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 Chassepots, 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 Hotel 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. Caesar 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 remarque mon absence au vote pour

l'expedition de Civita Vecchia, je crois devoir declarer, que bien que

resolu a appuyer toutes les dispositions propres a garantir la liberte

et l'autorite du Souverain Pontife, je n'ai pu neanmoins approuver, par

mon vote, unie demonstration militaire qui me semblait perilleuse,

meme pour les interets sacres que Ton veut proteger, et faite pour

compromettre la paix europeene.

(Signe) "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 Lamoriciere 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 Republique," 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 fete. 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.