He sent for the nearest cardinals. Ragna, Saviolli, Semphill, Sterling, Talacryn, Carvale, Van Kristen, Gentilotto, Leighton, Whitehead, responded to the summons. Hadrian received them in the throne-room, but without formality; and contrived to give them an easy and genial greeting. They thought Him to be looking seriously ill. There was the dead whiteness of a gardenia in the hue of His face and hands: His reddish-brown hair was going grey over the left ear: His intense and rigid mask was the sign of pain. His whole aspect also was diaphanous, wasted. But His manner was vivid: He was not inaccessible. Their Eminencies gave Him their attention; and wondered what He was going to bring-out of the dispatch box by His side. He was extremely glad to see the Secretary of State: for He knew how antipathetic He was to that one; and now He was going to try to give him satisfaction. At least it should not be His fault if Ragna’s ordinary attitude of discreet and convulsive brutality remained unmitigated.
“Lord Cardinals,” the Supreme Pontiff said, “it has occurred to Us that ye have many things to say: that there be many things which ye desire to know. We, on Our part, are ready to hear; and We are willing to respond to questions.”
Questions instantly were born in each man’s brain. Ragna was the first to deliver Himself of his. “Holiness, will You answer a question about the ‘Epistle to the Princes’?”
“Yes.”
Ragna collected himself. “I am curious to know why the rights of France in Egypt were not even named. I can see that the very nature of Your Holiness’s counsels demanded that Africa as a whole should pass to England: but I cannot understand why Germany, in taking over France, should not also have taken-over the condominium of Egypt. Why did that fall to England; and why did Germany consent to its falling to England?”
Hadrian made an effort to conquer His natural incapacity for coming near a subject at the first attempt; and put Himself to be concise. “Your Eminency knows that since—We forget the exact date—but since a very short time ago, no international obligations have existed which could restrain Egypt from legitimate attempts at emancipation. Nothing but Ottoman firmans held her. Very well. We discovered that when the King of England and the Sultan, last October, made alliance, the latter issued a firman in which England was named Protector of Egypt. Then (the speaker slightly smiled), when the task of arbitration was submitted to Us, We found that the German colonies in Africa, not only did not pay their way but, required a yearly subsidy of £1,500,000; and therefore, taking one thing with another, We arranged to give Germany sufficient employment for a century nearer home. She promptly recognized that megli’ è fringuello in man’ che tordo in frasca. The fact is that she was only too glad to be rid of her own parasitic colonies, which had severed their connection from the parent stem, and derived their nutriment from other states: while the colonies of France which were epiphytic, having no existence apart from the source from which they sprang, were wiped out (as French colonies) when France was wiped out.”
“And no doubt Germany, in her pretty Gothic way, was in such a desperate hurry to grab France, that she forgot all about Egypt. D’ye know they say she’s going to call her conquest Gallia again?” Semphill put in with a sniff. “And now I’ll ask a question. Holy Father, may I smoke?”
“But smoke!” Hadrian assented with pleasure; and held-out His Own hand for a cigarette. Some of the others did likewise; and the gear began to run much more easily. Van Kristen expressed joy that the Germans were not to have chances of doing more monkey business on the Erechtheion and the Akropolis at Athens.
“Yes,” Ragna meditatively continued: “I suppose I ought to have understood all that. But now, Holiness, there’s another thing: why did the Sultan consent to evacuate Europe?”
“Simply because, with all the examples which he has had lately, he goes in mortal terror of assassination. He has managed to persuade himself that he only can be warranted against that, as long as he is under the aegis of England. Well: seeing England and Turkey allied, We moved England and England moved Ismail. The former had sense: the latter, sentiment. But Ismail really is not half bad: in fact he’s rather decent. If We only had another dear charming childlike naked Christian like Blessed Brother Francis—”
“What?” said Carvale with animation. He happened to have noted that, when Hadrian rioted in superlatives, it meant no more than positives: but, when He negligently drawled comparatives, “not half bad” or “rather decent,” the ultimate of praise was signified. “What?” the cardinal repeated.
“We would send him to give points to Ismail’s mullahs and dervishes.”
“St. Francis has innumerable sons, Holiness,” Saviolli put in.
“And We only know one who in the slightest degree resembles his father,” the Pope responded, waving away the subject.
“One would like to know,” said Sterling, “whether Your Holiness is not
