the people, none of the nobles made 
 any attempt at refiftance : and their paflive ac- 
 quiefcence is attributable ftill lefs to their want 
 of energy than to their profound indifference 
 for the government under which they lived. 
 
 Neverthelefs, with fuch fupports, with troops 
 whofe compofition and difcipline were become 
 proverbial, with a difcontented people, Pius 
 dared to provoke the French republic. Twice 
 flie had difdained to overturn his tottering 
 throne : its fubverfion was not an exploit whence 
 (lie could hope to derive an acceilion of glory: 
 s the axe employed to cut down reeds? But an 
 additional crime derided the doom of the Ec- 
 cleliaftical S.a^. And although it fhould be 
 proved that Pius had no direct participation in 
 that criminal deed, 'tis to hirh neverthelefs, to his 
 want of (kill, his improvidence, his blind .obfti- 
 nacy, his fanatic provocations, that we mult at-
 
 395 
 
 tribute every thing which prepared and acce- 
 lerated the cataftrophe of which he has fallen 
 the vi6Hm. Under him, the Roman ftate had 
 for many years been gradually per idling in flow 
 agonies : at the frown of exafperate France, It 
 only completed the a& of dying which was al- 
 ready begun. 
 
 It will never experience a refurre&ion, what- 
 ever may be the events which Italy is fore- 
 doomed to witnefs. The faithful catholics may 
 yet continue to beftow the appellation of 
 " pope" on their fpiritual chief, eftablifhed 
 wherever circumftances fhall permit : they may, 
 notwithstanding this new temped by which their 
 church has been fhaken, ftill repeat that " the 
 " gates of the grave mall not prevail againft it :'* 
 but that amphibious fovereign, half man half 
 god for whom the fceptre and the cenfer 
 jointly challenged the homage of mankind hat 
 for ever difappeared; and, viewed under that 
 twofold afpet, he will be regretted by none. 
 
 Time will determine whether thofe who were 
 his fubje&s corrupted and enervated by every 
 thing which can degrade the manly charater 
 are worthy of being republicans. Whatever 
 may be the form of the government on which 
 they fettle their choice, they will foon perceive 
 that they could not but gain by any change; and.
 
 391 
 
 convinced that their fo-long-retarded regene- 
 ration could not otherwife have been effeted 
 than by the excefs of former abufes and degra- 
 dation, they will perhaps at fome future day 
 blefs the pontificate of Pius the Sixth. 
 
 END. 
 
 S. HAMILTON, Falcon-court, Fleet-ftreet, London.
 
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