"Banks of Dora"—an Italian Song of 1846.

GARIBALDI WAITING HIS TIME—THE ISLAND OF CAPRERA—HIS CONFIDENCE IN THE APPROACH OF ITALIAN DELIVERANCE, EXPRESSED IN HIS PRECEDING AUTOBIOGRAPHY, AND AT NEW YORK—HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE—INJUSTICE DONE TO HIS CHARACTER AND STYLE OF WRITING—M. DUMAS' BOOK—PREPARATION OF THE ITALIAN PEOPLE FOR UNION AND LIBERTY, BY SECRET SOCIETIES—CHANGES OF POLICY—THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ITALIAN PATRIOTS ADOPTED BY FRANCE AND ENGLAND—CONSEQUENCES.

The portion of Garibaldi's life recorded in the preceding pages, interesting and important as it was, now proves to have been but the prelude and preparation of the mighty and momentous scenes which Providence had in reserve for an extraordinary man like him, fitted by such a long, arduous, and perilous training as he had received, under the supervision of heaven. A war like that of Armageddon, so awfully depicted in the Book of Revelation, was now preparing; and all the effects of the persevering labors and pious prayers of Italian patriots, devoted to the liberation of their country, were now to be seen in the spirit of harmony and bravery which had been inculcated by the secret societies, fostered by the experience gained in the revolutions of 1820, '31, and '46, and many insurrections attempted; and now for the first time, under a leader long known for his unequalled, noble, pure, and exalted character, as well as for his incomparable skill and boldness, and his astonishing success in the field. And what unexpected changes in the situations of Europe, and especially of Italy, were brought about by events whose tendency was not discovered by human eyes, until war commenced between Sardinia and France on the one side, and Austria on the other.

Only a short time before, peace might have been expected to continue, and the oppression of Italians to be prolonged by Austria, the Pope, and the King of Naples. There were no uncommon signs of approaching disturbance; and Garibaldi, in his favorite island retreat, was quietly cultivating his farm, and seemed likely to reap in peace the little field which he was sowing.

THE ISLAND OF CAPRERA.

This little rocky island, near the northeastern coast of Sardinia, has now a peculiar interest, on account of its connection with Garibaldi. Its greatest length is five miles, and its greatest breadth three. Its name intimates the nature of its soil and surface, it being rough, rocky, and barren, and well fitted for goats.

It belonged to the government, and a portion of it was purchased by Garibaldi, it is believed, about the year 1856, when he made it his residence, took a number of his fellow-exiles thither, and founded a small colony, directing his attention to the cultivation of the ground. He afterward sent to New York for some American implements, and prosecuted his design with diligence, until a vessel, which he had loaded with necessaries, especially a quantity of lime, was lost on the voyage, and left him without requisite means to proceed with his buildings and other improvements. He still, however, regarded that little secluded island as his home, and has returned to it at every interval of peace and leisure.

There was Garibaldi, waiting for the day to arrive, which he had so many years anticipated, hoped and prepared for, and which he had endeavored to make as visible to the eyes of his countrymen as it seemed to be to his own. Yes, the day was near at hand which he had written down in his preceding autobiography, pages 112, 115, etc. On page 125 he said: "Be great, once more, O Italy, and then the powerful voice of the Almighty will be heard by all thy sons; and the hungry, cowardly vultures which destroy thee, will be stunned by its thundering sound."

Such, also, was the expectation which he expressed in 1850, in his note of courteous but decided refusal of the honors of a public reception in the city of New York, and which we here translate from his refined Italian original, addressed to the committee:

GARIBALDI'S REPLY TO THE NEW YORK COMMITTEE,
AUGUST 3d, 1850.

"Gentlemen: I much regret that my very poor health does not allow me to take part in the demonstration which you have appointed for next Saturday. The length of my convalescence, and the uncertainty of the time of my recovery, still render it impossible for me to fix a day when I may be able to yield to the wishes of your affectionate and flattering invitation. I hope you will allow me to repeat, more warmly than at first, the desire which I have often expressed to you, that you will entirely abandon the proposed demonstration.

"Such a public exhibition is not necessary to secure for me the sympathy of my countrymen, of the American people, and of all true republicans, for the misfortunes which I have suffered, and for the cause which has occasioned them.

"Although a public manifestation of that affection would be most grateful to me, exiled from my native land, separated from my children, and weeping over the fall of the liberty of my country by foreign intervention; yet believe me, I would rather avoid it, content that it is allowed me, tranquilly and humbly, to become a citizen of this great Republic of free men, to sail under its flag, to engage in commerce in order to earn my livelihood, and to wait for a moment more favorable for the redemption of my country from oppressors, both domestic and foreign.

"In regard to the cause to which I have consecrated myself, I esteem nothing more than the approbation of this great people; and I believe it will be sufficient for them to know, how I have honestly and faithfully served the cause of liberty, in which they themselves have given a great and noble example to the world.

The committee published their reply to this letter, and closed it with these words:

"We lament the modesty of Gen. Garibaldi, which, more than his imperfect convalescence, has prevented the success of our urgent requests."

A small volume has been published by Alexander Dumas, a French novel-writer, of which different opinions have been expressed. It was asserted, last summer, by the "Philadelphia Press," that it was pirated from the first edition of this book, in the French language, and had been translated into English and sold to an American bookseller for five hundred dollars. There are many passages in it which might appear to countenance such an assertion; but there are numerous passages, and even entire chapters, which are wholly unlike anything in the latter; and a large part of the volume contains views, sentiments and expressions quite the opposite of Garibaldi's. Indeed, of the 337 small duodecimo pages in the English translation, only 203 are claimed by M. Dumas to be Garibaldi's, other writers being credited for the remaining 134. The 203 pages contain passages which magnify Garibaldi's deeds or spirit much more than he was ever known to do, (for he is always as modest as brave,) with some of his most forcible expressions and passages greatly weakened by useless amplifications. The English translation is in a very loose and inferior style; and various cases occur in both Dumas and his translators, in which ignorant blunders are made in interpreting the standard before them, whatever it may have been. The motto of chapter 6th Dumas gives in his French, "Le Dieu des Bons Gens:" and his English translator: "The God of Good People." And this is afterward repeated, showing a surprising and laughable mistake in the import of the motto of the Italian Republicans, "Dio e Popolo"—God and the People.

The personal appearance of Garibaldi, his mien, address, and manners, are so remarkably accordant with his character, that clear impressions of them seem necessary to a distinct apprehension of the spirit with which he lays his plans, and commences and accomplishes his great deeds. A stranger may obtain such impressions, in a considerable degree, by contemplating the fine steel engraving which forms the frontispiece of this volume, and reading some of the descriptions written by different observers on various occasions. That portrait is accurately copied from a daguerrotype, for which he obligingly sat, at the request of the author, soon after his arrival in New York in 1850; and has been pronounced by many of his friends the best likeness they have ever seen. It certainly is exactly like the daguerrotype, not only in the features, but in the expression of the face.

Any one who would form a correct opinion of the state of preparation in which the people of Italy stood waiting for the time of their emancipation, must recur to the labors of the patriotic leaders who had been constantly laboring to enlighten and inspirit them during the last forty years. Their efforts had been principally through secret societies, formed and conducted somewhat on the plan of freemasonry. The Carbonari (literally, colliers—the makers of charcoal in the mountains, where the patriots often found refuge) were dissolved, after their archives had been seized. The society of Giovane Italia (Young Italy) was then formed, and directed by Mazzini and his friends, from foreign countries, safe from the reach of the enemy. One striking case of their sagacious and successful operations is described in that most interesting and instructive work on Italy, "The Roman Exile," by G. Gajani, formerly an eminent Roman jurist, an officer under Garibaldi in 1849, and now a respected citizen of New York. Thousands of other instances might be mentioned, to prove the powerful influence of those efforts.

The union of Italians was the great object aimed at, and non-interference by foreign powers was the principle claimed of Europe. The Republicans of 1849 declared that monarchy was opposed to both these ends; but, since Sardinia, England and France have all proved by their actions that they have adopted these principles, the Republicans have joined their old opponents, the constitutional monarchists, and ranged themselves under the banner of Victor Emanuel. Garibaldi was a Republican in South America, Rome, and everywhere, until he became convinced of this change of policy; and now he is devoted to Victor Emanuel—because Victor Emanuel is devoted to Italy. When the voice of calumny shall have ceased, justice will be done to men who are now iniquitously stigmatized.

And what men those were, who then, like lions suddenly roused, sprang from their lairs and rushed to the fight in May, 1859. Those alone who knew them, can form an adequate conception of their feelings, because each had passed through trials which none of us have known, or witnessed among our own happier countrymen. Many of them had been exiles in America, and a number had been residents in New York, and personally known, respected and loved.

A large collection of manuscripts now at hand, in various forms, of various kinds, and of different dates, recall the characters and histories of their authors; and what may hereafter be published from them will be strictly true, except some changes of names, which propriety may require. Among the papers are letters, notices of friends in need, warnings against plotting enemies—Jesuits in disguise, and long histories of romantic adventures.

POLICY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON SINCE 1849—HIS POSITION IN 1859—CAUSES OF THE WAR IN LOMBARDY—AUSTRIAN ARMY THREATENS PIEDMONT—FRENCH TROOPS SENT TO THE AID OF VICTOR EMANUEL—GARIBALDI CALLED INTO SERVICE—MARCHES NORTH—APPREHENSIONS OF HIS FRIENDS—HIS BRILLIANT SUCCESSES AT VARESE AND COMO.

Louis Napoleon, in 1848, when a candidate for the presidency of the French Republic, solicited the assistance of the clergy, saying that, if elected, he would reinstate the Pope in Rome. Afterward, in April, 1849, Louis Napoleon sent an expedition against Rome, under the command of General Oudinot. That general, on his arrival before Civita Vecchia, published a proclamation, printed in France, by which it was announced that France would occupy Rome, in order to prevent Austria from doing so.

It seems that Louis Napoleon was not so much guided by his promise, or by religious devotion, as by the shrewd design of securing to himself the influence of the Pope, which Austria would have turned against him. The Pope, however, continued to lean toward Austria; and, by her advice, opposed all the suggestions of Louis Napoleon, and placed him in a false position.

From 1849 to '59 was a period of secret intrigue and struggles at Rome, between France and Austria. The Crimean war added a new element of hostility between the two courts. Napoleon, as a threat to Austria, invited the king of Sardinia to participate in that war, and afterward allowed Count Cavour to speak in the name of oppressed Italy, in spite of the protest of the Austrian minister.

At this, Austria became more active in preparing and countenancing the ruin of Napoleon in France; and the Pope used his influence with the clergy and the legitimists of that country. Napoleon was thus laid under the necessity of striking a blow at Austria, in self-defence. This explains his league with the king of Sardinia. But Napoleon neither designed nor foresaw all that happened afterward. The complete liberation of Italy and the downfall of the papacy were not in his plan; because he feared that a general convulsion of Europe would be the consequence of such events. In justice to him, however, we must acknowledge, that he has countenanced and aided those events, since he has seen that they were accomplished in a wonderfully quiet manner. There can be but little doubt that Napoleon prefers to see the political influence of the Pope dead forever, instead of being compelled to court it, in competition with Austria.

Early in 1859, the Emperor of Austria began to threaten Sardinia with 100,000 men, demanding that she should disarm, which was refused. The Emperor of the French showed himself ready to sustain Victor Emanuel in his position; and then the Emperor of Austria made an effort to gain time by an artifice, and pressed a powerful army on to the frontiers. With surprising promptitude, Louis Napoleon sent a very large force into Piedmont, partly across Mount Cenis and partly by water to Genoa, availing himself of the facilities offered by the railroads and steam vessels, and armed with the most improved military weapons and implements of modern warfare.

Then commenced one of the most important and sanguinary conflicts of modern times, and one most decisive of results in favor of Italian liberty. The armies on both sides were very large and powerful, and included many of the chiefs, officers, and soldiers who had been trained in Africa and the Crimea, as well as in the European wars ten and twelve years preceding. The sudden and rapid advance of the Austrians was checked by the vigorous stand made by the Piedmontese, and the still more rapid movements of the troops from France. We have not room to give all the details of the battles which ensued, and with which the public are acquainted. The service which our hero rendered in it was of the utmost importance; and not only fully justified the high reputation he had long enjoyed, but raised him to an eminence proportioned to the magnitude of the immense military operations in which he acted a leading, and we might say almost the decisive part.

When Garibaldi was called by the king to engage in the war, he accepted the office proposed, but, it has been reported, on two conditions: that he should be allowed to act according to his own judgment, and as far from the French as possible. We do not pretend to give credence to this rumor, and can only say, on the one hand, that he showed some symptoms, while in this country, of retaining a bitter recollection of the siege and humiliation of Rome; but, on the other hand, that he is charitable, generous, and forgiving beyond most other men who ever lived on earth. No sooner was it known that Garibaldi was forming a band to act against the Austrians, than patriots hastened from all parts of Italy to join his banner. Such were their numbers and their enthusiasm, that the authorities in vain attempted to detain them; and even from the Pope's territories, and from the cruelly oppressed kingdom of Naples, volunteers poured like torrents on toward Piedmont. Promptly a corps was formed under Garibaldi's peculiar tactics, denominated, "I Cacciatori delle Alpi" (The Huntsmen of the Alps), and, led by their spirited and fearless leader, started toward the north, and disappeared among the mountain passes of the Alps. No sooner was this news received in the United States, than his friends here foretold that his aim would prove to be, to turn the right wing of the Austrians, get into their rear, and raise Lombardy in insurrection. With anxious solicitude the first inquiries of all seemed to be first for Garibaldi; and the deeds of daring, labor, fatigue, and skill which he performed were repeated through that great and bloody campaign with skill and perseverance equalled only in his uniform success.

Those who have seen enough of Garibaldi to form a just estimate of his character and powers, can never be at a loss in drawing a picture of him in their imaginations, when they hear that he has been placed in a new scene fitted to call forth his energy. So it was when the news was received that he marched from Turin with 3,700 men, his chosen band, to Biella and Borgomanero, toward the northeast, and had moved with such promptitude and rapidity, and by such secluded and difficult paths, that no certain information could be obtained of his route, plans, or objects. Those who knew him at once declared that his former practices compelled them confidently to predict that he had gone among the mountains to turn the right wing of the Austrians, and raise the country in insurrection in their rear. Many days passed, however, before the truth was known, though various reports came through different channels. At length it was published as certain that he had been successful in a laborious march, and in the accomplishment of a sudden and bold attack upon the Austrians at Varese. By ingenious arrangements he had deceived the enemy, whose spies, as he had expected, carried them true reports of his past movements, present position, and possible preparations, but drew false conclusions of his intentions.

THE BATTLE OF VARESE.

The Canton Ticino is a narrow part of Switzerland, lying along a small river of that name, and extending down far into the north of Italy. The interesting history of that small and rude territory deserves to be much better known, especially on account of the devotion of its virtuous inhabitants to the principles of the Reformation, and the persecutions which they have at different periods endured for their faith. The river Ticino is difficult of passage, and, as the Austrians were strong in their position at Varese, beyond it, it was important to prevent them from meeting him at that stream. At Borgomanero he prepared his plans, and put them in harmony with the instructions given him at head-quarters. The principal object was to cross the Ticino and effect the passage and invasion without danger to himself or his men. Garibaldi knew that all these men risked their lives, inasmuch as before becoming soldiers they were refugees, and by bearing arms they incurred, according to the Austrian code, the penalty of death. He accordingly spread the report that he intended to stop at Arona, and he even himself wrote orders to have stores and lodgings prepared there, and the churches fitted up for the reception of horses.

No sooner had he sent off these orders by special messengers to Arona, which is on the Lago Maggiore, than he gave orders to his men, each of whom carried two muskets, to leave for Castelletto, where they crossed the Ticino in a ferry-boat to Sesto Calende, and by an astonishing forced march of two days, proceeded to Varese.

The Austrians, on learning how they had been tricked, assembled at Camerlata, and intercepted the line of the Ticino at Varese, believing that they would thereby cut off the retreat of the force and surprise it. Garibaldi troubled himself little about that proceeding, and induced the towns and villages to revolt.

A proclamation was issued by the general, inviting the whole of the Varesotto province to rise against their oppressors. The appeal was generally listened to, and men of every age and condition hastened to the official residence of Marquis Visconti, the extraordinary commissioner sent by Count Cavour as the coadjutor of the Italian general. In less than two hours the whole of the surrounding country was in arms. Old men, children, and even women, came to the Town Hall, with all sorts of weapons, ready to help the small band (3,000) of their brethren. Varese was soon fortified, barricades erected, means of defence carefully ordered. Bands of peasants were pouring into the town from the numberless hamlets, villas, and villages which deck the picturesque hills of that beautiful country—the finest in Lombardy, and, perhaps of Europe. Garibaldi, who is always to be found everywhere when danger is coming, began to array in companies the new comers, and gave the necessary orders for the defence of the country, as he supposed that the Austrians posted at Gallarate would attack him the next day.

He was not deceived in his expectation, for on Wednesday morning, at dawn three hundred Croats and one hundred and thirty Hussars, with a field battery, marched from Gallarate to Sesto Calende, where the advance guard of Italian Chasseurs was posted. This advance guard was commanded by Capt. Decristoforis, a young man of great military ability, who only two months before was in England, and kept a first-rate military school at Putney. After a fight, which lasted two hours, the enemy was completely defeated, leaving some prisoners. The Austrians were obliged to retire on Somma, and nothing was heard of them till next morning at four o'clock.

This second attack was of a more serious character. It was effected by a brigade, five thousand strong, with ten field pieces, and two squadrons of Uhlans. After a first discharge of their muskets, the Italian volunteers assaulted the enemy with the bayonet, and with so much impetuosity that the Austrian centre was obliged to fall back on its left wing, then engaged by a battalion of the Italian right. Now the fight became general—a tremendous hand-to-hand fight, in which every inch of ground was bravely disputed by both armies. The enemy's artillery was of no more use, because Garibaldi, having none, had ordered his men to fight hand-to-hand with swords and bayonets. At the report of the musketry and artillery, the country people hastened to the scene of action with pitchforks, half-pikes, and cleavers. "It was a dreadful scene of slaughter," said an eye-witness, "which lasted three hours." Nothing can give an idea of the impetuosity of those Italians who could at last revenge so many wrongs, so many cruelties. It was almost madness. Two brothers Strambio, one captain and the other lieutenant, were seen to leap into the inside of a hedge of bayonets, and cut down Croats as if they had been puppets. A Count Montanari, from Verona, whose brother had been hanged, in 1853, by Radetsky's order, was running up and down the bloody field, striking right and left with his powerful sword.

At 7 o'clock, the Austrian general was obliged to give the order for a retreat, as his men were falling in all directions. Garibaldi was close at their heels till they reached the strong position of Malnate, where they stopped to repair their losses.

This is a short but faithful sketch of Garibaldi's exploit. It will always be recorded as one of the most brilliant actions of the war, because he had no artillery, and his soldiers were but volunteers, scarcely drilled, and unaccustomed to camp life.

Garibaldi then went to Como, on the celebrated lake of that name, where he received a positive ovation from the population. All the country was in full insurrection. Young men were putting themselves in uniform, and arming themselves. All classes, without distinction—nobles, peasants, citizens, men, women, and children—were prepared for resistance. Garibaldi had taken the precaution of being able to supply the population with arms and ammunition.

COMO—APPROACH OF GENERAL URBAN WITH 40,000 AUSTRIANS—GARIBALDI RETIRES—COMO TAKEN—COUNT RAIMONDI's DAUGHTER—GARIBALDI RETURNS AND EXPELS THE AUSTRIANS—THE BATTLE OF CAMERLATA—THE AUSTRIANS DEMAND THE DISBANDING OF GARIBALDI'S TROOPS—REFUSED —THEY ADVANCE—THE CANALS OPENED—THEY RETIRE—THE BATTLES OF PALESTRO, MONTEBELLO, AND MAGENTA—THE MINCIO AND ITS BANKS—THE BATTLE OF SOLFERINO.

Como is a city beautifully situated on the northern end of Lake Como; but on the low land near the margin, and overlooked by the mountains, which rise beyond and around.

The enthusiasm which prevailed on Garibaldi's arrival was extreme; and the alarm bells were rung in all the communes of the Varesotto, Tramezzo, Como and Lecco districts. The volunteers were pouring in from every village and hamlet. In this manner the insurrection gained ground in Upper Lombardy. At the first appearance of the braves, all the civil authorities of Como and Lecco recognized the government of King Victor Emanuel, which in those towns was represented by Count Visconti Venosta, a young nobleman from Valtellina of great determination. His spirited proclamations roused the enthusiasm of country folks and citizens, who hastened to the scene of action with an ardor never witnessed in 1848. Money, so much wanted, poured into Garibaldi's military treasury, together with gold necklaces and other valuable trinkets from fair Lombard ladies. The sum thus collected in two days reached 2,000,000 francs.

Garibaldi had been instructed to move in the direction of Varese by slow marches, keeping himself in constant communication with Cialdini's division, which did not follow. By the necessity of strategetical combinations, Gen. Cialdini was obliged to march to and fro from Vercelli and Stroppiana, guarding the right bank of the Upper Sesia, as far as Gattinara. The necessary result of this constant marching and countermarching was that of retarding the projects of Garibaldi. He moved slowly for two days, but he could not stand it any longer; and hastening from Romagnana to the headquarters of the king, he begged him to observe that he did not and could not understand the scientific principles of a regular war, and that he wished to be left to his daring inspiration.

Victor Emanuel saw directly that it was of no use to keep such a bird in the cage of strategic rules, and, letting him loose, said: "Go where you like, do what you like. I have only one regret—that of not being able to follow you."

While occupying the place, amidst the enthusiasm of the inhabitants, he learned that General Urban was approaching with forty thousand Austrians. He immediately retired from the city, leaving two hundred men, with orders to hold the place, with the aid of the inhabitants, to the last extremity. The enemy came on, attacked, and were bravely resisted, but succeeded in taking the town. Supposing that Garibaldi had retreated into Switzerland, without any intention of returning, they appeared to entertain no apprehensions of danger from that quarter. It then became highly important that he should be apprised of the condition of things. Every effort was made to procure a messenger, and high rewards were offered; but the hazards were so great that no one could be found willing to run the desperate risk of his life, or rather to go to certain death, as the Austrians were believed to hold and watch every avenue to the country.

Garibaldi, who was waiting in the mountains for an opportunity to make a sudden descent upon the enemy, but cut off from communication, and in ignorance of their situation, was surprised in his wild retreat by the arrival of a lady, who had come from Como alone, on horseback, by pursuing by-paths, and with great skill and boldness, finding her way between and around the various points which were guarded by the enemy. Although only twenty-four years of age, brought up in refined society, and of aristocratic family—a daughter of Count Raimondi—this fair and youthful stranger appeared before Garibaldi like a vision, and, with an air corresponding with the spirit which had inspired her through her wild and perilous expedition, presented to him the dispatches with which she had been intrusted, at her earnest petition, in Como. Garibaldi learned from them the position of the enemy, and the readiness of the people to receive him again. Without a moment's delay, he set out on his return, and by a forced march, conducted with the greatest skill, suddenly returned to the Lake of Como, with his resolute band.

Como was occupied after a hard fight of two hours at San Fermo and Camerlata. This last-mentioned position is to be considered as the key of the picturesque barrier of Como, for its elevated ground enables a small body of men to oppose a long resistance even to an army of 15,000 strong. The positions were carried at the point of the bayonet, for the Cacciatori delle Alpi could not fire their muskets, so much inferior in range to those of the enemy. It was a hard and bloody fight, which may, without exaggeration, be compared to the struggles of old, when Roman and Carthaginian legions met together.

The news of the organizing of a corps by the celebrated Garibaldi, had induced the Austrians to make their last demand upon Piedmont, which was a very extraordinary one, and indicated the interesting truth that they duly appreciated Garibaldi. It was, that, unless his band was immediately dispersed, they would march forward in three days. This demand was not complied with, but the King of Sardinia prepared to receive the threatened invaders. With excellent judgment, however, he did not attempt to occupy the line of the Mincio; he chose a stronger one within his own territory, and occupied that extending from Alessandria to the Apennines, toward Genoa, leaving the road to Turin open to the enemy. The Austrians moved; but, as soon as they had crossed the Ticino, the engineer who had charge of the canals which irrigate the extensive valley, was ordered to open them and make an inundation. The Austrians soon discovered that the water was rising, and the general sent word to the engineer in terms like these:

"Your brother is a prisoner in my hands; if you do not immediately stop the inundation, I will cut off his head."

The engineer, with the greatest resolution, pressed the work with redoubled vigor that night; and by employing two hundred more men, completed it before morning. The Austrians, finding that they were likely to be caught in a kind of trap, with the inundation rising on their right, and the Piedmontese army on their left, soon retreated, and recrossed the Ticino.

THE BATTLE OF PALESTRO.

This action was important, not only on account of its resulting in the first victory against the Austrians, but also because of the excellence of the Piedmontese troops, which had been denied, and was certainly seriously doubted by Louis Napoleon, who had given to Victor Emnanuel four battalions of French Zouaves for his body-guard. These were the only French troops in that battle; and they so much admired the conduct of the King of Sardinia, that they elected him "Corporal" on the field. This is esteemed the highest military honor which can be in any way acquired; and it is one which Louis Napoleon himself has never yet received, even from his own troops.

The battle of Montebello was the first ever decided by a railroad. When the action commenced, there was only a single regiment to resist the Austrians. This was a French regiment, which was so soon, so rapidly, and so greatly reinforced by other French troops, transported on the railroad, that the day was soon decided in their favor. The importance and effect of this manner of conveying the troops was acknowledged by the Austrians, in their official report of the battle.

THE BATTLE OF MAGENTA.

This was fought about twenty miles beyond the last engagement, that of Montebello; and the chief honor of the day belongs to the French. That battle was the first in which rifled cannon and electrical telegraphs were ever brought into use; and both were proved successful in the highest degree. Louis Napoleon was the inventor of the former; and their efficiency was strongly doubted and even denied by many scientific and practical men; but it was established beyond future question by the experiment of that day. The French had also a corps of electricians among them, with apparatus prepared for the establishment and change of lines of telegraphic wires wherever troops were stationed; and these proved of eminent service in conveying orders and information between the positions.

THE RIVER MINCIO.

The banks of the Mincio are, as it were, formed for military scenes. From the source of the river, down almost as far as Pozzolo, the river winds through a succession of hills, rushing close to their base on one side, and leaving fine open meadows on the other. At some points the hills approach on both sides, and form a kind of gorge or neutral ground, where the river is kept within proper bounds, and not allowed to encroach on either side. Perhaps the most picturesque spot on the whole river is here, between Borghetto and Vallegio. Two large semi-circles of hills are opposed to each other, the direction of them being the bend of the river on this spot; they intersect each other about their centre, and a little below this point are the two villages of Borghetto and Vallegio. The latter is behind the hills on the left bank; only two mills, a church, and a little mediÆval tower, erected on one of the lower spurs, stand close to the water's edge. Borghetto has, likewise, only a few detached houses on the banks of the river, the rest of the village being built on the hill which skirts the right bank. On the highest point of the Vallegio side rises a most picturesque group of towers of pure Italian castellated architecture, slender and high like campaniles, with a gallery on their summit, built on a succession of small arches springing out of the body of the building. From these towers, an old wall runs down to the banks of the river, where two other lower, but more massive, towers stand, with the ruins of a bridge over the river between them. From the second of these towers, the wall runs up to the hill where Borghetto stands, and ends there in another square tower. This castle, as well as the surrounding domain, belongs to the Visconti family, and the fortifications were evidently intended to close the passage of the river, which they may have done at one time; now they form only a picturesque feature in the scenery. The road from Volta to this place descends along the hillside in a gentle slope, and, after traversing the river, winds up in a similar but much steeper rise, so that you can keep in view the whole passage through the valley. On the right bank of the river extends a fine meadow, through which the road leads. It was now the camping-ground of the Cavalry of the Guard, and was, during the passage, a chaos of troops, horses, carts, and mules, which were huddled together there, waiting for a passage across one of the four bridges which span the narrow but rapid little stream. It was like the emigration of one of those nomadic tribes of which history tells us. It seemed for a moment as if it were impossible to disentangle that mass, and yet it kept moving, and passed over the river without accident or delay. As all the bridges which had been broken down on the river behind had been repaired, the pontoon train of the whole army became available for the Mincio passage, and there must have been, at the very least, from 12 to 15 bridges on this short line.

THE BATTLE OF SOLFERINO.

The Austrian army, after occupying the right bank of the Mincio, had retired across the stream, in order to lead the French and Sardinians to believe that they were retreating. When the latter had extended their lines, the Austrians suddenly returned and reoccupied their old formidable positions on the heights of Solferino, San Cassiano, and Cavriana, and onward to Volta, all crowned with cannon. Their lines extended five leagues. This movement was made in the night of June 23d, and at three o'clock in the morning they were discovered, in large bodies, marching across the plain to attack the allies.

On the 24th, the emperor, who had arrived just before, ordered the Sardinian army (which formed the left wing) to occupy Pozzolengo, and the French to occupy Solferino and Cavriana. The king also sent a detachment toward Peschiera. The Austrians resisted them powerfully. At ten o'clock the battle became general, and was continued during a severe storm. After twelve hours fighting, the Austrians brought up their reserve of 80,000 men, and the allies theirs of 50,000. After three more hours of severe fighting, the heights were taken by the allies, and the Austrians retreated.

In 1796, Solferino was the point most strenuously contested and won by Augereau. On this occasion that position was taken three times by the French, and the last time at the point of the bayonet. The Emperor of Austria commanded in person, and greatly animated his troops, who fought well. After they had been driven from Solferino, they made a powerful concentrated attack on the right wing of the allies, but were repulsed by a dash of cavalry.

Although the allies were victorious, they were unable to pursue the enemy, who retreated in good order.

THE AUSTRIAN OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF SOLFERINO.

The official journal at Vienna, of June 26, published the following official dispatch from the seat of war:

"On the 23d inst., the imperial royal army crossed at four places to the right bank of the Mincio. The right wing of the army occupied Pozzolengo, Solferino, and Cavriana. The left wing marched on the 24th inst. to Guidizzolo and Castel-Goffredo, and repulsed the advancing enemy on all sides. As the Imperial Royal army continued its advance toward the Chiese, the enemy—who had also assumed the offensive with his whole force—pushed forward such large bodies of troops, that there was a general engagement between the two armies at ten o'clock, or thereabouts, in the morning of the 24th instant.

"The right wing, which was formed by the second army, under the general of cavalry, Count Schlick, maintained possession of the place which it had originally occupied in the first line of battle until 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and the first army (the left wing), under the general of artillery, Count Wimpffen, continually gained ground in the direction of the Chiese. Toward 3 o'clock the enemy made a vehement attack on Solferino, and after several hours' hard fighting, obtained possession of the place, which had been heroically defended by the fifth corps d'armÉe. An attack was then made on Cavriana, which place was courageously defended until the evening by the first and seventh corps d'armÉe, but was eventually left in the hands of the enemy.

"While the struggle for Solferino and Cavriana was going on, the eighth corps d'armÉe, which was on the outer flank of the right wing, advanced and repulsed the Sardinian troops opposed to it: but this advantage did not enable the Imperial Royal army to recover the positions that had been lost in the centre. The third and ninth corps, which were supported by the eleventh corps, were engaged on the left wing, and the reserve cavalry attached to this wing made several brilliant attacks. Unusually heavy losses, and the fact that the left wing of the first army was unable to make progress on the right flank of the enemy, who directed his main force in the centre against Volta, led to the retreat of the Imperial Royal army. It began late in the evening, during a violent storm. Yesterday evening Pozzolengo, Monzambano, Volta and Goito, were still occupied by our troops."

THE STATE OF THE CONTENDING PARTIES—SPECIMEN OF THE BARBARITY OF SOME OF THE AUSTRIAN OFFICERS—THE ARMISTICE.

The Austrian army, with its imposing numbers, high military reputation, and menacing attitude a few weeks before, when threatening and afterward invading Piedmont, from the line of the Mincio, had now become vastly weakened, reduced, and disheartened by the successive conflicts and defeats which have been briefly described. The causes of its misfortunes have been accounted for, by an eye-witness, in remarks which we abridge as follows:

"The Austrian military system has been changed completely within the last six or seven years; yet the change in part explains the shortcomings of the past few weeks. The Austrian army, up to this date, has been an army of very young soldiers, not long under training. According to the regulations, a fixed number of corps has to be maintained throughout the Austrian empire. At a fixed period of every year the youth of that empire are drafted into the army, and distributed among the corps. The arrival of these new drafts liberates an equal number of men who have already served. The latter, after one, or two, or three years' service, at the option of the colonels of regiments, retire to their homes on a furlough of indefinite duration, and are only called out again in the event of a war. The Austrian army at Montebello, Palestro, Magenta, and Cavriana was thus composed of young soldiers. It would have been wiser, doubtless, had the Austrians thought of this matter in time. They were aware that Louis Napoleon would move, if he moved at all, with the flower of his army. They knew that he had paid high premiums to induce old soldiers to remain in the ranks after the expiration of their usual time, and that the picked men of the French army, tried under the fierce sun of Africa, and in the hard campaign of the Crimea, would be opposed to them, and be assisted besides by an artillery of a novel and most effective kind. They did not take sufficient heed of these important facts, any more than they considered that generals who, ten years ago, fought with ability and success in the campaigns of Italy might possibly have lost some of their original vigor. The result has been such as to open their eyes to the necessity of supplying defects. The question, as far as the present war is concerned, is this: Which is best, to risk all the tried men first, and trust to recruits after, or employ first the young soldiers, and bring up reserves after? As far as the present campaign is concerned, the results favor the first of these alternatives.

"The advisers of his Imperial Majesty Francis Joseph, at last made up their minds that it was impossible, under present circumstances, to defend the line of the Mincio. Accordingly, the headquarters of the 2d Army, under Count Schlick, came into Verona from Villafranca; the headquarters of the 1st Army, under Wimpffen, being transferred to Mantua. Verona, Mantua, and the other strongholds of this great military quadrangle are very much stronger than they were ten years ago. There are great field works to be taken before any approach can be made to the main defences, and in the meanwhile Austria may have brought together again an army capable of risking another general action. The soldiers had one moment of enthusiasm; that was when the emperor led them in person on the 23d to the advanced position from which he intended to attack the enemy; but the events of the 24th seriously affected the morale of the army. Instead of attacking, as they were led to expect, they had to repel the assaults of the Allies, who knowing what was before them, had halted for a meal at two o'clock in the morning. The Austrians, whose baggage and cooking utensils accompany the columns even in the advance, bivouacked on the night of the 23d, and were attacked before they could get their breakfast. The baggage and cooking-carts were obliged to return to the rear out of the fire of the Allies, and the result was that the army of the Kaiser had to fight on empty stomachs. Hunger and hard knocks have a tendency to discourage even the bravest soldier. I was astonished to see men from the field of Solferino retiring unwounded, and lying down exhausted when out of the reach of the enemy's fire. I am told that many so exhausted laid themselves down only to die. The mystery is explained when one considers that these cases arose from want of ordinary sustenance.

"Lichtenstein's corps (the 2d) which should have taken part in the action of the day, was halted in consequence of the approach of some French cavalry in its vicinity, and Prince Lichtenstein, for reasons which he will doubtless have to explain, returned to Mantua. Again, General Zedwitz, commanding the cavalry brigade of the 1st Army, instead of advancing, as he should have done, fell back on Goito, thus depriving the emperor of six regiments of horse and a considerable amount of artillery. Thus, while on the part of the allies all the available guns that could be brought into action were used, on the side of the Austrians the artillery was weak and utterly unable to oppose an effectual fire to that of the enemy. It is true, on the other hand, that the French artillery did not commit the havoc which it might have done had its fire throughout the day been true to the mark, instead of being over it. Still, the effect of the inferiority under which the Austrians suffered in this respect, was disastrous, as it prevented them from repelling the advance of the infantry opposed to them. Among the wounded, to the number of 4,000 or 5,000 in Verona and the surrounding villages, it is remarkable how few suffered from wounds inflicted by artillery."

In contrast with the condition of the Austrian army, those of Piedmont and France were in most respects superior, and still more in the principles for which they fought. To mention again Napoleon's rifled cannon, in the words of a late writer:

"The superiority of the French artillery during the late Italian campaign was obvious to every one who made himself acquainted with the details of the great battles. At Solferino the heavy and very dangerous Austrian cavalry was thrown into disorder and rendered almost useless at distances to which their own batteries, more favorably placed, would not carry. The Austrians never yielded a foot on the hill of Solferino, till a battery of French rifled cannon was brought to bear upon them at a distance at which their own balls fell short. The Tower could not have otherwise been taken but with an infinitely greater slaughter than that which occurred. When Niel and McMahon had driven the Austrians back as far as the large open space known as the plain of Guidizzolo, there was a fair trial of artillery, which cost the Austrians dear; it was the last stand made by the immense left wing of the Austrian army, and one can well imagine how officers and men grew dispirited in face of artillery that silenced their own wherever it showed itself."

The following remarks on the plans and conduct of the war we abridge from the "London Times," of July 8th, 1860:

"As far as the Allies are concerned, their aim was driving the Austrians out of Italy. With this aim clearly and distinctly before them, the difficulties and chances could be more or less calculated in advance, and all that vagueness and uncertainty avoided which gives rise to those useless moves in two armies, neither of which knows what it is to do next.

"The Austrians were in this latter case when they began the war, nobody knew why, and while they were allowed to amuse themselves with their harmless offensive movements you saw all those insignificant skirmishes occur on the Sesia, which were put a speedy end to by the advance of the Allies. Since that time the war has been rolling along in great waves. The Allies went straight toward their aim, and the Austrians were so hard pressed, that they endeavored to oppose to a grand plan, executed with the most determined will, equally grand operations.

"Thus, when the Austrians found themselves outwitted by the flank movement on the Ticino, they brought up their troops in all haste to oppose the advance. They were beaten, and immediately resolved to withdraw behind the Mincio. The fight at Malegnano only took place in order to insure this retreat, but from that time they avoided opposing the advance of the Allies, by making a stand at the river lines. On the other hand, the Allies, intent only on carrying out their own great plans, did not think for one moment of molesting their retreat.

"After the Allies had crossed the Chiese, and made preparations for the passage of the Mincio, the Austrians attempted one great blow; and, collecting all their forces, tried an offensive movement, which was speedily checked by the battle of Solferino. The battle lost, the French, whose preparations were not completed, did not press the retreating Austrians very hard; while these latter, instead of trying a desultory defence of the Mincio, opposed no resistance to the passage of it, but, without wasting any forces, retired between Peschiera and Verona, to await there the attack of the Allies, or perhaps watch their time for another great offensive movement.

"This avoiding on both sides of those little encounters, deprives the war considerably of its picturesque element of its individual features, as it were. This whole campaign resolves itself into an alternation between preparations and great decisive blows.

"The Mincio passage was effected without any difficulty, offering by its good arrangements matter of thought to the military, but otherwise being a subject rather for a landscape painter than for a painter of battles. Although the Austrians had gone back from the river, all the precautions were taken as if there had been a constant danger from an attack. The whole had very much the appearance of a field manoeuvre in peaceable times, with the difference, however, that even the thin line representing the hostile forces on such occasions, was entirely wanting. But the movements had to be so combined, that the army should be in readiness to receive the enemy in case he came down from his position between Verona and Peschiera. The enemy's position was on the left flank of the allied armies, facing the Mincio, with Peschiera just at the angle formed by the intersection of the Mincio with his extreme right. The Allies were thus obliged, while crossing the Mincio, to change their front and face to the left. For this purpose the Sardinians, who had kept the position of San Martino, took up the line from Rivoltella, on the lake, in the neighborhood of Pozzolengo. The 1st French corps, which had been next to them in the ordre de bataille of the 27th, marched to Pozzolengo, and, occupying Ponti, faced against Peschiera. The 2d corps, next to it, kept its original direction toward the Mincio, joining the 1st corps at Castellaro, where the road leads down to Monzambano. To the right of this corps was the 4th, at Volta, likewise facing the Mincio, and the 3d at Goito. The crossing took place at almost all points simultaneously, with just sufficient interval between the corps to allow time for that furthest to the right to accomplish its change of front, and come into the same direction with the others. Thus, the 4th corps, which was furthest, with the exception of the 3d, detached toward Goito, was the first to cross at Borghetto and Vallegio, to gain the high road to Verona, and take up its position toward Villafranca. This was on the morning of the 29th. Since that time, all the corps have crossed successively, changing their direction from west to east, and making front against the Austrian position.

"While we are discussing the progress of the plot and speculating as to the nature of the catastrophe, the curtain falls. Yesterday France and Austria were upon the point of joining in another desperate battle. The celebrated fortified Quadrangle had been reached, Peschiera had been invested, Mantua had been masked, Verona was upon the point of being summoned, Venice was threatened, and Garibaldi was manoeuvering upon the rear of the great fortresses. The waves of warfare were undulating and vibrating to another great burst in foam. To-day the Spirit of Peace has breathed upon the waters, and the storm is for the moment at an end. Three months ago we expected peace and were surprised by war. To-day Europe was waiting in breathless expectation for a great battle, fought in the very fortresses of Austria, and is again surprised by the calm announcement that an armistice has been concluded, and that the two great armies are for the moment no longer enemies."

The cruelties practised by Austrians in Italy will be disgraceful to the memory of their government, its officers and soldiers. A single instance of the crimes of General Urban, in Lombardy, in 1859, will suffice. By his order, a whole family were butchered. It consisted of seven persons, including a grandfather, eighty-two years of age, a boy of fourteen, and a girl of twelve. Merely for the purpose of striking terror into the people; it appears, and without any pretext of fault in them, he had them all put to death, and left their mangled corpses unburied. This atrocious act has been denied; but the king's government have since instituted a regular legal investigation, ascertained its truth, and erected a monument in memory of it.

THE ARMISTICE.

The war, its progress, results, and prospects were not less unexpected or surprising than the armistice which Louis Napoleon, without any warning, suddenly concluded, in an interview with the Emperor of Austria, on the 11th of July. The cause of it still remains a matter of conjecture. It was followed by a treaty, by which the war was terminated and harmony restored, but the promise of Louis not fulfilled, of driving out the foreigners from Italy. Austria was left in possession of the four great fortresses of Lombardy, as well as of Venetia.

The armistice was first announced to France by the following telegram:

"Peace has been signed between the Emperor of Austria and myself.

"The bases agreed to are an Italian confederation, under the honorary Presidentship of the Pope.

"The Emperor of Austria cedes his rights over Lombardy to the Emperor of the French, who hands them over to the King of Sardinia.

"The Emperor of Austria preserves Venetia, but that country forms an integral part of the Italian Confederation.

"General armistice."

It was made known to the army on the following day, by this proclamation:

"Soldiers—The bases of peace have been arranged with the Emperor of Austria; the principal object of the war has been obtained; Italy is about to become for the first time a nation. A confederation of all the Italian States under the honorary Presidency of the Holy Father, will unite them together as the members of one family. Venetia, it is true, remains under the sceptre of Austria. It will, nevertheless, be an Italian province, constituting a part of the confederation.

"The union of Lombardy with Piedmont creates for us on this side of the Alps a powerful ally, who will owe to us his independence. The governments unconnected with this movement, (en dehors du mouvement), or recalled to their possessions, will comprehend the necessity of salutary reforms. A general amnesty will cause to disappear the traces of civil discord. Italy, henceforth mistress of her destinies, will only have to blame herself if she do not regularly progress in order and liberty.

"You will soon return to France. The grateful country will welcome with transport those soldiers who have borne so high the glory of our arms at Montebello, Palestro, Turbigo, Magenta, Mariguan, and Solferino, who in two months have emancipated Piedmont and Lombardy, and only paused because the struggle was about to assume proportions inconsistent with the interests of France in connection with this formidable war.

"Be also proud of your success, proud of the results obtained, proud, above all, of being the well beloved children of that France which will ever continue a great nation, so long as it shall have a heart to comprehend noble causes, and men like yourselves to defend them.

"At the Imperial Headquarters of Vallegio, 12th of July, 1859.

The following considerations are suggested by the peace just concluded:

The cession of Lombardy to Piedmont comprehends that of the two fortresses, Mantua and Peschiera. The superfices of Lombardy is 8,538 square miles. Its population is 2,800,000 souls. Lombardy has hitherto been divided, administratively, into nine provinces or delegations, viz.:—Milan, Pavia, Lodi, Corma, Cremona, Como, Mantua, Sondrio, Breschia, and Bergamo. The fortified towns of Mantua and Peschiera form part of the province of Mantua. The fortress of Pezzighettone is comprised in the province of Cremona. After the annexation of Lombardy and Piedmont, this kingdom (the island of Sardinia both included) will contain a superfices of 37,640 square miles, with a population of 7,800,000. As regards territorial extent, it will occupy a tenth rank in Europe, and will come immediately after the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and before Portugal and Bavaria. With respect to population, Sardinia will stand in the ninth rank, on a level with Naples, and will be above Sweden and Norway, Belgium, and Bavaria.

The following table completes the comparison as regards Italy:

	Area Sq. M.	Population.
New kingdom	37,640	7,800,000
Venetia	9,525	2,200,000
Papal States	17,218	2,900,000
Tuscany	8,741	1,750,000
Parma	2,268	500,000
Modena	2,090	410,000
Two Sicilies	42,000	8,400,000

Although disappointed, by the imperfect accomplishment of the work of securing all Italy to the Italians, there was much reason to rejoice, that the overflowing fountains of human blood, which had exhibited a spectacle shocking to humanity, had been stopped. The terms of peace were settled by the Treaty of Villafranca.

THE CHARACTER OF ITALIAN PATRIOTS—HOW IT HAS BEEN DISPLAYED BY EXILES IN THE UNITED STATES—IGNORANCE OF ITALY IN AMERICA—GARIBALDI'S APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER —HIS BAND—HIS "ENGLISHMAN," COL. PEARD.

And now that we have arrived at another peaceful interval in the life of this extraordinary man, the astonishing effects of his superior skill, bravery, and success, having broken the arm of Austria in Italy, and nothing but the shield of Louis Napoleon having sheltered her head, a sudden suspension of hostilities left the world at leisure to admire the past, feel astounded at the unexpected present state of things, and look with interest, but painful uncertainty, for the future. All observers, who had not before made Italy or Italians their attentive study, were anxious to know more of the people who had suddenly sprung from a low general estimation as patriots and soldiers, to the rank due to the conquerors at Palestro, Montebello, and Solferino, and had furnished the files of the heroic and irresistible hunters of the Alps, and their leader, Garibaldi himself. Let us turn a few moments to inquiries of the same kind; for even at the present time, there is too much reason to fear, there are few, even of our most intelligent countrymen, who have paid sufficient attention to the affairs of Italy during the past half century, to give full and clear replies to these questions.

Few indeed have had the best opportunities to learn the general truths, and fewer still have had access to many of those details, by which alone the causes can be well understood, and the effects clearly accounted for. The published accounts of Italians and their affairs have been presented to the world in a detached, uncertain and often confused and even contradictory form, which most readers had neither the disposition, the time, nor the means to unravel, reconcile and correct. There have always been, however, intelligent and virtuous patriotic Italians residing in the United States, and especially in New York, who were able and ready to communicate real facts and just opinions on every event and question of importance. And to such are justly due some portion of the facts contained in this volume, and of the views and spirit under which they are now laid before the American people. With their assistance, and at their urgent request also, was done the little which has ever been effected in this country in past years, to explain and vindicate their cause, to relieve its exiled victims, to expose the insidious intrigues of their enemies against American institutions, and to invite and foster mutual acquaintance, and brotherly affection and coÖperation between us and the noble patriots of Italy.

Americans have but one excuse to give for their neglect of Italy in her more triumphant struggle against her combined enemies and oppressors. The intrigues of her enemies and their insidious calumnies were sufficient to mislead the incautious and the honest. But we have long since lost the spirit of our Protestant ancestors, who were men of clearer sight, greater knowledge, stronger judgment, and more resolution, bravery and perseverance than their descendants. They distinguished, as we do not, between great truths and great falsehoods; between great rights and great wrongs; and acted with promptitude and vigor whenever the time arrived to vindicate or secure the one, and to expose and counteract the other. And such a spirit was displayed by the Italian exiles on our soil. They set us examples of similar ways of thinking, speaking and acting; and well would it have been if we had rightly appreciated the knowledge which they possessed, the manly views which they entertained, and the plans which they proposed for our mutual benefit.

The following description of Garibaldi we translate from the "History of the Glorious Campaign of the Cacciatori delle Alpi, in the war of 1859," by one of his officers, Col. Francesco Corrano:

"Giuseppe Garibaldi is of middle stature, with broad and square shoulders, herculean limbs, long brownish hair, and beard slightly grey; a heavy and strong step, sailor-like air, look, and manner of speaking; his vest buttoned up to his throat, a hat with a broad brim, in the Calabrian style, and large trousers. The noises of the city annoy and disturb him. Commanding mountains please him, covered with evergreen trees, and the sight of the vast horizon and the boundless sea.

"His nose is straight and almost vertical, and his aspect at once vivacious and sweet. Often, under his very heavy beard, his lips are gently moved by a natural and fascinating smile. He converses frankly and unaffectedly, condemns with decision, and praises warmly but briefly; but he is ever animated, fluent, and even eloquent, whenever the conversation turns on Italy, liberty, and deeds of daring and skill; to overcome the enemy, and to overdo them (sopraffare), his favorite word. Above all things, he prizes faithfulness and valor in chivalrous warfare, though it be not accompanied by fame or popular applause. Proud despiser of pay and money, he loves Italy above all things.

"Cuneo, who is called his friend for life, by Garibaldi himself, writes of him: 'A man of humanity, he is laboring to secure in the future the brotherhood of the people; but at the banquet of nations he will sit only as an equal, or not sit at all.' He is by nature tolerant of every suggestion. He has trust and sympathy in discipline produced by love, more than by the rigor of laws.

"It would be difficult to find a successor to Garibaldi. His name is popular in Italy, through all Europe, and in America also, as no other is in our day; and it was owing chiefly to his name, that ten thousand Italians, from every province in the country, and in a short space of time, hastened to join him, and to write their names as 'Cacciatori delle Alpi.' But, more than to command battalions, he is fitted to lead them in fine order; prepared to fight, and with ten-fold moral force, by his terrible name, to overcome and scatter the enemy; to conquer or to fall with signal honor."

The intelligence and respectability of Garibaldi's soldiers were attested by an English gentleman who visited his camp at Firano, August 5th. He wrote:

"You are already aware that in this singular corps the soldier generally belongs to the best class of Italian society. In consequence of this peculiarity, each of this gallant band is a politician of the first class. The doings of our ministers are sensibly discussed in these bivouacs.

"The only Englishman who is among them has become the lion of this singular corps. In my former letter I had occasion to speak of Captain Peard, the gentleman in question. He comes from Cornwall, and belongs to a militia regiment, whose uniform he wears with a decidedly martial bearing. He is a man of tall and colossal frame, nearer sixty than fifty, and is considered the best shot in the party. Although he has been attached to Garibaldi's staff, he makes war at his own expense, and he was always to be found in the thick of the fray. Whenever he had killed an Austrian, he was seen to mark him down in his pocket-book. A few days ago I met Captain Peard at Brescia, and he was kind enough to show me his book, from which it was apparent that twenty-five Austrians were killed by him during the campaign, besides ten who were under the head of 'uncertain.'

"There are also with Garibaldi two rather eccentric young Frenchmen, dressed in a peculiar costume of their own, who are members of the Paris Jockey Club. These two gentlemen have been so charmed by the gallant general, that I am told they will share his fate, whatever it may be. Five American citizens, and a few Germans, are going to do the same, together with a Chinese, who, were I to believe what he told me, is one of the few who escaped the slaughter of Commissioner Yeh at Canton. Most of Garibaldi's officers belong to the upper classes of Lombardy, and have borne arms with him either in South America or in Rome."

The interval which occurred between the day of Garibaldi's departure from Turin, with his Alpine Huntsmen, and the dispersion of the forty thousand Austrians at Calatrava, is one of the most interesting and important in modern history. While the most anxious fears prevailed among his friends, and the most alarming reports were circulated by his enemies; while the promise of being supported by the number of troops which he had thought indispensable was entirely disappointed, by the inability of Cialdini to cross the rivers, Garibaldi, as we have seen, undismayed by that and other difficulties, pursued his way with unfailing resolution and complete success. He raised the country in insurrection wherever he went; kindled a flame in every heart from the electric fire which had so long been cherished in his own; unhesitatingly attacked the opposing hosts of the enemy, and put them all to flight. Thus he alarmed, weakened, and terrified the invaders, and animated the Allies, whose precursor he was; gave an impulse to the war at the commencement, and a most powerful support to it till the close, which will ever secure to him an indisputable claim to a large, a very large, share of the victory and its results. This claim, we may surely foretell, will never be made by himself. It will, however, be made by the world—by mankind—on whom he has conferred the inestimable benefits of his great deeds, and his pure and noble example. Such concurrences and successions of events, such men as have been employed in the various scenes, and especially such a heroic leader, could have been devised only by infinite wisdom, and conducted to such results only by an Almighty hand.

GARIBALDI WITH AN ARMY AT RIMINI—GENERAL LAMORICIÈRE AT PESARO—VICTOR EMANUEL APPREHENDS A PREMATURE COLLISION—GARIBALDI GOES TO PIEDMONT—NICE AND SAVOY CEDED TO FRANCE—GARIBALDI AT CAPRERA—THE SICILIAN REVOLUTION COMMENCED—GARIBALDI'S EXPEDITION FOR SICILY—THE ISLAND—THE PEOPLE.

After the interesting scenes described in the last chapter, Garibaldi went to Rimini, and took command of an army which had been collected there, to resist General LamoriciÈre, who was at Pesaro, 22 miles distant, that French general, commanding the Pope's troops, being menaced by Garibaldi's position, who was said to be urgent for permission to pass at once through the Pope's territory into the Abruzzo, and raise the Neapolitans in insurrection against their cruel old king, Bomba.

Victor Emanuel, disapproving such a movement at that time, wrote to Garibaldi, requesting him to resign his command, with which he complied; and General Fanti received it in his stead. He then proceeded to Piedmont, where he published the following manifesto:

"Let not my temporary absence cool your ardor for the holy cause that we defend.

"In separating myself from you, whom I love as the representatives of a sublime idea—the idea of Italian deliverance—I am excited and sad; but consolation comes in the certainty that I shall very soon be among you again, to aid you in finishing the work so gloriously begun.

"For you, as for me, the greatest of all possible misfortunes would be not to be present wherever there is fighting for Italy. Young men who have sworn to be faithful to Italy and to the chief who will lead you to victory, lay not down your arms; remain firm at your post—continue your exercises—persevere in the soldier's discipline.

"The truce will not last long; old diplomacy seems but little disposed to see things as they really are. Diplomacy still looks upon you as the handful of malcontents which she had been accustomed to despise. She does not know that in you there are the elements of a great nation, and that in your free and independent hearts there germinate the seeds of a world-wide revolution if our rights shall not be recognized, and if people will not allow us to be masters in our own home.

"We desire to invade no foreign soil; let us remain unmolested on our own. Whosoever attempts to gainsay this our determination will find that we will never be slaves, unless they succeed in crushing by force an entire people ready to die for liberty.

"But, even should we all fall, we shall bequeath to future generations a legacy of hatred and vengeance against foreign domination; the inheritance of each of our sons will be a rifle, and the consciousness of his rights; and by the blessing of God, the oppressor will never sleep soundly.

"Italians, I say again, do not lay down your arms; rally more closely than ever to your chiefs, and maintain the strictest discipline. Fellow-citizens, let not a man in Italy omit to contribute his mite to the national subscription; let not one fail to clean his gun, so as to be ready, perhaps to-morrow, to obtain by force that which to-day they hesitate to grant to our just rights.

"Genoa, Nov. 23, 1859."

Garibaldi then proceeded to Turin, and took his seat as a member of the Sardinian Parliament, to which he had been elected two years before, as the representative of Nice, his native country.

Louis Napoleon having proposed that Savoy and Nice should be ceded to France, the subject was brought before the Parliament and discussed at length, Garibaldi opposing the project with great zeal in several very animated speeches. The conduct of Napoleon, in 1849, against Rome, may easily account for his feelings on that occasion. He soon withdrew from the chamber, and departed for Caprera, where he remained until a new scene was opened to him in another quarter, where Providence was preparing for him to make that display of his noble character and superior powers, which now has gained him the warmest love, as well as the highest admiration, of the world.

The Sicilians, unable any longer to suppress their discontent under the cruel government of the king, began, in April, 1860, once more to show signs of rebellion. An insurrection was made in Palermo, when the people raised barricades in the streets, and fought the troops with resolution. The combat was very bloody, but the citizens were soon overcome, and most of the insurgents perished at the barricades. Several monks of the convents were seized and imprisoned. Reinforcements had been sent into Sicily. The commercial steamboats had been put into requisition, and the army in Sicily was to be augmented to 30,000 men.

Prince Castilcicala had returned to his post as governor of the island. The panic at Naples on the 6th instant was general, but without consequence. On the evening of the 6th an immense crowd, estimated to number 80,000, blocked up the Rue Tolede at Naples, and raised numerous shouts of "Viva la Constituzione" before the residence of the Papal Nuncio. The street was quickly cleared by the patrols.

Palermo had been placed in a state of siege. The insurgents were said to number 10,000 well armed men.

The insurrection at Messina broke out on Sunday morning, April 11th. The popular movement commenced by shots being fired in the strada Ferdinando. Pieces of furniture were thrown from the windows at the troops.

Count Cavour had telegraphed to Leghorn, ordering two steam frigates to proceed at once toward the coast of Sicily, and shelter all fugitives from political vengeance. The cry at Palermo, as well as at Messina, was for union with the Italian kingdom.

The disturbances increased, and the Sicilians rose in different places, fought bravely, and maintained themselves with great resolution.

Garibaldi was urgently called to their assistance, and was soon in Piedmont collecting men for an expedition. Great enthusiasm was displayed. Many volunteers pressed forward, and considerable numbers of soldiers deserted from the king's army to join their favorite leader. The government and its agents affected not to perceive the movement, and no impediment was thrown in its way. Vessels were prepared at the little port of Cagliari, and the volunteers, collected at convenient points not far distant, marched quietly to the shore, embarked, and sailed in the night of the 6th of May.

As the events which followed this first step in the last grand drama of Italian history are fresh in the minds of all, the following brief review of them, recently published by the Paris "SiÈcle," may not be out of place here:

"A man, accompanied by a few volunteers, sails from the environs of Genoa in the night of the 6th of May, on board of a vessel which is not even his own property. He goes to liberate several millions of oppressed people, and to overthrow a powerful monarchy; he is stigmatized as a brigand, and all the penalties inflicted on pirates are invoked on his devoted head; the cry is raised that both he and his followers might be hanged from the yard-arms of their vessel. On the 7th of September this man has almost accomplished the task he had undertaken; the monarchy he assailed is de facto overthrown. A nation is delivered. Now, which are the wise counsellors? Those who advise sovereigns to make concessions to the spirit of the age, or the flatterers who promise them a protracted reign, if they will but resist all progress? The answer is easy now. The king of Naples is a fugitive. Another dynasty has fallen, though surrounded by soldiers, and well provided with cannon and gold; another hope of the counter-revolutionists has fallen away. But the men bent on the ruin of princes still persist in giving the same pernicious counsels. 'The King of Naples has fallen,' say they, 'but General de LamoriciÈre still remains; he will fight, he will; he is ready, and the revolution will be overcome.' Wretched counsellors! They are not yet satisfied with their work; they want more catastrophes. Nevertheless, how easy the dynasty of Naples might have escaped destruction! Warnings were not wanting. Four years ago, during the Conferences of Paris, did not Europe, by the voice of her diplomatists, unanimously declare to the King of Naples that he was courting destruction by his bad government—that he was gathering around him all the elements of revolution? Was he not, in a manner, implored to adopt a different policy? Was he not duly informed of the abyss that lay before him?

"The general success of the Italian leader is thus summed up: Five marvellous stages—Marsala, Palermo, Milazzo, Reggio and Naples—performed in the short space of three months, have been all that Garibaldi required, supported as he is by the national sentiment, to overthrow a monarchy deemed immovable; which, not yet four years since, defied France and England; which, in the face of the naval preparations of the two greatest powers in the world, had determined to persevere in its resistance."

The modern history of Sicily requires a particular study before the sufferings and the spirit of its inhabitants can be well understood. The cruelty of the government and its agents have surpassed belief. The people, although few, compared with the numbers which that large and fertile island might sustain under a better government, have made repeated and strenuous efforts to obtain their freedom, and submitted only to overwhelming and irresistible force. They commenced the Italian revolution in 1820; and on several subsequent occasions they boldly commenced insurrections, but always with ill success. The king of the Two Sicilies would send troops from Naples, and then his immediate subjects would endeavor to take advantage of the opportunity. Sometimes the Sicilians rose against the king's troops, in secret concert with arrangements made in other parts of Italy, and sometimes, as it seemed, independently. Bloody scenes followed the victories of the king's troops, but some fugitives were always able to escape, and numbers lived in New York and other parts of the United States—some ever since 1820 or 1822.

Sicily, as described by recent Italian authorities, contains about two thirds as many inhabitants as the State of New York, or a little over two millions, and a territory of 26,582,59 kilometers. A chain of mountains through the northern part appears to be a continuation of the Appenines, and the highest peak is the volcano of Etna, otherwise called Mongibello. The island is the largest in the Mediterranean, extending from N. latitude 36° to 38° 8´, and E. longitude 10° 5´ to 13° 20´. It has always been celebrated for the fertility of its soil, and was long called the granary of Rome. It contains several provinces, named from their chief cities Palermo, Messina, Catania, Trappani, Syracuse or Boto, Girgenti and Caltanissetta. The city of Palermo has 483,206 inhabitants; Catania, 56,515; Messina, 93,822; and Syracuse, 16,916. The land is but little divided, and all the province of Trappani is possessed by only three proprietors. In consequence of bad government, Sicily has only 126 persons to a square kilometer, and the rest of the late kingdom of Naples 87, while Tuscany has 126. In 20 years, under a free government, it may double its population. There were, last year, in Sicily, 17,000 secular priests, 7,591 monks, and 8,675 nuns. Total, 33,976 drones in the hive. Many of those joyfully joined the revolution on Garibaldi's appearance, and gave money from their treasures, and offered their church bells to melt into cannon, preached, and even fought for liberty and Victor Emanuel.

ACCOUNTS OF THE EXPEDITION FOR SICILY—VOYAGE—TOUCH AT TALAMONE, IN TUSCANY—PROCEED TO MARSALA—LANDING—MARCH —OCCURRENCES ON THE WAY TO PALERMO.

For the following interesting accounts of Garibaldi's expedition to Sicily, its arrival and operations, we copy from some letters published in English papers. Being written on the spot, by intelligent eye-witnesses, they are well adapted to our use:

DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION.

"Garibaldi left the neighborhood of Genoa on the night of the 5th of May. His intention had been to leave the day before, but owing to the non-arrival of one of the steamers singled out for the expedition, he had to defer it to the next day. It is useless to say that the thorny part of the transaction had been arranged beforehand with the owners of the steamers, and that Garibaldi merely consented to take upon himself the responsibility of carrying off the steamers. The captain, engineers and crew had received notice to leave them, the gallant general being himself a good sailor, and having plenty of men of his own to sail and handle the ships. On the 7th a landing took place on the coast of Tuscany, at Talamone, and on the 8th, another, at Orbitello, which detained the expedition the next day. On the evening of the 9th, the expedition set out for the coast of Sicily direct. The Neapolitan government was perfectly well informed, and the fleet was cruising about in all directions except the right one. Little squadrons of two or more steamers had been concentrated in the chief seaport towns of the island, and tried by cruising to keep a cordon round the island. The south and southwesterly coasts were, above all, a point of their attention, for some of their ships reported having seen the expedition going toward Tunis. Two steamers, the Capri and Stromboli, were lying at Marsala, and not two hours before the arrival of the expedition, had gone out for a cruise."

THE LANDING.

"The place for landing had not been fixed beforehand; an inspiration of the moment induced Garibaldi to choose the most frequented part of that side of the island, and his star led him there just in the interval which occurred between the going out and returning of the steamers. Had it not been for this the landing might have failed. One of the steamers struck on a rock just at the entrance of the port, while the other went in as close as possible. The information received, was that there was a garrison of 600 men at Marsala, and the orders had already been given to land a small party and dislodge them from the barracks, when the boats from the shore came off with the news that no one was there. This made the landing easy enough; large barges were brought alongside, and took everything ashore; but when everything was landed, the Neapolitans made their appearance, and began firing to their hearts' content, without doing more than wounding slightly two men.

"The first thing was to cut the telegraph wire, but it was too late to prevent it from transmitting the news of the landing to Palermo. The last two messages were: 'Two steamers in sight making for the port; suspicious, as they carry no flag;' and then: 'The two steamers having hoisted the Sardinian flag, have come in and are landing their men.'"

Another eye-witness, writing from Marsala, May 12th, thus describes the landing:

"The extraordinary event which happened here yesterday which still looks more like a dream than a reality namely, the landing in this harbor of Garibaldi with a band of about 1,500 as fine looking fellows as you can well imagine, from two Sardinian steamers. The landing was effected in gallant style, and with most extraordinary celerity and order, and part of the time under the guns of a Neapolitan frigate and two steamers. One of the Sardinian vessels was run aground and scuttled by themselves in the harbor, and the other was taken outside by the Neapolitans; but after the landing had been fully effected. I believe the brave adventurers did not lose a man—only two or three wounded. We were all in a state of alarm during the firing, as the shot and shell from the frigate went flying about in a most awkward manner—some into the town, some into Woodhouse's stores, some into Wood's baglio (factory), and one actually over our heads here on the baglio terrace, which fell into the sea beyond the Salinella.

"Our Vice-Consul, with the captains of the Intrepid and Argus (both here fortunately for us at the time), went on board the frigate during the firing to inquire into the meaning of their missiles, so capriciously injuring our factories, on each of which the English flag was flying, and to inculcate more caution and accuracy in their operations. The Neapolitan commanders, wisely considering that it was their duty to expend a certain quantity of powder and shot on such an important occasion, gave the town the benefit of the residuary dose, after the enemy was snug within the walls, and laughing at this exhibition of impotent rage. It was, however, no laughing matter to the poor inhabitants, who, not accustomed to such phenomena, took to flight in all directions to avoid the effects of the shell, which did considerable damage about the Porta di Mare and the Grazzia Vecchia, but fortunately without loss of life, as many families were in the country for their spring trip. A considerable number, high and low, flocked under the protection of our flag here, and the old baglio is as crowded as Noah's Ark, only the animals are all human."

MARCH INTO THE INTERIOR.

"In the morning the whole of Garibaldi's party set off for Salemi, reinforced by a good many Marsalese volunteers, and well provided with horses for the officers, carts for their spare arms and ammunition, and mules for the few field-pieces they brought with them. Everything was managed with admirable order, and apparently to the satisfaction of General Garibaldi; though under the effect of the bombardment from the Neapolitan vessels the poor Marsalese did not show an enthusiastic welcome to their unexpected visitors.

"May 14.—At Salemi they were received with open arms, after having been joined on their march by several large armed bands under Coppola, of the Monte, Baron Sant Anna, of Alcamo, etc. Other two bands of armed countrymen have set off from this place to join the brave general, and with the reinforcements expected from Castelvetrano, Santa Ninfa, and other neighboring towns, they will soon muster a very formidable force. Even their artillery is increasing, as some light brass field-pieces, buried since 1849, have been brought out, and found in good condition. Several Franciscan monks have put themselves at the head, with the cross in one hand and the sword in the other."

FIRST EFFECTS OF THE ARRIVAL OF GARIBALDI.

"The arrival of Garibaldi changed the nature of the insurrection in Sicily completely. Until then the different squadre (bands) of picciotti (youngsters) had carried on a kind of desultory guerrilla warfare without much connection between them. The landowner, if influential enough, or else some popular man more energetic than the rest, collected for this purpose whoever wanted to come and had some sort or other of arms. Their tactics were to appear and disappear in different parts of the country, and harass from safe places the royal troops passing through the interior, but as for concerting a plan or meeting the royalists in the open field, no one would ever have dreamed of it. The mountainous country, and the want of roads, greatly facilitated this kind of warfare, while the absence of danger and fatigue was sufficient inducement even for those who were not driven there by their hatred against the Neapolitans. The country between Palermo, Trapani, Marsala, and Corleone was the chief seat of these squadre, not a few of which were collected at the time in the mountain chain above Palermo.

"Garibaldi's name and prestige, and the succors which he brought, became a link between these different squadre, which placed themselves under his orders. Scarce had the news of his landing spread, when the bands from Trapani, Corleone, and one or two other places joined. It was to meet this force, which was every day swelling, that Brigadier-General Landi was sent in the direction of Marsala and Trapani. The road to these places is the same as far as Calata Fimi, situated on the top of an elevated plateau; from thence it separates. A force, therefore, stationed at the intersection, shuts off all communication by regular roads from Palermo to Trapani and Marsala. It was on the lower slopes of the plateau that General Landi had taken his position, with four battalions, one of them riflemen, and four mountain guns. The road from Marsala, after passing Salemi, descends one of those long terraced plateaus which are a characteristic feature of this part of Sicily, and after crossing a little valley, rises up to the other plateau, where Calata Fimi is situate. The position was, therefore, one of the most difficult to carry. Like all soldiers of the same kind, the Neapolitans, whose muskets are excellent, rely altogether on their fire, especially if it can be carried on from afar. The reception, therefore, of Garibaldi and his troops was so hot that the squadre soon sought shelter where they could, leaving all the work to the troops Garibaldi had brought with him. The Cacciatori delle Alpi justified their renown, and in spite of the heat of the day, the advantage of position and numbers, drove the Neapolitans, at the point of the bayonet, from one position to another, taking one of the mountain guns. One of the students from Pavia, a youth certainly not more than eighteen, was the first to lay hands on it. In less than two hours, the Neapolitans were driven from all their positions and flying back toward Palermo. A letter, written by General Landi, was found in the village. In it he writes to the commander of Palermo to send him reinforcements, as he could not hold the place. He excuses at the same time the loss of the gun, by saying that the mule which carried it was shot—a falsehood, for the gun carriage was taken with it, as well as the two mules, which are in perfect health.

"The retreat of the brigade, which had lost considerably, was not molested at first, and they passed Alcamo without being attacked, but at Partenico, where they had sacked, burned, and murdered promiscuously, throwing women and children into the fire, the people were up and had occupied the houses, from which they fired on the troops, converting their flight into a regular rout, the eleventh regiment losing its colors. Garibaldi is not the man to lose much time, but still the necessity of concerting a common action with the bands in the neighborhood of Palermo, prevented him from taking the position of Monreale by surprise."

PALERMO.

"In order to understand the importance of this position, as well as the rest of the operations, I must say something about the topography of the basin of Palermo. Long before you arrive at Palermo by sea, you have before you a bold limestone mountain, standing there isolated, and resembling somewhat the rock of Gibraltar, but not so lofty. This rock forms the northern limit of the Bay of Palermo and of the Conca d'Oro (Gold Shell), the fertile plain in which the town lies. The plain stretches out in a northwesterly and southeasterly direction, which is likewise followed in a circular sweep by the mountain chain.

"The plain may be about twelve miles in its greatest length, and from four to five in its greatest width. Between the isolated Monte Pellegrino and the rest of the chain the plain runs up to La Favorita, over which a carriage road goes to Carini; on the opposite side of the plain, skirting the sea-shore runs the highroad to Messina, passing through Bazaria, and close to the ruins of Solento. These are the two easiest outlets of the plain. Everywhere else a continued chain of mountains seems to close all outlet. Nearest to La Favorita a bad mountain road leads in a straight line by San Martino to Carini. To the left of this road rises a rugged, magnificent mountain, looking like the worn side of an extinct crater; it protrudes somewhat into the plain, and throws out a high spur in the same direction as the main chain. This spur is Monreale, and you can see the famous convent and church, as well as the greatest part of the village. Over this plateau passes the high road to Trapani. Behind the spur and plateau of Monreale, the mountain forms a kind of amphitheatre on a colossal scale, the terraced cultivation helping to keep up the illusion. Where it ends, and the mountain begins again to protrude into the plain, you can see on the slopes two white villages; they are Parco and Madonna delle Grazie, over which a carriage road leads to the Piana del Greci and Corleone, two old Albanian colonies, established, like a good number in this part of Sicily by emigration after the death of Skandorbeg. Another spur runs out into the plain, and forms another amphitheatre, more rugged and picturesque than that of Monreale, and dominated by the Gebel Rosso. In the dip a rugged horse-path ascends, called the Passo della Mezzagna, leading down to the village of Misilmeri, situate on the only highroad into the interior and to Catania. The Gebel Rosso toward the sea and Cape Zaffarano, and in the lower depression is the highroad from Palermo to Catania. It runs almost parallel to the road on the sea-shore as far as Abate, and then cuts across to the south. From this description you will see that the Neapolitans, possessing the command of the sea, had all the advantages of a concentric position, especially with an enemy who was weak in artillery, and who was chiefly formidable in the mountains. A general concentration of their forces in the plain was clearly indicated, with the single exception of the plateau of Monreale, which is a position in itself, and commands the road from the interior for some distance. The disadvantage of him who attacked was considerably increased by the difficult nature of the mountains, which makes all lateral communication between the roads almost impossible, so that any change of the attack implied a great circuit. The Neapolitans, who had studied the thing for years, were fully aware of these advantages, and concentrated their forces in the plain, merely occupying the plateau of Monreale.

"Garibaldi could not unite his forces in time to arrive at Monreale before the Neapolitans had occupied it in great force, and when he arrived in the neighborhood of the position, four days after the victory of Calata Fimi, he saw that the taking of Monreale could only be effected with great loss. He therefore determined to change his plans. The first thing was to surround and watch all the outlets, and for this purpose the different squadri of the insurgents took up positions all round the chain of mountains which inclose the bay. It was one of the finest sights you could see when their fires blazed up at night, and mingled their red glare with the pale light of the moon. They were watched by the inhabitants like the holy fire by the Parsee, and the sole occupation during the last eight days or so seemed to be to observe and comment on their meaning. Now they seemed stronger on one peak, now more spread and continuous on the slope of another mountain, and on the hope kindled by these fires the uninitiated lived. Palermo was in a state of excitement and ferment impossible to describe, and strong enough to brave the state of siege which had been proclaimed. The Secret Committee, which had maintained itself in spite of the vigilance and suspicion of the police, always found means to communicate with Garibaldi, in spite of the military authorities. The committee was known to exist, and it circulated printed bulletins almost daily, but it was so organized that the police, although aware of its existence, could never discover the members. It was a kind of freemasonry, with different degrees of initiation. No one not a member knew more than one member. The houses where the meetings were held were continually changed, and all obeyed blindly.

"The committee informed Garibaldi that Palermo was ready to rise, but it imposed the condition that he should appear before the gates of the town. He accepted this condition, and made his plans accordingly. Seeing that he had come too late for Monreale, he left a party of the native insurgents to keep up the fires and engage the Neapolitans, while he took off the mass of the force, and, by an almost incredible march along the mountain chain, where the guns had to be carried by the men, he appeared all at once at Parco, on the road to Piana, on the 23d. As soon as the Neapolitans saw their mistake, they sent up in hot haste toward Parco whatever they could muster of forces without exposing their position in the town. They did not think them sufficient; for, after some skirmishing on that day, they withdrew again to their position on two lower plateaus, the Piana Borazzo and Santa Theresa. The next day, 24th, they got up some of the troops from Monreale, and thus strengthened, made another attack—the same I witnessed from on board ship. The purpose was gained; they had got another change. Garibaldi withdrew, leaving just a few of the bands behind. These latter did not wait long to follow, and the 'Regii,' as the soldiers are called, entered both Madonna delle Grazie and Parco the same afternoon, and pillaged and burned the place, according to time-honored custom, killing a number of the peaceful inhabitants, and publishing as usual next day, a splendid bulletin, announcing the defeat of the bands of Garibaldi, and promising their speedy subjection. Although Neapolitan bulletins are not much believed, yet there were many in the town whose hearts sank when they saw Garibaldi retire a second time.

"They little knew the man with whom they had to do, nor did the Neapolitans either—although they ought to have remembered Velletri. It was reculer pour mieux sauter. In order the better to deceive the Neapolitans, he went back to Piana, and sent his artillery even farther back, while he himself, with his chosen band, made his way over the mountains again, and, while the Neapolitans followed his track to Piana, he had arrived yesterday morning at Misilmeri, on the highroad to Catania, where he had given rendezvous to all the chieftains or captains on that side of the mountain chain.

"I was sick of uncertain rumors, which alone were to be got at in town, and which would leave your readers in darkness about the true state of things. Besides knowing a little of the gallant general's tactics, I had a strong suspicion that something was impending which could be better seen from without than from inside the town, so I determined to see whether I could not get there. Some English and American officers had been out in that direction, and had seen one of the captains, a popular man of this place, called La Maza, so I determined likewise to have a trial. Some friends in the town indicated the way, and I set off in the carriage of one of them. The road to Messina, starting from the Marina and the Villa Giulia at the end of it, skirts the sea as far as Abate, where it unites with the highroad to Misilmeri and Catania. I was advised to take this last, as the least infested by soldiers. What with their confidence in their navy, and what with the stratagem of Garibaldi, the Neapolitans had paid little attention to this road and the southeasterly side in general. Two sentries before the corner of the Villa Giulia, and a post of a score of men a little further, in the octroi building, were all that were in the neighborhood of the town. Straggling houses continue for some distance up to a bridge leading over a little stream or torrent called Orveto, which flows into the sea about a quarter of a mile further on. All along these houses there is a chain of sentries, and in the vicinity of the bridge a post of perhaps eighty men who furnish these sentries.

"I passed them without an inquiry, and was free. There had been the Neapolitan steamers cruising about every day all along this coast; no necessity was therefore felt for any further precaution. I rolled along fast enough with my two Calabrese horses, and passed some American officers, probably bound for Solento. At the very gates of the town the people had joined the insurrection, but there was a kind of neutral ground between the two, which ended in a village beyond Abate, the name of which I cannot recollect. If the Regii were careless, the insurgents were not, and at the entrance of the village one of their armed men asked me for permission to be my guide, a thing which exactly suited me. As we drove through the village the people rushed forward, and trying to kiss my hands, asked me for arms. They were all ready to join, but had no arms, which did not prevent their raising shouts for Italy, Victor Emanuel, and Garibaldi. We had to gallop off in order not to be stopped at every step. A drive of half an hour or more in a gentle descent, with a lovely valley beneath, and beautiful mountain scenery in front, brought me to the town of Misilmeri, a wretched little place, altogether wanting in character. In the little square held out on one side the committee, which forms a kind of provisional government, and on the other, up some wooden steps fixed outside, was enthroned the chief of the staff of Garibaldi's expedition in primitive simplicity. Colonel Sirtori was just giving a pass to two young American officers from the United State's steamship Iroquois, without which no one was allowed to enter the camp. As he had likewise given them an officer as guide, I joined them, and up we sauntered toward the heights leading to the Gebel Rosso and the pass the Mezzagna. We had soon left behind us the few remaining houses, and the ruins of the feudal castle to the left, the white limestone walls of which had something in them which reminded you of a skeleton. The ground all about is planted with olive-trees, vines, and different sorts of grain, which all grow luxuriantly in spite of the stony nature of the place. The general had pitched his camp on a tolerably extensive plateau just above the ruins, looking down on one side toward the plain and the range which ends at Cape Zaffarana, while on the other the peaks of the Gebel Rosso and the pass of Mezzagna were visible across a depression in the ground, looking very much like an extinct crater, and now partially filled with water, owing to the copious rains which had fallen during the last few days. It was one of those panoramas which suggest naturally your pitching your tent there—that is, if you have one. The word tent is erased from the military dictionary of Garibaldi. However, a popular general has to yield at times to his soldiers, and so he could not prevent them from sticking into the ground four of the lances with which the squadron, who have no muskets, are armed, and from throwing over them a blanket. Under the tent you could see the guacha saddle arranged as a pillow, and the black sheepskin covering as a bed. As for every one else, there were the olive-trees affording shade, plenty of stones for pillows, and perhaps for every tenth man a cloak or blanket. All around were picketed the horses, most of them entire, and behaving accordingly. The general himself was not there when we arrived; he had taken one of his morning strolls, but in front of his tent there were all his trusty followers—Colonel Turr, the Hungarian, although still suffering from the shot in his arm, received in last year's campaign, yet always ready where there is danger; Colonel Bixio, another trusty follower and well-known officer of the Cacciatori delle Alpi; Colonel Carini, the bravest of Sicilians, likewise an officer of that corps, besides a number of others, all brave like him, among them Garibaldi's young son, with a shot wound in his wrist, received at Calata Fimi, and the son of Daniel Manin, wounded in the thigh. There was the ex-priest Guzmaroli, a Romagnole, who has vowed the most enthusiastic worship to his hero, and follows him like his shadow, providing for his comforts, and watching his person in the moment of danger. There was a small cluster of guides, most of them of good Lombard families, meant to serve on horseback, but now on foot, and the foremost in the battle. Not the least remarkable among all these figures was the Sicilian monk, Frate Pantaleone—jolly, like the picture of a monk of the middle ages, but full of fire and patriotism, and as brave as any of the others. He had joined the force at Salemi, and did his best to encourage and comfort them. Several among the leading men from Palermo and its vicinity were likewise present among them, with several priests and monks, who are among the most sincere and energetic promoters of the movement. They were a strange sight, indeed, in this by no means very Catholic army; but I assure you their behavior has been such that the wildest among these youths honor and respect them, and in them their order.

"Well, all this motley crowd, increased now by the two young American naval men, and soon after joined by three British naval officers, was collected around a common nucleus—a smoking kettle, with the larger part of a calf in it, and a liberal allowance of onions, a basket with heaps of fresh bread, and a barrel containing Marsala. Every one helped himself in the most communistic manner, using fingers and knife, and drinking out of the solitary tin pot. It is only in this irregular warfare that you see these scenes in their greatest perfection. The long marches and countermarches, rains, fights, and sleeping on the ground, had made almost every one worthy to figure in a picture by Murillo, with all those grand Sicilian mountains, not unlike those of Greece, forming a background such as no picture can reproduce."

"Soon after my arrival, Garibaldi made his appearance, and received his foreign visitors with that charming, quiet simplicity which characterizes him, lending himself with great complaisance to the invariably recurring demands of autographs, and answering the numerous questions which were naturally put to him. It was only after the departure of his guests that the general resumed business. The question debated was nothing more nor less than to venture on a coup de main on Palermo the same night. There was no doubt, all the information went to show, that the Neapolitans had taken the bait thrown out for them—that they had taken a feigned retreat for a defeat, and the sending back of the guns toward the interior as a sign of discouragement. As to the flank movement to Misilmeri, they seemed to have no idea of it, for men come from Piani stated that they were in force in that place. Another considerable body of men was at Parco, and on the road beyond it. In Monreale, the reports spoke likewise of several thousand. In fact, the approaches to these two last-named places, called the Piana di Borazzo and the Theresa, both of which are close to the Palazzo Reale, in the southwest part of the town, were the points of concentration, while the outlets from the southerly and the southeasterly parts of the town were comparatively undefended. Former events had forced the Neapolitans to pay attention to the topography of the town, so as to remain masters of it in case of a popular rising. This was not very easy in such a town as Palermo, which, like a true southern town, forms a labyrinth of small and tortuous streets, flanked by high houses all provided with balconies. This was a serious drawback for the troops in a street fight. The Neapolitans did their best to repair the disadvantage. There are two streets, evidently of Spanish origin, which form the main arteries of the town. The first, called Via di Toledo, starting from the Marina at Porta Felice, traverses the town in a straight line from northeast to southwest, passing close to the Cathedral of Santa Rosalia, and ending at the Piazza Reale, the largest square of Palermo, on the opposite side of the town from which the roads start to Monreale and Parco. Besides the royal palace, supposed to be on the site of the old palace of the Emirs of Sicily, there are several large public buildings which line the square, the Archivescovado forming one corner, and the large convent of St. Elizabetha the other. The ground rises gently toward this part, which commands the whole town. At right angles to the Via di Toledo runs another street equally straight, the Strada Moquerada, which, starting from the Porto San Antonino, and traversing the whole town, leads out the road to La Favorita and to the Mole. The two intersect each other right in the centre of the town, where the octagonal place is called the Piazzi Bologni. The lower half of the town, from the sea to this place, had been almost abandoned, or rather committed to the tender care of the shipping and the Castello, which occupies a projecting height on the seashore, near the northeasterly corner of the town. A few posts at the gates of the town on this side, rather points of observation than of action, and a company or so in the building of the Finanze, situated in this part of the town, were all that remained of troops on that side.

"In order to establish and keep up the communication between the upper half of the town, the real point of defence, and the sea-shore, two large stradoni have been opened outside of the town, both of them starting from the neighborhood of the royal palace, and running down to the sea, near to the Villa Giulia, a large public garden adjoining the Marina, and the other passing through the Quartiere dei Quatri Venti, to the Mole. This latter stradone has always been considered as the line of retreat to the place of embarkation, and is flanked by large buildings, the political prison, some barracks, the criminal prison, and finally the works on the Mole itself.

"The plan which Garibaldi conceived from these dispositions, was to surprise the posts in the lower and comparatively ill-defended part of the town, to throw himself into the town, and then gradually work his way from street to street. The two roads leading to this part of the town run almost parallel, and not far from each other. That close to the sea-shore was the least guarded, containing merely a company or so, altogether cut off from all communication. The task would have been easier from this side, had it not been for the fear of the march of a long column being discovered, and thus an alarm given. The second, the highroad from the interior, was therefore chosen as the line of operations. It crosses, about half a mile from the town, the route Del Ammiraglio, leads through a large open street to the stradone on this side of the town, and enters the town at the Porta di Termini. At this gate the Neapolitans had made a sandbag barricade, which was occupied by two companies. The stradone before it was enfiladed by a couple of mountain guns, placed at the gate of Sant' Antonino. Beyond the stradone small forts extended all along the road up to the bridge, and the outposts were just on the other side of the bridge.

"With that just coup d'oeil which Garibaldi certainly possesses, he had singled out this point as the most practicable. Having, with the exception of the troops he had brought with him, but rough, undisciplined guerrillas at his disposal, he saw that the best chance was to concentrate all his forces, and surprise or break through by main force. The operation was to be assisted by a general rise of the people in the town.

"Having sketched out his plan, he convoked the different guerrilla chiefs and informed them of his intention. He told them that it was not his custom to have councils of war, but he thought it for once good to consult them, as upon the resolution taken must depend the fate of Sicily, and perhaps of Italy. There were only two things to be done—either to try and get possession of Palermo by a coup de main, or else to withdraw and begin a regular organization in the interior, and form an army. He, for his part, was for a coup de main, which would at once settle the fate of the island. He told them to be brief in their remarks, and not deliberate long. Most were utterly astonished at the boldness of this plan, and some made remarks about the want of ammunition for their men. They were told for the hundredth time, that it was not long shots which imposed on the well-armed Neapolitans, but a determined rush in advance—that they ought not to waste their ammunition and fire off their guns for sport, and were promised whatever could be spared. This objection being waived, all expressed more or less loudly their approbation of the plan, and were dismissed with the injunction to animate their people and keep up their courage."

PREPARATIONS TO ATTACK PALERMO—NIGHT MARCH—ATTACK—BATTLE—THE BOMBARDMENT.

"The first idea was to make the attack in the middle of the night—the Neapolitans don't like to stir at night, and there was every chance of a panic among them; but there was some danger that way likewise for the Sicilian insurgents, and it was thought best to make such arrangements as would bring the force at dawn to the gates of the town. According to the original and better plan of the general himself and his adjutant-general, Colonel Turr, the movement was to have been made along the main road from Misilmeri, broad enough to admit of considerable development of the columns, and commodious in every respect. The native captains, however, suggested the Pass of Mezzagna, which descends from the heights behind Gebel Rosso into the plain of Palermo. According to their statements, it was much shorter and by no means difficult. Their statements were believed, and the whole force received orders to be concentrated by nightfall on the summit of the pass, crowned with a church.

"According to the first disposition, the troops brought by the general himself were to lead the way, and the squadre to follow; but some of the chiefs begged it as a favor for their corps to have the honor of being first in the town—a claim which could not be very well refused. The plan was, therefore, modified. The guides and three men from each company of the Cacciatori delle Alpi, were formed into an avant-garde, confided to Major TÜkÖri, a Hungarian, an officer who distinguished himself under General KmÉty on the 29th of September, at Kars. Behind this avant-garde followed the Sicilians, commanded by La Maga, an emigrant, who had come over with Garibaldi. The second line was led by the riflemen of Genoa—excellent shots, all armed with the Swiss carbine. Behind them came the two battalions of Cacciatori delle Alpi, and in the rear the rest of the Sicilians.

"The order having been distributed, the different bands gradually worked their way toward the summit of the pass. The packing up at headquarters did not take much time; it soon after broke up its camp and followed the troops. I was mounted on a regular Rosinante, with a halter passed round the jaw, and provided with a saddle which seemed to have been formed to fit on the vertebrÆ of my lean black charger. A blanket was, however, found in due time, and on the whole I cannot complain. The road up to the pass winds along rows of gigantic cactus hedges, which give a thoroughly eastern character to the country. It was just sunset when we arrived on the top, where, through a gap, we could see the bay and town of Palermo and the sea beyond, looking more like a fairy picture than reality. All the mountains, with their rugged points naturally of a reddish tint, seemed to have drunk in the rays of the setting sun, and exhibited that rosy color which I had thought hitherto a special gift of the plain of Attica. While you had this charming scene before you, you looked behind, as it were, into the hearts of the mountains. It was one of the finest spots I ever saw, and all the country was fragrant with spring flowers, the perfume of which came out with redoubled vigor as soon as the sun had set. It proved a bad road for the expedition, that mountain pass, but it was lovely to look upon.

"In order to entertain the Neapolitans with the idea that all was safe on that side, the usual large fires were kindled on the tops of the mountains, and kept up long after our departure by men left behind for that purpose. Garibaldi went up to look at the position underneath, or, perhaps, to indulge in that kind of reverie to which he is subject in such solemn moments, and which ends in a concentration of all his faculties on the sole aim he has before him.

"The evening gun in the fort had been long reËchoed by the mountains, and the moon had risen clear and bright above our heads, giving a new charm to this lovely scenery, before we stirred."

THE NIGHT MARCH.

"During this interval the picciotti (youngsters), as the patriots are called, were put into some kind of order, which, you will believe me, was no easy matter in the comparative darkness which prevailed; no chief knowing his men, and the men not recognizing their chief—every one acting for some one else, and no one able to give an answer. With the exception of the troops brought over by Garibaldi, all the rest seemed an entangled mass almost impossible to unravel. However, by degrees, those belonging to the same chief found themselves together, and the march began about ten, P.M. Either the Sicilian chieftains had never looked at the Pass of Mezzagna, or else they have curious ideas of a road; the whole is nothing but a track among big stones, crossing and recrossing the bed of a mountain torrent, following not unfrequently the bed of the torrent, leading over smooth masses of stones and across most awkward gaps—all this at an angle of twenty-five degrees, to be passed on horseback at night! Even the men could only go singly, which made our line a frightful length, and caused continual delays and stoppages. The general vowed never to believe another Sicilian report on the state of a mountain road. However, in the end, we reached the plain and came in among the olive-trees below, with few falls among the sure-footed horses. A halt was made until all the columns had descended, and during this halt an incident occurred which did not promise much for the future behavior of our picciotti. The horses in Sicily are left for the most part entire, hence continual fighting and considerable neighing, which was so inconvenient in a night expedition of this kind that several of the most vicious steeds had to be sent back. One of them still remained, and began its antics; the rider lost patience, which made matters worse. Those nearest threw themselves back in haste, and communicated the movement to those behind. These, many of whom had sat down and began to doze, mistook in their dreams, probably, the trees for Neapolitans, the stars for so many shells, and the moon for a colossal fireball; at any rate, the majority of them were, with one bound, in the thickets on both sides of the road, several fired off their muskets in their fright, and very little was wanting to cause a general panic. Every one did what he could to restore confidence, but the effect was produced and reacted, as you will see by and by. Another incident occurred, which might have led to the failure of the whole expedition. The Sicilian guides who were with the avant-garde missed the road, and instead of taking a by-road which led into the main road we had to pursue, they continued on the road near the hill-side, which would have brought us just where the Neapolitans were in the greatest strength. The mistake was perceived in time and repaired, but not without considerable loss of time. At last the column emerged on to the main road, which is broad and skirted by high garden walls. As we had lost considerable time with all these contretemps, and as dawn was approaching, we had to make haste, but whether from fatigue or the impression of the night panic, the picciotti could not be brought to move very fast. It was just the first glimmer of dawn when we passed the first houses, which extend in this direction a long way out of the town of Palermo. The squadre, who ought to have known the locality better, began shouting and 'evvivaing,' just as if we had been close to the gates. Had it not been for this blunder, the avant-garde might have surprised the post on the bridge of the Ammiragliato, and probably penetrated into the town without the loss of a man. As it was, the shouting not only roused those on guard on the bridge, but likewise gave an opportunity to the Neapolitans to strengthen the force at the gate of Termini, and to make all their dispositions for a defence from the flank.

"Instead, therefore, of surprising the post on the bridge, the avant-garde was received by a well-sustained fire, not only in front, but from the houses in their flanks. At the first sound of the musketry, most of the picciotti were across the garden walls, but not with the view of firing from behind them, leaving thus the 30 or 40 men of the avant-garde all isolated in the large exposed street which leads to the bridge. The first battalion of the Cacciatori was sent up, and as it did not carry the position fast enough, the second was sent after it soon after. While these were driving back the Neapolitans, every one did his best to drive the picciotti forward. It was not so easy, in the beginning especially, when the sound of cannon was heard in front, although its effects were scarcely visible. However, the picciotti, who remind me very much of Arnout Bashibazouks, can be led on after the first unpleasant sensation has passed away, especially when they see that it is not all shots that kill or wound—not even the cannon-shots, which make so formidable a noise. They could see this to perfection this morning, for although the Neapolitan rifles are scarcely inferior to the best fire-arms, I never saw so little damage done by so much shooting. Every one put himself, therefore, to work to lead and urge on the picciotti, driving them out of the sheltered places by all kinds of contrivances, and often by blows and main force. After some trouble, most of them were safely brought through the open space before the bridge, but the general tendency was to go under rather than above the bridge, which is, like all bridges over torrents, high, and was, in this instance, exposed to a heavy cross fire from the Piana di Borazzo, where the Neapolitans had a loopholed wall and some guns mounted, which threw a few ill-aimed shells. While the general himself, and many of his staff, did their best to make them leave this shelter again and proceed, the avant-garde had chased back the Neapolitans to the stradone which runs down to the sea just in front of the Porta di Termini. The Neapolitan fort at the gate, considerably reinforced, opened a hot fire, which swept down the long avenue of houses leading to the bridge, while at the same time the two guns and the troops posted at the Porta Sant' Antonino, brought a cross fire to bear on the attackers. But this was no obstacle to the brave fellows who led the way. They did not lose time with firing, but rushed on with the bayonet. The commander of the avant-garde, who was a Hungarian major, and three of the guides, were the first across the sand-bag barricade in the town, but the leader was wounded by a shot which shattered his left knee. Otherwise the loss had been trifling. While the avant-garde and the Cacciatori chased the Neapolitans from spot to spot, the Palermitans began likewise to stir, but, justice compels me to say, only in the parts which the troops had left.

"The same scene as at the bridge was repeated at the crossing of the stradone by the picciotti, who followed in a straggling movement. And yet it was important to get into the town, in order not to be outflanked or taken in the rear by the Neapolitans holding the Piana di Borazzo. In order to avert this danger, the order was given to some of the bands to get behind the garden walls which line the road by which the Neapolitans might have come down on our left. These diversions, and probably the dislike to fight in open field, were sufficient to parry this danger until the greatest part of the stragglers had passed. At the same time a barricade was thrown up in the rear with anything which could be laid hold of. This work pleased the picciotti so well, that they began throwing up a barricade in front likewise. At any rate, they blocked up a part of the road before they could be prevented.

"But the most critical thing was decidedly the crossing of the stradone, where the cross fire was kept up, and all kinds of dodges were resorted to to make them risk this salto, which they thought mortal. I and one of the followers of Garibaldi held out one of the men by main force exposed to the fire, which soon made him run across. It was here, above all, that the bad firing of the Neapolitans told. I was looking on for some time, and did not see a single man even wounded. In order to encourage the picciotti, one of the Genoese riflemen took four or five chairs, planted the tricolor on one of them, and sat down upon it for some time. The thing took at last decidedly, and you saw the picciotti stopping on the road to fire off their muskets.

"Close to the Porta di Termini is the Vecchia Fiera—the old market-place. One must know these Sicilians to have an idea of the frenzy, screaming, shouting, crying, and hugging: all would kiss Garibaldi's hand and embrace his knees. Every moment brought new masses, which debouched in troops from one of the streets, anxious to have their turn. As the Cacciatori gradually cleared the lower part of the town, most of the inhabitants came to have a look, and give a greeting to the Liberator of Palermo and Sicily. The entrance was effected about half-past 5 A.M., and by noon more than one-half of the town was clear of the troops. But two hours before this was effected, the citadel had opened its fire on the town, at first moderately enough, but soon after with great vigor, firing large 13-inch shell, red-hot shot, and every other projectile calculated to do the greatest possible damage. About noon or so, the ships in the harbor opened their fire, and between the two they contrived to destroy a great number of houses in the lower part of the town, killing and wounding a great number of people of all ages and both sexes. Two of the large shells were sent right into the hospital, and exploded in one of the wards. Everywhere you perceived ruins and conflagrations, dead and wounded, not a few of whom must have perished among the ruins of their houses. It was especially the part of the town near the Piazzi Bologni, and some of the adjoining streets which was ill-treated. If the object of the Neapolitans was to inspire terror, they certainly succeeded. Whoever could, took refuge in whatever he thought the most bomb-proof place, and those who could not, you saw crying, praying, and wringing their hands in the streets. It was a pitiable sight, indeed, and it did more harm to inoffensive people than to those who might have retaliated. Before opening the fire, the commodore sent a polite message to all the men-of-war which were in the way to get out of it, and all the vessels which were moored inside the Mole had to shift their berths and take up positions outside."

THE BOMBARDMENT.

"The bombardment is still kept up, with only short intervals, especially from the Castle, where the alter ego of King Bomba II. reigns. There is no doubt that Admiral Mundy made very strong representations to the Neapolitan commodore about the bombardment, but they have not been listened to. Some parts of the town will have to be entirely rebuilt, the large shells having passed right through from top to bottom, shaking those ill-built constructions. Several of the churches have come in for their share; yet all this useless bombardment has not prevented the soldiers from being, by degrees dislodged from all their positions in the town, with the exception of the parts about the royal palace and their line of communication with the Mole. In the lower part of the town they possess only the Castello Amare and the Finanze, which is held by a company or so of soldiers. Most of the foreign subjects have taken refuge on board the men-of-war, and all the consuls, with the exception of Mr. Goodwin, our own, who sticks like a true Briton to his consular flag. According to all accounts, there is no comparison, between the bombardment in 1848 and the present one. Then the Neapolitans were satisfied with sending one or two shells every half hour, while now they take just time enough to let their guns and mortars cool.

"All those who came in this morning with Garibaldi are dead beat, having had no sleep last night, and plenty of work since. The general himself is reposing on the platform which surrounds the large fountain in the Piazza del Pretorio, where the committee is sitting en permanence. This committee, the same which carried on the whole movement from the beginning, has constituted itself as a provisional government, under the dictatorship of Garibaldi. It has appointed several special committees for the different branches of its operations, and provides as well as possible for the many wants which occur every moment. Considering the oppression under which the people have been, very little preparation could be made for the emergency, and everything has to be provided now under the pressure of the moment—arms, as far as possible, ammunition, provisions for the troops, hospital wants and arrangements, besides the great fact of satisfying every one who wants, or thinks he wants, something, and listening to every one who has something to say, or thinks he has. There is a great deal of good-will on the part of the committee, but I must say it is not so energetically seconded by the Palermitans as one could have expected from their enthusiasm. There is a semi-oriental laissez aller about them, which only produces fits of activity scarcely equal to the moment.

"At our first entrance into the town, there was a good deal of haste made about the barricades, but as the extension of the occupation constantly requires new barricades, there is some difficulty in keeping them up to the work; a great many evvivas, but all preferred to run about the streets to laying hand to the work. Even the ringing of the bells, the most demoralizing sound to an army in a populous town, can, in spite of all injunctions, be only kept up in fits and starts. It is the southern indolence, which soon gets the better of all good dispositions.

"The town is illuminated, and presents, during the intervals of the bombardment, an animated appearance; but all the shops are still closed. The illumination, with the antique-shaped glass lamps suspended from the balconies, presents a very pretty effect, rather heightened by the shells flying through the clear sky."

JOURNAL OF AN EYE-WITNESS CONTINUED—PALERMO AFTER THE CAPTURE—GARIBALDI IN A DANGEROUS CRISIS—THE ARCHBISHOP OF PALERMO AND MANY OF THE HEADS OF CONVENTS WITH GARIBALDI—ADDRESS OF THE CORPORATION—INCIDENTS IN PALERMO—GARIBALDI'S DECREE FOR POOR SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

"The taking of Palermo has had decidedly its effect on the country around. There is no end of the squadre which are approaching in all directions and hovering about the Regii. As soon as these latter had left Monreale, the insurgents in the neighborhood descended to occupy it as well as San Martino. All about Piana and Corleone they are swarming and skirmishing, so that the column of 1,500 or 1,600 men which has been sent in that direction is rather compromised. They hoped to destroy Garibaldi and his partisans, and the fate they prepared for them may await themselves.

"But while thus the general march of events is decidedly favorable, I must say the Palermitans are scarcely up to the mark. They are all well-intentioned, but they are distressingly indolent, and want that general coÖperation which is most calculated to insure success. There is no initiative or activity on their part, and their sole occupation seems to be to invent and spread rumors. Not a quarter of an hour passes without some fellow or other coming in out of breath and announcing the advance of the royal troops; now they are from one, now from the other side. Above all, horses and cavalry seem to be the nightmare of the Palermitans. They see the solitary regiment of Neapolitan cavalry everywhere. It is in vain that their noses are thrust against the barricades with which the whole town is blocked up, they will see the cavalry. But, although they are thus haunted by the royal troops, few seem to think that they ought to do some thing for themselves—making preparations for the defence of their houses and streets, and being always ready to meet an attack. It never occurs to them, as it did to the Lombards last year, that it is their duty to think day and night how to alleviate the sufferings of those who bleed in their cause. It is not the want of will, but a deficiency in acting otherwise than by order. The only thing which they do spontaneously, is to cry "Evviva," and promenade the streets, eager for news and gossip.

"The irregulars are decidedly improving. They are getting a taste for barricade and street fighting; they still blaze away their ammunition in a frantic manner, but they are beginning to keep to their posts and even to advance, if not too much exposed. This is our advantage in these street fights; the longer they last, the more they increase the confidence of the irregulars, and destroy the discipline of the regular troops.

"Every hour brings new proofs of this in the shape of prisoners and deserters from the Neapolitan forces. With those taken in the hospitals, there must be above 1,000. There is an order from the general to treat them well, and there is no animosity prevailing against them, but so much the greater is that against the sbirri and 'compagni d'armi,' a kind of local police, who have committed great horrors. They are picked out everywhere, and brought up in gangs of five and six to the committee, trembling for their lives; but only one of them has been killed hitherto, having been taken in the act of firing at those who wanted to arrest him.

"The ceasing of the bombardment, or rather the diminishing of it, has brought people out into the streets again."

GARIBALDI IN A DANGEROUS CRISIS.

"About 3 P.M. one of those panics suddenly broke out again which occur every moment, and serve more than anything else to demoralize the town and the squadre. The steamers which had gone off yesterday came back, and the rumor was that they were disembarking their troops before the Porta dei Greci;—great running and movement, great confusion, all caused by a column of dust on the road running along the sea-shore. In the afternoon there was some heavy firing, both toward the Piazza Reale and on the left of it, where the Neapolitans have a bastion which flanks the palace and is itself defended from the Castello. All yesterday and to-day the object on that side was to get possession of a cluster of houses, so as to isolate that bastion, and force them out of this, as from that of Sant' Agata. The town is too large, and Garibaldi's immediate followers are too few to be sent everywhere, and too precious to be exposed, except in the greatest necessity. Thus it is the squadre who form the mass in most places.

"The Archbishop of Palermo, and many heads of religious orders, paid a visit to Garibaldi, and returned, delighted with the simplicity and modesty of his bearing. Garibaldi finds himself more at home with the Sicilian clergy than with any other, because it has never made common cause with tyranny, or lost the manly virtues of the citizen. 'It was worth while to come to Sicily,' he said, 'if only to find out that there is still an Italian clergy.' Garibaldi, on the other hand, must contrast favorably in their eyes with the Neapolitan generals who have profaned their churches and plundered them of their sacred vessels, as General Clary did at the sack of Catania, in the confident expectation that the Pope would absolve him as he absolved the Swiss, who, in sacking Perugia, laid ecclesiastical as well as lay property under contribution."

ADDRESS OF THE PALERMO CORPORATION TO GARIBALDI.

"A deputation of the municipality of Palermo presented an address to Garibaldi, expressing its thanks to the liberator of Sicily. The address contains the resolution that the Porta Termini, by which the forces of Garibaldi entered, is to be called henceforth Porta Garibaldi, and the Piazza Vecchia the Piazza di Vittorio Emmanuell. A statue has been likewise decreed to Garibaldi. It is to be erected by subscription.

"Garibaldi answered the deputation by one of those heart-stirring speeches that he knows how to make, reminding them that all was not done, and that every effort must be concentrated to complete the work. He gave them good advice about their duty to organize the people; that there was but one choice between the Neapolitans and a general armament; that Sicily could only be free as part of Italy. He told them that they ought to work for this, but that the time for annexation had not come. It would lead to foreign interference, which ought to be avoided. When the time came, he would be the first to lead in this matter, to which he had devoted his life. Cheering and an enthusiastic expression of thorough confidence was the answer."

Thus it was that Garibaldi, after a brief career, marked by wonderful success at every step, entered Palermo by the eastern gates, and between daybreak and ten o'clock in the morning, had possession of the greater part of the city.

The Neapolitans were driven into a number of strong positions round the royal palace, to the southwest of the town, and to the northwest toward the Mole, their line of retreat, and, not being able to do anything more, the ships opened their fire, always the last remedy. Almost all the civilized nations had representatives of their fleets on the spot to witness and approve by their presence this noble proceeding—English, French, American, Sardinian, Austrian—none of them were wanting; nay, they anchored in a way which might not hinder the movements of the brave Neapolitan fleet.

The young King of Naples, though only twenty-three years old, has shown so much of the spirit of his father, recently deceased, that he has been justly named Bomba Junior, or the young Bomb-shell. When the landing of Garibaldi produced the first fit of terror at Naples, the youthful Bourbon sent to his brave fleet concentrated in the Bay of Palermo the order to bombard his faithful Palermitans, and reduce their town to ashes if they should dare to rise against his paternal authority. The Palermitans had been treated once already in this paternal manner by the illustrious father of the present sovereign, who figures in history as King Bomba, for having given these souvenirs of his love to every large town of his kingdom.

During the latter part of the fighting between Garibaldi's troops and those of the king, when the latter were nearly driven from the streets of Palermo, the ammunition of the picciotti (or little boys, as the patriot recruits were called) was exhausted at that point, one party of them fell back in one of the streets, and thus allowed the royalists to shut in a street of houses in which another party of them was still holding out.

Garibaldi was at dinner when the news arrived. There had been so many rumors of an advance of the Neapolitans during the day, that the first impression was that this was merely another of those wild rumors; but Captain Niva, who brought it, was one of the Garibaldians, and there could be no doubt about its truth. Garibaldi jumped up from his chair, saying, "Well, then, I suppose I must go there myself." He saw it was one of those moments when the chief must be at the head of his troops to restore their confidence. He went downstairs, and took with him whatever troops he found on the road to that exposed point, and proceeded to retake the lost ground.

"His presence (wrote a person who was in the city at the time), not only soon checked the advance of the royalists, but made them likewise lose the advantage they had gained a moment before. With that marvellous ascendency which he exercises over those around him, he succeeded in a short time in making the picciotti fight, and even in animating the population which had remained in the houses."

In spite of the urgent entreaties of his followers not to expose himself, he remained in the open street, without any shelter, haranguing and encouraging the men; the enemy seeing this, issued out from the houses and from behind the barricade. One of the picciotti was shot through the head just before Garibaldi, who, seeing him falling, held him up for a moment; and Colonel Turr, at his side, got a ricochet ball against his leg as he took hold of the general and dragged him by main force under shelter. But the effect was produced. One rush brought the party close enough to throw one of Orsini's shells, which prostrated seven or eight men. The bugler, who is always at Garibaldi's side, sounded the charge, and the Neapolitans ran. The sound of this bugle seems to act formidably on the nerves of the Neapolitan troops; they know they have to do with Garibaldi's men, and at Calata Fimi they ran before even the charge took place.

Royal troops were disembarked in the night of the 29th of May, went out of the Castello toward the Mole, and then by a circuit, rejoined the troops on the other side, anxious to hold their ground in and about the royal palace, rather than to make an attack on the town.

The news from the country could not have been better. Everywhere the people were rising and the troops withdrawing. On the evening of the 23d, General Alfan di Heisia abandoned Girgenti. As soon as the troops left, the population hoisted the Italian flag. A committee was formed, and a national guard. The cries were, as everywhere else, "Viva l'Italia," "Viva Vittorio Emmanuele," and "Viva Garibaldi." The civil authorities were respected, and although the prisoners, two hundred in number, were let out, no disturbance occurred. The whole province there, as everywhere else, followed the example, rising, instituting a committee, and arming itself. The province of Catania rose, with the exception of the town, which was still held by the military, as well as that of Trapani. And all this occurred before the taking of Palermo.

GARIBALDI'S PROCLAMATION IN PALERMO, AS DICTATOR, JUNE 2.

"Joseph Garibaldi,

"In virtue of the power conferred on him, decrees:

"Art. 1.—Whoever shall have fought for the country shall have a certain quota of land from the communal national domain, to be divided by law among the citizens of the commune. In case of the death of a soldier, this right shall belong to his heirs.

"Art. 2.—The said quota shall be equal to that which shall be established for all heads of poor families not proprietors, and said quotas shall be drawn by lot. If, however, the lands of the commune are more than sufficient for the wants of the population, the soldiers and their heirs shall receive a quota double that of other participants.

"Art. 3.—Where the communes shall not have a domain of their own, they shall be supplied with lands belonging to the domain of the state or the crown.

"Art. 4.—The Secretary of State shall be charged with the execution of this decree.

"Palermo, June 2, 1860."

This is a characteristic act of Garibaldi, in whom sympathy and compassion for the poor, weak, and defenceless, form the basis of his character, and have ever given the impulse to his great enterprises, his perseverance, dauntless heroism, splendid successes, and disinterested rejection of honors and rewards. (See these traits, as displayed in childhood, on pages 14 and 15 of this volume, and recorded by his own pen.) Oh, when shall we see such principles ruling our legislators and our citizens? When will they rule in the early education of our families? When all our mothers and fathers are more like Garibaldi's!

"There are some good priests in Italy, but so few, that we call them Mosche Bianche (White Flies)."—Adventures of Rinaldo.

GARIBALDI SOLICITED BY THE SICILIANS TO ACCEPT THE DICTATORSHIP—DEMAND FOR ARMS—GARIBALDI'S PROCLAMATIONS ESTABLISHING A GOVERNMENT, ETC.—HIS DIFFERENT WAYS OF TREATING GOOD PRIESTS AND JESUITS—REASONS—THE KING OF NAPLES' LIBERAL DECREE—REJECTED.

As soon as Garibaldi landed and went a little way into the interior, all the most influential members of the aristocracy, as well as the free communities, asked him to assume the dictatorship in the name of Victor Emanuel, king of Italy, and the command in chief of the national army.

The first thing, of course, was to organize the military forces. Until then it was an affair of volunteers, who collected round one or another influential man of their town or district, all independent of each other, and remaining together or going home, as they pleased. A decree of the 19th May, from Salemi, instituted a militia, to which all belong from 17 to 50; those from 17 to 30 for active service in the field all over the country; those from 30 to 40 in their provinces, and those from 40 to 50 in their communes. The officers for the active army are named by the commander-in-chief, on the proposal of the commanders of the battalions; those of the second and third categories, only liable to local service, are chosen by the men themselves. But it is rather difficult to act up to this decree under the circumstances. Still, the thing in and about Palermo made progress. The squadre were now regularly paid, and probably they could not be kept together if they were not. They are called "Cacciatori del Etna" (Hunters of Etna).

The Sicilian patriots received pay, while the enthusiastic North Italians, who came to help, had not received a farthing, and did not expect to receive anything.

The native militia wore their brown fustian suit, which is generally worn all over the country, and is so alike that it made a very good uniform.

Not two months after the last disarmament took place, it was astonishing what a quantity of guns seemed to be still in the country. They were, for the most part, short guns, looking rather like old-fashioned single-barrelled fowling pieces than muskets. Most of them were percussion, however, and only a few with the old flint-lock. The longing for arms was extraordinary.

It might be said of Sicily, at that time, as was said of Piedmont in central Italy about the same time, by a writer in Turin:

"There is no pen able to describe, nor imagination strong enough to conceive, the nature of the present Italian movement. It is a nation in the struggles of its second birth. Half the youth of the towns are under arms; young boys of 12 or 13 break their parents' hearts by declaring themselves, every one of them, irrevocably bent on becoming soldiers. There are fourteen universities, and at least four times as many lyceums in the North Italy kingdom, and all of them are virtually closed, for nearly all the students, and many of the professors, are under arms. Those scholars whom mature age unfits for warlike purposes, either sit in parliament, or go out to Palermo to lend a hand to the provisional Italian government. They are everywhere organizing themselves into committees, instituting clubs, or 'circoli,' and other political associations, inundating the country with an evanescent but not inefficient press. There is a universal migration and transmigration. Venetia and the Marches pour into the Emilia and Lombardy. The freed provinces muster up volunteers for Sicily. From Sicily ghost-like or corpse-like state prisoners—the victims of Bourbon tyranny, the remnants of the wholesale batches of 1844 and 1848, the old, long-forgotten companions of the Bandiera, the friends of Poerio, the adventurers of the ill-fated Pisacane's expedition—creep forth from the battered doors of their prison, stretch their long-numbed limbs in the sun, gasp in their first inhalations of free air; then they embark for Genoa, where the warm sympathy of an applauding multitude awaiting them at their landing greets their ears, still stunned with the yells and curses of the fellow galley-slaves they have left behind. Such a sudden and universal swarming and blending together of the long-severed tribes of the same race the world never witnessed. Under the Turin porticoes you hear the pure, sharp Tuscan, the rich, drawling Roman, the lisping Venetian, the close ringing Neapolitan, as often as the harsh, guttural, vernacular Piedmontese."

GARIBALDI'S PROCLAMATIONS ESTABLISHING
A PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT, ETC.

"Joseph Garibaldi, Commander-in-Chief of the National forces in Sicily, etc., considering the decree of May 14, on the Dictatorship, decrees:

"Art. 1.—A governor is instituted for each of the 24 districts of Sicily.

"Art. 2.—The governor will reside in the chief place of the district, and wherever circumstances may require his presence in the commune that shall be deemed by him best adapted for serving as a centre of his operations.

"Art. 3.—The governor will reËstablish in every commune the Council and all the functionaries, such as they were before the Bourbonic occupation. He will replace by other individuals such as are deceased, or who from other causes may not appear.

"Art. 4.—The following will be excluded from the civic council, and cannot be members of the corporation, or communal judges, or agents of the public administration:

"(a.) All such as shall favor, directly or indirectly, the restoration of the Bourbons.

"(b.) All such as have filled or do fill public situations in the name of the Power now tormenting Sicily.

"(c.) All such as are notoriously opposed to the emancipation of the country.

"Art. 5.—The governor will have to decide on the grounds of incapacity as stated in the foregoing article, and in case of need will exercise the powers conferred on the district committees by the decrees of July 22, 1848, and Feb. 22, 1849.

"Art. 6.—The governor will appoint in each chief place of the district a quÆstor, and in each commune a delegate for the public safety; in the cities of Palermo, Messina, and Catania, an assessor for each quarter.

"The delegates and assessors will be, in the exercise of their functions, dependent on the quÆstor, and the quÆstor on the governor.

"Art. 7.—The governor will preside over all the public branches of the administration, and direct their proceedings.

"Art. 8.—The sentences, decisions and public acts will be headed with the phrase, 'In the name of Victor Emanuel, King of Italy.'

"Art. 9.—The laws, decrees and regulations, as they existed down to the 15th of May, 1859, will continue in force.

"Art. 10.—All regulations contrary to the present one are cancelled.

"Alcamo, May 17, 1860."

---

"Joseph Garibaldi, Commander-in-Chief, etc., decrees:

"1. In every free commune of Sicily the municipality will have to ascertain the state of the local treasuries, and what small sums are there. A report of the same, signed by the Municipal Chief, the Treasurer, and Municipal Chancellor, will have to be drawn up.

"2. The tax on the articles of food, and every kind of tax imposed by Bourbonic authority since May 15, 1849, are abolished.

"6. In the communes occupied by the enemy's forces, every citizen is bound to refuse to the Bourbonic government payment of the taxes, which taxes from this day henceforth belong to the nation.

"Alcamo, May 19, 1860."

To account for the different ways in which Garibaldi treated some of the ecclesiastics in Sicily, two or three facts should be borne in mind. Innumerable instances have proved, in our day, as well as in various past ages, that some of the orders of monks and nuns are naturally predisposed to be liberal, humane and inoffensive, by the doctrines which they are taught, their inert state of life, the manner in which they are brought into partial contact with the world, or the oppression which they endure from their superiors, while other classes are inclined in opposite directions by influences of a contrary nature. Luther probably owed some of his freedom of thought, and his attachment to the doctrine of justification by faith, to the system to which he was trained in his convent, and became acquainted with some of the good traits of common people, by receiving their daily charity when a poor boy. The mendicant monks in Palermo, because they daily mingled with the people and received their bounty, took a leading part in the insurrection, and were forward and faithful aids of Garibaldi. The Italian patriots know how to discriminate between good and bad priests, many of whom are their enemies, either open or secret, but some of whom have always been their staunch friends. Several of the Sicilian exiles in America have acknowledged their obligations to priests for assistance or for life.

But the Jesuits! Of them there is never any doubt. They are always regarded as deadly foes, and are generally treated very summarily. Exile—immediate expulsion—is the rule toward them; and this short method, like the suppression of their society, has been forced upon those whom they operate against by the necessities of the Jesuits' own creating. While, therefore, Garibaldi treated some of the clergy with friendliness and confidence, he turned the Jesuits out of Sicily almost the first day.

The King of Naples, as his father did in the previous revolution, issued a decree on the 28th of June, promising privileges to his subjects, and concord with Victor Emanuel: but his word was utterly despised by the people.

NAPLES.

The following is the text of the royal decree:

"1. General amnesty.

"2. The formation of a new ministry which shall, in the briefest possible time, draw up a statute on the basis of the Italian and national representative constitutions. The formation of this ministry is confided to Commendatore Spinelli.

"3. Concord shall be established with the king of Sardinia, for the interest of both crowns and of Italy.

"4. The flag of the kingdom shall be the Italian tricolor with the royal arms of Naples in the middle.

"5. Sicily shall receive analogous institutions, capable of satisfying the wants of the populations, and shall have a prince of the royal house for Viceroy.

"The Commendatore Spinelli is reported to have laid down the following conditions for his acceptance of the Presidentship of the ministry: The immediate banishment of the Queen Mother; impeachment of the displaced ministry; an immediate publication of the electoral law, in order to the prompt convocation of parliament; lastly, an alliance offensive and defensive with Piedmont, with reciprocal guarantees.

"On receiving the dispatches announcing that the king had proclaimed a constitution at Naples, Garibaldi decided that the Sicilian committee should assemble on the 18th inst. to vote on a plebiscitum (universal suffrage,) proposing immediate annexation to Piedmont.

"The fundamental point of the programme of the commander Spinelli, was the formation of an Italian Confederation, as recommended by the emperor of the French. This confederation to be essentially of a defensive character, and the independence of every State to be maintained, although national unity may be favored."

MEDICI'S EXPEDITIONS FROM PIEDMONT TO AID GARIBALDI —PREPARATIONS, DEPARTURE, VOYAGE, ARRIVAL, ETC. —CAPITULATION OF MESSINA, ETC.—GARIBALDI AT MESSINA—HIS RECEPTION, MANNERS, AND SIMPLE HABITS—DIFFICULTIES IN ARRANGING HIS GOVERNMENT—LETTER FROM VICTOR EMANUEL FORBIDDING HIM TO INVADE NAPLES—GARIBALDI'S REPLY.

Colonel Medici, who had been an officer of Garibaldi in South America, and afterward in Rome and Lombardy, raised and directed several corps of volunteers, who in June enthusiastically enlisted under the country's standard in Piedmont, and hastened to Sicily at different times. The following account of the expedition of the 8th of that month, is abridged from a private letter, written in the form of a journal, by one of the volunteers. It begins on "Thursday, the 14th of June, on board the ship Washington, lying off Cagliari," a small port of Piedmont a little east from Genoa:

"I little thought on Friday night, as I went to Cornigliano to witness the departure of the 1,200 volunteers, in the clipper Charles and Jane, that on the following night we ourselves should be en route to Sicily. Yet so it was. Our intention had been to wait for the third expedition. On the 8th of June came dispatches from Garibaldi, quite different from any previous ones, asking for men; so at 3, P.M., on the 9th, A—— went to Medici, and was at once accepted. I followed, and with the same success. Our rendezvous was for 9, P.M., at Cornigliano. Toward evening we learned from fresh dispatches that the Neapolitan troops had evacuated Palermo; this made us hesitate, as for a thousand and one reasons we should prefer the third expedition: but calculating that if there should be nothing to do in Sicily, we could return, we took a carriage at midnight and drove off to Cornigliano. The gardens of the Villa della Ponsona, where was the rendezvous for the volunteers, were deserted, and we could see the two steamers lying at anchor off Sestri. A little fishing-boat was lying on the shore, so we coaxed the men to push off, and entered; we found it ankle deep in water, and in about ten minutes were climbing up the vessel's side. Medici had furnished us with a letter to the commander, who gave us a first-rate cabin, and told us that we were the first on board. Some delay had been occasioned by the little steamer Oregon jostling against the Washington in coming out of the port of Genoa; but with the exception of smashing the woodwork near the paddle-box, and breaking away a portion of the rails of the upper deck, no great damage was done. For a while we sat on deck, watching the volunteers coming up. Genoa looked more beautiful than ever, the moonlight flooding her marble palaces and spires; and almost the only constellation visible between the fleecy clouds was Cassiopeia, Garibaldi's star, by whose light he wended his way at night-time across the mountains that divide Genoa from Nice, when condemned to death by Charles Albert, in 1834.

"The expedition was composed of—ship Charles and Jane, of Bath (U.S.), left Genoa at midnight, 8th June, in tow of steamer L'Utile, with 1,200 men, under command of Major Corti.

"Steamship Franklin, left Genoa at 10, P.M., 9th June, for Leghorn, to receive on board 800 men, under command of Colonel Malenchini.

"Steamer Oregon, left Genoa 10th June, 4, P.M., with 200 men, under command of Major Caldesi.

"Steamship Washington, of New York, flag ship, Captain Wm. De Rohan, of Philadelphia, with 1,400 men, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Baldisseratto, an officer of the Sardinian navy, left Genoa at half-past three, A.M., 10th June.

"Total effective force of 3,600 men, well equipped and armed, the whole under the command of Colonel Medici, accompanied by a full staff.

"There was plenty of food on board, but no getting at it. No one murmured; indeed the patience and cheerfulness of the volunteers are beyond all praise. Some of them, many of them, are from the first Italian families, who have never known a hardship in their lives; here they cannot even lie down to sleep, but huddle together, rolled up like balls; many have to stand all night. We had a long chat with twenty of the famous Carabinieri of Genoa, who are going out to reinforce their company, of whom, out of thirty-five in one attack, six were killed and fifteen wounded. These twenty seem to dream of naught save a like fate.

they sing. One's faith in humanity increases wonderfully here.

"On the morning of the 11th, we passed Caprera, Garibaldi's Island, coasted along Sardinia all the day, and at 6, A.M., on the 12th, anchored off Cagliari. Medici hired two brigs, and dividing the volunteers into three portions, gave them breathing room. They looked extremely well in their simple uniform, white trousers and grey or blue blouse, faced with red. It is a pity, considering the heat of Sicily, they have not retained the regular Garibaldi hat, which would have sheltered the face somewhat. By the way, we have the famous Englishman, Captain Peard, on board; he missed Garibaldi's expedition, and is now going to join him; he is captain of the 2d Pavia brigade—a handsome man, with long hair, beard tinged with grey; blue, English eyes, and an honest English heart, much amused at the absurd stories that have been told about him—a true military man, and a worshipper of Garibaldi, intent on doing his utmost for Italian independence.

"Captain De Rohan, too, is a character. I am not at liberty to tell you how much we owe to him for his exertions and pecuniary sacrifices in this expedition. If the Neapolitans respect these 3,600 Sicilian exiles going home, we may thank the stars and stripes under which we sail.

"Medici would be in trouble, as he has positive orders from Cavour not to go; and this is natural. Cavour could not act otherwise since his advice was asked. Medici, had he wanted to do it, should. Medici is a splendid soldier and a good patriot.

"Before quitting Milazzo, I must tell you that I visited the citadel, the field of battle, and other places of interest, besides making the personal acquaintance of Garibaldi, and all the persons of note and interest staying here. Among others, none possess a larger share of the latter, for our countrymen at least, than Captain Peard, 'Garibaldi's Englishman,' a fine English gentleman, and not the melo-dramatic hero that people at home are fondly led to believe. I saw him for the first time under circumstances highly contributing to enhance the interest with which reputation and curiosity have invested him. He had left the cafÉ where he had taken up his quarters, and was walking quietly toward the shore, accompanied by his friends, and a few other persons."

Captain Peard was frequently mentioned, as a volunteer in the corps of Garibaldi, or at least in his company, during his daring and perilous, but successful career in Lombardy in 1859. The public have never been informed whether he was actually an officer and soldier of the Cacciatori delle Alpi, or only accompanied that incomparable band.

Garibaldi's Englishman, Captain J. W. Peard, wrote as follows to a friend at Florence, from Palermo, June 22d:

"Here we are, all safe, although I hear the papers say the contrary. We left Genoa with three steamers, one of which ran on to Leghorn, to embark laborers for the Isthmus of Suez, and after a good passage, got into Cagliari. Not so the American clipper, wit a battalion on board, that sailed 24 hours before us. The Neapolitans fell in with her off Cape Corso, and captured her. She is now, with all her cargo, both alive and dead, at Naples. Yesterday the American man-of-war on the station sailed for that port to demand her peremptorily. She was taken on the high seas, not in Neapolitan waters—therefore her capture is an act of piracy by the law of nations. Notwithstanding that loss, we landed 2,500 men and large supplies of Enfield rifles and ammunition.

"Palermo is in a frightful state from the bombardment. Accounts vary as to the number of shells thrown into the city; but the best report I can get gives them at about 800. The Toledo is in places quite blocked up with ruins. Near the palace nearly an entire street is burned. In other parts ruins meet you at every step. At present the people are hard at work removing the barricades and levelling the Castellamare, from which the shells were thrown. All the works toward the city are to be razed to the ground. The people are wild with joy at their deliverance. A friend of mine asked a man yesterday if it was a festa. 'Yes, signore, every day is a festa now,' he said, with tears rising to his eyes. Those who were present tell me never was anything like Garibaldi's entry into the city. He had not above 600 available men, besides the Sicilian levies, and the enemy was 20,000 strong. Extraordinary are the ravages of the royal troops—villas sacked and burned. I was in one yesterday that belonged to the Neapolitan minister, Cavona. They had destroyed everything they could not carry away. The floor was strewed with broken mirrors, chandeliers, marbles, busts, vases, etc. His own room they had piled up with furniture, and tried to set the building on fire. In another villa a valuable library was totally destroyed, the torn books being as high as a man's waist. I saw some Spanish MSS., royal decrees, etc., which would be invaluable to Sicilian historians, torn to pieces. After the armistice the royalists sacked upward of a thousand houses, and committed numberless murders."

Messina, the second city in Sicily, capitulated to General Medici, on the 28th of June. The commander, Field Marshal De Clary, stated that he was animated by sentiments of humanity, and wished to avoid the bloodshed which would have been caused on the one hand by the occupation of Messina, and on the other by the defence of the town and forts. The terms were:

"1. That the royal troops shall abandon the town of Messina, without being disturbed, and the town shall be occupied by the Sicilian troops, without the latter, on their part, being disturbed by the royal troops.

"2. The royal troops shall evacuate Gonzaga and Castellaccio after a delay of two days, to commence from the date of the signature of the present convention. Each of the two contracting parties shall appoint two officers and a commissioner to make an inventory of the cannon, stores and provisions; in short, of everything in the above-named forts at the time of their evacuation.

"3. The embarkation of the royal troops shall take place without disturbance from the Sicilians.

"4. The royal troops shall remain in possession of the citadel, and the forts of Don Blasco, Santerna, and San Salvadore, but shalt have no power to do damage to the town, except in the event of those works being attacked, or of works of attack being constructed in the town itself.

"5. A strip of ground parallel and contiguous to the military zone shall be neutralized.

"6. Communication by sea remains completely free to both sides, etc.

"In the last place, the signers of the present convention shall have the liberty of agreeing on the subject of the inherent necessities of civil life which will have to be satisfied and provided for in the town of Messina, in respect of the royal troops.

"Done, read, and concluded at the house of Signor Francesco Fiorentino, banker, at the Quattro Fontaine.

Messina and other cities of Italy were all captured or otherwise secured by the patriots, under various and highly interesting circumstances; but the particulars cannot be here recounted for want of space. The following account of Garibaldi's reception in Messina is from the pen of an eye-witness, and contains a just description of the simple manners and habits which he retains under all circumstances:

"At the appointed hour we went to the palace, where about forty or fifty persons were assembled. The banquet passed off very quietly and happily. Garibaldi, as I had noticed before, is very temperate at his meals, drinks water only, and very quickly rises immediately after he has finished, and returning to his office, resumes his business, which he dispatches with remarkable promptitude and ease—no hurry, no confusion, no excitement, even in the most pressing emergencies. On the present occasion he spent a little more time over his dinner, and after dessert he wrote, and chatted with those present. While at dinner a public band of music, improvised for the occasion, playing in the street in front, where a large number of people had assembled, who kept up a round of cheering when anything occurred, such as an arrival of a detachment of volunteers or some public favorite, to excite their curiosity and interest.

"The great event of the evening, however, came off some time later, when the palace having been illuminated, Garibaldi went on the balcony leading out of the banqueting room, for the purpose of showing himself to the people and addressing them. On making his appearance, a tremendous ovation was offered to the liberator by the Messinians. The applause, the cheering—genuine cheering—the clapping of hands, and the manifestations of joy and approbation, were of the most hearty and enthusiastic character. When this demonstration had quite subsided, which required great perseverance and some time to effect, Garibaldi proceeded to address the people. The thousands of upturned faces were all directed toward him, and amid a silence as still as the grave he spoke. The substance of his speech was to this effect: He said that he presented himself to them because they wished it, but that he himself objected to such exhibitions. He did not play the comedian; he was for deeds, not words. They had achieved a great triumph, but the time was come when they must achieve still greater. He thanked the Sicilians for the courage and enthusiasm they displayed in effecting their own deliverance, and said if they were true to themselves, not Sicily only, but with the blessing of Providence, the whole of Italy, would be liberated. He therefore urged upon them the necessity of still following up the good work, and invited them to come forward and enroll themselves in the ranks of their liberators. I need not dwell on the enthusiasm which this address excited; it was of the most vehement character I ever witnessed. After acknowledging its cordial reception for a few moments, Garibaldi withdrew."

Garibaldi had various difficulties in arranging his government, the causes of which may, perhaps, not yet have been fully explained. We will, therefore, only mention some of the leading facts. Farina, Grasselli, and Toti, whom Garibaldi had found very troublesome to him in Palermo, were sent out of the island, because, according to the official journal, they were "affiliated to the police of the continent," and had "conspired against order." The ministry resigned in consequence, and a new one was formed, including Messrs. Amari, the historian, Emeranti, and the following members of the old: Logothe, Laporta, and Orsini. Reports were published, from time to time, in Sicily, as afterward in Naples, accusing Republicans of efforts to counteract Garibaldi: but as the enemies of Italy have long showed their malice chiefly against the Republicans, of whom Garibaldi has been one, and as Mazzini himself had declared his ardent adhesion to the cause of united Italy under Victor Emanuel, such accusations are generally suspicious.

The following letter from Victor Emanuel to Garibaldi, and the reply, brief as they are, are two of the most important documents connected with the war, and, indeed, with the lives of their two distinguished writers. It is a most impressive truth, and must ever be regarded as a proof of Garibaldi's sound judgment, independence, resolution and impregnable firmness, in a great and glorious cause, at an epoch of his career when nothing else gave the right turn to the results then pending. On which side the "statesmanship" then lay, when the king wrote such a veto, with Cavour sitting at his right hand, and Garibaldi disobeyed it, standing alone, the world can determine, both now and hereafter.

LETTER FROM VICTOR EMANUEL TO GARIBALDI.

"Dear General: You know that when you started for Sicily you did not have my approbation. To-day, considering the gravity of existing circumstances, I decide upon giving you a warning, being aware of the sincerity of your sentiments for me.

"In order to put an end to a war between Italians and Italians, I counsel you to renounce the idea of passing with your valorous troops to the Neapolitan mainland, provided that the King of Naples consents to evacuate the whole of the island, and to leave the Sicilians free to deliberate upon and to settle their destinies.

"I would reserve to myself full liberty of action relative to Sicily in the event of the King of Naples being unable to accept this condition. General, follow my advice, and you will see that it is useful to Italy, whose power of augmenting her merits you would facilitate by showing to Europe that even as she knows how to conquer, so does she know how to make a good use of her victory."

Garibaldi replied to the king as follows:

Sire: Your majesty knows the high esteem and the devotion which I feel toward your majesty; but such is the present state of things in Italy, that, at the present moment, I cannot obey your majesty's injunctions, much as I should like it. I am called for and urged on by the people of Naples. I have tried in vain, with what influence I had, to restrain them, feeling, as I do, that a more favorable moment would be desirable. But if I should now hesitate, I should endanger the cause of Italy, and not fulfill my duty as an Italian. May your majesty, therefore, permit me this time not to obey! As soon as I shall have done with the task imposed upon me by the wishes of the people, who groan under the tyranny of the Neapolitan Bourbon, I shall lay down my sword at your majesty's feet, and shall obey your majesty for the remainder of my lifetime.

The letter is dated Milazzo, the 27th of July.

GARIBALDI'S POSITION—A PAUSE IN HOSTILITIES—A PERIOD OF PREPARATION—PUBLIC ANXIETY—THE SICILIAN FORTRESSES—CATANIA— MILAZZO—BOATS, MEN AND ARMS COLLECTED AT FARO—LANDING ATTEMPTED AT SCYLLA—A SMALL BODY SUCCEED.

Garibaldi had now been forbidden by the king to attempt any further conquests, and warned not to attempt to dethrone the King of Naples; and he had declared that he should do both. From that moment Victor Emanuel was virtually proclaimed "King of Italy," in spite of his own will and word. What induced Victor to write that letter may easily be imagined; what induced his prime minister to dictate it, will probably be always a matter of conjecture. Garibaldi's reply, and the measures which he subsequently adopted, with the results to which they led, will ever stand on record, where they can be read by the present and succeeding generations; and the world will form their own opinions of his character and capacity, without the aid of many comments or explanations.

Much was said and conjectured respecting the dissension which had existed before this time, between Garibaldi and Farina, a particular friend of Count Cavour. Garibaldi had appointed Farina counsellor at Palermo, and afterward dismissed him. It appears, even from Farina's own statement, that it did not arise from any disposition in Garibaldi to establish a republic, or otherwise to prevent the final annexation of Sicily to the kingdom of Sardinia, but was merely to postpone it for a time which he thought more favorable. It appears from other evidence, that Farina wished to have severe measures taken against some of the Republicans, but that Garibaldi rejected the proposal with noble scorn; and to prevent his further interference, banished him and two others from Sicily, by the following decree:

"'Signor La Farina, Grasselli and Toti, are affiliated to the police of the Continent. The three were expelled for having conspired against order. The government, which watches over public tranquillity, could not tolerate the presence of such individuals.'

"The 'Opinione National' of Turin, stated that Farina had full power from the Sardinian government to assume the title of royal commissioner, as soon as annexation was declared. Garibaldi, while advocating annexation, thought it advisable that his dictatorship should continue till the whole island was subjected, and finding that the presence of Farina was detrimental to the cause, he ordered him off."

La Farina afterward published the following explanation:

"The causes of my difference with General Garibaldi were as follow: I believed, and still believe, that the only salvation for Sicily is immediate annexation to the constitutional kingdom of Victor Emanuel, the most ardent wish of all the Sicilians, already manifested by the chiefs of more than three hundred municipal bodies. General Garibaldi believed that the annexation should be postponed till the liberation of all Italy, including Venetia and Rome, had been effected. I believed that it was a great act of imprudence to confide a share of authority and of the public forces to unpopular ministers, etc."

There was now a general suspension of hostilities. The entire island of Sicily was quiet, and none of the king's troops remained, except in a few of the fortresses. The circumstances under which some of these had been captured, or been forced to cease resistance, are interesting, but with the exception of Palermo, they have not been given for want of room.

The strait between Sicily and Calabria has been invested with peculiar interest to readers of history from early ages. The rocks and quicksands of Scylla and Charybdis, with the fabulous sirens of which we read in Virgil in our youth, give us impressions which are never lost. But there are more modern associations with that arm of the sea and its shores, of more real importance in the view of persons acquainted with them. American ships have long visited Palermo, Messina, Catania, and some of the other ports of Sicily, and oranges are brought to us from that fruitful island, many of which grow on the opposite coast of Calabria, or Magna Grecia, as it was formerly called. Hills arise from near the water, and mountains appear behind them, where scenes of rocky barrenness are intermingled with valleys of verdure and fertility, inhabited by a population in a simple state of society, the descendants of ancient Greeks, mingled with races which at successive periods came in from different countries. These had been for ages subject to the degrading influences of Romish spiritual rule, and of the despots of various countries, especially those of Spain and the Bourbons. But the seeds of intelligence have been assiduously sown and cherished of late years by the patriotic societies of Italy, who by their cautious, yet often daring and hazardous efforts, have long since brought many of the poor and rude, but brave and faithful Calabrians into the band of Italian unity. The events of late years had proved that the people of that part of the peninsula were to some extent connected with the great union; but the approach of Garibaldi and his reception have since shown that the influences so long and so secretly at work had not been justly appreciated. There was no considerable insurrection in Calabria during the conquest of Sicily, and it might have been presumed, from the general quietness of the population, that they were unable or unwilling to join with the patriots against the government of the King of Naples. Some practised observers of Italian affairs, however, regarded that general tranquillity as the best evidence of a general concert, and looked for a general rising of the people when the hour should arrive, and the signal should be given. Garibaldi, in the whole course of his proceedings, acted as if he had information not known to others; and a review of events, since they have passed, and are now fresh in our memory, is calculated to confirm us in this opinion.

In the long and anxious suspense which occurred before any movement was made against Calabria, questions were asked, how the flotilla of boats, which Garibaldi was collecting on the coast of Sicily, could be risked across the strait without a single ship of war to convoy them, and with only two small steamers and one larger one to tow them, while a squadron of the king's steamers was cruising between the shores, and the landing-place was strongly defended by three forts, with heavy cannon, and the whole Calabrian coast was occupied by royal troops. The currents, so terrible to mariners in ancient times, are still violent and irregular.

It was natural to ask, What is coming? What is about to happen? Are the apprehensions of Victor to be realized? Has the king a clearer sight than his gallant precursor, who has hitherto proved his prudence an equal match with his valor? Is this famous strait to prove its fatal character, so long ago recorded in fable; and is this passage then, so dreadful to mariners, to be the destruction of our noble sailor? Will he pass safely between Scylla and Charybdis, or meet his end on one or the other? On which and how will he be wrecked; and by what unfortunate circumstances? Not far distant from this spot, on a point on the coast of Calabria, the two Bandieras, sons of an Austrian admiral, but true Italian patriots, were decoyed to their death, by means of letters violated in the British postoffice. Has Garibaldi been made a dupe, by any artifice; and has Victor been apprised of danger? Has Louis Napoleon once more changed his policy, and, after favoring Italy in her "latest victories," as Garibaldi recently acknowledged, has he prepared, in consistency with his conduct in 1849, a scheme for something on the opposite side?

These, and many other questions, naturally disturbed the minds of the friends of Italy, while standing in reality or in fancy on the shore of Sicily, and looking in vain for any sign of the fate which awaited him on the other coast? But, when we turned, even in imagination, to observe Garibaldi, there was, as ever, something to dispel apprehension, and to encourage the highest hopes; for, as that patriot priest-poet, Dall'Ongaro wrote:

But on the morning of the 8th of August, Garibaldi began to collect his troops near Faro, which amounted to 15,000 or 18,000 men, without counting the garrison of Messina. The Point of Faro had the appearance of a vast fortified camp, being covered with cannon of all sizes, from mountain howitzers to English 68-pounders, ready to be embarked in the three steamers, which were under steam; while 300 boats were drawn up ready to receive Garibaldi's troops.

About midnight twenty-five or thirty boats sailed from the coast of Sicily. They were going to attempt a first landing. In three quarters of an hour they crossed to the other side. Unfortunately the current did not permit them to keep the order of their position. Some were driven toward Faro, others swept under the forts of Scylla; some ran fast on sandbanks further south, while others again were thrown toward Pizzo. The soldiers, however, did not lose their courage at this misfortune. Two or three hundred were landed in all haste, and the flotilla returned to Faro without accident.

On the morning of the 10th a new attempt was made, under the command of an old officer of the French marine service, M. Deflotte: but scarcely had this expedition appeared on the coast, when the enemy rushed upon them from a thousand ambuscades, vineyards, gardens, ditches, and houses. A sharp firing ensued: two Garibaldians were wounded, and the expedition was compelled to return, not, however, without having vigorously responded to the fire of the Neapolitans.

On the night of the 10th and 11th, another landing was vainly attempted. The Neapolitan squadron came up nearer to Faro, and watched every movement of the Garibaldians. The day of the 11th was passed in embarking the artillery. A desperate attempt was spoken of for the next night. At seven o'clock in the evening the Garibaldian steamers began to fire up, and the troops placed themselves in readiness for embarking; but at eleven o'clock a counter-order arrived. About one o'clock in the night was heard a loud cannonade; the firing extended from the forts of Scylla to the fortifications of Pizzo. The squadron remained silent; the engagement had therefore taken place on the land.

It seemed to be evident that the forts were simultaneously attacked by the volunteers and the Calabrians. At a quarter past two the firing ceased: it recommenced after a quarter of an hour in order to cease again after a few minutes. At daybreak, a small boat, chased by a Neapolitan corvette, sought protection under the guns of Faro.

The small party destined to land first in Calabria were under Major Missori, and had been picked from the different volunteer corps. They had been ordered to land on the opposite coast between Scylla and Forte del Cavallo. It is on the extreme point of the Calabrian shore that these forts are situate, at a little distance one from the other. The castle of Scylla stands upon a rock, quite inaccessible from the seaside. Forte del Cavallo is a little further to the left of it, and its walls and fortifications slope gradually down toward the road which skirts the sea, very much like that from Nice to Genoa, which is called the Corniche Road.

On Wednesday evening, the sky so generally blue and bright in this country, was covered with dense whitish clouds, and the night, therefore, was very dark. Garibaldi, who knows how to take advantage even of the smallest incident, at once ordered Missori to sail. Major Missori, having embarked his men on board of large fishing vessels, consequently started at half-past nine o'clock from the Sicilian shore. The Neapolitan cruisers steaming up and down the straits, though numerous and powerful, did not seem to possess the eyes of Argus, and therefore the little expedition was able to land at the intended point. Before reaching the Calabrian coast, however, one of the boats parted company from the other, and sailed a little down toward Scylla Point, just where a Neapolitan battery had been erected. The men on guard in this battery gave the alarm, and the boat was fired at and one English volunteer wounded. Garibaldi had ordered Missori to endeavor to surprise the garrison of Fort Scylla, and to capture the fort. But on hearing the rattling of musketry, and the report of a gun on his left, Missori rightly thought that it would be impossible to seize Fort Scylla by surprise. He therefore hastened to make the concerted signal, informing the Dictator that he had safely landed, and he and his men ascended the rough paths into the Calabrian mountains. As for his companions in the boat which had missed its way, they returned to the Sicilian shore to relate the cause of their failure.

Menotti, Garibaldi's eldest son, arrived at night from Palermo with 800 of the volunteers of Bertani's last expedition. The Dictator had then 20,000 or 25,000 men. His army had been formed into four divisions. That of Medici was at Messina, watching the movements of the Neapolitans, who still held the citadel; the other three were partly concentrated at Faro, a brigade posted at Milazzo and Barcelona, and another, under Bixio, was sent to Bronte, in the province of Catania.

Through the evening of August 11th, fires were seen on the Calabrian mountains behind Pizzo. They were evidently signals made to Garibaldi by the Calabrian bands which had joined the expedition of Major Missori. From about half-past ten, firing was heard in the direction of Fort Scylla; but as that place is hidden from view by the land about Torre del Cavallo, nothing could be clearly distinguished except the heavy boom of artillery. The Neapolitan steamers were cruizing all night, as usual; but they did not fire, and only made signals with rockets. It is supposed that the firing was caused by an attack made by Major Missori's party on Fort Scylla.

The following proclamations appeared the next day:

"Officers and Soldiers of the Land and Sea Forces: The General Dictator having for a short time quitted headquarters, left me the following Order:

"General Sirtori: I leave to you the command of the land and sea forces, being obliged to leave for a few days.

"Officers and Soldiers: My greatest title to your confidence is the confidence which the man reposes in me who represents your noblest aspirations. I trust that you will obey me as you would obey Gen. Garibaldi.

THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE PROSPECT—APPREHENSIONS—GARIBALDI'S MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE—THE EXPEDITION PREPARED IN SARDINIA—HIS CHANGE OF PLANS—SAILS FROM GIARDINI, AND LANDS AT REGGIO.

A new epoch in the war had now arrived, and one of the highest interest. What might be the results none could easily conjecture with any degree of confidence, because the grounds of calculation were known only to Garibaldi. His friends in America as well as in Europe were anxious, fearing that some great disappointment might then await him, after all his brilliant successes. He was about to land on a wild coast, lined with strong forts, garrisoned with numerous troops, and guarded by war-steamers, while not a sign could be discovered of any friends prepared to join him. He, it was to be presumed, had secret information, on which he was acting; but might not that be erroneous or deceptive? Reliance, however, was generally placed on his prudence and skill, and all waited impatiently to see whether he would succeed in this independent enterprise, undertaken against the command of his friend and king.

But, just when things appeared to be all prepared for a descent upon the Calabrian coast, new anxiety and great surprise were caused by the sudden disappearance of the chief. Garibaldi had disappeared, leaving behind him the proclamation which closes the last chapter. He had left his trusted and faithful friend Sirtori in his place; but why or whither had he gone, or when he would return, no one could even conjecture. The explanation is now easily given; for the facts were known after the reasons for concealing them had ceased. Garibaldi, it now appears, had been acting in a manner quite consistent with himself.

About the middle of August, 6,000 men were collected by Dr. Bertani, Garibaldi's agent in Genoa, for an expedition to the states of the Pope. They were sent in detachments to the little retired Golfo d'Orangio, on the eastern side of the island of Sardinia. Bertani went to Messina for orders from Garibaldi, having been urged by Farina and Major Trecchi not to complicate matters by invading the Papal territories before the question of Naples was settled. It was to Golfo d'Orangio that Garibaldi went secretly on the 12th. The "chivalrous regard" which he has been said to have for Victor Emanuel, as the head of Italian unity, seems to have induced him to consent, and the 6,000 men were ordered to Sicily. One thousand of them were therefore sent round the island of Sicily, to Taormina, with the intention of invading Calabria with the brigade Bixio, on the south coast. This was a characteristic plan of Garibaldi, when all eyes were turned to the Straits, as he is fond of making surprises, especially to attack in the rear.

Garibaldi therefore left Messina on the 18th of August, for Giardini, by land, where the troops arrived before him; and the materiel and horses were shipped at night, in the two steamers, Torino and Franklin, which had transported thither about 2,800 soldiers. These and others—9,000 in all—were embarked in these steamers and two sail vessels, which were taken in tow. Garibaldi and his son accompanied this first brigade, which was to be followed by the second, and both were to act in combination with the expedition across the Strait.

At dawn of day the two steamers entered the harbor of Melito, without opposition, about twelve miles south of Reggio, and east of Capo dell'Armi. But, unfortunately on approaching the shore, one of them, the Torino, got aground, and efforts were made in vain to get her off. Garibaldi, seeing that the case was a serious one, said that he was needed to examine the bottom, and began to throw off his clothes, preparatory to diving. But his sailors were too quick, for ten or twelve of them leaped over the side of the vessel into the sea.

As he intended to take Reggio by surprise, he hastened on shore, and effected a landing, with three cannon, in a wonderfully short time. Knowing that almost all the enemy's troops were down at the forts on the west coast, from Scylla onward, he lost no time, expected no assistance, and gave them not time to learn of his arrival in their rear, but speedily gained the neighboring heights. A frigate and corvette in the King of Naples' service were posted on the watch exactly off the spot at which Garibaldi landed, but, wonderful to relate, they not only did not sink his ship, but opposed no serious obstacle to his disembarkation, although they fired some shots which killed a few of the Garibaldians. Four thousand insurrectionists in the Calabrias fraternized with Garibaldi almost on the moment of his landing. It was rumored also, that the defection of the army of Naples was extremely probable.

We now return to Faro, where the army was left still anxiously looking across the strait:

"Nothing was heard of Missori's expedition till it was reported in the camp that he had established himself at Aspromonte, a small village in the mountains near the Calabrian shore. But before reaching this place, he had to fight a company of Neapolitan riflemen, which was dispatched from Villa San Giovanni to stop his march. The skirmish was a sharp one, but at last Missori had the best of it, and was enabled to make his way through the mountains without much difficulty. In this affair, however, he had seven men wounded, and one was made a prisoner by the Neapolitans, as he was so severely hurt that he could not move. In spite of the remonstrances of the surgeon, who told the Neapolitan officer that the man would die if he were taken to Reggio, he was removed, and died on the road. Missori held Aspromonte, and Calabrian patriots joined him from the neighboring villages of the coast: 150 men of Villa San Giovanni, commanded by a Calabrian baron, were among the number.

"During the course of the night, other small expeditions sailed from Sicily, notwithstanding the shining moon which made the night as clear and bright as the day.

"The first of them was directed to land between Azzerello and Villa San Giovanni. The second successfully landed at Fiumara Zaccherella. The third reached Cannamiele. In all, these three expeditions did not number more than 300 men."

Few scenes in history can be found, to be compared with those which soon followed the landing of Garibaldi and his troops, in the manner and at the different points, above mentioned. His combined movements show the wisdom, as well as the ingenuity of his plans; and the results were probably more favorable even than his anticipations. While amusing the enemy with his preparations, and making his repeated essays to land on the near parts of the coast, he had suddenly got in their rear with a powerful force; and while the line of forts along the shore were expecting an attack in front, they suddenly discovered the hills behind and above them covered with Garibaldi's army. Their consternation may be imagined, and some idea may be formed, by an active fancy, of the feelings of the soldiers of freedom, as they showed themselves on the lofty heights, which they had attained unperceived, and from which they now looked down into the enemy's forts, and saw what passed, being able to distinguish minute objects and the positions and motions of the men.

Garibaldi sent a summons to the enemy, demanding an immediate surrender. A flag of truce soon appeared, proceeding from below, with a request for an armistice of a few hours, until orders could be received from the commander-in-chief. "You will never receive them," replied Garibaldi. "I have cut off all communications." "What do you require?" was the next question. "Surrender." "On what terms? May we march out with our arms?" "Certainly; and all the troops will be at liberty to return to their homes."

When the messenger returned to the fortress, there was a commotion visible—men running about to spread the news; and a moment after, a loud shout arose, of "Viva Garibaldi!" But little time was required to arrange the capitulation, and then Garibaldi descended the heights and entered the place, where he was received with acclamations, and the warmest expressions of joy. The soldiers crowded round, kissed his hands and hailed him as their friend. Thus relieved from all their apprehensions in a moment, and, instead of a scene of battle and bloodshed, of which they had expectations, and the forebodings of defeat and its consequences, they found themselves treated with the humanity and tenderness so universally displayed by their conqueror, and at liberty to leave their hard and miserable military life, and to return to their homes and families. The Calabrians, who had already joined the patriot army in great numbers, were continually pouring in from the country; and they, being in want of arms and ammunition to equip them for the ranks of the liberator, purchased those of the disbanded soldiers, who having no intention of remaining in the service of the king, were glad to sell what they no more desired to use against their brethren.

The capture of the forts was thus a scene of peaceful jubilee, and effected without shedding a drop of blood. The results of Garibaldi's proceedings now showed that he must have laid his plans and pursued his movements on information before received, and which fully justified them at every step. His progress, from that part of Calabria toward Naples, afforded equal evidence of his sagacity and of the preparations made to facilitate and secure it. The people rose in his favor wherever he came, and insurrections were made in different and some distant parts of the country, often with a boldness and success which proved extensive and well-laid combinations. To secret societies and the patriotism of the people belongs the credit of that great and almost bloodless revolution. The following brief account of proceedings in several places may serve as a specimen of the movements in the country.

"Three thousand men, assembled from Polla, Sant'Angelo, San Rufo, and a number of other places, marched into Sala, commanded by Colonel Fabrizii. There, in the presence of an enthusiastic population, the downfall of the Bourbons was declared, and the government of Victor Emanuel established, with Garibaldi as dictator, and Giovanni Matina as pro-dictator. A procÈs verbal of the whole affair was made, and signed by the authorities. In western Lucania, under the direction of Stefano Passaro, a committee was appointed to collect arms and ammunition, another to collect voluntary offerings, and a third to provide for public security. Three of the four districts of the province of Salerno, Campagna Vallo, and Sala, had already risen. Of the insurrection, or rather of the popular festivity in Vallo, we have these details: that on the 29th the tambour was beaten at 2 P.M., when the male population rushed in arms to the piazza of the city. They were shortly after joined by many of the youth of the neighboring communes, and, forming themselves into a column, with music at their head, they went through the streets, taking down the arms of the Bourbons and substituting those of Victor Emanuel. All the women of the place accompanied them, scattering flowers and confetti, and thus, amid tears of joy, they all marched toward Goi.

"The scene is described as having been one of marvellous enthusiasm, and it is added that not a single quarrel or theft took place. Life, order, and property were religiously respected."

THE CONDITION OF NAPLES IN PAST MONTHS—THE GOVERNMENT CRISIS—ROYAL DECREE—HOW IT WAS RECEIVED—CRUELTIES PRACTISED—FIRST MOVEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE.

The excitement in Naples, in consequence of the movements in Central Italy, had been very great so early as in June, and a crisis ere long occurred in the cabinet. At a meeting of the Council of State, the Count of Aquila advocated liberal principles, and the Count of Frani resisted him. Concessions were afterward agreed to, and after a conference of six hours, between Baron Brenier and the Count of Aquila, the following decree was published:

"Desiring to give to our most beloved subjects a mark of our sovereign benevolence, we have determined to grant constitutional and representative institutions to our kingdom, in harmony with national and Italian principles, so as to guarantee future security and prosperity, and to draw always closer the bonds which unite us to the people whom Providence has called us to govern. For this object we have arrived at the following determinations:

"1. We grant a general amnesty for all political offenders up to this day.

"2. We have charged the Commander, Don Antonio Spinelli, with the formation of a new ministry, who shall compile, in the shortest possible time, the articles of the statute, on the basis of representative, Italian, and national institutions.

"3. An agreement will be established with the King of Sardinia for the common interests of the two crowns in Italy.

"4. Our flag shall be from this day forward adorned with the national colors in vertical bands, preserving always the arms of our dynasty in the centre.

"5. As regards Sicily, we will grant it analogous representative institutions, such as to satisfy the wants of the island; and one of the princes of our royal house shall be our viceroy.

"Portici, June 25, 1860."

A letter from Naples of that date, said:

"Wrung from the sovereign as have been these concessions, against his inclinations and convictions, if his majesty can be said to have any, and known as all these facts are, the decree was received with the greatest indifference. People read it on the walls and passed on. I have not heard one cry of pleasure raised, but I have heard official people say. 'Too late! What a pity that it was not given six months ago.' It was the concession of one with his back to the wall, and who may hereafter say, as Ferdinand II. said, that he yielded on compulsion, and it was not binding.

"An order was given for the immediate release of the political prisoners in Santa Maria Apparente, and a steamer, hired by their friends, went to Capri to-day to bring back the victims of a long and cruel persecution."

Everywhere this decree was regarded in the same manner. The celebrated Poerio, who had been released from a long and cruel imprisonment a few months before, for supporting the constitution to which the father of the present King of Naples had himself sworn, was at this time a member of the House of Deputies of Sardinia, and in a speech said:

"The traditions of the Neapolitan government are hereditary perjury. The new king, almost to prove the legitimacy of his descent, is preparing to perjure himself; and, in order to qualify himself for the task of forswearing himself, he must first swear. It is with that view that he declares himself ready to swear constitutions and alliances. His object in proposing an alliance with the king's government is obvious. He is only meditating the reconquest of Sicily. These are the old fox-like wiles of the Neapolitan government. As these have thrice availed them, they hope, even now, from the same arts, to attain the same results. But if these are very clearly the intentions of the government of Naples, there is also no doubt but the government of the king—of that king who for the last twelve years has held aloft the banner of Italian nationality, will never desert his post, never will associate itself with a faith-breaking government, a government by the nature of its very institutions an implacable foe to Italian regeneration."

The following is an extract from the letter of an English lady in Florence:

"The details that have reached here, through both private and public information, of the horrible sufferings endured by the Sicilians, are enough to account for the fiendish hatred excited by the Neapolitans, whose conduct to the unfortunate islanders is almost a repetition of the frightful barbarities of the Indians during the late war, for neither sex, age, nor innocence, are any protection against the perpetration of the most awful atrocities. It is beyond belief that, in the nineteenth century, in a Christian part of Europe, there have been scenes enacted within the last few months that renew the days of the Inquisition. A gentleman, residing in Florence, has received intelligence of his family in Sicily, giving details of the sufferings of his brother, who was subjected to a 'torture' that even surpassed all the refined cruelty that was ever imagined by Ximenes and his inquisitorial establishment, having been chained to a copper chair, under the seat of which was lighted a charcoal fire! This is only one of the many incidents that have taken place—incidents that make the cheek grow pale, even to hear of. No wonder there has been such a burst of enthusiasm throughout all Europe for Garibaldi and his noble expedition. Every civilized land has echoed the bell which has been tolled in Italy for the annihilation of despotism. There has not been raised one sympathetic voice to cry to Francis of Naples, 'Hear it not Duncan, for it summons thee' to join the circle of deposed tyrants that have sought asylums within such short distances of each other, imitating the instinct of the featherly tribe, who only seek society with companions of the same color."

The feelings of the people of Naples cannot be imagined, without some knowledge of the cruelties of the government. The following shocking account of the cruelty practised on a man who was called an American, by the priests of Rome and Italy, is from a letter written in Naples, just after the revolution, by a person who saw him and obtained from him since his own story:

"Amongst the many cases of brutal and illegal imprisonment which have been brought before the public during the last ten days, none has been worse than that of Francisco Casanova, calling himself an American. He was confined in San Francisco, and some young men who had formerly been placed in the same prison, though not in the same room, remembering his case, went, on the amnesty being proclaimed, to deliver him; but he was all but naked, and he could not leave until an advocate called Arene, who has acted with great benevolence, sent him some clothes, and has since received him in his house and fed him. Last night I went to see him, and I cannot tell you whether indignation against this most Christian government or compassion for the victim was the strongest feeling. 'When he entered my house,' said Arene, 'he was supported by two persons, for he was unable to walk. He looked like a ghost.' 'Where am I?' he exclaimed, as he looked confusedly around; and well he might, after six years and a half of confinement from all intercourse with man. But I give you his own description of his sufferings, as nearly as possible in his own words, premising merely that there were witnesses of all that I relate, in Arene himself, a Neapolitan friend, and a foreign consul.

"I landed in Genoa from Boston some time in 1853, and wishing to see the south of Italy, travelled till I came near to Viterbo, when I was cautioned not to go to Rome; but I still persevered in my intention of doing so, when I was arrested as not having a passport, and carried to the Eternal City, where I was placed in the Carcere Nuova. Not satisfied with the report I gave of myself, I was tortured for three months as follows. My hands and arms were bound together, and then, by ropes tied round the upper part of the arms, they were drawn back till my breast protruded, and my bones sounded, 'crick, crick.' There was another species of torture practised upon me, which was this: At night, whilst sleeping, the door was secretly opened, and buckets of water were thrown over my body. How I survived it I cannot tell; the keepers were astonished, and said they never had such an instance; 'but you will never get out alive,' I was told. I replied that I never expected to do so, and prayed for the angel of death to come. The worst torture of all, however, was the prison itself—a room into which a few rays of light struggled from above, and the stench of which was as bad as death. For three months I suffered thus, and then, without any reason assigned, was taken from it and placed, always alone, in a room called 'Salon del Preti,' a large airy room, and was well fed and well treated for twenty-one months more. I was a prisoner of the Cardinal Secretary Antonelli. About the middle of 1855 again, without any reason being given, I was sent off to Naples, was placed first in the Vicaria and afterward in San Francisco, in a small, close room, where I was detained for four years and a half. I was questioned on several occasions, and at last refused to answer, saying that my persecutors already knew what I had to say, that I was unjustly and illegally confined, and nothing could compel me to utter another word. On another occasion I was called before Bianchini, the director of police, who interrogated me. I appealed against my sufferings, and all the reply I received was, 'Va bene, va bene,' from a Christian man to one suffering as I was, but my invariable answer was, I will die first; never will I ask anything of this government. When first I arrived here I had a little money, which for a short time procured me better food than prison fare, and then by degrees I sold my clothes. At last I sold my black bread to have a little salt to sprinkle over my beans, and sometimes to procure some incense to relieve the horrid stench of my prison. As for water for purposes of cleanliness, it was never supplied me, and all that I could do, was to dip one of my own rags in a jug of drinking water, and wash some portions of my body. During the day I could repose, but at night I was covered with black beetles, fleas, lice, and every conceivable species of vermin. I expected death, and desired and prayed for it as a relief, but it never came. My clothes were at last so reduced, that I was all but naked, and so I have passed four summers and winters, pacing up and down my narrow chamber.

"'I will show you my prison-dress,' said he; and going out, returned in a few moments. He might have stood as a model for Lazarus risen from the tomb. The lower part of his body was covered with a thin pair of linen drawers, nothing more. On his feet was a pair of shoes, with soles and upper leather all in holes. He had no shirt, but over the upper part of his body, was thrown a rag, something like a common kitchen-towel, one corner of which he had placed on his head, as the long elfin locks which had not been cut, for many years hung down over his neck and shoulders. He appeared more like a brute than a Christian man. 'See this rag,' said he, 'how I have botched it. This was my dress, and so clad, I paced up and down my solitary den.'

"There is much that Casanova reports of himself that I do not repeat, for it is so mysterious that I require further evidence of its correctness. There can, however, be no doubt of his sufferings and imprisonment in Naples. It has long been whispered about here that an unknown individual was lying in the prisons of San Francisco, but nothing was known of him. He was one of the mysteries of the dungeon, and even now there is much to unravel. Who is he?—what secret motives led to his double confinement here and in Rome?—why was he transferred from the hands of a Christian cardinal to the mercies of De Spagnoli? What he said I report, and time must unravel his story; but the world will know how to appreciate the influence of a priesthood under whose eye such enormities have been committed."

In Naples, on the 26th of June, assemblages of the population commenced. The populace shouted "Garibaldi forever!" "Annexation forever!" "Death to the police!" The following day a panic took place; the police were maltreated, and disappeared as soon as the same cries were raised by the populace.

The king had twice sent Signor Aquila to Baron Brenier, and had promised to make a strict investigation.

On the 28th of June all the police stations were pillaged in open day; forty of the agents were surprised, and either killed or wounded. The archives were burnt. The spoils were carried about in triumph by the populace.

The king had arrived at Naples, and had ordered the immediate formation of a national guard.

A proclamation was issued, prohibiting seditious shouts, and recommending the military to disperse assemblages of the population with moderation.

As the successes of Garibaldi in Calabria became known in the city of Naples, and his unimpeded advance toward that capital, the excitement daily increased. A letter, dated there on the 5th of September, said:

"Seven-league boots must be in fashion again, and Garibaldi must have a pair. It was but yesterday he was at Faro; then we find him at Pezzo, Tiriola, Nicastro, Paolo, until, by a series of gigantic strides, by last reports he was at Campagna, the capital of one of the four districts of Salerno. I shall expect at any hour to meet the great dictator in the Toledo. His march has been a continual triumph—war in its severer aspects he has not seen in the kingdom of Naples, but wreathed with flowers scattering confections and weeping tears of welcome and joy. Apart from a hatred of the Bourbons, Garibaldi is worshipped as a demi-god, and I believe that the veriest reactionist in the kingdom would sheathe his sword to look at him. It is hero-worship which has smoothed the passage of the dictator rather than anything more definite or settled in principle."

The priests, the same letter declared, were much connected with the two last revolutionary attempts:

"For that of Prince Luigi (Count of Aquila), the vicars of some parishes, just before the outbreak was to have occurred, placarded the doors of the houses of their faithful followers with little bills, one of which is in my possession, bearing this inscription:

"This was to protect those houses.

"Naples is in a state of the greatest excitement. It is one great heart without a head, and the most singular contrasts present themselves at every step. I left a scene of wild confusion in the Toledo late last night, when the names only of Garibaldi and Victor Emanuel were heard, and, going down to Santa Lucia, I found every house illuminated, torches burning, and fagots borne by a crowd of rabble, a small bell tinkling, and a priest bearing the host, surrounded by hundreds of devotees. They stop, and the vast crowd fall upon their knees. Silence! not a sound was heard, except the indistinct roar of voices from the Toledo. On the walls close behind were the cannon of the Bourbons, and in the offing the fleets of many nations, all brought out as distinctly as possible by the gorgeous moonlight of our southern sky. What a host of conflicting ideas were here brought into juxtaposition and contrast!

"Last night it was decided that the king should leave immediately; at midnight it was deferred, but only deferred. The throne has well nigh fallen."

The following Address to the Clergy of the Kingdom was issued by the Ecclesiastical Committee of Union:

"Italianism, Activity, Catholicity—these are the duties demanded of every good Neapolitan Christian, whether priest or layman; these he is called upon to practise both in thought and action for the benefit of the country. Such, in fact, is the speculative and practical principle which in Naples animates the Union Ecclesiastical Committee in order to arrive at the most holy object of independence, in the noble undertaking of Italian redemption. For these reasons the committee are intent on the union of ideas with facts; they profess it to be their indispensable duty to labor unweariedly, so as not to go in opposition to the orthodox faith, which rests in Christ and his vicar on earth—in Christ as God-man, in his vicar as the first religious and the first civil power of the world. Hence, taking its stand on these axioms, the committee declares its intention of realizing the evangelical maxim that spiritually the state is in the church, as temporarily the church is in the state; and so it labors to establish the unity of Italy in the order of religion and civilization; in the order of religion, of which the pontiff of Rome is the oecumenical moderator; in the order of civilization, of which Victor Emanuel is the only regulator in the Italian kingdom."

THE CONDITION OF NAPLES SINCE THE REIGN OF TERROR IN APRIL—AGITATION ON GARIBALDI'S APPROACH.

There was a reign of terror in Naples in April, 1860, in consequence of numerous arrests and imprisonments of persons of all classes, many of them on the merest suspicion. The British minister in that city, who had repeatedly distinguished himself by his humane exposure and protest against the cruelties of the old savage, Bomba, now made new representations to his government, that these measures were taken by the Intendants in compliance with a circular from the Minister of Police. On the 1st of March they arrested numbers who were not suspected at all, and among them several dukes, marquises, counts, and princes. Other evidences were given by the government of their great fear of an insurrection.

The following is from the letter addressed to the King of Naples by the Count of Syracuse:

"Civil war, which is already spreading over the provinces of the continent, will carry away the dynasty into that ultimate ruin which the iniquitous arts of perverse advisers have long been preparing for the descendants of Charles III. of Bourbon; the blood of the citizens, uselessly spilt, will again flood the thousand towns of the kingdom, and you, once the hope and love of the people, will be regarded with horror as the sole cause of a fratricidal war.

"Sire, while it is yet time, save our house from the curses of all Italy! Follow the noble example of our royal kinswoman of Parma, who, on the breaking out of civil war, released her subjects from their allegiance, and left them to be arbiters of their own destinies. Europe and your subjects will take your sublime sacrifice into account, and you, sire, will be able to raise your brow in confidence up to God, who will reward the magnanimous act of your majesty. Your heart, tempered by adversity, will become accessible to the noble aspirations of patriotism, and you will bless the day when you generously sacrificed yourself for the greatness of Italy.

"With these words, sire, I fulfill the sacred duty which my experience imposes upon me, and I pray to God that he may enlighten you, and render you deserving of His blessings.

"Naples, Aug. 24."

In the latter part of August, reports of the nearer approach of Garibaldi, and of risings in different parts of the country, were multiplied daily; and the secret patriotic committee more openly and freely circulated their publications, which were to be seen in every house. Movements had been made, before the 25th, in Matera, the Capitanata, Bari, Monopolo, and Sassinoro, and in Potenza and Corleta provisional governments were formed in favor of Victor Emanuel. Indeed, the kingdom was in a state of general revolution, and a pro-dictatorial committee held its sessions to direct "the great Lucanian insurrection." An order was also published in Naples, in the name of Garibaldi, Dictator of the Two Sicilies, providing that all authorities should remain at their posts; that acts of the government should be published in the name of Victor Emanuel; that a committee of public security and a commission of engineers should be formed to barricade the city; and that all capable of bearing arms should join the National Guard. Committees were also formed for looking after the commissariat, and attending to the sick and wounded, on which committee were the names of seven ecclesiastics. The headquarters of the insurrectionists were at Potenza, in the province of Basilicata, and to this point were crowding hundreds and thousands of volunteers. The people of the country itself had taken up arms. All business was suspended; one thought alone occupied the public mind. The great fear of many was of pillage; and the want of occupation, and the almost general famine among the lower classes, gave such a fear yet greater appearance of reasonableness.

The landing of several detachments of the Garibaldians was now a confirmed fact.

The following account of the revolution in the Basilicata will afford an idea of the changes then made in the country:

"The province of Basilicata had long been agitated; it is a mountainous country, subject to earthquakes. The war of Italy, the adventures of Garibaldi, the constitution of Francis II., precipitated the crisis. The reactionary attempts at Matera gave the signal for the movement. Potenza, the chief town of the province, was only defended by gendarmes. They were apparently on good terms with the national guard, and their chief, Captain Castagna, had given his word of honor that he would not be the first to commence the attack.

"On the morning of the 18th of October, the gendarmes formed in column, left the town, and took up a position within musket shot of the houses on the Monte. Castagna removed his men in this way to tranquillize the country, as he said. However, a picket of national guards at the Salsa gate watched the movements of the gendarmes. It was well they did, for Captain Castagna all at once returned with his men at double-quick pace, dividing them into two columns, one of which was to attack the post held by the national guard, and the other to open the prisons.

"The first discharge of the royalists took place before the men attacked had time to cry 'To arms!' A bullet struck Captain Asselta in the temple. He had firmly stood the charge with some fifty of the national guardsmen. Not till then did the latter open fire, and the gendarmes were put to flight. They disbanded about the town and the open country, striking at random, pursued and hunted everywhere by the peasants, who were armed with hatchets. They also lost some fifty prisoners: about fifty were wounded, and more than twenty slain.

"Besides the wound of Captain Asselta, the insurgents had to deplore the loss of two young men, and count both women and children among the wounded. Nevertheless, this strange insurrection, provoked, hastened at least, and justified like the Italian war of last year, by the attack of the gendarmes, was entirely successful, and it spread most rapidly. Clouds of armed mountaineers came down from all parts of the heights to help their brethren in the town. The wounded and royal prisoners were not only spared, at the simple command of a chief, but received every assistance, just as if they had been fighting for the good cause.

"On the 19th, at Tito, the national guard drove out the gendarmes; on the 20th there were more than 10,000 armed men at Potenza; on the 22d 16,000 were mustered. All the nobility, the landowners, the chief inhabitants, the educated citizens, even the priests, were on the side of the insurgents. The peasants took up arms spontaneously to the cry of 'Long live Victor Emanuel.' The cross of Savoy floated everywhere on the tri-color flag. The forces were commanded by a Neapolitan, who had already figured in two former Italian wars—Colonel Boldoni.

Strong detachments were stationed en Échelons around the town and upon the mountains. Good positions were occupied, amongst others that of Marmo, whence a handful of men can keep in check an army, and renew the defence of Mazagran. The insurrection assumed such proportions that it kept the royal forces at a distance. Neapolitans and Bavarians had been sent against it; the former stopped at Auletta, the latter at Salerno.

"Potenza was barricaded, and preparing to resist to the death. It had already a provisional government, whose two first acts the National Committee published, headed:

"'A pro-dictatorial government has been formed to direct the great Lucanian insurrection. (Basilicata is the ancient Lucania).

"'The members sit permanently in the old hall of Intendants.

"'Potenza, August 19, 1860.'

"'It is ordained: 1. That the authorities shall remain at their posts and actively assist in maintaining order, providing for the proper carrying on of the judicial and civil administration. 2. The acts of the government relating to the civil and judicial administration shall be headed: Victor Emanuel, King of Italy; Joseph Garibaldi, Dictator of the two Sicilies. 3. A committee of public safety is established and a committee of engineers for barricading the town.'

"The fifth article nominates the majors and captains of the national guard. The sixth directs them to form the several corps. The seventh appoints a deputation to see to the conveyance of provisions, etc. The eighth appoints a deputation for providing quarters. The ninth names a committee for attending to the sick, wounded, and prisoners.

"Rumors of the defection of the king's officers were repeated every moment. It was asserted in Naples that General Nunziante had just gone over to Garibaldi. The Duchess of Mignano, the wife of the exiled general, having been ordered to quit Naples, proudly refused to go, and defied the ministers to remove her by force."

During a few days about the beginning of September, the king's ministers, his army and the city, were in a state of the greatest agitation. On the 3d, General Cotrufiano sent in his resignation, but expressed his hope that the ministry would remain in power. The National Guard, who had before communicated with them, then told them that if they did not remain they would commence the revolution in the city.

As circumstances, however, were, the ministers considered it impossible to remain with dignity or advantage to the country, and, en masse, again sent in their written resignation. "We have been called traitors," they said. "We have the troops against us, and no longer enjoy the confidence of the sovereign; we are supported by the National Guard and the people, it is true, and are their ministers rather than the king's; but this is not according to the principles of the Constitution, and we therefore earnestly beg your majesty to choose a transition ministry. Besides, we will not undertake the responsibility of the war against Garibaldi and his followers, for it will be altogether useless." Such, remarks a writer who was at that time in Naples, was the manner in which the ministers addressed his majesty, and put into plain English, it means this: "If your majesty will abandon all self-defence, we will serve you, but if you are determined to risk an action, we will persist in resigning, and then barricades will be formed directly." The choice left to Francis II., then, was revolution or abdication, and this is the end of that vast structure of despotism which Ferdinand II. reared with so much labor, and cemented with so much blood. On Sunday morning, the ministers met in the council chamber, and waited for some decision on the part of his majesty, but none came; but later in the day, De Martino was sent for by the king, and requested to form an administration. This, however, De Martino declined doing, and the king exclaimed, in great sadness, "Then I am abandoned by all." So stood the matter on Sunday night. It was clear that the ministers had no hopes or intentions, even if they remained in power, of doing anything more than keep things together till Garibaldi came. To them, as to all in Naples, it was evident enough that the game was up, and that all they could do for the country was to make the fall, or transition, as easy as possible. Up to that time their conduct was beyond all praise. There was an impression in the city that the ministerial difficulties had been arranged, and, in consequence, on Saturday and Sunday night there was a partial illumination of the city, and bills were placarded bearing the inscription, "Viva Garibaldi!" "Viva Romano!"—the chief minister.

It is impossible for any generous mind to contemplate the position of Francis II. without compassion. Not gifted by nature with much intelligence, kept in gross ignorance, and reared in a school of political despotism and religious bigotry by his father, misguided and betrayed by evil counsellors in the early part of his reign, and finally abandoned by his oldest uncle, and by the contemptible nobility and parasites who supported or tolerated the corruptions of the government so long as they were to their own advantage, he sat alone in his palace, the last sovereign of his family, hesitating as to the moment when he is to lay down both crown and sceptre. Close to his palace crowds were reading and rejoicing in the latest dispatches from the camp of the enemy, who was advancing by rapid marches—an enemy whom he had no force to repel; and not much more distant resided the minister of a sovereign who subscribed himself the "beloved cousin" (or by some similar hypocrisy) of Francis II., at the same time that he was doing all that in him lay to drive him from the throne. The position was a hard one, created by the Bourbons themselves—a fulfillment of the great decree, that the sins of the fathers shall be visited on the children.

What a contrast was then presented between the cold, bloody cruelty of the Bourbons and the noble moderation of this long oppressed people! Thousands in the city had in some form or other been victims of revenge or suspicion; and it is truly wonderful that not a hand, nor even a voice, was raised against the unprotected king.

As for placing himself at the head of the army, his majesty had no army to command. During the whole of Sunday night, boats were going backward and forward between the land and the Spanish vessels with royal property. The queen mother was already in Albano, near Rome.

There was in the bay a most imposing fleet, representing every nation in Europe. Even the Pope had his flag lying off the Villa. On that side of the city there were fourteen vessels of war, and as many off Santa Lucia.

FLIGHT OF THE KING OF NAPLES.

"At 6 o'clock in the evening of September, his majesty went on board a Spanish vessel, and at 8 o'clock left Neapolitan waters. Before leaving, his majesty published his protest, which is given below.

"It would appear that the French admiral thought, with the prefect, that some precautions were necessary, and he therefore called on the British Admiral Mundy in the course of the evening, and announced his intention of sending some men on shore. Admiral M. replied that he saw no necessity for the step, as the city was perfectly tranquil."

PROTEST OF FRANCIS II.

"Since a reckless adventurer, possessing all the force of which revolutionary Europe can dispose, has attacked our dominions, under the name of an Italian sovereign who is both a relation and a friend, we have striven for five months long, with all the means in our power, on behalf of the sacred independence of our states.

"The fortune of war has proved contrary to us. The reckless enterprise of which the above sovereign protested his ignorance in the most formal manner, and which, nevertheless, at the moment when negotiations were going on for an intimate alliance between us, received in his own states its principal support and assistance, that enterprise at which the whole of Europe assisted with indifference, after having proclaimed the principle of non-intervention, leaving us alone to fight against the common enemy, is now upon the point of extending its disastrous effects to our own capital. The forces of the enemy are now approaching this neighborhood.

"On the other hand, both Sicily and the provinces of the continent, which for a long time have been agitated in every manner by a revolution, rising in insurrection under so great an excitement, have formed provisional governments under the title and nominal protection of the above sovereign, and have confided to a pretended dictator full authority and the decision of their destiny.

"Strong in our rights, founded upon history, in international treaty, and in the public law of Europe, we intend to prolong our defence, while it is possible; yet we are no less determined upon every sacrifice in order to save this vast metropolis, the glorious home of the most ancient memories, the birthplace of national art and civilization, from the horrors of anarchy and civil war.

"In consequence, we shall retire beyond the walls with our army, confiding in the loyalty and the love of our subjects for the preservation of order and for respect being shown to authority.

"In taking this determination we are conscious of a duty which our ancient and uncontested rights, our honor, the interest of our heirs and successors, and more than all, the welfare of our most beloved subjects, have imposed upon us, and therefore we protest loudly against all acts which have been accomplished up to this time, and against the events which are on the point of completion, or which may be accomplished in future. We reserve, then, all our rights and privileges, arising from the most sacred and incontestable laws of succession as well as from the force of treaties, and we declare solemnly that all the aforesaid acts and events are null, void, and of no effect. For what concerns us we leave our cause, and the cause of our people, in the hands of Almighty God, under the firm conviction that during the short space of our reign we have not entertained a single thought that was not devoted to the happiness and the good of our subjects. The institutions which we have irrevocably guaranteed are the proof of this.

"This protest of ours will be transmitted to every court, and we desire that, signed by us, provided with the seal of our royal arms, and countersigned by our minister of foreign affairs, it should be preserved in our royal offices of the exterior, of the privy council and of grace of justice, as a record of our firm resolution always to oppose reason and right to violence and usurpation.

"Among the duties prescribed to kings, those of the days of misfortunes are the grandest and the most solemn, and I intend to fulfill them with resignation, free from weakness, and with a serene and confident heart, as befits the descendants of so many monarchs.

"For such a purpose I once more address my voice to the people of this metropolis, from whom I am now to depart with bitter grief.

"An unjust war, carried on in contravention to the law of nations, has invaded my states, notwithstanding the fact that I was at peace with all the European powers.

"The changed order of government, and my adhesion to the great principles of Italian nationality, were not sufficient to ward off the war; and, moreover, the necessity of defending the integrity of the state entailed upon me the obligations of events which I have always deplored; therefore, I solemnly protest against this indescribable hostility, concerning which the present and future time will pronounce their solemn verdict.

"The diplomatic corps residing at my court has known since the commencement of this unexpected invasion, with what sentiments my heart has been filled for all my people, as well as for this illustrious city, with a view of securing her from ruin and war, of saving her inhabitants and all their property, her sacred churches, her monuments, her public buildings, her collection of art, and all that which forms the patrimony of her civilization and of her greatness, and which being an inheritance of future generations, is superior to the passions of a day.

"The time has now come to fulfill these professions of mine. The war is now approaching the walls of the city, and with unutterable grief I am now to depart with a portion of my army to betake myself whither the defence of my rights calls me. The remainder of my army remains in company with the honorable national guard, in order to protect the inviolability and safety of the capitol, which I recommend as a sacred treasure to the zeal of the ministry; and I call upon the honor and the civic feeling of the mayor of Naples and of the commandant of the said national guard, to spare this most beloved country of mine the horrors of internal discord and the disasters of civil war; for which purpose I concede to the above-named the widest powers that they may require.

"As a descendant of a dynasty that has reigned over this continent for 126 years, after having preserved it from the horrors of a long vice-royalty, the affections of my heart are here. I am a Neapolitan, nor could I without bitter grief address words of farewell to my most dearly beloved people, to my fellow citizens. Whatever may be my destiny, be it prosperous or adverse, I shall always preserve for them a passionate and affectionate remembrance. I recommend to them concord, peace, and a strict observance of their civic duties. Let not an excessive zeal for my dynasty be made a pretence for disturbance.

"Whether from the fortunes of the present war I return shortly amongst you, or whatever may be the time at which it may please the justice of God to restore me to the throne of my ancestors, a throne made all the more splendid by the free institutions with which I have irrevocably surrounded it, all that I pray from this time forth is to behold again my people united, strong and happy.

THE LATE KING OF NAPLES DESCRIBED BY HIMSELF.

A late number of the "Revue de Paris" publishes a curious correspondence between Louis Philippe and Ferdinand II., the late King of Naples. Shortly after the revolution of July, Louis Philippe addressed a letter to Ferdinand II., advising him in the government of his kingdom, to relinquish a little so that all might not be lost, to give up his system of compression and severity. "Imitate," said Louis Philippe, "the system in France; you will be a gainer in every respect; for, by sacrificing a little authority, you will insure peace to your kingdom and stability to your house. The symptoms of agitation are so strongly pronounced and numerous in Italy, that an outbreak may be expected sooner or later, accordingly as the stern measures of Prince Metternich may hasten or adjourn it. Your majesty will be drawn into the current if you are not prepared to stem the tide, and your house will be burst in two, either by the revolutionary stream or by the measures of repression the Vienna Cabinet may think fit to adopt. Your majesty may save everything by anticipating voluntarily and with prudence the wishes and wants of your people."

To this excellent advice and very remarkable counsel, coming as it did from a Bourbon, Ferdinand II. returned the following answer:

"To imitate France, if ever France can be imitated, I shall have to precipitate myself into that policy of Jacobinism, for which my people has proved feloniously guilty more than once against the house of its kings. Liberty is fatal to the house of Bourbon; and, as regards myself, I am resolved to avoid, at all price, the fate of Louis XVI. and Charles X. My people obey force and bend their necks, but woe's me should they ever raise them under the impulse of those dreams which sound so fine in the sermons of philosophers, and which are impossible in practice. With God's blessing, I will give prosperity to my people, and a government as honest as they have a right to; but I will be king, and always. My people do not want to think; I take upon myself the care of their welfare and their dignity. I have inherited many old grudges, many mad desires, arising from all the faults and weaknesses of the past; I must set this to rights, and I can only do so by drawing closer to Austria without subjecting myself to her will. We are not of this century. The Bourbons are ancient, and if they were to try to shape themselves according to the pattern of the new dynasties, they would be ridiculous. We will imitate the Hapsburgs. If fortune plays us false, we shall at least be true to ourselves. Nevertheless, your majesty may rely upon my lively sympathy and my warmest wishes that you may succeed in mastering that ungovernable people who make France the curse of Europe."

Here it was well remarked by a writer:

"We have the father of Francis II. exactly as he was, and exactly as his son has been after him. Out of the lips of the Bourbon it is proved that a Garibaldi was sadly wanted in Sicily. Well, the Garibaldi has come, and the necks of the people bend no more; the people have begun to have a desire to 'think;' have raised their necks 'under the impulse of those dreams which sound so fine in the sermons of philosophers,' and the 'woe's me,' which the Bourbon Ferdinand II. feared would fall upon him when the people did so rise, has fallen upon the head of the Bourbon Francis II. 'The Bourbons are very ancient,' said Ferdinand, 'and if they were to try to shape themselves according to the pattern of the new dynasties, they would be ridiculous.' Well, Francis II., penned up there in Gaeta, with a very small pattern of an army, strikes us as a very ridiculous king, and ridiculous because he did not shape himself according to the pattern of a wise and liberal monarch. This letter of Ferdinand II. is one of the most striking lessons of history that the present century has afforded."

GARIBALDI'S JOURNEY THROUGH CALABRIA—REACHES PALERMO —ENTERS NAPLES—ENTHUSIASM AND GOOD ORDER OF THE PEOPLE—THE NEW GOVERNMENT—THE ARMY AND NAVY—VARIOUS OCCURRENCES.

Garibaldi, after his wonderful triumph over the royal army in Calabria, made rapid marches through the wild regions of that part of the peninsula toward Naples. By rising early, pressing on and resting but little, he performed a journey of about two hundred and eighty miles to Salerno, in a fortnight from the day of his landing at Reggio.

Before Garibaldi's entry into Naples, the Sardinian admiral had threatened to fire upon any Neapolitan vessel which should attempt to proceed to Gaeta.

A Te Deum had been celebrated in the cathedral by Father Gavazzi, the people shouting "Hurrah for Victor Emanuel!" "Hurrah for Garibaldi!" The people were armed, some even with pikes and sticks.

General illuminations had taken place. The Papal Nuncio, a great part of the ambassadors, and Count Trapani, had followed the king to Gaeta. The king had appointed Signor Ulloa, brother of General Ulloa, as his prime minister, and had issued a proclamation.

On the morning of the 7th of September, Garibaldi was at Salerno, a town near the southern extremity of the vast and splendid bay of Naples, and about thirty miles distant from the capital, preparing to proceed to it by the railroad. The love with which he attaches his friends to him was evident, in the manner in which his personal staff clung to him at the station. Very few accompanied him; but 25,000 troops were to follow him in four days.

The following account of Garibaldi in Salerno, is from a letter of Mr. Edwin James to a friend:

"The long roll of the 'spirit-stirring drums,' the discordant noises of the Calabrese soldiers as they were endeavoring to form their ranks, the dashing in of carriages from Naples with their cargoes of deputations to attend Garibaldi, roused me before four o'clock, September 7th, from my bed, in a wretched 'albergo' in Salerno, where I had been the prey of mosquitoes since midnight. Garibaldi was astir as early as four o'clock; he had seen members of the committee from Naples, and was arranging his entrÉe into the city. At my interview with him yesterday at Eboli, which was a hurried one, he had requested me to see him in the evening; he was so surrounded by crowds of admirers, all anxious for a glimpse at the 'great man,' that I delayed my interview until this morning. On entering the large rooms of the HÔtel de Ville, or 'Intendenza,' the throngs of people and their agitation and excitement were most striking.

"The national guard of Salerno lined the avenues; priests of every denomination crowded to touch the 'hem of his garment.' Officers of State of the king were in earnest conversation with him, urging his coming without delay into Naples.

"A special train of about 20 carriages was in waiting at 10 o'clock, and we obtained a seat in the carriage next to that in which Garibaldi was. Throughout the journey to Naples, in every village, at every station, the joy and enthusiasm of the people exceeded the powers of description. Women and girls presented flags, threw flowers into the carriages, struggled to kiss the hand of the general. Mayors and syndics ejaculated their gratulations; priests and monks stood, surrounded by their wretched flocks, on the hill-side, and shouted their 'Vivas,' and holding the crucifix in one hand and the sword in the other, waved them in the air, and bawled out their benedictions. As the train passed the king's guard at Portici, the soldiers threw their caps into the air, and joined lustily in the 'Viva Garibaldi!'"

It was reported in Naples, about eleven o'clock, that Garibaldi was to arrive that day, and a great part of the inhabitants, on first hearing the news, hastened to the station. A detachment of national guards marched with the national colors flying, and in the yard assembled all the leading liberals in their carriages, the secret committee, now no longer concealed, and several foreign ministers, including the French, M. Brenier, to do honor to the hero.

"Many ladies were in the waiting-saloon, which was crowded with national guards and gentlemen in plain clothes and all sorts of uniforms.

"After waiting an hour (writes a spectator), shouts were heard, and the scream of an arriving train. 'He is come!' The train steams in. In the first carriage, standing on the roof, is a giant of a man, with a cap, a red shirt, and the handkerchief fastened on his shoulders. The cries and cheers increase. Suddenly all is hushed again, and we are down to zero. It is only a train of disarmed Bavarians en route from Salerno. At last he does come. The enthusiasm is overpowering. Surrounded by a band of soldiers, sons of Anak as to size, and dressed in the wild and travel-stained costumes of an irregular army on a campaign, comes Garibaldi. The first thing that strikes you is his face, and the deep determination of his extraordinary forehead. A face that might serve as a model for the sculptor, is softened almost to sweetness by the mildness of the eyes and the low tone of the most musical voice I have ever heard. Long, grizzly curls hang from his broad hat. He wears a red shirt with a silk handkerchief on his shoulders, like the 'panuelo' of the South American, and grey trousers. He escapes as well and as soon as he can from a reception, which he accepts rather than covets, and proceeds to take possession of his new abode.

"Garibaldi entered the private carriage of the French minister, his staff following in other carriages, and some few on horseback; the cortÉge consisted of about twenty vehicles. Individually I have never seen such men as his body-guard, and the picturesque dress sets off their height and the squareness of their build. Compared with these soldiers, Garibaldi is short, but very powerfully made. Along the crowded Marinelli, the headquarters of lazzaroni, now constitutional popolani, one of whom rode before Garibaldi's carriage, through the Largo del Castello, the Strada di Toledo, and finally to the Palazzo della Regina di Savoia, opposite the Palazzo Reale, which the dictator refused to inhabit, the cortÉge makes its way, and Garibaldi enters into what was once a palace of the Bourbons. The shouts of the crowd now gathered together in the square penetrate the inmost recesses, and presently the window opens and Garibaldi appears, followed by a large staff of officials. The others stop, and he advances alone to the centre of the balcony that extends along the palace, and the cheering is deafening. It is no use for the hero to speak till the people have a little exhausted their powers; so he stands there alone, leaning on his hand, with his fine features in repose, and an almost melancholy expression on his face, as if he felt that his career was a duty which had its thorns as well as its roses; and that, though the end sanctifies the means, yet carnage and slaughter, tottering thrones and crumbling dynasties, leave their impression on the brow that caused them. I have never seen so grand a study as Garibaldi, as he stood silently speculating, perhaps, over the true value of the people whom he had just freed. He spoke at some length, but it was impossible to distinguish what he said, though it was easy to perceive that he speaks with great energy. Having satisfied, for the moment at least, the desires of the bassa-gente (the populace), it was time to re-enter the palace and receive the welcome of the upper classes. The stair and entrÉe to the dictator's levÉe were an extraordinary spectacle. The door leading to the suite of apartments in which the general held his reception was kept by the national guard, who were perpetually assailed by persons desiring to see the dictator 'face to face.' Men of all nations and in all costumes seemed suddenly to have started up in the heart of Naples.

"The reception was brief—even Garibaldi requires repose—and after having appeared on both sides of the palace, and received the compliments of all classes, including a Venetian deputy, who said, 'We are ready, and only await Garibaldi,' to which the dictator replied, with a quiet smile, 'Aspetta, aspetta!' (Wait, wait), he retired from the palazzo to his quarters in the Palazzo Angri, Strada Toledo, where another ovation awaited him. On his way he went to the cathedral, and was received with due honors. The generality of priests have retired to their cells, but many are still about, and I met one in the presence chambers in full canonicals, crossed by a tri-colored scarf, and bearing an enormous Sardinian flag—'Tempora mutantur et nos.'"

On Saturday, the 8th, there was a sudden commotion in the Castelnovo, on the shore, a description of which will convey a just idea of the state of Naples and the garrison. A spectator wrote:

"One of those uproarious bursts of applause which come upon us like hurricanes, called me to the window. The soldiers in the garrison at the Castelnovo had just burst out, and were running, jumping, galloping past my house like so many slaves who had burst out of the house of bondage. Some were armed with muskets; most had their sacks full of loaves of bread, which dropped from their wallets as they ran along, shouting, like so many madmen, 'Viva Garibaldi!' At every step they met with crowds of men and women, armed with naked swords, daggers, and pikes, which they flourished in the air, uttering at the same time the usual magic cries. Dirty-looking fellows, in the Neapolitan uniform, were hugged and kissed by persons as dirty as themselves, and then uniting, all surged onward to the Toledo. It was impossible to remain in the house, and escaping from my chains, which fell from me as soon as the post left, I hurried into the street. I turn round to Criatamone, and just above me, peering over the walls, I see a number of soldiers in garrison in the Pizzofalcone, and watching if the road was clear. The people about me were waving their hands to them, and inviting them to come down. There are iron doors at the bottom, and sentinels stand by them. Down come the troops in a torrent—sentinels are motionless, the doors bend, at last yield, and at length out they come like so many madmen out of Bedlam, and run after their companions from the Castelnovo. Sentinels still stand, 'pro formÂ,' at the doors of both the forts, but they are abandoned, and empty walls and harmless cannon alone remain to be guarded. Meanwhile, Garibaldi is going to Pie di Grotta, like another Emperor Carlo III., on the first day of his entry into Naples. Carriages dash by me full of red jackets, or of men and women brandishing swords and pikes, whilst the rain is pouring down in torrents, and the thunder is pealing, as if it were a salute of heaven for the liberator of the Two Sicilies. The weather prevented any grand display, though the disposition was not wanting on the part of the people, as the flags which hung down lank from the windows abundantly showed. The weather brightened up toward the evening, and the town was more brilliantly illuminated than last night. There can be no mistake about the matter, the enthusiasm is very great. People are beside themselves, and scenes are witnessed which, perhaps, have never been witnessed in any other country under the sun. Two lines of carriages go up and down the Toledo filled with persons decorated with tri-colored ribbons and scarfs, and carrying the flag of Piedmont, or rather of Italy. There are people of every class: there are priests and monks, as gaily decorated as any, and some are armed; there are women in the Garibaldian dress, and many carry daggers or pikes; there are red jackets of Garibaldi and red jackets of England; there are people from the provinces, who have scarcely dared to speak or breathe for twelve long years, who are now frantic with joy. What wonder if they have lost their senses?

"But many adjourn to San Carlo,^[3] for Garibaldi is to be there, and, indeed, one of our autumnal hurricanes of rain is coming down. I was there when he arrived, and we knew of his approach from the shouts of the populace outside. Every one is standing and craning over his seat to catch a view of the great man, and at last he enters the stage box, while many of his followers take possession of the neighboring boxes, and a storm of applause greets him, and calls him to the front. There are few spectacles so brilliant as San Carlo when lighted up in gala fashion; and this evening particularly, with the banners waving from the boxes, and from above the stage, it showed better than I have ever before seen it; but altogether the demonstration was a failure. The theatre was not two-thirds full, and when those two magnificent pieces of music were performed, the 'Hymn of Garibaldi' and 'The Chorus of the Lombardi,' not a voice joined in. I wanted, together with my friends, to raise a chorus on our own account, for it was irritating enough to witness a number of people sitting and fanning themselves, as though they came to be amused, instead of pouring out their very souls in honor of the great man who had liberated them. I shall not say anything more of San Carlo. On my road home, a poor fellow was found not far from my door with a dagger in his body. I regret to say that several, if not many, cases of assassination have occurred during the last three days. Political fanatics have stopped every one, and threatened them with the knife if they were not prompt in crying out 'Viva Garibaldi;' and private vengeance has demanded its victims too, perhaps. But, take it altogether, the people have not been sanguinary, and, considering the immense provocation which they have received, order has been wonderfully preserved, and little blood shed."

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Garibaldi, from the first, gratified the Neapolitans, by appointing natives to office. All public officers were, for the moment, retained in their old stations. The holding of several offices by one and the same person was forbidden, and pluralists were to select, within five days, which office they would retain.

All military men willing to serve were ordered to present themselves at the nearest station, give in their adhesion to the actual government, and take their certificate of it.

Those officers who presented themselves with their troops were retained in their positions in full activity; those who presented themselves alone were placed in the second class, to be employed when the army is reformed; those who did not send in their adhesion in ten days were excluded.

The "Official Journal" of Naples of Sept. 9th, published a series of decrees, of which the following are the most important: All the acts of public authority and of administration are to be issued in the name of His Majesty Victor Emanuel, King of Italy, and all the seals of state, of public administration, and of the public offices, are to bear the arms of the Royal House of Savoy, with the legend, "Victor Emanuel, King of Italy." The public debt of the Neapolitan state was recognized; the public banks were to continue their payments, as also the Discount Bank, according to existing laws and regulations. Passports for the United Italian States were abolished; those for foreign states and Italian states not united were to be signed by the Director of Police. The following address to the army was published:

"If you do not disdain Garibaldi for your companion in arms, he only desires to fight by your side the enemies of the country. Truce, then, to discord—the chronic misfortune of our land. Italy, trampling on the fragments of her chains, points to the north—the path of honor, toward the last lurking-place of tyrants. I promise you nothing more than to make you fight.

"Naples, Sept. 10."

A series of dispatches was published from Nola, Benevento, Aquila, and a host of other places, expressive of the public joy at the arrival of the Dictator in the capital. In Arriano and Avellino there had been a reactionary movement among the liberals. Some disturbances also took place in Canosa, and in the island of Ischia.

In Naples, the castles had all capitulated, and were in the hands of the National Guard. The population gradually settled down into its usual sober state, which had recently been disturbed by the madness of exultation, and before that by apprehension.

Naples continued tranquil on the 11th of July, to the surprise of everybody; and the means by which the public peace was preserved at that time and afterward, may well be a subject of curious inquiry. The public anticipations of mobs, violence, robbery and bloodshed were as much and as agreeably disappointed, as when the "levÉe en masse" in Turkey was disbanded after the Russian war, and the soldiers went home joyfully and peaceably. The truth is, that men who desire power, wealth, and undeserved honors, have too long accused their less ambitious or vicious fellow-beings of needing their government. Naples with her 70,000 lazzaroni, who are destitute even of shelter at night, remained quiet during and subsequently to one of the most peaceful revolutions on record.

The following accounts were reported on the 11th of September:

The tranquillity of the town had not been disturbed, and the same enthusiasm still prevailed. The Elmo and the other forts have surrendered. The English admiral paid a visit to Garibaldi, who afterward went on board the Hannibal, the English ambassador being present. On that occasion the Sardinian fleet fired a salute of seventeen guns in honor of the dictator. The Sardinian troops disembarked by order of the Dictator. It was said that the king, in leaving Naples, ordered the bombardment of the town and the burning of the royal castle, and that the original of the order has been found. The king had formed a new royalist ministry, the members of which are Caselli, Canofini, Girolamo, and Ulloa. The Austrian, Russian, Prussian, and Spanish ministers, and Papal nuncio, had followed the king to Gaeta. The whole army of Garibaldi was to arrive at Naples in four days, and, with the revolutionary bands, the total force was 20,000 or 30,000 men. The revolution was everywhere triumphant. The Bixio and Medici brigades had just arrived in port. The entrance of Garibaldi into Naples was celebrated at Milan in the most enthusiastic manner. The whole city was illuminated and decorated with flags. The very name of the dictator inspired electric enthusiasm. A number of illuminated drums, fixed on long poles, were carried through the streets. The drums bore significant inscriptions, as follow: "To Rome!" "To Venice!" "Rome, the capital!" Most cities of Italy celebrated the annexation of Naples.

The Neapolitan navy, which had deserted, all together, to Garibaldi, he delivered to the Sardinian admiral. The Neapolitan navy is of very respectable size, taking a place in respect to materiel at least above the second rank in Europe. It does not fall much below that of the United States. The whole number of vessels amounts to ninety, carrying 786 guns, with a complement of upward of 7,000 sailors and officers of all sorts. Of the vessels, 27 are propelled by steam. Of these, one is of large size, carrying 60 guns; 11 are frigates, armed with 10 guns each; 8 corvettes, with 8 guns each, besides seven smaller vessels, each with four guns. Of the sixty or more sailing vessels, the largest is armed with 80 guns. There are five frigates, carrying an aggregate of 252 guns, or about 50 each. Among the rest are bomb and mortar boats in considerable number, and others armed with Paixhan guns. These latter have been found useful by the king, when he has felt inclined to indulge his propensity of knocking down the palaces and cities of his disobedient subjects.

GARIBALDI'S PROCLAMATION TO THE CITIZENS OF NAPLES.

"To the beloved population of Naples, offspring of the people! It is with true respect and love that I present myself to this noble and imposing centre of the Italian population, which many centuries of despotism have not been able to humiliate or to induce to bow their knees at the sight of tyranny.

"The first necessity of Italy was harmony, in order to unite the great Italian family; to-day Providence has created harmony through the sublime unanimity of all our provinces for the reconstitution of the nation, and for unity, the same Providence has given to our country Victor Emanuel, whom we from this moment may call the true father of our Italian land.

"Victor Emanuel, the model of all sovereigns, will impress upon his descendants the duty that they owe to the prosperity of a people which has elected him for their chief with enthusiastic devotion. The Italian priests, who are conscious of their true mission, have, as a guaranty of the respect with which they will be treated, the ardor, the patriotism, and the truly Christian conduct of their numerous fellow ecclesiastics, who, from the highly to be praised monks of Lagracia to the noble-hearted priests of the Neapolitan continent, one and all, in the sight and at the head of our soldiers, defied the gravest dangers of battle. I repeat it, concord is the first want of Italy, so we will welcome as brothers those who once disagreed with us, but now sincerely wish to bring their stone to raise up the monument of our country. Finally, respecting other people's houses: we are resolved to be masters in our own house, whether the powerful of the earth like it or not.

The following were some of the occurrences in Naples immediately after the entrance of Garibaldi.

The four battalions of chasseurs whom the king had left behind in his flight, quartered here and there about the town, disbanded. Many of the soldiers went home; those who wished to remain at Naples, secure from harm, did obeisance to the new powers, by wearing a small badge with the Savoy cross on their breasts. The fortress of St. Elmo followed the example of the fleet. It fired a thundering salvo in honor of Garibaldi, hoisted the Sardinian colors, and admitted the national guards within its walls. The other forts were garrisoned by this same burgher militia. Naples, in short, was now wholly in the hands of the patriots, and Garibaldi had already pushed forward one or two brigades, which gained possession of the royal palace of Caserta. The king had shut the gates of Capua. There and at Gaeta he was to abide till his enemies should come on. Meanwhile Garibaldi, master of the seas, sent his steamers to Paola, to Sapri, to all the small ports near which his overtasked legions lingered behind. Every morning were shouts of a joyous landing and a triumphant march of those several brigades. The whole force was soon brought together, and the respite allowed to the king at Gaeta was of no long duration.

The joy of the good Neapolitans at their cheaply-gotten emancipation, became daily more noisy and frantic. Every evening the Toledo was all alive with banners and torches, with thronged masses of possessed people, all shouting out with all the might of their southern throats, that favorite cry, "Una! Una! Una!" —conveying their desire that all Italy should be made one country. There was a grand gala night at San Carlo, when the proscenium, the pit, and the boxes became one vast stage. The whole performance consisted of Io PÆans to Garibaldi, who, calm and serene in his homely garb, had a pleasant word for all the friends who surrounded him in his box, and was, in fact, less insensible to that popular demonstration than he might have wished to avow.

One of the greatest objects of interest was the easily-won castle St. Elmo. The whole population of Naples, male and female, seemed bent on performing a pilgrimage to that shrine of their patriot martyrs.

One of Garibaldi's soldiers thus described it:

"Yesterday I went up myself with a party of friends. We first walked through St. Martin's marble church and monastery, where our Garibaldian red shirts, I dare say, boded little good to the white-cowled monks, who gazed at us as we passed, tall, stately, and motionless, so that we at first mistook them for statues;—good Carthusian monks, doing penance in a marble paradise, bound by vow to perpetual silence, and affecting an easy, unconcerned air, though in their heart of hearts, probably, trembling not a little for the visible and invisible treasures of which their sanctuary has been, time out of mind, the repository.

"From the marble cells of the monks to the iron dungeons of the victims of Castle St. Elmo the transition is but short, but the contrast is appalling. The stone steps wind down six floors, and at every floor room was made for about half a score of victims. Some of the miserable cells had windows; but, as the view from the hill over the loveliest panorama of land and sea would have been too great a solace to the lonely captive, the window was latticed over by thick wooden bars, not intended to prevent escape—for from that height only a bird could attempt it—but simply to rob the poor recluse of the distant view of his familiar scenes. In the lowest floor there is no window to the dungeons—only a little wicket in the door, opening outwardly, for the gaoler to communicate with the prisoner if he has a mind. That wicket would be opened one moment in the morning to let in a little bread and water; then the wicket would fall to, and for twenty-four hours all would be darkness inside.

"I do not like to witness horrors, much less to dwell upon them, else I could tell you of the loopholes we were shown, through which the sentries could shoot the prisoners in their cells and their beds. I could repeat the instances of wholesale executions of Swiss and Sicilian mutineers of which St. Elmo has been the theatre, and of which the world never knew anything. The caitiffs who were but yesterday in the king's pay are eager to promulgate abroad the infamy of his doings, and I have no doubt St. Elmo will soon become the subject of books or pamphlets, yielding but little in interest to the stories of La Bastille, of which it will soon share the fate.

"The good people of Naples are bent upon demolishing St. Elmo, and are only awaiting the dictator's bidding to lay hand to the work. A tough job they will find it, I am sure. As I was walking yesterday along the upper battlements the impatient citizens were already busy pulling back the huge brass guns, each of which was most offensively pointed at some of the most densely crowded quarters of the town, and turning their muzzles inward. What a fortress that was, and what a protection to the city! It was no bad emblem of the whole sea and land might of the Bourbon—worse than useless against foreign aggression, wholly and exclusively directed to crush internal commotion."

The condition of Naples on the 12th of September was thus described in a private letter of that date:

"There is much to be done here, and Garibaldi is doing it well. It is impossible to take up a journal, or move about in the midst of the vast crowds which throng the capital, without feeling that a master-spirit is here. Long before the city has shaken off its slumber, the dictator is up and driving about. Yesterday he went to visit Nisida, and surprised the British library, on his return, with a visit at half-past six o'clock A.M, wishing to purchase some books. During the day he was hard at work receiving visitors and legislating, and the following are some of the fruits of his labors:

"All political prisoners are to be liberated immediately. All custom-house barriers between Sicily and the Neapolitan continent are abolished. Twelve infant asylums, one for each quarter, are to be established in the capital at the public expense, and are to be municipal institutions. Secret ministerial funds are abolished. The trial by jury in criminal cases is to be established. The order of Jesuits, with all their dependencies, is abolished in the territory. Two Sicilies, and their property declared national. All contracts on property for the benefit of the order are annulled. Considering that religious fanaticism and aristocratic pride induced the late government to make distinctions even between the dead, the burial of the dead is henceforward absolutely forbidden within the walls of a city. The traffic in grain and flour with Ancona is prohibited.

"All these decrees have a history attached to them, which, if narrated, would tell of sufferings and persecutions almost incredible. They are admirable, and in themselves amount to a beneficial revolution; but the better and the more sweeping the changes that are introduced, the greater the necessity for some established government.

"His majesty, Francis II. has already formed his ministry, and placed at the head of it Gen. Cotruffiano; and among his colleagues are Caselli, Ulloa—not the general—and Canofari, all of the legal profession.

"MM. Maniscalchi, father and son, notorious for having been the most active agents of the late king's tyranny at Palermo, were arrested on the 7th, at Caserta, and taken under escort to Naples."

Another letter, written on the same day, gave the following additional particulars:

"Troops are continually coming in and marching to the frontier. The Piedmontese admiral, with another steam frigate and the ex-Neapolitan ships, is in the harbor.

"I hear the sound of cracked trumpets, and, looking out, see the first ranks of a Garibaldi division coming down the Santa Lucia. I am struck by the youthful appearance of some, certainly not more than twelve, or at the furthest fourteen years old—fair, pretty-looking boys, who might have had a satchel instead of a knapsack on their backs. There were, however, some glorious-looking fellows, and all, whether men or boys, seemed to be animated by a spirit little known to the Neapolitan troops. The latter were a sect to defend a vile political creed, and inflict chastisement on those who opposed it; but the former are banded together to assert the sacred rights of liberty. I saw it in their march; there was an elasticity about it which denoted what was passing within. I cannot say much for their uniforms; they were very dirty, out of order, and irregular, and I have no doubt but that so eminent a general officer as Ferdinand II. would have been much scandalized; but they were evidently working men, had an object in view, and were not going to fight for money. I have seen hundreds of them about the town to-day; they are billeted about in the hotels and lodging-houses, while the Piedmontese troops are in Castel-Ovo.

"The city is in immense confusion—crowded, picturesque, almost mad. Foreigners seem to outnumber the Neapolitans, and the red jacket every other colored cloth. Such a Babel is every public place that I imagine myself to be living some thousand years back—Englishmen just arrived, hob-nobbing with Italians, whose only common lingo is that of the fingers. Many of our countrymen came on Tuesday, and I watched some of them carrying on a most animated, though purely gesticulatory, conversation with Frenchmen yesterday morning."

After the peaceful and triumphal entry of Garibaldi into Naples, new rumors were put into circulation of a pretended disagreement between him and the King of Sardinia. These were most satisfactorily refuted by the measures which the victorious general adopted immediately afterward. On the 14th of July, he proclaimed the government of Victor Emanuel, placed all the ships of war and commerce, the arsenals and materials of marine, by decree, at the disposal of Sardinia, and put them into the hands of Admiral Persaro; the portfolio of the interior was confirmed to Liborio Romano, the only member of the late ministry who enjoyed the confidence of the people. The choice of Scialoia, who had already left Genoa to assume the ministry of finance, was very generally applauded. Two battalions of genuine Piedmontese Bersaglieri were landed from the Sardinian men-of-war, and took possession of the Darsena. Telegraphic orders were sent for two more Piedmontese regiments to garrison the Neapolitan forts. By taking the Neapolitan marine under its command, and occupying the strongholds, dockyards and arsenals about this place, the Sardinian government committed itself more openly to the annexation of these kingdoms than it ever dared to do in the case of Tuscany or Romagna last year. And all these measures were taken not only with the consent but by the express desire of Garibaldi, who certainly exhibited no apprehension that the king's government would interfere with his vast undertakings.

The extreme joy with which the news of Garibaldi's entrance into Naples was received by all classes and parties, from Messina to the Alps, can be best understood by those who know the detestation with which the oppression and vindictive cruelty of the late government were universally regarded. This feeling was greatly increased by the disappointment of the nation in all those hopes to which the death of Ferdinand had given birth, and the conviction that his successor was determined to tread in his father's steps rather than enter sincerely on any new course. When Francis II. ascended the throne, it was felt that a young monarch, above all, one educated as he had been, had every claim to public consideration, and very sincere hopes were for the time entertained, that he would cease to follow the beaten track of Bourbon perjury and despotism, and frankly identify himself with the wants and aspirations of his country. Possessing, through his mother, a considerable hold on the affections of his subjects, and succeeding a sovereign who was detested by his people, he had an excellent position, and by a judicious system of even moderate reforms, might have conciliated all parties and opposed a successful barrier to the tide of revolution that was soon to sweep over the landmarks of Italy.

The amnesty was followed by a "circular" which struck at its very root and replaced thousands under the surveillance of the police. Then came the infamous and illegal deportation to Capri of men who had never been put upon their trial, and upon whose liberation England had insisted, through her minister, in the strongest terms. A system was pursued that has been characterized as a perpetual violation of all law, and a practical denial of Christianity.

The general satisfaction felt by the people of Naples after Garibaldi's arrival amounted to enthusiasm. An Englishman, writing from that city on the 14th of July, thus described the aspect of the people:

"I do not know Naples now, so changed is its aspect. Faces that I have not seen for twelve years appear in every street and square. They have come from foreign exile; from confinement in some frontier town or village; from some voluntary lurking place, the retirement to which was their only security from persecution; from the prison and the bagnio; all have met together again, by hundreds and thousands, in the capital of what was once the two Sicilies. Revolution is said to turn the dregs uppermost; yet the appearance and manner of those who now appear on the scene contradict the common proverb. In their very attitude, there is an air of self-respect and independence to which I have long been a stranger. I do not see the assumption or the swagger of the overbearing, or the timidity of the man who leaves his friend, and walks on before, because a spy is coming, or whispers and looks over his shoulder for fear that such a person is listening. No; all this has passed away, and I meet erect, independent men. My life here has brought me, too, into frequent intercourse with them; and, accustomed as I have been to the trivialities and the nullities rendered at first necessary, and afterward habitual, by despotism, I have been astonished at the new tone of thought and conversation. The Neapolitans now reason and talk like men, and there is a degree of self-restraint about them which is in the highest degree creditable after the sufferings to which they have been so long exposed. It is clear that the intellect of the country has for years been out of it, or in seclusion, or in imprisonment. Nor is this to be wondered at, when ignorance was rewarded and learning discouraged by those twins of darkness, the sovereign and the clergy, and the only hopes of the Bourbons and the Vatican depend upon brutalizing the national mind. Ferdinand II. it was who interrupted a father describing the acquirements of his son by saying, 'Better he had a stone round his neck, and be thrown into the sea;' and it was a priest who held a high public office, who checked a person indulging in a similar style of speaking by saying that it would be well for the rising generation to be 'little asses and little saints.' These times are, however, passing away; heaven grant that the light of freedom and intelligence may not dazzle the as yet unaccustomed vision of the natives.

"We have likenesses of Victor Emanuel and of Garibaldi in every shop window, and multitudes crowd around them to admire; in short, there is at present a furia for the Re Galantuomo and the Hero of Sicily."

The prisons of the police were thus described by the same writer:

"I yesterday saw some of them. Several members of the commission appointed to close them—themselves once prisoners here—accompanied me. A grated door led down to an ante-chamber, which was lighted only through these bars. Stone walls, stone floor—stone everywhere, except the ground, which was covered over with burnt fragments of books, that had been taken in domiciliary visits and destroyed here. 'Here one breathes,' said a pardoned prisoner; 'but bring a light,' he said to a jailer, and we descended from this twilight room into another which received the reflection of the twilight through a hole in the door. It was small and of stone—nothing but stone—and on the right I observed a stone bed three feet high from the ground, with an elevation of stone called a pillow. A door is opened and leads into another room, where no twilight, no reflected twilight, nor a ray of light nor a breath of air can penetrate. 'I was imprisoned here,' said one of my conductors. I looked at him as if expecting to find that he was turned into a brute beast, for it was a den for a wild animal, not a chamber for a Christian man, in a country teeming with Christ's ministers, and where the holy Apostolic Catholic religion is the only one permitted to be professed. In some parts a man could not stand upright, so that there he lay in Stygian darkness, without any change of air, 'and on bare ground,' said my friend, 'unless he could afford to pay an extortionate price for a mattress, to a licensed spy and denouncer, who drove a good trade in human misery.' 'Let us leave this den,' I said, and so we groped back into the chamber where the reflection of twilight penetrated. 'Take care,' cried the jailer, as I stumbled over a mountain of old books and papers. On the opposite side was another criminale about eleven by five palms, where five or six persons were at times confined. The smell of the prison was insufferable. Now mark, who were the men confined in these places not fit for beasts? Not condemned criminals; no! but men arrested on suspicion and waiting for an order for their committal—men of rank and education accustomed to the comforts of a home."

The following passages from a letter written at Florence, are very appropriate in this place:

"The ministry appointed by the Dictator is a liberal but moderate one. Garibaldi is in earnest in his devotion to the King of Sardinia, and in his determination to unite Italy under his rule. It is to be hoped that he will, as soon as may be, commence the work of raising the Neapolitan people out of some of the absurd superstitions which have always kept them in ignorance, and made them the serfs of juggling priests. He has not yet countenanced, by his presence at the operation, the ridiculous juggle of the liquefaction of the blood of Saint Januarius, which is held in such high esteem by the Neapolitans, that all the conquerors of the city have heretofore been obliged to respect it. Saint Januarius, according to tradition, was exposed to be devoured by lions in the amphitheatre of Pozzuoli, when the animals, instead of devouring him, prostrated themselves before him, and immediately became tame. So many persons were converted to Christianity by this miracle, that the saint was ordered to be decapitated, which was done at Solfatara, in the year 305, and the body was buried at Pozzuoli, until the time of Constantine, when it was removed by St. Severus, the Bishop of Naples, and deposited in the church of St. Gennaro. When this removal was made, the woman who is said to have collected the blood at the time of the execution, took it in two small bottles to St. Severus, in whose hands it is said to have immediately melted. After undergoing several removals, the body of the saint was brought back to Naples in 1497, and deposited with great pomp in the cathedral, and the phials containing the blood secured in a tabernacle kept securely locked with two keys, one of which is kept by the archbishop and the other by the municipal authorities. Twice a year, and at other times, on extraordinary occasions, the phials are brought out, and the clots of dried blood, by some chemical process which has been secretly preserved among the priesthood and handed down for four centuries, made to liquefy and run in the phials. Can a people appreciate and derive much benefit from free institutions so long as they permit their senses to be cheated by such a palpable swindle as this?

"But if detestation for young Bomba and his government have been heightened by his flight, how much more grandly than ever Garibaldi looms up in the light of a brave, noble, disinterested, patriotic man. Three months from the day when he left Genoa with a handful of adventurers, denounced as a filibuster and a pirate by the lovers of legitimacy and tyranny, he enters Naples with but five of his staff, knowing that his deeds had made him a home in the hearts of the people there, who welcome him as their angel of deliverance. Naples lights up with joy—the free flag of Italy waves from her windows, her long oppressed citizens shout exultingly, and crown the hero with wreaths of laurel, and fill his ears with glad cries of 'Long live Garibaldi.' Well does he deserve them. Five marvellous stages mark the progress of the hero, Marsala, Palermo, Malazzo, Reggio, and Naples, all passed over in the short space of three months—and this has been all the time which Garibaldi required, supported as he was by the national sentiment, to overthrow a monarchy deemed immovable, which, not four years since, defied France and England, and which in the face of the naval preparations of the two greatest powers of the world, had determined to persevere in its resistance. Such triumphs, such ovations, would have turned the brain of a weaker or more ambitious man, and Garibaldi has given the lie to those adherents of tyranny who have charged him with personal ambition, by immediately, upon taking possession of the capital of the Two Sicilies, proclaiming the territory and himself under the reign and rule of Victor Emanuel. In future ages, when the deeds of the CÆsars and the Alexanders and the Napoleons shall be appreciated as they deserve, according to their merits, how high above them all will rise the memory of the two greatest of the world's heroes, of the two men whose personal ambition was merged and forgotten in the welfare of their country, of two men worthy to stand ever side by side and hand in hand—Washington and Garibaldi."

THE GOOD ORDER IN NAPLES—ITS CAUSES—GARIBALDI VISITS PALERMO—RETURNS—THE KING AND HIS ARMY AT GAETA AND CAPUA—DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY OF GAETA AND CAPUA—PRESENT CONDITION OF GAETA.

In what a peculiar, unexpected, and unaccountable condition must the minds of the citizens of Naples have been before and after the arrival of Garibaldi! Whoever has visited that city, as thousands of our countrymen have done, and, while admiring the celebrated climate and scenery, observed the poverty, ignorance, superstition, and idleness of the mass of the people, especially the Lazzaroni—seventy thousand of whom, it has often been asserted, have no home or shelter, or certain means of subsistence—must have been ready to believe that scenes of lawless violence might be excited there with great facility, and that riots might occur if the government were weakened even for a moment. How strong and general, then, must have been the salutary influences at work to preserve peace and order in that population of nearly a million, under the circumstances which have been reviewed! What could possibly have secured such results but the faithful care of wise and good men? The patriotic committee must have been successful in their efforts to enlighten people of all classes, and to instill patriotic sentiments into the hearts even of the Lazzaroni themselves; and they and the rulers must have been well acquainted with the effects which had thus been produced, or they would never have suffered, much less invited, Garibaldi to enter Naples as he did, with only a few unarmed friends, and meet with so peaceful and kind a reception.

On the 17th of September, Garibaldi made a flying visit to Palermo, in the Neapolitan steamer Electrica. His arrival was entirely unexpected; but, on his way from the landing to the palace, he was recognized by the crowd, who followed and assembled beneath the palace windows. He made his appearance on the balcony, and addressed them in these words:

"People of Palermo, with whom I have shared fatigues, perils and glory, I am once more among you. Your memory is dear to me, and whatever part of the world I may be in, I will always think of you.

"Those who wished to urge you to a speedy annexation, were putting you in the wrong path. If I had followed their advice, I should not have crossed the Straits and restored seven millions of men to Italy.

"They would have prostrated us at the feet of diplomacy, which would have bound us hand and foot. There would have been brothers beyond the Vulturnus, with chains on their ankles. People of Palermo, I thank you in the name of Italy for your resistance. I love Italy and Victor Emanuel; no one is a greater friend than myself of Victor Emanuel, the representative of Italy. You despised their counsels, and I thank you for it, you invincible people of the barricades."

The following proclamation was issued by Garibaldi to the inhabitants of Palermo:

"The people of Palermo, who showed no fear in face of those who bombarded their city, have shown themselves recently equally regardless of fear in face of corrupt men, who want to lead them astray.

"They have spoken to you of annexation, as if any one was more fervent than myself for the regeneration of Italy; but their object was to serve personal interests, and you replied like a people who felt its own dignity, and placed confidence in the sacred and unviolated programme which I proclaimed—'Italy and Victor Emanuel.'

"At Rome, people of Palermo, we will proclaim the kingdom of Italy, and there only will be sanctified the great family-bond between free men and those who are still slaves of the same country.

"At Palermo annexation was demanded, that I might not pass the Straits; at Naples it is demanded that I may not cross the Volturno. But as long as there are chains to be broken in Italy, I will follow my course or bury my bones there.

"I leave you Mordini, as pro-Dictator, and certainly he will show himself worthy of you and of Italy. I have yet to thank you, as well as the brave national militia, for the faith you have placed in me and in the destinies of our country.

"Palermo, Sept. 17, 1860."

The following proclamation was addressed to the Palermitans a few days before:

"Near to you, or far from you, brave people of Palermo, I am with you, and with you for all my life!

"Bonds of affection, community of fatigue, of danger, of glory, bind me to you with indissoluble ties; moved from the very depths of my soul, with my conscience as Italian, I know that you will not doubt my words. I separated myself from you for the common cause, and I left you another self—Depretis! Depretis is confided by me to the good people of the capital of Sicily; and, more than my representative, he is the representative of the holy national idea, 'Italy and Victor Emanuel.' Depretis will announce to the dear people of Sicily the day of the annexation of the island to the rest of free Italy. But it is Depretis who must determine—faithful to my mission and to the interest of Italy—the fortunate epoch. The miserable beings who talk to you of annexation to-day, people of Sicily, are the same who a month ago spoke to you and stirred you up; I ask them, people, if I had condescended to their individual littlenesses, could I have continued to fight for Italy—could I have sent you this day my salutation of love from the beautiful capital of the Southern Italian continent? Well, then, noble people, to the cowards who hid themselves when you fought in the barricades of Palermo for the liberties of Italy, you will say, from your Garibaldi, that the annexation and the kingdom of King Victor Emanuel we will proclaim quickly; but there, on the heights of the Quirinal, when Italy shall count her sons in one family, and receive all as free men in her illustrious bosom, and bless them.

Garibaldi has always been humane and sympathizing, and especially with his own suffering soldiers. Of this there are proofs in the preceding pages. Few men ever knew as well as he how to make the unfortunate feel that they were compassionated. The following is an account of one of his visits to the hospitals of Palermo, from the letter of one of our own countrymen, who had offered his services as a surgeon early in the Sicilian war:

"One of the most moving sights it has been my lot to witness, was Garibaldi's visit here the other morning. As he entered the different wards, it seemed as though an electric shock had been communicated to all the inmates; after the first joyful cry: 'E lui! E Garibaldi! E il Generale!" a dead silence prevailed; all eyes were fixed upon him as he passed from bed to bed, taking the thin, wasted hands in his, or pressing his own upon many a feverish brow, making each patient feel that he was his general's favorite son, and that from him he might expect all that a father's tenderness could give. All his own men were known to him; he called them by their names, remembered where and how they were wounded, promoted this one, promised honorable employment to others disabled for military service, granting permission to others to go home, and providing them with ample means. When he came to the Sicilians, he inquired kindly into their wants and condition; ordered that the pay of one should be doubled, that another should be pensioned, and so on. But perhaps the most interesting scene of all was his visit to the Neapolitan ward, where we have eleven wounded prisoners, who have petitioned to enter our ranks. After being told that they were wounded at Calata Fimi, he said, 'Then you are brave men, truly! You have been misled; taught to look on us as enemies. I am fortunate to have you for my soldiers and for brothers.' Those men, strong and stalwart as they were, wept like little children, and in Garibaldi's eyes were tears; none could help weeping, and one felt why it is that he is so loved, so idolized by all. When the emotion had a little passed, they tried to kiss his hands; he snatched them away. 'No, no!' he said, 'no more Eccellenza; no more kissing of hands; that is servile. We are Italians—brothers—we are equals!'"

On Garibaldi's return to Naples, he had soon to turn his attention from the city toward the strongholds to which the poor king had retired, in the northwestern extremity of his late kingdom. The only territory now remaining to him of "the Two Sicilies," was the remarkable promontory of Gaeta and the adjacent range of mountainous and hilly country, extending southwesterly a few miles, near the frontier of the Pope's dominions, and along the courses of the rivers Volturno and Garigliano, to the heights of Capua. Gaeta and Capua have long been strong fortresses, and have known, at different periods, the hard fate of war. In Gaeta the present pope found a refuge, when he fled from Rome in 1848; thence were sent the calls to his spiritual subjects in all countries, to make contributions of "Peter's pence," and the demands on "Catholic powers," to reinstate the "Gentle Shepherd" in his sheepfold—by force of arms. That call was answered by four monarchs; one of whom, the savage father of the now fugitive King of Naples, had his armies, too, routed by the now victorious Garibaldi; and another, Louis Napoleon, after having his advance of 8,000 men driven back by the same hero, at the point of the bayonet, afterward, by false faith and overwhelming numbers, took the city by fraud and bombshells, and, on one pretext and another, has held it to the present time. He, however, has recently done so much for Italy, and seems resolved to do so much more, that her friends gladly indulge the hope, that he will continue a course quite the opposite of that which history was compelled to record nearly twelve years ago, and which posterity will ever be compelled emphatically to condemn.

A description of Gaeta, Capua, and Caserta will be necessary to many readers, before a connected account is given of the important military events which took place in that remarkable vicinity in October and November, 1860.

The traveller who leaves Naples for Rome, soon joins the route taken by the Apostle Paul from Puteoli. He first crosses the Campagna di Lavoro (country of labor), formerly called by the Romans, the Campania Felix (happy country), and now covered with countless fields, pastures, gardens and forests of vineyards. At the distance of about twenty miles, he reaches the foot of the bare mountain range above mentioned, where are seen the ruins of ancient Capua; and after winding among eminences—among scenes desolate compared with those he has seen—and crossing the Volturno and the Garigliano, he stops at Castello or Mola di Gaeta. From the windows or terrace of the post-house he looks out through a garden of flowers and orange-trees, upon a fine bay, several miles across, the shores of which, low and curving round on the right, extend to a high, round mountain opposite, where a city is seen at its foot, and the zigzag walls and batteries of a mighty fortress on its sides and summit. That is Gaeta.

When seen and sketched by the writer, not a ship or boat lay on the noble bay, and there was scarcely a sign of life on the land. Cicero's tomb (if tradition may be trusted) is one of the large square masses of brick-work, overgrown with ivy, which stand near the road beyond the hotel; for on his way to Gaeta was the great Roman orator assassinated, by command of the treacherous Octavius.

An old Latin itinerary of Italy gives several pages to the history and description of Gaeta, which was considered an almost impregnable fortress two centuries ago, being a peninsula connected with the mainland only by a fortified bridge, and having many forts and batteries.

We translate the following account of Gaeta with abridgments, from a celebrated work, "The History of Naples from 1734 to 1835," by General Pietro Colleta:

The first walls of this city were raised by the Trojans, according to ancient tradition; and Æneas named it after his nurse, Caieta, who was buried there. It soon increased and was extended. Alfonzo, of Aragon, erected a castle; Charles V. inclosed the city with fortified walls, and succeeding kings added new defensive works. In 1734, it was besieged by the Spaniards, and was then almost as it is now. It is situated on a promontory, at the end of a low isthmus of the Tirrenian sea, the descent to which is very abrupt. The isthmus extends, in a narrow plain, to the mountains of Castellona and Itri.

On the summit of Gaeta is the very ancient tower of Orlando. The walls of the fortress follow the declivities of the ground, and present bastions, curtains and angles defending every point, modern science being brought into use, as far as the nature of the ground would permit. On the land side is a second inclosure within the first, with two fosses, two covered ways, and several parade grounds. The citadel is called the Castle of Alfonzo.

The Duke of Liria besieged the place with 16,000 Spaniards, well provided with ships of war, arms, machines and supplies, when it was defended by 1,000 Germans and 500 Neapolitans of the battalion formed by the Duke of Montaleone. Trenches were soon opened, and approaches made, by covered ways, toward the wall, while several cannon and mortar batteries were raised, to batter the citadel, and reply to the guns of the fortress. The Duke of Montemar and Charles V. joined the besiegers, pressed the siege, and, after some delay, the place was surrendered, after small loss on both sides. Only Capua then remained bearing the standard of CÆsar; the Count de Traun commanding the Germans, and Count Marsillac the Spaniards, who had been, as on previous occasions, friends, enemies, and prisoners to one another, often disappointed by ill-fortune, but always with benevolent hearts. The preceding facts we have abridged from the first volume of Colleta's history.

Between the time of the surrender in 1734 and the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, and during the fears of war in the reign of Ferdinand, the old walls and bulwarks were restored, and the place surrounded by two walls, and in front were formed a fosse and two covered ways. The siege was commenced in February, by about 14,000 men against 7,000, in the form of a blockade, as the besiegers were destitute of heavy artillery and besieging apparatus. By the end of May, cannon being obtained, and batteries having been constructed at Montesecco, the trench was opened, and branches extended toward the two sides of the isthmus, and formed the first parallel. But, the soil being bare and composed of hard calcareous rock, earth was brought from a distance, and fascines and gabions from the woods of Fondi, twelve miles distant. Much wood, however, was obtained by destroying the houses in the vicinity, which had been inhabited by nine thousand sailors and other industrious people, who had fled from the scene of war. Batteries were raised to fire upon ships approaching, and Sicilian and English vessels were several times driven off with loss. The fortress kept up firing day and night, and 2,000 shots were made in twenty-four hours without doing any injury or receiving any reply from the besiegers. By the beginning of July, preparations were made to open breaches in the citadel and the Bastion della Breccia; and on the 7th, after the long silence on the part of the besiegers, a tremendous fire was opened with eighty heavy cannon and mortars, to which the besieged promptly replied. After ten days of continued firing, the citadel was breached, but the bastion held out until the 19th. On the morning of the 20th, when the French had shown themselves ready to assault, the garrison demanded terms and surrendered. They took an oath not to fight France or her confederates, and 3,400 were transported to Sicily, some hundreds remained in the hospital, some escaped, and others deserted to the conquerors. About 900 Bourbonists were killed and wounded, and 1,100 Frenchmen. Among the former was Prince Phillipstadt, and among the latter, General Vallongue.

In 1798, Gaeta was surrendered to General Rey. While the left wing of the French army was proceeding slowly through the Abruzzi, the right wing reached the Garigliano, and summoned the Swiss commander of Gaeta, Marshal Tschiudi, to surrender. The latter being a Swiss mercenary, who had risen to rank by marriage and promotion without merit, urged by the bishop and intimidated by the first missile thrown by the French, gave up the fortress without conditions. Four thousand men, and a formidable fortress well prepared for resistance, were thus given up, with 60 brass cannon, 12 mortars, 20,000 arquebuses, a year's provisions, machines, ships in the harbor, and innumerable materials for defence. The soldiers were sent into prison, but the commander secured himself and officers the shameful distinction of liberty on parole.

General Mack still held out in Capua, and Gen. Macdonald hoped to find him also a coward or a traitor; but his assault was resisted with vigor, after the outposts had been driven in, and the attempt was fruitless. Capua was given up to Gen. Championet by the treaty of Jan. 13, 1799.

The present condition of Gaeta is thus described by recent Turin papers:

"Gaeta is a second Gibraltar. It is armed with seven hundred pieces of artillery. All the sovereigns, from Charles V. downward, have added to its defences. Ferdinand II. fortified its most vulnerable points. Our army will find great difficulties in taking it; but this siege will not hinder the political and military reorganization of southern Italy, a task to which the government is devoting its utmost efforts. Gaeta has provisions for six months, and during the siege, the representatives of foreign powers will remain on board ships of war belonging to their nations at anchor in the port.

"The front of attack on the land side does not exceed 700 metres in extent. It is defended by works cut in the rock, and armed with three rows of faced batteries, one of which has rifled cannon. These batteries together mount about 300 guns, and their line of fire converges on the points from which the attack must necessarily be made. The ditch at the foot of the escarpment is cut in the rock, and the bottom of the escarpment itself is completely covered. The other fortified points are protected by masses of rocks, which render them unapproachable. The ground in front of the place of attack is so rocky that any approaches must be most difficult, and occupy a considerable time. Independently of those defences, Gaeta possesses a certain number of works established on the heights, among which may be mentioned the Castle, the Tower of St. Francis, and the Monte Orlando, a strong fort, which commands both the land side and the sea. As to the port, it is defended by considerable works, which would cause great damage to vessels of war built of wood. In the situation in which Gaeta now is, and with the sea side remaining free in consequence of the non-recognition of the blockade by European powers, it may, with a garrison of from 6,000 to 7,000 men, with supplies of all kinds, defend itself for an almost indefinite period. The struggle will be confined on both sides to a combat of artillery. The besiegers may establish mortar batteries and bombard the place, but that means will only occasion the destruction of the churches, public buildings and private houses, but will not make the defenders of it surrender, for the batteries and forts are all bomb-proof. The king had put one wing of his palace into strong defence, and to it retired with his family."

Francis II. had issued the following order of the day:

"Soldiers: When, after two months of generous efforts, perfect self-devotion, labor and fatigue, we thought we had completed the work of crushing the revolutionary invasion of our country, there arrived the regular army of a friendly sovereign, which, by threatening our line of retreat, has obliged us to abandon our position. Happen what may from these events, the whole of Europe, in estimating and judging them, will not be able to do less than admit the valor and fidelity of a handful of brave men, who, resisting the perfidious seduction, as well as the strength of two armies, have not only made resistance, but have once more rendered illustrious the history of the Neapolitan army by the names of Santa Maria, Cajazzo, Trifisco, Sant' Angelo, etc. These facts will remain indelibly graven on my heart. To perpetuate the remembrance of them, a bronze medal will be struck, bearing the legend, 'Campaign of September and October, 1860,' and these words on the reverse, 'Santa Maria, Cajazzo, Trifisco, Sant' Angelo,' etc. The medal will be suspended by a blue and red ribbon. While ornamenting your noble breasts, it will remind every one of your fidelity and your valor, which will always be a claim to glory for those who shall bear your name.