initial commit of ebook 38486HEADmain

1 files changed, 9846 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/38486-8.txt b/38486-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d397af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/38486-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9846 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rule of the Monk, by Giuseppe Garibaldi
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Rule of the Monk
+       or, Rome in the Nineteenth Century
+
+Author: Giuseppe Garibaldi
+
+Release Date: January 3, 2012 [EBook #38486]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RULE OF THE MONK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+RULE OF THE MONK
+
+OR, ROME IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
+
+By General Giuseppe Garibaldi
+
+1870.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+The renowned writer of Caesar's "Commentaries" did not think it
+necessary to furnish a preface for those notable compositions, and
+nobody has ever yet attempted to supply the deficiency--if it be one. In
+truth, the custom is altogether of modern times. The ancient heroes
+who became authors and wrote a book, left their work to speak for
+itself--"to sink or swim," we had almost said, but that is not exactly
+the case. Cæsar carried his "Commentaries" between his teeth when he
+swam ashore from the sinking galley at Alexandria, but it never occurred
+to him to supply posterity with a prefatory flourish. He begins those
+famous chapters with a soldierly abruptness and brevity--"Omnia Gallia
+in très partes" etc. The world has been contented to begin there also
+for the last two thousand years; and the fact is a great argument
+against prefaces--especially since, as a rule, no one ever reads them
+till the book itself has been perused.
+
+The great soldier who has here turned author, entering the literary
+arena as a novelist, has also given his English translators no preface.
+But our custom demands one, and the nature of the present work requires
+that a few words should be written explanatory of the original purpose
+and character of the Italian MS. from which the subjoined pages are
+transcribed. It would be unfair to Garibaldi if the extraordinary
+vivacity and grace of his native style should be thought to be here
+accurately represented. The renowned champion of freedom possesses an
+eloquence as peculiar and real as his military genius, with a gift of
+graphic description and creative fancy which are but very imperfectly
+presented in this version of his tale, partly from the particular
+circumstances under which the version was prepared, and partly from
+the impossibility of rendering into English those subtle touches and
+personal traits which really make a book, as lines and light shadows
+make a countenance. Moreover, the Italian MS. itself, written in the
+autograph of the General, was compiled as the solace of heavy hours at
+Varignano, where the King of Italy, who owed to Garibaldi's sword the
+splendid present of the Two Sicilies, was repaying that magnificent
+dotation with a shameful imprisonment. The time will come when these
+pages--in their original, at least--will be numbered among the proofs of
+the poet's statement that--
+
+     "Stone walls do not a prison make,
+     Nor iron bars a cage:
+     Minds innocent and quiet take
+     These for a hermitage."
+
+If there be many passages in the narrative where the signs are strong
+that "the iron has entered into the soul," there are also a hundred
+where the spirit of the good and brave chieftain goes forth from his
+insulting incarceration to revel in scenes of natural beauty, to recall
+incidents of simple human love and kindness, to dwell upon heroic
+memories, and to aspire towards glorious developments of humanity made
+free, like the apostle's footsteps when the angel of the Lord struck off
+his fetters, and he passed forth through the self-opened portals of his
+prison.
+
+It would be manifestly unfair, nevertheless, to contrast a work
+written under such conditions with those elaborate specimens of modern
+novel-writing with which our libraries abound. Probably, had General
+Garibaldi ever read these productions, he would have declined to accept
+them as a model. He appears to have taken up here the form of the
+"novella," which belongs by right of prescription to his language and
+his country, simply as a convenient way of imparting to his readers and
+to posterity the real condition and inner life of Rome during these last
+few eventful years, when the evil power of the Papacy has been declining
+to its fall. Whereas, therefore, most novels consist of fiction founded
+upon fact, this one may be defined rather as fact founded upon
+fiction, in the sense that the form alone and the cast of the story is
+fanciful--the rest being all pure truth lightly disguised. Garibaldi
+has here recited, with nothing more than a thin veil of incognito thrown
+over those names which it would have been painful or perilous to make
+known, that of which he himself has been cognizant as matters of fact
+in the wicked city of the priests, where the power which has usurped the
+gentle name of Christ blasphemes Him with greater audacity of word and
+act as the hour of judgment approaches. Herein the reader may see what
+goes forward in the demure palaces of the princes of the Church, from
+which the "Vicegerents of Heaven" are elected. Herein he may comprehend
+what kind of a system it is which French bayonets still defend--what the
+private life is of those who denounce humanity and anathematize science,
+and why Rome appears content with the government of Jesuits, and the
+liberty of hearing the Pope's mezzo-sopranos at the Sistine Chapel.
+He who has composed this narrative, at once so idyllic in its
+pastoral scenes--so tender and poetic in its domestic passages--so
+Metastasio-like in some of its episodes--and so terribly earnest in its
+denunciation of the wrongs and degradation of the Eternal City, is
+no unknown satirist. He is Garibaldi; he has been Triumvir of the
+Seven-hill-ed City, and Generalissimo of her army; her archives have
+been within his hands; he has held her keys, and fought behind her
+walls; and, in four campaigns at least, since those glorious but
+mournful days, he has waged battle for the ancient city in the open
+field. Here, then, is his description of "Rome in the Nineteenth
+Century"--not seen as tourists or dilettanti see her, clothed with the
+imaginary robes of her historic and classic empire, but seen naked to
+the stained and scourged skin--affronted, degraded, defamed, bleeding
+from the hundred wounds where the leech-like priests hang and suck, and,
+by their vile organization, converted from the Rome which was mistress
+of the world, to a Rome which is the emporium of solemn farces,
+miracle-plays, superstitious hypocrisies, the capital of an evil instead
+of a majestic kingdgom--the metropolis of monks instead of Cæsars.
+
+To this discrowned Queen of Nations every page in the present volume
+testifies the profound and ardent loyalty of Garibaldi's soul. The
+patriotism which most men feel towards the country of their birth is but
+a cold virtue compared with the burning devotion which fills the spirit
+of our warrior-novelist. It is as though the individuality of one of her
+antique Catos or Fabii was resuscitated, to protest, with deed and word,
+against the false and cunning tribe which have suborned the imperial
+city to their purposes, and turned the monuments of Rome, as it were,
+into one Cloaca Maxima. The end of these things is probably approaching,
+although His Holiness is parodying the great Councils of past history,
+and pretending to give laws _urbi et orbi_, while the kingdoms reject
+his authority, and his palace is only defended by the aid of foreign
+bayonets. When Rome is freed from the Pope-king, and has been proclaimed
+the capital of Italy, this book will be one of the memorials of that
+extraordinary corruption and offense which the nineteenth century
+endured so long and patiently.
+
+The Author's desire to portray the state of society in Rome and around
+it, during the last years of the Papacy, has been paramount, and the
+narrative only serves as the form for this design. Accordingly, the
+reader must not expect an elaborately compiled plot, with artistic
+developments. He will, nevertheless, be sincerely interested in the
+fortunes and the fate of the beautiful and virtuous Roman ladies who
+figure in the tale--of the gallant and dashing brigand of the Campagna,
+Orazio--the handsome Muzio--the brave and faithful Attilio, and the
+Author's evident favorite, "English Julia," whose share in the story
+enables our renowned Author to exhibit his excessive affection for
+England and the English people. It only remains to commend these varions
+heroes and heroines to the public, with the remark that the deficiencies
+of the work are due rather to the translation than to the original; for
+the vigor and charm of the great Liberator's Italian is such as to show
+that he might have rivalled Manzoni and Alfieri, if he had not preferred
+to emulate and equal the Gracchi and Rienzi.
+
+
+
+
+THE RULE OF THE MONK.
+
+
+
+
+PART THE FIRST.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. CLELIA
+
+A celebrated writer has called Rome "the City of the dead", but how can
+there be death in the heart of Italy? The ruins of Rome, the ashes of
+her unhappy sons, have, indeed, been entombed, but these remains are so
+impregnate with life that they may yet accomplish the regeneration of
+the world. Rome is still capable of arousing the populations, as the
+tempest raises the waves of the sea; for is she not the mistress of
+ancient empire, and is not her whole history that of giants? Those who
+can visit her wonderful monuments in their present desolation, and
+not feel their souls kindle with love of the beautiful, and ardor
+for generous designs, will only restore at death base hearts to their
+original clay. As with the city, so with its people. No degradations
+have been able to impair the beauty of her daughters--a loveliness
+often, alas! fatal to themselves--and in the youthful Clelia, the
+artist's daughter of the Trastevere, Raphael himself would have found
+the graces of his lofty and pure ideal, united with that force of
+character which distinguished her illustrious namesake of ancient times.
+Even at sixteen years of age her carriage possessed a dignity majestic
+as of a matron of old, albeit youthful; her hair was of a luxurious rich
+brown; her dark eyes, generally conveying repose and gentleness, could,
+nevertheless, repress the slightest affront with flashes like lightning.
+Her father was a sculptor, named Manlio, who had reached his fiftieth
+year, and possessed a robust constitution, owing to a laborious and
+sober life. This profession enabled him to support his family in
+comfort, if not luxury, and he was altogether as independent as it was
+possible for a citizen to be in a priest-ridden country. Manlio's wife,
+though naturally healthy, had become delicate from early privation and
+confinement to the house; she had, however, the disposition of an angel,
+and besides forming the happiness and pride of her husband, was beloved
+by the entire neighborhood.
+
+Clelia was their only child, and was entitled by the people, "The Pearl
+of Trastevere." She inherited, in addition to her beauty, the angelic
+heart of her mother, with that firmness and strength of character which
+distinguished her father.
+
+This happy family resided in the street that ascends from Lungara
+to Monte Gianicolo, not far from the fountain of Montono, and,
+unfortunately for them, they lived there in this, the nineteenth
+century, when the power of the Papacy is, for the time, supreme.
+
+Now, the Pope professes to regard the Bible as the word of God, yet the
+Papal throne is surrounded by cardinals, to whom marriage is forbidden,
+notwithstanding the Scriptural declaration that "it is not good for man
+to dwell alone," and that "woman was formed to be a helpmeet for him."
+
+Matrimony being thus interdicted, contrary to the law of God and man,
+the enormous wealth, the irresponsible power, and the state of languid
+luxury in which, as Princes of the Church, they are compelled to live,
+have ever combined, in the case of these cardinals, every temptation to
+corruption and libertinism of the very worst kinds (see Note 2). As the
+spirit of the master always pervades the household, plenty of willing
+tools are to be found in these large establishments ready to pander to
+their employers' vices.
+
+The beauty of Clelia had unhappily attracted the eye of Cardinal
+Procopio, the most powerful of these prelates, and the favorite of his
+Holiness, whom he flattered to his face, and laughed at as an old dotard
+behind his back.
+
+One day, feeling jaded by his enforced attendance at the Vatican, he
+summoned Gianni, one of his creatures, to his presence, and informed him
+of the passion he had conceived for Clelia, ordering him, at whatever
+cost, and by any means, to obtain possession of the girl, and conduct
+her to his palace.
+
+It was in furtherance of the nefarious plot thereupon concocted that the
+agent of his Eminence on the evening of the 8th of February, 1866,
+presented himself at the studio of Signor Manlio, but not without some
+trepidation, for, like most of his class, he was an arrant coward, and
+already in fancy trembled at the terrific blows which the strong arm of
+the sculptor would certainly bestow should the real object of the visit
+be suspected. He was, however, somewhat reassured by the calm expression
+of the Roman's face, and, plucking up courage, he entered the studio.
+
+"Good-evening, Signor Manlio," he commenced, with a smooth and
+flattering voice.
+
+"Good-evening," replied the artist, not looking up, but continuing
+an examination of his chisels, for he cared little to encourage the
+presence of an individual whom he recognized as belonging to the
+household of the Cardinal, the character of that establishment being
+well known to him.
+
+"Good-evening, Signor," repeated Gianni, in a timid voice;
+and, observing that at last the other raised his head, he thus
+continued--"his Eminence, the Cardinal Procopio, desires me to tell you
+he wishes to have two small statues of saints to adorn the entrance to
+his oratory."
+
+"And of what size does the Cardinal require them?" asked Manlio.
+
+"I think it would be better for you, Signor, to call on his Eminence at
+the palace, to see the position in which he wishes them to be placed,
+and then consult with him respecting their design."
+
+A compression of the sculptor's lips showed that this proposal was but
+little to his taste; but how can an artist exist in Rome, and maintain
+his family in comfort, without ecclesiastical protection and employment?
+One of the most subtle weapons used by the Roman Church has always been
+its patronage of the fine arts. It has ever employed the time and talent
+of the first Italian masters to model statues, and execute paintings
+from subjects calculated to impress upon the people the doctrines
+inculcated by its teaching (see Note 3), receiving demurely the homage
+of Christendom for its "protection of genius," and the encouragement it
+thereby afforded to artists from all nations to settle in Rome.
+
+Manlio, therefore, who would have sacrificed his life a hundred times
+over for his two beloved ones, after a few moments' reflection, bluntly
+answered, "I will go." Gianni, with a profound salutation, retired. "The
+first step is taken," he murmured; "and now I must endeavor to find a
+safe place of observation for Cencio." This fellow was a subordinate of
+Gianni's, to whom the Cardinal had intrusted the second section of the
+enterprise; and for whom it was now necessary to hire a room in sight
+of the studio. This was not difficult to achieve in that quarter, for in
+Rome, where the priests occupy themselves with the spiritual concerns of
+the people, and but little with their temporal prosperity (though they
+never neglect their own), poverty abounds. Were it not for the enforced
+neglect of its commerce, the ancient activity of Rome might be restored,
+and might rival even its former palmiest days.
+
+After engaging a room suitable for the purpose, Gianni returned
+home, humming a song, and with a conscience any thing but oppressed,
+comprehending well that all ruffianism is absolved by the priests when
+committed for the benefit of mother Church.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. ATTILIO
+
+In the same street, and opposite Manlio's house, was another studio,
+occupied by an artist, named Attilio, already of some celebrity,
+although he had only attained his twentieth year. In it he worked the
+greater part of the day; but, studious as he was, he found himself
+unable to refrain from glancing lovingly, from time to time, at the
+window on the first floor, where Clelia was generally occupied with
+her needle, seated by her mother's side. Without her knowledge--almost
+without his own--she had become for him the star of his sky, the
+loveliest among the beauties of Rome--his hope, his life, his all.
+Now, Attilio had watched with a penetrating eye the manner in which the
+emissary of the Cardinal had come and gone. He saw him looking doubtful
+and irresolute, and, with the quick instincts of love, a suspicion
+of the truth entered his mind; a terrible fear for the safety of his
+beloved took possession of him. When Gianni quitted Manlio's house,
+Attilio stole forth, following cautiously in his footsteps, but stopping
+now and then to elude observation by gazing at the curiosities in the
+shop-windows, or at the monuments which one encounters at every turn in
+the Eternal City. He clutched involuntarily, now and then, at the dagger
+carefully concealed in his breast, especially when he saw Gianni enter a
+house, and heard him bargain for the use of a room.
+
+Not until Gianni reached the magnificent Palazzo Corsini, where his
+employer lived, and had disappeared therein from sight, did Attilio turn
+aside.
+
+"Then it is Cardinal Procopio," muttered he to himself; "Procopio, the
+Pope's favorite--the vilest and most licentious of the evil band of
+Church Princes!"--and he continued his gloomy reflections without
+heeding whither his steps went.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. THE CONSPIRACY
+
+It is the privilege of the slave to conspire against his oppressors--for
+liberty is God's gift, and the birthright of all. Therefore, Italians of
+past and present days, under various forms of servitude, have constantly
+conspired, and, as the despotism of tiaraed priests is the most hateful
+and degrading of all, so the conspiracies of the Romans date thickest
+from that rule. We are asked to believe that the government of the Pope
+is mild, that his subjects are contented, and have ever been so. Yet, if
+this be true, how is it that they who claim to be the representatives
+of Christ upon earth--of Him who said, "My kingdom is not of this
+world"--have, since the institution of the temporal power, supplicated
+French intervention sixteen times, German intervention fifteen times,
+Austrian intervention seven times, and Spanish intervention three
+times; while the Pope of our day holds his throne only by force of the
+intervention of a foreign power?
+
+So the night of the 8th of February was a night of conspiracy. The
+meeting-hall was no other than the ancient Colosseum; and Attilio,
+instead of returning home, aroused himself to a recollection of this
+fact, and set out for the Campo Vaccino.
+
+The night was obscure, and black clouds were gathering on all sides,
+impelled by a violent scirocco. The mendicants, wrapped in their rags,
+sought shelter from the wind in the stately old doorways; others in
+porches of churches. Indoors, the priests were sitting, refreshing
+themselves at sumptuous tables loaded with viands and exquisite wines.
+Beggars and priests--for the population is chiefly composed of these two
+classes. But these conspirators watch for, and muse upon, the day when
+priests and beggars shall be consigned alike to the past.
+
+By-and-by, in the distance beyond, the ancient forum, that majestic
+giant of ruins, rose upon young Attilio's eye, dark and alone. It stands
+there, reminding a city of slaves of a hundred past generations of
+grandeur; it survives above the ruins of their capital; to tell them
+that, though she has been shaken down to the dust of shame and death,
+she is not dead--not lost to the nations which her civilization and her
+glories created and regenerated.
+
+In that sublime ruin our conspirators gather. A stranger chooses, for
+the most part, a fine moonlight night on which to visit the Colosseum;
+but it is in darkness and storm that it should be rather seen,
+illuminated terribly by the torches of lightning, whilst the awful
+thunder of heaven reverberates through every ragged arch.
+
+Such were accompaniments of the scene when the conspirators, on this 8th
+of February, entered stealthily and one by one the ancient arena of the
+gladiators.
+
+Among its thousand divisions, where the sovereign people were wont to
+assemble in the days when they were corrupted by the splendors of
+the conquered world, were several more spacious than others, perhaps
+destined for the patricians and great officers, but which Time, with its
+exterminating touch, has reduced to one scarce distinguishable mass
+of ruin. Neither chairs nor couches now adorn them, but blocks of
+weatherbeaten stone mark the boundaries, benches, and chambers. In one
+of these behold our conspirators silently assembling, scanning each
+other narrowly by the aid of their dark lanterns, as they advance into
+the space by different routes, their only ceremony being a grasp of the
+hand upon arriving at the Loggione--a name given by them to the ruinous
+inclosure. Soon a voice is heard asking the question, "Are the sentries
+at their posts?" Another voice from the extreme end replies, "All's
+well." Immediately the flame of a torch, kindled near the first speaker,
+lighted up hundreds of intelligent faces, all young, and the greater
+number of those of men, decidedly under thirty years of age.
+
+Here and there began now to gleam other torches, vainly struggling to
+conquer the darkness of the night. The priests are never in want
+of spies, and adroit spies they themselves too make. Under such
+circumstances it might appear to a foreigner highly imprudent for a band
+of conspirators to assemble in any part of Rome; but be it remembered
+deserts are to be found in this huge city, and the Campo Vaccino
+covers a space in which all the famous ruins of western Europe might be
+inclosed. Besides, the mercenaries of the Church love their skins above
+all things, and render service more for the sake of lucre than zeal.
+They are by no means willing at any time to risk their cowardly lives.
+Again, there are not wanting, according to these superstitious knaves,
+legions of apparitions among these remains. It is related that once on
+a night like that which we are describing, two spies more daring than
+their fellows, having perceived a light, proceeded to discover the
+cause; but, upon penetrating the arches, they were so terrified by the
+horrible phantoms which appeared, that they fled, one dropping his cap,
+the other his sword, which they dared not stay to pick up.
+
+The phantoms were, however, no other than certain conspirators, who, on
+quitting their meeting, stumbled over the property of the fugitives,
+and were not a little amused when the account of the goblins in the
+Colosseum was related to them by a sentinel, who had overheard the
+frightened spies. Thus it happened that the haunted ruins became far
+more secure than the streets of Rome, where, in truth, an honest man
+seldom cares to venture out after nightfall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. THE MEETING OF THE CONSPIRATORS
+
+The first voice heard in the midnight council was that of our
+acquaintance, Attilio, who, notwithstanding his youth, had already been
+appointed leader by the unanimous election his colleagues, on account of
+his courage and high moral qualities, although unquestionably the
+charm and refinement of his manners, joined to his kind disposition,
+contributed not a little to his popularity among a people who never fail
+to recognize and appreciate such characteristics. As for his personal
+appearance, Attilio added the air and vigor of a lion to the masculine
+loveliness of the Greek Antinous.
+
+He first threw a glance around the assembly, to assure himself that all
+present wore a black ribbon on the left arm, this being the badge of
+their fraternity. It served them also as a sign of mourning for those
+degenerate Romans who wish indeed for the liberation of their country,
+but wait for its accomplishment by any hands rather than their own;
+and this, although they know full well that her salvation can only be
+obtained by the blood, the devotion, and the contributions, of their
+fellow-citizens. Then Attilio spoke--
+
+"Two months have elapsed, my brothers, since we were promised that the
+foreign soldiery, the sole prop of the Papal rule, should be withdrawn;
+yet they still continue to crowd our streets, and, under futile
+pretenses, have even re-occupied the positions which they had previously
+evacuated, in accordance with the Convention of September, 1864. To us,
+then, thus betrayed, it remains to accomplish our liberty. We have
+borne far too patiently for the last eighteen years a doubly execrated
+rule--that of the stranger, and that of the priest. In these last years
+we have been ever ready to spring to arms, but we have been withheld
+by the advice of a hermaphrodite party in the State, styling themselves
+'the Moderates,' in whom we can have no longer any confidence, because
+they have used their power to accumulate wealth for themselves, from the
+public treasury, which they are sucking dry, and they have invariably
+proved themselves ready to bargain with the stranger, and to trade in
+the national honor. Our friends outside are prepared, and blame us
+for being negligent and tardy. The army, excepting those members of it
+consecrated to base hopes, is with us. The arms which were expected
+have arrived, and are lodged in safety. We have also an abundance
+of ammunition. Further delay, under these circumstances, would be
+unpardonable. To arms! then, to arms! and to arms!"
+
+"To arms!" was the cry re-echoed by the three hundred conspirators
+assembled in the chamber. Where their ancestors held councils how to
+subjugate other nations, these modern voices made the old walls ring
+again while they vowed their resolve to emancipate enslaved Rome or
+perish in the attempt.
+
+Three hundred only! Yes, three hundred; but such was the muster-roll
+of the companions of Leonidas, and of the liberating family of Fabius.
+These, too, were equally willing to become liberators, or to accept
+martyrdom. For this they had high reason, because of what value is
+the life of a slave, when compared with the sublime conceptions, the
+imperious conscience, of a soul guided always by noble ideas?
+
+God be with all such souls, and those also who despise the power of
+tyrannizing in turn over their fellow-beings. Of what value can be the
+life of a despot? His miserable remorse causes him to tremble at the
+movement of every leaf. No outward grandeur can atone for the mental
+sufferings he endures, and he finally becomes a sanguinary and brutal
+coward. May the God of love hereafter extend to them the mercy they have
+denied to their fellow-men, and pardon them for the rivers of innocent
+blood they have caused to flow!
+
+But Attilio continued, "Happy indeed are we to whom Providence has
+reserved the redemption of Rome, the ancient mistress of the world,
+after so many centuries of oppression and priestly tyranny! I have never
+for a moment, my friends, ceased to confide in your patriotism, which
+you are proving by the admirable instructions bestowed upon the men
+committed to your charge in the different sections of the city. In the
+day of battle, which will soon arrive, you will respectively command
+your several companies, and to them we shall yet owe our freedom. The
+priests have changed the first of nations into one of the most abject
+and unhappy, and our beloved Italy has become the very lowest in the
+social scale. The lesson given by our Papal rulers has ever been one
+of servile humility, while they themselves expect emperors to stoop and
+kiss their feet. This is the method by which they exhibit to the world
+their own Christian humility; and though they have always preached to us
+self-denial and austerity of life, these hypocrites surround themselves
+with a profusion of luxury and voluptuousness. Gymnastic exercises,
+under proper instruction, are doubtless beneficial to the physical
+development of the body; but was it for this reason that the Romans are
+called upon to bow to, and kiss the hand of every priest they meet?
+to kneel also and go through a series of genuflections, so that it is
+really no thanks to them if the half of them are not hunch-necked or
+crook-backed from the absurd performances they have been made to execute
+for the behoof of these tonsured masters?
+
+"The time for the great struggle approaches, and it is a sacred one! Not
+only do we aim at freeing our beloved Italy, but at freeing the entire
+world also from the incubus of the Papacy, which everywhere opposes
+education, protects ignorance, and is the nurse of vice!" The address of
+Attilio had hitherto been pronounced in profound darkness, but was here
+suddenly interrupted by a flash of lightning, which illumined the vast
+_enciente_ of the Colosseum, as if it had 'suddenly been lighted by a
+thousand lamps. This was succeeded by a darkness even more profound than
+the first, when a terrific peal of thunder rolled over their heads and
+shook to its foundations the ancient structure, silencing for a brief
+space Attilio's voice. The conspirators were not men to tremble, each
+being prepared to confront death in whatever form it might appear; but,
+as a scream was heard issuing at this moment from the vestibule, they
+involuntarily clutched their daggers. Immediately after, a young girl,
+with dishevelled hair and clothes dripping with water, rushed into their
+midst. "Camilla!" exclaimed Silvio, a wild boar-hunter of the Campagna,
+who alone of those present recognized her. "Poor Camilla!" he cried; "to
+what a fate have the miscreants who rule over us reduced you!" At this
+instant one of the sentries on guard entered, reporting that they had
+been discovered by a young woman during the moment of illumination, and
+that she had fled with such speed no one had been able to capture her.
+They had not liked to fire upon a female, and all other means of staying
+her were useless. But, at the words of Silvio, the strange apparition
+had fixed her eyes upon him as the torches closed about them, and, after
+one long glance, had uttered a moan so piteous, and sunk down with such
+a sigh of woe, that all present were moved. We will relate, however, in
+the following chapter, the history of the unfortunate girl whose cries
+thus effectually checked our hero's eloquence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. THE INFANTICIDE
+
+Born a peasant, the unhappy Camilla had, like Italy, the fatal gift
+of beauty. Silvio, who was, by vocation, as we have already said, a
+wild-boar hunter, used often, in his expeditions to the Pontine Marshes,
+to rest at the house of the good Marcello, the father of Camilla, whose
+cottage was situated a short distance from Rome. The young pair became
+enamored of each other. Silvio demanded her in marriage, and her father,
+giving a willing consent, they were betrothed.
+
+Perfectly happy and fair to look upon were this youthful pair, as they
+sat, hand in hand, under the shadows of the vine, watching the gorgeous
+sunsets of their native clime. This happiness, however, was not of long
+duration, for, during one of his hunting expeditions, Silvio caught the
+fever so common in the Pontine Marshes, and, as he continued to suffer
+for some months, the marriage was indefinitely postponed.
+
+Meanwhile Camilla, who was too lovely and too innocent to dwell in
+safety near this most vicious of cities, had been marked as a victim by
+the emissaries of his Eminence, the Cardinal Procopio. It was her custom
+to carry fruit for sale to the Piazza Navona. On one occasion she was
+addressed by an old fruit-woman, previously instructed by Gianni, who
+plied her with every conceivable allurement and flattery, praised her
+fruit, and promised her the highest price for it at the palace of the
+cardinal, if she would take it thither. The rest of the story may be
+too easily imagined. In Rome this is an oft-told tale. To hide from
+her father and her lover the consequences of her fall, and to suit
+the convenience of the prelate, Camilla was persuaded to take up her
+residence in the palace Corsini, where, soon after its birth, her
+miserable infant was slaughtered by one of its father's murderous
+ruffians. This so preyed upon the unhappy mother, that she lost her
+reason, and was secretly immured in a mad-house. On the very night
+when she effected her escape this meeting was being held, and, after
+wandering from place to place, for many hours, without any fixed
+direction, she entered the Colosseum at the moment it was illumined by
+the lightning, as we have related. That flash disclosed the sentries
+at the archway, and she rushed towards them, obeying some instinct of
+safety, or at least perceiving that they were not clothed in the garb
+of a priest; but they, taking her for a spy, ran forward to make her
+prisoner. Thereupon, seemingly possessed of supernatural strength, she
+glided from their hands, and finally eluded their pursuit by running
+rapidly into the centre of the building, where she fell exhausted in
+the midst of the three hundred, at the foot of her outraged and ashamed
+lover.
+
+"It is, indeed, time," said Attilio, when Silvio had related the
+maniac's story, to purge our city from this priestly ignominy; and
+drawing forth his dagger, brandished it above his head, as he exclaimed,
+"Accursed is the Roman who does not feel the degradation of his
+country, and who is not willing to bathe his sword in the blood of these
+monsters, who humiliate it, and turn its very soil into a sink."
+
+"_Accursed! accursed be they!_" echoed back from the old walls, while
+the sound of dagger-blades tinkling together made an ominous music
+dedicated to the corrupt and licentious rulers of Rome.
+
+Then Attilio turned to Silvio, and said, "This child is more sinned
+against than sinning; she requires and deserves protection. You, who are
+so generous, will not refuse it to her."
+
+And Silvio was, indeed, generous, for he still loved his wretched
+Camilla, who at sight of him had become docile as a lamb. He raised her,
+and, enveloping her in his mantle, led her out of the Colosseum towards
+her father's dwelling.
+
+"Comrades," shouted Attilio, "meet me on the 15th at the Baths of
+Caracalla. Be ready to use your arms if need be."
+
+"We will be ready! we will be ready!" responded heartily the three
+hundred, and in a few moments the ruins were left to their former
+obscure and fearful solitude.
+
+What a wild, improbable story, methinks we hear some of our readers
+remark, as they sit beside their safe coal fires in free England or the
+United States. But Popery has not been dominant in England since James
+II.'s time, and they I have forgotten it. Let them hear that in the year
+1848, when a Republican government was established in France, which was
+the signal of a general revolutionary movement throughout Europe, the
+present Pope was forced to escape in the disguise of a menial, and
+a national government granted, for the first time in Rome, religious
+toleration, one of the first orders of the Roman republic was that the
+nuns should be liberated, and the convents searched. Guiseppe Garibaldi,
+in 1849, then recently arrived in Rome, visited himself every convent,
+and was present during the whole of the investigations. In all, without
+an exception, he found instruments of torture; and in all, without an
+exception, were vaults, plainly dedicated to the reception of the bones
+of infants. Statistics prove that in no city is there so great a number
+of children born out of wedlock as in Rome; and it is in Rome also that
+the greatest number of infanticides take place.
+
+This must ever be the case with a wealthy unmarried priesthood and a
+poor and _ignorant_ population.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. THE ARREST
+
+We took leave of Manlio at the moment when Gianni had delivered his
+master's message. The sculptor acceded to the Cardinal's request, and,
+after an interview with him, proceeded to execute the order for the
+statuettes. For some days nothing occurred to excite suspicion, and
+things seemed to be going on smoothly enough. From the room which Gianni
+had hired Cencio watched the artist incessantly, all the while carefully
+maturing his plot. At last, one evening, when our sculptor was hard at
+work, Cencio broke into the studio, exclaiming excitedly, "For the love
+of God, permit me to remain here a little while! I am pursued by the
+police, who wish to arrest me. I assure you I am guilty of no crime,
+except that of being a liberal, and of having declared, in a moment
+of anger, that the overthrow of the Republic by the French was an
+assassination." So saying, Cencio made as though to conceal himself
+behind some statuary.
+
+"These are hard times," soliloquized Manlio, "and little confidence can
+be placed in any body; yet, how can I drive out one compromised by his
+political opinions only--thereby, perhaps, adding to the number of those
+unfortunates now lingering in the priests' prisons? He looks a decent
+fellow, and would have a better chance of effecting his escape if he
+remained here till nightfall. Yes! he shall stay." Manlio, therefore,
+rose, and, beckoning to the supposed fugitive, bade him follow to the
+end of the studio, where he secreted him carefully behind some massive
+blocks of marble, little dreaming that he harbored a traitor.
+
+Manlio had scarcely resumed his occupation before a patrol stopped
+before the door and demanded permission to make a domiciliary visit, as
+a suspected person had been seen to enter the house.
+
+Poor Manlio endeavored to put aside the suspicions of the officer, so
+far as he could do so without compromising his veracity, and, little
+divining the trap into which he had fallen, attempted to lead him in a
+direction opposite to that in which the crafty Cencio had taken refuge.
+The patrol, being in league with Cencio, felt, of course, quite certain
+of his presence on the premises, but some few minutes elapsed before
+he succeeded in discovering the carefully-chosen hiding-place; and the
+interval would have been longer had not Cencio stealthily put out his
+hand and pulled him, the sbirro, gently by the coat as he passed.
+The functionary paused suddenly, exclaiming with an affected tone of
+triumph, "Ah! I have you!" then, turning upon Manlio, he seized the
+artist by the collar, saying, in the sternest of tones, "you must
+accompany me forthwith to the tribunal, and account for your crime in
+giving shelter to this miscreant, who is in open rebellion against the
+government of his Holiness."
+
+Manlio, utterly beside himself, in the first burst of indignation, cast
+his eye around among the chisels, hammers, and other tools for something
+suitable with which to crack the skull of his insulter; but at this
+moment his wife, followed by the lovely Clelia, rushed into the
+apartment to ascertain the cause of so unwonted a disturbance. They
+trembled at the sight of their beloved one in the grasp of the hated
+police-officer, who cunningly relaxed his hold, and said, in a very
+different voice, as soon as he perceived them, "Be of courage, signor,
+and console these good ladies; your presence will be needed for a short
+time only. A few questions will be asked, to which undoubtedly you can
+give satisfactory replies."
+
+In vain did the terrified women expostulate. Finding their tears and
+remonstrances of no avail, they reluctantly let go their hold of the
+unhappy Manlio, whom they had clasped in their terror. He, disdaining
+any appeal to the courtesy of such a scoundrel as he knew the patrol to
+be, waved them an adieu, and departed with a dignified air.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. THE LEGACY
+
+The Roman Republic, established by the unanimous and legitimate votes of
+the people, elected General Garibaldi, on the 30th June, legal guardian
+of the rights of the people, and conferred upon him the executive
+power of the State, which the Triumvirate resigned into his hands. This
+national government was overthrown by foreign bayonets, after a most
+heroic struggle for freedom. The first act of General Oudinot was to
+send a French colonel to lay the keys of the city at the feet of the
+Pope.
+
+Thus was the power of the priests restored, and they returned to all
+their former tyranny and luxury.
+
+These worthy teachers, when preaching to the Roman women about the glory
+of Heaven, impress upon them that they, and they only, have power to
+give free entrance into eternal bliss. To liberate these misguided
+beings from superstition, and rescue them from the deceit of their
+so-called "reverend fathers," is the question of life or death to Italy;
+this, in fact, is the only way in which to work out the deliverance of
+our country. Many will tell you there are good priests. But a priest, to
+become really good, must discard that wicked livery which he wears.
+Is it not the uniform of the promoters of brigandage over the half of
+Italy? Has it not marched as a pioneer-garb before every stranger that
+ever visited our country?
+
+The priests, by their continual impostures and crafty abuse of the
+ignorance and consequent superstition of the people, have acquired great
+riches. Those who endeavor to retard our progress make a distinction
+between the temporal power, which should be combated, and the spiritual
+power, which should be respected; as if Antonelli, Schiatone, and
+Crocco, were spiritual ushers, by whom the souls of men should hope
+to be conducted into the presence of the Eternal. There are two chief
+sources of their wealth. Firstly, they exact a revenue for repentance,
+as the vicegerents of God upon earth, as such, claiming power to pardon
+all sin. A rich but credulous man may thus commit any crime he chooses
+with impunity, knowing that he has the means of securing absolution, and
+believing implicitly that, by rendering up a portion of his treasure or
+profit to the clergy, he will have no difficulty in escaping the wrath
+to come.
+
+The next source of wealth is the tax upon the agonies of death.. At the
+bedside of the sick, by threats of purgatory and eternal perdition,
+they frighten their unhappy victims into bequeathing to Mother Church
+enormous legacies, if, indeed, they do not succeed in getting absolute
+possession of the whole of their estates, to the detriment of the legal
+heirs, who are not unfrequently in this manner reduced to beggary. Look,
+for instance, at the island of Sicily: one-half of that country now
+belongs to the priesthood, or various orders of monks.
+
+But, to our tale. One evening, about nine o'clock, in the month of
+December, a thing in black might have been seen traversing the Piazza
+of the Rotunda--that magnificent monument of antiquity--every column
+a perfect work, worth its weight in silver--which the priests have
+perverted from sublime memories to their cunning uses. It was a figure
+which would have made a man shudder involuntarily, though he were one of
+the thousand of Calatifimi; enveloped in a black sottana--the
+covering of a heart still blacker, the heart of a demon, and one that
+contemplated the committal of a crime which only a priest would conceive
+or execute. A priest it was, and he made his stealthy path to the
+gateway of the house of Pompeo, where he paused a moment before knocking
+to gain admittance, casting glances around, to assure himself no one was
+in sight, as if he feared his guilty secret would betray itself, or as
+if pausing to add even to ecclesiastical wickedness a sin so cruel as
+he was meditating. He knocked at last. The door opened, and the porter,
+recognizing the "Reverend Father Ignazio," saluted him respectfully, and
+lighted him, as he entered, a few steps up the staircase of one of the
+richest residences of the city.
+
+"Where is Sister Flavia?" demanded the priest of the first servant who
+came forward to meet him.
+
+"At the bedside of my dying mistress," replied Siccio, in a constrained
+voice, for, being a true Roman, he had little sympathy for "the birds of
+ill-omen," as he profanely styled the reverend fathers.
+
+Father Ignazio, knowing the house well, hurried on to the sick-room, at
+the door of which he gently tapped, requesting admittance in a peculiar
+tone. An elderly, sour-looking nun opened the door quickly, and with a
+significant expression on her evil countenance as her eyes sought those
+of the priest.
+
+"Is all over?" whispered he, as he advanced towards the bed on which the
+expiring patient lay.
+
+"Not yet," was the equally low reply.
+
+Ignazio thereupon, without another word, took a small vial from under
+his sottana, and emptied the contents into a glass. With the assistance
+of the nun he raised his victim, and poured the deadly fluid down her
+throat, letting the head fall heavily back upon the pillows, whilst a
+complacent smile spread itself over his diabolical features as, after
+one gasp, the jaw fell. He then retired to a small table at the end of
+the apartment, where he seated himself, followed by Sister Flavia, who
+stealthily drew a paper from her dress and handed it to him.
+
+Father Ignazio seized the paper with a trembling hand, and after
+perusing it with an anxious air, as if to convince himself that it was
+indeed the accomplishment of his desires, he thrust it into his breast,
+muttering, with an emphatic nod, "You shall be rewarded, my good
+Flavia."
+
+That paper was the last will and testament of the Signora Virginia
+Pompeo, the mother of the brave Emilio Pompeo, who perished fighting on
+the walls of Rome, whence he fell, mortally wounded by a French bullet.
+His inconsolable widow did not long survive him, and committed, with her
+last breath, her infant son to the care of his doting grandmother, La
+Signora Virginia Pompeo, who tenderly cherished the orphan Muzio, the
+only remaining scion of the noble house of Pompeo. But, unhappily for
+him, Father Ignazio was her confessor. When the signora's health began
+to fail, and her mind to be weakened, the wily Father spared no means to
+convince her that she ought to make her will, and, as a sacred duty, to
+leave a large sum to be spent in masses for the release of souls from
+purgatory. The signora lingering for some time, the covetous priest felt
+his desires grow, and resolved to destroy this first will, and obtain
+another, purporting to leave the whole of her immense estates to the
+corporation of St. Francesco di Paola, and appoint himself as her sole
+executor. This document he prepared and intrusted to Sister Flavia,
+whom he had already recommended to the Signora Virginia as a suitable
+attendant. One morning she dispatched a hurried message to the
+confessor, reporting that the favorable time for signing the fraudulent
+document had arrived. He came, attended by witnesses, whom he had had no
+difficulty in procuring, and, after persuading the sinking and agonized
+lady that she ought to add a codicil to her will (which he pretended
+then and there to draw up) leaving a still larger sum to the Church, he
+guided her feeble hand as she unconsciously signed away the whole of her
+property, leaving her helpless grandson to beggary. As if to jeopardise
+his scheme, the signora rallied towards the afternoon, whereupon,
+fearing she might ask to see the will, and so discover his treachery,
+Father Ignazio resolved to make such an undesirable occurrence
+impossible, by administering an effective potion, which he set off to
+procure, wisely deferring his return till nightfall.
+
+The result has been already disclosed; and while the false priest
+wrought this murder, the unconscious orphan, Muzio, slept peacefully in
+his little bed, still adorned with hangings wrought by a loving mother's
+hands, to awake on the morrow ignorant of his injury, but robbed of his
+guardian and goods together--stripped of all, and forthwith dependent on
+chance--a friendless and beggared boy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. THE MENDICANT
+
+Eighteen years had rolled by since the horrible murder of La Signora
+Virginia related in the last chapter. On the same piazza which Father
+Ignazio had traversed that dark night stood a mendicant, leaning
+moodily, yet not without a certain grace, against a column. It was
+February, and the beggar lad was apparently watching the setting sun.
+The lower part of his face was carefully concealed in his cloak, but
+from the little that could be discerned of it, it seemed decidedly
+handsome; one of those noble countenances, in fact, that once seen,
+impresses its features indelibly on the beholder's memory. A well-formed
+Roman nose was well set between two eyes of dazzling blue; eyes that
+could look tender or stem, according to the possessor's mood. The
+shoulders, even under the cloak, showed grandly, and could belong only
+to a strength which it would be dangerous to insult, or rashly attack.
+Poor as its garb was, such a figure would be eagerly desired by a
+sculptor who sought to portray a young Latin athlete.
+
+A slight touch upon the shoulder caused the young mendicant to turn
+sharply; but his brow cleared as he welcomed, with a beaming smile,
+Attilio's familiar face, and heard him saying, in a lively tone, "Ah!
+art thou here, brother?" And although no tie of blood was between them,
+Attilio and Muzio might, indeed, have been mistaken for brothers, their
+nobility of feature and brave young Roman bearing being so much alike.
+
+"Art thou armed?" inquired Attilio.
+
+"Armed!" repeated Muzio, somewhat disdainfully. "Assuredly; is not my
+poniard my inheritance, my only patrimony? I love it as well as thou
+lov'st thy Clelia, or I mine own. But love, forsooth," continued
+he, more bitterly; "what right to love has a beggar--an outcast from
+society? Who would believe that rags could cover a heart bursting with
+the pangs of a true passion?"
+
+"Still," replied Attilio, confidently, "I think that pretty stranger
+does, in truth, love thee."
+
+Muzio remained silent, and his former gloomy expression returned; but
+Attilio, seeing a storm arising in his friend's soul, and wishing to
+avert it, took him by the hand, saying gently, "Come."
+
+The young outcast followed without proffering a word. Night was rapidly
+closing in, the foot passengers were gradually decreasing in number, and
+few footfalls, except those of the foreign patrols, broke the silence
+that was stealing over the city.
+
+The priests are always early to leave the streets--they love to enjoy
+the goods of this world at home after preaching about the glories of the
+next, and care little to trust their skins in Rome after dark. May the
+day soon come when these mercenary cut-throats are dispensed with!
+
+"We shall be quit of them, and that before long," answered Attilio
+hopefully, as they descended the Quirinal, now called Monte Cavallo, the
+site of the famous horses in stone, _chefs-d'ouvre_ of Grecian art.
+
+Pausing between two of these gigantic effigies, the young artist took
+from his pocket a flint and steel and struck a light, the signal agreed
+upon between him and the three hundred, some of whom had agreed to help
+him in a bold attempt to release Manlio from his unlawful imprisonment.
+
+The signal was answered immediately from the extreme end of the Piazza;
+the two young men advanced towards it, and were met by a soldier
+belonging to a detachment on guard at the palace, who conducted them
+through a half-concealed doorway near the principal entrance, up
+a narrow flight of stairs into a small room generally used by the
+commander of the guard; here he left them, and another soldier stepped
+forward to receive the pair, who, after placing chairs for them at a
+table, on which burned an oil-lamp, flanked by two or three bottles and
+some glasses, seated himself.
+
+"Let us drink a glass of Orvieto, my friends," said the soldier; "it
+will do us more good on a bitter night like this than the Holy Father's
+blessing," handing them each, as he spoke, a goblet filled to the brim.
+
+"Success to your enterprise!" cried Muzio.
+
+"Amen," responded Attilio, as he took a deep draught. "So Manlio
+has been brought here," said he, addressing Dentato, the sergeant of
+dragoons, for such was the name of their military friend..
+
+"Yes; he was locked up last night in one of our secret cells, as if he
+had been the most dangerous of criminals, poor innocent! I hear he is to
+be removed shortly," added Dentato, "to the Castle of St. Angelo."
+
+"Do you know by whose order he was arrested?" inquired Attilio.
+
+"By the order of ins Eminence the Cardinal Procopio, it is said, who is
+anxious, doubtless, to remove all impediments likely to frustrate his
+designs upon the Pearl of Trastevere."
+
+As Dentato uttered these words, a sudden tremor shook the frame of
+Attilio. "And at what hour shall we make the attempt to liberate him?"
+he hissed, as his hand clenched his dagger.
+
+"Liberate him! Why, we are too few," the soldier replied.
+
+"Not so," continued Attilio. "Silvio has given his word that he will be
+here shortly with ten of our own, and then we shall have no difficulty
+in dealing with these sbirri and monks." After a pause, Dentato
+responded, "Well, as you are, then, determined to attempt his release
+to-night, we had better wait a few hours, when jailers and director will
+be asleep, or under the influence of their liquor. My lieutenant is,
+fortunately, detained by a delicate affair at a distance, so we will
+try it if your friend turns up." Before he could well finish his speech,
+however, Dentato was interrupted by the entrance of the guard left at
+the gate, announcing the arrival of Silvio.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. THE LIBERATOR
+
+Before continuing my story I must remark upon one of the most striking
+facts in Rome--viz., the conduct and bravery of the Roman soldiery.
+
+Even the Papal troops have a robust and martial air, and retain an
+individual worth of character to an astonishing degree. In the defense
+of Rome, all the Roman artillerymen (observe, all) were killed at their
+guns, and a reserve of the wounded, a thing unheard of before, bleeding
+though they were, continued to fight manfully until cut down by the
+sabres of their foes. On the 3d of June the streets were choked with
+mutilated men, and amongst the many combats after the city was taken,
+between the Roman soldiery and the foreigners, there did not occur one
+example where the Romans had the worst of it in any thing like fair
+fight.
+
+Of one point, therefore, the priesthood is certain--that in every case
+of general insurrection the Roman army will go with the people. This is
+the reason they are compelled to hire foreign mercenaries, and why the
+revenues of the "Vicegerent of Heaven" are spent upon Zouaves, Remington
+rifles, cartridges, and kilos of gunpowder.
+
+Silvio was received by the triad with exclamations of joy. After
+saluting them, he turned to Attilio, saying, "Our men are at hand. I
+have left them hidden in the shadows cast by the marble horses. They but
+await our signal."
+
+Then Attilio sprang up, saying, "Muzio and I will go at once to the
+jailer, and secure the keys. You, Dentato, guide Silvia and his men to
+the door of the cell, and overpower the guard stationed before it."
+
+"So be it," replied Dentato; "Scipio (the dragoon who had introduced
+Silvio) shall lead you to the jailer's room; but beware Signor Pancaldo,
+he is a devil of a fellow to handle."
+
+"Leave me to manage him," replied Attilio, and he hastily left the
+apartment, preceded by Scipio and Muzio. Such an attempt as they were
+about to make would be a more difficult, if not an incredible thing, in
+any other country, where more respect is attached to Government and its
+officers. In Rome little obedience is due to a Government which, alas,
+is opposed to all that is pure and true.
+
+Dentato, after summoning Silvio's men, led them to the guards stationed
+at the entrance to the cells. Silvio waited until the sentinel turned
+his back upon them, then, springing forward with the agility that made
+him so successful when pursuing the wild boar, he hurled the sentinel to
+the ground, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle any cry of alarm.
+The slight scuffle aroused the sleepy questor-guard, but before they
+could even rub their eyes, Silvio's men had gagged and bound them.
+As they accomplished this, Attilio appeared with Muzio, convoying the
+reluctant jailer and his bunch of keys between them.
+
+"Open!" commanded Attilio.
+
+The jailer obeyed with forced alacrity, whereupon they entered a large
+vaulted room, out of which opened, on every side, doors leading to
+separate cells. At sight of them, a soldier, the only inmate visible,
+approached with a perplexed air.
+
+"Where is Signor Manlio?" demanded Antilio; and Pancaldo felt the grip
+of the young artist clutch his wrist like iron, and noticed his right
+hand playing terribly with the dagger-hilt.
+
+"Manlio is here," said he.
+
+"Then release him," cried Attilio.
+
+The terrified jailer attempted to turn the key, but some minutes passed
+before his trembling hands allowed him to effect this. Attilio, pushing
+him aside as the bolts shot back, dashed open the door, and called to
+Manlio to come forth.
+
+Picture the sculptor's astonishment and joy when he beheld Attilio,
+and realized that he had come to release him from his cruel and unjust
+incarceration. Attilio, knowing they ought to lose no time in leaving
+the palace, after returning his friend's embrace, bade Muzio lock up the
+guard in the cell. As soon as this was accomplished, they led the jailer
+between them through the passages, passing on their way the soldiers
+whom they had previously bound, who glared upon them with impotent rage,
+till they gained the outer door in silence and safety. Dividing into
+groups, they set off at a quick pace, in different directions. Attilio,
+Muzio, and Manlio, however, retained possession a little while of the
+jailer, whom they made to promenade, gagged and blindfolded, until they
+thought their companions were at a safe distance. They then left him,
+and proceeded in the direction of the Porta Salaria, which leads into
+the open country.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. THE ORPHAN
+
+At the hour when Silvio, with despair in his soul, led the unhappy
+Camilla out of the Colosseum towards her father's house, not a word
+passed between them. He regarded her with tender pity, having loved her
+ardently, and feeling that she was comparatively innocent, being, as she
+was, the victim of deception and violence.
+
+Onward they went in silence and sadness. Silvio had abstained from
+visiting her home since it was so suddenly deserted by Camilla, and as
+they neared it a presentiment of new sorrowing took possession of him.
+Turning out of the high road into a lane, their meditations were broken
+in upon by the barking of a dog. "Fido! Fido!" cried Camilla, with more
+joyousness than she had experienced for many many months; but, as if
+remembering suddenly her abasement, she checked her quickened step, and,
+casting down her eyes, stood motionless, overwhelmed with shame. Silvio
+had loved her too dearly even to hate her for her guilt. Or if he had
+ever felt bitterly against her, her sudden appearance that night, wild
+with remorse and misery, had brought back something of the old feeling,
+and he would have defended her against a whole army. He had therefore
+sustained her very tenderly through the walk from the Colosseum, and
+had been full of generous thoughts, although silent; while she, timidly
+leaning on his strong arm, had now and then learned by a timid glance,
+that he was pitying and not abominating her by that silence.
+
+But when she stopped and trembled at the sound of the house-dog's bark,
+Silvio, fearing a return of a paroxysm of madness, touched her arm,
+saying, for the first time, "Come, Camilla, it is your little Fido
+welcoming you; he has recognized your footstep."
+
+Scarcely had he uttered these words before the dog itself appeared.
+After pausing a moment in his rush, as if uncertain, he sprang towards
+Camilla, barking, and jumping, and making frantic efforts to lick her
+face and hands. Such a reception would have touched a heart of stone.
+
+Camilla burst into tears as she stooped to caress the affectionate
+animal; but nature was exhausted, and she fell senseless on the damp
+ground. Silvio, after covering her with his mantle, to protect her from
+the cold morning air--for the dawn had already begun to break--went to
+seek her father.
+
+The barking of the dog had aroused the household, so that the young
+hunter perceived, as he approached, a boy standing on the threshold,
+looking cautiously around, as if distrusting so early a visitor.
+
+"Marcellino," he shouted; whereat the boy, recognizing the friendly
+familiar voice, ran to him, and threw his arms around his neck.
+
+"Where is your godfather, my boy?" Silvio asked; but receiving no
+response save tears, he said again, "Where is Marcello?"
+
+"He is dead," replied the sobbing child. "Dead!" exclaimed Silvio,
+sinking upon a stone, overcome with surprise and emotion. Very soon the
+tears rolled down his masculine cheeks, and mingled with those of the
+child, who lay upon his bosom.
+
+"O God!" he cried aloud; "canst thou permit the desires of a monster to
+cause such suffering to so many and to such precious human creatures?
+Did I not feel the hope that the day of my beloved country's release
+from priestly tyranny is at hand I would plunge my dagger into my
+breast, and not endure to see this daylight break!" Recovering himself
+with a violent effort, he returned, accompanied by Marcellino, to
+Camilla, whom he found in an uneasy sleep. "Poor girl, poor ruined
+orphan," murmured Silvio, as he gazed upon her pale and wasted beauty;
+"why should I arouse you? You will but awake too soon to a life of
+tears, misery, and vain repentance!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. THE FLIGHT
+
+We left Attilio, Silvio, and Manlio on their way to the suburbs. Attilio
+had determined that the house lately tenanted by poor Marcello, and
+still inhabited by Camilla, would be a safe hiding-place for the
+liberated sculptor, who could scarcely be prevailed upon not to return
+at once to his own home, so great was his desire to behold his cherished
+wife and daughter.
+
+As they trudged on, each busy with his own thoughts, Attilio turned
+over in his mind the visit of Gianni to the studio, for the information
+Sergeant Dentato had given him relative to the arrest confirmed his
+suspicion that the Cardinal was plotting villainy against his Clelia.
+After some reflection, he concluded to impart his suspicion to Manlio,
+who, when he had recovered from his first surprise and horror, declared
+his belief that Attilio's surmises were correct, and that it was
+necessary at once to hasten home in order to preserve his darling from
+infamy.
+
+Attilio, however, aided by Muzio, at last prevailed upon him to conceal
+himself, promising to go and inform the ladies of the designs against
+them as soon as he had placed the father in safety.
+
+Attilio, in truth, though so young, had the talent of influencing and
+guiding those with whom he came in contact, and the soundness of his
+judgment was frequently acknowledged, even by men advanced in years.
+Reluctantly, Manlio felt that he could not do better than to intrust the
+care of his dear ones to this generous youth.
+
+The day was beginning to dawn as they neared the cottage at the end of
+the lane, and, just as on the occasion of Camilla's return on the night
+of the meeting, Fido barked furiously at their approach. At Silvio's
+voice, the dog was quieted instantly, and again Marcellino met him at
+the door. Silvio, after saluting the lad, asked where Camilla was. "I
+will show you," was the answer, and leading the way, he took them to an
+eminence near the cottage, from which they beheld, at a little distance,
+a cemetery. "She is there," said Marcellino, pointing with his finger;
+"she passes all her time, from morn till eve, at her father's grave,
+praying and weeping. You will find her there, at all hours, now."
+Silvio, without a word to his companions, who followed slowly, strode on
+towards the spot indicated, which was close by, and soon came in view of
+Camilla, clad in deep mourning, kneeling beside a mound of newly-turned
+earth.
+
+She was so absorbed, that the approach of the three friends was
+unperceived. Silvio, deeply moved, watched her, without daring to speak,
+and neither of the others broke the silence. Presently she rose, and
+clasping her hands in agony, cried bitterly, "Oh, my father, my father,
+I was the cause of your death!" "Camilla," whispered Silvio, coming
+close up. She turned, and gazing at them with a sweet but vacant smile,
+as if her lover's face brought her sin-comprehended comfort, passed on
+in the direction of her home, for the poor girl had not yet regained her
+reason.
+
+Silvio touched her on the arm, as he overtook her, saying, "See Camilla,
+I have brought you a visitor, and if any one should ask who this
+gentleman is, tell them he is an antiquary who is studying the ruins
+around Rome." This was the rôle which Attilio had persuaded Manlio to
+play, until some plan for the future had been formed. After a short
+consultation, as to the precautions they were to observe, Attilio bade
+them farewell, and returned to the city alone, leaving behind him,
+with many a thought of pity and stern indignation, this father's humble
+household, devastated by the devices of the foul priest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. THE PETITION
+
+We must return to the sculptor's domicile, where two days had elapsed
+after the arrest of Manlio, nor had Attilio who was gone in search of
+him, as yet appeared, so that the family were reduced to the greatest
+anxiety.
+
+"What can they be doing with your good father?" repeated constantly the
+weeping mother to her daughter. "He has never mixed with any one whose
+principles would compromise him, although a Liberal. He hates the
+priests, I know, and they deserve to be hated for their vices, but he
+has never talked about it to any one but me."
+
+Clelia shed no tears, but her grief at her father's detention was almost
+deeper than that of her mother, and at last, saddened by these plaints,
+she said, with energy, "Weep no more, mother, tears are of no avail; we
+must act We must discover where my father is concealed, and, as Monna
+Aurelia has advised, we must endeavor to procure his release. Besides,
+Attilio is in search of him, and I know he will not desist until he has
+helped him and us, if he have not already done so."
+
+A knock interrupted Clelia's consolatory words. She ran to the door, and
+opening it, admitted a neighbor, whose name has been mentioned, Monna
+Aurelia, and old and tried friend.
+
+"Good day," said she, as she entered the sitting-room with a cheerful
+countenance.
+
+"Good day," answered Silvia, with a faint smile, wiping her eyes.
+
+"I bring you something, neighbor; our friend Cassio, whom I consulted
+about your husband's affairs, has drawn up this petition on stamped
+paper, supplicating the cardinal minister to set Manlio at liberty.
+He says you must sign it, and had better present it in person to his
+Eminence."
+
+Silvia took the paper, and looked at it doubtfully. She felt a strong
+aversion to this proposition. Could she throw herself at the feet of a
+person whom she despised to implore his mercy? Yet perhaps her husband's
+life was at stake; he might even now be suffering insults, privations,
+even torture. This thought struck a chill to the heart of the wife, and,
+rising, she said decidedly, "I will go with it."
+
+Aurelia offered to accompany her, and in less than half an hour the
+three women were on the road to the palace.
+
+At nine o'clock that same morning, as it happened, the Cardinal
+Procopio, Minister of State, had been informed by the questor of the
+Quirinal of Manlio's escape.
+
+Great was the fury of the prelate at the unwelcome news, and he
+commanded the immediate arrest and confinement of the directors,
+officers on guard, dragoons, and of all, in fact, who had been in charge
+of the prison on the previous night.
+
+Dispatching the questor with this order, he summoned Gianni to his
+presence.
+
+"Why, in the devil's name, was that accursed sculptor confined in
+the Quirinal, instead of being sent to the Castle of St. Angelo?" he
+inquired.
+
+"Your Eminence," replied Gianni, conceitedly, "should have intrusted
+such important affairs to me, and not to a set of idiots and rascals who
+are open to corruption."
+
+"Dost thou come here to annoy me by reflections, sirrah?" blustered the
+priest. "Search in that turnip head of thine for means to bring the girl
+to me, or the palace cellars shall hear thee squeak thy self-praise to
+the tune of the cord or the pincers."
+
+Gianni, knowing that these fearful threats were not vain ones, and
+that, incredible as it may appear to outsiders, tortures too horrible
+to describe daily take place in the Rome of the present day, meekly
+submitted to the storm. With downcast head, the mutilated wretch--for he
+was one of those maimed from their youth to sing falsettos in the choir
+of St. Peter--pondered how to act.
+
+"Lift up thine eyes, knave, if thou darest, and tell me whether or no,
+after causing me to spend such pains and money in this attempt, thou
+hast the hope to succeed?"
+
+Tremblingly Gianni raised his eyes to his master's face as he
+articulated with difficulty the words, "I hope to succeed."
+
+But just as he spoke, to his considerable relief, a bell rang,
+announcing the arrival of a visitor. 'A servant in the Cardinal's colors
+entered, and inquired if his Eminence would be pleased to see three
+women who wished to present a petition.
+
+The Cardinal, waving his dismissal to the still agitated Gianni, gave
+a nod of assent, and assumed an unctuous expression, as the three women
+were ushered into his presence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
+
+Rome is the museum of the fine arts, the curiosity-shop of the world.
+There are collected the ruins of the ancient societies, temples,
+columns, statues, the remains of Italian and Grecian genius,
+_chefs-d'ouvre_ of Praxiteles, Phidias, Raphael, Michael Angelo, and a
+hundred masters. Fountains, from which arise marine colossi, chiefly,
+alas, in ruins, meet the eye on all sides. The stranger is struck with
+amazement and admiration at the sight of these gigantic works of art,
+upon many of which are engraved the mighty battles of a wonderful
+by-gone age. It is not the fault of the priest if their beauty is not
+marred by endless mitres and superstitious signs. But they are still
+marvellous and beautiful, and it was among them that Julia, the
+beautiful daughter of Albion, was constantly to be found. She had
+resided for several years in this city of sublime memorials, and
+daily passed the greater part of her time in sketching all that to her
+cultivated taste appeared most worthy of imitation and study. Michael
+Angelo was her especially favored _maestro_, and she might frequently be
+seen sitting for hours before his colossal statue of Moses, rapt in the
+labor of depicting that brow, upon which, to her vivid imagination, sat
+an air of majestic greatness that appeared almost supernatural. Born and
+bred in free and noble England, she had separated herself voluntarily
+from loving and beloved friends, that she might thus wander undisturbed
+among the objects of her idolatry. Unexpectedly, her pursuits had been
+interrupted by a stronger feeling than art. She had encountered
+Muzio many times in the studio of the sculptor Manlio, and, poor and
+apparently low as he was, Julia had found under the ragged garb of a
+mendicant her ideal of the proud race of the Quirites.
+
+Yes, obscure though he was, Muzio was beloved by this strange English
+girl. He was poor, but what cared she for his poverty.
+
+And Muzio, did he know and return this generous love?
+
+Yes, in truth; but, although he would have given his life to save hers,
+he concealed all consciousness of her interest, and allowed not a single
+action to betray it, though he longed fervently for occasion to render
+her some trifling service, and the opportunity came. As Julia was
+returning from Manlio's studio, some few days before his arrest,
+accompanied by her faithful old nurse, two drunken soldiers rushed upon
+her from a by-way, and dragged her between them some little distance,
+before Muzio, who secretly kept her in view during such transits, could
+come to her succor. No sooner had he reached them, than he struck one
+ruffian to the earth, seeing which, his fellow ran away. The terrified
+Julia thanked him with natural emotion, and besought him not to leave
+them until they reached their own door. Muzio gladly accepted the
+delicious honor of the escort, and felt supremely happy when, at their
+parting, Julia gave him the favor of her hand, and rewarded him with a
+priceless smile. From this evening Muzio's dagger was consecrated to
+her safety, and he vowed that never again should she be insulted in the
+streets of Rome.
+
+It befell that the same day upon which Silvia went to the palace Corsini
+to present her petition, Julia was paying one of her visits to the
+studio. Arriving there, she was informed by a lad in attendance of
+all that had occurred. Whilst pondering over the ominous tale, Attilio
+entered in quest of the ladies, and from him the English girl learned
+the particulars of Manlio's escape. His narration finished, Julia, in
+turn, recounted to him the views that the youth had imparted to her
+concerning the presentation of the petition.
+
+Attilio was much distressed, and could with difficulty be restrained
+from going directly to the palace in search of Silvia and her daughter.
+This would have been very imprudent, and therefore Julia offered, as she
+had access at all times to the palace, to go to the Cardinal's house,
+and ascertain the cause of the now prolonged absence of the mother and
+daughter, promising to return and tell him the result.
+
+Attilio, thoroughly spent with excitement and fatigue, yielded to
+Spartaco's invitation to take some rest, whilst the boy related to him
+the particulars of what had passed since he left them to carry out the
+rescue of his friend.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. SICCIO
+
+Let us return to the year 1849, to the fatal scene in which the young
+Muzio was robbed of his patrimony.
+
+There was an old retainer named Siccio, already introduced, who had
+served longer in the house of Pompeo than any other; he had, in fact,
+been born in it, and had received very many acts of kindness there.
+These benefits he repaid by faithful love to the orphan Muzio, whom he
+regarded almost as tenderly as if he had in reality been his own child.
+He was good, and rather simple, but not so much so as to be blind to
+the pernicious influence which Father Ignazio had acquired over his
+indulgent mistress, and which he feared would be used to the injury of
+her grandchild.
+
+But the guardian of souls, the spiritual physician, the confessor of the
+lady of the house! what servant would dare openly to doubt him, or cross
+his path? Confession, that terrible arm, of priestcraft, that diabolical
+device for seduction, that subtle means of piercing the most sacred
+domestic secrets, and keeping in chains the superstitious sex! Siccio
+dared not openly fight against such weapons.
+
+The confessor was, however, aware of the good servant's mistrust, and
+therefore caused him to be discharged a few days after the Signora
+Virginia breathed her last, though not before he had overheard a certain
+dialogue between Father Ignazio and Sister Flavia.
+
+"What is to be done with the child?" the nun had asked.
+
+"He must pack off to the Foundling," replied he; "there he will be
+safe enough from the evil of this perverted century and its heretical
+doctrines. Besides, we shall have no difficulty in keeping an eye upon
+him," he continued, with a meaning look, which she returned, causing
+Siccio, who was unseen, to prick up his ears.
+
+He straightway resolved not to leave the innocent and helpless child
+in the hands of these fiends, and contrived a few nights after his
+dismissal to obtain an entrance to the house by the excuse that he had
+left some of his property behind. Watching his opportunity he stole
+into the nursery, where he found the neglected child huddled in a corner
+crying with cold and hunger. Siccio, taking him in his arms, soothed him
+until he fell asleep, when he glided cautiously out of the house into
+the street, and hired a conveyance to carry them to a lodging he had
+previously engaged at some distance from the city. To elude suspicion
+and pursuit he had cunningly concealed the little Muzio in a bundle
+of clothes, and alighting from the vehicle before he arrived at his
+dwelling, quietly unwound and aroused the child, who trotted at his
+side, and was introduced by him to his landlady as his grandson.
+
+During the lifetime of Muzio's father, who was an amateur antiquary,
+Siccio had gained a considerable knowledge of the history of the rains
+around Rome by attending him in his researches. This knowledge, as he
+could not take service as a domestic, on account of his unwillingness to
+part from the child, he determined to avail himself of, and so become
+a regular cicerone. His pay for services in this capacity was so small,
+that he could with difficulty provide for himself and his little charge
+even the bare necessaries of existence. This mode of living he pursued
+however for some years, until the infirmities of old age creeping upon
+him, he found it harder than ever to procure food and shelter of the
+commonest kind. What could he now do? He looked at Muzio's graceful
+form, and an inspiration broke upon him. Yes, he would brave the danger,
+and take him to the city, for he felt that the artists and sculptors
+would rejoice to obtain such a model. The venture was made, and Siccio
+was elated and gratified beyond measure at the admiration Muzio, now in
+his fifteenth year, called forth from the patrons of Roman "models."
+
+For a while they were enabled to live in comparative comfort. Siccio now
+dared to reveal to him the secret of his birth, and the manner in
+which he had been despoiled, as the old man only suspected, of his
+inheritance. Great was the indignation of the youth, and still greater
+his gratitude to the good Siccio, who had toiled so uncomplainingly for
+him, but from this time he steadily refused to sit as a model. Work he
+would, even menial work he did not despise, and he might have been seen
+frequently in the different studios moving massive blocks of marble, for
+his strength far exceeded that of other youths of his own age. He also
+now and then assumed the duties of a cicerone, when the aged Siccio
+was unable to leave the house from sickness. His youthful beauty often
+induced strangers to give him a gratuity; but as he was never seen to
+hold out his hand, the beggars of Rome called him ironically "Signor."
+
+In spite of his efforts, Muzio was unable, as Siccio's feebleness
+increased, to provide for all their wants, and he became gloomy and
+morose. One wonderful evening, when Siccio was sitting alone, shortly
+after Julia's adventure, a woman closely veiled entered his mean little
+room, and placing a heavy purse upon the table, said--
+
+"Here is something, my worthy friend, which may be useful to you.
+Scruple not to employ it, and seek not to discover the name of the
+donor, or should you by chance learn it, let it be your own secret." And
+thus, without giving the astonished old man time to recover his speech,
+she went out closing the door behind her.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. THE CORSINI PALACE.
+
+"This is truly an unexpected blessing--a fountain in the desert,"
+thought the Cardinal, as the three women were ushered into the
+audience-chamber. "Providence serves me better than these knaves by whom
+I am surrounded." Casting an undisguised look of admiration at Clelia,
+who stood modestly behind her mother, he said aloud, "Let the petition
+be brought forward."
+
+Monna Aurelia, considerately taking the document from Silvia, advanced
+with it, and presented it on her knees.
+
+After perusing it with apparent attention, the Cardinal addressed
+Aurelia, saying, "So you are the wife of that Manlio who takes upon
+himself to shelter and protect the enemies of the State, of his Holiness
+the Pope?"
+
+"It is I who am the wife of Signor Manlio, your Eminence," said Silvia,
+advancing. "This lady," pointing to Aurelia, "kindly offered to appear
+before your Eminence, and assure you that neither my husband or I have
+ever meddled with politics, and are persons of unquestioned honesty."
+
+"Unquestioned honesty!" repeated the Cardinal, in simulated anger.
+"Why, then, as you are so very honest, do you first shelter heretics
+and enemies of the state, and then assist them to escape in such an
+unpardonable manner?"
+
+"To escape!" exclaimed Clelia, who had hitherto preserved her presence
+of mind. "Then my father is no longer confined in this dreadful
+place"--and a flush of joy spread itself over her lovely features.
+
+"Yes, he has escaped; but ere long he will be re-taken, and must answer
+for his double crime," said the Cardinal.
+
+These words gave a blow to Silvia's new-born hopes, and, what with
+surprise, fear, and excitement, she fell back into her daughter's arms
+in a swoon.
+
+The Cardinal, hardened to such scenes, at once determined to take
+advantage of it, so summoning some servants, he ordered them to convey
+the fainting woman and her friends to another room, where proper
+remedies could be applied to restore the stricken wife. As they made
+their exit, he rubbed his soft hands gleefully, saying to himself, "Ah,
+my pretty one! you shall not leave the palace until you have paid me a
+fee." He then sent for Gianni, who, recognizing the trio at their entry,
+had remained at hand, as he divined his services would be needed. When
+he presented himself, his master chuckled out--
+
+"Ebben, Signor Gianni! Providence beats your boasted ability out and
+out."
+
+Gianni, knowing that all was sunshine again when he was thus dignified
+by the title "Signor," answered, "Have I not always said your Eminence
+was born under a lucky star?"
+
+"Well," continued the profane Cardinal, "since Providence favors me,
+it now only rests with you, Gianni, to finish the matter off." Then he
+continued, "Follow the women, and see that every respect is paid them;
+and when they are calmed, direct Father Ignazio to send for the elder
+woman and the wife of the sculptor, under pretense of questioning them
+about his escape, that I may have an opportunity of conversing alone
+with the incomparable Clelia."
+
+Bowing profoundly, the scoundrel departed to execute his dissolute
+master's commands.
+
+As he passed out, a lackey entered, announcing that "Una Signora
+Inglese" wished to see his Eminence on business.
+
+"Introduce her," said Procopio, stroking his chin complacently; for
+he congratulated himself, in spite of the interruption, on his good
+fortune, as he admired the young Englishwoman excessively.
+
+Julia greeted him frankly as an acquaintance, holding ont her hand in
+the English fashion, which he took, expressing in warm terms, as he led
+her to a seat, his delight at seeing her.
+
+"And to what am I to attribute the felicity of again receiving you so
+soon under my roof? This room," he continued, "so lately brightened by
+your presence, has a renewed grace for me now."
+
+Julia seated herself, and replied, gravely, for she was slightly
+discomposed by the Cardinal's flattery, "Your Eminence is too
+condescending. As you well know, my former object in coming to the
+palace was to crave leave to copy some of the _chefs-d'ouvre_ with which
+it is adorned; but today I am here on a different errand."
+
+The Cardinal, drawing a chair to her side and seating himself, said,
+"And may I inquire its nature, beautiful lady?" placing, as he spoke,
+his hands upon hers with an insinuating pressure.
+
+Julia, resenting the Cardinal's familiarity, drew her chair back;
+but, as he again approached, she stood up, and placed it between them,
+saying, as he attempted to rise, and with a look that made him flinch,
+"You surely forget yourself, Monseigneur; be seated, or I must leave
+you."
+
+The prelate, profoundly abashed by the dignity of the English girl,
+obeyed, and she continued, "My object is to obtain information of the
+wife and daughter of the sculptor Manlio, who, I am told, came to the
+palace some hours ago to present a petition to your Eminence."
+
+"They came here, but have already left," stammered Procopio, as soon as
+he had recovered from his surprise.
+
+"Is it long since they quitted your Eminence?" asked Julia.
+
+"But a few minutes," was the reply.
+
+"I presume they have left the palace, then?"
+
+"Assuredly," affirmed he, unblushingly.
+
+Julia, with a gesture of incredulity, bowed, and took her leave.
+
+What is there perfect in the world? This English nation is by no means
+exempt from imperfection; yet the English are the only people who can
+be compared with the ancient Romans, for they resemble each other in the
+splendid selfishness of their virtues and their vices.
+
+Egotists and conquerors, the history of both abounds in crime committed
+either in their own dominions, or in those countries which they invaded
+and subdued. Many are the nations they have overthrown to satisfy their
+boundless thirst for gold and power.
+
+Yet who dare deny that the Britons, with all their faults, have
+contributed largely to the civilization and social advancement of
+mankind? They have laid the grand foundations of a new idea of humanity,
+erect, inflexible, majestic, free; obeying no masters but the laws which
+they themselves have made, no kings but those which they themselves
+control.
+
+By untiring patience and indomitable legality, this people has known
+how to reconcile government and order with the liberty of a self-ruling
+community.
+
+The isle of England has become a sanctuary, an inviolable refuge for the
+unfortunate of all other nations. Those proscribed by tyrants, and the
+tyrants who have proscribed them, flee alike to her hospitable shores,
+and find shelter on the single condition of taking their place as
+citizens among citizens, and yielding obedience to the sovereign laws.
+
+England, too, be it ever remembered first proclaimed to the world the
+emancipation of the slave, and her people willingly submitted to an
+increased taxation in order to carry out this glorious act in all her
+colonies. Her descendants in America have, after a long and bloody
+struggle between freedom and oligarchy, banished slavery also forever
+from the New World.
+
+Lastly, to England Italy is indebted in part for her reconstruction, by
+reason of that resolute proclamation of fair play and no intervention in
+the Straits of Messina in 1860.
+
+To France Italy is also, indeed, indebted, since so many of her heroic
+soldiers fell in the Italian cause in the battles of Solferino and
+Magenta. She has also profited, like the rest of the world, by the
+writings of the great minds of France, and by her principles of justice
+and freedom. To France, moreover, we owe, in a great measure, the
+abolition of piracy in the Mediterranean. France marched, in truth, for
+some centuries alone, as the leader in civilization.
+
+The time was when she proclaimed and propagated liberty to the world;
+but she has now, alas! fallen, and is crouching before the image of a
+fictitious greatness, while her ruler endeavors to defraud the nation
+which he has exasperated, and employs his troops to deprive Italy of the
+freedom which he helped to give her.
+
+Let us hope that, for the welfare of humanity, she will, ere long,
+resume her proper position, and, united with England, once again use
+her sublime power to put down violence and corruption, and raise the
+standard of universal liberty and progress.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. ENGLISH JULIA
+
+In Siccio's little room was that same evening gathered a group of three
+persons who would have gladdened the heart and eyes of any judge of
+manly and womanly beauty.
+
+Is it a mere caprice of chance to be born beautiful? The spirit is not
+always reflected in the form. I have known many a noble heart enshrined
+in an unpleasing body. Nevertheless, man is drawn naturally to the
+beautiful. A fine figure and noble features instinctively call forth
+not only admiration, but confidence; and every one rejoices in having
+a handsome father, a beautiful mother, fine children, or a leader
+resembling Achilles rather than Thersites. On the other hand, how much
+injustice and mortification are often borne on account of deformity, and
+how many are the wounds inflicted by thoughtless persons on those thus
+afflicted by their undisguised contempt or more cruel pity.
+
+Julia, for she it is who forms the loveliest of our triad, had just
+returned from her visit to the palace, and related to her auditors,
+Attilio and Muzio, what had transpired.
+
+"Yes!" she exclaims, "he told me they were gone; but you see how
+powerful is gold to obtain the truth, even in that den of vice! The
+ladies are there detained. I bought the truth of one of his people."
+
+Attilio, much disturbed, passed his hand over his brow as he paced and
+repaced the floor.
+
+Julia, seeing how perturbed in spirit he was by her discovery, went to
+him, and, placing her hand with a gentle pressure upon his shoulder,
+besought him to be calm, saying that he needed all possible self-control
+and presence of mind to procure his betrothed's release.
+
+"You are right, Signora," said Muzio, who until now had remained silent,
+but watchful; "you are ever right."
+
+The triad had already discussed a plan of rescue; and Muzio proposed
+to let Silvio know, and to engage him to meet them with some of his
+companions at ten o'clock.
+
+Muzio was noble-minded, and though he loved the beautiful stranger with
+all the force of his passionate southern nature, he felt no thought
+of jealousy as he thus prepared to leave her alone with his attractive
+friend.
+
+Nor did Julia run any danger from her warm feeling of compassion for
+Attilio, for her love for Muzio, though as yet unspoken, was pure and
+inalienable. A love that no change of fortune, time, or even death,
+could destroy. She had but lately learned the story of his birth and
+misfortunes, and this, be sure, had not served to lessen it.
+
+"No," she replied; "I will bid you both adieu for the present. At
+ten o'clock I shall await you in a carriage near the Piazza, and will
+receive the ladies, and cany them, when you have liberated them, to a
+place of safety."
+
+So saying, she beckoned to her nurse to follow, and departed to make the
+necessary arrangements for the flight of the sculptor's family, whose
+cause she had magnanimously espoused, ignoring completely the personal
+danger she was incurring.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. RETRIBUTION
+
+Justice! sacred word, yet how art thou abused by the powerful upon
+earth! Was not Christ, the just one, crucified in the name of justice?
+Was not Galileo put to the torture in the name of justice? And are not
+the laws of this unjust Babel, falsely called civilized Europe, made and
+administered in the name of justice? Ay, in Europe, where the would-be
+industrious man dies of hunger, and the idle and profligate flaunt
+in luxury and splendor!--in Europe, where a few families govern
+the nations, and keep them in a chronic state of warfare under the
+high-sounding names of justice, loyalty, military glory, and the like!
+There in the palace sit Procopio and Ignazio in the name of justice.
+Outside are the rabble--Attilio, forsooth, Muzio, and Silvio, with
+twenty of our three hundred, who mean to have justice after their own
+fashion. The hearts of these suitors are glad and gay, as on the eve of
+a feast. It is true they beat, but it is in confident hope, for the
+hour of their duty is near. They pace the Lungara in parties of twos and
+threes, to avoid suspicion, awaiting the striking of the clock. Whilst
+they linger outside, we will enter, and take a retrospect.
+
+When Gianni summoned Aurelia and Silvia to attend Father Ignazio,
+Clelia, suspecting treachery, drew a golden stiletto from her hair and
+secreted it in her belt, that it might be at hand in the event of her
+needing it to defend herself.
+
+The prelate, meantime, having attired himself in his richest robes, in
+the hope that their magnificence might have effect upon the simple girl,
+prepared, as he facetiously termed it, "to summon the fortress." Opening
+the door of the apartment in which Clelia was anxiously awaiting her
+mother's return, he entered with a false benignancy upon his face.
+
+"You must pardon us," he said, "for having detained you so long, my
+daughter, but I wished to assure you in person that no harm shall
+befall your father, as well as," he continued--and here he caught up her
+hand--"to tell you, most lovely of women, that since I beheld you first
+my heart has not ceased to burn with the warmest love for you."
+
+Clelia, startled by the words and the passionate look which the Cardinal
+fixed upon her, drew back a little space, so as to place a small table
+between them.
+
+Then ensued a shameful burst of insult and odious entreaty. In vain
+did he plead, urging that her consent alone could procure her father's'
+pardon. Clelia continued to preserve her look of horror, and her
+majestic scorn, contriving by her movements to keep the table between
+them. Enraged beyond measure, the Cardinal made a sign to his creatures,
+Ignazio and Gianni, who were near at hand, to enter.
+
+Clelia, comprehending her danger, snatched forth her dagger, and
+exclaimed in an indignant voice, "Touch me at your peril! rather than
+submit to your infamous desires I will plunge this poniard into my
+heart!"
+
+The libidinous prelate, not understanding such virtue, approached to
+wrest the weapon from the Roman girl, but received a gash upon his palm,
+as she snatched it free, and stood upon the defensive, with majestic
+anger and desperation. He called to his satellites, and they closed like
+a band of devils about the maiden; nor was it till their blood was drawn
+by more than one thrust from her despair, that Gianni caught the wrist
+of Clelia as she strove to plunge the knife into her own heart, while
+Father Ignazio passed swiftly behind her, and seized her left hand,
+motioning to Gianni to hold the right fast, and the Cardinal himself
+threw his arms around her. The heroic girl was thus finally deprived of
+her weapon. This achieved, they proceeded to drag her towards an alcove,
+where a couch was placed, behind a curtain of tapestry.
+
+At this instant, happily for our heroine, there was a sudden crash in
+the vestibule, and as her assailants turned their heads in the direction
+of the sound, two manly forms, terrible in their fiery wrath and grace,
+rushed forward. The first, Attilio, flew to his beloved, who, from
+revulsion of feeling, was becoming rapidly insensible, and tore her from
+the villains, while the prelate and his accomplices yielded their hold
+with a cry, and endeavored to escape. This Muzio prevented by barring
+the way; and bidding Silvio, and some of his men, who arrived at this
+juncture, to surround them, he drew forth a cord, and, after gagging
+the three scoundrels, he commenced binding the arms of the affrighted
+priest, his friends similarly treating Ignazio and the trembling tool
+Gianni Many and abject were the gestures of these miserable men for
+mercy, but none was shown by their infuriated captors, but the prayers
+and curses of the Cardinal were choked with his own mantle; and Muzio
+did not refrain, as Father Ignazio writhed under the pressure of the
+cord, from reminding him of his villainy in robbing a helpless child of
+his lawful inheritance.
+
+At dawn three bodies, suspended from a window of the Corsini palace,
+were seen by the awakening people, and a paper was found upon the
+breast of the Cardinal, with these words, "So perish all those who have
+polluted the metropolis of the world with falsehood, corruption, and
+deceit, and turned it into a sewer and a stew."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. THE EXILE
+
+The sun of that avenging morning was beginning to shed its rays upon
+the few stragglers in the Forum who, with pale squalid faces betokening
+hunger and misery, shook their rags free of dust as they rose
+unrefreshed from their slumbers, when a carriage containing four women
+rolled through the suburbs. It passed rapidly along towards those vast
+uninhabited plains, where little is to be seen except a wooden cross
+here and there, reminding the traveller unpleasantly that on that spot a
+murder has been committed.
+
+Arriving at the little house already twice mentioned, its occupants
+alighted; and who shall describe the joy of that meeting. Julia and
+Aurelia contemplated in silence the reunion of the now happy Manlio with
+his wife and daughter, for all the prisoners of the wicked palace were
+free.
+
+Camilla also watched their tears of gladness, but without any clear
+comprehension. Could she have known the fate of her seducer, it might
+perchance have restored her reason. After a thousand questions had been
+asked and answered, Manlio addressed Julia, saying-
+
+"Exile, alas! is all that remains for us. This atrocious Government can
+not endure; but until it is annihilated we must absent ourselves from
+our home and friends."
+
+"Yes, yes! you must fly!" Julia said. "But it will not be long, I trust,
+ere you will be able to return to Rome, and find her cleansed from the
+slavery under which she now groans. My yacht is lying at Port d'Anzo; we
+will make all haste to gain it, and I hope to see you embark safely in
+the course of a few hours."
+
+A yacht! I hear some of my Italian readers cry. What part of a woman's
+belongings can this be? A yacht, then, is a small vessel in which the
+sea-loving and wealthy British take their pleasure on the ocean, for
+they fear not the storm, the heat of the torrid zone, or the cold of
+the frozen ocean. Albion's sons, ay, and her daughters, too, leave their
+comfortable firesides, and find life, health, strength, and happiness in
+inhaling the briny air on board their own beautiful craft in pursuit of
+enjoyment and knowledge. France, Spain, and Italy have not this little
+word in their dictionaries. Their rich men dare not seek their pleasure
+upon the waves--they give themselves to the foolish luxuries of great
+cities, and hence is it that names like Rodney and Nelson are not in
+their histories. Albion alone has always loved and ruled the waves for
+centuries. Her wooden walls have been her inviolable defense. May her
+new iron ramparts protect her hospitable shores from foreign foes!
+
+But a yacht is a strange thing for a woman to possess. True, but
+English Julia in childhood was of delicate constitution; the
+physicians prescribed a sea-voyage, and her opulent parents equipped a
+pleasure-vessel for her use. Thus Julia became so devoted to the blue
+waves that, even when the balmy air of Italy had restored her to robust
+health, she continued, when inclination disposed her, to make little
+voyages of romance, discovery, and freedom in the waters of the
+Mediterranean. Thus it was that she could offer so timely a refuge to
+the family of the sculptor.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. THE BATHS OF CARACALLA
+
+Imagine the consternation in Rome on the 15th of February, the day
+following the tragic death of the Cardinal Procopio and his two
+abettors. Great, in truth, was the agitation of the city when the three
+bodies were seen dangling from the upper window of the palace. The panic
+spread rapidly, and the immense crowd under the façade increased
+more and more, until a battalion of foreign soldiers, sent for by
+the terrified priests, appeared in the Lungara, and driving it back,
+surrounded and entered the palace. To tell the truth, the soldiers
+laughed sometimes at the jests, coarse but witty, which were flung by
+the mob at the three corpses as they commenced hauling them up. Many
+were the bitter things that passed below.
+
+"Let them down head over heels," shouted one; "your work will be
+finished the sooner."
+
+"Play the fish steadily, that they may not slip from the hook," hallooed
+another.
+
+By-and-by the cord to which the corpulent body of the prelate was
+attached broke as the soldiers attempted to hoist it up, and hoarser
+than ever were the shouts of laughter with which it was greeted as it
+fell with a heavy shock upon the pavement.
+
+Muzio, who was surveying the avenging spectacle, turned to Silvio,
+saying, with a shudder, "Let us away; this laughter is not to my taste
+now they have paid their debt.
+
+"In truth, Pasquin is almost the only real memorial of ancient Rome.
+Would that my people possessed the gravity and force of those times,
+when our forefathers elected the great dictators, or bought and sold,
+at a high price, the lands upon which Hannibal was at the time attacked.
+But it must be long before their souls can be freed from the plague of
+priestly corruption, and before they can once more be worthy of their
+ancient fame and name."
+
+"We must have patience with them," replied Silvio. "Slavery reduces man
+to the level of the beast These priests have themselves inculcated the
+rude mockery which we hear. At least, it could have no fitter objects
+than those dead carcasses. Reproach not the people to-day--mud is good
+enough for dead dogs."
+
+Thus discoursing, the friends made their way through the crowd, and
+separated, having first appointed to meet at the end of the week in the
+studio of Attilio.
+
+On the day in question they found the young artist at home, and gave him
+a detailed account of what they had witnessed under the palace windows.
+It was the time for the reassembling of the Three Hundred, but, before
+setting out to meet their associates at the Baths of Caracalla, they lay
+down to rest for a few hours; and while they slumber we will give some
+account of the place of assignation.
+
+Masters of the world, and wealthy beyond compute from its manifold
+spoils, the ancient Romans gave themselves up, in the later days of the
+Republic, to fashion, luxuriousness, and excesses of all kinds. The
+toil of the field--whether of battle or of agriculture--although it had
+conduced to make them hardy and healthy before their triumphs, had now
+become distasteful and odious. Their limbs, rendered effeminate by a
+new and fatal voluptuousness, grew at last unequal even to the weight of
+their arms, and they chose out the stoutest from among their slaves
+to serve as soldiers. The foreign people by whom they were surrounded
+failed not to note the advantage which time and change were preparing
+for them over their dissolute masters. They rose with Goth and Ostrogoth
+to free themselves from the heavy yoke. They fell upon the queenly city
+on all sides, and discrowned her of her imperial diadem.
+
+Such was the fate of that gigantic empire, which fell, as all powers
+ought to fall which are based on violence and injustice.
+
+One of the chief imported luxuries of the degenerate Romans were the
+thermæ, or baths, edifices upon which immense sums were lavished to make
+them beautiful and commodious in the extreme. Some were private, others
+public. The emperors vied with each other to render them celebrated and
+attractive. Caracalla, the unworthy son of Severus, and one of the very
+vilest of the line of Cæsars, built the vast pile which is still called
+by his evil name; the ruins of which forcibly illustrate the splendor
+of the past sovereignty, and the reasons of its swift decay. The greater
+number of these conspicuous and magnificent buildings in the city of
+Rome have subterranean passages attached to them, provided by their
+original possessors as a means of escape in times of danger, or to
+conceal the results of rapine or violence. In the subterranean passages
+connected with the Baths of Caracalla it was that the Three Hundred had
+agreed to meet, and as the darkness of night crept on, the outposts of
+the conspirators, like gliding shadows, planted themselves silently at
+the approaches to the wilderness of antique stones, from time to time
+challenging, in a whisper, other and more numerous shadows, which
+by-and-by converged to the spot.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. THE TRAITOR
+
+The liberation of Manlio and the execution of the Cardinal gave an
+unexpected blow to the Pontifical Government, and aroused it from its
+previous easy lethargy. All the foreign and native soldiers available
+were put under arms, and the police were everywhere on the _qui vive_,
+arresting upon the slightest suspicion citizens of all classes, so that
+the prisons speedily became filled to overflowing.
+
+One of the Three Hundred--shameful to say--had been bought over to act
+as a spy upon the movements of his comrades. Happily he was not one of
+those select members chosen to assist in the attack upon the Quirinal
+prison, or the release of Silvia and Clelia. Of the proposed meeting at
+the Baths of Caracalla he was nevertheless cognizant, and had duly given
+information of it to the police.
+
+Now, Italian conspirators make use of a counter police, at the head of
+which was Muzio.
+
+His garb of lazzarone served him in good stead, and by favor of it
+he often managed to obtain information from those in the pay of the
+priests, who commonly employ the poor and wretched people that beg for
+bread in the streets and market-places of Rome in the capacity of spies.
+
+But this time he was ill-informed. The last conspirator had entered
+the subterranean passage, and Attilio had put the question, "Are the
+sentinels at their posts?" when a low sound, like the hissing of a
+snake, resounded through the vault. This was Muzio's signal of alarm,
+and he himself appeared at the archway.
+
+"There is no time to be lost," said he; "we are already hemmed in on one
+side by an armed force, and at the southern exit another is taking up
+its position."
+
+This imminent danger, instead of making these brave youths tremble,
+served but to fill them with stern resolve and courage.
+
+Attilio looked once on the strong band assembled around him, and then
+bade Silvio take two men and go to the entrance to reconnoitre.
+
+Another sentinel approached at this moment from the south, and
+corroborated Muzio's statement.
+
+The sentinels from the remaining points failing to appear, a fear that
+they had been arrested fell upon the young men, and their leader was
+somewhat troubled on this account, until Silvio returned, and reported
+that upon nearing the mouth of the passage he had seen them. At this
+moment they heard a few shots, and immediately after the sentinels in
+question entered, and informed the chief they had witnessed a large
+number of troops gathering, and had fired upon one file, which had
+ventured to advance.
+
+Attilio, seeing delay would be ruinous, commanded Muzio to charge out
+with a third of the company, he himself would follow up with his own
+third, and Silvio was to hurl the rearmost section upon the troops.
+
+Attilio briefly said, "It is the moment of deeds, not words. No matter
+how large the number opposed to us, we must carve a road through them
+with our daggers." He then directed Muzio to lead on a detachment of
+twenty men, with a swift rush, upon the enemy, promising to follow
+quickly.
+
+Muzio, quickly forming his twenty men, wrapped his cloak around his
+left arm, and grasping his weapon firmly in his right, gave the word to
+charge out.
+
+In a few moments the cavernous vault startled those outside by vomiting
+a torrent of furious men; and as the youths rushed upon the satellites
+of despotism, the Pope's soldiers heading the division had not even time
+to level their guns before they were wrenched from their grasp, and many
+received their death-blow.
+
+The others, thoroughly demoralized at the cry of the second and third
+divisions bursting forth, took to flight, headlong and shameful. The
+Campo Vaccino and the streets of Rome hard by the Campidoglio were in a
+short time filled with the fugitives, still pursued by those whom they
+should have taken prisoners.
+
+Helmets, swords, and guns lay scattered in all directions, and more were
+wounded by the weapons of their own friends in their flight, than by
+the daggers of their pursuers; in effect the rout was laughable and
+complete.
+
+The brave champions of Roman liberty, satisfied with having so utterly
+discomfited the mercenaries of his Holiness, dispersed, and returned to
+their several homes.
+
+Amongst the dead bodies discovered next morning near the baths was that
+of a mere youth, whose beard had scarcely begun to cover his face with
+down. He was lying on his back, and on his breast was the shameful word
+"traitor," pinned with a dagger. He had been recognized by the Three
+Hundred, and swiftly punished.
+
+Poor Paolo, alas, had the misfortune--for misfortune it proved--to
+fall in love with the daughter of a priest, who, enacting the part of
+a Delilah, betrayed him to her father as soon as she had learned he was
+connected with a secret conspiracy. To save his life, the wretched youth
+consented to become a paid spy in the service of the priesthood, and it
+was thus he drew his pay.
+
+The worth of one intrepid man, as Attilio showed, is inestimable; a
+single man of lion heart can put to flight a whole army.
+
+On the other hand, how contagious is fear. I have seen whole armies
+seized by a terrible panic in open day at a cry of "Escape who can;"
+"Cavalry;" "The enemy," or even the sound of a few shots--an army that
+had fought, and would again fight, patiently and gallantly.
+
+Fear is shameful and degrading, and I think the southern nations of
+Europe are more liable to it than the cooler and more serious peoples of
+the north; but never may I see an Italian army succumb to that sudden
+ague-fit which kills the man, even though he seems to save his life
+thereby!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. THE TORTURE
+
+As the hour of solemn vengeance had not yet struck, fright, and fright
+alone for the black-robed rulers of Rome was the result of the events we
+have detailed.
+
+The priests were in mortal terror lest the thread by which the sword of
+popular wrath was suspended should be cut.
+
+The hour, however, had not struck; the measure of the cup was not full;
+the God of justice delayed the day of his retribution.
+
+Know you what the lust of priests is to torture? Do you know that by the
+priests Galileo was tortured? Galileo, the greatest of Italians! Who but
+priests could have committed him to the torture? Who but an archbishop
+could have condemned to death by starvation in a walled-up prison
+Ugolino and his four sons?
+
+Where but in Rome have priests hated virtue and learning while they
+fostered ignorance and patronized vice? Woe to the man who, gifted by
+God above his fellows, has dared to exhibit his talent in Papal Italy.
+Has he not been immediately consigned to moral and physical tortures,
+until he admitted darkness was light?
+
+Is it not surprising that in spite of the light of the nineteenth
+century, a people should be found willing to believe the blasphemous
+fables called the doctrines of the Church, and the priests permitted to
+hold or withhold salvation at their pleasure, and to exercise such power
+in such a continent, that rulers court their alliance as a means
+of enabling them the more effectually to keep, in subjection their
+miserable subjects?
+
+In England, America, and Switzerland this torture has been abolished.
+There progress is not a mere word. In Rome the torture exists in all its
+power, though concealed. Light has yet to penetrate the secrets of those
+dens of infamy called cloisters, seminaries, convents, where beings,
+male and female, are immured as long as life lasts, and are bound by
+terrible vows to resign forever the ties of natural affection and sacred
+friendship.
+
+Fearful are the punishments inflicted upon any hapless member suspected
+of being lax in his belief, or desirous of being released from his
+oaths. Redress for them is impossible in a country where despotism is
+absolute, and the liberty of the press chained.
+
+Yes, in Rome, where sits the Vicar of God, the representative of Christ,
+the man of peace, the torture, I say, still exists as in the times of
+Saint Dominic and Torquemada. The cord and the pincers are in constant
+requisition in these present days of political convulsion.
+
+Poor Dentato, the sergeant of dragoons who facilitated the escape of
+Manlio, soon experienced this. He had been unfortunately identified as
+engaged at the Quirinal Morning, noon, and night means too horrible to
+divulge were resorted to to compel him to give up the names of those
+concerned in the attack upon the prison. Failing to gain their point,
+he had been left by his tormentors a shapeless mass, imploring his
+persecutors to show mercy by putting him to death.
+
+Unhappy man! the executioners falsely declared he had denounced his
+accomplices, and continued daily to make fresh arrests.
+
+Yet the world still tolerates these fiends in human form, and kings
+moreover impose them upon our unhappy countries. God grant the people
+of Italy will before long have the will and the courage to break this
+hateful yoke from off their necks! God set us free, before we are weary
+of praying, from those who take His holy name in vain, and chase Christ
+himself out of the Temple to set their money-changing stalls therein!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII. THE BRIGANDS
+
+Let us leave for a time these scenes of horror, and follow our fugitives
+on the road to Porto d'Anzo. Their hearts are sad, for they are leaving
+many dear to them behind in the city, and their road is one of danger,
+until it be the sea; but, as they breathe the pure air of the country,
+their spirits revive--that country once so populated and fertile, now so
+barren and deserted. Perhaps it would be difficult to find another spot
+on earth that presents so many objects of past grandeur and present
+misery as the Campagna. The ruins, scattered on all sides, give
+pleasure to the antiquary, and convince him of the prosperity and
+grandeur of its ancient inhabitants, while the sportsman finds beasts
+and birds enough to satisfy him; but the lover of mankind mourns, it
+is a graveyard of past glories, with the priests for sextons. The
+proprietors of these vast plains are few, and those few, priests, who
+are too much absorbed by the pleasures and vices of the city, to
+visit their properties, keeping, at the most, a few flocks of sheep or
+buffaloes.
+
+Brigandage is inseparable from priestly government, which is easy to
+understand when we remember that it is supported by the aid of cowardly
+and brutal mercenaries. These, becoming robbers, murderers, and
+criminal offenders, flee to such places as this desert, where they find
+undisturbed refuge and shelter.
+
+Statistics prove that in Rome murders are of more frequent occurrence
+in proportion to the population than in any other city. And how, indeed,
+can it be otherwise, when we consider the corrupt education instilled by
+the priests?
+
+The outlaws are styled brigands, and to these may be added troops of
+runaway hirelings of the priests, who have committed such dreadful
+ravages during the last few years. We have a sympathy for the wild
+spirits who seem to live by plunder, but who retire to the plains, and
+pass a rambling life, without being guilty of theft or murder, in order
+to escape the humiliations to which the citizen is daily subjected.
+
+The tenacity and courage shown by these in their encounters with the
+police and national guards, are worthy of a better cause, and prove that
+such men, if led by a lawful ruler, and inspired with a love for their
+country, would form an army that would resist triumphantly any foreign
+invader.
+
+All "brigands" are, indeed, not assassins.
+
+Orazio, a valorous Roman, though a brigand, was respected and admired
+by all in Trastevere, particularly by the Roman women, who never fail to
+recognize and appreciate personal bravery.
+
+He was reputed to be descended from the famous Horatius Cocles, who
+alone defended a bridge against the army of Porsenna, and, like him,
+curiously enough, had lost an eye. Orazio had served the Roman Republic
+with honor. While yet a beardless youth he was one of the first who,
+on the glorious 30th of April, charged and put to flight the foreign
+invaders. In Palestrina he received an honorable wound in the forehead,
+and at Velletri, after unhorsing a Neapolitan officer with his
+arquebuss, deprived him of his arms, and carried him in triumph to Rome.
+Well would it have been for Julia and her friends had men of this type
+alone haunted the lonely plain! But when they were not far distant from
+the coast, a sudden shot, which brought the coachman down from his seat,
+informed our fugitives that they were about to be attacked by brigands,
+and were already in range of their muskets. Manlio instantly seized the
+reins and whipped the hones, but four of the band, armed to the teeth,
+rushed immediately at the horses' heads. "Do not stir, or you are a dead
+man," shouted one of the robbers, who appeared to be the leader. Manlio,
+convinced that resistance was useless, wisely remained immovable. In no
+very gallant tone, the ladies were bidden to descend, but, at the sight
+of so much beauty, the robbers became softened at first, for a time, and
+fixed their admiring looks upon the exquisite features of the youthful
+Clelia and the fair Englishwoman, with some promise of repentance. But
+their savage natures soon got the better of such a show of grace. The
+chief addressed the disconcerted party in a rough tone, saying, "Ladies,
+if you come with us quietly no harm shall happen to _you_, but if you
+resist, you will endanger your own lives; while, to show you that we are
+in earnest, I shall immediately shoot that man," pointing to Manlio, who
+remained stationary on the box. The effects produced upon the terrified
+women by this threat were various. Silvia and Aurelia burst into tears,
+and Clelia turned deadly pale. Julia, better accustomed to encounter
+dangers, preserved her countenance with that fearlessness so
+characteristic of her countrywomen. "Will you not," said she, advancing
+close to the brigand, "take what we possess? we will willingly give you
+all we have;" putting, at the same time, a heavily-filled parse into his
+hand, "but spare our lives, and permit us to continue our journey."
+
+The wretch, after carefully weighing the money, replied, "Not so, pretty
+lady," as he gazed with ardent eyes from her to Clelia; "it is by
+no means every day that we are favored by fortune with such charming
+plunder. We are in luck with such lovely ones. You must accompany us."
+
+Julia remained silent, not realizing the villain's presumption; but
+Clelia, to whom the chill of despair which struck her when her
+father's life was menaced was yielding to a deeper horror still at
+the scoundrel's words, with a spasm of anger and terror, snatching her
+poniard from her bosom, sprang upon the unprepared bandit.
+
+Julia, seeing the heroic resolution of her friend, also attacked him;
+but alas! they had not the chief alone to struggle with. His comrades
+came to his assistance, and the English girl was speedily overpowered,
+whilst Clelia was left vainly to assail him, for, although she succeeded
+in inflicting several wounds, they were of so slight a nature that, with
+the aid of a follower, he had no difficulty in wresting her weapon from
+her and securing her hands.
+
+When Julia was dragged off by two of the ruffians towards some bushes,
+Aurelia and Silvia followed, entreating them not to kill her.
+
+Manlio, who had attempted to leap to the ground to aid his daughter,
+had been instantly beaten to the earth, and was being dragged off in the
+direction of the same thicket by the band, while the chief brought up
+the rear with Clelia in his arms.
+
+All appeared lost. Death--and worse than death--threatened them.
+
+But they had not gone many paces before the knave whose vile arms
+encircled Julia was felled to the ground by a blow from a sudden hand;
+and Clelia gave a cry of joy as her deliverer raised her from the
+ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. THE LIBERATOR
+
+Clelia's liberator, who had arrived so opportunely on the scene of
+violence, was by no means a giant, being not more than an inch or
+two above the ordinary height; but the erectness of his person, the
+amplitude of his chest, and the squareness of his shoulders, showed him
+to be a man of extraordinary strength.
+
+As soon as this opportune hero who had come to the rescue of the weak,
+had stricken down the chief by a blow of his gun-butt upon the robber's
+skull, he levelled the barrel at the brigand who held Manlio in his
+grasp and shot him dead. Then, without waiting long to see the effect of
+his bullet--for this hunter of the wild boar had a sure eye--he turned
+to the direction pointed out by Clelia. She was still much agitated; but
+when she perceived her champion so far successful, she cried-
+
+"Avanti! go after Julia, and rescue her. Oh, go!"
+
+With the fleetness of the deer the young man sped away in pursuit of
+Julia's ravishers, and, to Clelia's instant relief, the English girl
+soon reappeared with their preserver; Julia's captors having taken to
+flight upon hearing the shots.
+
+Reloading his gun, the stranger handed it to Manlio, and proceeded
+to appropriate to his own use those arms which he found upon the dead
+bodies of the brigands.
+
+They then returned to the carriage, and found the horses grazing
+contentedly on the young grass that bordered the road. For a little
+while no one found a voice. They stood absorbed in thoughts of joy,
+agitation, and gratitude; the women regarding the figure of the stranger
+with fervent admiration. How beautiful is valor, particularly when shown
+in the defense of honor and loveliness in woman, whose appreciation of
+courage is a deep instinct of her nature. Be a lover bold and fearless,
+as well as spotless, a despiser of death, as well as graceful in life,
+and you will not fail to win both praise and love from beauty.
+
+This sympathy of the fair sex with lofty qualities in the sex of action
+has been the chief promoter of human civilization and social happiness.
+
+For woman's love alone man has gradually put aside his masculine
+coarseness, and contempt for outward appearances, becoming docile,
+refined, and elegant, while his rougher virtue of courage was softened
+into chivalry.
+
+So far from being his "inferior," woman was appointed the instructress
+of man, and designed by the Creator to mould and educate his moral
+nature.
+
+We have said our fair travellers gazed with admiration at the fine
+person of the brigand--for "brigand" we must unwillingly confess their
+deliverer to be--and as they gazed, the younger members of the party, it
+may be acknowledged, imported into their glance a little more gratitude
+than the absent lovers, Attilio and Muzio, would perhaps have wished.
+But admiration gave place to _surprise_, when the brigand, taking
+Silvia's hand, kissed it, with tears, saying-
+
+"You do not remember me, Signora? Look at my left eye: had it not been
+for your maternal care, the accident to it would have cost me my life."
+
+"Orazio! Orazio!" cried the matron, embracing him. "Yes, it is indeed
+the son of my old friend."
+
+"Yes, I am Orazio, whom you received in a dying condition, and nursed
+back to life; the poor orphan whom you nourished and fed when left in
+absolute need," he replied, as he returned her embrace tenderly.
+
+After exchanging these words of recognition, and receiving others
+of ardent gratitude from the party, Orazio explained how he had been
+hunting in the neighborhood, when he saw the attack, and came to do what
+he could for the ladies. He advised Manlio to put them into the carriage
+again, and depart with all speed; "for," said he, "two of these bandits
+have escaped, and may possibly return with several of their band." Then,
+ascertaining the name of the port from which they intended sailing, he
+offered to become their charioteer, and, mounting the box, drove off
+rapidly in the direction of Porto d'Anzo.
+
+Arrived there without further adventure, the freshness of the sea air
+seemed to put new life and spirits into our jaded travellers, and the
+effect upon the beautiful Julia in particular was perfectly marvellous.
+A daughter of the Queen of the Ocean, she, like almost all her children,
+was enamored of the sea, and pined for it when at a distance.
+
+The sons of Britain scent the salt air wherever they live; they are
+islanders with the ocean always near. They can understand the feeling
+of Xenophon's 1000 Greeks, when they again beheld the ocean after their
+long and dangerous Anabasis, and how they fell upon their knees, with
+joyful shouts of "Thalassa! Thalassa!" and saluted the green and silver
+Amphitrite as their mother, friend, and tutelary divinity.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. THE YACHT
+
+The English girl broke out into pretty speeches of gladness when she
+caught sight of her little ship. "Dance, graceful naiad," ejaculated
+Julia, when she beheld it upon the blue waters of the Mediterranean,
+"and spread your wings to bear away my friends to a place of safety.
+Who says I may not love thee as a friend, when I owe to thee so many
+glorious and free days? I love thee when the waters are like a mirror
+and reflect thy beauty upon their glassy bosom, and thou rockest lazily
+to the sigh of the gentle evening breeze which scarcely swells thy
+sails. I love thee still more when thou plungest, like a steed of
+Neptune, through the billows' snorting foam, driven by the storm, making
+thy way through the waves, and fearing no terror of the tempest. Now
+stretch thy wings for thy mistress, and bear her friends safe from this
+wicked shore!"
+
+Julia's companions were in the mood to echo this spirit of joy and
+exultation, and eagerly gazed at the little vessel.
+
+Not daring, however, to excite suspicion by conducting the whole of her
+party at once into Porto d'Anzo, Julia decided upon leaving Silvia and
+her daughter under the protection of Orazio, who would have been cut in
+pieces before he would have allowed them to be injured or insulted.
+They were to wait in a wood a short distance from the port, while Julia,
+taking with her Manlio, who acted the part of coachman, and Aurelia, as
+her lady's maid, passed to the ship to make preparations to fetch the
+others. Capo d'Anzo forms the southern, and Civita Vecchia the northern
+limits of the dangerous and inhospitable Roman shore. The navigator
+steers his vessel warily when he puts out to sea in winter on this
+stormy coast, especially in a south-west wind, which has wrecked many a
+gallant ship there. The mouth of the Tiber, is only navigable by vessels
+that do not draw more than four or five feet of water, and this only
+during spring. On the left bank of the Tiber near Mount Circeli, dwelt
+of old the war-like Volsci, who gave the Romans no little trouble before
+those universal conquerors succeeded in subjugating them. The ruins of
+their ancient capital, Ardea, bear witness to its ancient prosperity.
+
+The promontory, Capo d'Anzo, both forms and gives its name to the port
+in which was stationed our heroine's yacht, awaiting her orders. The
+arrival of Julia, if not a delight and fete day for the priests, who
+hate the English, because they are both "heretics" and "liberals," was
+certainly one for the crew of the _Seagull_, to whom she was always
+affable and kind. The sailor, exposed to noble risks nearly all his
+life, is well worthy of woman's esteem, and nowhere will she find a
+truer devotion to her sex than among the rough but loyal and generous
+tars.
+
+Going on board, the pretty English lady, after returning the
+affectionate and respectful greeting of her countrymen and servants,
+descended to the cabin and consulted with her captain, an old sea-dog
+(Thompson by name), as to the best means of embarking the fugitives.
+
+"Aye, aye, Miss," said he, glad to escape his enforced idleness, as soon
+as he saw how the land lay; "leave the poor creatures to me; I'll find a
+way of shipping them safe out of this hole!"
+
+And in less than an hour the captain, true to his word, weighed anchor,
+and sailed triumphantly out to sea with our exiles on board, who, though
+shedding a few natural tears as the coast faded rapidly from their view,
+were inexpressibly thankful to feel that they were at last out of the
+clutches of their revengeful persecutors.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV. THE TEMPEST
+
+But our readers will remember that it was now the third week in
+February--the worst month at sea, at least in the Mediterranean. The
+Italian sailors have a proverb, that "a short February is worse than a
+long December." Captain Thompson, in his anxiety to fulfill his young
+mistress's wishes, had not failed to heed the weather-glass, and he had
+felt anxious at the way in which the mercury was falling--a sure
+sign that a strong south-west wind was brewing nigh at hand, the most
+unfavorable for the safety of our passengers on this rocky coast. The
+_Seagull_, however, sailed gracefully out of port with all sails set,
+and impelled by a gentle breeze--gracefully, we say, that is, in the
+eyes of Captain Thompson and her owner; but not so gracefully in the
+eyes of Aurelia and Manlio, who, never having intrusted themselves to
+the deep before, were considerably inconvenienced by the undulating
+motion.
+
+Julia had arranged to cruise down the coast for Silvia and Clelia, under
+Orazio's protection, bringing to off a small fishing-place a few miles
+from Porto d'Anzo, where the yacht was to put in and embark them; but,
+though the captain would have gone through fire and water to obey his
+mistress's commands, the wind and waves were his superiors. The gentle
+breeze had given place to strong gusts, and black clouds were rapidly
+chasing one another athwart the sky. A storm was evidently rising, and
+every moment the danger of being driven ashore was becoming more and
+more possible. Night was closing in, and breakers were in sight. The
+only chance of escape was to cast anchor. Thompson accordingly made
+Julia, who, wrapped in a shawl, was lying on deck watching every
+movement, acquainted with his resolution, in which she acquiesced. The
+sailors were about to obey their captain's orders, when Julia cried out
+"Hold!" for she had already felt the wind upon her cheek suddenly shift,
+and felt that to anchor was no longer wise. Now they must stand out to
+sea, and face the shifts of the tempest. The sails began to fill, and in
+a short time the _Seagull_ paid off, and began to leave the surf behind
+her, obedient to the helm. The wind was fitful, and now and again
+terribly fierce; the sails, cordage, and masts creaked, and swayed
+to and fro. Captain Thompson ordered his crew, in the energetic, yet
+self-possessed tone so characteristic of the British seaman, to "stand
+by" the halliards (ropes to hoist or lower sails), but to take in
+nothing. Luffing a little more, they were soon free of the immediate
+peril; but, the wind increasing, they dared not carry so much sail, and
+three reefs were taken in upon the mainsail, the foresail and jib were
+shifted, and every thing was made tight and snug against the fierce
+blasts which dashed the billows over her sides, and occasionally nearly
+submerged the tiny bark.
+
+The Seagull presently put about on the port tack, always beating
+out from the land, and battled bravely with the storm, which waxed
+momentarily louder and stronger. One tremendous wave dashed over her,
+and then the captain, addressing Julia, who had remained on deck,
+besought her to go below, or he feared she might share the fate of one
+of the crew who had been washed overboard by it. Poor fellow, no help
+could save him! Julia saw the sailor go over the side, and threw him a
+rope herself, but the man was swallowed up in the darkness and foam. The
+steersmen (for there were two) were now lashed to the helm, the captain
+to the weather shrouds of the mainmast, and the men held fast under the
+bulwarks.
+
+When Julia descended to the cabin to appease the captain's anxiety, and
+look after her friends, the scene that met her view was so ludicrous
+that, in spite of her sorrow for the loss of the poor seaman, she could
+not repress a smile. When the ship gave a lurch to the wave which had
+carried the sailor away, Aurelia was precipitated like a bundle of
+clothes into the same corner in which Manlio had taken refuge. The poor
+woman, frightened out of her wits, and thinking her last hour had come,
+clung to the unfortunate sculptor with all her might, as if fancying
+she could be saved by doing so. In vain Manlio implored her not to choke
+him: the more he entreated the closer became her grasp. The sculptor,
+accustomed to move blocks of marble, was powerless to release himself
+from the agonized matron, but, aided by the motion of the ship,
+contrived to hold her off a little so as to escape suffocation. In this
+tragic and yet comic attitude Julia beheld them, and, after giving way
+for one moment to her irrepressible amusement, she called a servant to
+assist her, and succeeded in pacifying Aurelia, and in liberating Manlio
+from his uncomfortable position.
+
+All night the _Seagull_ straggled bravely against the storm, and had it
+not been for her superior construction, and the skill of her commander
+and the brave blue-jackets in Julia's service, she must have perished.
+
+Towards morning the tempest subsided, and the wind having changed to
+south-south-west, Captain Thompson informed Julia it would be necessary
+to put in at Porto Ferrajo or Longone to repair the damages the yacht
+had sustained, which, indeed, were not slight. The two light boats
+had been carried away, also every article on deck, and the starboard
+bulwarks from amidships to stem. The foremast, too, was sprung, and
+Julia, seeing the impossibility of setting the vessel to rights at sea,
+consented to make the land. Here we will take leave of them for a time.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI. THE TOWER
+
+It is time to return to Clelia, and see how it fares with her and her
+companions, Silvia and Orazio. As night approached, Orazio made a large
+fire, which he had been directed to do by Julia, in order that the smoke
+might be a guide to her vessel. He then looked out for a boat to hire,
+in which to convey the women to the yacht; but as the storm rose, he
+felt there would be no chance of embarking that night, and cast about
+for a place of shelter until the morning.
+
+He found a ruined tower--such towers abound on the coasts of the
+Mediterranean, and are the remains of places which were erected by the
+mediaeval pirates, who used them chiefly to signal to their vessels when
+it would be safe to approach the shore. Here, after making his charges
+as comfortable as circumstances permitted, he left them, and paced up
+and down the beach, straining his eyes for a glimpse of the _Seagull_,
+which, he feared, could scarcely live in such a tempest. Half blinded by
+the spray, he continued his watch, dreading most of all to see the signs
+of a wreck. It was after many hours he perceived a dark object tossing
+about in the water, nearing and then receding, and finally stranded on
+the beach. Orazio ran towards it, and was horrified to discover that it
+was a human body, apparently lifeless, but still clinging to a rope
+and buoy. He snatched it up in his sturdy arms, and carried it into the
+tower, where he found Silvia and Clelia sitting by the fire which he had
+kindled for them. The lad whom Orazio had rescued was no other than the
+young English sailor washed overboard from the _Seagull_.
+
+Silvia, aided by her daughter, stripped the inanimate lad, laid him
+before the fire, and chafed him with their hands for a very long while,
+until, to their great delight, he slowly returned to consciousness. Then
+they wrapped him in some of their own dry garments, and hung his wet
+ones before the fire, Orazio supplying them with fresh fuel. Some of
+his native "grog" was wanting for poor John, but none was to be had.
+Fortunately, Orazio had a flask of Orvieto, which he had given to the
+travellers to warm their chilled bodies during the bitter night; and
+Silvia wisely administered a liberal dose to the exhausted mariner, who,
+with a stone for a pillow, and his feet towards the friendly fire, fell
+by-and-by into a sound sleep--yacht, tempest, shipwreck, and angelic
+nurses all forgotten together. His slumber could not have been more
+profound had he been stretched upon a bed of down. The youthful Clelia,
+also wearied with the fatigue of the past day, soon followed his
+example, and with her head in her mother's lap, slept the sleep of the
+innocent.
+
+Orazio returned to his lonely post, and after pacing up and down the
+shore in the fear of seeing some other sign of disaster, returned at
+dawn to the tower to dry his dripping clothes, and refresh himself after
+his dreary vigil.
+
+Silvia alone could not sleep all that night, but only dozed
+occasionally, as she thought over the misfortunes that had befallen
+them. Her delicate and graceful frame had been much shaken by the
+terrible occurrences of the past few days. Affectionate mother! Though
+weary, she bore the weight of her precious Clelia, and though her
+position was a constrained one, remained immovable lest she should
+awake her. She was tormented with fear, too, for the life of her beloved
+Manlio, who had escaped the fury of the priests only to be exposed to
+the merciless waves; and then, as if struck with remorse for thinking
+only of him, she murmured, in bitter accents, "Ah, my poor Aurelia,
+to what a fete has your generous kindness brought you also!" Muttering
+which reflections she then fell into another troubled doze.
+
+The Roman outlaw slept not, even after daybreak. He felt he was too near
+the cunning priests of Porto d'Anzo to be very safe. Seating himself
+upon a stone which he placed near the fire, he fed it from time to time
+with the wood he had previously gathered, and dried his garments one
+by one, with the exception of his cloak, which he had politely insisted
+upon wrapping around the ladies in the early part of the evening, as
+they were but-indifferently protected from the cold. Orazio was gayly
+dressed in a dark velvet suit, ornamented with silver buttons; gaiters
+buckling at the knee covered a comparatively small and well-shaped
+foot, and displayed his well-formed leg to advantage; a black cravat was
+knotted round his handsome throat, and a red satin handkerchief, loosely
+tied, fell upon his wide shoulders; a black hat, resembling in shape
+those worn by the Calabrians, nattily inclined a little to the right,
+crowned his head; a leathern powder-bag, embroidered with silk and
+silver, slung round his waist, in the band of which were placed two
+revolvers and a broad-bladed dagger, which served both as a weapon of
+defense and hunting-knife, gave him a well-prepared air; not to speak
+of his trusty carbine, which he has taken the precaution to reload, and
+which he always rests upon his left arm. As the flickering light of the
+fire fell upon him and lit up his bronzed features, an artist would have
+given much to have depicted what was truly a type of strength, courage,
+and manly beauty; while now and then, awakening from her uneasy slumber,
+Silvia regarded him with admiring eye, and forgot for a moment her
+anxieties while guarded by that faithful sentinel. It is to be regretted
+that our hero, Orazio, was a "brigand;" but then he was one of the
+better sort, and only from the force of circumstances, his sin being
+that, like all brave and loyal men, he wished Italy to be united, and
+Rome freed forever from priestly despotism.
+
+Towards dawn Orazio approached Silvia, saying respectfully, "Signora,
+we must not remain here till broad day; as soon as there is sufficient
+light to show us the path to take we must depart. We are too near our
+mutual enemies here to be out of danger."
+
+"And Manlio, Julia, Aurelia, where are they?" "Probably far out at sea,"
+he replied; "and let us only hope it, for so they will be safe; but it
+would be well before we strike out into the woods once more to examine
+the beach. God grant we may not find any more bodies there."
+
+"God grant they may not have been cast upon the coast during this
+fearful storm," ejaculated Silvia, with clasped hands and raised eyes.
+
+A mournful silence fell upon them, broken at last by Orazio, who had
+been looking out for the first streak of light in the leaden sky.
+
+"Signora, it is time we were off."
+
+Silvia shook her daughter gently to arouse her, and Clelia got up,
+feeling greatly restored by her peaceful slumber, while Orazio, touching
+John with the butt-end of his carbine, awoke him.
+
+Then, for the first time, the sailor-boy was able to tell how he was
+washed overboard, and his account gave hopes to the listeners that the
+_Seagull_ was safe.
+
+Our bandit, going first, led his party in the direction of the coast;
+but, although the rain had ceased, the wind had not subsided, and the
+women made their way with difficulty along the rough, uneven pathway,
+the spray from the sea beating in their faces. Orazio and John, who was
+now nearly recovered, searched for the tokens of a wreck, but, happily,
+none were found, and they returned to Silvia and Clelia, whom they
+had left in a sheltered place, with relieved countenances and cheerful
+voices, saying, "Our friends are out of danger." Orazio added, "And now,
+ladies, we will begin our own journey," turning at the same time to the
+right, and taking a narrow footpath through the wood well known to him.
+His charges, attended by John the English boy, followed in silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII. THE WITHDRAWAL
+
+After the affair at the Baths of Caracalla, the position of Attilio and
+his companions became very much compromised. The traitor had, indeed,
+paid for his infamy with his life; but | though the Government's
+mercenaries had had the worst of it, the police were now on the alert,
+and, if not quite certain, could make a shrewd guess as to who were the
+leaders of the conspiracy.
+
+If, however, the friends of liberty from outside had been as ready as
+the Romans, the conspirators might yet have had it all their own way
+on the 15th of February, or, indeed, at any other time. But the
+"Moderates," always indissolubly bound to the chariots of selfishness,
+would not hear the words "To arms!" They preferred waiting, at whatever
+cost, until the manna of freedom fell from heaven into their mouths, or
+the foreigner should come to their relief, and set their country free.
+
+What cared they for national dignity, or the contemptuous smile of all
+other European nations at the open buying and selling of provinces!
+They were thinking first of gain and remunerative employment, and were
+consequently deaf to all generous propositions likely to set in risk
+their Eldorado of profits, though they would, if successful, procure
+national unity and prosperity by energetic action.
+
+This middle-class cowardice is the cause of Italy's degradation at the
+present day, and were it not for that, the kissing of the slipper would
+be an infamy of the past. It is the reason, too, why Italy's soil is
+so often vainly wet with the blood of her nobler, braver sons; and why
+those who escape the sword wander in forests to avoid the vengeance of
+those robed hyenas; and why the poor remain in abject misery.
+
+Such was the condition of Rome at the beginning of the year 1867. She
+might have been happy, regenerated, and powerful, crowned with glorious
+liberty and independence, had not the foreigner come to the aid of
+the falsely-called "father of his people." Now she grovels in bondage,
+loaded with French chains.
+
+One evening, early in March, Attilio, Muzio, and Silvio met at Manlio's
+house to discuss their future movements. They had remained in Rome in
+the hope of achieving something, but the labyrinth was far too intricate
+to allow our youthful and inexperienced heroes to extricate themselves,
+and the Three Hundred to extricate themselves and their countrymen from
+it.
+
+"There is no use," spoke Attilio, bitterly, "in dedicating one's life to
+the good of one's country in these days, when the 'Moderates,' check all
+our efforts, and basely reconcile themselves with the enemies of Italy.
+_Ohime!_ How can Romans ever do so! How can they ever live in harmony
+with those who have sold them and theirs so many times! who have
+precipitated us from the first rank among the nations to the lowest! who
+have corrupted and polluted our city! who have tortured our fathers and
+violated our virgins!"
+
+In his wrath Attilio's voice had risen until he literally shouted.
+
+Silvio, more composed, said, "Speak lower, brother, thou knowest how we
+are pursued; perchance there may even now be some accursed spy near.
+Be patient, and for the present let us leave Regola in charge of our
+affairs, and quit the city. In the country we have true and courageous
+friends. Let us leave Rome until she is tired of being the laughing
+stock of these leeches, who live by imposture and tyranny. Let us go.
+Our generous countrymen will call us brigands, adventurers, as they did
+the Thousand during the glorious expedition of Marsala, which astonished
+the world. What matters it to us? Now, as then, we will work and watch
+for the liberty of this our unhappy country. When she is willing to
+emancipate herself, we will fly to her rescue."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII. THE FOREST
+
+After walking for about two hours through the forest, where to Silvia's
+and Clelia's inexperienced eyes there appeared to be no path ever
+trodden by man, Orazio stopped at a clearing, and they beheld a small
+pleasant-looking glade. Jack, the sailor, had proved of great use in
+removing fallen branches strewn across the way, which would else have
+greatly impeded the progress of the ladies. The weather had cleared up,
+and although the wind still moved the crowns of the trees it fanned but
+gently the cheeks of the fugitives.
+
+"Signora, sit down here with your daughter," said their guide, pointing
+to a large flat stone, "and take some rest, of which I see you are in
+need. Jack and I will go in search of some food; but, before we do so,
+I will spread my cloak upon your hard bench, that you may repose in
+greater comfort."
+
+Orazio was repaid with a graceful bow, and starting into the wood at a
+rapid pace, accompanied by the sailor-boy, was soon hidden from their
+view.
+
+Silvia was really fatigued, but Clelia, being of a more elastic
+constitution, and refreshed by her sound sleep during the past night,
+was not so much fatigued; nevertheless, she found it very welcome to
+rest in that agreeable place, where no human being save themselves was
+visible.
+
+Yielding presently, however, to the vivacity of her age, the young
+girl sprang up, and began to gather some pretty wild flowers she had
+observed, and forming them into a bouquet, presented them with a smile
+to her mother, and re-seated herself at her side. Just then, the report
+of a musket re-echoed through the wood. Silvia was greatly startled
+by the sudden echo in that lonely, silent retreat, which had in it
+something solemn.
+
+Clelia, perceiving the effect upon her mother, embraced her, and in
+reassuring tones said, "That is only a shot from our friend, _mia madre_;
+he will soon return with some game."
+
+Silvia's color came back again, and very soon afterwards Orazio and Jack
+rejoined the ladies, carrying between them a young boar, struck down by
+a ball from the carbine of the Roman.
+
+At Orazio's request, Clelia, who had some knowledge of the English
+language, bade Jack gather some sticks and light a fire, which he did
+willingly, and in a little time the cheerful pile was blazing before
+them.
+
+Animal food may be necessary to man--in part a carnivorous animal--still
+the trade of a butcher is a horrid one, while the continual dabbling in
+the blood of dumb creatures, and cutting up their slaughtered carcasses
+has something very repulsive in it. For our own part we would gladly
+give up eating animal food, and as years pass on, we become more and
+more averse to the destruction of these creatures, and can not even
+endure to see a bird wounded, though formerly we delighted in the chase.
+
+However, habit had made slaying and preparing the boar natural and easy
+to Orazio, who, compelled to live in the forest, had, indeed, no choice
+in the matter, being obliged either to kill game or starve. He laid the
+boar upon the grass, and with his hunting-knife skinned a portion, and
+cutting some substantial slices, fastened them on a skewer, cut by Jack
+out of a piece of green wood, and laid them over the fire. When fairly
+cooked, he presented them to the famished travellers. It was a roast
+well fitted to appease the cravings of a moderate appetite, and the wild
+dinner was heartily relished by all the parly. The meal was, indeed, a
+cheerful one, much merriment being caused by the absurdities uttered by
+Jack, whom Clelia was laughingly endeavoring to teach Italian.
+
+The sailor is always a light-hearted fellow on land, and more
+particularly after he has been a long time at sea. Jack, forgetting his
+narrow escape, was now the gayest of the four, and, in the company of
+the gentle and beautiful Clelia, did not envy his late shipmates, who
+were tossing on the tempestuous ocean. For Orazio, his preserver, and
+the Italian ladies, his gratitude knew no bounds, although he had but a
+vague idea of their position and purposes.
+
+When the repast was ended the party continued their journey, resting
+occasionally by the way, and in this manner arrived, late in the
+afternoon, in sight of one of those ancient edifices along the Ostian
+shore which appear to have escaped the destroying touch of Time. It
+stood away from the sea, on the edge of the forest, and at the entrance
+to a vast plain; several fine oaks, many centuries old, were growing
+about it, planted apparently by the original possessors, with some
+attempt at regularity.
+
+Orazio, begging the ladies to recline upon a mossy bank, stepped aside,
+and drawing a small horn from his pouch, blew a blast, shrill and long.
+The signal was answered by a similar sound from the ancient building,
+and an individual, dressed much in Orazio's style, issued from it, who,
+approaching the brigand with an air of respect, cordially saluted him.
+
+Orazio took the new-comer's hand in a friendly manner, and, pointing to
+his party, held a short conversation with him in an undertone. The man
+then retired, and Orazio, returning to the ladies, begged them to rise,
+and permit him to conduct them to this secure place of refuge.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX. THE CASTLE
+
+The period of highest glory for the ancient capital of the world
+vanished with the Republic and the majestic simplicity of the republican
+system; for after the battle of Zama, in which Hannibal was defeated
+by Scipio, the Romans had no longer any powerful enemies. It therefore
+became easy to conquer other nations, and, enriched by the spoils of the
+conquered, the Romans gave themselves up to internal contentions, and
+to every kind of luxury. In this way they were dragged down to the
+last stage of degradation, and became the slaves of those whom they had
+enslaved. And right well it befitted them that God should pay them
+in the same coin which they counted out. The last generation of the
+Republic, however, had truly a sunset grandeur about it, and splendid
+names. Before passing away it presented to history some men at whom one
+can not but marvel Sartorius, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Cæsar, were men
+of such stature that one alone would suffice to illustrate the valor
+of a warlike nation. If perfection in a military ruler were possible,
+Cæsar, with his superb qualities as a general, needed only to possess
+the abnegation of Sulla to have been a perfect type of the class. Less
+sanguinary than the Proscriber he possessed more ambition, and desired
+to decorate his forehead with a crown, for which he fell a victim,
+stabbed to the heart by the daggers of the Roman republicans. Sulla
+was also a great general, and a reformer; he struggled hard to wean the
+Romans from their vices, and even resorted to terrible means, slaying
+at one time eight thousand persons with this view. Subsequently, wearied
+with the ineffectual struggle against the tide of the time, he
+assembled the people in the Forum, and, after reproaching them for their
+incorrigible vices, declared, that as his power as Dictator had failed
+to regenerate them, he would no longer retain that dignity, but before
+he laid it aside he challenged the city to require from him an account
+of his actions. Silence ensued, no man demanding redress, though there
+were many present whose relatives and friends he had sacrificed. With an
+austere mien he then descended from the tribunal, and mingled with the
+crowd as a simple citizen.
+
+The Empire rose on the ruins of the Republic. And here it may be
+remarked that no Republic can exist unless its citizens are virtuous.
+This form of government demands moral education and elevation. It was
+the vice and degradation to which the Romans had sunk that inaugurated
+the Empire.
+
+Among the emperors there were some less deplorable than others--such as
+Trajan, Antonine, and Marcus Aurelius. The greater part, however, were
+monsters, who, not satisfied with the enormous wealth they possessed,
+and with their lofty position, set themselves to plunder the substance
+of others. They sought every pretext for robbing the wealthy citizens.
+Many of those, therefore, possessing wealth, retired from Rome--many
+sought refuge in foreign lands, others in far distant parts of the
+country, where they were safe from molestation. Among the latter, a
+descendant of Lucullus, in the reign of Nero, built the original walls
+of the antique castle where we left Clelia and her companions.
+
+Peradventure, some of the enormous oaks by which it was surrounded had
+sprung in but few removes from the acorns of the trees which shaded the
+courtier of Nero. However this may be, the architecture of the castle
+is certainly wonderful, and wonderfully preserved. The outbuildings are
+covered with ivy, which age has rendered of extraordinary growth.
+The interior had been completely modernized by mediaeval owners, and
+although not adorned with all the luxuries of the nineteenth century,
+it contains several dry-roofed and spacious apartments. Uninhabited
+for some time, die castle had been almost buried out of sight by the
+surrounding trees, which circumstance made it all the more suitable for
+Orazio and his proscribed comrades. Built in dark and troublous times,
+this castle, like all those of the same kind, possesses immense dungeons
+and subterranean passages spreading over a large space in the bowels of
+the earth. Superstition also guarded the lonely tower. Travellers making
+inquiries about the neighborhood of the shepherds who tend their flocks
+in the forest openings, had heard, and duly related, that somewhere in
+this district was an ancient castle haunted by phantoms; that no one
+ever dared to enter it, and that those unhappy beings who summoned up
+courage to approach its gateway were never seen again. Moreover, was
+there not a story told that the beautiful daughter of the wealthy Prince
+T------, when staying with her family at Porto d'Anzo for the benefit of
+sea-bathing, had one day wandered with her maids into the woods, where
+the affrighted and helpless women saw their mistress carried up into the
+air by spirits, and although every nook of the forest was searched by
+the command of her distressed father, no traces of the young princess
+were ever afterwards discovered.
+
+To this haunt of marvels Orazio then conducted our travellers, as we
+have before described.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX. IRENE
+
+Upon the threshold of the castle, as our travellers drew near, stood a
+young woman, whose appearance betokened the Roman matron, but of greater
+delicacy perhaps than the ancient type. She numbered some twenty years;
+and, though a charming smile spread itself over her lovely features, and
+her eyes and soft abundant hair were extremely beautiful, still it was
+the majestic natural bearing of Irene which struck the beholder.
+
+As if unconscious of the presence of strangers, she ran to Orazio,
+and folded him in a warm embrace, whilst the blush which glad love
+can excite suffused both their faces, as they regarded each other
+with undisguised affection. Then, turning to the two ladies, she bowed
+gracefully, and welcomed them with a cordial salute, as Orazio said-
+
+"Irene, I present to you the wife and daughter of Manlio, our renowned
+sculptor of Rome."
+
+Honest Jack was perfectly astounded at seeing so much beauty and
+grandeur where he expected to find nothing except solitude and savage
+desert. But his astonishment was greater still when he was invited
+along with the rest into the castle, and beheld a table covered with a
+profusion of modest comforts in a handsome and spacious dining-hall.
+
+"You expected me, then, carissima?" observed Orazio, as he entered it,
+to Irene.
+
+"Oh, yes; my heart told me you would not pass another night away,"
+was the reply, and the lovers exchanged another look, which made the
+thoughts of Clelia, as she beheld it, fly to Attilio, and we do not
+overstep the bounds of truth if we say that Silvia also remembered her
+absent Manlio with a sigh.
+
+Jack, with the appetite of a boy of twelve after his very long walk,
+felt nothing of the pangs of love, but much of those of hunger.
+
+And now another scene amazed mother and daughter as well as the
+sailor, who stood, indeed, with wide-open mouth staring at what seemed
+enchantment, for as Orazio blew his horn again, fifteen new guests, one
+after another, each fully armed and equipped like their leader, filed
+into the room. The hour being late, there was little daylight in the
+apartment, which gave to their entrance a more melodramatic air; but
+when the room was lit up with a lamp, the open and manly countenances of
+the new comers were seen, and inspired our party with admiration and
+confidence. The strangers made obeisance to the ladies and their
+hostess. Orazio, placing Silvia on his right hand, and Clelia on his
+left, Irene being seated by her side, called out, "To table." When their
+chief (to whom they showed great respect) was seated, the men took their
+places, silently, and Jack found a vacant seat by the side of Syvia,
+which he took with calm resignation to his good luck. The repast began
+with a toast "to the liberty of Rome," which each drank in a glass of
+"vermuth," and then eating commenced, the meal lasting some time. When
+all had appeased their hunger, Irene rose, with a sweet grace, from the
+table, and conducted her fair visitors to an upper chamber in the tower;
+and while a servant prepared, according to her orders, some beds for her
+guests, exchanged with them, after the universal manner of ladies, a few
+words about their mutual histories.
+
+Silvia's and Clelia's stories you already know, so it only remains for
+us, who have the privilege of their confidence, to narrate what Irene
+imparted to them.
+
+"You will wonder to hear," said she, "that I am the daughter of Prince
+T------, whom perhaps you know in Rome, as he is famous for his wealth.
+My father gave me a liberal education, for I did not care about feminine
+accomplishments, such as music and dancing, but was attracted by deeper
+studies. I delighted in histories; and when I commenced that of our
+Rome, I was thoroughly fascinated by the story of the republic, so full
+of deeds of heroism and virtue, and my young imagination became exalted
+and affected to such an extent that I feared I should lose my reason.
+Comparing those heroic times with the shameful and selfish empire, and
+more especially with the present state of Rome, under the humiliating
+and miserable rule of the priest, I became inexpressibly sorry for the
+loss of that ancient ideal, and conceived an intense hatred and disgust
+for those who are the true instruments of the abasement and servility of
+our people. With such a disposition, and such sentiments, you can
+imagine how distasteful the princely amusements and occupations of my
+father's house became to me. The effeminate homage of the Roman
+aristocracy--creatures of the priest--and the presence of the foreigner
+palled upon me. Balls, feasts, and other dissipations, gave me no
+gratification; only in the pathetic ruins scattered over our metropolis
+did I find delight. On horseback or on foot, I passed hours daily
+examining these relics of Rome's ancient grandeur.
+
+"When I attained my fifteenth year I was certainly better acquainted
+with the edifices of the old architects, and our numerous ruins, than
+with the needle, embroidery, and the fashions. I used to make very
+distant excursions on horseback, accompanied by an old and trusty
+servant of the family.
+
+"One evening, when I was returning from an exploration, and crossing
+Trastevere, some drunken foreign soldiers, who had picked a quarrel at
+an inn, rushed out, pursuing one another with drawn swords. My horse
+took fright, and galloped along the road, overleaping and overturning
+every thing in his way, in spite of all my endeavors to check his
+speed. I am a good rider, and kept a firm seat, to the admiration of the
+beholders; but my steed continuing his headlong race, my strength began
+to fail, and I was about to let myself fall--in which case I should
+certainly have been dashed to pieces on the pavement had I done so--when
+a brave youth sprang from the roadside, and, flinging himself before my
+horse, seized the bridle with his left hand, and, as the animal reared
+and stumbled, clasped me with the right. The powerful and sudden grasp
+of my robust preserver caused the poor beast indeed to swerve sharply
+round, and, striking one foot against the curb, he stumbled and fell,
+splitting his skull open against the wall of a house. I was saved, but
+had fainted; and when I returned to consciousness I found myself at
+home, in my own bed, and surrounded by my servants.
+
+"And who was my preserver? Of whom could I make inquiries? I sent for my
+old groom, but he could tell me little, except that he had followed
+me as quickly as he well could, and had arrived at the scene of the
+castastrophe just as I was being carried into a house. All he knew was
+that my deliverer seemed a young man, who had retired immediately after
+placing me in the care of the woman of the house, who was very attentive
+when she learned who I was.
+
+"Still my ardent imagination, even in that dangerous moment, had traced
+more faithfully than they the noble lineaments of the youth. His eyes
+had but flashed an instantaneous look into mine, but it was indelibly
+imprinted on my heart. I could never forget that face, which renewed at
+last, as in my memory, the heroes of the past. I shall know him again,
+I said to myself. He is certainly a Roman, and if a Roman, he belongs to
+the race of the Quirites! my ideal people--the objects of my worship!
+
+"You know the custom of visiting the Colosseum by moonlight, which then
+displays its majestic beauty to perfection. Well, I went one night to
+view it, guarded by the same old servant; and as I was coming back, and
+had arrived at the turning of the road which leads from the Tarpeian to
+Campidoglio, my servant was struck down by a blow from a cudgel, and
+two men, who had concealed themselves in the shadow cast by an immense
+building, sprang out upon me, and, seizing me by the arms, dragged me
+in the direction of the Arch of Severus. I was terror-stricken and in
+despair, when, as Heaven willed it, I heard a cry of anger, and we were
+quickly overtaken by a man whom I recognized in the dim light as my late
+preserver. He threw himself upon my assailants, and a fearful struggle
+began between the three. My young athlete, however, managed to lay the
+assassins in the dust, and returned to my side; but perceiving that
+my servant had risen, and was approaching unhurt, he took my hand, and
+kissing it respectfully, departed before I could recover from the sudden
+shock of the unexpected attack, or could articulate a single word.
+
+"I have no recollection of my mother, but my father, who loved me
+tenderly, used to take me every year to bathe at Porto d'Anzo, for he
+knew how much I delighted in the ocean, and how pleased I was to escape
+from the aristocratic society of Rome, where, had he studied his own
+inclinations, he would gladly have remained. My father possessed a
+little villa not far from the sea, to the north of Porto d'Anzo, where
+we resided during our visits to the Mediterranean, the sight of which I
+dearly loved. Here I was happier than in Rome; but I felt a void in my
+existence, a craving in my heart, which made me restless and melancholy.
+In fact, I was in love with my unknown preserver. Often I passed hours
+in scrutinizing every passer-by from the balcony of my window, hoping
+vainly to obtain a glimpse of the man whose image was engraven upon
+my heart. If I saw a boat or any small craft upon the sea, I searched
+eagerly, by the aid of my telescope, among crew and passengers for the
+form of my idol.
+
+"I did not dream in vain. Sitting alone in my balcony one evening,
+wrapped in gloomy thoughts, and contemplating, almost involuntarily, the
+moon as she rose slowly above the Pontine marshes, I was startled from
+my reverie by the noise of something dropping to the ground from the
+wall surrounding the villa. My heart began to beat violently, but not
+from fear. I fancied I saw by the dim light a figure emerging from the
+shrubbery towards me. A friendly ray from the moon illumined the face
+of the intruder as he approached, and when I beheld the features I had
+sought for so many days in vain I could not repress a cry of surprise
+and joy, and it required all my womanly modesty to restrain a violent
+desire to run down the steps leading to my balcony and embrace him.
+
+"My love of solitude and disdain for the pleasures of the capital had
+kept me in comparative ignorance of worldly things, and, with good
+principles, I had remained an ingenuous, simple daughter of nature.
+
+"'Irene,' said a voice which penetrated to the inmost recesses of my
+soul; 'Irene, may I dare ask for the good fortune to say two words to
+you either there or here?'
+
+"To descend appeared to me to be more convenient than to permit him to
+enter the rooms; I therefore went down immediately, and, forgetting, for
+the moment, his fine speeches, in joy, he covered my hands with burning
+kisses. Conducting me towards some trees, we sat down upon a wooden
+bench under their shady branches side by side. He might have led me to
+the end of the world at that strange and sweet moment had he pleased.
+
+"For a while we remained silent; but presently my deliverer said, 'May
+I ask pardon for this boldness--will you not grant it, my loved one?' I
+made no reply, but allowed him to take possession of my hand, which he
+kissed fervently. Presently he went on: 'I am only a plebeian, Irene--an
+orphan. Both my parents perished in the defense of Rome against the
+foreigner. I possess nothing on this earth but my hands and arms, and my
+love for you, which has made me follow your footsteps.'
+
+"Predisposed to love him even before I had heard his voice, now that his
+manly yet gentle and impassioned tones fell upon my ear, I felt he might
+do what he would with me--I was in an Eden. Yes, he belonged to me, and
+I to him; but I could not find the voice to say so as yet.
+
+"'Irene,' he continued, 'I am not only a portionless orphan, but an
+outlaw, condemned to death, and pursued like a wild beast of the forest
+by the bloodhounds of the Government. Yet I have presumed to hope
+that you might be gentle to me for my love, with the strength of your
+generous nature; and more so, alas! when I saw that you were unhappy,
+for I have watched you unseen, and noted with sorrow and hope the
+melancholy expression of your face. I am come, though your sweet
+kindness flatters roe, Irene, to tell you these things which make it
+impossible, of course, that you can ever be mine. I have no claim or
+right; but my ardent love, the small services I have rendered you, have
+blessed me, and made me proud and happy; therefore you owe me nought of
+gratitude. If I should ever have the delight of laying down my life
+for yours, my happiness will then, indeed, be complete. Adieu, Irene,
+farewell!' he continued, rising and pressing my hand to his heart, while
+he turned to leave me.
+
+"I had remained in an ecstasy of silent joy, forgetful of the world,
+of myself, of all save him. At the word 'farewell,' I started as if
+electrified; I ran to him, crying 'Stay, oh, stay!' and, clasping him by
+the arm, drew him back to the bench, and quite forgetting all reserve
+myself, exclaimed, 'Thou art mine, and I am thine for life! thine, yes
+thine forever, my beloved!'
+
+"He told me all his story--he pictured to me the hope and aim of his
+life. His burning words of love for Italy and hatred of her tyrants
+added to my strength of resolve. I replied that I would share his
+fortunes forthwith as his wife, and with no regrets, except upon
+my father's account. It was then arranged that we should live here
+together. A few days of preparation, and we were privately married. I
+followed my Orazio to the forest where ever since I have dwelt with
+him. I will not say I am perfectly happy--no; but my only grief is the
+remembrance that my disappearance accelerated, I fear, in a measure the
+death of my aged and affectionate parent."
+
+Tired as our poor Silvia was, she could not but listen with interest to
+the narrative of Irene, down whose beautiful cheeks the tears coursed
+at the mention of her father's name. Clelia, too, had not lost a single
+word, and more than one sigh from her fair bosom seemed to say, during
+her hostess's recital, "Ah, my Attilio! is he not also handsome,
+valorous, and worthy of love, yes, of my love!"
+
+But now, wishing repose to her guests, Irene bade them good-night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI. GASPARO
+
+The history of the Papacy is a history of brigands. From the mediæval
+period robbers have been paid by that weak and demoralizing Government
+to keep Italy in a state of ferment and internal war; and at this very
+day it makes use of thieves to hold her in thraldom and hinder her
+regeneration. I repeat, then, that the history of, the Papacy is a
+history of brigands.
+
+Whoever visited Civita Vecchia in 1849 must have heard of Gasparo, the
+famous leader of a band of brigands, a relative of the Cardinal A------.
+
+Indeed, many persons paid a visit to that city simply for the purpose of
+beholding so extraordinary a man.
+
+Gasparo, at the head of his band, had long defied the Pontifical
+Government, and sustained many encounters with the gendarmes and regular
+troops, whom he almost invariably defeated and put to flight.
+
+Failing to capture the brigand by force of arms, the Government had
+recourse to stratagem. As I have already stated, Gasparo was related
+to a cardinal, one of the most powerful at Court; and as they were both
+natives of S------, where many of their mutual relations resided, these
+relations were made use of by the Government to act as mediators between
+it and the brigand, to whom it made several splendid offers.
+
+Gasparo, putting faith in the promises made by his kinspeople at the
+instance of the Government, disbanded his men, but was then shamefully
+betrayed, arrested, and taken in chains to the prison in Civita Vecchia,
+where he was found during the Republican period in 1849.
+
+Prince T------, the brother of Irene, having obtained some clue through
+the shepherds, whose description of a beautiful dweller in the forest
+left little doubt upon his mind as to her identity, consulted with the
+Cardinal A------, and determined at any cost to recover his sister.
+
+Although backed by the Government, and authorized to make use of the
+regiment which he commanded, the Prince, from his ignorance of the many
+hidden recesses in the forest, did not feel at all certain of success,
+and in his dilemma applied to the Cardinal to secure for him the
+services of the prisoner Gasparo, his relative, as a guide.
+
+"It is a good thought," said the Cardinal. "Gasparo is better acquainted
+with every inch of the forest than we are with the streets of Rome.
+Besides, they say that such are his olfactory powers, that by taking a
+handful of grass, and smelling at it, even at midnight, he could tell
+you what portion of the forest you were in. He is old now, it is true;
+but he has courage enough still to face even the devil himself."
+
+When Gasparo heard he was to be conducted to Rome he gave himself up
+for lost, and said to himself, "Better were it to die at once, for I
+am tired of this miserable existence, only then I should go to my grave
+unrevenged for the treachery and injury I have suffered at the hands of
+these villainous priests."
+
+Two squads of gendarmes, one on foot and the other mounted, conducted
+this formidable brigand from Civita Vecchia to Rome. The Government
+would have preferred moving him at night, but darkness would have
+facilitated his rescue, which it feared some of his old companions might
+attempt if they heard of his journey. It was therefore decided Gasparo
+should travel by day, and the road was thronged by so dense a multitude,
+who pressed forward to gaze at the celebrated chieftain, that the
+progress of the Pope could scarcely have attracted greater numbers.
+
+Arrived in Rome, Gasparo was afterwards introduced into the presence of
+his relative, Cardinal A------, and the Prince T------, who, with
+many words and promises of a large reward in gold, to all appearance
+prevailed upon him to assist them to destroy the bands of "libertines"
+by which the forest was infested.
+
+Rejoicing in such a chance of escape and opportunity for revenge upon
+his persecutors, Gasparo affected to be delighted at the proposition,
+and consented to it with much apparent pleasure.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII. THE SURPRISE
+
+Silvia, Clelia, and Jack, had passed several days very pleasantly in the
+Castle of Lucullus, as the guests of Orazio and Irene.
+
+Among Orazio's band were several well-connected men, whose friends in
+the city, unknown to the Government, sent them regularly sums of money,
+which enabled them to supply the table of their chief. The gallantry of
+the young Romans to the "Pearl of Trastavere" was profound. Clelia would
+have been more glad to have had her Attilio at her side; and Silvia,
+the gentle Silvia, sighed when she remembered the uncertain fate of her
+Manlio; but the two ladies were nevertheless well pleased. As for Jack,
+he was the happiest being on earth, for Orazio had presented him with
+one of the carbines taken from the brigands who had assaulted Manlio
+and his party; and it was inseparable from him in all his hunting and
+reconnoitring excursions in the woods.
+
+One day Orazio took the sailor with him to seek a stag, and directed
+Jack to beat, whilst he placed himself in ambush. Their arrangements
+were so effective, that, in less than half an hour, a hart crossed
+Orazio's path. He fired, and wounded him, but not mortally; he therefore
+fired a second time, and, with a cry, the noble animal fell.
+
+As he discharged his second shot, Orazio heard a rustling in the
+bushes near him. Listening for a second, he was convinced some one was
+approaching from the thickest part of the cover. Jack it could not be;
+he was too far off to have returned so quickly.
+
+A suspicion that he was to be the object of an attack caused him to
+curse involuntarily as he looked at the empty barrels of his carbine. He
+was not mistaken; for, hardly had he placed the butt-end of his gun upon
+the ground in order to reload it, than a head, more like that of some
+wild creature than a human being, was thrust from between the bushes.
+
+To the valorous fear is a stranger, and our Roman, who was truly
+brave, sprang forward, dagger in hand, to confront the apparition,
+who, however, exclaimed, "Hold!" in such a tone of authority and
+_sang-froid_, that Orazio fell back astonished, and paused.
+
+The stranger was armed from head to foot, and had, as we have said, a
+striking appearance. His head, covered with a tangled mass of hair,
+white as snow, was surmounted by a Calabrian hat; his beard was
+grizzled, and as bristly as the chine of a wild boar, concealing almost
+the whole of his face, out of which, nevertheless, glared two fiery
+eyes. Held erect and placed upon magnificent shoulders, years had not
+bowed nor persecution subjugated that daring neck. His broad chest
+was covered by a dark velvet vest; around his waist was buckled the
+inseparable cartridge-box. A velvet coat, and leather gaiters buttoned
+at the knee, completed his costume.
+
+"I am not your enemy, Orazio," said Gasparo--for it was he--"but am come
+to warn you of an approaching danger, which might prove your ruin, and
+that of your friends."
+
+"That you are not my enemy, I am assured," replied Orazio; "for you
+might, had you chosen, have killed me before I found a chance of
+defending myself. I know well that Gasparo can handle a gun skillfully."
+
+"Yes," answered the bandit, "there was a time when I needed not to fire
+many second shots at deer or wild boar, but now my eyes are beginning
+to fail me; yet I shall not be behind my companions when the time for
+attacking the common enemy arrives. But let us talk a while, for I have
+important news to communicate to you."
+
+Seating himself upon the trunk of a fallen tree, Gasparo related to
+Orazio the projects of the Papal court, aided by Prince T------ at the
+head of his regiment; and how he himself had been sent for, from
+confinement, to assist the Prince in discovering the retreat of the
+"Liberals;" also how, burning to be revenged upon the priestly
+Government, he had effected his escape, and now offered his services,
+and those of his adherents, to Orazio, on the simple condition of being
+accepted among the "Liberals" as one of their band.
+
+"But, Gasparo, you have so many serious crimes to answer for, if the
+reports about you be true, that we could not possibly admit you into our
+company," observed Orazio.
+
+"Crimes!" repeated the friendly brigand; "I own no crimes but those of
+having purged society from some bloody and powerful villains and their
+wicked agents. Is that a crime? and is it a crime to have helped the
+needy and the oppressed? or do you believe that, if I had been a mere
+paltry criminal, the Government would have been in such awe of me, or
+that I should have been so beloved by the populace? The Government
+fears me because I have no sin upon my soul but resentment against
+its wickedness, and because it is conscious of having betrayed me in a
+cowardly and deceitful manner, and that, when I return once more to my
+free life, I shall make it pay dearly for its deceit and treachery.
+
+"Yes, I have sometimes," he continued, after a pause, "made use of my
+carbine as an instrument of justice, in accordance with the laws
+of humanity, of righteousness. Can the priests say as much of their
+accursed scaffold?"
+
+Jack arriving at this moment, Orazio explained by signs that the
+stranger was friendly; and, after making preparations to carry off the
+game, they returned with Gasparo to the castle, to equip themselves
+against the approaching assault.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII. THE ASSAULT
+
+The Prince having ascertained from other spies--who proved more docile
+than Gasparo--that the band of "Liberals" were occupying the castle of
+Lucullus, made active arrangements to besiege it, and, after approaching
+the place, disposed his men in such a manner that it might be surrounded
+on all sides, so that escape from it in any direction should be
+impossible. The brother of Irene--like many other generals--committed
+the error of spreading his men over a large space of ground, and
+detaching a number of sentinels, pickets, videttes, and scouts, so as to
+leave himself with too small a body against assailants.
+
+Not knowing the exact site of the castle, Prince
+
+T------ had sent Gasparo on to explore, who took advantage of his
+freedom, as the reader is aware, to desert to the threatened little
+garrison. Impatient at his prolonged absence, the Prince commanded his
+officers to cause their men--about a thousand strong--to narrow the
+circle, and to assault the castle when each column arrived in sight of
+it. As might be expected, so complex a scheme proved unfortunate. The
+detachment to the north, commanded by the Prince in person, marched in
+a straight line for the tower; but the others, partly through the
+ignorance of the officers, and partly through the disinclination of the
+guides to begin the affray, instead of following the right path, struck
+out into the wood, and were soon in inextricable confusion, calling
+hither and thither to each other, and often returning to the point from
+which they started. In this way several hours were lost.
+
+The Prince, with two hundred of his most serviceable men, arrived,
+however, within sight of the spot, which they only discovered about four
+o'clock in the afternoon, and then perceived, to their chagrin, that
+preparations for defense had been made. But reckoning on the numbers of
+his troops, and on the co-operation of the other detachments, he drew
+his sword, disposed of half his men as skirmishers, and keeping the
+other half as a reserve, ordered the signal to be given for attack.
+
+Orazio and his young Romans could have avoided the combat by taking
+refuge in the subterranean passages, but disdaining a retreat before
+measuring his strength with the Papal mercenaries, he determined to show
+fight, and upon returning to the castle with Gasparo, hastened to have
+the doors barricaded and holes made in the walls for the musketeers,
+while every necessary instrument was put in readiness for the siege.
+
+The young leader hod ordered his men not to fire at the enemy so long
+as they were at a distance, but to wait until they were close under the
+walls, so that each might shoot down his man. The assailants advanced
+boldly on the castle, and the front rank of skirmishers had nearly
+reached the threshold, when a general discharge from the guns of those
+within laid nearly as many of the Papal troops on the ground as there
+were shots fired. This sudden discharge disconcerted those behind, who,
+seeing so many of their comrades fall, turned and fled. The Prince, with
+his column, was treading sharply on the heels of the skirmishers, and
+arrived at this juncture.
+
+Orazio had taken the precaution to have all the spare fire-arms in the
+tower loaded and placed ready for use, and now commanded the domestics
+to help the ladies to reload them as soon as they were discharged. Jack,
+however, declined to remain with the women, as Orazio had proposed,
+and seizing his musket placed himself at the side of his preserver,
+following him like a shadow throughout the attack.
+
+When the Prince arrived under cover of the outer mound and saw the
+slaughter that had taken place, he understood at last the disposition of
+the enemy with whom he had to deal. Remarking the fear depicted on the
+countenances of his men, and seeing retreat under such a murderous fire
+would be disastrous, to say nothing of the disgrace of such a movement,
+he resolved to storm the wall. He passed the word, accordingly, to his
+aides-de-camp, by whom he was surrounded, to order the trumpets to sound
+the charge, and, springing forward himself, he was the first to climb
+the barricade, striking right and left with his sabre at the few
+defenders posted there.
+
+Orazio, who was among these few, stood without moving at the first sight
+of the Prince, in whose lineaments he traced so plainly the likeness
+to his beloved Irene. One of the barrels of his musket was still
+undischarged, and he could easily have sent the contents through the
+body of his enemy, but he refrained. Jack, who was standing by his side,
+not understanding the cause of this hesitation, raised his gun to
+a level with the Prince's breast and fired; but as he did so Orazio
+knocked up the muzzle with all the force of his strong arm, and the
+ball struck one of the Prince's men, who had just appeared above the
+barricade. The Prince's followers who mounted with him were few in
+number, and those few were quickly dispatched by the valiant garrison of
+the castle.
+
+An unexpected circumstance finally freed our party from their assailants
+and made them fly in every direction, scattered like a flock of sheep.
+
+As the officers were urging the men crowded under the barricades to
+follow their Prince, a cry of "Enemies in the rear!" was heard from the
+east side of the wood. A small band of ten men appearing, sprang like
+lions on the right flank of the little army. The soldiers, in the panic,
+thinking the "ten" might be a hundred, dispersed like chaff before the
+wind. Some few paused, hoping that the new-comers might prove to be some
+of their own missing allies, but upon a nearer view it was plain that
+they were dressed in the uniform of the Liberals, and the blows they
+dealt upon the nearest Papalini were so terribly in earnest, that these
+last turned and fled in dismay, leaving their opponents masters of
+the field and the Prince a prisoner. Realizing the generous act of his
+enemy, and finding out that he was left alone, he delivered up his
+sword to Orazio, who received it courteously, and conducted him to the
+presence of Irene.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV. A VALUABLE ACQUISITION
+
+The most earnest reformer most confess that immense progress has been
+made during the present century. We are not speaking of mechanical or
+physical arts, in which the advance is really wonderful, but we are
+thinking solely of the political and moral achievements of the age.
+
+The emancipation of the nations from the power of the priest is a
+vast object not yet attained, but towards the accomplishment of which,
+nevertheless, our generation is making gigantic strides.
+
+Above all, this progress seems marvellous and divinely impelled, when
+one remembers that the gradual destruction of priestcraft is the work of
+the priesthood itself. What enduring consolidation would not the Papacy
+have obtained, had Pius IX. continued the system of reform with which he
+commenced his reign, and sincerely identified himself with the Italian
+nation! An overruling Providence, however, blinded the eyes of the
+wavering monk for the good of his unfortunate people, and left him to
+travel on the perverse and misguided road of his predecessors--that is
+to say, to trade away Roman honor and Christian spirit for the help of
+the foreigner, vilely selling the blood of his countrymen. The Italian
+nation, which might have been so well and long deceived, has now seen
+these impostors, the priests, walking with cross in hand at the head of
+the foreign troops pitted against Italian patriots. The writer has with
+his own eyes more than once witnessed priests leading the Austrians
+against the Liberals. To serve the Papacy they have excited and
+maintained brigandage, devastating the southern provinces with horrible
+crimes, and fomenting by every means in their power the dissolution of
+national unity, so happily but hardly constituted.
+
+Another sign of human progress in our day is the closer tie establishing
+itself between the aristocracy and the people. There still exist some
+oligarchs everywhere, more or lest callous, more or less insolent, who
+affect the arrogance and authority of former times, when the outrageous
+and intolerable feudal pretensions were in full force. But they are
+few in number, and the greater part of the nobility (noble not only by
+birth, but in soul) associate with os, and mingle their aspirations with
+ours.
+
+To this last type belonged the brother of Irene, who undertook the
+unlucky military affair we related in the last chapter, with the idea
+of rescuing his beloved sister from the brigands, into whose hands he
+believed she had fallen an unwilling victim. But when he learned that
+those he had fought against were Romans of noble and lofty spirit,
+and very far from the assassins he had pictured, he did not fail to
+compliment the valor of his countrymen; and when he further learned that
+Qrazio, to whose generosity he owed his life, was the legal husband of
+his sister, and that she loved him so tenderly, his maimer and opinion
+changed entirely.
+
+These considerations had pleaded already in favor of Irene, who, upon
+seeing her brother, threw herself at his feet, clasping his knees in a
+flood of tears, which flowed the faster at the remembrance of her dead
+father, whom he represented in face and voice.
+
+The Prince, raising her gently, mingled his tears with hers, as he
+affectionately embraced her. Orazio, touched to the depths of his soul,
+was also affected, and taking the Prince's sword by the point, handed it
+back to him, saying, "So noble a soldier ought not to be deprived, even
+by accident, of his weapon." The Prince accepted it with gratitude, and
+shook the bronzed hand of this son of the forest amicably.
+
+And Clelia! what had made her rush away from this charming scene? what
+had she heard amid the noise of the conflict? She had recognized the
+voice of her Attilio during the assault, and for her and him too this
+was a supreme moment. Yes, during the battle, when the shouts of
+the new-comers made the arches of the castle ring again, Clelia
+distinguished her betrothed's voice. She threw down a gun which she was
+loading, and rushed to a balcony, whence she could survey the scene of
+action. For one second, through the smoke, she obtained a view of the
+face engraven upon her heart, but that second was sufficient to make
+her feel surpassingly happy. Attilio, indeed, it was, who, with Silvio,
+Muzio, and some other companions, had thus charged and scattered the
+Papal troops.
+
+Silvio, it must be known, was well acquainted with the castle of
+Lucullus, where he had often been a guest, as well as the associate
+of Orazio in his hunting and fighting expeditions. Through him a
+communication was kept up between the Liberals in the city and those in
+the country. Before quitting Rome he had come to the determination of
+taking the field, and placing himself under Orazio's flag, and, as we
+have seen, he happily arrived with his associates just in time to give
+the last blow to the Papal soldiers.
+
+The gentle reader must himself imagine the joy in the castle caused by
+the arrival of friends who could contribute so powerfully to the safety
+of the proscribed--what interrogations! what embracings! what inquiries
+after parents, relatives, and friends! what new and happy hopes! what
+soft illusions, dreams of peace and rest!
+
+"Oh, my own, my own!" whispered Clelia, when Attilio for the first time
+imprinted a kiss upon her beautiful brow, "thou art mine and I am thine,
+in spite of the wicked priests, in spite of the world."
+
+The smell of the gunpowder had perhaps turned her dear little head, so
+that we may pass over the slight indiscretion of such confessions. She
+should have been more coquettish, but she was a Roman girl, and her love
+was true. And is not true love sublime, heroic, such as these two
+happy beings bore to one another? Is it not the life of the soul, the
+incentive of all that is noble, the civilizer of the human race?
+
+The Liberals had a glorious acquisition in the person of Prince T------;
+he was entirely converted by the scenes he had witnessed and the
+words which he heard; for, generous and brave by nature, he felt the
+humiliation of his country, and desired to see her liberated from the
+bad government of the priest and the foreigner. Educated away from Rome,
+however, and moving in a different sphere from those patriots who held
+in their hands the plot of the Revolution, he had remained in ignorance
+of much that was passing, and had even accepted, at his father's desire,
+a post in the Pontifical army, which removed him farther than ever from
+the influence of our brave friends. But a film had now passed from his
+sight, and he saw at last with clearer vision the greatness of Italy's
+future, and how surely Italy--now divided into so many parts, despised
+and scorned by the world--should yet be re-united, and become one grand
+and noble nation, looked up to and respected as in the days of her past
+glory, as the patriotic Italians of all periods have ever dreamed and
+prayed she should be.
+
+The Prince was enchanted with his new quarters and with his new
+companions, and vowed to himself to live and die for the sacred cause of
+his country.
+
+Rich, powerful, and generous, he became in future the strongest
+supporter of the proscribed, and they had reason to congratulate
+themselves for having put faith and hope in so noble a patriot, and one
+whom they had thus doubly conquered.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV. THE AMELIORATION OF MANKIND
+
+Orazio having received and welcomed his friend and brethren, now began
+to think of their general safety. He therefore called aside Attilio and
+the Prince (who by this time had become firmly devoted to them and the
+national cause), and addressed them as follows:-
+
+"It is true we have been victorious in our last encounter, and have
+vanquished you, Prince, whose noble conduct now conquers our hearts; but
+I fear now this castle has become too notorious for us to remain longer
+in it in safety. The Government will employ every means in its power to
+hunt us out of our retreat and to destroy us, and is capable of sending
+a whole army with artillery to demolish these old walls. I do not,
+however, advise an immediate retreat, as the Cardinals will require time
+to form projects and make arrangements; but it behoves us now to use all
+vigilance, and from this moment to ascertain the movements of the enemy
+and guard against surprise. As for yourself, Prince, you had better
+return to Rome; your presence here is not needed for the present, and
+there you may be of the greatest use to us. Let it be thought that you
+were set at liberty on parole, on condition that you would not bear arms
+against us, and then send in your resignation."
+
+"Yes," replied the Prince, "I can be of more service to you in Rome, and
+I pledge my word of honor to be yours until death."
+
+Attilio was of the same opinion, and added that Regolo would advise them
+of the movements of the Pontifical troops. On the Prince desiring some
+secure means of remaining with them, Attilio presented him with a
+piece of paper--so small that it might easily be swallowed in case of
+emergency--containing a line of recommendation for the Prince to Regolo.
+
+The rest of the day was devoted to the interment of the dead, of which
+there were not a few, and to tending the wounded, nearly all of whom
+were Papalini. Three of the Liberals only were wounded, and those not
+seriously. This proves that, in the strife of battle, the valorous run
+the least danger; and if the statistics of the field were referred to,
+it would be seen that fugitives lose more men than any army which stands
+its ground.
+
+At midnight the Prince started for Rome. And who acted as his guide?
+Who, but Gasparo, the veteran chief of the bandits in old times, now an
+affiliated Liberal, as he had proved in the last affray, in which he had
+done wonders with his unerring carbine.
+
+I who write this am well persuaded of the truth of the perpetual
+amelioration of the human race. I am wholly opposed to the cynic and the
+pessimist, and believe with all my heart and soul in the law of human
+progress by various agencies, under many forms, and with many necessary
+interruptions. Providence has willed that happiness shall be the final
+end of this sad planet and suffering race; but Its decrees work slowly,
+and only by the submission of mankind to the higher law of light is
+happiness attainable. Not by miracles will men become regenerated.
+Voltaire has well said-
+
+     "J'en al vaincu plu d'un,
+     Je n'ai forco personne,
+     Et le vrai Dieu, mon fils,
+     Est un Dieu qui pardonne."
+
+If humanity does not improve along with the progress of knowledge, as
+it should do, the fault must lie with the various governments, for with
+kind treatment and judicious care, even the wild beasts of the forest
+become domesticated, and their fierce passions are tamed. What, then,
+may we not accomplish with the very lowest grade of mankind? But can any
+thing be expected from a people kept purposely in ignorance, and reduced
+to misery by exaction, imposts, and taxes? We know that these taxes
+and exactions are not, as it is stated, imposed upon the Romans for the
+defense of the state, or for the support and maintenance of national
+honor, but to fatten the Pontifical Government and its multitude of
+parasites, who are to the people what vermin are to the body, or what
+the worm is to the corpse, and who exist only to plunder and devour. Who
+can deny that the people of Southern Italy were more prosperous in 1860
+than at the present day, and is not the reason because they were better
+governed?
+
+In those days brigandage was scarcely known; there were no prefects,
+no gendarmes, no bravos. Now, with the multitude of satellites who ruin
+Italian finance existing in the South, anarchy, brigandage, and misery
+prevail. Poor people! They hoped, after so many centuries of tyranny,
+and after the brilliant revolution of 1860, to obtain in a reformed
+Government an era of repose, of progress, and of prosperity. Alas, it
+was but a delusion! "Put not your trust in princes," says Holy Writ.
+
+Gasparo had baptized himself a Liberal in the Wood of the oppressors. He
+was received by the young brigand with indulgence, and even enthusiasm,
+and intrusted, as already mentioned, with the important mission of
+conducting Prince T------ out of the forest into the direct road to Rome.
+
+The prediction of Orazio respecting the steps that would be taken by
+the Papal Government fulfilled itself exactly. After the reverse it had
+sustained at the castle of Lucullus, the bishops decided in council to
+send a large body of troops, with artillery, against this stronghold of
+the Liberals; and as it was thought they would not tarry long for such
+a descent, the resolution was to carry the assault into immediate
+execution.
+
+With this in view, it was determined that not only the Papal, but also
+the foreign troops at the service of the Pope, should be drawn upon for
+the expedition. A foreign general of note was called in to direct the
+enterprise, and every thing was made ready with alacrity, that the
+critical assault might be delivered on Easter Day, generally so
+propitious to the priests, who on that occasion, after their long fast,
+gorge even more than usual their capacious stomachs at the expense of
+their ignorant and superstitious flocks.
+
+Orazio and his companions meanwhile were not sleeping, and received
+regular information from their friends in Rome of the plans and
+preparations made by the Pontifical Government, albeit it kept them as
+secret as possible. The first thing Orazio did was to explore the
+subterranean passages thoroughly. These were known, even to him, only
+partially, and a few of his comrades; but Gasparo, who had already
+returned from his mission, had had better opportunities of examining
+them, and, with his assistance, a thorough exploration was to be made.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI. THE SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGES
+
+Among the wonders of the Metropolis of the World, the catacombs or
+subterranean vaults and passages are certainly not the least. The first
+Christians, persecuted with atrocious cruelty by the pagan imperial
+government of Rome, sought refuge for safety occasionally in the
+catacombs; and sometimes, also, that they might assemble without
+incurring suspicion, in larger numbers, to instruct themselves in the
+doctrines of their new religion. These subterranean passages were also
+undoubtedly the resort of fugitive slaves and other miserable beings,
+who sought refuge from the tyrannical government of imperial Rome,
+over which have presided some of the direst monsters that ever
+existed--Heliogabalus, Nero, Caligula, and other despots in purple.
+
+Among these subterranean passages there are, it appears, different
+kinds. Some were constructed for the purpose of receiving the dead,
+others were used as water conduits, and supplied the city with rivers of
+fresh water for a population of two millions. The cloaca maxima, which
+led from Rome to the sea, is very famous, as well as many smaller
+hidden roads, constructed by wealthy private individuals, at an enormous
+expense, in which they could secrete themselves from the depredations of
+those greatest of all robbers the emperors, and in later times from the
+persecution and massacre of the barbarians.
+
+The soil on which Rome is built, as well as that in its immediate
+neighborhood, offers great facilities to the excavator, being
+composed of volcanic clay, easy to pierce, yet sufficiently solid and
+impenetrable to damp to form a secure habitation. In fact, to this day
+many shepherds, with their flocks, lodge in these artificial caverns.
+
+Before the exploration of the subterranean passages of the castle, it
+was thought desirable to send the severely wounded to Rome, attended by
+those who were only slightly injured, and conducted by some shepherds.
+Among the Liberals very few were wounded, and none severely so. Many of
+the Papilini, moreover, requested permission to remain and follow the
+fortunes of the proscribed, for there are not many Italian soldiers,
+however debased, who willingly serve the priesthood; and there is
+no doubt that when the hour for liberating Italy and Rome from their
+pollution arrives, not a soldier, with the exception of the foreign
+mercenaries, will remain to protect them.
+
+After dispatching the wounded, Orazio and his men removed to the
+subterranean passages all that the castle contained which was valuable
+and useful, with provisions of all kinds to last for some time, and then
+awaited calmly the coming of the enemy. They did not fail to take all
+military precautions, and that in spite of the notices from Rome
+of every movement of the enemy, Orazio also sent scouts and placed
+sentinels in all directions, that he might be apprised at the earliest
+moment of their approach.
+
+The original party had been considerably augmented by the arrival of
+Attilio and his followers, as well as by those of the Roman soldiers
+who had resolved to serve the priest no longer, not to mention certain
+youths from the capital, who, having heard of the victory won by the
+Liberals, determined forthwith to join them. They now numbered sixty
+individuals, without counting the women, while Orazio's authority
+over his band was increased rather than lessened by this addition, and
+Attilio, although at the head of the Roman party, and commander of the
+"Three Hundred," showed the greatest fidelity in obeying the orders of
+his brave and warlike brother in arms.
+
+Orazio divided his little army into four companies, under the command
+of Attilio, Muzio, Silvio, and Emilio the antiquary. The latter had been
+second in command before the advent of the chief of the Three Hundred,
+but made it a point of honor to yield this post to him. A generous
+dispute ensued, which would never have ended, had not Orazio persuaded
+Attilio to accept the first command, and assigned the second to Emilio.
+Such was the disinterestedness of these champions of Rome's liberty.
+"Freedom for Rome or death!" was their motto. Little did they care
+for grades, distinctions, or decorations, which they indeed held as
+instruments used by despotism to corrupt one half of the nation, and
+humiliate and hold in bondage the other half.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII. THE ANTIQUARY
+
+It was Easter Eve. Every thing in the antique monument was in readiness
+for the siege, and those of the band who were not on duty were assembled
+with Orazio and the ladies in the spacious dining-hall. After a truly
+Homeric supper, which was enlivened by some patriotic toasts, Emilio
+the antiquary, who desired to put them on their guard against any
+contretemps that might arise, asked permission of his commander to speak
+a few words. Consent being given, Emilio began thus:-
+
+"As we shall soon have to take refuge in the subterranean passages, I
+wish, by way of precaution, to narrate a circumstance that happened to
+me a few years ago in the vicinity of Rome. You all remember the superb
+mausoleum of Cecilia Metella, erected by a Roman patrician in honor of
+his daughter, who died in her twelfth year.
+
+"You know, too, that that mausoleum is beautiful among all our ruins,
+and, like the Pantheon, one of the best preserved. But what you do
+not, perhaps, know, is that under it is the opening to a subterranean
+passage, leading no one knows whither. One day I determined to
+investigate this dark place, and as, in my youthful folly and pride,
+I thought I should not have so much merit if I were accompanied by any
+one, I resolved to go alone. Providing myself with an immense ball of
+twine, so large that I could scarcely grasp it, and a bundle of tapers,
+some bread, and a flask of wine, I ventured out very early in the
+morning, descended into the bowels of the earth, having previously
+secured the end of my twine at the entrance to the tunnel, and commenced
+my mysterious journey. Onward, onward I went under the gloomy arches,
+and the farther I went the more my curiosity was excited. It appeared
+truly astounding to me that any human being destined by God to dwell
+upon the earth, and enjoy the fruits and blessed light of the sun,
+should ever have condemned himself to perpetual darkness, or have
+worked so hard, like the mole, to construct such a secure but fearful
+habitation. Wretched, and bitterly terrified, although rich, must have
+been those who, at the cost of so much labor, excavated these gigantic
+works for hiding-places.
+
+"While such thoughts were passing through my mind, I continued to walk,
+lighted by my taper, unrolling my ball at the same time, and endeavoring
+to follow in a direction originally indicated by the narrow passage at
+the entrance; but I discovered that the gloomy lane gradually widened,
+and was supported by columns of clay, from between which opened various
+alleys, spreading out in all directions. These were fantastically and
+unsymmetrically arranged, as if the architect had wished to involve
+any trespassers in an inextricable labyrinth. The observations I made
+troubled me somewhat, and I speak frankly when I say that I occasionally
+felt my courage failing me, and was several times on the point of
+turning back, but Pride cried, 'Of what use were these preparations if
+your expedition is to be a failure?'
+
+"I felt ashamed of myself for my terror; besides, had I not my guiding
+thread that would lead me back to security? Onward I went again,
+unwinding my twine, and lighting, from time to time, a fresh taper, as
+each became consumed. At last I came to the end of my twine, and, much
+to my discontent, I had encountered nothing but a profound solitude. I
+was tired and rather discouraged at having such a long road to retrace.
+While I stood contemplating my position, and holding the end of the
+thread firmly, lest I should lose it, and anxiously regarding my last
+taper, which I feared every moment would be extinguished, I heard a
+rustling, as of a woman's dress, behind me, and, while turning round to
+discover the cause, a breath blew out my light, some one tore the thread
+violently out of my fingers, and my arms were seized with such force
+that the very bones seemed to crack, while a cloth was thrown over my
+head, completely blinding me.
+
+"A presentiment of danger is oft times harder to bear than the danger
+itself. I had felt very much terrified when I first heard the footsteps
+approaching me, but now that I was being led by the hand like a child,
+my fear fled: I had to do with flesh and blood. I walked boldly along.
+Although I was blinded, I was conscious another light had been struck,
+and that the touch and footsteps near me were those of living beings,
+and not of spirits. In this manner I proceeded for some minutes, and
+then the veil or bandage was removed from my eyes, and, to my amazement,
+I found myself in a small room, brilliantly illuminated, with a table in
+the centre splendidly laid out, around which sat twenty hearty fellows
+feasting merrily."
+
+During the antiquary's narrative, a smile had passed over Gasparo's face
+from time to time; now he rose, and extending his hand to Emilio, said,
+with some motion-
+
+"Ah, my friend, were you then that incautious explorer? I dwelt in the
+catacombs in those days with my band; and the emissaries of Rome, before
+venturing into them, generally made their wills, if prudent. The woman
+who blew out your light, and who afterwards showed you so much kindness
+was my Alba, who died a short time since from grief on account of my
+sufferings and imprisonment."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the antiquary, "was it you who sat at the head of the
+table, and received as much homage from your men as if you had been in
+reality a sovereign?"
+
+"Yes, it was I," replied the bandit, somewhat mournfully, noting
+Emilio's surprise; "years and the irons and cruelties of those wretched
+men calling themselves ministers of God have wrinkled my forehead and
+silvered these hairs. But my conscience is pure. I have treated every
+unhappy creature kindly, and you know whether you received any harm
+from us, or if even a hair of your head were touched. I wished only to
+humiliate those proud voluptuaries who live in luxury and vice at the
+expense of suffering humanity; and with God's help and yours, although I
+am old, I yet hope to see my country freed from their monstrous yoke."
+
+"Yes," answered the antiquary affectionately, "I received the greatest
+kindness from you and your lady. I shall never forget it as long as I
+live."
+
+And then turning to the company, he continued his recital:
+
+"I was much shaken by my solitary exploration, and a little, too, by
+my unexpected encounter; and was so feverish inconsequence, that I was
+compelled to remain two days in the subterranean abode; and during
+that time I received, as you have heard, the greatest care and the most
+delicate attentions from the amiable Alba, who not only provided me with
+every necessary, but watched assiduously by my pillow. Having regained
+my strength at the end of the two days, I requested to be allowed to
+depart, and was conducted by a new and shorter road into the light of
+the sun, which I had thought never to see again. Upon giving my word
+of honor not to betray the secret of their existence, two of the band
+pointed out the road to Rome, and left me to pursue my way."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ROMAN ARMY
+
+"Now opens before us," says the great writer on ancient Italy, "that
+splendid region in which man grew to grander stature than in any other
+part of the world, and displayed prodigies of energy and moral judgment.
+We are about to enter that land consecrated by heroic virtues, from
+which came a light of empire that illumined the universe. To that proud
+life has since succeeded deep death; and now in many places of ancient
+majesty you will find nought but ruins--monuments of departed grandeur
+amidst vast deserts of death--dreary solitude, and the decayed
+achievements of man. The city of the rulers of the world fell, but the
+remains of her past glories can not be destroyed. They have for ages
+sent, and still send forth a mighty voice, which breaks the silence of
+her grave, proclaiming the greatness of those ancient inhabitants.
+The country of the Latins is desolate, but grand in its desolation; an
+austere nature adds solemnity to the vacant sites of the cities, their
+sepulchres, and relics. In the midst of a wilderness, at every step,
+one meets with tokens of a bygone power that overawes the imagination.
+Frequently, in the same spot, on the same stone, the traveller reads the
+record of the joys and the sorrows of generations divided by prodigious
+intervals of time. Here, also, are to be seen the columns of those
+temples in which the priests of old, with their auguries and idols,
+deceived the people, and reduced them to moral slavery.
+
+"In this, however, little is changed; for farther on may be viewed
+modern temples, in which religion is still made an instrument of
+infamous tyranny. Sadnesses ancient and sadnesses modern blend together;
+memories of past dominations, and tokens of dominations ruling down to
+the present day.
+
+"If the far-off cry of the wretched plebeians whom the savage
+aristocracy of a past age precipitated from the cliff, makes us shudder,
+shall we not feel something akin to this when we hear the cry of living
+victims of Popish fury imprisoned in dungeons in our own day? Mingled
+with the ashes of the leaders of the ancient people, you may here dig
+up those of the martyrs of our own age, who shed their blood for the
+new Republic, and fell protesting against the bitter dominion of the
+priesthood; and pondering over these memories, antique and recent, each
+true Roman may draw comfort for his afflicted soul, seeing that,
+in spite of the passage of centuries, and the debasing strength of
+tyrannies, the children of Rome, far as they are from her heroic days,
+have never quite lost the energy of their forefathers, and thence, on
+this soil of auguries each may rightly draw the joyful presage that now,
+as then, the genius of this sublime country will never long leave her to
+such shameful vicissitudes."
+
+This noble and patriotic piece we have introduced to aid in the
+difficult task of depicting the Rome of heroic times along with the
+living but paralyzed virtues of modern Latium. We may thus proceed to
+discuss that strange and sad heterogeneous band, native and foreign,
+which forms what is called "the Roman army." What manner of men are
+those who dedicate themselves to the service of a government like that
+of "Pio Nono"--a service that can not fail to inspire an honest man with
+disgust? And here, we may repeat, none but a priesthood could have
+so degraded a people, and placed them on a level with the basest upon
+earth--a people, too, born in a region where they have attained to
+greater perfection of manhood than in any other part of the known world.
+
+The "Roman army," so called, is at present composed partly of Romans,
+under the observation of foreign soldiery, and partly of foreign
+soldiers under the sway of foreign commanders, while the people
+themselves are under the protection (or rather subjection) of a set of
+scoundrels called gendarmes. For what are these hired mercenaries but
+knaves thirsting for profit, who, without principle and without honor,
+enter this disgraceful service? The title, therefore, of "Papal soldier"
+is by no means a martial distinction, but one despised by a true man;
+while, on the other hand, the foreign interloper, scoundrel though he
+be in embracing so dishonorable a calling, despises none the less the
+native soldiery, whom he is called upon to aid and abet. Hence, the
+native soldier and the foreign hireling (not being in the true sense of
+the term brothers in arms) frequently come to blows, when the foreigner
+usually comes off second best, for, in spite of the influence of the
+priesthood to render the Roman soldiery degenerate and corrupt, some
+remains at least of their ancient valor still exist.
+
+This is the condition of the Roman army of the day, and thus the reason
+why it was despised by the "proscribed," who informed themselves of its
+movements, and quietly waited its approach. In the case of the impending
+assault upon Orazio's castle, time was lost by the quarrels which
+prevailed as usual in it. The foreigners looking with contempt upon the
+native soldiers, claimed to have the right wing in the assault assigned
+them; but the natives, not fearing foreigners, and believing themselves,
+with reason, to be superior to them in the ait of war, resolutely
+refused to concede this honor to alien troops. The priests, too,
+impotent to restore order, begun to gnaw their nails at such junctures
+with impatience, rage, and fear.
+
+Easter day, then--the day destined for the destruction of "the
+brigands"--would most probably have seen the extermination of these
+mercenaries had not the "Moderates" raised the cry of "Order and
+brotherhood!" And thus this fine opportunity for finishing off a set of
+knaves--the plague and dishonor of Italy--was lost.
+
+Regolo, with the greater number of the Three Hundred, seeing they could
+do nothing of themselves, for some time, towards the liberation of Rome,
+had enlisted in the ranks of the Pontifical troops, according to the
+orders received from outside, and were active in influencing the Romans
+to demand the honor of conducting the right wing in the order of march.
+This being disputed, they mutinied, and ill-treated their officers.
+General D------ was sent with a company of foreigners to restore order,
+but the strife was almost as serious as in a pitched battle, and the
+foreigners fled discomfited to their barracks.
+
+The chief instigator of the mutiny was our old acquaintance, Dentato,
+the sergeant of dragoons. Being released from the pains and penalties
+inflicted upon him by the Inquisition, which he had sustained with a
+stoicism worthy of the olden times, he resolved to be revenged upon his
+persecutors at the first opportunity, and did not fail to make good use
+of this occasion. At the head of his dragoons (for he had been restored
+to his post), sabre in hand, he plunged into the thickest of the fray,
+and made serious havoc amongst the foreign troops. The affair over,
+knowing what to expect at the hands of his masters, he set out from Rome
+without dismounting, accompanied by the better part of his men, sought
+out the proscribed in the forest, who received him most cordially, and
+heard with satisfaction the account of his adventures in the capital.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX. MATRIMONY
+
+Of a surety, the most holy and closest tie in all the human family is
+marriage. It binds together two beings of an opposite sex for life, and
+makes them, if they be but worthy of that condition, supremely happy. I
+say if they be worthy advisedly, because that solemn rite should only be
+contracted with the mutual purpose that each is to seek the happiness
+of the other, and such a union has for its base true love--that is,
+celestial love, which the ancients rightly distinguished from sensual
+passion, the former being that love of the soul which no worldly or
+selfish views can ever influence. Even before the marriage contract its
+anticipation does much to soften and improve the character of each, from
+the new feeling that they must not fail to contribute to each other's
+welfare. The very atmosphere of happiness makes married life nobler than
+lonely life, while the love of parents for their offspring renders them
+gentle and forbearing, and indulgent to their own first, and finally to
+others, whose good-will they wish to win. Unfaithfulness, however, is,
+unhappily, too frequently an incident of modern marriages, but they of
+either sex who sin against that loyalty in wedlock which should bind
+both indissolubly, unless hardened in vice beyond all hope, feel such
+remorse that they would, if they could, return to their former purity by
+any sacrifice. But truth, among other things, should suffice to fortify
+the good against temptation and dishonor, which brings shame and ruin
+to the soul. Oh, you whom this sacred tie has newly bound, be true as
+heaven to one another! By your fidelity you will secure your conscience
+in the future against sharp and stinging reflections. Out of noble and
+heartfelt constancy will spring a paradise upon earth--the foretaste of
+a blissful life beyond.
+
+But priestly interference in this holy communion of hearts blights and
+blasphemes the name of love, sowing the seeds of hatred; while more or
+less all over the globe this plague is felt, by reason of the number
+of unhappy marriages brought about or directed by these busy tonsured
+meddlers. What, then, must this baneful influence be in Rome, where the
+priests are so numerous as to reign almost supreme in society.
+
+We have before stated that in the city of Rome the largest number
+of illegitimate births take place, which arises naturally (or rather
+unnaturally) from the infamous influences of priests, who traffic in
+matches, and control the market of men and women for their own profit.
+
+But we will draw the veil of silence over these lamentable facts, and
+ask pardon of refined readers if we have shocked them, even by a hint.
+Nevertheless, when we remember the degradation and misery to which
+our beloved but unhappy country has been reduced by the despotism
+and corruption of her corrupt Government, shame and grief are hard to
+restrain. Oh, pardon me, you whose chaste eyes have no Rome to weep for!
+
+Yes, marriage is a sacred act. By it a man imposes on himself the duty
+to love, protect, and support his wife, and the children she may bear
+him. And this act is the first cause of the progress and civilization
+of mankind. The priest, being no other than a meddler and impostor, is
+consequently unworthy of celebrating that most important act of life.
+The municipal authorities, who ought to be cognizant of all that
+concerns the citizens, and register all acts, should preside at the
+ceremony of marriage, or, as immediate representatives of these, the
+parents of the contracting parties, who are their natural and lawful
+guardians.
+
+To these latter authorities Attilio and Clelia referred themselves.
+
+"My own! my own!" Clelia had whispered to herself during Irene's
+narration; and in the hour when her beloved was at her feet, overjoyed
+by the blissful atmosphere that surrounded her, she resisted his
+passionate and honest solicitations for some time, but at last gave
+him permission to demand her in marriage of her mother, adding, "If she
+consents, I will be thine for life."
+
+Although Silvia was of a somewhat hesitating temperament, and would have
+preferred having her Manlio at hand to consult as to the destiny of her
+dearly beloved child, still she had sufficient good sense to see that
+a union between the two ardent lovers was very desirable, and felt that
+under the peculiar circumstances of their banishment and forest life she
+might be assured of her husband's sanction, and therefore accorded them
+hers.
+
+Silvia could not endure priests, and civil authorities there were none
+to consult or employ, except the sylvan jurisdiction of their honest
+preserver, Orazio, and her own maternal governance. These, she opined,
+were sufficient for the occasion, and it was not difficult to persuade
+her bold but gentle and enlightened conscience that this simple,
+natural, and legal solemnization was all that was requisite.
+
+The celebration of the marriage of our young friends, thus determined
+upon and permitted, was a true feast for all in the castle, and
+particularly for Irene, who, as the happy example herself of a rural
+marriage, was thoroughly proud of being priestess to the natural and
+noble rite. She erected, without their knowledge, an altar at the foot
+of the most majestic oak in the neighborhood. With the help of her
+maidens, and the sailor's assistance, who prided himself upon his marine
+agility--Irene reared above this a small temple, formed of green boughs
+and garlands of wild flowers, the crown of the oak serving as a cupola
+illuminated far above by the sun, and at night by beautiful stars and
+planets, the first-born creations of God.
+
+The ceremony was not long, for it was simple, but serious. It took
+place in the presence of those faithful children of Rome, who stood in a
+circle around the handsome couple, while Irene joined their right hands,
+pronounced them to be man and wife, and solemnized the sacred union by
+the following address:-
+
+"Dear and true-hearted friends, the act you have solemnized this
+day unites you indissolubly body and soul. You must share together
+henceforward the prosperities and reverses, the joys and sorrows of this
+life. Remember that in mutual love and faithfulness you will find your
+only and enduring happiness, while, if affliction descends, it will be
+diminished and dissipated by your reciprocal love. May God bless your
+union!"
+
+Then Silvia, her eyes bedewed by maternal tears, placed her hands upon
+the heads of her beloved children, and repeated _che Dio vi benedica!_
+More she could not say for her emotion. The marriage contract, which
+had been previously prepared, was now presented to the united couple by
+Orazio for their signature, and then to the witnesses, the chief finally
+signing it himself.
+
+In this manner was celebrated, with the great-, est simplicity, in the
+Almighty's own temple, illuminated by the bright golden lamp of all the
+world, that solemn act of wedlock, none the less solemn or binding for
+being so celebrated. Never did human pair feel themselves more sacredly
+bound one to the other than Clelia and Attilio.
+
+From the altar our joyful party directed their steps towards the castle,
+where a right goodly woodland banquet awaited them. All were rejoiced at
+the auspicious event, and many joyous toasts were given. Patriot songs
+were freely sung, and Jack, elated by the general hilarity, treated his
+friends to his own famous national airs, "God Save the Queen," and "Rule
+Britannia."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL. THE CHRISTENING
+
+The "army of Rome," as already related, gave the proscribed a long time
+for preparation, and they, knowing the nature of the delay, troubled
+themselves little about the matter. And now we must return to some of
+the principal and most cherished personages of our book--namely, Julia
+and her companions, of whom we took leave when they escaped so narrowly
+from the storm, and whom we have neglected far too long.
+
+Two days after the departure of the _Seagull_ from Porto d'Anzio she
+entered Porto Longone, with all her sails set and her colors flying. As
+soon as she anchored, our friends saw a group of persons issuing from
+Liberi, a small village overlooking the port, who, on reaching the
+shore, embarked in a boat and rowed out to the yacht.
+
+Julia received the party--which was composed of both sexes--gracefully
+and courteously, and offered them refreshments in her saloon, which they
+cordially accepted.
+
+Seated at table, each with a glass of Marsala in hand, the guests turned
+towards Manlio, whom they imagined to be the master of the vessel, and
+addressed him with a Tuscan accent. It is one less manly than the Roman,
+but sweeter and more sympathetic, and though it be but a dialect of the
+real Italian, to it Italy owes much of her revival, and in this dialect,
+dignified by so much genius, must be found the language of Italian
+national unity.
+
+"Sir," said the elder of the visitors, talking Tuscan, "in Liberi there
+exists a custom that if a vessel comes into port at the same time birth
+is given to an infant, the captain is requested to stand godfather to
+the newly-born child. Will you therefore vouchsafe to comply with this
+custom, and do us the honor of becoming a godfather, and your gracious
+young lady a godmother, to a little one who has this day entered upon
+existence."
+
+Manlio smiled at this odd request, and all present admired the facility
+with which the visitor in Elba can form an alliance with the islanders.
+Manlio replied, "I am simply a guest on board, like yourself, Signor;
+this young English lady is the owner of the vessel, and must decide what
+shall be done."
+
+Julia--the traveller, the artist, the antiquary, and the friend of
+Italian liberty--was enchanted to find such simplicity of manners
+among these good people, and said, "For my part I gladly accede to your
+proposal, and as I hear the captain of the ship must be godfather, I
+will send for him, when, if he be agreeable, we will place ourselves at
+your service."
+
+Captain Thompson was immediately summoned, and the English lady
+explained to her commander what was required. He laughed merrily, and
+accepted the invitation as she had done, declaring that he should feel
+immensely honored to stand godfather with his gracious mistress as
+godmother. Captain Thompson then gave his orders to the mate, and they
+all embarked in company for Liberi.
+
+Here our narrative stumbles again upon the topic of the priesthood, and
+it is a fatality that, in spite of the invincible antipathy which they
+excite in us, they are thus continually coming in contact with the
+progress of our tale. But the curé of Liberi was a man of a different
+stamp.
+
+A modest but hospitable table was spread for the christening party in
+the house of the islanders, and it was made pleasant by the cordiality
+and simplicity of these kind islanders. The guests were all delighted,
+while Captain Thompson, although a little confused, was happy beyond
+measure at the honor the beautiful Julia did him by leaning on his arm,
+and still more so at being sponsor to her godchild. So elated was the
+worthy seaman that he neither heard nor saw as they walked towards
+the village, and stumbling over some obstacle in the way had well-nigh
+fallen, and, to use his own phrase, "carried away his bowsprit."
+
+Luckily Julia did not perceive the profound confusion of her companion,
+and walked on with a calm and stately demeanor, in unintentional
+contrast to the tar's awkward gait, for the excellent Thompson, dreading
+another stumble, counted every stone on the road as he paced by her
+side.
+
+In this manner they arrived at the church. Captain Thompson here put
+on a very imposing appearance, and, although a little wearied by the
+inordinate length of the ceremony, gave no sign of impatience. Having an
+excellent disposition, the tediousness was relieved by the pleasure of
+holding his new godson in his strong arm, to which, although a plump and
+well-formed babe, it appeared but as light as a feather.
+
+The ceremony ended, the guests invited to the christening bent their
+steps to the house of the second godfather, who entertained them at a
+more formal banquet, the excellent wine of Liberi receiving much
+favor. Captain Thompson, having to reconduct Julia, and remembering the
+stumble, partook very moderately of the liquor, contenting himself with
+passing a disinterested eulogy upon it.
+
+The captain had another motive for being temperate and keeping in check
+his decided predilection for good drink. He was most anxious to please
+the Signora Aurelia, who, though past the bloom of youth, was extremely
+amiable, and had a brilliant complexion. She was full of gratitude
+for the many attentions the captain had lavished upon her during the
+terrible storm, and by no means repulsed the signs of sympathy, loyal
+and honest, if not courtly, which the gallant sailor manifested.
+
+All went very merrily for our amphibious friends, for, much as one may
+resemble a seahorse in constitution, land with its pastimes and comforts
+is always preferable to the tempestuous sea. On leaving, Julia was
+covered with blessings and thanks by her new acquaintances, after the
+manner of olden, times.
+
+Manlio was meditating over a statue in marble, which he determined to
+carve when he should return to Rome, representing the beautiful Julia as
+Amphitrite guiding the stumbling Triton. Aurelia and Thompson, absorbed
+in thoughts of tenderness, were oblivious of the incidents of the past;
+and thus our yachting party returned on board, accompanied to the shore
+by all the villagers, with music and joyful hurrahs.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI. THE RECLUSE
+
+IN the Italian Archipelago, which may be said to begin in the south at
+Sicily, and to extend northward to Corsica, there may be found a nearly
+deserted island, composed of pure granite crags, down which delicious
+streams of pure water flow, that never quite fail even in summer. It is
+rich in vegetation of low but pretty growth, for the tempestuous winds
+which rush over it prevent the trees from attaining any great height.
+This, however, is compensated by the healthiness of this little island,
+in which one may always enjoy fresh and pure air. The plants that grow
+out of the crevices in the rocks are chiefly aromatic, and when a fire
+is made of the leaves and twigs, they send forth a fragrance which
+perfumes the whole vicinity.
+
+The wandering cattle that graze over the promontories of the island, are
+small in size but very robust. So are, also, the few inhabitants, who
+live not in affluence but sufficient comfort upon the produce of their
+tillage, fishing, and shooting, while, moreover, they are supplied with
+other necessaries from the continent by the generosity or commerce of
+their friends.
+
+The inhabitants being scanty, police and government are superfluous, and
+the absence of priests is one of the especial blessings of this little
+spot. There God is worshipped, as he should be, in purity of spirit,
+without formalism, fee, or mockery, under the canopy of the blue
+heavens, with the planets for lamps, the sea-winds for music, and the
+greensward of the island for altars.
+
+The head of the principal family on this little island is, like other
+men, one who has experienced both prosperity and misfortune. Like other
+men he has his faults, but he has enjoyed the honor of serving the cause
+of the people. Cosmopolitan, he loves all countries more or less; but
+Italy and Rome he loves to adoration.
+
+He hates the priesthood as a lying and mischievous institution, but
+is ready, so soon as they divest themselves of their malignity and
+buffoonery, to welcome them with open arms to a nobler vocation, a new
+but honest profession, and to urge men to pardon their past offenses,
+conforming in this, as in other acts, to a spirit of universal
+tolerance. Though not suffering them as priests, he pities and yearns
+towards them as men; for priests he regards as the assassins of the
+soul, and in that light esteems them more culpable than those who slay
+the body. He has passed his life in the hope of seeing the populations
+ennobled, and to the extent of his power, has championed always and
+everywhere their rights, but sadly confesses that he has lived partly in
+a false hope; for more than one nation, raised to freedom and light
+by Providence, has paltered again with despotism, whose rulers become
+perhaps even more unjust and arbitrary than the patrician.
+
+Still, this man never despairs of the ultimate amelioration of mankind,
+albeit he is deeply grieved at the slowness of its coming. He regards
+as the worst enemies of the liberty of the people those democratic
+_doctrinnaires_ who have preached and still preach revolution, not as
+a terrible remedy, a stern Nemesis, but as a trade carried on for their
+own advancement He believes that these same mercenaries of liberty have
+ruined many republics, and brought dishonor upon the republican system.
+Of this there is a striking example in the great and glorious French
+Republic of 1789, which is held up at the present day as a scarecrow by
+despots and their crew against those who maintain the excellence of
+the popular system. He defines a perfect republic to be a government of
+honest and virtuous people by honesty and virtue, and illustrates his
+definition by pointing to the downfall of all republics when people have
+eschewed virtue and turned away towards vice. But he does not believe in
+a republican government composed of five hundred governors.
+
+He considers that the liberty of a nation consists in the people
+choosing their own government, and that this government should be
+dictatorial or presidential; that is to say, directed by one man alone.
+To such an institution the greatest people in the world owed their
+greatness. But woe be to those who, instead of a Cincinnatus, elect
+a Cæsar! The Dictatorship should be limited to a fixed period, and
+prolonged only in extraordinary cases, like that in the authority of
+Abraham Lincoln in the late war of the United States. It must be guarded
+by popular rights and public opinion from becoming either excessive or
+hereditary.
+
+The islander whom we are describing, however, is not a dogmatist, and
+holds that form of government desired or adopted by the majority of
+the people most beneficial to each nation; and he gives, by way of
+illustration, the English constitution. He regards the existing European
+system as utterly immoral, and the governments guilty of the crimes and
+suffering of the Continent; since, instead of seeking the welfare and
+prosperity of their peoples, they intrigue only to secure their
+own despotic positions. Hence that legion of armies, political
+functionaries, and hangers-on, who devour in idleness the productions
+of industry; pampering their vicious appetites, and spreading universal
+corruption. These drones of the hive, not content with what suffices for
+one man, conspire to appropriate to each of themselves the portion of
+fifty to maintain their pomp and supply their luxuries.
+
+This is just why the working portion of the populace are loaded with
+taxes, and deprived of the manliest of their sons, who are torn from
+the plough and the workshop to swell the ranks of the armies, under
+the pretext that they are necessary to their country's safety, but in
+reality to sustain a monstrous and fatal form of government. The people
+are consequently discontented, starving, and wretched.
+
+The continual state of warfare in which Europe is kept, too clearly
+shows how ill-governed it is. Were each nation naturally and nobly
+governed, war would cease, and the people would learn to understand
+and to respect one another's rights without a passionate or suicidal
+recourse to arms.
+
+A Federation of European nations must be cemented by the medium of
+representatives for each country, whose fundamental proclamation should
+be--"War is declared impossible" and their second basis the law that, "All
+disputes which may arise between nations shall henceforth be settled by
+the International Congress."
+
+Thus war--that scourge and disgrace of humanity--would be exterminated
+forever, and with its extermination, the necessity for maintaining a
+paid army would obviously cease, and the children of the peoples, now
+led out to slaughter under the fictitious names of patriotism and glory,
+would be restored to their families, to the field, and to the workshop,
+once more to contribute to the fruitfulness and general improvement of
+their native countries.
+
+Such, then, are the sentiments upon these topics of the recluse, and we
+frankly confess them to be also our own.
+
+To this island, the abode of the recluse, Julia had arranged to take her
+friends; but when it became impracticable for Silvia and Clelia to join
+them, on account of the storm, and the consequent injury to the yacht,
+she changed her plans, feeling that they would have altered their own,
+and resolved to touch there only for advice, and then to return to the
+Continent to gain, if possible, some news of Manlio's family.
+
+Picture, courteous reader, one of those Mediterranean daybreaks which,
+by its glorious beauty of gold and color, makes the watchers forget the
+miseries of life and ponder only those marvellous marks of the Creator's
+love with which he has embellished the earth.
+
+Dawn is slowly breaking over the horizon, and tinting with all the
+colors of the rainbow the fleecy clouds. The stars insensibly pale and
+disappear before the radiance of the rising sun; and the voyager stands
+enchanted at the sight, as the gentle breath of morning streams from the
+east, slightly ruffling the blue waters, and fanning his cheek.
+
+The small ash-colored island appears in the bright light above the
+waves, as the _Seagull_, wafted slowly by a slight wind from the
+eastward, nears its coast. The yacht had sailed from Porto Lon-gone the
+day before, and had experienced a quick and smooth passage. Her Roman
+passengers were soon hailed by the inhabitants of the island, as she
+approached the northern point on this delicious April morning.
+
+The sight of the beautiful yacht was always a welcome one to these
+dwellers in solitude, for she was well known to them, having previously
+paid them many visits. They hastened to meet their welcome guest, and
+ran down to the beach, followed slowly by the head of the family, whose
+step age and other troubles had slackened, making him no longer able to
+keep pace with his nimble household.
+
+Julia, upon landing, was welcomed affectionately by all. She introduced
+her Roman friends, who met a warm reception, and were conducted by their
+host to his dwelling. After they had rested some little time, the
+recluse asked anxiously of Julia, "Well, what news from Rome? Is the
+foreigner gone yet? Do the priests let the unhappy populace, whom they
+have tormented so many centuries, breathe free at last?"
+
+"Their miseries are not yet ended," answered the lovely Englishwoman;
+"and who can tell when they will cease? The foreigner is withdrawn,
+it is true, but others worse than the first are enlisting, and your
+Government is shamefully preparing to bribe Italian substitutes to
+enable it to retain the unhappy city in the power of the priests.
+Moreover I, English by birth, but Italian in heart, am ashamed of
+telling you that Rome is not to be the capital of Italy. Government
+renounces it, and Parliament basely sanctions the heinous act, to
+satisfy the exacting and infamous demands of a Bonaparte. Oh, the
+sadnesses of modern times! Italy, once the seat of glory, is to-day the
+sink of all that is base. Italy, the garden of the world, has become a
+dunghill!"
+
+"Oh Julia! a people dishonored is a dead people; I--even I--almost
+despair of the future of such a nation." Thus exclaimed the chieftain of
+many patriotic battles, as a tear rolled down his cheek.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII. THE THIRTIETH OF APRIL.
+
+Ok the day prefixed to this chapter, April, 1849, a foreign sergeant
+was conducted a prisoner into the presence of the commander of the
+Gianicolo. He had fallen into a Roman ambuscade during the night time
+and, having been told by the priests that the defenders of Rome were so
+many assassins, he threw himself upon his knees as soon as he was taken
+before them, and begged them for the love of God to spare his life.
+
+The commander extended his right hand to the suppliant, and raising
+him, spoke comfortingly to him. "This is a good omen," said the Italian
+officer to those of his companions present. "A good omen! Behold foreign
+pride prostrate before Roman right--that is a sure sign of victory."
+
+And truly, the foreign army which disembarked at Ci vita Vecchia, and
+had fraudulently taken possession of the port, under the deceitfully
+assumed title of friend, advanced on Rome, chuckling at the credulity,
+as well as at the cowardice of the Roman people. That very army,
+afterwards defeated by the native soldiers of the metropolis, retrod
+with shame the road to the sea.
+
+The 30th of April was a glorious day for Rome, and was not forgotten
+among the Seven Hills. But how could it be commemorated amidst such an
+armed rabble of enemies? In the small city of Viterbo, where there
+were no troops, the inhabitants had devised a way of celebrating the
+anniversary of the expulsion of the foreigner, and were making active
+preparations. But if there were no troops, there were not wanting spies,
+who informed the Roman Government of all that took place.
+
+The Committee had arranged a programme for the feast, which set forth
+that after mid-day all work should be suspended, and that all the young
+people, in holiday dress, with a tri-colored ribbon bound round the
+left arm, should assemble in the cathedral piazza, and walk thence four
+abreast in procession to the Porta Romana, so as to pay a salutation of
+good wishes from that point to the ancient mistress of the globe.
+
+Frightened at this intelligence, the Roman Government dispatched to
+Viterbo in hot haste a body of foreign troops which had only served the
+priesthood a short time, with orders to suppress the demonstration at
+any cost. Not heeding this measure the little town held its _festa_,
+almost forgetting for a while, in the enjoyment of the moment, her long
+period of slavery. The solemn salute at the Porta Romana was delivered
+in spite of the urban authorities, and the procession was returning in
+good order, preceded by a band playing the national hymns, while the
+ladies--always more ardent than men in any generous act--stood in the
+balconies cheering and waving their tricolored hankerchiefs to the
+passers-by, when a column of foreign soldiers were seen advancing at the
+_pas de charge_, with bayonets fixed. Until now the city, albeit under
+the rule of the priests, had given herself up with peaceful mirth to the
+remembrance of that joyful day. But joy fled when the soldiers invaded
+the streets yet filled with youthful Viterbians, and anger and trouble
+succeeded. A delegate of police, who, with a few assistants, preceded
+the mercenaries, commanded the people to retire. This intimation was
+received with hisses of defiance, and a few well-aimed stones put them
+to flight. Taking refuge among the soldiers, they cried out to the
+troops to fire upon the populace. This command of the cowardly delegate
+was given because he wished to glut his vengeance, and also to secure
+a decoration, which he could do by nothing so surely as killing the
+people. When this inhuman order was not heeded, he feared the hatred
+between the two opposing parties might cool, and desired the soldiers to
+charge the populace with fixed bayonets.
+
+The Viterbians, like all Roman citizens, had orders from the
+Revolutionary Committee not to take active measures of hostility, and
+were therefore not prepared for the straggle. They dispersed rapidly,
+and escaped by byways to their homes, favored by the increasing
+darkness of the evening, as well as by the sudden extinction of all
+lights, which the women as if by an universal signal caused everywhere.
+Thus the charge of the mercenaries took effect only upon a few stray
+dogs and some donkeys on their way home, nor was any thing more tragic
+heard than the barking of the former and the braying of the latter as
+they were pursued by the valiant champions of the priesthood.
+
+By ten o'clock all was quiet in Viterbo. The troops lay down in the
+market-place, resting their heads upon their folded arms, preparing to
+repose upon the laurels won by the fatigues and victory of the day. Not
+a citizen was to be seen in the streets, all having retired to their
+houses. At the hotel of the "Full Moon," the bell rang to assemble
+the guests at a large round table spread with a dinner of about fifty
+covers. As the bell sounded, a carriage and four drew up to the inn
+door, and stopping at its gateway, a female clad in travelling costume
+alighted. From the elasticity of her step and movements it was easy
+to see she was young. The landlord hastened to receive her, and
+respectfully inquired whether she would liked to be served with supper
+in her own apartment, to which she replied that she would sup in the
+public room, and in the mean time her sleep-ing-room was to be prepared.
+
+The dining-room was already filled with visitors, the greater number of
+whom were officers belonging to the recently arrived detachment. There
+were also several strangers, both Italian and foreign, but very few
+Viterbians present. When the traveller entered the room all eyes were
+turned towards her with looks of admiration; and truly our Julia, for
+it was she, appeared very lovely that eventful evening. She possessed to
+perfection that intelligent and high-bred expression which distinguishes
+her restless race. All made room for her. The Italians assumed an air of
+polite admiration, and the officers, twirling the ends of their pointed
+mustaches, straightened their shoulders and adjusted their facial
+expression with the look of so many conquerors of female admiration.
+
+At the head of the table sat the master of the house, elegantly dressed,
+who prayed the beautiful Englishwoman to place herself by his side.
+She accepted the seat, and the officers pressing forward to be near the
+young lady, took possession of all the best places. Observing a Pope's
+hireling on her right, Julia began to regret having accepted the
+landlord's invitation, and while glancing round the table with a
+chagrined air, was electrified by encountering Muzio's eyes fixed upon
+her. He was seated between Attilio and Orazio at the end of the table.
+They all three wore silk hats, cravats, and overcoats, like foreign
+travellers, and Julia had foiled to recognize them at first, having
+never seen Muzio but when wrapped in his cloak, or Attilio except in the
+simple garb of an artist, and Orazio once only for a short time in the
+forest when armed from head to foot. What should she do? Rise and go to
+them, impulse suggested, and ask a thousand things which she wished to
+know. But how could she venture to do this, when fifty pairs of eyes
+were gazing at her, fascinated by her charming face.
+
+And Muzio, the outcast, the gentleman, the chief of the counter-police;
+the man who, like his namesake (Scavola), would have placed at his
+Julia's sweet bidding not his hand only, but his head also upon burning
+coals--what joy the meeting brought, and yet what agony to see the star
+of his life, his goddess, his hope, seated at the side of a foreign
+soldier, the instrument of a vile tyranny, and compelled to accept
+civilities from his contaminated hand, perhaps freshly soiled by the
+blood of Romans. Oh, you young men, who are in love with a noble maiden,
+have you not felt what splendid new strength her presence gives to you?
+When unworthy men presume to affront her with attentions, at such a
+moment do you not feel you have ten hearts to devote to her, ten men's
+lives to sacrifice for her? If not you are a coward, and a coward, let
+us tell you, is despised by women.
+
+You may sin, and she will pardon you; but cowardice a noble woman will
+never forgive. Muzio, however, was only too loving and rash; and woe to
+that fine lady-killer by the British maiden's side! Had the Roman youth
+yielded to the dictates of his angry breast, it wanted little to have
+seen a flash of fire in the air, or to have let him feel the cold blade
+of a dagger in his vitals.
+
+But Julia read in her lover's eye the storm that was raging, and her
+look, perceived by him alone, calmed down the Roman's passionate soul.
+
+Between the courses, the foreign officers conversed on the affairs of
+Rome, or the topics of the day, and, as usual, with but little respect
+for the Roman people, whom they commonly despised. Julia, disgusted by
+their indecorous conversation, rose very soon, with a majestic mien, and
+desired to be conducted to her apartment. Our three friends were burning
+to kiss her hand, and had even made a move to quit their places, when
+a sudden burst of laughter from the foreign officers made them resume
+their seats. The laughter was caused by a coarse jest, uttered by one
+of the number, of which the following words came to the ears of our
+indignant trio:--"I thought I was coming to Viterbo to use my arms
+against men, but find there are only rabbits here, who bolted into their
+burrows at our very appearance. Diavolo! where are all these Liberals
+who made such a noise?"
+
+Attilio, who had not reseated himself, hastily gathered his own and his
+friends' gloves, and, making them into a handful, threw them, without a
+word, full and hard in the face of the slanderer.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the Papalino, "what bundle is here?" and picking up the
+missile, he unrolled the gloves, saying, "So, then, I am challenged by
+three! Here is another sample of Italian valor! Three against one! three
+against one!" And again the fellow laughed immoderately.
+
+The three allowed this fresh burst of merriment to pass, but the
+hilarity of all the strangers present being aroused by it, Muzio, as
+soon as the laughter ceased, cried in a loud voice, "Three against as
+many as dare to insult Italians, gentlemen!"
+
+The effect of these few words was very startling, for, as he uttered
+them, the three friends arose and darted angry glances first at one and
+then at another of the officers, presenting, with their uncovered and
+bold young heads, to the assembly three models à la Michael-Angelo. They
+were three variations of that manly and martial beauty which nature's
+heroes have; three types of noble anger in the glowing veins of generous
+courage.
+
+Different effects were produced on the two parties present. The Italians
+at the table were delighted, and regarded the champions of Italian honor
+with smiling approbation and gratitude.
+
+The foreigners remained for a time stupefied, wondering at the personal
+grace and manly beauty of the trio, and at their nervous and proud
+bearing. This amazement ended, sarcasm came to the rescue, and one of
+the youngest exclaimed, "Friends, a toast!" All rose, glass in hand, and
+he continued: "I drink to the fortune of having at last found enemies
+worthy of us in this country!"
+
+Orazio responded, "I drink to the liberation of Rome from foreign
+filth."
+
+These words seemed to the officers to be too insulting to be overlooked,
+and they placed their hands menacingly upon their swords; but one of the
+number, of a maturer age, said gravely, "My friends, it will not answer
+to make a disturbance here. The peace of the city must not be disturbed,
+for we came here to restore order. At daybreak we will meet in even
+numbers these quarrelsome signors. What we have to do is to see that
+they do not then deprive us of the honor of meeting them.
+
+"The opportunity of fighting the enemies of Italy is much too happy a
+circumstance to let it escape," answered Attilio. "If it please you we
+will remain together until morning, when we can walk in company to the
+place of meeting."
+
+To this proposition all consented. The foreigners called for writing
+materials, to inscribe their names, in order to draw lots to decide who
+should fight. Amongst the Italians three gentlemen offered to be seconds
+to their countrymen. Then there were the arms to be considered. As there
+had been such open defiance on both sides, it was decided that they
+should fight to the death, that the opponents should be placed at a
+distance of fifteen paces apart, and that at a signal from their seconds
+they should attack one another with sabre, revolver, and poniard.
+
+The three champions of the priests whose names, written upon slips of
+paper, were drawn out of the hat which served the purpose of an urn,
+were Foulard, a French Legitimist; Sanchez, a Spanish Carlist; and
+Haynau, an Austrian. The seconds busied themselves during the remainder
+of the night in examining the arms, and in endeavoring to match them
+with absolute equality.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII. THE COMBAT
+
+The morning of the 1st of May was dawning over the top of the Ciminian
+wood, now called Monte di Viterbo, when twelve persons, wrapped in their
+cloaks, traversed the steep road which crosses it, and disappeared among
+the trees. They proceeded in silence till they reached an eminence which
+overlooked a part of the wood, when Attilio, addressing the Italians,
+said, "Here, in this forest, the last advocates of Etruscan independence
+sought refuge, beaten and pursued by our fathers, the Romans; and here,
+in one of the last battles, they disappeared from among the Italian
+tribes--the most ancient, the most famous, and the most gifted people of
+the peninsula." Captain Foulard, who understood Italian sufficiently
+to comprehend Attilo's speech, and to whom it was indirectly addressed,
+replied, "I fancy it was here, or hereabouts, too, that my ancestors,
+the Gauls, fought those famous battles with your Roman forefathers, who
+would have disappeared from the face of the earth had it not been for
+the hissing of their geese."
+
+Attilio, though incensed, answered calmly, "When your forefathers crept
+on all fours in the forests of Gaul, our ancestors dragged them out, and
+made them stand upon their legs, saying, 'Be human creatures.' Your
+modern politeness shows but little gratitude to your former civilizers.
+But we came here not to dispute, but to fight." The place at which they
+had just arrived was one of those pleasant glades, devoid of trees,
+which Nature often hides in the heart of an Italian forest, and which
+she adorns prodigally with lavish though concealed beauties. That
+tranquil and enchanting spot was, however, now to become the scene of
+fury and of bloodshed, for, the position being chosen, and the fifteen
+paces measured, the six seconds retired, after exchanging a few words
+with their respective companions.
+
+The adversaries were standing ready to rush upon each other. The first
+and second signals had been given, and six angry hearts were impatiently
+awaiting the third, when a trumpet was heard sounding the advance, and
+immediately there appeared in sight, marching along the road by which
+the opponents had come, a company of the Pope's foreign soldiers,
+followed, by the delegate Sempronio, and a few of his subordinates.
+
+And here we must in justice confess that the officers, though
+mercenaries, were much mortified by this occurrence, and almost on the
+point of defending their adversaries, and of helping them to escape,
+when the command was given by the delegate to the troops to surround the
+Italians with fixed bayonets.
+
+To ordinary persons such an order would have sounded like the knell of
+all hope, and a hasty flight, if flight had yet seemed possible, would
+have been the one remaining idea; but our Romans were men to sustain
+any shock or peril, however abrupt, without losing in the least their
+presence of mind. At the first sound of the trumpet they cast their
+eyes on their antagonists, and saw with satisfaction, by their unfeigned
+surprise, that those gentlemen had no previous knowledge of the
+approaching cowardly attack, and then, facing their assailants, they
+retired without haste, revolver in hand, towards the forest.
+
+The troops, perceiving with wonder, upon their arrival, that some of
+their own officers were among the persons they had been directed to
+arrest, paused for a moment, uncertain how to act. Sempronio, who had
+cautiously placed himself behind them, seeing the untoward result of
+what he had been pleased to term his plan of battle, became furious, and
+shouted loudly, "Fire--fire on that side! on that side!" pointing to
+his own countrymen for whose blood he thirsted, as they slowly retired
+towards the cover, which having gained, they turned and faced the
+troops.
+
+The soldiers still paused, but the delegate's nearest associates fired
+immediately upon the six Italians, and, although screened by the wood,
+two of the seconds were slightly hit. Attilio's revolver speedily
+avenged his wounded companions. His shot had the fortune to pass
+directly through the nose of Father Sempronio (for he was a priest
+disguised as an agent), carrying away the bridge of it.
+
+It was a stroke of luck indeed. Sempronio's cries and terrible
+lamentations aroused more contempt than pity, for the latter is rarely
+expended upon creatures of his despicable character. Roaring and
+bleeding, the priest-delegate took to his heels, and ran back to
+Viterbo, leaving to the others the execution of his "plan of battle."
+
+The foreign officers were nearly all ashamed of the ugly position in
+which they were placed, though the delegate, and not they, had planned
+the surprise. The discovery of their names had been made by a spy, and
+the excited Sempronio had trusted in this easy manner to secure a batch
+of proscribed Italians, and carry them prisoners to Rome, in hopes of
+helping himself towards a cardinal's hat.
+
+Sempronio had men like himself among his force, less scrupulous than the
+six duellists, especially a certain Captain Tortiglio, the commander of
+the company, another cold-blooded Carlist, who thought it would be an
+easy matter to get to the end of it by capturing the proscribed, as they
+were so few in number. He accordingly resolved to follow them into the
+forest.
+
+Our friends, having prayed the wounded to escape deeper into the
+thicket, still fronted their enemies as long as they had any shots left,
+and for a time, being protected by the trees, they managed to hold their
+assailants at bay. But when their ammunition was nearly gone they were
+obliged to retire before the soldiers, who were urged on by the
+Captain's "Voto a Dios," and, "Carambas," as he followed, swearing he
+would capture "these scoundrels," whose arrest, doubtless, would bring
+him no small reward from the Papal Government.
+
+Fortunately, Orazio had with him his inseparable horn, and drawing it
+forth, he blew the same blast which was heard on his arrival at the
+Castle of Lucullus. No sooner had the echo died away, than a sound as of
+many steps was heard.
+
+The footsteps were those of the companions of Orazio--a portion of
+the three hundred who had re-united in the Ciminian forest, after the
+occurrences at Rome already described. They had been awaiting the return
+to the rendezvous of their leaders, who had been absent a few days in
+Viterbo, upon important business.
+
+But who are they who precede the band, appearing so opportunely on the
+scene of action? Who are these graceful commanders? None other than
+Clelia and Irene, like the Amazons of old, and at their side is the
+intrepid Jack, burning to "do his duty" and be of use in such beautiful
+company.
+
+The proscribed, at this welcome accession of strength, did not
+discharge a single shot, but, fixing their bayonets, charged the foreign
+mercenaries, with the cry of "Viva l'Italia!" and dispersed them as the
+torrent disperses twigs and leaves in its headlong course. The soldiers,
+terrified at the sudden increase of numbers on the side of the enemy,
+and by the furious onset, turned and fled at full speed, regardless of
+the threats of their officers, and even the slashes made at them with
+sabres.
+
+Captain Tortiglio, who was not wanting in courage, had rushed in advance
+of his men, and now stood all alone. He was very much mortified, but
+disdained to run away. Attilio was the first to come up to him, and
+summoned him to surrender.
+
+"No," cried Tortiglio, "I will not surrender."
+
+Attilio, wrapping his cloak around his left arm, put aside the captain's
+sword, as he dealt a savage blow at him, and sprang upon him, holding
+his poniard in his right hand. The Spaniard was small of stature, yet
+very agile in his movements. He struggled for some time, but the young
+sculptor finally lifted him by main force from the ground, and, provoked
+by the resistance of the manikin, yet not wishing to kill him, gave him
+an overturn upon the ground, as a cook serves a pancake. Happily for
+Tortiglio the soil was covered with turf, or not all the science of
+Æsclulapius would have sufficed to re-set his broken bones.
+
+The proscribed pursued the soldiers only to the farther edge of the
+meadow, where they contented themselves with a few parting shots, and
+then turned their attention to the wounded of both sides. Those of
+the enemy they sent to Viterbo, under the escort of the prisoners, and
+dispatched their own to the interior of the wood, but retained Captain
+Tortiglio a little while, more as a hostage than a prisoner. Clelia and
+Irene were praised and complimented by all for their promptitude and
+courage. Muzio, after kissing their hands, made them a little speech of
+victory: "It becomes you well, brave and worthy daughters of Rome," he
+said, "to set such an example to our companions, but more especially
+to the slothful among Italy's sons, who appear to expect the manna of
+freedom to fall from heaven, and basely await their country's liberation
+at the hand of the foreigner. They are not ashamed to kiss the rod of
+a foreign tyrant, patron, and master; to renounce their own Rome--the
+natural and legitimate metropolis of Italy--voted the capital by
+parliament, and desired by the whole nation. They are not ashamed to let
+her remain a den of priests, of creatures who are the scourge and the
+shame of humanity. To women! yes, to women, is descended the task of
+extirpating this infamy, since men are afraid or incapable of doing it."
+
+Muzio at this point in his vehement oration in honor of the fair sex,
+was suddenly struck dumb by the apparition of another representative
+of it in the form of a lovely woman, with the face and carriage, as
+he afterwards said, of an angel of heaven, who appeared to him to have
+fallen from the clouds, and was standing before him on the road leading
+to Viterbo. His eloquence vanished, and he remained motionless as a
+statue, although the very silence of the youth showed that he recognized
+her to be the adored queen of his heart, English Julia.
+
+Muzio's embarrassment was the less noticed because of Jack's headlong
+demonstration, for the sailor, with a hitch at his waistband, sprang
+forward towards his beautiful mistress, throwing at the same time even
+his precious carbine on the ground, which he never would have abandoned
+under any other circumstances for all the surprises in the universe.
+When he at last reached Julia, he nearly plucked his forelock out by the
+root, so perpetually and persistently did he twitch at it, saluting the
+English lady. Poor fellow! a thousand affections and remembrances of
+family, friends, and country were centred for him in the person of
+that beloved mistress. Julia took the English boy's hand gracefully
+and kindly, and Clelia and Silvia embraced her with transports of
+friendship, and then presented her to Irene, whose romantic history had
+been repeated to her, and whom she had much desired to know personally.
+
+Even the followers of Orazio forgot for a moment their discipline, and
+crowded around this charming daughter of Albion, gazing at her with
+looks of undisguised admiration. Woman as she was, Julia could not but
+feel a thrill of pride and pleasure at the homage of these bold and
+honest children of Italy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV. THE OLD OAK
+
+After receiving the more formal salutations of Attilio and Orazio, Julia
+did not forget to turn for a little towards her lover, who had remained
+during all these demonstrations somewhat eclipsed and confused.
+
+Muzio, even when a child of the streets, had always maintained that
+decorum of person and propriety of manner which the remembrance of his
+noble birth imposed upon him; and now Julia had reason indeed to admire
+the change wrought in him by his life in the forest.
+
+The position of the last scion of the house of Pompeo had truly improved
+of late. Scipio, the faithful and devoted servant who had voluntarily
+taken charge of him when a baby, and tended him with such devoted
+affection, was dead; but before dying, he imparted, by writing, to
+Cardinal S------, Muzio s maternal uncle, the history of his young
+master's life, and a statement of his family property. The prelate gave
+his solicitor orders to put himself in communication with Muzio, to
+supply him with all he needed, and to endeavor to bring him back into
+the sheepfold of respectability.
+
+The prelate, moreover, had kindly intentions towards his nephew on his
+own part, and meditated adding something from his own possessions to
+the paternal estates which had passed so fraudulently into the hands of
+Paolotti's vultures, and which he saw the way to recover.
+
+This sudden change of fortune happened to Muzio about the end of the
+year 1866, in which the Italians, in spite of the undesirable means
+used, gained re-possession of their own soil, and got rid of the foreign
+friends of the priesthood.
+
+It was, therefore, not an untimely thing for
+
+Cardinal S------ to be able to say, "I have a nephew who is a Liberal,
+and one of the first temper, too." It was become of consequence, even to
+a prelate, to be on friendly terms with such a nephew.
+
+Julia contemplated the transformation of Muzio's appearance and apparel
+with natural pleasure, yet she had loved him so much as a wanderer of
+the city, that she almost wished him back again in the poor but graceful
+cloak of a Trastevere model.
+
+Muzio made no audible reply to his lady's gentle words of recognition,
+but kissed her hand with a devotion that needed no speeches to mark its
+intensity, and which could not be better translated than by his enamored
+mistress's heart.
+
+And Clelia and Irene were, of course, happy at being once more safe
+in the society of their chosen. Happiness was depicted upon all these
+youthful faces; and, in truth, it is necessary to; confess that, opposed
+as all good hearts are to bloodshed, the hour of victory is a glorious
+one, and we, like many others, have enjoyed that wild and stem delight.
+At that moment the mind does not much reflect that the field is covered
+with the wounded and the dying. Their cries and our own exhaustion are
+alike unheeded. We are victorious; our cause has conquered. We have
+routed the enemies. All meetings on the field take a joyous tone from
+that proud thought, and every fresh friend, as he comes up, receives a
+hearty squeeze of the hand, and is a centre of fresh congratulations.
+
+Brothers have killed brothers. Yes, alas! Manzoni is right! but the
+heart of man forgets that sad verity so long as the flush of victory
+is cast upon it. Ah! when will the people become brethren indeed, and
+exchange the savage bliss of triumph for the noble and placid joys of
+peace? Ere long, let us hope! So, be sure, hoped and prayed that band,
+under an ancient oak upon the emerald sod of the forest, where the
+chiefs of the proscribed sat with those noble and tender women whose
+strange fate had brought them together on the field of conflict. They
+were so beautiful, so attractive to be in such a place! With faces
+kindled by pride and love, they spread around them a light of joy and
+a sense of praise and sanction; an atmosphere of grace mingled with
+gallant spirit, which almost rendered their companions eager to fight
+again and again under such glorious eyes.
+
+Silvia was the first to break the thread of felicitations, and said to
+Julia, "But Manlio, where did you leave him?"
+
+"Manlio," replied the English woman, "is with the Recluse on the island;
+I left him in excellent health, and promised to take him news of you."
+"And what is the General's opinion concerning affairs in Rome?" asked
+Attilio.
+
+"He," replied Julia, "approves of the noble conduct of the few Romans
+who harass the Papal Government, and who protest by their rebellion to
+the world that that abomination is no longer compatible with the age;
+yet he applauds also the endurance with which you have waited for a
+general movement until now, so as not to trouble the advancement of
+national unity, thus depriving the foreigner of a pretext to create
+further obstacles. But at the same time he is of opinion that as long as
+the Italian Government continues to remain kneeling at the feet of the
+Master of France, and, to please him, renounces Rome as the capital of
+our fatherland--while it supports the wicked priesthood, you must be
+ready to decide these questions by arms, and that every man-in Italy who
+possesses an Italian heart ought to be prepared to support you."
+
+"Yes," said Muzio, who had been muttering the word "endurance" ever
+since it was spoken by Julia--"yes, but patience is the virtue of the
+ass. We Romans have had too much of it; we have been, and still are
+superabundantly asinine. It is a disgrace to us that we still tolerate
+the roost iniquitous and degrading of human tyrannies, and suffer the
+priests to be our jailers."
+
+"And is this island from which you come far off?" inquired the gentle
+Silvia, who was thinking most about the dear companion of her life.
+"Could we not go and pass a few days there?"
+
+"Nothing is easier," answered Julia, to whom the question was put. "We
+are close to the frontier, we have only to cross it, and make our way
+to Leghorn, where the _Seagull_ is lying, and sail from thence to the
+island, which is not far distant. But you must also know of the marriage
+of Captain Thompson and your friend Aurelia, which took place lately in
+that solitary retreat in the simple patriarchal manner, for there are no
+priests there."
+
+"Per _la grazia di Dio!_" here exclaimed Orazio to himself, rising and
+stretching his athletic figure to its full height, as he cast a look
+to the western extremity of the wood. "What are these fresh arrivals?"
+whereupon they all saw advancing towards them a robust youth,
+accompanied by a beautiful girl, not much his junior, but upon whose
+melancholy face the traces of suffering and misfortune were too plainly
+visible.
+
+The new-comers were quickly perceived to be Silvio and Camilla; and here
+it should be known that our hunter, after the decision of the Liberals
+to abandon the Roman suburbs, went to bid farewell to his unhappy
+mistress, whom he could not cease to love, before setting out for the
+north.
+
+Arriving at Marcello's house, he was welcomed as usual by Fido and
+Marcellino, and found Camilla kneeling, as was her daily habit, beside
+her father's grave.
+
+"Just God! can another's crime plunge a simple and innocent soul
+into misery and madness for life?" thought Silvio, as he regarded the
+prostrate girl, and almost unconsciously he prayed aloud, "Oh, heaven!
+restore her reason, and to me the star of my life!"
+
+Camilla turned at these words with a look first of fright, then of a
+new and wonderful tenderness. It was plain that that compassionate and
+forgiving prayer had caused the inmost fibres of her heart to vibrate,
+and, obeying a mighty and impulsive instinct, she sank into the old
+sweet sanctuary of her lover's arms. With their heads hidden on each
+other's breasts, they dispensed with explanations--they made no new
+vows--mighty love was healer and interpreter. Tears fell fast from
+Camilla's eyes, but not sad tears now. A great sorrow and a bitter sin
+had dethroned her reason--a great pardon and a noble love set it back
+again in its happy seat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV. THE HONOR OF THE FLAG
+
+The new arrivals were received with surprise and pleasure by our forest
+party. The signoras were all conversant with the history of Camilla's
+misfortunes, and bestowed upon her gentle and considerate caresses.
+Something solemn pervaded her whole appearance--a dreamy vestige of the
+insanity under which she had so long labored. It was a miraculous
+change which had come over her when she heard that pathetic prayer, and
+perceived the sudden presence of her lover, and the unutterable feelings
+of affection and penitence that stirred her soul when she found herself
+restored to his embrace had transformed her into a new and happy being,
+but left upon her this air of nameless pathos.
+
+"I passed through Viterbo," said Silvio to Orazio, when their
+salutations were ended, "and saw a great commotion there for which I am
+scarcely able to account. The citizens were running about the streets,
+endeavoring to get out of the way of the soldiers. The soldiers,
+reinforced by strong detachments from Rome, are vowing to spear all
+Italians on the face of the earth, and, by way of a step towards this
+warlike project, have begun plundering the wineshops, where they lie for
+the most part dead drunk. The Papal authorities, who wished to keep the
+peace, were received by the rascals with the butt-ends of their muskets,
+and driven to flight. They have gone off with their agents to Rome,
+and are not likely to return for some time. The reinforcements were
+exclaiming that 'their flag had been dishonored, and that the stain must
+be washed out in blood. 'Flag dishonored!' that phrase calls to our
+mind the villainy of a certain neighboring Government, which, after
+infamously violating our territory, and taking, by a deceitful act,
+possession of our principal sea-port, treacherously attacked our
+capital, and upon receiving some severe blows, cried out, 'Treason!
+treason! our flag is dishonored!'
+
+"But," said Silvio, resuming his narrative, "this confusion gave me a
+favorable opportunity of making observations, and coming on quietly to
+you, though I might have been hindered by a curious occurrence which
+happened. I was passing the 'Full Moon' hotel as a few officers, newly
+arrived from Rome, alighted from a carriage. Owing to the universal
+confusion, they could find no attendant to carry in their luggage, and
+one of them came up to me, crying out, 'Here, you fellow!' and taking
+me by the breast, attempted to drag me to the carriage. Fortunately I
+had already signalled to Camilla to go on in advance of me. My first
+impulse was to use my poniard, but restraining myself, I tore the man's
+hand from my breast, and aiming a blow with my fist full at his face,
+sent him flying against the wheels of the carriage without a single
+word. As you may imagine, I did not remain to gather the laurels of
+the victory, but turned on my heel, and walked with a quick step in the
+direction of the wood, and soon overtook my companion."
+
+The merriment of his auditors, and the shouts of "Bravo, Silvio!" here
+interrupted the narrator for a moment.
+
+"However," he observed, when the laughter ceased, "we can not remain
+long here in security, for I have no doubt that to-morrow, at latest,
+you will have the whole pack of foreigners on your track."
+
+"Here in this forest," said Orazio, "we could make head against the
+whole army of the Pope. Were it not that we are so very few in number,
+and have these precious ladies to protect."
+
+"Ehi! ladies to protect, indeed!" said Irene with some irony; "you have
+soon forgotten, Signor Rodomonte, that these same 'ladies' protected you
+to-day."
+
+A burst of laughter broke from all; and the courageous chief of the
+forest stooped and kissed the hand of his beloved wife with pretty
+submission.
+
+Meanwhile, the long dark shadows cast by the giants of the Ciminian
+wood spreading out to the west, announced the setting of the sun, who,
+wrapped in a glorious and variegated mantle of clouds, was about to hide
+himself behind the waves of the Tyrrhenian sea. Clelia, perceiving this,
+addressed Jack, who, fascinated by her beauty and amiability, was her
+devoted slave, and to whom she had confided the important care of the
+viands. "Well, my friend," she said in English, "all these true heroes
+of romance, it appears, do not trouble themselves about supper; and if
+you do not see to it, I fear we shall have to go to bed without food
+to-night."
+
+"Aye, aye, ma'am!" was Jack's reply; and, with the invariable hitch to
+his waistband, he steered for the spot where the assistants had unloaded
+two mules, which carried the chief's baggage as well as the provisions.
+But, after such fighting and talk, they must feast at leisure in a fresh
+chapter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI. THE RURAL SUPPER
+
+Who does not prefer civilization to barbarism and the usages of savage
+life? Who would not choose the comforts of a refined home, cool in
+summer, warm in winter, well supplied with food, and replete with every
+comfort and even luxury, to the open country, with its inclemency,
+inconveniences, and vicissitudes of weather?
+
+Yet when one remembers that the few monopolize the advantages of
+civilization, and that its victims are so many, one can not help
+doubting whether the world of humanity does reap much benefit from the
+present highly-developed state of civilization, and whether it might not
+be desirable to go back to the simple condition of the first inhabitants
+of the world, amongst whom, if there were no palaces, no cooks, no fine
+manners, no expensive clothes, no elaborate conventions, no luxuries
+in the way of food, neither were there any priests, police, prefects,
+tax-gatherers, or any other of our galling modern innovations; neither
+was one called upon to give up one's children to serve the caprices of
+a despot, under the pretense of serving the country and washing out
+"stains from flags."
+
+However all this may be, a frugal supper in the forest on the soft green
+turf, hitherto untrodden by any foot of man; the guests seated on the
+trunks of old trees that furnish also a glowing and dancing fire; by the
+side moreover, of such companions as Julia, Clelia, and Irene--a supper
+in such circumstances must be a more delightful height of enjoyment
+than civilization could reach. _Per Dio!_ give us such a forest supper,
+though it consist only of fruit and the luck of the chase, against any
+grand in-door entertainment. Many a time have we shared such a repast.
+
+But our forest party had more than meagre fare. Gasparo, who was also
+in charge of the baggage, was commissioned, in company with Jack, to
+purchase and look after the provisions. He now spread a cold collation
+before the chiefs, with the sailor-boy's assistance--garnishing it
+with some green branches--which would have tempted even the palate of a
+Lucullus.
+
+A few flasks of Montepulciano and Orvieto embellished the enamelled
+table, and, the savory meats, seasoned with the appetite which follows
+an arduous day's work, disappeared with amazing celerity.
+
+Julia was in high spirits. It was the first time she had shared in such
+a _fete-champetre_, in the society, above all, of those who were her
+_bello ideale_ of all that was romantic, chivalrous, and gallant.
+
+Very near to her was her Muzio, disguised in the garb of a Roman model,
+and who was now known and proclaimed to be the descendant of an ancient
+noble family, and one of the richest heirs in Rome, it might yet appear.
+
+That resistless principle, which, like the loadstone and the needle,
+attracts loving souls one to the other, kept him at the side of the
+woman of his heart, watching her slighest wish, providing her with every
+thing with proud servility; and all the while humbly glancing at her
+with that look which art vainly seeks to represent--the look which
+alone can be given and understood between those who love with a true and
+perfect love.
+
+Julia also, with a little graceful dignity, enjoyed hearing Clelia and
+Irene converse with Jack in broken Italo-English. They drew him out to
+relate some of the episodes of his sea-life, the adventures he had met
+with, and the tempests he had witnessed in his long voyages to India
+and China, for he had been at sea since he was seven years old.
+The description he gave of the Chinese who stay at home and employ
+themselves in different kinds of work performed by women in other
+countries, while their wives row, and till the land, with their babies
+slung in a basket on their backs, caused much laughter among his fair
+hearers, and, indeed, to all present, when translated to them by one of
+the company.
+
+"The nautical profession," said Julia, "is the one to which my country
+is most indebted for her greatness. My countrymen prize and honor their
+mariners. With us, not only in the countries bordered by the sea, but
+wherever there is a river or a lake, boys are to be seen continually
+taking exercise in boating and rowing, in which practices they run all
+kinds of danger, and this is the reason there are so many seafaring men
+to make the name of Britain great upon the ocean.
+
+"I have known youths in France and Italy, who were destined to become
+naval officers, pass the greater part of their boyhood in the technical
+schools, going on board for the first time when they had attained their
+fifteenth and even their eighteenth year, when they suffer much, of
+course, from sea-sickness, and are exposed to the ridicule and contempt
+of the sailors.
+
+"In England it is very different. Youths destined for the sea are put on
+board at eleven years of age, and frequently take long voyages, during
+which they are instructed practically in all the routine and details
+of their profession. This course insures the best naval officers in the
+world to England.
+
+"The wealthy among my people do not hoard up money to look at it, but
+employ it frequently in purchasing a yacht; and there are, indeed, very
+few persons living near sea or river who do not own or hire some sort of
+craft, large or small, in which they take their pleasure, and exercise
+themselves in the art which constitutes the glory and prosperity of
+their land.
+
+"In Italy you have seamen, I grant, who equal the best of any nation,
+but your officers will not stand the test of comparison. Your Ministers
+of Marine have ever been incompetent, and therefore incapable of
+improving and raising a profession which might yet render Italy one of
+the most important and prosperous nations of the globe."
+
+The subject so treated by Julia was a little foreign to our Romans, who
+were naturally ignorant of sea affairs. Their priests long ago found the
+oar and the net of St. Peter too heavy for their effeminate hands, and
+gave themselves up to merry-making and luxury as the easiest way of
+promoting the glory of God.
+
+A pause ensuing, Julia called for a song or narrative, and Orazio said,
+"Gasparo, the chief of bandits, could tell us, doubtless, some stirring
+passages in his adventurous life." Whereupon, with a bow and smile, the
+old man sat for a moment recalling some circumstance of his past life,
+and then answered-
+
+"Perils on the sea I could not relate, because I have been very
+little upon it; but on land I have passed through my share of strange
+adventures: and if it will not weary you to listen to one, I could,
+perhaps, relate events that would make you shudder."
+
+All expressing a wish to hear some portion of his history, Gasparo,
+settling himself to an easy attitude commenced the following story.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII. GASPERO'S STORY
+
+     "L'uotno naace più grando in quests terra che in qualunque
+     altra--ne sono una prova i grandi deletti che vi si
+     commettono."--Alfieri.
+
+"I was born in the small city of S--------, in the States of the Church,
+not far from the Neapolitan frontier. My parents were honest folk,
+employed as shepherds in the service of the Cardinal.
+
+"Being sent early to the field to tend sheep, cows, and buffaloes, and
+nearly always on horseback, I grew up with a robust hardy constitution,
+and became a dexterous horseman.
+
+"Up to the age of eighteen, I remained a true son of the Italian desert,
+knowing no other affection than that which I had for my horse, my lasso,
+and my weapons. With the latter I had become a formidable enemy to the
+deer and wild boar of the Roman forests. I was passionately fond of
+hunting, an exercise suited to my nature: and I was accustomed to pass
+whole nights lying in ambush, watching for the deer, or the great gray
+tuskers in the marshes, where they delight to lie rolling in the mud.
+
+"I knew the places frequented by the harts and hinds, and very often
+returned home with one of those graceful animals slung over my saddle.
+
+"One day, after having secured my horse at a little distance, I placed
+myself in hiding, on the watch for a stag. I had been there but a short
+time, when I heard footsteps on the path behind me--a narrow forest road
+that led to the village.
+
+"At first I thought it might be a wild beast of some description, and
+kept my carbine in readiness to fire as soon as I perceived it. After
+listening a few moments, I thought I heard voices, and presently there
+appeared in sight a young priest whom I had occasionally seen walking
+in the village, while by his side was a young girl who appeared to
+accompany him rather unwillingly.
+
+"I had time to observe them both; the priest was about twenty years
+of age, very tall and finely proportioned; in fact, only a carbine and
+pointed hat were wanting to make a fine hunter or soldier of him."
+
+"The young girl! Ah! pardon my memory, still agitated by that sweet
+face!" and the old man's eyes here dimmed with tears. "The young girl
+was an angel! I do not know how it was they did not discover me, for her
+beauty caused me to utter an involuntary exclamation, and my heart was
+stirred by a new and astonishing emotion.
+
+"He had offended her by some proposal, for she was turning to go; but
+as I regarded them, the priest threw his arm with almost violent force
+around his companion, and pressing his lips to her cheek, uttered some
+words that did not reach me, but caused a terrified and indignant look
+to pass over the girl's face, and she shrank back as if stung by a
+viper. Again the priest spoke and approached, when, with a cry, the
+peasant-girl broke from him and fled.
+
+"He pursued her, and caught the shrieking damsel, whose hands he bound
+with her neck-rib-bon, and then forced her upon the ground. I can not
+tell why I was self-contained enough not to shoot him dead, but I had
+never drawn trigger against a human life, and I hesitated until he gave
+these last proofs of his abominable villainy. At this point, however,
+I sprang from my covert, and with one blow from the butt-end of my gun,
+felled him to the ground, and then went to the assistance of the young
+woman, who had fallen fainting at some little distance upon the sod. I
+raised her gently in my arms, and carried her to the side of a brook,
+where I bathed her face with the cool, running water, until she opened
+her lovely eyes and faintly smiled her thanks, for, as she gazed around,
+a look of relief passed over her features, when she perceived the
+absence of her persecutor. Then rising, she expressed, in a few words,
+her gratitude for my intervention, saying she was sufficiently recovered
+to return to the village, and bade me farewell, but seeing she was still
+agitated, I begged her to allow me to conduct her to her home. She gave
+a modest assent, and I walked in happy and respectful silence till we
+reached the entrance to the village, where she stopped, and pointing to
+a small but pretty dwelling, said, 'That is my father's house; I have
+nothing more now to fear, so I will bid you a grateful adieu.' Raising
+her hand to my lips, I kissed it fervently, saying, I hoped to have the
+pleasure of meeting her soon again, under calmer circumstances, for I
+was completely enchanted by her grace and beauty, and felt I could no
+longer be happy out of her presence.
+
+"I remained to watch her enter her abode before I turned to seek my
+horse, which I found neighing impatiently at my prolonged absence.
+Through some acquaintances in the village, I learned the name of her
+whom I had been the means of saving from violence, and learned to my
+disappointment and horror that she was the priest's niece. Day after
+day I found some pretext for passing through the village, that I
+might obtain a glimpse of Alba, for that was her name; and twice I was
+fortunate enough to meet her and exchange a few words. I did not speak
+to her of love, but I felt she knew my passion for her, and was learning
+to return it.
+
+"The priest, burning with rage at the thought of his infamy being
+not only frustrated by me but made known to the father of the maiden,
+resolved to be revenged. Being reproved by the old man for his brutal
+conduct, and threatened with public exposure unless he absented himself
+for a long time, until he should have thoroughly repented of his
+intended crime, the priest fell upon the old man, and with one blow
+from a mallet crushed in his skull. Then, fearing the consequences, he
+carried the dead body into the courtyard, and, placing it upon its back
+near a ragged stone, left it there, and retired to bed, leaving his
+neighbors to suppose, when the corpse was discovered in the morning,
+that the old man had fallen down in a fit, and striking his head against
+the stone pavement, had thus met with his death."
+
+What matters a crime to a priest, if he can cover it? He had committed
+a gross lie by calling himself the minister of God, and now he took
+advantage of the easy ignorance of his neighbors to conceal a still
+grosser crime.
+
+Those of his profession use double dealing all their lives.' A priest
+knows himself to be an impostor, unless he be a fool, or have been
+taught to lie from his boyhood, so that as he advances in years, he
+becomes not even able any longer to dissociate the false and the true.
+Whilst he lives in comfort, he makes the credulous multitude believe
+he suffers hardships and privations. Poor priest! Well do we remember
+seeing in America a painting representing one of the cloth seated at a
+dining-table spread with all kinds of viands and a flagon of wine, in
+the act of caressing his plump and rosy Perpetua, who was seated at his
+side; and, meanwhile, outside the door stood a poor Irishman with his
+wife and baby. All three were wan, emaciated, and miserably clad, yet
+the husband was dropping a coin into the priest's box, on which was
+written, "Give of your charity to the poor priest of God." Infamous
+mockery! On the one hand there was enjoyment, hypocrisy, and lying; on
+the other, ignorance, credulity, and innocent misery.
+
+"One evening," continued Gasparo, "I was sitting in my hut, feeling
+rather weary after a long day's hunt, thinking of Alba, and dreading,
+from what she had told me, that some catastrophe might be impending,
+when the door flew open, and the object of my thoughts rushed in
+exclaiming, 'Murder! Murder!' and fell insensible upon the floor."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII. GASPARO'S STORY CONTINUED.
+
+"The words of Alba revealed to me the horrible crime that had been
+perpetrated. I raised her fainting form, and laid her upon my pallet,
+for my parents were both dead, and I dwelt alone. Now I could, for the
+first time, realize the full and sweet beauty of my heart's love. The
+sight of this lovely creature almost lessened my aversion to the vile
+fratricide and his unlawful passion. Alba had never related to me
+what had passed on that night, and as I did not wish to awaken painful
+recollections, I had always avoided interrogating her upon the subject,
+so that I knew nothing of the dispute and murder. But the priest,
+supposing me aware of his misdeeds, and jealous of my love for Alba,
+schemed, as only a fiend could, to annihilate me through his own
+crime, though not daring to accuse me openly. He had hinted to his most
+intimate friends that I was his brother's murderer, and offered all he
+possessed to certain bravos if they would undertake to kill me.
+
+"You can still perceive, in spite of my age, and the troubles that have
+weighed me down, that I was agile when a youth, and that I was capable
+of taking care of myself against ten priests. Well, Alba had come to
+tell me of her father's death and the priest's calumnies. And this
+scoundrel had me waylaid, as she warned me, so that I ran a narrow
+escape of losing my life. He had paid several cut-throats handsomely to
+destroy me. I was always, however, on my guard, and seldom went out of
+the house without my carbine; and my faithful little dog Lion could hear
+the movement of a small bird a hundred paces off, and would wag his tail
+and prick up his ears at the slightest sound. My poor, poor dog! he was
+a victim to his love for me."
+
+And here the sensitive heart of the old chief, Gasparo, obliged him to
+pause a moment.
+
+"Yes, those devils, daring one of my walks to S------, contrived to
+poison him.
+
+"From S------ to my forest-home several thick places in the cover had
+to be passed. Here the bravos had hidden themselves once or twice, but,
+frustrated by my vigilance, and frightened at my carbine, they made
+their retreat as soon as I appeared, and informed the priest that they
+should give up the enterprise. Father Giacomo did not understand this,
+and finally persuaded them, after offering a higher sum, and regaling
+them abundantly with food and wine, to make another attempt, in which he
+himself was to accompany them. With his three highwaymen, he took up a
+position one evening near my little house, concealing themselves behind
+a large bush that grew by the side of the narrow path which led to it,
+and which they knew I should be obliged to pass.
+
+"My poor Lion was dead, and on this occasion, in spite of all my
+precautions, I was taken by surprise. Four almost simultaneous shots
+were fired upon me from the bush, and a furious cry of 'Die' was
+uttered by the would-be assassins, who rushed upon me expecting to' find
+me mortally wounded. But not so, for I was saved as by a miracle. All
+four balls struck me, and three of them slightly wounded me, the most
+serious hurt being caused by the first shot, which carried off, as you
+see, a piece of my left ear; the second struck against my leathern belt,
+smashing only a few of my cartridges; the third pierced my hat, grazing
+my head; and the fourth grazed my right shoulder, occasioning a slight
+scratch.
+
+"The first person who approached me was the priest, holding a carbine in
+his left hand and a poniard in the right. He was like a demon to behold,
+for rage and hatred; but my shot was more effective than his, and in one
+moment he was rolling at my feet, uttering frightful groans. I knocked
+over one of the bravos with my second discharge, whereupon the other
+two, seeing the figure their companions had cut, and noting the pistols
+still left in my belt, took to their heels and fled. This was the first
+time I had shed blood, and I felt some remorse as I regarded the dead
+bodies of the priest and his tool. In any other country I might have
+escaped unpunished by pleading the law of self-defense; for though I had
+no witnesses, the case was clear, and the rancor which the priest bore
+to me was so well known that it would not have been difficult to prove
+my innocence. But under the priestly government it is another matter,
+and the destroyer of one of their body would have no chance of escape;
+so I thought it best to flee the country.
+
+"Then began the eventful history of my so-called brigandage; and I swear
+to you that amongst all the agents sent out of this world by my hand,
+there has not been one who did not first attempt my life. Many young
+men, persecuted like me by the clergy, followed me to my place of
+retreat; and very soon I had organized so formidable a band, that
+the Papal Government treated with me almost as with an equal power.
+Assassins or thieves by profession I never would receive into my
+company. The unfortunate of all grades were aided by me, and if the
+authorities of the priesthood were sometimes assaulted, it was only to
+warn them to cease their acts of injustice and infamy.
+
+"In this manner I passed many years, in reality more of a ruler over the
+Roman country than he who sits in the Quirinal, until the creatures of
+that cunning court, seeing they could do nothing with me by force,
+had recourse to treachery. That bright jewel of holiness, my relative,
+Cardinal A--------, whom may God reward! contributed more than any one
+else to my capture. I had the weakness to trust his specious promises,
+and remained, in consequence, fourteen years in irons, in a miserable
+prison. But the justice of God will at last find out those evil doers
+and punish them, for they are verily the scourge of humanity.
+
+"When in the Papal galleys I heard of you, Orazio, and of your
+courageous resistance to the tools of the Vatican, and I assure you I
+prayed; Heaven that I might become before I died your  assistant and
+companion. My prayer was heard, and I only desire to devote the short
+remainder of my life to the cause defended by you and your noble
+comrades."
+
+Julia was interested in the narrative of the famous bandit, and after
+sympathizing with him, was about to ask Orazio to relate some passages
+of his career, when, looking around at the company, she perceived
+from their looks that repose after the fatigues of the day had become
+necessary; and, as the hour was late, she abandoned the idea, and
+watched with curiosity the preparations for sleeping in the open air.
+
+Fresh branches from the trees were strewn upon the most level portions
+of the ground, under some of the gigantic oaks of the wood, and thus
+a magnificent sylvan couch was spread apart for the women, who were
+to rest together, covered with the cloaks of their beloved ones. Muzio
+offered his to Julia, with a beseeching look, and paid her with a glance
+of the deepest gratitude when she graciously accepted it. In the mean
+time Orazio and his friends placed guards and sentinels around, and gave
+orders to sound the _reveille_ at dawn.
+
+There, under the trees, extended on the turf, slept those upon whom the
+hopes of all true Romans hung. For Rome, after eighteen centuries of
+lethargy and shame, was beginning to awake and claim again a place of
+honor on the earth for her who was once its mistress.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX. THE PURSUIT
+
+Heaven has apparently willed that the highest pitch of human greatness
+shall be in its turn contrasted with the lowest depths of national
+humiliation. Witness that body of cut-throats now called the "_Roman_
+army," compared with the "Roman army" which once conquered all the
+known world. None but priests could have produced such an astounding and
+monstrous transformation.
+
+While the hours had passed as above related, the General placed at the
+head of the Pope's troops arrived at Viterbo, with all the forces he had
+been able to gather, and called his superior officers to a council in
+the municipal palace. Among the number was one martial gentleman with
+a nose like a small melon, covered with slips of sticking-plaster, and
+this warrior was he who had received the blow from Silvio at the inn
+door. His face was flushed besides with wine, of which he had been
+partaking copiously to drown his chagrin, and he urged the General
+vehemently to proceed at once to assault the "_brigands_." The General,
+however, considered that it would be better to wait till daybreak before
+they made a move, for he was by no means certain that the soldiers could
+stand to their arms at that late hour, nearly all being more or less
+drunk; and, after some further discussion, the General's view was
+applauded by the council and adopted.
+
+At daybreak, therefore, the champions of the altar and the tiara obeyed
+the bugle-call; but it required some little time to get these ornaments
+of warfare into order. Some were footsore by the rapid march from Rome
+to Viterbo, others by their flight from the Ciminian hill, others ill
+with potations, and therefore it was not until the sun rose high above
+the Apennines that the army was in marching order. Even then many were
+the delays, for the General was at the mercy of the native guides, who
+very unwillingly conducted him through the intricacies of the forest, of
+which he was of course ignorant.
+
+The proscribed, who were thoroughly acquainted with it, had begun to
+move at early dawn, so that when the sun rose they had already reached
+the summit of the mountain, from whence they could survey the whole
+country, and were reconnoitring, to see if any troops were advancing
+from the town. The coming of the troops was thus directly perceived.
+
+Orazio--whose assumption of the command no one had disputed--dispersed
+about a hundred of his men, under Muzio's direction, as skirmishers over
+the low lands and amongst the underwood bordering upon the road on which
+the enemy was advancing. The remainder he arranged in column on the
+rising ground, ordering them to be in readiness to charge at the
+first signal. Having thus disposed his main force, he summoned Captain
+Tortiglio, and questioned him about the different officers in command of
+the enemy, who was still at some distance, ascending the mountain side.
+
+"He who commands the vanguard," replied Tortiglio, "is Major Pompone, a
+brave officer, but a bully of the first order."
+
+"If I do not deceive myself," said Silvio, who was watching the enemy's
+movements through his telescope, "that is the very fellow who wanted me
+to carry his luggage for him, for his nose is unmistakable."
+
+"And who is that on horseback, leading what I suppose to be the
+principal body?" again asked Ordzio.
+
+"Lend me your telescope," said Tortiglio, and, having pointed it at
+the individual in question, exclaimed, "_Per Dio!_ that is the
+commander-in-chief of the Papal army; and see, his mounted staff is just
+appearing!"
+
+"What is his name?"
+
+"His name is Count de la Roche--de la Roche Haricot. These French
+Legitimists, representatives of the feudal times, have names nearly all
+commencing with de, which are very difficult for us, 'of the _Si_,' to
+pronounce."
+
+"You, then, belong to the language of the _Si_, Signor Spaniard?" asked
+Orazio rather roughly.
+
+"_Como no!_" (and why not?) articulated the captain in Spanish; "are
+you alone the sons of the ancient Latins, and the possessors of that
+universal language? Leant that there is as much in common between the
+Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese languages as there is between the face
+of a Calabrian and that of an Andalusian, who indeed resemble each other
+like brothers."
+
+"Bravo, Captain Tortiglio," said Attilio, who had just arrived, having
+left the division he was in command of for orders; "you are a fortunate
+scholar! We unlucky Romans are only taught by the priests to kiss hands,
+kneel, and attend the mass, but are left in ignorance of what goes on in
+grammars and polite learning outside the walls of Rome."
+
+But the Papal army was advancing, and Orazio, like an experienced
+captain, kept measuring its progress, without being in the least
+discomposed, yet feeling that anxiety which a leader must experience
+when in command of a body of troops of any kind, and in the presence of
+a numerous enemy about to attack.
+
+One of the inconveniences a guerrilla band has to sustain in time of
+battle, and which very much preoccupies the chief, is the necessity of
+abandoning the wounded in case of retreat, or of leaving them in charge
+of the terrified inhabitants, who are afraid of being compromised. These
+considerations, and the unequal number of the opposing forces, impelled
+Orazio to sound the signal for retiring, and the hunter, with the
+sagacity that distinguished him, gathered in his fifty men with as much
+coolness as he would have shown had he been summoning them to a new beat
+in the chase. Having communicated his intention to Attilio, and enjoined
+him not to attempt it too precipitately, but to execute the order of
+retreat in divisions, Orazio went to Muzio, who was prepared to receive
+the enemy, now marching rapidly upon him.
+
+Exchanging a few words with the leader of the vanguard, he ascended to
+the highest point of the position, from whence he was able to survey
+every thing, accompanied only by two of his adjutants.
+
+General Haricot was not wanting in a certain amount of gallantry, which
+would have been worthy of a better cause. He was now assailing the
+unknown position of the Liberals boldly, with his vanguard _en echelon_,
+being himself in the center of the line.
+
+However it may be--whether in an engagement or in a pitched battle--the
+commander-in-chief ought to place himself in such a manner that he
+can command a view of as large a portion of the field of battle as the
+circumstances permit, and this he can usually best accomplish, by being
+himself at the head of the troops first engaged.
+
+As he must receive information of all that passes during the fight, the
+General, if he places himself at a distance from the scene of action,
+subjects himself to serious loss of time, inaccurate reports, and,
+to what is of still greater importance, incapability to discover at a
+glance that portion of his command which may stand in immediate want of
+relief, or to note where, if victorious, he ought to send in pursuit of
+the enemy light bodies of cavalry, infantry, or artillery, to complete
+the repulse.
+
+There was no failing, however, in this respect on the part of the
+two commanders-in-chief in this action. Haricot, emboldened by the
+superiority of his numbers, gave the order to attack without any
+hesitation. Orazio, though decided upon a retreat on account of his
+inferior force, was determined to give his opponent such a lesson as
+should make him more guarded and less precipitous in his pursuit. The
+irregularity of the ground, and the dense masses of trees had enabled
+Muzio to draw his men under cover into advantageous positions. There
+he desired them to await till the enemy came into point-blank range, to
+fire only telling shots, and then retreat behind the lines of the
+other divisions. This his valorous companions in arms did. Their first
+discharge covered the ground with the wounded and lifeless bodies of the
+enemy. The vanguard of the mercenaries was so demoralized as to retreat,
+and while supports, led on by the intrepid chief, were staying their
+backward progress, the confusion gave the Italians time to make their
+retreat in good order.
+
+When Cortez disembarked at Mexico he burned his ships. When the Thousand
+of Marsala disembarked in Sicily they also abandoned their vessels to
+the enemy, and so deprived themselves of any hope of retreat; and
+truly these courageous acts conduced much to the success and triumphant
+conduct of both expeditions.
+
+The proximity of friendly frontiers has often been the cause of
+defection in the ranks of the patriotic Italians. We have witnessed such
+scandals in Lombardy in 1848, caused by the tempting neighborhood of
+Switzerland, and also unhappily in the Roman States by the nearness of
+the royal territory. Such was the case with the Three Hundred after the
+many adventures here related. Orazio accomplished his retreat from the
+Ciminian hill without loss, but it was necessary to retire as far as the
+Italian dominion, and then it happened with his followers just as might
+have been expected, from their want of supplies and the temptation of
+safely.
+
+Although this band was composed of courageous men, it dissolved like a
+fog before the sun when it touched the national frontier. The chiefs,
+after vainly reminding their men that their country was still in
+bondage, and that it was the duty of all to prepare for another struggle
+to free her, found themselves nearly alone. The eight or nine firm
+hearts with whom we are best acquainted, along with Gasparo and Jack,
+took the road to Tuscany on their way to Leghorn, where they expected to
+find the fair Julia's yacht, and gain some news of their absent friends.
+And here we will take leave of them for the present, to meet them later
+in new and adventurous scenes.
+
+
+
+
+PART THE SECOND.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L. THE PILGRIMAGE
+
+The recluse, at the period where we renew our story, was on the
+mainland, whither he had been called by his friends. He had left his
+rocky abode to fulfill a duty towards Italy, to which he had ever
+dedicated his life. He had forced himself to undertake a pilgrimage,
+setting out from the Venetian territory, his end being not only to
+influence the political elections, but to sow the germs of emancipated
+spirit and conscience, which alone can restore Italy to her first state
+of manly greatness, and enable her people to throw off their bonds,
+discountenancing utterly that idolatrous and false church called papal,
+and living upon the truths of a real and vital religion. For with the
+priests human brotherhood is impossible, since the papist condemns to
+everlasting flames every member of the human family who refuses belief
+in the Pope's supremacy. In like manner the Dervish or Turkish priest
+condemns eternally every believer in Christianity, and you can not walk
+safely in the streets of Constantinople or Canton because your life is
+in danger from these fanatics. In short, priests and bigots are pretty
+much alike all over the world, while the greatest and most sanguinary of
+conflicts have always been fomented by them.
+
+Take, as an example, the Crimean war, where one hundred and fifty
+thousand men perished, while enormous treasures were swallowed up by the
+contest. The commencement of the quarrel was on account of the church
+named the Holy Sepulchre, and to decide whether a papistical or a Greek
+priest should take precedence there. This dispute was brought before the
+Emperors of France and Russia, and the result was war--England and Italy
+taking part in the enormous butchery consequent thereon.
+
+England is at the present day in perpetual anxiety with regard to the
+state of Ireland, largely caused by the priests; and may God spare the
+world from an insurrection in the United States, where, in a population
+of thirty-three millions, nearly half are Roman Catholics, a large
+proportion of them Irish, who, under the dictatorship of a bishop,
+divide the country, and are always plotting for political supremacy.
+
+In Venice the greater part of the population swore to follow General
+Garibaldi to the death, yet the day after the same crowd congregated in
+those shops where religious trinkets and "indulgences" in God's name are
+sold for money, and where idolatry in the guise of Christianity erects
+vain and lying images. Such are the Venetians, and such are they likely
+to remain under priestly superstition and political corruption.
+
+With regard to representation, the great body of the Italian people are
+excluded from the elective franchise. Out of a population of more than
+twenty-five millions there are only four million five hundred thousand
+voters. Every voter must be twenty-five years of age, and must be able
+to read and write. As to the latter, the power of signing his name is
+deemed sufficient, but he must also contribute an annual sum of not less
+than forty francs, which must be paid in direct taxation to the state or
+province (the province answering to the English county); the municipal
+rates are not taken into account. Graduates of universities, members
+of learned societies, military and civil _employés_, either upon
+active service or half-pay, professional men, schoolmasters, notaries,
+solicitors, druggists, licensed veterinary surgeons, agents of change,
+and all persons living in a house, or having a shop, magazine, or
+workshop, are entitled to a vote, provided the rental is, in communes
+containing a population of less than two thousand five hundred
+inhabitants, two hundred francs; in communes containing a population
+of from two thousand five hundred to ten thousand inhabitants, three
+hundred francs; and in communes containing a population of over ten
+thousand inhabitants, four hundred francs.
+
+But the power which the Government has of unduly influencing such of the
+voters as are not in its own immediate employ is enormous, by means of
+the chief officer in every town, called the syndic, who is appointed by
+the Government, and removable at its pleasure. This officer, under pain
+of dismissal, recommends to the voters for election any candidate
+that the Government desires to have elected, and lamentable as is the
+financial state of the country, millions of francs were placed at the
+disposal of the syndics for the purpose of corruption in the spring of
+the year 1867. If a town wants a branch railway to the main line,
+the election of the Government candidate will always insure the
+accomplishment of its wishes on this point.
+
+The whole host of Government officials, including the police, actively
+interfere in aid of the ministerial candidate. Schoolmasters and others
+will be dismissed from their posts if they give a refractory vote; and
+workmen for the same reason are discharged. Official addresses have been
+known to be openly published, desiring the people not to vote for the
+opposition candidates; and there are instances of papers on the day
+of election being withheld from those voters who might prove to be too
+independent. Therefore it was with a view to reforming these abuses that
+General Garibaldi, in addressing the municipality of Palma, said, "Let
+the new Chambers be impressed with the necessity of reorganizing the
+administration, and if the Government, to tempt them, returns to its
+evil ways, then ill betide it." We do not intend following the General's
+steps as he proceeded from town to town, enthusiastically received by
+the multitude, who, joyous at the sight of the "man of the people,"
+applauded his doctrine of non-submission to foreign dominion and
+humiliation, and above all echoed his plain denunciations of that
+clerical infamy and that immoral understanding which exists between the
+Papacy and those of the unworthy men who misgovern Italy.
+
+As it may be supposed, the priests attacked the General, and accused him
+far and wide of being an atheist. This false and foolish charge led
+to his making the following address before twenty thousand people at
+Padua:-
+
+"It is in vain that my enemies try to make me out an atheist. I believe
+in God. I am of the religion of Christ, not of the religion of the
+Popes. I do not admit any intermediary between God and man. Priests have
+merely thrust themselves in, in order to make a trade of religion. They
+are the enemies of true religion, liberty, and progress; they are the
+original cause of our slavery and degradation, and in order to subjugate
+the souls of Italians, they have called in foreigners to enchain their
+bodies. The foreigners we have expelled, now we must expel those mitred
+and tonsured traitors who summoned them. The people must be taught that
+it is not enough to have a free country, but that they must learn to
+exercise the rights and perform the duties of free men. Duty! duty! that
+is the word. Our people must learn their duties to their families, their
+duties to their country, their duties to humanity."
+
+Garibaldi proceeded next to the university of Padua; and there, standing
+before the statue of Galileo, he uncovered his head, saying, "Who,
+remembering Galileo, his genius and his life, the torture inflicted upon
+him, the martyrdom he suffered--he, I say, who, remembering this, does
+not despise the priests of Rome, is not worthy to be called a man or an
+Italian."
+
+The interests of commerce having always had a place in the heart
+of General Garibaldi, he delivered the following address to the
+Representatives of the Chambers of Commerce for Vicenza:--"Italy's
+future depends in great part on you. Our wars against the foreigners
+are, I hope, nearly at an end. Italy is united, is independent; you can
+make her prosperous. There is nothing necessary to the maintenance of
+the human race that we can not produce; and with such raw material as we
+have, what can we not manufacture? Our people have a mania for foreign
+goods; they like to wear foreign stuffs, to drink foreign wines, but let
+them once be persuaded that our own are as good, and they will be glad
+to adopt them; and foreign nations will receive our' merchandise, our
+manufactures, as eagerly as we now seek for theirs. But progress
+of every kind is difficult with the priests, and human brotherhood
+impossible."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LI. THE MEMORY OF THE DEAD
+
+Let our tale revert to yet more distant memories, while the name of
+"Italy" wakes the author's recollections. He is set thinking of the
+sad times when newly-liberated Rome was again enchained by the hands of
+European despotism, alarmed at the revival of the Mistress of the World,
+and at the terrible warning conveyed by the Roman Republic. Alas! it
+was by the arms of another great Republic that her hopes were blighted.
+Napoleon, the secret enemy of all liberty, fleshed his weapons upon the
+Romans when he had committed the crime _lesanazione_, and betrayed the
+credulous people of Paris, slaying them in their streets without regard
+to age or sex. May God, in his own time, deal with the assassin of the
+2d of December, and of the world's liberty!
+
+After the defense of Rome, the Recluse, never despairing of the fete of
+Italy, although left with but few followers, decided to take the field.
+But more is required than a handful of brave men when nations intend to
+liberate themselves, and what can an irregular band of intrepid youths
+accomplish against four armies?
+
+It is true that in the present day national spirit is more awakened,
+and the handful of brave youths has grown to heroic proportions and
+historical deeds, but in those unhappy times the populace stood gazing
+stupefied and in silence at the relics of the defenders of Rome
+while passing out on their way to the open country, regarding them as
+irretrievably lost. Not one of those men stood forward to increase our
+ranks. On the contrary, every morning discovered a quantity of arms upon
+the ground of bivouac, which deserters had abandoned. Those arms were
+placed upon the mules and wagons which accompanied the column, so that
+in time the column possessed more mules and wagons than men, and little
+by little the hope of arousing that nation of sluggards vanished from
+the souls of the faithful and courageous survivors.
+
+At San Marino, seeing there was no longer any hope or heart to fight,
+the order of the day was given "to dismiss the men to their homes." That
+order was couched in the following terms: "Return to your homes, but
+remember that Italy must not remain a slave."
+
+The larger number took the road to their dwellings, but some deserters
+from the Papal and Austrian troops, who, if taken prisoners would have
+been shot, remained to accompany their chief in his last attempt to free
+Venice.
+
+And here begins a still sadder and more painful history.
+
+Anita, the Recluse's inseparable companion, would not, even under these
+trying circumstances, leave him. In vain did her husband endeavor to
+persuade her to remain at San Marino. Though pregnant, faint, and sick,
+arguments were of no avail: the courageous woman would heed no advice,
+and answered all by smilingly asking "if he wished to abandon her."
+
+Surrounded by the Austrian troops, tracked by the Papal police, that
+tired remnant of the Roman army outstripped them all during a night
+march, and arrived at the gates of Cesenatico at one o'clock in the
+morning, where an Austrian detachment kept guard.
+
+"Fall on them and disarm them," exclaimed Garibaldi to the few
+individuals forming his retinue; and the Austrian soldiers, completely
+stupefied, allowed themselves to be disarmed. The authorities were then
+awakened, and requested to supply food and _bragozzi_, or small barges,
+that the volunteers might embark.
+
+It can not be denied that fortune has favored the Recluse in many
+arduous enterprises, but at this time began for him a series of
+adversities and misfortunes.
+
+A northern cloud had spread itself over the Adriatic on this night, and
+breaking into wind, had rendered the sea furious. The narrow mouth of
+the port of Cesenatico was one mass of foam. Great were the efforts made
+to leave the port in the _bragozzi_, thirteen in number, weighed down
+as they were with people, and at day-break they succeeded. But at this
+crisis numerous Austrians entered Cesenatico.
+
+Sail was made, for the wind had become favorable, and on the following
+morning four of the _bragozzi_, in one of which were Garibaldi and
+Anita, with Cicernachio, his two sons, and Ugo-Bassi, landed in the Foci
+del Po. Anita, carried in the arms of the man of her heart, was borne to
+shore in a dying condition. The occupants of the other nine _bragozzi_
+had given themselves up to the Austrian squadron, which had discovered
+the little crafts by the light of a full moon, and had rained bullets
+and grapeshot upon them until they surrendered.
+
+The shores where the four boats put in were swarming with the enemy's
+explorers, sent to trace the fugitives. Anita was lying a little way off
+the shore, concealed in a corn-field, her head supported by the Recluse.
+Leggiero, a valiant major belonging to the island of Maddalena, who had
+followed the General in South America, and returned to Italy with him,
+was their only companion. He lay peeping through the stalks, and very
+soon discovered some of the cursed white curs in search of blood.
+Cicernachio, Bassi, and nine others, who by our advice had taken a
+different direction in order to escape the enemy, were all captured, and
+shot like dogs by the Austrians.
+
+When the nine victims were taken, the Austrians compelled nine peasants,
+by force of blows, to dig nine holes in the sand, after which a
+discharge from the enemy's picket dispatched the unhappy heroes. The
+youngest, a son of a Roman tribune, only thirteen years of age, still
+moved after the fire, but a blow from the butt-end of an Austrian's
+musket smashed in his skull, and thus brutally ended his young life.
+Bassi and his brother, Cicernachio, met with the same fate at Bologna.
+The foreigner and the priest made merry in that hour of slaughter over
+the purest Italian blood; and the mitred master of Rome remounted his
+polluted throne, having for a footstool the corpses of his compatriots.
+
+Let this cold brutality, this savage butchery of their honest
+noble-hearted compatriots live in the memory of Italians, and give their
+consciences no peace while they leave their magnificent city a prey to
+the foreigner and to the vile priests, who use it as a den of infamy.
+
+The Recluse, bearing his precious burden--that dear and faithful
+wife--wandered sadly, with his companion, Leggiero, through the lagoons
+of the lower Po, until he had closed her eyes, and wept over her cold
+corpse tears of desperation. Onward he wandered then, through forests
+and over mountains, ever pursued by the agents of the Pope and of
+Austria. Fate, however, spared him, to suffer anew both danger and
+fatigue, and to reap some triumphs too. The tyrants of Italy again found
+him upon their tracks--those tracks indelibly stained by them with tears
+and blood. Ill was it for them that he escaped until the day when they,
+in turn, took to flight, and, like cowards, left their tables spread for
+him, while the carpets of their superb palaces bore the imprint of the
+rough shoes of his Thousand.
+
+Meanwhile, however, our tale has brought the Recluse to Venice to
+witness the liberty for which he had sighed so much. It was then that
+the lagunes, covered with gondolas, saluted the red shirt as the token
+of national redemption, and sad memories faded in the light of the joy
+and freedom of that Queen of the Adriatic.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LII. THE SPY IN VENICE
+
+It is eleven o'clock at night. The canals of Venice are covered with
+gondolas, and the Place of St. Mark, illuminated, is so crowded with
+people that scarcely a stone of the pavement is visible. From the
+balcony of the Zecchini Palace, on the north side of the Piazza, the
+Recluse has saluted the people, and the redeemed city ("redeemed," yes,
+but by a bargain--the ancient bulwark of European civilization was,
+alas! bought and sold a bargain between courts), and that salutation
+was frantically responded to by an exulting and affected multitude. And
+above all was the beholder struck by the aspect of the populace, as he
+said to himself, "The stigma which despotism imprints upon the human
+face can even be depicted here."
+
+A people, once the ancient rulers of the world, transformed by the
+foreigner and the priest, whose rod of deception, dipped in the
+chemistry of superstition, is able to change good into evil, gold
+to dross, and the most prosperous of nations into one of beggars and
+sacristans; these have bartered away this noble city of the sea, which
+calls herself "daughter of Rome"--left her disheartened, dishonored,
+and defamed! And he who loved the people cried out in the anguish of his
+soul, "Alas, that it should be so!"
+
+But moved as he was by the contemplation of the scene, nevertheless he
+did not fail to cast a scrutinizing look over the buzzing crowd. After a
+life of sixty years, into which so many events had been crowded, the man
+of the people was not wanting in experience that enabled him to analyze
+fairly the component parts of a densely-packed crowd, among whom were
+hidden the thief, the assassin, the spy, and the hireling of the priest.
+And many such were purposely mingled with the good and honest of that
+population.
+
+While thoughtfully gazing, as we have said, upon the assembled people, a
+slight touch upon his shoulder made him aware of Attilio's presence.
+
+"Do you see," said the young Roman to him, "that scoundrel's face, whose
+head is covered with a cap of the Venetian fashion, standing amongst
+those simple Venetian souls, but as easy to be distinguished as a
+viper amongst lizards, or a venomous tarantula amongst ants? When such
+reptiles wind about in a crowd, it is not without a motive; he is sent
+from Rome, and there is certainly something new in store for us. That
+follow is Cencio. I must look to him a little!"
+
+Our readers will remember the subaltern agent of Cardinal Procorpio,
+for whom Gianni had rented a room in sight of Manlio's studio. After his
+employers had been hanged, he had been promoted to a higher office, that
+of principal agent to his Eminence Cardinal --------, the Pope's prime
+minister.
+
+Cencio, once a Liberal, afterwards a traitor, had made profitable use
+of his knowledge of some of the democrats of Rome, and was, therefore,
+prized as a secret agent by the Cardinal's tribunal. We shall presently
+see what his mission to Venice had been. Meantime, in a saloon in the
+Zecchini Palace, closely filled with guests, amongst the brightest
+of the Venetian beauties, shone our three heroines, Irene, Julia, and
+Clelia.
+
+The Venetian youths, accustomed to contemplate the charms of the
+daughters of the Queen of the Adriatic, were nevertheless astounded
+at the enchanting appearance of these three Roman ladies. We say three
+Romans, because Julia had by this time espoused her Muzio, and, although
+an affectionate daughter of her own dear native land, she was proud of
+her adopted country and called herself a Roman.
+
+Irene was a little older than her companions, but had preserved so much
+freshness, that her extremely majestic carriage covered the difference
+of years, and she had so much the perfection of a matron about her, that
+she could well have served as a model to an artist wishing to portray
+one of those grand Roman matrons of Cornelia's time. Marriage had not
+changed her younger and equally lovely companion; and the trio formed
+such an ornament to that drawing-room that the Venetian youths fluttered
+around them perfectly dazzled and amazed.
+
+By the side of Clelia were Manlio and the gentle Silvia. Of all our
+ladies only the Signora Aurelia was missing, and she had ended her
+unintentionally adventurous career by marrying the good-natured Captain
+Thompson, to whom she clung like the ivy to the oak; and although the
+sea was still a little repugnant to her, on account of that storm in
+which she had suffered so much, yet the billows had lost much of their
+terror, now her British sea-lion stood by her side to guard her.
+
+Orazio and Muzio were standing together in a corner of the room talking
+over the events of the day, when Attilio, going up to them, made them
+acquainted with his discovery, and after some consultation they started
+off in company to the Piazza di San Marco. Not a few vain efforts did
+the three friends make to break through the crowd before they succeeded
+in at last reaching the object of their search, and whilst General
+Garibaldi, recalled by the people to the balcony, was again addressing
+the crowd, he saw his three young friends surround the fictitious
+Venetian. The iron hand of Orazio grasped the wrist of the agent like
+a vice, and Muzio, whose voice the scoundrel had formerly heard, fixing
+his glittering eyes upon him, said in a low tone, "Cencio, come with
+us."
+
+The tool of the priests, the traitor of the meeting at the Baths of
+Caracalla, trembled from head to foot, his florid face became pale as
+that of a corpse, and, without articulating a word, he walked forward
+in the direction indicated by Muzio, between the other two Romans, who
+pushed him unresistingly on.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIII. THE "GOVERNMENT"
+
+When one thinks upon the hardly accomplished union of this our Italy,
+and of the rulers who have "led" her over the thorny path she has
+trodden, one can not but bow before the wisdom of Providence, who has
+uplifted her until she has constituted herself a nation.
+
+Often in meditating upon this--our beautiful, grand, but unhappy native
+land--we in imagination have pictured her as a chariot drawn with
+patient toil by the generous portion of the people, having for device
+the "good of all," preceded by the star of Providence like a shining
+beacon, with the wicked host of rulers and their immense retinue
+following behind, disconcerted and fatigued, holding on to and
+endeavoring to draw back the vehicle of the State, even at the risk of
+destroying it in their efforts; while the people, impoverished,
+checked, and humiliated by that heavy rabble tugging in the rear, remain
+submissive and constant in their labors, clearing away the obstacles
+that cross their path towards redemption, and proceeding gradually
+forward without despairing of a future reparation. Reparation, indeed!
+From whom, my countrymen, do you expect reparation? From the re-assured
+professors of priestcraft, of Jesuitism, and of imposture, who have been
+restored to your towns and villages at the expense of your patrimony to
+maintain you in ignorance and in misery?
+
+One of the many means of corruption employed by the powerful to render
+the populace slaves, is at the present day the "black division"--the
+priests. Kings who no longer believe in them have begun to use them to
+control the people, and keep them from justice, light, and liberty, in
+the name of "religion." This is the "reparation" which thou awaitest,
+_popolo infelice!_ Reparation--and how shouldst thou demand or deserve
+it, who kneelest daily and hourly at the feet of a lying and chuckling
+priesthood?
+
+In the mean time, however, one of the agents of this priesthood is
+walking, with his wicked head held down, in the grasp of Orazio and
+Attilio; Muzio going before to open the way through the multitude of
+people, and thus the four arrived finally at a tavern in the Vicola
+degli Schiavoni.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIV. THE SENTENCE OF DEATH
+
+"Let us pass quickly and on tiptoe that mass of corruption and slaughter
+called the Papacy," says Guerrazzi; or, to quote his own indignant
+Italian: "_Passiamo presto, e sulla punta dei piedi, quel macchio di
+fimo e di sangue che si chiama Papato_."
+
+The Popes, who call themselves the vicegerents of Christ, slaughter men
+with chassepôts, play the executioner upon their political enemies, and
+instruct the world in the science of tortures, Inquisitions, _autos-da
+fe_, and murder. In former days many unhappy nations had the misfortune
+to suffer therefrom. Spain, for example, who has recently thrown off
+the yoke, for centuries groaned under the tortures of Rome. Even now
+the priest of Christ in the Vatican satiates his sanguinary vengeance
+in various ways, having recourse to the dagger, poison, brigandage, and
+murders of all kinds and degrees.
+
+In the Roman tribunal the sentence of death had been long pronounced
+against Prince T------, the brother of our Irene; and Cencio, with eight
+cut-throats of the Holy See under his command, was under orders to take
+advantage of the tumult arising upon the arrival of Garibaldi in Venice
+to execute the atrocious decree. The eight accomplices of the spy had
+been posted in the immediate neighborhood of the Hôtel Victoria, in all
+the ways by which he could possibly arrive. Four were to hire a gondola
+and ply at the steps, with secret instructions to dispatch the
+gondoliers if necessary, that there might be no witness to lay the
+charge against them.
+
+Cencio had not undertaken to perform the actual deed, but simply the
+task of following the Prince's movements. Fortunately for the Roman
+noble the spy failed in his scent, and was now not only in the clutches
+of our three friends who had captured him, but in those of a fourth
+personage, who was still more formidable to him--no other, in fact, than
+our old acquaintance Gasparo.
+
+Gasparo, after the events narrated in the preceding chapters, had
+accompanied his new friends to territory that was not Papal, and had
+offered his services as attendant to Prince T------. He had therefore
+accompanied him to Venice. Whilst his master roamed through the saloons
+of the Zecchini Palace, the watchful follower, who had remained on the
+threshold to enjoy the sight of that brilliant scene, saw the three
+Romans whom he loved as sons penetrate into the crowd. He determined to
+keep near them, and found himself shortly after in the tavern of Vicola
+dei Schiavoni, at the heels of Cencio.
+
+It would be no easy matter to describe the terror and confusion of
+the clerical Sinon surrounded by our four friends. They led him to an
+out-of-the-way room on the upper story, and desired the waiter to bring
+them something to drink, and then leave them, as they had some business
+to transact.
+
+When the waiter had obeyed them, and departed, they locked the door, and
+ordering the agent to sit against the wall, they moved to the end of the
+table, and, seating themselves upon a bench, placed their elbows on the
+table and fixed a look upon the knavish wretch which made him tremble.
+Under any other circumstances the wretch would have inspired compassion,
+and might have been forgiven for his treachery, in consideration of his
+present agony of fear.
+
+The four friends, cold, impassive, and relentless, satisfied themselves
+for some time with fixing their eyes upon the traitor, while he, quite
+beside himself, with wide-opened mouth and eyes, was doing
+his best to articulate something; but all he could mutter was,
+"Signore--I--am--not," and other less intelligible monosyllables.
+
+The calmness of the four Romans was somewhat savage, but for their deep
+cause of hatred; and if any one could have contemplated the scene he
+would have been reminded forcibly of the fable of the rat under the
+inexorable gaze of the terrier-dog, which watches every movement, and
+then pounces out upon it, crunching all the vermin's bones between its
+teeth. Or could a painter have witnessed that silent assembly, he would
+have found a subject for a splendid picture of deep-seated wrath and
+terror.
+
+We have already described the persons of the three friends--true types
+of the ancient Roman--with fine and artistic forms. Gasparo was even
+more striking--one of those heads which a French photographist would
+have delighted to "take" as the model of an Italian brigand--and
+the picture would have been more profitable than the likeness of any
+European sovereign. He was indeed, in his old age, a superb type of a
+brigand, but a brigand of the nobler sort. One of those who hate with a
+deadly hatred the cutthroat rabble; one who never stained himself with
+any covetous or infamous action, as the paid miscreants of the priests
+do, who commit acts that would fill even a panther's heart with horror.
+
+Even the successor of Gianni would have made a valuable appearance in
+a _quadro caratteristico_, for certainly no subject could have served
+better to display panic in all its disgusting repulsiveness. Glued to
+the wall behind him, he would, if his strength had equalled his wish,
+have knocked it down, or bored his way through it to get farther
+from those four terrible countenances, which stared impassively and
+mercilessly at him, meditating upon his ruin, perhaps upon his death.
+The austere voice of Muzio, already described as the chief of the Roman
+contropolizia, was the first to break that painful silence.
+
+"Well, then, Cencio," he began, "I will tell you a story which, as you
+are a Roman, you may perhaps know, but, at all events, you shall know
+it now. One day our forefathers, tired of the rule of the first king of
+Rome--who, amongst other amiable things, had killed his brother Remus
+with a blow because he amused himself with jumping over the walls he had
+erected around Rome--our fathers, I repeat, by a _senattis consultant_,
+decided to get rid of their king, who was rather too meddlesome and
+despotic. _Detto-fatto!_ they rushed upon him with their daggers, and,
+although he struggled valorously, Romulus fell under their blows. But,
+now the deed was done, it was necessary to invent a stratagem, for
+the Roman people were somewhat partial to their warlike king. They
+accordingly accepted the advice of an old senator, who said, 'We will
+tell the people that Mars (the father of Romulus) has descended amongst
+us, and, after reproaching us for thieving a little too much, and being
+indignant to see the son of a god at our head, has carried him off to
+heaven.'
+
+"'But what are we to do with the body?' asked several of the senators.
+
+"'With the body?' repeated the old man; 'nothing is easier.' And drawing
+forth his dagger, he commenced cutting the corpse in pieces. When this
+dissection was finished, he said, 'Let each of you take one of these
+pieces, hide it under your robe, and then go and throw it into the
+Tiber. It is evening now, and by to-morrow morning the sea-monsters will
+have given a decent burial to the founder of Rome.'
+
+"Now, Cencio, don't you think that, as regards your own end, and
+not being king of Rome, or son of a god, such a death would be very
+honorable to you who are nothing more than a miserable traitor?"
+
+"For God's sake," screamed the terrified agent, trembling like a child,
+"I will do whatever you demand of me; but, for the love you bear your
+friends, your wives, your mothers, do not put me to such a cruel death."
+
+"Do you talk of a cruel death? Can there be a death too cruel for
+a spy--a traitor?" asked Muzio. "Have you already forgotten," he
+continued, "vile reptile, selling the Roman youths to the priests at the
+Baths of Caracalla; and that they narrowly escaped being slaughtered by
+your infamy?"
+
+Tears continued to roll from the coward's eyes, as Muzio continued:
+"What about your arrival in Venice? What does it mean? Who sent you?
+What did you come here for, dog?"
+
+"I will tell all," was the wretched man's reply-
+
+"You had better tell all," repeated Muzio, "or we shall see with edge
+of knife whether you have concealed any thing in that malicious and
+treacherous carcass of yours."
+
+"All, all!" cried Cencio like a maniac; and, as if forgetful of what he
+had to relate or overpowered by great fright, he appeared not to know
+how or where to begin.
+
+"You are doubtless more prompt in your narration to the Holy Office,
+stammerer," grumbled Gasparo.
+
+"Begin!" shouted Orazio; and Attilio, in a stem voice, also cried
+"Begin!" not having spoken until then.
+
+A moment of death-like silence followed before Cencio commenced thus:-
+
+"If the life of Prince T------is dear to you--"
+
+"Prince T------, the brother of Irene," exclaimed Orazio, clearing the
+table at one bound, and grasping the traitor by the throat.
+
+Had Cencio been clutched in the claws of a tiger, he would not have felt
+more helpless than he did now, held by the fingers of the "Prince of the
+Roman campagna."
+
+Attilio said gently, "Brother, have patience--let him speak; if you
+choke him we shall gain no information."
+
+The suggestion made by the chief of the Three Hundred seemed reasonable
+to Orazio, and he withdrew his impatient grip from Cencio's throat.
+
+"If the life of Prince T------ is dear to you," again recommenced the
+knave, "let us go all together in search of him, and inform him
+that eight emissaries of the Holy Office are lurking about the Hôtel
+Victoria, where he is lodging, in order to assassinate him."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LV. DEATH TO THE PRIESTS
+
+"Death to the priests!" shouted the people.
+
+"_Death to no one!_" replied the General to the crowd from the balcony,
+in answer to their cry.
+
+"_Death to no one!_ Yet none are worthier of death than this villainous
+sect, which for private ends, disguised as religious, has made Italy
+'the land of the dead,' a burial-ground of greatness! Beccaria! thy
+doctrines are true and right. The shedding of blood is impious. But
+I know not if Italy will ever be able to free herself from those who
+tyrannize over her soul and body without annihilating them with the
+sword for pruning-hook, even to the last branch!"
+
+These reflections passed through the mind of the man of the people,
+although he rebuked the populace. Meanwhile, those of them who had not
+wholly heard the words uttered by Garibaldi from the balcony, but
+only the cry of "death!" which thousands of excited voices had
+re-echoed--those of the people, we repeat, who were farthest off from
+the General and near the palace of the Patriarch, advanced like the
+flood of a torrent precipitating itself from a mountain, and attacked
+the prelate's abode, overturning all obstacles opposed to their fury.
+In a few minutes every saloon, every room in this fine building was
+invaded, and through the windows all those religious idols with which
+the priests so unblushingly deceive the people were seen flying in all
+directions.
+
+Many artists and lovers of the beautiful would have lamented and cried,
+"Scandal! sacrilege!" at the destruction of such works of art. And
+truly, many very rare and precious master-pieces, under the form of
+saint or Madonna or Bambino, were broken to pieces and utterly ruined in
+this work of destruction.
+
+Amongst the cunning acts of the priesthood, wealthy as they have been
+made by the stupidity of the "faithful," has ever been that of employing
+the most illustrious artists to portray and dignify their legends.
+Hence the Michael Angelos and the Raphaels of all periods were lavishly
+supported by them, and the people, who might have become persuaded of
+the foolishness of their credulity, and of the impostures of the new
+soothsayers of Rome, continued to respect the idols of their tyrants by
+reason of Italian instincts, because these were master-pieces of noble
+work.
+
+But is not the first master-piece of a people liberty and national
+dignity?
+
+And all those wonders of art, although wonders, if they perpetuate with
+an evil charm our servility, our degradation--oh! would it not be better
+for them to be sent to the infernal regions? However, be they precious
+or worthless works, the people were overturning them and throwing them
+out upon the pavement that night.
+
+And the Patriarch? Woe to him if he had fallen into the hands of the
+enraged multitude!
+
+But their sacred skin is dear to those descendants of the apostles!
+Champions of the faith they may be, but not martyrs. Of martyrdom those
+rosy-faced prelates wish to know nothing themselves if they can avoid
+it. His Eminence, at the first outbreak of popular indignation, had
+vanished, gaining, by a secret door, one of his gondolas, in which he
+escaped in safety.
+
+In the mean time, the cry of the Recluse,
+
+"_Morte a nessino!_" was taken up by the crowd, and at last reached the
+ears of the sackers of the Patriarch's palace.
+
+That voice, ever trusted and respected by the people, calmed the anger
+of the passionate multitude, and in a few moments order and tranquillity
+were again re-established.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LVI. PRINCE T------.
+
+In the shameful times when the right of the "coscia" existed, princes
+had little necessity to woo a humble maiden, or to sue for her favor. At
+the present day things have assumed a different aspect. Although princes
+exist who possess as much pride of birth, or even more, than those
+of old days, still we see many obliged to conform to more moderate
+pretensions in matters of the heart, aspiring humbly to the favor of a
+plebeian divinity. Such were the thoughts of poor Prince T-.
+
+He stood in the vestibule of the Zecchini Palace, admiring the throng of
+graceful visitors. In the crowded saloons it was difficult to do justice
+to the faces, and still less to the deportment of the ladies. From
+that part of the vestibule, on the first step, where the Roman prince
+had established himself, observation was easier.
+
+Suddenly, from the midst of the crowd emerged, as if by destiny, one
+of those forms which, once seen, are reflected in the soul forever.
+Golden-brown eyes, hair, and eyelashes adorned a face which would have
+served Titian as a model of beauty--in a word, he saw the type of the
+Venetian ideal. The Prince, until then immovable in the crowd hurrying
+to and fro, was struck by a glance of those wonderful eyes, which seemed
+to look at every thing and every body, without for a moment fixing their
+glance on any.
+
+As if under a spell, the Prince rushed after the footsteps of the
+unknown lady, whose light foot seemed to float over the ground. He
+hurried on after her, but the wish to overtake her was one thing, the
+capability another. The beautiful and graceful girl, either more active
+or more accustomed to fashionable throngs in Venice, was already seated
+in a gondola, and had ordered the gondolier to put off when the Prince
+reached the edge of the canal.
+
+What could he do? throw himself into the water, and seize on the gunwale
+of the lady's boat, like a madman, begging a word for pity's sake? This
+was his first impulse; yet a bath in the waters of the lagoon in March
+would be no joke, while to present himself before the lady of his
+thoughts in the condition which would result from immersion, would be
+unpropitious, and an especial trial to the dignity of a man of rank. He
+decided on taking a more rational course, that of embarking in a
+gondola and following the incognita. "Row hard," said the Prince to the
+gondolier, "and if you overtake that black gondola I will reward you
+well."
+
+Having pointed out the boat to be pursued, the gondolier cried "Avanti"
+to his companion at the prow, and turning up his red shirt sleeves (red
+shirts being the prevailing fashion just then among the Venetian rowers,
+in honor of the guest of the day), the gondolier prepared to use the oar
+with that grace and vigor which is not to be rivalled by any boatmen in
+the world.
+
+"Onward! onward! _gondola mio!_ onward and overtake that too swift boat
+which bears away my life; and why should not that lovely girl be such to
+me, the Adriatic beauty of which I have dreamed a thousand times, when
+Venice was enslaved as my poor Rome still is? Yet why did I only catch a
+glimpse of her? Why did her dazzling eye thus meet mine, subdue me in
+a moment, and make me hers forever, only to disappear? and has not her
+magic glance wounded others as well as me? The very atmosphere around
+her intoxicated me; must it not have affected all near her? _Ah, Dio!_
+is this love at last? Is this that transient passion which men enjoy as
+they bite at doubtful fruits and throw them away when tasted? or is
+it that spiritual love which brings the creature near to God, which
+transforms the miseries of life, its dangers, death itself, into
+ineffable happiness? Yes! it is that; and now, come ye powerful of the
+earth, dare but to touch my mistress whom I love with indescribable
+passion, approach her with an army of ruffians at your back, profane
+but the hem of her gown, and my sword shall defy all for her sweet sake.
+Onward! onward!" cried the Prince, interrupting his own soliloquy. "Row
+hard, and if one crown be not enough, you shall have ten. Onward!"
+
+"But suppose she were a plebeian? Well! in the name of heaven what is
+a plebeian? When God created man did he make patricians and plebeians?
+Does not the power that awes the vulgar come from tyrants and despots?"
+
+"Ah! if that beautiful young creature should prove an impure, a nameless
+one!"
+
+"Oh, blasphemer of love, cease your profanity! How could a guilty
+woman's face show such pure transcendent loveliness!"
+
+Annita _was_ a plebeian. The entrance to her dwelling showed that.
+There stood no columned porch where the gondola drew up before a simple
+door-step. The plain little staircase was bare; no rich vases with
+exotic flowers stood about the threshold. A few flower-pots adorned the
+window-sills, for Annita loved flowers as well as a princess could love
+them, but hers were little, simple blossoms--I will not say poor ones,
+for they were dear to the young girl, a very treasure to her.
+
+An aged lady, who by day would have attracted the attention of every
+one--so great was the anxiety depicted on her face--had awaited
+until that moment, eleven at night, her beloved Annita, who, with the
+curiosity of a child, had desired, like others, to have a close view of
+the man of the people. Mario, her only brother, being absent, the mother
+had confided her to the care of the family gondolier.
+
+When Monna Rosa had ascertained that the newly arrived gondola was that
+which she expected, she left the balcony, where she had been watching
+with great misgivings for its arrival, and rapidly descended the stairs,
+lantern in hand, to receive her beloved child. The two women were
+clasped in each other's arms, as if after a long separation, when
+the Prince arrived, and taking advantage of the open door, and of the
+evident attention of the mother and daughter, he entered the house
+with the audacity of a soldier on a conquered territory. At length,
+disengaged from each other's arms, the mother was exclaiming in a
+tone of gentle reproach, "Why so late, Annita?" when both started on
+perceiving the presence of a stranger.
+
+Having entered on a bold adventure, the Prince felt that he must carry
+it through with spirit. He therefore advanced towards the young girl,
+who, when so near, seemed more beautiful than ever.
+
+He was about to try to find words to excuse his impetuous and
+irrepressible admiration, when at that moment an iron grasp from behind
+seized his wrist, and with a shake that made him stagger, separated him
+from the women.
+
+From a third gondola, which had arrived a short time after the two
+first, there had sprung out swiftly and resolutely a new and youthful
+actor on this interesting scene. Tall in stature, vigorous and handsome
+in person, the last arrival wore the red shirt, and on the left side of
+his broad breast bore that distinctive mark of the brave, "The Medal of
+the Thousand."
+
+Morosini was Annitas lover. An attentive observer would have read in the
+young girl's face a world of affectionate emotion at the sight of
+her beloved, succeeded by an expression of affright, when his manly,
+sonorous voice, addressed the Prince, "You are mistaken, sir! You will
+not find here the game you seek; retrace your steps, and make your
+search elsewhere."
+
+The shaking he had received, and the rough words that followed, had
+aroused the Prince's ire, and as he was not wanting in courage, he
+answered his interlocutor in the same tone.
+
+"Insolent rascal! I came not here to affront, but to offer respectful
+homage. As for your impertinence, if you are a man of Rome, you will
+give me satisfaction. Here is my card. I shall be found at the Victoria
+Hotel, and at your service, until mid-day to-morrow."
+
+"I will not keep you waiting," was Morosini's reply, and with this the
+disconcerted Prince flung away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LVII. THE DUEL
+
+The Italian sportsman does not pursue the partridge in the thicket, but
+after covering up the waters of all the small pools save one, he there
+awaits his sport with shot, with net, or with bird-lime, at the moment
+that the innocent creature seeks refuge and refreshment. It is during
+the sultry hours that the ploughman lies in wait at the watering-place,
+to restore his rebel oxen to the yoke from which they have escaped. The
+corsair, who would be in vain sought on the ocean, is trapped at the
+mouth of his hiding place, to which he conducts his prey.
+
+Such was the reasoning of our four Romans as regards Prince T-, for whom
+they vainly sought in every hole and corner. After they had discovered
+and sent home the cut-throats of the Holy Office, through the forced
+assistance of Cencio, they placed themselves on the lookout, in the
+vicinity of the Victoria Hotel, awaiting the appearance of T-. In fact,
+about twelve o'clock, he made his appearance, and was followed to his
+room by his friends, who made him acquainted with the design of the
+assassin, and other circumstances.
+
+The Prince was too reserved to inform his friends of his approaching
+duel, especially Orazio, whose ardent nature he well knew, and who would
+not have yielded to any other the office of second; still he needed a
+second, and taking advantage of a moment's animated discussion among his
+companions, he summoned Attilio to the balcony by a glance, and asked
+him to remain with him for that night. Orazio, Muzio, and Gasparo
+finally took leave, and Attilio remained, under pretext of particular
+business.
+
+At the first dawn of day, a young man in a red shirt knocked at the door
+of a room marked No. 8 in the Victoria Hotel, and presented to
+Prince T------ a cartel, signed Morosini, and thus worded:--
+
+"I accept your challenge, and await you at the door of your hotel in my
+gondola. I have weapons with me, but you had better bring your own,
+in case mine should not be suitable. The seconds will regulate the
+conditions of the duel.
+
+"Morosini."
+
+After the Prince had risen, and summoned Attilio, he introduced him to
+the second of Morosini, and in a few minutes the conditions were settled
+as to arms, which were to be pistols; distance, twenty steps, to be
+walked over, firing _à volonté_. The ground chosen was behind the
+Murazzi, to which the combatants could immediately repair.
+
+And truly, when one has to die, or to kill, it is best over as soon as
+possible, because even the stoutest hearts are disinclined to either
+alternative, and wish the time of expectancy abridged.
+
+What shall I say of duelling? I have always thought it disgraceful that
+men can not come to an understanding without killing one another. But,
+on the other hand, it is not time for us, who are still oppressed by
+the powerful of the earth, still the despised of Europe, to preach
+individual or general peace, to advocate the forgiveness of private
+outrages, when we are often so publicly outraged. We, who are trampled
+upon in our rights, our consciences, our honor, by the vilest section
+of our nation--we, who, in order to be allowed life, consideration, and
+protection, are compelled to debase ourselves, must not quite despoil
+ourselves of our one protection!
+
+Away with duelling, then, when we shall have a constitution, a
+well-organized government--when we shall enjoy our rights within as well
+as without; but, in the present dangerous times for honor and right, we
+can not proclaim peace.
+
+Meanwhile, the gondolas carrying the combatants proceeded towards
+the Murazzi, the rowers for some time coasting the immense rampart
+constructed by the Venetian republic as a defense against the fury of
+the Adriatic, and finally disembarking their passengers on the deserted
+shore, which is dry when the north winds or the siroccos blow.
+
+The antagonists leaped on the sand, chose a convenient place, and, after
+having measured twenty steps, the seconds handed the pistols to the
+principals, who placed themselves on the two spots marked on the sand.
+Attilio had to clap his hands three times, and at the third signal the
+combatants were to walk forward and fire à volonté. Already two signals
+were given; Attilio's hands were again raised to make the third, when a
+voice cried, from the spot where the gondolas awaited, "Hold!"
+
+The four men all turned in that direction, and saw one of the
+gondoliers, a venerable, gray-haired man, who was advancing towards them.
+
+"Hold!" repeated the old man; and he came forward without stopping until
+he stood between the two antagonists. Then he spoke, with a somewhat
+faltering voice, yet still in a manly tone, with such force as could
+hardly have been expected in one of his breeding and age-
+
+"Hold! sons of one mother! The act you are about to accomplish will
+stain one of you with the blood of a compatriot--blood which might flow
+for the welfare of this unhappy land, which has still so much to do ere
+she can attain the independence she has aimed at for so many centuries.
+The vanquished will pass away without one word of love or blessing from
+those dear to him; the victor will remain for life with the sting of
+remorse in his heart. You, by whose bronzed and noble face I recognize
+a child of this unhappy land, has not Italy still many enemies? does she
+not need all her offspring to loosen the chains of centuries? Abandon,
+then, this fraticidal struggle, I beseech you, in the name of our common
+mother! Why should you gratify the enemies of Italy by the murder of her
+friends? You came forth antagonists, return companions and brothers!"
+
+The waves of the Adriatic were breaking with more effect against the
+rocks that border Murazzi than the patriotic and humane words of the
+old man on the obstinate will of the two angry compatriots; and, with
+a certain aristocratic impulse of pride, the Prince exclaimed to his
+counsellor "Retire!"
+
+The seconds recommenced with the same number of signals as before, and
+at the third the adversaries marched towards one another, with pistol
+cocked in the right hand, with eyes unflinchingly fixed on each other,
+and with the deliberate intention of homicide. About the twelfth step
+the Prince fired, his ball grazed the side of Morosini's neck, blood
+flowed, but the wound was slight. The soldier of Calatafimi, cooler than
+his antagonist, approached closer. At about eight paces he fired, and
+the brother of Irene sank on the ground--the ball had pierced his heart.
+
+The Holy Office of the Vatican laughed at the news, with the infernal
+joy which it experiences every time that blood shed by private discord
+reddens the unhappy soil.
+
+And who spilt that Italian blood? An Italian hand, alas! consecrated to
+the redemption of his country. How often it has been thus!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LVIII. ROME
+
+Ok the second of December, the despot of the Seine, the false Emperor,
+the enemy of all liberty, and the great ally of all tyrants, after
+seventeen years of unrighteous rule, pretended, with the same hypocrisy
+with which he kept her enslaved, to liberate the Niobe of nations, the
+old metropolis of the world--the ruler, the martyr, the glory of the
+earth.
+
+He carried on the work of Divine vengeance. Attila, at the head of his
+ferocious tribes, had conquered Rome, destroyed her, and exterminated
+her people. Was not this God's justice?
+
+"Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed!"
+
+The ancient Romans ruled the world by subjugating the remotest nations,
+pillaging and breaking them down. Slavery, misery, and ruin, their
+ministers, compelled the nations of the earth to submit to their
+tyrants.
+
+The successor of the Attilas, not less a robber than they, threw
+himself on an easy prey, and his false heart beat with joy when he
+clutched the victim. Yet even this action was but a caricature of the
+actions of the Attilas who have punished Rome. To accomplish great
+deeds, even of the evil sort, there must be great hearts, and he has a
+heart both little and cowardly. In all he does, we can see he intends to
+imitate his uncle; but the want of genius and energy makes the attempt
+a failure. Attila conquered, and made a pile of ruins of the proud
+victress-city. The modern Attila, in a Jesuit guise, did not destroy,
+did not ruin, because he considered the prey as his own property.
+
+Afterwards, enfeebled by advancing years and luxury, his throne shaken
+to its foundation, he renewed his sinister undertakings in America,
+where he attempted to deal a death-blow to the sanctuary of the world's
+liberty--the great Republic--by building an Austrian empire at her
+gates.
+
+And the Italian Government has accepted the bidding of the false
+Emperor, acting as the _sbirro_ of the Vatican, to hinder the Romans
+from liberating themselves, obliging them to submit to the government of
+the Holy Office, to deny to Italy her capital, though proclaimed by her
+parliament.
+
+We firmly believe that a more cowardly Government than the Italian can
+not be found in ancient or modern history. It must be accepted as the
+fate of humanity to find ever side by side with so much good so much
+evil, humiliation, and wickedness. We say side by side, because it can
+not be denied that the unity of Italy is a marvel of good accomplished,
+in spite of all the efforts made by rulers and selfish factions to hold
+back this unfortunate country, by impoverishing and perverting it, and
+by every means of depredation and deception.
+
+But what a Government! Can, indeed, this agency of corruption be called
+a Government? And the unhappy people! what are they? Half of them bought
+over to hold the other half in bondage and in misery.
+
+Hail, brave Mexicans! We envy your valor and constancy in freeing your
+land from the mercenaries of despotism! Accept, gallant descendants of
+Columbus, from your Italian brethren, congratulations on your redeemed
+liberty! On you was to be imposed a like tyranny, and you swept it away,
+as a noble and free river sweeps away impurity.
+
+We alone--talkative, presumptuous, vain, boasting of glory, liberty,
+greatness--are yet enchained!--blindfolded, freeing ourselves with
+words, but unfit to accomplish by deeds that political reconstruction
+which alone would give us the right to sit down beside the other free
+nations. Trembling before the despotism of an unrighteous foreign
+tyrant, we dare not, for fear of him, walk about in our own homes, tell
+the world we are our own masters, or tear from our wrists the fetters
+which he has fixed there; and, more humiliating and degrading still,
+he has left the prey, which the indignation of the world forbade his
+appropriating, and has said, "Keep her, cowards; become cut-throats in
+my stead; but beware of meddling with my will!"
+
+Oh, Rome! Thou who art truly "the only one!" Rome the eternal! Once
+above all human greatness! And now--now, how degraded! Thy resurrection
+must yet be a catastrophe, and a revolution, to shake the rest of the
+world!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIX. VENICE AND THE BUCENTAUER
+
+The stains of slavery are only to be finally washed out with blood. The
+more intelligent and wealthier classes ought once for all to understand
+this, and to spare humanity the false solutions which settle nothing.
+
+In other days, Venice, following the impetus given by her sister
+Lombardy, effaced the many years of her humiliation and servility in
+blood. It is not so now. She emerges from foreign dominion, not through
+her own acts, but by the courage of others. Oh! if only her liberty
+had been won by the valor of her brethren! But no, she was redeemed
+by foreign swords. Sadowa, the glory of Prussia, freed Venice, and the
+Italian nation asks no veil to hide this dishonor.
+
+Nations, like individuals, require dignity to live--require the life
+of the soul besides mere physical existence, to which our rulers would
+condemn us.
+
+Once the Queen of the Adriatic carried her proud lion into the far east,
+repressed the victorious Ottoman, and dictated laws to him. The monarchs
+of Europe, invoked and backed by the jealous Italian States, conspired
+together against Venice, and were driven off by the amphibious and brave
+republicans. Who would now recognize those proud compatriots of the
+Dandoli and the Morosini in the ranks of men who require the foreigner
+to free them, and, when free, throw themselves among the offscourings of
+"the Moderates"--a party ready for any abasement, for any infamy.
+
+How tyranny alters the noblest beings, and emasculates them! Take
+comfort, however, Venetians; you do not stand alone, for such as
+you have I seen the descendants of Leonidas and Cincinnatus. Slavery
+impressed on the forehead of man such a mark of infamy as to confound
+him with the beasts of the forest.
+
+However, humbled as they have been, and still are, the Italians do not
+neglect their amusements and their festivals. "Bread and pleasure!" they
+cry to their tyrants, as of old they cried to their tribunes; and the
+priest, to please, cheat, and corrupt them, has surrounded himself by
+a mass of ostentatious ceremonies, surpassing all that the impostors of
+old furnished, to conceal fraud by magnificent display. Do not talk of
+politics, do not even think of them, but pay, and despoil yourselves
+with a good grace, so as to support your masters richly, then they will
+give you to satiety masses, processions, festas, games, amusements, and
+sensual pleasures.
+
+The sailing of the Bucentaur was one of the ceremonies very dear to the
+people when Venice was free, when it had its own Government and Doge. On
+the day fixed for the festival, the Bucentaur, the most splendid galley
+of the Republic, decked out with as much ornament and as many banners as
+possible, glittering with gilding and rich hangings, bore the Doge, the
+Ministers of State, and the most remarkable beauties of the day, all
+in gala costume. They started from the palace of St. Mark, and rowed
+towards the Adriatic. Many other galleys formed a procession, following
+in the wake of the Bucentaur, as well as a large number of gondolas
+decked for the holiday, and containing the largest part of the
+population, male and female.
+
+Oh, beautiful wert thou in those days, ill-fated Queen! when thy
+Dandoli, thy Morosini, sought, in the name of Venice, to propitiate the
+waves on behalf of the bold navigators of the Adriatic. Hail to thee,
+Republic of nine centuries! true mother of Republics! Yet if in thy
+greatness thou hadst associated with thine Italian sisters instead
+of hating them, the foreigner would not have trodden us all down and
+enslaved us. Hide the wounds that your chains have made, smooth the
+lines that misery has impressed on your forehead. Do not forget, whether
+rejoicing or sorrowing, those humiliations through which you have
+passed, and henceforth remember that only when united can Italy defy the
+great foreign powers who are jealous of her uprise.
+
+General Garibaldi stood leaning against a balcony of St. Mark's Palace,
+which looked over the lagoon, in the company of our fair Romans, with
+Muzio, Orazio, and Gasparo. He was listening to an old cicerone, who was
+dilating on the ancient glories of the Republic, and after having spoken
+on a variety of subjects, this individual had arrived at the description
+of the festival of the Bucentaur. He expressed his regret at not being
+able to see one of them nowadays, and pointed to the spot whence
+from the mole started the famous craft, when suddenly Muzio's eye was
+arrested by a well-known face, which appeared at the entrance of
+the cabin of a gondola drawn up at the gates of the palace. Muzio
+disappeared like lightning, and stood before Attilio, who descended,
+pressed his friend's right hand, and could only articulate the
+melancholy word, "Dead!"
+
+"It was fated, then, that this relic of Roman greatness should come here
+to die," murmured the ex-President, having partly heard, partly guessed
+the tidings of Attilio.
+
+"He died like a brave man," said the chief of the Three Hundred.
+
+"And many Italians know how to die so," thought Muzio; "but it is
+sweeter to die fighting against the oppressors!"
+
+"I will return to our party," said Muzio, "and consult with the General,
+that he may turn our excursion in another direction, so as not to expose
+Irene and Orazio to the shock of meeting the remains of their beloved
+one; I will afterwards rejoin you with Gasparo."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LX. THE BURIAL
+
+Foscolo has these lines--
+
+     A stone to mark my bones from the vaut crop
+     That death soirs on the land or in the sea.
+
+Admiring the mournful poems of this great singer, we are, like him,
+advocates for honoring the great dead, and truly we believe that doing
+homage to departed virtue is an incentive to make the living follow in
+its path. When one thinks, however, of the gaudy pageants with which the
+priesthood deck the last journey of the dead, one can not help deploring
+the useless show and the expenditure.
+
+Death that true type of the equality of human beings--death which
+effectually destroys all worldly superiority, and confounds in one
+democracy of decay the emperor and the beggar--death, the leveller, must
+be astonished at so much difference between the funerals of the rich
+and the poor! He must wonder at so much preparation for the burial of a
+corpse, and laugh, if death can laugh, at so much mockery of woe, which
+is frequently the cover for secret joy in the soul of the greedy heir,
+while in the largest number it is mere indifference. Then the hired
+weepers--what a pitiful spectacle those are!
+
+We have seen in Moldavia, and we believe the custom is adopted in other
+countries, that at the funeral of a Bojar a number of women are hired
+to weep, and what tears they shed! what shouts do those miserable beings
+utter! As to the grief they must have felt, it was measured by their
+pay.
+
+These mourners have sometimes returned to our memory while reading
+parliamentary debates during which certain hired people, or those who
+hope for hire, burst out into a profusion of "_bravi" and "bravissimi_"
+at the insulting speeches, or often at the unprincipled projects, of
+this or that prime minister.
+
+Prince T------'s funeral was largely attended, because it was known
+that he was a man of mark. Among the crowd of people who followed the
+remains, most of them with the greatest indifference, there could be
+distinguished a few really sad faces. Those were the friends of the dead
+man, Attilio, Muzio, and Gasparo. The latter especially had eyes swollen
+by weeping.
+
+The strong nature of the old Roman chief had been shaken by the loss of
+his friend and master to whom he had been sincerely attached--a proof
+at once of the kindly nature of the prince, and of the faithful heart
+of the exile. Was he weeping for the prince? No; for the friend and
+benefactor.
+
+Oh, how many true friends might the great of the world possess, if they
+would but open their hearts to generosity--if they would soften the
+injustice of fate towards those upon whom she lays an unequal hand!
+
+Many there are among the higher classes, I know, who are beneficence
+itself, and some of the women of the noblest houses are distinguished
+for their amiability and goodness. But these instances are not
+sufficient for the suffering multitude; and the majority of the
+favorites of fortune are not only indifferent to the unfortunate--they
+seem to add voluntarily to their trials.
+
+The duty and the care of good government should be to ameliorate the
+poor man's condition; but, unhappily, that duty is unfulfilled, that
+care is not undertaken. Government thinks only of its own preservation,
+and of strengthening its own position; to this end it exercises
+corruption to obtain satellites and accomplices.
+
+The mass of the prosperous might, to a great extent, correct the capital
+defect of administration by relieving misery and improving the condition
+of the people. If the rich would thus only deprive themselves of but
+a small portion of their superfluities! While the poor want the very
+necessaries of existence, the tables of the wealthy abound with endless
+varieties of food, and the rarest and most costly wines. Does the
+rich man never feel the compunction of conscience which such shameless
+contrasts ought to bring?
+
+"Why such grief for the loss of one of our enemies, capitano?"
+
+These words were accompanied by a tap on Gasparo's shoulder, both
+proceeding from an odd-looking man, who was following in the funeral
+procession. Gasparo turned round, stood for a moment considering his
+familiar interlocutor, then uttering an exclamation little suited to the
+solemnity of the scene, and very surprising to those around him--"Evil
+be to the seventy-two! (a Roman oath), and is it really thee, Marzio?"
+
+"Who else should it be, if not your lieutenant, capitano mio?"
+
+The acquaintance of Gasparo had the type of the regular Italian brigand.
+The old man, during the few months of his city life, had somewhat
+re-polished his appearance; but Marzio, on the contrary, presented
+the rude aspect of the Roman bandit pure and simple. Tall and
+squarely-built, it was difficult to meet without a shudder the fierce
+look darted from those densely black eyes. His hair, black and glossy
+as a raven, contrasted with his beard, once as dark, now sprinkled with
+gray. His costume, though somewhat cleaner, differed in other respects
+very little from that rustic masquerade worn when he had filled the
+whole country with terror. The famous doublet of dark velvet was not
+wanting, and if there were not visible externally those indispensable
+brigand accessories, pistols, dagger, or a two-edged knife, it was a
+sign that those articles were carefully hidden within. Hats are worn
+in different fashions, even by brigands, and Marzio wore his a little
+inclined towards the right side, like a workman's. Leathern gaiters
+had been abandoned by Marzio, and he wore his pantaloons, loose ones of
+blue, with ample pockets.
+
+The occasion did not offer the two men much opportunity of conversation;
+but it was evident that they met with mutual pleasure and sympathy.
+
+In these times when Italian honor and glory are a mockery, the handful
+of men called brigands, who have for seven years sustained themselves
+against one large army, two other armies of carabiniers, a part of
+another army of national guards, and an entire hostile population--that
+handful of men, call them what you will, is at least brave. If you
+rulers, instead of maintaining the disgraceful institution of the
+priest, had occupied yourselves in securing the instruction of the
+people, these very brigands, instead of becoming the instruments of
+priestly reaction, would at this moment have been in our ranks, teaching
+us how one stout fellow can fight twenty.
+
+This, my kind word for the "honest" brigands, is not for the assassins,
+be it understood. And one little piece of comment upon you who sit in
+high places. When you assaulted the Roman walls--for religious purposes
+of course--robbing and slaying the poor people who thought you came as
+Mends, were you less brigands? No, you were worse than banditti--you
+were traitors.
+
+But you will tell me, "those were republicans and revolutionists, men
+who trouble the world." And what were you but troublers of the world,
+and false traitors? This difference exists between your majesties and
+the bandit: he robs, but seldom kills, while you have not only robbed,
+but stained your hands for plunder's sake in innocent blood!
+
+Pardon, reader, that this digression has left you in the midst of a
+funeral, and that the writer has too passionately diverged from his path
+to glance at brigandage on the large as well as the small scale.
+
+When the funeral party reached the cemetery, the remains of the dead
+were lowered into a grave, over which no voice spoke a word of eulogy.
+With all the will to effect good, the action of this young life had
+been cut short by a premature and rash death. What could be said of the
+blossom of noble qualities to which time was denied to bring forth their
+fruits?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXI. THE NARRATIVE
+
+We will leave our friends occupied in consoling the afflicted Irene for
+the loss of her brother, whom she had sincerely loved.
+
+The last of a proud race! This thought would press upon the mind of the
+fair lady, who, despite her willingness to form a plebeian alliance,
+still valued, as we have seen, the high rank of her family.
+
+Of the personal fortune which came to her through her brother's death
+she had not thought, for she was of too generous a nature to mingle
+an idea of interest with the life or death of a beloved object. The
+prince's family property, besides, which was in the Roman territory, had
+been confiscated by those worthy servants of God whose possessions are
+"not of this world."
+
+It was not until the friends had returned from the funeral that Attilio
+and Muzio had consulted with the General about imparting to his sister
+the knowledge of the fatal catastrophe. The General, calling Orazio
+and his wife into his room, then first informed them gently of the sad
+occurrence.
+
+Gasparo, who, with the exception of Irene, grieved the most, found
+some relief to his sorrow in the newly-acquired society of his former
+lieutenant. He was also full of the desire to hear the adventures of
+the man whom he had thought lost forever. The two _ci-devant_ banditti
+closely shut themselves up in Gasparo's room at the Victoria Hotel,
+at first conversing eagerly in interrogations and answers, nearly all
+monosyllabic, oratory not being the forte of brigands, who are more
+accustomed to deeds than words. After a time, the lieutenant began the
+following consecutive narrative:-
+
+"After you had informed me, capitano mio, that you were tired of a
+forest life, and felt disposed to return to a private one, I continued
+my usual mode of existence, without ever deviating from the plan of
+action you had enjoined, which was to despoil the rich and the powerful,
+and to relieve the needy and wretched. Our companions, formed in your
+school, gave me little cause to reprove them; but if one failed in duty,
+I punished him without pity; and thus, by the grace of God, we lived for
+several years. The charms of womankind were always the rock on which our
+hearts split; and well you know it, capitano."
+
+At these words, Gasparo began pointing to his snow-white mustache,
+doubtless remembering more than one gallant adventure in his career of
+peril.
+
+The lieutenant continued: "You remember that Nanna, the girl that I
+adored, and on whose account I was so much persecuted by her parents?
+Don't for a moment suppose that that dear creature betrayed me; no, her
+soul was pure as an angel's." And the bold bandit chief put his hand to
+his eyes.
+
+"She is dead, then!" exclaimed Gasparo.
+
+"She is dead," repeated his companion; and a long silence followed.
+
+Presently Marzio continued, "One day my Nanna, who was not well, had
+remained to pass the day in Marcello's house, where lived that poor
+Camilla, who had been violated and driven mad by the Cardinal --------.
+As I had to accompany my men on an important affair, the dwelling was
+attacked in the night, and my treasure carried off to Rome.
+
+"I was maddened, but not a stone did I leave unturned till I had
+discovered the place in which they had hidden Nanna. At last I learnt,
+through friends in that city, that the poor child was in the convent of
+St. Francis there, and that they had condemned her to serve the nuns,
+and never to see the light again.
+
+"My wife in the service of nuns, in the service of betrayed young women
+and of old foxes! 'I will give you a servant!' I said to myself; 'and
+by heaven, the devil shall have the convent and the wretches it holds.'
+
+"The night following I entered Rome alone; it seemed to me a cowardly
+action to have companions in an undertaking which concerned none but
+myself.
+
+"I bought a large bundle of dried branches in the Piazza Navona. I
+deposited them in a tavern, and waited till it grew late. Towards
+eleven, o'clock, just before the house closed, I took my burden and
+hurried off towards 'St. Francis.' Who can prevent a poor wretch from
+carrying a bundle of wood home? Besides, Rome has one good point, which
+is that at night no one goes about for fear of the thieves, who are
+permitted, by the liberality of the priestly government, to do just as
+they please, as long as they do not interfere in politics.
+
+"Having deposited my bundle at the gate of St. Francis, I pressed it
+closely in, prepared a box of lights to strike, and gave a searching
+look up and down the road.
+
+"As will be easily understood, after the door was burnt, there would
+still remain the gratings; which would leave me pulling a very long
+face, and with little done. I was, therefore, obliged to make a noise,
+to attract the attention of those within. I then crossed the little
+square, and hid myself in a doorway, awaiting the appearance of some
+one, or at least a patrol. I had not long to wait, for after a few
+minutes I heard the measured tread of the patrol. Then, with that
+swiftness of foot which you know me to possess--"
+
+Here Gasparo put in: "I should think I did! I remember that lord bishop
+who, having seen us at a distance on the road to Civita Vecchia, turned
+his horses, and set them in a gallop towards Rome, when you, in about
+the same time which I take to tell it, were already at the horses'
+heads, and had stopped the carriage."
+
+"And what a take that was, captain!" said the lieutenant. "How we did
+enjoy ourselves! how prodigal we were with our money for some time
+afterwards--I mean with the proceeds of the poverty of the descendant of
+the Apostles." But let us return to our story.
+
+"I flew to the bundle of wood, set it on fire, and returned to my
+hiding-place. In a few minutes a great blaze lit the convent gate,
+and soon afterwards we had a sight equal to that which the crater of a
+volcano shows. And the police? The sorriest rabble everywhere, but in
+no place have they reached such scoundrelism as in Rome. The police,
+naturally cowards and slow of movement, instead of running to the spot
+to extinguish the flames, began shouting and making a tremendous noise
+to arouse the neighborhood. Near the fire they never went until a goodly
+number of people appeared at the doors, and then hurried to the scene of
+action.
+
+"'It is now my turn,' said I to myself, and I rushed into the _mêlée_.
+The nuns should have been pleased with such a champion to deliver them,
+surrounded as they were by a company of roughs.
+
+"Matters could not, however, have progressed better. At the clamor from
+without, the nuns were not slow to awake, and the gratings flew
+open. They flew to the rescue themselves, with tubs, pails, basins of
+water--in fact, with any utensil they could lay their hands on. After
+pretending to assist in extinguishing the external flames, but with my
+eyes fixed on the interior, seeing all parties well occupied, I sprang
+in to the assistance of the nuns in their sanctuary. No sooner within,
+than I cast a searching glance npon the crowd of females assembled, and
+to the oldest, who appeared the Superior, I addressed myself. Grasping
+her arm, I exclaimed, 'Come with me!' I found more resistance in the
+old lady than I expected. At first she struggled, and would only walk by
+compulsion, collecting all her strength to oppose me: then she began to
+scream, and I was obliged to take her in my arms and to cover her face
+with a handkerchief.
+
+"I was getting away from the crowd all the time, and arriving before the
+door of a cell which I found open, I entered with my burden. There was a
+light in the room, and the bed had been occupied. I laid the abbess npon
+it, and locked the door.
+
+"She was astonished but not alarmed. I never saw a demon with such
+courage. 'Where is Nanna?' I began, in a way to startle her. No answer.
+'Where is Nanna?' I repeated in a louder tone still. No answer. 'I will
+make you find your tongue, witch!' I cried; and drawing this bit of
+steel from my belt, I made it glitter before her eyes. Still no answer."
+
+"By the Virgin," said Gasparo, "these abbesses are all alike, real
+demoniacs. At the defense of Rome in 1849, when it was needful to pass
+through the convent of the Sacred Heart to occupy the walls, they kept
+me waiting with my company at the gate for hours without opening it.
+When the abbess received the Government order for us to pass, she tore
+it in pieces. It was only when we began to knock down the doors with our
+axes that she allowed us to enter."
+
+"Such was this one," recommenced Marzio. "I was not in a humor to play;
+I wanted Nanna, and a hundred lives such as the one before me would
+certainly not have stopped me from carrying out my object. Seizing her
+with one hand, clenching my dagger with the other, I was just touching
+her throat--not with the point of my dagger, for fear it should slip,
+but with a hairpin from her cap--I could easily see that the lady had no
+intention to reach martyrdom, as she was already beginning with-
+
+"'For God's sake--'
+
+"'My Nanna,' I cried, 'or I will send you to keep Satan company.'
+
+"'For God's sake let me go!'
+
+"'I released her head. She breathed hard, and passed her hand over her
+forehead.
+
+"'You ask for a young girl of a good family, who came from Rome, and who
+has been a fortnight in the convent?'
+
+"'I believe her to be the one I seek,' I replied.
+
+"'Then I will lead you to her, on the one condition that you will cause
+no scandal in this sacred house.'
+
+"'I desire nothing but to take my wife with me,' I answered.
+
+"When somewhat recovered, she rose from the bed and said, 'Come with
+me.' I followed her for some time, and arrived at a dark corridor. We
+descended several staircases, and by the light of a taper which I had
+lit (I always carried a taper with me), I discovered an iron-barred
+door.
+
+"'Poor Nanna,' I thought; 'what crime has the child committed that she
+should be thrown in this infernal den?'
+
+"Having reached the bolted door, the abbess drew forth a key, and placed
+it in the lock. She turned it, and motioned to me to pull the door
+towards me, it being too heavy for her to move. I did what I was
+desired, without for a moment losing sight of my guide, whose company
+was too interesting for me to lose. On opening the door, I made the
+old lady enter first, and then followed. No sooner was I within, than a
+young dishevelled woman sprang on my neck, and clung to me desperately.
+
+"'Oh, Marzio!' she exclaimed; and a flood of tears from my Nanna bathed
+my face.
+
+"I am too much of a brigand not to take my precautions in an emergency.
+Though beyond myself with joy at the recovery of my darling, I
+nevertheless did not cease to keep my eyes on the old wretch, who,
+without a strict watch, would undoubtedly have escaped us.
+
+"When the first moment of emotion had passed, clasping my treasure by
+the hand, I closed the door, and asked if there was another in her cell.
+She answered 'No.' The abbess, who had heard my question, said-
+
+"'There is another door, and you had better leave by that, so as not to
+meet the sisters, who are doubtless searching for me now.'
+
+"Here a fresh incident arose. Another young girl came forward in haste,
+and interrupted the discourse of the abbess. I had seen something moving
+in the darkest corner of the prison cell, but pre-occupation and the
+circumstances of the moment had prevented my thinking of it. All at
+once I perceived a young girl somewhere about the age of my Nanna. She
+hastened towards me, saying, with a voice of emotion:--
+
+"'Surely you will not leave me alone in this prison. Oh, sir, I will
+follow Nanna through life and to death itself!'
+
+"'Yes, Marzio,' added Nanna, 'for heaven's sake don't let us leave my
+unhappy friend in this wretched abode. She was destined by the abbess to
+seem my companion, and to act as a spy; but instead of that she has
+been an angel of comfort to me. She was charged to sound me, to gain
+information about you, to learn all she could of your companions--in
+fact, every particular, and then to report all to the abbess.'
+
+"'So then things are carried on thus,' thought I, 'in these laboratories
+of falsehood and 'hypocrisy.'
+
+"'She was charged to watch me, threaten me, torment me, in fact, in case
+I refused to divulge your hiding-places, your habitual rendezvous,
+your projects; but instead of that, she told me every thing, consoled,
+protected, reassured me, and said that she would rather die than injure
+me, or cause me any trouble.
+
+"'Besides, yesterday, she saved me from the insults and violence of an
+infamous prelate, who introduced himself into this cell (no doubt by
+the help of that old wretch), and who even offered me bribes if I would
+listen to his wicked proposals. She saved me by rushing in and uttering
+loud cries.
+
+"'In vain did they promise her liberty if she would induce me to comply
+with their wishes, but nothing have they ever been able to obtain.
+During the day they compel us to do the vilest work of the cloister, and
+at night they shut us up in this unclean den.'
+
+"Tears again flowed on the lovely face of my dear one, while she uttered
+these words, and I assure you, captain, that my hand instinctively
+touched my dagger, with a wild wish to revenge Nanna's wrongs.
+
+"I don't know how I restrained myself, for I was furious; I could have
+annihilated the vile being before me, but it was well I did not, for
+without her I should never again have seen the light of heaven. 'Where
+is the second door you speak of? whither does it lead?' I demanded.
+
+"'It leads outside the convent,' she replied; 'remove that iron bed
+which stands in the corner, and I will show you.'
+
+"I removed it, but saw nothing.
+
+"'Try to stir the bricks where the mortar looks damp.'
+
+"Taking hold of an iron bar from the bedstead, I began to move the
+bricks indicated. Finally I discovered a ring in a piece of wood,
+which showed the existence of a trap-door. I lifted the trap, and
+was surprised to find a staircase below. 'I must arrange the order of
+march,' said I to myself, 'and make the old witch the leader.' I then
+desired my young companions to follow, and giving one taper with little
+ceremony to the abbess, said to her, 'Forward!'
+
+"'This then,' thought I, 'is the secret stair; and how many black deeds
+have been committed in these labyrinths? Ah! poor deluded people, who
+fancy you are sending your daughters to be educated in asylums of purity
+when you place your children in convents!'"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXII. THE NARRATIVE OF MARZIO CONTINUED.
+
+Marzio continued: "The old abbess walked in front, I followed, and the
+young girls brought up the rear. We descended about fifty steps, and
+entered a rather spacious passage, which soon led us into a large room.
+I suppose it to have been large, for, with the help of the feeble taper,
+I could scarcely distinguish the walls. We had gone about ten paces,
+when I seemed to hear lamentations. I stopped, in order to listen
+better, but when I recollected myself, and was moving on, looking
+forward to my guide, behold I was in utter darkness.
+
+"My God! I sprang forward with such a leap as a tiger might have taken,
+when from its hiding-place in the forest it rushes on its prey. Darkness
+was all I caught. In vain I turned round and round, my arms stretched
+as far as they could extend, in the hope of meeting that woman-fiend.
+I darted against the wall, and kept following it, at the risk of taking
+the skin off my hands, but I found no door.
+
+"At length, after feeling about for some time, and being almost reduced
+to despair, I leaned heavily against the wall, and felt it give way with
+my weight.
+
+"Hope re-awoke; I rubbed my hands over that part of the wall, and found
+to my surprise that it was wooden, which fact had escaped me in my
+previous investigation. I pushed hard against the planks, and then felt
+something move, as if a door on its hinges; at the same time a rush of
+offensive pestilential air entered by the aperture. I turned my head
+away to escape the putrid odor. The moans which I had before heard again
+smote my ear, and calmed my agitation with wonder and pity.
+
+"I thought of my companions, and remembered a few matches which I had in
+my pocket, but which I had forgotten in my excitement. I struck one of
+them, and looking at what I had supposed to be a door, found that it
+was a turntable, and, Eureka! at the bottom lay my taper, which the old
+wretch had dropped in her flight.
+
+"When I had rekindled my taper, I found my companions near me, trembling
+like leaves.
+
+"'Courage!' said I, and threw myself into the adjoining apartment, they
+following, in the hope of overtaking the abbess, who had doubtless
+escaped this way. I hastened on, but, great God! what was my horror!
+against the wall of the room through which I was flying, hung several
+human beings by the neck, the waist, and the arms, all but one dead, and
+more or less decomposed. The solitary survivor was a young man, once of
+a fine form, but now an emaciated phantom. He was wildly gazing at
+me, with deep, dark, open eyes, that seemed ready to burst from their
+sockets. He had ceased to moan, conscious that I had discovered and was
+approaching him. Whatever the danger of my own position, I could
+not leave that victim without making some attempt to liberate him. I
+approached, and kissed him on the forehead; I always feel drawn towards
+the suffering. Sorely the Almighty inspires one with this sympathy,
+which is not imparted by the poisonous breath of the priest!--Well,
+well, let them call me a brigand!
+
+"Yes, I kissed the unhappy creature's forehead, dropping sweat, yet
+burning like a coal. But what could I do for him? his chains were
+soldered into the wall, and those walls were massive. I looked among the
+dead, to see if I could find any iron implement with which to excavate
+the wall, or to break the chains. Horrible! in every direction
+were instruments of torture--bedsteads, stretchers, pincers, ropes,
+gridirons, etc., 'for the mortification of the flesh,' as the priests
+say, but which fiends alone could have invented, one would think, for
+the torment of mankind.
+
+"Nanna and Maria--such was the name of Nanna's companion--had also drawn
+near the unhappy youth, and endeavored, but in vain, to help him to
+escape from his frightful position. Happily for us all, Nanna
+startled me with the exclamation, 'Oh, a key!' and truly, being very
+sharp-sighted, she had discovered a key in the loose mortar.
+
+"Trying the key in the padlock of the chains, I found it fitted, and
+while the rusty lock yielded to my hand, my heart dilated. I was at the
+last chain, it fell, and I was freeing the youth's stiff limbs, when
+Nanna clasped me by the arm, and timidly pointed to a light in the
+direction of the wheel-door.
+
+"I left my liberated companion, and in an instant stood at the entrance.
+No sooner was I there than I perceived one of the already-mentioned
+patrols, who was turning round the door, with his dark lantern in
+one hand, his pistol in the other. Shrinking into as small a space as
+possible, I stood back watching him. When his startled eyes were fixed
+on my face, which did not look pleasant at that moment, I had already
+grasped him by his right with my left hand, and my dagger was sheathed
+in his body. He fell dead on the ground. You know, captain, that I am
+an enemy of blood-shedding, and that I never have spilt any except in
+self-defense; but in that instance there was no time for consideration.
+I knew there were others following the first, and I was one alone. The
+youth I had liberated showed signs of regaining power of exertion, and
+my brave female companions had succeeded in separating two bars from a
+torture-bedstead, and stood behind me, ready to help. The situation was
+altered, yet the dead man, although I had dispatched him noiselessly,
+had not expired without a cry. His companions, however, were frightened,
+and effected their escape. By keeping in absolute silence we could hear
+their steps in the distance. I repeat, there was no time to lose, or to
+hold councils of war before deciding on our course. To leave by the way
+we had entered was madness; still what other path remained? We all knew,
+however, that Roman catacombs have many outlets--this instance was not
+an exception.
+
+"A look at my new companion confirmed me in my opinion that he was not
+useless to us, and without uttering a word, touching his heart with
+his hand, he made me understand that I could rely on him to follow me
+through all dangers.
+
+"By this time daybreak must be at hand, and, doubtless, preparations
+were making in the convent to secure our capture. The likeliest
+conjecture was, that there were armed men placed at every outlet.
+
+"The addition of the rescued man was very valuable to us all. He was not
+only acquainted with the subterranean path, but at a short distance he
+gathered up some torches, and distributed one to each of us. This was
+very useful, because my taper was almost extinguished, and the lantern
+which I had taken from the dead patrol, had not sufficient oil to last
+during the underground journey which was about to commence. To the right
+of the spot where the young man found the torches, he pointed out to me
+a light, and said, 'That opening leads to the garden of the convent, and
+once passed, we are out of danger of being intercepted.
+
+"On we went, I really think for two hours, although we were in a
+subterranean road, cut in the hard clay, of which you know, captain,
+our Roman undersoil is largely composed: and how many of those catacombs
+have we not visited together!
+
+"Young and active, our two companions were always near us. I frequently
+asked if they were tired, or if they required support. 'Oh, no; go on!
+We will follow you, if it be to death,' answered both girls.
+
+"'There is the light!' finally exclaimed Tito, for such was the name of
+the youth, and truly before us appeared a bright point in the distance.
+'By that gate we shall enter the woods of Guido Castle, whence they
+dragged me, to conduct me to a seminary in Rome, the focus of all
+immorality and vileness. Accursed be the hypocrites!'
+
+"Arrived at the end of the subterranean road, Tito began to clear away
+some branches of lentils which obstructed the gate and went out,
+looking first in all directions. 'Safe!' he at last exclaimed, 'safe, so
+far--our persecutors have not arrived!'
+
+"When I got out with my companions, I wondered how such a narrow and
+almost imperceptible opening, when covered with branches, could be the
+passage to such spacious catacombs. 'Guido Castle!' said I to Tito. 'Not
+far from here must be the dwelling of the shepherd poet!'
+
+"'Yes,' he replied, 'it is a few miles off, and I will lead you straight
+to it; there we can find a little rest, and food to satisfy our hunger.'
+
+"The sun of March was high above the horizon when we left the
+underground gloom, yet the change was not very great, for in the
+beautiful forest in which we found ourselves, the trees of centuries
+gave no admission to the sunshine. The paths formed by the passage of
+animals were delightfully shady, and we should have enjoyed our walk if
+we had suffered less from fatigue and hunger. At last, on the edge of
+the wood, appeared to the longing eyes of our wearied travellers the
+cottage sought for, and fortunately we discovered our friend on the
+door-step. He seemed awaiting some one.
+
+"'Ah, Marzio!' exclaimed he, when we were near him, 'it was not you whom
+I expected today,' and he shook hands like old friends.
+
+"'I expected some of those Government ruffians, because it was rumored
+that men of your band were about the neighborhood. And,' he added, in
+a lower voice, drawing me aside, 'at a little distance from here is
+Emilio, with ten companies.'
+
+"'Instead of the hunters, you receive the game then, Lelio,' I said;
+'but a truce to talking, give us somewhat to eat and drink, for we are
+famished.'
+
+"'Come in; you will find all you want--ham, cream, cheese, bread, and
+real Orvieto. Eat and drink, while I keep a look-out for the Papal
+hounds; no questions now.'
+
+"We ate the timely and abundant meal, and, our first cravings satisfied,
+I asked Tito for the narrative of his adventures, which he gave in a few
+words.
+
+"'I am,' he began, 'the son of Roman parents. My father, steward of the
+immense possessions of Cardinal M------, by the advice of his
+Eminence, sent me to a Roman seminary at the age of fifteen, to embrace
+the ecclesiastical career. For two years, contrary to my inclination,
+I was compelled to continue that detested life. For at first Father
+Petrucchio, the director of the seminary, showed me a good deal of
+sympathy, much to the vexation of my companions, who did not fail to be
+envious of my good fortune. The Father sometimes took me out with him to
+walk. These promenades with Petrucchio, in themselves somewhat tedious,
+appeared less so when I accompanied him to the convent of St. Francis,
+to visit the nuns. There the lady abbess and the nuns, pleased, I
+suppose, with my external appearance, used to compliment me and load me
+with attentions. The abbess, all-powerful over the director, obtained,
+without difficulty, that I should be employed in the religious service
+of the convent as assistant to the old priest who officiated for the
+nuns. I was not long in discovering that the abbess had conceived a
+passion for me, and I became her too docile favorite. For several months
+things went on thus. Under one pretense or the other, I was hardly ever
+seen in the seminary. I had the support of the director, so I could
+do just what I liked, and he was managed by the abbess, who, on that
+condition, left him certain licenses in her convent. I myself, inclined
+to any thing but a seminary, was from boyhood passionately fond of
+hunting, and any adventure that required boldness; and thus, during my
+excursions in the neighborhood of Guido Castle, I had become acquainted
+with the subterranean passage we have just left, and frequently I have
+explored with torches its most hidden recesses. Thus, indeed, I found a
+way of communicating with the convent, and made use of it to introduce
+myself there at all hours, and by no means always at the invitation of
+the abbess. The history of her jealousy would be too long; cunning as
+I had been, she had not failed to discover my partiality for certain
+younger sisters, and many a time I have found her in such a towering
+rage as to make me tremble at her. The enormities that I witnessed in
+that den of iniquity can not be recounted now. Many lives in the bud, or
+just unfolded, were there cut short! Things happened at which any
+pious soul would shudder, I, ashamed of myself, resolved to leave that
+pestilential place, never to return to it again. But I was doomed to pay
+the penalty of my complicity in so much abomination, for that old
+witch, the promoter of all licentiousness, appeared to have guessed my
+intention of flying, and did not give me time to accomplish my resolve.
+She one day said to me, "Tito, go down to the subterranean passage
+and bring me some torches; I have been asked for some for a midnight
+procession." I had a presentiment of misfortune; but there flashed
+across my mind the idea of taking advantage of the opportunity to leave
+forever the den of impurity. No sooner had I reached the bottom of the
+staircase than I felt myself overpowered by four strong men, and dragged
+towards the charnel-house which you know, and from which I was so
+miraculously saved by you. They were sworn agents, and therefore my
+supplications, my grief, my promises were useless. I was as good as
+counted among the victims of vice and infamy when you saved me, brave
+man!' and Tito finished by kissing the hand of the bandit.
+
+"Tito's story being ended, I felt a strong desire to hear something
+of Nanna's experiences; but, comforted and refreshed as we were by a
+draught of good Orvieto, and yet fatigued still by the extraordinary
+adventures we had passed through, we were all growing heavy-eyed, and by
+mutual consent we dropped asleep on our seats. I do not know how long
+we remained in that sleeping position, but a sharp whistle resounding
+through the dwelling made us start up. We were scarcely roused when
+the shepherd entered and said, 'Do not fear! My son Vezio has placed a
+sentinel on the top of the Petilia ruins, from whence whoever approaches
+can be distinguished. Those who are coming are our own people from your
+band.'"
+
+And Marzio, as though he had not been in the presence of his captain,
+but in the Campagna, here stroked his jet-black mustaches, thinking of
+those stout fellows.
+
+"They were in fact our intrepid comrades," he went on, "the terror of
+the wretched priests. I leave you to imagine, captain, what our joy
+was on finding ourselves among those brave hearts. Many were the
+glad embraces given me by those whom the vulgar think hardened in
+all cruelties, but who are often in truth the manliest part of the
+people--those, namely, who will not bear bad rule and injustice: that
+part of the people who, could they receive something better than the
+education given by the priests--that is to say, a moral, humanizing, and
+patriotic training--would furnish heroes to Italy, and to the world the
+same examples of courage and virtue which our fathers gave.
+
+"Having thus so wonderfully saved my Nanna, and finding myself once more
+among my comrades, I had every reason to be satisfied with my luck; yet
+I must repeat your favorite saying, captain, 'Happiness on earth only
+exists in the imagination!' Your words are true; I soon felt that they
+were so. You remember that rascally priest at San Paolo, who seemed to
+have become friendly to us, and on whom we lavished so much sympathy and
+kindness? Well, the wretch was in love with my Nanna, and never did he
+forgive me for having won her affection.
+
+"Don Vantano, with the diabolic cunning which distinguishes his
+fraternity, had succeeded in ingratiating himself with the family of
+Nanna, and in poisoning their minds against me. Her four brothers--as
+I learnt from her--helped by others, devised the plot, and, under
+the guidance of the priest, succeeded in carrying off my darling from
+Marcello's house. Such was the brief story of Nanna. Being obliged
+again to absent myself with my men and my dear one being in a delicate
+condition, I resolved to leave her in the charge of our host, with
+Maria as a companion. They had become as sisters, their affection being
+strengthened and cemented by the dangers and trials they had shared.
+Still, being ever uneasy as to the fate of my beloved, and well aware
+of the malice of her persecutor, I kept wandering about Lelio's
+neighborhood; as the lioness who deposits her young while she goes in
+search of food, always encircles the hiding-place of her treasure. I
+felt certain that it would be very difficult for those who had at
+first carried off Nanna to effect that object a second time. I was well
+assisted in guarding her by Tito, who knew those parts thoroughly, and
+who attached himself to me with much gratitude.
+
+"Still, what height can not the wickedness of a priest reach! Vantano,
+knowing how hazardous it would be for him to cany off his prey,
+determined to destroy it! Being near her confinement, the unhappy child,
+alone with the inexperienced Maria, followed the advice innocently given
+her by Lelio, to call in a midwife from Guido Castle--a woman who till
+then had borne a good character for honesty. But who can reckon on the
+honesty of a woman where bribery and monkery reign! He who does not
+believe my words, let him but pass a few months in the nest of those
+hypocrites, sitting in the places that once held a Scipio and a
+Cincinnatus.
+
+"How many crimes may not a weak woman be induced to commit when she is
+assured that she is fulfilling God's will, and listening to God's word!
+God's word!--sacrilege of which a priest alone would be guilty. At every
+ceremonial the Catholic faithful go to receive God's oracles from the
+lips of the bride of Christ, the Church. She is no pure bride, but a
+secret harlot. By one of her ministers poison was administered to
+my Nanna, and thus was I robbed of wife, child, and every earthly
+happiness.
+
+"I was arrested, torn from her cold body, myself almost unconscious of
+life. I learned afterwards that my seizure required, to accomplish it,
+a number of the Papal mercenaries, and that our brave fellows fought
+desperately in my defense till, overpowered by reinforcements, and
+nearly all wounded, they retired in bold order.
+
+"I was stupefied, and called again and again on death, but in vain; the
+triumph of my captors was made complete, for I was alive and enchained.
+From the galleys of Civita Vecchia I was, after several months, sent to
+Rome, and subsequently liberated, after being compelled to take an
+oath to obey and maintain the authority of the Pope--an oath to serve
+faithfully an impostor and a despot, to swear to obey him, even if the
+command were to murder one's father and mother. And I swore--I tell you
+the whole truth--but I swore also, along with it, war on themselves, and
+while this life lasts I am their enemy to the bitter end."
+
+
+
+
+PART THE THIRD.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXIII. THE CAIROLIS AND THEIR SEVENTY COMPANIONS.
+
+A people well-governed and contented do not rebel. Insurrections and
+revolutions are the weapons of the oppressed and the slave. The inciting
+causes of such are tyrannies. The apparent exceptions, originating from
+different circumstances, are, when closely examined, found to be the
+offspring of moral or material despotisms.
+
+England, Switzerland, and the United States have experienced, and may
+still experience, insurrections, although these countries are by no
+means badly governed. Switzerland has had her Sonderbunds, and England
+her Fenians. These latter are chiefly kept in vigor by the Romish
+priests, through the moral tyranny exercised by them over the most
+ignorant of the population in Ireland. The United States have witnessed,
+in these latter years, a terrible revolution, caused by the material
+tyranny the rich colonists of the South exercised over their slaves,
+which they, moreover, desired to extend to the other States of the
+Union.
+
+Moral or material tyranny is always the cause of revolution. And in Rome
+who can deny that both moral and material tyranny is exercised? Yes, in
+Rome exists the twofold revolting despotism of the priests who lay Italy
+at the feet of the stranger; who sell her for their profit! Theirs is
+the most depraved of all forms of tyranny.
+
+Picture a dreary, dark, windy, damp night in October. The rain has
+ceased to fall on the glistening and foaming surface of the Tiber. The
+banks of the river are muddy and furrowed, for every ditch has become a
+torrent, and scarcely a vestige of dry and solid ground is perceptible.
+In several boats behold seventy men, armed with poniards and revolvers,
+and a few miscellaneous muskets. Their habiliments were far too thin
+for that cold rainy night. But the Seventy were warmed by the heat of
+heroism. Rome on this night was to rise in rebellion.
+
+Many of the bravest youths from every Italian province had contrived
+to enter the city, and our old friends Attilio, Muzio, and Orazio, with
+their companions, were at their posts, ready to head the Roman rising.
+In vain did the priesthood endeavor to discover the conspirators,
+arresting right and left all upon whom the slightest suspicion fell:
+their efforts were vain, for Rome swarmed with brave men, ready to
+sacrifice themselves in order to secure her liberation.
+
+The Seventy, impelled by the current of the Tiber, were rapidly
+advancing to the assistance of their brothers. Under cover of Mount St.
+Giuliano, those valorous youths landed, at the hoar of midnight, on the
+22d of October, 1867.
+
+Enrico Cairoli led his heroic companions. "We will rest," he said, "our
+limbs in this Casino della Gloria, until we receive intelligence from
+our allies in the city, so that our attack may be made on the enemy
+simultaneously. Meanwhile," went on their leader, "I feel it my duty to
+remind you that this enterprise is a dangerous one, and therefore the
+more worthy of you. If, however, any of you are overdone, or feel at
+all indisposed to the great task, and do not care to follow us, let them
+return. We shall not think it a crime in him to do so; and all we say to
+them is, 'Farewell, till we meet in Rome!'"
+
+"In life and in death we will follow you," answered, as in one voice,
+those intrepid youths, not one of whom turned back.
+
+"The guide who was to conduct us to Rome is not to be found, and no one
+has yet returned to give us any news," said Giovanni Cairoli, who had
+just come back from an exploration, to his brother.
+
+Dawn began to appear, and they were now in the wolfs mouth--that is,
+near the advanced posts of the Papal troops, and in danger of being
+attacked at any moment.
+
+"What does it signify?" said Enrico Cairoli, in reply to his brother's
+remark. "We came here to fight, and we will not return without having
+accomplished that duty."
+
+At mid-day a messenger arrived from Rome, and announced, "The movement
+on the previous evening had remained an imperfect one, and the
+conspirators were waiting for orders to direct them how to act."
+
+The messenger was sent back to urge immediate internal agitation, and to
+assure them of the readiness of the Seventy to co-operate.
+
+No answer was returned. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the Seventy
+being discovered, were attacked by two companies of the Papal troops.
+The valorous Giovanni Cairoli, who, at the head of twenty-four men,
+formed the vanguard, posted in a rustic house in the village, was
+attacked first; and, notwithstanding the inferiority of his numbers,
+withstood the assault of the enemy. His equally valiant brother Enrico,
+the commander, seeing him in danger, overcome by force of numbers,
+charged to the rescue, and drove back the mercenaries, who fled at the
+sight of these brave and devoted boys.
+
+Being reinforced by other companies, the mercenaries entrenched
+themselves behind the heights of Mount St. Giuliano, from whence they
+kept up a fearfully destructive fire with their superior arms. The
+Cairolis, with their intrepid companions, crippled by the inferiority of
+their fire-arms, many of which would not go off, resolved to charge
+them at the point of the bayonet, and made one of those assaults that so
+often decide battles. The mercenaries, completely daunted, left upon the
+field their wounded and dead. The young soldiers of Liberty lost their
+heroic chief and friend, and many of them were seriously 'wounded. Night
+came, and put an end to that unequal but gallant strife.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXIV. CUCCHI AND HIS COMRADES
+
+And in Rome, what were Cucchi and his companions doing, and the Roman
+and provincial patriots consecrated to freedom and death? Cucchi, of
+Bergamo, was one of the most excellent men the revolution gave to Italy.
+Handsome, young, and wealthy, he belonged to one of the first families
+in Lombardy. Guerzoni, Bossi, Adamoli, and many others, despising the
+tortures of the Inquisition, and all other dangers, directed the Roman
+insurrection, under the command of that intrepid Bergamasco.
+
+The unhappy Roman people received with obedience the directions of those
+valiant youths, and asked to be supplied with arms. Arms in plenty
+had been sent down to the Volunteers from all parts of Italy; but the
+Government of Florence, expert in every form of cunning, took means to
+stop them, so that there were very few weapons to be dispensed to the
+Romans.
+
+Add to this the treachery prepared for this unhappy people, viz., the
+tacit promise that a few shots should be fired in the air, and that then
+the Italian army from the frontier would fly to their assistance. By
+such false pretenses and underhand proceedings at Florence, the people
+of Rome, as well as their heroic friends, were deceived. Those shots
+were fired, but no help came for Italy.
+
+Poor Romans! they fought with rude weapons in the streets against an
+immense number of well-armed soldiery, who were backed by armed priests,
+monks, and police. They succeeded in mining and blowing up a Zouave
+barrack, and with the knife alone fought desperately against the
+new-fashioned carbines of the mercenaries.
+
+In Trastevere, our old acquaintances, Attilio, Muzio, Orazio, Silvio,
+and Gasparo, had re-united with all those remaining of the Three Hundred
+on whom the police had not laid their hands. The people having thus
+found capable leaders did their duty. Some of the old carbines that had
+done execution in the Roman campaign now reappeared in the city in
+the hands of Orazio and his companions, who made them serve as an
+efficacious auxiliary to the Trasteverini's naked knife.
+
+The city rose in its chains as best it could, and used an armory of
+despair. Carbineers, Zouaves, dragoons on their patrol, were struck by
+tiles, kitchen-utensils, and many other objects thrown from the windows
+by the inhabitants, stabbed by the poniards of the Liberals, and wounded
+by shots from blunderbuss and firelock. Thus assailed, the troops fled
+from the Lungara towards St. Angelo's bridge, and passed it, though they
+were checked by the Papalini. The bridge was guarded by a battery of
+artillery, supported by an entire regiment of Zouaves. When the people,
+intermingled with those whom they were pursuing, crowded on the bridge,
+the commander of the clericali ordered his men to fire, and the six guns
+of the battery, with the fire of the entire line of infantry, poured
+out over the bridge, making wholesale slaughter of the people and the
+mercenaries. What did his Holiness care about the scattered blood of his
+cut-throats and bought agents? The money of Italy's betrayers was at his
+service to purchase more. What was of the greatest importance was the
+destruction of many of his Roman children. Many indeed were the rebels
+who paid with their lives for their noble gallantly in venturing on that
+fatal bridge. Many, truly, for in their enthusiasm the people attempted
+three consecutive times to carry it, and three consecutive times they
+were repelled by the heavy storms of bullets rained upon them, and the
+shots from the cannon of the defenders of the priests.
+
+It may well be supposed that, among those who were at the head of the
+people during this assault of the bridge, our five heroes would be found
+fighting like lions. After having consumed their ammunition, they had
+broken their arms upon the skulls of the Papal soldiery, and provided
+themselves with fresh ones by taking those of the killed. It was they
+who continued the assault at the head of the people, whom they excited
+to positive heroism.
+
+It was, however, too hard a task. The first of the courageous leaders
+to bite the dust was the senior one, the venerable prince of the forest,
+Gasparo. He fell with the same stoicism which he had displayed during
+all his existence--with a smile upon his lips, happy to give his fife
+for ten thousand patriots, it is said, were arrested in some in this last
+movement by the paternal Government, for his country's holy cause, and
+for the cause of humanity. A bursting shell had struck him above the
+heart, and his glorious death was instantaneous and without pain.
+
+Silvio also fell by the side of Gasparo, both his thighs pierced with
+musket-balls. Orazio had his left ear carried off by a ballet, while
+another slightly grazed his right leg. Muzio would have been dispatched
+also by a shot in the breast, had it not been for a strong English watch
+(a present from the beautiful Julia), which was smashed to atoms, and so
+saved his life, leaving the mark of a severe contusion. Attilio had his
+hip grazed, as well as his left cheek, and received from a flying bullet
+a notch on his skull, resembling in appearance the mark a rope wears on
+the edge of a wall.
+
+The butchery of the people was so great and the fallen were so numerous,
+that after these three consecutive charges the brave insurrectionists
+were obliged to retreat. Orazio carried Silvio on his back into the
+first house near the bridge for safety, but when the soldiery returned,
+the wounded were massacred and cut in pieces. Women, children, and many
+unarmed and defenseless persons who fell into the hands of these worthy
+soldiers of the priesthood shared a similar fate.
+
+The good instincts of the working-class are proved in the solemn times
+of revolution. In such times the noble-minded working-man saves and
+defends his employer's goods, never robs him; but if he takes arms he
+spares the lives of defenseless beings, and of those who surrender. He
+would shudder to kill with the cynicism of the mercenary; he fights like
+a lion--he who was so patient--one against ten!
+
+In the Lungara there is a large woollen manufactory, which employs many
+workmen. From that woollen factory many had joined the insurgents, the
+elder ones remaining to guard the establishment. When these good old
+artisans saw the people and their fellow-workmen thus followed by the
+Papal bullies and the mercenaries, they threw open the doors and gave
+shelter to the fugitives, or at any rate to some of them, and levelled
+bars, axes, and every iron instrument that would serve as a weapon of
+offense or defense against the hated foreigners and the gendarmerie.
+
+There arose in consequence an indescribable tumult at the entrance to
+the factory, where the advantage was, at first, to the honest people,
+and where not a few of the Papal soldiers had their skulls smashed in,
+and their blood let out by the blows received. At length the besiegers
+took up their position in the opposite houses, and the besieged, having
+barricaded themselves and collected a few more fire-arms, began afresh,
+with constant change of fortune, a real battle.
+
+Our three surviving friends had entered the factory, and fought there
+with great determination. The workmen and insurgents, too, encouraged by
+their chiefs, had also comported themselves valorously. But ammunition
+was lacking, and detachments of mercenaries were advancing to the succor
+of their comrades. Night, however, now favored the sons of liberty, who,
+although without ammunition, still kept up the defense.
+
+It was 7 p.m. when the fire of the insurgents ceased, and a division of
+Papal troops commenced the assault. They began by attacking the large
+front door of the factory, which the workmen had barricaded but not
+closed. Orazio and Muzio, after further strengthening the entrance,
+armed each man with an axe, and, picking out the youngest and boldest
+Romans, stationed some of them to the right and some to the left of the
+door to defend it. Thus prepared for a desperate resistance, determining
+to sell their lives dearly, the assault was received.
+
+Attilio had undertaken to defend the other entrance, and keep off the
+second portion of the assailants. Having secured the back doors in the
+best manner possible with his appliances, he placed a number of workmen
+at the windows of the upper floor, from whence they were to cast npon
+the assailants whatever missiles could be found. As soon as he had
+completed these arrangements, he placed himself with his friends at
+the most dangerous post, armed with the sabre of a gendarme whom he had
+slain during the day.
+
+The internal appearance of the factory presented at this moment a sad
+picture. Many bodies of courageous citizens killed in its defense had
+been carried to and deposited in an obscure corner of its extensive
+court-yard. In other corners, lying here and there, were the wounded,
+and some were also stretched in the rooms upon the ground-floor. But not
+a groan was heard from these valorous sons of the people.
+
+An immense table, with a candelabrum in the centre, occupied the middle
+of an extensive saloon on the left side of the front entrance to the
+building, and on that table could be seen heaps of bandages, slings,
+cotton-wool, and linen of various kinds--the best which the house could
+furnish for the use of the wounded. A large vessel of water was
+under the table--perhaps the most useful relief of all to the wounded
+sufferers, be it to moisten and cool their wounds by bathing, or to
+quench the thirst which wounds generally occasion.
+
+Three women of rare and noble beauty moved about in this improvised
+hospital superintending the wounded, and we recognize in their gentle
+yet bold mien our three heroines, Clelia, Julia, and Irene.
+
+The poor abandoned Camilla, ignorant of the loss of her Silvio, and
+with the traces of her past sorrows still lingering on her sweet face,
+mechanically assisted the three merciful women in their kind attentions
+to the sufferers. They had awaited their friends in the factory with
+these preparations as soon as the battle on the bridge commenced, and
+they received the wounded when the people, driven back, sought refuge in
+the establishment, and entrenched themselves there. Other women of the
+people were on the spot also, tending the suffering, and carrying them
+what relief the circumstances permitted.
+
+"Well, Prince of the Campagna," Attilio might be heard saying to Orazio,
+"we have seen many strifes, but the one we are in to-night is likely to
+prove the hardest of all. What consoles me is that our Romans seem to
+remember the olden times. Look at them, not one turns pale--all are
+ready to confront death in whatever form it may come."
+
+"On the contrary," answered Orazio, "they laugh, joke, and are as merry
+as if they were taking a walk to the Foro to empty a _foglietta_."
+
+"We have still some wine. Let us give a draught of Orvieto all round to
+these our brave comrades," exclaimed Attilio.
+
+When all had refreshed themselves with a glass of that strengthening
+cordial, a unanimous and solemn cry of "_Viva l'Italia!_" rolled forth
+like thunder from that dense and resolute crowd of Home's desperate
+defenders.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXV. THE MONTIGIANIS
+
+While the conflict in Trastevere was going on, the Montigianis, headed
+by Cucchi, Guerzoni, Bossi, Adamoli, and other brave men did not remain
+with their hands folded. The explosion of the mine under the Zouaves'
+barracks was arranged as the signal for their movement. The mine
+exploded, and those noble fellows moved with heroic resolution at the
+head of all the youths that could be assembled. As many of the agents
+and mercenaries frightened by the explosion as were met running away
+were disarmed by the people, and killed if they offered resistance. The
+mine, however, had done little damage, though it made a great uproar.
+Either the quantity of powder was insufficient, or it was badly placed.
+
+The clerical journals, or those of the Italian Government, which are
+much the same, have stated that only the band of the Zouaves, composed
+of Italian musicians, had been blown up, and that the foreigners,
+specially recommended to the efficacious prayers of his Holiness, had
+been miraculously saved.
+
+The Italians, it is true, have not the good fortune to be the objects
+of modern necromancy's prayers; but the facts are these: A very few
+mercenaries were killed, and the others, having left the barracks
+and arranged themselves in order, had opened a sharp fire against the
+people. Cucchi, with his lieutenants Bossi and Adamoli, had marched to
+the barracks, and at their command, and animated by their example, the
+Roman youths had precipitated themselves furiously upon the foreign
+mercenaries. It was a hand-to-hand struggle of persons who for the
+greater part were unarmed, and who struggled against trained soldiers,
+from whom they endeavored to tear away their weapons. But the
+mercenaries were many. Gold and the help of Bonaparte had been potent.
+A great number of French soldiers, under the name of Papal Zouaves, had
+crowded into Civita Vecchia for a long time previous, in readiness to
+start for Rome.
+
+The resources that the Jesuits and _reazionari_ had sent to the Pope
+from all parts of the world had also been immense. Added to this, a
+great number of fanatics, priests, and monks,* disguised in the uniform
+of the mercenaries, mingled with the Papal troops, exciting them to
+heroism and to slaughter, promising them as a reward the glory of
+heaven, as well as plenty of gold on earth, and all they could
+desire. Alas! poor Roman people! But whom should we reckon under this
+denomination? When one has excepted all the priestly portion, Pope,
+cardinals, bishops, priests, and friars congregated there from all
+parts of the globe, with their women, their servants, their cooks, their
+coachmen, etc., with the relations of their domestics, the servants of
+their women, and, finally, a mass of the working-classes dependent on
+this enormously rich rabble, what is left? Those who remain, and are
+worthy of the name of "people," as not belonging to the necromancers,
+are some honest middle-class families, a few boatmen, and a few
+lazzaroni.
+
+In the country, where ignorance is fostered by the priesthood, and has
+struck still deeper root, the people side with the clergy throughout
+Italy; but particularly in the Roman campagna, where all the landowners
+are either priests, or powerful friends of the priesthood.
+
+To return, however. While Cucchi, at the head of his men, and aided by
+his brave companions, sustained a heroic but unequal combat outside
+the Zouaves' barracks, Guerzoni and Castellazzi, leading a company of
+youths, had assaulted the gate of San Paola, disarmed a few guards, and
+succeeded in passing the court, inside of which was to be found a dépôt
+of arms. The arms were there, truly, but guarded by a strong body of
+Papal troops and police, with whom our valorous friends had to sustain
+another extremely unequal combat; and, being finally dispersed, were
+hotly pursued by the furious Papalini.
+
+     * Some were discovered among Garibaldi's Zouave prisoners at
+     Monte Rotonda.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXVI. THE OVERTHROW
+
+The heroic Cairolis and their companions had meanwhile paid, with their
+blood, for their sublime patriotism and generous constancy to the Roman
+insurgents.
+
+The morn of the 24th of October was tearful, dark, and dreary, the
+forerunner of fresh Italian misfortunes, and looked down upon the young
+and noble countenance of Enrico, "the new Leonidas," upon his brother
+Giovanni, lying in their blood, with many others belonging to that
+dauntless brigade. The first died with a smile of scorn upon his lips
+for that paid horde, who had massacred them, ten against one. Giovanni,
+all but mortally wounded, was lying near the corpse of his beloved
+brother, surrounded by other sufferers whose glorious names history will
+register.
+
+Few were the survivors of the valorous Seventy, and those few left the
+field of slaughter to unite themselves to their other brethren, who were
+combating at the same time against the foreign hordes outside the walls
+of Rome. Guerzoni's undertaking to seize the arms deposited outside
+the gate of San Paola was conducted with the same intrepidity he had
+displayed in a hundred combats, but failed, for the plain reason that
+the Roman youths under his orders, being poorly armed, were compelled to
+give way before the blows of the mercenaries, and fly.
+
+He and Castellazzi, after many brave endeavors, were dragged off in the
+scattering of the people, and were forced to conceal themselves whilst
+they awaited an opportunity to strike for Rome.
+
+Cucchi, Bossi, and Adamoli, at the head of their detachments, performed
+deeds of great valor. They gained possession of a portion of the
+Zouaves' barracks, with only their revolvers and knives as weapons.
+Fights between the Papalists and the mob were frequent, and the latter,
+for want of other arms, beat the former to pieces with their sticks.
+
+But here, too, they had to give way before superiority of numbers,
+discipline, and arms. Here, also, the first rays of daylight on the 24th
+presented to the view of the horror-struck passerby a heap of corpses,
+mingled with dying men. In this manner was the tottering throne of the
+"Vicegerent of Heaven" consolidated--re-established by the butchery of
+the unhappy Roman people, and this, too, performed for hire by the scum
+of all nations, supported by the bayonets of Bonaparte's soldiers!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXVII. THE FINAL CATASTROPHE
+
+But the details of the fight at the factory must be given. The assault
+was imminent. "Ready, boys!" exclaimed in one voice Orazio, Attilio,
+and Muzio; "Ready!" and the summons was scarcely pronounced when the
+Papalists threw themselves upon the front door of the manufactory. In
+the interior all the lights had been extinguished. On this account
+the Government troops, though seen by our side, could not distinguish
+individually any of the sons of liberty, and the first who attempted to
+scale the barricade fell back, their skulls split open by the terrible
+axes of Orazio and Muzio, or the sabre of Attilio, as well as by the
+different instruments of defense used by their valorous companions.
+
+Yet, although they repulsed the enemy, the besieged sustained an
+important loss in that first assault. A shot from a revolver pierced
+the heart of the gallant and intrepid Orazio, who, despising cover, had
+exposed his person at the top of the barricade to the enemy, and fell as
+he clove one of them with his axe.
+
+The "Prince of the Campagna of Rome" fell like an oak of his own forest,
+and his strong right hand grasped his weapon tightly even in death.
+"Irene" was his last thought, and the last word that escaped from his
+lips. Ah! but Irene's soul was pierced by that dying voice! for the
+three women, although they took no part in the defense, remained at a
+short distance only from those whose hearts beat in unison with their
+own.
+
+Irene first reached him whose beloved voice had called her, and her two
+companions soon followed. As Orazio's body remained upon the barricade
+where he fell, the noble woman, heedless of her danger, had directly
+scaled it, and her beautiful forehead was struck at that moment by a
+ball from a musket; for the mercenaries, enraged at their bad success,
+were firing at random through the open door. It may be imagined with
+what feelings the two surviving friends and their beloved ones had those
+precious bodies carried into the interior. The factory had indeed become
+a charnel-house, it being useless for the chiefs to admonish their men
+to keep under cover.
+
+There are moments when death loses its horror, and when those who would
+have fled before a single soldier take no heed of a shower of shots
+falling in every direction. Such was the case now with those poor and
+courageous working-men. Not counting the large number of troops by whom
+they were surrounded, nor the multitude firing in the direction of
+the door, they stood to their defenses without precaution, and allowed
+themselves to be needlessly wounded. In this way the number of the
+defenders became lessened, whilst that of the dying and killed was
+momentarily augmented.
+
+Attilio and Muzio saw at a glance how matters stood, and that there
+was nothing for it but to confront the enemy till death. Yet Clelia and
+Julia! why should they also die, so young, so beautiful!
+
+"Go thou, Muzio," said Attilio, "and persuade them, while there is yet
+time, to escape by the back entrance, and place themselves in safety.
+Tell them that we will follow a little later."
+
+In this last part of his speech the generous Roman prevaricated. He
+had already tasted all the glories of martyrdom, and would not have
+relinquished it even for Clelia's love.
+
+But at this juncture who is it that has arrived as by a miracle,
+climbing like a squirrel in at a window, and appearing in the midst of
+that great desolation in these last sad moments? It is no other than
+Jack, our brave sailor Jack, saved from shipwreck by Orazio, to whom he
+had ever since been much attached! He found himself in Rome during the
+terrible occurrences which we have related, and at the first occupation
+of the factory was sent to ascertain the result of the insurrection in
+various parts of Rome. Jack returned with sad news. He, with his English
+resolution, and with the agility that characterized him, had assisted at
+nearly all the fights, and shared in the bad result's.
+
+Attilio and Muzio were now fully aware of the fate that was reserved
+for them, and they also learned that it was impossible for the women
+to escape by the back premises of the factory. To accomplish this they
+would have needed the nimbleness and agility of the young sailor. Muzio,
+therefore, replied thus to his friend's injunctions:
+
+"I will tell the ladies what you say; but I believe first, that it is
+impossible for them to leave; and, secondly, that they would not leave
+us if they could."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXVIII. THE SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGE.
+
+Amongst the surviving workmen who were defending the large front
+entrance to the manufactory was an old gray-headed man, who listened
+intently to the above conversation of the two chiefs. When Muzio uttered
+the last words, he exclaimed, "_Coraggio, signors!_ If you wish to
+retire from this place, and to save the women, I know of a passage that
+will lead us out of danger."
+
+A ray of hope broke upon the minds of the two friends when they heard
+there was a way of saving their beloved ones, and they immediately
+proceeded to avail themselves of it, for there was no time to be lost,
+as the enemy was preparing for a fresh attack.
+
+Muzio approached Julia and Clelia, who were not far off, and obtained
+a promise, on the condition that he and Attilio would soon follow them,
+that they would take refuge under the escort of old Dentato and Jack in
+the subterranean passage. The other women would follow after them, and
+lastly our friends with all the remaining defenders of the factory.
+
+And the wounded? Ah! if there be a circumstance that is harrowing and
+terrible in those butcheries of men called "battles," it is certainly
+that of abandoning one's own wounded to the enemy!
+
+_Povyri!_ In one moment the faces of your friends--of your brothers, who
+bewailed your hurt, who tended you with such gentleness, will disappear,
+to be succeeded by the revolting, horrible, and triumphant faces of
+the mercenaries. At the best they will be brutal; at the worst, they,
+infringing every right of war and of people, will steep their base
+bayonets in your precious blood! Cowards! who fled before you, and to
+whom you so often generously conceded their lives.
+
+Supported by the 20,000 soldiers of the 2d of December, they have
+regained once more their spirits, and have forgotten that they owe their
+ignoble existences to you.
+
+In St. Antonio (America), Italians fought against the soldiers of
+despotism, and many, very many were wounded. There, carried on their
+brothers' backs, or transported on horses, the wounded were removed. Not
+one was left* alive to be at the mercy of Rosa's cannibals.
+
+And are the hirelings of the priests less cruel? At the station at
+Monte Rotondo, after the glorious assault of the 25th of October, three
+wounded men were lying awaiting the convoy that was to convey them
+to Terni, when the Pope's soldiers arrived. Worthy followers of
+the Inquisitors, they amused themselves with murdering our unhappy
+companions by stabbing them with their bayonets, and giving them blows
+with the butt-end of their guns.**
+
+Oh, Italians, leave not in your enemy's power your wounded! It is too
+heart-rending a spectacle. If they be not murdered, they will remain at
+least to be mocked and jested at by those who are accustomed to outrage
+Italy.
+
+Attilio and Muzio, though tired and wounded themselves, would not
+abandon their helpless comrades to the insults and the steel of the
+priests' soldiers.
+
+In the lowest part of the factory, at the extremity of an immense room
+used for washing the wool, was a massive oak door, which appeared at
+first sight to lead to a channel of water which discharged itself into
+the Tiber. The canal really existed, but the door we have referred to
+did not lead to it, but to a subterranean passage, gained by a bridge
+built across this same canal. Into this underground vault a procession
+of the devoted women, the wounded, and the workmen, began to defile.
+
+But in the priestly city, where education consists in being taught to
+play the hypocrite and to lie, traitors abound. And a traitor threw from
+one of the upper windows of the factory a written paper, whilst these
+brave people were retiring, informing the soldiery of the retreat of the
+defenders.
+
+     * It is painful to state it, but one man, hopelessly
+     wounded, was killed so that he should not be in the enemy's
+     power, who usually cut the throats of those they found alive
+     on the field,
+
+     ** An historical fact.
+
+The attack was no longer deferred, and an ever-increasing crowd of
+mercenaries and police threw themselves upon the barricade at the door,
+and rushed in. Only a few defenders remained. Had Attilio and Muzio been
+more careful of themselves, and taken to flight, they might perhaps have
+saved their lives. But too lavish of their blood were this pair of noble
+Romans. They did not fly; they remained to fight desperately for some
+time against that in-pouring stream of slaves.
+
+Many were the assailants cut down upon the heap of dying and of dead.
+But heroes, like cowards, have only one life. The assailants were too
+numerous, and side by side the valorous champions of Roman liberty fell
+together, and exhaled their last breath.
+
+Dentato, who had assisted in this last struggle, seeing that all hope
+of a successful resistance was over, favored by the darkness, and his
+acquaintance with the establishment, gained the washing-house, and
+thence the subterranean passage, closing the oak door from the outside
+upon that scene of blood, and barring it as well as he was able.
+
+The hired assassins of the priesthood having no other motives than
+rapine and slaughter, inundated the factory with the hope of securing
+plunder and wreaking revenge. They never thought of the oaken back-door
+by which the surviving defenders of Italian liberty had escaped, until
+too late. Having discovered by-and-by that the building contained only
+corpses, they were reminded of the subterranean passage. They searched,
+inquired, and at length discovered the door leading to it. Some time
+elapsed before they succeeded in forcing open the obstacles which barred
+it, as well as in organizing an entry into the darkness, and all this
+gave the fugitives sufficient opportunity of placing themselves in
+safety.
+
+In the first week of November, 1867, three females, an old man, and a
+lad in the bloom of youth, descended at the Leghorn station. At the head
+of this party stood one of those daughters of England, from whose pure
+and lofty countenance, sad though she was, and dressed in mourning, the
+heart derived new ideas of the dignity and happiness of life. Her lady
+companion was not less beautiful nor less sad, and displayed in the
+lovely lineaments of her face a different but exquisite feminine
+delicacy of the Southern type, such as Raphael portrayed in his
+Fornarina. The third woman was also comely; but sorrow had furrowed her
+forehead deeply, and a look of vacancy had settled upon her melancholy
+features. The old man, Dentato, whom Julia would not leave to misery and
+want, was occupying himself about the luggage.
+
+Jack, with the vivacity of sixteen years, offered his arm to the ladies,
+to assist them as they alighted from the railway carriage. He quickly
+discovered Captain Thompson and his wife, the Signora Aurelia, who were
+awaiting them, and saluted the latter, who had a high regard for our
+sailor-lad. Jack alone was able to relate what had passed.
+
+"Oh!" he said, "I have kissed their corpses," and a tear rolled down
+his cheek, cheek of Britannia's fair son. He spoke of the dead bodies
+of Orazio and Irene, who loved him so much, and who had been his
+preservers. They had been removed for burial along with the other sad
+relics of our noble friends.
+
+The women embraced, weeping on each other's bosoms, but unable to
+articulate a word. After assisting at this mute scene for some time, and
+showing himself also much affected, Captain Thompson raised his head,
+and, approaching his mistress, addressed her, cap in hand, saying-
+
+"Madam, the yacht is anchored off the pier, awaiting your orders; do you
+desire to go on board?"
+
+"Yes, Thompson," she replied, "let us go on board, and set sail
+immediately, so as to get out of Italy; it has become the grave of all
+its best and most beautiful."
+
+Julia sailed for merry England, and took kind care of her adopted
+family, to whom were added, after a time, Manlio and Silvia. Until they
+joined her in England, they had remained on the island of the Recluse.
+
+Julia vowed she would not return to that unhappy country until Rome,
+freed from priestly despotism, would permit her to raise a worthy
+national monument to her heart's beloved, and to his heroic companions.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+
+
+
+I. THE FAMILY OF GENERAL GARIBALDI.
+
+THE family of General Garibaldi was formerly one of the wealthiest in
+Nice, and was connected with the following curious annual ceremony. In
+remote times the Saracen soldiery in the service of Turkey invaded Nice.
+They were already in the town, when a woman rushed from her house
+and killed the standard-bearer, seized the standard, and rallied the
+Nizards, who in the end were victorious. In remembrance of this event,
+La Place Napoleon, called before the French occupation La Place de la
+Victoire, was, until the year 1860, the annual scene of a very curious
+custom. A representative of the woman was placed on one side of the
+square, while fireworks were let off from the church opposite, one
+particular firework being aimed so as to reach the hand of the woman.
+The grandfather of General Garibaldi received from the town of Nice the
+privilege of being the person to let off this particular firework,
+and the father and eldest brother of the General succeeded to this
+privilege, which was declared to be hereditary in their family.
+
+He was born at Nice on the 22d of July, 1807. His father, Dominique
+Garibaldi, was born at Chiavari, about seventy miles from Genoa. His
+mother was a lady named Rosa Raginndo. He had three brothers, the last
+of whom died the day of the battle of Biccia, 1866. The General was
+destined from his birth for the priesthood, and from the age of three
+years had a private tutor named Father Giovanni, who resided in the
+house. According to his own account he did not make any very great
+progress under this gentleman, and he has conceived the idea that it is
+better for a tutor to come in for a few hours a day, or for a child
+to go to school, returning home in the evening, as in this manner the
+benefit of home influence remains, and the benefit of the mothers love
+(of which he speaks so much) would be secured, and undue familiarity and
+result of constant intercourse be avoided. From the instructions of M.
+Arena--whose classes he attended for some hours in the day--he
+derived great benefit; and whatever fault he may find with his early
+instruction, the result is that he speaks Italian, the Nizard and
+Genoese dialects, the Sicilian and Neapolitan dialects, the Milanese
+and Turinese--all of them differing from the pure Italian, and from each
+other, as much as Welsh does from English. He speaks and writes Latin,
+ancient and modern Greek, French, Spanish, English, and Portuguese, and
+can decipher newspapers published in the various dialects on the banks
+of the Danube. He is a good mathematician, and possesses a knowledge
+of both ancient and modern history, whilst his knowledge of music is
+considerable.
+
+There have been many "autobiographies" written of the General with which
+he has very little acquaintance. Many of the stories related of him
+are not, however, without foundation. It is true that when he was about
+eight years old, whilst playing on the banks of the Var, he saw an old
+washerwoman fall into the river, and instantly threw himself into the
+water, and from his skill in swimming, which he had acquired in infancy,
+he was enabled to save her life.
+
+At the time of the birth of the General, Nice belonged, as now, to
+France, and during his childhood the Nizard language was spoken by the
+servants, and the Genoese by the family. In society and in public
+French only was spoken. It was the same in the schools, and the
+General received his education entirely in French; and it was solely
+in compliance with the entreaties of his elder brother Angelo that he
+requested M. Arena to teach him Italian; and it is to the instructions
+of that gentleman that he owes his present facility in both speaking and
+writing it. The parents of the General were both strict Roman Catholics,
+and being, as we have before stated, intended for the priesthood, he was
+educated in every ordinance of the Church of Rome. It was probably the
+over-severity of this education which gave him his detestation of the
+priestly career; at any rate, it is certain that he in the most positive
+terms refused to enter it, and even attempted to run away to Genoa to
+avoid it. The profession of the law was afterwards proposed, but with
+ultimately no better success; and finally his parents yielded to his
+entreaties, and permitted him to go to sea, which he did in a brigantine
+called "La Costanza," the captain being Angelo Pesanti.
+
+The first notice we have in the page of history of the name "Garibaldi"
+occurs in the annals of the eighth century. According to one of the
+historians of that time, among the chiefs of Alaric's horde a Garibaldi
+commanded a "squadra." From this we may infer that the family
+originally came from the plains of Hungary. The next notice we have of
+the name occurs in the history of the city of Turin, in the reign of
+Auberto I. Garibaldi, Duke of Turin, was the chief counsellor of this
+king. Being a bad, unprincipled, and ambitious man, he conspired against
+his sovereign, caused his assassination, and seized the regal power.
+However, the semi-independent princes of Piedmont deposed him, and
+caused him to be put to death. The next trace we find of this family is
+among the records of the republic of Genoa. Johannes Garibaldi commanded
+a fleet of galleys in the wars between the Genoese and Pisans, and
+greatly distinguished himself in an engagement off the coast of Tuscany.
+The family after this flourished in Genoa, always taking the popular
+part, till at last they became so powerful that they were enrolled among
+the nobility of the republic, and their name is found in the Golden
+Book. As evidence of their importance, we still find in Genoa the
+Piazza, Palazzo, and Strado dei Garibaldi. The descendants of the elder
+branch are represented now by the March ese Garibaldi, member of the
+Sub-Alpine Parliament. The younger branch transferred itself (time
+uncertain) to the vicinity of Chiavari, where they formed a colony by
+themselves in one of the valleys of the mountains of the Ri-vieri,
+where still may be found the Village dei Garibaldi, and remains of the
+stronghold which they occupied in those times. An old inscription
+is still seen on the tower, commemorating its building by one of the
+earlier Garibaldis. Three generations ago one of the cadets settled in
+Nice, and his lineal descendant is the present General Garibaldi.
+
+Sir Bernard Burke applied to General Garibaldi, through Mr. Chambers,
+for information respecting his family, with the view of placing it in
+his work, "The Vicissitudes of Families." "What matter is it," answered
+the General, "whence I came? Say to Sir Bernard Burke that I represent
+the people; they are my family."
+
+
+
+
+II. THE CAMPAIGN OF MENTANA
+
+By Ricciotti Garibaldi.
+
+Arriving in Florence, I found the committee in a state of confusion
+on account of so many volunteers coming forward to be enrolled. We
+had neither arms nor money, and were, therefore, obliged to limit
+enlistment. I remained three days in Florence, and then went to Terni,
+and found the place full of volunteers--in all nearly 2000 men. We
+received information that the fortress occupied by Menotti was to be
+attacked. I left to join him, and, the men being unarmed, went alone.
+
+He had 1500 men. On the morning of the third day he left N------ with a
+few men, and went to Monte Calvario, leaving me in command of the fort
+and of the band, which had been reinforced by nearly 1000 men. About
+eleven at night, on the same day, my outposts were driven in by the
+Papal troops. Many of our volunteers not having so much as one cartridge
+per man, I was obliged to abandon the fortress, and take up position to
+the left, at a distance of two miles, as it was impossible to hold
+the post against the Papal artillery. Menotti having rejoined us, we
+started, at one on the following morning, for Porcile, as the enemy
+were trying to cut us off from the Italian frontier. After twelve hours'
+march we arrived at Porcile. We rested there for the remainder of the
+day and night, when the alarm was given of the approach of the
+enemy. Being in an unfit state to receive them, with few arms and no
+ammunition, my brother determined to recross the frontier. After ten
+hours' march, we arrived at the convent of Santa Maria, where we set to
+work to re-form our command.
+
+Whilst there news came that the General was at Terni, whence he sent
+orders for us to prepare to march on Passo Corese, he joining us on the
+road. This is a pass leading to the valley of the Tiber. After waiting
+several days to reform the bands, the General gave the signal to march.
+We divided into two columns, and took the road to Monte Rotondo, a
+strong position occupied by the Papal troops. One column marched along
+the banks of the Tiber, and the other by the road in the hills. At
+morning both columns arrived in sight of Monte Rotondo, and at once
+proceeded to the assault. Colonel Frygisi attacked the east gateway with
+two battalions, whilst Masto attacked the west gateway also with two
+battalions; but he being wounded at the first assault, the command of
+the party devolved upon me. After charging twice up to the gateway,
+which, for want of artillery, we could not take, we were in turn
+attacked by the enemy, and forced to seek refuge in a group of houses.
+We were thus cut off from the rest of our corps for the whole day,
+daring which time we lost out of 300,107 men and five officers. In the
+evening we managed to communicate with the General; erected barricades
+in the inner street, and fought all day. We were thirty-six hours
+without food. The place was too important to be left, or we might have
+cut our way out. The General sent a battalion as a reinforcement, and
+by a desperate charge we got to the gate, piled there a cartload of
+fascines and a quantity of sulphur, which, being set on fire, burnt
+it down in about an hour and a half. At half-past twelve at night--the
+General having come down and taken personal command--we charged through
+the burning gate, and took possession of the entrance and adjoining
+houses. The fighting went on until about eight in the morning, they
+defending themselves step by step till we had driven them into the
+palace of the Prince of Piombino, a large castellated building, very
+strong. We first took the court-yard, in which we found their cannon,
+they defending story after story of the building until driven to the
+third floor, when, seeing the smoke of a fire which had been lighted on
+the ground-floor to bam them out, they surrendered, and the fight was
+over.
+
+In the night the greater number of the men escaped towards Rome; only
+300 in the palace were taken prisoners, besides forty-two horses and two
+pieces of cannon, 500 stand of arms, and all their materials of war.
+The fight had lasted twenty-four hours--from eight one day to eight the
+next--without a single instant's cessation of firing. It cost us
+between 400 and 500 men, amongst whom were some of our bravest and best
+officers. This was the first real struggle under the General.
+
+We had one day's rest; but on the following night the enemy returned,
+and attacked the railway station at about a mile distant from Monte
+Rotondo, where, finding a number of our wounded, they bayoneted them in
+their beds, one man having twenty-seven wounds in his body. The General
+at once sent heavy reinforcements, and the enemy was driven back. Three
+days after this we marched to the Zecchenella, a large farmhouse about a
+mile distant from the Ponte de la Mentana, within about four miles and a
+half from Rome. On our approach the enemy re-crossed the bridge, blowing
+up one of the two bridges and mining the other. The Papal troops came
+again on our side of the Teverone--a river which joins the Tiber a few
+miles from Rome. They extended themselves as sharpshooters all along
+our line, amusing themselves by firing at us until the evening, we
+scarcely returning a shot, the General having ordered us not to do
+so--our aim, since we were so few, being to draw the enemy into the open
+country. In the night we lighted large fires, to let the people in Rome
+know that we were near; but the movement which we expected in the city
+did not take place, and we returned to Monte Rotondo the next day.
+
+After staying there for several days, the General resolved to march to
+Tivoli, which was held by a strong body of our volunteers. The column,
+consisting of 4700 infantry, two field guns and two smaller guns, and
+one squadron of cavalry, commenced its march at eleven o'clock. When we
+had gone a mile beyond Mentana the vanguard was suddenly attacked, and
+we had to fall back on Mentana, so as to form our battalions in line of
+battle. Recovered from our first surprise, the General ordered all the
+troops to advance, and we retook the positions we had lost, when, just
+as the Papal troops were retreating on the road to Rome, the French
+regiments, which till now had remained hidden behind the hills,
+out-flanked us on the left. After some very heavy fighting, especially
+in the position of the haystacks in the centre, which were taken, lost,
+and retaken, four or five times, the General, seeing the uselessness
+of contending against such an overwhelming force, gave the order to
+retreat. We retreated from the field of battle, passing under the fire
+of the Chassepôts, leaving between 400 and 500 men on the field, and
+about the same number of prisoners in their hands, and one piece
+of cannon. Two battalions, numbering altogether over 400 men, shut
+themselves up in the old fort of Munturra, where, having exhausted all
+their ammunition, they surrendered in the morning. When the main body
+had returned to Monte Rotondo, the General gave orders that every thing
+should be ready to re-attack in the night; but on examining the state of
+our army, we found that scarcely a cartridge remained, and not a single
+round of ammunition for the cannon. Learning this, the General gave
+the order to retreat to Passo Corese, where we arrived about one in
+the morning, being again on Italian soil. We then proceeded to the
+disbandment of our troops.
+
+At Mentana, where we had retaken all our positions, and where we thought
+the day was ours, we saw red-trowsered soldiers out-flanking us on the
+left, and we took them for the legion of Antibes, but the rapid roll of
+their firing opened our eyes to the fact that we were face to face with
+the French, armed with their new weapon, the deadly Chassepot, and from
+that moment we fought merely to save the honor of the day. There was
+no hope of winning the battle, though if the ammunition of our guns and
+rifles had not failed, and the General could have attacked again in the
+night, as he intended to do, I have no doubt but that we should have
+driven back the Franco-Papal army, for they did not dare to take
+possession of the positions which we held during the battle, and of
+the one gun which we left there, till late next day. Had they dared it,
+being so numerically superior, they could have cut us off and made us
+all prisoners, as their left wing almost touched the road running from
+Monte Rotondo to Passo Corese.
+
+Some idea may be formed of the state and appearance of the volunteer
+army by the fact that it had no proper arms; the muskets were many of
+them as old as the first Napoleon.
+
+When Menotti resolved to recross the frontier, he issued an order of the
+day in which he said, "I can not march, having no shoes; I can not stand
+still, because I have nothing to cover my men; and I can not fight,
+because I have no ammunition."
+
+When we started for Monte Rotondo the men had been so long without
+eating, that in passing along the line with my guides, I actually saw
+the infantry battalions making themselves soup out of the grass of the
+field, having nothing else to put into their caldrons.
+
+At the battle of Montana we had 4700 men all told; opposed to us were
+8000 Papal troops and 3000 French. Battle began at half past eleven in
+the morning; lasted until half past five in the evening; the weather
+fine. The 300 who surrendered were allowed to recross the frontier. The
+General was taken prisoner by the Italian Government.
+
+At Mentana the Papal troops thought they had taken me. They took a man
+like me to Rome, and put him in handsome apartments until the mistake
+was discovered. When they thought they had me, the Papal officers
+ordered the prisoner to be shot at once, but the French officers saved
+him.
+
+In a work entitled "Rome and Mentana," surprise has been expressed that
+General Garibaldi did not enter Rome after the victory of Monte Rotondo,
+and before the entry of the French. To that we reply:--We could not,
+for the Papalini held the Mentana bridge, the only one not blown up near
+Rome, and we should have been obliged to go round by Tivoli and down
+the other side of the Teverone, two days' march. We tried to take the
+Mentana bridge, but on nearing it we found it strongly fortified and
+mined, so that after lying at the Zecchenella (three-quarters of a mile
+from the bridge) for a day and two nights, we retired to Monte Rotondo.
+
+The same work states:
+
+"The two plateaux on which we had been walking had been held by the
+Garibaldini, taken by the Pontificals, and retaken by the Garabaldini,
+at which period the French advanced, when, finding it hopeless, the
+Garibaldini retreated into Mentana."
+
+This is true; the Papalini were retreating along the road when the
+French out-flanked our left, and threatened our line of retreat. The
+retreat commenced at nine o'clock in the evening of the battle, as we
+expected the Papalini to attack and surround Monte Rotondo. If we had
+stopped they would have made us all prisoners, as our ammunition failed.
+
+We entered Monte Rotondo by the gate coming from Passo Corese; the
+Tivoli gate was stormed also by Frygisi, but not taken till we opened
+the gate for him from inside. The attack lasted from 8 a.m. till 7 a.m.
+next day. We set fire to the gate about 12 o'clock at night, and lost
+about 250 men, dead and wounded. The church of Monte Rotondo suffered a
+good deal. The same author writes:-
+
+"It was a large and handsome one, with carved oak seats in the choir,
+and presented a sad scene of devastation. The holy water stoops had been
+dashed to pieces, the font destroyed, the side chapel, in which the Host
+was reserved, had its altar all broken by bayonets. The Host had been
+carried on the point of one, and borne in mock procession, attended,
+amongst others, by a man holding the sacristan's large three-cornered
+hat stuck round with candles."
+
+It is true our people were so hungry that they ate the holy wafers.
+
+
+
+
+III. GARIBALDI AND THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT
+
+Italy, as she exists, is a sad country. Where is there to be found a
+country more favored by nature, with a lovelier sky, a climate more
+salubrious, productions more varied and excellent, a population more
+lively or intelligent? Her soldiers, if well-directed, would undoubtedly
+equal any of the first soldiers in the world; her sailors are second
+to none. And yet all these advantages, all these favors of Nature,
+are neutralized by the connivance and co-operation of priests with an
+extremely bad government.
+
+One finds misery, ignorance, weakness, servility to the stranger, where
+one should see abundance, knowledge, strength, and haughtiness towards
+intruders.
+
+An unpopular government, which, instead of organizing a national army
+that might be placed at the head of the first armies of the world,
+contents itself with accumulating many carbineers, policemen, and
+custom-house officers, and spending, or rather squandering the money of
+the nation in immoral "secret expenses." A navy that might compete with
+the most flourishing, is reduced to a pitiable condition, from its being
+placed under the direction of incompetent and dishonest persons. Both
+army and navy, according to their own officers, are not in a condition
+to make war, but only serve to repress any national aspirations, and to
+support the spiritless policy of the Government.
+
+Two abominable acts of treachery have been perpetrated by the Italian
+Government.
+
+The first act of treachery was ushered in by the arrest of General
+Garibaldi at Asinalunga.
+
+Eighteen years had passed away since the Roman people sent to the
+Quirinal their elected representatives, who, on the 9th of February,
+declared with solemn legality that the temporal power of the Pope was
+abolished. The patriots in public assembly, in the light of day, and
+from the height of the Quirinal, unfurled the beautiful, the holy, and
+beloved banner of the tricolor of Italy. Who quenched this patriotic
+fire?
+
+Bonaparte in secret alliance with the fugitives of Gaeta. While the
+balls of the French canon fell on the citizens posted at the barricades,
+the representatives of the people replied to these cruel shots by
+again proclaiming the statute of the Republic, and confiding the future
+liberties of Rome to the charge of Garibaldi.
+
+On September 16th, 1864, was concluded the pernicious convention of
+September, which the Moderates declared would open the gates of Rome.
+Its first result was that Turin saw its streets reddened with blood. Why
+were the arms of their brothers turned upon the people who deserved so
+well of Italy? Did they wish to overthrow the dynasty? Did they wish to
+overthrow the form of government, or overturn the Ministers? Did they
+wish to upset social order? Did they arm themselves against their
+brethren of the army? Oh, no! they did not arm; they united peaceably,
+and peaceably cried for justice. Their cry was, "Rome the capital of
+Italy." They did not wish the nation to betray itself; they did not wish
+the nation to be dismembered; they did not wish the country any longer
+to serve the foreigner. Its protest was, therefore, against that
+convention which destroys the plebiscite of Southern Italy. To the noble
+cry, to the generous protest, the Government replied by directing its
+troops upon the peaceful citizens; and the Piazza Castello and the
+Piazza San Carlo were bathed in blood. Unhappy Turin! the Moderate party
+stifled thy cries in thine own blood, betrayed thy solemn protests,
+called upon thee not to disturb the concord of the nation, and to that
+false concord sacrificed thee and the nation alike. Widows and orphans
+well remember the impunity given to the assassins of their loved ones in
+the name of "concord." When will these crimes end? Without Rome, unity
+is forever menaced. Without Rome, we have neither moral nor political
+liberty. We have no independence, no right government; but we have
+anarchy, dilapidation, servitude to the foreigner, and submission to the
+priests.
+
+The Moderates acknowledge Cavour as their leader: hear, then, Cavour.
+
+The Italian Parliament, in 1861, when Cavour was Prime Minister,
+declared Victor Emanuel King of Italy, and declared Rome officially
+the seat of the new monarchy; and Cavour stated, in his place as
+Prime Minister, after having bestowed upon the question the utmost
+deliberation, that "the ideas of a nation were few in number, and that
+to the common Italian mind the idea of Italy was inseparable from that
+of Rome. An Italy of which Rome was not the capital would be no Italy
+for the Italian people. For the existence, then, of a national Italian
+people, the possession of Rome as a capital was an essential condition."
+"The choice of a capital," continued Cavour, "must be determined by high
+moral considerations, on which the instinct of each nation must decide
+for itself. Rome, gentlemen, unites all the historical, intellectual,
+and moral qualities which are required to form the capital of a great
+nation. Convinced, deeply convinced as I am of this truth, I think it my
+bounden duty to proclaim it as solemnly as I can before you and
+before the country. I think it my duty also to appeal, under these
+circumstances, to the patriotism of all the Italian citizens, and of the
+representatives of our most illustrious cities, when I beg of them to
+cease all discussion on this question, so that Europe may become aware
+that the necessity of having Rome for our capital is recognized and
+proclaimed by the whole nation."
+
+How the Moderates followed this advice has been already seen. But
+statements were circulated in their papers, far and wide, in order to
+reconcile the Italian people to a convention, that the rights of the
+Roman people would not be interfered with; and when the French troops
+had left, the people of Rome would have full liberty to act as they
+thought proper. It was in this view that General Garibaldi visited
+Orvieto shortly before his arrest, where he was received with the most
+unbounded enthusiasm, the entire city being in festive garb, whilst men,
+women, and children joined in according him an enthusiastic welcome.
+
+"Our cry must no longer be 'Rome or death!'" he said; "on the contrary,
+it is 'Rome and life!' for international right permits the Romans to
+rise, and will allow them to raise themselves from the mud into which
+the priests have thrown them."
+
+It was at four o'clock on Tuesday morning, on the 5th of September,
+that General Garibaldi was arrested, by order of Ratazzi, in the
+little village of Asinalunga. He was sleeping in the house of Professor
+Aqualucci, and he was, as the map will show, far from the Roman
+frontier. He had been received with the utmost respect by the syndic and
+by the secretary of the municipality, and all the usual rejoicings took
+place, though it is stated that all the time the syndic had the order
+for the General's arrest in his pocket. General Garibaldi was conveyed
+to the fortress of Alexandria. In a day or two he was informed that
+he would be entirely restored to liberty if he would consent to go
+to Caprera; he had full liberty to return to the mainland whenever he
+thought proper. Depending upon this ministerial assurance, he returned
+to Caprera, having previously assured his friends in Genoa that he was
+in full and perfect liberty. An Italian fleet was sent to guard Caprera,
+and on his attempting to leave the island to go on board the Rubeatini
+postal steamers, his boat was fired at. He was taken on board a
+man-of-war, and conducted back to Caprera.
+
+Then it was that, on the evening of the 14th of October, 1867, three
+individuals came down from the farm at Caprera towards Fontanazia; a
+fourth passed by way of the wooden porch which joins the small iron
+cottage to the large Souse, and took the high road to Stagnatia--the
+latter, by his dark physiognomy and the style of his apparel, appeared
+to be a Sardinian--the men belonging to the yacht which the munificence
+and sympathy of the generous English nation had placed at the disposal
+of the General. The first three men might have been recognized by that
+famous distinction, the red shirt, had not this garment, in a great
+measure, been concealed by the outer habiliments of each. They were
+Barberini and Fruchianti, and the third we need not describe. Barberini,
+though not strong by nature, had a wiry arm and the heart of a lion;
+Fruchianti was far more robust.
+
+The sirocco, with its melancholy breath, beat down the poor plants of
+the island, daughter of the volcanoes and of the sea, and dense
+black clouds, chased by the impetuous winds, eddied on the summit of
+Veggialone, and then became mingled with dense vapors, which on higher
+mountains often form the centre of storms.
+
+The three silent men descended, and on the way, whenever the unequal
+ground permitted a view of the port, they gazed with watchful eyes on
+the three ships which rocked gracefully in the Bay of Stagnabella. The
+yacht, with a small cannon at her bow, and a boat lashed to the poop,
+formed a strange contrast (completely deserted as she was) with the
+meu-of-war, their decks covered and encumbered with men.
+
+It was six o'clock in the evening, and the sun had set, and the night
+promised, if not tempest, that disagreeable and oppressive weather which
+the sirocco generally brings from the burning plains of the desert. The
+three men having arrived on the Prato, Fruchianti said, "I leave you; I
+am going to the left to explore the point of Araccio."
+
+The two continued to descend; they passed--opening and shutting them
+again--the four gates (?) of Fontanazia, and arrived under the dry wall
+which divides the cultivated part from the deserted shores.
+
+Having reached that wall, the elder man threw off his cloak, changed his
+white hat for a cap, and after having reconnoitred a time beyond the dry
+wall, got over it with surprising agility. He now seemed to recall the
+strength of his past life, and was reinvigorated as if by twenty years.
+Were not his sons and his brothers fighting against the mercenaries of
+Papal tyranny? and could he remain quiet, murmuring complaints, or give
+himself up to the shameful life of the indifferent?
+
+Having crossed the wall, and turned to Barberini, the General said, "Let
+us sit down and smoke half a cigar," and drawing from his left pocket a
+little case, a souvenir from the amiable Lady Shaftesbury, he lit
+one, which he then handed to his companion, a great amateur of such
+commodities.
+
+Meanwhile the first shadows of darkness began to obscure the atmosphere,
+but in the east they saw the appearance of a changing color, the first
+herald of the coming moonlight.
+
+"In three-quarters of an hour," said the General, "the moon will rise
+above the mountains, and there is no time to lose."
+
+Thereupon the two men took their way to the port, Giovanni was at his
+post, and, with the aid of Barberini, in a moment the little skiff was
+in the water, and the General sat on his cloak as low as possible. After
+launching the little boat into the sea, Giovanni embarked in the
+larger one, and having assured himself of the progress of the first, he
+proceeded towards the yacht, merrily singing.
+
+"Halt! who goes there?" twice cried the men-of-war's men, who had become
+policemen to the Sardinian ruler. But he sang on, and did not seem to
+care for their cries. Nevertheless, at the third intimation, Giovanni
+replied, "Going on board!" At this they seemed satisfied.
+
+Meanwhile the little skiff pursued her course, coasting Carriano, at
+the distance of two miles from the shore, partly propelling itself,
+and partly propelled by a boat-hook used in the American fashion. From
+Carriano to Barabruciata, and thence to the point of Treviso, near which
+appeared the form of the faithful Fruchianti.
+
+"Nothing new as far as the rocks of Araccio," said Fruchianti.
+
+"Then I push on," answered the General.
+
+And his little boat dashed among the breakers. He gave a glance to the
+small island, which appeared at a convenient distance, and the tiny
+skiff was on the high sea.
+
+Garibaldi, seeing the moonlight increase, paddled on with good will,
+and with the help of the breeze crossed the Straits of Moneta with
+surprising velocity.
+
+In the moonlight, at a certain distance, every reef appeared a boat; and
+as the squadron of Batazzi, besides so many launches for the ships
+of war about Caprera, was also augmented by numerous vessels from
+Maddalena, the sea all around the island was crowded with vessels,
+to prevent one man from fulfilling his duty. Nearing the coast of the
+little island of Giardinelli, not far from Maddalena, the skiff plunged
+among the broken waters, which is there always, and coasted the shore,
+already illumined by the moon.
+
+It is a fact that many people on service in every Government affect a
+great deal of zeal in daylight, and in the presence, or the supposed
+presence, of the chief. At the arrival of night, however, after a
+good supper and copious libations to Bacchus--at night, I say, when
+commanders are sleeping or diverting themselves--zeal and vigilance die
+in exact proportion to the discipline and the interest which the motive
+of the watch inspires. Thus, then, one must not ascribe all the merit
+to him who managed the boat, but more to the sleeping vigilance of those
+whose duty it was to have kept a better look-out, that he reached the
+little island safe and sound, without being molested by one solitary
+call of "Who goes there?"
+
+Having reached land, there were three paths to take: first, to row close
+to the land; secondly, to leave the island to the left, and coast along
+to the west; and thirdly, leaving the island to the right and following
+the coast, to approach the ford which separates it from Maddalena,
+where probably Basso and Captain Cunio were waiting. The first plan was
+adopted.
+
+After having drawn up the boat on the beach, the General proceeded at
+midday in the direction of the ford, where, on his arrival, he heard
+cries from those who guarded the strait, and a few shots fired in the
+distance.
+
+At a short distance from the ford of the island there is a wall covered
+with creepers, which prevents the escape of the animals that pasture
+in the island; and at midday he reached a compound. Then also came the
+ford, and through the wall there was a little passage formed of stones.
+
+The General thought he could distinguish along the wall a file of
+sailors lying down, and he was so much the more disposed to believe it,
+as Captain Cunio and Basso had seen seamen arrive on the island in the
+course of the day. This made him lose about half an hour waiting and
+reconnoitring, and Captain Cunio and Basso, imagining the shots directed
+at the boat, had concluded him taken or obliged to recede. Under this
+persuasion the friends returned from the ford towards Maddalena, and
+were greatly vexed when, towards 2 p.m., they were informed by the
+confidential servant of Mrs. Collins that he, the General, had reached
+her house. In fact, about 10 p.m., Garibaldi ventured to pass the little
+strait which divides the isle from Maddalena, and effected it without
+hinderance, but was obliged, to his great inconvenience, to ride a long
+way down a road flooded with water, which had deluged it. He then came
+in sight of Mrs. Collins's house, sure of a good reception, but drew
+near cautiously, apprehending that some one might be on the watch; and
+finally, in a moment in which the moon was veiled by a dark cloud, he
+approached the dwelling, and with the end of his Scotch walking-stick
+struck at the window a few slight blows.
+
+Mrs. Collins who had strong faith in the fortunes of the General, and
+who was warned of his attempt, expected him, so that at the first sound
+she advanced to the front door, opened it, and received her old neighbor
+with friendly greetings. And pleasant he found it to receive shelter
+after such a wild night; so that the wanderer was once more safe
+and indeed happy in his friend's house, where a thousand cares and
+attentions were lavished on him.
+
+After this there was a little difficulty in crossing Sardinia and
+reaching the main land. While the Government still supposed Garibaldi a
+prisoner at Caprera, he had arrived in safety at the Hôtel de Florence!
+
+Not less atrocious was the treachery used towards the volunteers. They
+were promised that as soon as the first French soldier disembarked the
+army should march on Rome, and the Government, to put the country off
+her guard, occupied several points of the Roman territory, and spread a
+considerable number of troops over the frontier that they might the more
+easily disarm the volunteers, as well as close up from them every path,
+so that no supplies or subsidies could reach them from their brothers
+and the Committee of Help.
+
+Having thus isolated the volunteers and deprived them of succor and
+supplies--especially the supply of ammunition, of which the Government
+knew them to be in want--they spread discouragement and demoralization
+among the young volunteers, and did all they could to betray and destroy
+them.
+
+Rome being occupied by the French, and part of the Roman territory by
+the Government troops, the Papal army _en masse_ could freely operate
+against the volunteers. The papal mercenaries, still alarmed by the
+recent defeats they had sustained, did not dare to confront alone the
+unarmed soldiers of liberty, and it was therefore determined that the
+French army should support the Papal troops.
+
+The Government of Florence did not think it necessary to take part in
+the glory of the battle of Mentana, by adding its troops to those of the
+French allies; or perhaps it believed, and with reason, that the Italian
+people would not have quite tolerated such an accumulation of villainy,
+although the Ministry would certainly have executed it of themselves
+without any remorse. It contented itself, therefore, with depriving
+the volunteers of their natural aids, with sowing diffidence and
+discouragement in the hearts of our youthful and impressible soldiers,
+and with giving the National Army Contingent orders to slaughter the
+flower of the Italian nation, their brother Italians.
+
+Well was it for the soldiers of the Pope that they were backed by those
+of Bonaparte.
+
+The battle of Mentana commenced at 1 p.m. on the 3d of November, between
+the Papal troops and the volunteers. After two hours' desperate fighting
+the mercenaries' lines had all fallen back, and our men marched
+over their corpses in pursuit of the fugitives. But the new line of
+Imperialists advancing, and finding our youthful volunteers in that
+disorder incidental under these circumstances to men little disciplined,
+compelled them to retreat.
+
+In this manner was accomplished two most execrable acts of treachery, to
+which parallels can not be found in any page of the world's history.
+
+
+
+
+IV. NOTES.
+
+NOTE 1.
+
+Among the cardinals nominated by Sixtus IV. was Raffaelle, who, under
+the direction of his great uncle, Sixtus IV., had acted the principal
+part in the bloody conspiracy of the Pazza. In assuming his seat among
+the fathers of the Christian Church, Giovanni de Medici, afterwards Leo
+X., found himself associated with one who had assisted in the murder of
+his uncle, and had attempted the life of his father. But the youth and
+inexperience of Riaro excused the enormity of a crime perpetrated under
+the sanction of the supreme pontiff.
+
+The eldest member of the college at this time was Roderigo Borgia, who
+had enjoyed for upwards of thirty-five years the dignity of the purple,
+to which he had for a long time past added that of the vice-chancellor
+to the holy see.
+
+The private life of Roderigo had been a perpetual disgrace to his
+ecclesiastical functions. In the Papal History by Dr. Beggi (edition
+1862, pages 553-556) we are told that this cardinal was at one time
+sovereign regent of Rome, that he had a ferocious and indomitable
+ambition, with such a perverse spirit fomented by debauchery, luxury,
+and riches, that in the contempt of any pretense of virtue, he lived
+publicly with a barefaced concubine named Rosa Vennozza, by whom he had
+many children. After his election to the chair of St. Peter, he created
+his eldest son Duke of Candia. Cæsar Borgia was the second son; Lucretia
+Borgia was of the same stock, and the eldest of several daughters whom
+he had by other mistresses.
+
+On the death of Innocent VIII., Cardinal Roderigo Borgia, being the most
+powerful in authority and wealth, with cunning artifices, and corrupt
+promises to the Roman barons and the most influential cardinals--such
+as the Sforzas, the Orsini, the Riarii, and others, ascended the papal
+chair under the title of Alexander VI.
+
+NOTE 2.
+
+A better illustration of the manner in which the Church of Rome applies
+her patronage of the fine arts to the inculcation of her doctrines and
+the increase of her power, can hardly be found than among the frescoes
+of the Campo Santo, Pisa. Here we have represented the most ghastly
+cartoons of death, judgment, purgatory, and hell; we behold angels and
+devils fighting for the souls of the departed, snakes devouring, fiends
+scorching, red-hot hooks tearing their flesh. Those on earth can, so
+say the priests, rescue their unfortunate relatives from this melancholy
+position by giving donations to their spiritual fathers, who will then
+pray for their escape. We read in the New Testament that the rich enter
+heaven with difficulty, but it is they, according to the Church of Rome,
+who enter easily, whilst the poor are virtually excluded.
+
+NOTE 3.
+
+In foreign discussions on the papal question it is always assumed as an
+undisputed fact that the maintenance of the papal court at Rome is, in
+a material point of view, an immense advantage to the city, whatever it
+may be in a moral one. Now my own observations have led me to doubt the
+correctness of this assumption. If the Pope were removed from Rome, or
+if a lay government were established--the two hypotheses are practically
+identical--the number of the clergy would undoubtedly be much
+diminished, a large number of the convents and clerical endowments would
+be suppressed, and the present generation of priests would be heavy
+sufferers. This result is inevitable. Under no free government would or
+could a city of 170,000 inhabitants support 10,000 unproductive persons
+out of the common funds--for this is substantially the case in Rome
+at the present day. Every sixteen lay citizens--men, women, and
+children--support out of their labor a priest between them. The papal
+question with the Roman priesthood is thus a question of daily bread,
+and it is surely no want of charity to suppose that the material aspect
+influences their minds quite as much as the spiritual. It is, however,
+a Protestant delusion that the priests of Rome live upon the fat of the
+land. What fat there is is certainly theirs. It is one of the mysteries
+of Rome how the hundreds of priests who swarm about the streets manage
+to live. The clue to the mystery is to be found inside the churches. In
+every church--and there arty 866 of them--some score or two of masses
+are said daily at the different altars. The pay for performing a mass
+varies from sixpence to five shillings. The good masses--those paid
+for by private persons for the souls of their relatives--are naturally
+reserved for the priests connected with a particular church; while the
+poor ones are given to any priest who happens to apply for them. The
+nobility, as a body, are sure to be the supporters of an established
+order of things; their interests, too, are very much mixed up with those
+of the papacy. There is not a single noble Roman family that has not one
+or more of its members among the higher ranks of the priesthood. And in
+a considerable degree their distinctions, such as they are, and their
+temporal prospects, are bound up with the popedom. Moreover, in this
+rank of the social scale the private and personal influence of the
+priests through the women of the family is very powerful. The more
+active, however, and ambitious amongst the aristocracy feel deeply the
+exclusion from public life, the absence from any opening for ambition,
+and the gradual impoverishment of their property, which are the
+necessary evils of an absolute ecclesiastical government.--_Dicey's
+"Rome in 1860_."
+
+NOTE 4.
+
+Many of our readers may have only an indistinct idea of the causes which
+led to the siege of Rome in 1849; and to understand it we must turn
+for a moment to the history of France. The revolution of 1848, which
+dethroned Louis Philippe and the house of Orleans, and established
+a republican government in France, was the signal for a general
+revolutionary movement throughout Europe. The Fifth Article of the
+new French Constitution stated, "The French Republic respects foreign
+nationalities. She intends to cause her own to be respected. She will
+never undertake any sin for the purpose of conquest, and will never
+employ her arms against the liberty of any people." Prince Louis
+Napoleon was elected a member of the Chambers. He had fought for the
+Italian liberty in the year 1831, when the Bolognese revolution broke
+out. Louis Napoleon had taken an active part in the campaign, and, aided
+by General Sercognani, defeated the Papal forces in several places.
+His success was of short duration. He was deprived of his command, and
+banished from Italy, and only escaped the Austrian soldiers by assuming
+the disguise of a servant.* When the prince landed in France from
+England, where he had resided several years, he caused a proclamation
+to be posted on the walls of Boulogne, from which we extract the
+following:--
+
+"I have come to respond to the appeal which you have made to my
+patriotism. The mission which you impose on me is a glorious one, and
+I shall know how to fulfill it. Full of gratitude for the affection you
+manifest towards me, I bring you my whole life, my whole soul.
+
+"Brothers and citizens, it is not a pretender whom you receive into your
+midst. I have not meditated in exile to no purpose. A pretender is a
+calamity. I shall never be ungrateful, never a malefactor. It is as a
+sincere and ardent Democratic Reformer that I come before you. I call to
+witness the mighty shade of the man of the age, as I solemnly make these
+promises:-
+
+"I will be, as I always have been, the child of France.
+
+"In every Frenchman I shall always see a brother.
+
+"The rights of everyone shall be my rights.
+
+"The Democratic Republic shall be the object of my worship. I will be
+its priest.
+
+"Never will I seek to clothe myself in the imperial purple.
+
+"Let my heart be withered within my breast on the day when I forget what
+I owe to you and to France.
+
+"Let my lips be ever closed if I ever pronounce a word, a blasphemy,
+against the Republican sovereignty of the French people.
+
+"Let me be accursed on the day when I allow the propagation, under cover
+of my name, of doctrines contrary to the democratic principle which
+ought to direct the government of the Republic.
+
+     * See "Vicissitudes of Families," by Sir Bernard Burke, pp.
+     294, 395. See also "The Autobiography of an Italian Rebel,"
+     by Riccalde, from p. 5.
+
+"Let me be condemned to the pillory on the day when, a criminal and a
+traitor, I shall dare to lay a sacrilegious hand on the rights of the
+people--whether by fraud, with its consent, or by force and violence
+against it."--See Courier de la Sarthe.
+
+And on December 2d, 1848, he addressed the following letter to the
+Editor of the Constitutionnel:-
+
+"Monsieur,--Sachant qu'on a remarqué mon absence au vote pour
+l'expédition de Civita Vecchia, je crois devoir déclarer, que bien que
+résolu à appuyer toutes les dispositions propres à garantir la liberté
+et l'autorité du Souverain Pontife, je n'ai pu néanmoins approuver, par
+mon vote, unie démonstration militaire qui me semblait périlleuse,
+même pour les intérêts sacrés que Ton veut protéger, et faite pour
+compromettre la paix européene.
+
+(Signé) "L. N. Bonaparte."
+
+It must also be borne in mind that the Emperor Napoleon, his uncle, had
+created his own son King of Rome, and had detained the Pope a prisoner
+in France; when, therefore, Prince Louis Napoleon was elected President
+of the French Republic, it was universally supposed that he would
+rejoice at the formation of a sister Republic in the Roman States. The
+Roman Constituent Assembly elected by universal suffrage voted by one
+hundred and forty-three against five votes for the perpetual abolition
+of the temporal government of the Pope.
+
+On the 18th of April, 1849, the Constituent Assembly voted that a
+manifesto should be addressed to the Governments and Parliaments of
+England and France. In this document it was stated, "That the Roman
+people had a right to give themselves the form of government which
+pleased them; that they had sanctioned the independence and free
+exercise of the spiritual authority of the Pope; and that they trusted
+that England and France would not assist in restoring a government
+irreconcilable by its nature with liberty and civilization, and morally
+destitute of all authority for many years past, and materially so during
+the previous five months."
+
+Notwithstanding this, the French Government dispatched a French army to
+Civita Vecchia, where they landed on the 27th of April, 1849. General
+Oudinot declared that the flag which he had hoisted was that of peace,
+order, conciliation, and true liberty, and he invited the Roman people
+to co-operate in the accomplishment of this patriotic and sacred work.
+He also declared that the French had landed, not to defend the existing
+Pontifical Government, but to avert great misfortunes from the country.
+France, he added, did not arrogate to herself the right to regulate
+interests which belonged to the Roman people and extended to the whole
+Christian world. The prefect of the province replied, "Force may do much
+in this world, but I am averse to believe that republican France will
+employ its troops to overthrow the rights of a republic formed under
+the same auspices as her own. I am convinced that when you ascertain
+the truth you will feel assured that in our country the republic is
+supported by the immense majority of the people."
+
+The Roman Government--which was a triumvirate consisting of Mazzini,
+Armellini, and Aurelio Saffi--resolved to oppose force by force, and
+the Assembly did not hesitate. The Triumvirate intrusted to General
+Garibaldi, who arrived the same evening, the defense of the city of
+Rome. It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm which took possession
+of the population at the sight of him. The courage of the people
+increased with their confidence, and it appeared as if the Assembly had
+not only decreed defense but victory.
+
+Garibaldi upheld for three months in the future capital of the nation
+the national flag, against the forces of France, Austria, Naples, and
+Spain. Twice were the French troops attacked at the point of the bayonet
+and repulsed far beyond the walls. It was afterwards stated by
+French writers, that the French soldiers only intended to make a
+re-connoissance, and had fallen into a snare. This is not true. The
+French general had resolved upon a battle, the plan of which was found
+on the body of a French officer killed in the conflict, and transmitted
+to the Minister of War. It was after this victory that Garibaldi, seeing
+all the advantages of his situation, wrote to Avizzana, Minister of War:
+"Send me fresh troops, and as I promised to beat the French, and
+have kept my word, I promise you I will prevent any one of them from
+regaining their vessels." It was then that Mazzini, placing all his
+hopes on the French democratic party, of which Ledru-Rollin was the
+chief, interposed his authority. He refused the fresh troops asked for,
+and ordered Garibaldi not to make a mortal enemy of France by complete
+defeat.
+
+On Monday, 7th May, in the French National Assembly there was an
+animated discussion on the French expedition to Rome, M. Jules Favre
+having denounced its proceedings as contrary to the intention avowed
+by ministers, which was to prevent foreign interference at Rome, and as
+clearly opposed to the wishes of the Roman people; he also stated, on
+the authority of private letters, that five unsuccessful assaults had
+been made, that 150 men had been killed and 600 wounded, and he ended by
+moving the appointment of a committee. M. Barrot, the President of the
+Council, declared that the object of the expedition was, really, to
+prevent another power from interfering in the affairs of Rome, and
+expressed his belief that General Oudinot had not acted contrary to his
+instructions, though the army might have fallen into a snare. He opposed
+the committee as unconstitutional, and called upon the Assembly to
+reject the motion. General Lamoricière believed that General Oudinot
+might have been deceived as to the wishes of the people at Rome.
+
+Mr. Flocon announced that barricades had been erected at Rome, and that
+the French residents would fight against the new-comers. After some
+further discussion, M. Barrot acquiesced in the motion, and the members
+withdrew to appoint the committee.
+
+The sitting was resumed at nine o'clock, when the report of the
+committee was presented. It stated that as the idea of the Assembly had
+been that the expedition sent to Civita Vecchia ought to remain there,
+unless Austria moved on Rome, or a counter revolution in that city
+rendered an advance necessary, the committee considered that more had
+been done than had been intended, and it therefore proposed a resolution
+declaring that the National Assembly requested the Government to take
+measures that the expedition to Italy be no longer turned aside from its
+real object. M. Drouyn de Lhuys, on the part of the Government, said he
+must positively refuse to order the troops to return to Civita Vecchia,
+their presence being required by events at Rome. The minister
+further declared that the Government fully supported its agent, the
+general-in-chief, and the more so that the details of the encounter at
+Rome were wanting. M. Lenard accused the ministry of wishing to put
+down the Roman Republic. After various amendments had been proposed and
+rejected, the resolution of the committee was carried against ministers
+by a majority of 328 to 241. The result was received with loud cheers,
+and cries of "Vive la République," and the Chamber adjourned at a
+quarter past one o'clock.
+
+Notwithstanding this vote of the French National Assembly, the President
+of the Republic, Prince Louis Napoleon, addressed a letter to General
+Oudinot, in which he says: "I had hoped that the inhabitants of
+Rome would receive with eagerness an army which had arrived there to
+accomplish a friendly and disinterested mission. This has not been the
+case; our soldiers have been received as enemies, our military honor
+is-engaged. I shall not suffer it to be assailed. Reinforcements shall
+not be wanting to you."
+
+The envoy of the Roman Government in Paris addressed the following
+letter, in the name of the Roman people, to their brothers in France:
+"A sanguinary combat has taken place between the inhabitants of Rome and
+the children of France, whom rigorous orders urged against our homes;
+the sentiment of military honor commanded them to obey their chiefs,
+the sentiment of patriotism ordered us to defend our liberties and
+our country. Honor is saved, but at what a price! may the terrible
+responsibility be averted from us, who are united by the bonds
+of charity. May even the culpable be pardoned; they are punished
+sufficiently by remorse. Health and fraternity.--L. Tarpolei, Colonel,
+Envoy Extraordinary, of the Roman Republic in Pans."
+
+In the next sitting of the French Assembly, the subject of the
+President's letter to General Oudinot was brought forward by M. Grevy,
+in reply to whom M. Odillon Barrot stated that though the letter in
+question was not the act of the Cabinet, he and his colleagues were
+ready to assume the whole responsibility of it. He declared that the
+object of the letter was merely to express sympathy with the army, and
+that it was not intended as the inauguration of a policy contrary to
+that of the Assembly.
+
+General Changamier placed the letter of the President of the Republic to
+General Oudinot on the orders of the day of every regiment in the French
+service, although M. Odillon Barrot declared in the Assembly that it
+was not official. Also General Foret refused to obey the orders of the
+President of the Assembly by sending two battalions to guard it during
+its sitting; a breach of orders which was brought under the notice
+of the Assembly by M. Armand Manest, and apologized for by M. Odillon
+Barrot. On the 9th of May, M. Ledru-Rollin declaimed the letter of the
+President to General Oudinot to be on insolent defiance of the National
+Assembly, and a violation of the Constitution.
+
+Ultimately the debate was adjourned on the motion of M. Grevy and M.
+Favre, in consequence of M. Odillon Barrot having announced that M.
+Lesseps, the late minister from Paris at Madrid, had been sent by the
+Government as an envoy to Rome to express to the Roman people the wishes
+of the Assembly, which showed that the Government did not intend to
+oppose the Assembly.
+
+The Paris correspondent of the _Morning Chronicle_, noticing the stormy
+debates in the French Assembly, says: "In the last three days troops
+have been pouring into Paris, and the number of men now garrisoning the
+capital is upwards of 100,000."
+
+We will now return to Rome, and to the day of the first victory over
+the French. The joy which pervaded Rome in the evening and night which
+followed this first combat may be easily supposed. The whole city was
+illuminated, and presented the aspect of a national fête. Songs and
+bands of music were heard in all directions. The next day, the 1st of
+May, Garibaldi received from the Minister of War authority to attack the
+French with his legion. He took up a splendid position on a height on
+the flank of the French army; but at the moment the Italians were
+about to charge, a French officer arrived and demanded a parley with
+Garibaldi. He stated that he was sent by General Oudinot to treat for an
+armistice, and to be assured that the Roman people really accepted the
+Republican Government, and were determined to defend their rights. As
+a proof of his good intentions, the French General offered to give up
+Garibaldi's favorite chaplain, Ugo Bassi, who (having the evening before
+refused to leave a dying man whose head he was holding on his knees) had
+been taken prisoner.
+
+The Roman Minister of War ordered Garibaldi to return to Rome, which he
+did, accompanied by a French officer. The armistice requested by General
+Oudinot was accorded by the Triumvirs, and the Republican Government
+granted unconditional liberty to fully 500 French prisoners in their
+hands. A letter from Garibaldi, after speaking of the bravery displayed
+by the Roman troops, says: "A quantity of arms, drums, and other
+matters have remained in our hands. The wounded French, before expiring,
+expressed their sorrow for having fought against their republican
+brethren."
+
+The King of Naples, at the head of his army, was now marching upon Rome.
+Seeing this, Garibaldi whom the armistice left unoccupied, demanded
+permission to employ his leisure in attacking the King of Naples. This
+permission was granted, and on the evening of the 4th of May, Garibaldi
+left the city with his legion, now 2500 strong.
+
+On May 6th, General Garibaldi gained the battle of Palestrina,
+completely defeating the Neapolitans, 7000 strong, and taking their
+artillery. Shortly after, however, the ambassador of the French
+Republic, Ferdinand de Lesseps, entered Rome with Michael Accrusi, the
+envoy of the Roman Republic in Paris, and by means of the good offices
+of the French Ambassador, the armistice, against which General Garibaldi
+had given a strong opinion, was concluded. The Roman Government resolved
+to take advantage of this truce to get rid of the Neapolitan army. At
+the same time Mazzini first created Colonel Roselli a general, and then
+named him general-in-chief of the forces. The friends of Garibaldi urged
+upon him not to accept a secondary position under a man who the day
+before only had been his inferior. The General, however, was utterly
+inaccessible to personal considerations where the welfare of his country
+was concerned, and he therefore accepted, he states himself, even with
+gratitude, the post of general of division.
+
+On the 16th May the entire army of the Republic, consisting of 10,000
+men and twelve pieces of cannon, marched out of the city of Rome by
+the San Giovanni gate, General Garibaldi being ordered to proceed
+in advance. He had received information that the Neapolitan army was
+encamped at Velletri, with 19,000 to 20,000 men and thirty pieces of
+cannon.
+
+In the end the army of the King of Naples was again entirely defeated by
+General Garibaldi's division alone. In an early part of the day he sent
+to the commander-in-chief for reinforcements, and received for answer
+that soldiers could not be sent, as they had not eaten their soup. He
+then resolved to do what he could with his own strength, and victory
+again crowned his efforts. Towards midnight his troops took possession
+of Velletri itself.
+
+At daybreak the General resumed the pursuit of the Neapolitans; but he
+received orders to return to Rome, which he re-entered on the 24th of
+May, amidst an immense multitude, who hailed him with the wildest cries
+of joy. The utter incapacity of General Roselli is now acknowledged by
+all; however, in those days, he shared the views of the Roman Government
+regarding the French.
+
+In the mean time, General Oudinot, having received the reinforcements
+which he required, disavowed the treaty entered into by the Roman
+Government and the envoy extraordinary of his master the President of
+the French Republic. It would have been thought that the dream of
+a French alliance would now have faded from the ideas of the Roman
+Government, but they were only half convinced even yet, and they allowed
+their commander-in-chief, the newly created General Roselli, to indite a
+letter, from which the following is an extract:-
+
+"General Oudinot, Duke de Reggio: Citizen,--It is my perfect conviction
+that the army of the Roman Republic will one day fight side by side with
+the army of the French Republic to maintain the most sacred rights of
+peoples. This conviction leads me to make you proposals, which I hope
+you will accept. It is known to me that a treaty has been signed between
+the Government and plenipotentiary minister of France, a treaty which
+has not received your approbation." The letter goes on to request an
+unlimited armistice, with a notification of fifteen days before the
+resumption of hostilities, asked in the name of the honor of the army
+and of the French Republic, and concludes, "I have the honor to request
+a prompt reply, General, begging you to accept the salutation of
+fraternity.
+
+"Roselli."
+
+To this the French general replied:-
+
+"General,--The orders of my Government are positive. They prescribe to
+me to enter Rome as soon as possible. * * * I defer the attack of the
+place until Monday morning at least. Receive, General, the assurance of
+my high consideration.
+
+"OUDINOT, Duc DE REGGIO,
+
+"_General-in-chief of the Corps de l'Armee of the Mediterranean._"
+
+According to this assurance the attack would not commence till the 4th
+of June.
+
+"It is true," writes General Garibaldi, "what a French author, Foland,
+has said in his commentaries upon Polybius, 'A general who goes to sleep
+on the faith of a treaty awakes a dupe.' I was aroused at three o'clock
+by the sound of cannon: I found every thing on fire. This is what had
+happened: Our advanced posts were at the Villa Pamphili. At the moment
+midnight was striking, and we were entering on the day of Sunday, the 3d
+of June, a French column glided through the darkness towards the Villa
+Pamphili.
+
+"'Who goes there?' cried the sentinel, warned by the sound of footsteps.
+'Viva Italia!' cried a voice. The sentinel, thinking he had to do with
+compatriots, suffered them to approach, and was poniarded. The column
+rushed into the Villa Pamphili. All they met with were either killed
+or made prisoners. Some men jumped through the windows into the garden,
+and, when once in the garden, climbed over the walls. The most forward
+of them retired behind the convent of St. Pancrazio, shouting 'To
+arms! to arms!' whilst others ran off in the direction of the Villas
+Valentini and Corsini. Like the Villa Pamphili, these were carried by
+surprise, but not without making some resistance.
+
+"When I arrived at the St. Pancrazio gate, the Villa Pamphili, the Villa
+Corsini, and the Villa Valentini alone remained in our hands. Now the
+Villa Corsini being taken was an enormous loss to us; for as long as we
+were masters of that, the French could not draw their parallels. At any
+price, then, that must be retaken: it was for Rome a question of life or
+death. The firing between the cannoneers of the ramparts, the men of the
+Vascello, and the French of the Villa Corsini and the Villa Valentini,
+increased. But it was not a fusillade or a cannonade that was necessary;
+it was an assault, a terrible but victorious assault, which might
+restore the Villa Corsini to us. For a moment the Villa Corsini was
+ours. That moment was short, but it was sublime! The French brought
+up all their reserve, and fell upon us altogether before I could even
+repair the disorder inseparable from victory. The fight was renewed more
+desperately, more bloodily, more fatally than ever. I saw repass before
+me, repulsed by those irresistible powers of war, fire and steel, those
+whom I had seen pass on but a minute before, now bearing away their
+dead.
+
+"There could no longer be any idea of saving Rome. From the moment
+an army of 40,000 men, having thirty-six pieces of siege cannon, can
+perform their works of approach, the taking of a city is nothing but a
+question of time; it must one day or other fall. The only hope it has
+left is to fall gloriously. As long as one of our pieces of cannon
+remained on its carriage, it replied to the French fire; but on the
+evening of the 29th the last was dismounted."
+
+Garibaldi was summoned before the Assembly, and this is his history of
+what happened:-
+
+"Mazzini had already announced to the Assembly the position we now stood
+in: there remained, he said, but three parts to take--to treat with the
+French; to defend the city from barricade to barricade; or to leave
+the city, assembly, triumvirate, and army, carrying away with them the
+palladium of Roman liberty.
+
+"When I appeared at the door of the chamber all the deputies rose and
+applauded. I looked about me and upon myself to see what it was that
+awakened their enthusiasm. I was covered with blood; my clothes were
+pierced with balls and bayonet thrusts. They cried, 'To the tribune! to
+the tribune!' and I mounted it. I was interrogated on all sides.
+
+"'All defense is henceforth impossible,' replied I, 'unless we are
+resolved to make Rome another Saragossa.' On the 9th of February I
+proposed a military dictatorship, that alone was able to place on foot
+a hundred thousand armed men. The living elements still subsisted; they
+were to be sought for, and they would have been found in one courageous
+man. If I had been attended to, the Roman eagle would again have made
+its eyrie upon the towers of the Capitol; and with my brave men--and my
+brave men know how to die, it is pretty well seen--I might have changed
+the face of Italy. But there is no remedy for that which is done. Let
+us view with head erect the conflagration of which we no longer are the
+masters. Let us take with us from Rome all of the volunteer army who are
+willing to follow us. Where we shall be, Rome will be. I pledge myself
+to nothing; but all that my men can do that I will do; and whilst it
+takes refuge in us our country shall not die."
+
+In the end the following order was issued:-
+
+"The Roman Republic, in the name of God and the People. The Roman
+Constituent Assembly discontinues a defense which has become impossible.
+It has its post. The Triumvirate are charged with the execution of the
+present decree."
+
+NOTE 5.
+
+An attempt has recently been made to give to the so-called Moderate
+party the merit of planning a United Italy. Mr. Stansfield, one of the
+Lords of the Admiralty, whose recent efforts to reform his department
+have already earned for him the gratitude of the English people, says:
+"Italy has already accomplished of her unity so much that no policy save
+that of an absolute completion of the task is any longer to be dreamed
+of or suggested, and considering, too, how predominantly the credit and
+the practical fruits of that success have, in the opinion of the world
+and in the possession of power, inured to the benefit of the Moderate
+party, it would seem natural to imagine that they too must have had the
+unity of their country long in view, and that they can have differed
+only from the National party as to the policy best adapted to the
+attainment of a common object; and yet I believe the acceptance of the
+idea of Italian unity, as an object of practical statesmanship, by the
+leaders of the Moderate party, must be admitted to be of a very recent
+date. I will go back to Gioberti, who was the founder of that party. In
+the Sardinian Chambers on the 10th of February, 1849, on the eve of the
+short campaign which ended in the defeat of Novara, Gioberti said:
+'I consider the unity of Italy a chimera; we must be content with its
+union. And if you look to the writings, the speeches, the acts of all
+the leading men of the Moderate party until a very recent period, you
+will find them all, without exception, not only not propounding or
+advocating unity, or directed to its accomplishment, but explicitly
+directed to a different solution. You will find the proof of what I
+say in Balbo's 'Hopes of Italy;' in Durando's 'Essay on Italian
+Nationality,' advocating three Italies, north, centre, and south;
+in Bianchi Gioviners work entitled 'Mazzini and his Utopias;' and
+in Gualterio's 'Revolutions of Italy.' Minghetti, Ricasoli, Farini each
+and all have been the advocates of a confederation of princes rather
+than of a united Italy. Let me come to Cavour. An attempt has recently
+been made to claim for him the credit of having since the days of his
+earliest manhood conceived the idea of making himself the minister of
+a future united Italy. In an article in the July Quarterly, by a
+well-known pen, a letter of Cavour, written about 1829 or 1830, is cited
+in implied justification of this claim. He had been placed under arrest
+a short time in the Fort de Bard, on account of political opinions
+expressed with too much freedom. In a letter to a lady who had written
+condoling with him on his disgrace, he says:--'I thank you, Madame la
+Marquise, for the interest which you take in my disgrace; but believe
+me, for all that, I shall work out my career. I have much ambition--an
+enormous ambition; and when I become minister I hope to justify it,
+since already in my dreams I see myself Minister of the Kingdom of
+Italy.' Now this is, I need not say, a most remarkable letter, and of
+the greatest interest, as showing the confidence in his own future, at
+so early an age, of one of the greatest statesmen of our times. But no
+one acquainted with the modern history of Italy, and familiar with its
+recognized phraseology, could read in this letter the prophecy of
+that unity which is now coming to pass. The 'Kingdom of Italy,' is a
+well-known phrase borrowed from the time of Napoleon, and has always
+meant, until facts have enlarged its significance, that the kingdom of
+Northern Italy, whose precedent existed under Napoleon, which was the
+object of Piedmontese policy in '48 and '49, and one of the explicit
+terms of the contract of Pombier's in '59. It is rather a curious
+inconsistency in the article in question, that in itself furnishes ample
+evidence that the unity of Italy was not part of the practical programme
+of the Moderate party. 'Cavour,' we are told, founded in 1847 with his
+friends, Cesare Balbo, Santa Rosa, Buoncampagni, Castelli, and other men
+of moderate constitutional views, the _Risorgimento_, of which he became
+the editor; and the principles of the new periodical were announced to
+be 'independence of Italy, union between the princes,' and the people's
+progress in the path of reform, and a league between the Italian
+States." Again, after saying that it was Ricasoli and the leaders of the
+constitutional party who recalled (in '49) the Grand Ducal family to
+Tuscany, and that Geoberti proposed the return of the Pope to Rome, the
+writer goes on to say, "It was an immense advantage to the restored
+princes to have been thus brought back by the most intelligent and
+moderate of their subjects. All that the wisest and most influential men
+in Italy asked, was a federal union of the different states in the
+Peninsula, upon a liberal and constitutional basis, from which even the
+House of Austria was not to be excluded."
+
+I must trouble you with one more quotation. At the Conference of Paris
+in 1855, after the Crimean war, Piedmont was represented by Cavour,
+who brought before the assembled statesmen the condition of Italy, but
+unable to enter fully into the Italian question, he addressed two state
+papers on it to Lord Clarendon. His plan--at any rate, for the temporary
+settlement of the question--was a confederation of Italian States with
+constitutional institutions, and a guaranty of complete independence
+from the direct interference and influence of Austria; and the
+secularization of the legations with a lay vicar under the suzerainty of
+the Pope. At that time he would have been even willing to acquiesce in
+the occupation of Lombardy by Austria, had she bound herself to keep
+within the limits of the treaty of 1815.
+
+Now you can not, I think, have failed to note the glaring inconsistency
+of these praises of what is called the moderation of Cavour, with the
+assumption to him and to his party of the whole credit of Italian unity,
+and the theory, now too prevalent, that no other party has contributed
+any thing but follies and excesses, impediments, not aids, to the
+accomplishment of the great task. I believe such ideas to be
+as profoundly ungenerous and unjust as they are evidently
+self-contradictory, and I believe that they will be adjudged by history
+to be, so far as they are in any degree in good faith, superficial,
+partial, and utterly incapable of serving as any explanation of the
+method of the evolution of the great problem of Italian nationality.
+
+Now let another witness be called into court, the late Prime Minister
+of Italy, Farina, on the authority of the Turin Times correspondent, who
+wrote September 12,1861: "You have not forgotten that in the Jemilia,
+Farina used, with great bitterness, to complain of the worthlessness of
+the Moderate party in time of trial and strife."*--_From "Garibaldi and
+Italian Unity" by Lieut.-Col. Chambers, 1864_.
+
+     * Count Cavour wrote from Paris In 1866 to M. Rattazzi the
+     following "I have seen Mr. Manin. He is a very good man, but
+     he always talks about the unity of Italy, and such other
+     tomfooleries." Also La Larina, Cavour's agent in Italy in
+     1860, published in that year the following explanation of
+     his differences with General Garibaldi:--He stated, "I
+     believed, and still believe, that the only salvation for
+     Sicily is the constitutional government of Victor Emanuel."
+     This explanation was published before Garibaldi crossed to
+     the main land; and had Cavour gained his point, and obtained
+     annexation, the kingdom of Naples would now have been under
+     Bourbon rule.
+
+END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rule of the Monk, by Giuseppe Garibaldi
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RULE OF THE MONK ***
+
+***** This file should be named 38486-8.txt or 38486-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/4/8/38486/
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.