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the chiefs of the people led the movement. They began to hunt the conspirators; together with vagabonds and known spies were arrested men of honour and persons wholly unknown. The suspected houses were searched; Nardoni, Freddi, and Allai fled, while Benvenuti, the legal assessor of police, betook himself to a castle in the neighbourhood. One Minardi, a spy and a pander, escaped with difficulty. The mob would have him alive or dead; and they searched for him in his own house, those near it, and about the roofs, when padre Ventura, in the name of God and of the Pope, exhorted them to peace and good order, and by using the language at once of religion and freedom curbed their impetuosity. The arrests however were numerous. Some citizens, whom private animosities had marked out for public hatred, surrendered themselves prisoners of their own accord. Thus passed two days. Tranquillity gradually returned.'-Vol. ii. p. 392.

Into the details of what follows it would be impossible to enter. The pope had thrown himself into the torrent of reform, and was swept on by it involuntarily towards the goal he most dreaded. All Italy, meanwhile, was in commotion; and we may even say that the entire population of Europe experienced more or less the same agitation. In the Eternal City, ministers and systems of administration succeeded to each other, and disappeared with dramatic rapidity, until at length Rossi placed his abilities at the service of the pope, and undertook to stem the torrent of revolution. The exaltation of such a man to office, however, was in itself revolutionary, since it marked the triumph of the secular over the ecclesiastical principle. While appearing to be the friend of the papacy, he was regarded, therefore, as the enemy of the clergy; and, should any light be ever thrown on the tragical catastrophe which terminated his career, it may be found that the hand that struck him was directed by other influences than those which the world commonly dreams of. In justice to Farini, we shall extract the passage in which he describes this remarkable event, merely premising that we can discover in it no circumstances which render it in any respect more shocking than other political assassinations. To murder men for their opinions is always a crime, but in the eyes of philosophy it cannot increase the heniousness of the offence to state that the victims agree with us; the guilt is surely the same when their political creed is the antipodes of ours. The reader, however, will perceive that Farini thinks differently, since we cannot for a moment suppose that it is the mere rank of the victim which excites the historian's sympathy:

When the ordinary hour of the parliamentary sitting, which was about noon, had arrived, the people began to gather in the square of the Cancelleria, and by degrees in the courtyard, and then in the public galleries of the hall. Shortly all were full. A battalion of the civic guard was drawn up in the square; in the court and hall there was no

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guard greater than ordinary. There were, however, not a few individuals armed with their daggers, in the dress of the volunteers returned from Vicenza, and wearing the medals with which the municipality of Rome had decorated them. They stood close together, and formed a line from the gate up to the staircase of the palace. Sullen visages were to be seen, and ferocious imprecations to be heard among them. During the time when the deputies were slowly assembling, and business could not commence, because there was not yet a quorum present, a cry for help suddenly proceeded from the extremity of the public gallery, on which every one turned thither a curious eye, but nothing more was heard or seen, and those who went to get some explanation on the subject returned without success.

"In the meantime Rossi's carriage entered the court of the palace. He sat on the right, and Righetti, deputy minister of finance, on the left. A howl was raised in the court and yard which echoed even into the hall of the council. Rossi got out first and moved briskly, as was his habit, in walking across the short space which leads from the centre of the court to the staircase on the left hand. Righetti, who descended after him, remained behind because the persons were in his way who raised the outcry, and who, brandishing their cutlasses, had surrounded Rossi, and were loading him with opprobrium. At this moment might be seen amidst the throng the flash of a poignard, and then Rossi, losing his feet, and sinking to the ground. Alas! he was spouting blood from a broad gash in the neck. He was raised by Righetti, but could hardly hold himself up, and did not articulate a syllable; his eyes grew clouded, and his blood spirted in a copious jet. Some of those, whom I named as clad in military uniform, were above upon the stairs; they came down, and formed a ring about the unhappy man, and when they saw him shedding blood and half lifeless they all turned and rejoined their companions. He was borne amidst his death struggle into the apartments of Cardinal Gazzoli, at the head of the stairs on the left side, and there, after a few minutes, he breathed his last.

In the hall of the council a kind of stir had been perceptible since that cry for help was heard, and since the din which had risen from below, when some deputies were seen to enter with countenances expressive of horror, and others, who were physicians or surgeons, such as Fabbri, Fusconi, Pantaleoni, to go out in haste. At the same time a report ran round the galleries that Rossi had been wounded. Each man then begins to question his neighbour with ears intent, and by look and gesture seeks for information. One hurriedly goes out, another as hurriedly comes in; one mounts from hall to gallery, another descends from gallery to hall; the uncertainty still continues, the breathlessness is prolonged; some give the lie to the fatal rumour, others again declare the minister not wounded only, but dead. Some of those present rose to demand an account of what had happened, and a reason for the stir, to which a deputy replied, they could not tell; then after awhile the president, Sturbinetti, takes the chair, and though scarcely twenty-five deputies were present, orders the minutes of the last sitting to be read. A low buzz may now be heard; the secretary begins to read; the deputies stand unheeding and absorbed, or go forth; the galleries grow thin, and soon the hall is void and mute. Not one voice was raised to protest before God and man against the

enormous crime! Was this from fear? Some have thought to term it prudence; by foreign nations it is named disgrace.'-Ib. pp. 405-408.

From this time forward, all real concord was at end between the pope and the people. The former perceived that his measures and his ministers were distrusted, his designs seen through, and his powers of action nearly at an end. He lived, therefore, in perpetual fear of violence, yet had not the courage to attempt, or the genius to contrive, any effectual plan of resistance. Like a spent and exhausted swimmer, he gave himself to the direction of the stream, and was drifted blindly forward in helpless uncertainty; still from time to time he endeavoured to inaugurate the policy of re-action, to allay popular enthusiasm, and trusted now to one contrivance, now to another, for emancipation from the dilemma in which he found himself placed. Farini blames the course he adopted, but without proving himself capable, even now, after the events, of pointing out any other that could have led to safety, except the one which Pius IX. was not inclined to follow. Had he boldly looked the revolution in the face, and placed himself at its head, with the knowledge that it was a revolution, he might have become the saviour of Italy; and there can be no doubt that this great thought presented itself at times to his mind. But the intrepidity of the statesman was wanting. He looked back over the traditions of the papacy instead of forward over the opening prospects of humanity, and finding, like a pettifogging lawyer, no precedent, he muffled himself up closely in delusion and hypocrisy, and trusted for deliverance to the chapter of accidents. He dissembled at home and intrigued with the foreigner; he wished to be thought a patriot while reaping the rewards of tyranny; his soul had been steeped in the past, and taken its colour from it; yet with the rashness of timidity he sought to make himself the man of the present, and to set an example to futurity.

At length it came to this, that Pius IX., breaking up one cabinet after another, was fain to succumb to the popular will, and to accept as ministers certain individuals pointed out by the people. Of course all regular government was now at an end; for when the depositaries of authority are named and selected out of doors, the sovereign, whether one or many, must be admitted to have abdicated. In moments of excitement nations have been driven to this; but wherever it occurs, it is a proof that the institutions of that country have become effete, and require to be replaced by others. In the present case, the pope desired to place one set of men at the head of affairs, while the Roman people required another. Among the latter was Galletti who had just arrived at the capital, and was in supreme favour with the multitude.

The insurgents moved from the Piazza del Popolo, multiplying as they marched. Common people, civic guards, soldiers of all arms and ranks, drew towards the palace of the Cancellaria, to find deputies who might be willing to be the bearers to the sovereign of their demands; namely, a constituent assembly for Italy, and a democratic ministry, comprising the Neapolitan Salicetti, Sterbini, and Campello. Others propounded the names of Sereni, Mamiami, and Marini: all denounced those of Recchi, Minghetti, and Parolini. On their way from the Cancellaria palace to the Quirinal, they met Galletti, applauded him, and would have his company as a deputy to the pope. The gates of the palace were closed, no guard outside, but only the Swiss sentinel with his halbert. Within, there was the usual guard of honour, the usual Swiss halberdiers, the usual handful of carabineers, perhaps a dozen; in all, eighty or an hundred men. Galletti, Livio, Mariani, and Sterbini, with some other envoys or captains of the populace, went in. Galletti gave an account of what had occurred, and stated the demands and the dangers of the hour. The pope indignantly refused to come to terms with insurgents. Galletti besought in vain; he had to announce to them, that the pope would not give way in the face of violence, that he must deliberate in entire freedom. At these tidings the tumultuous throng was maddened and cried to arms; and in a moment the commonalty, those who had come back from Vicenza, the civic guardsmen, the carabineers, the foot soldiers, run for arms, and return to the Quirinal. They surround it, press forward, try to get in; and on resistance by the Swiss sentinels, become more enraged, put fire to one of the gates, mount upon the roofs and bell-towers in the vicinity, begin to fire their pieces at the walls, gates, and windows; when the Swiss fire in return. Musket-shots resound through the city, and a rumour spreads that the Swiss are butchering the people, the soldiers of Italy, the civic guards; that already some are dead, and more wounded. Hereupon there is a fresh concourse; a strong company of carabineers, under Calderari, reaches the spot; the insurgents suspect they may be attacked, and for a moment there is uncertainty and apprehension. Calderari receives a slight wound in the face; from what quarter does not appear, whether from the carabineers or the insurgents. He keeps back the former, stretches out his hand to the latter; declares he is their friend, and is come to help them. Thus it fares on the outside, while within all is hesitation or submissiveness. Few advise the sovereign to resist, many to yield; the diplomatists have no scheme to offer; the scuffle continues; the worthy prelate, Monsignor Palma, falls dead by the window of his own apartment; balls reach the anti-chamber of the pope. Then they send to find Galletti; he arrives, goes among the insurgents, returns to the pope, advises concessions; but the pope will not yield. The multitude, grown weary of procrastination, wants to beat down the gates; already a gun is dragged into the Piazza, and pointed; and but for Torri it would be fired. The Swiss hold true; their captain swears to the pope they will to a man make a shield of their breasts, or a bulwark of their corpses about his sacred person; but all resistance would now be fruitless. Some one states, that divers trusty messengers, sent to seek for succours, had effected nothing. Most of the courtiers are distracted, and weary both the Almighty and the pope with their entreaties to give way.

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Pius IX. turns to the diplomatic body, who stand around him, 'Look,' he says where we stand; there is no hope of resistance-already a prelate is slain in my very palace; shots are aimed at it; artillery levelled. We are pressed and besieged by the insurgents. To avoid fruitless bloodshed and increased enormities, we give way; but as you see, gentlemen, it is only to force: so we protest. Let the courts, let your governments know, we give way to violence alone: all we concede is invalid, is null, is void. Having spoken thus, he called Cardinal Soglia, and at once ordered him to agree with Galletti about the formation of a new ministry.'Ib. pp. 413-421.

The result of a council thus taken, and of a ministry founded upon such principles, might have been easily foreseen. No real satisfaction was experienced by the people, while the government was humiliated and distressed. Further conflicts became inevitable; until at length, on the 24th of November, the pope despairing of maintaining his position, fled from Rome like a criminal. Ever since his elevation, he had lived under foreign influence; foreign diplomatists had dictated the prohibition of popular assemblages. Foreign governments had supplied the ideas upon which his administration had been constantly conducted; and now Madame Spaur, wife of the minister of Bavaria, took his holiness under her protection, and, by way of Terracina, fled towards the kingdom of Naples.

Here Farini's history is brought to a close. The next volume will conduct us through the events of the triumvirate and the siege of Rome by the French, on which for the present we reserve our opinion. It will be sufficient to declare it when a complete narrative of the transactions is before us.

With respect to the translation, we regret not to be able to speak of it in terms of praise. Had it not been published in Mr. Gladstone's name, we should have supposed it to be executed by some foreigner altogether unacquainted with the elegances of our language. It abounds with vulgarisms, which impart the appearance of sordidness and meanness to events important in themselves. We had made a list of expressions comically absurd, but found it would be too long for insertion. Even the meaning of the author is often not given, and this, through the affectation of employing idioms which ought never to be found in the mouth of an educated person. This may seem to be severe; but no one, we feel persuaded, can read the work without being thoroughly convinced of its justice. When Mr. Gladstone's next volume comes before us, we trust we shall find it less deformed by this description of faults, though, from the whole make of the man's mind, it is impossible to expect terse, elevated, or idiomatic language.

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