Thus Monsignor Moretti;--and Cardinal Bonpre, reading
between the lines of his letter, knew that the displeasure of Rome
had fallen upon him as heavily as it did upon the eloquent and
liberal-minded Padre Agostino when he made the mistake of asking a
blessing from Heaven on the King and Queen of Italy for their works
of charity among the poor. And he easily perceived where the real
trouble lay,--namely, in the fact of his having condoned the Abbe
Vergniaud's public confession. Out of the one thing there was an
effort being made to contrive mischief with the other,--and Bonpre,
being too frail and old to worry his brain with complex arguments as
to the how and why and wherefore of the machinations carried on at
the Vatican, resigned himself to God, and contenting his mind with
meditation and prayer, waited events patiently, caring little how
they ended for himself, provided they did not involve others in any
catastrophe. Moreover, there was a certain consolation contained in
his enforced waiting,--for his niece Angela had confided to him that
the work of her great picture had advanced more swiftly than she had
imagined possible, and that it was likely she would be able to show
it to her relatives and private friends in the course of a week or
so.
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