The religious ceremonies in the Palace Chapel, with magnificent music; the banquet, which included pertinent speeches from the monarchs; and the gala representation at the opera all passed off well: but, perhaps, that which will dwell longest in my memory took place at the last. The performance consisted of two pieces: one a poem glorifying Prussia, recited with music; the other a play, in four acts, with long, musical interludes, deifying the great Elector and the house of Hohenzollern. Though splendid in scenic setting and brilliant in presentation it was very long, and the ambassadors' box was crowded and hot. In the midst of it all the French ambassador, the Marquis de Noailles, one of the most suave courteous, and placid of men, quietly said to me, with inimitable gravity, "What a bore this must be to those who understand German! (Comme ca doit etre ennuyeux a ceux qui correprennent l'Allemand!)" This sudden revelation of a lower depth of boredom--from one who could not understand a word of the play--was worthy of his ancestors in the days of Saint-Simon and Dangeau. During the following summer two great sorrows befell me and mine, but there is nothing to be here chronicled save that in this, as in previous trials, I took refuge in work which seemed to be worthy. The diplomatic service in summer is not usually exacting, especially when one has, as I had, thoroughly loyal and judicious embassy secretaries. As in a former bereavement I had turned to a study of the character and services of John of Portugal and his great successors in the age of discovery, so now I turned to Fra Paolo Sarpi and the good fight he fought for Venice and humanity. To my large collection of books on the subject, made mainly in Italy, I added much from the old book-shops of Germany, and with these revised my Venetian studies. An old dream of mine had been to bring out a small book on Fra Paolo: now I sought, more modestly, to prepare an essay.[6] The work was good for me. Contemplation of that noblest of the three great Italians between the Renaissance and the Resurrection of Italy did something to lift me above sorrow; reading his words, uttered so calmly in all the storm and stress of his time, soothed me. Viewed from my work-table on the island of Rugen, the world became less dark as I thought upon this hero of three centuries ago. [6] This essay has since been published in the "Atlantic Monthly" of January and February, 1904. {Included etext: Project Gutenberg} **************************************************************** THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY: A MAGAZINE OF Literature, Science, Art, and Politics VOLUME XCIII {From January, 1904--Number DLV. and February, 1904--Number DLVI.} BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN AND COMPANY The Riverside Press, Cambridge 1904 COPYRIGHT, 1903 AND 1904 BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company FRA PAOLO SARPI. I.