The long-looked-for and widely-announced "Authorized Life of Pope Leo XIII." is now being distributed. The Independent gives it a scathing and somewhat extended review, in which it says:— "If Dr. Bernard O'Reilly [the author of the book] choose, to print his opinion that there were no brigands nor troubles in Italy until the French Revolution planted them there, that 'Bomba' was a respectable sovereign to be spoken of reverently as Ferdinand of Naples, and that Gregory XVI. was an enlightened and excellent prince, he may have, for all we shall do to hinder, the whole world to air his frenzy in. But when a reigning Pope furnishes an 'authentic memoir,' encourages, approves, and blesses his work, when three cardinals, one the Pope's vicar, another the head of the Propaganda, and a fourth signatory the Archbishop of New York, put their zeal on such an interpretation of history, the matter wears a more serious face." "If Roman Catholic historians choose to put such versions as this volume contains into circulation, it will go hard with them when their people get their eyes open. If they choose to teach such things for history in their schools, we shall remember the fact as having some bearing on the question, how those schools compare with the public schools. But when such a history is brought forward, under the highest sanction, for general circulation, we shall do what we can to remind the public what the true history is." "We expect such blemishes in partisan history. But we do not expect such wholesale falsification of facts as we find in the account of the law of guarantees and the legal settlement of the Pope." And then closes with these words:— "But life is not long enough to correct such a work; fortunately men do know something, and it is not necessary." Some idea of the fulsome flattery of the work may be gathered from the following extract from the account of his election. He was Cardinal Camerlengo before he became Pope, and his real name is Joachim Vincent Raphael Ludovico Pecci. The result of the first ballot and the way it affected Mr. Pecci is thus related:— "Twenty-three times the name of Cardinal Joachim Pecci is thus announced. No other member of the conclave receives anything approaching this number of votes. As the name of the Camerlengo thus comes up with ominous frequency, he is seen to be greatly disturbed. His pale, intellectual, ascetic countenance is overcast by an expression of mingled dismay and grief. Still the number twenty-three is not that of half the electors present, and an absolute two-thirds majority is necessary to an election. Thus the first morning session of the conclave passed without any result. . . . Joachim Pecci, with a heavy, foreboding heart, retires to his cell, praying fervently that the burden of the Pontificate may not be laid on his aged shoulders." The second ballot gave him more votes, and of course affected him accordingly:— "The hour for the afternoon session has come, and the voice of the master of ceremonies falls on the ears of the Cardinal Camerlengo with a startling sound—'To the chapel, my lords?' "Cardinal Pecci's turn to vote comes early, his seat being near the altar and bearing the number nine. At length the last bulletin has fallen into the chalice on the altar, and the scrutineers have begun to announce and count out the names of those voted for. Again Cardinal Joachim Pecci's name is repeated with even more significant frequency than in the morning. He soon has to mark twenty-three opposite to his own name on the printed list before him; again and again his name occurs till the number reaches thirty—one-half of the electors present; and on, on the number swells till it is increased to thirty-eight!" "But when the number thirty has been reached and passed, the trouble, the emotion, the terror of the humble-minded Camerlengo have become uncontrollable. Cardinal Donnet, Archbishop of Bordeaux, whose seat was next to Cardinal Pecci's, describes what he then beheld in a discourse from his cathedral pulpit on his return home from the conclave: 'I remarked that Cardinal Pecci, hearing his own name mentioned so often, and that everything pointed to him as the successor of Pius IX., great tears rolled down his cheeks, and his hand shook so violently that the pen it held fell to the ground. I picked it up and gave it to him, saying: "Courage! There is no question here of you; it is the Church and the future of the world that are in question." He made no reply, only lifting his eyes to heaven to implore the divine assistance.'" "Thirty-eight votes, however, did not constitute the two-thirds majority demanded by the canons. So again the voting papers were all burned, and again the anxious crowd of spectators outside in the piazza dispersed, their curiosity unsatisfied. "It was now most probable that the majority in favor of the Cardinal Camerlengo would, in the session of Wednesday morning, the 20th of February, be so increased as to secure his election. If his emotion in the chapel was such, in spite of his long habits of self-command, that he could not conceal it from the eyes of his colleagues, one may guess that in the privacy of his cell he gave free vent to his tears and pleaded with his whole soul to have the bitter cup removed from him." At the third ballot, which elected him, he was somewhat calmer, probably induced by the prospect of the certainty of the result:— "The third ballot began at the appointed hour. As the balloting proceeded, and he sat prostrated at first, then calmer, resigned, and prayerful, his name was announced with the same prophetic frequency till the preceding number, thirty-eight, was passed, and forty-four votes were recorded in his favor. It was more than a two-thirds majority, and left no room for further scrutiny. Will Cardinal Pecci accept? He sits mute, pale, with closed eyes, as if his spirit were far away from the place and scene. "The master of ceremonies, accompanied by the sub-dean, the senior cardinal priest and cardinal deacon, approach the seat Number Nine. 'Do you accept the election canonically made of you as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church?' asks the sub-dean, amid a stillness so painful that one might almost hear one's heart beat. Cardinal Pecci rises; his whole frame shakes with uncontrollable emotion. With a quivering voice, but steadily and distinctly, he affirms his own unworthiness. But seeing them all of one mind and determined in this matter, he bows to the divine will." Hildebrand, too, it is said, wept when he had the triple crown fairly forced (?) upon him. It is also said that crocodiles weep as they are sure of their prey, and just on the point of seizing it.