The Three Cities Trilogy: Rome, Complete

61

The Italian succession law is similar to the French. Children cannot be disinherited. All property is divided among them, and thus the piling up of large hereditary fortunes is prevented. – Trans.

62

There is much truth in this; but the reader must not imagine that the Pope is never ill. At his great age, indispositions are only natural. – Trans.

63

King Humbert inherited these tastes from his father Victor Emanuel, who was likewise a great sportsman and had a perfect horror of court life, pageantry, and the exigencies of politics. – Trans.

64

“Peace unto this house and unto all who dwell in it.” – Trans.

65

“Sprinkle me, Lord, with hyssop, and purify me; wash me, and make me whiter than snow.” – Trans.

66

M. Zola seems to have fallen into error here. Many of the seats, which are of peculiar antique design, do, in the lower part, resemble stools, but they have backs, whereas a stool proper has none. Briefly, these seats, which are entirely of wood, are not unlike certain old-fashioned hall chairs. – Trans.

67

That too, was in 1843-44, and the world is now utterly unlike what it was then! – Trans.

68

The reader should bear in mind that these remarks apply to the Italian cardinals and prelates, whose vanity and egotism are remarkable. – Trans.