FINALLY, I COMPLETED THE TASK, UTTERING THE LAST WORD OF MY MANUSCRIPT, WHICH ALMOST BECAME THE LAST WORD OF MY LIFE.

Once the Rule had been approved, the original had to be left at the Vatican and Eugene had to make a copy of this. We saw how he spent several days copying the text himself. But the process was not over as this copy had to be officially certified.

I went to see Father Antonetti, the Under-Secretary of the Chancellery for Bishops and Regulars, who was to go over my enormous manuscript with me. Who would have guessed that this good man would have the dedication to examine every word of it, from first to last! Nevertheless, that is what he did. He had in advance placed a cushioned chair in front of a table so that I would be seated comfortably; he sat beside me and while I read out loud.

Roman Diary, 2 March 1826, EO XVIII

Writing to Fr. Temper about this, he gave a more colorful narrative:

At nine o’clock sharp, I was at his door; my gallows were already ready, and to execute me, the holy man had taken precautions in advance; he had already said Vespers. You understand what that meant to me. I had fallen upon the most scrupulous priest in the Christian world; I am grateful to him that I was dealt with in a day, but his delicate conscience meant that I had to pay usque ad ultimum quadrantem [ed. to the very last quarter]. He had been told to collate the manuscript, and he did not spare me a single iota. 

He seized my copy while I was reading the original aloud; no matter how fast I read, he followed me with his eyes and nose, for he really cannot see further than his nose, both physically and morally. He suspended my torment for a moment to have his coffee; he insisted that I have a cup with him, but I held firm so that he would not incur any expenses for me other than a glass of water, which had become indispensable to me; I drank it drop by drop during my long session, which lasted more than four hours, and during which my throat lost its elasticity twenty times, only to be restored immediately by a timely sip of water. Finally, at half past one, I completed the task, uttering the last word of my manuscript, which almost became the last word of my life.