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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:43:38 -0700 |
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diff --git a/14078-h/14078-h.htm b/14078-h/14078-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a2bc0ce --- /dev/null +++ b/14078-h/14078-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13966 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Liberation of Italy, by Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco</title> +<style type="text/css"> + +BODY P { +margin-top : 0.75em; +margin-bottom : 0.75em; +text-align : justify; +} +H1 { +font-weight : bold; +text-align : center; +font-variant : small-caps; +} +H2 { +text-align : center; +font-variant : small-caps; +} +H3 { +font-weight : bold; +text-align : center; +font-variant : small-caps; +} +H4 { +font-weight : bold; +text-align : center; +font-variant : small-caps; +} +H5 { +font-weight : bold; +text-align : center; +font-variant : small-caps; +} +H6 { +font-weight : bold; +text-align : center; +font-variant : small-caps; +} +EM { +font-style : italic; +font-weight : bold; +} +STRONG { +text-transform : uppercase; +font-weight : bold; +} +.smallcaps { +font-variant : small-caps; +} +HR { +width : 33%; +} +HR.full { +width : 100%; +height : 5px; +} +TABLE { +margin-left : auto; +margin-right : auto; +} +TABLE CAPTION { +font-size : 1.2em; +margin : 0.5em 0; +text-align : center; +} +TD P { +margin : auto; +} +TD { +vertical-align : top; +} +.linenum { +left : 4%; +position : absolute; +top : auto; +} +.note { +margin-bottom : 1em; +margin-left : 2em; +margin-right : 2em; +} +.blkquot { +margin-left : 4em; +margin-right : 4em; +} +.pagenum { +font-size : smaller; +left : 92%; +position : absolute; +text-align : right; +} +.newpage { +display : none; +} +HR { +height : 1px; +} +IMG { +max-width : 100%; +} +LI.indent { +margin-left : 5%; +} +BODY { +margin-left : 10%; +margin-right : 10%; +} + +.caption { +font-size: smaller; +font-weight: bold; +} + +.center {text-align: center;} + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre.pg {font-size: 8pt;} + +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14078 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Liberation of Italy, by Countess Evelyn +Martinengo-Cesaresco</h1> +<hr class="full" /> +<div> +<div class="center"><img src="images/image1.jpg" alt="FRONTISPIECE: GUISEPPE +GARIBALDI" /><br /> +<a name="GUISEPPE_GARIBALDI"></a> <span class="caption">GIUSEPPE +GARIBALDI</span></div> + +<br /> + <br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<h1>THE LIBERATION OF ITALY</h1> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<h3>1815-1870</h3> + +<h3>BY THE</h3> + +<h2>COUNTESS EVELYN MARTINENGO CESARESCO</h2> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<h4>AUTHOR OF 'ITALIAN CHARACTERS IN THE EPOCH OF UNIFICATION'<br /> + (<i>Patriotti Italiani</i>), ETC.</h4> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<h4><i>WITH PORTRAITS</i></h4> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<h6>LONDON<br /> + SEELEY AND CO, LIMITED<br /> + ESSEX STREET, STRAND</h6> +<h4>1895</h4> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<ul> +<li> +<p><a href="#CONTENTS"><b>CONTENTS.</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#PREFACE"><b>PREFACE.</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"><b>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER VI</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER VII</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>CHAPTER VIII</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>CHAPTER IX</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>CHAPTER X</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>CHAPTER XI</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>CHAPTER XII</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>CHAPTER XIII</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>CHAPTER XIV</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>CHAPTER XV</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>CHAPTER XVI</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>CHAPTER XVII</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>CHAPTER XVIII</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>CHAPTER XIX</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> + +<li> +<p><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>CHAPTER XX</b></a><br /> +</p> +</li> +</ul> + +<a name="PREFACE"></a> + +<h3><i>PREFACE</i></h3> + +<p>The old figure of speech 'in the fulness of time' embodies a truth too +often forgotten. History knows nothing of spontaneous generation; the +chain of cause and effect is unbroken, and however modest be the scale on +which an historical work is cast, the reader has a right to ask that it +should give him some idea, not only of what happened, but of why it +happened. A catalogue of dates and names is as meaningless as the +photograph of a crowd. In the following retrospect, I have attempted to +trace the principal factors that worked towards Italian unity. The +Liberation of Italy is a cycle waiting to be turned into an epic.</p> + +<p>In other words, it presents the appearance of a series of detached +episodes, but the parts have an intimate connection with the whole, which, +as time wears on, will constantly emerge into plainer light. Every year +brings with it the issue of documents, letters, memoirs, that help to +unravel the tangled threads in which this subject has been enveloped, and +which have made it less generally understood than the two other great +struggles of the century, the American fight for the Union, and the +unification of Germany.</p> + +<p>I cannot too strongly state my indebtedness to the voluminous +literature which has grown up in Italy round the <i>Risorgimento</i> since +its completion; yet it must not be supposed that the witness of +contemporaries published from hour to hour, in every European tongue, +while the events were going on, has become or will ever become valueless. +I have had access to a collection of these older writings, formed with +much care between the years 1850-1870, and some authorities that were +wanting, I found in the library of Sir James Hudson, given by him to Count +Giuseppe Martinengo Cesaresco after he left the British legation at +Turin.</p> + +<p>There are, of course, many books in which the affairs of Italy figure +only incidentally, which ought to be consulted by anyone who wishes to +study the inner working of the Italian movement. Of such are Lord +Castlereagh's <i>Despatches and Correspondence</i>, and the +autobiographies of Prince Metternich and Count Beust.</p> + +<p>Perhaps I have been helped in describing the events clearly, by the +fact that I am familiar with almost all the places where they occurred, +from the heights of Calatafimi to the unhappy rock of Lissa. Wherever the +language of the <i>Si</i> sounds, we tread upon the history of the +Revolution that achieved what a great English orator once called, 'the +noblest work ever undertaken by man.'</p> + +<p>The supreme interest of the re-casting of Italy arises from the new +spectacle of a nation made one not by conquest but by consent. Above and +beyond the other causes that contributed to the conclusion must always be +reckoned the gathering of an emotional wave, only comparable to the +phenomena displayed by the mediæval religious revivals. Sentiment, +it is said, is what makes the real historical miracles. A writer on +Italian Liberation would be indeed misleading who failed to take account +of the passionate longing which stirred and swayed even the most outwardly +cold of those who took part in it, and nerved an entire people to heroic +effort.</p> + +<p><i>Salò, Lago di Garda.</i></p> + +<br /> +<br /> + <a name="CONTENTS"></a> + +<h3><i>CONTENTS</i></h3> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER I</p> + +<p>RESURGAM</p> + +<p>Italy from the Battle of Lodi to the Congress of Vienna.......... <a +href="#Page_1">1</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER II</p> + +<p>THE WORK OF THE CARBONARI</p> + +<p>Revolutions in the Kingdom of Naples and in Piedmont—The<br /> +Conspiracy against Charles +Albert........................................... <a href="#Page_21"> +21</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER III</p> + +<p>PRISON AND SCAFFOLD</p> + +<p>Political Trials in Venetia and Lombardy—Risings in the South +and<br /> + Centre—Ciro Menotti............................................. <a +href="#Page_40">40</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER IV</p> + +<p>YOUNG ITALY</p> + +<p>Accession of Charles Albert—Mazzini's Unitarian +Propaganda—The<br /> +Brothers Bandiera................................................ <a href= +"#Page_56">56</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER V</p> + +<p>THE POPE LIBERATOR</p> + +<p>Events leading to the Election of Pius IX.—The Petty +Princes—Charles<br /> +Albert, Leopold and Ferdinand................... ........<a href= +"#Page_71">71</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER VI</p> + +<p>THE YEAR OF REVOLUTION</p> + +<p>Insurrection in Sicily—The Austrians expelled from Milan +and<br /> + Venice—Charles Albert takes the Field—Withdrawal of the<br /> + Pope and King of Naples—Piedmont defeated—The Retreat...<a +href="#Page_91">91</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER VII</p> + +<p>THE DOWNFALL OF THRONES</p> + +<p>Garibaldi arrives—Venice under Manin—The Dissolution of +the<br /> + Temporal Power—Republics at Rome and Florence......<a href= +"#Page_120">120</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER VIII</p> + +<p>AT BAY</p> + +<p>Novara—Abdication of Charles Albert—Brescia +crushed—French<br /> + Intervention—The Fall of Rome—The Fall of Venice..........<a +href="#Page_137">137</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER IX</p> + +<p>'J'ATTENDS MON ASTRE'</p> + +<p>The House of Savoy—A King who Keeps his Word—Sufferings of +the<br /> + Lombards—Charles Albert's +death...................................<a href="#Page_165">165</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER X</p> + +<p>THE REVIVAL OF PIEDMONT</p> + +<p>Restoration of the Pope and Grand-Duke of Tuscany—Misrule +at<br /> + Naples—The Struggle with the Church in Piedmont—The +Crimean<br /> + War.................................................................................<a +href="#Page_183">183</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XI</p> + +<p>PREMONITIONS OF THE STORM</p> + +<p>Pisacane's Landing—Orsini's Attempt—The Compact of<br /> + Plombières—Cavour's +Triumph....................................... <a href="#Page_208"> +208</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XII</p> + +<p>THE WAR FOR LOMBARDY</p> + +<p>Austria declares War—Montebello—Garibaldi's<br /> + Campaign—Palestro—Magenta—The Allies enter +Milan—Ricasoli saves<br /> + Italian Unity—Accession of Francis II.—Solferino—The +Armistice of<br /> + Villafranca..................................................................... +<a href="#Page_227">227</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XIII</p> + +<p>WHAT UNITY COST</p> + +<p>Napoleon III. and Cavour—The Cession of Savoy and +Nice—Annexations<br /> + in Central +Italy...............................................................<a +href="#Page_251">251</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XIV</p> + +<p>THE MARCH OF THE THOUSAND</p> + +<p>Origin of the Expedition—Garibaldi at +Marsala—Calatafimi—The Taking<br /> + of Palermo—Milazzo—The Bourbons evacuate Sicily........<a +href="#Page_266">266</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XV</p> + +<p>THE MEETING OF THE WATERS</p> + +<p>Garibaldi's March on Naples—The Piedmontese in Umbria and +the<br /> + Marches—The Volturno. Victor Emmanuel enters Naples..... <a href= +"#Page_298">298</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XVI</p> + +<p>BEGINNINGS OF THE ITALIAN KINGDOM</p> + +<p>The Fall of Gaeta—Political Brigandage—The Proclamation of +the<br /> + Italian Kingdom—Cavour's Death...................................<a +href="#Page_326">326</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XVII</p> + +<p>'ROME OR DEATH!'</p> + +<p>Cavour's Successors—Aspromonte—The September +Convention—Garibaldi's<br /> + Visit to England.................................................. <a +href="#Page_340">340</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XVIII</p> + +<p>THE WAR FOR VENICE</p> + +<p>The Prussian Alliance—Custoza—Lissa—The +Volunteers—Acquisition of<br /> + Venetia......................................................... <a href= +"#Page_356">356</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XIX</p> + +<p>THE LAST CRUSADE</p> + +<p>The French leave Rome—Garibaldi's Arrest and Escape—The +Second<br /> + French Intervention—Monte +Rotondo—Mentana............................ <a href="#Page_381"> +381</a></p> + +<br /> + + +<p>CHAPTER XX</p> + +<p>ROME THE CAPITAL</p> + +<p>M. Rouher's 'Never!'—Papal +Infallibility—Sédan—The Breach in Porta<br /> + Pia—The King of Italy in Rome.................................. <a +href="#Page_397">397</a></p> + +<br /> + <a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a> + +<h3><i>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</i></h3> + +<p>GUISEPPE GARIBALDI....................<a href= +"#GUISEPPE_GARIBALDI">FRONTISPIECE</a></p> + +<p>GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.......................<a href="#Page_60">60</a></p> + +<p>KING VICTOR EMMANUEL............<a href="#Page_166">166</a></p> + +<p>COUNT CAVOUR...........................<a href="#Page_192">192</a></p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg.1]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<div class="center"> +<h2><strong>The Liberation of Italy</strong></h2> +</div> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_I"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER I</h3> + +<h4>RESURGAM</h4> + +<h5>Italy from the Battle of Lodi to the Congress of Vienna.</h5> + +<br /> + + +<p>The unity of Italy, which the statesmen of Europe and all save a small +number of the Italians themselves still regarded as an utopia when it was +on the verge of accomplishment, was, nevertheless, desired and foreseen by +the two greatest intellects produced by the Italian race. Dante conceived +an Italy united under the Empire, which returning from a shameful because +self-imposed exile would assume its natural seat in Rome. To him it was a +point of secondary interest that the Imperial Lord happened to be bred +beyond the Alps, that he was of Teutonic, not of Latin blood. If the +Emperor brought the talisman of his authority to the banks of the Tiber, +Italy would overcome the factions which rent her, and would not only rule +herself, but lead mankind. Vast as the vision was, Dante cannot be called +presumptuous for having entertained it. The Rome of the Cæsars, the +Rome of the Popes, had each transformed the world: Italy was transforming +it for a third time at that moment by the spiritual awakening which, +beginning with the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2"> +[Pg.2]</a></span> Renaissance, led by inevitable steps to the Reformation. +The great Florentine poet had the right to dream that his country was +invested with a providential mission, that his people was a chosen people, +which, by its own fault and by the fault of others, had lost its way, but +would find it again. Such was Dante's so-called Ghibelline +programme—less Ghibelline than intensely and magnificently Italian. +His was a mind too mighty to be caged within the limits of partisan +ambitions. The same may be said of Machiavelli. He also imagined, or +rather discerned in the future, a regenerate Italy under a single head, +and this, not the advancement of any particular man, was the grand event +he endeavoured to hasten. With the impatience of a heart consumed by the +single passion of patriotism, he conjured his fellow-countrymen to seize +the first chance that presented itself, promising or unpromising, of +reaching the goal. The concluding passage in the <i>Principe</i> was meant +as an exhortation; it reads as a prophecy. 'We ought not therefore,' +writes Machiavelli, 'to let this occasion pass whereby, after so long +waiting, Italy may behold the coming of a saviour. Nor can I express with +what love he would be received in all those provinces which have suffered +from the foreign inundations; with what thirst of vengeance, with what +obstinate faith, with what worship, with what tears! What doors would be +closed against him? What people would deny him obedience? What jealousy +would oppose him? What Italian would not do him honour? The barbarous +dominion of the stranger stinks in the nostrils of all.'</p> + +<p>Another man of genius, an Italian whom a fortuitous circumstance made +the citizen and the master of a country not his own, grasped both the +vital necessity of unity from an Italian point of view, and the certainty +of its ultimate achievement. Napoleon's notes on the <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg.3]</a></span> subject, written +at St Helena, sum up the whole question without rhetoric but with +unanswerable logic:—'Italy is surrounded by the Alps and the sea. +Her natural limits are defined with as much exactitude as if she were an +island. Italy is only united to the Continent by 150 leagues of frontier, +and these 150 leagues are fortified by the highest barrier that can be +opposed to man. Italy, isolated between her natural limits, is destined to +form a great and powerful nation. Italy is one nation; unity of customs, +language and literature must, within a period more or less distant, unite +her inhabitants under one sole government. And Rome will, without the +slightest doubt, be chosen by the Italians as their capital.'</p> + +<p>Unlike Dante and Machiavelli, who could only sow the seed, not gather +the fruit, the man who wrote these lines might have made them a reality. +Had Napoleon wished to unite Italy—had he had the greatness of mind +to proclaim Rome the capital of a free and independent state instead of +turning it into the chief town of a French department—there was a +time when he could plainly have done it. Whether redemption too easily won +would have proved a gain or a loss in the long run to the populations +welded together, not after their own long and laborious efforts, but by +the sudden exercise of the will of a conqueror, is, of course, a different +matter. The experiment was not tried. Napoleon, whom the simple splendour +of such a scheme ought to have fascinated, did a very poor thing instead +of a very great one: he divided Italy among his relations, keeping the +lion's share for himself.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's policy in Italy was permanently compromised by the +abominable sale of Venice, with her two thousand years of freedom, to the +empire which, as no one knew better than he did, was the pivot of European +despotism. After that transaction he could never again come before the +Italians with clean hands; they might for a season make him <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg.4]</a></span> their idol, +carried away by the intoxication of his fame; they could never trust him +in their inmost conscience. The ruinous consequences of the Treaty of +Campo Formio only; ceased in 1866. The Venetians have been severely +blamed, most of all by Italian historians, for making Campo Formio +possible by opening the door to the French six months before. Napoleon +could not have bartered away Venice if it had not belonged to him. The +reason that it belonged to him was that, on the 12th of May 1797, the +Grand Council committed political suicide by dissolving the old +aristocratic form of government, in compliance with a mere rumour, +conveyed to them through the ignoble medium of a petty shopkeeper, that +such was the wish of General Buonaparte. In extenuation of their fatal +supineness, it may be urged that they felt the inherent weakness of an +oligarchy out of date; and in the second place, that the victor of Lodi, +the deliverer of Lombardy, then in the first flush of his scarcely +tarnished glory, was a dazzling figure, calculated indeed to turn men's +heads. But, after all, the only really valid excuse for them would have +been that Venice lacked the means of defence, and this was not the case. +She had 14,000 regular troops, 8000 marines, a good stock of +guns—how well she might have resisted the French, had they, which +was probable, attacked her, was to be proved in 1849. Her people, +moreover, that <i>basso popolo</i> which nowhere in the world is more free +from crime, more patient in suffering, more intelligent and +public-spirited than in Venice, was anxious and ready to resist; when the +nobles offered themselves a sacrifice on the Gallic altar by welcoming the +proposed democratic institutions, the populace, neither hoodwinked nor +scared into <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5"> +[Pg.5]</a></span> hysterics, rose to the old cry of San Marco, and +attempted a righteous reaction, which was only smothered when the +treacherous introduction of French troops by night on board Venetian +vessels settled the doom of Venice's independence.</p> + +<p>'Under all circumstances,' Napoleon wrote to the Venetian Municipality, +'I shall do what lies in my power to prove to you my desire to see your +liberty consolidated, and miserable Italy assume, at last, a glorious +place, free and independent of strangers.' On the 10th of the following +October he made over Venice to Austria, sending as a parting word the +cynical message to the Venetians 'that they were little fitted for +liberty: if they were capable of appreciating it, and had the virtue +necessary for acquiring it well and good; existing circumstances gave them +an excellent opportunity of proving it.' At the time, the act of betrayal +was generally regarded as part of a well-considered plot laid by the +French Directory, but it seems certain that it was not made known to that +body before it was carried out, and that with Napoleon himself it was a +sort of after-thought, sprung from the desire to patch up an immediate +peace with Austria on account of the appointment of Hoche to the chief +command of the army in Germany. The god to which he immolated Venice was +the selfish fear lest another general should reap his German laurels.</p> + +<p>Venice remained for eight years under the Austrians, who thereby +obtained what, in flagrant perversion of the principles on which the +Congress of Vienna professed to act, was accepted in 1815 as their +title-deeds to its possession. Meanwhile, after the battle of Austerlitz, +the city of the sea was tossed back to Napoleon, who incorporated it in +the newly-created kingdom of Italy, which no more corresponded to its name +than did the Gothic kingdom of which he <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg.6]</a></span> arrogated to himself the heirship, +when, placing the Iron Crown of Theodolinda upon his brow, he uttered the +celebrated phrase: 'Dieu me l'a donnée, gare à qui la +touche.'</p> + +<p>This is not the place to write a history of French supremacy in Italy, +but several points connected with it must be glanced at, because, without +bearing them in mind, it is impossible to understand the events which +followed. The viceroyalty of Eugène Beauharnais in North Italy, and +the government of Joseph Buonaparte, and afterwards of Joachim Murat, in +the South, brought much that was an improvement on what had gone before: +there were better laws, a better administration, a quickening of +intelligence. 'The French have done much for the regeneration of Italy,' +wrote an English observer in 1810; 'they have destroyed the prejudices of +the inhabitants of the small states of Upper Italy by uniting them; they +have done away with the Pope; they have made them soldiers.' But there was +the reverse side of the medal: the absence everywhere of the national +spirit which alone could have consolidated the new <i>régime</i> on +a firm basis; the danger which the language ran of losing its purity by +the introduction of Gallicisms; the shameless robbery of pictures, +statues, and national heirlooms of every kind for the replenishment of +French museums; the bad impression left in the country districts by the +abuses committed by the French soldiery on their first descent, and kept +alive by the blood-tax levied in the persons of thousands of Italian +conscripts sent to die, nobody knew where or why; the fields untilled, and +Rachel weeping for her children: all these elements combined in rendering +it difficult for the governments established under French auspices to +survive the downfall of the man to whose sword they owed their existence. +Their <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg.7]</a></span> +dissolution was precipitated, however, by the discordant action of Murat +and Eugène Beauharnais. Had these two pulled together, whatever the +issue was it would have differed in much from what actually happened. +Murat was jealous of Eugène, and did not love his brother-in-law, +who had annoyed and thwarted him through his whole reign; he was uneasy +about his Neapolitan throne, and, in all likelihood, was already dreaming +of acquiring the crown of an independent Italy. Throwing off his +allegiance to Napoleon, he imagined the vain thing that he might gain his +object by taking sides with the Austrians. It must be remembered that +there was a time when the Allied Powers had distinctly contemplated +Italian independence as a dyke to France, and there were people foolish +enough to think that Austria, now she felt herself as strong as she had +then felt weak, would consent to such a plan. Liberators, self-called, +were absolutely swarming in Italy; Lord William Bentinck was promising +entire emancipation from Leghorn; the Austrian and English allies in +Romagna ransacked the dictionary for expressions in praise of liberty; an +English officer was made the mouthpiece for the lying assurance of the +Austrian Emperor Francis, that he had no intention of re-asserting any +claims to the possession of Lombardy or Venetia.</p> + +<p>In 1814, Napoleon empowered Prince Eugène to adopt whatever +attitude he thought best fitted to make head against Austria; for himself, +he resigned the Iron Crown, and his Italian soldiers were freed from their +oaths. It was not, therefore, Eugene's loyal scruples which prevented him +from throwing down a grand stake when he led his 60,000 men to the attack. +It was want of genius, or of what would have done instead, a flash of +genuine enthusiasm for the Italian idea. In place <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg.8]</a></span> of appealing to all Italians +to unite in winning a country, he appealed to one sentiment only, fidelity +to Napoleon, which no longer woke any echo in the hearts of a population +that had grown more and more to associate the name of the Emperor with +exactions which never came to an end, and with wars which had not now even +the merit of being successful. It is estimated that although the Italian +troops amply proved the truth of Alfieri's maxim, that 'the plant man is +more vigorous in Italy than elsewhere,' by bearing the hardships and +resisting the cold in Russia better than the soldiers of any other +nationality, nevertheless 26,000 Italians were lost in the retreat from +Moscow. That happened a year ago. Exhausted patience got the better of +judgment; in April 1814, the Milanese committed the irremediable error of +revolting against their Viceroy, who commanded the only army which could +still save Italy: the pent-up passions of a long period broke loose, the +peasants from the country, who had always hated the French, flooded the +streets of Milan, and allying themselves unimpeded with the dregs of the +townsfolk, they murdered with great brutality General Prina, the Minister +of Finance, whose remarkable abilities had been devoted towards raising +funds for the Imperial Exchequer. Personally incorruptible, Prina was +looked upon as the general representative of French voracity; he met his +death with the utmost calmness, only praying that he might be the last +victim. No one else was, in fact, killed, and next day quiet was resumed, +but the affair had another victim—Italy. You cannot change horses +when you are crossing a stream. Prince Eugène was in Mantua with a +fine army, practically intact, though it had suffered some slight +reverses; the fortress was believed to be impregnable; by merely waiting, +Eugene <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9"> +[Pg.9]</a></span> might, if nothing else, have exacted favourable terms. +But the news of Prina's murder, and the blow dealt at his own authority in +Milan, caused him to give over the fortress and the army to the Austrians +without more ado; an act which looked like revenge, but it was most likely +prompted by moral cowardice. The capitulation signed with Field-Marshal +Bellegarde on the 23rd of April, so exasperated the army that the officers +in command of the garrison decided to arrest Eugene, but it was found that +he was already on his way to Germany, taking with him his treasure, in +accordance with a secret agreement entered into with the Austrian +Field-Marshal. Such was the end to the Italian career of Eugène +Beauharnais.</p> + +<p>For the <i>Beau Sabreur</i> another ending was in store. Back on +Napoleon's side in 1815, his Austrian allies having given him plenty of +reason for suspecting their sincerity, he issued from Rimini, on the 30th +of March, the proclamation of an independent Italy from the Alps to +Sicily. There was no popular reply to his call. Italy, prostrate and +impoverished, was unequal to a great resolve. The Napoleonic legend was +not only dead, but buried; Napoleon had literally no friends left in Italy +except those of his old soldiers who had managed to get back to their +homes, many of them deprived of an arm or a leg, but so toughened that +they lived to great ages. These cherished to their last hour the worship +of their Captain, which it was his highest gift to be able to inspire. 'I +have that feeling for him still, that if he were to rise from the dead I +should go to him, if I could, wherever he was,' said the old conscript +Emmanuele Gaminara of Genoa, who died at nearly a hundred in a Norfolk +village in 1892: the last, perhaps, of the Italian veterans, and the type +of them all.</p> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg.10]</a></span> + +<p>But a few scattered invalids do not make a nation, and the Italian +nation in 1815 had not the least wish to support any one who came in the +name of Napoleon. So Murat failed without even raising a strong current of +sympathy. Beaten by the Austrians at Tolentino on the 3rd of May, he +retreated with his shattered army. In the last desperate moment, he issued +the constitution which he ought to have granted years before. Nothing +could be of any avail now; his admirable Queen, the best of all the House +of Buonaparte, surrendered Naples to the English admiral; and Murat, +harried by a crushing Austrian force, renounced his kingdom on the 30th of +May. After Waterloo, when a price was set on his head in France, he +meditated one more forlorn hope; but, deserted by the treachery of his few +followers, and driven out of his course by the violence of the waves, he +was thrown on the coast of Calabria with only twenty-six men, and was shot +by order of Ferdinand of Naples, who especially directed that he should be +only allowed half-an-hour for his religious duties after sentence had been +delivered by the mock court-martial. His dauntless courage did not desert +him: he died like a soldier. It was a better end for an Italian prince +than escaping with money-bags to Germany. Great as were Murat's faults, an +Italian should remember that it was he who first took up arms to the cry +which was later to redeem Italy: independence from Alps to sea; and if he +stand on the ill-omened shore of Pizzo, he need not refuse to uncover his +head in silence.</p> + +<p>When Mantua surrendered, the Milanese sent a deputation to Paris with a +view of securing for Lombardy the position of an independent kingdom under +an Austrian prince. They hoped to obtain the first by <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg.11]</a></span> acquiescing in +the second. They were aroused from their unheroic illusions with startling +rapidity. Lord Castlereagh, to whom they went first (for they fancied that +the English were interested in liberty), referred them 'to their master, +the Austrian Emperor.' The Emperor Francis replied to their memorial that +Lombardy was his by right of conquest; they would hear soon enough at +Milan what orders he had to give them. Even after that, the distracted +Lombards hoped that the English at Genoa would befriend them. All +uncertainty ceased on the 23rd of May 1814, when Field-Marshal Bellegarde +formally took possession of Lombardy on behalf of his Sovereign, dissolved +the Electoral Colleges, and proclaimed himself Regent. There was no +question of reviving the conditions under which Austria ruled Lombardy +while there was still a German Empire: conditions which, though despotic +in theory, were comparatively easy-going in practice, and did not exclude +the native element from the administration. Henceforth the despotism was +pure and simple; for Italians to even think of politics was an act of high +treason.</p> + +<p>It is not generally known that a British army ultimately sent to Spain +was intended for Italy,<a name="FNanchor1"></a><a href= +"#Footnote_1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> but its destination was changed because +the Italians showed so little disposition to rise against Napoleon. The +English Government was continually advised by its agents in Italy to make +Sicily, which was wholly in its power, the <i>point d'appùi</i> for +a really great intervention in the destinies of the peninsula. 'The grand +end of all the operations in the Mediterranean,' wrote one of Lord +Castlereagh's correspondents, 'is the emancipation of Italy, and its union +in one great state.' Lord William Bentinck urged that if Sicily were +reunited to Naples under the Bourbons, liberty, <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg.12]</a></span> established there by his +own incredible efforts, would be crushed, and the King would wreck +vengeance on the Constitution and its supporters. Universal terror, he +said, was felt at 'the unforgiving temper of their Majesties.' He strongly +supported a course proposed for her own reasons by Queen Caroline: the +purchase of Sicily by the English Government which could make it 'not only +the model but the instrument of Italian independence.'</p> + +<p>This way of talking was not confined to private despatches, and it was +no wonder if the Italians were disappointed when they found that England +declined to plead their cause with the Allies in Paris, and afterwards at +Vienna. When charged directly with breach of faith before the House of +Commons, Lord Castlereagh said that Austria, being 'in truth the great +hinge on which the fate of mankind must ultimately depend,' had to be paid +(this was exactly the sense, though not the form, of his defence) by +letting her do what she liked with Italy. There is a certain brutal +straightforwardness in the line of argument. Lord Castlereagh did not say +that independence was not a good thing. He had tried to obtain it for +Poland and had failed; he had not tried to obtain it for Italy, because he +was afraid of offending Austria. At least he had the courage to tell the +truth, and did not prate about the felicity of being subjects of the +Austrian Emperor, as many English partisans of Austria prated in days to +come.</p> + +<p>The political map of Italy in the summer of 1814 showed the Pope (Pius +VII.) reinstated in Rome, Victor Emmanuel I. at Turin, Ferdinand III. of +Hapsburg-Lorraine in Tuscany, the Genoese Republic for the moment restored +by the English, Parma and Piacenza assigned to the Empress Marie-Louise, +and Modena to the Austrian Archduke Francis, who was heir through the +female line to the last of the Estes. Murat was still <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg.13]</a></span> at Naples, +Ferdinand IV. in Sicily, Austria acknowledged supreme in Lombardy and +Venetia, and the island of Elba ironically handed over to Napoleon. These +were the chief features, so far as Italy was concerned, of the Treaty of +Paris, signed on the 30th of May 1814. Next year the Congress of Vienna +modified the arrangement by providing that the Spanish Infanta Maria +Louisa, on whom had been bestowed the ex-republic of Lucca, should have +the reversion of Parma and Piacenza, while Lucca was to go in the end to +Tuscany. Murat having been destroyed, the Neapolitan Bourbons recovered +all their old possessions. San Marino and Monaco were graciously +recognised as independent, which brought the number of Italian states up +to ten. The Sardinian monarchy received back the part of Savoy which by +the Treaty of Paris had been reserved to France. It was also offered a +splendid and unexpected gift—Genoa.</p> + +<p>Lord William Bentinck entered Genoa by a convention concluded with the +authorities on the 18th of April 1814. A naval demonstration following an +ably-conducted operation, by which Bentinck's hybrid force of Greeks and +Calabrese, with a handful of English, became master of the two principal +forts, hastened this conclusion, but the Genoese had no reluctance to open +their gates to the English commander, who inspired them with the fullest +confidence. He came invested with the halo of a +constitution-maker-under-difficulties; it was known that he had stopped at +nothing in carrying out his mission in Sicily; not even at getting rid of +the Queen, who found in Bentinck the Nemesis for having led a greater +Englishman to stain his fame in the roads of Naples. Driven rather than +persuaded to leave Sicily, Marie Antoinette's sister encountered so +frightful a sea voyage that she died soon after <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg.14]</a></span> joining her relations at +Vienna. Lord William had acquired the art of writing the finest appeals to +the love of freedom; a collection of his manifestoes would serve as +handy-book to anyone instructed to stir up an oppressed nationality. He +immediately gave the Genoese some specimens of his skill as a writer, and +by granting them at once a provisional constitution, he dispelled all +doubts about the future recognition of their republic. What was not, +therefore, their dismay, when they were suddenly informed of the decision +of the Holy Alliance to make a present of them to the people whom, of all +others, they probably disliked the most. Italians had not ceased yet from +reserving their best aversion for their nearest neighbours.</p> + +<p>Bentinck did not mean to deceive; perhaps he thought that by going +beyond the letter of his instructions he should draw his government after +him. That he did, in effect, deceive, cannot be denied; even Lord +Castlereagh, while necessarily refusing to admit that definite promises +had been made, yet allowed that, 'Of course he would have been glad if the +proclamation issued to the Genoese had been more precisely worded.' The +motive of the determination to sacrifice the republic was, he said, 'a +sincere conviction of the necessity of a barrier between France and Italy, +which ought to be made effectual on the side of Piedmont. The object was +to commit the defence of the Alps and of the great road leading round them +by the Gulf of Genoa, between France and Italy, to the same power to which +it had formerly been entrusted. On that principle, the question relating +to Genoa had been entertained and decided upon by the allied sovereigns. +It was not resolved upon because any particular state had unworthy or +sordid views, or from any interest or feeling in favour of the King of +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg.15]</a></span> +Sardinia, but solely to make him, as far as was necessary, the instrument +of the general policy of Europe.'</p> + +<p>A better defence might have been made. Piedmont was destined to serve +as a bulwark, not so much against France, which for the time was not to be +feared, as against Austria, absolute except for the subalpine kingdom in +all Italy. But this belongs to the shaping of rough-hewn ends, which is in +higher hands than those of English ministers. The ends then looked very +rough-hewn.</p> + +<p>Piedmont was a hotbed of reaction and bigotry. True, she had a history +differing vastly from that of the other Italian states, but the facts of +the hour presented her in a most unattractive light. The Genoese felt the +keenest heart-burnings in submitting to a decision in which they had no +voice, and which came to them as a mandate of political extinction from +the same powers that confirmed the sentence of death on Genoa's ancient +and glorious rival. The seeds were laid of disaffection, always +smouldering among the Genoese, till Piedmont's king became King of Italy. +It might almost be said that the reconciliation was not consummated till +the day when the heir and namesake of Humbert of the White Hands received +the squadrons of Europe in the harbour of Genoa, and the proud republican +city showed what a welcome she had prepared for her sovereign of the Savoy +race.</p> + +<p>After the Congress of Vienna finished its labours, there were, as has +been remarked, ten states in Italy, but out of Sardinia (whose subjugation +Prince Metternich esteemed a mere matter of time) there was one master. +The authority of the Emperor Francis was practically as undisputed from +Venice to the Bay of Naples as it was in the Grand Duchy of Austria. The +Austrians garrisoned Piacenza, Ferrara and <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg.16]</a></span> Commacchio; Austrian princes +reigned in Tuscany, Parma, Modena and Lucca; the King of Naples, who paid +Austria twenty-six million francs for getting back his throne, thankfully +agreed to support a German army to protect him against his subjects. In +the secret treaty concluded between himself and the Emperor of Austria, it +was stipulated that the King of the Two Sicilies should not introduce into +his government any principles irreconcilable with those adopted by His +Imperial Majesty in the government of his Italian provinces. As for the +Roman States, Austria reckoned on her influence in always securing the +election of a Pope who would give her no trouble. Seeing herself without +rivals and all-powerful, she deemed her position unassailable. She forgot +that, by giving Italy an unity of misery, she was preparing the way for +another unity. Common hatred engendered common love; common sufferings led +on to a common effort. If some prejudices passed away under the Napoleonic +rule, many more still remained, and possibly, to eradicate so old an evil, +no cure less drastic than universal servitude would have sufficed. +Italians felt for the first time what before only the greatest among them +had felt—that they were brothers in one household, children of one +mother whom they were bound to redeem. Jealousies and millennial feuds +died out; the intense municipal spirit which, imperfect as it was, had yet +in it precious political germs, widened into patriotism. Italy was +re-born.</p> + +<p>Black, however, was the present outlook. Total commercial stagnation +and famine increased the sentiment of unmitigated hopelessness which +spread through the land. The poet Monti, who, alas! sang for bread the +festival songs of the Austrians as he had sung those of Napoleon, said +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg.17]</a></span> in +private to an Englishman who asked him why he did not give his voice to +the liberties of his country which he desired, though he did not expect to +see them: 'It would be <i>vox clamantis in deserto</i>; besides, how can +the grievances of Italy be made known? No one dares to +write—scarcely to think—politics; if truth is to be told, it +must be told by the English; England is the only tribunal yet open to the +complaints of Europe.' A greater poet and nobler man, Ugo Foscolo, had but +lately uttered a wail still more despondent: 'Italy will soon be nothing +but a lifeless carcass, and her generous sons should only weep in silence +without the impotent complaints and mutual recriminations of slaves.' That +as patriotic a heart as ever beat should have been afflicted to this point +by the canker of despair tells of the quagmire—not only political +but spiritual—into which Italy was sunk. The first thing needful was +to restore the people to consciousness, to animation of some sort, it did +not matter what, so it were a sign of life. Foscolo himself, who impressed +on what he wrote his own proud and scornful temperament, almost savage in +its independence, fired his countrymen to better things than the +despairing inertia which he preached. Few works have had more effect than +his <i>Letters of Jacobo Ortis</i>. As often happens with books which +strongly move contemporaries, the reader may wonder now what was the +secret of its power, but if the form and sentiment of the Italian <i> +Werther</i> strike us as antiquated, the intense, though melancholy +patriotism that pervades it explains the excitement it caused when +patriotism was a statutory offence. Such mutilated copies as were allowed +to pass by the censor were eagerly sought; the young read it, women read +it—who so rarely read—the mothers of the fighters of <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg.18]</a></span> +to-morrow. Foscolo's life gave force to his words: when all were +flattering Napoleon, he had reminded him that no man can be rightly +praised till he is dead, and that his one sure way of winning the praise +of posterity was to establish the independence of Italy. The warning was +contained in a 'discourse' which Foscolo afterwards printed with the motto +from Sophocles: 'My soul groans for my country, for myself and for thee.' +Sooner than live under the Austrians, he went into voluntary exile, and +finally took refuge in England, where he was the <i>fêted</i> lion +of a season, and then forgotten, and left almost without the necessaries +of life. No one was much to blame; Foscolo was born to misunderstand and +to be misunderstood; he hid himself to hide his poverty, which, had it +been known, might have been alleviated. His individual tragedy seemed a +part of the universal tragedy.</p> + +<p>With Foscolo, his literary predecessor Alfieri must be mentioned as +having helped in rekindling the embers, of patriotic feeling, because, +though dead, he spoke; and his plays, one of which was prophetically +dedicated <i>al libero Popolo Italiano</i>, had never been so much read. +The <i>Misogallo</i>, published for the first time after the fall of +Napoleon, though aimed at the French, served equally well as an onslaught +on every foreign dominion or even moral or intellectual influence. 'Shall +<i>we</i> learn liberty of the Gauls, <i>we</i> who taught every lofty +thing to others?' was a healthy remonstrance to a race that had lost faith +in itself; and the Austrians were wise in discountenancing the sale of a +work that contained the line which gave a watchword to the +future:—</p> + +<pre> + <i>Schiavi or siam si; ma schiavi almen frementi</i>. +</pre> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg.19]</a></span> + +<p>Like Foscolo's, Alfieri's life was a lesson in independence: angry at +the scant measure of freedom in Piedmont, he could never be induced to go +near his sovereign till Charles Emmanuel was staying at Florence as a +proscript. Then the poet went to pay his respects to him, and was received +with the good-humoured banter: 'Well, Signor Conte, here am I, a king, in +the condition you would like to see them all.'</p> + +<p>Against the classical, not to say pagan, leanings of these two poets, a +reaction set in with Alessandro Manzoni, the founder of Italian +Romanticism, to which he gave an aspect differing from that which the same +movement wore in France, because he was an ardent Catholic at a time when +Christianity had almost the charm of novelty. His religious outpourings +combine the fervour of the Middle Ages with modern expansion, and he freed +the Italian language from pedantic restrictions without impairing its +dignity. It was once the fashion to inveigh against Manzoni for, as it was +said, inculcating resignation; but he did nothing of the kind. As a young +man he had sung of the Italians as 'Figli tutti d'un solo Riscatto,' and +though he was not of those who fight either with the sword or the pen, yet +that 'Riscatto' was the dream of his youth and manhood, and the joy of his +old age. His gentleness was never contaminated by servility, and the love +for his country, profound if placid, which appears in every line of his +writings, appealed to a class that could not be reached by fiery +turbulence of thought.</p> + +<p>In an age when newspapers have taken the place of books, it may seem +strange to ascribe any serious effect to the works of poets and +romancists; but in the Italy of that date there were no newspapers to +speak of; the ordinary channels of opinion were blocked up. Books were +still not only read, but discussed and thought over, and every slight +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg.20]</a></span> +allusion to the times was instantly applied. In the prevailing +listlessness, the mere fact of increased mental activity was of +importance. A spark of genius does much to raise a nation. It is in itself +the incontrovertible proof that the race lives: a dead people does not +produce men of genius. Whatever awakes one part of the intelligence reacts +on all its parts. You cannot lift, any more than you can degrade, the +heart of man piecemeal. In this sense not literature only but also music +helped, who can say how effectually, to bring Italy back to life. The land +was refreshed by a flood of purely national song, full of the laughter and +the tears of Italian character, of the sunshine and the storms of Italian +nature. Music, the only art uncageable as the human soul, descended as a +gift from heaven upon the people whose articulate utterance was stifled. +And</p> + +<pre> + ... No speech may evince + Feeling like music. +</pre> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg.21]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_II"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER II</h3> + +<h4>THE WORK OF THE CARBONARI</h4> + +<h5>1815-1821</h5> + +<h5>Revolutions in the Kingdom of Naples and in Piedmont—The +Conspiracy against Charles Albert.</h5> + +<br /> + + +<p>Considering what the state of the country was after 1815, and how +apparently inexhaustible were the resources of the Empire of which the +petty princes of the peninsula were but puppets, it is remarkable that +political agitation, with a view to reversing the decisions of Vienna, +should have begun so soon, and on so large a scale. Not that the nation, +as a whole, was yet prepared to move; every revolution, till 1848, was +partial in the sense that the mass of the people stood aloof, because +unconvinced of the possibility of loosening their chains. But, during that +long succession of years, the number of Italians ready to embark on +enterprises of the most desperate character, accounting as nothing the +smallness of the chance of success, seems enormous when the risks they ran +and the difficulties they faced are fully recognised. Among the means +which were effective in first rousing Italy from her lethargy, and in +fostering the will to acquire her independence at all costs, the secret +society of the Carbonari undoubtedly occupies the front rank. The +Carbonari acted in two ways; by what they did and by what they caused to +be done by others who were outside their society, and perhaps unfavourable +to it, <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22"> +[Pg.22]</a></span> but who were none the less sensible of the pressure it +exercised. The origin of Carbonarism has been sought in vain; as a +specimen of the childish fables that once passed for its history may be +noticed the legend that Francis I. of France once stumbled on a charcoal +burner's hut when hunting 'on the frontiers of his kingdom next to +Scotland,' and was initiated into the rites similar to those in use among +the sectaries of the nineteenth century. Those rites referred to vengeance +which was to be taken on the wolf that slew the lamb; the wolf standing +for tyrants and oppressors, and the lamb for Jesus Christ, the sinless +victim, by whom all the oppressed were represented. The Carbonari +themselves generally believed that they were heirs to an organisation +started in Germany before the eleventh century, under the name of the +Faith of the Kohlen-Brenners, of which Theobald de Brie, who was +afterwards canonised, was a member. Theobald was adopted as patron saint +of the modern society, and his fancied portrait figured in all the lodges. +That any weight should have been attached to these pretensions to +antiquity may appear strange to us, as it certainly did not matter whether +an association bent on the liberation of Italy had or had not existed in +German forests eight hundred years before; age and mystery, however, have +a great popular attraction, the first as an object of reverence, the +second as food for curiosity with the profane, and a bond of union among +the initiated. The religious symbolism of the Carbonari, their oaths and +ceremonies, and the axes, blocks and other furniture of the initiatory +chamber, were well calculated to impress the poorer and more ignorant and +excitable of the brethren. The Vatican affected to believe that +Carbonarism was an offshoot of Freemasonry, but, in spite of sundry points +of <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg.23]</a></span> +resemblance, such as the engagements of mutual help assumed by members, +there seems to have been no real connection between the two. Political +Freemasonry remained somewhat of an exotic in Italy, and was inclined to +regard France as its centre. As far as can be ascertained, it gave a +general support to Napoleon, while Carbonarism rejected every foreign +yoke. The practical aims of the Carbonari may be summed up in two words: +freedom and independence. From the first they had the penetration to grasp +the fact that independence, even if obtained, could not be preserved +without freedom; but though their predilections were theoretically +republican, they did not make a particular form of government a matter of +principle. Nor were they agreed in a definite advocacy of the unity of +Italy.</p> + +<p>A Genoese of the name of Malghella, who was Murat's Minister of Police, +was the first person to give a powerful impetus to Carbonarism, of which +he has even been called the inventor, but the inference goes too far. +Malghella ended miserably; after the fall of Murat he was arrested by the +Austrians, who consigned him as a new subject to the Sardinian Government, +which immediately put him in prison. His name is hardly known, but no +Italian of his time worked more assiduously, or in some respects more +intelligently, for the emancipation of Italy. Whatever was truly Italian +in Murat's policy must be mainly attributed to him. As early as 1813 he +urged the King to declare himself frankly for independence, and to grant a +constitution to his Neapolitan subjects. But Malghella did not find the +destined saviour of Italy in Murat; his one lasting work was to establish +Carbonarism on so strong a basis that, when the Bourbons returned, there +were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Carbonari in all parts of +the realm. The discovery was not a pleasant one to the restored rulers, +and the Prince of Canosa, the new Minister <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg.24]</a></span> of Police, thought to counteract +the evil done by his predecessor by setting up an abominable secret +society called the Calderai del Contrapeso (Braziers of the Counterpoise), +principally recruited from the refuse of the people, lazzaroni, bandits +and let-out convicts, who were provided by Government with 20,000 muskets, +and were sworn to exterminate all enemies of the Church of Rome, whether +Jansenists, Freemasons or Carbonari. This association committed some +horrible excesses, but otherwise it had no results. The Carbonari closed +in their ranks, and learnt to observe more strictly their rules of +secrecy. From the kingdom of Naples, Carbonarism spread to the Roman +states, and found a congenial soil in Romagna, which became the focus +whence it spread over the rest of Italy. It was natural that it should +take the colour, more or less, of the places where it grew. In Romagna, +where political assassination is in the blood of the people, a dagger was +substituted for the symbolical woodman's axe in the initiatory rites. It +was probably only in Romagna that the conventional threat against +informers was often carried out. The Romagnols invested Carbonarism with +the wild intensity of their own temperament, resolute even to crime, but +capable of supreme impersonal enthusiasm. The ferment of expectancy that +prevailed in Romagna is reflected in the Letters and Journals of Lord +Byron, whom young Count Pietro Gamba made a Carbonaro, and who looked +forward to seeing the Italians send the barbarians of all nations back to +their own dens, as to the most interesting spectacle and moment in +existence. His lower apartments, he writes, were full of the bayonets, +fusils and cartridges of his Carbonari cronies; 'I suppose that they +consider me <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25"> +[Pg.25]</a></span> as a dépôt, to be sacrificed in case of +accidents. It is no great matter, supposing that Italy could be liberated, +who or what is sacrificed. It is a grand object—the very poetry of +politics. Only think—free Italy!!! Why, there has been nothing like +it since the days of Augustus.'</p> + +<p>The movement on which such great hopes were set was to begin in the +kingdom of Naples in the spring of 1820. The concession of the hard-won +Spanish Constitution in the month of March encouraged the Neapolitans to +believe that they might get a like boon from their own King if they +directed all the forces at their command to this single end. To avoid +being compromised, they sought rather to dissociate themselves from the +patriots of other parts of Italy than to co-operate with them in an united +effort. The Carbonari of the Neapolitan kingdom, who were the entire +authors of the revolution, which, after many unfortunate delays, broke out +on the 1st of July, had good cause for thinking that they were in a +position to dictate terms; the mistake they made was to suppose that a +charter conceded by a Bourbon of Naples could ever be worth the paper on +which it was written. Not only among the people, but in the army the +Carbonari had thousands of followers on whom they could rely, and several +whole regiments were only waiting their orders to rise in open revolt. The +scheme was to take possession of the persons of the King and the royal +family, and retain them as hostages till the Constitution was granted. +Such extreme measures were not necessary. The standard of rebellion was +raised at Monteforte by two officers named Morelli and Silvati, who had +brought over a troop of cavalry from Nola, and by the priest Menechini. In +all Neapolitan insurrections there was sure to be a priest; the Neapolitan +Church, much though there is to be laid to its account, must be admitted +to have frequently shown sympathy with the <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg.26]</a></span> popular side. Menechini enjoyed +an immense, if brief, popularity which he used to allay the anger of the +mob and to procure the safety of obnoxious persons. The King sent two +generals and a body of troops against the Chartists, but when the +Carbonari symbols were recognised on the insurgent flags, the troops +showed such clear signs of wishing to go over to the enemy that they were +quietly taken back to Naples. The cry of 'God, the King, and the +Constitution,' was taken up through the land; General Pepe, who had long +been a Carbonaro in secret, was enthusiastically hailed as commander of +the Chartist forces, which practically comprised the whole army. The King +was powerless; besides which, when pushed up into any corner people who do +not mind breaking their word have a facility for hard swearing. On the +13th of July, Ferdinand standing at the altar of the royal chapel, with +his hand on the Bible, swore to defend and maintain the Constitution which +he had just granted. If he failed to do so, he called upon his subjects to +disobey him, and God to call him to account. These words he read from a +written form; as if they were not enough, he added, with his eyes on the +cross, and his face turned towards heaven: 'Omnipotent God, who with Thine +infinite power canst read the soul of man and the future, do Thou, if I +speak falsely, or intend to break my oath, at this moment direct the +thunder of Thy vengeance on my head.'</p> + +<p>The Neapolitans had got their liberties, but they soon found themselves +face to face with perplexities which would have taxed the powers of men +both wiser and more experienced in free government than they were. In the +first place, although a revolution may be made by a sect, a government +cannot be carried on by one. The Carbonari who had <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg.27]</a></span> won the day were blind +to this self-evident truth; and, to make matters worse, there was a split +in their party, some of them being disposed to throw off the Bourbon yoke +altogether; a natural desire, but as it was only felt by a minority, it +added to the general confusion. Then came, as it was sure to come, the cry +for separation from Sicily. The Sicilians wanted back the violated +constitution obtained for them by the English in 1812, and would have +nothing to do with that offered them from Naples. In every one of the +struggles between Sicily and Naples, it is impossible to refuse sympathy +to the islanders, who, in the pride of their splendid independent history, +deemed themselves the victims of an inferior race; but it is equally +impossible to ignore that, politically, they were in the wrong. In union, +and in union alone, lay the only chance of resisting the international +plot to keep the South Italian populations in perpetual bondage. The +Sicilian revolt was put down at first mildly, and finally, as mildness had +no effect, with the usual violence by the Neapolitan Constitutional +Government, which could not avoid losing credit and popularity in the +operation. Meanwhile, the three persons who traded under the name of +Europe met at Troppau, and came readily to the conclusion that 'the +sovereigns of the Holy Alliance exercised an incontestable right in taking +common measures of security against states which the overthrow of +authority by revolt placed in a hostile attitude towards every legitimate +government.' The assumption was too broadly stated, even for Lord +Castlereagh's acceptance; but he was contented to make a gentle protest, +which he further nullified by allowing that, in the present case, +intervention was very likely justified. France expressed no disapproval. +Only the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Spain gave the +Constitutional <i>régime</i> tacit <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg.28]</a></span> support by recognising it. The +Emperor of Russia was very anxious to take part in the business, and would +have sent off an army instantly had not his royal brother of Prussia +hesitated to consent to the inconvenience of a Cossack march through his +territory. The work was left, therefore, to the Emperor of Austria. Before +entering upon it, it occurred to these three to invite the King of Naples +to meet them at Laybach. They knew his character.</p> + +<p>Ferdinand assured his Parliament that he was going to Laybach solely to +induce the Holy Alliance to think better of its opposition, and to agree, +at least, to all the principal features of the new state of things. Most +foolishly the Parliament, which, according to the Constitution, might have +vetoed his leaving the country, let him go. Before starting he wrote an +open letter to his dear son, the Duke of Calabria, who was appointed +Regent, in which he said: 'I shall defend the events of the past July +before the Congress. I firmly desire the Spanish Constitution for my +kingdom; and although I rely on the justice of the assembled sovereigns, +and on their old friendship, still it is well to tell you that, in +whatever circumstance it may please God to place me, my course will be +what I have manifested on this sheet, strong and unchangeable either by +force or by the flattery of others.'</p> + +<p>Brave words! News came in due time of the sequel. On the 9th of +February 1821, the Regent received a letter from the King, in which he +gave the one piece of advice that the people should submit to their fate +quietly. He was coming back with 50,000 Austrians, and a Russian army was +ready to start if wanted. Nevertheless, to prevent a sudden outbreak +before the foreign troops arrived, the Regent carried on a game of +duplicity to the last, and pretended to second, whilst he <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg.29]</a></span> really +baulked, the preparations for resistance decreed by Parliament. Baron +Poerio, the father of two patriot martyrs of the future, sustained the +national dignity by urging Parliament to yield only to force, and to defy +the barbarous horde which was bearing down on the country. The closing +scene is soon told. On the 7th of March, in the mountains near Rieti, +General Guglielmo Pepe, with 8000 regular troops and a handful of militia, +encountered an overwhelmingly superior force of Austrians. The Neapolitans +stood out well for six hours, but on the Austrian reserves coming up, they +were completely routed, and obliged to fly in all directions.</p> + +<p>'Order reigned' in the kingdom of Naples. In Sicily, a gallant attempt +at insurrection was begun, but there was not the spirit to go on with it, +and General Rossaroll, its initiator, had to fly to Spain. The afterpiece +is what might have been expected; an insensate desire for vengeance got +hold of Ferdinand, and the last years of his life were spent in hunting +down his enemies, real or imaginary. Morelli and Silvati were hung, the +fugitives, Pepe and Rossaroll, were condemned to death, but this was only +the beginning. The Austrian commander counselled mercy, but in this +respect the King showed an independent mind. A court-martial was +instituted to examine the conduct of ecclesiastics, public functionaries +and soldiers, from the year 1793 downwards. No one was safe who had +expressed a dislike of absolutism within the last thirty years. A +blameless gentleman who was a Carbonaro, was conducted through Naples on +the back of an ass, and beaten with a whip, to which nails were attached. +Eight hundred persons are said to have perished at the hands of the state +in one year. Ferdinand himself expired on the 3rd of January 1825, after +misgoverning for sixty-five years.</p> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg.30]</a></span> + +<p>The Neapolitan revolution had just collapsed, when another broke out in +Piedmont, which, though short in duration, was to have far-reaching +consequences.</p> + +<p>At that time, the King of Sardinia was Victor Emmanuel I., who +succeeded his brother Charles Emmanuel in 1802, when the latter abdicated +and retired to Rome, where he joined the Society of Jesus. Victor +Emmanuel's only son was dead, and the throne would devolve on his youngest +brother, Charles Felix, Duke of Genoa, whom reasons of state led to +abandon the wish to become a monk, which he had formed as a boy of eleven, +on being taken to visit a convent near Turin. But Charles Felix, though +married, was without children, and the legitimate heir-presumptive was +Charles Albert, Prince of Carignano, who represented the younger branch of +the family, which divided from the main line in the early part of the +seventeenth century. Charles Albert's father was the luckless Prince +Charles of Carignano, who, alone of his house, came to terms with +Napoleon, who promised him a pension, which was not paid. His mother, a +Saxon Princess, paraded the streets of Turin, dressed in the last +republican fashion, with her infant son in her arms. Afterwards, she gave +him a miscellaneous education, that included a large dose of Rousseau from +a Swiss professor. The boy was shifted from place to place, happier when +his mother forgot him, than when, in temporary recollection of his +existence, she called him to her. Once when he was travelling with the +Princess and her second husband, M. de Montléart, Charles Albert +was made to sit on the box of the carriage, in a temperature many degrees +below zero.</p> + +<p>His uncles (as the King and Charles Felix called themselves, though +they were his cousins) heard with natural horror of the vagaries of <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg.31]</a></span> the +Princess of Carignano, and they extended their antipathy from the mother +to the son, even when he was a child. In Victor Emmanuel, this antipathy +was moderated by the easy good-nature of his character; in Charles Felix, +it degenerated into an intense hatred.</p> + +<p>It is a singular thing that Prince Metternich, from the very first, had +an instinctive feeling that the unfortunate boy, who seemed the most +hopeless and helpless of human creatures, would prove the evil genius of +the Austrian power. He therefore set to work to deprive him of his +eventual rights. He was confident of success, as fortune had arranged +matters in a manner that offered a ready-made plan for carrying out the +design. Victor Emmanuel had four daughters, precluded from reigning by the +Salic law, which was in force in Piedmont. His wife, the Queen Maria +Teresa, a woman of great beauty and insatiable ambition, was sister to the +Austrian Archduke Francis d'Este, Duke of Modena. Francis had never +married, having been robbed of his intended bride, the Archduchess +Marie-Louise, by her betrothal to Napoleon. What simpler than to marry the +eldest of the Sardinian princesses to her uncle, abrogate the Salic law, +and calmly await the desired consummation of an Austrian prince, by right +of his wife, occupying the Sardinian throne?</p> + +<p>The first step was soon taken; princesses came into the world to be +sacrificed. The plot ran on for some time, the Queen, who was in the habit +of calling Charles Albert 'that little vagrant,' giving it her +indefatigable support. Victor Emmanuel was weak, and stood in considerable +awe of his wife, who had obtained a great ascendancy over him in the +miserable days of their residence in the island of Sardinia. His nephew, +who was almost or wholly unknown to him, partook <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg.32]</a></span> of the nature of a +disagreeable myth. Nevertheless he had a sense of justice, as well as +Savoy blood, in his veins—he resisted; but the day came when his +surrender seemed probable. Just at that moment, however, the Duke of +Modena prematurely revealed the project by asking through his +representative at the Congress of Vienna for the port of Spezia, in order +that he might conveniently connect his own state with his prospective +possession, the island of Sardinia. Prince Talleyrand was alarmed by the +vision of Austria supreme in the Mediterranean, and through his opposition +the conspiracy, for the time, was upset, and the rights of Charles Albert +were recognised.</p> + +<p>Curiously enough, Prince Metternich had insisted on the young Prince, +then seventeen, visiting the headquarters of the Allies. Charles Felix +(who was unconnected with the Modena scheme) wrote a letter to the King on +this subject, in which he stated it as his belief that the Austrian plan +was to get Charles Albert accidentally killed, or to plunge him in vice, +or to make him contract a discreditable marriage. This was why they had +invited him to their camp. He adds the characteristic remark that their +nephew would be in no less danger at the headquarters of the Duke of +Wellington 'à cause de la religion.' Have him home and have him +married, is his advice. 'We are well treated, because there is the +expectation of soon devouring our remains by extinguishing the House of +Savoy. It is the habit of the cabinet of Vienna; it was thus they made an +end of the House of Este.'</p> + +<p>These counsels were the more likely to impress Victor Emmanuel from his +knowledge that they were inspired by no shadow of personal interest in +'the little vagrant,' but by the race-feeling alone. The Queen contrived +to prevent the immediate recall of the Prince of <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg.33]</a></span> Carignano, but she was +obliged to give way, and he was definitely established in Piedmont. In +1818 he was married at Florence to the Archduchess Maria Teresa of +Tuscany, who, on the 14th of March 1820, gave birth to the child that was +to become the first King of Italy.</p> + +<p>Very soon after his return to his country, the hopes of the Liberal +party began to centre in the young Prince, whom some of their more ardent +spirits already saluted as the rising sun. Those who made his acquaintance +were fascinated by the charm of manner which he could always exert when he +chose, and were confirmed in their hopes by his evident susceptibility to +the magnetism of new ideas and fatalistic ambitions. What they did not +perceive was, that in his nature lay that ingrained tendency to drift +before the wind, which is the most dangerous thing in politics. In the +mid-sea of events he might change his course without conscious +insincerity, but with the self-abandonment of a mind which, under +pressure, loses the sense of personal responsibility.</p> + +<p>In Piedmont, Carbonarism had made great way among the upper classes and +among the younger officers; the flower of the country was enrolled in its +ranks, and the impatience to take some action towards procuring free +institutions for themselves, and doing something for their Lombard +brothers, had reached fever heat in the spring of 1821, when the affairs +of Naples were creating much excitement. The principal conspirators, noble +young men, full of unselfish ardour, were the chosen friends and +companions of the Prince of Carignano. It was formerly the opinion that +they made him the confidant of their plans from the first, that he was one +of them, in short—a Carbonaro bound by all the oaths and obligations +of the society. The judgment of his conduct afterwards is, of course, much +affected by this point; were <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_34" id= +"Page_34">[Pg.34]</a></span> the assumption correct, the invectives +launched against him, not by any means only by republican writers, would +hardly seem excessive. But by the light of documents issued in recent +times, it appears more just as well as more charitable to suppose that +Charles Albert's complicity was of a much less precise character. A little +encouragement from a prince goes a long way.</p> + +<p>According to his own account, he was taken by surprise when, on the and +or 3rd of March, his friends Carail, Collegno, Santa Rosa and Lisio came +to tell him in secret that they belonged to societies which had been long +working for the independence of Italy, and that they reckoned on him, +knowing well his affection for his country, to aid them in obtaining from +the King some few first concessions, which would be the prelude of a +glorious future. It is clear that he ought either to have broken with them +altogether from that moment or to have cast his lot with them for good or +evil. He tried a middle course. He induced the conspirators to put off the +revolution by which they intended to enforce their demands, and he +conveyed to the King information of what had happened, asking at the same +time that no measures should be taken against incriminated persons.</p> + +<p>In fact, no precautions of any kind seem to have been taken. Victor +Emmanuel, frightened at first, was soon reassured. The revolution, which +was to have begun on the 8th, actually broke out on the 10th of March at +Alessandria, where the counter orders issued at Charles. Albert's request, +after the interview just described, were not obeyed. The garrison +'pronounced' in favour of the Spanish Constitution. It was now impossible +to draw back. From Alessandria the revolution spread to the capital. The +bulk of the army sympathised with the movement, and relied on the support +of the people. <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35"> +[Pg.35]</a></span> The greatest ladies mixed with the crowds which +gathered under the Carbonaro flag—black, blue and red. On the other +hand, there were a few devoted servants of the House of Savoy who beheld +these novelties with the sensations of a quiet person who sees from his +window the breaking loose of a menagerie. Invincibly ignorant of all that +was really inspiring in this first breath of freedom, they saw nothing in +it but an unwarrantable attack on the authority of their amiable, if weak, +old King, for whom they would gladly have shed every drop of their +blood—not from the rational esteem which the people of Italy, like +the people of England, now feel for their sovereign, but from the pure +passion of loyalty which made the cavalier stand blindly by his prince, +whether he was good or bad, in the right or in the wrong. Men of their +type watched the evolution of Piedmont into Italy from first to last with +the same presentiment of evil, the same moral incapacity of appreciation. +A handful of these loyal servitors hurried to Victor Emmanuel to offer +their assistance. They marshalled their troop in battle-array in the +courtyard of the palace. Their arms were antiquated pistols and rapiers, +and they themselves were veterans, some of them of eighty years, mounted +on steeds as ancient. The King thanked them, but declined their services; +nor would he give <i>carte blanche</i> to Captain Raimondi, who assured +him that with his one company he could suppress the insurrection if +invested with full powers. Soon after this refusal, a firing of guns +announced that the citadel was in the hands of the insurgents. The troops +within and without fraternised; it was a fine moment for those who knew +history and who were bent in their hearts on driving the foreigner out of +Italy. Here at the citadel of Turin, during the siege of 1706, occurred +the memorable deed of Pietro Micca, the peasant-soldier, who, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg.36]</a></span> when he heard +the enemy thundering at the door of the gallery, thought life and the +welcome of wife and child and the happy return to his village of less +account than duty, and fired the mine which sent him and three companies +of French Grenadiers to their final reckoning.</p> + +<p>After vacillating for two or three days, Victor Emmanuel abdicated on +the 13th of March. The Queen desired to be appointed regent, but, to her +intense vexation, the appointment was given to Charles Albert. A more +unenviable honour never fell to the lot of man.</p> + +<p>Deserted by the ministers of the crown, who resigned in a body, alone +in the midst of a triumphant revolution, appealed to in the name of those +sentiments of patriotism which he could never hear invoked unmoved, the +young Prince uttered the words which were as good as a surrender: 'I, too, +am an Italian!' That evening he allowed the Spanish Constitution to be +proclaimed subject to the arrival of the orders of the new King.</p> + +<p>The new King! No one remembered that there existed such a person. Nor +had anyone recollected that the Spanish Constitution abrogated the Salic +law, and that hence, instead of a new King, they had a new Queen—the +wife of the Duke of Modena! An eminent Turinese jurisconsulist, who was +probably the only possessor of a copy of the charter in the town which was +screaming itself hoarse for it, divulged this awkward +discovery.—Several hours were spent in anxious discussion, when the +brilliant suggestion was made that the article should be cancelled. The +article was cancelled.</p> + +<p>But Charles Felix could not be disposed of so easily. The news of the +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg.37]</a></span> +late events reached him at Modena of all places in the world, the +rallying-point of the Prince of Carignano's bitterest foes. He was not +long in sending his orders. He repudiated everything that had been done, +and commanded Charles Albert, 'if he had a drop of our royal blood left in +his veins,' to leave the capital instantly for Novara, where he was to +await his further instructions.</p> + +<p>Charles Albert obeyed. He was accompanied on his journey—or, as +it may be called, his flight—by such of the troops as remained +loyal. At Novara he found a sentence of exile, in a fresh order, to quit +Piedmontese territory. Tuscany was indicated as the state where he was to +reside.</p> + +<p>The Austrians crossed the frontier with the consent of the King. +Charles Felix's opinion of Austria has been already given; another time he +said: 'Austria is a sort of bird-lime which, if you get it on your +fingers, you can never rub off.' If anything was needed to increase his +loathing for the revolution, it was the necessity in which it placed him, +as he thought, of calling in this unloved ally. But Charles Felix was not +the man to hesitate. Not caring a straw for the privilege of wearing a +crown himself, his belief in the divine right of kings, and the obligation +to defend it, amounted to monomania. The Austrian offer was therefore +accepted. On her part Austria declined the obliging proposal of the Czar +of a loan of 100,000 men. She felt that she could do the work unaided, nor +was she mistaken.</p> + +<p>On the 8th of April the Constitutionalist troops which marched towards +Novara, sanguine that the loyal regiments there quartered would end by +joining them, were met by an armed resistance, in which the newly-arrived +Austrians assisted. Their defeat was complete, and it was the signal of +the downfall of the revolution. The leaders retired <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg.38]</a></span> from Turin to +Alessandria, and thence to Genoa, that had risen last and was last to +submit. Thus most of them escaped by sea, which was fortunate, as Charles +Felix had the will to establish a White Terror, and was only prevented by +the circumstance that nearly all the proposed victims were outside his +kingdom. Capital sentences were sent after them by the folio: there was +hardly a noble family which had not one of its members condemned to death. +When his brother, Victor Emmanuel, recommended mercy, he told him that he +was entirely ready to give him back the crown, but that, while he reigned, +he should reign after his own ideas. He seems to have had thoughts of +hanging the Prince of Carignano, and for a long time he seriously meant to +devise the kingdom to his son, the infant Prince Victor. Thus a new set of +obstacles arose between Charles Albert and the throne.</p> + +<p>Of the personal friends of that ill-starred Prince all escaped. One of +them, the noble-minded Count Santorre di Santa Rosa, died fighting for +liberty in Greece. In the miseries of exile and poverty he had never lost +faith in his country, but fearlessly maintained that 'the emancipation of +Italy was an event of the nineteenth century.' To another, Giacinta di +Collegno, it was reserved to receive the dying breath of Charles Albert, +when as an exiled and crownless king he found rest, at last, at +Oporto.</p> + +<p>There were deeper reasons than any which appear on the surface for the +failure of the revolutionary movements of this period. North and south, +though the populations exhibited a childish delight at the overthrow of +the old, despotic form of government, their effervescence ended as rapidly +as it began. They did not really understand what was going on. +'By-the-bye, what <i>is</i> this same constitution they are making such a +noise about?' asked a lazzarone who had been shouting <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg.39]</a></span> 'Viva la +Costituzione' all the day. Within a few weeks of the breakdown at Novara, +Count Confalonieri wrote wisely to Gino Capponi that revolutions are not +made by high intelligences, but by the masses which are moved by +enthusiasm, and for a possibility of success, the word Constitution, the +least magical of words, should have been replaced by the more +comprehensible and stirring call: 'War to the stranger.' But this, instead +of sounding from every housetop, was purposely stifled at Naples, and kept +a mysterious secret in Piedmont.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg.40]</a></span> <a +name="CHAPTER_III"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER III</h3> + +<h4>PRISON AND SCAFFOLD</h4> + +<h5>1821-1831</h5> + +<h5>Political Trials in Venetia and Lombardy—Risings in the South +and Centre—Ciro Menotti.</h5> + +<br /> + + +<p>The Austrians fully expected a rising in Lombardy in the middle of +March, and that they were not without serious fears as to its consequences +is proved by the preparations which they quietly made to abandon Milan, if +necessary. The Court travelling-carriages were got ready, and the younger +princes were sent away. Carbonarism had been introduced into Lombardy the +year before by two Romagnols, Count Laderchi and Pietro Maroncelli. It was +their propaganda that put the Austrian Government on the alert, and was +the cause of the Imperial decree which denounced the society as a +subversive conspiracy, aiming at the destruction of all constituted +authority, and pointed to death and confiscation of property as the +penalty for joining it. There was the additional clause, destined to bear +terrible fruit, which declared accomplices, punishable with +life-imprisonment, all who knew of the existence of lodges +(<i>Vendite</i>, as they were called) or the names of associates, without +informing the police. In the autumn of 1820, Maroncelli and many others, +including Silvio Pellico, the young Piedmontese poet, were arrested as +Carbonari, while the arrest of the so-called accomplices began with Count +Giovanni Arrivabene of Mantua, who had no connection with the society, but +was charged with having heard from Pellico that he was a member. Pellico +and his companions <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41"> +[Pg.41]</a></span> were still lying untried in the horrible Venetian +prisons, called, from their leaden roofs, the 'Piombi,' when the events of +1821 gave rise to a wholesale batch of new arrests. As soon as they knew +of a movement in Piedmont, the Lombard patriots prepared to co-operate in +it; that they were actually able to do nothing, was because it broke out +prematurely, and also, to some extent, because their head, Count +Confalonieri, was incapacitated by severe illness. But though their +activity profited not at all to the cause, it was fatal to themselves. The +Austrian Government had, as has been stated, a correct general notion of +what was going on, but at the beginning it almost entirely lacked proofs +which could inculpate individuals. In the matter of arrests, however, +there was one sovereign rule which all the despotic Governments in Italy +could and did follow in every emergency: it was to lay hands on the most +intelligent, distinguished and upright members of the community. This plan +never failed; these were the patriots, the conspirators of those days. The +second thing which the Austrians made a rule of doing, was to extort from +the prisoners some incautious word, some shadow of an assent or admission +which would place them on the track of other compromised persons, and +furnish them with such scraps of evidence as they deemed sufficient, in +order to proceed against those already in their power. In their secret +examination of prisoners, they had reduced the system of provocative +interrogation to a science. They made use of every subterfuge, and, above +all, of fabricated confessions fathered on friends of the prisoner, to +extract the exclamation, the nod of the head, the confused answer, which +served their purpose. The prisoners, <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg.42]</a></span> men of good faith, and +inexperienced in the arts of deception, were but children in their hands, +and scarcely one of them was not doomed to be the involuntary cause of +some other person's ruin—generally that of a dear and intimate +friend.</p> + +<p>The first to be arrested was Gaetano De-Castillia, who went with the +Marquis Giorgio Pallavicini on a mission to Piedmont while the revolution +there was at its height. They even had an interview with the Prince of +Carignano, 'a pale and tall young man, with a charming expression' (so +Pallavicini describes him), but had obtained from him no assurance, except +the characteristic parting word: 'Let us hope in the future.' When +De-Castillia was arrested, Pallavicini, then a youth of twenty, and full +of noble sentiments, rushed to the director of the police with the avowal: +'It was I who induced De-Castillia to go to Piedmont; if the journey was a +crime, the fault is mine; punish me!' No error could have proved more +calamitous; till that moment the Austrians were in ignorance of the +Piedmontese mission; De-Castillia was arrested on some far more trifling +charge. Pallavicini's generous folly was rewarded by fourteen years' +imprisonment, and its first consequence was the arrest of Count +Confalonieri, at whose instance the visit to Turin had been made. For +months the Austrians had desired to have a clue against him; the +opportunity was come at last.</p> + +<p>Federico Confalonieri, brilliant, handsome, persuasive, of great wealth +and ancient lineage, innately aristocratic, but in the best sense, was +morally at the head of Lombardy, by the selection of the fittest, which at +certain junctures makes one man pre-appointed leader while he is still +untried. When in England, the Duke of Sussex prevailed upon him to become +a Freemason, but he was not a Carbonaro <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg.43]</a></span> in the technical sense, though +both friends and foes believed him to be one. He knew, however, more about +this and the other secret societies then existing in Italy—even +those of the reactionary party—than did most of the initiated. In an +amusing passage in his memoirs he relates how, when once forcibly detained +in a miserable hostelry in the Calabrian Mountains, a den of brigands, of +whom the chief was the landlord, he guessed that this man was a Calderaio, +and it occurred to him to make the sign of that bloodthirsty sect. Things +changed in a second; the brigand innkeeper was at his feet, the complete +household was set in motion to serve him. In 1821, he founded at Milan, +not a secret society, but an association in which all the best patriots +were enrolled, and of which the sole engagement was the formula, repeated +on entering its ranks: 'I swear to God, and on my honour, to exert myself +to the utmost of my power, and even at the sacrifice of my life, to redeem +Italy from foreign dominion.'</p> + +<p>Knowing to what extent he was a marked man, Confalonieri would have +only exercised common prudence in leaving the country, but he could not +reconcile himself to the idea of flight. Anonymous warnings rained upon +him: most likely they all came from the same quarter, from Count Bubna, +the Austrian Field-Marshal, with whom Confalonieri was personally on +friendly terms. On the 12th of December the Countess Bubna made a last +effort to save him; her carriage was ready, she implored him to take it +and escape across the frontier. He refused, and next day he was +arrested.</p> + +<p>Austrian legal procedure was slow; the trial of the first Carbonari, +Silvio Pellico and his companions, did not take place till 1822. On the +22nd of February the sentence of death was read to Silvio Pellico in his +Venetian prison, to be commuted to one of fifteen years' <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg.44]</a></span> imprisonment +at Spielberg, a fortress converted into a convict prison in a bleak +position in Moravia. To that rock of sorrow, consecrated for ever by the +sufferings of some of the purest of men, Silvio Pellico and Pietro +Maroncelli, with nine or ten companions, condemned at the same time, were +the first Italians to take the road. Here they remained for the eight +years described by the author of <i>Francesca da Rimini</i>, in <i>Le Mie +Prigioni</i>, a book that served the Italian cause throughout the world. +Even now some Italians are indignant at the spirit of saintly resignation +which breathes upon Silvio Pellico's pages, at the veil which is drawn +over many shocking features in the treatment of the prisoners; they do not +know the tremendous force which such reticence gave his narrative. <i>Le +Mie Prigioni</i> has the reserve strength of a Greek tragedy.</p> + +<p>Maroncelli contracted a disease of the leg through the hardships +endured; amputation became necessary, but could not be performed till +permission was received from Vienna—a detail showing the red-tapism +which governed all branches of the Austrian administration. This patriot +went, after his release, to America, where he died, poor, blind and mad. +Pellico, crushed in soul, devoted his latter years entirely to religion. +Only men of iron fibre could come out as they went in. The Spielberg +prisoners wore chains, and their food was so bad and scanty that they +suffered from continual hunger, with its attendant diseases. Unlike the +thieves and assassins confined in the same fortress, the State prisoners +were given no news of their families. Such was Spielberg, 'a sepulchre +without the peace of the dead.'</p> + +<p>The State trials of the Lombard patriots in 1823 resulted in seven +capital sentences on the Milanese, thirteen on the Brescians, and four +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg.45]</a></span> on +the Mantuans. The fate of the other prisoners depended on that of Count +Confalonieri. If the sentence on him were not carried out, the lives at +least of the others might be regarded as safe, since he was looked upon as +the head. It is certain that the authorities, and the Emperor himself, had +the most firm intention of having him executed; the more merciful decision +was solely due to the Countess Confalonieri's journey to Vienna. +Accompanied by the prisoner's aged father, this beautiful and heroic +woman, a daughter of the noble Milanese house of Casati, went to Vienna +before the conclusion of the trial, to be ready for any eventuality. When +the sentence of death was passed, it was announced by the Emperor to old +Count Confalonieri, whom he advised to return with the Countess Teresa as +fast as possible if they wished to see the condemned man alive. Undaunted +by the news, the brave wife sought an interview with the Empress, in whom +she found a warm advocate, but who was obliged to own, after several +attempts to obtain a reprieve, that she despaired of success. Teresa +Confalonieri hurried back to Milan through the bitter winter weather, in +doubt whether she should arrive before the execution had taken place. But +the unceasing efforts of the Empress won the day. The respite was granted +on the 13th of January; life-imprisonment was substituted for death. The +countess sent her husband the pillow which she had bathed with her tears +during her terrible journey; needless to say that it was not given to him. +She died broken-hearted with waiting before he was set at liberty in the +year 1836.</p> + +<p>When Count Confalonieri reached Vienna on his way to Spielberg, he was +surprised to find himself installed in a luxurious apartment, with <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg.46]</a></span> three +servants to wait upon him. Though too ill to touch solid food, a sumptuous +breakfast and dinner were daily set before him; and but for the constant +jingle of his chains, he would have thought himself in a first-class hotel +on a journey of pleasure. The object of these attentions was clear when +one evening Prince Metternich came to see him, and stayed for three hours, +endeavouring by every exquisite flattery, by every promise and persuasion, +to worm out of him the secrets of which he alone was believed to be the +depositary. The Austrian Government had spent £60,000 on the Milan +Commission, and, practically, they were no wiser than when it began. Would +Confalonieri enlighten them? Whatever scruples he might have felt during +the trial could be now laid aside; there was no question of new arrests. +It was from pure, abstract love of knowledge that the Government, or, +rather, the Emperor, desired to get at the truth. If he preferred to open +his mind to the Emperor in person, His Majesty would grant him a secret +audience. Above all, what was the real truth about the Prince of +Carignano?</p> + +<p>All the rest was a blind; it was the wish to have some damnatory +evidence against Charles Albert, such as would for ever exclude him from +the throne, that had induced the Emperor and his astute minister to make +this final attempt.</p> + +<p>'Confalonieri need never go to Spielberg,' said the Prince; 'let him +think of his family, of his adored wife, of his own talents, of his future +career, which was on the brink of being blotted out as completely as if he +were dead!' Confalonieri was worthy of his race, of his class, of himself; +he stood firm, and next morning, almost with a sense of relief, he started +for the living grave.</p> + +<p>'The struggle was decided,' Prince Metternich had said in the course +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg.47]</a></span> of +the interview, 'and decided not only for our own, but for many +generations. Those who still hoped to the contrary were madmen.'</p> + +<p>Some years of outward quiet doubtless confirmed him in the first +opinion, while the second was not likely to be shaken by the next attempt +that was made to take up arms for freedom. On the 28th of June 1828, +several villages in the province of Salerno rose in obedience to the +harangues of two patriotic ecclesiastics, Canon de Luca and Carlo da +Celle, superior of a capuchin convent. This was meant to develop into a +general insurrection, but it was nowhere followed up, and the sword of +vengeance fell speedily on the wretched villagers. Surrounded by the royal +troops, they were forced into submission, many were shot on the spot, +others were dragged in chains to Salerno, not even a drop of water being +allowed them during the journey under the scorching sun. The village of +Bosco was rased to the ground. The priest, the monk, and twenty-two +insurgents were shot after the repression. The heads of the victims were +cut off and placed in iron cages where their wives or mothers were likely +to see them. A woman went to Naples to beg for the pardon of her two +grandsons, by name Diego and Emilio. The King, with barbarous clemency, +told her to choose one. In vain she entreated that if both could not be +saved the choice should be left to chance, or decided by someone else. But +no; unless she chose they would both be shot. At last she chose Diego. +Afterwards she went mad, and was constantly heard wailing: 'I have killed +my grandson Emilio.' This anecdote gives a fair notion of Francis I., +whose short reign was, however, less signalised by acts of cruelty, though +there were enough of these, than by a venality never surpassed. The +grooms-in-waiting and ladies-of-the-bedchamber sold the public offices +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg.48]</a></span> in +the daylight; and the King, who was aware of it, thought it a subject for +vulgar jokes with his intimates. Francis died in 1830 of bad humour at the +Paris revolution, and was succeeded by Ferdinand II., to be known +hereafter as Bomba—then a clownish youth, one of whose first kingly +cares was to create St Ignatius Loyola a Field-Marshal.</p> + +<p>The revolution which upset the throne of Charles X., and ushered in the +eighteen years' reign of the Citizen King, seemed likely to have momentous +consequences for Italy. The principle of non-intervention proclaimed by +French politicians would, if logically enforced, sound the death-knell of +the Austrian power in Italy. Dupin, the Minister of War, enlarged on the +theme in a speech which appeared to remove all doubt as to the real +intentions of the Government. 'One phrase,' he remarked, 'has made a +general impression; it expresses the true position of a loyal and generous +Government. Not only has the President of the Council laid down the +principle that France should abstain from intervention; he has declared +that she would not tolerate intervention on the part of others. France +might have shut herself up in a cold egotism, and simply said that she +would not intervene; this would have been contemptible, but the +proclamation of not suffering the interventions of others is the noblest +attitude a strong and magnanimous people can assume; it amounts to saying: +Not only will I not attack or disturb other nations, but I, France, whose +voice is respected by Europe and by the whole world, will never permit +others to do so. This is the language held by the ministry and by the +ambassadors of Louis Philippe; and it is this which the army, the National +Guard, France entire, is ready to maintain.'</p> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg.49]</a></span> + +<p>Truly language was invented to travesty the truth, and when French +politicians say they are going to the right it is an almost sure sign that +they are going to the left; nevertheless, is it possible to blame the +Italians who read in these assurances a positive promise affecting their +own case?</p> + +<p>The same assurances were repeated again and again through the winter of +1830-31; they were repeated authoritatively as late as March in the latter +year. Well may a French writer inquire: 'Was it insanity or +treachery?'</p> + +<p>The good tidings were published by the Italian exiles, who, living +close to the great centres of European politics, were the first to +intoxicate themselves with the great delusion. From London, Gabriele +Rossetti sent the exultant summons:</p> + +<pre> + Cingi l'elmo, la mitra deponi, + O vetusta Signora del mondo: + Sorgi, sorgi dal sonno profondo, + Io son l'alba del nuovo tuo dì. + + Saran rotte le vostre catene, + O Fratelli che in ceppi languite; + O Fratelli che il giogo soffrite + Calcherete quel giogo col piè. +</pre> + +<p>The child beside whose cradle the ode was written, was to grow to +manhood while Italy still remained 'the weeping, desolate mother.' The cry +of the poet was not, however, without an echo. In 1831, Romagna, Parma and +Modena rose in rebellion.</p> + +<p>Things had been going, without much variation, from bad to worse in the +Roman states, ever since 1815. Pius VII. (Chiaramonti), who died in 1823, +was succeeded by Leo XII. (Genga), an old man who was in such enfeebled +health that his death was expected at the time of his <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg.50]</a></span> election, but, +like a more famous pontiff, he made a sudden recovery, which was +attributed to the act of a prelate, who, in prayer, offered his own life +for the Pope's, and who died a few days after resolving on the sacrifice. +During this Pope's reign, the smallpox was rife in Rome, in consequence of +the suppression of public vaccination. The next conclave, held in 1829, +resulted in the election of Pius VIII. (Castiglioni da Cingoli), who died +on the 30th of November 1830, and was followed by Gregory XVI. +(Cappellari). In each conclave, Austria had secured the choice of a +'Zealot,' as the party afterwards called Ultramontane was then designated. +The last traces of reforms introduced by the French disappeared; criminal +justice was again administered in secret; the police were arbitrary and +irresponsible. All over the Roman states, but especially in Romagna, the +secret society of the Sanfedesti flourished exceedingly; whether, as is +probable, an offshoot of the Calderai or of indigenous growth, its aims +were the same. The affiliated swore to spill the last drop of the blood of +the Liberals, without regard to sex or rank, and to spare neither children +nor old men. Many Romagnols had left their country after the abortive +agitation of 1821, and amongst these were the Gambas. Count Pietro died in +Greece, where he had gone on the service of freedom. Had he lived, this +young man would have been sure to win a fair name in the annals of Italian +patriotism; he should not, as it is, be quite forgotten, as it was chiefly +due to him that Byron's life took the redeeming direction which led to +Missolonghi.</p> + +<p>In February 1831, Romagna and the Marches of Ancona threw off the Papal +Government with an ease which must have surprised the most sanguine. The +white, red and green tricolor was hoisted at Bologna, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg.51]</a></span> where, as far +as is known, this combination of colours first became a political badge. +Thirty-six years before Luigi Zamboni and Gian Battista De Rolandis of +Bologna had distributed rosettes of white, red and green ribbon; Zamboni +was arrested, and strangled himself, afraid of betraying his friends; De +Rolandis was hung on the 23rd of April 1796. Such was the origin of the +flag, but, until 1831, the Carbonaro red, blue and black was the common +standard of the revolution. From that year forth, the destinies of Italy +were accomplished under the colours of better augury, so fit to recall her +fiery volcanoes, her wooded Apennines, her snow-crowned Alps; colours +which in one sense she receives from Dante, who clothes in them the vision +of the glorified Beatrice.</p> + +<p>The rising at Parma requires but little comment. The Empress +Marie-Louise neither hated her subjects, nor was hated by them, but her +engagements with Austria prevented her from granting the demanded +concessions, and she abandoned her state, to return to it, indeed, under +Austrian protection, but without the odious corollary of vindictive +measures which was generally meant by a restoration.</p> + +<p>Much more important is the history of the Modenese revolution. +Apologists have been found for the Bourbons of Naples, but, if anyone ever +said a good word for Francesco d'Este, it has escaped the notice of the +present writer. Under a despotism without laws (for the edicts of the +Prince daily overrode the Este statute book which was supposed to be in +force), Modena was far more in the power of the priests, or rather of the +Jesuits, than any portion of the states of the Church. Squint-eyed, +crooked in mind and bloodthirsty, Francis was as ideal a bogey-tyrant as +can be discovered outside fiction. In 1822, he hung the priest Giuseppe +Andreoli on the charge of Carbonarism; and his <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg.52]</a></span> theory of justice is +amusingly illustrated by the story of his sending in a bill to Sir Anthony +Panizzi—who had escaped to England—for the expenses of hanging +him in effigy.</p> + +<p>Francis felt deeply annoyed by the narrow limits of his dominions, and +his annoyance did not decrease with the decreasing chances of his ousting +the Prince of Carignano from the Sardinian throne. He was intensely +ambitious, and one of his subjects, a man, in other respects, of high +intelligence, thought that his ambition could be turned to account for +Italy. It was the mistake over again that Machiavelli had made with Cesare +Borgia.</p> + +<p>Ciro Menotti, who conceived the plan of uniting Italy under the Duke of +Modena, was a Modenese landed proprietor who had exerted himself to +promote the industry of straw-plaiting, and the other branches of commerce +likely to be of advantage to an agricultural population. He was known as a +sound philanthropist, an excellent husband and father, a model member of +society. Francis professed to take an interest in industrial matters; +Menotti, therefore, easily gained access to his person. In all the +negotiations that followed, the Modenese patriot was supported and +encouraged by a certain Dr Misley, who was of English extraction, with +whom the Duke seems to have been on familiar terms. It appears not +doubtful that Menotti was led to believe that his political views were +regarded with favour, and that he also received the royal promise that, +whatever happened, his life would be safe. This promise was given because +he had the opportunity of saving the Duke from some great +peril—probably from assassination, though the particulars were never +divulged.</p> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg.53]</a></span> + +<p>Misley went to Paris to concert with the Italian committee which had +its seat there; the movement in Modena was fixed for the first days of +February. But spies got information of the preparations, and on the +evening of the 3rd, before anything had been done, Menotti's house was +surrounded by troops, and after defending it, with the help of his +friends, for two hours, he was wounded and captured. Next day the Duke +despatched the following note to the Governor of Reggio-Emilia: 'A +terrible conspiracy against me has broken out. The conspirators are in my +hands. Send me the hangman.—Francis.'</p> + +<p>Not all, however, of the conspirators were in his hands; the movement +matured, in spite of the seizure of Menotti, and Francis, 'the first +captain in the world,' as he made his troops call him, was so overcome +with fright that on the 5th of February he left Modena with his family, +under a strong military escort, dragging after him Giro Menotti, who, when +Mantua was reached, was consigned to an Austrian fortress.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the revolution triumphed. Modena chose one of her citizens +as dictator, Biagio Nardi, who issued a proclamation in which the words +'Italy is one; the Italian nation is one sole nation,' testified that the +great lesson which Menotti had sought to teach had not fallen on +unfruitful ground. Wild as were the methods by which, for a moment, he +sought to gain his end, his insistance on unity nevertheless gives Menotti +the right to be considered the true precursor of Mazzini in the Italian +Revolution.</p> + +<p>Now that the testing-time was come, France threw to the winds the +principle announced in her name with such solemn emphasis. 'Precious +French blood should never be shed except on behalf of French interests,' +said Casimir Périer, the new President of the Council. A <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg.54]</a></span> month +after the flight of the Duke of Modena, the inevitable Austrians marched +into his state to win it back for him. The hastily-organised little army +of the new government was commanded by General Zucchi, an old general of +Napoleon, who, when Lombardy passed to Austria, had entered the Austrian +service. He now offered his sword to the Dictator of Modena, who accepted +it, but there was little to be done save to retire with honour before the +6000 Austrians. Zucchi capitulated at Ancona to Cardinal Benvenuti, the +Papal delegate. Those of the volunteers who desired it were furnished with +regular passports, and authorised to take ship for any foreign port. The +most compromised availed themselves of this arrangement, but the vessel +which was to bear Zucchi and 103 others to Marseilles, was captured by the +Austrian Admiral Bandiera, by whom its passengers were kidnapped and +thrown into Venetian prisons, where they were kept till the end of May +1832. This act of piracy was chiefly performed with a view to getting +possession of General Zucchi, who was tried as a deserter, and condemned +to twenty years' imprisonment. Among the prisoners was the young wife of +Captain Silvestro Castiglioni of Modena. 'Go, do your duty as a citizen,' +she had said, when her husband left her to join the insurrection. 'Do not +betray it for me, as perhaps it would make me love you less.' She shared +his imprisonment, but just at the moment of the release, she died from the +hardships endured.</p> + +<p>By the end of the month of March, the Austrians had restored Romagna to +the Pope, and Modena to Francis IV. In Romagna the amnesty published by +Cardinal Benvenuti was revoked, but there were no executions; this was not +the case in Modena. The Duke brought back <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg.55]</a></span> Ciro Menotti attached to his +triumphal car, and when he felt that all danger was past, and that the +presence of the Austrians was a guarantee against a popular expression of +anger, he had him hung.</p> + +<p>'When my children are grown up, let them know how well I loved my +country,' Menotti wrote to his wife on the morning of his execution. The +letter was intercepted, and only delivered to his family in 1848. The +revolutionists found it in the archives of Modena. On the scaffold he +recalled how he was once the means of saving the Duke's life, and added +that he pardoned his murderer, and prayed that his blood might not fall +upon his head.</p> + +<p>During the insurrection in Romagna, an event occurred which was not +without importance to Europe, though it passed almost unnoticed at the +time. The eldest son of Queen Hortense died in her arms at Forlì, +of a neglected attack of measles; some said of poison, but the report was +unfounded. He and his brother Louis, who had been closely mixed up with +Italian conspiracies for more than a year, went to Romagna to offer their +services as volunteers in the national army. By the death of the elder of +the two, Louis Napoleon became heir to what seemed then the shadowy +sovereignty of the Buonapartes.</p> + +<p>No sooner had the Austrians retired from the Legations in July 1831, +than the revolution broke out again. Many things had been promised, +nothing performed; disaffection was universal, anarchy became chronic, and +was increased by the indiscipline of the Papal troops that were sent to +put it down. The Austrians returned and the French occupied Ancona, much +to the Pope's displeasure, and not one whit to the advantage of the +Liberals. This dual foreign occupation of the Papal states lasted till the +winter of 1838.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg.56]</a></span> <a +name="CHAPTER_IV"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER IV</h3> + +<h4>'YOUNG ITALY' 1831-1844</h4> + +<h5>Accession of Charles Albert—Mazzini's Unitarian +Propaganda—The Brothers Bandiera.</h5> + +<br /> + + +<p>On 27 April 1831, Charles Albert came to the throne he had so nearly +lost. His reconciliation with his uncle, Charles Felix, had been effected +after long and melancholy preliminaries. To wash off the Liberal sins of +his youth, or possibly with a vague hope of finding an escape from his +false position in a soldier's death, he joined the Duc d'Angoulême's +expedition against the Spanish Constitutionalists. His extraordinary +daring in the assault of the Trocadero caused him to be the hero of the +hour when he returned with the army to Paris; but the King of Sardinia +still refused to receive him with favour—a sufficiently icy favour +when it was granted—until he signed an engagement, which remained +secret, to preserve intact during his reign the laws and principles of +government which he found in force at his accession. If there had been an +Order of the Millstone, Charles Felix would doubtless have conferred it +upon his dutiful nephew; failing that, he presented to him for signature +this wonderful document, the invention of which he owed to Prince +Metternich. At the Congress of Verona in 1822, Charles Albert's claims to +the succession were recognised, thanks chiefly to the Duke of Wellington, +who represented England in place of Lord Londonderry (Castlereagh), that +statesman <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57"> +[Pg.57]</a></span> having committed suicide just as he was starting for +Verona. Prince Metternich then proposed that the Prince of Carignano +should be called upon to enter into an agreement identical with the +compact he was brought to sign a couple of years later. In communicating +the proposal to Canning, the Duke of Wellington wrote that he had +demonstrated to Prince Metternich 'the fatality of such an arrangement,' +but that he did not think that he had made the slightest impression on +him. So the event proved; baffled for the moment, the Prince managed to +put his plan in execution through a surer channel.</p> + +<p>With the accession of Charles Albert appears upon the political scene a +great actor in the Liberation of Italy, Giuseppe Mazzini. Young and +unknown, except for a vague reputation for restlessness and for talent +which caused the government of Charles Felix to imprison him for six or +seven months at Savona, Mazzini proposed to the new King the terms on +which he might keep his throne, as calmly as Metternich had proposed to +him the terms on which he might ascend it. The contrast is striking; on +the one side the statesman, who still commanded the armed force of +three-fourths of Europe, doing battle for the holy alliance of autocrats, +for the international law of repression, for all the traditions of the old +diplomacy; on the other, the young student with little money and few +friends, already an exile, having no allies but his brain and his pen, who +set himself, certain of success, to dissolve that mighty array of power +and pomp. All his life Charles Albert was a Faust for the possession of +whose soul two irreconcilable forces contended; the struggle was never +more dramatically represented than at this moment in the person of these +two champions.</p> + +<p>Mazzini's letter to Charles Albert, which was read by the King, and +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg.58]</a></span> +widely, though secretly, circulated in Piedmont, began by telling him that +his fellow-countrymen were ready to believe his line of conduct in 1821 to +have been forced on him by circumstances, and that there was not a heart +in Italy that did not quicken at his accession, nor an eye in Europe that +was not turned to watch his first steps in the career that now unfolded +before him. Then he went on to show, with the logical strength in +developing an argument which, joined to a novel and eloquent style, caused +his writings to attract notice from the first, that the King could take no +middle course. He would be one of the first of men, or the last of Italian +tyrants; let him choose. Had he never looked upon Italy, radiant with the +smile of nature, crowned with twenty centuries of sublime memories, the +mother of genius, possessing infinite means, to which only union was +lacking, girt round with such defences that a strong will and a few +courageous breasts would suffice to defend her? Had it never struck him +that she was created for a glorious destiny? Did he not contemplate her +people, splendid still, in spite of the shadow of servitude, the vigour of +whose intellect, the energy of whose passions, even when turned to evil, +showed that the making of a nation was there? Did not the thought come to +him: 'Draw a world out of these dispersed elements like a god from chaos; +unite into one whole the scattered members, and pronounce the words, "It +is mine, and it is happy"?'</p> + +<p>Mazzini in 1831 was twenty-six years of age. His father was a Genoese +physician, his mother a native of Chiavari. She was a superior woman, and +devoted more than a mother's care to the excitable and delicate child, who +seemed to her (mothers have sometimes the gift of prophecy) <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg.50]</a></span> to be meant +for an uncommon lot. One of the few personal reminiscences that Mazzini +left recorded, relates to the time and manner in which the idea first came +to him of the possibility of Italians doing something for their country. +He was walking with his mother in the Strada Nuova at Genoa one Sunday in +April 1821, when a tall, black-bearded man with a fiery glance held +towards them a white handkerchief, saying: 'For the refugees of Italy.' +Mazzini's mother, gave him some money, and he passed on. In the streets +were many unfamiliar faces; the fugitives from Turin and Alessandria were +gathered at Genoa before they departed by sea into exile. The impression +which that scene made on the mind of the boy of sixteen was never +effaced.</p> + +<p>Owing to his delicate health, Mazzini's early education was carried on +at home, where the social atmosphere was that of one of those little +centres in a provincial capital which are composed of a few people, mostly +kindred, of similar tastes, who lead useful and refined lives, content +with moderate ease. The real exclusiveness of such centres exceeds any +that exists in the most aristocratic sphere in the world. The Mazzinis +were, moreover, Genoese to the core; and this was another reason for +exclusiveness, and for holding aloof from the governing class. Mazzini was +born a few days after Napoleon entered Genoa as its lord. He had not, +therefore, breathed the air of the ancient Republic; but there was the +unadulterated republicanism of a thousand years in his veins.</p> + +<p>When he grew to manhood his appearance was striking. The black, flowing +hair, the pale, olive complexion, the finely-cut features and lofty brow, +the deep-set eyes, which could smile as only Italian eyes can smile, but +which could also flash astral infinitudes of scorn, the <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg.60]</a></span> fragile +figure, even the long, delicate, tapering fingers, marked him for a man +apart—though whether a poet or an apostle, a seer or a saint, it was +not easy to decide. Yet this could be said at once: if this man +concentrated all his being on a single point, he would wield the power, +call it what we will, which in every age has worked miracles and moved +mountains.</p> + +<p>Mazzini became a Carbonaro, though the want of clear, guiding +principles in Carbonarism made him misdoubt its efficacy, and its +hierarchical mysteries and initiatory ordeals repelled him by their +childishness. Then followed his arrest, and his detention in the fortress +of Savona, which was the turning-point in his mental life. Before that +date he learnt, after it he taught. From his high-perched cell he saw the +sea and the sky—with the Alps, the sublimest things in Nature. The +voices of the fishermen reached his ears, though he could not see them. A +tame goldfinch was his companion. Here, in a solitude and peace which he +remembered with regret in the stormy and sorrowful years that were to +come, he conceived his message and the mission, in which he believed to +the last day of his life.</p> + +<p>He resolved to found a new association on broader and simpler lines +than the secret societies of the past, which should aim not only at the +material freeing of Italy from her present bondage, but at her moral and +religious regeneration. To aim at material progress of any kind, without +at the same time aiming at a higher moral progress, seemed to Mazzini +absurd; to attempt to pull down without attempting to build up seemed to +him criminal. Thus he accused the Socialists of substituting the progress +of humanity's kitchen for the progress of humanity. He believed that +Italy, united and redeemed, was destined to <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg.61]</a></span> shed through the world the light +of a new moral unity, which should end the reign of Scepticism, triumphant +among discordant creeds. Mazzini's religious belief was the motor of his +whole being. The Catholicism in which he was outwardly brought up never +seems to have touched his inner nature; he went through no spiritual +wrench in leaving a faith that was never a reality to him. The same is +true of innumerable young Italians, who, when they begin to read and +study, drift out of their childhood's religion without a struggle or a +regret. But thought and study brought Mazzini what it rarely brings to +these young men—the necessity to find something in which he could +believe. He had not long to seek for a basis to his creed, because he was +one of the men from the prophets of old to Spinoza, from Spinoza to +Gordon, to whom the existence of God is a matter of experience rather than +an object of faith. Starting from this point, he formed his religion out +of what he regarded as its inevitable deductions. If God existed, his +creatures must be intended for perfection; if this were the Divine scheme, +man's one business was to carry it out. He considered the idea of duty +separated from the idea of God to be illogical. Either the development of +human things depended on a providential law, or it was left to chance and +passing circumstance, and to the dexterity of the man who turned these to +most account. God was the sole source of duty; duty the sole law of life. +Mazzini did not denounce Catholicism or any other religion as false. He +saw in it a stepping-stone to purer comprehension, which would be reached +when man's intellect was sufficiently developed for him to be able to do +without symbols.</p> + +<div class="center"><img src="images/image2.jpg" alt="GIUSEPPE MAZZINI" /><br /> + <span class="caption">GIUSEPPE MAZZINI</span></div> + +<br /> + + +<p>The conscience of humanity is the last tribunal. Ideas, as well as +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg.62]</a></span> +institutions, change and expand, but certain fundamental principles are +fixed. The family would always exist; property would always exist. The +first, 'the heart's fatherland,' was the source of the only true +happiness, the only joys untainted by grief, which were given to man. +Those who wished to abolish the second were like the savage who cut down +the tree in order to gather the fruit. In the future, free association +would be the great agent of moral and material progress. The authority +which once rested in popes and emperors now devolved on the people. +Instead of 'God and the King,' Mazzini proposed the new formula 'God and +the People.' By the people he understood no caste or class, whether high +or low, but the universality of men composing the nation. The nation is +the sole sovereign; its will, expressed by delegates, must be law to all +its citizens.</p> + +<p>By degrees certain words acquired more and more a mystical significance +in Mazzini's mind; the very name of Rome, for instance, had for him a sort +of talismanic fascination, not unlike that possessed by Jerusalem for the +mediæval Christian. When he spoke of the people or the republic he +frequently used those terms in an ideal and visionary sense (as +theologians use the Church) rather than in one strictly corresponding with +the case of any existing nation, or any hitherto tried form of government. +This does not alter the fact that his theories, which have been briefly +summarised, are not hard to comprehend, as has been said by those who did +not know in what they consisted, nor, taken one by one, are they novel. +What was new in the nineteenth century was the appearance of a +revolutionary leader, who was before all things a religious and ethical +teacher. And though Mazzini never founded the Church of Precursors, of +which he dreamt, his influence was as surely due to his belief in his +religious <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63"> +[Pg.63]</a></span> mission, as was the influence of Savonarola. The +Italians are not a mystical people, but they have always followed mystical +leaders. The less men are prone to ideal enthusiasm the more attracted are +they by it; Don Quixote, as Heine remarked, always draws Sancho Panza +after him.</p> + +<p>Mazzini had a natural capacity for organisation, and the Association of +Young Italy which he founded at Marseilles, the first nucleus being a +group of young, penniless refugees, soon obtained an astonishing +development. Up to the time of his 'Letter to Charles Albert,' his exile +had been so far voluntary that he might have remained in Piedmont had he +agreed to live in one of the smaller towns under the watchful care of the +police, but he declined the terms, and the first effect of the 'Letter' +was a stringent order to arrest him if he recrossed the frontier. He was +not surprised at that result. Mazzini's attitude towards the Sardinian +monarchy was perfectly well defined. Republican himself, even to +fanaticism, he placed the question of unity, which for him meant national +existence, above the question of the republic. He did not believe that the +House of Savoy would unite Italy, but if unity could only be had under +what he looked upon as the inauspicious form of monarchy, he would not +reject it. He was like the real mother in the judgment of Solomon, who, +because she loved her child, was ready to give it up sooner than see it +cut in two.</p> + +<p>Apart from personal hereditary instincts and predilections, Mazzini +thought that he saw in the glorious memories of the Italian republics a +clear indication that the commonwealth was the form of government which +ought and would be adopted by the Italy of the future. But, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg.64]</a></span> unlike most +politicians, he laid down the principle that, after all, when free, the +nation must decide for itself. 'To what purpose,' he asks, 'do we +constantly speak of the sovereignty of the people, and of our reverence +for the national will, if we are to disregard it as soon as it pronounces +in contradiction to our wishes?'</p> + +<p>He did not succeed in making the majority of his countrymen +republicans, but he contributed more than any other man towards inspiring +the whole country with the desire for unity. Herein lies his great work. +Without Mazzini, when would the Italians have got beyond the fallacies of +federal republics, leagues of princes, provincial autonomy, insular +home-rule, and all the other dreams of independence reft of its only +safeguard which possessed the minds of patriots of every party in Italy +and of nearly every well-wisher to Italian freedom abroad?</p> + +<p>In 1831, most educated Italians did not even wish for unity, and this +is still truer of the republicans than of the monarchists. Some, like +Manzoni, did wish for it, but, like him, said nothing about it, for fear +of being thought madmen. A flash of the true light illuminated the mind of +Giro Menotti, but that was extinguished on the scaffold. Then it was that +Mazzini came forward with the news that Italy could <i>only</i> be made +free and independent by being united; unity was the ruling tendency of the +century, and, as far as Italy went, no Utopia, but a certain conclusion. +This was repeated over and over again, wherever there were Italians, over +the inhabited globe. By means of sailors, 'Young Italy' spread like +lightning. Giuseppe Garibaldi was made a member by a sailor on the shores +of the Black Sea.</p> + +<p>With the masses, unity proved the wonder-working word which +Confalonieri had said was the one thing needful—a word yet fitter to +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg.65]</a></span> +work wonders than 'War to the Stranger.' Among the cultivated classes, it +was much slower in gaining ground, and particularly among statesmen and +diplomatists. But in the end it was to convert them all.</p> + +<p>'"Young Italy,"' writes Mazzini, 'closed the period of political sects, +and initiated that of educational associations.' 'Great revolutions,' he +says again, 'are the work of principles rather than of bayonets.' It was +by the diffusion of ideas that 'Young Italy' became a commanding factor in +the events of the next thirty years. The insurrectional attempts planned +under its guidance did not succeed, nor was it likely that they should +succeed. Devised by exiles, at a distance, they lacked the first elements +of success. The earliest of these attempts aimed at an invasion of Savoy; +it was hoped that the Sardinian army and people would join the little band +of exiles in a movement for the liberation of Lombardy. The revolution of +1821 had evidently suggested this plan to Mazzini, but it was foredoomed +to misfortune. The Piedmontese authorities got wind of it, and a hunt +followed for the members of 'Young Italy'; most severe measures were +taken; there were eleven executions, and numberless sentences to long +terms of imprisonment. Jacobo Ruffini, the younger brother of the author +of <i>Dr Antonio</i>, and Mazzini's most beloved friend, committed suicide +in prison, fearing to reveal the names of his associates. The apologists +for Charles Albert say that if he had not shown the will and ability to +deal severely with the conspirators, Austria would have insisted on a +military occupation. Whatever were his motives, this is the saddest page +of his unhappy reign.</p> + +<p>Checked in 1833, the descent on Savoy was actually attempted in 1834, +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg.66]</a></span> +with Mazzini's consent, though not by his wish. An officer who had won +some celebrity in the Polish revolution, General Ramorino, a Savoyard by +origin, was given the command. Ramorino was a gambler, who could not be +trusted with money, but Mazzini's suspicion that on this occasion he +played the part of traitor is not proved. However that may be, the +expedition ended almost as soon as it began. Ramorino crossed the frontier +of Savoy at the head of the column, but when he heard that a Polish +reinforcement had been stopped on the Lake of Geneva, he retreated into +Switzerland, and advised the band to follow him.</p> + +<p>After these events, Mazzini could no longer carry on his propaganda in +France. He took refuge in England, where a great part of his life was to +be passed, and of which he spoke, to the last, as his second country. The +first period of his residence in England was darkened by the deep distress +and discouragement into which the recent events had plunged him; but his +faith in the future prevailed, and he went on with his work. His +endeavours to help his fellow-exiles reduced him to the last stage of +poverty; the day came when he was obliged to pawn a coat and an old pair +of boots. These money difficulties did not afflict him, and by degrees his +writings in English periodicals brought some addition to the small +quarterly allowance which he received from his mother. It seems strange, +though it is easily explained, that it was in London that he first got to +know the Italian working classes. He was surprised and gladdened by the +abundance of good elements which he found in them. No country, indeed, has +more reason to hope in her working men than the land whose sons have +tunnelled the Alps, cut the most arduous railway lines in America and +India, brought up English ships from the deep, laid the caissons (a <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg.67]</a></span> task of +extreme danger) which support the great structure of the Bridge of the +Firth of Forth, and left their bones to whiten at Panama. 'It is the +universal testimony,' writes a high American authority, 'that no more +faithful men have come among us.' What was the cause of the slaughter of +the Aigues Mortes? That the Italians worked too well.</p> + +<p>Mazzini wrote for his humble friends the treatise on <i>The Duties of +Man</i>, in which he told them that he loved them too well to flatter +them. Another work that occupied him and consoled him was the rescue and +moral improvement of the children employed by organ-grinders, and he was +the first to call attention to the white slavery to which many of them +were subjected. He opened a school in Hatton Garden, in which he taught, +and which he mainly supported for the seven years from 1841 to 1848.</p> + +<p>The enterprise of the Brothers Bandiera belongs to the history of +'Young Italy,' though Mazzini himself had tried to prevent it, believing +that it could only end in the sacrifice of all concerned. Nor, at the +last, did the actors in it expect anything else. They had hoped for better +things; for a general movement in the South of Italy, or at least for an +undertaking on a larger and less irrational basis. But promises failed, +money was not forthcoming, and it was a choice between doing nothing or a +piece of heroic folly. Contrary to Mazzini's entreaties, they chose the +second alternative.</p> + +<p>Attilio and Emilio Bandiera were sons of the Austrian admiral who, in +1831, arrested Italian fugitives at sea. Placed by their father in the +Austrian navy, they renounced every prospect of a brilliant career to +enter the service of their down-trodden country. When they deserted, <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg.68]</a></span> strong +efforts were made by the Archduke Rainieri, through their mother, to win +them back, but neither the offers of pardon nor the poor woman's tears and +reproaches turned them from their purpose. Another deserter was with them, +Lieutenant Domenico Moro, a youth of great charm of person and +disposition, who had been employed with a mixed force of Englishmen and +Austrians in the Lebanon, where he formed a warm friendship with +Lieutenant, now Admiral, Sir George Wellesley, who still preserves an +affectionate remembrance of him. Nicola Ricciotti, a Roman subject who had +devoted all his life to Italy, and Anacarsi Nardi, son of the dictator of +Modena, were also of the band, which counted about twenty.</p> + +<p>The Bandieras and their companions sailed from Corfu for the coast of +Calabria on the 11th of June 1844. 'If we fall,' they wrote to Mazzini, +'tell our countrymen to imitate our example, for life was given to us to +be nobly and usefully employed, and the cause for which we shall have +fought and died is the purest and holiest that ever warmed the heart of +man.' It was their last letter. After they landed in Calabria one of their +number disappeared; there is every reason to suppose that he went to +betray them. They wandered for a few days in the mountains, looking for +the insurgent band which they had been falsely told was waiting for them, +and then fell into an ambush prepared by the Neapolitan troops. Some died +fighting; nine were shot at Cosenza, including the Bandieras, Mori, +Ricciotti and Nardi. Boccheciampi the Corsican, whom they suspected of +treason, was brought up to be confronted with them during the trial; when +asked if he knew who he was, Nardi replied: 'I know no word in my divine +Italian language that can fitly describe that man.' Boccheciampi was +condemned to a nominal imprisonment; when he came out of prison he wrote +to a <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69"> +[Pg.69]</a></span> Greek girl of Corfu, to whom he was engaged, to join +him at Naples, that they might be married. The girl had been deeply in +love with him, and had already given him part of her dowry, but she +answered: 'A traitor cannot wed a Greek maiden; I bear with me the +blessing of my parents; upon you rests the curse of God.'</p> + +<p>The martyrdom of the Bandieras made a great impression, especially in +England, where the circumstance came to light that their correspondence +with Mazzini had been tampered with in the English Post Office, and that +information as to their plans had reached the Austrian and Neapolitan +Governments through the British Foreign Office. The affair was brought +before the House of Commons by Thomas Duncombe. The Home Secretary +repeated a calumny which had appeared many years before in a French +newspaper, to the effect that the murder of an Italian in Rodez by two of +his fellow-countrymen was the result of an order from the Association of +Young Italy. Sir James Graham had to apologise afterwards for 'the injury +inflicted on Mr Mazzini' by this statement, which he was obliged to admit +was supported by no evidence, and was contrary to the opinion of the Judge +who tried the case.</p> + +<p>The <i>Times</i> having observed in a leading article that the gravity +of the fact in question, the violation of private correspondence in the +Post Office, was not affected by the merits or demerits of Mr Mazzini, of +whom it professed to 'know nothing,' Thomas Carlyle wrote next day a +letter containing words which may be quoted as some of the best and truest +ever written about the great Italian: 'I have had the honour to know Mr +Mazzini for a series of years, and, whatever I may think of his practical +insight and skill in worldly affairs, I can with great <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg.70]</a></span> freedom +testify that he, if I have ever seen one such, is a man of genius and +virtue, one of those rare men, numerable unfortunately but as units in +this world, who are worthy to be called martyr souls; who in silence, +piously in their daily life, understand and practise what is meant by +that.' <a name="FNanchor2"></a><a href= +"#Footnote_2"><sup>[2]</sup></a></p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg.71]</a></span> <a +name="CHAPTER_V"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER V</h3> + +<h4>THE POPE LIBERATOR</h4> + +<h5>1844-1847</h5> + +<h5>Events leading to the Election of Pius IX.—The Petty +Princes—Charles Albert, Leopold and Ferdinand.</h5> + +<p><br /> + The day is drawing near when the century which witnessed the liberation +of Italy will have passed away. Already a generation has grown up which +can but faintly realise the passionate hopes and fears with which the +steps that led through defeat to the ultimate victory were watched, not +only by Italians, but by thousands who had never set foot in Italy. Never +did a series of political events evoke a sympathy so wide and so +disinterested, and it may be foretold with confidence that it never will +again. Italy rising from the grave was the living romance of myriads of +young hearts that were lifted from the common level of trivial interests +and selfish ends, from the routine of work or pleasure, both deadening +without some diviner spark, by a sustained enthusiasm that can hardly be +imagined now. There were, indeed, some who asked what was all this to +them? What were the 'extraneous Austrian Emperor,' or the 'old chimera of +a Pope' (Carlyle's designations) to the British taxpayer? Some there were +in England who were deeply attached still to the 'Great Hinge on which +Europe depended,' and even to the most clement Spanish Bourbons of Naples, +about whom strangely beautiful things are to be read in old numbers of +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg.72]</a></span> +the <i>Quarterly Review</i>. But on the whole, English men and +women—in mind half Italian, whether they will it or not, from the +day they begin to read their own literature from Chaucer to Shakespeare, +from Shakespeare to Shelley, from Shelley to Rossetti and +Swinburne—were united at that time in warmth of feeling towards +struggling Italy as they have been united in no political sentiment +relating to another nation, and in few concerning their own country.</p> + +<p>It would be vain to expect that the record of Italian vicissitudes +during the years when the fate of Italy hung in the balance can awake or +renew the spellbound interest caused by the events themselves. The reader +of recent history is like the novel reader who begins at the last +chapter—he is too familiar with how it all ended to be keenly +affected by the development of the plot. Yet it is plain that we are in a +better position to appreciate the process of development than was the case +when the issue remained uncertain. We can estimate more accurately the +difficulties which stood in the way, and judge more impartially the means +that were taken to remove them. One outcome of this fuller knowledge is +the conviction that patriotism was the monopoly of no single Italian +party. The leaders, and still more their henchmen, were in the habit of +saying very hard things about each other. It was natural and unavoidable; +but there is no excuse now for failing to recognise that there were pure +and devoted patriots on the one side as well as on the other—men +whose only desire was the salvation of Italy, to effect which no sacrifice +seemed too great. Nor were their labours unfruitful, for there was work +for all of them to do; and the very diversity of opinion, though +unfortunate under some aspects, was not so under all. If no one had raised +the question of unity before all things, Italy might be still a +geographical expression. If no one had tried to wring concessions from the +old <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73"> +[Pg.73]</a></span> governments, their inherent and irremediable vices +would never have been proved; and though they might have been overturned, +they would have left behind a lasting possibility of ignorant +reaction.</p> + +<p>The Great Powers had presented to the Court of Rome in 1831 a +memorandum, in which various moderate reforms and improvements were +proposed as urgently necessary to put an end to the intolerable abuses +which were rife in the states of the Church, and, most of all, in Romagna. +The abolition of the tribunal of the Holy Office, the institution of a +Council of State, lay education, and the secularisation of the +administration were among the measures recommended. In 1845 a certain +Pietro Renzi collected a body of spirited young men at San Marino, and +made a dash on Rimini, where he disarmed the small garrison. The other +towns were not prepared, and Renzi and his companions were obliged to +retire into Tuscany; but the revolution, partial as it had been, raised +discussion in consequence of the manifesto issued by its promoters, in +which a demand was made for the identical reforms vainly advocated by +European diplomacy fourteen years before. If these were granted, the +insurgents engaged to lay down their arms. The manifesto was written by +Luigi Carlo Farini, who was destined to play a large part in future +affairs. It proved to Europe that even the most conservative elements in +the nation were driven to revolution by the sheer hopelessness of the +dead-lock which the Italian rulers sought by every means to prolong. +Massimo d'Azeglio, who was then known only as a painter of talent and a +writer of historical novels, first made his mark as a politician by the +pamphlet entitled <i>Gli ultimi casi di Romagna</i>, in which his +arguments derived force from the fact that, when travelling in the +district, he had done all in his power to induce the Liberals to keep +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg.74]</a></span> +within the bounds of legality. But he confessed that, when someone says: +'I suffer too much,' it is an unsatisfactory answer to retort: 'You have +not suffered enough.' Massimo d'Azeglio had lived for many years an +artist's life in Rome and the country round, where his aristocratic birth +and handsome face made him popular with all classes. The transparent +integrity of his nature overcame the diffidence usually inspired by +strangers among a somewhat suspicious people, and he got to know more +thoroughly than any other North Italian the real aspirations of the Pope's +subjects. He listened to their complaints and their plans, and if they +asked his advice, he invariably replied: 'Let us speak clearly. What is it +that you wish and I with you? You wish to have done with priestly rule, +and to send the Teutons out of Italy? If you invite them to decamp, they +will probably say, "No, thank you!" Therefore you must use force; and +where is it to be had? If you have not got it, you must find somebody who +has. In Italy who has it, or, to speak more precisely, who has a little of +it? Piedmont, because it, at least, enjoys an independent life, and +possesses an army and a surplus in the treasury.' His friends answered: +'What of Charles Albert, of 1821, of 1832?' Now, there was no one who felt +less trust in Charles Albert than Massimo d'Azeglio; he admitted it with +something like remorse in later years. But he believed in his ambition, +and he thought it madness to throw away what he regarded as the sole +chance of freeing Italy on account of private doubts of the King of +Sardinia's sincerity.</p> + +<p>Charles Albert had reigned for fourteen years, and still the mystery +which surrounded his character formed as impenetrable a veil as ever. The +popular nickname of <i>Re Tentenna</i> (King Waverer) seemed, in a <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg.75]</a></span> sense, +accepted by him when he said to the Duke d'Aumale in 1843: 'I am between +the dagger of the Carbonari and the chocolate of the Jesuits.' He chose, +as bride for his eldest son, an Austrian princess, who, however, had known +no country but Italy. His internal policy was not simply stationary, it +was retrograde. If his consent was obtained to some progressive measure, +he withdrew it at the last moment, or insisted on the introduction of +modifications which nullified the whole. His want of stability drove one +of his ministers to jump out of a window. In spite of the candid reference +to the Jesuit's cup of chocolate, he allowed the Society of Jesus to +dictate its will in Piedmont. Victor Amadeus, the first King of Sardinia, +took public education out of the hands of the Jesuits, after receiving the +following deathbed communication from one of the Order who was his own +confessor: 'Deeply sensible of your many favours, I can only show my +gratitude by a final piece of advice, but of such importance that perhaps +it may suffice to discharge my debt. Never have a Jesuit for confessor. Do +not ask me the grounds of this advice, I should not be at liberty to tell +them to you.' The lesson was forgotten now. Charles Albert was not content +to wear a hair-shirt himself; he would have liked to see all his subjects +furnished with the same garment. The result was, that Piedmont was not a +comfortable place for Liberals to live in, nor a lively place for anyone. +Yet there is hardly anything more certain than that all this time the King +was constantly dreaming of turning the Austrians out of Italy. His +government kept its attention fixed on two points: the improvement of the +army, and the accumulation of a reserve fund to be available in case of +war. Drill and thrift, which made the German Empire out of Prussia, if +they did <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76"> +[Pg.76]</a></span> not lead straight to equally splendid results south of +the Alps, were still what rendered it possible for Piedmont to defy +Austria when the time came. In 1840, Charles Albert wrote to his Minister +of War: 'It is a fine thing to win twenty battles; as for me, I should be +content to win ten on behalf of a cause I know of, and to fall in the +tenth—then, indeed, I would die blessing the Lord.' A year or two +later, he unearthed and reassumed the ancient motto of the House of Savoy: +'J'attends mon astre.' Nevertheless, to the outward world his intentions +remained enigmatical, and it was therefore with extreme surprise that +Massimo d'Azeglio (who, on his return from the Roman states, asked +permission to inform the King of the impressions made on him by his +travels) received the injunction to tell his Liberal friends 'that when +the occasion presented itself, his life, the life of his sons, his +treasure, and his army would all be spent for the Italian cause.'</p> + +<p>The fifteen years' pontificate of Gregory XVI. ended on the 1st June of +1846. In spite of the care taken by those around him to keep the aged +pontiff in a fool's paradise with regard to the real state of his +dominions, a copy of <i>The Late Events in Romagna</i> fell into his +hands, and considerably disturbed his peace of mind. He sent two prelates +to look into the condition of the congested provinces, and their tour, +though it resulted in nothing else, called forth new protests and +supplications from the inhabitants, of which the most noteworthy was an +address written by Count Aurelio Saffi, who was destined to pass many +honourable years of exile in England. This address attacked the root of +the evil in a passage which exposed the unbearable vexations of a +government based on espionage. The acknowledged power of an irresponsible +police was backed by the secret force of an army of private spies and +informers. The sentiment of legality was being <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg.77]</a></span> stamped out of the public +conscience, and with it religion and morality. 'Bishops have been heard to +preach civil war—a crusade against the Liberals; priests seem to mix +themselves in wretched party strife, egging on the mob to vent its worst +passions. There is not a Catholic country in which the really Christian +priest is so rarely found as in the States of the Church.'</p> + +<p>If Gregory XVI. was not without reasons for disquietude in his last +hours, he could take comfort in the fact that he had succeeded in keeping +railways out of all parts of his dominions. Gas and suspension bridges +were also classed as works of the Evil One, and vigorously tabooed. Among +the Pope's subjects there was a young prelate who had never been able to +make out what there was subversive to theology in a steam-engine, or why +the safety of the Papal government should depend on its opposing every +form of material improvement, although in discussing these subjects he +generally ended by saying: 'After all I am no politician, and I may be +mistaken.' This prelate was Cardinal Mastai-Ferretti, Bishop of Imola. +Born in 1792 at Sinigaglia, of a good though rather needy family, Count +Giovanni Maria Mastai was piously brought up by his mother, who dedicated +him at an early age to the Virgin, to whom she believed that she owed his +recovery from an illness which had been pronounced fatal. Roman Catholic +writers connect the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception +with this incident of childhood. After entering the priesthood, young +Mastai devoted most of his energies to active charity, and remained, as he +said, 'no politician,' being singularly ignorant of the world and of +public affairs, though full of amiable wishes that everyone should be +happy. Some years spent in missionary work in South America <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg.78]</a></span> failed to +enlarge his practical knowledge, the limits of which he was the first to +recognise—a fact that tended to make him all his life the +instrument, not of his own will, but of the wills of men whom he honestly +thought cleverer and more experienced than himself. His chief friends in +his Romagnol diocese, friends on the intimate basis of social equality and +common provincial interests, were sound patriots, though not +revolutionists, and the future Pio Nono involuntarily adopted their ideas +and sympathies. He saw with his eyes certain abuses so glaring that they +admitted of no two opinions, and these helped to convince him of the truth +of his friends' arguments in favour of a completely new order of things. +One such abuse was the encouragement given by government to the Society of +the Centurioni, the latest evolution of the Calderai; the Centurions, +recruited among roughs and peasants, were set upon the respectable middle +classes, over which they tyrannised by secret accusations or open +violence: it was well understood that anyone called a Liberal, or +Freemason, or Carbonaro could be beaten or killed without inquiries being +made.</p> + +<p>The Bishop of Imola was frequently in the house of the Count and +Countess Pasolini, who kept their friend well supplied with the new books +on Italian affairs; thus he read not only D'Azeglio's <i>Cast di +Romagna</i>, but also Cesare Balbo's <i>Le Speranze d'Italia,</i> which +propounded a plan for an Italian federation, and Gioberti's <i>Primato +morale e civile degli Italiani</i>, in which this plan was elaborately +developed. Gioberti indicated the Supreme Pontiff as the natural head of +the Italian Union, and the King of Sardinia as Italy's natural deliverer +from foreign domination. The eternal fitness of things, and the history of +many centuries, proved the Pope to be the proper paramount civil authority +in Italy, 'which is the capital of Europe, <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg.79]</a></span> because Rome is the religious +metropolis of the world.' An ex-member of 'Young Italy,' a Piedmontese by +birth, a priest by ordination, Gioberti's profession of faith was derived +from these three sources, and it attracted thousands of Italians by its +apparent reconciliation of the interests of the papacy, and of the +Sardinian monarchy, with the most advanced views of the newest school. +History, to which Gioberti appealed, might have told him that a reversal +of the law of gravity was as likely to happen as the performance by the +papacy of the mission he proposed to it; but men believe what they wish to +believe, and his work found, as has been said, thousands of admirers, +among whom none was more sincere than Cardinal Mastai. The day on which +Count Pasolini gave him a copy of <i>Il Primato</i> he created that great, +and under some aspects pathetic illusion, the reforming Pope.</p> + +<p>The Conclave opened on the 14th of June 1846. During the Bishop of +Imola's journey to Rome a white pigeon had perched several times on his +carriage. The story became known; people said the same thing had occurred +to a coming Pope on former occasions, and the augury was accepted with joy +and satisfaction. He was, in fact, elected after the Conclave had lasted +only two days, while the Conclave which elected his predecessor lasted +sixty-four. The brevity of that to which Pius IX. owed the tiara was +looked upon by the populace as something miraculous, but it was the result +of the well-considered determination of the Italian Cardinals not to allow +time for Austrian intrigues to obtain the election of a Pope who would be +ruled from Vienna. When the new Pope appeared on the balcony of the +Quirinal to give his first benediction, the people, carried away by his +youthful yet majestic bearing, and by the hopes which already centred in +him, broke into <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80"> +[Pg.80]</a></span> frantic cries of: 'We have a Pope! He loves us! He is +our Father!' If they had cried: 'We have a new heaven and a new earth,' +they would but have expressed the delirium which, starting from Rome, +spread throughout Italy.</p> + +<p>On the night of the 6th of December 1846, the whole line of the +Apennines from Liguria to Calabria was illuminated. A hundred years +before, a stone thrown by the child Balilla had given the signal for the +expulsion of the Austrians from Genoa: this was the memory flashed from +height to height by countless beacons, but while celebrating the past, +they were the fiery heralds of a greater revolution.</p> + +<p>The upheaval of Europe did not become a fact, however, for another +year. Meantime, the Roman States attracted more attention than any other +part of the peninsula, from the curiosity awakened by the progress of the +experiment of which they were the scene. It is not doubtful that at the +first moment Pius IX. was under the impression that the problem he had +taken in hand was eminently simple. A little goodwill on the part of +everybody, an amnesty to heal old sores, and a few administrative reforms, +ought, he thought, to set everything right. Such was not the opinion of +intelligent onlookers who were students of politics—especially if +they were foreigners, and could therefore keep their heads moderately cool +in the prevailing excitement. The wave of a wand may seem to effect +marvels, but long and silent causes prepare the way for each event. Now +what had been going on for years in the Roman States was not the process +of gradual growth, but the process of rapid disintegration. The Temporal +Power of the Popes had died without anyone noticing it, and there was +nothing <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81"> +[Pg.81]</a></span> left but a body in the course of dissolution. Every +foreigner in Rome during the reign of Gregory XVI. bore witness that his +government depended for its existence absolutely on the Swiss Guards. In +1845, Count Rossi told Guizot that without the Swiss regiments the +government in the Legations and the Marches 'would be overthrown in the +twinkling of an eye.' The British agent in Rome, writing during the +Conclave, bore this out by the statement, which applied not to one portion +of the Roman states, but to all, that 'the government could not stand +without the protection of Austria and the immediate presence of the +Swiss.' On the accession of Pius IX., the props, such as they were, which +had prevented an earlier collapse of the Temporal Power, were either +removed or rendered useless. The Swiss might as well have been disbanded +at once as retained merely to be a bone of contention between the new +government and the people, since it was understood that a vigorous use of +their services would never be resorted to; while Austrian protection was +transferred from the Pope to the disaffected party in the Church, which +consisted in a large proportion of the cardinals and of the inferior +clergy who were afraid that, with the reform of abuses, they would lose +their influence over the lower class of their flocks. The English +diplomatic agents in Italy also firmly believed that Austria coupled with +her support of the ultramontane malcontents the direct encouragement of +the disorderly elements of the population. To resist all these contrary +forces, Pius IX. had only a popularity which, though for the time immense, +was founded almost completely on imagination. 'It was,' said Mr Petre, +'the name and known views of Pius, rather than his acts, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg.82]</a></span> which aroused +so much interest.' If for 'known views' be substituted 'supposed views,' +the remark exactly describes the situation.</p> + +<p>Popularity is very well, but a government cannot long subsist on the +single fact of the popularity of the sovereign. When the Roman mob began +to cry: 'Viva Pio Nono <i>solo</i>,' the fate of the experiment was +sealed. Real control slipped from the hands that nominally wielded it. +'The influence,' Mr Petre wrote to Sir George Hamilton, 'of one individual +of the lower class, Angelo Brunetti, hardly known but by his nickname of +Ciceruacchio, has for the last month kept the peace of the city more than +any power possessed by the authorities, from the command which he exerts +over the populace.' It was Ciceruacchio who preserved order when in July +1847 the air was full of rumours of a vast reactionary plot, which aimed +at carrying off the Pope, and putting things back as they were under +Gregory. That such a plot was ever conceived, or, at anyrate, that it +received the sanction of the high personages whose names were mentioned in +connection with it, is generally doubted now; but it was believed in by +many of the representatives of foreign Powers then in Italy. The public +mind in Rome was violently disturbed. Austria made the excitement the +excuse for occupying the town of Ferrara, where, by the accepted +interpretation of the Treaty of Vienna, she had only the right to garrison +the fortress. This aggression called forth a strong remonstrance from the +Pope's Secretary of State, Cardinal Ferretti; and though a compromise was +arrived at through the mediation of Lord Palmerston, the feeling against +Austria grew more and more exasperated in the Roman states, and the Pope +consented, not, it seemed, much against the grain, to preparations being +taken in hand with a view to the possible eventuality of war.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg.83]</a></span> +At this date the Italian question was better apprehended at Vienna than in +any other part of Europe. A man of Prince Metternich's talents does not +devote a long life to statecraft without learning to distinguish the real +drift of political currents. While Lord Palmerston still felt sure that +reforms, and nothing but reforms, were what Italy wanted, Prince +Metternich saw that two real forces were at work from the Alps to the +Straits of Messina, and two only: desire for union, hatred of Austria. Nor +was it his fault if the English Cabinet or the rest of the world remained +unenlightened. Besides enlarging on this truth in frequent diplomatic +communications, he caused it to be continually dwelt upon in the Vienna +<i>Observer</i>, the organ of the Austrian Government, which printed +illustrative quotations from the writings of Mazzini, of whom it said that +'he has the one merit of despising hypocrisy, and proceeding firmly and +directly to his true end. Persons who are versed in history will know that +this is exactly the same end as that at which Arnold of Brescia and Cola +di Rienzi formerly aimed. The only difference is, that the revolutionary +dream has in the course of centuries gained in self-reliance and +confidence.' It may truly be affirmed after this that Metternich 'had the +one merit of despising hypocrisy.' Exactly the same end as Arnold of +Brescia and Cola di Rienzi—who better could have described the +scheme of Italian redemption?</p> + +<p>In the course of the summer of 1847, the Prince said more than once to +the British Ambassador: 'The Emperor is determined not to lose his Italian +dominions.' It was no idle boast, the speaker felt confident, that the +troops in Lombardy and Venetia could keep those provinces from taking an +active part in the 'revolution' which he declared to be <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg.84]</a></span> already +complete over all central Italy, though the word revolution had never yet +been mentioned. Nor was it only in the Austrian army that he trusted; +Metternich was persuaded that neither in Lombardy nor in Venetia was there +any fear of a really popular and, therefore, formidable movement. He +believed that Austria's only enemy was the aristocracy. He even threw out +hints that if the Austrian Government condescended to do so, it could +raise a social or peasants' war of the country people against their +masters. This is the policy which has been elaborately followed by the +Russians in Poland. The Austrians pointed to their virtue in not resorting +to it; but some tentative experiments in such a direction had not given +results of a kind to encourage them to go on. The Italian peasant, though +ignorant, had a far quicker innate intelligence than his unfortunate +Polish brother. He did not dislike his masters, who treated him at least +with easy familiarity, and he detested foreigners—those foreigners, +no matter of what nation, who for two thousand years had brought the +everlasting curse of war upon his fields. The conscription, which carried +off his sons for eight years into distant lands, of which he could not +pronounce the name, was alone enough to alienate him from the Austrian +Government. In hoping to find a friend in the Italian peasant, Metternich +reckoned without his host. On the other hand, he was strictly correct in +his estimate of the patriotism of the aristocracy. The fact always seemed +to the Prince a violation of eternal laws. According to him, the +fore-ordained disaffected in every country were drawn from the middle +classes. What business had noblemen with ancient names and fine estates to +prefer Spielberg to their beautiful palaces and fairy-like villas on the +Lombard lakes? Was it on purpose to spite the best of governments, and the +one most favourable to the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_85" id= +"Page_85">[Pg.85]</a></span> aristocratic principle, which had always held +out paternal hands to them? Could anything be imagined more +aggravating?</p> + +<p>This feature in Italian liberation has been kept mostly in the +background. Democratic chroniclers were satisfied to ignore it, and to the +men themselves their enormous sacrifices seemed so natural that they were +very willing to let them pass out of mind. It is in the works of those +who, while sympathising with Italy, are not Italians, that the best record +of it is to be found; nowhere better than in a recent book by a French +writer, M. Paul Bourget, in which occurs the following just and eloquent +tribute: 'We must say in praise of the aristocracy on this side of the +Alps that the best soldiers of independence were nobles. If Italy owes the +final success to the superior capabilities of Victor Emmanuel and Cavour, +and to the agitating power of the General of the Thousand, it is well not +to forget the struggles sustained for years by gentlemen whose example did +so much to raise partisans among the humble. These aristocrats, passionate +for liberty, have (like our own of the eighteenth century) done more for +the people than the people itself. The veritable history of this <i> +Risorgimento</i> would be in great part that of the Italian nobility in +which the heroic blood of feudal chiefs revolted against the oppressions +and, above all, the perpetual humiliation, born of the presence of the +stranger.'</p> + +<p>When Prince Metternich looked beyond the borders of those provinces +which he said that his Sovereign did not intend to lose, he saw sooner +than most people that a ball was set rolling which would not stop half way +down the hill. The one element in the situation which came as a surprise +to him, was that introduced by Pius IX. 'A liberal Pope is an impossible +being!' he exclaimed. <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_86" id= +"Page_86">[Pg.86]</a></span> Nevertheless this impossible being was a +reality which had to be dealt with. He hoped all along, however, that Pius +would fall a victim to the Frankenstein he had called into existence, and +his only real anxiety lay where it had always lain—on the side of +Piedmont. 'Charles Albert ought to let us know,' he wrote to the Austrian +Minister at Turin, 'whether his reign has been only a mask under which was +hidden the Prince of Carignano, who ascended the throne through the order +of succession re-established in his favour by the Emperor Francis.' +Considering all things, the endeavour to make it appear that the King was +indebted for his crown to Austria was somewhat venturesome. Charles +Albert, Metternich went on to say, had to choose between two systems, the +system now in force, or 'the crassest revolution.' He wrote again: 'The +King is sliding back upon the path which he enters for the second time in +his life, <i>and which he will never really quit</i>.' Words of a bitter +enemy, but juster than the 'Esecrato o Carignano,' hurled for a quarter of +a century at Charles Albert by those who only saw in him a traitor.</p> + +<p>The constant invocation of the revolutionary spectre by the Austrian +statesman convinced the King that the wish was father to the thought, and, +afraid of introducing the thin end of the wedge, he showed himself more +than ever averse to reforming the antiquated machinery of the Sardinian +Government. Instead of being the first of Italian princes to yield to +popular demands, he was almost the last. He believed that the question of +nationality, of independence, could be separated from the question of free +institutions. Of all the chimerical ideas then afloat, this was the most +chimerical. Even the example of the Pope, for whom Charles Albert felt a +romantic devotion, <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87"> +[Pg.87]</a></span> was not enough to induce him to open the road to +reforms. The person who seems first to have impressed him with their +absolute necessity was Lord Minto, whose visit to Turin, in October 1847, +coincided with the dismissal of Count della Margherita, the minister most +closely associated with the absolutist and Jesuitical <i> +régime</i>. Lord Minto was sent to Italy to encourage in the ways +of political virtue those Italian princes who were not entirely +incorrigible. His mission excited exaggerated hopes on the part of the +Liberals, and exaggerated wrath in the retrograde party—both failing +to understand its limitations. The hopes died a natural death, but long +afterwards, reactionary writers attributed all the 'troubles' in Italy to +this estimable British diplomatist. What is not doubtful is, that, +accustomed as they were to being lectured and bullied by foreign courts, +the Italians derived the greatest encouragement from the openly expressed +sympathy of well-known English visitors, whether they came in an official +capacity like Lord Minto, or unofficially like Mr Cobden, who travelled as +a missionary of Free Trade, and was received with rapture—with +which, it is to be feared, Free Trade had little to do—by the +leading Liberals in Italy: Massimo d'Azeglio at Genoa, Mancini at Naples +Cavour and Scialoja at Turin, Minghetti at Bologna, Ridolfi at Florence, +and Manin and Tommaseo at Venice.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of 1847, there was a curious shuffling of the cards in +the small states of Lucca and Parma, resulting in much irritation, which, +in an atmosphere so charged with revolutionary electricity, was not +without importance. The dissolute Bourbon prince who reigned in Lucca, +Charles Ludovico, had but one desire, which was to increase his civil +list. He hit upon an English jockey named Ward, who came to <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg.88]</a></span> Italy in the +service of a German count, and this person he made his Chancellor of the +Exchequer. By various luminous strokes, Ward furthered his Sovereign's +object without much increasing the taxation, and when matters began to +grow complicated, and here, too, a cry was raised for a Constitution +(which had been solemnly guaranteed to the people of Lucca at the Congress +of Vienna, but had never been heard of since), he proposed the sale of the +Duchy off-hand to Tuscany, with which it would, in any case, be united, +when, on the death of the ex-Empress Marie-Louise, the Duchy of Parma +devolved on the Duke of Lucca. At the same time, by a prior agreement, a +district of Tuscany called the Lunigiana was consigned, one-half to the +Duchess of Parma, and the other to the Duke of Modena. The indignation of +the population, which was made, by force, subject to the Duke of Modena, +was intense, and the whole transaction of handing about Italians to suit +the pleasure of princes, or to obey the articles of forgotten treaties, +reminded the least sensitive of the everyday opprobrium of their lot.</p> + +<p>The bargain with Tuscany had been struck only eight days when +Marie-Louise died—unlamented, since the latter years of her reign +formed a sad contrast to the earlier. Marie-Louise had not a bad +disposition, but she always let her husband of the hour govern as he +chose; of the four or five of these husbands, the last two, and +particularly the hated Count de Bombelles, undid all the good done by +their more humane predecessors. The Parmese petitioned their new Duke to +send the man away, and to grant them some measure of freedom. The answer +he gave was the confirmation of Bombelles in all his honours, and the +conclusion of a treaty with Austria, securing the assistance of her arms. +A military force had been sent to Parma to escort the <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg.89]</a></span> body of the +late Duchess to Vienna; but on the principle that the living are of more +consequence than the dead, it remained there to protect the new Duke from +his subjects. Marie-Louise and her lovers, Charles Ludovico and his +jockey-minister, are instructive illustrations of the scandalous point +things had reached in the small states of Italy.</p> + +<p>There was, indeed, one state in which, though the dynasty was Austrian, +the government was conducted without ferocity and without scandal. This +was Tuscany. The branch of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family established in +Tuscany produced a series of rulers who, if they exhibited no magnificent +qualities, were respectable as individuals, and mild as rulers. Giusti +dubbed Leopold II. 'the Tuscan Morpheus, crowned with poppies and lettuce +leaves,' and the clear intelligence of Ricasoli was angered by the +languid, let-be policy of the Grand-Ducal government, but, compared with +the other populations of Italy, the Tuscans might well deem themselves +fortunate. Only on one occasion had the Grand Duke given up a fugitive +from the more favoured provinces, and the presence of distinguished exiles +lent brilliancy to his capital. Leopold II. hesitated between the desire +to please his subjects and the fear of his Viennese relations, who sent +him through Metternich the ominous reminder, 'that the Italian Governments +had only subsisted for the last ten years by the support they received +from Austria'—an assertion at which Charles Albert took umbrage, but +he was curtly told that he was not intended. In spite of his fears, +however, the Grand Duke instituted a National Guard on the 4th of +September, which was correctly judged the augury of further concessions. +In August, the Austrian Minister had distinctly threatened to occupy +Tuscany, or any other of the Italian duchies <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg.90]</a></span> where a National Guard was +granted; its institution was therefore interpreted as a decisive act of +rebellion against the Imperial dictatorship. The red, white and green +tricolor, not yet permitted in Piedmont, floated already from all the +towers of the city on the Arno.</p> + +<p>Where there were no signs of improvement was in the government of the +Two Sicilies. King Ferdinand undertook a journey through several parts of +the country, but as Lord Napier, the British Minister, expressed it: +'Exactly where the grace of the royal countenance was principally +conferred, the rebels sprung up most thickly.' A revolution was planned to +break out in all the cities of the kingdom, but the project only took +effect at Messina and at Reggio, and in both places the movement was +stifled with prompt and barbarous severity. When the leader of the +Calabrian attempt, Domenico Romeo, a landed proprietor, was caught on the +heights of Aspromonte, his captors, after cutting off his head, carried it +to his young nephew, whom they ordered to take it to Reggio with the cry +of 'Long live the King.' The youth refused, and was immediately killed. In +the capital, Carlo Poerio and many patriots were thrown into prison on +suspicion. Settembrini had just time to escape to Malta.</p> + +<p>The year 1847 closed amid outward appearances of quiet.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg.91]</a></span> <a +name="CHAPTER_VI"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER VI</h3> + +<h4>THE YEAR OF REVOLUTION</h4> + +<h5>1848</h5> + +<h5>Insurrection in Sicily—The Austrians expelled from Milan and +Venice —Charles Albert takes the Field—Withdrawal of the Pope +and King of Naples—Piedmont defeated—The Retreat.</h5> + +<p><br /> + On the 12th of January, the birthday of the King of the Two Sicilies, +another insurrection broke out in Sicily; this time it was serious indeed. +The City of the Vespers lit the torch which set Europe on fire.</p> + +<p>So began the year of revolution which was to see the kings of the earth +flying, with or without umbrellas, and the principle of monarchy more +shaken by the royal see-saw of submission and vengeance than ever it was +by the block of Whitehall or the guillotine of the Place Louis XV.</p> + +<p>In Italy, the errors and follies of that year were not confined to +princes and governments, but it will remain memorable as the time when the +Italian nation, not a dreamer here or there, or a handful of heroic +madmen, or an isolated city, but the nation as a whole, with an unanimity +new in history, asserted its right and its resolve to exist.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg.92]</a></span> +King Ferdinand sent 5000 soldiers to 'make a garden,' as he described it, +of Palermo, if the offers sent at the same time failed to pacify the +inhabitants. These offers were refused with the comment: 'Too late,' and +the Palermitans prepared to resist to the death under the guidance of the +veteran patriot Ruggiero Settimo, Prince of Fitalia. 'Separation,' they +said, 'or our English Constitution of 1812.' Increased irritation was +awakened by the discovery in the head office of the police at Palermo of a +secret room full of skeletons, which were supposed to belong to persons +privately murdered. The Neapolitans were compelled to withdraw with a loss +of 3000 men, but before they went, the general in command let out 4000 +convicts, who had been kept without food for forty-eight hours. The +convicts, however, did not fulfil the intentions of their liberator, and +did but little mischief. Not so the Neapolitan troops, who committed +horrors on the peasantry as they retreated, which provoked acts of +retaliation almost as barbarous. In a short time all Sicily was in its own +hands except the citadel of Messina.</p> + +<p>It is not possible to follow the Sicilians in their long struggle for +their autonomy. They stood out for some fourteen months. An English +Blue-book is full of the interminable negotiations conducted by Lord +Napier and the Earl of Minto in the hope of bringing the strife to an end. +When the parliament summoned by the revolutionary government declared the +downfall of the House of Bourbon, all the stray princes in Europe, +including Louis Napoleon, were reviewed as candidates for the throne. The +choice fell on the Duke of Genoa; it was well received in England, and the +British men-of-war were immediately ordered to salute the Sicilian flag. +But the Duke's reign never became a reality. <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg.93]</a></span> After an heroic struggle, +the islanders were subjugated in the spring of 1849.</p> + +<p>So stout a fight for independence must win admiration, if not approval. +The political reasons against the course taken by the Sicilians have been +suggested in a former chapter. In separating their lot from that of +Naples, in rejecting even freedom unless it was accompanied by disruption, +they hastened the ruin of the Neapolitans and of themselves, and surely +played into the hands of the crafty tyrant who desired nothing better than +to fish in the troubled waters of his subjects' dissensions.</p> + +<p>In the gathering storm of January 1848, the first idea that occurred to +Ferdinand II. was the good old plan of calling in Austrian assistance. But +the Austrians were told by Pius IX. that he would not allow their troops +to pass through his territory. Had they attempted to pass in spite of his +warning, events would have taken a different turn, as the Pope would have +been driven into a war with Austria then and there; perhaps he would have +been glad, as weak people commonly are, of the compulsion to do what he +dared not do without compulsion. The Austrian Government was too wise to +force a quarrel; it was easy to lock up Austrian subjects for crying 'Viva +Pio Nono,' but the enormous importance of keeping the Head of the Church, +if possible, in a neutral attitude could not be overlooked. All thoughts +of going to Ferdinand's help were politely abandoned, and he, seeing +himself in a defenceless position, and pondering deeply on the upsetting +of Louis Philippe's throne, which was just then the latest news, decided +on that device, dear to all political conjurors, which is known as taking +the wind out of your enemy's sails. The Pope, the Grand Duke of <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg.94]</a></span> Tuscany +and the King of Sardinia, had worried him for six months with admonitions. +'Very well,' he now said; 'they urge me forward, I will precipitate them.' +Constitution, representative government, unbridled liberty of the press, a +civic guard, the expulsion of the Jesuits; what mattered a trifle more or +less when everything could be revoked at the small expense of perjury? +Ferdinand posed to perfection in the character of Citizen King. He +reassured those who ventured to show the least signs of apprehension by +saying: 'If I had not intended to carry out the Statute, I should not have +granted it.'</p> + +<p>Not many days later, the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the King of Sardinia +each promulgated a Charter. In the case of Charles Albert, it had been +formally promised on the 8th of February, after sleepless nights, severe +fasts, much searching of the heart—contrasting strangely with the +gay transformation scene at Naples; but promises have a more serious +meaning to some persons than to others. Nor did Charles Albert take any +pleasure in the shouts of a grateful people. 'Born in revolution,' he once +wrote, 'I have traversed all its phases, and I know well enough what +popularity is worth—<i>viva</i> to-day, <i>morte</i> to-morrow.'</p> + +<p>In the Lombardo-Venetian provinces all seemed still quiet, but the +brooding discontent of the masses increased with the increasing +aggressiveness of the Austrian soldiers, while the refusal to grant the +studiously moderate demands of men like Nazari of Bergamo and Manin and +Tommasco of Venice, who were engaged in a campaign of legal agitation, +brought conviction to the most cautious that no measure of political +liberty was obtainable under Austrian rule.</p> + +<p>At the Scala Theatre some of the audience had raised cries of 'Viva Pio +Nono' during a performance of <i>I Lombardi.</i><a name="FNanchor3"></a><a +href="#Footnote_3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> This was the excuse <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg.95]</a></span> for +prohibiting every direct or indirect public reference to the reigning +Pontiff. Nevertheless, a few young men were caught singing the Pope's +hymn, upon which the military charged the crowd. On the 3rd of January the +soldiers fell on the people in the Piazza San Carlo, killing six and +wounding fifty-three. The parish priest of the Duomo said that he had seen +Russians, French and Austrians enter Milan as invaders; but a scene like +that of the 3rd of January he had never witnessed; 'they simply murdered +in the streets.'</p> + +<p>The <i>Judicium Statuarium</i>, equivalent to martial law, was +proclaimed in February; but the Viennese revolution of the 8th of March, +and Prince Metternich's flight to England, were followed by promises to +abolish the censure, and to convoke the central congregations of the +Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. The utmost privilege of these assemblies was +consultative. In 1815 they were invested with the right to 'make known +grievances,' but they had only once managed to perform this modest +function. It was hardly worth while to talk about them on the 18th of +March 1848.</p> + +<p>On the morning of that day, Count O'Donnel, the Vice-Governor of Milan, +announced the Emperor's concessions. Before night he was the hostage of +the revolution, signing whatever decrees were demanded of him till in a +few hours even his signature was dispensed with. The Milanese had begun +their historic struggle.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg.96]</a></span> +Taking refuge in the Citadel, Radetsky wrote to the Podestà, Count +Gabrio Casati (brother of Teresa Confalonieri), that he acknowledged no +authority at Milan except his own and that of his soldiers. Those who +resisted would be guilty of high treason. If arguments did not avail, he +would make use of all the means placed in his hands by an army of 100,000 +men to bring the rebel city to obedience. Unhappily for Radetsky, there +were not any such 100,000 men in Italy, though long before this he had +told Metternich that he could not guarantee the safety of Lombardy with +less than 150,000. In spite of partial reinforcements, the number did not +amount to more than from 72,000 to 75,000, while at Milan it stood at +between 15,000 and 20,000. But if we take the lower estimate, 15,000 +regular troops under such a commander, who, most rare in similar +emergencies, knew his own mind, and had no thought except the recovery of +the town for his Sovereign, constituted a formidable force against a +civilian population, which began the fight with only a few hundred +fowling-pieces. The odds on the side of Austria were tremendous.</p> + +<p>If the Milan revolt had been one of the customary revolutions, arranged +with the help of pen and paper, its first day would have been certainly +its last. But even more than the Sicilian Vespers, it was the +unpremeditated, irresistible act of a people sick of being slaves. At the +beginning Casati tried to restrain it; so, with equal or still stronger +endeavours, did the republican Carlo Cattaneo, whose influence was great. +'You have no arms,' he said again and again. Not a single man of weight +took upon himself the awful responsibility of urging the unarmed masses +upon so desperate an enterprise; but when the die was cast none held back. +Initiated by the populace, the revolt <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg.97]</a></span> was led to its victorious close +by the nerve and ability of the influential men who directed its +course.</p> + +<p>Towards nightfall on the 18th, during which day there had been only +scuffles between the soldiers and the people, Radetsky took the Broletto, +where the Municipality sat, after a two hours' siege, and sent forthwith a +special messenger to the Emperor with the news that the revolution was on +a fair way to being completely crushed. Meanwhile, he massed his troops at +all the entrances to the city, so that at dawn he might strangle the +insurrection by a concentric movement, as in a noose. The plan was good; +but to-morrow does not belong even to the most experienced of +Field-Marshals.</p> + +<p>In all quarters of the city barricades sprang up like mushrooms. +Everything went, freely given, to their construction; the benches of the +Scala, the beds of the young seminarists, the court carriages, found +hidden in a disused church, building materials of the half-finished +Palazzo d'Adda, grand pianofortes, valuable pieces of artistic furniture, +and the old kitchen table of the artisan. Before the end of the fight the +barricades numbered 1523. Young nobles, dressed in the velvet suits then +in vogue, cooks in their white aprons, even women and children, rushed to +the defence of the improvised fortifications. Luciano Manara and other +heroes, who afterwards fell at Rome, were there to lead. In the first +straits for want of arms the museums of the Uboldi and Poldi-Pozzoli +families were emptied of their rare treasures by permission of the owners; +the crowd brandished priceless old swords and specimens of early firearms. +More serviceable weapons were obtained by degrees from the Austrian killed +and wounded, and from the public offices which fell into their hands. +Bolza, long the hated agent of the Austrian police, was discovered by +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg.98]</a></span> +the people, but they did not harm him. Throughout the five days, the +Milanese showed a forbearance which was the more admirable, because there +can be no doubt that when the Austrians found they were getting the worst +of it, they vented their rage in deplorable outrages on non-combatants. +That Radetsky was personally to blame for these excesses has never been +alleged, and it was perhaps beyond the power of the officers to keep +discipline among soldiers who, towards the end, were wild with panic.</p> + +<p>'The very foundations of the city were torn up,' wrote the +Field-Marshal in his official report; 'not hundreds, but thousands of +barricades crossed the streets. Such circumspection and audacity were +displayed that it was evident military leaders were at the head of the +people. The character of the Milanese had become quite changed. Fanaticism +had seized every rank and age and both sexes.'</p> + +<p>As always happens with street-fighting, the number of the slain has +never been really known; the loss of the citizens was small compared with +that of the Austrians, who, according to some authorities, lost 5000, +between killed and wounded.</p> + +<p>Radetsky ordered the evacuation of the town and citadel on the night of +Wednesday, the 22nd of March. The Milanese had won much more than +freedom—they had won the right to it. And what they had done they +had done alone. When the news that the capital was up in arms spread +through Lombardy, there was but one gallant impulse, to fly to its aid. +But the earliest to arrive, Giuseppe Martinengo Cesaresco, with his troop +of Brescian peasants, found when he reached Milan that they were a few +hours too late to share in the last shots fired upon the retreating +Austrians.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg.99]</a></span> +Nowhere, except in Milan, did the revolution meet with a Radetsky. The +Austrian authorities became convinced that their position was untenable, +and they desired to avoid a useless sacrifice of life. This, rather than +cowardly fears, was the motive which induced Count Palffy and Count Zichy, +the civil and military governors of Venice, to yield the city without +deluging it in blood. The latter had been guilty of negligence in leaving +the Venetian arsenal in charge of troops so untrustworthy that Manin could +take it on the 22nd of March by a simple display of his own courage, and +without striking a blow, but after this first success on the side of the +revolution, which supplied the people with an unlimited stock of arms and +ammunition, the Austrians did well to give way even from their own point +of view. At seven o'clock on the evening of the 22nd of March, the famous +capitulation was signed. Manin's prediction of the previous day, +'To-morrow the city will be in my power, or I shall be dead,' had been +realised in the first alternative.</p> + +<p>Daniel Manin, who was now forty-four years of age, was by profession a +lawyer, by race a Jew. His father became a Christian, and, according to +custom, took the surname of his godfather, who belonged to the family of +the last Doge of Venice. Manin and the Dalmatian scholar, Niccolò +Tommaseo, had been engaged in patiently adducing proof after proof that +Austria did not even abide by her own laws when the expression of +political opinion was concerned. At the beginning of the revolution they +were in prison, and Palffy's first act of surrender was to set them free. +Henceforth Manin was undisputed lord of the city. It is strange how, all +at once, a man who was only slightly known to the world should have been +chosen as spokesman and ruler. It did not, however, happen by chance. The +people in Italy are observant; <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_100" +id="Page_100">[Pg.100]</a></span> the Venetians had observed Manin, and +they trusted him. The power of inspiring trust was what gave this Jewish +lawyer his ascendancy, not the talents which usually appeal to the masses. +He had not the advantage of an imposing presence, for he was short, +slight, with blue eyes and bushy hair; in all things he was the opposite +to a demagogue; he never beguiled, or flattered, or told others what he +did not believe himself. But, on his side, he <i>knew</i> the people, whom +most revolutionary leaders know not at all. 'That is my sole merit,' he +used to say. It was that which enabled him to cleanse Venice from the +stain of having bartered her freedom for the smile of a conqueror, and +give her back the name and inheritance of 'eldest child of liberty.'</p> + +<p>It was a matter of course that emancipated Venice should assume a +republican form of government. Here the republic was a restoration. At +Milan the case was different; there were two parties, that of Cattaneo, +which was strongly republican, that of Casati, which was strongly +monarchical. There was a third party, which thought of nothing except of +never again seeing a soldier with a white coat. By mutual agreement, the +Provisional Government declared that the decision as to the form of +government should be left to calmer days. For a time this compromise +produced satisfactory results.</p> + +<p>The revolution gained ground. Francis of Modena executed a rapid +flight, and the Duke of Parma presently followed him. By the end of March, +Lombardy and Venetia were free, saving the fortresses of the +Quadrilateral. The exception was of far greater moment than, in the +enchantment of the hour, anyone dreamt of confessing. Mantua, Legnano, +Peschiera and Verona were so many cities of refuge to the flying Austrian +troops, where they could rest in safety and nurse their strength. <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg.101]</a></span> +Still, the results achieved were great, almost incredible; with the +expectation that Rome, Naples, Tuscany and Piedmont would send their +armies to consolidate the work already done, it was natural to think that, +whatever else might happen, Austrian dominion was a thing of the past. +Alessandro Bixio (brother of the General), who was a naturalised +Frenchman, wrote to the French Government on the 7th of April from Turin: +'In the ministries, in meetings, in the streets, you only see and hear +people to whom the question of Italian independence seems to be one of +those historical questions about which the time is past for talking. +According to the general opinion, Austria is nothing but a phantom, and +the army of Radetsky a shadow.' Such were the hopes that prevailed. They +were vain, but they did not appear so then.</p> + +<p>Pius IX. seemed to throw in his lot definitely with the revolution +when, on the 19th of March, he too granted a Constitution, having +previously formed a lay ministry, which included Marco Minghetti and Count +Pasolini, under the presidency of Cardinal Antonelli, who thus makes his +first appearance as Liberal Premier. That the Roman Constitution was an +unworkable attempt to reconcile lay and ecclesiastical pretensions, that +the proposed Chamber of Deputies, which was not to make laws affecting +education, religious corporations, the registration of births and +marriages; or to confer civil rights on non-catholics, or to touch the +privileges and immunities of the clergy, might have suited +Cloud-cuckoo-town, but would not suit the solid earth, were facts easy to +recognise, but no one had time to pause and consider. It was sufficient to +hear Pius proclaim that in the wind which was uprooting oaks and cedars +might be clearly distinguished the Voice of the Lord. Such utterances, +mingled <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102"> +[Pg.102]</a></span> with blessings on Italy, brought balm to patriotic +souls. The Liberals had no fear that the Pope would veto the participation +of his troops in the national war, for they were blind to the +complications with which a fighting Pope would find himself embarrassed in +the middle of the nineteenth century. But the other party discerned these +complications from the first, and knew what use to make of them.</p> + +<p>The powers of reaction had only to catch hold of a perfectly modern +sentiment, the doctrine that ecclesiastics should be men of peace, in +order to dissipate the myth of a Pope liberator. It was beside the +question that, from the moment he accepted such a doctrine, the Pope +condemned the institution of prince-bishoprics, of which he represented +the last survival. Nor was it material that, if he adopted it, consistency +should have made him carry it to its logical consequence of +non-resistance. By aid of this theory of a peaceful Pontiff, with the +threat, in reserve, of a schism, Austria felt confident that she could +avoid the enormous moral inconvenience of a Pope in arms against her.</p> + +<p>Either, however, the full force of the influence which caused Pius IX. +to draw back was not brought to bear till somewhat late in the day, or the +part acted by him during the months of March and April can be hardly +acquitted of dissimulation. War preparations were continued, with the warm +co-operation of the Cardinal President of the Council, and when General +Durando started for the frontier with 17,000 men, he would have been a +bold man who had said openly in Rome that they were intended not to +fight.</p> + +<p>While the Pope was still supposed to favour the war, Ferdinand of +Naples did not dare to oppose the enthusiasm of his subjects, and the +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg.103]</a></span> +demand that a Neapolitan contingent should be sent to Lombardy. The first +relay of troops actually started, but the generals had secret orders to +take the longest route, and to lose as much time as possible.</p> + +<p>Tuscany had a very small army, but such assistance as she could give +was both promised and given. The fate of the Tuscan corps of 6000 men will +be related hereafter. The Grand Duke Leopold identified himself with the +Italian cause with more sincerity than was to be found at Rome or Naples; +still, the material aid that he could offer counted as next to +nothing.</p> + +<p>There remained Piedmont and Charles Albert. Now was the time for the +army which he had created (for Charles Felix left no army worthy of the +name) to assert upon the Lombard fields the reason of its existence. War +with Austria was declared on the 23rd of March. It was midnight; a vast +crowd waited in silence in Piazza Castello. At last the windows of the +palace were opened, a sudden flood of light from within illuminating the +scene. Charles Albert stepped upon the balcony between his two sons. He +was even paler than usual, but a smile such as no one had seen before was +on his lips. He waved the long proscribed tricolor slowly over the heads +of the people.</p> + +<p>The King said in his proclamation that 'God had placed Italy in a +position to provide for herself ('in grado di fare da sè'). Hence +the often repeated phrase: 'L'Italia farà da sè.' He told +the Lombard delegates, who met him at Pavia that he would not enter their +capital, which had shown such signal valour, till after he had won a +victory. He declared to all that his only aim was to complete the splendid +work of liberation so happily begun; questions of government would be +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg.104]</a></span> +reserved for the conclusion of the war. Joy was the order of the day, but +the fatal mistakes of the campaign had already commenced; there had been +inexcusable delay in declaring war; if it was pardonable to wait for the +Milanese initiative, it was as inexpedient as it seemed ungenerous to wait +till the issue of the struggle at Milan was decided. Then, after the +declaration of war, considering that the Sardinian Government must have +seen its imminence for weeks, and indeed for months, there was more time +lost than ought to have been the case in getting the troops under weigh. +Still, at the opening of the campaign, two grand possibilities were left. +The first was obviously to cut Radetsky off in his painful retreat, +largely performed along country by-roads, as he had to avoid the principal +cities which were already free. Had Charles Albert caught him up while he +was far from the Quadrilateral, the decisive blow would have been struck, +and the only man who could save Austria in Italy would have been taken +prisoner. Radetsky chose the route of Lodi and the lower Brescian plains +to Montechiaro, where the encampments were ready for the Austrian spring +manoeuvres: from this point an easy march carried him under the walls of +Verona. Here he met General d'Aspre, who had just arrived with the +garrison of Padua. D'Aspre, by skill and resolution, had brought his men +from Padua without losing one, having refused the Paduans arms for a +national guard, though ordered from Milan to grant them. 'You come to tell +me all is lost,' said the Field-Marshal when they met 'No,' rejoined the +younger general, 'I come to tell you all is saved.'</p> + +<p>This great chance missed, there was another which could have been +seized. Mantua, extraordinary to relate, was defended by only three +hundred artillerymen and a handful of hussars. It would have fallen <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg.105]</a></span> into +the hands of its own citizens but for the presence of mind of its +commandant, the Polish General Gorzhowsky, who told them that to no one on +earth would he deliver the keys of the fortress except to his Emperor, and +that the moment he could no longer defend it he would blow it into the +air, with himself and half Mantua. He showed them the flint and the steel +with which he intended to do the deed. Enemy though he was, that incident +ought to be recorded in letters of gold on the gates of Mantua, as a +perpetual lesson of that most difficult thing for a country founded in +revolution to learn: the meaning of a soldier's duty.</p> + +<p>It is easy to see that, if Charles Albert had made an immediate dash on +Mantua, the fortress, or its ruins, would have been his, to the enormous +detriment of the Austrian position. But this chance too was missed. On the +31st of March, the 9000 men sent with all speed by Radetsky to the +defenceless fortress arrived, and henceforth Mantua was safe. Charles +Albert only got within fifteen or sixteen miles of it five days later, to +find that all hope of its capture was gone.</p> + +<p>The campaign began with political as well as with military mistakes. At +the same time that the King of Sardinia was declaring in the Proclamation +addressed to the Lombards that, full of admiration of the glorious feats +performed in their capital, he came to their aid as brother to brother, +friend to friend, his ambassadors were trying to persuade the foreign +Powers, and especially Austria, Prussia and Russia, that the only object +of the war was to avoid a revolution in Piedmont, and to prevent the +establishment of a republic in Lombardy. No one was convinced or placated +by these assurances; far better as policy than so ignominious an attempt +at hedging would have been the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_106" +id="Page_106">[Pg.106]</a></span> acknowledgment to all the world of the +noble crime of patriotism. But, as Massimo d'Azeglio once observed, +Charles Albert had the incurable defect of thinking himself cunning. It +was, moreover, only too true that, although in these diplomatic +communications the King allowed the case against him to be stated with +glaring exaggeration, yet they contained an element of fact. He <i>was</i> +afraid of revolution at home; he <i>was</i> afraid of a Lombard republic; +these were not the only, nor were they the strongest, motives which drove +him into the war, but they were motives which, associated with deeper +causes, contributed to the disasters of the future.</p> + +<p>The Piedmontese force was composed of two <i>corps d'armée,</i> +the first under General Bava and the second under General Sonnaz: each +amounted to 24,000 men. The reserves, under the Duke of Savoy, numbered +12,000. Radetsky, at first (after strengthening the garrisons in the +fortresses), could not put into the field more than 40,000 men. As has +been stated, the King assumed the supreme command, which led to a constant +wavering between the original plan of General Bava, a capable officer, and +the criticisms and suggestions of the staff. The greatest mistake of all, +that of never bringing into the field at once more than about half the +army, was not without connection with the supposed necessity, based on +political reasons, of garrisoning places in the rear which might have been +safely left to the care of their national guards.</p> + +<p>Besides the royal army, there were in the field 17,000 Romans, 3000 +Modenese and Parmese, and 6000 Tuscans. There were also several companies +of Lombard volunteers, Free Corps, as they were called, which might have +been increased to almost any extent had they not been discouraged by the +King, who was believed to look coldly on all these <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg.107]</a></span> extraneous allies, +either from doubt of their efficiency, or from the wish to keep the whole +glory of the campaign for his Piedmontese army.</p> + +<p>The first engagements were on the line of the Mincio. On the 8th of +April the Sardinians carried the bridge of Goito after a fight of four +hours. The burning of the village of Castelnuovo on the 12th, as a +punishment for its having received Manara's band of volunteers, excited +great exasperation; many of the unfortunate villagers perished in the +flames, and this and other incidents of the same kind did much towards +awakening a more vivid hatred of the Austrians among the peasants.</p> + +<p>After easily gaining possession of the left (Venetian) bank of the +Mincio, Charles Albert employed himself in losing time over chimerical +operations with a view to taking the fortresses of Peschiera and Mantua, +now strongly garrisoned, and impregnable while their provisions lasted. +This object governed the conduct of the campaign, and caused the waste of +precious months during every day of which General Nugent, with his 30,000 +men, was approaching one step nearer from the mountains of Friuli, and +General Welden, with his 10,000, down the passes of Tyrol. If, instead of +playing at sieges, Charles Albert had cut off these reinforcements, +Radetsky would have been rendered powerless, and the campaign would have +had another termination. Never was there a war in which the adoption of +Napoleon's system of crushing his opponents one by one, when he could not +outnumber them if united, was more clearly indicated.</p> + +<p>General Durando crossed the Po on the 21st of April with 17,000 men, +partly Pontifical troops and partly volunteers, to which weak corps fell +the task of opposing Nugent's advance in Venetia. The colours of the +Pontifical troops were solemnly blessed before they left Rome, but <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg.108]</a></span> as +the order was only given to go to the frontier, and nothing was said, +though everything was understood, about crossing it, the Pope was +technically able to assert that the war was none of his making. His +ministry ventured to suggest to him that the situation was peculiar. Now +it was that Catholic Austria and Russia, herself schismatic, flourished in +the face of the Pope the portentous scare of a new schism. It is said that +the Pope's confessor, a firm Liberal, died just at this time, not without +suspicion of poison. Thoroughly alarmed in his spiritual capacity, the +Pope issued his Encyclical Letter of the 29th of April—when his +ministers and the whole country still hoped from day to day that he would +formally declare war—in which he protested that his sacred office +obliged him to embrace all nations in an equal paternal love. If his +subjects, he added, followed the example of the other Italians, he could +not help it: a half-hearted admission which could not mitigate the +indignation which the document called forth. With regard to Durando's +corps, the Pope did what was the best thing under the altered +circumstances; he sent L.C. Farini as envoy to the King of Sardinia, with +the request that he would take the Roman troops under his supreme command, +the Papal Government agreeing to continue the pay of such of them as +belonged to the regular army. Pius IX. made one last effort to help his +fellow-countrymen which people hardly noticed, so futile did it appear, +but which was probably made in profound seriousness. He wrote a letter to +the Emperor of Austria begging him to make all things right and pleasant +by voluntarily withdrawing from his Italian dominions. Popes had dictated +to sovereigns before now; was there not Canossa? Besides, if a miracle was +sought, why should not a miracle <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_109" +id="Page_109">[Pg.100]</a></span> happen? Pope and Emperor shaking hands +over a free Italy and a world reconciled—how delightful the +prospect! Who can doubt that when the Pope wrote that letter all the +beautiful dreams of Cardinal Mastai carried him once more away (it was the +last time) in an ecstasy of blissful hopes? 'Let not your Majesty take +offence,' ran the appeal, 'if we turn to your pity and religion, exhorting +you with fatherly affection to desist from a war which, powerless to +re-conquer the hearts of the Lombards and Venetians, can only lead to a +dark series of calamities. Nor let the generous Germanic nation take +offence if we invite it to abandon old hatreds, and convert into useful +relations of friendly neighbourhood a dominion which can be neither noble +nor happy if it depend only on the sword. Thus we trust in the nation +itself, honestly proud of its own nationality, to no longer make a point +of honour of sanguinary attempts against the Italian nation, but rather to +perceive that its true honour lies in recognising Italy as a sister.'</p> + +<p>The Emperor received the bearer of the letter with coldness, and +referred him to his ministers, who simply called his attention to the fact +that the Pope owed the Temporal Power to the same treaties as those which +gave Austria the possession of Lombardy and Venetia.</p> + +<p>The day after the publication of the Encyclical, that is to say, the +30th of April, the Piedmontese obtained their first important success in +the battle of Pastrengo, near Peschiera. Fighting from daybreak to +sundown, they drove the enemy back into Verona, with a loss of 1200 killed +and wounded. The Austrians were in rather inferior numbers; but the +victory was highly creditable to the hitherto untried army of Piedmont, +and showed that it contained excellent fighting material. It <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg.110]</a></span> was not +followed up, and might nearly as well have never been fought.</p> + +<p>The Neapolitan troops, of whom 41,000 were promised, 17,000 being on +the way already, were intended to reinforce Durando's corps in Venetia. +With the two or three battalions which Manin could spare from the little +army of Venice, the Italian forces opposed to Nugent's advance would have +been brought up to 60,000 men; in which case not even Charles Albert's +'masterly inactivity' could have given Austria the victory.</p> + +<p>The Neapolitan Parliament convoked under the new Constitution was to +meet on the 15th of May. A dispute had been going on for several days +between the Sovereign and the deputies about the form of the parliamentary +oath, the deputies wishing that the Chambers should be left free to amend +or alter the Statute, while the King desired that they should be bound by +oath to maintain it as it was presented to them. It was unwise to provoke +a disagreement which was sure to irritate the King. However, late on the +14th, he appeared to yield, and consented that the wording of the oath +should be referred to the discussion of Parliament itself. It seems that, +at the same time, he ordered the troops of the garrison to take up certain +positions in the city. A colonel of the National Guard raised the cry of +royal treason, calling upon the people to rise, which a portion of them +did, and barricades were constructed in the Toledo and other of the +principal streets. A more insane and culpable thing than this attempt at +revolution was never put in practice. It was worse even than that 20th of +May at Milan, which threw Eugene into the arms of Austria. Its +consequences were those which everyone could have foreseen—a two +days' massacre in the streets of Naples, begun by the troops and <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg.111]</a></span> +continued by the lazzaroni, who were allowed to pillage to their hearts' +content; the deputies dispersed with threats of violence, Parliament +dissolved before it had sat, the original Statute torn up, and (by far the +most important) the Neapolitan troops, now at Bologna, recalled to Naples. +This was the pretty work of the few hundred reckless rioters on the 15th +of May.</p> + +<p>Had not Pius IX. by this time repudiated all part in the war, the King +of the Two Sicilies would have thought twice before he recalled his +contingent, though the counsels of neutrality which he received from +another quarter—from Lord Palmerston in the name of the English +Government—strengthened his hand not a little in carrying out a +defection which was the direct ruin of the Italian cause. When the order +to return reached Bologna, the veteran patriot, General Pepe, who had been +summoned from exile to take the chief command, resolved to disobey, and +invited the rest to follow him. Nearly the whole of the troops were, +however, faithful to their military oath. The situation was horrible. The +choice lay between the country in danger and the King, who, false and +perjured though he might be, was still the head of the State, to whom each +soldier had sworn obedience. One gallant officer escaped from the dilemma +by shooting himself. Pepe, with a single battalion of the line, a company +of engineers, and two battalions of volunteers, went to Venice, where they +fought like heroes to the end.</p> + +<p>On the 27th of May, Radetsky, taking the offensive with about 40,000 +men, marched towards Mantua, near which was stationed the small Tuscan +corps, whose commander only received when too late General Bava's order to +retire from an untenable position. On the 29th the Austrians, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg.112]</a></span> in +overwhelming numbers, bore down upon the 6000 Tuscans at Montanara and +Curtatone, and defeated them after a resistance of six hours. The Tuscan +professor, Giuseppe Montanelli, fell severely wounded while holding the +dead body of his favourite pupil, but he recovered to show less discretion +in politics than he had shown valour in the field.</p> + +<p>Peschiera, where the supplies were exhausted, capitulated on the 30th, +and the day after found 22,000 Piedmontese ready to give Radetsky battle +at Goito, whence, after a severe contest, they drove him back to Mantua. +The Austrians lost 3000 out of 25,000 men. The honours of the day fell to +the Savoy brigade, which was worthy of its own fame and of the future King +of Italy, who was slightly wounded while leading it. Outwardly this seemed +the most fortunate period of the war for Charles Albert, but that had +already happened which was to cause the turning of the tide. Nugent, with +his 30,000 men, had joined Radetsky. His march across Venetia was harassed +by the inhabitants, who left him no peace, especially in the mountain +districts, but the poor little force of Romans and volunteers under +Durando and Ferrari was unable to seriously check his progress in the open +country, though he failed in the attempt to take the towns of Treviso and +Vicenza in his passage. The repulse of the Austrians, 18,000 strong, from +Vicenza on the 23rd of May, did great credit to Durando, who only had +10,000 men, most of them <i>Crociati</i>, as the volunteers were called, +whose ideas about fighting were original. It is hard to see how this +General could have done more than he did with the materials at his +disposal, or in what way he merited the abuse which was heaped upon him. +The case would have been very different if his hybrid force had been +supported by the Neapolitan army.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113"> +[Pg.113]</a></span> Nugent was ordered by Radetsky to let the intermediate +places alone, and to come on to him as fast as circumstances would admit. +The junction of their troops was, the Field-Marshal saw, of vital +necessity, but when this was achieved, and when Welden had also brought +his 15,000 fresh men from Tyrol, he turned his attention to Vicenza, +since, as long as that town remained in Durando's hands, Venetia would +still be free. He conceived the bold plan of making an excursion to +Vicenza with his complete army, while Charles Albert enjoyed the pleasant +illusion that the Austrians were in full retreat owing to his success at +Goito. The result of Radetsky's attack was not doubtful, but the defence +of the town on the 10th of June could not have been more gallant; the 3500 +Swiss, the Pontifical Carabineers, and the few other troops belonging to +the regular army of the Pope did wonders. Cialdini, the future general, +and Massimo d'Azeglio, the future prime minister, fought in this action, +and the latter was severely wounded. After several hours' resistance there +was nothing to be done but to hoist the white flag; Radetsky's object was +accomplished, the Venetian <i>terra firma</i> was practically once more in +the power of Austria. On the 14th he was back again at Verona without the +least harm having happened in his absence.</p> + +<p>Only military genius of the first order could now have saved the +Piedmontese, and what prevailed was the usual infatuation. Charles +Albert's lines were extended across forty miles of country, from Peschiera +to Goito. On the 23rd of July the Austrians fell upon their weakest point, +and obliged Sonnaz' division to cross over to the right bank of the +Mincio. On the 24th, the King succeeded in dislodging the Austrians from +Custozza after four hours' struggle; but next day, <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg.114]</a></span> which was spent +entirely in fighting, Radetsky retook Custozza, and obliged the King to +fall back on Villafranca. Now began the terrible retreat on Milan, +performed under the ceaseless fire of the pursuers, who attacked and +defeated the retreating army for the last time, close to Milan, on the 4th +of August. Radetsky had with him 45,000 men; Charles Albert's forces were +reduced to 25,000. He had lost 5000 since he recrossed the Mincio. He +begged for a truce, and, defeated and undone, he entered the city which he +had vowed should only receive him victorious.</p> + +<p>To suppose that anything could have been gained by subjecting Milan to +the horrors of a siege seems at this date the veriest madness; whatever +Charles Albert's sins were, the capitulation of Milan was not among them. +The members of a wild faction, however, demanded resistance to the death, +or the death of the King if he refused. It is their severest censure to +say that their pitiless fury is not excused even by the tragic fate of a +population which, having gained freedom unaided less than six months +before, saw itself given back to its ancestral foe by the man in whom it +had hoped as a saviour. They saw crimes where there were only blunders, +which had brought the King to a pass only one degree less wretched than +their own. Crushed, humiliated, his army half destroyed, his personal +ambition—to rate no higher the motive of his actions—trodden +in the dust; and now the name of traitor was hissed in his ears by those +for whom he had made these sacrifices.</p> + +<p>Stung to the heart, the King instructed General Bava to tell the +Milanese that if they were ready to bury themselves under the ruins of the +city, he and his sons were ready to do the same. But the Municipality, +convinced of the desperateness of the situation, had <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg.115]</a></span> already +entered into negotiations with Radetsky, by which the capitulation was +ratified. On this becoming known, the Palazzo Greppi, where Charles Albert +lodged, was the object of a new display of rage; an attempt was even made +to set it on fire. During the night, the King succeeded in leaving the +palace on foot, guarded by a company of Bersaglieri and accompanied by his +son, the Duke of Genoa, who, on hearing of his father's critical position, +disobeyed the order to stay with his regiment, and came into the city to +share his danger.</p> + +<p>The next day, the 6th of August, the Austrians reentered Milan. They +themselves said that the Milanese seemed distraught. The Municipality was +to blame for having concealed from the people the real state of things, by +publishing reports of imaginary victories. Had the unthinking fury of the +mob ended, as it so nearly ended, in an irreparable crime, the authors of +these falsehoods would have been, more than anyone else, responsible for +the catastrophe.</p> + +<p>The campaign of 1848 was finished. From the frontier, Charles Albert +issued a proclamation to his people, calling upon the Piedmontese to +render the common misfortunes less difficult to bear by giving his army a +brotherly reception. 'In its ranks,' he concluded, 'are my sons and I, +ready, as we all are, for new sacrifices, new hardships, or for death +itself for our beloved fatherland.'</p> + +<p>The political and diplomatic transactions connected with the war in +Lombardy were the subject after it closed of much discussion, and of some +violent recriminations. Even from the short account given in these pages, +it ought to be apparent that the supreme cause of disaster was simply bad +generalship. Contemporaries, however, judged <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg.116]</a></span> otherwise; if they were +monarchists, they attributed the failure to the want of whole-hearted +co-operation of the Provisional Governments of Lombardy with the +liberating King; if they were republicans, they attributed it to the +King's want of trust in the popular element, and anxiety lest, instead of +receiving an increase of territory, he should find himself confronted with +a new republic at his door. Both parties were so far correct that the +strain of double purposes, or, at least, of incompatible aspirations which +ran through the conduct of affairs, militated against a fortunate ending. +The Piedmontese Government, even had it wished, would have found it +difficult to adhere strictly to the programme of leaving all political +matters for discussion after the war. What actually happened was that the +union, under the not altogether attractive form of Fusion with Piedmont +(instead of in the shape of the formation of an Italian kingdom), was +effected at the end of June and beginning of July over the whole of +Lombardy and Venetia, including Venice, where, perhaps alone, the feeling +against it was not that of a party, but of the bulk of the population. +Manin shared that feeling, but his true patriotism induced him to push on +the Fusion in order to avoid the risk of civil war. He retired into +private life the day it was accomplished, only to become again by +acclamation Head of the State when the reverses of Sardinia obliged the +King's Government to renounce the whole of his scarcely—acquired +possessions, not excepting Modena, which had been the first, by a +spontaneous plebiscite, to elect him Sovereign.</p> + +<p>The diplomatic history of the war is chiefly the history of the efforts +of the English Cabinet to pull up a runaway horse. Lord Minto had been +sent to urge the Italian princes to grant those concessions which Austria +always said (and she was perfectly right) would lead to <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg.117]</a></span> a general +attack upon her power, but when the attack began, the British Government +strained every nerve to limit its extension and diminish its force. That +Lord Palmerston in his own mind disliked Austria, and would have been glad +to see North Italy free, does not alter the fact that he played the +Austrian game, and played it with success. He strongly advised every +Italian prince to abstain from the conflict, and it is further as certain +as anything can well be, that his influence, exercised through Lord +Normanby, alone averted French intervention in August 1848, when the +desperate state of things made the Italians willing to accept foreign aid. +What would have happened if the French had intervened it is interesting to +speculate, but impossible to decide. Their help was not desired, except as +a last resource, by any party in Italy, nor by any man of note except +Manin. The republicans wished Italy to owe her liberation to herself; +Charles Albert wished her to owe it to him. The King also feared a +republican propaganda, and was uneasy, not without reason, about Savoy and +Nice. Lamartine would probably have been satisfied with the former, but it +is doubtful if Charles Albert, though capable of giving up his crown for +Italy, would have been capable of renouncing the cradle of his race. When +Lamartine was succeeded by Cavaignac, perhaps Nice would have been +demanded as well as Savoy. That both the King and Mazzini were right in +mistrusting the sentiments of the French Government, is amply testified by +a letter written by Jules Bastide to the French representative at Turin, +in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs speaks of the danger to France of +the formation of a strong monarchy at the foot of the Alps, that would +tend to assimilate the rest of Italy, adding the significant words: 'We +could admit the unity of <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_118" id= +"Page_118">[Pg.118]</a></span> Italy on the principle and in the form of a +federation of independent states, each balancing the other, but never a +unity which placed the whole of Italy under the dominion of one of these +states.'</p> + +<p>Whether, in spite of all this, a political mistake was not made in not +accepting French aid when it was first offered (in the spring of 1848) +must remain an open question. When the French came eleven years later, +they were actuated by no purer motives, but who would say that Cavour, +instead of seeking, should have refused the French alliance?</p> + +<p>One other point has still to be noticed: the proposal made by Austria +in the month of May to give up Lombardy unconditionally if she might keep +Venetia, which was promised a separate administration and a national army. +Nothing shows the state of mind then prevailing in a more distinct light +than the scorn with which this offer was everywhere treated. Lord +Palmerston declined to mediate on such a basis 'because there was no +chance of the proposal being entertained,' which proved correct, as when +it was submitted to the Provisional Government of Milan, it was not even +thought worth taking into consideration. No one would contemplate the +sacrifice of Venice by a new Campo Formio.</p> + +<p>Far, indeed, was Austria the victorious in August from Austria the +humiliated in May. On the 9th of August, Hess and Salasco signed the +armistice between the lately contending Powers. The next day the Emperor +Ferdinand returned to his capital, from which he had been chased in the +spring. He might well congratulate himself upon the marvellous recovery of +his empire; but the revolution in Hungary was yet to be quelled, and +another rising at Vienna in October tried his nerves, which were never of +the strongest. On the 2nd of December he <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg.119]</a></span> abdicated in favour of his +young nephew, the Archduke Francis Joseph, who had been brought face to +face more than once on the Mincio with the Duke of Savoy, whom he rivalled +in personal courage.</p> + +<p>On the 10th of December, another event occurred which placed a new +piece on the European chess-board: Louis Napoleon was elected to the +Presidency of the French Republic.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg.120]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_VII"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER VII</h3> + +<h4>THE DOWNFALL OF THRONES</h4> + +<h5>1848-1849</h5> + +<h5>Garibaldi Arrives—Venice under Manin—The Dissolution of +the Temporal Power—Republics at Rome and Florence.</h5> + +<p><br /> + While the remnant of the Piedmontese army recrossed the bridge over the +Ticino at Pavia, crushed, though not though want of valour, outraged in +the person of its King, surely the saddest vanquished host that ever +retraced in sorrow the path it had traced in the wildest joy, a few +thousand volunteers in Lombardy still refused to lay down their arms or to +recognise that, after the capitulation of Milan, all was lost. Valueless +as a fact, their defiance of Austria had value as a prophecy, and its +prophetic aspect comes more clearly into view when it is seen that the +leader of the little band was Garibaldi, while its standard-bearer was +Mazzini. These two had lately met for the first time since 1833, when +Garibaldi, or 'Borel,' as he was called in the ranks of 'Young Italy,' +went to Marseilles to make the acquaintance of the head and brain of the +society which he had joined, as has been mentioned, on the banks of the +Black Sea.</p> + +<p>'When I was young and had only aspirations,' said Garibaldi in London +in April 1864, 'I sought out a man who could give me counsel and guide my +youthful years; I sought him as the thirsty man seeks water. This man I +found; he alone kept alive the sacred fire, he alone watched <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg.121]</a></span> while all +the world slept; he has always remained my friend, full of love for his +country, full of devotion for the cause of freedom: this man is Joseph +Mazzini.'</p> + +<p>The words spoken then—when the younger patriot was the chosen +hero of the greatest of free nations, while the elder, still misunderstood +by almost all, was shunned and calumniated, and even called 'the worst +enemy of Italy'—gave one fresh proof, had one been wanting, that, +though there have been more flawless characters than Garibaldi, never in a +human breast beat a more generous heart. Politically, there was nearly as +much divergence between Mazzini and Garibaldi as between Mazzini and +Cavour; the master thought the pupil lacked ideality, the pupil thought +the master lacked practicalness; but they were at one in the love of their +land and in the desire to serve her.</p> + +<p>On parting with Mazzini in 1833, Garibaldi, then captain of a sailing +vessel, went to Genoa and enrolled himself as a common sailor in the Royal +Piedmontese Navy. The step, strange in appearance, was certainly taken on +Mazzini's advice, and the immediate purpose was doubtless to make converts +for 'Young Italy' among the marines. Had Garibaldi been caught when the +ruthless persecution of all connected with 'Young Italy' set in, he would +have been shot offhand, as were all those who were found dabbling with +politics in the army and navy. He escaped just in time, and sailed for +South America.</p> + +<p>The <i>Gazzetta Piemontese</i> of the 17th of June 1834 published the +sentence of death passed upon him, with the rider which declared him +exposed to public vengeance 'as an enemy of the State, and liable to all +the penalties of a brigand of the first category.' He saw the paper; and +it was the first time that he or anyone else had seen the <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg.122]</a></span> name of +Giuseppe Garibaldi in print; a name of which Victor Emmanuel would one day +say that 'it filled the furthest ends of the earth.'</p> + +<p>Profitable to Italy, over nearly every page of whose recent history +might be written 'out of evil cometh forth good,' was the banishment which +threw Garibaldi into his romantic career of the next twelve years between +the Amazon and the Plata. Soldier of fortune who did not seek to enrich +himself; soldier of freedom who never aimed at power, he always meant to +turn to account for his own country the experience gained in the art of +war in that distant land, where he rapidly became the centre of a legend, +almost the origin of a myth. Antique in simplicity, singleness, +superabundance of life, and in a sort of naturalism which is not of +to-day; unselfconscious, trustful in others, forgiving, incapable of fear, +abounding in compassion, Garibaldi's true place is not in the aggregation +of facts which we call history, but in the apotheosis of character which +we call the <i>Iliad</i>, the <i>Mahabharata</i>, the <i>Edda</i>, the +cycles of Arthur and of Roland, and the <i>Romancero del Cid</i>.</p> + +<p>In childhood he rescued a drowning washerwoman; in youth he nursed men +dying of cholera; as a veteran soldier he passed the night among the rocks +of Caprera hunting for a lamb that was lost. No amount of habit could +remove the repugnance he felt at uttering the word 'fire.' Yet this gentle +warrior, when his career was closed and he lay chained to his bed of pain, +endorsed his memoirs with the Spanish motto: 'La guerra es la verdadera +vida del hombre.' War was the veritable life of Garibaldi; war, not +conspiracy; war, not politics; war, not, alas! model farming, for which +the old chief fancied in his later years that he had discovered in himself +a vocation.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123"> +[Pg.123]</a></span> Riding the wild horses and chasing the wild cattle of +the Pampas, his eyes covering the immense spaces untrodden by man, this +corsair of five-and-twenty drank deep of the innocent pleasures of untamed +nature, when not occupied in fighting by land or sea, with equal fortune; +or rather, perhaps, with greater fortune and greater proof of inborn +genius as commander of the naval campaign of the Paran[=a] than as +defender of Monte Video. No adventures were wanting to him; he was even +imprisoned and tortured. In South America he found the one woman worthy to +bear his name, the lion-hearted Anita, whom he carried off, she +consenting, from her father and the man to whom her father had betrothed +her. Garibaldi in after years expressed such deep contrition for the act +which bore Anita away from the quiet life in store for her, and plunged +her into hardships which only ended when she died, that, misinterpreting +his remorse, many supposed the man from whom he took her to have been +already her husband. It was not so. Shortly before the Church of San +Francisco at Monte Video was burnt down (some twenty years ago), the +marriage register of Garibaldi and Anita was found in its archives, and a +legal copy was made. In it she is described as 'Doña Ana Maria de +Jesus, unmarried daughter of Don Benito Rivevio de Silva, of Laguna, in +Brazil.' The bridegroom, who during all his American career had scarcely +clothes to cover him, parted with his only possession, an old silver +watch, to pay the priest's fees. Head of the Italian Legion, he only took +the rations of a common soldier, and as candles were not included in the +rations, he sat in the dark. Someone reported this to the Government, who +sent him a present of £20, half of which he gave to a poor +widow.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124"> +[Pg.124]</a></span> When the first rumours that something was preparing in +Italy reached Monte Video, Garibaldi wrote a letter offering his services +to the Pope, still hailed as Champion of Freedom, and soon embarked +himself for the Old World, with eighty-five of his best soldiers, among +whom was his beloved friend, Francesco Anzani. Giacomo Medici had been +despatched a little in advance to confer with Mazzini. At starting, the +Legion knew nothing of the revolution in Milan and Venice, or of Charles +Albert having taken the field. Great was their wonder, therefore, on +reaching Gibraltar, to see hoisted on a Sardinian ship a perfectly new +flag, never beheld by them out of dreams—the Italian tricolor.</p> + +<p>So Garibaldi returned at forty-one years of age to the country where +the sentence of death passed upon him had never been revoked. Before the +law he was still 'a brigand of the first category.' Nor was he quite sure +that he would not be arrested, and, as a precaution, when he cast anchor +in the harbour of his native Nice, he ran up the Monte Videan colours. It +was needless. Throngs of people crowded the quays to welcome home the +Ligurian captain, who had done great things over sea. Anita was there; she +had preceded him to Europe with their three children, Teresita, Menotti +and Ricciotti. There, also, was his old mother, who never ceased to be +beautiful, the 'Signora Rosa,' as the Nizzards called her. She was almost +a woman of the people, but the simple dignity of her life made all treat +her as a superior being. To her prayers, while she lived, Garibaldi +believed that he owed his safety in so many perils, and after her death +the soldiers used to say that on the eve of battles he walked apart +communing with her spirit.</p> + +<p>From Nice, Garibaldi went to Genoa, where he took a last leave of his +friend Anzani, who returned from exile not to fight, as he had hoped, +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg.125]</a></span> +but to die. The day before he expired, Medici arrived at Genoa; he was +very angry with the Chief, in consequence of some disagreement as to the +place of landing. Anzani said to him entreatingly: 'Do not be hard, +Medici, on Garibaldi; he is a predestined man: a great part of the future +of Italy is in his hands.' The counsel from dying lips sank deep into +Medici's heart; he often disagreed with Garibaldi, but to his last day he +never quarrelled with him again. Long years after, if friction arose +between Garibaldi and his King, it was Medici's part to throw oil on the +waters.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi sought an interview with Charles Albert, and offered him his +arms and the arms of his Legion, 'not unused to war.' Pope or prince, +little it mattered to him who the saviour of Italy should be. But Charles +Albert, though he was polite, merely referred his visitor to his +ministers, and the inestimable sword of the hero went begging for a month +or more, till the Provisional Government of Milan gave him the command of +the few thousand volunteers with whom we saw him at the conclusion of the +campaign. The war was over before he had a chance of striking a blow. His +indignant cry of defiance could not be long sustained, for Garibaldi never +drove men to certain and useless slaughter; when the real position of +things became known to him, he led his band over the Swiss confines, and +bid them wait for a better and not distant day.</p> + +<p>Under Manin's wise rule, which was directed solely to the preservation +of peace within the city, and resistance to the enemy at its gates, Venice +remained undaunted by the catastrophes in Lombardy, after all the Venetian +<i>terra firma</i> had been restored to Austria. (Even the heroic little +mountain fort of Osopo in the Friuli was compelled to capitulate on the +12th of October.) The blockade of the city on the <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg.126]</a></span> lagunes did not prevent +Venice from acting not only on the defensive but on the offensive; in the +sortie of the 27th of October, 2500 Venetians drove the Austrians from +Mestre with severe losses, carrying back six captured guns, which the +people dragged in triumph to the Doge's palace. A cabin-boy named Zorzi +was borne on the shoulders of the soldiers enveloped in the Italian flag; +his story was this: the national colours, floating from the mast of the +pinnace on which he served, were detached by a ball and dropped into the +water; the child sprang in after them, and with a shout of <i>Viva +l'Italia,</i> fixed them again at the masthead under a sharp fire. Zorzi +was, of course, the small hero of the hour, especially among the women. +General Pepe commanded the sortie, with Ulloa, Fontana and Cosenz as his +lieutenants; Ugo Bassi, the patriot monk of Bologna, marched at the head +of a battalion with the crucifix, the only arms he ever carried, in his +hand. The success cost Italy dear, as Alessandro Poerio, poet and patriot, +the brother of Baron Carlo Poerio of Naples, lost his life by a wound +received at Mestre. But the confidence of Venice in her little army was +increased a hundredfold.</p> + +<p>The most important event of the autumn of 1848 was the gradual but +continuous break-up of the Papal authority in Rome. The meeting of the new +Parliament only served to accentuate the want of harmony between the Pope +and his ministers; assassinations were frequent; what law there was was +administered by the political clubs. In Count Terenzio Mamiani, Pius IX. +found a Prime Minister who, for eloquence and patriotism, could hardly be +rivalled, but hampered as he was by the opposition he encountered from the +Sovereign, and by the absence of any real or solid moderate constitutional +party in the Chamber of <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_127" id= +"Page_127">[Pg.127]</a></span> Deputies, Mamiani could carry out very few +of the improvements he desired to effect, and in August he retired from an +impracticable task, to be replaced by men of less note and talent than +himself.</p> + +<p>Wishing to create fresh complications for the Pope, the Austrians +invaded the Legations, regardless of his protests, and after the fall of +Milan, General Welden advanced on Bologna, where, however, his forces were +so furiously attacked by the inhabitants and the few carabineers who were +all the troops in the town, that they were dislodged from the strong +position they had taken up on the Montagnola, the hill which forms the +public park, and obliged to fly beyond the city walls. Radetsky +disapproved of Welden's movements on Bologna, and ordered him not to +return to the assault.</p> + +<p>Had the Austrians returned and massacred half the population of +Bologna, the Pope might have been saved. When Rome heard that the stormy +capital of Romagna was up in arms, once more, for a moment, there were +united counsels. 'His Holiness,' ran the official proclamation, 'was +firmly resolved to repel the Austrian invasion with all the means which +his State and the well-regulated enthusiasm of his people could supply.' +The Chamber confirmed the ministerial proposal to demand French help +against Austria. But all this brave show of energy vanished with the +pressing danger, and Bologna, which, by its manly courage, had galvanised +the whole bloodless body-politic, now hastened the hour of dissolution by +lapsing into a state of deplorable anarchy, the populace using the arms +with which they had driven out the Austrians, to establish a reign of +murder and pillage. L.C. Farini restored something like order, but the +general weakness of the power of government became every day more +apparent.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128"> +[Pg.128]</a></span> The Pope made a last endeavour to avert the +catastrophe by calling to his counsels Count Pellegrino Rossi, a man of +unyielding will, who was as much opposed to demagogic as to theocratic +government. Rossi, having been compromised when very young in Murat's +enterprises, lived long abroad, and attained the highest offices under +Louis Philippe, who sent him to Rome to arrange with the Pope the delicate +question of the expulsion of the Jesuits from France, which he conducted +to an amicable settlement, though one not pleasing to the great Society. +Not being one of those who change masters as they change their boots +according to the state of the roads, the ambassador retired from the +French service when Louis Philippe was dethroned. As minister to the Pope, +he made his influence instantly felt; measures were taken to restore order +in the finances, discipline in the army, public security in the streets, +and method and activity in the Government offices. The tax on +ecclesiastical property was enforced; fomenters of anarchy, even though +they wore the garb of patriots, and perhaps honestly believed themselves +to be such, were vigorously dealt with. If anyone could have given the +Temporal Power a new lease of life, it would have been a man so gifted and +so devoted as Pellegrino Rossi, but the entire forces, both of subversion +and of reaction, were against him, and most of all was against him the +fatality of dates. Not at human bidding do the dead arise and walk. The +most deeply to be regretted event that happened in the course of the +Italian revolution gave his inevitable failure the appearance of a +fortuitous accident.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129"> +[Pg.129]</a></span> Parliament, which had been prorogued on the 26th of +August, was to open on the 15th of November. Anarchy, black and red, was +in the air. Though disorders were expected, Rossi made no provision for +keeping the space clear round the palace where Parliament met; knots of +men, with sinister faces, gathered in all parts of the square. Rossi was +warned in the morning that an attempt would be made to assassinate him; he +was entreated not to go to the Chamber, to which he replied that it was +his duty to be present, and that if people wanted his blood they would +have it sooner or later, whether he took precautions or not. Two policemen +to keep the passage free when he reached the Chamber would, nevertheless, +have saved his life. As he walked from his carriage to the stairs, an +unknown individual pushed against him on the right side, and when he +turned to see who it was, the assassin plunged a dagger in his throat. He +fell, bathed in blood, to expire without uttering a word.</p> + +<p>In the Chamber, the deputies proceeded to business; not one raised an +indignant protest against a crime which violated the independence of the +representatives of the nation. The mere understanding of what liberty +means is absolutely wanting in most populations when they first emerge +from servitude.</p> + +<p>After the craven conduct of the deputies, it is no wonder if the dregs +of the people went further, and paraded the streets singing songs in +praise of the assassin. The Pope summoned the Presidents of the two +Chambers and Marco Minghetti, whom he requested to form a new ministry. +But the time for regular proceeding was past; the city was in the hands of +the mob, which imposed on the Pope the acceptance of a ministry of +nonentities nominated by it. The Swiss Guard fired on the crowd which +attempted to gain access to the Quirinal; the crowd, reinforced by the +Civic Guard, returned to the attack and fired <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg.130]</a></span> against the walls, a +stray shot killing Monsignor Palma, who was in one of the rooms. The Pope +decided on flight. He left Rome in disguise during the evening of the 25th +of November. After gaining the Neapolitan frontier, he took the road to +Gaeta. The illusion of the Pope Liberator ended with the Encyclical; the +illusion of the Constitutional Pope ended with the flight to Gaeta. Pius +IX. was only in a limited degree responsible for his want of success, +because the task he had set before him was the quadrature of the circle in +politics.</p> + +<p>The weight of a less qualified responsibility rests upon him for his +subsequent actions. On the 3rd of December Parliament voted a proposal to +send a deputation to the Pope, praying him to return to his States. To +give the deputation greater authority, the Municipality of Rome proposed +that the Syndic, the octogenarian Prince Corsini, should accompany it. It +also comprised two ecclesiastics, and thus constituted, it left Rome for +Gaeta on the 5th of December. On the borders of the Neapolitan kingdom its +passage was barred by the police, and it was obliged to retrace its steps +to Terracina. Here the deputation drew up a letter to Cardinal Antonelli +(no longer the patriotic minister of the spring), in which an audience +with the Sovereign Pontiff was respectfully requested. The answer came +that the Pope would not receive the deputation. It was an answer that he +was at liberty to make, but it should have meant abdication. If, called +back by the will of the Parliament of his own making, the Sovereign +deigned not even to receive the bearers of the invitation, in what way did +he contemplate resuming the throne? It was only too easy to guess. The +Head of Christendom had become a convert of King Ferdinand of Naples, +otherwise Bomba. By a path strewn with the sinister flowers of war did +Pius IX. meditate returning to his subjects—by that path and no +other.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131"> +[Pg.131]</a></span> The Galetti-Sterbini ministry, appointed by the Pope +under popular pressure a few days before his departure, remained in charge +of affairs, somewhat strengthened by the adhesion of Terenzio Mamiani as +Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mamiani at first declined to form part of the +ministry, but joined it afterwards with self-sacrificing patriotism, in +the hope of saving things from going to complete rack and ruin during the +interregnum caused by the withdrawal of the Head of the State. He only +retired from the ungrateful office when he saw the imminence of a radical +change in the form of government, which was not desired by him any more +than it had been by Rossi.</p> + +<p>The mass of the population of the Roman States had desired such a +change ever since the days of Gregory; the temporary enthusiasm for Pius, +if it arrested the flow of the stream, did not prevent the waters from +accumulating beyond the dyke. One day the dyke would burst, and the waters +sweep all before them.</p> + +<p>A Constituent Assembly was convoked for the 5th of February 1849. The +elections, which took place on the 21st of January, were on this basis: +every citizen of more than twenty-one years was allowed to vote; every +citizen over twenty-five could become a deputy; the number of deputies was +fixed at two hundred; a candidate who received less than 500 votes would +not be elected. On the 9th of February, the Constituent Assembly voted the +downfall of the Temporal Power (free exercise of his spiritual functions +being, at the same time, assured to the Supreme Pontiff), and the +establishment of a republican form of government. The Roman Republic was +proclaimed from the Capitol.</p> + +<p>Ten votes were given against the republic. No government ever came +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg.132]</a></span> +into existence in a more strictly legal manner. Had it not represented the +true will of the people, the last Roman Commonwealth could not have left +behind so glorious, albeit brief, a record.</p> + +<p>A youthful poet, descendant of the Doges of Genoa, Goffredo Mameli, +whose 'Fratelli d'Italia' was the battle-hymn to which Italy marched, +wrote these three words to Mazzini: 'Roma, Repubblica, Venite.' So Mazzini +came to Rome, which confided her destinies to him, as she had once +confided them to the Brescian Arnold and to Cola di Rienzi. Not +Arnold—not Rienzi in his nobler days—dreamed a more sublime +dream of Roman liberty than did Giuseppe Mazzini, or more nearly wrote +down that dream in facts.</p> + +<p>Originally the executive power was delegated to a committee, but this +was changed to a Triumvirate, the Triumvirs being Armellini, Saffi and +Mazzini. Mazzini's mind and will directed the whole.</p> + +<p>On the 18th of February, Cardinal Antonelli demanded in the Pope's name +the armed intervention of France, Austria, Spain and Naples, 'as in this +way alone can order be restored in the States of the Church, and the Holy +Father re-established in the exercise of his supreme authority, in +compliance with the imperious exigencies of his august and sacred +character, the interests of the universal Church, and the peace of +nations. In this way he will be enabled to retain the patrimony which he +received at his accession, and transmit it in its integrity to his +successors.'</p> + +<p>The Pope, who could not bring himself to stain his white robes with the +blood of the enemies of Italy, called in four armies to shoot down his +subjects, because in no other way could he recover his lost throne.</p> + +<p>Pius IX. was the twenty-sixth Pontiff who called the foreigner into +Italy.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133"> +[Pg.133]</a></span> The final conquest of the Pope by the party of +universal reaction could only be effected by his isolation from all but +one set of influences; this is precisely what happened at Gaeta. There are +reasons for thinking that his choice of the hospitality of the King of the +Two Sicilies, rather than that of France or Spain or Sardinia, was the +result of an intrigue in which Count Spaur, the Bavarian minister who +represented the interests of Austria in Rome after that power withdrew her +ambassador, played a principal part. Even after Pius arrived at Gaeta, it +is said that he talked of it as the first stage of a longer journey. He +had never shown any liking for the Neapolitan Bourbons, and the +willingness which he expressed to Gioberti to crown Charles Albert King of +Italy if his arms were successful, was probably duly appreciated by +Ferdinand II. To save the Pope from absorption by the retrograde party, +and to avoid the certainty of a foreign invasion, Gioberti, who became +Prime Minister of Piedmont in November 1848, was anxious to occupy the +Roman states with Sardinian troops immediately after the Pope's flight, +when his subjects still recognised his sovereignty. Gioberti resigned +because this policy was opposed by Rattazzi and other of his colleagues in +the ministry. It would have been a difficult <i>rôle</i> to play; +Sardinia, while endeavouring to checkmate the reaction, might have become +its instrument. The failure of Gioberti's plan cannot be regretted, but +his forecast of what would happen if it were not attempted proved to be +correct.</p> + +<p>Soon after the arrival of his exalted guest, King Ferdinand with his +family, a great number of priests, and a strong escort, moved his +residence from the capital to Gaeta. The modified Constitution, +substituted for the first charter after the events of the 15th of May, was +still nominally in force; Parliament had met during the summer, <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg.134]</a></span> but +the King solved the riddle of governing through his ministers, on purely +retrograde principles, without paying more heed to the representatives of +the nations than to the benches on which they sat. Prorogued on the 5th of +September, Parliament was to have met on the 30th of November, but when +that date approached, it was prorogued again to the 1st of February. 'Our +misery has reached such a climax,' wrote Baron Carlo Poerio, 'that it is +enough to drive us mad. Every faculty of the soul revolts against the +ferocious reactionary movement, the more disgraceful from its execrable +hypocrisy. We are governed by an oligarchy; the only article maintained is +that respecting the taxes. The laws have ceased to exist; the Statute is +buried; a licentious soldiery rules over everything, and the press is +constantly employed to asperse honest men. The lives of the deputies are +menaced. Another night of St Bartholomew is threatened to all who will not +sell body and soul.' Ferdinand only waited till he had recovered +substantial hold over Sicily to do away with even the fiction of +parliamentary government. Messina had fallen in September, though not till +half the city was in flames, the barbarous cruelties practised on the +inhabitants after the surrender exciting the indignation of the English +and French admirals who witnessed the bombardment. This was the first step +to the subjection of Sicily, but not till after Syracuse and Catania fell +did the King feel that there was no further cause for anxiety—the +taking of the capital becoming a mere question of time. He was so much +pleased at the fall of Catania that he had a mock representation of the +siege performed at Gaeta in presence of the Pope and of half the sacred +college.</p> + +<p>On the 13th of March Prince Torelli handed the President of the <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg.135]</a></span> +Neapolitan Chamber of Deputies a sealed packet which contained a royal +decree dissolving Parliament. Naples was once more under an irresponsible +despotism. The lazzaroni of both the lower and higher classes, if by +lazzaroni may be understood the born allies of ignorance, idleness and +bigotry, rejoiced and were glad. Nor were they few. Unlike the Austrians +in the north, Ferdinand had his party; the 'fidelity of his subjects' of +which he boasted, was not purely mythical. Whether, considering its basis, +it was much to boast of, need not be discussed.</p> + +<p>In March, the happy family at Gaeta was increased by a new arrival. Had +he been better advised, Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, would have never +gone to breathe that malarious atmosphere. He had played no conjuror's +tricks with his promises to his people; Austrian though he was, he had +really acted the part of an Italian prince, and there was nothing to show +that he had not acted it sincerely. But a persistent bad luck attended his +efforts. Though the ministers appointed by him included men as +distinguished as the Marquis Gino Capponi, Baron Ricasoli and Prince +Corsini, they failed in winning a strong popular support. Leghorn, where +the population, unlike that of the rest of Tuscany, is by nature +turbulent, broke into open revolution. In the last crisis, the Grand Duke +entrusted the government to the extreme Liberals, Montanelli the +professor, and Guerrazzi the novelist; both were honourable men, and +Guerrazzi was thought by many to be a man of genius. The vigorous rhetoric +of his <i>Assedio di Firenze</i> had warmed the patriotism of many young +hearts. But, as statesmen, the only talent they showed was for upsetting +any <i>régime</i> with which they were connected.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136"> +[Pg.136]</a></span> The Grand Duke was asked to convoke a Constituent +Assembly, following the example of Rome. If every part of Italy were to do +the same, the constitution and form of government of the whole country +could be settled by a convention of the various assemblies. The idea was +worthy of respect because it pointed to unity; but in view of the existing +situation, Tuscany's solitary adhesion would hardly have helped the +nation, while it was accompanied by serious risks to the state. The Grand +Duke seemed about to yield to the proposal, but, on receiving a strong +protest from the Pope, he refused to do so on the ground that it would +expose himself and his subjects to the terrors of ecclesiastical censure. +He still remained in Tuscany, near Viareggio, till he was informed that a +band of Leghornese had set out with the intention of capturing his person. +Then he left for Gaeta on board the English ship <i>Bull Dog.</i> The +republic had been already proclaimed at Florence, with Montanelli and +Guerrazzi as its chief administrators. It succeeded in pleasing no one. +Civil war was more than once at the threshhold of Florence, for the +peasants rose in armed resistance to the new government. In less than two +months the restoration of the Grand. Ducal authority was accomplished +almost of itself. Unfortunately, the Grand Duke who was to come back was +not the same man as he who went away. The air of Gaeta did its work.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137"> +[Pg.137]</a></span></p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_VIII"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER VIII</h3> + +<h4>AT BAY</h4> + +<h5>1849</h5> + +<h5>Novara—Abdication of Charles Albert—Brescia +crushed—French Intervention—The Fall of Rome—The Fall of +Venice.</h5> + +<p><br /> + In the spring of 1848, a date might be found when every Italian ruler +except the Duke of Modena wore the appearance of a friend to freedom and +independence. In the spring of 1849 no Italian prince preserved that +appearance except the King of Sardinia. Many causes contributed to the +elimination, but most of all the logic of events. It was a case of the +survival of the fittest. What seemed a calamity was a step in advance.</p> + +<p>Early in March, the Marquis Pallavicini, prisoner of Spielberg, had a +long interview with Charles Albert. They sat face to face talking over +Italian matters, and the King said confidently that the army was now +flourishing; if the die were cast anew, they would win. At parting he +embraced the Lombard patriot with the words: 'Dear Pallavicini, how glad I +am to have seen you again! You and I had always the same thought; the +independence of Italy was the first dream of my youth; it is my dream +still, it will be till I die.'</p> + +<p>Some characters grow small in misfortune, others grow great. The +terrible scene at the Palazzo Greppi, the charge of treason, the <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg.138]</a></span> +shouts of 'death,' had left only one trace on Charles Albert's mind: the +burning desire to deliver his accusers.</p> + +<p>The armistice was denounced on the 12th of March, a truce of eight days +being allowed before the recommencement of hostilities. There is such a +thing in politics as necessary madness, and it may be doubted if the +Sardinian war of 1849 was not this thing. The programme of <i>fare da +sè</i> had now to be carried out in stern earnest. Sardinia stood +alone, neither from south of the Apennines nor from north of the Alps +could help be hoped for. France, which was meditating quite another sort +of intervention, refused the loan even of a general. 'They were not going +to offend Austria to please Piedmont,' said the French Cabinet. Worse than +this, the army was not in the flourishing state of which the King had +spoken. The miseries of the retreat, but infinitely more, the incidents of +Milan, though wiped out by the King from his own memory, were vividly +recollected by all ranks. Affection was not the feeling with which the +Piedmontese soldiers regarded the 'fratelli Lombardi.' Did anyone beside +the King believe that this army, which had lost faith in its cause, in its +leaders and in itself, was going to beat Radetsky? The old Field-Marshal +might well show the wildest joy when the denunciation of the armistice was +communicated to him. And yet the higher expediency demanded that the +sacrifice of Piedmont and of her King for Italy should be consummated.</p> + +<p>Rattazzi announced the coming campaign to the Chambers on the 14th of +March; the news was well received; there was a general feeling that, +whatever happened, the present situation could not be prolonged. With +regard to the numbers they could put in the field, Austria and <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg.139]</a></span> +Sardinia were evenly balanced, each having about 80,000 disposable men. +The request for a French marshal having been refused, the chief command +was given to Chrzanowski, a Pole, who did not know Italian, had not +studied the theatre of the war, and was so little favoured by nature that, +to the impressionable Italians, his appearance seemed ludicrous. This +deplorable appointment was made to satisfy the outcry against Piedmontese +generalship; as if it was not enough, the other Polish general, Ramorino, +accused of treachery by the revolutionists in 1832, but now praised to the +skies by the democratic party, was placed in command of the fifth or +Lombard division.</p> + +<p>Though Radetsky openly gave the word 'To Turin!' Chrzanowski seems to +have failed to realise that the Austrians intended to invade Piedmont. He +ordered Ramorino, however, with his 8000 Lombards, to occupy the fork +formed by the Po and the Ticino, so as to defend the bridge at Pavia, if, +by chance, any fraction of the enemy tried to cross it. What Ramorino did +was to place his division on the right bank of the Po, and to destroy the +bridge of boats at Mezzana Corte <i>between</i> himself and the enemy. The +Austrians crossed the Ticino in the night of the 20th of April, not with a +fraction, but with a complete army. Ramorino was deprived of his command, +and was afterwards tried by court-martial and shot. Whether his treason +was intentional or involuntary, it is certain that, had he stemmed the +Austrian advance even for half a day, the future disasters, if not +averted, would not have come so rapidly, because the Piedmontese would +have been forewarned. On the evening of the 21st, General D'Aspre, with +15,000 men, took a portion of the Sardinian army unawares near Mortara, +and, owing to the scattered distribution of the Piedmontese, who would +have <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140"> +[Pg.140]</a></span> outnumbered him had they been concentrated, he +succeeded in forcing his way into Mortara by nightfall. The moral effect +of this first reverse was bad, but Chrzanowski rashly decided staking the +whole fate of the campaign in a field-day, for which purpose he gathered +what troops he could collect at La Biccocca, a hill capped with a village +about a mile and a half from Novara. Not more than 50,000 men were +collected; some had already deserted, and 20,000 were doing nothing on the +other side of the Po.</p> + +<p>Towards eleven o'clock D'Aspre arrived, and lost no time in beginning +the attack. He sent post-haste to Radetsky, Appel and Thurn to bring all +the reinforcements in their power as fast as possible. D'Aspre's daring +was rewarded by his carrying La Biccocca at about mid-day, but the Duke of +Genoa retook the position with the aid of the valorous 'Piemonte' brigade, +and by two p.m. D'Aspre's brave soldiers were so thoroughly beaten, that +nothing could have saved his division from destruction, as he afterwards +admitted, had Chrzanowski joined in the pursuit instead of staying behind +with more than half the army, in accordance with a preconceived plan of +remaining on the defensive.</p> + +<p>At two o'clock on the 23rd of March, the news started on the wings of +the wind, and, as great news will do, swiftly reached every part of the +waiting country, that the Sardinians were getting the best of it, that the +cause was saved. Men who are not very old remember this as the first +strong sensation of their lives—this, and its sequel.</p> + +<p>Appel and Thurn, and Wratislaw and the old Field-Marshal were on the +march, and by four o'clock they were pouring their fresh troops upon the +Piedmontese, who had not known how to profit by their success. <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg.141]</a></span> +Heroism such as few battlefields have seen, disorder such as has rarely +disgraced a beaten army, were displayed side by side in Charles Albert's +ranks. At eight in the evening, the whole Sardinian army retired into +Novara; the Austrians bivouacked on La Biccocca. The Sardinians had lost +4000 in dead and wounded; the losses of the victors were a thousand +less.</p> + +<p>All the day long the King courted death, pressing forward where the +balls fell like hail and the confusion was at its height, with the answer +of despair to the devoted officers who sought to hold him back: 'Let me +die, this is my last day.' But death shuns the seeker. Men fell close +beside him, but no charitable ball struck his breast. In the evening he +said to his generals: 'We have still 40,000 men, cannot we fall back on +Alessandria and still make an honourable stand?' They told him that it +could not be done. Radetsky was asked on what terms he would grant an +armistice; he replied: 'The occupation of a large district in Piedmont, +and the heir to the throne as a hostage.' Then Charles Albert knew what he +must do. 'For eighteen years,' he said, 'I have made every effort for the +good of the people; I grieve to see that my hopes have failed, not so much +for myself as for the country. I have not found death on the field of +battle as I ardently desired; perhaps my person is the only obstacle to +obtaining juster terms. I abdicate the crown in favour of my son, Victor +Emmanuel.' And turning to the Duke of Savoy he said: 'There is your +King.'</p> + +<p>In the night he left Novara alone for Nice. As he passed through the +Austrian lines, the sentinels were nearly firing upon his carriage; +General Thurn, before whom he was brought, asked for some proof that <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg.142]</a></span> he +was in fact the 'Count de Barge' in whose name his passport was made out. +A Bersagliere prisoner who recognised the King, at a sign from him gave +the required testimony, and he was allowed to pass. At Nice he was +received by the governor, a son of Santorre di Santa Rosa, and to him he +addressed the last words spoken by him on Italian ground: 'In whatever +time, in whatever place, a regular government raises the flag of war with +Austria, the Austrians will find me among their enemies as a simple +soldier.' Then he continued his journey to Oporto.</p> + +<p>The principal side-issue of the campaign of 1849 was the revolution at +Brescia. Had the original plan been carried out, which was to throw the +Sardinian army into Lombardy (and it is doubtful whether, even after +Radetsky's invasion of Piedmont, it would not have been better to adhere +to it), a corresponding movement on the part of the inhabitants would have +become of the greatest importance. To Brescia, which was the one Lombard +town where the Piedmontese had been received in 1848 with real effusion, +the Sardinian Minister of War despatched Count Giuseppe Martinengo +Cesaresco with arms and ammunition, and orders to reassume the colonelcy +of the National Guard which he held in the previous year, and to take the +general control of the movement as far as Brescia was concerned. +Martinengo succeeded in transporting the arms through the enemy's country +from the Piedmontese frontier to Iseo, and thence to his native city. When +he reached Brescia, he found that the Austrians had evacuated the town, +though they still occupied the castle which frowns down upon it. This was +the 23rd of March: Novara was fought and lost, Piedmont was powerless to +come to the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143"> +[Pg.143]</a></span> assistance of the people she had commanded to rise. +What was to be done? Plainly common sense suggested an honourable +compromise with the Austrian commandant, by which he should be allowed to +reoccupy the city on condition that no hair of the citizens' heads was +touched. This is what Bergamo and the other towns did, nor are they to be +blamed.</p> + +<p>Not so Brescia. Here, where love of liberty was an hereditary instinct +from the long connection of Brescia with free Venice, where hatred of the +stranger, planted by the ruthless soldiery of Gaston de Foix, had but gone +on maturing through three centuries, where the historical title of +'Valiant,' coming down from a remote antiquity, was still no fable; here, +with a single mind, the inhabitants resolved upon as desperate a +resistance as was ever offered by one little town to a great army.</p> + +<p>The Austrian bombardment was begun by the Irish General, Nugent-Lavall, +who, dying in the midst of it, left all his fortune to the heroic city +which he was attacking. The Austrians, flushed with their victory over +Charles Albert's army of 80,000, were seized with rage at the sight of +their power defied by a town of less than half that number of souls. But +with that rage was mingled, even in the mind of Haynau, an admiration not +to be repressed.</p> + +<p>Haynau who was sent to replace Nugent, was already known at Brescia, +where he had been appointed military governor after the resumption of +Austrian authority in 1848. In order to punish the 'persistent opposition +manifested to the legitimate Imperial and Royal Government,' and as an +example to the other towns, he had imposed on the Brescian householders +and the landed proprietors of the province a <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg.144]</a></span> fine of half a million +francs.</p> + +<p>He now returned, and what he did may be best read in his own report on +the operations. 'It was then,' he wrote, 'that began the most murderous +fight; a fight prolonged by the insurgents from barricade to barricade, +from house to house, with extraordinary obstinacy. I should never have +believed that so bad a cause could have been sustained with such +perseverance. In spite of this desperate defence, and although the assault +could only be effected in part, and with the help of cannons of heavy +calibre, our brave troops with heroic courage, but at the cost of great +losses, occupied a first line of houses; but as all my columns could not +penetrate into the town at the same time, I ordered the suspension of the +attack at nightfall, limiting myself to holding the ground conquered. In +spite of that, the combat continued late into the night. On the 1st of +April, in the earliest morning light, the tocsin was heard ringing with +more fury than ever, and the insurgents reopened fire with an entirely new +desperation. Considering the gravity of our losses, as well as the +obstinacy and fury of the enemy, it was necessary to adopt a most rigorous +measure. I ordered that no prisoners should be taken, but that every +person seized with arms in his hand should be immediately put to death, +and that the houses from which shots came should be burnt. It is thus that +conflagrations, partly caused by the troops, partly by the bombardment, +broke out in various parts of the town.'</p> + +<p>During the ten days' struggle, the citizens did not flinch for a +moment. Count Martinengo was the guiding spirit of the defence, and +scarcely left the most exposed of the barricades night or day. From the +nobles to the poorest of the people, all did their duty. A youth named +Tito Speri led and animated the populace. The horrors of the <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg.145]</a></span> repression +make one think of the fall of Khartoum. Not even in Hungary, where he went +from Brescia to continue his 'system,' did Haynau so blacken his own and +his country's name as here. In a boys' school kept by a certain Guidi, the +master's wife, his mother and ten of his pupils were slaughtered. A little +hunchback tailor was carried to the barracks to be slowly burnt alive. But +stray details do not give the faintest idea of the whole. And for all +this, Haynau was in a far higher degree responsible than the actual +executants of the vengeance to which he hounded on his ignorant soldiers, +maddened with the lust of blood.</p> + +<p>Such was General Haynau, 'whose brave devotion to his master's service +was the veteran's sole crime,' said the <i>Quarterly Review</i> (June +1853), but who was judged otherwise by some in England. Wherefore was he +soundly beaten by the brewers in the employment of Messrs Barclay & +Perkins; and the nice words of the <i>Quarterly</i> could not undo that +beating, redress for which Lord Palmerston blandly advised the complainant +to seek 'before the common tribunals.' He thought it best to neglect the +advice, and to leave the country.</p> + +<p>Among the curious taxes levied at Brescia during the six months after +its fall was one of £500 for 'the expenses of the hangman.' Count +Martinengo escaped after the Austrians were in possession of the town +through the courageous assistance given to him by a few young men of the +working class. Camozzi's band of Bergamasques, which started for the +relief of the sister city, was driven back with loss.</p> + +<p>The end was come, but woe to the victors.</p> + +<p>Following the Italian flag to where it still floated, we pass from +Brescia in the dust to Rome still inviolate, though soon to be assailed by +the bearers of another tricolor. A few days after Novara, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg.146]</a></span> the +Triumvirate issued a proclamation, in which they said: 'The Republic in +Rome has to prove to Italy and to Europe that our work is eminently +religious, a work of education and of morality; that the accusations of +intolerance, anarchy and violent upturning of things are false; that, +thanks to the republican principle, united as one family of good men under +the eye of God, and following the impulse of those who are first among us +in genius and virtue, we march to the attainment of true order, law and +power united.' Englishmen who were in Rome at the time attest how well the +pledge was kept. Peace and true freedom prevailed under the republican +banner as no man remembered them to have prevailed before in Rome. The +bitter provocation of the quadruple attack was not followed by revengeful +acts on the parts of the government against those who were politically and +religiously associated with him at whose bidding that attack was made. +Nothing like a national party was terrorised or kept under by fear of +violence. 'That at such a time,' writes Henry Lushington, who was not +favourable to Mazzini, 'not one lawless or evil deed was done would have +been rather a miracle than a merit, but on much concurrent testimony it is +clear that the efforts of the government to preserve order were incessant, +and to a remarkable degree successful.' He adds that the streets were far +safer for ordinary passengers under the Triumvirs than under the +Papacy.</p> + +<p>Of great help in quieting the passions of the lower orders was the +people's tribune, Ciceruacchio, who had not put on black cloth clothes, or +asked for the ministry of war, or of fine arts, according to the usual +wont of successful tribunes. Ciceruacchio had the sense of humour of the +genuine Roman <i>popolano</i>, and it never came into his <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg.147]</a></span> head to +make himself ridiculous. His influence had been first acquired by works of +charity in the Tiber floods. Being a strong swimmer, he ventured where no +one else would go, and had saved many lives. At first a wine-carrier, he +made money by letting out conveyances and dealing in forage, but he gave +away most of what he made. He opposed the whole force of his popularity to +a war of classes. 'Viva chi c'ia e chi non c'ia quattrini!' <a name= +"FNanchor4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> was his favourite +cry. Once when a young poet read him a sonnet in his honour he stopped him +at the line 'Thou art greater than all patricians,' saying that he would +not have that published: 'I respect the nobility, and never dream of being +higher than they. I am a poor man of the people, and such I will always +remain.'</p> + +<p>When the siege came, Ciceruacchio was invaluable in providing the +troops with forage, horses, and even victuals, which he procured by making +private sorties on his own account during the night; his intimate +knowledge of every path enabling him to go unobserved. He planned the +earthworks, at which he laboured with his hands, and when fighting was +going on, he shouldered a musket and ran with his two sons, one of them a +mere child, to wherever the noise of guns directed him. No picture of Rome +in 1849 would be complete without the burly figure and jocund face of +Angelo Brunetti.</p> + +<p>The republican government found Rome with a mere shadow of an army; the +efforts to create one had been too spasmodic to do anything but make +confusion worse confounded by changes and experiments soon abandoned. +Perseverance and intelligence now had a different result, and the little +army, called into existence by the republic, proved admirable in +discipline, various and fantastic as were its components.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148"> +[Pg.148]</a></span> Towards the end of April, Garibaldi, who had been +stationed at Rieti, was ordered to bring his legion to Rome. Those who +witnessed the arrival saw one of the strangest scenes ever beheld in the +Eternal City. The men wore pointed hats with black, waving plumes; thin +and gaunt, their faces dark as copper, with naked legs, long beards and +wild dark hair hanging down their backs, they looked like a company of +Salvator Rosa's brigands. Beautiful as a statue amidst his extraordinary +host rode the Chief, mounted on a white horse, which he sat like a +centaur. 'He was quite a show, everyone stopping to look at him,' adds the +sculptor Gibson, to whom these details are owed. 'Probably,' writes +another Englishman, 'a human face so like a lion, and still retaining the +humanity nearest the image of its Maker, was never seen.' Garibaldi wore +the historic red shirt, and a small cap ornamented with gold.</p> + +<p>The origin of the red shirt might have remained in poetic uncertainty +had it not been mentioned a few years ago in a volume of reminiscences +published by an English naval officer. The men employed in the +Saladéros or great slaughtering and salting establishments for +cattle in the Argentine provinces wore scarlet woollen shirts; owing to +the blockade of Buenos Ayres, a merchant at Monte Video had a quantity of +these on his hands, and as economy was a great object to the government, +they bought the lot cheap for their Italian legion, little thinking that +they were making the 'Camicia Rossa' immortal in song and story.</p> + +<p>The coming to Rome of the 1200 legionaries aroused private fears in the +hearts of the more timid inhabitants, but Garibaldi knew how to keep his +wild followers in hand, and gallant was the service they rendered to Roman +liberty.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149"> +[Pg.149]</a></span> That liberty was now on the eve of its peril. The +preliminaries of the French intervention in Rome are tolerably well known; +here it suffices to say that every new contribution to a more precise +knowledge of the facts only serves to confirm the charge of dissimulation, +or, to use a plainer and far better adapted word, of dishonesty, brought +against the French government for their part in the matter. White, indeed, +do Austria, Spain and Naples appear—the avowed upholders of priestly +despotism—beside the ruler of republican France and his ministers, +whose plan it was not to fight the Roman republic: fighting was far from +their counsels, but to betray it. It is proved that the restoration of the +Temporal Power was the aim of the expedition from the first; it is equally +proved that the French sought to get inside Rome by distinct disclaimers +of any such intention. 'We do not go to Italy,' they said, 'to impose with +our arms a system of government, but to assure the rights of liberty, and +to preserve a legitimate interference in the affairs of the peninsula.' +They adopted a curious method of assuring the rights of liberty.</p> + +<p>The Pope would not have anything to do with the affair. 'If you say +openly that you are going to give me back my Temporal Power, well and +good; if not, I prefer the aid of Austria.' So he replied to the +flattering tales whispered in his ear, while tales no less flattering were +being whispered in the ear of Mazzini. He declined to give the French any +guarantees as to his future mode of governing; it cannot be said, +therefore, that they were under the delusion that they were restoring a +constitutional sovereign.</p> + +<p>Efforts have been made to cast the responsibility of the Roman +intervention entirely on Louis Napoleon. Even Mazzini favoured that view, +but it is impossible to separate the President of the Republic <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg.150]</a></span> from +the 325 deputies who voted the supplies for the expedition on the 2nd of +April. Does anyone pretend that they were hoodwinked any more than Ledru +Rollin was hoodwinked, or the minority, which, roused by his vigorous +speech, voted against the grant? Louis Napoleon was far less Papal in his +sentiments than were most of the assenting deputies; his own opinion was +more truly represented by the letter which, as a private citizen, he wrote +to the 'Constitutionnel' in December 1848 than by his subsequent course as +President. In this letter he declared that a military demonstration would +be perilous even to the interests which it was intended to safeguard. He +had but one fixed purpose: to please France, so as to get himself made +Emperor. France must be held answerable for the means taken to please +her.</p> + +<p>General Oudinot landed at Civitavecchia on the 25th of April, his +friendly assurances having persuaded the local authorities to oppose no +resistance, an unfortunate error, but the last. The correct judgment +formed by the Roman Government of the designs of the invaders was +considerably assisted by a French officer, Colonel Leblanc, who was sent +to Rome by Oudinot to come to an agreement with Mazzini for the amicable +reception of the French, and who, losing his temper, revealed more than he +was meant to reveal. His last words, 'Les Italiens ne se battent pas,' +unquestionably expressed the belief of the whole French force, from the +general-in-chief to the youngest drummer. They were soon going to have a +chance of testing its accuracy.</p> + +<p>The Roman Assembly passed a vote that 'force should be repelled by +force.' Well-warned, therefore, but with the proverbial <i>coeur +léger</i>, Oudinot advanced on Rome with 8000 men early on the 30th +of April. At <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151"> +[Pg.151]</a></span> eleven o'clock the two columns came in sight of St +Peter's, and soon after, the first which moved towards Porta Angelica was +attacked by Colonel Masi. Garibaldi attacked the second column a mile out +of Porta San Pancrazio. At the first moment the superior numbers of the +French told, and the Italians fell back on Villa Pamphilli, but Colonel +Galetti arrived with reinforcements, and before long Garibaldi drove the +French from the Pamphilli Gardens and had them in full retreat along the +Civitavecchia road. Oudinot was beaten, Rome was victorious. 'This does +not surprise us Romans; but it will astonish Paris!' ran a manifesto of +the hour; the words are a little childish, but men are apt to be childish +when they are deeply moved. And as to the astonishment of Paris, all the +words in the world would fail to paint its proportions. Paris was indeed +astonished.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi had not the chief command of the Roman army, or he would have +done more; there was nothing to prevent the Italians from driving Oudinot +into the sea. The Triumvirate, when appealed to directly by Garibaldi, +refused their sanction, either fearing to leave the capital exposed to the +Neapolitans who were advancing, or (and this seems to have been the real +reason) still hoping that France would repudiate Oudinot and come to +terms. Garibaldi was right on this occasion, and Mazzini was wrong. When +you are at war, nothing is so ruinous as to be afraid of damaging the +enemy.</p> + +<p>The French ministers, bombarded with reproaches by friends and foes, +and most uneasy lest their troops in Italy should be destroyed before they +could send reinforcements, did disown Oudinot's march on Rome, and +Ferdinand de Lesseps was despatched nominally 'to arrange matters in a +pacific sense,' but actually to gain time.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152"> +[Pg.152]</a></span> In a sitting in the French Assembly, a member of the +opposition said to the President of the Council: 'You are going to +reinstate the Pope!' 'No, no,' ejaculated Odilon Barrot. 'You are going to +do the same as Austria,' cried Lamoricière. 'We should be culpable +if we did,' was the answer. Lesseps' instructions, very vague, for the +rest, were given to him in this spirit. That Lesseps acted in good faith +has been generally admitted, and was always believed by Mazzini. It was to +the interest of the French Government to choose a tool who did not see how +far he was a tool. But if Lesseps had no suspicions, if he had not strong +suspicions of the real object of his employers, then he was already at +this date a man singularly easy to deceive.</p> + +<p>The French envoy was commissioned to treat, not with the Triumvirate, +but with the Roman Assembly: a piece of insolence which the former would +have done well to reply to by sending him about his business. Lesseps, +however, thought that he would gain by speaking in person to Mazzini, and +in order that the interview should remain a secret, he decided to go to +him alone in the dead of the night and unannounced. Having made the +needful inquiries, he proceeded to the palace of the Consulta, the doors +of which seem to have been left open all night; there were guards, but +they were asleep, and the French diplomatist traversed the long suite of +splendid apartments, opening one into the other without corridors. At last +he reached the simply-furnished room where, upon an iron bedstead, Mazzini +slept. Lesseps watched him sleeping, fascinated by the beauty of his +magnificent head as it lay in repose. He still looked very young, though +there was hardly a state in Europe where he was not proscribed. When +Lesseps had gazed his full, he called 'Mazzini, Mazzini!' The Triumvir +awoke, sat up and <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153"> +[Pg.153]</a></span> asked if he had come to assassinate him? Lesseps told +him his name, and a long conversation followed. One thing, at least, that +Lesseps said in this interview was strictly true, namely, that Mazzini +must not count on the French republican soldiers objecting to fire on +republicans: 'The French soldier would burn down the cottage of his mother +if ordered by his superiors to do so.' The discipline of a great army is +proof against politics.</p> + +<p>Lesseps was himself in much fear of being assassinated. He believed +that his footsteps were dogged by three individuals, one of whom was an +ex-French convict. He complained to Mazzini, who said that he could do +nothing, which probably shows that he gave no credence to the story. Then +Lesseps had recourse to Ciceruacchio, 'a man of the people who had great +influence on the population, and who had organised the revolution.' The +tribune seems to have quieted his fears and guaranteed his safety.</p> + +<p>The French envoy could not help being struck by the tender care taken +of his wounded fellow-countrymen by the Princess Belgiojoso and other +noble ladies who attended the hospitals. Of prisoners who were not wounded +there were none, as they had been sent back scot-free to their general a +few days after the 30th of April. He was struck also by the firm resolve +of all classes not to restore the Pope. Some liked the existing +government, some did not, but all prayed heaven to be henceforth delivered +from the rule of an infallible sovereign.</p> + +<p>Whatever was the measure of confidence which Mazzini felt in Lesseps, +he was firm as iron on the main point—the non-admittance of the +'friendly' French troops into Rome. Lesseps dragged on the negotiations +till his government had finished the preparations for <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg.154]</a></span> sending to +Rome a force which should not be much less than twice in number the whole +military resources of the republic. Then they recalled him, and, in order +not to be bound by anything that he might have said, they set about the +rumour that he was mad. Indignant at such treatment, Lesseps left the +diplomatic service, and turned his attention to engineering. This was the +origin of the Suez Canal.</p> + +<p>While all these things were going on, the Austrians moved from Ferrara +and Modena towards Bologna, the Spaniards landed at Fiumicino, and 16,000 +Neapolitans, commanded by Ferdinand II., encamped near Albano. Garibaldi +was attacked on the 9th of May by the Neapolitan vanguard, which he +obliged to fall back. On the 18th, he completely defeated King Ferdinand's +army near Velletri, and the King ordered a general retreat into his own +dominions, which was accomplished in haste and confusion.</p> + +<p>By the end of May, Oudinot's forces were increased to over 35,000 men. +The defenders of Rome, under the chief command of General Rosselli, were +about 20,000, of whom half were volunteers. Colonel Marnara's Lombard +Legion of Bersaglieri was, in smartness of appearance and perfect +discipline, equal to any regular troops; in its ranks were the sons of the +best and richest Lombard families, such as Dandolo, Morosini and many +others. Medici's legion was also composed of educated and well-to-do young +men. The Bolognese, under the Marquis Melara, had the impetuous daring of +their race, and Count Angelo Masina did wonders with his forty lancers. +Wherever Garibaldi was—it was always in the hottest +places—there were to be seen, at no great distance, the patriot +monk, Ugo Bassi, riding upon a fiery horse, and the young poet of Free +Italy, Goffredo Mameli, with his slight, boyish <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg.155]</a></span> figure, and his fair +hair floating in the breeze. Nor must we omit from the list of Garibaldi's +bodyguard Forbes, the Englishman, and Anghiar, the devoted negro, who +followed his master like a dog.</p> + +<p>Oudinot formally disavowed all Lesseps' proceedings from first to last, +and announced, on the 1st of June, that he had orders to take Rome as soon +as possible. Out of regard, however, for the French residents, he would +not begin the attack 'till the morning of Monday the 4th.' Now, though no +one knew it but the French general, that Monday morning began with +Sunday's dawn, when the French attacked Melara's sleeping battalion at the +Roman outposts. It was easy for the French to drive back these 300 men, +and to occupy the Villa Corsini ('Villa,' in the Roman sense, means a +garden) and the position dominating Porta San Pancrazio; but Galetti came +up and retook them all, to lose them again by nine o'clock. Then +Garibaldi, who was ill, hurried to the scene from his sick-bed, and thrice +that day he retook and thrice he lost the contested positions—a +brief statement, which represents prodigies of valour, and the oblation of +as noble blood as ever watered the earth of Rome. Melara, Masina, Daverio, +Dandolo, Mameli: every schoolboy would know these names if they belonged +to ancient, not to modern, history. Bright careers, full of promise, cut +short; lives renounced, not only voluntarily, but with joy, and to what +end? Not for interest or fame—not even in the hope of winning; but +that, erect and crowned with the roses of martyrdom, Rome might send her +dying salutation to the world.</p> + +<p>At sunset the French had established their possession of all the points +outside the Gate of San Pancrazio, except the Vascello, a villa which had +been seized from their very teeth by Medici, who held it against all +comers. Monte Mario was also in their hands.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156"> +[Pg.156]</a></span> Mazzini, whose judgment was obscured by his +attribution of the Italian policy of France to Louis Napoleon alone, hoped +for a revolution in Paris, but Ledru Rollin's attempt at agitation +completely failed, and the country applauded its government now that the +mask was thrown away. The reasons for revolutions in Paris have always +been the same; they have to do with something else than the garrotting of +sister-republics.</p> + +<p>Oudinot tightened his cordon; on the 12th of June he invited the city +to capitulate. The answer was a refusal; so, with the aid of his excellent +artillery, he crept on, his passage contested at each step, but not +arrested, till, on the 27th, the Villa Savorelli, Garibaldi's +headquarters, fell into the hands of the enemy, and, on the night of the +29th, the French were within the city walls. St Peter's day is the great +feast of Rome, and this time, as usual, the cupola of St Peter's was +illuminated, the Italian flag flying from the highest point. The +thunderstorm, which proverbially accompanies the feast, raged during the +night; the French shells flew in all directions; the fight raged fiercer +than the storm; Medici held out among the crumbling walls of the Vascello, +which had been bombarded for a week; the heroic Manara fell fighting at +Villa Spada; Garibaldi, descending into the <i>mêlée</i>, +dealt blows right and left: he seemed possessed by some supernatural +power. Those around him say that it is impossible that he would have much +longer escaped death, but suddenly a message came summoning him to the +Assembly—it saved his life. When he appeared at the door of the +Chamber, the deputies rose and burst into wild applause. He seemed +puzzled, but, looking down upon himself, he read the explanation; he was +covered with blood, his clothes were honeycombed by balls and <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg.157]</a></span> bayonet +thrusts, his sabre was so bent with striking that it would not go more +than half into its sheath.</p> + +<p>What the Assembly wanted to know was whether the defence could be +prolonged; Garibaldi had only to say that it could not. They voted, +therefore, the following decree: 'In the name of God and of the People: +the Roman Constituent Assembly discontinues a defence which has become +impossible, and remains at its post.' At its post it remained till the +French soldiers invaded the Capitol, where it sat, when, yielding to brute +force, the deputies dispersed.</p> + +<p>Mazzini, who would have resisted still, when all resistance was +impossible, wandered openly about the city like a man in a dream. He felt +as though he were looking on at the funeral of his best-beloved. How it +was that he was not killed or arrested is a mystery. At the end of a week +his friends induced him to leave Rome with an English passport.</p> + +<p>On the 2nd of July, before the French made their official entry, +Garibaldi called his soldiers together in the square of the Vatican, and +told them that he was going to seek some field where the foreigner could +still be fought. Who would might follow him; 'I cannot offer you honours +or pay; I offer you hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles, death.'</p> + +<p>Three thousand followed him. Beside her husband rode Anita; not even +for the sake of the child soon to come would she stay behind in safety. +Ugo Bassi was there; Anghiar was dead, Mameli was dying in a hospital, but +there was 'the partisan or brigand Forbes,' as he was described in a +letter of the Austrian general D'Aspre to the French general Oudinot, with +a good handful of Garibaldi's best surviving officers. Ciceruacchio came +with his two sons, and offered himself as <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg.158]</a></span> guide. No one knew what the +plan was, or if there was one. Like knights of old in search of +adventures, they set out in search of their country's foes. It was the +last desperate venture of men who did not know how to yield.</p> + +<p>After wandering hither and thither, and suffering severe hardships, the +column reached the republic of San Marino. The brave hospitality of that +Rock of freedom prevented Garibaldi from falling into the clutches of the +Austrians, who surrounded the republic. He treated with the Regent for the +immunity of his followers, who had laid down their arms; and, in the +night, he himself escaped with Anita, Ugo Bassi, Forbes, Ciceruacchio and +a few others. They hoped to take their swords to Venice, but a storm +arose, and the boats on which they embarked were driven out of their +course. Some of them were stranded on the shore which bounds the +pine-forest of Ravenna, and here, hope being indeed gone, the Chief +separated from his companions. Of these, Ugo Bassi, and an officer named +Livraghi, were soon captured by the Austrians, who conveyed them to +Bologna, where they were shot. Ciceruacchio and his sons were taken in +another place, and shot as soon as taken. The boat which contained Colonel +Forbes was caught at sea by an Austrian cruiser: he was kept in Austrian +prisons for two months, and was constantly reminded that he would be +either shot or hung; but the English Government succeeded in getting him +liberated, and he lived to take part in more fortunate fights under +Garibaldi's standard.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Anita was dying in a peasant's cottage, to which Garibaldi +carried her when the strong will and dauntless heart could no longer stand +in place of the strength that was finished. This was the 4th of August. +Scarcely had she breathed her last breath when Garibaldi, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg.159]</a></span> broken down +with grief as he was, had to fly from the spot. The Austrians were hunting +for him in all directions. All the Roman fugitives were proclaimed +outlaws, and the population was forbidden to give them even bread or +water. Nevertheless—aided in secret by peasants, priests and all +whose help he was obliged to seek—Garibaldi made good his flight +from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean, the whole route being overrun by +Austrians. When once the western coast was reached, he was able, partly by +sea and partly by land, to reach the Piedmontese territory, where his life +was safe. Not even there, however, could he rest; he was told, politely +but firmly, that his presence was embarrassing, and for the second time he +left Europe—first for Tunis and then for the United States.</p> + +<p>While the French besieged Rome, the Austrians had not been idle. They +took Bologna in May, after eight days' resistance; and in June, after +twenty days' attack by sea and land, Ancona fell into their hands. In +these towns they pursued means of 'pacification' resembling those employed +at Brescia. All who possessed what by a fiction could be called arms were +summarily slaughtered. At Ancona, a woman of bad character hid a rusty +nail in the bed of her husband, whom she wished to get rid of; she then +denounced him to the military tribunal, and two hours later an English +family, whose house was near the barracks, heard the ring of the volley of +musketry which despatched him. Austria had also occupied the Grand Duchy +of Tuscany; and when, in July, Leopold II. returned to his state, which +had restored him by general consent and without any foreign intervention, +he entered Florence between two files of Austrian soldiery, in violation +of the article of the Statute to which he had sworn, which stipulated that +no foreign <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160"> +[Pg.160]</a></span> occupation should be invited or tolerated. The Grand +Duke wrote to the Emperor of Austria, from Gaeta, humbly begging the loan +of his arms. Francis Joseph replied with supreme contempt, that it would +have been a better thing if Leopold had never forgotten to whose family he +belonged, but he granted the prayer. Such was the way in which the House +of Hapsburg-Lorraine, that had done much in Tuscany to win respect if not +love, destroyed all its rights to the goodwill of the Tuscan people, and +removed what might have been a serious obstacle to Italian unity.</p> + +<p>Austria, unable alone to cope with Hungary, committed the immeasurable +blunder of calling in the 200,000 Russians who made conquest certain, but +the price of whose aid she may still have to pay. Venice, and Venice only, +continued to defy her power. Since Novara, the first result of which was +the withdrawal of the Sardinian Commissioners, who had taken over the +government after the Fusion, Venice had been ruled by Manin on the terms +which he himself proposed: 'Are you ready,' he asked the Venetian +Assembly, 'to invest the Government with unlimited powers in order to +direct the defence and maintain order?' He warned them that he should be +obliged to impose upon them enormous sacrifices, but they replied by +voting the order of the day: 'Venice resists the Austrians at all costs; +to this end the President Manin is invested with plenary powers.' All the +deputies then raised their right hand, and swore to defend the city to the +last extremity. They kept their word.</p> + +<p>It is hard to say which was the most admirable: Manin's fidelity to his +trust, or the people's fidelity to him. To keep up the spirits, to +maintain the decorum of a besieged city even for a few weeks or a few +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg.161]</a></span> +months, is a task not without difficulty; but when the months run into a +second year, when the real pinch of privations has been felt by everyone, +not as a sudden twinge, but as a long-drawn-out pain, when the bare +necessities of life fail, and a horrible disease, cholera, enters as +auxiliary under the enemy's black-and-yellow, death-and-pestilence flag; +then, indeed, the task becomes one which only a born leader of men could +perform.</p> + +<p>The financial administration of the republic was a model of order and +economy. Generous voluntary assistance was afforded by all classes, from +the wealthy patrician and the Jewish merchant to the poorest gondolier. +Mazzini once said bitterly that it was easier to get his countrymen to +give their blood than their money; here they gave both. The capable manner +in which Manin conducted the foreign policy of the republic is also a +point that deserves mention, as it won the esteem even of statesmen of the +old school, though it was powerless to obtain their help.</p> + +<p>The time was gone when France was disposed to do anything for Venice; +no one except the Archbishop of Paris, who was afterwards to die by the +hand of an assassin, said a word for her.</p> + +<p>In the past year, Lord Palmerston, though he tried to localise the war, +and to prevent the co-operation of the south, abounded in good advice to +Austria. He repeated till he was tired of repeating, that she would do +well to retire from her Italian possessions of her own accord. If the +French did not come now, he said, they would come some day, and then her +friends and allies would give her scanty support. As for Lombardy, it was +notorious that a considerable Austrian party was in favour of giving it +up, including the Archduke Ranieri, who was strongly attached to Italy, +which was the land of his birth. As for <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg.162]</a></span> Venice, Austria had against +her both the principle of nationality, now the rallying cry of Germany, +and the principle of ancient prescription which could be energetically +invoked against her by a state to which her title went back no farther +than the transfer effected by Buonaparte in the treaty of Campo Formio. +These were his arguments; but he was convinced, by this time, that +arguments unsupported by big battalions might as well be bestowed on the +winds as on the Cabinet of Vienna. From the moment that Radetsky recovered +Lombardy for his master, the Italian policy of the Austrian Government was +entirely inspired by him, and he was determined that while he lived, what +Austria had got she should keep. It was thus that, in reply to Manin's +appeal to Lord Palmerston, he only received the cold comfort of the +recommendation that Venice should come to terms with her enemy.</p> + +<p>The Venetian army of 20,000 men was reduced by casualties and sickness +to 18,000 or less. It always did its duty. The defence of Fort Malghera, +the great fort which commanded the road to Padua and the bridge of the +Venice railway, would have done credit to the most experienced troops in +the world. The garrison numbered 2500; the besiegers, under Haynau, +30,000. Radetsky, with three archdukes, came to see the siege, but, tired +with waiting, they went away before it was ended. The bombardment began on +the 4th of May; in the three days and nights ending with the 25th over +60,000 projectiles fell on the fort. During the night of the 25th the +Commandant, Ulloa, by order of Government, quietly evacuated the place, +and withdrew his troops; only the next morning the Austrians found out +that Malghera was abandoned, and proceeded to take possession of the heap +of ruins, which was all <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_163" id= +"Page_163">[Pg.163]</a></span> that remained.</p> + +<p>After the beginning of July, an incessant bombardment was directed +against the city itself. Women and children lived in the cellars; fever +stalked through the place, but the war feeling was as strong as +ever—nay, stronger. Moreover, the provisions became daily scarcer, +the day came when hunger was already acutely felt, when the time might be +reckoned by hours before the famished defenders must let drop their +weapons, and Venice, her works of art and her population, must fall a prey +to the savage vengeance of the Austrians, who would enter by force and +without conditions.</p> + +<p>And this is what Manin prevented. The cry was still for resistance; for +the first time bitter words were spoken against the man who had served his +country so well. But he, who had never sacrificed one iota to popularity, +did not swerve. His great influence prevailed. The capitulation was +arranged on the 22nd, and signed on the 24th of July. Manin had calculated +correctly; on that day there was literally nothing left to eat in +Venice.</p> + +<p>In the last sad hours that Manin spent in Venice all the love of his +people, clouded for an instant, burst forth anew. Not, indeed, in shouts +and acclamations, but in tears and sobs; 'Our poor father, how much he has +suffered!' they were heard saying. He embarked on a French vessel bound +for Marseilles, poor, worn out and exiled for ever from the city which he +had guided for eighteen months; if, indeed, no spark of his spirit +animated the dust which it was the first care of liberated Venice to +welcome home. The Austrians broke up his doorstep on which, according to a +Venetian custom, his name was engraved. Another martyr, Ugo Bassi, had +kissed the stone, exclaiming:</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164"> +[Pg.164]</a></span> 'Next to God and Italy—before the +Pope—Manin!' The people gathered up the broken fragments and kept +them as relics, even as in their hearts they kept his memory, till the +arrival of that day of redemption which, in the darkest hour, he +foretold.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg.165]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_IX"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER IX</h3> + +<h4>'J'ATTENDS MON ASTRE'</h4> + +<h5>1849-1850</h5> + +<h5>The House of Savoy—A King who keeps his Word—Sufferings of +the Lombards—Charles Albert's Death.</h5> + +<p>Circumstances more gloomy than those under which Victor Emmanuel II. +ascended the throne of his ancestors it would be hard to imagine.</p> + +<p>An army twice beaten, a bankrupt exchequer, a triumphant invader +waiting to dictate terms; this was but the beginning of the inventory of +the royal inheritance. The internal condition of the kingdom, even apart +from the financial ruin which had succeeded to the handsome surplus of two +years before, was full of embarrassments of the gravest kind. There was a +party representing the darkest-dyed clericalism and reaction whose +machinations had not been absent in the disaster of Novara. Who was it +that disseminated among the troops engaged in the battle broadsides +printed with the words: 'Soldiers, for whom do you think you are fighting? +The King is betrayed; at Turin they have proclaimed the republic'? There +were other broadsides in which Austria was called the supporter of thrones +and altars. The dreadful indiscipline witnessed towards the end of, and +after the conflict was due more to the demoralising doctrines that had +been introduced into the army than to the insubordination of panic. There +was another party <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166"> +[Pg.166]</a></span> strengthened by the recent misfortunes and recruited +by exiles from all parts of Italy, which was democratic to the verge of +republicanism in Piedmont and over that verge at Genoa, where a revolution +broke out before the new King's reign was a week old. Constitutional +government stood between the fires of these two parties, both fanned by +Austrian bellows, the first openly, the second in secret.</p> + +<p>Victor Emmanuel was not popular. The indifference to danger which he +had shown conspicuously during the war would have awakened enthusiasm in +most countries, but in Piedmont it was so thoroughly taken for granted +that the Princes of the House of Savoy did not know fear, that it was +looked on as an ordinary fact. The Austrian origin of the Duchess of Savoy +formed a peg on which to hang unfriendly theories. It is impossible not to +compassionate the poor young wife who now found herself Queen of a people +which hated her race, after having lived since her marriage the most +dreary of lives at the dismallest court in Europe. At first, as a bride, +she seemed to have a desire to break through the frozen etiquette which +surrounded her; it is told how she once begged and prayed her husband to +take her for a walk under the Porticoes of Turin, which she had looked at +only from the outside. The young couple enjoyed their airing, but when it +reached Charles Albert's ears, he ordered his son to be immediately placed +under military arrest. The chilling formalism which invaded even the +private life of these royal personages, shutting the door to 'good +comradeship' even between husband and wife, may have had much to do with +driving Victor Emmanuel from the side of the Princess, whom, nevertheless, +he loved and venerated, to unworthy pleasures, the habit of indulgence in +which is far easier to contract than to cure.</p> + +<div class="center"><img src="images/image3.jpg" alt="VICTOR IMMANUEL" /><br /> + <span class="caption">VICTOR IMMANUEL</span></div> + +<br /> + <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167"> +[Pg.167]</a></span> The King's address at this time was not conciliatory, +and, indeed, it never lost a bluntness which later harmonised well enough +with the reputation he gained for soldierly integrity, but which then +passed for aristocratic haughtiness. His personal friends were said to +belong to the aristocratic or even the reactionary party. In the +perplexities which encompassed him, he could not reckon on the +encouragement of any consensus of good opinion or confidence. He was +simply an unknown man, against whom there was a good deal of +prejudice.<br /> +<br /> +<p>Radetsky did not refuse to treat with Charles Albert, as has been +sometimes said, but the intolerably onerous terms first proposed by him +showed that he wished to force the abdication which Charles Albert had +always contemplated in the event of new reverses of fortune. Radetsky was +favourably disposed to the young Duke of Savoy, as far as his personal +feeling was concerned, a fact which was made out in certain quarters to be +almost a crime to be marked to the account of Victor Emmanuel. The +Field-Marshal did not forget that he was the son-in-law of the Austrian +Archduke Ranieri; it is probable, if not proved, that he expected to find +him pliable; but Radetsky, besides being a politician of the purest +blood-and-iron type, was an old soldier with not a bad heart, and some of +his sympathy is to be ascribed to a veteran's natural admiration for a +daring young officer.</p> + +<p>On the 24th of March, Victor Emmanuel, with the manliness that was born +with him, decided to go and treat himself for the conditions of the +armistice. It was the first act of his reign, and it was an act of +abnegation; but of how much less humiliation than that performed by his +father twenty-eight years before, when almost on the same day, by <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg.168]</a></span> order +of King Charles Felix, the Prince of Carignano betook himself to the +Austrian camp at Novara, to be greeted with the derisive shout of: 'Behold +the King of Italy!' Little did Radetsky think that the words, addressed +then in scorn to the father, might to-day have been addressed in truthful +anticipation to the son.</p> + +<p>The Field-Marshal took good care, however, that nothing but respect +should be paid to his visitor, whom he received half-way, surrounded by +his superb staff, all mounted on fine horses and clad in splendid +accoutrements. As soon as the King saw him coming, he sprang from his +saddle, and Radetsky would have done the same had not he required, owing +to his great age, the aid of two officers to help him to the ground. After +he had laboriously dismounted, he made a military salute, and then +embraced Victor Emmanuel with the greatest cordiality. The King was +accompanied by very few officers, but the presence of one of these was +significant, namely, of the Lombard Count Vimercati, whom he particularly +pointed out to Radetsky.</p> + +<p>While observing the most courteous forms, the Field-Marshal was not +long in coming to the point. The negotiations would be greatly +facilitated, nay, more, instead of beginning his reign with a large slice +of territory occupied by a foreign enemy for an indefinite period, the +King might open it with an actual enlargement of his frontier, if he would +only give the easy assurance of ruling on the good old system, and of +re-hoisting the blue banner of Piedmont instead of the revolutionary +tricolor. The moment was opportune; Victor Emmanuel had not yet sworn to +maintain the Constitution. But he replied, without hesitation, that though +he was ready, if needs be, to accept the full penalties of defeat, he was +determined to observe the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_169" id= +"Page_169">[Pg.169]</a></span> engagements entered into by his father +towards the people over whom he was called to reign.</p> + +<p>One person had already received from his lips the same declaration, +with another of wider meaning. During the previous night, speaking to the +Lombard officer above mentioned, the King said: 'I shall preserve intact +the institutions given by my father; I shall uphold the tricolor flag, +symbol of Italian nationality, which is vanquished to-day, but which one +day will triumph. This triumph will be, henceforth, the aim of all my +efforts.' In 1874, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Novara, Count +Vimercati wrote to the King of Italy from Paris to remind him of the words +he had then spoken.</p> + +<p>When the King started for his capital, Radetsky offered to draw up his +troops as a guard of honour over the whole extent of occupied territory +between Novara and Turin. The offer was declined, and Victor Emmanuel took +a circuitous route to avoid observation. His journey was marked throughout +by a complete absence of state. Before he arrived, a trusty hand consigned +to him a note written in haste and in much anguish by the Queen, in which +she warned him to enter by night, as he was likely to have a very bad +reception. On the 27th of March he reviewed the National Guard in the +Piazza Castello on the occasion of its taking the oath of allegiance. The +ceremony was attended by Queen Maria Adelaide in a carriage with her two +little boys, the Princes Umberto and Amedeo. There was no hostile +demonstration, but there was a most general and icy coldness.</p> + +<p>That evening, the terms of the armistice were communicated to the +Chamber. As was natural, they evoked the wildest indignation, a part of +which fell undeservedly on the King. Twenty thousand Austrians were <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg.170]</a></span> to +occupy the district between the Po, Sesia and Ticino and half the citadel +of Alessandria. The excitement rose to its height when it was announced +that the Sardinian Fleet must be recalled from Venetian waters, depriving +that struggling city of the last visible sign of support from without. The +Chamber sent a deputation to the King, who succeeded in persuading its +members that, hard though the terms were, there was no avoiding their +acceptance, and that the original stipulations were harder still.</p> + +<p>On the 29th, Victor Emmanuel took the oath to observe the Statute, to +exercise the royal authority only in virtue of the laws, to cause justice +to be fairly and fearlessly administered, and to conduct himself in all +things with the sole view to the interest, honour and prosperity of the +nation.</p> + +<p>A trifling accident occurred which might have been far from trifling; +one of the ornaments of the ceiling of the Palazzo Madama, where the +Parliament assembled, fell close to the King. As it was of great weight, +it would have killed anyone on whom it had fallen. 'Never mind that,' said +the King in Piedmontese dialect to Colonel Menabrea, who was near him, 'it +will not be the last!'</p> + +<p>The ministry which held office under the late King resigned; a new one +was formed, in which General Delaunay was President of the Council, and +Gioberti minister without a portfolio. The King was advised to dissolve +the Chamber, which had been elected as a war parliament, and was +ill-constituted to perform the work now required. General La Marmora had +orders to quell the insurrection at Genoa, the motive of which was not +nominally a change of government, but the continuance of the war at all +costs. Its deeper cause lay in the old <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg.171]</a></span> irreconcilability of +republican Genoa with her Piedmontese masters, breaking out now afresh +under the strain of patriotic disappointment. Like the 15th of May at +Naples, the Genoese revolution was a folly which can hardly be otherwise +described than as a crime; it happened, however, that in Piedmont there +was a King who had not the slightest intention of turning it into an +excuse for a royal hark-back. Austria and France offered Victor Emmanuel +their arms to put down the revolution, but, declining the not exactly +disinterested attention, he made a wise choice in La Marmora, who +accomplished the ungrateful task with expedition and humanity. An amnesty +was granted to all but a very few participators in the revolt. On the +brief black list when it was submitted to the King was the name of the +Marquis Lorenzo Pareto, who at one time had held the Foreign Office under +Charles Albert. As Colonel of the Genoese National Guard, his +responsibility in joining the insurrection was judged to be particularly +heavy; but the King refused to confirm his exclusion from the amnesty. 'I +would not have it said,' he objected, 'that I was harsh to one of my +father's old ministers.'</p> + +<p>The conception of Victor Emmanuel as a bluff, easy-going monarch is +mistaken. Very few princes have had a keener sense of the royal dignity, +or a more deeply-rooted family pride, or, when he thought fit to resort to +it, a more decisive method of preventing people from taking liberties with +him. But he knew that, in nearly all cases, pardon is the best of a king's +prerogatives.</p> + +<p>An instance to the point happened when he came to the throne. Two +officers of the royal household had caused him annoyance while he was Duke +of Savoy by telling tales of his unconventionality to his +easily-scandalised father. To them, perhaps, he owed the condign <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg.172]</a></span> +punishment he had undergone for the famous promenade under the Porticoes. +At anyrate, they had procured for the Duke many bad quarters-of-an-hour, +but the King, when he became King, chose to be completely oblivious of +their conduct, and they remained undisturbed at their posts. To those who +pointed to King Leopold of the Belgians, or to any other foreign example +of a loyal sovereign who understood the needs of his people as a model for +Victor Emmanuel to imitate, he was in the habit of replying: 'I remember +the history of my fathers, and it is enough.'</p> + +<p>'The Persians,' says the Greek historian, 'taught their children to +ride and to speak the truth.' In a land that had seen as much of enthroned +effeminacy and mendacity as Italy had seen, a prince fond of manly +exercise and observant of his word was more valuable than a heaven-sent +genius, and more welcome than a calendar saint. Piedmont only could give +such a prince to Italy. Its kings were not Spaniards who, by way of +improvement, became lazzaroni, nor were they Austrians condemned by a +fatal law to revert to their original type; they were children of the ice +and snow, the fellow-countrymen of their subjects. All their traditions +told of obstinacy and hardihood. They brought their useful if scarcely +amiable moral qualities from Maurienne in the eleventh century. The second +Count of Savoy, known as Amadeus with the Tail, son of Humbert of the +White Hands, founder of the House, went to the Holy Roman Emperor with +such a body of retainers that the guards refused them entrance to the +Council Chamber. 'Either I shall go in with my Tail or not at all,' said +Humbert, and with his Tail he went in. This was the metal of the race. +Even at the time when they were vassals of the Empire, they expected to +dictate rather than to obey. They studiously married into all the great +royal houses of Europe. <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_173" id= +"Page_173">[Pg.173]</a></span> Though they persecuted their Vaudois +subjects, who were only in 1848 rewarded by emancipation for centuries of +unmerited sufferings and splendid fidelity, yet the Princes of Savoy had +from the first, from the White-Handed Humbert himself, held their heads +high in all transactions with the Holy See, between which and them there +was an ever-returning antagonism. Not to the early part of the nineteenth +century, when the rebound from revolutionary chaos did not suffice to +denationalise the Kings of Sardinia, but sufficed to ally them with +reaction, ought we to turn if we would seize the true bearings of the +development of the Counts of Maurienne into Kings of Italy. At that moment +the mission of Piedmont, though not lost, was obscured. What has rather to +be contemplated is the historic tendency, viewed as a whole, of both +reigning house and people. No one has pointed out that tendency more +clearly than the anonymous author of a pamphlet entitled <i>Le Testament +politique du Chevalier Walpole</i> (published at Amsterdam in 1769), who +was able to draw the horoscope of the House of Savoy with a correctness +which seems almost startling. He was not helped by either sympathy or +poetic imagination, but simply by political logic. Sardinia, he said, was +the best governed state in Europe. Instead of yielding to the indolent +apathy in which other reigning families were sunk, its princes sought to +improve its laws and develop its resources according to the wants of the +population and the exigences of the climate. Finance, police, the +administration of justice, military discipline, presented the picture of +order. From the nature of the situation, a King of Sardinia must be +ambitious, and to satisfy his ambition he had only to bide his time. +Placed between two great Powers he could choose for his ally whichever +would give him the most, and by playing this mute <i>rôle</i>, it +was impossible that he would not <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_174" +id="Page_174">[Pg.174]</a></span> hereafter be called upon to play one of +the most important parts in Europe. Italy was the oyster disputed by +Austria and France; might it not happen that the King of Sardinia, +becoming judge and party, would devour the oyster and leave the shells to +the rival aspirants? It was unlikely, added this far-seeing observer, that +the Italian populations should have got so innured to their chains as to +prefer the harsh, vexatious government of Austria to the happy lot which +Sardinian domination would secure to them, but even if they had become +demoralised to this extent, they could not resist the providential advance +of a temperate, robust and warlike nation like Piedmont, led by a prince +as enlightened as the King (Charles Emmanuel) who then reigned over +it.</p> + +<p>The metaphor of the oyster recalls another, that of Italy being an +artichoke which the House of Savoy was to devour, a leaf at a time. +Whether or not a Duke of Savoy really invented this often-quoted +comparison, it is certain that power was what the rulers of Piedmont cared +for. They were no more a race of scholars and art patrons than their +people was a people of artists and poets. There is a story to the effect +that one Duke of Savoy could never make out what poetry was, except that +it was written in half lines, which caused a great waste of paper. The +only poet born in Piedmont found the country unlivable. Recent research +among the archives at Turin revealed facts which were thought to be not +creditable to certain princely persons, and a gleaning was therefore made +of documents to which the historical student will no longer have access. +The step was ill advised; what can documents tell us on the subject that +we do not know? Did anyone suppose that the Savoy princes were commonly +saints? Sainthood has been the privilege of the women of the family, and +they have kept it <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175"> +[Pg.175]</a></span> mostly to themselves. But peccable and rough though +the members of this royal house may have been, very few of them were +without the governing faculty. 'C'est bien le souverain le plus fin que +j'ai connu en Europe,' said Thiers of Victor Emmanuel, whose acquaintance +he made in 1870, and in whom he found an able politician instead of the +common soldier he had expected. The remark might be extended back to all +the race. They understood the business of kings. A word not unlike the 'Tu +regere imperio populos, Romane, memento' of Virgil was breathed over the +cradle at Maurienne. If it did not send forth sons to rule the world, its +children were, at least, to be enthroned in the capital of the +Cæsars, and to make Italy one for the first time since Augustus.</p> + +<p>From April to August 1849, the peace negotiations dragged on. The +pretensions of Austria were still exorbitant, and she resisted the demand +which Piedmont, weak and reduced though she was, did not fear to make, +that she should amnesty her Italian subjects who had taken part in the +revolution. Unequal to cope with the difficulties of the situation, the +Delaunay ministry fell, and Massimo d'Azeglio was appointed President of +the Council. This was a good augury for Piedmont; D'Azeglio's patriotism +had received a seal in the wound which he carried away from the defence of +Vicenza. Honour was safe in his hands, whatever were the sacrifices to +which he might be obliged to consent.</p> + +<p>Some pressure having been put on Austria by France and England, she +agreed in July to evacuate Alessandria, and to reduce the war indemnity +from 230,000,000 francs to 75,000,000, which Piedmont undertook to pay, +onerous though the charge was in her deplorable financial condition. But +the amnesty question was the last to be <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg.176]</a></span> settled, and in this Piedmont +stood alone. France and England gave her no support; The other powers were +against her. The Piedmontese special envoy at Milan, Count Pralormo, wrote +to Prince Schwarzenberg on the 2nd of July that his Government could not +give up this point. It was a conscientious duty so universally and +strongly felt, that they were readier to submit to the consequences, +whatever they might be, than to dishonour themselves by renouncing it. In +other words, they were ready to face a new war, abandoned to their fate by +all Europe, to undergo a new invasion, which meant the utter destruction +of their country, rather than leave their Lombard and Venetian +fellow-countrymen to the revenge of Austria. Count Pralormo added that he +was speaking not only in the name of the ministry, but of the King and the +whole nation. The risk was no imaginary one; there were many in Austria +who desired an excuse for crushing the life out of the small state which +was the eternal thorn in the side of that great Empire. Few remember now +the sufferings of Piedmont for Italy, or the perils, only too real, which +she braved again and again, not from selfish motives—for the +Piedmontese of the old, narrow school, who said that their orderly little +country had nothing to gain from being merged in a state of 25,000,000 +were by no means in error—but from genuine Italian fellow-feeling +for their less happy compatriots beyond their confines.</p> + +<p>At last, when the armistice concluded on the morrow of Novara had been +prolonged for five months, the treaty of peace was signed. Prince +Schwarzenberg offered to further reduce the indemnity, 75,000,000 to +71,000,000, but D'Azeglio having agreed to the former figure, preferred to +abide by his agreement. He thought, probably, that he would thus gain some +concession as to the amnesty, and, in fact, <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg.177]</a></span> Austria finally consented to +pardon all but a small number of the persons compromised in the late +events. D'Azeglio still stood out, but finding that there was no shadow of +a chance of obtaining more than this, he reluctantly accepted it. The +great mass, the hundred thousand and more fugitives who had left their +homes in Lombardy and Venetia, were, at any rate, promised a safe return. +The city of Venice, as yet undominated, though on the brink of her fall, +was totally excluded. The list of those whose banishment from Lombardy was +confirmed, comprises the noblest names in the province; with the exception +of a few who were excluded from the amnesty on the score that, before the +revolution, they were Austrian functionaries, nearly every unpardoned +Lombard was noble: Casati, Arese, Borromeo, Litta, Greppi, Pallavicini, +and the Princess Cristina Belgiojoso of Milan, the two Camozzis of +Bergamo, and G. Martinengo Cesaresco of Brescia.</p> + +<p>It must not be imagined that this amnesty ushered in a reign of +oblivion and mildness. It seemed, rather, that Austria, afraid of the +moral consequences of the return of so many unloving subjects, redoubled +her severity. The day following the promulgation of the amnesty was the +18th of August, the Emperor of Austria's birthday. In the morning, +placards dissuading the citizens from taking part in the official +rejoicings were to be seen on the walls of Milan. The persons who put +these up were not caught, but in the course of the day a crowd, consisting +of all classes, made what the official report called 'a scandalous and +anti-politic demonstration,' raising revolutionary cries, and even saying +uncomplimentary things of His Majesty, and worse still, of the Austrian +soldiers. During this 'shameful scene,' <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg.178]</a></span> of which the above is the +Austrian and hence the most highly-coloured description, the military +arrested at hazard some of the crowd, who, by a 'superior order,' were +condemned to the following pains and penalties:—</p> + +<pre> + 1. Angelo Negroni, of Padua, aged thirty, proprietor, forty + strokes; + + 2. Carlo Bossi, watchmaker, aged twenty-two, forty strokes; + + 3. Paolo Lodi, of Monza, student, aged twenty-one, thirty strokes; + + 4. Giovanni Mazzuchetti, Milanese, barrister, aged twenty-four, + thirty strokes; + + 5. Bonnetti, Milanese, lithographer, aged thirty-one, fifty + strokes; + + 6. Moretti, Milanese, domestic servant, aged twenty-six, fifty + strokes; + + 7. Cesana, artist, aged thirty-two, forty strokes; + + 8. Scotti, shopkeeper, of Monza, fifty strokes; + + 9. Vigorelli, Milanese, proprietor, fifty strokes; + + 10. Garavaglia, of Novara, aged thirty-nine, thirty strokes; + + 11. Giuseppe Tandea, Milanese, aged forty, twenty-five strokes; + + 12. Rossi, Milanese, student, thirty strokes; + + 13. Carabelli, workman, forty strokes; + + 14. Giuseppe Berlusconi, fifty strokes; + + 15. Ferrandi, bookseller, thirty strokes; + + 16. Ernestina Galli, of Cremona, operatic singer, aged twenty, + forty strokes; + + 17. Maria Conti, of Florence, operatic singer, aged eighteen, + thirty strokes. +</pre> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg.179]</a></span> + + +<p>There were other sentences of imprisonment in irons and on bread and +water, but the roll of the bastinado, extracted from the official <i> +Gazzetta di Milano</i> may be left to speak for all the rest, and to tell, +with a laconicism more eloquent than the finest rhetoric, what the +Austrian yoke in Italy really meant.</p> + +<p>A few days after, the military commandant sent the Milanese +Municipality a bill for thirty-nine florins, the cost of rods broken or +worn-out, and of ice used to prevent gangrene, in the punishment +administered to the persons arrested on the 18th of August. Sixty strokes +with the Austrian stick were generally enough to prove fatal. Women were +flogged half-naked, together with the men, and in the presence of the +Austrian officers, who came to see the spectacle.</p> + +<p>When the treaty of peace with Austria was signed, there arose a new +difficulty; the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies refused to approve it. Some +of the deputies asked why they should be called upon either to accept or +reject it, on which they were reminded of the 75,000,000 francs indemnity, +funds for the discharge of which could not be legally raised without a +parliamentary vote. The reluctance to share in an odious though necessary +responsibility made these novices in representative government anxious to +throw away the greatest, if not the sole guarantee of constitutional +freedom. Brofferio, by far the ablest man of the extreme radical party, +who had opposed all peace proposals as long as Rome and Venice still +resisted, now advised his friends to bow before the inevitable. But they +did not comply, and the ministers had no other alternative than to resort +to a fresh appeal to the country.</p> + +<p>The crisis was serious, because no amount of loyalty on the part of the +head of the state can save liberty when the representatives of a <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg.180]</a></span> +nation, taking the bit between their teeth, set themselves deliberately to +work to make government impossible. People are too fond of talking of +liberty as if it were something locked up in a box which remains safe as +long as the guardian of the box does not steal it or sell it. Liberty is +in the charge of all and at the mercy of all. There were not wanting +persons who blamed the new dissolution as unconstitutional, and who called +the proclamation of Moncalieri which announced it an act of despotism and +of improper interference with the independence of the electors. It is +hardly too much to say that it was this royal proclamation that saved +Piedmont. The King appealed to Italy and to Europe for judgment on the +conduct of the late Chamber. Having signed, he said, a 'not ruinous' +treaty with Austria, which the honour of the country and the sanctity of +his word required to be faithfully executed, the majority sought to make +that execution legally impracticable. He continued: 'I have promised to +save the nation from the tyranny of parties, whatever be the name, scope +and position of the men who constitute them. These promises I fulfil by +dissolving a Chamber which had become impossible, and by convoking the +immediate assemblage of another parliament; but if the electors of the +country deny me their help, not on me will fall henceforth the +responsibility of the future; and if disorders follow, let them complain, +not of me, but of themselves. Never, up till now, has the House of Savoy +had recourse in vain to the faithfulness, wisdom and honour of its +peoples. I have therefore the right to trust in them on the present +occasion, and to hold for certain that, united together, we shall save the +constitution and the country from the dangers by which they are +menaced.'</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181"> +[Pg.181]</a></span> The Proclamation produced a great effect, and the +parliament which met on the 20th of December contained a working majority +of men who were not only patriotic, but who were also endowed with common +sense. When the ratification of the peace came on for discussion, there +was, indeed, one deputy who spoke in favour of immediate war, which, in a +fortnight, was to effect the liberation, not only of Lombardy and Venetia, +but also of Hungary, a speech worth recalling, as it shows how far madness +will go. The debate concluded with a vote authorising the King's +government to fully carry out the treaty of peace which was concluded at +Milan on the 6th of August 1849, the ayes being 137 against 17 noes. +Piedmont had learnt the bitter but useful lesson, that if you play and +lose, you must pay the cost. He who had played and lost his crown had +already paid the last fee to fortune. Charles Albert was now a denizen of +the Superga—of all kings' burial places, the most inspiring in its +history, the most sublime in its situation. Here Victor Amadeus, as he +looked down on the great French army which, for three months, had besieged +his capital, vowed to erect a temple if it should please the Lord of Hosts +to grant him and his people deliverance from the hands of the enemy. Five +days later the French were in flight. All the Alps, from Mon Viso to the +Simplon, all Piedmont, and beyond Piedmont, Italy to the Apennines, can be +scanned from the church which fulfilled the royal vow.</p> + +<p>To the Superga the body of Charles Albert was brought from the place of +exile. Before the coffin, his sword was carried; after it, they led the +war-horse he had ridden in all the battles. After the war-horse followed a +great multitude. He had said truly that it was an opportune <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg.182]</a></span> time for +him to die. The pathos of his end rekindled the affections of the people +for the dynasty.</p> + +<p>As in the Mosque of dead Sultans in Stamboul, so in the Mausoleum of +the Superga, each sovereign occupied the post of honour only till the next +one came to join him. But the post of honour remains, and will remain, to +Charles Albert. His son lies elsewhere.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_X"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER X</h3> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg.183]</a></span> + + +<h4>THE REVIVAL OF PIEDMONT</h4> + +<h5>1850-1856</h5> + +<h5>Restoration of the Pope and Grand Duke of Tuscany—Misrule at +Naples—The Struggle with the Church in Piedmont—The Crimean +War.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>The decade from 1849 to 1859 may seem, at first sight, to resemble an +interregnum, but it was an evolution. There is no pause in the life of +nations any more than in the life of individuals: they go forward or they +go backward. In these ten years Piedmont went forward; the other Italian +governments did not stand still, they went backward. The diseases from +which they suffered gained daily upon the whole body-politic, and even +those clever foreign doctors who had been the most convinced that this or +that remedy would set them on their feet, were in the end persuaded that +there was only one place for them—the Hospital for Incurables. After +the fall of Rome, Pius IX. issued a sort of canticle from Gaeta, in which +he thanked the Lord at whose bidding the stormy ocean had been arrested, +but he did not even so much as say thank you to the French, without whom, +nevertheless, the stormy ocean would have proceeded on its way. To all +suggestions from Paris that now that victory had been won by force the +time was come for the Sovereign to give some guarantee that it would not +be abused, <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184"> +[Pg.184]</a></span> the Pope turned a completely deaf ear. 'The Pope,' +said M. Drouyn de Lhuys, 'prefers to return to Rome upon the dead bodies +of his subjects rather than amidst the applause which would have greeted +him had he taken our advice.' That advice referred in particular to the +secularisation of the public administration, and this was exactly what the +Pope and the ex-Liberal Cardinal Antonelli, now and henceforth his most +influential counsellor, were determined not to concede. They had grown +wise in their generation, for a priest whose ministers are laymen is as +much an anomaly as a layman whose ministers are priests. The French +government desired that the Statute should be maintained, and demanded +judicial reforms and an amnesty for political offenders. None of these +points was accepted except the last, and that only nominally, as the +amnesty of the 18th of September did not put a stop to proscriptions and +vindictive measures. Count Mamiani, whose stainless character was +venerated in all Italy, and who had devoted all his energies to the +attempt to save the Papal government after the Pope's flight, was +ruthlessly excluded, and so were many other persons who, though +liberal-minded, had shown signal devotion to the Holy See. All sorts of +means were used to serve the ends of vengeance; for instance, Alessandro +Calandrelli, a Roman of high reputation, who held office under the +republic, was condemned to death for high treason, and to twenty years at +the galleys, on a trumped-up charge of theft, which was palpably absurd; +but the Pope, while quashing the first sentence, confirmed the second, and +Calandrelli would have remained in prison till the year of grace 1870, as +many others did, but for the chance circumstance that his father had been +a friend of the King of Prussia, who took up his cause so warmly that +after two years he was <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_185" id= +"Page_185">[Pg.185]</a></span> let out and sent to Berlin, where the King +and A. von Humboldt received him with open arms.</p> + +<p>These were the auspices under which Pius IX. returned to Rome after +seventeen months' absence. A four-fold invasion restored the Temporal +Power, which Fénelon said was the root of all evil to the Church, +but which, according to Pius IX., was necessary to the preservation of the +Catholic religion. The re-established <i>régime</i> was +characterised by Lord Clarendon at the Congress of Paris as 'the +opprobrium of Europe.' The Pope tried to compensate for his real want of +independence (for a prince who could not stand a day without foreign +bayonets, whatever else he was, was not independent) by laughing at the +entreaties of France to relieve that advanced nation from the annoyance of +having set up a government fit for the Middle Ages. He rated at its +correct value the support of Napoleon, and believing it to be purely +interested, he believed in its permanence. The President had thought of +nothing in the world but votes, and he thought of them still. The Roman +Expedition secured him the services of M. de Falloux as minister, and won +over to him the entire Clerical Party, including Montalembert and the +so-called Liberal Catholics. Thus, and thus only, was the leap from the +Presidential chair to the Imperial throne made possible. The result was +flattering, but still there are reasons to think (apart from Prince +Jérôme Napoleon's express statement to that effect) that +Napoleon III. hated the whole business from the bottom of his soul, and +that of his not few questionable acts, this was the only one of which he +felt lastingly ashamed. Seeing that the communications of his ministers +failed in their object, he tried the expedient of writing a private letter +to his friend Edgar Ney, couched in the <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg.186]</a></span> strongest terms of +disapproval of the recalcitrant attitude of the Papal Government. This +letter was published as it was intended to be, but in the Roman States, +except that its circulation was forbidden, no notice was taken of it. +Though the incident may be regarded as a stroke of facing-both-ways +policy, the anger expressed was probably as sincere as any of Napoleon's +sentiments could be, and the letter had the effect of awakening the idea +in many minds that something of the former Italian conspirator still +existed in the ruler of France. The question arose, What sort of pressure +would be needed to turn that germ to account for Italy?</p> + +<p>In the kingdom of Naples, where the laws, to look at them on paper, +were incomparably better than those in force in the Roman States, the +administration was such as would have disgraced a remote province of the +Turkish Empire. The King's naturally suspicious temperament was worked +upon by his courtiers and priests till he came to detect in every Liberal +a personal antagonist, whose immunity from harm was incompatible with his +own, and in Liberalism a plague dangerous to society, which must be +stamped out at all costs. Over 800 Liberals were sent to the galleys. The +convictions were obtained, in a great proportion of cases, by false +testimony. Bribes and secret protection in high quarters were the only +means by which an innocent man could hope to escape; 50,000 persons were +under police supervision, to be imprisoned at will. The police often +refused to set at liberty those whom the judges had acquitted. The +government had a Turkish or Russian fear of printed matter. A wretched +barber was fined 1000 ducats for having in his possession a volume of +Leopardi's poems, which was described as 'contrary to religion and +morals.'</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187"> +[Pg.187]</a></span> What was meant by being an inmate of a Neapolitan +prison was told by Mr Gladstone in his two 'Letters to the Earl of +Aberdeen,' which the latter sent to Prince Schwarzenberg, the Austrian +Prime Minister, with a strong appeal to him to make known their contents +to the King of the Two Sicilies, and to use his influence in procuring a +mitigation of the abuses complained of. Prince Schwarzenberg did nothing, +and it was then that the 'Letters' were published. The impression created +on public opinion was almost without a parallel. The celebrated phrase, +'The negation of God erected into a system of government,' passing into +currency as a short history of Bourbon rule at Naples, kept alive the +wrathful feelings which the 'Letters' aroused, even when these ceased to +be read. Some small errors of fact (such as that of stating that all the +prisoners were chained, whereas an exception was made of those undergoing +life sentences) were magnified by the partisans of Ferdinand II.; but the +truth of the picture as a whole was amply confirmed from independent +sources. Baron Carlo Poerio (condemned to nineteen years' imprisonment) +<i>was</i> chained to a common malefactor, the chain never being undone, +and producing in the end a disease of the bone from which he never +recovered. His case was that of all the political prisoners in the same +category with himself. Luigi Settembrini and the others on whom sentence +of death had been passed, but commuted into one of life imprisonment, were +not chained, but they were put to associate with the worst thieves and +assassins, while their material surroundings accorded with the moral +atmosphere they were forced to breathe.</p> + +<p>The Neapolitan prisoners did more than suffer for freedom; they +delivered the name of their country from being a reproach among the +nations. They showed what men the South of Italy can produce. Those <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg.188]</a></span> who +wish to know what types of probity, honour and ideal patriotism may grow +out of that soil, which is sometimes charged with yielding only the rank +weeds planted by despotism, may read the letters and memoirs of the noble +Poerios, of Settembrini, gentlest but most fearless of human souls, of the +Calabrian Morellis, all patriots and martyrs; of the Duke of +Castromediano, who lately, in his old age, has set down a few +recollections of the years he spent at the Neapolitan galleys. He records +in these notes what he calls the most perilous moment in his life. It was +when he was summoned, with six fellow-prisoners who had asked for and +obtained freedom, to hear, as he feared, his own pardon pronounced. For +pardon was equivalent to dishonour; it was granted either in consequence +of real submission and retraction, or in order to be able to blacken the +character of the pardoned man by falsely asserting that such submission +had been made. His fear was groundless. He had been led out, perhaps, in +the hope that the example of the others would prove contagious. He was not +pardoned. As he returned to his prison, he thanked Divine Providence for +the chains which left him pure.</p> + +<p>Strange to tell, Ferdinand II. rendered one considerable service to the +national cause; not that he saw it in that light, but the service was none +the less real because its motive was a narrow one. Austria proposed a +defensive league between the Italian Sovereigns: defensive not only with +the view to outward attack, but also and chiefly against 'internal +disorder.' Piedmont was to be invited to join as soon as she had renounced +her constitutional sins, which it was sanguinely expected she would do +before very long. Meanwhile Parma, Modena, Tuscany and Rome embraced the +idea with enthusiasm, but the King of <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg.189]</a></span> the Two Sicilies, who dimly +saw in it an opening for interference in his own peculiar governmental +ways, boldly declined to have anything to do with it. And so, to Prince +Schwarzenberg's serious disappointment, the scheme by which he had hoped +to create an absolutist Italian federation, came to an untimely end.</p> + +<p>The Grand Duke of Tuscany timidly inquired of the Austrian premier if +he might renew the constitutional <i>régime</i> in his state. +Schwarzenberg replied with the artful suggestion that he should hear what +the Dukes of Modena and Parma, the Pope, and King Ferdinand had to say on +the subject. Their advice was unanimously negative: Cardinal Antonelli +going so far as to declare that Constitutionalism in Tuscany would be +regarded as a constant menace and danger to the States of the Church. The +different counsels of Piedmont, conveyed by Count Balbo, weighed little +against so imposing an array of opinion, backed as it was by the Power +which still stabled its horses in the Convent of San Marco. The Tuscan +Statute was formally suspended in September 1850.</p> + +<p>From that day forth, Tuscany sank lower and lower in the slough. To +please the Pope, havoc was made of the Leopoldine laws—named after +the son of Maria Theresa, the wise Grand Duke Leopold I.—laws by +which a bridle was put on the power and extension of the Church. The +prosecution and imprisonment of a Protestant couple who were accused of +wishing to make proselytes, proclaimed the depth of intolerance into which +what was once the freest and best-ordered government in Italy had +descended.</p> + +<p>The ecclesiastical question became the true test question in Piedmont +as well as in Tuscany, but there it had another issue.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190"> +[Pg.190]</a></span> It had also a different basis. In Piedmont there were +no Leopoldine laws to destroy; what was necessary was to create them. To +privileges dating from the Middle Ages which in the kingdom of Sardinia +almost alone had been restored without curtailment after the storm of the +French Revolution, were added the favours, the vast wealth, the +preponderating influence acquired during Charles Felix' reign, and the +first seventeen years of that of Charles Albert. Theoretically, the +Statute swept away all privileges of classes and sects, and made citizens +equal before the law, but to put this theory into practice further +legislation was needed, because, as a matter of fact, the clergy preserved +their immunities untouched and showed not the slightest disposition to +yield one jot of them. The Piedmontese clergy, more numerous in proportion +to the population than in any state except Rome, were more intransigent +than any ecclesiastical body in the world. The Italian priest of old days, +whatever else might be said about him, was rarely a fanatic. The very +nickname 'Ultramontane' given by Italians to the religious extremists +north of the Alps, shows how foreign such excesses were to their own +temperaments. But the Ultramontane spirit had already invaded Piedmont, +and was embraced by its clergy with all the zeal of converts. There was +still a <i>Foro Ecclesiastico</i> for the arraignment of religious +offenders, and this was one of the first privileges against which Massimo +d'Azeglio lifted his 'sacrilegious' hand. To go through all the list would +be tedious, and would demand more explanation regarding the local modes of +acquisition and tenure of religious property than would be interesting +now. The object of the Siccardi laws, as they were named after the +Minister of Grace and Justice who introduced them, and of the stronger +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg.191]</a></span> +measures to which they led up, was to make the priest amenable to the +common law of the land in all except that which referred to his spiritual +functions; to put a limit on the amassment of wealth by religious +corporations; to check the multiplication of convents and the +multiplication of feast days, both of which encouraged the people in sloth +and idleness; to withdraw education from the sole control of +ecclesiastics; and finally, to authorise civil marriage, but without +making it compulsory. The programme was large, and it took years to carry +it out. The Vatican contended that it was contrary to the Concordat which +existed between the Holy See and the Court of Sardinia. Massimo d'Azeglio +replied that the maintenance of the Concordat, in all its parts, meant the +ruin of the state; that he had tried every means of conciliation, made +every effort towards arriving at a compromise, and that since his +endeavours had failed in consequence of the refusal of the Vatican to +abate pretensions which it neither could nor did enforce in Austria, +Naples or Spain, heaven and the world must judge between Rome and +Piedmont, between Cardinal Antonelli and himself.</p> + +<p>The struggle throughout was bitter in the extreme, but its most +striking incident was the denial of the last Sacraments to a member of the +Government, the Minister of Agriculture, Santa Rosa, who happened to die +soon after the passing of the Act abolishing the <i>Foro +Ecclesiastico</i>. Santa Rosa was a sincerely religious man, but he +resisted all the attempts of the priest to extort a retractation, and died +unabsolved rather than leave a dishonoured name to his children. The +popular indignation excited by this incident was in proportion with the +importance attached to outward observances of religion in Catholic +countries; the government had to protect the Archbishop of <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg.192]</a></span> Turin from +violence, while, at the same time, they sent him for a month to the +Citadel for having forbidden his clergy to obey the law on the <i>Foro +Ecclesiastico</i>. He and one or two of the other bishops were afterwards +expelled from the kingdom. An unwelcome necessity, but whose was the +fault? In other countries, where the privileges claimed by the Piedmontese +clergy had been abolished for centuries, did the bishops dictate revolt +against the law? If not, why should they do so in Piedmont?</p> + +<p>The successor of Santa Rosa in the ministry was Count Cavour, who thus +in 1850 for the first time became an official servant of the state. When +D'Azeglio submitted the appointment to the King, Victor Emmanuel remarked +that, though he did not object to it in the least, they had better take +care, as this man would turn them all out before long. This man was, in +fact, to stand at the helm of Piedmont, with short intervals, till he +died, and was to carve out from the block of formless marble, not the +Italy of sublime dreams, which, owing her deliverance to her sons alone, +should arise immaculate from the grave a Messiah among the nations, but +the actual Italy which has been accomplished; imperfect and peccable as +human things mostly are, belonging rather to prose than to poetry, to +matter than to spirit, but, for all that, an Italy which is one and is +free.</p> + +<div class="center"><img src="images/image4.jpg" alt="COUNT CAVOUR" /><br /> + <span class="caption">COUNT CAVOUR</span></div> + +<br /> + + +<p>Fifty years ago a great English writer pointed out what the real Italy +would be, if it were to be; 'The prosperity of nations as of individuals,' +wrote Mr Ruskin in one of his earliest papers, 'is cold and hard-hearted +and forgetful. The dead lie, indeed, trampled down by the living; the +place thereof shall know them no more, for that place is not in the hearts +of the survivors, for whose interest they have made way.<span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg.193]</a></span> But +adversity and ruin point to the sepulchre, and it is not trodden on; to +the chronicle, and it does not decay. Who would substitute the rush of a +new nation, the struggle of an awakening power, for the dreamy sleep of +Italy's desolation, for the sweet silence of melancholy thought, her +twilight time of everlasting memories?'</p> + +<p>There is the case, stated with beautiful lucidity, of the somewhat +ghoulish dilettantism which, enjoying tombs, would condemn all mankind to +breathe their atmosphere. It is not, however, in order to discuss that +view that the passage is quoted, but because of its relevancy to what +Cavour attempted and what he did. Never was there a mind which cherished +fewer illusions. He believed that the pursuit of the unattainable was +still more a political crime than a political blunder. He was, in this, +what is now called an opportunist, and he was also an opportunist in +believing that though in politics you can choose your aim, you can very +rarely choose your means. He held (and this was the reason that he was so +profoundly hated by men of very different parties) that to accomplish +great changes you have to make sacrifices, not only of the higher sort, +but, in a certain sense, also of the lower. As he thought that the +Austrians could not be expelled from Italy for good and all without +foreign help, he contemplated from the first securing that foreign help, +though no one would have been more glad than he to do without it. He +thought that Italian freedom could not be won without a closer alliance +with the democratic party than politicians like D'Azeglio, who had the +fear of the ermine, of tarnishing its whiteness, would have ever brought +themselves to acquiesce in, and he therefore immediately took steps to +establish that alliance. Cavour had no faith in the creation of ideally +perfect <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194"> +[Pg.194]</a></span> states, such as the Monarchy of Dante or the Republic +of Mazzini, but he did think that a living land was better than a dead +one, that the struggle of an awakening power, the rush of a new nation, +was infinitely to be preferred to the desolation of dreamy sleeps, sweet +silences, and everlasting memories that spelt regrets.</p> + +<p>It may be possible now to see clearly that if no one had tried for the +unattainable, Cavour would not have found the ground prepared for his +work. The appreciation of his rank among Italian liberators rests on a +different point, and it is this: without a man of his positive mould, of +his practical genius, of his force of will and force of patience, would +the era of splendid endeavours have passed into the era of accomplished +facts? If the answer to this is 'No,' then nothing can take from Cavour +the glory of having conferred an incalculable boon on the country which he +loved with a love that was not the less strong because it lacked the +divinising qualities of imagination.</p> + +<p>An aristocrat by birth and the inheritor of considerable wealth, Cavour +was singularly free from prejudices; his favourite study was political +economy, and in quiet times he would probably have given all his energies +to the interests of commerce and agriculture. He was an advocate of free +trade, and was, perhaps, the only one of the many Italians who <i> +fêted</i> Mr Cobden on his visit to Italy who cared in the least for +the motive of his campaign. Cavour understood English politics better than +they have ever been understood by a foreign statesman; his article on +Ireland, written in 1843, may still be read with profit. Before +parliamentary life existed in Piedmont, he took the only way open of +influencing public opinion by founding a newspaper, the <i> +Risorgimento,</i> in which he continued to write for <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg.195]</a></span> several +years. In the Chamber of Deputies he soon made his power felt—power +is the word, for he was no orator in the ordinary sense; his speeches read +well, as hard hitting and logical expositions, but they were not well +delivered. Cavour never spoke Italian with true grace and ease though he +selected it for his speeches, and not French, which was also allowed and +which he spoke admirably. His presence, too, did not lend itself to +oratory; short and thickset, and careless in his dress, he formed a +contrast to the romantic figure of D'Azeglio. Yet his prosaic face, when +animated, gave an impressive sense of that attribute which seemed to +emanate from the whole man: power.</p> + +<p>It needed a more wary hand than D'Azeglio's to steer out of the +troubled waters caused by the ecclesiastical bills, and to put the final +touches to the legislation which he, to his lasting honour be it said, had +courageously and successfully initiated. In the autumn of 1852 D'Azeglio +resigned, and Cavour was requested by the King to form a ministry. He was +to remain, with short breaks, at the head of public affairs for the nine +following years.</p> + +<p>At this time the government of Lombardy and Venetia was vested in +Field-Marshal Radetsky, with two lieutenant-governors under him, who only +executed his orders. Radetsky resided at Verona. Politically and +economically the two provinces were then undergoing an extremity of +misery; the diseases of the vines and the silkworms had reached the point +of causing absolute ruin to the great mass of proprietors who, reckoning +on having always enough to live on, had not laid by. Many noble families +sank to the condition of peasants. The taxation was heavier than in any +other part of the Austrian Empire; in proof of <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg.196]</a></span> which it may be +mentioned that Lombardy paid 80,000,000 francs into the Austrian treasury, +which, had the Empire been taxed equally, would have given an annual total +of 1,100,000,000, whereas the revenue amounted to only 736,000,000. The +landtax was almost double what it was in the German provinces. Italians, +however, have a great capacity for supporting such burdens with patience, +and it is doubtful whether the material aspect of the case did much to +increase their hatred of foreign dominion. Its moral aspect grew daily +worse; the terror became chronic. The possession of a sheet of printed +paper issued by the revolutionary press at Capolago, on the lake of +Lugano, was enough to send a man to the gallows. These old, badly printed +leaflets, with no name of author or publisher attached, but chiefly +written in the unmistakable style of Mazzini, can still be picked up in +the little booksellers' shops in Canton Ticino, and it is difficult to +look at them without emotion. What hopes were carried by them. What risks +were run in passing them from hand to hand. Of what tragedies were they +not the cause! In August 1851, Antonio Sciesa, of Milan, was shot for +having one such leaflet on his person. The gendarmes led him past his own +house, hoping that the sight of it would weaken his nerve, and make him +accept the clemency which was eagerly proffered if he would reveal the +names of others engaged in the patriotic propaganda. 'Tiremm innanz!' +('come along') he said, in his rough Milanese dialect, and marched +incorruptible to death. On a similar charge, Dottesio and Grioli, the +latter a priest, suffered in the same year, and early in 1852 the long +trial was begun at Mantua of about fifty <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg.197]</a></span> patriots whose names had been +obtained by the aid of the bastinado from one or two unhappy wretches who +had not the fortitude to endure. Of these fifty, nine were executed, among +whom were the priests Grazioli and Tazzoli, Count Montanari of Verona, and +Tito Speri, the young hero of the defence of Brescia. Speri had a trifling +part in the propaganda, but the remembrance of his conduct in 1849 ensured +his condemnation. He was deeply attached to the religion in which he was +born, and his last letters show the fervour of a Christian joined to the +calmness of a stoic. If he had a regret, it was that he had been unable to +do more for his country; but here too his simple faith sustained him. +Surely the Giver of all good would not refuse to listen to the prayers of +the soul which passed to Him through martyrdom. 'To-morrow they lead me +forth,' he wrote. 'I have done with this world, but, in the bosom of God, +I promise you I will do what I can.' So did this clear and childlike +spirit carry its cause from the Austrian Assizes to a higher tribunal.</p> + +<p>In the spring of 1853 there was an attempt at a rising in Milan from +which the mass of the citizens stood aloof, if they even knew of it till +it was over; an attempt ill-considered and not easily justified from any +point of view, the blame for which has been generally cast on Mazzini; but +though he knew of it, he was unwilling that its authors should choose the +time and mode of action which they chose. He was, moreover, misinformed as +to the extent of the preparations, since no Milanese of any standing gave +his support to the plan.</p> + +<p>On the plea that the Lombard emigration was concerned in the abortive +movement, which was by no means consistent with facts, the Austrian +Government sequestered the landed property of the exiles and voluntary +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg.198]</a></span> +emigrants, reducing them and their families (which in most instances +remained behind) to complete beggary. Nine hundred and seventy-eight +estates were placed under sequestration. The Court of Sardinia held the +measure to be a violation of the amnesty, which was one of the conditions +of the peace of 1850. The Sardinian Minister was recalled from Vienna, and +the relations between the two governments were once more on a footing of +open rupture.</p> + +<p>Not less important was the moral effect of the sequestrations in France +and England, but particularly in England. They acted as the last straw, +coming as they did on the top of the flogging system which had already +enraged the English public mind to the highest degree. The Prince Consort +wrote in March to his brother: 'To give you a conception of the maxims of +justice and policy which Austria has been lately developing, I enclose an +extract of a report from Turin which treats of the decrees of confiscation +in Italy. People here will be very indignant.' He goes on to say (somewhat +too broadly) that the English upper classes were till then thoroughly +Austrian, but that she had succeeded in turning the whole of England +against her, and there was now no one left to defend her.</p> + +<p>Austria, through Count Buol, complained that she was 'dying of +legality,' but England took the Sardinian view that the sequestrations +directly violated the treaty between the two Powers. In the Austrian Note +of the 9th of March, it was distinctly declared that Piedmont would be +crushed if she did not perform the part of police-agent to Austria. +Cavour's uncowed attitude at this crisis was what first fixed upon him the +eyes of European diplomacy.</p> + +<p>In the course of the summer, the Duke of Genoa, Victor Emmanuel's +brother, paid a visit to the English Court, where the Duke of <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg.199]</a></span> Saxe-Coburg +was also staying, by whom he was described as 'one of the cleverest and +most amiable men of our time.' Sunny Italy, adds Duke Ernest, seemed to +have sent him to England so that by his mere presence alone, in the prime +of his age, he might make propaganda for the cause of his country. The +Queen presented her guest with a handsome riding-horse, and when he +thanked her in warm and feeling terms, she spoke the memorable words, the +effect of which spoken at that date by the Queen of England can hardly be +imagined: 'I hope you will ride this horse when the battles are fought for +the liberation of Italy.'</p> + +<p>The battle-day was indeed to come, but when it came the sword which the +young Duke wielded with such gallantry in the siege of Peschiera would be +sheathed for ever. The Prince Charming of Casa Savoia died in February +1855, leaving a daughter to Italy, the beloved Queen Margaret.</p> + +<p>In the space of a few weeks, Victor Emmanuel lost his brother, his +mother, and his wife. The King, who felt keenly when he did feel, was +driven distraught with grief; no circumstance was wanting which could +sharpen the edge of his sorrow. The two Queens, both Austrian princesses, +had never interfered in foreign politics; what they suffered they suffered +in silence. But they were greatly influenced by the ministers of the +religion which had been a comfort of their not too happy lives, and they +had frequently told Victor Emmanuel that they would die of grief if the +anti-papal policy of his government were persisted in. Now that they were +dead, every partisan of the Church declared, without a shadow of +reticence, that the mourning in which the House of Savoy was plunged was a +clear manifestation of Divine wrath. Victor Emmanuel had been brought up +in superstitious surroundings; it was hardly possible that he should +listen to these <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200"> +[Pg.200]</a></span> things altogether unmoved. But on this as on the other +occasions in his life when he was to be threatened with ghostly terrors, +he did not belie the name of 'Re Galantuomo,' which he had written down as +his profession when filling up the papers of the first census taken after +his accession—a jest that gave him the title he will ever be known +by. Harassed and tormented as the King was, when the law on religious +corporations had been voted by the Senate and the Chamber, and was +presented to him by Cavour for signature, he did his duty and signed it. +The commentary which came from the Vatican was the decree of major +excommunication promulgated in the Consistory of the 27th of July against +all who had approved or sanctioned the measure, or who were concerned in +putting it into execution.</p> + +<p>The law was known as the 'Rattazziana,' from Urbano Rattazzi, whom +Cavour appointed Minister of Grace and Justice, thereby effecting a +coalition between the Right Centre, which he led himself, and the Left +Centre, which was led by Rattazzi; an alliance not pleasing to the Pure +Right or to the Advanced Left, but necessary to give the Prime Minister +sufficient strength to command the respect, both at home and abroad, which +can only be won by a statesman who is not afraid of being overturned by +every whiff of the parliamentary wind. The 'Legge Rattazziana' certainly +aimed at asserting the supremacy of the state, but in substance it was an +arrangement for raising the stipend of the poorer clergy at the expense of +the richer benefices and corporations, and save for the bitter animosity +of Rome, it would not have excited the degree of anger that descended upon +its promoters. In a country where the Church had a rental of 15,000,000 +francs, there were many <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_201" id= +"Page_201">[Pg.201]</a></span> parish priests who had not an income of +£20; a state of things seen to be anomalous by the best +ecclesiastics themselves, but their efforts at conciliation failed because +the Holy See would not recognise the right of the civil authority to +interfere in any question affecting the status or property of the clergy, +and this right was the real point at issue.</p> + +<p>In these days, Cavour came to an understanding with a friendly monk in +order that when his last hour arrived, he should not, like Santa Rosa, go +unshriven to his account. In 1861, Fra Giacomo performed his part in the +agreement, and was duly punished for having saved his Church from a +scandal which, from the position of the great minister, would have reached +European dimensions.</p> + +<p>Cavour's work of bringing into order the Sardinian finances, which, +from the flourishing state they had attained prior to 1848, had fallen +into what appeared the hopeless confusion of a large and steadily +increasing deficit, is not to the ordinary observer his most brilliant +achievement, but it is possibly the one for which he deserves most praise. +It could not have been carried through except by a statesman who was +completely indifferent to the applause of the hour. During all the earlier +years that he held office, Cavour was extraordinarily unpopular. The +nickname of 'la bestia neira' conferred on him by Victor Emmanuel referred +to the opinion entertained of him by the Clerical party, but he was almost +as much a 'bestia neira' to a large portion of the Liberals as to the +Clericals or to the old Piedmontese party. His house was attacked by the +mob in 1853, and had not his servants barred the entrance, something +serious might have occurred. Happily the King and the majority in the +Chamber and in the country had, if not much love for Cavour, a profound +conviction that he could not be done without, and that, consequently, he +must be allowed to do <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_202" id= +"Page_202">[Pg.202]</a></span> what he liked. Thus the large sacrifices he +demanded of the taxpayers were regularly voted, and Cavour could afford to +despise the abuse heaped upon himself since he saw his policy advancing to +maturity along a steady line of success.</p> + +<p>When, in 1854, Cavour resolved that Piedmont should join France and +England in the coming war with Russia, it seemed to a large number of his +countrymen that he had taken leave of his senses, but the firm support +which in this instance he found in the King enabled him next year to equip +and despatch the contingent, 15,000 strong, commanded by General La +Marmora, which not only won the respect of friends and foes in the field, +but offered an example of efficiency in all departments that compared +favourably with the faulty organisation of the great armies beside which +it fought. Its gallant conduct at the battle of the Tchernaja flattered +the native pride, and when, in due time, 12,000 returned of the 15,000 +that had gone forth, the increased credit of Piedmont in Europe was +already felt to compensate for the heavy cost of the expedition.</p> + +<p>Among the Italians living abroad, Cavour's motives in taking part in +the Crimean War were, from the first, better understood than they were at +home. Piedmont, by qualifying for the part of Italian advocate in the +Councils of Europe, gave a guarantee of good faith which patriots like +Daniel Manin and Giorgio Pallavicini accepted as a happy promise for the +future. It was then that a large section of the republican party frankly +embraced the programme of Italian unity under Victor Emmanuel. They +foresaw that a repetition of the discordant action of 1848 would end in +the same way. Manin wrote to Lorenzo Valerio in September 1855: 'I, who am +a republican, plant the banner of <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_203" +id="Page_203">[Pg.203]</a></span> unification; let all who desire that +Italy should exist, rally round it, and Italy will exist.' The ex-dictator +of Venice was eking out a scanty livelihood by giving lessons in Paris; he +had only three years left to live, and was not destined to see his words +verified. But, poor and sick and obscure though he was, his support was +worth legions.</p> + +<p>It was not the first time that Italian republicans had said to the +House of Savoy: If you will free Italy we are with you; but the +circumstances of the case were completely changed since Mazzini wrote in +somewhat the same language to Charles Albert a quarter of a century +before. Both times the proposal contained an ultimatum as well as an +offer, but Manin made it without second thoughts in the strongest hope +that the pact would be accepted and full of anticipatory joy at the +prospect of its success; while by the Genoese republican it was made in +mistrust and in the knowledge that were it accepted (which he did not +believe), its acceptance, though bringing with it for Italy a state of +things which he recognised as preferable to that which prevailed, would +bring to him personally nothing but disappointment and the forfeiture of +his dearest wishes.</p> + +<p>It is difficult to say what were at this date Cavour's own private +sentiments about Italian unity. Though he once confessed that as a young +man he had fancied himself Prime Minister of Italy, whenever the subject +was now discussed he disclaimed any belief in the feasibility of uniting +all parts of the peninsula in one whole. He even called Manin 'a very good +man, but mad about Italian unification.' It wanted, in truth, the +prescience of the seer rather than the acumen of the politician to discern +the unity of Italy in 1855. All outward facts seemed more adverse to its +accomplishment than at any period since <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg.204]</a></span> 1815. Yet it was for Italy +that Cavour always pleaded; Italy, and not Piedmont or even Lombardy and +Venetia. He invariably asserted the right of his King to uphold the cause +of all the populations from the Alps to the Straits of Messina. If he +adopted the proverb 'Chi va piano va sano,' he kept in view the end of it, +'Chi va sano va lontano.' In short, if he did not believe in Italian +unity, he acted in the same way as he would have acted had he believed in +it.</p> + +<p>It is evident that one thing he could not do. Whatever was in his +thoughts, unless he was prepared to retire into private life then and +there, he could not proclaim from the house-tops that he espoused the +artichoke theory attributed to Victor Amadeus. There were only too many +old diplomatists as it was, who sought to cripple Cavour's resources by +reviving that story. The time was not come when, without manifest damage +to the cause, he could plead guilty to the charge of preparing an Italian +crown for his Sovereign. 'The rule in politics,' Cavour once observed, 'is +to be as moderate in language as you are resolute in act.'</p> + +<p>At the end of 1855, Victor Emmanuel, with Cavour and Massimo d'Azeglio, +paid a visit to the French and English Courts. He was received with more +marked cordiality at the English Court than at the French. No Prince +Charming, indeed, but the ideal of a bluff and burly Longobard chief, he +managed to win the good graces of his entertainers, even if they thought +him a trifle barbaric. The Duchess of Sutherland declared that of all the +knights of St George whom she had ever seen, he was the only one who would +have had the best of it in the fight with the dragon. The Queen rose at +four o'clock in the morning to take leave of him. Cavour was so much +struck by the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205"> +[Pg.205]</a></span> interest which Her Majesty evinced in the efforts of +Piedmont for constitutional freedom, that he did not hesitate to call her +the best friend his country possessed in England.</p> + +<p>It is not generally known, but it is quite true, that Victor Emmanuel +wished to contract a matrimonial alliance with the English royal family. +He did not take Cavour into his confidence, but a high English personage +was sounded on the matter, a hint being given to him to say nothing about +it to the Count. The lady who might have become Queen of Italy was the +Princess Mary of Cambridge. The negotiations were broken off because the +young Princess would not hear of any marriage which would have required +her living out of England.</p> + +<p>The Congress which met in Paris in February 1856 for the conclusion of +the peace between the Allies and Russia was to have far more momentous +results for Italy than for the countries more immediately concerned in its +discussions, but, contrary to the general impression, it does not appear +that these results were anticipated by Cavour. He even said that it was +idle for Sardinia to send delegates to a congress in which they would be +treated like children. Cavour feared, perhaps, to lose the ground he had +gained in the previous year with Napoleon III., when the Emperor's rather +surprising question: 'Que peut-on faire pour l'Italie?' had suggested to +the Piedmontese statesman that definite scheme of a French alliance, which +henceforth he never let go. In any case, when D'Azeglio, who was appointed +Sardinian representative, refused at the last moment to undertake a charge +for which he knew he was not fitted, it was only at the urgent request of +the King that Cavour consented to take his place. When once in Paris, +however, he <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206"> +[Pg.206]</a></span> warmed to the work, finding an unexpectedly strong +ally in Lord Clarendon. He won what was considered in all Europe a great +diplomatic triumph, by getting a special sitting assigned to the +examination of Italian affairs, which had as little to do with the natural +work of the Congress as the affairs of China. The chief points discussed +at the secret sitting of the 8th of April were the foreign occupations in +Central Italy, and the state of the Roman and Neapolitian governments, +which was stigmatised by Lord Clarendon in terms much more severe than +Cavour himself thought it prudent to use. Count Buol, the chief Austrian +representative, grew very angry, and his opposition was successful in +reducing the sitting to a mere conversation; but what had been said had +been said, and Cavour prepared the way for his future policy by remarking +to everyone: 'You see that diplomacy can do nothing for us; the question +needs another solution.' Lord Clarendon's vigorous support made him think +for a moment that England might take an active part in that other +solution, and with this idea in his mind he hurried over the Channel to +see Lord Palmerston, but he left England convinced that nothing more than +moral assistance was ever to be expected from that quarter. The Marquis +Emmanuel d'Azeglio, who for many years represented Sardinia, and +afterwards Italy, at the Court of St James, has placed it on record that +the English Premier repeatedly assured him that an armed intervention on +behalf of Italian freedom would have been much to his taste, but that the +country would not have been with him. It is certain that Cavour would have +preferred an English to a French alliance; as it was not to be had, he +reposed his sole hopes in the Emperor Napoleon, who had not the French +people <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207"> +[Pg.207]</a></span> really more with him in this matter than Lord +Palmerston had the English—nay, he had them less with him, for in +England there would have been a party of Italian sympathisers favourable +to the war, and in France, there was no one except Prince Napoleon and the +workmen of Paris. But the French Emperor was a despotic sovereign, and not +the Prime Minister of a self-governing country. After all, some good may +come out of despotism.</p> + +<p>Upon Cavour's return to Turin, he received not only the approval of the +King and Parliament, but also congratulations from all parts of Italy. His +position had gained immensely in strength, both at home and abroad. Yet +the power of the Clerical party in Piedmont was still such that, in the +elections of 1857—the first that had taken place since the +legislation affecting the Church—they obtained seventy seats out of +a total of two hundred. Cavour did not conceal his alarm. What if eight +years' labour were thrown away, and the movement of the State turned +backward? 'Never,' he said, 'would he advise a <i>coup d'état,</i> +nor would his master resort to one; but if the King abdicated, what then?' +Victor Emmanuel said to his Prime Minister: 'Let us do our duty; stand +firm, and we shall see!' He often declared that, sooner than beat a +retreat from the path he had entered on, he would go to America and become +plain <i>Monsù Savoia</i>; but he never lost faith in the +predominating patriotism and good sense of his subjects; and at this time, +as at others, he proved to be right. The crisis was surmounted. On the one +hand, some elections were invalidated where the priests had exercised +undue influence; and, on the other, Rattazzi, who was especially obnoxious +to the Clerical party, retired from office. Cavour thus found himself +still able to command the Chamber.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg.208]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XI"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XI</h3> + +<h4>PREMONITIONS OF THE STORM</h4> + +<h5>1857-1858</h5> + +<h5>Pisacane's Landing—Orsini's Attempt—The Compact of +Plombières—Cavour's Triumph.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>In spite of the accusation of favouring political assassination which +was frequently launched against the Italian secret societies, only one of +the faithless Italian princes came to a violent death, and his murder had +no connection with politics. Charles III., Duke of Parma, was mortally +stabbed in March 1854; some said that the assassin was a groom whom he had +struck with a riding-whip; others, that he was the father or brother of +one of the victims of the Duke's dissolute habits. The Duchess, a daughter +of the Duke de Berry, assumed the Regency on behalf of her son, who was a +child. She began by initiating many reforms; but a street disturbance in +July gave Austria the desired excuse for meddling in the government, when +all progress was, of course, arrested.</p> + +<p>In December 1856, a soldier named Ageslao Milano attempted to +assassinate the King of the Two Sicilies at a review. He belonged to no +sect, but he had long premeditated the act. A few days later an earthquake +occurred in the kingdom of Naples, by which over ten thousand persons lost +their lives. Ferdinand II. grew morose, and shut <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg.209]</a></span> himself up in the royal +palace of Caserta. The constant lectures of France and England annoyed him +without persuading him to take the means to put a stop to them. Not till +1859 did he open the doors of the prisons in which Poerio, Settembrini and +their companions were confined. Many plans were made, meanwhile, for their +liberation, and English friends even provided a ship by which they were to +escape; but the ship foundered: perhaps fortunately, as Garibaldi, with +characteristic disinterestedness, had agreed to direct the enterprise, +which could not have been otherwise than perilous, and was not unlikely to +end in the loss of all concerned.</p> + +<p>Disaster attended Baron Bentivegna's attempt at a rising at Taormina in +1856, and Carlo Pisacane's landing at Sapri in the summer of the following +year had no better result. Pisacane, a son of the Duke Gennaro di San +Giovanni of Naples, had fought in the defence of Rome and was a firm +adherent of Mazzini, in conjunction with whom he planned his unlucky +venture. Pisacane watched the growing ascendency of Piedmont with sorrow; +he was one of the few, if not the only one of his party to say that he +would as soon have the dominion of Austria as that of the House of Savoy. +But if he was an extremist in politics, none the less he was a patriot, +who took his life in his hands and offered it up to his country in the +spirit of the noblest devotion. He had the slenderest hope of success, but +he believed that only by such failures could the people be roused from +their apathy. 'For me,' he wrote, 'it will be victory even if I die on the +scaffold. This is all I can do, and this I do; the rest depends on the +country, not on me. I have only my affections and my life to give, and I +give them without hesitation.'</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210"> +[Pg.210]</a></span> With the young Baron Nicotera and twenty-three others, +Pisacane embarked on the <i>Cagliari</i>, a steamer belonging to a +Sardinian mercantile line, which was bound for Tunis. When at sea, the +captain was frightened into obedience, and the ship's course was directed +to the isle of Ponza, where several hundred prisoners, mostly political, +were undergoing their sentences. The guards made little resistance, and +Pisacane opened the prisons, inviting who would to follow him. The first +plan had been to make a descent on San Stefano, the island where +Settembrini was imprisoned, but that good citizen had refused to admit the +liberation of the non-political prisoners, which was an unavoidable +feature in the scheme. With the addition of about three hundred men, +Pisacane left Ponza for the mainland and disembarked near the village of +Sapri, in the province of Salerno. From information received, he imagined +that a revolutionary movement was on the point of breaking out in that +district. Nothing could be further from the fact. The country people did +all the harm they could to the band, which, after making a brave stand +against the local militia, was cut to pieces by the royal troops. Pisacane +fell fighting; those who were not killed were taken, and amongst these was +Nicotera, who was kept in prison till set free by Garibaldi.</p> + +<p>The <i>Cagliari</i> was captured and detained with its crew. As two of +the seamen were British subjects, the English Government joined Sardinia +in demanding its restitution, which, after long delays, was conceded.</p> + +<p>In 1857, the Emperor of Austria relieved Field-Marshal Radetsky, then +in his ninety-third year, of the burden of office. He was given the right +of living in any of the royal palaces, even in the Emperor's own residence +at Vienna, but he preferred to spend the one remaining year <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg.211]</a></span> of his life +in Italy. At the same time, the Archduke Maximilian was appointed Viceroy +of Lombardy and Venetia. A more naturally amiable and cultivated Prince +never had the evil fate forced upon him of attempting impossible tasks. +Just married to the lovely Princess Charlotte of Belgium, he came to Italy +radiant with happiness, and wishing to make everyone as happy as he was +himself. Not even the chilling welcome he received damped his enthusiasm, +for he thought the aversion of the population depended on undoubted +wrongs, which it was his full intention to redress. He was to learn two +things; firstly, that the day of reconciliation was past: there were too +many ghosts between the Lombards and Venetians, and the House of Hapsburg. +Secondly, that an unseen hand beyond the Brenner would diligently thwart +each one of his benevolent designs. The system was, and was to remain, +unchanged. It was not carried out quite as it was carried out in the first +years after 1849. The exiles were allowed to return and the sequestrations +were revoked. It should be said, because it shows the one white spot in +Austrian despotism, its civil administration, that on resuming their +rights of ownership the proprietors found that their estates had not been +badly managed. But the depressing and deadening influence of an +anti-national rule continued unabated. Lombardy and Venetia were governed +not from Milan, but from Vienna. Very small were the crumbs which the +Viceroy obtained, though he went on a journey to Austria expressly to +plead for concessions. It is sad to think what an enlightened heir to the +great Austrian empire was lost, when Napoleon III. and his own family sent +Maximilian of Hapsburg to Queretaro.</p> + +<p>While Cavour had come to the conclusion that the aid which he believed +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg.212]</a></span> +essential for the expulsion of the Austrians could only come from the +French Emperor, this sovereign was regarded by a not inconsiderable party +of Italians as the greatest, if not the sole, obstacle to their +liberation. All those, in particular, who came in contact with the French +exiles, were impressed by them with the notion that France, the real +France, was only waiting for the disappearance of the Man of December to +throw herself into their arms. Among the Italians who held these opinions, +there were a few with whom it became a fixed idea that the greatest +service they could render their country was the removal of Napoleon from +the political scene. They conceived and nourished the thought +independently of one another; they belonged to no league, but for that +reason they were the more dangerous; somewhere or other there was always +someone planning to put an end to the Emperor's life. It is not worth +while to pause to discuss the ethics of political assassination; +civilisation has decided against it, and history proves its usual failure +to promote the desired object. What benefit did the Confederate cause +derive from the assassination of the good President Lincoln, or the cause +of Russian liberty from that of Alexander II.? What will Anarchy gain by +the murder of Carnot? It is certain, however, that never were men more +convinced that they were executing a wild kind of justice than were the +men who plotted against Napoleon III. They looked upon him as one of +themselves who had turned traitor. There is a great probability that, in +his early days when he was playing at conspiracy in Italy, he was actually +enrolled as a Carbonaro. At all events, he had conspired for Italian +freedom, and afterwards, to serve his own selfish interests, he +extinguished it in Rome. The temporal power of the Pope was kept alive +through him. <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213"> +[Pg.213]</a></span></p> + +<p>A true account of the attempts on Napoleon's life will never be +written, because the only persons who were able and willing to throw light +on the subject, ex-police agents and their kind, are authorities whose +word is worth a very limited acceptance. It is pretty sure that there were +more plots than the public ever knew of, and that in some cases the +plotters were disposed of summarily. Most of them were poor, ignorant +creatures, but in January 1858 an attempt was made by a man of an entirely +different stamp, Felice Orsini.</p> + +<p>Born at Meldola in Romagna in 1819, he was of the true Romagnol type in +mind and body; daring, resourceful, intolerant of control. From his +earliest youth all his actions had but one object, the liberation of his +country. His youthful brain was enflamed by Alfieri and Foscolo, who +remained his favourite authors. He hated Austria well, and he hated the +Papal government as no one but one of its own subjects could hate it. +'When the French landed in Italy' (he told his judges) 'it was hoped that +they were come as friends, but they proved the worst of enemies. For a +time they were repulsed, then they resumed the cloak of friendship, but +only to wait for reinforcements. When these arrived they returned to the +assault, a thousand against ten, and we were judicially assassinated.' A +succinct and true narrative. During the republic Orsini was sent to +Ancona, where anarchy had broken out; by vigorous measures he restored +perfect order. In 1854 he was arrested in Hungary and condemned to death, +but he escaped from Mantua under romantic circumstances and reached +England, where the story of his audacious flight won for him many +sympathisers. He was often seen in society. On one occasion he was asked +to meet Prince Lucien Buonaparte. Orsini knew Mazzini, but he was +impatient of his <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214"> +[Pg.214]</a></span> mystical leanings, and he disapproved of such +enterprises as Pisacane's, by which, as he thought, twenty or thirty men +were sacrificed here or there without anything coming of it. He finally +repudiated Mazzini's leadership, and in March 1857 he wrote to Cavour, +asking him for a passport to return to Italy, and placing at the disposal +of the Sardinian government 'the courage and energy which it had pleased +God to give him,' provided that government left wavering behind, and +showed its unmistakable will to achieve the independence of Italy. Cavour +sent no reply, 'because,' he said later, 'the letter was noble and +energetic, and I should have had to pay Orsini compliments which I did not +deem fitting. 'Unlike Victor Emmanuel, who in after years carried on +regular negotiations with Mazzini, Cavour, while ready to make an alliance +with the Radicals in the Chamber, was extremely loth to have anything to +do with actual revolutionists. His not answering Orsini's letter certainly +led up to the attempt of the 14th of January 1858.</p> + +<p>Having quarrelled with Mazzini, and receiving no encouragement from +Cavour, Orsini evolved the plan which on that day he endeavoured to put +into execution. He would have preferred to act alone, but since that was +impossible, he sought and found without much difficulty two or three +accomplices. One of these, Pieri, a teacher of languages, was arrested by +the police, who recognised him as an old conspirator, before he threw the +bomb which he was carrying. The other bombs were thrown just as the +carriage containing the Imperial party drove up to the opera house. A +number of people in the street were killed or injured, but the Emperor and +Empress escaped unhurt. When they entered the theatre the Rutli scene of +the conspirators in <i>Guillaume Tell</i> was being performed. Not a +breath of applause greeted them, though <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg.215]</a></span> everyone knew what had +happened. Napoleon III. had a striking proof of how little hold he +possessed on the affections of his subjects.</p> + +<p>When at his trial Orsini was asked what he expected would happen if he +had succeeded in killing the Emperor he answered: 'We were convinced that +the surest way of making a revolution in Italy was to excite one in +France, and that the surest way of making a revolution in France was to +kill the Emperor.' There is a good deal of curious evidence to show that +very elaborate preparations had been made for a revolution in Paris. The +French police had orders, however, to keep all this aspect of the affair +out of sight. It was to be made to appear the isolated act of a misguided +Italian patriot. 'The world possesses an Orsini legend,' writes the late +Duke of Saxe-Coburg, who was present at the event, having been invited to +join the Emperor at the opera, 'which is quite at variance with facts.' +The duke clearly thinks that the conviction of the instability of his +throne which was brought home to the Emperor on this occasion, was one of +the causes which decided him to try the diversion of public opinion into +other channels by means of a foreign war.</p> + +<p>Everything was done to make Orsini a hero in the eyes of the French +public, and to excite sympathy in his cause. Jules Favre by his eloquent +defence in which he pleaded not for the life, but for the honour of his +client, and still more Orsini's own letter to the Emperor, produced a +powerful impression; there was a dramatic interest in the man who, +disdaining to crave clemency for himself, tried a last supreme effort in +the service of the country he had loved too well. 'Deliver my fatherland, +and the blessings of twenty-five million citizens will be with you.' So +concluded the letter in which Orsini <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg.216]</a></span> told Napoleon, that till +Italy was free there would be no peace for Europe—nor for him. It +was whispered that the Emperor had a secret interview with the condemned +man at the Mazas prison; at any rate, when Orsini mounted the scaffold, he +was borne up, not only by his invincible courage, but by the strongest +hope, if not the certainty that his last prayer would have only a short +time to wait for fulfilment.</p> + +<p>Though persons who were able to read the signs of the times no longer +doubted that Napoleon had resolved to solve the Italian question by force +of arms, it suited his purpose to occupy the public mind for the moment +with the furious agitation against England and Piedmont as 'dens of +assassins,' which led to the fall of the Palmerston administration on the +Conspiracy Bill, and seemed to almost place in jeopardy the throne of +Victor Emmanuel. Napoleon sent the King of Sardinia demands so sweeping in +language so threatening, that the old Savoy blood was fired, and Victor +Emmanuel returned the answer: 'Tell the Emperor in whatever terms you +think best that this is not the way to treat a faithful ally; that I have +never tolerated violence from anyone; that I follow the path of unstained +honour, and for that honour I am only answerable to God and to my people. +That we have carried our head high for 850 years, and no one will make me +lower it; and that, nevertheless, I desire nothing better than to remain +his friend.' This reply was benevolently received; Cavour passed through +the Chambers a bill which, though not corresponding to the extravagant +pretensions of the French Government, gave reasonable security against the +concoction of plots of a criminal nature; Napoleon expressed himself +satisfied, and three months after, despatched Dr Conneau to Turin, to +mention, quite by the way, to the Piedmontese minister, that <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg.217]</a></span> he would be +glad to have a conversation with him on Italian affairs. This was the +preliminary of the interview of Plombières.</p> + +<p>Plombières is a watering-place in the Vosges, which became +famous on the 20th of July 1858, the day on which Napoleon III. and Cavour +entered into the compact that laid down the conditions of the Italian war. +The Emperor was to bring 200,000 men into Italy, and the King of Sardinia +undertook to furnish 100,000. The Austrians were to be expelled from +Italy. The kingdom of Upper Italy would embrace the Legations and the +Marches then under the Pope. Savoy would be ceded to France. The marriage +of the Emperor's cousin with the Princess Clotilde was not made a +condition of the war, and only in case it had been made a condition, was +Cavour empowered to agree to it. He, therefore, left it uncertain; but he +came away from Plombières convinced that nearly everything depended +upon its happening. Napoleon was beyond measure anxious for a marriage +which would ally him with one of the oldest reigning families in Europe. +It would be a fatal mistake, Cavour thought, to join the Emperor, and at +the same time, to offend him in a way which he would never forget. +Directly after the interview, he wrote a long letter to the King to +persuade him to yield the point. After all, where would the Princess find +a more promising match? Was it easy to provide husbands for princesses? +Were not they generally extremely unhappy in marriage? What had happened +to the King's four aunts, all charming princesses, who had married the +Duke of Modena, the Duke of Lucca, the Emperor Ferdinand of Austria, and +the King of Naples? Had they been happy? Prince Napoleon could not be so +very bad, as he was known to have hurried to Cannes to pay a last visit to +a woman whom he had loved, a great actress, then upon her <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg.218]</a></span> deathbed. +This reminiscence was a singular one to evoke under the circumstances, but +Cavour was not an Englishman, and he was not impressed by the propriety of +drawing a veil over facts which everyone knew.</p> + +<p>The King's instinct told him that his young daughter, pious and simple +and destitute even of that seasoning of vanity which is so good and +necessary a thing in a woman, but proud at heart like all her race, would +derive no compensation from the outward brilliancy of the Imperial Court +for the absence of domestic joy which would be her wedded lot unless a +surprising change came over the bridegroom. When, however, he was +persuaded of the importance, or rather, of the essential character of the +concession, he said to Cavour: 'I am making a great sacrifice, but I yield +to your arguments. Still my consent is subordinate to the freely given +consent of my daughter.' The matter was referred to the Princess, who +answered: 'It is the wish of my father; therefore this marriage will be +useful to my family and my country, and I accept.' An answer worthy of one +who, twelve years later, when the members of the Imperial House were +flying, remained quietly in Paris, saying: 'Savoy and fear are not +acquainted.'</p> + +<p>The marriage was celebrated at Turin in January. The King made a +present to Cavour, as a souvenir of the event, of a ring representing two +heartseases. In thanking him, the minister said: 'Your Majesty knows that +I shall never marry.' 'I know,' replied the King; 'your bride is the +country.'</p> + +<p>Though warlike rumours circulated off and on, the secret of the +understanding arrived at in the Plombières interview was well +preserved, and the words spoken by Napoleon to the Austrian Ambassador at +the New Year's Day reception fell on Europe with the effect of a <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg.219]</a></span> +bombshell. Turning to Baron Hubner, he said: 'Je regrette que les +relations entre nous soient si mauvaises; dîtes cependant à +votre souverain que mes sentiments pour lui ne sont pas +changés.'</p> + +<p>Even Cavour was startled. Probably till that moment he had never felt +sure that Napoleon would not after all throw the Italian cause to the +winds. The Emperor's invariable method in dealing with men was to mystify +them. He was pleased to pose as a faithful ally, but human intellect was +insufficient to fathom what he meant. On this system, skilfully pursued, +was reared the whole fabric of Louis Napoleon's reputation for being a +profound politician. Bearing the fact in mind, we can easily see why that +reputation crumbled away almost entirely when the present became the past. +There are few cases in which there is more disagreement between the +judgment of contemporaries and that of immediate posterity than the case +of the French Emperor.</p> + +<p>The least surprised, and, among Italians, the most dissatisfied at the +New Year's Day pronouncement was Mazzini, who when he read it in the <i> +Times</i> next morning felt that the Napoleonic war closed the heroic +period of Italian Liberation. To men like Mazzini failure is apt to seem +more heroic than success, and the war of 1859 did close the period of +failure. The justification for calling in foreign arms could only be in +necessity, and Mazzini denied the necessity. Charles Albert denied it in +1848 with no less confident a voice. Then, indeed, there did appear a +chance of Italy making herself, but was there the slightest prospect, +eleven years later, of that chance being repeated? Each student of history +may answer for himself. What is plain is, that France and Sardinia <i> +together</i> were to find it an exceedingly hard task even to drive the +Austrians out of Lombardy.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220"> +[Pg.220]</a></span> The unconquerable dislike of men of principle, like +Mazzini, to joining hands with the author of the <i>coup d'état</i> +was perfectly explicable. There were doubtless some sincere Bulgarian +patriots who disliked joining hands with the Autocrat of all the Russias. +The gift of freedom from a despot means a long list of evils. Mazzini +grasped the maleficent influence which Napoleon III. would be in a +position to exercise over the young state; he knew, moreover, when only +two or three other persons in Europe knew it, that the bargain of +Plombières was on the principle of give-and-take. How Mazzini was +for many years better informed than any cabinet in Europe, remains a +secret. 'I know positively,' he wrote on the 4th of January 1859, 'that +the idea of the war is only to hand over a zone of Lombardy to Piedmont, +and the cession of Savoy and Nice to France: the peace, upon the offer of +which they count, would abandon the whole of Venetia to Austria.' A month +before this he had disclosed what was certainly true, namely, that +Napoleon wanted to place a Murat on the throne of Naples, and to +substitute Prince Napoleon for the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The point that +is doubtful in the above revelation is the statement that the Emperor +never meant to emancipate Venetia. The probabilities are against this. He +may, however, have questioned all along whether his troops, with those of +the King of Sardinia, would display a superiority over the Austrian forces +sufficiently incontestable for him to risk taking them into the mouse-trap +of the Quadrilateral. In this one thing Napoleon was amply +justified—in having no sort of desire to take a beaten army back to +Paris.</p> + +<p>Mazzini, with the more extreme members of the Party of Action +(including Crispi), issued a protest against the Napoleonic war, with +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg.221]</a></span> +the advice to have nothing to do with it or its authors. But Italy thought +otherwise, and Garibaldi, the man who of all others most nearly +represented the heart of Italy, rejoiced and was glad. He did not believe +a word about the proposed cession of Savoy and Nice; no one did, except +Mazzini and his few disciples. What he saw was, that a great step towards +independence was about to be taken. In 1856, he not only adhered to +Manin's call to all Italians to rally round the house of Savoy, but went +further than Manin in accepting unconditionally what he called the 'Savoy +Dictatorship,' to which he left full liberty of choice in the matter of +ways and means. He did justice then to Cavour's patriotism: it was only +after the sacrifice of Nice that a feeling of bitter antagonism grew up in +him for the man who he thought had deceived Italy and himself. In December +1858, on a summons from Cavour, he left Caprera (the island which he had +bought with a little inheritance falling to him on the death of his +brother) and proceeded to Turin, where he was informed of a plan for a +rising in Massa and Carrara, which was originally intended to be the +signal of the war. The plan was given up, but in March 1859, Garibaldi was +told by Victor Emmanuel in person of the imminence of war, and was invited +to take part in it as commander of an auxiliary corps of volunteers which +took the name of 'Cacciatori delle Alpi.' In this way, all his own +followers, not only those in arms, but the great mass of the people which +was obedient to his lead, became enrolled in the service of the Sardinian +monarchy; a fact of capital importance in the future development of +affairs. Without it, the Italian kingdom could not have been formed. And +this fact was due to Cavour, who had to fight the arrayed strength of the +old, narrow, military caste at Turin, which <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg.222]</a></span> had succeeded in getting +Garibaldi's sword refused in 1848, and wished for nothing in the world +more than to get it refused in 1859. Near the end of his life, Cavour said +in the Chamber that the difficulties he encountered in inducing the +Sardinian War Office to sanction the appointment were all but +insurmountable. Unfortunately, the jealousy of the heads of the regular +army for the revolutionary captain never ceased. As for Cavour, even when +he opposed Garibaldi politically, he always strove to have the highest +personal honour paid to the man of whom he once wrote 'that he had +rendered Italy the greatest service it was possible to render her.'</p> + +<p>True to his <i>rôle</i> of mystification, one week after the shot +fired on the 1st of January, Napoleon inserted an official statement in +the <i>Moniteur</i> to the effect that, although public opinion had been +agitated by alarming rumours, there was nothing in the foreign relations +of France to justify the fears these rumours tended to create. He +continued on this tack, with more or less consistency, to the very verge +of the outbreak of hostilities. 'The Empire was peace,' as it was always +announced to be in the intervals when it was not war; there was no more +harmless dove in Europe than the person enthroned in the Tuileries. These +assurances were given more credence than they deserved by the Conservative +Cabinet then in power in England, and the British ministers believed to +the last that war would be averted, to which end they strained every +nerve. Besides the wish felt by every English government to preserve +European peace, there was at this juncture, not only in the Cabinet, but +in the country, so much fear of Napoleon's ambition and restlessness, that +for the time being, <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_223" id= +"Page_223">[Pg.223]</a></span> sympathy with Italy was relegated to a +second place.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile there was no want of plainness in the language employed in +Piedmont. In opening the second session of the sixth Sardinian Parliament, +Victor Emmanuel pronounced, on 10th January, the historic phrase declaring +that he could not remain insensible to the cry of grief, <i>il grido di +dolore</i>, that reached him from all parts of Italy. Every corner of the +fair country where the <i>Si</i> sounds was electrified. The words, as has +since become known, were introduced into the speech by the King himself. +As Cavour had foreseen, Austria played into his hands. To Lord +Malmesbury's appeal to evacuate the Roman Legations, and to use Austrian +influence with the Italian princes in procuring the concession of +necessary reforms, Count Buol replied in terms that were the reverse of +obliging: 'We do not mean to abdicate our right of intervention, and if we +are called upon to help the Italian sovereigns with our arms, we shall do +so. We shall not recommend their governments to undertake any reforms. +France plays the part of protectress of nationalities; we are, and shall +be, protectors of dynastic rights.' Finally, England proposed a congress +with a view to general disarmament. Piedmont, counting on the madness of +her adversary, risked agreement with this plan. Austria gave a peremptory +refusal to have anything to do with it.</p> + +<p>Cavour now asked Parliament to vote a war loan of £2,000,000, +which was passed by a majority of 81 out of 151 votes. No foreign banker +would undertake to negotiate the loan, but it was twice covered by Italian +buyers, nearly all small capitalists, who put their money into it as a +patriotic duty. Amongst the few deputies who opposed the loan was the old +apostle of retrogression, Count Solaro della Margherita, who raised his +solitary voice against the tide of revolution; and the Savoyard the +Marquis Costa de Beauregard whose speech was pathetic <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg.224]</a></span> from the +melancholy foreboding which pervaded it that the making of Italy meant the +unmaking of Savoy. Speaking in the name of his fellow-countrymen, the +Marquis reconfirmed the profound love of Savoy for her Royal House and her +total lack of solidarity with the aspirations of Italy. With time the +Savoyards might have learnt to be Italians as their king had learnt to be +an Italian king. Or they might not. Possibly the best solution would have +been to join Savoy to the Swiss Confederation, though the martial +instincts of the race were not favourable to their Conversion into +peaceful Helvetic citizens. From one point of view, that of military +defence, the retention of the province was of infinitely more moment to +the future Italy than to little Piedmont. Sardinia could keep the peace +with France for an indefinite period; Italy cannot. What is true of Savoy +is far more true of Nice. To have it in foreign keeping is to have a very +partially reformed burglar inside your house.</p> + +<p>'Notre roi,' said an old ragged fisherman of the Lac de Bourget to the +writer of this book,—'Notre roi nous a vendus.' Not willingly did +Victor Emmanuel incur that charge, in which the rebound from love to hate +was so clearly heard; not willingly did he give up Maurienne, cradle of +his race, Hautecombe, grave of his fathers. It was the greatest sacrifice, +he said, that Italy could have asked of him. Nor is there any reason to +doubt his word. But it is incorrect to suppose, as many have supposed, +that Cavour promised at Plombières to give up Savoy (Nice he did +not promise) without the King's knowledge. Before he went there, he had +brought Victor Emmanuel over to his own belief, justified or not, that +without a bait Napoleon could not be got to <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg.225]</a></span> move. Directly after the +interview, he wrote a full account of it to the King, in which he said: +'When the future fate of Italy was arranged, the Emperor asked me what +France would have, and if your Majesty would cede Savoy and the county of +Nice?' To which Cavour answered 'Yes' as to Savoy, but objected that Nice +was essentially Italian. The Emperor twirled his moustache several times, +and only said that these were secondary questions, about which there would +be time to think later.</p> + +<p>Austria was always appealing to the right of treaties and the right of +nations; not, as it happened, with much reason, for she had ridden or +tried to ride rough-shod through as many treaties and through quite as +many rights as most European Powers. In 1816 she was so determined to +possess herself of Alessandria and the Upper Novarese that Lord +Castlereagh advised Piedmont to join the Austrian Confederation, as then +and only then the Emperor might withdraw his pretensions to this large +slice of territory of a Prince with whom he was at peace. If he did +withdraw them, it was not from respect for the treaties which, a year +before, had confirmed the King of Sardinia's rights as an independent +sovereign, but from respect for the untoward results to himself which he +was afraid, on reflection, might arise from enforcing his claims with the +bayonet. But people forget; and it was of vital consequence that virtuous +Austria should figure in the coming conflict not as the victim of +aggression but as the aggressor. On all sides it was said that the +Austrian Government would never commit an error of such magnitude; only +Cavour thought the contrary. 'I shall <i>force</i> her to declare war +against us,' he told Mr Odo Russell in December 1858. When asked by the +incredulous diplomatist at what date he expected to <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg.226]</a></span> perform so great a +feat, Cavour quietly answered: 'In the first week of May.' War was +actually declared a few days sooner.</p> + +<p>For months Austria had been pouring troops into Italy, a large portion +of which were massed on the frontier line of the Ticino. Who shall count +the number of the men brought to fight and die in the Italian plains +between 1848 and 1866 to sustain for that short time the weight of a +condemned despotism? The supply was inexhaustible; they came from the +Hungarian steppes, from the green valleys of Styria, from the mountains of +Tyrol, from the woodlands of the Banat and of Bohemia; a blind million +battling for a chimera. They came, and how many did not return?</p> + +<p>Austria's final refusal to adhere to the Congress scheme meant, of +course, war, and Cavour called the Chamber and demanded a vote conferring +upon Government the power to take such prompt measures as the situation +required. 'We trust,' he said, 'that the Chamber will not hesitate to +sanction the proposal to invest the King with plenary powers. Who could be +a better guardian of our liberty? Who more worthy of the faith of the +nation? He it is whose name a ten years' reign had made synonymous with +honour and loyalty; who has always held high the tricolor standard of +Italy, who now prepares to unsheath his sword for freedom and +independence.'</p> + +<p>When Cavour walked out of the Chamber after the vote had been taken, he +said: 'I am leaving the last sitting of the Piedmontese Parliament, the +next will be that of the Kingdom of Italy.' At that moment, if ever in his +career, the great minister who had fought so long a fight against +incalculable obstacles learnt what it is to taste the sweetness of +triumph.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg.227]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XII"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XII</h3> + +<h4>THE WAR FOR LOMBARDY</h4> + +<h5>1859</h5> + +<h5>Austria declares War—Montebello—Garibaldi's +Campaign—Palestro—Magenta—The Allies enter +Milan—Ricasoli saves Italian Unity—Accession of Francis +II.—Solferino—The Armistice of Villafranca.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>Baron von Kellersperg reached Turin on the 23rd of April, bringing with +him the Austrian ultimatum: 'Disarmament within three days, or war.' +Cavour read the document, and then drew his watch out of his pocket. It +was half-past five in the afternoon. At the same hour on the 26th, he gave +Baron von Kellersperg the answer: 'Sardinia having accepted the principle +of a general disarmament, as formulated by England, with the adhesion of +France, Prussia and Russia, the Sardinian Government has no other +explanation to make.' The retort was justified. Austria, which now +required Sardinia to disarm, had refused to disarm herself. She must take +the consequences.</p> + +<p>The British Government made a last desperate effort to maintain peace, +and the Austrians always said that this was their ruin, as it delayed the +invasion of Piedmont for a week. On the 29th appeared the Emperor Francis +Joseph's Declaration of War, and on the same day the first Austrian +columns crossed the Ticino. The Austrian commander-in-chief was Count +Gyulai, who was in high favour with the aristocratic party, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg.228]</a></span> by which +his appointment was suggested to, if not forced upon, the Emperor. The +latter, not altogether easy in his mind about Gyulai's capabilities, +commissioned General Hess, in whom he placed full confidence, to keep his +eye on him. Hess could not, however, do much more than take notes of one +of the most remarkable and providential series of blunders ever committed +by the commander of an army.</p> + +<p>In spite of the delay which the Austrians ascribed to the English peace +negotiations, there was time for them to destroy the Sardinian army before +the French came up. Gyulai had 100,000 men in the theatre of war, a number +increased up to 200,000 during the campaign. Both Sardinia and her ally +mustered much fewer men than were spoken of at Plombières. The +Piedmontese could dispose of 56,000 infantry, formed in five divisions, +one division of cavalry numbering 4,000, and one brigade of volunteers, to +which the name was given of 'Cacciatori delle Alpi.' The enrolment of +these was stopped when it had reached the small figure of 4,500 men, a +figure that looks out of all proportion with the brilliant part they +played. The same influences which cut short the enrolment prevented Cavour +from keeping his distinct promise to give Garibaldi, now invested with the +official rank of major-general, 10,000 regulars, with a battery and a +troop of horse.</p> + +<p>The French army consisted of 128,000 men, including about 10,000 +cavalry. The Emperor's Government had notified beforehand to Vienna that +the passage of the Ticino by the Austrian troops would be considered +equivalent to a declaration of war, and accordingly, on the 29th of April, +diplomatic relations between the two Powers were broken off. The French +forces had been really on the move for more than a week—ever since, +in fact, by what the Marquis of Normanby called 'an <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg.229]</a></span> unpardonable breach +of confidence,' the intention of Austria to invade Sardinia was +communicated to Paris. The mobilisation was conducted with rapidity; in +spite of the snow, which lay deep on the Mont Cenis, the first corps, +under Marshal Baraguay d'Hilliers, made a swift march over the Alps, and +the foremost division entered Turin on the 30th of April. The troops of +Canrobert and Niel, who commanded the third and fourth corps, were sent by +Toulon and Marseilles, while the generals themselves went on to Turin in +advance. MacMahon's corps, which was the second, was on its way from +Algiers. The fifth corps, under the command of Prince Napoleon, was +despatched at a later date to Tuscany, where it was kept in a state of +inactivity, which suggested rather a political than a military mission. +General Regnault de Saint-Jean d'Angély commanded the Imperial +Guard. Napoleon III assumed the supreme command of the allied armies, with +General Vaillant as head of the staff.</p> + +<p>The condition of neither French nor Austrian army was satisfactory. The +former had more modern arms and a greater proportion of old soldiers, but +it was generally thought that the French cavalry, so far superior to the +Prussian in the war of 1870, was inferior to the Austrian in 1859. The +commissariat and ambulance arrangements of the French were disgraceful, +though they had this advantage, that when there was food to be had the +soldiers were allowed to eat it, while the Austrians were limited to +half-a-pound of beef a day, and were only allowed to cook once in the +twenty-four hours, which led to their having constantly to fight fasting. +In point of discipline, they were probably superior to the French, who +fought, however, and this should always be remembered of them in Italy, +with the best will in the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_230" id= +"Page_230">[Pg.230]</a></span> world. They carried about their pet monkeys +and dogs, and were always good-humoured and in good spirits, even when +wounded. What would have been the effect on them of even a single defeat +is a question which it is useless to discuss.</p> + +<p>In Napoleon's proclamation to the French people it was stated that the +scope of the war was to give Italy to herself, not to make her change +masters; the recompense of France would be to have upon her frontiers a +friendly people which owed its independence to her. As things stood there +were but two alternatives: Austria supreme as far as the Alps, or Italy +free to the Adriatic. On the 12th of May, the Imperial yacht, the <i>Reine +Hortense</i>, steamed into the harbour of Genoa with the Emperor on board. +A splendid reception awaited him, and amongst the first to greet him was +Cavour. 'You may well rejoice,' said Napoleon, as he embraced the +Sardinian statesman, 'for your plans are being realised.'</p> + +<p>Gyulai, who had insisted on invading Piedmont, contrary to the opinion +of Hess (who counselled waiting for reinforcements on the left bank of the +Mincio), wasted his time after crossing the Ticino in making plans and +changing them while he could unquestionably have thrown himself on Turin +had he possessed more resolution, and this was the only operation that +could have justified the initial folly of the invasion. The taking of the +capital might not have altered the fortunes of the war, but it would have +had all the appearance of a triumph, and would have raised the <i> +moral</i> of the Austrian soldiers. The allies had time to concentrate +their forces near Tortona, and it was left to them to assume the +offensive. The Austrians retired towards the Apennines, but made a forward +movement on the 20th of May with the object of seizing <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg.231]</a></span> the heights +of Casteggio which command the road to Piacenza; they were met by the +allies at the village of Montebello where Marshal Lannes obtained a +victory in 1800. The allies were completely successful in this first +battle, the honours of the day falling to the Sardinian cavalry, which +showed great gallantry. The Austrian forces were considerably superior in +strength.</p> + +<p>Almost at the same time as the engagement of Montebello, Garibaldi with +his diminutive army (which through the weeding-out of men unfit for +service was reduced to about 3,500 before it took the field), crossed the +Lago Maggiore, and advanced boldly into the heart of the enemy's country. +The volunteers had no artillery, and by way of cavalry only some forty or +fifty were mounted on their own horses and dignified with the name of +'guides.' They were badly armed and worse equipped; the only good thing +they had was an excellent ambulance organised by Dr Bertani, Garibaldi's +surgeon-general from Roman days downwards. But they formed a picturesque +sight as they marched along gaily to the everlasting song, 'Addio, mia +bella, addio'; and a physiognomist would have been struck by their +intelligent and often distinguished faces: nobles and poets, budding +doctors and lawyers, bristled in the ranks, while the officers were the +still young veterans of 1848-1849: Cosenz, hero of Venice; Medici, the +defender of the Vascello; Bixio, Sirtori, Cairoli—all the Knights of +the Legend.</p> + +<p>Moving swiftly from place to place, and appearing where and when he was +least expected, Garibaldi took the entire country of the Lombard lakes. +Gyulai, who at first looked upon the Garibaldian march as a simple +diversion intended to draw off his attention, now became <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg.232]</a></span> concerned, +and dispatched Urban with 10,000 men to destroy the volunteers, and stem +the insurrection which everywhere followed in their wake. On the 27th of +May Garibaldi drove Urban from his position near San Fermo, and that +commander had his mission still unfulfilled when he received the order to +retreat after the battle of Magenta. The volunteers were free to pursue +their way to Brescia and the Valtellina, where they performed many feats +in the latter period of the war, winning the admiration of Hayn, the +Austrian general opposed to them, which he was generous enough to express +in no measured terms.</p> + +<p>The great war was meanwhile approaching its climax. After Montebello +the whole French army executed a secret flank movement, changing its +position from Voghera, where Gyulai believed it to be, and whence he +expected it to move on to Piacenza, to the line of the Sesia, between +Cameriano and Casale. To mask the main operations, the Sardinian forces +were sent to Palestro, on the other side of the Sesia. On the 30th of May, +they drove in the outposts of the enemy, and on the 31st fought the +important engagement by which the Austrian attempt to retake Palestro was +repelled, and great damage caused to Zobel's corps, which was obliged to +leave eight guns sticking in the mud. The French Zouaves of the 3rd +regiment fought with the Piedmontese, and made the battle famous by the +reckless valour of their bayonet charges. Victor Emmanuel, deaf to all +remonstrances, placed himself at their head, in consequence of which they +elected him their corporal, an honour once paid to the first Napoleon.</p> + +<p>There is reason to think that after Palestro, Gyulai, having at last +realised what Napoleon was about, wished to evacuate Lombardy, but was +prevented from doing so by strong protests sent by the Emperor Francis +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg.233]</a></span> +Joseph, who was at Verona. The Austrian army was in full retreat when it +was pulled up near Magenta, with the object of checking the advance of the +French, who had already begun to cross the Ticino by the bridges of San +Martino and Buffalora, which the Austrians had tried to blow up, but had +not succeeded from want of proper powder. In the great battle of the 4th +of June, Austrians and French numbered respectively about 60,000 men; no +Piedmontese were engaged till the evening, when a battalion of Bersaglieri +arrived. The Imperial Guard, with which was Napoleon, had to bear the +brunt of the fight for four hours, and ran a good chance of being +annihilated; not a brilliant proof of French generalship, but happily the +Austrians also committed grave mistakes. MacMahon's arrival at five in the +afternoon prevented a catastrophe, and the fighting, which continued far +into the night, was from this moment attended by results on the whole +advantageous to the French. Not much more can be said. Magenta was very +like a drawn battle. The Austrians are calculated to have lost 10,000 men, +the French between 4,000 and 5,000. It was expected that the Austrians +would renew the attack, but on the 5th, Gyulai ordered the retreat, which +was the last order he had the opportunity of giving, as he was deprived of +his command immediately after.</p> + +<p>At mid-day on the 5th, Milan, which was trembling on the verge of +revolution, made the pleasurable discovery that there were no Austrians +left in the town. The municipality sent out delegates with the keys of the +city to Victor Emmanuel. At ten a.m. on the 7th, MacMahon's corps began to +file down the streets. Words cannot describe the welcome given to them. +How MacMahon lifted to his saddle-bow a child that was in danger of being +crushed by the crowd will be <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_234" id= +"Page_234">[Pg.234]</a></span> remembered from the pretty incident having +passed into English poetry. On the 8th, the King and the Emperor made +their entry amidst a new paroxysm of enthusiasm. Napoleon is reported to +have exclaimed: 'How this people must have suffered!' In his proclamation +'to the Italian people,' which bears the same date as his entry into +Milan, he renewed the assurance of the disinterested motives which had +brought him to Italy: 'Your enemies, who are also mine, have endeavoured +to diminish the universal sympathy felt in Europe for your cause, by +causing it to be believed that I am making war for personal ambition, or +to increase French territory. If there are men who fail to comprehend +their epoch, I am not one of them. In the enlightened state of public +opinion now prevailing, true greatness lies in the moral influence which +we exercise rather than in sterile conquests.' The proclamation ended with +the words: 'To-morrow you will be the citizens of a great country.' Not +the least effusive demonstrations were reserved for Cavour, who joined his +Sovereign a few days after the battle of Magenta.</p> + +<hr /> +<p>Leaving the Milanese to put their faith in princes while yet there was +time, a glance must be taken at what had been going on in the rest of +Italy, which was becoming a great nation far more rapidly, and in a much +fuller sense than Napoleon III. expected or wished. When Austria sent her +ultimatum to Turin, the Sardinian minister at the Court of Tuscany invited +the Grand Duke's Government to take part in the war of liberation. This +they refused to do. On perceiving, however, that he could not depend on +his troops, the Grand Duke promised to co-operate with Piedmont, but his +advisers did not now think it possible to save the grand ducal throne, +unless Leopold II. abdicated in favour of his <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg.235]</a></span> son, who was not +burdened with the fatal associations of the reaction of ten years before. +Leopold probably thought that even his abdication would not keep out the +deluge, and he took the more dignified course of declining to yield to +force. On the 27th of April, accompanied by the Corps Diplomatique as far +as the frontier, he left Tuscany. A Provisional Government was formed with +Peruzzi at its head, which hastily raised 8000 men for immediate service +under the command of General Ulloa. Before long Prince Napoleon, with the +fifth corps of the French army, landed, for no reason that could be +avowed, at Leghorn. The real motive was to prepare the way for the +fabrication of a new kingdom of Etruria, which existed already in +Napoleon's brain. This masterpiece of folly had but a lukewarm supporter +in Prince Napoleon, who was the only Napoleon and about the only Frenchman +(if he could be called one) who grasped the idea of the unity of Italy and +sincerely applauded it. Had Jérôme Napoleon been born with +the least comprehension of self-respect and personal dignity, his strong +political intelligence and clear logical discernment must have produced +something better than the most ineffectual career of the century.</p> + +<p>On the 8th of May, Baron Ricasoli took office under the Provisional +Government as Minister of the Interior, and for nearly twelve months he +was the real ruler of Tuscany. He had an ally of great strength, though of +humble origin, in Giuseppe Dolfi, the baker, of whom it was currently said +that any day he could summon 10,000 men to the Piazza della Signoria, who +would obey him to the death. To Dolfi it was due that there were no +disorders after the Grand Duke left. What Italy owes to the Lord of +Brolio, history will never adequately state, because it is well-nigh +impossible fully to realise how critical was <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg.236]</a></span> her position during all +that year, from causes external and internal, and how disastrous would +have been the slightest mistake or wavering in the direction of Tuscan +affairs, which formed the central hinge of the whole complicated +situation. Fortunate, indeed, was it that there was a man like the Iron +Baron, who, by simple force of will, outwitted the enemies of Italy more +thoroughly than even Cavour could do with all his astuteness. Austere, +aristocratic, immovable from his purpose, indifferent to praise or blame, +Ricasoli aimed at one point—the unity of the whole country; and +neither Cavour's impatience for annexation to Piedmont, nor the scheme of +Farini and Minghetti for averting the wrath of the French Emperor by a +temporary and preparatory union of the central states, drew him one inch +from the straight road, which was the only one he had ever learnt to walk +in.</p> + +<p>In June, the Duke of Modena and the Duchess-Regent of Parma found it +impossible to remain in their states, now that Austrian protection was +withdrawn. The latter had done what she could to preserve the duchy for +her young son, but the tide was too strong. These revolutions were +accomplished quietly; but, some months after, on the incautious return to +Parma of a man deeply implicated in the abuses of Charles III.'s +government—Colonel Anviti—he was cruelly murdered; an act of +vengeance which happily remained alone.</p> + +<p>After the battle of Magenta, when the Austrian troops were recalled +from the Marches and Romagna, those districts rose and demanded the +dictatorship of Piedmont. Napoleon foresaw that this would happen as far +back as the Plombières interview, and at that date it did not +appear that he meant to oppose it. But now, in Paris, the Clerical party +were seized with panic, and the Empress-Regent, then, as always, +completely under their control, did all in her power to arouse the <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg.237]</a></span> +Emperor's opposition. The Pope , on his part, knowing that he was secure +in Rome—thanks to the French garrison, which, though it hated its +office, as the French writer Ampère and others bore witness, was +sure to perform it faithfully—had the idea of sending his Swiss +troops to put down the growing revolution. With these, and a few Roman +troops of the line, Colonel Schmidt marched against Perugia, where, in +restoring the Papal authority, he used a ferocity which, though denied by +clerical writers, was attested by all contemporary accounts, and was +called 'atrocious' by Sir James Hudson in a despatch to Lord John Russell. +The significance of such facts, wrote the English minister at Turin, could +only be the coming fall of the Pope's Temporal Power.</p> + +<p>L.C. Farini was sent by Victor Emmanuel to administer the provinces of +Modena and Parma, and Massimo d'Azeglio was charged with the same mission +in Romagna. The Marches of Ancona had been recovered by the Papal troops, +which were concentrated in the district called La Cattolica, near Rimini. +A volunteer corps, under the Piedmontese General Mezzacapo, was entrusted +with the task of preventing them from crossing into the Legations.</p> + +<p>In the month of May, when the allies were reaping their first +successes, an event occurred at Caserta which precipitated crisis in the +South Italy. Ferdinand II. died at forty-eight years of age of a terrible +complaint which had attacked him a few months earlier, when he went to +meet his son's bride, the Princess Maria Sofia of Bavaria, sister of the +Empress of Austria. The news from Upper Italy hastened his end; he is said +to have exclaimed not long before he died: 'They have won the cause!'</p> + +<p>The accession of a youth, of whom nothing bad was known, to a throne +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg.238]</a></span> +that had been occupied by a sovereign so out of place in modern +civilisation as Ferdinand, would appear at first sight a fortunate +circumstance for the chances of the dynasty; but it was not so. In an +eastern country it matters little whether the best of the inhabitants +loathe and detest their ruler; but it matters much whether he knows how to +cajole and frighten the masses, and especially the army, into obedience. +Naples, more Oriental than western, possessed in Ferdinand a monarch +consummately expert in this side of the art of government. Though without +the higher military virtues, his army was his favourite plaything; he +always wore uniform, never forgot a face he had once seen, and treated the +officers with a rather vulgar familiarity, guessing at their weaknesses +and making use of them on occasion. The rank and file regarded him as a +sort of supernatural being. Francis II., who succeeded him, could scarcely +appear in this light even to the most ignorant. Popular opinion considered +him not quite sound in his mind. Probably his timorous, awkward ways and +his seeming stupidity were simply the result of an education conducted by +bigoted priests in a home that was no home: populated as it was by the +offspring of a stepmother who hated him. His own mother, the charming +Princess Cristina of Savoy, died while the city was rejoicing at his +birth. The story is well known of how, shortly after the marriage, +Ferdinand thought it diverting to draw a music-stool from under his wife, +causing her to fall heavily. It gives a sample of the sufferings of her +brief married life. An inheritance of sorrow descended from her to her +child.</p> + +<p>If Francis II. was not popular, neither was the new queen. Far more +virile in character and in tastes than her husband, her high spirit was +not what the Neapolitans admire in women, and those who were <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg.239]</a></span> devoted to +the late King accused her of having shown impatience during his illness +for the moment when the crown would fall to Francis. Malicious gossip of +this kind, however false, serves its end. Thus, from one cause or another, +the young King exercised a power sensibly weaker than that of his father, +while, besides other enemies, he had an inveterate one in his stepmother, +who began weaving a conspiracy to oust him from the throne and place on it +the eldest of his half-brothers. This plot received, however, very little +popular support.</p> + +<p>The Sardinian Government sought to persuade Francis to join in the war +against Austria; disinterested counsel, as in taking it lay his only hope, +but it was opposed by England, Russia and France. In July two of the Swiss +regiments at Naples mutinied. The Swiss Government, becoming alive to the +discredit cast on the country by mercenary service, had decided that Swiss +subjects serving abroad should lose their rights as citizens of the +Confederation whilst so employed, and that they should no longer introduce +the arms of their respective cantons into their regimental colours. This +was the immediate cause of their insubordination. The mutineers, most of +whom were unarmed, were ruthlessly shot down in the Campo di Marte to the +terror of the population, and the two Swiss regiments which remained quiet +were dissolved; by which the monarchy lost the troops that were chiefly to +be depended on in emergencies. The Austrians and Bavarians imported in +their stead did not form separate regiments, but were incorporated among +the native troops, though the regiments that contained them were commonly +called 'Bavarian.' They only partially filled the place of the Swiss.</p> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg.240]</a></span> + + +<hr /> +<p>Between the 4th and the 24th of June, no engagement of any magnitude +was fought in Lombardy except the attack on Benedek at Melegnano, a battle +in which the French lost most men, and gained no strategical advantage. It +was supposed to have been fought because Napoleon I. had gained a victory +in the same neighbourhood. The Austrians retreated to the Mincio, +destroying the bridges over the Adda, Serio, Oglio and Mella as they went; +these rivers the allies had to make repassable, which is the excuse given +for the dilatory nature of their pursuit of the enemy. The Emperor Francis +Joseph had now assumed the command, with Hess as his principle adviser, +and Wimpffen and Schlick, famous as the 'One-eyed,' as heads of the two +great corps into which the army was divided.</p> + +<p>On the 22nd of June, the Austrians were ranged along the left bank of +the Mincio from Peschiera to Mantua, and the French were massed near +Montechiaro, on the Brescia road, which Napoleon had made his +headquarters. In withdrawing all their men from the right bank of the +river, the Austrians desired to create the impression that they had +finally abandoned it. It was their plan, which did not lack boldness, to +throw the whole army back upon the right bank, and to perform a concentric +movement on Montechiaro, where they hoped to fall unawares on the French +and destroy them. They were confident of success, for they knew what a +good stand they had made at Magenta, and now that Gyulai was got rid of, +and the young Emperor had taken the field, they did not doubt that fortune +would turn her wheel. To these men of many nations, the presence of their +Emperor was the one inspiration that could rouse them, for if they were +fighting for anything, it was for him in the most personal sense; it was +to secure his mastery of the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_241" id= +"Page_241">[Pg.241]</a></span> splendid land over which he looked from the +castle of Valleggio, on the 23rd of June, whilst his brilliant staff stood +round, waiting for the signal to mount and clatter down the steep road to +the Mincio bridge. The army now advanced along all its line.</p> + +<p>Even the soberest writers have not resisted making some reference to +the magnificent scene of to-morrow's battle. On one side, the mountain +bulwarks rising tier on tier, gorgeous with the trancendent beauty of +colour and light of the Italian summer; on the other, the vine-clad +hillocks which fall gently away from the blue lake of Garda till they are +lost in the</p> + +<pre> + .....harvest shining plain + Where the peasant heaps his grain + In the garner of his foe. +</pre> + +<p>The 24th of June was to decide how much longer the Lombard peasant +should labour to fill a stranger's treasury.</p> + +<p>The calculations of the Austrians were founded on the slowness which +had hitherto characterised Napoleon's movements. Hess thought that two +days might be safely allowed for the Austrian advance, and that the enemy +would remain passive on the west bank of the river Chiese, waiting to be +attacked on the 25th. If the operation could have been performed in one +day, and it is thought that it could, there would have been more prospect +of success. But even then, the original plan of attacking the allies west +of the Chiese could not have been carried out, as on the 23rd the whole +allied army moved forward, the French occupying Castiglione and Lonato, +and the Sardinians Rezzato and Desenzano, on the lake of Garda. It is not +clear how far the allies believed in the Austrian advance; that they had +warning of it from several quarters is certain. For instance, a gentleman +living at <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242"> +[Pg.242]</a></span> Desenzano heard from the country people, who, for +marketing or other purposes, constantly go to and fro between that place +and Peschiera, that the Austrians had ordered a quantity of country carts +and transport waggons to be in readiness on the 23rd, and he hastened with +the intelligence to the Piedmontese General Delia Rocca, who, in a fine +spirit of red-tapism, pooh-poohed the information. The French encountered +several Austrian patrols in the course of the day, but they were inclined +to think that the Austrians were only executing a reconnaissance. On the +whole, it seems that the conflict came as a surprise to both sides.</p> + +<p>The Emperor of Austria, after accompanying the advance for a short +distance, returned with Hess to Valleggio for the night. Napoleon slept at +Montechiaro. The Austrian forces bivouacked on the little hills between +Solferino and Cavriana. They rested well, still confident that no fighting +would be done next day. At two in the morning, the French began to move in +the direction of Solferino, and the Sardinians in that of Peschiera. There +is a legend, that in the grey mists of dawn an advance party of French +cavalry espied a huge and gaunt hussar standing by the roadside. For a +moment the figure was lost sight of, but it reappeared, and after running +across the road in front of the French, it turned and dealt the officer +who led the party so tremendous a blow that he fell off his horse. Then +the adventurous Austrian fled, followed by a volley from the French +troopers; the sound vibrating through the dawn stillness gave the call to +arms to the contrasted hosts. The battle of Solferino had begun.</p> + +<p>The news flew to Montechiaro and to Valleggio. Napoleon started for +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg.243]</a></span> +the scene of action with the Imperial Guard; Francis Joseph's staff was +sent forward at six a.m., but the Emperor and Hess did not start till +later. At near nine, the staff was looking for the Emperor, and the +Emperor was looking for the staff in the open country about Volta; the +sixty or seventy staff-officers dashed across ploughed fields and over +hedges and ditches, in a style which would have done credit to an English +fox-hunt. This remarkable incident was in keeping with the general +management of the battle on the part of the Austrians, who had been +fighting for many hours before the commander-in-chief arrived. After his +arrival, they continued fighting without any visible plan, according to +the expedients of the divisional generals. The particular expedient +adopted by General Zedwitz was to withdraw 15,000 men, including six +regiments of cavalry, from the field. At a critical moment, Count Clam +Gallas had the misfortune to lose his artillery reserve, and sent +everywhere to ask if anyone had seen it. The Prince of Hesse, acting +without orders, or against orders, separated his division from +Schwarzenberg's and brought it up at the nick of time to save the +Austrians, when they were threatened with actual destruction, at two +o'clock in the afternoon.</p> + +<p>At that hour the French were in possession of the Spia d'Italia, and of +all the heights of Solferino. They had been engaged in attacking them +since eight in the morning, Napoleon having seen at once that they were +the key to the position, and must be taken, cost what it might. The cost +was great; if there is any episode in French military history in which +soldiers and officers earned all the praise that can be given to brave +men, it is the taking of these Solferino hills. Again and again Forey's +division and Bazaine's brigade returned to the <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg.244]</a></span> charge; the cemetery and +streets of Solferino were piled up with their dead, mingled with the dead +of the defenders, who contested every inch of ground. The individual +valour of the French soldiers in that six hours' struggle made it possible +to win the battle.</p> + +<p>The Austrians, however, after their desperate straits at two o'clock +recovered to so great an extent that, had Zedwitz returned with his +cavalry, as the Emperor was hoping that he would, the day might still have +been theirs. Even as it was, MacMahon's corps swerved under Zobel's +repulse of his attack on San Cassiano, and Niel, in the plain, was +dangerously hard pressed by Schwarzenberg. But, by degrees, the French +recommenced gaining and the Austrians losing ground, and at six p.m., the +latter were retreating in good order, defending each step before they +yielded it.</p> + +<p>In the last stage of the battle the French limbered up their guns in +the belief that a vast reserve of Austrian cavalry was galloping into +action. What made them think so was a dense yellowish wall advancing +through the air. Had they been natives, they would have recognised the +approach of one of those frightful storms which bring devastation in their +train, and which, as they move forward in what appears a solid mass, look +to the inexperienced eye exactly like the clouds of dust raised by +innumerable horsemen. The bursting of the storm hastened the end of the +fight.</p> + +<p>All the day another fight, separate from this, had been going on +between Benedek and the Sardinian army near the knoll of San Martino, +overlooking the lake of Garda. The battle, which began in the early +morning among the cypresses that crown the hillock, raged till seven <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg.245]</a></span> p.m. +with a fury which cost the Piedmontese over 4,000 in dead and wounded. It +consisted largely in hand-to-hand fighting, which now gave an advantage to +the Austrians, now to the Italians; many of the positions were lost and +re-taken more than half-a-dozen times; the issue seemed long doubtful, and +when Benedek, who commanded his side with unquestionable ability, received +orders from the field of Solferino to begin a retreat, each combatant was +firmly convinced that he was getting the best of it. Austrian writers +allege that this order saved the Sardinians from defeat, while in both +Italian and French narratives, the Piedmontese are represented as having +been already sure of success. The courage shown alike by Piedmontese and +Austrians could not be surpassed. Victor Emmanuel, as usual, set an +example to his men.</p> + +<p>An incident in the battle brings into striking relief what it was this +bloody strife was meant to end. An Austrian corporal fell, mortally +wounded by a Bersagliere whom he conjured, in Italian, to listen to what +he had got to say. It was this: Forced into the Austrian army, he had been +obliged to serve through the war, but had never fired his rifle on his +fellow-countrymen; now he preferred to die rather than defend himself. So +he yielded up his breath with his hand clasped in the hand which had slain +him.</p> + +<p>The Austrians lost, on the 24th of June, 13,000 men in killed and +wounded; the French, 10,000. It was said that the frightful scene of +carnage on the battlefield after Solferino influenced Napoleon III. in his +desire to stop the war. Had that scene vanished from his recollection in +June 1870?</p> + +<p>Even a field of battle, with its unburied dead, speaks only of a small +part of the miseries of a great war. Those who were at that time at <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg.246]</a></span> +Brescia, to which town the greater portion of the French wounded and all +the worst cases were brought, still shudder as they recall the dreadful +human suffering which no skill or devotion could do more than a very +little to assuage. The noble Brescian ladies who had once nursed Bayard, +turned, with one accord, into sisters of charity; every house, every +church, became a hospital, all that gratitude and pity could do was done; +but many were to leave their bones in Italy, and how many more to go home +maimed for life, or bearing with them the seeds of death.</p> + +<p>Other reasons than those of sentiment in reality decided Napoleon's +course. Though these can only be guessed at, the guess, at the present +date, amounts to certainty. In the first place, the skin-deep rejoicings +in Paris at the news of the victories did not hide the fact that French +public opinion, never genuinely favourable to the war, was becoming more +and more hostile to it. Then there was the military question. It is true +that the Fifth Corps, estimated at 30,000 men, had, at last, emerged from +its crepuscular doings in Tuscany, and was available for future +operations. Moreover, Kossuth paid a visit to the Imperial headquarters, +and held out hopes of a revolution in Hungary which would oblige the +Austrian Emperor to remove part of his troops from the scene of the war. +Nevertheless, Napoleon was by no means convinced that his army was +sufficient to take the Quadrilateral. He realised the bad organisation and +numerous shortcomings of the forces under him so vividly that it seems +incredible that, in the eleven following years, he should have done +nothing to remedy them. He attributed his success mainly to chance, though +in a less degree to a certain lack of energy in the Austrians, joined with +the exaggerated fear of responsibility felt by their leaders. He never +could <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247"> +[Pg.247]</a></span> thoroughly understand why the Austrians had not won +Solferino. Naturally, he did not express these opinions to his marshals, +but there is ample proof that he held them; and if the fact stood alone, +it ought not to be difficult to explain why he was not anxious for a +continuance of the war.</p> + +<p>But it does not stand alone. Napoleon feared being defeated on the +Rhine as well as in the Quadrilateral. Prussia had six army corps ready, +and she was about to move them. That, after her long hesitations, she +resolved to intervene was long doubted, but it cannot be so after the +evidence which recent years have produced.</p> + +<p>At the time things wore a different complexion. Europe was never more +amazed than when, on the 6th of July, Napoleon the victor sent General +Fleury to Francis Joseph the vanquished with a request for an armistice. +One point only was plain; an armistice meant peace without Venetia, and +never did profound sorrow so quickly succeed national joy than when this, +to contemporaries astonishing intelligence, went forth. But the blow fell +on no Italian with such tremendous force as on Cavour.</p> + +<p>There are natives of Italy who appear to be more cool, more +calculating, more completely masters of themselves, than the men of any +other nationality. Cavour was one of these. But there comes, sooner or +later, the assertion of southern blood, the explosion of feeling the more +violent because long contained, and the cool, quiet Italian of yesterday +is not to be recognised except by those who know the race intimately well, +and who know the volcano that underlies its ice and snow as well as its +luxuriant vegetation.</p> + +<p>On Wednesday, the 6th of June, the French army was spread out in <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg.248]</a></span> +battle array along the left bank of the Mincio, and everything led to the +supposition that a new and immediate battle was in contemplation. The +Piedmontese were engaged in making preparations to invest Peschiera. +Napoleon's headquarters were at Valleggio, those of the King at +Monzambano. By the evening a very few persons had picked up the +information that Napoleon had sent a messenger to Verona. Victor Emmanuel +knew nothing of it, nor did any of the French generals except Marshal +Vaillant, but such things leak out, and two or three individuals were +aware of the journey to Verona, and spent that night in racking their +brains as to what it might mean. Next day at eleven o'clock General Fleury +returned; the Austrian Emperor had accepted the armistice. Further secrecy +was impossible, and like lightning the news flashed through the world.</p> + +<p>Cavour rushed from Turin to Desenzano, where he arrived the day before +the final meeting between Napoleon and Francis Joseph. He waited for a +carnage in the little <i>café</i> in the piazza; no one guessed who +it was, and conversation went on undisturbed: it was full of curses on the +French Emperor. Mazzini, someone said, was right; this is the way the war +was sure to end. When a shabby conveyance had at length been found, the +great statesman drove to Monzambano. There, of course, his arrival did not +escape notice, and all who saw him were horrified by the change that had +come over his face. Instead of the jovial, witty smile, there was a look +of frantic rage and desperation. What passed between him and his Sovereign +is partly a matter of conjecture; the exact sense of the violent words +into which his grief betrayed him is lost, in spite of the categorical +versions of the interview which have been printed. Even in a fit of +madness he can hardly have spoken some of the words attributed to him. +That he advised the King to withdraw <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg.249]</a></span> his army or to abdicate +rather than agree to the peace which was being plotted behind his back, +seems past doubting. It is said that after attempting in vain to calm him, +Victor Emmanuel brought the interview to a sudden close. Cavour came out +of the house flushed and exhausted, and drove back to Desenzano. He had +resigned office.</p> + +<p>The King showed extraordinary self-control. Bitter as the draught was, +he saw that it must be drunk, and he was determined to drink it with +dignity. Probably no other Italian grasped as clearly as he did the real +reason which actuated Napoleon; at any rate his chivalrous appreciation of +the benefits already received, closed his lips to reproaches. 'Whatever +may be the decision of your Majesty,' he said to the Emperor on the eve of +Villafranca, 'I shall feel an eternal gratitude for what you have done for +the independence of Italy, and I beg you to believe that under all +circumstances you may reckon on my complete fidelity.'</p> + +<p>If there was sadness in the Sardinian camp, so there was in that of +Austria. The Austrians by no means thought that the game was up for them. +It would be interesting to know by what arguments Napoleon persuaded the +young Emperor to renounce the hope of retrieving his disasters, whilst he +slowly pulled to pieces some flowers which were on the table before which +he and Francis Joseph sat. When they left the house, the heir to all the +Hapsburgs looked pale and sad. Did he remember the dying counsels of +'Father' Radetsky—not to yield if he was beaten on the Mincio, on +the Tagliamento, on the Isonzo, before the gates of Vienna.</p> + +<p>When, on the evening of the same day, the Emperor of Austria signed the +preliminaries of peace, he said to Prince Napoleon, who took the <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg.250]</a></span> +document to Verona for his signature: 'I pray God that if you are ever a +sovereign He may spare you the hour of grief I have just passed.' Yet the +defeat of Solferino and the loss of Lombardy were the first steps in the +transformation of Radetsky's pupil from a despot, who hourly feared +revolution in every land under his sceptre, to a wise and constitutional +monarch ruling over a contented Empire. To some individuals and to some +states, misfortune is fortune.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg.251]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XIII"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XIII</h3> + +<h4>WHAT UNITY COST</h4> + +<h5>1859-1860</h5> + +<h5>Napoleon III. and Cavour—The Cession of Savoy and +Nice—Annexations in Central Italy.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>Napoleon's hurried journey to Turin on his way back to France was +almost a flight. Everywhere his reception was cold in the extreme. He was +surprised, he said, at the ingratitude of the Italians. It was still +possible to ask for gratitude, as the services rendered had not been paid +for; no one spoke yet of the barter of Savoy and Nice. But Napoleon, when +he said these words to the Governor of Milan, forgot how the Lombards, in +June 1848, absolutely refused to take their freedom at the cost of +resigning Venice to Austria. And if Venice was dear to them and to Italy +then, how much dearer had she not become since the heroic struggle in +which she was the last to yield. The bones of Manin cried aloud for +Venetian liberty from his grave of exile.</p> + +<p>Venice was the one absorbing thought of the moment; yet there were +clauses in the brief preliminaries of peace more fraught with insidious +danger than the abandonment of Venice. If the rest of Italy became one and +free, it needed no prophet to tell that not the might of twenty Austrias +could keep Venetia permanently outside the fold. <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg.252]</a></span> But if Italy was to +remain divided and enslaved, then, indeed, the indignant question went up +to heaven, To what end had so much blood been shed?</p> + +<p>When he resolved to cut short the war, Napoleon still had it in his +power to go down to history as the supreme benefactor of Italy. He chose +instead to become her worst and by far her most dangerous enemy. The +preliminaries of peace opened with the words: 'The Emperor of Austria and +the Emperor of the French will favour the creation of an Italian +Confederation under the honorary presidency of the Holy Father.' Further, +it was stated that the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of Modena would +return to their states. Though Napoleon proposed at first to add, 'without +foreign armed intervention,' he waived the point (Rome was in his mind) +and no such guarantee was inserted. Here, then, was the federative +programme which all the personal influence and ingenuity of the French +Emperor, all the arts of French diplomacy, were concentrated on +maintaining, and which was only defeated by the true patriotism and strong +good sense of the Italian populations, and of the men who led them through +this, the most critical period in their history.</p> + +<p>In England Lord Derby's administration had fallen and the Liberals were +again in power. Napoleon was so strangely deluded as to expect to find +support in that quarter for his anti-unionist conspiracy. His earliest +scheme was that the federative plan should be presented to Europe by Great +Britain. Lord John Russell answered: 'We are asked to propose a partition +(<i>morcellement</i>) of the peoples of Italy, as if we had the right to +dispose of them.' It was a happy circumstance for Italy that her unity had +no better friends than in the English Government during those difficult +years. Cavour's words soon after Villafranca, 'It is England's turn now,' +were not belied.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253"> +[Pg.253]</a></span> One thing should have made Napoleon uneasy; a man like +Cavour, when his blood is roused, when his nature is fired by the +strongest passions that move the human heart, is an awkward adversary. If +there was an instant in which the great statesman thought that all was +lost, it was but an instant. With the quick rebound of virile characters +he recovered his balance and understood his part. It was to fight and +conquer.</p> + +<p>'Your Emperor has dishonoured me,' he said to M. Pietri in the presence +of Kossuth (the interview taking place at Turin on the 15th of July). +'Yes, sir, he has dishonoured me,' and he set forth how, after promising +to hunt the last Austrian out of Italy, after secretly exacting the price +of his assistance to which Cavour had induced his good and honest King to +consent, he now left them solemnly in the lurch; Lombardy might suffice! +And, for nothing to be wanting, the King was to be forced into a +confederation with Austria and the Italian princes under the presidency of +the Pope. After painting the situation with all the irony and scorn of +which he was master, he gave his note of warning: 'If needs be, I will +become a conspirator, I will become a revolutionist, but this treaty shall +never be executed; a thousand times no—never!'</p> + +<p>The routine business of the Prime Minister still fell to Cavour, as +Rattazzi, who succeeded him, had not yet formed his cabinet. He was +obliged, therefore, to write officially to the Royal Commissioners at +Modena, Bologna and Florence to abandon their posts. But in the character +of Cavour, the private citizen, he telegraphed to them at the same time to +remain and do their duty. And they remained.</p> + +<p>On one point there was a temporary lull of anxiety. Almost the last +words spoken by Napoleon to Victor Emmanuel before he left Turin were: +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg.254]</a></span> +'We shall think no more about Nice and Savoy.' The mention of Nice shows +that though it had not been promised, Napoleon was all along set upon its +acquisition. It is impossible to say how far, at the moment, he was +sincere in the renunciation. That, very soon after his return to Paris, he +was diligently weaving plans for getting both provinces into his net, is +evident from the tenor of the articles and notes published in the +'inspired' French newspapers.</p> + +<p>Two chief motives can be divined for Napoleon's determined opposition +to Italian unity which never ceased till Sedan. The first was his wish, +shared by all French politicians, that Italy should be weak. The second +was his regard for the Temporal Power which proceeded from his still being +convinced that he could not reign without the Clerical vote. The French +prelates were perpetually giving him reminders that this vote depended on +his keeping the Pope on his throne. For instance, Cardinal Donnet told him +at Bordeaux in October 1859, that he could not choose a better way of +showing his appreciation of the Blessed Virgin than 'en ménageant +un triomphe à son Fils dans la personne de son Vicaire.' It would +be a triumph which the Catholic world would salute with transport. Hints +of this sort, the sense of which was not hard to read, in spite of their +recondite phraseology, reached him from every quarter. He feared to set +them aside. The origins of his power were too much tainted for him to +advance boldly on an independent policy. Thus it was that bit by bit he +deliberately forfeited all title to the help of Italy when the same +whirlwind that dashed him to earth, cleared the way for the final +accomplishment of her national destinies.</p> + +<p>Whilst Victor Emmanuel was more alive than Cavour to the military +arguments in favour of stopping hostilities when the tide of success <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg.255]</a></span> was +at its height, he was not one whit more disposed to stultify his past by +becoming the vassal at once of Paris and Vienna. In a letter written to +the Emperor of the French in October, in answer to a very long one in +which Napoleon sought to convert him to the plan of an Austro-Italian +Confederation, he wound up by saying: 'For the considerations above +stated, and for many others, I cannot, Sire, second your Majesty's policy +in Italy. If your Majesty is bound by treaties and cannot revoke your +engagements in the (proposed) congress, I, Sire, am bound on my side, by +honour in the face of Europe, by right and duty, by the interests of my +house, of my people and of Italy. My fate is joined to that of the Italian +people. We can succumb, but never betray. Solferino and San Martino may +sometimes redeem Novara and Waterloo, but the apostasies of princes are +always irreparable. I am moved to the bottom of my soul by the faith and +love which this noble and unfortunate people has reposed in me, and rather +than be unworthy of it, I will break my sword and throw the crown away as +did my august father. Personal interest does not guide me in defending the +annexations; the Sword and Time have borne my house from the summit of the +Alps to the banks of the Mincio, and those two guardian angels of the +Savoy race will bear it further still, when it pleases God.'</p> + +<p>The events in Central Italy to which the King alludes were of the +highest importance. L.C. Farini, the Sardinian Royal Commissioner at +Modena, when relieved of his office, assumed the dictatorship by the will +of the people. L. Cipriani became Governor of Romagna, and at Florence +Ricasoli continued at the head of affairs, undismayed and unshaken in his +resolve to defeat the combined machinations of France and Austria. In +August the populations of Modena, Reggio, Parma and <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg.256]</a></span> Piacenza declared +their union with Piedmont by an all but unanimous popular vote, the two +last provinces placing themselves for temporary convenience under the +Dictator Farini. A few days later, Tuscany and Romagna voted a like act of +union through their Constituent Assemblies. The representatives of the +four States, Modena, Parma, Romagna and Tuscany, formally announced to the +great Powers their choice of Victor Emmanuel, in whose rule they +recognised the sole hope of preserving their liberties and avoiding +disorder. Delegates were sent to Turin with the offer of the crown.</p> + +<p>Peace, of which the preliminaries only were signed at Villafranca, was +not yet definitely concluded, and a large French army was still in Italy. +The King's government feared therefore to adopt the bold course of +accepting the annexations outright, and facing the responsibilities which +might arise. Victor Emmanuel thanked the delegates, expressing his +confidence that Europe would not undo the great work that had been done in +Central Italy. The state of things, however, in these provinces, whose +elected King could not yet govern them, was anomalous, most of all in what +related to defence; they being menaced on the Austrian side by the Duke of +Modena, and on the South by the Papal troops in the Cattolica. An armed +force of 25,000 men was organised, of which the Tuscan contingent was +under the command of Garibaldi, and the rest under that of the Sardinian +General Fanti, 'lent' for the purpose. Garibaldi hoped not merely to +defend the provinces already emancipated, but to carry war into the +enemy's camp and make revolution possible throughout the States of the +Church. To the Party of Action the chance seemed an unique one of +hastening the progress of events. Unaccustomed as they were to weigh +diplomatic <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257"> +[Pg.257]</a></span> difficulties, they saw the advantages but not the +perils of a daring course. Meanwhile Napoleon threatened to occupy +Piacenza with 30,000 men on the first forward step of Garibaldi, who, on +his side, seemed by no means inclined to yield either to the orders of the +Dictator Farini, or to the somewhat violent measures taken to stop him by +General Fanti, who instructed the officers under his command to disobey +him. It was then that Victor Emmanuel tried his personal influence, rarely +tried without success, over the revolutionary chief, who reposed absolute +faith in the King's patriotism, and who was therefore amenable to his +arguments when all others failed. The general was summoned to Turin, and +in an audience given on the 16th of November, Victor Emmanuel persuaded +him that the proposed enterprise would retard rather than advance the +cause of Italian freedom. Garibaldi left for Caprera, only insisting that +his 'weak services' should be called into requisition whenever there was +an opportunity to act.</p> + +<p>Before quitting the Adriatic coast the hero of Rome went one evening +with his two children, Menotti and Teresita, to the Chapel in the Pine +Forest, where their mother was buried. Within a mile was the farmhouse +where he had embraced her lifeless form before undertaking his perilous +flight from sea to sea. In 1850, at Staten Island, when he was earning his +bread as a factory hand, he wrote the prophetic words: 'Anita, a land of +slavery holds your precious dust; Italy will make your grave free, but +what can restore to your children their incomparable mother?' Garibaldi's +visit to Anita's grave closes the story of the brave and tender woman who +sacrificed all to the love she bore him.</p> + +<p>After sitting for three months, the Conference which met at Zurich to +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg.258]</a></span> +establish the definite treaty of peace finished its labours on the 10th of +November. The compact was substantially the same as that arranged at +Villafranca. Victor Emmanuel, who had signed the Preliminaries with the +reservation implied in the note: 'In so far as I am concerned,' preserved +the same liberty of action in the Treaty of Zurich. He still hesitated, +however, in assuming the government of the central provinces, and even the +plan of sending the Prince of Carignano as governor fell through in +consequence of Napoleon's opposition. His hesitations sprang from the +general apprehension that a hint from Paris might any day be followed by a +new eruption of Austrians in Modena and Tuscany for the purpose of +replacing the former rulers of those states on their thrones. Such a fear +existed at the time, and Rattazzi's timid policy was the result; it is +impossible not to ask now whether it was not exaggerated? 'What +statesman,' wrote the Prince Consort in June 1859, 'could adopt measures +to force Austrian rule again upon delighted, free Italy?' If this was true +in June was it less true in November? For the rest, would not the supreme +ridicule that would have fallen on the French Emperor if he encouraged the +Austrians to return to Central Italy after driving them out of Lombardy, +have obliged him to support the principle of non-intervention, whether he +wished it or not? England was prepared to back up the government of +Piedmont, in which lay a great moral force. It is plain that the long +wavering about what ought to be done with the central provinces is what +cost the country Savoy and Nice, or at any rate, Nice. Napoleon did all in +his power to prevent and to retard the annexations, especially that of +Tuscany, which, as he said, 'would make Italian unity a mere question of +time,' but when he found that neither threats nor blandishments could move +the population from their <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_259" id= +"Page_259">[Pg.259]</a></span> resolve to have Victor Emmanuel for their +king, he decided to sell his adhesion for a good price. Compelled for the +sake of appearances to withdraw his claim after the abrupt termination of +the war, he now saw an excellent excuse for reviving it, and he was not +likely to let the opportunity slip.</p> + +<p>At this period there was continual talk, which may or may not have been +intended to end in talk, of a Congress to which the affairs of Italy were +to be referred. It gave an opening to Napoleon for publishing one of the +anonymous pamphlets by means of which he was in the habit of throwing out +tentative ideas, and watching their effect. The chief idea broached in <i> +Le Pape et le Congrès</i> was the voluntary renunciation by the +Pope of all but a small zone of territory round Rome; it being pointed out +that his position as an independent sovereign would remain unaffected by +such an act, which would smooth the way to his assuming the hegemony of +the Italian Confederation. The Pope, however, let it be clearly known that +he had no intention of ceding a rood of his possessions, or of recognising +the separation of the part which had already escaped from him. Anyone +acquainted with the long strife and millennial manoeuvres by which the +Church had acquired the States called by her name, will understand the +unwillingness there was to yield them. To do Pius IX. justice, an +objection which merits more respect weighed then and always upon his mind. +He thought that he was personally debarred by the oath taken on assuming +the tiara from giving up the smallest part of the territory he received +from his predecessor. The Ultramontane party knew that they had only to +remind him of this oath to provoke a fresh assertion of <i>Non +possumus.</i> The attitude of the Pope was one reason why the Congress was +abandoned; but there was a deeper reason. A European <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg.260]</a></span> Congress +would certainly not have approved the cession of Nice and Savoy, and to +that object the French Emperor was now turning all his attention.</p> + +<p>At Turin there was an ignoble cabal, supported not so much, perhaps, by +Rattazzi himself as by followers, the design of which was to prevent +Cavour from returning to power. Abroad, the Empress Eugénie, who +looked on Cavour as the Pope's worst foe, did what she could to further +the scheme, and its promoters counted much on the soreness left in Victor +Emmanuel's mind by the scene after Villafranca. That soreness did, in +fact, still exist; but when in January the Rattazzi ministry fell, the +King saw that it was his duty to recall Cavour to his counsels, and he at +once charged him to form a cabinet.</p> + +<p>That Cavour accepted the task is the highest proof of his abnegation as +a statesman. He was on the point of getting into his carriage to catch the +train for Leri when the messenger reached the Palazzo Cavour with the +royal command to go to the castle. If he had refused office and returned +to the congenial activity of his life as a country gentleman, his name +would not be attached to the melancholy sacrifice which Napoleon was now +determined to exact from Italy. The French envoy, Baron de Talleyrand, +whose business it was to communicate the unwelcome intelligence, arrived +at Turin before the collapse of Rattazzi; but, on finding that a +ministerial crisis was imminent, he deferred carrying out his mission till +a more opportune moment.</p> + +<p>On the 18th of January 1860, the Emperor admitted to Lord Cowley that, +though there was as yet no arrangement between himself and Victor Emmanuel +on the subject, he intended to have Savoy. After the long series of +denials of any such design, the admission caused the most indignant +feeling in the English ministers and in the Queen, who <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg.261]</a></span> wrote to +Lord John Russell: 'We have been made regular dupes.' She went on to say +that the revival of the English Alliance, and the hymns of universal peace +chanted in Paris on the occasion of the Commercial Treaty, had been simply +so many blinds, 'to hide from Europe a policy of spoliation.' Cavour came +in for a part of the blame, as, during the war, he denied cognisance of +the proposal to give up Savoy. The best that can be said of that denial +is, that it was diplomatically impracticable for one party in the +understanding of Plombières to make a clean breast of the truth, +whilst the other party was assuring the whole universe that he was +fighting for an idea.</p> + +<p>When the war was broken off, Cavour fully expected that Napoleon, of +whom he had the worst opinion, would then and there demand whole pay for +his half service; and this had much to do with his furious anger at +Villafranca; but later, in common with the best-informed persons, he +believed that the claim was finally withdrawn. When, however, Napoleon +asked again for the provinces—not as the price of the war, but of +the annexations in Central Italy—Cavour instantly came to the +conclusion that, cost what it might (and he thought that, amongst other +things, it would cost his own reputation and popularity), the demand must +be granted. Otherwise Italian unity would never be accomplished.</p> + +<p>In considering whether he was mistaken, it must not be forgotten that +the French troops were still in Italy. Not to speak of those in Rome, +Marshal Vaillant had five divisions of infantry and two brigades of +cavalry in Lombardy up to the 20th of March 1860. The engagement had been +to send this army home as soon as the definite peace was concluded; why, +then, was it still south of the Alps four months after?</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262"> +[Pg.262]</a></span> In spite of this, however, and in spite of the +difficulty of judging an act, all the reasons for which may not, even now, +be in possession of the world, it is very hard indeed to pardon Cavour for +having yielded Nice as well as Savoy to France. The Nizzards were Italians +as the lower class of the population is Italian still; they had always +shown warm sympathy with the hopes of Italy, which could not be said of +the Savoyards; and Nice was the birthplace of Garibaldi!</p> + +<p>England would have supported and applauded resistance to the claim for +Nice on general grounds, though her particular interest was in Savoy, or +rather in that part of the Savoy Alps which was neutralised by treaty in +1814. It was the refusal of Napoleon to adopt the compromise of ceding +this district to Switzerland which caused the breach between him and the +British ministry. From that moment, also, Prussia began to increase her +army, and resolved, when she was ready, to check the imperial ambition by +force of arms. 'The loss of Alsace and Lorraine,' writes an able +publicist, M.E. Tallichet, 'was the direct consequence of the annexation +of Nice and Savoy.'</p> + +<p>If anything could have rendered more galling to Italy the deprivation +of these two provinces, it was the tone adopted in France when speaking of +the transaction. What were Savoy and Nice? A barren rock and an +insignificant strip of coast! The French of thirty-four years ago +travelled so little that they may have believed in the description. The +vast military importance of the ceded districts has been already referred +to. Some scraps on the Nice frontier were saved in a curious way: They +were spots which formed part of the favourite playground of the Royal +Hunter of the Alps, and it was pointed out to <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg.263]</a></span> Napoleon that it would +be a graceful act to leave these particular 'barren rocks' to his +Sardinian Majesty. The zig-zags in the line of demarcation which were thus +introduced are said to be of great strategic advantage to Italy. So far, +so good; but it remains true that France is <i>inside</i> the Italian +front-door.</p> + +<p>At the elections for the new Chamber in March 1860, the Nizzards chose +Garibaldi; and this was their real plebiscite—not that which +followed at a short interval, and presented the phenomenon of a population +which appeared to change its mind as to its nationality in the course of a +few weeks. In voting for Garibaldi, they voted for Italy.</p> + +<p>The Nizzard hero made some desperate efforts on behalf of his +fellow-citizens in the Chamber, not his natural sphere, and was on the +brink of making other efforts in a sphere in which he might have succeeded +better. He had the idea of going to Nice with about 200 followers, and +exciting just enough of a revolution to let the real will of the people be +known, and to frustrate the wiles of French emissaries and the pressure of +government in the official plebiscite of the 15th of April. The story of +the conspiracy, which is unknown in Italy, has been told by one of the +conspirators, the late Lawrence Oliphant. The English writer, who reached +Turin full of wrath at the proposed cession, was introduced to Garibaldi, +from whom he received the news of the proposed enterprise. Oliphant +offered his services, which were accepted, and he accompanied the general +to Genoa, where he engaged a diligence which was to carry the vanguard to +Nice. But, on going to Garibaldi for the last orders, he found him supping +with twenty or thirty young men; 'All Sicilians!' said the chief. 'We must +give up the Nice programme; the general opinion is that we shall lose +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg.264]</a></span> +all if we try for too much.' He added that he had hoped to carry out the +Nice plan first, but now everything must be sacrificed to freeing Sicily. +And he asked Oliphant to join the Thousand, an offer which the adventurous +Englishman never ceased to regret that he did not accept. As it was, he +elected to go all the same to Nice, where he was the spectator and became +the historian of the arts which brought about the semblance of an +unanimous vote in favour of annexation to France.</p> + +<p>The ratification of the treaty—which, by straining the +constitution, was concluded without consulting Parliament—was +reluctantly given by the Piedmontese Chambers, the majority of members +fearing the responsibility of upsetting an accomplished fact. Cavour, when +he laid down the pen after signing the deed of cession, turned to Baron de +Talleyrand with the remark: 'Now we are accomplices!' His face, which had +been depressed, resumed its cheerful air. In fact, though Napoleon's +dislike of the central annexations was unabated, he could no longer oppose +them. Victor Emmanuel accepted the four crowns of Central Italy, the +people of which, during the long months of waiting, and under +circumstances that applied the most crucial test to their resolution, had +never swerved from the desire to form part of the Italian monarchy under +the sceptre of the <i>Re Galantuomo</i>. The King of Sardinia, as he was +still called, had eleven million subjects, and on his head rested one +excommunication the more. The Bull fulminated against all who had, +directly or indirectly, participated in the events which caused Romagna to +change hands, was published a day or two before the opening of the new +Parliament at Turin.</p> + +<p>Addressing for the first time the representatives of his widened realm, +Victor Emmanuel said: 'True to the creed of my fathers, and, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg.265]</a></span> like them, +constant in my homage to the Supreme Head of the Church, whenever it +happens that the ecclesiastical authority employs spiritual arms in +support of temporal interests, I shall find in my steadfast conscience and +in the very traditions of my ancestors, the power to maintain civil +liberty in its integrity, and my own authority, for which I hold myself +accountable to God alone and to my people.'</p> + +<p>The words: 'Della quale debbo ragione a Dio solo ed ai miei popoli,' +were added by the King to the speech prepared by his ministers; it was +noticed that he pronounced them with remarkable energy. The speech +concluded: 'Our country is no more the Italy of the Romans, nor the Italy +of the Middle Ages; no longer the field for every foreign ambition, it +becomes, henceforth, the Italy of the Italians.'</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg.266]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XIV"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XIV</h3> + +<h4>THE MARCH OF THE THOUSAND</h4> + +<h5>1860</h5> + +<h5>Origin of the Expedition—Garibaldi at +Marsala—Calatafimi—The Taking of +Palermo—Milazzo—The Bourbons evacuate Sicily.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>During the journey from Turin to Genoa, Garibaldi was occupied in +opening, reading and tearing up into small pieces an enormous mass of +letters, while his English companion spent the time in vainly speculating +as to what this vast correspondence was about. When they approached Genoa, +the floor of the railway carriage resembled a gigantic wastepaper basket. +It was only afterwards that Lawrence Oliphant guessed the letters to be +responses to a call for volunteers for Sicily.</p> + +<p>The origin of the Sicilian expedition has been related in various ways; +there is the version which attributes it entirely to Cavour, and the +version which attributes it to not irresponsible personages in England. +The former was the French and Clerical official account; the latter has +always obtained credence in Germany and Russia. For instance, the late +Duke Ernest of Saxe-Coburg said that 'the mystery of how 150,000 men were +vanquished by a thousand Red-shirts was wrapped in English bank-notes!' Of +this theory, it need only be said that the notion of Lord Palmerston (for +it comes to that) supporting a foreign revolution out of the British +exchequer is not one that commends itself to the belief of the average +Englishman. With regard <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_267" id= +"Page_267">[Pg.267]</a></span> to the other theory—namely, that +Cavour 'got up' the Sicilian expedition, it has been favoured to a certain +degree, both by his friends and foes; but it will not bear careful +examination. As far as Sicily goes (Naples is another thing), the most +that can be brought home to Cavour is a complicity of toleration; and even +this statement should be qualified by the addition, 'after the act.' It is +true that, in the early days after Villafranca, he had exclaimed: 'They +have cut me off from making Italy from the north, by diplomacy; very well, +I will make her from the south, by revolution!' True, also, that earlier +still, in 1856, he expressed the opinion, shared by every man of common +sense, that while the Bourbons ruled over the Two Sicilies there would be +no real peace for Italy. Nevertheless, in April 1860, he neither thought +the time ripe for the venture nor the means employed adequate for its +accomplishment. He was afraid that Garibaldi would meet with the death of +the Bandieras and Pisacane. No one was more convinced than Cavour of the +importance of Garibaldi's life to Italy; and it is a sign of his true +superiority of mind that this conviction was never entertained more +strongly than at the moment when the general was passionately inveighing +against him for the cession of Nice. To Cavour such invectives seemed +natural, and even justified from one point of view; they excited in him no +bitterness, and he was only too happy that they fell upon himself and not +upon the King, since it was his fixed idea that, without the maintenance +of a good understanding between Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi, Italy would +not be made. Few men under the sting of personal attacks have shown such +complete self-control.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268"> +[Pg.268]</a></span> As has been stated, when Francis II. ascended the +Neapolitan throne, he was invited to join in the war with Austria, and he +refused. Since then, the same negative result had attended the reiterated +counsels of reform which the Piedmontese Government sent to that of +Naples—the young King showing, by repeated acts, that not Sardinia +but Rome was his monitress and chosen ally in Italy. The Pope had lately +induced the French General Lamoricière to take the command of the +Pontifical troops, and he and the King of Naples were organising their +armies, with a view to co-operating at an early date against the common +enemy at Turin. In January 1860, Lord Russell wrote to Mr Elliot, the +English Minister at Naples: 'You will tell the King and his Ministers that +the Government of her Majesty the Queen does not intend to accept any part +in the responsibility nor to guarantee the certain consequences of a +misgovernment which has scarcely a parallel in Europe.' Mr Elliot replied, +early in March: 'I have used all imaginable arguments to convince this +Government of the necessity of stopping short on the fatal path which it +has entered. I finished by saying that I was persuaded of the inevitable +fall of his Majesty and the dynasty if wiser counsels did not obtain a +hearing, and requested an audience with the King; since, when the +catastrophe occurs, I do not wish my conscience to reproach me with not +having tried all means of saving an inexperienced Sovereign from the ruin +which threatens him. The Ministers of France and Spain have spoken to the +same effect.' Even Russia advised Francis to make common cause with +Piedmont. In April, Victor Emmanuel wrote to his cousin, 'as a near +relative and an Italian Prince,' urging him to listen while there was yet +time to save something, if not everything. 'If you will not hear <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg.269]</a></span> me,' +he said, 'the day may come when I shall be obliged to be the instrument of +your ruin!' It has been said that the Sardinian Government, in tendering +similar advice, hoped for its refusal and contemplated the eventuality +hinted at with the reverse of apprehension. Of course this is true. Yet +the responsibility of declining to take the only course which might by any +possibility have saved him must rest with the King of Naples and not with +Victor Emmanuel and his Ministers. The attempt to make Francis appear the +innocent victim of a diabolical conspiracy will never succeed, however +ingenious are the writers who devote their abilities to so unfruitful a +task.</p> + +<p>To trace the real beginning of the expedition we must go back to the +summer of 1859. When the war ended in the manner which he alone had +foreseen, Mazzini projected a revolutionary enterprise in the south which +should restore to the Italian movement its purely national character and +defeat in advance Napoleon's plans for gathering the Bourbon succession +for his cousin, Prince Murat. He sent agents to Sicily, and notably +Francesco Crispi, who, as a native of the island and a man of resource and +quick intelligence, was well qualified to execute the work of propaganda +and to elude the Bourbon police. Crispi travelled in all parts of Sicily +for several months, and in September he was able to report to Mazzini that +the insurrection might be expected in a few weeks—which proved +incorrect, but only as to date. Mazzini forbade his agents to agitate in +favour of a republic; unity was the sole object to be aimed at; unity in +whatever form and at whatever cost.</p> + +<p>In March 1860 he had an interview in London with the man who was to +become the actual initiator of the revolutionary movement in South <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg.270]</a></span> +Italy. This was Rosalino Pilo, son of the Count di Capaci, and descended +through his mother from the royal house of Anjou, whose name, Italianised +into Gioeni, is still borne by several noble families in Sicily. Rosalino +Pilo, who was now in his fortieth year, had devoted all his life to his +country's liberties. After 1849, when he was obliged to leave Sicily, he +sold his ancestral acres to supply the wants of his fellow exiles, and +help the work of revolutionary propaganda. Handsome in person, cultivated +in mind, ready to give his life, as he had already given most of what +makes life tolerable, to the Italian cause, he won the affection of all +with whom he was brought in contact, and especially of Mazzini, from whom +he parted after that last interview radiant with hope, and yet with a +touch of sadness in his smile, as if in prevision that the place allotted +to him in the ranks of men was among the sowers, not among the +reapers.</p> + +<p>Rosalino Pilo believed, as Mazzini believed, that Sicily was ripe for +revolution, but he realised the fact that under existing circumstances +there was an exceeding probability of a Sicilian revolution being rapidly +crushed. It was the tendency of Mazzini's mind to think the contrary; to +put more faith in the people themselves than in any leader or leaders; to +imagine that the blast of the trumpet of an angered population was +sufficient to bring down the walls of all the citadels of despotism, +however well furnished with heavy artillery. Pilo saw that there was only +one man who could give a real chance of success to a rising in his native +island, and that man was Garibaldi. As early as February he began to write +to Caprera, urging the general to give his co-operation to the projected +movement. It is notorious that the scheme, until almost the last moment, +did not find favour with Garibaldi. In spite of his perilous enterprises, +the chief had never been a courtier of failure, and he understood more +clearly than <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271"> +[Pg.271]</a></span> his correspondent what failure at that particular +juncture would have meant. The ventures of the Bandieras and of Pisacane, +similar in their general plan to the one now in view (though on a smaller +scale). ended in disasters, but disasters that were useful to Italy. A +disaster now would have been ruinous to Italy. Garibaldi's hesitations do +not, as some writers of the extreme party have foolishly assumed, detract +from his merit as victorious leader of the expedition; they only show him +to have been more amenable to political prudence than most people have +supposed.</p> + +<p>Rosalino Pilo wrote, finally, that in any case he was determined to go +to Sicily himself to complete the preparations, and he added: 'The +insurrection in Sicily, consider it well, will carry with it that of the +whole south of the peninsula,' by which means not only would the Muratist +plots be frustrated, but also a new army and fleet would become available +for the conquest of independence and the liberation of Venetia. The writer +concluded by wishing the general 'new glories in Sicily in the +accomplishment of our country's redemption.'</p> + +<p>True to his word Rosalino Pilo embarked at Genoa on the 24th of March, +on a crazy old coasting vessel, manned by five friendly sailors. He had +with him a single companion, and carried such arms and ammunition as he +had been able to get together. Terrible weather and the deplorable +condition of their craft kept them at sea for fifteen days, during which +time something of great importance happened at Palermo. On the 4th of +April the authorities became aware that arms and conspirators were +concealed in the convent of La Gancia, which was to have been the focus of +the revolution. Troops were sent to besiege the <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg.272]</a></span> convent, which they only +succeeded in taking after four hours' resistance; its fall was the signal +for a general slaughter of the inmates, both monks and laymen. The +insurrection was thus stifled in its birth in the capital, but from this +time it began to spread in the country, and when, at last, Rosalino Pilo +landed near Messina on the 10th of April, he found that several armed +bands were already roving the mountains, as yet almost unperceived by the +Government, which had gone to sleep again after its exhibition of energy +on the 4th. Events were, however, to awake it from its slumbers, and to +cause it to renew its vigilance. It required all Rosalino Pilo's skill and +courage to sustain the revolution of which he became henceforth the +responsible head, till the fated deliverer arrived.</p> + +<p>Pilo's letters, brought back to Genoa by the pilot who guided him to +Sicilian waters, were what decided Garibaldi to go to the rescue. Some, +like Bixio and Bertani, warmly and persistently urged him to accept the +charge; others, like Sirtori, were convinced that the undertaking was +foredoomed, and that its only result would be the death of their beloved +captain: but this conviction did not lessen their eagerness to share his +perils when once he was resolved to go.</p> + +<p>Like all born men of action, Garibaldi did not know what doubt was +after he came to a decision. From that moment his mental atmosphere +cleared; he saw the goal and went straight for it. In a surprisingly short +time the expedition was organised and ready to leave. 'Few and good,' had +been the rule laid down by Garibaldi for the enrolments; if he had chosen +he could have taken with him a much more numerous host. When it was the +day to start few they were (according to the most recent computation the +exact number was 1072 men), and they were <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg.273]</a></span> certainly good. The force was +divided into seven companies, the first entrusted to the ardent Nino +Bixio, who acted in a general way as second-in-command through both the +Sicilian and Neapolitan campaigns, and the seventh to Benedetto Cairoli, +whose mother contributed a large sum of money as well as three of her sons +to the freeing of Southern Italy. Sirtori, about whom there always clung +something of the priestly vocation for which he had been designed, was the +head of the staff; Türr (the Hungarian) was adjutant-general. The +organisation was identical with that of the Italian army 'to which we +belong,' said Garibaldi in his first order of the day.</p> + +<p>One name is missing, that of Medici, who was left behind to take the +command of a projected movement in the Papal States. By whom this plan was +invented is not clear, but simultaneous operations in different parts of +the peninsula had been always a favourite design of the more extreme +members of the Party of Action, and Garibaldi probably yielded to their +advice. All that came of it was the entry into Umbria of Zambianchi's +small band of volunteers, which was promptly repulsed over the frontier. +Medici, therefore, remained inactive till after the fall of Palermo; he +headed the second expedition of 4,000 volunteers which arrived in time to +take part in the final Sicilian battles.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi's political programme was the cry of the Hunters of the Alps +in 1859: <i>Italy and Victor Emmanuel.</i> Those who were strict +republicans at heart, while abstaining from preaching the republic till +the struggle was over, would have stopped short at the first word <i> +Italy</i>. But Garibaldi told Rosalino Pilo, who was of this way of +thinking, that either he marched in the King's name or he did not march at +all. This was the condition of his acceptance, because he <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg.274]</a></span> esteemed it +the condition on which hung the success of the enterprise, nay more, the +existence of an united Italy.</p> + +<p>The Thousand embarked at Quarto, near Genoa, during the night of the +5th of May on the two merchant vessels, the <i>Piemonte</i> and <i> +Lombardo</i>, which, with the complicity of their patriotic owner, R. +Rubattino, had been sequestered for the use of the expedition. On hearing +of Garibaldi's departure, Cavour ordered Admiral Persano, whose squadron +lay in the gulf of Cagliari, to arrest the expedition if the steamers +entered any Sardinian port, but to let it go free if they were encountered +on the high seas. Persano asked Cavour what he was to do if by stress of +storms Garibaldi were forced to come into port? The answer was that 'the +Ministry' decided for his arrest, which Persano rightly interpreted to +mean that Cavour had decided the contrary. He resolved, therefore, not to +stop him under any circumstances, but the case did not occur, for the +fairest of May weather favoured the voyage, and six days after the start +the men were quietly landed at Marsala without let or hindrance from the +two Neapolitan warships which arrived almost at the same time as the <i> +Piemonte</i> and <i>Lombardo</i>, an inconceivable stroke of good fortune +which, like the eventful march that was to follow, seems to belong far +more to romance than to history.</p> + +<p>On the day before, the British gunboat <i>Intrepid</i> (Captain +Marryat), and the steam vessel <i>Argus</i>, had cast anchor in the +harbour of Marsala. Their presence was again and again spoken of by +Garibaldi as the key to the mystery of why he was not attacked. No matter +how it was done—it may have been a mere accident—but it can +hardly be doubted that the English men-of-war did practically cover the +landing of the Thousand. Lord John Russell denied emphatically to the +House of Commons that they were sent there for the purpose, as to this day +is <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275"> +[Pg.275]</a></span> believed by some grateful Italians, and by every +Clerical writer who handles the subject. The British Government had early +information of Italian revolutionary doings, just then, through Sir James +Hudson, who was in communication with men of all shades of opinion, and it +is credible that orders which must necessarily have been secret, were +given to afford a refuge on board English ships to the flying patriots in +the anticipated catastrophe. More than this is not credible, but the +energy shown by Captain Marryat in safeguarding the interests of the +British residents at Marsala caused the Neapolitan ships to delay opening +fire till the very last Red-shirt was out of harm's way on dry land. Then +and then only did they direct their guns on the <i>Piemonte</i> and <i> +Lombardo</i>, and fire a few shots into the city, which caused no other +damage than the destruction of two casks of wine.</p> + +<p>On the 12th, Garibaldi left Marsala for Salemi, a mountain city +approached by a steep, winding ascent, where he was sure of a warm +reception, as it had already taken arms against the Bourbon king. Hence he +promulgated the decree by which he assumed the dictatorship of Sicily in +the name of Victor Emmanuel.</p> + +<p>The Neapolitan army numbered from 120,000 to 130,000 men; of these +30,000 were actually in Sicily at the time the Thousand landed at Marsala, +18,000 being in and about Palermo, and the rest distributed over the +island. At Salemi, Garibaldi reviewed his united forces: he had been +joined by 200 fresh volunteers, and by a fluctuating mass of Sicilian +irregulars, which might be estimated to consist of 2,000 men, but it +increased or decreased along the road, because it was formed of peasants +of the districts traversed, who did not go far from their homes. These +undisciplined bands were not useless, as they gave the <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg.276]</a></span> Bourbon +generals the idea that Garibaldi had more men than he could ever really +count upon, and also the peasants knew the country well. When they came +under fire they behaved better than anyone would have expected. The first +batch joined the Thousand half-way between Marsala and Salemi. There might +have been fifty of them, dressed in goat-skins, and armed with the old +flint muskets and rusty pistols dear to the Sicilian heart, which he would +not for the world leave behind were he going no farther than to buy a lamb +at the fair. The feudal lord marched at the head of his uncouth +retainers—a company of bandits in an opera—yet, to Garibaldi, +they seemed the blessed assurance that this people whom he was come to +save was ready and willing to be saved. He received the poor little band +with as much rapture as if it had been a powerful army, and, in their +turn, the impressionable islanders were enraptured by the affability of +the man whom the population of Sicily soon came seriously to consider as a +new Messiah. It is a fact that the people of Southern Italy did believe +that Garibaldi had in him something superhuman, only the Bourbon troops +looked rather below than above for the source of it. The picturesque +incidents of the historic march were many; one other may be mentioned. +While the chief watered his horse at a spring a Franciscan friar threw +himself on his knees, and implored to be allowed to follow him. Some of +the volunteers thought the friar a traitor in disguise, but larger in +faith, Garibaldi said: 'Come with us, you will be our Ugo Bassi.' Fra +Pantaleo proved of no small use to the expedition.</p> + +<p>A glance at the map makes clear the military situation. Garibaldi's +objective was Palermo, and if anything shows his genius as a Condottiere +it is this immediate determination to make straight for the capital where +the largest number of the enemy's troops was massed, <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg.277]</a></span> instead of +seeking an illusionary safety for his weak army in the open country. As +the crow flies the distance from Marsala to Palermo is not more than sixty +or seventy miles, but the routes being mountainous, the actual ground to +be covered is much longer. About midway lies Calatafimi, where all the +roads leading from the eastern coast to Palermo converge, and above it +towers the immensely strong position called Pianto dei Romani, from a +battle in which the Romans were defeated. These heights command a vast +prospect, and here General Landi, with 3,000 men and four pieces of +artillery, prepared to intercept the Garibaldians with every probability +of driving them back into the sea.</p> + +<p>The royal troops took the offensive towards ten o'clock on the 15th of +May. They met the Red-shirts half way down the mountain, but were driven +up it again, inch by inch, till, at about three o'clock, they were back at +Pianto dei Romani. A final vigorous assault dislodged them from this +position, and they retreated in disorder to Calatafimi. Not wishing to +tempt fortune further for that day, Garibaldi bivouacqued on the field of +battle. In a letter written to Bertani, on the spur of the moment, he bore +witness with a sort of fatherly pride to the courage displayed by the +Neapolitans: 'It was the old misfortune,' he said, 'a fight between +Italians; but it proved to me what can be done with this family when +united. The Neapolitan soldiers, when their cartridges were exhausted, +threw stones at us in desperation.' How then, with much superior numbers +and a seemingly impregnable position, did they end in ignominious flight? +The answer may be found in the reply given to Bixio, bravest of the brave, +who <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278"> +[Pg.278]</a></span> yet feared, at one hotly-contested point, that retreat +was inevitable. 'Here,' retorted the chief,'we <i>die</i>.' Men who really +mean to conquer or die can do miracles.</p> + +<p>The moral effect of the victory was tremendous. The world at large had +made absolutely sure of the destruction of the expedition. 'Garibaldi has +chosen to go his own way,' said Victor Emmanuel; 'but if you only knew the +fright I was in about him and the brave lads with him!' In Sicily, where +the insurrectionary activity of April was almost totally spent, the news +sent an electric shock of revolution through the whole island. In the +mountains Rosalino Pilo still resisted, weary of waiting for the help that +came not, discouraged or hopeless, but unyielding. Food and ammunition +were almost gone; his ragged band, held together only by the magnetism of +his personal influence, began to feel the pangs of hunger. A price was set +on his head, and he was harassed on all sides by the Neapolitan troops, +whose attacks became more frequent now that the Government realised that +there was danger. He knew nothing of Garibaldi's movements; but he was +resolved to keep his promise as long as he could: to hold out till the +chief came. At the hour when everything looked most desperate, a messenger +arrived in his camp with a letter in Garibaldi's handwriting, which bore +the date of the 16th of May. 'Yesterday,' it ran, we fought and +conquered.' Never was unexpected news more welcome. Filled with a joy such +as few men have tasted, Rosalino read the glad tidings to his men. 'The +cause is won,' he said. 'In a few days, if the enemy's balls respect me, +we shall be in Palermo.'</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Garibaldi had occupied Calatafimi, and was proceeding towards +Monreale, from which side he contemplated a descent on the capital. On the +high tableland of Renda he met Rosalino Pilo with his <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg.279]</a></span> reanimated +band. That day the Garibaldian army, all told, amounted to 5,000 men. On +the 21st of May, Rosalino was ordered to make a reconnaissance in the +direction of Monreale; while carrying out this order a Neapolitan bullet +struck his forehead, causing almost instantaneous death. 'I am happy to be +able to give my blood to Italy, but may heaven be propitious once for +all,' he had written when he first landed, words realised to the +letter.</p> + +<p>The Neapolitans were put in high spirits by Rosalino Pilo's death; the +discomfiture of Calatafimi was forgotten; they represented Garibaldi as a +mouse that was obligingly walking into a well-laid trap. In fact, his +position could not have been more critical, but he had recourse to a +stratagem which saved him. He succeeded in placing the enemy upon a +completely false scent. Abandoning the idea of reaching Palermo from the +east (Monreale), he decided to attempt the assault from the south (Piana +de' Greci and Misilimeri), but, all the while, he continued to throw the +Sicilian <i>Picciotti</i> on the Monreale route, and gave them orders to +fire stray shots in every direction and to light innumerable camp-fires. +These troops frequently came in contact with the Neapolitans in trifling +skirmishes, and kept their attention so well occupied that General +Colonna, in command of the force sent in search of the 'Filibuster,' did +not doubt that the whole Garibaldian army was concentrated over Monreale. +Garibaldi rapidly moved his own column by night to its new base of +operations. The ground was steep and difficult, and a storm raged all the +night; fifteen years later he declared that none of his marches in the +virgin forests of America was so arduous as this. While the Neapolitans +remained in ignorance of these changes, three English naval officers, +guided by a sort of sporting dog's instinct, happened to be driving +through the village of <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_280" id= +"Page_280">[Pg.280]</a></span> Misilmeri just after Garibaldi established +his headquarters in that neighbourhood. Of course it was by chance; still, +Misilmeri is an odd place to go for an afternoon drive, and the escapade +ended in the issue of a severe warning to Her Majesty's officers and +marines to keep in future 'within the bounds of the sentinels of the royal +troops.' Luckily record exists of the experiences of Lieutenant Wilmot and +his two companions at Misilmeri. Garibaldi, on hearing that three English +naval officers were in the village, sent to invite them to the vineyard +where he was taking his dinner. They found him standing in a large +enclosure in the midst of a group of followers who all, like himself, wore +the legendary red flannel shirt and grey trousers. Fra Pantaleo's brown +habit formed the only exception. Several Hungarian officers were present, +and by his father stood Menotti, then a stout youth of nineteen, with his +arm in a sling from the severe wound he received at Calatafimi. Around +were soldiers who looked like mere boys. They gazed with delight on the +English uniforms. Garibaldi requested his guests to be seated and to +partake of some freshly-gathered strawberries. He spoke of his affection +and respect for England, and said it was his hope soon to make the +acquaintance of the British admiral. He mentioned how he had seen and +admired from the heights the beautiful effect of the salutes fired in +honour of the Queen's birthday, two days before. He then retired into his +tent, made of an old blanket stretched over pikes; a child, under the name +of a sentry, paced before it to keep off the crowd.</p> + +<p>To complete the deception of the enemy the Garibaldian artillery, under +Colonel Orsini, was ordered to make a retrograde march on Corleone +previous to joining the main force at Misilmeri. Orsini narrowly escaped +getting caught while executing this movement, and for <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg.281]</a></span> the sake of +celerity was obliged to throw his five cannon (including one taken at +Calatafimi) down deep water courses. He returned to pull them out again +when the immediate danger was past. General Colonna, who followed him +closely, was convinced that the whole of the Garibaldians were in +disorderly retreat as witnessed by the mules and waggons purposely +abandoned by Orsini along the route. For four days Colonna believed that +he had Garibaldi flying before him, and sent intelligence to that effect +to Naples, whence it was published through the world. On the fifth day he +was immeasurably surprised by hearing that Garibaldi had entered +Palermo!</p> + +<p>It was at early dawn on Whitsunday, the 27th of May, that Garibaldi +reached the threshold of the capital, and after overcoming the guard at +Ponte dell' Ammiraglio, pushed on to Porta Termini, the strategic key to +the city. The royalists, though taken by surprise in the first instance, +had time to dispose a strong force behind walls and barricades before +Garibaldi could reach the gate, and it required two hours of severe +fighting to take the position. Many Red-shirts were killed, and Benedetto +Cairoli received the severe wound from which he never wholly recovered. +Success, however, was complete, and the Palermitans got up to find, to +their frantic joy, the Liberator within their gates. According to the old +usage their first impulse was to run to the belfries in order to sound the +tocsin, but they found that the royalists had removed the clappers of the +bells. Nothing daunted, they beat the bells all day with hammers and other +implements, and so produced an indescribable noise which had a material +influence on the nerves of the terrified Neapolitan troops. Being +disarmed, the only other help which the inhabitants could render to their +deliverers was the erection of barricades.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282"> +[Pg.282]</a></span> Even after Garibaldi's entry, it is thought that +General Lanza could have crushed him in the streets by sheer force of +superiority in numbers and artillery had he made proper use of his means. +However, at about three p.m., he chose the less heroic plan of ordering +the castle and the Neapolitan fleet to bombard the city. Most of his staff +opposed the decision, and one officer broke his sword, but Lanza was +inexorable. The measure so exasperated the Palermitans that even had it +achieved its end for the moment, never after would they have proved +governable from Naples. Thirteen hundred shells were thrown into the city. +Lord Palmerston denounced the bombardment and its attendant horrors as +'unworthy of our time and of our civilisation.' The soldiers helped the +work by setting fire to some quarters of the city. Among the spots where +the shells fell in most abundance was the convent of the Sette Angeli. The +Garibaldians escorted the nuns to a place of safety and carried their more +valuable possessions after them. The good sisters were charmed by the +courtesy with which the young Italians performed these duties.</p> + +<p>Fighting in the streets went on more or less continuously, and the +liberators kept their ground, but every hour brought fresh perils. A +Bavarian regiment arrived to reinforce General Lanza, and the return of +the Neapolitan column from Corleone was momentarily expected. The +Garibaldians, and this was the gravest fact of all, had used almost their +last cartridge. The issue of the struggle was awaited with varying +sentiments on board the English, French, Austrian, Spanish and Sardinian +warships at anchor in the bay. Admiral Mundy had placed his squadron so +close to the land that the ships were in danger of suffering from the +bombardment, a course attributed to the humane <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg.283]</a></span> desire to afford a +refuge for non-combatants, and in fact, the officers were soon engaged in +entertaining a frightened crowd of ladies and children. The <i> +Intrepid</i> in particular, was so near the Marina that a fair swimmer +could have reached it in a few minutes; nobody guessed, least of all +Garibaldi, that her mission in the mind of the British admiral was to save +the chiefs own life in what seemed the likely case of its being placed in +peril.</p> + +<p>Admiral Mundy begged the authorities to stop the bombardment before the +city was destroyed, but Lanza appeared to have no intention of yielding to +his counsels, and it is still uncertain what at last induced him on the +30th of May to sue the Filibuster, hastily transformed into his +Excellency, for an armistice of twenty-four hours. 'God knows,' writes +Garibaldi, 'if we had want of it!' The royalists had lost nearly the whole +city except the palace and its surroundings, and, cut off from the sea, +they began to feel a scarcity of food, but not to a severe extent. It +seems most probable that with his men panic-stricken and constantly driven +back in spite of the bombardment, Lanza looked upon the game as lost, when +had he known the straits to which the Garibaldians were reduced for +ammunition, he might have considered it as won.</p> + +<p>An unforeseen incident now occurred; the royalist column, recalled from +Corleone, which was largely composed of Bavarians, reached Porta Termini +and opened a furious fire on the weak Garibaldian detachment stationed +there. Was it ignorance or bad faith? Lieutenant Wilmot, who happened to +be passing by, energetically waved his handkerchief and shouted that a +truce was concluded; the assailants continued the attack till an officer +of the Neapolitan staff who was in conference with Garibaldi at the time +hurried to the spot, at his indignant <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg.284]</a></span> request, and ordered them to +desist. A few minutes later, Garibaldi himself rode up in a wrathful mood, +and while he was renewing his protests, a shell fell close by him, thrown +from a ship which re-opened the bombardment on its own account. Lieutenant +Wilmot, who witnessed the whole affair, was convinced that there was a +deliberate plan to surprise and capture the Italian chief after he had +granted the armistice.</p> + +<p>At a quarter past two on this eventful day, the 30th of May 1860, +Garibaldi and the Neapolitan generals, Letizia and Chretien, stepped on +board the flag-ship <i>Hannibal</i> which Admiral Mundy offered as neutral +ground for their meeting. Curiously enough, both parties, reaching the +mole simultaneously, were rowed out in the same ship's boat, which was +waiting in readiness. The Neapolitans insisted that Garibaldi should go on +board first, either from courtesy or, as the admiral suspected, out of +desire to find out whether he would be received with military honours. +With instinctive tact he had donned his old and rather shabby uniform of a +major-general in the Sardinian army; the admiral's course was, therefore, +marked out, and Garibaldi received the same salute as the two generals who +followed him. After a foolish attempt on the part of the Neapolitan +officers to make themselves disagreeable, which was repressed with +dignified decision by Admiral Mundy, business began, and things went +smoothly till the fifth article of the proposed convention came under +discussion: 'That the municipality should direct a humble petition to his +Majesty the King expressing the real wants of the city.' 'No,' cried +Garibaldi, starting to his feet, 'the time for humble petitions to the +King, or to anyone else, is past; I am the municipality, and I refuse.' +General Letizia grew excited at this declaration, but afterwards he agreed +to <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285"> +[Pg.285]</a></span> submit the question of quashing the fifth article to +his chief, General Lanza. The armistice was prolonged till nine the next +morning.</p> + +<p>As soon as he was back on shore, Garibaldi issued a manifesto, in which +he announced that he had refused a proposal dishonouring the city, and +that to-morrow, at the close of the armistice, he should renew +hostilities. There was a splendid audacity in the threat; his powder was +literally exhausted; nothing was left for him to do but to die with all +his men, and to do this he and they were unquestionably ready. The conduct +of the citizens was on a level with the occasion. As soon as the manifesto +came to be known, the inhabitants rushed to the Palazzo Pretorio, where +the man who had so proudly answered in their name, addressed them in these +terms: 'People of Palermo; the enemy has made me propositions which I +judged humiliating to you, and knowing that you are ready to bury +yourselves under the ruins of your city, I refused.' Those who were +present say that never did Garibaldi seem so great as at that moment. The +answer was one deafening shout, in which the women and children joined, of +'War! war!' In the evening the city was illuminated as on a feast-day.</p> + +<p>Once more in history, the game of greatly daring succeeded. Appalled by +the reports of the dreadful threats emanating from a population without +arms, and a handful of volunteers without powder, distrustful henceforth +of the courage of his soldiers, and, if the truth must be told, of the +fidelity of his fleet, Lanza sent General Letizia to Garibaldi betimes, on +the 31st of May, with an unconditional demand for the continuance of the +armistice. A convention was drawn up, which conceded the fullest liberty +to the royalists to supply their material wants, succour the wounded, and, +if they desired, embark <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_286" id= +"Page_286">[Pg.286]</a></span> them on board ships with their families for +Naples. Garibaldi, always humane, had a special tenderness for the victims +of that civil strife which his soul abhorred, and he never forgot that the +enemy was his fellow-countryman. His influence sufficed to secure to the +royal troops an immunity from reprisals which was the more creditable +because some horrid crimes had been done by miscreants in their ranks when +they found that they were getting the worst of it in the street-fighting. +Unfortunately the same mercy was not extended to some of the secret agents +of Maniscalco, head of the Sicilian police, who, discovered in +hiding-places by the mob, were murdered before any protection could be +given them. At the time the act of barbarity was judged, even by English +observers, with more leniency than it deserved (because cruelty can have +<i>no</i> excuse), so great was the disgust excited by the most odious +system of espionage ever put in practice.</p> + +<p>The convention bore the signatures of 'Ferdinando Lanza, +General-in-Chief,' and of 'Francesco Crispi, Secretary of State to the +Provisional Government of Sicily.' One article provided for the +consignment of the Royal Mint to the victors; a large sum was stored in +its coffers, and Garibaldi found himself in the novel position of being +able to pay his men and the Sicilian <i>squadre</i>, and to send large +orders for arms and ammunition to the Continent.</p> + +<p>General Letizia made two journeys to Naples, and on his return from the +second he came invested with full powers to treat with Garibaldi for the +evacuation of the city. On the 7th of June, 15,000 royal troops marched +down to the Marina to the ships that were to take them away. At the +entrance of the Toledo, the great main street of Palermo, Menotti +Garibaldi was on guard, on a prancing black charger, with a <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg.287]</a></span> few other +Red-shirts of his own age around him, and before this group of boys +defiled the might and pomp of the disciplined army to which King Bomba had +given the thoughtful care of a life-time.</p> + +<p>The closing formalities which wound up these events at Palermo formed a +fitting ending to the dramatic scenes which have been briefly narrated. On +the 19th, General Lanza went on board the <i>Hannibal</i> to take leave of +the British admiral. He was covered with decorations and attended by his +brilliant personal staff. There, in the beautiful bay, lay the ship on +board which he was to sail at sunset, and twenty-four steam transports +were also there, each filled with Neapolitan troops. The defeated general +was deeply moved as he walked on to the quarter-deck. 'We have been +unfortunate,' he said—words never spoken by one officer of +unquestioned personal courage to another without striking a responsive +chord. When he quitted the <i>Hannibal</i>, the English admiral ordered +the White Flag of the King of the Two Sicilies to be hoisted at the +foretop-gallant masthead for the last time in Sicilian waters; and a +salute of nineteen guns, the salute due to the direct representative or +<i>alter ego</i> of a sovereign, speeded the parting guest. Thus, wrapped +in the dignity of misfortune, vanished the last semblance of the graceless +and treacherous thraldom of the Spanish Bourbons in the capital of Sicily. +The flag of Italy was run up on the tower of the Semaphore. Everywhere the +revolution triumphed except at Messina, Milazzo and Syracuse. Even +Catania, where a rising had been put down after a sanguinary struggle, was +now evacuated and left to itself.</p> + +<p>So the 20th of June dawned, and the Queen's ships in the harbour put +forth all their bravery of flags in commemoration of her accession, which +display was naturally interpreted by the Palermitans as a <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg.288]</a></span> compliment +to the Dictator, who had fixed that day for calling on the British, French +and Sardinian admirals and on the captain of the United States frigate <i> +Iroquois</i>. With what honours the American captain received him is not +recorded; for certain it was with cordial goodwill; of the others, Admiral +Mundy treated him as on the previous occasion; the French admiral affected +to consider him a 'simple monsieur' who had unexpectedly come to call, +whilst Admiral Persano, on board the <i>Maria Adelaide</i>, gave him a +salute of nineteen guns, which formed a virtual recognition on the part of +Piedmont of his assumption of the dictatorship. Cavour had ordered Persano +to act on his own responsibility as the exigencies of the hour demanded, +and the admiral knew that these vague instructions assigned him a more +vigorous policy than the other ministers would have agreed to officially. +His bold initiative was therefore justified. As some severe words will +have to be said of Persano in a later chapter, it is well to remark here +that during his Sicilian command he behaved like a thorough patriot, +although it was not in his power to render such great moral services to +freedom as were undoubtedly rendered by Admiral Mundy, who at the same +time acted with so much tact that his neutrality was not impugned, and he +even won the equal personal gratitude of both parties. On the other hand, +the Austrian commodore, Baron von Wüllersdorf, succeeded in pleasing +no one and no one pleased him. He did not expect that the Garibaldians +would lose much love to him, but he took it unkindly that the royalists +fired at his boat with himself in it, and the Austrian flag at the stern. +In high dudgeon he related this grievance to his British colleague, who +gently suggested that since Austria had always supported the Bourbon +system of Government, it was hardly strange if the royalists were hurt at +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg.289]</a></span> +receiving neither assistance nor even sympathy from the Austrian squadron +which witnessed their destruction. The remark was acute; even Austria was, +in fact, tired of the Bourbons of Naples; a portent of their not distant +doom. But it was not likely that the royalists should appreciate the +phlegmatic attitude of their erewhile protectors.</p> + +<p>The concluding military operations in Sicily presented a more arduous +task than, in the first flush of success, might have been anticipated. In +the general panic, one, if one only, royalist officer, Colonel Del Bosco, +turned round and stood at bay. His spirited course was not far from +undoing all that had been done. Fortunately Garibaldi had received +important reinforcements. General Medici touched the Sicilian shores three +days after the evacuation of Palermo with 3500 volunteers, well-armed and +equipped out of the so-called 'Million Rifle Fund,' which was formed by +popular subscription in the north of Italy. The Dictator went as far as +Alcamo to meet the hero of the last glorious fight of Rome, whom he +greeted with delight and affection. Later, arrived the third and last +expedition, consisting of 1500 men under Cosenz, till recently +commander-in-chief of the Italian army. The Sicilian <i>squadre</i> had +been brought into something like military organisation; and an Englishman, +Colonel Dunne, had raised a picked corps of 400 Palermitans which +contained, besides its commander, between thirty and forty of his +countrymen, and was hence called the English Regiment. This battalion was +ready to do anything and go anywhere; it performed excellent work both in +Sicily and on the mainland.<a name="FNanchor5"></a><a href= +"#Footnote_5"><sup>[5]</sup></a></p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290"> +[Pg.290]</a></span> Garibaldi arranged his forces in three divisions; one, +under Türr, was sent to Catania; the second, under Bixio, to +Girgenti; the third, under Medici, was to follow the northern sea-coast +towards Messina, the strongest position still in the enemy's hands. All +three were ultimately to converge with a view to the grand object of +crossing over to the mainland. Medici had 2500 men; the royalists in and +about Messina could dispose of 15,000. The Garibaldians did not expect +much opposition till they got near Messina, but when they reached +Barcelona they heard that the garrison of Milazzo had been reinforced by +Del Bosco with 4000 men, with the evident design of cutting off their +passage to Messina. It is said that this move was made in consequence of +direct communications between that officer and Francis II., whose +ministers had already decided to abandon the whole island. But Del Bosco +secretly assured his King that such a measure was not necessary, and that +he would undertake not only to bar Medici's advance, but to march over the +dead bodies of the Garibaldians to Palermo. Milazzo is a small hilly +peninsula, on which stands a fort and a little walled city. The spot was +well chosen. On the 17th of <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_291" id= +"Page_291">[Pg.291]</a></span> July, Del Bosco attacked the Garibaldian +right, and it was not without difficulty that Medici retained his +positions. Some further reinforcements were sent to Del Bosco from +Messina, though not so numerous as they ought to have been, but they would +have almost ensured him the victory had not Medici also received help; +Cosenz' column, and, yet more important, Garibaldi himself with the 1000 +men he had kept in Palermo, hastening at full speed to the rescue. The +belligerents were, for once, about equally balanced in numbers when on the +20th of July Garibaldi attacked Del Bosco with the purpose of driving him +on to the tongue of the peninsula, thus cutting him off from Messina and +leaving the road open. A desperate engagement followed. The Neapolitans +showed that they could fight if they were properly led, and inflicted a +loss of 800 in killed and wounded (heavy out of a total of 5000) on their +gallant opponents. Garibaldi's own life was nearly sacrificed. He was +standing in a field of prickly pears in conversation with Major Missori +when a party of the enemy's cavalry rode up, the captain of which dealt a +violent blow at him with his sword, without knowing who it was. Garibaldi +coolly parried the blow, and struck down his assailant, while Missori shot +the three nearest dragoons with his revolver. Hearing the noise, other +Garibaldians hurried up, and the chief was saved. For a long time the +issue of the battle remained uncertain, and it was only after hours of +severe fighting that Del Bosco was compelled to recognise his defeat, and +to take refuge on the projecting strip of land as Garibaldi had meant that +he should do.</p> + +<p>A few days later, four transports arrived in the bay of Milazzo to +carry Del Bosco and his men to Naples. The ministry had prevailed, and the +complete abandonment of the island was decreed. General Clary, <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg.292]</a></span> +commandant of Messina, informed Garibaldi that he had orders to evacuate +the town and its outlying forts; the citadel would be also handed over if +the Dictator would engage not to cross to the mainland, but this +conditional offer was declined. The citadel of Messina therefore remained +in the power of the royalists, but on agreement that it should not resume +hostilities unless attacked. It only capitulated in March 1861. Garibaldi +reigned over the rest of the island. The convention was signed on the 28th +of July by Marshal Tommaso de Clary for the King of Naples, and +Major-General Giacomo Medici for the Dictator.</p> + +<p>Before following Garibaldi across the Straits, some allusion is called +for to the general political situation both in Sicily and in Italy. And +first as regards Sicily. When a government is pulled down another must be +set up, and the last task is often not the easiest. Garibaldi appointed a +ministry in which the ruling spirit was Francesco Crispi. A Sicilian +patriot from his youth, and one of the Thousand, he has been judged the +man best fitted to direct the helm of United Italy in days of unexampled +difficulty. This is enough to prove that he was not the first-come +ignoramus or madman that some people then liked to think him. But Crispi +had the art of making enemies, nor has he lost it. Though volumes have +been written on the civil administration under the dictatorship, the +writers' judgments are so warped by their political leanings that it is +not easy to get at the truth. It would have been strange had no confusion +existed, had no false steps been made; yet some of the old English +residents in Sicily say that the island made more real progress during the +few months of Garibaldi's reign than in all the years that have followed. +Towards the end of <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293"> +[Pg.293]</a></span> June, Garibaldi appointed Agostino Depretis as +Pro-Dictator. Of the many decrees formulated and measures adopted at this +period, Garibaldi, who had many other things to think of, was personally +responsible only for those of a philanthropic nature. Busy as he was, he +found time to inquire minutely into the State of the population of +Palermo, and he was horrified at the ignorance and misery in which the +poorer classes were plunged. Forthwith, out came a bushel-basket of edicts +and appeals on behalf of these poor children of the sun. He visited the +orphan asylum and found that eighty per cent. of the inmates died of +starvation. One nurse had to provide for the wants of four infants. +Garibaldi wrote off an address to the ladies of Palermo, in which he +implored them to interest themselves in the wretched little beings created +in the image of God, at the sight of whose wasted and puny bodies he, an +old soldier, had wept. He had money and food distributed every morning to +the most destitute, at the gates of the royal palace, where he lived with +a frugality that scandalised the aged servants of royalty whom he kept, +out of kindness, at their posts. Theoretically, he disapproved of +indiscriminate almsgiving, but in the misery caused by the recent +bombardment, such theories could not be strictly applied, or, at any rate, +Garibaldi was not the man to so apply them; whence it happened that +though, as <i>de facto</i> head of the State, he allowed himself a civil +list of eight francs a day, the morning had never far advanced before his +pockets were empty, and he had to borrow small sums from his friends, +which next morning were faithfully repaid.</p> + +<p>When he walked about the town, the women pressed forward to touch the +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg.294]</a></span> +hem of his <i>poncho</i>, and made their children kneel to receive his +blessing. On one occasion a convent of nuns, from the youngest novice to +the elderly abbess, insisted on giving him the kiss of peace. An idolatry +which would have made anyone else ridiculous; but Garibaldi, being +altogether simple and unselfconscious, was above ridicule. One of the good +works that he initiated was the transformation of the Foundling Hospital, +of which the large funds were turned to little account, into a Military +School under the direction of his best officers. In less than a month the +school could turn out two smart battalions, and there were few mornings +that the Dictator did not go to watch the boys at their drill. He +encouraged them with the promise that before long he would lead them +himself to the wars.</p> + +<p>Such actions smell sweeter from the dust, than the old story of the +antagonism that sprang up in those days between Garibaldi and Cavour, +between Crispi and La Farina. This dualism, as it was called, was the +fruit of a mutual distrust, which, however much to be deplored, was not to +be avoided. Although Cavour had a far juster idea of Garibaldi than that +entertained by his <i>entourage</i>, he was nevertheless haunted by the +fear that the general's revolutionary friends would persuade him to depart +from his programme of 'Italy and Victor Emmanuel,' and embark upon some +adventure of a republican complexion. He was also afraid that the +Government of the Dictator would, by its unconventional methods, discredit +the Italian cause in the eyes of European statesmen. These reasons caused +him to desire and to endeavour to bring about the immediate annexation of +Sicily to the Sardinian kingdom. On the other hand, Garibaldi's faith in +Cavour had <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295"> +[Pg.295]</a></span> ceased with the cession of Nice, and he believed him +to be even now contemplating the cession of the island of Sardinia as a +further sop to Cerberus—a project which, if it existed nowhere else, +did exist in the mind of Napoleon III. With regard to immediate +annexation, he had no intention of agreeing to it, and for one sufficing +reason: had he consented he could not have carried the war of liberation +across the Straits of Messina. His Sicilian army must have laid down their +arms at a command from Turin were it given. And it would have been +given.</p> + +<p>La Farina, like Crispi, a Sicilian by birth, arrived suddenly at +Palermo, representing Cavour, as everyone thought, but in reality he +represented himself. Strong-willed and prejudiced, he was, in his own way, +a perfectly good patriot, and he had done all that was in his power +(though not quite so much as in later years he fancied that he had done) +to aid and further the expedition of the Thousand. But he tried to force +the annexation scheme by means so openly hostile to the government of the +day, that Garibaldi at length sent him on board Persano's flag-ship with a +request that the admiral would forward him to Turin.</p> + +<p>After the evacuation of Messina by the royal troops, Garibaldi received +persuasions of all sorts to let the kingdom of Naples alone. On the part +of King Francis an offer was made to him of 50,000,000 francs and the +Neapolitan navy in aid of a war for the liberation of Venice. Almost +simultaneously he received a letter from Victor Emmanuel sent by the hand +of Count Giulio Litta, in which the writer said that in the event of the +King of Naples giving up Sicily 'I think that our most reasonable course +would be to renounce all ulterior undertakings against the Neapolitan +kingdom.' This was the first <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_296" id= +"Page_296">[Pg.296]</a></span> direct communication between the King and +Garibaldi since the latter's landing at Marsala; it is to be surmised that +of indirect communications there had been several, and that they took the +form of substantial assistance, sent, probably without Cavour being aware +of it, for Victor Emmanuel carried on his own little conspiracies with a +remarkable amount of secrecy. What induced him now to address words of +restraint to Garibaldi in the midway of his work, was the arrival of a +letter from Napoleon III. in which the Emperor urged him in the strongest +manner to use his well-known personal influence with the general to hold +him back. It was not easy for Victor Emmanuel to refuse point blank to +make the last effort on behalf of his cousin. Francis had appointed a +constitutional ministry, promised a statute, granted an amnesty and +engaged to place himself in accord with the King of Sardinia, adopted even +the tricolor flag with the royal arms of Bourbon in the centre. +Concessions idle as desperate on the 25th of June 1860, the date which +they bore. Their only consequence then was to facilitate the fall of the +dynasty, the usual result of similar inspirations of the eleventh hour. +Had all this been done on the day of the King's accession it might have +imperilled Italian unity—not now. But the fatal words, 'Too late,' +would have fallen with ill grace from Victor Emmanuel's lips. Garibaldi +answered his royal correspondent that when he had made him King of Italy +he would be only too happy to obey him for the rest of his life.</p> + +<p>The King's letter, though delivered after the battle of Milazzo, was +written before it. That event convinced Cavour, and doubtless the King +with him, that it was utterly impossible to arrest the tide at Cape Faro. +It convinced him of a great deal more. He saw that if Piedmont <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg.297]</a></span> +continued much longer a passive spectator of the march of events, she +would lose the lead forever And he prepared to act.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile counsels reached Garibaldi from quite a different quarter not +to abandon Naples, but to go there from Rome instead of by Calabria. This +daring scheme was favoured by Mazzini, Nicotera, Bertani; indeed, by all +the republicans. A corps of about 8000 volunteers was ready to start for a +descent on the coast of the Papal States. At present it was in the island +of Sardinia, awaiting the arrival of Garibaldi to assume the command. And +now occurred Garibaldi's mysterious disappearance from Cape Faro, which at +the time excited endless curiosity. The truth was, that he actually went +to Sardinia, but instead of taking command of the volunteers bound for +Rome, he induced them to alter their plans and to join his Sicilian army +in the arduous undertaking before it of overthrowing the Bourbons in the +Neapolitan kingdom. Thus he gained a reinforcement of which he knew the +enormous need, for though he was willing to face difficulties, he was not +blind to them, as were many men of the extreme party. He also prevented +what would have been a step of exceeding danger to the national cause, as +it would have obliged the Sardinian Government to break off all relations +with Garibaldi and to use force against the patriots in suppressing a +movement which, if successful, would have brought a hostile French army +into Italy.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg.298]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XV"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XV</h3> + +<h4>THE MEETING OF THE WATERS</h4> + +<h5>1860</h5> + +<h5>Garibaldi's March on Naples—The Piedmontese in Umbria and the +Marches—The Volturno—Victor Emmanuel enters Naples.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>The Italian kingdom is the fruit of the alliance between the strong +monarchical principles of Piedmont and the dissolvent forces of +revolution. Whenever either one side or the other, yielding to the +influence of its individual sympathies or prejudices, failed to recognise +that thus only, by the essential logic of events, could the unity of the +country be achieved, the entire edifice was placed in danger of falling to +the ground before it was completed.</p> + +<p>When Garibaldi stood on Cape Faro, conqueror and liberator, clothed in +a glory not that of Wellington or Moltke, but that of Arthur or Roland or +the Cid Campeador; the subject of the gossip of the Arabs in their tents, +of the wild horsemen of the Pampas, of the fishers in ice-bound seas; a +solar myth, nevertheless certified to be alive in the nineteenth +century—Cavour understood that if he were left much longer single +occupant of the field, either he would rush to disaster, which would be +fatal to Italy, or he would become so powerful that, in the event of his +being plunged, willingly or unwillingly, by the more ardent apostles of +revolution into opposition with the King of Sardinia, the issue of the +contest would be by no means sure. To guard <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg.299]</a></span> against both possibilities, +Cavour decided to act, and to act at once. He said of the conjuncture in +which he was placed that it was not one of the most difficult, but the +most difficult of his political life. But he proved equal to the task, +which does the more honour to his statesmanship because his first plan +failed completely. This plan was, that the Neapolitan population should +overthrow Francis II., and proclaim Victor Emmanuel their King before +Garibaldi crossed the Straits. But the Neapolitans would not move hand or +foot till Garibaldi was among them. The fact that when Cavour was +convinced that the Bourbon dynasty at Naples was about to fall, he tried +to hasten its collapse by a few weeks or days, was made the most of by his +enemies as an example of base duplicity. At this distance of time, it need +only be said that whether his conduct of affairs was scrupulous or +unscrupulous, it deceived no one, for the Neapolitan King and his friends +were well convinced that the Filibuster of Caprera was their less deadly +foe than the Prime Minister of Piedmont.</p> + +<p>But of all the foes of Franceschiello, to use the diminutive by which, +half in pity, half in contempt, the people of Naples remember him, the +most irrevocably fatal was himself. Two courses were open to him when, +after losing Sicily, he saw the loss of his other kingdom and of his +throne staring him in the face. One was to go forth like a man at the head +of his troops to meet the storm. There had been such a thing as loyalty in +the Kingdom of Naples; not loyalty of the highest sort, but still the +sentiment had existed. Who knows what might not have been the effect of +the presence of their young Sovereign on the broken <i>moral</i> of the +Neapolitan soldiers? 'Sire, place yourself at the head <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg.300]</a></span> of the +40,000 who remain, and risk a last stake, or, at least, fall gloriously +after an honourable battle,' was the advice given him by his minister of +war, Pianell. But his stepmother or somebody (certainly not his wife) said +that the sacred life of a king ought to be kept in cotton wool, like other +curiosities. Meanwhile his uncle, the Count of Syracuse, proposed the +other course which, though not heroic, would have been intelligible and +even patriotic. This was to absolve his subjects from their obedience, and +embark on the first available ship for foreign parts. Fitting the action +to the word, the Count himself started for Turin. Francis awaited the doom +of those who only know how to take half measures.</p> + +<p>The demoralisation, not only of the troops but of every branch of the +public administration in the kingdom of Naples, was not yet a certified +fact; and the enterprise which Garibaldi at Cape Faro had before him, of +invading the dominions of a monarch who still had a large army, and whose +subjects showed not the slightest visible sign of being disposed to strike +a blow for their own freedom, looked rather fabulous than difficult. The +only part of the <i>Regno</i> where the people were taking action was in +the furthermost region of Calabria; a fortunate circumstance, since it was +the first point to be attacked. Calabria, which had contributed its quota +to the Thousand, contained more patriotic energy than the rest of the <i> +Regno</i> put together. On the 8th of August, Garibaldi sent over a small +vanguard of 200 men under a Calabrian officer, with the order to join the +Calabrian band of insurgents which was hiding in the woods and gorges of +Aspromonte, and to spread the news that his own coming would not be long +delayed. The Neapolitan generals had acquired the idea that, instead of +these <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301"> +[Pg.301]</a></span> few men, a large force had already disembarked, and so +turned their attention to the mountains; while Garibaldi, after throwing +the war-ships in the Straits on an equally false scent by various +intentionally abortive operations, crossed in the night of the 19th and +effected a landing not far from Reggio, of which, for both moral and +strategic reasons, it was of vital importance to gain possession as soon +as possible. He took with him 4500 men, and had between 14,000 and 15,000 +more in readiness to follow. The royalist army in Calabria numbered about +27,000, including the garrison of Reggio, 2000 men, under the command of +General Galotti. On the 20th, Bixio attacked the outposts; and on the +21st, Garibaldi fought his way into the city—not, however, without +meeting a strong resistance on the part of the garrison, which might have +been continued longer, and even with a different result, had not the +Calabrian insurgents hurried down from Aspromonte on hearing the sound of +guns, their sudden appearance making the Royalists think that they were +being attacked on all sides. Next day the castle surrendered, and thus a +quantity of valuable war material fell into Garibaldi's hands. His luck +had not deserted him.</p> + +<p>Cosenz and Medici landed their divisions in the night of the 21st of +August, near Scilla, in the neighbourhood of which General Briganti had +massed his Neapolitans, 7000 strong. On the 23rd, Briganti found himself +attacked on the south and north—from Scilla by Cosenz, and from +Reggio by Garibaldi. His position was critical but not desperate had he +been able to depend upon his men, who were more numerous than their +combined opponents; but he saw at once that fighting was the <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg.302]</a></span> last thing +they meant to do, and he had no choice but to surrender at discretion, +almost without firing a shot. Unfortunately, Garibaldi had no power to +keep prisoners of war, even if he wished to do so. Who was to feed and +guard them? Now, as subsequently, he bade the disbanded troops go where +they listed, undertaking to send to Naples by sea as many as desired to go +there. About a thousand accepted; the rest dispersed, forming the first +nucleus of the semi-political and wholly dastardly brigandage which was +later to become the scourge of Southern Italy. Their earliest exploit was +the savage murder of General Briganti, whom they called a traitor, after +the fashion of cowards. This happened at Mileto on the 25th of August, +when Briganti was on his way to join General Ghio, who had concentrated +12,000 men on the town of Monteleone. Garibaldi, whose sound principle it +was to dispose of his enemies one by one as they cropped up, prepared to +attack Ghio with his whole available forces, but he was spared the +trouble. He came, he saw, and he had no need of conquering, for the +soldiers of that bad thing that had been Bourbon despotism in the Italian +south vanished before his path more quickly than the mists of the morning +before the sun. No grounds that will bear scrutiny have ever been adduced +for the reactionary explanation of the marvel: to wit, that the Neapolitan +generals were bribed. By Cavour? The game would have been too risky. By +'English bank-notes,' that useful factor in European politics that has +every pleasing quality except reality? It is not apparent how the +corruptibility of the generals gives a better complexion to the matter, +but the writers on the subject who are favourable to Francis II. seem to +think that it does. Panic-stricken these helpless Neapolitan officers may +deserve to be called, but they <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_303" +id="Page_303">[Pg.303]</a></span> were not bought. And they had cause for +panic with troops of whose untrustworthiness they held the clearest +proofs, and with the country up in arms against them; for a few days after +the taking of Reggio this was the case, and this was by far the greatest +miracle operated by Garibaldi. The populations shook off their apathy, and +not in Calabria only but in the Puglie, the Basilicata, the Abruzzi, there +was a sudden awakening as from a too long sleep. When Garibaldi got to +Monteleone he found that Ghio had evacuated the town. He pursued him to +Soveria, where, on the 30th of August, the 12,000 men laid down their +arms. A few days later, another officer, General Caldarelli, capitulated +with 4000 men. Garibaldi's onward march was a perpetual <i>fête</i>; +everywhere he was received with frantic demonstrations of delight. Still +there was one point between himself and the capital which might reasonably +cause him some anxiety. There were 30,000 men massed near Salerno, in +positions of immense natural strength, where they ought to have been able +to stop the advance of an army twice the size of Garibaldi's. How this +obstacle was removed is far more suggestive of a scene in a comic opera +than of a page in history. Colonel Peard, 'Garibaldi's Englishman,' went +in advance of the army to Eboli, where he was mistaken, as commonly +happened, for his chief. He was past middle age; very tall, with a +magnificent beard and a stern, dictatorial air, which answered admirably +to the popular idea of what the conqueror of Sicily ought to be like, +although there was no resemblance to the real person. It happened that +Eboli was a royalist town and beyond the pale of declared +revolution—a placid and antiquated little city with a forgotten air, +where life had been probably too easy for its inhabitants to wish for a +change. But the <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304"> +[Pg.304]</a></span> supposed arrival of the Terrible Man turned everything +upside-down. Peard, with Commander Forbes, who was following the campaign +as a non-combatant, rode up to the house of the old Syndic, who instantly +became their devoted servant. Like wildfire spread the news—the +whole population besieged the house, brass bands resounded, chinese +lanterns were hung out; the Church, led by the bishop, hurried to the +spot, the Law, headed by a judge, closely following, while the wives of +the local officials appeared in perfectly new bonnets. They all craved an +audience, and the same answer was given to all: that General Garibaldi was +much fatigued and was asleep—so he was, but ninety miles away. He +would be pleased to receive the deputations if they would return +punctually at half-past three a.m. In the meantime, Peard was in an inner +room, engaged in cannonading Naples with telegrams. He had sent for the +telegraph master, who came trembling like an aspen, and from whom it was +elicited that he had already telegraphed to the Home Office at Naples, and +to the general commanding at Salerno, that Garibaldi was in the town. +Peard remarked casually that he supposed he knew his life was in jeopardy, +and then handed him the following message: 'Eboli, 11.30 +p.m.—Garibaldi has arrived with 5000 of his own men, and 5000 +Calabrese are momentarily expected. Disembarkations are expected in the +bay of Naples and the gulf of Salerno to-night. I strongly advise your +withdrawing the garrison from the latter place without delay, or they will +be cut off.' This was despatched to General Ulloa, whom rumour reported to +have been just made minister of war, and was signed in the name of one of +his personal friends. The rumour was false; but the telegram, of course, +reached the desired <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_305" id= +"Page_305">[Pg.305]</a></span> quarter, and the name attached removed all +doubt of its genuineness. It was hardly sent off when a despatch came from +the real war minister, asking the telegraph clerk if news had been +received of the division Caldarelli? To this Peard answered that General +Caldarelli and his division had gone over to Garibaldi yesterday, and now +formed part of the national army. Similar information was sent to General +Scotti at Salerno. Finally, the Syndic of Salerno was asked if he had seen +anything of the Garibaldian expeditions by sea?</p> + +<p>Satisfied with his work, Colonel Peard, who knew that there were +Neapolitan troops within four miles of Eboli, and who did not think that +things looked entirely reassuring, decided to beat a somewhat precipitous +retreat. He told the Syndic that he was going to reconnoitre in the +direction of Salerno, and that his departure must be kept a dead secret, +but as soon as he was out of the town he turned the horses' heads +backwards towards the Garibaldian lines. He was still accompanied by +Commander Forbes, to whom, during their midnight drive, he related his +performance on the telegraph wires. 'What on earth is the good of all +this?' said Forbes; 'you don't imagine they will be fools enough to +believe it?' 'You will see,' answered the colonel, 'it will frighten them +to death, and to-morrow they will evacuate Salerno.' And, in fact, at four +o'clock in the morning the evacuation was begun in obedience to +telegraphic orders from Naples.</p> + +<p>The 30,000 men recalled from Salerno and the adjacent districts marched +towards Capua. The river Volturno, which runs by that fortified town, was +now chosen as the line of defence of the Bourbon monarchy.</p> + +<p>On the 5th of September the King and Queen with the Austrian, Prussian, +Bavarian and Spanish ministers, left Naples for Gaeta on <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg.306]</a></span> board a +Spanish man-of-war. The King issued a proclamation of which the language +was dignified and even pathetic: it is believed to have been written by +Liborio Romano, the Prime Minister, who was at the same moment betraying +his master. Be that as it may, the King's farewell to his subjects and +fellow-citizens might have touched hearts of stone could they but have +forgotten the record of the hundred and twenty-six years of rule to which +he fondly alluded. As it was, in the vast crowds that watched him go, +there was not found a man who said, 'God bless him;' not a woman who shed +a tear. Had any one of the bullets aimed at Ferdinand II. taken fatal +effect, it would have been a less striking punishment for his political +sins than this leaden weight of indifference which descended on his +son.</p> + +<p>In the Royal Proclamation Francis II. stated that he had adhered to the +great principles of Italian nationality, and had irrevocably surrounded +his throne with free institutions; nevertheless it is alleged on what +seems good authority that in those last days he veered round to the party +of the Queen Dowager, who was doing all she could to provoke the lazzaroni +to reaction. It was also believed at Naples that he left orders for Castel +Sant' Elmo to bombard the town if Garibaldi entered.</p> + +<p>The Dictator was so much pleased with Colonel Peard's telegraphic feats +at Eboli, that he sent him on to Salerno to repeat the farce. Peard's +despatches determined the departure of the Court, and it was to him (in +the belief that he was Garibaldi) that Liborio Romano, three hours before +the King embarked, addressed the celebrated telegram invoking the 'most +desired presence' of the Dictator in Naples. With this document in his +hand, Peard went out with the National Guard to meet the real Garibaldi +who was on his way from Auletta. The Dictator hailed his double with the +cry of 'Viva <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307"> +[Pg.307]</a></span> Garibaldi,' in which Cosenz and the other officers +cordially joined. The entry of the Liberator into Salerno was greeted with +the wildest enthusiasm, the wonderful beauty of the surroundings seeming a +fitting setting for a scene like the vision of some freedom-loving +poet.</p> + +<p>Next morning at half-past nine, Garibaldi, with thirteen of his staff, +started by special train for the capital.</p> + +<p>It must be remembered that though the army of Salerno was recalled to +the Volturno, no troops had been withdrawn from Naples. The sentries still +paced before the palaces and public offices, the barracks held their full +complement, Castel Sant' Elmo had all its guns in position. These troops +quartered in the capital, where everything contributed to stimulate their +fidelity, were of different stuff from Ghio's or Caldarelli's frightened +sheep; a White Terror, a repetition of the 15th of May 1848, would have +been much to their mind. There had been no actual revolution; nothing +officially proved that Naples had thrown off the royal allegiance. Such +were the strange circumstances under which Garibaldi, without a single +battalion, came to take possession of a city of 300,000 inhabitants.</p> + +<p>Courage of this sort either does not exist, or it is supremely +unconscious. It is likely, therefore, that the Dictator gave no thought to +the enormous risk he ran, but his passage from the station to the palace +of the Foresteria, where he descended, was a bad quarter-of-an-hour to the +friends who followed him, and to whom his life seemed the point on which +Italian regeneration yet hung. A chance shot fired by some Royalist +fanatic, and who could measure the result? As he passed under the muzzle +of the guns at the opening of the Toledo, he gave the order: 'Drive +slower, slower—more slowly still.' <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg.308]</a></span> And he rose and stood up for +a moment in the carriage with his arms crossed. The artillerymen, who had +begun to make a kind of hostile demonstration, changed their minds and +saluted. The sullen looks of the royal soldiers was the only jarring note +in the display of intoxicating joy with which the Neapolitans welcomed the +bringer of their freedom; freedom all too easily had, for if anything +could have purified the Neapolitans from the evil influences of servitude, +it would have been the necessity of paying dearly for their liberties. The +delirium in the streets lasted for several days and nights; what the +consequences would have been of such a state of madness under a paler sky, +it is not pleasant to reflect; here, at least, there were no robberies, no +drunken person was seen; if there were some murders, a careful inquiry +made by an Englishman showed that the number was the same as the average +number of street-murders through the year. At night, when the word passed +'Il Dittatore dorme,' it was enough to clear the streets as if by magic +near the palace (a private one) where in a sixth floor room the idol of +the hour slept. The National Guard, who were the sole guardians of order, +behaved admirably.</p> + +<p>For a few days such of the townsfolk as had not completely lost their +heads, underwent acute anxiety as they gazed at the frowning pile of Sant' +Elmo; but finally the officers in command of the garrison decided to +capitulate, contrary, in this instance, to the wishes of the soldiery. The +royal troops marched out of the city towards Capua on the 11th of +September.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi's first act had been to hand over the Neapolitan fleet in the +bay to Admiral Persano, a solemn reassertion of his loyalty to Victor +Emmanuel, whom, in his every utterance, he held up to the people as the +best of kings and the father of his country. He instructed his Neapolitan +officer, Cosenz, to form a ministry, and <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg.309]</a></span> wrote to the Marquis +Pallavicini, the prisoner of Spielberg, inviting him to become +Pro-Dictator. Had a man of authority like Pallavicini, who also entirely +possessed the Dictator's confidence, at once assumed that office, much of +the friction which followed might have been spared. But he did not enter +into his functions till October, and in the meanwhile the 'dualism' of +Sicily broke out in an exaggerated form, each side sincerely believing the +other to be on the verge of ruining the country to which they were both +sincerely attached. The appointment of Dr Bertani as Secretary of the +Dictatorship gave rise to controversies which even now, when the grave has +closed over the actors, are hardly at rest. It is time that they should +be. Apart from the war about persons, some of them not very wise persons, +and apart from the fears entertained at Turin, that the freeing of the Two +Sicilies would drift into a republican movement: fears which were +invincible, though, as far as they regarded Garibaldi, they were neither +just nor generous, the question resolved itself, as was the case in +Sicily, into whether the unification of Italy was to go on or whether it +was to halt? Garibaldi refused to give up Sicily to the King's government +because he intended making it the base for the liberation of Naples. +Events had justified him. He now refused to hand over Naples because he +intended making it the base for the liberation of Rome. It has been seen +that he and he alone prevented an attempt at a landing in the Papal states +from being made in the month of August. In deciding, however, that it was +expedient to finish one enterprise before beginning another, he did not +give up Rome: he merely chose what he thought a safer road to go there. +And he now declared without the least concealment that he intended to +proclaim Victor Emmanuel King of Italy from the Quirinal.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310"> +[Pg.310]</a></span> Would events have justified him again? There was a +French garrison in Rome; this, to Cavour, seemed a conclusive answer.</p> + +<p>Cavour was engaged on a series of measures, unscrupulous manoeuvres as +some have called them, masterpieces of statesmanship as they have been +described by others, by which he got back the reins of the Italian team +into his own hands. The plan of an annexionist revolution in Naples before +Garibaldi arrived had failed. So much discontent was felt at the apparent +indifference, or, at least, 'masterly inactivity' of the Sardinian +government in presence of the great struggle in the south that Cavour +began to be afraid of a revolution breaking out in quite a different +quarter, in Victor Emmanuel's own kingdom. It was at this critical +juncture that he resolved to invade the Papal states, and take possession +of the Province of Umbria and the Marches of Ancona.</p> + +<p>The decision was one of extreme boldness. For three months Cavour had +been stormed at by all the Foreign Ministers in Turin, excepting Sir James +Hudson, but, as he wrote to the Marquis E. D'Azeglio: 'I shall not draw +back save before fleets and armies.'</p> + +<p>Austria, France, Spain, Russia and Prussia now broke off diplomatic +relations with Sardinia. What would be their next act? The danger of +Austria intervening was smaller than it then appeared; Austria was too +much embarrassed in her own house, and especially in Hungary, for her to +covet adventures in Italy. But the French Government did, in the plainest +terms, threaten to intervene, and this notwithstanding that the Emperor +himself appeared to be convinced by Cavour's argument, that the proposed +scheme was the only means of checking the march of revolution, which from +Rome might spread to Paris. By announcing one <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg.311]</a></span> line of policy in public +and another in private, Napoleon left the door open to adopt either one or +the other, according to the development of events. In the sequel, the +Papal party had a right to say that he lured them to their destruction, as +their plan of operations, and in particular the defence of Ancona, was +undertaken in the distinct expectation of being supported by the French +fleet.</p> + +<p>As early as April 1860, the Pope invited the Orleanist General +Lamoricière to organise and command the forces for the defence of +the Temporal Power, which he had summoned from the four quarters of the +Catholic world. 5000 men, more or less, answered the call; they came +chiefly from France, Belgium and Ireland. Of his own subjects the Pope had +10,000 under arms. In a proclamation, issued on assuming the command, +Lamoricière compared the Italian movement with Islamism, a +comparison which aroused intense exasperation in Italy, where the rally of +a foreign crusade against the object which was nearest to Italian hearts, +and for which so many of the best Italians had suffered and died, could +not but call up feelings which in their turn were expressed in no moderate +language. It was a fresh illustration of the old truth—that the +Papal throne existed only by force of foreign arms, foreign influence. +Lamoricière's 'mercenaries' did much harm to the Pope's cause by +bringing home this truth once more to the minds of all. That the corps +contained some of the bluest blood of France, that there were good young +men in it, who thought heaven the sure reward for death in defence of +dominions painfully added in the course of centuries by devices not +heavenly to the original patrimony of Peter, did not and could not +reconcile the Italians to the defiance thrown down to them by a band of +strangers in their own country.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312"> +[Pg.312]</a></span> Before the opening of hostilities, Victor Emmanuel +offered Pius IX. to assume the administration of the Papal states (barring +Rome) while leaving the nominal sovereignty to the Pope. Nothing came of +the proposal, which was followed by a formal demand for the dissolution of +Lamoricière's army, and an intimation that the Sardinian troops +would intervene were force used to put down risings within the Papal +border. On the 11th of September, symptoms of revolution having meanwhile +broken out in the Marches, General Fanti in command of 35,000 men crossed +the frontier. Half these forces under Fanti himself were directed on +Perugia; the other half under Cialdini marched towards Ancona. The +garrisons of Perugia and Spoleto were compelled to surrender, and +Lamoricière found his communications cut off, so that he could only +reach the last fortress in the power of the Papal troops, Ancona, by +fighting his way through Cialdini's division, which by rapid marches had +reached the heights of Castelfidardo. His men passed the day of the 17th +in religious exercises, and in going to confession; the vicinity of the +Holy House of Loreto, brought hither by angels from Bethlehem, filled the +young Breton soldiers with transports of religious fervour. +Lamoricière had taken from the Santa Casa some of the flags of the +victors of Lepanto to wave over his columns. In the battle of the next day +the French fought with the gallantry of the Vendéans whose +descendants they were, and the Irish behaved as Irishmen generally behave +under fire, but the Swiss and Romans mostly fought ill or not at all. +Lamoricière excused the conduct of the latter on the ground that +they were young troops; it is likely that they had but little eagerness to +fire on their fellow-countrymen. Being Italians, and above all being +Romans, they <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313"> +[Pg.313]</a></span> assuredly were not sustained by one scrap of the +mystical enthusiasm of the French: such a state of mind would have been +incomprehensible to them. They knew that so far as dogmas went Victor +Emmanuel was as good a Catholic as the Pope. It is surprising that with +part of his force demoralised Lamoricière was still able to hold +his own for three or four hours. General Pimodan and many of the French +officers were killed; Lamoricière could say truly: 'All the best +names of France are left on the battlefield.'</p> + +<p>After the victory of Castelfidardo, the Sardinian attack was +concentrated on Ancona. Admiral Persano brought the squadron from Naples +to co-operate with Fanti's land forces, and the fortress capitulated on +the 29th of September. The campaign had lasted eighteen days. The +Piedmontese held Umbria and the Marches, and a road was thus opened for +the army of Victor Emmanuel to march to Naples. During the progress of +these events Garibaldi was preparing for the final struggle on the +Volturno. He had not yet given up the hope of carrying his victorious arms +to the Capitol, and from the Capitol to the Square of St Mark. The whole +republican party, and Mazzini himself, who had arrived in Naples, ardently +adhered to this programme. Their argument was not without force, risk or +no risk, when would there be another opportunity as good as the present? +It was very well for Cavour to look forward, as he did to the day of his +death, to a pacific solution of the Roman question; Mazzini saw—in +which he was far more clear-sighted than Cavour—that such a solution +would never take place. His arrival at Naples caused alarm at Turin, both +on account of his presumed influence over Garibaldi, the extent of which +was much exaggerated, and from the terror his name spread among European +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg.314]</a></span> +diplomatists. The Dictator was asked to proscribe the man whose latest act +had been to give the last 30,000 francs he possessed in the world to the +expenses of the Calabrian campaign. He refused to do this. 'How could I +have insisted upon sending Mazzini into exile when he has done so much for +Italian unity?' he said afterwards to Victor Emmanuel, who agreed that he +was right. However, he allowed the Pro-Dictator Pallavicini to write a +letter to Mazzini, inviting him to show his generosity by spontaneously +leaving Naples in order to remove the unjust fears occasioned by his +presence. Mazzini replied, as he had a perfect right to do, that every +citizen is entitled to remain in a free country as long as he does not +break the laws. And so the incident closed.</p> + +<p>While the Party of Action urged Garibaldi not to give up Rome, other +influences were brought to bear on him in the opposite sense, and +especially that of the English Government, which instructed Admiral Mundy +to arrange a 'chance' meeting between the Dictator and the English +Minister at Naples, Mr. Elliot, on board the flagship <i>Hannibal</i>. Mr. +Elliot pointed out the likelihood of a European war arising from an attack +on Venice, and the certainty of French intervention in case of a +revolutionary dash on Rome. Garibaldi replied that Rome was an Italian +city, and that neither the Emperor nor anyone else had a right to keep him +out of it. 'He was evidently,' writes Admiral Mundy in reporting the +interview, 'not to be swayed by any dictates of prudence.'</p> + +<p>In Sicily, the rival factions were bringing about a state approaching +anarchy, but a flying visit from Garibaldi in the middle of September +averted the storm. At this time, Garibaldi's headquarters were at Caserta, +in the vast palace where Ferdinand II. breathed his last. The <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg.315]</a></span> Garibaldian +and the Royal armies lay face to face with one another, and each was +engaged in completing its preparations. It might have been expected, and +for a moment it seems that Garibaldi did expect, that after the solemn +collapse of the Neapolitan army south of Naples, the comedy was now only +awaiting its final act and the fall of the curtain. But it soon became +apparent that, instead of the last act of a comedy, the next might be the +first of a tragedy. The troops concentrated on the right bank of the +Volturno amounted to 35,000, with 6000 garrisoning Capua. About 15,000 +more formed the reserves and the garrison of Gaeta. The position on the +Volturno was favourable to the Royalists; the fortress of Capua on the +left bank gave them a free passage to and fro, while the Volturno, which +is rather wide and very deep, formed a grave impediment to the advance of +their opponents. But the chief reason why there was a serious possibility +of the fortunes of war being reversed, lay in the fact that the <i> +moral</i> of these troops was good. All the picked regiments of the army +were here, including 2500 cavalry. The men were ashamed of the stampede +from the south, and were sincerely anxious to take their revenge. Thus the +Neapolitan plan of a pitched battle and a victorious march on Naples was +by no means foredoomed, on the face of things, to failure.</p> + +<p>In Garibaldi's short absence at Palermo, the Southern Army (as he now +called his forces) was left under the command of the Hungarian General +Türr, as brave an officer as ever lived, and a fast friend to Italy, +but his merits do not undo the fact that as soon as the Dictator's back +was turned, everything got into a muddle. Pontoon bridges had been thrown +across the river at four points; availing himself of one of these, +Türr crossed the Volturno with a view to taking up a <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg.316]</a></span> position on +the right bank at a place called Caiazzo, a step which, if attempted at +all, ought to have been supported by a very strong force. On the 19th of +September, Caiazzo was actually taken, but on the 21st the Royalists came +out of Capua with 3000 men and defeated with great loss the thousand or +fewer Garibaldians charged with its defence, only a small number of whom +were able to recross the bridges and join their companions. The saddest +part of this adventure was the slaughter of nearly the whole of the boys' +company—lads under fifteen, who had run away from home or school to +fight with Garibaldi. Fight they did for five mortal hours, with the +heroism of veterans or of children. Only about twenty were left.</p> + +<p>When Garibaldi returned from Sicily, this was the first news he heard, +and it was not cheering. The Royalists, who thought they had won another +Waterloo, were in the wildest spirits, and the march on Naples was talked +of in their camp as being as good as accomplished.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi's lines were spread in the shape of a semi-circle, of which +the two ends started from Santa Maria on the left, and Maddaloni on the +right, with Castel Morone at the apex. The country is hilly, and this +fact, together with the great distance covered, divided the 20,000 men +into a number of practically distinct bodies, each of which, in the +decisive battle, had to fight its own fight. Here and there improvised +fortifications were thrown up. Garibaldi was aware that his line of battle +was perilously extended, but the necessity of blocking all the roads and +by-ways which led to Naples, dictated tactics which he was the last to +defend.</p> + +<p>The best policy for the Royalists would have been to bring <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg.317]</a></span> +overwhelming numbers to bear on a single point, and, breaking the line, to +march straight on the capital. They were doubtless afraid of an advance +which would have left a portion of the Garibaldian army unbeaten in their +rear. Nevertheless, of the chances that remained to them, this was the +best. At Naples there were no Garibaldian troops to speak of, and the +powers of reaction had been working night and day to procure for the +rightful King the reception due to a saviour of society. Perhaps they +would not have completely failed. There were nobles who were sulking, +shopkeepers who were frightened, professional beggars with whom the +Dictator had opened a fierce but unequal contest, for no blue-bottle fly +is more difficult to tackle than a genuine Neapolitan mendicant; there +were priests who, though not by any means all unpatriotic, were beginning +to be scared by Garibaldi's gift of a piece of land for the erection of an +English church, and by the sale of Diodati's Bible in the streets. And +finally, there was the Carrozzella driver whom a Garibaldian officer had +struck because he beat his horse. These individuals formed a nucleus +respectably numerous, if not otherwise respectable, of anxious watchers +for the Happy Return.</p> + +<p>If anyone question the fairness of this catalogue of the partisans of +the fallen dynasty, the answer is, that had their ranks contained worthier +elements, they would not have carefully reserved the demonstration of +their allegiance till the King should prove that he had the right of the +strongest.</p> + +<p>Towards five o'clock in the morning of the 1st of October, the +royalists, who crossed the river in three columns, fired the first shots, +and the fight soon became general. King Francis had come from <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg.318]</a></span> Gaeta to +Capua to witness what was meant to be an auspicious celebration of his +birthday. General Ritucci held the chief command. Of the Garibaldians, +Milbitz and Medici commanded the left wing (Santa Maria and Sant' Angelo), +and Bixio the right (Maddaloni), while Castel Morone, through which a road +led to Caserta, was entrusted to Colonel Pilade Bronzetti and three +hundred picked volunteers. Garibaldi's own headquarters was with the +reserves at Caserta, but he appeared, as if by magic, at all parts of the +line during the day, sometimes bringing up reinforcements, sometimes +almost alone, always arriving at the nick of time whenever things looked +serious, to help, direct and reanimate the men. A dozen times in these +journeys by the rugged mountain paths he narrowly escaped falling into the +enemy's hands. No trace of uneasiness was visible on his placid face; +there was, however, more than enough to make a man uneasy. In the early +part of the battle, both Medici and Bixio were pushed back from their +positions. Only Pilade Bronzetti with his handful of Lombard Bersaglieri +never swerved, and held in check an entire Neapolitan column, whose +commander (Perrone) has been blamed for wasting so much time in trying to +take that position instead of joining his 2000 men to the troops attacking +Bixio, but his object was to march on Caserta, where his appearance might +have caused very serious embarrassment.</p> + +<p>Up to midday the Royalists advanced, not fast, indeed, but surely. They +fired all the buildings on their path, and amongst others one in which +there were thirty wounded Garibaldians who were burned to death. It was +said to be an accident, but such accidents had better not happen. Victory +seemed assured to them. It is not disputed that on this occasion they +fought well, and they had all the advantages of <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg.319]</a></span> ground, numbers and +artillery. But the volunteers, also, were at their best; they surpassed +themselves. If every man of them had not shown the best military +qualities, skill, resource, the power of recovery, Francis II. would have +slept that night at Naples.</p> + +<p>Medici acted with splendid firmness, but at the most critical moment he +had Garibaldi by his side. Bixio was left to fight his separate battle +unaided (so great was the chief's confidence in him), and consummately +well he fought it. After the middle of the day, the Garibaldians began to +retake their positions, and at some points to assume the offensive; still +it was five o'clock before Garibaldi could send his famous despatch to +Naples: 'Victory along all the line.' The battle had lasted ten hours.</p> + +<p>The Sicilians and Calabrese under Dunne, who stemmed the first onset at +Casa Brucciata, and under Eber, whose desperate charge at Porta Capua +ushered in the changing fortunes of the day, rivalled the North Italians +in steadiness and in dash. The French company and the Hungarian Legion +covered themselves with glory; it was a pity there was not the English +brigade, 600 strong, which mismanaged to arrive at Naples the day after +the fair. Had they been in time for the fight, they would doubtless have +left a brighter record than the only one which they did leave: that of +being out of place in a country where wine was cheap.</p> + +<p>Putting aside Dunne and a few other English officers, England was +represented on the Volturno by three or four Royal Marines who had slipped +away from their ship, the <i>Renown</i>, and were come over to see the +'fun.' It seems that they did ask for rifles, but they did not get them, +their martial deeds consisting in the help they gave in dragging <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg.320]</a></span> off +two captured field-pieces. Never did an exploit cause so much discussion +in proportion with its importance; the Neapolitan Minister in London +informed Lord John Russell that a body of armed men from the British fleet +had been sent by Admiral Mundy to serve pieces of Garibaldian +artillery.</p> + +<p>Of all the striking incidents of the day, that which should be +remembered while Italy endures, was the defence of the hillock of Castel +Morone by Bronzetti and his Lombards. Their invincible courage contributed +in no small degree to the final result. One man to eight, they held their +own for ten hours; when summoned to yield by the Neapolitan officer, who +could not help admiring his courage, Pilade Bronzetti replied: 'Soldiers +of liberty never surrender!' It was only in the moment of victory that +Perrone passed over their dead bodies and uselessly advanced—which +cost him dear on the morrow.</p> + +<p>The Garibaldian losses were 2000 killed and wounded and 150 prisoners; +the Neapolitans had the same number placed <i>hors de combat</i>, and lost +3000 prisoners.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi had none but his own men; the report that the battle had been +won by soldiers of the Sardinian army who arrived in the afternoon was +false, because they did not arrive till next day, when a battalion of +Piedmontese Bersaglieri took part in defeating Perrone's column, which (it +is hard to say with what idea) descended nearly to Caserta, as its +commander wished to do on the first. Did Perrone not know of the defeat of +yesterday? His column was surrounded and all the men were taken +prisoners.</p> + +<p>After the battle of the Volturno the belligerents re-occupied the +positions on the right and left banks of that river which they held <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg.321]</a></span> +before. Military critics speculate as to why Garibaldi did not follow up +his advantage, and the opinion seems general that he did not feel himself +strong enough to do so. The fortress of Capua was a serious obstacle, but +Garibaldi was not accustomed to attach much weight to obstacles whatever +they were, and it is pretty certain that he would have gone in pursuit had +he not received a letter from Victor Emmanuel, who bade him wait till he +came.</p> + +<p>By this time he had abandoned all thoughts of marching on Rome. From +the moment that the King's army started for Naples he understood that +persistence in the Roman programme would lead to something graver than a +war of words with the authorities at Turin. Always positive, he gathered +some consolation from the gain to Italy of two Roman provinces, Umbria and +the Marches, and trusted the future with the larger hope.</p> + +<p>Constitutional government triumphed over the old absolutism and over +the new dictatorship. And here it may be noted which Constitutional +government, which never had a more sincere and faithful votary than +Cavour, found no favour with Garibaldi at any period of his life. Its +hampering restrictions, its slow processes, irritated his mind, intolerant +of constraint, and he failed to see that this cumbersome mechanism still +gives the best, if not the only, guarantee for the maintenance of freedom. +The sudden transition of Southern Italy from a corrupt despotism to free +institutions brought with it a train of evils, but there was no +alternative. If Italy was to be one, all parts of it must be placed under +the same laws, and that at once.</p> + +<p>On the 11th of October the Sardinian parliament sitting at Turin passed +all but unanimously the motion authorising the King's Government to accept +the annexation of those Italian provinces which <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg.322]</a></span> manifested, by universal +suffrage, their desire to form part of the Constitutional Monarchy. +Cavour's speech on this occasion was memorable: 'Rome,' he said, 'would +inevitably become the splendid capital of the Italian kingdom, but that +great result would be reached by means of moral force; it was impossible +that enlightened Catholics should not end by recognising that the Head of +Catholicism would exercise his high office with truer freedom and +independence guarded by the love and respect of 22,000,000 Italians than +entrenched behind 25,000 bayonets.' Of Venice, the martyr-city, he said +'that public opinion was rapidly turning against its retention by Austria, +and that when the great majority of Germans refused to be any longer +accomplices in its subjection, that subjection would be brought to a close +either by force of arms or by pacific negotiations.'</p> + +<p>The words were strangely prescient at a time when the Prince Regent of +Prussia was making most melancholy wails over the fall of the Neapolitan +King. The Prussian Government issued a formal protest, which Cavour met by +observing that Prussia, of all Powers, had the least reason to object, as +Piedmont was simply setting her an example which she ought to follow and +would follow, the mission of the two nations being identical. He already +thought of Prussia as an ally: 'Never more French alliances,' he was once +heard to say.</p> + +<p>On the same day, the 11th of October, Victor Emmanuel crossed the +Neapolitan frontier at the head of the army which Cialdini led to victory +at Castelfidardo. The King published a proclamation, in which he said that +he closed the era of revolution in Italy. Other bodies of <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg.323]</a></span> Piedmontese +troops had been despatched by sea to Naples and Manfredonia. The passage +of the Piedmontese troops over the Abruzzi mountains was opposed both by a +division of the Bourbon army and by armed peasants, who burnt a man alive +at a place called Isernia; but their advance was not long delayed.</p> + +<p>The Neapolitans now began to retire from the right bank of the +Volturno, and retreat towards the Garigliano, their last line of defence. +Garibaldi crossed the river with 5000 men, and moved in the direction by +which the vanguard of the Piedmontese was expected to arrive. At daybreak +on the 26th of October, near Teano, the Piedmontese came in sight. +Garibaldi, who had dismounted, walked up to Victor Emmanuel and said: +'Hail, King of Italy!'</p> + +<p>Once before the title was given to a prince of the House of +Savoy—to Charles Albert, in the bitterest irony by the Austrian +officers who saw him flying from his friends and country by order of his +implacable uncle. A change had come since then.</p> + +<p>Victor Emmanuel answered simply: 'Thanks,' and remained talking for a +quarter of an hour in the particularly kind and affectionate manner he +used with Garibaldi, but at the end of the interview, when the leader of +the volunteers asked that in the imminent battle on the Garigliano they +might have the honour of occupying the front line, he received the reply: +'Your troops are tired, mine are fresh, it is my turn now.'</p> + +<p>Garibaldi said sadly that evening to an English friend: 'They have sent +us to the rear.' It was the first sign of the ungenerous treatment meted +out to the Garibaldian array to which the King lent himself more than he +ought to have done. He promised to be present on the 6th of November, when +Garibaldi reviewed his volunteers, but after keeping them waiting, sent a +message to say that he could not come. <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg.324]</a></span> The last meeting of all +between the chief and his faithful followers was at Naples, on the +occasion of the distribution of medals to as many as were left of the +Thousand—less than half. In all his farewell addresses the same note +sounded: 'We have done much in a short time.... I thank you in the name of +our country.... We shall meet again.'</p> + +<p>The plebiscites in Umbria and the Marches and in the kingdoms of Naples +and Sicily took place in October. The formula adopted at Naples was more +broadly framed than in the previous plebiscites; it ran: 'The people +desire an united Italy under the sceptre of the House of Savoy.' The vote +was almost unanimous.</p> + +<p>On the 7th of November, Victor Emmanuel made his entry into Naples, +with Garibaldi at his side. Next day, in the great throne-room of the +palace, the king-maker delivered to the King the plebiscites of the Two +Sicilies.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi had nothing more to do except to pay a last visit to Admiral +Mundy, whose flagship still lay at anchor in the bay. This duty was +performed in the grey dawn of the 9th of November. 'There is the ship +which is to carry me away to my island home,' he said, pointing to an +American merchant vessel, 'but, Admiral, I could not depart without paying +you a farewell visit. Your conduct to me since our first meeting at +Palermo has been so kind, so generous, that it can never be erased from my +memory; it is engraven there indelibly—it will last my life.'</p> + +<p>On leaving the flagship he rowed straight to the American vessel, which +soon afterwards steamed out of the bay. The parting salute fired by the +guns of the <i>Hannibal</i> was all the pomp that attended his departure. +Several hours later the people of Naples knew that their <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg.325]</a></span> liberator +had gone to dig up the potatoes which he had planted in the spring.</p> + +<p>By Cavour's advice, Victor Emmanuel offered Garibaldi a dukedom and the +Collar of the Annunziata, which confers the rank of cousin to the King, +besides riches to support these honours. He refused everything, and +returned to Caprera poorer than when he left it.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg.326]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XVI"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XVI</h3> + +<h4>BEGINNINGS OF THE ITALIAN KINGDOM</h4> + +<h5>1860-1861</h5> + +<h5>Beginnings of the Italian Kingdom—The Fall of +Gaeta—Political Brigandage—The Proclamation of the Italian +Kingdom—Cavour's Death.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>The Neapolitan army retreated, as has been already stated, beyond the +Garigliano. Capua, isolated and surrounded, could render no material +service to the royal cause; it capitulated on the 2nd of November, though +not until the town had been bombarded for forty-eight hours. The siege was +witnessed by Victor Emmanuel, who said to General Delia Rocca: 'It breaks +my heart to think that we are sending death and destruction into an +Italian town.' Two days after the surrender of Capua, Cialdini threw a +bridge over the Garigliano near its mouth, an operation covered by the +guns of Admiral Persano's squadron. His first attempt on the 29th of +October had met with a decided repulse, another proof that this last +remnant of the Neapolitan army was not an enemy to be despised. The second +attempt, however, was successful; part of the Neapolitans fell back upon +Gaeta, and the other part fled over the Papal frontier.</p> + +<p>Gaeta, the refuge of the Pope and the fugitive Princes in 1848, now +became the ultimate rock of defence of the Bourbon dynasty. The position +of the fortress is extremely strong and not unlike Gibraltar in its main +features. A headland running out into the sea and rising <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg.327]</a></span> to a height +of three or four hundred feet, it is divided by a strip of sand from the +shore-line. The principal defences were then composed of a triple +semi-circle of ditches and ramparts one higher than the other. Had the +country been flat the difficulties of the siege would have been much +increased; its hilly character allowed Cialdini to fix his batteries on +heights which commanded the top of the Gaeta hill. But to profit by this, +the Piedmontese were obliged to make fourteen miles of roads by which to +bring up their artillery. For a month, 10,000 out of the 20,000 besiegers +were at work with the spade. The defending force amounted to 11,000 men, +and was commanded by General Ritucci. From the first, it was certain that +the obstinate stand made at Gaeta could only result in what Lord John +Russell called a useless effusion of blood; nevertheless it seems to have +been prompted by a real belief that Francis would still recover his +kingdom. The precedent of his father's return from Gaeta may have +strengthened the King's illusion; every day he received highly-coloured +reports of a gathering reaction, and as the French fleet in the bay +prevented Admiral Persano from attacking from the sea, he believed that +the time which he could hold out was indefinite. This policy of the French +Government need not have greatly cheered him, as its motive was less to +help Francis than to prepare the way, by hampering the Piedmontese, for a +little fishing in troubled waters. Prince Murat, descendant of the <i>Beau +Sabreur</i>, was busy writing proclamations to remind the world that if +Francis were impossible and Victor Emmanuel 'wanted finish,' there was an +eligible young man ready to sacrifice the charms of the Boulevards for the +cares of kingship.</p> + +<p>On the representations of the British Government the Emperor withdrew +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg.328]</a></span> +his fleet in January, advising Francis II. to renounce a hopeless +resistance. But at this eleventh hour the King had adopted the principle +of 'no surrender,' and he meant to stick to it. It is difficult to blame +him; at anyrate, much more serious is the blame due to the methods of +warfare which he was to adopt or to approve thereafter. His young Queen, +who was frequently seen on the ramparts encouraging the artillerymen at +their guns, had probably much to do with his virile resolution. The +fortress was now attacked by land and by sea, and the bursting of a +powder-magazine inside the walls hastened its doom. On the 15th of January +the Neapolitans laid down their arms, the King having left his dominions +by sea. The first act of the conquerors in the half-ruined town was to +attend a mass for the repose of the souls of the brave men, friends and +foes, who had fallen during the siege. Noisy rejoicings would have been +unseemly, for the vanquished were fellow-countrymen.</p> + +<p>The telegram announcing the fall of Gaeta went to Caprera; Garibaldi +read it, and a weight was taken off his mind. 'Civil war is at an end,' he +announced to the little party round the supper-table; 'Cialdini with our +army is in Gaeta; now the Italians will not cut one another's throats any +more.' Later in the evening he seemed so depressed that they thought him +ill; Colonel Vecchj went to his bedside to discover what was the matter. +He found him reading the <i>Times</i>, and inquired why he had become so +suddenly sad. After a pause, Garibaldi said: 'Poor boy! Born at the foot +of a throne and perhaps not by his own fault, hurled from it. He too will +have to feel the bitterness of exile without preparation.' 'Is that all?' +asked Vecchj. 'Do you think it nothing?' was the answer. 'Why then,' +persisted Vecchj, half in jest, 'did you go to Marsala?' 'It was the <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg.329]</a></span> duty +of us all to go,' Garibaldi said quickly, 'else how could there have been +one Italy?'</p> + +<p>Francis II. would have been happy had he found counsellors to persuade +him to keep pure such titles to sympathy as he then possessed. Decorum, if +not humanity, should have urged him to retire, surrounded by the solitary +flash of glory cast on his fallen cause by the brave defence of Gaeta. But +the revolution, the new Islam, if it could not be conquered must be made +to suffer for its triumph. Hence the exiled King was advised to call in +murder, pillage and rapine as accomplices. The political brigandage which +followed the downfall of the King of the Two Sicilies began after the +battle of the Volturno and extended over five years. Its effect on the +general situation was nil; it harassed and distracted the Italian +Government and created the odious necessity of using severe repressive +measures, but it never placed the crown in danger. One effect it did have, +and that was to raise all over Italy a feeling of reprobation for the late +dynasty, which not all the crimes and follies of the two Ferdinands and +the first Francis had succeeded in evoking. How many bright lives, full of +promise, were lost in that warfare which even the sacred name of duty +could not save from being ungrateful and inglorious! Italians who have +lost their children in their country's battles have never been heard to +complain; nowhere was the seemliness of death for native land better +understood than it has been in the Italy of this century, but to lose son +or brother in a brigand ambush by the hand of an escaped +galley-slave—this was hard. The thrust was sharpened by the +knowledge that the fomenter of the mischief was dwelling securely in the +heart of Italy, the guest of the Head of the Church. From Rome came money +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg.330]</a></span> +and instructions; from Rome, whether with or without the cognizance of the +authorities, came recruits. The Roman frontier afforded a means of escape +for all who could reach it, however red their hands were with blood. What +further evidence was needed of the impossibility of an indefinite duration +of this state within a state?</p> + +<p>King Francis held back at first, but his uncle, the Count of Trapani, +who openly abetted the brigand partisans, drew him more and more into +collusion with them and their works. The Belgian ecclesiastic, Mgr. de +Mérode, who had then an influence at the Vatican not possessed even +by Antonelli, looked, unless he was much belied, with a very kind eye upon +the new defenders of throne and altar. Efforts have been made to represent +the war as one carried on by loyal peasants. No one denies that every +peasants' war must assume, more or less, an aspect of brigandage; +nevertheless there have been righteous and patriotic peasants' wars, such +as that of the Klephts in Greece. The question is, Whether the political +brigandage in South Italy had any real affinity with the wars of the +Klephts, or even of the Carlists? And the answer must be a negative.</p> + +<p>The partisan chiefs in the kingdom of Naples were brigands, pure and +simple, most of whom had either been long wanted by the police, or had +already suffered in prison for their crimes. They organised their troops +on the strict principles of brigand bands, and proposed to them the same +object: pillage. 'Lieut-General' Chiavone who had a mania for imitating +Garibaldi, was the least bad among them; unlike his prototype, he did not +like being under fire, but neither did he care to spill innocent blood. +What, however, can be said for Pilone, 'commander of His Majesty's forces' +on Vesuvius; for Ninco Nanco, <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_331" id= +"Page_331">[Pg.331]</a></span> Bianco dei Bianchi, Tardio, Palma; for +Carusso, who cut the throats of thirteen out of fourteen labourers and +told the one left to go and tell the tale; for the brothers La Gala, who +roasted and ate a priest? It was said that no horror committed during the +Indian Mutiny was here without a parallel.</p> + +<p>Of respectable Neapolitans who held responsible posts under the late +<i>régime</i> not one joined the bands, but they contained French, +Austrian and Belgian officers, and one Prussian. A nephew of Mgr. de +Mérode, the young Marquis de Trazégnies, was with Chiavone; +the Carlist, Josè Borjès, was with a scoundrel named Crocco. +Borjès' case is a hard one. He had been made to believe in the +genuine character of the insurrection and thought that he was giving his +sword to an honourable cause. The melancholy disillusion can be traced in +the pages of a note-book which he kept from day to day, and which fell +into the hands of the Italians when he was captured. The brief entries +show a poetic mind; he observes the fertile soil, deploring, only, that it +is not better cultivated; he admires the smiling valleys and the +magnificent woods whose kings of the forest show no mark of the centuries +that passed over their fresh verdure. At first Borjès was pleased +with the peasants who came to him, but as they were few, he was obliged to +join Crocco's large band, and he now began to see, with horror, what kind +of associates he had fallen amongst. He had no authority; the brigands +laughed at his rebukes; never in his life, he writes, had he come across +such thieves. Before the enemy they ran away like a flock of sheep, but +when it was safe to do so, they murdered both men and women. In +desperation, Borjès resolved to try and get to Rome, that he might +lay the whole truth before the King, but after suffering many hardships, +he was taken with a few others close to the Papal frontier <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg.332]</a></span> and was +immediately shot. He died bravely, chanting a Spanish litany.</p> + +<p>Borjès' journal notes the opposition of all classes, except the +very poorest and most ignorant. Was it to be believed, therefore, that +this mountain warfare, however long drawn out, could alter one iota the +course of events? If Francis II. supposed the insurrection to be the work +of a virtuous peasantry, why did he allow them to rush to their +destruction?</p> + +<p>The task of restoring order was assigned to General Cialdini. He found +the whole country, from the Abruzzi to Calabria, terrorised by the league +of native assassins and foreign noblemen. The Modenese general was a +severe officer who had learnt war in Spain, not a gentle school. If he +exceeded the bounds of dire necessity he merits blame; but no one then +hoped in the efficacy of half measures.</p> + +<p>One element in the epidemic of brigandage, and looking forward, the +most serious of all, was an unconscious but profoundly real socialism. If +half-a-dozen socialistic emissaries had assumed the office of guides and +instructors, it is even odds that the red flag of communism would have +displaced the white one of Bourbon. This feature became more accentuated +as the struggle wore on, and after experience had been made of the new +political state. The economic condition of a great part of the southern +population was deplorable, but liberty, so many thought, would exercise an +instantaneous effect, filling the mouths of the hungry, clothing the +naked, providing firing in winter, sending rain or sunshine as it was +wanted. But liberty does none of these things. The disappointment of the +discovery did not count for nothing in the difficulties of that period; it +counts for everything <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_333" id= +"Page_333">[Pg.333]</a></span> in the difficulties of this.</p> + +<p>The reorganisation of the southern provinces proceeded very slowly. The +post of Lieutenant-Governor was successively conferred on L.C. Farini, +Prince Eugene of Carignano, and Count Ponza di San Martino; for a short +time Cialdini was invested with the supreme civil as well as military +power. None of these changes met with entire success. The government was +sometimes too weak, sometimes too arbitrary; of the great number of +Piedmontese officials distributed through the south, a few won general +approval, but the majority betrayed want of knowledge and tact, and were +judged accordingly. It was a misfortune for the new administration that it +was not assisted by the steam power of moral enthusiasm which appeared and +disappeared with Garibaldi. There is a great amount of certainty that the +vast bulk of the population desired union with Italy; but it is equally +certain that the new Government, though not without good intentions, began +by failing to please anybody, and the seeds of much future trouble were +planted.</p> + +<p>On the 18th of February 1861, the first Italian legislature assembled +at Turin in the old Chamber, where, by long years of patient work and +self-sacrificing fidelity to principle, the possibility of establishing an +Italian constitutional monarchy had been laboriously tested and +established. Only the deputies of Rome and Venice were still missing. The +first act of the new parliament was to pass an unanimous vote to the +effect that Victor Emmanuel and his heirs should assume the title of King +of Italy. The Italian kingdom thus constituted was recognised by England +in a fortnight, by France in three months, by Prussia in a year, by Spain +in four years, by the Pope never.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334"> +[Pg.334]</a></span> After the merging of Naples in the Italian +body-politic, one of the thorniest questions that arose was the disposal +of the Garibaldian forces. The chief implored Victor Emmanuel to receive +his comrades into his own army, a prayer which the King had not the power, +even if he had the will, to grant, as in the constitutional course of +things the decision was referred to the ministers, who, again, were +crippled in their action by the military authorities at Turin. Though it +is natural to sympathise with Garibaldi in his eagerness to obtain +generous terms for his old companions-in-arms, it may be true that his +demand was not one that could be satisfied in its full extent. The +volunteers were not inferior to the ordinary soldier; about half of them +were decidedly his superior, but they were a political body improvised for +a special purpose, and it is easy to see how many were the reasons against +their forming a division of a conventional army like that of Piedmont. +Nevertheless, the means ought to have been found of convincing them that +their King and country were proud of them, that their great, their +incalculable services were appreciated. That such means were not found was +supposed to be the fault of Cavour. It was only in 1885, on the +publication of the fourth volume of the Count's letters, that it became +known how strenuously he had fought for justice. Military prejudice was +what was really to blame; General Fanti, the Minister of War, even +provoked Cavour into telling him 'that they were not in Spain, and that in +Italy the army obeyed.' 'A cry of reprobation would be raised,' he wrote, +'if, while the Bourbon officers who ran away disgracefully were confirmed +in their rank, the Garibaldians who beat them were coolly sent about their +business. Rather than bear the responsibility of such an act of black +ingratitude, I would go and bury myself at Leri. I despise the <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg.335]</a></span> +ungrateful to the point of not feeling angered by them, and I forgive +their abuse. But, by Heaven, I could not bear the merited blot of having +failed to recognise services such as the conquest of a kingdom of +9,000,000 inhabitants.'</p> + +<p>Cavour, in fact, did obtain something; much more than the army +authorities wished to give, but much less than Garibaldi asked or than the +Count would doubtless have given had not his hands been tied. And, +doubtless, he would have given it with more grace.</p> + +<p>As it was, the volunteers were deeply offended and sent their griefs by +every post to Caprera. Garibaldi, who refused every favour and honour for +himself, was worked up into a state of fury by what he deemed the wrongs +of his faithful followers, and in April he arrived unexpectedly at Turin +to plead their cause before the Chamber of Deputies. Perhaps by a wise +presentiment he had refused to stand for any constituency; but when Naples +elected him her representative, almost without opposition, he submitted to +the popular will. At Turin he fell ill with rheumatic fever, but on the +day of the debate on the Southern Army he rose from his bed to take his +seat in the Chamber. The case for the volunteers was opened, and this is +worthy of note, by Baron Ricasoli, aristocrat and conservative. Afterwards +Garibaldi got up—at first he tried to make out the statistics and +particulars which he had on paper, but blinded by passion and by fever, he +threw down his notes and launched into a fierce invective against 'the man +who had made him a foreigner in his own birthplace and the government +which was driving the country straight into civil war.' At the words +'civil war' Cavour sprang to his feet, unwontedly moved, and uttered some +expressions of protest, which were lost in the general uproar. When this +was quieted, Garibaldi finished his speech in a moderate <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg.336]</a></span> tone, and +then General Bixio rose to make that noble appeal to concord which, had he +done nothing else for Italy, should be a lasting title to her gratitude. +'I am one of those,' he said, 'who believe in the sacredness of the +thoughts which have guided General Garibaldi, but I am also one of those +who have faith in the patriotism of Count Cavour. In God's holy name let +us make an Italy superior to the strife of parties.' He might not be +making a parliamentary speech, he added, but he would give his children +and his life to see peace established—words flowing so plainly from +his honest heart that savage indeed would have been the enmity which, for +the time, at least, was not quelled. Cavour grasped the olive branch at +once; all his momentary ire vanished. He made excuses for his adversary; +from the grief which he had felt himself when he advised the King to cede +Savoy and Nice, he could understand the general's resentment. He had +always been, he said in general terms, a friend to the volunteers. What he +did not even remotely suggest was the dissension which existed between +himself and his military colleague on the subject of the Garibaldians. The +least hint would have gained for Cavour any amount of applause and +popularity; but he preferred to bear all the blame rather than bring the +national army into disfavour. Garibaldi replied 'that he had never doubted +the Count's patriotism;' but at the end of the three days' debate he +declared himself dissatisfied with the Ministerial assurances touching the +volunteers in particular and the country's armaments as a whole. As Cavour +left the Chamber after the final night's sitting, he remarked to a +friend—all his fine equanimity returned: 'And yet, and yet, when the +time comes for war, I shall take General Garibaldi under my arm and say: +"Let's go and see what they are about inside Verona!"'</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337"> +[Pg.337]</a></span> Cialdini tried to stir up the quarrel anew by a letter +full of foolish personalities; but to this sort of attack Garibaldi was +impervious. It mattered nothing to him that a man should make rude remarks +about his wearing a red shirt. He admired the victor of Castelfidardo as +one of Italy's best soldiers. He was, therefore, perfectly ready to +embrace Cialdini at the King's request before he left Turin for Caprera. +It cost him more to consent to an interview of reconciliation with the +Prime Minister in the royal presence, because his disagreement with Cavour +was purely political and impersonal, and was rooted more deeply in his +heart than any private irritation could be; but he did consent, and the +interview took place on the 23rd of April. Probably Victor Emmanuel in +after days was never gladder of anything he had done than of having caused +his two great subjects—both his subjects born—to part for the +last time in this mortal life in peace.</p> + +<p>On one other memorable occasion the man who, at twenty-two, said that +he meant to be Prime Minister of Italy, and who now, at fifty-one, was +keeping his word, filled with his presence the Chamber of which he seemed +to incarnate the life and history—which may be said to have been his +only home, for Cavour hardly had a private life. Very soon the familiar +figure was to vacate the accustomed place for ever.</p> + +<p>An obscure deputy put a question on the 25th of May, which gave Cavour +the opportunity of expounding his views about Rome still more explicitly +than in the previous autumn. It was impossible, he said, to conceive +Italian unity without Rome as capital. Were there any other solution to +the problem he would be willing to give it due consideration, but there +was not. The position of a capital was not <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg.338]</a></span> decided by climatic or +topographical reasons: a glance at capitals of Europe was sufficient to +certify the fact; it was decided by moral reasons. Now Rome, alone out of +the Italian cities, had an undisputed moral claim to primacy. 'As far as I +am personally concerned,' he said, 'I shall go to Rome with sorrow; not +caring for art, I am sure that among the most splendid monuments of +ancient and modern Rome I shall regret the sedate and unpoetic streets of +my native town.' It grieved him to think that Turin must resign her most +cherished privilege, but he knew his fellow-citizens, and he knew them to +be ready to make this last sacrifice to their country. Might Italy not +forget the cradle of her liberties when her seat of government was firmly +established in the Eternal City!</p> + +<p>He went on to say that he had not lost the hope that France and the +Head of the Church would yield to the inexorable logic of the situation, +and that the same generation which had resuscitated Italy would accomplish +the still grander task of concluding a peace between the State and the +Church, liberty and religion. These were no formal words; Cavour's whole +heart was set on their realisation. He did not doubt that the knot, if not +untied, would be cut by the sword sooner or later. He felt as sure as +Mazzini felt that this would happen; but more than any man of any party he +had reckoned the cost of ranging the Church with its vast potential powers +for good, for order, for public morality, among the implacable enemies of +the nascent kingdom. And, therefore, his last public utterance was a cry +for religious peace.</p> + +<p>Always an immense worker, in these latter months Cavour had been +possessed by a feverish activity. 'I must make haste to finish my work,' +he said; 'I feel that this miserable body of mine is giving way <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg.339]</a></span> +beneath the mind and will which still urge it on. Some fine day you will +see me break down upon the road.' On the 6th of June, after two or three +days of so-called sudden illness, he broke down upon the road.</p> + +<p>Fra Giacomo, faithful to his old promise, administered the sacraments +to the dying minister, who told Farini 'to tell the good people of Turin +that he died a Christian.' After this his mind rambled, but always upon +the themes that had so completely absorbed it: Rome, Venice, +Naples—'no state of siege,' was one of his broken sayings that +referred to Naples. It was his farewell protest against brute force in +which he had never believed. 'Cleanse them, cleanse them,' he repeated; +cleanse the people of the South of their moral contagion; that, not force, +was the remedy. He was able to recognise the King, but unable to collect +the ideas which he wished to express to him.</p> + +<p>Cavour's death caused a profound sensation in Europe, and in Italy and +in England awakened great sorrow. Hardly any public man has received so +splendid a tribute as that rendered to his memory in the British Houses of +Parliament. The same words were on the lips of all: What would Italy do +without him? Death is commonly the great reminder that no man is +necessary. Nations fulfil their destinies even though their greatest sons +be laid under the turf. And Italy has fulfilled her destinies, but there +are Italians who believe that had Cavour lived to complete his task, +although his dream of an Eirenicon might never have been realised, their +country would not have passed through the <i>selva selvaggia</i> of +mistakes and humiliations into which she now entered.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg.340]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XVII"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XVII</h3> + +<h4>ROME OR DEATH</h4> + +<h5>1861-1864</h5> + +<h5>Cavour's Successors—Aspromonte—The September +Convention—Garibaldi's Visit to England.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>There were two possible successors to Cavour, the Tuscan, Bettino +Ricasoli, and Urban Rattazzi, a Piedmontese barrister. The first belonged +to the right, the second to the left centre in the Parliamentary +combinations. Cavour had no very close personal relations with either, but +he knew their characters. Rattazzi formerly held ministerial office under +him, and the long Tuscan crisis of 1859, looked at, as he looked at it, +from the inside, gave him opportunities of judging the Iron Baron who +opposed even his own will on more than one occasion in that great +emergency. Ricasoli was rigid, frigid, a frequenter of the straightest +possible roads; Rattazzi, supple, accommodating, with an incorrigible +partiality for umbrageous by-ways. He was already an 'old parliamentary +hand,' and in the future, through a series of ministerial lapses, any one +of which would have condemned most men to seclusion, he preserved his +talent for manufacturing majorities and holding his party together. +Choosing between these two candidates, Cavour before he died gave his +preference to Ricasoli, who was charged by the King with the formation of +a ministry in which he <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_341" id= +"Page_341">[Pg.341]</a></span> took the Treasury and the Foreign +Office.</p> + +<p>Ricasoli was without ambition, and he rather under than over-rated his +abilities, but he went to work with considerable confidence in his power +of setting everything right. A perfectly open and honest statesman ought +to be able, he imagined, to solve the most difficult problems. Why not, +except that the world is not what it ought to be? In home politics he +offended the Party of Action by telling them plainly that if they broke +the law they would have to pay the cost, and he offended his own party by +refusing to interfere with the right of meeting or any other +constitutional right of citizens, whether they were followers of Mazzini +or of anybody else, as long as they kept within legal bounds. He wrote an +elaborate letter to Pius IX., in which he sought to persuade the Pontiff +of the sweet reasonableness of renouncing claims which, for a very long +spell, had cast nothing but discredit on religion. Ricasoli's attitude +towards the Temporal Power was unique in this century. Like Dante's, his +hatred of it was religious. He was a Catholic, not because he had never +thought or studied, but because, having thought and studied, he assented, +and from this standpoint he ascribed most of the wounds of the Church to +her subordination of her spiritual mission to material interests. He +encouraged Padre Passaglia to collect the signatures of priests for a +petition praying the Pope to cease opposing the desires of all Italy; 8943 +names were affixed in a short time. The only result of these transactions +was that Cardinal Antonelli remarked to the French Government that the +Holy See would never come to terms with robbers, and that, although at war +with the Turin Cabinet, 'the Pope's relations with Italy were excellent.' +More harmful to Ricasoli than the fulminations of the Vatican was the +veiled but determined hostility of Napoleon III. Cavour succeeded in <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg.342]</a></span> more +or less keeping the Emperor in ignorance of the degree to which their long +partnership resembled a duel. He made him think that he was leading while +he was being led. With Ricasoli there could be no such illusions. Napoleon +understood him to be a man whom he might break, not bend. He thought it +desirable to break him, and Imperial desires had many channels, at that +time, towards fulfilment.</p> + +<p>The Ricasoli ministry fell in February 1862, and, as a matter of +course, Rattazzi was called to power. The new premier soon ingratiated +himself with the King, who found him easier to get on with than the +Florentine <i>grand seigneur</i>; with Garibaldi, whom he persuaded that +some great step in the national redemption was on the eve of +accomplishment; with Napoleon, who divined in him an instrument. +Meanwhile, in his own mind, he proposed to eclipse Cavour, out-manoeuvre +all parties, and make his name immortal. This remains the most probable, +as it is the most lenient interpretation to which his strange policy is +open.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi was encouraged to visit the principal towns of North Italy in +order to institute the <i>Tiro Nazionale</i> or Rifle Association, which +was said to be meant to form the basis of a permanent volunteer force on +the English pattern. For many reasons, such a scheme was not likely to +succeed in Italy, but most people supposed the object to be +different—namely, the preparation of the youth of the nation for an +immediate war. The idea was strengthened when it was observed that +Trescorre, in the province of Bergamo, where Garibaldi stopped to take a +course of sulphur baths, became the centre of a gathering which included +the greater part of his old Sicilian staff. There was no concealment in +what was done, and the Government manifested no alarm. <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg.343]</a></span> The air was +full of rumours, and in particular much was said about a Garibaldian +expedition to Greece, for which, it was stated and re-stated, Rattazzi had +promised £40,000. That Garibaldi meant to cast his lot in any +struggle not bearing directly on Italian affairs, as long as the questions +of Rome and Venice still hung in the balance, is not to be believed. A +little earlier than this date, President Lincoln invited him to take the +supreme command of the Federal army in the war for the Union, and he +declined the offer, attractive though it must have been to him, both as a +soldier and an abhorrer of slavery, because he did not think that Italy +could spare him. But the 'Greek Expedition,' though a misleading name, was +not altogether a blind. Before Cavour's death, there had been frequent +discussion of a project for revolutionising the east of Europe on a grand +scale; Hungary and the southern provinces of the Austrian Empire were to +co-operate with the Slavs and other populations under Turkey in a movement +which, even if only partially successful, would go far to facilitate the +liberation of Venice. It cannot be doubted that Rattazzi's brain was at +work on something of this sort, but the mobilisation, so to speak, of the +Garibaldians suggested proceedings nearer home. Trescorre was very far +from the sea, very near the Austrian frontier.</p> + +<p>In spite of contradictions, a plan for invading the Trentino, or South +Tyrol, almost certainly did exist. Whether Garibaldi was alone answerable +for it cannot be determined. The Government became suddenly alive to the +enormous peril such an attack would involve, and arrested several of the +Garibaldian officers at Sarnico. They were conveyed to Brescia, where a +popular attempt was made to liberate them; the troops <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg.344]</a></span> fired on +the crowd, and some blood was shed. Garibaldi wrote an indignant protest +and retired, first to the villa of Signora Cairoli at Belgirate, and then +to Caprera. He did not, however, remain there long.</p> + +<p>After this point, the thread of events becomes tangled beyond the hope +of unravelment. What were the causes which led Garibaldi into the +desperate venture that ended at Aspromonte? Recollecting his hesitation +before assuming the leadership of the Sicilian expedition, it seemed the +more unintelligible that he should now undertake an enterprise which, +unless he could rely on the complicity of Government, had not a single +possibility of success. His own old comrades were opposed to it, and it +was notorious that Mazzini, to whom the counsels of despair were generally +either rightly or wrongly attributed, had nothing to do with inspiring +this attempt. In justice to Rattazzi, it must be allowed that, after the +arrests at Sarnico, Garibaldi went into open opposition to the ministry, +which he denounced as subservient to Napoleon. Nevertheless, with the +remembrance of past circumstances in his mind, he may have felt convinced +that the Prime Minister did not mean or that he would not dare to oppose +him by force. One thing is certain; from beginning to end he never +contemplated civil war. His disobedience to the King of Italy had only one +purpose—to give him Rome. He was no more a rebel to Victor Emmanuel +than when he marched through Sicily in 1860.</p> + +<p>The earlier stages of the affair were not calculated to weaken a belief +in the effective non-intervention of Government. Garibaldi went to +Palermo, where he arrived in the evening of the 28th of June. The young +Princes Umberto and Amedeo were on a visit to the Prefect, the <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg.345]</a></span> +Marquis Pallavicini, and happened to be that night at the opera. All at +once they perceived the spectators leave the house in a body, and they +were left alone; on asking the reason, they heard that Garibaldi had just +landed—all were gone to greet him! Before the departure of the +Princes next day, the chief and his future King had an affectionate +meeting, while the population renewed the scenes of wild enthusiasm of two +years ago. Some of Garibaldi's intimate friends assert that when he +reached Palermo he had still no intention of taking up arms. He soon +began, however, to speak in a warlike tone, and at a review of the +National Guard in presence of the Prefect, the Syndic, and all the +authorities, he told the 'People of the Vespers' that if another Vespers +were wanted to do it, Napoleon III., head of the brigands, must be ejected +from Rome. The epithet was not bestowed at random; Lord Palmerston +confirmed it when he said from his place in the House of Commons: 'In Rome +there is a French garrison; under its shelter there exists a committee of +200, whose practice is to organise a band of murderers, the scum and dross +of every nation, and send them into the Neapolitan territory to commit +every atrocity!' As a criticism the words are not less strong; but the +public defiance of Napoleon, and the threat with which it was accompanied, +dictated one plain duty to the Italian Government if they meant to keep +the peace—the arrest of Garibaldi and his embarkation for +Caprera.</p> + +<p>This they did not do; confining themselves to the recall of the Marquis +Pallavicini. Garibaldi went over the ground made glorious by his former +exploits—past Calatafimi to Marsala. It was at Marsala that, while +he harangued his followers in a church, a voice in the crowd raised a cry +of '<i>Rome or death!</i>' 'Yes; Rome or death!' <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg.346]</a></span> repeated Garibaldi; and +thus the watchword originated which will endure written in blood on the +Bitter Mount and on the Plain of Nomentum. Who raised it first? Perhaps +some humble Sicilian fisherman. Its haunting music coming he knew not +whence, sounding in his ear like an omen, was what wedded Garibaldi +irrevocably to the undertaking. It was the casting interposition of +chance, or, shall it be said, of Providence? Like all men of his mould, +Garibaldi was governed by poetry, by romance. Besides the general +patriotic sentiment, he had a peculiar personal feeling about Rome, 'which +for me,' he once wrote, 'is Italy.' In 1849, the Assembly in its last +moments invested him with plenary powers for the defence of the Eternal +City, and this vote, never revoked, imposed on his imagination a permanent +mandate. 'Rome or death' suggested an idea to him which he had never +before entertained, prodigal though he had been of his person in a hundred +fights: What if his own death were the one thing needful to precipitate +the solution of the problem?</p> + +<p>From Marsala he returned to Palermo, where, in the broad light of day, +he summoned the Faithful, who came, as usual, at his bidding, without +asking why or where?—the happy few who followed him in 1859 and +1860; who would follow him in 1867, and even in 1870, when they gave their +lives for a people that did not thank them, because he willed it so. He +sent out also a call to the Sicilian <i>Picciotti</i>, the <i>Squadre</i> +of last year; and it is much to their credit that they too who cared +possibly remarkably little for <i>Roma Capitale</i>, obeyed the man who +had freed them. And Rattazzi knew of all this, and did nothing.</p> + +<p>On the 1st of August, Garibaldi took command of 3000 volunteers in the +woods of Ficuzza. Then, indeed, the Government wasted much paper on <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg.347]</a></span> +proclamations, and closed the door of the stable when the horse was gone. +General Cugia was sent to Palermo to repress the movement. Nevertheless +Garibaldi, with his constantly increasing band, made a triumphant progress +across the island, and a more than royal entry into Catania. At Mezzojuso +he was present at a <i>Te Deum</i> chanted in his honour. On the 22nd, +when the royal troops were, it seems, really ordered to march on Catania, +Garibaldi took possession of a couple of merchant vessels that had just +reached the port, and sailed away by night for the Calabrian coast with +about 1000 of his men.</p> + +<p>By this time the Italian Government, whether by spontaneous conviction +or by pressure from without, had resolved that the band should never get +as far as the Papal frontier. If Garibaldi knew or realised their +resolution, it is a mystery why he did not attempt to effect a landing +nearer that frontier, if not actually within it. The deserted shore of the +Pontine marshes would, one would think, have offered attractions to men +who were as little afraid of fever as of bullets. A sort of superstition +may have ruled the choice of the path, which was that which led to victory +in 1860. It was not practicable, however, to follow it exactly. The +tactics were different. Then the desire was to meet the enemy anywhere and +everywhere; now the pursuer had to be eluded, because Garibaldi was +determined not to fight him. Thus, instead of marching straight on Reggio, +the volunteers sought concealment in the great mountain mass which forms +the southernmost bulwark of the Apennines. The dense and trackless forests +could have given cover for a long while to a native brigand troop, with +intimate knowledge of the country and ways and means of obtaining +provisions—not to a band like this of Garibaldi. They wandered about +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg.348]</a></span> +for three days, suffering from almost total want of food, and from the +great fatigue of climbing the dried-up watercourses which serve as paths. +On the 28th of August they reached the heights of Aspromonte—a +strong position, from which only a large force could have dislodged them +had they defended it.</p> + +<p>General La Marmora, then Prefect of Naples, and commander-in-chief of +the army in the south, reinforced the troops in Calabria to prevent +Garibaldi's advance, but the direction of the decisive operation fell by +accident to Cialdini, whom the Government despatched to Sicily when they +tardily made up their minds to take energetic measures. On his voyage to +Messina, Cialdini heard that the volunteers had already crossed the +Straits; he therefore changed his course, and hastening to Reggio, +invested himself with the command on the mainland. At Reggio he met +Colonel Pallavicini, whom he ordered in terms that might have been more +suitable had he been engaged in hunting brigands, 'to crush Garibaldi +completely, and only accept from him unconditional surrender.' Pallavicini +started with six or seven battalions of Bersaglieri. It was the 29th of +August. Garibaldi saw them coming when they were still three miles off. He +could have dispersed his men in the forest and himself escaped, for the +time, and perhaps altogether, for the sea which had so often befriended +him was not far off. But although he did not mean to resist, a dogged +instinct drove away the thought of flight. In the official account it was +stated that an officer was sent in advance of the royal troops to demand +surrender. No such officer was seen in the Garibaldian encampment till +after the attack. The troops rapidly ascended an eminence, facing that on +which the Garibaldians were posted, and opened a violent fusillade, which, +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg.349]</a></span> +to Garibaldi's dismay, was returned for a few minutes by his right, +consisting of young Sicilians who were not sufficiently disciplined to +stand being made targets of without replying. The contention, however, +that they were the first to fire, has the testimony of every eye-witness +on the side of the volunteers against it. All the Garibaldian bugles +sounded 'Cease firing,' and Garibaldi walked down in front of the ranks +conjuring the men to obey. While he was thus employed, a spent ball struck +his thigh, and a bullet entered his right foot. At first he remained +standing, and repeated, 'Do not fire,' but he was obliged to sit down, and +some of his officers carried him under a tree. The whole 'feat of arms,' +as General Cialdini described it, did not last more than a quarter of an +hour.</p> + +<p>Pallavicini approached the wounded hero bareheaded, and said that he +made his acquaintance on the most unfortunate day of his own life. He was +received with nothing but kind praise for doing his duty. The first night +was passed by the prisoner in a shepherd's hut. The few devoted followers +who were with him were strangely impressed by that midnight watch; the +moon shining on the forest, the shepherds' dogs howling in the mountain +silence, and their chief lying wounded, it might be to death, in the name +of the King to whom he had given this land.</p> + +<p>Next day, in a litter sheltered from the sun with branches of wild +laurel, Garibaldi was carried down the steep rocks to Scilla, whence he +was conveyed by sea to the fort of Varignano. It was not till after months +of acute suffering, borne with a gentleness that made the doctors say: +'This man is not a soldier, but a saint,' that, through the skill of the +French surgeon, Nélaton, the position of the ball was determined, +and its extraction rendered possible.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350"> +[Pg.350]</a></span> A general amnesty issued on the occasion of the +marriage of the King's second daughter with the King of Portugal relieved +the Government of having to decide whether Garibaldi was to be tried, and +if so, what for; but the unpopularity into which the ministry had fallen +could not be so easily dissipated. The Minister of Foreign Affairs +(Durando) published a note in which it was stated that Garibaldi had only +attempted to realise, in an irregular way, the desire of the whole nation, +and that, although he had been checked, the tension of the situation was +such that it could not be indefinitely prolonged. This was true, but it +hardly improved the case for the Government. In Latin countries, ministers +do not cling to power; as soon as the wind blows against them, they resign +to give the public time to forget their faults, and to become dissatisfied +with their political rivals. Usually a very short time is required. +Therefore, forestalling a vote of censure in the Chambers, where he had +never yet had a real majority, Rattazzi resigned office with a parting +homily in which he claimed to have saved the national institutions.</p> + +<p>The administration which followed contained the well-known names of +Farini, Minghetti, Pasolini, Peruzzi, Delia Rovere, Menabrea. When +Farini's fatal illness set in, Minghetti replaced him as Prime Minister, +and Visconti Venosta took the Foreign Office. They found the country in a +lamentable state, embittered by Aspromonte, still infected with +brigandage, and suffering from an increasing deficit, coupled with a +diminishing revenue. The administrative and financial unification of +Italy, still far from complete, presented the gravest difficulties. The +political aspect of affairs, and especially the presence of the French in +Rome, provoked a general sense of instability which was contrary to the +organisation of the new state <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_351" id= +"Page_351">[Pg.351]</a></span> and the development of its resources. The +ministers sought remedies or palliatives for these several evils, and to +meet the last they opened negotiations with France, which resulted in the +compromise known as the September Convention. It was long before the +treaty was concluded, as for more than a year the French Government +refused to remove the garrison on any terms; but in the autumn of 1864 the +following arrangement was signed by both parties: that Italy should +protect the Papal frontier from all attack from the outside; that France +should gradually withdraw her troops, the complete evacuation to take +place within two years; that Italy should waive the right of protest +against the internal organisation of the Papal army unless its proportions +became such as to be a manifest threat to the Italian kingdom; that the +Italian capital should be moved to Florence within six months of the +approval of the Convention by Parliament.</p> + +<p>These terms were in part the same as those proposed by Prince Napoleon +to Cavour shortly before the death of that statesman, who had promised to +support them as a temporary makeshift, and in order to get the French out +of Italy. But they were in part different, and they contained two new +provisions which it is morally certain that Cavour would never have agreed +to—the prolongation of the French occupation for two years (Cavour +had insisted that it should cease in a fortnight), and the transfer of the +capital, which was now made a <i>sine quâ non</i> by Napoleon, for +evident reasons. While it was clear that Turin could not be the permanent +capital of a kingdom that stretched to Ætna, if once the seat of +government were removed to Florence a thousand arguments and interests +would spring up in favour of keeping it there. So, at least, it was sure +to seem to a foreigner. As a matter of fact, the solution was no solution; +the Italians could <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352"> +[Pg.352]</a></span> not be reconciled to the loss of Rome either by the +beauty and historic splendour of the city on the Arno, or by its immunity +from malaria, which was then feared as a serious drawback, though Rome has +become, under its present rulers, the healthiest capital in Europe. But +Napoleon thought that he was playing a trump card when he dictated the +sacrifice of Turin.</p> + +<p>The patriotic Turinese were unprepared for the blow. They had been told +again and again that till the seat of government was established on the +Tiber, it should abide under the shadow of the Alps—white guardian +angels of Italy—in the custody of the hardy population which had +shown itself so well worthy of the trust. The ministry foresaw the effect +which the convention would have on the minds of the Turinese, and they +resorted to the weak subterfuge of keeping its terms secret as long as +they could. Rumours, however, leaked out, and these, as usual, exaggerated +the evil. It was said that Rome was categorically abandoned. On the 20th +of September crowds began to fill the streets, crying: 'Rome or Turin!' +and on the two following days there were encounters between the populace +and the military, in which the latter resorted to unnecessary and almost +provocative violence. Amidst the chorus of censure aroused by these +events, the Minghetti cabinet resigned, and General La Marmora, who, as a +Piedmontese, was fitted to soothe the excited feelings of his +fellow-citizens, was called upon to form a ministry.</p> + +<p>The change of capital received the sanction of Parliament on the 19th +of November. Outside Piedmont it was not unpopular; people felt that, +after all, it rested with themselves to make Florence no final +halting-place, but a step towards Rome. The Papal Government, which had +been a stranger to the late negotiations, expressed a supreme <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg.353]</a></span> +indifference to the whole affair, even to the contemplated departure of +the French troops, 'which concerned the Imperial Government, not the +Pope,' said Cardinal Antonelli, 'since the occupation had been determined +by French interests.' It cannot be asserted that the Pope ever assumed a +gratitude which he did not feel towards the monarch who kept him on his +throne for twenty years.</p> + +<p>This year, 1864, was marked by an incident which, though not a +political event, should never be forgotten in the history of Italian +liberation—Garibaldi's visit to England. He came, the prisoner of +Aspromonte, not the conqueror of Sicily: a distinction that might have +made a difference elsewhere, but the English sometimes worship misfortune +as other peoples worship success. No sovereign from oversea was ever +received by them as they received the Italian hero; a reception showing +the sympathies of a century rather than the caprice or curiosity of an +hour. Half a million throats shouted London's welcome; the soldier of two +worlds knew the roar of battle, and the roar of the sea was familiar to +the Nizzard sailor, but it is said that when Garibaldi heard the +stupendous and almost awful British roar which greeted him as he came out +of the Nine Elms station, and took his seat in the carriage that was to +convey him to Stafford House, he looked completely disconcerted. From the +heir to the throne to the crossing-sweeper, all combined to do him honour; +where Garibaldi was not, through the breadth of the land the very poor +bought his portrait and pasted it on their whitewashed cottage walls. +London made him its citizen. The greatest living English poet invited him +to plant a tree in his garden: a memory he recalled nearly at the close of +his own honoured life:—</p> + +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg.354]</a></span> + + +<pre> + Or watch the waving pine which here + The warrior of Caprera set, + A name that earth shall not forget + Till earth has rolled her latest year. +</pre> + +<p>Garibaldi showed himself mindful of old friends; at the opera he +recognised Admiral Mundy in a box, and immediately rose and went to offer +him his respects. At Portsmouth, he not only went to see the mother of +Signora White-Mario (the providence of his wounded in many a campaign), +but also paid an unrecorded visit to two maiden sisters in humble +circumstances, who had shown him kindness when he was an exile in England; +they related ever afterwards the sensation caused by his appearance in +their narrow courtyard, where it was difficult to turn the big carriage +which the authorities had placed at his disposal. He twice met the great +Italian whom he addressed as Master: transferring, as it were, to +Mazzini's brows the crown of glory that surrounded his own. Another exile, +Louis Blanc, used to tell how, when he went to call on Garibaldi, he found +him seated on a sofa, receiving the homage of the fairest and most +illustrious members of the English aristocracy; when the Friend of the +People was announced (a title deserved by Louis Blanc, if not for his +possibly fallacious theories, still for the rare sincerity of his life), +the hero started to his feet and most earnestly begged him to sit beside +him. 'Which I could not do!' the narrator of the scene would add with a +look of comical alarm for his threatened modesty.</p> + +<p>These friendly passages with the proscripts in London, as well as the +stirring appeal spoken by Garibaldi on behalf of the Poles, did not please +foreign Powers. The Austrian ambassador shut himself up in his house; it +was remarked that the only members of the diplomatic body <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg.355]</a></span> who were +seen at the Garibaldi <i>fêtes</i> were the representatives of the +United States and of the Sublime Porte. The Emperor Napoleon was said to +be angry. Lord Palmerston assured the House of Commons that no +remonstrance had been received from France or from any foreign government, +and that if it had been received, it would not have been heeded. Yet the +English Government took the course of hinting to the guest of England that +his visit had lasted long enough. In some quarters it was reported that +they feared disturbances among the Irish operatives in the manufacturing +towns, had he gone, as he intended, to the north. Whatever were the +motives that inspired it, their action in the matter cannot be remembered +with complacency, but it was powerless to undo the significance of the +great current of enthusiasm which had passed through the English land.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg.356]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XVIII</h3> + +<h4>THE WAR FOR VENICE</h4> + +<h5>1864-1866</h5> + +<h5>The Prussian Alliance—Custoza—Lissa—The +Volunteers—Acquisition of Venetia.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>The change of capital was carried out in 1865, and the lull which +followed gave an appearance of correctness to the surmise that if the +September Convention had not solved the Roman question, it had, anyhow, +reduced it to a state of quiescence. But there were other reasons why Rome +was kept, for the moment, not indeed out of mind, but out of sight. The +opinion grew that the emancipation of Venice, too long delayed, ought to +take precedence of every other political object. On this point there was +no disagreement among the 22,000,000 free Italians, who felt the servitude +of Venice to be an hourly disgrace and reproach; no one even ventured to +preach patience. A curious chapter might be written on the schemes woven +between the Peace of Villafranca and the year 1866, for the realisation of +the unfulfilled promise of freedom from Alps to sea. Foremost among the +schemers was Victor Emmanuel, and if some persons may be shocked by the +idea of a royal conspirator, more will admire the patriotism which made +the King hold out his hand to Mazzini, whose sentiments about monarchy, +and especially about the Savoy dynasty, were a secret to no one, least of +all to him. But as Mazzini placed those sentiments on <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg.357]</a></span> second rank +to the grand end of Italian unity, so the King, to serve the same end, +showed himself superior to prejudices which in most men would have proved +insuperable. The fact that Victor Emmanuel opened negotiations with +Mazzini, and maintained them, off and on, for years, proves amongst other +things, that he knew the exiled patriot better than the world yet knew +him. He may have understood that by turning republican sympathies into the +groove of unity (not their necessary or even their most natural groove), +Mazzini made an Italian kingdom possible. There is reason to think that +the King's ministers were kept entirely ignorant of his correspondence +with the Agitator. The letters were impersonal drafts carried to and fro +by means of trusted emissaries; each party freely expounded his views, and +stated the terms on which his support could be given. Victor Emmanuel's +favourite idea was a revolution in Galicia. When Garibaldi returned from +England he was nearly commissioned to start for Constantinople, whence he +was to lead an expedition through Roumania into Galicia. It seems to have +been due to Garibaldi's own good sense that so extremely unpromising a +project was abandoned. General Klapka was another of Victor Emmanuel's +secret revolutionary correspondents. The very wildness of the plans that +floated in the air betokened the feverish anxiety to do something which +had taken hold of all minds.</p> + +<p>In 1865 a scheme of a different sort, and of momentous consequences, +grew into shape. It was a scheme of which Cavour first guessed the +possibility, as well as the far-reaching results. In August 1865 Count +Bismarck asked General La Marmora whether Italy would join Prussia in the +contingency of a war with Austria? Only a year before he was still <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg.358]</a></span> +thinking of carrying out his policy with the aid of Austria, and he had +offered to help her to wrench Lombardy from Italy (and from France if she +intervened), in payment for her consent to his designs. But now, though +the Austrians did not even remotely suspect it, his thoughts were +resolutely turned to the Italian alliance. Without this alliance Italy +might, indeed, have acquired Venice, but would the German Empire have been +founded?</p> + +<p>For a time the proposal was suspended, owing to the temporary +understanding concluded between Prussia and Austria at Gastein; and in the +interim, General La Marmora urged the Viennese Government to cede Venetia +in return for a compensation of five hundred million francs. But those +whom the gods would destroy they make mad. Austria preserved her +infatuated sense of security almost till the rude awakening caused by the +rifle-shots that ushered in the campaign of Sadowa.</p> + +<p>One thing which contributed to keeping Europe in the dark as to the +impending cataclysm was the character and known tendencies of King William +I. of Prussia, whose conservative, not to say retrograde sentiments made +it difficult to picture him at the head of what was really a great +revolutionary movement, in spite of the militarism that surrounded it. +With consummate art, Count Bismarck little by little concentrated all his +master's ideas about royal divinity in general into one overwhelming +belief in his own divine right to be German Emperor, and so transformed an +obstacle into the corner-stone of the edifice he wished to build. But this +could hardly be foreseen. At the New Year's Day reception of 1866, +Napoleon announced an era of universal peace; henceforth all nations were +to arrange their <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359"> +[Pg.359]</a></span> differences amicably, as had been done at Gastein If +the illusion was complete, it was destined to be of short duration.</p> + +<p>In the spring the Prussian proposal to Italy was formally renewed, and +this time it was accepted. The secret treaty of an offensive and defensive +alliance for three months was signed on the 8th of April. Less than three +weeks later, Austria, which was slowly beginning to feel some uneasiness, +proposed to Napoleon the cession of Venetia, while exacting from Italy +only a simple promise of neutrality in case of war. General La Marmora +held the honour of the country and his own to compel fidelity to the prior +arrangement with Prussia, and he refused the tempting offer. His choice +has been variously characterised as one of common honesty and of uncommon +magnanimity; at all events, it was of incalculable advantage to Prussia, +which already gave signs of not being a particularly delicate-minded ally. +When La Marmora asked Bismarck whether, in case Austria took the +initiative of attacking Italy, Prussia would intervene, the answer was +'No.'</p> + +<p>The three countries now pushed on their war preparations: Austria with +less ardour than the others, as she still failed to more than faintly +realise her danger. The Italian army, which the opening of the year found +in a deplorably unserviceable condition, was rapidly placed on a +war-footing, and, considering the shortness of the time allowed for the +work, and the secrecy with which, at the outset, it had to be conducted, +it is generally agreed that La Marmora produced surprising results. As was +natural in an army which, except for the old Piedmontese nucleus, might +almost be called improvised, the weakest points were the cavalry and the +artillery. The infantry was good; not only the picked corps of +Bersaglieri, but also the line regiments were <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg.360]</a></span> equal to any troops +likely to be opposed to them. No one can see the fine appearance of a line +regiment marching down the streets of an Italian town without receiving +the impression that, however much the other branches of the service may +have improved since the Sixties, the fondest hopes of Italy in case of war +still lie in that common soldier who best supported the rigours of the +Russian snows.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, the attention paid to the army was not extended to the +fleet, which continued totally unready; nor was the organisation of the +volunteers carried out in an efficient manner. The excuse afterwards +advanced was that not more than 15,000 enrolments were expected, while the +actual figure reached 35,000. Besides being from its very bulk less +manageable than the 'few and good' of 1859, this mass of men was +ill-provided with officers who could inspire and keep discipline. +Garibaldi's own generals, Bixio, Medici, Cosenz and Sirtori, were now all +in the regular army, and therefore not free to join him. He begged for the +loan of a few regular officers, indicating amongst other names that of +Colonel Pallavicini, who commanded against him at Aspromonte: a trait +characteristic of the man. But this assistance, though promised, was not +granted, and the same was the case with the guns which were vainly asked +for. Without charging La Marmora with a deliberate intention of neglecting +the volunteers, it must be owned that under the influence of the prejudice +which holds irregular troops in small esteem, he did not do for them what +ought to have been done if their services were accepted at all.</p> + +<p>The Austrian Southern Army, excellent in discipline and equipment +though weak in numbers, was commanded up to the outbreak of the war by +Field-Marshal Benedek, but he was called to Vienna to take command of +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg.361]</a></span> +the unfortunate army of operation against Prussia, and was succeeded in +Italy by the Archduke Albrecht, with General Von John, an officer of the +first capacity, as chief of the staff.</p> + +<p>The numerical strength of the forces which could be put in the field +has been stated with startling divergence by different military writers on +the war, but every calculation gives the Italian side (exclusive of the +volunteers) a superiority of not less than two to one. The Austrian +mobilised army has been reckoned at as low a figure as 63,000, certainly +an understatement, as it appears that the Archduke mustered not less than +70,000 at the battle of Custoza. That he mustered on that day every man he +could produce is probably a fact. Had the Italian generals followed the +same rule, however enormous their other errors might have been, they would +have won. Of all conceivable faults in a military commander that which is +the least pardonable is the neglect to crush his antagonist by force of +superior numbers when he has them at his disposal. How many great military +reputations have been built up, and justly built up, on the care never to +meet an enemy without the odds being largely in your favour!</p> + +<p>For obvious political reasons the King of Italy assumed the supreme +command of the army, with General La Marmora as chief of the staff. +Cialdini had been offered the latter post, but he declined it, objecting, +it is said, to the arrangement by which the real head of the army has no +guarantee against the possible interference of its nominal head. When La +Marmora went to the front, Baron Ricasoli took his place as Prime +Minister; Visconti-Venosta became Minister of Foreign Affairs; and the +Ministry of the Marine was offered to Quintino Sella, who refused it on +the ground that he knew nothing of naval matters. It was then offered to +and accepted by a man who knew <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_362" +id="Page_362">[Pg.362]</a></span> still less, because he did not even know +his own ignorance, Agostino Depretis, a Piedmontese advocate.</p> + +<p>Before the commencement of hostilities a secret treaty was concluded +between Napoleon III. and the Austrian Government, according to which +Venetia was to be ceded to the Emperor for Italy, even if Austrian arms +were victorious both on the Mincio and on the Maine. Napoleon's real +purpose in this singular transaction is not perfectly clear; but he was +probably acting under a semi-romantic desire to have the appearance of +completing his programme of freeing Italy from the Alps to the Adriatic +which had been interrupted at Villafranca. In spite of his enmity towards +Italian unity, there is no reason to doubt that he was in very few things +as sincere as in the wish to see the Austrians out of Italy. His +reckonings at this time were all founded on the assumption that Prussia +would be defeated; he even seems to have had some hopes of getting the +Rhine bank in return for his good offices on behalf of that Power with +triumphant Austria. Be this as it may, he inspired the Italian Government +(or rather La Marmora, for there were then two Italian Governments, and +the real one was on the Mincio) with his own expectation of Prussian +disasters, and it is possible that this expectation had a material and +unfavourable influence on the manner of conducting the war in Italy.</p> + +<p>Through the Prussian Minister at Florence, General La Marmora received +the draft of a plan of campaign which is known to have been prepared by +Count Moltke; in it the great feature was a descent on the Dalmatian +coast. From an independent quarter he received another plan in which a +descent on the east coast of the Adriatic was contemplated, the main +difference being that Istria, instead of Dalmatia, was <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg.363]</a></span> proposed +for the landing-point. This second plan was modestly submitted to him by +Garibaldi, who was thus in substantial accord with the Prussian +strategist. The prospect which either of these plans opened was one of +great fascination. What Italian can look across the sea to where the sun +rises and forget that along that horizon lies a land colonised by Rome and +guarded for four hundred years by Venice?</p> + +<p>Istria was marked out by Dante as the frontier province of Italy:</p> + +<pre> + Si come a Pola presso del Quarnero + Che Italia chiude e i suoi termini bagna. +</pre> + +<p>It forms, with the Trentino, what is called <i>Italia Irredenta</i>. +Although the feeling of Italians for unredeemed Italy is not what their +feeling was for Lombardy or Venetia, it is a mistake to imagine that they +have renounced all aspirations in that direction. Only fanatics of the +worst kind would be disposed to attempt, in the present situation, to win +those provinces by force, but that has nothing to do with the matter. The +aspiration exists and cannot help existing. It has always been shared by +patriots of all denominations. An English statesman who called on Pius IX. +was somewhat surprised by the Pope saying that Italian unity was very +well, but it was a pity it did not include Trento and Trieste.</p> + +<p>The case of Dalmatia is different; there the mass of the population is +unquestionably of a non-Italian race, though that race is one which, +whenever left to itself, seems created to amalgamate with the Italian. +Slav and Teuton are racially antagonistic, but the Slav falls into Italian +ways, speaks the Italian language and mixes his blood with Italian blood: +with what results Venice can tell. For more than two thousand years the +civilisation of Dalmatia has been exclusively Latin; the Roman column +points to the Venetian Campanile; all the <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg.364]</a></span> proudest memories are +gathered round the Lion of St Mark, which in every town, almost in every +village, recalls the splendid though not blameless suzerainty of the +Serene Republic. The sky, the olive-groves, the wild pomegranates make us +think of Salerno; by the spoken tongue we are often reminded of Tuscany, +for few Italian dialects are so pure. The political subjection of the +country to Italy dates from Augustus; its political subjection to Austria +dates from Napoleon. Dalmatia, with the glorious little commonwealth of +Ragusa, and the free city of Cattaro, was bartered away with Venice at +Campo Formio; and as with Venice, so with Dalmatia, the Holy Alliance +violated its own principle of restoring the proe-Napoleonic state of +things and confirmed the sale.</p> + +<p>At the beginning of the war, Austria did not ignore that her loss of +territory might exceed Venetia. The Archduke Albrecht, in his proclamation +to his soldiers, appealed to them to protect their mothers, wives and +sisters from being ruled by a foreign race.</p> + +<p>Even a successful raid upon Dalmatia or Istria need not have given +those districts to Italy, but it would have brought such an event within +the range of a moderately strong political telescope. The Slavs (erected +since into a party hostile to their Italian fellow-citizens by a fostering +of Panslavism which may not, in the long run, prove sound policy for +Austria) were then ready to make friends with anyone opposed to their +actual rulers. They would not have been easy to govern after an Italian +invasion; still less easy to govern would the Latin element have been, +which was and is <i>Italianissimo</i>. Since Prussia became the German +Empire, she has set her face against Italian extension eastward, but in +1866, had her advice been intelligently acted upon, it might have +generated facts the logic of which none <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg.365]</a></span> would have had the power to +stay.</p> + +<p>Moltke's plan more than hinted at a march on Vienna by the Semmering, +and this is what is supposed to have induced La Marmora to treat it with +scorn. With the bogey of Prussia vanquished before his eyes, he doubtless +asked what the Italians would do at Vienna if they got there? He put the +plan in his pocket, and showed it neither to his staff nor to the King, +who would certainly have been attracted by it, as he had set his heart on +the volunteers, at least, crossing the Adriatic. With regard to the +campaign at home, both Moltke and Garibaldi counselled turning the +Quadrilateral in preference to a direct attack upon fortresses which had +been proved impregnable except with the assistance of hunger, and at +present they were better provisioned than in 1848. The turning of the +Quadrilateral meant the adoption of a route into Venetia across the Po +below Mantua. An objection not without gravity to that route was the +unfavourable nature of the ground which, being marshy, is liable after +heavy rains to become impassable. But against this disadvantage had to be +weighed the advantage of keeping out of the mouse-trap, the fatality of +which needed no new demonstration.</p> + +<p>In Italy it is common to hear it said that it was necessary to station +a large army on the Mincio to bar the Archduke's path to Milan. But apart +from the rumoured existence of a promise to the French Emperor not to +invade Lombardy, it was unlikely that so good a general as the Archduke +would have taken his small army far from the security it enjoyed among the +four fortresses which, if the worst came to the worst, assured him a safe +line of retreat.</p> + +<p>The plan adopted by La Marmora is vaguely said to have been that which +was prepared by the French and Sardinian staffs for use in 1859, had <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg.366]</a></span> the +war been continued. But in what it really consisted is not to this day +placed beyond dispute. The army, roughly speaking, was divided into +halves; one (the larger) half under the King and La Marmora was to operate +on the Mincio; the other, under Cialdini, was to operate on the lower Po. +It is supposed that one of these portions was intended to act as a blind +to deceive the enemy as to the movements of the other portion; the +undecided question is, which was meant to be the principal and which the +accessory?</p> + +<p>The volunteers were thrown against the precipices of the Tridentine +mountains, where a detachment of the regular army, well-armed and properly +supplied with artillery, would have been better suited for the work. The +Garibaldian headquarters was at Salò on the Lake of Garda. Less +than half of the 35,000 volunteers who appear upon paper, were ever ready +to be sent to the front. It was widely said that only patriotism prevented +Garibaldi from throwing up his command, so dissatisfied was he with the +conduct of affairs.</p> + +<p>Prussia invaded Hanover and Saxony on the 16th of June, and declared +war with Austria on the 21st, one day after the Italian declaration of war +had been delivered to the Archduke Albrecht. On the 23rd La Marmora's army +began to cross the Mincio. It consisted of three <i>corps +d'armée</i> under the command of Generals Durando, Cucchiari and +Delia Rocca, each corps containing four divisions. The force under +Cialdini was composed of eight divisions forming one <i>corps +d'armée.</i> An Italian military writer rates the numbers at +133,000 and 82,000 respectively. La Marmora acquired the belief that the +Archduke's attention was absorbed by Cialdini's movements on the Po, and +that his <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367"> +[Pg.367]</a></span> own operations on the Mincio would pass +unobserved.</p> + +<p>While the Italian commander had no information of what was going on in +the enemy's camp, the Archduke's intelligence department was so efficient +that he knew quite well the disposition of both Italian armies. Cialdini's +advance, if he meant to advance, was checked by floods. On the night of +the 23rd most of La Marmora's force bivouacked on the left (Venetian) bank +of the Mincio. No reconnaissances were made; everyone supposed that the +Austrians were still beyond the Adige, and that they intended to stay +there. The King slept at Goito.</p> + +<p>Before the early dawn next morning the whole Italian army of the Mincio +had orders to advance. The soldiers marched with heavy knapsacks and empty +stomachs, and with no more precautions than in time of peace. The Austrian +Archduke was in the saddle at four a.m., and watched from an eminence the +moving clouds of dust which announced the approach of his unsuspecting +foe.</p> + +<p>La Marmora's intention had been to occupy the heights of Santa +Giustina, Sona and Somma Campagna, but the Archduke anticipated his +design, and while the Italians were moving from the Mincio, the Austrians +were ranging themselves in those positions. At half-past five on the +midsummer Sunday morning, the Austrian advance guard led by Colonel Pulz +came up with Prince Humbert's division near Villafranca. The battle began +dramatically, with a charge of the splendid Polish and Hungarian Hussars, +who dashed their horses against the Italian squares, in one of which, +opportunely formed for his shelter, was the gallant heir to the throne. +Bixio's division was also engaged in this prelude, which augured not ill +for the Italians, since at about eight o'clock Pulz received the +Archduke's orders to retire.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368"> +[Pg.368]</a></span> The first hours of the battle were spent in fortuitous +encounters along the extensive chain of hillocks which La Marmora had +intended to occupy. As the Italians approached each position they found it +in the possession of a strong force of the enemy. On the right, however, +Custoza and the heights between it and Somma Campagna had not been +occupied by the Austrians. Here La Marmora placed the flower of his army, +the Sardinian and Lombard Grenadiers, the latter commanded by Prince +Amedeo. The fighting continued through the day over very widely +distributed ground, but from about nine in the morning the supreme +interest was concentrated at and near Custoza, in which the Archduke +promptly detected the turning-point of the battle. To wrest Custoza from +the hold of the Italians was to the Austrians on the 24th of June 1866, +what the taking of the crest of Solferino had been to the French on the +24th of June 1859. La Marmora in person led the Grenadiers into action; +they proved worthy of their reputation, but after losing a great many men, +Prince Amedeo being among the wounded, they were obliged to retreat. At +about midday, however, the Italian prospects improved so much that in the +opinion of Austrian military writers, with moderate reinforcements they +would have had a strong probability of winning the battle. La Marmora saw +the importance of getting fresh troops into the field, but, instead of +sending for the divisions under Bixio and Prince Humbert, which since +eight a.m. had been fretting in inaction close by, at Villafranca, he rode +himself to Goito, a great distance away, to look after the reserves +belonging to the 2nd <i>corps d'armée</i>; a task which any staff +officer could have performed as well. This inexplicable proceeding left +the army without a commander-in-chief. The generals of division followed +their <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369"> +[Pg.369]</a></span> individual inspirations, Govone, Pianel and Cugia +especially distinguishing themselves: it is sad to think that death has +removed these three officers from the Italian ranks. But the Austrians +fatally gained ground, and as the afternoon closed in the Archduke began +to feel sure that the Italian reinforcements whose arrival he had so much +feared, were never coming. He therefore prepared for the final effort +which was to give him the well-deserved honours of the day. Towards seven +o'clock in the evening, his soldiers succeeded in storming the heights of +Custoza, and Austria could write a second battle of that name among her +victories.</p> + +<p>The Italians lost 720 killed, 3112 wounded and 3608 prisoners. The +Austrian loss was 960 killed, 3690 wounded and 1000 prisoners. Both sides +were much tried by the scorching midsummer sun, but the Italians laboured +under the additional drawback of having to fight fasting. In his report, +the Archduke Albrecht mentioned that the prisoners said they had not +tasted food for twenty-four hours. In the same report, he did ample +justice to the courage of the Italian soldiers.</p> + +<p>As has been stated, the Archduke fought Custoza with not less, probably +with rather more, than 70,000 men. The force which La Marmora placed in +the field was actually inferior in number. The divisions of Bixio and +Prince Humbert were kept doing nothing all day at a stone's throw from the +scene of action. Of the whole 2nd <i>corps d'armée</i> only a +trifling detachment ever reached the ground. Inexplicably little use was +made of the Italian cavalry.</p> + +<p>This bungling had lost the battle, but the fact that on the morrow, six +divisions of the army of the Mincio were practically fresh, might have +suggested to a general of enterprise to try again, since it was known that +the Archduke had not a single new man to fall back on. And <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg.370]</a></span> there was +Cialdini on the Po with his eight divisions that had not been engaged at +all. But, instead of adopting a spirited course, the Italian authorities +gave way to unreasoning panic. It appears, unfortunately, that the King +was the first to be overcome by this moral vertigo. The long and fiercely +discussed question of who telegraphed to Cialdini: 'Irreparable disaster; +cover the capital,' seems to have been settled since that general's death +in 1892. It is now alleged that the telegram, the authorship of which was +disowned by La Marmora, was signed by the King's adjutant, Count Verasio +di Castiglione. Cialdini obeyed the order and fell back on Modena. Whether +he was bound to obey an almost anonymous communication signed by an +irresponsible officer is a moot point; it is reported that he repented +having done so to the last day of his life.</p> + +<p>A great event now happened across the Alps; one of the decisive battles +of the world was lost and won on the 5th of July at Sadowa near +Königgrätz in Bohemia. The fate of Europe was shaped on that day +for decades, if not for centuries. Of the immediate results, the first was +the scattering to the wind of all calculations based upon a long +continuance of the war, the issue of which, as far as Prussia was +concerned, could not be regarded as doubtful. In respect to Italy, +Austria's first thought was to prevent her from taking a revenge for +Custoza. She attempted to compass this by ceding Venetia to Napoleon two +days after Sadowa. It was making a virtue of necessity, as she was bound +in any case to cede it at the conclusion of the war; but as the secret of +the treaty had been well kept, the step caused great surprise, and in +Italy, where the public mind had leapt from profound discouragement to +buoyant hope, the impression was one of embarrassment and mortification. +Italy was distinctly precluded by her <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg.371]</a></span> engagement with Prussia from +accepting Napoleon's invitation to conclude a separate peace. Meanwhile, +Austria gained by the move, as it set her at liberty to recall the larger +part of her troops from Venetia for the defence of Vienna. Her honour did +not require her to contest the ground in a province which she had already +given away. When Cialdini, at the head of the reorganised Italian army of +which he now held the chief command, advanced across the Po to Padua, he +found the path practically open.</p> + +<p>It was still possible for Italy to accomplish two things which would +have in a great measure retrieved her <i>prestige</i>. The first was to +occupy the Trentino; the second was to destroy the Austrian fleet. With +the means at her disposal she ought to have been able to do both.</p> + +<p>In the earlier phases of Italian liberation, no one disputed that if +Lombardy and Venetia were lost to the Empire the Tridentine province, +wedged in as it is between them, would follow suit. When, in 1848, Lord +Palmerston offered his services as mediator between Austria and revolted +Italy, it was on a minimum basis of a frontier north of Trento. The +arguments for the retention of Trieste—that Austria had made it what +it was; that Germany needed it as a seaport, etc.—were inapplicable +here; and even after the defeat of Custoza, an occupation of the Trentino, +had it happened in conjunction with a naval victory, would have opened a +fair prospect to possession. But there was no time to lose, and much time +was lost by ordering Garibaldi to descend to the southern extremity of the +lake of Garda to 'cover Brescia' from an imaginary attack. When the fear +of an Austrian invasion subsided, and Garibaldi returned to the mountains, +he endeavoured to re-take the position of Monte Suello which he had +previously held, but the attempt <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_372" +id="Page_372">[Pg.372]</a></span> failed. The volunteers were forced to +retire with great loss, and the chief himself was wounded. On the 16th of +July the volunteers renewed their advance up the mountain ravines, and, +after taking Fort Ampola, reached the village of Bezzecca, where they were +attacked by the Austrians early on the 21st. Each side claimed that +sanguinary day as a victory; the Garibaldians remained masters of the +ground, but the Austrians, in retiring, took with them a large number of +prisoners. The losses of the volunteers on this and other occasions when +they were engaged were disproportionately heavy. They were spendthrift of +their lives, but in war, and especially in mountain warfare, caution is as +needful as courage, and in caution they were so deficient that they were +always being surprised. General Kuhn's numerically inferior force of tried +marksmen, supported by good artillery and favoured by ground which may be +described as one great natural fortification, had succeeded up till now in +holding the Trentino, but his position was becoming critical, because +while Garibaldi sought to approach Trento from the west, Medici with +10,000 men detached from the main army at Padua, was ascending the +Venetian valleys that lead to the same destination from the east. Kuhn was +therefore on the point of being taken between two fires when the armistice +saved him.</p> + +<p>These operations on the Tridentine frontier, though not without a real +importance, passed almost unnoticed in the excitement which attended the +first calamitous appearance of United Italy as a naval power.</p> + +<p>When invited to assume the command of the Italian fleet, Admiral +Persano twice refused; it was only when the King pressed upon him a third +invitation that he weakly accepted a charge to which he felt himself +unequal. He had been living in retirement for some years, and <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg.373]</a></span> neither +knew nor was known by most of the officers and men whom he was now to +command. The fleet under his orders comprised thirty-three vessels, of +which twelve were ironclads. The Austrian fleet numbered twenty-seven +ships, including seven ironclads. When the war broke out, both fleets were +far from ready for active service; but, while the Austrian Admiral +Tegethoff said nothing, but worked night and day at Pola to make his ships +and his men serviceable, Persano despatched hourly lamentable reports to +the Minister of Marine, without finding the way to bring about a change +for the better. He wasted time in minutiæ, and took into his head to +paint all the Italian ships a light grey, which was of the greatest use to +the Austrians in the battle of Lissa, as it enabled them to distinguish +between them and their own dark-coloured ships.</p> + +<p>After long delaying at Taranto, Persano brought his fleet to Ancona; +and, two days later, Tegethoff appeared in front of that town—not +knowing, it seems, that the Italian squadrons had arrived. Tegethoff was +bound on a simple reconnaissance, and, after firing a few shots, he sailed +away. On this occasion, Persano issued orders so hesitating and confused +that the Austrian admiral must have correctly gauged the capacity of the +man opposed to him, while the superior officers of the Italian fleet were +filled with little less than dismay. A strong effort was made to induce +Depretis to supersede Persano then and there; he promised to do so, but it +is said that the fear of offending the King prevented him. Instead, he set +about showering instructions on the admiral, the worth of which may be +easily imagined. The mistrust felt by the fleet in its commander invaded +all ranks; and if it did not break out in open insubordination, it +deprived officers and men of all confidence in the issue of the +campaign.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374"> +[Pg.374]</a></span> Left to himself, Persano would have stayed quietly at +Ancona, but the imperative orders of a cabinet council, presided over by +the King, forced him to take some action. Against the advice of Admiral +Albini, but in agreement with another admiral, Vacca, Persano decided to +attack the fortified island of Lissa, on the Dalmatian coast. Though Lissa +is a strong position, the usual comparison of it with Gibraltar is +exaggerated. It ought to have been possible to land the Italian troops +which Persano had with him under cover of his guns, and to take the island +before Tegethoff came up. The surf caused by the rough weather, to which +he chiefly attributed his failure, would not have proved an insuperable +obstacle had the ships' crews been exercised in landing troops under +similar circumstances.</p> + +<p>Persano reached Lissa on the morning of the 18th of July, and began a +tremendous bombardment of the forts, which, though answered with the +highest spirit by the Austrians, did most deadly damage to their +batteries. In fact, by the evening, except one or two at a high elevation, +they were practically silenced. At six o'clock Captain Saint Bon took the +<i>Formidabile</i> into the narrow harbour to silence the inner works: a +murderous fire rained on the corvette from Fort Wellington, which was too +high for the Italian guns to get it into range. Though Saint Bon's attempt +was not successful, the Italians had effected most of what they aimed at, +and might have effected the rest had they continued the bombardment +through the night, and so given the Austrians no time to repair their +batteries, but at sunset Persano withdrew his fleet to a distance of eight +miles. The Austrians worked all night at mending the batteries that could +still be used, and hoped <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_375" id= +"Page_375">[Pg.375]</a></span> in the coming of Tegethoff.</p> + +<p>The telegraph cable connecting the neighbouring island of Lesina with +the coast, and so with Pola, had been cut by Persano's orders; but either +(as the writer was told on the spot last year) there was another line that +was not noticed, or before the cable was destroyed the official in charge +got off a message to Tegethoff, informing him of the arrival of the +Italian fleet. An answer, to the effect that Tegethoff would come to the +rescue as soon as possible, fell into the hands of the Italians, but +Persano appears not to have believed in it.</p> + +<p>The 19th was spent in attempts at landing, which the surf and the +energetic play of the repaired batteries rendered fruitless. The +bombardment was renewed, but it was not well conducted. Saint Bon, who +made another plucky entry into the harbour, was unsupported, and, after an +hour's fighting, he was obliged to retire, his ship having suffered +severely.</p> + +<p>Next morning there was a blinding summer storm, but at about eight +o'clock the <i>Esploratore</i> distinguished the forms of ironclads +through the rain, and signalled to Persano: 'Suspicious vessels in sight.' +Persano answered: 'No doubt they are fishing-boats.' When obliged to admit +the truth he gave the order to unite, his ships being scattered in all +directions with everything on board at sixes and sevens. The troops which +had again been attempting to land, were in boats, tossed about by the +heavy sea. The surprise was complete.</p> + +<p>Persano fought the battle of Lissa with nine ironclads, most of which +had received some injuries during the bombardment. He ordered his wooden +ships to keep out of the action altogether. Tegethoff had seven ironclads +and fourteen wooden vessels, all of which he turned to the best +account.</p> + +<p>Just before the battle Persano left his flagship, the <i>Re</i> <i> +d'Italia</i>, <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376"> +[Pg.376]</a></span> and went on board the <i>Affondatore</i>. By +somebody's mistake it was a long time before the <i>Affondatore</i> +hoisted the admiral's flag, and the fleet continued to look to the <i>Re +d'Italia</i> for signals when he was no longer on board.</p> + +<p>Contrary to a well-known rule in naval science, Persano formed his +squadron in single file, and quite at the beginning of the battle +Tegethoff managed to break the line by dashing in between the first and +second division whilst they were going at full speed, and under a furious +cannonade from their guns. This daring operation placed him in the middle +of the Italian ironclads, which, well directed, could have closed round +him and destroyed him, but they were not directed either well nor +ill—they were not directed at all. Persano put up contradictory +signals, most of which were not seen, and those which were seen meant +nothing. The plan followed by Admiral Tegethoff may be best described in +his own words: 'It was hard to make out friend from foe, so I just rammed +away at anything I saw painted grey.' Two Italian vessels had been already +damaged, but not vitally injured, by the <i>Ferdinand Max</i>, when in the +dense smoke a vast wall of grey appeared close to the bows of the Austrian +flagship, which, to the cry of 'Ram her!' put on full steam and crashed +into the enemy's flank. The shock was so great that the crew of the <i> +Max</i> were thrown about in indescribable confusion. The Italian ship was +the <i>Re d'Italia,</i> the flagship which did not carry the admiral. She +quivered for one, two, some say for three minutes in her death agony, and +then went down in two hundred fathoms of water.</p> + +<p>After the <i>Re d'Italia</i> was struck, one of her seamen, thinking to +assert a claim to pity, began to lower her flag, but a young officer <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg.377]</a></span> +pushed him aside and hoisted it again; so the great ship sank with her +colours flying. The incident was noticed by the Austrians, who spoke of it +in feeling terms. Willing enough were they to help, for after the first +cheer of triumph they felt sick with horror at their own work, the fearful +work of modern naval warfare. There were 550 men on board the doomed ship. +Tegethoff shouted for the boats to be lowered, and signalled to the +despatch boat <i>Elisabeth</i> to pick up all she could, but two Italian +ironclads were bearing down upon him, and little could be done to save the +drowning multitude either by the Austrians or by their own people. Persano +did not know of the disaster till some hours after it happened.</p> + +<p>The sea had scarcely closed over the <i>Re d'Italia</i> when another +misfortune occurred; the gunboat <i>Palestro</i> took fire. Her captain, +Alfredo Cappellini, disembarked the sick and wounded, but remained himself +with the rest of the crew, endeavouring to put out the fire. The ship blew +up at 2.30 p.m., and over two hundred perished with her.</p> + +<p>Persano, still on the <i>Affondatore</i>, now led his fleet out of +action, and it was the first time he had led it during the day. Tegethoff +gazed after the vanishing squadron with anxiety, as had Persano turned and +renewed the battle from a distance, he could have revenged his defeat at +close quarters without receiving a shot, owing to the longer range of his +guns. But for such an operation skilful manoeuvring was wanted, and also, +perhaps, more precision in firing than the Italian gunners possessed. At +any rate, Persano had no mind for new adventures. He took what remained of +his fleet straight back to Ancona, where the <i>Affondatore</i> sank in +the harbour from injuries received during the battle. For three days the +Italian people were <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_378" id= +"Page_378">[Pg.378]</a></span> told that they had won a victory, then the +bitter truth was known. The admiral, tried before the Senate, was deprived +of his rank and command in the Italian navy. The politician who, when +convinced of his unfitness, yet had not the nerve to remove him from his +post, died, full of years and honours, Prime Minister of Italy.</p> + +<p>Lissa was fought on the 20th of July. On the 25th, Prussia signed the +preliminaries of peace with Austria without consulting her ally, who, if +unfortunate, had been eminently loyal to her. Thus the whole forces of the +Empire, not less than 350,000 men, were let loose to fall upon Italy. Such +was the wrathful disappointment of the Italians at their defeats by land +and sea, that if a vote had been taken they would possibly have decided +for a renewal of the struggle. Ricasoli was inclined to risk war rather +than bow to the Austrian demand that the evacuation of the Trentino should +precede the conclusion of an armistice. At this crisis, La Marmora acted +as a true patriot in forcing the hand of the Ministry by ordering the +recall of the troops and sending General Petitti to treat directly with +the Austrian military authorities. 'They will say that we have betrayed +the country,' said the King in the interview in which these measures were +concerted; to which La Marmora answered: 'Come what may, I take the whole +responsibility upon myself.' 'This is too much,' replied Victor Emmanuel +with tears in his eyes; 'I, also, will have my part in it.' In which brief +dialogue the character of the two men stands revealed; men who might fall +short in talent or in judgment, not in honour.</p> + +<p>The volunteers, so many of whose comrades lay dead along the mountain +gorges—who believed, too, that they were in sight of the reward of +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg.379]</a></span> +their sacrifices—were thrown into a ferment, almost into a revolt by +the order to retreat. They had expected in a day or two to shake hands +with Medici, who, after some hard fighting, was within a march of Trento. +The order was explicit: instant evacuation of the enemy's territory. +Garibaldi, to whom from first to last had fallen an ungrateful part, took +up his pen and wrote the laconic telegram: 'Obbedisco.' 'I have obeyed,' +he said to the would-be mutineers, 'do you obey likewise.' Someone +murmured 'Rome.' 'Yes,' said the chief, 'we will march on Rome.'</p> + +<p>The armistice was signed at Cormons on the 12th of August, and the +treaty of peace on the 3rd of October at Vienna. Italy received Venice +from the hands of the French Emperor, whose interference since the +beginning of the campaign had incensed Prussia against her ally without +benefiting the Power which he affected and, perhaps, really meant to +serve. Italy would have received Venetia without his interposition, for +besides the Prussian obligation to claim it for her, Austria had no +further wish to keep it. Despite the fact that Italian populations still +remained under the rule of the Empire, the melancholy book of Austrian +dominion in Italy might be fairly said to be closed forever. A new era was +dawning for the House of Hapsburg, which was to show that, unlike the +Bourbons, it could learn and unlearn.</p> + +<p>The comedy of the cession of Venice to Napoleon was enacted between +General Le Boeuf and General Alemann, the Austrian military commandant. +Among other formalities, the French delegate went the round of the museums +and galleries to see that everything was in its place. Suddenly he came +upon a most suspicious blank. 'A picture is <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg.380]</a></span> missing here,' he said. 'It +is, blandly assented the Austrian officer. 'Well, but it must be sent back +immediately—where is it?' 'In the Louvre.'</p> + +<p>At last Austrians and French departed, and Italy shook off her +mourning, for however it had come about, the great object which had cost +so much blood, so many tears, was attained; the stranger was gone! Out of +642,000 votes, only 69 were recorded against the union of Venetia with the +Italian kingdom. When the plebiscite was presented to the King, he said: +'This is the greatest day of my life: Italy is made, though not complete.' +On the 7th of November he entered Venice, and of all the pageants that +greeted him in the hundred cities of Italy, the welcome of the Bride of +the Adriatic was, if not the most imposing, certainly the fairest to see. +More touching, however, than the glorious beauty of the Piazza San Marco +and the Grand Canal in their rich adornment, was the universal decoration +of the poorest quarters, which were all flagged and festooned so thickly +that little could be seen of the stones of Venice. One poor cobbler, +however, living at the end of a blind alley, had no flag, no garland to +deck his abode: he had therefore pasted three strips of coloured paper, +red, white and green, over his door, inscribing on the middle strip these +words, which in their sublime simplicity merit to be rescued from +oblivion: 'O mia cara Italia, voglio ma non posso fare più per +te.'</p> + +<p>The Iron Crown of the Lombard Kings of Italy, which the Austrians had +taken away in 1859, was brought back and restored to the Cathedral of +Monza. Less presumptuous than Napoleon, Victor Emmanuel never placed the +mystical fillet upon his head, but it was carried after his coffin to the +Pantheon.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_XIX"></a> <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_381" id= +"Page_381">[Pg.381]</a></span> + +<h3>CHAPTER XIX</h3> + +<h4>THE LAST CRUSADE</h4> + +<h5>1867</h5> + +<h5>The French leave Rome—Garibaldi's Arrest and Escape—The +Second French Intervention—Monte Rotondo—Mentana.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>The words of Victor Emmanuel to the Venetian Deputation contained a +riddle easy to solve: what was meant by the 'completion' of Italy was the +establishment of her capital on the Tiber. In most minds there was an +intense belief in the inevitability of the union of Rome with the rest of +Italy, but no one saw how it was to be brought about. What soothsayer +foretold Sédan?</p> + +<p>In the first period after the war, domestic difficulties fixed the +attention of the Italian Government on the present rather than on the +future. An insurrection at Palermo assumed threatening proportions owing +to the smallness of the garrison, and might have had still more serious +consequences but for the courage and presence of mind shown by the Syndic, +the young Marquis di Rudini. Crime and poverty, republican hankerings, the +irritation of the priesthood at recent legislation, and most of all, the +feeling that little had been done since 1860 to realise the millennium +then promised, contributed to the outbreak which was quelled when troops +arrived from the mainland, but the ministers were blamed for not having +taken better precautions against its occurrence. Another stumbling-block +lay in the path of Ricasoli, <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_382" id= +"Page_382">[Pg.382]</a></span> namely, the application of the law for the +suppression of religious houses, and the expropriation of ecclesiastical +property. After an unsuccessful endeavour to cope with it, he dissolved +the Chamber, but the new Parliament proved no more willing to support his +measures, which were of the nature of a compromise, than the old one, and +he finally resigned office. He was succeeded by Urban Rattazzi, under +whose administration a measure was passed which, though drastic in +appearance, has not prevented the re-establishment of a great many +convents of which the property was bought in under the name of private +individuals. Every Catholic country has seen the necessity sooner or later +of putting a check to the increase of monasticism, but it may be a matter +of regret that in Italy, the toleration granted to the learned community +of Monte Cassino was not extended to more of the historic monasteries. The +abstention of the Clerical party from the voting urns deprived them of an +influence which, on such points as these, they might have exercised +legitimately and perhaps beneficially. To that abstention, the +disequilibrium of Italian political life, from first to last, is largely +due.</p> + +<p>The time allowed to the French under the September Convention for the +evacuation of Rome expired in December 1866, and at the opening of the new +year, for the first time since 1849, the Eternal City was without a +garrison in the service of a foreign Power. While executing their +engagement, the French Government took occasion to say that they kept +their hands perfectly free as concerned future action. The anomalous +obligations of the September Convention now came into force, and it was +not long before their inconvenience was felt. Had Ricasoli remained at the +head of affairs the <i>status quo</i> might have lasted for <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg.383]</a></span> a time; +because, although he was an unflinching opponent of the Temporal Power, he +would have made it clear that since the Convention existed he meant to +respect it, and to make others respect it. He had shown that he could +dare, but that was when he bore himself the whole responsibility of his +daring. He was not the man to tolerate heroic imprudence in others with +the mental reservation of owning or disowning the results, as might prove +convenient. Rattazzi, on the other hand, was believed to answer very +closely to this description; and patriots who were willing to bear all the +blame in case of failure and yield all the praise in case of success, +began once more to speculate on the profit to the national cause which +might be extracted from the peculiarities of his character. Aspromonte, +that should have placed them on their guard, had the contrary effect, for +it was supposed that the Prime Minister was very anxious to wipe that +stain from his reputation.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, the Party of Action considered that, for the present, the +wisest course was to wait and watch the development of events. This was +Mazzini's personal view, but Garibaldi, almost alone in his dissent, did +not share it. Impelled partly, no doubt, by the impatience of a man who +sees the years going by and his own life ebbing away without the +realisation of its dearest dream, but partly also by the deliberate belief +that the political situation offered some favourable features which might +not soon be repeated, Garibaldi decided to take the field in the autumn of +1867. His friends, who one and all tried to dissuade him, found him +immovable. It is too much to say that he expected assistance from the +Government, but that he hoped to draw Rattazzi after him is scarcely +doubtful, and he had good <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_384" id= +"Page_384">[Pg.384]</a></span> reason for the hope.</p> + +<p>In Rattazzi's own version and defence of his policy, it is set forth +that before the die was cast he did all that was humanly possible to +prevent the expedition, but that having failed, he intended sending the +Italian army over the frontier in the wake of the broken-loose +condottiere. Though this gives a colour of consistency to his conduct, it +is not satisfactory as an explanation, and still less as an apology.</p> + +<p>General La Marmora, who had always opposed the Convention, though he +belonged to the party which made it, once declared that 200,000 men would +not be sufficient to hold the Papal frontier against a guerilla invasion. +True as this may be, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that a +minister who had resolutely made up his mind to prevent any attempt from +being made would not have acted as Rattazzi acted. The Prime Minister +thought that he was imitating Cavour, but in reality he simply imitated +the pendulum of a clock.</p> + +<p>Rattazzi's taste was for intrigue rather than for adventure in the +grand sense. An adventurous minister would have accelerated the enterprise +to the utmost, in secret or not in secret, and would then have preceded +Garibaldi to Rome before the Clerical party in France had time to force +Napoleon to act. The rest could have been left to the Roman people. What +they did in 1870 they would have done in 1867; they were ready to acclaim +any conquering liberator; they were not ready to make a revolution on +their own account, and with all their leaders in prison or in exile, they +are hardly to be blamed for it. For such a policy Italy might have pleaded +that necessity which knows no law. Everybody allowed that if Garibaldi +went to Rome the Italians must go there too: the very security of the Pope +demanded it—at least, he said so. As to the first part of the +programme, complicity <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_385" id= +"Page_385">[Pg.385]</a></span> in the preparation of the movement, it +would have been an infringement of the Convention, but had France kept the +Convention? French bishops recruited soldiers for the Pope in every +province of France, and the Antibes Legion was drawn, officers and men, +from the French army. When some of the men deserted, the French War Office +sent General Dumont to Rome to look to the discipline of the regiment. +Those who argued that the spirit, if not the letter, of the agreement had +been already evaded, could make out a good case for their position.</p> + +<p>It has been suggested that this is what Rattazzi's policy would have +been, but for the opposition of the King. Were it so, the minister ought +to have resigned at the beginning of the proceedings instead of at the +end. That in the ultimate crisis it was the King who prevented the troops +from moving is a fact, but the propitious moment was then past and gone. +'Do as you like, but do it quickly,' Napoleon said to Cavour when Cialdini +was to be sent to the Cattolica. And it was done quickly.</p> + +<p>After letting Garibaldi make what arrangements and issue what +manifestoes he chose for six weeks, Rattazzi suddenly had him arrested at +Sinalunga on the 23rd of September. The only consequence was fatal delay; +not knowing what to do with their prisoner, the Government shipped him to +Caprera. Personally he was perfectly free; no conditions were imposed; but +nine men-of-war were despatched to the island to sweep the seas of erratic +heroes. In spite of which, Garibaldi escaped in a canoe on the 14th of +October.</p> + +<p>That night, between sundown and moonrise, there was only one hour's +dark, but it sufficed the fugitive to make good his passage from <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg.386]</a></span> +Caprera to the island of Maddalena. A strong south-east breeze was +blowing; the waves, however, were rather favourable to the venture, as +they hid the frail bark from any eyes that might be peering through the +night. Garibaldi did not fear; he had often put out on this terrible sea +when lashed to fury to succour sailors in their peril. On reaching +Maddalena he scrambled over the rocks to the house of an English lady who +was delighted to give him hospitality. Next evening he proceeded to +Sardinia, from which, after several adventures, he sailed for the Tuscan +coast in a boat held in readiness by his son-in-law, Canzio. And so, to +the amazement of friends and foes, he arrived in Florence, where, before +many hours were past, he was haranguing the enthusiastic crowd from a +balcony.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi had escaped, but the mischief done to the movement by the +loss of nearly a month could not be remedied. Although large armed bands +under Acerbi, Nicotera and Menotti Garibaldi were gathered near Viterbo, +as usually happened in the absence of the chief, nothing effectual was +done. But it was in Paris that the delay brought the most ruinous +results.</p> + +<p>The history of the second French expedition to Rome will never be +satisfactorily told, because, while the outward circumstances point one +way, the inward probabilities point another. Napoleon had said that if the +Convention were not observed he would intervene, and he did intervene; +nothing could seem simpler. Yet it is not doubtful that, in his inmost +heart, he was wishing day and night that something would turn up to +extricate him from the Roman dilemma once for all. While he hesitated, the +Clerical party in France did not hesitate. Not a moment was thrown away by +them. Towards the middle of October, it was reported that 'half royalist +and half Catholic France will be in <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg.387]</a></span> Rome in the course of the +week. Men with names belonging to the proudest French nobility—the +De Lusignans, De Clissons, De Lumleys, De Bourbon-Chalens, etc., are +chartering vessels, arriving in Rome by scores and hundreds, and hence +hurrying to the front to take their places as privates in the Zouaves.' +That, however, does not describe the most important sphere of their +activity which was the ante-chamber, nay, the boudoir of St Cloud. In that +palace, three years later to be rased to the ground by the Germans, the +net was woven which every day closed tighter and tighter round Napoleon, +till he was enveloped in its meshes past escape. Ever since De Morny's +death, the influence nearest the throne had been increasing in strength; +it is needless to say in which direction it was exercised. Napoleon was +ill; Maximilian's ghost floated over him; he felt his power slipping from +his hands in spite of the noise and show of the Exhibition, which was +supposed to mark its zenith. The words of the old pact with the Royalists +buzzed in his ears: 'Do you keep the Pope on his throne, and we will keep +you on yours.' And he yielded.</p> + +<p>The 'principle' of French intervention was adopted by the council of +ministers on the 17th of October. Then, and not till then, Rattazzi +decided to send the Italian troops over the frontier. On finding that +neither the King nor several of his colleagues in the ministry would +support him, he resigned office on the 19th of the month.</p> + +<p>It was on the day after that Garibaldi appeared in Florence. As there +was no ministry, no one thought it his business to interfere with him. +Cialdini, whom the King had requested to form a cabinet, did go and ask +him to keep quiet till there was some properly qualified person to arrest +him; but this, not unnaturally, he declined to do. He left <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg.388]</a></span> Florence by +special train for Terni, whence he crossed the frontier and joined the +insurgent bands near Rome.</p> + +<p>From the 19th to the 26th, Napoleon again and again ordered and +countermanded the departure of the transports from Toulon. On the last +date the final order was given and the ships started. The news must have +just reached Paris that the King had called upon General Menabrea to +undertake the task which had been abandoned by Cialdini, whose name +recalled Castelfidardo too strongly to have a sound welcome either in the +Vatican or at St Cloud. When Napoleon heard that Menabrea was to be +Rattazzi's successor, he knew that there was no fear that the new +Government, carried away by the popular current which was manifestly +having its effect on the King, should, after all, order the Italian army +to the front. Menabrea, the Savoyard who in 1860 chose the Italian +nationality which his son has lately cast away, was the old opponent of +Cavour in the Turinese chamber, and of all Italian politicians he was the +most lukewarm on the Roman question. All chance of a collision between the +French and Italian armies was removed. Menabrea did occupy some positions +over the Papal frontier, it would be hard to say with what intention, +unless it were to appear to fulfil a sort of promise given by the King +during the ministerial interregnum. The troops were ordered on no account +to attack the French, and as soon as the Garibaldian campaign was at an +end, they were brought home. It was not worth while to send them with +their hands tied to almost within earshot of where other Italians were +fighting and falling. Menabrea's attitude towards the volunteers was +immediately revealed by the issue of a royal proclamation, in which <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg.389]</a></span> they +were declared rebels. The French were free to act.</p> + +<p>All this time the revolution in Rome, which it was admitted on all +sides would have gone far towards cutting the knot, did not begin. Besides +the cause already assigned, the absence of the heads, there was another, +the almost total lack of arms. To remedy this, Enrico and Giovanni +Cairoli, with some seventy followers, tried to take a supply of arms up +the Tiber to Rome. Only the immense importance of the object could have +justified so desperate an attempt. Obliged to abandon their boats near +Ponte Molle, they struck off into the Monti Parioli, where they were +attacked, within sight of the promised land, at a spot called Villa +Gloria. Their assailants were three times their number, and those who were +not killed were carried prisoners to Rome. Among the killed was the +captain of the band, who fell in the arms of his young brother. As Enrico +Cairoli lay dying, the French Zouaves (was this the chivalry of France?) +charged the two brothers with their bayonets, piercing Giovanni with ten +wounds, from injuries arising from one of which he expired a year later, +after long torments. 'Dastardly French!' cried Enrico with his last +breath. They were the third and fourth sons of Adelaide Cairoli who died +for their country. One only of her five children remained to stand by her +own death-bed—Benedetto, the future Prime Minister, and saviour of +King Humbert from the knife of an assassin.</p> + +<p>The Papal army was composed of 13,000 men, General de Courten +commanding the portion of it which could be spared out of Rome. The +Breton, Colonel Charette, had charge of the Zouaves. Since the French +garrison left, much trouble had been taken to make this force efficient. +Under Garibaldi's own orders there were between 7000 and 8000 volunteers. +Those who have made a higher estimate have included <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg.390]</a></span> other bands which, +either from the difficulty of provisioning a larger number, or from want +of time for concentration, remained at a distance.</p> + +<p>The chief's arrival soon infused new life into the camp. On the 24th he +moved towards Monte Rotondo, one of the castellated heights near Rome, +which commands the Nomentane and Tiburtine ways to the south, and the +railway and Via Salara to the west. It was generally considered the most +important military position in the Papal states. The garrison was small, +but, perched as they were on a hill crest which looks inaccessible, the +defenders might well hope to hold out till help came from Rome. They had +artillery, of which the volunteers had none, and the old castle of the +Orsini, where they made their principal stand, was well adapted for +defence. From the morning of the 25th till midnight, the Garibaldians +hurled themselves against the walls of the rock town without making much +way; but at last the resistance grew weak, and when the morning light +came, the white flag was seen flying. At four in the afternoon of the 26th +a Papal column tardily arrived upon the scene, but they perceived that all +was over at Monte Rotondo, and, after firing a few musket shots, they fled +to Rome in disorder.</p> + +<p>Garibaldi rode into the cathedral, where he fixed his quarters for the +night. In Italy churches have ever been applied to such uses. After the +reduction of Milan, Francesco Sforza rode into the Duomo, and when King +Ladislaus of Naples conquered Rome, he rode into the basilica of St John +Lateran. The guerilla chief bivouacked in a confessional, while his +Red-shirts slept where they could on the cathedral floor. Four hundred of +them had been killed or wounded in the assault.</p> + +<p>The prisoners of war were brought before Garibaldi, who praised their +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg.391]</a></span> +valour and sent them under an escort to the Italian frontier. Two or three +were retained for the following reason. Garibaldi had heard of the +Cairolis' heroic failure, and after his victory his first thought was of +them and of their sorrowing mother. He asked Signora Mario if there were +any notabilities among the Papal prisoners. She mentioned Captain +Quatrebras and others, and he sent her into Rome on a mission to the Papal +commander with a view to exchanging these prisoners for the wounded +Giovanni and for his brother's body. The proposal was accepted, and the +compact kept after Mentana had changed the aspect of affairs.</p> + +<p>'Garibaldi at the gates!' was the news that spread like wildfire +through Rome on the evening of the 26th of October. Terror, real terror, +and no less real joy filled all hearts; but the sides were soon to be +reversed. Another piece of news was not long in coming: 'The French at +Civita Vecchia!'</p> + +<p>The French arrived on the 29th, and on the same day Garibaldi advanced +almost to the walls of Rome, still hoping for a revolutionary movement to +break out within the city; but the information which he then received +deprived him finally of this hope, and he gave the order to return to +Monte Rotondo. Volunteers have the defect of being soldiers who <i> +think</i>; on this occasion they thought that the backward march was the +beginning of the end—that, in short, the game was up. A third of the +whole number deserted, and took the road towards the Italian frontier. +Garibaldi himself seems to have had a first idea of crossing into the +Abruzzi, and there waiting to see what turn events would take; but he did +not long entertain it, and, when he again left Monte Rotondo, it was with +the fixed design of fighting a battle. He expected, however, to fight the +Papal troops alone, and not the French.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392"> +[Pg.392]</a></span> This was very nearly being the case. On the 1st of +November, the Papal General Kanzler called on General De Failly at Civita +Vecchia, and found him, to his concern, by no means anxious to rush into +the fray. Even when sending the troops, Napoleon seems to have hoped to +escape from being seriously compromised. He probably thought that the +moral effect of their landing would cause Garibaldi to retire, and that +thus the whole affair would collapse. But the Papal authorities did not +want it to collapse; they wanted more bloodshed, and if the words which +express the ungarnished truth as acknowledged by their own writers and +apologists, sound indecent when describing the government of the Vicar of +Christ, it only shows once more the irreconcilability of the offices of +priest and king in the nineteenth century. Kanzler insisted that a +crushing blow must be inflicted on the volunteers before they had time to +retreat. He argued so long and so well that De Failly promised him a +brigade under General Polhès to aid in the attack which he proposed +to make on Monte Rotondo.</p> + +<p>The Papal forces left Rome by Porta Pia, and took the Via Nomentana, +which leads to Monte Rotondo by Mentana. They were on the march at four +o'clock a.m. Garibaldi had ordered his men to be ready at dawn on the same +day (it was the 3rd of November); but Menotti suggested that, before they +started, there should be a distribution of shoes, a consignment of which +had just reached the camp. Many of the volunteers were barefoot, which +gives a notion of their general equipment. Garibaldi, who rarely took +advice, yielded to his son. Had he not done so, before the Papal army +reached Mentana, he would have been at Tivoli. One delay brings another, +and it was midday when the march <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_393" +id="Page_393">[Pg.393]</a></span> began. Garibaldi looked sad, and spoke +to no one, but hummed some bars of Riego's hymn, the Spanish song of +freedom, full of a wild, sweet pathos, to which his tanned-faced +legionaries had marched under the Monte Videan sun. Could he but have had +with him those strong warriors now! He mounted his horse, put it to a +gallop, which he rarely did, and, riding down the ranks of the column, +took his place at its head. When he arrived at the village of Mentana, he +heard that the Pontificals were close by, and he waited to give them +battle.</p> + +<p>Mentana lies in a depression commanded by the neighbouring mounds, not +a good configuration for defence. This village in the Roman Campagna +sprang into history on a November day one thousand and sixty-seven years +before, as the meeting-place of Charlemagne and Leo III. Here they shook +hands over their bargain: that the Pope should crown the great Charles +Emperor, and that the Emperor should assure to the Pope his temporal +power. And now the ragged band of Italian youths was come to say that of +bargains between Popes and Emperors there had been enough.</p> + +<p>They numbered less than 5000. General De Failly reckoned the Papal +troops engaged at 3000 and the French at 2000, but Italian authorities +compute the former at a higher figure. The most experienced of the +Garibaldian officers thought that the attackers were twice as numerous as +they were. At the first onslaught great confusion prevailed among the +volunteers. Mentana seemed lost, but the sound of the guns they had +captured at Monte Rotondo restored their <i>moral</i>, and making a +gallant rush forward they retook the principal positions with the bayonet. +As they saw the Pontificals swerve back they uttered cries of joy. It was +two o'clock. The enemy's fire slackened; something was going on which the +volunteers could not make out. All at once there <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg.394]</a></span> was a sharp unfamiliar +detonation, resembling the whirring sound of a machine. The French had +come into action.</p> + +<p>A hailstorm of bullets mowed down the Garibaldian ranks. Their two guns +were useless, for the ammunition, seventy rounds in all, was exhausted. +They fought till four o'clock—till nearly their last cartridge was +gone; then they slowly retreated. Very few of them guessed what that +peculiar sound meant, or imagined that they had been engaged with the +French, but next morning Europe knew from General De Failly's report that +'the Chassepots had done wonders.'</p> + +<p>Garibaldi left the field, haggard and aged, unable to reconcile himself +to a defeat which he thought that more discipline, more steadiness in his +rank and file, would have turned into a victory. He had always demanded +the impossible of his men; till now they had given it to him. In time he +judged more justly. Those miserably-armed lads who lately had been glad to +eat the herbs of the field, if haply they found any, stood out for four +hours against the pick of two regular armies, one of which was supposed to +be the finest in the world. They had done well.</p> + +<p>Mentana remained that night in the hands of 1500 Garibaldians, who +still occupied the castle and most of the houses when the general retreat +was ordered. In the morning the Garibaldian officer who held the castle +capitulated, on condition that the volunteers 'shut up in Mentana' should +be reconducted across the frontier; terms which the French and Papal +generals interpreted to embrace only the defenders of the castle. Eight +hundred of the others were taken in triumph to Rome. It would have been +wiser to let them go. The Romans had been told that <span class="newpage"> +<a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg.395]</a></span> the Garibaldians were +cut-throats, incendiaries, human bloodhounds waiting to fly at them. What +did they behold? 'The beast is gentle,' as Euripides makes his captors say +of Dionysius. The stalwart Romans saw a host of boys, with pale, wistful, +very young-looking faces. If anything was wanting to seal the fate of the +Temporal Power it was the sight of that procession of famished and wounded +Italians brought to Rome by the foreigner.</p> + +<p>The victors, however, were jubilant. Their inharmonious shouts of <i> +Vive Pie Neuf</i> vexed the delicate Roman ears. It was the battle-cry of +the day of Mentana. Begun by the masked, finished by the unmasked soldiers +of France, Mentana was a French victory, and it was the last.</p> + +<p>The Garibaldian retreat continued through the night to Passo Corese on +the Italian frontier. The silence of the Campagna was only broken by +little gusts of a chilly wind off the Tiber; it seemed as if a spectral +army moved without sound. Garibaldi rode with his hat pressed down over +his eyes; only once he spoke: 'It is the first time they make me turn my +back like this,' he said to an old comrade, 'it would have been better +...' He stopped, but it was easy to supply the words: 'to die.'</p> + +<p>As he was getting into the train at Figline, with the intention of +going straight to Caprera, he was placed under arrest by order of the +Italian Government. His officers had their hands on their swords, but he +forbade their using force. The arrest seemed an unnecessary slight on the +beaten man, who had loved Italy too well. But General Menabrea, who +ordered it, believes that he thereby saved Italian unity. According to an +account given by him many years after to the correspondent of an English +newspaper, Napoleon wrote at this juncture <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg.396]</a></span> to King Victor Emmanuel, that +as he was not strong enough to govern his kingdom, he, Napoleon, was about +to help him by relieving him of all parts of it except Piedmont, Lombardy +and Venetia. The arrest of Garibaldi, by showing that the King 'could +govern,' averted the impending danger. In communicating it to Napoleon, +the King is said to have added 'that Italians would lose their last drop +of blood before consenting to disruption,' a warning which he was not +unlikely to give, but the whole story lacks verisimilitude. It appears +more credible that an old man's memory is at fault than that a letter, so +colossally insolent, was actually written. Menabrea, and even the King, +may have feared that something of the kind was in the mind of the +Emperor.</p> + +<p>As after Aspromonte so after Mentana; Garibaldi was confined in the +fortress of Varignano, on the bay of Spezia. A few weeks later he was +released and sent to Caprera. As he left the fortress-prison he wrote the +words: 'Farewell, Rome; farewell, Capitol; who knows who will think of +thee, and when?'</p> + +<p>The last crusade was over; destiny would do the rest.</p> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[Pg.397]</a></span> +<a name="CHAPTER_XX"></a> + +<h3>CHAPTER XX</h3> + +<h4>ROME, THE CAPITAL</h4> + +<h5>1867-1870</h5> + +<h5>M. Rouher's 'Never'—Papal +Infallibility—Sédan—The Breach in Porta Pia—The +King of Italy in Rome.</h5> + +<br /> +<p>Mentana had its epilogue in the debate in the French Corps +Législatif, which lasted from the 2nd to the 5th of December. Jules +Favre proposed a vote of censure on the Ministry for their Roman policy. +The most distinguished speaker who followed him was Thiers, who said that +though in opposition, he would support the Government tooth and nail in +their defence of French interests at Rome. The debate was wound up by the +memorable declaration of the Prime Minister, Rouher, that 'never' should +Italy get possession of Rome. 'Is that clear?' he asked. It was quite +clear. The word escaped him, he afterwards said, in 'the heat of +improvisation.' The French Chamber confirmed it by throwing out Favre's +motion by 237 votes against 17.</p> + +<p>Now, indeed, the Ultramontanes were jubilant throughout the world. +Napoleon was compromised, enmeshed beyond extrication.</p> + +<p>Of all these events, Prussia, or rather the great man who was the brain +of Prussia, took attentive note. He was convinced that the wonders +accomplished by the Chassepot at Mentana would soon lead France to try the +effect of the new rifle on larger game. Among the <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[Pg.398]</a></span> measures which he took +with a view to that contingency, his correspondence with Mazzini is not +the least remarkable. It began in November 1867, and was continued for a +year. The object of both Bismarck and Mazzini was to prevent Italy from +taking sides with France. The negotiations were carried on partly through +Count d'Usedom, Prussian Minister at Florence, and partly through other +intermediaries. Mazzini began by saying, that although the Chancellor's +methods of unification had not his sympathy, he admired his energy, +tenacity and independence; that he believed in German unity and opposed +the supremacy which France arrogated to herself in Europe. He engaged to +use his influence in Italy to make it difficult for an Italian Government +to take up arms for the victors of Mentana. Bismarck was well aware that +in speaking of his influence the writer used no idle phrase, but possibly +one of his reasons for continuing the correspondence was to find out what +Mazzini knew of the hidden plots and counter plots then in manufacture +both in Paris and at Florence, because the Italian was more conversant +with diplomatic secrets than any man living, except, perhaps, Cardinal +Antonelli. In April 1868, Mazzini received through the Prussian Embassy at +Florence, a document which even now possesses real interest on the +relative advantages to Italy of a French or German Alliance. The whole +question turned, observed the Prussian Chancellor, on the mastery of the +Mediterranean: here France and Italy must find themselves at variance +whether they willed it or not. 'The configuration of the terrestrial globe +not being amenable to change, they will be always rivals and often +enemies.' Nature has thrown between them an apple of discord, the +possession of which they will not cease to contest. The Mediterranean +ought to become an Italian lake. 'It is impossible for <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[Pg.399]</a></span> Italy to +put up with the perpetual threats of France to obtain the mastery over +Tunis, which would be for her the first stage to arriving in +Sardinia.'</p> + +<p>At the Berlin Congress eight years later, Prince Bismarck pressed the +same views upon Count Corti, the Italian delegate. He would have been glad +to see the Italians go to Tunis, but Count Corti ingenuously replied: 'You +want to make us quarrel with France.' Meanwhile the Englishman who +represented France and the Englishman who represented England were +discussing the same subject, and out of their discussion arose the French +occupation of Tunis. Disquieting rumours got about at once, but they were +dispelled. 'No French Government would be so rash,' said Gambetta, 'as to +make Italy the <i>irreconcilable</i> foe of France.' M. Waddington +declared that he was personally opposed to the acquisition of Tunis, and +gave his word of honour that nothing would be done without the full +consent of Italy. What was done and how it was done is known to all. And +so it happens that a great French naval station is in course of +construction almost within sight of Sicily <i>and of Malta.</i></p> + +<p>In the document communicated by Bismarck to Mazzini, there is a curious +inclusion of Trieste among Italian seaports which seems to indicate that +he was still not averse from a rectification of the Italian north-east +frontier. Whence it may be supposed that he expected to find Austria +ranged on the part of France in the struggle for the Rhine bank. To +explain how it was that this did not happen, we must leave the Chancellor +and the Revolutionist, and see what at the same time was going on between +Napoleon on the one side and Austria and Italy on the other.</p> + +<p><span class="newpage"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400"> +[Pg.400]</a></span> The French Emperor was not so infatuated as to court +the risk of making war on Prussia single-handed if he could avoid it. He +hoped for a triple alliance of France, Austria and Italy, or, if that +could not be compassed, a dual alliance of France with either of these +Powers. Now, wisely or unwisely, both the Italian and Austrian Governments +were far from rejecting these proposals off-hand. The secret negotiations +lasted from 1868 till June 1869. They took the shape of informal letters +between the King of Italy and Napoleon, and of private communications with +Count Beust through Prince Metternich, the Austrian Ambassador in Paris, +who was the intimate friend and confidant of the Emperor and Empress. +General Menabrea was not let into the secret till later. With regard to +Victor Emmanuel, there is no doubt that he wished with all his heart to be +able to do a good turn to his Imperial ally of 1859 if the occasion +presented itself. Some men see their wives even to old age as they saw +them when they were young and fair. The first print on the retina of the +mental vision was so strong that no later impression can change or efface +it. This hallucination is not confined to the marital relationship, and +Victor Emmanuel never left off seeing Napoleon in one sole light: as the +friend of Solferino. It may be that he perceived what the Italians did not +perceive: that the obligation was owed to Napoleon alone, while all France +had a part in the subsequent injuries. At any rate the idea of refusing +the Emperor's appeal was repugnant in the extreme to the Italian King, who +personally would have strained any point rather than give that +refusal.</p> + +<p>The King, however, and General Menabrea, who was finally admitted into +the conspiracy, could not be blind to the fact that an unpopular war might +create so great an agitation in the country that the dynasty itself would +be in danger. A war for France while the French were in <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[Pg.401]</a></span> Rome would +have raised one storm of indignation from Palermo to Turin. So their +ultimatum was this: Rome capital of Italy, or no alliance.</p> + +<p>There remained Austria, but if Napoleon ever hoped to conclude a +separate treaty with her, he was to discover his mistake. From the moment +that Austria resigned the Iron Crown, the symbol of her Italian power, she +acted towards Italy with a loyalty that has few parallels in history. And +she, too, replied to Napoleon: Rome capital of Italy, or no alliance.</p> + +<p>The Vatican has never forgiven this to Austria. At the present hour, +while republican France with her open antagonism to all religion, is the +favoured daughter of the Church, Austria, the only country in Europe +except Spain where the Roman Catholic cultus retains all its original pomp +and almost all its mediæval privileges, meets from the Vatican a +studied plan of opposition, the object of which can only be to bring her +Government to a deadlock. From France the Pope still hopes for aid in the +recovery of his temporalities; from Austria he knows that he will never +receive it. So much have politics and so little has religion to do now, as +in all ages, with the motives that govern the Holy See.</p> + +<pre> + Ahi, Costantin, di quanto mal fu matre + Non la tua conversion, ma quella dote + Che da te prese il primo ricco patre! +</pre> + +<p>The years 1868 and 1869 passed uneventfully for Italy. In the former +year Prince Humbert married his cousin Margherita of Savoy. He was +previously engaged to the Archduchess Matilda, the only daughter of the +Victor of Custoza, but the young Princess met with a terrible death just +when the betrothal was about to be announced. No one <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[Pg.402]</a></span> worthier to +receive from Adelaide of Burgundy the lovely title of Queen of Italy could +have been found than the Princess Margaret, who inherited the sunny charm +which had endeared her father, the Duke of Genoa, to all who knew him.</p> + +<p>In the autumn of 1869 another domestic event, the severe illness of +Victor Emmanuel, gave rise to an incident which made a deep impression in +Italy, and attached the nation by one link more to the King of its choice. +The illness which seized Victor Emmanuel at his hunting-box of San +Rossore, in a malarious part of Tuscany, proved so serious that his life +was despaired of. A priest was called to hear the King's last confession, +and to administer the Sacraments for the dying. After hearing the +confession, the priest said he could not give absolution unless Victor +Emmanuel signed a solemn retractation of all the acts performed during his +reign that were contrary to the interests of the Church. The King +answered, without a moment's hesitation, that he died a Christian and a +Catholic, and that if he had wronged anyone he sincerely repented and +asked pardon of God, but the signature demanded was a political act, and +if the priest wished to talk politics his ministers were in the next room. +Thither the ecclesiastic retired, but he very soon returned, and +administered the rite without more ado. What had passed was this: General +Menabrea, with a decision for which he cannot be too much praised, +threatened the priest with instant arrest unless he surrendered his +pretensions. Only those who know the extraordinary terror inspired in an +Italian Catholic by the prospect of dying unshriven can appreciate the +merit of the King, whose faith was childlike, in standing as firm in the +presence of supernatural arms as he stood before the Austrian guns.</p> + +<p>Menabrea's administration was then upon the eve of falling. The cause +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[Pg.403]</a></span> +was one of those financial crises that were symptomatic of a mischief +which has been growing from then till now, when some critics think they +see in it the fatal upas tree of Italy. The process of transforming a +country where everything was wanting—roads, railways, lines of +navigation, schools, water, lighting, sanitary provisions, and the other +hundred thousand requirements of modern life—into the Italy of +to-day, where all these things have made leaps almost incredible to those +who knew her in her former state, has proved costly without example. +During the whole period it has been necessary to spend in ever-increasing +ratio on the army and navy, and this expenditure, though emphatically not +the chief, has yet been a concomitant cause of financial trouble. The +point cannot be inquired into here of how far greater wisdom and higher +character in Italian public servants might have limited the evil and +reconciled progress with economy; but it may be said that if the path +entered upon by the man who took charge of the exchequer after Menabrea's +fall, Quintino Sella, had been rigorously followed by his successors, the +present situation would not be what it is.</p> + +<p>Giovanni Lanza assumed the premiership in the government in which Sella +was Minister of Finance. Both these politicians were Piedmontese, and both +were known as men of conspicuous integrity, but Lanza's rigid conservatism +made it seem unlikely that the Roman question would take a fresh turn +under his administration. In politics, however, the unlikely is what +generally happens; events are stronger than men.</p> + +<p>On the 8th of December the twenty-first Ecumenical Council assembled in +Rome. From the day of its meeting, in spite of the strenuous opposition of +its most learned and illustrious members, there was no <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[Pg.404]</a></span> more doubt +that the dogma under consideration would be voted by the partly astute and +partly complaisant majority than that it would have been rejected in the +twenty preceding Councils. On the 18th of July 1870, the Pope was +proclaimed Infallible.</p> + +<p>That was a moment of excitement such as has not often thrilled Europe, +but the cause was not the Infallibility of Pius IX. On the 16th, Napoleon +declared war with Prussia. War, like death, comes as a shock, however +plainly it has been foreseen; besides, it was only the well-informed who +knew how near the match had been to the powder-magazine for two years and +more. Whether the explosion, at the last, was timed by Napoleon or by +Bismarck is not of great importance; it could have been but little +delayed. Napoleon was beset alike by the revolutionary spectre and by the +gaunt King of Terrors; he knew the throw was desperate, but with the +gambler's instinct, which had always been so strong in him, he was +magnetised by it because it was desperate. Pitiful egotist though he was, +history may forgive him sooner than it forgives the selfish Chauvinism of +Thiers, who had been goading his countrymen to war ever since Sadowa, or +the insane bigotry of the party which, having triumphed over revolution at +Mentana, now sought to triumph over heresy in what the Empress called 'Ma +guerre.'</p> + +<p>Napoleon had the remaining sagacity to see the extreme danger of +leaving a few thousand men isolated in Rome at a time when, happen what +might, it would be impossible to reinforce them. Directly after declaring +war, notwithstanding the cries of the Ultramontanes, he decided on +recalling the French troops. He induced the Italian Government to resume +the obligations of the September Convention, by <span class="newpage"><a +name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[Pg.405]</a></span> which the inviolability +of the Papal frontier was guaranteed. Lanza is open to grave criticism for +entering into a contract which it was morally certain that he would not be +able to keep. Perhaps he hoped that Napoleon would himself release Italy +from her bond. But the 'Jamais' of Rouher stood in the way. Could the +Emperor, after such boasting, coolly throw the Pope overboard the first +time it suited his convenience? Moreover, his present Prime Minister, M. +Emile Olivier, when the question was put to him, did not hesitate to renew +the declaration that the Italians must not be allowed to go to Rome.</p> + +<p>Napoleon made some last frantic efforts to get Austria and Italy to +befriend him unconditionally. How far he knew the real state of his army +before he declared war may be doubtful, but that he possessed overwhelming +proof of it, even before the first defeats, cannot be doubted at all. His +heart was not so light as his Prime Minister's. At the end of July he sent +General Türr on a secret mission to try and obtain the help of +Austria and Italy. The Hungarian general wrote from Florence, that unless +something could be done to assure Italy that the national question would +be settled in accordance with the wishes of her people, the Italian +alliance was not possible. The Convention, he pointed out, was a bane +instead of a boon to Italy. This letter was answered by a telegram through +the French Ambassador at Vienna: 'Can't do anything for Rome; if Italy +will not march, let her stand still.</p> + +<p>As in the former negotiations, Austria took her stand on precisely the +same ground as Italy. And thus it was that France plunged into the +campaign of 1870 single-handed.</p> + +<p>After Wörth, and once more after Gravelotte, the endeavour to draw +<span class="newpage"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[Pg.406]</a></span> +Italy into the struggle was renewed. Napoleon was aware that Victor +Emmanuel was wildly anxious to come to the rescue, and on this personal +goodwill his last hope was built. Prince Napoleon was despatched from the +camp at Châlons to see what he could do. At this eleventh hour (19th +August) Napoleon was ready to yield about Rome. At the camp, the influence +which guided him in Paris was less felt, or it is probable that he would +not have yielded even now. Prince Napoleon carried a sheet of white paper +with the Emperor's signature at the foot. He showed it to Lanza when he +reached Florence, and told him to fill it up as he chose. Whatever he +asked for was already granted. A month before, such terms would have won +both Italy and Austria—not now.</p> + +<p>The Prince found his father-in-law eager to give the 50,000 men that +were asked for, but the ministers protested that the Italian army was +unprepared for war. Still, to satisfy the King, who signified his +irritation so clearly to Lanza that this good servant was on the point of +resigning, they agreed to submit the case to Austria; if Austria would +co-operate, they would re-consider their decision. Austria replied: 'Too +late.'</p> + +<p>When, in 1873, Victor Emmanuel paid a visit to Berlin, he caused some +sensation at a grand State banquet by saying to his host: 'But for these +gentlemen' (and he waved his hand towards the ministers who accompanied +him) 'I should have gone to war with you.' Courtiers did not know which +way to look, but the aged Emperor was not displeased by the soldierly +bluntness of the avowal.</p> + +<p>Prince Napoleon remained in Florence, throwing away his eloquence, till +the 2nd of September cut short the argument. When he had left his cousin, +the Emperor was resolved to fall back on Paris according to <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[Pg.407]</a></span> MacMahon's +plan, but the ministers and the Empress Regent forced him to his doom. On +the 2nd of September Sédan was lost; on the 4th the Empire +fell.</p> + +<p>'And to think,' exclaimed Victor Emmanuel when he heard the news, 'that +this good man was always wanting to give me advice!'</p> + +<p>From the date of the declaration of war, and still more since the +evacuation of Rome by the French troops (begun on the 29th of July, ended +on the 19th of August), Italy had been too deeply agitated for any sane +person to suppose that the prescriptive right of the nation to seize the +opportunity which offered itself of completing its unity could be resisted +by the artificial dyke of a compromise which made the Government the +instrument of France. Lanza was determined to maintain order; he had +Mazzini arrested at Palermo, and suppressed disorders where they occurred, +but the rising tide of the will of the people could not be suppressed, and +had the ministry resisted it, something more than the ministry would have +fallen.</p> + +<p>In justification of Lanza's slowness to move, and of the apparent, if +not real, unwillingness with which he took every forward step, it is +contended that more precipitate action would have caused what most people +will agree would have been a misfortune for Italy, the departure of the +Pope from Rome. It was only on the 20th of August that the Minister of +Foreign Affairs, Visconti-Venosta, sent a memorandum to the European +Powers which announced that the Government had decided on occupying Rome +at once. A week after, the fall of the Empire came as a godsend to the +ministry which had possibly hardly deserved such a stroke of luck. They +were no longer hampered by the September Convention, because the September +Convention was dead. This <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_408" id= +"Page_408">[Pg.408]</a></span> was amply admitted by Jules Favre, though +he declined to denounce the treaty formally; even a French Radical, in the +hour of setting up the Republic, was afraid to proclaim aloud that France +renounced all claim to interfere in her neighbour's concerns.</p> + +<p>Of the other Powers, Switzerland signified her approval, and the rest +engaged to abstain from any opposition.</p> + +<p>The King addressed a letter to the Pope, in which, with the affection +of a son and the faith of a Catholic, he appealed to his spirit of +benevolence and his Italian patriotism to speak the word of peace in the +midst of the storm of war that was distracting Europe, and to accept the +love and protection of the people of Italy in lieu of a sovereignty which +could not stand without the support of foreign arms. Pius IX. merely +answered by saying that the letter was not worthy of an affectionate son, +and that he prayed God to bestow upon His Majesty the mercy of which he +had much need. To the bearer of the royal appeal, Count Ponza di San +Martino, he said that he might yield to violence, but would never sanction +injustice.</p> + +<p>This was about the time that the Pope, on his side, wrote an appeal +not, be it observed, to any Catholic monarch, but to King William of +Prussia, who would certainly not have read unmoved the complaint of one +who, like himself, was crowned with white hairs, but Count Bismarck took +the precaution of causing the letter not to reach his master's hands till +the Italians were in Rome.</p> + +<p>The day following the Pope's interview with Count Ponza, the 11th of +September, the Italian troops received the order to enter the Papal +states. For several weeks five divisions under General Cadorna had been in +course of concentration along the frontier; this force now marched on +Rome. Bixio was sent to Civita Vecchia where resistance was <span class= +"newpage"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[Pg.409]</a></span> expected, +and had been ordered by Kanzler, but the native element prevailed over the +foreign in the garrison, and the Spanish commandant, Colonel Serra, +interpreting the wishes of the Roman troops, surrendered without firing a +shot.</p> + +<p>Great was the indignation of the French and Belgian Zouaves. They were +resolved that the same thing should not happen in Rome. That there was a +chance of avoiding bloodshed may be inferred, from Count Arnim's numerous +journeys between the Vatican and General Cadorna's headquarters outside +Porta Salara; the Prussian representative hoping till the last moment to +arrange matters in a pacific sense. Cardinal Antonelli is said to have +been nearly persuaded, when he received a message from Colonel Charette in +these terms: 'You had better go and say mass while we look after defending +you.' The war party so far carried the day that the Pope adhered to his +plan of 'sufficient resistance to show that he yielded only to force.'</p> + +<p>At half-past five on the morning of the 20th of September, all attempts +at conciliation having failed, the Italian attack was opened upon five +different points, Porta San Pancrazio, Porta San Giovanni Laterano, Porta +San Lorenzo, Porta del Popolo and Porta Pia. General Maze de la Roche's +division attacked the latter gate, and the wall near it, in which a breach +was rapidly effected by the steady fire of the Italian batteries, though +it was not till past eight o'clock that it seemed large enough to admit of +an assault. Then the 41st of the line, and the 12th and 34th Bersaglieri +were ordered up, and dashed into the breach with the cry of 'Savoia! +Savoia!' The challenge was returned by the Zouaves with their 'Vive Pie +Neuf.' They had been already ordered to desist, as the Pope's instructions +were clear, 'to stop when a breach was made;' but on the plea that the +order was sent <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410"> +[Pg.410]</a></span> to them verbally they continued firing. When the +written order came, they displayed a white handkerchief fastened to a +bayonet, and at this point the fight was over. Hundreds of Roman exiles +poured through the breach after the soldiers; 15,000 of them had arrived +or were arriving at the gates of the city.</p> + +<p>At the same time the white flag was hoisted on Porta Pia, but on the +advance of the 40th Regiment and a battalion of Bersaglieri, shots were +fired which killed and wounded several officers and men; when they saw +their companions falling, the troops could not be restrained from scaling +the barricade which had been formed to defend the gate, and surrounding +and capturing the Zouaves who were behind it. The whole Diplomatic Corps +now came out in full uniform to urge General Cadorna to effect the +occupation as quickly as possible, that order might be maintained. By +midday, the Italian troops had penetrated into most parts of the city left +of the Tiber; as yet there was no formal capitulation on the part of the +Zouaves, and their attitude was not exactly reassuring. This did not +prevent the population, both men and women, from filling the streets and +greeting the Italians with every sign of rejoicing. They cheered, they +wept, they kissed the national flag, and the cry of <i>Roma Capitale</i> +drowned all other cries, even as the fact it saluted closed the discords +and the factions of ages.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon all the Papal troops were persuaded to lay down their +arms, which, in the case of the foreigners, were given back to them. Next +day they were reviewed by General Cadorna. As the Italians presented arms +to the retiring host, some of the Antibes Legion shouted at them: 'We are +French, we shall meet you again.' The Roman troops were sent to their +homes; the foreigners conducted to the <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_411" id="Page_411">[Pg.411]</a></span> frontier, Charette and other +of the French officers went to the battlefields of their prostrate +country, and thus it came to pass that the Pope's defenders were found +fighting side by side with Garibaldi; they, indeed, only doing their +simple duty, but he, acting on an impulse of Quixotic generosity which was +repaid—the world knows how!</p> + +<p>Cadorna received three pressing requests from the Pope to occupy the +Leonine City, and the third he granted. The idea of leaving the part of +Rome on which the Vatican stands under the Pope's jurisdiction had been +long favoured by a certain class of politicians, and Lanza made a last +effort to give it effect by excluding the Leonine City from the plebiscite +which was ordered to take place in Rome and in the Roman province on the +2nd of October. It was in vain. The first voting urn to arrive at the +Capitol on the appointed day was a glass receptacle borne by a huge +Trasteverino, and preceded by a banner inscribed: 'Città Leonina +Si.' As the Government had not supplied the inhabitants with an official +urn, it occurred to them to provide themselves with an unofficial one in +which they duly deposited their votes. The Roman plebiscite yielded the +results of 133,681 affirmative and 1507 negative votes.</p> + +<p>In December the Italian Parliament met for the last time in the Hall of +the Five Hundred. 'Italy,' said the King in the speech from the throne, +'is free and united; it depends on us to make her great and happy.' Of +this last session at Florence the principal labour was the Act embodying +the Papal guarantees which was intended to safeguard the legitimate +independence and decorum of the Holy See on the lines formerly advocated +by Cavour. Neither extreme party was satisfied, but it seemed at first not +unlikely that the Pope would tacitly acquiesce in the arrangement. The +first monthly payment of the national <span class="newpage"><a name= +"Page_412" id="Page_412">[Pg.412]</a></span> dotation, calculated to +correspond with his civil list, was accepted. But though the influence of +Cardinal Antonelli and the Italian prelates had been sufficient to keep +the Pope in Rome, the influence of those who wished him to leave it was +strong enough to establish at the Vatican the intransigent policy which +has been pursued till now.</p> + +<p>During the flood of the Tiber which devastated the city that winter, +the King of Italy paid a first informal visit to his capital, accompanied +only by a few attendants, and bent on bringing help to the suffering +population. In July 1872, he made his solemn entry, and at the same time +the seat of Government was transferred to the Eternal City.</p> + +<hr /> +<p>Victor Emmanuel could say what few men have been able to say of so +large a promise: 'I have kept my word.' He gathered up the Italian flag +from the dust of Novara, and carried it to the Capitol. In spite of the +grandeur of republican tradition in Italy, and the lofty character of the +men who represented it during the struggle for unity, a study of these +events leaves on the mind the conviction that, at least in our time, the +country could neither have been freed from the stranger nor welded into a +single body-politic without a symbol which appealed to the imagination, +and a centre of gravity which kept the diverse elements together by giving +the whole its proper balance. The Liberating Prince whom Machiavelli +sought was found in the Savoyard King. 'Quali porte se gli serrerebbono? +Quali popoli gli negherebbono la obbedienza? Quale invidia se gli +opporrebbe? Quale Italiano gli negherebbe l'ossequio?' To fill the +appointed part Victor Emmanuel possessed the supreme qualification, which +was patriotism. Though he <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_413" id= +"Page_413">[Pg.413]</a></span> came of an ambitious race, not even his +enemies could with any seriousness bring to his charge personal ambition, +since every step which took him further from the Alps, his fathers' +cradle, involved a sacrifice of tastes and habits, and of most that made +life congenial. When his work was finished, though he was not old, he had +the presentiment that he should not long survive its completion. And so it +proved.</p> + +<p>In the first days of January 1878, the King was seized with one of +those attacks on the lungs which his vigorous constitution had hitherto +enabled him to throw off. But in Rome this kind of illness is more fatal +than elsewhere, and the doctors were soon obliged to tell him that there +was no hope. 'Are we come to that?' he asked; and then directed that the +chaplain should be summoned. There was no repetition of the scene at San +Rossore; the highest authority had already sanctioned the administration +of the Sacraments to the dying King, nay, it is said that the Pope's first +impulse was to be himself the bearer of them. At that hour the man got the +better of the priest; Francis drove out Dominic. The heart that had been +made to pity and the lips that had been formed to bless returned to their +natural functions. When the aged Pius heard that all was over, exclaimed: +'He died like a Christian, a Sovereign and an honest man (galantuomo).' +Very soon the Pope followed the King to the grave, and so, almost +together, these two historical figures disappear.</p> + +<p>Six years before, solitary and unsatisfied, Mazzini died at Pisa, his +heart gnawed with the desire of the extreme, as the hearts have been of +all those who aspired less to change what men do, or even what they +believe, than what they are. More deep than political regrets was the pain +with which he watched the absorption of human energies, in the <span +class="newpage"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[Pg.414]</a></span> race +for wealth, for ease, for material happiness; he discerned that if the +egotism of capital led to oppression, the egotism of labour would lead to +anarchy. To the end he preached the moral law of which he had been the +apostle through life. His last message to his countrymen, written when the +pen was falling from his hand, was a warning to Italian workingmen to +beware of the false gods of the new socialism. When others saw darkness he +saw light; now, Cassandra-like, he saw darkness when others saw light; yet +he did not doubt the ultimate triumph of the light, but he no longer +thought that his eyes would see it, and he was glad to close them.</p> + +<p>Less sad, notwithstanding his physical martyrdom, were Garibaldi's last +years. Italy showed him an unforgetting love; when he came to the +continent, the same multitudes waited for him as of old, but instead of +cheers there was a not less impressive silence now, lest the invalid +should be disturbed. Soon after the transfer of the capital he went to +Rome to speak in favour of the works by which it was proposed to control +the inundations of the Tiber, and it was curious to hear it said on all +sides that, of course, the Tiber works must be taken in hand as Garibaldi +wished it. Pius IX. summed up the situation wittily in the remark: 'Lately +we were two here; now we are three.' The old hero invoked the day when +bayonets might be turned into pruning-hooks, but he by no means thought +that it had arrived, and in the meanwhile he urged the Italians to look to +their defences, and above all, 'to be strong on the sea, like England.' In +the matter of government he remained the impenitent advocate of the rule +of one honest man—call him Dictator or what you please, so he be +one! Garibaldi died at Caprera on the 2nd of June 1882. The play was +ended, the actors <span class="newpage"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415"> +[Pg.415]</a></span> vanished:</p> + +<pre> + [Greek: Dote kroton, kai pantes hymeis meta charas ktupêsate.] +</pre> + +<p>A new epoch has begun which need not detain the chronicler of Italian +Liberation. The prose of possession succeeds the poetry of desire. +Nothing, however, can lessen the greatness of the achievement. With regard +to the future, it may be allowable to recall the superstition which, like +so many other seemingly meaningless beliefs, becomes full of meaning when +read according to the spirit: that a house stands long if its foundations +be watered with the blood of sacrifice. No work of man was ever watered +with a purer blood than the restoration of Italy to the ranks of living +nations. And the last word of this book shall be Hope.</p> + +<h3>THE END.</h3> + +<hr /> +<h5>COLSTON AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.</h5> + +<h2>FOOTNOTES:</h2> + +<p><a name="Footnote_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor1">[1]</a></p> + +<div class="note"> +<p>See <i>Memoirs of Lord Castlereagh</i>, 1848, Vol. i. p. 34.</p> +</div> + +<p><a name="Footnote_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor2">[2]</a></p> + +<div class="note"> +<p>It is now Carlyle's turn to be aspersed. Let Mazzini speak for him from +the grave: 'I do not know if I told you,' he wrote to the Marchesa +Eleonora Curlo Ruffini, in a letter published a few months ago, 'that I +have met upon my path, deserted enough, I hope, by choice, a Scotchman of +mind and things, the first person here, up till now, with whom I +sympathise and who sympathises with me. We differ in nearly all opinions, +but his are so sincere and disinterested that I respect them. He is good, +good, good; he has been, and I think he is still, unhappy in spite of the +fame which surrounds him; he has a wife with talent and feeling; always +ailing; no children. They live out of town, and I go to see them every now +and then. They have no insular or other prejudices that jar upon me. I +have grown more intimate with this man in consequence, I think, of an +article I wrote here, after knowing him, against an historical work of +his; perhaps, accustomed as he is to common-place praise, to which he is +indifferent, my frankness pleased him. For the rest I shall see him +rarely, and I can only give him esteem and the warmest sympathy—not +friendship, which I can henceforth give to no one.' (22nd March 1840.)</p> +</div> + +<p><a name="Footnote_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor3">[3]</a></p> + +<div class="note"> +<p>On the production of Verdi's opera, <i>I Lombardi alla prima +Crociata</i>, the Austrian Archbishop of Milan wished the Commissary of +Police to prohibit the performance because it treated of sacred subjects. +When it was recognised as one of the accelerating causes of the +revolution, he drily remarked that they would have done better to take his +advice. The grand chorus, 'O Signore dal tetto natiò,' in which the +censor had only seen a pious chant, became the morning-song of national +resurrection.</p> +</div> + +<p><a name="Footnote_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor4">[4]</a></p> + +<div class="note"> +<p>Long live who has money and who has none.'</p> +</div> + +<p><a name="Footnote_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor5">[5]</a></p> + +<div class="note"> +<p>Of Garibaldi's foreign officers, Colonel (afterwards General) Dunne was +one of the most marked personalities. When quite a young man he sold his +commission in the English army and took to fighting under many flags. In +the Crimean War he commanded a company of Bashi Bazouks. He had in him +more than a dash of Gordon, of Burton, and like them he could do what he +chose with untamed natures. If he was not obeyed fast enough he adopted +rather strong measures. A Sicilian company, under fire for the first time, +failed to show sufficient promptitude in executing an order to escalade a +wall and jump into a garden, from which the enemy was keeping up a brisk +fire. Dunne caught up half-a-dozen of the men into his saddle and pitched +them bodily over the wall. The effect was singular, for seeing the +Garibaldians falling from the clouds, the Neapolitans took to their heels, +exclaiming: 'They can fly! they can fly!' Generally, however, he infused +his own courage into all who served under him with a touch, perhaps, of +his own fatalistic mysticism. It was a strange experience to hear this +courteous, mild-mannered gentleman lament that Rome had not been burnt +down; the disappearance of the scene of so many awful crimes he regarded +necessary as a moral sanitary measure.</p> +</div> + +<div class="note"> +<p>Of Garibaldi's foreign officers, Colonel (afterwards General) Dunne was +one of the most marked personalities. When quite a young man he sold his +commission in the English army and took to fighting under many flags. In +the Crimean War he commanded a company of Bashi Bazouks. He had in him +more than a dash of Gordon, of Burton, and like them he could do what he +chose with untamed natures. If he was not obeyed fast enough he adopted +rather strong measures. A Sicilian company, under fire for the first time, +failed to show sufficient promptitude in executing an order to escalade a +wall and jump into a garden, from which the enemy was keeping up a brisk +fire. Dunne caught up half-a-dozen of the men into his saddle and pitched +them bodily over the wall. The effect was singular, for seeing the +Garibaldians falling from the clouds, the Neapolitans took to their heels, +exclaiming: 'They can fly! they can fly!' Generally, however, he infused +his own courage into all who served under him with a touch, perhaps, of +his own fatalistic mysticism. It was a strange experience to hear this +courteous, mild-mannered gentleman lament that Rome had not been burnt +down; the disappearance of the scene of so many awful crimes he regarded +necessary as a moral sanitary measure.</p> +</div> + +<br /> +<br /> + + +<h3>INDEX</h3> + +<ul> +<li>Albrecht, Archduke, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>, <a href="#Page_369"> +369</a>.</li> + +<li>Alessandria, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> + +<li>Alfieri, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> + +<li>Alemann, General, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.</li> + +<li>Amedeo, Prince, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_344"> +344</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>.</li> + +<li>Amadeus, Victor, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li>Amadeus with the Tail, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li>Ampère, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + +<li>Andreoli, Giuseppe, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + +<li>Antonelli, Cardinal, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_130"> +130</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a +href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href= +"#Page_409">409</a>.</li> + +<li>Anzani, Francesco, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li>Appel, General, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + +<li>Arnim, Count, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</li> + +<li>Aspre, d', General, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_139"> +139</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + +<li>Aspromonte, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, +<a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li> + +<li>Austerlitz, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> + +<li>Azeglio, Massimo d', <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74"> +74</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href= +"#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_206"> +206</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Bandiera, <a href="#Page_67">67-68</a>.</li> + +<li>Bassi, Ugo, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_163"> +163</a>.</li> + +<li>Bastide, Jules, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> + +<li>Bava, General, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_114"> +114</a>.</li> + +<li>Bazaine, Marshal, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> + +<li>Beauharnais, Eugène, <a href="#Page_6">6-9</a>.</li> + +<li>Beauregard, Costa de, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.</li> + +<li>Bellegarde, Marshal, <a href="#Page_9">9-11</a>.</li> + +<li>Benedek, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a +href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li>Bentinck, Lord William, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_11"> +11</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> + +<li>Bentivegna, Count, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> + +<li>Berlin, Congress of, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</li> + +<li>Bertani, Dr, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, +<a href="#Page_309">309</a>.</li> + +<li>Beust, Count, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>.</li> + +<li>Bianchi, B. dei, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.</li> + +<li>Bismarck, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_397">397-8</a>, +<a href="#Page_408">408</a>.</li> + +<li>Bixio, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a +href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href= +"#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a href="#Page_408"> +408</a>.</li> + +<li>Boccheciampi, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> + +<li>Borjès, Josè, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.</li> + +<li>Brescia, Revolution at, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href= +"#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</li> + +<li>Briganti, General, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_302"> +302</a>.</li> + +<li>Brofferio, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li> + +<li>Bronzetta, Pilade, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_320"> +320</a>.</li> + +<li>Bubna, Count, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> + +<li>Brunetti, Angelo, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li>Buol, Count, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + +<li>Buonaparte, Joseph, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</li> + +<li>Buonaparte, Lucien, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Cadorna, Gen., <a href="#Page_408">408-9</a>, <a href="#Page_410"> +410-11</a>.</li> + +<li>Caiazzo, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>.</li> + +<li>Cairoli, Benedetto, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_380"> +380</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</li> + +<li>Calabria helps Garibaldi, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</li> + +<li>Calandrelli, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li> + +<li>Calatafimi, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li> + +<li>Calderai del Contrapeso, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + +<li>Campo Formio, Treaty of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> + +<li>Canrobert, General, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> + +<li>Capponi, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> + +<li>Caprera, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a +href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href= +"#Page_385">385</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</li> + +<li>Capua, War around, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_318"> +318</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">capitulation, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.</li> + +<li>Carignano, Prince of, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32"> +32</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> + +<li>Carignano. Eugene de, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>.</li> + +<li>Carlyle, Thomas, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> + +<li>Caroline, Queen, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> + +<li>Casati, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li>Caserta, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_318"> +318</a>.</li> + +<li>Carusso, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.</li> + +<li>Castelfidardo, <a href="#Page_337"> +337</a>.</li> + +<li>Castelnuovo, burning of village, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li>Castel Sant Elmo, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_307"> +307</a>.</li> + +<li>Castiglione, Count, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li> + +<li>Castlereagh, Lord, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12"> +12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> + +<li>Cattaneo, ; party of,<a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li>Cavour, Count, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">becomes minister, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">resolves Piedmont shall join Allies in Crimean War, <a +href="#Page_202">202</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">visits England, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">meets Napoleon at Plombières, <a href= +"#Page_247">247</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">resigns office, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">recalled, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">resolves to invade Papal States, <a href="#Page_310"> +310</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Garibaldi's veterans, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Rome to be capital, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">death, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.</li> + +<li>Centurioni, Society of, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> + +<li>Charette, General, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</li> + +<li>Charles III, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_236"> +236</a>.</li> + +<li>Charles Albert, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, +<a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_38"> +38</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">accession <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Re Tentenna, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">promulgates Charter, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">retreat to Milan, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">abdicates, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">burial, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li>Charles Emmanuel. <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_30"> +30</a>.</li> + +<li>Charles Felix, Duke of Genoa, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href= +"#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_56"> +56</a>.</li> + +<li>Charles Ludovico, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + +<li>Chiavone, General, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.</li> + +<li>Chretien, General, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_286"> +286</a>.</li> + +<li>Chrzanowski, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_140"> +140</a>.</li> + +<li>Cialdini, General, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_328"> +328</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a +href="#Page_366">366</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>, <a href= +"#Page_337">337</a>.</li> + +<li>Cipriani, L.<a href="#Page_225">255</a>.</li> + +<li>Civita Vecchia, the French at, <a href="#Page_391">391-408</a>.</li> + +<li>Clam Gallas, Count, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</li> + +<li>Clarendon, Lord, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_206"> +206</a>.</li> + +<li>Clary, General, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>.</li> + +<li>Clotilde, Princess, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_218"> +218</a>.</li> + +<li>Colonna, General, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</li> + +<li>Commacchio, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> + +<li>Confalonieri, Count, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_41"> +41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href= +"#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> + +<li>Conneau, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li> + +<li>Corsini, Prince, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_135"> +135</a>.</li> + +<li>Corti, Count, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</li> + +<li>Cosenz, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a +href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + +<li>Cowley, Lord, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li> + +<li>Crispi, Francesco, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_292"> +292</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>.</li> + +<li>Cristina, Princess, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</li> + +<li>Crocco, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.</li> + +<li>Custozza, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_370"> +370</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Dalmatia, sold with Venice, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>.</li> + +<li>Dante, <a href="#Page_1">1-3</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a +href="#Page_363">363</a>.</li> + +<li>De Castillia, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + +<li>Del Bosco, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_291"> +291</a>.</li> + +<li>Depretis, Agostino, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>.</li> + +<li>D'Este, Francis. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_51"> +51</a>.</li> + +<li>Dolfi, Giuseppe, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li> + +<li>Drouyn de Lhuys, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li> + +<li>Dunne, Colonel, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_319"> +319</a>.</li> + +<li>Durando, General. <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_107"> +107</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Eboli. <a href="#Page_303">303</a>.</li> + +<li>Elliot, Mr, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>.</li> + +<li>Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href= +"#Page_266">266</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Falloux, de, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> + +<li>Fanti, General, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_312"> +312</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>.</li> + +<li>Farini, L.C., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, +<a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href= +"#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_339"> +339</a>.</li> + +<li>Faro, Cape of, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_298"> +298</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</li> + +<li>Favre, Jules. <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_397"> +397</a>.</li> + +<li>Ferdinand II., <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, +<a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_102"> +102</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + +<li>Ferdinand III., <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, +<a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> + +<li>Ferdinand, Emperor of Austria, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> + +<li>Ferrara, Austrians in, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> + +<li>Ferretti, Cardinal, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li>Fleury, General, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li> + +<li>Florence, capital of Italy, <a href="#Page_352">352-411</a>.</li> + +<li>Forbes, Commander, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_305"> +305</a>.</li> + +<li>Foscolo, Ugo, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18"> +18</a>.</li> + +<li>Fra Giacomo. <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_339"> +339</a>.</li> + +<li>Francis I., <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> + +<li>Francis II., <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, +<a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href= +"#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_330"> +330</a>.</li> + +<li>Francis Joseph, Emperor, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href= +"#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_240"> +240</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Gaeta, Fall of, <a href="#Page_317">317-326</a>.</li> + +<li>Gamba, Pietro, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_50"> +50</a>.</li> + +<li>Gambetta, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</li> + +<li>Gaminara, Emmanuele, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> + +<li>Garibaldi, Giuseppe, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_120"> +120</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">declared enemy of the State, <a href="#Page_121"> +121</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">in South America, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">marries Anita, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">in Rome, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">death of Anita, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">leaves Caprera, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href= +"#Page_256">256-263</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Sicilian expedition, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">march on Naples, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Battle of Solferino, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">of Garigliano, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">returns to Caprera, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a +href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">wounded, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">arrested, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">in Rome, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">defeat at Mentana, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">death, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</li> + +<li>Garibaldi, Menotti, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_280"> +280</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a +href="#Page_392">392</a>.</li> + +<li>Garigliano, Battle of, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.</li> + +<li>Genoa, ceded to Sardinia, <a href="#Page_13">13-15</a>.</li> + +<li>Genoa, Charles Felix, Duke of, <a href="#Page_30">30-32</a>.</li> + +<li>Ghio, General, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_303"> +303</a>.</li> + +<li>Giacinta di Collegno, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> + +<li>Gioberti, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + +<li>Gladstone, W.E., <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li>Goito, Battle of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li>Gravelotte, Battle of, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</li> + +<li>Gregory XVI., <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a +href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li>Guerrazzi, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136"> +136</a>.</li> + +<li>Gyulai, Count, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_230"> +230</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Haynau, General, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_162"> +162</a>.</li> + +<li>Hess, General, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_230"> +230</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> + +<li>Hilliers, Baraguay d' , <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> + +<li>Hoche, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> + +<li>Hortense, Queen, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> + +<li>Humbert of the White Hands, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Immaculate Conception, Doctrine of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Jesuits, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a +href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Kanzler, General, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</li> + +<li>Kellersperg, Baron von, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li> + +<li>Klapka, General, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></li> + +<li>Kohlen-Brenners, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + +<li>Kossuth, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_253"> +253</a>.</li> + +<li>Kuhn, General, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Laderchi, Count, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + +<li>La Farina, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>.</li> + +<li>La Gala, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.</li> + +<li>Lamartine, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li>La Marmora, General, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_171"> +171</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a +href="#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="#Page_357">348</a>, <a href= +"#Page_359">348</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361-366</a></li> + +<li>Lamoricière, General, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href= +"#Page_313">313</a>.</li> + +<li>Lannes, Marshal, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li>Lanza, General, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_283"> +283</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a +href="#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</li> + +<li>Le Boeuf, General, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.</li> + +<li>Leo XII., <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li>Leopardi, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> + +<li>Leopold II., <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, +<a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</li> + +<li>Lesseps, Ferdinand, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_154"> +154</a>.</li> + +<li>Letizia, General, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_286"> +286</a>.</li> + +<li>Liborio Romano, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</li> + +<li>Lincoln, President, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</li> + +<li>Lissa, Battle of, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</li> + +<li>Lodi, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> + +<li>Lombardy, trials in, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Revolution, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href= +"#Page_162">162</a>.</li> + +<li>Louis Philippe, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + +<li>Lucca, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Machiavelli, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a +href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</li> + +<li>MacMahon, Marshal, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_233"> +233</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</li> + +<li>Magenta, Battle of, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_234"> +234</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + +<li>Malghella, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + +<li>Malmesbury, Lord, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + +<li>Mamelli, Goffredo, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_155"> +155</a>.</li> + +<li>Manin, Daniel, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, +<a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href= +"#Page_203">203</a>.</li> + +<li>Mantua, Prince Eugene in, <a href="#Page_8">8-10</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">gallant defence, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li>Manzoni, Alessandro, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li>Margaret, Queen, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_401"> +401</a>.</li> + +<li>Maria Adelaide, Queen, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li>Maria Teresa, Queen, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + +<li>Marie Louise, Empress, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_31"> +31</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">death, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + +<li>Marie Sofia, Princess, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + +<li>Mamiani, Terenzio, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_131"> +131</a>.</li> + +<li>Maroncelli, Pietro, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> + +<li>Marryat, Captain, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>.</li> + +<li>Marsala, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a +href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> + +<li>Martinengo, Count, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> + +<li>Mary, Princess, of Cambridge, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li>Mastai Ferretti, Cardinal, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li>Matilda, Archduchess, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>.</li> + +<li>Maximilian, Archduke, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> + +<li>Mazzini, Giuseppe, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_57"> +57</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">early life, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">becomes a Carbonaro, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Association of Young Italy, <a href="#Page_63"> +63</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">takes refuge in England, <a href="#Page_66"> +66</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">writes 'Duties of Man,'<a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">meets Garibaldi, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">at Rome, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href= +"#Page_157">157</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">letters from Orsini, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">protests against Napoleonic war, <a href="#Page_220"> +220</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">in Naples, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href= +"#Page_354">354-357</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">corresponds with the king, <a href="#Page_398"> +398</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">arrested, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">death, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</li> + +<li>Medici, Giacomo, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_125"> +125</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a +href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href= +"#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_318"> +318</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + +<li>Melegnano, Battle of, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li> + +<li>Menabrea, General, <a href="#Page_388">388-395</a>, <a href= +"#Page_400">400-402</a>.</li> + +<li>Menechini, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> + +<li>Menotti, Ciro, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, +<a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> + +<li>Mentana, Battle of, <a href="#Page_392">392-397</a>, <a href= +"#Page_404">404</a>.</li> + +<li>Merode, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.</li> + +<li>Messina, held by Royal troops, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">evacuated, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>.</li> + +<li>Metternich, Prince, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_32"> +32</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href= +"#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, +<a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>.</li> + +<li>Mezzacapo, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + +<li>Micca, Pietro, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + +<li>Milan, revolt, <a href="#Page_8">8-10</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">fighting in the city, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Austrians depart, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li> + +<li>Milano, Ageslao, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + +<li>Milazzo, Battle of, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>.</li> + +<li>Mincio, Battle of. <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_241"> +241</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>, <a +href="#Page_369">369</a>.</li> + +<li>Minghetti, Marco, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_129"> +129</a>.</li> + +<li>Minto, Lord, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_116"> +116</a>.</li> + +<li>Misilmeri, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>.</li> + +<li>Misley, Dr, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> + +<li>Missori, Major. <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.</li> + +<li>Modena, revolution in, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + +<li>Monreale, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li> + +<li>Montalembert, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> + +<li>Montanelli, Giuseppe, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href= +"#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> + +<li>Monti, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> + +<li>Montebello, Battle of, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li>Morelli. <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li>Moro, Domenico, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> + +<li>Moscow, retreat from, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> + +<li>Mundy, Admiral, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_283"> +283</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a +href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href= +"#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.</li> + +<li>Murat, Joachim, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a +href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_23"> +23</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Napier, Lord, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_92"> +92</a>.</li> + +<li>Naples, <a href="#Page_25">25-29</a>, <a href="#Page_101"> +101</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">massacre, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">misrule in, <a href="#Page_186">186-187</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Garibaldi's march on, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">King enters, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> + +<li>Napoleon Buonaparte, <a href="#Page_2">2-10</a>, <a href="#Page_240"> +240</a>.</li> + +<li>Napoleon III., <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">elected President of French Republic, <a href= +"#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">letter to Ney, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">attempt on his life, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">compact at Plombières, <a href="#Page_217"> +217</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">demands Nice and Savoy, <a href="#Page_260"> +260-262</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">era of peace, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</li> + +<li>Napoleon, Prince, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_229"> +229</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>, <a +href="#Page_406">406</a>.</li> + +<li>Nélaton, Dr, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>.</li> + +<li>Ney, Edgar, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> + +<li>Nice, cession of. <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_224"> +224</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</li> + +<li>Nicotera, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_297"> +297</a>.</li> + +<li>Niel, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li> + +<li>Ninco-Nanco, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.</li> + +<li>Normanby, Lord, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_228"> +228</a>.</li> + +<li>Novara, <a href="#Page_37">37-39</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">battle of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href= +"#Page_412">412</a>.</li> + +<li>Nugent, General, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_112"> +112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>O'Donnel, Count, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> + +<li>Oliphant, Laurence, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_266"> +266</a>.</li> + +<li>Olivier, Emile, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</li> + +<li>Orsini, Colonel, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>.</li> + +<li>Orsini, Felice, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_216"> +216</a>.</li> + +<li>Oudinot, General, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_156"> +156</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Palermo, strange discovery, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Sicilian expedition, <a href="#Page_271"> +271-290</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">insurrection, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.</li> + +<li>Pallavicini, Giorgio, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_137"> +137</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a +href="#Page_344"></a>, <a href="#Page_348"></a>, <a href="#Page_360"> +360</a>.</li> + +<li>Palma, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li> + +<li>Palmerston, Lord, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_111"> +111</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, 1<a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href= +"#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_355"> +355</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</li> + +<li>Panizzi, Anthony, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> + +<li>Paris, Treaty of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Congress of, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> + +<li>Parma, <a href="#Page_12">12-16</a>.</li> + +<li>Passaglia, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</li> + +<li>Pastrengo, Battle of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> + +<li>Peard, Colonel, <a href="#Page_303">303-306</a>.</li> + +<li>Pellico, Silvio, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_43"> +43</a>.</li> + +<li>Pepe, Guglielmo, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_111"> +111</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + +<li>Périer, Casimir, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + +<li>Persano, Admiral, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_288"> +288</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>, <a +href="#Page_377">377</a>.</li> + +<li>Peschiera, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, +<a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li> + +<li>Petitti. General, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>.</li> + +<li>Petre, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li>Piacenza, garrisoned by Austrians, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> + +<li>Piedmont, Revolution in, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">struggle within the Church, <a href="#Page_189"> +189-192</a>.</li> + +<li>Pietri, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li> + +<li>Pilone, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.</li> + +<li>Pilo, Rosalino, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_278"> +278</a>.</li> + +<li>Pisacane, Carlo, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> + +<li>Pius VII., <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li>Pius VIII., <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li>Pius IX., <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">election, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href= +"#Page_93">93</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">grants constitution, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">encyclical letter, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">flight to Gaeta, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">calls foreign aid to support temporal power, <a href= +"#Page_132">132</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">thanksgiving, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href= +"#Page_259">259</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">character, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">calls to arms, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href= +"#Page_408">408</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">death, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</li> + +<li>Plombières, meeting between Napoleon and Cavour <a href= +"#Page_217">217</a>.</li> + +<li>Poerio, Carlo, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, +<a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> + +<li>Pralormo, Count, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + +<li>Prina, General, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> + +<li>Prince Consort, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_258"> +258</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Radetsky, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a +href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href= +"#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_195"> +195</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li> + +<li>Raimondi, Captain, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + +<li>Rattazzi, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a +href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href= +"#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_342"> +342</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>, <a +href="#Page_384">384</a>.</li> + +<li>Reggio, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</li> + +<li>Renzi, Pietro, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li>Ricasoli, Baron, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_235"> +235</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a +href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href= +"#Page_361">361</a>.</li> + +<li>Rienzi, Cola di, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> + +<li>Rimini, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> + +<li>Risorgimento, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li> + +<li>Rolandis, de, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + +<li>Romagna, Carbonarism in the, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href= +"#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li>Rome, Entry of French, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">French depart from, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">declared capital, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</li> + +<li>Romeo, Domenico, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li>Rossaroll, General, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li>Rossetti, Gabriele, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li>Rossi, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + +<li>Rouher, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</li> + +<li>Ruffini, Jacobo, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + +<li>Ruskin, J., <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> + +<li>Russell, Lord John, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_268"> +268</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>. <a href="#Page_327">327</a>.</li> + +<li>Russell, Odo, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Sadowa, Battle of, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li> + +<li>Salemi, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>.</li> + +<li>Salerno, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</li> + +<li>San Bon, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</li> + +<li>Sanfedesti, Secret Society of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li>San Marino, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li>San Martino, Count, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>.</li> + +<li>Santa Rosa, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li>Santorre di Santa Rosa, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> + +<li>Sardinia—War with Austria, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li>Savoy, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">cession of, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href= +"#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259"> +259</a>, <a href="#Page_262"></a>.</li> + +<li>Schmidt, Colonel, <a href="#Page_237"></a>.</li> + +<li>Schwarzenberg, Prince, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href= +"#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_244"> +244</a>.</li> + +<li>Sella, Quintino, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.</li> + +<li>Settembrini, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> + +<li>Sicily—Insurrection, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Sicilian expedition, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> + +<li>Silvati, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li>Sirtori, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_360"> +360</a>.</li> + +<li>Speri, Tito, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> + +<li>Spielberg, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> + +<li>Solaro della Margherita, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + +<li>Solferino, Battle of, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href= +"#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li>Superga, the, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Talleyrand, Prince, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_260"> +260</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> + +<li>Tardio, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.</li> + +<li>Tchernaja, Battle of, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + +<li>Tegethoff, Admiral, <a href="#Page_373">373-377</a>.</li> + +<li>Theobald de Brie, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + +<li>Theodolinda, Crown of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</li> + +<li>Thiers, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>, <a +href="#Page_404">404</a>.</li> + +<li>Thurn, General, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + +<li>Ticino, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a +href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href= +"#Page_233">233</a>.</li> + +<li>Tolentino, Battle of, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> + +<li>Torelli, Prince, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> + +<li>Tortona, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> + +<li>Trazégnies, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.</li> + +<li>Trentino, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a +href="#Page_371">371</a>.</li> + +<li>Trescorre, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>, <a href="#Page_343"> +343</a>.</li> + +<li>Türr, General, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_405"> +405</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Ulloa, General, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.</li> + +<li>Ultramontanes, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_259"> +259</a>, <a href="#Page_397">379</a>, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>.</li> + +<li>Umberto, Prince, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_344"> +344</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a +href="#Page_401">401</a>.</li> + +<li>Urban, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Vacca, Admiral, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</li> + +<li>Vaillant, General, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_261"> +261</a>.</li> + +<li>Vecchj, Colonel, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>.</li> + +<li>Venice, <a href="#Page_3">3-5</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">political trials in, <a href="#Page_40">40-44</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Austrians expelled, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">re-occupied by Austria, <a href="#Page_160"> +160-163</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a +href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">united to Italy, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.</li> + +<li>Venosta, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>, <a +href="#Page_407">407</a>.</li> + +<li>Verona, Congress of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + +<li>Victor Amadeus, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li>Victor Emmanuel I.,</li> + +<li class="indent">at Turin, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">King of Sardinia, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">abdicates, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">recommends mercy, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> + +<li>Victor Emmanuel II.;</li> + +<li class="indent">accession, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">unpopularity, <a href="#Page_165">165-166</a></li> + +<li class="indent">visits English and French courts, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">invites Garibaldi to join his army, <a href= +"#Page_221">221</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">enters Milan, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">courage at Soferino,<a href="#Page_245">245</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">peace with Austria, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">letter to Napoleon, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">hailed King of Italy, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">entry into Naples, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">in Venice, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">illness, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">visit to Berlin, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">death, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</li> + +<li>Victoria, Queen, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>.</li> + +<li>Vienna, Congress of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_15"> +15</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Treaty of, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.</li> + +<li>Vimercati, Count, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169"> +169</a>.</li> + +<li>Volturno, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a +href="#Page_315">315</a>;</li> + +<li class="indent">Battle of, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Waddington, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</li> + +<li>Welden, General, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + +<li>Wellesley, Admiral, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> + +<li>Wellington, Duke of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + +<li>William I., Emperor, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_408"> +408</a>.</li> + +<li>Wilmot, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_284"> +284</a>.</li> + +<li>Wörth, Battle of, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</li> + +<li>Wratislaw, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Young Italy, Association of, founded by Mazzini, <a href="#Page_63"> +63</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul> +<li>Zamboni, Luigi, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + +<li>Zedwitz, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_244"> +244</a>,</li> + +<li>Zobel, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> + +<li>Zorzi, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + +<li>Zucchi, General, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> + +<li>Zurich,</li> + +<li class="indent">(Conference of), <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> + +<li class="indent">(Treaty of), <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> +</ul> +</div> +<p> </p> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14078 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/14078-h/images/image1.jpg b/14078-h/images/image1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5b42d78 --- /dev/null +++ b/14078-h/images/image1.jpg diff --git a/14078-h/images/image2.jpg 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