109

CHAPTER XXV.

THE FINAL EXPULSION OF THE FOREIGNER.

A.D. 1866.

EARLY in the new year Victor Emmanuel lost his third son, Odone or Otto, Duke of Monferrat, and his dear old friend Cavaliero Massimo Azeglio. The death of the poor deformed prince could hardly be called a misfortune for himself, as he was a constant sufferer. But his bright intelligence and gentle disposition had endeared him to his family, and his robust and soldierly brothers treated him with affectionate consideration. The compassionate tenderness the afflicted boy inspired in his father may be imagined from the following anecdote. When in Rome King Victor drove almost every afternoon on the Pincian Hill. At the entrance there stood a hunchbacked boy, for whom he always had a pile of coppers wrapped in a paper. One of the gentlemen in waiting made inquiries about the youth, and told the king that he was quite undeserving of his bounty. Che vuole?' was the reply. He reminds me of Odone, and I cannot pass him by.'

Though Massimo Azeglio had long retired from public life, he was still dear to Victor Emmanuel as the

brave, disinterested, and noble-hearted man who had sacrificed every personal regard when he consented to take office in the first miserable year of his reign, sharing his grief, his humiliation, his unpopularity, supporting and sustaining him in the noble part he chose to act of Rè galantuomo. Victor Emmanuel felt strongly the fascination of his versatile genius; and in the inscription on the monument which he helped to erect to his memory, he calls him his friend.' The readiness with which the great artist and author would assume an office of state when required, and then step down into comparative poverty, living by his brush, is a charming trait in his attractive character. No pecuniary reward would he take on his retirement. Victor Emmanuel wanted to bestow on him the Order of the SS. Annunciata, but he declined with the smiling remark that it was not meet for the king's cousin to sell pictures. The readers of his correspondence will remember that at the time of the Peace of Milan the Emperor of Austria offered him the Order of St. Etienne, and he replied that if the emperor really wished to show to himʼsome mark of benevolence, let him give him the pardon of the Lombards who had been excluded from the amnesty.

The king was not in Turin when Azeglio's hopeless state was made known, but the Prince of Carignano visited him the day he died, and his last words to him were, 'Remember me, and that I have always been a devoted and affectionate servant of the House of Savoy.'

All through the past year Victor Emmanuel had been trying to wring Venetia out of the grasp of Austria,

in a peaceable manner, if possible, but if that were not possible he was resolved to resort to arms once more. His speech in November plainly pointed to war as more than a probability; and, Austria firmly refusing to surrender her possessions, both parties prepared for another struggle. Foreign domination once established in a country is an incubus difficult to shake off. In Italy the monster called lo Straniero died hard, clinging convulsively to his victim and sapping the life-blood from her veins with his expiring breath. Lombardy had been won and lost, and won again, with a generous prodigality of the noblest blood in the country; and now the Italian soil must drink once more the warm libation from Italian hearts before la Patria could be completely redeemed and united.

The quarrel between Austria and Prussia was growing all this time, and Italy proposed an alliance defensive and offensive with the latter power. The ministry had become unpopular because of the corn-grinding tax, which to the present day has never ceased to be a source of discontent, and Sella, the Minister of Finance, author of the obnoxious bill, sent in his resignation, and all his colleagues with him. The king was greatly annoyed by the defeat of the government at this critical juncture. La Marmora, who had his entire confidence, was empowered to form a new ministry. The general had some difficulty in getting a Minister of Finance, but a politician was at last found bold enough to undertake the unenviable duty of directing the monetary affairs of the new kingdom. La Marmora remained President of

the Council and Minister for Foreign Affairs; General Pettinengo was called to the War Department, and he accepted office simply to please the king.

The distinguished and patriotic young general, Giuseppe Govone, was sent to Berlin to treat of the alliance. He fulfilled the office with tact and ability, and the treaty was concluded April 8, 1866.

When this fact became known, Austria, on the brink of war with Prussia, began to think that she must rid herself in some way of the worry of the Italians on her southern frontier, in order to be free to combat her powerful northern enemy. The cabinet of Vienna did not apply directly to the cabinet of Florence, but to that arbiter of the destinies of nations, Napoleon III., proposing to cede Venetia on condition that the Italian government should detach itself from the Prussian alliance. It was a strong temptation; to recover the longdisputed provinces without the risks and expenses of war would have restored the minister to the popularity he had lost in the matter of the convention with France. But La Marmora was proof against all such temptations. He would brave popular rage, but he would not fail in the smallest particular in any of his engagements. In order to leave his sovereign free to exercise the royal prerogative, he sent in his resignation, which Victor Emmanuel, being entirely of his mind, refused to accept.

After an ineffectual attempt to accommodate matters by a congress, war was declared against Austria, on June 20, 1866, and La Marmora, having appointed Ricasoli

as his deputy at the head of the council, led the army northwards. The Italians, though grumbling against the ministry because of the recently imposed tax, received the announcement of war with unmeasured applause. The day before the battle is always one of pleasing excitement and enthusiasm; the day after, when the costs come to be counted, one of mourning.

Victor Emmanuel appointed his cousin regent, and carried his sons along with him to the seat of war. At sunrise the king passed through the streets of Florence, amidst loud acclamations, good wishes, and blessings, to the railway station, where he embraced Baron Ricasoli, saying, I commend our country to you.'

The ardent applause which greeted the king was in answer to one of his fiery proclamations issued the day before, explaining the reasons of the war, which werethe inveterate hostility of Austria to Italian liberty, her refusal of a pacific settlement of the quarrel by means of a congress, and her threatening attitude on the Italian frontier, which was a continual source of disturbance and inquietude to his state. He thanked his people and army for the ready response they had given to his call; expressed a strong conviction that the justice of their cause would be recognised by public opinion, and concluded thus:

Italians, I commit the government of the state to my most beloved cousin Prince Eugenio, and I take up again the sword of Goito, Pastrengo, Palestro, and San Martino. I feel in my heart a conviction that VOL. II. Ì

t