EUROPE is all agog over the visit paid by the emperor of Germany to the pope. The emperor was accompanied by a suite of seventy-five, consisting of generals, colonels, princes, and other persons of rank; clothed in their various uniforms, and adorned with decorations. The purpose was twofold, i. e., to obtain the pope's influence with the Catholic members of the Reichstag, so as to secure the passage of the bill increasing the German army, and, also, for inducing the pope to favor the triple alliance, and to separate him from Republican France. Whether either of these purposes shall be accomplished or not, the imperial visit to the Vatican is significant of the fact that the pope is possessed, both directly and indirectly, of large political influence, even though no longer a temporal prince. Europe has to-day no more astute politician than Leo XIII., and he exerts all his influences steadily, and only too successfully, in securing larger privileges and power for the Catholic hierarchy.—California Christian Advocate, April, 1893.