well I can recall the scene under the roof of “blue Italian weather” deepening into purple, and studded with stars that glistened and sparkled in the fountains. The magnificent court-yard, encircled with colonnades, peopled by an innumerable concourse who dropped simultaneously on their knees, with an indescribable surging sound, as to the sound of cannon the Pope appeared on the balcony. But I am anticipating events, and must return to the taking possession of the Lateran, or the “Possesso,” as it was called, to which I have before alluded, and the procession which we saw to perfection from the _secondo piano_ of our quarters at Palazzetto Torlonia, happily situated for the purpose. Pio Nono, who had a great taste for all that was picturesque and historical, had conceived the idea of restoring all the splendour of a pageant of the Middle Ages, and being himself a skilful horseman, proposed that carriages should be banished from the procession, which should be entirely composed of horse and foot-men. This unconventional whim, as it was considered, created a great turmoil in the minds of the ecclesiastical dignitaries. The idea of a Pope on horseback shocked the critics of the age, and as many of the Cardinals were well stricken in years, and had probably even in their youth been unaccustomed to mount a horse, the obstacles to the design of His Holiness appeared insurmountable. After manifold _pourparlers_, a compromise was arrived at. The Pope relinquishing his cherished notion of appearing on horseback, was firm in his resolve that his state carriage should be the only one to be found in the procession. Much to their disgust, the whole conclave of Cardinals was appointed to meet the Holy Father, in their respective carriages, at the gates of S. John Lateran. Never did I see a more orderly, a more picturesque, or a more enthusiastic crowd, than that which lined the Corso, and filled the Piazza di Venezia on the day in question. Although the national costume was even then becoming scarce in the South of Italy, yet on that great day all the citizens on both sides of the Tiber and all the country people from the neighbouring districts, appeared in their holiday clothes of bright and variegated colours. The red bodice, the floating ribbons, the blue petticoat and white _panno_, well became the majestic beauty of noble-looking women, while the conical hat and coloured sashes of the men recalled the early drawings of Pinelli. One striking personage in the crowd I well remember—a peasant from the district of Nettuno, whose costume had something essentially Oriental in its character. She was a woman of extreme beauty, and of a tall and commanding presence. She wore a garment of crimson silk, in the form of a Turkish pelisse, over a bright gold-coloured robe of the same material; she was evidently the beauty of her native town, and was sent to Rome as its representative. [Sidenote: THE “POSSESSO”]