ed such a law as hypocritical and iniquitous. In the supposition
that he could have derived any benefit from accepting it, he would still
have been at the mercy of a fickle king and parliament, to whom it was
competent, at any moment, to change the law which they had made. The
safety of the Holy Father, under Heaven, lay in this, that the newly
erected kingdom of Victor Emmanuel was most ambitious to figure as a State
among the States of Europe. To none of these would it have been pleasing
to see the venerable Pontiff forcibly driven from the city of the Popes.
It was necessary, as far as possible, to blindfold them.

"I have, indeed, great need of money." said Pius IX., when the sum
appropriated by the law of guarantees was first presented for his
acceptance; "my children, everywhere, impose on themselves the most
serious sacrifices in order to supply my wants, at all times so great, but
to which you are daily adding. As it is a portion of the property that has
been stolen from me, I could only accept it as restitution money. I will
never sign a receipt which would appear to express my acquiescence in the
robbery." Every succeeding year the form, or rather the farce, of offering
the subsidy was renewed and as often rejected. That the offer of so large
a sum was hypocritical, and intended only for show, is well proved by the
circumstance that the liberal Italian government deprived of their incomes
and drove from their places of residence many bishops, whose wants were
supplied in their great distress from the resources of the Holy Father.

Love is stronger than hate; and so well-beloved was Pius IX. throughout
Catholic Christendom, that contributions of money from every country where
there were any Catholics were poured into his treasury, in such abundance
as more than compensated for the loss of his Italian revenue. Not only
were these contributions, under the name of Peter's pence, sufficient to
maintain the venerable Pontiff during the remainder of his days, without
its being necessary to accept, as a royal benefaction, any portion of the
property that was stolen from him, they also sufficed to enable him to
continue their salaries to his former employees, who had almost all
remained faithful, as well as to those still required for his service and
for transacting the business of the Church. In addition to this, he
retained on half or quarter pay a number of the soldiers of his former
army, and maintained his establis