stretched arm the nearest lamp-post. On this, accordingly, the ruffian was instantly strung up by the crowd—the police keeping discreetly out of the way—in a manner which exposed him to derision and pelting during his long death-agony.
There was no proof that the wretch was other than a half insane fanatic, acting for his own hand; but suspicion that he had been suborned, fastened—very unjustly, no doubt—on a certain portion of the regular clergy. And, as the signora had a large number of friends in the national parliament, ministers were only too glad to avail themselves of this pretext to introduce measures which should give effect to the popular indignation. A bill, ostensibly for suppression of the Budget of Public Worship, was brought in, and carried by a large majority; but, in reality, its clauses went much further than mere disestablishment and disendowment. They were secretly laid before Madame Pisa-Vitri herself, and amended by her, certainly not in the direction of leniency. The principal were as follows: The whole revenues of the Church in Italy to be confiscated, and the Catholic places of worship to be closed until the priests belonging to them should marry; all preaching and lecturing by unmarried priests to be prevented, forcibly if necessary; the Vatican and St Peter’s to be taken possession of by the Government, and fitted up as a grand secular college for girls; lastly, military service was to be made compulsory upon seminarists as upon other youths; for this purpose, however, a special corps d’armée was to be created, en- rolling clerical members only; so that the burden might be made tolerable to the conscripts, so far at least to exempt them from herding with their social inferiors and laymen. As a set-off against this privilege, however, Madame Pisa-Vitri devised a uniform for the clerical corps, which at first was hardly to their taste.
