AN ANECDOTE CORRECTED.

A Story from Italy – we have had some good stories from Italy in the old days, and hope for even better in the new ones – tells us that the Pope, walking out lately, met a pleasant, and suddenly demanded of him whether he were a Christian. The man replying Yes, the Pope, in test of his Christianity, put him at the Mosaic Commandments. The tale proceeds that the man at once broke down, and that the Pope went off triumphantly, saying that it would be well if men learned the Commandments before they asked for independence.

Mr. Punch does not mind agreeing with the Pope that a man who does not know the Commandments is – unless he happens to obey them without knowing the exact words – not the person likely to be a very good citizen. Why the swarm of priests, of every dirtiness, around Rome, have not saturated the minds of the pleasantry with religious teaching, is a question for his Holiness rather than for Mr. Punch. But, being desirous to verify the above interesting story, Mr. Punch sent to Rome to ascertain what was the truth. It appears that the anecdote has been wrongly told. The Pope demanded the Commandments. The pleasant ran them over glibly enough until he had finished the Fourth. Then (according to the Catholic arrangement of the decalogue) came the Murder law. The pleasant had the word on his tongue when he remembered to whom he was speaking, and he remembered Perugia. He chose rather to be accounted ignorant than to fling crime in the face of the High Priest.

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