FRANCE, ITALY, AND SWITZERLAND-1886-1887 421 



than illuminating. He had reviewed various books for the 

 Congregation of the Index, one of these, a book which I 

 had just bought, being on &quot;The Architecture of St. John 

 Lateran.&quot; He held a position in the Propaganda, and I 

 was greatly struck by his minute knowledge of affairs 

 in the United States. The question being then unde 

 cided as to whether a new bishopric for central New York 

 was to be established at Utica or Syracuse, he discussed 

 both places with much minute knowledge of their claims 

 and of the people residing in them. I put in the best 

 word I could for Syracuse, feeling that if a bishopric was 

 to be established, that was the proper place for it; and 

 afterward I had the satisfaction of learning that the 

 bishop had been placed there. The abbot had known Sec 

 retary Seward and liked him. 



Leaving Rome in May, we made visits of deep interest 

 to Assisi, Perugia, Orvieto, and other historic towns, 

 and, arriving at Florence again, saw something of society 

 in that city. Count de Gubernatis, the eminent scholar, 

 who had just returned from India, was eloquent in praise 

 of the Taj Mahal, which, of all buildings in the world, 

 is the one I most desire to see. He thinks that the stories 

 regarding juggling in India have been marvelously de 

 veloped by transmission from East to West; that grow 

 ing the mango, of which so much is said, is a very poor 

 trick, as is also the crushing, killing, and restoration to 

 life of a boy under a basket; that these marvels are 

 not at all what the stories report them to be; that it is 

 simply another case of the rapid growth of legends by 

 transmission. He said that hatred for England remains 

 deep in India, and that caste spirit is very little altered, 

 his own servant, even when very thirsty, not daring to 

 drink from a bottle which his master had touched. 



Dining with Count Eessi at his noble villa on the slope 

 toward Fiesole, I noted various delicious Italian wines 

 upon the table, but the champagne was what is known 

 as &quot; Pleasant Valley Catawba,&quot; from Lake Keuka in 

 western New York, which the count, during his journey 



