it. I hope you will approve of my Latinity. You can kiss the
Pope's feet tomorrow at ten o'clock."

When I got home, as I reflected on the character of this strange
cardinal--a wit, haughty, vain, and boastful, I resolved to make him a
fine present. It was the 'Pandectarum liber unicus' which M. de F. had
given me at Berne, and which I did not know what to do with. It was a
folio well printed on fine paper, choicely bound, and in perfect
preservation. As chief librarian the present should be a valuable one to
him, all the more as he had a large private library, of which my friend
the Abbe Winckelmann was librarian. I therefore wrote a short Latin
letter, which I enclosed in another to Winckelmann, whom I begged to
present my offering to his eminence.

I thought it was as valuable as his funeral oration at any rate, and I
hoped that he would give me a more comfortable chair for the future.

Next morning, at the time appointed, I went to Monte Cavallo, which ought
to be called Monte Cavalli, as it gets its name from two fine statues of
horses standing on a pedestal in the midst of the square, where the Holy
Father's palace is situated.

I had no real need of being presented to the Pope by anyone, as any
Christian is at liberty to go in when he sees the door open. Besides I
had known His Holiness when he was Bishop of Padua; but I had preferred
to claim the honor of being introduced by a cardinal.

After saluting the Head of the Faithful, and kissing the holy cross
embroidered on his holy slipper, the Pope put his right hand on my left
shoulder, and said he remembered that I always forsook the assembly at
Padua, when he intoned the Rosary.

"Holy Father, I have much worse sins than that on my conscience, so I
come prostrate at your foot to receive your absolution."

He then gave me his benediction, and asked me very graciously what he
could do for me.

"I beg Your Holiness to plead for me, that I may be able to return to
Venice."

"We will speak of it to the ambassador, and then we will speak again to
you on the matter."

"Do you often go and see Cardinal Passionei?"

"I have been three times. He gave me his funeral oration on Prince
Eugene, and in return I sent him the 'Pandects'."

"Has he accepted them?"

"I think so, Holy Father."

"If he has, he will send Winckelmann to pay you for them."

"That would be treating me like a bookseller; I will not receive any
payment."

"Then he will return the volu