en he
heard it. He declared that the people should be satisfied, and,
since they had not been allowed to come to him, he would go to them.
Accordingly, the next day, though rainy and of a searching cold like
that of a Scotch mist, we had all our windows thrown open, and the red
and yellow tapestries hung out. He passed through the principal parts
of the city, the people throwing themselves on their knees and crying
out, "O Holy Father, don't desert us! don't forget us! don't listen
to our enemies!" The Pope wept often, and replied, "Fear nothing,
my people, my heart is yours." At last, seeing how ill he was, they
begged him to go in, and he returned to the Quirinal; the present
Tribune of the People, as far as rule in the heart is concerned,
Ciceronacchio, following his carriage. I shall give some account of
this man in another letter.

For the moment, the difficulties are healed, as they will be whenever
the Pope directly shows himself to the people. Then his generous,
affectionate heart will always act, and act on them, dissipating the
clouds which others have been toiling to darken.

In speaking of the intrigues of these emissaries of the power of
darkness, I will mention that there is a report here that they are
trying to get an Italian Consul for the United States, and one in the
employment of the Jesuits. This rumor seems ridiculous; yet it is true
that Dr. Beecher's panic about Catholic influence in the United
States is not quite unfounded, and that there is considerable hope
of establishing a new dominion there. I hope the United States will
appoint no Italian, no Catholic, to a consulship. The representative
of the United States should be American; our national character
and interests are peculiar, and cannot be fitly represented by a
foreigner, unless, like Mr. Ombrossi of Florence, he has passed part
of his youth in the United States. It would, indeed, be well if our
government paid attention to qualification for the office in the
candidate, and not to pretensions founded on partisan service;
appointing only men of probity, who would not stain the national
honor in the sight of Europe. It would be wise also not to select men
entirely ignorant of foreign manners, customs, ways of thinking, or
even of any language in which to communicate with foreign society,
making the country ridiculous by all sorts of blunders; but 't were
pity if a sufficient number of Americans could not be found, who are
honest, have s