| Show BLUE JACKETS SEEING ROME A midshipman an writes ing account of it we arrived here rome on monday I 1 evening a heavy squall running aud and a beastly day altogether this place la Is rather uninteresting there belne being no theater or anything else ot of interest in the town I 1 went over an old fortress in the town which Is at 81 present unoccupied tile admiral made a signal the midshipmen would be allowed leave from friday to sunday to go to rome it they Thel the italian tallan government had two special irom front civita clelta vecchia end and rome every day bayone one in the morning the other at night I 1 went up on friday morning with about fifty officers and men the journey takes about two hours and as an they gave us first class carriages it passed very comfortably fort ably I 1 engaged rooms for or myself nil nd friend who was coming on by a late it train aln at tile continental hotel a line place just outside the station mind I 1 then wl went int a tour or ol infix InI cuon Ilon round the town tonn and had a look at some ot of the prine principal I 1 p a I 1 buildings and palaces on Sa morning we visited the vatican bican and st peters they shut up the vatican before we me had seen much so AO we IL spent tie rest of the morning in st on sunday the pope announced that hi he would hold high mass and afterwards told hold a reception of the officers and men ot of the heel fleet of course this was as it a voit very exceptional privilege to the roman catholics ns as the pope only cel abr I 1 es ei mass once it a year in public I 1 and it of course it Is very liri cult 1 lt to gett rito the church ile he alio algo 5 said 1 I 1 he did not object to rinn non roman homan catholics attending the service the service was going to be held in chapel of the th 0 vatican the sixtine chapel and there theio it was that I 1 turned lip at 8 9 a in on sunday in full uniform and my dirk irk there v were ere bl about ill men ell and nil fifty officers in attendance tile latter in their cockpit hats epaulettes epaul ettes and swords we were seated in body of itic th church church while a few pilgrims were 1 allowed I to 0 stay at tile the back at adf 8 the rope pope leo XIII arrived carried on it a throne and preceded by a guard of nf noblemen nob limen and a number of pr prelates elates the old pope he Is ST Is a kindly look gitig old man and rather bent with a ase a he bears an extraordinary likeness to the photographs of phil may when lie he got up the end of the aisle he descended from his big chair and arranged himself or rather was arranged its as he Is lather shaky it in ilia his pontifical robes an and d then helped by the attendant priest he walked up to tile the altar and in a low old voice lie celebrated high mass tile the choir which ji Is one of the finest in bui ope singling singing beautifully cearly all the time after lie he tail had finished he was placed on his big throne where lie he prayed and one of the pre ates DID THE WHOLE TIT THING ING again it n was as a mos most t impressive sight bight anil and tile the different orders ot of the priests looked deiy line fine the rope had as a guari guar I a number of 0 nob noblemen leinen some of 0 ithen them princes ond and ell all over six feet lit in height after tile tho sern ben tee ice the pope went away for ten minutes and then lie he returned lelu ined and the reception commenced between a line of 0 nobles and priests each officer went up to til ill pope who was seated on his throne by the high altar knelt dou donn n on one knee and kissed hissed an enormous ling which he wears on ili lila linger or it lie he were a roman catholic he kissed his toe also when my turn came around I 1 did as I 1 have just said and was just going to rise when the old man asked inc via his chamberlain as lie he cannot speak eng lish llah my name I 1 gave him the name or our Illus illustrious triou s family he then asked me it if I 1 was a roman itoman catholic and I 1 aepli d in the negative he then ihen blessed me and I 1 got up tip and left lie he was as much amused at some of the other midshipmen wil who are very short and he be could riot not understand our uniform these short eton jackets we wear atter after this we were taken round st peters I 1 ascenda asca to the dome from wh whence a fi line view ew of 0 rome pome Is to be seen when we ave had come dom down n it was time tor for this the lunch which the english I 1 roman catholics had provided for the 0 at and d men ot of the fleet covers were laid for fifty officers anil and at about out four hundred men and it was served in n tile the vatican palace all tho the waiters were ana temis and every one of them some noble of 0 soils a regular mixture of princes of the blood prelates pr elates ard and all the lofta in ili rome it was very good of them to wait it t and it was very amusing to watch them as they wore were not all very good at it as might well be expected after the band had played god save tile queen seven times limes running why will they always do it ha anil the italian anthem nearly as many we cli vering the while they started stalled the usual i ches about the ariti h flet the queen pope and england arid and italy you know the sort ot of thing during the lunch they handed round small email medallions with till the of tile the pope on them and blessed bit peed by him they are rather interesting as keepsakes keep sakes after lunch wo we were taken round the gard garden n by permission of the pope no ono except the popes personal attendants has ever been allow allowed d to so go lit in them before in the palace itself S e it th there re ar are L some lovely statues apollo belvedere ITel vedere the and many others unfortunately the a ga I 1 lodes were closed why I 1 dont know the men were pi provided with carriages carr lases to visit places of interest arid and they were a also so given a supper just beffie leiti in a for civita vecchia la I 1 came down that hat night having spent a splendid if time me un there the I 1 italians ilir did us very well trotting us round as aa much as we liked A mid shipmans ship mans letter in the london times |
