MEN I HAVE PAINTED
the Pope has sat for his portrait but once. At the earnest request of a member of the Pecci family, and in the interest of a young man, intimately known to the family, the Pope was persuaded to grant him a few sittings. All the other portraits have been painted from sketches, made, perhaps, during public audiences, from memory, or from photographs."
While His Eminence was talking the thought entered my head to ask him for a sitting. He was princely in appearance, of a dark, strong, southern type, with well-developed features. The long, black frock, touched here and there with purple and gold, the black hair and biretta against the background of gold and damask, made an imposing picture. Had there been a mirror on the other side of the room, reflecting him and me, I should have been shocked at the contrast between our two personalities—one belonging to all time, tall and attired with dignity that welcomes respect, the other clad in jacket and trousers that belong to no time and repel every æsthetic sense, as well as respect.
My disappointment was mollified by what had been recounted to me by this courteous and kindly Prince of the Church, and, saying good-bye, I slowly descended the marble steps, sad but not angry. The dream had vanished. Rome had no further interest for me.
Some time after this, when I visited the International Exhibition in Chicago, I saw in one of the picture galleries the portrait of Leo XIII by the young friend of the Pecci family. It bore upon its face the proof of Cardinal Rampollo's statement that it had been painted from nature.
Printed in Great Britain by
UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON
