:iiiii*!liM^^ 
 
CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
nr- ceo P?I!i-'.'i""'«'slty Library 
 DG 552.8. V82A3 1914 
 
 Memoirs of youth, 
 
 3 1924 028 303 364 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924028303364 
 
MEMOIRS OF YOUTH 
 
GIOVANNI VISCONTI VENOSTA 
 
MEMOIRS OF YOUTH 
 
 THINGS SEEN AND KNOWN 
 1847— i860 
 
 BV 
 
 GIOVANNI VISCONTI VENOSTA 
 
 'Translated from the Third Edition 
 By William Frail 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 WILLIAM ROSCOE THAYER 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 
 1914 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1914. BY WILLIAM PRALL 
 ALL RIGHTS ItESERVKD 
 
 PulUshed May iqi4 
 
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE 
 
 THERE are many mirrors in which we may behold 
 ourselves, and see what manner of men we are. 
 Every art that has left a record of its product is one; and 
 the remains of the arts have at no period been so minutely 
 studied as in our day. Superior to the arts, however, as 
 means of understanding the life of a people are their 
 annals; yet not so much the annals that are composed 
 in the study of an historian, which are apt to be colored 
 by prejudice, as the documents that are found in the 
 various national repositories, and the memoirs of the 
 individual actors in any event. 
 
 Not all parts of history are of the same importance; 
 and not all the annals and memoirs of a people are 
 equally interesting. The parts that are of supreme 
 importance are those that have reference to critical 
 times, such as the making of a nation, the founding of a 
 state, and the revolt from antiquated to newer ways of 
 life. Not to attempt to discriminate between the rela- 
 tive importance of these times, surely there is no period 
 in a people's life that is more attractive than that of the 
 founding of a state, especially if that state be composed 
 of parts which, previously, had been arbitrarily dis- 
 severed. It is this fact that makes a study of the found- 
 ing of the new Kingdom of Italy so pleasing, and has 
 given rise to the many histories of the Risorgimento. 
 
 V 
 
Translator^ s Preface 
 
 The final and definitive history has not been written, 
 and cannot be, until the principal actors and memoir- 
 writers shall have furnished their individual testimony, 
 and all the documents shall have been brought to light. 
 It is to be noted that a committee has recently been 
 appointed by the Italian Government to edit and pub- 
 lish the papers of the Conte di Cavour, the chief artificer 
 of the kingdom. 
 
 - In the mean time the stories of the lives of the actors 
 in the Risorgimento are not less worthy of perusal, nor 
 are the histories of the lives of the Italian municipali- 
 ties less important. The memoirs of Giovanni Visconti 
 Venosta portray the life of the city of Milan, and more 
 especially of the youth of that city, from 1847 to i860, 
 that is, in the supreme period of the Risorgimento. He 
 speaks of himself as a modest citizen who, from the 
 body of the house, saw the great drama unfold on the 
 national stage. It is true, he was not much more than an 
 observer at first, because of his extreme youth, but later 
 on he acted a part, and he acted it well (especially in the 
 Valtellina), and, in so doing, was brought into contact 
 with many of the leading men of his times. He was a 
 keen observer, and had a fair and impartial mind. A 
 noble by birth, his point of view was aristocratic; but a 
 liberal by education, his sympathy was ever with the 
 people. 
 
 We are wont to think that, in monarchical coun- 
 tries, there are ever great divisions between the vari- 
 ous classes of society. This is, indeed, usually the case 
 in lands where the Teutonic conception of nobility 
 prevails; but among the nations that have inherited 
 
 vi 
 
Translator* s Preface 
 
 the classical idea of aristocracy an absolute solidarity 
 of the citizens is often seen. The portrayal of the 
 perfect union that existed among all the classes of 
 Milan during the ten years' resistance to Austrian 
 rule is one of the chief attractions of these memoirs; 
 their great charm and value, however, lie in the fact 
 that one is convinced in reading them that the au- 
 thor's testimony, in regard to any person or event, is 
 true, upon the word of a most amiable and distinguished 
 gentleman. 
 
 This translation is made by permission of the Mar- 
 chese Emilio Visconti Venosta, elder and surviving 
 brother of the author of the Memoirs. 
 
 William Prall. 
 
 '.. Princeton, New Jersey, 
 June I, 1913. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . .six 
 
 LETTER OF THE AUTHOR .... xxiii 
 
 CHAPTER I I 
 
 Early years. — My father and mother. — My great-grandfather and my grand- 
 father. — Movements in Valtellina at the end of the eighteenth century. — 
 The annexation of the Valtellina to Lombardy, decreed by Napoleon. — The 
 Austrian-Russian invasion; brigandage. — The Napoleonic government. — 
 The question of the restoration of the government of the Canton of the 
 Grisons at the Congress of Vienna. — The Valtellina definitely united to 
 Lombardy in iSiJ. — Customs at Milan in 1848. — The cholera of 1836 in 
 Lombardy. — The coming into Lombardo-Venetia of the Emperor Ferdi- 
 nand L — Diversions and fetes in Casa Trotti. — The Boselli Institute. — 
 Maestro Pozzi. — My brother Enrico. — My school companions in the 
 Boselli Institute and in the Public Gymnasium. — Director Boselli and an 
 escapade of Emilio. ■ — Death of Boselli. — The lessons given us by our 
 father. — Giuseppe Revere. — Vacations at Tirano. — My relatives in the 
 Valtellina. — The scientific congress of Milan. — My father's mono- 
 graph. — La Societa d' Incoraggiamento. — Cohte Carlo Porro. — Signora 
 Anna Tinelli. — My father has an unfortunate accident. — He takes us 
 from the Boselli Institute. — We go to the Valtellina for our vacation. — 
 My father, taken ill, dies in three days. — We go to the house of my cousin 
 Don Luigi Quadrio. — All the people of Grosio accompany my father's 
 remains to the grave. 
 
 CHAPTER II (1847) 26 
 
 Return to Milan. — My brothers and I continue our studies at home. — Friend- 
 ship of Cesare Correnti. — First patriotic authors. — The rendezvous in 
 Correnti's house. — The Funeral of Federico Confalonieri. — A famine in 
 Lombardy, and a collection in Milan with political intent. — The death of 
 Archbishop Gaisruck, and the election of Romilli. — Amnesty granted by 
 Pius IX, and the first demonstrations. — Demonstration in honor of the new 
 Archbishop. — First uprisings and the first bloodshed. — The autumn of 
 1847 in Lombardy. — Hymns to Pius IX. — Friends at Tirano; Giacomo 
 Merizzi. — Reunions in Casa Correnti. — The "Nipote del Vesta Verde." — 
 Demonstrations and public agitation. — The demonstration of non-smoking. 
 — The Austrian Government augments its garrisons. — Mettemich sends 
 Ficquelmont, then Hiibner, to Milan on political missions. — The remon- 
 strance of Counsellor Nazari, of Bergamo. 
 
 ix 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER III (1848) . 45 
 
 The demonstration of non-smoking. — The evening of the 1st of January. — In 
 the house of my grandmother. — Military provocations. — Wounded and 
 dead. — Casa Correnti. — Cafes of the Peppina and of the Cecchina. — 
 Carlo Cattaneo. — The aristocracy. — The revolution, at Paris, of February 
 24. — Reforms demanded at Milan. — The revolution begins. — In Via 
 Monforte and near the column of S. Babila. — The young men in arms. — 
 Luciano Manara. — Angelo Fava. — The position of Cattaneo. 
 
 CHAPTER IV (1848) 59 
 
 The second day of the revolution. — The streets. — Broggi. — Engineer Alfieri 
 takes command of our quarter, and stations me on guard. — Hospitality. — 
 Monday morning. — Attack upon the house of the Duca Visconti. — The 
 son of our doorkeeper. — An ofhcer wounded. — Don Cesare Ajroldi, and the 
 barricade of S. Babila. — The third day. — We go to the Gamier College. — 
 The papal consul. — Engineer Alfieri insane. — The barricade and the bal- 
 loons of the seminarians. — The Provisional Government. — An armistice 
 proposed. ^ The Austrian garrison. — The capture of the barracks of the 
 engineers. " ■ 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER V (1848) 72 
 
 The fifth day. — Porta Tosa. — The priest who blessed the combatants at the 
 bridge. — In Piazza del Verziere. — The wounded. — The "Martinitt" of 
 the Asylum. — The flag of the Madonnina on the cathedral. — Capture of 
 Porta Tosa. — On guard on a roof. — De Albertis. — The appearance of the 
 city the night of the 22d. — The retreat of the Austrians. — Public enthusi- 
 asm at the announcement. — Clothes alia Lombarda. — In the castle. — The 
 departure of the volunteers with Manara. — The hostages. — News from 
 the districts in insurrection. 
 
 CHAPTER VI (1848) . . . . . . .82 
 
 After the retreat of the Austrians. — Public opinion. — The arrival of the vol- 
 unteers. — The National Guard. — Cartridges. — The Palestra Pariiament. 
 — My watch is stolen. — The National Italian Association. — The proces- 
 sion of Corpus Domini.— Mazzini.— The newspapers.— Weakness of the 
 
 Government. — Cattaneo, Cernuschi. — Demonstrations and agitations. 
 
 The battalion of the students and seminarians. — My uncles and cousins. 
 
 CHAPTER VII (1848) 95 
 
 Apprehensions and fears. — Peace offered as far as the Mincio. — Refusal of the 
 
 Government. — Carlo Alberto and his generals. — Hurried armaments. 
 
 Gifts of the Milanese, and other Lombard families. — Bad new» and 
 
Contents 
 
 anxieties. — Public distress. — The Committee of Defense. — Fanti, 
 Maestri, Restelli. — Mobilization of the National Guard. — ^Emilio en- 
 lists in the Garibaldian volunteers. — My mother, Enrico, and I leave 
 Milan. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII (1848) 103 
 
 We leave Milan. — The attitude of the peasants. — The journey to Bellinzona. 
 
 — The appearance of the town. — The news gathered by the Contessa 
 Sormanni. — Sequestrations. — Disbanded soldiers. — Gustavo Modena. — 
 I go to Lugano. — Lost on Monte Ceneri. — I find Emilio. — Casa Kramer 
 Berra. — Mazzini. — The expedition to Val d^ Intelvi. — Poor result. — The 
 emigrants scatter. — My brother goes to Genoa and Pisa. — We remain 
 at Tirano. 
 
 CHAPTER IX (1848) . . . . . . .116 
 
 Return to Milan. — Appearance of the city. — We leave for the Valtellina. — 
 Under military government. — A condemnation. — The Croatian soldiers. 
 
 — Military cantonments. — Major Krall. — Mazzini and the expeditions. — 
 I study German and music. — Milan again. — The prevalent sadness. — 
 The revolutionary movements in central Italy. ^ 
 
 CHAPTER X (1849) 124 
 
 Winter of 1849. — The end of the armistice. — The battle of Novara. — At- 
 tempts to make Lombardy rise. — Brescia. — The reaction. — Venice re- 
 mains in arms. — The Manara battalion. — The veterans. — Demonstration 
 of the 1 8th of August. — Whippings publicly administered. — We return to 
 Tirano. — Military cantonments. — A saucepan thrown out. — A condemna- 
 tion. — Military perquisitions. 
 
 CHAPTER XI (1850) 136 
 
 The prevailing squalor. — Rigorous state of siege. — Plans for resisting the 
 Austrian Government. — Patriotic discipline. — We abstain from amuse- 
 ments. — The Contessa De Capitanei Serbelloni and her family. — The 
 salle d'armes in the house of a cousin. — My cousin Carlo Minunzi. — I 
 make the acquaintance of the Contessa Maffei. 
 
 CHAPTER XII (1850) ' . .144 
 
 Contessa Clara Maffei and her salon. — Conte Cesare Giulini. — Intimate 
 friends. — The " Crepuscolo." — Carlo Tenca and his collaborators. — Car- 
 melita Manara Fe. — Contessa Ermellina Dandolo. — Hungarian officers. — 
 Conte Bethlen and his nephew. — New conspiracies. — Organization of the 
 committees. — A ten-million loan announced by Mazzini. — First prosecu- 
 tions at Venice. — Dottesio condemned to death. — Central committee at 
 Mantua. — The Lombard clergy and the Austrian Government. 
 
 xi 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER XIII (1851) IS5 
 
 The closing of the university; private instruction. — The duel of Luigi Delia 
 Porta. — The lesser committees. — G. B. Carta and his colleagues. — Dr, 
 Vandoni. — The assassination of Corbellini. — Antonio Sciesa. — Con- 
 demnations and executions. — The priest Giovanni Griola, of Mantua. — 
 A meeting at Mantua of representatives of the committees. — A trip through 
 Switzerland. — The Emperor at Milan, and the manoeuvres at Somma. — 
 Execution of Dottesio. — The death of Berchet. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV (1852) 16s 
 
 Arrest of the priest Tazzoli. — A sad Carnival. — The Theaters della Scala and 
 Carcano. — Young men and their festive patriotism. — Antonio Lazzati and 
 Carlo De Cristof oris. — The portrait of Conte Nava. — Numerous arrests. — 
 The trials at Mantua. — The treachery of Luigi Castellazzo. — Lazzati and 
 others arrested and taken to Mantua. — Episodes of Pasotti and of Cervieri. 
 
 — The suicide of Giovanni Pezzotti. — The cowp d'etat in France. — Hopes 
 and fears. — The first death sentences at Mantua. 
 
 CHAPTER XV (1853) . . . . . " . .174 
 
 Mazzini decides upon a revolt. — Opposition of his friends. — He sends his 
 emissaries. — Secret organizations. — Piolti de Bianchi. — Fears for the 
 outcome of the rising. — The Sixth of February. — The leaders, finding 
 themselves alone, decamp. — Ferri, with a band, assaults a police station. — 
 Some soldiers wounded. — A short struggle. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI (1853) . . . . . .184 
 
 Surprise and disgust of the citizens. — Several of them go to General Giulay. 
 
 The first mild measures changed by orders received from headquarters. — 
 Arrests and hangings. — The escape of Carlo De Cristoforis. — Writings of 
 De Cristoforis. — Sequestrations. — Piedmont recalls its ambassador. — 
 The city gates closed for a month. — Piolti, Fronti, Furagy, Brizio. — Con- 
 demnations in default. — The hardships of military law. — Rumors from 
 the prisons at Mantua. — Episode in connection with Lazzati's condem- 
 nation. — After the imprisonment. — Mazzini endeavors to incite a new 
 conspiracy. — A new chief of the republican party. — Ambrogio Ronchi. 
 
 — The party disintegrates. — Sympathy for Piedmont. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII (1853) . . . ^ , . .197 
 
 My brother and I leave for a journey to the south. — Sojourn at Rome. 
 
 From Rome we go to Naples. — Hotels and hotel-keepers. — Naples. 
 
 Casa Gargallo. — At the Austrian Legation. — Crossing to Messina. 
 
 Catania and Taormina. — Mtm and Syracuse. — Along the coast. — In- 
 conveniences. — Public houses. — The people. — The muleteers at Gir- 
 
 xii 
 
Contents 
 
 genti. — To Palermo by Calatafimi. — Letters from Tenca. — The con- 
 ditions of civil Jife in Sicily. — Return to Genoa. — Letters from our 
 mother. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII (1853) . . . . . .213 
 
 Our mother advises us of the arrests in Valtellina. — The expedition of Calvi. — 
 Letters of Mazzini to Calvi. — The trial of' Sails, Stoppani, and Zanetti. 
 
 — Conte Ulisse Sails. — The road of the Stelvio. — Story of a cannon. — 
 Torelli and Guicciardi. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX (1854) 221 
 
 Decline of the republican party. — Evolution in the salon of the Contessa Maffei. 
 
 — Conte Cesare Giulini and his relations with Piedmont. — ^The Crimean 
 War. — Repeal of the law as to substitutes. — Many fly to avoid the levy. 
 
 — Anecdotes of the bribing of the military doctors. — The Firemen's school. 
 
 — We go to Tirano and Grosio. — The destruction of the vines. — The 
 cholera. — My mother's salon at Tirano. 
 
 CHAPTER XX (1855) . . ■ . . . , , . . 231 
 
 Piedmont joins the alliance between France and England. — Conte di Cavour. 
 
 — Vittorio Emanuele. — La Marmora. — Pianori's attempt upon Napoleon. 
 
 — The Exposition in Paris. — Radetzky is nominated Governor of Lom- 
 bardo-Venetia. — My brother Emilio and I go to Paris. — Pietro Maestri 
 and the Italian emigrants. — Different opinions. — Daniele Manin. — The 
 victory of Tchernaya. — The opera attended by the Empress and the Queen 
 of England. — Words of Napoleon to Conte Arese. — In Valtellina. — The 
 theater at Tirano and the eloquent tailor. — In Milan. — Emilio Dandolo 
 and the Crimean War. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI (1856) 241 
 
 Casa Carcano, Casa Dandolo, Casa Manara. — After the Crimean War. — 
 Cavour at the Congress of Paris. — A new direction to politics. — The 
 " Crepuscolo" and Carlo Tenca. — The city becomes animated. — Festivities 
 and the theaters. — The Austrian officers. — The nickname of the Milanese 
 ladies. — A tragedy for marionettes. — The duel of Manfredo Camperio, 
 
 CHAPTER XXII (1856) 253 
 
 The popular subscription for one hundred cannon. — The Mazzinian subscrip- 
 tion for ten thousand guns. — My second journey to France. — The Italian 
 emigration at Paris. — The various factions. — Montanelli, Maestri, Sirtori. 
 
 — The announcement of a visit from the Austrian Emperor. — Proposals for 
 festivities. — Subscription for a monument to the Piedmont army. — Casa 
 d'Adda. 
 
 xiii 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII (1857) 261 
 
 Measures taken by the Government to celebrate the coining of the Emperor. — 
 Arrangements for resistance made by the patriotic Milanese. — Dandolo, 
 Soncino, Mancini, Carcano, and others banished. — The "Crepuscolo". 
 admonished. — The entry of the Emperor. — The behavior of the people. — 
 In Casa Dandolo. — Photographs of the monument to the Piedmontese 
 army. — The reception at court. — The Emperor's suite. — Conte Archinto. 
 
 — Buol recalls the Austrian Minister from Turin. — Piedmont follows suit. 
 
 — Amnesty extended to the political prisoners. — The police encourage a 
 demonstration. — The return of friends from Josephstadt and Theresienstadt. 
 
 — Marshal Radetzky relieved of his command. — Partial suppression of the 
 "Crepuscolo." — La Marmora proposes to fortify Alessandria, and Cavour, 
 Spezia. — La Farina founds the National Society. — The landing of Pisacane 
 at Sapri. — Nomination of the Archduke Maximilian as Governor-General. 
 
 — His arrival in Milan. — ^„The medal of St. Helena. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV (1858) 276 
 
 The Archduke as Governor-General. — He endeavors to attract the conspicuous 
 citizens. — The agreement for the Italo-Austrian railways. — Cesare Cantu. 
 
 — The struggle of the patriotic Milanese against Maximilian. — In Casa 
 Maffei. — Conte Giulini in the years of resistance. — Words of Cavour to 
 Giulini and Dandolo. — Casa Crivelli and Casa Dandolo. — Fears re- 
 kindled. — More duels proposed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV (1858) ...... 284 
 
 The Marchese Luigi d' Adda visits Maximilian. — Alfonso Carcano challenges 
 him. — I am one of the seconds. — Threatened by the police. — We go to 
 Piedmont. — The duel. — The Archduke asks Stefano Jacini to report on 
 conditions in Valtellina. — Jacini writes an excellent book. — Rumor of a 
 mission to Napoleon given by Maximilian. — The departure of Principe 
 Porcia. — Cavour at Plombieres. — He requests Giulini and Dandolo to 
 come to him. — His plans for the next year. — The last month of the life of 
 Emilio Dandolo. — The family Lutti of Riva. — Arrangements for sending 
 recruits to Piedmont. — The Societa Nazionale Italiana. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI (1859) . .... .297 
 
 The New Year. — Speeches of Napoleon and of Vittorio Emanuele. — 
 "Norma," and the demonstration at the Scala. — Organization to assist the 
 volunteers. — Their departure. — The death of Emilio Dandolo. — The 
 funeral procession, and the tricolored crown. — The orations at the cemetery. 
 
 — Casa Bargnani is searched, and a letter of my brother is found. — The 
 police come to our house to arrest Emilio and me.' — My brother, who was 
 not at home, escapes. — I go to Casa Maffei. — The Contessa and Tenca 
 help me to leave the city. — A first misfortune, — By a series of relays I 
 
 xiv 
 
Contents 
 
 arrive at Lonato Pozzuolo. — My host. — He presents me as a railway 
 engineer. — I cross the Ticino by the permission of the police. — I arrive at 
 Oleggio, and depart for Turin. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII (1859) . . . . . .316 
 
 I find my brother in Turin. — The story of his escape. — Letter from G. B. Guy. 
 
 — The volunteers. — The commission of enlistment. — Giuseppe Massari. 
 
 — Casa Arese and Casa Gorrenti. ■^— Sirtori. — The trial because of the 
 Dandolo funeral. — The examination of Contessa Ermellina. — An inter- 
 view with Gavour. — Formation of the Cacciatori delle Alpi. — The streets 
 of Turin. — Dubious rumors from Paris. — Public anxiety. — The Austrian 
 envoys demand disarmament. — Refusal of Piedmont. — Cavour asks for 
 full powers. — A declaration of war, and the proclamation of the king. — 
 Napoleon breaks off relations with Austria. — Mezzacapo asks several young 
 men to go with him to the Romagna. — Cavour nominates a committee of 
 Lombards to arrange for the decrees with which to begin the new govern- 
 ment in Lombardy. — I am asked to take part therein. — The arrival of the 
 first French troops. — Their enthusiastic reception. — The farewell of Carlo 
 De Cristoforis. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII (1859) . . . . . .331 
 
 My brother is nominated Royal Commissioner. — The instructions given him by 
 Cavour. — He telegraphs me to join him. — I leave Turin. — I cross 
 Lago Maggiore by night. — Arrival at Varese. — I see Garibaldi as he comes 
 [from Como. — Orders for raising the country. — Counter-orders. — They 
 arrive too late. — A committee from the province of Sondrio asks for help. — 
 I am made by the Royal Commissioner a charge d'affaires for the Valtellina. 
 
 — Patriotic festivities. — The condition of the Valtellina. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX (1859) 342 
 
 Proclamations at Sondrio. — Movements of the Austrians from the Stelvio. — 
 Defenses of Valtellina. — Disagreements in regard to the defenses. — Re- 
 connoitering by the Austrians. — Exaggerated rumors and panic. — Costan- 
 tino luvalta, of Teglio. — A professor of German surprised. — Difficult 
 communications. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX (1859) 350 
 
 News of the battle of Magenta. — The Valtellina Battalion. — Captain Fran- 
 cesco Montanari. — The parish priest of Grosio. — The Swiss soldiers. — 
 
 — The Austrian spies. — A plan of attack upon Bormio. — I go to confer 
 with Garibaldi. — At Bergamo, in Casa Camozzi. — Garibaldi's headquar- 
 ters. — Captain Clemente Corte. — The Austrian prisoners. '— Colonel 
 Thiirr. — Garibaldi's orders. 
 
 XV 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI (1859) 360 
 
 I go to Milan to confer with the Governor-General. — My brother tells me the 
 difficulties of his office. — I confer with Correnti and Vigliani. — Renewal of 
 my appointment as Royal Commissioner. — I return to Sondrio. — Arrival 
 of Colonel Sanfront and Captain Trotti. — The Secret Service in the Tyrol. 
 
 — Two secret communications. — The announcement of Garibaldi's coming. 
 ^- Enrico Guicciardi. — The end of my office. — Preparations for mining the 
 road between Lecco and Colico. — Movements of the Austrian troops. — 
 The fear of an invasion. — Major Manassero. — Arrival of Colonel Medici. 
 
 — The battle of Solferino. — Manassero falls back on Edolo. — The Valtel- 
 linese Battalion. — Attack of the Austrians repulsed. — Garibaldi enters 
 Valtellina. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXH (1859) 370 
 
 I leave for Turin. — An audience with Cavour. — Emilio goes to Modena. — I 
 return to Sondrio. — The march of Medici upon Bormio. — Its capture. — 
 Retreat of the Austrians. — They occupy Sponda Lunga. — I stop a few days 
 at Bormio. — Fatigue of the Volunteers. — Return of the Valtellinese Bat- 
 talion. — With Guicciardi at Sondrio. — Captain Montanari. — The arrival 
 of the Cacciatori degli Appennini. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXHI (1859) 378 
 
 Arrival of more volunteers. — The fascination of Garibaldi. — The armistice. — 
 The Valtellinese Battalion. — Antonio Pievani. — News of the Peace of 
 Villafranca. — Surprise and sorrow. — Disbanding the volunteer corps. — 
 I retire from office, and return to Milan. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV (1859) 384 
 
 Milan after the Peace of Villafranca. — The Venetian immigration. — The 
 relief committee. — Receptions and festivities. — Conte Francesco Annoni. 
 
 — La Perseveranza. — Emilio with Farini at Modena. — The salon of the 
 Contessa Maffei again. — The Prindpessa Cristina Belgiojoso Trivulzio. — 
 French officers. — Hospitals, public and private. — Rattazzi and his new 
 laws. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV (i860) 392 
 
 The end of the "Crepuscolo." — I go to Modena and Bologna. — The family 
 and the secretaries of Farini. — Cavour again in power. — Massimo d' Aze- 
 glio. — The municipalities of Lombardy under Austrian rule. — The new 
 elections. — Antonio Beretta Mayor. — Hospitality in Casa Beretta. — 
 Private fetes and receptions. — The entry of Vittorio Emanuele. — Ales- 
 sandro Manzoni. — The coriandoU. — The beauty of the ladies. — The 
 French officers and Marshal Vaillant. — The subscription for a million 
 
 xvi 
 
Contents 
 
 rifles. — Political activities. — The elections to Parliament. — The Club of 
 the "Galline." — The newspapers. — The "Pungolo," the "Perseveranza," 
 the "Unita Italiana." — My brother goes to Paris and London. — Crispi 
 at the "Perseveranza." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI (i860) 406 
 
 Strangers at Milan. — ETeath of the Principessa Belgiojoso. — I make the 
 acquaintance of Alessandro Manzoni. — His family and his friends. — His 
 habits and his conversation. — Abbe Ceroli and Professor Rossari. — Dom 
 Pedro of Brazil. — Public homage to Manzoni. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVn (i860) 413 
 
 Chronicle of the events of i860. — Attempt of Cavour to promote a pronuncia- 
 mento at Naples. — Garibaldi enters Naples. — The royal troops enter 
 Emilia and the Marches. — Conte Pasolini Governor of Milan. — More fes- 
 tivities. — The police power. — Its provisional reorganization. — An agent 
 of the French police. — Regular organization of the police. — Cavaliere 
 Setti. — Fariui nominated Lieutenant at Naples. — My brother accom- 
 panies him. — Decline of Farini's health. -^ The sequence of events. — A 
 saying of Alessandro Manzoni. — Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy with 
 its capital at Rome. — Its recognition by France upon the death of Cavour. 
 
 NOTES 421 
 
 INDEX 445 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 MEMOIRS have commonly one of three reasons for 
 existing. Either they disclose noteworthy histori- 
 carmatters, or they describe social groups and condi- 
 tions, or they unfold an interesting personality. Being 
 woven of all these strands, Giovanni Visconti Venosta's 
 "Memoirs" make a treble appeal to his readers. They 
 cover the fifteen years during which the Italian struggle 
 for independence had its gorgeous dawn, its calamities 
 in 1849, its decade of patient and often baffled prepara- 
 tion, its partial victory in 1859, and its triumph in i860. 
 In the unification of Italy, Lombardy played a very 
 important though a passive part, second only to that of 
 Rome. Indeed, before the rest of the Peninsula could be 
 freed, Lombardy must be free: for the two immemorial 
 enemies of Italian liberty, independence, and union were 
 the Pope and Austria. But the Pope, as temporal ruler, 
 could not be dislodged so long as Austria maintained her 
 own despotism in Lombardy and Venetia, and abetted 
 the Pope and the other petty despots. To drive out Au- 
 stria was, therefore, the purpose of every wise patriot. 
 I Visconti Venosta, who was a boy of only fourteen 
 when the election of Pius IX in 1846 kindled a delirium 
 of patriotic hopes, sprang from one of the great Lom- 
 bard families. His older- brother, Marquis Emilio, who 
 survives at a venerable age, the last of the statesmen of 
 the Cavourian school, was from his youth up in the 
 thick of political plotting. Other kinsmen and friends 
 had contacts with Liberals in Piedmont and Tuscany. 
 
 xix 
 
Introduction 
 
 Thus everything contributed to supply Giovanni with 
 information from the inside and with those motives and 
 opinions of the actors in the drama which are seldom 
 avowed in official records: and beginning with 1848 he 
 reports as an eye-witness events of capital interest. 
 
 To the historian who is more than a mere docu- 
 mentarian Visconti Venosta's "Memoirs" abound in 
 sidelights, suggestions, confirmations, impressions, which 
 conjure back for us the ambient, the atmosphere, not 
 to know which shuts us out from understanding an 
 historical movement. To the general reader, who is not 
 searching for the missing link in a long chain of causa- 
 tion, the recollections have the charm of lively talk; 
 though concrete and vivid in the special case, they are 
 discursive, and loose enough in arrangement to permit 
 frequent asides. Just as in our daily experience many 
 persons have their exits and their entrances, so here, we 
 meet men and women of all sorts, some appearing only 
 once or twice, others coming and going so often that we 
 greet them as old friends. The elder generation tell their 
 reminiscences of the French Revolution and their sto- 
 ries of the ill-mannered young conqueror, Bonaparte; 
 among the younger generation are Mazzini, Garibaldi, 
 and Cavour, with each of whom Venosta had personal 
 relations. 
 
 If the volume contained no more than the account of 
 the amazing expulsion of Marshal Radetzky and his 
 twenty thousand troops from Milan, the historian would 
 cherish it; but it supplies first-hand testimony on many 
 other events. We can compose from it, for instance, a 
 mosaic of the passive resistance when "the Lombardo- 
 
 XX 
 
Introduction 
 
 Venetian provinces, with Milan at their head, set for ten 
 years the example of a country which, in the name of 
 its own nationality, lives completely apart from the 
 strangers who govern it; which refuses to have relations 
 with that government, and treats its subjugators as a 
 passing horde of occupants. . . . The Five Days were 
 assuredly a splendid page in Milanese history; but who- 
 ever studies the facts of our national resurrection will 
 conclude that in her decade of resistance Milan wrote 
 still more glorious pages of her history. Because it is 
 easier to become a hero in one day of battle than to keep 
 the courage high and undaunted during a ten years' 
 imprisonment." 
 
 Not less interesting are Visconti Venosta's pictures of 
 the Milanese society in which he grew up. From him 
 you learn how the aristocrats of the Old Regime lived; 
 what a fund of sterling qualities still animated the best 
 members of a class which outsiders dismissed as effete; 
 how strong was family devotion; how accessible to new 
 ideals — above all, to the ideal of patriotism — were 
 men, women, and youths who, if they had heeded only 
 their interests and their ease, would have chosen the 
 lotus-eating life with which the Austrians tempted them. 
 American parents, who have so nearly surrendered the 
 training of their children to the children themselves, 
 will be astonished at the unremitted care which Don 
 Giovanni's father and mother bestowed on training him 
 and his brothers, and at the fact that this solicitude, 
 instead of dulling the boys' affection, stimulated it. 
 
 No doubt, all Lombard nobles did not match in intel- 
 ligence or in regard for duty the Visconti Venostas and 
 
 xxi 
 
Introduction 
 
 their associates; classes are more often solidaire in their 
 vices than in their virtues : but the existence of a con- 
 siderable number of such persons among that aristoc- 
 racy explains why the struggle for independence was in 
 Lombardy so conspicuously an upper-class movement. 
 
 But on Don Giovanni's canvas, as I hinted above, 
 every class figures. The common purpose made high and 
 low kin. And in Italy, more than elsewhere in Europe, 
 the aristocracy had had, ever since the Renaissance, the 
 habit of mixing cordially with artists and men of talent, 
 no matter from what social stratum these arose. 
 
 Finally, Don Giovanni himself, irrespective of the 
 vital issues which he saw unfold and of which he was 
 a part, is a person worth knowing. You cannot read 
 far in his memoirs without feeling the attraction of 
 his lovable nature, of his dignity blended with sim- 
 plicity, of his wholesome mind and charitable heart. 
 Though he risked his life for his ideal, yet he had 
 neither the doctrinaire's rasping iteration nor the fa- 
 natic's dehumanizing zeal. In a time of revolution, he 
 could be the personal friend of the leaders of antagonis- 
 tic parties, without masking his own beliefs or doing in- 
 justice to theirs, and without incurring the least suspi- 
 cion of insincerity. Nobody ever questioned his honor; 
 fairness is stamped on every page of his book. He is, 
 in truth, what the Italians call simpatico; which means 
 more than our English "sympathetic," and implies not 
 wit alone, nor virtue alone, nor even beauty, but charm, 
 without which wit and virtue and beauty never quite 
 captivate us. 
 
 William Roscoe Thayer. 
 
LETTER OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 To my nephews Carlo, Enrico, Giovanni 
 
 TiRANO, August, 1900. 
 
 IN reading books of history I have many times had 
 the curiosity to know what was said and done, during 
 the chief events, by all that part of the public that has 
 not the honor of being recorded in books. 
 
 Moreover, in reading books of the history of our 
 country, and more especially of the Valtellina, I have 
 had another interest, quite a domestic one. Knowing the 
 part taken by some members of our family in the events 
 of their native valley, I have had the curiosity to know 
 what had been their intentions, what was the state of 
 their minds, what were their habits and thoughts, and 
 through what vicissitudes they had passed. 
 
 When such thoughts came to me, if I happened to be 
 at Tirano, I passed hours in the library that you know, 
 turning over the leaves of old records. At times I have 
 been able to live in the midst of our progenitors, as I 
 read bundles of their letters or some of their other 
 writings; and have succeeded in knowing what they had 
 thought, and what they had done, during certain tem- 
 pestuous times. 
 
 If you have inherited my curiosity, you will be 
 curious to know what things your father and your 
 uncles thought and did in the years that will ever be 
 famous in Italian history, the years between 1848 and 
 the proclamation of the New Kingdom of Italy. 
 '^ I have, therefore, thought of recalling to mind the 
 
 xxiii 
 
Letter of the Author 
 
 events of my youth, and of relating them, sorry only 
 that I did not think sooner of keeping notes, day by day. 
 It is not a complete story of those times that I will write; 
 many stories have been already written, and others will 
 be written, and you will not be able to read them all. I 
 will content myself to lay before you the events in the 
 midst of which I was, in which I took some part. I will 
 relate what I have seen, and what I have heard said, 
 and the impressions that have remained with me. I 
 will conduct you in the midst of some great, and of many 
 little, deeds. I will make you know some of the persons 
 I then knew, people of importance and people of no 
 importance, some relatives and some friends. In a word, 
 I will seek to give you an idea of the environment in 
 which I lived in those times. 
 
 I have thought, also, of taking you with me, and of 
 giving you a brief glance at the years that preceded 
 1848, the years of my boyhood; to tell you something of 
 my father and mother, of my grandfather and grand- 
 mother, taking you into the bosom of our family. There 
 will be a few pages of family history that I will 
 write, above all, for you; and so, if any one besides you 
 shall read this book, he can skip the first chapter. 
 
 If, among my readers, some one who was of those 
 times should discover that I had been guilty of a lack 
 of memory (a very possible thing), I hope he will be 
 indulgent, considering that the years of which I write 
 are far away. It would be wonderful, indeed, if my 
 memory were not sometimes at fault. 
 
 I believe that in writing these pages I shall not en- 
 tirely waste my efforts. Perhaps they will interest you, 
 
 xxiv 
 
Letter of the Author 
 
 as they divert me, a little; for it is always a pleasure to 
 recall the days of one's youth, which, as is well said, 
 are usually the most beautiful of life. 
 
 In my youth there were days that were truly beauti- 
 ful, and there were days that were truly great. To be 
 born in a country divided and enslaved, to have in one's 
 heart an ideal of liberty, and to see one's country attain 
 thereunto, is a good fortune that history seldom offers. 
 ' And, now, it should be the ideal of the young to make 
 our country great and happy! The task will not be less 
 glorious, for it will not be less great nor less arduous. 
 
 Your Uncle Gino. 
 
MEMOIRS OF YOUTH 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Early years. — My father and mother. — My great-grandfather, and my grand- 
 father. — Movements in Valtellina at the end of the eighteenth century. — 
 The annexation of the Valtellina to Lombardy, decreed by Napoleon. — The 
 Austrian-Russian invasion, brigandage. — The Napoleonic Government. — 
 The question of the restoration of the government of the Canton of the 
 Grisons at the Congress of Vienna. — The Valtellina definitely united to 
 Lombardy in 1815. — Customs at Milan in 1848. — The cholera of 1836 in 
 Lombardy. — The coming into Lombardo-Venetia of the Emperor Ferdi- 
 nand I. — Diversions and fetes in Casa Trotti. — The Boselli Institute. — 
 Maestro Pozzi. — My brother Enrico. — My school companions in the 
 Boselli Institute and in the Public Gymnasium. — Director Boselli and an 
 escapade of Emilio. — Death of Boselli. — The lessons given us by our 
 father. — Giuseppe Revere. — Vacations at Tirano. — My relatives in the 
 Valtellina. — The scientific congress of Milan. — The monograph of my 
 father. — La Societa d' Incoraggiamento. — Conte Carlo Porro. — Signora 
 Anna Tinelli. — My father has an unfortunate accident. — He takes us 
 from the Boselli Institute. — We go to the Valtellina for our vacation. — 
 My father, taken ill, dies in three days. — We go to the house of my cousin 
 Don Luigi Quadrio. — All the people of Grosio accompany my father's 
 remains to the grave. 
 
 IN beginning these pages with an account of the years 
 of my boyhood, let me say, at once, that they were 
 serene and happy years; that when I return to them in 
 thought I am never weary; I find ever living within me 
 the sweetest memories. 
 
 There was in my family an atmosphere of affection 
 and of confidence between parents and children which 
 was not common at the time. 
 
 Within the domestic walls I heard only virtuous 
 maxims, I saw only good examples, which were made 
 more persuasive and attractive as they were accom- 
 panied by an indulgent and serene benevolence. 
 
 X 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Certain excellent axioms, that I heard pronounced by 
 relatives and masters, or by the fathers of other children, 
 in the cross and severe tone with which some people 
 believe they make an impression upon the young, 
 seemed to me to be disgusting or tiresome. How differ- 
 ent were they from the precepts and counsels of my good 
 parents, whose admonitions, pronounced with much 
 kindness, were reasoned and persuasive! 
 
 Later on, when, playing with my companions of the 
 gymnasium, or of the lyceum (all of us more or less 
 scamps), certain severe domestic maxims were spoken 
 of, and were made fun of, my thoughts returned to my 
 own parents, and I felt a curb, or, at the least, a feeling 
 of remorse. 
 
 In the last great judgment cannot the lack of educa- 
 tion be alleged as an extenuating circumstance! 
 
 I see again before my eyes, after so many years, the 
 figures of my father and mother in the flower of their 
 youth, and I seem again to hear their conversations; 
 both the conversations they had with grown-up people 
 and with us boys. 
 
 We were three brothers; Emilio, who was three years 
 older than I, and Enrico who was three years yoimger, 
 A brother older than us all, Nicoletto, had died, as a 
 child, before I was bom. 
 
 My father was tall and elegant. He was of a distin- 
 guished presence, and reserved in manner. On his face a 
 look of melancholy often cast a shadow, as if it were the 
 presage of an immature end. It changed easily, however, 
 into a sweet smile. His soul was just and calm. He had 
 the highest sentiment of justice and equity. His intel- 
 
 2 
 
My Father and Mother 
 
 ligence was strong and serene. He loved to study, and 
 pursued especially economics and juristic and literary 
 studies. He knew mathematics, also, very well. 
 
 My mother, Paola Borgazzi, was a beautiful, pleasing, 
 and elegant little lady, and was full of vivacity and 
 spirit. She was profoundly religious; and was austere 
 for herself, but indulgent to others. Among all the 
 saints, she preferred the meek and indulgent to the sad 
 and severe. It was one of her maxims that, when any 
 person had committed a fault, we ought not to flee 
 from him, but to seek him in order to raise up his spirits 
 and to facilitate his redemption. She desired goodness 
 to be attractive; and said that charity was the most 
 beautiful of all the virtues. 
 
 • With us boys she was most affectionate, as the only 
 method of education she knew was meekness and in- 
 dulgence. 
 
 When we three brothers made too much noise (a 
 thing which often happened), she shut herself up in her 
 room. Upon such occasions my father said that, when 
 we were bad, mamma, instead of punishing us, pun- 
 ished herself. Yet this was a punishment for us, too, 
 because we would then place ourselves before her door, 
 and cry and supplicate until she opened it. Emilio, who 
 was soft-hearted, outstripped us all in crying. With his 
 curly blond hair, that fell upon his shoulders, and with 
 his celestial eyes, he seemed an angel of grief. 
 
 Thus, children, you may imagine your father when he 
 was a baby. On occasion, however, he too could be a 
 little devil. 
 
 My mother had a prompt and witty spirit, and a 
 
 3 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 talent of imitation that I have never seen equaled by 
 any other person. Occasionally she undertook to relate 
 a conversation, when she repeated a dialogue, or a dis- 
 cussion, between several persons, imitating their voices 
 and portraying their manners with such keenness of 
 observation that she gave the illusion to us of hearing 
 these persons themselves. 
 
 Alongside of these brilliant and pleasing qualities of 
 spirit, there were in my mother many profound and 
 solid virtues, which remained concealed, but which, in 
 the days of sorrow, became the source of her strength. 
 ' In our house, I have often heard our old peasants and 
 friends talk of my great-grandfather and of my grand- 
 father, who had left behind them long and grateful 
 memories. 
 
 I can see my great-grandfather Francesco's portrait 
 in a salon of our house at Tirano, dressed in a splendid 
 red surcoat, with papers in his hand. These indicate the 
 time of the government of the Canton of the Grisons in 
 Valtellina, when he was grand chancellor of the valley. 
 His fame has endured as that of a man of great rectitude 
 and authority. 
 
 Of my grandfather, Nicola, the memories, naturally, 
 are more recent. They are of a personage who played 
 an important part in Valtellina during the tempestuous 
 events of the French Revolution. 
 
 My grandfather had studied in Rome, in a Jesuit col- 
 lege, and had remained there several years, returning to 
 his family for his yearly vacation. The journey from 
 Valtellina to Rome in those days, that is before 1770, 
 was not a slight affair. One traveled along the Valtel- 
 
 4 
 
My Grandfather 
 
 Una on horseback, and then through the Lake of Como 
 in a boat. At Milan a driver was obtained at the hotel 
 of the Three Kings, who,- with a carriage and four 
 horses, conducted the traveler to Rome, in a journey of 
 about two weeks. 
 
 My grandfather, during the years he spent in college, 
 was greatly courted, and urged to enter the Company of 
 Jesus. He was told that he would attain unto high rank. 
 At the beginning it appeared that he was not averse to 
 this course, flattered as he was by his superiors, who 
 appreciated his strong intelligence. 
 
 He was a great lover of the classics and of archaeologi- 
 cal studies, which made his sojourn at Rome seductive. 
 But his parents, of whom he was the only son, showed 
 themselves strongly adverse to this juvenile idea; and 
 perhaps he set it aside himself. To put an end to any 
 uncertainty came the bull of Qement XIV, which sup- 
 pressed the Company of Jesus. 
 
 So he left Rome and returned to his family. The 
 fathers of the college, scattered over Europe with other 
 Jesuits, continued for some time to correspond with him. 
 Several spoke of the firm faith they had that the Com- 
 pany (some of them called it the Mother) would surely 
 rise again, and referred to pledges they had received from 
 different personages and governments. 
 
 It seems that my grandfather did not believe very 
 much in such a resurrection; anyway, he abandoned the 
 thought of returning to Rome. 
 
 After ten years or so, the correspondence languished; 
 then my grandfather (in 1783) married, at Milan, Donna 
 Francesca, daughter of Conte Fabio Castiglioni, who 
 
 S 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 died while she was yet young. Some of the fathers who 
 had survived lamented the marriage of my grandfather; 
 but not so a certain Father Mezzi, of Bergamo, who 
 wrote him a joking letter, which finished with telling 
 him: "If the vocation has not come to you, you must 
 recompense the Company by bringing into the world 
 many little Jesuits, who will be fathers in the future." 
 
 The recommendation of Father Mezzi was not fol- 
 lowed. My grandfather, as soon as he had returned 
 home, took up his historical studies, making profound 
 researches in the Valtellina and in the Valle Venosta 
 in trace of a family-tree, which he documented. He 
 gathered together innumerable papers and parchments, 
 which we keep, illustrating with investigations, never 
 before made, many points of the Valtellinese history, 
 especially regarding the twelfth and fourteenth cen- 
 turies. 
 
 Afterward, from 1786 to 18 15, he turned all his activ- 
 ity to the political events of which our native valley was 
 the theater. 
 
 The conspiracy against the government of the Gri- 
 sons,^ the French invasion,^ the annexation of the Val- 
 tellina to Lombardy, the Austro-Russian reaction, the 
 Italian Kingdom, the Restoration by the treaties of 
 18 1 5 (events of great consequence, in the Valtellina), 
 brought him into active service in behalf of his country.^ 
 
 After these events, of which I will give you a sum- 
 mary in the notes I will add to my memoirs, my grand- 
 father retired from public office. Later on he was elected 
 by the communes Deputato Nobile to the Congrega- 
 zione Centrale in Milan. 
 
 6 
 
Customs at Milan in 1848 
 
 Perusing the papers and the documents of this epoch, 
 which show the energy and the integrity of his character 
 and his great culture, it is to be deplored that events did 
 not lead my grandfather to display his many talents in 
 a wider field. 
 
 He established himself in Milan in 1 823, when his son 
 was married: he died in 1828. 
 
 My thought goes back to the days of my infancy, to 
 the impressions which remain, in the midst of vague 
 memories, of the difference in the customs and life of 
 those times from what they are now. The greatest line 
 of demarcation between those days and our own was the 
 year 1848. 
 
 From that year everything has rapidly changed, in 
 domestic habits, in civic life, in usages, in thought, as if 
 a century had passed, and not a brief period of time. 
 Thinking of these former years, things appear to have 
 belonged to a different world, a world more simple, more 
 respectful; and as tranquil as a pond. We boys, as I 
 have said, were educated with great gentleness ; but in 
 the families of other children there was more severity; 
 there was very little reasoning, but much obeying. One 
 never heard in a family that "such a thing will, or will 
 not, be done because our son, or even our baby, wishes or 
 does not wish to do so." Such an utterance would have 
 made people laugh as being incredibly odd. Toys and 
 diversions were few and simple. In the noble families 
 dinner was between four and five o'clock in the after- 
 noon, and, after dinner, one drove to the Corso, or to 
 that part of it which lay between the Porta Orientale 
 (now Porta Venezia), and the neighboring ramparts, 
 
 7 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 directed by a mounted police officer followed by two 
 hussars. A lady never went out in a carriage with one 
 horse, and never went afoot unless she was followed by 
 a domestic in livery. 
 
 There were no public carriages as there are to-day: 
 there were some fiacres, with two horses, in some squares 
 of the city; but they were used generally by foreigners. 
 The so-called broughams did not appear until after 
 1850, and omnibuses much later. 
 
 The first lady in Milan who had an elegant Parisian 
 brougham, with one horse, was the Marchesa Ippolita 
 d' Adda Salvaterra Pallavicino. Of this there was much 
 talk at the time. 
 
 To the villas in the country, one went with his own 
 horses, for there were no railroads, except the short line 
 of twelve kilometers, between Milan and Monza, opened 
 in 1842. We went to our houses in the Valtellina, dis- 
 tant from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and 
 seventy kilometers, with our carriage and horses, tak- 
 ing three days for the journey. The lighting of the 
 streets of Milan by gas did not begin until 1845. 
 
 Occasionally our fathers and mothers took us to the 
 Theater alia Scala, where, it was said, there were two 
 great masters and singers: but that which interested 
 me above all was the comic ballet, which closed the 
 spectacle, after the grand ballet.* 
 
 Sometimes, also, our father took us to hear Modena, 
 and said to us: "When you will have grown up, it will 
 give you pleasure to remember this actor." 
 
 One of the impressions which remained most vivid 
 for years was the terror that the first invasion of cholera 
 
 8 
 
The Cholera 0/1836 
 
 brought to all. My father retained his ordinary calm- 
 ness, but my mother was terrified, and wanted to leave 
 town. We went to Turin, but, before crossing the 
 Ticino, we had to pass a quarantine of several days in a 
 villa which Conte Francesco Annoni, a friend and rela- 
 tive of my father, placed at our disposal. Certain 
 prints of the time represented the cholera in the form of a 
 devil, uglier even than usual, who ran through the coun- 
 try sprinkling poison. For me, therefore, the cholera 
 was a devil; and I always took care, in going about, to 
 shun him if he should appear. 
 
 After the cholera, there was, in 1838, the solemn 
 entry of Ferdinand I, the new Emperor of Austria, who 
 had succeeded his father. Even I was taken to a little 
 terrace on the Corso di Porta Orientale to see the 
 pompous parade of richly dressed cavaliers, of heralds, 
 and of gilded coaches. When the carriage, all gold and 
 crystal, arrived, in which the Emperor and Empress 
 were seated, several persons along the street began 
 to applaud and to wave their handkerchiefs. I looked 
 intently, and I must say that, at the moment, I should 
 also have taken my handkerchief from my pocket 
 were it not that I suddenly found myself taken by 
 the arm by a youth much taller than I, who said to me 
 brusquely: "Be careful not to applaud when the Em- 
 peror passes below." 
 
 I looked at the youth, stupefied; and, without under- 
 standing anything, abstained from applauding. After a 
 little I asked my mother for an explanation. She replied 
 that the young man was right, but that there were cer- 
 tain things I would understand later on. This was a 
 
 9 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 reply I often heard, so I did not ask anything further. 
 The young man was called Guido Susani, whom I saw 
 many years after, and with whom I formed a friendship 
 that was often obscured by clouds and tempests, be- 
 cause of the arrogance (under the auspices of which I 
 had madehis acquaintance) which possessed him always, 
 whether he was right or whether he was wrong. 
 
 But as children often ruminate in regard to things 
 heard but not understood, above all when they are told 
 that they will understand by and by, so did I ruminate 
 in regard to the words of Susani. Little by little, catch- 
 ing on the wing, here and there, a word, and hearing 
 my mother tell the pitiful story of Teresa Confalonieri, 
 and my father that of Silvio Pellico, I learned that the 
 Austrians were detestable. To our house neither offi- 
 cers nor high functionaries ever came. 
 
 I must tell you, also, that the word "diplomat" had 
 taken the fancy of my brother Emilio, since I remem- 
 ber that, when they asked him (as they do children), 
 "What are you going to be when you shall be big?" he 
 answered, "I wish to be a diplomat!" — whereupon 
 they laughed. Once, however, when he was a big boy, 
 my father said to him: "So be it, then, if you say this 
 with the idea of studying seriously; but remember that 
 in our country there is a government that we ought not 
 to serve." 
 
 The year after the coming of the Emperor, I was sent 
 to school to begin with the elementary class, but an 
 unfortunate happening, that might have proved fatal, 
 made me interrupt my lessons for some time. One day I 
 was overcome with curiosity to know what there was in 
 
 lO 
 
Diversions in Casa Trotti 
 
 a clothes-press, in a sewing-room, that I had always seen 
 closed. I opened it, and in the midst of many bottles I 
 found one on which was written "Old Malaga." I took 
 a swallow, felt as if I had a flame in my mouth, and fell 
 to the floor. It was sulphuric acid. 
 
 I was in great danger and suffering for several days. 
 I got well slowly; but felt some bad effects for a while. 
 
 My brother Emilio, who had gone to school for three 
 years, had his especial friends, of whom the three most 
 intimate were the sons of the Marchese Antonio Trotti, 
 Lodovico and Lorenzo (who died young), and Saule 
 Mantegazza. These friendships were naturally accom- 
 panied by those of their respective parents. To Casa 
 Trotti, other boys went also; and, at the time of the 
 carnival, there were lessons in dancing, pleasant little 
 festivals in costume and recitations. It was a great 
 diversion, and my parents went and took me with them. 
 One evening Emilio came to grief, and I, too, later on. 
 Emilio danced with a little d' Azeglio girl, dressed alia 
 Bernese, with a great cap. Knocked into while dancing, 
 they both fell; and though they tried to rise, they could 
 not because of the big cap of the little girl and of the 
 tight suit of mail that Emilio wore. They rolled under a 
 table, and it took some time to rescue them. 
 
 Emilio, from that day, did not wish to dance any 
 more. 
 
 My misfortune happened several evenings after. My 
 mother had arranged with the Marchesa Fanny d' Adda 
 De Capitanei that I should dance a quadrille with her 
 little girl, Lauretta. The quadrille went off disastrously; 
 I did not even know where my partner had gone to finish 
 
 II 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 it. For some time after this evening, I kept blaming the 
 little girl, while she continued to be vexed with me. 
 Who would have said, then, that this little girl would 
 one day become my wife ? And yet our first acquaintance 
 is dated from that evening. We commenced with a dis- 
 agreement, which was to be the first and the last. 
 
 From infancy we three brothers were thin, nervous, 
 and vivacious. Our father, therefore, did not wish to 
 send us to school, nor to have us taught the alphabet, 
 until after we were seven years of age. So, until that 
 age, we did nothing but walk and jump and play, ac- 
 companied by our father, who was always with us, and 
 who took occasion to interest us in everything we saw. 
 
 At that time there were no schools of gymnastics, and 
 our house had no garden: therefore our father rented 
 one. He took us to it every day to frolic, while he sta- 
 tioned himself under a tree with a book. 
 
 The elementary public schools were few and poor. In 
 the gymnasiums and lyceums there were some able, 
 even celebrated, professors, but there was little study, 
 and that often superficial. At Milan there were several 
 private institutes of instruction, of which the Boselli 
 and the Racheli were the two most important. They 
 received the children of many of the best families. 
 
 We were sent to the Boselli Institute, where there 
 were some excellent professors, among whom was 
 Achille Mauri, a man of letters, who later on, in the 
 Piedmont Parliament, in the Italian Senate, and in the 
 Ministry of Public Instruction, left an honored name. 
 
 In the Boselli Institute the first elementary class was 
 taught by a Maestro Pozzi, a man of great talent, who, 
 
 12 
 
Maestro Pozzi 
 
 after having been professor of mathematics in a lyceum, 
 had decided to dedicate himself to the instruction of 
 children in order to make experiment of some of his 
 methods, which would help them to learn rapidly read- 
 ing, writing, a little mathematics, and some other things. 
 
 The methods of Maestro Pozzi were most ingenious, 
 and consisted in a continued series of games, during 
 which we learned without fatigue. Of his system some 
 things have remained and are in use, without any one 
 remembering who first introduced them. From among 
 his scholars Pozzi selected certain ones, and taught 
 them, in the midst of their games, things which amazed 
 their parents when he presented his pupils at the exam- 
 inations, like so many little trained dogs. 
 
 But there were not only games, there was seriousness, 
 too, in the teaching of Pozzi, so that his instruction 
 became easy, attractive, and rapid, without fatiguing 
 the minds of his pupils, and without raising the preco- 
 cious repugnance which many teachers of the old method 
 inspired. 
 
 Maestro Pozzi left the school a few years after, and 
 died young. Among his last scholars was my brother 
 Enrico, to whom he manifested an affectionate care and 
 patience which I shall never forget. 
 
 My brother Enrico, because of a cerebral illness that 
 he had had as a child, was scarcely able to speak a word 
 until after he had attained his eighth year. It was feared 
 that he was a mute, but he was not deaf, and he gave 
 signs of an awakened intellect. My father had an 
 understanding with Pozzi, who, little by little, in a cou- 
 ple of years succeeded in untying Enrico's tongue and 
 
 13 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 in making him speak. This he did by means of a suc- 
 cession of ingenious and admirable experiments. My 
 brother Enrico became a man of a clever and acute 
 mind. He had a good and joyous disposition, a prompt 
 and ready spirit. Animated by a great love for his 
 brothers, his thoughts were always turned to them, with 
 an affection that was almost filial. 
 
 As long as he lived, his ways and mine were alike; we 
 were always together, in the house and out of doors, in 
 company and in amusements. His open and loyal char- 
 acter and the great goodness of his soul made him dear 
 to many who knew him and who sought his friendship. 
 He died at forty-six years of age, in 1881, and his loss, 
 which I mourn every day, left me as if I had been 
 deprived of a part of myself. 
 
 Maestro Pozzi had for his assistant a divinity student 
 who seemed to be started on the road to the priesthood, 
 but he soon abandoned the clerical collar and the in- 
 struction of the alphabet. Later on, when I was at 
 the university, I found him again. He was called the 
 Awocato Antonio Mosca, and was my professor of law. 
 After 1859 he became a deputy, and was an ornament of 
 the Lombard bar. 
 
 The director, Antonio Boselli, secured a great reputa- 
 tion for his Institute, because he surrounded himself 
 with the best professors. What was his own worth, I do 
 not know; but he did not impress his pupils as sympa- 
 thetically as his masters and professors did. We were 
 afraid of him, as he was hard and severe, and dis- 
 tributed, with much readiness, injuries and blows, — 
 especially to those who boarded with him. 
 
 14 
 
My School Companions 
 
 The earliest knowledge I had of this I acquired from 
 some fellow-pupils of the first gymnasium class. Three 
 of us sat upon a bench; I was in the middle. From the 
 first I was on terms of friendship with my two compan- 
 ions; their confidences began during the time we ate the 
 two little rolls, which were given us in the half-hour of 
 our recreation. Two little rolls! The scholastic rules 
 of that day did not permit of anything more. The 
 concession of something in addition was not an easy 
 matter. My companion on the left was a lean, pale, 
 timid youth, who had two big swollen hands, red with 
 chilblains. He was a boarder, and he told me that 
 Boselli made the boarders rise before school with the 
 light in winter, and put them to study in cold little 
 rooms, distributing the choicest cuffs without economy. 
 And he told me that when the boarders were restless, 
 Boselli said they were morbid, and dosed them with 
 purges. 
 
 I knew nothing of purges, but of blows I received 
 several, as also my poor companion. Poor fellow! he 
 had a timid and melancholy air. But he was not thus by 
 nature, since, later on, when I became a friend of his 
 family, and we were in the midst of his brothers, he was 
 lively and happy enough. Yet at this time I had for him 
 so much compassion! Only it seemed to me that a lad 
 so lean and so timid had too solemn and great a name. 
 He was called Malachia De Cristoforis. 
 
 My other companion was very different ; he was twelve 
 years old, and was strong-limbed and restless, and gave 
 utterance to some blasphemy, especially against Latin. 
 His father had placed him in the Pensione Boselli for 
 
 15 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 some months only, that is, while he was absent with a 
 part of his family, in Spain. Therefore my companion 
 said: "If, in the mean time, Boselli should administer a 
 blow to me, I would make a conspiracidn in college, and 
 afterwards a pronunciamiento ; and a revolucidn would 
 follow, as is the way in Spain." 
 
 "Are you a Spaniard.^" I asked. 
 
 "No, I am of Val Seriana, but my father is an honor- 
 ary citizen of Saragossa, where he is called 'the king 
 of the do of the chest.' " 
 
 I understood nothing. But my friend told me that his 
 father, in three places in Spain where he had passed 
 three seasons, had been received like a king; that at 
 Toledo the students detached the horses and drew his 
 carriage; that at Valladolid they illuminated the city 
 for him; that when it was his soiree^ invitations show- 
 ered, as also poetry, and presents; and that canary 
 birds were let loose in the theater. My friend never 
 ceased telling us marvelous things while we were nibbling 
 our two little rolls. My other companion and I heard 
 him, full of wonder and almost of envy, as he appeared 
 to be really the son of a king. 
 
 Two months afterwards there came to take him away 
 a fine-looking man, without a beard, who sang (but not 
 the do of the chest), while Signor Boselli showed him the 
 Institute. He was the citizen of Saragossa, who came to 
 take his son to Spain. We parted with our friend affec- 
 tionately, making a thousand projects for the following 
 year. But my friend returned no more, and I knew no 
 more of him. 
 
 We went, at the end of every month, to the gymna- 
 
 i6 
 
My School Companions 
 
 sium of S. Alessandro (now Beccaria), to take a short 
 examination, called esperimento, in some of our studies, 
 together with the pupils of the public gymnasiums. We 
 found ourselves often alongside of the same scholars, 
 who were artful and insolent, above all, with us of the 
 private schools. Several asked why I had red hair, and 
 they uttered popular proverbs not very flattering. For a 
 while I made believe I did not mind; afterwards I caught 
 hold of one of them and gave him a drubbing. They said 
 to me in the Milanese dialect: "Look at the girl with the 
 red hair." 
 
 Among these scholars I noted two especially who were 
 prominent because of their brusque ways and harsh 
 faces. One I learned, afterwards, was the son of a com- 
 missary of police; the other, who was the more haughty 
 of the two, perplexed us for a while. Some one said he 
 must be the son of a general, because once his father 
 came, with a feather in his hat, to take him away. 
 
 One day, on going out of school we asked him : "What 
 are you? Who is your father?" "My father," he re- 
 plied in a proud tone, "is the Municipal Commissary of 
 Health." 
 
 But as we looked as if we did not understand, the boy 
 replied, with an air of importance and of compassion for 
 our ignorance, "My father is the head over all who 
 catch dogs." 
 
 I still remember an escapade of my brother Emilio in 
 the Boselli school. I know not for what reason his whole 
 class was punished one day and deprived of recreation. 
 What then did the scholars do? There was on a stove, 
 that was made like a column, a bust, in plaster, of the 
 
 17 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Emperor of Austria, and the scholars, profiting by a 
 momentary absence of the professor, put a cord about 
 the neck of the bust and threw it to the floor, breaking 
 the unfortunate Emperor into fragments.* 
 
 Great heavens! the gravest suspicion fell upon 
 Emilio as the inspirer and principal executor of the 
 crime. Boselli, according to the tale, gave him a terrible 
 scolding. My brother thereupon put his books under his 
 arm and went home. The day after, my father arranged 
 the matter as best he could. 
 
 Boselli, when he scolded us, was accustomed to deduce 
 from our escapades the direst consequences: "You com- 
 mence with disobedience, but you will end on the 
 gallows." 
 
 Many years afterwards, in 1853, came the trials at 
 Mantua; and the gallows was indeed raised. My 
 brother ran a great danger. "It is Boselli who divined 
 it," said Emilio to me one day. His prophecy lacked but 
 little of fulfillment. 
 
 But the old pupils of Signor Boselli ought to forgive 
 his scoldings, and blows, and purges, as well as his prog- 
 nostications since, when the Five Days came, he was 
 among the first to run to the Broletto (one of the 
 points of rendezvous of the insurrection), and there he 
 was killed. 
 
 I ought to say also that the best of my masters was 
 my father. He made us repeat our lessons after school, 
 and with great tenderness and clearness gave us more 
 instruction than we had received, and sometimes ex- 
 plained things we had not understood. 
 
 With my brother Emilio, who was older than I, as I 
 
 18 
 
Vacations at Tirana 
 
 have said, and who was gifted with a precocious talent 
 and with a strong desire to study, the parental lessons 
 were long, and were often followed by instructive dis- 
 courses during our promenades. Oftentimes the poet 
 Giuseppe Revere accompanied us. I remember that 
 some of his lovely sonnets were written in our house. 
 
 One of the ways of education my father had was to be 
 with his sons as much as possible. He exacted from us 
 an illimitable confidence, exchanging much, therefore, 
 and considered us as persons a little older than we were. 
 Thus he inspired us with sentiments of responsibility 
 and of duty. We were treated as little men, which flat- 
 tered us, and made us endeavor to keep on a high level. 
 
 In Valtellina, where we passed our vacations, my 
 father sometimes interrupted my amusements by in- 
 trusting to me some rural commission, in which I might 
 show attention and assiduity. I cannot tell you how 
 proud I was and with what delight I applied myself. 
 This he did especially in the time of the vintage. He was 
 a good agriculturist and vine-grower, and directed his 
 vintage with diligence. He introduced new methods, 
 and took Emilio and me with him as his adjutants. 
 
 My father loved our peasants, and was greatly be- 
 loved by them in return. He willingly conversed about, 
 and occupied himself with, their affairs. His office was 
 always frequented by those who came to ask his aid and 
 advice. Especially attached to him was the whole popu- 
 lation of Grosio, with which our family had had, for 
 several centuries, traditional ties of interest and affection. 
 
 These sentiments were kindled afresh by the mem- 
 ories of my ancestor Don Nicola, who never, in the 
 
 • 19 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 midst of the most important occupations of his laborious 
 life, forgot his Grosini, and was, on all occasions, their 
 defender and their counselor, in both their private and 
 public affairs. 
 
 There were at this time in Tirano several good and 
 distinguished families, now partly scattered. We had 
 relatives among these, as my father had three sisters 
 married In Valtellina, in the Cattani, Quadrio, and Me- 
 rizzi families. Among our relatives I desire to record 
 especially two who have left in my mind dear and in- 
 delible memories. These were a kinsman of my father, 
 Don Antonio Merizzi, and a cousin-german, Don Luigi 
 Quadrio, the parish priest of the little district of 
 Bianzone. 
 
 Don Luigi Quadrio was severe in conduct and digni- 
 fied in person. He had talent, culture, and large and 
 liberal ideas, as had many of the Lombard clergy at this 
 time. Modest, and an enemy to all worldly renown, he 
 did not desire cures that would have conducted him to 
 the episcopate. He passed the greater part of his life in 
 the districts of Bianzone and of Mazzo in Valtellina, 
 beloved by the people, revered by the clergy, and 
 devoted to his studies and to an intelligent and watchful 
 care of his little parish. He spent all that he had in good 
 works. Between him and my father there was great 
 unity of sentiment and of thought, and a feeling of affec- 
 tion that was almost fraternal ; which last the good priest 
 continued to show us as long as he lived. 
 
 After 1840, a first and light breeze of national awak- 
 ening commenced to blow in Italy with the scientific 
 congresses, which had been revived in certain cities. 
 
 20 
 
My Father* s Monograph 
 
 There was a design to give the congress that was to be 
 held in Milan in 1844 an especial importance; therefore, 
 the preparations were commenced the year before. The 
 most notable and cultured persons in Milan took part 
 therein. Essays on civic and patriotic matters were pre- 
 pared. An awakening of patriotic understanding and of 
 vague aspiration began to take place. 
 
 Cattaneo, who was preparing his book on the "Condi- 
 zioni morali e civili della Lombardia," turned to several 
 students for statistical and ethical notes regarding the 
 different Lombard provinces. He requested my father 
 to prepare those on the province of Sondrio. 
 
 My father took up the work, and made a complete 
 monograph on the Valtellina, which because of its 
 importance was not incorporated in Cattaneo's book, 
 but was published in its entirety in the "Annali di 
 Statistica." Presented to the congress, it was greatly 
 praised. It placed in view my father, who ordinarily 
 lived retired, and gave him much notoriety. It was at 
 this time that he entered into intimate relationship with 
 that group of students (among whom was Cesare Cor'^ 
 renti), which a little while after became one of the most 
 important nuclei of action and of political strife. 
 
 My father was an assiduous frequenter of the "So- 
 cieta d' Incoraggiamento delle Scienze, Lettere ed Arti," 
 which had a fine library, and was a place of reunion of 
 students, but which, because of the times, was re- 
 stricted to being little more than a reading-room. At 
 the congress there was an endeavor to raise it up, and to 
 make it a center of activity and of fecund study. A 
 commission was nominated, charged with extending its 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 programme. My father was made the president, and 
 read a report on the subject. I was then only a big boy, 
 and cannot say what were the intentions of my father 
 and of the commission. I remember only that he warmly 
 debated the question with Correnti and Revere and with 
 Conte Carlo Porro, in a place where Porro was engaged 
 in laying the foundation of his growing museum of 
 natural history. There were several present whom I did 
 not know. My father, who had us always with him, 
 took Emilio and me. Many times I heard mention made 
 of the Societa Palatina, as an honor to Milan in the 
 past and as an augury of hope for the future. 
 
 Conte Porro was to die suddenly after the Five 
 Days, as we shall see, killed by a soldier while he was 
 being taken away as a prisoner and hostage. My father 
 was to die very soon. 
 
 My father was among the frequenters of the house of 
 Donna Anna Tinelli, a lady known for her artistic talent 
 and her beautiful miniatures. In her salon a little polit- 
 ical world, compatible with the times, congregated. It 
 was the remnant of the people who had been implicated 
 in the movement of 183 1. Her husband had been prose- 
 cuted, condemned in contumacy, and had fled to Amer- 
 ica. Donna Anna herself was examined by Zaiotti, and 
 was freed only by her firmness and promptness of spirit. 
 During the process Paride Zaiotti would interrupt him- 
 self, and then take up the thread of his examination in 
 order to confuse the accused. Once having received 
 a letter, he interrupted himself and laughed, saying: 
 "Behold one who writes me: Al Signor Adone Zaiotti; 
 does it appear to you that I am an Adonis?" Donna 
 
 22 
 
Signora Anna 'TinelH 
 
 Anna promptly replied: "You are not an Adonis, neither 
 are you a Paris!" Zaiotti resumed his brusque manner. 
 
 Donna Anna was also visited often by Arese, Bel- 
 credi, Marchese Gaspare Rosales, my parents and those 
 of my wife, and by many other persons belonging to the 
 Liberal, and anti-Austrian, party. 
 
 On the first day of September, 1846, the schools, 
 which continued through the month of August, having 
 finished, we left for Tirano. 
 
 The vacation of that year began under auspices 
 which appeared to be happier than usual. My father had 
 commenced a paper on religious and secular beneficence, 
 and had corrected the proofs of a second and larger edi- 
 tion of his book on the Valtellina. These occupations, 
 his new friendships, and the opening of a new field of 
 intellectual activity were causes of a keen satisfaction 
 to him. They distracted him from a melancholy pre- 
 occupation that had disturbed him for some time, in 
 consequence of an unfortunate accident. 
 
 In returning from the Valtellina one night, the dili- 
 gence in which he was was thrown from a high bank, 
 between Sondrio and Morbegno. A man named Scala, 
 of Grosotto, who was in the diligence, was killed. My 
 father, in consequence of the shock, had little by little 
 lost the use of one eye, until it had become entirely 
 obscured. This had made him pensive, and was the 
 cause of dubious and gbomy presentiments. 
 
 The unforeseen change of his customary habits had 
 come opportunely to turn him aside from his annoying 
 thoughts. It restored to him the calmness of his spirit 
 and the activity of his mind. 
 
 23 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 My mother, who adored him, rejoiced, and was in a 
 higher vein of vivacity than usual. 
 
 I, too, had a secret joy that made me appear the hap- 
 piest of all. My father, for I do not know what cause of 
 dislike to Director Boselli, had determined to have us 
 pursue our studies at home when the schools should 
 reopen. In the mean while we made a programme of 
 excursions and of drives, which we began with a journey 
 to Poschiavo. We went to Poschiavo on horseback or in 
 wagons by a road that was scarcely fit for carriages. 
 The company could not have been gayer. My mother I 
 remember was on that day (it was for the last time of her 
 life) in the most joyful of spirits. 
 
 In returning, toward evening, we were overtaken by 
 a tempest and a heavy shower. For a considerable dis- 
 tance we did not know where we could find shelter from 
 an icy wind that blew from the gorges of the Bernina. 
 
 In the night my father was miserable. He soon devel- 
 oped a violent illness, and after three days expired, on 
 the 24th of September, 1846. 
 
 Conscious unto the end, he desired to see every one 
 who called, recommending his sons to many. To me he 
 said: "Be of assistance in everything to your mother, 
 and follow her counsels always ... so will you find con- 
 tentment all your life." 
 
 The memories of my father and the counsels of my 
 mother became the good fortune of my existence. 
 
 My mother fell to the floor in a swoon, and was deliri- 
 ous for several days. My brothers and I were taken 
 that evening to the house of our uncle, Merizzi. The day 
 after, our cousin, Don Luigi Quadrio, came to take us to 
 
 24 
 
My Father'' s Death 
 
 his house in his parish of Bianzone; whither my mother 
 was afterwards conducted. 
 
 As soon as the death of my father was known at 
 Grosio, the whole population descended to Tirano (dis- 
 tant twelve kilometers), in order to accompany the re- 
 mains to the place where so many of our family repose. 
 
 My father had scarcely counted forty-eight years. He 
 had the misfortune to pass the greater part of his life in 
 that stagnant pool in which Italy lay between 1815 and 
 1848. His mind, his studies, and the reputation he had 
 acquired would certainly have given him an important 
 part in the great events which followed his death; but 
 an untoward mishap took him prematurely from the 
 hopes of the country and from the affection of all who 
 knew him. Of these sentiments Cesare Correnti became 
 the interpreter in a Commemorazione which he read at a 
 meeting of the Societa d' Incoraggiamento. It was one 
 of his most inspired and graceful writings. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 (1847) 
 
 Return to Milan. — My brothers and I continue our studies at home. — Friend- 
 ship of Cesare Correnti. — First patriotic authors. — The rendezvous in 
 Correnti's house. — The Funeral of Federico Confalonieri. — A famine in 
 Lombard/, and a collection in Milan with political intent. — The death of 
 Archbishop Gaisruck, and the election of Romilli. — Amnesty granted by 
 Pius IX, and the first demonstrations. — Demonstration in honor of the new 
 Archbishop. — First uprisings and the first bloodshed. — The autumn of 
 1847 in Lombardy. — Hymns to Pius IX. — Friends at Tirano; Giacomo 
 Merizzi. — Reunions in Casa Correnti. — The "Nipote del Vesta Verde." — 
 Demonstrations and public agitation. — The demonstration of non-smoking. 
 — The Austrian Government augments its garrisons. — Metternich sends 
 Ficquelmont, then Hiibner, to Milan on political missions. — The remon- 
 strance of Counsellor Nazari, of Bergamo, 
 
 THE death of my father changed entirely the aspect 
 of our house. We had left for the country, all joy- 
 ous and happy, and now we returned to the city with 
 hearts and minds full of grief and anguish. My mother, 
 crushed by an inappeasable sorrow, which brought upon 
 her, from time to time, acute spasmodic nervous crises, 
 shut herself up within her house, and withdrew from all 
 her acquaintances. She saw no one but her brothers and 
 sisters, an occasional relative, or some old friend. Thus 
 she continued as long as she lived. Her life was broken, 
 and her joyous nature disappeared. Seldom did anyone 
 see upon her lips the lovely smile of the times that had 
 passed away. The world was finished for her. She had 
 no other care but her sons; and, upheld by an ardent 
 faith, yet one that was indulgent and kind, she had no 
 other hope than that of seeing her husband again in a 
 life without end. 
 
 26 
 
Cesar e Correnti 
 
 We took up our studies with professors who gave us 
 lessons in the house; and Emilio, so as not to detach 
 himself from the family in these gloomy days, began his 
 university course of the study of law at home. Our 
 father, when he died, had made known to Cesare Cor- 
 renti that he confided to him the direction of the literary 
 studies of his sons. So we began to go to the house of 
 Correnti; and soon we became intimate with him. 
 
 This direction of studies was not very efficacious. 
 Our minds were distracted and preoccupied, and our 
 spirits had begun to be stirred by the breath of those 
 vague aspirations and enthusiasms which were the pre- 
 lude to the Quarantotto.* But if in Correnti I did not 
 find a director of my studies, I received in his house my 
 first patriotic instruction. 
 
 *- Many students and young men came to Casa Cor- 
 renti in whom the sentiment of patriotism, learned from 
 the example of the martyrs of 1821 and 183 1 and from 
 the writings of the universities, had begun to manifest a 
 new activity. 
 
 I heard them talk of d'Azeglio, Guerrazzi, Giusti, 
 Gioberti, Pellico, Berchet, Balbo, and Mazzini; and I 
 hastened to procure the books of these authors. I read 
 and re-read them, warming myself more and more at this 
 new fire of patriotic idealism. 
 
 The author whom I preferred above all was Berchet. 
 I knew his poetry by heart. I recited and declaimed it 
 in my room, I repeated it to my companions; and we 
 became really intoxicated by it. The young men were 
 set on fire by these verses. Into their souls descended 
 
 * Forty-eight. 
 27 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 a greater love for Italy and hatred of foreign rule. In 
 repeating them we obtained a foretaste of the pleasure 
 of self-sacrifice for our country. This sentiment re- 
 mained until the day when we were actually called upon 
 to lay down our lives. Few poets have had the glory of 
 having so profoundly moved the hearts of their readers 
 and of having had so great a patriotic influence upon 
 their lives. 
 
 Nor was the influence of the writings of Giuseppe 
 Mazzini small. Though they were less universally ac- 
 cepted, they were more often discussed. The Mazzinian 
 ideas were received with enthusiasm chiefly by the stu- 
 dents in the universities. They had many adherents 
 in the house of Correnti. His assiduous frequenters 
 passed stealthily and mysteriously, from time to time, 
 one to another, some leaves of manuscript or of printed 
 matter, which, if I am not mistaken, were writings of 
 Mazzini. I did not yet know his chief works, but I had 
 for him a vague admiration which was the reflex of what 
 was manifested in the broken and mysterious words of 
 those who were older than I. 
 
 There had been published, at this time or a little 
 before, an edition of the writings of Mazzini in three 
 volumes: "Scritti Letterari di un Italiano vivente." 
 This edition, from what I learned from Correnti and his 
 friends, was published in secret. 
 
 It was said, too, that there was a preface of Correnti to 
 some verses of Giusti, which was passed about for some 
 time in manuscript. 
 
 All sorts and conditions of men were among the inti- 
 mate friends of Correnti. There were priests, as Lega, 
 
 28 
 
Cesare Correnti 
 
 Mongeri, and Vignati; young patricians, as Porro, Ce- 
 sare Giulini, Guerrieri, Giovanni and Carlo d'Adda, 
 and Giulio Carcano; then there were artists, engineers, 
 physicians, and other professional people; and lastly 
 there were some boon companions of the university, men 
 full of good will, who came to take orders and to load 
 themselves with patriotic contraband books, journals, 
 and even guns. 
 
 It was this variety of acquaintance that made it pos- 
 sible for Correnti to exercise, in those troublous times, a 
 large and strong influence. His culture, his quickness of 
 spirit, and the imagination that enabled him to find for 
 every one the most pleasing language, gave him great 
 prestige and authority. And he used it to animate all 
 with a love for Italy, and to induce them to be ready for 
 any act by which their country might be liberated from 
 foreign rule. His many friendships made possible the 
 influence he had in maintaining, in the diversity of 
 opinion, a concord for a great common aim. Yet in him- 
 ■ self the currents of ideas were diverse, and often con- 
 tradictory; for his was one of those large, critical minds 
 that, in every case, sees all sides and knows not how to 
 apply itself firmly to one. In his daily life he was sub- 
 ject to unforeseen and rapid changes, as he passed from 
 activity to inertia and from enthusiasm to distrust. 
 
 The most glorious days of his life were those that 
 preceded the Quarantotto. At that time he had a clear 
 intuition of the first and immediate end to which the 
 aspiration and work of all should be directed. This was 
 a revolution for independence, with Piedmont and the 
 House of Savoy. 
 
 29 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 With this programme he conspired, uniting his young 
 Mazzinian and monarchical friends of the patriciate. 
 In Milan there were several other groups of patriots, but 
 most of them, either directly or indirectly, made him 
 their head. From him went the counsels, instructions, 
 and commands unto the great day of the revolution. 
 The revolution was made by all the citizens ; but, if it had 
 no general head, one can say that, in its preparation, 
 there was a chief-of-staff , and that that chief was Cesare 
 Correnti. 
 
 The election of Pius IX, which took place in the sum- 
 mer of the preceding year, and the first acts of the new 
 pontificate enkindled a new sentiment in the most tran- 
 quil and ignorant persons, as well as in the most, and the 
 least, religious. This was a sentiment of mystic patriot- 
 ism and of vague ideality: it fascinated all. 
 
 My brother Emilio and I went to the house of Cor- 
 renti in the evening several times a week. There was 
 a continual going and coming of people. Conversation 
 was now animated, and, again, it was carried on in a low 
 tone of voice. It had all the appearance of a conspiracy. 
 I was young, and did not understand everything, but I 
 kept quiet and absorbed every word with religious atten- 
 tion. My mind and spirit became furnished with the 
 ideas and sentiments which formed within me the patri- 
 otic ideality that has animated me all my life. 
 
 The stagnant waters of Milanese life arose and be- 
 came more and more agitated every day. The year 
 1846 finished with a demonstration on the occasion of 
 the funeral of Conte Federico Confalonieri. He died in 
 December at Hospenthal, while he was returning to 
 
 30 
 
The Funeral of Confalonieri 
 
 Italy. The police desired the funeral to be modest, and 
 that on the door of the church there should be posted 
 only the words: "A Federico Confalonieri requiem." 
 But an extraordinary crowd of citizens filled the church 
 and the Piazza di S. Fedele at the time of the service. 
 In this crowd the most select people of the city were 
 to be found. They had come to render homage to the 
 illustrious martyr. Against Confalonieri tales were told, 
 alleging that he was partly responsible for the death of 
 Prina. Libels, too, were scattered about, which after- 
 wards it was learned were the work of the Austrian 
 police. To give rise to suspicion and to diminish the 
 prestige of the men who had upheld the ideals of Italian 
 patriotism was a business against which public senti- 
 ment had begun vigorously to protest. From hence- 
 forth these police tales were treated with contempt. 
 
 In the beginning of this year there had been some 
 tumults of the peasants in the districts that had been 
 afflicted by the inundations and the consequent famine. 
 The proprietors, therefore, inaugurated many good 
 works with the double aim of fraternity and of patriot- 
 ism. In Milan, also, bread had become dear as work 
 had diminished. In the operative class there was much 
 poverty and want. So there was formed a conmiittee of 
 ladies of the patriciate and of the upper middle class, 
 which planned to make a collection and to carry succor 
 to the families of the people. This committee assembled 
 in the house of Conte Vitaliano Borromeo, and was pre- 
 sided over by the Contessa Maria Borromeo d' Adda. 
 
 The ladies went on a mission to all the houses where 
 there were poor families and visited their habitations. 
 
 31 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 Thus a work of fraternity was done, and the ties of affec- 
 tion between the various social classes were drawn 
 tighter. The incidents of their visits were the subject- 
 nxatter of all conversation in these days. 
 
 The combined work of patriotism and of charity made 
 a great noise. Every one understood its intention, 
 which was to create a current of living sympathy be- 
 tween the rich and the poor, and thus to prepare for the 
 great events which we began vaguely to foresee. 
 
 In the spring Richard Cobden came to Milan to give 
 some addresses upon free trade. The distinguished part 
 of the citizens received him warmly with dinners and 
 speeches. We had begun to awaken from our long sleep. 
 At the receipt of the news of the amnesty granted by 
 Pope Pius IX, the first demonstration was made in the 
 Theater Canobbiana. It was imposing and clamorous. 
 We sang repeatedly the hymns to the Pontiff that had 
 been sung in Rome. 
 
 This was part of the demonstration that was made 
 from one end of Italy to the other. It speedily provoked 
 the first grave measure taken by Austria, the occupation 
 of Ferrara, which threatened the Pope. In the Lom- 
 bardo-Venetian provinces the Government began to 
 take a suspicious and angry attitude. 
 
 But no one, as yet, stepped outside the bounds of 
 legality; and the Austrians sent us always some one who 
 made believe either not to see things or to take them 
 quietly. Among the acts obnoxious to them was the 
 mission of Conte Gabrio Casati, the Podesta, to Turin. 
 He was' charged by the Common Council to take an 
 
 32 
 
Death of Archbishop Gats ruck 
 
 artistic cup to the wife of Vittorio Emanuele, daughter 
 of the Archduke Raineri, Viceroy of Lombardo-Venetia. 
 This cup had been ordered for her wedding. Carlo 
 Alberto and Vittorio Emanuele received Casati with 
 much distinction. This gave great offense to Conte 
 Buol, the Austrian minister at Turin. A little while 
 after Conte Casati placed the older of his sons in the 
 Turin Military Academy. 
 
 But the event that excited most the Austrian Govern- 
 ment, and led to the first skirmish, was the nomination 
 of the new archbishop. In November, 1846, Archbishop 
 Gaisruck had died. He was bom at Klagenfurt in 1769, 
 and had occupied the see of Milan for twenty-eight 
 years. Gaisruck was frank and gay in manner, and sim- 
 ple and stainless in his life. His intellect was not of a 
 high order, but he had a strong character. His spirit was 
 large and liberal enough, and he was somewhat Giusep- 
 pino, that is, he did not love the friars and the monks; so 
 that as long as he lived there were none of them in his 
 diocese. He did not wish to have a clergy not dependent 
 upon himself but upon the generals at Rome. " Cardinal 
 and Archbishop of Milan, I command in my own dio- 
 cese," he was wont to say. 
 
 He knew men and knew very well how to choose 
 them. In his seminaries there were several priests who 
 emerged from the mass by their talent and learning. To 
 him is greatly due the fact that there was formed in 
 Lombardy a cultivated clergy who knew how, later on, 
 to participate in the life of the people and to share in the 
 national aspirations. In the first quarter of the century 
 the diocese of Milan had been weighed down by miser- 
 
 33 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 able priests, the remnants of convents laicized and of 
 friars unfrocked. These were the priests and friars who 
 were the butts of the wit of Porta ; so that it was said that 
 the Milanese clergy had been purged by Carlo Porta and 
 Archbishop Gaisruck. The Archbishop was the only 
 high functionary, in those days, who knew how to insist 
 upon a matter, or to defer it to the central power at 
 Vienna. There was a rumor that he was a son of the 
 Emperor Leopold, and that his authority arose from 
 this fact. 
 
 He died while he was going to the Conclave of 1846, 
 whither he was carrying the veto of Austria against the 
 election of Cardinal Mastai Ferretti (afterwards Pius 
 IX) to the Papacy. 
 
 After the death of Gaisruck, the times, for various 
 reasons, were less good, and the clergy in the diocese of 
 Milan declined little by little in culture and character, 
 with some notable exceptions be it understood. Gais- 
 ruck was an excellent archbishop, but his character and 
 his acts were not appreciated until later on. When he 
 died, public sentiment had begun to turn toward na- 
 tional aspirations. In him the Austrian prelate only was 
 seen, and he was not mourned. All Milan thought of 
 nothing else but of having an Italian archbishop. 
 
 Several months, however, passed before this desire was 
 realized, although the municipality and many leading 
 citizens spared no efforts to secure it. The Austrian 
 Government wanted to send one of its prelates, but met 
 with such opposition it could make no headway. Finally 
 Vienna and Rome came together in the nomination of 
 the Bishop of Cremona, Bartolomeo Romilli, of Ber- 
 
 34 
 
An Italian Archbishop 
 
 gamo. Rome was pleased to have an archbishop who 
 would not follow the ideas of Gaisruck, and Vienna 
 resigned itself to tiie nomination of an Italian whom it 
 knew to be meek and weak. 
 
 But the public did not so reason; because the arch- 
 bishop-elect was an Italian it went into ecstasies. 
 
 After the nomination there began between the Gov- 
 ernment and the municipality (behind which stood the 
 , citizens) minute negotiations regarding the honors that 
 should be rendered to the new archbishop. The munic- 
 ipality desired to conceal, under the honors, a patriotic 
 meaning, and feigned that there was none. The Govern- 
 ment feigned not to perceive this intention, and desired 
 that only minor honors should be rendered, pretending 
 that these were more in accord with the customary 
 ceremonials. 
 
 With such hidden meanings and intentions it was easy 
 to foresee that the affair would finish badly, as, indeed, 
 it did. 
 
 The Archbishop entered Milan the 4th of September, 
 crossing the city from S. Eustorgio to the cathedral with 
 a never-ending pompous procession. Along the way 
 three arches were erected, dedicated to S. Ambrogio, 
 S. Carlo, and S. Galdino (the bishop of the Lombard 
 League) respectively. On them were inscriptions, writ- 
 ten by Achille Mauri, which had given cause for long 
 negotiations with the censor's office. San Galdino, above 
 all, met with strong opposition; but, in the end, the 
 Governor, Conte Spaur, and the Director of Police, 
 Baron Torresani, had to swallow even this saint. 
 
 In the evening the whole city was illuminated, and 
 
 35 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 there was a great demonstration to the Archbishop in 
 front of his palace in the Piazza Fontana. The intention 
 of the demonstration was particularly evident at one 
 part of the piazza where a group of young men, among 
 whom was my brother Emilio, had a rendezvous. They 
 cried repeatedly, "Viva Pio Nono," and again "Viva 
 r Italia"; but outside of some collisions with the police, 
 nothing serious happened. 
 
 The population hoped that the illvimination would 
 be repeated. The Government did not wish it; the 
 municipality insisted upon it. In the end the illu- 
 mination was conceded, but with a bad grace that mani- 
 fested a desire to have done with the matter. The 
 demonstration was more noisy the second evening. Sud- 
 denly a column of young men broke into the cathedral 
 square and into the Piazza Fontana, singing the hymns 
 to Pius IX; whereupon Bolza, a ferocious and hated 
 commissary, threw himself upon the crowd at the head 
 of his guards with drawn swords. A crush resulted, in 
 which a citizen, a man named Abate, lost his life. Nine 
 or ten people were wounded. 
 
 - The die was cast; in this first blood-shedding com- 
 menced the open struggle between the Milanese and the 
 Austrian Goverrunent. The contest was long and ter- 
 rible, and much blood was shed before the victory was 
 won. 
 
 We were not in town the second evening of the demon- 
 stration. After the school examination, which termin- 
 ated at the end of August, we went immediately to the 
 country. A little while after we had a visit from Cesare 
 Correnti and Romolo Griffini, a young physician and a 
 
 36 
 
Hymns to Pius IX 
 
 friend of ours. They told us all that had happened, and 
 what they had done, and what they wanted to do to 
 enlarge the sphere of patriotic agitation. 
 
 We made several trips with them, among which was 
 one to the Stelvio. We stopped in all the districts, big 
 and little, that we traversed; and entered into the cot- 
 tages and expounded the Italian question to the pea- 
 sants. We also distributed some medals stamped with 
 the effigy of Pius IX and with the motto "Viva 1' Italia." 
 Then, if no one was looking, we wrote with a piece of 
 coal on the walls: "Viva 1' Italia, viva Pio Nono," very- 
 high up, where the words could not be effaced. Indeed 
 they were not, since I can yet see with pleasure, after so 
 many years, the traces of my calligraphy. 
 
 The autumn of 1847 was a happy and festive one in all 
 Lombardy. In every region there was a continual sing- 
 ing of the hymns to Pius IX; everjnvhere arches to the 
 Pope were raised; and on every wall there were written 
 the words, "Viva Pio IX." There was in us all a great 
 uplifting, a feeling of faith, a stirring of hope, a vague 
 yet sure sentiment of great events to come. 
 
 My brothers and I sang lustily the hymns to Pius IX. 
 My brother Emilio and our companions of Tirano, stu- 
 dents older than I, had learned them in the schools, and 
 had diffused them among their friends throughout the 
 country. 
 
 We sang the hymns, especially in the evening, out of 
 the hearing of the gendarmes. Again I can hear those 
 discordant patriotic songs; again I can hear those enthu- 
 siastic friends, vociferating at the top of their voices, as 
 they walked, arm in arm, through the streets. 
 
 37 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Among those whom I recall best are the brothers 
 Ulisse and Giovanni Salis, a Zanetti and a Ricetti (the 
 latter a student of medicine whom we shall see later on), 
 the brothers Delia Croce (of whom one, Benedetto, 
 became afterwards a colonel of artillery), Carlo Vis- 
 conti Venosta, a relative of ours, and a young man who 
 had lately returned to his native land, who was noted for 
 his stiff way of walking, his horsehair cravat, and his 
 Italian-Austrian accent. 
 
 This youth, of a Tiranese family, was called Giacomo 
 Merizzi. He came from the Teresiano college of Vienna, 
 where he had passed many years. The Austrian Gov- 
 ernment gratuitously gave places in this college to young 
 men of noble Italian families. Here they learned the 
 language of the empire, the Austrian statutes, and the 
 administrative law. Persuaded that they had made good 
 and faithful functionaries, the Government gave them, 
 when scarcely graduated, excellent offices. 
 
 So it had happened to Merizzi, who had received, 
 only the year before, employment in Milan. He had 
 quite the air of an Austrian, but he had come out of the 
 college with his head full of the new social philosophy, 
 and was a revolutionary democrat. It was only in ex- 
 pectation of better things that he shouted with us the 
 hymns to Pius IX. 
 
 In 1848, Merizzi left his employment and enlisted in 
 the volunteers. He afterwards returned to Tirano and 
 took up the practice of law. He lived always solitary and 
 retired, and loved to work at night and to sleep during 
 the day. During the ten years of resistance and con- 
 spiracies he did not accept the current ideals; perhaps 
 
 38 
 
GiacoMo Merizzi 
 
 Because his aim was directed elsewhere. He had some 
 admiration for Mazzini and Garibaldi, but none for 
 Gavour. He hated the other men of the Risorgimento, 
 and flew into a passion if any one spoke to him of Sella. 
 Yet his spirit was good, and he talked meekly. In after 
 years he issued occasionally from his retreat, and at- 
 tended public meetings, where he made speeches of 
 incredible violence. 
 
 The radicals and malcontents made him, naturally, 
 their candidate to the House of Deputies, and opposed 
 him to my brother, Emilio, until the Left came to power 
 with Nicotera in 1876. 
 
 He was elected a couple of times and sat on the 
 extreme left. He made one or two violent speeches of 
 fepublican flavor, but he did not find much favor even 
 from his neighbors. The Left had just come into power, 
 and wished to remain in it. It did not care for com- 
 promising friends. He retired soon after from public life, 
 and returned to his solitude. 
 
 He died at fifty years of age. Although his house and 
 ours were adjacent at Tirano, we did not see one another 
 except at intervals of several years. Then our conversa- 
 tion was, as it ought to have been, limited. We recalled 
 occasionally the days in which we had sung together the 
 hymns to Pius IX. 
 
 In the autumn we returned to Milan to take up our 
 studies again. Our visits to Correnti became more fre- 
 quent and interesting. We went in the evening because, 
 in the daytime, he was occupied in the office of the Pub- 
 lic Debt. The conversations becaime ever warmer; the 
 
 39 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 principal subject being the demonstrations which we 
 wished to promote by word or deed. 
 
 Among the many projects proposed by Correnti was 
 that of pubHshing a popular almanac in which we should 
 speak of Italy, but in ways that were veiled, so that the 
 censor could not object. The project met with our ap- 
 proval, so we entered into it with good will. In a few 
 weeks the almanac was ready; even its name was found. 
 There was an old almanac which foretold the seasons and 
 the numbers in the lottery. It was called the "Vesta 
 Verde," * and was in the hands of all the people. The new 
 almanac was called the "Nipote del Vesta Verde"; its 
 name made it famous. Its writers were Correnti, Pietro 
 Maestri, Romolo Griffini, Giovanni Cantoni, my brother 
 Emilio, and some other students. Among the things 
 written by Emilio was the song of the chimney sweep, 
 which was set to music and had its day of popularity. 
 
 The "Nipote del Vesta Verde" was issued at the end 
 of the year, and met with extraordinary success, a suc- 
 cess which would not now be understood; for all read 
 between the lines. It seemed like a command, a cry of 
 war. As its popularity endured, Correnti continued its 
 publication for many years. In the terrible interval 
 from 1849 to 1859 the same writers (though some had 
 emigrated) wrote for it. The "Nipote del Vesta Verde" 
 never spoke except in a low tone of voice, which was 
 agreed upon because of the hardness of the times. Its 
 very name helped to keep alive the memory of the day 
 in which it was born. 
 
 The great preoccupation of us all this winter was the 
 
 * Green Robe. 
 40 
 
Public Agitation 
 
 demonstrations, which gradually increased until the day 
 of the revolution. Then no one thought any more of 
 them. 
 
 Everything served as a pretext. One day there was a 
 command: "All at the Porta Romana in homage of Pius 
 IX and his reforms "; and the corso of the Porta Romana 
 became (until a new command was issued) crowded with 
 the elegants of the city. On this corso there was, and 
 there is still, an old house, on the door of which were 
 engraved the words, in antique characters: "tempo e 
 pacentia" (Casa Noseda, 9). People gathered in crowds 
 before it. 
 
 When the news arrived of the revolutionary move- 
 ment in Calabria an order came: "Wear your hats alia 
 Calabrese." We all so wore them with the proper plume. 
 But this was prohibited by the police; so we sought an 
 imitation for it. We wore tall silk hats with the brims 
 turned up on the sides and with little buckles in front. 
 
 Afterwards came the time of velvet clothes of Lom- 
 bard fabrication in hatred of Austrian cloth. Demon- 
 stration followed demonstration continually, and the 
 police became furious. They were always looking for a 
 committee, since they were convinced that everything 
 emanated mysteriously from a secret committee. 
 
 The demonstration that surpassed the expectation of 
 its projectors, and which led to doleful consequences, 
 was that of not smoking. Let us abstain, we said, from 
 voluntary contributions to the revenue; so let no one 
 smoke from the beginning of the year. On the ist of 
 January no one smoked any more, neither on the street 
 nor in the house, though the sacrifice for many was 
 
 41 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 severe. Our enemies laughed at first, as the abstention 
 seemed puerile; but the demonstration showed so 
 strong a spirit of discipline that it made them pause, 
 and, as we shall see, made them lose their heads. 
 
 In the mean while more troops were sent from Vienna 
 intoLombardo-Venetia, and the garrisons were strength- 
 ened in the cities. But the Government did not under- 
 stand that the air had changed, and that the skies had 
 begun to be threatening. With its habitual pedantry it 
 did not know how to detach itself from the antiquated 
 methods that it had systematized into political dogmas. 
 
 The Podesta had courageously remonstrated, but he 
 was answered by sermons and bitter-sweet counsels. In 
 October, Metternich had sent the Conte di Ficquelmont, 
 a diplomat, with a mission to persuade the Lombards 
 that they were wrong to complain. He was to divert 
 them, and observe, and report. Afterwards Metternich 
 nominated an especial commission, called "Conferenza," 
 with the intention of maintaining a unity of action be- 
 tween the political and the military authorities. There 
 belonged to this Conferenza the Viceroy Raineri; the 
 Governor of Lombardy, Conte Spaur; the supreme com- 
 mander of the troops in Lombardo-Venetia, Marshal 
 Radetzky; and the diplomat, Conte di Ficquelmont. 
 Ficquelmont was especially charged with the diplomatic 
 relations between the various Italian states, nearly all of 
 which were in fermentation. 
 
 The Conte di Ficquelmont remained in Milan only a 
 short time. Recalled to Vienna at the end of February, 
 he was soon succeeded by Baron Hiibner, who became a 
 prisoner during the Cinque Giornate. It was this Baron 
 
 42 
 
Ficquelmont and Hubner 
 
 Hiibner, who was in Paris In 1859 as Austrian ambassa- 
 dor, to whom Napoleon III uttered the words which 
 sounded the first note of war. The Conte di Ficquelmont, 
 in the short time he was at Milan, had had a beautiful 
 apartment arranged in the Palazzo Marino (where is 
 now the Municipio), and had made preparation to give 
 receptions and dinners to try to solve the Italian ques- 
 tion. He had with him his wife and his daughter, the 
 Contessa Clary, a charming lady, who became, twenty 
 years after, the mother-in-law of the Conte di Robiiant, 
 the Italian ambassador at Vienna. In the intervening 
 years how many changes had taken place! 
 
 The Conte di Ficquelmont and his family showered 
 kindnesses upon all whom they succeeded in knowing; 
 but they were few. They called upon many ladies of the 
 Milanese aristocracy, but these last were never at home. 
 The receptions and the dinners brought togelJier but a 
 limited number of families of Austrians and of em- 
 ployees : so this part of the mission failed. In the mean 
 time the waters of revolt increased, and rose higher every 
 day. 
 
 In 181 5, when the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom was 
 created, an administrative body was instituted, called 
 the"Congregazione Centrale," in which all the prov- 
 inces were represented. It was a simulacrum of auton- 
 omy which never existed. This Congregation should 
 have been the interpreter of the needs of the country, 
 but it was never held to be of any account; so it was per- 
 mitted to slumber. But in these days the representative 
 of Bergamo, the Awocato G. B. Nazari, suddenly arose 
 and proposed that the Congregation should make itself 
 
 43 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 the interpreter of the national discontent, i.e., that it 
 should study its causes and propose remedies therefor. 
 
 Such a proposal, issuing from a body hitherto humble 
 and silent, put the Austrian camp in an uproar. The 
 provincial councils echoed, and followed it up. Certain 
 ones even put forward the idea of an autonomous ad- 
 ministration. Nazari was applauded and congratulated 
 upon every side; while the Viceroy, Raineri; the Gov- 
 ernor, Conte Spaur; the Envoy, Conte di Ficquelmont; 
 the Marshal Radetzky, and all the Austrians, great and 
 small, were furious. They cried out, and sought dili- 
 gently, but in vain, the knot of the skein which every 
 day became more entangled in their hands. They tried 
 to find the Comitato Secreto, which, they had deter- 
 mined, directed everything. So the year 1847 ended. 
 
 The Government, faithful to its traditions, did not 
 know how to take any measures which could have 
 changed the course of events. Its Lombardo-Venetian 
 subjects had begun to run down the declivity, at the 
 bottom of which destruction or salvation was to be 
 found. It was our good fortune that our enemies should 
 understand nothing, and should provide for nothing. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 (1848) 
 
 The demonstration of non-smoking. — The evening of the 1st of January. — In 
 the house of my grandmother. — Military provocations. — Wounded and 
 dead. — Casa Correnti. — Cafes of the Peppina and of the Cecchina. — 
 Carlo Cattaneo. — The aristocracy. — The revolution, at Paris, of February 
 24. — Reforms demanded at Milan. — The revolution begins. — In Via 
 Monforte and near the column of S. Babila. — The young men in arms. — 
 Luciano Manara. — Angelo Fava. — The position of Cattaneo. 
 
 THE Government, the military authorities, and the 
 police began to lose their reckoning and their pa- 
 tience. From Vienna strict orders came enjoining resist- 
 ance and force; and the army and the police longed to 
 put forth their hands. The first pretext they had arose 
 out of the demonstration of non-smoking. The first day 
 of January passed oif joyously. People went into the 
 street to see the effect of the demonstration, and they 
 congratulated one another, even when they were not ac- 
 quainted. No one had a cigar or a pipe in his mouth. 
 In all the houses and cafes, in the evening, no one 
 talked of anything else; and no one smoked. 
 
 The day after, which was Sunday, the affair com- 
 menced to look serious. The streets were paraded by 
 officers and soldiers who had often two cigars in their 
 mouths, so as to have a provoking air. A crowd, which 
 constantly increased, followed, and from time to time 
 hissed them. 
 
 An officer, Conte Neipperg, son of Maria Luigia, 
 Duchessa di Parma, who, in a provoking way, stood 
 smoking at the door of the Cafe Martini, in front of the 
 
 45 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Scala, was jostled and received a blow. The Podesta 
 Casati, who went about preaching prudence to the citi- 
 zens and moderation to the police, became involved in 
 a quarrel, and was himself arrested. These skirmishes 
 were the prelude to the contest which was to follow. 
 
 The evening of the 3d, I went with my mother to my 
 grandmother's. Neither my uncles nor any one else had 
 ever smoked in the house of my grandmother. She was 
 approaching ninety years of age, and she said that she 
 believed that two of her sons had smoked when they 
 were officers in the army of Napoleon; but spoke of their 
 acts as of juvenile escapades that were excusable in the 
 hardships of the Russian campaign. She approved, 
 therefore, of the demonstration of non-smoking, but did 
 not understand why the Government did not. Suddenly 
 my brother Emilio entered the room, bringing grave 
 news. He had come from the center of the city in order 
 to warn our mother; and to pacify her, too, on his own 
 account. 
 
 Bands of drunken soldiers, it seems, had gone through 
 the town, smoking and insulting whomever they met. 
 Occasionally, when a crowd had surrounded them, they 
 had drawn their swords and attacked the unarmed citi- 
 zens. Several had been wounded, and, near the Galleria 
 De Cristoforis, Manganini, a Counselor of Appeal, had 
 been killed. In every part of the city bloody assaults 
 had been committed by the soldiers. A rumor was afloat 
 that several citizens had been killed and a hundred 
 wounded. 
 
 The following day it was known that a group of citi- 
 zens, among whom were Carlo d' Adda, Cesare Giulini, 
 
 46 
 
Military Provocations 
 
 Enrico Besana, Manfredo Camperio, and the Podesta, 
 Casati, had gone to the Marino Palace to lay the state of 
 affairs before Ficquelmont, and to protest against the 
 killings which were taking place. The Governor laid the 
 blame upon the provocation of the citizens; thereupon 
 d'Adda replied: "Perhaps the cook of the Conte di 
 Ficquelmont, who is among the slain, was in agreement 
 with us to provoke the Austrians." 
 
 The citizens were disdainful but not terrified. Pro- 
 tests and demonstrations followed, one after the other, 
 with greater insistence, until the 22d of February, when 
 Conte Spaur proclaimed martial law. This measure in- 
 stituted a period of stern repression and of legalized mili- 
 tary violence. 
 
 Boy as I was, and ordinarily not going out of the 
 house alone, I had yet seen some of these demonstra- 
 tions, and I had also been in the midst of some tumults; 
 but I always returned home so as not to keep my mother 
 in suspense. My brother Emilio, however, took an 
 active part in affairs. He was pursuing, as I have said, 
 the study of the law. His professors were accustomed to 
 say to my mother and to our guardian that their stu- 
 dent was a young man of talent, but that he did not keep 
 to his task; that he thought more of revolutions than of 
 the principles of law. 
 
 The events of the day, the proposals for the day fol- 
 lowing, the value of the ideas which were unfolding, — I 
 heard them all discussed in Casa Correnti. I can yet 
 recall those interesting evenings in my first school of 
 politics and patriotism. 
 
 In the study of Correnti, on Via della Spiga, amid a 
 
 47 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 great disorder of books and papers, there was a continual 
 coming and going of people. Some came to bring news, 
 others to hear it; all to discuss, to plan, to receive the 
 word of command for the members of other circles that 
 had gathered together in other houses. In the midst of 
 all Cesare Correnti was, as I have said, the chief-of- 
 staff . His was the directing mind, as he had an abso- 
 lute predominance over his friends. This he used in 
 maintaining concord between the different currents of 
 opinion. He did it by inciting us all to an idealistic con- 
 ception of patriotism. In this work, which was revo- 
 lutionary in character, he had an adversary in Carlo 
 Cattaneo. 
 
 Cattaneo was one of the most conspicuous citizens of 
 Milan. His studies in economics (subjects which were 
 not then pursued by the Milanese) and his "Politec- 
 nico" gave him great authority. His house was a center 
 for students of philosophy, jurisprudence, and political 
 economy. His character was haughty and disdainful. 
 His pride of intellect led him to withdraw from the criti- 
 cism of the many. Besought often to take part in the 
 preparation for the demonstrations, he refused, and con- 
 demned them as puerile. His opinions led him an en- 
 tirely different way, in which, to speak truly, he was 
 almost alone. 
 
 He was a federal republican, and dreamed of an Italy 
 divided into various republics. To arrive at this end he 
 was inclined to come to an understanding with the 
 Italian, and even with the foreign, princes; provided 
 that, one by one, all civil liberties could be wrested from 
 them. He believed that we could arrange in this way 
 
 48 
 
Carlo Cattaneo 
 
 with Austria for Lombardo-Venetia, and dreamed of an 
 administrative and military autonomy, such as exists 
 now in Hungary. He abhorred, above all, the calling-in 
 of Carlo Alberto to lead the war for Italian independence, 
 the consequence of which he thought would be the 
 formation of a strong monarchical state in the north of 
 Italy. As a republican and democrat, he saw in such a 
 course only a conspiracy of nobles and conservatives. 
 
 When Alessandro Manzoni was interrogated upon 
 this difference of opinion between Correnti and Cat- 
 taneo, he replied: "Every end we desire is an Utopia, but 
 in the choice between the beautiful Utopia of unity and 
 that of federation, I stand for the beautiful Utopia." 
 ' Correnti and his friends had many times sought to 
 gain Cattaneo, but in vain. He looked haughtily at the 
 yovmg conspirators; and these naturally complained. 
 Many, too, criticized him sharply; whereupon Cattaneo 
 called them boys. 
 
 ^ Correnti cultivated an understanding with the aristo- 
 cratic party by means of Cesare Giulini, Carlo Porro, 
 Carlo d' Adda, and Anselmo Guerrieri. He saw, also, 
 the Podesta Casati, frequently, as he was the teacher of 
 one of his sons. He thus gained many recruits. The 
 aristocratic Milanese families which, after 1815, had 
 received the Austrians with some favor, whether because 
 of antipathy to the Napoleonic regime, or because of the 
 pleasant memories of the rule of Maria Teresa, had 
 become disillusioned and irritated. They banded them- 
 selves together resolutely in opposition to Austria, and 
 looked toward Piedmont. The revolution in Paris of 
 February, and the Liberal movement which manifested 
 
 49 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 itself everywhere in Europe, pushed Milan, also, into a 
 revolt. 
 
 The first to depart were the Envoy and the Viceroy 
 with their families. They went to Bolzano at the begin- 
 ning of March. Ficquelmont, who had been sent as 
 a diplomat, discovered that the Milanese were bored. 
 This was true, but it was not the whole truth. 
 
 The Viceroy, Raineri, uncle of the Emperor Ferdi- 
 nand, had two daughters (one of whom was the wife of 
 Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Piedmont) and five sons. 
 When we boys met the five Archdukes, who looked so 
 stiff and severe, with their high silk hats, all in the care 
 of a big tutor, we used to laugh; they seemed to us 
 so ugly. On the other hand, their mother, the Arch- 
 duchess Elizabeth, the sister of Carlo Alberto, was very 
 beautiful. There was much gossip regarding the ugly 
 Viceroy and the beautiful Vice-Queen, an echo of which 
 reached even to us boys. 
 
 The Governor, Conte Spaur, also went away, after 
 having declared martial law. "They pack off; they pack 
 off," the people said, rubbing their hands with joy. But 
 Radetzky, Hiibner, O'Donnel (the Vice-Governor), and 
 Torresani remained. The most important persons, there- 
 fore, refused to pack off. To Radetzky, who had given 
 the alarm at Vienna, reinforcements, to the number of 
 80,000 men, were sent. With him were Generals Wal- 
 moden, Schwarzenberg, Gallas, Wohlgemuth, Wocher, 
 and Schonhals. The garrison of Milan was increased to 
 18,000 men. 
 
 There was room for reflection, but no one reflected; no 
 one except Carlo Cattaneo, who refused to join the 
 
 SO 
 
Revolution in the Air 
 
 revolution.' He proposed, instead, to publish a journal, 
 the "Cisalpino," the programme of which was in its 
 name. 
 
 There was in us all a presentiment of coming events. 
 No one could say just what they were to be; but every 
 one talked of them. Suddenly there came a report that 
 a revolution had broken out at Vienna, the 13th of 
 March. Although no one knew anything about it, all be- 
 came agitated and exclaimed: "Andwhatarewe doing?" 
 A little while after a command came: "Make a great 
 demonstration, ask for reforms, and maintain your 
 demands, if need be, with arms." 
 
 Several evenings before the l8th, I perceived that 
 something unusual was going on at Correnti's. Many 
 occasional visitors were present, and all had a mysteri- 
 ous air and looked resolute. They exchanged a few words, 
 then went their respective ways without stopping to talk. 
 Each one was in a hurry to go to some other meeting. I 
 heard two cafes especially spoken of, the Peppina and 
 the Cecchina. I knew that the cafe of the Peppina 
 (situated on Via del Cappello) was a rendezvous of men 
 of democratic tendencies, and I heard the names of De 
 Luigi, Gerli, Maestri, Cantoni, Tagliaferri, Lazzati, 
 Gadda, Brioschi, and Finzi mentioned in connection 
 therewith. I knew also that the cafe of the Cecchina 
 was a sort of club (situated on the mezzanine floor of the 
 Cafe Martini), and that it was frequented by many of 
 the young swells of the aristocracy, among whom the 
 most noted were the brothers Giovanni and Carlo 
 d'Adda, Guido Borromeo, Cesare Giulini, Giovanni 
 
 SI 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Curioni, Carlo Tavema, Alessandro Porro, the brothers 
 Guy, the brothers Prinetti, the brothers Jacini, Simo- 
 netta, Camperio, Manara, Besana, and the Mainoni. 
 These two cafes were the general quarters for the de- 
 monstrations, especially since the Casino dei Nobili 
 was closed by order of the police. 
 
 I saw nothing of Correnti for some time after the 
 1 8th. Emilio, who went to his house the evening preced- 
 ing, returned with an air a little mysterious. The next 
 morning I met the young engineer, Angelo Tagliaferri, 
 a faithful friend of Correnti, and asked him, what was 
 going on? He replied: "We expect a great event on 
 Saturday." ^ 
 
 In the mean time we learned that dispatches had been 
 received from Vienna containing decrees abolishing the 
 censorship, promulgating a law on the liberty of the 
 press, and convoking the States and the Provincial 
 Congregations for the 3d of July next. We heard, also, 
 that the Podesta and the Delegate had urgently called 
 a meeting of the Common and the Provincial Councils. 
 
 We have seen the dispositions of many persons of the 
 directing class; but what did the people think.!* The 
 people, at this epoch, had no way of expressing them- 
 selves. As there were no journals and no meetings, their 
 opinions could not be made known even partially. 
 Nevertheless it was evident that the national sentiment 
 had been awakened. The blood-shedding in the demon- 
 strations of September for the Archbishop, and in those 
 of January 3d, and the more recent high-handed acts of 
 the Government, had caused the agitation that had 
 begun with the higher classes to extend to the lower. The 
 
 52 
 
The Revolutian begins 
 
 ground was good, as the harsh ways of the police and the 
 difference in language tended to cause a breach between 
 the people and their rulers. 
 
 After 1 815 the vaunted affability, of which there had 
 been a tradition from the time of Maria Teresa, disap- 
 peared. In contrast to Spanish haughtiness and French 
 arrogance the Austrians were less odious to our great- 
 grandfathers than to us. But they were now detested by 
 all, and were the objects of popular raillery. Our op- 
 pressors, from the simple soldier to Radetzky, from the 
 policeman to the Emperor, were called "Tedeschi." 
 "Abbasso i tedeschi" meant so many things. Yet with 
 the Germans themselves we did not have much to do. 
 The distinction between them and the Austrians came 
 later on. "Fuori i tedeschi" meant the Austrian Gov- 
 ernment; it was the cry for liberty and independence. 
 It was a certain cry, accepted by us all without discus- 
 sion. In it was a bond of fraternity and of unanimity. 
 Therefore, with "Fuori i tedeschi" we descended into 
 the street. 
 
 The morning of the i8th, between ten and eleven 
 o'clock, a crowd that had gathered in the Piazza del 
 Duomo started to go to the Broletto, the seat of the 
 municipality, to request the Podesta and the authorities 
 to proceed with them to the palace of the Governor, and 
 to demand reforms. The mass moved forward and filled 
 the streets, making a noise as of a strong sea. 
 
 With this procession began the revolution of the 
 Cinque Giomate, a revolution which had various epi- 
 sodes that have been narrated and described by many 
 witnesses, and by others who have written of the events. 
 
 S3 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 It is not a history of the Five Days that I will write. I 
 propose only to describe some episodes that were seen 
 by me, or which I heard spoken of at the time by people 
 whom I knew well. 
 
 At an early hour my brother, who had just returned 
 from Casa Correnti, told my mother and me that there 
 would probably be a great demonstration that day which 
 might end in a revolution. Our mother's eyes filled with 
 tears as she recommended prudence to Emilio. There 
 began that day in her heart a struggle between her love 
 for her country and her love for her sons, a long strug- 
 gle which was full of sorrowful contrasts and that caused 
 her great anxiety and many tears. Poor mother! 
 
 At Emilio's announcement I determined to prepare 
 for war, so I went stealthily out of the house, as, up to 
 this time, according to the custom of those days, I had 
 had only a limited liberty. I purchased two innocuous 
 pistols and a hat alia Calabrese. When I returned I took 
 from a box a tricolored cockade, that a little cousin had 
 given me a few days previously, and sewed it on the 
 front of my hat. 
 
 It was midday. A noise, at first dull and distant, but 
 which soon seemed Hke that of a crowd of people clap- 
 ping their hands and crying "Ewiva," called every one 
 to the balconies and windows, which were thrown open 
 wide. It was the demonstration that was arriving. The 
 crowd was preceded by the carriages of the Archbishop, 
 the Podesta, and the municipal officers on their way to 
 the palace of the Governor. 
 
 We lived on Via della Cerva, on the first floor of the 
 house, at the angle of that part of the Via Monforte 
 
 54 
 
In Via Monforte 
 
 which leads to the church of S. Babila. Pushed by a 
 desire to do something, I descended into the street and 
 went toward the crowd, which was marching in a ser- 
 ried column. Upon the landing of the stairs I met Dr. 
 Restelli, who lived on the second story of the house, and 
 a young physician by the name of Angelo Tizzoni. They 
 both had guns on their shoulders. These were the first 
 armed men I saw going to join the (so-called) pacific 
 demonstration. 
 
 I had scarcely joined the moving crowd when some 
 one, seeing a youth with so large a tricolored cockade 
 (no one wore it as yet in his hat), began to draw atten- 
 tion to me, saying "Bravo, ragazzo!* Ewiva la coc- 
 carda!" No sooner had he said this than several per- 
 sons took me in their arms and raised me up on high, 
 making a demonstration in my honor. But when I was 
 raised up, I wanted to get down, and begged them to let 
 me go; but it was in vain. I was carried in triumph for a 
 hundred steps or so. Only one single face did I recognize 
 among the many; it was that of Carlo Tenca, who 
 laughed and nodded and greeted me pleasantly. 
 
 All at once there came a report of a gun which de- 
 livered me. I was let fall and rolled upon the ground. 
 My triumph was short-lived. I had been raised up, and 
 let fall, precipitously, as so often happens in revolutions. 
 
 The crowd halted, and we heard a deafening noise of 
 cries and yells that came from the vicinity of the palace 
 of the Governor. Then the crowd began to run as if 
 seized by a panic. Then the voices became distinct, as 
 we heard oiJy the cry: "To arms! to arms!" 
 
 •Boy. 
 55 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 I drew behind the door of a house so as not to be over- 
 thrown. A Httle after, near the bridge of S. Damiano, I 
 saw an overturned cart of empty barrels. It was the be- 
 ginning of the first barricade. Then I heard the bells of 
 the neighboring church of S. Damiano ring discordantly, 
 then the sharp noise of some fusillades, then a cry: 
 "Ewiva i morti!" It was so high, so terrible, it seems 
 to me I can hear it again to-day, as I write, after so 
 many years have passed away. 
 
 In a short time the Via Monforte was deserted; so, 
 pressing close to the wall, I ran to the church of S. 
 Babila, to the column where the Corso Venezia, called 
 then Porta Orientale, begins. I stopped awhile to look 
 at the spectacle which made us all rejoice, that of the 
 tricolored flags which waved from every window. The 
 flags, improvised that morning, were made of coverlets, 
 shawls, rags, anything, provided only they were white, 
 red, and green. From the windows the ladies threw tri- 
 colored cockades and bouquets to the applauding people. 
 In the crowd I saw some men armed with fowling- 
 pieces, or carbines, that had been brought from Pied- 
 mont. Among them I recognized some friends and 
 acquaintances, Lodovico Trotti, the Mancini brothers, 
 Emilio Morosini, the Dandolo brothers, Luciano Ma- 
 nara. Carlo de Cristoforis, and my cousin, Minonzio, who 
 afterwards became chief-of-staff of General Cialdini. 
 
 These young men, in union with some others, under 
 the leadership of Manara, had secretly imported arms 
 from Piedmont, had drilled together, and had prepared 
 ammunition.^ About twenty of them, filled with mystic 
 and religious ideas, had gone to a church to receive 
 
 S6 
 
Angela Fava 
 
 absolution from the coadjutor Sacchi, as if " morituri." 
 The Barnabite father, Piantoni, and Professor Angelo- 
 Fava, the preceptor of the Dandolo brothers, had led 
 them. From the church they ran to the barricades, and 
 were ever in the front of the battle during the Five Days. 
 
 Fava was the instructor of several of these young men, 
 especially of the Dandolo brothers and Morosini. He be- 
 came during the regime of the Provisional Government 
 the head of Public Security, and, later on, the Secretary- 
 General of Public Instruction in Turin. When I de- 
 scended this morning into the street, I had a glimpse of 
 him from the Piazza di S. Babila, as he came quickly, in 
 the midst of a crowd, from the Via Bagutta. This crowd 
 had just come from the Via Monte Napoleone, and was 
 pursued by some troops that, a moment before, had 
 fired upon it. 
 
 Many years afterwards, when talking of the Five 
 Days with Fava, and telling him that I had seen him 
 coming from the Via Bagutta, after the firing in Via 
 Monte Napoleone, he said: "I had just met Carlo Cat- 
 taneo. I had been one of those who had tried to per- 
 suade him to unite with us, but he had refused. We had 
 discussed the matter a long time, but each of us was 
 fixed in his own opinion. He thought that the revolution 
 was an erroneous and impossible enterprise. "Now that 
 the revolution has broken out," I said, "there is nothing 
 further to discuss. Where are you going, Cattaneo? 
 Come with me." "Where am I going?" he replied; 
 "when boys have the upper hand, men go home." And 
 he turned his shoulder. 
 
 But upon this outburst reflection followed. Cattaneo 
 
 57 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 had too exalted a nature to maintain a disdainful atti- 
 tude. Three days afterwards I saw him at the Municipio 
 at the head of the Committee of Defense, with Enrico 
 Cernuschi, Giorgio Clerici, and Giulio Terzaghi, taking 
 a resolute part in the movement of revolt.® 
 
 In the mean time the revolution had begun. Barri- 
 cades were rising everywhere. From the courtyards car- 
 riages were brought and overturned; from the windows 
 tables, chairs, mattresses, and utensils of every kind 
 were thrown; and upon the top of all were piled the 
 stones of the pavements and sidewalks. Every street 
 was barred. 
 
 I had been away for several hours before I returned 
 home to reassure my mother. Emilio did not return 
 until late, and we were greatly worried about him. He 
 had been detained with Lodovico Trotti in one of the 
 streets that flanked the Piazza del Duomo by the Tyro- 
 lese cacciatori* who, stationed on the cathedral, fired 
 upon all who passed. Emilio told us of the events in 
 which he had taken part and of others of which he had 
 knowledge. He said that the Austrians had assaulted 
 and taken the Broletto, and had made prisoners of some 
 of our friends, whom they had taken as hostages to the 
 castle. He told us the names of some of them and also 
 of the first who had fallen. Among these was that of the 
 director of our former school, Boselli. He had been 
 killed by a thrust of a bayonet at the door of the 
 Broletto. 
 
 * Hunters, sharpshooters. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 (1848) 
 
 The second day of the revolution. — The streets. — Broggi. — Engineer Alfieri 
 takes command of our quarter, and stations me on guard. — Hospitality.' — 
 Monday morning. — Attack upon the house of the Duca Visconti. — The 
 son of our doorkeeper. — An officer wounded. — Don Cesare Ajroldi, and the 
 barricade of S. Babila. — The third day. — We go to the Garnier College. — 
 The papal consul. — Engineer Alfieri insane. — The barricade and the bal- 
 loons of the seminarians. — The Provisional Government. — An armistice 
 proposed. — The Austrian garrison. — The capture of the barracks of the 
 engineers. 
 
 AT sunrise the following morning Emilio went out 
 very early, and I followed him, but stopped at the 
 door of the house, which had been left ajar, as were the 
 doors of all the other houses. In the Via della Cerva no 
 one was to be seen. It rained, and there was silence ex- 
 cept for the ringing of the bells and the firing of an oc- 
 casional cannon. All the Venetian blinds were closed or 
 ajar. I ran softly to the end of the street, and saw that 
 the Via Monforte was, also, silent and deserted. The 
 barricade at the bridge had been destroyed by the Aus- 
 trians, and part of it had been thrown into the Naviglio 
 Canal, On the other side of the bridge, near the Palazzo 
 del Govemo, some soldiers could be seen going forth to 
 mount guard, and, returning, keeping close to the houses. 
 They kept their guns pointing at the windows, ready to 
 shoot as soon as they should see a half-opened blind. 
 
 All at once I saw, coming from the Piazza di S. Babila, 
 a young man with a carbine, hugging the walls. He 
 stopped at the Alley Rasini, and stationed himself 
 behind a comer. This man, who was to die a few hours 
 
 59 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 after, was Giuseppe Broggi. From his station he began 
 to fire upon the soldiers who were in the vicinity of the 
 bridge. Every one of his shots brought some one down. 
 Thus, alone, for at least half an hour, he drove the 
 soldiers to the bastions. They had been slowly advanc- 
 ing, and were preparing to occupy Via Monforte. 
 Broggi, when he saw that the street was empty, ad- 
 vanced to the bridge, taking the street of the Naviglio. 
 Here he posted himself again, and fired from the corner 
 of the corso. He had, at first, the same success until a 
 ball, bounding from the jamb of a door (which yet pre- 
 serves the trace), rent his breast. 
 
 For some hours all remained quiet in the Vie Cerva 
 and Monforte. Occasionally some one came to a win- 
 dow or went out of doors, and asked for or gave infor- 
 mation; but all, naturally, were not heroic. Some had 
 a frightened air; some uttered words of reproof or of 
 prudence; some boasted, and some, again, made plans 
 and proposals. All, even the wisest, were exalted, and 
 appeared to be changed from their usual manner and 
 deportment. 
 
 Among the persons the most excited, I observed an 
 engineer by the name of Alfieri, who lived in our house. 
 A man usually reserved and quiet, he became more 
 talkative. The day preceding he had been in Via Monte 
 Napoleone when the crowd, that was returning from the 
 Palazzo del Governo, had been fired upon by the sol- 
 diers. Impressed by this outrage, he had had a high 
 fever the whole night, his servants afterwards told me, 
 and had become insane. 
 
 Alfieri immediately called all the neighbors to a meet- 
 
 60 
 
Kngineer Alfierttakes Command 
 
 ing in a courtyard. He said that he took command of 
 the quarter, and that every one must obey him under 
 penalty for a refusal to do so. This seemed to all of us 
 natural enough, and he commenced to give his orders. 
 He commanded us to prepare wet linen cloths for extin- 
 guishing the bombs, and to put boilers on the fires to 
 heat oil and water to throw upon the soldiers. Then he 
 sent some of us to the cellars, and some to the roofs, to 
 look for enemies and spies. And in this, too, there 
 seemed to be no cause for laughing. To me, who was 
 provided with pistols, he gave an order to conceal my- 
 self behind a dormer window of a roof whither he con- 
 ducted me, so that I might surprise a dwarf, who, he 
 said, made signals to the enemy. Not one of us sus- 
 pected that Alfieri had lost his head, so eager and 
 exalted were we all. The more mysterious a command 
 was, the more did we approve it. We lived outside 
 of reality; reality was the sum total of our hopes; it was 
 an infinite love for Italy; it was assurance of victory. I 
 remained several hours on the roof, waiting for the 
 dwarf, looking at the soldiers defiling upon the bastions, 
 and watching the bell-ringers as they hammered the 
 bells in the towers of the city and of the churches. Dur- 
 ing the whole time cries and fusillades and cannonades 
 and hissings of bombs and rockets assaulted the air. 
 
 In looking down the street I saw, near the bridge over 
 the Naviglio of S. Damiano, stretched upon the pave- 
 ment, two bodies of persons who had probably been 
 slain the day before. Indeed, I heard afterwards that 
 the soldiers, advancing from the bastions to occupy the 
 Palazzo del Gbvemo (after O'Donnel and the authorities 
 
 6i 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 had left it), had pushed the crowd beyond the bridge, 
 and had entered several houses, in one of which they had 
 found these two unfortunates upon the roof and had 
 thrown them down. 
 
 . At this moment there resounded in my soul the pite- 
 ous cry, "Ewiva i morti,"* even as I had heard the 
 crowd salute the first victims of the revolt. The dead 
 were there. I could not cease to look at them, held by 
 the fascination which binds us to the things that make 
 us think. Who were the dead? 
 
 The evening came, but not the dwarf, and I became 
 hungry. This helped to persuade me that my mission 
 was, perhaps, ended. I sought the ladder by which I had 
 ascended, but, to my dismay, found that the exit had 
 been locked. My commander had, perhaps, closed the 
 door with a key in order to assure himself that I would 
 follow his commands. What was to be done? There was 
 nothing but to prowl on the roofs from chimney to 
 chimney, like a cat, in search of an open attic with a 
 ladder. 
 
 I found one, and descended, when, behold ! I was in 
 a house and in the midst of people I did not know. On 
 other days I should have been taken for a thief, but on 
 this I was welcomed as a friend. I told my adventure, 
 and we discussed the dwarf. They would have made a 
 fete for me and detained me to supper; but I excused 
 myself as I was in haste to join my mother. 
 
 It Is not easy to describe the hospitality that reigned 
 everywhere in these days. The dangers of the struggle 
 often made people seek refuge in the nearest house, in 
 
 * Hurrah for the dead! 
 62 
 
Hospitality 
 
 which they were sure to find a fraternal and joyous 
 welcome. It seemed as if Milan were one single family. 
 All were friends and brothers; all assisted all recipro- 
 cally; all embraced all; and all addressed all in the second 
 person singular. From the streets we ascended directly 
 into people's apartments, where we found a glass of 
 wine, or something to eat, and sometimes a bed to 
 repose upon. This often was necessary, as communica- 
 tion throughout the city became difficult and, in some of 
 the streets, the shops were shut. An occasional servant, 
 who had hazarded going in search of eatables, had been 
 killed or wounded. The wide-open hospitality, there- 
 fore, that placed in common the provisions of those who 
 possessed them was providential. The rich and the well- 
 to-do distributed supplies in their houses and in the 
 streets. They gave generously to the populace and to 
 the operatives who were without employment. They 
 helped the necessitous, courageously took part in every 
 action, and willingly obeyed those who commanded 
 them. No theft took place in these days, though all the 
 houses were left open and unguarded, Milan was a 
 single family. Such was the moral physiognomy of the 
 revolution. 
 
 Early Monday morning some one informed us that 
 the soldiers were advancing, and that they had passed 
 the bridge and were about to occupy our street. This 
 Would have been an excellent move on their part, as it 
 would have enabled them to take the barricades in the 
 Gorso Orientale in the rear. The alarm in our neighbor- 
 hood was great, and we all closed our doors for fear of 
 an invasion. The son of our porter, a tall and strong lad, 
 
 63 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Cecco Migliavacca by name, began to tear up the pave- 
 ment of the courtyard and to carry the stones to the 
 balcony of a house which dominated the street. I helped 
 him, and in a short time we had an arsenal of stones. 
 Then, suddenly, we saw the soldiers advancing rapidly 
 with their guns pointing at the windows. Four sappers 
 were in front, who with their axes began to deliver 
 vigorous blows upon the great door of the house of the 
 DucaVisconti di Modrone, which is situated on the cor- 
 ner, between the Via Monforte and the Via della Cerva. 
 The house was full of people who had taken refuge from 
 houses, more menaced, in Via Monforte. They had been 
 received by the Duke with gracious hospitality. 
 
 My young friend began to throw stones, and I as- 
 sisted him as well as I could. The soldiers receded here 
 and there without noticing the place from which the 
 hail of stones came. This happened in a moment. In the 
 mean time the door of the Casa Visconti was about to 
 yield, and misfortune was imminent, when, behold! the 
 window of a house that stood at the comer of Rasini 
 Alley was opened (in it lived some of the canons of S. 
 Babila), and a priest stationed himself in it, in spite of 
 the firing of the soldiers. He seized a gun, and, taking 
 aim at the officer in command of the sappers, knocked 
 him over. This unforeseen act terrified the soldiers, and 
 they hurriedly fled across the bridge, carrying the 
 wounded man with them. The Visconti house was 
 saved. 
 
 Who was this priest? The neighbors said it was Don 
 Cesare Ajroldi. I saw the priest while I was throwing 
 stones, but, in the excitement, I could not bring his face 
 
 64 
 
Don Cesare Ajroldi 
 
 to mind. Regarding his name many rumors were after- 
 wards started in order not to draw especial attention to 
 any one. Several people were indiscreet enough to ask 
 Ajroldi himself if he were not the hero of this episode, 
 but he always parried the question. A man of genius 
 and a distinguished preacher, he was, after the return of 
 the Austrians, kept in a sort of exile for years. They 
 sent him to a little rural parish of a few hundred souls. 
 After 1859, he returned to Milan, became Monsignore 
 del Duomo, and filled various civic and eleemosynary 
 posts with the esteem of all. 
 
 After this episode there came an order, I do not know 
 from whom, to erect a barricade by the side of S. Babila, 
 in order to defend the corso, and to follow it with others 
 as far as the bridge. Behold, then, all of us making a 
 barricade of the household and other goods, that were 
 generously furnished from the neighboring houses. Don 
 Cesare Ajroldi descended into the street and undertook 
 to direct its construction. The barricade was finished, 
 and we contemplated building another, when the Aus- 
 trians advanced as far as the bridge with two pieces of 
 artillery and fired upon us. Our barricade soon lay in 
 heaps, turned upside down. We began in haste to recon- 
 struct it, but, while we were calling for sacks and mat- 
 tresses, a cannon ball came which cut off the head of a 
 man by the name of Perelli who stood in our midst. Don 
 Cesare and Migliavacca carried him to the church of S. 
 Babila, while we witnessed, distracted, the destruction 
 of our barricade. We did not dare to raise it again, and, 
 a little while afterwards, the Austrians withdrew their 
 cannon and made no other attempt to advance. 
 
 65 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 The events of the evening put the whole quarter in 
 alarm. The Duca Visconti began to enlist a company of 
 men to defend his house, which became the nucleus of 
 the regiment which he afterwards equipped, at his own 
 expense, and led to the field. The Duke was ever in the 
 street with a bag of wanziche* [Austrian coins], distrib- 
 uting assistance to those who had need. In the mean 
 time the houses in the neighboriiood were partly aban- 
 doned by their inmates, who sought refuge in the 
 streets and in places less exposed. There was a rumor 
 that the Austrians were preparing for a new attack by 
 way of Via Monforte. 
 
 The morning of the third day Emilio returned home 
 and persuaded our mother to leave the house and take 
 Enrico and me elsewhere with her. My mother thought 
 she would go to a house on Via Durini, to Madam Gar- 
 nier,whom she knew, who was the directoress of a college 
 for girls, in the Palazzo Durini. I cannot describe the 
 joy with which this good lady received us. She had 
 already placed her premises at the disposal of some 
 other friends who had come to ask for hospitality. So 
 there was, in this girls' college, a continual coming and 
 going of armed youths and other combatants, who came 
 to see their mothers and sisters, to give or to receive 
 information, to be refreshed, if exhausted, and nursed, if 
 wounded. But no one paid any attention to the fact 
 that these things were going on in a girls' school. All 
 were brothers; all were preoccupied with matters 
 utterly diverse. 
 
 After we were settled in our new home, the desire 
 •Twenties. 
 
 66 
 
Engineer Alfieri Insane 
 
 came to me to return to Via Cerva to see if the Austrians 
 really were advancing up Via Monforte. In Via Cerva I 
 found a crowd of people that seemed to have gathered 
 precisely before the house in which we had been living. 
 In this house a man by the name of De Simoni, the 
 papal consul, lived. A messenger, escorted by some 
 citizens, had come to invite him to a meeting of the 
 consuls, who, as we learned subsequently, desired to ask 
 for an interview with Marshal Radetzky. But the mes- 
 senger had been stopped by the engineer Alfieri, who 
 proclaimed that the consul could not leave the house 
 without his permission. 
 
 The consul, in the mean time, had stationed himself 
 at a window, and a curious conversation ensued between 
 him, Alfieri, the messenger, and the people in the street. 
 Finally the consul, in uniform, descended into the 
 street, and Alfieri began to cry: "You see that man! He 
 is the spy that we have all been looking for . . . kill him 
 for me ! " The poor consul, who understood nothing, was 
 greatly shocked and alarmed; but fortunately the frenzy 
 of Alfieri had become so violent that all perceived it, a 
 thing not easy when reason was so bewildered. After a 
 great hubbub, Alfieri fell struggling to the ground. He 
 was taken up by some pitiful people and carried to the 
 hospital, where he died a few days after. This was not 
 the only case, in these days, of sudden and violent 
 dementia. 
 
 The following morning very early, after several hours 
 of heavy sleep in a hammock in an anteroom of the 
 Gamier CoUegCj I descended into the street, and ran 
 into some people who, with tricolored shawls worn 
 
 67 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 across their shoulders, were giving orders in the name of 
 the Committee of Defense. They were trying to disci- 
 pUne the revolution. Falling into their hands, I was 
 stationed as a sentinel at a useless barricade which shut 
 off Via Durini from the Verziere. The commander, hav- 
 ing inspected my pistols and perhaps not having found 
 them murderous enough, placed in my hands a fencing- 
 foil. Then he gave me the countersign: "Papa Pio." 
 
 A little while after, another chief came along who 
 reinforced the post, and gave me as a companion a good 
 old man who was armed with an antique lance. I told 
 him the countersign, and we soon became friends. 
 
 A patrol appeared. "Halt! " cried the old man. "The 
 countersign?" 
 
 "Concordia, coraggio," replied the captain of the 
 patrol. 
 
 "Truly," replied my companion, "the countersign is 
 something else . . . however, we are all Italians, so pass 
 on. 
 
 We remained leaning against the barricade talking for 
 a couple of hours. The old man told me that the Podesta 
 had been promoted to the post of Provincial Governor. 
 He confided to me also the injustices he had suffered 
 during his career (he was a retired employee), and he 
 said, if ever we should become German . . . 
 
 At the end we asked ourselves what we were doing 
 there. We saw no enemies; but there was fighting in 
 other parts of the city, so we saluted one another, and 
 each went his own way, I went to the Corsia dei Servi 
 (now Corso Vittorio Emanuele), and then ran toward 
 the corso of the Porta Orientale. 
 
 68 
 
The Provisional Government 
 
 I saw, with admiration, the barricade of the seminari- 
 ans, the most formidable of all. It was made entirely of 
 the granite slabs of the sidewalk, and was several meters 
 high. I also saw, waving from the topmost pinnacle of the 
 Duomo, the tricolored flag, which, I heard afterwards, 
 had been placed there by Torelli, a friend of my father. 
 Then I saw arise the little balloons, made by the sem- 
 inarians. They were to send the proclamations and 
 bulletins of the Government beyond the city.^" Many 
 serious things, and some comic ones also, struck my 
 eyes. I saw the litters upon which the dead and wounded 
 were transported, and the dandies who (decked out in 
 shining cuirasses and gay shawls, with plumed hats and 
 ancient swords) were passing by. I even admired them. 
 
 I returned home late, and heard the news of the things 
 that had happened elsewhere. I heard how the Provi- 
 sional Government had been constituted, and how 
 Conte Martini had been able to enter the city and bring 
 assurance from Carlo Alberto that the Piedmontese 
 troops would cross the Ticino. I heard, too, that the 
 consuls had gone to the Marshal, and that, the day 
 before, an Austrian major had proposed an armistice. 
 
 At this news the face of Madam Garnier (whose heart 
 had become troubled by reason of the continual coming 
 and going of her guests) was illumined by a ray of hope. 
 But her eyes immediately fell when it was heard that the 
 Provisional Government had refused the request. This 
 news was joyously repeated by all who came, who spoke 
 of it in a way that convinced us of its truth. The Govern- 
 ment called together the committees and the principal 
 commanders of the barricades for consultation. The 
 
 69 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 discussion was short. Conte Durini and Conte Pompeo 
 Litta observed that the armistice would be useful to 
 allow Carlo Alberto to come to Milan; but the others 
 put forward the popular reasons for rejecting the pro- 
 posal. It was also opposed by the committees. Cattaneo 
 had accepted a place upon the Committee of War which 
 had been constituted on the third day of the revolt. ^^ 
 
 The success of the fourth day, the capture of the 
 barracks of the engineers (now the palace of the Savings 
 Bank), and of other barracks in which prisoners had 
 been made, had increased the faith of the many and had 
 silenced the fears of the few. After the taking of the 
 barracks and of other posts, the number of armed citi- 
 zens increased, the fusillades became clearer, and the 
 reports of arms resounded throughout the city. There 
 was a presentiment of victory, and all seemed to be 
 crazed with joy. No faces were seen that were not lined 
 with sleeplessness, fatigue, and the excitement of the 
 struggle. The voices of all were hoarse from shouting; 
 and all were hungry and sought for something to eat. 
 
 The Austrians, whether from indecision or design, 
 allowed themselves to be surprised the first day, and 
 afterwards they did not seem to be able to recover by an 
 offensive attack. On the fourth day this had become 
 difficult, but on the first two days, before the interven- 
 tion of Carlo Alberto had been proclaimed, they could 
 easily have sufi"ocated the revolution. Radetzky after- 
 wards justified his retreat by some reasons which seemed 
 to be good, but which had but little relation to the 
 actual facts. At the end, the barricades, the tiles thrown 
 from the roofs, and the incessant clamor of the bells 
 
 70 
 
The Capture of the Barracks 
 
 bewildered and discouraged the soldiers. The generals, 
 alarmed by the news from Vienna, from Turin, and from 
 the Lombard cities (nearly all of which were in revolt), 
 were dubious and inert. The troops remained on the 
 defensive, and were valorous enough; but their attacks 
 on the barricades were few and fitful. The evening of 
 the fourth day the Austrians had lost nearly all their 
 posts and all their barracks; but they were still the mas- 
 ters of the castle, of the bastions, and of the gates. 
 
 Among the posts captured within the city was, as I 
 have said, the barracks of the engineers. Augusto 
 Anfossi (who had had experience abroad) took command 
 of the attack upon it. He directed it from the balcony of 
 a house opposite, when a ball struck him in the forehead. 
 But the assault was continued by a band of volunteers 
 led by Manara, among whom were Dandolo, Morosini, 
 Camperio, the Mancini, Minonzi, and others, until a 
 lame cobbler, by name Pasquale Sottocornola, set fire 
 to the gates. Then it succumbed. 
 
 "Attack a city gate" was the command of the Govern- 
 ment and of the committees, the night between the 
 fourth and fifth days. With its capture the ring around 
 the city would be broken, and recruits and provisions 
 (which had begun to be scarce) could come in. The 
 undertaking was difficult, but, in the intoxication of our 
 first success, everything seemed possible.^* 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 (1848) 
 
 The fifth day. — Porta Tosa. — The priest who blessed the combatants at the 
 bridge. — In Piazza del Verziere. — The wounded. — The "Martinitt" of 
 the Asylum. — The flag of the Madonnina on the cathedral. — Capture of 
 Porta Tosa. — On guard on a roof. — De Albertis. — The appearance of the 
 city the night of the 22d. — The retreat of the Austrians. — Public enthusi- 
 asm at the announcement. — Clothes alia Lombarda. — In the castle. — The 
 departure of the volunteers with Manara. — The hostages. — News from 
 the districts in insurrection. 
 
 I HEARD it said that the plan was to make an attack 
 upon Porta Comasina, but that, owing to the death 
 of Borgazzi, the undertaking had failed. That, after- 
 wards. Porta Ticinese had been substituted, but that 
 this had been abandoned because of the vigorous resist- 
 ance that had been encountered, and that, in the end, 
 an assault upon Porta Tosa was proposed. 
 
 The assault upon Porta Tosa was certainly one of the 
 most important events of the revolution. It was planned 
 and directed with order and caution. There was a right 
 and a left wing to the forces of the combatants, on either 
 side of the corso, which advanced and attacked the 
 troops on the bastions to distract them from the central 
 point. Against this, moving barricades were directed, 
 along the corso, under cover of which the gate was 
 eventually won. The most resolute and the best armed 
 of the citizens were intrusted with the command of the 
 various bands of combatants. 
 
 The moving barricades were large rollers, made of 
 fagots, tied with ropes, which were slowly pushed ahead. 
 Antonio Camevali, formerly a professor in the military 
 
 72 
 
Porta l^osa 
 
 school of Pavia during the Napoleonic regime, planned 
 these rollers and superintended their construction. 
 These barricades made possible the advance of our men, 
 in spite of the firing of a regiment of infantry and the 
 discharge of a battery of artillery which defended the 
 gate. 
 
 I assisted in the construction of one of these barri- 
 cades in the Piazza del Verziere; and later on, toward 
 midday, pushed by curiosity, I went toward the bridge 
 of Porta Tosa, hoping to go as far as the entrance to the 
 corso. From afar, from the bastions and the gate, the 
 continuous sound of the fusillades of the soldiers and of 
 our men could be heard. At intervals grapeshot came 
 bounding along the pavement as far as the Naviglio. 
 
 The bridge, between the Verziere and the street that 
 leads to the corso of Porta Tosa, was barred by a barri- 
 cade protected by some troops. When I arrived (I was a 
 slender youth), they did not even ask me where I was 
 going. One of them, seeing the foil with which I was 
 armed, smiled and made a gesture which seemed to say, 
 "Leave the way to others, and go back." They did not 
 permit any one to pass except those who possessed arms 
 or who had come with fagots and ropes to reinforce the 
 rollers. To pass the bridge meant to come within the 
 range of the grapeshot, to throw one's self into a terrible 
 conflict, to brave death. 
 
 While I remained a little mortified to have been 
 tacitly called incapable, I saw a priest standing erect 
 beyond the barricade. He had a crucifix in his hand, and 
 gave absolution to the combatants kneeling before him 
 in articulo mortis. This spectacle, so solemn in its 
 
 73 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 simplicity, which was so characteristic of those days, 
 will never fade from my memory. 
 
 I passed nearly all the day in the Piazza del Verziere 
 and in the neighboring streets, doing a little of every- 
 thing. I helped to carry beams and props and sacks and 
 utensils to strengthen the barricades. I assisted in 
 casting balls, or in making cartridges, in some tavern 
 or cafe. I carried notices and orders. In the interim, as 
 the wounded were taken into the houses or to the hospi- 
 tals, I saw borne on a litter the engineer Stelzi, torn by 
 a grapeshot. In the midst of all the bustle an occasional 
 rocket fell into the piazza: rockets were still used by the 
 Austrian artillery. They were generally harmless, but 
 occasionally they wounded some citizen. 
 
 Little courageous messengers, who had free passage, 
 went to, and came from, the bridge. They were the pu- 
 pils of the orphan asylum, and were called by the people 
 the "Martinitt." By their aid the combatants of the 
 corso communicated with various parts of the city and 
 with the Committee of Defense. These brave children 
 were the objects of universal admiration. 
 
 And all of us, every little while, raised our eyes to the 
 highest pinnacle of the cathedral, on which stands the 
 statue of the Virgin in which the Milanese have great 
 confidence, as in a tutelary genius. They call her the 
 Madonnina. She had seen from on high, for so many 
 years, our joys and sorrows; she seemed so near to 
 heaven, surely we could have hope that she would say a 
 good word for us. When, on the third day, a tricolored 
 flag was seen in the hand of the Madonnina, waving in 
 the wind, there could be no more doubts of victory. 
 
 74 
 
Capture of Porta Tosa 
 
 From the whole city there arose a cry of joyous triumph, 
 as if the Madonnina had made common cause with us, 
 and had taken Milan under her protection.^^ Again and 
 again we looked on high to assure ourselves that the flag 
 of the Madonnina was still given to the breeze. 
 
 Toward the evening of the fifth day the cry of victory 
 made all who were in the piazza run toward the bridge; 
 the barricade was no longer able to hold us back. Even 
 I could advance to the entrance of the corso. The com- 
 bat had been reduced to the gate itself. It was taken 
 and fired; then it was retaken by the Austrians; then 
 again by our people, and burned. But the Austrians 
 retired laterally, and fired from the bastions upon the 
 crowd. The first houses in the vicinity of the bastions 
 were set on fire and the flames crackled and shot up high 
 in the darkening sky. The terror of the spectacle was 
 intensified by the shouts of victory, the yells of defiance, 
 the lamentations of the wounded, and the cries of the 
 women. Every once in a while a panic seized upon the 
 crowd, which dispersed and then came together again 
 with renewed fury. 
 
 When I ran home to tell my mother the great news of 
 the taking of Porta Tosa, called from that moment 
 Porta Vittoria (decree of April 6, 1848), I found her most 
 agitated because Emilio had not been seen for twenty- 
 four hours. We did not see him until the morning after, 
 when he arrived and told us of the vicissitudes which 
 had prevented his coming before. 
 
 After the night had fallen, the fires at Porta Tosa 
 ceased. Then we heard a cannonade which seemed to 
 come from the direction of the castle ; whereupon an order 
 
 75 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 was issued that we must watch our roofs and attics, as 
 it was evident that our enemies were beginning a more 
 vigorous bombardment. Behold me, then, again on a 
 roof, this time in Via Durini. I passed there a cold, wet 
 night, wrapped up in a blanket, leaning against a chim- 
 ney. Neither sleep nor fatigue could conquer me in face 
 of the fearful spectacle before me. From parts of the 
 castle and along portions of the bastions, I could see long 
 trails of fire; and in various points of the city, high and 
 sinister flames mounting to the sky, all in the blackest 
 night. 
 
 The firing of the Austrian battalions and artillery 
 was directed against the city. Many houses were burn- 
 ing, from which columns of fire and smoke arose. A 
 fiendish noise shook the earth and sky. It was a grand 
 spectacle, which the night made mysterious. 
 
 Every one remained on foot that night, overcome by 
 a sort of dumb terror. Every one asked his neighbor 
 whether a corps of rebels or of Piedmontese had attacked 
 the walls; or whether the incineration and sacking of the 
 city were in preparation. All trembled, and were silent. 
 Even the bell-ringers were still in certain districts. 
 
 "Halt! Who are you?" I demanded suddenly of a 
 white-robed figure that slowly advanced, making the 
 tiles squeak. 
 
 "I am a sentinel; viva Pio Nono." 
 
 "What 's the countersign?" 
 
 "Augusto Anfossi." 
 
 He who thus spoke came and sat beside me. He was 
 wrapped in a white coverlet, and had a huge twohan- 
 dled antique sword strapped across his back. I recog- 
 
 76 
 
De Albertis 
 
 nized him as a warrior I had seen many times at Porta 
 Tosa, who ran toward the firing lines giving his coverlet 
 (which he had folded in a bizarre fashion) a certain 
 artistic turn. 
 
 We began to speculate upon the causes of the fires and 
 of the diabolical noises. My companion knew no more 
 than I; but he admired greatly the incandescent tints in 
 the sky. Then he told me, in a hoarse whisper, and in 
 language free and fantastic, the episode of the capture of 
 Porta Tosa, and of some other actions in which he had 
 taken part, first with a gun, which he had broken, then 
 with the antique sword which he said was a beauty. I 
 asked him: — 
 
 "Are you a student?" 
 
 "Never," he replied. "I am an artist, a painter." 
 
 "And have you painted many pictures?" 
 
 "No, but I have three in my mind, and now I am 
 thinking of a fourth . . . the panorama of this night, seen 
 from a roof. The light of the coming day and that of the 
 bombardment, what a contrast! what magnificence!" 
 
 "What's your name?" 
 
 "Sebastiano De Albertis." 
 
 The friendship, commenced upon the roof, continued. 
 He painted several pictures (not the scene from a roof) 
 which gave him some fame. He was a Garibaldian in 
 1859, and painted some military pictures. Many times 
 did we recall the night we passed together, leaning 
 against a chimney. We recalled it even a few days before 
 he died. We were members of a committee that was pre- 
 paring for celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the 
 Five Days — festivities which he was not to see. 
 
 77 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 At three o'clock in the morning the commotion 
 ceased. Then there followed for a couple of hours a pe- 
 riod of profound and anxious silence. Then we heard 
 cries afar off that sounded like ewiva; then some bells 
 began to ring as in a fete; then a new noise, as of a joyful 
 people, broke out from every side, and increased. 
 
 But "What is it? What can it be ?" we both exclaimed 
 as we ran rapidly to the street. People were descending 
 from all the houses. We could hear no other cry than 
 "They have gone, they have gone!" All repeated the 
 news; all embraced and kissed one another; all wept. 
 The doors and windows were thrown open wide; many 
 windows were illuminated; and from all waved the tri- 
 colored flag: "They have gone, they have gone!" 
 
 How can I describe the joy and the frenzy of that 
 hour? We, who had endured the shame of servitude, 
 tasted now the delight of freedom, the confidence begot- 
 ten of strength, the faith that gives assurance for the 
 future. We made no analysis of our feelings, yet there 
 were all these things in our joy and gladness. "They 
 have gone, they have gone!" broke forth as from a single 
 voice. 
 
 After having exchanged embraces and kisses, not only 
 with my mother but with all who were at the Gamier 
 College, I visited all the points where I had learned that 
 the principal combats had taken place. Everywhere I 
 saw the same things; everywhere were tri colored flags 
 waving in the breeze. The people continued to inebriate 
 themselves with looking at them. All wore large cock- 
 ades in their hats or on their clothes; and from many, 
 medals hung. They were stamped with the portrait of 
 
 78 
 
The Retreat of the Austrians 
 
 Pius IX, and with the motto: "Italia libera, Dio lo 
 vuole." * 
 
 In the streets there was a continual exchange of 
 salutes and embraces between acquaintances and non- 
 acquaintances. At every step I saw gatherings of peo- 
 ple, discussing the events and episodes of the preceding 
 days. I soon learned the reason why the Austrians had 
 made such an uproar the night before: it was to protect 
 their retreat. 
 
 "They have gone, they have gone!" Many seemed to 
 be delirious. All were seized by a mania to hurry, to 
 expand, to do something. Some continued to work 
 upon the barricades, those especially who had remained 
 away. They reinforced and even embellished them, 
 glorying in this palladium (as it seemed) of our common 
 liberty. 
 
 , The comic tjnpes did not lack; indeed, they abounded. 
 They were afterwards called the heroes of the sixth day. 
 They marched pompously about in the strangest cos- 
 tumes, in plumed hats, yellow boots and dresses of the 
 theater, with antique cuirasses and arms. These bizarre 
 fashions of patriotic habiliments were in vogue for a long 
 time. There appeared also a mode of dressing, called 
 "alla'Lombarda." It consisted of a shirt or blouse of 
 homemade black velvet. The blouse had a broad white 
 collar, and was girded by a leather belt, from which 
 hung a sword or dagger. The hat was plumed and was 
 alia Calahrese. And from the neck descended a long 
 chain with a pendent medallion, commonly the effigy of 
 Pius IX. 
 
 • Italy is free, God wills it. 
 
 79 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Even serious men, in these days, wore clothes some- 
 what after this absurd fashion; and it did not seem 
 strange; nor did it seem queer that Cesare Correnti, the 
 Secretary-General of the Provisional Government, should 
 be seen clothed alia Lombarda, with a tricolored girdle 
 or sash, from which hung a sword. Some elegant ladies 
 also adopted this fantastic costume, and wore, as orna- 
 ments of the toilet, tricolored girdles, hats alia Calabrese, 
 pistols, and, may God forgive them! swords and sabers. 
 
 The festivities, half serious and half comic, were pro- 
 longed for several days. No extravagance surprised 
 after the great event, which surpassed so much our im- 
 agination. There were actions, however, that were much 
 more serious. On the 24th a company of the most valor- 
 ous young men, under the command of Manara, issued 
 from the city and followed the Austrian rear guard. 
 These youths formed the nucleus of the Lombard bat- 
 talion of eight hundred which, after having fought by 
 the side of the Piedmontese army on the fields of Lom- 
 bardy and Piedmont, closed its brief yet glorious career, 
 decimated, on the glacis of Rome. 
 
 Another group of Milanese citizens, in another band, 
 advanced painfully, in the Austrian train, toward 
 Vienna; these were the hostages. Following the taking 
 of the Broletto (the evening of the i8th of March) about 
 fifty prisoners were made and conducted to the castle. 
 Among them twenty were chosen as hostages when the 
 army retired the night of the 22d." The troops arrived 
 the evening of the 23 d at Melegnano, and left the 
 hostages in charge of a commissary of the police by the 
 name of De Betta. They were shut up in an obscure 
 
 80 
 
The Hostages 
 
 room, from which, a little while after, they saw a sinister 
 light. It was followed by a report and a cry. One of the 
 hostages had been shot and fell mortally wounded. It 
 was Conte Carlo Porro. The commissary was accused, 
 but he exculpated himself, attributing the shot to a 
 soldier, and alleging that it was a casualty. Conte Porro 
 died the following day. His death was a great loss. 
 Learned in the sciences, he was one of the founders of the 
 Museum of Milan. He was a man of authority, and was 
 one of the leaders in the movement for the freedom of his 
 country, of which he was an ornament and a hope.^^ The 
 hostages were taken to Klagenfurt, and were afterwards 
 exchanged for Austrian prisoners. 
 
 The cry of triumph after the departure of the Aus- 
 trians smothered many groans and tears; but the joy 
 was so great, even the afflicted rejoiced, and, at heart, 
 were resigned in their grief. 
 
 • In the mean time news came from every part of Lom- 
 bardy and of Venetia. Everywhere the same things had 
 happened, as if a powder magazine had exploded. In 
 every city and town and village every one, in his own 
 way, had begun a revolution, almost as if by agreement. 
 And everyvvhere the same characteristics of concord, of 
 enthusiasm, and even of ingenuous improvidence had 
 been manifested. The hard and inexorable experiences 
 came afterwards ; but nothing troubled us in these happy 
 days. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 (1848) 
 
 After the retreat 6f the Austrians. — Public opinion. — The arrival of the vol- 
 unteers. — The National Guard. — Cartridges. — The Palestra Parliament. 
 — My watch is stolen. — The National Italian Association. — The proces- 
 sion of Corpus Domini. — Mazzini. — The newspapers.— Weakness of the 
 Government. — Cattaneo, Cernuschi. — Demonstrations and agitations. — 
 The battalion of the students and seminarians. — My uncles and cousins. 
 
 WHEN I return in memory to the short time in which 
 Milan was free and think of it with mature judg- 
 ment, I do not find that which I so much admired and 
 which so exalted me during the revolution. I do not find 
 the energy, the self-abnegation, and the concord which 
 then seemed to me to be so prevalent and so admirable. 
 After the victory many people thought that everything 
 was ended: heroism reposed. 
 
 The things that came after did not have the same seri- 
 ousness, if I may so speak. They have need of all the 
 justification that can be alleged in their favor by reason 
 of our inexperience. We passed the greater part of our 
 days in the streets, going from coterie to coterie, asking 
 for news from foreign lands, from the Lombard prov- 
 inces, and from Venetia; or we listened to the obscure 
 and naive discussions of the embryonic politicians. Then 
 there was a demonstration or a celebration for the living 
 or the dead. Then a reception of a troop of volunteers. 
 These troops were invariably poorly or strangely clad; 
 and they uttered still stranger cries, extolling concord 
 with discordant voices. Among these arrivals I recall 
 that of a band of Neapolitan volunteers, led by the 
 
 82 
 
The National Guard 
 
 Principessa Cristina Belgiojoso Trivulzio, who had en- 
 rolled them. She paid their expenses. 
 
 These troops were assigned to various corps of volun- 
 teers which left, from time to time, for the front. The 
 corps, in which were many excellent young men, were 
 badly commanded. They demonstrated the inefficiency 
 of the methods with which, it was then believed, the war 
 could be brought to a successful termination. There 
 were some then who thought that the support of Carlo 
 Alberto and of the Piedmontese was superfluous. 
 
 The streets were suddenly filled with agitators, who 
 always indicate (like worms) a body in dissolution. 
 Great importance was given to the National Guard 
 which was called the "Palladio della Liberta." The 
 guard had been one of the dogmas of the Liberalism of 
 1830, and had become a part of the faith of the times. 
 Many who would have preferred disorder passed to the 
 side of order because they had donned the uniform of 
 the National Guard. 
 
 On the 26th of March, Generals Passalacqua and Bes, 
 at the head of a splendid corps of Piedmontese troops 
 (five thousand infantry and a thousand lancers), passed 
 through the Porta Sempione. They made less commo- 
 tion than fifty Genovese or twenty Pavese, or other vol- 
 unteers, dressed alia Lomharda. The official journal, "II 
 22 Marzo," the day before the arrival of the Pied- 
 montese, exhorted the people to give them a good recep- 
 tion, and not to heed the report of political differences, 
 because their coming was in the nature of a fraternal co- 
 operation; and they were glad to have the opportunity 
 of ranging themselves on our side. The Milanese, in their 
 
 83 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 honeymoon of victory, were jealous lest others should 
 gather their laurels. They were blinded by, and intoxi- 
 cated with, their success. What hard experiences 
 awaited them! 
 
 It was a great affair, even to organize the infantry and 
 cavalry of the National Guard, to elect its petty officers, 
 to choose its uniforms, to establish its prerogatives, and 
 to assign to it its duties. Everything was the subject of 
 discussion. There was a strife even among those who 
 had beards, who aspired to leather aprons and axes. How 
 many good fathers of families have I seen in the parades 
 (thanks to their beards) with ferocious faces, in the uni- 
 form of the pioneers ! 
 
 More serious was the business of preparing linen and 
 cartridges. I recall my mother and other ladies attend- 
 ing to these matters with scrupulous care. The cart- 
 ridges, when made in the families, were taken to the bar- 
 racks of the engineers, where there was a continual 
 coming and going of ladies (married and single) who 
 brought cartridges, and received ammunition for their 
 daily task. The manufacture was under the supervision 
 of Dr. Giuseppe Terzaghi, who, eleven years after, was 
 my colleague in the first municipal junta of emancipated 
 Milan. 
 
 In this, as in many other matters, we proceeded with 
 small and inadequate means, which were respectable 
 only because of the sentiment which animated us. 
 Devotion to the country was the motive of every act in 
 the first hours of liberty. 
 
 The rights of property were universally respected, and 
 generosity was everywhere exhibited. Many soldiers 
 
 84 
 
The Palestra Parliament 
 
 and police agents were taken prisoners. These last 
 recalled unhallowed days and private griefs; yet were 
 they all pardoned. "Offer them to Pius IX," a proclama- 
 tion announced. No vendetta was exacted, no blood was 
 shed, no reprisals were made, for the many ferocious acts 
 the Austrian soldiers and police had committed. 
 
 Among the little things I recall is a club, the Palestra 
 Parlamentare. It was formed, as its name indicates, to 
 prepare, by vocal gymnastics, the future orators of the 
 Chamber. In it they were to treat, in the abstract, the 
 problems of political and administrative reforms, and to 
 make plans for the war and for the future of Italy. 
 
 The Palestra was the meeting-place of all the idle 
 braggarts, who gathered there to display their empty 
 and comic rhetoric. I must confess I did not think so 
 then; young and inexperienced, I took this nonsense 
 seriously. I envied the fecundity of the orators. If I had 
 been alone in my approval there would have been no 
 harm; the harm arose out of the fact that many people 
 applauded these talkers and believed in them. Thus the 
 strangest and most deplorable conceits were engendered 
 and disseminated in a time of great gravity. We had 
 been free but a few days when the Palestra demanded 
 institutions which the most civilized peoples had ob- 
 tained only after many years and through hard vicissi- 
 tudes. 
 
 One of the things demanded was a CO JiifMrnfi?. The con- 
 stitution of Carlo Alberto was to be abolished as soon as 
 the war was ended, and a constituent assembly was to 
 present a new constitution to the Kingdom of Upper 
 Italy. Think what kind of a constitution an assembly, 
 
 85 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 elected in the midst of such confusion, would have 
 given! History" has shown us constituent assemblies and 
 the kinds of constitutions they have put forth; many of 
 them so impracticable that no government was able 
 to live under them. However, the idea of a costituente 
 gained headway, and entered into the plans of the most 
 influential politicians and of the Government itself. It is 
 useless to say that I, too, was in favor of this proposal, 
 without understanding anything about it. 
 
 An episode, in which I was concerned, showed me how 
 the rights of a free citizen (as interpreted by the Pales- 
 tra) were now regarded. One afternoon I stood reading 
 a proclamation fixed to a wall when I saw a hand snatch 
 my watch. I turned immediately and caught the thief. 
 He protested and called upon the public. I cried out, 
 too, and demanded my watch. The people who stood 
 about heard now one, now the other, and did not know 
 whom to believe. Finally a citizen came forward and de- 
 cided that we should go to a neighboring post of the 
 National Guard; but not to the police, as "the act was 
 supposititious, and not proved." Everyone said he was 
 right; so we all three went to the post of the guard. 
 
 The commander and the soldiers formed a circle and 
 stood to hear the case. I asked that the contents of the 
 pockets of my opponent should be produced. This course 
 the fellow objected to, saying that it was contrary to the 
 rights of a free citizen, as expounded by the Palestra. 
 Then I proposed that they should conduct us to the 
 police, but this did not prove acceptable to the thief 
 either. He said that if it did not displease me, it dis- 
 pleased him to cross the city escorted by the guards. 
 
 86 
 
The National Italian Association 
 
 Then the worthy citizen gave sentence a second time. 
 We could go to the police, but alone and unaccompanied 
 by the guards. It was evening when we two set forth 
 from the post of S. Babila to go to the station in Via S. 
 Margherita. We had to traverse the long and deserted 
 Alley Bagutta. I was not very tranquil, and asked 
 myself how the matter would end. It ended suddenly. 
 When we reached the middle of our route, my compan- 
 ion looked about, and, seeing no one, gave me a great 
 push. I fell behind a barricade that had not yet been 
 taken down and he took to his heels. He was gone, and 
 so was my watch. A little after, I was at home, relating 
 my adventure to my mother. I cried as I put my arms 
 about her; the watch was the last gift I had received 
 from my father. 
 
 A club, more serious yet not less dangerous than the 
 Palestra, was founded in April by Mazzini. It was 
 called the Associazione Nazionale Italiana, and had for 
 its organ the " Italia del Popolo." I had read various 
 writings of Mazzini and had become enthusiastic about 
 him. His faith in God and in Italy and his mystical and 
 humanitarian language found their way to my boyish 
 heart and mind. My brother Emilio knew Mazzini 
 personally. I was too young to attain to this honor; but 
 I had a great desire to know him, at least, by sight. My 
 curiosity was satisfied under circumstances which, to- 
 day, his co-religionists would scarcely credit; I saw him 
 in the procession of Corpus Domini. 
 
 As everything was still done in the name of Pius IX, 
 and of the marriage between the country and the church, 
 every order of citizens took part in this procession. The 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Archbishop was followed by the clergy of the city, the 
 members of the Provisional Government, the municipal 
 authorities, and by all the societies, including the Asso- 
 ciazione Nazionale Italiana, which was preceded by the 
 editors of the " Italia del Popolo," of which Mazzini was 
 the chief. 
 
 The procession made a long tour through the city, 
 which was adorned with flags, festoons, and tapestries. 
 The legions of the National Guard formed the two 
 wings. But as soon as this manifestation of concord 
 and fraternity had ended, the honeymoon between the 
 classes became disturbed. A divergence of ideas and 
 opinions arose. Men began to group themselves about 
 the old political parties, or the parties that were now in 
 process of formation. 
 
 The subject which raised the first tempestuous discus- 
 sion was whether the Lombard provinces should be 
 fused with Piedmont. Some desired the fusion to take 
 place immediately; some wished it to be deferred to the 
 termination of the war; while others did not want it at 
 all. The party for immediate fusion was the most numer- 
 ous, as the vote showed; but the other two parties were 
 the noisiest. To the first party the merchants, as was 
 natural, belonged; to the other two the republicans 
 and the unsophisticated. The republicans, again, were 
 divided. One part were unitarians, and were led by 
 Mazzini; and the other part were federalists, and were 
 led by Cattaneo. Cattaneo had unexpectedly become 
 belligerent in behalf of his future federated republics, 
 and a bitter enemy of the Government and of Carlo 
 Alberto, of the monarchists and of the unitarians. 
 
 88 
 
The Newspapers 
 
 The Provisional. Government, though composed of 
 dignified persons, was weak, and this weakness was 
 increased by the demonstrations of the people and the 
 attacks of the newspapers; so much so that, toward the 
 end of May, a man named Urbino, at the head of a little 
 band of enthusiasts, invaded the Palazzo Marino and 
 attempted to overthrow it. It was a senseless act and 
 was quickly suppressed; but it showed that the power- 
 lessness of the Government had impressed itself upon 
 the people. 
 
 The most militant journals were the "Italia del 
 Popolo," the organ of Mazzini; the "Voce del Popolo," 
 directed by Maestri and Griffini; and the "Operaio," 
 edited by Pietro Perego, who, after the return of the 
 Austrians, offered his services to Radetzky. He there- 
 upon conducted an official journal of the military gov- 
 ernment at Verona. The "Operaio" was violent, and 
 sometimes libelous. It is sad to say that, occasionally, 
 Cattaneo and Cemuschi gave vent therein to their 
 partisan wrath against the Government. The Govern- 
 ment was defended by "II 22 Marzo." Carcano, Sala, 
 and Broglio wrote for it. 
 
 Cemuschi came from a modest family of Monza, and 
 finished his career as a French millionaire. He was one 
 of the original types of the revolution. However devoted 
 he was to Cattaneo, he was among those who furthered 
 it, and he showed his bravery therein. He was a 
 youth of talent, of some culture, and of much cour- 
 age. Of republican opinions but of aristocratic tastes, 
 he frequented the noble families of Milan while agi- 
 tating against Carlo Alberto. A democrat, so far as to 
 
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Memoirs ofTouth 
 
 collaborate in a plebeian journal, he loved to show him- 
 self in the best society. He dressed differently from 
 others, with a certain affected elegance. He was clean- 
 shaven, and wore a low hat with wide brims, a black 
 coat, an ample white cravat, and a waistcoat with 
 lapels alia Robespierre. His shoes were always of patent 
 leather. During the period of the Provisional Govern- 
 ment, Cemuschi was only an agitator. The year after, 
 in Rome, he closed with valor his career as an Italian 
 revolutionary. 
 
 The demonstrations, the agitations, and the fetes of 
 an impressionable people, unconscious of the seriousness 
 of affairs, exercised a very bad influence upon the march 
 of events. The National Guard was beaten to quarters 
 continually, for a demonstration, for a victory, for the 
 departure or the arrival of some volunteers, or for 
 honoring some distinguished foreigner. Among those 
 so honored was the Polish poet Mickiewicz. He turned 
 half of Milan upside down. In the mean time the organ- 
 ization of the army, of the defenses, and of the finances 
 proceeded very slowly. 
 
 I can still recall the wretchedly dressed volunteers 
 and the fantastic students and seminarians. They were 
 decked out in some ridiculous jackets that had been 
 found in the Austrian magazines. The yellow (Austrian) 
 trimmings had simply been changed to red. We laughed, 
 but we ought to have cried. These studious young men, 
 the hopes of so many, departed for the war in one corps. 
 What a grave misfortune it would have been if this 
 corps had met with disaster! I went to see them depart. 
 They left amid the tears and the embraces of their 
 
 90 
 
7he Students and Seminarians 
 
 families: it was a pathetic spectacle. Among the semi- 
 narians I recall my_cousin Ignazio Borgazzi (who after- 
 wards died as a missionary in Borneo) and some others 
 who became members of the Lombard clergy who knew 
 how to unite religion with a love for their country. 
 
 I was a student of the gymnasium, studying at home. 
 It is easy to imagine what kind of scholastic year it was. 
 The call of "news" by some raucous voice, or the roll 
 of the drums, was enough to make both student and 
 professor descend into the street. In July we took an 
 examination in haste, and were passed, without much 
 questioning, with a sort of absolution. 
 
 My brother Emilio was a student in the university, 
 but I do not believe that the "Pandects" took much of 
 his time; rather was he occupied with clubs and meet- 
 ings. He had made the acquaintance of Mazzini, who 
 manifested for him much predilection. Mazzini liked to 
 surround himself with intelligent young men, whom he 
 easily made his obedient followers, because of his pres- 
 tige, which he knew how to impress upon them. 
 
 My brother was, also, closely allied with Carlo Tenca, 
 the editor of the "Rivista Europea," around whom, as 
 around Correnti, many youths had gathered. Though 
 very young, Tenca asked him to write some articles 
 that I heard praised. 
 
 I was too young to belong to similar circles, and, as 
 there were no more reunions in Casa Correnti (he was 
 absorbed by the work of the Government), I had to 
 content myself with the receptions in the houses of 
 my relatives. My mother and I went to the houses 
 of my grandmother (Donna Rosa Borgazzi Caimi) and 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 of my uncle Luigi Borgazzi. My grandmother received 
 her sons and daughters in the evening. They were all 
 mature and serious persons, a little heavy, with the 
 exception of my mother, who was the youngest. 
 
 My uncle Giovanni (who was our guardian), excelled 
 all the rest. He had occupied some high post (I do not 
 know what) in the administration of the first Kingdom 
 of Italy. His wife was a sister of Conte Paolo Tavema, 
 who founded the institution for poor deaf-mutes. The 
 other brothers were Don Luigi, an intimate friend of 
 Conte Mellerio and of the older Conservative clericals; 
 Don Gaetano, who in his youth, with his brother Carlo 
 (since deceased), had been an officer in the Grande 
 Armee of Napoleon; and lastly, Don Giacomo, who had 
 done none of the things his brothers had, yet who gave 
 himself the air of having done more. He was on horse- 
 back from morning to night. 
 
 The sisters of my mother, with the exception of Donna 
 Giuseppina Campeggi, did not have the grave manners 
 of their brothers. They were all distinguished by great 
 goodness and playfulness of spirit. Donna Giuseppina, 
 who, in her youth, must have been beautiful, had a 
 maternal air. It came, perhaps, from long association 
 with her deceased husband, who had been President of 
 a Court of Appeal during the Napoleonic regime. I can 
 recall my uncle still, dressed in black, with a white 
 cravat, twice folded, about his neck, in a powdered 
 peruke. When I was little, my uncle and aunt Cam- 
 peggi occasionally asked me to dinner. My constraint 
 was so great I never talked while I was with them. 
 When the dinner was finished my uncle would solemnly 
 
 92 
 
My Uncles and Cousins 
 
 say: "Boys, after dinner, should amuse themselves." 
 For my amusement he assigned me to a mean room 
 where I was made to play at gioco deW oca* 
 
 Nearly all these uncles and aunts had many sons, 
 several of whom were young men of talent and energy 
 who took active parts in the events of the revolution. 
 The conversations in the salon of my grandmother 
 developed gravely, and the discussions were nearly 
 always the same. The revolution against the Austrians 
 was mentioned with indulgence because it was made 
 with the cry of "Viva Pio IX"; but it was viewed with 
 indifference. We talked of it in a low tone of voice 
 because no one dared to tell Donna Rosa that there had 
 been a revolution. This would have revived memories 
 of the Jacobin regime, and have caused her to swoon. 
 
 During the Five Days we had succeeded in making 
 her believe that a dreadful storm had prevented our 
 coming to her salon. We told her that the cannonading 
 was thunder. Her deafness and great age had made 
 possible the deception we practiced upon her. In the 
 two or three years she survived the year 1848, she occa- 
 sionally recalled the great tempest that had interrupted 
 her conversazione for five days, obliging her to keep her 
 windows closed. 
 
 Much brighter was the other reception to which my 
 mother took Enrico and me. It was in the house of Don 
 Luigi, where we went every Sunday. It was a joyous 
 circle of young men and beautiful girls, children of 
 relatives and friends. My uncle, who must have been a 
 veritable wet blanket, left the house immediately after 
 * Literally, game of the goose. 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 dinner, and did not return until midnight. In the 
 mean time, under the auspices of my kind and sympa- 
 thetic aunt, (who loved to make her numerous family 
 happy), we had great fun. We were all very young; so 
 we played and danced, and we sang the patriotic hymns 
 merrily.' My beautiful little cousins! I loved them all 
 a little fraternally, so as to do no one any wrong. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 (1848) 
 
 Apprehensions and fears. — Peace offered as far as the Mincio. — Refusal of the 
 Government. — Carlo Alberto and his generals. — Hurried armaments. — 
 Gifts of the Milanese, and other Lombard families. — Bad news and 
 anxieties. — Public distress. — The Committee of Defense. — Fanti, 
 Maestri, Restelli. — Mobilization of the National Guard. — ^Emilio en- 
 lists in the Garibaldian volunteers. — My mother, Enrico, and I leave 
 Milan. 
 
 THE halcyon days of public happiness began to be 
 clouded. Toward the end of May, however, the 
 combat of Goito and the surrender of Peschiera were 
 like rays of light to the people, who rejoiced as they did 
 on the 22d of March. But the sad news of the rout of 
 Curtatone and of Montanara, of the dubious fights at 
 Rivoli, of the defection of the King of Naples, and of 
 the withdrawal of the papal troops soon obscured our 
 sky, which was further darkened by the fall of Vicenza. 
 Victory is a great talisman; woe to him who lets it 
 escape! We had in these days our first sorrowful 
 experience of this truth. 
 
 The indications that fortune had commenced to 
 abandon us produced an anxiety that weakened our 
 spirits. A vague feeling of discontent arose, and in- 
 creased every day. Accusations were made against 
 everybody, and suspicions were cast upon all. Political 
 discussions became more and more bitter every day. 
 Our imaginations, which had become inebriated by so 
 many successes, recalled to reality, sought for explana- 
 tions of our reverses in the strangest notions. People 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 began to speak of treason, and to seek for traitors and 
 spies. 
 
 Then there arose a disposition to deny the facts and 
 to accept the suggestions of fancy. The consequence 
 was an excitement which aggravated our disasters, and 
 left a sorrowful heritage of disorder. A principal cause 
 of suspicion arose out of the rumor that the Govern- 
 ment and Carlo Alberto had entered upon negotiations 
 for terms of peace, which, if accepted, would limit our 
 demands to the Mincio. The facts were different, but 
 the suspicion continued. 
 
 The truth of the matter was, as is now well known, 
 that, in the latter part of June, the Austrians, at the 
 suggestion of England, offered to treat for peace with 
 Carlo Alberto and the Provisional Government on the 
 basis of the cession of Lombardy. Baron Wessemberg, 
 the Minister of Foreign Affairs, made such a proposal in 
 an official dispatch, directed to the Provisional Govern- 
 ment. The Government, in a remarkable Note, was, 
 perhaps, more generous than it intended to be; it re- 
 fused the offer, saying that it did not want to make a 
 Lombard cause of an Italian one. Afterwards it charged 
 Antonio Beretta, one of its members, to inform Carlo 
 Alberto of this decision. The enemies of the Govern- 
 ment denied that such an offer and refusal were made; 
 but the truth is as I have stated it. 
 
 The King, who knew of the initiative of England, 
 heard in silence the communication of the Provisional 
 Government, meditating upon the reasons which 
 inspired its action. As Beretta explained them, he re- 
 marked with much finesse: "The reply of the Govern- 
 
 96 
 
Carlo Alberto and his Generals 
 
 merit is worthy of the city of the Five Days." Then he 
 invited Beretta to pass into an adjoining room, where 
 some generals and his staff were conversing. The gen- 
 erals were more explicit and less regardful than the 
 King. They said that the Government showed that 
 it did not understand the state of affairs, that Marshal 
 Radetzky had doubled the number of his troops, and 
 that the Piedmontese army was fatigued, and was with- 
 out the hope of reinforcements. They complained, too, 
 that the recruits from the various Italian States had 
 begun to lag; and said that Lombardy, itself, had not 
 done all that had been expected of it; and concluded 
 by saying that, if Radetzky should make an energetic 
 offensive movement, the Piedmontese army would not 
 be able to resist him. Beretta immediately communi- 
 cated these things to his Government. His letters are 
 preserved in the Milanese archives of the Museo del 
 Risorgimento. 
 
 Since the Provisional Government did not favor the 
 negotiations for peace, Radetzky (who had been ordered 
 to conclude an armistice) now took the offensive. He 
 sent General Schwarzenberg to Vienna to show the Em- 
 peror that he could repulse the Piedmontese army and 
 recover Milan in a short time. So the plan of peace to 
 the Mincio had but a few days of life, because of the 
 disdainful refusal of the exalted patriots. It was this 
 project that we were destined to see brought about after 
 eleven years of misfortune and sorrow for Italy. 
 
 The reinforcements, which would have been most 
 valuable a month before, were now hurried forward; 
 but they left their camp. too late. Among them was a 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 regiment of infantry that had been enHsted by the Duca 
 Uberto Visconti di Modrone, of which he was the colo- 
 neh This regiment was well equipped, but it was 
 composed of persons hastily gathered together, and was 
 poorly drilled and disciplined. Other families of the 
 aristocracy contributed generously to the expenses of 
 the war. Among them I recall the ducal family of Litta, 
 which equipped a battery of artillery. But none of these 
 efforts were seconded by the vigorous measures that 
 the circumstances demanded. They were not compre- 
 hended, either by the Government or by the country 
 at large. 
 
 A new feeling of dismay now possessed the minds of 
 all as the sick and wounded soldiers arrived at the city 
 hospitals. They were so numerous that they filled them. 
 All were depressed, and they diffused such discouraging 
 reports that they shook even the morale of the Pied- 
 montese troops. 
 
 In the last days of July a report came of the winning 
 of a great battle. Then it was said that the battle had 
 been renewed the next day, to our discomfiture. But 
 no one believed this last report, though it alarmed us 
 greatly. There were no telegraphs, and the news was 
 tardy and rarely exact. Our anxiety grew as the reports 
 of increasing misfortunes came to us. Some of us were 
 troubled and sorrowful, others despaired, and raged. 
 From this time there ensued a succession of accusations, 
 and of foolish projects. The only people who were 
 heeded were those who spoke of mysterious treasons. 
 
 Every time a carriage stopped at the Palazzo Marino, 
 or an officer or a messenger descended, the crowd gath- 
 
 98 
 
'The Committee of Defense 
 
 ered in the Piazza di S. Fedele, and cried that the mem- 
 bers of the Government should come to the balcony 
 and tell the news. The Grovemment, whose authority- 
 became weaker every day, yielded to these demands. 
 Every moment one of its members, or a secretary, could 
 be seen reading letters or dispatches aloud. In the midst 
 of so many serious affairs comic incidents did not lack. 
 Between the balcony and the piazza occasional dialogues, 
 and even quarrels, arose. One day Conte Cesare Giu- 
 lini, tired of having to go out so often, exclaimed: "In 
 this way no one can govern." "Do not govern, then, 
 you simpleton," replied a voice. This episode Giulini, 
 afterwards, often related. 
 
 The peril increased so fast that the Government de- 
 termined to nominate a Committee of Public Defense 
 that should provide for all the extraordinary measures 
 that had become necessary. On the 28th of July, 
 General Manfredo Fanti, Pietro Maestri, and Fran- 
 cesco Restelli were appointed on this committee. They 
 were all honest and intelligent men, and all were repub- 
 licans. But this measure was not sufficient to strengthen 
 our confidence in the crisis that confronted us. 
 
 The Committee of Public Defense published decree 
 after decree, — of finance, of order, of defense; but it 
 was not by belated decrees that the outcome of so many 
 errors could be changed. Their multitudinous provisions 
 were without effect. The committee decreed, among 
 other things, that those who spread false or exaggerated 
 reports should be arrested and brought to trial; but the 
 public believed more in such reports than in the threats 
 of the committee. 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 The Provisional Government has often been accused 
 of incapacity, especially by those who helped to upset 
 it. Composed of eminent persons, of the greatest re- 
 spectability, if it was not always equal to its tasks, we 
 must admit that the entire country fell below what 
 was required of it. The members of the Government 
 had the good qualities, and the defects, of their fellow- 
 townsmen. To steer a vigorous course against the cur- 
 rent of illusions of the day was impossible. What was 
 needed was a single directing mind, dominating the 
 others, but no such mind was forthcoming. The events 
 did not produce the man. 
 
 Among the patriotic acts that honor the members of 
 the Government I recall one that manifests their good 
 qualities and their defects. Pinched by financial diffi- 
 culties, and not knowing how to establish a proper sys- 
 tem of finances, they resorted to a quixotic project. Not 
 succeeding in raising even a small sum for the pressing 
 needs of the day, they determined to start a subscription 
 among the principal landowners of Lombardy, and asked 
 them to offer their possessions as a guaranty for a loan 
 of twelve millions. The subscription, headed by Casati, 
 Borromeo, and other members of the Provisional Gov- 
 ernment, soon reached the sum demanded; so that 
 the Government confided to the banker. Carlo Brot 
 (a German established in Milan, and a friend of the 
 Rothschilds), the charge of procuring the amount upon 
 the hypothecated lands. Signor Brot was about to ac- 
 complish his mission in Paris, when the misfortune of 
 war cut it short. Some letters of Signor Brot, now pre- 
 served in the Museo del Risorgimento, give the details 
 
 100 
 
Emiiio enlists with Garibaldi 
 
 of this matter, which honors, not only the members of 
 the Government, but likewise many others of the prin- 
 cipal proprietors of Lombardy.^* 
 
 The last act of the Provisional Government, and the 
 first one of the Committee of Public Defense, proclaimed 
 the truth of the alarming reports and the gravity of 
 affairs. To thoughtlessness succeeded fear, which soon 
 spread throughout the city and gave it an agitated 
 appearance. The most serious-minded people, of every 
 age and condition, enlisted in the National Guard, or, 
 going through the country, sought to raise the levy en 
 masse. They did what they could to aid the Government. 
 The boasters, on the other hand, who never fail in the 
 gravest crises, chattered away, and called for impossible 
 violent measures. They increased the discord and dis- 
 order. Some left the city, panic-stricken. 
 
 My brother and some of his friends departed for 
 Bergamo, and enlisted in the corps that Garibaldi, 
 lately returned from America, was recruiting. The 
 Garibaldians did not then wear the red shirt. It was 
 worn first by the Mille,* twelve years later. They had 
 now a modest gray surcoat. Only the officers, whom 
 Garibaldi had brought with him from Montevideo, wore 
 red tunics. They had green cuffs and revers, trimmed 
 with little gold buttons. 
 
 "Behold a young man who wishes to die with us," 
 said Garibaldi, when he presented Emiiio to Giacomo 
 Medici, then a captain of one of his companies. Who 
 would have said of these young men, in the midst of so 
 much discouragement, that they would one day meet 
 *The Thousand; the expedition to Sicily. 
 lOI 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 again, the one a general, and the other a commissioner, 
 of the King of Piedmont; and that they would pass 
 together the Ticino on their way to triumph? 
 
 My uncle and guardian came one morning and per- 
 suaded my mother to leave Milan, as the Austrians 
 were rapidly advancing. There was no time to lose, as 
 the danger was increasing, and would soon render our 
 departure more perilous than our remaining. How can 
 I describe our anguish; yet only in the severe school of 
 adversity did my generation, and the succeeding one, 
 acquire the virtue that gained them a country. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 (1848) 
 
 We leave Milan. — The attitude of the peasants. — The journey to Bellinzona. 
 — The appearance of the town. — The news gathered by the Contessa 
 Sormanni. — Sequestrations. — Disbanded soldiers. — Gustavo Modena. — 
 I go to Lugano. — Lost on Monte Ceneri. — I find Emilio. — Casa Kramer 
 Berra. — Mazzini. — The expedition to Val d' Intelvi. — Poor result. — The 
 emigrants scatter. — My brother goes to Geneva and Pisa. — We remain 
 at Tirano. 
 
 THERE departed with my mother, Enrico, and me, 
 two of my aunts, Donna Carolina Minunzi and 
 Donna Giuseppina Campeggi, and two cousins. Donna 
 Giuseppina was accompanied by her friend, the Con- 
 tessa Sormanni. The Contessa was an old lady, of I do 
 not know what origin, who had passed her youth at one 
 of the little courts of Parma, or Modena. She did not 
 understand, or talk of, anything but what she had seen 
 or heard at court. Coming to Milan after the marriage 
 of her daughter, she conceived a great affection for my 
 aunt Donna Giuseppina, who, in her turn, loved her, yet 
 who scolded her friend, even when she agreed with her. 
 We went by rail as far as Monza; it did not, at this 
 time, go any farther. There we took carriages for Como. 
 On our way we had some adventures that were not 
 without danger. In the piazzas of the villages, and 
 along the roads, we met peasants who had been sum- 
 moned by the levy en masse. They had more the air 
 of people in rebellion than of patriots going to defend 
 their country. Threatening voices were heard, and 
 even our modest carriages were saluted by the cry, 
 
 103 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 "Death to the signori." The carriages that appeared 
 to belong to the gentry were stopped and turned back 
 with menaces and injuries. Everywhere we saw evi- 
 dences of panic. Old men, women, and children were 
 flying with their household goods, uttering curses upon 
 the signori. The gentry were also cursed in a song that 
 was a mixture of patriotism and of hate, that, to-day, 
 would be called anarchistic. 
 
 Yet the peasants were neither the enemies of the land- 
 lords nor the partisans of the Austrians. The peasants 
 were usually on excellent terms with the proprietors. 
 For Austria they had no love, but they had great respect 
 and fear. A number had passed eight consecutive years 
 in active service and two years in the reserves. They 
 returned home, disciplined, and with a great idea of the 
 power of Austria. The "Tedesco" was for them the 
 master of masters. In their cottages a legend was cur- 
 rent that the family of the Emperor was descended 
 from relatives of the Madonna. 
 
 The general enthusiasm, the momentary decline of 
 the power of Austria, and the influence of the landlords 
 and of the priests (who, in the Pope's name, had thrown 
 themselves into the national movement), induced the 
 peasants to take part, without understanding why, in 
 the events of March. But bad news had come; and fear- 
 ful rumors had been diffused in regard to the vengeance 
 the Austrians would take, if they maintained their 
 union with the signori. A great number of the priests, 
 too, had become cautious, since Pius IX had abandoned 
 the war for independence. And lastly the disheartening 
 effects of our sorrow and distress were not lacking. 
 
 104 
 
The yourney to Bellinzona 
 
 But to return to our journey. It was difficult to find 
 carriages at Como to take us to Bellinzona, whither we 
 were going. In the end we found an old, ramshackle om- 
 nibus, into which we all crowded, and began our exodus. 
 We passed the frontier with the agony of mind of people 
 who do not know when they will pass it again. But, 
 as in the melancholy moments of life, things always 
 happen which lead to laughter, suddenly, in the night, 
 one of the long seats gave way, and half of us were 
 seated on the floor with our knees touching our chins. 
 
 No harm was done, but the Contessa Sormanni, 
 without altering her position, began to intone the 
 prayers for those who are in articulo mortis, in a high 
 and solemn voice. In our position, as also in the voice of 
 the Contessa, there was something so comical that we 
 all burst out laughing. As it was not possible to raise 
 the seat, one half of the company had to continue their 
 journey on the floor. When the Contessa heard that 
 we were all living, she began, without changing her voice, 
 to recite a return of thanks. This was followed by a 
 rosary which finished with especial prayers for travelers, 
 for those who are in peril, and for Christian princes and 
 rulers. When we arrived in Bellinzona we took up our 
 abode in a furnished apartment in the house of some 
 people called Moro. 
 
 In the mean time matters hastened on. There was 
 a succession of sorrowful rumors; and soon we heard of 
 the capitulation of Milan. As it was difficult to verify 
 the reports we received, the contradictions made our 
 uncertainty agonizing. We hoped until the last, be- 
 lieving that Milan would be defended at any and every 
 
 loS 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 cost, . and that its successful defense would restore the 
 fortunes of war. Our sorrow, therefore, can be imagined 
 when it was learned that the Austrians had, indeed, 
 entered the city. 
 
 The Contessa Sormanni, who believed it was her duty 
 to console the afflicted (she was much less afflicted than 
 we), went out occasionally in search of comforting news. 
 She succeeded generally in making us more miserable, 
 and in securing a scolding for herself from my aunt. 
 My aunt liked to hear the news, but only the kind that 
 pleased her. She never, therefore, read the newspa- 
 pers. In Milan she had a secretary whose duty it was 
 (among others) to go to a cafe to read the "Gazzetta 
 di Milano" in order to be able to relate the news which 
 he thought would divert his employer. 
 
 The Contessa, who knew this peculiarity of her friend, 
 went about incessantly in search of comforting informa- 
 tion. Behold her one day coming into the house with a 
 journal in her hand, crying "Good news! Good news!" 
 All gathered around her. The news was that Prince 
 Felix von Schwarzenberg had been appointed Governor 
 of Milan. There was a howl of vexation. 
 
 "How!" exclaimed the Contessa; "do you not know 
 that Prince Felix is a relative of reigning houses, and 
 almost a prince of the blood? Do you not know that 
 his nomination is an honor for Milan, almost as if the 
 viceroy had been sent back?" The poor Contessa be- 
 took herself oflt, grumbling, and calling us all malcon- 
 tents. 
 
 A few days after, the "notificazidne" of Marshal 
 Radetzky was published; it mortified even the good Con- 
 
 io6 
 
Sequestrations 
 
 tessa. The Marshal demanded a contribution of twenty- 
 millions from one hundred and eighty-nine citizens, 
 chosen from among those who had held places under 
 the Provisional Government, or who had, he understood, 
 favored the revolution. The list began with the name 
 of Principessa Belgiojoso, mulcted in the sum of 800,- 
 000 lire. Then there followed the names of the principal 
 families, or citizens, of Milan and Lombardy, who were 
 taxed from 20,000 to 500,000 lire. It was not possible 
 to collect these sums, as the country was exhausted; 
 moreover, a majority of the citizens who had been fined 
 were absent. But the Marshal had great need of funds, 
 since, in several instances, the people who presented 
 themselves with the cash contracted for, and secured, 
 large reductions. The goods of many, who could not 
 pay, were sequestered. For some this meant actual 
 ruin; for, as no one could be found who would become 
 the keeper of the sequestered goods, the military govern- 
 ment took all it could find. 
 
 A celebrated case was that of Beretta, who became 
 the mayor of Milan in 1859. Beretta, under the Pro- 
 visional Government, had had the care of the finances. 
 The Austrians, succeeding to it, recognized only its 
 administrative acts. It placed to the charge of Beretta 
 all the expenses of a revolutionary character that had 
 been confirmed by him. The sum was very great, and 
 the Austrians to satisfy it sequestered all Beretta's 
 goods. Out of this arose a trial between Beretta and the 
 Government. Beretta believed himself to be protected 
 by an article in the treaty of peace, and brought into 
 his defense even the Government of Piedmont. With 
 
 107 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 a council of lawyers he succeeded in prolonging the liti- 
 gation for ten years, when the battle of Magenta de- 
 livered him. 
 
 We passed our exile at Bellinzona in the streets or in 
 the cafes. The most improbable reports were the most 
 accredited. The number of the refugees increased daily, 
 and gradually the piazzas and streets overflowed with 
 them. They were not always animated by the right 
 kind of spirit. Many remnants of the Free Corps, that 
 had been disbanded, wore military dress, but the rags 
 of some volunteers moved us to pity. The greater num- 
 ber of these last came from the corps of General Grif- 
 fini, that had crossed from Brescia through the Valca- 
 monica and the Valtellina, on their way to the Grisons. 
 This troop had directed its steps toward the Canton 
 Ticino and toward Piedmont. 
 
 The Swiss, especially the inhabitants of the Grisons, 
 did not exhibit a friendly spirit. Whether it was because 
 of fear of the Austrians, or of greater sympathy for 
 them, they often treated the fugitives with harshness. 
 How miserable were the wanderers ! They had left their 
 homes, believing that the war was easy, and that tri- 
 umph was secure. They had passed through these 
 illusions, and were confronted by the hardest facts. 
 Their minds had, therefore, become shaken, and they 
 could not reason. They accepted, and repeated, the 
 strangest notions. 
 
 Treason! mysterious treason! was the great word. It 
 gave an explanation to everything. In misfortune, men 
 seem to have a need of finding in occult causes an ex- 
 planation for their errors. They are wont to let their 
 
 io8 
 
Gustavo Modena 
 
 faults rest upon the head of some one, who becomes a 
 traitor. Accordingly, it was said that the members of the 
 Provisional Government, the generals, and many others, 
 had betrayed the people. The greatest traitor of all was 
 Carlo Alberto. If any one hazarded a doubt he risked 
 being placed in the same category himself. 
 
 I remember hearing some persons trying to persuade 
 a few Piedmontese soldiers (they had become separated 
 from their command) that their king was a traitor. The 
 poor fellows did not want to believe this, but the others 
 insisted upon it, and wanted them to desert. The sol- 
 diers, in whom the sentiment of faith and of discipline 
 was worth more than words, were not to be led astray. 
 They took the road to their homes, and the way of duty. 
 
 Gustavo Modena, a warm patriot, gave recitals at 
 Lugano, Bellinzona, and Locarno in behalf of the emi- 
 grants. In the interludes he declaimed Berchet's poe- 
 try, the "EsecratoCarignano,"* amidst great applause, 
 as he broke the chair against which he leaned. 
 
 Poor Berchet, how would he have liked this applause 
 in after years at Turin? Returning from exile, he was 
 most profoundly convinced that the only safety for 
 Italy lay in its union with Piedmont. Taught by mis- 
 fortune, he deplored the words that were wrung from the 
 sorrows of a patriot, disillusioned by the misadventures 
 of 1821. 
 
 Lugano, Bellinzona, Locarno, the whole Canton 
 Ticind? overflowed with the emigrants. Many, espe- 
 cially the volunteers, were quite without means. The 
 richer emigrants were not able to afford much help, 
 * Execrated -Carignan, Carlo Alberto. 
 109 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 since, fugitives themselves, they were often living in 
 distress. 
 
 I cannot tell the pain the good Contessa had in seeing 
 so many young men encamped in the streets and in the 
 courtyards, suffering from fever and fatigue. We could 
 see her, in the company of volunteers of every sort and 
 kind, who listened with pleasure to the good "Mother 
 Superior," as they called her. She looked like a nun, 
 as she dressed in black, and wore a white coif, and a long 
 black veil. Nor were her comforts limited to words. 
 Every morning she led a little squad of exhausted men 
 to breakfast, but, before so doing, she took them to hear 
 a mass. 
 
 After the surrender of Milan, the hopes of the refugees 
 were centered in the Free Corps, especially in that of 
 Garibaldi. "The royal war is finished; now begins the 
 war of the people," Mazzini proclaimed. As phrases 
 had great weight, all looked forward to it. But soon we 
 learned that Garibaldi's corps, which was the last in 
 the field, after the combats of Morazzone and Luino, 
 had been outnumbered, and driven into Canton Ticino. 
 This news made us apprehensive for Emilio and his 
 friends. 
 
 We made anxious inquiries of all who might give us 
 any information, but in vain. After several days, per- 
 ceiving that my mother was most unhappy, I resolved 
 to go to Lugano where, I was told, there were some of the 
 Garibaldians. Deciding one evening to go, as I could 
 not find any cart or wagon, I departed on foot. I would 
 have done better to have waited until morning, but I 
 was moved by my mother's affliction. 
 
 no 
 
/ go to Lugano 
 
 I had trusted in the moon, but she is sometimes fickle. 
 In traversing Monte Ceneri I thought I would take a 
 byway, when, suddenly, the sky became dark, and it 
 began to rain. The path I took led to a wall beyond 
 which I could see nothing. I cried aloud; but no one 
 replied. I heard only the mysterious voices of the night, 
 the rustling of a leaf, the falling of a stone, or the flight 
 of some little beast to its den. I sat upon the ground, 
 and remained there until dawn. Then I found the path, 
 and crossing the mountain, I regained the post-road. 
 Some hours after, I entered Lugano, seated on a trunk, 
 behind a coach. 
 
 Lugano presented the same aspect as Bellinzona, but 
 in greater proportions. The piazzas and streets were 
 crowded with soldiers of all conditions. Among them 
 r found some acquaintances to whom I told my mission. 
 They referred me to a soldier who had helped the sick 
 and wounded across the frontier. He took me to a house, 
 in the stable of which I found Emilio, wrapped in a 
 greatcoat, stretched upon some straw. He had been 
 smitten with fever because of the fatigue of the long 
 marches, and had fallen out by the way. With some 
 others he had been taken up and carried to this 
 stable. 
 
 Seeing me he revived, and, a short time after, we left 
 this improvised hospital. He was still feverish, but, 
 above all, he was exhausted. He needed food and rest; 
 he did not have a cent in his pockets. A short time 
 after, we left for Bellinzona, where my mother's loving 
 care brought about Emilio's speedy recovery. After a 
 fortnight he was called back to Lugano, and I followed 
 
 III 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 him, as I was anxious to know something of the events 
 that, I. learned, were in preparation. 
 
 The cream of the radical Lombard emigration had 
 gathered about Mazzini in Lugano. Emilio took me 
 to call upon Signora Teresa Kramer Berra, the mother 
 of Edoardo Kramer, who had been one of his school 
 friends. In her house many emigrants came together, 
 all of whom were agitated by the schemes that were 
 at once their comfort and the cause of their unrest, I 
 made the acquaintance of some personages who pro- 
 cured for me the honor of assisting at some of the 
 meetings in which a new insurrection was planned. A 
 number of them were held at Capolago, in the print- 
 ing office of De Boni. Here I met Mazzini. 
 
 Mazzini was the ideal of nearly all the emigrants. 
 No one talked of, or listened to, any one else. His utter- 
 ances were dogmas. His intimate friends, and many 
 who wished to appear to be intimate, called him simply 
 "Pippo." He who spoke of a matter in the name of 
 "Pippo" had no need to discuss it further. His word 
 was absolute and infallible. 
 
 Mazzini had a gentle way of speaking and acting. He 
 discussed affairs in a sweet tone, with an air of inspira- 
 tion. He did not like to be contradicted, and was espe- 
 cially deferential to those who were of his opinion. It is 
 useless to say that I was one of his enthusiastic admirers, 
 and that I listened to him in religious silence. 
 
 In the meetings I attended I heard the particulars of 
 the preparations for an armed invasion of Lombardy, 
 a project which gradually became the secret of all, and 
 was soon discussed in the cafes. One of the busybodies 
 
 112 
 
The Expedition to Val d"* Intelvi 
 
 was a man by the name of Mora, whom I had seen the 
 previous year in Casa Correnti. He was always in the 
 uniform of I do not know what corps, and went about 
 with the air of a man who has his head full of schemes 
 and secrets. He was quiet, but his quietness seemed to 
 say more than another's speech. Evidently he believed 
 himself to be the chief-of-staff of the army that Maz- 
 zini was preparing; but events soon cut short Mora's 
 military career. Many years afterwards he became the 
 steward of the Royal College for Girls in Milan. 
 
 The war of the people, destined, as it was said, to repair 
 the errors of the royal war, finished with two attempts ; 
 one from the Valle d' Intelvi, and one from Chiavenna. 
 To judge from the plans, great deeds were to be done 
 in the valleys and in the lake districts. When October 
 came, Emilio left Lugano and, passing through Switzer- 
 land, went to the districts where the insurrection was to 
 break out. But when he arrived in Valtellina, he learned 
 to his surprise that no one knew anything about it. He 
 talked with the principal patriots, and found that they 
 were all opposed to the projected movement. He con- 
 sulted, also, with Enrico Guicciardi, who had come from 
 Piedmont to look into the supposititious preparations. 
 Guicciardi was a brave man, but not one who was easily 
 deceived. He discouraged the enterprise, and returned 
 to his Valtellinese battalion, which soon distinguished 
 itself at the battle of Novara. 
 
 In the mean time Mazzini ordered D'Apice and 
 Arcioni, called generals, to advance into the Valle 
 d' Intelvi. This valley opens behind the district of 
 Argegno on Lake Como. The Comitato Insurrezionale 
 
 "3 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 of Lugano, in order to second this movement, ordered 
 a corps, supposed to have four hundred men, of em- 
 igrants and disbanded soldiers, to march to the valley. 
 This corps, which was only partly formed, was dismissed 
 by D' Apice after the first skirmish. 
 
 On the 28th of October, General Wimpfen sent seven 
 hundred soldiers, embarked on two steamers, from 
 Como to Argegno. As they approached, a boat sud- 
 denly put forth with the intention of boarding the 
 steamers. From one of them a cannon was fired, where- 
 upon the boat turned back, and ran upon the beach. 
 The attack of the few upon the many failed, as did all 
 the other foolish attempts of the year 1848. This se- 
 rious, yet comic, episode was told me by Antonio 
 Lazzati, who was aboard the boat. 
 
 The Austrians marched into the Valle d' Intelvi where 
 a republic (which lasted three days) had been pro- 
 claimed. It was defended by a handful of poeple, com- 
 manded by Antonio Cresseri and Andrea Brenta, two 
 brave men, who almost alone resisted them. They 
 were captured, and shot at Como. 
 
 Contemporaneously with these events, another group 
 of emigrants penetrated the Valtellina nearly as far 
 as Chiavenna. It was commanded by the patriot Fran- 
 cesco Dolzino. There were with him the Marchese 
 Vitaliano Crivelli, Alberico Gerli, called Pepe, Giovanni 
 and Gaetano Cantoni, the notary Bordini, and the 
 engineer Tagliaferri, all of Milan. The Austrians ar- 
 rived shortly after, and occupied the Valle del Mera. 
 Shots were exchanged, and the Austrians burned the 
 village of Veccia; but no one moved. The few emi- 
 
 114 
 
'The Emigrants scatter 
 
 grants who had attempted the attack were dispersed. So 
 finished the expedition that the best informed people had 
 sought to prevent. Adventurers and dreamers planned 
 it; and Mazzini had given them his support. 
 
 After the outcome of their unfortunate enterprise, 
 the emigrants, persuaded that nothing further would 
 be attempted, began to strike their tents. The least 
 compromised returned to Lombardy, going first to their 
 country-houses. The most exalted of the volunteers 
 directed their steps to central Italy, where, it was 
 hoped, new movements were on foot. 
 
 At the end of October our little colony determined 
 to return home. The Contessa Sormanni was the most 
 impatient of us all. Hearing of the archdukes and 
 princes who had received commands in Lombardy she 
 was anxious to see them. All raised their voices against 
 her, and many discussions ensued. My Aunt Giusep- 
 pina, returning to the memories of her youth, invoked 
 a new Napoleon, who, she said, would soon put an end 
 to all confusion, while the Contessa maintained that 
 no confusion would have arisen if only Maria Luigia 
 Duchessa di Parma * were yet living! 
 
 My aunts, cousins, and the Contessa departed di- 
 rectly for Milan. My mother preferred to go with 
 Enrico and me to Tirano, although Emilio, who had 
 gone there some days before, had left. 
 
 * Second wife of Napoleon I. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 (1848) 
 
 Return to Milan. — Appearance of the city. — We leave for the Valtellina. — 
 Under military government. — A condemnation. — The Croatian soldiers. 
 — Military cantonments. — Major Krall. — Mazzini and the expeditions. — 
 I study German and music. — Milan again. — The prevalent sadness. — 
 The revolutionary movements in central Italy. 
 
 BEFORE going to the Valtellina we had to return to 
 Milan for a few days. We went f rom Arona by night. 
 At the frontier we were received by a commissary, who, 
 after questioning us, let us pass. We entered the city 
 early in the morning by the Porta Sempione. What 
 agony I suffered as we crossed the Piazza d'Armi! 
 How many times I had been there, during the preceding 
 months, to see the volunteers, or the National Guard, 
 or the soldiers of Piedmont march by, with a feeling of 
 assurance that Milan, and perhaps all Italy, were hence- 
 forth forever free. Now the Austrian soldiers bivouacked 
 or maneuvered on the piazza as our masters. 
 
 The first soldiers I saw were the Croats. They were 
 dressed in maroon, with tight blue trousers. The 
 Croats were to us, Latins, the typical barbarians, as 
 many stories of their ferocity had been repeated. They 
 were, moreover, the objects of our contempt. The 
 Croats, as masters, filled up the measure of our grief 
 and humiliation. I closed my eyes, and perceived that 
 they were bathed in tears. I felt my blood boil; and my 
 heart experienced all the bitterness of a cause that is 
 lost. Out of all this came a feeling of hatred and 
 a determination of revenge. These sentiments were 
 
 116 
 
Return to Milan 
 
 shared by all the young men of my age for ten years to 
 come. 
 
 We remained in Milan only a short time. In the 
 prevalent squalor it was impossible to recognize the 
 festive city of a few weeks before. The streets were 
 deserted but for the military. The few citizens I saw 
 went about hastily as if ashamed. The piazzas and 
 other places were full of soldiers who conducted them- 
 selves as if they were in an encampment. Along the 
 bastions artillery were planted, and in the public gardens 
 a regiment of the hussars bivouacked. The greater 
 number of the palaces and houses of the aristocracy 
 were used as barracks or as military hospitals. I often 
 saw soldiers, under the portico of some palace, cooking 
 their mess with the gilded legs of tables and chairs, 
 or with other pieces of broken furniture. 
 
 As soon as we could, we fled to the Valtellina. The 
 country through which we passed presented a spectacle 
 not less disheartening. Everywhere we saw menacing 
 soldiers, and everywhere there were signs of military 
 arrogance. In a province a general or colonel was in 
 command; in a city or town, a major; in a little country 
 district, a captain or a subaltern. Alongside of the mili- 
 tary rulers the civil authorities nominally existed; but 
 they were without power. The officers resorted to 
 martial law with ruthless and ferocious severity. Daily 
 we heard of some unfortunate who had been mercilessly 
 shot: a broken weapon, or even a piece of one, had 
 been found in his possession. And such things were 
 done in order to pacify us. What a government! 
 Doubtless the army wished to revenge itself because 
 
 117 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 it had been defeated and driven away in the month of 
 March. 
 
 The common soldiers, too, were generally irritated, 
 suspicious, and fearful. They were irritated because, 
 belonging chiefly to the reserves, they had had to leave 
 their wives and children. They were suspicious and 
 fearful because they had crossed the Alps with their 
 heads filled with stories of treasons, and brigands, and 
 poniards, and of other things which were to be found 
 in Italy. 
 
 In the country districts it was necessary for us to take 
 many precautions, yet they were not always sufficient. 
 One day, at Tirano, a youth named Ricetti, a student 
 of medicine, stood smoking at a window. Some soldiers 
 passed, and one said that Ricetti had spat upon him; 
 whereupon he denounced him to the major, who ordered 
 his arrest; and, without trial, condemned him to be 
 whipped in the courtyard of the Municipio. The major, 
 also, obliged the municipal authorities to assist at the 
 whipping. Ricetti was crippled by hip disease, and the 
 doctor and the chief of the commune had protested. 
 It was because of this protest that the major had obliged 
 them to assist at the whipping. 
 
 The soldiers who occupied the Valtellina were Croats, 
 and belonged to the countries then called the military 
 frontiers. They had many primitive and horrid customs. 
 As several were quartered in our house, I had the means 
 of observing their habits and of learning the working 
 of their minds. Although barbarians, they had the apti- 
 tude of Slavs for learning languages. After a few weeks' 
 sojourn, they acquired enough Italian to make them- 
 
 Ii8 
 
The Croatian Soldiers 
 
 selves understood. I sometimes diverted myself with 
 making them talk; whereupon I perceived that there 
 was in them a strange mixture of goodness and of 
 ferocity. 
 
 "Thou art a good Italian," they said to me, if I gave 
 them anything, but hastened always to add, "We will 
 thrust our bayonets into the stomach of every revolu- 
 tionary Italian brigand." 
 
 They were under strict discipline, yet they took 
 things with a free hand, fruit especially. When the 
 peasants surprised them they would say, "Pius IX 
 pays." It would seem as if to this robbery, discipline 
 shut its eye. I saw them sometimes prepare their mess 
 in the courtyard. They planted their kettles in a row. 
 Then they threw in some nasty-smelling fat and their 
 ordinary rations; then all that they had stolen during 
 the day, beans, cabbages, potatoes, and even bunches 
 of grapes. Among the things they took with predilection 
 were tallow candles. These were likewise thrown into 
 the pot, unless they were reserved for another use. This 
 was to smear the bands which they wound around their 
 legs up to their tight pantaloons. They kept them on 
 for weeks and even months. They even smeared their 
 bodies with tallow. They averred that this practice 
 was good for the health, as it preserved them from in- 
 sects. Let us believe it, but this sweet preservative made 
 them smell horribly! When they left a lodging an odor 
 remained which lasted for years. 
 
 These soldiers often gave vent to their animosity 
 against us. They were soldiers for life, but generally, 
 after a certain number of years, they remained in their 
 
 119 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 own country. Now, Austria had to call out all of her 
 reserves, on which account it was not exceptional to see 
 a son, a father, and a grandfather in the same company. 
 One of them told me that, in leaving his wife, he had 
 said to her: "I leave you three pigs, five sheep, seven 
 hens, and two little children; if, when I return, I find four 
 pigs, six sheep, and eight hens, I will say good wife; 
 but if I find three children, I will send wife and children 
 away with a beating." 
 
 Among the Austrian officers there were some who 
 belonged to good and distinguished families, but among 
 the Croats there were none. Their habits showed 
 that they were all rustics of little training and education. 
 Equally with the common soldiers, the Croatian officers 
 uttered their hatred of the Italians who had caused 
 them to leave their homes, and, equally with them, were 
 their minds filled with vague fears. 
 
 One day one of these officers, who lodged In our house, 
 but with whom I had never exchanged a salute, suddenly 
 approached me and, in a jargon like that of his soldiers, 
 said, "If a revolution should occur, you would kill me 
 in your house?" 
 
 I was a youth and he a big strong man. Then he 
 added quickly: "You cannot kill me because I am 
 your guest." 
 
 "Guest, no," I replied, looking at him in surprise. 
 "You are here as a conqueror and not as a guest." 
 
 "I am in your house, therefore guest, guest," he 
 continued. 
 
 "I must see you without a uniform to call you a 
 guest," I answered. 
 
 1 20 
 
Major Krall 
 
 He regarded me fixedly, and then went his way, 
 studying, perhaps, the question of hospitality from this 
 point of view. Afterwards we continued, as we were 
 before, without looking at, or even saluting, one another. 
 
 The commander at Tirano was a major called Krall, 
 who, like his soldiers, was sometimes ferocious and 
 sometimes good-humored. His Tiranese subjects, who 
 had learned . this, knew how to obtain their desires. 
 Bottles of Valtellina wine often obtained graces and 
 favors, and occasionally saved some one from death, 
 "I am Emperor of Tirano," he exclaimed once, when 
 tipsy; "and my wife leads the pigs to pasture!" 
 
 The plans of the Committee of Lugano, which had 
 become known to all, helped to make the soldiers sus- 
 picious and alarmed. They ended disastrously, as we 
 have seen, but they were the excuse for the occupation 
 of the Valtellina with troops scattered along the frontiers. 
 
 The Valtellina took an important part in the revolution 
 of 1848, and furnished many recruits to the volunteers, 
 some of whom had deserted from the Austrian ranks. 
 Joined by remnants of the Lombard corps, a battalion 
 of Valtellinese was now formed in Piedmont under the 
 command of Major Enrico Guicciardi, of Ponte. Other 
 patriots followed the profession of arms in this battalion 
 or in some other command, among whom was Luigi 
 Torelli who had planted the flag on the cathedral in the 
 Five Days. He was a major of staff in the Solaroli 
 brigade. 
 
 Some friends who had gone to Poschiavo or to the 
 Canton of the Grisons were still absent. Emilio, after 
 his conference with Guicciardi, convinced that the revo- 
 
 121 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 lutionary movement existed only in the fancy of the 
 committee, had left for Tuscany. Here it seemed that 
 something was in preparation, in which he intended to 
 participate while pursuing his studies, as the young men 
 of those days so often did. 
 
 In the mean time I reflected upon past events with the 
 little understanding that I had. No one seemed to have 
 a great deal. The Hungarian insurrection continued; 
 Venezia still resisted; and revolutions were in progress 
 in all Italy. We hoped for much from them. We hoped 
 also for a democratic ministry at Turin which would 
 force Carlo Alberto to break the armistice, and to return 
 to the fields of Lombardy. There were, therefore, mat- 
 ters in abundance to nourish our illusions. 
 
 Time passed slowly. I rarely went out of the house. 
 To occupy my days and nights I undertook the study of 
 German and music. To learn German was not allowed 
 by the puritanical patriots of the day; so it was always 
 studied in secret. It seemed to me that I might study it, 
 so I turned to the only professor of German that was at 
 Tirano. He was a man from the Engadine, and he taught 
 me the principles of a language that made my first true 
 German professor laugh. 
 
 The parish organist undertook to give me my first 
 lessons on the pianoforte. He put all his good will into 
 the task, and I put in a little, but, after a few months, 
 I became convinced that my inaptitude to learn was 
 equal to my pleasure in hearing music; so I discontinued 
 my lessons. 
 
 In order to continue our serious studies, my mother 
 determined, in December, to take Enrico and me to 
 
 122 
 
^he Prevalent Sadness 
 
 Milan. The university and the lyceums were closed, 
 but permission was given to the students to follow the 
 courses privately, in groups of not more than ten. The 
 courses commenced at the beginning of the year, and 
 were followed at best, or at worst, by professors and 
 scholars with thoughts fixed upon other things than 
 study. 
 
 What a sad winter it was ! Whosoever could, remained 
 abroad or in the country; and the city was depopulated. 
 The streets looked squalid and deserted, and were occu- 
 pied only by the soldiers. The state of siege was most 
 rigorous. Nearly every day placards of the Government, 
 called "Notificazioni," ordained some rigorous measure 
 or published some sentence of the council of war. 
 
 To raise up our spirits there came occasionally from 
 Piedmont some report that the war would be renewed; 
 and from Tuscany and Rome there came the news of 
 the things that had been done. These things were only 
 convulsive movements of sorrowful augury; but hope 
 transfigured them as the beginning of a new revolu- 
 tion. 
 
 My brother Emilio, who was in the midst of these 
 movements in Tuscany, at Pisa, or at Florence, sent 
 us, from time to time, some hopeful tidings which, how- 
 ever, were only the reflex of the illusions in which we 
 all lived. Persuaded that the war for revenge was near, 
 he enlisted in a battalion of students. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 (1849) 
 
 Winter of 1849. — The end of the armistice. — The battle of Novara. — At- 
 tempts to make Lombardy rise. — Brescia. — The reaction. — Venice re- 
 mains in arms. — The Manara battalion. — The veterans. — Demonstration 
 of the 1 8th of August. — Whippings publicly administered. — We return to 
 Tirano. — Military cantonments. — A saucepan thrown out. — A condemna- 
 tion. — Military perquisitions. 
 
 THE winter of 1849 was very sad. Everything 
 looked squalid and neglected. Some people re- 
 turned to their city houses, but as soon as possible, 
 when they were able, they retired to the country. All 
 who remained in town lived quietly, and ceased from 
 going to the cafes, theaters, and assemblies. Fear and 
 sorrow kept people off the streets, where they might 
 be brought in contact with the soldiers. Friends who 
 had lately returned talked only of the incidents of their 
 emigration, or of discouraging reports from foreign 
 countries, over which, also, triumphant reaction had 
 extended itself like a fog. 
 
 We hoped no more for help from France. In August, 
 when the fortunes of war were running against us, the 
 cabinet of Turin thought of requesting her aid; and the 
 Provisional Government sent a mission to Paris. It was 
 composed of the Marchese Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga 
 and Giulio Carcano, who, uniting with the Piedmon- 
 tese (the Marchese Brignole, the Sardinian Ambassador, 
 and the Deputy Ricci), asked for intervention. 
 
 Cavaignac, the chief of the executive power of the Re- 
 public, soon robbed our mission of every hope. He said 
 "that a war for independence and for a strong Italian 
 
 124 
 
The Kndofthe Armistice 
 
 State was not for the interests of France." He prom- 
 ised them, at the most, a mediation in union with 
 England. France, which we had surrounded with an 
 aureola of ideality, in the day of our misfortune repulsed 
 us. What a disillusion! 
 
 When we sought for encouragement we looked to 
 Hungary, which was still in arms and, at times, trium- 
 phant. We looked, also, to the central Italian States, 
 or to rebellious Rome, or to Venice, over which the ban- 
 ner of Italy yet waved. In the end we had to look to 
 Piedmont where the extreme opinion of Parliament was 
 that the war should be immediately resumed. 
 
 An immediate renewal of the war! A dispassionate 
 observer could easily have foreseen that this was not 
 possible. The army, reorganized in a hurry, was de- 
 pressed. It had no faith in its leaders, and was not eager 
 for the fray. Search had been made abroad for a general 
 to command it — in Switzerland and in France — 
 but in vain. At the end, a Pole, Chrzanowski, who was 
 recommended by the insurrectionary committee, was 
 chosen. He was honest and studious, but he was a poor 
 soldier, and he did not know either the army or the 
 country. Ramorino, a survival of the "Giovane Italia," 
 was also summoned, and was given the command of a 
 brigade. As he disobeyed (it was said he betrayed), 
 he was shot. 
 
 In the interim there was an Anglo-French mediation, 
 which dragged along. Austria did not wish to concede 
 anything; so the mediators counseled resignation, and 
 abandoned us. Gioberti would have liked to have 
 shuffled along; to have intervened in Tuscany in behalf 
 
 125 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 of the Grand Duke, and to have controlled the liberal 
 movement, before Austria should enter. This may- 
 have been good politics, but, as Austria desired to renew 
 the war, she never would have acquiesced. 
 
 There was no one in authority to impose a policy that 
 would patch up a peace, and there was no disposition 
 in the public to accept it. The Parliamentary Left was 
 thought to favor it, but it lacked energy, and Gioberti 
 fell. The democratic ministry of Rattazzi succeeded 
 him. It would give, it was said, a chance for revenge to 
 those who desired it. The consolation of the public was 
 great for a while. 
 
 The anniversary of the Five Days approached. Upon 
 the 1 2th of March, the citizens were aroused to their 
 former enthusiasm in an inexpressible commotion. 
 They learned that a Piedmontese officer, Raffaele Ca- 
 doma, a major of the royal staff, had descended at the 
 Villa Reale, and had denounced the armistice to Marshal 
 Radetzky. 
 
 The day after, the Austrian troops were in motion. 
 The bands played, and the soldiers were gay; and all 
 marched off, crying, "Hurrah!" The officers had a 
 more provoking air than ever. The spectacle made our 
 hearts ache. Radetzky had published two proclama- 
 tions, one against Piedmont, and one directed to the 
 Milanese and Lombard revolutionaries. The citizens 
 were more surprised than happy in the thought of the 
 renewal of the war; sorrowful forebodings possessed 
 them. 
 
 In a few days Lombardy was so stripped of troops 
 that it could easily have risen behind the Austrians 
 
 126 
 
The Battle of Novara 
 
 if the populace had not lost courage. The emigrants 
 had hoped that the provinces would revolt, and had 
 supplied the people with arms; but to faith, diffidence 
 had succeeded. All stood expecting good fortune rather 
 than trying to promote it. 
 
 The committee of the Lombard emigration and the 
 Piedmontese Minister of War had charged Gabriele 
 Camozzi to incite an insurrection when the war should 
 break out. Camozzi passed the frontier when the armis- 
 tice had scarcely expired, and, traversing Como and 
 Lecco, came to Bergamo (where he was very popular) 
 with his bands. After surrounding the Rocca, he sum- 
 moned it to surrender. A group of emigrants joined 
 him here. Among these were some friends of mine, 
 Luigi Sala, formerly secretary of the Provisional Gov- 
 ernment, Paolo Belgiojoso, and Agostino FrapoUi. 
 
 In the mean time the battle of Novara was fought. 
 We could hear (on the 22d and 23 d) on the bastions, a 
 droning on the wind. Some said that it was the noise 
 of cannon. On the faces of all we read distressful, rather 
 than hopeful, anxiety. Then two days passed in an alter- 
 nation of news, now good, now bad. Some said that 
 Piedmont, others that Austria, had gained the battle. 
 
 At the end, alas! came the truth. Shortly after we 
 witnessed the entry of the Austrian troops. They re- 
 turned victorious and arrogant, crowned with myrtle! 
 I. will not forget my anger when I saw a regiment cross 
 the Piazza del Duomo, crying, "Viva Radetzky," and 
 carrying a tricolored flag of the Guard captured in 
 Piedmont! Thereafter came only a succession of mis- 
 fortunes and sorrows. 
 
 127 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 The garrison, which occupied the upper city of Ber- 
 gamo, received the immigrants with cannonades. Ga- 
 briele Camozzi had summoned the inhabitants of the 
 neighboring country to arms in a revolutionary proc- 
 lamation, and had enlisted eight hundred volunteers 
 which he directed against Brescia; but he had to re- 
 tire before the advancing Austrians. 
 
 At Brescia itself false and fantastic rumors had been 
 spread. There were reports of a victory won by the 
 Piedmontese, of the retreat of the Austrians, and of 
 things still more improbable. The republican com- 
 mittee published these reports as facts; and Brescia 
 revolted bravely. The struggle lasted ten days. Gen- 
 eral Hainan only entered the heroic city on its ruins, 
 over heaps of the slain, after having shot some fifty 
 prisoners. He marched in at the head of fifteen thou- 
 sand troops. 
 
 A squadron of rebels was to have penetrated into the 
 Valtellina, but it did not appear. The Austrians, how- 
 ever, reappeared, more numerous and more arrogant 
 than ever. They occupied the principal districts through- 
 out the valley. 
 
 In every part of Italy everything that the revolution 
 had raised, in haste and frenzy, crumbled away. Only 
 in Venice did the tricolored flag still wave. The eyes 
 of all turned to it with a melancholy satisfaction. We 
 hoped that, before it fell, or Rome was captured, or 
 Hungary became pacified, something would happen, 
 in which we would find again the good fortune that had 
 abandoned us. 
 
 But months passed, and the shadow of the reaction 
 
 128 
 
^he Manara Battalion 
 
 deepened over Italy, and over Europe, a shadow that 
 enwrapped and depressed everybody and everything. 
 
 The last acts of the valorous defenders of Rome filled 
 our hearts with fear and sorrow, for Milan counted 
 many of her sons in the troops of Manara and Gari- 
 baldi. The conduct of these young men was heroic. 
 Their ranks had been decimated, for they had desired 
 to die as martyrs for a great idea, and thus to close the 
 Italian epoch of 1848. Manara uttered this thought in 
 a letter which he wrote from Rome: "We ought to die 
 to close with seriousness the year '48. ... In order 
 that our example should be efficacious, we ought to 
 die." 
 
 Luciano Manara, the leader of the Lombard bat- 
 talion, was then but twenty-six years of age. He was 
 of a rich family, and before 1848 had led a life of leisure, 
 notable only for the adventure of his marriage. Being 
 wildly in love with a beautiful girl, the Signorina Car- 
 melita Fe, and not having obtained the consent of her 
 parents, he persuaded her to elope. The adventure 
 naturally ended in matrimony, but the talk that it gave 
 rise to brought the young couple into much prominence. 
 Molteni, the celebrated artist, painted Carmelita in his 
 picture of the Confessione, which I saw, years after- 
 wards, in the gallery of the Belvedere in Vienna. 
 
 When 1848 came, Manara abandoned his idle life 
 and devoted himself to politics. In the Five Days he 
 fought at the gate of the Via del Giardino, now Manzoni, 
 where the struggle was of the fiercest kind, and com- 
 manded at the capture of Porta Tosa. Afterwards 
 he issued from Milan with his troop, and followed the 
 
 129 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 Austrians. In his actions he gave proof of a valor and 
 an audacity which have become legendary. After the 
 capitulation, he led his volunteers into Piedmont, where 
 they were formed into a battalion of bersaglieri* of 
 which he became the commander. This battalion was 
 in the vanguard at Cava when the Austrians passed the 
 Ticino. It covered itself with glory, as before, until it 
 was obliged to retire pursuant to an order (which has 
 remained mysterious) of General Ramorino. After 
 the battle of Novara, as the battalion wished to remain 
 in arms as long as Italian liberty was fought for, it be- 
 took itself to Rome. These volunteers (the officers of 
 which were well-known young men) carried into the 
 midst of the republican troops the colors and the cross 
 of Piedmont, and its cry of war: "Savoia!" Their 
 faith and valor secured the respect of the volunteers 
 from every part of Italy, which was augmented by the 
 motive that led them to Rome. 
 
 Among the remnants that returned I had several 
 friends, of whom, however, I saw but few. Some were . 
 wounded; as, Emilio Dandolo, Lodovico Mancini, 
 Gerolamo Induno (the painter), and Dr. Scipione Si- 
 gnoroni; some retired to the country; and some hid them- 
 selves so as to escape arrest. The bodies of Manara, 
 Morosini, and Enrico Dandolo, after long negotiations, 
 were taken to Vezia, to the tomb of the Morosini fam- 
 ily. Manara's remains were afterwards transported to 
 Barzano, to the chapel of his family, which to-day be- 
 longs to Casa Manati. 
 
 The next month I saw some of the veterans of Venice, 
 
 * Skinnishers, sharpshooters. 
 130 
 
Demonstration of August i8 
 
 who, according to the terms of the capitulation of the 
 city, had the right to return home. They were watched, 
 but were not molested. I saw them in groups on the 
 streets. They all showed the marks of their long suf- 
 ferings; nevertheless they maintained their morale as 
 men who knew they had done their duty. It was a 
 spectacle of pain and pleasure to see these remnants 
 of our short-lived hopes. 
 
 Rome fallen, Venice fallen, Hungary broken, the 
 year 1848 seemed like a nightmare. Our hearts were 
 heavy, thinking of the years of servitude before us as 
 if 1815 had returned. Milan was in a state of siege, 
 and a proud military government, which was without 
 responsibility, regarded us with contempt. One of the 
 acts of arrogance that made our hearts boil was a public 
 whipping. This took place in August. On the i8th 
 the garrison celebrated the fete of the Emperor, and a 
 certain Teresa Olivari, a milliner (who, it was said, had 
 relations with the Austrian officers), placed a yellow and 
 black flag in her window. The house that Teresa in- 
 habited has since disappeared. It was in a street called 
 Via dei Borsinari, which no longer exists. The display 
 of the flag attracted the attention of the people, and a 
 crowd assembled and began to hiss and cry. Thereupon 
 the police ran up, and, supported by a company of sol- 
 diers, surrounded the people and made some prisoners. 
 I happened to be in the crowd, but managed to slip out 
 of it. A few days afterwards thirty-four of the people 
 arrested, among whom were two women, were publicly 
 whipped upon the square before the castle. The mili- 
 tary commander sent an account of the proceeding to 
 
 131 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 the municipal government. The Podesta Pestalozza 
 sent it back with disdainful comments. 
 
 The indignation aroused by this act was intense. A 
 new cause for hate was added to the ancient score. The 
 abyss between the country and its rulers became daily 
 more profound. But we made no lament; the ignorance 
 and the brutality of the governors contributed to the 
 final outcome of the struggle. They gave to the country 
 the appearance of provinces occupied by force of arms, 
 and increased the hatred of the subject peoples. With 
 a military government and a state of siege for eight 
 consecutive years, the Austrians kept the Italian ques- 
 tion alive before Europe, and offered the victory to 
 Cavour. Statues have been erected to the marshals and 
 generals of Austria in their own lands; in truth we could 
 well afford to erect them ourselves. 
 
 When the autumn came we all went to Valtellina. 
 Emilio had returned, after the restoration of the Grand 
 Duke to Tuscany, and the disbandment of the battalion 
 in which he had enlisted. The life we led in the cities 
 was bad enough, but that of the little country districts 
 was worse. The abuses and the arrogant acts of the 
 seconds in command (less respectful than their chiefs) 
 made existence unbearable. 
 
 We were badly off in Milan, but we found that we were 
 worse off in Tirano. The country was crammed with 
 Croats, who were suspicious, wrathful, and alarmed. The 
 Swiss frontier was occupied by soldiers, and was con- 
 stantly patroled. Every flock of sheep, seen from afar, 
 was thought to be a band of revolutionaries. Even the 
 friendship of the Grisons did not reassure the Austrians. 
 
 132 
 
Soldiers in our T'irano House 
 
 We had been at home only a few days when an im- 
 patient act of my mother's brought a punishment upon 
 us. In order to enter the salon which she ordinarily 
 occupied, she had to cross a large hall which led to some 
 rooms that were tenanted by some of our unwelcome 
 guests. My mother, one day, saw that the attendants 
 of the officers had placed a stove in the middle of the 
 hall, and were burning in it the little columns and the 
 front of a balcony, which they had destroyed. These 
 they lighted with pieces of broken chairs. Upon the fire 
 they had put a saucepan, from which proceeded a nau- 
 seating smell. 
 
 My mother, stirred by this sight, took the saucepan 
 by the handle and threw it out of a window, before 
 the attendants could interfere. Then she retired, and shut 
 herself in her room. For some minutes the house re- 
 sounded with angry voices and with swords striking 
 the stairs; then all was still. 
 
 Some days after a sentence was pronounced upon us 
 by the commander in Sondrio. The family Visconti 
 Venosta was declared guilty of injurious conduct to the 
 attendants of the officers lodged in their house, and was 
 commanded to give lodging to an entire company, i.e., 
 to two hundred soldiers, for an indeterminate length 
 of time. A few hours after we received this announce- 
 ment, a company arrived and occupied nearly the whole 
 house. 
 
 Condemnations of this kind, fines imposed for frivo- 
 lous pretexts, arbitrary arrests, and occasional execu- 
 tions, — such were the things that filled out our days. 
 We lived in a state of apprehension. The vexations of 
 
 133 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 the commandants of the districts alternated with those 
 of the commanders of the provinces. Every once in a 
 while a superior officer or a commissary, accompanied 
 by an escort, came from Sondrio to make perquisitions 
 or to take measures for security. 
 
 I do not know how (since it was a secret), but some one 
 generally sent word when these visits were to be made, 
 so that the principal patriots were able to escape. 
 Among these were the parish priest, Don Carlo Zaf- 
 frani, my brother Emilio, my uncle Merizzi, the brothers 
 Salis, Dr. Andres, the engineer Antonio della Croce, 
 and Luigi Negri. Sometimes the word came during the 
 night; whereupon, one by one, they crossed the moun- 
 tain and the Swiss frontier at Campocologno or at Brusio. 
 
 One day a great peril confronted us. Very early my 
 uncle came to tell us that a major and a commissary 
 had arrived, and that they had sent their soldiers 
 throughout the country, who had begun a strict search 
 of all the houses to see whether there were any hidden 
 arms. My mother knew that some arms had been sur- 
 rendered; but to make sure that all had been, called the 
 steward to advise with him. He told her that he had 
 delivered the arms that were out of use, but that he had 
 retained a gun which had been confided to him by a 
 volunteer the year before. 
 
 This caused us great anxiety, and my mother sent at 
 once for an old butler of the family and told him to break 
 up the gun and to hide the pieces. The butler, seeing my 
 mother agitated, said to her: "Be quite tranquil; the 
 weapon shall disappear, but I shall neither break it up 
 nor surrender it. I shall hide it safely, I know where." 
 
Military Perquisitions 
 
 Every protest upon our part was futile. He hid the gun 
 in some hay in a basket; then, with the basket on his 
 back, he traversed the country, passing through the 
 soldiers, and buried it in a vineyard. A little while after, 
 as our house was being searched, the good old butler re- 
 turned quietly from the expedition which might have 
 cost him his life. My mother did not neglect to show her 
 gratitude for his generous action. 
 
 The autumn was made more mournful by the reports 
 of the harsh measures, arrogant acts, arbitrary arrests 
 and shootings that came to us from every part of the 
 Lombard and Venetian provinces. All of us lived in fear 
 and suspense. Every evil tool of the police, for revenge 
 or for gain, could turn informer; and every informer was 
 believed. It is impossible to describe the agony of these 
 days. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 (i8so) 
 
 The prevailing squalor. — Rigorous state of siege. — Plans for resisting the 
 Austrian Government. — Patriotic discipline. — We abstain from amuse- 
 ments. — The Contessa De Capitanei Serbelloni and her family. — The 
 sails d'armes in the house of a cousin. — My cousin Carlo Minunzi. — I 
 make the acquaintance of the Contessa MafFei. 
 
 OUR house at Tirano became almost uninhabitable 
 after it was occupied by the Croats : therefore, as 
 soon as some business affairs permitted, we returned to 
 Milan. The city was very dirty in appearance; the state 
 of siege was most rigorous; and the town looked like a 
 camp. The rich families had retired to their country- 
 houses, and every vestige of civic life was extinguished 
 as in a city afflicted by an epidemic. The emigrants, with 
 the exception of those most compromised, had returned; 
 some for domestic reasons ; some because of affairs ; and 
 some because one can do more for one's country at home 
 than abroad; but they had returned as shipwrecked 
 mariners. The most active in the revolution came to- 
 gether to narrate their sorrows, and to take counsel 
 for the future of their country and the life that lay 
 before them. 
 
 Everything was ended, everything was lost, not only 
 battles, but the concord that had made them possible. 
 The sentiment that had inspired the revolution seemed 
 to have died. Piedmont had fallen, the monarchy was 
 suspected, and the old popular leaders were scattered 
 abroad. Europe had become tired, and told us to resign 
 ourselves to our fate, and not to bother her any more. 
 
 136 
 
Patriotic Discipline 
 
 It seemed that the destiny of Poland was to be ours. 
 Every illusory hope was gone; we could see no opening 
 through which a ray of light could come. 
 
 In such a state of mind it was reasonable that the 
 country should have a momentary feeling of resignation, 
 and should wish to heal its wounds and augment its 
 resources. But a high and noble patriotism repudiated 
 the counsels of reason. All is lost; therefore, let us begin 
 anew. Such was the glorious word of command. It came 
 spontaneously forth from the breasts of all. 
 
 Toward what end? By what route? Under what flag? 
 Every one had his own idea; but all agreed not to stop, 
 but to push ahead, and to resist our rulers at every cost, 
 however obscure the future might be. 
 
 The Lombardo-Venetian provinces, with Milan at 
 their head, gave for ten years an exhibition of how a 
 country can exist separated from its rulers. We had 
 nothing whatever to do with our government, and we 
 treated those in authority as if they were a horde of pass- 
 ing occupants. The daily life of this programme was 
 difficult, but we lived through it; and no one yielded. 
 
 The Five Days fill a splendid page of Milanese history, 
 but he who studies the facts of our revival must conclude 
 that. In the decade of resistance, the Milanese have 
 written a yet more glorious page. It is easier far to be 
 a hero in battle than to keep a brave heart during ten 
 years of imprisonment. 
 
 It is especially of these ten years of resistance that I 
 will write, gathering together the scattered events that 
 I have retained in memory, sorry only that I can recall 
 but a small part of them. Others I hope will remember 
 
 137 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 more than I; yet it seems to me that I am fulfilling a 
 duty in bringing my contribution to the history of the 
 time which forms so glorious a part of the annals of 
 Milan. The city, at this epoch, saved the cause of 
 Italian independence. 
 
 Young men and boys, students in the university and 
 lyceums, all breathing the atmosphere of patriotism^ 
 followed without question the programme of those who 
 were more experienced than they; and they put their 
 hearts and souls into it. The veterans of the campaigns 
 of 1848, of the siege of Venice, and of the defense of 
 Rome became our models. We proposed to emulate their 
 conduct and to follow their counsels in the daily conflict 
 of resistance. Thus there grew up in us that unlimited 
 devotion, that discipline, and that self-abnegation, which 
 contributed so much to form the character of the rising 
 generation. It was thus that the torch of hope was kept 
 alive which led us to the fields of battle in 1859 and i860. 
 
 In our programme there was no going to the theaters 
 and to amusements, of which, indeed, there were but 
 few, as the state of siege prohibited them. The theaters 
 were closed with the exception of the Scala, which the 
 Government kept open to divert the ofiicers. In the 
 houses there were neither receptions nor balls that were 
 not of a domestic character. In the evenings I went to 
 my relatives, to little festivities with my cousins, happy, 
 indeed, to combine the exigencies of our resistance with 
 my mania for dancing. 
 
 My reputation as an indefatigable dancer procured me 
 the pleasure of a presentation to the Contessa Giovanna 
 De Capitanei di Scalve, nata Serbelloni, in whose house 
 
 138 
 
The Contessa De Capitanei 
 
 her daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and their 
 friends came together. We young people danced there 
 one evening in each week. 
 
 The Contessa De Capitanei, as she was generally 
 called, but who had married a second time Luigi Atten- 
 dolo Bolognini, was a daughter of the Duca Alessandro 
 Serbelloni and of the Principessa Sinzendorf, of Vienna. 
 Thus she had many relatives in Austria, among whom 
 were some commanding officers. She had a conspicuous 
 position at court as lady of the palace and of the Croce 
 Stellata. She was a friend of the Vice-Queen, the Arch- 
 duchess Maria Elizabeth, sister of King Carlo Alberto, 
 Her parentage and position had made for her many ties 
 of friendship in the social and political spheres of Vienna; 
 yet she manifested much tolerance and some sympathy 
 for the revolutionary movements at Milan, in which her 
 sons-in-law and some other relatives had taken active 
 parts. She usually dismissed the matter by saying that 
 the Austrians were not as they had been, alluding to the 
 times of Maria Teresa and of Giuseppe II. After 1848, 
 she broke off all relationship with her Austrian kindred 
 and friends. 
 
 Contessa Giovanna was a type of the times long since 
 past, and was an interesting study. When she spoke of 
 her youth she never failed to show her dislike of Napo- 
 leon, who once said something rude to her. This was the 
 only memory she had of him. As General Bonaparte, 
 he was dining one day in Casa Serbelloni, and asked her 
 her name. When he learned it he said: "Oh, yes, I 
 should have taken notice of the nose." All the Serbel- 
 loni had prominent, aquiline noses. 
 
 139 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 The Contessa had had one son and three daughters. 
 The son, Cohte Pirro, enlisted early in the cause for 
 liberty in spite of his Austrian kindred. He became 
 compromised in the affairs of 182 1, and joined the Pied- 
 montese army, and emigrated. The Contessa had a 
 long correspondence with Mettemich (my wife, her 
 granddaughter, has preserved the letters) to obtain 
 grace for her son. It was not granted until very late, 
 when Conte Pirro, who was sick and exhausted, was 
 permitted to come home to die. With him this branch of 
 the De Capitanei di Scalve became extinct. The old- 
 est of her daughters married a Carcano, and the other 
 two married the Marchesi Francesco and Giuseppe 
 d' Adda Salvaterra. 
 
 When I knew the Contessa Giovanna she was an old 
 lady of seventy years of age. She wore habitually a 
 strange head-dress, made of a cap of black velvet, which 
 descended in a point upon her forehead, as we see in the 
 pictures of Maria Stuart. Though kind-hearted, she had 
 an imperious and resolute manner; and it pleased her 
 sometimes to don the dress, and to manifest the ways, 
 of a man. She rode about her estate on horseback alone; 
 and she told me that she herself shod her riding-horses, 
 when she was in the country, as she had no confidence 
 in the blacksmiths. 
 
 At the receptions of the Contessa I made the valuable 
 acquaintance of her sons-in-law, Francesco and Giuseppe 
 d'Adda, two of the fervent patriots of the Milanese 
 aristocracy, and brothers of the Marchese Camillo 
 d'Adda, who figured so honorably in the trials of 183 1. 
 And I met again Lauretta, daughter of the Marchese 
 
 140 
 
Our Salle d"^ Armes 
 
 Francesco, with whom I was teased because of the qua- 
 drille in Casa Trotti, when we were babies. She had now 
 grown to a marriageable age, and was, as I have said, 
 to become one day my wife. 
 
 But, besides dancing, we undertook exercises of a 
 patriotic character, such as gymnastics and fencing. 
 Fencing we preferred, as it would be useful in case of 
 duels with the Austrian officers. Duels were already in 
 the programme of our resistance. 
 
 But the salles d'armes and gymnastic halls were closed, 
 so some of us determined that we would have a hall of 
 our own. One of my cousins Lamberto Paravicini, a 
 student of medicine, was the soul of the enterprise. He 
 secured a room on the ground floor, in the house of his 
 sister, and proposed that we should furnish and decorate 
 it ourselves. 
 
 For several months we passed our evenings in our hall 
 upon ladders with pails and long-handled brushes, 
 drawing and painting patriotic emblems^ usually the 
 trophies and arms of the Italian cities. We celebrated 
 the inauguration of our salle with a supper and a toast 
 pronounced sotto voce. We resorted there, in groups, for 
 a number of years, to exercise and practice fencing. Oc- 
 casionally we diverted ourselves with conspiracies. Fenc- 
 ing was taught us by some friends who were approved 
 fencers; among whom I recall Battaglia and Francesco 
 Rosari. Our swords had handles of iron, but blades 
 of wood, as none others were permitted. Once the 
 gendarmes of Tirano sequestered even my wooden 
 swords. 
 
 Another cousin of mine. Carlo Minunzi, an officer in 
 
 141 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 the Piedmont army, occasionally made a clandestine 
 trip to Milan, and came to our hall. Carlo was a hand- 
 some young man, of a bold and jovial disposition. He 
 had the good will of his friends and relatives, and pre- 
 served a certain authority over them because of his well- 
 known courage. In the Five Days he had been one of 
 the bravest of Manara's troops, and had joined the 
 volunteers that pursued the Austrians. Later on, when 
 Carlo Alberto had desired to reward some of the most 
 meritorious of the volunteers, he was given a commis- 
 sion in the Piedmontese army. After the battle of 
 Novara he remained in Piedmont, and continued his 
 military career. He was in the Crimea as a staff officer. 
 He also took part in the campaigns of 1859, i860, and 
 1866. In this last campaign he was colonel and sub- 
 director of the staff of General Cialdini. 
 
 We always received Minunzi with a fete, when he 
 came to our salle d'armes. He was a good gymnast and 
 fencer, but, above all, he was a soldier in the Piedmont- 
 ese "army; and to Piedmont we turned with sympathy, 
 even in the first years after 1849, although we were sup- 
 posed to be Mazzinians. 
 
 In the winter of 1850 I made an acquaintance which 
 I valued very much; it was that of the Contessa Clara 
 Maffei, in whom I was to find an affectionate, almost 
 maternal, friend. Her salon has left memories with me 
 that I can never forget. My brother had known her for 
 some time, and the Contessa, hearing me spoken of, 
 asked him to bring me. 
 
 On the Contessa Maffei, Raffaello Barbiera has writ- 
 ten an excellent book with most appreciative judgment. 
 
 142 
 
'The Contessa Maffei 
 
 I will add but little to the information he has given, but 
 the name of the Contessa will come often under my pen, 
 for it is entwined with the principal memories I have of 
 the years of resistance. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 (1850) 
 
 Contessa Clara Maffei and her salon. — Conte Cesare Giulini. — Intimate 
 friends. — The Crepuscolo. — Carlo Tenca and his collaborators. — Car- 
 melita Manara Fe. — Contessa Ermellina Dandolo. — Hungarian officers. — 
 Conte Bethlen and his nephew. — New conspiracies. — Organization of the 
 committees. — A ten-million loan announced by Mazzini. — First prosecu- 
 tions at Venice. — Dottesio condemned to death. — Central committee at 
 Mantua. — The Lombard clergy and the Austrian Government. 
 
 CLARA MAFFEI was at this time thirty-six years 
 of age. She had been separated for several years 
 from her husband, the poet Andrea Maffei. She was the 
 only daughter of Conte G. B. Carrara Spinelli; so people 
 generally called her Contessa. She was an elegant little 
 lady, pleasing rather than beautiful in appearance. 
 Her manners were gentle and distinguished. She talked 
 well, and impressed an ardent patriotism upon all she 
 said. She manifested so much affection for her friends, 
 male and female, and in so impartial a way that it was 
 said that she had an especial predilection — for all. 
 
 The first time I entered her salon, in the Via Bigli, 
 with Emilio, I felt greatly constrained, but the Contessa 
 received me so affably, envying so pleasantly my youth, 
 that it seemed to me I had known her for a long while. 
 From that evening, as long as she lived, I passed no day 
 when in town that I did not call upon her, if it were only 
 for a few minutes. 
 
 At this time, and until 1859, the intimates of the Casa 
 Maffei were few; to whom, however, the saying could 
 be applied — "few but good." All were friends, and all 
 were sincere and vigorous patriots. From this salon 
 
 144 
 
Conte Cesare Giulini 
 
 there radiated a light, I could almost say a compelling 
 power, which exercised a great moral influence in the 
 difficult years of resistance. 
 
 When I was presented to the Contessa, I met Conte 
 Cesare Giulini, whom I had not known before. He had 
 been a member of the Provisional Government, but, 
 profiting by the amnesty, he returned to Milan, con- 
 vinced, as he said, that he could do more for his country 
 at home than abroad. He was, in truth, among those 
 who served their country with the greatest efficiency. 
 He served it with the authority of his name, with his 
 talents and generosity, and with his example and faith. 
 Always firm in his belief in a limited monarchy, he was 
 tolerant toward those who professed different principles; 
 provided that they were as stanch as he was himself in 
 their desire for the independence of Italy. His large in- 
 come was devoted to good works and the service of his 
 country. He was continually purchasing books (some 
 of rare editions), which he loaned to those who asked for 
 them; so that he kept a sort of circulating library, in or- 
 der to diffuse knowledge and culture among those who 
 were less favored by fortune than he was himself. 
 
 Cesare Giulini had had an older brother, Rinaldo by 
 name, whom I have heard Correnti and others mention 
 with praise. He was of the group of Liberals to which 
 Correnti himself, and the brothers Porro, and Giovanni 
 and Carlo d' Adda belonged. His death was a great grief 
 to his party. Their grandfather was Conte Cesare, the 
 historian, and their father was Conte Giorgio. Conte 
 Giorgio was a member of the regency after the passing 
 of the Napoleonic regime. 
 
 I4S 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 Among the daily inmates of the Salon of the Contessa 
 Clara I recall, besides Giulini and Emilio, Carlo Tenca, 
 Tullo Massarani, Giulio Carcano, Antonio Gussalli, 
 Dr. Romolo Griffini, Antonio Allievi, Antonio Lazzati, 
 Carlo De Cristoforis, Giacomo Battaglia, the engineer 
 Tagliaferri, Dr. Bartolomeo Garvaglia, Innocente Decio, 
 and Emilio Bignami Sormani. I recall also (when they 
 came to Milan) G. B. Camozzi, Giuseppe Finzi, Mar- 
 chese Fossati, Giuseppe Zanardelli and Giuseppe Verdi. 
 In the daytime certain ladies of the aristocracy called. 
 In the evening there came a few intimate friends, Signore 
 Saulina Viola Barbavara, Orsola Bianconi Robecchi, 
 Giulietta Pezzi, and some others. Several years after- 
 wards the number of the frequenters of the salon in- 
 creased, and though it still preserved a character of inti- 
 macy, people who were simply noted in the field of 
 research, or for their patriotic efforts, were received. 
 Thereupon the salon attained the apogee of its fame 
 and importance. 
 
 In the beginning of this year Carlo Tenca had founded 
 a weekly journal, which he called the "Crepuscolo." He 
 desired to make it a medium of serious study and of poli- 
 tical aspiration. It was not, as it could not be, an ex- 
 clusively political periodical. The influence of this jour- 
 nal became very quickly widespread. Its articles were all 
 colored by the nobility and firmness of character of its 
 editor. In them one could always perceive an elevated 
 patriotic aim, as distinctly as the time permitted. In 
 every number there was a review which treated, with 
 rare ability, the political events of the week in foreign 
 lands, but which never touched upon the things which 
 
 146 
 
Carlo Tenca 
 
 happened in Austria and in the subject Italian provinces. 
 This silence, which could not be deemed criminal, was 
 the standing protest of the "Crepuscolo." All under- 
 stood it, and it had a far greater effect than any wordy 
 comment could have had. The "Crepuscolo" was an 
 example of how great an influence a journal can have, 
 not because of the importance of its articles, but because 
 of the character of its contributors. 
 
 Tenca's first collaborators were TuUo Massarani for 
 helles-lettres and art; my brother Emilio for literature 
 and the political and social sciences; Antonio Allievi, 
 Antonio Colombo, and Innocente Decio, for political 
 economy, statistics, and jurisprudence; Eugenio Came- 
 rini for literary criticism; Giuseppe Mongeri, for criti- 
 cism of art; and Dr. Romolo Griffini and Giovanni 
 Cantoni, for the natural sciences and hygiene. Later 
 on Emilio Bignami Sormani, Enrico Fano and Giacomo 
 Battaglla (who died at S. Fermo), wrote for the journal. 
 Among its correspondents I recall Gabriele Rosa, Giu- 
 seppe Zanardelli, and Giovanni Rizzi. 
 
 Tenca, who was a sound, talented, and cultured man, 
 wrote not only the political reviews, but a little of every- 
 thing. Moreover, he censored the writings of his friends 
 in order to keep the journal uniform in its aim and in the 
 manner of expressing it. 
 
 This same year I made another precious acquaintance. 
 I was presented to the Signora Carmelita Manara Fe. 
 She was an intelligent and interesting lady, who, not- 
 ■mthstanding the ravages of her poor health, still pre- 
 served the lineaments of her youthful beauty. She 
 said that she had only one lung, which was probably 
 
 147 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 true, as she died of consumption; as did also her three 
 children. Her little salon was frequented by prominent 
 young men, nearly all of whom had taken part in the 
 last campaigns. Some had been soldiers and officers 
 in the Manara battalion. Among the most assiduous 
 was Emilio Dandolo, in whose arms her husband had 
 breathed his last at Rome. Dandolo, however, left 
 this year for a long voyage to the Orient with Ludovico 
 Trotti. 
 
 In the salon of the Signora Manara I made the ac- 
 quaintance of the Contessa Ermellina Dandolo, the se- 
 cond wife of Conte Tullio, the father of the Dandolo 
 brothers. The intimate life of little groups of friends be- • 
 came precious and necessary because of the hardness and 
 restraints of the military government. The slightest 
 manifestation of public life was impossible, so the many 
 rendezvous and the exchange of confidences (sometimes 
 in the face of peril) created among friends a feeling simi- 
 lar to that which exists among soldiers in the day of 
 battle. 
 
 Life seemed to be sad everywhere. In Hungary twelve 
 general of the honveds* had been hanged; soldiers had 
 been forcibly incorporated in the Austrian regiments, 
 and officers of high grades had been reduced to the ranks. 
 
 There was in Milan a Hungarian, by the name of 
 Conte Bethlen, formerly a major in the hussars. He had 
 resigned from the army before 1848, and had established 
 himself in Milan, where he had married a cousin of my 
 father. Donna Teresa Gianella. He was tall and strong. 
 He had a flat face, a long nose, and a bristling red mous- 
 
 * Militia. 
 148 
 
Conte Bethlen and his Nephew 
 
 tache. He was gentle in disposition, and had the suave 
 manner of the gran signore. One morning he came 
 suddenly to my room; my mother had gone out. His 
 good-humored face was utterly changed. He looked 
 wrathful, not to say ferocious. His manner was so vio- 
 lent it made me afraid. I seemed to look upon a barba- 
 rous soldier. 
 
 "What is it? What has happened?" I asked, 
 "Come quickly with me, . . . you will see," he said. 
 And he drew me along, at a rapid pace, into Via del 
 Monte di Pieta, where he had a beautiful house. Ar- 
 rived at the door, he pointed to the palace opposite (now 
 the savings bank), which was the barracks of the Engi- 
 neer Corps. Before its large gateway a sentinel passed 
 to and fro. He was tall and handsome, and was wrapped 
 in a great surcoat which was covered with flakes of snow. 
 "Do you see that soldier?" he said. "He is my 
 nephew, the future head of our house. It is the Conte 
 Bethlen, colonel of the honveds in the war for independ- 
 
 ence." 
 
 Over his face, the expression of which had become ever 
 more menacing, there fell two tears. How sorrowful was 
 the revolt in his aristocratic soul 1 ^^ 
 
 Several soldiers of a smart and distinguished appear- 
 ance were seen in the streets of Milan at this time. They 
 had been officers in the revolutionary army, but were 
 now reduced to the ranks. 
 
 The possibility of our recovery seemed very far off; 
 yet the threads of the old political bonds were gradually 
 retied, and, here and there, some spark of the former 
 conspiracies was uncovered. The conspiracies, which 
 
 149 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 now began to grow, were Mazzinian in character. The 
 monarchical idea had lost prestige in Lombardy, where 
 there were no royal traditions; and Piedmont, intent 
 upon healing its wounds, was not able to aid the op- 
 pressed. 
 
 The nebulous and mysterious promises of Mazzini, 
 set forth in mild, yet decided language, and his plans for 
 an immediate insurrection, charmed the imaginations 
 of the ardent patriots. It was, therefore, natural that 
 the followers of Mazzini should increase, and that all the 
 new conspiracies should be Mazzinian. Some followed 
 him in the name of unity; others because they believed 
 that only by constant agitation could the prograrmne 
 of resistance be maintained. Many patriots, however, 
 withdrew from Mazzini when Cavour, with his strong 
 hand, took charge of affairs and raised the banner for 
 liberty. In the winter of 1849 and 1850, as I heard from 
 Emilio, a meeting was held in the study of Francesco 
 Brioschi (then a teacher in mathematics), in which a 
 divergence between the different tendencies commenced 
 to manifest itself. 
 
 Tenca, AUievi, my brother, and some others main- 
 tained that the sentiment of resistance should be kept 
 alive by publications and the propagation of ideas; 
 while others were In favor of organizing secret societies, 
 Tenca outlined his plan of publishing the "Crepu- 
 scolo"; but a committee of conspiracy, of which De 
 Luigi, Pezzotti, Mora, and Gerli were members, was 
 nominated. This committee was afterwards broken up 
 by the prosecutions of Mantua. 
 
 In the different cities of Lombardy and Venetia, other 
 
 ISO 
 
A 'Ten-Million Loan 
 
 secret committees were formed, under the auspices of 
 Mazzini, with the idea of maintaining relations with the 
 different provinces, and of securing a concerted action. 
 Mazzini planned that these committees should prepare 
 for an immediate revolution. The National Italian 
 Committee, which he had organized in London on the 
 loth of September previous, had issued a proclamation 
 asking for a loan of ten millions to hasten the independ- 
 ence of Italy. ^^ This proclamation seemed at the time 
 to be of the highest importance, but effectively it de- 
 monstrated only the ingenuity and imprudence of its 
 projector, as it put all the police of Lombardy and Vene- 
 tia on guard against the revolutionaries; and no one could 
 have supposed that ten millions could be gathered to- 
 gether during a state of siege. 
 
 As many patriots dissented, the loan met with much 
 opposition. Among the noted emigrants who did not 
 agree with Mazzini were Garibaldi, Manin, Montanelli, 
 Cattaneo, Cemuschi, and Giuseppe Ferrari. He had a 
 greater following in the provinces, especially in those 
 that were occupied by Austria. Throughout these, des- 
 peration took the place of reasoning, and every hope, 
 however foolish, seemed better than hopelessness. 
 
 For what the few thousand lire, which were pain- 
 fully gathered together, were to serve we shall see here- 
 after; as we shall also see what was the tragic end of the 
 committees. 
 
 The members of the committees had been charged by 
 Mazzini to place the bonds for the loan on sale, and many 
 patriots, without thought of the uselessness, or of the 
 danger, of the project, devoted themselves to the work. 
 
 IS I 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Giuseppe Finzi and TuUo Massarani had gone to 
 London to meet Mazzini, and had returned with the 
 papers. Both my brother and I put some of the bonds 
 in circulation. At first the distribution was made with 
 great secrecy, but afterwards with less care. The risk 
 was understood, but no one heeded it. No one supposed 
 that so many patriots would be led to the gallows by 
 these bonds. 
 
 But a new proof of the severity of the Government 
 was given us in the trials at Venice. Among those con- 
 demned was Dottesio, for having brought through the 
 frontier at Como some books and papers. He was 
 hanged at Venice on the nth of October, 1 851. 
 
 Except for the sale of the bonds of Mazzini the com- 
 mittees did nothing this year, although they knew of 
 the impatience of the master. In the mean while a bet- 
 ter arrangement of the various committees had been 
 planned. In a reunion of eighteen delegates at Mantua 
 (November, 1850), a central committee, under the presi- 
 dency of the priest Prof essore Enrico Tazzoli, was formed, 
 which was to direct the actions of the provincial com- 
 mittees. 
 
 Although the first acts of the Mazzinian conspiracy 
 proceeded with little caution, the Austrians for a while 
 were aware of nothing. The separation between the 
 people and the Government was so great, it was not 
 easy to find spies. And, indeed, our rulers cared very 
 little for what the country thought, or for what might 
 happen. Their chief endeavor was to conceal every 
 trace of the Quarantotto, and to encase, as it were, 
 the country in a coat of lead. 
 
 IS2 
 
The Lombard Clergy 
 
 One of the things which excited the Austrians was 
 the conduct of the priests during the revolution. The 
 greater part of the Lombard clergy, especially those who 
 were eminent for talent and character, had promoted 
 the national movement, and had aided their fellow- 
 citizens by word and deed. The severe regime of Arch- 
 bishop Gaisruck, as I have said, had helped to form a 
 good and respectable clergy. 
 
 As soon as the Austrian Government had been re- 
 stored, it began to persecute the priests suspected of 
 patriotism. It aimed at the best, and chased them out 
 of the seminaries and eleemosynary institutions, and 
 sent them into little parishes, or obliged them to retire 
 to minor posts. The weak and timid Romilli, who was 
 disliked by the Austrians because of his patriotic sym- 
 pathies, did not know how to protect his clergy; nor did 
 the other bishops know what to do when the Govern- 
 ment succeeded in entangling their priests in the politi- 
 cal trials and had them hanged or shot. It is superfluous 
 to say that these unhappy men were abandoned at the 
 same time even by Rome, which permitted the dese- 
 cration without protesting. Already were the days 
 forgotten when the Pope had blessed Italy, and the 
 Austrians had insulted the Pope. 
 
 Many students in the Lombard seminaries who had 
 fought in the campaigns of '48, had donned their cas- 
 socks again. Some of them, moved in their consciences 
 to see the Church turn away from every sentiment of 
 patriotism, became missionaries. I have known several 
 of the priests, called, with reverence by some, and with 
 irony by others, the "priests of the Quarantotto." Some 
 
 153 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 with bitterness, yet with fearlessness, had been able to 
 preserve their ideal of religion united with patriotism. 
 They were esteemed and revered by persons of every 
 party, and were true ministers of peace and of every 
 Christian virtue. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 (i8Si) 
 
 The closing of the university; private instruction. — The duel of Luigi Delia 
 Porta. — The lesser committees. — G. B. Carta and his colleagues. — Dr. 
 Vandoni. — The assassination of Corbellini. — Antonio Sciesa. — Con- 
 demnations and executions. — The priest Giovanni Griola, of Mantua. — 
 A meeting at Mantua of representatives of the committees. — A trip through 
 Switzerland. — The Emperor at Milan, and the manoeuvres at Somma. — 
 Execution of Dottesio. — The death of Berchet. 
 
 THE university continued to be closed, and the 
 students to study privately with instructors in 
 groups of ten. The group to which I belonged was in- 
 structed by the Awocato Barinetti (afterwards profes- 
 sor at Pavia), in history and mathematics; by Antonio 
 Allievi, in the philosophy of law and political economy; 
 and by the Awocato Antonio Mosca in the codices, 
 and in civil and criminal procedure. Generally the les- 
 sons began and ended with a political discussion, or with 
 an exchange of the news of the day. But this was nat- 
 ural. The sorrowful, and sometimes terrible, episodes, 
 during the state of siege and the recurrent agitations dis- 
 tracted our minds from peaceful pursuits. The political 
 discussions followed usually the line of Mazzinian ideas. 
 His axioms convinced us; his patriotism exalted us; his 
 formula, "Dio e il popolo, pensiero ed azione," relieved 
 us from the necessity of thinking, and prepared our 
 hearts for action. Why? We did not know; but we were 
 all vaguely disposed to act. There were but few who 
 brought the discussions of the day to the hard test of 
 reason. I was not among them. 
 
 ; The warlike feeling of the students soon found a vic- 
 
 155 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 tim. Luigi Delia Porta was of a distinguished Milanese 
 family, and had fought in the campaigns of '48 and '49. 
 He went to Pa via to pursue his studies. One evening, 
 on leaving the theater, he had a dispute with an Aus- 
 trian cavalry officer and challenged him. Delia Porta 
 was a bold young man, but he knew very little of fenc- 
 ing. I do not know whether it was because of his pride, 
 or through the inexperience of his seconds, he chose 
 to fight his adversary (who was an expert fencer) with 
 swords. After a few passes, he received a mortal thrust 
 in the breast, and died in the barracks where the duel had 
 taken place. The impression made by this sorrowful 
 event was very great, and many went to Pavia for the 
 funeral. Emilio interpreted the general feeling at the 
 tomb, where he made a courageous address, in the midst 
 of the students and of the police. 
 
 During the winter and spring we began to see the first 
 fruits of the money collected through the Mazzinian 
 loan. They were the foundation of a number of little 
 committees which sprang up and agitated, here and 
 there, outside of the principal committees which had 
 their center at Mantua. This was the way of Mazzini. 
 He had the chiefs of his various bands watched, and the 
 principal committees by the secondary; so that all were 
 under the surveillance of those who followed them. 
 
 One of the secondary committees was formed at Milan 
 under the leadership of G. B. Carta, an old man, who had 
 been, I believe, a soldier of Napoleon, and who had done 
 nothing but conspire all his life. He had been several 
 times in prison, and he returned to it in 1852, and re- 
 mained incarcerated until 1857. He was of a mild and 
 
 156 
 
G. B, Carta and his Colleagues 
 
 gentle disposition, but when a conspiracy was on foot, 
 he hesitated at nothing. Among the adherents of this 
 committee was a man named Azzi, a dyer, who was a 
 thoroughgoing revolutionary, and was capable of any- 
 thing. And there was a man by the name of Corbellini, 
 and the head porter, Francesco Ferri. Ferri was a bold, 
 violent, but honest, man. Then there was the uphol- 
 sterer, Antonio Sciesa. 
 
 With this committee some other men of the party of 
 action were associated who were of a higher social grade, 
 such as De Luigi and Carlo De Cristoforis, Guttierez 
 and Maiocchi (future deputy), and Gerli, I believe, who 
 afterwards became a sub-prefect. 
 
 This committee began with scattering leaflets and 
 proclamations. It tried, also, to prepare for a demon- 
 stration; it finished with a deed of blood. An act had 
 occurred which had outraged public opinion. Dr. Van- 
 doni, a provincial physician, had denounced Dr. Ciceri, 
 his assistant, who, he said, had some Mazzinian bonds in 
 his possession. This was a trick that was likely to send 
 Dr. Ciceri to the gallows. He was arrested and prose- 
 cuted, but, by chance, the papers that he had had, and 
 which the head physician had seen, had been spirited 
 away. 
 
 The committee, in its turn, imitating a council of war, 
 met, and condemned Dr. VandonI to death. Azzi made 
 the preparations for the execution, which was coolly 
 carried into effect by a man named Claudio Colombo, a 
 worker in sculpture, a pwntatore.* 
 
 Colombo met Dr. Vandoni, as he was returning home, 
 
 •Literally, a pointer; he who carves by means of points. 
 
 157 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 in Via Durini, and stabbed him in the breast with a sti- 
 letto, without any one noticing him. Then he went 
 quickly along the Vie San Stefano and Cerva, and 
 through an alley to the canal of San Damiano, where he 
 found some of his companions (among whom was Cor- 
 bellini), who helped him in his flight. ' I passed, a few 
 minutes after, the place where the assassination had 
 taken place. The deceased had just been carried to his 
 house. In the mean time a crowd of people had collected, 
 and the police and gendarmes came running up from 
 every quarter. The news was diffused in a breath 
 throughout the city, and, it must be confessed, it was 
 generally received with an explosion of joy; so quickly 
 are honest feelings warped in times of violence. Several 
 months after, it was known that the assassin had suc- 
 ceeded in fleeing to London. 
 
 This assassination had another as its sequel. Corbel- 
 lini continually demanded money from the members of 
 the committee, threatening to denounce them if they 
 refused. They gave him some many times, but at last 
 there was little left; so they found it more economical 
 to kill him. One night Corbellini was found lying on the 
 pavement of Via Chiaravallino, mortally wounded. He 
 expired without being able to tell the names of his mur- 
 derers. Azzi gave me these and other particulars of these 
 wretched events. 
 
 Most pathetic was the fate of poor Sciesa. He was 
 arrested on the 31st of July, while he was posting an 
 aimless proclamation of the committee. Many were the 
 promises made to, and great was the pressure brought 
 to bear upon, him if he would reveal the names of the 
 
 IS8 
 
Antonio Sciesa 
 
 committee. All was useless, and his words, "Tirem 
 innanz" (fire ahead), which he is reported to have said 
 to an officer while he was walking to the place of execu- 
 tion, in response to an offer of pardon, have become cele- 
 brated. 
 
 I asked the priest, Giuseppe Negri, who, as prison 
 chaplain, accompanied Sciesa, about this report. Negri 
 said that Sciesa did not utter the words, "tirem innanz" 
 on the way to the place of his suffering, but probably to 
 the friar who exhorted him to confess. This is more in 
 accordance "mth the formalities that were then observed. 
 
 Gian Battista Carta, the head of the committee, in a 
 letter to Vittore Ottolini, author of the history of the 
 Rivoluzione Lombarda, wrote: "I saw Sciesa walk 
 fearlessly to his death. With his glance he assured us of 
 his silence." Poor Sciesa! Simple and serene in his hero- 
 ism, his is certainly a name that ought to be remembered. 
 His education did not enable him to judge whether the 
 work to which he was assigned was worth the sacrifice 
 to which he exposed himself. He gave himself to his 
 country as a soldier who obeys, and who disputes no 
 order. 
 
 Arrests were made every day, and were often followed 
 by condemnations, and sometimes by sentences to death. 
 Among the most terrifying was that of a priest, Giovanni 
 Griola, of Mantua. Having given two francs to a soldier, 
 who asked for them, he was accused of having tried to 
 induce the man to desert, and was condemned upon his 
 testimony and that of another soldier, and shot." 
 
 The principal committees which were, as we have seen, 
 under the direction of the Central Committee of Mantua, 
 
 IS9 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 had but little relationship with the little committees 
 which sprang up sporadically, and agitated on their own 
 account. These last had desired to be called into action, 
 but perceiving that their hopes were vain, they began to 
 ask themselves whether they ought not to seek to pro- 
 mote something. The Central Committee, which was 
 interrogated in regard to the matter, determined to call 
 the representatives of the different provincial committees 
 to Mantua for consultation, and to decide upon a course 
 for the future. 
 
 The committee, of which Dr. De Luigi was the head, 
 called for advisement a meeting of some of the principal 
 members of the party of action in Milan. My brother, 
 who attended this meeting, told me that it was agreed 
 that it was better to abstain from attempts the outcome 
 of which could only be disastrous. He also told me that 
 Antonio Lazzati had been selected to go to Mantua to 
 state and sustain the opinion of the committee. Accord- 
 ingly Lazzati went to Mantua, and presented the 
 opinion of the Milanese Committee in a reunion of the 
 representatives of all the committees. This meeting, 
 in spite of the fact that it adopted no revolutionary 
 measure, cost the liberty and life of several of the dele- 
 gates. 
 
 There was no thought of waiting in the mind of Maz- 
 zini; and his devoted adherents made no secret of it. 
 "Mazzini does not approve," they whispered; "he de- 
 sires us to agitate." And they produced one of his leaf- 
 lets, written in the diminutive characters in which he 
 communicated his thoughts and orders to his intimate 
 friends. As I have said, those who wished to give them- 
 
 i6o 
 
A 'Trip through Switzerland 
 
 selves airs called him "Pippo" in a little mysterious way. 
 When they said, "Pippo wishes, or does not wish," 
 something, they became immovable; yet events were to 
 move some of them. Still, Mazzini had his " legitimists," 
 who, even in the great year of 1859, forgot nothing and 
 learned nothing. 
 
 There was no committee in Valtellina, but there were 
 many patriots who met together, and who received 
 letters and journals from Switzerland and, occasionally, 
 the leaflets of Mazzini. The smuggling in of books and 
 papers, through the frontier of high Valtellina, was the 
 principal business of these patriots, of whom Emilio 
 was the head. 
 
 In the little country districts everything strikes the 
 eye. We were, therefore, strictly watched by the police 
 and the gendarmes. My mother preached prudence, 
 and often gave us permission to take trips to escape 
 their surveillance. This year she gave us some money 
 with which to make an excursion into Switzerland. So we 
 thought we would go to Lucerne by way of the Bernina 
 Pass and the Engadine. At this time students of our 
 age could only take a trip through Switzerland on foot 
 and with knapsacks on their backs. Thus accoutered we 
 walked from Tirano to Poschiavo. These first fifteen 
 kilometers persuaded us that we could, just as well, 
 send our knapsacks by post to Coire, and take up 
 our programme there. The day after we reached Sa- 
 maden. 
 
 Neither at Samaden, nor at St. Moritz, nor in any other 
 part of the Engadine were there the great hotels of to- 
 day. Some little mean taverns gave board and lodging 
 
 161 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 to the few travelers and carters who happened in. We 
 stopped at a little inn called the Posta which was the 
 predecessor of the grand hotel now called the Bemina. 
 On the ground floor there were two little rooms that 
 were full of the smoke and smell of pipes, one of which 
 served for the people, and the other for the distin- 
 guished guests. On the upper floor were some small 
 sleeping-rooms that were occupied by great beds, ar- 
 ranged for three persons. 
 
 When the hotel-keeper conducted us to the only 
 vacant room, he told us that one of the places in the bed 
 had been retained by a lieutenant in the reserves, who, 
 however, had not arrived, and that, therefore, the whole 
 bed was at our disposal. Little reassured, but very tired, 
 we threw ourselves, all dressed, upon the big bed, when, 
 suddenly, the knocking of a sword upon the wooden 
 stairs advised us that the lieutenant had arrived. He 
 came; but he took no notice of us. Sure of his place, he 
 lighted his pipe and began to undress. In silence we left 
 the two places we had occupied to the lieutenant, and 
 descended to the guest-room below. Stretching ourselves 
 along a table, we sought the sleep that the hardness of 
 our couch yielded to our fatigue. 
 
 The continuation of our pedestrian trip was adjourned 
 unto the day after. Woe to him who abandons a plan; 
 he will never take it up again! The railroads were few 
 in those days, but there were many diligences. We went 
 to Coire, to the Righi, to Zurich, to the Gottardo, to 
 Lugano, to Capolago, for the most part, in diligences. 
 At Capolago, we took a look at the library of De Boni, 
 but he did not ask us to bring in any books at Chiasso, 
 
 162 
 
'The Emperor at Milan 
 
 as poor Dottesio had done. Then we left for Como and 
 the Valtellina. Emilio stopped on the lake. 
 
 When I came to Sondrio I found I had miscalculated, 
 as there remained only a few sous in my pocket. I should 
 have asked some one to let me have credit, but my youth- 
 ful bashfulness prevented me. I laid out my number of 
 sous in as many little rolls, and, having nothing with 
 which to pay for a place in the diligence, I took a car- 
 riage and pair for which I paid when I arrived at Tirano. 
 So I finished my pedestrian trip in a landau. 
 
 In September the Emperor Francis Joseph came to 
 Lombardy. He was received without any pomp or fes- 
 tivities, which, indeed, were impossible. He came, as 
 the head of the army, to attend the manoeuvres on the 
 heaths of Somma. The Lieutenant-General Strassoldo 
 had informed the municipality that it ought to prepare 
 for some festivities, but Conte Lorenzo Taverna pro- 
 tested in a meeting of the council, saying that the econo- 
 mical condition of the city did not permit of sumptuary 
 expenditures, and that the "notificazioni" of Marshal 
 Radetzky, which made the city responsible for the acts 
 of individuals against order, did not encourage fetes and 
 popular reunions. So nothing was done. The municipal- 
 ity of Como was, also. Invited to celebrate the coming 
 of the Emperor, but it did nothing because of the absence 
 of its councilmen. For this cause it was dissolved. 
 
 The authorities were furious, especially as the manoeu- 
 vres went off badly. Some bungled order and mischance 
 incited the troops to acts of insubordination; and they 
 laid violent hands upon the tents and kitchen destined 
 for the Emperor and the foreign representatives. Out 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 of this much confusion ensued, and the Emperor left 
 in disdain. 
 
 The Emperor, who came to Lombardo-Venetia for the 
 first time after his succession, remained in the midst of his 
 troops, and left without having spoken a word of kind- 
 ness or of peace. He left on the 29th of September. On 
 the nth of October, a gallows was raised in Venice, 
 upon which Luigi Dottesio, of Como, was hanged. Dot- 
 tesio and Maisner had been condemned on the suspicion 
 of having smuggled in some books from Capolago. When 
 Radetzky was asked for grace, it is said that he replied 
 that one example was sufficient; and Dottesio was 
 hanged, 
 
 Giovanni Berchet died at the end of the year. In the 
 failure of hope and in the extinction of every spark that 
 nourished it, the passing away of the poet who had kept 
 alive the hearts of an entire generation was a sad omen. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 (I8S2) 
 
 Arrest of the priest Tazzoli. — A sad Carnival. — The Theaters della Scala and 
 Carcano. — Young men and their festive patriotism. — Antonio Lazzati and 
 Carlo De Cristoforis. — The portrait of Conte Nava. — Numerous arrests. — 
 The trials at Mantua. — The treachery of Luigi Castellazzo. — Lazzati and 
 others arrested and taken to Mantua. — Episodes of Pasotti and of Cervieri. 
 — The suicide of Giovanni Pezzotti. — The coup d'etat in France. — Hopes 
 and fears. — The first death sentences at Mantua. 
 
 THE year 1852 began with grave forebodings in the 
 patriotic camp. Some arrests had been made in 
 Venetia; and on the 27th of January, the priest, Enrico 
 TazzoH, the president of the Central Committee, was 
 arrested at Mantua. Tazzoli was a strong man, of fine 
 character, and generous spirit. His high standing as a 
 citizen and priest made him an authority in his city. The 
 news of his arrest awakened a widespread feeling of 
 sorrow and unrest throughout the provinces. The com- 
 mittees were cast down, and the people, oppressed by 
 the state of siege, were saddened more than ever. The 
 days dragged along in an endless monotony. The very 
 economic condition of the country languished, as every 
 initiative that indicated activity was regarded with 
 suspicion, and was watched or suppressed. The whole 
 commonwealth suffered, and all became impoverished. 
 The two or three theaters that were open represented 
 all the joy of the Carnival. The Scala was avoided by 
 the people, but was filled by the officers of the garrison. 
 The generals and their staffs occupied the boxes of the 
 exiled Milanese aristocracy. The officers took posses- 
 sion of the first rows of the stalls. 
 
 I6S 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 The Theater Carcano was out of the way, and was not 
 frequented by the officers. It became, therefore, a proof 
 of patriotism to go] there. Some of my gay fellow- 
 students and I rented two boxes, and, when we occupied 
 them, we made the greatest noise possible. We desired 
 that the representations should be clamorously success- 
 ful to counterbalance the cold official evenings at the 
 Scala. At the Carcano they gave operas, with poor sing- 
 ers and with a thin and discordant orchestra, but who 
 cared ? The worse the representation, so much the more 
 we applauded. We took under our protection the two 
 principal singers, a little light voiceless tenor and a stout 
 prima donna, who shrieked like a machine that needs 
 oiling. After every piece we asked for a repetition; and 
 our proteges had scarcely opened their mouths before 
 we cried, " Again." 
 
 The public caught on and applauded. The commis- 
 sary of the police tried to restrain our excessive enthusi- 
 asm, but we endeavored to persuade him that the rep- 
 resentation was marvelous. The impresario made our 
 acquaintance, and, at the end of the season, invited us 
 with the singers to a party behind the scenes. We all 
 sat down to a table prepared by our "Lucrezia Borgia," 
 and drank toasts in the wine, that, it seemed, belonged 
 to her. 
 
 "Let us amuse ourselves," we said, "but let us do our 
 duty, and go forward joyously and without fear." This 
 conduct was not always approved of by the dark and 
 dismal conspirators; but it was an attitude in conso- 
 nance with our age, and was attractive to youth. It was 
 a good way to gain recruits for a militant patriotism. 
 
 i66 
 
'The Portrait of Conte Nava 
 
 This festive note was struck not only by us very young 
 men, but by many who were far older than we, among 
 whom were Antonio Lazzati and Carlo De Cristoforis. 
 Even in the tragic vicissitudes of their lives they pre- 
 served smiling faces and an air of inexhaustible gaiety. 
 
 Carlo De Cristoforis was a lover of all that was gener- 
 ous and adventuresome. He was accustomed to say that 
 the resolute will of a man could accomplish great things. 
 For his part it did accomplish many. Though he often 
 put his head in jeopardy, he always kept his joyous man- 
 ner and put his friends in a mirthful mood. 
 
 To the hardness of the Government the citizens op- 
 posed not only resistance but mockery. This was the 
 more successful because of the facetious character of the 
 Milanese populace. There was a succession of jokes and 
 songs and satires — of the things in which we often asso- 
 ciate laughter with tears. Among the little episodes 
 which diverted us, I recall one that not only made us 
 laugh, but which also astonished us. 
 
 Conte AmbrogioNava, the president of the Accademia 
 di Belle Arti, and an adherent of Austria, had had the 
 unhappy idea of sending his portrait to the annual ex- 
 hibition at the Brera. It was painted by Hayez, in a 
 chamberlain's costume with Austrian decorations. The 
 portrait offended our patriotic sentiments, and was 
 guarded by officers of the police. However, one fine day, 
 it was cut from top to bottom, and withdrawn. 
 
 It is impossible to describe the importance that the 
 authorities gave to this act, from the policeman to Mar- 
 shal Radetzky. They said that it was an insult to the 
 Emperor's household, and that, looking at it from a 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 broad point of view, it was a crime and a proof of the 
 existence of a conspiracy that sought the ruin of the 
 Empire. No one for several days talked of anything 
 else. It was an amusing little diversion in the midst of 
 our sadness. 
 
 Many years afterwards I heard that the cutting had 
 been done by Carlo De Cristoforis, who withdrawing, 
 one Sunday, from the eyes of the police, as the people 
 were circulating about, had hidden himself behind the 
 canvases that covered one of the side walls. Here he 
 tarried until the salon was closed, and then, coming 
 out of his hiding-place, cut the portrait of the Conte. 
 The day following, when the concourse of visitors had 
 become large, he seized upon a favorable opportunity to 
 escape, and went home. 
 
 Our laughter, however, was of short duration. The 
 anxiety which had been enkindled at the beginning of 
 the year by the arrest of Tazzoli broke out afresh in 
 the early summer. The orders of arrest surpassed a 
 hundred in one week. Many of the inculpated succeeded 
 in escaping, but the greater number were apprehended 
 and taken to the prisons of Mantua. It was evident that 
 discoveries of the names of the members of the commit- 
 tees had been made. 
 
 The agitation increased day by day. The conversa- 
 tions of all of us turned upon this one subject. The per- 
 sons who felt themselves to be insecure kept out of sight. 
 Many times my brother, when returning home, turned 
 back, and asked some friend for shelter because he 
 had seen a suspicious-looking face in the street. Grave 
 rumours abounded. It was said that cruelty had been 
 
 \i68 
 
The Trials at Mantua 
 
 practiced upon the prisoners to extort confessions, and 
 some acts of weakness were mentioned. The worst re- 
 ports (we knew not how) came from the prisoners them- 
 selves. It was avowed that Luigi Castellazzo, the secre- 
 tary of the Central Committee, had confessed, and had 
 revealed the names of his associates to Captain Carlo 
 Krauss, the Examiner, who conducted the prosecutions. 
 
 Castellazzo had been arrested at Pavia, and it was 
 said that, in the search that was made of his effects, a 
 sheet of paper was found in his penholder on which were 
 some signs, which were the key to decipher the names 
 of the members of the conmiittees and their correspond- 
 ence. The same writings had been found in the effects 
 of the president of the committee; but the Examiner, 
 it was reported, had not succeeded in deciphering them 
 or in having them explained. Now it was insisted Cas- 
 tellazzo had revealed the meaning of the signs to Krauss. 
 These reports were only too true, but nobody would 
 believe them. They became more and more insistent, 
 however, and the numerous arrests that were made 
 confirmed them. 
 
 The torture of whipping was held over several prison- 
 ers to obtain confessions; but it was applied only in two 
 instances, as far as it is known. This I have been told 
 by Finzi, Lazzati, Pastro, and many others, who were 
 in the prisons in 1852 and 1853. The torture, as applied 
 to several prisoners, was that of heavy chains, of hunger 
 and cold for many consecutive days, and of dirty prisons 
 for a whole winter. 
 
 The unhappy man who was whipped was a certain 
 Antonio Pasetti, of Verona. It was during the trials at 
 
 169 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Venice in 185 1. His inquisitor had endeavored to entrap 
 him in a confession, and, in order to destroy his firmness, 
 had condemned him to receive forty blows. After he 
 had received ten, his physician declared that, if the whip- 
 ping were continued, his patient would die, as Pasetti 
 was consumptive. After he was carried back to prison, 
 he told his companions that he had kept a piece of his 
 bed-covering in his mouth, during his punishment, so 
 that his sufferings would not extort a cry. His silence 
 saved his life. Released from prison, he was enrolled in 
 a disciplinary company, and sent to Hungary, where he 
 died shortly after. Poor obscure hero! your name, now 
 scarcely remembered, was told me by Luigi Pastro, 
 another hero of silence. 
 
 Whipping was inflicted, later on, upon a man named 
 Cervieri, in a trial which took place in Mantua, after 
 the conclusion of the trials of 1852. Cervieri was beaten, 
 but he, too, kept silence, and denounced no one. He died 
 some years after in America. 
 
 Apropos of the rumors that were current in regard to 
 Castellazzo, a friend of his, Giovanni Pezzotti, who be- 
 longed to the Milanese Committee, had said that, if he 
 were arrested, he would kill himself for fear of betraying 
 his friends. On the 25th of June, certain arrests were 
 made, among which were those of Pezzotti and Lazzati. 
 The prisoners were incarcerated at first in the Castello, 
 from which place they were taken to Mantua, all, 
 except Pezzotti, who had hanged himself the day fol- 
 lowing his arrest. The vision of Castellazzo had drawn 
 him to suicide. 
 
 -. Antonio Lazzati was one of my dearest friends. I had 
 
 170 
 
Lazzati and Others arrested 
 
 seen him nearly every evening in the house of Contessa 
 Maffei, where the gaiety of his conversation was a great 
 contrast to his gravity of manner. He was an excellent 
 raconteur, and loved to laugh and to entertain his friends. 
 In the manifestation of patriotism he had always sought 
 the most dangerous posts. The straight-laced conspira- 
 tors, with their broad-brimmed hats, criticized his gay 
 humor, and called it levity; but he soon demonstrated 
 the seriousness and firmness of his character. 
 
 I remember well the evening, in the salon of the Con- 
 tessa, when the rumors had arrived concerning the 
 betrayal in the prisons. Many friends gathered about 
 Lazzati and Emilio, and exhorted them to fly. Emilio 
 refused, as he was sure that his name did not figure on 
 the list of which Castellazzo was said to have revealed the 
 cipher. Lazzati doubted the truth of the rumor, and 
 said that he feared that he might compromise his friends 
 by his flight. His doubt was fatal to him; in two days he 
 was arrested. 
 
 His arrest, as well as that of others in the provinces 
 who were connected with the "Crepuscolo," caused the 
 acutest sorrow in the salon; as a fear arose lest the prose- 
 cutions of Mantua might be transferred to Milan. In 
 the mean time the warm weather had come, and had 
 put an end to the receptions until after the vacations. 
 The suspension of city life had the advantage of with- 
 drawing, for a time, some of the inculpated citizens from 
 the vigilant eyes of the police. 
 
 When the vacations had terminated and winter had 
 come, an event happened which changed at once the 
 hopes and fears of men in the camp of the enemy as well as 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 in our own — the couf d'etat In France. The effect with 
 us was electrical. Some raged, some rejoiced, and some 
 even despaired. The republicans, who had placed all 
 their hopes in republican France and in the International 
 Committee of London, i.e., in Mazzini, Ledru-RoUin, 
 and Kossuth, naturally raged. They believed that the 
 new tyrant would have to be driven away before any- 
 thing could be done. Even the plebiscite which sus- 
 tained Louis Napoleon did not convince them; it was, 
 they said, a passing infidelity of universal suffrage. 
 
 There were many survivors of the Napoleonic armies 
 and government, upon whom the fascination of the 
 First Empire was still strong. These people rejoiced 
 because they could see the new Napoleon crossing the 
 Alps and chasing the Austrians away. 
 
 The thoughtful persons, though they were convinced 
 that the policies of France for some years would be 
 turned to internal affairs, were persuaded that a Na- 
 poleonic rule would have an influence upon the destinies 
 of Europe, perhaps even by means of a war. They 
 trusted, too, to the sympathy that the new Emperor had 
 manifested for Italy; whereas the republic had shown 
 itself indifferent, and almost hostile. The change of 
 government in France, at least, opened a new horizon 
 to hope. 
 
 While people were wondering, not only in Italy, but 
 in all Europe, what would be the consequences of this 
 new government for them, Austria never moved, nor 
 gave a glance to the future. She went on, as before, with 
 her hard, pedantic, and at times ferocious, methods. 
 
 On the 7th of December the first sentences in the 
 
 172 
 
Death Sentences at Mantua 
 
 trials of Mantua were pronounced. Tazzoli, Poma, De 
 Canal, Zambelli, and Scarsellini were condemned to 
 death, and were hanged. Five others (among whom was 
 Angelo Mangili) were condemned to several years of 
 imprisonment in irons in a fortress. These illustrious 
 victims were followed by others, the records of whose 
 trials will remain important documents to show the in- 
 iquity and the stupidity of the Austrian military gov- 
 ermnent in the provinces of Italy after 1848. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 (i8S3) 
 
 Mazzini decides upon a revolt. — Opposition of his friends. — He sends his 
 emissaries. — Secret organizations. — Pioiti de Bianchi. — Fears for the 
 outcome of the rising. — The Sixth of February. — The leaders, finding 
 themselves alone, decamp. — Ferri, with a band, assaults a police station. — 
 Some soldiers wounded. — A short struggle. 
 
 AT the close of 1852 it was whispered that there had 
 been many meetings of the Mazzinian faction; 
 and it was announced that Mazzini desired to promote 
 an insurrection. The first rumors of this came from the 
 committee of G. B. Carta. It represented, in reality, 
 only a minor part of the faction. 
 
 Mazzini had, indeed, decided that Milan should re- 
 volt as soon as possible. At first he had turned to the 
 serious-minded persons of his party, but all of them 
 had discouraged him from attempting the enterprise. 
 They urged many reasons why the moment was inop- 
 portune. Europe was headed toward a reaction; France 
 was quiet after the coup d'etat; Piedmont was intent 
 upon its reorganization ; and Milan had not yet recovered 
 from the disasters of 1 848. Moreover, they said that faith 
 in a revolution had to be born again ; that the state of 
 siege and the Austrian garrison rendered this impossible; 
 and that in fact no one desired to attempt a revolt. 
 
 But none of these things had any weight with Mazzini, 
 nor did the additional fact (which was insisted upon by 
 his wisest friends) that the Austrians would surely seek 
 reprisals upon the prisoners of Mantua for any revo- 
 lutionary act. Mazzini no longer trusted^ his old and 
 
 174 
 
Secret Organizations 
 
 approved friends, but sent his emissaries to obtain in- 
 formation from other quarters. The emissaries talked 
 with the members of the committee of G. B. Carta and 
 with some other enthusiasts, who mistook their own de- 
 sires for those of the country. It was enough for Mazzini 
 to find people who would give him a reason to convince 
 himself; so he began to prepare for the revolt. 
 
 The first meetings to arrange for the project were held 
 at Stradella. In them Depretis, Cairoli, and Piolti took 
 part. Piolti had been especially summoned, as Mazzini 
 desired to give him the direction of the party in Lom- 
 bardy. As the former threads of conspiracy had been 
 broken because of the recent arrests and of the trials at 
 Mantua, Piolti accepted the charge. 
 
 A little while after, Mazzini sent to him from London 
 (where he lived as a refugee) Eugenio Brizio, of Assisi, 
 a resolute and courageous young man, who had been 
 a revolutionary officer in the defense of Rome. I think 
 it was this Brizio who became mayor of Assisi many 
 years after. 
 
 The conspiracy made headway. Piolti took charge 
 of the middle class, and Brizio of the operatives. Brizio 
 made a sort of enrollment of the people, but he en- 
 listed them in squads without knowing them. The dif- 
 ferences and disputes between those who were ordering 
 the conspiracy and those who desired to prevent it were 
 continual. Carlo De Cristoforis (who was, at the oppor- 
 tune time, an audacious conspirator) and some others 
 counseled the best of the conspirators to refrain from 
 an undertaking the outcome of which could only be dis- 
 astrous; but in vain. One of them said to me later on: 
 
 I7S 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 " I took part in the insurrection of February 6th because 
 I was assured that, if we could resist for several days, 
 some of the European Powers would assist us. It was 
 said, too, that the Hungarians would be on our side. A 
 friend took me to a house where he showed me the uni- 
 form of a Hungarian general who was shortly to come 
 to our aid. At this sight my blood boiled, and I ex- 
 claimed: ' If, in 1848, we were able to fight five days, this 
 time we will fight ten.' Therefore I enrolled myself, and 
 became the head of a company." 
 
 This man was Francesco Ferri of whom I have spoken 
 above. He was the chief of the municipal porters, a 
 body which at this time was attached to the corps of 
 firemen. He was a thin, dried-up man, who was known 
 for his goodness of heart as well as for his audacity. His 
 character was strangely mixed. To serve a superior or 
 a friend he would have exposed his life to any risk, and 
 have slain a man as quickly as an insect. His occupation 
 brought him in contact with the Podesta and the Coun- 
 selors, to whom he was devoted. He professed also 
 affection and respect for the Milanese signori, especially 
 for those who were of the old families. In this, indeed, 
 he manifested a sentiment that had been preserved 
 among the people unto his time. In the Five Days he 
 had been among the bravest, and went with Renzo when 
 he accompanied Ferrer, preceding, at the head of his por- 
 ters, the Podesta on his way to the Palazzo di Governo. 
 So it was not to be wondered at that Ferri would put 
 body and soul into the new revolt. 
 
 The only person of importance that Mazzini had found 
 who was willing to second his project was Giuseppe 
 
 176 
 
Pioltt de Bianchi 
 
 Piolti de Bianchi. He was a studious and honest young 
 man, who placed devotion to the master above all 
 other considerations. Mazzini, who had given him 
 charge of his party, now confided to him the ordering of 
 the revolt; yet he gave to him, as a lieutenant, Brizio 
 whom he sent from London. The enlisted men knew 
 Brizio only, and only under the name of "the Roman." 
 
 Before assuming responsibility for the enterprise, 
 Piolti requested an interview with his chief, and met 
 Mazzini, in January, in a villa near Lugano. He laid be- 
 fore him its difficulties; but Mazzini met his objections 
 with the information that others had assured him that 
 the people were raging, that a spark was enough to 
 kindle a fire, and that the citizens would rise en masse. 
 He said, too, that after two hours of conflict, the 
 "dress-coats" (as they were called) would descend into 
 the streets and take part in the insurrection, the signal 
 of which was awaited in all Italy. 
 
 When Piolti observed that it was impossible to initiate 
 a movement without taking Piedmont into considera- 
 tion, as it was the only country in Italy that had a stand- 
 ing army upon which reliance could be had, Mazzini 
 replied that "the example of '48 must be followed"; 
 that what he "desired was a united and free Italy"; 
 and that he "believed the republic alone could give it." 
 He said that he "respected the opinions of others who 
 put their faith in a constitutional Piedmont," but that 
 he "believed that at the announcement of the rising, 
 either the king and the moderates would decide to assist, 
 and to repeat the experiment of 1848 (in which case they 
 should be received with open arms), or that, not so de- 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 ciding, the army and the people would come; since it 
 was impossible that Piedmont should remain a cold spec- 
 tator of a revolution. It was necessary, therefore," he 
 continued, "to abstain from proclaiming a republic 
 or other form of state, but to constitute a provisional 
 government of three or five persons, who would take 
 thought for the war and for calling the Italians to 
 arms." ^^ 
 
 As Mazzini remained fixed in his idea, Piolti bowed, 
 and the 6th of February, the last Sunday of the carnival, 
 was appointed as the day upon which to begin the revolt. 
 Mazzini promised that there would be collusion with the 
 Hungarians, and that General Klapka would come from 
 London. 
 
 Such were the means with which Milan was to be 
 aroused, and the Austrians, who occupied the city and 
 the provinces, were to be attacked. The finances con- 
 sisted of a thousand pounds sterling, the proceeds of the 
 loan. The arms were some hundreds of stilettos, stuck 
 in rough handles, of which Mazzini had furnished the 
 model. They were wrought by the conspirator Fronti, 
 a brass-worker. There were also some bombs of which 
 Mazzini had likewise sent the pattern. It is noteworthy 
 that these bombs were the first experiments which led 
 to the fabrication of the Orsini bombs later on. 
 
 Brizio said he had five thousand affiliated men ready, 
 and such, indeed, was the number of the names in- 
 scribed. It was strange how ignorant were the police 
 of the projected movement. As to the Hungarians, Cai- 
 roli had, some time before, sent a letter to Piolti to intro- 
 duce to him a friend, a Hungarian captain. This captain 
 
 178. 
 
Plans for an Uprising 
 
 told Piolti very politely that, with regular troops, the 
 Hungarians might, perhaps, make common cause, but 
 that no rehance could be placed upon them in an insur- 
 rection. The captain and Piolti parted with mutual as- 
 surances of silenqp, and of ignorance of one another. In- 
 stead of General Klapka there arrived a certain man by 
 the name of Furagy, formerly an officer in the honveds, 
 but who was now living in Geneva. It was his uniform 
 that Ferri had seen. 
 
 According to the plan of Brizio the five thousand 
 eonspirators, divided into companies of three, or five, 
 hundred, were to attack simultaneously the castle, the 
 Palazzo di Corte, the fort at Porta Tosa, and some of 
 the barracks. Furagy, in the mean time, was to make 
 a pronunciamento to the Hungarian soldiers in their 
 barracks to incite them to undertake the capture of 
 the other soldiers. There was a disagreement between 
 Brizio and Piolti because Piolti thought an attack upon 
 the castle was too difficult an enterprise; but Brizio 
 silenced him by saying that he would undertake the 
 matter himself. 
 
 The dissenters who knew the particulars of the con- 
 spiracy were greatly alarmed, for they were sure that an 
 insurrection, promoted by means so inadequate, could 
 only lead to fearful results. The uprising, they said, 
 would be suppressed in blood, the state of siege would be 
 made more rigorous, the condemnations justified, and 
 the excessive measures of the military government in- 
 creased. An impotent uprising of the few, they insisted, 
 would weaken the resistance which drew its strength 
 from the many. They averred that nothing was more 
 
 179 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 destructive than abortive revolts, which shake the faith 
 and fiber of the people. 
 
 Some of the initiated begged my brother Emilio and 
 Enrico Besana (an approved patriot) to go to Mazzini 
 and endeavor to dissuade him from the undertaking. 
 They consented, and left for Lugano, making light of the 
 dangers that confronted them and of the fact that they 
 had no passports. It snowed the day of their departure 
 and the day following. The mountains were covered; 
 the roads became impassable; and they were not able to 
 accomplish their mission. So they returned to Milan, as 
 they did not wish to be absent from the city on a day of 
 peril. They arrived the evening of the 5th. Probably 
 their mission would have been fruitless anyway. 
 
 When the 6th of February came, Piolti, Brizio, and 
 Fronti employed the first hours of the day in meeting 
 the heads of the companies, in repeating their orders, 
 and in assuring themselves that each man was ready for 
 his appointed task. A first difficulty, which resulted in 
 the loss of considerable time, was the claim which some 
 of the heads made, in the name of their men, for an in- 
 creased remuneration. This proved that Brizio had 
 chosen his conspirators badly. If he had looked for 
 them among the people of the Five Days, or the veterans 
 of Rome and Venice, the uprising would have had a more 
 serious meaning and a greater result. It was foolish to 
 entrust to a Roman immigrant an enrollment of the 
 common people of Milan. 
 
 Piolti said: "We do not intend to pay for the work 
 which you are to do; it is not money that can reward you. 
 You have said that you would attack the Austrians, and 
 
 180 
 
'The Sixth of February 
 
 we are willing to try the outcome; this is all. As you are 
 to meet in taverns, I will give each man two francs; but 
 woe to him who becomes intoxicated. I will meet you 
 this evening after the coup. If you do not accept my offer 
 you can withdraw." As the heads had said that the en- 
 listed men were five thousand in number, Piolti gave 
 them ten thousand lire. Fronti in the mean while dis- 
 tributed the poniards, and received in trust the balance 
 of the money (twelve thousand lire), which remained 
 over to Piolti. 
 
 The revolution was to begin at four in the afternoon. 
 When the hour struck, Piolti and a friend (Maiocchi 
 by name) went into the streets to see the uprising, but 
 everything was still. What had happened ? 
 
 Brizio with four hundred men was to assault the 
 castle. He did not fail to arrive at his post, but he found 
 only thirty recruits. He waited awhile, and proposed 
 to the few that they should make the attempt; but they 
 refused. When evening came, every man went to his 
 own home. Furagy waited some time for some Hunga- 
 rians who were to unite with him in entering the bar- 
 racks of S. Ambrogio; but, as they did not appear, he 
 searched for them, and, going astray, as night fell, sought 
 refuge in the house of some friendly persons. 
 
 There was to be an attack, also, upon the guard of the 
 Palazzo di Corte by another company of four hundred 
 men; but only ten or twelve of them appeared; among 
 whom was Ferri. Ferri did not lose courage. Seeing a 
 stack of guns, with a flag in the midst, he ran and seized 
 a number of them with the flag, and fled with the 
 trophies. The sentinels fired upon and wounded him. 
 
 i8i 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 In the other parts of the city, where the men were to 
 assemble, they did not do so, or they appeared in such 
 small numbers that they soon dispersed. They attacked, 
 indeed, some sentinel, or they poniarded some soldier 
 along the streets; and that was all that was done, 
 Piolti, in the mean time, sought for his revolution, but 
 found it not. Everything was quiet. He sought also 
 for Fronti, but he did not find him either; nor did he 
 find the twelve thousand francs he had entrusted to him. 
 Learning that some trouble was afoot, the citizens hur- 
 riedly shut their shops and doors, and the town was 
 soon patroled by the guards. So the 6th of February 
 ended. 
 
 Apropos of the disappearance of Fronti and of the 
 twelve thousand francs, Piolti informed Mazzini that 
 Fronti had fled to Paris. When he was asked about the 
 money, he said he had deposited it with his wife, who 
 had gone to Codogno. The brothers Foldi were sent to 
 look for her; but Fronti denounced them; and they took 
 flight, and went to America. 
 
 I had passed the afternoon of the 6th in our fencing- 
 hall with my cousin Lamberto Paravicini and a group 
 of dissenters. There was a continual coming and going 
 from various parts of the city, as all of us were most 
 anxious. Some remained on guard to call the others, in 
 case of necessity, for no one believed that the attempted 
 revolt would fail so miserably. At nightfall some one 
 reported that a few barricades had been erected in the 
 vicinity of the Ospedale Maggiore, and that some firing 
 had been heard; so we thought we would go and inves- 
 tigate. We met, coming from the Caffe dell' Europa, 
 
 182 
 
A Short Struggle 
 
 Luciano Besozzi, Gerolamo Induno, Eleuterio Pagliano, 
 and my brother Emilio. We all went together toward the 
 Piazza del Verziere. When we came to Via Durini, 
 we ran against a patrol that notified us to go back, and 
 separate: so we saluted one another, and each one went 
 his own way. 
 
 Carlo De Cristoforis, a little while before, tried to go 
 to the streets called " al laghetto," but was arrested by 
 a patrol. He dissembled, however, so well that they let 
 him go. His sang-froid saved him, for, if he had been 
 taken to a police ofl&cer or to the castle, as the others 
 were who had been arrested, he would have been hanged, 
 as he was armed. In the vicinity of the hospital, some 
 attempts were made by the common people, perhaps 
 incited by Ferri, to raise a barricade, but the insur- 
 gents were quickly dispersed by the soldiers. 
 
 Ferri, as he told me many years after, was in hiding 
 for several days, wandering from roof to roof, upon the 
 house-tops of the Verziere, suffering from his wound and 
 from hunger. He was subsequently arrested, and was 
 condemned to twelve years' imprisonment in a fortress. 
 He was amnestied with the other patriots in 1857. He 
 died twenty years later at the head of the municipal 
 porters. When he spoke of the past he was wont to 
 say: "The Five Days went off well because there was 
 perfect accord between the common people and the si- 
 gnori; but things went badly when people who were not 
 true Milanese mixed themselves in our affairs." 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 (18S3) 
 
 Surprise and disgust of the citizens. — Several of them go to General Giulay. — 
 The first mild measures changed by orders received from headquarters. — 
 Arrests and hangings. — The escape of Carlo De Cristoforis. — Writings of 
 De Cristoforis. — Sequestrations. — Piedmont recalls its ambassador. — 
 The city gates closed for a month. — Piolti, Fronti, Furagy, Brizio. — Con- 
 demnations in default. — The hardships of military law. — Rumors from 
 the prisons at Mantua. — Episode in connection with Lazzati's condem- 
 nation. — After the imprisonment. — Mazzini endeavors to incite a new 
 conspiracy. — A new chief of the republican party. — Ambrogio Ronchi. 
 — The party disintegrates. — Sympathy for Piedmont. 
 
 THE people learned Avith amazement of the events 
 that had happened. Such an uprising, so badly 
 ordered, so unexpected, so hopeless, seemed suspicious; 
 and the sort of things that had taken place — above all, 
 the stabbings in the quiet streets — aroused a feeling of 
 indignation. In this feeling there participated not only 
 the peaceful citizens, but the patriots who were not be- 
 lieved by Mazzini when they had tried to dissuade him. 
 They saw that their prognostications were verified even 
 more than they had imagined. 
 
 Inspired by the events and the general feeling of dis- 
 approbation, some respectable people went to the com- 
 mandant. General Giulay, and expressed the surprise 
 and displeasure the greater part of the citizens felt at 
 the deeds of the 6th, and begged him not to hold the 
 city responsible. The general, who saw before him, for 
 the first time, a group of distinguished citizens, was very 
 courteous. He praised their action, and suggested that 
 the higher classes should henceforth break away from 
 
 184 
 
Citizens go to General Giulay 
 
 the revolutionaries, and consider them as the common 
 enemies of society. 
 
 The action of these citizens (some of whom had given 
 proofs of their patriotism) was condemned even by 
 those who most deplored the 6th of February. To ab- 
 stain from contact with the Govenmient was one of our 
 maxims, and this act was the more blamed because it 
 repudiated an attempted revolt, however foolish, against 
 the foreigner. The self-appointed deputation was not 
 long in becoming aware of its error; and General Giulay 
 saw it no more. These citizens had lost, for a while, the 
 measure of their duty, a fact which showed us the point 
 to which public indignation had risen. Much harm 
 would have been done to our cause if the Austrian Gov- 
 ernment had conducted itself differently. Approbation 
 would have followed upon the part of the timid. But, 
 fortunately, the Government kept us all united in hatred 
 of, and in rebellion against, itself. 
 
 The first governmental measures were mild. A proc- 
 lamation of General Strassoldo, issued in the absence of 
 General Giulay, seemed to be intended to reassure the 
 citizens; but such mildness was of short duration. Two 
 days after, violent and severe orders came from Verona, 
 which were followed by others from Vienna. When 
 General Giulay retumed,^ the state of siege was made 
 more rigorous than ever. The gates of the city were 
 closed to all who did not have permits,; the streets were 
 patroled day and night; the landlords were obliged to 
 keep lights burning in front of their houses in case the 
 gas-pipes should be cut; and the miHtary posts and sen- 
 tinel boxes were surrounded by iron railings. This device, 
 
 i8S 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 which was introduced in all the cities of Lombardo- 
 Venetia, remained until 1859 as if to attest to a state 
 of perennial war. Hundreds of arrests were made, and 
 some distinguished citizens were taken to prison because 
 of fancied resemblance to the conspirators. Among them 
 was a friend of mine, the Marchese Luigi Crivelli. He 
 had a long red beard, which made him look like Piolti. 
 The police knew the color of Piolti's beard, but they did 
 not know his name. 
 
 The Government sought to terrify the city in every 
 way. Among those who had been arrested, six were 
 quickly chosen, indicted, condemned, and hanged out- 
 side the castle gate. A little while after, proof was offered 
 of the innocence of at least four of these unfortunates, 
 among whom was a steward of Conte Greppi. He was 
 a sick man, and had gone out simply to buy some milk. 
 
 Among the people enrolled by Brizio were some of the 
 dregs of the city. When these wretched men were brought 
 before a council of war they told all they knew, and re- 
 vealed the names of those they had heard mentioned in 
 their meetings. When De Cristoforis was denounced he 
 was sought for by the famous Bolza, to whom the impor- 
 tant arrests were entrusted. De Cristoforis, fortunately, 
 was in hiding in the house of the brothers Garavaglia. He 
 afterwards fled to one of his aunts, and then to a sana- 
 torium in which he was received by a friendly physician. 
 In the mean time he made a plan of escape. He sent one 
 of his brothers to a lady who knew Fossati, a contractor 
 of the Austrian army, who had permission to go in and 
 out of the city in a carriage. The arrangement was made 
 that Fossati should place De Cristoforis on the box. At 
 
 186 
 
Escape of Carlo De Cristoforis 
 
 the gate a police agent objected to the coachman, saying 
 that he did not believe the permission extended to him; 
 but he afterwards withdrew his objection. So Carlo 
 made his exit. Many rumors regarding his flight were 
 put in circulation so as to conceal the facts, but they are 
 as I have related them. 
 
 De Cristoforis went first to Travedona, to the house 
 of his friends, the Garavaglia; then he fled to Ispra, on 
 Lake Maggiore, where a fisherman hid him in his boat 
 under some nets. He landed subsequently on the Pied- 
 montese shore while the Austrian soldiers, in a neigh- 
 boring church, were solemnizing the failure of an at- 
 tempt made upon the life of the Emperor. Carlo was 
 not to see the lake and the surrounding country until 
 six years after, on the eve of his death, in the battle of 
 S. Fermo. 
 
 De Cristoforis was ever gay, witty, and joyous, even 
 in the most tragic moments. He was courageous to au- 
 dacity, and admired the romantic and chivalrous types; 
 so we called him (to his delight) D' Artagnan. A lover 
 of activity, he was always at the breach when patriotic 
 enterprises were afoot, and was attracted to the things 
 which others did not dare to do. From 1849 to 1853 he 
 taught the principles of law as a privat-docent. In the 
 public competition, opened by the Institute, for essays 
 on the economical condition of the peasantry, he pre- 
 sented a statistical work. Stef ano Jacini carried off the 
 prize with the treatise which began his fame; but Carlo's 
 essay was also highly esteemed. His exile opened to him 
 new avenues of activity. 
 
 Before closing the account of the 6th of February, I 
 
 187 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 desire to recall the decree of the 13 th which sequestered 
 the goods of all the refugees, even of those who had 
 had permission to emigrate, and had become citizens of 
 Piedmont. Nothing justified this act; but Austria de- 
 sired to hold Piedmont, in some way, responsible for 
 the Mazzinian conspiracy. The Sardinian Government 
 protested, and recalled its ambassador. 
 
 I must record also the condemnations, after the first 
 summary hangings, some of which were in contumacy. 
 Twenty prisoners were condemned to death, and forty 
 to imprisonment, for terms running from ten to twenty 
 years. The condemnations to death were not carried 
 into effect, and the condemnations to irons were di- 
 minished. Among the condemnations in default were 
 those of De Cristoforis, Guttierez, De Luigi, and Gerli, 
 each to twelve years, and Assi to twenty years, of im- 
 prisonment. What had become of Piolti, of Brizio, and 
 of Furagy? Piolti had taken refuge in the house of a 
 friend of his mother, Antonietta Faido, who occasionally 
 took boarders. He remained with her for three months 
 without being noticed. From this hiding-place he suc- 
 ceeded in helping Brizio and Furagy to escape. They fled 
 to the Canton Ticino. Piolti, after having cut off his 
 beard, escaped by the aid of his Piavese friends, and 
 went to Stradella. 
 
 Milan remained closed for over a month. The au- 
 thorities thought that, in this way, none of the heads of 
 the conspiracy could escape; but very few of them were 
 caught. The state of siege was rendered more unbear- 
 able by regulations which now seem incredible. Old, and 
 new, orders were published which made town life very 
 
 188 
 
Hardships of Military Law 
 
 difficult. A card, called a "legitimation-card," was given 
 us without which we were liable to arrest; and we had to 
 be home at ten o'clock in the evening. We could go about 
 only in couples, and no more than two persons could 
 stand together in the streets. Moreover, we had to 
 shave our chins because beards and imperials were sus- 
 pected things. The sentinels and patrols often obliged 
 the passers-by to turn back, and, occasionally, they ar- 
 rested people at their caprice. In returning home, it 
 became often necessary to make detours if we saw sen- 
 tinels posted at the street-comers, since, if they were in 
 a bad humor, they forbade our passing. 
 
 I recall these days with horror. The suspicion, or fear, 
 of a soldier, or the perfidy of a police official, could send 
 the most pacific citizen to prison for months, perhaps 
 for years. The arrogance of the military authorities was 
 limitless. He who has never heard the swords of the 
 Austrians beat upon the city pavement with the disdain- 
 ful pride of a master can understand neither our hatred 
 of them nor our love for our country. 
 
 Our days were made even more sad by the news that 
 came from Mantua. That which the wise had foreseen 
 came about; the Government, after the 6th, pressed its 
 hand ever harder and harder upon the prisoners, and 
 sought to revenge itself upon them. Many reports were 
 current in regard to their sufferings; and it was said that 
 Antonio Lazzati would be hanged as an act of reprisal 
 for the revolt at Milan. 
 
 It is not my task to describe the prosecutions at Man- 
 tua; so I will limit myself to telling the things that I 
 learned from my friends who were entangled therein. 
 
 189 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 There are books and memoirs which describe these 
 trials in detail. May the young men of the new gener- 
 ation read them, and may they remember the names 
 of the heroes, and forever recall the tears that they 
 shed! 
 
 Lazzati was the only Milanese upon whom the exam- 
 ining authority had been able to lay hands. The Exam- 
 iner, Captain Krauss, supposed that the youth of Milan 
 ought to give a much larger contingent to the trials. He, 
 therefore, subjected Lazzati to punishment, and hoped 
 to extort some confession from him. But Lazzati re- 
 mained firm; and his firmness saved the lives of many 
 of the young Milanese, among whom I can name my 
 brother Emilio. Perhaps he would have saved himself 
 also if Castellazzo (as was afterwards known) had not 
 paralyzed his efforts when he underwent his examination 
 before Krauss. 
 
 Towards the middle of February, we learned that 
 proposals for the condemnations had been sent from 
 Mantua to Verona, for Radetzky's approval, and that 
 among those who were on the list for condemnation to 
 death was Lazzati, On the 28th, some death sentences 
 were published, to which others were afterwards added. 
 Among those condemned were Conte Carlo Montanari, 
 the archpriest G. Grazioli, and Tito Speri. The pain 
 of death was commuted to fifteen years' imprisonment, 
 in irons, in the case of Lazzati. 
 
 The trials for the conspiracy of the Mazzinian com- 
 mittees, a conspiracy which had committed no overt 
 act, closed with sending nine eminent citizens to the 
 gallows and thirty-two to the Austrian fortresses. The 
 
 190 
 
LazzatPs Condemnation 
 
 news that hsLZzaXi was to be hanged as a reprisal was 
 true. How, then, was his punishment commuted ? 
 
 On the 1 8th of March, 1848, General Wratislaw, 
 upon going to the castle to take command, entrusted 
 one of his little girls to a family of his acquaintance. 
 When the Austrians returned, he took his daughter away, 
 and said to those who had befriended her: "I feel the 
 obligation of giving you some proof of my thankfulness. 
 We are in troublous times; if I am ever able to render you, 
 or your friends, a similar service, I will repay my debt." 
 This promise was known to Lazzati's family, or to one 
 of his friends; so, when the news of his condemnation 
 arrived, the thought arose to resort to General Wratis- 
 law who was then stationed at Piacenza. The general 
 immediately asked for grace for Lazzati. At first he was 
 repulsed by Radetzky and his counselor Benedek (who 
 was In command at the battle of Sadowa) ; but General 
 Wratislaw threatened to resign, as he considered his 
 honor was at stake. Because of his firmness, he secured 
 grace for Lazzati. Nevertheless, as it had been deter- 
 mined to hang three of the prisoners, the archpriest 
 GrazioH was substituted in Lazzati's place. 
 
 This episode is true in its general lines, though I did 
 not learn the particulars at the time. Everything was 
 done between a few persons, among whom I heard 
 named a lady, who must have been the principal actor 
 in it. Years after, when, talking with Lazzati of his im- 
 prisonment, the conversation turned upon his condem- 
 nation and pardon, he always became melancholy. Per- 
 haps he recalled his confrontation with Castellazzo; or 
 the suspicion that his salvation had cost the life of 
 
 191 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 another troubled him; or perhaps it was that the image 
 of the person to whom he owed most (who had died in 
 the flower of her youth) arose before him. However it 
 may have been, the subject was dropped. 
 
 Antonio Lazzati, Giuseppe Finzi, Luigi Pastro, and 
 others who had shown themselves equally heroic, spoke 
 of their trials very little, and only with their intimate 
 friends. In political prosecutions there are always the he- 
 roes, and there are always the weaklings and the traitors. 
 Because of feelings of delicacy they disliked to return 
 to matters in which the strength of their own souls con- 
 trasted so nobly with the weakness of some and the 
 treason of others. To people who questioned him upon 
 his trial, Lazzati narrated, usually, some comic episode 
 such as often accompanies a tragic event. He liked to 
 choose among the sad vicissitudes of his life the things 
 that were droll; and he depicted them with great keen- 
 ness of observation. He did not reenter political life 
 after 1859, but served his country in the administrative 
 offices to which public confidence called him. He was 
 a notary, and was among the most esteemed in Milan. 
 It has been especially dear to me to recall this old friend, 
 to whom so many young men owed so great a debt. 
 
 When the prosecutions were ended, Castellazzo was 
 let out of prison, and changed his name. He enlisted in 
 the Garibaldians in 1859, and, in order to justify him- 
 self, asked for a jury of honor, which was presided over 
 by Bertani. It absolved, or rather it pardoned, him.^^ 
 Finzi told me that, one day, when he was at Naples, 
 during Garibaldi's dictatorship, Bertani told him that 
 Castellazzo desired to ask his pardon. Finzi replied: 
 
 192 
 
After the Imprisonment 
 
 "I do not refuse to pardon him, but I refuse to see 
 him because I cannot trust myself. The last time I 
 saw him was in the presence of Krauss. I was in chains, 
 and I was defending my life, while he, with his revela- 
 tions, was dragging me to the gallows. How can I see 
 him again?" Bertani did not insist. 
 
 Castellazzo became a freemason, and Grosseto elected 
 him a deputy. The day he entered Parliament, Finzi 
 resigned. Some members of the Extreme Left attacked 
 Finzi violently, and a long and bitter contest ensued 
 which shortened his life. I should not have dwelt upon 
 these matters if they had not had a sorrowful result. 
 The conduct of Castellazzo would have been forgotten, 
 as was that of others who were not equal to their duty; 
 but the impudence of his friends, who wished to make 
 him a representative of the nation, was too much. Even 
 if the whippings were true (as asserted by some, and 
 denied by others) it was no reason why a man should 
 be elected to Parliament who had sent to their deaths 
 so many of his fellow-citizens. Nor was it a reason for 
 vilifying so many patriots who had complained of him. 
 Silence and forgetfulness ought to have been enough; 
 his friends have obtained for him a sad celebrity. 
 
 The disastrous outcome of the 6th of February, and 
 the tragic end of the committees, did not discourage 
 Mazzini. Piolti had reported all that had happened, and 
 Mazzini had replied as to a general in disgrace after 
 he had lost a battle. He praised Piolti's work, congratu- 
 lated himself that the forces remained intact, after hav- 
 ing made so good a showing, and said he intended to 
 begin again with armed bands which should descend 
 
 193 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 from the mountains into the valleys and plains. The thing 
 of primary importance with Mazzini was to continue the 
 uprisings, without regard to the means or to the oppor- 
 tunities. He did not perceive that his exigence had tired 
 people out, and had brought his methods into disrepute. 
 
 As Piolti had been put hors de combat, it became neces- 
 sary to look for a new head for the party; so Mazzini 
 thought of my brother. He sent him a letter by Piolti, 
 and Emilio sent a reply by the same hand. This is what 
 Piolti wrote in his memoirs touching Emilio's letter, 
 which had been left open so that he could read it. "In 
 this letter of Visconti, the future minister of foreign 
 affairs is revealed. To the enthusiasm of Mazzini he 
 opposed the calculation of reason. He passed in review 
 the political situation of the various states of Europe, 
 and concluded by saying that Europe was tired of a 
 period of revolution, and desired repose. As regards 
 Italy, therefore, he said it was best to keep the minds 
 of all in opposition to foreign rule; but that it was un- 
 wise to expose the people in vain attempts, but rather 
 await the awakening of Europe, which, after a season 
 of despondency, could not fail to appear." 
 
 Piolti concluded by saying that both of the letters 
 were excellent, and that he was sorry he had not kept 
 copies of them. 
 
 Mazzini continued on his way, and found a head for 
 his party in Ambrogio Ronchi, who was arrested shortly 
 after. He was taken to the castle on the 13 th of No- 
 vember, and then to Mantua, where he died in prison 
 after much suffering. Still Mazzini endeavored to form 
 new conspiracies, of which we shall soon see the end. 
 
 194 
 
'The Party disintegrates 
 
 In the mean time there was another series of arrests and 
 trials, all of which were confided to Captain Krauss, of 
 dreadful memory. Many cruel episodes are mentioned 
 in their annals; but I can add nothing to the details be- 
 cause the thread of my connection was broken. The first 
 trials, the condemnations of some, and the flight of other 
 friends, and the separation of many more fromMazzini, 
 dried up my sources of information. 
 
 In the decennial of resistance the year 1853 was 
 certainly the darkest; still, though it was the year in 
 which the country suffered most, it was the year, also, 
 that counted most politically, for out of it arose the 
 impulse to turn to a new leader by whom the forces that 
 worked for liberty were disciplined. It was now that 
 the plans of Mazzini, which appeared to be directed to a 
 certain goal, were perceived to lead to an opposite one. 
 
 For four years Mazzini, with tenacious efforts, had 
 endeavored to form the conspiracies which should pre- 
 pare for uprisings, and bring about the revolution by 
 which Italy (as he thought) should become united, in- 
 dependent, and republican. The disproportion between 
 the means and the end did not present itself to his mind. 
 The speculative deductions from his theory were suffi- 
 cient. As, after 1848, the monarchical flag had become 
 impotent, and the impatient patriots had become Maz- 
 zinian, he argued that the movement of 1848 could be 
 repeated, and that the new revolution would be the 
 triumph of the republic. 
 
 But the thoughtful people had counseled him not to 
 attempt an uprising; and he had replied by the revolt 
 of the 6th of February. They counseled him again not 
 
 19s 
 
Memoirs ofTouth 
 
 to try another; and he had proceeded to prepare armed 
 bands. This had given rise to many discussions, and the 
 end was a complete separation between Mazzini and his 
 staff. Still, as Mazzini was convinced that he was right, 
 he let his old friends fall away, and sought for recruits 
 in the lower ranks of life, where men reasoned less and 
 obeyed more implicitly. But even among these his fol- 
 lowing decreased, as his authority was impaired by the 
 uprising of the 6th of February. His system, of ordering 
 from afar a little conspiracy or act which invariably ter- 
 minated badly, ended with arousing in the minds of the 
 common people a feeling of disgust; and reaction en- 
 sued. 
 
 I was not in relations with Mazzini, but I was one of the 
 intimates of the Salon Maffei and of the group of the 
 " Crepuscolo," among whom Mazzini had his warmest 
 friends. The ideas which I have here expressed record 
 the conversations I heard, and the things I witnessed, 
 at the time. The year 1853, which was to have marked 
 the triumph of the ideas of Mazzini, saw, on the con- 
 trary, the decline of his influence. The year of his 
 apogee coincided with that of his decline. 
 
 While the star of Mazzini began to pale, the first rays 
 of a new light broke upon our horizon. The dignified 
 attitude of the Sardinian monarchy and its king, in face 
 of the threats of Austria; the seriousness Avith which 
 Piedmont had reorganized its finances, its army and pub- 
 lic service; and the order with which liberty progressed, 
 attracted anew the sympathetic regard of the people of 
 Lombardo-Venetia towards the Ticino. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 (i8S3) 
 
 My brother and I leave for a journey to the south. — Sojourn at Rome. — 
 From Rome we go to Naples. — Hotels and hotel-keepers. — Naples. — 
 Casa Gargallo. — At the Austrian Legation. — Crossing to Messina. — 
 Catania and Taormina. — iEtna and Syracuse. — Along the coast. — In- 
 conveniences. — Public houses. — The people. — The muleteers at Gir- 
 genti. — To Palermo by Calatafimi. — Letters from Tenca. — The condi- 
 tions of civil life in Sicily. — Return to Genoa. — Letters from our mother. 
 
 AFTER passing our examinations, my brother and 
 I were seized by a desire to take a breath of air 
 abroad, and to ease our feelings after so many days of 
 sorrow and peril; so we determined upon a journey to 
 Rome, Naples, and Sicily. To secure passports for these 
 countries was not difficult; and we wanted to see a part 
 of "our" Italy, to which we had devoted so much anxious 
 thought. We went first to Genoa, where we passed a few 
 days with some friends (emigrants and refugees), and 
 then embarked for Civitavecchia. 
 
 When we landed, we were conducted immediately to 
 the custom-house where our trunks were examined by a 
 commissary. He took the books (a Macchiavelli, a Mo- 
 liere, and a couple of novels), saying that whatever the 
 books might be, they must be sequestered; and that we 
 must look for them at the central police station in 
 Rome. We saw them no more. This first impression 
 was far from pleasing, and even less so was the journey 
 from Civitavecchia to Rome. We made it in a dilapi- 
 dated diligence, which, Emilio said, was found among 
 the goods and chattels of Torquemada. 
 
 We remained in Rome a fortnight, going about from 
 
 197 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 morning to night, in the heat of July, worn out, but 
 not fatigued. We visited especially the places that were 
 hallowed by the defense of Rome — the walls, the Va- 
 scello, and the breaches where Manara, Morosini, Enrico 
 Dandolo, and so many other brave youths had fallen 
 for the realization of an ideal that now seemed so im- 
 probable. When we met the French soldiers we said to 
 ourselves : "What are you doing here ? Your posts should 
 be with your friends on the fields of Lombardy." Who 
 would then have said that this reasoning of sentiment 
 would triumph in a few years, — so much the less by the 
 work of him whom we, to show ourselves patriotic, called 
 "the man of the 2d of December"? 
 
 France and the French were ever associated in our 
 youthful minds with the epoch of the Revolution and 
 the Italian Kingdom, and with every high ideal of liberty 
 and progress. And now we saw the French in Rome, 
 associated with the Swiss Guards, sustaining with their 
 bayonets the temporal power of the Pope! 
 
 Another thing which offended our sight and feeling 
 was to see, in every office we visited, ugly priests with 
 clownish faces, filling positions that had nothing to do 
 with sanctity. It stupefied us the more, to hear people 
 swearing at the priests, for we habitually respected our 
 excellent clergy in Lombardy. And what was not said 
 of the priestly Roman Government! There was an ava- 
 lanche of imprecations, which we wished that those who 
 uttered them could have heard for their own amusement. 
 
 One day, as I stood looking at the Greek horses, in the 
 Piazza di Monte Cavallo, I saw coming out of the palace 
 of the Quirinal a great golden coach. In it was a fine 
 
 198 
 
A yourney to the South 
 
 old man, dressed in white, who gave his benediction from 
 its doors. His face seemed to be surrounded with an 
 aureole of peace and sanctity, and his lips were wreathed 
 in a delicate smile of goodness, — that sweet smile with 
 which he had doubtless once pronounced the words 
 which resounded from ^lEtna to the Alps: "Gran Dio, 
 benedite 1' Italia." 
 
 We thought we would go to Naples across the Apen- 
 nines, and by way of Capua and Caserta. The first day 
 we went as far as Arsoli, a charming little town. The 
 day was sultry, and we were cranuned for several hours 
 in a wretched old carriage with a priest that snored and 
 a woman that nursed a child. At Arsoli we were told that 
 there was no public house fit for gentlemen. A falaTt- 
 zotto was pointed out to us, the proprietor of which we 
 were informed off'ered hospitality to galantuomini. 
 
 Signor Marcello, the proprietor, kindly accommo- 
 dated us with lodgings, and he gave us an excellent sup- 
 per. He told us that he was from Rome, and that, after 
 1848, he passed a part of the year in the country. He 
 narrated a lot of stories of his youth, in which Prince 
 Louis Napoleon had a part. It seemed that his wife and 
 daughters were in the villa; but we did not see them. 
 When we praised his supper, he said it was prepared by 
 a young woman cook; but neither was she visible. When, 
 before leaving, we wanted to give her a tip, a man pre- 
 sented himself. 
 
 The next day we crossed the Apennines, traveling the 
 whole day over an arid mountain by a path which 
 took us to Tagliacozzo, from which we descended to 
 Avezzano. The road was that which was traversed some 
 
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Memoirs of Youth 
 
 ten years later by the brigands when they fled from the 
 Roman State into the Abruzzi. On one of the rocks we 
 saw, Borjes, the Spanish bandit, was shot. He had come 
 to Italy to command the brigands, and to teach them 
 how to extort money from people by cutting off their 
 ears in a pleasing way. 
 
 Towards evening we were joined by a gentleman who 
 gave us some useful information. He came the next 
 morning, also, to take us to see the Lago di Fucino, and 
 the outlet constructed under Nero; and desired to go 
 with us to Sora. At first we held back, but gradually 
 we put aside our distrust. He told us that, after 1848, 
 he had been banished to the provinces, and narrated 
 some things which we knew from others were true. 
 
 The gentleman's name was Altobelli. My brother 
 saw him at Naples in 1861, when he went there with 
 Farini. Altobelli told him that, after his trip with us, 
 he had been arrested by the police, who wanted to know 
 what plots he had made with the two travelers who 
 had come from Rome; and that they had kept him in 
 prison for several months. 
 
 Bidding Signor Altobelli adieu at Sora, we went to 
 S. Germano, and thence to the abbey of Montecassino. 
 It was in August, and the heat can be imagined. The 
 porter led us at once to a room, where we brushed off 
 the dust and washed ourselves, while he sought some 
 lemonade. When he returned, he bade us, in the name 
 of the prior, to whom we had sent our cards, to take 
 luncheon. We accepted the invitation with alacrity, 
 and found the meal excellent. As it was being served, 
 two monks, one of whom, I think, was the prior, came 
 
 200 
 
Naples 
 
 in. The younger one took us afterwards to see the con- 
 vent and the library, and made our visit most interest- 
 ing. He was called Carfora, and was of Naples. He had 
 the distinguished manners of a gentleman. 
 
 We left the abbey regretfully, as we had found in it 
 not only a courteous hospitality, but also a devotion 
 to the faith, to culture, and to art which made us forget 
 the ■pretacci (wretched priests) of Rome, as they were 
 then called. 
 
 We traveled all night, in a diligence, and arrived the 
 next morning at Capua. A gendarme who was charged 
 with escorting the diligence sat down between Emilio 
 and me because he could not find another place. We 
 protested, but in vain. He even wanted us to thank 
 him. First he searched us to assure himself that we had 
 no concealed weapons; then he turned to Emilio, who 
 had a youthful moustache, and said : " I ought to make 
 you cut off your moustache, since it is not permitted in 
 the Kingdom; * but I see you are English and I will take 
 no notice. You should thank me, however, since I have 
 done you a favor. And you ought to thank me, too, for 
 sitting between you two, and protecting you against 
 the malefactors, of whom there are many. Sangue di! 
 thank me! thank me!" After a while he slept with his 
 gun between his legs, and snored until daylight. 
 
 From Capua we went to Naples by a railway of the 
 most obliging character. The train went with the speed 
 of a carriage, and the passers-by made it stop, in order 
 to get on. At Naples we lodged in a hotel near the Via 
 
 * Regno. The Kingdom of Naples was always spoken of as "the 
 Kingdom." 
 
 20I 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 Toledo, that was called, I think, "Del Commercio." 
 The proprietor was an old Frenchman, named Martin, 
 who had come to Naples in the time of Murat, and who, 
 when he was not complaining, sang sotto voce a song with 
 the refrain: "Aux armes, aux armes, que vient le Due de 
 Parme." 
 
 No sooner had we arrived than we found some 
 friends who became our companions during our stay. 
 They were Carlo Casalini, of Venice; Conte Sassatelli, 
 of Bologna; and Cristoforo Robecchi, of Milan, who 
 many years afterwards was a consul-general of the King- 
 dom of Italy. If I should tell the impressions I received 
 of beautiful Naples I would never finish; but alas! with 
 the memories of the marvels of nature and of art there 
 is mixed the ugly recollection of the mob. It was pain- 
 ful for us, who felt ourselves to be Italians, the citizens 
 of a country that was to be, who (as the Liberals of our 
 day) surrounded the people with poetic ideals, to see 
 these plebeians so devoid of self-respect and honesty. 
 The traditional laazaroni, who disappeared with their 
 Bourbon protectors, were still to be seen. The foreigners 
 amused themselves with them; but we blushed to do so. 
 The swarm of lazy beggars who rained upon us like lo- 
 custs, who got under our feet at every step, who lied and 
 cheated, and from whom it was difficult to get free, was 
 a sad spectacle. We comforted ourselves by saying that 
 the lazzaroni were designedly kept in abjection; but it 
 must be confessed, however, the results of the system 
 could not have been worse. 
 
 This rabble was in great contrast to the higher classes, 
 above all to those who were distinguished for their tal- 
 
 202 
 
Naples 
 
 ent and culture (of whom there was not, and never had 
 been, a scarcity); but niany distinguished people at 
 this time lived apart so as not to be observed by the 
 police, who were not less ferocious, and were more vexa- 
 tious, than the police of Lombardy. 
 
 One day, after returning from a trip to Vesuvius, 
 Emilio and I threw ourselves upon our beds without 
 closing the doors of our rooms. When we were awakened 
 for dinner, we discovered that all our clothes, including 
 those in the wardrobes, had disappeared. We called the 
 waiter, and we called Signor Martin and we interrogated 
 all the servants of the hotel; no one knew anything. We 
 had to dine, that day, in our shirt-sleeves and afterwards 
 go to bed. Signor Martin swore to us in French, and in 
 Italian, that he would discover the thief. For a couple 
 of days we heard him storm, then all was quiet again, 
 and he took up the refrain of his song: "Aux armes, 
 aux armes, que vient le Due de Parme." 
 
 The one good thing he did was to send for a tailor, 
 who, with admirable rapidity, furnished us with such 
 things as had been stolen. Our dress-coats had disap- 
 peared with the rest of our effects, and we had ac- 
 cepted an invitation to dinner. HThe tailor, with a benev- 
 olent smile, reassured us. An hour before the dinner he 
 brought us each a full dress-suit that fitted perfectly. 
 
 When we departed, Signor Martin, in putting us into 
 our carriage, whispered that the thief was a servant of 
 a general who had come for the fete of Piedigrotta, and 
 who had had a room next to ours; but, as the matter 
 touched a person dependent upon a big-wig, it had been 
 prudent to keep still. 
 
 203 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 The dinner, for which the dress-coats were required, 
 was in the Casa Gargallo. We had been presented to the 
 descendants of the translator of Horace a few days pre- 
 viously, and the whole family of brothers, sisters, sons- 
 in-law, and daughters-in-law had invited us for the day 
 of the fete, that is, to see the parade in the morning, and 
 to dine with them in the evening. 
 
 We found ourselves in Casa Gargallo with other guests, 
 who proved to be warm partisans of the Bourbons. 
 We discovered this when the coach of the king, followed 
 by those of the court, passed. Emilio glanced at me to 
 ask if we should retire, as we did in Milan, when the 
 Austrian functionaries passed. I expected that this 
 course would be adopted by all on the balcony; but no 
 one moved. I prepared my face to express disdainful 
 patriotic severity, when my neighbors began to clap 
 their hands and to cry, "Viva il Re," and to salute the 
 persons of the suite. At the dinner the conversation 
 turned solely upon the news of the court, and my neigh- 
 bor congratulated me that, even in Lombardy, order and 
 tranquillity had been restored! 
 
 Two days after, when we made our farewell visit to 
 Casa Gargallo, we thought we were on the point of start- 
 ing for Sicily, but an unforeseen incident detained us for 
 another week. Our friend Cristoforo Robecchi wanted 
 to make the tour of Sicily with us, and we had sent our 
 passports to the police, to obtain their visa for the jour- 
 ney. After a delay of several days, a letter came from 
 the Austrian Legation, asking us to call. At this time 
 the Italian subjects of Austria avoided, as much as 
 possible, presenting themselves at the Austrian lega- 
 
 204 
 
At the Austrian Legation 
 
 tions and embassies; but no other course was open 
 to us. 
 
 At the legation, the first secretary, Signor Rajmond, 
 received us with politeness, and told us that a warning 
 regarding us had come to the police, because we had 
 taken an unwonted route in coming from Rome, and had 
 conversed with Signor Altobelli. 
 
 It was not difficult to show Signor Rajmond the inno- 
 cency of our actions; and he undertook to propitiate 
 the police, and to request the especial passports which 
 were necessary for Sicily. After two days we were asked 
 to call again, and were told that the Government con- 
 ceded two passports but not three, Signor Rajmond, 
 however, who was always most polite, offered to ask 
 the favor of passports for all three of us. The favor 
 was granted, but an official wanted to see and question 
 us, in the presence of the secretary. This personage, 
 whose name I cannot remember, was a close-shaven, 
 dried-up little man. He questioned us at length, scan- 
 ning us from head to foot at each interrogation. At the 
 end he said: "Well, I concede the passports for Sicily to 
 all three, but I concede them only out of regard for their 
 flag." And, so saying, he motioned to the Austrian sec- 
 retary. For our flag! 
 
 So we could go to Sicily, thanks to an Austrian official, 
 who, moreover, told us to be on guard against the regu- 
 lations of the Bourbon police, which he, as we, recog- 
 nized to be excessive. I left Naples with three causes of 
 grief in my heart. They were: to have lost my illusion in 
 regard to the people that Mazzini had taught us to place 
 alongside of God; to have found Bourbon partisans 
 
 205 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 among the educated Neapolitans; and to have been 
 forced to seek the protection of the Austrian Lega- 
 tion. 
 
 The crossing to Messina was far from agreeable; the 
 sea was running strong, and the boat was very slow. 
 We arrived in the evening, so had to pass another 
 night on board. In all, we were fifty hours on the 
 trip. Some funny things happened during the pitching 
 and rolling of the boat. Among the passengers was 
 the Domeniconi company of comedians. I had seen 
 them act, and now I saw them afflicted with seasickness, 
 tumbling about, in poses tragic and comic. Some of the 
 other passengers, male and female, were crazed by fear. 
 They shrieked, prayed, and invoked all the Neapolitan 
 and Sicilian saints. As every strong gust of wind or 
 higher wave came, they made a new vow. Some were so 
 extravagant I am sure they were never fulfilled. 
 
 We stopped at Messina a few days, then we went to 
 lovely Taormina and Catania. At Catania we girded 
 ourselves for the ascent of ^tna; but the giant mountain 
 is not always polite to travelers; and it was not to us. 
 We stopped first at Nicolosi, where we visited Professor 
 Gemellaro, the illustrator of .(Etna. He spoke of the 
 mountain as a father might speak of his little son, who, 
 though he may be guilty of some escapades, is yet his 
 consolation. After leaving Nicolosi we had to betake 
 ourselves to a grotto, while a strong wind, accompanied 
 by hail, uprooted the trees and hurled the rocks down 
 the mountain-side. Later on we walked to a refuge, 
 called the house of the English, where we passed the 
 night half-frozen. In the early morning we attempted 
 
 206 
 
JEtna and Syracuse 
 
 the ascent of the cone, but were driven back by a whirl- 
 ing lot of little stones, mixed with snow. 
 
 In spite of our disagreeable experience, I have pre- 
 served of ^tna an indelible memory. My expectations 
 had been great; but they were surpassed by the reality, 
 for my mind, after all these years, is still filled with the 
 splendor of the mountain. 
 
 From Catania we went to Syracuse. I will not speak 
 of the modern city which, like a decayed gentleman, is 
 restricted to modest quarters. I will recall simply the 
 arid and majestic plain which stretches from the actual 
 city over the site of ancient Syracuse, the great Grecian 
 city, of which now only some scanty ruins remain. Dur- 
 ing our long ride we scarcely spoke, as certain spectacles 
 make us silent, even at twenty years of age. 
 
 From Syracuse we journeyed through the coist towns, 
 to Girgenti, and from Girgenti we went to Selinunte 
 and Marsala. Thinking over these days, there comes 
 back to me the memory of the suffocating sands. I can 
 see again the parched land and the sky that made us 
 think of the Orient. The toil was great, but, as all we 
 saw was grand, we did not think of the toil. The azure 
 sea and the lovely beaches fascinated us; and the Greek, 
 Roman, Saracen, and Norman ruins told us so much of 
 so many peoples that our thoughts were carried to a 
 sphere where our hardships were forgotten. 
 
 Of little woes and discomforts there were plenty. 
 The greatest were hunger, dirt, and the police. The tour 
 of Sicily was, usually, made at this time in little steam- 
 boats, which touched at the interesting points. A jour- 
 ney along the coast by land was not often made, ex- 
 
 207 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 cept by an occasional Englishman; wherefore we were 
 generally taken for English. Of the real English we 
 encountered some who, however, were traveling with 
 less discomfort than we were, for they had provided 
 themselves with tents and supplies. To-day there are 
 excellent hotels in the coast districts; but it is worth 
 while remembering how one had to travel during the 
 Bourbon regime. 
 
 In the taverns we found only dry bread, mouldy 
 cheese, and some other eatables which turned our 
 stomachs. And even in the farmhouses we could obtain, 
 at the most, only some eggs. We argued that, if there 
 were eggs, there ought to be hens, but no hens were 
 forthcoming. Oftentimes we could not enter the public 
 taverns because of the stench of the muleteers; but had 
 to sleep in the open with our saddles for our pillows. It 
 is impossible to speak properly of the filthiness I have 
 seen in some of these taverns. The concept of cleanli- 
 ness was not even in an embryonic state. Strange that 
 this idea is often the last to penetrate the understanding 
 of certain human beings. They comprehend the super- 
 natural easier than soap. On one occasion, my brother 
 having asked the mistress of a tavern to clean a knife, 
 on which a long history of different uses had been strati- 
 fied (pardon my frankness), she spat upon a brick, rubbed 
 the knife upon it, rinsed it in a pail of dirty water, and 
 then dried the blade upon her hair! — all with an eager- 
 ness and rapidity that manifested the best will to serve. 
 
 As soon as we arrived anywhere we were pounced upon 
 by a gendarme, who, before permitting us to go to a 
 tavern, conducted us to a police station where all our 
 
 208 
 
'The Sicilian People 
 
 belongings, even the contents of our pockets, were ex- 
 amined. We were asked the strangest questions, some 
 of which were very diverting. At the end we were 
 asked for a good tip. As the people rarely saw any for- 
 eigners, we were the objects of great curiosity; and all 
 seemed to have a desire to talk with us. I must say 
 that they were very polite and hospitable, so much so 
 that it was often very difficult to avoid accepting their 
 gifts. At Vittoria some persons took us to their wine- 
 cellars, and, as we praised their wine, they wanted to 
 give us bottles, and even barrels. On another occasion 
 we were requested to accept a great package of cream of 
 tartar! 
 
 The conversation of the common people showed a 
 scant knowledge of modem events, a shortcoming which 
 we afterwards noticed even in the cultured class. Nor 
 was this to be wondered at, since in the gabinetti di let- 
 tura e di conversazione (as they called them), one never 
 saw anything modem except the official journal of the 
 Two Sicilies. To keep its subjects isolated from intel- 
 lectual contact with the world was one of the principal 
 occupations of the Bourbon Government. 
 
 Great was the astonishment of those who asked us 
 what we were, to be told that we were Lombards and 
 Italians. They turned towards us with a patriotic curi- 
 osity, which showed how much they had been kept in 
 ignorance regarding the other parts of Italy. 
 
 While we stood contemplating the rains of a Greek 
 temple at Girgenti, a guard approached and questioned 
 us. We soon perceived that he was a good soul. To make 
 us pardon his curiosity he interpolated many excuses and 
 
 209 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 offers of service. Our answers amazed him so much that 
 every once in a while he was dumfounded. The great- 
 est of his embarrassments was to hear that Lombardy 
 was in Italy. He thought it was in Switzerland. At the 
 end of our conversation, he said he would take charge of 
 our mounts to Sciacca, and make the contract with the 
 muleteers. The contract could have been concluded in a 
 few words, but the good man was verbose, and wanted 
 to show his regard. He concluded with this peroration : 
 " You understand these gentlemen are most excellent 
 cavalieri who know how to write. At Sciacca they will 
 send me a few lines, on paper, written by their hands 
 . . . and if they write me that you have been rascals I 
 will have administered to you so many blows that you 
 will remember them." Here he made a threatening face; 
 and then, becoming calm again, he continued: "But you 
 are good fellows, I know. These gentlemen will be con- 
 tented with you, and will give you a good tip !" There- 
 upon he raised his arm as if to pronounce a benediction. 
 We traveled with the muleteers the whole day. At 
 a deserted spot on the road we ran against two individ- 
 uals on horseback (who may have been peasants or 
 guards), with guns slung over their shoulders. After 
 having examined us, they drew our muleteers aside to 
 talk with them; then they disappeared. A little while 
 after our escort told us that the two strangers had pro- 
 posed to kill us from behind, and to divide the spoil. 
 Our muleteers said that they had refused, saying that 
 we were armed, and that they had seen some gendarmes 
 a little way off. Was this proposal true, or did our escort 
 invent it to induce us to double our tip, and to assure 
 
 2IO 
 
To Palermo by Calatafimi 
 
 themselves of a testimonial of good conduct? Either 
 hypothesis is possible. 
 
 This was the only episode that reminded us of the 
 slight security of the roads. We had traveled them day 
 and night, without precaution, and without giving 
 any thought to it. Fortunately nothing happened to 
 disturb us. 
 
 We stopped at Marsala to rest ourselves. In my diary 
 I find the words written: "Besides the wine warehouses 
 and some remains of ancient greatness there is little 
 worth recording." Who would have said that there would 
 be so much to record in a few short years ? From Mar- 
 sala we went in a fishing-boat to Trapani, and thence 
 on horseback and by carriage to Palermo, by way of 
 Calatafimi, Segeste, and Monreale. 
 
 We remained at Palermo eight or ten days, giving our- 
 selves but little time to see its marvels. A letter from 
 our mother advised us to hasten home, saying that we 
 should find other letters at Genoa. 
 
 Carlo Tenca had given us letters of introduction to 
 several Palermitans, and had asked us to secure corre- 
 spondents for the " Crepuscolo," as had been done in 
 many other of the Italian provinces. We made the ac- 
 quaintance of some distinguished persons, who received 
 us kindly, but who gave us, one and all, the same reply, 
 that it was not possible to send even non-political let- 
 ters from Sicily, since the letters would be opened and 
 sequestered by the police, and the senders would subject 
 themselves to perquisitions and vexations without end. 
 Moreover, they told us that it would not be prudent 
 even to let themselves be seen with us in the streets, as 
 
 211 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 he who consorted with strangers became a suspected 
 citizen. What a testimonial this was to the condition 
 of Sicily, and to the way it was governed at this time. 
 
 After having traveled through the States of the Church 
 and the Kingdom of Naples, it must be confessed that, 
 in spite of the state of siege and of the hardships of 
 martial law, we experienced a sense of relief in return- 
 ing to Milan and Lombardy. We felt that we lived in 
 a country that was socially less retrograde, and under a 
 government that was less stupidly tyrannical. The Aus- 
 trian Government had always been pedantically abso- 
 lute in political matters, and we were living in a period 
 of reaction, yet it was a civil government of the nine- 
 teenth century; but the Papal and the Neapolitan Gov- 
 ernments were of another age, and were among the worst 
 of the civilized world. 
 
 We embarked at Palermo for Genoa, where, upon our 
 arrival, we found important letters from our mother. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 (i8S3) 
 
 Our mother advises us of the arrests in Valtellina. — The expedition of Calvi. — 
 Letters of Mazzini to Calvi. — The trial of Salis, Stoppani, and Zanetti. 
 — Conte Ulisse Salis. — The road of the Stelvio. — Story of a cannon. — 
 Torelli and Guicciardi. 
 
 OUR mother, in a letter dated the 22d of September, 
 told us that Conte Ulisse Salis and Antonio Za- 
 netti, the proprietor of the cafe at Tirano, had been 
 arrested on that very day. She informed us likewise that 
 Gervasio Stoppani, of Bormio, had also been taken. In 
 a subsequent letter she told us that a commissary from 
 Sondrio had made a long and minute search of our house. 
 She was very much excited, and advised us to keep away 
 from home. We stopped some time at Genoa in great 
 perplexity; but, at the end, we decided to join our 
 mother. It seemed to Emilio that to remain away would 
 arouse greater suspicion than to return home; and he 
 was sure that Salis would keep quiet in prison, as Laz- 
 zati had done. But what could have provoked these 
 new arrests ? At Milan we obtained some information as 
 to what had happened; but only later on did we learn 
 what the arrests really meant. 
 
 Although he had been abandoned by the better part 
 of his friends, Mazzini went forward with his plan of 
 armed bands and of an uprising in the Alpine districts 
 of Lombardy and Venetia. To this plan, unfortunately 
 for him, Pietro Fortunato Calvi gave his adherence. 
 He had emigrated, and, in his impatience, gave cre- 
 dence to false information. 
 
 213 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 In 1848, Calvi had performed prodigies of valor, and 
 had commanded a body of insurgents in Cadore. He 
 now accepted Mazzini's proposal, that he should return 
 and arouse the country; being assured that his initiative 
 would be followed by other insurrections in the valleys. 
 He was to proceed to Cadore, by the way of the Val- 
 tellina, Bormio, and the Trentino, accompanied by some 
 of his officers of '48 ; but he had no sooner gone to Turin 
 (where the expedition had been planned) than the Aus- 
 trian police was informed of the enterprise in all its de- 
 tails, even of the road that he and his companions would 
 take. The spy was a woman, the mistress of a certain 
 Mircovich, a Dalmatian, in whose house Calvi had dis- 
 cussed the plan. 
 
 Happily Ulisse Salis had succeeded in securing and 
 reading some secret correspondence of the district com- 
 missary, and thus had learned that the Milanese police 
 had been informed of the project. Salis wrote at once to 
 Maurizio Quadrio, a friend of Mazzini, to notify him; 
 but Calvi had commenced to travel the unfortunate 
 road. Followed by an agent of the police, he was ar- 
 rested in the Val di Sole, in the Trentino, and was sent 
 to the prisons at Mantua, from which he only issued the 
 4th of July of the year following, when he mounted the 
 gallows. 
 
 Letters were found on Calvi which had been given 
 him to obtain assistance in the Valtellina in case of need. 
 These were directed to UUsse Salis, Antonio Zanetti, and 
 Gervaso Stoppani. It was fortunate for Emilio that his 
 absence was known; otherwise Calvi might have had 
 a letter for him. These arrests were followed by many 
 
 214 
 
Conte Ulisse Sails 
 
 others, and opened a new series of Mantuan trials, which 
 lasted for over a year. They finished with the condem- 
 nation of one of the conspirators to death, and of many 
 others to terms of imprisonment. SaHs and Stoppani 
 were compromised by their past, and saved their lives 
 only by the firmness of their denials and resistance to 
 the practices of Krauss. 
 
 The steadfastness of Ulisse Salis was admirable, and 
 to it my brother Emilio owed his escape, a second time, 
 from the perils of imprisonment, Krauss had let Salis 
 believe that Emilio had been arrested, and had averred 
 that he had confessed, in order to induce his prisoner to 
 follow his (alleged) example, and thus to take two in 
 the same net; but Salis was not to be ensnared, and reso- 
 lutely demanded to be put in confrontation with Emilio. 
 This was one of the methods employed by Krauss to 
 increase the number of his victims. The other methods 
 were, as we have seen, threats and chains and hunger 
 and cold. 
 
 Krauss also threatened Salis with blows, but Salis 
 replied: "You cannot have me beaten; because I am 
 noble." Krauss was silenced, for, according to the punc- 
 tilious regulations of the military law, the nobles could 
 not be punished with blows. ■ 
 
 The project of an insurrection by means of armed 
 bands finished thus miserably. Calvi was accompanied 
 to the gallows by Don Martini, the pious priest who had 
 already comforted the victims of Belfiore. 
 
 Yet the Mazzinian conspiracy was not dropped. An 
 attempt was made at Sarzana, and failed. The command 
 had been offered to Medici,'but he had declined it. Other 
 
 215 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 attempts were to be made along the Swiss frontier (by 
 the help of Quadrio and Chiassi). The Austrians had 
 received word of these movements, and had notified 
 the Swiss Government; but no extraordinary meas- 
 ures were necessary, since only a small number of the 
 conspirators appeared, and they soon dispersed. In the 
 Valtellina several patriots knew about the attempts 
 that were to be made, but no one moved. 
 
 Salis, after a trial which lasted nineteen months, was 
 condemned to imprisonment in the fortress of Kuf stein.^^ 
 Before leaving, as he bade his young and beautiful wife 
 farewell, he succeeded in whispering that she should ex- 
 hort his friends, and especially Emilio, to fly, as Krauss 
 knew everything. Contessa Salis went immediately to 
 Emilio, and told him what her husband had said; but 
 Emilio did not want to fly for fear of compromising 
 some friends. 
 
 Shortly after he suffered a long perquisition, and was 
 summoned by the director of the police to his office. 
 The director said to him: "The search that was made 
 of your things has given a negative result; but we know, 
 with certainty, that you are one of the most pronounced 
 enemies of the Government. Up to this time you have 
 been fortunate ; we have not been able to open an especial 
 inquisition for you. But there will come a time when you 
 will give us an occasion, and we shall remember all." 
 
 Emilio went his way without replying. 
 
 Contessa Teresa Salis, of the family Calvi di Edolo, 
 had been married only a short time when her husband 
 was arrested. She went immediately to Mantua, and 
 remained there during the time of the trial, following 
 
 216 
 
'The Road of the Stelvio 
 
 its course, as well as she could, by secret communica- 
 tions with the prisoners. Her husband, Ulisse Salis, was 
 a young and handsome man, and was the type of a feudal 
 country squire. Of his life, as a student, as a hunter, and 
 as a patriot, many stories are related that attest the 
 resoluteness and the audacity of his character. In 1848, 
 after having fought at the barricades of Milan, he went 
 to the Valtellina where he joined a group of ardent young 
 men that hastened to occupy the Stelvio Pass before the 
 Austrians should arrive. This troop, united with some 
 mountaineers, descended upon the Tyrolese side of the 
 mountain, and set fire to the galleries of wood that were 
 built to protect the road against the avalanches. They 
 destroyed the road, too, in such a way that the Aus- 
 trians could not use it during the campaign. 
 
 Here I will make a short digression. The Stelvio road 
 was built by Austria, after the Valtellina had been 
 annexed to Lombardy, in 18 15. The ancient road, that 
 had served for so many German invasions, did not cross 
 the summit of Monte Branlio (called Stelvio), but, bend- 
 ing at a lower altitude, it traversed some parts of the 
 Canton of the Grisons before it entered the Tyrol. The 
 road of the Stelvio, upon the Tyrolese side especially, 
 presented some serious difficulties, but the Austrian 
 Government determined to surmount them at any cost. 
 The road, when completed, was considered a marvel 
 of engineering skill. 
 
 The Austrians had desired to open a way that would 
 be entirely upon their own territory, by which their 
 troops could come from the Tyrol; but the ease with 
 which a few resolute men had been able to render the 
 
 217 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Stelvio road impassable deterred them. After 1848, 
 Marshal Radetzky proposed to abandon the Stelvio as 
 a military road, and to substitute the Tonale, making 
 a connection with the Valtellina by a road over the Ap- 
 nea Pass. It was done and the Austrians abandoned 
 the Stelvio route. But when, in 1866, the treaty of peace 
 between Austria and Italy was in negotiation, my 
 brother Emilio (then Minister of Foreign Affairs) ob- 
 tained, through the efforts of our ambassador Menabrea, 
 an agreement that the Stelvio road should be rebuilt on 
 the Tyrolese side, and kept open, at least in the summer- 
 time. 
 
 Returning to Ulisse Salis, a story that is worth re- 
 cording comes to my mind. After the capitulation of 
 Milan the troops of General Griffini, in their retreat from 
 Brescia, crossed the Valcamonica and the Valtellina, and 
 retired into Switzerland. In traversing the narrow pass 
 of Aprica, a cannon fell down the steep side of the 
 mountain. Salis, when he heard of this mishap, deter- 
 mined to secure it before the Austrians should arrive. 
 It had lodged in a cleft of a mountain in a valley near the 
 village of Stazzona. He arranged to convey it to his 
 house and hide it; but it was not an easy matter to carry 
 a cannon from a place distant six kilometers fromTirano, 
 at a time when the country was full of soldiers, and it was 
 enough to have only a pistol in one's house to be liable to 
 arrest and execution. Yet Salis, aided by some peas- 
 ants, succeeded in carrying off the cannon by night under 
 a load of hay. He took it to one of his farms, and, with 
 the assistance of his brother, a priest, buried it. The 
 cannon was dug up in 1859, and presented by Salis to 
 
 218 
 
^orelli and Guicciardi 
 
 Vittorio Emanuele, who gave him, in exchange, a gold 
 medal expressly struck.*' 
 
 There were many patriots in Valtellina, in the years 
 between 1848 and i860, who conspired and combated 
 for their country. In '48 and '49 the little province of 
 Sondrio had furnished a number of companies of volun- 
 teers. The patriotic sentiments of the people, and the 
 economic misfortunes which befell them (of which I shall 
 speak later), appealed to the sympathy and secured the 
 esteem of the greater Lombard provinces. 
 
 Many of the Valtellinese patriots had emigrated after 
 1848, among whom the most noted were Luigi Torelli, 
 Enrico Guicciardi, and Maurizio Quadrio. Quadrio was 
 a friend of Mazzini, and was always occupied with his 
 conspiracies. He lived usually in Switzerland, but oc- 
 casionally made his appearance in his native valley. 
 Torelli remained in Piedmont, and devoted himself to 
 political life. He was successively deputy, prefect, and 
 minister. He was ever guided, in both his private and 
 public life, by a high sense of rectitude and of patriot- 
 ism. He was justly popular in Valtellina, especially 
 among the non-political classes and the peasants. When, 
 after the 6th of February, 1853, Austria sequestered the 
 goods of the emigrants, all of Torelli's possessions in the 
 valley were seized. 
 
 Guicciardi, after he retired to Piedmont in 1848, 
 united the Valtellinese volunteers in a battalion of her- 
 saglieri which distinguished itself at the battle of No- 
 vara. After the termination of the war, he established 
 himself in Piedmont. In 1859 he was sent by Cavour 
 to the province of Sondrio, Afterwards he was sent as 
 
 219 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 prefect to the provinces where brigandage, or some other 
 grave matter, called for a man of wisdom and energy. 
 In 1866 he commanded, as colonel, two battalions of 
 Valtellinese and other volunteers with which he accom- 
 plished at the Stelvio an audacious deed of arms against 
 the Austrians. 
 
 May the memories of these patriots be lasting in their 
 native valley, as examples of firm and upright men, who 
 were devoted to their country and their duty! 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 (i8S4) 
 
 Decline of the republican party. — Evolution in the salon of the Contessa Maifei. 
 
 — Conte Cesare Giuiini and his relations with Piedmont. — ^The Crimean 
 War. — Repeal of the law as to substitutes. — Many fly to avoid the levy. 
 
 — Anecdotes of the bribing of the military doctors. — The Firemen's school. 
 
 — We go to Tirano and Grosio. — The destruction of the vines. — The 
 cholera. — My mother's salon at Tirano. 
 
 IN 1854 the Milanese began a mental and political evo- 
 lution which took them along a new road. The period 
 of Mazzinian conspiracies was distinctly closed. It is true 
 that Mazzini still sought to excite his old friends, and com- 
 plained that some of them had gone astray; but it was in 
 vain. The distinguished part of his followers separated 
 themselves definitely from him, and turned their eyes 
 beyond the Ticino where the star of Cavour now shone 
 brightly. The so-called marriage with the Left Center, 
 led by Rattazzi, was the sign of a new direction in Pied- 
 montese politics, and became, for many weary patriots, 
 the occasion, or the pretext, to change their opinions. 
 
 I saw the proof of this change in the salon of the Con- 
 tessa MaflFei, where, as I have said, so many influential 
 citizens came together. Chiarina, as she was called by her 
 intimate friends, had accepted the programme of a united 
 Italy under the Mazzinian banner, with the motto, 
 "Dio e il popolo." While she, with great gentleness, 
 diffused the ardent faith of her convictions, she felt in 
 return the influence of those who were about her. Now, 
 the insurrection of the 6th of February, and the attempts 
 that followed it, had extinguished much of her enthusi- 
 asm. Not without sorrow had she seen Mazzini turn his 
 
 221 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 shoulder to his old friends, and seek for new adherents 
 in the ranks of the lower classes. His friends, who had 
 followed his programme of unity as against the federal 
 ideal of Cattaneo, had broken away from him because 
 they were disgusted with his methods. 
 
 Conte Cesare Giulini, who was one of the most assid- 
 uous frequenters of the salon, had remained faithful 
 to the monarchical form of the State, and to the House 
 of Savoy. He had often teased the Contessa because 
 of her enthusiasm for Mazzini; but now he triumphed, 
 when he perceived that she and her friends were turning 
 from their old illusions and seeking a new way. He was 
 a friend of Conte di Cavour, of Arese, and of D' Azeglio, 
 and had especial means of securing information. He 
 knew the particulars of the stand that Piedmont had 
 taken in the different diplomatic strifes with Austria, 
 especially in reference to the sequestration of the prop- 
 erty of the Lombard emigrants. Apropos of this affair, 
 Giulini had received some confidential information show- 
 ing that the Emperor Napoleon confirmed, among his 
 intimate friends, the sympathy that Louis Bonaparte 
 had always manifested for Italy. His words, it seems, had 
 encouraged Piedmont. The report of these matters, 
 when whispered about, aroused a vague feeling of hope 
 for the future; and they even smoothed out some of the 
 wrinkles on the faces of the men who were wont to speak 
 unkindly of the Emperor, 
 
 The alliance of France and England with Turkey, in 
 the war against Russia, was the first puff of activity 
 which stirred the stagnant pool of European politics, 
 since the reaction had set in. 
 
 222 
 
Military Service made Obligatory 
 
 In the spring of this year a law was promulgated which 
 greatly upset us, and became the most insupportable of 
 all the enactments during the state of siege. The Govern- 
 ment made military service obligatory for all. Up to this 
 time exchanges were permitted, and regulated by law; 
 that is, by the payment of a fixed sum one could pre- 
 sent a substitute. The aim of the new law was to dim- 
 inish the division which existed between the Austrian 
 and the Italian soldiers, and, more especially, between 
 our higher classes and the Austrian officers. 
 
 It is difficult to imagine the feeling of repugnance 
 which arose in the minds of the patriotic young men at 
 the thought of having to put on the Austrian uniform. 
 It could not help but lead to divisions between them and 
 their families : so the most resolute determined to fly. It 
 was a noble resolution; but it was not always easy to 
 carry it into effect. Some of my friends were hit by this 
 law. I, by good fortune, had been in the levy of the 
 previous year. Declared to be able, I was assigned to 
 the cacciatori tirolesi, but I had paid the tax of three 
 thousand Austrian lire.* 
 
 Some of my companions fled, and expatriated them- 
 selves. Others found another mode of escape. They 
 slipped several rolls of svanziche into the pockets of the 
 examining physician. Others, again, resigned themselves 
 to the hard fact of serving. I recall, among these, my 
 friend Antonio Frigerio, whose flight his family pre- 
 vented. Enrolled in a regiment of Uhlans, he became 
 
 *The Austrian lira, called "svanzica," from "zwanzig kreuzer," or 
 twenty sous, was equivalent to eighty centesimi of the Italian lira, and 
 the lira Milanese was equivalent to sixty centesimi. 
 
 223 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 an officer, and served until 1859. When he returned he 
 sought his old friends no more; but, in 1866, he enlisted 
 in the Garibaldian volunteers, and became a captain. 
 He died fighting bravely at Vezza in Valcamonica. 
 
 Among my companions who expatriated themselves, 
 and enlisted in Piedmont, I recall Emilio Guicciardi and 
 Augusto Verga; and among those to whose rolls the 
 pockets of a military doctor became hospitable I recall 
 Lodovico Mancini and Costantino Garavaglia. They 
 had learned that there was a way by which a given sum 
 could come to the pockets of a certain physician who 
 would declare them incapable. It must be confessed, 
 however, that they each had some defect which could 
 be magnified. The little defect was noted at the prelimi- 
 nary examination. If the commission definitely liberated 
 the conscript he paid forty marenghi,* but if it remanded 
 him from year to year, he paid twenty marenghi every 
 time. An understanding being arrived at, a colored shirt 
 was given to the patient, which was to serve as a sign 
 of recognition for the physician. 
 
 Garavaglia was advised to have an irritation of the 
 throat, and to make his neck appear large. So he pur- 
 chased a trumpet, and blew it in the country from morn- 
 ing to night. He was dismissed for the nonce, but had to 
 pay the twenty marenghi several times. 
 
 Mancini had been wounded in the siege of Rome, and 
 he still carried a scar. The wounded of '48 and '49 were 
 generally, without further ado, declared able. But in the 
 preliminary examination he had been advised to favor 
 a dilation that he had in the veins of one of his legs ; so he 
 
 * A marengo was worth twenty francs, 
 224 
 
The Firemen^ s School 
 
 did nothing but run about the bastions of the city as 
 long as his strength lasted. This procedure was success- 
 ful, and he was liberated by the payment of forty ma- 
 renghi. 
 
 If any one should ask what became of our studies, 
 I must answer that we studied very little. Promenades 
 and drinking-parties, and fencing and gymnastic exer- 
 cises, interspersed with little conspiracies, occupied our 
 time. Among the gymnastic exercises one was bizarre 
 enough; it was to learn the manoeuvres of the firemen. 
 The preceding autumn Giovanni Salis, a brother of 
 Conte Ulisse, and I had agreed to organize companies of 
 firemen in Tirano and in some other towns of high Val- 
 tellina, and I had undertaken to become the instructor in 
 order to save the expense. Accordingly, I obtained per- 
 mission from the municipality of Milan to attend the 
 course of instruction that was given to the recruits of 
 the year. For a couple of months I had to be at the fire- 
 men's barracks of Santa Maria delle Grazie at daybreak 
 to learn the exercises. I was taught how to walk upon 
 the roof and along the eaves of a house, how to climb 
 up a house without using the stairways, and how to 
 jump from a high place without breaking my neck. I 
 was taught, too, how to smother the flames, and how 
 to save my neighbor and myself. 
 
 My Tirano firemen had all been volunteers of '48 and 
 '49; and they put into their manoeuvres something of 
 their military spirit. Between our exercises we talked 
 of the past, and we often exchanged intelligent glances 
 in regard to the future. Our Tirano residence had 
 ceased to be occupied by the soldiers, and we had begun 
 
 225 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 to repair some of the mischief that the Croats had 
 done. 
 
 When we were again in possession of our house we re- 
 turned to our former habits and occupations. Emilio 
 passed many hours of the day in his study, and I, aided 
 by Enrico, occupied myself with the estate. It was sad 
 to see our vineyards destroyed by the oidium. In my 
 journey through Sicily I had observed that the vine- 
 yards near the sulphur mines were in part immune 
 from the blight that had fallen upon the greater part of 
 the vines in Europe. I experimented with sulphur, as 
 did others; but the peasants were reluctant to try it, 
 as sulphur seemed to many of them to be a diabolical 
 remedy against the punishment of Gfod. In the mean 
 time hunger and sickness and ruin increased. 
 
 In Valtellina the grape is the principal product; in 
 some districts it is the only one. In 1854 the failure 
 of the vines was at its fifth year (it lasted ten years), 
 and its terrible effects were already apparent. To in- 
 crease the misery of the people the cholera, which had 
 manifested itself first in Milan, crept through Lombardy, 
 and penetrated into our valley. Our vacation was not 
 very gay. Oidium and cholera were the principal subj ects 
 of conversation in my mother's salon which she had re- 
 opened after the soldiers had departed. Emilio, from 
 time to time, went to Grosio, and I occasionally accom- 
 panied him. It was a great pleasure to pass a few days in 
 our old home in the midst of our peasants and of many 
 good people to whom we were bound by affectionate 
 traditions. 
 
 Emilio was fond of hunting, and was a good shot; but 
 
 226 
 
At Tirana and Grosio 
 
 the hunters at this period had to content themselves 
 with the memories of their former exploits, since the 
 possession of guns was forbidden. I was not a hunter, 
 and never became one, even in an amateur way, so I 
 diverted myself with listening to the tales of those who 
 were: so much the more when some old bear hunters 
 talked of their adventures. "The bear has talent," said 
 one of them one day. "If the bear had been able to 
 study, no one would ever have taken him." 
 
 In Grossotto we had a group of excellent friends such 
 as is not often found in little country districts. The first 
 place was easily held by Dr. Benedetto Rizzi, a man of 
 great intelligence, who could have come to the front in 
 a much larger field, but who was contented to remain 
 in his little place exercising a beneficent and patriotic 
 influence. I remember with pleasure the long evenings 
 we passed with our friends in the saloons or kitchens of 
 the little taverns, talking politics and giving rein to 
 hopes which the unsympathetic would have called fol- 
 lies. We talked of "our" Italy as one discourses of one's 
 future domestic hearth. 
 
 The host at Grosio was most trustworthy. In his 
 kitchen politics were perfectly safe, as he was a friend 
 of us all. He was a fisherman and a hunter; he instructed 
 cats and birds; he played the organ and the violin; and 
 he collected objects of antiquity. In the midst of so many 
 occupations we often awaited the hour of dinner, which, 
 however, when it arrived, did not impair his reputation 
 as a cook. 
 
 In September of 1854 the battle of Alma was fought, 
 in October the battle of Balaklava, and in November 
 
 227 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 the battle of Inkerman. The three victories gained by 
 the Allies added fuel to the fire of our fancies, which 
 enabled us to see the possibility of favorable events to 
 come; but he who desires to hope is contented with so 
 little! 
 
 There were many political discussions, also, at the 
 card-table of my mother; but opinions were much more 
 calm, and less unanimous. My mother, who generally 
 followed the views of her sons, often gave spirit to the 
 conversation with some hopeful exclamation; but my 
 Uncle Merizzi was a great pessimist, and immediately 
 began to grumble. He found a way to growl against 
 those who believed the Austrians to be invincible, as 
 also against those who believed they could be driven 
 away. The provost of Tirano, Don Carlo Zaffrani, 
 was a greater optimist even than we. He saw the Aus- 
 trians depart on every occasion. In the meanwhile he 
 fled every time a commissary appeared, since he had 
 seen that the Austrians imprisoned and hanged even 
 priests. 
 
 The fourth at my mother's table was usually Signor 
 Valentino Negri, a retired counselor, a grave and corpu- 
 lent man of about seventy years of age. He professed 
 the most austere principles, but surrendered them, how- 
 ever, from time to time, in secret, during some gallant 
 truce. He interspersed his conversations with witty 
 sayings which he intended to be pleasing. When he 
 spoke of politics he never wavered in his loyalty: the 
 Emperor was always " Sua Maesta." At the most, he 
 permitted himself some criticism of Mettemich or of 
 some minister who was dead, or who had been retired. 
 
 228 
 
My Mother* s Salon at Tirana 
 
 Only after 1859 did his language become free. Then 
 "Sua Maesta" became the "Austrian Nero." 
 
 There was occasionally a second card-table in my 
 mother's salon, and there was always a group of ladies 
 who worked and talked with the gentlemen friends of the 
 house. One of the most assiduous frequenters was Don 
 Antonio Homodei, an inveterate card-player when he 
 was not under the eyes of his wife. But she placed her- 
 self at his side to restrain him, above all when she saw 
 him engaged in some parti in which he might lose as much 
 as two francs! Don Antonio, then, had to retire; but he 
 comforted himself usually with the adage in regard to 
 those who were unfortunate at play (he had repeated 
 it no one knew for how many years), as his wife pulled his 
 coat-tails, saying, "Homodei, don't talk so foolishly." 
 
 But what had become of the famous bands of in- 
 surgents which were to have appeared in the valleys this 
 autumn? They were never seen, as they had existed 
 only in the imaginations of the emigrants of London and 
 Geneva. When we returned to Milan an affair arose 
 which just missed sending Emilio to prison. An acquain- 
 tance, Giuseppe Pozzi, informed him that a certain man 
 named Bedeschina, a Venetian, was passing through the 
 provinces, saying that he was commissioned by Mazzini 
 to reorganize the republican party. Emilio was besought 
 to come to a meeting and explain how the party of ac- 
 tion had withdrawn from Mazzini, and had taken a new 
 direction. Emilio, who did not know this man, did not 
 want to attend the meeting, but, after much insistence, 
 not wishing that people should think he was afraid, he 
 went. The man wanted to know the names of the party, 
 
 229 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 but Emilio maintained that no names should be men- 
 tioned. Then he gave his reasons why it was impossi- 
 ble to return to the old methods, and the meeting ad- 
 journed. 
 
 The morning after, Pozzi and many others, in and 
 out of Milan, whose names the Venetian had learned, 
 were arrested. The man was an agente provocatore of the 
 police, as was learned later on. It was said that he 
 received thirty thousand svanziche for his catch. New 
 trials now began, and the prisons opened for other un- 
 happy men. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 (i8SS) 
 
 Piedmont joins the alliance between France and England. — Conte di Cavour. 
 
 — Vittorio Emanuele. — La Marmora. — Pianori's attempt upon Napoleon. 
 
 — The Exposition in Paris. — Radetzky is nominated Governor of Lom- 
 bardo-Venetia. — My brother Emilio and I go to Paris. — Pietro Maestri 
 and the Italian emigrants. — Different opinions. — Daniele Manin. — The 
 victory of Tchernaya. — The opera attended by the Empress and the Queen 
 of England. — Words of Napoleon to Conte Arese. — In Valtellina. — The 
 theatre at Tirano and the eloquent tailor. — In Milan. — Emilio Dandolo 
 and the Crimean War. 
 
 ON the loth of January, 1855, Piedmont joined the 
 treaty of alliance between France and England 
 against Russia; so the year began with an event which 
 was to start Italy along the road to recovery and the 
 fulfillment of her destiny. The treaty was not only dis- 
 cussed by the Piedmontese Parliament, but by the whole 
 Italian nation, and was the subject of passionate de- 
 bates from one end of the peninsula to the other. The 
 parliamentary Left was adverse to the treaty, but the 
 great majority of the people were enthusiastically in 
 its favor, as they saw in it a new point of departure. 
 This was exactly perceived by Cesare Correnti, who, in 
 a happy speech in the Piedmontese Parliament, broke 
 away from the Left to which he had adhered. Rising 
 above the considerations of his party, he pointed to 
 Cavour as to the new leader of Italy. 
 
 Cavour had assumed the post of Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs in 1855, and had become the cynosure of all 
 eyes. The laws regulating religious corporations, the 
 finances, the army, and various other matters, had 
 
 231 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 gradually augmented his renown. At the same time the 
 acts and witticisms of Vittorio Emanuele (as attributed 
 to him) had begun to lay the foundation of the popularity 
 that was to become the source of his strength. To ac- 
 complish great deeds the people desire a hero, and a hero 
 is not long in appearing when events are ripe, if a leader 
 has the qualities and the defects which touch the popular 
 heart. 
 
 Little was spoken of Garibaldi at this time. His Ro- 
 man volunteers, and those who knew of his earlier ex- 
 ploits, enthusiastically remembered him; but his popu- 
 larity was not yet greatly diffused. The politics of Pied- 
 mont had made the king popular. He became "il Re 
 Galantuomo" for most people; and many old republi- 
 cans began, with satisfaction, to say "il Re democratico." 
 
 Vittorio Emanuele had, indeed, simple and familiar 
 ways. He understood well the art of pleasing the 
 people; but his democracy did not penetrate deeply into 
 his soul. His outward manner was democratic, but the 
 man was a king. The brother of Vittorio Emanuele, the 
 Duca di Geneva, was an intelligent and cultured young 
 man, and a splendid soldier. He attracted much sym- 
 pathy for the House of Savoy. He had shown his cour- 
 age in the campaigns of '48 and '49, and was now 
 appointed to command the Crimean expedition. Unfor- 
 tunately a rapid phthisis carried him off, a few weeks 
 before the troops sailed. 
 
 The anxiety with which we followed the movements 
 of the Piedmontese corps and the popularity of General 
 La Marmora was a striking proof of how much our hopes 
 for Italy were bound up with Piedmont. Therefore it 
 
 232 
 
The Paris Exposition 
 
 was that the attack of Giovanni Pianori (an Italian) 
 upon the life of Napoleon greatly depressed our spirits. 
 This act was greeted with the greater indignation, as it 
 furnished an additional reason to our adversaries for 
 regarding the Italians as only a race of revolutionaries. 
 
 Inthemonth of May the Paris Exposition was opened. 
 It was the first that was held after that of London, in 
 1 85 1. The Empire was in a period of ascending power. 
 From every part of Europe people came to Paris, which 
 again secured its supremacy, as the sovereigns, one by 
 one, went to salute the fortunate Emperor. How could 
 we remain at home on so excellent an occasion? 
 
 Emilio and I, therefore, determined to visit Paris. 
 Some of our friends, among whom were Saule Mante- 
 gazza and Carlo Mancini, resolved to accompany us. 
 Mancini was an art student who wanted to see the 
 modem pictures; and all of us were in good humor, and 
 wanted to amuse ourselves a little. It was this part of 
 our programme that succeeded best. From time to time 
 we, "happy subjects" of the Austrian Empire, as the 
 "Gazzetta Ufficiale" called us, felt the need of taking the 
 air in a country a little less "happy," away from the eyes 
 of the police. Martial law, indeed, had been abolished, 
 but matters moved along in the same grooves. Marshal 
 Radetzky had been nominated Governor General of 
 Lombardo-Venetia, with his residence at Verona, since 
 Milan and Venice had ceased to be the capitals of their 
 respective States. In the provinces a government of 
 delegates had succeeded to the military governors. The 
 administrative forms had returned to what they were 
 before 1848, but the reactionary military spirit con- 
 
 233 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 tinued. To be an Italian patriot meant to have a gal- 
 lows in perspective, more or less near. 
 
 We had a serious mission, however; it was to learn 
 what the Italian emigrants thought of recent events. 
 There were some illustrious men among them, such as 
 Manin, Sirtori, Montanelli, and Maestri. They were 
 living in the most important center of European poli- 
 tics, and could rightly value the sympathetic utterances 
 of the Emperor for Italy. We knew that they had be- 
 come detached from Mazzini ; but we did not understand 
 what direction their efforts would take. When we ar- 
 rived in Paris, we sought out Pietro Maestri, who be- 
 came our guide, and presented us to several important 
 people. 
 
 The greater part of the Italian emigrants lived very 
 modestly, in small apartments or in little pensions. In 
 such habitations, or in little cafes, where they dined for 
 thirty sous, we found several personages of '48, who had 
 been ministers or generals. I desired, especially, to make 
 the acquaintance of Sirtori; but I was not able to do 
 so until several years afterwards. At this time he was 
 living in retirement, immersed in his philosophical and 
 religious meditations, a prey to a melancholy which 
 made his friends very apprehensive for him. 
 
 I had hoped to find among the emigrants a uniform 
 current of ideas, which would guide me, as my opinions 
 wavered like the sea; but my new friends were as nebu- 
 lous in their views as I was myself. They had become 
 divided through misfortune, and had not yet found 
 a leader that could unite them. Nearly all, however, 
 had abandoned Mazzini. The one who had the clearest 
 
 234 
 
l^he Victory of 'Tchernaya 
 
 perception of the future was Manin. His utterance, 
 "Italia Una e Vittorio Emanuele," was to become the 
 formula of our redemption. In the mean time some 
 emigrants remained unified, or federal, republicans; some 
 were in favor of a kingdom of Upper Italy; and some 
 thought it might be wise to make a Murat king of 
 Naples in order to gain the good will of Napoleon. Gen- 
 eral UUoa was at the head of this faction. On the whole 
 the greater part were disposed to believe that our future 
 depended upon the Empire of France more than upon 
 Piedmont. They inclined to the theory of Giuseppe 
 Ferrari, who considered that the Italian revolution was 
 dependent upon the French. 
 
 These divergent ideas created much confusion in my 
 mind, especially as my faith in my youthful convictions 
 had become impaired, and I no longer believed that the 
 attainment of every human virtue was owing to the 
 initiative of the inferior, and less educated, classes. My 
 reason began to feel the need of enlarging its horizon; 
 but it was difficult to free myself from the bonds of the 
 sentimental political literature which had enchained my 
 youth. 
 
 The evening of the i6th of August I was prome- 
 nading with some compatriots along the boulevards, 
 when suddenly an unusual number of cries were heard, 
 offering copies of a journal that had just appeared. They 
 contained the news of the victory of Tchernaya. In a mo- 
 ment the sidewalks became so crowded it was impossible 
 to move. The windows were illuminated and the French, 
 English, and Piedmontese flags were given to the wind. 
 The dispatch was from General Pelissier, the general- 
 
 23S 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 in-chief of the French expedition. He announced the 
 victory, concluding with the words: "Les Sardes se sont 
 vaillamment battus." The crowd, to their cries of "Vive 
 la France!" united those of "Vivel'Angleterre!" "Vive 
 lePiemont!" 
 
 The feeling that then arose in my soul and in the souls 
 of my friends, I shall never be able to express. We cried 
 like people insane for joy: "Viva il Piemonte!" "Viva 
 r Italia!" The way was found; the boulevard had be- 
 come my way to Damascus. The pride in the thought 
 of an Italian victory rescued our souls from a sea of 
 dejection, and set a new beacon for our hopes. 
 
 From that day a rapid change began in Italian public 
 opinion, which became apparent even among the emi- 
 grants. The conversations grew more benevolent toward 
 Piedmont and towards Napoleon, in whom they saw a 
 future friend. Indeed, they spoke of him no more as 
 "the man of the 2d of December," but as an ally. I 
 speak, of course, of the greater number, as there were 
 some who would not give up hating "the tyrant" even 
 after Magenta and Solf erino. These people pulled their 
 caps over their eyes when they met the Emperor; I, on 
 the other hand, began to raise my hat to him; but this 
 was a thing of which he was not, alas ! aware. 
 
 One evening when the Emperor, the Empress, and the 
 Queen of England were to attend the opera, I was made 
 happy by an invitation, sent me by Donna Teresa 
 Kramer Berra, to a seat in her box. Signora Kramer 
 received in her salon many notable Italians and French- 
 men, who belonged, principally, to the republican party. 
 I went there often in the evening with my brother; and 
 
 236 
 
At the Opera 
 
 I had perceived that the political language was in proc- 
 ess of modification. This evening the opera-glasses of 
 many of us were turned to the imperial box, not only 
 to admire the splendor of the uniforms, and the luster 
 of the jewels with which the Empress and the Queen 
 were adorned, but also to scrutinize the sphinx from 
 whom we Italians, of every color, were now expecting an 
 answer. 
 
 The pleasure we felt in the amelioration of the politi- 
 cal situation enabled us to enjoy the novelty of Paris 
 and the Universal Exposition. The time passed by 
 gayly. Occasionally we even had little festive parties 
 in our own rooms. We did not invite anybody; for it 
 was enough for Carlo Mancini to seat himself at the 
 pianoforte, and to leave the doors open, for the dancers 
 to come in. We did not scrutinize whether they were 
 maids, or tailoresses, or laundresses that came from the 
 upper floors. We regarded ourselves as students of the 
 type described by Paul de Kock. 
 
 And sometimes we amused ourselves in searching out 
 the hoaxes which never lack in large cities to entrap the 
 unwary. One day we entered a spectacle that was an- 
 nounced as having the entrance free; but we had to pay 
 for the exit. On another occasion we went to an elegant 
 bathing establishment where the price was fifty cen- 
 times; but we had to pay for hot water and cold water; 
 for the linen and for the service — in all four francs. 
 And we ordered, once, a dinner for a franc that cost us 
 six. 
 
 We returned to Milan with a lot of news, the import- 
 ance of which our imaginations greatly magnified, and 
 
 237 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 we were eagerly listened to by our mother and brother 
 and friends. The words that Napoleon was reported to 
 have said to Conte Arese were especially appreciated. 
 Conte Arese had been invited, in 1852, to stop at the 
 Tuileries. It was said that, one day, the Emperor asked 
 him, "What can I do for Italy?" and then went on 
 with, " Tell Victor Emmanuel to come to Paris, and to 
 count upon my friendship." These words were actually 
 said. Several years afterwards Arese himself assured 
 me of this fact. 
 
 Public fancy added other remarks, and they all circu- 
 lated from mouth to mouth. The mysterious tone with 
 which they were repeated -made them the more ac- 
 credited. To keep hope alive, in the long struggle, was 
 our supreme task. The report of the conversation of the 
 Emperor with Arese, and the diminution of the hard- 
 ships of martial law, had a beneficial effect upon our 
 civic life, although the cholera had not departed. It 
 was evident that a break had been made in the dark 
 period of reaction. 
 
 In Valtellina, too, when we repeated our stories, we 
 aroused great enthusiasm and good humor. A joke which 
 was perpetrated at this time at Tirano was long remem- 
 bered. There was a little theater in the town, where 
 strolling players and the dilettanti of the country gave 
 representations, and recited verses. A tailor, who pas- 
 sionately loved the buskin, was wont to recite with 
 the comedians; but this autumn their director wanted 
 nothing to do with him under the pretext that he had a 
 crooked leg. This was true; but the tailor would not 
 accept his dismissal, and bemoaned himself in a little 
 
 238 
 
The Eloquent 'Tailor 
 
 cafe when I happened to be present. I gave him the 
 advice to vindicate himself by reciting a monologue. He 
 received my counsel with gratitude, and appeared the 
 next morning in my study, and asked for the monologue, 
 although he did not know what it was. I told him to re- 
 turn in a few days so that I could have time to send for 
 one from Milan. In the mean time, with the aid of 
 Emilio and Antonio Delia Croce, I put some verses to- 
 gether that had no sense or just enough to hoodwink 
 the poor tailor. When he came I gave the doggerel to 
 him, and. instructed him how to declaim it. He did not 
 perceive the joke; and I can still recall the mornings 
 when the poor fellow came to my study to have me ex- 
 plain some abstruse point, and to instruct him in the 
 gestures he should use. 
 
 Finally, he went upon the stage. It was a market- 
 day, and the theater was full, not only of people of the 
 district, but also from the surrounding country. His suc- 
 cess was instantaneous. To this his figure, as well as his 
 bow of salutation and ample white waistcoat, contrib- 
 uted. Then, with great solemnity, he declaimed the poe- 
 try, accompanying it with the gestures and poses I had 
 taught him. At first the public laughed, for it did not 
 understand; then some persons perceived the hoax, and 
 they laughed still more, and applauded vigorously. But 
 there were others who, although they laughed, paid no 
 heed to the sense of the verses, accustomed, perhaps, 
 to pay no heed to the sense of any poetry.^* 
 
 The applause was so great, the tailor had to repeat the 
 recitation many times on other evenings. The good man, 
 as long as he lived, remembered the success of his efforts, 
 
 239 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 and let no one pray him twice to recite the verses. 
 He never suspected the joke, and no one revealed it to 
 him. I have found in few people, during my lifetime, a 
 thankfulness more lasting. 
 
 At the end of autumn the receptions in the salon of the 
 ContessaMaffei became more animated and gay. Every 
 one spoke of the journey of Vittorio Emanuele to Lon- 
 don and Paris. Even outside of political circles the epi- 
 sodes of the visits were discussed with avidity. Little 
 by little his popularity had increased through his bold 
 and popular sayings. So the new year approached under 
 good auspices. 
 
 At this time I saw Emilio Dandolo again, and renewed 
 the friendship that had existed between us since our stu- 
 dent days. He had gone, as I have said, with Lodovico 
 Trotti to the East. When he returned, in 1853, he pub- 
 lished a book upon Egypt and the Sudan. Upon the 
 breaking-out of the Crimean War he was desirous of 
 putting on again his old uniform of an officer of the Pied- 
 montese bersaglieri, and asked Cavour for a commis- 
 sion. He was accredited to the staff, and left for the 
 Crimea; but the Austrian Government had him recalled, 
 after some months, under a threat of a trial and seques- 
 tration of his property for unlawful emigration.^^ 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 (I8s6) 
 
 Casa Carcano, Casa Dandolo, Casa Manara. — After the Crimean War. — 
 Cavour at the Congress of Paris. — A new direction to politics. — The 
 " Crepuscolo " and Carlo Tenca. — The city becomes animated. — Festivities 
 and the theaters. — The Austrian officers. — The nickname of the Milanese 
 ladies. — A tragedy for marionettes. — The duel of Manfredo Camperio. 
 
 THE hatred of foreign rule, and the resolve to main- 
 tain the struggle to be free were nourished in more 
 salons than that of Contessa Maffei. Among them I 
 will mention those of Casa Carcano, Casa Dandolo, and 
 Casa Manara. The house of Donna Giulia Carcano, 
 widow of Don Camillo, was frequented by a number of 
 young students, many of whom were companions of her 
 sons. Donna Giulia had six children, three boys and 
 three girls. The last were lovely and sympathetic young 
 women, who contributed much to make the society of 
 their house gay and attractive. Two of the sons, Lodo- 
 vico and Alfonso, enlisted as cavalry officers in the wars 
 for independence. Lodovico was killed in the battle of 
 Custozza, and Alfonso died in consequence of the hard- 
 ships of the Garibaldian campaign of i860. 
 
 That which distinguished the young men who fre- 
 quented Casa Carcano was their seriousness, united 
 with a gay audacity. As a squadron of bersaglieri they 
 were always ready to move to the post where some 
 patriotic action was required. I went usually to Casa 
 Carcano early in the evening, and later on, to Casa 
 Maffei, where I received the word of command that I 
 transmitted the next day to my young friends. 
 
 241 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 To Casa Dandolo a part of the society of Casa Carcano 
 resorted, especially the part which was made up of the 
 fellow soldiers of the Dandolo brothers. Conte Tullio, 
 their father, was an author of many books. He was very 
 serious but tolerant, and generally left the house when 
 he saw it invaded by a troop of light-headed young men. 
 The Contessa Ermellina, his second wife, did the honors 
 of the house. She was much younger than her husband, 
 was kind and vivacious, and manifested patriotic sen- 
 timents which were most attractive. Of her courage she 
 gave proofs that will never be forgotten. Professor 
 Angelo Fava, who had been, as I have said, the instruc- 
 tor of the Dandolo brothers, had emigrated to Piedmont. 
 Fava was a man of great erudition, and had formed, or 
 rather had exalted, the souls of these young men with 
 patriotic and religious sentiments that had made them 
 heroes. Emilio Morosini, a gentle and mystical soul, had 
 been associated with them. He had died at twenty-two 
 years of age with his friend Enrico Dandolo, at the siege 
 of Rome. 
 
 Carmelita Manara Fe occupied herself with her chil- 
 dren (of whom the last was bom after his father's 
 death) and her friends. Her little salon now began to 
 be much frequented. She was at this time about thirty 
 years of age, and was still very beautiful. Over her white 
 cheeks a flame would pass and her celestial eyes would 
 glow when she was informed of some hopeful news, or 
 was reminded of an event in her sacred past. 
 
 Among the former officers of the Manara battalion 
 who visited her besides Emilio Dandolo, Lodovico Man- 
 cini, and Dr. Signoroni, I recall Gennaro Viscontini and 
 
 242 
 
After the Crimean War 
 
 Alessandro Mangiagalli. The history of this last is one 
 that is not infrequent in revolutions. Mangiagalli was 
 a groom in Casa Manara. During the Five Days he never 
 left his master's side; and he followed him afterwards, as 
 a volunteer, to the fields of Lombardy and on to the 
 walls of Rome. His bravery and his aptitude for mili- 
 tary affairs won for him the admiration of the battalion, 
 in which, after passing through the lower grades, he 
 became an officer. From that day he studied much, and 
 associating with his brother oflScers learned the man- 
 ners of good society. After he returned home his new 
 friends bought him a riding-school, and introduced him 
 into their houses. The solidarity that existed between 
 the different classes, in the name of patriotism, was re- 
 markable. 
 
 The announcement of the peace, which was suddenly 
 concluded, cut short our hopes of an enlargement of the 
 sphere of the war and depressed us; but this depression 
 did not continue, as, at the Congress of Paris, Conte 
 Cavour brought the Italian question openly before the 
 delegates. 
 
 The life of the city now became more animated. Con- 
 tessa Maffei opened her salon to an ever-increasing circle 
 of acquaintances, and the conversation became more 
 varied and distinctly patriotic. The influence of the 
 " Crepuscolo," too, was constantly augmenting. To this 
 the rule, laid down by Tenca, to ignore Austrian politics, 
 greatly contributed. 
 
 Carlo Teiica was a handsome young man; by origin, 
 of the common people; yet did he manifest in his tastes, 
 sentiments, and manners a certain aristocratic distinc- 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 tion. An indefatigable worker, he lived modestly off the 
 proceeds of his pen. At no period of his life did he 
 fall below the highest standards of honesty and dignity. 
 Calm and cold, he exercised a large influence, and was 
 the secret soul of the salon of the Contessa Maffei, but 
 had the good taste never to appear to be it. He had 
 been a friend of Mazzini, but, after the 6th of February, 
 he abandoned him, and was holding himself in reserve 
 as he followed sympathetically the unfolding of events 
 in Piedmont. 
 
 Patriotism had now become gay and more daring. A 
 joyous carnival was announced, and many patriotic 
 families reopened their drawing-rooms. Among the 
 houses that were opened again were those of the Du- 
 chessa Visconti di Modrone and of her sister, the Mar- 
 chesa Rescalli. The theater of the Scala, too, became, 
 as it was before '48, the principal meeting-place of 
 society. 
 
 But opposition to foreign rule became intense, and the 
 attitude of the young men stiffened towards the Austrian 
 officers who personified it. The officers, on the other 
 hand, irritated by the people who kept them segregated, 
 retaliated as best they could. The talk of the officers 
 against the Milanese came from the salon of the Con- 
 tessa Samoyloff. It was the only one that was open to 
 them. 
 
 Contessa Giulia Samoyloff, nata Contessa Palhen, was 
 a Russian who, by her riches and extravagance, had 
 obtained great notoriety. Her maternal grandmother 
 had married, a second time, ConteGiulio Litta, of Milan, 
 who, going to Russia in the second half of the eighteenth 
 
 244 
 
The Austrian Officers 
 
 century, had become an admiral, and had amassed great 
 riches. Litta returned to Milan in 1830, but left again 
 for St. Petersburg, where he died in 1839. He left an 
 annuity to the Contessa of a hundred thousand francs 
 a year, charged upon his heirs. Contessa SamoylofF had 
 had relationship with the best society, but when, in 1848, 
 she manifested her sympathy for Austria, she alien- 
 ated it. In the course of her life she had thrice be- 
 come a widow, and had contracted a couple of bizarre 
 marriages. After 1859, she left Milan and never re- 
 turned, except for a short time many years after. 
 
 One evening in January, at the Scala, an Austrian 
 officer pushed contemptuously Gustavo Viola, a young 
 friend of ours, whose mother, the Signora Saulina Viola 
 Barbavara, was an intimate friend of the Contessa 
 Maffei. He had returned home a few months pre- 
 viously, after having finished his studies in Germany. 
 Viola warmly resented this act of discourtesy, and gave 
 the officer his card. He chose as his seconds my bro- 
 ther Emilio and Enrico Besana, and the day following, 
 a meeting of the seconds of both parties was held. 
 They fixed upon a place for the duel, which was fought 
 immediately; Viola received a blow of a saber on his 
 arm. 
 
 The duels proceeded always in the most perfect form; 
 but no proposals of accommodation were ever accepted 
 by our young men, no matter how futile the cause for the 
 encounter might be. After the duels the greatest courtesy 
 was observed, but, in taking leave, we were accustomed 
 to say: "Here our relationship ends; from this moment 
 we know one another no longer, we salute one another 
 
 24s 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 no more." The officers were wont to be surprised at the 
 chasm which lay between them and us. During these 
 affairs it was our duty to show ourselves expert in the 
 use of arms, and never to become excited when brought 
 face to face with officers who had their own ways of 
 proceeding, and wanted to make them prevail. There- 
 fore we circulated among ourselves an authoritive 
 French code, in which all sorts of cases were resolved 
 with indisputable precision. 
 
 The duels, as I have observed, were regarded as com- 
 bats of individuals that were substituted for a war 
 that could not be waged against the Government. The 
 duel of Gustavo Viola was discussed with concern in 
 Casa Maffei and with arrogance in Casa Samoyloff. In 
 Casa Samoyloff it was reported that a nickname had 
 been given to the patriotic Milanese ladies; they were 
 called oche* after the geese of the capitol of ancient 
 Rome. This name was adopted by us, as a title of 
 honor, for the ladies who were most distinguished for 
 their patriotism. To be called one of the oche was the 
 same as to say she is a lady of the highest fashion. 
 
 Our warlike feelings, however, did not interfere with 
 our gayety and the preparations for the carnival. Many 
 meetings were held in Casa Carcano and Casa Dandolo 
 where we improvised little fetes and suppers. One 
 evening, after supper in Casa Carcano, I imitated a 
 marionette in reciting some of the triplets of Dante; 
 whereupon my friends declared that I had a gift for 
 this kind of acting, and proposed that we should recite 
 a tragedy parodying a theatrical troop of marionettes. 
 
 * Geese. 
 246 
 
A Tragedy for Marionettes 
 
 So we all set to work; some took charge of the costumes; 
 some of the decorations; and I was entrusted with 
 choosing the tragedy, and distributing the parts. 
 
 When I thought the matter over, it seemed to me that 
 the tragedy should be written expressly, and that it 
 should have a patriotic intent. I put myself to work, 
 and in a few weeks I had a tragedy in five acts ready, 
 in which all was a parody, the subject-matter, the per- 
 sonages, and the verses. The Crimean War had just come 
 to an end, and the Congress of Paris had not concluded 
 its work. I chose, therefore, as the subject-matter the 
 recent war, and called my tragedy "Nicolo." In the Em- 
 peror Nicolo I despotism was personified, and the 
 Russians, of course, represented the Austrians. The 
 tragedy was so comical the actors had to pause occa- 
 sionally so as to give the spectators time to laugh. The 
 success was instantaneous, and the tragedy-comedy was 
 repeated before much larger audiences; but, after the 
 third representation, I was summoned by the police 
 and ordered to desist; and was deprived of my passport. 
 
 We laughed, and sometimes a laugh is a weapon; but 
 behold us soon engaged in another duel. It was the duel 
 of Manfredo Camperio with Captain Schonhals, which 
 made much noise because of the attendant circum- 
 stances. Lest I might have forgotten the particulars 
 after so many years, I asked Camperio to furnish them; 
 which he has done in the following letter: — 
 
 Santa di Monza, January 6th, 1899. 
 
 I send you, my dear friend, the story you have asked for, 
 of my duel with Baron Schonhals, who died last year in 
 
 247 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Vienna as Chief-of-Staff. It was in the winter of 1856, and 
 I had just returned from a voyage to AustraHa, where, 
 finding myself without funds, I had embarked, as a sailor, 
 on a Dutch ship bound for Rotterdam. 
 
 Upon my return home, my uncle, Baron Ciani, resolved 
 to give a ball in my honor in his house, Corso Venetia, 59. 
 He begged his grandchildren and me to send the invitations. 
 The ball was the most brilliant fete of the season. I went 
 to it at about eleven o'clock, and was accorded a waltz by 
 a charming lady of my acquaintance, who was known for 
 her patriotism, the Signora Gerosa. We made a tour of 
 the room, when suddenly she stopped and, pressing my 
 arm, indicated a point in the room. I looked and saw an 
 Austrian officer, in full uniform, covered with medals, lean- 
 ing against a jamb of the door. 
 
 "Dio mio," I said, "how could my uncle ever have in- 
 vited him.f' It is certainly a mistake."* 
 
 "That may well be," said the lady, "but will you be 
 good enough to send for a cab, as I shall not remain much 
 longer; and my carriage is ordered for four o'clock in the 
 morning." 
 
 While this conversation was taking place, the dance had 
 ended, and many groups of ladies were forming, as all 
 wanted to leave the room. 
 
 So I said to my partner, "Calm your friends; I will 
 charge myself with sending the Austrian away." I went 
 directly to him and begged him to go out with me. He 
 followed me, much surprised, and we went as far as the 
 landing-place of the stairs, where I made him understand, 
 as politely as I could, that his presence in uniform dis- 
 turbed the fete, and that the ladies had determined to 
 
 * The captain was a tenant in my uncle's house. I learned after- 
 wards that he had that day paid him a visit with his wife, a lovely 
 Englishwoman, and that my uncle believed that he ought to invite 
 him to his ball. He believed also that the captain would come in 
 civilian's clothes. 
 
 248 
 
Manfredo CamperifPs Duel 
 
 go if he remained. Then I asked him, as a gentleman, to 
 depart so that the ball might not be suspended. 
 
 "How?" he replied to me in French (I had spoken to 
 him in German). "I wear the uniform of your Emperor. 
 Do you wish to dishonor \\}." 
 
 "It is not a question of honor," I answered. "And all 
 of us do not admit that you wear the uniform of our Em- 
 peror, but rather the uniform of the Austrian army of 
 occupation, which, we hope, will not remain long in the 
 country." 
 
 The captain did not insist, as many gentlemen and 
 ladies were listening to us, and, while we exchanged cards, 
 he begged some one to go and bring his wife. 
 
 "You will give me, I hope, satisfaction for this strange 
 procedure," he said. 
 
 "Certainly, captain," I replied, "without doubt." 
 
 The ball recommenced, but fearing that the police would 
 be informed of what had taken place, and would surround 
 the house to capture me, I left for the Boschetti. Here I 
 took a cab, and drove to a shop where they sold masquer- 
 ade costumes. I clothed myself in "puff" (a costume then 
 very common), and drove to the Carcano Theater, think- 
 ing that this was the best way to throw the police off my 
 trail. After an hour or two I learned from my friends, Tar- 
 larini and Venino, that the police were looking for me. 
 
 With many precautions I ran to my house, always 
 dressed in puff, to get some money and to say good-bye to 
 my people. I arranged my flight \sy the aid of Besana and 
 Tarlarini, the latter of whom changed my clothes for that 
 of one of his peasants, and had me driven to one of his 
 farms in a cabriolet. In passing through one of the city 
 gates I experienced considerable emotion, but the peasant, 
 who was driving, was known to the guards, and they paid 
 no attention to his companion. I went directly to the 
 house of the Marchese Luigi d' Adda at Ozzero, whither 
 a messenger had preceded me to say that I should be given 
 
 249 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 hospitality. The same night I was conducted by a trusted 
 boatman of the Marchese across the Ticino and went to 
 Vigevano, to the house of a former companion in arms, 
 Captain Gusberti. , Before I left the ball Carlo Prinetti 
 (now a senator) and Emilio Dandolo had offered their serv- 
 ices as my seconds, whenever the duel should take place. 
 
 I went to bed at Vigevano with a high fever, the result 
 of a wicked cold I had caught, the preceding night, in the 
 intense cold of the drive to Ozzero in a peasant's jacket. 
 The day after, word came to me that Captain Schonhals 
 had gone from Casa Ciani to a reception in the house of 
 General Giulay, where he had told his story; whereupon 
 the general had commanded a squadron of hussars (wko 
 always kept their horses saddled) to surround my uncle's 
 house. The police, who had not been able to follow my 
 trail, thanks to my disguises, now knew that I was in Pied- 
 mont. 
 
 Two days after, while I was still in bed, I was informed 
 by my seconds that the Austrian officers, who had called 
 upon them, had begged me to fight on Lombard territory, 
 since, as officers, they could not pass the frontier. They 
 gave their word of honor that I would have nothing to fear 
 upon the part of the Government. I accepted, as I held the 
 word of an officer to be sacred. Still suffering from fever, 
 I crossed the Ticino with my friend. After having marched 
 for nearly an hour on the sand of the river's bank, I met 
 my seconds who conducted me to the place that had been 
 agreed upon for the meeting. 
 
 We were only three Italians, aS the friend who had ac- 
 companied me hid himself in the bushes. On the other 
 side a large number of Austrian officers appeared and two 
 soldiers also, who carried baskets, in which were sabers, 
 swords, and pistols. After the usual salutes, the seconds 
 retired to make the choice of arms, and to arrange the 
 conditions for the encounter. The discussion was long 
 because a Captain Wagner, who had been at college with 
 
 2S0 
 
Manfredo Camperid^s Duel 
 
 me in Dresden, said that I was a strong swordsman in 
 point, and insisted that thrusting should be expressly 
 excluded. My seconds would not consent to this condi- 
 tion. The seconds of Schonhals were two colonels, and 
 one, I believe, was the Lichtenstein who was so well 
 known for the beautiful horses he loved to display on the 
 corso. 
 
 We placed ourselves on guard. My fever and cough left 
 me the moment I attacked. The sabers, brought by the 
 officers, were so light they bent at every blow; and though 
 I gave my adversary two cuts on the breast it was with the 
 flat side of the weapon, as the blade turned in its handle. 
 I showed my saber to my seconds, and they ordered another 
 to be given me. It went to pieces at the third blow, and 
 they handed me a third. I was furious. I attacked the 
 captain with all my might, aiming a blow at his head. I 
 do not remember what effect my attack had, but I think 
 I struck him on the ear. The saber broke in pieces, as the 
 one before had done, and Schonhals gave me a slight cut 
 over the right eye. 
 
 The seconds intervened. After I had given my hand to 
 Captain Schonhals, since I had nothing against him per- 
 sonally, I gained, without looking backwards, my hospit- 
 able boat with my friend; and we quickly arrived at the 
 Piedmontese shore. 
 
 This, dear Visconti, is the story of my duel, which at the 
 time made a great deal of noise, even in Paris, where the 
 Congress was being held. 
 
 In a duel which took place before mine, my friend Delia 
 Porta was killed. He was slender in person, and was little 
 practiced in the use of arms, while his adversary was a 
 colossus. Poor Delia Porta! I should have been sorry 
 not to have avenged him. Other duels with the Aus- 
 trian officers preceded, and followed, mine, among which 
 were those of Viola, Ropolo, Mancini, Battaglia, and 
 Fadini. 
 
 251 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 But who remembers, now, the young men such as were 
 the Dandolo, the Besana, the Prinetti, the Mancini, the 
 Simonetta, the Morosini, Battaglia, and a thousand others 
 that we have known? 
 
 Manfredo Camperio. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 (I8s6) 
 
 The popular subscription for one hundred cannon. — The Mazzinian subscrip- 
 tion for ten thousand guns. — My second journey to France. — The Italian 
 emigration at Paris. — The various factions. — Montanelli, Maestri, Sirtori. 
 — The announcement of a visit from the Austrian Emperor. — Proposals for 
 festivities. — Subscription for a monument to the Piedmont army. — Casa 
 d' Adda. 
 
 THE part taken by Cavour at the Congress of Paris, 
 and the development of the strength of Piedmont, 
 became continually of greater consequence in our minds. 
 "Within three years we shall have war," Cavour was 
 reported to have said. This saying irritated Austria, 
 and disposed it to attack Piedmont, — a thing which Ca- 
 vour desired to have come to pass. Austria began to 
 threaten as the relations between Cavour and the Italian 
 patriots became closer. The speeches made in the Sar- 
 dinian Parliament, the characters of the Piedmontese 
 statesmen, and the things that happened beyond the 
 Ticino became the subject-matter of our conversation. 
 We received the newspapers from Turin by the hands of 
 the smugglers. Milan rejoiced in heart in the fetes that 
 Turin gave to General La Marmora and the troops that 
 returned from the Crimean War. 
 
 The "Gazzetta del Popolo" had initiated a subscrip- 
 tion for giving the Government a hundred cannon for 
 the fortress of Alessandria. It was regarded as a demon- 
 stration against Austria; so the proposal was received 
 with enthusiasm. At Milan a suggestion was made that 
 each Lombard city should give a cannon; and immedi- 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 ately committees were everywhere formed. Offerings 
 were made in every circle, but no names were given. In 
 agreement with ToreUi and Guicciardi, who were in 
 Turin, we resolved to send a cannon from the province 
 of Sondrio. The directing classes in the various provinces 
 were not large, but they were energetic and influential. 
 In several there were some of the survivors of 1821 and 
 1830, many of whom had joined in the revolution of 
 1848. 
 
 Mazzini did not appreciate the importance of concord, 
 nor did he understand what was going on. To the sub- 
 scription of a hundred cannon he opposed one of his own, 
 which he called, "of ten thousand guns." But this sub- 
 scription, as the one before, had only a meager result. 
 Giacomo Medici wrote to Garibaldi: "We are on the 
 eve of another Mazzlnian folly The man ruins every- 
 thing; he does nothing good himself, and he hinders 
 others from doing it. Mazzini desires to rule like a Tzar 
 of Russia."* There had been ill-feeling between Maz- 
 zini and Garibaldi for some time past. Little by little 
 Manin, Montanelli, Sirtori, Orsini, La Farina, Giorgio 
 Pallavicino, and General Guglielmo Pepe had separated 
 from him. 
 
 The old Mazzinian conspirators were in great embar- 
 rassment. They did not want to deny "the master"; 
 and yet they could not help but see that Cavour had 
 accomplished something; so they gave their mite for 
 the monarchical cannon and subscribed also for the re- 
 publican guns. If they were mistrustful of Cavour it was 
 because he was making no preparations for an uprising. 
 
 * Bersezio, Storia del Regno di Vittorio Emanuele, vol. vi, p. 415. 
 
 254 
 
My Second yourney to France 
 
 When the month of July came around, I felt the need 
 of taking an outing, after having passed my examina- 
 tions at Pa via; so I resolved to accompany my friend 
 Costantino Garavaglia to Marseilles, Lyons, and Paris, 
 whither he was going on business. I wanted, too, to 
 know what people were thinking of the Italian question 
 in France. We traveled by short stages, and I profited 
 by them to talk politics with the people I met, and 
 to ask them what they thought of our affairs. They 
 thought nothing at all about them. My surprise was 
 very great when I learned how ignorant the people were 
 of what had taken place beyond their own frontiers. A 
 few persons, inspired by the things the Emperor had 
 caused to be inserted in the journals, expressed sym- 
 pathy for Italy, but it was very vague; and when I 
 spoke of the eventuality of war, they looked scandalized. 
 
 I found that there were three currents of opinion 
 among the Italians in Paris, namely the Sardinian, the 
 Muratian, and the republican. The Sardinian party 
 was the strongest. At its head was Daniele Manin with 
 his formula: "Unita e Monarchia; Italia e Vittorio 
 Emanuele." It was this formula that was to become the 
 device of the new National Party. I heard that Manin 
 saw Cavour when he was in Paris, and had come to an 
 agreement with him; and that Garibaldi had gone to 
 Turin in July, and had had an interview with Cavour, 
 whom he afterwards, in writing to La Farina, called 
 "our great friend." 
 
 Manin was opposed by a small group of men who fa- 
 vored Prince Murat; whose programme was to drive out 
 the Bourbon dynasty, and place Murat upon the throne 
 
 255 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 of Naples, in order to gain Napoleon. Among these were 
 Saliceti, Lizabe, Ruffoni, and Ulloa. UUoa returned to 
 Italy in 1 859, and received command of the little Tuscan 
 army, which, united to the corps of Prince Napoleon, ad- 
 vanced as far as Mantua. After the peace of Villaf ranca, 
 Ricasoli called Ulloa to Modena, where, becoming dis- 
 contented with him, he deprived him of his command, 
 and gave it to Garibaldi. Ulloa eventually went to 
 Naples, and from anger or jealousy or because of his 
 federal ideas offered his sword to the Bourbon king 
 against his rival. 
 
 I made the acquaintance also of Montanelli, who had 
 been a staff-officer of the republican party. He now 
 began to advance towards Cavour. He was a good man, 
 and suffered much in separating himself from his former 
 friends; but he found his compensation in his honest 
 intention. 
 
 Maestri was more decided in his adherence to the 
 formula of Manin, and proclaimed it resolutely. He was 
 an old republican, and had been, as we have seen, a 
 member of the Committee of Defense in 1848. Maestri 
 gave me some sad news of Sirtori. Giuseppe Sirtori was a 
 native of the Brianza, and had been a priest up to 1848, 
 when, overtaken by doubt, he went to Paris to confer 
 with Lamennais. Although he retained his faith, he put 
 off his sacerdotal dress and mixed in republican circles. 
 He took an active part in the revolution against Louis 
 Philippe. He returned afterwards to Italy, and became 
 a soldier in Venice, where he performed prodigies of 
 valor. 
 
 Now, Maestri said, a disturbance of his political faith 
 
Maestri and Sirtori 
 
 was joined to that of his reUgious belief; that he no 
 longer trasted Mazzini, had a poor opinion of Garibaldi, 
 and could find no reasons for believing in Cavour, Na- 
 poleon, and Vittorio Emanuele; that he was so tor- 
 mented he had lost his equilibrium, and had become so 
 strange that he was watched. 
 
 Later on, when the war for the unification of Italy set 
 its seal upon the agreements between Napoleon and 
 Cavour, Sirtori regained his calmness and went to Turin. 
 His lofty mind became lucid again, and his patriotic 
 conscience had no more doubts. He saw that salvation 
 for his country lay in a united monarchy, and gave it his 
 support. He had a noble character. Although he thought 
 that he had been injured by the imperial police, when 
 the city of Milan undertook to erect a statue to Napo- 
 leon he was one of the first contributors. 
 
 I passed one month in Paris and gathered enough 
 information to serve for two months of conversation.^® 
 Some news came unexpectedly in the autumn to excite 
 us. It was said that the Austrian Emperor would come 
 to Milan in January, and that he would abolish martial 
 law and inaugurate a new regime. It was also said that 
 the Government, suspicious of an agreement between 
 Napoleon and Cavour, and solicitous of England, desired 
 to allay the Italian question by bringing order into Lom- 
 bardo-Venetia. The first intimation of this change of 
 attitude was a circular, addressed to the noble families 
 of Lombardy and Venetia, asking them to declare 
 whether they desired to take part in the festivities of the 
 imperial and royal visit, so that they might receive in- 
 vitations to the same, 
 
 257 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 This circular had the effect of a stone thrown into a 
 hornets' nest: no one talked of anything else for several 
 weeks. Among the patriotic families the word ran to re- 
 fuse all the invitations that might come from the Gov- 
 ernment or the Court, and to abstain from all the 
 festivities. It was important that this programme should 
 be followed by as large a number of people as possible, 
 so that a great demonstration should be made. As very 
 few replies were returned to this circular, a second one 
 was sent out, which was followed by visits of, and pres- 
 sure exerted by, the provincial delegates. 
 
 To this urgency of the authorities the most distin- 
 guished families opposed themselves energetically, and 
 the programme of resistance to flattery gained ground, 
 although it had to face increasing difficulties. But ab- 
 stention was not enough; it was necessary to do some- 
 thing, and to do it quickly. So we determined to show our 
 sympathy for Piedmont ; and to this end to collect money 
 wherewith to erect a monument to the Piedmontese 
 army, and present it to the city of Turin. It was Cesare 
 Correnti who suggested the idea. The oche, as they were 
 still called, received the money, and in a short time 
 obtained a sufficient sum. The commission for the statue 
 was given to the sculptor Vela, and news of it was quickly 
 diffused throughout Italy and foreign lands. The dem- 
 onstration was as the sound of a trumpet, which or- 
 dered the country to stand on guard against the blandish- 
 ments of Austria. 
 
 In the house of Carlo d' Adda, with whom I began this 
 year an intimate friendship, the approaching visit of 
 the Austrian Emperor became the subject-matter of the 
 
 258 
 
Casa d^ Adda 
 
 warmest discussions; of discussions, however, in which 
 we were all of one mind. Carlo d' Adda was the third 
 son of the Marchese Febo, to whom Parini dedicated 
 his "Ode to the Muses" in 1795. His mother, nata 
 Contessa Kevenhiiller, was a Viennese. He formed, 
 with Cesare and Rinaldo Giulini, Carlo and Alessandro 
 Porro, Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga, the Prinetti, the 
 Mainoni, and some others of the Milanese aristocratic 
 and middle classes, the advance guard of the National 
 Party. 
 
 When the revolution of 1848 broke out, he was in 
 Turin. In agreement with. Correnti he had left a few 
 days before with Conte Enrico Martini to solicit aid from 
 Carlo Alberto.*^ After 1848 he remained absent from 
 home for long periods of time. He had married one of his 
 nieces. Donna Mariquita, daughter of Principe Antonio 
 Falco, a Spaniard domiciled in Milan. Donna Mari- 
 quita was very beautiful, and Carlo d' Adda was a hand- 
 some young man. He was, moreover, distinguished for 
 the simplicity and loyalty of his character, and for the 
 frankness and vivacity of his conversation. The resolute 
 way in which he expressed his opinions led those who 
 did not know him to believe that he was intolerant; but 
 this was not so; he was intolerant only of vulgarity. A 
 friend of Bertani and of some others, who did not fight 
 on his side, he was accustomed to say: "I respect all 
 sorts of patriots, but I prefer those who wash and 
 fight." 28 
 
 Donna Mariquita, who was also of a frank and open 
 nature, exercised a great fascination upon the society 
 which surrounded her. For many years she received 
 
 259 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 only in her bedroom (kept there by an infirmity)-; but 
 this room was ever the rendezvous of the most distin- 
 guished patriotic society of Milan. 
 
 A large part of those who frequented Casa d' Adda 
 had been invited and solicited to do homage to the Em- 
 peror on the occasion of his approaching visit. They were 
 the targets for the fine shots of Carlo d' Adda and of the 
 ironies of Donna Mariquita. The struggle became acute, 
 and was to prolong itself during the following year 
 against the Archduke Maximilian. 
 
 D' Adda became one of the most esteemed members of 
 the party of the liberal monarchy. After 1859, Cavour 
 nominated him Governor of Turin. In Milan he held 
 successively a number of civic positions, and filled them 
 with the zeal and good-will that distinguished him. He 
 left his mark in every post he occupied because of his 
 initiative and wise reforms. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 (i8S7) 
 
 Measures taken by the Government to celebrate the coming of the Emperor. — 
 Arrangements for resistance made by the patriotic Milanese. — Dandolo, 
 Soncino, Mancini, Carcano, and others banished. — The "Crepuscolo" 
 admonished. — The entry of the Emperor. — The behavior of the people. — 
 In Casa Dandolo. — Photographs of the monument to the Piedmontese 
 army. — The reception at court. — The Emperor's suite. — Conte Archinto. 
 
 — Buol recalls the Austrian Minister from Turin. — Piedmont follows suit. 
 
 — Amnesty extended to the political prisoners. — The police encourage a 
 demonstration. — Thereturnof friends from Josephstadt and Theresienstadt. 
 
 — Marshal Radetzky relieved of his command. — Partial suppression of the 
 " Crepuscolo." — La Marmora proposes to fortify Alessandria, and Cavour, 
 Spezia. — La Farina founds the National Society. — The landing of Pisacane 
 at Sapri. — Nomination of the Archduke Maximilian as Governor-General. 
 
 — His arrival in Milan. — The medal of St. Helena. 
 
 CAVOUR now gave the national cause a new impulse 
 forward. His aim was to free it from the control of 
 the Committee of London, and to lift it out of the in- 
 trigues wherein it was easy for the Powers to ignore It. 
 He accused Austria of keeping Italy in a revolutionary 
 state, while he demonstrated that Piedmont represented 
 order. He said, too, that Austria had exceeded the man- 
 date that had been given her in Italy by the treaties 
 of Vienna, and defended the country, on conservative 
 grounds, in the cabinets of Europe. 
 
 Austria saw the point; therefore the coming of the 
 Emperor was determined upon, not so much as a matter 
 of internal, as of external, politics. It was a concession to 
 the apprehensions of certain European Powers, espe- 
 cially of England, which desired the amelioration of the 
 conditions of life in the Italian States, although she did 
 not want them to become a cause of war. She had ex- 
 
 261 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 pressed surprise at the energetic attitude of Piedmont 
 and at the restlessness of France. 
 
 The persons who directed public opinion in Milan 
 solicited advice from Turin as to what course should be 
 taken regarding the Emperor's coming; and the word 
 came : we should work hard to render the imperial plans 
 useless, so that the Emperor's journey should lose its ob- 
 ject and appear a failure. Itwas necessary, therefore, that 
 the most notable people of the governing class should 
 hold themselves apart, and to this end it was insisted 
 that no one should yield, either to flattery or to pres- 
 sure. Great was the agitation in every circle of society. 
 In the fashionable the oche were most active. Not to be 
 in the Fronde was not to be a la mode. How much good 
 did these ladies do! In the salons we discussed inces- 
 santly the questions how we should behave, and what 
 demonstrations we could make. We even threatened 
 the uncertain and the timid, and told them that they 
 would not be received, or saluted, by their friends 
 if they should yield. In Case Maffei, Dandolo, Car- 
 cano, d' Adda, Crivelli, and many others that were fre- 
 quented by the young men of the town, the agitation 
 was so great it seemed as if we were preparing for a 
 battle. 
 
 My brother Emilio, who had just entered general 
 society, came every evening to Casa Maffei with his bul- 
 letin of news. Who goes t who will not go t were the ques- 
 tions. Debates arose, and even bets were made, whether 
 some signora would yield to the pressure of a timid 
 father, or father-in-law, who might want to -send her 
 to court. Nor less excited were the Austrian authorities, 
 
 262 
 
L>andolo and Others banished 
 
 who were continually spying upon us, and sending orders 
 and circulars, now menacing, now flattering. 
 
 Several weeks before the coming of the Emperor, the 
 police banished some of our best-known young men. 
 Among them were Emilio Dandolo, Massimiliano 
 Stampa Soncino, Lodovico Mancini, and Costanzo 
 Carcano. The names of the others I cannot now recall. 
 They ordered them to remain in the respective places to 
 which they were sent until the Emperor should have de- 
 parted. The greatest concern of the authorities was to 
 induce some of the ladies of the aristocracy to attend the 
 court reception, and I relate the following episode of 
 their manoeuvres. 
 
 The Marchese Carlo Ermes Visconti, who had been 
 married but a short time to the lovely and cultured 
 Contessa Teresa Sanseverino Vimercati, was one day 
 calling upon an uncle of his wife, the Principe Porcia. 
 This gentleman had some feudal property in Austria, 
 and had been a member of its House of Lords; but he 
 lived in Milan, and had married, at an advanced age, the 
 Contessa Vimercati Bolognini, sister of Conte Ottaviano, 
 and mother of the future Duchessa Eugenia Litta. The 
 young Marchese, during his call, came face to face with 
 Baron Biirger, then the Lieutenant of Lombardy. Biir- 
 ger led the conversation to the approaching visit of the 
 Emperor, and said abruptly to Visconti: "I hope you 
 will bring your wife to court? " Visconti very frankly re- 
 plied: "No, Baron, I do not intend to go." Burger in- 
 sisted, at first very courteously, and then with a high- 
 and-mighty air. At last Visconti said: "If I should go to 
 court I would do something contrary to my convictions 
 
 263 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 and to my country's interest. After such an action 
 nothing would remain for me to do but to expatriate 
 myself." Biirger said nothing more, and the conversa- 
 tion was dropped. 
 
 A police measure that was much discussed at the time 
 was the summoning of Carlo Tenca. The Director said 
 that the Lieutenant hoped that the coming of the Em- 
 peror would be properly announced in the "Crepuscolo." 
 Tenca replied that, as his journal did not concern itself 
 with the internal affairs of Austria, he saw no reason 
 why he should mention it. To this the Director an- 
 swered that, as the imperial visit was an event with 
 which European public opinion would occupy itself, the 
 silence of the "Crepuscolo" would have the character of 
 opposition, and that this the Government could not 
 tolerate. Tenca, who was a man of few words, made no 
 further reply, and went away. Again, on the eve of the 
 Emperor's arrival he was admonished, and threatened 
 with the suppression of his journal; but he replied as 
 firmly as before, and would not yield. 
 
 On the 15 th of January, Francis Joseph made his 
 solemn entry into Milan. He stopped first at the Piazzale 
 di Loreto, where he was received by the Podesta, Conte 
 Sebregondi, and the other municipal authorities. Thence 
 proceeding, he entered the city by Porta Orientale ; and, 
 traversing the Corso Francesco, now Vittorio Emanuele, 
 he went to the Palazzo di Corte.* 
 
 * The Corso Francesco was the official name, but it was generally 
 called Corsia de' Servi, since on the actual Piazza di San Carlo existed 
 a church called Santa Maria dei Servi, which was joined to a convent of 
 the Serviti. The church of San Carlo was opened in 1847. 
 
 264 
 
T'he Emperor enters Milan 
 
 The tacit agreement between the citizens was that 
 there should be no decorations along the streets through 
 which the imperial procession should pass, and that the 
 blinds should be closed. A little before the time the pro- 
 cession was scheduled to pass, I went through the streets, 
 from the Piazza del Duomo to Porta Orientale, to see if 
 the agreement had been kept. I saw that it had been, in 
 great part, maintained, and I saw, also, a commissary of 
 police enter the houses, one by one, along the route, and 
 make the inmates open their blinds and decorate their 
 windows with carpets and draperies. In the streets I saw 
 only a number of the common people; the educated class 
 avoided the corso. My destination was the apartment of 
 the Contessa Dandolo, which was in the second story of 
 the house of the Marchese Luigi Crivelli, precisely on the 
 corso of the Porta Orientale, When I arrived I found 
 the Contessa and several friends, all very happy in the 
 knowledge that the major part of the citizens had re- 
 mained quiescent. 
 
 All at once a servant entered the salon to announce a 
 visit from a commissary. He came to say that the blinds 
 must be opened immediately, and the windows draped. 
 The Contessa let the commissary depart; then she took 
 a tiger skin, and hung it out of a window for adorn- 
 ment. All who passed and saw it, laughed. A crowd 
 began to gather, when behold! the commissary ran into 
 the salon, with his eyes bulging out of his head, and 
 ordered the skin to be removed. The Contessa pro- 
 tested that she had no other decoration. In the mean 
 time the procession of the Emperor had arrived. There 
 was no applause, although the rabble usually appla.uds 
 
 26s 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 every one. Only some boys cried something which might 
 be taken for evviva. Whereupon Giulio Veninp, who was 
 with us, uttered a sonorous hiss which made the people 
 in the procession look up. The train proceeded through 
 a cold and silent crowd of people. 
 
 During the day a rumor ran that the Emperor had 
 scarcely arrived when it was reported that the munici- 
 pality of Turin had accepted the monument which had 
 been presented by the Milanese deputation. This, per- 
 haps, explained his bad humor and the curt words of wel^ 
 come with which he greeted the Podesta.^^ 
 
 Some days previously Emilio had received a package 
 of photographs of the monument, which he gave out in 
 such a way as to have copies come into the hands of peo- 
 ple in the suite of the Emperor. Some were placed in the 
 lodgings, and even on the desks, of the ministers. 
 
 A few days after, a reception was held at court, in 
 which the authorities and the invited guests were to 
 be presented. The reception was held in the daytime. 
 Many young men and ladies of society (most of whom 
 had received invitations) met in the Piazza del Duomo 
 in order to see the arrivals. The carriages of the Aus- 
 trian and Italian authorities and officials passed amid 
 indifference. The ironic laughter of the spectators was 
 turned upon the invited guests, of whom indeed there 
 were but few. Some sank back in the comers of their 
 carriages, and some drew their curtains. In the evening 
 no one talked of anything but the reception, and all were 
 in good spirits because the deserters had been few, and 
 several of them were excused because of extraordinary 
 circumstances. 
 
 266 
 
The Reception dt Court 
 
 These things may seem insignificant to those who 
 look upon them from the standpoint of to-day; but they 
 were of great moment at the time, especially if the end to 
 which they were directed is considered. The reception 
 had failed, and the Austrian authorities were furious. 
 But we were elated. For many families of the aristoc^ 
 racy the abstention was a meritorious act, for in some of 
 them there were ties of friendship, and in others of rela- 
 tionship, with the families of Austria. In the preceding 
 century Maria Teresa, who busied herself with the 
 private affairs of her subjects, had arranged, and occa- 
 sionally imposed, marriages between some of the noble 
 families of Austria and Lombardy. The ties which arose 
 out of these marriages were broken in 1848; and this 
 fact ought to be remembered in a patriotic history of our 
 country. 
 
 A number of ministers accompanied the Emperor in 
 order, it was reported, to study the condition of the 
 country. To do this they conferred with some old func- 
 tionaries, whom they knew; but from the quality of the 
 persons consulted, we understood that the Government 
 had no serious intention of doing anything for the benefit 
 of the provinces. It was evident that it was thought suf- 
 ficient to delude the people with illusory promises, and 
 thus to avoid the scrutiny of the diplomatic world. 
 
 Among the people whom they consulted, knowing 
 that he was of no account, was Conte Giuseppe Archinto. 
 He belonged to the old patriciate, and had squandered 
 a fortune through his mania to play a great role. The 
 Emperor had sent him to the King of the Belgians to ask' 
 the hand of the Princess Charlotte for his brother the 
 
 267 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Archduke Maximilian. Conte Archinto, at his own ex- 
 pense, displayed a magnificence that was talked of for 
 a long time. The Government showed him, therefore, 
 much deference, which the Conte accepted as an hom- 
 age, and treated the most exalted personages of the 
 empire on a footing of equality. He complained that the 
 Emperor himself, while he was in Milan, treated him 
 with too much confidence; and, when he was invited to 
 dinner, he returned the compliment to the ministers and 
 courtiers immediately, saying: "I will show them that, 
 if one eats at court, one dines in Casa Archinto." In his 
 house he had introduced the customs and etiquette of 
 a ruling prince. 
 
 To feed the vanity of this decorative personage, he 
 was invited to propose an organization of the Lom- 
 bardo-Venetian kingdom, that would satisfy the com- 
 mon people. The Conte accepted the charge, and pro- 
 posed an arrangement, similar to that which had existed 
 in the seventeenth century in the time of the Spaniards, 
 of a senate composed of the exalted personages of the 
 aristocracy, with a president, whose power should be 
 supreme. It was easy to discover who the president was 
 to be. The ministers also consulted some other people 
 on the state of the country; but they always kept within 
 a restricted circle, both of persons and of ideas. 
 
 To counterbalance the efforts of the Emperor to make 
 Europe believe that his Italian States were pacified, and 
 that, therefore, the Italian question was allayed, Ca- 
 vour, the day of the imperial entrance into Milan, ap- 
 proved the Liberal proposals of the Piedmontese poli- 
 ticians; and had the newspapers announce the gifts, of 
 
 268 
 
Amnesty to Political Prisoners 
 
 the war monument to Turin, and of the one hundred 
 cannon to Alessandria, A few days after, the Austrian 
 Minister Buol sent a disdainful dispatch to the Sardin- 
 ian Cabinet, and recalled his charge-d' affaires; and 
 Cavour did the same. These able moves of Cavour 
 helped us greatly to continue the struggle in the difficult 
 months that were to follow. 
 
 In these days I saw some of the old Mazzinians reap- 
 pear in my brother's study. Emilio was always looked 
 upon as the head of the young conspirators; and these 
 old acquaintances were inclined towards him both be- 
 cause of the past and of a presentiment that some new 
 event was in preparation for the future. There was also 
 in them the idea, though they did not confess it, that the 
 new head of the revolution would be Cavour; whom 
 they tacitly accepted, but on condition that he would 
 do something quickly. To effect this they repeatedly 
 brought forward some plan of the Mazzinian type. 
 They did not want to let the presence of the Emperor 
 pass without trying some coup, were it only another 6th 
 of February in favor of some Cavourian policy. Emilio 
 heard, and dissuaded, them. I can still recall his calm- 
 ness and patience, and the reasons he gave, why no 
 heedless act should be done. 
 
 The police, on the other hand, attempted to make a 
 demonstration. On the i8th of January a proclamation 
 of amnesty of the political prisoners was published. The 
 sequestration of the goods of the emigrants had been 
 raised some weeks before. The police wanted to en- 
 courage an illumination that would appear to be a spon- 
 taneous expression of gratitude; and to this end they 
 
 269 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 sent their emissaries from house to house to order that 
 the windows should be Hghted up. Some people obeyed, 
 but many more refused, even after repeated injunctions. 
 Among the palaces where the blinds remained closed, 
 were those of the d' Adda family, on the cor so then called 
 of the Porta Nuova, now Via A. Manzoni. The police 
 had these palaces especially in view, and directed against 
 them a stream of miserable people whom they had in- 
 duced to cry: Fuori i lumi* This rabble broke the 
 blinds and the windows of the palaces of the d'Adda 
 with stones. Some other palaces received a similar 
 treatment. 
 
 Carlo d' Adda, many years after, recalled the assault 
 upon his palace at a session of the Common Council. 
 While he was speaking, upon I do not recall what sub- 
 ject, with his accustomed frankness, some hisses were 
 directed against him from the audience. He turned 
 towards the offenders, and looking haughtily at them, 
 said: "It is the second time I have been hissed; the first 
 was by the canaille for not having illuminated my house 
 in honor of the Emperor." 
 
 A few days after the publication of the proclamation 
 of amnesty, our friends returned from the fortresses of 
 Theresienstadt and Josephstadt. Cruelly treated during 
 the trials, their imprisonment in the fortresses had been 
 less hard, because, as they were condemned by tribunals 
 of war, they were considered almost as military prison- 
 ers; and, indeed, they had had as their companions in 
 confinement several Hungarian officers of the honveds. 
 The severe treatment of the fortress of Spielberg was 
 • Forth with the lights. 
 270 
 
Marshal Radetsky relieved 
 
 not meted out to them. Great was our joy in seeing our 
 friends, who had miraculously escaped from the gallows, 
 and who had been in chains for five years. Our questions 
 were endless. But they were very reserved, except with 
 their most intimate friends. Above all they were loath 
 to speak of the trials, especially of the parts taken 
 therein by the weaklings and the traitors. The best had 
 forgiven them in their hearts; but they were averse to 
 speaking of them. As Dr. Luigi Pastro justly observed: 
 "We cannot enter into conspiracies unless we have pre- 
 viously made a sacrifice of our lives." 
 
 The struggle between the Austrian authorities and 
 the directing classes, the first to make the visit of the 
 Emperor appear to be successful, and the second to 
 keep the country irreconcilable to foreign rule, continued 
 throughout the winter. What would be the outcome no 
 one could foretell; hence the proscriptions and condem- 
 nations of the patriotic society became inexorable. If 
 some concessions were made they were not mentioned. 
 Public opinion sometimes became unjust, and had to be 
 rectified. If at this long distance of time some of our 
 acts seem to have been exaggerated, it must be remem- 
 bered thatwe looked upon ourselves as in a state of war.'" 
 
 On the 28th of March, 1857, Marshal Radetzky was 
 retired from his post of Commander-in-Chief and 
 Governor-General, and was given, as a residence in 
 Milan, the Villa Reale. With the announcement of this 
 retirement a report came from Vienna that great things 
 were under consideration for the good of the Italian 
 provinces. At the same time, to divert public attention, 
 certain municipal works were promoted, among which 
 
 271 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 were the Giardini Pubblici and the Central Railway 
 Station. 
 
 In these days Carlo Tenca was again summoned by 
 the Lieutenant, and again he was told that his journal 
 must concern itself with the Emperor and his journey. 
 As he refused to comply, the Lieutenant withdrew his 
 permission that the " Crepuscolo " should be a political 
 review. This was a mortal blow, for its political articles 
 secured its great circulation, as there was no other poli- 
 tical journal except the "Gazzetta Ufficiale." The pa- 
 triotic firmness of Tenca was admirable, since he lived on 
 the proceeds of his work, and especially of his journal. 
 He knew that its clientele would fall away; as, indeed, 
 it did. From that day the "Crepuscolo" began to de- 
 cline. 
 
 Among the duels which took place during this winter 
 and spring I must recall that of Giacomo Battaglia. 
 Battaglia was a collaborator on the "Crepuscolo." His 
 duel was with pistols, and, fortunately, was without 
 consequence. His friends were very anxious for his 
 safety, as he was afflicted with myopia, which after- 
 wards became fatal to him in the battle of S. Fermo. 
 
 No sooner had the Emperor left Milan than it was 
 reported that the provinces of Lombardo-Venetia would 
 be reorganized, and that the Archduke Maximilian 
 would come as Governor-General. It was announced 
 that we were to have a large measure of autonomy; and 
 some people even said we should be placed upon a semi- 
 independent basis. The patriots received all this infor- 
 mation with incredulity, allied to fear, because it was 
 foreseen that such concessions would be dangerous for 
 
 272 
 
The National Society 
 
 the cause of independence. Therefore we looked even 
 more intently at Piedmont to see what was in progress 
 there. 
 
 La Marmora presented to Parliament the law concern- 
 ing the fortifications of Alessandria; Cavour proposed 
 the creation of a naval port at Spezia, and the tunnel- 
 ing of Monte Cenisio; and La Farina, in agreement with 
 the Conte, instituted the Societa Nazionale, which 
 quickly became diffused throughout all Italy. Its aim 
 was to rally the country under the formula of Manin : 
 "Italia una con Vittorio Emanuele." But Manin was 
 not to see the development of his programme, as he died 
 at Paris in September, 1857. 
 
 As if to render the authority of Cavour more secure, 
 Mazzini continued to promote his accustomed vain 
 enterprises. The landing of Pisacane at Sapri, however 
 heroic, finished miserably; and the attempted uprising 
 at Genoa aggravated public opinion still more. 
 
 The great reforms which were to follow the Emperor's 
 visit were limited to the nomination of his brother as 
 Governor-General. It is true that, according to the offi- 
 cial report, the reforms were to come afterwards. The 
 Archduke Maximilian was a handsome young man, and 
 the Archduchess was a beautiful young woman. Who 
 would have prophesied the destiny which awaited them 
 a few years later in Mexico ? Their coming to Milan was 
 the first stage on the road to the terrible denouement. 
 
 The Milanese paid but little heed to the coming of the 
 Archduke; it was not until some months after that we 
 began to occupy ourselves with him. In fact the greater 
 part of the leading people were out of town, living in 
 
 273 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 their villas. We had gone to the Valtellina; therefore I 
 did not see him until late in the autumn. 
 
 At this time there was a great awakening which spread 
 through Milan and all the provinces. In Valtellina my 
 brother Emilio and I had long conversations with our 
 patriotic friends; and I charged myself with the dis- 
 tribution of the medals of St. Helena. The Emperor 
 of the French, who sought continually to evoke the 
 Napoleonic memory, had instituted a commemorative 
 medal called the "Medal of St. Helena." It was destined 
 for the veterans, whether French or not, who had 
 served under the great Conqueror. To the officers who 
 had served, a decoration of the Legion d'Honneur was 
 given. By the aid of the French Legation at Turin, as I 
 understood, it was planned to place a medal in the 
 hands of every veteran in Lombardo-Venetia, as, with 
 the distribution, it was hoped to revive the glorious 
 memories of the battles fought against the Austrians 
 by the Italian rank and file. With the aid of my Valtel- 
 linese friends, I succeeded in distributing to the soldiers 
 who had been discharged, and to those who were known 
 to have been under arms, nearly a hundred of these 
 medals. The giving of them was made with great pre- 
 caution, be it understood, so as not to attract the atten- 
 tion of the police. 
 
 The medals were received with the greatest enthusi- 
 asm. The memory of the sufferings of past hardships, 
 even of the Russian campaign, disappeared before the 
 fascination of the ancient glories; and above all before 
 the name of Napoleon I. Several of his old soldiers 
 spoke of him still with emotion, and adored him as a 
 
 274 
 
'The Medal of Sl Helena 
 
 demigod, Louis Napoleon made no mistake in distribut- 
 ing the medals of St. Helena. The popularity of his uncle 
 devolved upon him. In fancy we saw the Emperor of the 
 French cross the Alps and chase our rulers away. Only 
 a Napoleon, it was said, could drive the Austrians out 
 of Italy. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 (1858) 
 
 The Archduke as Governor-General. — He endeavors to attract the conspicuous 
 citizens. — The agreement for the Italo-Austrian railways. — Cesare Cantii. 
 — The struggle of the patriotic Milanese against Maximilian. — In Casa 
 MafFei. — Conte Giulini in the years of resistance. — Words of Cavour to 
 Giulini and Dandolo. — Casa Crivelli and Casa Dandolo. — Fears re- 
 kindled. — More duels proposed. 
 
 THE year 1858 began, as the preceding one, with a 
 strong feeling of apprehension on the part of the 
 leading patriotic citizens. The year before, we had been 
 exercised by the thought of the coming of the Emperor; 
 now we were concerned with the presence of the Arch- 
 duke. As I have said, he was handsome, tall, and fair; 
 and he was dressed usually in the uniform of an officer of 
 the navy. He was reported to be intelligent, affable, and 
 active, and to be full of good intentions and liberal ideas. 
 Official rumors, too, gave out that he had larger powers 
 than he appeared to have; and in this deception the 
 Archduke unwittingly participated. In his heart he 
 exaggerated his mission, deceiving himself with the idea 
 that he could perform the things of his fancy. Some- 
 what cultured, he was fantastic and Utopian, as his 
 tragic adventure in Mexico afterwards proved. He did 
 not perceive that matters were looked upon differently 
 in Vienna from the way he looked upon them himself, 
 and that his mission was only a feint. He thought that 
 he was to become the prince of a semi-independent 
 state; whereas he was sent to resume the role of the pup- 
 pet Viceroys before 1848. In order that Austria should 
 
 276 
 
The Archduke as Governor-General 
 
 really change her methods the battles of Solferino and 
 Sadowa were needed. 
 
 The death of Radetzky, which occurred on the 5th of 
 January, contributed to the Archduke's illusion. The 
 old Marshal had reorganized the Lombard and Venetian 
 provinces, and had been their civil and military Gov- 
 ernor since 1848. He represented the policy of absolu- 
 tism and reaction, that is, the policy of Mettemich 
 intensified. Radetsky was a man of mediocre capacity; 
 but he was a good officer, and was blindly devoted to his 
 Imperial Master. He was kind to his soldiers, and was 
 beloved by them; but he was hard to his adversaries. 
 "Three days of blood will assure thirty years of peace," 
 he is reported to have said on the eve of the Five Days. 
 There is no doubt but that he was convinced of it. In- 
 vested with unlimited powers, he oppressed the country 
 many years without a thought of the morrow. He gov- 
 erned it as a land that is occupied in time of war, forget- 
 ting that it was one of the most important parts of the 
 empire. His letters to his daughter Federica, which 
 were published after his death, are full of paternal care 
 and affection for her, yet of iron and fire and hanging 
 for the discontented Italians. His death was opportune. 
 It seemed to signalize the end of a gloomy past and the 
 beginning of a more engaging future. 
 
 Maximilian went immediately to work. For several 
 months he was let alone by the Government, and found 
 himself alone in Milan. He endeavored to attract the 
 people, and to learn something of the subjects he was 
 sent to govern; but it was too late. The first opportun- 
 ity that offered itself to him was the agreement entered 
 
 277 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 into at Vienna for the working of the railways that were 
 built, and were to be built, in Lombardo-Venetia.'^ 
 Among the signers was the Duca Lodovico Melzi. The 
 Archduke offered him an influential place in the admin- 
 istration. Melzi accepted, but on condition that the 
 persons he nominated for positions should be appointed. 
 Later on, the Director of the Police observed that all of 
 the nominations of the Duke were of suspected, or of 
 compromised, persons. Indeed, many of the young men 
 he named had fought on the patriotic side, and some had 
 just returned from prison or exile. As often as Maxi- 
 milian made appointments he said: "Now, I hope that 
 these, at least, will come to me." But they always found 
 pretexts for remaining away. The Archduke ought to 
 have perceived, from the first, that he would obtain no 
 "commanded" thanks. 
 
 Among his projects was one of founding a journal, 
 which was to be entitled the "Gazzetta Italiana." The 
 name "Italiana" was conceded, although "Austriaca" 
 was understood. Some said that the editorship of this 
 periodical would be given to Cesare Cantu (whom, in- 
 deed, the Archduke wanted); others averred that much 
 higher duties were reserved for him. Cantu denied all 
 these reports, and the facts proved that they were with- 
 out foundation. The journal was to be the organ of the 
 policies of the Archduke, and was to be directed by the 
 professional journalist Menini, assisted by other editors, 
 among whom was the Triestino Emilio Treves. The 
 first number was printed as a sample of what the others 
 were to be, and was sent to Vienna. An immediate pro- 
 hibition came; so the gazette died before it was bom, and 
 
 278 
 
Cesare Cantu 
 
 the Archduke was disGredited, a thing which invariably 
 happened when he attempted to carry out his policy, 
 which, as we have seen, was founded upon a misunder- 
 standing of his powers. 
 
 Still he went intrepidly forward, and turned for sup- 
 port to the most noted members of the Clerical party. 
 He secured some followers among them; and they, to 
 justify themselves, gave reasons for their adherence 
 which were often very specious. They said that it was 
 high time to rouse the country from its inertia, and to 
 put it on the road of economic progress; that it was 
 Utopian to trust to Piedmont, which was not able to help 
 us; that we should avail ourselves of the presence of the 
 Archduke, who had come to solve our questions; and 
 that autonomy and liberty should be sought for in other 
 ways than in the past. 
 
 The mirage placed before a country that for forty 
 years had either languished in rigid absolutism, or 
 fought hopelessly against it, was a grave peril. For 
 nearly ten years the city had awaited a recovery, and 
 signs of it had begun to appear. The language and con- 
 duct of Maximilian were seductive ; and many had begun 
 to ask themselves whether they ought not to support 
 him. They were not among the people who had be- 
 longed to the party of militant patriotism; rather were 
 they those who had followed its lead, and who, though 
 cherishing Italian sentiments, had compromised with 
 the Government, They were, generally speaking, medi- 
 ocre persons, who disappeared in the high tide of our 
 national revival. 
 
 It was reported that Gesare Cantu was among the 
 
 279 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 supporters of the Archduke. Cantu was an indefatiga- 
 ble worker, and lived within the circle of his intimate 
 friends. As a young man he had been imprisoned by the 
 Austrians, but in after years he did not consort with the 
 patriots. He was, however, an adversary of the Aus- 
 trian Government, but, disdainful of the opinion of 
 others, he did not join in the opposition to Maximilian. 
 The public, on the other hand, regretting that it did not 
 have with it, in this struggle, an eminent citizen, was 
 severe, and believed that which was not true.^^ 
 
 The Milanese had occupied themselves very little 
 with their governors and their policies ; but it was neces- 
 sary to take notice of the Archduke, as they had to fight 
 him in order to make the execution of his plans impos- 
 sible. Though his work, probably, would have proved 
 itself to be illusory, he himself was a danger to the cause 
 of independence and a hindrance to the policy of Pied- 
 mont. His flatteries might have induced us to abandon 
 the ten years of resistance upon which so much of the 
 politics of the nation was at present founded. The 
 Archduke was far more formidable than the Marshal 
 with his military law and prisons and gallows; so the 
 command went forth: "Combat Maximilian in every 
 way and at every cost." 
 
 Fifteen years later, when Vittorio Emanuele went to 
 Vienna to visit the Emperor, an Austrian minister spoke 
 of the ten years of resistance, with my brother Emilio, 
 who accompanied the king. It seemed to him that the 
 directing classes had entered into an organized con- 
 spiracy in order to keep the country firm in its continued 
 struggle. My brother said: " There was no permanent 
 
 280 
 
In Casa Maffei 
 
 conspiracy; there were some especial ones, but they were 
 of short duration, and were composed of but few persons. 
 There was a great natural and spontaneous conspiracy 
 of all. Firmness and discipline were preserved in our 
 ranks by your antiquated methods of government; by 
 your police and your generals. Only once did it become 
 difficult to maintain our resistance; it was when you 
 sent us the Archduke Maximilian." 
 
 Nowhere was the campaign against the Archduke 
 directed more gayly and efficaciously than in Casa 
 Maflfei. The winter of 1858 is a memorable date in the 
 history of the salon of the Contessa. The republican 
 color had disappeared, and patriotism had definitely 
 united itself to faith in Vittorio Emanuele and Cavour. 
 "Casa Maffei" was synonymous with the political and 
 warlike society of Milan. Some outsiders believed it to 
 be a reunion of pedants and letterati, but it was nothing 
 of the kind. It is true that we discussed literature and 
 art, but we also joked and laughed and commented 
 upon the gossip of the town. The distinguishing mark 
 was the patriotic turn that was given to all conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 Chiarina Maffei, though intelligent and cultured, was 
 not a woman of letters; but she was an enthusiast for 
 all that was beautiful and good. When her modest 
 means did not permit her to do all that her heart 
 prompted, she had recourse to her rich friends, above 
 all to Cesare Giulini, whose generosity was inexhaustible. 
 Giulini was as high-minded as he was charitable. His 
 culture was really vast, and his memory was most 
 extraordinary, as was also his absentmindedness. His 
 
 281 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 duty to his country was a religion, and he acted a great 
 part in the years between 1848 and 1857. When his 
 county became united, Cavour wanted to make him a 
 governor or a minister, but he would not accept any po- 
 sition, and died, in 1862, in the forty-eighth year of his 
 age. At this time he was constantly taking trips to 
 Turin, now openly, now secretly, and brought back to 
 us from his friends items of news which were a great 
 source of comfort. He had had an interview with 
 Cavour apropos of Maximilian; and he told us that the 
 Minister had whispered: "You must have Milan placed 
 again under martial law." 
 
 This saying came as a sort of command, and quickly 
 passed from mouth to mouth with patriotic indiscretion. 
 In the mean time Emilio Dandolo was called to Turin by 
 Cavour, who said to him: "Dear Dandolo, we have ar- 
 rived. Napoleon has promised me that, if the Austrians 
 should put their feet upon Piedmontese soil, he will come 
 to our aid. You must do your best to have your friends 
 keep the fire of patriotism alive; and you must agitate." 
 
 The Marchese Luigi Crivelli (of the "red beard") and 
 his wife, the Marchesa Carolina, nata Medici di Mari- 
 gnano, gathered a numerous company, chiefly of young 
 people, in their house who were resolutely and noisily 
 patriotic. The effect, in Casa Crivelli, of the words of 
 Cavour, whispered in great secrecy by all, can be 
 imagined. 
 
 In spite of all his efforts, the Archduke had not yet 
 succeeded in giving a fete or a reception. Every time an 
 affair of public interest presented itself, he turned to the 
 people who were best known for their talent or admin- 
 
 282 
 
Casa Dandolo 
 
 istrative power, and he had the simplest gentlemen in- 
 vited to court on the most futile pretexts. So, once in a 
 while, we learned that some little fish had been caught 
 or that some recruit had visited the Archduke. "We 
 must put a stop to these desertions," we said; "they 
 might create a situation that would become dangerous 
 to our plans for independence." But how were we to do 
 this? 
 
 After the theater, many of our set gathered in Casa 
 Dandolo, where we smoked and gossiped until a late 
 hour, and discussed our little conspiracies. One evening, 
 as were we speaking of the Archduke and of those who 
 had taken his bait, some one, perhaps it was Emilio 
 Dandolo, suggested that if the breaking of the ties of 
 friendship and public reprobation were not a sufficient 
 deterrent, we must do something else. It should be 
 observed that our concern for the breaches that had 
 been made in the hitherto inflexible patriotic ranks was 
 the reflex of the preoccupation of those who were wiser 
 than we. They knew that a truce in the resistance of 
 Lombardo-Venetia to foreign rule would be fatal to the 
 politics of Cavour. 
 
 But what could we do? Could we not do something 
 that would make a noise — challenge, for one thing, the 
 men who went voluntarily to court or who yielded, in 
 any way, to the policies of the Archduke? This notion 
 met with an instantaneous reception, as the bravado 
 seemed beautiful. It was on a level with the tempera- 
 ture of our heads, and of the times in which we lived. 
 We separated that night filled with thoughts of duels. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 (1858) 
 
 The Marchese Luigi d' Adda visits Maximilian. — Alfonso Carcano challenges 
 him. — I am one of the seconds. — Threatened by the police. — We go to 
 Piedmont. — The duel. — The Archduke asks Stefano Jacini to report on 
 conditions in Valtellina. — Jacini writes an excellent book. — Rumor of a 
 mission to Napoleon given by Maximilian. — The departure of Principe 
 Porcia. — Cavour at Plombieres. — He requests Giulini and Dandolo to 
 come to him. — His plans for the next year. — The last month of the life of 
 Emilio Dandolo. — The family Lutti of Riva. — Arrangements for sending 
 recruits to Piedmont. — The Societa Nazionale Italiana. 
 
 THE Archduke proceeded along his seductive way 
 frankly, and, occasionally, successfully, when an 
 interruption occurred, a few days after our understand- 
 ing in Casa Dandolo. There was living at Milan a 
 Marchese Luigi d'Adda Salvaterra, a brother of the 
 Marchese Gerolamo, the noted bibliophile. Luigi d'Adda 
 was nicknamed "Mazeppa," and was famous for his 
 horsemanship. He rode every day on the city bastions, 
 then the rendezvous of society, to display one or the other 
 of his beautiful Arab horses. 
 
 One day Maximilian sent an aide to say to the 
 Marchese that he would like to see his mount. When 
 d'Adda approached, he requested him, with many 
 compliments, to send his horses to the court manege so 
 that he might try them. After this, upon various pre- 
 texts, he invited the Marchese to court, and eventually 
 to luncheon. D'Adda accepted the invitation. This 
 action which, under other circumstances, would not 
 have been noticed, made people talk so much that to 
 some of us the occasion seemed to have arisen to make a 
 
 284 
 
Carcano challenges Luigi </' ^dda 
 
 beginning of our programme. "We will commence, then, 
 with d' Adda," we affirmed. 
 
 "What boys!" some people will exclaim; but such 
 were the young men of those days ; and one can be indul- 
 gent when one recalls that, a few months after this 
 episode, they left their homes to confront a thousand 
 perils, some never to return. There was some sort of fes- 
 tivity at the Scala, and Alfonso Carcano, who was the 
 youngest of our set, went masked. He met d' Adda, and, 
 after a short conversation regarding his delinquency, in- 
 sulted him. Then he raised his mask and gave him his 
 card. D' Adda was in a box with two strangers, who were 
 astounded. The news of Carcano's act passed immedi- 
 ately through the theater; and no one talked of anything 
 else for days. 
 
 The next morning Donna Giulia and Costanzo Car- 
 cano, the mother and the brother of Alfonso, called on 
 me, and said that they desired that the Marchese Mas- 
 similiano Stampa Soncino and I should act as his 
 seconds. Donna Giulia was in tears, and begged me to 
 assist her son. Two days afterwards the seconds held a 
 meeting. For d' Adda the two gentlemen who had been 
 in the box with him acted. They were Delia Rocca, a 
 former Spanish officer, and a Cervis of Novara. In the 
 mean time I had been summoned by the police. The 
 Director received me standing, and said abruptly: — 
 
 "I know all. The Marchese Luigi d'Adda was in- 
 sulted the other night in the Scala by a young man in a 
 mask ... we know who he was, and we know the cause 
 for the insult. There is talk of a duel; and it is said that 
 you are to be one of the seconds . . . but I tell you this 
 
 285 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 duel will not take place. Do you understand? ... It 
 would be scandalous. It would force me to arrest you 
 and your two friends, and institute a double proceeding 
 against you; one for dueling, and one for political misde- 
 meanor. . . . Now I ask you to give me your word that 
 this duel will not take place, or, at least, that you will 
 take no part therein. Answer me!" 
 
 "Of the duel of which you speak," I replied, "up to 
 the present time I know nothing; but I cannot give you 
 my word not to act in it. You are a gentleman, and you 
 ought to understand that, if a friend should ask me to 
 assist him, I cannot refuse." 
 
 We talked for some time; he with an air ever more 
 menacing, and I with the air of a victim to friendship. 
 The Marchese Soncino was also summoned the same 
 morning, and questioned, and threatened. He gave the 
 same replies, as they had been agreed upon between us. 
 
 It seemed at first to d' Adda's seconds that an alterca- 
 tion at a festival could be settled over some bottles of 
 champagne ; but they soon perceived that, under the ap- 
 parent quarrel, there was a political difference and that 
 the duel was inevitable. It was agreed that it should be 
 fought with pistols, and that it should take place beyond 
 the Ticino. But the question was how to get there, as we 
 were watched by the police. 
 
 We agreed to leave the same evening; and, so as to 
 avoid suspicion, to go to the Scala, and show ourselves 
 until the appointed hour. We all left together, and went 
 to the Piazza Fontana where two carriages were waiting 
 for us. There was no railway as far as the Ticino at this 
 time, and it was in the month of February. It snowed, 
 
 286 
 
^he Duel 
 
 and I wore a dress-coat, white cravat, and pumps ! I 
 froze. I had no passport, so, when we arrived at the 
 frontier, I mounted the box of one of the carriages, and 
 Delia Rocca passed me through as his domestic. 
 
 In a village beyond the frontier we found a Pied- 
 montese cavalry officer, who had been requested by my 
 colleague to bring the pistols. He conducted us to a 
 grove, distant about a kilometre, whither we all marched 
 in the wind and snow. Oh! my pumps! and oh! how cold 
 I was. Scipione Signoroni accompanied us as the sur- 
 geon. The two adversaries were placed at a distance of 
 twenty paces, and aimed at one another; whereupon the 
 word was given: "One, two, three." At the word 
 "three" two shots were fired. Fortunately the balls 
 struck the neighboring trees ; they had shown more sense 
 than we. For our excuse, I repeat we considered our- 
 selves to be at war. If the Milanese had always con- 
 ducted themselves with prudence, the Austrians would 
 still have been walking our streets. The pistols were 
 recharged; but d' Adda's seconds came forward and said, 
 "That, regard being had to the cause of the meeting, we 
 could stop the duel and reconcile the adversaries." To 
 this proposal Soncino and I agreed, as a sufiicient pro- 
 test had been made. Thereupon d'Adda insisted upon 
 justifying himself ; and we all shook hands and returned 
 to Milan. 
 
 Some hours after our return, Soncino called upon me, 
 and reported that he had again been summoned by the 
 Director of the Police, who, to his surprise, knew no- 
 thing of what had taken place. The Director threatened 
 him. as before, and as before, Soncino kept quiet and 
 
 287 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 shrugged his shoulders. "Oh! what a comedy!" we said 
 to one another. "How will the matter end?" 
 
 For several days nothing but the meeting was talked 
 of, and we did not know what to do; but, as we had all 
 agreed to deny that there had been any duel, the police 
 could obtain no proof of it; and we concluded that we 
 could remain at home. Later on, we learned that our 
 arrest had been vetoed by the Lieutenant, who had ob- 
 served to the police that, as they had not succeeded in 
 preventing the duel, it was best to feign that they knew 
 nothing of it, so much the more as a trial would raise a 
 question that it was wise to let alone. 
 
 But the Archduke continued, as before; occasionally 
 summoning even people whom he knew to belong to the 
 opposite camp, among whom was Stefano Jacini, an in- 
 timate friend of Casa Maffei. The reason for this invita- 
 tion was such as made a refusal difficult. The province 
 of Sondrio had suffered, now, for nine consecutive years, 
 the loss of its principal product. Its celebrated vine- 
 yards had become destroyed by the oi'dium, against 
 which no remedy had been found. Besides, the Austrian 
 Government, intending to increase its revenue in Lom- 
 bardy, had devised a new scheme of assessment, and 
 had begun to apply it to the province of Sondrio, as it 
 was the smallest. Thus it came about that, as there 
 was a failure of the principal product, the land scarcely 
 sufficed to pay the taxes. The little proprietors gradu- 
 ally became indebted, and the moderate fortunes rap- 
 idly disappeared. Many people who had been in easy 
 circumstances sank into misery; and many peasants 
 who could not emigrate languished in hunger and want. 
 
 288 
 
Stefano y acini's Commission 
 
 In the course of these years entire families disappeared. 
 Inheritances remained often undistributed because the 
 heirs could not pay the imposts. And in some districts 
 the population diminished as if it had been afflicted 
 by a plague. 
 
 These things had greatly stirred public opinion; but 
 the Government had paid little heed to them, content- 
 ing itself with applying its new tax! Now the Archduke 
 became interested in the evil, and recommended a lot- 
 tery in the whole kingdom of Lombardo-Venetia in 
 order to raise funds to succor the necessitous. And he 
 determined, also, to have the conditions of the Valtel- 
 lina studied by the economist Stefano Jacini, whose 
 book on the "Condizioni dei Contadini in Lombardia" 
 had gained the prize of the Institute. 
 
 When Jacini accepted this commission his friends 
 were greatly vexed. The irreconcilable patriots did not 
 want Maximilian to find an adherent in any one, above all 
 in regard to measures that appeared to be good. Jacini 
 excused himself by saying that many things were not yet 
 ended. He had just returned from a long journey, and 
 was not aware how determined society was in opposition 
 to the Archduke. One day he took me under the arm, 
 and we promenaded a long time together. He told me he 
 had traveled through England, France, and Germany, 
 and had conversed everywhere with important people 
 upon Italian affairs ; that they had invariably expressed 
 the opinion that Italy should dismiss every desire 
 of a recovery by means of an insurrection or of Pied- 
 montese assistance, as all Europe was against a war; 
 that they considered that to the Lombardo-Venetians an 
 
 289 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 unexpected good fortune had presented itself in the 
 desire of an intelligent Archduke to obtain their admin- 
 istrative autonomy under his rule; and that the Italians 
 should second his efforts if they did not wish to rivet 
 their chains in following a chimera. This was precisely 
 the theory of the timid, and the tired, and the partisans 
 of the Archduke. 
 
 I asked Jacini if he had talked with Giulini, who had 
 just returned from Turin. "Not yet," he replied. 
 Whereupon I requested him to do so as soon as possible. 
 Jacini wrote an excellent book; but he did not call a 
 second time upon the Archduke. Outside of the lottery, 
 the Valtellina obtained no succor or relief, and was 
 abandoned to its fate. 
 
 Later on, the National Government began to make 
 experiments and to diffuse instructions how to fight the 
 blight, and it passed a law granting relief through a re- 
 duction of the taxes. The promoters of this enactment 
 were Guicciardi, Torelli, AUievi, Correnti, Bonfadini, 
 Jacini, Scialoia, and Emilio, who had been commissioned 
 to prepare the measures of legislation. The Valtellina 
 received an immense benefit from it, and was able to 
 advance along the road to an economic recovery. 
 
 Maximilian's role became ever more difficult, as he 
 met with opposition not only in Milan, but also in 
 Vienna ; so much so that it was said that he had turned 
 to the Emperor Napoleon, and had sent him a confiden- 
 tial ambassador to ask whether he could count on his 
 support in his plans for Lombardo-Venetia. It was ru- 
 mored that the gentleman charged with this mission was 
 the Duca Lodovico Melzi d' Eril, and that Melzi had 
 
 290 
 
'The Departure of Principe Porcia 
 
 accepted it in good faith. Melzi went frequently to Paris, 
 where the Emperor received him with many honors as 
 the descendant of the Vice-President of the ItaHan 
 RepubHc. At the Tuileries he was announced as the 
 Duca di Lodi, a title that was given to Conte Francesco 
 Melzi by Napoleon I. Of this mission, however, nothing 
 positive is known, as it had no result and has left no 
 trace. 
 
 Of what was thought, in the circle of the Archduke 
 and of his Lieutenant, of the state of affairs, we some- 
 times had an inkling given us by the Principe Porcia. 
 It was Porcia who told us that Burger was opposed to 
 the police making any arrests because of the Carcano- 
 d' Adda duel. But very shortly after this an incident 
 occurred which put a stop to the Principe's relationship 
 with Maximilian. One day he met the Archduke while 
 he was walking with some friends, who did not salute 
 him. Porcia either did not notice the meeting, or he did 
 not want to act differently from the others; anyway, he 
 did not salute Maximilian. The next day he received an 
 order to leave Milan immediately, and to betake himself 
 to his Austrian estates. 
 
 No matter how much the Archduke strove, one by one 
 his efforts failed, and his impotence became more appar- 
 ent every day. He arrived at one of the fatal moments 
 when a governor is already condemned because of the 
 errors and wrongful acts of his predecessors. Resistance 
 gradually gained the advantage, and a certainty arose 
 that the patriotic Milanese had won a dangerous and 
 difficult battle. 
 
 One day in May I had a visit from a man called Pa- 
 
 291 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 gani, who came to talk of the Societa Nazionale. It was 
 an association planned Hke a secret society, and had, as 
 one of its aims, unification with the Mazzinian societies. 
 Its objective point was the unity of Italy, under the 
 House of Savoy, through the leadership of Cavour. The 
 Societa was very active, and soon extended itself 
 throughout the whole country. Later on I heard that 
 Cavour had said to La Farina: "I have faith to believe 
 that Italy will become a state with Rome as its capital. 
 Let it come from me in secret, and if diplomacy learns 
 and complains of this utterance, I shall deny it as did 
 St. Peter." (See also Bersezio's history.) 
 
 I helped Pagani to secure some friends and acquain- 
 tances, especially those who liked secret societies, and 
 had had ties with the old republican associations. As for 
 myself, I had always abhorred a mysterious and anony- 
 mous subjection, and preferred to regulate my own con- 
 duct; therefore, though the Societa Nazionale inspired 
 faith because of its honest principles, I did not enter it. 
 
 At this time no one talked of Freemasonry. It had 
 been associated with the movements of the Carbonari 
 and of Giovane Italia, but it had nothing whatever to do 
 with the insurrection of 1848. After this year it nearly 
 disappeared ; and was not to flourish again until at a 
 much later period. 
 
 It is to be observed that the Archduke's effort to 
 attract conspicuous people was not more successful at 
 Venice than it was at Milan, while Cavour's field of 
 activity constantly increased. In July, 1858, he was at 
 Plombieres, and had the famous interview with Na- 
 poleon in which a basis for an alliance and a future war 
 
 292 
 
Cavour^s Plans for the Next Tear 
 
 was laid. Then he returned home by way of Switzerland, 
 scarcely avoiding a demonstration of triumph. A little 
 while after, he asked Giulini and Dandolo to come to 
 Turin, and told them of his negotiations with Napoleon, 
 so that they could instruct their friends how they could 
 best help him. Among the things Cavour reported that 
 the Emperor had said was, that in order to justify the 
 war to France, which was reluctant, he deemed it neces- 
 sary that Piedmont should be attacked and invaded by 
 Austria. " Faites-vous attaquer," he had said repeatedly. 
 
 Cavour asked Giulini whether it was possible, when 
 Austria should make its next levy, for the Lombard pro- 
 prietors to send their peasants to enlist in Piedmont. 
 "I will enroll all who come," said he, "in the Piedmont- 
 ese regiments. . . . Austria will ask for their extradition. 
 ... I will refuse; and then Austria will invade Pied- 
 mont ! " Giulini replied that the plan would be studied by 
 himself and his friends; that they would do their best 
 to further it and would be able to do so; if not wholly, 
 in part. They were not, however, the conscripts that 
 passed the Ticino and enlisted in the Sardinian regi- 
 ments; but they were the volunteers. It was their dis- 
 armament that Austria demanded, which demand, when 
 it met a refusal, became the cause of war and of the 
 invasion. 
 
 When Cavour told Dandolo the outcome of his nego- 
 tiations at Plombieres, he requested him to come to an 
 understanding with the young men of authority in 
 Milan, especially with those who had had relations with 
 the Mazzinian societies. The Minister wanted to draw 
 to himself the living forces of the nation, to destroy sec- 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 tarianism, and to unite all in the formula of a union of 
 Italy with the monarchy of Savoy. Dandolo, therefore, 
 had a long interview with my brother Emilio, and told 
 him of Cavour's plans for unity; informing him, at the 
 same time, of the Conte's desire to be the judge of the 
 ways and the opportunities for attaining it. My brother, 
 in his turn, reported the conversation with Dandolo to 
 his friends, who, with the plans of Cavour laid before 
 them, ceased longer to hesitate, but determined to 
 follow the new lead. Dandolo, thereupon, presented 
 Emilio to Cavour. 
 
 Thus Cavour not only laid the foundation for the in- 
 dependence, the unity, and the liberty of Italy, but 
 he created a new national party that was both liberal 
 and monarchical, and that gradually drew into its ranks 
 the most eminent persons of Italy. With its aid he ac- 
 complished many things; and his more illustrious suc- 
 cessors were able to continue and finish his work. To 
 one who lived in these times, and who followed the 
 march of events, the conviction must come that Cavour 
 directed every movement, and that he was the great 
 artificer of the new kingdom of Italy. 
 
 "The war next spring" now became the preoccupa- 
 tion of the initiated. We talked of nothing else, and we 
 planned to raise a subscription to be used to help it come 
 to pass. When we talked of the approaching conflict in 
 Casa Dandolo, the pale cheeks of poor Emilio would 
 flush. His health, alas ! was rapidly declining. He was 
 consumptive, and he understood his condition; yet he 
 was determined to go to Piedmont,, as soon as possible, to 
 secure his former post. " I do not wish to die in bed," he 
 
 294 
 
The Family Lutti of Riva 
 
 was wont to say. "I wish to die as a soldier on the field 
 of battle." His desire just missed being fulfilled. In a 
 few months more of life he would have seen the dawn of 
 our common hopes. 
 
 I passed the month of August in Casa Lutti, at 
 Campo, in the Giudicarie, near Riva di Trento. My 
 friend Vincenzo Lutti di Sant' Alessandro was one of the 
 important persons of the new national party in the Tren- 
 tino, and he and his family received in their villas, now 
 at Riva, now at Campo, now at Sant' Alessandro on 
 Lago di Garda many noteworthy people from every 
 part of Italy. Andrea Maffei, the husband of the Con- 
 tessa, had his accustomed abode in Casa Lutti, and one 
 often met there the noted alienist Andrea Verga and 
 the poets Prati and Gazzoletti. The mother of Vin- 
 cenzo, Donna Clara, was an old lady who loved to pose 
 as the friend and protectress of the letterati. She had 
 two daughters, one of whom, Francesca, was an au- 
 thoress. To Lutti and his friends I communicated, of 
 course, the news I had received from Giulini; so in the 
 Trentino, also, arrangements were made to send re- 
 cruits to Piedmont in the spring. Some months after- 
 wards Alberto dei Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta came 
 to Campo, in behalf of the Piedmontese Ministry of 
 War, to make, with Lutti, a survey of the country. 
 
 When I returned to Milan in the autumn I heard in 
 Casa Maffei that the plan of sending conscripts to Pied- 
 mont had been abandoned, and that, in its stead, it was 
 agreed by the leaders of the Societa Nazionale and of the 
 young men that the volunteers of '48 and '49, and as 
 many others as desired, should go to Piedmont and en- 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 list in the regular troops or in the volunteers. The So- 
 cieta Nazionale was indefatigable in making known this 
 plan, and in putting it into effect. The subscription, in- 
 stituted a few months previously, took on vast propor- 
 tions; huge sums were secretly subscribed; and a con- 
 spiracy, with many ramifications, was formed to facilitate 
 the flight of the young men to the Piedmontese frontier. 
 In this conspiracy people of every class, in every dis- 
 trict of Lombardy and Venetia, participated. The work 
 was carried on for nearly three months, and was known 
 to many simple people, who were active in it, — drivers, 
 boatmen, and smugglers; yet the police, though on its 
 track, did not succeed in preventing it. There was no 
 betrayal. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 (i8S9) 
 
 The New Year. — Speeches of Napoleon and of Vittorio Emanuele. — 
 "Norma," and the demonstration at the Scala. — Organization to assist the 
 volunteers. — Their departure. — The death of Emilio Dandolo. — The 
 funeral procession, and the tricolored crown. — The orations at the cemetery. 
 — Casa Bargnani is searched, and a letter of my brother is found. — The 
 police come to our house to arrest Emilio and me. — My brother, who was 
 not at home, escapes. — I go to Casa Maffei. — The Contessa and Tenca 
 help me to leave the city. — A first misfortune. — By a series of relays I 
 arrive at Lonato Pozzuolo. — My host. — He presents me as a railway 
 engineer. — I cross the Ticino by the permission of the police. — I arrive at 
 Oleggio, and depart for Turin. 
 
 THE year 1859 opened joyously. Some bands of 
 music went early in the morning to greet the 
 authorities, as was the custom, and, returning, marched 
 through several streets, saluting the new year. Among 
 the pieces they played was a popular song, that had just 
 come to us, called the "Bella Gigogin." The music was 
 facile, and the words were silly, but there was a chorus 
 which ran, "Go a step in advance, my heart's delight," 
 — words which the public heard with joy, as they gave 
 them a patriotic significance. The "Bella Gigogin" 
 went forward triumphantly as an augury for the future. 
 The song became so popular that the French bands 
 played it when Napoleon entered Milan after the battle 
 of Magenta. They called it the "Milanaise." 
 
 But the best auguries were to come from Paris and 
 Turin. In the New Year's reception of the diplomatic 
 corps, Napoleon turned to Baron Hubner, the Austrian 
 ambassador, and said: "I am sorry our relations are not 
 so good as they were formerly." These words of the taci- 
 
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Memoirs of Youth 
 
 turn Emperor reverberated throughout all Europe, as if 
 they were an announcement of war. Austria replied by 
 immediately sending another army corps and six bat- 
 talions of Croats into Lombardy. A few days after, i.e., 
 on the loth, Vittorio Emanuele, in his speech at the 
 opening of Parliament, said: "I am not insensible to the 
 cry of grief that comes to me from every part of Italy"; 
 words which were said in agreement with Napoleon. 
 
 News of this utterance came to Milan the very day it 
 was spoken. I was at the Theater della Scala; and all at 
 once I noticed people talking to one another in an ex- 
 cited way, and at the same time I perceived an air of 
 surprise on the faces of the Austrian officers and func- 
 tionaries. The nervous tension that was, so to speak, in 
 the air and in us all was to break out a few evenings later 
 in the same theater. The opera "Norma" was given, 
 and the Druids had scarcely begun to sing the chorus of 
 "Guerra, guerra" (war, war), when the whole house 
 rose up. The ladies waved their handkerchiefs, and all, 
 with one voice and one cry, shouted "Guerra! guerra!" 
 The chorus was repeated, again and again, amid frantic 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 The officers, who, as usual, occupied the front rows of 
 the stalls, did not at first understand the reason for this 
 outburst. They looked inquiringly to the boxes where 
 General Giulay and several of his superior officers sat. 
 These quickly understood the matter, and began like- 
 wise to applaud. Giulay gave the signal, as he struck 
 his sword against the floor. Who would have prophesied 
 that war would, indeed, soon break out, and that five 
 months later he would have lost the battle of Magenta! 
 
 298 
 
Assistance for the Volunteers 
 
 Imagine the uproar. On one side people cried, "Viva 
 la guerra," and called for repetitions of the chorus; on 
 the other they beat, in a way equally defiant, their 
 swords upon the floor. The theater was soon surrounded 
 by troops, and General Giulay departed in the midst of 
 his staff and officers, as if they were banded in his defense. 
 
 In the interim we continued to make arrangements for 
 sending as many young men as possible into Piedmont. 
 The Lombard towns were to send their recruits to Milan, 
 and from Milan they were to be directed to the frontier, 
 at the Ticino, or the Po, or by way of Switzerland. Cer- 
 tain points along the roads were fixed upon, where car- 
 riages, and, occasionally, lodgings, could be had. The 
 men were to receive pieces of playing-cards, or of sticks, 
 which, when fitted to other pieces, would serve as 
 means of recognition to those who received them. 
 With these tokens, and with occasional gifts of money, 
 nearly all who left Lombardy for Piedmont arrived at 
 their destination without any mishap. The number in 
 all was about ten thousand. 
 
 A secret trust fund provided for the expenses. The 
 fund was confided to a number of citizens, who passed it 
 frequently from one to the other; for it was a perilous 
 trust to him who had it, as there was a coming and going 
 of young men which aroused the suspicions of the police. 
 
 Not all, of course, of the ten thousand recruits received 
 aid from the fund; many traveled at their own expense; 
 but many again were assisted. In this work the spon- 
 taneous connivance of all, as in 1848, played a great part. 
 The richer classes then contributed generously; now 
 they gave much more; and all was done in secret. 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 One evening I was in the house of the Marchese Cri- 
 velh, and we talked, as usual, of going to Piedmont, 
 when some one asked: "When shall we begin? Shall we 
 go immediately? " Whereupon Giulio Venino, a student 
 of mathematics, who afterwards became a captain of 
 artillery, said: "If I go in a couple of days, shall I do 
 right?" We all said yes; and a few days after I learned 
 that he had left, and had enlisted as a simple soldier in 
 the artillery. I desire to recall Venino's name because 
 his noble action immediately bore fruit. Shortly after, 
 the father of Gaetano Negri, an old friend of our family, 
 came to tell my mother of the departure of his only son, 
 a boy of twenty years. He, too, enlisted in the artillery, 
 and, the year after, had become a second lieutenant, and 
 had gained his first medal for bravery. These young 
 men were followed by many others who belonged to the 
 aristocracy of Milan, whose examples again were fol- 
 lowed by the youth of every class and condition. Before 
 the end of February the volunteers could be counted by 
 thousands. Those who could go, and did not, hid them- 
 selves; but there were few who could resist the im- 
 pulse. In the roll of the enlisted the best names of the 
 Lombard and Venetian provinces can be found. 
 
 This great demonstration of patriotism merits to be 
 recorded as one of the noblest in the history of our 
 Risorgimento. The Austrian authorities, accustomed as 
 they were to laugh at our demonstrations, became aston- 
 ished, and feared, though they admired, a thing so new. 
 
 Every one of our group of friends had made his pre- 
 parations to journey to Piedmont; but some had to wait 
 in order to increase the secret fund, and to take charge of 
 
 300 
 
The Death of Rmilio Dandolo 
 
 the provincial recruits for fear of mischance or of a dis- 
 covery by the poHce. The matter was discussed in Casa 
 Dandolo around the armchair of Emilio, who was rapidly 
 approaching his end, surrounded by the loving care of 
 his parents, his priest, and his friends, among whom was 
 Scipione Signoroni, his physician, who was himself 
 afflicted by the phthisis which was to cut short his 
 career.'^ 
 
 As I have said, Dandolo did not deceive himself in 
 regard to his condition. He no longer hoped to put on his 
 old bersaglieri uniform, but Cavour had promised him a 
 place on the staff, and all his thoughts turned to war and 
 to the hope of dying on the field of battle. In one of our 
 last talks he told me of some information he had trans- 
 mitted to Cavour on the forces and movements of the 
 Austrian army. As late as the previous autumn two cap- 
 tains of the Piedmontese staff had come to Milan, where 
 they had relatives and friends, upon the dangerous mis- 
 sion of obtaining information. They were Alberto Incisa 
 della Rocchetta (whom I have already mentioned) and 
 Govone, both of whom, afterwards, attained the rank of 
 general. Later on, Conte Giulini assisted them to ac- 
 complish a still more dangerous enterprise. Knowing 
 the country between Milan, the Ticino, and the Nova- 
 rese, where he had properties, when the Austrian troops 
 entered Piedmont he aided them to follow their move- 
 ments, and to send information thereof to La Marmora. 
 
 Emilio Dandolo died quietly the morning of the 20th 
 of February. The sad news was rapidly diffused, and, 
 with it, a command that all should render the honors due 
 to him. In the mean time the family and friends watched 
 
 301 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 by the remains, and made arrangements for the funeral. 
 It was desired that my brother Emilio should speak at 
 the grave; but, as he was engaged, the morning of the 
 obsequies, as second in the duel of Gerolamo Fadini, he 
 was obliged to cede the sad duty to Conte Gaetano 
 Bargnani, a relative of the Dandolo family. When the 
 body was in the coffin, Carmelita Manara placed upon 
 his breast the tricolored cockade her husband had car- 
 ried, and Ermellina Dandolo attached a garland of 
 flowers of the same three colors. Moreover, the Con- 
 tessa requested Ignazio Crivelli to procure for her some 
 red and white camellias; with which, and some green 
 leaves, she made a crown. She thought of placing this 
 upon the coffin when it should leave the house, and had 
 some nails driven into it upon which to fasten the crown; 
 but as there arose a fear lest it might be seized by the 
 police, she determined to have it attached when the pro- 
 cession should leave the church. Thus the crown would 
 be seen by all, and the police would have difficulty in 
 seizing it. 
 
 The funeral took place the morning of the 22d, and the 
 bier was carried to the church of San Babila dalla Casa 
 Crivelli, upon the Corso di Porta Orientale. During the 
 service the crowd, for which there was no room in the 
 church, began to increase in the piaTsa, occupying grad- 
 ually the neighboring streets and the corso. It was a 
 dense crowd, silent and imposing. The police became 
 alarmed, and, as they could not disperse it, sent word 
 that the procession should be suspended. The order was 
 scarcely issued before there arose a noise of impatient 
 protest which decided Costantino Garavaglia, Lodovico 
 
 302 
 
Dandolo^s Funeral Procession 
 
 Mancini, and other friends to go to the sacristy where a 
 commissary of police was stationed, to endeavor to per- 
 suade him to let the procession go on. After a long and 
 fruitless dispute, Conte Tullio Dandolo and the Du- 
 chessa Giovanna Visconti went to the Lieutenant to try 
 to persuade him that, in the interest of public order, 
 he should permit the funeral to proceed. Burger, after 
 many recommendations of caution, consented. 
 
 The bier, carried upon the bearers' shoulders, moved 
 forward. At one of the doors there stood a group of the 
 friends of the deceased, in the midst of whom was the 
 porter of Casa Crivelli, a patriotic little man, who had 
 the crown concealed under his cloak. As the procession 
 was starting, Lodovico Mancini took the crown and fixed 
 it to the coffin, making it fast to the nails. Scarcely had 
 the bier with the tricolored crown appeared when a 
 roaring was heard in the crowd, and a prolonged cry 
 arose, frantic and terrible, which was repeated far and 
 wide by the thousands of persons that had come to pay 
 a last tribute to the dead. 
 
 It was not easy, in the midst of the crowd, to form a 
 train. Biers were then carried upon the shoulders of 
 friends, and twelve of us had agreed to fulfill this office, 
 relieving one another from time to time. By our side 
 walked the learned Bamabite, Father Piantoni; and be- 
 hind, a squadron of the old officers and soldiers of the 
 Manara Battalion followed. Some of them were cripples. 
 This squadron caused the pressure of the multitude to 
 increase so that we could scarcely proceed. Above all, 
 the people wanted to see the tricolored crown which, at 
 every step, incited a cry which was strangely in contrast 
 
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Memoirs of Youth 
 
 to the feeling of sorrow which was felt by all. The pro- 
 cession of grief seemed to be one of triumph; and, in a 
 measure, it was so, a triumphant homage offered to the 
 heroic spirit of Emilio Dandolo. 
 
 The throng became so dense that we were afraid lest 
 we might be overthrown and trampled upon; for the 
 gendarmes, the guards, and the police had disappeared. 
 It was impossible for them to face the excited and reso- 
 lute crowd which, from the church to the ancient ceme- 
 tery of San Gregorio, had everything its own way. When 
 we arrived at the end of our route, we found the ceme- 
 tery occupied and surrounded by troops. Only the bier 
 and a few of those who followed it could enter the gates. 
 The coffin was buried, provisionally, in a common grave, 
 and over it courageous patriotic addresses were pro- 
 nounced by Conte Bargnani and Antonio AUievi. The 
 next day Conte Tullio obtained permission to traMport 
 the remains to his villa of Adro, in the province of Brescia, 
 and they were privately exhumed in the presence of the 
 police. The Contessa also was present, and was able to 
 secure the crown and hide it under her cloak. Sometime 
 after, Conte Tullio was invited to Turin to assist at a 
 funeral service, which, at the suggestion of Cavour, 
 was celebrated in behalf of his son. Among the promot- 
 ers of this honor, besides Cavour, were La Marmora, 
 Azeglio, Durando, Lanza, and Sella. 
 
 It was foreseen that the Government would hasten to 
 make some one pay for this great demonstration, against 
 which it had been powerless. So, the day after, some 
 police officers called at Casa Bargnani, and asked for the 
 Conte. Bargnani, however, had been advised of their 
 
 304 
 
Casa Bargnani is searched 
 
 intended visit, and had gone to my brother, who gave 
 him a letter to a gentleman in Pavia, the awocato Cara^ 
 vaggio (afterwards Prefect and Senator), who devoted 
 himself to aid the patriots to pass the frontier. Bargnani, 
 before leaving, returned home, and he had scarcely gone 
 out a second time before the police arrived. After hav- 
 ing vainly looked for him, they searched the house, and 
 even rummaged in the pockets of his clothes . They found 
 in a pocket of the suit he had changed, the letter my 
 brother had written, which Bargnani had forgotten. 
 
 Contessa Bargnani, who was present during the 
 search, after the police had left, ran to our house to tell 
 Emilio that his letter had been found. Emilio, in his 
 turn, advised AUievi of Bargnani's flight, believing that 
 the police wanted to arrest him because of his Dandolo 
 address. In my turn, I exhorted my brother to leave, 
 telling him that, after the seizure of his letter, the air of 
 Milan would do him no good; but he was averse to tak- 
 ing precaution for himself, and preferred to wait. The 
 evening of the following day, after the representation at 
 the Scala, as we were with a number of friends in Cafe 
 Cova, Emilio narrated the story of the letter, and said 
 that he had met the Director of the Police in a corridor 
 of the theater, who looked at him in a way that seemed 
 to say: "And you are still in Milan?" 
 
 Thereupon we all exhorted him to decamp, or, at 
 least, not to return home that evening; and our friends 
 offered him the hospitality of their houses. After some 
 hesitation, he decided to go home with one of them, and 
 he wanted me to do likewise; but an engagement pre- 
 vented me. I remembered that, early the next morning, 
 
 30s 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 some young Brescians, sent by Zanardelli, were to call on 
 me to secure the tokens necessary to enable them to pass 
 the frontier. And, besides, I wanted to transfer the 
 trust fund, which was then in my possession, to my 
 friend Carlo Cagnola; so I returned home, but did not 
 go immediately to bed. I had a presentiment that the 
 police might come at any moment, and gave a look at 
 Emilio's writing-desk, and burned some of his papers. 
 Then a thought came into my head that proved to be 
 useful : it was to lock Emilio's door and to hide the key. 
 
 A little before daylight I was aroused by the noise of 
 steps in the next room; then the door was thrown open, 
 and my servant entered. He held a flickering light in his 
 hand, and was followed by some people, who immedi- 
 ately surrounded my bed. They were two commissaries 
 and four police guards. One of the commissaries said 
 that I must rise, as they were about to make a search. 
 While they rummaged among my papers and books 
 and clothes, I dressed, and opening the windows, looked 
 down into the street. Before the door of the house two 
 guards were posted with a carriage. The carriage pro- 
 claimed that an arrest was to be made. 
 
 One of the commissaries asked me whether we were 
 not two brothers, and I replied that we were three; 
 which answer appeared to confuse him, for he began to 
 confab with his companion. Then he asked me to lead 
 him to the room of my elder brother. When they found 
 themselves before a door that was locked, and had no 
 key, they were furious. They asked me a million ques- 
 tions to which I replied as best I could. At the end I 
 requested my servant to call a locksmith. The servant 
 
 306 
 
I elude Arrest 
 
 departed, waited awhile, and then returned, saying that 
 the shops were not yet open, and that he could find no 
 locksmith. The commissaries became even more furious, 
 and ordered the guards to break in the door. 
 
 "As ever!" they exclaimed when they saw the bed 
 still made; "but your brother was at the theater last 
 evening! " "And we came out together," I replied, "but 
 he went to the cafe, and I came home." 
 
 Not having found Emilio, and learning that we were 
 three, and not two, brothers made the commissaries hes- 
 itate and whisper together. Then one of them left, say- 
 ing he would return shortly, and the other began to 
 make a search of the room. In the interim, I was gossip- 
 ing with the guards, devising a plan of escape; when, 
 all at once, I heard the bell of the door on the landing- 
 place. A suspicion that it might be the Brescians came 
 to me, as, accompanied by a guard, I opened the door. 
 True enough, it was they; and I can still recall their 
 amazement when they saw the guard. They must have 
 believed that they had fallen into a trap. I winked at 
 them, and said, sotto voce, "Later on"; and they quickly 
 ran downstairs. Later on, my brother Enrico received 
 them in my stead. He knew where I had concealed the 
 tokens and the fund, and took care of everything. 
 
 There were two courts to the house in which we lived, 
 adjoining two streets, and a back stairs to our apart- 
 ment, so, while I promenaded up and down, gossiping 
 with my guards, a plan for decamping came into my 
 head which I resolved to put into effect before the second 
 commissary should return. Profiting by a momentary 
 distraction of my guards, I passed stealthily through a 
 
 307 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 blind-door into an adjacent room; then I took the lit- 
 tle stairway, descended into the court by which the po- 
 lice had not come, and, opening the wicket in the door 
 with a key I had taken the precaution to secure, I 
 escaped. 
 
 Although the day had begun to dawn, the streets were 
 deserted, and I could accelerate my flight; but where 
 was I to go? This was my first thought after having 
 slackened my pace to gain my breath. Where was I to 
 go.? I went first to the house of my friend Costantino 
 Garavaglia; but when I arrived at his door I found the 
 porter greatly distracted. He recognized me, and whis- 
 pered: "Signor Garavaglia has been arrested; they took 
 him away a half-hour ago." Then I went to Casa Car- 
 cano, where I found a similar state of affairs. "The 
 police came to take Don Costanzo this very night," said 
 the trembling porter. "He tried hard to evade them, 
 but they recaptured him." 
 
 But where was I to go? I had scarcely moved when I 
 saw a domestic of Casa Dandolo, who was making a tour 
 of the city by order of the Contessa, to advise the Car- 
 cano brothers, myself, and other friends that the police 
 had made a search of Casa Dandolo, and had arrested 
 the Negro Latif. Emilio Dandolo had brought Latif 
 back with him from his voyage in Egypt. The police had 
 arrested the Negro in order to learn how the conspiracy 
 of the funeral had originated, and who the conspirators 
 were. But the poor black boy remained in prison some 
 time without scarcely opening his mouth. He had 
 learned something of the Milanese dialect, and to every 
 question he replied: Mi soo nient (I know nothing). He 
 
 308 
 
I escape from the City 
 
 died within a short time of consumption, like his mas- 
 ter, to whom he had been devotedly attached. I told 
 the domestic to salute the Contessa for me, and to say 
 that I hoped to make good my escape. 
 
 The idea now arose in my mind of going, by the side 
 streets, to Casa Maffei, feeling sure that I would obtain 
 there the needed assistance. The Contessa, whom I had 
 awakened by her maid, received me at once, knowing 
 that something important must have happened to bring 
 me to her house at so early an hour. In a few words I 
 told her my story, and she sent for Tenca. While the 
 Contessa was dressing, I recalled that I had departed 
 from home without a sou in my pockets, an unfortunate 
 circumstance for him who is preparing for flight. As the 
 Contessa had but little money by her, I ran to the house 
 of Donna Laura Scaccabarozzi d' Adda, who lived a few 
 steps off, who, I knew, could easily assist me. She gave 
 me all I could possibly need, and, moreover, said she 
 would tell my mother and Emilio all that had taken 
 place as soon as she knew I had departed. When I re- 
 turned to Casa Maffei, I found that Tenca had come. 
 He went at once to call upon a common friend, the en- 
 gineer Achille Villa, who had horses and carriages. 
 
 In less than half an hour, Villa was at the door with a 
 carriage and a good horse. We left at a brisk trot, and 
 were soon out of the city, by the Porta Nuova, without 
 being noticed, in the midst of the many carts and wagons 
 which, at this early hour, thronged the gates. As we 
 sped along, Villa said he would take me to a farm, two 
 miles from the city, where a certain person lived whose 
 name I cannot now recall. He gave me his card to pre- 
 
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Memoirs of Touth 
 
 sent to this person, and said that some one would be 
 charged with sending me beyond the Ticino. 
 
 We arrived at the farm; bade one another good-bye; 
 and, in a twinkling, the engineer and his carriage had 
 disappeared. Behold me, then, alone in the courtyard of 
 a big farm, before a dog that barked, and a flock of geese 
 that ran away. A little while after, a man on horse- 
 back appeared. 
 
 "Are you the landlord?" I asked. 
 
 " The landlord ? My master is not here. He went to 
 Milan yesterday, and will not return for several days." 
 Then he turned his shoulder and entered a stable. 
 
 " This commences badly," I thought. "What am I to 
 do,? Shall I tip the horseman, and send him to Milan 
 with a letter to Villa to tell him my mischance?" — 
 "Hello! my good man!" I exclaimed, as the horseman 
 disappeared. "I want to ask a favor of you." 
 
 The horseman scrutinized me; then said in a low voice, 
 "Are you one of those young men who are going away 
 — who are going beyond?" And he made a gesture in 
 the direction of the Ticino. 
 
 "Precisely," I replied. 
 
 " Then wait a moment. I will hitch up a horse, and 
 we will go at once. Hey! but I have guided many young 
 men, in these days, who were going to enlist." 
 
 A little while after, we were speeding towards Pied- 
 mont, avoiding the principal roads, as they were pa- 
 trolled. My conductor said he would drive me to a little 
 place, of which I cannot recall the name, where I would 
 find another carriage that would take me a stage farther 
 along my way. I journeyed till near evening, changing 
 
 310 
 
I arrive at Lonato Pozzuolo 
 
 my conveyance three times. The carriages were fur- 
 nished by people I did not know, and always without 
 any explanation, and my drivers invariably took the lit- 
 tle crooked routes, far out of the way. 
 
 As night fell my last driver said to me: "Do you see 
 that place? That is Lonato Pozzuolo. I am going to take 
 you there, and all will be ended." Then suddenly he 
 pointed to the shining points of some helmets (the gen- 
 darmes then wore helmets like the Prussian soldiers). 
 "The gendarmes!" he said. "Get down quickly; go 
 through that hedge, cross that field, and you will see 
 an old house; enter it." No sooner had he spoken than 
 we both jumped down from the carriage, and, pushing 
 through the hedge, one ran in one direction, and one 
 in another. 
 
 In a few minutes I came to the old house, and entered 
 its great door. 
 
 "Who is there.? What do you want?" asked an an- 
 cient maidservant. 
 
 "Is the master of the house at home?" I answered. 
 
 "Enter by the kitchen door, and you will find 
 him." 
 
 Seated under the mantelpiece of a great chimney, 
 smoking a pipe and stirring up the fire, sat a little man 
 of about fifty years of age who looked me over, and then 
 came forward and said, "With whom have I the pleasure 
 of speaking?" 
 
 "With one," I replied, "who asks for your hospi- 
 tality." 
 
 My host looked me over again, and gave an interroga- 
 tive glance at my hat. I ought to say that, in flying 
 
 3" 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 from the house, I had hurriedly caught up a high hat. It 
 had attracted the curiosity of my drivers, and of many 
 others I had met on the Httle country roads. 
 
 "I am a young man who would like to go beyond," 
 and I made a gesture towards the west. "But there 
 is more ; the police came to arrest me this morning, and 
 I fled from Milan. Then again a little while ago I saw 
 some gendarmes who may have seen me." 
 
 "You have done well to tell me so; I will shut the 
 great door, and you need bother yourself no more about 
 them." 
 
 "Here I am," he continued, as he returned from shut- 
 ting the door; "then you have news from Milan?" 
 
 "First I will tell you who I am," and I began to look 
 for a card. 
 
 "No matter, no matter," he said. "They want to 
 arrest you. That's sufficient. We are all patriots, and 
 viva r Italia." 
 
 I did not know who he was, nor he me; but it was 
 enough that we spoke the same language to feel that we 
 were friends and brothers. 
 
 "There is much news from Milan," he continued. 
 "They talk of a funeral that turned into a great demon- 
 stration. Tell me about it." 
 
 " Certainly, and it is probably because of this demon- 
 stration that I am wanted by the police. I can tell you 
 much news." 
 
 "Good! I will call two of my friends who are as greedy 
 for information as I am; one is a priest, and the other an 
 engineer, and you will tell us the news and we will make 
 a night of it. But how is your appetite?" 
 
 312 
 
I pass as a Railway Engineer 
 
 "Excellent; I dined twenty-four hours ago, and I have 
 swallowed some bits of bread by the way." 
 
 "It is too bad that you arrived after I had finished 
 supper; but we will see what we can find." 
 
 A little while after, my host placed half a pigeon, some 
 sausages, and a piece of cheese upon the table, and then 
 went away to call his friends. In the mean time the an- 
 cient maid brought four glasses and six bottles, which 
 were to serve for our evening's festivities. 
 
 We talked until a late hour, when finally my host took 
 pity upon my fatigue, and showed me to my bedroom. 
 When he came the next morning, the sun was high and I 
 was yet sleeping. He told me that he had made a little 
 tour of inspection, and had ascertained that the passage 
 of the Ticino had become almost impossible; that the 
 banks of the river were patrolled by the hussars, and 
 that the boatmen did not dare to move. "Neverthe- 
 less," he assured me, "you will cross. I have helped 
 more than one young man to do so." 
 
 When we arrived at the river, I saw, a little way off, a 
 custom's officer and a commissary of police. My host 
 knew the commissary, and had already visited him, 
 and told him that the chief engineer of a projected 
 railway had arrived to examine the neighborhood. I 
 was the engineer. We went boldly to the custom-house, 
 and the commissary, who had seen us approach, met 
 us. 
 
 "Is it true that you are planning the continuation 
 of the horse-railway from Tornavento.'"' he queried. 
 
 "I am studying it," I answered, with the air of a man 
 who does not want to particularize. 
 
 313 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 The commissary was obsequious and talkative, and I 
 maintained an air of reserve. 
 
 "I said to Signor Ernesto, this morning, that this 
 would be a fortunate meeting for me if you could employ 
 my son in your company. I would not have dared to 
 recommend him, but Signor Tirinanzi gave me courage." 
 
 I learned now that my host was called Signor Ernesto 
 Tirinanzi. So I told my obsequious interlocutor to send 
 by Signor Tirinanzi a regular and documented petition, 
 and at the same time I took out my portafogli and 
 made some notes therein. As the commissary bowed and 
 thanked me, Signor Ernesto asked whether I desired to 
 go to the opposite bank of the river to look about." 
 
 "It is impossible," interjected the commissary; "how- 
 ever — " 
 
 "Oh!" I said, "I am in no hurry; some other time." 
 
 "No, Signor Engineer," the commissary replied, "if 
 you wish to go to the other side it is best to do so now, 
 while there are no soldiers"; and he called some of the 
 customs' guards. 
 
 A little while after, with the guards and Signor Tiri- 
 nanzi, I entered a customs' boat, while the commissary 
 excused himself for being unable to accompany us. In a 
 few moments we touched the Piedmontese shore. 
 
 As we complimented one another for having acted so 
 well our parts in the little comedy, I said to Signor Ti- 
 rinanzi: "I am safe; but you will have to return. How 
 will you arrange matters with the commissary.?" 
 
 " The commissary will understand that I have hoaxed 
 him, but he will do well to keep quiet. Now you must 
 go to Oleggio, then to Novara, where you can take the 
 
 314 
 
At Okggio 
 
 railway to Turin. I will, however, accompany you part 
 of the way for fear that you may go astray in the woods." 
 At Oleggio I said good-bye to Signor Tirinanzi, and 
 tried to tell him how thankful I was for all he had done 
 for me. We corresponded for several years, and, occa- 
 sionally we saw one another. I shall always remember 
 the cordiality of his reception and the patriotic assist- 
 ance he rendered me, as if, indeed, I had been his son. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 (1859) 
 
 I find my brother in Turin. — The story of his escape. — Letter from G. B. Guy. 
 
 — The volunteers. — The commission of enlistment. — Giuseppe Massari. 
 
 — Casa Arese and Casa Correnti. — Sirtori. — The trial because of the 
 Dandolo funeral. — The examination of Contessa Ermellina. — An inter- 
 view with Cavour. — Formation of the Cacciatori delle Alpi. — The streets 
 of Turin. — Dubious rumors from Paris. — Public anxiety. — The Austrian 
 envoys demand disarmament. — Refusal of Piedmont. — Cavour asks for 
 full powers. — A declaration of war, and the proclamation of the king. — 
 Napoleon breaks off relations with Austria. — Mezzacapo asks several young 
 men to go with him to the Romagna. — Cavour nominates a committee of 
 Lombards to arrange for the decrees with which to begin the new govern- 
 ment in Lombardy. — I am asked to take part therein. — The arrival of the 
 first French troops. — Their enthusiastic reception. — The farewell of Carlo 
 De Cristoforis. 
 
 FROM Novara to Turin, I found myself in a railway 
 carriage with some young men who, like myself, had 
 just passed the frontier. All related their experiences 
 and sang the refrain of the "Bella Gigogin." Among 
 these youths was Caroli of Bergamo, who was the most 
 joyous of them all. Poor young man ! who would have 
 predicted his tragic end? After the campaign, he had a 
 dispute with Garibaldi, and was regarded with disfavor 
 by the Garibaldians ; so he went to Poland, where he 
 took part in an insurrection, and was taken prisoner, 
 and condemned to be shot. Our ambassador, Pepoli, 
 saved his life, but he was deported to Siberia where he 
 soon after died. 
 
 I arrived at Turin early in the evening, and put up at 
 the Hotel Europa, where, by good fortune, I found my 
 brother. We related our adventures with no fears for the 
 future, so convinced were we that our country would soon 
 
 316 
 
The Story of my Brother^ s Escape 
 
 be free. What had been my brother's fortunes after our 
 conversation at Cafe Cova ? EmiHo had been assisted by 
 his friend G. B. Guy, to whom I have turned for the par- 
 ticulars of his escape. This is his reply to my letter: — 
 
 My dear Friend: — 
 
 At your request I send you all I can gather from my 
 notes and my memory. In 1859, 1 lived in the Via Rovello, 
 in Casa Cagnola. The 26th of February, I was asked by 
 my landlord, Battista Cagnola, who knew that I had a 
 villa and a farm near Belgiojoso, whether I was willing to 
 conduct a "big fish" to safety. I took counsel with my 
 father and uncle, who had often hunted in the forests of 
 the Po, and replied that I would undertake the task, and 
 gave my word that I would do all I could to succeed in it. 
 I was now told the name of the "big fish," and I learned 
 with pleasure that it was that of my friend Emilio, with 
 whom I had been to school in the Boselli Institute. I stip- 
 ulated that I should be supplied with a carriage and horses 
 so as not to attract attention by the equipage of my tenant, 
 which was known far and wide. 
 
 We left on the 27th, at four o'clock In the afternoon, and 
 arrived in the night at FUIghera, and descended at my house 
 called "the Palazzo," to the great surprise of the custodian's 
 family, and told them the story we had concocted for the 
 benefit of the country people. We then broke our fast as best 
 we could. Afterwards I went to Belgiojoso, to the brothers 
 Strambio, my fellow-soldiers of 1849, and asked them the 
 safest way to smuggle Emilio through the lines. They told 
 me that it would be difficult, since the Croats had begun to 
 fire upon the boats that tried to pass the river. The only 
 plan they could think of was to attempt the crossing with 
 Emilio, in hiding, under a pile of wood. This proposal did 
 not suit me, as Emilio was not small, and was short- 
 sighted into the bargain. After various suggestions it was 
 concluded that it was best to try the direct way. 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 In spite of the severity of the cordon, there was a con- 
 tinual exchange of fuel, of wine, and of Parmigiano cheese 
 between the two river-banks. The following morning, 
 Emilio and I got into an old hunting-chaise and went to 
 the Po by Belgiojoso and Sostegno. When we arrived at 
 the dike a Croatian corporal asked us where we were 
 going. 
 
 "We are going," I answered, "to sell cheese at Stradella, 
 and expect to return this evening." 
 
 The corporal turned his shoulders. It was touch and go. 
 The flatboat for crossing was at the opposite shore; and we 
 left the chaise, and awaited its coming. All at once we 
 heard a humming of cannon. What could it be? Emilio 
 exclaimed: "The cannon are thundering at Milan, and I 
 am flying. I must return." 
 
 "It is impossible to hear cannon so far off," I replied; 
 but as he insisted I continued, " I have given my word that 
 I would take you to Stradella. From there you can return 
 if you please." 
 
 Emilio was troubled but, by chance, a woodman came 
 along, and told us that the reports came from Piacenza, 
 where the artillery were practicing at firing. When the 
 flatboat came we embarked, and were soon at the opposite 
 shore, and a half-hour later here at Stradella. I returned 
 by the same route, and saw the same corporal, who never 
 asked me a word about the other merchant. Late in the 
 evening of the same day, I presented myself to your 
 mother and said only, "Emilio left for Turin at three 
 o'clock." She took me in her arms, and embraced me. 
 Fraternally yours, 
 
 G. B. Guy. 
 
 Turin was very animated; under its porticoes all the 
 dialects of Italy were heard; and a continual sound of 
 revelry arose, as the young men met and related the 
 vicissitudes of their flights. I met nearly all my friends; 
 
 3i8 
 
'The Volunteers 
 
 some of them the best-known people of the Milanese so- 
 ciety. Indeed, the streets were full of the representatives 
 of the most illustrious families of Lombardy and Venetia 
 who had come to ask for posts of honor in the ranks of the 
 the Piedmontese army. Those who had served in '48 
 and '49 obtained their grades, and the new men were en- 
 rolled, as simple soldiers, in the cavalry, or in some other 
 arm of the service. Many enlisted in the volunteers that 
 were being organized; of which the first were called the 
 "Cacciatori delle Alpi." They were commanded by 
 Garibaldi. General Cialdini had charge of their forma- 
 tion, and Colonel Cosenz had command of their first 
 post which was located at Cuneo. The stream of volun- 
 teers soon became a torrent. In a short space of time 
 nearly three thousand of them arrived. 
 
 The Government appointed a recruiting committee 
 and charged it with sifting out the young men, and send- 
 ing them, according to the exigencies of their respective 
 cases, to the regular army, or to the volunteers. This 
 committee was composed of some officers and some ci- 
 Anlians, of whom I was one.'* For the youths who had 
 received their doctor's degree, or an equivalent diploma, 
 a school for the education of ofiicers was established 
 at Ivrea. I immediately made a demand to be admitted 
 and, being declared able, I began to study the military 
 regulations. Emilio, when I informed him of my de- 
 cision, embraced me with tears in his eyes. 
 
 I soon began to know masses of people from all parts 
 of Italy; and Emilio, moreover, presented me to Giu- 
 seppe Massari, who knew everybody and everything. 
 Massari saw Cavour frequently, and was occasionally 
 
 319 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 employed by him. He had friends, also, among the min- 
 isters, so his information was most reliable. I passed the 
 evenings usually in the cafes, where I met my friends; 
 and sometimes I visited the houses Arese and Correnti. 
 Francesco Arese had emigrated in 1 848. At his house the 
 staff, if I may so speak, of the immigrants, and the prin- 
 cipal statesmen of Piedmont met. The conversation 
 was always very patriotic, but it was also very circum- 
 spect, Arese, to whom the cause of independence owes 
 so much, understood the difficulties in which Napoleon 
 (who was suspected in Europe, and isolated in France) 
 had to proceed. 
 
 More in accord with popular feeling was the conver- 
 sation in Casa Correnti. There the young and the old, 
 the Albertisti and the converted Mazziniani, came to- 
 gether. There came, also, some of the Parisian exiles, 
 who now flocked to Turin, convinced that Cavour was 
 to lead European politics. I knew many of the brave 
 men of '48 and '49 who had come from abroad, and also 
 from every part of Italy. 
 
 At last I had the pleasure of meeting Sirtori. The 
 former ardent republican now proclaimed that Italy 
 should henceforth have faith in Vittorio Emanuele and 
 in Napoleon. Diff'ering from some other military chiefs 
 of the quarantotto, he did not desire to join the volun- 
 teers, since, at this time ( I do not know why) , he was not 
 on friendly terms with Garibaldi. Later on, however, he 
 became reconciled with him, and embarked with the 
 Mille.* Sirtori's manners and his voice greatly affected 
 me. Tall, lean, with the long hair of a Nazarene, when 
 * "The Thousand" who went with Garibaldi to Sicily. 
 320 
 
Sirtori 
 
 he spoke in his modest, gentle way, he seemed inspired. 
 Men talked of his acts of bravery during the siege of 
 Venice, of his high character, and of the purity of his 
 life. Though he had abandoned the priesthood, he al- 
 ways kept his sacerdotal vows. 
 
 I must note that, upon the warm atmosphere of our 
 enthusiasm, many a cold breeze of doubt blew. They 
 came from the hostility of the Powers, or the aversion of 
 France to embark upon a war for Italy. Cavour knew, 
 better than any other person, in what a perilous sea he 
 was navigating; but he kept on his course as if he were 
 sure of his end. When the people gathered to see him 
 leave the Parliament house, and saluted him, he re- 
 sponded always cheerfully, as he rubbed his hands to- 
 gether. The people studied his face, and sought to look 
 into his eyes, scintillating behind his glasses. What 
 doubt and anxiety were masked behind that fine, large, 
 and serene countenance! 
 
 But what had happened to my friends who had been 
 arrested in Milan ? There were four of them : Costantino 
 Garavaglia, Costanzo Carcano, Dr. Signoroni, and the 
 Negro Latif . They remained in prison three months, ac- 
 cused of complicity in the Dandolo demonstration. Their 
 examiner was a German, named Fliik. For a time they 
 were in grave peril, as the commanding general desired 
 that they should be taken to the castle to be judged by 
 martial law; but the President of the tribunal, Lan- 
 franchi, opposed this move, and appealed to Vienna, 
 which sustained him. The trial was terminated a few 
 days before the battle of Magenta, and the accused were 
 dismissed for lack of evidence. Among the people who 
 
 321 
 
'Memoirs of Youth 
 
 were examined was the Contessa Ermellina. I have re- 
 quested from her the particulars of her examination, 
 and she has furnished me with the following state- 
 ment : — 
 
 After midnight of the 24th of February, an unknown 
 person came to my house, and said: "Warn Conte Ignazio 
 Lana, the Visconti, the Carcano, the Caccianino, Garava- 
 glia, Ulrich, Signoroni, the Marchesa Carolina CrivelH, 
 and your other friends, that they will be arrested this very 
 night!" Though it was late, I tried my best to send notice 
 of this warning, but I did not wholly succeed. Towards 
 morning, the Commissary Galimberti came with some 
 guards, and asked for my husband, and searched the 
 house, and took the Negro Latif. During the search, I was 
 able to destroy a package of papers that Emilio had con- 
 fided to me. The same morning, accompanied by Carlo 
 d' Adda, I went to the Criminal Tribunal to inquire about 
 Latif, and was received by the Counselor Fliik. He took 
 me to see him, and I gave him courage, and asked the 
 counselor to see that he lacked for nothing. 
 
 The next day I was summoned and subjected to a long 
 examination by Fliik. I denied all that I could deny. 
 
 "And now where is the crown.?" he inquired. 
 
 " I took it from the grave, and hid it under my cloak. I 
 keep it as a sacred memorial." 
 
 "Signora, you will consign the crown to me?" 
 
 "I do not wish to do so," I replied. 
 
 "Very well, I will return it after the trial; but write a 
 note and send for it, as you must remain here until it 
 comes." 
 
 A short time afterwards the crown was on his desk, and a 
 debate arose between us concerning its colors. 
 
 "White, red, and green," said the counselor. 
 
 "Excuse me, yellow," I replied. In fact the white 
 camellias had become yellow after having been buried. 
 
Examination of Contessa Ermellina 
 
 "I know no yellow camellias," insisted the counselor. 
 
 "They are there," I replied. 
 
 "Very well; write yellow camellias," said he, turning 
 impatiently to his secretary. 
 
 The day after there was another summons for my hus- 
 band and me. 
 
 "And your husband?" 
 
 "He is at Turin, having gone there to assist at a funeral 
 service for my poor Emilio, promoted by Cavour." 
 
 "We know it; but do you know, Signora Contessa, that 
 I can have you put in prison?" 
 
 "I know you can do what you desire," I replied, "but I 
 am not afraid of fires of straw." 
 
 "That's enough. Be prudent, Signora," concluded he 
 laughingly. 
 
 Then he bade me not to leave Milan; yet a few days 
 after he gave me permission to go to Switzerland to see my 
 mother, and sent the Negro home. Latif also had been 
 subjected to examination, but they drew nothing from 
 him. Many other persons likewise were summoned, and 
 examined, but uselessly. The crown remained hanging in 
 a closet off the counselor's room, who soon left Milan. 
 After the battle of Magenta, it was sent to my house with 
 an anonymous note which read: "I have permitted myself 
 to take two of the leaves as souvenirs." It is now in the 
 Museo del Risorgimento, together with the uniforms of my 
 dear Emilio and Enrico. 
 
 Ermellina Dandolo. 
 
 I take up again the thread of my narrative. One day 
 in March, I asked Cavour for an audience, which he 
 granted for the next morning at five o'clock. Whether 
 he remained awake or went to bed, he passed all his 
 nights at the ministry. When I arrived, an usher showed 
 me into a half-darkened room where, in a comer, I saw a 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 man wrapped in a cloak, with an old hat drawn over his 
 eyes. A little while after a valet entered, and spoke to 
 the man, and showed him into the cabinet of the Minis- 
 ter. He remained there about half an hour, and when he 
 came out, the valet whispered: "It is Garibaldi." Or- 
 dinarily Cavour received Garibaldi in his own house. 
 
 Several days after this, namely, on the 17th of March, 
 a decree was issued instituting the corps of volunteers 
 called the Cacciatori delle Alpi. Ten days after, a second 
 post of volunteers, under the command of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Giacomo Medici, was formed at Savigliano, and 
 a third, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel N. 
 Arduino, followed. On the 27th of April, Garibaldi was 
 nominated Major-General, and took command of the 
 corps. 
 
 The animation of the life of Turin increased from day 
 to day; but it was surprising for us, who remembered 
 the quarantotto, to see the discipline that was main- 
 tained. Though they knew that they would have to sus- 
 tain the chief shock, the Piedmontese were firm and 
 calm, and received everybody with fraternal hospitality. 
 A few, however, who were let into the secrets of the crisis, 
 were often disturbed. They knew that, at times, Ca- 
 vour pushed ahead, while Napoleon held back. In his 
 heart the Emperor desired the war, but he was discour- 
 aged and impeded. The publication of the diplomatic 
 papers, that have since come to light, show how much 
 opposition he met with on the part of the ministers, the 
 officers, and the people, of France; and how the hostile 
 isolation in which he was left in Europe restrained him. 
 
 Massari told me that Napoleon had desired to know, 
 
 324 
 
Dubious Rumors from Paris 
 
 by means of the gendarmes, what the pubHc opinion of 
 France was in regard to a war with Austria, and that he 
 had not received a single favorable report; that the peo- 
 ple were sympathetic for Italy ; but that all were against 
 war. Massari had this from Cavour, who was passing 
 days of feverish anxiety; but nothing of this was seen on 
 his face, or in his language, except by his intimate friends. 
 To them, occasionally, he manifested his impatience, 
 and gave vent to his fears. "I will march with France 
 and diplomacy as long as I am able," he exclaimed one 
 day, "and then I will put fire to every corner of Italy, 
 to Hungary, everywhere; and there will be war." 
 
 In the interim he did not cease to animate all with his 
 audacity; and no one became disheartened even when 
 things did not look all couleur de rose. I recall, one day, 
 that Massari took me to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 to see Cavour, and we found his private secretary Ar- 
 tom in an anteroom. He invited us to see the cabinet, 
 and we entered, and made some remark upon its small- 
 ness. "Yet it is from here," Cavour said, as he rose smil- 
 ing and rubbing his hands, "it is from here that Europe 
 is moved." 
 
 It is not my task to treat of politics, and to narrate 
 that which happened behind the scenes. The many doc- 
 uments whicla are coming to light amply record the 
 events of these days, and portray the chief actors in 
 them. I was only a modest citizen who saw some things 
 from the body of the house, which I here describe. 
 
 The report that a congress had been proposed by Eng- 
 land was true; and it was true that Napoleon had ac- 
 cepted it, and that his telegram to Cavour read: "Ac- 
 
 32s 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 cept." Later on, it was known that Napoleon knew that 
 war had been decided upon in the Council of the Em- 
 pire of Austria, and that it was then that he had decided 
 to accept England's proposal, and had advised Cavour to 
 do the same; so that the responsibility for the war would 
 be thrown upon Austria. 
 
 We talked with dismay of a congress; but no one be- 
 lieved it would take place; when, suddenly, a rumor ran 
 that the Imperial Ministry had sent an ultimatum to 
 the Royal Government demanding disarmament. How 
 much did not Austria contribute to giving us back the 
 independence she had taken from us! To confirm the 
 rumor, Cavour convoked Parliament (the 23d of April), 
 to explain events and to ask for full powers before the 
 Austrian envoys should arrive. They were Baron Kel- 
 lesperg, Vice-President of the Austrian Lieutenancy, 
 and Conte Ceschi di Santa Croce. During the session, 
 a dispatch came announcing the departure of the en- 
 voys from Milan. 
 
 I had the good fortune to assist at this memorable 
 session. Cavour, radiant and calm, told of his negotia- 
 tions with the great Powers for a congress, and for an 
 eventual disarmament; then he spoke of the attitude of 
 Austria, and asked for full powers. The deputies as- 
 sembled immediately in their chamber and elected a 
 committee and a reporter of the law, who was the av- 
 vocato Chiaves. They returned to the hall two hours 
 after with the committee, and recommended the unani- 
 mous adoption of the proposal; whereupon all the de- 
 puties rose to their feet in the attitude of a people 
 strong and resolute; the public applauded; handker^ 
 
 326 
 
Declaration of War 
 
 chiefs were waved; tiiere was a crying and a shedding of 
 tears; it was a delirium. 
 
 When Cavour was informed that the envoys had ar- 
 rived, he went to meet them. To one of them he said: 
 " I come from the last meeting of the Parliament of Pied- 
 mont; the next one will be of Italy." They gave him a 
 letter from the Minister Buol. It was the ultimatum of 
 Austria, a demand for disarmament, which Cavour, ten 
 months previously, with the instinct of genius, had fore- 
 told to Giulini. Three days after, Cavour replied to the 
 envoys, and refused their demand. On the 29th, Vit- 
 torio Emanuele addressed a noble and vigorous proclam- 
 ation to his army and people, in which he announced the 
 war. Immediately thereafter, Napoleon broke off rela- 
 tions with Austria. 
 
 In the midst of so many alternate hopes and fears 
 the behavior of the people of Turin was admirable; all 
 showed themselves to be filled with a sentiment of duty. 
 Thus it is that a people becomes master of its fate and, 
 attains to its high destiny. A movement of an Austrian 
 v_aQiiycorps towards Biella led us to believe that the 
 enemywanted to'littack 'rurinTeiore the~arrival of "tKe~ 
 French. The city was defended only by the National 
 Guard, as the army was concentrated between Alessan- 
 dria and Casale. The citizens immediately prepared to 
 defend the town, and would have done so valiantly if the 
 Austrians had not retired. 
 
 Correnti, in whose house I had made the acquaintance 
 of Luigi Mezzacapo, gave me one evening a hint that Ca- 
 vour had a plan of inciting the Emilia to rebel as soon as 
 the Austrians had passed the Ticino. He told me that 
 
 327 
 
 N 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 Mezzacapo was to go to Bologna, to take command of 
 the volunteer corps which was to be formed there, and 
 that he intended taking some young men with him, and 
 asked me if I would like to be one of them. I accepted 
 with alacrity, and the next day I met Mezzacapo, and 
 came to an understanding with him. 
 
 Nearly all the youths who joined Mezzacapo followed 
 the profession of arms, and such would have been my 
 career, at least, for some time, if Mars had been favor- 
 able; but he did not want my services, so I remained in 
 civil life, as we shall see. Cavour had nominated a Lom- 
 bard commission to take measures for the administrative 
 decrees that the Government would have to publish. 
 They would necessarily have to be provisional, as they 
 would leave the present regulations effective, and would 
 merely bring them into harmony with the liberal laws of 
 Piedmont. The members of this commission were Conte 
 Cesare Giulini (its president), Correnti, my brother 
 Emilio, Allievi, Conte Oldofredi, Luigi Torelli, Enrico 
 Guicciardi, some others, and myself. As I was the 
 youngest, I became its secretary. The commission met 
 every day for a week, and then presented its report to 
 Cavour, who drew from it the decrees which were pub- 
 lished when Vigliani was appointed Governor of Lom- 
 bardy. 
 
 I learned many things during the sessions of the com- 
 mission; but I was impatient to get away, to see the sol- 
 diers going into camp, or to watch for the coming of the 
 French at the Susa Gate. In the crowd that waited 
 daily, I saw a young cavalry officer who stood aside and 
 seemed especially preoccupied. When the first French 
 
 328 
 
Arrival of French 'Troops 
 
 regiment came, he looked fixedly at it, and his eyes filled 
 with tears. The same evening, I heard that this officer 
 was the Due de Chartres. He had seen the soldiers of 
 France, for the first time since the 24th of February, 
 1848, when, as a child, he went with his mother to the 
 House of Deputies, and thence into exile. After this regi- 
 ment, many others followed; and all were received with 
 the greatest enthusiasm. A soldier of the infantry was 
 one day heard to say: "Veux-tu des cigares,un absinthe, 
 un grog? Crie 'Vive 1' Italic,' et tu auras tout ce que 
 tu voudras." 
 
 Among the number of my friends that came from ex- 
 ile was Carlo De Cristoforis. It was six years since we 
 had parted from one another, and how many things he 
 had suffered! He was in the uniform of a captain of the 
 Cacciatori delle Alpi, and told me he had come to Turin 
 to expedite a matter that had been entrusted to him by 
 Colonel Medici. He had met a number of friends, and 
 he wanted us all to dine with him. Carletto manifested, 
 during the dinner, all his accustomed gayety, and told us 
 many anecdotes of his life in exile. He had been a pupil 
 in the school of the staff in Paris, a professor of the art 
 of fortification in a military college in London, and a 
 captain and an instructor of the Anglo-Italian Legion 
 formed at Malta during the Crimean War. He had been 
 constantly occupied with military studies, and had writ- 
 ten a book, "Che cosa sia la guerra." * It is still highly 
 prized by students of the science of war. He told us, 
 moreover, of his regiment, and of his company which 
 was marching towards the frontier. The thought that, 
 
 •"WhatisWarf" 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 in a few days, there would be a cxjmbat with the Aus- 
 trians, transported him with joy. 
 
 When the company dissolved, Carlo asked me to ac- 
 company him to the station. In waiting for his train, we 
 promenaded up and down, and he continued to entertain 
 me with a thousand comic incidents; then, when his 
 train was announced, he became very serious, and em- 
 braced me, and said: "It is the last time I say good-bye 
 to you, dear Gino; we shall see one another no more. My 
 life has been a sequence of adventures, and, hitherto, I 
 have come out safe. My aspiration has been to fight for 
 Italy, and then to serve in the regular army. Now that 
 my desire is approaching, I shall die. Yes, dear Gino, 
 I have the presentiment of it — this time I shall not 
 save my skin." He smiled, then exclaimed: "Adieu! 
 adieu! remember me!" 
 
 The train started, and I was left frantic with grief. A 
 few days after, on the 22d of May, he died at the head of 
 his company in the assault upon San Fermo! 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 (i8S9) 
 
 My brother is nominated Royal Gommissioner. — The instructions given him by 
 Cavour. — He telegraphs me to join him. — I leave Turin. — I cross 
 Lago Maggiore by night. — Arrival at Varese. — I see Garibaldi as he comes 
 from Como. — Orders for raising the country. — Counter-orders. — They 
 arrive too late. — A committee from the province of Sondrio asks for help. — 
 I am made by the Royal Commissioner a charge d'affaires for the Valtellina. 
 — Patriotic festivities. — The condition of the Valtellina. 
 
 THE evening of the 22d of May I was seated with 
 some friends in the Cafe Fiorio, when a messenger 
 entered and spoke to the proprietor, who thereupon came 
 to our table and, showing a letter, asked if any one of us 
 was the person to whom it was addressed. The letter 
 was for my brother. The messenger had been ordered to 
 search the town until he should find him, and the matter 
 seemed so important that I went with him to a cafe 
 which Emilio frequented, and there, indeed, we found 
 him. A half-hour later we all three mounted the steps 
 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The letter had said 
 simply that Luigi Farini, in the name of Cavour, begged 
 Emilio to come to the Ministry. Such an invitation 
 was no small thing; hence I was both curious and anx- 
 ious, and I accompanied my brother, and waited for 
 him in the anteroom. When he came forth, he was 
 accompanied by both Farini and Cavour, who saluted 
 him with much politeness. 
 
 "Well?" I asked when we were on the stairs. 
 
 "Well, I am going," he replied. "Come with me to 
 the hotel, as I have scarcely time to pack my valise." 
 
 "And where are you going?" 
 
 331 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 "I am going to join Garibaldi, who will pass the Ti- 
 cino to-morrow morning. I must be with him to assume 
 the office of Royal Commissioner." 
 
 In regard to his interview and his instructions he told 
 me very little. From the hotel we went to the station, 
 where we found a clerk, who gave Emilio a number of 
 letters, one of which was addressed to Cialdini, who was 
 to pass him beyond our advance posts at Vercelli. As 
 the whistle of the locomotive sounded, Emilio said: 
 "Wait a few days, and see what will happen; perhaps it 
 may be well for you to join me." 
 
 Some months after, I learned from Farini why it was 
 that Emilio had been summoned, and what took place 
 in Cavour's salon. Garibaldi was to assault the Austrian 
 flank in Lombardy, and exhort the country to rise. Ca- 
 vour desired, as he said to Emilio, that the French 
 should find a country in insurrection, and not seem to 
 be the liberators of a submissive people. Yet, though he 
 wanted the revolution to break out, he desired to guide 
 it. It was necessary, therefore, to place by Garibaldi's 
 side a politician to direct the movement and to keep it 
 within proper limits. For several days the Minister had 
 tried to find the right person for this office, but no one, to 
 whom it was offered, would accept it. To have Garibaldi 
 pass the frontier without a Royal Commissioner made 
 Cavour furious, and he loudly declaimed against those 
 who had refused the post. 
 
 Then Farini said: "Why not look for some one among 
 the well-known immigrants?" 
 
 "With more and more reason they will say 'no,' " an- 
 swered Cavour. 
 
 332 
 
Kmilio made Royai Commissioner 
 
 "Who knows? Suppose you should ask EmiHo Vis- 
 conti? He is popular in Lombardy, and for many rea- 
 sons is available." 
 
 "True, but how can I offer him this post ? If he should 
 be taken prisoner the Austrians would treat him as a 
 rebel, and have him shot." 
 
 When Emilio arrived, Cavour placed the situation of 
 affairs before him, and said he did not dare to insist upon 
 his accepting the office. Whereupon my brother re- 
 plied: — 
 
 "The office is a delicate one, and is full of difficulties; 
 nevertheless, if you believe I can fill it, I will try. 
 Whether the danger is greater or less is a consideration 
 that we yoimg Lombards have put aside. For some time 
 past, in Lombardy, the gallows has only been one mal- 
 ady the more; therefore I do not think of it. When 
 shall I start.?" 
 
 "Immediately. Garibaldi is marching at this very 
 hour toward the frontier, and I think it absolutely ne- 
 cessary that the first proclamations and the initial acts 
 should be made in the name if the King by his commis- 
 
 sioner." 
 
 "Then there is no time to lose. I will run to my hotel, 
 and pack up." 
 
 "And I will have a special train prepared for you, and 
 write to Cialdini to send you beyond our advance posts, 
 so that you may join Garibaldi as soon as possible." 
 
 Then Cavour gave Emilio his verbal instructions: to 
 bring about a revolt in the Lombard districts; to come 
 to an understanding with the most active people; to 
 avail himself of the old Mazzinian elements; to reorgan- 
 
 333 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 ize the revolution under the formula: "Italia e Vittorio 
 Emanuele " ; and to give the most explicit assurances re- 
 garding the broad national policy of the Government. 
 He instructed him, in conclusion, to reinforce the muni- 
 cipalities by calling upon the authoritative and patriotic 
 citizens to take part therein, and laid stress upon the 
 fact that the most delicate and important part of his 
 mission was to keep his actions in harmony with Gari- 
 baldi's. 
 
 When Farini told me of this interview he added that 
 Cavour conceived immediately a feeling of high regard 
 for Emilio, who had made an excellent impression upon 
 him. Cavour, as all men of action, liked the people who 
 understood him at once, and who raised no difficulties. 
 He had a strong aversion for the doubtful and the boast- 
 ful, the tellers of long stories, and the users of "but." 
 
 I passed the next day in great anxiety, as, to many of 
 my friends, Emilio's office seemed a perilous one. How- 
 ever, I kept quiet, and only talked with Giulini and 
 Arese, who were in the confidence of the Minister. They 
 thought I ought to join my brother; and all doubt was 
 removed when I received a dispatch from him, asking 
 me to go to Vercelli, and come after him. I immediately 
 asked for letters and a permit to pass beyond our out- 
 posts, and I also notified Mezzacapo of my inability to 
 join him, and left. 
 
 The Intendant of Vercelli, the Cavaliere Boschi, re- 
 ceived me most kindly, gave me much information, and 
 provided a carriage with which to continue my journey. 
 
 I left, in the night, in the company of two citizens who 
 were going to join Garibaldi. After crossing the ground 
 
 334 
 
I go to join Kmilio in Lombardy 
 
 occupied by Cialdini, we saluted our last sentinel, and 
 went forward at a venture, traveling by the by-roads, 
 until we came to Arona. There we received the first news 
 of Garibaldi's movement, and of the fortunate encounter 
 that had been sustained by Captain De Cristoforis. 
 Garibaldi passed the Ticino with six battalions of the 
 Cacciatori, three hundred riflemen, and fifty mounted 
 guides, in all, with thirty-two hundred troops. 
 
 Arona had put itself in a state of defense, by raising 
 a barricade along its port, and by posting behind it some 
 of its National Guard: but they were soon overthrown 
 and scattered, by the Radetzky, an Austrian gunboat. 
 This incident made me think that it would be difficult 
 to cross the lake. 
 
 The next day a messenger came with a dispatch from 
 Emilio. The Mayor, who knew that I was a brother of 
 the Commissioner, called me, and I heard from him 
 many particulars of the fight that had taken place at 
 Varese. The messenger also gave us a copy of the proc- 
 lamation that the Commissioner had published when he 
 entered Lombardy, and his bulletins on the battle of 
 Varese. The proclamation and the bulletins were read 
 by the Mayor to the public amid great enthusiasm.'* 
 
 In the interim I made the acquaintance of two Gari- 
 baldian officers, who were planning to cross the lake in 
 order to carry four mountain howitzers to their general. 
 They were Griziotti and the author, Ippolito Nievo, 
 whose writings I had often admired. It was arranged 
 that I should go with them. As the Radetzky continued 
 to sail to and fro, we had to be wary, but, finally, on the 
 night of the 28th, we arranged for our departure by 
 
 335 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 means of a system of signals by lights, and soon gained 
 the Lombard shore. We placed the howitzers upon a 
 wagon, and under cover of the night brought them 
 safely next morning to Varese. 
 
 Varese was most animated : the streets were crowded, 
 and the tricolored flags were everywhere to be seen. I 
 soon heard that Garibaldi was expected with the greater 
 part of his troops. But why had he turned back.'' The 
 reason I learned afterwards from Emilio, who had re- 
 mained at Como. But while I was seeking for informa- 
 tion, behold a crowd of people came along. Some were 
 shouting, and some were clapping their hands to the 
 music of "La Bella Gigogin." Garibaldi had arrived. 
 
 Preceded by an advance guard, and followed by some 
 of his battalions, he marched slowly through the midst 
 of the people. He was dressed in the uniform of a Pied- 
 montese general, which was left unbuttoned. He had a 
 silk handkerchief about his neck, and in his hand he 
 carried his customary switch. He smiled and saluted 
 right and left. The volunteers mixed with the people, 
 and raised their hats to the thousands of ewivas that 
 resounded through the air. To the noisy joyfulness of 
 some, the quiet restraint of others offered a great con- 
 trast. These last had lost a friend, or a brother, at San 
 Fermo. I, too, was in smiles until, walking along with 
 some of my friends, I heard the names of those who 
 had fallen. Among them were Pedotti, Cartellieri, one 
 of the Cairoli, Giacomo Battaglia, and Carlo De Cris- 
 toforis. My joy disappeared, as my eyes became suf- 
 fused with tears. Battaglia and De Cristoforis were two 
 of my dearest friends. They were both killed at San 
 
 336 
 
Orders for raising the Country 
 
 Fermo and both had presentiments of their approach- 
 ing end. 
 
 I asked for the particulars of their deaths, and talked 
 with some who had seen them fall. Medici had ordered 
 the company of De Cristoforis to attack the enemy's 
 position, and Carlo had hurled himself at the assault. 
 While at the head of his company with his sword raised 
 on high, his breast was torn open by the fire of the Aus- 
 trians, and he fell. He was carried, dying, to the am- 
 bulance of his brother. Dr. Malachia. A little while 
 after, Battaglia and Cartellieri were killed. In the same 
 battle, and at the same hour, fell these young men who 
 were among the best that Lombardy had given to the 
 volunteers. De Cristoforis would have been one of our 
 best general officers, Battaglia would have come to the 
 front in literature and politics, and Cartellieri was al- 
 ready distinguished for his juristic studies. 
 
 In the crowd around Garibaldi, I saw some citizens of 
 Sondrio, who hastened to give me the news from Valtel- 
 lina. This is what had happened. Captain Montanari, 
 by order ofiGaribaldi, had gone from Varese to Magadino 
 to consult with various patriots and induce them to 
 incite the country to rebel. In consequence, a few dis- 
 tricts of the Lago di Como had risen; and some of the 
 guards and police had been made prisoners. And a 
 committee from Sondrio had likewise gone to Como to 
 consult the Commissioner, who had advised them to 
 return and arouse the province. His advice was fol- 
 lowed. In Valtellina the guards were imprisoned, the 
 Austrian arms were torn down, and the tricolored flags 
 were flown. 
 
 337 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 In the interim Garibaldi and the Commissioner- 
 General received word from headquarters that the move- 
 ment forward would have to be retarded; and General 
 Urban prepared to take the offensive. He threatened 
 Garibaldi's rear, and obHged him to retreat toward La- 
 veno, leaving only a small force at Como. Thereupon 
 orders to await events were given to the districts that 
 had rebelled. 
 
 In Valtellina the counter-order had arrived the day- 
 after the insurrection had begun. It is, therefore, not 
 to be wondered at that a feeling of panic followed the 
 enthusiasm of the day before; so a new committee de- 
 scended in haste, and ran to Garibaldi. They were anx- 
 ious to have exact information, and to ask for help for 
 fear that the valley would be left without defence. Gari- 
 baldi told them: "It is probable that I will go to Val- 
 tellina later on, but do not count upon me now, as I can- 
 not give you a soldier. Defend yourselves as best you 
 can. Give arms to as many as can carry them, and se- 
 lect some one to lead you. If you are beaten, disappear 
 and give yourselves a rendezvous at some point in your 
 mountains; then return to the attack. Keep the insur- 
 rection alive until I come; and nominate a head." 
 
 As the committee saw that they could obtain nothing 
 more, they resigned themselves to having a commis- 
 sioner with full powers; for they did not want to return 
 empty-handed. It was then that the idea came into 
 their heads of proposing me, whom they had just met, 
 and who was of the country. Garibaldi approved the 
 proposal, and said to them: "Go to Como, and come 
 to an understanding with the Commissioner, Emilio 
 
 338 
 
/ am sent to the Valtellina 
 
 Visconti, and say that you are in agreement with 
 
 me." 
 
 After this interview they sought me out, and told me 
 the arrangement they had made with Garibaldi, and in- 
 sisted that I should accept the office, I refused at first, 
 dismayed by the difficulties that confronted me; but I 
 agreed at length to go to Como and consult my brother, 
 Emilio told me that the movements of the French had 
 been delayed, because of which our offensive operations 
 would not take place for several days; that in the mean 
 time Urban was preparing to revenge himself upon Gari- 
 baldi with a superior force, and had sent word to the 
 commander of the Swiss troops that he should defend 
 the frontier, and be prepared to disarm the Garibal- 
 dians when he, Urban, should drive them beyond the 
 boundaries. 
 
 Garibaldi left only two companies at Como, which 
 prepared to defend itself, but which could be taken 
 without much difficulty. Therefore Emilio was prepar- 
 ing to move the wounded to Menaggio, and to pass to 
 Lecco with the troops, in case he had to abandon Como, 
 and could not join Garibaldi immediately. 
 
 Emilio encouraged me to accept the post that had 
 been offered, and, as he had power to appoint local com- 
 missioners with the approval of Garibaldi, he had my 
 appointment made out. I passed a part of the day with 
 the committee in making the necessary arrangements; 
 then we went to Colico by one of the boats that were 
 held at the disposal of the insurgents. When we arrived 
 at Valtellina, I perceived that my companions had had 
 our coming announced, and, that, to make up for the 
 
 339 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 lack of immediate support, they had exaggerated the 
 promise for the future. Everywhere there were pro- 
 cessions with banners and music, led by the municipal 
 olj&cers and the clergy; and everywhere there were 
 hand-shakings and speeches. The arrival of a Royal 
 Commissioner meant that the coming of Garibaldi or 
 the soldiers of the King would not be long delayed, 
 and that the liberty of the country was secure. 
 
 This would follow, of course; but in the mean time the 
 Royal Commissioner came alone, without aid, and with- 
 out the prospect of having any very soon. The festivi- 
 ties gave me a heartache, thinking how things would 
 change if the truth were known. But it was necessary 
 to keep the insurrection alive, and make preparations to 
 resist any possible attack. I opened, therefore, the bat- 
 tery of my rhetoric, and sought to set on fire the popular 
 heart. At Morbegno I made arrangements to keep in 
 communication with Como and Lecco; then we went to 
 Sondrio, where we were received with ewivas and hymns; 
 and there was even an attempt at an illumination. 
 Tired and exhausted, I had to make my final discourse in 
 the piazza; and I hope that no one kept any notes of 
 what I said! 
 
 After having received several friends who came to 
 salute me, I passed a part of the night with G. B. Caimi 
 and some others in examining the situation. I told them 
 how matters stood, and they gave me the local news. 
 The prospect was not reassuring. Colonel Francesco 
 Carrano in his book "I Cacciatori delle Alpi, e la Cam- 
 pagna di Garibaldi in Lombardia nel 1859 " says little or 
 nothing of the events in the Valtellina, and is contented 
 
 340 
 
The Condition of the Valtellina 
 
 to reproduce the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Medici, 
 who commanded the advance guard of Garibaldi's corps, 
 a report which, although important, has reference simply 
 to military actions. I will endeavor to supply the lacuna, 
 collecting my notes and documents of this period, which 
 extended from June i, 1859, to the Peace of Villafranca. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 (i8S9) 
 
 Proclamations at Sondrio. — Movements of the Austrians from the Stelvio. — 
 Defenses of Valtellina. — Disagreements in regard to the defenses. — Re- 
 connoitering by the Austrians. — Exaggerated rumors and panic. — Costan- 
 tino luvalta, of Teglio. — A professor of German surprised. — DiflScuIt 
 communications. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after my arrival at Sondrio, that is, 
 on the 5th of June, the municipality proclaimed its 
 revolt and its desire for annexation to Piedmont. The 
 Podesta, Nobile Gaudenzio Guicciardi, announced this 
 to the people in a courageous proclamation. I an- 
 nounced my appointment as a representative of the 
 Royal Commissioner-General, instituted the National 
 Guard and the Guard Mobile, and published some meas- 
 ures of public security. From some friends, who came 
 to see me, I learned of the serious illness of Romualdo 
 Bonfadini upon whom I was relying for assistance, and 
 I was also informed by them of the movements of the 
 Austrians. General Huyn had sent from Venosta some 
 companies of Tyrolese cacciatori to occupy Bormio; and 
 some strong patrols had advanced as far as the bridge of 
 Grosio. 
 
 At Sondrio a squadron of volunteers was immediately 
 formed, clothed in some great-coats abandoned by the 
 Austrians, and armed as well as circumstances permitted. 
 Commanded by Ercole Quadrio, they were hurried for- 
 ward to occupy the village of Tresenda which is situated 
 at the place where the Aprica and Stelvio roads unite. 
 Another company took up a position at the Ponte 
 
 342 
 
Defenses of Valtellina 
 
 del Diavolo, a place where the valley is narrowed down 
 to the road and the river Adda. There they hastily 
 constructed a barricade. This company was commanded 
 by Antonio Lucini, of Tirano, who had been an officer 
 of the volunteers in 1848. 
 
 When the Austrians descended to attack the barri- 
 cade, a large number of the defenders found themselves 
 under fire for the first time; yet they stood firm and re- 
 pelled the attack. To Lucini and his company I sent an 
 order of the day, with thanks for their brave defense, as 
 was both right and opportune. The news of this first 
 skirmish was soon diffused throughout the valley; all 
 spoke of it with satisfaction, but all in their hearts were 
 more alarmed than reassured, believing that it might be 
 the attack of the Austrian advance guard in a movement 
 to reoccupy the valley. 
 
 A large part of the bravest youths had departed to en- 
 list in the volunteers or in the regular army; arms were 
 lacking; the treasury was depleted; and communications 
 with Lake Como and with Garibaldi were uncertain. 
 We were, in a word, isolated, and without resources, and 
 besides, I knew the difficult position (shown me by 
 Emilio) in which Garibaldi had been placed. My hope 
 was to gain time. Disagreements suddenly arose regard- 
 ing the best ways of defense. Some wanted to concen- 
 trate our strength at Tresenda and Aprica; and surely 
 this would have been our wisest course, as we should 
 have been upon the backs of the Austrians who were 
 at Edolo. But this plan did not please the people of 
 High Valtellina. It is to be observed that if the Aus- 
 trians had really wished to advance, they could easily 
 
 343 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 have done so, no matter what position we might have 
 taken. 
 
 At Tirano, where I went to consult the authorities, I 
 saw my mother whom I had not seen since the evening of 
 my flight from Milan. She had remained in the city until 
 after the declaration of war, then had retired to Tirano 
 to seek, in better air, some relief from the fears and anx- 
 ieties that had so much shaken her. My brother En- 
 rico had remained in town, kept there by family affairs, 
 and also by a desire to be present in the unfolding of 
 events. How many good talks I had with my mother! 
 And how many things we had to tell one another, after 
 these months of joy and anguish ! Our mother was ever 
 full of fear for us, and, at the same time, she was happy 
 because her heart was filled with love of her country. 
 
 My first acts at Sondrio were to publish decrees for 
 securing arms, for inaugurating a committee of enlist- 
 ment, for calling out the soldiers who had not responded 
 to the summons of Austria, for creating the National 
 Guard in every commune, and for arranging for a partial 
 mobilization of the same. I also reorganized the muni- 
 cipal councils, but left the employees in their places pro- 
 visionally. The post of Delegate of the Province, as the 
 Prefect was then called, was vacant at this time. There 
 was, however, a Vice-Delegate (Signor Borroni), whom 
 I left in his place. These decrees and arrangements were 
 made in accordance with the instructions I had received 
 from Emilio. 
 
 All the local functionaries called upon me, and I en- 
 deavored to inspire them with a feeling of security that 
 I did not feel; but I observed that they all kept them- 
 
 344 
 
Exaggerated Rumors and Panic 
 
 selves a little apart until after the battle of Magenta, 
 As the volunteers came to me, I sent them, by squad- 
 rons, to the bridge of Grosio. These defenders afterwards 
 advanced to the Ponte del Diavolo, behind which they 
 constructed a strong fortification. 
 
 There was a barricade, also, at the bridge of Tresenda, 
 and an outpost was placed at the Aprica. These measures 
 served to tranquilize the public, and they served, too, to 
 make the Austrians more circumspect, for it is certain 
 that, in the days preceding the battle of Magenta, if the 
 Tyrolese cacciatori had desired to force a passage to 
 Colico, and harass Garibaldi, they could have done so; 
 but audacity fortunately was lacking in their comman- 
 der. Even when they attacked our defenses at the Ponte 
 del Diavolo, they were uncertain, and never pushed for- 
 ward resolutely. 
 
 The fears that preoccupied me now began to agitate 
 the public, especially after the news of Garibaldi's retro- 
 grade movement came to their ears. The significance of 
 this check was magnified, for we were without any in- 
 formation. Considerable time elapsed before I knew 
 that the battle of Palestro had taken place. The first 
 manifestation of fear was the demand for energetic meas- 
 ures against spies and informers. When I arrived at 
 Sondrio, I learned that some arbitrary arrests had been 
 made, and that others were threatened; so I appointed 
 a Committee of Public Security, and in making it up, I 
 chose temperate citizens who I knew would fulfill their 
 office with prudence. They were the Councilor Vertua, 
 Dr. Lambertenghi, Signor Giovanni Lambertenghi, and 
 Don Pietro Sertoli. The persons accused were those who 
 
 345 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 had generally been regarded with suspicion. One was an 
 employee of the police, a man named Olivari, the hus- 
 band of the wanton milliner, who in 1849, in Milan, had 
 been the cause of the demonstration that had resulted in 
 the whipping of men and women in the Piazza Castello. 
 
 Two little matters of some importance immediately 
 occupied my attention. The district of Teglio was 
 ruled by Costantino luvalta, a man of good family, but 
 of an overbearing disposition. He had passed his youth 
 in Vienna in relations, it was said, with the "big wigs." 
 The patriotic youth of the district had torn down the 
 Austrian arms and had raised some tricolored flags, but 
 luvalta had the arms replaced and the flags taken away. 
 Moreover, he gathered about him a group of devoted 
 contadini and made preparations to resist the national 
 movement in his district. Several Liberals, who were 
 threatened by him, had to fly. They came to me, and I 
 immediately asked G. B. Caimi, the commander of the 
 National Guard of Sondrio, to go by night to Teglio with 
 a company of militia, and to arrest luvalta and his lieu- 
 tenants, and to disperse the rest, if need be, with force. 
 
 The same evening a waiter of the hotel where I lodged 
 came to my office, and said that a lady, who did not wish 
 to give her name, begged me to come to the hotel, as she 
 desired to talk with me of urgent affairs. I went straight 
 to the hotel and to my room, where I found a veiled lady, 
 as in a romance. She was the wife of luvalta, the Sig- 
 nora luvalta Cattaneo, a cousin of mine. With this 
 charming relative my family had always been on excel- 
 lent terms, but not with her husband, whom I did not 
 know by sight. My cousin, with much agitation, told me 
 
 346 
 
Costantino luvalta, of 'Teglio 
 
 of the doings at Teglio, and said that there were two 
 local factions which were now facing one another and 
 ready to come to blows, and that bloodshed was inuni- 
 nent. 
 
 Having, in my turn, told her frankly my intention, she 
 replied that the National Guard would not be able to 
 save the life of her husband, as he would be murdered by 
 the triumphant faction, or by some one who wanted to 
 accomplish a vendetta. Whether the fears of my cousin 
 were exaggerated or not, it seemed to me it was my duty 
 to avoid the possibility of such an outcome, so I told her 
 to run to Teglio, and persuade her husband to take the 
 road to the mountains and safety. She left instanter, 
 and I was in time to tell Caimi what I had learned and 
 had done. Caimi went to Teglio, where, after the depart- 
 ure of luvalta, he easily arranged matters and restored 
 the tricolored flags. 
 
 Some days after, I received a long letter from luvalta, 
 from Switzerland, asking me for a safe-conduct so as to 
 go to any city I might indicate, in order to exculpate 
 himself before some judge of a court. I replied that he 
 would do well to stay where he was; that, when the war 
 was over and the country had become tranquil, he 
 could do what then seemed best. Later on he returned, 
 but thought no longer of making a clamorous defense of 
 his conduct. From an Austrian partisan, he became a 
 pronounced adversary of the Government and of myself; 
 terms which, for the rest, were inclusive. But my cou- 
 sin, as long as she lived, called regularly at our house, 
 deploring the conduct of her husband, and renewing the 
 expression of her thankfulness for my kindness. 
 
 347 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 The other matter was of more importance. The waiter 
 of my hotel aroused me one night, saying that some one 
 wanted to talk with me immediately. It was the ostler of 
 another hotel in Sondrio. He told me that a professor of 
 German, in the town Gymnasium, had gone into the 
 stable to chat with a carter, who had left for Edolo, and 
 that the professor had given him a package and a tip. 
 The ostler, who was lying upon some straw in an obscure 
 comer of the stable, had witnessed this, and had come 
 to see me, as he was sure that the professor and the 
 carter were spies. I arose at once and sent some intelli- 
 gent gendarmes to arrest the carter and search him. A 
 few hours after, he was in the quarters of the guards, and 
 the package was on my desk. In it, concealed among 
 some insignificant papers, I found a letter, written in 
 German, to a compatriot in Edolo. In this letter the pro- 
 fessor narrated the things that had taken place in the 
 Valtellina, and asked his correspondent to make them 
 known to a certain person who lived beyond the Tonale. 
 The professor said, among other things, that a Com- 
 missioner of the King of Piedmont had come to Sondrio 
 who had talked "big," and had announced the immedi- 
 ate coming of the Garibaldians, or of the regular troops; 
 but that it seemed to him that this announcement was 
 either untrue or premature; and he added that, outside 
 of a few volunteers who had been sent to the advance 
 posts, the rebels had no forces to oppose to an attack; 
 and concluded by saying that he would continue to send 
 information to his compatriot, but that, as correspond- 
 ing was becoming dangerous, he would write to him in 
 a cipher of which he sent him now the key. 
 
 348 
 
Difficult Communications 
 
 As this correspondence might become dangerous, I 
 had the professor arrested and sent before my commit- 
 tee. Naturally the affair became known, and there were 
 people who asked me when I should have the professor 
 shot; but the committee was of the opinion that the pro- 
 fessor, together with all persons arrested, or who might 
 be arrested, should be sent to the fortress of Alessan- 
 dria. And this was also my opinion. 
 
 In the interim I continued to write to my brother and 
 to tell him what had happened; to give him an account 
 of the precarious state of our affairs, and to urge the need 
 of Garibaldi sending some troops or, ar least, some offi- 
 cers. The call to arms had begun to show excellent re- 
 sults, but there was a lack of officers, and even of sub- 
 alterns, to organize and discipline the volunteers and 
 guardsmen. 
 
 One of my difficulties was that communication, which 
 was always slow, was now interrupted everywhere. I 
 was often without replies to my letters. There was no 
 telegraph in Valtellina until the end of 1859, when it 
 was installed by the National Government. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 (i8S9) 
 
 News of the battle of Magenta. — The Valtellina Battalion. — Captain Fran- 
 cesco Montanari. — The parish priest of Grosio. — The Swiss soldiers. — 
 — The Austrian spies. — A plan of attack upon Bormio. — I go to confer 
 with Garibaldi. — At Bergamo, in Casa Camozzi. — Garibaldi's headquar- 
 ters. — Captain Clemente Corte. — The Austrian prisoners. — Colonel 
 Thiirr. — Garibaldi's orders. 
 
 ALL at once news came that changed our doubts and 
 anxieties into joy. It was of the battle of Magenta. 
 I had also a letter from Emilio, who wrote that Garibaldi 
 had decided to send me a captain of staff, three or four 
 other officers, and a dozen soldiers, to instruct the Val- 
 tellinese troops. Moreover, a body of the mobilized 
 National Guard, among whom were about fifty vigorous 
 youths, came to me from Chiavenna. 
 
 The Garibaldian officers and soldiers arrived at Son- 
 drio the evening of the 5 th of June, and were received by 
 the population with shouts of clamorous joy. The cap- 
 tain, Francesco Montanari, presented his companions, 
 and gave me a letter from Garibaldi which, later on, was 
 to become very important. It contained the general's 
 instructions to him. The captain was charged with the 
 duty of organizing, as soon as possible, a battalion of 
 Valtellinese volunteers and of taking the command. As 
 the battalion would have a knowledge of the country, it 
 was to act as the advance guard of the Cacciatori delle 
 Alpi. In the mean time the commandant was to do no- 
 thing except by agreement with the Commissioner, upon 
 whom he was to rely, until the cacciatori should come. 
 
 3SO 
 
Captain Francesco Montanari 
 
 I invited the captain and his officers to dine the even- 
 ing of their arrival. Montanari said Httle, but drank 
 much, as he was very appreciative of the good wine of 
 Valtellina. At the end of the repast he proposed a prom- 
 enade, but it was impossible. The officers, one by one, 
 said good-bye, but the captain stretched himself upon a 
 sofa, and soon fell into a profound sleep. This was bad 
 enough, but when a crowd came with a band, playing 
 the popular air, and demanded a speech, I had to lock 
 the door of the room, in which he lay snoring, and go out 
 upon the balcony and say, sotto voce, that the captain 
 was very tired and was reposing. I begged the people, 
 therefore, to defer their demonstration. So all, in a patri- 
 otic silence, went away. 
 
 But the captain did not repose long enough. Early 
 the next morning he came in collision with Caimi, who 
 was as quiet as he was brave, and an altercation arose 
 that almost le4 to blows. Peace having been restored as 
 best it could, Montanari and I set out to visit the ad- 
 vance posts, to go through the country to drum up re- 
 cruits, and to encourage the municipalities to help us 
 clothe and arm our people. Before leaving Sondrio, the 
 captain desired to pass the guards in review. When 
 they were dravpn up, he proclaimed in a loud and menac- 
 ing voice: "Under the orders of the officer whom I will 
 give you, you are to depart this evening. It is under- 
 stood that you are from this moment enlisted as Caccia- 
 tori delle Alpi. You are soldiers and not mobilized 
 National Guards. If any coward does not accept this 
 condition, let him quit the ranks and go home." No one 
 dared to move or breathe. Afterwards several came and 
 
 3SI 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 expostulated, and I persuaded them to proceed, assur- 
 ing them that they would remain, as they were, mobil- 
 ized national guardsmen. 
 
 As we started upon our journey, the captain began to 
 unfold his ideas and plans, which he wanted me to ap- 
 prove. He was robust in appearance, and seemed to be 
 about thirty-five years of age. His face was sullen, and 
 the lower part of it was covered with a thick black beard. 
 His hollow voice, his way of speaking, his suspicious look, 
 and his ideas showed him to be (what indeed he was) the 
 conventional type of the old conspirator. He had passed 
 his life in conspiring, and had taken part in all the Maz- 
 zinian insurrections. He was of Modena, and had been 
 involved in the Mantuan trials of '53 but, as the Austrian 
 Government had not had sufficient evidence to convict 
 him, it handed him over to the Duke of Modena, who 
 put him in prison on his own account. He was certainly 
 an approved patriot, but his love of conspiracy, his ad- 
 ventures, and his experiences had made him lose sight of 
 the realities of life, which he subordinated to the necessi- 
 ties of the revolution. His was a character I was glad to 
 study, and I encouraged him to relate his adventures. 
 
 "Dear Commissioner," he said, as we walked along the 
 road, "General Garibaldi will not come very soon, so 
 that Valtellina ought to take care of itself, and there is 
 only one way." 
 
 "What's that.?" 
 
 "We must revolutionize the country." 
 
 "But it is revolutionized." 
 
 "Ah, but there are those who wish otherwise." 
 
 "We agree." 
 
 3Sa 
 
The Parish Priest of Grosio 
 
 "We must, then, proclaim the levy en masse, and 
 place all under arms and march. Then we must seize all 
 that is requisite, and, at the first show of resistance, have 
 the parish priests and the municipal councilors shot." 
 
 "Dear Captain, I would have you know that the par- 
 ish priests and the municipal councilors have been my 
 principal aids." 
 
 "That's all very well: but put no trust in the priests 
 and in the old councilors." 
 
 "This evening we shall be at Grosio, and we shall go to 
 the house of the parish priest. When Austria, before the 
 war, called out the contingent, eighty soldiers of Grosio 
 were about to join their regiments, but their priest said 
 to them: 'Do not present yourselves; hide in the moun- 
 tains until spring, for things will change.' When the war 
 broke out he called the eighty back, and consigned 
 them to me. You will see them at the advance post; 
 they are the best soldiers of the battalion." 
 
 But the captain continued to shake his head and say: 
 "It may be, but don't put any trust in priests." 
 
 That evening he became the guest of Don G. B. Cor- 
 nelio, in the parsonage of Grosio. To vindicate himself 
 he drank the good wine that his host kept in reserve for 
 the Lenten preachers, as he entertained him with his idea 
 of shooting priests, friars, and nuns. But as he was very 
 comfortable, he often stopped with Don Comelio when 
 he visited the advance post. One day I arrived in time 
 to stop a fracas. The captain wanted to throw a portrait 
 of Pius K out of a window, and Don Comelio was de- 
 fending the picture with an upraised chair. 
 
 I succeeded in reestablishing peace, which Montanari 
 
 353 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 wanted to celebrate with a couple of bottles of iJie 
 priest's best wine. He could not understand how the 
 priests could be patriotic in Lombardy and yet be de- 
 voted to the Pope. "But what a new thing this is!" he 
 would exclaim. 
 
 The post at the Ponte del Diavolo was composed of 
 National Guards, volunteers, revenue officials, and the 
 eighty soldiers of whom I have spoken. There were in all 
 about four hundred men, but scarcely half of them were 
 provided with a gun of any kind. I presented them to 
 the new commander, who passed them in review, and ad- 
 dressed them as he had the guards at Sondrio, declaring 
 that they were enlisted, without further ado, as Caccia- 
 tori delle Alpi. 
 
 At this time, also, no one dared to breathe; but many 
 came to me afterwards, and protested, and threatened 
 to return home. I tranquilized them by saying that I 
 would look out for them; but the effect of the captain's 
 speech was very bad; and it did not help us to complete 
 the battalion. The peasants were willing enough to en- 
 list, but they wanted to be assured that things would not 
 turn out as in '48. As the battle of Magenta had just 
 taken place, I was able to assure them to the contrary. 
 
 Montanari had brought some guns with him. We 
 found some in the Austrian quarters, and the remainder 
 I obtained in Switzerland, one by one, by the aid of the 
 merchants of Poschiavo or the Engadine who came to 
 Tirano to trade. Several of the guns were those of the 
 volunteers of '48, which had been abandoned or sold for 
 a song. I now repurchased them for forty or fifty lire. 
 Several guns, too, were forwarded to me by Ulisse Salis. 
 
 354 
 
I'he Swiss Soldiers 
 
 Some of the Swiss soldiers, and even several of their 
 officers, were accustomed to promenade in the Valtellina ; 
 so one day the municipality of Tirano invited a number 
 of them to a little festivity. The invitation was accepted 
 and there was much drinking and many demonstrations 
 of friendship upon both sides; but alas, this gayety was 
 soon turned into gloom, when we heard that some of 
 these soldiers had told the Austrian spies how slight 
 were the defenses of the Valtellina. Their imprudent 
 words were reported in Tirano, and excited so much in- 
 dignation that I had to write to the commandant to keep 
 his soldiers within their boundaries, and that we should 
 do the same with ours. 
 
 To counteract the effect of the information given by 
 the Swiss soldiers, I had some bulletins printed and dis- 
 tributed, announcing the immediate arrival of Garibaldi, 
 and a movement of the Piedmontese troops in the direc- 
 tion of Valcamonica. Perhaps it was because of my bul- 
 letins that the Austrians did not attack us. 
 
 I passed my days and part of my nights in my office, 
 or in going about, listening to some complaint, or 
 straightening out some difficulty that Montanari, in 
 his revolutionary frenzy, had caused. He issued his 
 orders to the municipalities, and seized everything 
 he wanted without leaving any receipts, and arrested 
 those who opposed him. The discontent in High Valtel- 
 lina waxed greater every day. I also had begun to wran- 
 gle with the captain; nevertheless, I was the only person 
 who succeeded in restraining him. This was in virtue of 
 Garibaldi's letter, which enjoined upon him the need of 
 acting in concert with the Commissioner. To let days 
 
 355 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 go by without having done one noisy thing; without hav- 
 ing shot, at least, one priest, seemed to him to be inex- 
 pHcable. 
 
 Three days after having taken command of the ad- 
 vance post of badly armed, badly dressed, and badly 
 drilled men, he sent me a dispatch saying, "To-morrow 
 I shall surprise the Austrians, and fall upon Bormio." I 
 ran to the post, and arrived in time to prevent the enter- 
 prise. Bormio was strongly fortified, and we should have 
 had to attack without support, while, behind our de- 
 fenses, the four hundred could make a strong resistance 
 to any aggressive movement the Austrians could make. 
 Moreover, if the enemy should repulse our attack, they 
 would descend into the whole valley, and occupy it. 
 It was evident, however, that they believed we were not 
 without support, as they were loath to push forward. 
 
 The captain was determined to make the coup, and I 
 to prevent him. The discussion was long and disagreea- 
 ble. In the end It was concluded that the matter should 
 be referred to the General, and that I should go to 
 consult him. Accordingly I left immediately, and went 
 straight to Bergamo in the hope of finding him there. I 
 arrived at Bergamo the next day, and stopped at Casa 
 Camozzi, where I found Emilio, and had the good for- 
 tune to meet Garibaldi, who had just returned from 
 Milan where he had gone to consult the King. He was 
 preparing for his march upon Brescia. 
 
 Garibaldi's headquarters were in Casa Camozzi, and 
 there was such a crowd of soldiers and of armed citizens, 
 and there were so many officers coming and going, all in 
 the gayest disorder, that one would have said that Ber- 
 
 3S6 
 
/ confer with Garibaldi 
 
 gamo was a city in insurrection en fete. Clemente Corte, 
 then captain of staff, most politely took charge of me, 
 and secured me an audience at once, a thing that was not 
 easy to do. Garibaldi received me with that frank and 
 courteous regard, with that serene smile, with that mar- 
 velous voice (the most beautiful I have ever heard), — 
 with, indeed, all the graces which explain the irresistible 
 fascination he exercised upon every one, even upon the 
 most contrary. 
 
 I told him what we had done in Valtellina, and he 
 smiled and seemed pleased. Then I told him the rea- 
 son why I had come to see him, and of the proposed coup 
 upon Bormio. He wanted to know about everything, 
 and seemed well inclined to agree with me, when sud- 
 denly Corte and Colonel Thiirr entered, and broke up 
 our interview. Thiirr, after exchanging some words with 
 the General, approached me, and began to talk in the 
 frank and open way that made him so acceptable; while 
 Corte informed Garibaldi that some Austrian officers 
 had been brought to Bergamo, and asked for orders re- 
 garding them. 
 
 "Bring them to me," said the General, "and you, 
 Thiirr, stop and act as interpreter." 
 
 It seems to me I can yet see these officers. There were 
 six of them, four of the infantry, and two of the caccia- 
 tori. There had grown up in the Austrian ranks, from 
 1848, a legend in regard to Garibaldi which made the 
 famous condottiere to be something terrible and diabol- 
 ical. The officers, certainly, had given no credit to this 
 idea, but many considered him to be a ferocious chief of 
 filibusters, capable of any excess; and this was undoubt- 
 
 357 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 edly the opinion of the six, for they came forward as 
 people who were going to their deaths. Two of them 
 were seized with a nervous trembhng that they could 
 not control. 
 
 Garibaldi approached them, and shook the hand of 
 each one in an affable and courteous way, and said to 
 Thiirr: "Ask these brave officers whether they desire 
 anything. I will hand them over to one of our officers, 
 who will conduct them to Milan; from there they will 
 be taken to Alessandria. They will travel in closed car- 
 riages so as to avoid public curiosity, and may retain 
 their swords, upon their giving me their word of honor 
 that they will not try to escape." 
 
 As Thiirr translated these words into German, the 
 faces of the officers expressed an amazement that soon 
 became transfigured into an illumination. Then, when 
 Garibaldi shook hands again and dismissed them, the 
 six planted themselves in the position of a formal salute, 
 shook the proffered hand of the General with effusion, 
 and departed more mystified in going out than in coming 
 in. This little short and characteristic scene has never 
 faded from my mind. 
 
 Then the General took up our matter. " I understand," 
 said he, "Montanari's impatience. The man is brave; 
 he is a pearl. But for the present it is best that he should 
 wait. I shall send him my written order regarding what 
 he should do." 
 
 "So much the better," thought I. 
 
 "To Bormio we shall go together," Garibaldi began 
 again, "And I shall recompense him by appointing him 
 to begin the attack with his Valtellinese battalion. In 
 
 358 
 
GaribaldPs Orders 
 
 sending you this captain, dear Commissioner, I have 
 sent you a pearl." 
 
 I had stood waiting the right moment to tell Garibaldi 
 that he ought to send us a major, for, though Montanari 
 might be a pearl of a hero, he had created many difficul- 
 ties; but I did not find the opportunity, so I took my 
 leave. Garibaldi saluted me cordially and, as he shook 
 my hand, said, "We shall see one another again in Val- 
 tellina." 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 (i8S9) 
 
 I go to Milan to confer with the Governor-General. — My brother tells me the 
 difficulties of his office. — I confer with Correnti and Vigliani. — Renewal of 
 my appointment as Royal Commissioner. — I return to Sondrio. — Arrival 
 of Colonel Sanfront and Captain Trotti. — The Secret Service in the Tyrol. 
 
 — Two secret communications. — The announcement of Garibaldi's coming. 
 
 — Enrico Guicciardi. — The end of my office. — Preparations for mining the 
 road between Lecco and Colico. — Movements of the Austrian troops. — 
 The fear of an invasion. — Major Manassero. — Arrival of Colonel Medici. 
 
 — The battle of Solferino. — Manassero falls back on Edolo. — The Valtel- 
 linese Battalion. — Attack of the Austrians repulsed. — Garibaldi enters 
 Valtellina. 
 
 MY mission had succeeded in part, as I had pre- 
 vented the coup de main, or rather, de tete, of 
 Montanarl; but the captain still remained at his post and 
 at my side. In descending the stairs I deplored my hesi- 
 tation, but the fascination of the General, the stream of 
 officers, and the disorder of the audience-room distracted 
 me so much that I could not put my wits together. 
 "We shall see one another again in Valtellina," said 
 Garibaldi; but when? 
 
 The idea arose in my mind of going to Colonel Car- 
 rano, the chief-of-staff, to lay the state of the defense of 
 Valtellina before him, and to learn whether there was 
 any hope of Garibaldi's coming to our aid. Carrano told 
 me that he knew nothing, and that we could count on 
 nothing; but that it seemed to him that the duty of the 
 General of flanking the allied armies would not soon be 
 terminated. He added: "No one ever knows anything 
 touching the intentions and the movements of Garibaldi. 
 As chief-of-staff I ought to know something, but even I 
 
 360 
 
I go to Milan with my Brother 
 
 know nothing. This certainly, is not regular, but as with 
 him all things go well, it is well to let them alone." Upon 
 this statement I concluded that I should act for myself. 
 
 Garibaldi planned to march in a few days to Brescia, 
 and Emilio wanted to profit by the delay to go to Milan 
 to confer with Vigliani, who had been appointed Gov- 
 ernor-General of Lombardy. I determined to go with 
 him. The railway was so crowded by military transports 
 that our progress was very slow. However, the time did 
 not seem long, as we had so much to talk about. How 
 many pages of history were being written! Emilio was 
 worn out and exhausted. He said he had had but few 
 hours of sleep during the fifteen days he had accompan- 
 ied Garibaldi; that his mission had been full of difficul- 
 ties, and, at times, very hard, "since it had been to serve 
 as a buffer between order and disorder, between the 
 Royal Government and Garibaldi, between the volun- 
 teers and the country." 
 
 Cavour, as has been said, wanted the French, when 
 they entered Lombardy, to find a country that had risen 
 at the first note of war, and thus to show his ally that 
 the Italian question was a great national movement, and 
 not simply the dynastic ambition of the House of Savoy 
 for annexation. His instructions to his representatives 
 were conformable to this idea. So the revolution had 
 to have a national, and not a partisan, character; hence 
 the difficulty. To incite the districts to revolt one had 
 to resort not only to the intelligent class, but to all the 
 people, and lo! the old (as well as the new) revolution- 
 aries, who had remained outside of the national move- 
 ment up to the present time, came flocking in; and they 
 
 361 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 came with all their old ideas and prejudices, and for- 
 mulas! They had forgotten nothing, and had learned 
 nothing; and they did not want to bother themselves, 
 either with Vittorio Emanuele or with Napoleon. Emilio 
 had found himself, every once in a while, in conflict with 
 these pretentious people who were good only to concoct 
 plans and to disseminate discord. 
 
 Garibaldi gave but little heed to them at this time; 
 as between him and the programme, "Italia e Vittorio 
 Emanuele," the honeymoon was yet full. The political 
 necessities of the Government were things he did not 
 understand. A free people, all armed and under a dic- 
 tator: such was then his ideal. Emilio put forth all his 
 skill to navigate in these shallow waters, but the task 
 was not easy. 
 
 When Garibaldi passed the Ticino, he knew that he 
 would find himself in face of forces greatly superior to his 
 own, and that he would have to seek for victory in the 
 rapidity of his movements ; consequently he did not want 
 to carry any baggage or provisions; so he made his sol- 
 diers leave even their knapsacks upon the Piedmontese 
 bank. His soldiers could not have been more agile; but 
 naturally they had need of some regular means of sub- 
 sistence. As they had none, their requisitions became 
 ever greater and their march more disordered. The 
 Ministry of War had assigned a commissary of supplies 
 to the volunteers. He followed them as long as he could; 
 then one day he returned to Turin, and resigned his 
 office. 
 
 Again, the corps of volunteers increased rapidly in 
 number as it passed through Lombardy, and the disor- 
 
 362 
 
Renewal of my Appointment 
 
 der increased and grew. Any one, even a simple cor- 
 poral, believed that he had the right to requisition pro- 
 visions or clothing or horses without leaving any re- 
 ceipts, or else leaving receipts that were not valid. The 
 municipalities then turned to the Commissioner-General 
 or to some local commissioner, scolding and making an 
 outcry; and these, though they did their best, did not 
 always succeed in setting matters straight. 
 
 Emilio foresaw that the difficulties would increase, 
 and wanted, therefore, to come to an understanding with 
 the Governor-General. He was also anxious to enter 
 Brescia with Garibaldi; so he stopped only a few hours 
 at Milan, and rejoined the Garibaldians on their march. 
 I found, in the apartment of the Governor-General, 
 Cesare Correnti, who seemed to have the office of coun- 
 cilor to the Government. He took me immediately into 
 the cabinet of the Vigliani; and so I had the good for- 
 tune to hasten my business. After having told the Gov- 
 ernor all I had done, I added that, as soon as my mission 
 should be accomplished, I wished to withdraw, as it was 
 not my intention to enter upon an administrative career. 
 Vigliani approved of what I had done, and encouraged 
 me to continue, but he could give me no assurance as to 
 the dispatching of the Garibaldian, or of other, forces to 
 the Valtellina; but, instead, he renewed my powers, and 
 even enlarged them. Moreover, he told me that a regu- 
 lar administration would shortly be provided for the 
 liberated provinces by the appointments of Intendants 
 or Prefects. Thereupon I said that the appointment of 
 Enrico Guicciardi would be most opportune, as he was 
 a statesman, an administrator, and a military man, and, 
 
 363 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 moreover, was of the Valtellina. Correnti seconded this 
 proposal, and added that Guicciardi had been spoken 
 of at the Ministry for this, or for some other, important 
 post. As I rose to leave, Vigliani charged Correnti with 
 writing out the decree for my appointment with the in- 
 structions and powers agreed upon; which he did. The 
 following morning I left for Sondrio, returning again 
 with empty hands. I did not dare to say that the only 
 reinforcement I had obtained was on paper, and was of 
 my powers. 
 
 The day after my return I had an agreeable surprise. 
 As I was about to go to the advance post, Colonel San- 
 front and my friend Captain Lodovico Trotti, both be- 
 longing to the military household of the King, came from 
 headquarters. They had been sent to inspect the posi- 
 tions in the Valtellina. Their visit had been brought 
 about, perhaps, by the reports I had sent to Emilio or to 
 headquarters. I cannot say how happy I was ; it seemed 
 to me that I had, at last, found some real support. 
 
 As Colonel Sanf ront wanted to make a minute inspec- 
 tion of our positions and forces, I gave him all the infor- 
 mation I could, but only accompanied him as far as Bol- 
 ladore, where till the evening I awaited him and Trotti on 
 their return. The colonel had made many observations 
 which Montanari had taken badly, and Trotti told me 
 that there had been a heated discussion, to which the 
 colonel finally put an end with his military authority. 
 Garibaldi had already sent an order to Montanari to sus- 
 pend any offensive movement; but the captain expostu- 
 lated and insisted. Sanfront sternly repeated Garibaldi's 
 orders. 
 
 364 
 
l^he Secret Service in the Tyrol 
 
 I knew that Montanari would not please Sanfront, as 
 he was an old and strict disciplinarian. Indeed, he said 
 before leaving that there was great need of a better dis- 
 ciplined force, and, above all, of another kind of person 
 to take command of our half-formed battalion. Sanfront 
 also gave to me the difficult task of securing informa- 
 tion in regard to the movements of the Austrians beyond 
 the Stelvio, and of sending it to the commander of the 
 army. I entrusted this duty to my friend Giovanni 
 Salis, who knew how to accomplish it by means of some 
 old soldiers, who spoke German as well as some of the 
 dialects of the Tyrol. 
 
 ■ Among the papers that had accumulated on my desk, 
 during my absence, were two dispatches, one of which 
 came from the French headquarters, and one from the 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The French dispatch was 
 from the Chief of Police attached to the commander of 
 the army. He wrote me that he had been advised by the 
 Central Police Bureau at Paris that two Frenchmen, 
 whose names and descriptions he gave me, had left for 
 the north of Italy with the intention of making an at- 
 tempt upon the life of the Emperor during the campaign, 
 and that, in order the better to carry out their design, 
 they intended to enlist in some volunteer or regular 
 Italian corps. He begged me, therefore, to use the great- 
 est diligence to frustrate them, as they would undoubt- 
 edly enter Italy over the Swiss frontier. I handed this 
 dispatch to the marshal of some carabinieri whom Vigli- 
 ani had sent me, but he never came across the track of 
 these individuals. 
 
 The dispatch from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
 
 36s 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 with Cavour's signature, said that a rumor had become 
 current that in some locaHties of Switzerland, especially 
 in the Grisons, a plot or manoeuvre was on foot to promote 
 a movement in the Valtellina for its annexation. The 
 report said it held this rumor to be exaggerated; never- 
 theless it communicated the same to me for my guid- 
 ance, and asked me for my opinion in regard to the same. 
 
 My response was prompt and precise; that, in view of 
 the efforts the Valtellina had made to break away from 
 the Canton of the Grisons, and of the hatred that had 
 been engendered during the government of the Leagues, 
 there was no basis for such a rumor. Moreover, the pea- 
 sants were opposed to the Grisons not only because of 
 political but of personal and religious antipathies; and 
 that history, interest, and affinity drew the Valtellina 
 toward Lombardy. I added that the Valtellina had par- 
 ticipated in the aspirations of Italy, and had given many 
 proofs of its patriotism. 
 
 My office was fast approaching its end, and Emilio 
 had written me that his mission would soon terminate, 
 and that Garibaldi would shortly enter the Valtellina. 
 A few days after, I received word of the nomination of 
 Enrico Guicciardi as Intendant, or Prefect, of the prov- 
 ince of Sondrio — much to my delight. My office had 
 lasted just three weeks, and I laid it down with a great 
 feeling of relief. It might have happened that my name 
 would have been associated with a catastrophe, but 
 fortune had been favorable. I had not accomplished 
 anything heroic, but I had probably helped to avoid 
 disaster. 
 
 Guicciardi made me, in behalf of the Government, and 
 
 366 
 
The End of my Office 
 
 in his own behalf, several kind and honorable offers; but 
 as I declared that my desire was to remain with the Val- 
 tellinese battalion, he proposed that I should assume the 
 office of inspector with the rank of captain of staff in 
 the volunteers, and that I should reside at Bormio until 
 the battalion should be called into active service. I ac- 
 cepted this proposal, and, some days after, Guicciardi 
 informed me that the Government had approved of it. 
 
 Previous to this, a committee from the Valcamonica 
 had come to me with a plan of uniting to my bailiwick 
 the zone of Edolo, so that we might make a better de- 
 fense against the Austrians. This committee had gone 
 to Emilio, and had persuaded him to issue a decree to 
 this effect; but, as I felt I had enough upon my back, I 
 begged my brother and the committee to defer publish- 
 ing the decree, and to make some other temporary ar- 
 rangement. But when the committee returned with the 
 decree in their hands, I directed them to Vigliani, and 
 asked him to make the same provisions for the Valca- 
 monica as were to be made for the other Lombard dis- 
 tricts. 
 
 The Valcamonica was not long in waiting for its de- 
 fenses, as very soon a regiment of the Regina Brigade 
 was sent to it under the command of Colonel Brignone. 
 Three companies of this regiment were detailed by the 
 colonel, under the command of Major Manassero and of 
 Colonel Ricci of the staff, for the Valtellina. When they 
 arrived I made, with these officers, a rapid tour of our 
 posts. As they did not think it prudent to advance be- 
 yond our present positions, our forces were left at the 
 Ponte del Diavolo. Colonel Ricci told me that the send- 
 
 367 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 ing of the three companies to Valtellina was the immedi- 
 ate result of the report of Colonel Sanfront to head- 
 quarters. 
 
 When I returned to Sondrio I learned from Guicciardi 
 that Garibaldi had left Said, and was marching toward 
 the Valtellina, where he hoped to arrive in about eight 
 days, and that he would be preceded by Medici with the 
 advance-guard. He told me also that the French com- 
 mander had sent a company of engineers to lay mines 
 along the road from Lecco to Colico, in case the Aus- 
 trians should proceed along it, after having put our little 
 forces in the Valtellina to flight. So, after having been 
 forgotten for a while, all at once reinforcements began 
 to arrive — and in abundance; but not too soon, 
 • Some days before the battle of Solferino a concentra- 
 tion of Austrian troops beyond the Tonale made us be- 
 lieve that an invasion of the Valtellina was impending. 
 Accordingly Major Manassero fell back rapidly while 
 Medici, hurrying up his march, arrived at Tresenda on 
 the 24th, and united his forces with those of Manassero. 
 Part of the Valtellina Battalion was sent to Mazzo, and 
 only a company and a half were left at our advance post. 
 The day following the news of the battle of Solferino we 
 learned that the Austrians, after having descended to- 
 ward Edolo, had withdrawn; so Manassero advanced, 
 and the companies of the battalion returned to their 
 original position. With them came a half company of 
 Garibaldian volunteers under the command of Captain 
 Strambio, of Pavia, an excellent though ungainly officer. 
 He was tall and thin, and had nothing of the military 
 about him, but he was brave and his soldiers were de- 
 
 368 
 
Attack of the Austrian s repulsed 
 
 voted to him, as he lived with them and had a care for 
 all their wants. 
 
 Our advance post at Ponte del Diavolo had scarcely- 
 been reinforced, and Medici (who had come to inspect 
 it) had just departed, when suddenly the Austrians de- 
 scended to attack it, believing, perhaps, that they would 
 surprise the few who had been left there the day before. 
 A lively conflict of a couple of hours ensued, and was the 
 principal feat of arms of the Valtellinese Battalion in this 
 campaign. The Austrians attacked several times, ad- 
 vancing as far as the earthworks behind which our men 
 were posted. These, with the exception of their officers, 
 were under fire for the first time, yet they stood with the 
 calmness that distinguishes the mountaineers, who are 
 accustomed to peril. About one hundred of them were, 
 as yet,' without arms. These were hurried forward, and 
 climbing the side of the mountain which flanked the 
 road, rolled stones and broken pieces of rock upon the 
 enemy, who were obliged to return or to seek shelter. 
 It was this avalanche which probably decided the con- 
 flict. When the sun set, the Austrians retired to Bormio. 
 
 The day following, Medici marched ahead with his 
 command, and the advance post was carried from the 
 Ponte del Diavolo to S. Antonio di Morignone. The 
 same day Garibaldi entered the Valtellina with his en- 
 tire brigade. The defense of all the passes of the Alps 
 was confided to him, while Cialdini, who had had this 
 duty, fell back upon Brescia. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 (i8S9) 
 
 I leave for Turin. — An audience with Cavour. — Emilio goes to Modena. — I 
 return to Sondrio. — The march of Medici upon Bormio. — Its capture. — 
 Retreat of the Austrians. — They occupy Sponda Lunga. — I stop a few days 
 at Bormio. — Fatigue of the Volunteers. — Return of the Valtellinese Bat- 
 talion. — With Guicciardi at Sondrio. — Captain Montanari. — The arrival 
 of the Cacciatori degli Appennini. 
 
 IN agreement with Guicciardi, I decided to go to 
 Turin to settle some administrative and military 
 questions that had been dragging along for some time. 
 Moreover, since all the Garibaldian corps was coming 
 to Valtellina, it was necessary to have further instruc- 
 tions regarding them. And I had, also, some business 
 of my own to look after. I had begun my commission- 
 ership with an empty treasury, and, as it was necessary 
 to have arms and ammunition and other military pro- 
 visions, and as I had wished to avoid requisitions, I had 
 given notes, sometimes in my own name, for these things, 
 in the hope of a happy outcome of our war. Now they 
 were nearing maturity, and I had to make arrangements 
 for paying them. 
 
 To have an audience with Cavour did not seem easy; 
 nevertheless I accomplished it. I had to wait only 
 two days, and, in the interim, I mentally prepared the 
 little speech I intended making. When Barone Rica- 
 soli was Minister and granted an interview, he began 
 first with his habitual prelude, "Signore, be seated. 
 Speak, and try to be short and clear." Whereupon the 
 person admitted to the audience lost the thread of his 
 
 370 
 
An Audience with Cavour 
 
 ideas if he could not express himself succinctly. Cavour 
 let me speak, only interrupting me, from time to time, 
 with some pertinent question, and occasionally mak- 
 ing a note in regard to the orders he would have to 
 give touching the matter before us. I did not hesitate to 
 tell him that Guicciardi was also much concerned with 
 the influx of so many bodies of troops in a country dis- 
 trict of scant resources, where a much smaller and dis- 
 ciplined force would be sufficient. When he asked me to 
 define my ideas, I said that a few battalions of mountain- 
 eers would suffice for the Stelvio, and that the Intendant 
 was able to take command of them; while Garibaldi 
 might be employed in a larger field of action, that is, in 
 the attack upon, and defense of, the other passes of the 
 Alps. 
 
 Cavour said that some other persons had suggested 
 this plan to him, that he had had it in mind when he 
 had appointed Guicciardi Intendant, and that he might, 
 perhaps, be able to bring it about. The plan was not put 
 into effect until 1866, when its fortunate outcome proved 
 that it was a wise one. 
 
 After my audience, I hurried up the affairs that de- 
 pended upon the other Ministers, and went to Milan, 
 where I passed two days with my family and some of my 
 intimate friends, happy that the business with which 
 I had been charged by Guicciardi permitted me to do so. 
 At Milan I found Emilio, who had finished his commis- 
 sionership, and had just been called by Farini toModena. 
 Emilio did not know what to do. He had thought of en- 
 listing in theGaribaldian "Guides" as soon as his mission 
 should end. "And how," he demanded, "could this call 
 
 371 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 have come from Farini?" He did not know for some 
 time, but my mother confided to me that, as soon as she 
 learned of Emilio's intention of enlisting in the guides, 
 she asked Correnti to call, and, informing him of the 
 fact, said, "Does it not seem to you that Emilio can do 
 something better than being a mounted guide?" Cor- 
 renti thanked her for the information, and, taking the 
 matter to heart, wrote to Farini, and reminded him that 
 he had expressed a liking for Emilio, and had praised 
 him for the promptness with which he had accepted the 
 difficult office of Royal Commissioner. 
 % Emilio, encouraged by us all, finished by accepting 
 Farini's call; and this was the first step in his political 
 career. Farini had summoned to himself a number of 
 worthy young men with whom he filled his secretary- 
 ships. After the Peace of Villafranca, he became the 
 Dictator of the Duchies, and assigned some of these 
 youths to offices of great importance. He confided to 
 Emilio the negotiations concerning annexation and mat- 
 ters of external politics. 
 
 The evening I arrived at Sondrio, Guicciardi told me 
 that Medici was marching upon Bormio, and that we 
 ought to go too; and so we did. Thus to my day's jour- 
 ney without a break was added another trip of sixty 
 kilometres. We arrived at Bormio shortly after it had 
 been taken; and Garibaldi came after us, the morning 
 of the 3d of July. The Austrians had retired to the 
 new and the old Bagni,* two strong positions. They had 
 destroyed the road, and had blown up the bridge of the 
 first gallery on the Stelvio route. 
 
 * Baths. 
 
 372 
 
Retreat of the Austrian s 
 
 During the day Garibaldi studied the country with 
 some persons who knew the various localities, and the 
 volunteers were ordered forward to occupy some posi- 
 tions on the flank of the enemy. Guicciardi and I dined 
 with several officers of the Garibaldian staff and Bertani, 
 who was in charge of the ambulances; then we all ad- 
 vanced along the post-road to the Bagni di Bormio to see 
 the attack upon the Austrians. Gradually, as we pro- 
 ceeded, we could see the movements of our soldiers and 
 the firing of the enemy. The soldiers of Bixio were the 
 most in view, as they climbed along the rocky sides of 
 the Reit. They were trying to climb higher than the 
 Austrian posts; but the sides of the mountain were so 
 precipitous they could scarcely proceed, and they were 
 much exposed to the enemy's fire. At this point the 
 combat was decided by the appearing of the Garibaldi- 
 ans on the mountain which flanks the Bagni on the east. 
 They forced the Austrians to retire to the old Bagni, to 
 positions that were naturally stronger. 
 
 In turning a comer of the post-road, we came in full 
 view of the Tyrolese cacciatori. They saw us too, and 
 immediately fired at the group of officers who were 
 slowly ascending the road, studying their positions. 
 Happily they aimed a little too high, so their bullets 
 whistled over our heads. These fusillades lasted for 
 a time that to me (who was not habituated to serv- 
 ing as a target) seemed long. My fellow officers, for 
 the honor of their profession, had to show themselves 
 indifferent; therefore they remained in the middle of 
 the road, and continued their conversation as if they 
 were in a cafe. They even criticized the fire of the 
 
 373 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Tyrolese while I, in my heart, was indined to be in- 
 dulgent. 
 
 If I were asked what were my feelings, I should say 
 that my first desire was to seek for refuge behind a wall 
 near by, that seemed to be appositely placed; but then 
 other sentiments came to my aid and I was able to re- 
 main in the middle of the road, as debonair as the others, 
 until we all tacitly agreed to continue our promenade. 
 
 During the night the troops of Bixio fell back, and the 
 Austrians likewise retired, after having set fire to the 
 toll-house on the Stelvio road. The capture of Bormio 
 had been made with dash, but it was not well done. If 
 our leaders had studied the topography of the country 
 they would have obtained a much greater advantage, 
 and not have left the Austrians in the strong position of 
 Sponda Lunga. Guicciardi, in 1866, with a much weaker 
 force, but with well-planned movements, was able to ob- 
 tain much more important results. 
 
 The following day there was a truce, and Guicciardi 
 and I returned to Bormio, where he passed the day in 
 giving information to Medici, Cosenz, and Bixio, and 
 I talked with the friends I met of the things that had 
 occurred to each one in the course of this rapid and 
 adventurous campaign. In all of them I observed a 
 fatigue, not of the mind, but of the body. They had cov- 
 ered, in two months, more than six hundred kilometres 
 on foot, generally resting in the open fields, without 
 tents, without knapsacks, without preparations of any 
 kind for the military life. Very many had become 
 sick and exhausted. An officer, the brave Migliavacca, 
 who died afterwards atMilazzo, said: "Excitement has 
 
 374 
 
Fatigue of the Volunteers 
 
 brought us here; but if it should become necessary to 
 march forward immediately, it will be impossible to find 
 twenty men capable of continuing the campaign." It 
 was, indeed, as he said. A few days after, the hospitals, 
 the barracks, and the houses in High Valtellina over- 
 flowed with the sick and disordered Garibaldians. Be- 
 fore leaving Bormio, Guicciardi obtained Garibaldi'3 
 consent that the Valtellinese Battalion should be sent to 
 Sondrio to be thoroughly equipped; but, as Montanari 
 did not think this to be necessary, there was considerable 
 delay. 
 
 After we returned, we received word that the Caccia- 
 tori degli Appennini would arrive on the 7th. We also 
 heard that other squadrons and companies of volunteers 
 were to be sent to the Valtellina, from which they would 
 pass to the high Lombard valleys, with Garibaldi in com- 
 mand at Lovere di Valcamonica, Medici. in Valtellina, 
 and Cosenz in Val Sabbia. 
 
 The work of the Intendant, who had to provide for 
 quarters, for sustenance, and for the needs of the ambu- 
 lances, increased so much that he begged Bonfadini 
 (whose health had been restored) and me to assist him. 
 I remember that we all three worked in one room in or- 
 der to consult together when it became necessary so to 
 do. In spite of the seriousness of our business, we often 
 found occasions for a laugh. They were generally af- 
 forded by people who were frightened, or who wrote of 
 some plan for a campaign, or of some project for a revo- 
 lution, or who simply wanted employment. In this 
 correspondence we were addressed ordinarily by high- 
 sounding titles. Bonfadini passed over to me the letters 
 
 375 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 written to the Royal Intendant of the armies of His Maj- 
 esty in Valtellina, and I handed to him those that were 
 addressed to His Excellency, the Minister of the Interior 
 of all the Valtellinas. We laughed, but sometimes we 
 writhed; as, for example, when dispatches from the Min- 
 istries, from the Governor-General, from headquarters, 
 from colonels, captains, and even corporals, desired im- 
 possible things, or gave contradictory orders. At times 
 there was a confusion so great as to make one lose his 
 head. I can yet see the clerk who had been assigned to 
 me, as secretary, sitting with his hands in his hair! 
 
 Some days after the arrival of the Valtellinese Bat- 
 talion Captain Montanari called. He was in bad humor 
 and scowled more than ever. He told me that he had 
 been assigned to a station of volunteers at Lecco or 
 Bergamo, and this, too, at a time when he had hoped to 
 be nominated major of the battalion! My thoughts ran 
 back to Colonel Sanfront and my early reports. 
 
 "This is a trick of the priests!" he exclaimed. "If I 
 had had a couple executed when I came I should now be 
 major of the battalion. Did I not tell you so, dear Com- 
 missioner?" 
 
 I never saw him again. Many months after, I heard 
 that he had gone with the Mille to Sicily, and that he 
 had been wounded at Calatafimi, and had died a few 
 days after. He died the death of a brave man, such as 
 he had always been. 
 
 When the Cacciatori degli Appennini arrived, they 
 were distributed throughout the province. This regi- 
 ment was formed in Piedmont, after the pattern of the 
 Cacciatori delle Alpi, from volunteers that had come 
 
 376 
 
T'he Cacciatori degli Appennini 
 
 from every part of Italy; and its command had been 
 given to General UUoa. They were in good condition, 
 and seemed like soldiers that were changing their garri- 
 son. In fact, they had sustained no fatiguing marches 
 and had never been under fire. They appeared better 
 than the Cacciatori delle Alpi, but they had not the mili- 
 tary bearing and the Garibaldian spirit; nor had they 
 the feeling of comradeship that animated the men of 
 northern Italy. Many were young, and many were of 
 mature age, — students and professors, clerks and mas- 
 ters, artisans and politicians; they were all mixed up to- 
 gether. In the Cacciatori delle Alpi were the recruits who 
 left their homes to face the gravest perils. In the Cacci- 
 atori degli Appennini were the men who had joined 
 simply to fulfill a duty. In the Cacciatori degli Appen- 
 nini I found many friends, however, such as Montanelli, 
 who, in the modest great-coat of a simple soldier, humbly 
 followed the Duca di S. Donate who pompously pre- 
 ceded the battalion of which he was the major. Immedi- 
 ately after the armistice the Cacciatori degli Appennini 
 were sent to the Valcamonica, where they were joined by 
 the Cacciatori delle Alpi, with the exception of the regi- 
 ment of Medici, which remained in Valtellina. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 (i8S9) 
 
 Arrival of more volunteers. — The fascination of Garibaldi. — The armistice. — 
 The Valtellinese Battalion. — Antonio Pievani. — News of the Peace of 
 Villafranca. — Surprise and sorrow. — Disbanding the volunteer corps. — 
 I retire from office, and return to Milan. 
 
 ON the heels of the Cacciatori degli Appennini there 
 came squads of volunteers, sent from all parts 
 of Lombardy, to join the corps of Garibaldi. They were 
 men of all sorts and conditions, and of every age: often 
 miserable in appearance, and they generally looked fa- 
 tigued. Old men, and even children, followed often- 
 times for a month or so the Garibaldian troops. They 
 were gathered up in the stations and sifted out. A large 
 number were sent home. One of the characteristic spec- 
 tacles of the day was the enthusiasm that animated 
 people along Garibaldi's track, as if they were caught up 
 by a whirlwind. The fascination that he exerted upon 
 the multitude was marvelous, and now seems incredible. 
 When he traversed a district (although he did not yet 
 wear his red shirt), it did not seem that it was a general 
 that passed, but rather the head of a new religion. The 
 women were not less moved than the men. They often 
 carried their babes to him that he should bless, or even 
 baptize, them. 
 
 To the crowds who gathered about him Garibaldi 
 would address a few words in the marvelous voice which 
 was part of his fascination : "Turn every one of you your 
 scythe into a weapon," he would say at the crossroads 
 and public places, "and come. He who remains at home 
 
 378 
 
The Fascination of Garibaldi 
 
 is vile. I do not promise you anything but toil and fa- 
 tigue and fusillades; but we will conquer or die." 
 
 And after such words (which certainly were not joy- 
 ous), the enthusiasm would rise to the highest degree. 
 Nor was there a lack of it when his words were insignifi- 
 cant. Spoken by him even the simplest utterance had 
 its effect. "Thank you, my children," I heard him say 
 one evening to a crowd that was making a demonstra- 
 tion before his window, "Thank you. I am tired, and it 
 rains. Do you go to bed also. Good-night to all." A 
 delirium ensued, and the people scattered, commenting 
 upon the words of the General with tears in their eyes. 
 ^- Among the incapable volunteers that came to us at 
 this time, there were some very bad citizens from the 
 dregs of the suburbs of Milan. Profiting by the disap- 
 pearance of the old police and by the non-existence of 
 the new, they thought that the ranks of the volunteers 
 would be favorable for their enterprises. Some of these 
 rogues, as they journeyed on their way, had dubbed 
 themselves corporals and sergeants, and had made requi- 
 sitions, and had committed assaults and thefts. They 
 caused the communal authorities much trouble. The 
 great number of volunteers, which was augmented by 
 the arrival of the Valtellinese Battalion, led Guicciardi 
 to request Garibaldi to come to Sondrio to consult with 
 him. The General came on the 8th of July, and Guic- 
 ciardi immediately took him to see the volunteers, who 
 were not housed, but sheltered, in some old churches and 
 magazines, and shops, and other habitations. Some of 
 them were so miserable they could not go out. 
 
 Garibaldi took several hours to pass them in review. 
 
 379 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Arranged in files they presented a comic spectacle. 
 There were lads with workmen's dr students' caps, work- 
 men in shirt-sleeves, old men with beards, and dandies 
 in stylish town clothes. There were short and tall, stout 
 and thin, men, like the pipes of -an organ. 
 
 Garibaldi looked at them kindly, since at the bottom 
 of his heart he had a great predilection for the citizen 
 soldiers, as they represented the revolution. He exam- 
 ined them all in order to assign the able-bodied to the 
 proper corps. He asked Guicciardi (not, perhaps, with- 
 out some regret) to request the furnishers to provide mili- 
 tary clothing for the necessitous. The next day Guicci- 
 ardi told me that the furnishers, after having received 
 Garibaldi's order, came to him with their contracts for 
 the General's signature or for that of some one who 
 signed for him; that he, Guicciardi, had thereupon gone 
 to Garibaldi, who was greatly incensed and exclaimed: 
 "How! these rascals, to whom we have given the honor 
 of clothing the brave lads who offer their lives for their 
 country, dare to demand contracts and signatures! Is 
 not my, or your, order sufficient? Send them to the 
 devil. If they are not enemies, they certainly are not 
 patriots." 
 
 Later on, they had both contracts and signatures, but 
 this outburst of surprised and disdainful feeling depicts 
 Garibaldi's nature fully. 
 
 The next evening, that of the gth of July, we were in- 
 formed that an Austrian captain had announced an arm- 
 istice to our advance guard before Sponda Lunga, and 
 had asked what arrangements should be made between 
 us. Our people knew nothing of the armistice until the 
 
 380 
 
The Valtellinese Battalion 
 
 following day. It was a great surprise to us, as no one 
 had thought the war would be terminated before we had 
 obtained our ends. Many suppositions were suggested, 
 the most accepted being that the armistice would be of 
 short duration. 
 
 After the various corps of volunteers had been sent 
 to Valcamonica and other districts, I was able to occupy 
 myself with the Valtellinese Battalion. My first act was 
 to keep my word to the mobilized National Guard; and 
 I permitted as many as desired to return home. Nearly 
 all of them went, but it was no great loss, as so many 
 volunteers had offered themselves. We organized the 
 battalion with the idea of marching forward and fighting 
 in the Tyrolese valleys. The task was not easy, as there 
 were so many weaklings mixed up with the strong and 
 courageous mountaineers; however, with the aid of 
 Agostino Bertani, head physician of the volunteer corps, 
 I succeeded in eliminating the physically and morally 
 incapable. 
 
 Since I have spoken of the men who were anything 
 but heroic, I wish to speak of one that was a hero. One 
 evening I went with Captain Strambio, the senior cap- 
 tain of our battalion after Montanari's departure, to 
 visit one of our posts. In a little church in which a com- 
 pany was installed, I observed, while the greater part 
 were sleeping, a soldier in a confessional with a lamp, 
 holding a book in his hand. 
 
 "What is the soldier doing?" I asked the sergeant. 
 
 "He is an original," he replied; "while the others sleep 
 he passes his nights studying. He is Antonio Pievani, 
 of Tirano." 
 
 381 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 ' I knew him and his family; but as I had not seen him 
 for several years I did not recognize him. From this time 
 a friendship sprang up between us. His life was an exam- 
 ple of nobility of character and of steadfastness of con- 
 viction. After the Peace of Villafranca he left the army, 
 but afterwards joined the Mille. In Sicily he was pro- 
 moted to a captaincy, but he continued to be a compan- 
 ion to his soldiers, with whom he shared his pay. After 
 i860 he resumed the study of mathematics, in which 
 he showed so great proficiency that he was chosen by 
 the Government to take a finishing course abroad. Dur- 
 ing the invasion of cholera, which spread throughout 
 Valtellina after the war of 1866, he not only became 
 a nurse, but he sought out the suffering mountaineers 
 in their huts, and if they had been abandoned, carried 
 them to the hospital on his back. He was profoundly 
 religious, but believed that the temporal power of the 
 Pope had perverted the Church from its highest ideals, 
 and he was therefore a resolute adversary of that power. 
 
 When Garibaldi, in 1867, with the cry of "Roma o 
 morte" * called the Italians to undertake the capture of 
 the Eternal City, Pievani started to join him, but he was 
 stopped at Genoa by the proclamation of the King, who 
 forbade the attempt that finished so badly at Mentana. 
 Always more and more grieved with the contrast be- 
 tween his convictions and the policy of the Church, he 
 determined to go far away as a missionary. In order to 
 do this the sooner, he became a friar; but he died a few 
 months after, in a convent, in Valcamonica. 
 
 But to return to our battalion; while its officers and I 
 
 \* Rome or death. 
 382 
 
JVews of the Peace of Villafranca 
 
 worked to strengthen it, some letters came from Milan 
 regarding the conditions of the proposed peace, which 
 froze my heart. They were soon confirmed by the offi- 
 cial news. What a change ensued! We all ceased our 
 activities at once, and citizens and soldiers gathered 
 in crowds, questioning, discussing, and cursing. There 
 were many volunteers from the Venetian provinces and 
 other Italian lands that were destined to remain under 
 Austrian rule; and these threw down their arms and 
 cried. The unanimity which had guided us for the past 
 months was broken; the honeymoon of concord was 
 spent. Every one believed himself to be free to do as 
 he pleased. The Peace of Villafranca (of which no one 
 could understand the motives or the consequences) de- 
 stroyed every sentiment of discipline, even in the best. 
 To increase our confusion and add to our fear came the 
 news that our good pilot, Cavour, had abandoned the 
 helm of the ship of state! 
 
 In misfortune there is no greater torment than vague 
 lamentations and absurd comments; of both of which 
 there was a great quantity. So to rid myself of them and 
 of all my offices, which had become objectless, I deter- 
 mined to run away to Milan. To free myself from my 
 duties and from the rank I had expected, I begged Guic- 
 ciardi to withdraw my nomination as captain of staff. 
 Did I do well or ill ? It is a question I have often debated 
 with myself; but at the moment I did not stop to think; 
 a proof that I, too, was influenced by the lack of re- 
 flection that swayed us all. In a few days I was free, as 
 my resignation was accepted; and I left for Milan with 
 Romualdo Bonfadini. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 (i8S9) 
 
 Milan after the Peace of Villafranca. — The Venetian immigration. — The 
 relief committee. — Receptions and festivities. — Conte Francesco Annoni. 
 — La Perseveranza. — Emilio with Farini at Modena. — The salon of the 
 Contessa Maflei again. — The Principessa Cristina Belgiojoso Trivulzio. — 
 French officers. — Hospitals, public and private. — Rattazzi and his new 
 laws. 
 
 HOW different was the Milan I now saw from that 
 which I had left four months previously. Then 
 people were of one mind, disciplined by one hope; and 
 good sense was so prevalent that it seemed as if it would 
 become common. Now, the days that had followed the 
 Peace of Villafranca had been enough to put all things in 
 disorder; so much so that those who sought to explain 
 events by reason were almost ashamed. People gathered 
 along the streets in groups, and every shopkeeper ex- 
 pounded on his doorstep the policies of Napoleon and 
 the great Powers. In every discussion, be it understood, 
 dark plots, and occasionally treasons, were hinted at, 
 and the quiet citizens did not hesitate to utter great, 
 swelling words, and to make the most audacious pro- 
 positions. The rapid passage from illusion to reality 
 seemed to justify our suspicions; yet good fortune was 
 with us still, and new events soon raised up our hearts 
 again. 
 
 The groups of citizens on the streets, of which I have 
 spoken, now began to be augmented by the immigrants 
 from the Venetian provinces. This immigration was 
 composed, at first, of political exiles (some of whom were 
 
 384 
 
T'he Venetian Immigration 
 
 distinguished patriots), but afterwards a mass of idlers 
 and ne'er-do-wells came, who asked for means of sub- 
 sistence at the expense of the Government and of the 
 generous-minded citizens. They aroused, however, the 
 commiseration of us all; so the idea arose of instituting 
 a committee of relief for them.^® This committee spent, 
 in the first year of its existence, more than two hundred 
 thousand lire, which were contributed by the public- 
 spirited citizens of Milan. Later on it received, by vote 
 of Parliament, an annual allowance. From 1859 to 1866 
 it distributed rnore than a million lire of public and pri- 
 vate moneys. 
 
 Many fetes and receptions were given this autumn to 
 the deputations from central Italy, which passed through 
 the city on their way to Turin to carry to the King the 
 votes for annexation. The deputation from Tuscany 
 came first, then those from Modena, Parma, and the 
 Romagna. Our hearts became delirious with joy as the 
 end of our longing came nearer to view. 
 
 The National Guard, which was constantly called out, 
 did not excite much enthusiasm. Revolutions had been 
 made by certain countries in order to have National 
 Guards, yet, when they were obtained, no blood was 
 shed to retain them. It was so with us. Malcontents 
 soon appeared who said that too much time was lost do- 
 ing nothing. These, of course, were not those who could 
 display their epaulets, or their beards ! Conte Francesco 
 Annoni had been appointed general of the National 
 Guard by the Government. He was of an old patrician 
 family, was rich and generous, and had much heart if 
 not much head. When he was young he became an offi- 
 
 38s 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 cer of the Austrian hussars, not because of his love of 
 them, but because of their fine uniform; but when '48 
 came he resigned his commission, and Austria placed his 
 estates under sequestration. A great deal of his property, 
 however, was in Piedmont, where he remained until 1859. 
 He became a deputy, a senator, and, at last, the com- 
 mander of the National Guard of Milan. 
 
 This autumn I was asked by Giulini and Correnti to 
 join a group of friends in publishing a great political 
 journal, the first of those that were to rise in Milan. 
 The meetings to consider the project were held generally 
 at the house of Carlo d' Adda, and there were present, be- 
 sides Giulini, Correnti, and d' Adda, Alessandro Porro, 
 Luigi Sala, Antonio Allievi, Giulio Carcano, Guido Su- 
 sani, Pacifico Valussi, Bonfadini, and some others that 
 I cannot now recall. The journal was to be unitarian, 
 liberal, and monarchical, and was to be called the "Per- 
 severanza," the old motto of national patriotism. It 
 was launched the 20th of November, 1859. 
 
 My friends, especially Correnti, insisted that I should 
 undertake a part of its editorship; but I refused for sev- 
 eral reasons, the chief one being my regard for Carlo 
 Tenca, who could not be pleased to see his friends sup- 
 port a journal that would necessarily kill the "Crepus- 
 colo." The "Crepuscolo" was small, and was published 
 for the cultivated classes; moreover, it had accomplished 
 its mission, and was destined to fall as did so many heroes 
 in the day of triumph ; but the intimate friends of Tenca 
 could not inmiediately join those who were indifferent to 
 its decline and death. After the "Crepuscolo" had ceased 
 to be published, I consented to join the ranks of its rival. 
 
 386 
 
Emilio with Farini at Modena 
 
 ' I received from time to time interesting letters from 
 my brother, written from Modena. He wrote from the 
 ducal palace, where Farini resided with his cabinet, of 
 which Emilio was a menber. He was making his first 
 essay in the conduct of foreign affairs. His letters were 
 full of keen observations on the improvised dictatorial 
 government, which was sustained by an approving yet 
 diffident public opinion; and was encircled by enthusias- 
 tic yet fearful adherents. The eyes of all the people were 
 directed to the boundary, beyond which was the little 
 army of the Duke, that was ready to march upon Mo- 
 dena to make good his rights which had been reserved 
 to him by the Treaty of Zurich. 
 
 When, after the Peace of Villafranca, the Royal Com- 
 missioners (of whom Farini was one) were recalled from 
 the various provinces, a great concourse of the people of 
 Modena (some of them the highest in rank) had pro- 
 claimed Farini Dictator, and made him a Modenese 
 citizen. Farini accepted the dictatorship, and remained 
 at his post in order to oppose the restoration of the Duke. 
 Cavour, who had resigned, when asked for his counsel 
 telegraphed: "The minister is dead; the friend applauds 
 you." 
 
 When any bad news came unexpectedly to Modena, 
 the people gathered under the balcony of the Dictator 
 to strengthen his hands by the manifestation of their 
 will; and the Government, which asked for nothing bet- 
 ter, fell back upon the will of the people. One of the 
 leaders in these demonstrations was a friend of Farini, the 
 patriot Paolo Ferrari, who was already celebrated for his 
 literary and theatrical works. The situation in which 
 
 387 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 Farini found himself was difficult in the extreme. The 
 only military force he could rely upon was a half-formed 
 partly armed battalion of volunteers, called the Caccia- 
 tori della Magra, and some squads of immigrants. The 
 Duke could have chosen some favorable opportunity, 
 and, with his small but better equipped army (which he 
 had taken to the Austrians), have passed the frontier 
 and have surprised Modena; but Farini undoubtedly 
 held him back by his resolute stand. Subsequently, 
 when the Tuscan troops left their camp at Mantua to 
 return home, Ricasoli made them stop at Modena, as it 
 was the point that was then the most threatened by the 
 enemy; and the opportunity of the Duke was lost. Fa- 
 rini, with his force of character and able administration, 
 conquered all obstacles, and triumphed. He kept all the 
 people in check, — the exalted, the fearful, and the faith- 
 less. He strengthened the strong, encouraged the weak, 
 and wisely yet audaciously pushed all along the way to 
 independence. It can be said of him and of Ricasoli that 
 they decided, at this juncture, in central Italy, the ques- 
 tion of the unity of our country. 
 
 Emilio made, in September, a hurried visit to Tirano, 
 and we were united for some days with our dear mother, 
 who was ever worried, between her enthusiasm for the 
 events which were happening and her anxiety for her 
 wandering sons. Contrary to our expectation, our so- 
 journ together was short, as Emilio was recalled to Mo- 
 dena; and we left shortly after for Milan. All society 
 hastened its return to town, as people were anxious to 
 have a joyful winter season; so much the more so as, in 
 spite of the abrupt signing of the Peace of Villafranca, 
 
 388 
 
The Salon of the Contessa Maffei 
 
 new hopes were arising. It is trae that the Austrian 
 army was encamped at the Mincio, and that the deposed 
 princes were plotting their return; but Garibaldi was left 
 in command of the troops in central Italy, and was plan- 
 ning new enterprises; while Napoleon was silent, and all 
 Europe was tired of us, and told us to keep quiet. 
 
 The salon of the Contessa Maffei became very ani- 
 mated, as new people presented themselves almost every 
 day. I saw there many old emigrants that had returned, 
 and many new immigrants from the Venetian provinces, 
 also innumerable French officers, and the admirers of the 
 rising sun. [At the close of the year I was presented to 
 the Principessa Cristina Belgiojoso Trivulzio, of whom 
 I had heard so much from my friends. She came several 
 evenings to Casa Maffei. 
 
 When the Principessa entered a room she became the 
 cynosure of all eyes. She was tall, but carried her head 
 inclined to the front because of a wound she had received 
 in the Orient from the hand of an intended assassin. 
 She was fifty years of age, and her famous beauty had 
 disappeared, but her eyes were large and preserved their 
 pristine splendor. 
 
 Our guests, the French and Piedmontese officers, con- 
 tributed not a little to render our fetes and festivities 
 animated and gay. The French were the more numer- 
 ous, as our troops were scattered along the Mincio and 
 throughout central Italy. There was a strong French 
 garrison at Milan under the command of Marshal Vail- 
 lant. The French had been received throughout Lom- 
 bardy with the consideration that was their due. As 
 I have said, a tiresome legend had come down from 
 
 389 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 Napoleonic times that the French were destined to drive 
 the Austrians out of Italy; and in every family, of every 
 class, there was still a warm memory of a father or grand- 
 father who had served under the great Emperor, or 
 in the Italian army of the Viceroy Beauhamais. The 
 French infantry, and especially the zouaves, soon con- 
 tracted friendships with the populace. The soldiers of 
 the South of France used, in their speech, many words 
 that were common to the Piedmontese and Milanese 
 dialects. Thus an understanding was easily established. 
 
 The military and municipal authorities had taken 
 care to establish hospitals for the sick and wounded, and 
 to them Italian, French, and Austrian soldiers and offi- 
 cers were taken. At first many of the wounded had been 
 carried to private houses and nursed by the citizens, but 
 the medical directors had to have many transported to 
 the hospitals. In the families of the gentry the wounded 
 French remained for longer periods of time, surrounded 
 by hospitable care, and, occasionally, by sympathies 
 that were more than hospitable. There did not lack, 
 therefore, agreeable, and even piquant, episodes and 
 stories. 
 
 To overshadow the light of liberty there came upon 
 us the new administrative laws of Rattazzi. Cavour had 
 resigned after the peace, and was succeeded by the Min- 
 istry of La Marmora, in which Rattazzi was Minister of 
 the Interior. Making full use of the powers that had 
 been voted by Parliament on the eve of the war, he 
 thought he would give a new method of administration 
 to the Sardinian-Lombard provinces that had just 
 been united. The legislation of Rattazzi had uniformity 
 
 390 
 
Rattazzi and his New Laws 
 
 in view. With this it seemed to him that unity could be 
 realized more rapidly, forgetting that the question was 
 not the forging of metals, but the holding of men in 
 agreement who had different traditions, uses, needs, and 
 customs, and diverse forms of civil life. The unifying 
 method of Rattazzi became a fixed principle that, little 
 by little, was applied to all the provinces of Italy, arous- 
 ing an ill humor which has lasted for many years, and 
 will not soon disappear. Minghetti, a little while after, 
 proposed a scheme of local administration which was 
 intended to prepare the country for a uniform system; 
 but the leveling doctrine of Rattazzi prevailed, and 
 Minghetti had but a scant following. 
 
 In his hurry to legislate, Rattazzi, impressed, perhaps, 
 by the recent Austrian methods, had forgotten that 
 Lombardy had had, in the reign of Maria Teresa 
 and during the Napoleonic regime, wise administrations 
 that had left ordinances and traditions of two great 
 states. The provinces, too quickly assimilated, were ill 
 at ease; and this was the cause of Rattazzi's unpopular- 
 ity. 
 
 In the midst of this ill humor, so improvidently 
 aroused, the year of great events, which laid the founda- 
 tion of the independence and liberty of Italy, came to 
 an end; and the year i860, which was to give us the unity 
 of our country, was before us. The historian will search 
 for facts and episodes which can illustrate the story of 
 this memorable year, and this thought induces me to 
 write some pages that will carry us to the proclamation 
 of the Kingdom of Italy, the end of our long years of 
 anxious waiting. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 (i860) 
 
 The end of the " Crepuscolo." — I go to Modena and Bologna. — The family 
 and the secretaries of Farini. — Cavour again in power. — Massimo d' Aze- 
 glio. — The municipalities of Lombardy under Austrian rule. — The new 
 elections. — Antonio Beretta Mayor. — Hospitality in Casa Beretta. — 
 Private fetes and receptions. — The entry of Vittorio Emanuele. — Ales- 
 sandro Manzoni. — The coriandoli. — The beauty of the ladies. — The 
 French officers and Marshal Vaillant. — The subscription for a million 
 rifles. — Political activities. — The elections to Parliament. — The Club of 
 the "Galline." — The newspapers. — The "Pungolo," the "Perseveranza," 
 the "Unita Italiana." — My brother goes to Paris and London. — Crispi 
 at the "Perseveranza." 
 
 IN the beginning of i860 the "Crepuscolo" ceased its 
 publication, and its disappearance marked the end of 
 a long and memorable struggle. Tenca was subsequently 
 elected a deputy to Parliament, and a municipal alder- 
 man, and became a member of the commission on educa- 
 tion. As such, he founded the superior female school of 
 the municipality, which afterwards became a model for 
 similar schools throughout Italy. In Parliament, and in 
 the municipality, he was an indefatigable worker, and 
 was held in great esteem. He died on the 4th of Septem- 
 ber, 1883. His last years were disturbed by the failure 
 of a bank in which he had deposited his savings. After 
 this misfortune, he retired from political life, and, as a 
 poor man, closed his days in dignified silence. 
 
 As Farini desired to attract as large a number of vol- 
 unteers as possible to the Emilia to withstand the Duke, 
 he entered into negotiations with the committee of relief 
 of the Venetians. During these negotiations it became 
 necessary for me to see the Dictator; so I went to Mo- 
 
 39a, 
 
FarinPs Family and Secretaries 
 
 dena, and became his guest in the ducal palace. I after- 
 wards went to Bologna to see Emilio, who had gone there 
 on some official matters. Bologna was very animated. 
 The Contesse Tattini and Zucchini, note Pepoli, whose 
 mother was the daughter of Murat, King of Naples, re- 
 ceived on alternate days. Their beauty and spirit were 
 very attractive. Conte Gioachino Pepoli, their brother, 
 afterwards a deputy, a minister, and an ambassador at 
 St. Petersburg, was one of the chiefs of the annexationist 
 party in the Romagna. 
 
 Farini had assumed all the powers of government, and 
 had surrounded himself with a number of young men, 
 whom he had made his secretaries. Riccardi had charge 
 of internal, and Emilio, of foreign, affairs. The secre- 
 taries lived, almost as sons, in the Dictator's family. 
 The elder of his sons, Domenico, was an engineer officer. 
 He afterwards became a major of staff, a deputy, then 
 the President of the House, and finally a senator, and 
 the President of the Senate. The younger son, Armando, 
 was an officer of the bersaglieri. He was wounded in the 
 war, and died shortly after. At the end of the dictator- 
 ship the daughter, Ada, married Riccardi, but she died, 
 a little while after her marriage, in Naples. These do- 
 mestic misfortunes were fatal blows to Farini's health. 
 
 In his conversations and actions Farini was frank and 
 .pleasing, yet he had a certain Romagnole solemnity of 
 manner. A friend of Cavour, he followed the poli- 
 tics of the Minister with tact and courage, and guided 
 and brought about, with a sure hand, the annexation of 
 Emilia to Piedmont. He exercised the powers of his 
 dictatorship with large ideas, and with the firmness of a 
 
 393 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 statesman. He desired that I should enter his service, 
 and made me a very kind oflFer. He had nominated the 
 MarcheseDi Rora of Turin as Governor of Ravenna, and 
 wanted me to accompany him as councilor. But I thought 
 of my mother, who had begun to be unhappy because of 
 the prolonged absence of Emilio, and I did not accept the 
 office. 
 
 The return of Cavour to power was hailed by all Italy 
 with joy. It strengthened our faith and emboldened our 
 policies. The news of his recall was celebrated by the 
 people like an occasion of domestic happiness. Cavour 
 immediately appointed Massimo d'Azeglio Governor of 
 Milan, and the Palazzo di Govemo (which for half a 
 century had been the seat of foreign rule) was now 
 opened to the flower of the Milanese society. It seemed 
 like a dream. 
 
 D'Azeglio appeared to have greatly aged, as he was in 
 poor health, but he was always young in heart and warm 
 of spirit. His conversation was most agreeable, as he 
 embellished it by keen observations, anecdotes, and 
 irony. He did not always join in our enthusiastic devo- 
 tion to Cavour. He appreciated his talent, but he did not, 
 invariably, approve of his audacity. Between these two 
 illustrious men there was a latent dissent, which time 
 was to aggravate. One of the first acts of d' Azeglio's 
 government (which, by the way, lasted only a few 
 months) was the inauguration of the Consiglio Commu- 
 nale. The free administration of the community, en- 
 trusted to an elected body of citizens, was a new thing 
 in our country. 
 
 Under Austrian rule the communities Were divided 
 
 394 
 
Lombardy under Austrian Rule 
 
 into urban and rural municipalities. The councilors in 
 the urban municipalities were chosen from among the 
 hundred citizens who were rated highest on the tax- 
 list. At the head of the council was the junta and the 
 podesta, who was appointed by the Government. In the 
 little communes the council was formed from the whole 
 body of the taxpayers, and was called the Convocato. 
 The executive power was entrusted to three deputies, and 
 the first deputy could be a woman, who nevertheless had 
 to be represented. The juntas, the deputies, and the 
 podesta had to look after the ordinances of health 
 and of surveillance, but their functions were delibera- 
 tive, as all their measures had to obtain the approbation 
 of the Government. 
 
 Within the restricted limits of their powers, the muni- 
 cipalities had administered their affairs wisely and hon- 
 estly. The most noted persons and proprietors of Lom- 
 bardy had taken part therein, but the state of siege and 
 the ten years of resistance had alienated the people from 
 the Government, and the year 1859 found the municipal- 
 ities weak and feeble. In the first days of our deliver- 
 ance, as the national Government could not take meas- 
 ures for the immediate renovation of the municipalities, 
 it reinforced them by adding citizens who were noted for 
 their character and patriotism. 
 
 The communal elections of Milan were fixed for the 
 15th of January, i860. The struggle, however, was not 
 fierce, and the outcome was only unjust toward certain 
 members of the old administration who had rendered 
 real service to the community, as the Podesta Conte 
 Luigi Belgiojoso. The mayoralty was a government 
 
 395 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 nomination, and the Ministry chose, from among the 
 councilors, Antonio Beretta. The choice could not have 
 been better, as his administration of seven years demon- 
 strated. 
 
 Beretta had been a member of the municipality and 
 of the Provisional Government, in 1848, and had had 
 charge of, and had administered, the finances during its 
 existence. As I have said, Austria refused to recognize 
 any of his acts outside of the routine of business, and had 
 charged him with the expenses of the revolution. Beretta 
 managed to defend himself until the battle of Magenta. 
 
 He was not a man of great talent or of large culture, 
 but he was good, generous, and conciliatory, and his dis- 
 position was equable. A lover of his city and an able ad- 
 ministrator, he foresaw the future and prepared for it by 
 reforming our old institutions and by instituting new 
 public works. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele was one 
 of his projects.^^ Both the Mayor and the junta worked 
 ceaselessly to harmonize the old and the new administra- 
 tive laws. 
 
 In the first months the care of public instruction and 
 the superintendence of schools was confided to me. 
 Then Beretta wanted me to take charge of the surveil- 
 lance of the city, in which a large reform of regulations 
 and of institutions was contemplated. I remained, how- 
 ever, on the scholastic commission, a permanent board 
 which had charge of the proposals for the new schools 
 desired by the community. Many citizens, well known 
 for their knowledge in matters of instruction, were mem- 
 bers of it. 
 
 In every branch of the municipal life there was an 
 
 396 
 
'The Entry of the King into Milan 
 
 activity that was most unusual, and Beretta always 
 took the initiative. Besides, he was very hospitable, 
 and the entertainments in Casa Beretta were famous 
 for the gaiety and cordiality which reigned there. He 
 became, in a short time, so popular that Cavour said 
 his appointment was truly inspired. 
 
 Beretta remained in office seven years, but his star 
 became obscured, and he resigned his office because of 
 bitter political opposition. Nominated as senator, he 
 left Milan and took up his residence in Rome. His end 
 was saddened by physical ills and domestic misfortune. 
 He became blind, and so impoverished that his friends 
 had to provide for him. Besides the fetes in Casa Be- 
 retta there were many receptions in the houses of the 
 patriciate and of the rich middle class. Every one 
 wanted to enjoy the present and forget the past. 
 ■ The King made his entry into Milan on the i6th of 
 February. The people flocked about him and did not 
 cease to acclaim him. He was followed by Cavour and 
 the diplomatic corps. A few days after, he gave a grand 
 ball with an extended list of invitations. The new gen- 
 eration entered the Palazzo di Corte for the first time; 
 and great was its admiration of the splendid rooms. Ofii- 
 cial receptions followed of an infinite number of depu- 
 tations, from Milan and the provinces. Vittorio Ema- 
 nuele, with his free and frank way of acting, which seemed 
 to say that he disdained etiquette (more, indeed, than 
 was true), always pleased and fascinated the people; 
 and he sent them away from his audiences his ardent 
 admirers. 
 
 I had occasion to be received three times by the King 
 
 397 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 as a member of different deputations, and I heard his 
 speeches. They were pitched in a key that, presumably, 
 would give pleasure to each deputation. With one he 
 spoke the language of political prudence; with another 
 he appeared to give vent to the ardor of his soul, and 
 gave utterance to the most audacious proposals. So 
 there was something for all; and he discussed questions 
 with the political finesse and artfulness that guided him 
 always in the fortunate vicissitudes of his reign. 
 
 Among those who asked for an audience was Alessan- 
 dro Manzoni, who, for the first time in his life, rendered 
 homage to a prince. He went to thank him for the hon- 
 ors he had received, honors which up to this time he 
 had declined to accept from sovereigns, so as to be 
 able to refuse those that were offered him by Austria. 
 Vittorio Emanuele received him with the polite famili- 
 arity with which he would have greeted his equal; and 
 when Manzoni took his leave the King gave him his 
 arm, and accompanied him through the rooms of the 
 palace down the great stairway as far as the court. 
 Manzoni, in his modesty, never spoke of this episode. 
 I heard it from his son Pietro, who was with him. 
 
 Among the balls there was one that was most mag- 
 nificent. It was given by the Duchessa Visconti di Mo- 
 drone (to which Cavour and the diplomatic corps came) ; 
 and another, not less elegant, in costume, was given by 
 the Marchese Trotti. This last was repeated in the salon 
 of the Societa degli Artisti. 
 
 In this revival of fetes and entertainments, as might 
 be supposed, the coriandoli was revived, as the diver- 
 sion of throwing coriander seeds during the carnival 
 
 398 
 
The Coriandoli 
 
 had been prohibited. It had something unrestrained 
 about it, though it did not transcend the limits of pro- 
 priety. The people of every class diverted themselves 
 in their own way; and all exhibited good humor, since 
 between the higher and the lower classes of old Milan 
 there were no antipathies. Foreign rule had made all 
 equal in sorrow; and in the higher classes there was a 
 feeling of charity which was recognized and returned 
 with respect by the lower. 
 
 An unrestrained diversion like that of the coriandoli 
 would not now be possible in a city which is composed 
 of so many new elements, in the midst of which the old 
 have been lost. The battle of the coriandoli would be- 
 come a struggle of the classes; kindness would disappear, 
 and violence would arise. A battle of the coriandoli 
 between carriages of masqued people and terraces full 
 of ladies would be possible (if, indeed, then) only under 
 the supervision of the carabinieri. 
 
 The French officers seemed to enjoy themselves in all 
 our fetes and receptions. A great number of foreigners 
 were now to be seen in Milan, and among them many re- 
 porters, one of whom I recall. It was Madame Colet, 
 whom I had met in Casa Maffei. She came to gather in- 
 formation for her new book. 
 
 When I turn over the leaves of the old albums, and look 
 at the faces of those who have passed away, I recall that 
 the years of our political Risorgimento could be well said 
 to be a risorgimento of beauty, for at the balls and fetes, 
 in the theaters and on the promenades, many very 
 beautiful ladies were to be seen. It is needless to say 
 they were greatly admired by our guests. 
 
 399 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 How many dear names of friends come to my mind, 
 and how many stories, some pleasing and some sad, some 
 gay and some even scandalous, which time has covered 
 with its indulgent veil. Among the names I recall are 
 those of the French officers who participated in our fes- 
 tivities. I have an album that is wholly devoted to them. 
 Here is the face of Captain Magnan, the son of the 
 well-known marshal; and here is that of Theodore 
 Yung, who belonged to the staff of Marshal Vaillant. 
 Yung married afterwards a Contessa Kaula, who was 
 accused of spying in the war of 1870. He became secre- 
 tary-general of Boulanger while he was Minister, but 
 resigned before the final catastrophe. He remained ever 
 a friend of Italy, and founded the Franco-Italian League. 
 
 Before me also appear the faces of two brilliant cap- 
 tains of the hussars, that of the Marquis de Louvencour 
 and that of the Comte de Vogiie, who was among the first 
 to fall at Worth. Then there follow the faces of a group 
 of artillery officers, Laprade, La Ville Huchet, Flye de 
 Sainte Marie, and the Comte de Novion, who distin- 
 guished himself at Solferino. The Comte de Novion was 
 an excellent artist, and I have several of his sketches in 
 aquarelle. In 1 87 1 1 received a letter from him, written 
 from a German fortress, asking me to obtain, by aid of 
 my brother, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs, and of 
 the Italian Embassy at Berlin, permission to join the 
 corps that was to be sent against the Commune, which 
 Thiers had asked of Bismarck. His request was grarited. 
 Later on he passed into the Algerian service, and died a 
 general of division. 
 
 But there were not only young and gay officers among 
 
 400 
 
Marshal Vaillant 
 
 the French; there were also those who were old and 
 cross, who were unfriendly to Italy, and who went but 
 little into society; but I have not their portraits in my 
 album. 
 
 "C'est beau, votre camaval," grumbled one evening 
 at the Scala a colonel of the infantry; "c'est beau, mais 
 c'est cher; ga nous coute quatorze mille fantassins fran- 
 ?ais, couches sur vos plaines. On aurait pu bien s'amuser 
 a meilleur marche!" But he who grumbled openly, and 
 without regard for others, was Marshal Vaillant, who 
 had remained in Lombardy as commander-in-chief of 
 the French army of occupation after the return of Na- 
 poleon to France. The Marshal lodged in the Villa Reale, 
 in which Radetzky had died a few years previously. 
 The Mayor tried, in every way, to be polite and hospi- 
 table; but the Marshal was cold and reserved, and had 
 the air of a man that was filling a post he disliked. He 
 was the true type of the military grognard. 
 
 The municipality and the citizens invited him to their 
 public- and private fetes, but he never came. He re- 
 ceived his visitors in the lovely garden of the villa, 
 dressed in a linen jacket and a great straw hat, like a cul- 
 tivator of the soil. He never incommoded himself in his 
 favorite occupation. 
 
 We were in the days when the events in central Italy 
 held us in suspense, but the Marshal avoided all political 
 conversation, and talked only of greffages and of bou- 
 tures. On one of our days of greatest anxiety he wrote to 
 the Mayor, asking him to procure fifty toads to rid the 
 garSen of I do not know what kind of insect, and regret- 
 ting, at the same time, his inability to accept some 
 
 401 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 invitation. He finished by saying without further 
 compliment: "Vos annexions me desannexionnent." 
 
 In the mean while Napoleon let people talk, and let 
 us act. While our hearts were disturbed by the difficul- 
 ties which confronted Cavour, there appeared on the 
 horizon the dawn of the coming day of unity. Garibaldi 
 addressed a proclamation to the Italians, and asked for 
 a million rifles. The "million rifles" was a figurative ex- 
 pression, serving, in the General's language, to mask a 
 new undertaking. But Garibaldi, so as not to raise ques- 
 tions and to act in concert with others, placed at the 
 head of the subscription paper Giuseppe Finzi and En- 
 rico Besana, two friends of himself and of Cavour. The 
 subscription provided not for a million, but for many 
 rifles, and paid in part for the expeditions to Sicily. 
 
 At the same time Cavour prepared for a new election 
 so as to have the parliamentary support of both the old 
 and the new provinces. The elections in Milan were pre- 
 ceded by much agitation, as the concord, which had 
 existed at the time of the municipal elections, had disap- 
 peared. One of the principal political clubs that was 
 formed at this time was nicknamed the Galline, as it met 
 on the premises of a school situated on the little Piazza 
 delle Galline. This club, which had great influence for 
 years in the elections, was a club of the third party, and 
 had, as its mouthpiece, a newspaper called the "Pun- 
 golo," which was edited by Leone Fortis. A great num- 
 ber of lawyers belonged to it, who, with facile words, 
 exercised an absolute predominance. The Club of the 
 Galline did not side with the radicals, but it was nearly 
 always against the Government, because it did not con- 
 
 402 
 
Newspapers 
 
 sider that people could be independent enough. Its first 
 attacks were directed against the persons who had 
 openly or secretly controlled the march of events in the 
 preceding years; who were represented by the "Perse- 
 veranza." An understanding between the two factions 
 would not have been difiicult if they had known one an- 
 other better, and had become less suspicious. "Men," as 
 says Manzoni, "have among their other prerogatives 
 that of loving or hating one another without knowing 
 one another." The "Pungolo" introduced, later on, a 
 term which was to remain: it called consorti the friends 
 of the moderate Ministers; so consorteria, an abstract 
 word, pleased public fancy, and entered our political 
 vernacular. 
 
 The shipwrecked republicans had an association and 
 a journal, which was edited by Maurizio Quadrio. It 
 was called the "Unita Italiana." It had little influence, 
 but was especially spiteful toward its former friends; 
 and bitterly attacked my brother Emilio, who, later on, 
 fought a duel with Quadrio, 
 
 In the first elections two Milanese constituencies an- 
 nounced the candidatures of Cavour and Farini; who 
 were elected by all. The Galline accepted Carlo Tenca, 
 a Cavourian; favored Antonio Mosca, an independant; 
 and asked for votes for Agostino Bertani, a Mazzinian, 
 and Carlo Cattaneo, a federal republican. What a 
 pie! These first elections surprised Cavour, who would 
 have liked to have a demonstration from the principal 
 cities that would have supported him in his policy of 
 further annexation in the formation of the kingdom. "I 
 do not understand the judgment with which, in Milan, 
 
 403 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 they have associated me with a Mazzinian and a feder- 
 alist," he exclaimed. 
 
 Farini at this time sent my brother Emilio to Paris 
 upon a mission regarding the annexation of the Duchies. 
 This was his first diplomatic charge. While abroad, he 
 received news of his election as deputy fromTirano; he 
 had just attained his thirtieth year. The next year Ca- 
 vour sent him to London to give the English Ministers 
 some information regarding the plebiscite and the state 
 of affairs at Naples, which would keep them favourably 
 disposed and enable them to defend our cause in Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 In April I made the acquaintance of Crispi. I met 
 him in the office of the "Perseveranza," where he came 
 to write articles on the news from Sicily. He was at 
 this time the chief editor of the journal, as it was be- 
 lieved that his writings would be eagerly read and cred- 
 ited. As a matter of fact the revolutionary movement 
 in Sicily languished, and it was feared that the Bour- 
 bons would scatter the insurgents. But Crispi, who was 
 planning the expedition to Sicily, and wanted to induce 
 his friends (especially Garibaldi) to participate in it, was 
 intent on convincing us that the Sicilian revolution 
 would triumph, and that the people were only waiting 
 for the coming of the volunteers. 
 
 Crispi told me that he had conquered the hesitation 
 of all, and that an expedition was in progress which was 
 to be entrusted to Garibaldi. Sirtori, who up to this 
 time had kept himself in reserve, now decided to join 
 the enterprise, and Finzi, who had collected the funds 
 for the million rifles, was called by Cavour to Turin. 
 
 404 
 
The Sicilian Expedition 
 
 At this time my friend Costantino Garavaglia, then a 
 banker, who was known for his patriotism, told me con- 
 fidentially that one evening he had received an urgent 
 request from the Governor d' Azeglio, for the loan of 
 three hundred thousand lire, which would be paid by 
 the Ministry of Cavour, and that, in agreement with 
 d' Azeglio, he had given this sum to the Garibaldian cap- 
 tain, F. Chiassi.^* 
 
 Evidently the money that was asked for was for the 
 expenses of the expedition of Garibaldi, as the call of 
 Finzi to Turin was connected with the Piemonte and 
 the Lombardo, the two steamers of the Mille. All these 
 things will be known exactly some day.* 
 
 One can imagine the anxiety with which we followed 
 in thought the marvelous expedition, which, even in this 
 time of extraordinary events, was to surpass so much 
 the bounds of our imagination. 
 
 * Trevelyan, in Garibaldi and the Thousand (appendices), p. 341, 
 avers that Garavaglia became confused in memory, and that the 
 money in question was not paid to Garibaldi or his agent for the ex- 
 penses of the Mille, but presumably to Medici or Cosenz to fit out 
 their later expeditions. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 (i860) 
 
 Strangers at Milan. — Death of the Principessa Belgiojoso. — I make the 
 acquaintance of Alessandro Manzoni. — His family and his friends. — His 
 habits and his conversation. — Abbe Ceroli and Professor Rossari. — Dom 
 Pedro of Brazil. — Public homage to Manzoni. 
 
 AFTER the exploits of the Mille, there was, as is 
 known, a succession of actions in the southern pro- 
 vinces in which the unity of the country took its rise. 
 History, with its documents, will show to future genera- 
 tions the true course of the events of these days, and dis- 
 sipate the myths and legends which have gathered about 
 them. The events, which succeeded each other in so re- 
 markable a sequence, brought to us many journalists 
 and politicians who desired to see the spectacle of a na- 
 tion that was rising into life. Some became our admirers; 
 some remained skeptics, and some seemed to be bored 
 with finding a living people where they were accustomed 
 to see sepulchers and ruins. 
 
 I often met these people in the house of the Principessa 
 Belgiojoso, where, however, be it observed, those who 
 doubted the triumph of our cause and criticized the ac- 
 tions of our statesmen were not well received. 
 
 An optimist myself, — the more so as I had not ex- 
 perienced the deceptions of maturer years, — the Prin- 
 cipessa and I agreed so thoroughly that, in a very short 
 time, she loved to discuss politics with me, and treated 
 me most cordially. When she received people a narghile 
 was brought in, and she smoked something that cer- 
 tainly was not tobacco. She talked while she embroid- 
 
 406 
 
Death of Principe ssa Belgiojoso 
 
 ered; and sometimes, in the midst of discussions, with 
 a pad on her knees, she wrote articles for the newspapers 
 and reviews, especially for the "Revue des Deux 
 Mondes." 
 
 When she was ill she rarely went to bed, but lay 
 wrapped up in shawls in a great easy-chair, taking care 
 of herself, as she abhorred medicine. Her physician, how- 
 ever, for many years had been Dr. Maspero, the trans- 
 lator of the "Odyssey." A few days before her death, I 
 saw her stretched out in an armchair. I had called to in- 
 quire about her health, and she, hearing I was in the 
 salon, sent word that she would like to see me. She made 
 a sign that I should approach; then, in a thin voice, she 
 asked- if there was a dispatch in regard to I do not know 
 what question of political importance. Politics and the 
 state of the country interested her to the last. She died 
 on the gth of July, 1875. Her friends saw her pass away 
 with much sorrow, as with her genius she had illustrated 
 Italian patriotism, and with her wealth had helped to 
 promote it in difficult times. 
 
 In i860 I made the most precious of all my acquain- 
 tances. The Contessa Maffei took me to call on Ales- 
 sandro Manzoni. Manzoni received a few friends in the 
 evening, and he soon invited me to join them. In the 
 daytime he remained in his study which opened upon his 
 garden, and in the evening he resorted to his salon. He 
 took a seat by a table in summer, and near the chimney 
 in winter, and poked the fire with the tongs, as he lis- 
 tened, or talked. His friends and Pietro, his eldest son, 
 formed a circle about him, while his daughter-in-law 
 and grandchildren read, or sewed, or embroidered, 
 
 407 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 seated at a table in the middle of the room. The grand- 
 children were three beautiful girls, of whom the eldest, 
 Vittoria, married Senator Pietro Brambilla, and the 
 second, Giulia, became the wife of General Costantini. 
 The third was called Sandra, The friends that Manzoni 
 saw generally were the Abbe Natale Ceroli, Professor 
 Luigi Rossari, Rossi, the Librarian of the Brera, the 
 Marchese Lorenzo Litta Modignani, Giulio Carcano, 
 Senator Piola, Professor Giovanni Rizzi, Professor Fa- 
 bris and his stepson, Conte Stefano Stampa. A number 
 of other friends also came when they were in Milan. 
 
 Manzoni took a walk for a couple of hours a day, but 
 he could not go out alone because of a nervous affection. 
 If no one was with him he had the sensation of the 
 ground giving way beneath his feet, or of the houses fall- 
 ing upon him. He told me that this trouble was caused 
 by the impression he had received when he was in Paris, 
 in the Place de la Concorde, during a fete that was given 
 to celebrate the marriage of Napoleon with Marie Louise. 
 Pushed and squeezed by the crowd, his wife swooned in 
 his arms; and he had the agony of seeing her torn away 
 and trampled upon, for some minutes, by the terrible 
 waves of people. 
 
 From that day streets and squares made him dizzy; 
 and, later on, a sudden announcement of bad news in- 
 creased his malady. He was in a bookshop, in Via di S, 
 Margherita, when he heard the report of the battle of 
 Waterloo. With a clear vision he saw the loss of our in- 
 dependence, and Italy given over to Austria, perhaps 
 forever. He nearly swooned and had to be taken to his 
 house. For many years the faithful companions of his 
 
 408 
 
Manzoni and his Friends 
 
 promenades were the Abbe Natale Ceroli and Professor 
 Luigi Rossari. Ceroli was a patriotic, cultured, and 
 worthy priest, and Rossari was a professor of Italian in 
 a technical school. His culture was great, but his mod- 
 esty was greater. To some one who once asked him why 
 he had not thought of publishing some literary work, he 
 replied, "I have had among my dearest friends Man- 
 zoni, Grossi, Porta, Azeglio, Giusti, and Giorgini; and 
 do you think that, living among these giants, the idea of 
 taking up a pen has ever entered my mind?" However, 
 several of these masters did not publish anything with- 
 out first submitting it to Luigi Rossari. I had scarcely 
 made his acquaintance before I begged him to become a 
 member of the commission on education, which he did. 
 For several years he had a large share in reforming and 
 directing our municipal schools. 
 
 The conversation of Manzoni, or of Don Alessandro, 
 as he was universally called, was simple and kind, and 
 was full of witticisms. In hearing him one seemed to be 
 reading "I Promessi Sposi." With his family and intim- 
 ate friends he used the Milanese dialect; and when he 
 talked with people whom he did not know well, he some- 
 times stammered. He had an extraordinary memory. 
 At eighty-five, talking one evening with Alfieri, he re- 
 cited from memory two hundred verses of Virgil, and 
 the corresponding verses of Alfieri's translation. His 
 conversation turned often upon the French Revolution, 
 of which he remembered even the secondary actors, 
 and every little particular and document, with aston- 
 ishing accuracy. Indeed, he contemplated writing, as is 
 known, a history of this great period; but his advanced 
 
 409 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 age did not permit him to compose more than the 
 beginning. 
 
 It was difficult to get Manzoni to pronounce judg- 
 ments upon the works of living authors; and when he 
 was asked to examine manuscripts or to give advice, he 
 refused, and would answer with a general formula which 
 was, "One must be indulgent with printed works, and 
 ferocious with manuscripts." He was very shy, and dis- 
 liked to receive curious persons or foreigners except in 
 especial cases. One exception was Dom Pedro, Emperor 
 of Brazil, who once sent him his translation of "Cinque 
 Maggio" with the grand cordon of the Rosa. Manzoni 
 wrote him, praising the translation, and thanking him 
 for the honor, which, however, he declined. After 1859, 
 Dom Pedro sent him the order of the Rosa a second time, 
 and wrote : " If I have guessed the reason why you did 
 not accept my decoration at first, I hope you will accept 
 it now." Manzoni did accept it, and thanked him in the 
 usual form of courteous appreciation. 
 
 Though shy of making new acquaintances, he knew 
 all the illustrious men of his time, especially of Italy. 
 He had his son Pietro answer the letters of his many cor- 
 respondents. In writing himself he was never satisfied, 
 and frequently rewrote his letters to his friends. After 
 his death, Abbe Ceroli, who had charge of his papers, 
 told me that he had found hundreds of letters from un- 
 known persons who had written to Manzoni, as to a 
 saint, asking for counsel, and saying that his writings 
 had put faith, peace, and hope into their souls. On the 
 other hand, his son told me that his father had received 
 in his last days some rabid letters, which violently as- 
 
 410 
 
Public Homage to Manzoni 
 
 sailed him, because, as a senator, he had gone to Turin 
 to vote for the order of the day, which proclaimed Rome 
 to be the capital of Italy, 
 
 When such letters came, he glanced them over, then 
 took them with the tongs and put them into the fire. He 
 was opposed to the temporal power of the Pope, not only 
 from the standpoint of Italian politics, but also from that 
 of a most rigorous and orthodox Catholic. In the cause 
 of religion he frequently discussed this grave ques- 
 tion, and cited extracts from ecclesiastical history, in 
 which he was very learned. The bitterness which these 
 wretched letters and some anonymous libels caused him 
 was compensated by the esteem, not to say veneration, 
 in which he was held. In his promenades, through the 
 city and beyond, he was recognized by all, and all made 
 way for, and saluted, him with respectful affection. In 
 one of his last years (I think it was 1871) he went one 
 evening to the theater to hear a comedy then in vogue. 
 He was scarcely seen before the whole house rose to its 
 feet, waving their handkerchiefs and saluting him. At 
 the exit there was a clamorous demonstration. 
 
 He received another tribute of regard in the summer of 
 the same year. One evening he returned home later than 
 usual, and tried to justify his tardiness to his friends, 
 who were waiting for him, by some excuses; but Abbe 
 Ceroli, who had accompanied him, said : "We were in the 
 public garden, and Don Alessandro was looking at some 
 new plantations, when some persons recognized him and 
 began to say to one another, 'Manzoni, Manzoni.' 
 Thereupon people commenced to gather from every part 
 of the garden, and in a moment he was surrounded by a 
 
 411 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 crowd of men, women, and children. AH wanted to press 
 his hand or to touch his garments. Some women even 
 asked for a benediction for their babies. Don Alessandro 
 became red in the face, but, with his usual good will, 
 shook hands with the men and women, and caressed the 
 children. After a good half-hour a way was opened for 
 him, and he returned home between two files of people 
 who saluted him and cried, 'Viva Manzoni.' It was," 
 concluded Don Ceroli, "an ovation." 
 
 It might be said that the Milanese had a presenti- 
 ment that they were honoring Manzoni for the last time. 
 On the 6th of January, 1873, he fell upon the steps of the 
 church of S. Fedele, and struck his forehead. He re- 
 ceived a shock, and his mind became clouded; and after 
 some intervals of delirium and lucidity, he died the 22d 
 of May following. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 (i860) 
 
 Chronicle of the events of i860. — Attempt of Cavour to promote a pronuncia- 
 mento at Naples. — Garibaldi enters Naples. — The royal troops enter 
 Emilia and the Marches. — Conte Pasolini Governor of Milan. — More fes- 
 tivities. — The poiice power. — Its provisional reorganization. — An agent 
 of the French police. — Regular organization of the police. — Cavaliere 
 Setti. — Farini nominated Lieutenant at Naples. — My brother accom- 
 panies him. — Decline of Farini's health. — The sequence of events. — A 
 saying of Alessandro Manzoni. — Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy with 
 its capital at Rome. — Its recognition by France upon the death of Cavour. 
 
 LET us turn to the events of i86o. Every day- 
 seemed to bring forth a new cause for trepidation 
 and joy. While we were anxious for the success of Gari- 
 baldi's expedition, the battalions of the National Guard 
 went from city to city to celebrate the advent of frater- 
 nity; all, of course, in the trappings of war. The guards, 
 however, that went to Bologna had more than banquets 
 and speeches in mind. Cavour sent Giuseppe Finzi and 
 my brother to Naples, where, a few days before, Persano 
 had arrived with a warship. The Minister hoped that, 
 after Garibaldi's success in Sicily, Naples would rise, or, 
 at least, that the Neapolitan army would rebel and make 
 a pronunciamento. Thus the political effect of the cap- 
 ture of the city would be greater, and the army would 
 remain intact, and could be added to the Italian forces 
 and used with them against the Austrians who were still 
 encamped upon our frontier. 
 
 r. This attempt of Cavour failed, though it was aided by 
 some illustrious Neapolitans and many of his friends. 
 The kingdom fell apart; and Garibaldi entered Naples, 
 
 413 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 almost alone, on the nth of September, in the midst of 
 an enthusiastic people who proclaimed him the Liber- 
 ator. 
 
 After the entrance of Garibaldi into Naples, Cavour 
 courageously forsook diplomatic tergiversations, and de- 
 termined to take the initiative, and send the royal troops 
 into the Marches and Umbria. This plan was conceived 
 toward the end of Av^^gust; but the Minister, taking into 
 consideration the difficulties he would have to encounter 
 in the cabinets of Europe, thought it best to warn his 
 secret friend, Napoleon. Profiting by a visit to Savoy 
 the Emperor was making, he sent Farini and Cialdini, 
 with the mission of communicating the resolution he had 
 formed. Napoleon showed them his diplomatic engage- 
 ments, and spoke of the indignation such a course would 
 provoke. But as the envoys persisted, he replied at the 
 end, with the celebrated words, "Faites vite." The 
 troops, as is known, led by Fanti entered Perugia; Cial- 
 dini beat Lamoriciere at Castelfidardo, and Ancona was 
 captured. 
 
 In October a new governor was sent to Milan to re- 
 place d'Azeglio, who had resigned because of a differ- 
 ence with Cavour. He was Conte Giuseppe Pasolini, of 
 Ravenna, a cultured and liberal patriot, and an import- 
 ant personage in the Romagna. He had taken part, in 
 1848, in the first Liberal Ministry of Pius IX, with Min- 
 ghetti and Mamiani. Pasolini and Beretta governed 
 Milan, in the troublesome days, with sure and firm 
 hands. The old directing class needed to be guided, 
 and the public, with its new experience of liberty, needed 
 to be tamed. The marvelous success of Garibaldi (due, 
 
 414 
 
Conte PasoUni Governor of Milan 
 
 in part, to the exceptional nature of the man, and in 
 part to a most extraordinary concatenation of circum- 
 stances) had obscured in many the idea of impossibility, 
 and had lifted restraint from fancy. And the Austrians 
 were still encamped upon the bank of the Mincio! To 
 interpret the thought of Cavour, and to be both auda- 
 cious and prudent, was not an easy task. 
 
 General La Marmora, who was in command of an army 
 corps, was strengthened by his old prestige and popular- 
 ity. Pasolini often said that "his very face, upon which 
 all could read courage, firmness, and loyalty, inspired a 
 sense of security, as if he had an army behind him." 
 Moreover, both the Governor and the Mayor lived the 
 life of the country, and gathered about them, with gen- 
 erous hospitality, all the best of its citizens. 
 
 Conte Pasolini was not only a statesman and an able 
 administrator, but he was cordial and tactful, and made 
 his receptions very attractive. He had the good fortune, 
 too, to be aided by his wife, the Contessa Antonietta 
 Bassi (a Milanese), who was universally beloved for her 
 goodness and exquisite manners; so much so that, when 
 Ricasoli, in 1862, changed the Governors into Prefetti, 
 the Contessa was called the Prefetta. 
 
 As a city alderman, I had frequent occasion to be asso- 
 ciated with Pasolini, and I could appreciate his excellent 
 qualities. I had, by desire of the Mayor, assumed a dis- 
 agreeable duty. The old Austrian police had disappeared 
 with the entry of the allied armies. There remained 
 only some secondary employees, and there were the cara- 
 binieri, who had just come. So, in some of the principal 
 communities, the Government had given power to the 
 
 41S 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 municipal officers to exercise the police power provision- 
 ally. 
 
 Cavour, with his large and liberal ideas, had little 
 faith in the efficacy of the police. Like all the Liberals of 
 his day, he remembered their abuse of power, and was 
 suspicious of them. He once said to a governor who 
 asked him for a larger force : "Do you believe in the po- 
 lice.? Remember that, when order is disturbed, there are 
 good soldiers in your barracks!" 
 
 The Mayor, in agreement with the Governor, in order 
 to cut loose from the formal ways of the past, had ap- 
 pointed, as head of the municipal force, a certain Fran- 
 cesco Crippa, who had been superintendent of public 
 security. Crippa was an old bureaucrat, of great astute- 
 ness, who had an exact knowledge of the various classes 
 in the city. The Mayor made him dependent upon an 
 alderman, and delegated me for the duty. This service is 
 generally repellent and thankless; but, I confess, I found 
 it, at times, rather diverting. Some of the reports that 
 I read were very comical; but there were also mysteri- 
 ous and terrifying reports, which sent me to the Gover- 
 nor or to the colonel of the carabinieri. Matters of a 
 purely political character were forwarded directly to the 
 Governor, who transmitted them to the Ministry of the 
 Interior. 
 
 The most disgusting business was the spying and the 
 importunity of the informers. It required much astute- 
 ness upon the part of Crippa to distinguish the true 
 from the false spies; for in every complot, whether of the 
 many or the few, there arise ever true or false in- 
 formers. 
 
 416 
 
Cavaliere Setti 
 
 The municipalities were soon relieved of this onerous 
 service when the new commissioners of police were ap- 
 pointed and entered upon their offices. The first com- 
 missioner sent us was the Cavaliere Setti, an old repub- 
 lican and an able functionary. In taking charge of his 
 office, he said something that was evidently his maxim: 
 "The police must have money; much money a good 
 police; little money a poor one." 
 
 Before Setti's arrival a sad sort of personage came to 
 me with a letter of recommendation from a deputy of a 
 subalpine district. This letter exhorted me to confide in 
 this person, as he was known by many patriots to have 
 rendered our cause important services in the past. I re- 
 ceived the man cordially, and, after several visits, he 
 became confidential and let me see some letters he had 
 from the old Committee of London, — from Mazzini, 
 Kossuth, and Ledru-RoUin. He told me, too, of his 
 journeys, to Italy, Hungary, and France, to carry the 
 instructions of the committee; and concluded that, for 
 some time past, he had renounced his wandering life, and 
 was joyful that Italy offered him a safe harbor of retreat. 
 
 The safe harbor was an office of some kind in Milan; 
 but it was not forthcoming at the moment, so I told him 
 to wait. One day, in passing in review various em- 
 ployments, I spoke of the police, and said the Govern- 
 ment intended to reorganize it. I thought he would sniff 
 at the idea; but to my great surprise he said, after some 
 hesitation, that he had had experience in police matters. 
 Then, little by little, he confided to me that he had been 
 in the pay of the Prefect of Police of Paris, as one of his 
 secret agents. 
 
 417 
 
Memoirs of Touth 
 
 Poor Committee of London! The proof that was given 
 me was too convincing to be ignored. To how many un- 
 fortunate episodes did my thoughts not turn ! I told the 
 man that the municipahty had nothing to do with 
 the poHce reorganization, and that he should apply to 
 the Governor. Later on I learned that he had gone to 
 Naples. 
 
 How many were flocking to Naples, to seek their for- 
 tunes and to increase the disorder which distracted the 
 Lieutenant ! Farini, who had been appointed to the office, 
 had invited my brother Emilio to join him. His lieuten- 
 ancy did not last long, for, in the ardor of his labors, his 
 mind became impaired, and the long paralysis began 
 which killed him. 
 
 The sequence of events which occurred in Naples, 
 at the end of i860, was the subject-matter of all our 
 thoughts and conversations. The entry of the royal army 
 into the southern provinces, the possible friction with 
 the Garibaldians, the question of the plebiscite, the strug- 
 gle of the parties, the clash between Garibaldi and Ca- 
 vour, the siege of Gaeta, and the diplomatic complica- 
 tions that arose, excited, depressed, and exalted us by 
 turns. Behind the great questions there arose a multi- 
 tude of little ones which vexed all that part of the: public 
 which sees little evils by preference and allows itself to 
 be blinded by the dust of the storm. 
 
 One evening, in the house of Alessandro Manzoni, we 
 were talking of the little things that the many journal- 
 ists and politicians were discussing. Inoperative laws, 
 badly drawn regulations, and bureaucratic red-tape cer- 
 tainly abounded. As we passed in review some of the 
 
 418 
 
Proclamation of the Kingdom 
 
 evils of the day, Manzoni listened; then, finally, he said: 
 "Within a few years, and perhaps within a few months, 
 who will remember all these little woes which now oc- 
 cupy us so much? Only one thing will always be remem- 
 bered; it will always be remembered that within these 
 two years Italy was made!" 
 
 A few months after the surrender of Gaeta and the de- 
 parture of the former King of Naples, Parliament pro- 
 claimed the Kingdom of Italy with its capital at Rome. 
 Although the Venetian provinces were not yet united to 
 the kingdom, thenceforth, in the knowledge of the world, 
 Italy was made. The Powers which, for centuries, had 
 rejected it, were now about to receive it into the pale; 
 and, by a mysterious fate, the death of Cavour, who 
 had been its great artificer, was to Idad the way to this 
 consummation. 
 
 The first recognition the new kingdom received was 
 from our old friend of Magenta, Napoleon, who, on the 
 day when the country wept for the misfortune of the 
 nation, with delicacy of thought remembered us and 
 recognized the kingdom. 
 
 And now that I have come to the proclamation of the 
 Kingdom of Italy, to the great goal of the passionate 
 faith and devotion of a generation, I will end these me- 
 moirs. I have desired to hear, and I have heard, again 
 in my soul the echo of the days when hopes were high 
 and arms were strong. These pages are for you, my 
 nephews. In the papers of your father you will find doc- 
 uments of greater value; but you will not, perhaps, dis- 
 dain the more modest writings of your uncle. This is not, 
 I repeat, a history; it is a chronicle of the things I have 
 
 419 
 
Memoirs of Youth 
 
 seen and known; it is besides a relation of the opinions 
 and impressions which were prevalent in the days com- 
 prised in my chronicle, touching the acts which then 
 took place; and it is also a document which history, one 
 day, will have to take into account. 
 
 Preserve the sentiments, and understand the faith, 
 that animated the young men of the days that have 
 gone; and if some, in the present, seem to be forgetful of 
 the past, keep close to your own souls the old device: 
 "All for the country, and the country beyond and above 
 all." 
 
 THE END 
 
NOTES 
 
NOTES 
 
 1. Before the tempestuous times of the French Revolution 
 had begun, my grandfather, in union with the most conspicuous 
 persons of the valley, had taken part in a legal agitation against 
 the mal-administration of the Canton of the Grisons. They ad- 
 dressed themselves to the Government of the Duchy of Milan, 
 or rather to Austria, as the guarantor of the treaties which existed 
 between the Valtelliria and the Grisons; treaties which the ruling 
 Government had continually violated. 
 
 The Government of the Grisons, which began in Valtellina 
 after the fall of the Duchy of Milan, in 15 12, was interrupted 
 during the Thirty Years' War by the revolution of 1620, known 
 by the name of the " Sacro Macello," which was followed by a 
 long war. It was reestablished, afterwards, by the Powers in 1639. 
 The Government of the Grisons, called of the Three Leagues, 
 was fixed at Coire, and was an oligarchy, which farmed out the 
 public offices, especially in Valtellina, to the highest bidders. 
 These in turn compensated themselves by making a traffic of jus- 
 tice and of administrative measures in the subject countries. One 
 can understand how much this Government was abhorred, and 
 what odious memories it left in the Valtellina. 
 
 2. The invasion of Lombardy by the French came in 1796. 
 The Valtellina, a little after, arose against its Grisons masters, 
 and obtained from General Bonaparte a decree that it should be 
 joined to the Lombard province. This decree was dated the 7th 
 Brumaire in the year VI (28th October, 1797). The Valtellina 
 passed through very sorrowful years during the Jacobin Govern- 
 ment and the subsequent Austro-Russian invasion. At this time 
 a certain Simeone Paravicini became the head of the reaction 
 and of the civil war party. The Austrians entered into the valley, 
 arresting and sending to Innsbruck as hostages, several of the 
 most noted heads of the Liberal movement. My grandfather, 
 who was especially sought for, succeeded in escaping through 
 many dangers. The region of High Valtellina was then invaded 
 by bands of deserters and of fugitives from the adjacent coun- 
 tries, who inaugurated a period of assassination and of robberies 
 
Notes 
 
 that was called afterwards the times of "the brigands." My 
 grandfather, who had come back to the country after the battle 
 of Marengo and the return of the French, was called to different 
 public duties. He was many times shot at by the brigands. In 
 the exercise of his offices, he went about always accompanied by 
 armed servants. Acts of brigandage were repeated in the Val- 
 tellina in 1809, following the insurrection that had arisen at the 
 renewing of the war between France and Austria. The acts of the 
 brigands formed later a legend that I have heard related by the 
 old people when I was a boy. In this legend the names of my 
 grandfather and of his family were frequently mentioned. 
 
 3. Imagine with what terror the Valtellina feared the possibil- 
 ity of a restoration of the Government of the Grisons after 1815, 
 and the fall of the Napoleonic regime. Therefore the Depart- 
 mental Council, in the name of all the Communal Representa- 
 tives, determined to send a mission to Vienna to ward off the 
 danger, and to defend, at the Congress, the status quo, that is, 
 the union of Valtellina with Lombardy. Two delegates, Conte 
 Diego Guicciardi, formerly Minister and President of the Senate 
 of the Italian Kingdom, and Gerolamo Stampa, of Chiavenna, 
 were sent. 
 
 They remained at Vienna several months, informing the Coun- 
 cil and their friends (among whom was my grandfather) of what 
 was happening. They sent my grandfather reports of their 
 mission, in which they noted daily the negotiations and the 
 conversations that they had had with different representatives 
 of the Powers. From these reports (which have been preserved 
 in our house) can be seen the intrigues of the Grisons to recover 
 the Valtellina and the movements of the delegates to circum- 
 vent them, as well as the various projects of the Powers. Austria 
 naturally welcomed the desire of the Valtellina to remain a part 
 of the province of Lombardy, and had already occupied Chia- 
 venna. Only the Ambassador of Sardinia, San Marzano, sup- 
 ported this proposition, saying that no new doors for foreigners, 
 across the Alps, should be opened. France and England inclined 
 to making the Valtellina an autonomous Swiss Canton. Other 
 Powers, and a part of the Swiss Cantons themselves, at first 
 opposed this solution, in order not to enlarge the Confederation 
 with a Catholic Canton. In the mean time an intermediate 
 
 424 
 
Notes 
 
 solution, that of uniting the Valtellina to the Grisons, but as 
 constituting a fourth league, acquired favor, and was about to 
 triumph, when, unforeseenedly, the news that Napoleon had 
 escaped from Elba and had landed at Cannes fell like a bomb 
 into the Congress. Then, in hurry and fury, pending questions 
 were variously decided. The Alpine border of the Lombard 
 country was suddenly conceded to Austria, because the Powers 
 desired to gain her good will and were anxious to push her against 
 Napoleon. The people of Valtellina were joyful to have shaken 
 oflF the hated lordship of the Grisons. They had not regained 
 their independence, but they had become again Lombards and 
 Italians, obtaining finally and forever a civil and regular govern- 
 ment. The Valtellina was officially called the Province of Son- 
 drio. 
 
 4. At the Scala the opera was interrupted in the middle by a 
 ballet called "grand." When the opera was finished, there was a 
 little ballet, or balletto comico. One of these little ballets was 
 quite celebrated; it represented in caricature all the young ele- 
 gant Milanese that were most noted at the time. 
 
 5. In the Cronistoria of Alessandro Gianetti, published by L. F, 
 Cogliati, we read: "The Director of the Boselli Institute, in obe- 
 dience to an injunction he had received, made arrangements to 
 teach his pupils the singing of the Austrian Hymn. But not a 
 few of his pupils refused, and would not sing it. Such was the 
 sentiment of Italianism that these little pupils had absorbed in 
 the environment of their respective families. These youths were 
 the brothers Mancini, the brothers Guy, the brothers De Cristo- 
 foris, the brothers Visconti-Venosta, Carissimi, Emilio Bignami- 
 Sormani, and others." 
 
 6. Cattaneo describes the visit he received from some young 
 men, on the morning of the i8th of March, as follows: — 
 
 "The evening of the 17th of March one of my friends, who had 
 just come from the house of Conte O'Donnel, the Viceroy, hav- 
 ing told me that a sedition in Vienna had brought about the 
 abolition of the censorship, I determined to begin next day the 
 publication of a journal. The moment seemed to me to be pro- 
 pitious for forcing the Government to give us arms and some 
 liberty of action, above all to put our soldiers under our own con- 
 trol. It seemed wise to make a beginning of an Italian league 
 
Notes 
 
 with our hands equipped, since the neighboring ruler, who had 
 just become constitutional (and only for love of us), would 
 then be our ally and not our master. I recall to mind that the 
 enterprise of the citizens comprehended the conquest of liberty 
 and of independence at the same time. A slavish independence, 
 that is, in the Austrian or Russian manner, did not seem to me 
 to be worth having. For a partial undertaking I did not think 
 it right to drench the country with blood. 
 
 "I had scarcely finished writing the first sheet, a little after 
 sunrise, when two friends came in and told me that the Podesta 
 Casati intended to go at midday from the Municipio to the Pal- 
 ace to demand, in the name of the people, certain reforms. They 
 asked me what they should do in case of a conflict. The mania 
 of resorting to force, when nothing had been done to organize it, 
 seemed to me to be favorable to the enemy, who, we knew, was 
 ready and eager to use it. 'The Podesta will lead the people to 
 slaughter,' I said. 'He goes as a blind man whither he is led. 
 With what forces can you assault twenty thousand men who are 
 prepared for a butchery, and who wish to make one.? How many 
 combatants have you ? ' These young men were able to lay hands 
 only upon a dozen or two cacciatori. ' Do you not see that sev- 
 eral thousand well-armed and disciplined men are needed t ' They 
 told me that the whole city would rise, and that there were 
 forty thousand guns on hand. 'These forty thousand guns, 
 have you seen them?' No, they had not seen them, but they 
 knew that the directing committee had imported them from 
 Piedmont. 'Go and see first whether they have arrived. Go to 
 the directing committee; but learn first whether such a commit- 
 tee exists.' 'There is one without doubt, as every one speaks of 
 it.' 'Very well; but you will see in the end that there are neither 
 guns nor committee. I have known these courtiers for some time; 
 they have a blind faith in Carlo Alberto, but they will be re- 
 warded as usual. The King does not love liberty, and cannot 
 love it. We must take time to arm ourselves, so that all Italy 
 can help us, for all of Italy will be needed. Do not let us drive 
 an unarmed people to the cannon's mouth; at least, not until 
 there is an absolute need of defense.' My friends went away little 
 contented with me. Then came some others, and I made them 
 the same sort of reply. Some invited me to a kind of a meeting 
 
 426 
 
Notes 
 
 in the Galleria at two o'clock. In the mean time I carried my 
 manuscript to a printer." 
 
 "C. Cattaneo." 
 {DeW Insurrezione di Milano nel 1848, e della successiva 
 guerra, Memorie di C. Cattaneo. Bruxelles, Societa Tipografica, 
 1849, pages 29-31). 
 
 7. The evening of the 17th of March, Cesare Correnti re- 
 quested his friends to go the following morning to the house of 
 Dr. Attilio De Luigi, in Via Disciplini. There went, therefore, 
 Achille Maiocchi, Daverio Perroni, Guido Borromeo, Giovanni 
 Pezzotti, Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga, Pietro Bonetti, Achille 
 Griffini, Alberico Gerli, Giovanni and Gaetano Cantoni, Giu- 
 seppe Finzi, the brothers Lazzati, and others. When Correnti 
 had gathered his friends around him, he said, " It is no longer 
 possible to defer the revolution; rather is it necessary to promote 
 it. Therefore it is proposed to make an armed demonstration 
 to-morrow, and, if the Austrians assault the citizens, to with- 
 stand them." "At the words of Correnti we smothered a cry of 
 joy," said Gerli, " and, after having pressed one another's hands, 
 separated. The next morning we were all at the house of De 
 Luigi at the hour appointed. After a short discussion, it was 
 agreed to entrust the Provisional Government to the Munici- 
 pality with power to add whomsoever it might desire. In the 
 mean time the Podesta was to ask O'Donnel, in the absence of 
 Spaur, to entrust the administration of the police to the Muni- 
 cipality. It was agreed, also, to accompany the Podesta to the 
 palace of the Government, to demand the performance of this 
 request." (Vittore Ottolini, Rivoluzione Lombarda del 1848— SQ, 
 page 60.) 
 
 8. "United in little groups," wrote Emilio Dandolo, in his 
 book on the Folontari Lomhardi, " we passed hours in learning the 
 manual of arms. Our nights were spent in some little hidden 
 room, casting balls and preparing cartridges. In every one of our 
 gardens and courtyards ammunition was secreted, which had 
 been obtained by our savings at an age when saving is painful." 
 
 Among these young men I recall the brothers Croff, the bro- 
 thers Broggi, Girolamo and Alessandro Borgazzi, Manara, the 
 brothers Dandolo, Fioretti, Testa, the brothers Mancini, Lodo- 
 vico Trotti, Saule Mantegazza, Carlo De Cristoforis, and Bussi. 
 
 427 
 
Notes 
 
 There were others whose names I cannot remember. All were at 
 the barricades, and Angelo Fava was always with them. In Via 
 Rugabella, in the garden of Casa Valerio, the brothers Lazzati 
 had hidden some ammunition. Carlo Alberto sent a load of 
 powder during the Five Days, but it was impossible to bring it 
 into the city. 
 
 9. The Committee of Defense transformed itself into a Com- 
 mittee of War, of which Conte Pompeo Litta (formerly captain 
 of artillery in the suite of Napoleon I) was the President, and of 
 which Cattaneo, Cernuschi, Clerici, Terzaghi, Carnevali, Lis- 
 soni, Cerani, and Torelli were members. 
 
 10. The construction of the barricade and balloons was di- 
 rected by one of the older clerical students, Antonio Stoppani, 
 who was then twenty-three years of age. He later became a 
 priest, and was celebrated as a geologist and author. 
 
 11. Later on, when legend began to take the place of truth, 
 many desired to have attributed to themselves the merit of hav- 
 ing rejected the armistice. It was said, among other things, that 
 the Provisional Government accepted it, and that Cattaneo 
 alone opposed it. The truth is simple. Luigi Torelli, who was 
 present at the meeting of the Council, wrote in his Ricordi delle 
 Cinque Giornate (an exact narrative of the revolution) : — 
 
 " Being present at the Council, I can give an account of it. We 
 were fourteen or fifteen in number; since, besides the members of 
 the Government, there were those of the Committees of Defense 
 and of War. The President, Casati, placed before us the request 
 of Marshal Radetzky for a suspension of arms. Who first began 
 to speak I do not know. Signore Cattaneo was certainly one of 
 those who spoke against the proposal; but only three of those 
 present favored its acceptance; the others, without the need of 
 the rhetoric of anybody, resolutely opposed it as being more 
 useful for Radetzky than for us. 
 
 " When my turn came to speak, I added that, in my quality of 
 chief of the patrols, I could say they would be much deceived if 
 they believed that, in accepting an armistice, our combatants 
 would observe it, for of discipline there was not a shadow. Be- 
 sides, I can appeal to many, who, I hope, are still living, that 
 they will recollect, that during the crossing from the Casa Vidi- 
 serti to Casa Taverna, the cry was raised, 'No, no; do not let us 
 
 428 
 
Notes 
 
 accept a suspension,' and this was repeated in the great hall of the 
 Casa Taverna, where the Council was then held. You can see, 
 therefore, that, without detracting from the merits of Signore 
 Cattaneoj no circumstance can be brought forward to prove that 
 he rendered a signal service to his country." 
 
 12. At the beginning it was decided to attempt the attack of 
 the city by way of the bastion of the Porta Comasina, now Porta 
 Garibaldi. Gerolamo Borgazzi, at the head of some hundreds of 
 men whom he had brought from the country, was entrusted with 
 this command; but, during the attack, he was killed. He was a 
 brother of Alessandro Borgazzi, who, when insulted during a 
 demonstration by an officer, the nephew of Conte di Ficquel- 
 mont, caned him. The Gazzetia d' Augusta published a notice that 
 a noble Milanese had assaulted a Thurn, and that he had been 
 arrested. These Borgazzi were cousins of my mother. 
 
 13. During the first days of the revolution the highest part of 
 the roof of the cathedral was occupied by the Tyrolese, who, with 
 their carbines, kept the piazza and the neighboring streets clear. 
 The firing of the third day had scarcely finished when Luigi 
 Torelli, who afterwards became a senator and a minister of the 
 kingdom, and another citizen had the happy idea of going to 
 see whether the cacciatori had retired. They found that they 
 had gone; so they unfurled a tricolored flag to let the citizens 
 know that they were masters of the city. This act lifted up the 
 souls of all the people and likewise of many in the surrounding 
 country. 
 
 14. An order to take the Palazzo del Broletto at any cost was 
 given to Colonel Perrin, who commanded a Bohemian regiment. 
 Schonhals, however, in his history of the Campaigns of Italy, 
 attributes its capture to Colonel Doll, who commanded the 
 Paumgater Regiment. 
 
 15. The hostages were Antonio Bellati, Prefect of Milan; 
 Conte Giuseppe Belgiojoso, Alderman; Conte Ercole Durini, 
 Nobile Pietro Bellotti, Alderman ; Marchese Giberto Porro, Conte 
 Giulio Porro, Nobile Filippo Manzoni, Nobile Carlo De Capitani, 
 Nobile Francesco Giani, Enrico Mascazzini, Nobile Alberto De 
 Herra, Dr. Antonio Peluso, Enrico Obicini, Mascheroni, Citterio, 
 Engineer A. Brambilla, Carlo Crespi, Carlo Pozzi, Guglielmo 
 Fortis, and Nobile Carlo Porro. Sixteen others were added on 
 
 429 
 
Notes 
 
 the way. These had been arrested, and were chosen from among 
 the notables of the districts through which the troops passed on 
 their retreat. Carlo Porro was a brother of Conte Alessandro 
 Porro, who afterwards became a senator, and was the president 
 of the Savings Bank of Milan. 
 
 1 6. Shortly after the revolution a subscription was opened for 
 offerings for the national cause, or rather for the expenses of 
 the war. It was enthusiastically received, and attained in four 
 months to nearly three million lire. The names of the principal 
 givers were: Duca Antonio Litta, Conte Giulio, and the Du- 
 chessa Madre, 154,000 lire and a battery; Duca Tommaso Scotti, 
 100,000 lire; Conte Giuseppe Archinto, 100,000 lire; Marchese 
 Arconati, 100,000 lire; Conte Castelbarco, 50,000 lire; Conte 
 Taverna, 60,000 lire; Duca Melzi, 70,000 lire; Arnaboldi, 50,000 
 lire. From 10,000 to 20,000 lire: D'Adda, Arese, Soncino, Cri- 
 velli, Dal Verme, Greppi, Prinetti, Annoni, Ponzone, Bolognini, 
 Besana, and others. Cattaneo speaks of the avarice of the Milan- 
 ese patricians. (Cattaneo, Archivio Triennale.) 
 
 In the mean time a forced loan of five millions, increased after- 
 wards to fourteen, was decreed by the Provisional Government, 
 and a voluntary loan was also asked for. Then an offering of 
 horses, of silverware, and of other valuables was opened. To this 
 the patrician families contributed most generously. They robbed 
 themselves of artistic and antique silver to send to the mint with 
 an elan that was much more generous than sensible. To the of- 
 fering of precious objects all classes contributed. No one can 
 read of the sacrifices that were made without emotion. Regular 
 financial methods would have provided far better for the needs of 
 the Government, but sentimental ways were preferred. A few 
 months later the Austrians instituted severe and energetic finan- 
 cial measures for their own account. 
 
 17. Conte Bethlen had an only daughter, who married, first, 
 Principe Fabio Gonzaga, and afterwards, when a widow, Nobile 
 Giovanni Frigerio. 
 
 18. The Proclamation of London was in the name of sixty 
 representatives of the Roman Constituent Assembly; but it 
 seems that these representatives of a disbanded assembly had 
 not held any meeting, and that they had not given this mandate 
 to Mazzini. It was an expedient resorted to by him in order to 
 
' Notes 
 
 justify the dictatorship that he assumed in these days. This is the 
 proclamation: — 
 
 National Italian Loan 
 
 1. The National Committee solicits a loan of ten million 
 Italian lire. 
 
 2. The loan is divided into two hundred and fifty thousand 
 shares; fifty thousand of one hundred lire each, and two hundred 
 thousand of twenty-five lire each. The bonds will be distributed 
 in series, and each one bears a progressive number. 
 
 3 . The bonds will be delivered to the purchaser upon payment. 
 They are made payable to bearer, and are transmissible by de- 
 livery. Possession will prove the right to them and to all interest 
 accrued, and to accrue, thereon. 
 
 4. Interest will be at the rate of six per cent per annum, from 
 the time of delivery of the bonds, upon the sums named therein; 
 the time is to be indicated by the persons charged by the com- 
 mittee to deliver them. 
 
 5. The employment of the moneys received is to be made by 
 the National Committee, according to the terms of the act of 
 July 4, 1849, exclusively for the purchase of materials of war and 
 for the attainment of the liberty and independence of Italy. No 
 part of the funds can be used for subsidies of any kind. 
 
 6. The moneys raised will be deposited in London with Martin, 
 Stone and Martin, 68 Lombard Street. In case of need the com- 
 mittee can change the place of deposit. 
 
 7. A committee of six, half Italians and half foreigners, will 
 verify the condition of the credits and debits periodically. The 
 examiners will not interfere with the administration of the funds. 
 
 8-9. [Not given in the Italian text.] 
 
 10. When a national government shall have been constituted 
 in Italy, the National Committee will place in its hands the 
 books, the registry of bonds, the materials of war, and everything 
 concerning the loan. The examiners will make their report at the 
 same time. 
 
 1 1 . The National Committee and the signers of the act assume 
 the obligation to do all that is in their power to induce the Na- 
 tional Government to recognize the debt contracted, and to fix 
 as early a date as possible for paying off the loan with interest. 
 
Notes 
 
 ' 12. The National Committee promises absolute secrecy re- 
 garding the names of the purchasers, who may wish, as long as 
 the present state of affairs continues, to remain unknown. Nev- 
 ertheless their names, and the sums paid by them, will be regis- 
 tered because some day they should have a testimonial from their 
 fellow-citizens that they had not despaired of the salvation of 
 their country, and had helped to hasten it. 
 
 (From the writings, published and unpublished, of Giuseppe 
 Mazzini.) 
 Coupon of the Loan 
 
 God and the People: 
 National Italian Loan 
 Directed only to the hastening of 
 The Independence and Unity of Italy 
 ID or 25 Francs. 
 Receipt for ten (or twenty-five) francs of capital, with current 
 interest of half a franc per month, to date from this day. 
 For the National Committee: 
 Giuseppe Mazzini 
 Aurelio Saffi. Mattia Montecchi. 
 
 19. In the search that was made of the house of the priest 
 Griola, some manifestoes were found. Pardon was offered him if 
 he would denounce his associates, but the brave priest would 
 compromise no one. At the place of execution, when he was ex- 
 horted to reveal their names, he said to the soldiers: "Do your 
 duty." 
 
 20. The words of Mazzini which express the idea to which I 
 refer I found in the memoirs of G. Piolti de Bianchi, published by 
 Senator A. Bargoni in the Rivista Siorica del Risorgimento (1897, 
 nos. 7-8.) The memoirs of Piolti, in regard to the 6th of Febru- 
 ary, are written with care and precision. They should be con- 
 sulted by whoever desires to form a true conception of the event. 
 I have found in them nothing different from what I saw and 
 heard, and, because of this, I have made use of them to confirm 
 the exactness of my recollection. 
 
 21. Castellazzo was the son of an employee of the police. 
 Shortly after he came from prison he was admitted to his doctor's 
 degree, in an extraordinary examination, held by the faculty of 
 
Notes 
 
 law, by an order of the Lieutenant of Lombardy, dated July i6, 
 1853. The memoirs of the times are unanimous in their condem- 
 nation of him for bargaining for impunity for himself in return 
 for his revelations in regard to his companions. Tito Speri called 
 Castellazzo and another, in one of his letters, raging informers. 
 
 Castellazzo insisted that some other prisoner might have re- 
 vealed the cipher, but it was known only to the President, Taz- 
 zoli (who was hanged), and the Secretary, who was himself. 
 And the Secretary was pardoned, after having sustained a con- 
 frontation with several of his fellow-prisoners. Finzi and Laz- 
 zati have narrated the particulars of this episode. 
 
 "I cannot turn my thoughts to him" (Castellazzo), wrote 
 Signora Teresa Valenti, "without shaking with anger. With an 
 unimaginable impudence he passed, debonnaire and triumphant, 
 through our streets in company with the man who had conducted 
 the trial." (Letter of Teresa Valenti Arrivabene to Carlo Arriva- 
 bene in London.) 
 
 If Krauss had had him whipped ninety times, it does not seem 
 possible that a little while after Castellazzo would have been 
 promenading Mantua with his tormentor! In the beginning 
 thirty blows were spoken of, but afterwards they became ninety. 
 When, in 1884, the matter was debated upon the nomination of 
 Castellazzo as deputy for Grosseto, Finzi wrote a memoir of the 
 trial and confrontation for the "Pungolo." Lazzati was asked, 
 at the same time, to give an account of the event, and he gave it 
 before the commission appointed by the Museo del Risorgi- 
 mento. He told, among other things, that, when he was brought 
 to the confrontation, Castellazzo looked at him and said : "Ah, ah, 
 behold Signer Lazzati, in the cap and overcoat he wore the even- 
 ing he came to the meeting in the house of Tazzoli." Lazzati's 
 account was written out and consigned to the Museo, and ex- 
 ists in a volume of the official reports of the commission. At 
 the taking of his testimony there were present the President, 
 Carlo d' Adda, and several other members of the commission, of 
 which I was one. 
 
 The illustrious director of the Mantuan state archives, Ales- 
 sandro Luzio, eventually made inquiries, by trusted persons, re- 
 garding the circumstances of the trials, of the former auditor, 
 Krauss, who was living on a pension at Vienna. Krauss said that 
 
 433 
 
Notes 
 
 the cipher of Tazzoli had been read by the cryptographic office 
 of the Viennese police before the confessions of Castellazzo had 
 been obtained, who, seeing that the cipher was known, resolved 
 to reveal everything; that he did reveal new circumstances and 
 facts, which, up to this time, were unknown, and that his revela- 
 tions prolonged the trials, and were the cause of several condem- 
 nations to death. Castellazzo was, perhaps, persuaded to con- 
 fess by his father, who bargained for his impunity and an office. 
 Luzio exposed these facts, which forever clear up the Castellazzo 
 affair, in the six popular conferences he gave in the Circolo Filo- 
 logico at Milan. They will be published shortly by Cogliati in a 
 book on the prosecutions of Mantua. The conferences of Luzio 
 were given while the second edition of my memoirs was being 
 printed; but I can leave my narration intact for the present, since 
 the revelations of Krauss do not contradict the testimony of my 
 friends. Krauss also confirmed my statement that no one was 
 whipped during the trials, as such a measure was unnecessary 
 because the cipher was known. 
 
 22. Salis left a memoir on his trial which was read by my bro- 
 ther and some other of his friends. Professor De Castro published 
 extracts therefrom. He narrated that his case was hurt by the 
 confession of Zanetti; but that Zanetti, when called upon to con- 
 front him, refused. Krauss, it seems, did not insist for fear that 
 Zanetti would retract. Zanetti, however, was condemned, but 
 to a lesser term than Salis. 
 
 23 . The family Salis Sitzer established itself in the Valtellina 
 during the dominion of the Grisons; but it was allowed to remain, 
 even during the Thirty Years' War, because it was a Catholic 
 family, and followed the patriots of the country. It was a branch 
 of the family that furnished so many officers to the Swiss corps 
 of the armies of Europe, especially of Austria. Because of its ser- 
 vices the title of Conte was given to this branch by Leopold I of 
 Austria. The grandfather of Conte Ulisse Salis was, at the end 
 of the last century, the general in command of the Swiss troops 
 of the King of Naples. In 1848, while the brothers Salis of Tirano 
 fought in the corps of the Italian volunteers, three members of 
 the family died, as Austrian officers, upon the Lombard fields. 
 The branch of Tirano is now nearly extinct, although Conte 
 Ulisse had five brothers. 
 
 434 
 
Notes 
 
 24. [The translator has endeavored to render the verses into 
 English, but has given up the task for reasons that are obvious.] 
 
 25. To Conte Cavour: — 
 
 Turin, i6th February, 1855. 
 Signore Conte: — 
 
 I went yesterday, as you kindly suggested, to the Ministry of 
 War where I was informed by Colonel Petitti that I had been 
 appointed second lieutenant of the bersaglieri, and accredited to 
 the staff of the expedition. I occupied myself immediately with 
 the preparations for my departure, which I can accomplish be- 
 fore the end of the month. On the 27th a steamer leaves Genoa 
 in correspondence with the mails of the Orient. By that time I 
 shall be able to embark, but I await your orders. Will you kindly 
 notify me of the hour at which I should go to the Ministry, either 
 by Conte Oldofredi or directly by note addressed to Hotel Trom- 
 betta, where I am stopping ? — as I do not like to disturb you 
 in your many occupations. 
 
 Permit me, Signore Conte, now that I find that I have attained 
 my desire, to renew my warmest thanks for the kindness of which 
 you have given me so many proofs, as well as for the fortunate is- 
 sue of my request. I will try to put the greatest zeal into fulfill- 
 ing the commission with which I have been honored, and in show- 
 ing, better than by words, the sincerity of my thankfulness and 
 devotion. 
 
 You will pardon me, I hope, if, before I close this letter, I re- 
 new a recommendation which I have already made by word of 
 mouth, which concerns a distinguished young man, a friend of 
 mine who desires to enter the medical corps of the expedition as a 
 physician and surgeon. He is Scipione Signoroni, a son of a pro- 
 fessor of the University of Padua; and is favorably known in 
 Milan, both for the honorable part he took as an officer of the 
 bersaglieri in the recent war, and for the knowledge with which 
 he has practiced his profession. You will crown the favor you 
 have bestowed upon me if you can grant this my most respectful 
 prayer. 
 
 In the mean time, with the assurance of my homage I am, etc., 
 
 Emilio Dandolo. 
 
 26. I wrote this autumn a poetical farce which I mention here 
 in the chronological order of my narrative. We were near the 
 
 435 
 
Notes 
 
 reopening of the schools, when, one day, a good lady who lived 
 near us came to me leading her son, who was a pupil, I think, of 
 the Gymnasium of Como. She was much mortified because the 
 boy had not been able to accomplish a task that had been given 
 him by one of his professors. The boy was moved to tears; so I 
 offered to finish his work. It was concerned with some verses, the 
 subject of which was chosen from among those that were then 
 common. It was entitled: "The Departure of the Crusader for 
 Palestine." The boy had commenced his poem in this way: — 
 
 There passed one day, and there passed another, 
 But ne'er returned Anselm our brother; 
 Though he was not among the dead 
 For he 'd put his helmet on his head. 
 
 Here he had stopped. In reading the verses an irresistible temp- 
 tation came to me. I told my visitors to return the next day, and 
 that I would finish the poem. I ran into my study and declaimed 
 the lines, and the following verses came of themselves. 
 
 The Departure of the Crusader 
 
 There passed one day, and there passed another, 
 But ne'er returned Anselm, our brother; 
 Though he was not among the dead, 
 For he 'd put his helmet on his head. 
 
 He had put his helmet on his head 
 When he went to war, as it is said, 
 And left with lance at rest, of course, 
 On horseback on a goodly horse. 
 
 His sweetheart whom he loved so 
 Gave him a kiss, and bade him go, 
 While 'round his shoulders she did place 
 A bottle that was good to taste. 
 
 She gave him, too, a golden ring. 
 The sacred pledge of everything, 
 And put into his little pack 
 All sorts of things that he did lack. 
 
 One morning, as the clock struck nine, 
 Went forth Anselm, very fine; 
 To Palestine he journeyed on, 
 To conquer and to righten wrong. 
 
Notes 
 
 He did not go by an iron way, 
 Nor in a steamer as in our day; 
 For then the way was not of steel. 
 Rather the knight, if one should feel. 
 
 Of iron his cravat was made. 
 With brass his waistcoat was inlaid; 
 On horseback he did always stay. 
 As his hackney jogged along the way. 
 
 Thereafter he did naught whatever 
 But to journey on, and to journey ever. 
 When, behold, a lake he thought he saw, 
 But of the sea it was the shore. 
 
 He paused and then began to think 
 The water sure was good to drink. 
 So, bending, he thrust in his finger 
 And tasted it, but did not linger. 
 
 As if he on a ship did fare, 
 Quickly came the mal-de-mer. 
 But Anselm in a moment more 
 Had put his dinner on the shore. 
 
 [The translator has had considerable difficulty in rendering the 
 Italian verses into English, so he thinks it best to stop before 
 the reader becomes weary of his efforts.] 
 
 The following day, when the mother and son returned, the 
 deed was done. I listened, without remorse, to their words of 
 thanks, and gave them the poem. A few months after, as I was 
 taking my doctor's examinations at Pavia, I observed that some 
 of the professors looked at me and laughed. When they had fin- 
 ished their questions, one of them said: "Well, 'passed one day 
 and passed another' — are you the author of the ballad?" 
 Then I politely questioned him, and learned that he had heard 
 of my "Crusader" from one of his friends, a professor at Como. 
 From that day the ballad traveled far and wide, and I met it con- 
 stantly, now diminished, now augmented, and generally very 
 ridiculous. For this reason I have reproduced it in this note, as 
 in the matter of nonsense I prefer my own. And the student? 
 The year after, he entered the seminary and became a priest. 
 There passed one day and there passed another, but he has not 
 passed beyond the first strophe in his career. 
 
 437 
 
Notes 
 
 27. D' Adda was secretly introduced into the cabinet of the 
 King by the Minister Casaretto. Carlo Alberto desired to be in- 
 formed of all that had happened. The frankness of d' Adda was 
 stimulating to the King, above all, when the great decision had 
 to be taken, and the difficulties that confronted him had to be 
 surmounted. At the same period d'Adda united with some 
 members of high society in Turin, such as Azeglio, Balbo, Col- 
 legno, Alfieri, and Cavour, and with some others, in an endeavor 
 to push Piedmont into war with Austria. 
 
 28. In 1848, when the question of the annexation of Lombardy 
 to Piedmont was discussed, d' Adda wrote (his letter is dated 
 Turin, April 18) to the Provisional Government: "Republic or 
 constitutional monarchy, I will serve my country faithfully; but 
 at present it is my desire, as it is that of all reasonable men, that 
 the form of government should be determined by a vote of the 
 people, and that we should not exert any influence upon the free 
 choice of the country." (Lettera al Governo Provvisorio, in the 
 Museo del Risorgimento.) 
 
 29. The first proposal of a monument to the Sardinian army 
 was given out by Correnti, by understanding, perhaps, with 
 Cavour, who at this time sought to exasperate Austria, while 
 she, upon the advice of England, was disposed to renew rela- 
 tions with Piedmont. 
 
 30. Among those who received a severe reproof was Giuseppe 
 Rovani, who had become the apologetic historiographer of the 
 Emperor's journey, in the Gazzetta Ufficiale. One evening he 
 appeared in the Cafe Martini, and, displaying a new fur coat, 
 said: "This, too, I owe to the Emperor." Great as was his free- 
 dom of speech, the joke was displeasing, and many ceased to sa- 
 lute him. Rovani had talent and culture, which he dissipated, 
 however, in disorderly living. Many years after, I met him in a 
 byway of the city, when he planted himself, half-tipsy, before me 
 and said: "I know why you do not salute me; but I must tell you 
 that I was once a good boy — but I have finished badly." "It 
 is only too true," I replied. 
 
 31. Contract entered into at Vienna the 14th of March, 1856, 
 and approved the 17th of April ensuing by the Imperial and 
 Royal resolve, between the Austrian Ministers of Finance and 
 Commerce and Messieurs : — 
 
 438 
 
Notes 
 
 Prince Adolph de Schwarzenberg, President and representa- 
 tive of the I. R, Institute of Credit and Industry of Vi- 
 enna; 
 Comte Francois Zichy, Junior; 
 Baron A. S. de Rothschild, Vice-President and representative 
 
 of the above-mentioned Institute; 
 The banking house of S. M. Rothschild, of Vienna; 
 Marquis Raflaele de Ferrari, Due de Galliera, of Bologna; 
 Due Lodovico Melzi, of Milan; 
 S. E. Comte Giuseppe Archinto, of Milan, represented by 
 
 Messieurs Sebastiano Mondolfo and C. F. Brot; 
 Pietro Bastogi, of Livorno; 
 Rothschild Freres, of Paris; 
 E. Blount & Co., of Paris; 
 Paolino Talabot, of Paris; 
 N. M. de Rothschild & Sons, of London; 
 Samuel Laing, of London; 
 M. Uzielli, of London; 
 by which there is conceded to the above-mentioned Messieurs — 
 (l) The working and the enjoyment of the imperial and royal 
 railways, situated in the Lombardo- Venetian Kingdom, with the 
 exception of the trunk line from Verona to Southern Tyrol, with 
 all the rights and obligations thereto belonging . . . 
 
 32. Cantii, in his Cronistoria dell' Indipendenza Italiana, ig- 
 nored the best and the most beloved of the men of the National 
 Risorgimento, and this became an obstacle to his entering the 
 Senate, a position to which his writings would have called him. 
 Crispi, when Minister of the Interior, proposed Cantu as Senator 
 to King Humbert. Domenico Farini, the son of the former Dicta- 
 tor of Emilia, was President of the Senate at the time. When 
 he heard of Crispins intention he went to the King, and warmly 
 advised him not to confirm the nomination of the author of the 
 Cronistoria. The King, therefore, did not sign the decree. 
 
 33 . Among the intimate friends whose presence cheered Emilio 
 Dandolo as he approached his end, I recall, besides Dr. Signoroni, 
 the Mancini brothers, the Carcano and the Caccianino, the en- 
 gineer Pirovano, Alfredo Ulrich, Costantino Garavaglia, Conte 
 Ignazio Lana, Ignazio Crivelli, the Marchese and the Marchesa 
 Crivelli, the artist Chialiva, and the families Piola and Fontana. 
 
 439 
 
Notes 
 
 34. I can yet recall the names of many of the young men who 
 offered themselves to the committee of recruitment. Some of 
 them were my friends; yet I may forget several whom I ought to 
 remember; and if I have forgotten any, I beg them to send me 
 their names. Among the many I recall Rinaldo Taverna and Lu- 
 chino Dal Verme (both of whom became generals), Lodovico 
 Trotti (who had fought in the campaign of 1848 as an officer of 
 the artillery), the three brothers Visconti di Modrone (sons of 
 the Duke), Gerolamo and Giacomo Sala, Luigi Esengrini, Conte 
 Pietro Cicogna, Conte Alfonso di Saliceto, Principe Gian Gia- 
 como Trivulzio, Conte Arconati, Conti Alfonso and Annibale 
 Sanseverino, Giacomo Battaglia, Malachia De Cristoforis, the 
 brothers Mancini, Emilio Guicciardi, Alfonso Carcano, the bro- 
 thers Caccianino, Augusto Verga, Gerolamo Fadini, Cartellieri, 
 Galbiati, Eleuterio Pagliano, Giulio Vigoni, Michele Redaelli, 
 De Albertis, the brothers Conti Belgiojoso (Carlo is now a gen- 
 eral), the brothers Emilio and Giuseppe Rapazzini, the brothers 
 Nobili Steno and Luigi Majnoni (who became generals), Cesare 
 Cavallotti (now a colonel), Nobile Carlo Porta, Avvocato Ercole 
 Torri, Nobile Carlo Dall' Acqua, Nobile Andrea Delia Porta, 
 Gustavo Viola, Silvio Delia Torre, the brothers Achille and 
 Edoardo Frigerio (one of whom is now a general, and the other a 
 colonel), Paolo Frigerio, Conte Camillo Dal Verme and Armando 
 Vitali (both of whom died in 1866 at Custoza), Nobile Lavelli 
 De Capitani, Alberto Corbetta, Nobile Cristoforo Manzi, the 
 brothers Luigi and Carlo Biffi, Nobile Carlo Manzoli, Nobile 
 Lorenzo Greppi, Riccardo Gavazzi, Giulio Adamoli, Nobile 
 Diego Melzi, Senator Giuseppe Robecchi, Marchese Luigi 
 d' Adda, Francesco Ponti, Gerolamo and Gian Luca Padulli, 
 Del Mayno Luchino, Cesare Finzi, Antonio Greppi, Lorenzo, 
 Gaetano, and Carlo Medici di Marignano, Leopoldo PulH, Gae- 
 tano Robaglia, Cesare Stucchi, Marchese Arconati, Gian Mar- 
 tino. Carlo Baldironi, Franco Fadini, Alfredo Ulrich, Carlo 
 Calvi Patroni, Enrico Borromeo, Filippo Castelbarco, Luigi 
 Mainoni, Norberto and Francesco Del Mayno, Ernesto Turati, 
 Adalberto Barbo, Luigi Biffi, Cesare Cavi, Alessandro Piola, 
 Giulio Brambilla, the brothers Averoldi, the brothers Marti- 
 nengo' of Brescia, Cesare Menghini of Mantua, Carlo Marocco, 
 Prinetti, Arici of Brescia, Gigi Caroli, Max Fadini, Mazzoni, 
 
 440 
 
Notes 
 
 Pavia, Bolchesi, and Bianchi d' Adda. And there were many 
 others whose names I cannot now remember. 
 
 35. This decree was posted throughout the province: — 
 
 The Royal Commissioner of His Sardinian Majesty 
 TO THE Peoples or Lombardy 
 Citizens! 
 
 Scarcely had King Vittorio Emanuele announced that he had 
 drawn his sword in the cause of national independence, than the 
 peoples of Lombardy turned their eyes beyond the Ticino, and 
 asked for the signal for the insurrection. 
 
 Reasons of humanity and prudence, allied to the exigencies of 
 war, moved us to counsel you to delay, which advice you ac- 
 cepted, knowing that everything must be done in order, in Italy, 
 to-day. 
 
 But now the days of waiting have passed. The gallant Gen- 
 eral Garibaldi comes to assure us of this fact. Everywhere before 
 him the people rise up, and pronounce for the national cause and 
 the government of Vittorio Emanuele. 
 
 As Commissioner of His Majesty I come to take charge of the 
 civil government in this spontaneous movement. 
 
 Citizens ! 
 
 The Lombard insurrection will surely be animated by the new 
 and admirable spirit which makes us find the secret of success in 
 the bond of concord. No disorder will arise to disturb the su- 
 preme good of liberty; no differences will grow to disorganize the 
 civil government of the country; no spirit of faction will presume 
 to consider the triumph of society to be that of a party. 
 
 Wars for independence are not gained save by great efforts. 
 Before us stands the example of generous Piedmont which, for 
 eleven years, has made many sacrifices because of a hope which, 
 to-day, has become a reality. 
 
 Our cause is secure: the valiant Piedmontese army, guided by 
 the King, comes to our aid. Italy is organizing for the struggle, 
 and Napoleon III has thrown the sword of France, our sister and 
 natural ally, upon the scales of destiny. 
 
 All Italy demands the formation of a strong state which will 
 become the bulwark of the nation and the beginning of its new 
 
 441 
 
Notes 
 
 destinies. The ten years of the longing of the country for free- 
 dom are about to be fulfilled, and you can rise in the certitude of 
 the union of the nation and cry: — 
 Viva Vittorio Emanuele, Re Costituzionale! 
 
 Emilio Visconti-Venosta, 
 The Royal Commissioner Extraordinary of His Sardinian Majesty. 
 
 CoMO, 28th May, 1859. 
 
 Citizens ! 
 
 The enemy has retreated. 
 
 The Cacciatori delle Alpi have fought with a courage worthy 
 of the valiant soldier who commands them and of the cause in 
 which they are engaged. All the young men have come to ask 
 for arms to defend a barricade, to demand to be led to battle. 
 Every family desires to give aid and assistance to the combat- 
 ants with generous feelings of emulation. 
 
 All Lombardy will follow your example. 
 
 The Commissioner of His Sardinian Majesty thanks you, in 
 the name of the King, the great leader in our war for independ- 
 ence. 
 
 Emilio Visconti-Venosta, 
 The Commissioner of His Majesty King Vittorio Emanuele. 
 
 Varese, 26th May, 1859. 
 
 Como is delivered from the Austrians. Our brave soldiers have 
 done wonders. The people on the lake have gathered together in 
 masses for the defense of the country. 
 
 Do likewise. 
 
 Varese, 28th May, 6.30 a.m. 
 
 36. The originator of the Committeeof Relief was Achille Villa, 
 Conte Gaetano Manci (formerly Podesta of Trento), Conte Ste- 
 fano Medin of Venetia, Dr. Giovanni Soresina, and Vito Bas- 
 sano of Mantua. Signore Enrico Fano, Conte Ignazio Crivelli, 
 Antonio Grassi, Antonio Comerio, Nobile Carlo Cagnola, Mar- 
 chese Carlo Ermes Visconti, and Achille Villa were members. I 
 was elected President, and Conte Tiepolo, of Venice, Secretary. 
 
 442 
 
Notes 
 
 There was also a political committee, of which Conti Giustiniani 
 and Correr were members. This committee did much to send the 
 immigrants to enlist in the Emilia, for whose expenses, however, 
 the Committee of Relief provided. 
 
 37. The first act of Beretta as Mayor was to choose the junta 
 and surround himself with sympathetic friends. The kindness 
 with which he was regarded made it easy for him to obtain their 
 election. Their names were the architect Brocca, the engineer 
 Alessandro Cagnoni, Carlo Cagnola, Giuseppe Finzi, Tullo Mas- 
 sarani, Marzorati, Giuseppe Robecchi, Luigi Sala, Lodovico 
 Trotti, Francesco Vitali, and Giovanni Visconti Venosta. Carlo 
 Tenca, Paolo Belgiojoso, and Dr. Giuseppe Terzaghi were after- 
 wards chosen to fill vacancies. 
 
 The names of the members of the first commission on edu- 
 cation were Cesare Correnti, Professor Luigi Rossari, Giovanni 
 Cantoni, Conte Paolo Belgiojoso, and Giovanni Visconti Ve- 
 nosta, with Carlo Tenca as reporter. Paolo Belgiojoso was school 
 superintendent for several years. 
 
 38. 
 Dearest Friend, — 
 
 I reply with pleasure to your request. One Saturday evening 
 I went, as was my custom, to the Union Club and found there a 
 note from the Marchese Massimo d' Azeglio, who requested me 
 to call upon him on the most urgent business. 
 
 I went immediately, and, as soon as announced, d' Azeglio 
 came toward me smiling and said: "I must have to-morrow morn- 
 ing two hundred and fifty or three hundred thousand lire; and I 
 want them in gold, in twenty-franc pieces." 
 
 I replied that he could have them at the earliest hour on Mon- 
 day, but that on Sunday, with the banks closed, it was impossible 
 to procure the sum asked for in gold. Then he approached some 
 person at the other end of the room, whom I had not observed 
 because of the obscurity; and, after exchanging some words with 
 him, said : — " Keep the secret, but know that it is the Conte di 
 Cavour who orders me to consign the sum mentioned to Cap- 
 tain Chiassi to-morrow morning. All that I can concede to you, 
 to give you an additional hour, is to send Chiassi to your office to 
 take the money." 
 
 I then understood that some important affair was afoot, and 
 
 443 
 
Notes 
 
 replied, without further ado, that I would wait for the captain at 
 eleven o'clock. 
 
 D' Azeglio thereupon took me under the arm, and accompanied 
 me to the anteroom, enjoining absolute secrecy. 
 
 I confess I was not happy. I feared it would be impossible to 
 procure a sum, relatively so large in gold, on a fete-day, and in a 
 few hours ; so much the more so as I was not able to give any ex- 
 planation of the urgency for it. I could turn only to a few friends 
 who would not ask me for the reason. 
 
 The banker Carlo Brot and the brothers Ronchetti gave me all 
 the gold they had in their banks (about seven thousand ma- 
 renghi); others whose names I cannot now recall gave me as 
 much, and I had about two thousand in the bank of my firm. At 
 ten o'clock the whole sum was ready. 
 
 At eleven, Chiassi, with the aid of the porter Scotti, carried the 
 sacks to his carriage and departed. He asked me if it were neces- 
 sary to leave a receipt, and I said, "No." It occurred to me, as he 
 pressed my hand, that he was much moved. 
 
 The day after, d' Azeglio sent me, in settlement, a number of 
 drafts for fifty thousand lire each, to make up the amount. They 
 were drawn on the Cabinet of Cavour. When two or three days 
 after we heard of the departure of Garibaldi from Quarto, I 
 thought I understood the matter. 
 
 I press your hand, and I am. 
 
 Most affectionately yours, 
 
 CoSTANTINO GaRAVAGLIA. 
 SiG. COMM. 
 
 Giovanni Visconti-Venosta. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 jEtna, 206, 207. 
 
 Ajroldi, Don Cesare, priest, 64, 65. 
 
 Alessandria, proposal for fortification 
 of, 273. 
 
 Alfieri, engineer, in the revolution, 60, 
 61; death of, 67. 
 
 Allievi, Antonio, 146; contributor to 
 the "Crepuscolo," 147; favored pub- 
 lications, 150; instructor at Milan, 
 iJSi promotes enactment to help 
 Valtellina, 290; address of, at Dan- 
 dolo's funeral, 304; member of Ca- 
 vour's Lombard commission, 328; 
 and the "Perseveranza," 386. 
 
 Alma, battle of, 227. 
 
 Altobelli, Signor, 200. 
 
 Ancona, capture of, 414. 
 
 Andres, Dr., 134. 
 
 Anfossi, Augusto, in the revolution, 71. 
 
 Anglo-French mediation, 125. 
 
 Annoni, Conte Francesco, friend and 
 relative of Visconti's father, career 
 of, 38s, 386. 
 
 Apnea, 342, 345. 
 
 Archbishop, death of Gaisruck and 
 election of Romilli, 33-5 ; entry of 
 Romilli into Milan, 35, 36; severe 
 regime of Gaisruck, 153. 
 
 Archduke Maximilian. See Maximil- 
 ian. 
 
 Archinto, Conte Giuseppe, 267, 268, 
 430. 
 
 Arcioni, at Val d' Intelvi, 113. 
 
 Arduino, Lieutenant-Colonel N., 324. 
 
 Arese, Conte Francesco, 238, 320, 334, 
 430. 
 
 Armistice, of 1849, 126; at Sponda 
 Lunga (1859), 380, 381. 
 
 Arona, 116, 335. 
 
 Arsoli, 199. 
 
 Assi, condemnation of, 188. 
 
 "Associazione Nazionale Italiana," 
 the, 87. 
 
 Austria, occupation of Ferrara by, 32; 
 first demonstrations against, 32-8; 
 persecutes priests, 153; stupidityof 
 its military government, 173; begins 
 
 to threaten, 253; demands disarma- 
 ment, 326; and the Valtellina after 
 1796, 423-25. 
 
 Austrian Emperor. See Ferdinand I, 
 Francis Joseph. 
 
 Austrian Legation at Naples, 204, 20;. 
 
 Austrian, police, libels spread by, 31; 
 officers, duels with, 245, 246, 272, 
 283-88; spies, 3 SS; prisoners, brought 
 before Garibaldi, 357. 
 
 Austrians, proceedings of, preceding and 
 during the Five Days, 51-78; retreat 
 of, after the Five Days, 78, 79; offer 
 to treat for peace with Carlo Alberto 
 and the Provisional Government, 96; 
 enter Milan, 106; march into Valle 
 d' Intelvi, 114; victories of (1848-49); 
 126-28; reappearance of, in Valtel- 
 lina, 128; movements of, from the 
 Stelvio, 342, 343; reconnoiter, 345; 
 movements of, before and after Sol- 
 ferino, 368; attack of, repulsed at 
 Ponte del Diavolo, 369; retreat of, 
 from Bormio, 372-74; at Sponda 
 Lunga, 374. 
 
 Azzi, colleague of Carta on Mazzinian 
 committee, 157, 158. 
 
 Balaklava, battle of, 227. 
 
 Banishments, before coming of Em- 
 peror to Milan (1857), 263. 
 
 Barbavara, Signora SauUna Viola, 146, 
 245- 
 
 Barbiera, Raffaello, book of, about 
 Contessa Maffei, 142. 
 
 Bargnani, Conte Gaetano, speaks at 
 funeral of Dandolo, 302, 304. 
 
 Bargnani, Contessa, 305. 
 
 Barinetti, Avvocato, 155. 
 
 Bassi, Contessa Antonietta, 415. 
 
 Battaglia, Giacomo, 440; teaches fen- 
 cing, 141; inmate of Casa Maffei, 146; 
 contributor to the "Crepuscolo," 
 147; duel of, 272; death of, 336, 337. 
 
 Beccaria. See S. Alessandro. 
 
 Bedeschini, police agent, 229. 
 
 Belgiojoso, Conte Giuseppe, 429. 
 
 447 
 
Index 
 
 Belgiojoso, Conte Luigi, 395. 
 
 Belgiojoso, Paolo, 127, 443. 
 
 Belgiojoso Trivulzio, Principessa Cris- 
 tina, 83, 107, 389, 406, 407. 
 
 "Bella Gigogin," popular song, 297, 
 316,336. 
 
 Bellinzona, 103-5, i°8- 
 
 Berchet, Giovanni, influence of his 
 writings, 27, 28; death of, 164. 
 
 Beretta, Antonio, envoy from the Pro- 
 visional Government to Carlo Al- 
 berto, 96, 97; goods of, sequestered, 
 107; mayor of Milan, 396, 397, 414, 
 
 415. 443- 
 
 Bergamo, 356, 357. 
 
 Bertani, Agostino, presides over jury, 
 192; physician of volunteer corps, 381. 
 
 Bes, General, 83. 
 
 Besana, Enrico, 430; joins in protest to 
 Ficquelmont, 47; frequenter of Cafe 
 Cecchina, 52; starts on mission to 
 Mazzini, but returns, 180; second in 
 Viola duel, 245; on Garibaldi's sub- 
 scription list for a million rifles, 402. 
 
 Besozzi, Luciano, 183. 
 
 Bethlen, Conte, and his nephew, 148, 
 149; his daughter, 430. 
 
 Bixio, at Bormio, 373, 374. 
 
 Bologna, 393. 
 
 Bolognini, Luigi Attendolo, 139. 
 
 Bolognini, Contessa Vimercati, 263. 
 
 Bolza, commissary, 36. 
 
 Bonaparte, General, anecdote of, 139. 
 
 Bonfadini, Romualdo, promotes en- 
 actment to help Valtellina, 290; ill- 
 ness of, 342; assists Guicciardi at 
 Sondrio, 375, 376; goes to Milan with 
 Visconti, 383; and the "Perseve- 
 ranza," 386. 
 
 Bordini, notary, 114. 
 
 Borgazzi, Alessandro, 427, 429. 
 
 Borgazzi, Gaetano, uncle of Visconti, 
 92. 
 
 Borgazzi, Giacomo, uncle of Visconti, 
 
 92- . ^. . 
 
 Borgazzi, Giovanni, uncle of Visconti, 
 
 Borgazzi, Girolamo, 427, 429. 
 Borgazzi, Ignazio, cousin of Visconti, 
 
 9'- . . . 
 Borgazzi, Luigi, uncle of Visconti, 92. 
 
 Borgazzi Caimi, Donna Rosa, grand- 
 mother of Visconti, 91, 92.. 
 Borjes, Spanish bandit, 200. 
 
 448 
 
 Bormio, Montanari's plan to attack, 
 356-59; Austrians retire to, 369; 
 taken by Medici, 372. 
 
 Borromeo, Guido, 51, 427. 
 
 Borromeo, Conte Vitaliano, 31. 
 
 Borroni, Signor, Vice-Delegate of Pro- 
 vince at Sondrio, 344. 
 
 Boschi, Cavaliere, Intendant of Ver- 
 celli, 334. 
 
 Boselli, Antonio, and his Institute, 12- 
 8; death of, 18, 58; singing of the 
 Austrian Hymn at his Institute, 425. 
 
 Brambilla, Senator Pietro, 408. 
 
 Brescia, taken by the Austrians, 128; 
 Cialdini falls back upon, 369. 
 
 Brigands, the, the time of, 424. 
 
 Brignole, Marchese, 124. 
 
 Brignone, Colonel, 367. 
 
 Brizio, Eugenio, engaged in Mazzini's 
 plots, 175-81. 
 
 Broggi, Giuseppe, in the revolution, 59, 
 60. 
 
 Broggi, the brothers, 427. 
 
 Broglio, 89. 
 
 Broletto, taking of the, 80, 429. 
 
 Brot, Carlo, banker, 100. 
 
 Buol, Conte, Austrian minister at 
 Turin, 33, 327; recalls his charge- 
 d'aff aires, 269. 
 
 Biirger, Baron, 291, 303; conversation 
 with the Marchese Ermes Visconti 
 about Emperor's proposed visit, 263. 
 
 "Cacdatori degli Appennini," 375-77. 
 
 "Cacciatori delle Alpi," formation of 
 the, 319, 324; advance guard of, 350, 
 3Sij 354; compared with the "Cac- 
 ciatori degli Appennini," 376, 377. 
 
 Cadorna, Raffaele, denounces armis- 
 tice (1849), 126. 
 
 Cafes of the Peppina and the Cecchina, 
 
 51,52- 
 
 Caimi, G. B., 346, 347; Visconti at 
 house of, 340; comes in collision with 
 Montanari, 351. 
 
 Cairoli, in plots of Mazzini, 175; death 
 of one of the, 336. 
 
 Calvi, Pietro Fortunato, arrest and exe- 
 cution of, 213-15. 
 
 Camerini, Eugenio, contributor to the 
 " Crepuscolo," 147. 
 
 Camozzi, Gabriele, tries to incite insur- 
 rection in Lombardy, 127, 128; in- 
 mate of Casa Maffei, 146. 
 
Index 
 
 Campeggi, Don, uncle of Visconti, 92, 
 
 _93- . ^ . ■ 
 
 Campeggi, Donna Giuseppina, aunt of 
 Visconti, 92, 103, 115. 
 
 Camperio, Manfredo, joins in protest 
 to Ficquelmont, 47; frequenter of 
 Cafe Cecchina, 52; volunteer, 71; 
 his account of his duel, 247-52. 
 
 Cannon, subscription for, 253, 254. 
 
 Cantoni, Gaetano, 114, 427. 
 
 Cantoni, Giovanni, 443 ; contributor to 
 the "Nipote del Vesta Verde," 40; 
 emigrant, 114; contributor to the 
 "Crepuscolo," 147; in the revolu- 
 tion, 427. 
 
 Cantu, Cesare, 278-80, 439. 
 
 Capua, 201. 
 
 Caravaggio, advocate, 305. 
 
 Carcano, Alfonso, 241, 440; duel with 
 d' Adda Salvaterra, 284-88. 
 
 Carcano, Costanzo, 285 ; banished, 263 ; 
 arrested, 308; trial of, 321-23. 
 
 Carcano, Donna Giulia, Casa of, 241; 
 on occasion of her son's duel, 285. 
 
 Carcano, Giulio, friend of Correnti, 29; 
 writes for "II 22 Marzo," 89; sent 
 on mission to Paris, 124; frequenter 
 of CasaMaffei, 146; and the "Perse- 
 veranza," 386; friend of Manzoni, 
 408. 
 
 Carcano, Lodovico, 241. 
 
 Carfora, monk at Montecassino, 201. 
 
 Carlo Alberto, intervention of, 69, 70; 
 and the Provisional Government, the 
 Austrians oifer to treat for peace 
 with, 96; and his generals, 97; be- 
 lieved to be traitor, 109; and 
 d' Adda, 438. 
 
 Carnevali, Antonio, in the revolution, 
 72; on Committee of War, 428. 
 
 Caroli of Bergamo, 316. 
 
 Carrano, Colonel Francesco, book of, 
 340; words to Visconti on Garibaldi's 
 movements, 360. 
 
 Carta, G. B., and his colleagues, 156, 
 
 ^ iS7> 159, 174- I7S- 
 Cartellieri, death of, 336, 337. 
 Casa Arese, 320. 
 
 Casa Bargnani, searched, 304, 305. 
 Casa Beretta, 397. 
 
 Casa Camozzi, Garibaldi's headquar- 
 ters at, 356. 
 Casa Carcano, 241, 246, 262. 
 Casa Correnti, 27-30, 39, 47, 48, 320. 
 
 Casa Crevelli, 262, 282, 300. 
 
 Casa _d' Adda, 258-60, 262; on the oc- 
 casion of the Emperor's visit to 
 Milan, 270; the "Perseveranza" pro- 
 moted at, 386. 
 
 Casa Dandolo, 148, 241, 242, 246, 262, 
 294, 301; on the occasion of the Em- 
 peror's visit to Milan, 265; discus- 
 
 . sion of the Archduke at, 283 ; searched, 
 308. 
 
 Casa Visconti di Modrone, 244. 
 
 Casa Gargallo, 204. 
 
 Casa Lutti, 295. 
 
 Casa MafFei, 144-46, 171, 240, 241, 243, 
 244, 246, 262, 389; evolution in, 221, 
 222; struggle against Maximilian in, 
 281; Visconti flees to, 309. 
 
 Casa Manara, 148, 241. 
 
 Casa Rescalli, 244. 
 
 Casa Samoyloff, 244-46. 
 
 Casa Trotti, diversions at, 11, 141. 
 
 Casalini, Carlo, companion of Visconti 
 at Naples, 202. 
 
 Casati, Conte Gabrio, 47, 49, 100; mis- 
 sion of, to the wife of Vittorio 
 Emanuele, 32, 33; arrested, 46. j^j 
 
 Castelfidardo, battle of, 414. 
 
 Castellazzo, Luigi, and the Mantuan 
 prosecutions, 190-93, 432-34; secre- 
 tary of Central Committee, 169; in 
 afterlife, 192, 193. 
 
 Castiglioni, Donna Francesca, grand- 
 mother of Visconti, 5. 
 
 Catania, 206, 207. 
 
 Cattaneo, Carlo, asks Visconti's father 
 to prepare notes on the ValtelUna, 
 21; character of, 48; adversary of 
 Correnti, 48-5 1 ; part taken by, in the 
 revolution of the Five Days, 57, 58; 
 on the Committee of War, 70; feder- 
 alists led by, 88; contributor to the 
 "Operaio," 89; emigrant who disa- 
 greed with Mazzini, 151; in Milan 
 elections, 403; his description of an 
 event on March 18, 1848, 425-27; 
 attitude on armistice, 428. 
 
 Cattaneo, Signora luvalta, wife of 
 Costantino luvalta, 346, 347. 
 
 Cavaignac, repulses revolutionists, 124. 
 
 Cavour, 150; influence increases, 221; 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs, 231; at 
 the Congress of Paris, 243, 253; and 
 the Mazzinian conspirators, 254; 
 gives national cause a new impulse, 
 
 449 
 
Index 
 
 261; actions at time of Emperor's 
 visit to Milan, 268, 269; proposes to 
 create naval port at Spezia, 273; 
 words of, to Giulini and Dandolo, 
 282; words of, to La Farina, 293; at 
 Plombieres, 292; calls Giulini and 
 Dandolo, 293 ; report of his conversa- 
 tion with Napoleon, 293; creates 
 new national party, 294; the great 
 artificer of the new kingdom of Italy, 
 294; sure of his course, 321; Visconti 
 has interview with, 323; anxiety of, 
 disguised, 325; convokes Parliament 
 and asks for full powers, 326, 327; 
 nominates commission to arrange for 
 administrative decrees, 328; nomin- 
 ates Emilio Visconti Royal Commis- 
 sioner, 331-34; wishes Lombardy to 
 rise before French arrive, 361; audi- 
 ence of Visconti with, 371; resigns, 
 383, 390; returns to power, 394; sur- 
 prised at result of Milan elections, 
 403 ; his aims with regard to Naples, 
 413; death of, 419; letter of Dandolo 
 to, 435. 
 
 Cecchino, Cafe of the, 51, S^- 
 
 Central Committee of Mantua, 159, 
 160, 165. 
 
 Cernuschi, Enrico, 58; contributor to 
 the "Operaio," 89; his character and 
 career, 89, 90; emigrant who disa- 
 greed with Mazzini, 151; on Com- 
 mittee of War, 428. 
 
 Ceroli, Abbe Natale, 408-12. 
 
 Cervieri, whipped, 170. 
 
 Cervis, second in duel, 285. 
 
 Chartres, Due de, 329. 
 
 Chiassi, F., 216, 405, 443, 444. 
 
 Chiavenna, events at, in 1848, 1 14. 
 
 Chiaves, advocate, 326. 
 
 Cholera, in Lombardy, in 1836, 8, 9; in 
 1854, 226. 
 
 Chrzanowski, a poor general, 125. 
 
 Cialdini, General, 332, 333; in charge 
 of formation of volunteers, 319; falls 
 back upon Brescia, 369; sent on 
 embassy to Napoleon, 414. 
 
 Ciceri, Dr., denounced by Dr. Vandoni, 
 
 Cinque Giornate, revolution of the, 
 the beginning, 53; first day, 53-8; 
 second day, 59-66; third day, 66, 67; 
 fourth day, 67-71; fifth day, 72-7; 
 days immediately following, 78-94. 
 
 "Cisalpino," the, 51. 
 
 Civitavecchia, custom-house at, 197. ' 
 
 Clary, Contessa, 43. 
 
 Clerici, Giorgio, 58, 428. 
 
 Club of the Galline, 402, 403. 
 
 Cobden, Richard, at Milan, 32. 
 
 Colet, Madame, 399. 
 
 Colombo, Antonio, contributor to the 
 "Crepuscolo," 147. 
 
 Colombo, Claudio, assassinates Dr. 
 Vandoni, 157, 158. 
 
 Committee, relief, at Milan, 385, 392. 
 
 Committee of Defense, 58, 428. 
 
 Committee of Lugano, 121. 
 
 Committee of Public Defense, 99, lOI. 
 
 Committee of Public Security, ap- 
 pointed by Visconti at Sondrio, 345. 
 
 Committee of War, 70, 428. 
 
 Committees, of followers of Mazzini, 
 156-61, 174, 175; signs relating to, in 
 possession of Castellazzo, 169. 
 
 Confalonieri, Conte Federico, funeral 
 
 of, 30, 31- 
 " Conf erenza," the, nominated by Met- 
 
 ternich, 42. 
 " Congregazione Centrale," the, 43. 
 Congresses, scientific, 20, 21. 
 ConsoTieria, 403. 
 Corbellini, colleague of Carta on Maz- 
 
 zinian Committee, 157, 158. 
 CoriandoH, the, 398, 399. 
 Cornelio, Don G. B., parish priest, 
 
 353- 
 
 Corpus Domini, procession of, 87, 88. 
 
 Correnti, Cesare, 21, 22, 25, 36, 443; 
 directs studies of Giovanni and 
 Emilio Visconti, 27; men who met at 
 his house, 27-9; his influence, 29, 
 30, 48; his project of the "Nipote del 
 Vesta Verde,' 40; opposed by Cat- 
 taneo, 48, 49; speech in Pledmontese 
 Parliament, 231; proposes subscrip- 
 tion for monument to Piedmont 
 army, 258; promotes enactment to 
 help Valtellina, 290; tells Visconti 
 of Mezzacapo's plans, 327, 328; 
 member of Cavour's commission, 
 328; Visconti confers with, 363, 364; 
 writes to Farini about Emilio Vis- 
 conti, 371, 372; promotes the "Perse- 
 veranza," 386; on the evening of 
 March 17, 1848, 427; proposal of, for 
 monument to Sardinian army, 438. 
 
 Corte, Clemente, 357. 
 
 4SO 
 
Index 
 
 Cosenz, Colonel, and the volunteers, 
 JI9; at Bormio, 374, 375. 
 
 Costantini, General, 408. 
 
 "Crepuscolo," the, 146, 147, 243; ad- 
 monished regarding the Emperor's 
 coming to Milan, 264; partial sup- 
 pression of, 272; end of, 386, 392. 
 
 Crespi, Carlo, 429. 
 
 Crimean War, 240, 243, 247. 
 
 Crippa, Francesco, 416. 
 
 Crispi, editor of the " Perseveranza," 
 404; and the expedition to Sicily, 
 404. 
 
 Crivelli, Ignazio, 302, 430, 439, 442. 
 
 Crivelli, Marchese Luigi, arrested by 
 mistake, 186; Casa of, 282. 
 
 Crivelli, Marchese Vitaliano, 114. 
 
 Croatian soldiers, 116,118-21, 132, 136. 
 
 Curioni, Giovanni, 52. 
 
 Curtatone, rout of, 95. 
 
 Custom-house at Civitavecchia, 197. 
 
 D' Adda, Carlo, 29, 46, 47, 49, 51, 259, 
 260; Casa of, 258-60; recalls assault 
 upon his palace, 270; promotes the 
 "Perseveranza," 386; and the king, 
 438; on the form of government, 438. 
 
 D'Adda, Giovanni, 29, J I. 
 
 D' Adda, Donna Laura Scaccabarozzi, 
 
 3°9- 
 
 D' Adda, Contessa Maria Borromeo, 3 1, 
 265. 
 
 D' Adda Salvaterra, Marchesi Fran- 
 cesco and Giuseppe, 140. 
 
 D' Adda Salvaterra, Marchese Gero- 
 lamo, 284. 
 
 D' Adda Salvaterra, Marchese Luigi, 
 duel with Alfonso Carcano, 284-88. 
 
 D' Adda Salvaterra De Capitanei, 
 Laura, future wife of Visconti, first 
 meeting with Visconti, 11, 12; an- 
 other meeting, 140, 141. 
 
 D' Adda Salvaterra Pallavicino, Mar- 
 chesa Ippolita, 8. 
 
 Dandolo, Erailio, 71, 148, 240, 242; 
 wounded, 130; banished, 263; words 
 of Cavour to, 282; summoned by Ca- 
 vour, 293; tells Cavour's plan to 
 Emilio Visconti, 294; presents Emilio 
 to Cavour, 294; last month of his 
 life, 294, 295; death of, 301; funeral 
 procession of, and the tricolored 
 crown, 302-4; orations at funeral of, 
 304; trial as result of the funeral, 
 
 4S 
 
 321-23; on the secret preparation for 
 war, 427; letter of, to Cavour, 435. 
 
 Dandolo, Enrido, 130, 242. 
 
 Dandolo, Contessa Ermellina, 148, 242; 
 at Emilio's funeral, 302, 304; her ac- 
 count of her examination, 322, 323. 
 
 Dandolo, Conte TuUio, second wife of, 
 148; author, 242; absented himself 
 from the society of the Casa, 242; at 
 funeral of Emilio Dandolo, 303, 304. 
 
 Dandolo brothers, 56, 427. 
 
 D' Apice, at Val d' Intelvi, 113, 114. 
 
 D' AzegHo, Marchese Massimo, 304, 
 
 394. 405- „ , 
 
 De Albertis, Sebastiano, painter, in the 
 revolution, 77. 
 
 De Canal, execution of, 173. 
 
 De Capitanei di Scalve, Contessa Gio- 
 vanna, her receptions, 138-41. 
 
 De Capitanei di Scalve, Conte Pirro, 
 140. 
 
 De Castro, Professor, 434. 
 
 Decio, Innocente, 146; contributor to 
 the "Crepuscolo," 147. 
 
 De Cristoforis, Carlo, during the Five 
 Days, 56; frequenter of salon of Con- 
 tessa Clara MafFei, 146; and Carta's 
 committee, 157, 175; joyous manner 
 of, 167; cuts Nava's portrait, 168; on 
 the 6th Feb., 1853, 183; escape of, 186, 
 187; his writings, 187; condemned in 
 default, 188; returns from exile, 329; 
 departs for war, 330; death of, 330, 
 336, 337; secret preparations for war, 
 427. 
 
 De Cristoforis, Malachia, IJ, 337, 440. 
 
 Delia Croce, Antonio, 134. 
 
 Delia Croce, the brothers, 38. 
 
 Delia Porta, Luigi, 156. 
 
 Delia Rocca, second in duel, 285-87. 
 
 Delia Rocchetta, Alberto dei Marchesi 
 Incisa, 295, 301. 
 
 De Luigi, Dr., 160; on committee of 
 conspiracy, 150; and Carta's commit- 
 tee, 157; condemned in default, 188. 
 
 Depretis, in plots of Mazzini, 175. 
 
 De Simoni, papal consul, 67. 
 
 Di Genova, Duca, brother of Vittorio 
 Emanuele, 232. 
 
 Di Rora, Marchese, 394. 
 
 Di S. Donato, Duca, 377. 
 
 Di Santa Croce, Conte Ceschi, Austrian 
 envoy, 326. 
 
 DiSant'Alessandro,VincenzoLutti,295. 
 
Index 
 
 Doll, Colonel, 429. 
 
 Dolzino, Francesco, 114. 
 
 Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, 410. 
 
 Dottesio, Luigi, execution of, 152, 164. 
 
 Duels, with Austrian officers, 141, 245, 
 246, 272, 283; duel of d' Adda Salva- 
 terra and Alfonso Carcano, 284-88. 
 
 Durando, promoter of honor to memory 
 of Emilio Dandolo, 304. 
 
 Durini, Conte Ercole, 70, 429. 
 
 Edolo, 367, 368. 
 
 Emigrants, Italian, 109, 234-36, 2SS- 
 
 Emperor, the. Set Ferdinand I, Francis 
 
 Joseph. 
 England, alliance of, with Turkey, 222; 
 
 Congress proposed by, 325. 
 Ermes Visconti, Marchese Carlo, 263, 
 
 442. 
 
 Fabris, Professor, 408. 
 
 Fadini, Gerolamo, 302. 
 
 Faido, Antonietta, 188. 
 
 Falco, Donna Mariquita, 259. 
 
 Fano, Enrico, 147, 442. 
 
 Fanti, General Manfredo, member of 
 Committee of Public Defense, 99. 
 
 Farini, Armando, 393. 
 
 Farini, Domenico, 393, 439. 
 
 Farini, Luigi, summons Emilio Visconti 
 in name of Cavour, 331; his account 
 of interview with Cavour, 332, 334; 
 summons Emilio to Modena, 371, 
 372; Dictator of the Duchies, 372, 
 387, 388; Emilio with, at Modena, 
 372, 387; negotiates with committee 
 of relief of Venetians, 392; family and 
 secretaries of, 393; wins in election at 
 Milan, 403 ; sends Emilio Visconti to 
 Paris, 404; sent on embassy to Na- 
 ples, 414; nominated Lieutenant at 
 Naples, 418; joined by Emilio, 418; 
 decline of his health, 418. 
 
 Fava, Professor Angelo, 57, 242, 428. 
 
 Ferdinand I, Emperor, entry of, into 
 Milan, 9, 10. 
 
 Ferrara, occupation of, 32. 
 
 Ferrari, Giuseppe, 151, 235. 
 
 Ferrari, Paolo, 387. 
 
 Ferretti, Cardinal Mastai (Pius IX), 
 34. See Pius IX. 
 
 Ferri, Francesco, colleague of Carta, 
 157; part taken by, in proposed re- 
 volt of Feb. 6, 1853, 176, 178, 181, 183. 
 
 Ficquelmont, Conte di, 42-4, 47, 50. 
 
 Finzi, Giuseppe, 443; inmate of salon 
 of Contessa Clara Maffei, 146; goes 
 to London to meet Mazzini in interest 
 of bond sale, 152; as regards whipping 
 in prisons, 169; rarely spoke of his 
 trial, 192; and Castellazzo, 192, 193, 
 433; on subscription list for a million 
 rifles, 402; called by Cavour to Turin, 
 404, 405; sent by Cavour to Naples, 
 413; preparations of, for revolution, 
 427. 
 
 Firemen's school, at Tirano, 225. 
 
 Five Days, the, S3-77, 137. See Cinque 
 Giornate. 
 
 Fliik, examiner in trial resulting from 
 Dandolo funeral, 321. 
 
 Flye de Sainte Marie, 400. 
 
 Foldi brothers, 182. 
 
 Fortis, Leone, 402. 
 
 Fossati, Marchese, 146. 
 
 France, refuses aid (1849), 124, 125; 
 coup d'eiat and establishment of em- 
 pire in, 172; alliance of, with Turkey, 
 222; recognizes kingdom of Italy, 419. 
 
 Francis Joseph, Emperor, at Milan, 
 163, 164; proposed visit (1857) to 
 Milan, 257, 258; preparations for and 
 in opposition to his coming, 261-63 i 
 arrival of, 264-66; court reception to, 
 266, 267; suite of, 267, 268; further 
 events connected with his visit, 268- 
 
 Frapolli, Agostino, 127. 
 Freemasonry, 292. 
 
 French, in Rome, 198; arrival at Turin, 
 328, 329; invade Lombardy in 1796, 
 
 423- 
 French officers, 389, 390, 399, 400. 
 Frigerio, Antonio, 223, 224. 
 Fronti, in proposed revolt of 1853, 180- 
 
 82. 
 Furagy, in command of Hungarians, 
 
 179, 181. 
 
 Gaisruck, Archbishop, death of, 33; se- 
 vere regime of, 153. 
 
 Gallas, General, 50. 
 
 Galline, Club of the, 402, 403. 
 
 Garavaglia, Dr. Bartolomeo, 146. 
 
 Garavaglia, Costantino, 224, 255, 302, 
 439; arrested, 308; trial of, 321-23; 
 gives three hundred thousand lire to 
 Chiassi, 405, 443, 444. 
 
 45 2 
 
Index 
 
 Garibaldi, 151, 232; Emilio Visconti en- 
 lists under, loi; interview with Ca- 
 vour, 324; nominated Major-Gen- 
 eral, and takes command of corps of 
 volunteers, 324; arrives at Varese 
 from Como, 336; his advice to com- 
 mittee from Valtellina, 338, 339; 
 sends Visconti officers and soldiers to 
 instruct Valtellinese troops, 350; 
 Visconti goes to confer with, 356; 
 headquarters at Casa Camozzi, Ber- 
 gamo, 356; interview of Visconti 
 with, 3S7; and the Austrian prison- 
 ers, 357, 358; his orders regarding 
 Montanari, 358, 359; movements of, 
 uncertain, 360; plans to march to 
 Brescia, 361; his ideal, 362; announce- 
 ment of his coming to the Valtellina, 
 366, 368; enters Valtellina, 369; 
 comes to Bormio, 372, 373; fascina- 
 tion of, 378, 379; goes to Sondrio to 
 consult with Guicciardi, 379; reviews 
 volunteers, 380; asks for a million 
 rifles, 402; enters Naples, 413, 414. 
 
 Garibaldian "Guides," 371, 372. 
 
 Gamier College, Visconti family at, 66- 
 
 9- 
 
 "Gazzetta Italiana," Maximilian's pro- 
 ject of, 278. 
 
 Gazzoletti, poet, 295. 
 
 Gemellaro, Professor, 206. 
 
 Genoa, 197, 211, 212; attempted upric- 
 ing at, 273. 
 
 Gerli, Alberico, emigrant, 114; member 
 of committee of conspiracy, 150; and 
 Carta's committee, 157; condemned 
 in default, 188; in the revolution, 
 427. 
 
 German professor, affair of, at Sondrio, 
 
 348. 349- 
 
 Gianella, Donna Teresa, cousm of Vis- 
 conti's father, 148. 
 
 Gioberti, 125, 126. 
 
 Girgenti, 207, 209. 
 
 Giulay, General, citizens go to, 184, 185; 
 at production of "Norma" in the 
 Scala, 298, 299. 
 
 Giulini, Conte Cesare, 146, 334; friend 
 of Correnti, 29, 49; joins in protest 
 to Ficquelmont, 46; frequenter of 
 Cafe Cecchina, 51; anecdote of, 99; 
 services of, 145; and his relations 
 with Piedmont, 222; in'^advance 
 guard of National party, 259; in the 
 
 years of resistance, 281, 282; and 
 Cavour, 293; assists captains of Pied- 
 montese staff to obtain information 
 of Austrian troops, 301; member of 
 Cavour's commission, 328; promotes 
 the "Perseveranza," 386. 
 
 Giulini, Conte Giorgio, 145. 
 
 Giulini, Rinaldo, 145, 259. 
 
 Giulio, Conte, 430. 
 
 Goito, combat of, 95. 
 
 Govone, captain of Piedmontese staff, 
 301. 
 
 Grazioli, G., condemnation and execu- 
 tion of, 190, 191. 
 
 Griffini, Achille, 427. 
 
 Griffini, Dr. jRomolo, 36, 146; contrib- 
 utor to the "Nipote del Vesta 
 Verde," 40; the "Voce del Popolo" 
 directed by, 89; contributor to the 
 "Crepuscolo," 147. 
 
 Griola, Giovanni, execution of, 159, 
 
 432- 
 
 Grisons, the, 132; conspiracy against 
 the government of, 6; and the Valtel- 
 lina, subsequent to 1796, 366, 423- 
 25; government of, 423. 
 
 Griziotti, Garibaldian officer, 335. 
 
 Grosio, 19, 20, 24, 226, 227; parish 
 priest of, 353. 
 
 Guard Mobile, formed at Sondrio, 342. 
 
 Guerrieri Gonzaga, Marchese Anselmo, 
 49; sent on mission to Paris, 124; in 
 advance guard of National party, 259; 
 in the revolution, 427. 
 
 Guicciardi, Conte Diego, 424. 
 
 Guicciardi, Emilio, 224, 440. 
 
 Guicciardi, Enrico, discourages revolu- 
 tionary movement, 113, 121; career 
 of, 219, 220; promotes enactment to 
 help Valtellina, 290; member of Ca- 
 vour's commission, 328; nominated 
 as Intendant of Sondrio, 363, 364, 
 366; offers office of inspector to Vis- 
 conti, 367; at Sondrio and Bormio, 
 370-76; consults with Garibaldi, 379, 
 380. 
 
 Guicciardi, Nobile Gaudenzio, Podesta 
 at Sondrio, 342. 
 
 Gussalli, Antonio, 146. 
 
 Guttierez, and Carta's committee, IS7; 
 condemned in default, 188. 
 
 Guy, G. B., his account of Emilio Vis- 
 conti's escape, 317, 318. 
 
 Guy, the brothers, tfl. 
 
 453 
 
Index 
 
 Hainau, General, 129. 
 
 Homodei, Don Antonio, 229, 
 
 Hospitals, 390. 
 
 Hiibner, Baron, 42, 43, 50, 297. 
 
 Hungarians, in proposed revolt of l8j3, 
 
 178, 179, 181. 
 Hungary, 122, 125, 131. 
 Huyn, General, 342. 
 
 "II 22 Marzo," the, 89. 
 
 Induno, Gerolamo, 130, 183. 
 
 Inkerman, battle of, 228. 
 
 "Italia del Popolo," the, 87-9. 
 
 Italy, scientific congresses in, a sign of 
 
 national awakening, 20,21; Kingdom 
 
 of, proclaimed, 419. 
 luvalta, Costantino, afltair of, at Teglio, 
 
 346, 347- 
 
 Jacini, Stefano, wins prize for treatise, 
 187; commissioned by Maximilian to 
 report on conditions in Valtellina, 
 288-90. 
 
 Jacini, the brothers, 52. 
 
 Jesus, Company of, and Visconti's 
 grandfather, 4-6. 
 
 Josephstadt, Visconti's friends return 
 from, 270. 
 
 Kellesperg, Baron, Austrian envoy, 
 
 326. 
 Kingdom of Italy, proclamation of, 
 
 419. 
 Krall, Major, commander at Tirano, 
 
 121. 
 Kramer Berra, Signora Teresa, Vis- 
 
 conti calls upon, at Lugano, 112; her 
 
 salon at Paris, 236. 
 Krauss, Captain Carlo, and Mantua 
 
 trials, 169, 190, 195, 21S, 433, 434. 
 
 La Farina, separates from Mazzini, 
 254; institutes the Societa Nazionale, 
 273 ; words of Cavour to, 292. 
 
 La Marmora, General, 232, 301, 304; 
 fetes given to, 253; proposes to fortify 
 Alessandria, 273 ; inspires sense of se- 
 curity, 415. 
 
 Lambertenghi, Dr., member of Com- 
 mittee of Public Safety at Sondrio, 
 
 345- ,. „. 
 
 Lambertenghi, Signor Giovanni, mem- 
 
 . ber of Committee of Public Safety at 
 
 Sondrio, 345. 
 
 Lanfranchi, president of tribunal, 321. 
 
 Lanza, promoter of honor to memory of 
 Dandolo, 304. 
 
 Laprade, artillery officer, 400. 
 
 Latif, negro servant of Dandolo, 308, 
 309; trial of, 321-23. 
 
 La Ville Huchet, 400. 
 
 Lazzati, Antonio, 114, 167, 169, 189; 
 inmate of salon of Contessa MaflFei, 
 146; goes to Mantua on commission, 
 160; arrested, 170, 171; condemna- 
 tion of, and commutation of sentence, 
 190, 191; rarely referred to his trial, 
 192; his account of his confrontation 
 with Castellazzo, 433. 
 
 Lazzati, the brothers, 427. 
 
 Lega, priest, 28. 
 
 Litta, Duca Antonio, 430. 
 
 Litta, Duchessa Eugenia, 263. 
 
 Litta, Conte Giulio, 244, 245. 
 
 Litta, Conte Pompeo, 70, 428. 
 
 Litta family, 98. 
 
 Lizabe, favored Prince Murat, 256. 
 
 Lombard battalion, 80. 
 
 Lombard clergy, and the Austrians, in 
 1850, 153, 154; respected, 198. 
 
 Lombardo-Venetia, value of Visconti's 
 account of resistance of, xx, xxi ; gov- 
 ernment assumes suspicious attitude 
 in, 32; troops sent into, 42; Kingdom 
 of, created in 1815, 43; coincidence of 
 revolutions in, 81; harsh measures in, 
 135; in ten years of Austrian rule 
 (1850-1860), 137; secret committees 
 formed in, 150; visit of Emperor 
 Francis Joseph to, 163, 164; state of 
 siege in, 186; Radetzky nominated 
 Governor of, 253; effect of circular 
 letter regarding Emperor's visit to, 
 257, 259; report as to reorganization 
 of, 272; Radetzky's rule of, 277; 
 Maximilian's agreement for working 
 railways of, 278; volunteers from, go 
 to Piedmont, 299, 300. 
 
 Lombardy, part played by, in unifica- 
 tion of Italy, xiii; annexation of the 
 Valtellina to, 6; autumn of 1847 in, 
 37; discussion whether Lombard 
 provinces should be fused with Pied- 
 mont, 88; subscription among prin- 
 cipal landowners of, 100; emigrants 
 from, gathered about Mazzini in 
 Lugano, 112; return of emigrants to, 
 115; municipalities of, under Aus- 
 
 454 
 
Index 
 
 trian rule, 394, 395; invasion of, by 
 the French in 1796, 4.23; decree of 
 commission of King of Sardinia to, 
 441, 442. 
 
 Lonato Pozzuolo, 311. 
 
 Louvencour, Marquis de, 400. 
 
 Lucini, Antonio, commands volunteers 
 at Sondrio, 343. 
 
 Lugano, no, in. 
 
 Lutti, Donna Clara, 295. 
 
 Lutti, Francesca, 295. 
 
 Luzio, Alessandro, his inquiries con- 
 cerning Mantuan trials, 433, 434. 
 
 Madonnina, the, statue of the Virgin 
 on the Milan cathedral, 74, 75. 
 
 Maestri, Pietro, contributor to the 
 "Nipote del Vesta Verde," 40; the 
 "Voce del Popolo" directed by, 89; 
 on Committee of Public Defense, 99; 
 and the Italian emigrants, 234; his 
 adherence to formula of Manin, 256. 
 
 Maffei, Andrea, 295. 
 
 Maffei, Contessa Clara, 281; acquaint- 
 ance made by Visconti, 142-44; and 
 Tenca, assist Visconti to flee, 309. 
 See Casa Maffei. 
 
 Magenta, battle of, 297, 298, 345, 354; 
 news of battle, 350. 
 
 Magnan, Captain, 400. 
 
 Mainoni, the, 52, 259. 
 
 Maiocchi, Achille, 157, 427. 
 
 Maisner, condemnation of, 164. 
 
 Manara, Luciano, 52, 56, 71, 427; and 
 his battalion, 129, 130. 
 
 Manara Fe, Signora Carmelita, elope- 
 ment and marriage of, 129; her salon, 
 147, 148, 242; at funeral of Dandolo, 
 302. 
 
 Manassero, Major, 367, 368. 
 
 Mancini, Carlo, 233. 
 
 Mancini, Lodovico, 224, 242; wounded, 
 130; banished, 263; at Dandolo's 
 funeral, 303. 
 
 Mancini, the brothers, 56, 71, 427, 439, 
 440. 
 
 Manganini, Counselor of Appeal, 
 killed, 46. 
 
 Mangiagalli, Alessandro, 243. 
 
 Mangili, Angelo, sentence of, 173. • 
 
 Manin, Daniele, emigrant who did not 
 agree with Mazzini, 151, 234, 254; had 
 clear perception of future, 235; his 
 utterance, "Italia Una e Vjttorio 
 
 Emanuele," 235, 255; head of Sar- 
 dinian party, 255; death of, 273. 
 
 Mantegazza, Saule, 233, 427. 
 
 Mantua, reunion of delegates at (1850), 
 152; headquarters of committees, 
 156; Central Committee of, 159, 160, 
 165; trials at, 169, 170, 173, 189-92, 
 21S, 4.32-34- 
 
 Manzoni, Alessandro, his choice be- 
 tween unity and federation, 49; and 
 Vittorio Emanuele, 398; Visconti 
 makes acquaintance of, 407; his fam- 
 ily and his friends, 407, 408; his hab- 
 its and his conversation, 408; public 
 homage to, 411, 412; death of, 412; 
 a saying of, 418, 419. 
 
 Marcello, Signer, proprietor of palaz- 
 zotto at Arsoli, 199. 
 
 Marionettes, a tragedy for, 246, 247; 
 
 Marsala, 211. 
 
 Martin, proprietor of hotel at Naples, 
 202, 203. 
 
 Martini, Conte, 69, 259. 
 
 Martini, Don, priest, 215. 
 
 "Martinitt," the, 74. 
 
 Maspero, Dr., 407. 
 
 Massarani, Tullo, 146, 443; contributor 
 to the "Crepuscolo," 147; goes to 
 London to meet Mazzini, 152. 
 
 Massari, Giuseppe, 319, 324, 325. 
 
 Mauri, Achille, 3S; at the Boselli Insti- 
 tute and later, 12. 
 
 Maximilian, Archduke, Governor-Gen- 
 eral, arrival at Milan, 272, 273; his 
 powers as Governor-General, 276; 
 endeavors to attract conspicuous citi- 
 zens, 277, 278; his project of the 
 "Gazzetta Italiana," 278, 279; seeks 
 support from the Clerical party, 279; 
 his seductiveness, 279-81, 283, 284; 
 struggle of patriotic Milanese against, 
 280, 281; commissions Jacini to re- 
 port on conditions in Valtellina, 288- 
 90; rumor of confidential ambassador 
 sent to Napoleon by, 290; impotence 
 of, becomes more apparent, 291; un- 
 successful at Venice, 293 . 
 
 Mazzini, Giuseppe, no; influence of 
 his writings, 28; his Associazione Na- 
 zionale Italiana and the "Italia del 
 Popolo," 87-9; Emilio makes ac- 
 quaintance of, 91; meets Visconti, 
 112; and Cavour, 150; a ten million 
 loan announced by, 151; first acts of 
 
 455 
 
Index 
 
 Mazzinian conspiracy, 152; his 
 method of surveillance, 156; his ad- 
 herents, 160, 161, 174; prepares for 
 revolt in Milan, 174-80; continues 
 plotting after the 6th Feb., 193-96, 
 213, 215; influence declines, 196, 221; 
 his subscription for ten thousand 
 guns, 254; on the occasion of the Em- 
 peror's visit to Milan, 269; continues 
 to promote vain enterprises, 273 
 
 Medal of St. Helena, 274, 275. 
 
 Medici, Lieutenant-Colonel Giacomo, 
 writes to Garibaldi on Mazzinian 
 folly, 254; volunteers formed at 
 Savigliano under, 324; at San 
 Fermo, 337; report of, on Valtellina, 
 341; before and after Solferino, 368. 
 369; marches upon and takes Bor- 
 mio, 372. 
 
 Mellerio, Conte, 92. 
 
 Melzi d' Eril, Duca Lodovico, 278; at 
 Paris, 290, 291. 
 
 Menini, journalist, 278. 
 
 Merizzi, the author's uncle, 134, 228. 
 
 Merizzi, Antonio, 20. 
 
 Merizzi, Giacomo, 38, 39. 
 
 Messina, 206. 
 
 Mezzacapo, Luigi, 327, 328. 
 
 Mezzi, Father, 6. 
 
 Mickiewicz, Polish poet, 90. 
 
 Migliavacca, Cecco, 64, 374, 375. 
 
 Milan, customs in, before 1848, 7, 8; 
 cholera in (1836), 8, 9; Emperor 
 Ferdinand enters, 9, 10; schools of, 
 12; Boselli Institute, 12-18; con- 
 gress at (1844), 21; groups of patri- 
 ots in, united under Correnti, 30; 
 funeral of Conte Federico Confaloni- 
 eri, 30, 31; poverty and want in, in 
 1846, 31; work of patriotism and 
 charity in, 31, 32; Richard Cobden at, 
 32; demonstrations in, against the 
 Austrian government, 33-8, 45; the 
 clergy in the diocese of, 33-6; as- 
 saults in, 46; martial law declared in, 
 47; garrison in, increased, 50; first 
 day of the revolution in, S3-8; 
 second day, 59-66; third day, 66, 67; 
 fourth day, 67-71; fifth day, 72-7; 
 days immediately following, 78-94; 
 taken by the Austrians, 105, 106; ap- 
 pearance of, on Visconti's return, 
 116, 117; in winter of 1849, 123, 124; 
 in a state of siege, 131; appearance I 
 
 456 
 
 of, in 1850, 136; in ten years of re- 
 sistance to Austrian rule, 137; events 
 in, preceding and on 6tli Feb., 1853, 
 174-83; after 6th Feb., 188, 189; the 
 Corso Francesco, 264; the Giardini 
 Pubblici and Central Railway Sta- 
 tion, 272; after the Peace of Villa- 
 franca, 384, 385; Venetian immigra- 
 tion to, 384, 385; communal elections 
 of, in i860, 39S, 396; the Galleria 
 Vittorio Emanueie, 396; entry of Vit- 
 torio Emanueie in, 397; Parliamen- 
 tary elections in, 402, 403 ; strangers 
 at, 406; Conte Pasolini, governor of, 
 414, 415; police powers at, 415-17. 
 "Milanaise," popular song, 297. 
 Milanese, the, mental and political evo- 
 lution of, 221; pay little attention to 
 arrival of Maximilian, 275; struggle 
 of, against Maximilian, 280, 281. 
 Milanese, society, Visconti's picture of, 
 
 xv; ladies, nickname of, 246. 
 Military perquisitions, 134, 135. 
 Military service made obligatory, 223. 
 Mille, the, 376, 382, 405. 
 Mincio, peace to the, 96, 97. 
 Minghetti, his scheme of local adminis- 
 tration, 391. 
 Minonzio, cousin of Visconti, 56. 
 Minunzi, Carlo, cousin of Visconti, 141, 
 
 142. 
 Minunzi, Donna Carolina, aunt of Vis- 
 conti, 103. 
 Modena, 387. 
 
 Modena, Gustavo, recitals of, for emi- 
 grants, 109. 
 Modignani, Marchese Lorenzo Litta, 
 
 408. 
 Mongeri, priest, 29. 
 Mongeri, Giuseppe, contributor to the 
 
 " Crepuscolo," 147. 
 Montanara, rout of, 95. 
 Montanari, Conte Carlo, 190. 
 Montanari, Francesco, Garibaldi's cap- 
 tain, induces patriots to incite to re- 
 bellion, 337; arrives at Sondrio, 350; 
 gets drunk, 351; comes in collision 
 with Caimi, 351; addresses guards, 
 35 1> 354; conversation with Visconti 
 on revolutionizing the country, 352, 
 353; and Cornelio, parish priest, 353, 
 354; difficulties caused by, 354, 355; 
 plans attack upon Bormio, 356; Gari- 
 baldi's orders regarding, 358, 359; 
 
Index 
 
 not pleased with Sanfront, 364, 365; 
 
 - on station of volunteers, 376; death 
 of, 376. 
 
 Montanelli, emigrant who disagreed 
 with Mazzini, 151, 234, 254; ad- 
 vances towards Cavour, 256; in the 
 "Cacciatori degli Appennini," 377. 
 
 Montecassino, abbey at, 200. 
 
 Monte Cenisio, proposal for tunnel 
 through, 273. 
 
 Mora, with Mazzini at Lugano, 113; 
 on committee of conspiracy, 150. 
 
 Moro family, 105. 
 
 Morosini, Emilio, 56, 71, 130, 242. 
 
 Mosca, Avvocato Antonio, professor of 
 law, 14, 15s, 403. 
 
 Murat, Prince, party of, 255. 
 
 Naples, 201-5, 413) 4i8. 
 
 Napoleon I, anecdote of, 139. 
 
 Napoleon III, Emperor, 222; attacked 
 by Pianori, 232; how regarded by Ital- 
 ians after Tchernaya, 236; his words 
 to Conte Arese, 238^ institutes Medal 
 of St. Helena, 274, 275; Cavour's con- 
 versation with, 293; words to Baron 
 Hubner, 297; restrained from war by 
 opposition of ministers and people, 
 324, 325; accepts proposal for Con- 
 gress, but knows that it has been de- 
 cided upon, 325, 326; breaks off rela- 
 tions with Austria, 327; his reply to 
 embassy of Cavour, 414; recognizes 
 Kingdom of Italy, 419. 
 
 National Guard, "Palladio della Li- 
 berta," 83, 84; in Valtellina (1859), 
 342, 350. 3S4, 381, 385. 
 
 National Italian Assoaation, the, 87. 
 
 National ItaUan Committee, organized 
 by Mazzini, iji- 
 
 Nava, Conte Ambrogio, his portrait 
 cut, 167, 168. 
 
 Nazari, Avvocato G. B., 43, 44. 
 
 Neapolitan Government, 212. 
 
 Negri, Gaetano, 300. 
 
 Negri, Giuseppe, priest, 159. 
 
 Negri, Luigi, 134. 
 
 Negri, Valentino, 228. 
 
 Neipperg, Conte, 45. 
 
 Newspapers, 89, 402, 403. 
 
 Nievo, Ippolito, 335. 
 
 "Nipote del Vesta Verde," the, 40. 
 
 "Norma," demonstration at produc- 
 
 i tion of, in the Scala, 298. 
 
 457 
 
 Novara, battle of, 127. 
 Novion, Comte de, 400. 
 
 O'Donnel, Vice-Governor, JO. 
 Oldofredi, Conte, member of Cavour's 
 
 commission, 328. 
 Olivari, arrested at Sondrio, 346. 
 Olivari, Teresa, 131. 
 "Operaio," the, 89. 
 Orsini, separates from Mazzini, 254. 
 
 Pagani, and the Societa Nazionale, 291, 
 
 292. 
 Pagliano, Eleuterio, 183. < 
 
 Palermo, 211. 
 
 Palestra Parlamentare, the, Sj. 
 Palestro, battle of, 345. 
 "Palladio della Liberia," the, 83, 84. 
 Pallavicino, Giorgio, 254. - 
 Papal Government, 212. 
 Paravicini, Lamberto, cousin of Vis- 
 
 conti, 141. 
 Paris, Exposition, 233, 237; Congress 
 
 °^' ^+3- . . . , , 
 
 Pasetti, Antonio, whipping of, 169, 170. 
 Pasolini, Conte Giuseppe, governor of 
 
 Milan, 414, 415. 
 Passalacqua, General, 83. 
 Pastro, Dr. Luigi, 169, 192, 271. 
 Pedotti, death of, 336. 
 Pepe, General Guglielmo, 254. 
 Pepoli, Conte Gioachino, 393. 
 Peppina, Cafe of the, 51, £2. 
 Peregro, Pietro, editor of the 
 
 "Operaio," 89. 
 "Perseveranza," the, 386, 403, 404. 
 Peschiera, surrender of, 95. 
 Pezzi, Giulietta, 146. 
 Pezzotti, Giovanni, 150, 170, 427. 
 Pianori, Giovanni, attacks Napoleon, 
 
 ^33- . ^ , 
 
 Piantom, Father, 57, 303. 
 
 Piedmont, extreme opinion of Parlia- 
 ment of, that the war should be re- 
 sumed, 125; joins the alliance be- 
 tween France and England, 231; 
 subscription for monument to army 
 of, 258; photographs of the monu- 
 ment in the Emperor's suite at 
 Milan, 266; arrangements for send- 
 ing recruits to, 295; flight to, 296; 
 volunteers go to, 299, 300; Pariia- 
 ment of, accepts Cavour's proposal 
 and refuses to disarm, 326, 327. 
 
Index 
 
 Pievani, Antonio, 381, 382. 
 
 Pick, Senator, 408. 
 
 Pioiti de Bianchi, Giuseppe, plots re- 
 volt in Milan, 175-82; escape of, 188; 
 work praised by Mazzini, 193; his 
 comments on Emilio Visconti's let- 
 ter to Mazzini, 194; memoirs of, 432. 
 
 Pisacane, landing of, at Sapri, 273. 
 
 Pius IX, Pope, election of, 30; hymns 
 to> 36, 37- See Ferretti. 
 
 Plombieres, Cavour at, 292. 
 
 Poma, condemnation and execution of, 
 173. 
 
 Ponte del Diavolo, 342, 343, 345, 354, 
 367, 369. 
 
 Porcia, Principe, 263; departure of, to 
 his Austrian estates, 291. 
 
 Porro, Alessandro, 52, 259, 386. 
 
 Porro, Conte Carlo, debates with Vis- 
 conti's father about the "Society for 
 the Encouragement of the Sciences, 
 etc.," 22; death of, 22, 81; friend of 
 Correnti, 29; in advance guard of 
 National party, 259. 
 
 Porro, Marchese Gilberto, 429. 
 
 Porta Tosa, capture of, 72-77. 
 
 Porta Vittoria, 75. See Porta Tosa. 
 
 Poschiavo, 24. 
 
 Pozzi, Giuseppe, 229, 230. 
 
 Pozzi, Maestro, teacher at the Boselli 
 Institute, 12. 
 
 Prati, poet, 295. 
 
 Priests, persecution of, by Austrian gov- 
 ernment, 153; in Valtellina, 353, 354. 
 
 Prinetti, the brothers, 52, 259. 
 
 Proclamation of London, 430-32. 
 
 Provisional Government, the, consti- 
 tution of, 69; weakness of, 89; and 
 Carlo Alberto, Austrians offer to 
 treat for peace with, 96; did not fa- 
 vor negotiations of peace, 97; char- 
 acter of, 100; its project for raising 
 money, 100; last act of, loi; seques- 
 trations among those who had held 
 office under, 107; members of, accused 
 of treason, 109; sends mission to Paris, 
 124; forced loan decreed by, 430. 
 
 "Pungolo," the, 402, 403. 
 
 Quadrio, Ercole, commands volunteers 
 
 at Sondrio, 342. 
 Quadrio, Luigi, cousin of Visconti, 20, 
 
 24. 
 Quadrio, Maurizio, 214, 216, 219, 403. 
 
 458 
 
 Radetzky, Marshal, 44, 163, 164; Vis- 
 conti's account of, xiv; member 
 of the " Conferenza," 42; reinforced, 
 so; justifies retreat in revolution, 70; 
 takes the offensive, 97; nominated 
 Governor of Lombardo-Venetia, 233; 
 relieved of his command, 271; how 
 he ruled Lombardo-Venetia, 277. 
 
 Railways, in Lombardo-Venetia, 278, 
 
 438,_439: 
 Raineri, Viceroy, 44; member of the 
 "Conferenza," 42; gossip regarding, 
 
 Rajmond, Signor, 205. 
 
 Ramorino, shot, 125. 
 
 Rattazzi, 221; and his new laws, 390, 
 
 391- . 
 Rescalli, Marchesa, 244. 
 Restelli, Dr. Francesco, 55; member of 
 
 the Committee of PubUc Defense, 99. 
 Revere, Giuseppe, poet, 19, 22. 
 Revolution of the Cinque Giornate, the 
 
 beginning of, 53; first day, 53-8; 
 
 second day, 59-66; third day, 66, 67; 
 
 fourth day, 67-71; fifth day, 72-7; 
 
 days immediately following, 7B-94. 
 Ricasoli, Barone, 370, 388. 
 Riccardi, secretary of Farini, 393. 
 Ricci, Colonel, 367. 
 Rlcci, Deputy, 124. 
 
 Ricetti, student, incident concerning, 
 n 118. 
 
 Risorgimento. See Revolution. 
 Rivoli, battle of, 95. 
 Rizzi, Dr. Benedetto, 227. 
 Rizzi, Giovanni, correspondent of the 
 
 "Crepuscolo," 147; friend of Man- 
 
 zoni, 408. 
 Robecchi, Cristoforo, companion of 
 
 the brothers Visconti at Naples, 202, 
 
 204. 
 Robecchi, Orsola Bianconi, 146. 
 Robilant, Conte di, Italian ambassador 
 
 at Vienna, 43. 
 Rome, 128-31; Visconti's sojourn at, 
 
 197, 198. 
 RomiUi, Bartolomeo, nominated as 
 
 Archbishop of Milan, 34-6. 
 Ronchi, Ambrogio, heads Mazzini's 
 
 party, 194. 
 Rosa, Gabriele, correspondent of the 
 
 "Crepuscolo," 147. 
 Rosari, Francesco, 141. 
 Rossari, Professor Luigi, 408, 409, 443. 
 
Index 
 
 Rossi, Librarian of the Brera, 408. 
 
 Rovani, Giuseppe, 438. 
 
 Ruflfoni, favored Prince Murat, 256. 
 
 St. Helena, medal of, 174, 275. 
 
 Sala, Luigi, 89, 127, 386, 443. 
 
 Saliceti, 256. 
 
 Salis, Giovanni, 38, 225, 365. 
 
 Salis, Conte Ulisse, 38; trial of, 213-16, 
 434; preserves Emilio from arrest, 
 215; at the Stelvio Pass, 217; carries 
 off abandoned cannon, 218; guns for- 
 warded to Valtellina by, 354. 
 
 Salis, Contessa, 216, 217. 
 
 Salis, the brothers, 134. 
 
 Salis family, 434. 
 
 SalU d'Armes, at Milan, 141. 
 
 Samoyloff, Contessa, and her Casa, 
 244, 245. 
 
 S. Alessandro, gymnasium of, 17. 
 
 San Fermo, assault upon, 330, 336, 337. 
 
 Sanfront, Colonel, arrives at Sondrio 
 and makes inspection, 364, 365. 
 
 Sanseverino Vimercati, Contessa Te- 
 resa, 263. 
 
 Sapri, landing of Pisacane at, 273. 
 
 Sardinia, decree of commissioner of 
 
 I King of, to peoples of Lombardy, 441, 
 442. 
 
 Sardinian army, proposal of monu- 
 ment to, 438. 
 
 Sassatelli, Conte, companion of Vis- 
 conti at Naples, 202. 
 
 Scala, the, 8, 138, 165, 244, 245, 285, 
 286, 42s; demonstration in, at pro- 
 duction of "Norma," 298, 299. 
 
 Scarsellini, condemnation and execu- 
 tion of, 173. 
 
 Schonhals, Captain, 50; duel with 
 Camperio, 247-52; on the capture 
 of the Broletto, 429. 
 
 Schools in Milan, 12. 
 
 Schwarzenberg, General Felix von, 50; 
 sent to Vienna, 97; appointed Gov- 
 ernor of Milan, 106; his "notifica- 
 zione," 106, 107. 
 
 Scialoia, promoter of enactment to help 
 Valtellina, 290. 
 
 Sciesa, Antonio, colleague of Carta, 
 
 '57-59- 
 Secret organizations to further revolt m 
 
 Milan, 175-83. 
 Secret Service in the Tyrol, 365. 
 Selinunte, 207. 
 
 Sella, promoter of honor to memory of 
 Dandolo, 304. 
 
 Sequestrations, 107, 188. 
 
 Serbelloni, Duca Alessandro, 139. 
 
 Sertoli, Don Pietro, member of Com- 
 mittee of Public Safety at Sondrio, 
 
 345- 
 
 Setti, Cavaliere, 417. 
 
 Sicilian expedition, 404, 405. 
 
 Sicily, Visconti's travels in, 206-12. 
 
 Signoroni, Dr. Scipione, 242; wounded, 
 130; surgeon at duel, 287; Emilio 
 Dandolo's physician, 301, 439; trial 
 of, 321-23. 
 
 Simonetta, frequenter of Cafe Cec- 
 china, 52. 
 
 Sinzendorf, Principessa, 139. 
 
 Sirtori, Giuseppe, emigrant, 234; sepa- 
 rates from Mazzini, 254; career of, 
 256, 257; Visconti meets, 320, 321; 
 joins Sicilian expedition, 404. 
 
 Sixth of February, 1853, 181, 182. 
 
 Smoking, demonstration against, 41, 
 
 4?, 45- 
 
 Societa d' Incoraggiamento delle Sci- 
 enze, Lettere ed Arti, 21, 22. 
 
 Societa Nazionale, founded, 273; its 
 purpose, 292; influential in flight to 
 Piedmont, 295, 296. 
 
 Societa Palatina, 22. 
 
 Solferino, battle of, 368. 
 
 Soncino, Marchese Massimiliano Stam- 
 pa, banished, 263; second in duel, 
 285-87. 
 
 Sondrio, volunteers of, in 1848-49, 219; 
 blight in, 288-90; committee from, 
 asks for help, 337; arrival of Visconti 
 at, 340; National Guard and Guard 
 Mobile instituted at, 342; further acts 
 of Visconti at, 344, 345; arrival of Gar- 
 ibaldian officers and soldiers at, 350. 
 
 Sormanni, Contessa, goes to Bellinzona 
 with the Visconti, 103, 105; news 
 gathered by, 106; comforts fugitives, 
 no; impatient to return to Milan, 
 
 115- 
 
 Sormani, Emilio Bignami, 146; contrib- 
 utor to the "Crepuscolo," 147. 
 
 Sottocornola, Pasquale, 71. 
 
 Spaur, Conte, Governor of Lombardy, 
 35, 44; member of the " Conferenza," 
 42; proclaims martial law at Milan, 
 47; leaves Milan, 50. 
 
 Speri, Tito, 190, 433. 
 
 459 
 
Index 
 
 Spezia, proposal to create naval port 
 at, 273. 
 
 Spinelli, Conte G. B. Carrara, 144. 
 
 Sponda Lunga, Austrians at, 374, 380. 
 
 Stampa, Gerolamo, 424. 
 
 Stampa, Conte Stefano, 408. 
 
 Stelvio, trip to, 37; movements of Aus- 
 trians from, 342, 343. 
 
 Stelvio Road, 217, 218. 
 
 Stoppani, Antonio, 428. 
 
 Stoppani, Gervasio, trial of, 213, 214. 
 
 Strambio, Captain, 368, 381. 
 
 Strassoldo, General, 185. 
 
 Students and seminarians, 90, 91. 
 
 Subscriptions, for cannon, 253, 254; for 
 monument to Piedmont army, 258; 
 
 ; for a million rifles, 402; for expenses 
 
 ' of war, 430. 
 
 Susani, Guide, 10, 386. 
 
 Swiss, spirit of, 108; soldiers, give in- 
 formation to Austrian spies, 355. 
 
 Syracuse, 207. 
 
 Tagliaferri, Angelo, 52, 114, 146. 
 
 Tailor, story of the, at Tirano, 238-40. 
 
 Tattini, Contessa, 393. 
 
 Taverna, Conte Lorenzo, 163. 
 
 Taverna, Conte Paolo, 52, 92. 
 
 Taverns in Sicily, 208. 
 
 Tazzoli, Enrico, president of central 
 committee at Mantua, 152; arrested, 
 165; condemned and hanged, I73;and 
 Castellazzo, 433, 434. 
 
 Tchernaya, victory of, 235, 236. 
 
 Teglio, 346, 347. 
 
 Tenca, Carlo, 55, 21 1, 443; editor of 
 the "Rivista Europea," 91; founder 
 
 • of the " Crepuscolo," 146, 147, 150, 
 386; good taste and judgment of, 243, 
 244; admonished regarding the Em- 
 peror's coming to Milan, 264; par- 
 tial suppression of his " Crepuscolo," 
 272; and Contessa Maffei, assist Vis- 
 conti to flee, 309; career after the end 
 of the "Crepuscolo," 392; in Milan 
 elections, 403. 
 
 Terzaghi, Giulio, 58. 
 
 Terzaghi, Dr. Giuseppe, 84, 443. 
 
 Theater Canobbiana, demonstration 
 in, 32. 
 
 Theater Carcano, 166. 
 
 Theaters, 138, 165, 166. 
 
 Theresienstadt, friends of Visconti re- 
 turn from, 270. 
 
 Thurr, Colonel, 357, 358. 
 
 Ticino, canton, 109, no. 
 
 Tinelli, Donna Anna, salon of, 22, 23. 
 
 Tirano, vacations at, 20, 23; Visconti 
 goes to, IIS; Ricetti incident at, 118; 
 soldiers in house at, 133; firemen at, 
 22s; story of the tailor at, 238-40; 
 Visconti sees his mother at, 345; 
 Swiss soldiers at, 355. 
 
 Tirinanzi, Ernesto, 314, 3 1 J. 
 
 Tizzoni, Angelo, SJ. 
 
 Torelli, Luigi, major of staff in Solaroli 
 brigade, 121; career of, 219; promo- 
 ter of enactment to help Valtellina, 
 290; member of Cavour's commission, 
 328; words on the armistice follow- 
 ing the Five Days, 428; movements 
 on the third day of the revolution, 429. 
 
 Torresani, Baron, Director of Police, 
 
 35, SO- 
 Trentino, the, 295. 
 Tresenda, 342, 343, 345. 
 Treves, Emilio, 278. 
 Trotti, sons of Marchese Antonio, II. 
 Trotti, Lodovico, 56, 148, 240, 364, 
 
 440, 443, 427. 
 Trotti, Marchese, 398. 
 Turin, 316, 318, 324, 327; arrival of 
 
 French troops in, 328, 329. 
 
 Ulloa, General, 235, 256, 377. 
 "Unita Italiana," the, 403. 
 University at Milan, closed, 123, IJS. 
 Urban, General, 338, 339. 
 Urbino, attempts to overthrow the gov- 
 ernment in the Palazzo Marino, 89. 
 
 Vaillant, Marshal, 389, 401. 
 Valcamonica, the, 367. 
 Val d'lntelvi, events at, 113, 114. 
 Valenti, Signora Teresa, on Castellazzo, 
 
 433- . , . 
 
 Valtellina, the, the journey from, to 
 Rome, before 1770, 4, 5; annexation 
 of, to Lombardy, 6; other events of 
 consequence to, before and after the 
 annexation, 6; vacations in, 19; mon- 
 ograph of Visconti's father on, 21, 23; 
 appearance of, after the revolution of 
 1848, 117-21; took an important part 
 in the revolution, 121; no committee 
 in, 161; smuggUng of books into, 161; 
 patriots in, 219; story of the tailor, 
 238; conversations with patriotic- 
 
 460 
 
Index 
 
 friends in, 274; blight in and commis- 
 sion to report on conditions in, 288- 
 90; rising of, 337; committee from, 
 asks help of Garibaldi, 338, 339; Vis- 
 conti made Royal Commissioner^in, 
 339; Visconti arouses, 340; conditions 
 in, 340, 341; defenses of, 343; difficult 
 communications in, 349; the battal- 
 ion of, 3S0, 368, 369, 375, 376, 379, 
 381; discontented with Montanari, 
 355; and the Grisons, 366, 423-25; 
 fear of invasion of, 368; Garibaldi 
 enters, 369. 
 
 Valussi, Pacifico, 386. 
 
 Vandoni, Dr., murder of, 157, 158. 
 
 Varese, battle of, 335; Visconti arrives 
 at, 336; appearance of, 336. 
 
 Venetian immigration into Milan, 384, 
 385. 
 
 Venice, veterans of, 130, 131; trials at, 
 152; the Archduke fails to attract 
 conspicuous people at, 292. 
 
 Venini, Giulio, 266, 300. 
 
 Verdi, Giuseppe, 146. 
 
 Verga, Andrea, 295. 
 
 Verga, Augusto, 224. 
 
 Vertua, Councilor, member of Commit- 
 tee of Public Safety at Sondrio, 345. 
 
 Vicenza, fall of, 95. 
 
 Vienna, troops sent from, into Lom- 
 bardo-Venetia, 42; revolution at, 51; 
 decrees from, arrive at Milan, 52. 
 
 Vigliani, Visconti confers with, 363, 
 364; renews Visconti's appointment, 
 363,364. 
 
 Vignati, 29. 
 
 Villa, Achille, 442; assists Visconti to 
 escape, 309, 310. 
 
 Villafranca, Peace of, 382-84. 
 
 Viola, Gustavo, 440; duel of, 245, 246. 
 
 Visconti, Duchessa Giovanna, 303. 
 
 Visconti di Madrone, Duca, his house 
 attacked, 64; his regiment, 66, 98. 
 
 Visconti di Modrone, Duchessa, 244, 
 398. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Marchese, father of 
 Giovanni, 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 18, 19; his 
 monograph on the Valtellina, 21, 23; 
 his interest in the "Societa d'lnco- 
 raggiamento delle Scienze, Lettere ed 
 Arti," 21, 22; loss of eye through an 
 accident, 23; death of, 24, 25. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Carlo, 38. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Emilio, last of the 
 
 461 
 
 statesmen of Cavourian' school, six; 
 brother of Giovanni, 2, 3, 37, 134, 150, 
 183; escapade of, at school, 17, 18; 
 parental lessons with, i8, 19; begins 
 study of law, 27; contributor to the 
 "Nipote del Vesta Verde," 40; takes 
 part in early disturbances, 47; on the 
 first day of the revolution of the 
 Cinque Giornate, 53-8; on the sec- 
 ond day, 59; on the third day, 66; 
 on the fifth day, 75; his acquaintance 
 with Mazzini, 87, 91; enlists with 
 Garibaldi, 101; found by Giovanni at 
 Lugano, III; goes to Valtellina and 
 consults with Guicciardi, 113; goes 
 to Tuscany, 121, 122; enlists in bat- 
 talion of students, 123; returns to 
 Tuscany, 132; contributes to the 
 "Crepuscolo," 147; puts bonds in 
 circulation, 152; makes address at 
 funeral of Delia Porta, 156; attends 
 meeting of representatives of re- 
 volutionary committees, 161 ; head of 
 patriots who smuggled in books from 
 Switzerland, 161; goes on trip to 
 Switzerland, 161-63; refuses to flee 
 after the treachery of Castellazzo, 
 171; starts for Lugano to go to Maz- 
 zini, but returns to Milan, 180; saved 
 by firmness of Lazzati, 190; Piolti's 
 words about his letter to Mazzini, 
 194; journeys to the south with Gio- 
 vanni, 197-212; saved by firmness 
 of Sails, 213-15; warned by director 
 of police, 216; obtains agreement in 
 1866 for rebuilding of Stelvio road, 
 218; at Tirano and Grosio, 226; es- 
 capes arrest with Pozzi and others, 
 229, 230; goes to Paris to the exposi- 
 tion, 233; second at Viola duel, 245; 
 brings news daily to Casa Maffei, 262; 
 restrains Mazzinians on occasion of 
 Emperor's visit to Milan, 269; con- 
 verses with patriotic friends in Val- 
 tellina, 274; his words to an Austrian 
 minister regarding conspiracy of op- 
 position, 280, 281; commissioned to 
 prepare legislative measures for relief 
 of Valtellina, 290; presented by Dan- 
 dolo to Cavour, 294; unable to speak 
 at Dandolo's funeral, 302; escapes 
 capture after Dandolo's funeral, 305- 
 7; meets Giovanni in Turin, 3 16; 
 Guy's account of his escape, 3 17, 3 18; 
 
Index 
 
 member of Cavour's commission, 
 328; made Royal Commissioner, 331 
 -34; sends for Giovanni, 334; advises 
 Giovanni to accept appointment for 
 Valtellina, 339; arrival of letter of, to 
 Giovanni, 350; at CasaCamozzi, 356; 
 goes to Milan to confer with Vigliani, 
 361; difficulties of his office, 361, 362; 
 rejoins the Garibaldians on their 
 march, 363; and the Valcamonica, 
 367; goes to Modena, at call of Fa- 
 rini, 371, 372; with Farini at Mo- 
 dena, 387, 393; at Tirano with his 
 mother and Giovanni, 388; attacked 
 by the "Unita Italiana," 403; goes 
 to Paris and London, 404; sent by 
 Cavour to Naples, 413; joins Lieu- 
 tenant Farini at Naples, 418. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Enrico, brother of 
 Giovanni, 2, 3, 226, 307; character, 
 13, 14; leaves Milan, 103; goes to 
 Tirano, 115; returns to Milan, 122; 
 detained in Milan, 344. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Francesco, great- 
 grandfather of Giovanni, 4. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Giovanni, value of 
 his memoirs, vi, vii, xix-xxii; his 
 family, vi, xix; introductory letter to 
 his nephews, xxiii-xxv; early years, i, 
 2, 7; his brothers, 2; his father, 2, 3; 
 his mother, 3, 4; his great-grand- 
 father, 4; his grandfather, 4-7; his 
 memories of early Milan customs, 7, 
 8; his recollections of the cholera of 
 1836, 8, 9; at the entry of Ferdinand 
 I into Milan, 9, 10; goes to school, 10; 
 drinks sulphuric acid by mistake, 10, 
 II; at Casa Trotti, 11; first meeting 
 with future wife, II, 12; had no 
 schooling until after seven, 12; at the 
 Boselli Institute, 12-18; vacations at 
 Tirano, 19, 20, 23; death of father, 
 24, 25; studies at home and under 
 Correnti, 27; his reading, 27, 28; at 
 Casa Correnti, 27-30, 39,47;iiisvisit 
 to the Stelvio, 37; his singing of 
 hymns to Pius IX, 37; at disturb- 
 ances in Milan, 47; movements on 
 first day of revolution, 53-8; on sec- 
 ond day, 59-66; on third day, 66, 67; 
 on fourth day, 67-71; on fifth day, 
 72-7; on following days, 78-94; ad- 
 venture with a thief, 86, 87; sees 
 Mazzini, 87; at his grandmother's 
 
 462 
 
 and uncle's, 91-4; his uncles and 
 aunts, 92, 93 ; leaves Milan and goes 
 to Bellinzona, 103-5; ^t Bellinzona, 
 108; goes to Lugano and finds Emi- 
 lio, 1 10, 1 1 1 ; calls on Signora Kramer, 
 112; meets Mazzini, 112; returns to 
 Milan, 116, 117; leaves for the Val- 
 tellina, 117; studies German and 
 music, 122; returns to Milan to 
 study, 123; returns to Tirano, 132; 
 life at Tirano, 132-35; returns again 
 to Milan, 136; life at Milan, 138; 
 makes acquaintance of Contessa De 
 Capitanei, 138-41; helps form salle 
 d'armes, 141; makes acquaintance of 
 Contessa MafFei, 142-44; studies at 
 Milan, 15s; trip through Switzerland, 
 161-63; favors Theater Carcano, 
 166; movements on 6th Feb., 1853, 
 182, 183; ideas about Mazzini, 196; 
 journey to Rome, Naples, and Sicily, 
 197-212; how affected by the law 
 of obligatory military service, 223; 
 studies firemen's exercises, 225; occu- 
 pied with estate, 226; at Tirano and 
 Grosio, 226, 227; goes to Paris to the 
 exposition, 233; visits emigrants at 
 Paris, 234, 235; at the opera, 236, 
 237; life at Paris, 237; returns to 
 Milan, 237; and the tailor at Tirano, 
 238-40; writes tragedy for marion- 
 ettes, 246, 247; his second journey to 
 France, 255-57; 0° the occasion of 
 the Emperor's visit to Milan, 265 ; dis- 
 tributes Medals of St. Helena, 274; 
 acts as second in duel between 
 d'Adda and Carcano, 285-88; helps 
 Pagani, 291, 292; keeps out of the 
 Societa Nazionale, 292; at Casa 
 Lutti, 295; escapes arrest, 306, 307; 
 flees to Casa Maffei, 308, 309; leaves 
 the city with the help of the Contessa 
 and Tenca, 309; arrives at Lonato 
 Pozzuolo, 310, 311; his host at Lon- 
 ato Pozzuolo, 311-13; presented as a 
 railway engineer, 313; crosses the 
 Ticino, 314; at Oleggio, 315; meets 
 his brother Emilio at Turin, 316; 
 meets friends at Turin, 318, 320; ap- 
 pointed to recruiting committee, 3 19; 
 has audience with Cavour, 323; 
 present at important session of Par- 
 liament, 326; attaches himself to 
 Mezzacapo, 328; member of Cavour's 
 
Index 
 
 commission, 328; summoned by 
 Emilio, 334; leaves Turin, 334; 
 crosses Lago Maggiore and arrives 
 at Varese, 335, 336; sees Garibaldi, 
 336; made commissioner for Val- 
 tellina, 339; arouses the Valtellina, 
 340; institutes National Guard and 
 Guard Mobile, 342; sees mother at 
 Tirano, 344; further acts of, at 
 Sondrio, 344, 345; proceedings in 
 affair of Costantino luvalta, 346, 
 347; proceedings in affair of German 
 professor, 348, 349; officers and sol- 
 diers sent by Garibaldi to, 350; con- 
 versation with Montanari, 352, 353; 
 secures some guns, 354; straightens 
 out difficulties caused by Montanari, 
 355; prevents attack upon Bormio, 
 356; goes to confer with Garibaldi, 
 356; interview with Garibaldi, 357- 
 59; consults with Carrano, 360; goes 
 to Milan to confer with Governor- 
 General, 361; confers with Correnti 
 and Vigliani, 363, 364; renewal of his 
 appointment, 363, 364; returns to 
 Sondrio, 364; and Sanf ront and Trotti, 
 364, 365; two secret communications 
 to, 365, 366; end of his office, 366; 
 assumes office of inspector, 367; and 
 the Valcamonica, 367; leaves for 
 Turin, 370; audience with Cavour, 
 371; spends two days at Milan, 371; 
 returns to Sondrio, 372; arrives at 
 Bormio after its capture, 372; views 
 the attack on the Austrians, 373, 
 374; returns to Bormio, 374; assists 
 Guicciardi at Sondrio, 375, 376; occu- 
 pied with ValteUinese Battalion, 381; 
 retires from office and goes to Milan, 
 383; and the " Perseveranza, 386; at 
 Tirano with his mother and Emilio, 
 388; goes to Modena to see Farini 
 and to Bologna to see Emilio, 392, 
 393; refuses ofiice under Farini, 394; 
 superintendent of schools, 396; on 
 scholastic commission, 396; received 
 by the king, 397, 398; makes ac- 
 quaintance of Crispi, 404; conversa- 
 tions with Principessa Belgiojoso, 
 
 406, 407; makes acquaintance of 
 Alessandro Manzoni, 407; special 
 appointments of, at Milan, in con- 
 nection with the police, 415, 416; his 
 ballad "The Departure of the Cru- 
 sader," 435-37. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Nicola, grandfather 
 of Giovanni, 4-7, 19, 20, 423, 424. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Nicoletto, brother 
 of Giovanni, 2. 
 
 Visconti Venosta, Paola Borgazzi, 
 mother of Giovanni, 3, 26, 388; salon 
 of, at Tirano, 228, 229; meets 
 Giovanni at Tirano, 344, 345. 
 
 Viscontini, Gennaro, 242. 
 
 Vittorio Emanuele, 232, 240; speech at 
 opening of Parliament, 298; an- 
 nounces war, 327; entry into Milan, 
 397; and Manzoni, 398. 
 
 "Voce del Popolo," the, 89. 
 
 Vogiie, Comte de, 400. 
 
 Volunteers, organization to assist, 299, 
 300; at Turin, 319, 324; fatigue of, at 
 Bormio, 374, 375; join the corps of 
 Garibaldi, 378; disband after Peace 
 of Villafranca, 383. 
 
 Walmoden, General, 50. 
 
 Wessemberg, Baron, Minister of For- 
 eign Affairs, 96. 
 
 Whipping, public, 131; to obtain con- 
 fessions, 169, 170. 
 
 Wimpfen, General, 114. 
 
 Wocher, General, 50. 
 
 Wohlgemuth, General, 50. 
 
 Wratislaw, General, secures commuta- 
 tion of sentence for Lazzati, 191. 
 
 Yung, Theodore, 400. 
 
 Zaffrani, Don Carlo, 134, 228. 
 
 Zaiotti, Paride, 22, 23. 
 
 Zambelli, condemnation and execution 
 of, 171. 
 
 Zanardelli, Giuseppe, 146; correspond- 
 ent of the "Crepuscolo," 147. 
 
 Zanetti, Antonio, trial of, 213, 214, 
 
 434- 
 Zucchini, Contessa, 393. 
 
(Clie Blibetjjibe ptejS^ 
 
 CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
 U . S . A 
 
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