It is needless to go into the story of the misdeeds of this Coscia, because all writers of every party are unanimous in stigmatizing them. De Brosses says of him that he deserved the gallows and had been condemned to perpetual imprisonment in the Castle of St. Angelo. None of his colleagues or contemporaries of any class said or thought otherwise. But the right of a cardinal to take part in the election of a Pope is entirely indefeasible, and Cardinal Coscia was liberated from his prison in order that he might enter Conclave, and did so.

Of Cardinal Fleury De Brosses writes: "He enjoys the highest degree of consideration, specially since the late war and the peace of Vienna. They regard him here as the oracle of Europe. Major e longinquo reverentia!" adds the President slily.

Of Cardinal Rohan he says: "Magnificent here as in France, he has l'air noble and the manners of a grand seigneur; but has nevertheless little credit or esteem. Then he does not understand Italian manners, and chatters of political secrets at the women's receptions in the lightest manner. He ruined the hopes of Cardinal Olivieri, who had in everybody's opinion a very good chance of the Papacy, by saying out loud that he had come to Rome to make Olivieri Pope. The Italians were piqued at this; and Olivieri himself, understanding Italian ways better than French ones, thought for a long time that Rohan had acted as he did with the express intention of ruining him."

Here is what he says of another French cardinal, not altogether forgotten by history, Tencin :

"Tencin, Archbishop of Embrun, is hard, malevolent,

and revengeful by temperament, grave and politic by profession. His natural inclination would be for worldly pursuits and gallantry. Supple and ambitious at the Court of France, imperious and haughty at that of Rome, living with more state than any other here, and understanding well the doing of it, he is much feared, highly considered, and has great credit. The people here think of him at least as highly as he deserves. In addition to all this, the fact that the influence of the King of France has become since the war all-powerful in Italy, and that the French faction in the Conclave is more powerful than that of Spain, despite the superior numbers of the latter, by reason of the greater talent of the French-all this makes people think that the making of the Pope will rest with Cardinal Tencin; and in fact such must be the case. His business in the Conclave will be to oppose the Camerlengo, to lead Corsini by the nose, and to keep himself in strict alliance with Acquaviva," the head of the Spanish faction.

Despite the "French talent," however, and the President's complacent prognostications, Cardinal Tencin did not make the Pope, and was quite unable to hold his own against Albani, the terrible Cardinal Camerlengo. As for the manner in which that "lion" led his "army of deer," and the way in which he showed the superiority of his genius, and the fertility of his talent for resource, one or two anecdotes of what passed in the Conclave, or what was at the time believed in Rome to have passed, are worth repeating.

A quarrel between Acquaviva and Tencin very soon put an end to all the influence of the latter in the Con

clave. The former united himself with Corsini and his numerous following, and they agreed on the election if they could compass it of Cardinal Aldrovandi, a Bolognese, of whom De Brosses only says that he was well born, well esteemed, and had nothing against him. The terrible Camerlengo, however, was against him, and was determined to prevent his election, which, however, seemed likely to be beyond his power. Besides the allies who have been mentioned, all the zelanti were in his favour. He had thirty-three votes at the first scrutiny at which he was put forward. One more would have made him Pope. Thirty-four was the number required for the indispensable two-thirds majority. It is recorded that Cardinal Passionei, one of the party opposed to him, was as it chanced scrutator at that scrutiny, and that when he opened and declared the thirty-third vote for Aldrovandi he became pale as a sheet. However, no thirty-fourth was forthcoming, and the Camerlengo and his party were quittes pour la peur And they had time before them to work in.

!

But all their efforts could accomplish nothing more than to keep any one of their own friends from deserting to the enemy. They were unable to detach a single vote from the thirty-three. And this state of things continued unchanged during many successive scrutinies, a phenomenon almost, if not quite, unprecedented in Conclave history. And at each successive scrutiny the Camerlengo's fears were not only repeated but increased, for the Conclave had already lasted more than five months. The delay was becoming scandalous, and, what was worse, the weather was becoming very hot.

Several cardinals had been obliged to leave the Conclave seriously ill; some had died; and all were becoming utterly worn out and eager to escape from the unhealthy and infected air of the Conclave. And it was in the power of any one cardinal twice every day to put an end to his own and his colleagues' sufferings by adding his vote to those regularly given every scrutiny to Aldrovandi. The Camerlengo felt that if such a consummation was to be avoided, he must adopt some strong measure, and that at once. This was what he imagined.

and did.

There was a certain Franciscan friar, "of easy conscience," as De Brosses says, whom his Eminence Cardinal Albani deemed to be the man for his purpose, and to him he gave his instructions. He was to pay a visit to Aldrovandi at the "Rota " (the little window communicating with the outside world, at which such visits were tolerated), and there compliment him on his approaching election. Aldrovandi replied that it was true the majority had done him the honour of thinking of him, but that he did not think that anything was likely to come of it, seeing that there were opponents who seemed determined to exclude him. In reply to this the monk told him that he was sufficiently acquainted with the sentiments of the Camerlengo to be able to assure him that the only feeling which prevented that Cardinal from voting for him was a fear that he (Aldrovandi) might have an unpleasant remembrance of certain disputes which had occurred between members of their families, and might feel unkindly towards him (Albani) on that score. Aldrovandi at once fell into the snare, declaring

that if there had ever been any such feeling he had long since forgotten it, that he had the highest respect for the Cardinal Camerlengo's character, and that so he would find if he were kind enough to vote for him. The monk declared that since such were his sentiments, there was nothing to prevent an immediate election and a conclusion to the over-long Conclave, that he should make known to Albani what Aldrovandi had said, and that there would no longer be any difficulty about his election. But just as he was going he turned back, seeming to be struck by a sudden thought. "But, after all, I am but a poor monk!" said he. "I know Albani's mind well, but it does not follow that he should place implicit trust in me. If your Eminence would intrust me with a line expressing what you have said . . . the matter would be settled!" Aldrovandi in his eagerness wrote the line, putting rather strongly, as was said, the point of his gratitude for a service rendered to him. The Franciscan clutched his prize and sped with it to his employer. Instantly before the next scrutiny Albani, with well-acted horror and scandalized propriety in his features, sought out the zelanti cardinals. "Look at this!" he cried; "could you have believed it! Look at your model Pope! Here is Aldrovandi intriguing! -making promises !-guilty of simony!" The good men were as much astonished and shocked as Albani intended they should be. At the next scrutiny Aldrovandi had lost several votes; at the next after several more. His chance was gone, and the terrible Camerlengo was so far triumphant.

At an earlier period of the Conclave Albani had

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