le in giving audiences and receiving deputations
from every country where there were members of the Catholic Church. On
such occasions he never failed to speak words of edification and
encouragement. It was even said that he spoke too much. They were not,
however, of the number of his friends who call him _il Papa verboso_. He
was endowed with a wonderful gift of speech, and he always used it
effectively. His discourses were invariably to the purpose, the subject of
them being suggested by the most recent events, by the nationality of his
visitors, or by the expressed pious intentions which brought them to his
presence. He made allusion very often to the Gospel of the preceding
Sunday, or to the festival of the day, and concluded by imparting his
benediction, which his hearers always received kneeling, and seldom
without tears. The addresses of Pius IX. delivered at the Vatican have
been preserved by the stenographic art, and fill many volumes. His ideas
sometimes found expression in conversations with distinguished visitors.
Such was the case on occasion of the visit, in 1872, of the Prince of
Wales, the heir apparent of the British Crown. His Royal Highness showed
his good taste by declining the use of Victor Emmanuel's equipages in
coming to the Vatican. The Princess also made manifest her respect for the
well-known sentiments of Pius IX. in regard to showy toilettes by
appearing in a plain dress. There was a striking contrast between the
placid old man, so near the close of his career, and the handsome young
couple, in the flower of their age. The Prince and the Pope appeared
delighted at meeting; and the eyes of the Princess, who looked alternately
at the animated figure of her husband and the benevolent countenance of
the venerable Pontiff, were suffused with tears. The Pope began the
conversation by expressing his great admiration for the character, both
public and private, of the Queen of Great Britain; and smiling
expressively, and not without a slight degree of Italian irony, he thanked
the British ministers who, more than once, had offered him, in the name of
the Queen, an asylum on British territory. "You see, Prince, I have not
left Rome quite as soon as some of your statesmen supposed I would." The
Holy Father then alluded to the existing state of things, adding: "In my
present condition I am assuredly more happy than those who consider
themselves more the masters of Rome than myself. I have no fear for my
d