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OUT WITH GARIBALDI
MR. HENTY'S HISTORICAL TALES.
THE CAT OF BUBASTES: A Story of Ancient Egypt....5_s._
THE YOUNG CARTHAGINIAN: A Story of the Times of Hannibal. ...6_s._
FOR THE TEMPLE: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem....6_s._
BERIC THE BRITON: A Story of the Roman Invasion....6_s._
THE DRAGON AND THE RAVEN: or, The Days of King Alfred....5_s._
WULF THE SAXON: A Story of the Norman Conquest....6_s._
A KNIGHT OF THE WHITE CROSS: The Siege of Rhodes....6_s._
IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE: A Story of Wallace and Bruce....6_s._
THE LION OF ST. MARK: A Story of Venice in the 14th Century....6_s._
ST. GEORGE FOR ENGLAND: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers....5_s._
A MARCH ON LONDON: A Story of Wat Tyler....5_s._
BOTH SIDES THE BORDER: A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower....6_s._
AT AGINCOURT: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris....6_s._
BY RIGHT OF CONQUEST: or, With Cortez in Mexico....6_s._
ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S EVE: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars....6_s._
BY PIKE AND DYKE: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic....6_s._
BY ENGLAND'S AID: or, The Freeing of the Netherlands....6_s._
UNDER DRAKE'S FLAG: A Tale of the Spanish Main....6_s._
THE LION OF THE NORTH: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus....6_s._
WON BY THE SWORD: A Tale of the Thirty Years' War....6_s._
WHEN LONDON BURNED: A Story of the Great Fire....6_s._
ORANGE AND GREEN: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick....5_s._
A JACOBITE EXILE: In the Service of Charles XII....5_s._
THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE: or, With Peterborough in Spain....5_s._
BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden....6_s._
WITH CLIVE IN INDIA: or, The Beginnings of an Empire....6_s._
WITH FREDERICK THE GREAT: The Seven Years' War....6_s._
WITH WOLFE IN CANADA: or, The Winning of a Continent....6_s._
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG: The American War of Independence....6_s._
HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar....5_s._
IN THE REIGN OF TERROR: The French Revolution....5_s._
NO SURRENDER! A Tale of the Rising in La Vendée....5_s._
A ROVING COMMISSION: A Story of the Hayti Insurrection....6_s._
THE TIGER OF MYSORE: The War with Tippoo Saib....6_s._
AT ABOUKIR AND ACRE: Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt....5_s._
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA: A Tale of the Peninsular War....6_s._
UNDER WELLINGTON'S COMMAND: The Peninsular War....6_s._
WITH COCHRANE THE DAUNTLESS: A Tale of his Exploits....6_s._
THROUGH THE FRAY: A Story of the Luddite Riots....6_s._
THROUGH RUSSIAN SNOWS: The Retreat from Moscow....5_s._
ONE OF THE 28TH: A Story of Waterloo....5_s._
IN GREEK WATERS: A Story of the Grecian War (1821)....6_s._
ON THE IRRAWADDY: A Story of the First Burmese War....5_s._
THROUGH THE SIKH WAR: A Tale of the Punjaub....6_s._
MAORI AND SETTLER: A Story of the New Zealand War....5_s._
WITH LEE IN VIRGINIA: A Story of the American Civil War....6_s._
BY SHEER PLUCK: A Tale of the Ashanti War....5_s._
FOR NAME AND FAME: or, Through Afghan Passes....5_s._
THE DASH FOR KHARTOUM: A Tale of the Nile Expedition....6_s._
CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST: A Story of Escape from Siberia....5_s._
LONDON: BLACKIE & SON, LIMITED; GLASGOW AND DUBLIN.
[Illustration: "FRANK ENGAGED IN A TOUGH FIGHT WITH THE OFFICER WHO HELD
THE FLAG"]
OUT WITH GARIBALDI
A STORY OF
THE LIBERATION OF ITALY
BY
G. A. HENTY
Author of "The Lion of St. Mark" "No Surrender!" "St. George for England"
"Under Wellington's Command" &c.
_WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY W. RAINEY, R.I._
LONDON
BLACKIE & SON, LIMITED, 50 OLD BAILEY, E.C
GLASGOW AND DUBLIN
1901
PREFACE
The invasion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by Garibaldi with a
force of but a thousand irregular troops is one of the most romantic
episodes ever recorded in military history. In many respects it rivals
the conquest of Mexico by Cortez. The latter won, not by the greater
bravery of his troops, but by their immense superiority in weapons and
defensive armour. Upon the contrary, Garibaldi's force were ill-armed
and practically without artillery, and were opposed by an army of a
hundred and twenty thousand men carrying the best weapons of the time,
and possessing numerous and powerful artillery. In both cases the
invaders were supported by a portion of the population who had been
reduced to a state of servitude, and who joined them against their
oppressors. There is another point of resemblance between these
remarkable expeditions, inasmuch as the leaders of both were treated
with the grossest ingratitude by the monarchs for whom they had gained
such large acquisitions of territory. For the leading incidents in the
campaign I have relied chiefly upon Garibaldi's Autobiography and the
personal narrative of the campaign by Captain Forbes, R.N.
G. A. HENTY.
CONTENTS
CHAP. Page
I. AWAITING THE ATTACK 11
II. A DESPERATE DEFENCE 31
III. TROUBLES 50
IV. A SUDDEN SUMMONS 65
V. ON THE WAY 85
VI. THE VILLA SPINOLA 104
VII. THE EXPEDITION SAILS 125
VIII. PALERMO 143
IX. HARD FIGHTING 158
X. WITH BIXIO 178
XI. A HAZARDOUS EXPEDITION 197
XII. AN AMBUSCADE 216
XIII. ACROSS THE STRAITS 233
XIV. A DISCOVERY 252
XV. THE ADVANCE FROM REGGIO 272
XVI. NAPLES 292
XVII. THE BATTLE OF THE VOLTURNO 311
XVIII. CAPUA 330
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
"FRANK ENGAGED IN A TOUGH FIGHT WITH THE OFFICER
WHO HELD THE FLAG" _Frontis._ 145
"WALKING UP AND DOWN THE ROOM LIKE A CAGED LION" 35
"HIS ASSAILANT FELL BACK AND DISAPPEARED" 91
"THE HINGES OF THE DOOR WERE BROKEN OFF" 161
"IN HER EXCITEMENT SHE FELL ON HER KNEES" 205
"'SILENCE, SIGNORS!' HE SAID IN A LOUD VOICE" 244
"IT WAS NOT UNTIL NULLO ORDERED FOUR MEN TO LOAD
... THAT HE WOULD ANSWER" 307
"HE WENT UP TO PERCIVAL AND PUT HIS HAND ON HIS SHOULDER" 337
MAP SHOWING POSITION OF THE OPPOSING FORCES ROUND CAPUA 313
PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF THE VOLTURNO 319
OUT WITH GARIBALDI.
CHAPTER I.
AWAITING THE ATTACK.
On April 29th, 1849, two men were seated in a room whose open windows
commanded a view down the Tiber. A sound of confused uproar rose from
the city.
"I am afraid, Leonard," the elder of the two men said, "that the crisis
is at hand. The news that the French are landing to-day at Civita
Vecchia is ominous indeed. It is true that Oudïnot has sent a message
saying that the flag he has hoisted is that of peace and order. The
people will not believe that he comes as an enemy; but, for my part, I
have no doubt of it."
"Nor have I," the other replied. "It was bad enough that we had Austria
against us, Sardinia powerless, and all the princelings of Italy
hostile; but that France, having proclaimed herself a republic, should
now interfere to crush us and to put the Pope back upon his throne is
nothing short of monstrous. I feared that it would be so, but Mazzini
had so much faith in his influence with members of the French Assembly
that he has buoyed up the hopes of the populace, and even now the people
generally believe that the French come as friends."
"It is doubtless the influence of their new president, Napoleon, that
has turned the scale against us," the other said gloomily. "I do not
suppose that he cares about the Pope one way or the other, but it is his
interest to pose as his champion. By so doing he will gain the good
opinion of Austria, of Naples, and the ducal rulers of the Italian
states. Even Prussia, protestant as she is, would view with satisfaction
the suppression of a rising like ours, for her throne well-nigh tottered
in last year's explosion. Russia, too, which perhaps more than any other
power has reason to fear a popular rising, would feel grateful to
Napoleon for undertaking to crush free thought in Rome. It is evident
that the French President's move is a politic one. Do you think that we
shall fight, Leonard?"
"I fancy so. I have no belief in Mazzini's courage, president though he
may be. Garibaldi is the popular hero, and I know him well enough to be
sure that if he has but a handful of men to back him he will fight till
the end. We had the odds as heavily against us when we were
comrades-in-arms at Rio, with but the Susie and a merchantman with three
or four guns against the whole Brazilian navy, or when, with the Italian
volunteers, two hundred strong, we several times withstood the assault
of five times our number. You will see we shall fight; but there can be
no question what the end must be. We may repulse Oudïnot's attack; but
France could send any amount of reinforcements to him, while we have no
friends to go to. It is well that your wife, Muriel, and the boy were
sent off a month since to Leghorn, where, if we escape from what must
happen here, we can join them and take ship for England."
"I am sorry that you should be involved in this affair, Leonard."
"I am not sorry," the other said. "In the first place, after being here
more than ten years, I have come to hate the tyranny and oppression, I
don't say of the Pope himself, but of his underlings, as much as you do.
In the second place, I would fight by the side of Garibaldi in almost
any quarrel. I do not agree with him in his love for republics, but he
has infected me with his hatred of tyrants and his burning patriotism.
He is a glorious man; and after having been his comrade, I may almost
say his brother, in adventures, hardships, and battles for two years, it
would be strange indeed if I hesitated to join him in his crusade to rid
Italy of her tyrants. I am a soldier, and I own to a fondness for
fighting when convinced that the cause is a just one. I know your
opinions on the subject; but I suppose you do not propose to fight
yourself?"
"I do indeed, Leonard. I do not say that I should be a match for a
strong and active man in a bout with swords, though of course I learned
the use of the rapier when a student, but at fifty I can at least use a
musket as well as a younger man, and if Rome fights I fight with her.
Ah, here comes Garibaldi!"
The door opened, and a man entered, whose appearance, even had he not
been dressed in a red shirt, blue trousers of rough cloth, and a soft,
broad-brimmed wide-awake, would have been remarked wherever he went. Of
middle height, he was exceptionally wide across the shoulders and deep
in the chest; he wore his hair and beard long--both were of a golden
yellow, giving a remarkably leonine look to his face; his eyes were
blue, and the general expression of his face, when not angered, was
pleasant and good-tempered, although marked also by resolution and
firmness. At that time his name was comparatively little known in
Europe, although the extraordinary bravery and enterprise that he had
shown at Rio and Monte Video had marked him as a leader of guerilla
warfare, possessing many characteristics that recalled the exploits of
Lord Cochrane. It was only when, after his services had been declined by
Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia, he was, with a few hundred followers,
making his way to aid in the defence of Venice against the Austrians,
that, on hearing that Rome had risen, he hurried to aid the movement,
and on his arrival there was greeted with enthusiasm by the populace,
who had been informed by Mazzini of his exploits.
"You have heard the news?" he said as he entered.
"Yes; we were just talking it over," Leonard Percival said, "and
conclude, as I suppose you do, that the French come as enemies."
"There can be no doubt about it, my friend," Garibaldi said. "If they
had said that they came as enemies I might have doubted them; but after
the evasive answer their general gave to the deputation Mazzini sent
them this morning, I have no question whatever that they will attack us
to-morrow."
"And you will fight?"
"Of course. We shall beat them, I think; in the end Rome must fall, but
our resistance will not have been in vain. The stand we shall make
against tyranny will touch every heart throughout Italy. It will show
that, ground down as the people have been for centuries, the old fire of
the Romans is not extinct. This will be but the beginning. When it is
seen that the despots cannot maintain their authority save by the aid of
foreign powers, there will be revolt after revolt until Italy is free.
There were some grand lines you once told me as we sat round a camp
fire, Percival, that exactly express my thoughts."
"I know what you mean," the Englishman said. "They were Byron's:
For freedom's battle once begun,
Bequeath'd by bleeding sire to son,
Though baffled oft, is ever won."
"They are splendid and true," Garibaldi said enthusiastically. "So shall
it be with us. This is our first battle--we cannot hope to win it; but
our guns will tell Italy and Europe that we have awoke at last, that,
after being slaves so long that we had come to be looked upon as a
people content to be ruled by despots, we are still men, and that,
having once begun the fight for freedom, we will maintain it until
freedom is won."
"And now, what are your plans for to-morrow?"
"As soon as the French are seen approaching the city the church bells
will ring and the alarm be beaten in the streets. The word has been
passed round that all are to assemble instantly. The troops that have
been organised will first pour out; the rest will follow with such arms
as they have. We shall simply rush upon the French. In such a fight
there is no need for manoeuvring; and it is well that it is so, for
there the French would be our superiors. We shall simply attack and
drive them back. We may take it for granted that, being boastful
creatures and believing that they have but to show themselves and we
shall lay down our arms and implore their mercy, they will be wholly
taken by surprise and disconcerted by our onslaught. Can you recommend
anything better, my friend?"
"No. With such a force as yours, newly raised and wholly unused to
discipline, it is probable that at the first engagement, and with the
advantage of surprise, they will, as you say, drive back the French; but
you will have to adopt different tactics afterwards: to stand on the
defensive and prevent their entering the city as long as possible, and
to defend every street and lane, as the Spaniards did at Saragossa. They
may take the city at last, but at so terrible a cost of blood that we
may be sure that when you rise again the French people will not allow
another expedition to be undertaken for a cause in which they have no
concern, and which would entail such heavy sacrifices."
"Will you have a separate command, Percival? You have but to choose one,
and it is yours."
"I will fight by your side," the Englishman said briefly. "I know that I
shall get my full share of the work then."
"And you, professor?"
"I shall go out with the rest. The students have elected me their
captain, and I shall, of course, lead them. It is a simple matter. I see
the enemy in front, and I go at them. Even I, a man of peace all my
life, understand that. I shall have with me at least a dozen of my
colleagues, and if I am shot they can direct our boys as well as I can."
"Good!" Garibaldi said. "If I thought that you could keep the students
in hand, and then dash into the thick of it if you see our men wavering
anywhere, I should say do so; but I know that it would be impossible.
They will long to be in the front rank and to set an example to others,
and I shall feel confident that, wherever they may be, there will be no
faltering. Your chief difficulty will be in restraining their ardour.
Well, my friends, I have many things to arrange, so must be going. You
will find me in my quarters at nine o'clock this evening, Percival. The
officers and the heads of the various quarters of the town are to meet
me there at that hour, to arrange where the assembling-places are to be
when the alarm is given, and the streets through which they must move
when we see at which point the French are going to attack us."
"I will come down with him," the professor said. "I will send word to my
colleagues where to meet me an hour later, so that I can inform them of
the arrangements."
And with a nod Garibaldi, who had been unanimously elected general of
the Roman forces, strolled away.
Leonard Percival had been a captain in the British army, but having
become tired of garrison life during the long peace, had sold out in
1837, and sailed for South America, where there were always
opportunities for a man of action to distinguish himself. He took part
in the struggle of Rio Grande for separation from Brazil. Here he first
made the acquaintance of Garibaldi, and shared with him in the many
perilous adventures and desperate fights of that war. Becoming disgusted
with the factions and intrigues that were rampant at Rio, he left the
service of the little republic and returned to England.
He was the second son of a wealthy English gentleman, who had viewed
with much disapproval his leaving the army and undertaking the life of a
soldier of fortune when there was no occasion for his doing so, as he
had an allowance amply sufficient for him to live upon. His father was
not much surprised when, after staying for a month at home, Leonard told
him that, having a taste for art, he had made up his mind to adopt it as
a profession, and should go out to Rome to study. This seemed to him
better than wandering about the world fighting in quarrels in which he
had no concern, and he had no valid reply to his son when the latter
said,--
"You see, father, you cannot expect me to spend my life in absolute
laziness. I must be doing something. The life of a club lounger is the
last I should choose. I have no liking for a country life--if I had I
would go out to Australia or Canada and settle; but I know that in a few
months I should be home again, for I could not stand a life of solitude.
If you can suggest anything better I shall be ready, as far as possible,
to be guided by your wishes."
"You may as well have your own way, Leonard. I suppose it will come to
that in the end, and therefore you may as well do it first as last; and
at any rate, a few months in Rome will be a change for you, and I shall
not be expecting by every post a communication saying that you have been
killed."
So Captain Percival went to Rome, without any idea of staying there more
than a year. His plans, however, were changed when he met and fell in
love with Muriel, the only child of Professor Forli, a man of almost
European reputation for his learning and attainments. His wooing had
been an uneventful one. His income was amply sufficient, in the
professor's eyes, to keep his daughter in comfort, and, moreover, the
master under whom Leonard was studying gave an excellent account of his
ability and industry, and in 1842 the marriage took place. Previous to
this Leonard had obtained his father's consent to his intended marriage,
although not his approval.
"I consider that it is one more piece of folly," he wrote. "There was no
reason in the world why you should not have settled at home and made a
good marriage. I had specially hoped that this would have been the case,
as Tom still remains a bachelor. However, there are some redeeming
points in the matter. I have, through a friend, who is a member of the
Athenæum, learned that Professor Forli's name is well known, and that he
is considered one of the most learned men in Italy. In the next place,
the young lady's mother is, as you have told me, an Englishwoman of good
family, and her daughter is therefore only half an Italian. From your
description of her, allowing for the usual exaggeration in such cases,
she takes after her mother, and might pass anywhere as of unmixed
English blood, so I may hope that I shall not have black-haired, swarthy
little grandchildren running about. I shall add a couple of hundred a
year to your allowance, as I always intended to do when you married."
A year later Captain Percival brought his wife home to England, and
stayed there for some time; and here a son was born, who was christened
Frank, after his grandfather. Whatever objections the latter might at
first have felt to his son's marriage, they were altogether removed by
this visit; neither in appearance nor in speech did his wife betray her
foreign origin, for her mother had always conversed with her in English,
and she spoke it without the slightest accent. She was now twenty, was
strikingly handsome, and very graceful in her movements. He would gladly
have kept her and his son with him; but when they had consented to her
marriage, her parents had bargained that she should, at any rate, spend
a large portion of her time with them, as they had no other children.
Moreover, her husband was now devoted to art, and although he had only
been working for two years, his pictures were already beginning to
attract attention.
Mr. Percival was, therefore, obliged to content himself with the promise
that they would come over every year for at least four months. The
arrangement, however, was not carried out, for, a few months after their
return to Italy, Mr. Percival died suddenly. His death made no
difference pecuniarily to his son, as he had settled upon him a sum
sufficient to produce an income equal to that which he had before been
allowed. His elder brother came out a year later, and stayed for a few
weeks with him.
"You must send this little chap over to England to be educated,
Leonard," he had said, "if you will persist in sticking in this rotten
old city. I don't suppose I shall ever marry; and if not, of course some
day he will come in for the property."
"But why on earth shouldn't you marry, Tom? You know what a trouble it
was to our father that you did not do so--it was a real grievance to
him."
"Well, I should really have been glad to oblige him; but somehow or
other I never saw any girl whom I earnestly desired to make my wife, or,
as I suppose you would call it, fell in love with. I very much prefer
knocking about in my yacht, or travelling, to settling down. Of course I
always spent a month or two, twice a year, at my father's, and was in
town three months in the season--that is to say, when I did not get sick
of it. Then I either went up the Mediterranean or to the West Indies, or
knocked about round England for three or four months, and finished the
year with a run up the Nile, or out to India or China. Now I feel even
less inclined to marry than I did before, for if I did, it would simply
mean eight months in the year down in the country, and four in London.
Of course, if I ever do fall in love--and at forty it is hardly
likely--I shall marry; I don't bind myself in any way to remain single.
Anyhow, I am glad that you are married, and that, when I go, there will
be another Frank Percival, who we must hope will be of a more settled
disposition than either of us, to reign in the old place."
So things had gone on quietly until, in 1848, the revolution in Paris
was followed by an upheaval all over Europe. The ascent of Pius IX. to
the papal chair was hailed by the liberal party in Italy as the
commencement of a new era. He was accredited, and not unjustly, with
liberal views, and it was believed that he would introduce reforms into
the Papal States, and act as a centre round which patriots could rally.
Unfortunately, the party of reform in Italy was divided into two
classes; of one of these the Marquis d'Azeglio was the leading spirit;
he was a moderate reformer, and looked to a union of Italy under a
constitutional monarch. Carlo Alberto, the King of Sardinia, seemed to
him the only man who could assume that position, and for years d'Azeglio
had worked quietly to this end.
A more violent spirit was however working with as much zeal and energy
in another direction. Mazzini was an extreme republican of the narrowest
kind; he was in communication with men of the same type in France, and
had formed secret societies all over Italy. He and those with him were
anxious to obtain the countenance and prestige which a Pope of advanced
liberal opinions would give to their party, and Pius IX. was received
with enthusiastic acclamations by the republican party of Rome. But,
liberally inclined as he was, he shrank from committing himself wholly
to the reformers. He was a weak man; and although his vanity was
gratified by his reception, and although he had sincerely desired to
introduce broad reforms, he hesitated when called upon to carry those
reforms into action. The King of Sardinia had been pushed forward by the
Mazzinians, until he compromised himself, and made advances to the Pope,
when in 1847 Austria violated the Papal territories at Ferrara. But the
Pope hesitated. His army was already near the frontier; but he declared
that he had no intention of making war, and desired only to protect his
territory.
The news of the movement had reached Monte Video; and Garibaldi,
believing that the Pope would stand forth as the champion for the
freedom of Italy, wrote, offering his services and those of his
followers, the greater part of whom were Italians who had been exiled
for their political opinions. No answer was received from him; and
Garibaldi took the matter into his own hands, and with eighty-five
Italians sailed for Europe. On arriving at Alicante he learned that a
revolution had broken out in Paris, that Carlo Alberto had given his
people a constitution, that Lombardy and Venice had risen, that the
Milanese had driven the Austrians out of the city, that there were
insurrections in Vienna and Berlin, that Tuscany and Rome were sending
thousands of volunteers to fight in the national cause, and that even
Ferdinand of Naples had promised his people a constitution. Garibaldi
was unavoidably detained for some time at Nice, his native town, and
before he was able to move a change had set in.
The Lombards and Venetians had both quarrelled among themselves.
Mazzini's party were struggling against those who would have made Carlo
Alberto King of Italy. The Piedmontese, after brilliant successes at
first, were obliged to retreat. The Roman volunteers had been forced to
capitulate. Garibaldi went to see the king, and offer to act with his
volunteers in his service; but his application was slighted, and this
threw him into the hands of the revolutionary party. It was a grievous
mistake on the part of the king; but the latter could not forget that
Garibaldi had been a rebel against him, nor could Garibaldi forget that
it was the king who had sentenced him to death and had sent him into
exile. He therefore hurried to Milan, where he was received with
enthusiasm. The king moved to the aid of Milan, against which the
Austrians were advancing; but in that city the party of Mazzini was
predominant, and they refused to open the gates to him; and early in
August the king came to terms with the Austrians, and Milan surrendered.
For a time Garibaldi's following alone maintained the war. Carrying on a
guerilla warfare, he, with fifteen hundred men, was surrounded by five
thousand Austrians, but he effected a marvellous retreat, and retired
into Switzerland. Here he was taken ill, and was forced to rest for some
months. He then went to Genoa. The extraordinary skill and bravery which
he had shown during the campaign induced the King of Sardinia to offer
him the rank of general in his army, that being the grade that he had
held in Monte Video. But Garibaldi refused, and with two hundred and
fifty volunteers started for Venice, which was besieged by the
Austrians. On hearing, however, of the rising in Rome and the flight of
the Pope--who had now abandoned his liberal professions, and had thrown
himself into the hands of Austria--Garibaldi changed his course, and his
ranks being swollen as he marched along, he arrived at Rome at the head
of fifteen hundred men. Here he met his comrade in the struggle at Rio
and Monte Video.
During his six years' residence in Rome Captain Percival had imbibed
that hatred of the Austrians and detestation of the despotisms under
which the Italian States groaned, that was felt by all with whom he came
in contact, his father-in-law, Professor Forli, being one of the leaders
of the liberal party in Rome. His wife, too, was an enthusiast in the
cause; and although he felt no sympathy whatever with Mazzini and the
revolutionary party, he was, even before the arrival of Garibaldi,
resolved to take up arms should Rome be attacked. The presence of
Garibaldi still further confirmed this resolution; but as soon as he
heard that a French expedition had set sail, he had insisted that his
wife and child should leave the city, for he by no means shared the
general belief that the French were coming as allies. Her mother
accompanied her to Leghorn, for the professor was as anxious as Percival
that his wife and daughter should be in a place of safety.
They were most reluctant to go, and only yielded when Signor Forli and
Captain Percival declared that their presence in Rome would hamper their
movements and render it impossible for them to make their escape if the
city should be taken, which both foresaw would be the case. They
promised that when they found all was lost they would leave the city and
join them at Leghorn. Madame Forli was to take her maiden name again;
and as two English ladies staying at an hotel at Leghorn they would be
safe from annoyance even if a French or Austrian army marched through
the town. The professor spoke English well, and once out of the city he
and Leonard would be able to pass as two English tourists travelling
from Naples to Florence.
Had the Pope sought refuge in Capua or Malta, events might have taken a
very different turn; but he threw himself into the hands of the King of
Naples, and went the length of pronouncing him to be a model monarch, a
pattern to the rest of Europe, and this at a time when the disclosures
that had been made respecting the horrible dungeons into which all
Neapolitans suspected of entertaining liberal views were thrown, were
filling Europe with horror.
This change of front extinguished the hopes of those who had imagined
that the Pope would become the centre of liberal thought in Italy,
rendered the people of the papal dominions desperate, and vastly
increased the party of Mazzini and the extreme republicans. On February
9th a constituent assembly was held in Rome, and the republic was
proclaimed. Garibaldi was appointed to defend the frontier. Volunteers
poured in from all parts of Italy, and as the King of Sardinia had again
taken up arms, a force was moving forward to support him, when the news
came of his defeat at Novara, followed by his abdication and the
succession of Victor Emmanuel to the throne. Austria, Naples, and Spain
were now eager to crush the revolution in Rome; but the resolution of
the Romans was unshaken, and they still hoped to be able to maintain
themselves with, as they expected, the aid of France.
The terrible blow that had been inflicted on finding that the French
were coming as enemies, instead of as friends, did not shake their
determination, although it was now with a courage of despair rather than
of hope that they prepared for the conflict. Rome must fall; but at
least it would prove itself worthy of its best traditions, and set an
example that would not be lost upon the peoples of Italy. Anything, they
felt, would be better than the reign of a pope in close alliance with
the tyrant of Naples; and the evening after the French landing saw Rome
tranquil and grimly determined. Doubtless many of those who were
resolved to fight till the last were buoyed up with the hope that in any
case they would be able to make their escape when the action was over.
Rome covered a great extent of ground, and the French army was not of
sufficient strength to form a cordon round it.
Captain Percival had, a fortnight before, sent his finished and
unfinished canvases and all his most valuable belongings down to Civita
Vecchia, and had shipped them for England. He knew the reckless
destruction carried out by an army after a successful assault, and that
possibly, if it came to street to street fighting, a considerable
portion of the city might be burnt. The professor had similarly sent
away his very valuable collection of coins, books, and manuscripts. At
nine o'clock they went down to the mansion that Garibaldi occupied. A
long discussion took place, and routes were decided upon for the various
contingents to follow when the alarm was given. News had been brought in
from time to time during the day as to the movements of the French, and
the point at which they would probably assault was therefore now known.
It would be either at the Porta Cavalleggieri or at the Porta San
Pancrazio.
Captain Percival and the professor returned to the former's house, where
the professor had taken up his residence since his wife had gone to
Leghorn, and sat talking until a late hour. They were roused early the
next morning by the ringing of the great bells of the cathedral, which
were joined almost immediately by those of all the other churches in the
city. Captain Percival had lain down fully dressed, and springing to his
feet, he buckled on a sword, placed a brace of pistols in his belt, and
then ran down to the Porta San Pancrazio, where, as he knew, Garibaldi
would take up his post. The general, indeed, had not slept at all, but,
fearful that the French might attempt an assault under cover of
darkness, kept watch round the western wall, along which he had posted
the men he could most depend upon. Even before the Englishman joined
Garibaldi the roar of the guns on the wall told that the French were
already advancing.
"It is like old times, comrade," Garibaldi said, with a strong grip of
his hand, "only it is on a larger scale than we were accustomed to in
South America. Oudïnot is beginning with a blunder, for he is making for
the Porta Cavalleggieri, which is flanked by the walls of the Vatican.
He is over-confident, and I do not imagine that he expects anything like
a serious resistance. I think we shall certainly beat him back there,
and that then he will attack us here. Will you go to the other gate? All
my old comrades know you, and, indeed, all the volunteers, as you have
assisted to drill them."
Oudïnot, indeed, had believed that the force of regular troops he had
with him would easily brush aside the resistance of a half-armed mob.
Captain Percival hurried away. The volunteers were already gathered on
the walls, and in every street the townspeople were hurrying out, armed
with weapons of all kinds. On the roofs and at the windows of the houses
women were clustered thickly, waving their handkerchiefs and scarves,
and shouting words of encouragement and applause to the men. To the roar
of cannon was now added the rattle of musketry. When he reached the gate
he found a heavy column of volunteers drawn up there, while behind them
was a dense crowd of excited citizens. From the wall he saw the French
advancing; the leading regiment was but a few hundred yards away. They
were moving steadily forward, apparently heedless of the cannon that
thundered on their flank and face. The musketry they could afford to
despise, for they were beyond the distance at which any accurate
shooting was possible; and, indeed, the firing was of the wildest
description, as comparatively few of the men had ever handled a gun
until a few weeks previously. Captain Percival went up to the officer
who was in command, and with whom he was well acquainted. Although the
massive walls still stood, the gates had long since disappeared, their
places being occupied simply by barriers, where the duty on provisions
and goods coming into the city was collected.
"The men are clamouring to be let out," he said. "What do you think,
Captain Percival?"
"I should let them go soon. They are full of dash and enthusiasm at
present, and would fight far better on the offensive than they would if
they are kept stationary. I should keep them in hand till the French are
within seventy or eighty yards of the gate. By that time they will be
answering the fire from the walls, and even those in the front lines,
whose muskets are still loaded, will only have time for one shot before
our men are upon them. I should place three or four hundred of your
steadiest men on the wall here, so that if the sortie is repulsed, they
can cover the retreat by their fire."
"I think that is good advice," the other said. "Will you come down with
me, and tell them that they shall go, but that they must not move till I
give the order, and that no man is to fire until he is within ten yards
of the enemy's line."
It was difficult to make their voices heard above the crack of musketry
and the shouts of the excited crowd; however, their words were passed
from man to man, and so back among the people behind. Now that they knew
that they were to have their way, and that the critical movement was at
hand, the shouting abated, and a stern look of determination settled on
their faces. Leonard Percival joined a group of officers who were at the
head of the volunteers, and the officer in command resumed his place on
the wall, as it was all-important that, if the sortie were repulsed, he
should lead his men down and oppose the entrance of the enemy until the
retiring force had rallied.
It was not long before a roll of musketry broke out, showing that the
assailants were now returning the fire of the Garibaldians on the wall.
It grew louder and louder; and then, when the head of the French column
was some eighty yards away, the officer on the wall gave the order, and
the volunteers followed by the citizens poured out with a mighty shout.
The French halted for a moment in surprise, not having dreamt that the
defenders of the town would venture upon sallying out to attack them.
Then there was a scattered fire of musketry; but most of the barrels
were already empty, and few of the balls took effect. Without replying,
the volunteers rushed forward, opening out as they ran to something like
order. When within ten yards of the French bayonets every man delivered
his fire, and then hurled himself upon the broken ranks. The struggle
was a short one. The weight and impetuosity of the attack, supported as
it was by a surging crowd of excited citizens, was irresistible, and the
regiment broke and fled hastily to the shelter of the troops following
it, leaving the ground strewn with dead and wounded. Then the bugles at
the gate rang out the order to the exulting crowd to retire. The
officers threw themselves in front of the men, and with great difficulty
checked the pursuit, and caused them to withdraw to their original
position behind the wall.