"For Italy and Victor Emmanuel!"
The year of Revolution, beginning with most glorious hopes, ended
disastrously for the Italian patriots. Princes had allied with
peasants in eager furtherance of the cause of freedom but defeat took
away their faith. The soldiers lost belief in the leaders of the
movement and belief, alas! in the ideals for which they had been
fighting.
Charles Albert, the King of Sardinia, continued to struggle on alone
when adversities had deprived his most faithful partisans of their zeal
for fighting. He had once been uncertain and vacillating in mind, but
he became staunch in his later days and able to reply courageously to
the charges which his enemies brought against him. He mustered some
80,000 men and put them under Polish leaders--a grave mistake, since
the soldiers were prejudiced by the strange foreign aspect of their
officers and began the war without enthusiasm for their generals.
Field-Marshal Radetsky, a redoubtable enemy, only brought the same
numbers to the field, but he had the advantage of being known as a
conquering hero. His cry was "To Turin!" but the bold Piedmontese
rallied to defend their town and spread the news of joyful victory
throughout the Italian peninsula. Other {196} defenders of liberty
dared to raise their heads now, thought once more of Italy free and
united.
At the battle of Novara, fought on an April morning of 1849, the King
of Sardinia gave up his throne, and longed for death that he might make
some tardy recompense for the failure of his attempt to withstand the
power of Austria. "Let me die, this is my last day," he said when
officers and men would have saved him from the fate of the 4000
Sardinians who lay dead and wounded. He was not suffered to meet death
but rode away, pointing to his son Victor Emmanuel II as he left his
army. "There is your King!" he said, resigning all claim to royalty
now that he had met defeat. He promised that he would serve in the
ranks as a private soldier if Italian troops made war again on Austria.
After the disgrace of Novara and the flight from Rome it seemed that
Mazzini could do nothing more for the cause of patriotism he had served
so nobly. He had given up hope of a great Italian Republic, and saw
that men's hearts were turned toward the young King Victor and the
monarchy.
Yet Garibaldi, the soldier of fortune, had not renounced the
aspirations of Mazzini, a leader to whom he had always been devoted.
"When I was young I had only aspirations," he said. "I sought out a
man who could give me counsel and guide my youthful years; I sought him
as the thirsty man seeks water. This man I found; he alone kept alive
the sacred fire; he alone watched while all the world slept; he has
always remained my friend, full of love for his country, full of
devotion for the cause of freedom: this man is Joseph Mazzini."
The worship of the prophet had led the gallant, {197} daring sailor
into hairbreadth escapes and strange vicissitudes of fortune. He had
been sentenced to death as "an enemy of the State and liable to all the
penalties of a brigand of the first category." He had fled to South
America and ridden over the untrodden pampas, tasting the wild life of
Nature with a keen enjoyment. He had been a commander in the navy, and
had defended Monte Video. He had been imprisoned and tortured, and had
taken Anita, daughter of Don Benito Riverio de Silva of Laguna to be
his wife and the companion of his adventures.
Garibaldi could not afford even the priest's marriage fees for his life
was always one of penury, so he gave him an old silver watch. When he
was Head of the Italian Legion he was content to sit in the dark,
because he discovered that candles were not served out to the common
soldiers. The red shirts of his following had been bought originally
for their cheapness, being intended for the use of men employed in the
great cattle-markets of the Argentine. The sordid origin of the
_Camicia Rossa_ was soon forgotten as it became the badge of honour.
Its fame was sung in many foreign lands, and it generally figured in
pictures of Garibaldi.
The Legion created some alarm in Rome as they appeared--men with their
dark faces surmounted by peaked hats and waving plumes. Garibaldi
himself rode on a white horse and attracted favourable notice, for he
was a gallant horseman and his red shirt became him no less than the
jaunty cap with its golden ornaments. Three thousand men accepted the
offer which the chief made when there was news that the French were
advancing to the city. He did not promise them gold nor distinction,
but a chance of meeting {198} their ancient enemy of Austria. Cold and
hunger would be theirs, and the weariness of constant marches. Death
would be the lot of many in their ranks, the cruel tortures of their
gaolers. All men were outlaws who had defended Rome, the Republic, to
the last, and bread and water might be refused to them within the
confines of their country.
The cry for war sounded, and Garibaldi led three thousand men,
including Ugo Bassi and the noblest of knight-errants. The attempt to
reach Venice was frustrated by a storm, and Anita died miserably in a
peasant's cottage, where she was dragged for shelter. Garibaldi fled
to the United States, and never saw again many of his bold companions.
Venice was left of dire necessity to defend herself from Austria. She
had sworn to resist to the last, and President Manin refused to
surrender even when cholera came upon the town and the citizens were
famished. He appealed to England, but only got advice to make terms
with the besiegers. He capitulated in the end because the town was
bombarded by the Austrian army, and he feared that the conquerors would
exercise a fell vengeance if the city still resisted. There was
nothing left to eat after the eighteen months' siege of Venice. Manin
left for Marseilles, mourned bitterly by the Venetians. His very
door-step was broken by the Austrians, who found his name upon it. Ugo
Bassi had kissed it, voicing the sentiment of many. "Next to God and
Italy--before the Pope--Manin!"
Victor Emmanuel, the young King of Sardinia, had won no such
popularity, suffering from the prejudice against his family, the House
of Savoy, and against his wife, an Austrian by birth. He came to the
throne at a dark time, succeeding to a royal inheritance of {199} ruin
and misery. The army had been disgraced, and the exchequer was empty.
He had the dignity of a king and remarkable boldness, but it would have
been hard for him to have guided Italy without his adviser and friend,
the Count Cavour.
Mazzini, the prophet, and Garibaldi, the soldier, had won the hearts of
Italians devoted to the cause of Italy. Cavour suffered the same
distrust as Victor Emmanuel, but he knew his task and performed it. He
was the statesman who made the government and created the present
stable monarchy. He had to be satisfied with less than the Republican
enthusiasts. He had few illusions, and believed that in politics it
was possible to choose the end but rarely possible to choose the means.
Born in Piedmont in 1810, the statesman was of noble birth and
sufficient wealth, being a godson of Pauline, sister of the great
Napoleon. He joined the army as an engineer in 1828, but found the
life little to his taste since he was not allowed to express his
opinions freely. He resigned in 1831 and retired to the country, where
he was successful as a farmer. He travelled extensively for those
days, and visited England, where he studied social problems.
Of all foreigners, Cavour, perhaps, benefited most largely by a study
of the English Parliament from the outside. He was present at debates,
and wrote articles on Free Trade and the English Poor Law. He had
enlightened views, and wished to promote the interests of Italy by
raising her to the position of a power in Europe. He set to work to
bring order into the finances of Sardinia, but the King recognized his
minister's unpopularity by the nickname _bestia neira_. He had a seat
in 1848 in the first Parliament of {200} Piedmont, and was Minister of
Commerce and Agriculture later. He pushed on reforms to benefit the
trade and industries of Italy without troubling to consult the
democrats, his enemies. His policy was liberal, but he intended to go
slowly. "Piedmont must begin by raising herself, by re-establishing in
Europe as well as in Italy, a position and a credit equal to her
ambition. Hence there must be a policy unswerving in its aims but
flexible and various as to the means employed." Cavour's character was
summed up in these words. He distrusted violent measures, and yet
could act with seeming rashness in a crisis when prudence would mean
failure.
Prime Minister in 1852, he saw an opportunity two years later of
winning fame for Piedmont. The Russians were resisting the western
powers which defended the dominions of the Porte. Ministers resigned
and the country marvelled, but Cavour signed a pledge to send forces of
15,000 men to the Crimea to help Turkey against Russia. It would be
well to prove that Italy retained the military virtues of her history
after the defeat of Novara, he said in reply to all expostulations.
The result showed the statesman's wisdom and justified his daring. The
Sardinians distinguished themselves in the Crimea, and Italy was able
to enter into negotiations with the great European powers who arranged
the Peace of Paris.
The Congress of Paris was the time for Cavour to gain sympathy for the
woes of Italian states, still subject to the tyrannous sway of Austria.
He denounced the enslavement of Naples also, and brought odium upon
King Ferdinand, but "Austria," he said, "is the arch-enemy of Italian
independence; the {201} permanent danger to the only free nation in
Italy, the nation I have the honour to represent."
England confined herself to expressions of sympathy, but Louis
Napoleon, now Emperor of France, seemed likely to become an ally. He
met Cavour at Plombières, a watering place in the Vosges, in July 1858,
and entered into a formal compact to expel the Austrians from Italy.
The final arrangements were made in the following spring in Paris. "It
is done," said Cavour, the minister triumphant. "We have made some
history, and now to dinner."
Mazzini, in England, read of the alliance with gloomy misgivings, for,
as a Republican, he distrusted the President of France who had made
himself an Emperor. He said that Napoleon III would work now for his
own ends. He protested in vain. Garibaldi rejoiced and returned from
Caprera, where he had been trying to plant a garden on a barren island.
Cavour fought against some prejudice when he offered to enrol Garibaldi
and his followers in the army of Sardinia. Charles Albert had refused
the hero's sword in the days of his bitter struggle, and the regular
officers still looked askance on the Revolutionary captain.
But the Austrian troops were countless, numbering recruits from the
Tyrol and Bohemia, from the valleys of Styria and the Hungarian
steppes. There was need of a vast army to oppose them. The French
soldiers fought gallantly, yet they were inferior to the Austrians in
discipline. When the allies had won the hard contested fight of
Montebello it was good to think of that band of 3000, singing as they
marched, "_Addio mia bella, addio_," like the knights of legend. They
crossed Lake Maggiore into the enemy's own {202} country, and took all
the district of the Lowland Lakes.
In June, the allies won the victory of Magenta, and on the 8th of that
month, King and Emperor entered Milan flushed with victory. The
Austrians had fled, and the keys of the city were in the possession of
Victor Emmanuel.
The Emperor of Austria, Francis Joseph, had assumed command of the army
when the great battle of Solferino was fought amidst the wondrous
beauty of Italian scenery in an Italian summer. It was June 24th, and
the peasant reaped the harvest of Lombardy, wondering if he should reap
for the conqueror the next day. The French officers won great glory as
they charged up the hills, which must be taken before they could
succeed in storming Solferino. After a fierce struggle of six hours,
the streets of the little town were filled with the bodies of the dead
and dying. By the evening, the victory of the allies over Austria was
certain.
Napoleon III had kept his promise to the Italian people, who were
encouraged by a success of the Piedmontese army under Victor Emmanuel
at San Martino. But he disappointed them cruelly by stopping short in
his victorious career and sending General Fleury to the Austrian camp
to demand an armistice. Europe was amazed when the preliminaries of
peace were signed, for it was generally expected that Austria would be
brought to submission. Italy was in despair, for Venetia had not yet
been won for them.
Cavour raged with fury, regretting that he had trusted Napoleon and
trusted his King, Victor Emmanuel, who agreed to the proposals for an
armistice. Now he heaped them with reproaches because they had {203}
given up the Italian cause. He resigned office in bitterness for it
was he who had concluded the alliance of France and Italy.
Napoleon returned to France, pursued by the indignation of the country
he had come to deliver. He complained of their ingratitude, though he
might have known that Lombardy would not accept freedom at the cost of
Venice. He was execrated when the price of his assistance was
demanded. France claimed Nice and Savoy as French provinces
henceforth. Savoy was the country of Victor Emmanuel, and Nice the
honoured birthplace of the idolized Garibaldi!
Garibaldi was chosen by the people of Nice for the new Chamber of 1860,
for they hoped that he would make an effort to save his native town.
He had some idea of raising a revolution against French rule, but
decided to free Sicily as a mightier enterprise. Victor Emmanuel
completed the sacrifice which gave "the cradle of his race" to the
foreigner. He was reconciled to the cession at length because he
believed that Italy had gained much already.
Cavour did not openly approve of the attack which Garibaldi was
preparing to make upon the Bourbon's sovereignty. Many said that he
did his best to frustrate the plans of the soldier because there was
hostility between them. Garibaldi could not forgive the cession of
Nice to which the statesmen had, ere this, assented. He was bitter in
his feeling toward Victor Emmanuel's minister, but he was loyal to
Victor Emmanuel. His band of volunteers, known as the Thousand,
marched in the King's name, and the chief refused to enrol those whose
Republican sentiments made them dislike the idea of Italian unity.
"Italy and Victor Emmanuel," {204} the cry of the Hunters of the Alps,
was the avowed object of his enterprise.
Garibaldi sailed amid intense excitement, proudly promising "a new and
glorious jewel" to the King of Sardinia, if the venture were
successful. The standard of revolt had already been raised by Rosaline
Pilo, the handsome Sicilian noble, whose whole life had been devoted to
the cause of country. The insurgents awaited Garibaldi with a feverish
desire for success against the Neapolitan army, which numbered 150,000
men. They knew that the leader brought only few soldiers but that they
were picked men. Strange stories had been told of Garibaldi's success
in warfare, being due to supernatural intervention. The prayers of his
beautiful old peasant-mother were said to have prevailed till her
death, when her spirit came to hold converse with the hero before
battle.
[Illustration: The Meeting of Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi (Pietro
Aldi)]
The Red-shirts landed at Marsala, a thousand strong, packed into
merchant vessels by a patriotic owner. Garibaldi led them to the
mountain city of Salemi, which had opposed the Bourbon dynasty warmly.
There he proclaimed himself dictator of Sicily in the name of Victor
Emmanuel, soon to be ruler of all Italy. Peasants joined the Thousand,
armed with rusty pistols and clad in picturesque goat-skins. They were
received with honour by the chief, who was pleased to see that Sicily
was bent on freedom. A Franciscan friar threw himself upon his knees
before the mighty leader and asked to join the expedition. "Come with
us, you will be our Ugo Bassi," Garibaldi said, remembering with a pang
the defence of Rome and the fate of the defenders.
At Palermo, the capital of Sicily, the Neapolitan soldiers were
awaiting the arrival of the Thousand. They ventured to attack first,
being very strong in {205} numbers. The bravest might have feared to
oppose the royal troops with such a disadvantage, but Garibaldi held
firm when there were murmurs of surrender. "Here we _die_," he said,
and the great miracle was accomplished. "Yesterday we fought and
conquered," the chief wrote to the almost despairing Pilo. The two
forces joined and Pilo fell, struck by a bullet. It was May 27th when
Garibaldi entered the gates of Palermo.
The bells were hammered by the inhabitants, delighted to welcome the
brave Thousand to their city. There was still a fierce struggle within
the walls, and the Neapolitan fleet bombarded the town. An armistice
was granted on May 30th, for the Royalists needed food and did not
realize that Garibaldi's ammunition was exhausted. He refused to
submit to any humiliating terms that might be offered to Palermo. He
threatened to renew hostilities if the enemy still thought of them.
All declared for war, though they knew how such a war must have ended.
It was by the Royalists' act that the evacuation of the city was
concluded.
The Revolution had succeeded elsewhere, and for the last time the
Bourbon flag was hoisted in Sicilian waters. The conquest of Sicily
had occupied but a few days. The Dictator proceeded thence to the
south of Italy and advanced on the Neapolitan kingdom.
Victor Emmanuel would have checked the hero of Palermo, and Cavour was
thoroughly uneasy. No official consent had been given for this daring
act of aggression, and foreign powers wrote letters of protest, while
King Francis II, the successor of Ferdinand, held out such bribes as
fifty million francs and the Neapolitan navy to aid in liberating
Venice. France induced the King of Sardinia to make an effort to
restrain the {206} popular soldier. Garibaldi promised Victor Emmanuel
to obey him when he had made him King of Italy.
At Volturno the decisive battle was fought on the first day of October
1860, the birthday of King Francis. "Victory all along the line" was
the message sent by Garibaldi to Naples after ten hours' fighting.
There had been grave fears expressed by Cavour that the army would
march on Rome and expel the French after this conclusion. But the King
was advancing toward the south of Italy to prevent any move which would
provoke France, and Garibaldi, marching north, dismounted from his
horse when he met the Piedmontese, and walking up to Victor Emmanuel,
hailed him King of Italy. Naples and Sicily, with Umbria and the
Marches, decided in favour of a united sceptre under the House of
Savoy. It was Garibaldi's proclamation to the people which urged them
to receive the new King with peace and affection. "No more political
colours, no more parties, no more discords," he hoped there would be
from the 7th of November, 1860. It was on that day that the king-maker
and the King together entered Naples. Garibaldi refused all the
honours which his sword had won, and left for his island-home at
Caprera, a poor man still, but one whose name could stir all Europe.
The Italian kingdom was proclaimed by the new Parliament which met in
February 1861, at Turin. All parts of Italy were represented save Rome
and Venice, and King Victor Emmanuel II entered on his reign as ruler
of Italy "by the Grace of God and the will of the nation."
{207}