V.
PIUS VII. expired in the Quirinal, and, in accordance with the letter of the law prescribing a Conclave to be held in the very palace in which the Pope dies, the Cardinals congregated there. Since then, however, they have continued to do so on each vacancy, without any warranty of the kind. The Vatican is now therefore deserted as regards those Conclave doings with which its name stands so closely associated. Not that Papal elections were uniformly held there. The churches of Rome abound in historical memories' connected with the scenes of Conclaves. Several memorable Popes were created in the Church of the Minerva; and even Sta. Sabina, that stands in solemn loneliness upon the unpeopled heights of the desolate Aventine, once was the scene
