Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/133

Rh of a dark-bearded gentleman—probably of Jewish descent, came forth and sang La Colonna to the accompaniment of his harp. Other prophets joined in the chorus. It was beautiful and—ridiculous.

The queen-dowager of Spain, Maria Christina, was present, accompanied by her youngest daughter, several cardinals, together with a Papal guard. She sat in the place of honor, very corpulent, but with a countenance still beautiful. Her young daughter is a beauty, and lately betrothed to a little ugly Italian prince.

The festival, taken as a whole, was very splendid, curious and interesting in its own way, but without earnestness or religious purpose.

“Roba per i forestieri!” say the serious Romans, speaking of such festivals, at which they are themselves seldom present. Roba, equivalent to the French word chose, and the Swedish sak, is used for every thing which is spoken of as a whole;—for instance, a Roman working man said to me, speaking of the Tiber e poco roba; your luggage, a festival, an occurrence, any thing, whatever it may be, is roba.

“Roba per i forestieri!” (a something for the foreigners) said disparagingly a Roman matron, of the festival of the holy week in St. Peters, at which she herself never was present.

The last day of January.—Intense cold for the last fourteen days. An icy tramontana prevails in the air: icicles hang from the fountains; the Roman people shiver and sneeze, and declare that it has not been so cold for twenty years, that it is unheard of, and so on. The weather is nevertheless bright, and at noon the