The Counterfeit Apostles' Knives And Forks Were Laid Out
On That Side Of The Table Which Was Nearest To The Wall, So That
They Might Be Stared At Again, Without Let Or Hindrance.
The body of the room was full of male strangers; the crowd immense;
the heat very great; and the pressure sometimes frightful.
It was
at its height, when the stream came pouring in, from the feet-
washing; and then there were such shrieks and outcries, that a
party of Piedmontese dragoons went to the rescue of the Swiss
guard, and helped them to calm the tumult.
The ladies were particularly ferocious, in their struggles for
places. One lady of my acquaintance was seized round the waist, in
the ladies' box, by a strong matron, and hoisted out of her place;
and there was another lady (in a back row in the same box) who
improved her position by sticking a large pin into the ladies
before her.
The gentlemen about me were remarkably anxious to see what was on
the table; and one Englishman seemed to have embarked the whole
energy of his nature in the determination to discover whether there
was any mustard. 'By Jupiter there's vinegar!' I heard him say to
his friend, after he had stood on tiptoe an immense time, and had
been crushed and beaten on all sides. 'And there's oil! I saw
them distinctly, in cruets! Can any gentleman, in front there, see
mustard on the table? Sir, will you oblige me! DO you see a
Mustard-Pot?'
The apostles and Judas appearing on the platform, after much
expectation, were marshalled, in line, in front of the table, with
Peter at the top; and a good long stare was taken at them by the
company, while twelve of them took a long smell at their nosegays,
and Judas--moving his lips very obtrusively--engaged in inward
prayer. Then, the Pope, clad in a scarlet robe, and wearing on his
head a skull-cap of white satin, appeared in the midst of a crowd
of Cardinals and other dignitaries, and took in his hand a little
golden ewer, from which he poured a little water over one of
Peter's hands, while one attendant held a golden basin; a second, a
fine cloth; a third, Peter's nosegay, which was taken from him
during the operation. This his Holiness performed, with
considerable expedition, on every man in the line (Judas, I
observed, to be particularly overcome by his condescension); and
then the whole Thirteen sat down to dinner. Grace said by the
Pope. Peter in the chair.
There was white wine, and red wine: and the dinner looked very
good. The courses appeared in portions, one for each apostle: and
these being presented to the Pope, by Cardinals upon their knees,
were by him handed to the Thirteen. The manner in which Judas grew
more white-livered over his victuals, and languished, with his head
on one side, as if he had no appetite, defies all description.
Peter was a good, sound, old man, and went in, as the saying is,
'to win;' eating everything that was given him (he got the best:
being first in the row) and saying nothing to anybody.
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