Whether in consequence of my connection with the Vatican or not, it happened that I had never been directly employed in the service of the House of Savoy. I have told the story of my unavailing efforts to save the life of King Humbert; but on that occasion I acted as the agent of the friendly monarch of another country. During my journey to Rome in obedience to the royal summons, my mind was deeply exercised by the problem presented by the disastrous breach between the Italian Kingship and the Papacy. When the troops of Victor Emmanuel I., thirty-four years ago, marched into the City of the Popes, to make it the capital of United Italy, no one foresaw the difficulties which would flow from the refusal of the Popes to abandon their rights as the temporal Sovereigns of Rome and the States of the Church. Other dethroned sovereigns have fled from their lost dominions, and gradually sunk out of sight. But the Popes, seated in the Vatican, and solemnly excommunicating the dynasty which has displaced them, have rendered insecure the whole fabric of the Italian monarchy. I myself, divided between my political sympathies as an American citizen, and my loyalty as a Catholic to the Head of my Church, had often sought in vain for some way of reconciling the venerable rights of the Chair of Peter with the patriotic aspirations of the Italian people. The various solutions put forward from time to time, such as the cession to the Pope of a small slice of territory including the Vatican, seemed to me inadequate and mean. Some loftier treatment of the situation seemed to be called for, but no statesman, ecclesiastical or secular, had yet been found to propose it. Now, with the accession of a new Pope, it was possible to indulge hopes of a new policy. I encouraged myself to believe that Victor Emmanuel II. had sent for me that I might assist him in such an endeavour. The character of this young ruler had already aroused my interest and curiosity. In his father’s lifetime he was unknown to the public until he suddenly stepped into the foreground, at the time of the Abyssinian disasters, as the determined opponent of Crispi’s policy of adventure, and the champion of peace. Since his accession he had won golden opinions by his modesty, benevolence, and practical energy in the work of government. But he had as yet given no indications of any marked individuality or policy of his own. Within an hour of my arrival in Rome I found myself in his Majesty’s presence. His reception of me was not merely gracious but cordial. In a few well-chosen words he thanked me for my services at the time of the tragedy of Monza. ‘I believe you have been employed in the secret service of the Vatican?’ King Victor proceeded. I bowed again. ‘Will you tell me whether that constitutes any obstacle to your serving me?’ he inquired. I hesitated. ‘I should feel embarrassed if your Majesty were to ask me to act _against_ the Vatican,’ I ventured to say.