"
It would appear that all the Roman magistrates are not equally
estimable; at least to judge from what happened to the Marquis de
Sesmaisons. He was robbed of half-a-dozen silver spoons and forks. He
imprudently lodged a complaint with the authorities. Being asked for
an exact description of the stolen articles, he sent the remaining
half-dozen to speak for themselves to the magistrate who had charge of
the affair. It is chronicled that he never again saw either the first
or the second half-dozen!
The malversations of public functionaries are tolerated so long as
they do not directly touch the higher powers. Officials of every
degree hold out their hands for a present. The Government rather
encourages the system than the reverse. It is just so much knocked off
the salaries.
The Government even overlooks embezzlement of public money, provided
the guilty party be an ecclesiastic, or well affected to the present
order of things. The errors of friends are judged _en famille_. If a
Prelate make a mistake, he is reprimanded, and dismissed, which means
that his situation is changed for a better one.
Monsignor N---- gets the holy house of Loretto into financial trouble.
The consequence is that Monsignor N---- is removed to Rome, and placed
at the head of the hospital of the Santo Spirito. Probably this is
done because the latter establishment is richer and more difficult to
get into financial trouble than the holy house of Loretto.
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