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To all appearances fun was had. Laval is the son of a storekeeper, and Mussolini is the son of a blacksmith, but for that matter Elena is the daughter of a Montenegrin mountain chieftain who made himself King. One of Her Majesty's ladies-in-waiting has written of Her Majesty's father thus: "He preferred a thousand times his native dress with knives stuck into the broad belt to any other kind, and preferred cutting with these same knives a cold fowl or a piece of mountain mutton as it hung in the family larder to sitting down to a properly appointed dinner." At the royal luncheon table, however, His Majesty, a keen, hard aristocrat of the old Italian breed, had no difficulty in keeping up his end with the robust offspring of the storekeeper, the blacksmith and the chieftain.
That night there was a bigger banquet, this time in Palazzo Venezia, with over 1,000 carefully checked guests. After all the real triumph of last week was the fact that Pierre Laval was actually in Rome—the first French Cabinet Minister to take that inevitable road since the War.
Cried the Dictator, raising his frothing glass of Italian champagne first: "We have worked not only to bring about agreement on particular questions concerning our two countries but also to reaffirm the ideals which come from our community of origin! The visit of our distinguished guest is of vast European significance, the first meeting point in the policies of two great Latin states."
Toasting in reply, Lawyer Laval said that Editor Mussolini has "written the most beautiful page in the history of modern Italy. We have given rise to great hopes, great hopes!" continued Orator Laval. "The world follows our efforts with passionate interest! All who are animated by the ideal of Peace today have their eyes turned toward Rome! We must not deceive them. Peace must be maintained!"
Off the Record. The entente being thus well toasted, Mussolini and Laval again sat down at the big table, this time for three more hours of slugging, off-the-record negotiation. They proceeded to talk turkey about Italy's ambition to have naval equality with France, about French insistence that Il Duce stop flirting with the idea of ultimate revision of the Treaties of Versailles, Trianon. St. Germain, etc. More especially they talked about Abyssinia.
Into that luckless Afric realm Italians are expanding—with bombing planes, tanks, armored cars (TIME. Dec. 24). Squealing for protection His Imperial Majesty Power of Trinity I. King of Kings, Conquering Lion of Judah and the Elect of God was last week trying to invoke Article XI of the League covenant. To Rome last week Geneva seemed particularly far away. Neither Mussolini nor Laval is squeamish. A definite impression got around that France will not protest too much if Italy makes of Abyssinia what Japan made of Manchuria.
Pacts & Protocols. As the first member of a French Government to call at the Vatican since Napoleon burst in, Pierre Laval was most warmly received by the Supreme Pontiff who invested him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX, then bestowed his blessing upon the entire French party, including Josette.